#everyone knows what bite sized pieces are jan!

[tinyrosemarysparrows]

Oh, sure, it’s weird for me to describe a brain specimen as cut into “bite-sized pieces” I’m “insensitive, possibly a cannibal.” But if some guy goes around cutting rat brains into thin slices to attempt to record the brain’s process of forming a memory, then he’s “a genius.” 

[creative-lampd-liberties]

"You're not small. You wouldn't understand" and “I may be small but I am mighty.” with Janus please ?

... I may be projecting...

I was going thru my stuff and I realized that I finished this but never posted it. Apologies for the delay @zozomind I hope you like it. I think you might have been asking for angst but it turned into drlamp snuggle time.

...as a small person, I may also have projected a bit 😅😅

☆☆☆

Janus was already in full rant mode as they came into the living room.  "I don't know how to explain to you that *I* am the *correct* height. *You* are just unfortunately tall. Both of you."

Roman, hot on his heels, rolled his eyes "I'm only five inches larger than you!" Remus giggled and Roman shot him a pained grimace. 

Janus sniffed imperiously. " You're not small, you wouldn't understand."

"I could make him shorter, if you want," Remus offered, summoning a meat cleaver.

"Do not." Roman growled and snatched it from him, vanishing it. Remus crossed his arms and made a face, pointedly pouting.

Janus grinned, wide and sharp. "Now Roman, There's always room for improvement." 

Letting out a huff, Roman threw his hands up in the air. "I'm not that tall! *You're* not that short!"

It was Janus’s turn to roll his eyes. "I'm not short, obviously, I'm small. Perfectly packaged." He waved dismissively at Roman. "But you are entirely too tall."

Remus perked up again. "Oh! or I could make *you* taller. Stretch your bones?"

Janus smiled blandly at him."You know what will happen if you try."

Roman groaned loudly  "You're both being ridiculous. Patton back me up here?"

Patton blinked up at him from where he and Virgil were piecing together a puzzle on the coffee table. "Sure thing, kiddo. What about?"

Janus jumped in before Roman could start. "I was just explaining to Roman that being small is not a disadvantage. That it is, in fact, the better lifestyle."

"Oh. Well in that case I hate to disappoint Roman, but I agree with Janus." Patton said.. Virgil snorted, which made Patton chuckle behind his hand. Roman gaped at both of them, spluttering.

Janus beamed at him, smug. "Of course you do. Being the appropriate height makes you smarter than all these freakishly gangly giants "

Patton shook a finger at him, trying and failing to school his expression into disapproval. "Now Janus, that's not nice. They can't help that they're not fun size like us!"

Logan, who had been watching the exchange over his book, frowned. "I'm not sure I'm understanding this argument. Are you suggesting there is a moral correlation to height?"

"No, of course not!" Patton assured, at the same time as Janus said, "Yes. Absolutely."

Logan set his book down, shifting firmly into lecture mode. "That's ridiculous. Height has no basis on personality."

"Well…" Roman hedged.

"And certainly no moral value whatsoever."

"Your mom's ridiculous and has no moral value whatsoever." Remus chirped. Roman whacked him on the shoulder. "What?" he whined.

Janus favored Logan with his least impressed look. "You're not small, you wouldn't understand. But then… you're not tall either are you?" 

"I am a perfectly respectable height." Logan protested. "It's the national average."

Janus nodded sympathetically. "Exactly. It's *average*. Shrink, then perhaps we can be friends."

This took Logan aback, face twisting uncertainly. "But we're already… aren't we already friends?"

Patton tutted, actually managing to glare a bit in Janus's direction. "Of course you are sweetie." He clamored up to pat Logan comfortingly on the shoulder. "We're all friends. Janus is just being silly."

"Traitor." Janus hissed.

Virgil gave up on the puzzle. Smirking, he climbed to his feet and snatched Janus's hat from his head. He held it just out of reach. "Is that your evil plot for today then? To confuse and antagonize poor Logan?"

Janus scowled at him. "You're lucky I don't bite you." He hissed.

"Was that supposed to be a threat?" Virgil grinned wider, and set the hat on his own head, still firmly out of reach. "It's adorable that you act like you're not itty-bitty. But you are, you're tiny, like a kitten."

Janus growled. "And you sound like someone who's *asking* to be bitten."

Virgil huffed a laugh. "Eh, I wasn't that fond of my ankles anyway."

"Careful." Janus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I may be *small* but I am mighty."

A calculated look crept into Virgil's amused expression. "Uh huh. Sure, kitten. Y'know though, you are the perfect height…" he said, tone light 

"Damn right, I am!"

"-for me to do this!" 

Janus hissed and spat as Virgil scooped him bodily off or the floor, swatting ineffectually at his head. "Put me down this instant!" he growled. 

Virgil just turned to Remus, who was already cackling, and the two of them squished him between them. They planted matching kisses on each cheek as Janus squirmed, laughing when he flushed all the way to the tips of his ears and stilled, letting out a noise like a startled tea kettle.

Roman was watching with unabashed delight. "Why didn't I think of that. Patton, c'mere."

Patton all but lept into his arms, giggling. "Oh no! I'm caught!" He accepted his cheek kiss with magnanimity.

Roman carted him over to the group hug, Patton squirming his way into the center with Janus. "Hi." He whispered, beaming. Janus blinked at him like a startled deer.

They were only missing one side now. Remus was craning his neck to eye the couch. "You too, geek chic. Join the orgy!"

"Must I?" Logan wrinkled his nose, but when Virgil made grabby hands he went easily enough. They pulled him into the circle. 

Once they had him, the cheek kisses began in full force. Everyone got a fair share. Patton squealed and giggled and planted retaliatory kisses on his "attackers". Logan endured them with a stoic sigh and a small blush. But Janus resumed his squirming in force.

"Look, he's blushing!" Roman teased, punctuating it with another kiss.

"I am *not*!

"So cute!" This was Patton, and Janus managed to flush even brighter. Especially when Logan leaned in to kiss his forehead.

A petulant whine crept into his voice. "This is undignified. You're squishing me."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "It's called affection, Jan. It won't actually kill you." 

Patton bit his lip to contain his amusement. He gently squeezed one gloved hand in his own. "You get used to it eventually. Let's me know I'm loved."

Janus groaned dramatically. "Fine. I'll submit to your so called *affection*. Just remember, I know where all of you sleep."

☆☆☆

[lgbtqia-representation]

Fetishizing The Gay Community

Let me start with a very brief explanation of this entire section because it will help in understanding the issue at hand: homosexual relationships in media (gay and lesbian being most of the content) are having heteronormative stereotypes forced onto these relationships. For those of you who do not know heteronormative, in short, is promoting heterosexuality. In this case it is taking the standards of a heterosexual relationship and applying it to a homosexual relationship as if they are synonymous.

To break this down into bite size pieces, the overarching idea throughout society is “male/masculine” or “female/feminine”. These two categories are then applied to these homosexual relationships thus changing them from what they really are to an altered more heteronormative version. By indulging in the concept of feminine and masculine partner in any relationship, we are continuing the cycle of a heteronormative society; however, because it is done through a same sex couple it gives off the appearance of inclusion.

Many people try to argue this idea that they might be fetishizing the community with statements like, “we're including this in our lives so obviously we support the community.” What these people fail to realize is they are not accepting the full image of homosexuals but rather this skewed heteronormative version. Put another way, “That’s like saying slavery was acceptance by white people wanting blacks in their lives.” (Brownworth) Pulling something into your life does not automatically make you supportive, an ally, or “okay” with it. If that were the case, using the above example, the whites would not have been okay with the horrid living conditions and treatment subjected upon African Americans, nor would the hatred and discrimination have continued after laws were established. Likewise, if same sex couples were truly accepted then people would understand that two women who are dating are both still inherently “females” and “feminine”, unless they so choose to change their gender identity.

In any aspect a woman can be more masculine or a male more feminine; however, it should not be assumed, implied, forced, or be centripetal to their acceptance into the LGBT community or society at large. This trend works to erase what is the central part of a same sex relationship- them being of the same sex.

I wanted to start with this one because it is so personal to my life and I want you all to understand that. This fetishizing affects the community and that is why its inherently an issue. When me and my wife wanted to get married everyone kept pushing for more and more heteronormative aspects to be included in our wedding. Someone had to wear a suit and the other a dress, someone waited at the altar and the other is walked down the aisle and given away. This fetishizing seeps into everyday life to the point where families and same sex couples themselves are having to fit into these bubbles to be accepted in a supposedly “accepting” community. We cannot allow this trend to continue because one partner will always be inherently erased when society is looking for the ‘masculine” and “feminine” partner in a same sex relationship.

Mass media only fuels the fire by promoting the idea that these relationships are the normal and are how same sex relationships should act. The Netflix Original, Prom, would be no exception to this idea. Putting aside the drama associated with the production of this piece, the messages are overall strong and work to show the struggles of being gay even in 2020 after laws protecting gays have been passed. The issue is heteronormativity is still a large aspect that few wish to address: from the “masculine” female being expected to ask the other out, stand strong (and alone) from parental and community backlash, only to inevitably end up wearing a suit in the final scene, it’s even blue to further sell the point; in contrast the “feminine” female hides away behind her mother for pretty much the entire plot, abandoning her partner to handle everything by herself and work to change their situation, also ends up wearing the cute dress, which to no one’s surprise is pink. The “male” fights for the relationship however needed, while the “female” sits by weakly and looks pretty.

Anyone can write about anything, as an English Creative Writing Major, I know this well. However, attempting to fictionally alter someone’s reality should be actively protested by anyone who notices it being done. “When we give straight writers the power to say we got our own relationships wrong and they know better, we are embracing our own oppression.” (Brownworth)

References:

Brownworth, Victoria. “The Fetishizing of Queer Sexuality: A Response.” Lambda Literary, 3 July 2020, www.lambdaliterary.org/2010/08/the-fetishizing-of-queer-sexuality-a-response/.

Damshenas, Sam, and Jamie Windust. “James Corden Drama aside, The Prom Is the Queer Celebration We Need This Year.” GAY TIMES, 8 Dec. 2020, www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/james-corden-drama-aside-the-prom-is-the-queer-celebration-we-need-this-year-review/.

Price, Cameron. “Stop Fetishizing Gay People.” YouthCake, 1 Jan. 1970, www.youthcake.com/2019/01/stop-fetishizing-gay-people.html.

