#i work at a bakery so summer sucks for me

[pastatrola-trash]

here in argentina we only have humid heat and mostly humid cold so yeah, humidity can suck these nuts

summer is coming up lads..

[bunny-jpeg]

Hi! Could I please ask for: mille-feuille + s'more + croissant + champagne + mai tai + tonic water... served by Carlos Sainz Jr for Toto Wolff's daughter? Btw, your writing is amazing, Bunny!

bakery menu!

want to submit your own order? hit up the menu, i'd love to hear from you. i am working on a ton of awesome things so please, feel free! thank you so much for everything that has been sent to me! and thank you to this lovely person for submitting an order! i love that you picked wolff!reader, something about that trope just gets to me every time, haha.

mille-feuille: “that’s it, fuck, that’s a good girl.” + s'more: "The accent gets to you, doesn't it?" + croissant: "i wonder if your father knows what happens during the off hours. if he knows you're here with me." + champagne: sugar daddy situation + mai tai: loss of virginity + tonic water: age gap served by carlos sainz jr. (formula one)!!

cw: smut/pwp, wolff!reader, sugar daddy au, age gap (20/30), virgin!reader, loss of virginity, cowgirl position

toto wolff should've known. he prided himself on being a smart man, who was proactive with his career and always stayed on the ball. but formula one blinded him to the activities of his daughter. toto thought having you play assistant over the summer break would teach you a thing or two before you went back to university in the fall.

but you kept ending up in the ferrari garage more often than not.

your father should've also been looking at your bank account a little closer. you didn't work, so why were you making a considerable income? well it didn't come from toto wolff, but rather ferrari's driver, carlos sainz, number fifty-five.

"you don't have to stuff it in my bra like a stripper." you said as you watched him put them down your shirt. you caught a glimpse of a purple euro banknote and felt heat rise in your cheeks. carlos was not a light spender when it came to you.

"i thought you wanted to be covered in money. now i won't do that because it's dirty. but, knowing you'll go back to your father with my money in your pocket... i like the feeling." those big brown eyes stared at you with want.

it wasn't even a power thing, or even a sex thing. carlos liked being around you and maybe part of him enjoyed when you snuck off to the ferrari garage and out of your father's grasp, but besides he enjoyed your company. but tonight you were taking the next step.

you looked up at him from your spot on his hotel bed and asked, "are you trying to butter me up because we're going to have sex?"

he smiled, "there is not buttering up. no butter at all." the slipped the last bill, a crisp hundred, into the strap of our bra under your shirt sleeve. then patted your breast playfully.

you chuckled, "right." you two had been intimate in other ways. he had fingered you and ate you out. you gave him handjobs and sucked his cock. you've just never had penetrative sex. you were technically a virgin. which at first shocked carlos. but then he remembered who your father was. toto wolff wasn't letting his daughter go out clubbing in monaco, hence why you were in university in france. and even then, the team principal kept a keen eye out for you.

but tonight, you were all carlos'. so when you took your shirt off and exposed the bills in your bra. it made carlos smile. he was taking wolff's daughter's virginity. he showered you in affection and praise.

“that’s it, fuck, that’s a good girl.” he praised which made you shiver. his hands on your breasts as he groped them over your bra and the money. he could understand why toto was so protective of you.

"please, carlos."

he chuckled as he got you fully onto the bed before he took your bra off and admired your bare breasts. he grabbed the money off your heated chest, sweat making the bills cling to you. he placed it all on the nightstand for you to take home. made you look like a whore. but you were the furthest thing from that. you were carlos' lover. he admired you, "you're so beautiful. can't believe an old man like toto wolff had a hand in making something so pretty."

"carlos." you flushed.

he remarked, "the accent gets to you, doesn't it?" he got onto the bed with you and got you out of your pants. he admired your almost nude form, in just thin cotton panties. you watched him get undressed, his toned body revealed to you as he asked, "i wonder if your father knows what happens during the off hours. if he knows you're here with me."

carlos was almost ten years older than you, raced for a rival team and above all else would never meet the standards your father had for a man that could be with you. not that you cared about what your father thought, you were an adult who could make your own choices.

you remarked, "i don't care if he knows. he needs to lose the grip on me. i'm almost done schooling, i have to live my life. and that's with you." you smiled a little when carlos got onto bed beside you. yu stroked his face lovingly.

"am i in that life?" he asked as he reached and stroked your hip lovingly.

"of course, where else would you be?" you asked as you cupped his face. you trailed your thumb across the side of his nose. you had to admit, you really liked his nose.

he smiled, "six feet under when your father finds out." his eyes went a little wide when you straddled his waist and splayed your fingers across his chest, "do you want me dead, beautiful?"

you laughed, "yes, i want my boyfriend dead." as you rubbed yourself up against his cock. you felt a smile pull at your lips as you braced yourself against him, "i want him six feet under in a pine box."

"well." he mused as he took you by the hips, "maybe to die by your hand would be worth it." then tensed up when you sank down on his cock. he shuddered a little and felt the pleasure bloom in his body. that felt good.

"like this?" you asked. you had ridden his thigh before. and you told him earlier that the only way you'd lose your virginity to him was if you had the control (sometimes you were painfully like your father).

carlos nodded almost dumbly as he held onto you tightly, "perfect. now you move as you like, this is about you." wasn't he just the sweetest? as if he wasn't taking the virginity of the daughter of a rival team principal.

you held onto his strong shoulders and moves your hips a little bit. you smiled down at him, especially when the pleasure made his expression changed. he looked handsome even when the pleasure made the heat bloom in his face, down his neck.

"fuck, honey." he said softly, "i know why wolff made sure you went to school far, far away from the paddock."

you leaned in and pushed hair out of your face before you kissed him on the lips, "i'm pretty sure if we met any sooner, you'd be next to a cradle robber. wouldn't look nice in the press." you could feel the blush high in your cheeks as you rode him. you could feel the pleasure down to your feet as you really worked his cock.

"i would've made sure that no one else could have you."

you smiled, "don't worry, you're the only one i've ever been with. at least this way." you rolled your hips, picking up momentum. the pace was a little messy, but carlos didn't mind.

he didn't mind at all, anything to make you happy. he held onto you and felt the heat rise further in his face. the blush almost stung. your cunt felt like euphoria, you were perfect. he said, "if i could give you my virginity, i would." he smiled at you, blush high in his cheeks.

you smacked his chest playfully, "ah, you flirt. it's a stupid construct anyway. but, if it's anything." you moved a little faster, "i would've happily taken your virginity."

he chuckled and smacked your ass, "i knew you were going to say that." and then took you by the face with one hand and pressed hot kisses against your heated face. you moaned a little bit as you continued to ride him.

the pleasure soon became overwhelming for the both of you. you moaned a little louder, your back arched a little further and the kissed became heavier. the pleasure was felt between you two are you really worked your hips against him. you held onto him tightly and grit your teeth as you rode him. the pleasure throbbed in your brain as with a few more quick thrusts you finished, which made you moan loudly and tense up.

you kissed him while he held onto your hips. he worked your cock in the areas that made you squirm further. it was painfully hot for the both of you, the two of you made out deeply as his hands gripped you tightly. he yearned for your closeness and it didn't take long before his thrusts became harder and faster, and with that he came inside of you as he pressed a hot kiss against your lips.

you both slowed to a stop and the kisses continued. you ended up on your back with him on top of you. his cock hard once more and right up against your soaked cunt.

