#but last time we went out in the middle of summer it was in 40+ degree temps and i nearly got heatstroke

[skiddlecat]

okay i . cannot reblog that bushfire season post because it is Genuinely stressing me out to think about <3333

[d1onysusw1n3]

Dirty Grimes - rick grimes x reader

Tw: slight age gap (reader is 22 and rick is in his 40s) Cheating, P in V, slight bondage, rick is kind of rough. And a slight size kink. Plus squirting and creampie.

This is an AU where the apocalypse has never happened! Carl is a collage student who was a childhood friend. Lots of plot but I will give a warning on where the smut starts so if u want to skip the plot and head straight to the spice, do as u please!

“C’mon baby it’s not that bad, stop worrying about shit.” Carl huffs shaking his head in a annoyed way.

Look I love him to death Don’t get me wrong, but I dread coming over to his parents house over the holidays. My father ran out on my family when I was little, my mom was diabetic and she always had hospital bills up to her neck. So I was a bit of a problem child, until high school came and I worked my ass off for a full ride scholarship to Stanford. I’ve known Carl since middle school he always had a crush on me but I’d shoot him down and tell him when we get older we’d get married. Well I guess that wish came true.

I look down at the huge diamond on my finger. Me, Y/N summers, becoming a grimes? Who would’ve thought it. When I said yes it felt like the world stopped, but as time went on Carl got distant, stressed. He seemed easily annoyed by me. Plus that fact that I can’t help but to be scared of his father. Sherif grimes. He caught me vandalizing a classroom with spray paint once in middle school. He scared me shitless, but Carl stood up for me and helped my mom bail me out. Safe to say whenever I come over Rick always seems so, intense. The way he carries himself as if I’m a rabbit and he’s waiting to pounce on his prey. It scares me shitless, to be frank! And his marriage hasn’t been doing to good, last time I came over Lori and him wouldn’t talk or extange glances, no his eyes were too busy studying me, picking me apart as if he’s trying to read me like a book.

“Just calm down, you’re overreacting like usual.” Carl says as he brings the car to a stop, placing it in park. I scoff shaking my head at his antics.

“Overreacting? That’s what you want to tell your fucking fiancé before she tells her future in laws that she’s getting married to their son?” I scoff.

“I’m done arguing with you.” he sighs running a hand through his long hair. “It’s only arguing because you can’t have a normal conversation without acting like you hate me!” I scream frustration enveloping my body. “I should’ve never asked you to marry me then, my sincerest apologies.” He coldly says while walking out the car to the front door without me. I sit back contemplating what he just said. It broke my heart. I catch up to him wiping the tears that escaped my face, my eyes puffy and nose red, but I guess I can chalk it off as the allergies during spring break. He knocks and to my surprise Lori opens the door, yet I could see the clunky mascara and the bloodshot puffy eyes. She had been crying.

“Hiii! Oh my baby’s back” she smiles widely a genuine smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes like usual, and that glow that had once been her flame, has been burnt out into ash. It’s apparent on her hunched shoulders and the way she frowns when nobody looks.

“And look at you Y/N! All grown up and in collage.” She smiles and hugs me tightly. I always loved Lori, she was sweet to me, because she knew I grew up less fortunate than others.

“Hi lor how you doing?” I smile as I embrace her into a tight hug. I could feel her hiccup and take deep breaths.

“I’m living, at least I can be grateful for that.” She smiles tightly as she sees rick walk down the stairs to us.

“Hey, you wanna talk later?” I ask nudging her. She just nods and puts her fake smile back on as rick walks right past her and to Carl.

“Hey! My boys back.” He hugs Carl tightly while leaning back gripping his shoulders. “Man your old now! what’re you like fifty?” Rick teases as Carl rolls his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. “Tha’d make you what? About seventy?” Carl quipped back and rick holds his hand to his heart. “Touché.” Rick smirks as he looks over to me. Instead of his usual crossed arms and tough guy demeanor, he was cuddly today because he wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me in for a generous hug. “How’s my daughter in law huh!” He jokes.

“Doing just fine.” I smile lightly at him. Though in the inside my heart was crushed into a million pieces.

“Well common in dinners ready just in time!” Lori beams walking away, she turns around first motioning to the kicthen. “You wanna help me prepare food Y/N?” She says. I just nod giving Carl a look, he doesn’t even turn to me and ignored my presence, though rick noticed because he turned to me.

“Everything okay?” He asks.

“Peachy.” I reply glaring at Carl while turning and storming off to the kitchen.

As soon as i step in I see Lori breaking down sobbing while holding her mouth to quiet her crying.

“Hey what’s wrong?” I walk up rubbing her shoulder.

“I have been having an affair with ricks partner Shane and he found out about it.” She comes clean.

“And I’m-“ she purses her lips.

“I’m pregnant with his child.” She says sobbing as her shoulders shook.

“It wasn’t supposed to get this bad! I mean rick and I were on a break and it was one time that turned into more times then rick and I got back together and I told him no, but we still went at it anyways a-and I took a pregnancy test and Rick found it.” She spits out fast in her shaky voice.

“I’m so stupid.” She sighs.

“I agree with you on that. There’s so many different ways you could’ve handled this Lori, if you weren’t happy with Rick why didn’t you just tell him?” I frowned at her.

“What about Carl.” She gasps.

“You’re just gonna have to explain things to him, he’ll understand in time.” I say hugging her. We break off setting up the food in the table while calling the boys in to eat. The rest of the night went pretty smooth, everyone laughed a had a good time, well then there was rick, whenever I’d send a nasty look to Carl he’d tune in looking at me with those intense eyes.

“Alright I have something to announce!” I smile as fake as I could. “Carl asked to marry me.” I hold up my hand showing my ring. Out of the side of my vision I could see rick clench his jaw. But Lori gasped while clapping in excitement.

“Oh my baby’s all grown up!” She starts tearing up.

“I’m so happy for you son.” Ricks rasps. Though he looked furious. Cark just tightly smiles wrapping an arm around my waist.

As night fell me and Carl crashed in his childhood room. His walls were filled with comics and superhero’s. I change into my sleep clothes which were some panties and one of carls shirts, I didn’t bother putting on pants, it was way to hot in the summer time. Carl was dead asleep snoring an all, I had a hot flash and was sweating balls. I sigh getting up to walk downstairs and drink a cold glass of water. as I reach the cabinet in the kicthen I stand on my tippy toes trying to reach the last glass on the tallest shelf. I felt a warm calloused hand grip my waist pushing himself against my rear. I could tell it was rick, by his bulky hands and his white tee that was scented of pine and whisky. A man’s scent. Usually it would ick me out, overly manly men, but something about rick made my thighs clench and my tummy flip. I shake my head trying to ban these criminal thoughts of my fiancés father. I call his wife mom so gods sake, pull it together Y/N.

“I saw you strugllin, thought you might need some help.” His raspy voice sounded as sexy as usual, with his thick southern accent.

“Thank you Rick.”

“No problem, sweetheart.” He smirks down at me. He had me slightly caged to the counter, with my ass pressed right against his crotch. I could feel his cold belt buckle pressed tightly to my tramp stamp I got when I was 17. Apparently my shirt rode up my waist when I was struggling to reach for a cup, cause I could feel the cold ac on my bare back. I slightly moved away pulling down my shirt while walking to the fridge grabbing ice and water. I sit down on the island in the kitchen as rick pours himself a glass of whisky while leaning on the counter across from me.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He gruffly says handing me the shot of whisky he poured. I gingerly take it from his hand as my fingers brush his, it sent goosebumps down my spine.

“It was too hot upstairs, I needed some air.” I say with a tight lipped grin. I shot back the whisky quickly sliding the glass back to him, he fills up the whisky glass again but this time he take it down with no struggle, licking the corner of his mouth as some dripped down his chin. I could feel myself clench around nothing. That had to be the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

“Lori told you bout Shane, huh?” He chuckles shaking his head. I could see the tears brim his eyes. I couldn’t help but to feel bad for the man. His wife is pregnant by the man he called his brother.

“Yeah.” My throat suddenly felt dry.

“I’m sorry Rick.” I say chewing the bottom of my lip.

“Don’t be sweetheart, iss alright.” He huffs.

“We were arguing before that as it is anyway, it was bound to happen.” He shakes his head. While he looks down he nods over to your ring.

“So engaged huh? Carl better be treatin you well.” He swallows thickly as his intense blue eyes scan over my body. I felt like a peace of meat.

“He treats me just fine.” I clear my throat.

“Does he though?” Rick quips back. My jaw slacks in shock, not knowing what to say.

“I say you arguing in the car from the window. Seemed like whatever he said hurt?” He presses on.

“He said he wished he never asked to marry me.” I swallow thickly and slightly chuckle as tears run down my cheeks.

“Maybe I’m sensitive, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt like hell.” My wobbly lips smile at him. I look down as tears run down my cheeks. Rick slowly stalks towards me, running his calloused thumb across my cheek collecting my tears.

“What a shame. If you were mine, I would treat you better sweetheart.” He whispers.

At first I couldn’t believe his words. If I were his?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SMUT STARTS NEOOOW >-<!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“What do you mean rick?” I whisper back. I could feel the tension between us, so thick it was hard to breathe.

“What I said sweetheart. I could treat you better.” He slowly trails his hands up my thighs in a soothing back and fourth motion.

“Tell me to stop and I will.” He whispers trailing his hands up my shirt gripping my breasts firmly as his thumb nudges the bud of my breasts massaging them slowly.

I gasp leaning into his touch while rubbing my thighs together for friction. It’s been awhile since Carl had touched me. I was horny and deprived.

“Y/N tell me to stop, and that this is wrong.” He groans out as he feels my legs wrap around his hips bringing his crotch right down into mine. I moan slightly tilting my head back.

“Can’t, feel s’to good.” My words slurr as I could feel pleasure running up and down my spine in waves. Rick bends down trailing hot sloppy kisses down my neck into my collar bones, sucking at the sensitive spot making me grind down onto him. He growls gripping my hips pulling me back down onto him. I could feel him grinding himself down into me. His chest heaves in needy breaths. I couldn’t help but to whine, it felt so wrong dry humping my fiancés father in his childhood kitchen, but it felt so good at the same time.

“Need you rick.” I moan out.

“Please.” I frown at him showing off my best puppy eyes. I could feel his dick pulse against me.

“Don look at me like that, sweetheart.” He warns. I quickly slide off of the counter dropping to my knees. I trail my hands up ricks black jeans to his thighs and then to his belt. He doesn’t stop me, he just leans against the counter as i tug his jeans and underwear down to his ankles. His dick springs up close to my face. I could see the intricate veins and precum leaking off his pink puffy tip. I slowly get closer placing a peck on the top of his cock. He grunts as his abs contract in pleasure. I slowly take his tip in my mouth hollowing out while flipping my tongue on the base of his cock flattening it out. He groans deeply sucking in a sharp breath. I swallow more of him down my throat with ease. He moans leaning foreword on the counter I was leaned up against, I could feel his hips thrusting in my mouth. I set my hands to the side as he starts thrusting rougher. His small moans and gasps escaping his throat as I could feel him close to his edge. He quickly pulls out lifting my little body up with ease slamming me on top of the counter.

