#canceled the two zoom meetings today

[nameless-brand]

soaking in the bathtub, clothes and all, after being beaten up yet again. everything hurts. and somehow paradoxically i do feel better. i hope i'm not developing some weird masochism thing.

anyway i've been thrown in every cardinal direction and some directions that i never existed. my arms and legs are all bruised up from the blocking. i am just one big bruise like a bunch of oil droplets all coming together.

crow said that if i absolutely refuse to develop a danger sense, she'll at least teach me how to take a hit.

you really don't think i want to develop whatever that is??? i mean the name of it makes it obvious what it's meant for, but i still don't get what she's talking about. is it like something predictive? or is it something like clairvoyance??? and no, she can't describe it either, just says that if something is around that puts her in immediate danger, she can just tell. so if you can't explain it and i can't understand it, what are we doing???

and that's why i received a worse-than-usual beating because crow decided to change the teaching plan to mitigating damage instead of instinctively avoiding it. says i'll get it whether i want to or not; self-preservation always wins out. fml

[pynkhues]

Just booked a new freelance writing contract from a client I thought had ghosted me, God-is-real.gif.

[lilasamaaa]

Who says "I love you" first? Part Two | F1 grid x Reader

Click here to read the first part!

Genre | Fluff

Featuring | Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Max Verstappen.

Word count | 1.8K

Warnings | None! Enjoy the ride!

Author's note | Coming up with original ideas for this was so painful lmao, I'm sorry it took so long!

Oscar Piastri

He says it first.

Today marks four months since you and Oscar have been together. The Australian texted you a few hours ago, telling you to wear a nice dress and meet him in front of your building at 8.

The two of you had met four months ago at a party hosted by a mutual friend. You had heard of love at first sight, but had never experienced it before him. Before your eyes met his. As you had moved to Australia a few weeks before meeting him, and with English not being your first language, it had taken a bit of time to get comfortable with each other and juggle between your respective languages, but today, you two were inseparable... To the point where you'd already canceled the plane ticket that was supposed to take you back home at the end of the year.

The restaurant where you're dining is splendid. The candles on your table cast a soft light on his face, the atmosphere is incredibly romantic, and the dishes are delicious. But above all, it's the looks Oscar has been giving you all evening that make your heart beat. A mixture of tenderness, passion, and admiration.

"I hope you don't mind, but I ordered dessert," your boyfriend announces, looking at you fondly.

As soon as the sentence is uttered, a waiter places a plate in front of you, and you let out a gasp of surprise as you discover the letters traced in chocolate. "I love you". In your native tongue. Your eyes start to water as you meet Oscar's gaze, visibly nervous. For a minute, you're speechless. Equally surprised by the kind attention than by the admission from the Australian.

"Please tell me they spelled it right," the driver says as you burst into laughter.

"They did," you reply, reaching for his hand. "And I don't have any dessert to prove it, but just so you know, I love you too."

Daniel Ricciardo

He says it first.

Daniel and you are lying on the couch in his living room, watching a replay of last weekend's race on TV. You love it when your boyfriend comments on every move, explains the strategies, and tells you about his feelings in the car. Even though you attended the race live in Singapore, it's definitely different to look back at the race with the insight of a real pilot. As Daniel explains to you the choice of his medium tires, the image from the replay suddenly changes from the track and zooms in on you, wearing a headset, in the garage.

"What?" you yelp, standing up on your elbows. "I didn't know they were filming me!"

Under your face, a small banner appears, and you feel your heart tighten. "Daniel Ricciardo's friend".

"Oh," you breathe, unable to tear your gaze away from the tv screen.

"Wow," Daniel says. "So they really have no idea that we're together."

The camera dives back onto the track, and Daniel starts commenting on every moment again, before realizing that you've been silent for a while.

"Hey," your boyfriend says, nudging your shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just..." you start, feeling your throat tighten. "We've been dating for a few months now, and it's... It's weird to be called your friend. I don't know. It's making me feel insecure."

"Well, you shouldn't," the Australian says before capturing your lips in a soft kiss. "Because I love you. Way more than a friend."

George Russell

You say it first.

At work, George is methodical. Organized. At home, however, you've come to learn that your boyfriend is a real scatterbrain and forgets everything. All the time. To the point that since you started seeing each other more regularly and you began sleeping over at his place, you've gotten into the habit of leaving notes for him all over the apartment before going to work.

"Your brother is coming over tonight"

"DO NOT order food. There are leftovers in the fridge!"

"Your fave sweater is in the dryer"

Each note is always signed the same way. A double x (you two live in England, after all) and a smiley face. If you're the one writing the small notes, George is the one collecting them and throwing them away everyday. So tonight, as you close the door to his apartment behind you, you're surprised to find your boyfriend on the couch, holding one of the bright yellow squares in his hand.

"Hi babe," you say, coming closer to him. "What's this?"

"Your note," George replies, looking at you. "From this morning."

"What about it?" you ask, furrowing your brow as George hands it to you.

"Don't wait for me for dinner tonight, I'm going out with the girls. Love you."

Oh. You're still looking at the note with wide eyes when your boyfriend speaks again.

"Did you mean it?"

"I'm... kinda surprised I wrote it, but yes, of course, George. I mean it."

Your boyfriend gets up from the couch, coming towards you before planting his lips passionately on yours.

"Well, I love you too," George says, making your heart skip a beat. "And I'm keeping this one," your boyfriend laughs before pocketing the note.

Carlos Sainz

He says it first.

Carlos and you have made it a habit to call each other as much as possible when the driver is away. The distance is already hard enough to manage for the both of you as it is, so there's no need to torture yourselves even more with radio silence. Sitting in the hotel lobby, the only place where he managed to get enough network for a high-quality call, your boyfriend is telling you all about this morning's free practice session when the phone shakes, and you see his eyes hovering above the screen.

"Wait, hermosa, just a second."

The microphone cuts out, and you see your boyfriend's lips moving without sound. You furrow your brow, thinking that someone from the hotel staff might be scolding him for speaking aloud in a public area, when Charles appears in the corner of the screen, the sound coming back.

"Charles wants to say hi," Carlos says, playfully rolling his eyes. "Please find a girlfriend and stop annoying mine."

"How are you?" Charles asks, smiling at you, ignoring Carlos' whines.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking!" you reply, smiling back at the driver.

"Now, move," Carlos says, "I'd rather talk to her than to you. You'll understand that when you're in love again."

A laughing Charles waves at you a final time before disappearing from your screen. Your attention shifts back to Carlos.

"So..." you say playfully. "You're in love?"

Realizing the slip-up, Carlos' eyes widen.

"I didn't mean to say it like that. Or over the phone. But yes, I am," your boyfriend says, smiling proudly.

"Good thing I am too, then," you reply winking.

Yuki Tsunoda

You say it first.

Yuki is naturally shy. You noticed it from your first meeting, and you've never been afraid to take the lead. You've been the initiator of all your firsts : first conversation, first date, first kiss. This dynamic works well for both of you. You suggest, and Yuki always happily follows.

However... there's something you've been afraid of initiating. It's been several months since you started seeing each other, and you're truly on cloud nine. Everything is going well between you, the chemistry is perfect, and the slightest glance from the Japanese makes you absolutely melt. You know the signs. You're in love. But how do you tell him without scaring him off?

The answer comes naturally as you watch your boyfriend exchange words with his Team Principal in the Racing Bulls garage, his helmet in his hands. As Yuki finishes zipping up his suit, his back to you, you kindly offer to hold his helmet and take the opportunity to pull out a marker from your pocket, discreetly scribbling on the plastic shell before handing the object to your boyfriend.

The race goes incredibly well, and Yuki finishes in the points, creating euphoria in the garage. When your boyfriend gets out of the car, his first instinct is to take off his helmet and steal a kiss from you as you laugh.

"What's making you laugh?" Yuki asks, looking at you fondly.

"I put a little encouragement on your helmet, and it looks like it worked," you whisper, pointing to the three hastily written words. I love you.

Yuki is naturally shy, yes. Yet, the kiss he gives you after your revelation is the only confirmation you needed.

Max Verstappen

He says it first.

It's been ten days since Max flew several hours away from you for his next race, suggesting you stay at his place until his return. The initial idea was for you to look after his cats, but the driver would never admit that what he wanted above all else was for you to put your intoxicating scent all over his sheets... Creating a sense of domesticity that he wasn't so sure you were ready for yet.

Keys turn in the lock, and Max appears at the end of the hallway, suitcase in hand. It's safe to say that he didn't expect to find you curled up on the couch, asleep, his two cats nestled in your arms.

The sight is enough to make him want to call your landlord and tell them you' won't be needing your apartment anymore. To give you the keys to his place, and never take them back. But for now, abandoning his suitcase in the hallway, Max sits on the couch gently, making sure not to wake you before softly stroking your hair. You whine softly in your sleep, opening an eye.

"You're back," you mumble weakly.

"I am, and it looks like nobody missed me that much," Max says, pretending to be hurt.

"What?" you say, sitting up. "I missed you! Every day!"

"And yet, you wasted no time replacing me," your boyfriend laughs, petting his sleepy cats.