Rosenblum, Karen Elaine, and Toni-Michelle Travis, editors. The Meaning of Difference. 5th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2008.

Image:

Levering, Hannah. “The Prom Is a Testament to the Fact That Love Is Love.” The Central Trend, thecentraltrend.com/94437/opinion/the-prom-is-a-testament-to-the-fact-that-love-is-love/.

[sabraeal]

So a prompt for the Wide Florida Bay, Haki meets Haruto meeting.

Wide Florida Bay | With Hands Molded, as Galatea

Issue: Jan 1994

Vogue sat down with the illustrious Ms Bergstrom, known for not only her modeling career in her youth, but also her current occupation of philanthropic works. 

Bergstrom: I was an actress as well, briefly.Vogue: Yes, who could forget?Bergstrom: (teasing) You, apparently!

“God, this whole island is so fucking boring.” Andalusia slaps her copy of Vogue onto the table, glaring down the line of chaises. “Whose idea was it to come to Santorini anyway?”

“Haki’s!” Cristal pipes nervously before tilting her hat’s brim down over her face. It’s such a pitiful act, Haki can’t even manage to summon up a glare.

“Ugh, Haki, what the fuck.” Andaulsia rolls over, foxing her with a scowl that would make Cristal burst into tears. “There’s nothing here but honeymooners and old people.”

This was my mom’s favorite place. It sits right on the tip of her tongue, a sure way to win the argument, to get everyone on her side and leave Andalusia slinking around the suite like a scolded terrier. But it’s also ammunition, a piece of her that can be flung back when tempers get high or when someone needs to prove that she’s too emotional to weigh in.

And that’s not what she wants her mother to be: yet another little pin to prick her with, another weight to hold her down when someone wants to climb higher. So Haki grits her teeth, making a show of applying more sun screen.

“And sunsets,” Tomomi offers with a studied offhandedness. “Those have been pretty killer.”

Her mother had thought that too. At least, that’s what her father said, when she’d asked, a wistful expression on his face. Never the same one twice.

“God, fuck sunsets. We should have gone to Ibiza.” Andalusia flops restlessly on her chaise, like a fish on the dock. “That’s where everyone who’s everyone is. Not this shitshow.”

She knows she’s supposed to apologize now, that she’s supposed to offer a half dozen explanations for why she thought Santorini would personally float Andalusia’s boat, but–

There’s none. It’s their first trip since they started college, the first time they’ve been together so long since they flung themselves across the country to colleges so far apart it seems almost purposeful, and Haki’s just felt…adrift. She’s made friends, yes, with all the right people who go all the right places, but it all fits her like a dress two sizes too small, like she’s still trying to stuff herself into the Zac Posen she wore to her Sweet Sixteen.

She’s had a single year of freedom, a single year to think for herself, and all that’s been buzzing through her head for months is that she doesn’t want this.

“Ibiza is so last decade.” Mariazell sits up in her chaise, tossing her sheet of blonde hair over her shoulder. “God, my parents went to Ibiza.”

Mariazell had been a last minute addition, a friend of a friend of Andalusia’s who she’d met at a party and thought was as cool as a Hilton. Haki had been prepared to hate her guts, but, well–

It seems as though things are looking up.

“Saint Tropez, then,” Andalusia decides, “I heard–”

“Old news.” Mariazell inspects her nails with an air of disinterest Haki can only aspire to. No one goes there anymore.”

Outdone and annoyed, Andalusia does the one thing she knows best: pouting. “Fine, then where is everyone?”

“Mykanos.” She says simply, as if anyone with a brain would know. It’s the sort of trick that rolls off Haki’s back, but Andalusia looks like she’s about to have an aneurysm.

“Where the fuck is that supposed to be?” she snaps, red-faced even under her tan. “Turkey or something?”

Mariazell lets out a laugh. “Oh my god, seriously? It’s right here. Like three hours by boat.”

“How come I’ve never heard of it?”

Mariazell levels her with the driest expression anyone has ever dared. “It’s exclusive.”

Haki coughs, tucking her mouth into her shoulder. Andalusia was the biggest hanger-on she knew,  at the forefront of what everyone else thought was cool, and now here she was: hopelessly behind the times.

God, she’s almost starting to like this girl.

Mariazell tosses her head. “Or at least it was, but now anybody who’s anybody parties there.”

“Then that’s where we should be.” Andalusia’s mouth bends into a sly curve. “Do you think we could get– what’s his name? That guy with the yacht?”

“Touka?” Tomomi supplies, casting Haki a worried glance. “Touka Bergatt?”

“Yeah, him.” Andalusia lounges, crossing her legs the way models did in magazines, as if it might make her taller. “He was all over us yesterday. Do you think he could get us there?”

Haki can’t bite back her grimace. His arm still feels heavy around her shoulders, leaning in far too close as he asked if she would like a private tour of the captain’s cabin. Alone. “Isn’t he old?”

“He’s twenty-five.” Her eyes flash, like a cougar watching a hare, and Haki braces herself for the pounce. “I mean, he’s just as old as Izana Wisteria.”

Mariazell raises an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Oh it doesn’t.” Andalusia’s sprawls on the chaise like a panther, playing with its pray. “Haki’s just obsessed with him.”

The I’m not is at the tip of her tongue, but Mariazell beast her to it.

“You are?” Her second brow joins the first. “Aren’t your families friends or something? Don’t you know him?”

“Their mothers modeled together back in the 80s, along with Cecile Seiran,” Andalusia supplies helpfully, her face the very picture of poorly-feigned innocence. “She met him once, refused to talk to him, and then hyperventilated in a hallway when he said hi.”

That’s not precisely wrong, but it’s definitely not the way she would prefer to tell that story. Which is never.

“I don’t see why hitching a ride with Touka Bergatt’s such a problem,” Andalusia continues, “not when she’d happily jump on Izana Wisteria’s dick if he let her.”

“That’s gross,” she snaps, body flushed and fists clenched. “I wouldn’t jump on anyone, not matter who they are. Just because he’s–” a genius, an innovator, and sexy as hell– “attractive doesn’t mean I want to fuck him.”

She’s known plenty of people who look good on paper but don’t complete the fantasy in real life. Izana Wisteria would probably be one of them. She’s not an idiot.

“Don’t be fooled. Haki’s saving herself for him,” Andalusia coos, drawing giggles from the other girls. Well, everyone but Tomomi, whose mouth has thinned to nonexistence.

“I’m not saving myself for anyone,” she grits out. It’s impossible, since there’s nothing about her to be ruined or rescued just from having sex no matter what Andalusia thinks, or her father, or the tabloid that ran a countdown to when she was “legal.” It’s the fucking 2000s, not medieval Europe. No one’s going to be airing her sheets on her wedding night, showing the peasants how she bled on the sheet like a good, God-fearing girl.

Not that she wouldn’t be burned at the stake by popular opinion if she did sleep around. Haki Bergstrom has a reputation to keep, but that could be solved by circumspect partners and careful planning, if she wanted to. Which she hasn’t.

Of course, this all jumbles in her throat, anger boiling it down to, “High school boys are gross.”

Andalusia grins. “We’re in college now. College boys exist.”

“You know what I mean,” she snips waspishly. “Boys our age are obsessed with getting their dick wet and anal.”

“And putting their penis between your boobs,” Cristal adds, shrinking as they all turn to her. “I-I mean, so I’ve heard.”

Andalusia scoffs, mouth curling like the has a secret. “Then don’t date boys. Date men.”

Ugh, she would say that; she’d been the first one to get a boyfriend at sixteen, a twenty-two year old DJ that had gotten her grounded for a month when her parents found him sneaking out of her window. They’d never gotten much further than French kissing and hand jobs, but Andalusia might as well have gone all the way since she likes to lord it over everyone.

Mariazell snorts, tossing her hair. “Adult men who date girls are the grossest of all.”

Andalusia recoils like she’s been slapped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on.” Mariazell smiles, giving the distinct impression that she’s outside the joke when anyone with a brain is inside. “Guys in their mid-twenties trying to shack up with girls who are ‘freshly eighteen?’ They want a blow-up doll, not a relationship. And with girls like us? They just want Daddy’s money.” She raises a brow. “Surely you’ve figured that out.”

“Of course I have,” Andalusia lies, flush spreading down to her chest. “But Bergatt’s our best bet to get off this island and into where all the right people are partying. I’ll do what I have to do to for that.”

“But will Haki?” Mariazell’s smile spreads into a Cheshire grin. “That’s who he was all over yesterday.”

“Count me out,” she says, settling against her lounge. “We could party back in Miami. I like the silence here.”

Cristal yelps, “But if you don’t go, he might not take us.”

She’s tempted to tell her, my worst nightmare isn’t Andalusia not getting her way, but it’s too cruel. As much as Cristal’s brown-nosing annoys her, she’s a skittish little thing, always scared of being left behind, and Haki knows better than anyone– they are only what their fathers have made of them.

“That’s not Haki’s problem,” Tomomi snaps. “What do we need her for anyway? Isn’t Andalusia always saying how she can get any man she wants?”

“I can!” She’s too eager, too defensive, and it’s clear the only person on the deck that even half believes it is her. “You think I can’t?”

Mariazell’s mouth curves. “I think you aren’t a tall, leggy blonde. and Touka Bergatt is used to having his pick of the litter.”

“Fine!” Andalusia bolts up from her lounge, looking like thunder herself. “You have an hour. We’re getting off this island.”

Haki snorts. “I’m not going–”

“You’re not invited,” she shrills. “We don’t need you. I’ll wrap Touka Bergatt so tight around my finger he’d take us back to Miami, and I don’t need you messing it up.”

She stomps off the deck, Cristal hurrying behind her, and Mariazell gives Haki a knowing smile.

“Enjoy your solitude,” she murmurs, unfurling from her seat. “I know I would.”