"i don't think your father would mind if you went back to your hotel a little late?" he suggested, his hands braced on either side of you. his smile was intoxicating.

you reached up to him, like you were reaching for the sun and pulled your lover close. you kissed him on the lips then said, "i guess. but you better make me finish first." and carlos just beamed at you <3

[mygnolia]

[TEASER! ] it's cupid, stupid! | lhs

synopsis -› To hell with Lee Heeseung, you couldn't find someone you hated more than the boy who's by your side no matter what. You figured that maybe the summer before university would be the best way to finally let go of him, and to leave the hate you have in your childhood- but no. What do you mean you have to spend ALL summer with him?

pair -› golden boy!heeseung x fem-pres!reader

release date -› IT'S HERE!!!

genre -› fluff, mutual pining, hurt/angst, slow burn i fear, bakery au, summer au, post highschool au

trope -› (slightly one sided) enemies to lovers

wc -› currently 6.7k! probably will be 10-15k

cw -› food mentions, a self indulgent characterization of my grandmother but she’s also everyone else’s in this fic, cursing, oh the miscommunication trope...sorry not sorry.  

a/n -› even though i tried keeping food descriptions vague, i used the experience i had with my own grandma and her cooking to influence the way y/n grandmother cooks and the way it’s described so it might not be accurate for everyone! i understand not all cultures include baked goods with starches (since I mention a lot of flouring surfaces) so pls be kind to me :( ALSO!! i haven't written in MONTHS don't hate the writing pls we are all just in this fanfic hell tgt

© all rights are reserved to mygnolia 2024. republished, translated, and/or heavily referenced work will be reported and removed immediately.

Lee Heeseung might only have eleven characters to his name, but they spelt trouble in forty different ways. 

It starts with the same old Lee Heeseung spilling his applesauce on you in the first grade, with his cup of mushy lukewarm grossness splattered across your new pants with glittery stars on them. You shriek when it happens, frantically wiping off the mess and yelling at his Lightning McQueen lunchbox with all of the bottled up rage a seven year old can have. His eyes are wide, but all his friends laugh and say girls are so angry all the time, so he stops himself from apologizing. Which, you think his friends were being a little rude to all girls alike, but what mattered was that Lee Heeseung never ended up saying sorry. 

But that’s just one way of saying it. He hit you in the face with a ball, ran into you when your knee was scraped and you almost were bursting into tears, and tripped you in the lunch line. 

Did the universe hate you, or did he? 

You figured it was the latter.

Heeseung’s been stuck to you your entire life with some extra strong adhesive that you can’t seem to get off. You wish you could get some of the same glue that stuck you two to the hip and attach his tongue to the nearest streetlight, but things almost never worked in your favor. If you could catch him, just once, like one of the dumb boys who lick frozen poles in winter, you’d be satisfied. 

The blackmail would trump any sort of Heeseung related adversity your elementary grade self had to deal with. 

Unfortunately, the years have rendered you no protection against him, and in the small victories you find yourself in, you also see Heeseung right next to you. The exam you aced was topped by Heeseung with a 98%, just a bit higher than your 96%, and it couldn’t even feel good to talk about it because you knew all your friends talked about was how he did better. 

There was no accomplishment anymore when Heeseung was around. 

Heeseung was perfect in everyone’s eyes, a golden boy in their praises and a role model for their parents. If people didn’t want to be with Lee Heeseung, people wanted to be Lee Heeseung. That? That was something you hated. How could people want to be someone who you couldn’t stand?

“Have you seen the scissors?” Heeseung asks out of nowhere, startling you from the doorway.

Reaching for the ones you used to cut the parchment paper with, you hand the pair to him and with a mumbled ‘thank you’ he leaves.

In an odd way, you’re stunned by the silence that follows. A “you suck, _____!” would be more in character for villainous Lee Heeseung than whatever just happened. But you’re way too occupied with the bakery, and go back to cutting squares in the matcha cake.

It’s the same for the next hour until the rush ends and you get a bit more time to yourselves between orders. Heeseung agrees to wash the dishes and you clean the tables to the sound of your playlist from the speakers.

“You have good music taste.” Is the first thing that comes out of his mouth when he emerges. He wipes his hand on a white towel and you stare at him, utterly puzzled. Where’s the malice? Where’s his snarky comments?

“I’m waiting for you to tell me it’s not as good as yours, or something along those lines.” You deadpan.

Heeseung rolls his eyes. “I’m not that mean, I can give a compliment or two when I feel like it.”

“Oh, poor Lee Heeseung only has so much room in his heart to compliment people. How thankful should I be that you spend your daily supply of niceness on me?” You quip, cleaning off the tables. Your chest feels light and you don’t feel as angry as you did this morning.

Blame it on the lack of sleep.

“I think you should be bowing down to me and only talking when I tell you to.” He jokes, and when you glance up, there’s a semblance of a smile on his face. “Anyways, when are you leaving?”

“Whenever you leave.” You tell him, shrugging.

“Well, I stopped my your grandma’s house earlier.” Ah, so that’s where he went. “She said she didn’t want you to stay too late but she also wanted me to take you home, and I think she’d throw a fit if you didn’t.”

“I’d die before getting into a car with you, Lee Heeseung.”

“If I had to get into a car with you, that’s how I’d personally die.” He responds lightly. You furrow your eyebrows and rack your brain for some sort of retort that hurts Heeseung’s pride, but nothing comes up.

“My driving skills are very good, I’ll have you know.”

He jabs, “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

—

there is no taglist i'm lazy and i might not write for a while if u likey pls reblog or save into ur mental archive hehe ty- ren

[emmikatjohnson]

I'm Emmi! I haven't done a meet the artist in soooo long so I figured it was time as we prepare to start from in the New Year.

I have a degree in animation but never worked in the industry. Last year, my decade long position as an illustrator & graphic designer for a honey business fell through & I decided to take a break & get a minimum wage bakery job while I figured out what to do next. Unfortunately, I got a gnarly case of covid and got injured at the bakery putting me out of work again.

Since then I've been working on recovering (my back is better but long covid on top of my existing chronic pain sucks!) Even though my energy is really limited and I've had various other issues with my health in the aftermath of my covid, I accomplished a lot in 2024.

I participated in the Bumblewood Thicket Fairy Village, volunteered at a costume ball (and made my own scarab beetle costume) and sold my art at 2 renaissance faires, up to 4 farmers markets during the week in the summer, a witches market, and 2 holiday markets. I don't know what 2025 holds in store for me, but I'm planning to keep on trucking and making new things to share with you all!

[fanfic-recs-01]

Spiderlad Fics

This is a list of Peter Parker/Harley Keener fics I like on AO3, if you have any recs for me feel free to send me some!

Updated 11/2/24

New Protocols by mg3000 *Finished*

~Peter Parker was nervous.

Like really really incredibly nervous. Like, upset stomach, pacing the room, haven’t eaten all day nervous.

And why, you may ask, was Peter so nervous that he would be genuinely concerned about bringing up his lunch had he been able to eat in the first place?

Well, it was because Mr. Stark was currently on his way back from the airport picking up Peter’s replacement.~

(After)life of the Party by orphan_account  *Finished*

~Whatever bakery Tony went to was probably designer. But they had to have messed up with the cake somewhere, because as soon as Peter swallowed the cake, fire seared the back of his throat, like he’d swallowed acid. His vision blurred and he started coughing. A lot.~

Honorary Cheeseburgers by lavenderlotion *Finished*

~He has no idea what’s going on around them nor does he care, not when Peter is staring up at him from under his lashes and sucking on his bottom lip. “C’mon, Pete. From what I’ve heard, I think we’d get on great, and that was before I knew you were so damn gorgeous.”~

Sugar Daddies? by Jos_lynn  *Finished*

~5 times the students of Midtown High believe that Peter has a Sugar daddy and the 1 time that proves he doesn't~

it's always who is spider-man, never how is spider-man by i_regret_thatpersonalityquiz *Finished*

~"Stay?"

Peter finally looked down to see Harley Fucking Keener, Iron Lad, the boy who had caused his shoulder to be throbbing all night, looking away with a slight tint to his cheeks. Peter opened and closed his mouth, no sound coming out.

And he sat back down~

shoulda worn a clean shirt by Bundibird *Finished*

~(Or: Peter is a disaster bi, and really so is Harley, but at least Harley has his shit together enough to ask Peter out on a date the second he meets him. Meanwhile, Tony is suddenly certain that by introducing these two, he's just triggered the apocalypse.)~

Meetings Galore by RandyQueen  *Finished*

~“I am so sorry about this,” he said before he planted his lips on Peter’s.