"I had to adapt," you reply with a smirk. "They confessed before you. There was nothing I could do."

"Do you want me to confess?" Max says, bending over to press a soft kiss to your lips, making your heart flutter. "You have my love. All of it."

[yuribeam]

With the flood of empty meme-ification of the bigoted violence targeting Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, I had no idea until today that there is actually a Haitian Community Help & Support Center that serves Clark County and surrounding areas.

They were founded in 2023 and help assist refugees and immigrants with a variety of pressing needs, including:

housing

interpreting

job search

welfare assistance

"Through our work and determination, community services must be accessible to people in need of them, regardless of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, or sexual orientation. We envision it as a place where people feel at home when they come for community services and are served with dignity and respect." -HCHSC

They are now navigating the community's fears amid escalating threats, including multiple evacuations due to bomb threats, and violent racism that has exploded after J.D. Vance and Trump's xenophobic fear mongering lies were platformed at the debate.

The Haitian Times and the Hatian Community Help & Support Center organized a meeting on Saturday (9/14/24), bringing together activists from across the country, NAACP leaders, journalists, and local activists in conversation with community members.

The meeting had to be moved online out of fear for residents' safety.

"Some Haitian residents in the meeting shared their experiences in recent weeks and months as the fake news went viral. Participants also shared their fears, concerns and hope for the growing community. Even as they spoke, a ruckus broke out outside the community center from which a few participants logged into the Zoom when a strange truck appeared in the parking lot carrying white occupants acting cagey." - The Haitian Times, 9/16/24

The Haitian Times reports that some parents are keeping their children home from school out of fear for their safety. One woman's cars were vandalized in the driveway of her family home- the attacker used acid and broke a window, while another resident is facing discriminatory eviction from her business location.

White supremacist groups such as neonazis "Blood Tribe" are active in the area and are associated with the origin of the anti-Haitian lie.

Springfield's annual CultureFest, a two-day event that celebrates diversity, arts, and culture, has been cancelled for safety concerns.

"I take my kids to the park usually, I cannot do that anymore. You know, I have to just stay home and just don't go out. We used to just go for a walk in the neighborhood, but we cannot do that anymore," - Jims Denis, quoted in the Columbus Dispatch, 9/14/24

It is especially important to support the Haitian immigrant community during times like these. I hope visibility will shift from unhelpful dunk-on-trump memes to instead focus on the facts of the matter, the actual harm being caused to real communities, and how we can help.

With that in mind, the Haitian Community Help & Support Center takes donations through Stripe and Paypal on their website.

"Your generosity can make a profound difference in the lives of our Haitian community. By making a donation today, you help us provide essential resources, support, and opportunities for those in need. Donate now and be a part of the change. Every contribution counts! Thank you for your support." -HCHSC

(photo from Springfield Flag Day festival, 2023, Springfield News-Sun)

[yutafrita]

[09:22AM]

☾⋆｡ ๋࣭ ⭑˚ ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

Pairing: Actor!Sungchan x Actress!Reader (she/her, femme presenting)

Warnings: Swearing, sexual references (18+), proceed with caution.

WC: approx. 1K

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ݁˖ . ݁ ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁˖ . ݁

Your polite smile was stable as you sat at the interview seat, watching the same clip. This was the third interview this week that had brought the clip for you to force a reaction to, and god it was getting difficult to feign ignorance.

“Look at how gently he caresses her hair there folks!” The interviewer gushed. You jokingly rolled your eyes, shaking your head.

The clip was a behind the scenes feature of your latest film. Your co-star, Sungchan, had noticed a small piece of confetti from your scene got stuck to your hair. He carefully picked it out, and as he did so, you were talking and laughing together. It was completely natural, but the action was clipped out and plastered everywhere online.

Yes, he may have fucked you stupid in your dressing room afterwards, but that was besides the point.

“No, no!” You giggled to the interviewer, trying to stay focused on squashing the rumors. “I am extremely professional- plus, I wouldn’t want to date another actor. We are just friends- he was taking out the confetti from my hair.”

“Well, he’s also a singer…” the interviewer noted, earning oooohhh’s from the audience.

“That doesn’t cancel out the acting, sorry!” You raised your hand in defeat, that fake smile still scrawled across your face. “I will say, he did a great job on set. All of the crew loved working with him, and I can’t wait for you all to check out the movie!”

After the interview, your manager and you quickly maneuvered to your last task of the day- a promotional photoshoot with Sungchan.

“How did the interview go?” He asked. You two stood on set in front of an ornately decorated table in costumes complimentary to your movie characters. The lighting was being adjusted, so that gave you two time to speak casually.

“Terrible. Everyone keeps gushing over that stupid clip.”

“Hm, good thing the cameras weren’t allowed in the dressing rooms,” he whispered in your ear. You frowned, holding back a glare.

“You are so conceited.”

“Did I mention how wonderful you look today?” He turned his head fully towards you, his stupid, infectious smile on full display. You looked ahead, hoping most people on set weren’t picking up on your conversation.

“This is why people are suspicious,” you sighed. Your celebrity image was usually that of a sweet, but very serious professional. You hated having to do interviews as it was, but the studio for this recent film was threatening to blacklist you if you didn’t.

The clip to you wasn’t anything spectacular, either. Sungchan had snuck over to your place later that night, and you were snuggled under your sheets together as you, for the fourth time, rewatched it.

“You look so pretty,” he commented, zooming in on your wide eyes that were staring up at him.

“Hm, you’re looking at me in that way an old man looks at his wife,” you teased, in turning zooming in on the soft gaze he had set on you. He was beautiful, this there was no doubt. His eyes were soft and wide, and so easily conveyed his emotions.

“I’ll make you my wife, one day,” he muttered, his voice buried in your neck as if he was embarrassed.

“Yknow, with both of us being famous, our marriage would only last a month.”

“Then that’ll be the best month of my life,” he kissed your cheek, his hand gently motioning your chin to meet his eyes. You were avoiding these eyes- you felt like jello when you were pinned under them. He was needy though, and you gave into his wish to meet his eyes. To the public, you were stern and focused. Sungchan though, you were anything but. You could feign ignorance to any number of talk show hosts, but it was getting beyond difficult pretending that you didn’t have intense feelings for Sungchan.

“Your fans would kill me.”

“I wouldn’t let them,” Sungchan defended. Unlike a lot of young statelets, he had a solid head on his shoulders. It was one of the many things you liked about him. He was clear to set boundaries whenever possible with his fans and with the media, but he still held a lovable and warm persona. You could believe that he would do his best.

Your manager, though, wasn’t so impressed.

“You’ll be over him once you stop promoting the film together,” she rolled her eyes, typing away on her phones.

You crossed your arms, staring out of the window of the airplane. You were taking a flight from New York to Toronto after shooting a cameo in a TV show, and were hoping to see Sungchan before he had to fly back to Los Angeles for a recording session.

Your manager was wrong, of course.

Even after you both moved on to new projects, it was almost gross how often you would try to communicate and be with each other. It was a wonder still that no one had caught any photos of you two out together. Sungchan was getting more bold by sometimes not wearing sunglasses or a hat when out with you. He wanted to show you off, he’d say. And so, years after you both privately committed to the other, you finally walked the red carpet as an official couple.

Permatag! @nini0620

[babydollmarauders]

AUGUST — QUINN HUGHES

quinn hughes x fem!reader

PART TWO CAN BE FOUND HERE.

summary: in which y/n has been in love with quinn for years and now they engage in a summer situationship.

specific lyrics: “i can see us lost in the memory, august slipped away into a moment in time. 'cause it was never mine. and I can see us twisted in bedsheets, august sipped away like a bottle of wine. 'cause you were never mine.” and “your back beneath the sun, wishin' i could write my name on it. will you call when you're back at school? i remember thinkin' i had you.” and “wanting was enough. for me, it was enough. to live for the hope of it all, cancel plans just in case you'd call.”

warnings: innuendos, talk of sexual happenings but no actual NSFW content.

notes: this takes place when Quinn was attending UMich. inspired by August by Taylor Swift! reader is 18.

**JULY 30TH, 2018**

my cheek pressed against the cool glass, i sit in the bay window of my bedroom at my families lake house, watching for the neighbors to arrive. we��ve been coming here every summer since i was fourteen, and for just as long, i’ve had a crush on the eldest son of the family next door.

the Hughes family was comprised of three boys and their parents, Jim and Ellen.

there was the youngest, Luke. fourteen years old and the sweetest kid you could ever meet. generally the victim of teasing from his older brothers, but he doesn’t let it get to him.

then there’s Jack, the middle child. seventeen years old and my best friend. surprisingly smart, kind, and always there for me when needed, metaphorically of course since we don’t actually live near each other.

and lastly, Quinn, the oldest. nineteen, more on the introverted side, attractive, and my summer crush for the last four years.

Jack and i keep in touch over the school year, telling each other any and everything that happens in our lives, and he informed me that they would be arriving today, but he didn’t say what time. so, here i sit, looking out my window, sight locked on the driveway of the house next door.

