#PLEASE STOP TRYING TO TALK TO ME ABOUT MY COUNTRY AND OUR HISTORY AS IF I DONT LIVE HERE

[vintageseawitch]

this is what i think of when third party voters go around acting morally superior because they don't want to get their hands dirty like the rest of us. they're toddlers having temper tantrums because instead of using the system in a way that could benefit them in the long term like the extremist Republicans have been doing for decades, third party voters refuse to participate in local civics & then claim the entire country is already fascist. they're so cute in their naivety if they think the US can't get any worse.

what the fuck do you think will happen if you try to protest against a government with a military as massive, lethal, & expensive as ours. who do you think will be sacrificed first? oh what's that? crickets? thought so. i'm a white woman but i will absolutely use my voice to point out leftists can be racist as fuck & the anti-blackness in your spaces can be absolutely fucking wild. not everyone leftist is white, but many that are can be pretty problematic.

if you think i'm selfish then fine. if you state that you would gladly exchange my life for a Palestinian like one of you said in a comment to me a few weeks ago then fine. i'm out here fighting to make sure the people who live here in this country don't experience our own Holocaust.

if you have a problem with people wanting to fight this while claiming you're anti-genocide, you're a fucking liar & a hypocrite. you won't know what the fuck to do in a true fascist country. i don't doubt there are pockets of fascism already existing here but you thinking it's already the worst it can be is as infuriating as people who think the government is creating their massive hurricanes using weather machines. you sound just as childish & delusional. you already sound like children because you will never take responsibility for your choices if it ends up helping him win.

jill stein's campaign is a sham. she is deliberately running as a spoiler. she's a wealthy white woman who lives in a mostly white affluent neighborhood. she's going around lecturing black people about white supremacy. she is getting funds from Republicans as well as help from trump's lawyers. Lockheed Martin has given her money. she's involved in shady as fuck index funds for companies that harm the environment. she only started talking about Gaza during this election cycle to hit you in the feelings so she can bank on it. she made a whole stink about needing a recount, raised a bunch of money for that, & then that money disappeared who knows where. do you all hear this? do you care? no, you're just like maga with their orange Jesus. you don't give a FUCK about stein's red flags because she's "different."

if Harris loses & you blame anyone but yourselves, you're cowardly traitors who threw us regular Americans to the wolves because of your precious fucking principles. history has shown time & time again that protest voting typically allows something worse to take control. it's hardly ever beneficial to the people. you're vile. you don't want to make this world a better place by allowing so many near you to suffer & die. if both sides are the same then please tell me you're okay with another trump presidency. or just shut the fuck up.

i look forward to more potentially heartwarming messages saying that my life doesn't mean shit from people who allegedly are against the death penalty & are pro-human rights 🥰

please vote, don't stop talking about Project 2025, etc. i hope enough of us vote in a way that these pathetic third party voters don't gain any kind of traction. at this point i'm just angry at their hypocrisy when they don't even listen to other protestors who live here & are begging them to not vote third party. i refuse to listen to y'all not take responsibility for your part. Project 2025 will hurt us all but apparently you're okay with that or you think it's already here. smooth brain takes all around. anyways good luck & stay safe to anyone who votes blue 💙

[storiesaplenty]

Science Teacher MacTavish (18+)

John "Soap" MacTavish x f/Reader

Call of Duty Masterlist

Back to School Masterlist

This has not been proofread. Please enjoy, though.

Warnings: swearing. Unprotected sex. P in v. Oral (m receiving) car sex. Anal fingering. Cowgirl. Creampie

WC: 1396

Gif does not belong to me: @une-femme-de-lettres

©️ storiesaplenty 2024: Do not repost or translate my work. This is the only place I post my work.

Principle Price (18+) - John Price x f/Reader

Gym Teacher Riley (18+) Simon "Ghost" Riley x f/Reader

Vice-Principal Garrick (18+) - Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x f/Reader

Summary: Science teacher, Mr MacTavish is losing his mind over you, the new history teacher. His friends and fellow staff members have all had a chance with you, and like to bring it up during their weekly poker games, but due to coaching & after-school activities, he hasn't had a chance to shoot his shot. The guys come up with plan to help him.

They were talking about her again.

They also talk about her.

"You do know there are other women right?" Came my snide remark, causing the three of them to stop talking, look at me and laugh.

"Oh come off of it. You are just jealous that you haven't had a chance with her yet." Price said, smirking as he puffed on his cigar.

"I wouldn't have signed up for after-school duties if I knew about her." I wanted pout, knowing that I am just to damn busy with coaching and clubs after school.

"You do know that you two are chaperoning the dance right?" Gaz said to me.

"Yeah, well, can't do anything with a bunch of teens around. Isn't it our job to stop them from having sex or drinking?" My tone was mocking.

"Something could happen to her car, and you have to drive her home." Simon said, making my head turn so fast, not believing what he is saying.

My mouth hung open, I for once in my life speechless.

"I do believe you are on to something Simon. Get ready Soap. You are about to have the time of your life." Price slapped my back, a bit to hard, but I closed my mouth and continued to listen to them talk about her until it was time for them to leave my home.

It is the night of the Halloween dance, and even though I didn't want to chaperone it, I knew this was the best dance to chaperone compared to the other ones.

It went off with only a few of the kids acting up. Caught the usual kids trying to sneak alcohol in, but just confiscated that.

Some got caught smoking weed, but I just told them to go back inside like I didn't see or smell or anything.

Now it is the end of the dance, and as her and I were checking around the school grounds, making sure that there were no stragglers.

"You can go home, I will lock up." I told her.

"Thank you." She said with a tired smile.

I couldn't help but watch her ass as she walked away from me. I cleared my throat, turned back around and continued to do what I was doing.

◆

I closed up, already not looking forward to coming in tomorrow and helping the dance committee clean up.

I walked outside towards the teacher's parking lot, and I could see she was still there.

Shit, I didn't think they were actually going to do something to her car.

"You good?" I called out to her, and she turned around to face me.

"I don't know what is wrong. It won't start." I could tell she was upset.

"It's late, I'll drive you home." I offered her.

"I can call for someone to come out." She said to me.

"You will be waiting for hours. I'll drive you home, pick you up in the morning and bring you back here. I'll call Simon as he is coming in tomorrow morning, and he can take a look at your car. He is good with cars."

"If it isn't going out of your way, Mr MacTavish."

I gave her a soft smile when she said that. Finding it adorable that she still can't call us by our first names.

"Even if it was, I don't mind. Come on, tell me the way to your place."

◆

This is going to be one long ride, as she lives out in the country.

There was some small talk until there was silence. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, just I could tell she was tired.

"I should buy you coffee or something as a thank you for this Mr MacTavish."

"You know you can call me Johnny."

"I know, but this is our first real time together."

"But we are colleagues and hopefully you see me as a friend."

"Okay Johnny." My cock twitched in my pants, when she said my name.

"And a coffee sounds great." I told her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her looking at me and biting her lip.

"Turn up here." She suddenly said.

I did as she asked, turning down some dark abandoned road that I have only seen when driving by here.

I heard her unbuckle her seat belt and I turned my head to look at her, acting confused.

"How about I show my thanks now, and still get you that coffee in the morning." She leaned over and ran her hand up and down my thigh.

"Yes." Was the stupid answer that slipped from my lips as she got closer.

Her lips touched mine and it was like I couldn't hold myself back.

I kissed her, hard, the two of us moaning into the kiss.

Her hands went for the zipper on my pants and lifted my ass off the seat to help her out.

I shuddered once my cock became free, the air a bit chilly.

But I moaned, loudly once her mouth wrapped around the tip of my cock and started to suck.

I felt her moan around my cock, my head leaned against the headrest, my eyes half open as I looked down.

She reached for my hand and placed it on the back of her head as she took me deeper into her mouth.

Fuck, the guys were right. Her mouth really did feel like heaven.

I am enjoying her mouth, my hips bucking up as she moved her head up and down.

Then she pulled away, and hovered over my lap before I could blink.

I put my seat back as far as it could go with one hand, and the other hand I gripped the base of my cock as she slid down it.

"Motherfucker." I grunted as she gasped out my name.

My eyes screwed shut at the feeling of her pussy. She really is tight. The guys weren't lying.

"Johnny. Feel so good." She moaned as she started to bounce in my lap.

I couldn't think property, but when she moaned my name again, I became almost feral.

I wrapped my arms around her and planted my feet as best as I could, fucking up into her.

"Yes say my name."

"Johnny." She cried out, just before she kissed me, nipping my bottom lip forcing a whimper from me.

She pulled her head back, as I angled my hip just so and making sure to hit that spot inside of her.

"Johnny, right there. Right fucking there." She cried out, and how I could say no to that as her pussy clenching around my cock each and every time my cock nudged her spongy spot.

I could feel my balls starting the tighten, fuck.

"Come on I need you to cum for me baby, cum for me." I was almost begging as I started to bounce her even harder in my lap, my hand slipping by mistake, and the tips of my fingers landing between her ass cheeks.

"Yes Johnny, do it." I didn't know what she was meaning until she reached around and spread her ass cheeks.

I placed a finger against her whole and slowly pushed in, not wanting to hurt her.

"Add another." She gasped and I did that, twisting my fingers just a bit and that seemed to do it for her.

She screamed out my name as she came, her pussy and ass clenching my cock and fingers so tight I swear my eyes crossed.

I came as she collapsed against me, her moaning as I filled her pussy with my cum, my fingers still twisting in her ass.

