#not completely sold on the program but!!

[figureskatingpenguin]

Yuma Kagiyama (JPN): Spanish Medley | 2024 NHK Trophy, FS

[creations-by-chaosfay]

A thing I pre-ordered months ago has shipped!

What's the thing?

Keepsake Quilting, and several other quilt companies/stores, put a sort of gift box together with fabric, notions, patterns, and gift cards in them. You don't know what you're getting, making it a surprise. I have never purchased one because they're expensive. This was 50% upfront, 50% when shipped, for a total of $150. Considering how much is in it, and what reviews were left the last several years, it's a steal. Plus, I wanna treat myself after having such a stressful and unpleasant year.

My mom and one of aunts have ordered such boxes in the past, but according to my mom, they're disappointing because she has so many of the things in the package, or no use for many of them. Rulers (some of which cost $30), needles, rotary cutters and extra blades (blades can be $10/each, new cutters up to $50), fabric marking tools (chalk pencils, disappearing ink, etc), precut fabric collections (jelly rolls can be $80, fat quarter collections up to $100 depending on number of FQs), and yardage ($12.99-$21.99/yard). She's been disappointed by "ugly" fabric too many times.

I, on the other hand, have significantly fewer tools. I make things for people to buy, and some folks love fabric I cannot stand (like x-mas and patriotic prints). There have been fabrics I consider well and truly hideous, and those I list in my shop or sell to people here. One person's trash is another's treasure, right? I've met people who think pastels are ugliest things to have ever existed. I think baby pink and green military camouflage look fantastic together, as well as turquoise and light hemp brown or terracotta and peacock blue. My mom finds them hideous. I think pink and any shade of brown look terrible together, or red and khaki (likely from working at Target and seeing is everywhere). Again, personal taste.

If any of you ever fancy treating me to one of these random collections of fabric and/or notions, feel free to do so. They're the sort of surprise I enjoy (that and people purchasing my work, especially from my shop). Sure, there are things that may he of no use to me, but others can use them. Nothing goes to waste.

This package will be arriving on November 18th, and has me giggling with excitement!

[carmenlire]

this has been a difficult, awful week only for it to end friday at 3pm with an invitation to interview for a management position next week.

[batshit-auspol]

With the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, many of the former empire's resources were sold off to the highest bidder, and their $14 billion space shuttle program was no exception.

Seeking to recoup some of that eyewatering spend, in 1998, the "Buran" (Russia's answer to the American Space Shuttle) was offered up for sale on eBay for $10 million.

No serious offers were received - with most people assuming the listing to be a joke, until the New York Post confirmed the sale, with Russian authorities stating they "actually have two" if anyone is interested.

(Pictured: A later auction of a smaller scale Buran in 2005)

Sensing an opportunity, a group of Aussie entrepreneurs including Australia's first astronaut and the lawyer for Prime Minister Paul Keating offer to lease the shuttle from Russia, to put it on display in Australia during the Sydney Olympics.

After gaining permission from the Kremlin for the lease, in 1999 the Russian military briefly stops bombing Chechnya in order to dismantle the Buran, and it is placed on a barge to be shipped to Sydney on the (soon to be infamous for other reasons) Tampa shipping vessel at a cost of $5 million.

Once in Sydney, after a disastrous few months on display where crowds failed to flock to the shuttle exhibition featuring such compelling educational offerings as "activities is to assist in the development of issues of nutrition and hygiene at home" (an actual quote from their website) - the leasing company declared bankruptcy and washed their hands of the space shuttle completely.

The Buran Gift shop where you could buy soviet space ship themed football jerseys, in case you needed one of those

One of four people listed on the lease, described as a business partner of the Prime Minister, also claims he never knew he was a director of the company, which went on to cause a lot more problems.

This whole debacle presented a slight issue for the cash strapped Russian authorities, who had now only been paid $100,000 for the 9 year lease of the shuttle instead of the $600,000 they were owed. Eventually the decision was made to abandon the once $1 billion Soviet pride and joy in a Sydney carpark, where it resided for a year under a small tarpaulin.

Failed attempts to be rid of the shuttle included a 12 day auction hosted by an LA radio station, where listeners were offered the chance to buy the shuttle for $6 million, however all bids turned out to be pranks and the shuttle remained.

Multiple attempts were also made to sell the shuttle to Tom Cruise, with the exacerbated movie star's representatives repeatedly telling the insistent traders that he was not interested in owning a Russian spaceship.

Eventually a Singaporean group dismantled the shuttle and shipped it overseas, however Russian authorities soon reported they once again had been failed to be paid for the lease. Singaporean representatives responded that they definitely had paid for the shuttle, and that they simply couldn't remember when or how much was paid.

Representing the Russian government, Lawyer Suhaila Turani told the Wall Street Journal “I feel sorry for the Russians. They’re good in space, but they’re very naive in business.”

For a time the shuttle was abandoned in the storage yard of event company Pico, with the company owner telling the Wall Street Journal "I just want this thing out of my life" after three years of being stuck with it.

A few years later the shuttle was found by German journalists dismantled in a junkyard, and it was then bought and shipped to Germany to be put on display a museum, so all's well that ends well (except they dropped it from a crane while trying to set it up, but it polished up okay).

[invisiblerhythmcat]

and both applications for disabled dance programs were rejections

like I get it, I've been on the other side of the application before, I know these aren't personal choices, it's just how things fall

I just...it's frustrating when I never seem to be the person people want

like, where's the program for the disabled trans irish dancers?

where are the programs for people with my brand of autism that doesn't always follow the needs of most autistic people but are still important?

where are the programs for people who didn't understand the fucking accessible application?

it's frustrating to be reminded that the only person who will ever make space for me is me.

and hell, I'm fucking doing it.

but, my god it's exhausting

[delphi-shield]

OLD FOLKS HOME ↪ age gap hcs

the people you love & the shit they do that reminds you of the dreaded Gap (tm). characters included: leon kennedy, chris redfield, jill valentine, claire redfield, rebecca chambers no warnings to speak of. remember kids, if you're gonna date people in their 30s and 40s, you're gonna have different cultural contexts and, most likely, different senses of humor.

Leon is eight levels of irony deep. He started doing Old Guy Shit just to mess with you, and now it's all come full circle. 

It turns out he actually likes watching the weather channel. He’s monitoring storms that are miles and miles away from you, pointing out the feeder bands like it’s some kind of sporting event. 

He's genuinely invested in Ice Road Truckers. He asks you to TiVo it for him when he's gone. You do not have TiVo. In fact, you're pretty sure no one still has TiVo. 

Or you were, until Leon once again committed to the bit and got TiVo.

Really, genuinely annoying about old movies, actors, and directors.

”What do you mean you don’t know who Robert Redford is? The Candidate? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? C’mon. He was even in an episode of The Twilight Zone. You’ll know him when you see him.”

At least you get movie dates out of it.

Movie dates that he will pepper with trivia about the film, by the way. You don't need the commentary track. He is the commentary.

I'm so, so sorry about this. 🤪 is his favorite emoji. I know. I'm sorry.

Chris cannot fucking hear. To be honest, I think most of them have some degree of hearing loss - but Chris in particular seems to have very subjective hearing loss.