Peter Parker despised his roommate's party-throwing habits until a gorgeous guy lands in his lap. Literally.~

Replaced by amywooIner *Finished*

~Peter comes back after the snap and has a little bit of a breakdown when he thinks Tony has replaced him.~

Forgotten Assignment by Lydia_Phantom *Finished*

~Peter had been working on his assignment for a week, it was just his luck that he forgot it in his room. Luckily, Mr. Harrington allowed him to call for someone to bring it to him. The only problem? Peter must call Harley during the class. On a speaker~

No Such Thing As Too Young by pandaluna *Finished*

When Spider-man tells the world his age by force, things change. Apparently people, mostly the adult supderheroes, don't like the idea of a teenager fighting criminals. When they try to talk him down they don't have any idea what chain reaction this would start.

a rainbow doesn’t always have a pot of gold by Scarlettprin *Finished*

~Harley shows up on Tony's doorstep. No one knows why, the kid doesn't want to talk. Unless he's talking to one Mr. Parker. Maybe his walls are finally coming down.~

Darling I'm a Mess by angel_berry *Finished*

~Harley's kinda mad. Flying out to meet with Tony Stark, for an internship is nothing short of great. However, not being told that he would be meeting a super cute guy, and working with said super cute guy? Not cool. Harley's kinda mad... but it's okay.

It's okay, because he met Peter.~

Please tell me he's single by Midnightbluejay *Finished*

~Harley Keener is visiting Tony and is gonna spend his summer in New York, and when he gets there he meets Tony's "intern" and this might be his best summer yet.~

I'm A Fool For You by RedRidingStiles  *Finished*

~Or the five times Peter Parker makes a fool of himself in front of Harley Keener and the one time Spiderman does~

equal opposite reactions by volantium *Finished*

~The first time Peter meets Harley Keener, it’s entirely by accident.

He’s in the communal office space all the TA's share, two hours after he planned on leaving, stuck doing paperwork when this guy walks in.

Walk probably isn’t the best description—he barges in with a cup of coffee and two binders in one hand, phone in the other, shouldering the door open like he has a personal vendetta against it.

“Uh, hi,” Peter says, almost at a loss for words. “I’m Peter.”~

if we're just friends, someone else might love you too by gyuhyucks *Finished*

[ or in which Peter misunderstands, Harley is confused, and they finally address this thing™ between them. ]

[fluetytooty]

my stsg band au

Satoru’s friends part 1

Satoru Gojo (20yo)

- comes from rich family, but decided to make this world better that is why he wants to become a teacher, to make sure that younger generations have good values and everyone seen

- tho he’s a spoiled brat and doesn’t know value of money, spend A LOT

- swiftie through and through

- favorite food is anything that contains ungodly amount of sugar

- shoko always says that he’ll die young from diabetes

- freaking loves kids, especially megumi fushiguro, when gojo’s babysitting him, he always brings sweets or toys or games for boy

- once meet megumi’s friend from their class named yuuji, they played mario kard for hours straight, gojo won only twice

gojo: “kids these days don’t go out and spend all their time in front of screen playing, and I’m an adult with responsibilities and don’t have time to practice, of course you’ll win so many times”

megumi: “yeah of course it’s not because you bad at mario kard”

gojo: “heyy be nice to me”

- sucks at mario kard actually

Shoko Ieiri (20yo)

- is a baddie

- tried to quit smoking five times and failed

- loves to make fun of satoru but actually cares for him and very greatful for their friendship

- has a gf from satoru’s year, her name is iori utahime

- they met at one of parties and just clicked, tho their personalities are quite different

- takes her studies very seriously, but still loves to go out and relax (she’s so smart even if she won’t put an effort to it at all she’ll still get an A+)

Nanami Kento (19yo)

- very calm and loves quiet

- tho he didn’t know peace since he got into college, thanks to gojo

- learned how to style his hair during the summer before school started

- tried to ignore gojo for his whole 1st year of college but somehow ended up being his friend

- realized gojo is a good person and not just spoiled annoying shithead after he saw him helping his underclassmen with the assignment, because teacher for this subject is really harsh

- wants to be rich and live in comfort, that’s why he choose business and economics major

- has part time job at the bakery

- one day when he was at work gojo and shoko came to this bakery and learned that a part timer is kento

nanami: “welcome to our shop, what can I get fo— oh no… not you…”

gojo: “NANAMIIINNN IS IT YOUU?? Omg 😱”

shoko: “satoru stop that. hello, nanami, can we get these cupcakes and this croissant, please”

gojo: “this is my new favorite place to eat now”

shoko: *slapping satoru’s arm* “I said stop that!”

gojo: “😫 how could you? I’m your favorite best friend!! 😭”

nanami: “here you go, and thanks for slapping him”

shoko: “you’re welcome 😌”

[starres-stuff]

Day 23: On Cloud Nine FFXIV Writes 2024

CW/TW: Difficult Childhood, Difficult relationship with parent

On Cloud Nine: to be extremely happy and excited

“It was difficult being around her at times. It felt like she could suck the happiness out of a room in one breath. I remember the summer I was accepted to train as a ballet dancer for one of the larger Ishgardian groups. I ran to her office with the letter in my hand, I was so excited to have the chance and all she did was pluck it out of my hands, ball up the invitation, and toss it in the garbage. All while looking right through me and simply saying no.” 

Viviane's nose crinkled profoundly as she finished telling Xixa the tale, the pair had been exchanging stories about their childhood and their parents as they baked cookies and iced cakes for the next day's business. The long hours they often spent together in the small bakery they have created a friendship between them that went beyond mentor and student as they had once been when Viviane first arrived in the Shroud. 

“Something I learned from my Mother that yours could have used. You can't take your issues out on your children. You are responsible for letting them live out their lives while gently nudging them forward to adulthood. I can't tell ya the number of times I pretended to be on Cloud Nine for one of my girls, all the while crying on the inside because I had a shitty day, even when my Liri came home pregnant at seventeen I hid all the things I wanted to say because she was happy.” 

Xixa lifted her arm, her hand dragging across her forehead to wipe away the tiny beads of sweat that had formed from having the four ovens going. The good thing was the Shroud was preparing for another autumn season and the temperatures were not as bad as they had been all summer, but the heat these ovens could pump out was enough to feel like you were in one of those sweat lodges she had seen at those new-fangled spa places she kept hearing about. What she did not realize was that she had left streaks of flour going up into her mostly jet-black hair, which made it look like her natural silver streaks had grown bigger. 

“You can't punish your children for your life, always remember that if you have your own. Hurts like the hells bit you when you realize what you missed out on but it is for the best.” 

Across the room at another oven, Vi was taking stacks of chocolate chip mint cookies from the oven and setting them on the rack before placing another full pan in and setting the timer for them to back. These conversations had always made her feel like she had found the Sister she wanted in Xixa, the Viera was older than she and had experienced many things that she was willing to share. “She was a very cold woman, colder than even me. Even when we reconnected after she arrived in Gridania, she was aloof at best. I would try to get her to talk about family history or the things that I needed to know about running the house or managing its assets. She would hand me books of instructions to read and she would wave me off like I was some staff member being shooed off to work so I stopped bothering her. The odd thing was, she was much kinder to everyone else than she was to me.” 

All Xixa could do was shake her head “Well anytime you have good news you want to share come see Vi if your husbands aren't home. I'll hoot and holler with you, dance around on cloud nine. I don't make light of how that woman treated you. Your Aunt Doshaine used to tell me the same about her Sister. Only met her once myself. She handed me her bag and coat like I was house staff. Doshaine apologized to me for that for turns. The thing is as we get older, I think we have to be our, own, parents if it makes sense. What happened, happened. It is behind you now, but the things that make you feel the worst, change them into things you like or ways you would have enjoyed. Used to tell one of my patients to talk to herself, adult to child when the memories hit her, you are safe now after all. That woman has no power here.” 

