#corporate extravaganza | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brf-rumortrackinganon · 2 months

Note

yes, that French Olympic Opening Ceremony was so fantastic that the International Olympic Committee has now deleted the YouTube video of its own opening ceremony and is issuing DMCA copyright claims against anyone who posts footage (even legally allowable small snippets), and getting people banned from X. Way to go Olympics!

For an international forum that is supposed to be about unity of nations around shared love of sports....., offending hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide, grown men exposing their genitals in front of children and general degeneracy seems to still matter. If inclusivity means that families with children worldwide have to tolerate a celebration of debauchery without comment...... then inclusivity needs a redefinition..............

Now the French are making the argument that it wasn't a depiction of "The Last Supper", but of "The Feast of the Gods" by Jan van Bijlirt..... but then I have to ask the question: why is the figure in the middle wearing a glittering "halo" headdress like Jesus in the DaVinci's "Last Supper" painting???? Also, as to your argument that the Mona Lisa is also a DaVinci painting and is in the Louvre..... I have to say, then the French maybe should have mocked the Mona Lisa instead of a painting they don't own!

Apparently, we have gotten to the point where it is not possible to celebrate our togetherness and unity without some group of people being insulted and offended by their inclusion or exclusion. So corporations, sponsors, TV channels, the IOC, social media etc. are going to have to decide who exactly they want to leave offend......

I wonder if you've done any reflecting or re-calibration on your take the French Olympic Opening Extravaganza?

Nope, I haven’t. Because

1. I have other things and issues that are more local, more consequential, and more personal for me to worry about than a 15-second blink-and-miss-it tableau performed halfway around the world 2 days ago. Issues like losing my rights to exist as a free independent single woman and sick elderly nonagenarian grandparents.

2. I don’t spend my free time doomscrolling the news, social media, and the internet and getting sucked into algorithms that exploit my dislikes.

3. I have better things to do on a weekend than sit at home and fixate on criticism of an event that had nothing to do with me and that I *chose* to watch. I watched it. I liked it. Then I went to Waffle House and moved on.

4. I believe in personal responsibility. If I’m offended by my *choice,* then I understand I can only be angry and upset with *myself* so accordingly, I blame myself. I don’t go around blaming everyone else and forcing everyone else to be accountable to my personal mistake and bad choice.

It’s France. The French have different attitudes, different beliefs, and different cultural expectations than anywhere else around the world. They are much more lax in their attitudes towards romance and relationships. They are much more liberal in their attitudes towards religion and personal rights. If you knew that - and if you were watching the ceremony then you knew that - and you *still* chose to keep watching the program to see the drag queens and this mockery of Christianity that you’re so upset over, than that’s *your* choice. If you kept watching after Lady Gaga’s performance where the dude in short-shorts accidentally exposed himself, that was *your* choice. If you kept watching after the love/threesome scene, that was *your* choice. If you kept watching after the US livestream showed a statue of the woman who got abortion rights encoded in French law, that was *your* choice.

You didn’t have to watch the program. You didn’t have to keep watching the program. Woke hedonistic leftists did not break into your house, hold you at gunpoint, and force you to watch it or consume media/content about it. That was *your* choice. You could’ve turned it off at any time. But you didn’t. And so you saw things you didn’t like and now you want an entire country and culture to grovel and beg in an apology for *your* own personal decision to watch in the first place?

The IOC is caving to your demands because they need the money and support from the US to exist. That’s the only reason why they’re pulling videos down and censoring the ceremony. Not because the French did something wrong, but because a special group of Americans with enough political and media power to cancel their support and donations perceived it as a direct, personal attack and are angry over it.

5. I think that people who use the Bible, religion, and faith as tools to control and judge people for actions and beliefs that have nothing to do with them or that personally affects their day-to-day lives have forgotten, or don’t understand, what it actually means to be a christian. Matthew 7: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Or Leviticus 19: “Love thy neighbor as thyself”…which you might know more colloquially as the golden rule, “treat others as you wish to be treated.”

In other words: You be you. I’ll do me. I’ll let you be you however you want to be you and you let me be me however I want me to be me. But if you can’t let that be and you force me to be more like you, then we have a problem. This is what I meant last week when I said “don’t start with me and I won’t start with you.”

I don’t care what the topic is, if we’re talking about Meghan and Harry or the BRF or religion or politics or the Olympics or French culture. The second anyone demands I need to reflect or recalibrate or change my opinion is the second our conversation is over.

Look, you have every right to be offended and angry by what you saw. But you have no right to force everyone else to see it the way you do. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I’m not changing the fact that I enjoyed the opening ceremony and thought it was a good time. It’s an opinion. Everyone’s got them, and everyone’s opinion is different. If you don’t like mine, then I wish you farewell and bid you good luck as you look for more likeminded company.

This is everyone’s final warning. If you keep coming at me about my opinion that I liked the opening ceremony, I’m going to clap back at you and it won’t be polite or respectful.

50 notes · View notes

essential-randomness · 8 months

Text

Your angle or yuor devil: choosing between LLC and nonprofit

It's time! For this week's Tuesday Content, I'm cheating a little: first, it's Wednesday; second, instead of new content, I'm "unpaywalling" a section of my $upporters-only "Quarterly Extravaganza".

Learn below (or in the blogpost) about the eternal dilemma: should our org be a nonprofit or an LLC?

To support our project (and get early access to this content), support me on Patreon!

The first step to settle the LLC vs nonprofit debate was to look at the path chosen by other fandom-adjacent entities. Turns out, there's historical examples of both!

So, armed with grit, we took the logical next step: get clarity on the legal differences between the two!

Cutting to the chase, we chose to (very soon) incorporate as an LLC. It was not an easy choice, and we went back and forth–and agonized over it–for quite a while.

However, a few considerations tipped the scales:

First, while our projects have a “charitable intent” that would allow us to qualify for 501c3 status (a.k.a. become a nonprofit), we decided that the procedures required would place a too heavy weight on our already-stretched shoulders.

Next, as we spearhead many ambitious projects with very little budget, we wanted to be able to reward those who took a bet on us with their time and work, should our efforts eventually pay off.

(You can learn about these projects here)

Finally–without mincing words–the online (and fandom) discourse around nonprofits made us uncomfortable: while it’s true that nonprofits have a charitable intent, they still have a balance sheet to balance, and produce work that deserves to be paid for. This is too easy to forget!

Obviously, given that our projects have a clear “anti-corporate bent”, becoming a for profit corporation came with concerns.

However, we found that LLCs are an incredibly-flexible legal structure that gives us ample power to add ethical guardrails!

There's a lot to say about the various options, and we've just started exploring them. If you want to learn more about these, you can read the article/slides or watch this video by the excellent Sustainable Economies Law Center, whose help has been invaluable throughout all this!

(To be clear: until we have more resources in place and a better understanding of our future, we’re going to keep things simple: at first, our LLC will be what’s called a “single-member LLC”, owned by yours truly (me). We'll keep evaluating options as we work to reach stability!)

...and that is all for this week! Once again, to support this journey towards a better web, you can donate on Patreon or on my own website!

You can also help us by reblogging this post and sharing the blogpost with all your friends and fandom-oriented Discord servers!

We'll keep you updated about this all as the year progresses. Look forward to it!

#fandom #bobaboard #social networks #nonprofits #llcs #ethical entrepreneurship #legal stuff

60 notes · View notes

buckets-and-trees · 11 months

Text

haunting thoughts on Silent Screams

read it here: SILENT SCREAMS IN WILDEST DREAMS

Fandom: MCU Characters/Pairings: Bucky x Reader, side of Steve Word Count: 8k Content Warnings: dark dark DARK tale, smut, main character death, rough sex, fingering, oral (f receiving), unprotected p in v sex, creampie, talk of wounds, slight dub/con, elements of somnophilia

RECAP: A dark tale with an unhappy ending. Just when you’ve married the man of your dreams, only just closed the chapter of your honeymoon, happily ever after is wrenched away, and you’re met with a nightmare you never could have imagined.

I published this in late November 2022, but I worked on it on and off between other projects for about six weeks from concept to research to writing. I wrote it for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor's Hallo-Cream Extravaganza, which was a cool challenge because there was a collection of numbered images you could choose from, and then when my image was confirmed, there was a prompt to go along with it.

It was also my first time participating in a challenge since getting back into writing fanfic. When I thought I was getting the sun alone, I was thinking vampires, but when I got the phrase along with the image, it halted the vampire idea I thought I would go with, and since I was already going to re-evaluate, it got my mind going even more. At the time I was also redefining a lot of pieces in my life and I had signed up to go solo on this 5-day retreat to a cabin in the woods... I ended up talking about some of the research and concept ideas for this fic on the six-hour drive to and from that cabin with a girl I carpooled with (we talked about so many things as you do with a stranger you just met when you're both going to the same retreat and want to save on gas). But I'll put the rest under a cut so as not to spoil for those who haven't read it.

When I realized it wasn't going to be vampires, I really wanted to then get totally outside of the box of things we see all the time. I decided I wanted to look up Scandinavian folklore as I was also trying to throw off some of the USAmerican culture I'd just been sitting in my whole life and explore some of my ancestral heritage. I figured there had to be a ton of stuff I'd just never learned about or heard of before and of course there was. One of the ideas I have buried for another day is to do kind of a Grimm or Phillip Pullman thing and do an anthology retelling of some of Scandinavian folktales because they were fascinating, and there were elements I was familiar with alongside very new pieces. It was so cool to begin to uncover the stories there...

But I was looking for a story that would also fit my prompt and lend itself to Bucky x Reader application.

I found the Gengångare. The lore is that they're a revenant/walker, and particularly in the Swedish tradition they're a corporeal form of a spirit that comes back after death. The spirit would have been murdered or killed and came back for mixes of revenge or unfinished business. That I could give Bucky - going on a mission, being killed, and having both revenge he could seek (against still living HYDRA folks who tormented and used him) and unfinished business in a promise that he makes to you, his reader newlywed bride, to come back to you.

And so the story begins with what I was hoping to be this blissful newlywed haze - the first morning after your honeymoon. Bucky is leaving for a mission - he'd said they were leaving later than he's actually going to leave because he didn't want you to get up hours before you needed to in order to send him off, but he does wake you up to share some kisses and say goodbye, it gets a little more heated, but there's no time for smut since he has to go, but he promises to pick up where you to left off when he returns, and there we have the tie he makes to come back to you.

