#i think my personal bar for cringe is MUCH lower than y'all's do to the fact i watched the Hudson-Hummel wedding on DVR

[jonathanbyersphd]

Sidebar: Do y'all think they're going to play We Are The Champions at the end like on Glee?

[siriushxney]

* . PAPER RINGS !

pairing — lando norris x reader

rating — fluff

wordcount — 2.3k

warnings — cursing (it's me who are we kidding)

song — taylor swift | paper rings

note ! — before y'all jump down my throat about "what the hell is a toque” — it's a hat. us canadians call it a toque. also this is long overdue, but I hope you like it!

when the light of day melted into the dark of night, and long, tiring shifts slowly came to an end, it wasn't an odd sight to see large groups of people piling into bars for a drink or several. with an extra hour and a half added onto your normal shift time due to your bosses inability to do what he was supposed to do — leaving stacks of paperwork you had to go through, along with a few of your other colleagues.

now walking into the packed bar — bags long forgotten in your cars, you couldn't find it in yourself to cringe at the strong smell of alcohol that burned your nose as you walked through the door, nor did you care for the way the heels of your feet stuck to the ground with every step you took.

after a day like today, you weren't sure if you'd mind anything.

sheila — one of your colleagues raised a stiff hand and slammed it down on the counter, gaining the attention of the bartender. “we need like, fifteen shots stat!” the bartender immediately got to work, pouring glass after glass — sliding them in front of the five of you, before turning to serve another guest.

“that asshole gonna get my foot down his throat if he dumps that much paperwork on us again,” she downed her first shot and reached for another one, “all of that should have been sorted out in the morning, not thrown onto us as we were packing up,” the rest of you agreed, downing a shot quickly as you tried to keep up with the loud mouthed girl.

you turned your head away from the conversation that had started between the others, choosing to stare curiously at the screen in the corner displaying reruns of a race that took place today.

feeling a body skim yours as a group of men slid into the barspace to the left of you — a majority of them sporting an orange and blue item of clothing, something you had connected quickly to the orange and blue car that had been on screen moments earlier.

looking back to the tv hanging from the ceiling, you tried to wrap your head around what all the numbers meant — a small bump caused you to look down, a younger man of the bunch staring at the tv proudly, “do you watch f1?” he turned his head to look at you as he finished asking his question.

f1... Is that what this was called?

“no, but I'd rather watch that then the football game that's on,” the boy looked at you with wide eyes, slightly in awe of how blunt you were. he nodded slightly before turning his attention back to the tv. “ I assume you do. you're wearing the colours of one of the cars,” you felt bad as you watched the boy curl into himself slightly.

ha looked over to you once again — “you can say that,” his eyes glinted a little bit as he spoke, a proud smirk coming across his face as he leaned in closer, not close enough to make you uncomfortable, but close enough that he could speak without the bar hearing. “I race for them — see that orange and blue mclaren? thats me.”

that was definitely more interesting than the news.

“so what might that mclaren driver's name be?” his head turned back to you, a slight red tint covering his cheeks, and climbing to the tips of his ears.

with a single hand outstretched to you, he introduced himself, “I’m lando norris — and who might you be?”

“Y/N.”

—

that day had happened a few months ago — and in that time, your friendship with the young driver had only progressed.

days you used to spend simply reading in the comfort of your own home, was now spent bouncing from bookshop from book shop — lando recommending you all the books that he had been in love with at the moment.

you had to refrain from telling him you had already read them, having looked him up on instagram a day or two after the initial meet — the photo of him cozy and comfortable in his bed with the stack of books perfectly visible to his side.

the types of books a person read could tell you a lot about their character — and with lando, it was all good things.

“okay, and then this one is semi based on a true story — like half true but has a lot of action and drama sprinkled in there-” he rambled on about the book he held in his hands, his eyes darting between you and it as his hands ran over the spine and pages of the book.

even knowing the writer, plot, and ending — you couldn't bring yourself to put an end to his ramblings. instead, you stood to his side and nodded eagerly as he spoke words with such excitement.

for any other person, you would have cut them off and told them that you had read it — but for some reason, cutting lando off was the last thing you wanted to do. he wasn't the famous young driver for mclaren who was always eager for a challenge on the track. he was just lando.

the boy who had a mini library growing in his room, filled with books from every genre. he was the boy with the odd affinity for milk. he was just normal.

and for the first time in your life — normal felt nice.

—

“lando, you're insane.”

“maybe a little bit, but insane is fun sometimes.”

when lando said he had something fun in mind for the two of you to do, the last place you expected to end up was on the shore of an ice cold lake — the wind blowing harshly against your body, making it sway slightly with the force.

lando had already taken off his jacket, now standing in just his shirt and bottoms.

“I’m not going in that,” you backed away from the boy as he stripped more and more of his clothes off, dropping them in a neat pile on the ground.

he shrugged, pausing in his action of removing his jeans, “are you not going in because its cold, or are you not going in because you don't have a swim suit?” while the lake technically was still warm enough for swimming, the thought of the water 's temperature that was lowering daily paired with the strong winds, didn’t exactly spark excitement in you.

“both.”

“it’s either your coming in by your own will, or I’m dragging you in.”

“you touch me and I’ll hurt you — that’s a promise.”

a mischievous glint appears in lando’s eyes — he knew what he was about to do was going to get him in trouble, and most likely hurt in the end, but the thought of doing it overpowered his thoughts about what would happen after.

there was no going back.

in a split second lando had his arms wrapped around your waist as he dragged you closer to the lake — despite the heels of your feet digging into the ground, he had still succeeded in getting you close enough that if he threw his body weight towards the water, you would soon follow.

and that’s exactly what he did.

a laugh from lando, a squeal from you, and the whooshing of the air rushing past your ears was all you could hear before you found yourself submerged under the cold water.

you clawed your way back to the surface with the help of lando’s arms, which were still wrapped around your waist — as soon as you felt the coldness of the air reach your face, you were turning in his arms and swinging.

“I’m fully clothed you asshole!” you brought a fist down lightly on the top of his head — the water squishing out at the action.

“stop- don’t- stop hitting me!” lando laughed as he let you go, swimming backwards slightly as a way to get away from your violent swings. “I know that you're fully clothed- that's what makes it so funny,” the curly haired boy couldn't contain his laughter at the end — his voice railing into the squeaky laugher that you had come to love.

without the support of lando, paired with the additional weight of your heavy winter coat and soaked wool toque and mittens, you began to struggle slightly to stay afloat. “lando-” the water climbed its way up your face before washing back down as you kicked harder.

his laugher stopped as he kicked his way over to you — grabbing around your waist once more and holding you to his body.

with the distance closed between the two of you, the feeling of his warm breath against your face was unavoidable — as well as the feeling of the heat radiating from his body, even through the layers you had on. neither of you spoke, both trying not to move — for every movement brought a wave of discomfort with your muscles tensed up from the cold. but as time started to tick slower, and all you could feel was the other — the last thing on both of your minds was the temperature of the water.