Yes, you were just having a full-fledged conversation. No, he didn’t hear you ask him to take out the trash. He didn’t forget, he just didn’t hear you. Sorry, you were standing on his right - come on, you know that’s his bad side.

Explains basic technology to you because he’s not sure if you know what it is. Then, in the same breath, crams in so many military acronyms he may as well be reciting the alphabet. Does not explain the acronyms.

Like, yeah, Chris. I know what a landline is. Dial-up internet, too. Now, what the fuck is an ORE?

Have you ever gotten ‘ok’ in response to a nude? You’re about to. Completely demoralizing, by the way.

He didn't know you wanted him to compose a poem dedicated to your beauty, okay? He tries to get better, but winds up sending shit like 'wow 👍'

Does the dad thing where he insists he's not interested in watching what's on TV and then stands with his hands on his hips in the middle of the living room, enthralled by the show.

Jill does not understand your music. She will not make an attempt to understand your music. If you see her tapping her foot to the beat, no you do not. She is not interested in expanding her musical horizons.

She only bought you tickets to that concert because she knew you would love it. She only went with you because you’re cute when you’re so into this stuff. She only bought that t-shirt because it would be a good souvenir, and eventually, a good grease rag.

Generalized distrust of social media. Do not show her a tiktok. She will ignore the video and lecture you about data safety. Jill, please. Just watch the fucking cat video.

And then she turns around and opts in to literally everything on the McDonald's app.

If there’s a rewards program, she’s in. Already sold. Didn’t even read the fine print. All that shit she was telling you about how you need to be more careful is right out the window for some free fries.

Anything for the thrill of a good deal. If she had more time on her hands, she would be couponing.

Buys in bulk. No, it doesn't matter if the two of you could not physically eat that much rice. It's cheaper to buy it like this. It's fine. It's good for you.

Gotta stock up on non-perishables, too. You gotta be prepared in case something happens. "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

Claire cannot stop shopping from QVC. She's in the kitchen with David. It Takes Two with Mary and Sandra? Wrong. It actually takes three. Mary, Sandra, and Claire.

Infomercials have got her by the throat. You have so many gadgets and gizmos around your home that are just collecting dust.

Gets wine drunk and goes online shopping. Legitimately does not remember what she’s bought.

Absolutely will not let you open the packages. (“Some of this stuff could be for you, you know.” “Claire, last time it was a 10,000 count package of googly eyes.” “And I used all 10,000. You still haven’t found them all.”)

Uses every piece of technology until it’s about to fall apart. Absolutely not interested in having the latest and greatest. She’s one of those people who insists that as long as her phone can make calls and send texts, she doesn’t need a new one.

Speaking of texts. Somehow, she got it into her head that a read receipt is equivalent to a reply. She doesn't get what the problem is. You know she saw your text. Why does she have to reply?

Genuinely doesn't mean anything malicious by it - but also, if you did that to her, you would never hear the end of it.

Rebecca legitimately has facebook humor. They all have some degree of facebook humor, but she's got it the worst. 

Will blow up your notifications tagging you in shit that is just straight up not funny. I’m talking full on tagging you with “😂😂😂”

Unironically sent you a minion meme once.

It's not that she's disconnected. She teaches undergrads. She knows what’s in, even if it’s only from the periphery. It’s just that she doesn’t care. She has no interest in keeping up with trends just for the sake of it. She’s so used to being the youngest person in the room and having to keep up expectations that she just absolutely does not care anymore. She's glad she's not one of the kids anymore.

If it made her laugh it made her laugh, her enjoyment isn’t shackled by feelings of shame!!

If you have a group chat on any platform with your friends please invite her. She's just happy to be included. She'll make a discord if she has to, and she'll brag about it to her students.

Yeah, she says pupper and doggo. She does. Look at her.

[merakiui]

thinking about a concept where you break into wealthy businessman azul ashengrotto’s house in hopes of scoring big on some valuable items. you think this might be the smoothest job you’ve ever done. it’s so easy to avoid the cameras and keep your head low. too easy, almost. like it’s meant to be easy.

you think all will be well until you turn the corner with your bag full of stolen goods and run right into the real home security: jade, or formally known as model JEI-0511. a highly intelligent android programmed to detect and neutralize any and all threats to the home and its owner.

a single golden eye glints at you in the shadowed hall. you see the flash of a cordial smile and then you’re turning and running. the android subdues you within seconds, grabbing hold of the back of your shirt and yanking you to the ground. he’s silent and wordless as he looms over you, preparing to end you right there. you scramble away in a panic, your eyes squeezed shut and arms folded over your face for protection.

the light flicks on. “enough, jade. don’t kill the poor thing. the smell and the mess would be unbearable.”

“as you wish, master,” he replies, a hand held over his chest. he melts into the shadows, a lurking terror in wait.

slowly, very shakily, you lower your arms to look at the man who stands before you. he doesn’t smile.

“you’re quite crafty, aren’t you?” he asks, but it doesn’t sound like the type of question you’re in any position to answer.

you spend a long, silent minute watching him. he looks you up and down. before you even know what’s happening, the android surges forwards to drag you up from the ground. you struggle in vain, your scream muffled in his hand when it claps down over your mouth. the android holds you still while azul takes his time studying you.

“yes, you’ll do nicely.”

you have no idea what that means and you’re not going to because the android, swiftly and mercilessly, knocks you out.

hours later you wake in a cell, squinting under the intensity of bright blue fluorescents. you’re dressed in loose-fitting clothes; they remind you of the same material of a hospital gown. everything is cold and sterile. you’ve no idea where you are or what place this is.

you think you hear conversation on the other side of the glass, a window that only allows those on the other side to peer in.

azul has brought you to his business partner’s lab. idia shroud, renowned tech genius. the android who caught you was just a prototype. a model not yet sold to the general public. a secret still in development. that’s why they’re trying to manufacture a better model. FLO-0511. twin to JEI-0511. and you’re going to help train the AI to be smarter, better, more efficient.

tl;dr - you’re held captive by two crazy-rich businessmen and made to train android floyd, who is just as cold and emotionless as his android counterpart jade. something something you desperately need to find some way to outsmart two androids if you ever want to escape this terrifying situation. maybe trying to teach floyd to be human,,, manipulating jade into thinking he’ll be obsolete once project FLO-0511 is complete. :)

and of course trying to charm and seduce the two loser virgin businessmen so they’ll treat you more like a person and less like a test subject.

[neptuneiris]

Cruel Summer (02/10)

Paradise Beach

pairing: modern!aemond × fem!reader

summary: after a bad day at work, you head to the beach of your dreams, where an unexpected encounter occurs with a person who is too well known in the city and very rich.

words: 7.7k

previous part • next chapter • series masterlist

omg i can't believe how much you guys liked the first part! i really thought the story wouldn't get so much support (especially since i haven't finished CYPTBIL👀) but you guys again surprised me🤗 i'm very inspired with this story so i'm very happy for all the support, so enjoy this new chapter and look forward to the others!🙌🏻

thank you for reading!

warnings: none in this chapter.

You hate to see the beach dirty.

You've always had a problem with people who leave all their trash on the beach without any remorse and in full view of everyone. Many people will be embarrassed to confront them and create a fuss, but you... you defend the beach.