I listen to music heavily throughout the day, but I wrote this fic with some very specific music through different sections. And for the opening, I was listening to This Love by Taylor Swift because its very romantically evocative for me, but some of the lyrics I knew could also be ripped into the horrific elements of this story, and so I truly loved it for that even more! - this love is good/this love is bad/this love is alive back from the dead

Then there are some other deep musical cues that when I was writing the rest of the fic, I was literally listening to these songs on repeat - a track from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, two tracks from Netflix's The Empress series, etc - and so I actually embedded the Spotify players for them at particular parts for the particular songs. That's the only fic where I've so heavily "scored" it.

I put into the narrative that they didn't recover a body from Bucky for what I never specifically defined but figure was an explosion or an accident of some sort where not finding a body would be believable - but it's the Gengångare Bucky escaping. His undead soul seeks some revenge first, then he's pulled back to your door, but I wanted/tried to imply that he moves by these motivations and doesn't really remember much until he encounters something. So he shows up back on your doorstep, and it's as he interacts with you that he remembers more and more pieces of himself that are added back into the primal gengångare motivations.

The sex after he returns is frequently more rough and desperate, but since you're just as desperate for him, you don't question that it's the fact that his nature has changed - no longer human, but a creature that needs to leech the energy of another living thing to survive. He doesn't realize it at first either. But the first night he returns, his body is very cold, and he gets warmer the longer he's with you.

His bruises haven't healed, and you notice that, but he brushes it off. There's an inadvertent pinching on your back that's the beginning of the marks he can't help consuming you. He's truly insatiable, but since you were so consumed with grief and so deeply and desperately in love, you don't question it. When you finally do bring up having Bruce examine him or bringing Steve into things, he doesn't want that and presents good reasons - not wanting to be a body poked and prodded, and not wanting to worry Steve until he has more of his memory cleared up.

There's only a little bit of Alpine in this fic, but Alpine can tell that something is wrong with Bucky and so she is not around when he is at all after he comes back. The sex is exhausting, but it's because it's with this creature form of Bucky taking more and more of your life.

And then the spill of the story/the reveal. And it's all discovered when you're basically doomed by your love. And he literally makes love and fucks you to death, and is still so in love with you while doing it. Very sad. And his goodbye is the same goodbye he said to you in the first scenes of the story.

This was the darkest thing I'd written up to this point, and I really just wanted it to feel gothic and doomed, but twisted up in this all-consuming love. As I knew where the story was headed, I sort of just took deep breaths and steadied myself to dive into letting it have its dark ending. And I loved taking it there even though it was kind of scary for my first time. It was very haunting to write and I really tried to convey that feeling and have it bleed through.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

read more from the Dark Forest Fest

#writer commentary #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes smut #aspen's dark forest fest

49 notes · View notes

greedcartel · 1 year

Text

indepentent exploration into crimson from helluva boss, based primarily on original headcanons. permanent low activity. i'm just here to have fun; this is a very low-maintenance blog, not my main one. as sponsored by doll, she/her, 18+

(*) carrd. (*) visuals. (*) pinterest.

examining themes of . . . the mob, consumerism & corporate greed. class differences. the gruesomeness of family affairs. the extravaganza of crime, execution as entertainment, murder as art.

#helluva boss rp #hazbin hotel rp #indie helluva boss rp #indie hazbin hotel rp #say hi to daddy 😃 (crimson has a sniper on me as we speak)#anyway.. hello community. i'm happy to be here. excited to write this lil bastard.#( note to all the rp sideblogs: i probably won't follow back ur main/hub blog to keep my dash clean! )

27 notes · View notes

terrence-silver · 8 months

Note

I know that Terry is the type of guy to be super groomed, like facials, manicures, pedicures; but would he ever get his nails polished with color? And if so, which color? 🤍

---

At one point in time, any color.

Even though, on a day to day basis, I see him opting for a tactically unassuming transparent nail finish and perhaps a discreet filling that can fly under the radar in a commonplace setting if he wants it so (or in the strict, no-nonsense corporate world that comes with well-established rules of masculinity) perhaps the best giveaway being that this guy isn't just some ordinary Joe Schmoe is how well taken care of his hands are. Suspiciously well taken care. These ain't the hands of a worker, even though they can somehow break rock. That, and his immaculately slicked back hair with not a single stranded where it shouldn't be, every day, all day, morning, noon and night; something a working class man wouldn't be able to maintain with such ease, efficacy and perfection because he'd be...you know...working? And too exhausted when he wasn't. But, Terry Silver does maintain it, and if someone ran into him on the street by accident, finding him posing as a blue collar somebody, you'd have to wonder just how he does that. He does it by having his on stand-by stylists, manicurists, pedicurists and an entire entourage of professionals there to take care of his appearance, even when he deliberately tries to make himself shabby, he doesn't do it on his own. Undoubtedly flies in fashion experts just to make him look poor. Or relatable. Or daunting. Or charitable. Or approachable. Or whatever image it is he wants to tactically broadcast next. Presentation is king. Man has an outfit and a grooming choice for any occasion.

But, outside of that?

Have we seen the 80's?

Have we seen the fashion flamboyance and the loud glam-extravaganza men tended to carry themselves with? If we could have Johnny Lawrence and his Cobra friends in highschool, macho-boy extraordinaire that they were, going around in skeleton face paint with his nails colored black for Halloween, then surely, everything under the sun's possible. In equal measure, there's the 70's, bell bottoms, face paint rock bands, deep slit sequin shirts and the disco craze --- we can even go further back into the 1960's and the Bohemian Hippie fashion if only it wasn't for the fact Terry would've been a child or a teenager then, then promptly off to Vietnam with him and the fact that if he undoubtedly tried experimenting with any flamboyance, his father would've had a thing or five to say about it; these decades are decades associated with going all out and by god, if anyone went all out, it was surely Terry Silver. Think this man had black nails, silver ones (for his own name sake), gold, red, bejeweled antique clip on nails from China that belonged to some Empress that ended up in his collection of rare, expensive and unusual items, stiletto sharp ones he could drag across the backs of many a lover, leaving his trace behind on their scratched cheeks and when he was done being a sadistic wild cat, he'd have them clipped and re-groomed into something that blends in with whatever place he's inhibiting, matching his styling with his surroundings, like so many masks for so many instances of life, in equal measure, so many nails, styling choices and grooming habits to match whatever role he wants to play next.

#terry silver #kk3 #cobra kai #nails #grooming habits #beauty #manicure #pedicure #character analysis

14 notes · View notes

runwayrunway · 1 year

Text

No. 6 - jetBlue Special Livery Extravaganza

My relationship with the paint jobs of the various jets blue has been an intense whirlwind for the past few days, but there was always something else about them I wanted to cover. Like many other airlines, jetBlue has a fair few special liveries, and I'd like to talk about them. Consider it a cleanse and an opportunity to rest your eyes.

So, upfront, I'm not going to talk about all of jetBlue's special liveries. There are a lot, and many of them are just sports team logojets or the like, and I don't feel like that's something worth commenting on too much. Seriously, so many sports liveries. They generally double-dip on NY and Boston teams, except they've firmly placed their hat in the ring by being the official airline for the Red Sox but not the Yankees, so...your move, New Yorkers. The only other thing worth mentioning is that their Bruins jet, N632JB, has the absolutely brilliant name "Bear Force One".

I'm admittedly honestly a bit exhausted at this point - this is my fifth jetBlue post - but I sincerely do want to cover these and have planned to from the moment I made this blog. So here's a handful of jetBlue's single-plane creations - at least, the ones I want to talk about.

Binary Code Fly-Fi - N709JB "Connected to 01000010 01001100 01010101 01000101"

The binary code says 'blue', predictably. This plane was painted in a custom livery to celebrate jetBlue's introduction of their in-flight "fly-fi" service. I've used it. It's totally adequate internet and they don't charge for it, can endorse. That's irrelevant to my opinion of the livery.

I can actually endorse the livery too, though. I like the way it looks like it's spreading out to envelop the plane, I really like the shade of blue they chose, and it looks absolutely gorgeous with the sun lighting it up. The design is pretty simple, nothing too galaxy-brained, but it works. It's a notable improvement over the default livery.

The airframe has since been repainted with the spotlight tail variant and renamed to "My Other Ride Is A JetBlue A220", seemingly the first stage of setting up the My Other Ride Is A JetBlue E190 loop with their new A220s, which are set to phase out the E190s in the next couple of years. (The E190 being considered an older plane now is so surreal to me. Time is truly a bizarre thing. It hasn't even been that long, though. jetBlue was literally the launch customer and they're younger than me.)

Grade: B(blue)

Inspiring Humanity - N598JB "Bluemanity"

I love this. This might be my absolute favorite type of awful cloying soulless corporate design. Slap a bunch of words on it and call it a day.

The words are actually their motto - Safety, Caring, Fun, Integrity, Passion. Not in that order, but I don't care enough to look up the proper one. To be fair, they are a very safe airline (no-fatality-no-hull-loss club 23 years in) and they are also fun. But this looks like the wall I swear I've seen on every public library I've ever been to that just says 'welcome' in a bunch of different languages.

I think my favorite thing is the name itself. "Inspiring Humanity". They have like less than 200 destinations. Change it immediately to "Inspiring New York And Boston And Like A Couple Other Cities". I literally can't stop laughing. This is so stupid.

Grade: D(umb)

Blueprint - N304JB "Blueprint"

I think it's obvious why I chose the above picture despite it being useless for showcasing the livery.

I've actually had the pleasure to see this lovely girl parked on the apron in person. She's very hard to miss. I mentioned her earlier - I do think this is jetBlue's bluest plane, and I love her.

Okay, here's what she actually looks like. This is a livery that requires a bit of zooming in to fully appreciate, but the general idea is that it's a cross-section of the plane. In each section you can see depictions of what's inside the plane, be it luggage, the pilots' chairs in the cockpit, or even the inner workings of the engines. It even shows off the divide between the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.

I also think it was a good choice putting it on an E190, which has a nose that borders on being a regular polygon, instead of negotiating the adorable little round stub that Airbus puts on the tips of their planes. Despite the little details being what make it great, the basic concept is visible from a distance. It's exactly as complex as it needs to be and no more. Almost flawlessly executed.

I love this livery. It's creative, it's fun, it uses a combination of two visually pleasing shades of blue, and it's very, very memorable. They make a scale model of her and to be entirely honest I really really want it. (Again, I will edit jetBlue's website and accept scale models instead of money as payment. All they have to do is ask.)