“you’re turning blue, lando,” as much as you wished you would've stayed in that position forever, the sight of lando’s cheeks and lips draining of its naturally pink colour concerned you. even with layers upon layers of clothes on, you found yourself shivering — and with lando in nothing but his boxers, you doubted he was doing much better than you. “I think right now is a good time to get out,” lando didnt reply, only bringing the two of you closer to the shore.

with chattering teeth, bodies curled in, and fast feet, lando and you made your way to his car — both jumping in the minute you could get your hands on the door handle. neither of you cared for the seats wetting as you sat down.

“I think I have some towels in the back from my training — can you grab them? I’ll get the heat and everything going,” you leaned into the back of the car to the best of your ability, pulling two towels out of an orange gym bag, and bringing them to the front where lando and you sat.

lando wrapped the towel around his shoulders — the shaking constant and harsh, rocking his body violently.

“I would say I told you so, but I feel too bad to even insult you,” with your jacket, toque, and mittens stippped off and thrown onto the floor, you wrapped your towel around your shoulders much like lando had.

“awe, youre so considerate — I didn’t think it through.”

“trust me — I can tell.”

the sound of the heaters on blast and the clattering of teeth was all that filled the car. lando had seemed aggravated at your comment — the way his body turned slightly away from your own, his eyes never meeting yours, and the fact that there was no laugh following or during his words.

what had you said or done that pissed him off?

“are you mad at me?”

lando turned slowly, his eyes still not fully meeting yours — but he looked like he was less angry and more conflicted. “I’m not mad, I’m just- just,” the words were on the tip of his tongue, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say them. “forget it.”

“no, I wanna know what's wrong — please tell me?”

he angled his body to face yours after a few moments of no response, making it so him and you looked at eachother with ease. “back out there on the lake- did you… did you feel anything?” your body tensed at his question — it was the last thing that you thought would come out of his mouth, so it took you by surprise. “because I know I did — and that scares me.”

you struggled to find a string of words that made sense to you, “I mean, yeah I guess I did — what did you feel? just so I can make sure that I felt the same thing.”

“I felt like I wanted to stay in that position forever — like I wanted to kiss you,” the words he spoke were soft and genuine. “all I felt was you.”

it had taken months for you to put a name to the feelings you had when you were around the british boy, but now, more than ever, did you finally know what they were.

they were love.

“I felt the same thing — all that I could feel was you and your stupidly perfect body against mine,” both of you giggled slightly at that. “and all that was running through my head was that if you had asked me to do anything with you, I would have done it — hell you could have asked me to marry you with paper rings and I would’ve said yes.”

lando stared at you with a calm look on his face — his eyes drinking you and all of your features in. “I’m glad — because I was thinking the same thing,” his hand fell on top of yours, bringing a warmth to the back of it. “and no need for paper rings when I can promise you the real deal when the time comes.”

“like I said before, I would marry you with paper rings lando,” you leaned in slightly, your voice barely above a whisper. “now kiss me you goof.”

he didn’t have to be asked twice.

[kagsluvr]

REACTING TO S/O WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY

↳ pairing: bokuto kotarou x gn!reader, iwaizumi hajime x gn!reader

↳ genre; fluff

↳ tw/cw: (social) anxiety, mention of insecurities

a/n: hiii omg first post ???!??!?//- kinda new to this “fic writing” scene so sorry if my writing seems inconsistent with the grammar n shit… anyway i love reading these types of scenarios/one-shots ahh it comforts me sm hahaha. social anxiety is something I personally deal with and I just felt like writing what i’d think the hq boys would do with a s/o also dealing with this. hope y'all like it! :) 

Bokuto 

He didn’t really find out about your social anxiety until a few months into your relationship.

While knowing you for about six years, you were pretty good at concealing your anxiety at school and other social events, so nobody could really tell. 

His ass noticed you pursing your lips while nibbling on the inside of your cheeks while in a long ass line for the cafe you guys had been waiting in for over 15 minutes. 

You noticed the street was extra crowded today for some reason, with many people walking past you guys and giving you weird stares.

You assumed it was probably of the short, flowy dress you were wearing that exposed a lot of your legs and thighs.

You were hesitant about wearing it out, but Bokuto claimed how it looked really good on you and eventually convinced you to wear it.

You started feeling a heavy sensation in your chest as your breathing became deeper.

You looked around nervously while starting to aggressively chew on the inside of your cheeks.

Bokuto thought you were trying to make the toddlers behind you laugh by making weird faces at them (himbo moment).

As you were about to explain to him what was on your mind, he eventually caught on.

“Ugh, I don’t know Bo…” you sighed hesitantly while examining yourself in the mirror.

“Babe! It looks so good on you! You look sooooo cute!” he cheered, walking up from behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. 

You didn’t struggle that often with body insecurities, but this dress seemed a bit off. As much as it did flatter you, you thought it was really short, since it had been a while since you wore it. 

“You don’t think it shows too much of my legs?” you asked your boyfriend for reassurance.

“No!” Bokuto replied with no hesitance. “.. And if any guys end up staring.. Well.. sucks for them, cause’ I’ll be there to show' em that you already have a boyfriend!”

You looked up at the cheeky smile on his face which then made you smile.

“Okay babe” you chuckled and turned to kiss him on the cheek.

-

You guys get out of the car and fall in the line for the cafe that Akaashi had recommended to you guys. There were only three parties in front of you so you figured that the wait to get seated inside wouldn’t take too long. 

Unfortunately there was a large gathering of people in the cafe that took up a lot of the chairs and tables. So, one of the hostess’ informed you guys that the wait was going to be a little longer.

You simply nodded your head and decided to patiently wait with your boyfriend.

Time was passing by slowly and it was nearing 3:30 pm, meaning that you guys were in the line for more than fifteen minutes. Bokuto had his arm around you just simply taking in the fresh Spring air, while you were just scrolling on your phone.

You started hearing footsteps on your right as more people were walking by the cafe. You noticed almost every person walking by took their time to meet your eyes and glance at your legs. 

You shook it off and didn’t let it bother you. It was until a group of teenage boys walked by you and your boyfriend and looked you up and down in unison. One of them smirked and winked at you.

This made you very uncomfy and reached for Bokuto’s hand, squeezing it tightly. 

He noticed that and took it as a random gesture. That was when you started sucking in your cheeks and chewing at your gums and lower lip, while constantly looking around you. Your breathing became fast and heavy, but you tried your best to calm it down to a regular pace. 

Bokuto looked down at you as you were looking behind you. Bokuto then peered his eyes over at the two little kids that were in line behind you guys with their mom. His gaze shifted between the odd look on your face and the two toddlers gazing at you.

“Aw babe! That’s cute that you're entertaining the kids behind you!” he whispered to your ear. 

You turned quickly to face him and relaxed the muscles on your face. “Oh. Babe. Um.. No, I wasn’t trying to make them laugh..” you awkwardly chuckled.

“Then what were you making that weird face for?” 

His genuine confusion put a smile on your face, making you laugh.

“Uh.. it’s just that…” you hesitated, while looking down at your legs. “I-”

Right as you were about to explain the sudden self-consciousness and discomfort you were feeling, the hostess called the next four parties up to come inside, which included you guys. 