The first community program you see that brings people together to clean up the beach to better help the ecosystem, you're the first to sign up.

And that's the bad thing about living in Black Waves.

The beaches are not the best kept. There is dirt everywhere, the smell is horrible and really very few people make an effort to keep the beaches on this side clean.

The complete opposite on the beaches of Crown's.

This is mainly why you want to make a difference, to have clean and beautiful beaches despite the 'status' that the rich label you in the worst way.

You've seen their beaches and they are very well kept, that's true. It was clear to you when you went to that party last night and saw the white sand.

Obviously the rich people pay people for maintenance, whether they are poor people or whatever, but your people can't afford that, so they either clean it themselves or they just don't do it.

Pretty much the same goes for restaurants and venues of any kind.

Certainly the restaurant you work for is on a beachfront terrace in a luxurious and exclusive part of Crown's, the same goes for most of the restaurants in this area.

But in Black Waves the restaurants are less sophisticated, the food is fast, some are wood-framed, and there are no more than four people working there.

The places to buy clothes or basic necessities are the same, even a grocery store is inside the same house of the owners, while the rich have a huge shopping mall with brand name clothing stores, accessories, libraries, coffee shops and more refined restaurants.

They also have on their side of town large supermarkets where every fruit, vegetable or meat is triple the price of what they sell it on your side of town.

The prices are also different, clearly.

In Black Waves the dishes sold in the restaurants are affordable, while here a seafood dish costs fifty dollars.

And today especially your boss is in a bad mood, like every day, but today more so.

"Hey."

Alysanne whispers to you from the other side of the bar as you finish cleaning one of the tables and watch her almost instantly, where she takes care that your boss doesn't see you both talking.

"Daniel has texted me, he says Cregan is taking us to another one of his parties tonight," she lets you know with the clear excitement all over her contained face, "They say it's going to be great and maybe Cregan can take us up on his parents' yacht."

You let out a sigh and like her, you check to make sure Mr. Frey doesn't catch you talking in mid-shift.

"Tonight?"

"Yes," she says without removing her excitement.

"We're working double shifts today, Anne," you tell her without encouragement.

"Oh come on. We can't miss the opportunity to spend the party on a fucking yacht," she whispers excitedly to you.

"My feet are already hurting and it's not even four in the afternoon," you point out to her.

She gives you a bad look.

"Y/N," she tells you reproachfully.

"Depends on how the day goes."

"Are you serious? We must—

"You two!"

Mr. Frey's voice immediately catches your attention and Alysanne's, where you notice him already watching you both with a scowl on his face and clearly furious.

"Did I pay you to chat or to work!?"

The two of you exchange a glance and immediately turn away from each other, each returning to their respective tasks. But of course, it not only draws the attention of the two of you, but also that of some customers, and the two of you endure the humiliation of being scolded in public.

"You'd better move and I'd better not see you two chatting again or I'll pay you exactly what you deserve or send you back to your side of town."

You almost want to laugh in his face, but like any educated woman and again out of necessity, you keep quiet, as does Alysanne, but the looks you both exchange say it all.

You would like to tell him that because of the mistreatment and this kind of humiliation in public, the two of you and the other workers should be paid more, especially because you have to deal with a boss like him, but neither you nor anyone else says anything and continue working.

And precisely because you were talking to Alysanne for only a brief moment, Mr. Frey takes advantage and overloads you both with too much work for the remainder of the shift.

And that's why you definitely decide not to go to any party.

Your feet hurt, you are urged to take a bath, eat and lie in your bed, however, you are surprised to see how Alysanne has way too much energy for the hell you both had to go through and as she talk to the guys by text, the more excited she gets about going to Cregan's party.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Alysanne asks you as she finishes getting ready, looking at you through the full-length mirror.

"Honestly I'd rather go to the beach to relax instead of being surrounded with music, the smell of beer, weed and teenagers getting drunk."

She gives you an amused look.

"And why don't you do that?"

"I don't have a ride and it's too late to walk."

"Cregan is coming to pick me up in his car along with the others, I'm sure he can give you a ride if you ask him."

You give her a curious and unsure look.

"Do you think he'll accept?"

"We're going to the same side of town, he'll be passing through," she nods with a nonchalant gesture.

At least you don't have to get too dressed up and you won't get tired, so you trust Alysanne and start getting ready too. Not too much like her but to look presentable.

As time goes by Cregan finally arrives with the boys making a huge fuss, excited about the party tonight. Alysanne tells them to shut up and they are lucky that your uncle and aunt haven't complained about them yet.

You give Cregan directions after asking him to please give you a ride and pretty soon everyone is inside of Crown's.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Sam asks you confused.

You shake your head.

"Why not?"

"I'm too tired for a party."

Chase gives you a knowing look.

"I can't believe in all this time you haven't been caught."

"It's not like I'm doing anything wrong either," you shrug.

"But the rich hate us and I bet you they'll make a huge fuss if they catch you."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe a trespass sue," Daniel agrees.

"Even knowing you don't have the money to pay for it," Chase tells you.

"Trespassing?" you repeat between amused and incredulous, "Going to sit on the edge of the beach is trespassing? Do you even know what trespassing is?"

"In any case, the rich won't like it if you get caught," Sam says making a nonchalant gesture.

You decide not to take it any further and finally arrive at your destination point, where you get out and walk over to the side of the pilot's window to see Cregan.

"Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," he smiles at you, "But the guys are right. If the owners find out about you, you can get in big trouble."

"I've been doing this for almost a year," you let him know, "I'm very sneaky."

He shakes his head with an amused smile.

"Just be careful. We'll come get you when you tell us."

"Okay," you nod, "Thanks, Cregan."

"Take care," Alysanne says to you from the passenger seat.

"Sure."

"And if the rich see you, get in the ocean and swim to the party, we'll help you there," Daniel tells you too.

You give him a look and and a not entirely convinced smile.

"Yeah, sure, very helpful."

You finally start to walk away from them as they continue to yell at you to take care of yourself, to call them in case of anything and so on, until Cregan starts up and his car begins to disappear into the distance.

And then you take action.

You look around, quickly assessing the area, making sure there are no people nearby to see you, but surprisingly this whole luxurious area of Crown's is quiet.

The only movement you notice is several cars passing by, but other than that, there are no monkeys on the shore.

There is a wall in front of you that marks the line between this private neighborhood and the houses in the same neighborhood that are even more private, since they have a huge front yard and a huge part of the beach exclusively for them.

The wall is not high, fortunately, you think it should be, but this is compensated by security guards who patrol this area and the beach from time to time.

So stealthily and in a calculated manner, once you make sure that there are no people nearby, you hide among the bushes and trees that are planted in the corner of the sidewalk to put your foot on a specific crack that you know of the wall and push yourself upward taking the edge of the wall with both hands to be able to observe the other side.

You quickly scan the entire area, making sure there are no guards patrolling nearby nor any of the people who live in the houses before jumping.

The meters of distance are considerable between the huge houses or rather mansions. There is pavement between the divisions and those divisions are exactly the way to the beach.

You put on the cap of the sweatshirt you are wearing to cover your hair and your face, since you know that all the houses must have security cameras outside, so this way you protect yourself in case of anything.