"Such a long drive back to your place. Come spend the night." She said to me, making my softening cock twitch inside her pussy, as I pulled my fingers from her ass.

"Okay." My brain was almost like mush as she reached into her purse and pulled out some handwipes for me to clean my hand with.

I put my cock back in my pants and started up my car.

She sat in my passenger seat, and I just knew our combined juices were leaking onto my seat, but I didn't care.

I have a feeling when we get to her place, there will hardly be any sleep, and I will fucking a whole the other guys haven't even touched

[r0entgen]

Writing to you in English so it reaches more audience.

As a venezuelan still in Venezuela, I appreciate a lot what you're trying to do in this space of the internet. If I could I would. I would post the facts, the statistics, the studies, the books, the evidence of how our country is. I'd even talk about my own experiences. But I can't. I am deeply scared of the government. Half my family is still in the country and I can't talk freely out of fear. I've had friends almost being kidnapped by the military, but fortunately were let free. I've had friends being called to their own personal phone numbers by the government as a threat to stop posting memes and general posts anti government in their public Facebook accounts. I've had people I know tell me in fear in hushed tones how in their recent travel from Oriente to Occidente the bus they were in was researched by military and all the people in the bus had to give their phones unlocked so the military could search up anything, anything anti government, or else they couldn't continue traveling.

I am a venezuelan history enthusiast. The people that claim that our country is going through something planned by foreign governments is laughable. They ignore our history, they silence our voices, they speak over us and impose what we can or not think or believe. And it's sick. How little disregard there is to our own rich history.

Guess what , gringos? The government was deemed since the 80s to fall into an economic crisis!

These are people that weren't even born during the Caracazo (as I am, as are all the people in my life whose lives and futures were ruined), they don't even know what El Viernes Negro was and how it was an omen of how much we were screwing up ourselves. They don't even care to know, they are actively erasing our history. Former president Gallegos well said: el petróleo nos trajo una lluvia de riqueza, si bien fue un chubasco pasajero.

We were one of the first modern world countries to give FREE & EQUAL EDUCATION during Guzman Blanco back in the 1880s and it has remained that way even during the far right dictatorships of Gómez and MPJ. And now? Our public universities, once the best ones in the continent, don't even have professors nor students because most of the venezuelan youth has to decide between either studying and not eating or eating but not studying or neither eating nor studying because they had to flee.

I can't speak my mind, just having Twitter downloaded on my phone can be enough of a reason to be detained.

All the pro government people don't know, and I wish they'd never know what it is like to live this misery.

Thank you, thank you for speaking up, for doing what a lot of us would like to do- write our own history.

Be safe.

I appreciate you reaching out. Also replying in English for continuity.

Trust me when I say - I get you. I get you so much it is almost painful. As a Venezuelan also living in Venezuela, I am a little too familiar with the fear.

But we've had enough of the regime rewriting Venezuelan history, and enough of people comprándoles la labia. Someone who hasn't had to live a day in our shoes will not speak louder. Someone who has actively participated in erasing our history will not speak louder. Someone who can't even locate Venezuela on a map will not speak louder. We will speak up and we will not stop. Ya no tenemos miedo.

Please stay safe and feel free to reach out again if you need someone to talk to. Entre nosotros nos apoyamos.

Te mando un abrazo fuerte. Vamos a estar bien.

[badlysummedupmoviestournament]

If you recognize the movies/characters hiding behind the decoy titles, please do not give identifying details about them in the notes.

Villain n°1: Chicken Submarine

I was betrayed by the man I loved and that's enough to drive anyone to do some crazy shit, right? Look, most of my life has sucked ass. I was born with a debilitating illness that requires constant, miserably unpleasant procedures to keep me alive. I like to have fun, and every time I do, I suffer. I got used to it, but I never stopped dreaming things could be better. My best friend--met him in the pediatric hospital, same illness--finally concocts this INCREDIBLE cure, it works on him, and he TELLS ME NOT TO TAKE IT? Of COURSE I took it.

Okay, so there were side effects, but honestly, I think he was complaining too much. I'm healthy as a horse now. People talk shit on my boy? I defend his honor. I can do that with my fists now, instead of just Daddy's money. That's my best friend, no one gets to insult his beautiful, brilliant brain with those eyes that you could just drown in... What was I saying?

Oh yeah, he got mad at ME for NO REASON. I said, babe, let's run away together, the world is at our feet, and he ran away FROM me. So I decided to get his attention--his girlfriend is fine, unfortunately--and he not only attacked me but set hundreds of his new friends on me! Like we don't have a history? Like I'm not important to him? I could even follow his annoying petty lifestyle demands if he would just share his life with me. Maybe. For now, anyway. But I really don't think I was asking too much.

Villain n°2: Greensleeves

I was trying to take a bath when these fools just demolished the entire building and that was an attempt to CLEAN IT! Anyway that's just the first thing. I told them they were not qualified for a promotion which is TRUE have you seen the state my bathroom is in? And they were all gloomy and shit. Then a girl came around, complaining about some other idiots who also work for me and asking me to put people under her orders so she'd be protected from the second group, so I got rid of the first group by putting them under her orders. Yk. Get rid of the first group when the second group screws up again. And then they screwed up so magistrally that I had to get my right hand woman to do most of the job, then myself. I dressed a guy in drag as well but that was the plan since the beginning. Then I offered a good spectacle to the people of my country by going myself on the opera stage and doing a whole fighting routine there. And they still have the galls to not like me.

[emohorseboy]

I'm so interested in all of your posts about mad liberation. I've never seen anything that puts my thoughts on the whole psych complex into words. I'm really curious to learn more about this. No pressure if not, but do you happen to know of any more comprehensive resources on this? Like books maybe?

Hi, I can definitely give you some recs! My list is a little bit UK centric because that's where I'm based but hopefully it's useful:

In terms of books:

I read 'Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health' by Micha Frazer-Carroll this summer and I can't recommend it enough.

I'm also making my way through 'Call Me Crazy: Stories from the Mad Movement' by Irit Shimrat, which I think is out of print but can be read as a PDF here (hopefully)

I've only dipped in and out of his books for my dissertation but Andrew Scull has written several well regarded books about the history of psychiatry ('Museums of Madness' is the one I've read bits of, 'Desperate Remedies' is on my TBR)

Some books on my TBR: 'The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease' by Johnathan Metzl, 'Drop the Disorder!', 'Searching for a Rose Garden: Challenging Psychiatry, Fostering Mad Studies', 'Anatomy of an Epidemic' by Robert Whitaker

Some really good articles:

'Abolition Must Include Psychiatry' by Stella Akua Mensah

'Mad Activists: The Language We Use Reflects Our Desire for Change' by Lisa Archibold

'Not a naughty child: people’s experiences of service responses to self-injury' by Alison Faulkner and Rachel Rowan Olive

More resources!

The Campaign for Psychiatric Abolition - UK based, they have a lot of really great resources including an extensive recommended reading list, a Psych Abolition 101 Zine, and a resource for making a crisis support plan.

Asylum Magazine - again UK based, radical mental health magazine. To read full issues you need to subscribe (I recently paid for a subscription for a year of digital editions for £10, physical copies are a bit more) but the website has plenty of articles that you can read for free so well worth exploring.

Psych Survivor Archive - US based this time, there is so much on here, the Psych Survivor Zine is the main event but they also have a really great resource list (some of the links are dead though).

Mad in America - publish a lot of really interesting and impactful stuff on their website, I also really like their podcast (particularly recommend this episode about ECT, this one about esketamine, and this one about 'prolonged grief disorder'). There is also Mad in the UK and a number of other country specific sites that exist as part of their Mad in the World Network.

Folks to follow:

Dolly Sen - UK based artist who does and is doing a lot of cool stuff, notably at the moment they are the lead artist for the Birdsong From Inobservable Worlds project. This podcast episode they did is also great.

Nicole / lacey_art_ - another UK based artist, she wrote a poem about a bird recently that I can't stop thinking about (she does a lot of other cool things too).

Rachel Rowan Olive - brilliant and funny artist, she is also on instagram and etsy.

Luna Tic - artist and activist who has been involved with a lot of really brilliant stuff, including the successful StopSIM Coalition here in the UK which managed to bring an end to SIM.

There are so many more I could name and so many more things I could recommend but this post is already so long! I really hope it was helpful. I started trying to be brief and then gave up but I did cut out a fiction and literature recs section because I thought that was overkill lmao. Thank you for giving me an excuse to make this list I had a great time.

Learning about the Mad and psych survivor movements has been so transformative and empowering for me and I could honestly talk about it all day. Please do feel free to send me a message if you want to chat about it more!