Vogue: We’ve heard that you disdain the party scene. Bergstrom: I spend much of my life with my husband in Miami or in LA doing business. They call New York the City that Never Sleeps, but in those cities no one ever breathes. Why do I need to go to a club when every business appointment is a three-ring circus?Vogue: So where do you go to unwind?Bergstrom: While I was modeling, many years ago now, I used to take trips with my friends to a small island in Greece– Santorini, you may have heard of it? The sunsets are not to be believedVogue: Once or twice. By friends, you mean fellow models-turned-business moguls, Haurto Wisteria and Cecile Seiran?Bergstrom: Yes, I believe my publicist has sent you the photo?Vogue: Yes, it’s gorgeous. Thank you for letting us print it.Bergstrom: (laughs) Oh, what woman wouldn’t like you to print a photo of her when she’s twenty?Vogue: Twenty year olds!Bergstrom: Too true, too true. We’re so harsh on ourselves, and then we look back years later and think, ‘now what did I think was wrong?!’

Haki could always ask for a car; Axel Bergstrom’s daughter would have a fleet of Santorini’s finest, discreet limos should she but ask the concierge, but it seems important to do this the right way.

She’s never ridden a bus before, but she’s seen movies. She drops her coins into the till, takes her seat, and politely ignores every person around her as she scrolls through her phone. The ride to Oia feels like a lifetime, but– but–

Her mother wasn’t riding in limos when she came here. She’d barely been older than Haki is now, a young model with hardly anything to her name.

So that’s how she takes in Santorini: on foot, relying on her smile and the few Greek words she learned from the hotel staff when she called for room service. It gets her just as far as her mother always said it would; right up to the twisty alleyways of Oia, mounting step over step to find the right vantage point.

Her calves are burning when she finds it, protesting another step: a terrace, overgrown with vines and abandoned, three ancient lounge chairs laid out across the white stone.

She vaults up the last few stairs, mouth stretching wide as she takes in the view of the caldera. It’s perfect; an unobstructed view straight out to the horizon, and it’s the closest she’s ever felt to her mother’s presence beside her. She doesn’t believe in all the stuff normally, but a find like this is beyond coincidence. Maybe there’s nothing of her mother back in Miami, but here on this rooftop, every breath she takes is thick with her, heavy with a scent she hardly remembers–

“Ah,” huffs a voice from behind her. “Company.”

Haki spins on her heel, hands clutching at the lip of the wall, as if that might somehow stop the terrace’s owner from asking her to leave. “Oh, I– I’m sorry, I thought no one would be up here. I–”

It’s a woman who emerges onto the roof, windswept blonde hair haloing around her face as she sweeps across. “Oh, no, don’t worry. I don’t own this house. I’ve just borrowed its terrace for the evening.” She sweeps out a hand, the one not holding an electric blue cocktail, and gestures toward the lounges. “There’s no reason we can’t share.”

She’s older, Haki realizes, but her age is impossible to place. There’s crows feet starting to stretch their talons at the corners of her eyes, but she wears them so casually they’re almost an accessory than a mark of time.

“Please,” she insists, perching on her own chair, “sit. Are you traveling alone?”

“Oh.” Haki sidles over to a lounge, taking an awkward seat. “Ah, today I am.”

Her eyebrows raise, perfectly shaped. “Just today?”

“My other friends took off for Mykanos,” she explains, swallowing down the good riddance.

“Ah, I see.” The woman smiles of the rim of her cocktail glass. “Santorini’s too slow for them, hm? I’ve heard that’s where the real parties are at nowadays.”

“Yeah.” That’s all she needs to say, but there’s something about this woman’s steady gaze, inquiring and yet not expectant, that makes her add, “I’m from Miami, thought. I can party any time–” not that she wants to all that much anymore– “but I can’t get these sunsets.”

The woman’s brows hike up even farther, but it’s…approving. Impressed. “I wouldn’t expect to hear that from someone your age. You must be in college now, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes.” This is the last thing she wants to talk about. “I’m a sophomore.”

“Oh, how nice!” She sounds…actually pleased, as if it were some pleasant surprise. “My youngest is a sophomore too! But in high school.”

This woman does not look old enough to have a high school sophomore for a child.

“And my eldest just graduated a year ago. He’s getting his MBA now,” she confides with a flushed-cheek sort of pride.

Haki can only stare; this woman is either extremely well-preserved, or she was pushing out kids when she was sixteen.

“What are you doing?” she continues, interested. “You seem like the sort of girl who has a plan.”

Haki can’t imagine what about her says that; she’s a lone woman on a stolen terrace in the middle of a country she doesn’t even speak the language of, with little more than a phone and a transit card in her pocket. “Ah, not really. I’m actually Undecided. For now.” She gives her a helpless shrug. “I’m still learning what I like, I guess.”

The woman stills, eyes narrowing. “Do you mean you’ll learn what you like, or you’ll learn to live with what you’re supposed to like?”

Haki knows she looks like an idiot, sitting there slack-jawed like she belongs on the Miami version of Jersey Shore, getting drunk and having drama for the amusement of the masses, but–

But no one’s ever asked her that before.

The woman curls towards her, chin propped up on a hand. “That’s what I thought. What do you want, really?”

“I want to mean something.” She claps a hand over her mouth, mortified. “No, wait! I mean–”

Cool fingers wrap around hers, she’s filled with a sudden, complete sense of comfort. Her words evaporate on her tongue, lost. “I know what you mean. Go on.”

Haki blinks, staring at the long, strong hands that cover her own. This must be what it’s like for people who have moms. “I want to make a difference. I don’t want to do what my dad does and just…make money.”

There’s more to it than that, so much more. She’d never thought about money before, only known that she had it, had a lot of it, and then she’d went to college and–

And she’d found out the price of it. Filled in swamp lands and critically endangered animals. Weather growing worse each year as the earth changes, forced to be flat so hotels and condos and timeshares can be built on it. Laborers who work grueling hours and still can’t pay rent, who have to choose between dinner and a doctor’s visit. All to line the pockets of her father and his friends.

She can’t do it anymore. She can’t be happy knowing what she knows. She doesn’t want to be forty, seated on the couch with all the other wives waiting to be swapped out for someone younger, someone stupider as her husband brags about destroying the Everglades for a parking lot.

No, she wants to be the one that stops it. “I want to be a lawyer. A, um, environmental one.”

The woman squeezes her hand, reassuring. “That won’t be easy.”

“I know,” she sighs. “My dad will never let me.”

“Of course not.” The woman smiles. “You’ll get really good at lying.”

She stares. Adults aren’t supposed to give you this sort of advice, she’s pretty sure. Especially not moms.

“There’s a half dozen majors you can do and get into law school.” She shrugs. “Pick something that your father expects from you. Business. Literature. Political Science. And then take whatever classes you need to learn what you have to.”

It sounds so easy when she says it. “But what if–”

She holds up a finger. “Ah, remember: Axel Bergstrom never checks up on an investment when he feels like a return is assured.”

“Right. But…” Her teeth snap down with a click. “How do you know who my father is?“

One of the woman’s hand’s lift, tilting up her chin. “Oh, Haki. You do look so much like your mother. And seeing you here, sitting right where she did…”

She blinks. The picture. Her mother, Cecile Seiran, and–

“Haruto Wisteria,” she breathes. “You’re Haruto Wisteria.”

Her mother’s closest friend. And Izana Wisteria’s mother.

Oh, god.

“You…you’re…” she feels faint.

“She’d be so proud of you, you know,” Haruto says, her thumb rubbing coolly across her cheek. “She always worried the money might ruin you and Makiri.”

She can hardly breathe. “My mother?”

“Oh, of course.” Haruto smiles, distant. “She chained herself to a bulldozer once, protesting the destruction of some natural landmark in Sweden. That’s where she met your father actually.”

She doesn’t need to be told which side of the bulldozer he was on. “And then they…?”

“He was charmed by her tenacity. And Ingrid thought she could change the world, let alone a single man.” Haruto lets go of her chin, mouth giving a rueful twist. “We were young then.”

Haki can hardly picture it; even if her mother wasn’t just a blur in her memory, the though of her father young and in love…

Well, it seemed far-fetched.

“I meant to keep in touch, after…” Haruto’s voice quivers, and she takes a sip of her cocktail. “Well, sometimes we know what we should do, but the pain stops us from doing it. You understand?”

Haki stupidly, blurts out, “No.”

She expects offense, but Haruto only smiles fondly. “No, of course not. Ingrid was always the strong one.” Her hand squeezes tight around Haki’s. “I’m so glad to find you’ve followed in your mother’s footsteps.”

There’s so much to say, but she can only manage, “My mother tied herself to a bulldozer?”

Haruto laughs. “Chained, dear. Chained.”

It’s almost too much to handle. “I…I came here because I read an article about my mom. An old one. And I’d been feeling so lost lately, I just though maybe…maybe if I came here, I’d find myself too, like she did.” Haki hesitates, looking out toward where the sky has begun to pink. “But I think what I was really looking for was my mom.”

“That’s why I come here too,” Haruto murmurs, her voice suddenly thin. “I never feel her so much as I do here. If we get to choose where we are when…when it’s all over, Ingrid would be here.”

Haki turns to her, seeing the shine in her eyes, the fondness in her expression, and even though she’s only ever been a story in a magazine to her, it feels– like more than just one meeting. Like a history stretched out behind them and before them.

“I don’t remember much about my mom,” she admits, “but I feel like she’s here. With us.”

Haruto smiles down at her. “I’m glad you stumbled up onto my terrace, Haki.”

She squeezes her hand, the sky blurring. “Me too.”

Vogue: Where is this, if you don’t mind me asking?Bergstrom: A rooftop in Oia. We thought it was abandoned, only to be joined by the owners a few moments later!Vogue: Oh no!Bergstrom: No, no, they were too gracious! They let us stay, gave us cocktails. Told us to come back any time. And we have! I think they didn’t expect that (laughs).Vogue: Is this your favorite place to watch the sunset?Bergstrom: Yes, yes! I think if I die this will be my heaven. No matter how much I love my husband, my children, part of my heart will always be in Oia.

“You know,” Haruto says as the sun sets over the horizon, leaving only the palest sky behind, “you should meet my son.”

Haki nearly rolls out of her lounge. “What? R-really?”

“Oh yes.” Haruto’s lips twitch as she looks down at her. “I think you’d give him a real run for his money.”

[astrofireworks]

new year’s day

There's glitter on the floor after the party Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor

(1 Jan 2018)

From where he is on the floor, Jinjin can see dust motes floating on a ray of sunshine. It’s almost peaceful, with MJ’s head pillowed on his chest and Sanha draped a distance away over an armchair, the only interruption being soft snores from Rocky somewhere on the sofa behind him. The curtains are pulled closed, leaving only a crack to allow daylight in.

