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wholesomemendes · 5 years ago

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The Final Attempt | 2

College and Hockey Shawn Au

Summary: It’s the championship game for the hockey team and you’re going to support the team just as you did for the opening game, except this time, you’re repping a certain curly hair boy that you met at the library. (This is the part 2 to The Final Attempt which I will link right here)

Author’s Note: This was highly requested and while I didn’t have a part 2 in mind I’m kinda proud of how this came out so I hope you like it! This is the longest fic I have ever written with a little over 4.3k words and I worked really hard on it to make a good story arc for you guys! As always please tell me what you think!

The championship game. If you had thought that the opening game was a big event, the championship game had blown all expectations out of your mind. You weren’t one for big crowds, but here you sat amongst the hundreds of people, Shawn’s large practice jersey adorning your body with the word MENDES written in bold letters along your back. “I love it,” you recalled him telling you the first time you had put it on for a game, “Lets everyone know you’re mine.” It seemed like just yesterday you were sitting nervously at the opening game, watching the boy that had won your heart with something as simple as cups of tea and messages written in sharpie. Fast forward to this afternoon when you had kissed your boyfriend good luck before he went to practice and were now watching him skate across the ice at a rapid pace. There was only 5 minutes left in the game with the score tied up, and everyone in the stadium could feel the nail-biting tension in the air. The puck was now in Shawn’s possession as he skated across the ice towards the goal, determination set in his eyes.

“Come on, Shawn,” you whispered to yourself, watching his every move with bated breath. 4 minutes 31 seconds...30 seconds....29 seconds...CRASH. A loud gasp escaped your lips and you stood in your seat, watching as his body got checked viciously into the boards with a loud bang. Shawn slumped down onto the ice, unable to get up while his opponent stole the puck and began to skate towards the goal. “No, no, no,” you prayed, hands covering your mouth, “You’re ok, baby, get up, you’ve gotta get up.” You saw him shake his head carefully, worried that he had a concussion from the amount of impact his head took, before looking up at the timer on the wall. 2 minutes 54 seconds. His head pounded, eyes wanting so bad to just close and rest for a few seconds, but he saw the clock, knowing that this was his last chance to make his team and school proud. He looked into the crowd, eyes landing on the one person he could always trust. Your eyes connected and as he saw the look of pure concern on your face, he knew that he had to use every last bit of strength inside of him to make you proud because at the end of the day, you were the only person that truly mattered to him. The cheers of the crowd were deafening as Shawn regained his ground, skating towards one of his teammates that had managed to to steal back the puck. Passing him the puck, his team flocked him on both sides, protecting him from defenders while he approached the goalie, the clock only seconds away from the end of the game. 5... Shawn maneuvered around an opponent, puck still against his stick ...4... he stared the goalie dead in the eyes as his heart rate increased from adrenaline ...3... thump thump ....2... shoot ....1... score. The crowd erupted into cheers causing the stadium to move up and down with the excitement in the building. You jumped up, smile so wide your cheeks hurt from the action, but you couldn’t help the proud feeling that erupted in your chest.

His teammates crowded him on the ice, adrenaline and victory rushing through their veins as they piled on one another, spirits high all around. The team’s all star player and captain was handed the winning trophy, National Champion written in bright gold lettering along the front. Cheeks flushed from the ice, Shawn held the trophy high above his head with a smile on his face that could be seen for miles, the stadium roaring in response. The energy was electric among the students, cheering from every inch of the team’s supporters as the team huddled around their winning prize and soaked up the crowd’s excitement. Shawn’s eyes met yours for a split second and you blew him a kiss, a silent message to him to show how proud you were, before he was whisked away for picture with his team.

_________________________

The outside of the stadium was packed full of students, all waiting for the victors to finally emerge from the stadium. They were chanting the team’s name, the school’s fight song blaring from their mouths in celebration. The doors swung open and the boys came out to the wild applause and screams of the crowd. Shawn led the pack, the team’s captain smiling wide from ear to ear as the students crowded him. You leaned against the wall of the stadium, watching as all of the fans congratulated him, not wanting to disrupt his moment. He thanked them profusely, but his eyes kept wandering around searching for one particular person. Shawn’s eyes met yours and they lit up, pushing past all of the girls begging for his attention. You noticed him moving towards you and lost all restraint, running into his arms so he could pick you up in his strong grasp. You wrapped your legs around his waist, nuzzling your face into his shoulder as he did the same, “I’m so proud of you, bubs.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, baby,” he told you sincerely, head lifting to show off that dazzling smile, “You’re my good luck charm.” Shawn had sworn by this fact after the only game they had lost had been the 3rd game of the season, the one you skipped in order to study for an upcoming test. Ever since then, you made it a point to be at every game and they hadn’t lost since, furthering proving Shawn’s theory. You giggled as he placed you on the ground, hands coming up to cup your face in a passionate kiss. Breaking away he placed an arm around your waist and kept you close while more people came to talk to him about the game. You snuggled closer to his arm, using him as a way to keep your calm over how crowded the situation was, especially when you began to feel the jealous stares of the puck bunnies around you. Shawn felt your discomfort after a moment and he squeezed your waist in reassurance before beginning to maneuver you out of the crowd. “Do you think you’ll be ok going to a party with me or do you just want to go back to your dorm? I’ll do either, it’s up to you.”

The idea of going to a party tonight made you sick when you’d much rather just cuddle in the arms of your man, but there was no way you were going to let him skip out on a championship after party, “I’ll be fine, you’ve gotta go to the party.”

He turned your body to face his, a serious look on his face, “I’m serious, though, if you don’t feel comfortable going we can just...”

“We’re going,” you replied confidently, hiding the nerves bubbling inside of your chest, “And what you’re not gonna do is worry about me and instead let loose and have fun.”

“I always worry about you babe, but thank you. I don’t deserve you.” He gave you a kiss on your forehead before he led you to follow the crowd in the direction of the chaos.

_________________________

It was 2 hours into the party when you lost your boyfriend. He had been glued to your side the whole night in an attempt to make you feel comfortable, but once the guys tried to drag him into a game of beer pong after you had begun to strike up a conversation with a girl from your math class, you convinced him to go have fun, assuring him you would be fine. You weren’t one to drink so you had been nursing a beer all night long which only gave you a slight buzz. Shawn on the other hand was about 3 drinks in and had reached the point where you knew he was going to have a nasty hangover the next day. You couldn’t blame him though, you had actually promoted it when one of his teammates, Brian, had handed him another drink. “Shawn, I promise I’ll stay sober so you can have fun,” you had told him, but he protested, claiming that he didn’t want to ruin your night. However, you happened to love drunk Shawn because although you didn’t see him often, he was known to be extremely cute and clingy even if his energy was also to the max.

You followed the loud yells coming from within the house only to find Brian standing on top of the beer pong table in victory as Shawn laughed beneath him. Two guys you recognized as some of his teammates grimaced on the side as they took a swig of an unknown substance, immediately souring their faces in disgust. “Hey bubs,” you placed a tender hand on his shoulder, causing Shawn’s face to turn around with a dopey grin on his face.

“Babyyyyy,” he cooed, wrapping his arms around you, “I missed you.”

You could smell the alcohol on his breath, but you chose to ignore it, focusing on the feeling of being in his arms instead, “I missed you too, did you and Brian win your game?”

“We did! Baby, I’m so good at beer pong,” he mumbled into your hair as his hands roamed your sides, “I should play you sometime.”

“Nah, I’d rather play on your team.”

“Will you lovebirds stop hanging on each other over there, I need my beer pong partner back!”

Shawn’s head perked up after hearing Brian’s words and he pulled you in front of him, back to his chest with his arms still wrapped around you. “I’m not your partner anymore I’m hers,” he said confidently, placing his head on top of yours, “You wanna play us, Craigen?”

“I don’t want to drink anything, Shawn,” you whispered to him while Brian went on the hunt to find a partner.

“I know,” he took your hand in his, kissing the back lightly, “I’ll drink for you, ok?”

“You really think you need more to drink?” you teased and he laughed, throwing his head back causing him to hiccup. His eyes widened at his own actions and a giggle escaped his lips, “Probably not, but I’ve got a pretty girl that’ll take care of me.”

“Oh, I’ve gotta take care of you?’

“You don’t have to, but you’re the only one I want to,” he showed his puppy dog eyes, even though you were fully planning on ensuring he got home safely, “Pleaseeee.”

“I’m just messing with you,” you told him, ruffling through his curls, “I’ll always take care of you.” Just then, Brian came back with his newest victim, giving the both of you a mouthful after you pecked his lips before starting the game. Shawn wasn’t lying, even drunk he was good at beer pong allowing you to win even though you only made 3 throws. Brian’s team still managed to make a considerable amount of cups which led to your beloved boyfriend becoming even drunker than he already was. Once the clock hit 3 am and Shawn began suggesting that you join in on the body shots that people were beginning to do in the kitchen, you decided that it was time to bring your champion home.

_________________________

“Come on, bubs, let’s get you out of these clothes.” Shawn was busy mumbling something incoherent as you stumbled into his dorm room and placed him on the bed. You knew Brian was probably not coming back tonight, so you weren’t worried about him barging into the room in the middle of the night. You lightly tugged on his alcohol stained shirt, a result of him getting a little clumsy during his second round of beer pong, “You gotta help me a little bit here, big guy.”

He lifted his arms up to help you out, eyes glazed over as he sat on the edge of his bed, “’M tired.”

“I know, bubs,” you sighed, beginning to unbutton his pants, “Just gotta get you into some clean clothes.”

“Hey, missy, no funny business there,” he slurred out with a drunken smile on his lips as he grabbed your wrist from pulling down his pants, earning a giggle from you in response.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, bubs,” successfully tugging his pants off, you reached behind you for the pair of pajama pants you had placed on the dresser and turned back to the giant man child that now had a pout adorning his face.

“You don’t dream of it?” he asked hurt, eyes drooping from the lack of sleep, “But, but, I’m your boyfriend...and you’ve said I’m handsome, and, and I’m hot!”

You laughed at his antics, getting the pants around his ankles and putting your hands in his to help hims stand up. He leaned against your much smaller body as you pulled the waist band up and held his face in your hands. “I think you’re very, very handsome,” you told him, admiring how adorable he looked even with glazed, drunken eyes and a bright pink tint to his cheeks from the alcohol, “I also happen to think you’re the hottest man alive, but you just so happen to be extremely drunk right now which means you need to go to sleep.” Shawn collapsed into your arms, giving you a bone crushing hug as you stumbled back trying to regain your footing.

“I love you,” he mumbled into your shoulder, “so, so much.”

Your heart fluttered at his words. You had only been dating for a little over 5 months, so the words were still very new to the two of you and they almost made you cry at how lucky you were every time he said those 3 simple words. “I love you too, champ. Let’s get you to bed.”

You maneuvered him into the tiny bed of his dorm room and he immediately snuggled into your chest like a little puppy once you laid down. With his head rested comfortably on your chest and his arms wrapped around you, his breathing began to even out while you slowly ran your fingers through his curls, “Goodnight, my little champion.”

_________________________

Your alarm went off at 9am much to your dismay, and you struggled to reach over the curly headed boy on your chest to turn it off. You didn’t have a single clue as to why you still had a lecture today, but you did, and as much as you wanted to just lay in bed all day with your boyfriend, you couldn’t miss one of your hardest lectures. You tried to move out from underneath your giant of a boyfriend earning you a groan while his arms tightened around you. “Shawn, I have to get up,” you whispered, tracing over the freckles on his muscular back.

“Don’t go,” he mumbled into your chest, “Just wanna cuddle for a little bit.”

“I know bubs, but I have to get to class.”

At this, he finally let you leave his strong grasps, grabbing onto the pillow to hold onto in place of you, “What class?”

“Mr. Howard at 11, but I have to go home and get changed.” You had put on the sweatshirt you had under his jersey along with your jeans from the game, knowing you couldn’t just wear the shirt you had stolen from his closet to sleep in last night to walk back to your dorm. “I left you some water and medicine for your head on the nightstand, make sure to get some rest, ok?” you ruffled your hands through his hair and he relaxed further into the mattress from your motions. You gave him a soft kiss on his mass of curls, mumbling an I love you into them, before grabbing your belongings from atop Brian’s bed and turning towards the door.

Shawn grabbed your hand to stop you from leaving, placing the sweetest of kisses on the back of your hand while looking you in the eyes, “I love you more.” Your cheeks heated up at his words and you squeezed his hand lovingly before making your way out of his room.

Walking as fast as you could to your dorm room, you got ready in a hurry, knowing you would have to rush to make your lecture in time due to the extra moments you had spent at Shawn’s place. You put on the first reasonable outfit you could find and packed your bag at a rapid speed in order to make it out the door with 15 minutes to spare. It usually took about 20 minutes for you to walk to class, but you were determined to not be late today. You practically sprinted to the large stone building and managed to walk through the door just as the professor was about to lock it. Giving him a sheepish smile, your eyes searched for an open seat, only to let out a disappointed sigh when you noticed that your typical seat towards the front had been taken. The only available seat was right next to the door and you begrudgingly sat down in it as you took out your laptop to take notes.

30 minutes into the lecture and your brain was fried. Your mind kept on wandering off and daydreaming about being back in bed in Shawn’s arms no matter how much you tried to concentrate. This had to be one of your hardest lectures, but you were having such a hard time focusing that you were wondering if you should just pack your things and leave. The growling of your stomach cut off your thoughts and made you realize that you hadn’t eaten or drank anything before coming to class, which was definitely taking a toll on you. You sighed, looking back up at the professor when you heard the door of the lecture hall closing. Whipping your head around, you couldn’t see anyone entering the room so you focused your thoughts back to the screen with a confused look on your face. As you went to move your laptop to better see your professor, your eyes were drawn to something that had definitely not been on your desk a few seconds prior. A white cup of tea, noticeably from the school’s cafe, was sitting right on the corner of your desk, staring back at you. Tentatively, you picked it up, turning it around in your hands only to be met with Shawn’s signature handwriting written in Sharpie.

A hot hibiscus tea with one scoop of sugar.

Sorry if I made you late to class today, thank you for taking care of me beautiful.

Love you loads, Shawn aka Bubs aka your Champ aka Best Boyfriend ever

P.S. because you’re an amazing girlfriend and you spent the whole night making sure I didn’t kill myself I’m taking you out tonight. I’m picking you up at 7, dress warm;)

You bit your lip to hide the wide grin forming on your face and suddenly, you wanted to get out of class as soon as possible for a completely different reason. The lecture seemed to drag on for hours and the moment your professor was finished you were rushing out the door to your dorm. You still had almost 6 hours left to kill before Shawn picked you up, so you texted him letting you know that you were done with class as you began to distract yourself with homework and notes from other classes. Once 6pm approached, you heart was beating rapidly with excitement and you decided it wasn’t too early to get ready. You didn’t quite know what to wear when he said dress warm because the weather was considerably nice outside and did not require a warmer dress code. Nevertheless, you decided to put on one of Shawn’s hockey sweatshirts that had his name printed on the back in bold with the school’s logo on the front and some warm leggings underneath.

7 o’clock rolled around as a knock sounded on your door. Opening it up to reveal your perfect boyfriend, you launched yourself into his arms which he responded to by pulling you closer with a light laugh, “Hi baby.”

“Hi handsome,” you giggled as he looked at you sheepishly while holding out a bouquet of yellow roses to you, which he just happened to know were your favorite, as if it was your first date all over again. You thanked him with a blush on your face and a kiss to his cheek, causing his face to light up pink when you turned around, just from your presence.

“That’s an awfully nice sweatshirt you got there.”

You laughed as he made his way into your dorm room, wrapping his arms around you from behind while you were finding a place to put the flowers, “I got it from the greatest college hockey player I know.”

“I’m the only college hockey player you know,” he pointed out as you turned around in his hold.

“Exactly,” you teased and he feigned offense, pinching your sides lightly in protest and pouting out his lips. You leaned up to kiss the pout off his lips and he immediately deepened the kiss, pushing his body closer to yours until he suddenly came to his senses and pulled away, “Stop distracting me woman, we have places to be.” With that he grabbed your hand and began to pull you out of the dorms and towards his jeep, the two of you laughing the entire way.

_________________________

The drive to your unknown location took less than 10 minutes and before you knew it, Shawn was pulling into a parking stop at the school’s hockey stadium. “What are we doing here?” you curiously asked through giggles from the last joke he had just told you.

“I may or may not have gotten the rink free for tonight so we could skate together,” he confessed, a bashful blush on his cheeks as he got out of the jeep and came around to open your door.

“How did you manage that?”

“Being the school’s star player and captain does have its perks. You’re practically dating a celebrity baby.”

“Oh shut up,” you pushed him jokingly and he retaliated quickly, lifting you over his shoulder and running towards the door.

“Shawn! Let me down!” you laughed as your arms tried to grab onto a part of his muscular back to no avail. He grabbed your legs to insure you wouldn’t fall and spun you around one last time once he reached the entrance, putting you down gently. Shawn opened the door for you, the stadium feeling oddly empty with how quiet it was. Guiding you towards the rink, Shawn felt his heart bubble in anticipation at the thought of having his girl alone with him in his favorite place to just skate around. He handed you a pair of skates that he had already placed on a bench for you, having asked your roommate for your shoe size earlier in the day. “I haven’t been ice skating in about 5 years,” you admitted, a nervous chuckle leaving your lips. How you managed to have a star hockey player as your boyfriend when you could hardly skate on two feet you didn’t know, and even though you knew Shawn wouldn’t judge you for your skills, or lack of for that matter, you still felt a tad bit embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, hun,” he told you as he helped you lace up your skates, “I’ll hold your hand every second we’re out there.” With one last tug on the laces, he patted your skate securely, looking up at you with doe-like eyes, “How do they feel?”