“y/n! lunch!” my mother’s voice drifts up to my room from the bottom of the stairs. ignoring her yell, i stay planted in my seat. “y/n, c’mon! i know you’re watching for Jack but you can still eat!”

i heave out a sigh, standing to my feet and rushing down the stairs. i grip my lunch plate in my hands and start back towards the stairs.

“you can’t even stay down and eat with us?” my mom questions. i look over to her, standing with her hands on her hips and her brows raised.

“i don’t wanna miss their arrival, mama.” i whine and she rolls her eyes and shoos me off. i dart up the stairs, shouting out, over my shoulder- “love you, mama!”

i take my seat back at my bay window and look back to the driveway again, keeping myself busy by eating bites of my sandwich as i watch. no more than 5 minutes after i finish my sandwich and chips, i see a car pulling into the neighboring driveway. opening my window, i watch as my best friend steps out of the vehicle, followed by his younger brother. my heart deflates slightly when i notice the absence of the oldest Hughes, but i cover up my disappointment quickly when Jack looks over at me leaning out my window.

“hey hockey-head!” i yell.

“my personal cheerleader!” he calls back. “you gonna come give me my hug? or do i have to come up there and get it myself?”

with that, i pull back into my room and spin around, running down the stairs.

“they here?” my father correctly assumes as i zoom past him in the living room.

“yep!” i scream, opening the front door. i stumble down the front porch steps, catching myself on the last step, and making eye contact with Jack. he holds his arms open and i run across my yard, launching myself into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. one of his arms winds around my waist and his other hand splays under my backside, holding me up. the touch is innocent between two best friends, but i hear Luke fake a gag behind us.

“i missed you.” i mumble, my lips ghosting the shell of his ear.

“i missed you too. i’m sorry i couldn’t make it to your graduation.” he whispers back.

“it’s okay, i know you had a hockey game. just don’t forget me when you become a hotshot, first-overall nhl player.” i joke as he lowers me down to my feet.

“never. who else is gonna keep me humbled and remind me that i’m ‘an average white boy’?” he chuckles as he uses my own words from last week.

“that’s true. you’ll need me in order to keep your ego in check.” i shrug before twisting to face Luke. “hi, sweet baby.”

i reach up, holding his face in my hands. he rolls his eyes at my words but it just eggs me on more. i pull him down to my chest, cradling his head to my collarbone.

“my little baby.” i coo and pout. “you’ve grown so much since i last saw you.”

“y/n/n, i’m almost fifteen, not five.” his words are muffled in my chest. “can we have a regular hug now?”

i let out a long dramatic sigh and release him from my hold. he pulls back, giving me a shy smile before hugging me to his chest.

“good to see you, moosey.”

“good to see you too, y/n/n.” he lets me go and i look at Jack once we part.

“where’s Quinn?” i ask. Quinn and i aren’t nearly as close as i am with his brothers, him usually sticking with the friends he brings to the lake house, but it’s not unusual for me to wonder his whereabouts.

“he’s coming sometime in the next few days. he went to a friends house for a couple weeks.” Jack answers. he smirks and speaks again- “but that just means you get extra time with the cooler Hughes brothers.”

“you think you’re cool?” i tease. “yeah, this is why you need me. you’re already thinking delusionally!”

“what does it say about you that you hang out with people you don’t think are cool?” Jack argues, raising a brow.

“hold on, i never said Luke isn’t cool!” i joke, crossing my arms across my chest and shifting my weight to one leg. “i only implied you are uncool.”

“oh, you’re gonna get it!” it’s the only warning i get before he leaps, trying to get ahold of me. i sprint around the yard, circling the car before halting behind Ellen Hughes, who was on her way out to grab another suitcase to bring in the house.

“well, hello dear.” she laughs as i take hold of her shoulders, using her as a human shield against her middle son.

“hi El!” i chat. “save me!”

“Jack, you guys have been back together for 5 minutes and you’re already attacking the poor girl?” she chides. “leave her alone.”

“yeah, Rowdy, leave me alone!” i hit back. “you’re so mean to me.”

“you called me uncool!” he rebuts. Ellen sighs and shakes her head at our childishness.

“just call a truce and go down to the lake.” she tells us. Jack and i eye each other warily as i snake a hand around Ellen for a peace handshake. Jack shakes my hand, making me smile and step out from behind his mother.

“meet at the lake in twenty?” Jack asks. i nod and take off back to my house to get changed.

this is gonna be the best summer. i can feel it.

**AUGUST 2ND, 2018**

i wake to the sunshine streaming in through my bedroom windows and my blanket falling to the floor. my back cracks with the movement of me stretching my limbs across my bed and my mouth opens wide in a yawn. i swing my feet over the side of my bed and smile. it’s been three days since Jack and Luke arrived, and according to Jack, Quinn is arriving today. i’m assuming he’ll get here in the evening, so i choose to waste time by going for a morning swim.

i strip out of my pajamas, grabbing a simple navy blue bikini from my dresser and getting changed into it. i grab a towel out of the linen closet on my way downstairs and grab a granola bar from the kitchen.

“i’m going out for a swim.” i inform my parents, who sit at the dining table. they nod, assuring me that they heard me, and go back to their discussion. i leave out the back door, walking down to the lakeside, enjoying the hot summer sun. i spot someone laying out on the shore, and grin in assumption that it’s my best friend. but when i get closer, i spot the dark brown hair and slightly paler skin and freeze in my spot. i stand in place, admiring the boy laid out with his back facing the sun. Quinn.

i stand there for a few minutes, just watching how the sun makes him glow and thinking about how much i want to be his. to be able to lay next to him and trace my name on his back as he soaks up the sun, to lay kisses across it as he hides a smile. how badly i long to be his. he stirs and i avert my gaze, continuing my walk to the shoreline.

“well hey stranger.” i hear called towards me, i look back over to see Quinn sitting up now, smiling my way. “you just gonna walk right past without saying hello? haven’t seen you in a year!”

my face heats up and i desperately hope he thinks it’s just consequences of the summer sun.

“hey, Quinn.” i say back. “long time no see! how’s UMich treating you?”

“eh, it’s been good. i can’t complain. what about you? you just graduated, right? you know what school you’re going to yet?” he rests his arms on his knees as he speaks, and with this position, my eyes are able to trail his chest, leading down to his hard earned hockey abs and the happy trail that disappears underneath his swimming trunks. “y/n?”

oh my god he just caught me ogling him. shit, what did he ask again? school?

“uh, yeah. yeah, i’m taking a gap year and then heading up to The University of British Columbia.” i finally respond.

“oh. that sounds cool!” he nods. “i was kinda selfishly hoping you’d be coming to UMich with me.”

what the fuck does that mean? does he like me? am i reading too much into that? oh my god.

“i thought about it.” i let out a weak chuckle before i tease- “but i don’t know if you could handle so much of me.”

Quinn lowers his sunglasses, letting it be known that his eyes are scanning my figure, and it’s then i remember that i’m wearing a bikini. suddenly feeling self conscious, i fold my arms in front of my chest, my towel pressing against my body.

“i think i could handle a lot more of you than you think.” a lazy smirk rests on his lips and i’m starting to need this swim more than ever.

that was an innuendo, right? that was definitely an innuendo?

i let out an awkward laugh in response.

“well, i’ll let you get back to your swim. i’ll catch you later.” he says, rising to his feet. “don’t be a stranger, y/n/n.”

i watch him walk away, back towards his house, as i contemplate his words.

i’ll catch you later.

i shake my head clear of thoughts and drop my towel on the ground before running into the body of water in front of me. i let the water tickle my skin before completely diving under. staying down for a few seconds, i imagine the lake water washing away all my wandering thoughts.

i was just reading into things. it’s what i do best. wanting him is enough for me, i don’t need him.

**

my morning swim did nothing for me in the long run. his words still play on a repeat inside my head.

i could handle a lot more of you than you think.

i’ll catch you later.

it’s currently eight o’clock in the evening and i’m leaving for a bonfire at the Hughes house. i walk out the door and cross my backyard and into the Hughes’, making straight for the blazing fire with guys circled around it. as well as Quinn arriving today, Jack had some of his friends from the USNTDP get here too, which makes me doubly outnumbered and entirely out of my territory.

“there she is! our queen!” i recognize the voice as Trevor Zegras, ever the funny guy, he and i met last summer when he came with Jack. the rest of the boys look up and watch me approach as Trevor makes a show of kneeling on the ground and bowing to me.

“get up loser.” i laugh, rolling my eyes and scanning the group. my sight is drawn to where Quinn sits quietly in an adirondack chair.

“i thought you liked me on my knees.” Trevor smirks at his own dirty joke and i lightly kick his shoulder with my foot, making him fall backwards and land on the ground with a thud. the rest of the guys cackle in laughter from both his joke and him falling, but with my sights still set on Quinn, i watch curiously as his jaw clenches and his hands turn into fists for a split second before he relaxes again.

what’s that about?

“i like men on their knees. you’re a boy.” my response earns more hysterics from the group, the guys taking the chance to rag on Trevor for his failed flirtations.

“one more year baby. you can wait for me, can’t you?” Trevor wiggles his eyebrows suggestively as he sits back down into his chair, and i notice there aren’t any more chairs for me to sit in.