You decided to drop the issue and followed the people in front of you inside the cafe. Bokuto followed, with a pondering look on his face. Until it finally hit him, remembering how hesitant you were to wear that dress today.

You followed the hostess to a table in the center of the seating area, indicating that that’s where you and Bokuto were going to dine at. 

You thanked her as she walked off to get you guys glasses of water. You took note of how the cafe was packed to the brim and the surrounding tables were full of conversation and laughter, making you feel more anxious.

You became lightheaded and your heavy breathing picked itself up again. Even though no one was particularly staring at you, you felt every glance towards you was a piercing glare. You needed to sit down immediately to rest your head on the table.

As you were about to sit down, Bokuto pulls your head into his chest and whispers in your ear, “It’s okay babe. You’re alright, I’m here.” He kisses your temple and pulls out your chair for you to sit in. 

Before you could even speak, he takes off his sweater and places it on your lap; large enough to cover your thighs and legs, leaving only your ankles exposed. 

You gave him a soft smile and held his hand on the table. “Thank you, Bo.”

“Of course babe. Just let me know if you feel uncomfy again and we can leave right away. I love you.” 

You wanted to tear up on the spot from his response, but resisted and just replied back. “I love you too.”

-

Iwaizumi

You absolutely dread public speaking. (more than anything)

Especially when it's in front of a class with over 30 students. 

Today was the day, where you had to present your English poem analysis to the class.

You were lucky that presentations like this weren’t thrown at you all the time, but you unfortunately had a few projects that needed to be presented every now and then. This poem analysis being one of them.

You felt anxious from the moment you woke up to the second you sat down in class.

But before class, you met up with your boyfriend, Iwazumi.

He is very observant and will call you out on any strange behavior and that morning was one of those instances.

Then he saw the papers in your hands and remembered the English presentation that you had told him about a few weeks prior. 

The day you had been fearing the most for the past few weeks had finally come. You sat up on your bed, already feeling queasy. The grumble noises your empty stomach made filled the entire room. 

You cringed at that sound and started getting ready for school. Taking a quick shower, brushing your teeth, and putting on some light makeup all were things that you enjoyed since getting ready was one of your favorite things to do. But today, you couldn’t help but groan every minute that you were in the bathroom. 

You went downstairs and looked inside the pantry. Normally, you’d easily go for a bowl of cereal or a banana and an oatmeal cookie. But, you were too nervous to eat something that morning. 

So, you just grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water, stuffed it in your bag, then made your way to school.

-

As you were nearing the school front gates, you kept your head down, twiddling your fingers around. Your mind was occupied with all the ways your presentation could go wrong. 

What if you stutter too much? What if you forget everything? What if you don’t speak loud enough?

Those overbearing thoughts were interrupted as your spiky-haired boyfriend stopped in your tracks with a small grin. 

“Hey!” he said, arms out to pull you in for a hug.

His sudden appearance caught you off guard as you let out a hesitant “Oh.. hey”

His upturned smile immediately turned to a frown. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

“What’s wrong baby?” he asked while grabbing both of your hands that you had been previously fiddling with. 

“Oh uh… nothing!” you said, putting up a fake smile to dismiss his follow up questions you felt coming. You pulled out your phone to check the time. 8:04 AM. 

“Ooh, uh gotta go babe! Need to meet up with a friend!” you said as an excuse to ditch your boyfriend to head to the bathroom to hide. 

You bolted from his sight so quickly that he wasn’t able to make out which direction you went. He walked inside the building, walking to your locker to hopefully find you there. But, you weren’t.

You sped-walked towards the girls bathroom on the second floor across from the library. Luckily, no one was in there except for two girls who were making their way out. You sighed in relief and walked to the empty stall in the corner of the bathroom. You locked yourself in and leaned your back against the wall. Your heart started beating at an abnormally fast rate and you felt the sudden urge to just bawl your eyes out right then and there. Then, your phone buzzed with a notification from your boyfriend.

Iwa-baby <3: babe! where are you? tried looking for you around your locker and your friend’s classroom but you weren’t there? what’s wrong???? you okay?

You stared at the text and realized that maybe your boyfriend could help you ease your mind if you explained what was up. 

You: hey, could you meet me at the library? 

Your complete disregard of his questions left him in a confused state. Nonetheless, he rushed through the crowded halls to get to the second floor. Once, he reached the final step, he saw you nervously pacing around outside the entrance of the library. 

He rushed to you, tapping your shoulder. “Y/n? What’s up? Everything okay?” he said with a genuinely concerned look on his face. 

You were unable to blurt any words out and instead you tightly wrapped your arms around his waist and lightly let your tears flow, face pressed up against his chest. 

“Y/n…. What’s wrong baby?” he asked hugging you in return, one hand on your lower back and the other gently patting your head. 

“I’m so fucking nervous for my presentation..” you sniffled. But you quickly lifted your head off his chest and wiped your tears away. You felt pathetic crying over a simple presentation, but you just couldn’t help but overthink the possibilities of everything going wrong. “I know it’ll last like five minutes max, but still I-”

“Baby. Hey… look at me.” he cut you off while lifting your chin up to face him. He cupped your cheeks and pulled you close, inches away from his. 

You blink at him with watery eyes and a soft smile falls upon his lips. “You’re amazing, you know that? It’s okay to feel nervous. But, I got you okay…” he said while rubbing away your remaining tears with his thumb.

His comfort made you feel warm. But, that didn’t take away the fact that you were still tense about your presentation in 30 minutes. 

You didn’t give an answer, but instead let out a sigh. 

“Hey, you got this okay. If you want I’ll ask to use the bathroom during class, so I can just stand by the doorway of your class and watch you. Just look at me if you’re stuck” he suggested. 

You met his eyes. “Would you, please?”

“Of course.” he replied, then kissing you on your forehead. “Then, after school I’ll take you out to eat. We have no practice today anyway. Sound good?”

Your eyes widened as you enjoyed the sound of that. “Yes! Thank you Haji” you said as you pulled him back for a hug.

You said goodbye to your boyfriend when the bell for class rang. You took a deep breath and entered your classroom. After about 25 minutes of watching others present, it was finally your turn. Your friend smiled and gave you a thumbs up. 

You walked to the front of the class, palms sweating and shaky breathing. You clutched onto your papers as you began reading. You paused for a brief moment, swallowed to prep yourself for the next wave of words that you were going to read. You began to feel tense all over again, until you looked up from your papers to see your boyfriend leaning against the doorway of your classroom, along with Oikawa. They both gave you the brightest grins and lightly jumped up and down whilst silently cheering you on. 

You resisted chuckling from this dorky act. You smiled at them and brought your attention back to the poem. Somehow, their support from a distance made you speak fluently, make proper eye contact with your teacher and fellow classmates as you explained your well-written analysis. 

Once you finished, the class applauded as you quickly walked back to your seat. You finished in time to see Iwa and Oikawa waving you off and walking back to their classes. Your teacher complimented your analysis which gave you a small sigh of relief, that you had finally gotten over it. 

You felt a silent buzz from your phone in your pocket and you pulled it out, trying not to make it obvious.