Outside there was a sudden clap of thunder and three cracks of lightning, then the rain came, the sound of it hitting the roof made Vi look up towards the ceiling. “It’s creepy how when you or Dimitri give advice there is a storm.” It was a change of topic, but Xixa understood it, some things were too hard to talk about. They took time to take seed and grow in a person’s mind. 

“Maybe it’s Shroud Magic, maybe it is a coincidence.” Xixa grinned and gave Vi a wink. “Don’t rattle your pan about it too much, girl, it will leave you confused and without answers.” 

[batmanschmatman]

Hello!! 1, 4, 10, 18, and 22 for the End of the Year ask game please 😊

ONE Song of the Year: My Spotify Wrapped claims for me it was the Placebo cover of Running Up That Hill, which is admittedly on almost every single one of my playlists, but I think it was actually Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron, because I listened to it a billion times while writing my NaNo project.

FOUR Movie of the Year: The Boy and the Heron, both because it was great and also it was the only good theater experience I had all year that wasn't a rerelease like Titanic and The Lion King lol, people at our home theater are very poorly behaved. ;;

TEN Something that Made You Cry This Year: LOL WELL I lost my job a couple weeks ago and that has been some VERY MIXED EMOTIONS including a lot of hysterical crying. It was an extremely toxic work place I was trying to get out of anyway (museum board full of old white men who hated me, boss is/was an alcoholic mean girl - no exaggeration, has driven home drunk from work lunches with her kid in the car and been blackout throwing up in her office after work events - who had a toady work bff who also hated me, no health insurance, making $26/hr despite having an MA and living somewhere where rents start at $2,000 a month) but my boss basically reamed me out right before Thanksgiving telling me I was the worst person ever, had a bunch of provably false claims about how bad an employee I was (never meeting deadlines, making other people do my work for me, never attending events or suggesting ideas for programs, all bullshit I had ample evidence to refute) and told me I could either quit now and be paid through February or be on like mega probation indefinitely, so I came back from the holiday like alright I quit, they're like cool actually this is a budgetary thing and not at all personal, we're SO SORRY this didn't work out also we can only afford to pay you through mid January, so now I'm unemployed applying to a million jobs and scared about money but also I'm free??? So there's been a lot of on and off weeping/grieving and it's kinda ruined the holidays for me lol. But also hopefully it'll pivot to a much better paying and stable job somewhere closer to home, so fingers crossed.

Don't get into the museum field, folks, it sucks here.

EIGHTEEN A Memorable Meal This Year: For Valentine's Day, @heystovepipeboys and I made a bunch of recipes from Last Dinner on the Titanic, which was SUPER FUN. I love historic cooking/baking and have had the cookbook forever, but had never made anything from it before and everything was INCREDIBLE. We made cream of barley soup, chicken Lyonnaise, chateau potatoes and asparagus, and then got eclairs from a bakery near us and the Harney & Sons Titanic tea blend, which is supposed to be similar to the special blend they served on the ship. We listened to period music the whole time we cooked and then we went to see Titanic in theaters for its anniversary rerelease.

TWENTY TWO Favorite Place You Visited This Year: hmmm very tough call. My parents very generously took the fam on a Disney cruise to Alaska this summer which was a childhood dream of mine, and wifey and I had an awesome trip to Old Sturbridge Village in MA for their Halloween event, which was probably the best Halloween themed thing I've ever done. They set up the museum with a bunch of themed performances by a bunch of traveling circus performers who are Definitely Not Vampires and everything was really spooky and fun. Would super recommend if anyone is looking for fun Halloween things to do in New England next year.

Thank you for the ask!! Hope you are enjoying a relaxing end to this weird year.

[minnow-shelves]

Introducing Myself! ☕️

Hello! My name is Mino! This is a blog I made for my less silly posts (if you want silly posts go to @doublestarsystems) We’re heading into summer, which some people might say is a bad time to start a studyblr. But I say it’s a great time to start a bookblr!

I’m going to college to study physics and history, and eventually I want to go to grad school to get a PhD in the astrophysics field. Outside of school, I make art, read lots of science-fiction, work at a bakery, and hang out with my cat. And spend too much money on coffee.

Right now I’m taking a poetry class about how to read and write about poetry, so that’s definitely going to be influencing what I post here, at least until the semester ends in a couple weeks.

Few fun facts about me:

-I’m trans! No terfs welcome.

-My favorite book forever is The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

-I rollerskate. Badly.

If you want to follow a blog that loves studying and reading but absolutely doesn’t make it exclusive, unattainable, and suck academia’s dick, come along for the ride.

[richincolor]

[Images are the covers for Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend, Permanent Record, and When You Wish Upon a Lantern]

On the Job

This week I visited a bookstore and there were young people skipping through the store making lively instagram posts while they were working. It struck me that they would be awesome characters in a young adult novel and I would totally read that. Here are a dozen titles that feature young people hard at work. Of course the list begins with a story that takes place in a bookstore.

This is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi Feiwel & Friends

Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him.

Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her.

Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day.

When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with.

And it will take all three of them working together if they have any chance to save Wild Nights Bookstore.

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds Atheneum Books for Young Readers [K. Imani's Review]

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao Viking

Liya and Kai had been best friends since they were little kids, but all that changed when a humiliating incident sparked The Biggest Misunderstanding Of All Time—and they haven’t spoken since.

Then Liya discovers her family’s wishing lantern store is struggling, and she decides to resume a tradition she had with her beloved late grandmother: secretly fulfilling the wishes people write on the lanterns they send into the sky. It may boost sales and save the store, but she can’t do it alone . . . and Kai is the only one who cares enough to help.

While working on their covert missions, Liya and Kai rekindle their friendship—and maybe more. But when their feuding families and their changing futures threaten to tear them apart again, can they find a way to make their own wishes come true?

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee Quill Tree Books [Audrey's Review]

Sometimes bitter rivalries can brew something sweet

Theo Mori wants to escape. Leaving Vermont for college means getting away from working at his parents’ Asian American café and dealing with their archrivals’ hopeless son Gabi who’s lost the soccer team more games than Theo can count.

Gabi Moreno is miserably stuck in the closet. Forced to play soccer to hide his love for dance and iced out by Theo, the only openly gay guy at school, Gabi’s only reprieve is his parents’ Puerto Rican bakery and his plans to take over after graduation.

But the town’s new fusion café changes everything. Between the Mori’s struggling shop and the Moreno’s plan to sell their bakery in the face of the competition, both boys find their dreams in jeopardy. Then Theo has an idea—sell photo-worthy food covertly at school to offset their losses. When he sprains his wrist and Gabi gets roped in to help, they realize they need to work together to save their parents’ shops but will the new feelings rising between them be enough to send their future plans up in smoke?

Darius the Great Deserves Better (Darius The Great #2) by Adib Khorram Dial Books for Young Readers

In this companion to the award-winning Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Darius suddenly has it all: a boyfriend, an internship, a spot on the soccer team. It’s everything he’s ever wanted–but what if he deserves better?

Darius Kellner is having a bit of a year. Since his trip to Iran this past spring, a lot has changed. He’s getting along with his dad, and his best friend Sohrab is only a Skype call away. Between his first boyfriend, Landon, his varsity soccer practices, and his internship at his favorite tea shop, Darius is feeling pretty okay. Like he finally knows what it means to be Darius Kellner.

Then, of course, everything changes. Darius’s grandmothers are in town for a long visit while his dad is gone on business, and Darius isn’t sure whether they even like him. The internship isn’t what Darius thought it would be, and now he doesn’t know about turning tea into his career. He was sure he liked Landon, but when he starts hanging out with Chip–soccer teammate and best friend of Trent Bolger, epic bully–well, he’s just not so sure about Landon anymore, either.

Darius thought he knew exactly who he was and what he wanted, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he deserves better.

