#ive done a few of those and theyre not the biggest deal but i just hate them so much lmao

[orcelito]

Omfg so I'm getting a dollar raise just for being a trainee assistant manager. Reminds me that yes there's going to be additional stress but Also 👀 I am getting a RAISE. More to come once I'm genuinely trained for it 👀

[imaginethathaikyuu]

How did I find your blog? I was looking for soft Kuroo content on google. And your soft birthday hc’s for him came up. And that’s also how I found tumblr

What was the first story of yours that I read? That Kuroo piece ^

Roughly, how long have I been following this blog? Well I found that piece shortly after it was posted so…. Around the beginning of December 2019 I think. Got a tumblr a few months later and you were the first person I followed (had you in my bookmarks bar before that! (still have you in my bookmarks bar and when I share my screen in classes there are occasionally questions. I ignore them))

What’s something I’ve noticed about you personality wise? You’re really clever and funny. But you’re also sweet. But because you’re clever you have no hesitation in setting up and enforcing your boundaries, and I really admire that strength and confidence.

Have we ever interacted, either by PM, ask, or in the comments? What was my perception of you? YES!!! PM, SOOOOO many asks, comments, and you sent me an ask. And reblogged it. And I cried. A lot. My perception: you’re lovely and I want to h*ld your h*nd ….please.

What’s my favorite story of yours? Oh how to choose. Firstly, I’m a nb, biracial, bisexual. Honey, I’ve never made a choice in my life. But let’s try here. Anything you’ve written for Tsukki. Literally all of it is gold. Fight me. I was going to write “especially [piece title]” but I LITERALLY CANNOT CHOOSE ONE. Your Bokuto nightmare piece. Your Kuroo angsty fight. Your Tendou dealing with S/O with parents who yell piece. Your Kinktobers. Your Futakuchi and Mattsun pieces. And your Terushima pieces. Ugh. I CANNOT CHOOSE. OH AND YOUR STREAMER KENMA!!!!!! OKay just… all of it. I can’t choose. I tried, and I failed, and I’m willing to admit failure.

What’s a story I’d love to see you write? I don’t want to say this… because it hurts me… but I just KNOW you’d write brilliant angst. Some of my fav pieces of yours are pained beginnings with happy endings. That fight with Tsukki after a bad day at work. The pieces I mentioned above (nightmare pieces and fighting pieces and angsty home life ha.. ha.ha.ha.). That Oikawa one where the reader wakes up in bed without him and thinks he left. You write these gorgeous atmospheres and descriptive, visceral feelings, and if you chose to use it for evil…. You could get evil shit done. You’re SO powerful. So I want to read it… but also…. I don’t. I’d love to see you write ABO like you mentioned a while back or just see you explore a cutesy soulmate AU or something. I think you’d be really good at writing an AU where you hear what the other person’s listening too. I feel like you’d be so good at making me feel something for someone who was in another city. (think this would be cute with Tsukki cos he’s headphones boy, OR terushima because I like the dynamic of someone flirty, who clearly cares about looks, falling for someone he can’t see) ANYWAY….

Favorite pairing you write for?/fav reader insert? Tsukishima x reader. It’s my fav self-ship. (but also Mattsun, Bokuto, Oikawa, Tanaka, and Akaashi because you write them SO WELL!!!!)

Have any of your stories helped me through a hard time? Of course. Your self-harm piece came at a time I needed it. Iwaizumi’s in particular saved my life. But also your Tendou dealing with S/O parents who fight… came right when I needed it. Also starting college… was hard.. And reading and rereading your fluff really pulled me through it.

Have any of your stories hit closer to home? YES (see above).

Do I genuinely like your blog, it’s aesthetic or posts? It’s overall feel? It’s content? Yes. The aesthetic is, ngl, a wee bit basic. But I kinda love that. And the feel? It feels like home. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Your blog is my safe space. So, yes, I love. It’s content? YES. OF COURSE. Your personality probably could have kept me here even if your content was kinda shit, but I follow you RELIGIOUSLY because of your content. So yes. I adore.

Is English my first language? Kinda??? I grew up in a trilingual household so I kinda learned three languages at the same time while growing up. But no, I don’t need to translate it in my head. Because English was one of the three.

Anything I want to share? Yes. Please keep being kind to yourself, caring for your mental health, enforcing your boundaries, loving Akaashi, and just generally being you. You’re so lovely as you are, and I hope you continue grow, but never change. Also I’m sorry about all your work stuff…. It literally makes me feel sick. And I hope you find a job where that’s not tolerated, or that your work finds a better way of protecting it’s employees. I know you know this, but none of it is your fault. I just hope things improve. AND I love you… a lot. And I’m so proud of you hitting 9K and you deserve so many more followers because your pieces are just... GORGEOUS. I can’t wait until I’m at Barnes and Noble in a few years and I can pick up a hardback copy of your debut novel. I’m so excited to say “I knew Em Akaashi (which is your legal name as far as I’m concerned) before she was so popular among the masses.”

so ive been trying to figure out the correct and worthy way to reply to this ask since the moment i got it......because its so fucking sweet and kind and amazing and pure and perfect and i just dont know how to use WORDS to explain the way it makes me feel so.......i will just reply in bullet points in regards to every question u answered to make it a lil easier :D

- the fact that u found my blog on google ....... like this may be odd and a very specific thing but before i made this blog i always hoped that 1 day my fanfic would pop up in google searches bc thats ALWAYS how i found fics when i was reading them religiously and i felt so much ENVY!!!!! LIKE I WANTED TO BE THERE I WANTED MY FICS TO B POPULAR ENOUGH TO POP UP ON GOOGLE.....that may sound very selfish but its true......so thats just very cool to me... :]

- u’ve been here for so long omg 🥺🥺🥺🥺 if anyone in ur classes ever asks jus promo my blog like its nbd 

- thats so sweet what 🥺🥺🥺 i try my best to advocate for myself and be confident for myself.....ive spent far too much of my time being silently uncomfortable because i was afraid of pushing someone’s buttons seeming rude.....but NO MORE!!!! i know what upsets me, i know my triggers, i know what i dislike experiencing, and im never gonna let myself be anxious or uncomfortable for someone else’s sake, esp if theyre being rude 2 me. i would say its less strength and confidence and moreso me attempting to take control of my anxiety in the places i can (aka on the Internet) bc i am SICK OF ANXIETY ATTACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

- BBY no dont CRY!!!! im racking my brain trying to think of who u are i wanna know so bad so i can thank u personally for being the kindest person in the world n so i can send u more asks >:(........MY HAND IS URS TO HOLD!!!!! dont tell akaashi tho 

- OMG my TSUKKI pieces.....hes so hard to write why ;-; thank u so much im so glad u enjoy my works<3333

- NOT ANGST NOT LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!! pained beginnings to happy endings are my specialty.....IMAGINE me writing a sad ending like i CANT!!!!!!!!! ive only done it a few times and it is so Difficult.....YALL ARE SO LUCKY IM NOT EVIL!!!!!! ive had this idea for an angsty akaashi fic that i think about and write in my head every night before falling asleep and it Hurts and i wanna write it but i also can’t make myself :D ABO would be very fun but i genuinely do not know how to explore the concept while making it feel like it’s Written By Me.....u know what i mean? same with soulmate aus, i really dislike writing them because theyre just boring to me like they all feel the same everything’s been done for them.....which is FINE!!! but i write enough cliche stuff as it is HAHA, a long distance type soulmate au could be fun and interesting but ldr’s trigger me bc of a past relationship so </3 but hey maybe someone else could use the idea!!!!!

- gotta love tsukishima <3

- im rlly glad my writing could be there for you friend, one of the biggest reasons i write fanfic (and write the kind of fics i write) is bc i know firsthand how much reading sweet stories abt ur comfort characters can help u through the shittiest times - i just wanna offer ppl some support and happy feelings and love cuz sometimes fanfic is the only time we can find those things (and theres nothing shameful abt that either if anyone bullies u for reading fanfic i will fight them)

- I KNOW MY LAYOUT IS LAZY AND BASIC AS FUCK AND THAT IS BECAUSE I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT LMAOOOO so im glad u think its ok...... like i dont have the patience to create a fancy ass layout that actually works are u KIDDING ME??????? I COULD LITERALLY NEVER plus i kinda like that its just the basic kinda ugly boring default layout like it makes it simple and easy and i feel like it brings focus to the only thing on this blog that i care about which is my writing, i rlly only care about the content here and not aesthetics jdbljdabsdk that blue background will be there til i Die......i adore u more btw 

- WHOA trilingual what the hell ur so cool tell me more 

- you have my word, friend, that i will continue to do all of that so long as you do the same. take care of yourself, be kind to yourself - i know u can do it, ur so kind to others and u deserve to be kind to urself, too so this is the part that genuinely brought me to tears because *sappy dumb shit ahead* ok look ever since i can remember the one and only thing ive wanted to do with my life is become an author ...... dreams of book covers with my name written on them and words in pages written by me and fanart of my characters and going into my local bookstore n seeing my book there....these thoughts all haunt my fucking brain because i want it SO BAD!!!!!!!! so bad that it makes me CRY!!!!!!!! ive never wanted something more and just!!!!!!!!!!!! idk how much u meant that part but holy fuck!!!!!! i hope so bad that one day i can send u a free copy of my book as a thank u for being the person u are. u have all my love friend, every last bit of it <333333333

[umbillicalnoose]

i think that you would think im pretty and would like my poetry and i want to share it with you. im shy.

to be honest, im very apathetic these days. im not the nice “cutesy baby flower petal boy” i used to be. a lot has happened & im bitter & sullen & all in all, a pretty shitty friend/person to know. i used to possess some redeeming qualities, believe it or not, even if they were construed by the subconscious in an attempt to be likeable - a facade, even tho its only a facade, is still tangible, still there, is still something, even if not authentic. is poorer character forgivable in the name of presenting more authentically? but nah. that makes it sound like im putting effort into being a better person, which im not. im just sort of fried & done. its been a very long time since i played the role i built for myself on here of the “small fawn boy who wants to help girls” lmaooo. how embarrassing. altho, i was just a kid, & i guess, if you had a tumblr as a teenager, you went thru some cringe (i know the use of that word has fallen in on itself & adopted its own definition but for lack of a better one) ass phases, whether it was kinning or malingering mental illness or oh fucking christ, all that gender bullshit, etc etc. from what ive observed, tho, loosely following kids im still casually friends with that i met on here, i think we’ve all managed to Grow The Fuck Up, at least a little. most of us have jobs or r in school or have partners - growing up & moving on is a very surreal experience to watch/go thru. im moving at my own pace & ive accepted that - im still currently using & starving myself & concocting a suicide plan every day but at least i use clean needles as much as possible, i actively & honestly do strive for the bare minimum calorically, & um able to work with the mentality of “well ill have this when i need it but todays not that day” a lot more readily, in relation to suicide shit. ive finally found a therapist who Really Gets It, is a frontrunner internationally on ritual & extreme abuse & mind control. its pretty incredible what a few years with a good therapist can do. anyways. im sorry, i know you didnt ask for all this & im not even sure why i divulged. i guess, what tipped me off, was your attempt at sounsing “cute” - dude, cut that shit out, i promise youll be a lot better off. & i know everyone interchanges aspects of their personality based on who theyre talking to/who they percieve themselves to be talking to, but i feel like not a lot of people give enough credence to the internet & its hand in shaping/molding young people, kids, vulnerable dumbasses, especially tumblr (tho, i get that its a relatively new phenomenon) - u get a bunch of the “weird”, “alternative”, ““ostracized” kids together on a website, of course its gonna nurture a culture of hypervalidatoon & pretending to be sick in order to fit in to the point that its not an act anymore & exacerbation of symptoms & basically, just sucking each others dicks, sitting in ur own shit, & never ending coddling. & then, you have the older group of kids, who have played this game before but instead of helping or ignoring the Dumbshit kids, they indulge their own normally-buried-but-unleashed-by-internet-anonymity sadism/human instinct to just be fucking dicks & so now you have this vicious cycle of anger & hatred & fucking melodrama up the urethra. im sorry, i know im comig off as/am being harsh but god fuckin dammit yknow? also, this isnt directed at you, specifically, more of a generalized thing, @ myself included. so uh. i mean, if u still wanna share it with me after reading all this, id be happy to read ur poetry. i used to be over the top nice & then reverted to Major Asshole & am now trying to find that sweet middle spot - honoring & allowing myself to share my pain without putting it on others. which is really hard!! cuz becoming a Dick was difficult in that it forced me to be more honest with my true self & as such, more vulnerable - now in trying to become Kinda Nice again because despite being a pulsating scrotom, ive had the intense desire for friendship & human interaction, while simultaneously doing things that i was consciously aware was pushing others away - but then, if i pretend to be nice, where does that authenticity i worked for & was so scared of go? & i dont mean telling someone their new haircut looks nice even when it doesnt - thats just not being a dick. but i guess, those r the normal trials & tribulations of any relationship & adolescent developing identity. which is weird too - dealing with “normal” issues, i mean. whats the point if your life/limbs/breaking point arent at risk? whats the point when your best friends already dead. im sick of people calling "survivors” (despise that word, so fucking female-originated & overdramatic) “brave” & “strong” - surviving is not brave or strong. its just survival. you wouldnt call an animal brave for running for its life from a predator but you would call a dog courageous for going into a burning building to save its owner. premeditated action on the notion that you are probably going to be hurt is brave. being subjected to pain with no choice is not. theres no “silver lining” or anything “good” to be drawn from it either - sure it may have made x a more compassionate person or made y more introspective & gentle but you know what would have been even fucking better??? if the shit hadnt happened in the first place! let x be an asshole & y be self absorbed - the “benefits”, so to speak, do not outweigh the cost, not by a long fucking shot. its not only patronizing to hear garbage like that, but a slap in the face to know that anyone could possibly see anything good coming from that nightmare & that the characteristics, good or bad, you developed either in response to or as a result of, are worth praise. dont tell me im strong for doing what i had to to escape a torture chamber - tell me im perseverant for studying my ass off & passing that test last week. in the words of one of my dearest & most fucking brilliant friends, “pain doesnt owe me/you purpose - the need to intellectualize & assign meaning to pain & death is not only futile, but harmful.” & honestly, i think that it stems from weakness (in most cases - i realize theres a plethora of other reasons such as those who r just desperate for something to hold on to or r hyperintellectual & analytical or who have been pressured by external “support” systems to find the “good” etc etc) - while the majority of people view the person who “can find the good in everything” (strictly speaking only in relation to trauma/tragedy here & more in denunciation of those that celebrate this trait as opposed to vilifying “survivors” who respond this way, though in my experience, its very very very rarely the “survivor” that perpetrates this ideology ) as strong, i sort of see it as a weakness - their inability to sit with & absorb their own pain or that of others is so strong that not only do they have to frantically pull rainbows out of the teeth of a meat cleaver, they also have to exist within this strange (tho, not malicious - more subconscious) superiority complex. like, nah, dude, some times shit is just awful. you cant tell me anything fucking good came out of a four year old girl being kidnapped, gangraped, & tortured for two years, before being impaled & left to die on a stake. her mom opened a non profit organization? oh well thank fucking god for that!!! those that believe the latter to be more “enlightened” or whatever the fuck r the same people who say shit like “dying is easy - living is harder” & i get that that its supposed to be interpreted metaphorically for the most part - giving up is easy, trying isnt (which also.....isnt true??? admitting defeat & fully accepting the fact that ur fucking helpless is beyond hard lmao???) - but pretend youre somewhere, anywhere outside ur sunny little fucking yoga studio full of white women whos biggest issues r the pta & johnny whos failing math, & lets say your life is in real, imminent danger, a gun is to your head & i want you to not scream or cry or beg for ur life since dying is “easier”. if dying is so easy, why do the majority of ppl cling to it with such desperation - why is suicide illegal? why do some ppl go thru 100s of chemo treatments even tho the doctors say theyre just prolonging the inevitable, ppl who cut off a diseased arm so it wont spread, those who walk dozens of miles every day for food & water, etc? & i know & understand the survival instinct better than anyone, even when i wanted to die more than anything, my natural instincts would kick in with no conscious neural input & id do what i had to do. im not condemning those who cling to life (ok - a little. ur wasting resources out of ur own fear. but i also realize thats just me being a Fucking Asshole As Always cuz technically, im doing the same thing tho its more due to lack of opportunity rather than fear. i just think, societally, death should be more normalized, discussed, & not made out to be so unknown & scary), instead just reprimanding those who say shit like that (inspirational facebook quotes). especially cuz most of the ppl who do spew that shit have never gone thru anything even remotely difficult - their worst nightmare is a Big Scary Black Man grabbing them on the street, mugging them, & touching their tits. & i also know that these stupid ass sayings are to be applied to bullshit like exercise & fitness (“no pain no gain” is another one of my Favorites) & not fucking torture or even just ur run of the mill rape, even that would probably smash the rose tinted banana republic shades off their beverly hills tanned faces. but ive heard the no pain no gain one a handful of times in the last few weeks, specifically from doctors performing procedures in preparation for my bottom surgery. & i know its supposed to be encouraging & they have no way of knowing, but its just like, buddy, u have no idea who youre fucking talking to. & im starting to understand what THEY mean when they say it - pain with a reward is infinitely more tolerable than pain just for the sake of pain; like, a tattoo, it hurts, but u know, when its done, its gonna be sick as fuck. when u r able to fall back on the idea that its for something u rlly want, its A Lot easier to handle as opposed to pain thats Just Pain - theres no reward for it except, i guess, that the more u experience it, the closer u r to the end of it lmao. i mean, i still hate when ppl say it cuz for most of my life, pain was just pain, & the “reward” was the opportunity to go home at the end & so whenever ppl say that, my mind just immediately resorts back to that & im just like haha fuck u. but im trying to remember my experiences r definitely not universal & im starting to sorta understand what they mean i think. but, flipping gears here, & going back to the sentiment of “everything happens for a reason”, the base philosophy of psuedo deep Fuckwads - a girls dad didnt fuck her “for a reason”, everything doesnt happen “for a reason”. like ok, hypothetically, the kid he impregnated her with & that she was forced to have at 12 may surpass all odds & not become a homeless junkie & instead become a world renowned doctor who finds the cure for cancer. but she wasnt raped repeatedly from the age of six for that “reason”, no matter what anyone says & honestly, the liberation of the masses does not justify the suffering of one, especially a child. in my eyes at least. but again, im a bitter asshole. sorry i just Went The Fuck Off here oh my god.....if u read all this, thanks, pal. if not, thats cool too. but yea, send me ur stuff, id totally be down to read it. as for me potentially thinking ur cute, i have to look at my disgusting shitstain of a “face” every goddamn day so everyone else to me is fuckin aphrodite. but im also tryin to not put so much worth into physical appearance- its not something that should be complimented cuz its just smth a person was born with which is the same reason it shouldnt be insulted. this is gonna sound gay & stupid but i personally find that a persons essence & personality really permeates. you can meet someone who, objectively, isnt all that great looking, but once u get to know them, u really see their beauty - how the sun catches in their hair, their dilated pupils looking up at u from under long eyelashes in the dark, the birthmark on their right shoulder that they despise but that is so Them, the gap in their teeth, etc. & idk how to phrase this without it sounding like “well ur ugly but at least ur a good person”, cuz that only reiterates the societally indoctrinated emphasis on appearance & my kneejerk reaction to assure the person in question that thats not what im saying is only another result of that!!! its inescapable!!! but no, really, its not just a matter of “its on the inside that counts” - physically, they change or maybe, actually this is more likely, when i first meet them, my “default” eyes r just looking for features that i know im immediately attracted to (tall, blonde, sickly as in sunken eyes sticklike pale but still looks like she could & will beat the shit out of me) but as i fall in love or get to know them better, my eyes adjust & i notice & adore the beauty that was there all along. so uh. idk if ill think ur “cute”. but probably, yes, ill think ur an angel.