“Such a good girl huh?” He huffs. “If Carl won’t take care of my baby than I will.” He rips my panties off shoving them in his pocket. Getting down on his knees he kisses my cunt and flattening his tongue on my entrance slowly bringing it up to my clit. He begins to ravage my cunt in fast and needy licks and nibbles. It was so hard for me to be quiet as this was probably the hottest sex I’ve ever had. I felt my legs shake on his shoulders and my arms start to wiggle and give out. Rick stands up wiping off his lips that once were sucking needy at my cunt.

“Lay down baby, don’t worry, I’ll take care of you” his raspy voice soothes my nerves as he lines his tip up to my cunt. He pushes in and I almost came from the sheer thickness of his cock. The way it fills me up and stretches my cunt had me salivating. I couldn’t feel a condom though. And my heart skipped a beat.

“Rick what’re doing-“

“Shhh,” he shushes me and it drowns out all my worries. “Gotta fill my princess up? Yeah.” He starts thrusting slowly but roughly into my wet cunt. I clench down on his cock from his filthy words. “Gonna pump you full of cum” he huffs thrusting faster. My tits bounce roughly due to his thrusts. I arch my back covering my mouth to contain the erotic moans flying out. Rick rips my arms off my mouth holding them down on my stomach. “Don’t hold ur moans in.” He huffs. “Let them hear how good I make you feel.” He growls somehow speeding up fucking me into oblivion as I could feel his dick curve up and hit my G spot with every thrust. I couldn’t hold in my moans anymore and I’m pretty sure the next door neighbors heard me. “That’s my good girl, let them know your my slut.” He whimpers as my cunt clench’s tight around his cock. “You like that huh?” His raspy voice chuckles. “Knowing you’re my slut, how I’m filling you up better than he does mmmh.” My lips quiver and I feel my legs shaking. “R-rick I’m about to cum.” I complain trying to push him off. He doesn’t slow down a bit as he brings up an arm rubbing my clit furiously as he snaps his hips down onto mine. “Cmon baby it’s okay, cum for me.” I felt the buildup finally crash down in hot electric waves. My eyes roll to the back of my head as rick relentlessly pounds my cunt not faltering a second as my orgasm hits. I felt liquid spray all over him, he moans as if that was his breaking point snapping his hips one time deep into my cunt spraying my walls white with his thick cum.

“Fuck, you take my cock so good.” He growls pushing deeper into me, filling up my cunt full. He stands there inside of me as we breathe heavily. I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that I just raw dogged my fiancés father in his kitchen. Rick pulls out staring at the cum dripping down my cunt.

“Rick,thank god I’m on the pill, or else we’d be fucked” I sigh trying to slide off the counter. He pushes me back grabbing napkins while cleaning up his mess.

“Lemmie,” he says while tenderly taking care of me. He picks me up carrying my shaky legs to carls room.

“I’m sorry it got carried away, sweetheart.” He mumbled kissing my forehead. He slowly backs up staring into my eyes intensely while walking away.

After that day I didn’t mind going over to carls over the holidays, in fact, I couldn’t wait till thanksgiving hit, even Christmas.

[david-goldrock]

Our blessing for the new year: to continue to see the quarter full glass.

The Israeli national broadcast presents

Admit, for a moment it looked like the end of the movie. Returning to the diaspora, closing the store, here history comes back. But somehow were still here. Searching for some glass half full, but after this last year, we'll do with a quarter too.

The south is bruised, the north is burnt, they broke our heart, and out body as well. But we're still here.

One of the most Israeli sentences is "this too shall pass". But it's not always true, because the pain of grief, of trauma, of a mother whose sun was kidnapped, of a kid whose father was kidnapped, is a pain that doesn't pass.

It becomes part of the DNA. Here, fact- who remembers who have we been before this?

It's like imagining the Jewish people without the holocaust, without Evil Haman, without walking in the desert for 40 years, and on the difficult road as well.

Without the sound of the sirens, without running to the apartment shelter with 30 seconds on the stopper, without the 7th of October.

This pain is what sculpted us, and it is fucked up how death is so good at bringing us together.

And when in the Knesset there were shoutings and arguments, here in our nation there were millions of donations, thousands of volunteers, families that opened the door to families who lost their homes, strangers who looked eachother in the eyes.

And even when the tears chocked the throat people left everything and went to BBQ for the soldiers in the south. WhatsApp groups, War rooms for food, right, we experienced a slaughter, but no way we'll go to it like sheep.

And this is the story of our lives. Because for us there's nothing like only a celebration and yalla cheers. Even in the weddings we remind of Jerusalem's destruction.

It's always both memorial day and independence day. Heros are born only when someone is nearing death. Returning 4 hostages and lose one hero. This is reality. So what, isn't it sad? And simultaneously, isn't it happy?

I don't know. We were born in one crazy place. In one bright morning life comes and places a fact in front of you- October 7th, deal with it. And what do you do?

Survive. And we're the world champions in that. In falling down and standing up. Here in the land the pain is inseparable from existence

What can you do? Europe isn't us. We are of a different kind. Kind, hpt-tempered, ruse and far more brave.

So how will they understand us there in Switzerland? It isn't the same world, it isn't the same vibe. There, there are no wars, and here, both in the winter and in the summer

And it is fucked up, right, but how will you explain to them that this fucked up, for me, it's a home. And last year it was almost destroyed , yet somehow we're still here, pointing an M16 and a middle finger to the hamas.

From Kiryat Gat to Ofakim, to the Golan heights to the Galilee, to Tiberius.

If we learned something from the 7th of October is that in the land there's no such thing as a periphery. Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nahal ?oz, Kiryat Shmona

We all are a single body, and there's yet to have risen the mother fucker that will change that. "We're still here". That's what we need to shout, to put on a billboard, to choose a strong color, to increase the font size.

Biden told them "Don't", and it's nice but a bit American. We are coming and saying Fuck You, we are still here.

And we'll say it 200 times more until every Israeli will be able to live in quiet, until every hostage returns home already

So our cup isn't empty, and will never be. Cause there are too many heros who in their death, they really ordered us life. Ordered us to continue the journey, to get married, to bring kids, to continue to dance in nature. And not to forget that we have a cup three-quarters empty, but to continue to see the quarter too

[astra-ella]

𝐙𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

fandom: haikyuu ship: nishinoya yuu x oc/reader status: complete ao3 link

"I think you're really pretty. Will you go out with me?" That was the first thing he's ever said to her. And needless to say, Amari Chiyo was not impressed. So as promised, Nishinoya Yuu will get to know her better and confess again. And again. And again. And again. It'll take 6 years and 9 confessions, but he'll get there. Eventually.

⌦ content: fluff, light angst, love at first sight, friends to lover, slice of life

⌦ note: you are free to insert yourself into Chiyo, just keep in mind she has her own character/backstory. i know some people don't like that, so just a heads-up.

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The fourth time he confessed was about three months later — on a hot summer day during their break.

After the incident with Hotaru, Nishinoya became a regular visitor at the Amari residence. However, it wasn’t exactly Chiyo's choice. Every morning when she dropped Hotaru and Kaito off at school, they’d pester her about bringing “that super cool big bro” over to come to play. And as someone with a soft spot for her younger siblings, she couldn’t help but oblige.

Nishinoya was always more than happy to come over. Sometimes he’d be too busy with practice. But there were times when he’d drop at eight o’clock in the evening to join the Amari siblings for dinner. If it was Chiyo’s home cooking, he wouldn’t miss it for the world. 

There were a few things Chiyo learned about Nishinoya since he started going over to their place. Firstly, he lived alone with his grandpa, who ran a local bike shop. Apparently, he has three older sisters, but they were all much older than him and going about their business elsewhere in Japan. Secondly, they liked the same manga and regularly bought the newest edition of Shonen Jump magazines. Thirdly, he loved over-the-top action movies. He gets so excited that he often starts yelling in the middle of it. Fourthly, he took his role as a libero very seriously. Chiyo realized that fact after poking her head into a few of his volleyball matches lately.

Last but not least, he was a terrible student. 

As a class rep, Chiyo already vaguely knew about that fact. It was hard to miss all the 40s and 50s marked in red in the top corner of his tests every time she was tasked with handing them back. But she didn’t realize exactly how bad it was until she started helping him with his schoolwork during his occasional visits.

On top of all that, he was an awful procrastinator.

Which was why they were sitting in the local library, on a hot summer afternoon, doing their summer homework.

Chiyo knew if they stayed at her place, Hotaru and Kaito would pester them to the point of distraction. And if they went to his place, Nishinoya would get carried away talking about the latest manga. So the only alternative was to work in the public library, free from interruptions.

Or so Chiyo thought, because judging by the big grin on his face, even she was considered a distraction to him.

“Nishinoya, I need you to focus,” she said.

“I am.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just staring at me.”

“I’m thinking.”

Chiyo’s eyes flickered up and she raised an eyebrow.

“If you keep doing this, I’m just gonna move to a different table.”

“Wait, no!” That seemed to pull him out of his trance. He sat up straighter, jotting down a few more answers before groaning. “It’s just, this is so boring,” he slammed his forehead on the table. “Summer’s almost over and it’s a nice day out. We should go out and swim or something.”

“Then you’ll never gonna get this done on time,” Chiyo tapped the edge of his English workbook. “Besides, you had training camp all summer. Haven’t you had your fun?”

“Training camp isn’t for playing, Amari,” Nishinoya gave her a serious look and Chiyo cocked her head to the side. 

“But don’t you get to have sleepovers with your teammates and stuff?”

“You do, but you spend most of the time training, hence the name,” Nishinoya leaned back in his chair and spun his pencil. “By bedtime, most of us are way too tired to stay up and chat like we do on school trips. So it’s not as exciting as you think it is.”

“I see.” She hadn’t realized. From what she’s heard from her friends in the softball club, training camps were more like school-organized sleepovers where they spent goofing off rather than training. She didn’t realize the volleyball club actually took things seriously.

From what she’s heard, they were supposed to be a powerhouse school.

After finishing the last question on her page, Chiyo glanced up at Nishinoya who seemed to be actually working. She hummed. 

He must’ve heard her or felt her eyes on him because he soon looked up. 

“What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she readjusted her reading glasses – a result of developing farsightedness earlier that year. “Let’s take a look at what you’ve got so far.”

“Sure!” His reply was assured as he slid his workbook across the table. 

Chiyo caught it with a wry smile and began skimming through his answers.

Her smile quickly faded.

“Nishinoya.”

He perked up. “Yes?”

“Here,” she slammed the workbook onto the table and pointed to one of the questions. “‘Please translate the words below into Japanese.’ ‘Shine’ isn’t ‘go die!’ That’s just Japanese!”

“Dang, so that was a trick question!” He clenched his teeth in frustration. 

“No, it’s not!” She then pointed to the next section. “Here! Multiple choice! Circling all the answers and writing ‘one of these’ does not work!”

“But I’m not wrong! It is one of them!” 