“Perfect,” you leaned down and pecked his lips before he sat down next to you to begin his own skates. Taking your hand in his, he pulled you onto your wobbily feet and led you towards the ice.

“Now I’m gonna get on first, just hold onto my hands.” This wasn’t your forte for sure, but Shawn was a patient teacher and after a few laps around the rink, you were feeling much more confident, probably a little too confident. You had been skating for about 45 minutes when you had suggested that he taught you how to skate backwards. Shawn’s face had lit up, loving every second of you being interested in something he loved and he immediately turned himself around to hold your hands to show you how to start. For a beginner, you weren’t doing awful, but you were far from perfect and that became clear when your feet fell out from underneath you. Shawn wrapped his arms around you just as you were about to fall on your butt, effectively having you land on top of him on the ice, the both of you laughing your heads off.

Once the laughter began to settle, Shawn’s eyes began to turn softer, the lights inside of the rink making them glow brighter than usual. “How’d I get so lucky?” he mumbled to himself as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, but you heard it loud and clear.

“I ask myself that everyday, bubs.”

He cradled the back of your head in his hand, lifting his head to meet your lips in a passionate kiss. “I love you,” you whispered softly against his lips.

“I love you too, baby. You mean more to me than any hockey championship I could ever win.”

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resonanteye · 4 years ago

Photo

via http://resonanteye.net/originals-will-be-for-sale-nov-15/

Originals will be for sale, Nov 15

Two are spoken for.

All the local galleries are full of artists that they were showing last year, my kickstarter to get full scale prints made did not get funded (really bad timing). I’ll eventually be releasing a small art book containing all of these, I hope. I had wanted to show them as a group but I do not think I’ll be able to do that. so,

here are the originals I’ll be selling. There will be a second post with purchase links on the day, and you’ll be able to message me to purchase as well. Full sized prints will eventually be available but I don’t have a date for that.

Paintings from Quarantine, a series, 2020

all are watercolor paintings. charging by size and scope…

12×16�� are 150$

18×24″ are 500$

22×30″ are 900$

36×50″ are 1500$

shipping to US/CAN included: all will be rolled for shipping, unframed. I’ll ship any country, but will have to calculate for anywhere but US/CAN. rush shipping on request at cost.

no. 1 – Milan (quarantine paintings, 2020) watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″ dedicated for Dr. Marcelo Natali 1963-3/25/20 “We certainly weren’t prepared to face such a situation. Especially those of our generation, that of the post-antibiotic era, who grew up thinking that a pill against the disease was enough.”

no. 2 – Northwestern United States (quarantine paintings, 2020) watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″ dedicated for Dr. Stephen M. Schwartz (January 1, 1942 – March 17, 2020) “There is no way to summarize a person as complex as Steve, but I’ll say this: I have never met a person with a finer mind, a greater passion for ideas, or who had a greater love for science,” Dr. Chuck Murry “This beer virus I call it — they call it a coronavirus, I call it a beer virus — how do you like that?” Rep. Don Young

no. 3 – Iran (quarantine paintings, 2020) watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″ dedicated for Dr. Shirin Rouhani (unknown- 3/19/20) “She treated patients at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran while receiving IV therapy, because there were not enough doctors. Hospitals are faced with a lack of protective gear including medical gowns, N95 masks, gloves, and disinfectants.” -Javad Tavakoli ” Tell medècin sans frontiers that we do not need hospitals established by foreigners”. -Health Minister, Alireza Vahhabzadeh.

no. 17 (final) – New Orleans, LA, USA⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣ dedicated for Ronald Lewis⁣ 7/17/1951-3/20/2020⁣ ⁣ “Right here in the Ninth Ward was where our people chased the American dream.”⁣ ~ Ronald Lewis⁣ ⁣ “The federal government rose to the challenge and this is a great success story and I think that that’s really what needs to be told.”⁣ ~Jared Kutchner

no. 4 – Rikers Island, New York (quarantine paintings, 2020) watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″ dedicated to Michael Tyson, 53 “Incredible anxiety and fear. You cannot implement effective social distancing in a room that sleeps forty men. You cannot implement effective social distancing when those forty men are using two or three sinks and one of them may be broken. You cannot implement effective social distancing when the staff interacts with all of them and has to touch all of them in the course of a day. They know that better than I know that. So when I was talking to them, I was sort of feebly saying, “We want to try to encourage people to be even more diligent about hand-washing, etc., etc.” They were, like, “O.K., we don’t have our own cleaning supplies.” They can’t wipe down their own surfaces. They have to wait for someone to come in and do that for them.” “The largest category of people in city jails are those awaiting trial — people who have not been charged but not convicted. In the ordinary course of events, getting someone in this position out of jail requires an application made in court before a judge.” -Dr. Bedard New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that the state had found a way to counteract price gouging on hand sanitizer amid the COVID-19 outbreak: by deploying cheap prison labor. Incarcerated people will be producing the disinfectant… “This is a superior product to products now on the market,” Cuomo said in a briefing, adding that the state’s sanitizer has a “very nice floral bouquet” that includes hints of lilac, tulip, and hydrangea.

no. 5 – Los Angeles, Mercy⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣ ⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣ ⁣ dedicated for Francisco Garcia⁣ ⁣ “There’s a very limited supply, it’s a scary situation. Just going to work, driving to work, you’re worried you’re going to get something. It’s changing by the hour and by the day.” S. Beltran, ER nurse . ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “This week the State Department has facilitated the transportation of nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to the Chinese people, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.” -Mike Pompeo, Feb 7 2020

⁣no. 6 – Wuhan (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣ ⁣ dedicated for Dr. Li Wenliang (1986-2/7/2020) “I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society, and I don’t approve of using public power for excessive interference.” -Dr. Li Wenliang “Now, the Democrats are politicising the coronavirus… this is their new hoax.” -Donald Trump “Trump has botched the response to coronavirus pandemic…classifying deliberations makes it harder for health experts in government without security clearances to be in key meetings. This is unprecedented, unnecessary, and damages our ability to respond to the pandemic.” -Gregg Gonsalves, a Yale epidemiologist “You, Dr. Li Wenliang, have been making false comments on the Internet, and will sign a letter of admonishment.” -Police from the Wuhan Public Security Bureau, Jan 3 2020

no. 7 – Madrid (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣ ⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣ ⁣ dedicated for Dr. Isabel Munoz ( 1961 -3/24/2020) “Her only obsession was not to infect anybody.” -Jesus Munoz “Even if we all get sick, I’d rather die than kill the country.” -Glenn Beck

⁣no. 8 – Johannesburg⁣ ⁣⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ dedicated for Simon⁣ (unknown)⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “They put us here and now we are close to one another. This is why we will be vulnerable to catching Corona. Our government has failed us,” Simon, homeless man moved by police to stadium from the street.⁣ ⁣ “The lockdown has caused problems, but it is a necessary thing that South Africa had to do,” -Maider Mavi, Mozambique Health Ministry. “Anyone showing symptoms who goes to a state hospital will have their COVID-19 test for free.” ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “The goal here is to keep Covid out of this community,” says Sasha Lalla, a leader at COSUP, a city-supported substance abuse program.⁣ ⁣ “I think then we will be seeing a situation where people with compromised immune systems are not just at risk of Covid-19, they are at risk of death. We have a responsibility to keep our most vulnerable safe,” he said. “One case here, it would be like wildfire.”

no. 9 – New York City⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ dedicated for Father Antonio Checo⁣ May 6, 1952-April 1, 2020 ⁣ “Words cannot describe the sadness and hurt as well as the frustrations that this pandemic has brought about to our daily lives here and across the city…Effective today, all Episcopal churches have been ordered closed until May 17, 2020…we as your clergy are still accessible via phone as your pastors in these times. And since we cannot gather as a community until May, we want to begin to periodically send you the weekly bible readings as that you can use for private prayer worship.⁣ …take an hour each day to pray these prayers remembering those who have died because of this pandemic, as well as those who are sick and those “essential” workers on the frontlines who ensure we as citizens have access to life sustaining resources for day to day living. We ask for the blessing of peace and hope to you all, and that all are safe in this time of uncertainty and anxiety.”⁣ Rev. Antonio Checo and Rev. Jason Moskal, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “We brought in 13 machines that basically kill every virus in the place, and uh, if somebody walks through the door it’s like, it kills everything on them. If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It’ll neutralize it in split seconds. We have the most sterile building in, I don’t know, all of America.”⁣ -Rodney Howard-Browne, River Tampa Bay Megachurch

no. 10 – Tokyo ⁣⁣⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ dedicated for Ken Shimura (20 February 1950 – 29 March 2020) “I never feared getting an infection myself,” he said, because he knows “how infection control should be done.” But aboard the Diamond Princess, “I was so scared of getting COVID-19.” “The cruise ship was completely inadequate in terms of the infection control.” -Kentaro Iwata, who has dealt with infectious outbreaks, including Ebola, cholera and SARS, for more than 20 years. “I’m choosing not to do it.” -donald trump, on masks

no. 12 – Washington, DC⁣⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣ ⁣ ⁣ dedicated for ⁣⁣ Rabbi Romi Cohn⁣⁣ Holocaust survivor⁣⁣ March 10, 1929-March 24, 2020⁣ ⁣ “The crisis caused by the coronavirus may be the time to consider a universal basic wage.”⁣⁣ -Pope Francis ⁣ ⁣ “God will shield us from all harm and sickness. We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America’s borders.”⁣⁣ -Tony Spell3

no. 15 – Paris⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ dedicated for⁣⁣⁣ Dr. John F. Murray⁣ pulmonologist⁣ June 8, 1927 – March 24, 2020⁣ ⁣ “In all his dealings in the ICU, John treated every person with respect and held them to high standards, whether it was the intern just starting in the ICU or the fellow who was a much more senior trainee, or the nurses or the therapists. Everybody had something to offer and was treated as a member of this team.”⁣ -Courtney Broaddus⁣ ⁣ “You have to do what’s best for your business.”⁣ -Wayne Hoffman

“Audience Participation, London” 22×30″, watercolor

Houston has its Time 22×30″, watercolor

Calling in the Forces, Sunflowers 22×30″ watercolor

Skating in New York City watercolor, 22×30″

The Observers (Germany) watercolor on arches, 12×16″

no. 13 – Atlanta⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ dedicated for⁣ Rushia Johnson Stephens⁣ music teacher⁣ 1954-2020⁣ ⁣ “Given our population density, high rate of asthma, and various underlying health conditions found within our city’s populations, I am issuing a Stay at Home Order for Atlantans.”⁣ -Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms⁣ ⁣ ⁣ “adding a public option to Obamacare is the best way to lower costs and cover everyone. 160 million people like their private insurance.”⁣ -Joe Biden

SOLD:

no. 11 – The Bronx⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣ ⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣ ⁣ dedicated for⁣ Rakkhon Kim, a member of Branch 36 in New York City⁣ 1970-March 25,2020⁣ ⁣ “It is not an exaggeration to say that our men and women in the Postal Service, who were already performing one of the most important jobs in America, are now literally putting their own lives on the line to deliver the food, medicine, and essential supplies that hundreds of millions of Americans depend on every single day during this pandemic.”⁣ -Senator Bernard Sanders⁣ ⁣ “It’s been losing billions of dollars a year for many, many years… this is the new one, I’m now the demise of the Postal Service. I’ll tell you who’s the demise of the Postal Service, are these internet companies that give their stuff to the Postal Service…They drop everything in the post office and they say, ‘You deliver it.’ “⁣ -president Donald Trump

no. 14 – Lansing⁣ (quarantine paintings, 2020)⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ watercolor, oil, gesso on arches paper, 18×24″⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ dedicated for⁣⁣ Lisa Ewald⁣ nurse⁣ 1966-2020⁣⁣ ⁣ “COVID-19 has impacted the lives of so many citizens throughout the state of Michigan, and even more pronounced in the city of Detroit, as we are the fastest growing city nationally with casualties related to this deadly disease.”⁣ -Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo⁣ ⁣ “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!”⁣ -Donald Trump⁣ ⁣⁣

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bluesfm · 5 years ago

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( park chaeyoung , twenty two , & cisfemale ) who ? these days , it’s all about blue hyong, who comes from los angeles & ca and is making headlines as a singer . she currently has a fan count of 42k , no thanks to the rumors of them being inflexible ! but , on the other hand , their most devout fans say they’re actually imaginative . last i heard , they caused quite a buzz when she publicly dissed her new record label and the misogynistic treatment she was receiving from their reps ! it’s no wonder they remind me of long rants in the notes app being posted to her twitter account , empty bottles of wine laying at recording studios’ floors & notebooks upon notebooks filled with lyrics she might never use but refuses to let go of .

well hello human friends !! n also hello to the non human friends too , wassup . i’m angie a dumb noodle from the middle of the south american jungle , and i’m here to introduce yall to this mess i call blue who’s a muse i have had for yrs now n carry w/ me wherever i go , with some minimal changes but she’s still the same messy bitch on the inside don’t worry folks ! so i will provide u w/ some background info on her n some possible connections under the cut . issa lil messy but we’ve been away for a while pls bear w me

blue is the only daughter to a couple of south korean immigrants that came to america when they were in their very early 20s n already expecting blue in order to chase the american dream n create a better life for themselves n their family . their life was pretty hard for a big part of blue’s childhood , while they were both studying n working odd jobs to pay for their education all the while taking care of a child . so blue didnt have the best childhood , not that her parents were bad or anything they just didnt have time for her . nowadays , they are a lot more comfortable in life , since her dad became a lawyer n her mom is a nurse , but they definitely didnt have an easy beginning .

ok so maybe bc they werent present durant most of her childhood they didnt notice a lol of signs that might have made things a lot easier for them , bc by the time they were available to emotionally be there , during her early teenage years , blue was already kinda a mess . she had grown up w very lil structure n refused the rules they tried to instill on her n was already used to doing things her own way . that lead to a lot of conflict between them , since they expected her to study hard n do well for herself in a nine to fiver when she was already sure art was the only way to go n while she did ok , she definitely wasn’t as good as her parents expected her to be .

so ... u know her teenage yrs were basic girl angsty she fought a lot w her parents n rebelled frequently n ran away from home like ... weekly , but she never rly had any real hardships . life was reasonably good but she always had something to complain abt ... just as she liked

[ MENTAL ILLNESS TW ]

but then she reached her late teens they all realized there was something going on other than the usual teenage angst she displayed all the time when she had her first manic episode . her parents thought it was a “ blue thing “ at first bc she was usually a very impulsive person n she rly didn’t have a habit of thinking before acting on her impulses , but her mom quickly noticed the signs of a manic episode when she realized how aggitated n restless she was , specially when blue described an hallucination she seemed to be having . they took her to a psychiatrist , she was admitted to a hospital n diagnosed w type 1 bipolar disorder n very quickly medicated . while the medication brought her out of her episode , n she was allowed to go home after her mood seemed to stabilize , blue also noticed it stunted her severely emotionally n decided ( against medical n parental advice [ pls dont do it fam !! take ur meds ] ) to quit her medication , falling into her first major depressive episode a few weeks afterwards . n for abt four years she’s been living w her disorder , n she doesn’t medicate at all . she’s super open abt her struggles n she has a Lot of them , specially w how much drugs n alcohol she consumes . i never said she was smart yall .