“sorry Z, i don’t do younger guys. or you. at any age.” he holds a hand to his heart, acting wounded by my words.

“my heart. it’s broken! how will i ever fill the empty space you’ve left?” he whines.

“i’m sure you’ll find some puck bunny to fill it. or more so, for you to fill.” he smirks at my response and shrugs his shoulders cockily.

“what can i say? ladies love me.” he replies before another guy pulls him into a conversation. with the attention off of me, i scan the chairs. i guess i could sit in Jack’s lap. it wouldn’t be the first time. i shrug and go to walk over to my best friend, but a hand on my wrist pulls me back. i look back to Quinn, his fingers spark on my skin.

“here, you can sit with me.” he pulls me towards him, patting his thighs with his free hand. i glance toward Jack but he’s not paying any attention, his focus lasered in on his friend Alex as he speaks wildly, his hands flying around in excitement. i look back over at Quinn, who waits patiently for me to sit.

when will i ever get this chance again?

i gingerly sit down on his lap, and my face heats up, turning scarlet as he releases my wrist in favor of winding his arm around my waist, his hand laying atop my thigh.

“so, you and Trevor, huh?” he questions lowly, his voice quiet enough that only i can hear. i let out a chuckle.

“definitely not. he’s just messing around.” my hand comes up to play with the silver necklace draped on my collar bone.

“good.” he replies. his cryptic response makes my brows furrow.

good? GOOD?! what does that even mean?!

“why? you jealous?” i tease. harmless banter such as this has always been innocent with me and the two older Hughes boys.

“and what if i was?” his words make my hand freeze in place. oh my god is he actually flirting with me or am i imagining it? “what would you do to reassure me that i don’t need to worry about him?”

his tone is low, voice laced with fascination. and in an effort to not ruin the moment, i blurt out the first thing that pops in my head.

“i think the real question is what would you do to me?” i can hear the seduction in my voice, the innuendo that just slipped past my lips, and regret is my immediate reaction. his eyes flicker between my own and my lips, but before i can apologize, he leans over, his lips ghosting the shell of my ear, and speaks once more.

“be careful of what you’re saying. i have a wild imagination and a pretty girl sitting on my dick, you might end up with a situation you might not be willing to take care of.” his breath fans across my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

“who says i wouldn’t be willing?” my words are barely audible past the rushing in my ears, but i know he heard them when he leans back with a smirk on his face and lust in his eyes.

**AUGUST 23RD, 2018**

it’s that night that we started whatever we’re doing now. that night that i spent twisted in his bedsheets, drunk on him. that night that he whispered dirty talk in my ear as he brought me over the edge of pleasure multiple times. that he spent an hour with his head delved between my thighs, and then another hour with our bodies flush against each other as he brought us both to release.

since then, we’ve repeated that night seven times. i guess i could describe our relationship as a ‘situationship’. we hide behind closed doors, never talking about our feelings, never letting others see the ways we touch. i never even know when that night will repeat. my only indication being when he calls to ask me to sneak in. we only have a week left before we part for another year, and logically i know i should bring up how i feel before this ends, but i can’t help but fear that they may be one sided. that this situation is just a convenience thing for him. so i keep my feelings buried in a lockbox, not to be let out any time soon.

my phone buzzes in my lap as i sit in my bay window, and i turn it over to check the text i received. my heart deflates a little when i see it isn’t Quinn, but instead his brother.

—

From: Rowdy 💙

you still coming to the movies with me and the guys tonight? mom said Luke’s gotta come with us but don’t worry, he won’t ruin the night for us.

—

To: Rowdy 💙

i’m sorry, i’m not feeling great. rain check?

also, be nice to Moosey! he just wants to spend time with his big brother!

—

From: Rowdy 💙

okay, hope you feel better! let me know if you need anything, i can make a stop at the store on my way back.

—

Jack's response makes guilt settle in my stomach. how messed up is it of me to cancel plans with my best friend, in hopes that his older brother will call me for a hook up?

i'm horrible.

-

[natlacentral]

Sokka Actor Defends Changes To Live-Action 'Avatar' Series: "You Have To Take Risks"

Sokka actor Ian Ousley opens up on creative changes to Netflix’s ‘Avatar’ series, what he fought to keep in the show, the hilarious cast group chat, and much more.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is in the pantheon of 2000s Nickelodeon shows. 

Since its debut in 2005, the animated series inspired several spinoff projects and a passionate, global fanbase—one that’s been particularly protective of the franchise following M. Night Shyamalan’s disgraceful 2010 adaptation. 

When it was announced that the series would be getting the live-action treatment at Netflix, fans were skeptical. Would this be another bomb, like the canceled Cowboy Bepop series? Or could it actually be something worthwhile for the franchise, like the recent adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece? 

Ian Ousley, the 21-year-old actor born in College Station, Texas, who plays Sokka in the Netflix version, knew it would be a daunting task adapting one of the most beloved animated stories of the 21st Century. But he says the cast had one common goal stepping into the project. 

“We’ve got to do this thing justice,” Ousley says. “What we want is to give people a true and faithful adaptation of a show that people grew up on and still love today.”

It seems like the live-action series has resonated with fans. In its first four days in the US, it secured the No. 1 spot on Nielsen’s streaming chart and garnered nearly twice as many views as the debut of One Piece. In a sign of faith, Netflix decided to greenlight Seasons 2 and 3, ensuring the series will at least get the opportunity to tell Aang’s whole story and possibly do right by the franchise’s legacy. 

Ousley sat down with Complex to reflect on the necessary changes for live-action, what he demanded to keep in the series, bonding with the cast, and much more. 

You were 19 when you signed on to the project. We're here now, two years later. How are you feeling?

IAN OUSLEY: Feeling older [Chuckles]. I feel great. We shot this project for 13 months in Vancouver. It's been almost a year and a half since VFX and all of that stuff. So it's kind of a weird situation to go from like, “Oh, you're gonna do 12 hours of work every day for 13 months.” Then it's like, “All right, here's your life for like a year and a half.” 

Then it gets released and it's like, “Oh, by the way, you did this thing and it's awesome, and you're it's going to come out and it's going to be crazy.” So it's been a funny, kind of roller coaster situation.

It was also a massive world tour, from Tudum in Brazil to all across the globe. What’s it been like interacting with fans ever since you joined? 

I mean, great. It is a very passionate fan base. I was part of that fan base at one point, so I really understand. Since it's been released, the fan reaction has been overwhelmingly positive from what I've seen, so I'm just really grateful that the fans like it honestly. Because I was in that same spot where I was like, “Oh my gosh, I really want this to be good.” 

Everyone on the cast and the creative side of things were really fans of the project, which is rare to find, a project that everyone is so passionate about. We were like, “Okay, this has to be good because there might have been a movie at some point that maybe wasn't so good.”

We were like, “Our whole goal is: we’ve got to do this thing justice.”

What was the casting process like? I heard it was done under cover, Ken Leung thoughthe was auditioning for a different franchise. How did all that go down? 

It was under a code name, so I did a self tape under the code name “Tradewinds” and thought it was just some Netflix original because it said Netflix but didn't say anything else. I had no idea it was Avatar at all. 

I did a bunch of Zoom callbacks, chemistry reads over Zoom, which is always funny because if you've ever been on a Zoom meeting in your life, there's that subtle delay, which is kind of awkward. So acting with that was pretty interesting. 

But we were in the midst of COVID, and I got the call that I actually got the role. The first reaction was, “Oh, my God. I'm playing Sokka.” And then I was like, “Oh my God, I'm playing Sokka. What the heck?” Like, so much pressure. 

Once you landed the role, how much Avatar content did you consume to prepare for the project?

To prepare, I just watched season one because I didn't want to have in my mind too much the arc of what Sokka goes through in seasons two and three. So I was religiously watching season one, like three or four times. Throughout the process of filming the show, just reminding myself of like, “Okay, we're here. Sokka is going through this.”

The animated show is basically the heart and soul of our show, but our show is different. It's live-action. Anything's going to be different when you take it from animation and put it into real people. So just trying to add those human elements into it, finding where they really didn’t get to dive into because it’s an animated series, trying to find where we could mix those human elements in. 

What were you most excited to tackle with the project? Anything you were really looking forward to? 

I was most excited for the stunts. Dallas [Liu, who plays Zuko] is a good friend of mine, and those were my favorite days, shadowing and getting to watch him do his martial arts in costume, which is very difficult. We're basically all in leather, so doing what he's doing is insane.

The costumes, that's what really transported us into the world. The first time I got my haircut and I'd put the costume on in the fitting and stuff, I was like, “Okay, this is really cool.” Once I had the wolf tail, it was over. I was like, “Oh my gosh. This is real.” And that's kind of where I saw it through, Not just my imagination anymore, it was like, “Oh, this is real.” 

What were the action and fight scenes like for you?

Great! My job is to lose most of them [Chuckles], but it was actually a really fun experience. We did a six-week-long bootcamp where we all learned how to bend all four elements, even though I'm a non-bender. The rest of that bootcamp was focused on me re-learning my martial arts background, which isn’t very hard.