“And circling all of them is not answering!” Chiyo narrowed her eyes. She then flipped the page over. “‘Yuuto needs help identifying all the animals in this zoo,’ and you wrote ‘They’re all just animals, Yuuto!’ in Japanese. Seriously?!”

“What am I supposed to do? Actually know the English for those animals?” 

“Yes!” Chiyo slammed his workbook shut before letting out a long sigh in frustration. “Seriously, what have you been doing during English class?”

“Staring at Nakano-sensei,” Nishinoya gave her a huge thumbs up. “She’s super hot, isn’t she?”

“Uh-huh,” she returned his confidence with an exasperated look. “And for math class it was Sato-sensei, and for history it’s… Wait, why weren’t you paying attention in history? Takahashi-sensei is a guy.”

Nishinoya pulled out his history workbook and pointed to the cute girl mascot on the front page.

“Cause of Aya-chan, of course!”

“Start paying attention in class, you idiot!” Chiyo flicked him on the forehead, causing him to recoil in pain.

That was another thing she learned about him in the past few months. Nishinoya had a huge appreciation for pretty or hot women. 

Not that she cared.

“Seriously,” crossing her arms over her chest, Chiyo sighed. “High school entrance exams are coming up soon. What are you gonna do? You know schools are allowed to reject you, no matter how good you are at volleyball, right?

“Hm? What are you talking about?” Nishinoya looked a little confused.

“I mean, even if you get scouted by a powerhouse school, they can still say ‘no’ if your grades are not up to their standards.”

“Oh, I don’t really care about that,” Nishinoya said, taking his workbook back and flipping to the page he was previously working on. “I’m not gonna go to some powerhouse school.”

“What? There’s no way!” Chiyo’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “You won an award for the best libero. There’s no way there isn’t at least one powerhouse school trying to recruit you!”

“Oh yeah, there are,” his response was relatively nonchalant. “I think there are about four already? But I’ve already decided where I want to go.”

“And where is that?” 

“I wanna go to Karasuno,” he grinned. “You know the one not far from your place.”

Chiyo thought about it a little. “Why?”

As far as she knew, Karasuno wasn’t really known for their volleyball. She did remember briefly seeing them on TV at some national tournament many years back, but they haven’t really come up since.

“Because,” Nishinoya’s expression turned oddly serious. “I like the girl’s uniform there. A lot.”

Chiyo blinked.

“I mean hear me out,” he continued. “Don’t you think our uniforms are kinda lame? Brown and in blazers? Way too bland. Karasuno’s uniforms, on the other hand, are those cool, black military uniforms.”

“Are you serious?” Chiyo rolled her eyes. “All that talent and you’re picking a school based on their uniform?”

“You gotta understand, Amari. Black uniforms are what youth is all about! That’s how it’s like in all the shonen manga! Plus the school is pretty close to where I live, so it’s pretty much a no-brainer.” 

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.” At this point, she just started tuning him out. “You better pray you end up with a team that’s good enough to actually follow up on your receives.”

Nishinoya looked a little surprised at her comment. “Hey, Amari?”

“Hm?”

“Have you been going to my games lately?”

Chiyo’s pencil snapped from the sudden added pressure. “Wha-?!” She glanced up. “What kind of question is that?!”

“Well, you just seem like you know more about volleyball now,” he pointed out. “Don’t you remember the time Kaito and I were playing outside? And you thought volleyball was a sport where you had to throw the ball into the opponent’s net? But now you actually know about follow-ups and receives,” a big smile slowly began to spread across his cheeks. “You’ve been going to my games, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been to a few,” Chiyo looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up under Nishinoya’s prying gaze. “But it’s only because Kaito keeps asking me how you are during big games! S-So I had to go!”

That was a lie.

“Still, that means you went,” Nishinoya looked like this was the best day of his life. “What did you think? I’m pretty cool, aren’t I?”

He was. When he played volleyball, he was almost like a completely different person. Calm, collected, and focused. There were some saves he made during games that had Chiyo’s heart hanging in her throat, and the way he roared in victory each time their team scored a point gave her butterflies.

Not that she would ever admit it.

“You were fine, I guess,” her reply was curt and Nishinoya pouted.

“What? Only fine? You didn’t think I was awesome, or handsome? Or oh my god, I want that guy to be my boyfriend?” He batted his eyelashes at her. “Because I want you to be my girlfriend, Amari.”

Chiyo glared at him as Nishinoya grinned. She then abruptly gestured to his workbook before going back to her own.

“Still, I can’t believe we’ll be graduating soon,” Nishinoya murmured as he took an eraser and began scrubbing out his nonsense answers. “By the way, which high school are you aiming for?”

“Karasuno High School,” she replied off-handedly.

“Really? Then we’ll be together even after graduation,” Nishinoya’s face lit up at first before falling. “But that’s surprising. With your grades, you could definitely get into some top high school here in Miyagi.”

“I’m going for the same reason as you.”

“The girl’s uniforms?”

“No,” Chiyo shot him a dirty look. “Because it’s close to home. And close to Hotaru and Kaito’s elementary school.”

There was a moment of silence before Nishinoya spoke again. “You know, I can always help you pick them up. Why don’t you aim for a better school?”

“It’s fine,” Chiyo shook her head. “I need to find a part-time job once I turn fifteen. Being at a better school will probably mean they have policies against it.”

“A part-time job?”

“Money’s been tight recently,” Chiyo shrugged. “Whatever highschool I end up at, I’ll just work hard to get into a good university on a scholarship. Then I’ll graduate and get a good job in the city that’ll make enough money to be happy and successful.”

Resting his chin in his hands, Nishinoya hummed. “That sounds so boring.”

Chiyo’s brows furrowed. “Well, I’m not like you. I don’t have the choice of becoming a professional volleyball player just because I’m good at it.”

“What do you mean?” Nishinoya looked her dead in the eyes. “I never said anything about wanting to be a pro volleyball player.”

“What?”

“I mean, I like playing volleyball and all. But even if I were to become good enough to go pro, I don’t think that’s what I wanna do in the future,” Nishinoya peered out the window, watching the fluffy clouds drift over their heads. “I wanna pack up all of my stuff and go somewhere far, far away. Go experience things I would never be able to here in Miyagi. A backpacking around the world, type thing. You know?”

“You’ll need a lot of money for that,” Chiyo frowned.

“Who says?” Nishinoya retorted her statement with a smile. “I’ll just save up a little, then go from there. If I’m short on money in some town, I’ll work at a local diner or something to rack up enough cash for my next adventures.”

He turned his attention back towards the sky and Chiyo followed his gaze, just in time to see a  sparrow take off into the sun.

“Grandpa always told me that limits are whatever you put on yourself,” he said. “And I choose to make the sky my limit, so I can go as far as I want. I’m gonna do whatever I want and be the freest person in the world.”

At that moment, Chiyo felt entranced by him. Nishinoya looked so excited and unburdened, she was a little jealous. She wished she could think like that – that the world was her oyster and she could do anything she set her mind to.

But she was too afraid.

“Hey, look!” Suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance, Nishinoya jumped out of his seat with sparkling eyes. “The firework festival!” He pointed at a telephone pole out the window. Chiyo followed his finger and saw a brightly coloured poster, obnoxiously advertising the festival coming to Miyagi in a week’s time.

“Do you wanna go together? You know, just the two of us?”

Chiyo felt all the admiration she had for Nishinoya drain out of her body and her face returned to a disgruntled expression. She knew the implications of going to the festival alone together. And her answer was simple.

“In your dreams.”

“Ouch!” He laughed. “Shot down again.”

“Now focus on your work,” she tapped the top of his workbook as Nishinoya sat back down.

Shaking her head, Chiyo quickly tucked a few strands of her hair out of her face before turning her attention back to her workbook. She was about to move onto the next section when she felt Nishinoya’s gaze still lingering on her.

“What?” She asked, feeling herself grow a little self-conscious.

"I like you a lot, Amari." He said, a lovestruck grin dancing across his lips.

"I said focus!"

story masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

[myemuisemo]

Suddenly, Letters from Watson dumps us in the middle of the Great American Desert (part 1 of "On the Great Alkali Plain," 2/7/24). This is not anywhere I expected to be transported from London, and the contrast makes the Mountain West feel exotic for a minute.

The Great American Desert -- stretching from about Grand Island, Nebraska to the Sierras and pretty much the entire north-south length of the U.S. -- had become a thing of legend since explorers' accounts in the 1820s. When Dad and I drove across it in 2022, we talked about how incredibly daunting it must have been for emigrants seeking their land of milk and honey on the Pacific coast.

The way we went, out I-80, Nebraska shifts from green to gray as it rises toward the Rockies. After a while, the wind picks up as you go uphill into Wyoming. There's a lot of Wyoming, and after Cheyenne and Laramie (both of which would be small towns in most states), it's very, very empty. When we finally started the descent toward Salt Lake City, and the little valleys beside the road turned green with running water, it was truly like entering paradise.

Of course, in 1847, Salt Lake City was just barely being settled, as Brigham Young led his Latter Day Saints west from Council Bluffs, and its location wasn't part of the U.S. yet.

The Mexican-American war had started the prior year, 1846, and was still going. Spring-summer of 1846 saw the Bear Flag Revolt in California, followed by the U.S. just annexing the state. Gold wouldn't be discovered at Sutter's Mill until 1849, so while emigration to California happened -- the Donner Party made their ill-fated trip in 1846-47 -- it wasn't anything like the scope of movement along the Oregon Trail.

As far as I can tell, "Sierra Blanco" is not a real place. There's a Sierra Blanca in New Mexico -- which would fit with all the specific landscape, plus White Sands National Park in New Mexico specifically has alkali flats. Last time I drove through New Mexico on I-40, in late 2018, it was delightfully desolate, so I can buy that in 1847, it seemed completely empty, with even the native peoples avoiding some stretches.

Why anyone would be crossing New Mexico is a mystery, since neither Arizona nor southern California were much settled by Americans. There was some sort of wagon route across New Mexico used by U.S. soldiers during the Mexican-American War, so if I'd expect anyone to be about, it'd be the U.S. Army.

Utah, now, is downright famous for its salt flat, but that's west of the site of Salt Lake City.

Regardless, parties screwing up their trip to the west by taking an imprudent shortcut or mistaking the route was definitely both a thing that happened and, thanks to the Donner Party, a trope. Our haggard and starving traveler sounds about right.

Then he reveals a Plucky Innocent Victorian Child.

That "pretty little girl of about five years of age" is the absolute ideal of Victorian childhood, being perfectly behaved, utterly imperturbable, determined to see the best in all things, sweet, trusting, and looking forward to being reunited with her mother in heaven.

This kind of child is why Louisa May Alcott was seen as innovative for writing Little Woman about girls who worked on their character flaws. (This is also the ideal the March girls were being aimed at. Polly in An Old-Fashioned Girl comes closer, but even Polly would have been upset about being hopelessly lost in the desert with no water.) Contrast this with the street urchins that Holmes employs in his investigation, who are good enough sorts but scrappy, resourceful, and street smart.