Grade: A( very blue plane indeed)

jetBlue For Good - N809JB

Astoundingly, this is the only jetBlue plane I can find that isn't named. Why? Why couldn't you name her? Do you hate her specifically? Why doesn't she get to be anthropomorphized and also funny? Could you not come up with a pun? Here's one for you: Bluegooder. That's off the dome. Can you imagine what I could come up with if I actually workshopped this?

I'll pull from their website for the description of this livery.

This design depicts a curtain being pulled back to show what is always underneath—JetBlue’s culture of doing good.

If you zoom in pretty close you actually can see a couple small people pulling back a curtain. From any distance it's invisible, though. This livery just doesn't communicate what it set out to. The images feel like nonsense and I think nobody would ever make these connections if they happened by this jet on the tarmac.

Also, that orange out of nowhere. It looks downright yucky with the light blue shades which predominate this design and, more importantly, draws all the attention to the front of the plane and away from the design.

Grade: D(o the right thing. Give her a name. Name her. Name your daughter.)

New York Jets (2017) - N746JB "I Love JetBlue / NY"

I don't care about American Football. I mean, you should see that coming, I run a tumblr about airplane graphic design. The only New York sports team I support are the Mets. This is sort of just a sports airplane. So why am I bothering to mention this livery?

Because she's my favorite color. Yep! That's it.

These exact shades of green are my favorite colors. And I like how they look. I'm not sure I like how the plane looks overall. I think I maybe just don't like the Jets logo. The engines being the same color as the fuselage is also something I hate, though the little silver rim mitigates it a little. What I'd really like to point out is the little American Football field distance markings (if they have a real name I don't know it) on the bottom of the plane. That's neat! I enjoy that.

Also, painted nose always a plus.

Grade: C(an more airlines please use these shades of green I am starving)+

I ♥ NYC - N586JB "I ♥ Blue York"

According to their website, they are

proud to be New York's Hometown Airline®.

That's right. Registered trademark! Fancy.

Okay. Just a few notes®:

Wouldn't it make more sense to name this one "I Love JetBlue / NY" and the Jets one something like 'Blue York Jets' or 'Let's Go Blue York' or something else related to the Jets? I can't help but feel like opportunities were missed here.

I'm glad it comes off the tail a bit. But why did you have to put it on the engines?

The I ♥ NY logo is iconic. The epitome of tacky chic. You couldn't have put it more out of the way if you tried. If you got the okay to use that logo on your airplane, you might as well use it on your airplane.

I know I normally complain about the engines being the same color as the fuselage, but if they're the only thing that's a different color, and the main color is white, and the engines are dark blue, it does actually look pretty bad.

FULLY WHITE FUSELAGE ENTIRELY WHITE PLANE BIG FLYING WHITE THING SHE'S GIVING SMARTLYNX SHE'S GIVING WEIRDLY SHAPED CLOUD GO GIRL GIVE US NOTHING!

Grade®: D(on't ♥ this livery)

10th Anniversary - N569JB "Blues Brothers"

Can I be totally honest? I planned to find a bunch of 10th anniversary liveries (Air Arabia also has one, I think, and there must be others) and review them all as a little 100 follower special treat. I was going to keep doing that for every 100 followers, up to 100-year anniversary liveries as a 1,000-follower special if I ever got there. Before I could do that, I hit 200 followers, and it's only been steadily increasing from there, so that is no longer happening. But I'll still give her a shot while I'm talking jetBlue.

The design is very...modern art museum. I don't like how white the whole situation is. Could be a whole lot worse but could be a whole lot better. Why always with the orange, jetBlue? But at the end of the day I respect the commitment to a visually overhauled anniversary livery instead of just slapping a 10 Years! sticker onto an otherwise regular plane.

Despite being honored with the special livery N569JB was given an unrelated name (more than poor N809JB got), and in 2017 she was repainted to the standard livery with the highrise tail variant.

Grade: C(an't really complain about gaining too many followers, though. I love you all. It's not a bad problem to have)-

New York International - Vintage - N763JB "What's Old Is Blue Again"

Aside from Blueprint, this is probably the most interesting livery jetBlue has and one of the main reasons I wanted to make this post. Logojets and liveries bragging about how you're such an ethical company are a dime a dozen, but this is something a little different.

Well, you might say, retrojets are actually incredibly common. And that's true! But this isn't a 'true' retrojet, because jetBlue started operations in 2000.

That is to say, unlike other 'retrojets', which are heritage liveries - older, retired liveries put on new planes (see my Lufthansa post for an example) - jetBlue's is an actual example of retrospective design, an intentionally fun take on what a 1960s jetBlue livery might have looked like, filtered through their modern brand identity and design sensibilities. From their website:

We dug deep into popular 1960s branding styles and themes to create an old look that is truly original, the Retrojet livery.

And this is definitely original! While it has recognizable features of actual older liveries, it's hard to argue that someone could mistake this for actually being a heritage livery. And I think that's good.

Let's be honest - as much as this blog reads as a puff piece for older liveries sometimes, just putting cheatlines on your planes isn't enough to make for interesting design. One of the main reasons I hate Eurowhite so much is the fact that every plane looks the same, and even back in the cheatline era that was a problem. Dominant industry trends have always been a plague in any sort of visual design, and aircraft liveries are no exception. Liveries like Lufthansa's older ones were actually above average, and a lot of designs from the time were utterly identical white planes with a hockey stick cheatline. It would be so easy to make a 60s livery which is just entirely generic. And they didn't do that.

I'll be entirely honest, I'm far from an expert on the 60s, but apparently jetBlue spent a while hitting the books and looking through old 60s adverts and such. Again, I can't really evaluate it on the basis of period-compliance, but I can surely say if I like it or not. And I do. I do like it.

It might just be me, but this plane looks like she's having such a good time. Hopping around with her little wings outstretched, a small-town girl from Toulouse in the big city of New York JFK Airport for the first time and she's ready to write her name all over it. There is just something about the way the cheatlines are painted on that makes her seem like she's delighted, and that delights me in turn. Plus, always a big fan of the painted nose.

jetBlue seems to have a thing for forcing orange into their liveries, and I nearly always hate it, but I really like it here. It's a nice understated shade which straddles the line between orange and yellow. I think it adds a nice contrast which the typical-of-the-time monocolor cheatlines sorely lacked. Again, it really reminds me of my beloved 1960 Lufthansa livery, which they also liked enough to put on a retrojet.

That said, it's far from a copy. It goes for tramlines instead of the single rule, with one wrapping around the windows and the other looping down under the nose, though not quite as far as Lufthansa's does. The cheatlines take up a lot more vertical space on the jetBlue jet, rendering the text quite small, smaller than was usual for the time, and it creates a unique look.

The initial reason for the popularity of cheatlines is that airlines thought it would mitigate the shortening effect of the many windows breaking up the fuselage and make the airplane look more streamlined, 'cheating' an aerodynamic look. I think it...at least sort of works. At first glance N763JB definitely looked long-ish to me, despite a closer look revealing that to be false. That's impressive considering A320 family planes have always looked sort of cobby to me in general.

Just looking at the plane honestly kind of underscores how much effort was put into jetBlue making their own 60s self-insert OC. To begin with, the "New York International" bit might seem a little confusing at first, but it's the name they've come up with for said self-insert. Since they're New York's Hometown Airline® they based it around that for a full name of jetBlue New York International Airways, I think? Sure, they're technically an international airline, so I'll let it slide. It does stir up a bit of that lofty golden-age emotion, doesn't it? There's a world of difference between Pan Am and Pan American World Airways, so I see where they're coming from and I respect it.

With the help of my in-house font wizard @spirifage I was able to identify the fonts used here as Craw Modern and URW Franklin Gothic. I think these are fantastic choices, both on their own and especially as a set. They're both relatively common to see in period media (well, other variants of Franklin Gothic are, at least) and they pair well together, a widely-spaced narrow sans-serif all-caps font to contrast the staggered heights and snappy serifs of the Craw.

It's a bit hard to read from a distance, but thankfully they chose to make the 'jetBlue' part larger and bolder to maximize legibility. Did it work? At least somewhat. The forward slant also matches airplane design trends of the time.

...why the phone number on the nacelles, though? That's a real 2004 budget carrier move, not so much 1960s international airline. It definitely kills the fantasy for me a little.

My other major criticism is the tail. I love the design itself, all exciting and unconcerned with appearances, unabashedly fun, but all this excitement being limited to the tail is strange. While the cheatlines prevent the jet from looking unbalanced, it definitely feels odd isolating that all to one small part of the jet. Couldn't they have used the nacelles for that instead? Seriously, what a strange choice for the engines.

(At least you know what number to call if you'd like to let jetBlue know about their pilot's flying. And yes, 1-800-JETBLUE actually is their phone number.)

In all, this golden oldie design is a total gas, but wipes out just short of being the best thing since sliced bread. It's a bit of a bummer that such a marvy concept isn't as outta sight as it could be, but I still dig it.

(jetBlue, if you let me edit your website, I will let you pay me in scale figures of Blueprint and the Retrojet.)

Grade: B(ad, a word which here, as in the 1960s, means 'good')+

(oh, wait, I didn't realize until I saw this image that they do the tail pattern on the inside of the winglets too. That's neat. Doesn't change my rating.)

Well, that's it! We're jetThrough with jetBlue, for the time being. Let me know which one of these special liveries you liked the best and why it's Blueprint, and thank you for bearing with me for this wild ride through a whole blue world.

Before I go, I would like to make one final comment on jetBlue's livery:

Bluebirds. Literal bluebirds. It's right there, jetBlue. I know you're reading this and I expect my scale models in the mail as soon as shipping allows for.

#tarmac fashion week #compilations #special liveries #runwayrunway blueses it #jetblue

45 notes · View notes

amaribelt · 1 year

Text

in commemorace of me almost busting my ass on the slick ass dominos floor I'm assigning the twst boys jobs at dominos and my reasoning why, we have had like 10 gms at one time so not that unrealistic lmao

riddle- riddle is a heavy stickler for the rules so as much as I could see him being a corporate inspector that would ruin the fun of this so for the sake of this post rank 3 general manager and future franchisee. he trains new employees the "right" way even though it's not as efficient (like cutting sandwiches with the pizza roller cutter thing instead of the giant guillotine blade we use for the actual pizzas) he's the reason the store would get a perfect score on inspection

trey- treys pretty responsible and his parents run a bakery so I can def see him as a rank 1 or 2 gm they honestly don't really have any special roles other than just being helpful in my experience, definitely works make line or oven most of the time. he used the cutter blade on sandwiches all the way efficiently maximize profits, and I KNOW this fictional twst dominos store would be busy af.