[nightmaretyrantvantas]

So I’m finally getting around to writing out a bunch of info about my Sander Sides au so I hope youre all ready--(its like 1 am im so sorry for any spelling mistakes and missed tags)

So its 1 am on a work night and I cant sleep and I’ve had lots of ideas and canon things for this au bouncing around my head for days and now TONIGHTS THE NIGHT ITS HAPPENING IM DELIVERING YOU ALL THE DETAILS AND EVERYTHING I CAN THINK OF AND TYPE 

Also please feel free to ask about this! I know I got a few new followers from all my recent sander sides art and also thanks to @sugarglider9603 reblogging some art I made of their au I got the biggest flood of exposure and attention on my art ive ever had and I have so much to thank them for, for all recent exposure ive gotten the past couple days( theyre so sweet and lovely and easy to talk to sugar deserves all the love--) and its given me a huge surge of motivation and confidence to post this. And please, my inbox is always open to talk about my aus or my art! Ask questions, send requests, send headcanons or ideas, send fluff angst im open to anything and I try to do all requests sent to me(sooner or later)

Oh oh! and please id you catch any and all the little inspirations or anything let me know

And finally this au is a LAMP au with Remile and Demus on the side

Ahem ahem anyway onto the au!!!

More under the cut so I dont flood your screen too bad!

Ok so! 

This Au was originally inspired by @residentanchor‘s amazing fanfic A Lesson in Practicality and also a little bit by @prettyinaccurate‘s fanged virgil au( I’ll get more into that further down) 

So it takes place in a (currently) unnamed bigger city I based off San Francisco and Sacramento( because I live in Cali and those are the two major cities ive really visited ya know?) The boys are all in various stages of their twenties when they move into a four bedroom apartment together: Patton Foster is the oldest of the roomies at 27, then Logan Masters at 26, Roman Prince at 24, and finally Virgil Collins at 22. They move in together because it all works out for them really, the apartment is in a good distance to all their current jobs, whether by bus or even in Pat’s case in walking distance and with all four of them it was well affordable and was pretty nice. I mean hey it even came with a little communal balcony ( since theyre on third floor of the building) 

Things are understandably a little rocky at first , i mean isnt it always though?

Virgil has alot of anxiety and so he tends not to talk really at all at the beginning unless he ABSOLUTELY had to, mostly communicating in noncomittal noises and soft grumbles, and he was fresh out of collage and barely two years into his job and out on his own for the first time and he wasnt really ready for it either like christ too many people

Patton was bright bubbly and caring. This wasnt his first rodeo with roomies, I mean cmon, hes been sharing a room with his older brother Damian(deceit) on and off almost all his freakin life, nor was it his first time living on his own with strangers(hes lived in two different parts of two when he was job hopping before he settled down in his current part time job)

Roman was extroverted loud and exciteable, he too was used to sharing his living space( he had TWO siblings after all) and before he had moved into the apartment he had tried living on his own and with other roommates while he attended collage, but those just didnt work out well ( he ended up staying with his older brother Remy in his studio apartment across the city while he finished out that semester and searched for a job to keep an income.

Logan was serious minded stern toned and confident, he had a minor degree in teaching that he was slowly repursueing and had been out on his own for awhile before he had moved in. And though cold at first he soon found his group of housemates...enjoyable.

Its about a month into them living together that they learn exactly why despite slowly getting close and getting to know each other Virgil still kept a wide distance: He had entirely sharp teeth.

“ I dunno....I was born with them..theyve always been a sharp pain in my ass...” - virgil, about his teeth

Of course just having sharp teeth wasnt bad enough oh no. You see a few years back when he was about 18 he was young and dumb and made horrifically stupid and reckless decisions under peer pressure and ended up doing something that not only pointedly (haha oh god im not funny) chipped his front teeth but it fucked up his teeth pretty majorly, he went from having a normal overbite to almost having a goddamn underbite and crooked all his teeth, and the only way to fix it( because somehow miraculous for all the damage done it turned out to be mostly reversable aside from the chipping) was getting braces to realign his teeth. So he’s had pretty purple braces over his fangs since he was 18 and they werent expected to come off until he was AT LEAST 25 and he was insecure about them. ( he got mocked for them through his two and a half years of junior collage)

Once the gang finds out they are understanding and helpful and dont make a big deal about it( though virgil gains a significant amount of more vampire related nicknames from roman)

Once they get close and comfortable around each other the apartment is pretty warm and lively! 

Virgil works at the art store as an assistant manager and head stocker( a bit of a dream come true since he was an art student)

Roman works as a part time waiter at a family resturant as well as working at a nearby theater( he was of course a lovely theater major) 

Patton worked at a nearby cafe and bakery as a bit of everything! He helped wait tables, serve behind the counter, and helped in the back in the kitchen( the owners were family friends and he’d been working there almost four to five years at that point, boi knows how to do everything) 

Logan worked at a big name bookstore, and also provided tutoring sessions for highschool students on the side by commision

More FACTS~~

Family ages for the big families go as follows:

Fosters: Damian(28), Patton(27)

Prince: Remy(26), Roman(24, older twin by 10 minutes), Remus(24, younger twin)

Emile is 27 and is a licensed therapist and works as a counselor for young adults that volunteers at the nearby library to ready to children

Remy works as a coffee barista in Emile’s building

Remus does alot of odd jobs, kinda working as an independent for hire and gets a surprising steady flow of work and pay. Hes still a trash man though, but hes a successful trash man( partly thanks to Damian calling in favors with connections)

Damian works at a law firm slowly moving into the position of prosecutor

Virgil doesnt really get along with his family and at some point Emile offers to take virgil in as his adopted brother, with Damian assuring him if he wanted concrete legal papers to start changing his last name, cutting ties with his family, anything needed for it he’d see to it that they’d be providing(something our boi really appreciates)

Remy visits Emile on his breaks since hes literally just...two hallways down and vice versa

Damian and Remus live together in the next, slightly smaller city over because Damian’s work transferred him to a different office in order for him to keep moving up in the ranks so to speak. 

Hes also good at what he does.

Family nights happen whenever they can

Patton got to teach them how to cook alot of complicatied dishes from scratch, a bonding time he adores

Roman got Virgil an Espeon hoodie after they all start dating and virgil loves it and wears it alot around the house because its a thicker hoodie and warm( though he tries to ignore the big ears and the obnovious tail

Virgil also loves visiting Roman’s work on what Ro likes to refer to as “ hellish days” AKA kids day which means goofy kid friendly theme days. His favorite was probably alice in wonderland day when Roman was Tweedle Dee

Roman played J.D at the local theater and likes to hum some of the his songs to switch up the Disney

The balcony is covered in houseplants and and a corner of old blankets and pillows to sit and chill on

Once a month Logan and Patton have what is affectionately referred to as the Cat Discourse

After any particularly rough days at work Patton tends to massage Logan’s shoulders and back to make sure Lo doesnt get any really bad stress knots

in return when Logan sees Patton’s head a hard day he makes Patton’s favorite drink and pulls him into a hug and let the older man fall asleep in his arms while they watch movies

Pat and roman sense each other’s bad days and order in some cliche diner food and hole up in pattons room with Pattons computer and relax the shittiness away with comedy specials and movies 

Likewise Virgil has a knack of picking up Roman’s bad days and always grabs a couple glasses and a bottle kinda cheap wine and they end up curling up together on Romans bed marathoning Disney movies on Virgil’s laptop 

and when Virgil closes himself off more than normal Logan manages to lure him out of his room and they end up sitting out on the balcony quietly talking and stargazing

so loving and fond and soft with each other

you hurt one of them you gonna get BEAT by the others. 

Speaking of getting beat, never EVER mess with Roman or Remus in Remy’s proximity

Remy Andrew Prince can and WILL fuck you right up if you hurt his little brothers. He’s protective.

and where Remy will rearrange your face Damian will ruin you mentally and legally if you so much as mistreat a single freckle on his little brother’s face, despite knowing that Patton is fully capable of taking care of himself. 

Everyone protects Virgil, dont mess with or hurt virgil or you have the pack coming for ya throat

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats all I have for right now! Of course more will be added but now its almost three in the morning and I have work at 1:30pm and im sleepy finally! But I hope you guys like this! And please, feel free to talk to me about it, my inbox is always open!!

Taglist: @phantommoonpeople @sweetsweetemo @loganberrysanders

[supersoldierfreak]

Undercover ~ Part 2

HI everyone! I’m sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything but I’m hoping that changes this week. Also, I know that this is a short chapter but i wanted to get it done so I can move on with the main part of the story...

                                                                                           - Love from Phee x

As you strolled through the MI6 corridors, you had your tea mug clasped tightly in your hands to warm them as you had come in from the cold winter air. Taking a sip, you used your butt to open the door to Agent Ford’s office.

“No, Agent Miller, it is unnecessary for you to participate in the Kabul mission and you most definitely do not have the clearance for the current high-priority mission.”

Agent Savannah Miller, a girl who was a couple years older than you with long straight black hair and sun-tanned skin stood rigid in front of Ford’s desk. Agent Alexander Ford, however, looked ready for the floor to swallow him whole as the young agent persisted in telling him about her ‘capabilities’.

“Hey Agent Ford, who now happens to be a single father with a daughter who’s an upcoming actress in the MCU, it’s lovely to see you.”

Savannah turned to glare at you. “Can’t you see you’re interrupting something?!”

You furrowed your brows. “If by something you mean you being rejected by Agent Ford for present and upcoming missions based on your clearance because you don’t qualify for the next level, you should totally be grateful for me turning up and giving you an excuse to stop embarrassing yourself.” You smiled sweetly.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh please, as if you weren’t going to do the same thing. And becoming an actress? You’re going to be burned.”

Flopping onto an armchair, you flung your feet onto the desk. “Oh you mean completing a mission assigned by the board which includes going undercover as an actress in the biggest film franchise as a part of the Beynin mission? Of course, I’m definitely here to grovel.”

The agent curled her fists tightly before rushing out the room with her file and slamming the door behind her.

Agent Ford looked down his nose at you from where he stood at his bookcase. “Was that necessary, L/N?”

You beamed. “Absolutely.”

He chuckled and shook his head. You had known Savannah Miller since you had joined in the same year and had gone through the training courses with her but she had always been overly competitive, despite the fact you were always one stage above her. Since then, it had been as if you were arch enemies and you always took great joy in annoying her in anyway possible, mostly just because it was funny for you to see her so wound up. Besides, if any agent was ever specifically given a mission by the board it was a big deal; they were like gods because they were never seen and you only got told things either about them or what they had said.