Ordinarily, a Victorian child who was utterly sweet and pious would be a cinnamon roll, literally too good, too pure for this world, and thus would die beautifully but tragically before long. Being lost in the desert seems ideal for this, but --

She turns to prayer, and since someone must survive in order for this scene to be relevant,

Yes, darn it, I am on the edge of my seat to know what happens. I'm also grateful that crossing the Great American Desert in 2022 was a quicker process. I've been reading Carey Williams' old-but-interesting California: The Great Exception, which has a lot to say about how 19th century isolation shaped California's economy and power structure, not always for good. But that's neither here nor there -- I don't think we're headed to California.

[mattatouilletkachuk]

Sunny’s Off-season Writing Prompts

Rules: you can request something that isn’t on this list, however, I am less likely to write it.

The players that I write for can be found here. If there is a player you want me to write that isn’t on the list just message me and maybe they’ll be added.

1. B wrapping their arms around A’s waist and pulling them close, whispering in A's ear: "Stay close to me."

2. “Is now a bad time to mention that I’m claustrophobic?”

3. “We never speak of this again, do you hear me?”

4. “I don’t want anyone else looking at you.”

5. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

6. “I promise you that I will always be there for you.”

7. “You’ve been laying on my arm all day and I can’t feel it.”

8. “You snore. Loudly.”

9. “I don’t understand how I slept so good last night.”

10. “I never would have guessed that you were a cuddler.”

11. “I crave your affection, but I crave your silence even more - shut up.”

12. “I love the idea of growing old with you.”

13. “You do know you’re stuck with me, don’t you?” “Thank God, I am.”

14. “I will die with you. I won’t ever leave your side.”

15. “Does all this mean nothing to you?”

16. “You make me feel so alone.”

17. “I’m not giving up on us, ever.”

18. “Whatever we are, I like it.”

19. Having sex once when you’re not arguing instead kinda tipsy but not drunk, and it’s all giggles and laughter and sweet nothings and the next morning being like “oh fuck i actually like them”

20. “we should probably stop this” “yeah” … “we’re not going to though, right?” “oh absolutely not.”

21. One of them bursting into tears in the middle of an argument.

22. “Stop arguing with me in front of the kids!” “For the last time, they’re not our fucking kids.” 

23. “I think…I can love you.”

24. feeling each other instantly relax as they both quickly get comfortable

25. “she says we bicker like an old married couple”

26. “Is that my sweater?”

27. “They’ve been missing for 3 days and you’re not worried?”

28. “Honey, I’m home!”

29. “Can I sleep with you?”

30. “You’re definitely your mother/father’s child.”

31. Going to order their usual order, but the other one puts their hand up and says, “Usual, right? I got it.”

32. Too hot to cuddle

33. Characters A and B cuddle in a hammock.

34. "I am staying hydrated. All of my drinks are iced." "That does not count."

35. "There is no shame in using a pool floatie." "Yes, there is. I'm shaming you."

36. Gets caught skinny dipping

37. Character A can't get out of the water after seeing B.

38. A just got out of a bad breakup and is determined to have a meaningless summer fling; until they end up falling head over heels for B.

39. Reaction to the first sundress of the season

40. Getting flustered when they are asked to apply sun screen to the other person

41. (A)'s dog went missing on the beach, and is found by (B).'

42. "I should've worn sunscreen."

43. "When will this summer finally end?"

44. Wondering if bringing flowers to the date is too much. 

45. Putting a flower in the other’s hair. 

46. Only realizing how meaningful the flowers gifted to them are when the other explains why they picked those specific ones.

47. “a picnic?! have you swallowed a romance novel?”

48. Finding a bees nest and having the other person deal with it.

49. Picnic gone wrong

50. “Your mom gave me pictures of you when you were a baby.” 

[alex51324]

Newts & More!

By popular demand, here are more vacation photos from the "Flora and Fauna" category.

Newt #1:

This one was on the road in the cabin area; his color is so bright that he looks like a toy.

After taking his picture, I returned him to a safe spot beside the road:

These little guys are the efts, or juvenile life stage, of the Eastern (Red Spotted) Newt. The first (larval) and third (adult) stages live in the water, but during this middle stage, which can last several years, they go up on land to explore the streambanks and damp parts of the forest floor.

Second little dude was near the Wolf Rocks overlook, where we went on Wednesday:

He was pretty far from any stream--apparently they can travel quite a bit when it's damp enough for them, which it certainly was. I hope he made it back somewhere nice and moist before it got warm and sunny on Thursday afternoon.

This one we found on Thursday, at the Powder Mill Nature Preserve, next to a little stream called Powder Mill Run. I'm not sure what the little thing on it's side is--could just be a bit of leaf that stuck on there, but I wondered if it's a vestigial bit of gill. (I took this closeup of it because I meant to ask someone at the nature center, but I forgot.)

This one is noticeably less orange than the others! I don't know whether that's an individual variation, or if perhaps this one is older than the others? This is what the adult ones look like:

(Photo: Smithsonian National Zoo; I didn't see any of this stage in person.)

On to flora! Here are some small mushrooms:

Tiny conifers growing in the shade of waist-high ferns:

A pitcher plant--one of Pennsylvania's three carnivorous plant species--growing in the Spruce Flats Bog, a unique high-altitude bog in the park:

The bog is near the summit of Laurel Mountain, which is an unusual place for a bog! High-altitude wetlands are a thing, but apparently this one is scientifically A Bit Weird. Most of the other ones are located at higher latitudes where their formation is explained by glacier activity; according to the park signage, this area is not believed to have been glaciated in the last Ice Age, so it isn't entirely clear how this bog came to be.

Anyway, here's a picture of it:

The trees are not spruces--the name apparently comes from a misidentification by early-19th-century settlers--but I don't remember what kind they actually are. The park has a boardwalk going out maybe 10 or 15 meters--30 or 40 feet--into the bog, so that people can get a good look at the unusual plant life without damaging the fragile ecosystem.

And finally, some Mountain Laurel:

Our state flower, mountain laurel is a shrub that grows up to about two or three times the height of a person, and for a short time in early summer--right about now, in fact!--it's covered in these big clusters of delicate little flowers. The color ranges from white to light pink, and they were everywhere. I guess that's why the marketing term for the region is called the Laurel Highlands!

[inkofamethyst]

October 4, 2024

[approximately 4 am]

In desperate need of a funky grandpa sweater :/ But like it has to be perfect. The perfect kind of funky in the way that the patterns and colors feel like my own handwriting even though it probably belonged to some dude before me. That makes sense, right?

You know, I don't think anyone has ever listened to my Core Playlist, current. It just, idk, it just feels so intimate (and also it's a bit of a mess! paramore, austin wintory, beyonce, hadestown, and the crane wives all on one playlist? cmonnnn only a little freak like me could stand it, I'm sure)!

My dnd-friend mentioned a bit ago that she was struggling with loneliness and isolation and having very little by the way of consistent friends contacts and I think having biweekly craft-n-chats will help. Not just for her, but potentially to connect the whole discord chat again in a way that we haven't been connected since college, or covid, or even high school maybe. And maybe it won't get back to the same level as I-see-you-in-classes-every-day-and-also-at-rehearsal-after-school-twice-a-week but we also won't suffer the same fate as the type of friends who get lunch once a year and chat shallowly about general life updates. We may be distant physically but we live in the the time of technology!

Pulling an all-nighter (which is crazy bc I'm p sure I only did that once the entirety of last year) because I screwed up my sleep schedule real bad earlier this week and also needed to finish this fellowship draft. My personal statement is pretty solid (I mean I'm by no means the most prolific researcher or active social justice person or whatever but by golly I found one social issue I was passionate about in middle school and haven't stopped working on it since (I mean ofc I care about other issues but this one has just always felt like I could actually make some impact and while I haven't quantified that impact at least my involvement has been consistent)) but my research statement is just blehh. blehhhhhh (it's coming along actually I'm just insecure lol).

Anyway the one problem with straight-up writing during an all-nighter is that I'll have a good idea then immediately forget it because I start drifting off a little lol.

[7ish pm]

Okay so actually my advisor's review of my proposal went well! Still have some edits to do before I send it out to my recommenders and probably another full round or two before I can feel good submitting it.

Considering that I only got ~40 minutes of sleep just before I had to leave, I was surprisingly alert today. I'm going to bed by 8 tonight though. Legend of Vox Machina tomorrow though!!!

Today, gah!!! Today!!! I'm thankful that my sewing adventure worked out!!! I'm going full throttle on the sewn Scarlet Witch 2023 comic costume (all thanks to my mother who made a face when I suggested crocheting it (she was right but I still think the design I had would be cool to try (I've realized that many of my crochet projects right now are more based on skill novelty and the self-challenge of design))), and I drafted the pattern for the base sleeved mockneck bodycon largely during Wednesday's craft-n-chat (could I have bought a pattern for this or even found one for free online? sure. but my pinterest-addled DIY brain will not permit such a thing. all in the name of upskilling!). Went to use the serger at the library for the first time and AHHHHH OMG IT FITS SO WELL! The serger was literally perfect (and the staff were super helpful) and I will absolutely be making the sleeveless mock neck with that fabric I've envisioned for that exact project since summer 2020. Anyway while it helps that I'm currently in the no-bloat part of my cycle and that the fabric was pretty thick to hide any lumpies, the fit is literally so perfect. Like it caresses my curves and accentuates them but is clearly not a garment that is just too small, it's just well-fitted. The literal perfect fit for a superhero cosplay :D

The pattern needs minor modifications (as to be expected), but it's fairly forgiving and can likely serve as a base for future designs now that I no longer need to be afraid of knits hehe (I can make a Bumblebee cosplay! I can make that specific Wonder Woman design I've loved for years! (I'm sensing a cosplay arc.. which is a little inconvenient because I'm trying to prepare for a Bicolline arc)). But right now I can mark up my mockup with style lines. I will need to source my fabrics and figure out the best way to assemble everything (at least for this Halloween first draft). And then and then and then I'm learning how to 3D print this weekend!! I may have Wanda's tiara finished by next week!!!

All this said, I only have three weeks until the halloweekend bar crawl and while Katara's wrap seems simple to draft I do still have to draft it. And I need to source fabrics for both costumes (Wanda's I think I know, Katara's I'm still debating). God this is so much fun.

I have some chores to do tomorrow, but I might also go trawl the nearby fabric and craft stores.

okie gn :)

[nanaosaki3940]

Baji's Anger Management [Tokyo Revengers]

Pairing: Keisuke Baji X OC/Reader.

Genre: Romance, Fluff.

Trope: Childhood best friends turned lovers. 

Note: A snippet from my Tokyo Revengers fanfic called "A Condition Called Love". And this takes place during the final newest timeline where Baji's alive (although Baji never died in the previous timeline in my fanfic...). Also Baji didn't get held back in school again in the newest timeline, so he's actually a senpai/senior to Chifuyu and Takemichi at school now.

TR masterlist

Nana’s POV (June, 2005 – New Timeline)

It was the year 2005 when Keisuke and I were in our final/senior year in middle school. And just like how he had promised two years back, he took his studies very seriously into consideration and didn’t get held back in the same grade this time around. I was happy for him, really. Keisuke was motivated and worked super, duper, extra hard in school so he didn’t have to get held back again. He stayed true to his word and was still stuck with it.