Cater- Rank 2 gm but specializes up front, this man can talk to people great customer service skills and is pretty enough to get good tips and sell extra food just because he's cute.

ace- I don't trust this man at all making my pizza but that's the thing most people get trained on first unless they have something that makes them appealing or more fit for something else, ace is cute but I don't think he's fit for register. he probably works on making and loading sides as those aren't that hard to mess up half the time your throwing 8-32 peices of chicken onto a little trey or putting in like cookie brownies or like twists in.

deuce- my man is trying his best to make his way up to main makeline he probably makes the simple pizzas like a simple Hawaiian because I think he would struggle a bit with specialitys he probably knows what goes on like a meatzza or deluxe but struggles with like Honolulu Hawaiian.

leona- he could be promoted if he wanted too but he doesn't care that much, definitely a driver. is their stuff they are actually suppost to do? yes, do any of the drivers at our store do it? no never not in a million years. I'm like 75% percent sure their suppost to clean out our hot bags according to the schedule but I've never seen anyone at our store do it half of them are just on their phones or chilling in their cars. in Leona case it's napping he's not aloud to sleep in his car anymore because he has gone back to sleep and ended up not delivering a pizza.

ruggie- he's either a GM in training or driver GM they both get payed more than the rest off us and ruggie is pretty competent so I think it fits, drivers get payed the most out of standard positions and I think driver managers get payed a little more than that, drivers also get really good tips too.

jack- he's on main makeline, jack has good grades and studies so it's fair to say he memorize all of the abbreviations and what goes on each side. you yell out "large extravaganza and philly sandwiche" and he's got it. he probably doesn't make the prettiest pizzas but he's got a good memory to make up for it and double checks whatever ADeuce duo makes for the days they are on main makeline.

azul- he owns a restaurant so as much as I could be cheap and say he's the actual owner who never comes into the store and just collects the money I'm not, GM level 4 he's the "boss" and the most likely to get his own store in a few years time. he never closes ever I could maybe see him opening but I really just see him coming in a few times a week for like 3 or 4 hours and sending out the schedules. I know he's a hard worker but I can't see this man making pizzas at all he's either up front taking orders and ringing people up with cater or working oven with trey. their not "easy" jobs but don't require you getting your hands too dirty especially if your the boss and can get someone else to do the dirty work.

jade- GM level 2 again not many "responsibility" level 2 gms tend to just be their for questions and occasionally helping or training new employees, might work up front from time to time but I can see him slapping dough sometimes. does what he's told without complaining.

floyd- this man doesn't have the patience for anything else this man is a driver on a pretty good driver on a bad day you better give him all contactless for the safety of the customers, sorry Floyd fans but I have to be real with yall.

kalim- I love kalim as much as the next person who lives off of sunshine characters but this man only has the skills to work up front at register, I don't think he'd complain if you asked him to hop on makeline or like sweep or do dishes but he's not happy. he likes to give people their orders and make the kids smile.

jamil- Jamil is more than capable and can easily get stuff done and doesn't complain what you tell him to do, tell him to clean the absolutely disgusting hot bags? he's on it, need him to clean out the catch treys? those are going to be sparkling and you don't even have to worry about them almost being dropped. he will rack cheese and clean the deep freeze no hesitation. he's a great GM but he has definitely fumbled a few times, he has sent most of the drivers home exreamly early right before a huge thunderstorm hit and incase you didn't know people order more deliveries when the weather is cold rainy and overall icky. he didn't tell anyone that he send home over half of the drivers so their were Many frantic phone calls from the rest of the GMs to get all the drivers back. (that is based off of a true story we had to call our boss and atleast 15 more drivers because he only had 3 clocked in and our delivery times were over a hour and a half)

vil- when training people on makeline we have the fact that we must make the prettiest pizzas known to man, pizza making is a form of art and you better be the next da Vinci or atleasr give your best effort. GM level 2, fast and efficient and has good customer service skills so he works up front when understaffed. if vil works up front for a whole day their is definitely a jump in carry out sales. although he would rather not do the gross and disgusting tasks he will if theirs gloves he is not washing pans and grabbing them out of the disgusting and greasy pan bucket empty handed no matter how much you pay him. heavily inspired by my 4th favorite manager and myself no matter how much you pay me I am NEVER grabbing and cleaning pans empty handed yall don't know how gross that is.

rook- definitely works main makeline with vil and even though he's not as strict on making the best pizzas known to man he can be particular he will make sure pizzas aren't burnt and under his watch their won't be any illegally big bubbles on pizzas or too dry cheesey breads. whenever he's upfront he memorized peoples orders to their faces he doesn't even have to ask if it's a carside he definitely memorized peoples license plates

epel- he is not aloud to work up front no matter how understaffed we are he's always on makeline he has no customer service skills, if he and vils schedules overlap then maybe he could answer a phone or hand people a pizza. they have sent him to get something off of the top shelf in the walk in and almost brought the whole self down on multiple occasions (based off of many of my true stories where the latter was no where to be found I almost died that day) he's pretty strong and helps with some of the more physically demanding tasks like refiling the sanitation buckets (those get unbelievably heavy for no reason okay and I'm pretty strong) or refilling the fridge he can definitely carry more than one of the packages of 20 onces and the stacks of 2 leaters get pretty heavy too.

idia- If he wasn't so anti social he would have good potential of working up front when you have to type in your social security login a million times a day or type in someone's credit card info it helps to be able to type fast but my man could not even ask someones name on their order to hand it to them, good in theory terrible execution. he would probably be a driver or stick to cleaning like doing the dishes, most of the time you don't have to talk to anyone if your a driver then you have to get them to sign the receipt and I think he would implode. dishes Is the best job you don't need to talk to anyone and most people do it alone unless your like some of my managers who like too do it together and gossip. perfect for putting on music or a podcast and zoning out too.

ortho- even though he's a child when he grows up I see him working up front, he's pretty social so I don't see him struggling that much

malleus- people think he's scary and tend to avoid him so even though he's pretty sweet I feel like customers and some coworkers would go out of their way to not talk to him, would probably be a okay delivery driver he wouldn't even have to stair people down to get a good tip his threating aura would mean people would do it so they could run back inside with their pizza asap

lilia- he's honestly pretty flexible but I feel like he would be a terrible driver I feel like he would be the definition of r/maliciouscomplalence or a huge troll and no inbetween. if someone said bring pepper flakes for a better tip without saying a exact amount he would bring the whole box of pepper flakes. no one needs a 100 packets of pepper flakes but they didn't say an amount so rip. he's probably only aloud to do it when they are really desperate for drivers.

silver- probably just a general insider and will do whatevers needed pretty flexible and chill, probably not aloud to work oven just incase he falls asleep we can't have a pizza falling out of the oven.

sebek- he Is also not aloud to work up front due to the fact he has no volume control we can't have him scarring away customers can we??? if not a general insider than maybe a driver I honestly don't have much of a opinion of him or what he's good at sorry sebek enjoyers but I honestly have no idea what he would be good at.

22 notes · View notes

handeaux · 1 year

Text

Here Are 17 Uncommon Curiosities Reportedly Found In The Ohio River

The Queen City, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow famously wrote, sits “in her garlands dressed, on the banks of the Beautiful River.” Once claimed by the French and named by them exactly that: La Belle Riviere, the Ohio has been the soul and foundation of our city ever since the first houses went up, but our Beautiful River has also proved to be a weird and moody companion, coughing up a bizarre miscellany from time to time.

Alligators In 1879, Dr. A. Jackson Howe procured a live, three-foot long alligator for display at the museum of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History. The reptile had been captured on the Covington shore, while several others were spotted frolicking in the Ohio River among some empty coal barges. Three years later, John Thornton found an alligator sleeping beneath the floorboards of his Newport icehouse. Charles Pitts of Covington lassoed a three-and-a-half-foot alligator from the Ohio River at the foot of Covington’s Main Street in 1870.

Bodies, Lots Of Bodies Almost from the time Cincinnati was first settled bodies have been recovered from the Ohio River including suicides, victims of foul play and accidental drownings. Among the earliest casualties was Francis Kennedy, who operated the first ferry between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and who drowned while hauling beef cattle to Fort Washington. Over the years, the old newspapers printed hundreds of inquest reports, often directed toward ascertaining the identities of bodies found overnight.

Catfish Of Unusual Size The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune of 3 February 1849 reports that Frederick Diserens, proprietor of the William Tell restaurant, and Colonel Josiah J. Stratton of the Fire Department, had shipped a “mammoth cat fish” to the Exchange Hotel in Philadelphia. The leviathan, caught in the Ohio River at Cincinnati, measured five feet, ten inches in length and tipped the scales at 158 pounds. Prior to its shipment east, the beast hung outside Diserens’ establishment on the south side of what is now Government Square. In 2009, two fishermen landed a blue catfish measuring four feet, six inches long and weighing 96 pounds within view of downtown Cincinnati.

Chemical “Slug” The Ohio River, lined with heavily fertilized farmland and a multitude of manufacturing plants, is regularly listed as among the most polluted streams in America. Residents of a certain age will recall the great carbon tetrachloride “slug” of 1977. When a tank full of toxic “carbon tet” ruptured at the FMC Corporation facility in February of that year, it released 5000 to 6000 pounds into the Ohio River as a 50- to 60-mile “slug” of highly polluted liquid. Water purification systems up and down the river shut off intake valves until the “slug” passed.

Elephant Bathing All of Cincinnati – and Covington, too – turned out on the morning of 9 August 1860 to watch an elephant swim across the Ohio River. The elephant was Lalla Rookh, star of the Dan Rice Circus. Lalla Rookh had been, for the past decade, a highlight of Dan Rice's big-top extravaganzas. Billed as the “Pachyderm Princess,” she was famous for her tightrope act and she also danced, rang bells and fired a pistol. She was a huge draw and, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, brought out a good crowd for her river bath, estimated between 15,000 and 20,000

Ghosts No one ever solved the 1890 murder of Billy Fee, who was knifed and shot on the banks of the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg. Almost a year later a young man traveling by boat up the river past the murder scene cried out that he could see shadows on the darkened waters vividly recreating the murder scene. For years, residents of Lawrenceburg venturing near the river at night reported visions of the dreadful crime, accompanied by the sounds of shrieks and gunshots.