I'm a third degree black belt in taekwondo and a world champion in weapons. So that was what was fun for me because Sokka's got a lot of weapons. He's got spears, he's got his boomerang, obviously. Later on he'll master the space sword, which I'm very excited for, hopefully. I mean, that's in the animated series. We don't have any scripts yet for season two and three, but yeah, it was really fun to do those scenes.

The behind-the-scenes pictures made it look like y’all were legit family, like homies. What was the bonding experience like on and off set? 

I mean, hopefully me and Dallas didn't seem like actual homies in the show, but we were roommates. We actually knew each other in L.A. beforehand, when we were like 15. It's a very long story, but we really were not fans of each other at all. So when I found out he got cast, I was like, “Oh my God, this is gonna suck. My life is going to suck for a year.”

We were supposed to be friends and then we just bonded throughout the bootcamp and the first month of shooting. We lived a block away from each other and we would always get dropped off at one person's house, go eat, come back to that person's house, and then seven hours before we had to be on set for the next bootcamp day, which is very intense because it's like eight hours of training, we'd be like, “Oh, crap, I've got to go home.” Go sleep in separate places, and then do it all again the next day. 

So after Christmas break, we were just like, “Dude, we've got to move in together.” So we ended up doing that, which was really cool. 

Do you guys have a group chat?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Does it have a special nickname like “OppenHomies” or something?

You know, that sounds more like what the Oppenheimer group chat is, is that what it is? “OppenHomies”? Oh, my God. That's so lit. 

We have one, it's “Shadow Wizard Money Gang.” I think there's a music producer who has that as his producing tag that was big for a while.

One day I opened my text and it said “Shadow Wizard Money Gang” with like a ton of emojis. And I was like, “What the hell?” And it was them. I was like, “Oh, cool.”

What are your cardinal rules for adapting an animated project into live action?

I think that, for one, I'll say that we love the animated show. All of us are fans of that, which is what we are trying to embody instead of emulate, is what I would say. A shot for shot remake of an animation to me personally is unnecessary. What we want is to give people a true and faithful adaptation of a show that people grew up on and still love today. 

That's what I would say to some of the critics: “I hear you and we love the animated show and it exists and is perfect for a reason.” I think that it's necessary to bring some differences to the show so that we can have some new content. You have to take risks, and I think we took some risks. Sometimes that really, really pans out and sometimes it doesn’t. I think that most of our risks really did. 

What I’d also say to this subject in general, I know it's a little bit off topic, but I feel like the first season of the animated show is so good, but it's hopping around a lot. We're going on little side missions here and there because we're trying to get to the Northern Water Tribe, and it really finds its voice in seasons two and three.

It's like, “We know what the show is, we know what we're going after, we know what the plot points are. We have Toph now. We have the Aang Gang. We have a mission. We’ve got to save the world.” I think that our show also has that opportunity in live-action.

We've gotten so much constructive criticism, which is why we all want to make the show as good as possible. Still, not just for season one, but season two and three. I think we really have that opportunity now as well to find our voice in season two and three. 

Was there anything that you felt particularly strong about that you felt Sokka needed to keep in the live-action?

One thing that I asked to keep that was almost not there was I'm wearing the Kyoshi armor in episode two. Originally I wasn't wearing the Kyoshi armor. In the animated show, it's kind of seen as a punch line. It's a punishment, like, “Here, throw this on if you want to train with us.”

For me, I went to the people that wanted to make that change and was like, “You know, I'm a martial artist. If I'm going to a jiu jitsu gym, I'm going to wear their uniform. It can be seen as a sign of honor and respect.” I think that's totally what it is.

So I was really happy that I got to keep that. It really was not anything intense, but it was just advocating for your characters. Always. Everyone always loves that because no one had ego on our set, which is something that's so important when trying to create something that's good is like, “Oh, I'm totally down to be wrong.”

What are your hopes for deepening your portrayal of Sokka? Anything you are excited to explore in Seasons 2 and 3?

I think that he evolves through his sense of responsibility. He evolves through his relationship with his sister a lot. The reason this question is hard to answer is because I don't have scripts yet, which helps me guide where that growth will come from. I'm kind of a psycho about trying to make the performance not one noted, even in one episode or one part of a season.

I had a whole serial killer wall, theories of all like, okay, “This season he's going through this. And then the reason it changes here is because…” and then once you do all of that work, you can throw it all away once you get on set and you kind of have a sense of purpose of why.

So I think I'm going to find out more of those specifics, I will find out more about that when I get those scripts. Hopefully soon. 

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

five weeks down, ten to go… one third of the way there! (& at least two of my kids have set final test dates such that we’ll be done 8 weeks from now…) today was another long one - 40 hours across 7 days - and i said yes to another twice weekly student if we could get the scheduling to work out but (luckily?) the parents have been flaky about getting back on that front so i haven’t actually met them yet. i have some lucky cancellations coming up too (my one ACT kid is taking a mini break which is great because that test is like the longest to digitize, it’s so huge lol). i’m hoping this week is like… a teeny bit more chill? but if not it’s okay. i did some highlighting on the train today but mostly because i wanted to listen to brat but it’s completely different more than i wanted to do anything else.

domestic tasks such as laundry, room cleaning, etc continue to fall by the wayside alas. i also did not wind up making it to my vax appointment between needing to go help my mom home from the hospital (she’s fine) and getting hit by Migraine. but i did make it to female trouble at BAM cinema, which wound up being one of the movies i have been gladdest to see in a theater with other people.

this week i am hoping to get my vax for real (hoping tomorrow) & make plans to see jeremy strong roy cohn sebstan trmp movie with my mom. also i have dinner plans tomorrow with a friend! i thought about cancelling my friday zoom chat with a friend due to I Have So Much Work but i’m glad i didn’t. i have completed 5 weeks of 5x a week workouts (& meeting my step count!) and will be taking a chill week as recommended by reddit in the hopes that that leaves me feeling a little less beat up than i have doing 10-week programs in the past. i am drinking way too much coke zero but it’s fine. i am perhaps not fully Thriving but i’m not feeling crazy, and if i start feeling crazy this week i will only have to feel crazy for ten weeks at most, which frankly is fucking nothing, but i probably won’t (or, well, i might but it will be temporary and due to PMS, lmao). i’ve read almost a third of flowers in the attic and listened to b2b featuring tinashe approximately 9 billion times.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Gregg Gonsalves

Why are places like Stanford and Johns Hopkins hosting gatherings of well-known coronavirus cranks?

Today, Stanford University is holding an all-day gathering on the Covid pandemic, with its new president making opening remarks. It’s the second such meeting at a prestigious university in recent months, after Johns Hopkins hosted a “symposium on health policy” in September. They may seem fine on the surface, but both events should be a source of embarrassment for the institutions involved. (I have a personal stake in the former gathering: I’m spending my time this fall at Stanford with a group of wonderful, truly talented researchers, who I hope do not get sprayed with the stink of this misbegotten affair.)

While the organization and funding for these two meetings isn’t explicitly linked, the cast of characters at both are eerily similar. They each feature a collection of well-known Covid contrarians: those who, in the early days of the pandemic thought we should “let ’er rip” and get as many people infected as possible, with a performative nod to protecting the vulnerable; suggested that vaccine and mask mandates were somehow akin to Nazi totalitarianism; told us not to worry about variants (“variants, schmariants,” as one of them remarked months before Delta and Omicron blasted their way through the US); and said we’d have herd immunity by April 2021.

If you want just one piece of evidence about the kind of cranks we’re talking about, consider this: A late addition to the Stanford meeting is a senior editor of the Epoch Times, a far-right publication that not only dabbles in Covid conspiracies but is a frequent purveyor of climate change denialism.

While the organizers have tried to add a few reasonable voices to the meeting, it doesn’t change the overall thrust of these gatherings. As former Texas governor Ann Richards said, “You can put lipstick and earrings on a hog and call it Monique, but it’s still a pig.”

Health reporters like Michael Hiltzik at the Los Angeles Times blew the whistle on the Stanford conference in mid-September, and others who have focused on debunking the pseudoscience of this crew have written about the meetings on both coasts. The faculty at both institutions who are pushed for and are behind these convocations have defended them on the grounds of academic freedom—a defense that, in our current era of freakouts over “cancel culture,” neither Stanford or Hopkins would have had an easy time overcoming. Chalk one up to the contrarians for putting these schools in an impossible situation—though that still does not explain why Stanford’s president feels the need to personally show up today.

The architects of these meetings come with bags and bags of right-wing funding, some of it laundered through think tanks and other institutions. They have met with Trump officials in the White House and guided Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Covid-19 policy. Some of them even got a shout-out from Bret Stephens at The New York Times last week.

They whine on and on about how terribly they’ve been treated, but, far from being persecuted, they are celebrated on the right, even if the mainstream members of their professions have, time and time again, considered their ideas and roundly rejected them on their merits.

My question is: Why host these meetings now and in these venues?

Some have suggested this is about “auditioning” for the next Trump administration as much as it is trying to rewrite the history of the pandemic. Both are in part probably true. But if you zoom out and think about these meetings in the context of the right’s war on higher education, I believe the purpose becomes clearer.