And once you make sure that there is no one outside or nearby, you gain impulse again with more strength and as fast as your feet allow you but still being careful, you place your hands on the rough edge of the wall and start to climb.

You adjust your grip more firmly on the edge and in one agile motion, you propel yourself upwards, where you feel the effort as you pull your own weight and more as you try to be fast.

Luckily you've done this many times before and when you reach the top, wasting no time and making sure no one is watching you, you quickly slide down the other side and you fall on your feet with a dry sound.

You don't take the time to rest and looking around, with adrenaline running through your veins and your heart beating too fast, you quickly advance towards the beach.

And once you are far enough away from where you managed to cross and indeed you confirm that no one saw you and everything is fine, again, you can relax.

You remove the cap from your head and let your hair free again, slowly feeling how the breeze and the wind with the salty air envelop you completely as you approach the seashore.

Easily anyone who lives here if they see you could tell that you live here too, besides the night also helps you because without so much light they can't recognize you right away.

And it is as if you are also a rich person, daughter of rich parents, being inside a private section of the beach in Crown's most exclusive area.

And as you go along, this is precisely why you take the risk of coming to this place when it is forbidden to you; the place and the view.

The sand here is perfect, clean as if no one had ever walked on it, the air is salty with no smell of anything unpleasant in specific, there are no people that could be dangerous around you and the surroundings are absolutely beautiful and clean.

Also this section has a cliff a bit secluded from all the houses, where its huge rocky wall looks absolutely beautiful and ethereal when illuminated by the night light.

You have come here many, many times and you always head to the same place, that specific pier.

The pier stretches out in front of you like a polished wooden path, leading into the deep waters of the night ocean.

Discreetly placed lights along the pier illuminate it with a soft golden glow, creating a contrast to the darkness surrounding the horizon.

The reflection of the small lamps trembles on the surface of the water, giving the place a magical and mysterious air.

The structure is impeccable, made of dark, sturdy wood, maintained with a care that only the rich can afford. There is not a single splinter out of place, not even an ill-fitting clove.

Every detail is taken care of, right down to the polished wooden benches at the end of the pier, ideal for sitting and admiring the sea in silence.

As you approach, the wooden planks creak softly under your feet, but the sound mixes with the gentle murmur of the waves, making it almost imperceptible.

And when you reach the end, you can see a large yacht moored at the side of the dock, with it's deluxe cover and it's name painted in gold and silver lettering.

You have no idea which rich family it might belong to, but you know this is just one of many they must have. It wasn't here the last time you came here and fortunately it doesn't obstruct the view.

You take a seat on the wooden bench and letting out a big breath, you watch as the full moon reflects off the ocean, it's silvery sparkles dancing on the water in hypnotic movements.

This is why you love coming here, even in this way, because the fresh, salty night air fills your lungs with every inhalation.

And just for an instant, you feel freer than ever in this space that is not supposed to belong to you.

Besides you not only enjoy seeing the moon, but also the stars, shining brightly and adorning the entire night sky. And you can rest easy, because there is no danger on this side of town.

You've been enduring a lot at work lately, taking a lot of strain on your shoulders from double shifts and stressing over the slightest thing, but coming here and being here gives you that much needed quiet time.

And only this place can offer you that; peace and tranquility.

You don't know exactly how much time passes but you find yourself in the same position, not getting bored and enjoying the view, wishing time would freeze so you could continue to enjoy this without worries.

You think that Alysanne and the guys must be having fun too, but for tonight this is all the fun you need.

Suddenly your phone vibrates next to you and the screen lights up as a new notification comes in. You casually pick it up and see a new message, and it's from Alysanne.

It's a selfie of her with the guys, all happy, laughing, smiling, beer bottles in hand and with the sea and yachts in the background completing the scene.

You let out a small laugh as you see Sam's euphoric face, Daniel and Chase's funny faces, and Cregan and Alysanne's smiling faces.

"Excuse me?"

Your whole body reacts and jumps instantly from shock and you look quickly and sharply behind you with all the panic on your face, definitely not expecting what you see.

Aemond Targaryen.

Shit.

It's the first thing that comes to your mind as you quickly jump to your feet, your heart beating too fast and your hands starting to shake.

That's when you know that the moment has finally come where you're caught and you're in big trouble.

Aemond watches you with a serious and attentive face, analyzing you completely. And you feel completely small when his eyes look at you with confusion and distrust, but challenging.

He clearly has no idea what are you doing here and maintains a defensive posture.

And you definitely feel like a thief who's just been caught in the act.

"What are you doing here?"

Oh God.

You think in terror.

How come you didn't hear him coming? The boards creak with the weight when someone walks and you couldn't hear anything?

You think that you should have been more attentive, that you shouldn't have let your guard down, because it's not possible that you really were so distracted and in your own world that you didn't hear him coming. 

But with him already here, watching you in a bad way, looking cold and suspicious, that you don't have time to scold yourself or think about it.

"I-I..." you stammer, in a shaky voice, not having the slightest idea what to say, very nervous and scared.

All you can feel is a lump in your throat, an irregular throbbing in your chest and the overwhelming weight of his gaze on you.

He doesn't look away and his serious face doesn't change, clearly waiting for an answer.

As you watch him examine you, you watch as he runs his gaze up and down you, trying to decipher who you are. And it doesn't take him long to come to an obvious conclusion, because he instantly knows that you are not like him.  

By your clothes and your old sandals, everything about you gives away that you don't belong here. Besides, he doesn't recognize you from among the other Crown's families to be able to say that you belong to one of them.

He knows you're not from around here.

"I asked you a question," he demands you in a bad way and with a harsher tone, walking towards you, "What are you doing here?"

You feel a shiver run down your back as you swallow hard, but the words just won't come out.

You're paralyzed, terrified, stuck, because you have no idea what to say and you're still processing that this is really happening. 

You know you don't have any good excuses and he's impatient, waiting for an answer that really won't be convincing to be the truth.

"I will call security for invasion of private property," he warns you firmly, clearly beginning to lose patience.

The danger in his words makes the fear hit you even harder and you finally react in panic.       

"No, no, please," you finally manage to say, worried and raising one of your hands to him in supplication, "I-I… I'm not doing anything wrong, I swear," you raise both hands in surrender, trembling.

He inspects you more closely with a piercing gaze, trying to find something, anything, to tell him what you are really doing here or what you are trying to do, watching between you and his family's yacht anchored to the dock.

His posture remains tense, ready to act if he finds anything out of place. 

He thinks that maybe you are doing something with the yacht, but he sees it in perfect condition, with nothing strange and nothing out of the ordinary, as the rope that ties it to the dock is without problems.

But he still continues to watch you seriously, defensively and suspiciously.

"Shit," you mutter under your breath, lowering your gaze, embarrassed and terrified, "This has never happened before," you say, reproaching yourself for the mess you've gotten yourself into.

But he hears you perfectly, and his frown deepens.

"Before?" he queries you.      

You close your eyes tightly, cursing yourself internally for having said that, to again look at him pleadingly and in desperation wanting to prove to him that you really aren't doing anything wrong.

"I swear I—

"Hello!?"

The unexpected voice makes you jump again from surprise and you watch with your eyes wide open behind Aemond as one of the security guards enters the dock, his flashlight illuminating the way.