[ END OF TW ]

ok so as u probably assume , blue is an emotional mess . she has a very chaotic personality , n most of it isnt even from her illness or anything she just is a very chaotic person in general ? she is one of those artsy ppl who forgets to wash her own clothes so she ends up wearing the same dress for like , 3 days . she’s super outspoken n outgoing n rly easy at making friends if u can get past the dumbass energy she exudes 24/7 ? but yes just a very outgoing person n a outright mess most of the time . she is also soooo stubborn u will never get her to change her mind abt smth she believes to be right about in any way . u just cant . she loves a good time n loves partying n is the lack of impulse Queen soo if u got any bad ideas she is the one u should go for if u need any company . also .... so dramatic . she makes a big deal of everything n has 0 apologies abt that . just catch her crying over high school musical 3 or smth like that .

but yea on the bad side tho , blue takes up n gives up on projects so easily n she can be super fickle abt things in general . like , she will defend an idea for 7 hours but 2 days later she’s already onto smth else n doesnt even remember being so obsessive abt that other thing ? a mess . is also Quite abrasive ? if she thinks ur acting dumb shes not gonna be scared to call u out on it . can also have a Reaally explosive temper . not usually but specially during manic episodes she can be quite easy to annoy ngl . is very unreliable , especially if ur not too close .. tbh that is something connected to her disorder . when she’s on a manic episode , she will be too busy planning things she will never get around to doing or painting her entire house or spending 3 days awake n drunk writing 17 songs by herself . n during her depression is very hard to get her to do anything n even if she feels terrible , she rly cant be an available friend .

in regards to her sexuality , she’s an open bisexual and also is a crazy romantic n falls so hard for literally no reason . but like ... doesnt have the healthiest mentality for relationships ? not like in a toxic way but she will usually give 145% of herself at all times n honestly believes all of the ppl she falls for are the one (1) just wants to make things work no matter what . she’s v impulsive w/ meeting n falling for ppl tho so things dont rly end up working n she always ends up heartbroken over it . Well . At least she’s trying right ?

in regards to her career n art , she’s posted youtube covers n original songs for a couple years and gathered a decent following ? she wasnt huge or anything but she did get a record deal w an actual big label out of it a few months ago . blue was pretty happy abt it but then when the recording process started she realized they werent treating her as she thought she deserved at all ? which resulted on her taking her thoughts to some reps of the label n when she didn’t feel any difference in the way she was being treated she took it to the public ? which definitely caused quite a sitr bc she wasn’t a huge name but she was big enough ? so now she’s in some considerable trouble w her label but Also more famous than ever so they are choosing not to bury her for now ? she’s in some definite trouble though so it’ll be fun to see what happens next n what her moves will be ? spoiler alert : it’ll prob be smth dumb.

i still have so much to say but i’m so lazy wow . dont start ur intros so close to opening time folks thats my tip as an old internet auntie . OK SO ONTO SOME CONNECTIONS NOW

some label mates who she may or may not get along with ?

hookups !! she prob has a few she regrets too bc who doesnt am i right

best friends !! ppl who actually support her n she loves w no restrictions just love all around friends

exes </3 not gonna lie i have some sad ideas abt this one

good influence bc blue is a mess she needs one of those pls someone slap her head n make her drink some water

a fling she has feelings for but may not be requited ... i like my romantic connections to be angsty did yall notice

artistic soulmate !! someone her artistic bitch side just vibes with ? could be a songwriter or singer or anything tbh

some indecisive romantic shit where blue rly knows sh’s too messy n this person is too amazing ? but they still have feels so ... now what ?

this is p mcuh it ?? it has taken so long to finish this i hate myself but HEY if u like blue or dislike her u should hit me up so we can come up w some plot ideas ? i wish i had a quirky goodbye idea but my brain has just quit working guys so u get nothing from me other than a good old fashioned goodbye thanks for ur attention i love u

#cala.intro #sometimes i surprise even myself w how unorganized i can be #i am sorry this is so messy im trying to keep it on brand tm #also i cant believe i actually finished this

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sidenotelife · 5 years ago

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First 113 days of intern year

I’ve been an intern for 113 days now. sidenote - this post was going to be titled first 100 days of intern year, which sounded like a better benchmark, but it took me a while to try to sort out my thoughts on the beginning of intern year and after 13 days I decided to post this even though I couldn’t sort anything out. Anyways, I only know that it’s been 113 days because I’ve been keeping a running gratitude diary on twitter of my residency wins. I thought this would help me when I had a particularly bad day to read through all the good things that have happened, but I was also hoping this would help me focus on the wins (no matter how small) during a time that I was sure would be full of L’s. Here are a few of my faves:

Residency day 22 win: has time for pedicures with 2 yo son pic.twitter.com/X0nNArI2RC

— ken noguchi (@kensidenotelife) July 17, 2019

Residency day 27 win: nurses don't completely hate me

— ken noguchi (@kensidenotelife) July 22, 2019

Residency day 55 win: got fired by my first patient. She said she’s going to the other hospital in town but jokes on her I rotate through both hospitals 😅

— ken noguchi (@kensidenotelife) August 20, 2019

Residency day 💯 win: starting to understand that days when I feel bad about myself for all the mistakes I made are actually the best days because those are days that I actually learned

— ken noguchi (@kensidenotelife) October 11, 2019

I feel like I just got here, and to be fair I did just get here, but I’m also 10% done with residency. Isn’t that crazy? Thinking about these first 113 days, I think my developing fear is that I will finish this 1095 day journey and I will still be unprepared to do certain things. I know that I won’t graduate from residency as the fully-formed doctor that I will become over time, but I think the training process is a little unique in family medicine because the range of what a family medicine doctor can do is much less standardized than say the range of what a graduating pathology resident should be able to do. Some family med docs do c-sections, some do sports medicine, others prescribe suboxone. I feel like this adds a lot more pressure on every learning experience. If I don’t see the patient with meningitis leading to brain herniation, did I miss my only chance? I worry about this too, because of the older attendings that talk about the 80 hour work week phenomenon and how we’re getting less reps, less exposure to rare things, less total training.

At the same time, a thing I already struggle with is challenging myself to try new things that I’m not good at. I can already see myself gravitating towards certain types of patients. Like for instance, in the ED I felt a lot more comfortable with working up an abdominal pain patient than a lac repair and I can’t help but feel that I saw a few too many patients that came in with abdominal pain. And I like doing procedures, they just make me nervous and I just dread the feeling of failing at a procedure.

sidenote - I was talking with this MFM doc and I was telling him I wanted to be an MFM before picking family medicine. He told me there was another MFM doc there that did a year of family medicine and then switched to OB-GYN to do MFM. After that I couldn’t help but wonder if I would do the same thing. I probably wouldn’t, if only because wife’s head might explode, but I can see the appeal of specializing. I long for that feeling of being really competent at one thing and really confident that I’m good at that thing. To me, that’s the best and worst thing about family medicine. You’re a jack of all trades. In one sense the intellectual challenge of having to know a little bit about everything is appealing but also quite stressful. I’m already feeling overwhelmed being on the labor and delivery floor trying to develop all the OB knowledge and skills to function as a maternity care provider and then the next day flipping around and working through acute knee injuries, maneuvers for relieving vertigo, and fine-tuning heart failure meds. That said, as I go through my first couple rotations, it’s only made me more glad that I went into family medicine because of my short attention span. I just have trouble getting into the real nitty gritty details and I’d rather leave those finer points for someone else to work through.

One last thought, I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Talking to Strangers. The synopsis is that it’s really hard to accurately predict people we don’t know very well. He goes through examples of people being misperceived including the innocent person who looks guilty like Amanda Knox, and the guilty person who looks innocent like Bernie Madoff. The overarching point is that we have certain archetypes we expect all people to fit in. A person that is fidgety and doesn’t make eye contact is guilty. A person that is self-confident and smiles is innocent. These expectations are usually right, except when they’re not. sidenote - I think this idea has major ramifications for healthcare, since it’s basically what we do all day. We meet people for the first time, make judgements on what they tell us, and spit out some sort of actionable task. I think there’s something important to analyze here but I will get to this at a later day. For now what I wanted to say is that in my egocentric world the thing this book made me think about is how I present myself as a stranger. Over the past 113 days I’ve had to make a lot of first impressions, which is not exactly my strength, and it’s been draining. It’s like I feel self-conscious about presenting myself well so that I’m not misunderstood but this makes me tired and makes me less able to present myself well. First impressions are exhausting.

see you on the other side,

from ken

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funnelprinciple · 6 years ago

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Connected

Jamaica mission trip

Arrival - Connected

After several months of anticipation our group of 5 dads and 5 sons left Columbus, Ohio July 13 bound for a mission trip to Kingston, Jamaica. We would be hosted by an organization called Mustard Seed Communities, based in the Kingston area. MSC provides since 1978 housing, care, food and education for mostly disabled and abandoned children and adults, which today numbers nearly 600. Your thoughts and prayers and generosity have moved me.

This trip was the idea of me, Mark Sellers and my friend John Bruzzese. We know each other through our sons Patrick (mine) and Michael (John’s) who played basketball at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus. Our sons are now high school seniors and John and I felt that a trip where the boys would serve others, through the love of Christ, would be memorable.

Besides John and me and our two sons, the mission mates include Matt Niemiec and his son Zach; Brian Haney and son Liam; and Matt Ritchey and son Max. All are from Columbus.

As mission leaders John and I are often looked at as the ones responsible for making this trip happen. True, but John and I are merely the products of our connections, some we sought and many we didn’t, but that somehow through the grace of God came into our lives. Collectively those connections are the inspiration and guidance for this trip.

First, my brother Brad. It was his former college roommate Thad McGuire at Ohio State,who went on to get his MBA, then got into a management consulting, and several years later heard a calling to the priesthood. Thad’s now a priest in the Phoenix diocese. Thad recommended Mustard Seed Communities. (The logo on the t-shirts that you see all of the mission team members wearing was designed by my daughter Hannah, a graphics design graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP college).

Another connection of mine is Steve Gran. Steve helped me get the mission bug three years ago when he asked me to join a team in Haiti.

John had taken a mission trip to Monterey, Mexico years ago with his daughter in 2013.

Then of course there are the mission team members. To explain how I am connected to all of them would take too long but suffice to say I am where I am in my faith life not because of conscious choice; but rather, because of many individuals who took me in, like a stray cat needing a home.

Arriving at Mission House Gordon Town, Jamaica

We met our drivers and mission rep, Leroy at Norman Manley airport Saturday evening. Leroy we would learn was the perfect host for mission groups. A jovial, easy going Jamaican, he quickly cut through anxiety and anticipation with jokes and offhand funny comments. He butchered John’s last name ‘Bruzzesse’ for ten minutes (later, on purpose I think!). We made new connections with driver Webb and mission rep Tavares, whom we later heard Leroy call ‘the mayor’ because he seemed to know everyone everywhere we went.

During the orientation the night we arrived Leroy proudly told us about singing the new Jamaican national anthem as a young boy once the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1962.

The cook, Beckita, had a big pot of chicken soup with dumplings on the stove for us when we arrived. Someone commented that the stock tasted like it had been reducing all day, yummy.

Day 1 Sunday

Day 2 highlights:

- Get out of your comfort zone to grow and really live life.

- Provide compassion beyond borders.

- Participate in life instead of anticipate.

- Never underestimate the power of physical touch to a physically and mentally disabled person

- Be present.

Awoke to the sounds of one of the female staff singing God is the answer.

Actually, I awoke all through the night to the sounds of Saturday night. Motorbikes randomly whizzed by, someone at the bar across the street would shout something, or the music there would be kicked up a few levels when someone asked. Everyone had the same experience. Plus, since our mission house has no AC all the windows are open and we all sweated and rolled uncomfortably in 80 degree, high humid conditions.

Outside my room is a mango tree bearing fruit.

Tiara

After a group breakfast and prayer we went downstairs to see the residents. Fair to say that seeing no child or young adult not in a wheelchair and all afflicted with physical and mental disabilities was eye opening for us all. Only one of the 15 or so residents could speak a single word. This happened to be a little girl of 12 named Tiara. She could not only speak but had a sharp wit and irascible personality that caused all of us to laugh very hard.

Picture this young girl in a wheelchair telling my son Patrick to ‘get back here Patrick!’ soon after he left the conversation with her. The first thing she asked me when I met her was ‘Do you have a coloring book?’ I did and she said, ‘go get it.’ Later she asked to play cards. ‘What games do you know?’ I asked. ‘Go fish’ she said. I doubted this but she quickly added ‘Go get the cards.’ I did, and we ended playing a game of flash card to see which numbers or cards and suits she knew. I put the cards we used on the bottom but when she got one right she’d say ‘Give me my 2’, or Give me my queen’. Tiara made us all laugh very hard.

Miss Rookwood and Rose were the night nurses, working a 5pm to 8am shift. They asked us if we wanted to feed the staff and we all jumped in. This again was a bit nerve racking for many of us. In our reflection time at the end of the day several mission mates commented that they were not used to communicating with someone who couldn’t talk and even react normally to them.

Mass

Being Catholic we were all thrilled to know there was the St. Martin de Porres church a 1 minute walk from our mission house. This was special for our mission mate Max whose confirmation saint is this saint. Liam and Zach and several dads were able to wheel several residents to the service. Fr Graham resided, a young Jamaican priest celebrating his 10thanniversary as a priest. Several moments stood out for us including:

- Fr Graham’s homily about the Good Samaritan. We are all called to love thy neighbor especially when it is uncomfortable.

- Compassion beyond borders. This applies to both physical and other borders in our heads.

- At the beginning of mass Fr Graham announced ‘We are blessed to have guests from Columbia, Ohio.

- At the end of the service we were asked to introduce ourselves. They said they were blessed to have our presence and wished us well during our visit.

Matthew 25:40

In addition to this bible verse - which we embraced as a theme for our team – it says ‘what you do for the least of my people you do for me’, Mustard Seed has a facility – called an apostolate – for mostly teenage boys that are HIV positive. All of these young men were born with the virus from mothers that passed it to them.

We toured the facility where they live. Zach and Patrick and Liam and Michael played several spirited games of soccer – football in Jamaica – and at times got schooled and at other times had flashes of brilliance. We treated the boys at the home to ice cream. One guy kept coming back for 2nds, and 3rds, and 4ths until we finally had to say no. We were told to take no photos of these boys.

Dad Brian had a terrific conversation with 4 of the boys at the home. At first they wanted to see his phone, which he resisted but then used it to introduce the boys to his family pictures. Brian developed some great credibility and trust quickly and got the boys to share with him their dreams and interests. He asked them what they needed re: supplies for school. They were so forthcoming he ended up making a long list and is considering this as an eagle scout project for his son Liam. These are some simple items like backpacks, paper, books, calculators, a protractor. I heard one young man say ‘we like to draw here’.

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pixie-unger · 6 years ago

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Neighbours - 2

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Fred answered the knock on the door promptly at 10am. She tried not to grin since she could hear them out in the hallway for the last five minutes. She opened the door and stared.

Despite her elvish ancestry, Fred wasn’t tall. She was a perfectly average 5’4. At six feet, Tianda was a perfectly respectable size for an orcess. “Uncle Frank” was not just the tallest male of any species, Fred had ever seen, he was also the biggest. If he had been human, she would have diagnosed anabolic steroid use, but his physique wasn’t totally unheard of among Orcs. On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly common, either.

The man had to duck to fit through the doorway.

Fred’s mind temporary boggled at the idea that HE was dating Mac’s teacher. The woman was shorter that Fred! How did they even...Nope! No! Not her business! Reroute that train of thought right now.

Frank’s nose twitched and he grinned at her.

Fred forced herself not to frown and offered everyone a coffee.

Frank excused himself downstairs to go visit his girlfriend. Tianda and Fred made awkward small talk where neither of them talked about the kids’ fathers. That was, until Brayden asked Mac, “Is your daddy in jail, too?”

Mac gaped at him, “Yeah! Is yours?”

“Yeah. For armed robbery. How about yours?”

“He tried to kill Mum with a baseball bat before I was born. Are you ‘lergic to peanut butter?”

“No.”

“Mum! Can I make peanut butter toast?” Fred and Tianda shared an awkward glance. Fred shrugged. Tianda nodded. Mac whooped and bounced over to where they kept the bread. “I love using the toaster,” she confided in Brayden.

While the kids were making mostly a mess, but as a byproduct, peanut butter toast, Fred awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, so there’s that.”

Tianda considered this. “When does yours get out?”

“Next year. We got divorced shortly after Mac’s birth. Left him off her birth certificate and he didn’t contest it; I might have lost child support, but it means he’ll never get visitation rights. He had a slightly stronger defence at his trial - there is a permanent restraining order against him, though.”

“Wow...” Tianda breathed. “Those don’t always work, you know.”

Fred shrugged. “Nah, but skipping the country and not giving a forwarding address generally does. Convicted felons can’t enter the US.”

“Well, shit.” Tianda said. Her kids both giggled at her. “Right! Sorry. Bad word. You don’t get to say that, understand?”

All three kids nodded.

From then on, Tianda and Fred spent the morning commiserating about raising kids as a single mom. Tianda rubbed her belly and admitted that her husband’s brothers were being incredibly helpful. “I don’t know how I would manage without my family to help out.”

Fred dropped her gaze to stare at her lap for a moment. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “But he knows where my parents live and, like you said, restraining orders don’t always work.”

Tianda hauled herself out of the chair. “We need to go organize some lunch and get Frank to take us for groceries, but… Look, there’s a Fogtooth party next week. Do you know what that is?”

Fred shook her head, “Fogtooth is the local clan, right?”

Tianda nodded. “There is a barbeque in the afternoon, it’s great for families. Everyone is welcome. Why don’t you and Mac come by and I can introduce you to some of the other moms in the school.”

“That sounds great!” Fred gushed, hoping for good weather.

----

Saturday started out great, but rain was forecast for that evening. Fred hoped it held off until she was safely home.

The barbeque was hosted by the community association and the Fogtooth clan, which Kate had been clear to point out was most definitely not the same as the Fogtooth gang. At least not on paper. In reality, most of the male clan members belonged to both. By all accounts, the block parties were strictly demilitarized. Even the local humie gang, Altamira was invited.

Hell, America’s first orc cop even turned up with his partner, his partner’s wife and their kid. Fred vaguely recognized the woman as one of the Emerg nurses from the hospital. They were all very polite, even if Officer Jakoby was smelling her. At least he didn’t comment.

It was the kind of hot out that promised thunderstorms later. Fred didn’t own a pair of shorts, but she dug out a long sundress that came down to mid calf on her.

She had a burger and a beer and met a bunch of moms from Mac’s class. It seemed like the split was ⅓ orc, ⅓ human, ⅓ other. Kate from work had a nephew at the school. Mac’s teacher wasn’t there, but Frank was. Fred wondered about that, but didn’t ask.

She rather got the impression that all the moms already knew about her ex-husband, but at least no one asked if he had been an elf. Elves don’t go to jail. Not really. Not often.

Fred could feel the storm coming, but she toughed it out until Mac started to yawn at seven, then said her polite goodbyes. The nice thing about being hanging out with the orc crowd was that no one tried to talk her into staying. There were some perks to being around people who could smell your pain, namely she had never had to have the spoons discussion with anyone who wasn’t human or elf.

They made it to the front entrance of the apartment building before the rain hit, but by then Fred could hardly walk. The nice thing about everyone being at the party was that there was no one to witness how she nearly had to crawl up the five flights of stairs to her apartment. She gave Mac a bath and tucked her in, then took some painkillers and had a soak in the tub herself.

Ugh. She needed to find a ground floor apartment.

That was one nice thing about this building. Unlimited hot water that was very nearly hot enough to burn. Getting out of the tub was hard. Fred let the water out, then flopped, inelegantly over the side. She wrapped up in a towel and made it to her room by leaning heavily against the walls. She dug out a clean sleep shirt and panties without turning the lights on.

Fred was in bed before nine. She left the window slightly open and enjoyed the sound of thunder outside. After a particularly loud crash, Mac woke up and came screaming into bed with her. Fred rubbed her back.

“Go to sleep, sweetie. I’m gonna need your help tomorrow, alright?”

“ ‘es, mama.” Mac mumbled.

And with that, Fred felt another wave of guilt. Mac shouldn’t need to help her as much as she did, but neither of them could do it alone.