K-pop Confidential by Stephan Lee Point [Crystal's Review]

Candace Park knows a lot about playing a role. For most of her life, she's been playing the role of the quiet Korean girl who takes all AP classes and plays a classical instrument, keeping her dreams of stardom-and her obsession with SLK, K-pop's top boyband-to herself. She doesn't see how a regular girl like her could possibly become one of those K-pop goddesses she sees on YouTube. Even though she can sing. Like, really sing.

So when Candace secretly enters a global audition held by SLK's music label, the last thing she expects is to actually get a coveted spot in their trainee program. And convincing her strict parents to let her to go is all but impossible ... although it's nothing compared to what comes next.

Under the strict supervision of her instructors at the label's headquarters in Seoul, Candace must perfect her performance skills to within an inch of her life, learn to speak Korean fluently, and navigate the complex hierarchies of her fellow trainees, all while following the strict rules of the industry. Rule number one? NO DATING, which becomes impossible to follow when she meets a dreamy boy trainee. And in the all-out battle to debut, Candace is in danger of planting herself in the middle of a scandal lighting up the K-pop fandom around the world.

If she doesn't have what it takes to become a perfect, hair-flipping K-pop idol, what will that mean for her family, who have sacrificed everything to give her the chance? And is a spot in the most hyped K-pop girl group of all time really worth risking her friendships, her future, and everything she believes in?

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le Simon Pulse

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.

If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and spark and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.

For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring phở restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.

But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao together despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.

Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers [Crystal's Review]

After a year of college, Pablo is working at his local twenty-four-hour deli, selling overpriced snacks to brownstone yuppies. He’s dodging calls from the student loan office and he has no idea what his next move is.

Leanna Smart’s life so far has been nothing but success. Age eight: Disney Mouseketeer; Age fifteen: first #1 single on the US pop chart; Age seventeen, *tenth* #1 single; and now, at Age nineteen…life is a queasy blur of private planes, weird hotel rooms, and strangers asking for selfies on the street.

When Leanna and Pab randomly meet at 4:00 a.m. in the middle of a snowstorm in Brooklyn, they both know they can’t be together forever. So, they keep things on the down-low and off Instagram for as long as they can. But it takes about three seconds before the world finds out…

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo Farrar, Straus and Giroux [Jessica's Review]

Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?

Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra Imprint [K. Iman's Review]

The youngest doctor in America, an Indian-American teen makes her rounds―and falls head over heels―in the contemporary romantic comedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak.

Fresh from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl Genius―but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any easier.

But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it could cost her everything.

It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat.

In her solo debut, Sona Charaipotra brings us a compelling #ownvoices protagonist who’s not afraid to chase what she wants. Symptoms of a Heartbreak goes from romantic comedy highs to tearjerker lows and is the ultimate cure-all for young adult readers needing an infusion of something heartfelt.

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee G.P. Putnam’s Sons [Crystal's Review]

Atlanta, 1890: By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society’s ills, but she’s not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender.

While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta’s most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.

[bakery-anon]

I MISSED YOU TOO BAKERY ANON !! i’ve been okay !! just going to school and work so nothing that exciting, just very busy busy so i’ve only really been online during night BUT it’s helping me decrease my screentime so it’s kind of good!!(but i do miss being chronically online with everyone else<//3

i’m sorry things have been stressful for you, i’m manifesting better days for you right now :(( things might seem hard now but they’re going to get better eventually! it sucks that your chef keeps taking away your class time from you but hopefully you’re able to catch up eventually. take things one day at a time and everything will be okay <3333 something that helps me organize a bit when i’m stressed is to write it down in my memo pad so that i can visually see the things i need to do, and !! crossing things out seem so rewarding so i get a bit more motivated to push myself a bit! (BUT don’t push yourself too hard bug please just prioritize yourself over anything <333) i also hope your english teacher is lenient and understanding of your situation, if it gets too much though i definitely suggest just talking to them just so that they can be a bit more understanding of you being behind in everything

IM GLAD YOURE ABLE TO STAY HOME TOMORROW YIPPPE!!! take all the rest you need and cool down! your week sounds so so stressful right now so it’s definitely good to take time for yourself!! <33333 i hope your day tomorrow is better than today, i wish i could literally fly over to you and take some burden off of your hands </3333 (im NOT a good baker nor am i really a writer but i will try!!) but it sounds like you have a good support system with you so im really glad for that <33333 cheeseburger macaroni actually sounds good and interesting?? i’ve never tried it heard of that before!! but comfort meals are always the best!!

we can cheers our water bottles while we drink! i’ll always read your little rants whenever <333 i had some vietnamese food my mom made earlier as dinner but!! i will get a snack now in honor of you !!(pretzels i’m coming for you) i love you bug!! i hope this message isn’t too long <333 manifesting better days for you!! take care of yourself as always and be nice to yourself, thank you for always being so kind and bringing such a warm environment to the community, so make sure you take care of yourself too <3333 xoxoxo

MANGO ANON <33333

Omg I completely get how you feel </333 I’ve been so busy and just want to catch up on all the fics I’m behind on (reading and writing). I’m still chronically online but not like how I was over the summer </333 I hope work and school let up a little bit so you can relax and have some free time soon <333

I’m manifesting good days for you too mango anon <3 you deserve only the best in life. I’m hoping I’ll be able to catch up on everything tomorrow 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ after much needed sleep. I literally came home and slept from like 3-9:30 and almost just went back to sleep. Instead I made myself food and now I’m awake lol. My motivation is complaining to my friends about things I need to do and them going “okay so do it.” (In a loving way). I’m gonna try my best not to push myself too hard!!! Yeah, my English teacher is pretty lenient. He doesn’t really take points off for late assignments but I keep forgetting to turn my stuff in bcs you have to email it to him instead of there being like a “submit” button or anything. He’s chill. Slowly but surely I’m catching up to where I need to be in my classes.

My mother giving me Mother Mandated Mental Health Days is my saving grace during the school year. I drag myself upstairs and she goes “mental health day tomorrow?” And I nod my head and go to sleep. I’m gonna sleep so much tomorrow omg- I thought about going to school but I’m just so tired </3 come on over!!! I’ll make you fruit bars and we can have a game night!!! <3333 I usually stress bake but we don’t have anything at home to bake so </3 one day very soon I will stress bake. Cheeseburger macaroni is as it sounds! Macaroni with hamburger in it. We get the Hamburger Helper but I also like doing it with velveeta Mac n Cheese. 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Yes cheers 🥂 (<- fizzy apple juice) finishing off my water bottle right now and about to get another one. Awww <333 I’ll read your rants or rambles anytime too <333 ooh!!! That sounds so good!!! Pretzels my beloveds <333 I hope you enjoy your snack <3 I LOVE YOU TOO MANGO ANON <33333 also bro, what do you mean message is too long??? Do you see my replies to you??? /lh Yap sessions are never too long (tumblr cuts off DM messages at like 747 words </3) but yap all you want. I will happily respond, yapping is my favorite pastime. Manifesting good days for you too <3 I’m getting better about being nice to myself! You make sure to be kind to yourself too mango anon! We all love you so much!!! <3 Thank you for thinking I’m kind and warm, I’m legit gonna think about that forever now thanks <3

You’re so beach coded omg. Sorry, I really like the beach so you remind me of the beach. It’s a calming place for me like the waves and the sand and stuff. Idk you just remind me of the beach and like hunting for seashells. Thank you for checking in everyone and continuing to be a positive presence in everyone’s askbox. I love you mango anon, please take care of yourself too <333 and you’re welcome anytime in my inbox so feel free to send an ask in whenever! <33

[bunny-jpeg]

I LOVE YOU AND ALL YOUR WORK THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH YOU DESERVE ALL THE KISSES IN THE WORLD YOU ARE A GENIUS

could i pleeaaasee get a vanilla cheesecake, berry trifle, and blueberry muffins with a side of bubble tea and a milkshake with toto? 🥹🍰🧋(sorry if it's too big of an order 😭 feel free not to serve all of them if you don't want to!