“Debrief now, L/N.” Agent Ford ordered, as he adjusted himself in the seat.

“The audition went great, I’d say considering the comments they said once I was out of ear-shot almost guarantee that I got the role. Sebastian Stan likes me because I speak Romanian, the directors liked me because of my unique skill set. They were all clean as well from what I was able to get.” You were blunt and to the point. “Oh yeah, and thanks for the suite by the way, it was definitely appreciated.”

Ford looked up at you from his files“That was a decision of the board, I only agreed.” 

“I suppose they’re trying to kiss up to me since they’re burning me.” You sighed and lent back in your chair, head tilted back.

“I am also concerned about this issue; it is unlike them to burn agents of your stature.”

You looked weirdly at him. “You mean they normally burn agents?”

Answered by a look, you simply sighed again and took a long, satisfying, sip of your tea as you closed your eyes. 

“Go home, Agent, you need your sleep and I will make sure that you are informed of any changes in the case.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning saw you reading quietly, wearing an over-sized t-shirt and warm fluffy socks. The laptop was playing music quietly as you awaited for any alerts on either the case or the results of the audition - realistically, those were far more important. Despite always having loved acting, you couldn’t help but wonder why you were going in as an actress to the operation when it would far more sense to pose as a camera assistant or a makeup artist or, quite frankly, just any thing that wasn’t on camera. 

Pulling you out of your reverie, your laptop began to incessantly ping as alerts and notifications began to come through.

You had gotten the part. 

As the iPhone next to the laptop began to ring, you quickly picked it up without glancing at the Caller ID. “L/N.”

“Miss L/N, I am calling to inform you that you have earned the role of Anastasia Rzhekaya in the new Marvel film, ‘Captain America: Civil War’. Congratulations. An email has been sent to you detailing all dates and places where you need to be and a copy of the script that you will need to have started learning by next Saturday afternoon which is when we expect you to be on set.”

You blinked. “Wow! Thank you so much for this opportunity and I promise i won’t let you down! I’ll be there. Thank you again for this - you won’t regret it!” You giggled down the phone at the woman. 

“Alright ma’am, Have a good day.”

“You too!” You squealed as she hung up before rolling your eyes. You were going to need to get that script ASAP.

You decided to ring Ford and fill him on everything that had happened as you packed bags that were organised by purpose (safe to say, your guns weren’t with your shampoo) and to tell him to get tickets booked so you could fly back out and re-acclimatise to Atlanta, Georgia because it had been a couple of years since you had been there last. 

Admittedly, your acclimatising included vast amount of retail therapy that happened to make you walk the city and memorise its layout whilst dining in fancy restaurants at the expense of a certain intelligence agency. In your defense, they shouldn’t have given you an agency card for ‘equipment and undercover purposes’ and failed to take it back, which therefore made it entirely their fault... obviously. 

Toast hanging out your mouth, you watched your printer print out your script, which you’d have memorised in a few days. Putting all of it in a ring-binder foler, you placed it in your hand luggage 

Taglist:

@nyxveracity @ariii287 @pointlesscasey  @tahiti-island-dream @jayzayy @kapolisradomthoughts @curlycals @castellagreen @chipz4dayz @the-obsessive-fangirl @darkmelodies1 @saltymaddiee @lalalahgh @sammysgirl1997 @woofstar64 @marvel-lously @madamrubrum @ailynalonso15 @laqueus-ludovios @evyiione @steve-thotgers @in-the-potterhead-know @ironspiderguy @natashasnight @marvel-at-stucky

[lebannabell]

now for some dnd asks for you!!!! 5, 8, 11, 15

dnd ask meme!~send me qs!~

5. What is your best dice set? I love All My Dice but my first set (chessix blue-green gemini) are probably my most blessed set, they roll high (mostly [that one time i rolled a 3,2, then 3 to climb a tree is still frustrating]) but also they were my first set and a gift and they always remind me of my first character and when I first started playing - which was a really important thing to me because it was something that brought me a lot of joy in a time i was seriously lacking it;;; anygay this got sentimental but those r probably my Best set (but fr tho i love all my dice so much theyre all Significant to me)

8. What does your dream dice set look like? This is a super hard question bc i dont think theres really One Set that would be like my Ideal set? Theres so many options out there and im very weak for a lot of them ( but gods i wish i could get my hands on those kraken cotton candy dice [im gon buy some kraken dice soon but those were limited edition so i guess ill die]) 

11. Have you ever rolled a natural 1? What happened? i have rolled so many nat 1s……. the dice goes into dice jail and is shamed for its villiany.. i trip and shoot myself in the foot instead of the enemy;; Bad Things Happen

15. What is your characters background story? I have seven characters that I play/have played and i know imma write an wild amount so im gonna put this under a cut!

Wren, elf rogue - Mines of Phandelver Wren was raised a member of the high elf House of Naïlo, but as a young girl grew tired of trying to garner the attention of parents who simply didn’t care about their daughter except as a prop for conversation. At the equivalent human age of 15, she ran away from home and made a new life for herself on the streets of Neverwinter. Wren spent the next several decades making her name as a criminal, and honing her skills in thievery, until she picked up a job at the local tavern that led her to her Biggest Adventure(god im so sentimental abt wren she really derailed shit and was such a dick but she was so fun i love her)

Eldan Caridalas, half elf sorcerer - Storm About To BreakEldan grew up in a small village, and went by his child name of Taryn (meaning thunder, inspired by his Wild Magic). He lived a happy childhood, with admittedly, some strange moments brought on by his unpredictable magic, but he got through any difficulties with his best friend and essentially soulmate, Alcea (played by another player in the group! shoutout to ash for working w me to make these beautiful kids lmao). When Eldan was around 14, he had another surge of wild magic,  but this one was far worse than all the others had been (when i was workshopping this with ash and dint know what exactly it was going to be yet we called it “The Big Bad”) - He had been speaking with alceas mother when all of a sudden an intense bolt of fire sprung from him, melting the skin off his left arm, and fatally wounding alceas mother. Eldan, unable to cope with what his supposed gift had done, fled the village without a word to anyone, and spent the next 14 years travelling the land, searching for a way to try and control his magic, to avoid hurting anyone ever again. Eldan eventually found his way to the entrance to the unexplored east lands where he ran into his childhood friend once again(eldan was such a Good boy im still sad about what happened to him he deserved better give me #justice for my boy)Reckoning, tiefling monk - one shot run by my friend claudio b4 he moved interstateReckoning was abandoned on the steps of a temple as a baby once her parents saw the devilish heritage in her. She was raised by monks in a temple to The Raven Queen, and she was trained and charged to become an assassin that took down those who went against the natural order of death. She was on her way to one such mission when she ran into a group of strangers in the woods and after promptly finding out one of them was (supposedly) claiming to be a false god, and pushing them into the nearby well, was lassooed and pulled down there with them to deal with the Creature within(will i ever make a not extra character? no.)Ari, human druid, fighter, and rogue (i know) - one shot battle royaleI was originally just going to make a level 15 barbarian for this one shot (rip ragna one day u might get played) but then i was like;; i may as well make the messiest multiclass i can Ari grew up with his older brother as his guardian, but then his brother was killed in a gang accident, and ari had to learn to fend for himself on the street. After many years of struggle, and losing a younger boy he had begun to think of as family, ari sought shelter in the forests, and had just started to discover the magic held within, when he was conscripted into a battle royale for the amusement of The Council Of ChickensRisk, dragonborn barbarian - Uni one shots (lower levels)Risk is aptly named - she’s willing to do most things others would blanch at for the right reward, which is how she ended up in a mercenary business. This is straight up all the backstory i have for risk that ive nailed down ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ shes hard to really conceptualise a good backstory for, esp bc i didnt know the world that the uni DMs had createdTrix, aasimar rogue - Uni one shots (higher levels)Trix practically raised herself, and by the guidance of her angelic counterpart, she was often driven to do things that left no time for friendship. Tired of living a life that wasn’t fully her own, she struck out to the wealthy area of the city to join the Planeswalkers guild, and has since become an initiate with her own housing in their extra planar facility, and does takes the odd mercenary work that comes her way from her new homeZiarda Lionheart, aasimar bard - Storm About To Breakafter what happened with eldan, i wanted to make a lighter, happier character - with a lot less emotional baggage, and so Ziarda was born. Ziarda has always been driven to do the right thing, and not just by her own morals - but those of her angelic guide. Ziarda was raised by a single mother, who taught her not only the value of beauty and joy in making the world a greater place, but also the practical application of music - in fact ziardas flute used to be her mothers. Ziarda left home at 19 on the will of her heavenly advisor, and joined a travelling carnival, where she could spread joy through her performances. She travelled with them for a few years before the travelled to the east to do a show for the soldiers guarding the entrance to relatively unexplored lands, where she was guided to join a band of weary adventurers in their efforts to stop a widespread cult from destroying civilisation. A lot of my characters backstories get more fleshed out the more i play them and have a better idea of what things could have shaped them to be the people they become? but this is their current Pre Adventure Lore

Yeehaw congrats if you made it this far ur insane i wrote so much i love my kids a lot heres a reward for reading all that, or i suppose, for scrolling to the bottom

Anyway thank u anya for givin me the chance to ramble abt my OCs i love them sm and i love You so much and everyday im so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to play this incredible game and to do the dumb cult joining, plan breaking stunts i pull

[feverhalo]

Ok so. Big talky post about irl shit in all forms because why not & i feel bad leaving you all hanging so long on so much

Please dont r///ebl/////og and theres no pressure to read it or do anything in regards to this.

So. This covers like. So many topics. Grief and death and mental health being the biggest warnings for

Average news first. I still have my job and have been there officially for a year now! Pay rates are going up in my province, and thats a new solid reference should i need it any time soon. Theyre also beong really understanding and compromising(? Forgot theword i had originally) and letting me try new jobs/places to reduce stress

I found out yes, i am still allergic to peanut butter if the fact that i had really annoying stomach pain for h o u r s after eating a teeny tiny pb cookie is anything to go by. Didnt really pay attention to if i broke out on my sides or not because i was a little preoccupied with curling up tightly and feeling a little off the next day too. (I mean no duh what did i expect to happen but i mean. They smelled so good). Lesson learned.

Bad news

ive touched on but i dont think ever really said. Someone very very close to me passed in late summer and im still devistated and torn up and doing my denial/anger thing for the most part. Its. Not easy. But ive been going to see someone, admittedly its become a bit about everything when it was supposed to just be this, but i dont do death. When i was a kid and lost someone i shut down entirely and aside from angry outbursts and the occasional breakdown i tried my hardest to act like there was not and would never be a hole there. It didnt work well at all and im still affected by that person's passing too.

They were also one of the more supportive people in my life and i spent a lot of time reading and writing and creating in their company and its been hard.

And i know that im handling this a little better even though im still skipping out on things and blowing up and all the same sort of crap but i actually have a neutral space that wont feel marked or stained every day for processing and a neutral person to help.

And of course its not just grief im getting help with because its all kind of a tangled mess. But im also getting like. New insight on stuff and someone to talk to about whatever. And its making life quite a bit harder because im so used to blocking it out or locking myself away and letting things rush over and take over and run their course. Its been really hard to be creative because im incredibly self critical and having a lot more trouble focusing lately because of a lot of reasons.

Im stressed and overwhelmed a lot more easily and frequently right now. And i know im being distant even if it doesnt show. Im scared to kind of go along with this and open up and all that junk and now im being gently prodded to do so in short, honest (not just stuff i dont rly care about or stuff callously overshared to just pretend im being open) bursts its kind of freaking me out. But like. Itll all end up for something good i hope. Even though it feels awful right now and ive had stints of days or even a full week with supports on speed dial when i havent been able to calm down or shut off over thinking but thats- i mean i expect it. A lot is happening and ive known for years my coping strategies have been lacking.

Ive also been talking with this outside help and weve toyed with the idea of maybe i really do have add or at least my anxiety manifests similarly and its kind of a which came first- and this ties in to the next good part in a second- but i havent scheduled anything in my area for right now for those sorts of things but im still kind of getting new ideas from a different angle that might maybe help and if i dont then im learning things i still may be able to use. Either way its not a huge deal for the current moment and its a bit if trying to find compassion and acceptance for myself whether its thing a or b or neither but whatever

Good, great, best news!!

I have an in to starting the more physical process of transitioning. Like i have a day and a time and a start. Like really really really soon. Its going to be hard i know because im going to have to open up about things and will probably be told i have to wait until i can stablize a bit more- its been a lot happening in a short while. And i understand. I waited 2 years to hear from them, i waited a few years to reach out to them, and i unknowingly waited years to find new words that struck a chord and all that. So as long as its moving i can deal with the wait.

I have GOOD people (many i know and have known for years now who happen to work in an adjacent field, some who are new and yet to be met but have rly good references if that makes sense?) who are going to help me kind of navigate and understand and undo things i thought i learned that were honestly just veiled hate and scare tactic garbage. People who support me and dont push me past what i am comfortable with undergoing to "prove" anything (such as 'if you didnt do x right away youre lying/if you dont do y surgery first i wont believe you' kind of comments. I hope). Im looking into options and im so excited for it!!

Its going to involve a lot of talking about things and probably a lot i dont want to talk about just yet but its a great chance because it gets me officially connected and officially started and this place has more options than my town and more specialized crap that can detangle and work through all the connected things and it can all be lumped together as the same process and hopefully help financially that way- and time wise unbelieveably. Theres a very good chance ill be able to talk with someone there, and very likely that first appointment, who can help me understand why i work the way i do sometimes for whatever reason it is.

And im getting a lot of positivity and lessons like learning to give myself some slack where it matters and stuff like that. And that im not worthless or stained or going to rot other people- which is honestly uncomfortable for me to think because of how long ive thought the opposite. Like to think i may actually be pretty good like not pretend good and actually worth anything at all. Because i got stuck in bad thoughts since i was small.

Im also thinking on trying to go back to school because i have a lot i think about with nowhere to really put it and nothing to do which doesnt help me do the things i want to do. So maybe something like that would help because i like learning. I like the motions of it- writing and reading with intent to understand something new, the routine as much as i whined about it in highschool, the forced kind of proximity to people living apart from what i know entirely too so the world feels bigger in a tangible way. Thats on a back burner and waiting for sure! But the fact im thinking about it and happily thinking about it? I like that.

My life has been. Kind of a combination of bland as hell and busy if that makes sense. Ive had to sort of shut down outward productivity and cut down on things a bit because so much is going on, and im trying to do a lot as paced and as slowly as i can bear.

And even though im not Here here as much as i want to be and everything its just. Kind of time for this. And im so glad and happy that when i can be here i can see that people still like what ive done and theres always awesome content to see and yeah

Thanks for everything and checking in and i really really am looking forward to moving forward.