----

Zarfu had spent the afternoon flipping burgers and keeping an eye on the new doctor. So far, she had a good rep in the community. Hell, Tamra said she was the first doctor she had taken her boys to who understood that sometimes boys just play rough. A scuffed knee and three stitches didn’t immediately require a call to child protective services.

But he didn’t understand why she was here. She stank like pain, with an undercurrent of fear and that faint hint of lust that seemed to always follow hume females. As he watched her, he noticed she wasn’t moving around very much and she was slightly favouring her right leg. Not enough so that a person would notice if they weren’t paying attention, but enough that it was obvious if you were.

She disappeared in the crowd and Zarfu forgot about her.

Until he met her in the local bodega the next morning. Today she was walking with a cane. She was buying breakfast for her and the kid. He was buying Red Bull for his hangover.

She frowned at him.

Zarfu was not in the mood. “What you looking at, bitch?” he snarled.

She blinked in surprise and replied honestly and without fear, “A man in need of a gatorade. Tell, you what. You pick out your favourite flavour, I’ll buy it and if you drink it before the Red bull you will feel better.”

Zarfu just snorted, then huffed to try to blow the smell of her pain out of his nose. “You think so, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said. The kid handed him a clear sports drink.

Zarfu glared at her. That worked. The kid squeaked and hid behind her mom. Now he felt bad and when Zarfu felt bad, he shared. “You want make me feel better? Suck my dick. That’ll make me feel better.”

The woman just sighed and didn’t say anything, she just looked tired. When Zarfu snorted again, she smelled like hurt. That was when he remembered that she was a doctor and might not be completely full of shit. He snatched the gatorade out of the kids hand and stormed out out of the store without paying.

She was right though. He felt quite a bit better by the time he got to Dorghu’s

----

Mac watched the orc, who was easily a foot taller than her mum, storm out. Fred ran her hand over Mac’s head and said softly, “It’s okay, baby girl.”

“He was really scary, mum.”

“Yeah. But he’s gone now. Look, we will either figure out how to fit in, or we will move again until we find someplace we do fit it.”

The Dwarf standing on a box behind the counter, waved off Fred’s attempt to pay. “You fit here, Doc. We have a hard time getting good health care in this neighbourhood. I heard how you fixed my mother-in-law’s ingrown toenails. Not many would want to tackle that job. Said you were proper respectful, too. Not many of your kind would be.”

Fred winced at the “your kind” comment, then she insisted on paying anyway. “I want to keep my money in the community. I pay you, you buy something from the guy up the street, this neighbourhood gets a little better off.”

Mac noticed the teenaged orc in the corner listening to the whole exchange, but her mum didn’t.

#orc boyfriend #monster boyfriend

38 notes · View notes

frickfrackjimin · 6 years ago

Text

The Right Reasons - 01

⇻ 2 years ago, Jay Park left you in the dust when he chose another girl over you during the season 14 finale of the Bachelor. Now, it’s your turn to find a chance at love as the new Bachelorette. Pairing: OT7 BTS x reader (ft. members of Monsta X, Seventeen, and NCT 127 bc why not include all of the groups I stan) Genre: fluff, future angst, lowkey crack/humor (this is a kpop fic version of the cringiest show on television cmon now) Words: 8.1K Inspired by: The Bachelorette! I’ve been watching since Kaitlyn’s season and once Becca’s season started I got the inspo to write this! Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, slight language, guys being assholes (don’t take the way I portray any of them to heart, it’s simply for the plot of the story!), super cringe bc this is based on shitty reality TV anyways!!! sorry no interviews or intel on the guys… unless i decide to switch it up a bit towards the end ;-) we shall see)

Start of Week 1:

Chae, Hyungwon (aged 28, 5’ 11”, College Professor, Hometown: Gwangju)

Choi, Sungcheol (aged 26, 5’ 10”, IT Consultant, Hometown: Daegu)

Hong, Joshua (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Pastry Chef, Hometown: Los Angeles)

Im, Changkyun (aged 26, 5’ 9”, Marketing Consultant, Hometown: Gwangju)

Jeon, Jeongguk (aged 24, 5’ 10”, Wedding Videographer, Hometown: Busan)

Jeon, Wonwoo (aged 25, 6’ 0”, Software Engineer, Hometown: Gyeongsangnam-do)

Jung, Hoseok (aged 28, 5’ 10”, Journalist, Hometown: Gwangju)

Jung, Jaehyun (aged 25, 5’ 11”, Realtor, Hometown: Seoul)

Kim, Mingyu (aged 24/25, 6’ 2”, Chiropractor, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Kim, Namjoon (aged 27, 5’ 11”, Pharmacy Technician, Hometown: Ilsan)

Kim, Seokjin (aged 29, 5’ 10.5”, Physical Therapist, Hometown: Gwacheon)

Kim, Taehyung (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Music Producer, Hometown: Daegu)

Kwon, Soonyoung (aged 25, 5’ 10”, Executive Assistant, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Lee, Jooheon (aged 27, 5’ 10”, Graphic Designer, Hometown: Seoul)

Lee, Minhyuk (aged 28, 5’ 10”, Sales Rep, Hometown: Gwangju)

Lee, Seokmin (aged 25, 5’ 10.5”, Creative Director, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Lee, Taeyong (aged 26, 5’ 9”, Sales Account Executive, Hometown: Seoul)

Min, Yoongi (aged 29, 5’ 8.5”, Professional Pianist, Hometown: Daegu)

Moon, Taeil (aged 27, 5’ 7”, Attorney, Hometown: Seoul)

Park, Jimin (aged 26, 5’ 8.5”, Social Media Coordinator, Hometown: Busan)

Seo, Johnny (aged 27, 6’ 0”, Translator, Hometown: Chicago)

Shin, Hoseok (Wonho) (aged 30, 5’ 10”, Fitness Coach, Hometown: Anyang)

Sohn, Hyunwoo (aged 29, 5’ 11”, Mechanic, Hometown: Changdong)

Yoo, Kihyun (aged 28, 5’ 9”, Dental Assistant, Hometown: Ilsan)

Yoon, Jeonghan (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Research Assistant, Hometown: Hwaseong)

Week 1:

The last time you felt this nervous was the night you first met Jay Park.

It was a year and a half ago. You had been invited by the producers of the Bachelor to participate in season 14.

Originally, you had no idea who the Bachelor was supposed to be. About a week before you began filming, you found out it was going to be Jay and your nerves went tenfold.

You had watched him on Jisoo’s season of the Bachelorette the year prior. He had been one of your favorites, but got eliminated after hometowns when Jisoo sent him home to pursue her relationships with the other guys.

Though you were nervous, you tried to not let them show when you got out of the limo. Walking up to him in front of the mansion, you had let all of your anxieties go as you decided to go for the corniest pick up line out there.

“Um, so I think we might need to call the cops tonight,” you had said with a serious face.

“What? Why?” Jay asked back, a concerned look spreading across his face.

“Because it’s illegal for you to look that good.”

That had made him laugh. You patted yourself on the back for making a good first impression, which continued as your relationship progressed throughout the next few weeks.

Before you could even realize it, you had fallen in love with him. So, so in love with him.

Everything he did made you feel so special; he was a gentleman, he listened to you when you opened up to him, and the conversations you had on and off camera were great in your eyes.

Apparently they weren’t that good to him though, since he chose the other girl, Nayeon, over you in the end.

Oh, but the best part was getting to re-watch you get rejected by Jay on television three months later, and watching him propose to Nayeon instead and seeing how happy they were. Yeah, that was just the cherry on top.

Even then, you still couldn’t bring yourself to hate the girl. She had been nothing but sweet to you all season, and it’s not like you could help that you both fell in love with the same guy - you knew that was a risk you had to take when you agreed to go on the show.

Still, you had taken a year off to mend your broken heart, focusing on loving yourself and spending a lot of time with your friends and family.

You also spent a lot of time continuing your work as a travel nurse. You visited numerous cities in the United States, as well as in Thailand and Vietnam, lending your services where they were necessary.

Now, you had time off and wanted to spend that time trying to look for love again. When the producers of the Bachelorette approached you and asked if you wanted to be the next Bachelorette, there was no way that you could say no.

You were ready for a second chance at finding love. This time, you had a good feeling that it would be a success and you’d be walking away with a ring on your finger and your arm around a man who loved you just as much as you loved him.

The season would feature 25 men all fighting for a chance to fall in love with you.

Now in the limo, you can see the front gates of the mansion in the distance. That mansion housed you and dozens of other girls before.

In that mansion, you experienced cocktail parties, emotional rose ceremonies, and went through plenty of drama between the contestants.

Now, it would be occupied by twenty-five of your own suitors. The role reversal would take some getting used to, but you were ultimately excited.

The limo came to a halt, making you shake your head briefly out of your thoughts. You smoothed down the front of your navy blue gown - one covered in sequin beading from head to toe with spaghetti straps and an open back.

Your producer, Chan, had said it made you look like you were red carpet ready, not about to meet twenty five men who probably would never meet your high expectations.

That was the goal though; you knew that if you looked good, you’d feel good too, and hopefully that would give you good judgment on the men tonight.

Stepping a silver heel ounto the stone driveway, you are met with the dimmed lighting of the infamous Bachelor Nation mansion, as well as the face of the show’s long-time host Bang Sihyuk.

After your typical greetings you needed to do for the sake of the camera, Bang walks into the house to await the other men.

Now it’s just you, left alone with your thoughts while waiting for the first limo to pull into the driveway. You can feel the cameras on you from their multiple positions on the driveway.

Some are already in the house, waiting to begin filming the cocktail party and rose ceremony later in the evening.

‘Just remember that they’re all here for you,’ you thought to yourself. ‘You have nothing to worry about, they’re the ones that have to impress you. You just need to be yourself. Everything will be fine.’

The first man to step out of the limo is gorgeous.

His hair is dyed a faded red color, the smile lighting up his face automatically makes your heart flutter. Taking a moment to button his suit jacket that fits him oh so well, you take notice of the black sticks in his hands.

You smile grows wider as he approaches you, arms automatically spreading out for a hug which you are more than happy to return.

“You look absolutely beautiful tonight! Like, wow, I can’t even believe it,” he praises, practically gawking at you but it doesn’t make you uncomfortable; if anything, it’s flattering.

“You look very handsome as well!” you compliment back, being 100% truthful.

“So my name is Hoseok, and if I’m right, I’m the first one here?”

“You would be correct,” you flirt back.

“Well then, I guess it’s only appropriate that we break these bad boys out,” he states, handing you one of the black sticks.

“What is this?” you ask, turning the stick around curiously in your hands.

“I think it’s time that we get the party started!” he exclaims, before pushing at the bottom of his stick. A loud pop sound came from the stick as confetti flew all over the two of you. You screech a bit, both in shock and out of giddiness.

“I guess it’s my turn now?” you giggle, pushing at the bottom of your stick as the other party popper explodes, numerous colors of shimmery paper flying around the two of you.

Letting out cheers of awe at the colors around you, you turn back to face Hoseok, your cheeks hurting already from smiling so much.

“That was definitely a good way to get the party started!” you cheer. “It was so nice getting to meet you Hoseok, I’ll definitely find you inside later!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” he smiles, going in for another hug that you gladly accept.

He gives you one last dazzling smile before turning and walking back into the mansion.

You watch him as he walks away, admiring the fit of his suit and thinking about what an amazing first meeting you had.

‘If the rest are like him, I’m screwed,’ you thought to yourself before turning back around.

The staff quickly came by and sweeped up the rest of the confetti before the next man stepped out of the limo.

The second man was tall and named Johnny, with wavy brown hair and a sweet smile.

The man after him had with milky white skin and surprisingly dyed mint green hair.

He seemed really shy when he told you that his name was Yoongi, and that he looked forward to getting to know you more.

He had quite the mysterious aura about him, which intrigued you. You made a mental note to try to break him out of his shell tonight during the cocktail party.

Three more men followed out of the limo, going by the names of Jeonghan, Joshua, and Hyungwon.

Jeonghan had a cute smile and laugh, Joshua had pink dyed hair with flustered red cheeks, and Hyungwon was tall and lanky with full lips.

Expecting a limo to pull up after Hyungwon entered the house, you are surprised when you instead heard the sound of a high pitched horn.

Looking towards the gate, you saw a man riding in on a bright pink electric scooter, scarily similar to a Jet X from your favorite childhood show, Zoey 101.

“Oh my gosh!” You exclaimed, laughter pouring out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

He pulls up to a stop right in front of you, taking off his helmet and shaking his hair out.

“Are you ready?” he asks in a high pitched voice.

You’re cracking up at this point, but manage to utter out an, “Ooh!” to finish off the intro he had started.

The man walks up to you and embraces you in a light hug before grabbing your hands in his. His boxy smile is taking over his face as he begins to speak.

“So, I heard through the grapevine that you loved Zoey 101 as a kid, and I know you see me standing here, and I just had to let you know that you look good, my dear,” he says, theme song puns dropping from his tongue. It’s almost cringey, but he manages to pull it off.

“Well, I would love for you to see my world if it means I get to take a spin on this Jet X later,” you chuckle.

“That can definitely be arranged. My name is Taehyung, by the way.”

You almost miss his name, finally getting a good look at his face without being overtaken by laughter from the theme of his entrance.

His dark brown hair fell into his eyes a little, hitting the tops of his long eyelashes. He wasn’t wearing a tie, but he didn’t seem like he really needed one to look formal.

“It is very nice to meet you Taehyung,” you say, gripping his hands a bit tighter before he lets go.

“I hope to get to talk to you more inside later, maybe over some Blix and Sushi Rox,” he smiles.

“I would really like that.”

As he walks into the house, you follow him with your eyes. He turns around before entering the house and sings out, “Yeaaaah, yeah, yeaaaaah!” which makes you laugh as hard as it did the first time.

You can’t wipe the smile off of your face as the next limo pops up, greeting you with five more attractive suitors.

Mingyu was tall with a lean figure and light brown hair.

Wonho had soft eyes and his suit was threatening to burst at the seams from how muscular he was.

Jimin was small in stature but had a sweet smile that turned his eyes into crescent moons.

Jaehyun had a long nose and dimples.

Kihyun was adorable and just kept repeating how nervous he was, which was more endearing than off-putting.

As soon as the empty limo turned back onto the street, you heard wheels rolling against the driveway, signaling a new arrival. This time it was not a limo yet again.

A blur of a dark green suit jacket and black trousers passes your vision as the man rides a skateboard around on the stone driveway.

Your nerves are a bit on edge watching him, since the pavement was so uneven and he could fall at any moment.

The man does a few flip tricks on the skateboard, which would impress you if you weren’t so worried for his safety.

He does one final trick, flipping into a handstand on his skateboard, before flipping forward and landing right in front of you.

“Wow!” you exclaim because you really are at a loss for words.

“I’m Jooheon, nice to meet you,” he smiles, leaning in and wrapping his arms around you lightly.

“It’s nice to meet you too… wow I’m sorry, I’m still in shock from that entrance,” you stuttered out.

He chuckled. “I’ve been skateboarding since I was ten, it’s just a hobby but I figured it’d make a cool entrance.”

“Well, it was definitely cool, I was so worried you would fall though!” you laughed even though it wasn’t that funny.

“I honestly was worried too! I promise I’ll stick to my feet for the rest of the night.”

“I think that’s for the best,” you laugh.

The next few guys were strange and quirky in their own sense too.

The first man to step out of the next limousine, Namjoon, was adorable in every sense. He had the deepest dimples you had ever seen and tripped on his way up.

You felt bad for trying to contain a laugh, but he immediately began laughing at himself, stating that stuff like that happens to him all of the time. His clutziness was charming.

The next man, Seungcheol, came out with something that resembled a large egg in his arm.

You were hoping that it was something other than an egg, but you were proven wrong when he explained that he wants to be able to take care of you and be a good husband and future father.

To prove this, he would take care of the ostrich egg in his arms for the entire time he is in the competition.

You wanted to be polite, but you were a bit creeped out.

Thankfully, the next few guys were more normal.

Seokjin was the definition of handsome, with broad shoulders and thick lips.

Changkyun had one of the deepest voices you had ever heard and a somewhat serious aura to him.

Wonwoo had narrow, sultry eyes but a contradicting pleasant smile.

Taeyong looked like he was straight out of an anime with sharp features but a soft presence.

With the weird things that had happened so far that night, you shouldn’t have been surprised that someone showed up in a costume. That still didn’t stop the laughter from the surprise that came from seeing a man hop up the driveway in a gigantic grey bunny suit.

“Y/N!!!” he yells from the foot of the driveway as you continue to rumble in laughter at the sight.

Stepping in front of you, he grabs your hands with his fur covered ones.

“So, my name is Jeongguk, I’ve been told by my friends that I look like a bunny and I’m hoping to hop my way into your heart.”

You want to cringe at how bad that line was, but the red on his cheeks and his big doe eyes made you change your comment to, “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

The final limousine pulls up after Jeongguk enters the mansion, and you ready yourself for the last group of guys to exit the limousine.

The first man, Hyunwoo, had soft features and was very reserved, but sweet nonetheless.

Minhyuk was a big ball of sunshine and his nose scrunched a bit when he smiled.

Seokmin had the brightest smile you had ever seen on someone and you felt immediately comfortable in his presence.

Taeil had a soothing voice and fluffy hair that you just wanted to run your hands through.

As Taeil walked through the door, you thought that all of the guys had arrived. However, your producers proved you wrong when they asked you to stand back a bit on the driveway, closer to the house so the final man could make his arrival.

You were confused, but soon felt the wind pick up around you. Staring up into the night sky, you see the outline of a helicopter as it begins to descend down towards you.

“Oh my gosh!” you scream over the loud sound of the rotor blades. A guy was actually making an entrance on a helicopter?!