[i-eat-nail-polish]

Hey I’m gonna probably post more serious stuff because I need to have discussions with people about Palestine. For one I live in an area and am surrounded by people who aren’t pro Palestinian. They don’t take anything surround boycotts or information in general about the genocide serious at all because it doesnt effect them. It’s starting to wear on me because there’s no one to cope (idk if that’s the right word) with what I see online on a daily basis. Ever since mid October or so? (When the tik tok algorithm caught up with the time) I’ve seen countless atrocities that I’ve only ever seen in video games or movies played out in real life against real people. I learned what real bombs sound like both far away and up close because of these videos. Lately I’ve also started to dream about being trapped in Gaza with that feeling of death looming. It sounds dramatic but it’s true. Every day I’m thankful that I’m constantly shown information about Palestine and surrounding Arab countries and I’m also in shock. I’m in shock for a few reasons. 1: I’ve watched for months now, a country, a land and it’s people go through something worse than hell and nobody around feels the same sadness and basic human empathy. No one cares to take in that there’s a massive loss of life and culture and future for whatever reason. It’s gut renching to think about it. 2: I can’t help beyond witnessing and documenting. It seems stupid and corny to think that we’re privileged to have phones but documenting this horrible event through a phone camera is so incredible for history. It just feels almost insulting that that’s all I can do as a poor college student in America. Yes, I can call my representatives which thankfully where I live do support a free and liberated Palestine, but others won’t even do much as think about their constituents. It’s hard because it feels like we’re trying to move a volcano with plastic beach shovels. So all we can do is sit and save videos before social media giants take them down. 3: coming to terms that nobody looks out for each other on a large scale. Because I follow now many journalists from various sectors ranging from on the ground in Gaza to political scientists giving me lessons on the United Nations history, I’m shocked at how all of it is fake. Nothing makes sense anymore. You’re telling me because 2 countries won’t vote on a ceasefire but 98% do we can’t move on with it? Why does the US get privileges that to my limited knowledge no one else has the same power leverage as. How has nobody else stepped in when MANY war crimes are being committed. Why do they even exist if countries are never seriously prosecuted? Why even have rules if you can’t follow them? It’s disheartening to watch but I can’t give up hope. I’m not giving up hope because that’s all we have. I may not have direct ties to Palestine but as if needless suffering is enough for me to care, I care especially for the queer family in Gaza. They are as much apart of the queer family as my roommates are. I don’t know if and when we lose LGBTQ+ people in Gaza but I know it’s happening so I cry for the loss of our family. I need to see an end to this. I need to. I don’t know how to process any of what I’ve witnessed or feel right now or even what else I can do to help stop a genocide. I need to talk to people so please may you strike up conversation. Correct me in any place, tell me about the latest boycotts, show me protests. Please converse we have to keep hope alive.

[bigfrood]

so this is about the hozier statement please help me understand why his statement was so bad both herw and om twitter people are dissapointed but like .?!?! Isnt his statement rational and well thought out and balanced given that life has been lost on both sides yes the isralie government has been awfully unfair with palestinians for years almost 75? I think but hammas killed children and civilians took them hostages isralie government bombed hospitals and schools and churches two wrongs dont make a right an immediate cease fire with diplomatic talks is a good way to go and to call for that is a good statement so i dont get why people are so up in arms about this ? Please help me understand youre take if is different

Please check out these videos, they are about 8 minutes long in total and they worded what I wanna say better than I could ever hope to word it:

https://twitter.com/Hakeemfederer/status/1714734864086261838?t=lJARc717B09mqwfZmtF9tg&s=19

https://twitter.com/_TheRockII/status/1713975193339605115?t=9gKHtgV1f5T_heX6Xto2Bg&s=19

(This one is an Irish person, like Hozier who should know better)

One of my main problems with Hozier's statement is that it IS balanced like you're saying, because here's the thing:

The situation in Palestine isn't balanced.

To be neutral in a situation where there is an oppressive party and an oppressed party is necessarily in favour of oppression.

I don't disagree with most of his statement, my main problem with his take is also my main problem with yours, except you're saying "Israel has been awfully unfair with Palestinians" and he used language that was slightly stronger but still doesn't begin to cover the situation.

There is no place for "both sides" in this narrative. It is not a war or a conflict, but an occupation, where the apartheid state that has been committing war crimes for decades is now also committing genocide in front of the whole world with video! evidence! And no one is stopping it, countries and individuals are actually supporting it, even!

I can't believe that in the year of our lord 2023 I have to bring up the point that genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism are a big deal, and aren't just Israel "being unfair".

But the fact that you're willing to ask and understand makes me think that you are a good person who's trying to do what's right, so that's why I'm responding.

It's not fair to describe what Hamas did as equal to what Israel did in any capacity, starting from the very root of the problem, I'm asking you this:

If Israel hadn't STOLEN and COLONISED Palestinian land and occupied Palestine, do you think there would even be Hamas??

In Arabic we have an addition to the famous "an eye for an eye" line: ".. and whoever started is more unjust".

It's true that Hamas killed civilians, but what exactly do you think Israel has been doing in Palestine for almost 8 decades?? Hamas was formed in the late 80s. It has existed for less than half the duration of the occupation, with a vast inequality in resources in favour of Israel, yet one is considered a terrorist organisation and the other a country!!

Also, Hamas isn't every Palestinian, but every Palestinian is suffering at the hands of Israel. Israel is using Hamas as an excuse for their crimes.

Even the human cost is unequal, so many more Palestinian lives were lost!

Like any human being I am deeply affected by the loss of lives, however, anyone who blames any party involved other than Israel and by extension any international force that has the ability to stop it but hasn't for killing Palestinians and putting Israeli "civilians" in harm's way is being awfully unfair. Uninformed at best, and malicious with an agenda at worst.

I don't think the Irish or the Algerians or us Egyptians or any people in history who has been occupied got their freedom through peace talks.

But I don't mind an immediate cease fire and diplomatic talks, anything that would stop this genocide, really.

To answer your question directly now that I've made the previous points: what he's suggesting should happen isn't what bothers me. It's how he's describing the current situation.

I can't agree with a statement that's condemning resistance for RESISTING while also not coming close to properly condemning the genocidal occupation that started it all and keeps the violence going.

I can't agree that he's calling this genocide a "response" when what's happening now has been happening decades before Hamas even existed. The situation did NOT start 2 weeks ago or when Hamas was formed, but it started with the occupation and will only end when that occupation is gone.

I can't possibly agree when he calls what's happening a cycle of violence implying that there is anyone to blame but Israel, when it's a cycle of violence in the sense that Israel commits war crimes regularly and quite often, doesn't face consequences from any international organisation, or anyone really, which allows it to continue committing even worse war crimes.

I hope this helps you understand, and I hope you do the right thing and stand with Palestine.

[kangelmybeloved]

TW: Shawn, Racism, Ableism, Manipulation

Hello everyone. I didn't want to make this post, but I feel like it's finally time i speak out about this horrible person. They go by @shawnthevampire on here. She is very popular within the Jacksepticeye community and she is a horrible person. She is Racist, Ableist, narcissistic and manipulative. This is gonna take a while..

Shawn is manipulative. She lies and gaslights people to get her own way. She once lied about one of my friends to try to convince me that he didn't care about me, saying things like "He's a rich shit" and "Why would a rich shit care about a couple of poor, mentally disabled biological females?" She did this a lot. She manipulates and lies, and then deletes all evidence of it every happening. Not to mention if your trauma is not the exact same as hers, she will invalidate it either to your face or behind your back. Personal experience: I was having a panic attack and she said it was amusing.

She silences anyone who disagrees with her. On Discord, if you say something she doesn't like? Timeout. Try to diffuse an argument? Timeout. I once got timed out for a week because I was defending my brother from her bullying. But she got rid of it a few hours later. You cannot say ANYTHING to her that she doesn't like, or.. doesn't have. If there is something she doesn't/can't have or something she just doesn't like, You can't talk about it. One time me and my friends were talking about "Amanda the Adventurer" and she banned us from talking about it all together because she didn't like it! She abused her power so much, and the changed the rules to her own server so it was convenient for her. For example, She could talk about politics but if you tried to it was against the rules and you weren't allowed.

She's abelist. Shawn will probably deny this as she is autistic, but being autistic does not give you an excuse to being abelist. I had one person tell me how she made fun of them for being hard of hearing. And there is a whole tumblr thread where she got involved in an argument over the Jacksepticeye ego character, Jameson Jackson. She says she hates her brother all because he's more autistic than her so he needs to be taken care of a little more. She went on a whole rant about how much she hates her brother and her parents, who bend over backwards to her will and anything she wants. She treats the people close to her like shit and with disrespect with no regard to the fact that they are human and have feelings too.

She is racist. Oh ho ho ho. Shawn is racist. Because why wouldn't she stop at being abelist? I have a couple of examples. On roblox she said to someone "Bro is black Irl" because they were apparently harassing her. Then she tried to defend it when called out by saying that "History is built up on racism" and that people should be used to racsim by now. The second example is she defends the infamous app "Temu" like she is the creator herself. After me and my friends sent her multiple piece of evidence that Temu still people's data, she just turns a blind eye and has blocked people over it. When defending the app she said, and I quote, "Also, if the USA truly cared about our Internet safety, they'd stop allowing apps from other countries to be approved onto the app store". And that this was all because Temu is a Chinese company, and that all the products are cheap and "suspicious" is because its a Chinese company.

Boundaries aren't a thing to her. If you are uncomfortable by a joke she's making and you tell her, she just thinks it's funny and does it more. These mainly include sexu@l jokes. And uh, here's a personal experience. I had a crush on a friend and I told her about it, she proceeded to give me a deadline to tell them my feelings and then decided to tell them behind my back anyway.

This is just on Discord and a couple things on Tumblr. She also caused things on Wattpad but I don't have the patience or energy to get into that.

Please do not go and bully Shawn or anyone involved in this situation. If people need proof, I'll post it on Twitter. Thank you everyone.

[impossiblyatomictiger-blog]

I agree with this post on Reddit: “

For context, my immediate family has a private blog we use for fun updates on our lives. Today’s SC ruling spurred me to action and I posted this- I thought others might find it helpful when talking to religious and/or conservative family members. My family is mostly believing Mormon and Republican/reluctant Trump voters. It gets more Project 2025 specific about halfway through.

I’ve hesitated to write this for a very long time. I didn’t want to inject politics into what is supposed to be fun updates about the family. I didn’t want to offend parents or siblings whom I love and care for deeply but who disagree with my positions or opinions, as is their right.