Iwa-baby <3: YUUHHH BABYY YOU DID THAT SHIT I'M SO PROUD OF U !!!!!!!!! sooo.. where do you wanna eat later?? :)

You were about to reply until you received another text notification from someone else.

Oikawaaa: you sounded so intelligent y/n…. that was really good!

You couldn’t help but smile at the sweet praise you were receiving, this time not holding back.

---

[nhlhoser]

On The Rocks - 5

Part 4   Masterlist

  "What can I get you guys to drink?" The waitress lays on the flirt real thick. Batting lashes and being over-responsive to anything that Auston and William did or say. I understand that it's unspoken to have a bit of flirt with a customer to make them feel good but the girl is an over achiever. Now glad we agreed to get a pitcher of ice water because I don't think she even knows I'm here. I'm sitting across from the two guys and my seat might as well be empty like the two seat to my left and the one left of Auston.

  "I'll be right back," she said with a sultry voice and 1000 watt smile. Swaying her hips back to near the bar area. Austons lower part of his face is visible due to his hat pull over his eyes from here he still looks passive as William is eating up the attention from our waitress.

Checking my phone I have a Steph making me laugh which had broken the table silence. William and Auston's face urge me to read the text out loud.

"Something came up. Order without us we'll order when we get up there"

" Oh yeah, something definitely came up alright" William nudges Auston laughing and I can only assume he glares at the blonde.

Ordering an appetizer to share and our meals William starts asking questions. "So Amelia? What do you do?" I sip my water listening to his Swedish accident voice.

"Well I am a massage therapist" I answered simply still holding eye contact with the blonde even though I'm very tempted to look away. He nodded looking genuinely interested is I'll never know. We talked about my job and just basic hobbies like how I workout almost everyday and small things.

"Matts and I were planning on going out the fitness center downstairs later you should come" William offered.

"Maybe I don't want to intrude on you guys plans, " I said not feeling comfortable with the thought of workout with them. Before anyone could get another word in some man that is unknown approaches the table.

"Auston Matthew and William Nylander" he exclaims excitedly he doesn't even ask he just plops down beside me keeps talking to the athletes about the season the playoffs approaching.

He doesn't let anyone get a word in and his breath reeks of alcohol making my scratch my nose. Half listening and half cringing I stay out of it because I'm not a confrontation person and guys are just sitting there but that changes as soon as he tosses my arm over and calls me a fuck bunny and makes me uncomfortable. I move his arm back onto the table without a word he continues his rambling but now focus on Auston to sum it up he's putting the hopes of the Stanley in his hand and during this, the creeps hand lands on my thigh and turns to me.

"Ok I can't listen to you anymore but first move your hand from my leg or before I do it for you." I said with a dead stare into the drunks eyes " and Do you think these guys want to hear hockey from someone that is some fan that probably doesn't even understand the pressure he is under from the actual hockey world? You do realize there are more players than just Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the team" I was mad and it was obvious. The guy got up and left after calling me a noisy bitch.

Slumping a little into my seat when I realized my outburst. I can see Austons eyes now because they are intense and currently starring at me. William is starting to almost as intense look as Auston just his eye color more piercing than Austons dark brown. Start to fidget with my water glass and look around the room taking the luxury details. Now I would mind the waitress to come because I'll need something stronger than water if they are going to keep this up.

What seems like forever of not taking our food arrives and so do Mitch and Steph. They are definitely still flush from their activities in the bedroom. "I am so hungry, " Mitch says eyes fixed on my steak. I block him from trying to take some. "You could have your food now too if y'all weren't busy getting busy" I cut into my steak to add to the effect. Mitch shrug leaning back proud of himself and Steph red and tries to Deny it.

After more food and conversations I pay my bill and was able to use my dad's phone call to get back to my room without a problem.  He was just passing on a thank you from the man and the reason I am here. The call was done before ever exiting the elevator.

Sighing as I unlock my door, I'm probably never going to see them ever again and especially after my burst but I was defending them. My room was now clean by housekeeping which I am so thankful for. Rummaging through my bag to grab my workout clothes.

 The weight room was filled with glorious top of the line equipment. These free weights of any weight and they were probably clean too.  I thought this was downstairs but no it was just below the rooftop lounge. Apparently, this is a sound proof room so I can blast my music.

After 5 minutes of figuring out how to connect my music to the rooms surround sound queens under pressure blares out the speakers. Dancing around the room getting the equipment ready lifting and all the accessories for my entire workout.

45 minutes into the workout I have removed my shirt now only in blue leggings and gray under armor sports bra. Doing pull-ups facing away from the door I dismount the bars pants a little from pushing myself past my usual max. stretching out my back already tight. Being a massage therapist is great but I can't massage myself.  Winding down my workout with cardio is my favorite thing to get the last bit of heart pumping exercise.

   My workout zone is intense I don't notice anything until it's on my face or I stop but in this case, it was 2 hockey players making their presences known directing to my right.

"Earth to Amelia!"

"Ah! Oh shit-- Ow" I lost my footing and literally falling off the treadmill into Austons arms but I hit my head on bar making me insanely dizzy.

 Auston helps me to my feet carefully before standing in front of me with William. Facing a wide eye William. "Oh my- I am so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. We were looking for you to say Thank you for earlier and apologize for not saying anything earlier."  He was out of breath from talking really face. I tilt my head confused and probably concussed.

Rubbing where I hit my head I can only nod finding it rather hard to focus. The look on the guys face serious and on a mission. Auston continues from the blonde. "I guess we aren't used to anyone that's not well- Us including Mitch understanding that we are under pressure. People forget we are rookies" He said slightly talking with his hands. My eyes follow the slightest of hand motions.

I am more concussed than I realized I step forward and pretty much into a pair of arms because I fell and it was warm. I like the warm.

"She really hit her head" a male could be heard but not understood. My head was tucked into a chest and I'm up in the air but still into the warmth. I open my eyes and into dark eyes. I watched too close my eyes but I was in awe of the look of the man who is carrying me.

"Amelia" A accented voice calls out.

"What room are you in?" He asked softly and carefully moving the hair out my face. Distracted the soft but rough hands I forget to answer until Auston asks.

"1729" I rest my head on the muscled shoulder of the 6'3" centermen. I could sleep right now but I shouldn't.

But I do.

NEXT

[t--o--f--u-blog]

☼☼☼☼☼ also think tank a white lecturer using the n-word when quoting literature in a lecture? I think she used it once outside of quotation as well certainly not meant in a disrespectful way, just seems unnecessary

☐☐☐☐☐ better have a justification at least but if you just use it out of the blue it always seems like some attempt at provocation 'i can say this because my interests are purely academic'

☼☼☼☼☼ mmmmm we're reading uncle tom's cabin, so it's hard to avoid

☐☐☐☐☐ should only be quoted verbatim if absolutely necessary, if there's no alternative I think

☼☼☼☼☼ yeah seems like she could have avoided it pretty easily

☐☐☐☐☐ if she's making no acknowledgement of the word's relationship to her privilege, that's rly not good

☼☼☼☼☼ yeah she's older so there might just be an outdated perspective there 'I'm just quoting the text, it was anti-slavery so I'm fine' sort of mentality maybe?