You can see some of the other guys in the house peeking out through the fence and even through the front door, observing the source of the loud noises outside.

Once the helicopter touches down and the blades slow to a stop, a man steps out of the rotorcraft. He is clad in black from head to toe, down to his black hair that is gelled back away from his face. He buttons his suit jacket before beginning to walk towards you.

“Figured that we had better save the best for last,” he starts, a quirky smile appearing on his face. “Hi, I’m Soonyoung.”

He envelopes you in a hug before leaning back.

“Well, that was definitely extravagant, Soonyoung,” you chortle.

“The view from up there was amazing, but I think the view I have right here in front of me is better,” he flirts.

You blush a bit, simply replying back, “Very smooth.”

After Soonyoung enters the house, you take a minute with your producers to touch up your hair and makeup, eat a granola bar, and stick a mint in your mouth.

With a full stomach and a fresh coat of lipstick, you enter the house to begin the first of many conversations throughout the night.

Once you arrive in the house, all of the men are ushered into the dining room for the official season photo.

They are lined up in three rows, with you being in the very bottom row in the middle. After about thirty minutes of taking photos and touching up, you make your official on-camera walk out to greet all of the men.

Entering the living room, all of they immediately start applauding you, all standing up from their seats and moving a bit closer.

You blush at the sudden onslaught of attention your way, but had to remind yourself that you would probably have to get used to it.

Namjoon approaches your side, holding out a glass of white wine. You thank him and grasp the stem of the glass between your fingers before turning to the rest of the room.

“Thank you all for being here tonight, I’m so happy to have met all of you, and I hope to get to know you all more throughout the night,” you pause a second, raising your glass. “So, here’s to a great first night, and to a great season, and to finding love!”

The men cheer at that as all of you taking sips from your glasses varying in liquors and spirits.

You feel a tap on your shoulder, turning to see Seokmin’s smiling face.

“Mind if I steal you for a bit?” he asks.

“Of course you can,” you respond, preparing yourself for a long night full of many, many conversations.

A few people into the night, you’re walking on the patio after finishing up conversation with Jeongguk - who had taken off his bunny costume once he got in the house and was instead wearing a maroon and black striped suit with a maroon button up shirt.

Immediately after he enters the living room through the large french doors, Jaehyun is taking you back to a sofa on the patio for his conversation of the night.

“So Jaehyun, what do you do for a living?” you ask, figuring it was a good starting point.

“I’m a realtor in Seoul,” he explains. “I’m normally situated near Gangnam.”

“Oh, that’s not too far from here, is it? Did you not have to travel far to be here?”

“Not really, I work a lot from home too. It’s nice when you make enough of a living that you don’t need to really work full-time.”

Something about his mention of his wealth was a bit off putting, but you brushed it off as him being proud of his success. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your work.

You should know, you could talk about your relationships with some of your patients for hours.

“Although, it’s actually pretty funny. The other week, your ex contacted my company for a realtor because he wanted to buy an apartment somewhere. They sent me out there, and when I saw it was him and that girl he picked over you, I could immediately tell that he had awful taste because the girl he picked was definitely not as pretty and nice as you.”

That rubbed you the wrong way. Even though you know you and Nayeon will never be friends, hearing her being talked down on by someone that doesn’t really know her doesn’t sit well with you.

“Nayeon’s actually really nice, I never had a problem with her, even now,” you assert defensively.

“Okay, well, I’m just saying, I think I got the better end of the deal” Jaehyun shrugs.

That was the final straw for you. You were so consumed by rage for this arrogant man, you don’t even think you could wait for the rose ceremony to send him home.

However, for the sake of not wanting to seem like a psycho bachelorette on the first night of the show, you withheld from screaming at him to get the hell out.

“You can think whatever you want, even if it’s rude and arrogant,” you chime back at him, standing up. “I need to go to the restroom. Thank you for speaking with me. It was really eye opening.”

You stand up, abandoning your now empty glass of wine behind with Jaehyun as you enter the house and head straight towards the restroom.

The cameramen are right on your trail, having caught the entire exchange on camera.

You locked the door behind you, effectively shutting out the cameras before slumping against the door. Resisting the urge to run your hands over your face, you take a minute to collect yourself.

Being reminded of Jay was not something that you wanted to happen tonight.

Of course, maybe a subtle comment here and there could be expected, but when Jaehyun came right out and insulted not just Jay but Nayeon as well, you were shocked and really upset that he would do such a thing.

Exiting the bathroom, you begin to make your way back to the living room to find another man to talk to. A hand lightly grabs your arm on your way back, letting go when you turn to look at him.

Taehyung gives you a sheepish smile. “Can I steal you for a bit?”

You breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of him. “Depends, am I going to get a ride on that Jet X now?”

His deep voice lets out a breathy laugh. “Not tonight, but I do have something else planned I think you’ll like.”

“Then lead the way,” you hold your hand out to him, allowing him to clasp it in his own as you make your way out to a different part of the patio.

It’s more secluded than the previous place you had been conversing, with a loveseat rather than a couch as the choice of seating. You know that the cameramen are following you without even looking.

“You looked a bit down earlier, are you okay? Are you just feeling tired? I know it’s been a long night and it’s not even halfway over yet,” he chuckles, adding some lighthearted humor to his concern.

“I wouldn’t say I’m tired per say, however I will be sleeping very well at the end of the night,” you smile. “Just a little off put by some people here is all.”

“I hope I’m not one of them.”

“No, Taehyung, you’re not,” you assure him, placing your hand on his knee.

“Well that’s good, because I actually wrote something for you.”

He reaches behind the loveseat, pulling out an acoustic guitar. How he managed to hide that without you seeing is beyond you, but it brings a smile to your face.

“I wrote this a few days ago when I was supposed to be packing,” he says quietly. “It’s not finished, but I hope you like it.”

He tunes a few of the strings before he begins to strum different chords. When he opens his mouth to begin singing, your mouth drops open a bit.

His voice sounds like silk, or milk chocolate, or something else that is comforting that you can’t think of.

The extremely deep tone in his voice brings a calming sense over you.

He manages to hit high notes with little problem, impressing you even further.

You find yourself wishing he had prepared more of the song when he strums his last chord, just so you could listen a bit longer.

“You really wrote that, Taehyung?”

He blushes. “Yeah. I’m a music producer so it’s like second nature to me to write about what I’m feeling. I was excited but nervous to begin this journey, you know? I also saw on TV how pretty and genuine and sweet you were, and I really wanted to make a good impression on you.”

You smile sweetly at him. “I think you’re doing a great job at that.”

Mingyu comes over at that time, asking if he can have some time to chat with you.

You of course can’t say no, as much as you wish you had more time to talk with Taehyung.

You both stand up, giving him a hug as he heads back into the house. Mingyu takes a seat next to you, and you try to focus your attention back on him.

“So my team’s research is basically on how certain particles in the atmosphere interact with each other in different climates that they may not normally be found in. With all of the issues with global warming and pollution, it’s really cool and important because-”

Jeonghan had sat down across from you about two minutes ago, and in that time you’ve found out that he is currently getting his Master’s Degree in agricultural and biological engineering.

He was a research assistant in a lab at the local university. You were a little lost on what he was talking about, because even though you had to take numerous science classes when getting your nursing degree, you never enjoyed that part of it.

You preferred the clinical rounds and the on-hand experience rather than taking microbiology or anatomy and physiology.

“Hey man, mind if I steal her for a bit?”

You look up to see Taeil standing over the pair of you, Jeonghan’s rambling about his research coming to a halt.

“I literally just sat down.”

“I know, I was just wondering if I could have some time to talk to Y/N.”

Jeonghan narrowed his eyes a bit at Taeil before admitting defeat and standing up.

“It was great getting to talk to you, Y/N, no matter how short our time was,” Jeonghan says, shooting a glare at Taeil as he walks away and Taeil takes his spot.

Trying to find the right time to interrupt a conversation is always uncomfortable, no matter what side you are on. You feel for Jeonghan, but you are also a bit thankful for Taeil swooping in and interrupting.

That is, until he begins talking as well.

As soon as you find out he’s an attorney, you have to refrain from rolling your eyes.

Your uncle is an attorney, and whenever he’s not working (which is rare) he is always talking down on you, thinking he’s better because he is certified to be a professional arguer.

You haven’t had the greatest of experiences with them in the past, but you wanted to give Taeil the benefit of the doubt.

However, after conversing with him for a solid ten minutes, and him asking you to expand on your answers at least three times, you felt like your head was about to explode.

Thankfully, another man came by right when you were about to excuse yourself.

You breathed a sigh of relief when looking upon the face of Seokjin.

Taeil thanked you for speaking with him before he got up and Seokjin took his place.

“So how’s your night been?” he asks, taking a sip of his red wine.

Gulping down a sip of your own white wine spritzer, you nod at him while replying with, “It’s been good! I’ve had a lot of great conversations.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you’ve had a lot of conversations. Have you been able to eat anything yet?” he asks, concern laced across his features.

“I had a granola bar before I came in the house a while ago, but I’ll be okay until the end of the night,” you assure him.

He clicks his tongue at you. “You need to take care of yourself. They have all of this food catered for us in the kitchen, yet the beautiful woman we’re all here for gets nothing? I just don’t understand. That’s why I brought you this.”

It’s then that you notice the plate of food in his hand. It’s mostly desserts; two brownies, some chocolate covered strawberries, and a rice krispie treat.

Your mouth salivates a bit and your stomach lets out an embarrassing grumble of hunger at the sight.

You widen your eyes at him, being caught in your fib.

(A/N: CAUGHT IN A LIIIIIIEEEEEEEE)

He pushes the plate into your lap, and you accept it gratefully. “You’re a lifesaver, Seokjin. Thank you.”

It was really sweet of Seokjin to bring you a plate of food, even though he could have easily forgone it. It shows that he does genuinely care about your well being and making sure that you are well fed and not just surviving the night on wine spritzers and a granola bar.

“Any time. I couldn’t let all of the men pig out while you sat out here starving until morning.”

“I’ll only eat some if you have a brownie too, and tell me some more about yourself,” you offer.

“Deal. What would you like to know?” he asks before taking a bite out of one of the brownies on the plate.

Your chat ensued from there, the topic of his profession as a physical therapist and yours as a nurse paving the way for a good conversation. One that was cut short once again as Taeyong came to begin his conversation with you.

“Thank you again for the food, it was delicious, and I really appreciate it,” you say, standing up with Seokjin.

“Like I said before, any time. I enjoyed our conversation.”

You and Seokjin embrace in a lingering hug before he walks away, and Taeyong is grabbing your hand to walk with you to another place to chat.

Thankfully, there were only a handful of guys to talk to after your conversation with Taeyong.

That still didn’t mean much, considering it was nearly 1:00 in the morning and you still had to do your interviews and figure out who to send home during the rose ceremony.

Another thing on your mind was who to give the first impression rose to.

Sitting in one of the lounges with your producers, you snack on some carrot sticks while sorting through all of the photos of your suitors.

If anyone caught this on tape and it was shown on TV, no doubt the fans would get mad.

How were you, in all seriousness, really supposed to remember the names of twenty five people that you just met that day?

That’s like asking to memorize the names and faces of every member of Twice, Girls Generation, and Apink in one day. It’s impossible.

“Anyone in particular make a bad impression that you want to send home?” Chan asks.

“A few of them, actually. Which surprises me, I figured it’d be harder to try to figure out who to send home. There were a few who were rude or I just didn’t feel a connection with, I feel like this elimination is going to be the easiest,” you admit.

“That’s how it normally is. The smaller the pool and the more the relationships grow, the harder it gets.”

Setting aside the pile of those you would send home tonight, you turn back to your pile of those you want to stay.

“Now, who to give the first impression rose to is hard. A lot of them made great conversation, and a lot of them had great entrances. Soonyoung came in on a helicopter, I’m pretty sure that made a big first impression.” Chan laughs at that.

“However, Kihyun made me laugh so hard I nearly had wine coming out of my nose, and Johnny and I had a deep conversation for it only being the first night. I could honestly give it to either of them.”

“What about Seokjin? Didn’t he bring you food halfway through the night? That was really sweet of him, and actually normal compared to some of the weird shit the other guys pulled” Chan questions.

You laugh at that, remembering how Minhyuk had brought an electronic massager to use on your back that just tickled you instead.

And how Joshua had attempted to juggle three bottles of water and ended up spilling all over himself and the couch.

“Yeah he did,” you respond, scanning the pictures and landing on Seokjin’s.

His shoulders are so broad that they had to zoom the camera out a bit on his picture, making a small smile appear on your face.

Your eyes continue to wander through the headshots, before lingering on a specific one.

You glanced at Chan through your peripherals, glancing at this man’s headshot.

You don’t even try to contain your smile as you reminisce on his humor and quirkiness and his handsome smile.

“I know who to give the rose to.”

Stepping out of the lounge, you make your way into the living room.

Most of the men are congregated in different areas of the room; some on the couch, others in chairs, some lingering in the door frames.

All eyes turn to you as you enter the room, those in the hallways coming to stand in the living room. Everyone looks thoroughly tired, being that it’s nearly 2 in the morning by the time you did your interviews and made your decisions.

You reach toward the single rose that is sitting on a tray in the middle of the coffee table.

You remember being on their side not too long ago; having that rose stare at you, almost tauntingly, for hours on end as you sat through the first night, wondering if you would be the one that got the rose.

First impressions mean a lot, and most that receive the first impression rose stay until at least the final four.

Whispers break out among the men as you fumble with the rose between your fingers.

“It’s a big moment! You hear Joshua say to Hyungwon on your side.

“Indeed it is!” you respond, making them laugh at the embarrassment of being heard.

Taking a deep breath, you lock eyes with him and shyly ask, “Taehyung, can you come with me for a second?”

His eyes widen in surprise for a moment, before a ginormous smile makes its way onto Taehyung’s face as he stands up. “Of course.”

You grab onto his hand as he approaches you, turning around and walking to a more secluded area of the house.

You can already hear the sighs of disappointment and side comments begin to stir up in the living room from the response of your decision. You tune out the background noise and lead him to the parlour, sitting in front of the fireplace.

You look at him, blushing when you realize his smile hasn’t faded.

“So, Taehyung,” you begin.

“Tonight started off by you coming in on my dream vehicle, a hot pink Jet X, just like my childhood idol, Zoey Brooks.” you both laugh at that.

“The fact that you took the time to look into the things I like just to make a grand entrance already meant a lot. Then you catch me right after a not-so-great conversation and manage to make my mood do a complete 180 just from a smile. That song that you sang tonight was absolutely beautiful, I never wanted to stop listening to it. I loved every second I spent with you tonight, and I never felt a lull in conversation at any point. You made me feel completely comfortable from the moment we met. So, Taehyung, will you accept this rose?”

Taehyung’s eyes squeeze shut in happiness, opening them back up and saying, “Yes! Absolutely!” with uncontained laughs leaving his mouth.

You both stand up, smiles adorning your faces, as you pin the red rose to his right lapel on his suit jacket.

“It looks good on you,” you flirt, tilting the rose a bit before reaching your arms around his neck in a hug.

He wraps his arms around your waist so tight you think you might snap.

You decided to be bold and kiss his cheek when you pull back, only he had the same idea and ended up kissing your cheek as well. You both release a string of giggles.

“Great minds think alike,” Taehyung proclaims.

“Let’s see if that’s true now,” you softly speak back, leaning your head in towards his.

He meets you halfway down, his lips placing themselves on yours gently, as if asking if what he is doing is okay.

You pull back briefly, only to move back in for another kiss.

This time, Taehyung is less hesitant, placing his lips more firmly against yours for a few seconds.

His lips felt as soft as they looked; the taste of Coca-Cola on his lips surprises you, since you could have sworn he had been drinking bourbon that night.

You peck his lips one last time before pulling away from him and out of his arms. “I thought you drank bourbon tonight?” you asked, grabbing his hand and walking out with him.

“I had a drink, yeah. I’m not big on alcohol though, so I switched to soda after one glass. I’m also a major lightweight, and I didn’t feel like making a fool out of myself tonight of all nights.”

You smile at him, stopping right outside of the frame to the living room.

“Thank you for the rose, I swear I haven’t been this happy in a long time,” Taehyung admits.

“Thank you for accepting it,” you counter. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

You squeeze his hands one last time before walking back into the lounge where your producers were working.

Two hours later, the men and yourself had all finished being interviewed. It was officially time for the first rose ceremony.

Four in the morning is a strange time for anyone to be awake.

You are quite used to the late nights from work, but it’s clear that most of these men aren’t.

A majority of them you caught dozing off from the TVs in your lounge, showing what the cameras walking around were filming.

Next to you, the grand host Mr. Bang himself was knocked out, and had been for about an hour or so. Chan walked into the room after setting the dining room up into a good set-up for the rose ceremony.

“Alright Y/N, I’m going to gather the men in the dining room for the rose ceremony. We’re going to line them up, start filming, then have you walk back in to start the rose ceremony. Then we can all go home, sound good to you?”

“That sounds excellent,” you sigh, nudging Mr. Bang in the side.

“C’mon Bang, you have to be the hostess with the mostess for a bit longer, then I promise you can resume your slumber.”

He awoke from his nap, stretching a bit before one of the makeup artists came by and swiped some more concealer under his eyes for the sake of the cameras.

“Alright, I’m ready to be the hostess with the mostess. Even though I’m not a hostess.” You laugh at his ridiculousness, following him out of the lounge.

Bang walks into the dining room, taking his place by the table that holds eighteen roses on a tray. You would be sending home six men tonight. With Taehyung already having a rose, that leaves eighteen more to give out.

You thank your producer for having you practice how to pin the roses beforehand, it would definitely make the whole process go a lot faster and be a lot less painful for both parties.