He isn’t sure at what point last night they all clocked out – the last thing he remembers is MJ deciding to take a nap some time past three in the morning, and him pulling a sleepy MJ into his embrace while the other four, huddled around a Monopoly board with drinks in their hands, laugh at their oldest. He remembers tugging MJ closer to him and burying his nose into MJ’s hair; he remembers telling a drowsy MJ to sleep and pressing a kiss to his forehead and reassuring Eunwoo that no, he’s fine with being on the floor even though Eunwoo’s offering his own bed and even though he knows his back will kill him when he wakes up.

There is a small noise from the kitchen and Jinjin smiles. Trust Eunwoo to be the one to wake up first to clean up the drinks from last night. There are still green and pink pieces of monopoly money scattered around the floor, traces of the kids giving the game up one by one. Jinjin wonders who won.

He sees Eunwoo step out of the kitchen, socked feet quiet against the hardwood floor as he pads into the living room.

“You’re up?” Eunwoo mouths.

Jinjin smiles in response. “Where’s Bin?”

There is a light blush across Eunwoo’s cheeks as he answers, “Our room.” He catches Eunwoo sliding into a smile the moment he says ‘our’, and feels his heart warm in response. He will be forever grateful that Bin finally took his head out of his ass to confess his feelings to Eunwoo – he wasn’t sure how many more secret looks and longing sighs he could have taken.

He watches Eunwoo pick up the stray pieces of Monopoly money, strange as it looks through horizontal mode from his position lying on the floor. “Eunwoo,” he whispers.

Eunwoo pauses in his cleaning and looks up, long fingers still curled around pink papers.

“Where are the polaroids from last night?”

Eunwoo’s eyes curve into a smile, and he reaches over to the coffee table to gather up the photos to hand to Jinjin.

Jinjin grins, the arm not curled around MJ reaching out to receive the polaroids. They’re beautiful, he thinks.

He shuffles through them one-handedly. There’s one of Sanha peeking from behind his hot chocolate mug, and another of him pretending to chug from an unopened soda bottle. There’s one of Rocky trying to bite Bin’s shoulder and Bin leaning away – Jinjin feels like if he focuses hard enough, he might just be able to hear Bin’s laughter.

There’s one of Rocky holding up a thick wad of monopoly money, looking far off into the distance with a haughty expression, and Jinjin can barely hold back a snort. There’s one of Eunwoo doing the exact same thing, haughty expression and all, except with only a singular note between his fingers and Jinjin can’t help but let out a quiet laugh. Now he knows who won.

MJ shifts in his arms, no doubt jostled by the laugh, and Jinjin runs his fingers through MJ’s hair to soothe him before picking up the next polaroids.

There’s one of him trying to stuff an entire sandwich in his mouth, with Sanha cheering on one side and Bin giving him a judgemental look on the other. There’s one of MJ attempting the same thing, with himself and Sanha laughing hard in the far corner. There’s one of Bin, cheeks already stuffed full and another sandwich in his hand, leaning against a slightly perturbed Eunwoo.

There’s one of Bin pressing a kiss to Eunwoo’s cheek, with Eunwoo’s face mid-laugh and dim lighting making it such that their faces are the only two visible things in frame. They are so, so in love it makes Jinjin’s heart swell.

And then there’s one of MJ, with his lovely cheeks crinkled up in his carefree smile and his messy bangs falling over bright eyes. Jinjin stares at it for a while – it isn’t often that you capture something this beautiful and get to keep with you forever.

There is a shift on Jinjin’s chest, and he looks down just in time to see MJ bury his nose into his chest. There is a beat, and MJ looks up, eyes still half-closed.  

“Morning, sweetheart,” Jinjin whispers.

MJ smiles blearily, fists coming up to rub the sleep away. “What’re you looking at?”

Jinjin hands him the polaroid he was looking at, and MJ snorts, tossing it a distance away.

Jinjin makes an indignant sound, “What did you do that for? That was my favourite one – “

“There’s no point looking at a photo when you have the real deal right here,” MJ sounds back, smile evident in a voice still slightly gravelly from sleep, and Jinjin can’t stop the laughter bubbling up from his chest.

He’s right though, Jinjin thinks. He brushes MJ’s bangs away from his eyes and presses a good morning kiss to his forehead.

“I love you.”

I want your midnights But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day

(1 Jan 2019)

Bin has barely time to wonder why his bed is so cold when there is a dip in the mattress, and an arm snakes around his waist.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” A pair of lips press against the back of his neck.

Bin smiles and turns to face Eunwoo. “You weren’t here when I woke up.”

“I went to clean up the stuff in the living room before everyone else wakes up. Don’t want anyone crashing into bottles.”

Eunwoo’s eyes are sparkling and Bin feels the warmth of the smile in Eunwoo’s voice all the way down to his toes. “Are the two old men in your old room?”

Eunwoo snorts and presses a kiss to Bin’s nose. “Don’t let them hear you call you old men; MJ won’t come over anymore.”

“They always fall asleep before anyone else does, anyway. We can have New Year’s parties over at their place instead then, so they can sleep in their own bed.”

“Sanha lost the bet last night, remember? He’s already hosting 2020’s.”

Bin laughs, and tucks himself into Eunwoo’s arms. There is a sort of comforting thrill in the confidence with which Eunwoo announces the fact, a confidence in their friend group staying best friends and ringing in the next new year together. There is a moment of silence, with Bin’s head on Eunwoo’s heart and Bin feeling Eunwoo’s chest rise and fall with each breath.

Eunwoo tightens his hold on Bin and watches Bin’s eyelashes as he blinks drowsily. He’s beautiful, Eunwoo thinks, with his soft cheeks pressed against Eunwoo’s chest and his lips pushed out in a slight pout. How lucky he is to have this sight to wake up to, every day.

“We never got our midnight kiss this year,” Eunwoo says, instead. “We were too busy playing charades.”

Bin looks up and laughs. He stretches, all languid lines and soft muscles, before flipping over and propping himself up on his forearms. He leans over to press a gentle kiss to Eunwoo’s lips.

Eunwoo savours the soft warmth of Bin’s lips against his own, morning breath and all, before Bin pulls away.

“There’s no point in having kisses at midnight on New Year’s only,” Bin murmurs against his lips, “when we can have kisses all year round.”

Eunwoo laughs, then pulls himself out of bed. “You’re right. Now I gotta go clean up the rest of the room before the old men and the kids wake up.”

Bin’s response of, “Don’t let them hear that!” is met with a soft laugh as Eunwoo pads out of the room.

Bin yawns and appreciates the view of Eunwoo’s back for a moment before hauling his ass out of bed too. If Eunwoo’s set on clearing the apartment before the boys crashed in their living room wake up, he might as well help.

Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

(1 Jan 2020)

Sanha isn’t sure how they got themselves into this tangle, but he’s learnt to never question his best friends.

Especially when they’re in a literal tangle on the Twister mat. Rocky is trapped somewhere underneath Bin and he’s laughing breathlessly and Jinjin’s yelling about someone’s elbow being in his face. Eunwoo’s face is dangerously close to MJ’s and Sanha can only laugh at how ridiculous this entire situation looks from where he’s perched on the sofa.

He grabs his polaroid camera and calls out to the giggling heap, “Look up, y’all!”

Rocky is the only one vaguely facing in his direction and he gives Sanha a bright smile just as Sanha presses his finger on the shutter. A whir of the camera later, the polaroid has come out perfectly and what used to be five men playing Twister has devolved into a full out tickle fight with Rocky screaming at Sanha for backup.

Their laughs are bright and way too loud for two in the morning, but Sanha can somehow pick out each individual laugh – MJ’s loud cackling, Rocky’s animated yelps, Bin’s breathy laughter, Eunwoo’s squeaky inhales and Jinjin’s low chuckling. Sanha’s heart is warm and full and he’s standing in the middle of his living room with his reindeer onesie with his best friends in a screaming mess on the floor, but honestly? He would give anything to pause time and keep this moment forever.

He snaps another polaroid and Rocky screeches louder for Sanha to come and save him from the rest of the boys.

Sanha sets down his camera, and with a high-pitched war cry, delves into the mess.

Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you And I will hold on to you.

(31 Dec 2020)

Rocky sets down the wine bottle in his hand and lets out a low whistle. MJ and Jinjin have managed to decorate their new apartment pretty well, despite their bickering about the colour scheme. Their living room is painted a homey sunshine yellow and there are photographs of multiple sizes in frames above the sofa, arranged so that they cover nearly the entire wall.

There are throw pillows with covers that have cheesy sayings on them, and one pillow with a badly patterned “Goat!”. Rocky isn’t sure if he wants to know the back story behind it, but knowing MJ, it probably is hilarious.

Bin is already sprawled on the sofa, head hanging off one arm and talking to Sanha upside down. There is some unidentifiable piano music coming from the phone abandoned beside Bin and Sanha’s shuffling through a stack of what seems like playing cards and threatening to throw one at Bin’s head; Rocky has to stifle a laugh.

Eunwoo pops his head out of MJ’s kitchen and asks Rocky for help in carrying the food into the living room. Rocky complies.

A disaster.

There is flour all over the table and the sink is overflowing with soap suds and Rocky’s pretty sure the oven isn’t supposed to be smoking. Jinjin has a streak of chocolate across his cheek and a tray of what looks like charcoal sticks in front of him. The only edible food seems to be the ones in the Tupperware Eunwoo’s brought over from his own apartment.

But Jinjin and MJ are laughing and Eunwoo is shaking his head fondly and Rocky can’t help but smile because this is them, this is the six of them in a nutshell – a mess, but a beautiful and happy mess, and Rocky couldn’t feel more warm.

Jinjin waves him towards the food and turns around to toss the coal bricks into the trash. “Utensils are in the second drawer on the left. Should we forgo plates this year too?”

“We never use plates. Who needs plates when you have your rice bowls?” Eunwoo peels back a Tupperware cover and peers into it. “This one’s curry.”

Rocky clicks open another Tupperware container and wrinkles his nose, “This one’s pickled cucumbers.”

“Just because you don’t like cucumbers doesn’t mean the rest of us won’t eat it,” Jinjin says sensibly, then shoves three more Tupperwares into Rocky’s hands. “Bring these out, will you?”