But I can’t be quiet anymore on this. My conscience won’t let me. When all is said and done, I want to be able to, at the end of my life, say I tried everything that was within my power to prevent the destruction of my country and its people. So here goes.

Please recognize this in the spirit it was written. I’m not trying to offend, hurt, or wound. But I do need to be clear, because the stakes are monumental. If I come across as undiplomatic or histrionic, I apologize for the tone but not the underlying message.

In Germany in the early thirties we had some distant relatives who were upset with the failings of the German government. The economy sucked, inflation was rampant, and armed leftist gangs roamed the streets. They didn’t like what the mustachioed man was saying, they thought he was over the top, but they also thought that he made some sense about the importance of Germany rising again, of being respected on the world stage and stopping the subversives in their own country who were hurting and holding the people back. They and others thought that there would be responsible people like Hindenburg and Von Papen who would rein in the worst of this guy’s tendencies, and direct the energy of him and his supporters to only the good stuff. What do we call these people, reluctant supporters of Adolf Hitler?

We call them Nazis.

We do not remember or care about their reservations. We aren’t interested in their feeble protests that this isn’t what they meant to happen, that the Socialists scared them or Germany was seen as a laughingstock. We don’t care that near the end of the war, as Hitler was throwing fourteen year olds in front of Soviet tank treads, some of them protested. They were Nazis. They were complicit. They voted for a Nazi.

No one outside of Hitler’s inner circle knew what he was going to unleash, at least not fully. The people who voted for him can rightly say they had no idea where this would lead, that they thought the system would stop the excesses of the Nazi movement. They didn’t have the benefit we do of history, to see what Hitler was from the very beginning. No one in their own story thinks they are the bad guy, no one thinks they are doing something evil. But they voted him into the chancellorship and it cost them everything, and plunged Europe into destruction and horror and holocaust, and then consigned half of it to Soviet tyranny.

You know where I am going with this. You might think I am being ridiculous or hysterical. But someone in 1932 screaming that a vote for Hitler was a vote for death camps, the gestapo, mass murder, and destruction on a level never before seen in human history would have been similarly dismissed. Except he wouldn’t have been hysterical or exaggerating. He would be correct in every respect.

I was told as a child decency in public life mattered. We should only elect moral people. Bill Clinton was pilloried and denounced by my friends and family for cheating on his wife and lying about it. He was unworthy of the office of the Presidency. Those same people then excused the behavior of a thrice married adulterer who was caught on tape admitting to and joking about sexual assault. They voted for a man who oppressed the hireling in his wages, paid for abortions and mocked disabled people and women.

If I may be blunt, many people I know surrendered their religious convictions on the altar of political power. The fact he was a Republican mattered more than the fact he was the exact opposite of what their Savior and Redeemer was. Power mattered more than Christianity.

I told friends and family in 2016 that Trump would try to stay in office even if he lost, that he would commit acts of illegality and criminality without regard to ethics, morals or the law. I was told I was being hysterical, that experts around him would prevent it.

Over the next four years that wicked man enriched himself by abusing his office. That wicked man broke the law to punish the nation of Ukraine by withholding congressionally ordered aid from being delivered unless they announced on live TV they were prosecuting Hunter Biden. He even admitted he did exactly that. That wicked man banned religious minorities from entering the country – something that happened to our ancestors. That wicked man separated families at the border and placed children – CHILDREN – in cages, and did so deliberately, admitting it was happening as a way to “discourage” future immigration. Some of those families were broken permanently – the children were never reunited with their parents. That wicked man repeatedly attempted to use deadly force on peaceful protestors. He gave security clearances to his son in law who was ineligible, a son in law who received massive kickbacks from the Saudi government. That wicked man supported the Saudis in a campaign of famine in Yemen that killed millions. This wicked man sicced military police against his own citizens so he could walk across the street and wave the Bible upside down and backwards as a bloody shirt. This wicked man so catastrophically mismanaged a pandemic that over a million Americans died, we stored corpses in freezers and states were left on their own to find ventilators. “Stop the testing” he thundered, and continued to hold rallies that killed his own supporters.

Finally, and unforgivably: This evil man lost a free and fair election, and attempted to remain in office. This wasn’t just hyperbole, he wasn’t just speaking. He was meeting with lunatics and loons in the Oval Office. Orders to declare martial law were drafted.

Do you know why our democracy survived? It wasn’t because Trump didn’t try or suddenly had a change of heart. Three people refused to follow his unlawful orders to seize voting machines, deploy the military to shoot protestors, and overturn the certification in Congress. Three people. One at the Department of Justice who threatened to resign, one in the Defense Department who organized a shadow military government to prevent Trump’s orders from going through, and the Vice President of the United States.

We were three spines away from losing our constitutional system, a system friends and family claim is divinely inspired and worth fighting for.

When those three refused, Trump sicced a mob on the Capitol, where raving bands of terrorists came within feet of a Vice President and Speaker they were trying to kill. The man tried to get his own Vice President killed.

This isn’t hyperbole. We all saw it on live TV. I’m not making this up. These facts were discovered by a bipartisan congressional investigation and by a prosecutor in the DOJ after the fact.

I’m not even touching the classified documents case, the fact that 44 members of his Cabinet have stated he is unfit for future office, “very fine people” in a crowd full of Nazis, or illegal payments to a porn star here.

So what about now? What about this election? We survived one term, we can survive another, right?

In his first term there were people around him who prevented catastrophe. There were “regular” Republicans like Pence, Nikki Haley, and Generals Milley and Kelly who managed to hold off the flying monkeys. Not completely, as I pointed out, but the system held; just barely.

There are no adults in Trump’s campaign. There are no “regular” Republicans anymore, because Trump will not stomach someone telling him “no” this time. He is surrounded by sycophants and true believers, many of them convicted criminals.

Trump is going to implement something called Project 2025. It was dreamed up by think tanks and was endorsed by his campaign and Trump personally. Among other things, it will, on January 20, 2025, involve the mass firings of federal bureaucrats who have ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED by the campaign as people that will resist illegal orders. They have ALREADY selected replacements who will rubber stamp whatever Trump says. Independent organizations will lose their independence, including the FTC, FCC, SEC and others. Trump has stated repeatedly he will revoke the licenses for “liberal” outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and others. Under this plan he can do it and the underlings will not resist.

It also involves the FDA immediately banning all forms of birth control. Pregnancy will be carried to term even if the mother dies. It’s already happening in red states like Idaho!

Public expressions of gay or trans behavior will be reclassified as pornographic – and pornography will be outlawed. THIS IS NOT A HYPOTHETICAL DISCUSSION FOR ME. THERE IS A TARGET ON MY BACK.

Detention camps will be set up and mass roundups of anyone suspected of being illegal will occur – without due process. Forgive me, but imagine that [half hispanic relative] is picking up her kids from school and ICE does a raid. She “looks” Hispanic, as do her kids. Into the van she goes, and she is unable to prove her citizenship because THERE IS NO DUE PROCESS.

If liberal states resist, the Insurrection Act will be invoked and the National Guard will be federalized. American soldiers, reporting to Generals handpicked by Trump for loyalty to him, not to the law, will be allowed to roam free in liberal cities, opening fire on “seditious” protesters and replacing local police departments.

I am not making this up. This isn’t some wild-eyed fantasy by a liberal who watches too much CNN. They are saying they will do this out in the open. It’s on Trump’s website, he has talked about it, it’s in the social media posts of his campaign and his staffers, it’s being refined and added on by his think tanks. There are dozens of more points I haven’t even touched about Project 2025.

Who will stop him? The courts? They quite literally this morning said he couldn’t be prosecuted for official acts – one of the official acts cited by the Chief Justice was meeting with the DOJ and ordering them to carry out illegal orders. If Trump says it’s an official act, he can’t be held accountable for it.

Congress? The Senate failed to convict him two weeks after he tried to have them murdered.

The people? He lost the popular vote in 2016 and still won.

Prosecutors? They just got their cases gutted by a 6-3 Supreme Court.

Please, listen to me. I am your son, your brother. I am not a wild eyed loon shouting about fluoride in the water or contrails in the sky. I am telling you plainly (and perhaps rudely) that my existence and the existence of other people you love is at stake here. You have family members who are discussing plans with each other for self defense, for ways to protect themselves from the horror that may descend this winter. You have family members discussing the possibility of fleeing the country.

Do you want your granddaughters, your nieces, to grow up in a world where they cannot divorce abusive husbands (another part of Project 2025 is the elimination of no fault divorce), they cannot use birth control and must carry even non-viable pregnancies to term? Where their role is to serve as breeding stock for the next generation of taxpayers? Do you want a world where your son, your brother, is arrested for flying a pride flag or because he has a boyfriend? (I’m not asking you to approve of my life choices; just asking you to respect my right to make it).

If I may be even more blunt: What the hell has Biden done or Clinton would have done that compares to this? You paid a little more in gas, so the constitution must be terminated? You disagree with some of the protections given to sexual minorities, so they need to be herded into camps? What has Biden done that even compares to what the Trump campaign is promising to do? Are our lives really so bad, are we really so oppressed by Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, that we will vote for literal fascists?

You cannot count on decent people to surround this monster and prevent his excesses. They tried it in Germany, and fifty five million people died. We tried it in 2016, and over a million people died from Covid and we came within moments of losing our democracy.

Please. I’m not asking for you to register as a Democrat and support gay marriage or abortion. But do not vote for this monster. For some people in the family it is not a hypothetical exercise. It’s our lives.”