These Covid contrarians—who have found little support for their views among their peers—have decided that the science has been turned into “a dogmatic tool of oppression” for rejecting them. In their minds they are Galileos against the church, and now they are tilting their fury against the institutions themselves. This tack is of course reminiscent of the right’s attacks on the universities as bastions of woke, left-wing ideology, which either need to be reformed (by hiring more conservative faculty) or gutted and rebuilt to their liking (e.g., New College of Florida).

In this light, these two meetings are about establishing a beachhead—building credibility in what many of the organizers would consider the liberal bastions of academia. If you cannot convince your colleagues of the worth of your arguments, then you can cry out that you’re being discriminated against for simply having “differing views.” But things don’t work like that in science: we don’t teach intelligent design alongside evolution, or alternative theories of the cause of AIDS. Supporters of those discredited ideas would say we need to “teach the controversy” and not be dogmatic, but there is no controversy to be had: the preponderance of the evidence supports evolution and HIV as the cause of AIDS. Similarly, many of the Covid contrarians’ favorite claims have withered in the sunlight of scientific scrutiny.

But just as the Federalist Society has established influence over law schools and the judiciary, the Covid contrarians and their supporters would like to do the same for medicine and public health, by mainstreaming their views—both in academic settings and then in public policy—by sheer brute force. They won’t give up, and they have the money and resources to continue their campaigns. Should former president Trump regain the White House, their fortunes will rise and these threats to academic integrity, and to the public health itself (through adoption of their views in practice) will go into overdrive.

And for anyone who thinks this is all academic, in mid-September, the surgeon general of Florida recommended against the use of mRNA Covid vaccines, just as we’re heading into respiratory virus season, endangering the lives of the residents of the state with quackery and pseudoscience. Of course, it’s the same Covid contrarians who have organized these meetings, who have been advising the DeSantis administration for several years now on pandemic policy. Shame on them.

[sailorsenshishitposter]

MGR office au part 6 - a day in the life of Jetstream Sam

After that awkward encounter with his boss, Sam got dressed and then double jumped onto the roof. He needed some space and didn't want to think about what had just happened. He gazed down the deadly height noticing a new face that he had never seen before. "What a pretty boy. I should go meet him." He then jumped all the way down and did a super hero landing, causing the earth to shatter beneath his feet. Since this was Denver, all the locals were used to strange events and paid no attention.

He ran towards the intriguing man and then stood in front of him. "Excuse me but would this happen to be you?" There was a poster in bold writing that said "HOT, SEXY CYBORGS IN YOUR AREA" The man responded back "Sorry. I'm from Liberia. You must have the wrong guy." He tried to walk away until Sam grabbed his shoulder. "Did it hurt?" The other man was now totally confused. "What?"

"I said did it hurt. When you fell. From Heaven." Sam then gave a massive shit eating grin and winked. The man let out a disgusted noise. "Ugh. What are you even supposed to be with that green exoskeleton? Shrek?" Sam chuckled. "Human Shrek I hope." He gave another smile. The other man became flustered. "You're impossible to get rid of!"

"No I'm Samuel Rodriguez but you can call me Papai ;) What's your name blondie?" The other man groaned. "I guess you won't leave me alone. My names Raiden all right? Not blondie!" Sam laughed. "Whatever you say pretty boy." As the two men were chatting, his colleagues began to wonder where he went?

Suddenly a voice came over the intercom. "Due to recent events, today's plans are cancelled. Next week we will be having a lesson on sexual harassment in the work place. Thank you all for understanding and good day." "Look at what you got us into Sundowner!" said Monsoon. The cyborg began to protest. "Hey, I got today's plan cancelled. More time for me to watch info wars. Besides, Sam's not here anyway!"

"While that may be true, we still won't be receiving payment today, no thanks to your actions and Mistral still wants to hang your corpse above her fireplace." Sundowner gulped. "Speakin' of which, where is she?" He carefully tip toed around the room only to nearly be caught by a whip. "MERDE! I ALMOST HAD YOU!" Sundowner then grabbed Monsoon. "Let's get outta here and find Sam!"

Soon they were outside of headquarters. "Okay, I think I'm safe now." The bald man let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. "What the- Is that good ol' Sammy!" Monsoon used his vizor to zoom in. Low and behold, there was Sam along with some stranger. Without thinking, he blatantly asked "So Sundowner, who do you think is the top?" His coworker was now totally confused. "Why the hell are you bringin' up clothing?"

"...Nevermind. Let's not have another repeat of yesterday shall we? Anyway my Intel is telling me that the man he is with is a infamous cyborg called Raiden. Otherwise known as Mr. Lightning Bolt-" "No fuckin' way! They really call him that?" Sundowner was now on the ground cackling. Monsoon sighed. "If you will let me finish, he's a skilled child soldier from Liberia, directly took on the patriots and has-.... child bearing hips...?"

"What in the fuck man!?" Neither of them could believe what they just heard. "All right, change of plans. We'll observe them from afar." Ten minutes later and Sundowner had acquired a giant Amazon warehouse cardboard box that the two of them managed to fit in. "What's happenin'? How are you supposed to see what they're doing?" The other man grew tired of his coworkers idiocy. "You know very well that I'm blind and can't see. I'm going to try listening in on their conversation."

Monsoon detached an ear and carefully maneuvered it forward. Once he had it in range he careful set it down where the two men wouldn't notice it. "So what do you think about getting something to eat?" "As long as it doesn't taste like gunpowder it should be fine." "Wait, what-" Suddenly he couldn't hear them anymore. Sundowner looked outside and noticed that it had started to rain. "Whadda we do now?"

"Wind blows, rain falls. It's simply how things are. I'm not so weak as to quit from the threat of a mere storm." He called his ear back. "I'll simply use my electromagnetism to my advantage. Watch and learn." Sundowner nodded. "If you say so." Soon Monsoon had shouted "Lorentz Force" and then there was a change in the air. "What's happening to my body!?" shouted Raiden. "Hey I think it's workin' Monsoon!" The man gave a smug grin. "Of course. Soon I shall orchestrate my utopia of death!"

It seemed the force was perhaps too strong. The next thing they knew, Raiden became stuck to Sam's body. "Did ya mean for this ta happen too er..?" Monsoon took the box, threw it on the ground and started to repeatedly stab it with dystopia. "I didn't know how much you liked me blondie?" Raiden wanted to scream. "I don't, it's this stupid body. Something must be wrong with it. DOKTER!"

Suddenly a holographic image of a German man popped up. "Ah, Raiden, what zeems to be de problem-" He took one look and then blushed. "Oh my, I zeppos I haught you at a bad time yah..." He then promptly ended the transmission. "DAMN IT!" Sam chuckled. "Is it really so bad being this close to me?"

"YES! NOW HELP ME! THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE OVER THERE AND I DON'T WANT THEM TAKING PICTURES!" Sam sighed. "And just when I was starting to have fun. Alright. What do you want me to do?" Raiden then explained that they should be able to change the polarity if Sam turned around. "Hopefully this should fix everything. Now get moving before I die of embarrassment!"

Somehow Sam had managed to turn around but there was a new problem. They were still stuck together and in a even more compromising position. Specifically it looked like Raiden was giving it to Sam from behind. "Heh. Didn't know you were into this?" Raiden doubted his face could get any redder. "ARGH!!!" Sam then had a thought. "You know I won't be mad if you want to test the merchandise. I can assure you, it is of very high quality."

"OH MY GOD WILL YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Raiden was just hoping that something would kill him at this point. "Hey, I know those guys!" Raiden's lone eye went wide open. "YOU WHAT!?" "Yeah, they're my co-workers. Maybe they could help us get unstuck. And perhaps a picture to remember you by?" Jack was close to coming out. "Calm down, I was only kidding." (He wasn't)

"HEEEEEYYYYY, HEEEEEEYYY OVER HERE!" Sundowner scratched his head. "You don't think they're talking to us do you?" Monsoons anger soon washed away once he noticed all the yelling. "I guess we better fix this." They went over and released the two men from the magnetic grip. "Thanks guys. I knew I could count on you. By the way, this is my boyfriend Raiden." Sundowner and Monsoon began to clap. "Congratulations."

Suddenly Raiden was right behind Sam. "And when was I going to be made aware about this?" he said with an icy tone. Sam began to sweat profusely. Next thing he knew, Raiden's eye began to glow red and he took out his blade. "Did I ever introduce you to Jack?" Soon Sam was running away from the mad man known as Jack the ripper.

Sundowner laughed. "All's well that ends well. Speakin' of which, why do I feel like I'm forgetin' somethin"?" Half a second later and Mistral used her whip like Spiderman to hurl herself forward and then flung her foot into Sundowner's crotch. "Mon fucking Dieu! These bitches gay! Good for them!"

[kabillieu]

Another week, another sick child. Eldest kid has had some mysterious stomach upset that kept him home on Tuesday, and now today. I left him home by himself for a couple hours on Tuesday and Dominic came home early from work. Today he seems to feel worse, so I just moved my class to Zoom.