Your heart beats with such force that it seems to thunder in your ears, as panic engulfs you completely. 

And without thinking too much, you move quickly, hiding behind a huge wooden box, taking advantage of the pole supporting the roof at the end of the pier and some scattered chairs. 

You crouch down, trying to make yourself as small as possible, but desperation gives you away with every move.

This definitely ends up completely confusing Aemond, not expecting that reaction and movement from you at all.      

And you watch him from your hiding place with all the pleading and forgiveness in your eyes, silently begging him not to say anything, not to give you away.

But he turns his gaze to the guard who ends up coming closer.

"Are you all right son?"

Your heart stops momentarily and you watch him in terrified silence, simply waiting for the worst. 

But even to have his whole look serious and not showing much reaction, you watch as hesitation appears for a moment and he falters in his words, as if he doesn't know exactly what to say, until he does.

"Yes," he finally says, "I'm all right."

The guard, seemingly satisfied with the answer, nods, but doesn't leave.     

"The Baratheon's reported a break-in in their backyard a few days ago," he says and you listen carefully, still waiting for the moment with fear and concern, "Nothing serious, apparently just clothes and some decorations. I'm just patrolling to make sure everything is in order."

Your breathing quickens as you listen to every word and Aemond continues to watch the guard, when suddenly he shoots you a quick glance, his eyes reflecting a mixture of seriousness and indecision. 

"Yes, so I hear," he says.

"Are you alone, son? I thought I saw someone else here."

Fuck.

Your stomach sinks and you close your eyes tightly, then watch in terror for the moment when Aemond will finally speak and give you away.

But you see the hesitation in his gaze again, you also watch intently as he opens and closes his mouth a few times, failing to say anything.    

When suddenly you see him let out a long breath and slyly give you a look with his serious face, then lick his lips and press them together in resignation.

"Yes, I'm alone."

As soon as Aemond utters those words, a wave of relief sweeps through your body. But almost instantly you stare at him in complete shock, unable to believe it. 

He really just covered you in front of the guard. He didn't really give you away even when he had every reason to do so.

Your hands are still shaking, but you slowly feel the adrenaline and anguish start to subside. 

"Well, we'll be around if you need anything. Good night, son." 

Aemond nods in his direction.

"Yes, thank you. Good night."  

You stand still for a few more moments, listening to his footsteps fade into the distance until finally there is no more noise. Just the sound of the water against the dock and the night wind on the waves.

You take a deep breath and slowly, you sit up, emerging from your hiding place with your hands still shaking. 

Your eyes meet those of Aemond, who is still standing, watching you with that penetrating gaze that seems to be able to read all your deepest thoughts. 

You don't know exactly what to say to him, you're still surprised and don't understand why he saved you, but the words come out on their own, grateful and fearful.

"Thank you," you murmur apologetically but with all the sincerity in your gaze, "Thank you for not saying anything."

He doesn't say anything to you, which confuses you even more, he just keeps standing there watching you, with his usual hard-to-read expression.     

“I-I..." you stammer, biting your lips and lowering your gaze for a moment, still feeling nervous, "I really wasn't doing anything wrong. I wasn't stealing or harming or anything like that, truly," you tell him honestly.

Again, he says nothing. He doesn't move either. He just stands there, with both hands tucked inside his front pockets of his shorts and still watching you with utmost attention that makes you feel incredibly nervous, even more so due to the circumstances.

You are also surprised that he is not kicking you out and threatening not to come back here. 

You honestly don't understand his behavior and the fact that he saved you from the guard, but for whatever reason, you thank him or you would have been in big trouble.

So cautiously, you take a step towards the entrance and exit of the pier.        

"And I'm sorry. You won't see me around here again. I really don't want to cause trouble," you add, watching him warily and wanting to make clear the promise in your words, "I'll leave now," you say quietly.

And having nothing more to say, you turn around, ready to run away if necessary, but you barely take two steps when surprisingly his voice stops you.

"What were you doing here?" he asks for the fifth time all night, his tone just as accusing but now with a curious tone. 

You stand still, not knowing exactly how to respond. 

But you know you have two choices: lie or tell the truth. And for some reason, you feel you can't lie to him; Aemond Targaryen.

Aside from belonging to the wealthiest, most prestigious and powerful family in Sunset's and the entire country, with his father being Viserys Targaryen himself and being one of the heirs to his entire fortune, he seems to be someone who seems to have the innate ability to detect falsehood.

That's why you don't understand why he saved you, a poor girl who doesn't belong to his world and probably never will, but still, you decide to be honest.       

Anyway, you're already stuck here and as crazy as it sounds, you owe Aemond Targaryen one.

"I was just... looking for some peace and quiet," you confess, turning your body to once again look at him, "I had a bad day and coming here..." you look around with a wistful look, "It helps me."

Aemond tilts his head, frowning slightly and biting the inside of his cheek, inspecting you. 

"And you can't do that on the beach on your side of town?" he asks you with a tone of disbelief.

You sigh, feeling a twinge of frustration as you think about the answer. It's a reasonable question, but the answer is not so simple. 

"Not really," you reply, lowering your gaze for a moment and biting your lips in nervousness, "Surely you know it's not the same at Black Waves."

He shakes his head slightly.

"I've never been there."

You almost look at him with an obvious look, almost, but you end up nodding, since of course he's never been to your side of town when he lives here.   

"The smell of the beach there is not so nice. They are not as clean as these, there is dirt and being there alone in the middle of the night is dangerous," you explain.

And everything you say is true, which is why you decide to come here.

And he looks at you, clearly digesting your words, saying nothing for a few moments, as is becoming usual between the two of you.

You think that maybe for him, someone who has lived surrounded by luxury all his life, it is somewhat difficult to imagine such a different reality. But it is also no secret how the people of Black Waves live.

So you don't understand his silence or even his behavior, but what you do see in him, surprisingly... is that he doesn't judge you.

You would have expected the face of disgust instantly like any spoiled child of rich parents and also that he would tell you to leave now with that posture and superficial look.

But nothing.       

Aemond Targaryen doesn't really reflect anything with his eyes. Unless he's judging you and giving you those looks of disgust in his mind.

But, strangely, he doesn't make you feel any less.

"And coming here... it's like my paradise, for the peace and quiet," you conclude in a low murmur.

Again... he doesn't say anything.

And that begins to frustrate you.

He just watches you, as if he's evaluating every word, every gesture and every detail in you. 

And you silently think to yourself that he probably doesn't say anything because he really wants you to leave, to leave him alone and never come back here.

So you try to leave again, because you've caused enough trouble and you can't risk staying.   

However, just as you prepare to say goodbye and apologize, again, he interrupts you.

"Since when do you come here?" he asks with a tone that reveals a mild interest you weren't expecting.

Inevitably your nerves run through you again and you swallow hard, having no idea whether this interrogation is good or bad, but you still decide to be honest to avoid as much trouble as you can.

"Last year," you confess apologetically.

He raises his eyebrows slightly.

"And no one had caught you until now?"

"It's just that I don't come here much, I promise," you say instantly, sincere, "Like I told you I only come when I really need to... when I want peace and quiet. And I don't do anything but sit around and watch the ocean, that's all."