[sparkiekong]

Ugh!! Elita back on the smokes again!! Major yuck!! Major turn off. Somebody needs to tell her that. Also she needs to try harder to stop. Chosen one myass!! I bet Lyra and Cat are to blame somehow!

Hi there nonny. Sorry this is gonna be long winded...again.

TLDR: Yeah, it seems she's slipped off the wagon. Addiction is not an easy wagon ride! I'm afraid for some people it's much harder than others. The gang will have relapses and struggles just like anyone else who has addictive tendances. It's not going to stop entirely anytime soon, I'm afraid.

We depict a lot of these types things. Much of mine and @helenofsimblr's writing is taken from real world examples. history, mythology and we do copious amounts of research and add about 300% creativity. Smoking (even the underage smoking) is probably the LEAST worrisome topic in this story and much worse is to come. I hope you're ready nonny... the roller coaster has just started and it's not a smooth ride... It's also completely ok to unfollow for that reason alone if smoking is your line. I promise you that we are definitely going to go beyond that, so stay safe friend! It's quite ok to stop reading. I promise we won't be offended. This story is not everyone's cup of tea and that's ok.

If you're still interested in reading and it's just that I missed adding a trigger or you'd like an additional trigger, please let me know and I will add it. Especially if it's one that you like to use... At the end of the day we're all responsible for our own mental safety on the internet... I can only provide the trigger words to block. You have to do your part. Thanks for the ask friend. I hope you have a lovely and wonderful day.

Rest is under cut with a bit more examples of differences of KSU and IRL world and informational links on medical information on addiction:

There is a key thing to remember about this story and that is that the universe (lovingly called the KSU) is a kind of alternate universe to our own, some scientific developments happened at very different times to our own and smoking science has not yet caught up to ours. In some ways, it's got sort of a sixties feel and in others, it seems like future-vision. It can be a bit confusing, so I'll provide some examples!

A big example is that the KSU recently just discovered ultrasound tech that can be used to check on fetus health and that smoking is generally bad for one's health, but the KSU has been in space for quite a long time, is well established in space and have computers and cell phones... While the real world (the one you and I live in), ultrasound has been around for a long time and is quite advanced, the anti-smoking campaign has been going on for many years with decent success. However, we in IRL we have not until recently (maybe the last 10-15 years) been able to reliably get into space and back safely in various different countries. Admittingly, I don't track all space travel, just the ones that hit the trending list of my news app.

The rest of this is for people who are struggling to understand addiction and/or are suffering or watching someone suffer with it and are looking for understanding. Please! Talk with your family doctors or google your country of origin + addiction help and you can find the help that you or a friend or family member may need.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are a few links that explain a bit about addiction and why it's not always just as easy as "just don't do that" or "Stop".

[aimmyarrowshigh]

Chapter Ten posted!

It felt pointless to try to chatter niceties to a man who probably didn’t know English from a Hobbit-hole in the wall. Still, Steve was instructed to just keep talking until the Asset replied, so he did. He walked through the repertoire of his entire record collection, explaining his choices and the best songs on each album that he owned. He explained what he knew of the history of the symphony on the radio and tried asking, to a series of blinks in response, whether the Asset had been present for the atrocities of the Russian front. He demonstrated his tin ear by singing a bit of the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” until Natasha came over the speakers into the pod and begged him to please for the love of god and country, stop singing, Steve. Steve tapped his thumb against the side of his leg as he wracked his brain for anything more to say. “Wish I knew a little about you, pal,” he finally settled on. “So that our conversations could be a bit less one-sided. You don’t have to tell me your name, but at least tell me something about yourself. What you like on the radio or who your favorite star is at the pictures. Or what you like to eat. You know, it is safe to eat the food that we send in here for you, it’s not poisoned. We’re not gonna torture you, other than with my singing, and I already told Natasha I’d stop. It’s not right to waste food. Don’t you know we’re rationing?”

[themoonlovemuses]

Introductions to your New Life! (Professor Layton X Reader)

Summary:  After a job position opens up at Gressenheller University, you move down to London and join the prestigious university, and along the way meet the charming Professor Layton. ☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆☾☆

WANTED: Head Librarian

Requirements: A knowledge of the Dewey Decimal System.

A candidate with strong communication and interpersonal skills who is a reliable and self-motivated person who can work largely unsupervised following precise instructions. As the work is fairly routine, you will need to maintain a high level of attention to detail and accuracy in your work. 

If you are interested, please come to Gressenheller University and speak to the receptionist to inquire.

That had been the advertisement Dean Delmona had sent over in the mail when he mentioned to my mum that he was looking for a new librarian for the university. Having been friends of the family for a while, Delmona knows of my love for novels and sharing recommendations to those around me on whatever topics I had knowledge of. So naturally, after having a friendly discussion about where we all were in our professions, mum had passed on the message to me about the vacancy. A job at a bigger library than the local village has, in the heart of London, surrounded by like-minded people? Sounds like a dream come true!

And not a month later, after handing my notice to the librarian at my old job and saying my farewells to my parents and siblings, I hopped onto the train heading to Central Plaza Station with nothing but my suitcase and a note with the address to my new flat that I had acquired after talking to the landlord, Ingrid, over the phone. The move had been stressful, and the nose and bustle of the London streets had been a bit overwhelming compared to country life, but I had finally settled into the flat and explored the neighbourhood enough to know my way around. Now all that was left to start my new life is to start my first day at my new job.

Which is what I had been daydreaming about just as the bus rolled to a stop in front of the wrought-iron gates of the university. So after paying the fare and wishing the driver a good day, I strode up to the front doors of the university, marvelling at the architecture of the buildings, imagining what kind of history the walls hold. And not soon after I had got to the doors that lead to the reception room did I see the Dean, in his usual crisp suit and spectacles, waiting for me.

“Ah, (Y/N)! Good Morning! Didn’t get lost on the way here then! I know I did the first couple of times when I became the dean!” He chuckled, meeting me halfway and shaking my hand

“Oh, not at all! Thankfully the buses around here a quite remarkable and way more punctual than back home. If I had been walking here on my own I’m sure I would’ve gone around in circles just trying to find this place!”

“Ho ho! Glad to hear! Well, I’d better show you around first before I leave you to it! You’re a reliable sort, but I wouldn’t want you getting lost here on your first day! The halls can be maze-like themselves.” He agreed, before heading off down the corridors. 

“Of course, as you probably know, the building was built a hundred and twenty years ago, using Neo-Baroque architecture which defined the era, and is what defines the university compared to the other buildings in the Westminster area. The original dean of the school prided his school on its excellence in providing knowledge from around the world, specialising in archaeological exploits. Which is why we specialize in this subject to this day! But enough about the history of the school! On your left, you can see the courtyards that the students tend to use between classes to either study or socialise together. And on the left are the out-of-hour offices for our Professors.” He rambled, pointing out the points of interest as he walked, including the offices, which appeared to have weird symbols on them. One seemed to have a coffee cup and… was that a top hat?

“Excuse me, sorry Delmona. What do the symbols mean on the doors? Is that one on the left a student café?” I asked, pointing it out, as only some of the doors had symbols on them.

“Oh, those! No, sadly you won’t be grabbing a cup of coffee from in there! Those symbols just help students to differentiate which professor uses which office. All doors look the same on the first day and all that! He explained patiently, as if he had received these questions numerous times. 

‘At least it seemed like I wasn’t the only one to ask about it. Still, I wonder if all universities have those kinds of subliminal tricks to distinguish different professor offices.’ I thought to myself as we re-entered the building, heading back towards the main area.

“Now if you follow the path down here, it’ll lead you down towards the cafeteria, where you will be able to grab that coffee! And if you take the stair over here, that’ll lead up to the classrooms and my office directly in front of the stairs. And this door at the bottom of the stairs, is the library!” He announced, pushing the doors in a way that he must’ve been aiming to be dramatic, but ended up swinging back in our faces due to the lack of strength behind it. Coughing into his hand to discharge the awkward tension, he reopened the doors normally, myself following after him.

As I entered the space, I looked around in awe, the smell of old books and wood hitting my nose first. Pillars of golden brown wood held the building up with rows and rows of bookshelves matching the colour of the wood, it looked like it had two, maybe even three floors worth of books, and study tables scattered about the place. And just to the left, a big desk with a little rack of leaflets for what at first glance appears to be student events and a big trolley rack filled to the brim with books to be returned to the shelves. A lady wearing a hair kerchief was polishing the front of it.

“Oh, Dean! I didn’t think you would be here so soon! I was just finishing up cleaning up the place, and this must be our new librarian!” 

“Oh don’t worry Rosa! There’s still time left if you need to finish up, we’re here early anyway. Anyway, as I mentioned (Y/N), this is Rosa Grimes, the university’s resident cleaner. Rosa, this is (Y/N). She’ll be starting today, I hope you take them under your care.” He says, introducing us to one another as I shake hands with the woman, Rosa. She seemed nice at first glance, almost a bit like Mum back home.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Rosa! And thank you for tidying up the place! You really didn’t have to do this just for me! I could’ve done it!”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all dear! Love to keep busy me, you’ll probably see me around the place tidying up wherever I go anyway.” She laughed, tucking her feather duster back into her pocket in front of her apron.

‘Oh yeah, definitely like Mum.’ I thought to myself as we finished up.

“Speaking of which, I must be off over to the offices Delmona. You know how Layton loves to leave his office in such disarray. I think he does it just to see me and have a cup of tea together!” She laughs, waving to us both and heading through the doors we just came through, leaving me and the dean alone once again.