Rocky heads out to the living room to set down the food, topmost Tupperware nearly tumbling onto the coffee table.

Bin perks up at the sight of food, and swings himself into a sitting position. “Are we eating yet?”

As the other three bring more food to the living room, Rocky watches Sanha clear his playing cards from the table. He squints. Those aren’t playing cards.

He picks one up, and it’s a polaroid of them, four years ago. Eunwoo is holding the camera and the five of them are piled up behind him, Sanha just making it into the top right corner of the polaroid. They are all squinting in the sunlight, and Jinjin’s smile is nearly blinding.

MJ sets down another stack of Tupperwares and picks up a polaroid from the stack in Sanha’s hands. “Oooh, I remember this.” It’s one of the six of them huddling on the beach in their winter coats, with Eunwoo screaming about how cold it was and Jinjin hollering at whoever it was holding the camera to take it quickly, before they all froze to death.

There’s one of Eunwoo in a suit, tossing autumn leaves into the air, laugh nearly audible. There’s one of Rocky in a striped turtle neck and red blazer, standing in front of some random rich man’s house, holding a rose from their rose bush in front of his face. There’s one of Sanha dead asleep on a chair, mouth open, and Bin squatting down next to him and pretending to poke his face.

There’s one of all six of them in suits at Sanha’s brother’s wedding. Sanha’s beaming at the camera like there’s no tomorrow, happiness palpable even two years after the fact and Rocky can’t help but smile.

Eunwoo sits down next to Rocky, setting down all the Tupperwares in his arms. He peers over Rocky’s shoulder at the polaroids in Rocky’s hands. “Why’d you bring these, Sanha?”

“I thought it’d be nice for MJ and Jinjin to string them up on a wall or something. I have so many of them from over the years we might as well start turning them into decoration; I already have about forty of them up on my wall, remember?”

Eunwoo hums in agreement, shuffling through some of the polaroids. He says something about making sure each row has a balance of portrait and landscape polaroids, but his voice fades into the background as Rocky squints hard at Sanha.

Rocky’s pretty sure he’s seen Sanha’s wall before, but Sanha’s honestly been over to his place more than he’s ever been to Sanha’s. In fact, he thinks, all the memories he’s had with Sanha – Sanha screaming over Mario Kart, Sanha finishing all the ice cream in Rocky’s fridge, Sanha doodling whiskers on his face in Sharpie when Rocky fell asleep on the sofa, Sanha rummaging through Rocky’s drawers for something large enough to function as pyjamas, Sanha falling asleep on Rocky’s lap – have all been in his apartment.

He looks back up at Sanha, who’s staring at him expectantly, playful frustration a thin mask over palpable disappointment. “Do you not remember my wall?”

“Um,” Rocky says instead, and pulls out a copy of his apartment key from his pocket, “Move in with me?”

hello happy end-2017, may 2018 be better for the world and for astro and for you!!! 

[brookrose-evans-blog]

Shoshlyn Ep. 4 - Bora Bora

WHO: Brooklyn Evans & Shoshanna Ben Israel @shoshbi

WHEN: Saturday, Jan 14, 2017

WHERE: Bora Bora

WHAT: On the first day of their impromptu trip to Bora Bora, Shoshlyn sit down for a nice dinner (that ends somewhat abruptly) and make their relationship status official as absolutely-girlfriends. 

NOTES: Gets a tad NSFW toward the end, but it’s a whole fade-to-black scenario, so no worries about hiding the kiddies eyes.

Brooklyn catches herself staring at Shoshanna’s profile a little too longingly as she watches the unfairly beautiful sunset on the horizon, a long way off in the distance, while their dinner is prepared somewhere behind the scenes. Her mind is still trying to catch up to all the events that had transpired in such a small timeframe, but she’s happy.

She’s in Bora Bora, with Shoshanna, and she’s happy.

After a beat, Brook clears her throat softly, quickly shaking off the wave of emotions that suddenly hit her and taking a sip of her water.

“You look really beautiful,” she says, voice just loud enough for Shosh to hear. “I know I already said that like a bazillion times but you do. And I kinda regret not bringing my camera to dinner.” It was an oversight, seeing as she was far too distracted earlier by the same woman in question as they were getting ready to be picked up by a boat to take them to the small private island they had gone to for dinner.

Shoshanna: Every compliment from Brook elicits a fluttering in Shoshanna's chest, and it's a feeling she's come to relish over the last month of their arguably unique relationship. Bejeweled fingers seek Brooks across the expanse of the table and lace together, and Shoshanna regards the beautiful blonde with a bashful smile. A light flush blooming on her cheeks.

This impromptu trip to Bora Bora--entirely inspired by one Conrad Porter--had been a Godsend. Shoshanna had been feeling a bit anxious as of late, with school, her precious dog's illness, and people being mean. To be in paradise with someone that genuinely cared for her was exactly what she needed.

Running her thumb idly along the top of Brook's hand, she responds, "I'm kinda glad you didn't bring it here tonight, because you won't be hiding behind the lens, and we can just...you know, enjoy each other. Besides, we'll have time for you to take tons of pics. I mean, how could you not, this place is paradise!" She gives Brook's hand a gentle squeeze.

Brooklyn smiles as she watches Shoshanna’s hand sneak across the table in search of her own, all too happily letting the woman lace their fingers together before she looks back up at her. 

“I don’t really see it as hiding behind the camera, with you, though. It’s more like...putting someone in front of the lens that should definitely be in front of it more often,” she says, her smile only growing wider as she averts her gaze back down to their joined hands. 

“And, to your other point, I’m not sure how much time I’ll get to take pictures of paradise, so long as you’re keeping me locked up in that cabin as your sex slave.” The words are accompanied with a slight smirk as her gaze shifts to meet Shoshanna’s again. 

Shoshanna looks away shyly, blushing at the suggestion, and her free hand waves Brook off. "Obvi I want to have a lot of sex, but...we should probably do other touristy things while we're here, too..."

The waiter brings over their first appetizer, and Shoshanna almost hesitates to loose her fingers from the blonde's, saddened by the impending loss of contact. As though Brook might get up and leave; as most people were wont to do to the Heiress, but Brook does nothing of the sort, only using her hands to fill up her plate with some of the fancy tartare. Shoshanna follows suit. And as she takes that first succulent bite, a thought muses in her mind.

"Isn't it interesting how just a month ago we broke up, and here we are in French Polynesia, dining in a restaurant on the water?"

Brooklyn isn’t able to help but breathe out a small laugh when Shoshanna - someone who is so unapologetically herself all the time - blushes at her comment. She’s quick to nod in agreement to the suggestion, knowing that her own chances of coming back here anytime soon were relatively slim. Even though she could’ve said the same thing not 48 hours ago.

Her fingers give the ones tangled amongst their own a light squeeze and she smiles at Shoshanna before she’s relinquishing her hold on them, for the time being, thanking the waiter before he is off to the back again. It doesn’t take much time after that for Brook to be digging into her food - she has built up quite an appetite after so much physical activity - glancing up when Shoshanna speaks.

“I guess interesting would be one word to describe it... I think most would go with ‘weird’ or ‘confusing’, though,” she says before shoving another forkful into her mouth, a little less gracefully than intended.

Shoshanna taps her chin with the handle of her fork thoughtfully, "Yeah, but those people who say things like that just don't get it, and frankly those people don't matter, you know?" She spears a few pieces of tuna, pointing them at Brook, "So long as it isn't weird or confusing to you or me, that's what matters. And like, I think..." She chews on the morsels for a few moments, then swallows, "I think we should consider changing our not-girlfriend status."

A swell of confidence blooms in her belly, belied by a shyly bitten lip, before Shoshanna poses: "I want to be your girlfriend, Brook...and I want you to be mine."

Brooklyn tilts her head slightly to the side as she mulls over the words. Those people really don’t matter. She likes Shoshanna, and despite the somewhat rocky start to their relationship-turned-friendship-turned-relationship, she genuinely wants to be with her. It is just as much a shock to herself as she is sure it is to anyone who knew of what had transpired between them less than a month ago.

She’s stopped mid-swallow when Shoshanna proposes they make their relationship official, and nearly ends up choking on her food. How does Shoshanna always manage to get her right in that exact moment every time?

“Well, if that hickey you left on me the other day was any indication of that...” Sometimes she hates that she uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism whenever she’s in a somewhat emotional predicament. She waves off the comment with her free hand after a brief moment. “Nothing would make me happier. I really want to be your girlfriend, too, Shosh.”

Shoshanna tilts her head for a brief moment, "I mean, I can leave a lot more on you later tonight if you're doubting my seriousness regarding this relationship."

Brooklyn rolls her eyes playfully at the response, taking another bite of her appetizer, though the small grin toying on her lips never falters. “I don’t doubt your seriousness about anything, babe. But I won’t say no to more hickeys...as long as they aren’t visible to everyone...cause I’m way too lazy to cover them up.” 

It’s only a few more minutes before they’re finishing up their appetizers and being served the main course. Brook’s gaze falls upon Shoshanna and she isn’t able to stop the smile from spreading wide across her face before she’s ducking her head as a faint blush creeps up to her cheeks. “My mom is going to be happy to hear about all of this. She was team Shosh the whole time we were...broken up.”

Shoshanna: The Heiress perks up at this new information, beaming widely. "Oh em gee, really!? She was!?" She doesn't even move to sample her entree yet, far too excited in the moment to eat. Her heart is fluttering within her chest. Lighter than ever. To have feelings reciprocated. Fully and genuinely. Something Shoshanna never once considered to be in her plans. Brooklyn Evans is beautiful, corny, charming, funny, intelligent, and sexy. The whole package. The best investment. But beyond all of that, she cares. Unafraid to care for someone as complex as Shoshanna Ben Israel. And the thoughts have the heiress nearly in tears, she's so utterly happy at this development, all she can manage to say is:

"I am so happy right now."

Brooklyn chuckles at the response, nodding a little to assure Shoshanna that the words spoken were true. Her mom had chosen a side very quickly, after hearing the story of her daughter’s breakup and it was that of the heiress. While the two have mended their relationship since then, Brook has only told her mom that they’re friends and not anything more. Needless to say, the woman was going to find this to be a little bit of a shock.