It was already 3:25 PM in the afternoon and our classes had just come to an end for today. As soon as the teacher left the classroom, I stood up from my seat and went up to Keisuke’s desk while the other students were making their way out of the room. Today, the teacher gave our test papers back to us and I wanted to know how Keisuke did in his exams.

“Japanese language – 30, English language – 45, Science – 35, Social Studies – 50, Mathematics – 40…” I quietly read out the scores of the ravenette boy, a sweat drop forming on my head, leaving me utterly speechless. “Keisuke, you failed in every subject… Just how…?”

The said boy with his long raven locks tied up in a high ponytail, still wearing his dorky-ass goofy glasses like how he did in the previous timeline, crossed his arms over his chest and let out a huff in displeasure.

“I got too cocky last time…” Keisuke stated with a frowning yet distressed face. “I was so full of myself that I thought maybe I could get through this exam without your help or your study sessions… But unfortunately, I fucking couldn’t do it. If I don’t pass next week’s makeup exam, I’ll have to spend the entire summer vacation in supplementary classes. I can’t do this.”

Keisuke clicked his tongue in annoyance and I gave him a soft concerned look. In my defense, I did try to help him out with this exam but Keisuke declined my offer and said that he would try to study on his own. He wanted to pass the tests without my help. I understood that he was trying to be more independent and didn’t want to bother me, but that plan of his obviously didn’t work out and rather backfired him.

“Tsk! At this rate, I will miss the summer Toman meetings.” He added, slightly shaking his head. “I can’t even go to the Musashi Festival with you this year. Nor can we go touring in Shonan. Nana, you do realize how much this means to me, right?!”

“Yes, I know. It means a lot.” I replied in all seriousness, nodding my head.

This time, on our summer vacation, Keisuke and I decided to go to Shonan, just the two of us, alone. It was a region situated along the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Japan. It was located beside the Sagami River and about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. As both Keisuke and I loved the ocean, beaches, and relaxing atmosphere, we thought Shonan was definitely the place to be. In our opinion, Shonan was Japan’s most laidback, stylish, and cool surfer’s paradise which deserves to be called the “California of Japan”.  

Thinking about it, there were so many things we decided to see and places we wanted to visit once we went to Shonan this summer – Enoshima Island, Enoshima Aquarium, the Enoden Railway Station, Mt. Fuji, the Route 134, Kugenuma Beach, Chigasaki Beach, Komaya Park, the Ryukoji Temple, Koibito No Oka (aka the Lover’s Hill) – and so many other more. If Keisuke took his makeup tests next week and failed once again, then we wouldn’t be able to go there just as we planned. And I couldn’t let that happen.

“Please help me study, Nana?” Keisuke requested with pouty lips and I let out a giggle in amusement.

“You don’t need to request me, Kei...” I stated with a smile before grabbing his hand and walking out of the classroom together. “I promised you that I’ll help you study, right? So, let's do this.”

“Do you have any club work today? If not, then wanna go and study at the library now?” he asked as he intertwined the fingers of our holding hands. “I was thinking of getting some problems solved by you. Also, I need to clear a few doubts regarding the last math test.”

“Sure. I’m free now. We can study at the library.” I reassured him with a smile again.

As we walked down the hallway hand in hand and were making our way toward the school library, we came across a certain blonde-haired individual on our path. It was Chifuyu Matsuno (who was in his 2nd year in middle school at this moment in time).

Keisuke and I reunited with Chifuyu at the beginning of the last year, when we started the 1st semester of our 2nd year while Chifuyu newly joined the school as a freshman. And when I said reunite, it meant that Chifuyu had obtained his old memories from the previous timelines as well, just like me and Keisuke. It was overwhelming when we met Chifuyu again. He was with us through thick and thin whatever the situation was from day one. He was our ride-or-die buddy, so meeting him once again in this new timeline was nostalgic, it was heartwarming.

“Ah, Baji-san, Nana-san! Heading back home together?” Chifuyu called out with a brightened-up smile, jogging up to us.

“Oh, hey, Chifuyu!” I chuckled softly at his puppy-like behavior. “No, we’re actually heading toward the library now. Keisuke and I decided to study there for a while.”

“Let me guess… Baji-san failed his tests again?” Chifuyu asked before looking over at Keisuke with a teasing smirk. “Still can’t believe you actually didn’t get held back in this timeline, Baji-san.”

“Oi, I’m gonna fucking murder your ass, Chifuyu!” Keisuke growled out in a threatening tone but we knew he meant no harm.

“Anyways, where are you heading now, Chifuyu?” I asked, slightly tilting my head to the side.

“Takemitchy called me just a few minutes ago. He, Kisaki, Hanma, and Kazutora, are all handing out at McDonald’s. They’re asking me to join them, so I’m heading out there. They asked me to bring you guys too, but it seems like you’re busy…” Chifuyu trailed off with a sheepish smile.  

“Well, yeah. Can’t be helped.” I smiled back and then raised an eyebrow. “But seriously? McDonald’s again? Don’t you guys get tired of it?”

“That’s our usual hangout spot though.” Keisuke chimed in with a small smirk and threw his right arm around me, draping it on my shoulders. “Nana and I would’ve joined you guys, but my makeup exam is more important.”

“Right! I understand! I won’t waste any more of your time.” Chifuyu responded back with a toothy grin as he was about to walk away. “I’ll get going then…”

“Wait, Chifuyu!” I quickly called out, making the said boy look back at me. “There’s something I was meaning to ask you… Do you still feel wary about Kisaki and Hanma?”

It was something I wanted to ask Chifuyu for a while now because of his budding friendship with Kisaki and Hanma.

“Not really. Not anymore.” Chifuyu replied with a small shrug and a warm smile appeared on his face. “Given how they were in the previous timeline, I always keep my guard on whenever they’re around. But then yet again, things are different now. Kisaki is different. Hanma too. So there’s no need to be afraid of them anymore is what I think.”

“That’s right. If Takemitchy assured us that things are different now, then I’m sure we don’t need to panic so much. We should’ve more faith in our friends.” Keisuke chimed in a reassuring tone, smiling down at me.

“Yeah, you’re right…” I smiled back. “As long as Takemichi is involved, I’m sure it’ll go well…”

Besides Keisuke and Chifuyu, I believe in Takemichi the most…

If he says it’s okay, then maybe it is…

After that, once Keisuke and I had settled down in the library to study, he suddenly remembered something and then spoke up to me.

“Hey, are you working on the school fest for this year too?” Keisuke asked and I shrugged in response.

“Don’t know. They didn’t form the committee yet. We’ll know who’s gonna be in charge of the preparation process once they form the committee.” I replied, letting out a small sigh before giving Keisuke a curious look. “Why are you asking this? You wanna join the decoration group or something?”

“I never took participation in preparing for school fest or shit before. Looks fun though, not gonna lie.” Keisuke responded and a mischievous smirk formed on my face.

“But remember that one time you once helped out your class, hmm?” I asked in a teasing tone, causing Keisuke to look at me with a slightly frowning face.

Flashback (2004 – the previous timeline)

It was when Keisuke, Chifuyu, and Ryusei Sato were in 1st year of middle school while I was in my 2nd year back in the previous timeline.  

“Nana Senpai!” a familiar feminine voice called out from behind me.

I was in the middle of working on the decorations for the upcoming school fest, busy with my group mates when a girl named Himari from Keisuke’s class came up to me with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Hm, Himari? What is it?” I asked her in a kind tone.

“Um, I wanted to ask you a favor…” Himari stated with a sheepish chuckle while rubbing the back of her neck. “Can you ask Baji-kun to help us out for the school fest, please?”

“Keisuke? What do you want him for?” I asked in confusion yet feeling curious at the same time.

“Our class has decided to set up a cosplay café. And we are kinda short on staff, so we were thinking of asking Baji-kun to be one of our waiters.” She explained.

And that’s when a mischievous idea came to my mind.

“So it’s like that, huh? I think I have a perfect plan for this…” I stated before explaining the plan to her.

A few minutes later, after gathering up all the courage they needed, Himari and her friends went up to Keisuke with bright smiles on their faces.

“Baji-kun! We are having a cosplay café for the school festival! Do it for us, please! Cosplay!” Himari requested Keisuke who was sitting at his desk, studying quietly all by himself.  

“Huh? Why should I?” Keisuke asked, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

“Because you have a nice figure. We thought you would look good!” Himari replied, smiling brightly and her friends also agreed with her. “Please? Baji-kun, help us out.”

But Keisuke simply stared at them with a frowning face and remind silent as he didn’t know what to tell them or what to think of their sudden request.

“Say, Baji-kun… I heard Nana Senpai is really busy with the school fest now and so she can’t help you with your studies at the moment, yeah? Also, you have a major test next week, right? If you do it, I’ll help you study! Please!” Himari requested him again, throwing this bait toward him.

And that piqued his interest.

“Are you serious?” Keisuke asked in surprise, the frown on his face dropping.

“If you wear a policeman’s uniform, I’ll help you with the Japanese Language. Or if you dress up as a vampire, I’ll help you with Science. Alien for Social Studies. And cat for English. And if you wanna learn Math… wear a female sailor’s suit!” Himari explained the deal with a smug face and this caused a dark shadow slowly fall onto Keisuke’s face, making him contemplate this deal.

Meanwhile, when this was all happening inside the classroom, Chifuyu, Ryusei, and I stood and watched the whole scene play out from the doorway with curiosity.

“There's no way Keisuke-kun will agree to this. He would never dress up like that.” Ryusei stated in a confirmed tone.

“You never know, Ryusei…” I responded back, smirking and this made the said boy give me a confused look.

And seemed like the plan actually worked because, on the day of the school fest, we found Keisuke wearing a female sailor outfit and working as a waiter at the café. Even Chifuyu was there with him as well, also wearing that outfit with a blonde bob-cut wig on his head. And seeing this left Ryusei completely petrified and me a giggling mess.

“Welcome~!!!” Keisuke and Chifuyu greeted us with wide grins, excited, and this shocked Ryusei even more.

“Three iced coffees!!” Keisuke called out loud, with a tray in his hand and it seemed like Keisuke was actually taking his job as a waiter very seriously despite him wearing a sailor outfit.

“I’ll be right with you, Baji-san!” Chifuyu called out happily from the other side of the room, supporting Keisuke with his job.

“No, you’re in a different class to him, Chifuyu…” Ryusei deadpanned at the blonde boy while I continued to laugh at the scene.

Flashback ended

“Hey, you tricked me into doing that! And I’m not doing that same shit again.” Keisuke snapped at me with an angry yet pouty face and I let out an amused giggle.

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry, all right? I will never do that again, promise.” I smiled softly at him in response before opening the math book. “Let’s start our study session, okay?”

And from there, the marathon of our study sessions started which would continue for a whole week. After school at the library, at Keisuke’s place, at the Sano residence – we continued to study hard day in and day out, not taking a proper break to rest. After all, there was no way in hell I could let Keisuke fail his tests again and then miss out on our Shonan trip.