bakery menu

want to submit your own order? then check out the menu for more information! hit me up with your requests! thank you to @forza55 for the request! i love what you've submitted to me and i hope you love the fic in return! thank you! thank you!

vanilla cheesecake ("where are your manners?") + berry trifle ("wrong. try again.") + bubble tea (daddy kink) + milkshake (size kink) served by toto wolff (formula one)!!

cw: smut/pwp, size kink, daddy kink, dom/sub, dom!toto, sub!reader, age gap (20/50), oral sex (toto receives), punishments, dirty talk, references to sugar daddy

"princess." he said as he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. you two were in italy for the weekend. not for any particular race, but rather for a small getaway before he went back to his duties as the head principal.

you two had gone out for the night, the summer air of the coast felt good on your warm skin for the day at the beach. but, over dinner, you were so talkative to the waiter.

you flashed him your lovely smile and seemed to be more focused on him than your lover across from you. well, that was what toto thought. in reality you knew the waiter, he was studying abroad and went to the same university you went to. you were more catching up than flirting.

but your older boyfriend could tell that the other man wanted more than a few extra euros. he could see him staring at your cleavage peeking out of your dress. but you believed it was all in toto's head.

now back at the hotel room you were staying at, you were knelt between his legs, where you belonged. he sighed and asked, "where are your manners? you don't go around flirting with strange men, they could hurt you, princess."

"toto-"

"wrong. try again." he corrected you. now was not the time to call him by his proper name. not when you've been misbehaving so much this evening. he gripped onto the back of your head and said, "not the right name."

you looked up at him, trying to give him your best puppy dog eyes. you said, "sorry, daddy. i promise he wasn't going to hurt me! i knew him from school."

toto gripped a little harder and said, "you need to learn to behave, little one. the more you act out, the harder the punishments will get. and i don't want to have to tie you up for being such a little brat."

"i'm sorry, daddy. really, i didn't know." you pouted at him and you then rubbed your cheek up against his inner thigh.

he sighed and pushed your face a little closer to the bulge in his slacks, "you've been a bad girl, princess. i treat you so good and i expect obedience in return." he rubbed your face up against the front of his pants and you whimpered.

"i'm sorry, daddy." you whimpered as you felt his cock twitched against your face. when he let you go, you moved your head back and started to work on getting his fly open.

"see, i know you can be my sweet princess." he said softly, "you can be so good for me." he cupped your face and brought it closer to his now exposed cock. and you took that as permission to start to suck him off.

your wrapped your lips around his cock and started to move your head quickly, mindful of your teeth. you whimpered and felt heat curled in your gut as you gave him head.

you had to be mindful of your teeth or toto would give your behind a good few slaps. you groaned against his cock and felt the spit on your chin as you tried to get the tip the back of your throat.

"i know you can be good for me. i spend a lot to keep you happy, princess." he shifted in his seat as you took him to the root. your eyes closed and he groaned, "you're meant to look pretty on your knees and let me fuck you."

he continued to rock your head against his cock, feeling your lips on his length. it felt very good.

"i like when you're my princess, when i get to spoil you and make you feel good." he tapped you on the nose, "it's hard do that when you are trying to seduce other men."

you knew that toto spoiled you, he loved how sweet you were to him (when you were good) and he in turn spoiled the daylights out of you. he wanted to make sure that you were well behaved, it was hard to do that when he thought you were being a total slut.

bad, bad girl. his naughty little princess.

he watched you take down his cock like a champ and felt his heart racing in his chest. you felt like a dream about his cock, the shiver slid down his spine and he could feel the throb in his body.

"beautiful." he groaned, "you know how badly i need you, you are such a good girl. but, i can only spoil you when you behave, correct?"

you looked at him and rubbed your thighs together. you nodded with his cock in your throat as you felt the heat in your belly. your cheeks felt stained with a blush as he continued to hit the back of your throat.

spit stained your chin as you tried to keep up with his aggressive pace. the sweat on your back felt noticeable the more you orally pleasured him. the entire feeling left you yearning for more.

you knew that if you behaved then you'd get all the orgasms you needed. you felt the pleasure in your blood as you maintained eye contact with your lover. he moved your head to his liking.

he looked down at you and swallowed, "see, this is how you behave, princess." then gave you a few taps on the face that made your stomach curl with an intense need.

you whined a little and shifted on your knees. you held onto his strong thighs. toto was big in so many ways, he practically had to bend down to kiss you, his cock always felt too big in your pussy and even bigger in your throat. those large hands could do some damage when they landed on your backside. you were so small compared to him, and he loved that.

after all, you were his princess.

you whined around his cock once more and felt it shoved into your throat. you felt tears in your eyes as his pace got more aggressive, he knew he was going to cum.

"finally behaved for me."

you felt warmth in your gut from his compliment. he could be so sweet to you, even when he was choking you with his cock.

he pushed the tip as far as it would get and came down your throat. you almost choked on it cum down your throat, you whimpered and felt your eyes sting. when he let go of your head, you sputtered and coughed. your chest was heaving as he looked at you.

"daddy."

he licked his lips and said, "i know, princess. i know it is hard for girls like you to behave. you need a strong hand to guide you. my stupid little schatzi." he chuckled and little before he grabbed a hold of you to put you onto his lap.

his softening, leaky cock was pressed against your behind. be careful there princess don't him excited or you'll be spending the rest of your time in italy between the sheets <3

[savagesneversleepnyc]

THE GONG SHOWS

(Thoughts on COMEDY, HIP HOP, HARD WORK and RESPECT)

I had come to DENVER in the FALL of 1996 on a GREYHOUND BUS. The trip was relatively uneventful. I watched a braggart kid from CONNECTICUT who ran his mouth the whole way get yolked buying drugs on the street outside the station in CHICAGO. Those places were very dangerous in the 90’s at every stop. It was a cheap way to cross the country, but it would lead a person through a gauntlet of bizarre dead-end places where the dirty dog stopped to collect the living attempting to find greener pastures.

GREG had talked me into coming. I saw him that summer and he was quite pointed about the perilous state of my plight should I choose to not leave NEW ENGLAND and get out west to escape the headaches and severe DOPE CRISIS that was breaking like a wave at NAZZARRE. It was the 90’s and things were seemingly very prosperous and the severity of QUID PRO QUO was profound. CREDIT, LIFE, DEBT, and CHOICE all loomed as they impeached the president and I went away from the dark strange world I was raised in and got on a bus to build a thing in a blank form.

Our doings would lead to a myriad of things and alliances. VICTOR IZITT aka PRIZNA 101 aka DJ RICOCHET, our roommate, and I formed a GRAFF crew quickly with some other kids and would throw our first parties in 1999 as 314 BREAK CORP with our mentor ED SANTIAGO aka NRG BOY. This event would feature many of the crew mates who would charge at endeavors they found clever and proliferated to levels of dopeness to deep to touch here in any correct manner.

COUNTDOWN was held in DEC in 1999 at BUMP AND GRIND cafe on 17th and PENN in DENVER. CLIFF T, the owner, and our big brother let us use the space last minute as our initial plan fell through. The BUMP AND GRIND was a coffee shop, bakery, and drag brunch destination of over 15 years in DENVER prior to much of that type of culture being more mainstream. CLIFF had lived in NY in the 90’s as well as had taken the gritty attitude of DETROIT where he grew up and fused it with the NY roots he came to earn. His hard work supported many of us and allowed a real family of artists and outsiders to gather around a father figure.

GREG and I would riff. It would lead to him pursuing comedy and eventually our collaborations in this space. We threw events in different spots despite the stigma of music and comedy. I was in two HIP-HOP groups at the time and GREG was running the SQUIRE LOUNGE open mic that lasted over a decade. We were speaking on the GONG SHOW I had thrown with BABAH FLY of BUGABOO, one of the two groups I was in. The show had been a cool idea but the spot was some odd biker bar in a pocket no one even knew existed. While this may have been sick if we wanted to stage some COCK FIGHTS or perhaps get that FIGHT CLUB we kept hinting at starting in motion.. But BAD IDEAS tend to stay stagnant for good reason.