☐☐☐☐☐ still she would know about the contemporary attitude to the word and she should at least mention that! ugh like it doesn't sound malicious or super super racist, but eh

☼☼☼☼☼ Yeah I feel iffffy about it

☐☐☐☐☐ should mention it!

☼☼☼☼☼ Trying to work out if I should send email and if so how to word it

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ be interesting to actually properly discuss it

☐☐☐☐☐ yep

☍☍☍☍☍ heck I’d be interested to know more of a history of the word basically teach properly why its offensive

☼☼☼☼☼ Yeah, I might bring it up in the tutorial different teacher, but maybe good discussion

☐☐☐☐☐ mm that seems appropriate i'd love to hear how that goes

☍☍☍☍☍ uhhh there was someone who used it at Bar Oussou  the host reallllly should’ve said something and I normally would but just too tired for confrontation

☼☼☼☼☼ Yeah ☐☐☐☐☐ was telling me Sounded very cringe

☐☐☐☐☐ v unfortunate most disappointed in yhe host tbh

☐☐☐☐☐ he maybe had a old-worldy attitude to it and didn't mind or was too cowardly lol which do u think?

☍☍☍☍☍ I think he thought it was in the context of the poem she didn’t use it to degrade someone directly, but the word itself is degrading

☐☐☐☐☐ ugh but the poem is in the context of fuckin oussou yep ppl need to have a think before using words

☍☍☍☍☍ I just think its great to have a stage to do emotional work, but it can cross a line into normalising shitty white behaviour

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ I went to a coloured school so I can’t b racist wah wah wah

☐☐☐☐☐ and you have to consider your audience if your rant is dehumanising or brushes aside/causes suffering u gotta reconsider felt pretty ashamed on behalf of bartender/various black audience members not saying that dumb white shit would be acceptable with a different audience, but her obliviousness was kinda astounding

☼☼☼☼☼ wow yeah cringefest

☍☍☍☍☍ lol spoken word scene as a whole can b so lame haha rings true to why I/we left

☐☐☐☐☐ mm so macho! that's what I liked about talkbox some sensitivity there, gentleness

☍☍☍☍☍ still, I just wish people read more lok *lol

☐☐☐☐☐ yep I wish I read more

☍☍☍☍☍ like the stylistic range is generally pretty lame

☐☐☐☐☐ I guess that's why anyone reads mmm

☍☍☍☍☍ I wish I read more too

☐☐☐☐☐ hahahaha

☼☼☼☼☼ :')

☍☍☍☍☍ don’t mean to shit on everyon, I just think the scene as a whole and the conception of poetry is lacklustre - it doesn’t seem like the time for poetry, sometimes

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ ppl too distracted by netflix uwu sounds like phones but too much

☐☐☐☐☐ doesn't seem like the time for art, sometimes! hahhh

☍☍☍☍☍ its definitely a time for music

☼☼☼☼☼ I think there's a place for poetry It's just raps and memes

☍☍☍☍☍ yeh but I play dat long game there might not b a place now but I’mma fkn make one whether you like it or not lol

☼☼☼☼☼ Oh yeah fair go 4 it

☐☐☐☐☐ loll

☍☍☍☍☍ I just mean that I think 'poetry' has evolved into other forms, and now the traditional form is struggling to find a place I mean does anyone pay attention to Victorian satirical cartoons? I don’t I think it’s also tho that the low brow is more apparent in the moment, the high brow more apparent from a distance the shit sinks, basically

☼☼☼☼☼ elaborate?

☍☍☍☍☍ time brings forward higher brow material while a lot of lower brow stuff falls back or like there’s an art for getting through your days, and there’s an art for elaborate long form spiritual liberation

☼☼☼☼☼ so u don't mind about a lack of audience now if your work has staying power?

☍☍☍☍☍ different works have different digestion time and yes that is what I’m saying

☼☼☼☼☼ hmmmmmmm

☍☍☍☍☍ hmmmmmmmm?

☐☐☐☐☐ personally I don't know whether I'm prioritising the reception of my work or its value to me right now i feel poetry/art in general are useful tools for thinking about the world useful philosophical tools i guess and idk whether i'm learning for the sake of my own knowledge/making 'better' art or learning so what I put out into the world is better received I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive but yeah - feeling fairly indifferent to the idea of creating work that will persist right now part of me feels more comfortable with being lost forever lol or at least that I should become comfortable with that, bc that is what will happen inevitably

☍☍☍☍☍ I just think in this atmosphere of complete denial of the arts as an important component of society, as well as the stigmatisation of ritual and other mystical practices that used to house what we now might describe as an artist, its important that we follow our intuition rather than give in to a system that routinely prevents us having access to basic resources like I want to be there for whoever is there when this period comes to end and those peoples are looking for anything to rudder them, whether or not I’m alive

☐☐☐☐☐ you want to add to the cultural record?

☍☍☍☍☍ I want provide a map for future generations is how I would put it

☐☐☐☐☐ mm how do you feel one can ensure the persistence of their own work? or are you just hoping it'll be around for others I suppose whether or not anything lasts is out of ur control past a certain point

☍☍☍☍☍ for one I make an effort to give away a lot of work

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ I also store it all and make sure that that stockpile is kept w care but I also think there’s something to be said that I try and operate within many pre-existing canons I also it’s important to use the more meme-y, short stay work to bring attention to the slower works yeah, re: canons, like tanka and before that wakka as poetic forms stem back as far as a thousand years - perhaps more by putting myself in conversation with the ancients... idk it feels a bit like entering a cultural refrigerator haha

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ sometimes I find it better to see my individual works as modules that make up a whole more prescient than its parts (Morton lolz) soo... maybe my work won’t carry the same weight until I finish, so to speak who knowsss but this how I think about it lol

☐☐☐☐☐ best to try and contribute something I spose rather than do nothing w ur resources

☍☍☍☍☍ I’m weird with this shit u don’t have to be

☐☐☐☐☐ mm it seems fairly simple to me and not that weird

☍☍☍☍☍ not everyone should spend their life tending their gravestone it’s a job for a particular type of person, and I am it

☐☐☐☐☐ but in a sense everyone does anyway everyone does things with the future in mind or without it in mind I suppose

☐☐☐☐☐ and i guess that influences what you leave when you die eheh, whether you do it consciously or unconsciously

☍☍☍☍☍ I just am particularly stubborn that I have something to offer - I think its partially a result of being denied that a lot in school, I found other ways to have social bonds that were more... non linear bonds with past peoples, and inadvertently bonds with future people

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ I find it frustrating that its seen as arrogant to suggest your work should be read after you die - if anything its remarkably humble as I'm acknowledging that I will never properly see the fruits of my labour it's a ridiculously isolating position to find oneself in, where your best friends - books, music, content - have no form of human intimacy with you and completely defy all survivalistic, lizard-brain humanity plus you're just on a total different dimension from most people you meet

☐☐☐☐☐ mm you're in a very specific position here

☍☍☍☍☍ lol goodluck catching up ☼☼☼☼☼

☼☼☼☼☼ unrelated btw

(☼☼☼☼☼ posts a meme in chat)

☍☍☍☍☍ see y'all @ da rally (in reference to the meme)

☐☐☐☐☐ where and when is this? oh oops thought you meant a real one

☼☼☼☼☼ hahaha

☍☍☍☍☍ xD

☼☼☼☼☼ structurally is the meme ok ? took the photo the other day, and just added the text.