While Brook is a tad preoccupied with devouring the delicious meal in front of her, she is still able to notice the slight change in the silence lingering between them and she looks up at Shosh just as she speaks. The blonde doesn’t waste any time in setting her fork down and reaching across the table for her girlfriend’s hand. “Just wait until we get back to the cabin,” Brook teases, offering up a playful wink before she lifts the hand placed in her own and brings it to her lips to press a gentle kiss to the back of it. “You make me really happy, Shosh. I mean, who else would’ve taken me on an impromptu trip to the middle of the ocean...probably no one.”

Shoshanna: As Brook kisses her hand, the other immediately goes to splay across Shoshanna's chest, overwrought with emotion at the gesture. She's dreamed of having a handsome prince/princess charming do something like this, and her girlfriend was delivering in spades. Girlfriend. The word alone evokes myriad emotions within the heiress, all of them positive.

She purrs at Brook's suggestion, "Mmm," Glancing from side to side, making sure no one's eyes were trained on the pair, Shoshanna's free hand slips beneath her skirt under the table, and within seconds she holds up a pair of fingers. Both wet and glistening at the tips. "I can't wait to get back to the cabin." And without preamble, she sucks them both clean with a light, teasing pop .

Brooklyn quirks up an eyebrow when Shoshanna quickly sizes up the room only for them both to raise up when the woman’s hand disappears under the table. “Oh my good god,” she mutters under her breath, eyes focused on the scene unfolding before her eyes. 

It takes a moment for her mind to catch up, and her jaw is left hanging slightly and she’s positive she’s died and gone to heaven, at this point. Is this seriously her girlfriend? How is she even real?!

“D-do...we should... Wanna skip dinner? Or, like...take it back with us? Cause I’m suddenly not hungry... Not for this anyway.”

Shoshanna with her gaze locked with Brook's, calls the waiter over with a raised hand. In perfect French she instructs them that their meals should be wrapped, and to go ahead and charge the meal to her account. Darkened eyes remain trained on Brook, lips curling into a predatory smile as the waiter takes care of her request. "I agree...we should move this meal to our cabin." Finger curl around the sweating neck of the wine bottle at their table. "Dessert too."

[surveystodestressme]

111.

5000 Question Survey Pt. 29

2701. What does ‘equal’ mean?

everyone is treated the same with the same rights, etc.

2702. Do you believe in the phrase 'all men are created equal’?

in theory

What about woman?

well i wish they were but they aren’t

2703. Have all persons been specifically 'created’?

uh huh

2704. Are all persons exactly equal?

they aren’t

2705. Or do they just have equal rights (in theory)?

they should be

2706. Does art reflect society or does society reflect art?

a little bit of both i think but mostly society reflects art

2707. Are you living under a little black rain cloud or a ray of sunshine?

right now a little more of a rain cloud but i’m working on it

2708. What do you wonder about?

how my life is going to end up in the next year or so

2709. What is better..being single and free or being in love and responsible to another person?

being in love and responsible.

2710. What vitamins do you take?

none.

2711. In checkers..red or black?

black.

2712. Is The Crow a great movie?

i don’t think i have seen it

2713. Do you wear all black frequently?

not really

2714. Do you ever call yourself a poet, artist, or musician?

no

Has your writing been published, your art been hung in a gallery or your band been signed?

i’ve had one of my art pieces hung in a gallery before

Does it matter?

nahhh, not to me at least

2715. When insects get into your house, do you kill them or catch them and take them outside or leave them alone and let them live with you?

depends on the insect.  if it is a stink bug or a ladybug i will kill it on the spot.  but if it’s something else that i can easily catch then i will let it outside

2716. Name at least one person who’s birthday is in:

Jan.- chandlyre

Feb.- rebecca

Mar.- idk

Apr.- kelci, katie

May- cayenne, denise, dashae, nic

June- megan

July- jackson

Aug.- jher

Sept- my mother, mariann

Oct- brenda, rick

Nov- corben, andy

Dec- my father

2717. Which would you consider to be a worse criminal:

a pedophile or a necrophile?

pedophile.

What if it was between a pedophile, a necrophile and a murderer?

murderer.

2718. Do we start to die the day we are born or start to live the day we die?

i mean, both honestly

2719. Have you ever called your mom or dad a four letter word?

uhhhh, shit? lol probably

2720. Do you believe america should go to war with iraq?

no????

2721. Agree or disagree? (Bold is agree)

“There is too much concern in courts for the rights of criminals.”

“Abortion should be legal.”

“The death penalty should be abolished.”

“Marijuana should be legalized.”

“It is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relationships.”

“The federal government should do more to control the sale of handguns.”

“Racial discrimination is no longer a major problem in America.”

“Wealthy people should pay a larger share of taxes than they do now.”

“Colleges should prohibit racist/sexist speech on campus.”

“Same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status.”

“Affirmative action in college admissions should be abolished.”

“The activities of married women are best confined to the home and family.”

“People should not obey laws which violate their personal values.”

“Federal military spending should be increased.”

“Realistically, an individual can do little to bring about changes in our society.”

Why did you agree or disagree to that last statement?

i disagree because it can take one person to make changed in society they just have to be very adamant about it

2722. Let’s say that after you die you become a spirit and you join all the other spirits. Not all of them have lived. You are talking to some who have never lived about how you HAVE lived. One of the spirits who has never lived says they think they will travel to earth in a human body soon and live. They ask you what three things on Earth should I be sure not to miss? You say…

1. making great friends

2. being as happy as possible

3. travel the world

2723. What kind of ass is the sexiest (flat, round, tight, hard, meaty, juicy, small, big, stacked, packed, petite, barely there, curvy, muscular, etc.)?

all asses are sexy

2724. Is there something beautiful and special about everyone?

i think so

If yes is there something beautiful and special about Hitler?

probably before he was a huge dick

How about Bin Laden?

not all evil people start out awful.  like i said he could’ve been an alright person before

2725. Have you ever moshed?

nope

If yes to what bands?

If no then would you ever?

probably not lol i’m sure i’d get my ass knocked over or punched in the face or something

2726. Do you like sushi?

heck yeah

2727. What mood are you in?

pretty bored and tired.

What does your mood depend on?

what i’m doing, how the day has gone, etc.

What depends on your mood?

idk

2728. wHAT IS faith?

believing in someone/something.

what is common sense?

knowing how simple things work

Do you have either or both of them?

yep

2729. Is perfection or imperfection more beautiful?

both are in their own way

2730. Would you think a person doing the following things has a healthy or unhealthy level of insanity?

gives the finger while driving? i mean.. i do that lol so idk

tells their life story to people they just met? i mean i don’t think that’s unhealthy, maybe they just like to talk about themselves

walks up to people and tried to convert them to a religion? unhealthy

says blah? why would that make you insane????

2731. Do you think this is a great line of poetry:

“Journey with me into the mind of a maniac. Doomed to be a killer since I came out the nut sac”

Why or why not?

interesting

2732. Do you think that song lyrics are poems with music?

i guess that’s a way to think of it

2733. In cases of rape which do you think is more of a crime:

a stranger rapes a girl

OR

a girl’s boyfriend rapes her?

they are the same level of terrible.

2734. Did you know that in the USA it is considered to be LESS of a crime if a rapist knows the victim (because it is 'less of a crime’ the rapist gets a less severe punishment)?

Do you agree or disagree and why?

i completely disagree.  i feel like it should be MORE of a crime because the victim (usually) trusts the person and doesn’t expect them to do that to them.  it’s bullshit.  rape is fucking rape.  no matter who rapes who.  man rapes woman or woman rapes man.  whether they be strangers, lovers, friends, family members, etc.  RAPE IS RAPE AND IT IS A HUGE FUCKING CRIME NO MATTER WHO THE RAPIST IS TO THE VICTIM.

2735. In the USA a few weeks ago a guy had beaten up and raped his girlfriend, for which he got 70 days of community service. He had been found guilty, got a year and a half of jail, BUT can you guess why his sentence was reduced to mere community service?

He had a steady job. That’s right. He was found less guilty, because he had a long-term steady job.

How does this make you feel?

that’s fucking bullshit and makes me really fucking mad.  i swear the justice system is so fucked.

2736. Does the character limit of notes or entries annoy you more?

no.

2737. wHO’S YOUR FAVORITE WRESTLER?

the undertaker

2738. Have you ever been trapped in an elevator?

nope

2739. What is more important, tact or honesty?

it depends

2740. Do you have a mentor? Who?

nope.

2741. If you like guys:

would you rather have a 'bad’ guy (motorcycles, smokes, drinks, etc) or a 'good’ guy (family, domesticated, nice guy)? i want a mix of both.

Would you rather have a virgin or a more experienced guy? i wouldn’t care either way honestly.

If you like girls:

Would you rather have a virgin or a more experienced girl? ^^^^^

would you rather have a 'bad’ girl (motorcycles, smokes, drinks, etc) or a 'good’ girl (family, domesticated, nice girl)? ^^^

2742. Do you feel nervous in crowds?

usually, yeah

2743. Did you write a real entry today?

What about?

Was it your best writing?  -

2744. If you were making a 'best of’ entry about your BEST entries ever what would be your top 5 best entries?

-

2745. Do you like to play the lottery?

i’ve bought lottery tickets but never played in the actual lottery

2746. Guess what?

what?

2747. Why did you choose to live one more day?

i’m doing okay

2748. What is the most beautiful myth you have ever read/heard?

mermaids.

2749. Have you ever been stood up?

yep

2750. Finish the following sentences any way you want.

It’s always darkest before.. the sun comes up?

Never underestimate the power of.. women?

Don’t bite the hand that.. feeds you

A miss is as good as a..the person who possesses it?

If you lie down with dogs, you.. get fleas

Love all, trust.. no one

The pen is mightier than.. the pencil

An idle mind is.. ?

Where there is smoke, there’s.. fire

Happy is the bride who.. ?

Two is company, three’s.. a crowd

None are so blind as.. mice?

You get out of something what you.. put in

When the blind lead the blind.. ?

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you. Cry and.. the whole world cries with you...?

2751. What’s the most interesting assignment you ever had in school?

i got to do a research paper on a subject that was actually very interesting and important to me

2752. What’s the most interesting thing you ever had to do for work?

nothing about my job is interesting lol

2753. Do you feel:

insignificant?

unable to evoke change?

like one person can’t change the world?

like one life and one person’s suffering doesn’t mean very much?