(It is not possible to remember which idea really came first as the dates for them were close)

We stumbled into the idea of doing an actual GONG SHOW but really making it more in the mean-spirited SQUIRE LOUNGE model GREG had already formed. He pitched his comedy partners who were a decent size crew at this time and all agreed it was a great idea. Initially, the idea of YOU SUCK GET OFF THE STAGE and putting DAVE SOTO in a CASER suit was all just the ball rolling downhill. We somehow found the real GONG SHOW GONG that MR CHUCK BARRIS himself had WACKED to end the MEAN JEAN dancing and so many other people's blind charge at FAME.

The show was a nightmare in a lot of ways. It’s easy to DJ or just do COMEDY. Not a lot of moving parts. The show we built had a shitload of performers of a varying degree of skill, songs that would need to be played and cued, video and audio cues to be flown in live from the board, and an entire banter of judges on stage as GREG paraded the stage of the ORIENTAL THEATHER. He would take the stage as the monster he would allow himself to transform into called BOBBY VALENTINO. This person was a version of my boy but was the EVIL PURE SITH version of him that was the DOG he kept muzzled at all times. The act of letting this person stand on stage and act out this mustachio’d fever dream of filth was stepping deep into the chummed waters in a sausage suit…

The show went off in flying colors despite the massive technical problems mostly due to the use of DVD content in the live show. Most of the performers and the actual content given to my AV guy were OLD and used DVDs that were not fit for home play much less a production. These disasters would really rock the booth and boar but ultimately it was never a thing I let get to me. The shows would run 3 nights usually and we ran it 4 times I feel like. Each one is more complex and pro than the last. The first show did have the BUKAKKAE ALARM CLOCK skit GREG and I wrote like so many bits just being fools talking shit at the BUMP AND GRIND.

The roots of that CRUEL demand for the best and funniest stuff were rooted in that hungry world we came out of. The characters we came up with in that scene have gone on to define a era in COMEDY and put our CITY on the MAP. It’s a proud thing to look back on. So many names that are too numerous to mention respectfully. It’s been amazing to see the organic way true people delivering and producing shows and working with love will invariably rise up and create a legacy. I do not ever claim anything beyond what I know I’ve done and never waited for anyone to tell me it was ok. This was offputting I guess and it made me leave DENVER. I’m proud to represent my home even though it’s not where I was born. DENVER is a place where many writers find themselves on the journey. It’s a strange and mythic place I love and hate in equal measure. So many memories of joy and such deep loss and sadness. Some of the faces of the sublime humans I know still knock on my door as I awake daily. But the faces of the EVIL folk who I had to face and pass on were not jokes and warned the young people that it is not a joke.

The West was won in AUDACITY. The concept of MANIFEST DESTINY is a QUID PRO QUO of taking the land from those who were there in AUDACITY and clutching a GUN and BIBLE on the other hand. This is not a debatable fact. But to forget this trespass and pass on is silly. The West was won in BLOOD and ACTIONS GOOD, BAD, and UGLY. But the actions of simple passion and love all live side by side as those monsters ride off to rob another train or train their sights on the next slow-moving animal to poach.

The GONG SHOW is a moment in the AMERICAN MYTHOS that represents the common person being allowed the 15 seconds ANDY has promised in jest. But the AUDACITY to be a FOOL or be COOL is a thing that most don’t know. It’s easy to see a comic, deejay, producer, artist, writer, chef, or human as a thing you get to judge and talk out an opinion on. This is everyone’s right. BUT PLEASE KNOW. If you do not make, do, say, think that thing you choose to run your YAP ABOUT… It is fully permissible to have a REAL ONE tell you quite simply and plan that it’s not your place and it’s probably best to respectfully STFU.

FOR G.B. 314 and VICTOR PRIMO IZZIT 314

5:37am 4.14024.000003

[missspringthyme]

March 19th, 2024

Today I woke up with just enough time to go and grab a protein drink and a pastry before catching my bus to Maastricht. Despite the fact that I seem to be continually at the grocery store, I currently have no food besides a few dry ingredients that cannot be made into a full meal. Or what do I know, maybe plain cous cous would be ideal.

The whole vibe of waking up in a rush and chugging a chocolate protein shake on a bus feels very last semester coded and I paid the price for it. By the time I got off at my stop I was feeling very sick and unhappy. I wish I didn't get car(bus?)sick so easily.

The walk was nice though, very classic early spring day. Not quite enough to completely lose the jacket, but I left it unzipped. There's lots of flowers blooming, but my favorite are the fruit trees. There's a huge one right on my walk to the uni that has flooded the entire street with pink petals, if I could I would've stopped and sat there for awhile. I should be a little more spoiled growing up with cherry blossom season coinciding with my birthday every year in Japan, but I love fruit tree blossoms no matter where I am. I always secretly feel like they're a gift for me, a marker of better times ahead. Genuinely, I think Spring is the best time to be born.

At the uni, I found my supervisor's office empty so I decided to sit in the break room and wait to be retrieved. A part of me was nervous because my tablet seems to be stuck in British time for only some things (?) One of which includes the times it reports my notifications for calender events. I was a bit paranoid that what I had assumed that the time it was telling me was correct (1 hour earlier than the normal time) and that I had incorrectly assumed it was reporting incorrectly. I fully considered going upstairs to the eeg lab to check if they were in there, but I was pretty sure we didn't have a participant today.

In the break room I checked my email for any "hey where are yous" or "we're canceling today" but I couldn't find any. Instead, I found an email from the PhD student leading the conference in Italy this summer sending me what I needed to apply for a volunteer position. I worked on that for a little bit, and I listened as some other master's students came in and started talking to eachother. Something that makes me feel kinda sad is how I haven't really made any friends in my master's. A combination of living in Aachen, not taking the electives, and sacrificing social invitations because I was overwhelmed with my workload has led to only a handful of school aquantinces. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the friends I've made but I just don't feel that connected with my university. That really sucks.

I did see German Sri Lankan and got to tell her I had my phone stolen in case she had tried to text. I also finally got the information about her gynecologist that I had promised to give to German American. She offered to have us go back together, which would have been perfect except for the fact that after an hour and a half of waiting I finally found the email of my supervisor canceling our meeting. I fucking hate the outlook inbox. I don't know how you can design something that does literally the opposite of everything you'd want it to do. I'm 100% a Gmail girlie. So, I sent German Sri Lankan a message on snapchat (the only messaging I can currently use) telling her I would be leaving early and got out of there.

I was now tired, hungry, uncomfortable, and annoyed. As I walked back I grabbed my pastry to eat and discovered I had made a horrible mistake. I thought I had grabbed spinach and feta, instead it was filled with some sort of bland, creamy cheese. It did not taste good at all. How does the Aldi have a better bakery selection than the Rewe?? Some things I will never understand. I also haven't mentioned that my outfit just wasn't hitting today, so I really just didn't feel cute.

When I got back to the apartment, I collapsed face first onto the sofa. I took a little half awake nap to banish the last remains of nausea from my system, and got up just in time to catch German American and authentic australian coming back in from enjoying the lovely day outside. We all had a really nice conversation that eventually turned to a discussion around cameras. That was when German American started showing me some photos she had taken with her film camera on a trip to Singapore and I made an insane discovery.

In one of her photos, I saw someone I recognized. A boy that I had gone to daycare with in Singapore, who I had last visited in 2017. Come to find out, the town where his family lives is the town where German American was born and lived in until she was 8. They were neighbors and are still close family friends. After freaking out for a bit, we called his mom and shared the discovery. The call lasted for a long, long time. She remembered my birthday and some things that even I had forgotten about, which was a pleasent suprise. Something I found interesting was that his mom brought up how unhappy I had been around my mom the last time we visited them, and how much happier I seemed now. Which, yes, but crazy that it was noticeable enough for her to say it to me. I kept trying to figure out how she felt about my mom, it was a little hard to pin down. We ended up calling my mom too and they talked for a little bit, but still, crazy coincidence.