☍☍☍☍☍ yes are u going to weigh in on the conversation tho lol

☼☼☼☼☼ nah not really

☍☍☍☍☍ meme fine

☼☼☼☼☼ I have so little to add

☍☍☍☍☍ well hm why make memes? why not write novel? do memes have staying power?

☐☐☐☐☐ it's a question of what timescale is important to you at any given time maybe

☍☍☍☍☍ oh absolutely - not trying to infer a hierarchy here, I just think there are different approaches for different problems

☐☐☐☐☐ sometimes I'll say something to someone so they'll remember it for tomorrow, sometimes I'll say something to someone and hope they'll remember forever lol mm I don't think I care about staying power that much

☐☐☐☐☐ memes have such a short lifetime, they're like cultural mayflies haha

☼☼☼☼☼ Yeah defs

☍☍☍☍☍ why tho lol

☼☼☼☼☼ Because the art itself can date while still inspiring change

☍☍☍☍☍ yeah so using it pragmatically like a single use tissue

☼☼☼☼☼ If you create something short lived, it (with the help of other artists producing similar work) is able to push art and society in a specific direction The butterfly effect I guess

☍☍☍☍☍ it's true that you have more effect in the current conversation

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ but that conversation draws intensively on a language formed by the ancients so the two are dependent on each other, a back and forth

☐☐☐☐☐ and that's dependent on their work's longevity?

☍☍☍☍☍ not following ur question

☐☐☐☐☐ not following your point haha hmm

☼☼☼☼☼ so you're suggesting a works longevity is crucial in that it helps reinforce and update the ancient language in which short term work of the future will be influenced by?

☐☐☐☐☐ mm also - what if of all the work you make, it's only a meme that survives the passage of time?

☍☍☍☍☍ basically... like you're just reiterating points that have been made more in depth in 'higher' brow culture - that's definitely how I feel when writing raps

☐☐☐☐☐ like Roman graffiti surviving on the walls or whatever

☍☍☍☍☍ did you a hear copy of the I Ching, the Chinese numerology classic more than a thousand years old, was found in the 70s and had a heap more sections and a different order? effectively completely changing the understanding of the I Ching gotta get those nice lead storage chambers ayyyyy ahahaha it was found buried in a coffin, obvs haha

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ a lot of Chinese philosophers only exist in so much as someone else described them

☼☼☼☼☼ But what does that changing of contexts of that piece actually mean for us? Is updated Ching from the coffin helping us in any way?

☍☍☍☍☍ I think for me finding the I Ching and looking over it is like a person in a thousand years finding a functional iPhone it gives great insight into human impulses regardless of time and offers a way of writing the past a new, which in turn presents a new future (thinking of the cowboy article you sent me) reconceptualizing the past IS the future look at 'Make America Great Again' or calls to restore the caliphate both are founded on histories that have more to do with our current state than the actual happenings of the past

☼☼☼☼☼ I do see where you're coming from I like the idea that it's important to preserve our work for understand the past better And I hope that someone in the future will have a clearer understanding of our time through your well preserved works But what fucking future is it

☍☍☍☍☍ haha but like looking back we see people been asking that for a veeery long time I get it seems on a new scale but we're on a new scale too

☼☼☼☼☼ It does seem that yes Also if we do survive and keep on teching on

☍☍☍☍☍ I'm for an integration of the human/natural binary where we properly acknowledge our mutual codependency, the earth and humanity that is

☼☼☼☼☼ Are we even going to be translatable? Is the functioning iPhone found by the future person going to even be able to be translated? Or will it be meaningless because everyone is already part of the grid

☍☍☍☍☍ where artificially effecting the climate for the benefit of 'nature' isn't seen as strange but completely akin to Aboriginal burn back practices

☐☐☐☐☐ i guess it's productive to hope that it will be translatable

☍☍☍☍☍ we've always interfered in the running of nature

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ ehhh idk we translated fucking hieroglyphics

☼☼☼☼☼ Or future tech can look into the past and someone is watching our lives as we type this now, constantly being understood through our context in a way we can't comprehend through our recording processes shrugs

☍☍☍☍☍ I mean yeah, imagine if the internet was even vaguely archived

☼☼☼☼☼ You probably have a better understanding of how the future will pan out than I do tho

☍☍☍☍☍ even if 0.1 % was kept, it would be a massive resource

☼☼☼☼☼ No sass intended there, I'm sincere

☍☍☍☍☍ lol idk I just try to see a bigger picture and it keeps me calm remember me old saying? we survived the plague and nukes lol

☼☼☼☼☼ I just don't see the issue with creating short term work, especially if it is preserved

☍☍☍☍☍ oh neither do I

☼☼☼☼☼ Like a meme may have more impact than a novel rn

☐☐☐☐☐ well it could be argued that we're yet to survive nukes but I see your point impact on various timescales

☼☼☼☼☼ I've heard the plague make be thinking of making a comeback too haha

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☍☍☍☍☍ oh duh peasantry is fully hip rn

☐☐☐☐☐ but like

☍☍☍☍☍ bring back the boils, they look great with my Balenciaga sneakers

☐☐☐☐☐ lol bubonic chic

☼☼☼☼☼ Pretty close to heroin chic tbh haha

☍☍☍☍☍ not jking that was tb

☐☐☐☐☐ but like, I don't find a huge amount of solace in the fact that we survived the plague

☍☍☍☍☍ "The Victorians romanticized the disease and the effects it caused in the gradual build to death. For decades, many beauty standards emulated or highlighted these effects. And as scientists gained greater understanding of the disease and how it was spread, the disease continued to keep its hold on fashion. and the severity of the corsets was known to harm the lungs in such a way that would increase the likelihood of transmission LOOOL

☐☐☐☐☐ mm Balenciaga look out idk it's a question of what capacity we survive in

☼☼☼☼☼ lollllll

☐☐☐☐☐ quite depressing to think about

☍☍☍☍☍ eating disorders have a pretense

☐☐☐☐☐ what if ecocide leaves a few insular eco fascist regimes who gradually diminish over centuries always engaged in pointless wars of attrition with one another lol

☍☍☍☍☍ I mean you could probably say the same thing of colonial regimes now

☐☐☐☐☐ just because we can survive, doesn't mean my outlook should b at all rosy :((

☍☍☍☍☍ point is its a big ol' world that has plenty of room for pain AND love any future pain you think is imminent probably already is happening, and nonetheless breakfast tasted good this morning

☼☼☼☼☼ 'The hipster middle class would dress with raggedy beards and large jackets and refuse to use deodorant, perhaps to reflect the look of people suffering from homelessness at the time. It is suspected that this made them less likely to be hired, and therefore more likely to become homeless themselves.'  ☍☍☍☍☍ ahahaha

☐☐☐☐☐ mm that's true hahhh

☼☼☼☼☼ Planning on making this into a full essay. Might not be popular now, but I think it has staying power? Soz for shitposting haha

☍☍☍☍☍ I was talking with ☲☲☲☲☲ a while back, and something struck me - she said, "I never thought this age would have its own fleet of particular medical conditions." (or something like that lol, translated via my nerd brain)

☼☼☼☼☼ Yeah that didn't quite sound like her But that sentiment is great

☍☍☍☍☍ 'fleet'

☼☼☼☼☼ In that ofc there is, but also wow yeah ofc!