[lebilliam]

111 questions with @imaginationisendless3

001: What is your biggest dream? uhhh. that depends on how you define dream. im gonna go ahead and say that the dream is to be able to wake up and go to the airport and just travel all around and come back home to the same old home at the end of the day

002: What is the bravest thing you've ever done? this q is quite a doozy. i really dont keep track of this kind of stuff

003: Is it hard for you to show your feelings? hell ye

004: What is your dream job? What was your dream job when you were little? when i was little i thought looking at space and being an astronaut would be really cool but now its just being able to travel

005: What is your favorite sound? mechanical keyboard clicking hands down

006: Would you rather be in front of the camera or behind it? wait this q seems familiar but im gonna say in front

007: What do you notice first when you meet a new person? (Both in real and on the internet): what kind of memes they like

008: Is there anybody you *fully* trust?: sure theres a list

009: Do you like / love someone? If yes, who?: there was this cute girl once but i never mustered the courage to really talk to her rip 

010: Have you ever received / sent hate? How do you deal with it?: i flame brian and logan all the time but i dont think that constitutes hate mail. tbh i dont recall an instance of being perturbed by excessive hate

011: What are you going to spend money on next?: food in martinique (or maybe some chacos here)

012: What are three things you never leave your house without?: phone, wallet, jacket

013: What is your favorite place?: ive had a lot of favorite places over the last few years but now that im being asked i cant recall any of them. all my favorite places have this one thing that i dont like about them and thats why i have so many

014: Do you sing and/or dance in front of people? nah not earnestly

015: Have you ever cheated on a test?: have YOU? i say i want to cheat on tests all the time bc itd be so easy but im just too lazy to enact a foolproof cheat strategy

016: What is your current desktop background?: last time it was a bunch of functional groups for Ochem, but now its specific reagents and pathways!

017: How would you describe yourself in 3 words? indecisive, unpredictable, decisive (i thnk)

018: What does make you happy?: honestly?? knowing im appreciated

019: What time were you born? uhh i dont know off the top of my head atm but i can check

020: Do you give second chances? Why? why the fuck NOT? well i say that but all the second chances ive given have been disappointments. trying to find someone to surprise me i guess? xd

021: Name your biggest turn ons and turn offs: serious turn offs are lacking empathy for the struggles of others (i say stop being poor ironically, but there are people who really dont get it which is scary to me). turn ons? Jacinda asked me this and my answer still hasnt changed-- the neck. i ALWAYS go for the jugular

022: When was the last time you hugged someone?: hmmmmm probably last month or so?

023: What is your favorite food? GOD dang it i know i say a lot of things are my favorite but now i cant think of anything. something im always down for is KFC though

024: Do you save money or spend it right away? FUCK i try to save it but money just has a way of leaving my hands

025: Do you have any tattoos? If yes, what are their meanings? If no, would you get any?: id love to get tattoos. sleeves and all those seem really neat but also i know im just rash with decisions like that sometimes

026: Name five things you find beautiful: ooo hair in sunlight, pure moments of unadulterated laughter, crafts that people work on, technology, and mechanical keyboards

027: What is your favorite clothing style? (Both in you and others): lately ive been joking about the CLOUT a lot with champion and supreme branded stuff but its ironic. tbh i like buttonups with nice colors.

028: How do you cheer yourself up? i slid into this girl’s dms with this very question and then i linked her a minecraft song parody so i guess minecraft song parodies and stupid things

029: Do you show affection in public?: i would IF I COULD

030: What is one thing you are looking forward to?: martinique, being refreshed enough to actually care about school bc this last semester was a shitshow

031: Have you ever been to other countries? If yes, where?: france, spain, italy, canada, (japan when i was uber young), vietnam, fircrest

032: What was the last lie you told and why? ill start on this at 2pm. i was still in bed at 2

033: Who are the people you can always turn to? mo, lo

034: Have you ever done drugs? If not, would you ever try them?: it sounds like itd be a cool experience but im also scared all of those horror stories where the drugs were laced with other stuff that turns you into a 4 year old

035: What is your favorite word? i think about the word obsequious a lot but i think my favorite word has to go to discord

036: Do you consider yourself a romantic? sure why not

037: What are 3 objects that are *very* important to you and why?: notes section in my phone ( i write a lot of my thoughts and weird dreams in there), my laptop ( i use it literally every single day), my dice ( bc dnd has been uber helpful to me and its a great pastime)  

038: Have you ever met someone famous? If so, who?: nope! not special

039: What would you like to change, mentally and physically, about yourself? id like to start working out but i say that all the time. id like to be more dedicated to school stuff but honestly its whatever. idk jsut trying to be more confident in myself and smiling more

040: Have you ever won a contest/competition? What for? i won a smash tournament once and i got fourth or third in another one but that was a long time ago

041: What is one illegal thing you would do if there were no consequences? steal, armed robbery. 

042: Who are your favorite fictional characters? borutos dad seems kind of cool, they should make an anime about him or something

043: Do you ever wish you were somebody else? yea i wish i was me but better

044: What is your favorite store to shop at? FUEGO and the runway fashion exchange and idk some other cool store but it doesnt come to mind

045: Do you want to have children one day? How many? How would you name them?: i think about it. having children would be cool but also NOT having kids would be cool

046: How do you cope with stress? How do you vent your anger? i say reee unironically but then it makes me feel better 

047: What do you want for your birthday? honestly? lots of money but idk a new set of dice would be nice ore maybe a new computer

048: Have you ever had an imaginary friend? yea probably

049: Have you ever said "I love you" even though you didn't mean it? in the times ive said it i feel like i have meant it but you can never be too sure

050: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you? starting to write down all your feelings and stuff that happens

051: Do you have any regrets? If yes, what do you regret the most? not taking the opportunity to go to high school/ college early / skipping grades / trying harder on admissions tests

052: Do you find tattoos and/or piercings attractive? theyre pretty neat imo i like them

053: Do you want to get married? What are your views on marriage? marriage is such an old concept but also it seems kind of cool

054: Who are you most comfortable around? tbh its been myself for the last few weeks 

055: What are you wearing right now? What do you wear to bed? i am wearing shorts. i try not to wear too much when i sleep bc i overheat but if i have someone else in bed with me ill wear a thin shirt and shorts

056: When is your birthday? feb 26!

057: What is love to you? love is being able to send memes to each other and being able to go from 2 blobs watching videos to a fancy date and 

058: Are you a jealous person? i can be jealous if i dont trust whatever is happening

059: Would you rather go to a party or stay at home? hmm tbh id probably party if my friends were there or if not id stay at home 

060: How many relationships have you had? quite a few

061: Are you a positive person? sure, i guess ;)

062: What kind of people do you feel attracted to? smart people who are smart but also dumb and cute

063: What is the longest time you've stayed awake? oooowee i think 21 hours or so?

064: Have you ever been told "I don't want to lose you"? yep! proceeded to then lose me!

065: What is your favorite genre when it comes to movies? action comedy

066: Do you collect anything? memories and dust and trinkets

067: In your opinion, what is your best quality? i can make you laugh

068: Have you ever changed for someone?yep! it happens and its sad but it happens

069: What is your idea of a perfect date? a date is the entire day, starting out with waking up next to the person, eating breakfast together, maybe do some errands / work out, netflix and chill, chill, go out for a nice dinner and night out, come back, netflix and chill, chill, go to bed.

070: Are you shy or outgoing? i would love to say im outgoing but idk!

071: In your opinion, what is the secret for a great relationship? surprises everywhere

072: Are you the kind of person who breaks rules? hm im sure i did at some point. maybe i still do?

073: Is it hard for you to trust people? yea it can get a lil hard

074: What does your dream house look like? fat front yard, lots of plants, lots of green grass

075: Do you feel attracted to people your age, younger or older? hmm im at the ripe age of 19 where options younger than me are a lil sketch. idk according to the historia older people have been quality

076: How much have you changed over the past year? a LOT boii

077: Longest friendship you've ever had? hmm about 6 or 7 or 8 years

078: Do you have pets? If not, what animal would you like to have? no pets, id love dogs

079: Are you left or right handed? ambidextrous

080: What talent do you wish you’d been born with? perfect pitch would help a lot with what i like to do

081: Where do you get motivation and inspiration? minecraft parody songs, also seeing professionals doing what they do

082: Do you know how to swim? If yes, when did you learn? yea, i learned when i was in bellingham and then i learned more when i was in kent

083: You are given one wish: What do you wish for? i wish for 100 million dollars with no inflation, no taxes, no debts, no one filing a lawsuit or slandering my name (this is all a part of getting the 100 mil. ive thought about getting money a lot)

084: Do you like to give / receive flowers? What is your favorite flower? i like giving flowers bc i feel like if i receive them,  i dont know what to do. its now ur problem if i get you flowers

085: Would you rather travel to a cold forest or a warm beach? warm beach if its not in the early morning when the sun rises, otherwise, forest

086: What is one thing you can't forgive, that can destroy a friendship or relationship beyond repair? if u kill me i dont think i could get over that

087: What is the last thing you purchased? corsair mouse

088: Have you ever broken someone's heart? Ever gotten your heart broken? yep and yep

089: Have you ever cheated on someone? Ever been cheated on? no and yes

090: Do you believe in soulmates? uhhh its possible. theres 8 billion people on this planet, what are the odds that soulmates DOnt exist

091: Is there anybody you would do absolutely *anything* for? If yes, who? hmmmm not anything, but id do a fair bit for my friends

092: Share three facts about your life.: i like to eat, make friends, and travel/experience other cultures

093: Do you believe in love at first sight? i do, but most of the time it isnt reciprocated ;p

094: Would you date someone who smokes / drinks / does drugs / has a mental illness? yea, i dont see why that would stop me from dating them

095: You are given 15 minutes of fame: What would you do? ask for money

096: How is your dream partner like? shes funny, makes me laugh, smells good, etc

097: Would you rather commit to one person or have several relationships? id rather have several relationships so i know exactly what im looking for in a person.

098: What are some of your hobbies? league, hearthstone, watching people play league and hearthstone, french, etc

099: What kind of person do you want to be? i want to be the cool old person when im old

100: What did you have for breakfast? i had some vietnamese cuisine

101: What is your Top 3 favorite shows? What was your Top 3 favorite shows when you were a kid? the office is something i enjoy, mythbusters, uh scooby doo? idk 

102: What are three places you *really* would like to visit one day? hmmm maybe the trevi fountain, il duomo, totally la sagrada familia 

103: What was your last meal? What was your last beverage? breakfast, water

104: Who is the last person you had a deep conversation with? hmm probably anastasia

105: What is one thing that made you smile today? thinking about martinique

106: Do you like taking photos? If yes, what do you photograph the most?i love taking photos, but i never have subjects so i dont really take photos too often

107: Has anyone ever written a poem or a song dedicated to you? Have you? FHCk man i wish. wait there was a 100 things i like about you and i think about it all the time. i actually have written poems and stuff but tis been a  long time and i dont think my creative juices are back from that yet (but trust me, it was straight fire)

108: Do you remember your dreams? If yes, what was the last dream you remember about?: i remember almost all of my dreams because i always tell someone about them and idk talking helps me remember things 

109: If you could go back in the past, would you change anything? If yes, what? i would start learning things so much earlier and stick with theme

110: If you were given 3 million dollars, what would you do with them? invest 2 mill in the bank, get that monthly interest coming back in the mail, use that mill to pay off all my and my friends debts, live life the way i wished i could when i was little

111: What are a few facts about you that not many people know of? i like learning languages but its not profitable in this day and age i feel

'111 Questions': by Ira V. Simon (priveting)

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Modern Keep Bees Away

17 .. 2547 Rings off the hook, said Mr. Mills, a former probation officer who now . Mr. Sklaroff, who keeps bees as a hobby, said he is rarely stung more. Mostif not allof the hundreds of different species of native beeslike . I heard the discourse on painting porch ceilings light blue to keep wasps away. Explore Marilyn Bebensees board keep bees away on Pinterest. . Painting a porch ceiling blue can keep away bees, wasps, spiders, gnats by fooling them. Paint your porch ceiling blue to prevent bees and wasps from nesting! It looks like the . Keeps away bees/wasps, plus it is so beautiful and. More information. Yesterday I removed this hive from the ceiling of a Palmwoods home. . On other jobs this isnt possible and she will keep moving away from the action right to. 15 .. 2562 Thickness: Bees tend to be pretty plump in the middle, while wasps and you may hire to possibly have to cut through walls, floors, and ceilings to gain access. . How do I keep bees away from my backyard gathering?

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19 .. 2561 Triple BEEs Wrap . Nature Bee Wraps are a planet friendly alternative to plastic wrap! Because a hive can only have one queen bee? I said. Exactly, Gary . was still trying to wrap my mind around the process of making honey. Where does the. . this is to be understood likewise in a child of God, while the pcore soule is wrap; . Viz, the Divine vertue or power of God, till it commeth to bee a Divine body,. And if so bee that God make not good his promise of particular protetion of our . Therefore when all _things things else are gone, let us wrap our selves in. And if so bee that God make not good his promise of particular protection of our bodies . Therefore when all thing. things else arc gone, let us wrap our selves in. . a mirror of the human condition.11 Verily under the wrap of this transformation is taxed the life of mortall men, when as we suffer our minds so to bee drowned. her long legs, innocently bold; the woman wraps her shawl modestly about her, her . Then she lay down, frightened, beautiful as a doll; he hovered like a bee.

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/modern-keep-bees-away

[madomadotsuki]

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT THE MUN.

Repost, not reblog! Tag 6 muns you would like to get to know better when done!

Name: Sharlet (according to Starbucks) Nickname: mostly Cream, or Jelly. Or JellyCream. Age: 25 Faceclaim: Gardevoir from the Pokémon Franchise (Or its past evolution stages too) Pronouns: She/Her but won’t mind They/Them Height: uhhhh last i checked, 172 cm / 5′ 7.7′’ ft? Birthday: July 1st Aesthetic: uhhh... glowy stuff, purples/greens, cats? Last song you listened to: more like songs-- it’s legitly 1h:17mins long tho

Favourite muse(s) you’ve written: Madotsuki of course, and an OC of mine. I’ve also written a heavily different version of Springtrap. There were a few more muses through time but... we never speak of them, ok

What inspired you to take on your current muse (that you are posting this on): simply put, the game. played the game, fell in love with it, wanted to give the cute protagonist a different “ending” from what she gets in-game so here she is, since 2012 woah.

What are your favourite aspects of your current muse: hard to say. like, how real she feels? like, she sounds like she could be a real person with her own thoughts and such when writting her? like, im really proud of how fleshed out she turned out to be and how much she developed ever since i stared writting her from the dirt in 2012. and while not the ‘perfect child’ she’s genuinely sweet and nice, i think she actually taught me to grow more as a person myself too (lets just say that past me was way too spiteful for her own good,) and mado allowed me to develop better personally over the past few years.

What’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing: I don’t exact keep tracks of those. Just about anything at the right place in the right time can give me a little spark. But usually, it’s music, sometimes shows i may watch on TV, or other people’s work (RP, fanfics, art, etc..)

Favourite types of threads: I welcome just about any type. from fluffy to angst, from crack to plot, from one liners to novella/multi para. too much angst non-stop may drain me and kill my mood though, which has been happening often lately admittedly, hence why ive been quiet the past weeks

Biggest struggle in regards to your current muse: ... the fact she’s smarter than me and shes freaking 8 while im the one currently struggling in college (and probably am going to fail lmao)??? also mado has got amplified emotions and sometimes her feelings might leak onto me a little bit when theyre too strong. it’s not a big deal though, just legitly case of being hit right in the feels.