“Layton?” I ask, turning back towards the dean in hopes of some form of clarification as to who Rosa could’ve been talking about.

“Professor Hershel Layton, the university’s resident archaeology professor and minor celebrity of sorts to the students. He’s been known to go on excursions during the half terms and summer holidays. Always comes back to the school term with some story to tell in his lectures.” He remarks, guiding me towards the desk, where I will be spending most of my time.

“Oh, I see! That makes sense then. Must be quite the popular man then.”

“Yes he is, but I'm sure you’ll run into him at some point. He’s always coming in here for reference books on archaeological topics of one thing or another. Anyway, here's your desk. It’s normally quite quiet on a Monday as most deadlines seem to be set for the end of the week from my experience, so you should have plenty of time to get comfortable and have a look around before the students come in. I’d better be off now, as I have a meeting to attend with the school board in half an hour. I’m sure you’ll do fantastic with us, and I’ll check up with you at the end of the day to see how things went. Take care now (Y/N)!” The dean finishes, patting my arm reassuringly and heads towards the door.

“Thank you Dean Delmona! And thank you again for showing me around the campus, I really appreciate it!” I shout back, hoping to catch him before he’s out of earshot.

“My pleasure!” along with a wave is all the response back I get back as he slips through the doors. And I’m left alone in the vast expanse of the university library.

‘Alright! Let’s get settled in!’ I think to myself as a go over to the returns trolley, looking over what titles are in need of reshelving and wondering what type of student would have taken the books out in the first place. A pastime I enjoyed at the old village library as well to shake up the monotony of reshelving and lugging the heavy trolley in front of me.

The rest of the day turned out just to be as the dean said; quiet. Students only really started trickling in at around lunchtime, the same bleary look in their eyes of either late nights studying, or the aftermath of weekend-long revelry. I was thankful for this as that had given me a lot of time to acquaint myself with where each section was and what kind of selection we had on offer in case any of the students asked for any recommendations. Which I have to say, the university sported a whole array of wonderful books I could only dream of grabbing for my own personal collection. Rare copies of the Illiad and Odyssey, first editions of the Brother Grimm's fairytales, and every college textbook a student could possibly need, all waiting to be plucked from the shelves like glistening fruit from a market stall. There were even some signed autobiographies from famous authors and experts in their field, which I pondered as to how a university could’ve obtained. Was it something donated, or a gift to the university?

Either way, I had plenty of time to ponder this as the light from the wall-length windows on one side shined in the day’s light, turning the office from bright light to a golden age as the afternoon progressed. Only a couple of the more awake students had come up to the desk, either to return a book used over the weekend or ask if a certain book related to their coursework was available. The students seemed just as friendly as the staff thankfully, even inquiring about me, since they noticed I wasn’t the usual librarian on duty, who apparently was known as Ms Applewood, an kind enough woman who rumour had it retired up to Scotland to be nearer her son. How true the rumour is something I doubt I'd ever get the answer to, but it was nice to know that the student body I had encountered thought I was nice enough to even involve me in their gossip. So overall it was quite the lovely first day, only half an hour left on the clock, according to the small desk clock that the desk had come with. 

‘Just enough time to do the last of the returns and lock up for the night!’ I thought to myself, standing up from my desk and heading over to the pile of books to my right that I had piled up when the door on the other end of the room creaked open. A man wearing a top hat seemed to enter the room, a thick tome tucked under his arm as he walked towards the centre of the room, scanning around the library until he seemed to notice me at the desk.

“Hello there! My apologies for coming to the library so late into your shift. I had only just gotten out of the classroom just now, Some students had some questions to ask me after classes.” He spoke, making his way over in my direction as I picked up the four books from the returns.

“Oh, no trouble at all, the library is still open another half an hour anyway, Mr…?” I trailed off, unsure as to how to address the finely dressed man in front of me.

“Ah, do beg my pardon. How rude of me for not introducing myself to you. My name is Professor Hershel Layton. I’m the archaeological professor here at the university.” He introduced, tipping the top hat of his at me slightly, having to adjust his grip on the book in his possession to do so.

“(Y/N), the new librarian. Just started today. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” I replied, doing my best to nod back at him while balancing the books in my hands.

“That must be why I did not recognise you, you must be Ms Applewood’s replacement. A pleasure to meet you too.”

“No worries, now, what can I help you with today Professor?” I asked, trying my hardest not to appear nosey as I tried to read what book he had under his arm.

“Well, first I would like to return this book to the library, I was using it to help authenticate some of my student's answers in the essays I had assigned them over the weekend. And I was also wondering if you happened to know if you happened to have a copy of ‘The Azran History: What We Know’’ by Professor Desmond Sycamore and ‘Head Gymnastics’ by Akira Tago.” He asked, finally taking the book from under his arm. The title read ‘Archaeobotany in Egpyt’

“Not a problem Professor, in fact, I think I have that head Head gymnastics book in my pile for returns here. Let me see… Ah! Here we go!” Shuffling the books in my hands, I pulled it out in all it’s yellow glory from the bottom of the pile, quickly making a note on some scrap paper on what books were being taken and returned so I could enter them in properly to the system when I get back to my desk later.

“A girl returned this just today, so here you go! As for your book on Azran history, I believe I did see one on my rounds today in the Archaeological section. I’m more than happy to help look since I’m heading that way to sort these returns myself.”

“Are you quite sure, I wouldn’t want to bother you if you are busy right now.” He mused, a flash of concern flitting across his, concerned to be pulling me away from my duties perhaps?

“Not at all, professor. Like I said, these books are all heading towards the geography section anyway, so it’s on the way there anyway. Shall we?” I smile, leading the way towards the stack of shelves.

We walked in relative silence, the only nose being our shoes clacking against the hardwood flooring of the library. Not an awkward silence, which was weird since that normally did happen when meeting someone new, with neither party knowing what topic would interest the other. But a content silence, as if nothing really needed to be said at this moment.

‘Maybe he’s quite content with the silence himself’ I thought to myself, as I weaved between the stacks, before finally reaching our final destination.”

“Here we are, Professor! I’ll just quickly pop these into the geography section and be right with you!” I say, wandering just two shelves over to my own destination, shelving the books for the group study session that had left later that day.

“That’s quite alright, don’t rush on my account.” He chuckled, before staring up at the shelves, his mission already in his mind.

Having one of my last tasks of the day dealt with now, I hurried back over to the man and started looking for the book he needed as well while sneaking in some glances to assess the man next to me. Dressed rather professionally and shoes shined to a sheen. He looked the spitting image of what a professor looked like in my mind’s eye. And he acted like one as well. But there was something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on, some sort of charm about him. Maybe it was the way he spoke? You don’t hear a lot of people speaking the way he does; almost like he thinks about every word he’s about to say before he says anything. Or maybe it’s the glint in his eyes I noticed as he scans the bookshelves for his prize, a look of passion in his eye for the craft he must’ve honed throughout the years?

‘Well no wonder he’s popular around here.’ I mused to myself as I finally noticed the book the man next to me was looking for on the bottom shelf. Bending down to pick it up, I turn towards him, catching his attention from the corner of his eye.

“Here you go! This is what you were looking for right?” I ask, handing him the book in my hands while I quickly shelve the book about Egypt he had originally came in with.

“Yes! This is exactly what I needed. Thank you.”

“No worries. So the Azran? Are they to be a new topic to cover in your lectures then?” I asked as we made our way back to the desk to check his books out.

“Hm? Oh, no, the curriculum is quite set for this year and as much as I would love to discuss new archaeological discoveries in the modern era, I would hate for my students to be behind on their work.”

“Ah, I get it. I was just wondering since the papers recently have been talking about how fresh evidence of the Azran people are cropping around the world in the last five years. I think last week's paper talked about a potential temple in Froenborg?”

“Well, yes! You seem quite up to date with the goings-ons of the archaeological field. Do you have an interest in archaeology? Study archaeology while at university perhaps?” He asked, that glint returning back to his eyes.

“While I do have an interest in archaeology and new discoveries, it’s not because I studied it. I took anthropology as a minor during my university days instead, but both subjects seem to have an overlap from what I was taught at school. I think it’s called Osteoarchaeology in your field right? The study of bones?” I asked, wanting to make sure I wasn’t saying anything wrong as I walked around the side of the desk to check out the books he had taken.

“That’s exactly what it’s called. It’s nice to know there’s someone at the university  besides the students excited about these new discoveries and what this might mean to our understanding of the world as we know it.” He smiled, passing the books over for me to stamp.

“Well thank you! Good to know there’s someone here to discuss the findings with if the archaeologists find anything new to be reported on. Anyway, I must’ve taken up more of your time than I meant to. Here are those books Professor.” Passing the books back over, I set about taking the return ledger from the desk and start locking it away in the desk drawers for safekeeping.

“Not at all (Y/N), if anything it’s been lovely talking to you. In fact, if you get some spare time during the next few weeks, I’d love to discuss more about the tribes you studied while at university and your thoughts on the Azran people.” He asked, slowly turning in the direction of the door.

“Ho ho! Roping our newest recruit into your lectures and puzzles are we Professor?” The dean mused, making his way to us from his point at the door. How did I not hear him come in?

“Ah, well quite Dean Delmona. We were just discussing the recent discoveries of the Azran people.” He said, coughing into his balled-up fist. Ah yes, now this was the awkward silence I had come to know.

“Oh, I'm only jesting with you, my boy! It’s good everyone’s been friendly to our new librarian. Making them feel right at home! He laughed, patting the Professor on the arm.