Giant Snakes On 11 August 1849, a Clermont County “man of respectability” named John Wait swore to an affidavit in which he claimed to have seen a snake more than 30 feet in length on the banks of Hartman’s mill pond. A posse was assembled and searched all over for the beast with no results, even after draining the mill pond. Sightings, however, continued for the next decade. In 1858, the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune reported that the dam at Hartman’s mill had been badly damaged by a flood and the snake was assumed to have escaped toward the Ohio River. According to a 1940 article in the Cincinnati Post, the Cincinnati Zoo offered to help citizens near Gallipolis locate a snake estimated at 35 feet in length. Coincidence?

Green Clawed Beast It was a sultry afternoon on 14 August 1955 when Naomi Johnson and some friends headed to the Ohio River at Evansville for a refreshing dip. While swimming just 15 feet offshore, something swam up behind Mrs. Johnson and grabbed her leg. She felt claws scratch her leg as the thing pulled her under the water. She began kicking her assailant and was pulled under a second time before her friends lifted her out of the river. Her left leg was extensively lacerated and bruised, with one mark distinctly hand-shaped. Mrs. Johnson claimed to have seen a UFO just before she was attacked, and there were several UFO sightings in the Evansville area around the time of the incident, leading her to believe an extraterrestrial origin for her attacker.

Kentucky Border For most of our region’s history, the entire Ohio River belonged exclusively to Kentucky. That all changed on 21 January 1980, when the United States Supreme Court fixed the border between Ohio and Kentucky at the low-water mark of the river in 1792. With two centuries of dam construction and other navigational improvements, the Ohio River is significantly deeper and wider than it was in the 1790s. The border is now, in some cases, hundreds of feet off the Ohio shore.

Madonna’s Yacht Rusting away in an Ohio River tributary just 25 miles downriver from Cincinnati is a 186-foot yacht originally known as the Celt but probably most famous as the USS Sachem among a variety of names acquired over its 120-year history. Thomas Edison used it for anti-submarine research. It ran out of New York as a recreational fishing vessel and served as a coastal patrol ship during World War II. After the war it hauled tourists around Manhattan. Robert Miller of Finneytown bought the yacht for $7500 in the 1980s and rented it out to Madonna, who filmed part of her “Papa Don’t Preach” video onboard. Miller hauled it upriver to its current resting place shortly after sailing a boatload of friends around the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.

Man Afloat On 11 March 1879, a crowd of fifteen thousand swarmed the riverfront to catch a glimpse of the “Fearless Frogman,” Captain Paul Boynton, as he arrived in Cincinnati while floating from Pittsburgh to Cairo in a buoyant rubber suit. Outfitted with sails and oars, Boynton’s “peculiar life-saving dress” allowed him to maintain speeds of five or six miles per hour on his downriver odyssey. That night, he attended a performance at the Grand Opera House on Vine Street and, being recognized, was called to the stage and compelled to give a speech.

Mud Mermaids The Cincinnati Enquirer of 6 September 1894 reported two “nondescript creatures, horrible in appearance and strange in habits” at a sand bar in the Ohio River near Vevay, Indiana. The creatures appeared to be carnivorous, dining on fish and mussels plucked from the river. They were described as being yellowish in color, about five feet long, with webbed and clawed hands and feet. Their hairless heads had sharply pointed ears standing straight up. In the years since, the Vevay beings have been dubbed “Mud Mermaids.”

Octoman Police dispatchers along both sides of the Ohio River were swamped with frantic calls from late January to early February 1959 as dozens of residents and travelers reported strange creatures emerging from the depths. Sightings were recorded from New Richmond to the Licking River bridge. One witness compared the critter to an octopus while others said it looked like an immense human, leading to the nickname Octoman. Panic spread, with one 11-year-old boy calling the Cincinnati Post to confirm his teacher’s story that green men were clambering out of the river in platoons of twelve. To add to the mystery, all the streetlights along Kellogg Avenue from Lunken Airport to Coney Island extinguished as the first reports came in. After a week, sightings abated and Octoman seemingly disappeared.

Petroglyphs Just as the Ohio River slips across the state line from Pennsylvania, at the junction with Little Beaver Creek at East Liverpool, it covers a vast array of submerged designs carved into the rock. First recognized by French explorers in 1755, the display has been largely immersed in a much deeper river, only occasionally emerging into visibility in times of extreme drought. Hundreds of these Native American carvings were found for about 10 miles along the Ohio River from Midland, Pennsylvania through Wellsville, Ohio. The origin or date of the petroglyphs remains unknown and will likely never be determined.

Sea Lion In May 1962 several people reported a strange beast frolicking in the Ohio River near the Fernbank locks. The animal was not large; maybe three feet in length, but it was unlike anything naturally associated with the wildlife of the area. An expedition organized by the Cincinnati Zoo discovered that the mysterious visitor was a sea lion named “Playful George” that had escaped from a menagerie in Huntington, West Virginia and made its way nearly 200 miles downriver to the Markland Dam. George was captured and quarantined at the Zoo before returning home.

Sea Serpents In the dim, pre-dawn light of Friday, 11 January 1878, Ben Karrick was driving his horse-drawn delivery wagon over the Roebling Suspension Bridge when he saw a most unusual sight in the Ohio River below – a sea serpent. He told the Cincinnati Gazette that the creature’s serpentine head protruded from the water some twelve or fifteen feet and it lashed the water into foam with its tail. Karrick told the newspaper that the beast made a noise similar to the deep lowing of a cow, interspersed with a loud hissing noise. A day previously, John Davidson, master of the Silver Moon steamboat, saw a nearly identical monster while docked at Vevay, Indiana. In July 1893, pleasure boaters near Blennerhassett Island saw “a monstrous submarine animal or serpent, with an immense head and staring, bulbous eyes” gliding alongside their boat. The witnesses estimated the critter at more than 10 feet in length.

Underwater Pedestrian Newspapers around the nation carried the news in July 1878 that Captain John T. Guire, identified as “the celebrated submarine diver,” had entered into a wager that he would walk from Cincinnati to Cairo on the bottom of the Ohio River. Guire’s previous exploits in the Mississippi River at Saint Louis were cited as proof of his skill and determination. Although it was noted that Guire engaged in practice strolls near Cincinnati, it does not appear that the 500-mile underwater hike to Cairo ever materialized.

#ohio river #cincinnati cryptids #octoman #paul boynton #mud mermaids

23 notes · View notes

pressplaytech · 11 months

Text

Is cPanel on Its Deathbed? A Tale of Technology, Profits, and a Slow-Moving Train Wreck

Ah, cPanel. The go-to control panel for many web hosting services since the dawn of, well, web hosting. Once the epitome of innovation, it’s now akin to a grizzled war veteran, limping along with a cane and wearing an “I Survived Y2K” t-shirt. So what went wrong? Let’s dive into this slow-moving technological telenovela, rife with corporate greed, security loopholes, and a legacy that may be hanging by a thread.

Chapter 1: A Brief, Glorious History (Or How cPanel Shot to Stardom)

Once upon a time, cPanel was the bee’s knees. Launched in 1996, this software was, for a while, the pinnacle of web management systems. It promised simplicity, reliability, and functionality. Oh, the golden years!

Chapter 2: The Tech Stack Tortoise

In the fast-paced world of technology, being stagnant is synonymous with being extinct. While newer tech stacks are integrating AI, machine learning, and all sorts of jazzy things, cPanel seems to be stuck in a time warp. Why? Because the tech stack is more outdated than a pair of bell-bottom trousers. No Docker, no Kubernetes, and don’t even get me started on the lack of robust API support.

Chapter 3: “The Corpulent Corporate”

In 2018, Oakley Capital, a private equity firm, acquired cPanel. For many, this was the beginning of the end. Pricing structures were jumbled, turning into a monetisation extravaganza. It’s like turning your grandma’s humble pie shop into a mass production line for rubbery, soulless pies. They’ve squeezed every ounce of profit from it, often at the expense of the end-users and smaller hosting companies.

Chapter 4: Security—or the Lack Thereof

Ah, the elephant in the room. cPanel has had its fair share of vulnerabilities. Whether it’s SQL injection flaws, privilege escalation, or simple, plain-text passwords (yes, you heard right), cPanel often appears in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It’s like that dodgy uncle at family reunions who always manages to spill wine on the carpet; you know he’s going to mess up, yet somehow he’s always invited.

Chapter 5: The (Dis)loyal Subjects—The Hosting Companies

Remember those hosting companies that once swore by cPanel? Well, let’s just say some of them have been seen flirting with competitors at the bar. Newer, shinier control panels are coming to market, offering modern tech stacks and, gasp, lower prices! It’s like watching cPanel’s loyal subjects slowly turn their backs, one by one.

Chapter 6: The Alternatives—Not Just a Rebellion, but a Revolution

Plesk, Webmin, DirectAdmin, oh my! New players are rising, offering updated tech stacks, more customizable APIs, and—wait for it—better security protocols. They’re the Han Solos to cPanel’s Jabba the Hutt: faster, sleeker, and without the constant drooling.

Conclusion: The Twilight Years or a Second Wind?

The debate rages on. Is cPanel merely an ageing actor waiting for its swan song, or can it adapt and evolve, perhaps surprising us all? Either way, the story of cPanel serves as a cautionary tale: adapt or die. And for heaven’s sake, update your tech stack before it becomes a relic in a technology museum, right between floppy disks and dial-up modems.

This outline only scratches the surface, but it’s a start. If cPanel wants to avoid becoming the Betamax of web management systems, it better start evolving—stat. Cheers!

#hosting #wordpress #cpanel #webdesign #servers #websites #webdeveloper #technology #tech #website #developer #digitalagency #uk #ukdeals #ukbusiness #smallbussinessowner

13 notes · View notes

seriouslycromulent · 2 months

Text

Ramblings & Reactions to Deadpool and Wolverine

So for the first time in a long time, I actually went to see a movie on a Saturday night. I figured it's been a minute since I've enjoyed a "summer blockbuster" like I did back in the olden times. (You know, before the world seemed perpetually on fire.) And this particular nerdgasm extravaganza committed to celluloid would be a great distraction after last week's year.

So I decided to go all out and see it on opening weekend and on a Saturday night, no less. (Well, it was the 6:45pm show, but you get the point.)

Anyway, below are some of my thoughts about the film now that I've had a chance to digest it properly. Then, after I digested it, I feasted on it again when I went to see it a 2nd time on Tuesday because I really felt like I missed some jokes, as well as some of the rapid-fire references because I was too busy laughing at the jokes that I didn't miss.