Tagged by: @theimpietyscientist

Tagging: soz too lazy rn. just steal borrow this if u wanna do it and @ me?

[islesblogger]

NHL Trade Deadline 2019: The Aftermath

  What Happened at the Deadline?

Today was Lou Lamoriello’s first trade deadline day with the NY Islanders. From all indications he pushed a few offers, but could not find the appropriate deal to add to the Burger Barn’s menu. Something that has happened in Islanders Country a lot over the past decade of  deadlines.

Mike also details the day on the The Isles Faithful Podcast Episode 25.

The last splash was in 2006 when Garth Snow sent a bag of non-magic beans to Edmonton for Ryan Smyth. What he ended up with was poke check into the playoffs, and first round ouster by a superior Buffalo team. He didn’t give up much, and upon Captain Canada’s teary-eyed departure he didn’t gain much in return. Much like that day an adequate bargain was obtained. The Islanders gave up nothing, and got nothing in return.

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Why Did it Happen?

Lou has a relatively young first place team that is buying into a new system. They’re not only in first, but they are on a post learning curve trajectory that should keep them there. Even if other teams have improved themselves at the deadline, the Islanders GAVE NOTHING AWAY.

Their biggest assets are still mysteries. But what we do know of them is that they all fit into the current scheme. Most would think that Anthony Beauvillier would have been on the block for some of the bigger fish. But I also assume that there would have had to be some kind of extension behind a deal involving Beau. Lou would not have given away a 20G RFA with center potential for a rental.

The Islanders have been short on right handed defensemen for as long as I’ve been a fan… and that’s a pretty long time. The other two items on most price lists would have been Dobson and/or Wilde. You can flip a coin (it had better be three sided) because one of Pulock, Dobson or Wilde will be on a Norris list within five years. It’s too early to tell which one of the “prospects” will be on that list, so they’re both too valuable to be traded for a rental.

As I pointed out earlier this year, there were some names that were most likely available. Lou just couldn’t find the right mix of picks, those prospects, a target and a seller’s consent.

Where Are They Now?

The Islanders lead the Washington Capitals by two points, and have two games in hand. At this point it’s basically a three-horse race for first with Columbus making a late run. The Blue Jackets helped themselves immensely by not giving up any important roster players, and acquiring Matt Duchene,  Adam McQuaid and Keith Kinkaid. This very well could become a dogfight or a walkover in the next two weeks. The Isles’ schedule is littered with division rivals and they have two more games with Washington (3/1, @ 4/6) and Columbus (3/11 and @ 3/26). Those games will be paramount.  The final game against Washington could determine home team advantage for the first round.

Where Do They Go From Here?

There are a few paths they can go by,  but in the long run… they need to think of building a team for their new arena.  The first step in that is seeing what you have on the current roster.  

Some Questions About The Future

Where does Anthony Beauvillier fit in the Islanders’ future? Is he a top six wing? Can he be a bottom six center? Can he eventually replace a guy like Val Filppula? Can he become the next Butch Goring? Can he win a face-off? Will they ever use him to kill penalties?

Will Josh Ho-Sang ever get his act together? I’m not one who is going to say I know ANYTHING about Josh’s situation beyond what out on the surface. The young man has amazing talent, and when he throws that on the ice with full focus and the full effort of his physical abilities he’s a force. When he loses that focus, he has had some issues that keep him off the ice all together. I personally want to see him with guys like Ladd, Lee, Nelson and Beau. He has to earn NHL playing time to do that. Maybe there is one last gasp this season to see if they can put some trust in him. It will make a big difference to his first RFA deal, what they do with Eberle, and whether he is an Islander after June.

Is Michael Dal Colle a full time NHL player. He had a very good NHL showing. I think he earned a full time NHL gig next year. He might even make a cameo later in the season and possibly the playoffs. Does he have a “beast mode”. He certainly has showed it in the AHL, and he has shown plenty of “moments of confidence” against NHL vets. It will be fun to watch him evolve as a player.

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Off The IR

How do they re-assemble the puzzle with their returning pieces? I’m gonna push for the BrockLeeBar line until it happens, or they give us BrockHoLee. Lee and Nelson have been very good with Jordan Eberle, but they are not creating scoring chances at a first line clip. The Isles have been pretty good at 5v5 scoring (but not defending) over the past 4 years. They need a number one line again.

This year, neither top line has really stood out as a scoring threat. The Nelson line, however, has scored more than they have given up, and that is a rarity in recent Isles history. They need to shuffle that a bit. Andew Ladd will help that. I’m sure Trotz will be reluctant to break up what works with Lee+Nelson+Eberle. I expect to see it eventually. It could be a big boost in the second season.

Hickey will eventually be paired with an recent partner. It could be with Mayfield as a solid enough third pair. When that happens you can create a single offensive pairing that can defend the neutral and defensive zones as well. Everybody that has watched Bridgeport games for the last four years knew it had to happen eventually. Pulock and Toews for 15 minutes a night at 5v5. Make it happen!

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July?

We still have a handful of very important unrestricted free agents. Lou has passed the sell by date. Now he has a few months to sign them. No panic. My opinion… in order of importance.

Anders Lee. He’s their captain. He’s our captain. Don’t let two consecutive July’s mark the Islanders losing a captain. This one would be worse than the last one. All evidence points to Lee being an Islander through and through… so it would be on Lou if they lost him.

Robin Lehner was the biggest question mark when the season started. He has become the biggest exclamation point. He should be part of their goaltending future.

Brock Nelson. Even I thought he was a trade deadline goner in October. But Brock+structure+team buy in has been the biggest surprise of the season. If anybody thought in October that Lee, Nelson and Eberle would be the #1 line of a first place team raise your hand. Yeah, I didn’t think so. Brock has quietly (maybe invisibly) contributed 20G a year for 5 years. Now he’s in the locomotive, certainly not a passenger. He’s going to want conductor pay. Given the market for top six centers that can shoot and create from the forecheck, he’s going to get it. This is going to be a tough negotiation, but I think they come out with a solid 5 year deal.

Val Filppula. The Isles will have almost as many signed options at third line center next year as they did last year. None. I advocated for some AHL training for Beau, but that wasn’t popular. Now here we are. Val has been great. Way better than expected. They do not have another option ready in Bridgeport. Otto Koivula will get games next year, probably. You can’t rely on him yet. I think Val will be an early July signing after Lou gets to troll the waters a bit. If he lands Matt Duchene they are done. They have the resources to do it.

Post Apocalypse Outlook

All in all I’d say the Islanders came out of this okay. They go into the playoffs with a few new weapons to deploy. They also get to battle test some players with very little or no playoff experience. If they come out of it better players win win. If they win win, then Yes Yes Yes!!!

NHL Trade Deadline 2019: The Aftermath was originally published on islesblogger.com

[themoneybuff-blog]

How to get started with real estate investing

Todays article is from Chad Carson, who writes about real estate investing (and other money matters) at Coach Carson. Ive always been intrigued by real estate investing but overwhelmed by how much info available. I asked Chad if hed be willing to write an article that would help me (and other GRS readers) understand the basics of real estate investing. This is the result. I got started in real estate investing right after college. Because a young adult can basically sleep in a car if he has to (my 1998 Toyota Camry with cloth seats was comfortable), I had little to lose by launching a business. Unfortunately, as a Biology major, I also knew very little about business or real estate. But I did know how to hustle and to learn. That helped. Slowly, I learned to find good deals and to resell them for a small markup of profit (a.k.a. wholesaling). I also learned to buy, fix, and flip houses for a bigger profit (a.k.a. retailing). After a few years, my business partner and I began keeping some rental properties because we knew that was the path to generating regular, passive income. While my early business might sound like an exciting HGTV house-flipping show, its not for everyone. I experienced radical ups and downs of cash flow, and there were many unpredictable outcomes. I learned a lot being a full-time investor, but there are actually easier ways to get started. Most investors I know started with a full-time job. They became valuable at their job, earned good money, lived frugally, and started boosting their saving rate. With their extra savings, they began buying rental properties on the side. Im not saying you shouldnt begin as a real estate entrepreneur like I did youll know if youre called to make that leap but if you currently have a non-real estate job and youre saving money, youre already going down the easiest path. The next step is to learn how to invest that money profitably and safely. I personally think real estate investing is one of the best ways to do that. Ill show you why thats the case in the next section.

Why Real Estate Investing? Because Its Ideal! Ive yet to find a better way to describe the benefits of real estate than this. All you need to remember is the acronym I.D.E.A.L: Income. The biggest benefit of real estate is rental income. Even the worst rentals I find produce more income than a portfolio of other assets like stocks or bonds. For example, I often see unleveraged (no debt) returns of 5-10% from rental income. And with reasonable leverage, its possible to see these returns jump to 10-15% or higher. The dividend rate of the S&P 500, on the other hand, is only 1.99% as of 1/24/17. And the yield on a broad basket of US bonds as of the same date was only 2.41%.Depreciation. Our government requires rental owners to spread out the cost of an asset over multiple years (27.5 years for residential real estate). This produces something called a yearly depreciation expense that can shelter or protect your income from taxes and reduce your tax bill. (For more about this, check my article The Incredible Tax Benefits of Real Estate Investing over at Mad Fientist.)Equity. If you borrow money to buy a rental property, your tenant basically pays off your mortgage for you with their monthly rent. Trust me: Having somebody else pay your mortgage is a beautiful thing! Like a forced savings account, your equity in the property gets bigger and bigger over time.Appreciation. Over the long run, real estate has gone up in value about the same rate as inflation, roughly three to four percent a year. Combined with the three benefits above, appreciation can produce a very solid long-term return. But this passive style of inflation is not the whole story. Active appreciation is even more profitable. You get active appreciation when you force the value higher by doing something to the property, like with a house remodel or changing the zoning.Leverage. Debt leverage is readily available to buy real estate. This means your $100,000 of savings can buy five properties at $20,000 down instead of just one property for $100,000. Interest on this debt is deductible, so you also save on your taxes. (While this can be helpful, keep in mind that leverage also magnifies your losses if things go bad.) These IDEAL benefits are core reasons to invest in real estate. But as a Get Rich Slowly reader, I think youll appreciate another core real estate investing benefit: control! Controlling Your Financial Destiny

I love J.D.s message here at Get Rich Slowly: You are the boss of you! You can apply this lesson to so many parts of life, but it especially applies to your finances. Real estate investing fits very well with the GRS philosophy. Why? Because real estate gives you much more control than other more traditional investments. Im also a fan of low-cost index fund investing, for example, but do you have an impact on the returns of your stock portfolio? Not really. The 3500+ managers of the companies owned by the VTI total stock market index fund do impact your returns, but not you personally. You simply control when you buy, how much you buy, and when you sell. But with a rental duplex, for example, your decisions directly affect its profitability (for better or worse!). You can buy in certain neighborhoods and ignore others.You can negotiate with your bank, with the seller, and with your vendors to get better prices.You can choose the property manager and the types of tenants who will ultimately produce the returns for your investment. If this prospect of control excites you, then keep reading. But if your palms are clammy at the idea of hands-on investments, just focus on a different vehicle. Thats okay. There are options for everyone in this big investing universe! To make things manageable, were going to break things down a little. As a baby, you learned to walk by taking tiny steps. You also fell down a lot, but with a diaper four inches from the ground, whats the harm?! Well, youre no longer a baby. Financially you do have a lot to lose. Your family, your hard-earned savings, your plans for financial independence, and your pride would all suffer if you made bad investments. I get that. And thats why we still need to take safe, baby steps. Therell be plenty of time to run and grow faster once youre more confident. But in the beginning, just strive to move forward steadily. The seven baby steps below provide a simple path to follow. Ive taken each of these steps personally. You can use them as a blueprint to help you move forward with your own real estate investments. Step 1: Create Financial Goals Real estate is simply a financial vehicle. Before you begin to buy real estate, you have to have a clear picture financially where the vehicle will take you. If you havent done it already, read J.D.s Financial Independence in Plain English. Youll learn that a solid financial independence goal is to achieve a net worth equal to your current annual expenses multiplied by 25. In other words, if you spend about $50,000 per year, your goal should be to achieve a net worth of around $1,250,000. With this level of wealth, you could likely withdraw 4% of your net worth each year without completely depleting your money. While these assumptions are typically made for traditional portfolios of stocks and bonds, real estate works much the same. In fact, its much simpler. Lets say once again you spend about $50,000 per year. And lets assume you can produce a cash-on-cash return of 6% with your real estate investments. (This return or better is achievable once you get going.) This would mean you need a net worth of $833,000 ($50,000 .06) to achieve financial independence. (For more details, check out my article How Many Rental Properties Do You Need to Retire.) In case you didnt notice, real estates income producing ability allows you to become financially independent with a much smaller net worth than alternative investments. In other words, you get to financial independence sooner! Just another benefit of real estate investing! Now lets pick a real estate investing strategy and niche.