“Nana, you haven't been getting enough sleep.” A tired Keisuke pointed out with guilt in his tone as we were working on some mathematical problems after school in the class.

“Don’t worry about that…” I reassured him with a tired smile, leaning my head on the palm of my hand as I noticed the dark bags under his eyes. “Just concentrate on the mathematic exercise I just taught you now.”

And as we were about to go back to solving the exercises, our homeroom teacher walked into the classroom with a smile on his face.

“What’s this, Baji-kun? You're actually making an effort? And you’re taking help from Osaki-kun again? Just how much are you gonna bother her?” the teacher asked with a taunting smile.

Upon hearing those words, a sad, frustrated expression took over Keisuke’s features and this really annoyed me.

“Keisuke’s my childhood best friend, sensei. So I don’t mind helping him out. Rather I’m very happy that he’s working so hard. Keisuke’s a diligent student, sensei. He’ll do just fine, I’m sure of it.” I stated in a snappy tone with a frowning face and the teacher found my words really amusing.

“We’ll see about that, Osaki-kun.” he replied, smirking again and then looking back at Keisuke again. “Too bad you're gonna have to have supplementary lessons, Baji-kun. You’ll have to give up your summer vacation this year. I’ll be waiting for you with lots of homework.”

And with that, the teacher walked away from there while giggling to himself.

“That fucking evil teacher… I’ll kill his ass off one day…” I grumbled under my breath, cussing the teacher in my mind. “What kind of teacher is he? He should be happy with his student’s progress, not curse them like this and wish for their failure...”  

“Nana…” Keisuke called out in an unusual monotone voice who was staring down at his textbooks and I looked back at him again.

“Yeah? What is it?” I asked and that’s when all hell broke loose.

Immediately a menacing frown formed on his face and it looked as if he was about to burn the entire world down in one go if he had the chance.

“Where is my summer vacation?!!” Keisuke snapped out through his gritted teeth, scowling deeply at his textbooks and notes while clenching his pencil in his fist.

Oh shit!! This is not good at all!!

“Keisuke, calm down. Please don’t worry about that. Just keep up the good work.” I panicked, trying to cool him down but nothing seemed to work on him.

“Where’s my oasis?! Where’s my youth?!!” he yelled out again as he tossed his books away and then stomped out of the classroom angrily, even taking off his glasses and throwing them to the ground.

Wasting no time, I quickly picked up his books from the ground and carefully packed our bags and stuff before walking out of the classroom as well, following the ravenette boy from behind.

“Keisuke!” I called out in concern, finally catching up to him as we walked down the streets of Shibuya. “Studying too much made you delirious! Just calm down already!”

“I won’t be able to concentrate on these supplementary exams unless I punch someone, Nana!!” Keisuke declared as he growled out, radiating menacing energy from his body.

“Huh?” I asked in confusion, concerned as I watched him literally burn in rage and fury.

And just then as we walked down the path, we noticed three individuals on the walkway. One of them was unfamiliar to us but the other two were someone we knew. Mantaro Suno and Gen Kokubunji – they were the imposters who were impersonating Manjiro and Draken, pretending to be them, and trying to exploit their names. Keisuke heard about them a few weeks ago and even tried to catch them but failed that one time.

“Those guys… They are the impostors from the other day!” Keisuke scowled, recognizing the imposters, getting ever more furious. “For real! Last time they got away and I couldn’t catch them!”

I noticed the imposters were all beaten and bruised up, kneeling on the ground while the other unknown individual was bossing them around while typing something on his cell phone.

“Come on you guys! hurry up and-” The unknown guy was talking to the imposters when he suddenly noticed our presence. “Huh? The fuck's up with you? Scram! I’m busy disciplining my slaves-“

But the guy didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Keisuke threw a powerful punch in his face and knocked him out cold immediately. And as soon as the guy fell unconscious on the ground, the imposters stood up and came up to us.

“Huh?! You are Baji-san?! Why are you helping us?” they asked him in confusion.

“I was drowsy, so I just punched him in the face, you stupid son of a bitch.” Keisuke snarled out in a threatening tone. “You two want a piece of the action too, huh?”

“Keisuke, you actually punched the wrong guy here.” I calmly pointed out.

Keisuke’s original plan was to beat the crap out of the imposters but in the end, due to his own anger and drowsiness, he ended up punching the other unknown guy by mistake.

“No. he was right in front of me…” Keisuke countered back tiredly before realizing his mistake. “Well, yeah, but… I feel so much better after I punched one of them. I’m so ready for tomorrow’s exam. Let’s go, Nana.”

And with that, Keisuke took my hand and started to walk away from the scene with me, leaving the imposters shocked and confused while the other guy unconscious on the ground. 

Keisuke’s a bit messed up in the head…

But… it’s okay, I guess…?

But it seemed like the punching technique did kinda worked its miracles and Keisuke ended up passing all his makeup tests the next day.

“Way to go!! I passed!!” Keisuke cheered happily after that evil teacher gave back the exam sheets.

“Yeh!! You passed!!” I cheered as well, throwing my arms around Keisuke, and hugging him.

Meanwhile, at the corner, the evil teacher shivered with a distressed look on his face while he held the exam sheets in his hands, still finding it unbelievable that Keisuke had actually passed the makeup exam.

Sucks to be him, I guess… 

If you wanna read the whole fanfic, then pls check it out on Quotev and Wattpad -

[bopinion]

2024 / 30

Aperçu of the week

"Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!"

(Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 and one of the first female heads of government in the world)

Bad News of the Week

"Escalation in the Middle East conflict" - this headline is no longer followed by a question mark, but by an exclamation mark. For one thing, one or even several escalations are taking place and for another, these are no longer limited to Gaza. The attack on the Golan Heights, allegedly carried out by Hezbollah and resulting in around a dozen deaths, could unleash a momentum that could trigger the feared conflagration.

The Golan Heights, wedged between Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, have always been an insecure region. Actually Syrian territory, the strip of land was conquered, occupied and effectively depopulated by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Almost 125,000 Syrians were displaced. Today, around 25,000 Israeli (militant) settlers and 23,000 Druze live there. And now the Druze have had to accept the death of children who have done nothing but play soccer.

This attack has a new quality. Or was it a tragically misguided missile that nobody wants to admit to? For the first time, neither military nor infrastructural targets were in the vicinity. For the first time, a nation that has so far kept out of the conflict has been hit. The Israelis, who see the region as their territory, will strike back. The only question is how drastically. After all, Hezbollah is nothing other than the extended arm of Iran, which defines Israel as its mortal enemy.

The first governments have already called on their citizens to leave Lebanon, the southern part of which is under the control of Hezbollah. The official government of the failed state is calling on all parties involved to show moderation, but has no say in the matter. I already know that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will not be the only peace-loving person to light a candle. Because the bomb is ticking.

Good News of the Week

Kamala Harris. That's it. You don't really need to say any more. The mere fact that it seems possible that a woman of color who is competent, liberal and democratic could take the helm of the (still) greatest nation on earth is good news. "Is America ready for a woman - or just a misogynist?" asks the leading German news magazine Der Spiegel. Journalist Ulrike Knöfel explains: "When it comes to potential presidential candidate Kamala Harris, people often ask whether she can make it as a black woman. The right question is whether the USA can manage to choose a qualified woman."

That is the point. The one that goes beyond ethnicity. Only in the last few days have I learned the term "DEI" - which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Very positive, important terms. Which Harris is nevertheless being labeled with malice by Republicans. But I already didn't understand why "woke" has actually become a derogatory word, almost an insult. After all, it means awake, alert, attentive. Then I like being woke. And sleep much better when I know Harris is in the Oval Office. And not the ridiculous misanthrope Donald Jessica Trump. Spot the difference!

Personal happy moment of the week

We actually wanted to go to a museum on Sunday. To the Museum of Fantasy on Lake Starnberg, to be precise. With friends. But instead, we had a pretty good breakfast in the museum café, had a lengthy exchange about living with teenagers with laughter and tears and then went for a walk when the sun came out. Also good.

I couldn't care less...

...over 400 meters freestyle swimming, barre gymnastics and field hockey. Normally. Because with the Summer Olympics currently taking place in Paris (with a remarkably creative opening ceremony, by the way), I'm suddenly interested. It must be the Olympic spirit...

It's fine with me...

...that the current US executive branch is planning to reform the US judiciary. After all, the current Supreme Court has made every effort to ensure that the need for term limits or a code of conduct has become obvious.

As I write this...

...I discover the "100 best albums of all times" on Apple Music. Not according to sales figures (even if that might be the case for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" or Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"), but curated by a music editorial team and artists themselves. Of course I know famous standards such as "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys, "My life" by Mary J. Blige or "Back in Black" by AC/DC. But also "Blue Lines" by Massive Attack, "I put a spell on you" by Nina Simone or "The Miseducation of..." by Lauryn Hill (at number 1!), which I like to listen to again when I get the chance. I miss other albums on the list, such as "Imagine" by John Lennon, "Play" by Moby or the soundtracks to The Blues Brothers or West Side Story. And artists like Bill Withers, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Billy Joel - or Elvis. But tastes are different, and that's a good thing. But above all, it's nice to discover new artists: Robyn, for example, is obviously not my thing, but I think Erykah Badu is great. Music is simply something wonderful.

Post Scriptum

The EU reached an agreement in the spring and now the money is flowing: 1.5 billion euros from the interest earned on frozen Russian state assets is to go to Ukraine - for defense and reconstruction. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commented: "There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin's money than to make Ukraine and the whole of Europe a safer place to live". Significantly more money will come if Putin does not come to his senses. So I agree.

[moshintheteagaiwan]

T.Kettle: My Time At The Most Poorly Run Tea Shop - Part 1

I was one of the lucky few who got the chance to get their start in working in the world of tea at the now defunct Teavana brand stores. Working at Teavana was undoubtedly some of the best days of my life and the fondest days of my 20’s. Working there gave me the chance to meet so many fantastic friends and I even met my wife working there. Truth be told had it not closed in 2017 I may still be there.

I’ve never worked anywhere like there since. There was just something about the atmosphere. The team I worked with was one of a kind. Maybe it was that we were still living on the last legs of mall shopping? Whatever it was I’ve ever since longed to find that kind of feeling and happiness in the workplace again.

When Teavana closed the obvious move many thought I would make was to jump to DavidsTea. But by this time I had greater responsibilities and the only logical way for me to make that jump would be for a management position which wasn’t available at the time. And so I decided it was time to do something different. Through a conversation with the store’s pest control technician I was led to the field of pest control. There are several different reasons I chose this route but the most notably being it was an easy field to get into without needed to go back to school, and it paid very well.

And so just 2 weeks after Teavana closed it’s doors, I began my new career as an exterminator. The work had it perks. I got to be very independent and didn’t have to answer to my boss daily. The pay was very good and gave the extra cash flow I wanted. I had a company truck I could use as needed and benefits. But the work was also long and took a heavy toll on my body. Especially on summer days when I would be working outside in 40+ degree heat.