If you answered yes to any of those can you describe why in detail?

kind of

2754. Do you feel like you could contribute as much to society as ____ has?

Albert Einstein:

Abe Lincoln:

Franz Kafka:

Jesus Christ:

no

2755. Are you aware that your brain is the same size as Albert Einstein’s brain?

okay

Do you realize that you have the same number of hours in a day as Abraham Lincoln?

sure.

Did you know that Franz Kafka wrote all of his amazing literature during his lunch breaks at work?

sounds nice

Did you know that we are all made of matter and that you are made of the Same Thing that Jesus was made of?

uh huh

Do you still believe that you couldn’t contribute as much to society as they did?

If yes than WHY?

2756. Is your mind in the gutter?

sometimes.

2757. What do you have to complain about?

lots of things

2758. Do you remember rock n’ roll radio?

nada

2759. Is there such a thing as a food that you burn more calories from digesting than you actually absorb from it?

i doubt it

2760. Hey, if you’ve gotten this far than you and me go way back. We’ve been hanging out for a while now and I gotta know..do you like me?

you’re alright, i guess

2761. What are you doing, Dave?

who the fuck is dave

2762. As far as love goes do you feel it is better to become complete before looking for someone or find someone who completes you?

i think it’s a good thing to be complete before you meet someone because it should not be someone else’s job to complete you.

2763. What attracts you about the opposite sex (or same sex, or both sexes)?

they way they act, their personality, humor

2764. Do you need people or do you not need anyone?

a bit of both.

2765. Is selfishness always bad?

sometimes it’s okay to be selfiesh

Is selflessness always good?

not always

2766. Do you feel like your life is being controlled by a power structure?

somewhat.

2767. Can you name three things in society that send the message that being completely yourself and that looking inside yourself and contemplating what’s within is a good thing?

not at the moment

2768. Can you name three things in society that send the message that materialism and the accumulation of stuff is a good thing?

no.

2769. What is more important, a picture or its frame?

the picture.

What is more important, spirituality or religion?

spirituality.

2770. How many definitions can you come up with for the word 'fuck’?

quite a few

2771. Is it less offensive when a black person says Nigger than when a white person says it?

well, i’m not black so i don’t feel like i can really have an opinion on that

Why or why not?

-

2772. Do you rationalize often?

i guess.

2773. Do you believe that america is an imperialist nation?

idk.

2774. Would you agree that:

hot topic is the new abercrombie?

pink is the new black:

you are the new you? sure

2775. Do you have more internet or real life friends?

real life friends.

2776. What IS the feeding of 5000?

huh?

2777. What’s an easy way to make money?

work

2778. What’s your favorite slang word and what does it mean?

idk

2779. Are you uncomfortable?

sometimes.

2780. Is anything definite besides death and taxes?

lots of things

2781. Would you rather live fast and die young or live slow and die old?

live slow die old lol.

2782. Can you name 4 people who have committed crimes against humanity?

probably

How do you think they live with themselves?

idk.

2783. If you could imagine, pure fantasy, any God you could concieve, how would you want God to be?

perfect, all loving

2784. do you think the smashing pumpkins have a strong christian theme?

i doubt it

2785. Do you think this survey has a strong christian theme?

just religious in general not necessarily christain

2786. Fill in the blank for yourself"

Give me ____ or give me death!

liberty

2787. Have you ever heard of the USA patriotism act?

Apparently they have passed laws making torture legal.

Also the FBI can sneak and peek into ANYONE’S home. They don’t have to ask or even tell you they were there. This is already the law. So, whaddaya think?

we’re fucked basically

2788. The people in power step all over the average citizen, trying to secure all the power and money for themselves and leave us with no rights and under their control. They have the audacity to do this because they know that we will not lift a finger to stop them. Are they right?

somewhat.

2789. The Free State Project is a plan in which 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people will move to a single state of the U.S. to secure there a free society. They will accomplish this by first reforming state law, opting out of federal mandates, and finally negotiating directly with the federal government for appropriate political autonomy. They want to be a community of freedom-loving individuals and families, and want to create a shining example of liberty for the rest of the nation and the world. What’s your opinion? Could this work? Why or why not?

tl:dr.

2790. Have you ever seen the Neverending Stroy?

Remember when Bastian has to prove his worth by looking in that mirror where you see yourself the way you really are with no pretenses, rationalizations or mental lying?

Could you stand yourself if you looked into that mirror?

idts

2791. What is soilent green?

huh?

2792. What are you proud that you have never done?

killed someone

2793. What things are hopeless?

murderers and papists and criminals in general

2794. What Are People For?

good question

2795. What book do you feel could change someone’s life?

idk, everyone has different tastes.

2796. Didja ever want to just walk up to the Bush administration and ask them, 'What the fuck?’

nope

2797. How do you take your coffeee?

sugar and milk

2798. Have you ever played:

paintball? yep

lazer tag? yes.

which is better? laser tag,definitely

2799. In what ways are you lucky?

just everything i’ve had in my life so far.

2800. If Jesse Jackson wants reparations to be given to black people because he thinks that black people don’t have equal opportunities in this country than why does he drive a Jaguar?

idk dude.

[creationsitewebnice]

CO: Denver International Airport is Working to Become a Destination — with Ice Skating and Goat Yoga — In and of Itself

Jan. 21–On any given day at this Denver landmark, there could be goat yoga, ice skating, beer tasting, live music and fine art.

You might even meet former Broncos quarterback and Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning.

This isn’t some all-inclusive Rocky Mountain vacation or a VIP state tour. It’s Denver International Airport — and in some ways, airports the world over — in the year 2018.

Air travel is surging globally, and DIA and other airports that are spending billions of dollars to lure more flights and revenue are also embracing far-flung ideas designed to make passengers feel less like cattle and ease the stress of flying.

"Airports have changed," said Stacey Stegman, DIA’s vice president of communications, marketing and customer service. "It’s a competitive field for airports. It’s not like … we’re competing for local people to fly out of Denver. We know that we are their hometown airport. But what we are seeing is we compete for people who are connecting, we compete trying to get more flights here. If we’re offering things that are exceptional and more fun, that makes us more appealing."

In the past three or four years, airports around the world have been boosting their amenity offerings — from miniature horse therapy at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, to the movie theater at Portland International Airport in Oregon and nature trails and a planned indoor forest at Singapore’s Changi Airport.

DIA and other airports are busy — and getting busier

More than 60 million travelers started, continued or ended trips at DIA last year, the airport’s busiest ever. And worldwide, air passenger traffic in 2029 is expected to be double what it was three years ago, the Airports Council International says.

Add to that shrinking seat sizes aboard airplanes and more fees, and that’s where stress-reducing amenities can make a difference.

"Having things like a pet pig or a llama, those things give a humanity to the airport and to the travel experience," said Michael Taylor, who analyzes passenger satisfaction for J.D. Power. "Today there is just so many people going through airports — every airport sets a new record each month. There’s just more of a crush of people and the more you can introduce a human element and treat people like humans, that helps with the experience."

DIA and the "art of airporting"

DIA officials say these extras are also a way to lure new airlines and flight routes, create incentives for passengers to connect through Denver and even attract local residents who aren’t getting on a plane.

"Our primary focus is on passengers first," said Stegman. "We want to make sure we are meeting their needs. But if we can be great for the community as well and be a place where they want to come and spend time, that’s a good thing for Denver, and for the whole region."

DIA even has a catchphrase for this all-things-to-everyone approach: "The art of airporting."

These initiatives helped North American airports reach an all-time high in overall passenger satisfaction, according to a 2017 J.D. Power survey of more than 34,000 passengers. Denver ranked fifth among U.S. airports that have 32 million or more passenger visits a year, according to the survey, behind Orlando, Detroit, Las Vegas and Phoenix. (Newark’s Liberty International Airport was at the bottom of that list.)

Grooming another customer: The one who isn’t flying

But in Denver, air travelers aren’t the only people who’ve taken notice of the changes. According to DIA, about 20 percent or more of people who attend special events — such as beer tastings and the temporary ice skating rink — aren’t even there to fly.

Two days after New Year’s Day, DIA’s skating rink outside the Westin Hotel was booming, even at midday.

Lisa Hillman, of Denver, was there with her two sons for their second recent visit. They had no flight to catch but decided it was worth the 20-minute drive from home.

"We thought it was kind of odd at first to come ice skating at the airport," she said as her boys laced up their skates. "But I think the way they have set it up is really nice."

All of these things, of course, come at some cost: The ice rink came in at about $150,000, a limited run for goat yoga cost some $7,100 and uniforms for the Canine Airport Therapy Squad run roughly $130 a piece.

Those tabs are minuscule compared with DIA’s planned $1.5 billion gate expansion and $162 million operations and maintenance contract for the airport’s underground trains. Those are on top of a $650 million terminal building renovation that will significantly change the campus’ layout.

But airport officials say the amenities can more than pay for themselves and note that they are covered by revenues, not tax dollars. For instance, the ice rink had paid sponsorship and goat yoga, DIA officials say, had a $1 million-plus media value.

And the therapy dogs? DIA officials say you can’t put a price on relieving passenger stress.

"You’re definitely seeing a trend across the broader airport community," said Scott Elmore, vice president of communications and marketing for Airports Council International — North America.

DIA’s amenities convey a "sense of place"

Elmore’s trade industry group, of which DIA is a member, recently did a survey of airport amenities and found a sharp rise in recent years. At the top of the list were nursing rooms for new mothers and pet potty areas (Denver’s airport has both.)

"Each airport is going to be doing things that show off their unique sense of place," he said. "The one thing I can say about Denver is they do a great job of showing off what it feels like to be in the Denver area without having to leave the airport."

That includes the booming Root Down restaurant in Concourse C, plans for a Denver Central Market and even a popup business called Yoga on the Fly, where travelers can get a quick zen fix.

"We’ve been really well received," said the yoga shop’s owner, Avery Westlund.

The all-volunteer therapy dog squad might best capture Denver’s character, though, with nearly 100 canines (and one cat) it’s become the largest such airport program in the nation.

Gretchen Dirks’ young poodle Halston was a big attraction as passengers made their way through Concourse A on Jan. 3. As a wave of people stopped to say hello — "Can I touch him?" asked a Mexico City-bound man — Dirks remembered a time when the dog calmed a toddler on the brink of a meltdown.