Chan is next to you, waiting for your cue from the cameraman in the other room. Once he receives the signal, he pushes you forward a bit.

Your silver heels hitting the tile floor are pretty much the only sound in the room. You can tell that everyone is nervous, and honestly, you are a bit too.

You stand next to the rose table, glancing down at the multitude of roses being served literally on a silver platter. Bang is next to you, speaking to the gentlemen.

“Gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to your first rose ceremony. Most of you know how this goes, but for those that don’t, I’ll lay it out for you all. If you hear your name called, step forward to accept a rose. Taehyung, you got the first impression rose; congratulations, you have nothing to worry about tonight. As for the rest of you, if you do not hear your name, you will be sent home immediately. So, I wish you all the best, and if you’re ready, Y/N, you may begin.”

Bang backs up towards the door, merely an onlooker as you begin the process of handing out the roses.

You look at the faces of all of the men standing before you. Taking a step forward away from the table, you suddenly feel a lot more weight on your shoulders than you did ten minutes ago.

You clear your throat before speaking.

“First of all, I’d like to thank all of you for being here tonight. I know I kept saying it throughout the night but I cannot stress enough how much it means to me that you all took the time and sacrificed things to be here. It was such a great night, but this is the hard part where I have to say goodbye. Even though I have to say goodbye to some of you tonight, I am still hopeful that I can find love on this journey and I’m so thankful for that.”

Pausing after your speech, you take a look down at the platter again, grabbing a rose this time.

You fumble around with it in your hands, looking up at the men before beginning the process of handing out roses.

“Hoseok.”

He smiles from his spot on the far left end of the second row, stepping out and making the short walk towards you.

“Hoseok, will you accept this rose?”

“Always.”

(A/N: my Potterhead heart is hurting)

Smiling, you pin the rose to the lapel of his jacket, hugging him before he turns to walk back to his spot.

Picking up the next rose, you call out Yoongi’s name.

A small smile graces his face as you pin the rose to his lapel, hugging him and continuing the process for a handful more boys, including klutzy Namjoon, skateboarding Jooheon, and even ostrich egg owner Seungcheol.

It is now down to the last rose, and there are seven men left: Jaehyun, Jeonghan, Taeil, Hyunwoo, Minhyuk, Joshua, and Jeongguk.

Bang steps out from the shadows of the room as you stare at the final rose.

“Gentlemen, this is the final rose this evening. If your name is not called, you will be going home,” he turns to you. “Whenever you’re ready, Y/N.”

You grab onto the rose, before looking back up at the group of men remaining.

You had been between two people all night, feeling a good connection with both but knowing that one needed to go home. You stared back and forth discreetly between the two of them, before settling on one and calling out his name.

“Jeongguk.”

You see him let out a breath of relief as he steps down a level to make his way over to you.

“Jeongguk, will you accept this rose?”

“Yes, I will,” he smiles.

Pinning the rose onto his jacket, you whisper to him, “Thank you for not making me attempt to pin this onto a bunny suit.”

He giggles at you before leaning in for a quick hug. Now back in his spot, Bang comes forward again.

“Gentlemen, I’m sorry, but if your name wasn’t called, please say your goodbyes.”

The men continued to do the standard bro high-five, some men hug, some shake hands as you watch from your spot at the front of the room.

One by one, each man makes his way to you to hug you goodbye, wishing you the best and thanking you for the opportunity.

You never understood why the people leaving always thanked the Bachelor/Bachelorette for the opportunity - you’re not the one who casted them.

Still, you accepted their gratitude and sent them on their way.

By the time the rose ceremony has wrapped up, the sun is beginning to peak over the horizon, signaling the start of a new day and the end of your own.

The staff brings in flutes of mimosas, everyone grabbing one then turning to look at you.

“So here’s to surviving the first night, for making amazing impressions and for continuing the search for love,” you drawl out. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” everyone yells out, clinking glasses and sipping on their breakfast cocktail.

‘One week down, nine to go,’ you think to yourself. Your journey has only just begun.

Week 1 Callout Order Results:

Kim, Taehyung (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Music Producer, Hometown: Daegu)

Jung, Hoseok (aged 28, 5’ 10”, Journalist, Hometown: Gwangju)

Min, Yoongi (aged 29, 5’ 8.5”, Professional Pianist, Hometown: Daegu)

Kim, Mingyu (aged 24/25, 6’ 2”, Chiropractor, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Lee, Taeyong (aged 26, 5’ 9”, Sales Account Executive, Hometown: Seoul)

Chae, Hyungwon (aged 28, 5’ 11”, College Professor, Hometown: Gwangju)

Kim, Namjoon (aged 27, 5’ 11”, Pharmacy Technician, Hometown: Ilsan)

Choi, Seungcheol (aged 26, 5’ 10”, IT Consultant, Hometown: Daegu)

Jeon, Wonwoo (aged 25, 6’ 0”, Software Engineer, Hometown: Gyeongsangnam-do)

Lee, Jooheon (aged 27, 5’ 10”, Graphic Designer, Hometown: Seoul)

Yoo, Kihyun (aged 28, 5’ 9”, Dental Assistant, Hometown: Ilsan)

Kim, Seokjin (aged 29, 5’ 10.5”, Physical Therapist, Hometown: Gwacheon)

Park, Jimin (aged 26, 5’ 8.5”, Social Media Coordinator, Hometown: Busan)

Seo, Johnny (aged 27, 6’ 0”, Translator, Hometown: Chicago)

Lee, Seokmin (aged 25, 5’ 10.5”, Creative Director, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Kwon, Soonyoung (aged 25, 5’ 10”, Executive Assistant, Hometown: Gyeonggi-do)

Shin, Hoseok (Wonho) (aged 30, 5’ 10”, Fitness Coach, Hometown: Anyang)

Im, Changkyun (aged 26, 5’ 9”, Marketing Consultant, Hometown: Gwangju)

Jeon, Jeongguk (aged 24, 5’ 10”, Wedding Videographer, Hometown: Busan)

Hong, Joshua (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Pastry Chef, Hometown: Los Angeles)

Jung, Jaehyun (aged 25, 5’ 11”, Realtor, Hometown: Seoul)

Lee, Minhyuk (aged 28, 5’ 10”, Sales Rep, Hometown: Gwangju)

Moon, Taeil (aged 27, 5’ 7”, Attorney, Hometown: Seoul)

Sohn, Hyunwoo (aged 29, 5’ 11”, Mechanic, Hometown: Changdong)

Yoon, Jeonghan (aged 26, 5’ 10”, Research Assistant, Hometown: Hwaseong)

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mydrugist-swizzle · 7 years ago

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Rep room story:

My family and I drove 12 hours from Alberta to Seattle to see the concert. The trip was amazing and the concert was on our last day there. We started the day by walking around downtown and doing some shopping. Around 2 we decided to stop by the stadium so we could get our merch early and avoid the long lines later. We waited about an hour in line for merch and I got a tshirt and a poster. Then we walked over to a bar and had a drink before heading back to the apartment and getting ready. At the bar I didn’t have a bag with me so I put my shirt on the back of my chair with my jacket. When we got up to leave my shirt was missing. I looked around and asked everyone around if they had seen it and everyone said no. My guess is someone stole it, I have no idea how because I never left my seat. I was really upset about this because the shirts were a lot of money especially with the exchange rate for U.S. vs. Canadian currency. Not gonna lie I cried because I really wanted the shirt for a souvenir and I was really disappointed that someone would steal it.

Once I got over the shirt fiasco we made our way to the stadium and got there about 20 minutes before 7:00 which is when Charlie XCX started. When we made it to the front of the security line we were told our bags were too big to take in and that we needed a clear bag. We were very confused about this because in Canada there are no security policies like that (I got an email the day after the concert from Ticketmaster explaining all of the security details, which would have been much more beneficial before the concert). We ran to the booth out front that sold lockers and put our purses in it, then we finally made it into the venue and ran up to our seats ( which was quite the trek because our seats were in the 3rd bowl). We made it to our seats near the end of the opening act.

As soon as we got to our seats we stood up the entire time and danced like buffoons for the entire concert. I was completely zoned into the concert and it was so AMAZING! I really couldn’t see Taylor at all, she looked like the size of a Polly Pocket from where our seats were, but the production of the show was incredible! I got so distracted by just watching the crowd and seeing all the lights change because it was so pretty.

Then while Taylor was walking through the crowd between the B stages I see Andrea walking up the stairs towards us and I start screaming my head off!!!! Andrea comes over to us and starts dancing to Blank Space with us for awhile. And then she asks us if we’ve ever met Taylor and I just start screaming “NO NO NO NO NO NO” while crying and then Andrea asked if we would like to meet Taylor and I legit thought I was going to have a heart attack! She then says she’ll see us later and we are given our wristbands and told where to meet. What I found really cool about this though was that Andrea genuinely seemed to find pure joy from talking to us and giving us the chance to meet Taylor. When Andrea left I started crying my eyes out and actually crumpled to my knees with pure joy. ( Actually in this moment I was thinking ‘Thank God I’m here with a nurse because I might actually die rn’). For the rest of the concert we continue to dance and scream even louder than we were before.

Right after the concert my brother and I ran around the stadium to the section where we are supposed to meet because we were told to be there immediately after the concert. When we got there we waited for about 30 minutes and then we had to fill out our information and were told the rules and how it would all work. We were then led to the rep room and had to leave everything outside except for our phones. Inside the Rep Room was so cool, there were so many details and everywhere you look you would find another unique detail. Clearly a lot of thought was put into every detail of the room.

We took photos and had some pizza and water in the room for about 20 minutes and then Taylor pops her head out from behind a curtain and says, “ Hey guys, thank you so much for coming to the concert, it was so fun!” (or something along those lines). Then people started going in to meet Taylor, and finally it was our turn. I think we were about the fourth group.

I was the first to walk into the room and as soon as I saw her I just about passed out and had to put my hands on my knees so I wouldn’t fall over! I collected myself enough to give her a hug and stand there like an idiot not saying anything! I was legit in a state of shock and could not speak! My brother and sister and Kaylee did most of the talking because I could not speak for some reason. ‘We’ (more like they talked while I listened) talked about how we had been to Speak now, Red, and 1989, and how we remembered when she performed at the Calgary Stampede on the coca-cola stage, it took her a minute to remember the stampede and then she was like, “ oh wow that was a long time ago, like 12 years ago”. ( I didn’t get to see her at the stampede because I was 7 and my parents didn’t want to take me, but I remember when my sister and her friend came home and were talking about it I was really jealous and ever since then I have been in love with Taylor and wanted to meet her.) Taylor then brought up our costumes and was like “ you even cut out cute hearts out of felt”, and then I pointed to my brothers shirt which was kind of a disappointment (cause I’m the little sister and it’s my job to embarrass my siblings, even in front of Taylor-freakin-Swift!) and she said in a really sarcastic voice “ well, I mean, at least you tried”. I also remember when we walked in Taylor was like, “ oh my mom told me about you guys, she said you had hearts on your shirts and were dancing like crazy!”. Then near the end of the conversation she goes “you guys are the perfect people to be chosen for rep room, you’ve been to my concerts since speak now, you saw me at the stampede, and you drove 12 hours to get here”. Then she asked if we wanted a picture and asked what we should do, but we were already lining up to do just a simple picture (because my mind blanked and I completely forgot that we could have done a cool pose). I was standing next to Taylor and she put her arm around my shoulder, but again I was legit frozen and didn’t even think to put my arm around her, so in the picture my arm is just awkwardly in front. After the picture we start to leave and Kaylee turns around and says “ good luck with the rest of the tour”, and Taylor responds “ Thank you, have a safe drive home”. Then we walked out of the room and were handed the signed picture of Taylor.

On our way back to the apartment we walked a few blocks so that the Uber would be cheaper, and the entire walk I just held the picture like it was the most precious thing in the world and when we would walk through a sketchy street I held the picture in the biggest hug. After Rep room I legit couldn’t talk for 2 days, I was in some crazy state of shock and I basically just stared and nodded. It has taken a long time for the fact that I actually met Tswizzle to sink in, it has been a week since it happened and I think it is slowly starting to sink in. Sometimes I will forget that it happened for a minute and then open my phone to see my background as me and Taylor, and I legit have cried on multiple occasions. Meeting Taylor has been my dream since I was 7 years old, I am now almost 19 and my dream has finally come true! @taylorswift @taylornation

#rep room #rep room seattle #taylor swift #ifonlyIactuallysaidsomething #Ifrozeandcouldn'tspeak #mybiggestdreamfinallycametrue

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transgenderteensurvivalguide · 7 years ago

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Binding with TransTape/KT tape (Open chest binding)

Lee and Kai say:

We have been receiving some asks about binding with tape recently, and so we’ve decided to post our blog’s opinions on it:

We have heard of people getting skin irritations or sores from either wearing it too long or from removing it, but we don’t know as much about ribs and breathing and such. We think it can still damage the ribs because it stops being elastic when stretched to a certain point, especially if it’s wrapped around fully. It seems it would stretch the skin more than binding and make your skin less elastic possibly, and having tape on the same parts of the skin for a long time is not a good idea because it can damage the skin. Basically, there are a lot of unknowns- there isn’t much research on it yet, so we can’t say for sure it’s safer to bind with a traditional binder or not

Tape binding also seems like it would only work with small-chested folks, and folks with a bigger chest would probably find binding with a binder to be more effective.

Over time, tape binding would be less cost-effective than binding because you have to keep buying somewhat expensive tape while you can use a binder for years if you take care of it.

The other issue is you’re supposed to follow the same safe binding guidelines when tape binding as you do with binding with a binder- but the website wrote “TransTape was intended for multiple day use and can be worn up to 5 days depending on your level of activity and how often you are showering.”

Generally speaking, you shouldn’t be sleeping while binding or binding 24/7 because you need to give your body a rest. So the way the product is supposed to be used (binding for a week without any breaks) is inherently unsafe.

Overall, we recommend binding with a binder over binding with tape. Our Binding FAQ has info on safe binding with a binder and How to buy a binder without parents knowing.

If you decide to try tape binding, here’s some info/tips:

Do not use duct tape or packing tape, only use tape meant for the body like KT Tape or TransTape. If the tape you’re using is causing skin problems, it’s possible it doesn’t have a type of adhesive that is body-safe.

Info from a company rep on tips to reduce irritation when using KT Tape regularly on sensitive skin on the chest

General do’s and dont’s of binding with KT tape

Warning: picture of irritated skin & blisters from using KT tape and not removing it properly

A picture of someone binding with KT tape to show how it’s done

A blogger’s opinions on the pros and cons of tape binding

Warning from a trans nurse on Trans Tape binding, and another

Trans Tape’s website: How to: Minimize Skin Irritation

Here is another good post about trans tape binding to check out!

KT Tape info from r/ftm:

KT Tape Megathread

“An alternative to using a binder is KT Tape, or kinesthetic tape, which is tape that is meant to be adhered to your skin to provide joint support to athletes. It comes in a roll of pre-cut strips for around $12, although there are generic brands that cost less. The primary benefit of binding with KT Tape is that it does not constrict your chest at all and can be left on for a few days at a time, so it's really comfortable and you can put it on and forget about it for a while. It is okay to swim or shower with.

Here (NSFW) is a visual guide on how it is applied, as well as some written instructions. The gist of how you use it is as follows:

Cut the strips in half (so you have two shorter pieces) to conserve them.

Cover your nipples with a bandaid, gauze, etc. to protect them.

Place the leading edge of the tape on the front of your chest, near or over your nipple.

Stretch everything back and to the side, under your armpit, and adhere the tape.

Rub the tape to activate the adhesives.

You may need to use more than one strip to get flat enough.

It is most effective for people with smaller chests (C cup and smaller, and C cup is iffy). The bigger your chest, the more tape you will need to use--but only to a certain point.

The primary complaint people have in terms of comfort with KT Tape is that the adhesives can irritate your skin, and it can be difficult to remove and take some skin with it. Here are some tips to help mitigate that:

Soak the tape in oil (baby oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, etc) for about 10 minutes before removing.

Take the tape off in the shower, preferably after soaking with oil.

The manufacturer recommends applying milk of magnesia to your skin before putting the tape on to minimize irritation.

/End quote from r/ftm”

Jay says:

I wouldn’t recommend binding with tape. Frequent use of KT tape (which is all trans tape is) can damage the skin. A lot of people believe that because the tape stretches, it’s safe. I disagree. For this tape to actually bind, you have to stretch it out too far. It becomes stiff and doesn’t “give” enough, and overstretched tape is very bad for the skin. Rashes are probably the best case scenario tbh, because the adhesive can be irritating to the sensitive skin on the chest. If the tape isn’t applied basically perfectly, you could get blistering, scarring, and skin breakdown.

A big issue that I have with trans tape specifically is that the creator of it is not a medical professional or anything. He saw that some people could bind with KT tape so he had a wider version made that would be easier to use for binding. I don’t trust any of his advice about how to apply or remove the tape, or how to protect the skin or what to do if you’re hurt. Some of what he suggested with the tape and skin protection and all (at least from what I remember from the last time I saw the website) is the exact opposite of what medical professionals have told me. Since he’s not a medical professional and knowing what I know about this kind of tape I don’t really believe much of what they say about the safety and all of the tape. My old physical therapist who used to tape my shoulders also told me that putting it on the chest wasn’t a great idea.

There’s no research or anything about this though, so we have is anecdotal evidence.

Here are a couple of things I’d suggest:

Whether they use KT or trans tape, they should stretch it maybe 2/3 of the way out. A lot of people will stretch it as far as it goes, but if it won’t “give” more once it’s on it’s as bad as duct tape.

Don’t put tape on any irritated or injured skin. At all, ever.

Open wounds, blisters, or irritation that’s being stubborn and not going away should be looked at by a doctor.