Luckily I can do that. I don't like to because I just keep waiting to get in trouble. I haven't felt like a good teacher since basically the pandemic started, and I keep waiting to be reprimanded, and one of these days I probably will be. (Honestly, I already have been. I'm just waiting for it happen again.)

We've also had some other stuff going on. It's stressful.

For me, the hardest thing about having children is being flexible enough to meet them where they are. I really depend on routine to keep all of us running, but this week we haven't been in our usual routines at all because of various illnesses and (thankfully resolved now) emergencies, and it's been hard on all of us.

For now *knocks on all the wood in the house* I have felt well even though all the boys have felt sick for basically the better part of two weeks now. It's not Covid--we had eldest kid tested at urgent care yesterday--and Dominic and I have repeatedly tested negative using at-home tests. It's probably a combination of viruses. And then Dominic has an ear infection.

Yesterday I met a friend for lunch, and she said I seemed depressed, which was kind of rude honestly, but I'm sure she meant that the way I'm talking about myself doesn't seem anchored in reality. It's reality that I literally can't work harder than I'm working, that I have an overly full plate, and that I'm doing as good a job as I can possibly do under my life's circumstances. But all I can see is my cohort moving through their PhD at a reasonable pace while I fall further and further behind.

So today I'm going to be grateful for not having to commute to Lincoln and for the technology that allows me to not have to outright cancel class. Also, my students are definitely going to like doing a ten-minute Zoom instead of sitting in class for an hour and 15 minutes.

This is me being flexible, I guess.

[whoblewboobear]

Just realized that I still haven’t recovered fully from the holiday party last week. The amount of small talk and social interaction and overstimulating really fucked me so severely bc I truly was already at like a 50% mentally that day.

Over the weekend I mostly slept, and then Monday I still woke up and then went in completely exhausted. I think if I didn’t call out today I would’ve been in worse shape. I ended up in worse shape anyway but good god. I’m taking my pill tonight immediately after dinner and finishing my neo yokio rewatch and playing stardew until I get tired. I just wanna feel okay, and I have enough coping mechanisms to get to ‘okay.’

I don’t see my therapist for another two weeks and I still don’t know when I’ll be back with my other therapist now that she’s been back from medical leave. My current told me my other therapist was taking back her clients now, just to be told a week later that she couldn’t accept anyone else yet. I just hate doing appointments over zoom in the house because I can’t talk about stuff going on with my family comfortably bc my mom is listening and then gets pissy when I talk about what she’s done.

I think I’ll call the office tomorrow to ask when my other therapist will take more clients bc I made so much progress with her vs every other therapist I’ve had over the years. Now it feels like I can’t go long without a bad depressive episode hitting again and then my therapist cancels. I know I need to be seen every week and at this point it’s maybe once or twice a month and then I’m just trying to cope and cope and cope until I see her next. It’s just.. I need that support and I’m not getting it. It just sucks, man.

Every time something happens it’s like I’m not recovering fast enough or my mental health is so fucked that I can’t deal with it properly. Thankfully I haven’t had as much suicidal ideation as in the past but fuck man. It’s those small thoughts that creep in so fast and it scares me a little bc I do want to live. I just want life to be a bit easier.

I meet with my boss for our weekly meeting again tomorrow and I just don’t wanna deal with it I just.. I need this year to be over. I need my vacation days back. I need a week off to just get my shit together or feel whatever I need to feel because I’m fucking drowning.

I felt better last week and everyone at work kept commenting on it and I could just slowly feel the depressive episode creeping in and I just.. people treat me so differently when I’m feeling depressed and I’m tired of being told I’m cold or mean or quiet when I can’t help it. It just reminds me of when my sister called me cold and selfish. Or how my mom treats me when I’m depressed.

I’ve been gone for hours at this point and I’m sure neither of my parents even noticed. I don’t even think they would’ve noticed I called out today if I didn’t forget my bag in the bathroom this morning when I went to lay back down.

I just want the people in my life to care more and they never do and I end up isolated whether I want to be alone or not.

[jacn]

Perfecting Booking together with Calendly: A great In-Depth Introduction

In today's electric age group, effective personal time management is crucial for private in addition to specialized success. A single resource this is certainly crucial for streamlining the booking practice is Calendly. The following impressive program can help persons in addition to agencies improve scheduled appointment reservations, cut down admin workload, in addition to greatly enhance productivity. In the following paragraphs, we'll take a look at precisely what Calendly is, their important functions, positive aspects, in addition to the actual way it might revolutionize your booking processes.

What is Calendly?

Calendly is an internet based booking resource intended to simplify the operation of creating meetings in addition to appointments. Set up in 2013 by means of Tope Awotona, Calendly reduces the back-and-forth messages customarily related to booking by end users to express their accessibility via a link. Invitees may well then choose a good moment slot machine game, along with the scheduled appointment is on auto-pilot included in both parties' calendars.

Key Features of Calendly

1. Automated Scheduling

Calendly's core characteristic is its capability to improve the booking process. Customers collection their accessibility tastes, in addition to invitees choose between the available moment slots. The following reduces the requirement of guide co-ordination in addition to ensures that meetings are arranged efficiently.

2. Customizable Event Types

Customers can establish different occasion forms to be able to accommodate to be able to getting together with forms, such as one-on-one meetings, class events, or maybe round-robin scheduling. Just about every occasion variety might have its period, position, in addition to accessibility settings.

3. Calendar Integration

Calendly effortlessly combines together with important diary websites just like Yahoo and google Schedule, Master of science Outlook, Workplace 365, in addition to iCloud. The following ensures that arranged meetings on auto-pilot appear in your diary, protecting against two bottle reservations in addition to conflicts.

4. Video Conferencing Integration

Calendly combines together with well-liked online video conferencing equipment just like Zoom lens, Master of science Clubs, in addition to Yahoo and google Meet. While a scheduled visit is appointed, Calendly on auto-pilot produces a relevant video conferencing url, doing simple to use to be able to perform virtual meetings.

5. Customizable Notifications and Reminders

Customers might setup email in addition to SMS signal in addition to memory joggers to make certain both people in addition to their invitees are reminded with approaching appointments. The following helps in reducing no-shows in addition to last-minute cancellations.

6. Custom Branding

Pertaining to businesses, Calendly provides made to order printing options. Customers might customize their booking webpages with their logo and colours, delivering an experienced in addition to logical practical experience for purchasers in addition to partners.

7. Advanced Analytics

Calendly supplies thorough analytics in addition to coverage features. Customers might course measurements such as the amount of meetings appointed, rescheduled, or maybe canceled, serving these individuals get insights into their booking designs in addition to boost their availability.

Benefits of Using Calendly

1. Time Savings

By automating the booking practice, Calendly conserves sizeable moment for the organizer along with the invitees. Now might much better invested in a lot more effective tasks.

2. Improved Productivity

By using Calendly handling the booking logistics, end users might target with their core responsibilities. Your reduction in admin duties results in increased general productivity.

3. Enhanced Professionalism

Calendly provides for a smooth in addition to specialized booking experience. Customized printing in addition to computerized signal make certain that purchasers in addition to lovers understand the business as organized in addition to efficient.

4. Better Appointment Management

Calendly's incorporation together with diary in addition to online video conferencing equipment helps ensure that all meetings are well-organized in addition to easily obtainable in a person place. Customers may easily take care of their times and get away from two bottle reservations or maybe skipped meetings.

5. Increased Customer Satisfaction

The ease of booking meetings by way of Calendly elevates purchaser satisfaction. Purchasers enjoy the comfort of deciding on a good moment slot machine game without the hassle with back-and-forth communication.

How to Get Started with Calendly

Step 1: Sign Up

Go to the in addition to sign up to a free account making use of your email address contact Calendly Pricing information or maybe by means of backlinking your Yahoo and google, Workplace 365, or maybe Apple mackintosh account.

Step 2: Set Up Your Calendar

Hook up your preferred diary to be able to Calendly. This will give Calendly to examine your accessibility which will help prevent booking conflicts.

Step 3: Define Your Availability

Fixed your accessibility tastes by means of specifying purchasing in addition to periods you actually are accessible for meetings. People may add buffers between meetings to ensure you possess sufficient preparing time.

Step 4: Create Event Types

Create different occasion forms based on your booking needs. Modify the period, position, along with configurations per occasion type.

Step 5: Share Your Calendly Link

Discuss your personal Calendly link to purchasers, peers, or maybe partners. Many people may use the web link to evaluate your accessibility in addition to guide appointments.

Step 6: Manage Appointments

Take advantage of the Calendly instrument cluster to evaluate in addition to take care of your appointed appointments. You can reschedule or maybe get rid of events if required, in addition to course your booking metrics.

Conclusion

Calendly is actually a game-changer inside playing field of booking, presenting an array of functions this improve in addition to simplify the scheduled appointment booking process. By bringing in together with important diary in addition to online video conferencing equipment, delivering personalized occasion forms, in addition to presenting innovative analytics, Calendly fits the requirements of persons, small organizations, and large agencies alike. Adopt Calendly to enhance your booking performance, enhance productiveness, in addition to give a specialized practical experience for your visitors in addition to partners.