Before I dive in, I am happy to say that I somehow remained relatively unspoiled about the film until the day it opened. Other than a gif of a certain cameo by a certain non-MCU actor that kept showing up on my Tumblr timeline, I went into the cinema completely unaware of who would be in it other than the main villain played by Emma Corrin.

So kudos to the studio for managing to keep a tight lid on this one. That, and it's entirely possible that the interest in superhero movies is so low at the moment that not as many people were trying to spread spoilers or leak clips as they once were.

Anyway, I prefer it that way -- sans spoilers. So with that in mind, if you are the same, please know that you should absolutely stop reading here because I'm about to spoil the hell out of this movie with my honest reactions and poor descriptive skills.

You have been warned.

But as a courtesy, I'm also going to place a little doohicky here so you can't see my spoiler-y goodness so easily as you scroll by.

This commentary is in no particular order. I'm just sharing thoughts about the film as I remember them ...

Although I was never a fan of the classic yellow Wolverine suit from way back when, I have to admit I squee!d with joy when Logan put on the cowl. I still think the body of the suit is awkward and unflattering, but that cowl makes it all worth it.

I was driving on the highway the Monday after seeing the film for the first time and I couldn't help but start laughing every time I saw a Honda Odyssey drive by. That's some pretty effective product placement, Mr. Reynolds. Well done.

I can see why during all the promotional press for this film, Ryan pretty much kept the plot under wraps the whole time. Because once you know the plot, the possibilities kind of spoil themselves. But just in case it blew past you, the very idea of past comic book movie universe characters being thrown into a "void" by a random corporate jackass who decides they're not worthy of our time and attention anymore is some brutal and diabolically meta commentary on the current zeitgeist and our culture of constant consumption.

With that said, I'm glad D&W provided proof that the studio was right to pull the plug on the Gambit solo film, because ... um, yeah. ... Great concept, but he was woefully miscast.

Out of all the fight scenes in D&W, the fight in the minivan was my favorite. Between the fight choreography, the songs playing on the car stereo, the creativity of the camera angles, and the epic -- and I do mean, EPIC -- verbal takedown that Wolverine doled out right before the fight began, it had everything any fan of this genre could possibly want.

Speaking of music, I loved the use of contemporary pop music in this movie. Yes, I know all the Deadpool films use pop music, but for this one, it just felt even more on the money in terms of tone and atmosphere. It was definitely the way to go. Plus, I found myself singing along more than a few times. And in some instances, wanting to dance along too. Especially the opening fight scene with Deadpool using poor Old Man Logan's corpse remains as weapons throughout the entire fight.

I also want to take this time to personally thank Hugh Jackman for putting himself through hell to turn his 55-year-old body into that Adonis statue we caught an eyeful of near the end. I have a feeling that scene will become the cell phone wallpaper of many, many, many fans.

I, for one, am also glad D&W didn't mar the ending of Logan because I honestly feel that movie is pitch perfect. And it wouldn't have had the impact that it did if Logan didn't die in the end. Unlike some, I was fine with Jackman walking away from the character, plus I don't think Marvel is going to come up with a better send-off than 20th Century Fox did.

Back to the shirtless scene -- not that I'm complaining about the fanservice -- but when the atomic reaction caused Wolverine's shirt to explode, why didn't it cause his pants to explode too? I mean ... I'm just asking.

Some of the faces I was really delighted to see in D&W include: Aaron Stanford as Pyro, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and Dafne Keen as X-23. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy Wesley, Chris, Tyler, or the others. But I think I actually felt giddy when I saw Aaron, Jennifer and Dafne appear on screen each time.

It was only via IMDB did I learn that Blake Lively played (or was the voice of) Lady Deadpool and Nathan Fillion was Headpool. That info could be wrong, but their voices sounded about right. I particularly like that bit of trivia because Fillion is the voice of Green Lantern in most of the animated DC films now, and of course, Ryan played Green Lantern in the live action film.

Although I don't understand why Nicepool had long hair when most of the other Deadpools didn't, I kind of liked that look on Ryan. It's a darn shame his head got blown off though. Poor thing. (Tbf, I saw that coming a mile away.)

The one MCU cameo I really wish they could've gotten was Dr. Strange/Cumberbatch. I'm ok with the knowledge that some version of him was in the Void at some point, but I think an onscreen cameo would've been even better.

Wolverine: You got that poor Johnny kid killed! Deadpool: Kid? He's like 50! Me, along with the rest of the audience: ::dies laughing while nodding it's true::

Why yes! I did catch the Stan Lee "cameo" on the side of the bus as Wolverine and Deadpool were tearing through the Deadpools inside the bus. I think it was an ad for a "StanLee Steamer" or something like that and it had Stan's face beside it. Very clever nod to the man himself.

Now here's where I veer from popular opinion. Hold on to your butts: I don't believe for 10 seconds that Henry Cavill would've been treated better in the MCU than in the DCEU. The fact is the only reason the DCEU didn't stand by its vision for their multi-film overarching storyline was because so-called "fans," who cared more about their slavish devotion to some antiquated rivalry between Marvel and DC that had no place on the big screen, insisted on demanding DC films be like Marvel, even though DC clearly cared more about character development and telling stories that explored realistic aspects of humanity instead of churning out vapid, cookie-cutter, meme machines that brought out the worst in the worst people in all of fandom culture. Cavill was mistreated because of MCU fans. Not because WB wanted to mistreat him. If WB had trusted their vision and focused their attention on the feedback from DC fans who are far more "ride or die" than any Marvel fan has ever been, then Cavill would've been treated better. So as a genuine comic book fan who loves all things DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Infinite, Verve, and the like, I have to give a giant middle finger to Deadpool and anyone who agrees with the statement that Cavill would've been treated better in the MCU. You bitches are the #1 reason he wasn't treated better in the first f*cking place. /end rant

Now this is me taking a moment to appreciate the scene in the Borderlands hideout where Ryan and Hugh were both acting with folks they had worked with in other movies in the past. Ryan, of course, worked with Wesley Snipes in Blade 3. And Hugh, of course, worked with Dafne Keen in Logan. But Ryan Reynolds worked with Jennifer Garner in The Adam Project, and Hugh worked with her in the small budget, but very much underrated film Butter.

I'm not going to lie. It warmed my heart to see that Wade had invited Logan back to his home at the end of the film instead of letting him wander off into the sunset. And the fact that Laura/X-23 was there too fed my fanfiction-loving brain. Now I want to read stories of this Logan acting all dad-like to Laura.

That final scene after the credits roll might be the most I've ever heard Chris Evans swear in a film.

Speaking of guest cast, I love that they were able to get so many people who've played their original roles, but I would be remiss to not notice that we unfortunately don't get to see the original Lady DeathStrike, Psylocke or Toad in this. I suspect the budget was kinda blown on Evans, Garner, and Snipes. Which is a fair trade, even though I adore Kelly Hu.

OK, so after seeing it twice now, it appears that the biggest reaction from the 2 audiences I saw the film with came when Chris Evans first appeared and when Wesley Snipes appeared. And if I had to judge by the applause and gasps alone, Wesley definitely got the biggest reaction.

And what can I say about Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Paradox. He was just the perfect amount of smarmy corporate bitchassness you'd expect from villain who thinks he's not a villain. I loved that he got to be funny while also being made fun of. That's not an easy thing to do with a villain without making the audience feel like they shouldn't take him seriously as a threat. And Macfayden knocked it out of the park with his delivery and timing.

Overall, I would say my main appreciation for Deadpool and Wolverine is that it gave us the Deadpool we know and love, but without sacrificing the gravitas and haunted characterization of Wolverine. Somehow, the writers managed to work in just the right amount of idgaf tension, emotional struggle, and forlorn angst to make sure Logan stays true to form and he isn't there to just be the straight man to Wade's shenanigans.

In other words, the humor, fun and fanservice are great, but the heart of what makes Logan one of the best characters in all of comic fandom was not lost for the sake of fanboy feels. Some of my favorite moments in the movie were those scenes with Logan doing his classic tortured brooding as he lamented over his past and his present. The scenes with Laura/X-23 by the fireside and the scene with Cassandra Nova digging into his mind to see what he's hiding were exactly the kind of emotional touchstones that kept the storyline true to character, and really knocked it out of the park for me.

That's all for now!

#comics #henry cavill #mcu #fandom #deadpool 3 spoilers #deadpool and wolverine spoilers #deadpool and wolverine #hugh jackman #ryan reynolds #unpopular opinion #dceu fan

5 notes · View notes

ragamuffingunnar · 4 months

Text

getting wifi at home tomorrow after almost six years of not having it

red eye flight to france tuesday night

war bullshit extravaganza weds thru sat/sun

visiting the zoo

exploring a few towns on the coast

coming back home and immediately looking for a new job bc retail is the worst and corporate is evil

#wheeze

6 notes · View notes

hibewriter · 4 months

Text

Holiday Party

Masterlist Read it on AO3

Shadow & Bone | Darklina | 4.9K | E

Tags: Non-Con | Dub-Con | Age Gap | Daddy Kink | Hotel Sex

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Holiday Party

Come one, come all! We are so excited to have you for the Shadow Fold Agency's fiftieth-holiday extravaganza luncheon at the Little Palace Hotel in downtown Os Alta. All festivities are on the third floor.

Please remember that valet parking is complimentary! You will receive a validation ticket at registration in the beginning. Final information attached! Remember, the only thing required of you is to HAVE FUN!!!

Have fun.

Yes, because there was nothing more fun than cramming into the halls of Os Alta's nicest hotel, surrounded by hundreds of people she barely knew, for the off chance of a thirty-dollar gift card. Okay, that wasn't necessarily true. It could be a substantial gift card.

But Alina Starkov had only started at the agency in November, and she was already positive her boss (creative director and all-around hard ass, Mr. Morozova) hated her. But that won't stop her from dawning her favorite ugly sweater (lined with various puppies intended to be reindeer), a soft puffer jacket, and her favorite sparkly bag. At least the event was at a hotel. If she makes any more of a fool of herself, she'll at least be able to drink her sorrows away after.

It was just like she expected, arriving just as the sky opened up, rain pelting her car as she waited in the long line of cars attempting to valet at the skyscraper of a hotel. She was only grateful the valet area was under an awning protecting the attendants as she slipped out, quietly joining the throng of coworkers she'd never seen enter the building. Faceless attendants maneuvered them through the lobby like hoards of cattle, not giving pause to be able to gape at the extravagant decor before being filtered into the elevators up, up, up.