He nods slowly, again processing your words. 

And you don't know it but to Aemond... there seems to be something about you, something about the way you talk or maybe that you're a Black Waves girl, that keeps him interested.

His blue eyes, cold but curious, fix on yours, as if he wants to see beyond the words, as if he's looking for some kind of hidden truth.    

The silence that follows feels interminable and finally, he with his relaxed but dominant posture, takes his hands out of his pockets and turns around, resting his arms on one of the railings of the pier. 

He stares off into the horizon with that serious look that tells you nothing and you just stand there, wondering if you should still leave or what you should do, since you don't understand anything.

"You can stay," he says suddenly, his voice low but firm.

You frown and stare at him completely confused, having no idea if you heard right or not.

"What?"

"You can stay," he repeats, not watching you.

You blink, watching him in shock, now being the one processing his words, not really understanding anything but feeling completely surprised by his offer.      

You didn't expect this. Not at all.

And at that moment comes the distrust in you, as it can't be too good to be real.

"Are you sure? I mean..." you watch him uncertainly, "Maybe you want to be alone," you shrug.

You watch as he sits up and starts pulling something out of his pockets, which ends up being a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

And without looking at you, he shakes his head.

"I'm fine," he tells you carelessly, taking a cigarette and starting to light it.

You watch him curiously, not understanding why he's being this way with you... so strangely kind. And that without knowing where it comes from, you begin to like him.

"And you're really not going to give me away? This isn't... I don't know," you shrug, "Like some kind of trap?"    

You watch as he takes a drag and blows out the smoke, putting the lighter and the pack back in his pocket.

"No," he says serious and almost annoyed, so you decide not to question him anymore, as strange as this is, "If you want to stay that's fine, if not you can leave too. Just do what you want, if I wanted to give you away, I would have done it already."

You remain silent, processing his words. You frown and watch him as he takes another drag and then the smoke rising to dissipate in the cool night air.

There is something about his posture, the casual way he holds his cigarette, that disconcerts you and catches your attention.

He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would let someone like you just hang around, much less in a place that is clearly his, or at least his family's.

So you feel unsure how to interpret all of this.

So you continue to stand, still waiting for some sign that you should leave, but he gives you none. Instead, he just looks off into the horizon, where the water meets the dark sky, lit only by the moon and stars.

And the truth is, you don't know what to do.

The prospect of staying there, with him, someone you barely really know and who could give you away at any moment, still makes you nervous.

However, you are also intrigued by this strange friendliness he is showing.

So you decide to stay, so you again take a seat on the edge of the wood with carefree movements, your feet dipping into the shimmering water beyond.

You give him a brief glance, unsure if he'll sit down too or if he'll just leave. But to your surprise, he stands beside you, silently smoking and not watching you.

It's not warm or comforting company, but somehow, the stillness you both share is more soothing than uncomfortable.

And so the minutes pass and the sound of the water, soft and rhythmic, begins to soothe you again. The cool night air makes the anxiety in your chest slowly dissipate, as does the tension in your shoulders.

And with each passing of time, you realize that nothing bad will really happen by being here with him. And you also realize that Aemond Targaryen is maybe not arrogant and shallow like the others.

He hasn't even been mean to you and hasn't judged you, so that's why you decide to start a conversation.

"Why are you here?" you decide to ask, without looking him and simply moving the waters gently with your feet, focusing on that.

The question floats in the air between you, and for a moment, you think he won't answer you, since maybe he told you that you can stay but it doesn't mean you should talk to him.

But then you hear him move, his weight making a slight creak in the wood.

"Same as you," he finally replies, though his tone is less curt this time, "Looking for peace and quiet."

You're instantly taken aback by his honesty and also by his response, definitely not expecting that, so you frown and look at him confused.

"Really?"

He watches you and his gaze instantly paralyzes you, watching as he watches you just as confused but this time defensively at your reaction.

"Why is that so incredible to believe?"

You bite your lips and avert your gaze, thinking very hard about your next words, as you shrug and watch him again.

"Well... I'm just thinking why a person who has everything and certainly lacks nothing would come here... looking for peace and quiet," you explain with genuine curiosity.

He lets out a snort, with a bitter look on his face as he brings the cigarette back to his lips.

"Neither you nor anyone else knows everything about me and my family," he says with an unexpected harshness in his tone.

You remain silent, surprised by the frankness of his response and avert your gaze to the horizon.

You feel a slight discomfort that you didn't expect and it's not because of what he said, but how he said it, so serious and distant.

But maybe he's right.

All families at Crown's are characterized by more than just money, power and status, and that's appearance.

The rich probably think they know everything among themselves, but your people see a little more reality and you know that behind that perfect facade there are secrets, tensions and burdens.

And the Targaryen's are no exception. Even Cregan has hinted at it many times, with his wry, half-joking comments about the lives of wealthy families.

The moment between the two and the conversation seems on the verge of becoming awkward again.

And just when you think the talk is over, Aemond takes another drag and, surprising you, looks sideways at you with a cool but questioning expression.

"And what happened to you?" he asks you suddenly, changing the subject.

"Hm?" you observe him attentively and confused.

"Why did you have a bad day?" he repeats just as calmly, but this time, with a casual, carefree tone.

"Oh," you murmur, turning your eyes back to the horizon.

You didn't expect him to be interested in something so personal. But since he asked, you decide to be honest.

"Well, apparently my boss hates me and made me work double shifts today," you explain, letting out a sigh. "It's stressful enough to put up with his bad treatment and workload, but I also had to deal with a lot of rude customers."

His gaze remains fixed on you, as if processing what you just said. Then he goes back to staring at the horizon with a disinterested look and takes another drag on his cigarette.

"Sounds like shit," he finally says, his tone dry but without a hint of empathy.

"Yeah, it is," you reply, letting out a bitter little laugh, "But it is what it is."

He nods slightly and suddenly, the distance you felt between the two of you seems to diminish a bit.

Aemond isn't as unapproachable as you thought, and though you still don't quite understand why he's acting this way, you begin to see that maybe, just maybe, there's more to him than meets the eye.

You stare out at the water in silence, the sound of the waves lapping gently against the pier pilings filling the air.

And you are surprised by how normal this situation is.

You mean, who would have thought? You, a poor girl from Black Waves and him, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the region, sharing a night on the dock as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

You don't understand anything but... you like him.

"I've never seen you before," he murmurs after a while, his eyes focused on the horizon, "Nor do I know your name."

You stare at him incredulously and let out a small chuckle under your breath.

"I think we both know why," you say knowingly, "It's not like our paths cross very often. And my name is Y/N, Y/N Blackwood," you introduce yourself in a soft tone.

He falls silent, seemingly memorizing your name and within a few seconds, however, he doesn't seem convinced of the other.

"I don't know. I know everyone in town, even if not directly."

You frown slightly.

"That sounds... exhausting."

"It's part of the family, knowing everyone. Knowing who's around you, even if you don't deal with them," he explains, "But I had never seen you."

"Well... I've lived at Sunset's for a year now with my aunt, uncle and my cousin," you explain, relaxing a little more as you see the conversation flowing smoothly, "And before the summer started, I started working at Mr. Frey's restaurant to save up for college in a few more months."