☐☐☐☐☐ mmm hahh these conversations should be recorded so we can all think about em without scrolling up endlessly

☼☼☼☼☼ I do like the idea of people reading these works in the future tho

☐☐☐☐☐ and also so that they can be preserved for 10,000+ years of course

☼☼☼☼☼ In the same way we read the letters sent between dead artists now

☐☐☐☐☐ mm very true

☍☍☍☍☍ mmm

☐☐☐☐☐ messenger is not a particularly stable storage medium and also is more vulnerable to third party scrutiny although the fact we're reading artists letters now means that medium is also pretty fucking vulnerable to scrutiny lol

☍☍☍☍☍ I fucking found the word! (sorry was searching for it so hard) Neurasthenia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurasthenia

☼☼☼☼☼ Americanitis lol

☍☍☍☍☍ uhh the page doesn't rly talk about this, but its like a condition of over-working effectively, and people would try and get prescribed the pills to treat it as a way of signalling they were a dedicated worker its total hokey

☐☐☐☐☐ wow yeah you mentioned this a while back

☼☼☼☼☼ oh I've heard a similar thing in Japan were workers will pretend to fall asleep at their desks to show how hard they're working No idea the trust behind it tho

☍☍☍☍☍ to this day, "In Japan, shinkei-suijaku is treated with Morita therapy involving mandatory rest and isolation, followed by progressively more difficult work, and a resumption of a previous social role. The diagnosis is sometimes used as a disguise for serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and mood disorders." a dignified mental illness uwu none of that lower class shit I'm a classy fuck with money, I don't get the same mental conditions as the poor lolol reminds me of now: I don't have shitty parents, I just have adhd (not to deligitimise all uses of adhd, just over diagnosed)

☼☼☼☼☼ mmmmm i feel u yes this has been a wild ride

☍☍☍☍☍ yes I’m leaving to get late lunch uwu have a good day in this cosmic spider web lololol

☼☼☼☼☼ :')

☍☍☍☍☍ Like the burning of this charcoal fire, our years too will soon expire Kobayashi Issa listening to Krista Tippet talk with Maria Popova, this particular phrase resonated with our conversation: we live in a world where disruption over-fetishised; we need cultural stewardship to help along new waves of disruption

☼☼☼☼☼ How would u define cultural stewardship in a practical sense?

☍☍☍☍☍ caring for the legacy of those past as a means of refreshing their insight for a new age a very straightforward example would b the importance of new translations, in this regard - as our understanding and depth of connection to Japanese society has deepened, so too have our translations dusting off the books so to speak in some sense I see that in our music too or reappropriating to a new context

☼☼☼☼☼ Well remasters are a time terry literal example Fuck

☍☍☍☍☍ time terry

☼☼☼☼☼ Pretty* not time terry lol

☼☼☼☼☼ lime berry yeah exactly

☼☼☼☼☼ Slime Jerry

☍☍☍☍☍ I mean rereleasing is an obvs example mhm but more abstract examples are how I’ve exported into both your brains Bridle/Steyerl/Haraway via conversation and art lolol I’m helping it move from one place to another same w Zappa lol

☐☐☐☐☐ also - looking after artist friends being generous I feel these are acts of pre-emptive cultural stewardship

☍☍☍☍☍ haha yeah definitely different time scales it could function on

☐☐☐☐☐ looking after and maintain communities

☍☍☍☍☍ hosting open mics lol helping teach ppl poetry lollll

☐☐☐☐☐ not allowing hate speech to creep into open mics lol

☼☼☼☼☼ Truuuuu Or anywhere for that matter

☐☐☐☐☐ not becoming so dusty that you actually have a detrimental impact on cultural progression

☍☍☍☍☍ I think religions only exist in so far as they have active practitioners

☐☐☐☐☐ mm

☼☼☼☼☼ Tru

☍☍☍☍☍ I think my sense is, in religion, this same argument plays out with orthodoxy versus mysticism Maintenance of buildings is in there too for religion People being assigned paid positions as the keepers and givers of religious knowledge oh yeah thinking a lot here of Shanzai, ☐☐☐☐☐, and the idea of an object as a lived practice

☐☐☐☐☐ when home I'm gonna do my best to archive this conversation mmm

☍☍☍☍☍ you’re going to steward our conversation bout stewardship ...

☐☐☐☐☐ this is all going in

☍☍☍☍☍ ...the tv where I am says “The comedian getting behind ‘Know Thy Nuts’” and there are big walnuts on the screen

☐☐☐☐☐ ???????

☍☍☍☍☍ “I didn’t realise chemotherapy would be such great comedic material!”

☐☐☐☐☐ ¿¿¿¿¿¿

☼☼☼☼☼ Huhhhh

☍☍☍☍☍ lol highly recommend https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/on-being-with-krista-tippett/id150892556?mt=2&i=1000429408054https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/on-being-with-krista-tippett/id150892556?mt=2&i=1000429408054

[oselatra]

NOT ME!

I never groped a woman or did any of those other things that are flashing across the news outlets every day.  True enough, I never had a "real" job, at least not one in an office environment, but the idea of invading a person's privacy in such a manner is just foreign to me.  I mean, it's not like I'm constantly fighting off the urge to grope, like an alcoholic fighting off the urge to knock back a bottle of Schnapps.

NOT ME!

I never groped a woman or did any of those other things that are flashing across the news outlets every day.  True enough, I never had a "real" job, at least not one in an office environment, but the idea of invading a person's privacy in such a manner is just foreign to me.  I mean, it's not like I'm constantly fighting off the urge to grope, like an alcoholic fighting off the urge to knock back a bottle of Schnapps.  

And what about the other men in the workplace, the non-gropers? Why don't they explain to the gropers that what they are doing is just not acceptable?

We need two things here. We need all the non-gropers to stand up and say, "NOT ME." Then we need them to take the gropers aside and enlighten those Neanderthals.

David Rose

Hot Springs

From the web

In response to the Nov. 6 Arkansas Blog post, "Supreme Court refuses to hear Mike Maggio's appeal":

It's a shame he only got 10 years. I wonder what the parole possibilities are? He won't serve enough time, in my opinion, for the incredible abuse of trust given a judge. He's contributed to the downfall of the entire justice system. Here's hoping that his income is attached for the rest of his life to pay off the civil case.

Perplexed

Shouldn't he have to serve extra time for showing what an a-hole he is? Remember geaux tigers?