Step 2: Focus on a Real Estate Investing Strategy and Niche Real estate isnt a single method of investing. Ive found at least 35 different niches you could specialize in, and you could apply a variety of strategies to each of those niches. A niche is just a small segment of the larger real estate market. This could be a particular neighborhood, a certain kind of property (single family, duplex, commercial building), or a certain customer (like vacation rental tenants). A strategy is a method of making money. In very basic terms, real estate strategies fall under two big umbrellas: Flipping properties (buying and quickly selling).Holding for rental income and growth. Within each of these larger strategies, youll find a number of sub-strategies. Ill give you my favorites below. Many brand-new investors get overwhelmed because there are so many choices. This leads to analysis paralysis or ineffectiveness as they jump from one niche to another. To help you avoid this, Ill recommend a few of my favorite beginner combinations of strategies and niches within real estate investing. The Live-In House Flip My friends and bloggers at 1500 Days to Freedom built a large part of their wealth ($1.6 million +) using a simple real estate method. Its called the Live-in House Flip. [J.D.s note: I too am a fan of the folks at 1500 Days. Theyre funny and informative.] Just like it sounds, this strategy involves flipping a house. But unlike most flips, you live in the house for at least two years. Why live in the house? Because this allows you to sell the house tax-free. This is one of the most profitable sections of the U.S. tax code! (In the U.S., when you sell your primary residence, up to $250,000 of capital gains for an individual or $500,000 for a couple can be excluded from your income.) No, its not always fun to live with construction dust. But what if you could use this strategy for a short period of your life, like 6-10 years? You could own your home free and clear or jumpstart your wealth building. And then you could move on with the rest of your life. House Hacking I love house hacking! One of my first residences Ive had a lot! was a four-plex. I lived in one unit and rented out the other three units. My mortgage payment including taxes and insurance was $1100 per month. My rent from the other three units was $1200. I was basically living for free! If you dont want to live in a small multi-unit building, you could also rent out a basement or garage apartment. I have a friend who rents his basement part-time using AirBnB and pays his entire homes mortgage. House hacking is also a great way to transition into non-owner occupied rental properties. While living in the property, you can obtain an owner occupied mortgage. These mortgages have the best rates and terms, and they are the easiest to get. Then after living in the building for a couple of years, you can decide to move on to a new residence. But the old property can be kept as a long-term rental that cash flows well. If youre looking for a low cost of housing and your first rental property, its hard to beat this method. Rental Debt Snowball Youre probably familiar with the debt snowball, which is a great way to repay your debts one-by-one. The speed of your debt payoff snowballs because the cash flow gets bigger and bigger as each debt gets paid. This cash flow is then used to pay off the next debt even faster. You can also do a debt snowball with rental properties. Its one of the most predictable, satisfying ways to achieve financial independence with real estate investing. Heres how it works in brief: Buy the number of rental properties you need to achieve financial independence. (Remember, we covered that calculation in step one above.)Use the excess cash flow from all rentals (and any extra savings) to pay off one mortgage at a time.Repeat the process for each mortgage until you own all of the homes free and clear.Enjoy the income and equity from your free-and-clear properties to do what matters in your life. Using this method, its possible to own your properties free and clear of debt in under thirteen years. (I wrote a detailed rental snowball example with numbers in case youre interested.) Now that you understand the big picture, lets look at what makes a good real estate deal. [embedded content] Step 3: Understand the Basics of Good Real Estate Deals Good real estate deals are one part quantitative analysis (i.e. the numbers) and one part qualitative analysis (i.e. intangibles that make properties desirable). To buy good real estate deals that will make a profit and help you achieve financial independence, you need to understand both. Quantitative Analysis of Real Estate I can summarize financial analysis for rental properties with five key metrics: Net Operating Income. Your net operating income (NOI) is the rent left over after paying all of your property expenses, including taxes, insurance, property management, maintenance and reserves for vacancy and future capital expenses (roofs, HVAC systems, etc). Importantly, this metric does not include any mortgage expenses.Cap Rate. You know how folks use the price-to-earnings ratio (or P/E ratio) to evaluate stock prices? Well, the cap rate is a similar tool for evaluating home prices. The cap rate which is short for capitalization rate describes the relationship between the net operating income (or NOI) and the price of the real estate. Imagine, for example, a rental that produces $10,000 per year in NOI and can be purchased for $100,000. This hypothetical property would have a 10% cap rate. This metric ignores any debt used to buy the property and focuses only on the income and price. So, the formula is this: Cap Rate = NOI/Price.Net Income After Taxes. Net income after taxes is derived from a formula that builds upon the NOI. The key difference is that here you also deduct mortgage payments (if any) and tax liabilities. This is the money youll actually get to keep in your bank account, which I think we can all agree is a very important thing!Cash-on-Cash Return (ConC). Like a cap rate, your cash-on-cash return describes your return on investment. But the ConC rate usually assumes you have leverage and describes the cash return on your down payment. Imagine you purchase a property with a $20,000 down payment, for instance. If this property produces a $2000 yearly net income after taxes, then youd be earning a 10% cash-on-cash return. The formula is this: Cash-on-Cash Return = Net Income After Taxes/Cash Invested.Price Discount. The final metric is straight-forward. How far below the full price did you pay? Unlike stocks, real estate is an illiquid market. This means there are opportunities if you work hard to buy a place anywhere from 10% to 30% (or more) below full value. There are definitely many other ways to financially analyze a real estate deal. But if you understand these five core metrics, youll have the basics tools you need to buy a good deal. Qualitative Analysis of Real Estate Real estate is best viewed as a product. A lot of times, investors get caught up in the numbers, as if real estate is only a numbers game. But its not. In real life, people make emotional decisions to buy or rent. Qualitative analysis is all about understanding the factors that make any particular property more or less desirable. Luckily, youve lived in real estate! So, when you buy residential real estate investments, you already understand some of the important factors that matter the most to renters and buyers. But to jog your memory, here is a list of things to consider that affect the desirability of a property: SafetyWalkability or accessibility of public transit (especially in urban areas)Good school districts (especially in suburban areas)Population growth in the region increasing (good) or decreasing (bad)Job and wage growth in the region increasing (good) or decreasing (bad)Low-traffic streetsOutdoor living features (yard, patios, gardens, etc)Attractive interior finishes (this varies from market to market, but its important)Storage space (garages, storage lockers, etc)Quality construction and low maintenance materials (floors, exterior surfaces, etc)Interior layout (avoid weird wall locations, walking through bedrooms to get to bedrooms, etc)Avoid obnoxious neighbors, dogs, smells, large power lines, noises you cant control these things.Avoid steep lots or properties below the grade of the road. Water flowing towards your foundation is a difficult problem. Real estate is very local. So, my list may not always apply to your market. But the main point is to study and learn the important factors in the area where you want to invest. You can do this best by becoming a renter or buyer yourself. Shop around. And then try to buy properties that meet both your quantitative and qualitative criteria. Step 4: Build a Team Real estate is a team sport. If you like to manage all of your investments from a computer and never talk to people, this may be negative. But you dont have to be an extrovert or an amazing communicator to be the leader of your team. You just need to have a clear idea of what you want and then pay good people to help you. Heres a list of some of the key team members youll need to buy, finance, rent, and sell real estate investments: Real estate agent (for purchases and sales)Real estate attorney (for contracts, LLC creation, and for closings in some states)Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.)Mortgage lenderPersonal banker (for your business bank accounts and lines of credit)Property manager (unless you are self-managing)Property inspector (during purchase due diligence)Repair contractorsHVAC technicianPlumberElectricianPest controlLawn careHandymanReferral sources for new dealsNetworking and mentorship with other local investors That might seem like a large list, but dont let it intimidate you. You dont have to build this team overnight. And you can share a lot of the team members with other investors as you network at local REIA groups or online at places like the Bigger Pockets forums. [embedded content] Step 5: Create a Financing Plan Real estate is closely tied to financing. Even in inexpensive markets, the price of an investment can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, unless you already have a big pile of cash to invest, youll need to create a financing plan and this needs to be done before you go out and start shopping for investment properties. Here are a few things to figure out with your personal financing plan: The source (mortgage lender, local bank, private loan, line of credit)The terms:interest rateupfront costs (fees, points, closing costs, etc)the length of the loanfully amortizing or an early balloon payment.down payment requirementLoan amount available As a general rule, I like my financing to have a low rate of interest, long length (30 years), and no balloons. When I started, I got most of my financing from non-bank, creative sources like private money, self-directed IRA loans, and seller-financing. (I shared my five favorite non-bank financing sources in an article at Bigger Pockets.) But over time Ive used all sorts of financing, including traditional mortgage loans and commercial financing. Youll need to match your financing to your strengths. If you have great credit, solid W-2 income, and a down payment, then traditional financing may be the best route in the beginning. The rates are typically low and the terms are very attractive. But if youre self-employed, newly employed, or any form of entrepreneur (like I was), then you may also want to look at alternative financing sources like I did. As Ill explain in the next section, it also wont hurt to have multiple sources of money. Traditional financing has great terms but it can be very slow to close. Alternative financing may have less attractive terms but give you quicker access to cash for good deals. Step 6: Create a Plan to Find Deals The question I get most often is, How do I find good real estate deals? Especially in hotter markets, it seems like all of the good deals get snatched up quickly. This was the skill that I learned at the very beginning of my real estate career. I didnt know much else, but I recognized that finding good deals was like a bottleneck for all of the other parts of the business. Here are some of the key things I learned: Recognize good deals. Begin by understanding what a good deal looks like. (See step three in this article.) You wont find good deals if you dont know what youre looking for.Prepare your financing (or cash). Get your financing prepared before you hunt for deals (step five above). Even better, if you have access to a source of liquid funds instead of just a traditional loan, youll improve your chances of buying good deals because you can move faster. This might be a line of credit, cash in the bank, a private loan, or a hard money loan. You can refinance with permanent financing later.Build a referral network. You want everyone you know to be looking for deals. You only have two eyes and 24 hours in a day. But if twenty people you know are looking for signs of good deals, youre much more likely to stumble upon them. Begin by printing and passing business cards telling people what you do and what youre looking for. If youre hardcore like I was, you might even put signs on your car! I bought one house per year for many years from this one source alone.Build market systems. Your time is limited. You need to build systems to leverage marketing, such as direct mail, websites, Realtor MLS searches, and more. (You can check out my podcast interview on BiggerPockets for seven ways to find incredible real estate deals. I talk about direct mail and other favorite ways to generate leads.)Hustle. Nothing replaces your personal commitment and desire to hustle. This is the great equalizer. When I started, I knew very little. Other investors had financial and knowledge advantages over me. But I was proud that few people could out-hustle me. If you want to find good deals, youll need a similar commitment. Keep in mind that finding deals is a lot like a treasure hunt. You have to turn over many, many stones before you find a gem. If youre impatient and want quick results after looking at five properties, youre not likely to succeed early on. When I was a beginner, I was told Id need to look at 100 properties before Id find a deal. This was like paying my dues. I still think its good advice today. There is much more to learn in this area of real estate. But these tips should help you get started. Step 7: Take Massive Action In life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Anthony Robbins, Awaken The Giant Within So far in this article, Ive shared a lot of knowledge. Weve gone from the big picture and theory of real estate down to the nitty-gritty of deal analysis and finding good properties to buy. But this final step is less about what you know and more about what you do. Ultimately, success in real estate investing or anything else comes down to personal commitment, organization, and self-discipline. I often tell people that starting anything new, including real estate, is a game of momentum. Its like youre pushing a huge boulder down a hill. That boulder wont budge without a lot of initial effort. But once you take massive action to get it moving, the rock will roll from its own momentum. The key questions for you then are: Are you really committed to real estate investing? If its just whim, Id recommend not wasting your effort. Itll likely just lead to frustration for you and others.Are you organized with your projects and your time? Im sure you have job, family, and other commitments already. Can you carve out 10-20 hours per week early on to push the boulder downhill, to build momentum? If not, perhaps you should wait until a time when you can.Are you willing to stick to this? Do you have enough self-discipline to keep going when its less fun, when the results dont come easily, and when youre tired? Youll hit a wall, just like everyone else before you. What will you do when the wall comes? The good news is that taking massive action can be a lot of fun! If youve made it this far (thank you for sticking with me!), youve proven youre interested in real estate investing. Make a game out of learning and starting this new venture. Dont take yourself too seriously when things go wrong. And celebrate when things go well. In the end, what I love about real estate and all of personal finance is the personal growth you experience while you also build wealth. Its a fun combination!

How Will You Get Started in Real Estate Investing? Thank you for learning how to get started in real estate investing with me. Ive shared my real estate story, the I.D.E.A.L. benefits of real estate, and seven baby steps to get started. Now its your turn. I hope this information will inspire and equip you to get started with your own investments. If you have any questions or need clarification on something, please feel free to leave a comment below. Id love to hear from you! https://www.getrichslowly.org/real-estate-investing/

[athena29stone]

Personalizing the Curriculum with the Learning Journey Model

Mark Engstrom, Episode 188 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Mark Engstrom shares a personalized model for learning that he calls the “Learning Journey Model.” After students accomplish a core competency, they personalize their learning journey much like the “game of LIFE” board game.

Got 5 minutes? That is all it takes to enter the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest. If you’re a US public school teacher of grades 6-12, you and your students just need to come up with a STEAM idea that can help your community. If you’re selected as a finalist, you’ll win technology and prizes to help your STEAM project come to reality.

The entry period ends this week – Thursday, November 9 is the last day! Go to coolcatteacher.com/samsungsolve to learn more. Good luck!

Listen Now

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  Below is an enhanced transcript, modified for your reading pleasure. For guests and hyperlinks to resources, scroll down.

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Enhanced Transcript

Improving the Curriculum with the Learning Journey Model

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e188 Date: November 8, 2017

Vicki: Today we’re talking to Mark Engstrom @markaengstrom Head of Middle School and Upper School at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas.

The Learning Journey Model

Mark, you are passionate about helping students have control over their learning. Give me an example. What do your students do?

Mark: So… my students know which components of my classes are foundational and what components are collaborative, what components they will have choice on and what they’ll get to choose from when it’s time for assessments.

I think of the Learning Journey more like the game of life and less like a traditional syllabus where teachers dictate what’s going to be taught, when it’s going to be taught, how you’ll be graded, how you’ll be penalized, the resources you have to use. I prefer to give kids a path, and let them choose from within that path what works best for them.

Vicki: OK, did you say that they get to choose their assessment?

Assessment in a Personalized Classroom

Mark: So they do get to choose. They have a variety of passion-based projects they get to pick from. Within the assessments, there are six questions, and they do three of them. They have five different chances to take the assessment, so the idea is that there’s choice within the assessment, and there’s choice about when they want to take the assessment.

Vicki: Okay, so are all the assessment tests, or do you assess other ways?

Mark: I assess in other ways as well. We’ve got MAP quizzes, we’ve got content-based knowledge assessments, so there are some other some other ways.

Vicki: OK, so there are some teachers sitting here saying, “OK, so you’re coming up with four different ways to assess? That sounds like a whole lot of work!”

Mark: It is! But once you get your kids trained to sort of think, “OK. I’m learning for learning’s sake. I’m going to be assessed in a whole bunch of different ways, and I will have choices,” then they are really feeling empowered.

It becomes less about “playing school” and more about, “How much can I learn? What more can I learn? What don’t I know? Who can help me? Where can I go online to get better? Who in the class can help me? What do I need to ask the teacher?” It makes them the agents of their own learning, and it is fantastic!

Vicki: Do you have a learning management system that helps you keep up with all this?

How does this relate to your Learning Management System?

Mark: We do. It’s called PowerSchool. The reality is that it’s a round-peg-square-hole kind of situation, because I don’t want to manage their learning. I want to inspire them, I want to spark inquiry, I want to answer their questions, I want to give them resources. So the whole idea of a learning management system? I just think it’s flawed. We shouldn’t be managing their learning, we should be sparking it.

Vicki: OK, but you use that to track it and hold it all together? I use PowerSchool Learning as well. I think I’d have to say that they do sponsor some of the work that I do, so I do have to say that.

So, OK. So what class in particular… You’re Head of School, but are you also teaching a class, or is this the model in all of the classrooms for your students?

Mark: So I’m the Head of our Middle and Upper School. We’ve got a Head of School who’s in charge of the kit and kaboodle of Pre-K through 12. So, in my two divisions, Middle and Upper School, we’ve got five classes that now use the Learning Journey model.

Vicki: OK. So is this something that you invented, or where’d you find it?

Mark: I went to some professional development that made me rethink the way we do school. And I kind of landed on the Game of Life that I wanted to use. So, yeah, I came up with it.

Vicki: OK. And we’ll share in the Shownotes , you’ve got some infographics about how you structure your syllabus. (See above.) You completely changed the syllabi for these courses, haven’t you?

Mark: Correct. Can I just talk a little bit about how the Learning Journey works, so it’s clear to people?

Vicki: Yeah! Help us

Mark: So, if you’re looking at the infographic, (see above) basically the top left is Goal Setting. You can follow the white arrows all the way down. It kind of forms maybe two “S”-shapes. Along the way, there’s Artifacts and Reflections and Goal Setting. Kids are always thinking about, “What did I do that’s awesome?” or “What did I do where I struggled?” or “What do I do when I want to do it better?”

And “What did I do that was collaborative? Where can I get an artifact that sort of encapsulates this segment of my learning?”

And then they write a little paragraph about it. I comment on that.