She barely registered the rush. The ticket was handed to her, moving with the throng towards the h'ordeuvres set-out. Faceless attendants passed around strange-looking finger foods while Alina tried not to seem too eager to make a beeline to the champagne bar. Only to groan at the selection. Sparkling grape juice. Now, Alina was no drunkard. But a drink to calm her nerves didn't seem like too big an ask. Yet, as she contemplated an exit strategy without being noticed, she heard her name, called loudly and brightly through the reception hall.

Genya.

She adored the team web designer, truly. But, Alina couldn't help but smother her quickly fading chances of escape as it appeared the others on her team had also arrived. David, her kind email manager that frequently got lost explaining the nuances of their system to her. Nikolai, someone she had yet to figure out exactly what he did, but surely it was something. But, luckily, no boss man.

“Oh my god, have you been here long?” Genya’s breathless words came out in a flurry, her hands hurriedly grabbing her own sparkling flute. Even with the dreary weather outside. It was with a shake of her head that Genya seemed satisfied, launching into her own story about her journey to the building, barely pausing for breath as the rest of the group crowded around. It was a breath of fresh air when the ballroom doors opened, tables set to take in the influx of people.

For a moment, she thought her boss just simply wouldn’t arrive as her team seemed to crowd at a singular table. Small conversation as the room settled, waiting to be called towards the buffet lines on either side of the large space. But, to her shock, a steady hand appeared at her back, the other pulling a chair out while her eyes widened and her back went ramrod straight.

“Apologies,” muttered to her in an all-too-familiar voice. Deep and relaxing as a honey-molasses bath, yet cutting when the owner’s ire was directed towards you. Aleksander Morozov had only chastised her once in the month she’d been at the company, but she much preferred to never hear that voice again. In fact, she definitely preferred the more demure tone he took as he sat next to her. Each other seat was taken, and she tried to relax, avoiding Genya’s playful eye.

She’d never been so relieved for people to start going to get food. She tried not to let it show, tried not to run towards the food on the opposite end of the room.

"If you get any more nervous you'll throw up. And the food actually looks good." Genya's voice soothed, falling into step with her as they passed through the line.

"I don't do well with crowds," she muttered. She wasn't paying attention to the foods she piled on her plate, an assortment of vegetables and starches, only catching herself at the turkey in ham. Genya, for her part, only hummed.

"Yeah, Aleks is the same way. He only arrives when he has to." At this she wanted to laugh, glancing down the line to see the normally stoic Morozov in a quiet conversation with another department head. It was hard to imagine him nervous about anything. But she quickly brushed the notion aside, slipping back into her seat.

The food was delicious, once the table sat again. She was happy to have something to preoccupy her mouth as she tried, and failed, to not halt conversation with the topics available.

No, no family to see so I'll just be home.

My foster brother might come to town, but he might have better things to do.

No New Years' plans, thank you for the invitation, Genya.

By the time the raffles came and went, several of her coworkers winning prizes, she was far more comfortable. She was able to keep her eyes down, muttering small thank yous as hotel staff came to clear their plates. Pouring small fills of actual champagne, a light toast about the success of the agency. Words were lost to her as they spoke of unmatched talent and teamwork involved in bringing in record profits. A voyeur claiming credit for others' hard work.

It was a relief when it ended. The throngs of people were almost robotic as everyone slipped out of the room. A muffled conversation full of small talk and cliche jokes about coworkers she didn’t know. A huff as she shuffled with the crowd, somehow getting split from her department as quickly as she got to the elevators. Silently grateful to not pretend to smile and nod to more stories.

She needed a drink.

Or several. Stepping out of the elevator and already seeing the valet line beginning to curve through the lobby of the hotel, impatient faces and tapping shoes waiting for service. She pursed her lips, eyes scanning the space before abruptly turning towards the hotel bar. The line was shorter, and there was sitting room at the actual bar. A perfect opportunity.

A seat as far away from the entrance as possible, nearly hidden at the edge of the bar. She lowered her head as more seemed to take her idea, the small area suddenly full of other festive partygoers were ready to take full advantage of the early afternoon off.

"Mind if I join you?"

Her head snapped up, the soft article nearly forgotten as her eyes made eye contact with her boss. She could swear they were fully black in the low bar lighting. Sudden dry mouth as she swallowed, a small smile as she gestured to the seat next to her. She glanced down the bar, the buzz-cut bartender slowly shaking the same shaker he'd begun with. The patron in front of him looked no less thirsty than when she sat.

It was silent between them, minutes passing before they watched the barkeep set a drink down in front of someone. Only to watch the patron frown, mouths fixing, even over the low murmur. I actually ordered a margarita? This looks like a gimlet. A sigh ripped from Alina’s mouth as she watched the barkeep begin again.

"It seems we might not get a drink anytime soon," Aleksander murmured. She turned to him, noticing his eyes already fixed on her face. It was like he was thinking, trying to determine his next action.

"At the risk of alerting HR," he leaned forward as if telling her a secret. "Would you happen to want to go to a quieter bar? Perhaps get quicker service?"

And maybe it was her desperation for a drink. Maybe it was the honey-smooth baritone of his voice. Maybe it was the one champagne glass, nearly twenty minutes ago now. Or maybe it was her finding a little courage to talk to her boss one-on-one without him yelling at her. Whatever it was, she found herself bundled in her coat, looking at her boss searching the street signs to find his bearings. Though it did not take him long, seeming to have a map of Os Alta's downtown burned into his mind's eye.

"Hmm, this way," he claimed. He grasped her elbow, lightly, and she found herself following his long strides. Her little legs struggled to keep up until the first intersection, where he was forced to stop and look down at her panting face. One look at her face, inflamed from the brisk city air, and he was moving.

"You're freezing," he said, slipping his scarf off his own neck. Any protest she had died on her lips as black cashmere met her cheeks. Instant warmth with faint notes of amber and spice filled her nose before he took her hand and started navigating them through the crosswalk.

She tried not to notice the change in hand placement. She blamed the fire in her cheeks on the scarf.

"How are you settling?" He asked at the next crosswalk, pausing for a breath as cars began to zip down the street. She did her best attempt at a shrug, willing her heart to slow down. A brisk walk would do that to a person, she was sure.

"Good," she huffed, slightly muffled by his scarf. "Not used to walking so fast." At this, his eyes crinkled, as if she told a joke.

"I meant in your role, but we can slow down." She could no longer blame her flamed cheeks on the wind, ducking her head further into herself to avoid his gaze.

"Oh! Um, good. Good, I think. A little stressful sometimes. But in a good way! I'm still trying to figure out my flow, I think. And it doesn't help that I spend so much time talking to Tante. I think we just need to get used to each other but also I think that maybe it'd be better if things weren't so jumbled. She doesn't follow any of the procedures that I have and I just want to get aligned on the same page! I dunno, maybe I should – oh my God I'm rambling."

At this he did laugh, fingers gripping hers, tight as he began to lead her through the freshly changed crosswalk. Slower than before, she noticed. Her legs no longer screamed at her from overuse.

"Don't worry, Alina," he finally spoke once across. Humor was still littered in his voice, a sound she found she very much liked. "Tante has had her fair share of…moments in the office. We'll try to get things better aligned."

"Is that fancy corporate speak for you don't like her very much?"

Even the layers of scarf could not hide her smile at his laugh. Strange how just five minutes ago she thought to crawl into her own skin to hide from his presence. She didn't even mind that he didn't answer, simply guiding her to a small door along a brick-lined building. The rusted sign proclaiming the tavern to be called The Cut. The oldest bar in Os Alta.

Immediately she welcomed the warmth of the haggard place. Worn wood with scribbles of marker and neon signs surrounded by glass, steel, or shelving lined with alcohol she still felt uncomfortable trying to decipher their names. Suddenly, she felt homey. The low lighting cast a warm glow, even though the bar barely had more than ten people in it – slow on a Thursday afternoon.

Reluctantly, she detangled herself from the scarf and coat, hanging them gingerly on her chair. A slide into her seat, held out for her by hands stronger than hers. Hands larger, ones that she could only glance at before shying away, lest her thoughts turned unsavory.

“This is a nice place,” she said, smiling as the new bartender (a small girl with pigtails and a black t-shirt with the bar logo on the breast pocket) caught her eye. He opened his mouth, seemingly about to speak before the bartender approached.

“Sasha, this isn’t your usual time,” the girl spoke, pulling two tumblers seemingly out of nowhere.

“Zoya,” he shrugged, leaning back in his seat. “We decided to grab a drink.” The girl, Zoya, turned to Alina with a roll of her eyes.

“It’s like he’s never had manners in his life. I’m Zoya, you must be…”

“Alina.”

“Alina. Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Alina.” Did she imagine a glance at Aleksander? A joke she wasn’t a part of? She swallowed, a tight smile in response.

“Now, I know this boring man wants an old fashioned, what can I get you?”

A small order for a simple vodka soda, handed with a speed Alina was sure would never have been achieved at the hotel. Sips in silence while she attempts to figure out just how often he came to this bar to be on a first-name basis with the bartender in the middle of the day. More than a first-name basis. She called him Sasha.

“So,” she sputtered, choking a bit on her drink before not-so-smoothly recovering. “I’m guessing you’re a regular?”

“You could say that. I’ve been coming in and out for around twenty-five-ish years.” His eyes twinkled in the light of the bar as he watched hers widen. She wondered if the mental gymnastics she was doing were self-evident on her face, a blush creeping back up her neck as she attempts to school her features. Evidently failed by his chuckle.

“I’m only forty-three, malyshka ,” he murmured. She nearly choked on her vodka, sipping the rest of the cup as she tried to feign polite surprise. It was evident now, the soft grays streaking at his temples. She cleared her throat, trying not to cough from the sudden warmth flooding her chest. She didn’t drink her vodka soda was that strong, but she guesses she could be wrong.

“You’ve been coming here since you were…eighteen?” She questioned, startled at the silently placed refill in front of her. She picked it up, looking at him over her glass as she sipped.

“I never said I was the best kid,” he responded, taking a sip of his own drink.

“So you’re telling me you’re just a bad old man? Bad kids grow into bad adults.” His eyebrows raised, shock and amusement written over his features. Part of her was proud to render him speechless. The other, still sober part, took a second to register exactly what she said. That part suddenly became mortified.

“I mean, not to say that you are bad, like just a ‘haha oh bad kid bad adult’. I didn’t mean that you I – um, I–”

“Relax, malyshka .” He interjected with a huff of laughter. “You’re not in trouble. Though I assume it depends on who you ask if I’m a bad man or not. I like to think I just go after what I want. Drinks included.”