After all of that, I finally got to go grocery shopping. For dinner I made myself a giant pot of udon which was exactly what I needed. Then came the best part of today, authentic australian asked for a haircut.

We set him up in the hallway, and I grabbed my hair clips and hair scissors to compliment the thinning sheers authentic australian had bought for the occasion. He just wanted it to be thinned, but he said he wouldn't mind the ends being trimmed as well, so we got to work. Turns out the random trims I've given myself over the years has meant I've absorbed a lot more hair cutting techniques than I've realized. Not that it's super difficult to mess up on someone who has truly an insane amount of wavy hair.

German-american worked on one side and I the other, eventually stopping when we reached the top to make sure it stayed even. I even ended up cutting him little curtain bangs which was nerve wracking to do. After all our meticulous sectioning he still wanted more volume taken off so we just kinda hacked away at the back with thinning scissors. Finally, we had removed an acceptable amount of hair. His ends had been really dry though, so I asked him if he would let me put a conditioner in it too. We kept telling him this is what he was missing by not having any sisters.

This is where the rest of the night's insanity began.

I spritzed his hair to make it damp enough, but it was still so thick that it was taking awhile. I gave german-american the spray bottle so that she could take over on the side I wasn't standing on. This quickly snowballed into authentic australian recieving an impromptu shower. As I took photos of him holding the ball of hair we had removed from his head, she kept spraying him directly in the face. He just kept saying he couldn't be mad at her because she had been so nice to him this week (waiting at the hospital with him for 5 hours, making the quiche, cutting his hair). She took that as a go ahead to absolutely drench him.

Eventually this became her chasing him and trying to catch him off guard, but it was genuinely the funniest thing I had seen all week. Peak sibling behaviour. I also absolutely helped her do it all as well. At one point she was pushing against his door and trying to spray inside while he kept trying to shut it. A moment that is burned into my brain is when he stuck his hand out in a flat, defensive palm and she responded with a single squirt to the middle of his hand. The entire time jazz (see above) was playing in the background. Incredible night.

Authentic australian did eventually take and hide the spray bottle, but I know where it is. This is not over. Now they're both a little jumpy around each other.

[sofiadragon]

In order of weirdness for me as a certified American:

7. Ranch isn't... it isn't unlike tzatziki, but it is different. Creamy sauce/dressing but spiced different. I dislike both because I dislike most dairy, so I asked my partner. Ranch is more intense with sour cream as a base, very in your face, while tzatziki is much more mellow with greek yogurt as a base.

4. A garbage disposal is a machine that grinds up food scraps into a slurry to flush down the drain. No house with a septic system should have this, so my rural born self didn't see one until we got a house in town. In areas where they are legal (century old pipes in your town? Water shortage? Probably illegal to have) the waste treatment plants are likely to make fertilizer out of the, uh, "processed solids." Yeah, that sounds polite. So the pureed food scraps help with that. The city I live in now sends out info about the water services once a year reminding people not to put cooking oil, feminine products, or baby whipes down the drain because that disrupts the compost and causes clogs. You can do stupid stuff and clog the sink mostly by trying to put things in while it is off, but the main thing that will annoy your housemates is not cleaning it. Some citrus peel does the job, like from a squeezed lime or grapefruit, but if you don't do it it stinks so bad.

5. The red solo cup thing is a meme. It's a very cheap plastic cup sold in bulk so the solo cup brand just was what half of the house parties used when I was a kid in the 90's. We had paper cups, also, and solo cups come in every color of the rainbow. Red was just popular, so stores that only carried one color of the bulk packs carried red.

8. Lean staffing made this so uncommon, but there used to be one in most grocers when I was a kid. It would be some 15 year old or special needs adult bagging groceries for one lane (usually the one on the far side of the 10 items or less or the one close to the pharmacy if the store had one attached) and it's for mothers with small kids, the elderly, and so on. The USA might suck for supporting the disabled financially, but we have all the ramps and paying customer accommodation you can shake a stick at. Able bodied people in a rush were expected to tip this person a very small amount, usually the change from the bill. This person's other job was collecting carts, but that was 15 minutes out of every 2 hours or so. These days stores have so few employees that this is a luxury thing; the person collecting carts is likely stocking shelves, uloading trucks, or even working the deli or bakery counter. We don't often have a second person who bags groceries outside of luxury places like "Whole Paycheck Foods" stores anymore.

6. Cheerleaders are like gymnastics or dance, and I don't get it. I took dance classes for 13 years. I was in the color guard of my high school band. It seems like just a way to hold the attention of people who don't like football who are attending the game for some social reason.

2. This is just beating traffic. You get to the venue of a big event early and have snacks in the car while you wait. This evolved to bringing a big cooler and a portable grill and making a whole day of it. Everyone there has a shared interest (the game, concert, or whatever that is filling a stadium with 50,000 people,) public transit is an afterthought and 30,000 cars have to be parked, so why not just hang out in the parking lot having a pre-game party?

3. Sororities and Fraternities are just dorm rooms that are also social clubs. Makes perfect sense to me, and they tend to have stricter standards than the university or college. GPA and conduct requirements keep the crazy under a limit, supposedly, though this obviously has some issues with hazing and not every one keeps to their charter.

1. Summer camp is the American self-sufficient individualism at work. Kids at an age that people think they need to break off the last of that separation anxiety get to spend spend several days without their parents. Most I've heard of have the kids go home on the weekends, keeping the kids for 4 or 5 nights max per week. It's expensive, but can be a lot of fun for the kids. Many have religious ties, so you send your kid to a Jewish or Protistant or Catholic camp and part of how they put their activities together is at least tangentially related to those values if not explicitly about that religion.

[roboska-lv]

Computer at repair shop

Because of Christmas, I'm getting my computer back at maybe Wednesday but my family has planned to go visit my grandparents for a couple days mid next week so idk when I'll get it back exactly. I have all the files on my backup USB stick but there wasn't enough space on it for all of the programs I use (godot, medibang paint pro, lmms, pencil2d etc) and the computer I'm using currently (my dad's backup work laptop) doesn't have them already installed and I don't want to install a bunch of software on here (also the specs of this laptop aren't the best: the fan goes crazy with too many firefox tabs open, so i'm not even sure if programs like godot will run if it can't even run roblox theme park tycoon 2 without the fan being on full blast).

I'm saying this here as this maybe the last update of this year, and I don't want to leave on a dissapointing note of "oh i still haven't even gotten the art for the bakery drawn yet and it's the first fricking shop you encounter". Please keep in mind that next year is going to be a busy one for me because of my GCSEs (very very important exams which decide what college I can go to, which decides what uni I can go to, which decides my entire future). I won't have much free time on the easter holidays and the next long break I get from school (with no revision stuff) is the summer holidays so expect this blog to be going crazy then. I promise I'll not let this take years and years but please be considerate about stuff like the failed drive transplant of my computer causing it to not power on (knocked a wire out while replacing the HDD with an SSD).

Anyway I'll be getting my new mic tomorrow at Christmas which according to dad is "a good one". My headset mic refuses to be recognised on my computer so I've asked for a USB mic as the built in mic on my computer sucks. I also want to rewrite a bunch of cutscenes that I've already written to make them better (I have to revoice them all anyway and the dialogue system has changed so I would have to remake them anyway). This video is now cut from the game, minor spoilers (like 1 line) but you'll forget about it by the time the game comes out. It plays right after the tutorial battle if you accept the paper that teaches you how to do a pacify spell. Due to it's length and the fact that the old dialogue auto progresses all the time, I made it a video to avoid coding it all. When rewriting it, I'll make it shorter and organise everything better. Also it won't all be voiced, just the important lines. I feel like I gave away too much info with Lady Roselyn in this conversation which doesn't fit her character, so I'll limit the amount she says in the final piece (she is a spy after all). Background music is on my Newgrounds if you're curious.

That's all for 2023. - PearlHikara