So it’s not just about the learning. I tell kids, “The hidden curriculum is YOU.”

We talk about geography, and I care about geography. But what I really care about is, “What are you learning about how you learn best?”

And so, the first part is foundational learning. That’s the blue part. In every class around the world, teachers could identify the non-negotiable pieces that lay the foundation for deeper thoughts. Those pieces are in my Foundational Learning segment.

Then there’s Collaborative Learning, which looks like what you would imagine it should look like for any collaborative project.

Then we move into a personal segment where they do a Passion-Based Learning Project.

The final segment of the class is getting ready for the assessments.

Vicki: Are all the kids operating at a different speed?

How the personalized approach works

Mark: We work on trimesters. The first trimester we kind of all go at the same pace. But then in the second and third, I really let them loose. Some kids really fly, and you realize that they’ve been shackled by the traditional methods of teaching and whole-class instruction. And it is awesome to see kids just take off on their learning.

Vicki: What happens, though, when you have some people who’ve covered a lot more material than others, and then you go back to this, “OK, these folks have class rank.”

Class Rank and Traditional Grading in this model

Is it fair if somebody covers eight more chapters than somebody else?

Mark: What do you mean by “class rank”?

Vicki: Well, in high school, do you have first, second, third, fourth in your class, or do you not do that at your school?

Mark: We have to do that for the state of Texas, because it affects admissions policies. But other than that, we don’t need to.

I mean, I see your point. There are kids who go above and beyond. But this isn’t a system that’s geared to satisfy other components of traditional education.

Vicki: Ahhhhhh….

Mark: I’m trying to drill down to what does research say about agency? Like if you look at Daniel Pink, Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose… the Learning Journey is full of autonomy and purpose options. That’s kind of the driving force.

Vicki: So… you… are just reinventing school!

Mark: That’s what we’re trying to do.

Vicki: Do you get any pushback?

What pushback do you get with the Learning Journey model?

Mark: I’ve presented this at conferences before, and I’ve written about this. Some people will write in and say, “Wow, that’s great!” But I get very few people who actually want to jump in. I think right now there aren’t enough incentives for teachers to take the time to overhaul their class. Whether their principal wouldn’t appreciate it, or they team teach with people who aren’t interested — I just think there aren’t enough incentives out there right now.

But I would say that any teacher out there, who’s really looking to get re-energized around student learning and the experiences that they’re offering their kids? They’re more than welcome to reach out to me. I’m on Twitter, and I’d be happy to talk through the first couple steps of the Learning Journey.

Vicki: Mark, the truth is that we’re going to end up where you are at some point. We can either aggressively go after it and become part of the change, or the change can be done to us.

You’re either a victim or a victor when you’re dealing with change.

This whole personalized learning approach is really where we’re moving. I mean, would you agree with that or disagree with that?

Mark: Amen. I think you’re spot on.

30-second elevator pitch for the Learning Journey model

Vicki: But it’s just hard. I’m trying to get my arms around it. What do you think… If you were stuck in an elevator with someone who was in charge of the curriculum for one of the biggest districts in the country, and you had one minute to sell this approach of the Learning Journey model. What would you say?

Mark: I’d probably start by asking them, “What’s the number one thing they want to change about student learning in their school district?”

And, depending on their answer, I would chime in that there are different parts of learning journeys, or personalized learning, or digital tools that can accomplish what they’re hoping to accomplish.

And if I had a whiteboard or my infographic at the ready, I would kind of walk them through how the Game of Life — which allowed you to make choices about going to college, having a wife and family, investing in stocks — I mean, that same sort of board game path is applicable to giving students agency over what they want to learn and how they want to learn.

Vicki: So what’s your greatest, “AHA!” moment from this whole process?

Greatest Aha Moment

Mark: ASo I think the “AHA!” moment is that we don’t need to move students through the old industrial model of teaching. It’s easy to do flipped class learning and see how that works. It’s easy to do Project-Based Learning and see how that works. But all of those things feel to me like piecemeal or part of the answer. Whereas I hope the Learning Journey is more of a holistic approach to giving students control. I think that would be my “AHA!” moment.

Vicki: What do you think is the biggest mistake you’ve made in this journey?

Mistake in Personalizing Learning

Mark: The first step I made was to get rid of all content as a requirement. I gave kids too much choice to start. I got a lot of pushback from parents saying, “We don’t know what to study.”

I wish I hadn’t started there. I wish I had started smaller, and given kids choice and trimmed back the content instead of giving them total choice over what they study.

After the Foundational Learning piece of the journey, they really do have total control. So I’ll have some students who only do politics. Or only do environmental stuff. Or only do economics. And I didn’t do that well the first time.

Vicki: I love that you admit — I think that this is important for the transparency — saying, “This is what I did right, This is what I did wrong.”

Your Learning Journey model really is a journey, for you.

Educators, you’re definitely going to want to check the Shownotes for the infographics and the links to Mark’s site.

We love to feature brave, remarkable educators on the 10-Minute Teacher to really provoke your thinking. This is the direction that I think that we’re all going to be heading.

It sounds complicated. It sounds hard.

But I’ll tell you this — we cannot let the fact that something is challenging keep us from doing it, because we’re talking about lives here.

If it works, we need to consider it.

So let’s take a look at the Learning Journey model, and see what we can learn from it.

    Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

Mark Engstrom is an Educational Consultant, Blended Learning Designer and the Head of MS/US at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas. He has presented on digital and personalized learning through Independent School Management, Association of American Schools in South America and Association of International Schools in Africa. He has also written for EdSurge, Getting Smart and Teachers Matter. He has helped teachers from all over the world make learning more engaging for their students. Feel free to connect through Twitter @markaengstrom

Twitter:@markaengstrom

Author of

Blending Alone- http://www.gettingsmart.com/2014/01/blending-alone-blend-non-blended-environment/

Redesigning the syllabus to reflect the learning journey- https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-09-10-redesigning-the-syllabus-to-reflect-the-learning-journey

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.) This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

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from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e188/

[apsbicepstraining]

The 24 -hour race: ‘It is a battle with your mind’

Ultra-running is one of the worlds fastest growing sports, often taking place in remote, scenic sceneries. Not an sportings way in London. Will opponents reach nirvana?

I hallucinated, of course. I always do, Pat Seabrook says. She is 76 and has expended the past 24 hours moving round a 400 m sportings track in Tooting, south London. She sits in the front seat of her car, peeling plasters off her toes. At some part I began to think the white directions on the way were lassoes, rising up around me, and I was pushing them away. She titters: Often I run with my friend and we take turns to hallucinate.

Along with 44 other smugglers, Seabrook has just vied in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 24 -hour Track Race. Ultra-running, in which contestants take part in races longer than a marathon and often 100 miles or more, is one of the fastest growing boasts in the world, with brand-new races propelling all the time; the most difficult ones have been forced to introduce lottery systems to cope with the numbers who want to enter. But part of the appeal of these races is that they usually take place amid some of the worlds most remote and scenic sceneries, such as the Sahara or the Rockies. Not around a line in Tooting.

Paul Corderoy: You can get into that room; a few laps go by and you dont realise it. Photo: Marietta d’Erlanger for the Guardian

The winner, James Stewart, runs a mind-boggling 160 miles over the course of the day. Its hard to appreciation, watching him peg away, lap after lap: 160 miles, without going anywhere. He could have guided all the way to Cardiff, but hes still there, on the trail in Tooting.

Seabrook is the oldest contestant here and deals 83 miles during the course of its hasten. Its not that great, she says, gathering off another plaster. Last time I led 87. As well as countless 24 -hour races, she has also run 456 marathons. She didnt even start operating until her late 40 s, when all her children had grown up and leave here. I necessitated something to maintain me busy, Seabrook says. What else am I going to do on a Saturday?

Yet in spite of her low-key position, something else going on here here. The race was started nearly 30 years ago by followers of the late Indian spiritual schoolteacher Sri Chinmoy, who was held that ranging was integral to a spiritual life.

In 1977, Chinmoy started a marathon unit, which started putting on races in New York and is now one of the most important organisers of perseverance events around the world. While most of the volunteers and organisers in Tooting are partisans of his teachings, only one of the smugglers, Mahasatya Janczak from Poland, is part of the Sri Chinmoy crew. He has done the race twice before. Does he find self-transcendence through it? At instants, obviously, he replies, a flash in his eye. Its genuinely something. You is simply understand it if “were trying” it.

Pat Seabrook, aged 76, is the oldest opponent. I requirement something to preserve me busy. Picture: Marietta d’Erlanger for the Guardian

Diana Celeiro has come the whole way from Argentina for the hasten. Its her second era here. Her husband, Gustavo, acts as her supporting gang. Most of the runners have someone who holds diligently by the racetrack watching, offering encouragement, developing snacks or facilitating with any issues that arise, from cysts to psychological explosions. Some of the help crews have brought tents; one family even has a motorhome parked up on the edge of the trail. A few of the runners have no crew and have just set up a table on the grass or, in one athletes occurrence, an ironing board laden with their supplies.

Some followers vanish home or to a inn on the night for some sleep. Gustavo, though, holds vigilant throughout, ever smiling. This is different from operating 100 miles in the mountains, he says. When “youre running” 100 miles all around a trail, it is a battle with your mind.

I expect how his wife is, after completing a race like this. Very quiet, he says. Almost dead.

In Japan, friars on Mount Hiei run 1,000 marathons in 1,000 dates in a effort to reach enlightenment. One of the friars formerly told me that the relevant recommendations behind the constant crusade is to deplete the psyche, their own bodies, everything, until nothing is left and you are almost dead. When you are nothing, then something popping! comes up to fill the cavity, he said, miming a bubble popping. That something, he told me, is the immense consciousness that lies below the surface of our lives a sense of oneness with the universe.

Diana Celeiro has circulated from Argentina for the hasten. Image: Marietta d’Erlanger for the Guardian

None of the athletes here in Beeping vocalises it quite so lucidly, “but theres” glimpses of something deeper than PBs and route accounts. Sometimes, you can get into that opening; a few laps go by and you dont realise it, Paul Corderoy says.

Theres a nowness to it, thats for sure, says Jamie Holmes, a management consultant who lives less than a mile from the track. He has recently completed the famed Spartathalon ultra-marathon in Greece, which is 153 miles. When I ask why he hinders doing such long races, he says he cant actually explain it, but believed to be trying to break himself. I guess Im trying to find my restraint, he says. Maybe when I find it, Ill stop.

Shankara Smith, the race chairman, is indicated that the biggest challenge is yourself. Sri Chinmoy used to say its not mind over content, but nature over judgment. If you cant silence that judgment, then you cant do it, because your recollection will tell you you cant. Here, you cant tell yourself its you versus that mountain, because there is no mountain. Its only you versus you.

Smith has watched the race every year because it started in 1989, when her father was the race head. I desire it, she says. If youre here at 3am, the city is quiet , nothing is going on, but on the racetrack, the atmosphere is zinging. But likewise peaceful.

I invest a few hours watching the smugglers lap the racetrack. Everyone seems in good spirits; its a chilly, overcast afternoon, which is fine for the athletes, and while a few have gone off fast at the front, most are running well within themselves, chatting to each other and joking with the officials. I decide to get some meat and rest.

Driving back to the trail at 3am, I find it hard to imagine they are all still running but, sure as shooting, out on the floodlit line 15 hours after they started, the runners are still going around and around. About 10( mainly those who started at the front in the first few hours) have descended out.

Many challengers are treading, often with difficulty, by the time darkness descends. Photo: Adharanand Finn for the Guardian

Some of those left look as if theyre in pain, their operate forms twisted and wrung. Numerous are amble, but even that ogles difficult. One humanity with a shaven president is strolling gradually with his fists clenched; he seems as if he wants to punch someone. They have nine hours left to go.

Some people stand out, allays and compiled. One of them is 68-year-old Ann Bath. Shes not very fast, shes a little inclination over, but she is incessant. While others rarely stop for a massage, or to eat something, she presses serenely on, never stopping. In the end, she guides an incredible 116 miles, an age-group macrocosm record.

Holmes, the management consultant, smiles where reference is sees me again. He is now treading gingerly and his knee is heavily strapped. I feel Ive felt my restraint, he says. At the end of every lap, the runners legislate a tent full of people with big clipboards and lists of numbers. The lap bars have to wave to their smuggler each time to show theyve registered the lap, and the athletes often curve back to double check their lap has been weighed. As the hours progress, an intimacy builds up. They get to know each other well, there are still lots of tittering and joking. The smugglers say it affords them a lift.

Ann Bath operates 116 miles, an age-group world-wide record. Picture: Marietta dErlanger for the Guardian

Some hastens, you have a chip counter tied to your shoe, one runner tells me, but what I like about this hasten is that you have parties doing it.

Another runner and his bar are trying to refer a new animal each lap. After a while, the athlete, his brain frazzled, stops and tilts on the table rim. I cant think about any more, he says. Im done. No, wait, flamingo! And, with that, hes off again.

Youre gazing enormous, one of the lap bars shouts to Holmes.

Youre appearing beautiful, he responds, his startled smile now determined permanently across his face, perhaps shielding the sting. When I catch him along the back straight-shooting, he tells me he misses his acquaintances. Commonly I run with friends, he says. Without them here to tell me to stop being an imbecile, I cant find the will to try running again. So he walks. But he doesnt stop.

Around the trail, many of the aid crews are sleeping on chairs or on the flooring. Lauren Howes, whose lover, Cameron Humphries, is doing his firstly 24 -hour race, is struggling to understand what shes doing up there. I dont get wise, she says. Its like a faith. His heroes are not Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but some ultra-runner guy.

Kilian Jornet? I enterprise. Hes just about the most famous ultra-runner I can think of; he guides up and down mountains.

Yes, thats it. Hes got four duets of his shoes.

Some of the gang are hasten ex-servicemen who cant stay away. One tells me she was a marathon runner when someone at her sorority told her he had construed a race where people were gobbling sandwiches while they were extending. I didnt think it is, she says, so I went to watch. I turned up in the morning and there was a group of parties wandering around the line like zombies. Ive been hooked ever since. If Im not moving, Im crewing.

Although at times it seemed that it would never come, eventually, at just before midday, we get the bell labelling the last five minutes of the race. For the final few laps, the athletes are connected on the track by family and sidekicks. Parents lead impounding handwritings with “their childrens”, duos operate, or walking, arm in arm. One boy decides to start sprinting, his support crew struggling to keep up, while another carries his young daughter. One maiden, clearly in agony, is accompanied by her concerned husband and two teenage sons. When the hooter goes to signal the end, she abounds into weepings. Others collapse on the soil where they are, or hug the very near party. I find myself close to tears.

One runner, the shaven-headed gentleman with the clenched fists he didnt unclench them the entire race is ambling back alone across the infield. I ask if hes OK. He looks at me blankly for a moment, as though Ive exactly appeared out of the field. I exactly need to lie down, he says in the meekest spokesperson Ive ever heard.

And so it aims. I predict theyll all go back to their jobs and beings will ask them if theyre mad. Why? people will ask. Why would you do such a thing? And theyll maybe be unable to answer. But theyll be getting back next year to do it all over again.

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[viralhottopics]

House Republicans Were Handed A Historic Opportunity. They’re Blowing It.