“Anyway, I was just coming down here to check up on (Y/N) and how their first day went. Wouldn’t want to keep you both here any longer than you needed to.”

“I see, then I had better leave you to it. It was lovely speaking with you (Y/N). I’ll see you around.” The professor waved, before heading towards the doors and out the room.

“You too Professor! See you soon!” I shouted afterwards, hoping he heard me just like the situation with the dean this morning.

“I’ll take you to the front gates now. Like I said, probably don’t want to waste your evenings wiled away in here. But how was your first day here? Nothing to deter you from staying here I hope?” He asked as I locked up the library doors.

“All good actually. Your school has quite a lovely collection of books and all the staff and students are so nice! I hope it’s like this all the time here!” 

“Hah! The only time it’s not is when it’s exam and finals week! Then things can get a bit snappy!” He laughed, walking down the path towards the wrought iron gates we had only passed through this morning. It only seemed like an hour ago I arrived here. How time sure flies.

“Well anyway, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed yourself here and as I’ve said, I know how reliable you are so you’re more than welcome to work here as long as you’d like to. But you better head off home now and make sure you’re fresh for tomorrow morning! Library Opens up at 8 am sharp. Make sure you get home safe now. And again, welcome to Gressenheller University (Y/N)!”

'Welcome indeed!' I thought to yourself as you strolled on down to the bus stop, lost in your imaginings of what the next few days would bring.

[uncloseted]

Imho we need to stop research deep diving into the people behind our entertainment and holding them to impossible standards because you will literally end up not being able to consume any media again. Your favorite actors/musicians/influencers/writer/etc have all done something problematic at some point and aren't morally perfect people that consumers are slowly demanding them to be. Of course it's different if they've committed a crime but I'm not talking about those types of creators here

I agree, 100%. I think people online need to have an honest conversation with themselves about what their actual goals are and what the best way to achieve those goals would be. Do you want someone to change their views or actions? If that's the case, the best way to achieve that goal is to nicely call them in to a conversation about it. It's not to dig up a post from fifteen years ago, send the person death threats, and then refuse to change your mind about them when they tell you that that's no longer their position. Doing that will only push the person further in the direction of the "problematic" belief or action, because at least the people who support that belief/action aren't trying to dox their families and get them fired from their jobs.

But I think truthfully, a lot of people online don't want other people to grow and change. They want to feel morally superior by punishing "bad" people who have done "bad" things. And in doing so, a lot of those people then start doing the bad things they accuse others of doing and justify it by saying that they had to do those things so that the "bad people" would be held accountable. Righteousness is a dangerous cycle to get trapped in.

I also think it's really strange because people don't apply this same logic in any other area of their lives. Like, would I start boycotting a restaurant because some line cook posted a bad take on his Facebook or stop buying from a store because the owner is an absent parent to his children? No. As long as I get the product I paid for, I don't really care what the personal lives of the employees are like beyond hoping that they're, like, happy and healthy and being paid a fair wage. But the minute the product in question is a celebrity, people lose the plot so quickly. Why should any of us care if actors are uninvolved parents or in a weird relationship as long as they're good at acting, the thing we pay them to do?

And of course, there are some important parameters on that, which I feel like I need to say lest I too be mobbed for having a bad take. For example, the Me Too movement was hugely important because it was about removing people with a history of illegal behavior from having access to the influence that would allow them to continue to abuse people. That's huge. I am in no way saying that we should uncancel Harvey Weinstein or Kevin Spacey. Cancelling them removed them from the film industry, which meant that they were removed from the position of power that they held over others and used to abuse people who were subordinate to them. The film industry is safer without them there.

But... do I care that, for example, Barry Keoghan is "problematic" because he got divorced, moved to a different country from his son, and started dating someone new? Is that worth boycotting his movies over? Saltburn was a good movie. Please, Please, Please is a good song with a good music video. I got what I paid for, which is him being a good actor. Me refusing to watch him in things because he's "problematic" would do very little in the way of his son seeing him more. Even if he wasn't famous, he very well might have done the same thing. Would I care about this if he was a guy who served me a drink in Dublin or something? No. So why should I care because he's someone famous?

Similarly, and this is maybe my more controversial take here, I don't really care if celebrities have an opinion on global sociopolitical events or not. The majority of celebrities barely have a high school education. For the most part, they don't really have the educational or informational background to comment on complex and nuanced issues in any meaningful way. There are some exceptions to that (Tom Morello especially comes to mind- also Natalie Portman, Emma Watson, and Bridgit Mendler), but those are also the people who are using their platform exclusively for business and have opted out of trying to be "relatable" celebrities on social media. And if I'm being honest, I think that's fine. I don't really want, like, Ariana Grande's publicist to post on Instagram about Palestine telling me what they think I want to hear so that Ariana doesn't lose public support (not sure if this is actually a thing that happened- just an example I'm making up). If anything, I think celebrities should be platforming people who are actually experts on these topics and sharing donation links for reputable organizations.

But nobody wants that, because by and large, people don't care about understanding any one conflict in particular. They just want proof that their fave agrees with them on whatever issue is most popular on the internet at that moment, and they want to prove that they're on the right side of history. And that's fine, I guess. Like I was saying the other day, I think people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is better than people doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. The way things work now, at least people in Palestine are getting the aid that they need. But I think it also creates an environment in which the voices of experts (including the people who are actually living through the conflict) are getting drowned out, and it creates an environment where misinformation can spread rapidly.

All this is just to say that I think we need to be more aware of our motivations and make sure we have all of the information we need before we act. I think it's really easy to get caught up in internet hate trains, especially if you already didn't like the person and have been looking for a reason to justify your dislike for them. And the internet makes it really easy to jump onto those hate trains and feel totally justified in doing so. But as boring as it is, I think we have to take a step back and ask ourselves, "do I have a legitimate reason to dislike this person or are they just not for me? If I think I have a legitimate reason to dislike them, do I have all of the facts, or am I going off the word of someone who already dislikes them? If I have a legitimate reason to dislike them, will my actions encourage them to think differently about the issue, or do I just want to see them be punished? What would this person have to do for me to change my mind on them/forgive them? If there's nothing that would change my mind or make me forgive them, is it better to just block them so I don't waste mental energy on them?" I think it's better for ourselves and for the world at large if we choose to engage thoughtfully online instead of engaging impulsively.

[freeworldallahmbaclass]

My last post on me just talking you have a great life

What happened to Allen Henry , he got saved Jesus took my life from the nonsense , I'm the first of my kind to come back from what I went through and get an even better life than any one of my personal tragedies that happened to me and I give that up for the New Mother Teresa of our time Joyce Meyer my mom and I love her even though I perform music and is about business and own my own incubator in Brooklyn New York City and have a long list of accomplishments I thank you for teaching me the job to be a good christian the greatest privilege ever thank you so much mom my mom now your mom , I just wanted to say thank you to my senior and lead pastor in front of the whole world for my exorcism thank you Joyce Meyer and thank you for my books my personal books you wrote for me my sister would be jealous of me if she is still alive , thank you .

Nuri Muhammad of the Nation of Islam told be careful of who I call my friends and called people that is obviously my enemies a pack of dogs and swine and to protect myself from from them they are evil and devils to me no disrespect to them but I'm good no thanks . Governor Andrew Cuomo called them the same thing and gave me my own incubator my own hospital and said that they my enemies are dogs and swine and we will never be friends and don't ever let them around you they work with police no disrespect to no group or gang ever . The media show so many fake cases daily Donald Trump and his hush case is a lie they fake and racist and have been lying since Timothy McVeigh in 1995 about me talking about he killed 168 people and telling the people that made them see me as a threat I said no 24 × 7 = 168 hours so 24 × 7 they bombarded with pies in my head and they continue to do it they the people plugged in try to get me murdered in the city I'm feeding and helping , no thank you .

I got my own train stations in New York City in 2 Boroughs ( cities ) Respect Avenue in Brooklyn New York and Manhattan New York City I'm the first person to do that in New York City history own my own train stations now I'm in every poster in there and my own apartment buildings in my name in Brooklyn New York City and named the 16th captain of New York City now that is Blue New York Yankee cap history and I won 2022 Time magazine man of the year from jail no lie , thank you so much it has been an honor helping the city of New York and all over the world . I legalized Weed all over the world soon now me not Snoop Dogg famous Compton rapper with Dr Dre and found the cure for HIV Aids and hope to be curing babies in Africa born with HIV Aids so they grow up healthy and strong .

Please stop controlling me

On a serious note 50 Cent was speaking in finding the cure for HIV Aids Africa . He said that everyday millions upon millions of Africans die each day each single day even right now as we speak their is an African infant a baby dying of HIV Aids lying on the ground a mother dying of Aids a young adult male dying of aids with the baby ribs sinking in from starvation poisoning from uncleansed water to clean their selves and clothing and their food is full of worms and other insects , I propose we find a cure to this madness to end this generational struggle against both HIV Aids and starvation in Africa in the regions in Africa if you know the specific countries infected with Aids call them out I have a map there of Africa so that we can pinpoint exactly what countries in Africa that 50 Cent is talking about so that we as other humans can help them and be a savior to them and their people not just me I'm speaking we all can be that savior each human pull his part and help cure that dire situation in Africa the regions and countries in Africa that is specifically infected with the disease of starvation and HIV Aids ( I propose the let's cure HIV Aids in Africa and law proposal health and human reform act ) Cabenuva a new drug is the cure for HIV Aids while watching television the commercial says that Cabenuva will help a person infected with HIV Aids become undetected for HIV Aids after months of them taking the drug and medicine the cure Cabenuva comes in one form to heal a person but in this plan I propose that they send the original cure and format of administering the drug through Africa through the World foode program and united nations make it like JFK and his peace corps his troops of peace corps send U . S . Troops from our military in the united states with medical training or med students from their graduate schools for their internship abroad to Africa to help heal young babies dying of Aids in Africa make it like an offer hey who want to go to Africa and work for 1 year 2 years curing hunger and Aids in Africa and I know millions of saviors and people will sign up to go to Africa for that cause people of races and ethinicity is welcome to go it is going to be like the peace corps under John F Kennedy administration you should research him and his time in office as the United States of America President I love him a very great president I miss him one of my all time favorite Presidents honest truth a good human all the way through and through a good man but here is the program I put together in conjunction with how Cabenuva already administers the drug to help cure the infection of HIV Aids .