Maxifer

There is no parole in the federal system, Perplexed, so he will serve all of his time, less a little bit (matter of a few months at most) off of that if he behaves himself. This is what is so great about federal sentencing vis-a-vis state ones. In the federal cases, you know how much time a person is going to serve, whereas in state sentencing, you have to divide the sentence handed down by either one-sixth, one-third, one-half or 70 percent, depending on the severity of the crime.

plainjim

In response to the Nov. 5 Arkansas Blog post, "More than 20 dead in mass shooting in Texas church":

Dear Sutherland, how are those thoughts and prayers working for y'all?

Vanessa

Vanessa, what a heartless comment.

Downtowner

Eagerly anticipating the athleticism from the usual sources as they bend, twist and turn to keep from calling this, like the Vegas massacre, an act of terrorism, yet speak with such rapid assurance when the perp is identified as having one of those funny names.

During the interregnum, before such is revealed, it's "thoughts & prayers" down the line from the blowhards and puffers.

tsallernarng

For those who disliked Vanessa's earlier post, explain to me, precisely, what benefit has ever accrued to the victims, as opposed to the self-indulgently thoughtful and prayerful, from thoughts and prayers.

Silverback66

Ho hum. Just part of the daily price of no coherent gun policy in the good old U.S.A. No amount of prayer will change that reality. Gotta wonder if our elected leaders see such mass shooting events as entertainment because they sure as hell aren't lifting so much as a little finger to do anything to change the status quo.

Damn shame, too. Maybe one of us on this blog will be in the next batch of mass victims. We can call it U.S.A. Roulette, just with more firepower and far more dead and wounded.

Oh, and where were the good guys with the guns we always hear will stop a bad guy with a gun like this? Or did Texas confiscate all the guns, and that news just hasn't percolated across the border yet?

Sound Policy

Just decided to buy a gun this week. Guess this is not the place for a recommendation on what kind to get.

Screen name taken

What makes me most sad about any of the mass shootings is that they even happen to begin with and that none of the perpetrators are being captured alive. The last mass shooting I can remember where the shooter was captured alive was the during the Planned Parenthood murders in Colorado Springs in 2015. Something is deeply wrong in our U.S.A. I believe in the right to bear arms, but I also believe that gun-worship is empowering the mentally ill to commit mass murder. So many hateful paranoid men thinking an assault rifle is going to right all the imaginary wrongs they feel have been done against them.

Artificial Intelligence

In defense of Vanessa, some version of the point she was trying to make has been all over Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere all afternoon and this evening. Maybe she was the first one to "go there" on the blog, but she is definitely not the first to say it. It was out there well before it showed up here. People are tired of hearing "thoughts and prayers" and then that's the end of it. Anyone can say that. It's beginning to ring hollow and I cringe whenever I hear it now. If "thoughts and prayers" help in any way, how could this have happened in the most holy of places?

 Something evil has been unleashed and is running amok in the U.S.A. I have no idea how we are going to find our way back to civilization, but I'm sure it will take more than a catch phrase to fix this mess.

mountaingirl

Thoughts and prayers never solved any crimes. It is just an excuse, a damned cover-up for insensitive politicians who don't want to solve what is one of the biggest — if not the single biggest — dangers of our modern society: the uninhibited access to weapons capable of mass killings. Politicians hide behind their thoughts and prayers while people are being killed. This same thing could happen at my church. We don't take any security measures because everyone should be welcomed to the house of the Lord. Speaking of "thoughts and prayers," how many of us really believe that the politicians are sincere in their offering them up?

plainjim

In response to the Nov. 5 Arkansas Blog post, "Honeymoon's over for Sarah Huckabee Sanders":

Dear Media, please keep it up. Sarah Huckabee upstaging her boss will simply shorten her time in the spotlight, and the administration will have to reach even lower for a spokesperson.

Vanessa

Better yet, Vanessa, if our world ever regains it sanity then maybe she'll never have a decent job again.

wannabee conservative

I notice lately she's taken to occasional attempted humor. Her jokes fall flat just like her dad's ... but without the outhouse flavor.

JB

Do you Kool-Aid drinkers ever get tired of tearing down successful people just because you oppose their political views? Guess they are OK as long as they agree with your views but look out if they do not. What a collective bunch of phonies.

Razorblade

So, the willingness to lie to the nation on a daily basis meets the description of "successful"? The ability to ignore the voice inside yourself that whispers "you're not telling the truth" is admirable? 

Such is the thought process of a party-before-country Republican.  The blog members can expect to be chastised by Mr. Razorblade for criticizing Manafort, Gates, Flynn and Flynn Jr., when their chances to lie in the spotlight come along, soon.

Emersum Biggins

Prediction: Barring total implosion, she keeps this gig up just long enough to declare for Boozman's seat when he formally announces he's not running for re-election.

Pygface

In response to the Nov. 3 Arkansas Blog post "State tourism official warns of economic damage from 'bathroom bill' ":

Unfortunately, the political atmosphere is one reason we've decided to move back to our home state. Won't miss the regression of women's rights, the push for more religion interference in public schools and the narrow-minded views of LGBTQ citizens. What ever happened to the Arkansas of David Pryor and Dale Bumpers? Instead we get Rutledge, Rapert and Mr. Re-Homing Harris. Truly sad.

Irishgirl2012

I just moved back to Arkansas from the bluest city in one of the bluest states in these united. To those of you bemoaning the present political climate in Arkansas, oh, and let me add J. William Fulbright and William J. Clinton, let me offer this nugget of consolation: The people and policies that so bedevil you in the present day will be swept away by the inevitable tide of progress. The past that the others are trying to regain is not coming back. The present, such as it is, will be transformed into the future that is evident in the more progressive societies in our country and world.

Inequities persist, but many of those prejudices of our past have been eroded in ways that may not be appreciated. Mixed race families might be a bit odd in some corners of Arkansas, but are not illegal and for the most part do not attract all that much attention. The public persons who formerly hid in the closet who have come out, well, that does not attract all that much attention, really no big deal, at least if they stick to consenting adults.

Yes, a rational, educated and thoughtful people should not take so long to do the right thing, but if you are smart enough to realize things should be better, you should be smart enough to realize that most of our fellow Americans, perhaps especially Arkansans, are not. Take some solace in the fact that Jeff Sessions, Donny Trump and Harvey Weinstein, among others, are not from Arkansas. We begat Johnny Cash, Jim Jones, Douglas Blackmon and Jeff Nichols. Take some pride in their works, and don't take any crap from others, and surely don't crap all over yourself.

Get to work, register, think and vote. Go get 'em.

deadseasquirrel

In response to a Nov. 1 Arkansas Blog post about Sarah Huckabee Sanders' defense of the weird characterization of the Civil War by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly:

Sarah may be dishonest, but she is not dumb, as many here try to portray her. She is an expert in the mechanics and the machinations of a political campaign. As White House press secretary, she is still running a political campaign. She did a good job managing John Boozman's 2010 campaign for the Senate, as well as her daddy's go-nowhere presidential campaign in 2012. She is politically savvy, and knows that politicians are rarely punished for lying. She also knows how to avoid critics. She simply quit communicating with the Arkansas Times, took the Times off the list of media receiving notices and never returned Max's phone calls, according to what he has posted previously. Politics is a duplicitous game at its best. She knows how to practice duplicity very well.

plainjim

NOT ME!