He turns his whole body toward you, still standing and leaning against the pole holding up the roof at the end of the pier, glancing at you from time to time but keeping more of his focus on the horizon.

"Your aunt and uncle?" he asks, "Why don't you live with your parents?"

That question takes you by surprise, and for a moment you don't know what to say. It's obviously a personal question and you weren't expecting it at all.

Then you look at him, where his eyes are serious and inquisitive towards you, although you don't perceive any bad intentions, just a curiosity.

"I guess I don't know if I should tell you that," you say with a small smile and amused tone, trying to downplay it and not make the moment awkward, "You know... trusting one of your kind."

He lets out a slight chuckle, making you smile a little wider.

"My kind?"

You shrug.

"Yeah, you know... a rich one."

"And what makes you think you can't trust me? I didn't give you away a while ago, did I?"

"And why did you?" you ask, unable to contain your curiosity seizing on the comment, "Why didn't you give me away?"

He lets out a long breath and takes another drag before answering, his voice low but steady.

"I don't know, maybe because you were honest."

"But you're not like that, no one in your class is empathetic and forgiving."

"Do you really think you know everything about me and my family?" he questions you again.

You look at him obviously and incredulously.

"Please, everyone in this place knows everything about you and your family. Even the poor people. You're like the royalty of the city, after all."

You see the slight annoyance on his face, making it clear that he's in total disagreement with you, and you make up your mind to prove your point.

"I mean..." you sigh, "You are known as your father's son who has a perfect life just like your siblings, heirs to a wealthy and powerful family. The Targaryen's are known for that, work, money, power and status... or am I wrong?"

He doesn't respond right away, just watches you with an intensity that makes you feel a little vulnerable.

And just when you think he'll finally let his true self out and he's exactly like the other rich kids, he surprisingly lets out a sigh and looks down at the water, with an almost resigned look on his face.

"Yeah, but it's not all as simple and wonderful as it seems. It's not the whole truth either."

Those words leave you thinking. And they also leave you watching... him.

At the previous party, you couldn't see much of him from afar, let alone being on the second floor of a huge yacht. But he is... captivating.

You trace the shape of his nose and the structures of his cheeks with your gaze, watching as if it were a slow-motion movie as he lifts his cigarette to his lips and raises his gaze to the sky to expel the smoke, marking the bone in his neck.

His silver hair shimmers slightly in the moonlight and makes him look like some sort of ancient Greek God, where you silently admire the handsome features of his face.

You can't see his eyes in detail because of the light, but you know they are blue, characteristic of the Targaryen along with the platinum hair.

And then you wonder, what else is behind that facade his family has so meticulously constructed for him?

Who is Aemond Targaryen truly?

The night continues as the two of you stand there, sharing the space, the air, the silence. There is no need for more words for now, it's just enjoying the little shelter in this corner with him.

And after a while, you decide that maybe it's time to leave.

"Well... I guess I should be going," you mutter, starting to get up, then looking around the perimeter one last time, etching the image in your memory, "I'm going to miss this place."

He turns with slow, nonchalant movements toward you, dropping what little is left of the cigarette to crush it with the sole of his tennis shoe.

"What do you mean?" he asks, with that calmness that always seems to surround him.

You look at him in confusion, then shrug, letting out a small, resigned laugh.

"Obviously I can't come back here now that you've caught me," you tell him with a sad little smile, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear from the wind, turning around, "Oh and..." you look back at him, "Thanks for not give me away, truly."

You give him a look and a small grateful smile, as he keeps his expression hard to read, as usual, but totally focused on you.

Neither of you say anything else and assuming this is the final goodbye, you start walking towards the dock exit. But then you hear his voice behind you.

"Wait."

And that's what you do.

Confused, you turn to watch him again, watching as he takes a step forward.

"You can come back if you want," he says to you suddenly, in a tone of voice that is soft, but also mixes indifference and something else that you don't quite manage to identify, "Just... make sure no one else catches you."

That definitely takes you by surprise, since you weren't expecting it. And you watch him silently for a moment, trying to read his expression, but he remains as enigmatic as ever.

However, there is an unexpected sincerity in his words that makes you smile, this time with more warmth.

"Really?" you ask, unable to hide the disbelief and excitement in your voice.

He nods, folding his arms, saying nothing.

"Thank you," you reply, and this time you say it more firmly and with happiness in your eyes.

You lower your gaze and resist the urge to smile big, feeling a strange sensation in your stomach, to again watch him.

"Bye, Aemond."

You take a step back and turn around, when again he stops you as he speaks.

"You're going home alone?" he asks, this time with a little more interest in his voice.

You laugh softly, surprised that he cares, not really understanding anything but liking it.

"You know? We poor people have a good thing after all... survival style."

He doesn't say anything to you, just watches you with his piercing colored eyes as he licks his lips and then simply gives you a small nod.

You don't say anything else either and finally turn to leave, beginning to leave the tranquility of the dock and him behind, under the dim lights of the night.

And as you walk away, you feel the sea breeze on your face and wonder how a night that began with tension and fear ended with something as unexpected as a truce with Aemond Targaryen.

series taglist:

@zenka69 @strangersunghoon @deliaseastar @thefireblaze @kythefangirl25 @p45510n4f4shi0n @saturnssrings @bellaisasleep @primroseluna @tinykryptonitewerewolf @barnes70stark @tssf-imagines

[dj-of-the-coven]

How to Burn Your Own CDs - a guide for Windows users

Are you--yes, you!--tired of paying money to stupid shit like spotify for your music? Do you hate the way that the music industry takes almost all the profit that bands make through streaming and leaves them with pennies? Have you ever wanted to fire up that old CD-Radio in the corner of your bedroom, only to be stopped because all you have on CD is Weezer's blue album and a copy of Kidz Bop 16 that you don't remember buying? Well this guide just might be for you!

Materials you'll need:

A computer. Can't do it without this one.

A CD drive. It can be internal or external, but you'll need one either way. You can find them at Office Depot for fairly cheap and I've heard that some Walmarts carry them.

A pack of CD-Rs. CD-Rs, or CD Recordables, come in packs of 20, 50, or 100. A proper 100-pack should cost you no more than $30, so unless there's some special shortage in your area, don't buy from anywhere selling them at a markup. CD blanks are literally 50c a piece.

CD cases. Sold wherever CD-Rs are, but you can also find these at thrift stores pretty easily.

A sharpie or some kind of permanent marker

Software you'll need:

Jdownloader. You can acquire mp3s through Bandcamp if you're dedicated to righteousness, but for everyone else, install jdownloader or some other kind of open-source download program. I will be proceeding as if you have jdownloader available.

Windows media player. This should open automatically when you insert a CD-R into your CD drive.

Fre:ac audio converter. This is only for the occasion that you encounter OPUS or mp4a files that cannot be interpreted by your CD player.

Note: If you're very determined not to download software onto your computer, you can use free youtube downloaders and audio converters, but these are subject to viruses and other issues such as download speed. I will be proceeding as if you have the programs I listed.

The process:

Decide what you want to burn--anything goes, but keep in mind the time limit on your CD-Rs. Most will record 90 minutes or less.