She swallowed, suddenly realizing the relaxed drape of his arm on the back of her chair. His knee, pressed softly against the side of her seat, not touching her but close enough to feel the heat. His eyes, dark and heady as he used his free hand to sip his drink, not wavering from her face.

“What –” what if something gets in your way? “What does that word mean?”

“ Malyshka? It means baby girl in Russian.”

Blaming alcohol was probably no longer viable. The blush across her face, the heat in her chest.

“Why ‘baby girl’? I can be an adult.”

“Yes, but I’m old enough to be your father, so you can see why I might be inclined to refer to you as a baby, no?”

She stared, swallowing in her suddenly dry mouth. He seemed unaffected – as if this were a normal thing to say on a first outing with a subordinate. But she…

“I need to, um, go to the bathroom.” Standing to break whatever spell he’d cast on her seat. She followed his silent gesture to a hallway in the back of the bar, trying not to sprint away.

The bathroom, graffitied and grimy, a small space with two stalls, was just big enough to catch her breath. She leaned over the sink, letting her breathing calm. The muted beating of the bar music flowed in, filling her head. She felt dizzy. She felt drunk . She swore they'd only been gone an hour. Maybe an hour and a half. But her stomach was in knots, twisting and coiling as her mind repeated I'm old enough to be your father.

She knew what it was. The burgeoning of a crush, wholly inappropriate, likely to end in disaster if he ever knew. Not that she felt particularly stealthy thus far. He was just kind, reassuring, and funny. Just because he looked out for her for one afternoon meant nothing. It was nothing.

She repeated her mantra. Nothing nothing nothing, as she splashed her face with water from the sink. She patted her face dry, trying not to smudge any of her eyeliner and shadows. The mirror, covered in stickers and soap scum, did little to convince her she wasn't a walking mess. She frowned, noting the tinsel in one of her reindeer drops from its pom pom nose.

Get it together, Lina. It's just drinks with your boss .

She sighed, exiting the room and back into the hall. Back to Aleksander.

It was almost enough to make her smile, his relaxed posture at the bar. His cheeks had just the barest hint of a flush, mostly hidden by the dark hairs of his beard. Though he wasn't paying attention to her, a stranger leaning against the top spoke in a hushed tone. She watched for a moment, following the polite bored expression Aleksander wore as the man continued to speak. Until he leaned forward, offering his own words. Which caused Aleksander’s eyes to light up for a second, before the two broke into a small laugh.

She wiped her hands against her skirt as she approached, ignoring the flip in her belly when her boss turned his attention to her.

"Ah, Alina. This is Tolya, he used to work in your position."

She extended her hand, a soft smile gracing her lips at the introduction. Before the man, Tolya, launched into a diatribe about how much better it was to be working independently with his sister. She tried to nod and follow along with the winding story, but soon she found herself on her third, then fourth, drink. Polite nods and “ hmm, how interesting ”s could only go so far. It was only a slight relief when Zoya came back, pulling Tolya from the conversation to the other end of the bar with excuses of needing input on a new event they were creating.

It was Aleksander’s sigh of relief that broke her into a smile, a small giggle escaping her lips before she placed her own hand over her mouth. He smiled at her, and she felt like in one of her romcoms when the world would fall away as the two made eye contact.

"Do you –"

They both paused, a soft laugh escaping them. He gestured to her to continue, sipping the last of his drink.

"I was just, ahem. I was just wondering if you'd want to start heading back," she whispered, suddenly aflush. "I mean, to escape the downtown traffic! I'm sure it's going to be a nightmare being right before the holiday and –"

"Shhh, Alina. It's fine, I was going to suggest the same." He stood, and suddenly he seemed so tall. Like a giant ready to pick her up. Was she biting her lip? Her feet felt foreign as she stood too quickly, attempting to match his pace. His hand was on her in a flash, steadying her at the elbow before righting her.

She stood still, almost in a haze, as he slipped her coat back on her shoulders. She thanked the stars, her eyes only widened slightly as he wrapped the scarf back around her face, his smirk a dangerous thing in a blurry sea of color and sound. Her drinks weren't that strong, were they?

She hardly remembered him ushering out the door, his two fingers raised in goodbye to Zoya. He must have a tab. Thoughts swam as they walked, her small stumbles prevented by his somehow steady presence. Soon, she was clutching his waist, giggling at words that surely meant something. Crosswalks faded until they arrived at the hotel, smooth steel and golden accents a familiar warmth. Though the area was much quieter, the throngs of coworkers were mostly gone. Few, however, were still in the bar area, nursing drinks that took far too long to arrive.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive, malyshka? " Was his voice always so soothing? She leaned on his shoulder, eyes closing as she tried to get the world to stop being so spinny.

"Hmmm," she hummed, breathing in the stronger version of his scent. Fresh from his exposed collar, perfect for her head. "Maybe I should sit down for a bit."

"Nonsense, I have a room," his voice was a deep rumble in her ear. So close yet so far, was she floating? "Let's get you some water and lay you down, hm?"

And didn't that sound nice? He'd take her upstairs, and she could lay on a soft mattress for a few minutes. She didn't quite remember voicing her agreement, just the feeling of his hands leading her to the hotel elevators.

The room was nice. Far nicer than she would've, or could've, booked for herself. She tried not to stumble as he led her through the living room area. She giggled when she failed, clutching his shoulders. But he just smiled, holding her waist as he led her into the bedroom.

Soft downy embraced her as she fell onto the bed, giggles escaping uncontrollably as she did. It was so nice . Felt so good. At first, she didn't notice his hands, soft against her tights, her calves. Until her shoes were being pulled from her feet, a soft hum when they fell off. That was so much better anyway.

Another giggle burst from her lips when his thumb pressed into the arch of her foot. Soreness faded away, but his hands did not. Slowly climbing her legs, rubbing the sore muscles away.

"Mmm, d-daddy that feeellls g-good," she sighed into the mattress, letting him work his fingers.

"Daddy, huh?" Amusement filled his voice, hands digging into her thighs. She giggled again, it was so funny for some reason. Everything felt so light.

"You s-said you were old enough to be my d-daddy, don't you wanna?" She mumbled, relishing the way his hands pressed into her.

"Of course, malyshka . Daddy will make you feel real good." She didn't know what he meant, head fuzzy as he drew soft whimpers from her mouth. But she felt it. Hands climbing higher, under her skirt to her hips.

"Mhm, wha–"

"Shh, malyshka, let daddy work."

She could only hum as she felt him tug at the band of her tights. Just a few before they were rolling down her legs, a soft tingling in their wake from the compression finally releasing. She felt him lift away her skirt, down down her legs it went. A soft shiver ran down her spine as the room's AC made contact with her bare ass.

Had he taken her panties too?

She went to move, to sit up, but she felt so heavy . And the bed was so soft. She could only lie there as he maneuvered her arms up, and suddenly she was bare to him. Her sweater was removed with quickness, her bra gone faster. She shivered, the room was so cold. She tried to turn her body, into the covers and warmth.

“Daddy, don’t look” she cried, her hands flying up to cover her bare chest.

“Why?” He muttered, leaning over her. He grabbed her wrist, pulling them away and up. She wondered briefly if his eyes had always been so dark. She bit her lip, squirming under the intensity of his gaze. “You look so pretty like this, like a kitten. Maybe I should call you kisa , hm?”

And the room spun at his words. A whine escaped her lips as he leaned back, but her eyes widened as she watched him remove his own clothes.

“See, we’re even now, kisa. ” Her lip almost bled, as he nudged her knees apart, exposing her cunt to his gaze. It was unreal, the sudden heat she felt as his cock falls between her legs. He angles her hips higher above his knees, his head rubbing deliciously against her clit.

“So wet, I’ve barely even touched you,” he murmured. More to himself than her, but she still felt her cunt clench from the way he spoke. Breathless, ragged as he spread her wetness around her clit. Her hips squirmed against the sensation, soft whimpers flowing out of her with each pass. “I think you can take me just like this, can’t you?”

“Uh-huh,” she attempted to nod her head. She could. She would.

The first notch of his cock into her caused her breath to rush out of her. It was unreal, the stretch from just his head as his thumb came to her clit in its stead. A soft curse left his breath as he began to push. An inch, then out, then in deeper. He was carving a space for himself within her, her body yielding to his assault.

“So tight for me,” he muttered, lost to the sensation. Before he pulled out just enough, before snapping his hips to hers, fully seated inside of her. She keens, high as her hands fly to grab his forearms. Her nails dug into his skin as he began a slow rhythm, punishing her cunt with each thrust.

Soon the stretch turned to something different, purer as she began to feel a coil deep inside her. She nearly cried when he fell forward, changing the angle and hitting just right . He was so heavy, a radiator against her skin as he moved, forcing her to just take take take. All she can do is moan and cry for him to never stop.

“Daddy please, please,” she cried, trying to match his thrust with her hips. Until he leaned back just enough to look her in the eye, hips moving faster inside her. His eyes crazed, the sound of her sucking him in almost too much as she makes to grab at his face.

“What is it, malyshka? Tell daddy what you need, I’ll give it to you.”

“A kiss daddy, please?” She didn’t care that she was whining. She’d stared at his lips for too long, all day. The past month, watching as he spoke down to those who did wrong, desperate for his words to infect her space. A cry broke from her mouth, swallowed by his as he bent to give her just what she asked.

She almost didn’t realize that she was cumming, thought it was more that she was dying. His thumb pressed harshly against her clit as her body seized, clenching tightly around him. The kiss is broken then, his face buried into her neck as he whispers about her perfect her cunt was. How it was made for him, how good a little girl she was being.

His stuttering hips were the only warning she received before he came, holding tight to her. The warmth flowed deep into her, and she hisses, hands flying to his shoulders, nails digging into the skin. She wondered briefly if her IUD would work, so much of his cum inside of her it felt like it was inevitable.

Their breaths mixed softly, slowly coming down. Her heart takes longer, beating nearly out of her chest as he laid on top of her, skin to skin. Her legs moved to trap him when he tried to pull out of her, not wanting to let the moment go. If it went, she’d have to sober up. She’d have to think about consequences, about what this meant. It’d change too much too fast, and she just needed it to stay this perfect for just a moment.

So they didn’t move, and she fell asleep in the warmth of his arms.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Day off

Team, should your work be in a good position to wait until Monday, feel free to take this Friday off as well. I will be offline to enjoy the weekend around town with loved ones, I suggest you do the same.

Aleksander.

#darklina

2 notes · View notes