WASHINGTON House lawmakers are heading out of town for two weeks with a health care bill in tatters, a government funding deadline looming, and a White House and congressional leadership apparently unable to find consensus or face reality. But, according to House Republicans, everything is just fine.

Its going great! Were making America great again, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) told The Huffington Post on Thursday when asked how things in the House were going.

That appears to be the honest assessment of Republicans right now. They arent bothered by their inability to pass a health care bill, or by Trump or Speaker Paul Ryans sinking poll numbers, or by the unprecedented dollars flowing into Democratic candidates coffers. And they firmly believe that, yes, they will find agreement on health care. Any day now.

Were making progress on all those things, Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) said. When you have a bill thats not ready for prime time, the best thing for the American people is that we back up and get it right.

Time and again, Republicans praised leadership for slowing down the health care debate, and they insisted that no part of their agenda had slipped.

Even Speaker Ryan (R-Wis.), who presented Republicans with a timeline at the beginning of the year that had them finished with their health care bill before the Easter break, said Republicans were still on schedule.

We have in our timeline lots of flexibility built in, Ryan said. You know why? Because we have to work with the United States Senate.

But all the flexibility on timing wont account for the inflexibility of Ryans conference. Conservatives insist the GOP health care bill eliminate regulations that protect people with pre-existing conditions from being charged more for insurance. Moderates have said they cant go along with that. And Republicans appear to have no way to break those disagreements.

If Republicans really do insist on passing health care, its easy to see how their entire agenda could be foiled. There are only 47 legislative days before the August recess after House Republicans return from their April break. The omnibus spending bill will chew up the first week of the schedule. Then, if they somehow broke the logjam, theyd still have to debate and pass their health care bill. And then pass another budget which doesnt look like itll be automatic so they can do tax reform. And then Republicans would actually have to do tax reform, an issue that has evaded Republicans arguably for the last 30 years.

And theyre supposed to pass a massive infrastructure bill. And a defense supplement. And 12 appropriation bills.

Things are certain to slip.

Meanwhile, the White House already appears to be lashing out at Ryan, unable to accept that he and other congressional leaders cant just make Republicans pass the health care bill.

In the sense that Republicans arent being jammed into voting on a bill with a 17% approval rating, maybe lawmakers have a right to be encouraged.

For Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Republicans pumping the brakes on their health care legislation is a good sign.

Its weird to be worried about not rushing enough, which is what they seem to be worried about, Amash said Thursday. We should take our time with it.

But theres still no evidence Republicans can bridge the divide in their conference on much of anything. Lawmakers appear no closer to passage than they were two weeks ago when GOP leaders pulled the health care bill from the floor, and members are heading back to their districts for two weeks. Presumably, dissatisfaction with what Republicans are discussing will further drive the conference away from a functional majority.

One of the most noteworthy critics of Republicans has been reliable Republican Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida. He recently told The Atlantic that, if Republicans cant accomplish something, then its hard to justify why theyre in power.

Ive been here for eight years, Rooney told HuffPost on Wednesday. And for the Republican Party, we need to start passing bills that are positive, rather than just being an opposition or stopping things from happening.

Again, however, most Republicans havent given up hope on their health care bill.

Ive been here for eight years. And for the Republican Party, we need to start passing bills that are positive, rather than just being an opposition or stopping things from happening.” Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)

Most people that I talk to realize that health care is the biggest problem in America, freshman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday. It was a problem before Obamacare. Its gotten worse after Obamacare. And they realize its not going to be solved in a matter of a few weeks; its going to be a several month process.

One member who spoke on the condition he not be identified said that, although there were conservatives and other members who werenot happy with Ryan, no one seemed to be talking about a coup.

It is not Paul Ryans fault at all, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said. This is just simply the process.

When Hice was asked at what point Republicans would start clamoring for leadership changes, he said, Were not at that point.

But reality is about to smack Republicans in the face.

The odds of them actually repealing and replacing Obamacare look worse every day. When they return from their Easter break, theyll have four legislative days to debate and pass an omnibus spending bill that no one has seen with obvious pitfalls all over the legislation. (Will the omnibus fund Planned Parenthood? Will it fund a border wall? How much money above previously set spending caps can Congress accept?)

And, unlike the health care bill, Republicans need Democratic votes at least in the Senate to get a spending measure to President Donald Trumps desk. If conservatives insist on funding the border wall and Democrats say no, who will blink first? And whose side will Trump be on?

While there are easy criticisms you could make of Ryan, senior GOP aides were eager to point out that, ultimately, the GOPs inability to get anything done was a reflection on Trump.

Despite what Paul Ryans detractors think, at the end of the day, this is Donald Trumps Washington now, one senior GOP aide said.

You cant just come in 24 hours before a vote, make some phone calls and expect anything to change, the aide continued, referring to the ill-fated health care bill.

Paul Ryan is the only thing holding this place together. Its just one distraction after another.

One distraction has been Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and his questionable Russia probe. After Nunes seemed to be coordinating with the White House, the California Republican stepped aside from leading the investigation on Thursday. Aides ask how those sorts of wounds are Ryans fault.

For Democrats, the answer is easy: Everything is a reflection of the speaker.

Theyre in the majority, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Thursday. Speaker Ryan is the speaker. So one would think if they want to get something done, they would lead to get something done. And thats not what theyre doing.

Other Democrats were happy to pile on and point out how poorly things are going for House Republicans. The definition of dysfunction is how Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) described the House GOP conference.

They cant govern, said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). I mean, they may have more members of the House and more members of the Senate, but one thing they dont have is a majority.

Tom Williams via Getty Images

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) says that if the House Republicans want to solve the problems before them, “they might as well talk to a few Democrats.”

Democrats urged Republicans to reach across the aisle to work out legislation.

Its not the House of Republicans; its the House of Representatives, Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) told HuffPost. And if they want to solve these problems, they might as well talk to a few Democrats.

He added that the answer on health care was obvious: If they want to deal with real problems, they can sit down with some of us. I see more of Speaker Ryan on TV than I do in the chamber.

But Republicans, miraculously, blame Democrats for not working with them. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said Thursday that it was difficult for Republicans to pass legislation because you have the other side of the aisle that refuses to do anything whatsoever.

Not an idea, nothing, not even a vote, he continued.

When it was pointed out that Republicans didnt seek input from Democrats on the health care bill they literally hid the bill from their counterparts, adopted zero of their amendments and Ryan proudly said he didnt want to work with the other side Bishop called it cute spin.

Our side did go. And they refused to do anything, he said.

Bishop implored Democrats to come up with a health care alternative, and he said it was one of the sad elements of the Affordable Care Act that Democrats didnt come to them in 2010 when Congress was working through Obamacare.

That line of attack doesnt exactly square with reality. Democrats point out that President Barack Obama held summits with Republicans, Congress debated the health care bill for over a year and more than 100 Republican amendments were ultimately incorporated into the bill.

Lee even suggested she was a little uncomfortable with how much Obama was asking for their ideas and incorporating their input. Oftentimes I would just not have to say anything, she said.

There is a growing chorus of moderate Republicans who say Republicans should reach across the aisle. Tuesday Group Chairman Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) suggested on Wednesday that working with Democrats was the best path forward for health care, and Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) essentially said the same thing.

That continues to be an option of last resort, however, partially because Republicans are holding out hope that they can come together and partially because leaders know it would further weaken them.

That dynamic isnt exactly new, but with the implosion of the health care bill, its maybe worse than ever. Still, aides didnt think much had changed.

When one senior GOP aide was asked for comment on this story, the aide shrugged it off.

Sounds like your story is a real barn burner, but the barn has been on fire for seven years now, he said.

Read more: http://huff.to/2nmjLq8

from House Republicans Were Handed A Historic Opportunity. They’re Blowing It.

[mavwrekmarketing]

WASHINGTON House lawmakers are heading out of town for two weeks with a health care bill in tatters, a government funding deadline looming, and a White House and congressional leadership apparently unable to find consensus or face reality. But, according to House Republicans, everything is just fine.

Its going great! Were making America great again, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) told The Huffington Post on Thursday when asked how things in the House were going.

That appears to be the honest assessment of Republicans right now. They arent bothered by their inability to pass a health care bill, or by Trump or Speaker Paul Ryans sinking poll numbers, or by the unprecedented dollars flowing into Democratic candidates coffers. And they firmly believe that, yes, they will find agreement on health care. Any day now.

Were making progress on all those things, Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) said. When you have a bill thats not ready for prime time, the best thing for the American people is that we back up and get it right.

Time and again, Republicans praised leadership for slowing down the health care debate, and they insisted that no part of their agenda had slipped.

Even Speaker Ryan (R-Wis.), who presented Republicans with a timeline at the beginning of the year that had them finished with their health care bill before the Easter break, said Republicans were still on schedule.

We have in our timeline lots of flexibility built in, Ryan said. You know why? Because we have to work with the United States Senate.

But all the flexibility on timing wont account for the inflexibility of Ryans conference. Conservatives insist the GOP health care bill eliminate regulations that protect people with pre-existing conditions from being charged more for insurance. Moderates have said they cant go along with that. And Republicans appear to have no way to break those disagreements.

If Republicans really do insist on passing health care, its easy to see how their entire agenda could be foiled. There are only 47 legislative days before the August recess after House Republicans return from their April break. The omnibus spending bill will chew up the first week of the schedule. Then, if they somehow broke the logjam, theyd still have to debate and pass their health care bill. And then pass another budget which doesnt look like itll be automatic so they can do tax reform. And then Republicans would actually have to do tax reform, an issue that has evaded Republicans arguably for the last 30 years.

And theyre supposed to pass a massive infrastructure bill. And a defense supplement. And 12 appropriation bills.

Things are certain to slip.

Meanwhile, the White House already appears to be lashing out at Ryan, unable to accept that he and other congressional leaders cant just make Republicans pass the health care bill.

In the sense that Republicans arent being jammed into voting on a bill with a 17% approval rating, maybe lawmakers have a right to be encouraged.

For Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Republicans pumping the brakes on their health care legislation is a good sign.

Its weird to be worried about not rushing enough, which is what they seem to be worried about, Amash said Thursday. We should take our time with it.

But theres still no evidence Republicans can bridge the divide in their conference on much of anything. Lawmakers appear no closer to passage than they were two weeks ago when GOP leaders pulled the health care bill from the floor, and members are heading back to their districts for two weeks. Presumably, dissatisfaction with what Republicans are discussing will further drive the conference away from a functional majority.

One of the most noteworthy critics of Republicans has been reliable Republican Rep. Tom Rooney of Florida. He recently told The Atlantic that, if Republicans cant accomplish something, then its hard to justify why theyre in power.

Ive been here for eight years, Rooney told HuffPost on Wednesday. And for the Republican Party, we need to start passing bills that are positive, rather than just being an opposition or stopping things from happening.

Again, however, most Republicans havent given up hope on their health care bill.

Ive been here for eight years. And for the Republican Party, we need to start passing bills that are positive, rather than just being an opposition or stopping things from happening.” Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.)

Most people that I talk to realize that health care is the biggest problem in America, freshman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday. It was a problem before Obamacare. Its gotten worse after Obamacare. And they realize its not going to be solved in a matter of a few weeks; its going to be a several month process.

One member who spoke on the condition he not be identified said that, although there were conservatives and other members who werenot happy with Ryan, no one seemed to be talking about a coup.

It is not Paul Ryans fault at all, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said. This is just simply the process.

When Hice was asked at what point Republicans would start clamoring for leadership changes, he said, Were not at that point.

But reality is about to smack Republicans in the face.

The odds of them actually repealing and replacing Obamacare look worse every day. When they return from their Easter break, theyll have four legislative days to debate and pass an omnibus spending bill that no one has seen with obvious pitfalls all over the legislation. (Will the omnibus fund Planned Parenthood? Will it fund a border wall? How much money above previously set spending caps can Congress accept?)

And, unlike the health care bill, Republicans need Democratic votes at least in the Senate to get a spending measure to President Donald Trumps desk. If conservatives insist on funding the border wall and Democrats say no, who will blink first? And whose side will Trump be on?

While there are easy criticisms you could make of Ryan, senior GOP aides were eager to point out that, ultimately, the GOPs inability to get anything done was a reflection on Trump.

Despite what Paul Ryans detractors think, at the end of the day, this is Donald Trumps Washington now, one senior GOP aide said.

You cant just come in 24 hours before a vote, make some phone calls and expect anything to change, the aide continued, referring to the ill-fated health care bill.

Paul Ryan is the only thing holding this place together. Its just one distraction after another.

One distraction has been Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and his questionable Russia probe. After Nunes seemed to be coordinating with the White House, the California Republican stepped aside from leading the investigation on Thursday. Aides ask how those sorts of wounds are Ryans fault.

For Democrats, the answer is easy: Everything is a reflection of the speaker.

Theyre in the majority, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said Thursday. Speaker Ryan is the speaker. So one would think if they want to get something done, they would lead to get something done. And thats not what theyre doing.

Other Democrats were happy to pile on and point out how poorly things are going for House Republicans. The definition of dysfunction is how Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) described the House GOP conference.

They cant govern, said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). I mean, they may have more members of the House and more members of the Senate, but one thing they dont have is a majority.

Tom Williams via Getty Images

Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) says that if the House Republicans want to solve the problems before them, “they might as well talk to a few Democrats.”

Democrats urged Republicans to reach across the aisle to work out legislation.

Its not the House of Republicans; its the House of Representatives, Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) told HuffPost. And if they want to solve these problems, they might as well talk to a few Democrats.

He added that the answer on health care was obvious: If they want to deal with real problems, they can sit down with some of us. I see more of Speaker Ryan on TV than I do in the chamber.

But Republicans, miraculously, blame Democrats for not working with them. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said Thursday that it was difficult for Republicans to pass legislation because you have the other side of the aisle that refuses to do anything whatsoever.

Not an idea, nothing, not even a vote, he continued.

When it was pointed out that Republicans didnt seek input from Democrats on the health care bill they literally hid the bill from their counterparts, adopted zero of their amendments and Ryan proudly said he didnt want to work with the other side Bishop called it cute spin.

Our side did go. And they refused to do anything, he said.

Bishop implored Democrats to come up with a health care alternative, and he said it was one of the sad elements of the Affordable Care Act that Democrats didnt come to them in 2010 when Congress was working through Obamacare.

That line of attack doesnt exactly square with reality. Democrats point out that President Barack Obama held summits with Republicans, Congress debated the health care bill for over a year and more than 100 Republican amendments were ultimately incorporated into the bill.

Lee even suggested she was a little uncomfortable with how much Obama was asking for their ideas and incorporating their input. Oftentimes I would just not have to say anything, she said.

There is a growing chorus of moderate Republicans who say Republicans should reach across the aisle. Tuesday Group Chairman Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) suggested on Wednesday that working with Democrats was the best path forward for health care, and Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) essentially said the same thing.

That continues to be an option of last resort, however, partially because Republicans are holding out hope that they can come together and partially because leaders know it would further weaken them.

That dynamic isnt exactly new, but with the implosion of the health care bill, its maybe worse than ever. Still, aides didnt think much had changed.

When one senior GOP aide was asked for comment on this story, the aide shrugged it off.

Sounds like your story is a real barn burner, but the barn has been on fire for seven years now, he said.

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