I debated daily about trying to find something better. An office position where I had Air conditioning in summer and heat in the winter. Where I could work with a team again. That also came with high pay and benefits. But as many of you may know, those jobs are few and far between these days, so I stuck with it. Then in 2020 as DavidsTea began shutting down stores, word got out that a new tea brand was launching in the old DavidsTea locations. The brand was to be run by the owner other big retail chains such as Sunrise Records, HMV, & FYE, who had purchased leases for closed DavidsTea stores.

When I got word that a new location would be opening in the mall opposite of where my old Teavana store was, and that they were looking for a manager, I decided to jump on it. Within a few days of applying I had a virtual interview as we were still in the middle of Covid restrictions. The interview went well and after speaking to the T-Kettle representative I had a great feeling that something good was about to come. A couple weeks later I got a call back – I HAD GOTTEN THE JOB!

Finally I would get my chance to return to working in the world of tea. This time as the head honcho of my own store. I would get to work with a team again and be around my favourite thing – TEA! I was told that I would be responsible for hiring my own staff and got straight to work on finding my new staff, and put my 2 weeks notice in at the pest control company I was working for. Within a couple weeks I had found my new staff and was given the date to meet at the new location for orientation and staff training.

This is where the story really begins. This is the story of my time at T.Kettle and the story of the tea brand that could have been great but quickly became a sinking ship.

[arrowverse-next-gen]

Wes is (currently) winning my poll, so here’s so stuff about my boy.

He used to get brought home by the cops like all the time in high school. And I don’t just mean from like breaking curfew. He, Sage, and Miles had a habit of breaking into the school after hours, stealing school property, vandalism. Was a good 40% of it to impress his girlfriend, yes. Was the other 60% pretty much him acting out because by middle school everyone knew his bio dad was a mass murderer, who killed his mom, yeah...

But Wes was tryna find his place. 

He and Sage dated off and on all through high school. Considering most people were either afraid of him or hated him, it was nice to have one person who seemed to like him no matter what the state of their relationship was. It sort of helped that they had a lot in common. 

Her mom is a supervillain too, so they used their relationship to escape from that reality. It wasn’t healthy, but they were both kids. 

Towards the end of senior year they’re relationship started to fizzle out. Wes didn’t want to admit it, but he had started to develop feelings for someone else. (But it would be a few years before he acted on that.) Plus by some miracle he managed to get accepted to CCU, and he was looking forward to going. His parents hook him up with Cisco’s foster son, Roman. They have a lot in common. Father’s who liked crime more than they liked taking care of their kids. They decide to get an apartment off campus.

So that July, right before he’s set to leave, he and Sage spend one last night together. They go to the drive in, but he doesn’t know what movie they see. He just remembers her in the back of his jeep, and he knows it’s the last time. But he also knows he doesn’t want to say it.

He goes to school, and for the first time in forever he’s not looked at as Adrian Chase’s son, or Oliver and Felicity’s Queen’s foster kid. He gets to fade into groups, he gets to make friends. Roman introduces him to a few of his CC friends. They’re a couple years younger, but they’re nice. A little more cheerful than Wes is used to, but he doesn’t mind too much. 

He comes home for winter break and looks for Sage everywhere, even goes to a few old haunts they used to meet up with Miles at. But Miles hasn’t seen her since around September. Plus his friend has now fallen into a stride with the Grey Starlings, and while he would never turn on Miles, he knows his parents track all their kids. And he doesn’t need Oliver and Felicity to start worrying about him again. 

He tries again over spring break, looks for her everywhere but he’s sure she’s moved out of Star City, leaving it and him in the past. So he decides it’s time to start doing the same.

He spends the summer with his family, his older brother is finally back in town and it seems like a good time to catch up. They avoid talking about they way they’re connected, they both get it. They’re nothing like their father. Apollo had stopped referring to Adrian as such years ago. He’s always seen Eo as more of a father anyway. But that summer was the first time Wes ever calls Felicity and Oliver mom and dad. 

He’s back at school in the fall. It’s early September and Will and Apollo come down for the weekend with Owen and Emmett, something about bonding with their little brothers. Wes thinks neither of the pre-teens want to be there, but he’s happy to see his brothers regardless.

Roman went to go pick up the pizzas when there’s a knock at the door. Wes is sure his roommate forgot his wallet, and goes to answer it, nearly tripping over the piles of stuff that somehow exploded from Owen and Emmett’s bags. 

When he opens the door it’s not Roman on the other side, it’s Sage. She’s crying, she says she’s sorry but she can’t do it anymore. Then she hands him a carseat and takes off. 

[blackbird-brewster]

All the even numers >:)

Bahahaha, alright Anon. I saved this for last.

2. Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it? 

(Answered here)

4. Do you sleep on your back, stomach or side? 

I'm a side sleeper, mostly facing outwards. But sometimes, I wind up on my back and when I do I snore so loud Doom Them has to wake me up.

6. Do you prefer drawing or writing? 

I can't draw for shit. Writing is my creative talent

8. What’s your favourite band/artist? 

I have SO many. I listen to a wild range of music. Everything from ska to indie rock to punk to emo to pop. Some of my all-time fave bands include: The Killers, Foreigner, Avett Brothers, Postal Service, Betty Who, Beyonce, Lizzo, Tegan and Sara.

10. How tall are you? 

5'6" or 168 cm

12. Who are five (or more) people you want to hug right now? 

@otahkoapisiakii @bittersweet-bibliophile @the-kazoo-kid @gaelic-symphony @mygenitiveisobjective

14. What’s your favourite colour? 

(Answered here)

16. Want any tattoos? What of? 

I have around 35 tattoos (hard to count when you have half sleeves and such). I DO want more tattoos, but in the past two years one of my chronic conditions has made it so I'm allergic to my tattoos. They get welts and hives all the time. Which really sucks because uhhhh, my entire body is covered in them 🤷‍♂️

18. Who is the last person you texted? 

I sent Frankie some smut as a little treat!

20. What/who do you miss? 

I miss all my loves in the US. But in terms of 'what' -- the thing I miss everyday is being able to leave my house without it having to be an entire Event. I miss life before the pandemic where I didn't have to take 100 pre-emptive steps to protect myself every time I go out. I miss 2020 when everyone (in my country) was in this together, when everyone was masking and staying home when they were sick, when everything was accessible by being online. I miss when people cared.

The pandemic isn't over. Some of us have never left lockdown.

22. How much sleep did you get last night? 

I actually went to sleep hella early. I was asleep before my daily kudos email (this is how I tell time, okay?) which comes about 00:20. Then, I got up early with Doom Them -- so I think I got about 7 hours? I only need 5-6 to be functional.

24. When was the last time you cried? Why? 

Last night I cried from laughing so hard at this picture of our cat

26. What are some seemingly childish things you like? 

I don't believe joy has an age limit. I'm a regular at our local toy stores, I know all the staff, I'm always buying new fidget toys and Squishmallows. I got into Squishmallows about the same time I got my Autism dx (mid-2020) and since then, Squish have become a constant form of comfort for us. We currently have about 300 in our collection -- and that's after some major downsizing. There's no way to know how many squish we've rotated through over the years. Here's the last full squad photo we took in Jan 2022 (there's nowhere in our house to do a full pic of the 300 we have currently)

28. How are you, really? 

I'm actually doing well this week. Summer weather arrived without warning and my depression is lifting. I feel really inspired for the first time in weeks!

30. What are you looking forward to in the near future? 

Finishing Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 3!!!!!!!!

32. If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go? 

If I could see my US friends without actually having to go to the US itself, that would be perfect.

34. What’s your favourite flower? 

(Answered Here)

36. Do you like your middle name?

Not really. My middle name is the name of some random ski instructor my parents met the year before I was born (I have theories about this, about why my dad randomly remembered this person's name -- but that's a whole other thing. Oh, and also that's one of my middle names, it's complicated. I have like 5 names)

38. Do you have any phobias? 

Ornithophobia (fear of birds). Also scared of horses, cows, and airbags.

40. Do you like the beach? Do you prefer it sunny or cloudy? 

YES!! I love living ten minutes from the beach. We go there a lot to relax and scream at the ocean. I prefer sunny weather, hands down, but it's cloudy 90% of the time here.

42. Tag 5 of your favourite blogs

Oh, this is really difficult. I'll just tag some rad mutuals: @knitmeapony @chaotic-archaeologist @unitchiefs-blackbirdphoenix @gaelic-symphony @artcake

44. Who was the last person you said “I love you” to? 

I've said 'I love you' to at least five people today and it's only 10am. And I meant every one of those. I'm very much the type of person who loves my partners and friends openly and freely.

46. What do you need when you’re sad? 

Cranky Cave(tm)! Cranky cave is when I'm having meltdowns. I go to my room and turn on the fairy lights and galaxy projector. Grab a ton of squish and fidgets. Bury myself in blankets. And watch my comfort shows.

48. Who’s someone you can trust with your life? 

Doom Them, Kay, Coyote.

[Send Me Asks]

[devilgate]

1984: A Year With Gravity

Ministry of Plenty

It’s 2024. It’s 40 years since 1984. So I guess that’s why there have been a lot of things turning up that are related in one way or another to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four1. It’s considerably more than forty years since the novel was published: more like 75 years. Which is a memorable enough number in itself.

At Worldcon in Glasgow in August, the last panel I went to was about the book. People discussing when they had first read it, how it had affected them, the effects it had on literature and culture more broadly, and so on.

Then a few weeks later the podcast of the BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time dropped into my feed, with an episode about it. It was described as a ‘summer repeat’. I assume the programme is off the air but they like to keep the feed fed. It was originally broadcast in 2022, so nothing to do with any anniversaries in this year, but no matter.

All of this served to remind me of two things: one, that it was high time I read it again. And two, since read it in my teenage years and never since, I had shamefully never quite read all of it. Because there’s that bit in the middle where Winston is reading ‘The Book’, as it’s called. And when you’re fourteen or fifteen that can seem terribly dull and easily skippable.

Also at the convention2 I picked up a copy of Ken MacLeod’s new collection, A Jura for Julia. You might guess from the title that there’s some sort of connection, what with Julia being the only female character in the original book, and Jura being where Orwell spent the last months of his life writing it.

And indeed, the collection is bookended by two connected stories comprising a sequel to Orwell’s novel.

So I was going to revisit the original and then read Ken’s stories. But I realised I didn’t actually have a copy. I think I read it from the library all those years ago. We got our son a copy at some point, but that’s either with him or in a box in the basement. So I decided just to buy a new one.

While I was in Foyles I noticed another connected work: Julia by Sandra Newman. I remembered reading about this when it came out and thinking I’d like to read it. It’s a retelling of the story of Nineteen Eighty-Four, from Julia’s point of view. It came out last year, so I’m sure author and publisher had anniversaries in mind, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Not Forever

So what about these books, then?

There are two things Ingsoc got right, I mention in passing: going over properly to the metric system — which leads to the oddity of a prole barman who has never even heard of a pint — and going to full use of the twenty-four-hour clock, giving us that famously startling opening line about the clocks striking thirteen.