Prescription pill form Cabenuva drug to Africa to cure aids in Africa In regular form and kids vitamin size pills for children born with HIV Aids , and also regular size pills for all adults and parents of kids in Africa to eliminate the virus and passing on of the virus on to their children . Also eliminating the virus in children born with HIV Aids through kids vitamin size pills with the warning label on the pill holder : If you don't take all the doses of your medicine you might get sick again with a funny cartoon character on the bottle to make laugh smile and happy that a cure has arrived to help them . 🌞☀⭐😎👩‍🔬👩‍🎓👩‍🏫👷🙋🙏 the alternative will do just fine go Cabenuva for Africa and the lets cure Aids in Africa law proposal and health human reformation act )

Check the news on CNN

The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death sentence in Africa .

Read the story I just read it again I hope this helps I sponsor it and 50 Cent sponsor it and any country effected by HIV Aids and hunger and starvation send help in our name .

The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death sentence in Africa. Now the epidemic is at a crossroads

By CNN|3.11.2023 6:59 AM

The US is me and 50 Cent the rapper from his hit show power and Black Mafia Family black men that care from the streets . We did it congratulations on the cure for Aids in Africa .The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death Sentence in Africa Check the news on CNN on ending HIV Aids in Africa with the cure and new medicine Cabenuva HIV medicine that cures HIV Aids like the common cold and any other kind of communicable diseases We did it congratulations on the cure for Aids in Africa .The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death Sentence in Africa .Cabenuva the new HIV Medicine is the cure for HIV Aids it knocks out HIV Aids like the common cold please send it to Africa to help heal the people .

True story 50 Cent was hinting at wanting to help cure the hunger and HIV Epidemic in Africa in his last book I read it and said yeah I will go for it come to find out that I own a Incubator see the defintion of Incubator amazing I own my own 🏥 Hospital in Brooklyn New York City given to me by Governor Andrew Cuomo 8 years ago from 2023 when I was released from doing 9 months on Rikers Island and then I got out jail name this page after him luckily the drug was just found the cure for HIV Aids and they sent it to me the commercial was talking to me as far the woman traveling telling me to relocate so that I can conduct my businesses better and get more of my proposals through a better life for me I took it and sponsored it , Cabenuva it is say and it is true Cabenuva when taken regularly can get you the undetected response for HIV but you have to be taking the medicine regularly I mean look at 50 Cent you can be muscular like him if you take your medicine follow his formula his other books and get the success you want in life it is never too late .

[theharrowing]

Hello again, Mommy. I'm the anon who assumed you are picky and I want to apologize if my wording caused offense! I didn't realize that neurodivergent people could have food texture and taste sensitivities like that, and I did not mean to be insensitive! You saying this has actually made so many moments click where friends would mention similar issues with food but I did not know what they meant, so thank you for the education.

Working on something like a texture sensitivity has to be really tough, and I think that's really cool. Can I ask like...what that means? What happens when you eat something you don't like? I hope I'm not crossing any lines! Please feel free to not answer if you are uncomfortable. I can definitely google, but it feels valuable to ask a real person, you know?

And wow, you were a chef!? That's awesome. What food did you make? What made you want to cook? What made you want to stop? What's your favorite food to make at home????? I am so interested in all of this.

hello, my darling anon!!! 💜

first of all: no offense taken!!!!!! i promise!!! i only get offended if someone knows about the sensitivities but brushes it off as me simply being picky. but being called picky in a playful context is ok, and it is not entirely wrong hehe. i'm glad that you brought it up at all, because i was able to open your eyes to something new, and since you seem to have friends who share this experience, now you know a little more about them! 😍🥰 we love to see it.

i'm going to answer your questions in reverse order, and tuck the sensitivity talk under a cut.

i have made so many types of food! i started in a pizzeria, moved to breakfast/brunch, then to bougie small plates and charcuterie boards at the hollywood bowl (a music venue), to bougie sandwiches and deli salads but with a mediterranian and middle eastern twist (my chef at that last spot was Lebanese and Greek, and her food was incredible!!!) oh, and i briefly worked at a pub that did english food. and worked in the bakery of a mom and pop italian spot.

what got me into it was.....well, i was a server first, and i was bored working day shifts, and one day the manager asked if i wanted to learn to prep bell peppers and that was that. i already had decent knife skills from cooking as a hobby and they very quickly promoted me. i was actually a kitchen manager before i was a line cook, so it was a bit overwhelming learning the entire menu all at once, but i took to it really fast and found that i loved it! what made me stop was a mix between my body being exhausted after 10 years, and the pandemic. i have arthritis, and after a while all the bending and lifting and standing was starting to wear on my knees, and it was just a lot. knee pain = back pain = neck pain, etc. etc. etc. ... so, pandemic happened and i decided to return to school.

i have a lot of favorite foods to make at home, to be honest! but my cheesy mashed potatoes with garlic, chives, rosemary, and a lot of butter is a fan favorite. my partner is mexican, so i have been learning a lot of mexican foods (his nana even gave me her tamale recipe last year 🥺) we also like to try japanese and korean dishes, and anything that strikes our fancy!!! much like language learning, you can really get to know a lot about a culture through food, and i cherish learning new recipes and also learning about the history of food in other cultures and countries. 😍🥰💕 that's a huge part of my cooking passion, to be honest!

as for the texture stuff...

simply put, textures i flat out can't stand will make me gag. but it can also set off a reaction where everything makes me gag and feel nauseated, and i have to take a break from eating. i also get something i have seen people describe as "texture exhaustion" or "food exhaustion" where something i was enjoying becomes something i no longer enjoy, and it may set off the gag reaction. cold eggs was the example i used, but sushi is a culprit if there's too much soft/squishy textures. sadly, avocado is a huge culprit, but i am getting better!!! i want to like avocado in its natural form and not just as guacamole lmaoooo.

i hope this helps!!!! thank you for asking so many questions. it's sweet that you are so interested. 🥰🥰🥰💜

[46yearsonwheels]

Oct. 15, 2024, 47° to 70°☀️

Garden City, KS to Perryton, TX

This was our third 100+ mile day of this ride as we biked through 3 states‼️ We left Kansas in the morning, got to Oklahoma early afternoon then arrived at the Texas border just after 5 PM 😵 With a strong tailwind, we thought we had a chance to make it to Texas, though it took us until 5:45 to get here to Perryton, TX.

Highway 83 in this section of Kansas was the Santa Fe Trail back in the 1800s, so an important part of American history. Most of the harvest in Kansas appears to be completed, but we did see two new crops, cotton and sorghum. Cotton surprised us as we did not know that was grown in Kansas. After talking to my mom on the phone today, she reminded me that both my grandmother and great grandmother picked cotton in Kansas in their youth. At that point in time, all of this was done by hand and they had to pull heavy bags stuffed full of cotton behind them down each row. It was tough because the cotton is surrounded by sharp thorny leaves, so thankfully the commercial machines these days are much more efficient. My dad worked for John Deere for 28 years and I recall him talking about trying out the different cotton picking machines that were made. He also used to visit with farmers that were using the machines to ensure that they were working properly. 

There were times today when the wind was so strong it was blowing the cotton across the road and tumbleweeds as well.

Before leaving Kansas, we came up on this facility with the big white globe on top and were not sure exactly what it was. So if one of you out there knows what it is, please fill us in! ✅There were a couple trucks there, but the gates were locked, and there was no identification as to what it was.

We got to Liberal, Kansas this afternoon, a city known for its Wizard of Oz museum. We did not have time to tour the museum, but did take some pictures with the Tin Man and Dorothy‘s house plus Toto’s dog park. We purchased a children’s book of the story of the Wizard of Oz to share with our grandchildren when we get back💖. In addition, Pat‘s sister Becky is a huge Wizard of Oz fan and we knew we could not pass up at least stopping for a few pictures as you can see. ☺️‼️

Next up was Oklahoma as we peddled through the panhandle part of the state. Oklahoma seems to embrace wind energy here as we saw 100’s of wind turbine after win turbines. It was only a 35 mile stretch through Oklahoma before we entered Texas. On our first cross country bike ride nine years ago, we traversed Texas from east to west and of course, this time from north to south. It is one huge state and we will be here for the next week and a half. In fact, 40% of our ride is in this state .

Tonight we will experience our first frost of the fall as a freeze warning is in place for Perrington.

It was a great day and we both loved zooming along the smooth shoulders, even getting as high as 30 miles an hour going downhill, but 20 miles + mph on the straightaway. We’re grateful that we didn’t have any bicycle mechanical issues. We are also SO grateful for the multiple donations that several of you made to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network site. We have topped $5,000 at this point 😃and, once again, we are incredibly grateful for your generosity. 🙏🏻🥰