[angria]

CW: Some religious talk below

After reading my diary cards, T commented on my increase in attachment shit dreams over the last few months.  That it seems this fear of being ignored by him or him leaving is growing.  I told him it is probably because of all our talk about “better” and being less dependent or attached, feeling pushed away.  On top of still feeling the effects of the pandemic and all the changes that it caused (losing his office, Zoom sessions, etc.).  And he keeps bringing up he won’t be around forever, probably retiring in ten years at best.

He said it is not about being less attached or pushing me away.  He wants to lessen my vulnerability around changes to our routine (cancellations, etc.) or when he is not there.  That I need to increase my self-compassion, seeing myself as worthy.  That I am not the exception in the sense I am all bad all the time.  I started scowling at him, telling him what I wrote once.  How I was taught I was nothing before I learned I was something.  Continuing, I said the first 14 years dictate my life.  Everything is tainted by trauma, growing up knowing I am worthless, nothing, not worth saving.  How am I supposed to believe any differently?  T shook his head, saying that is simply not true.  And I have people today challenging those conclusions.  I just repeated, “But which one is true?!”

I started to shut down by that point because all this talk about worthy and knowing what is true reminded me of something J said to me one time.  After some silence, T asked what I was thinking, because he knew I was having thoughts.  I finally told him that I miss J, tearing up as I said it.  How he just left.  T asked, “So does that mean everything you two shared never happened?  That it is no longer true?  Looking in my lap, I shook my head, whispering it doesn’t feel like it.  I had a hard time speaking, but I eventually told him about the one meeting with J about being worthy, spinning my head around this theological logic puzzle.  How I told him I was always punished, not worth saving or protecting by God.  J then described how I am His creation.  I am made in His image and likeness.  If I am unworthy, then so is He and that is not true.  So what they told me?  Lies.  My head was spinning by that point.  Countering, I asked him how can you tell which one is true?  J immediately corrected me and said, “It is not about whether one or the other is true.  What they told you is a lie, period.  What people said you were is a lie and was never true.  Their lie is not from God because He does not lie.  Because you are His beloved…It is never a question of whether or not you are worthy.  You are always worthy.”

As I recounted this meeting to T, I was trying so hard not to cry.  I then told him how I have no emotional permanence.  Even when there is an established attachment.  If I do not feel a connection in the moment, then it is not there at all.  T made an affirmative noise, saying that was really interesting and he would think about what I said.  Once I got home, I started digging for this quote I had saved by theologian Henri Nouwen.  Long story (which I wrote about here years ago), I found the quote about the abandoned child.  However, I found another quote by Nouwen, which made me burst out sobbing.  About worthiness and being His beloved.  Everything that J always told me.  

Just….I don’t even know.  I feel so confused.  Mainly from remembering what J said because it was such a theological logic statement.  I can’t wiggle out of it, trying to argue how I’m worthless and nothing.  I just don’t know how to take it in, to actually feel it, believe it.  Because it always comes back to this–-who am I without trauma?

I included Nouwen’s quote under the cut below.  

"I would like to speak to you about the spiritual life as the life of the beloved…Let me start by telling you that many of the people that I live with hear voices that tell them that they are no good, that they are a problem, that they are a burden, that they are a failure. They hear a voice that keeps saying, “If you want to be loved, you had better prove that you are worth loving. You must show it.”

But what I would like to say is that the spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says something else, that says, “You are the beloved and on you my favor rests.”

You are the beloved and on you my favor rests. Jesus heard that voice. He heard that voice when He came out of the Jordan River. I want you to hear that voice, too. It is a very important voice that says, "You are my beloved son; you are my beloved daughter. I love you with an everlasting love. I have molded you together in the depths of the earth. I have knitted you in your mother's womb. I've written your name in the palm of my hand and I hold you safe in the shade of my embrace. I hold you. You belong to Me and I belong to you. You are safe where I am. Don't be afraid. Trust that you are the beloved. That is who you truly are."

I want you to hear that voice. It is not a very loud voice because it is an intimate voice. It comes from a very deep place. It is soft and gentle. I want you to gradually hear that voice. We both have to hear that voice and to claim for ourselves that that voice speaks the truth, our truth. It tells us who we are. That is where the spiritual life starts — by claiming the voice that calls us the beloved."

– Henri Nouwen, from the sermon Life of the Beloved, May 17th 1991

[birdshall]

10 Things I wish I knew before I became a philosopher

Socratic hot takes 

Hello and welcome back to philosophy tok! 

Since I’ve gained a lot of subscribers recently. Probably because a whole bunch of my colleagues of the more recent centuries have been canceled for oversharing some shady opinions in the ethics & morality department.

For those of you who are new here, welcome, I’m Socrates, I’m an ancient philosopher and today i thought i’d give you a few 10 tips for the newbie philosopher that I wished I had known sooner:

The first is:  Mastering the Art of the Selfie: Socrates might have enjoyed capturing his deep thoughts in a perfectly-filtered selfie. A solid selfie game is essential for a philosopher in the 21st century.

And start practicing when you’re still young! Take a lot of them and make sure you exude an air of wisdom and confidence, but remember to smile. I didn’t do this when I was still young and sexy unfortunately, and now there’s probably thousands of busts of my old haggard face placed in university lecture theaters and houses of parliament all around the world.

So on the off chance that you become famous for your ramblings and are taught in universities around the world someday, make sure that the professors have plenty of pictures to choose from that are more flattering than this abomination! 

"The Art of Subtweeting."

In this age of written words, remember to engage in debates with finesse. Never name names, but deliver your philosophical shade with eloquence and subtlety. If you’re gonna be a hater, never address the individual directly, but also be specific enough to make sure that the person you’re talking about knows exactly who they are! 

Now, let's talk about tip number three:

 "Online Philosophy Courses."

Now you know, that I am a big fan of meeting and thinking in groups, especially perambulating over the agora. But sometimes, I just can’t deal with the ruthless mediterranean sun, that’s when online courses come in handy. I can keep my brain active, while keeping my body cool and comfortable in my stoa. Shameless plug here. If you want to join my online courses, you can do so on my Website: Soc’ssuperssassysocraticsesh.com 

My two most popular courses are still

Plato vs. Socrates - Spilling the Hemlock Tea

and 

Hot Takes and High stakes with Socrates 

You’ll find the link in my Bio.  

Tip number four is related to tip 3: You’ve got to know how to organize an effective symposium over zoom. The world has grown beyond Greek Horizons my friend, and we want to engage in musings with our international friends. Zoom can be very helpful, even though it can be frustrating to argue with someone who refuses to turn on their camera as they diss your theses and theorems, humiliating you in front of everyone. Cowardly, but unfortunately, far too common these days.

...(to be continued)

[shinyemikyu]

My insomnia has gotten really bad lately. I don’t really “go to sleep” anymore. I just sort of exist until I literally pass out from exhaustion, but I have no control over when that happens. Usually it seems to be around 4 am, but it can easily not happen until well after sunrise.

On Monday, it didn’t happen until around 9 am. I was afraid of that, since I had an important work meeting at 11:30. (I work from home and can mostly choose my own hours, but there are some meeting times I have no control over).

I set four alarms just to make sure I’d wake up on time. I managed to sleep through them all and didn’t wake up until 1:30. I was so embarrassed at the unprofessionalism of having to admit that I straight up slept through the meeting I’d spent all this time prepping for.

My boss was displeased but understanding. I vowed never to let this happen again. Yes, I’m trying to find ways to regulate my sleep schedule, but until that works I’m just going for more alarms and more volume.

And that’s how I created my own personal hell this morning.

I set alarms for every half hour interval between four and two hours before I had to be on Zoom today. Overkill, you say? Ha. I may not start sleeping easily, but once I finally get there I’m fucking dead.

I don’t remember the first two going off at all - probably turned them off in my sleep. (This is a thing I’ve been known to do all my life.) The third one I snoozed. The fourth one I also snoozed.

At some point I guess I forgot that alarms can be turned off, so I just started snoozing them all. At that point I had alarms going off roughly every three minutes or so, but since I was still kinda groggy I figured that was probably for the best.

But eventually I got to the point where I was fully awake and they JUST. WOULDN’T. STOP. I switched from saying “Alexa, snooze” to “Alexa, stop”. No dice. They were happening continuously now. *Alarm sound* “Alexa, stop.” “Okay.” *Alarm sound* With no break, and no end.

I tried “Alexa, cancel all alarms.” “Okay.” *Alarm sound* I tried opening the app on my phone and turning off all the alarms from there. *Alarm sound* the only thing that worked was unplugging the damn speaker. When I plugged it back in it was mercifully silent, so I guess it just needed to reset or something.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had nightmares about electronics that just could not be powered down by any means, and it would freak me out even if it was completely benign. So when I say the whole experience was like something out of a nightmare, I am not being dramatic. Weird, yes, but also literal.

Still, I am wide awake with plenty of prep time today, so I’d say the whole thing was a success. I’m a goddamn professional, and I’m not about to let some stupid sleep disorder make me its bitch.