Take breaks. I honestly wouldn’t suggest wearing it for more than a couple of days per week.

Sleeping in it isn’t ideal, despite what the trans tape people say. Like I said, if it’s stretched all the way out (how most people seem to wear it), sleeping in it can cause damage over time.

Kii says:

Personally, while I know TransTape has its risks, which you should definitely do your own research on, I’ve found that’s personally the only somewhat comfortable way for me to bind, so I would definitely encourage you to try out different binding methods, because if you have chronic pain, you might find some methods of binding easier than others.

Followers say:

Anon said: Hey! I highly recommend not using or suggesting KT tape to people for binding. I used it twice before and both times it made me bleed... I don't have sensitive skin or anything either. I really would never reccomend this method for anyone. (B cup, Pre T)

theconn-man said: ive haf a similar problem w KT Tape!!!! I didnt bleed but it ripped my skin off, even working it off in the shower with warm water and soap. i'm a B cup as well. I had what looked like a rash for the next few days and irritation

cane-diamour said: I’ve had sports tape on my knee, which is probably less sensitive than the chest area, but it does hurt a ton to take it off dry. I also have a slight allergy to latex adhesive (think bandaid glue), so it did cause some irritation. Be sure to not leave it on for a long time, and take it off slowly.

meanwhilemisha22 said: Im no expert but Ive heard trans/kt tape can ruin your rib cage

demiiboy said: I tried using KT tape in the way that you're supposed to and it triggered the same rib problems that binding does for me

#binding #kt tape #binding with kt tape #transmasculine #kai says #Lee says #chest m #nipple m #caps #injury m #medical #ftm m #trans #transgender

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gjr1086 · 7 years ago

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Sometimes the hero needs saving...

So i don't really post much unless i have me feels going. But i think it's time u guys kno my story..

Since I was a kid my brother n my dad would always fight. I've seen my dad slam my brother through a wall when i was 14 n felt helpless... both of them are big guys with short fuses n thick skulls..

Throughout my teens i was picked on n bullied cause of my eczema (sever constant dry skin. Almost like having a heat rash n sunburn at the sme time). I wasn't popular but i made my own rep n was able to make friends easily. However, being so nice gets u taken advantage of.

I had a lot of messed up n abusive relationships to the point that being treated like a worthless piece of wasted skin. As hard to say all this it's time for me to let go of these heavy weight that I've been carrying around all my life.

When i got pregnant in 2008 my ex husband would cheat on me with random females (some from craigslist). The stress before n during my pregnancy landed me in the OR to have an emergency c-section cause my daughter's heart rate kept dropping (i wanted to have her naturally but my body only dialated 3-5cm. I spent the next 5 days in the hospital trying to learn how to walk n take a piss on my own with out having an accident. When we got home my ex husband tells me that with the complecations during surgery the doctor gave him a choice on who to save in the event that we both start crashing. He tells him to save his wife cause we can always make another baby.

After that he just kept abusing me mentally n emotionally by staying out at outrageous hours saying he has to work (as an electrician who's hours of operation end at 5pm. He leaves at 6am n cames home at 2am the next morning). I had enough n snapped on him tue daybafter my daughter's first Christmas. My mom took the baby out of the room so i could sleep n my ex runs his mouth about my mom invading our room n messing with the baby. (Mind u i am still pretty raw from having my daughter less then a month before). Idk what came over me but when he turned his bck to me in the middle of the conversation i saw red n pulled him back saying "don't turn ur fucking back on me again n look at me when i am talking to u" he seemed like he was gonna swing n i would have let him just to fuel my rage more.. something took over me n i fractured 3 or his ribs, gave him a black eye and a busted lip.. we split for bout 3 weeks but he would "try" to see the baby n ended up saying that he wanted to come home. But that didn't last long. We separated about a month later n he hasn't seen his daughter since she was 4 months old..

After that all my relationship were extremely difficult on both ends cause i seem to be attracting n am attracted to ppl as broken as I was.. thinking I could save them.. when really i needed to he saved. I was told by my over 5 yr ex that fairytales don't exsist n started believing that there will never be a happy ending for me..

In 2014 my mom, dad, daughter n i moved into a house with my brother, his wife n 2 bots who came from the Philippines. Here i was thinking it was to bring the family closer but i soon came to realize it was so that we could take care of his family while he was out at sea. Big mistake cause when he was home all he did was fight n argue with my dad. My dad started getting obsessed with his plants n gardening that he watered our big ass back yard n the front garden area for almost 3 hrs a day n running up the water bill. Then shit knocked us out one by one.

Feb 2015: daughter get pneumonia n had to he admitted to the hospital for 5 days with round the clock meds.

April 2015: my dad had a mild heart attack n heat stroke from being out with his plants n not resting nor taking his meds for diabetes, high blood, hypertension, n more.

May 2015: i slipped n fell at work messing up my right knee n was in a wheelchair for 3 months n crutches in between.

June 2015: i went back to work after my injury n the same day my mom had a massive stroke leaving her paralyzed on her whole right side, damaging the entire left side of her brain n compromising her speech.

I ended up quitting my job n staying home to care for her fulltime (but only got paid for business hours). Regardless of the pay i did it for her to not suffer alone in a damn nursing home like my grandmother. Little by little things changed but not for the good.

July 2015: my dad has a melt down n acted as if he ws going to hirt someone or himself. So i told my sister in le to take the kids upstairs n lock the door while me n my 5+ ur bf took care of the situation. My brother was on the phone with me during this n told me to call the cops. My dad acted like nothing was wrong n the cops said that cant take hime because basically nothing bad happened yet... smh.

I took my sister n the kids to my aunts for the weekend while my mom was still in the hospital to let things cool off in the house n family n friends were telling me that he may need mental help.. as much as i didn't want to betray my dad i had to do what was best n he agreed to do a psych evaluation. The things that cam out of his mouth was soo cold n morbid that it broke my heart knowing that he saw demon faces on his own family's faces...

He was admitted for 72 hrs but was sent back on another incident. (I kno I'm missing a lot in between but I'm just letting my fingers do the talking for me). He was evicted n homless living in his van for 2 yrs until my brother had the bright idea to sell the house n basically made it to ever man for themselves. He did me a "generous" favor of letting me n my 3 friends rent the house as tenants.

March 26th, 2017: my mom passed away the morning after I broke things off with my 5+ yr ex. I guess she was waiting for me to do that to let her kno that I ws ready to let her go.....

April 2015: I met my recent bf (who is now ... idk not apart of my life anymore i suppose) who was basically cheating on me while he was living with me because he got fed up of my trust n insecurity issues n literallysaid "fuck it.."

Before this crap with my dude, my daughter's god father (who is also my ex) got jealous n broke his lease agreement to move to Maryland. N my so called sister (my god daughter's mom) fucked me over as well by taking advantage of my generosity n kindness to get her n my god daughter off the street n in an actual home. I tried to give her another chance to be a good mom but took too much advantage of everyone. Those two got everyone evicted n not only was my dad homeless but me, my daughter n my bf for 4 months (it may not seem long but when u are going through it.. that seems like a lifetime). In that time I learned that my bf was talking inappropriately to other females n that door that was keeping the demons locked up had broken down n won't close. I ended up swinging at him on 3 different occassions n started cutting, ripping at flesh or smoking my life away slowly since.

Friday, Aug 13, 2018 we were blessed with a new home but it doesn't feel like it just yet. Stuff isn't fully unpacked cause finances are low to get a uhaul n lack of man power is making the process longer. Since the crap with my dude happened i guess he got tired of me bitching about his neglect n abuse towards me cause he really feels like he didn't do anything wrong..

It's ok.. i always turn into the bad guy when all i did was put in all my time n effort just to have it thrown back in my face...

So I'm just sitting here feeling worthless.. n wondering what the fuck to do now... i'm just soo lost... i just wana sleep n never wake up again...

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takebettercareofyourself-blog · 7 years ago

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1/2) Its a super great idea to have a trans women in power! Heck just a canon trans woman in game all together! But also, please think about what she would have to go through if the Junker Queen was trans. And please don't use us trans people as some object to aid your social justice just to piss people off. My main thing about her being trans is, she lives in a post-apocalyptic setting that seems to be cut off from the rest of the country. How would she get her surgeries? Or even her hormones?

2/2) a queen so chances are she has to be ready at any moment to jump into action. And if she is in recovery she can't do that. While the junkers seem to be able to build new limbs from scrap its different from surgery on your chest, genitals (that has more risk) or even the face in some cases. So please really think about this and don't use trans people as some leverage to piss off gamers because your doing more harm to us then good. Headcanon the character to be trans because you feel it fits3/2)it fits their character, and because you want to normalize trans people. (it was longer then I thought sorry)

Hello there kind Anon!

Firstly, the idea of pissing people off is a secondary want to having a Trans* character. (Mostly, because I am aware that I am a petty and vindictive little shit who loves to see people throw tantrums because ‘HOW DARE YOU REMIND US THAT DIVERSITY EXISTS!!!!!!!!!!!’), but I do see your point. I apologise if that was how I came across. As someone who falls under the Trans* Banner, obviously the very existence of Trans* people comes far before any of the other stuff.

In regards to surgery/hormones, I did have thoughts on this. But a lot of those thoughts revolve around future science (and I am no scientist!) so please, bare with me and if you catch anything that is scientifically wonky, please do come and let me know!

1. Surgeries!Now, I’m probably wrong (because I’m also bad with timelines!) but it’s been more than a few years since Junkertown was set up and became isolated, correct? So it would be entirely plausible that any surgeries the Queen would have needed, could have been obtained before the radiation. That is a logical explanation, I feel.2. Hormones!Now this one is a little trickier. However, there was mention of the Queens ‘treasure’. Why should we believe that the treasure was the gold she’s hoarded? After all, wouldn’t that be a wonderful diversion for anyone who wishes to try and cause her harm? For them to think that the gold is what she cares about, when really she has a stockpile of hormones that she keeps ready for herself? (Especially given how many people want her to be a healer (an assessment I very much agree with!) so it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to believe that she had been secreting these hormones away from work at the time and storing them.)There is also the thing on Junkers being very technologically minded. Both Roadhog and Junkrat made their own weaponry, it doesn’t feel too much of a stretch to imagine that the Queen did much the same. Combine that with any HC you have about her being a medic, a doctor, a nurse, even an orderly, and you have the skill to synthetically create hormones. Perhaps not as good as the stuff you may get in a hospital, but good enough to allow someone to keep their figure/voice/anything else that may have changed with Hormones.OR! Hormone Theory no.2!Gender Science has taken massive leaps forward, in the future. Now, you only need one injection of hormones every five years as they’ve created one that is able to replicate itself inside your very own glands (again, please note, science is iffy as I am very firmly NOT a scientist!) Junkrat and Roadhog were able to Travel the world, it doesn’t take much imagining that someone as downright AWESOME (and powerful, and kickass) as the Junker Queen could manage to slip out of her own city for a short while once every few years to commandeer herself a booster shot. (Or again, see above, her own stockpile. When you only need one every 5 years, a stockpile of 10-20 doses will last you a lifetime, especially with radiation issues floating around!)

Surgical Recovery times wouldn’t be much of an issue if, again, she obtained her surgeries pre-fallout. (which given that she does look to be older than Junkrat, is not too big of a stretch since he was 15 at the time of fallout, so she certainly would have been old enough to get surgeries without parental permission (should she not have had permissive parents).)

Whenever I HC a character as Trans* (No matter where they may fall under the Trans* banner), I always do so for Rep first. I know my posts may not make it seem that way (because most of the time I write them while angry. A terrible habit and one I’m wholly aware that I should work on. Believe me, I know it’s a fault.) and yes, the thought of whiny people getting upset at diversity does bring me rather great joy. But as I’ve said above, that is a secondary joy to the joy of seeing a Trans* character come to life (though in the Queen’s case, I feel I would prefer for her to figuratively come to life rather than literally...) and knowing that my siblings of all genders have some form of representation, ESPECIALLY in a fandom as big and publicly known as Overwatch.

(And don’t worry about sending me long messages, I will always read and providing that you don’t catch me on a massive down-swing or when I’m out of spoons, I will always reply!)

#i am not a doctor don't look at me (OOC)#//I hope this explained everything to your liking nonny!#//If not feel free to pop back and continue this discussion!#//Or invade my IM if you're comfortable with that #//Either works!#Anonymous

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med20 · 6 years ago

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CANNES, FRANCE—As Lions Health wrapped up another year, attendees sifted their notes and pulled out a few common threads. Technology, for one, but not just for the sake of using a shiny new tool. Or as one Sanofi exec put it, "Technology in the service of creativity."

Marketing for good was another: aka, applying sharp communications brains to thorny public health problems. And then there were what Leigh Householder of Syneos Health called "secret messages," exemplified in one campaign using crossword puzzle clues to spread the word about elder abuse in a way abusive family members might not catch—but their puzzling seniors would.

Overall? It's a big world out there, but while appealing to global markets is key for pharma success, sometimes scaling up a creative local campaign is the way to really reach consumers and their doctors. Read on for more.

Tuesday

Doctors aren't robots. Forget the charts and graphs, sales reps. Lead with your heart instead. That’s the message from Attila Cansun, a chief marketing officer at the newly rebranded P&G Health. Adapting a consumer marketing framework dubbed LoveBrands, Cansun and his team use a similar evaluation-and-revamp for the company’s doctor relationships. Story

The trust tour. GW Pharmaceuticals' strategy for promoting its new cannabinoid drug Epidiolex to doctors sounded simple—earn their trust. But that's easier said than done, no thanks to Kim Kardashian and her CBD-themed baby shower. So the company decided to take physicians to the source, namely its massive marijuana greenhouse, and show them cannabis-derived drugs are the real deal. Story

Get out the tissues. In the U.S., when seasonal sneezes come on, there’s no mystery about what to do next: Go to the drugstore for allergy medication. But what if that decision weren’t automatic? For Sanofi, as it launched its drug Allegra over the counter in Brazil, the answer was a mobile, augmented-reality campaign that could outfit users with red noses and watery eyes, similar to a Snapchat filter. It even animated sneezes, complete with droplets on the phone screen. Story

Hemophilia, humor and a hipster host. A reality show about hemophilia? And it's a comedy? That would be Roche’s Genentech and ad agency 21 Gram’s new YouTube series called “Challenge Accepted.” Each 15-minute episode of the show, which premiered last week, features a different patient, coach and lesson targeting boys and young men with hemophilia. And it gets that lesson across using humor—and some magic tricks. Story

Monday

Big winner. It’s been a long three years since a pharma jury here handed out Grand Prix honors. But Monday night, GlaxoSmithKline and its ad agency McCann Health broke through with a mobile app called Breath of Life, used to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in older adults in China. Eli Lilly, ViiV and Merck were among the other pharma winners. Story

No-ad advertising. Marketers need to think big. Like saving-the-world big. That’s the advice McCann Health’s global chief creative officer, Matt Eastwood, offered up to kick off the Cannes Lions Health confab Monday. And what that means to Eastwood is advertising that “may not look like advertising,” he said. “It’s advertising while doing good.” Story

New light on MS. Multiple sclerosis symptoms can be confusing: They differ person to person and even day to day for the same patients. Roche's Floodlight Open app aims to clear that confusion for individuals by gathering personal health data every day and delivering real-world evidence for broader understanding of the disease. Story

Procter & Gamble showed up for Cannes Lions Health—and no wonder. The consumer packaged goods giant recently bought Merck KGaA’s consumer health division and rebranded it as P&G Health. Now, with teams of brand managers and concept demos on display here, it's serving notice—at least to consumer healthcare companies—that it’s in play. Story

Sunday

Shorted shortlist? The Pharma Lions shortlist for 2019 lives up to its name. Just 31 entries cleared the finalist bar this year, down from 53 last year. But it’s still good news for the 12 multinational pharmas in the running—and for the pharma marketers looking to eye the industry’s best at Monday night’s awards. Story

Breakout scouts. As Cannes Lions Health kicked off its sixth year Monday, attendees were looking for some breakouts. As in breakthrough technology, creativity that breaks barriers, groundbreaking global ideas and a chance to finally break with the backhanded compliment that Lions Health work is “good for pharma.” Story

Escaping the same-same. Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s roster of literal A-list clients—Audi, Absolut and AstraZeneca—earns it center stage at Lions Health with a consumer-to-pharma creative crossover pitch. Hint? Brand differentiation is job one, and to do that, drugmakers need to pull cliché imagery out by the root. Story

Heard around the Palais

Winning outside the pharma and healthcare box. Johnson & Johnson and partners picked up the Grand Prix for Entertainment on Tuesday night for the film “5B.” The film about the nurses who founded and opened the first AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital, called Ward 5B in 1983 was picked up in May by Verizon for broader distribution and officially debuted June 14. “5B” was created by Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss and Saville Productions, known for its branded ad and film work. Saville tweeted in May after Verizon picked up “5B”: “The film is an HIV/AIDS crisis doc, commissioned by Johnson & Johnson, & shows how brands can authentically get behind global issues.” The film also won a Lions Health & Wellness silver statue on Monday night.

Stand up for nontraditional creative. Getting the green light for a brand film targeted at physicians at a pharma company is not for the faint of heart. Even the best ideas face multiple hurdles. AstraZeneca’s Lions Health award-winning "The Attack" film from last year highlighted the risk of repeat heart attacks, but was "that close" to being killed, said Kyriakos Konstantinidis, global strategy director at AstraZeneca. That's what his boss told him later after winning four more global awards and industry impact, feedback and successes rolled in. It helped that Konstantinidis understood the vision that ad agency Havas Lynx brought with its ideas—his father had worked in the film industry and he grew up in and around it. Konstantinidis and Havas' perseverance not only led to the creation of "The Attack," but another new disease awareness film about cardiovascular risks around Type 2 diabetes that debuted recently. That patient-targeted film features a fisherman talking about the dangers of heart disease for Type 2 patients while his boat engine stalls, noting, "That's how dangerous Type 2 diabetes is. It can cause your heart, your engine, to fail." Konstantinidis urged the audience and pharma in general to take risks, albeit calculated ones with a strategy meets creativity foundation. "When you're working in the pharmaceutical industry which has a very conservative approach to these sort of ideas, and you have your colleagues and peers coming to you (after the campaign) to say, apart from congratulations, 'How did you do that? We want to copy that, we want to do the same brief. ... What is the direction I need to take internally to make this a success in order to get the buy in?' Then you know you have created a new area," he said.