Not much else, though. It’s a bit odd thinking about it now that the ideology is called ‘English Socialism’ when the geopolitical bloc Airstrip One is part of, Oceania, is clearly dominated by America. The renaming of the UK makes that clear. And indeed, the switch to decimal measurements and twenty-four-hour time are even stranger, given how America in our world is the biggest holdout against those.

I suppose the ‘English’ in ‘Ingsoc’ could mean the language. But a socialism dominated by America? Something that calls itself socialism, at least: it’s no more socialism than Germany’s ‘National Socialism’ was.

I’ve said before that I dislike dystopian fiction as genre or background to stories. I wonder if that dislike was caused in part by early inoculation with this work. But what I found really weird about reading it after all these years is how weirdly cosy it all felt. Maybe it’s just because I knew what happens; maybe because there are these sequels by other hands to consider; or it could be somehow inherent in the writing. But I had no real sense of bleakness, nor even of menace. Strange, really.

It is, of course, a tragedy, among other things. Winston and Julia know that they’ll be caught by the Thought Police and taken to the Ministry of Love eventually; but they believe that, whatever they have to go through, there will be a core of them, deep in their hearts, that will survive, uncorrupted, undefeated. I was reminded of Evey, in Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta. About how you’ll survive — maybe win — as long as they can never reach that last half inch of you (I write from probably inaccurate memory).

That turns out not to be true for Winston and Julia, as they each betray the other. O’Brien’s assertion that ‘We will empty you out and fill you up with us’ proves true; and the novel closes with Winston loving Big Brother. There is no hope. A boot stamping on a human face.

Except, then we get the appendix. It tells the story of Newspeak, and does so wholly in the past tense, describing plans the party had for the minimal, stripped-down language. How it was expected to limit the capability for thoughtcrime — for thought itself — in the populace forced to use it. But it is presented as if it were an academic work, part of a history of the Big Brother times in what was then called Airstrip One, and is now called Britain again.

Hope in an appendix. I like it.

Keeping it Short

So we come to the first sequel I want to speak of, which is composed of Ken MacLeod’s two short stories. ‘Nineteen Eighty-Nine’ picks up on Winston’s story. He’s taken from the Chestnut Tree café thinking he’s finally going to be killed. But in fact it’s the revolution. Big Brother and the party are overthrown. Winston is to be Minister of Truth in the new government.

And then in ‘A Jura for Julia’ it’s a decade or two later. Julia is a researcher in ‘computational literature’, mechanical writing. She used to be a mechanic who worked on the machines that created cheap novels for the proles. Now she’s an academic studying the technology behind the machines. She travels to Jura because she has heard there is an important link there to the history of the machines. What she finds ties her story and Winston’s together with Orwell’s in a fascinating way.

A Woman’s Perspective

I hadn’t heard of Sandra Newman before Julia, but she’s written several books, and been nominated for various awards. This one is authorised by Orwell’s estate and tells the familiar story from Julia’s perspective, expanding it both in worldbuilding, character, and time.

It’s a much richer story than Orwell’s, in that Julia’s character is dramatically expanded from the original, and we learn a great deal about the society, or the various societies that exist in Airstrip One. It’s all well done, very convincing, and completely in keeping with the original. There’s nothing added that couldn’t have been imagined in Orwell’s time.

Julia the character is not much more than a cipher in the original, and here she has a rich inner life, and is wonderfully and believably changeable.

One chapter opens with the line, ‘She was in Love.’ Which jars you for a second, because the previous chapter ended with her and Winston’s arrest. Till you remember that she refers to the ministries just by their key words: ‘Truth’ for the Ministry of Truth, and so on.

It takes us to a an ending not so very different from MacLeod’s but perhaps a more ambiguous one.

And that’s enough Nineteen Eighty-Four for a while, and enough 1984, too, though it strikes me that the novel I’m writing at the moment is set then. It’s a year that still has a massive gravitational pull on the imagination.

Note that the title is always written in words and properly hyphenated. ↩︎

Strictly I ordered it afterwards, as it was sold out at the con by the time I tried to get it. ↩︎

[cuck4gf]

Can you share a story about your gf cucking you?

My gf once fucked a foreigner in my own bed while I was watching from inside the closet.

So my girlfriend is studying to be a mechanical engineer and she had an internship at a pretty generic consultancy last summer. There was a white guy visiting from America to go over a contract for some sort of design and she was there observing

Obviously she got caught observing him too hard and after a bit of chit chat she gave him her contact details. Almost immediately, the guy sends her a dick pic from the office bathroom of his semi-flaccid (but still big) cock with a caption of something basic like "What were you thinking when you saw me this morning"

She went on a full spam of texts degrading herself like "I was thinking about being a cocksleeve and then my mind blanked", "excited at the thought of being treated like your whore", "thinking about how you could easily ruin me with a cock that big", "thinking about how far I should degrade myself that you'd let me ride your cock but won't think I'm a disgusting chink", "your soft cock is bigger than my bf when he's hard"

Basically she a whole series of texts at first about how she would do anything to be his fleshlight, and then about how mesmerised she was by his big cock

I remember receiving a text from her to leave the house for the night but I didn't see it in time (I was in the middle of cleaning) before I heard them in the hallway so I ended up hiding in the closet (messaged her that so she knew). There's a slight gap, maybe half a cm between the closet doors so I could still barely see out. I could hear her in the background talking about how her bf would be happy to share her

It did not take long for him to just sit down and get comfortable on my bed, and my gf desperately tearing off his pants on her knees and hearing her gag on his cock, complimenting his size and hearing that slurpy sound of her sucking hard. His cock was pretty big, my guess is like 9 inches.

Then I watched him pull her up by her hair and throw her on the bed on all fours, then mount her. Like I'm not talking doggy style the position, I'm talking about him on top of her on all fours like an actual dog mounting another and then fucking her pussy. Mind you her pussy was so wet the sound was so clear

She came so hard, moaned so loudly I'm sure the neighbours heard and kept screaming his name. He couldn't cum so he'd be railing her like a beast non-stop for like 40 mins fully hard the entire time and ignoring her cumming and getting sensitive

When he finally came, my gf took the condom off and licked him clean, getting him hard again and then putting her in all sorts of positions. I'm not kidding, they fucked for basically 2 hours straight, my gf came so much the bed got wet and he went back to his hotel leaving behind 3 condoms filled up with thick cum.

She let me out of the closet when he left and then emptied all 3 condoms into her mouth and swallowed in one shot. She kissed me, gave me a handjob to finish me off and swallowed that as well, and we had dinner finishing the day very ordinarily

[theninjasanctuary]

It's a bit sad how little I've managed to post in May and June, considering I've mostly been having a good time, and it would be good to recap that so I can remember later.

Threw myself a late birthday garden party towards the end of May, when the apple trees were still in bloom, the weather was lovely, as were my friends and fam who showed up, and we had nice food and a good time. This also served as summer garden party season prep, finding all the gear, dusting it off, etc. And so it was pretty easy to set up the solstice celebration garden party yesterday - pretty low-key, but sweet, with lovely weather and lots of blooming peonies. The ones I planted last August are not blooming yet this year, just gaining strength and hopefully growing strong roots in all the good soil, perhaps I can hope for a few blossoms next summer?

Thought to myself that the current year seems to be pretty good to me, all things considered. I'm making decent amounts of money, work is going okay-ish, and I'm not super-stressed about my prospects at the moment, Mom's doing okay, keeping busy, taking care of her place and enjoying life, and can cat-sit when we travel. I'm aware all of this might not last, I'm obviously in line to be the primary caretaker should Mom's health decline, and I cannot be too certain about my career outlook. And, well, apparently my big brother's marriage is in crisis and the drama might spill over even though they live in a different country, so who knows, might not have the peaceful second half of the year I hoped for.

The work trip to NYC and New Haven went kind of well. I didn't get sick, which alone is a massive upgrade compared to the last time I went to the US. The flight experience was so-so; picking a seat yourself is now ridiculously expensive (40+ €, do fuck off with that, Finnair), so I went with randomly assigned seat each direction, and of course they were in the middle 4-seat section of the cabin. On the flight over, had the middle row 4 seats all to myself, which wasn't too bad, but on the way back, the plane was pretty full, and I'd been placed into the extra legroom row in one of the middle seats, and after boarding was completed, a random dude made a beeline for the empty middle seat next to me because of the extra legroom, so then I was sandwiched between him and a hefty lady for the entirety of the flight; I was fuming internally, but also exhausted, and somehow managed to sleep for most of the nearly 9 hours. Another grumble about Finnair, they've cut the meal service so you get one meal for the transatlantic flight, and then a round of coffee or tea with an option of buying snacks - and the selection is really unappealing. On the way over, I had packed a couple of snacks, which helped. The leg back home left 11ish in the evening, and the served a warm meal at midnight NYC time or early morning destination time, and loads of people actually refused that, probably without realizing this would be the only meal on offer, because transatlantic overnight flights always used to serve breakfast before. I woke up enough to eat, although the food was less than impressive. It's a good thing we'd had a decent dinner at a Thai restaurant before leaving for the airport.

I had a work friend on the same flights, staying at the same hotel, which was even better than I expected, since it turns out he's a bit of an alpha dog when it comes to travelling, does his homework, knows exactly where to go, etc. Usually I have to do all of that, so having someone else lead the way was an interesting change. And he's chill, and a foodie, so it was nice to have someone to go to dinner with. We didn't hang out the entire time though. I shopped a little bit and very blandly (this is highly on brand), but mostly spent time diligently visiting art museums. Spent an entire day at the Met, but I think even so I only saw about 70% of their display, and that's with just walking through a lot of the rooms. Overall, more relaxed and less anxious than previous trips to the US have made me. The last time I'd been to NYC was 10 years ago, and it was stressful, with a work friend who I've since confirmed dislikes me, so it felt good to get a do-over with far less worries.

Stayed in three hotels; the NYC one was the smallest and most expensive, but clean, neat and fine, and very conveniently located, I'd gladly go back. At New Haven, the first two nights were at a four-star hotel, and they gave me an upgrade (I'm assuming they were overbooked for standard rooms and had to bump some people up; I'm cute, well spoken and take the trouble to sign up to memberships, which presumably helps). So I had a plush corner room with two walls of windows and a giant bed all to myself, it was bigger than the first apartment the boyf and I rented together. And I ordered room service one night, too, fish tacos with finger limes, I think it was the best thing I ate all trip and my mouth waters just thinking about it. Had to move hotels for the final night to a three-star one, and that was a standard room, but also rather nice. My body was trying to sabotage the entire thing by rescheduling my period, and I actually managed to leak through a tampon & Uniqlo period panties whilst sleeping there - not much, and it was on the sheets, not mattress or duvet, so I had to do some very-early-morning, half-asleep emergency washing in the sink, but hey, an anxious overpacker like me had brought a tiny bottle of stain remover that's very effective against blood stains (it's been in my travel bathroom kit just in case for a while). So that was another example of a dreaded thing actually happening to me, and managing to deal with it and move on.

All three hotels had flattering bathroom mirrors. And then I came home and weighed myself and set a new record. OTL

And it would be nice to get the expenses paid on location refunded to me ASAP (submitting all the paperwork was a hassle, but I hope everything is acceptable).