"It’s a great way to kind of give back," Dirks said.

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Trump’s immigration comments and questions of racism (7 letters)

Allen E

10h

Calling the current occupant of the White House a racist is neither a distraction, nor an unfair assessment. He has, since a very young age, made his feelings known. The book entitled Trump Revealed did an admirable job of describing his unwillingness to allow blacks working in certain administrative functions, his unwillingness to rent to blacks, and his frequent characterizations of black as being inferior.

Democrats, GOP try to dodge blame for shuttered government

Mcs Vette

18h

Problem is… Democrats can’t evade from the fact that this was only done to protect Illegals… EVERYONE in the world knows this.. They are selling out their country for illegals is treasonous…

Democrats were wrong to go public with Trump’s language

Jason Patron

2d

Trump was wrong to use the language. The end.

Trump campaign ad calls Dems "complicit" in officers’ deaths

snarkee

5h

Trump is right, the Dems will have blood on their hands.Or should I say more blood, since they have been coddling and protecting illegals for decades.How refreshing to have a president who actually puts Americans first.

Trump’s love of tabloid gossip complicates his denial of affair allegations with Stormy Daniels

Pablo Meelar

12h

One look at that Uglyugly porn star proves Trump wouldn’t get within a mile of that. Get real.

Federal shutdown enters Day 2 amid blame game on both sides

Derpver

7h

99% of the blame belongs to Democrats, who care only about Illegal Aliens and themselves, and not American citizens.

Michael Malone wants Denver Nuggets’ offense to return to up-tempo style

Mathlete

1h

Get back to? Malone obviously hasn’t established his philosophy within the team’s culture. The reactionary approach and daily excuses for underachieving have gotten very old. If fans are weary of the message, just think of how weary the players must be of the message.

In spending fight, Republicans embrace Trump’s hard-line stand on immigration

jgd777

10h

Unbelievable! We have a political party willing to shutdown the government and punish the military and their families in order to protect a group of illegal aliens. Shameful is what that is. Watching the funding for innocent child come to an end, strictly for political reasons. If the Democrats want open borders and allow just anybody and everybody to come and mooch off American citizens, then just say so. Put that in your political platform and run on it,, but don’t try behind the lie you are just being compassion. Democrat could care less about the DACA individuals as people they see them as necessary voters in the future. PERIOD!

Denver Public Schools announces delayed start for Monday, multiple crashes on I-25

eCurmudgeon

3h

Alternate headline: People in Colorado Lack Proper Winter-Driving Skills.

Democrats, don’t veer left if you want to win

peterpi

1d

Says the rigid conservative.

Highlands Ranch student bites into Tide pod during school after online challenge goes viral

eCurmudgeon

21h

Charles Darwin was unavailable for comment.

DIA reporting more than 180 flight cancellations as a result of Sunday snow

windbourne

6h

For this little bit of snow? Give me a break.

120 turn out to protest Planned Parenthood clinic that organizer calls frontline of anti-abortion battle

Barry Bley

1d

Don’t like cannabis? Don’t use it.Don’t like abortion? Don’t have one.MYOB, busybodies.I have 4 daughters and two granddaughters of child bearing age, and it’s none of your business what the future of their pregnancies might be.

Why Electoral College trumps national popular vote plan (2 letters)

peterpi

58m

Spot on, Mr. Oyler! Intellectually dishonest describes what the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is.The NPVRC’s proponents want to do an end run rather than work hard and persuade 2/3rds of both houses of Congress and 3/4ths of the states to approve the popular vote, .I’m in favor of the popular vote, but I understand the history of the 1787 constitutional convention, the wrangling between the small-population states and the large-population states, and the grand compromise that emerged. The debate between small states and large states continues to this day, and the small states’ concerns are valid, IMO.If I’m doing my math right, there have been 57 presidential elections since the US Constitution was ratified. Of those elections, Wikipedia says in only 4 elections (1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016) has the popular vote differed from the electoral vote. That’s less than 10%.The fact liberals don’t like Trump is no reason to play fast and loose with the rules.Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both knew the electoral college ground rules. They both had seasoned advisors. If Trump’s campaign picked up more but smaller states and Clinton picked up fewer but larger states, and Trump won, that’s the way the game was played. Perhaps Clinton should not have considered her blue firewall to be so solid.Maybe advocates of the popular vote for president consider theirs to be a losing cause, and therefore want an end run. I’d suggest they simply fight harder in 2020.

Stronger together: More than 50,000 show solidarity against a shifting culture during Women’s March 2018

Gerald Brindamour

20h

I’m sorry, did something happen today?

___ (c)2018 The Denver Post Visit The Denver Post at www.denverpost.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Read full post at: http://www.creation-site-web-nice.com/co-denver-international-airport-is-working-to-become-a-destination-with-ice-skating-and-goat-yoga-in-and-of-itself/

[wander---woman]

Santiago –> Lima –> Quito –> Cotopaxi –> Baños de Agua Santa –> Quito –> Bogotá –> Cartagena –> Santa Marta –> Cartagena –> Bogotá –> Mexico City –> DFW Texas

19 Jan. 2017

Cartagena strikes me as a vibrant city, albeit a touristy one. It’s made me reflect on the nature of travel vs. tourism and why we seek out the experiences i.e. adventures that we do. Personal growth, fulfillment, excitement, surely. But I also think it can be a little like Audre Lorde’s “eating the other” – breaking off another person’s culture into bite-sized pieces made especially for your consumption. Or, more accurately, commodities packaged for a white, male buyer. How do we avoid this?

As it turns out, I love travelling alone. I just met a Colombian guy at the airport who noticed I speak Spanish with a Chilean accent.

Just kidding. He said if I were his woman he’d give me 5 kids. So now I’m leaving. But still. There’s something empowering about navigating a new city entirely by myself.

This morning the taxi driver tried to overcharge me, so I told him no flat out and paid him the regular price.

Then, I spent more on food in the Bogota airport than I did during the entire time I was in Ecuador: $25. I was ravenous and at least I got my mango fix.

I met a young woman from New York here in Cartagena who works live music events with a bunch of different artists. She said it’s totally possible to do what you love for a living – “Just work for free for a second (internship), do your thing, and eventually, you’ll get money for it…The idea of working 40 hours at a job you hate equals adulthood is a lie.”

We got fruit (a must-have for me) at a fruteria – I showed her how to pick ripe passionfruit – and then we went for tacos – they had gluten-free, vegan ones I could eat! It was genuinely lovely walking around Cartagena. We made a good team – her direction skills and my Spanish. I loved talking with everyone on the street, appearing and disappearing from the paint-chipped door frames of colonial homes.

20 Jan. 2017

You meet so many nice people while travelling. First, Jackie (Australian) and Elise (New Yorker), and I tried to do a free walking tour of the historic district, but some other tour guides told us the wrong meeting place just so we would miss it and buy theirs. Instead, we walked around on our own and saw the city. I walked along the colonial-era fortress wall, bought mangoes from street vendors, and was stopped by dozens of people selling maracas, sunglasses, and jewelry. I’m in love with the colonial architecture and the cumbia that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

We walked along the wall to Boca Grande and took turns swimming in the ocean. The water was the perfect temperature. The girls had fish and chicken while I had rice and plantains. As she was de-boning her reineta, Jackie told us how she saw someone slip a white pill into her drink the night before. She called him out and nothing happened, but it served as a reminder that travelling as a woman is so much more challenging wherever you go in the world.

21 Jan. 2017

I’m writing this from Playa Blanca – definitely a Caribbean dream – white sand, crystal clear water. Except that everyone is selling something and it’s packed to the brim with sunbathing tourists (like myself). One lady trying to sell massages even grabbed me by the hand and tried to pull me away.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the inherent solitude of being. Last night, some Chilean girls at my hostel got all dolled up with smoky eyes and sequins and miniskirts. They busted out the pisco and started taking shots with the German guys. The whole thing made me think about the paradox of loneliness. That’s really what we want – connection.  The problem is our inner worlds are just as impermeable as they are sacred to our person-hood, our individuality. To get inside the fortress of another human being is a feat.

I looked at the girls and saw myself years ago, searching desperately for attention and validation. Surely, most people want to come across as interesting, charismatic, desirable. I know I do. But maybe the thing that bothers me is exactly how we go about rubbing our cocooned psyches up against each other. The cultural robes we are forced to don – masculine and feminine, doctor and lawyer, sometimes get in the way. It’s all “What a pleasant day it is” instead of “Once I took a shit in a swimming pool when I was five and ever since then I’ve had a crippling fear of humiliation.” Dually separated by hierarchical and categorical distinctions like class, age, religion, and gendered archetypes as well as our own inner worlds, our interactions with each other are greatly limited. But here’s what I think – instead of meeting each other in that liminal space as glittery, rose-scented robots, couldn’t we meet meet as human beings?

Why are we so afraid of our humanity? We flail about, grasping for anything we can hold on to, hoping to pad the landing in the yawning crevasse between birth and death. But what if we accepted this inevitable falling – and the inevitable failures? What if I sat here on this beach and saw myself with all my flaws and my body that will invariably collapse, decompose, cease to exist in any recognizable form – as beautiful? And then what if I could see other humans the same way?

What if we could see each other as brilliantly flawed human beings instead of culturally-conditioned automatons?

While I’m indulging in this reverie, here’s yet another reason why I don’t like the woman as virgin/saint (or whore or mother, for that matter) archetype. As de Beauvoir said, women are neither angels nor demons nor sphinx: but human beings. Being put on a pedestal means we can’t see eye to eye; we can’t relate to one another as riotously beautiful conglomerations of atoms that taken together signify Human – individualized worlds of profound trauma, sadness, and joy. 

I’m sure I’ll forget this in the future, but maybe this journal will help remind me. I just realized it’s the most precious item in my possession (inventory: cheap phone, failing laptop, clothes worn threadbare from travelling, journal) and I got a bit of satisfaction from that.

Here’s to accepting my humanity and that of others, our desperate need for connection, for meaning, for acceptance. Our never-ending growth, spiraling renaissances and catapulting deaths. The striking fluidity of existence bores into me like the sun.

  Flying Solo: Caribbean Musings in Cartagena Santiago –> Lima –> Quito –> Cotopaxi –> Baños de Agua Santa –> Quito –> Bogotá