Fighting fake news. Panelists from Johnson & Johnson, McCann Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tackled the thorny problem of combating disinformation about vaccines. "It won't be a TV campaign," said Seema Kumar, J&J's vice president for innovation in global health and science policy. Social media might play a role, but it's really peer-to-peer and face-to-face that's most important, the panelists decided. How to make that happen? "I'm challenging you," panel moderator Rajesh Mirchandani, chief communications officer of the UN Foundation, told the audience. In another session moderated by Conde Nast’s health chief Jen Mormile, Self editor in chief Carolyn Kylstra said their research found that while fake health news is not new—snake oil has been around a long time—it’s an issue because of social media and the rapid way disinformation now spreads, exacerbated by the lack of trust in authority figures. To combat it, Self is doubling down on health news editing, fact checking and vetting sources including celebrities. Meanwhile, co-panelist physician Esther Choo said doctors can do their part by going beyond traditional journal model of publish-and-done model. Today physicians need to follow up and make sure other scientists are misusing or misconstruing their work, she said.

VR for VR's sake. Too many pharma marketers are making the mistake of recruiting tech tools for jobs they can't do, or just using those tech tools poorly, said Sam Glassenberg, founder and CEO of LevelEx, which makes mobile games for physician training. For example, method-of-action presentations that used to be on big screens have moved into virtual reality. But zooming around a molecule in the virtual world while sitting still in the real one tends to make people nauseous. "The last thing you want a doctor to associate with your drug is nausea," Glassenberg said. The moral of the story is to use VR only when it's the only way to tell a particular story—and when you do, make it a spectator sport, he said.

Real-world evidence and technology are natural partners, said Alex Gilbert, head of partnerships at app developer Medopad, as he ticked off the ways his company’s working with life sciences companies such as Novartis to help collect the sort of patient data that can help drugmakers add new indications to existing drugs. “We’re now creating a living, breathing document of a patient," Gilbert said. “Your health record doesn’t have to be in the hospital. It’s here, created by you.”

Spending on real-world evidence has hit $1.48 billion, according to Simone Seymour, founder and CEO of the biometric textiles company Supa. Real-world evidence is “really hot right now” for personalizing products but “also for understanding how drugs are actually working.” Companies are tapping Supa’s tech—and its network of app users—to monitor and recruit patients for real-world evidence trials.

A GlaxoSmithKline toothpaste made to alleviate bleeding gums served as an example of why design should be at the heart of marketing in one session led by GSK's vice president of design and innovation Andrew Barraclough. "It's all about spitting blood," he noted, and blood imagery appeared on everything from the platelet-like motif on the toothpaste tube to the smartphone screen that started bloody and cleared from there. Then, in the Czech Republic, GSK flipped the idea to promote blood donations. "Don't spit blood, give blood" was the tagline for GSK's #bloodforgood campaign there.

#Cannes Lions Festival #Lions Health #Digital Pharma #Creativity #Health Innovation #Digital Health #SXSH

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alwaysanotherooc · 8 years ago

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The De Vega Siblings

#LoveHacks -Kamella "Kella" Aurelia De Vega, Paid Blogger (26 At the time of #Lovehacks) (27 At the time of The Freshman) (35 At the time of Endless Summer)

The Freshman -Kasen "Kessa" Sofia De Vega, English Major/Author (17 At the time of #Lovehacks) (18 At the time of The Freshman) (25 At the time of Endless Summer)

Endless Summer -Kemen "Ken" Rodrigo De Vega, History Major (13 At the time of #Lovehacks) (14 At the time of The Freshman) (21 At the time of Endless Summer)

Just a forewarning: possible triggers, mention of poverty, child neglect, hinted child abuse, anxiety, disassociation, and dangerous living situations. Happy ending, but still. Also, none of this is canon, at all. I just decided to connect the MC’s of LoveHacks, The Freshman, and Endless Summer because I could, even though by now it goes directly against canon.

Brief Family History =============== The De Vegas

-The De Vega siblings were born in Harlem, NYC, New York, USA, to Katy De Vega and Dougie Santiago. -Kella, being the oldest by nine years, saw the most of their parents, and remembers all of it but says nothing about them. Kessa, the middle child, saw very little of their father, and her best memory of him is the rather violent fight he had with their mother after being told she was pregnant again. Ken has no memories of his parents at all, and has rarely felt the desire to. -Kella was 15, Kessa was 6, and Ken was 2 when their mother left their apartment one day and never came back. They waited over a month, until the landlord came looking for their mother for the overdue rent. Then that night, Kella went through the apartment and picked out everything of value, packed up a bag for each of them, and set out to find them somewhere else to live. -Kella kept her siblings on the move around their school district, making sure that no matter what, her brother and sister had food and a warm bed. Kella often said she needed to stay late at the library to study, which, early on was much to the irritation of Kessa, but the librarians never bother the three of them, all the way in the dustiest section of the library, covered only by thin winter coats and pillowed on each other's arms. -Kella only told one adult what was going on, her sister's English teacher, who was curious why Kella showed up to Kessa's Parent Teacher night instead of their mother. Kella confessed, building quickly into hysterics, that their mother was gone, and it was only her keeping them together. Kessa, who was nearby holding the hand of a distracted Ken, overhead her sister sob, "I don't want to lose them, and I don't want them to be taken away from me!" -Kella raised Kessa and Ken, slowly sold off pieces from their old apartment for money to buy food and clothes and occasionally, medicine for her siblings. Kella was as gentle as she could be, as kind as life would let her be, but as vicious and diamond-hard as she had to be, she was protector and sister, defender and mother. Provider in all forms of the word. As a result, Kella became a rather angry child, ready to spring into action at any moment, a thousand perfectly composed arguments poised on her tongue, and a knife up her sleeve if things went wrong. -Kessa became more and more aware of their situation as she grew up, and worked very hard to take any pressure she could off of her older sister. Kessa was fine, and she dedicated her role in their family into being completely fine. As a result, Kessa became slightly neglected, emotionally. Kella worked herself to the bone to earn enough money to provide, and caring for a baby was no easy task in itself. Kessa allows people to take advantage of her giving nature, to take too much from Kessa with too little in return, which leads to vicious fights after a long while. -Ken wondered aloud a few times where their parents were, and eventually stopped asking. Ken knew that he loved his sisters, and he loved it more when they smiled, so he made every effort to do so. Ken became their sunshine, their rock, and as a result of that, he became easy to manipulate, in that if you could convince him it would be for the betterment of others, Ken would throw himself upon the ramparts. -Kella graduated high school and immediately went to work as a waitress in an upscale restaurant in New York, easing into being able to afford a shack to keep the weather off of her siblings and to keep them fed and clothed, though she struggled through the years to meet the rising needs, despite them asking for only what they needed and even then only when absolutely necessary. -Ken fell gravely ill when he was four, so sick that he burned with fever and shook with chills, and Kella could not even afford the bus fare to get them to the doctor, much less the most likely thousands of dollars worth of medical bills that would come when she took him, and she knew when she did take him that he and Kessa would be taken from her. Still, Kella worker harder than ever, at every odd job she could, to scrape enough money together to do something, when, as if by some God given miracle, Ken was better overnight, completely healthy once again. Kella and Kessa, too tired and relieved to question it, never spoke of it again, and if they noticed strage glowing lights or sounds around Ken’s sleeping form the night it happened, they said nothing of that either. -Unbeknownst to the siblings, they had an estranged aunt and uncle from their mother's side, Tia Sofia and Tio Grant, who had been looking to reconnect with Sofia's sister. Instead of finding their sister, they found a Jane Doe notice from a Harlem PD Morge, who had died three weeks before from drug overdose. The Harlem PD informed the already distraught couple, "We found Miss De Vega's last place of official residence on Rhodam, where her landlord said she'd lived with three kids, one teen girl, a younger girl, and a toddler boy. The landlord went up to see Miss De Vega in March of last year, said she was two months late with rent, and said the kids were very on edge. The next day, landlord went back up with a Child Services rep, and the kids were nowhere to be found." Since the PD had no idea what the children looked like, or even their names, the search seemed impossible. -Tia Sofia and Tio Grant were sick with worry at the thought of three children all under legal age being on their own for over a year and a half. The couple searched everywhere they could think of for the kids, using up their vacation time to look for them. The children were just another case file number to the Harlem PD, one of a hundred similar stories, but Sofia and Grant never gave up, determined to find their family. -Sofia and Grant De Vega were a very happy couple, who loved each other very much. They had married young, at 20 and 21, respectively. Sofia was a fifth grade teacher, and Grant was a surgical nurse, and though their jobs were demanding and draining and stressful, they were never anything but loving and happy when it came to one another. They never had children but had always wanted them. -Sofia and Grant live in Sofia's family's ancestral home, a palatial coastal 'cottage' originally built in 1801, by the De Vega settlers under the rule of the Spanish. The house evolved from a Governors house to the land of the 'Cursed De Vegas' a family legend which allegedly happened in the 1850's. After falling on hard times, the De Vegas were looking to sell the home and the lands surrounding it, and were approached by a woman who wanted to buy the property. The head of the household, Raphael De Vega, is said to have laughed for an hour at the suggestion that any woman could afford to buy their home, and laughed an hour more at the idea that a woman would then become the head of the house. The woman was furious, and turned on her heel and left. The family wasn't concerned, until the woman returned the next day, with, as legend goes, a glowing green rock in each hand. As Raphael De Vega opened his mouth to unleash the dogs on her, she threw the glowing green rocks at the ground, where they burrowed deep into the earth and caused a minor earthquake. The woman said she was a witch, and that since Raphael De Vega refused to sell to her, she had used her rocks to curse the land, so that if it were ever sold, the De Vega family would fall to ruin the likes of which they could not imagine. There is also some family controversy as to whether or not the witch and Raphael were old lovers, but the fact remains that the family was so terrified by her threat that the house remained in the family to present day, though needing serious structural work and extreme renovations over the centuries, the house had stood on the coast, a proud nod to California's origins with a quirky backstory. -The house itself is called La Casa Verna, or Spring House, and other than the history of the witch, which in itself is good for an epic family debate, there are a few other oddities about the home. There is a room on the first floor of the house that has never been updated, and to the present day has no electricity or running water. This room was left to itself for its purpose. This room is called the Measuring Room, where, once a year for the big family reunions, family members will be taken one by one into the room and have their height and initials marked onto the walls of the room. This tradition is something that was started in the early twentieth century, as the room was briefly a nursery after a small fire on the second floor. The De Vega family at present consists of around 40 people, including the estranged children of Katy. Despite all of the markings of height in the room, however, there is still quite a lot of room on the walls, for more stories to come. The lands surrounding the house were used by Grant's brother Theodore Ortiz Soto and his husband Jericho, who had transformed it into a horse ranch and vineyard. -Sofia and Grant started their search for their missing nieces and nephew after they had been gone for a year and a half, and their mother had been dead for almost a month. Their search lasted three more years until finally, they had a solid lead on a Keman De Vega, a seven-year-old in a Harlem public school. -After living off of each other for so long, the three siblings were very wary of outsiders and dreaded the day their luck at evading child services wore out. Kessa often lost sleep at the thought of sleeping anywhere but next to Kella. Ken jumped every time he noticed an adult watching them a little too closely, though he didn't quite know what that meant. Kella took up boxing at a hole in the wall gym, to beat out her frustrations at their circumstances. -It was a normal May day, after lunch, and Ken was looking forward to seeing his sisters after school and showing them his artwork he'd received back when a police officer walked into his classroom and asked to speak with him. Ken immediately bolted, racing past the officer and past a startled couple in the hall to lock himself in a bathroom stall, hysterically screaming, "You can't take me away from them!" -Ken spent two hours screaming and sobbing, half in Spanish and half in English, before his sisters showed up to calm him down. After spending a good twenty minutes holding on to one another and easing Ken down from his hysterics, Kella explained that they had an aunt and an uncle, who'd been looking for them, and wanted to take them home to California, give all three of them a home, and a family. -None of the three siblings believed any of it was true, though they went with Sofia and Grant to California two weeks after they were found, once school was out. Kella was 20 and hardened by necessity, Kessa was scared and a realist of the world, and Ken was terrified of being taken away from his sisters. None of them believed that they were really heading anywhere but an orphanage, or maybe a foster home, not even when they were pulling into the garage of an old Spanish style mansion, rolling hills of grapevines behind it. They didn't believe it was all really happening until one night when Kessa and Ken were both having nightmares and Kella was having a breakdown of how to be there for both of them at once, when suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and a kind voice saying, "Let us help, carina." -Ken quickly befriended all of his new family members, which greatly helped Kella and Kessa meld seamlessly into the family. Ken became instant best friends with Tio Grant's brother Theo's son Diego, a friendship which the family joked could withstand a nuclear bomb. -The extended family of the De Vega's had often wondered where little Katy had run to, and what had become of her. Though they were sad and outraged at the circumstances her children were found in, they were almost grateful for it. The three siblings brought new life, new vibrancy to the family. Mostly, though, they hadn't heard everyone's stories fifty thousand times, and the elders of the family quickly loved their enthusiasm for hearing endless stories about the family, no matter how DULL. (Though to be fair, seldom few of their stories were.) -Sofia and Grant wanted Kella to go to college immediately, but she decided to stay behind for another year and help her siblings settle into their new lives. -Kella attended Hartford, became best friends with Mark Collins, majored in Communications, and got a coveted internship at Buzzfeed New York. After working there two years, she found her way back to San Francisco to work for ClickIt, where Mark was also working. Kella moved in with Mark’s friends Brooke and Syreena, effortlessly fitting into his circle of friends. -Kella, fed up with the racist and sexist environment of ClickIt, broke off from the company and co-founded a San Francisco hard-hitting news outlet named PostAuthority, which quickly became one of the most popular online lifestyle and news blogs on the internet, and the number one most popular blog in San Francisco, earning the Blackbourne Award in its first year of operation. -Eventually, Kella began dating her co-worker Leah, and they were as happy as could be. -Kessa attended Hartford after her sister, quickly befriending her suitemates Kaitlyn Liao, Chris Powell, Zack Porter, Abbie Richards and Tyler Wu. Kessa’s initial attendance at Hartford relied only on her acceptance into a full scholarship. Upon her first day at Hartford, it was discovered that her scholarship application hadn’t gone through, and she needed to pay full tuition. Kessa became the intern for Professor Enrique Vasquez, working alongside his TA, Sophomore James Ashton. Kessa took the recalcitrant, cynical, humongous asshole professor and turned him into something resembling a human being before he died, helping him rectify things with his daughter and be there for the birth of his grandson. In turn, Enrique was the first of her group of friends to learn about her horrible past by YEARS, and was so immensely embarrassed at every nasty thing he ever called her, he wrote her into his will, providing a scholarship for the rest of her tuition if she finished the book he had based on her, and one other book about three siblings growing up on the streets (based on her early years). Kessa and Chris fell in love, Kessa graduated Hartford and immediately got engaged to Chris, who became a US Senator before long while Kessa became a highly acclaimed author. -Ken grew up happy and content, but careful. He took after Kella and Kessa both, in that he started training in mixed martial arts with Kella when he was ten, and Kessa taught him how to make friends and more importantly, how to be one. Ken had the best qualities of both sisters, and whatever he didn’t get from them he had with Diego. Diego became an honorary De Vega sibling, his parents and Tia Sofia and Tio Grant often joking that they were attached at the hip and at the hand. Ken and Diego’s friendship made it easy for Kella and Kessa to focus on their studies and their careers, knowing that their brother had someone who was ride or die for life, the same way that they were. -Ken and Diego’s relationship was...unconventional. Ken, from his background on the streets, was a high functioning mess of anxiety and tightly coiled rage that he kept locked way down deep in his chest, and Diego, with his background as ‘the foreign kid’ at school and the bullying heaped upon his from such, was a highly functioning mess of disassociation. The only reason either of them were highly functioning was because of the other. Each one knew the front, back, side, inside and outside of the other better than they knew themselves, they knew how to break the patterns of succumbing to the mental illnesses plaguing them. They knew how each other worked, how they moved, how they lived. Ken had Kella and Kessa, but he also had Diego, and Diego had him, and nothing was going to take it away from him. Ken loved humanity, he was friends with humanity, but he trusted none of it but his sisters and Diego. -Ken eventually went to Hartford too, but it wasn’t until his Junior year that he and Diego had their adventure. They participated in a contest at Hartford for ten students to win an all expenses paid one week trip to the luxury Caribbean island of La Huerta, and would stay at the five-star resort, The Celestial. Ken never told anyone but his sisters all of the horrible things that he was subjected to on the island, and his sister’s never spoke of it again, but the family soon became aware of the siblings turn against Rourke Industries, and despite a few jokes about Ken seeing ‘inside the belly of the beast’ during his visit to the island, it was never questioned. Ken returned from the island hand in hand with Sean Marcus Gayle, who immediately came out to the media as bisexual, and dating one sunshine and kittens Keman Rodrigo De Vega.

#The De Vega Siblings #Ken De Vega #Kella De Vega #Kessa De Vega #choices: stories you play #choices: endless summer #endless summer #choices: The Freshman #the freshman #choices: lovehacks #lovehacks

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