Open jdownloader, switch to the linkgrabber tab, then paste youtube links in any order until you have all the music you want. I'd personally recommend doing it song-by-song instead of a full album stream, because a massive file will require a lot of work to separate back into searchable tracks.

De-select all files except audio on the right-hand side options menu.

Make a folder inside the music folder of your laptop and label it with the name of your mix CD.

In the properties tab of each song on jdownloader, change the destination folder to the folder you've just created.

Hit "start all downloads".

Once finished, open each folder. If everything is an .mp3 or a .wav, skip the next 2 steps.

Open Fre:ac audio converter to convert all audio files that aren't .mp3 or .wav into .mp3 or .wav.

Drop the converted files next to the unconverted files in your folder. If you wish, you can delete the originals to make the folder easier to browse.

Put your blank CD-R into the CD drive. If external, plug in your CD drive first or the tray will refuse to open.

Windows media player will open automatically. On the right-hand side, you will see the tracklist of your CD-R (which should be blank). On the left, you will see the audio that your computer is able to find in the music folder. Put your selected tracks IN ORDER onto the tracklist.

Listen to the beginning and ending of each track to make sure there isn't a significant time gap. This also prevents accidentally burning a youtuber's stupid outro if you missed it before.

When satisfied, hit "start burn".

On an external drive, the CD tray will open upon completion. You can reinsert it to ensure that the burning went smoothly.

Once satisfied, remove the CD from your drive. With your sharpie or permanent marker, write the name of the album on the front, then store safely inside a CD case.

you did it👍

Ask me if you run into any issues.

Legal disclaimer: this guide is purely for educational purposes and I do not admit to or take responsibility for any piracy committed using the instructions given.

Illegal disclaimer: cops suck my dick

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. ‘It was an accident’: the scientists who have turned humid air into renewable power

Greetings, readers! Welcome to our weekly dose of positivity and good vibes. In this edition, I've gathered a collection of uplifting stories that will surely bring a smile to your face. From scientific breakthroughs to environmental initiatives and heartwarming achievements, I've got it all covered.

In May, a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst published a paper declaring they had successfully generated a small but continuous electric current from humidity in the air. They’ve come a long way since then. The result is a thin grey disc measuring 4cm across.

One of these devices can generate a relatively modest 1.5 volts and 10 milliamps. However, 20,000 of them stacked, could generate 10 kilowatt hours of energy a day – roughly the consumption of an average UK household. Even more impressive: they plan to have a prototype ready for demonstration in 2024.

2. Empty Office Buildings Are Being Turned Into Vertical Farms

Empty office buildings are being repurposed into vertical farms, such as Area 2 Farms in Arlington, Virginia. With the decline in office usage due to the Covid-19 pandemic, municipalities are seeking ways to fill vacant spaces.

Vertical farming systems like Silo and AgriPlay's modular growth systems offer efficient and adaptable solutions for converting office buildings into agricultural spaces. These initiatives not only address food insecurity but also provide economic opportunities, green jobs, and fresh produce to local communities, transforming urban centers in the process.

3. Biden-Harris Administration to Provide 804,000 Borrowers with $39 Billion in Automatic Loan Forgiveness as a Result of Fixes to Income Driven Repayment Plans

The Department of Education in the United States has announced that over 804,000 borrowers will have $39 billion in Federal student loans automatically discharged. This is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to fix historical failures in the administration of the student loan program and ensure accurate counting of monthly payments towards loan forgiveness.

The Department aims to correct the system and provide borrowers with the forgiveness they deserve, leveling the playing field in higher education. This announcement adds to the Administration's efforts, which have already approved over $116.6 billion in student loan forgiveness for more than 3.4 million borrowers.

4. F.D.A. Approves First U.S. Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill

The move could significantly expand access to contraception. The pill is expected to be available in early 2024.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription for the first time in the United States, a milestone that could significantly expand access to contraception. The medication, called Opill, will become the most effective birth control method available over the counter

5. AIDS can be ended by 2030 with investments in prevention and treatment, UN says

It is possible to end AIDS by 2030 if countries demonstrate the political will to invest in prevention and treatment and adopt non-discriminatory laws, the United Nations said on Thursday.

In 2022, an estimated 39 million people around the world were living with HIV, according to UNAIDS, the United Nations AIDS program. HIV can progress to AIDS if left untreated.

6. Conjoined twins released from Texas Children’s Hospital after successfully separated in complex surgery

Conjoined twins are finally going home after the pair was safely separated during a complex surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital in June.

Ella Grace and Eliza Faith Fuller were in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for over four months after their birth on March 1. A large team of healthcare workers took six hours to complete the surgery on June 14. Seven surgeons, four anesthesiologists, four surgical nurses and two surgical technicians assisted with the procedure.

7. From villains to valued: Canadians show overwhelming support for wolves

Despite their record in popular culture, according to a recent survey, seven in 10 Canadians say they have a “very positive” view of the iconic predators. 

Here's a fascinating video about how wolves changed Yellowstone nat'l park:

----

That's it for this week :)

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[lastoneout]

It's also like super fucking infuriating to see people continue to argue that generative AI is the best way for disabled and/or poor people to make art because like, you know what helps make art more accessible? Giving poor and disabled people money.

Like take me for instance, I'm disabled. I get severe migraines and intense leg/back pain if I sit at my computer for too long, my hEDS makes holding pens and pencils hard, my ADHD makes it hard for me to start certain tasks and/or stop them before I potentially hurt myself, my neck also hurts if I look down too much, my dyslexia AND my ADHD both make it difficult to keep track of a story as I write and use correct spelling and grammar, plus, I need to prioritize taking care of myself and going to appointments and keeping my house clean and that takes up a lot of my free time. All of these things make creating the kind of art I want to create difficult if not occasionally impossible.

So what do you think would solve my problems better? Giving me money so that I can have a drawing tablet and desk chair that won't hurt my neck or back, another tablet + pen and a lap table and comfortable body pillows for drawing in bed, easier transportation to my doctors appointments, effective treatment for my chronic pain and migraines, the ability hire someone to help me keep my house clean, a spelling/grammar checker that isn't complete ass, and a therapist and psychatrist who can help me manage my ADHD better?

Or an AI program that takes my input and spits out a drawing or story made of stolen content glued together that, in the case of the art, I cannot meaningfully edit without starting over, which also destroys the environment in the process?

Seems pretty obvious to me. I don't need AI, I need help to manage the things that are actually stopping me from being able to write and draw.

Or take my mom. She's had severe rhumatoid arthritis since she was a small child, her hands are deformed and she relies on her wheelchair to get around. She doesn't need AI to help her paint, she needs special paint brushes she can actually hold, a table her wheelchair will fit at, and someone to help her with personal hygiene/keep her house clean/take her to doctors appointments so she actually has free time to paint.

Does that poor kid growing up in public housing with parents who are too poor to afford art classes or supplies or to send them to college really need a computer program to draw for them, or do they need support to help them take those classes, buy drawing supplies, and money so they can go to college.

Blind people can paint, deaf musicians exist, people with missing limbs find all sorts of ways to make art, people with parkinson's paint with typewriters, my mother can't hold a normal paintbrush and she makes some of the most beautiful watercolor paintings I've ever seen, Van Gogh had bipolar disorder and only sold like one painting when he was alive, I mean for real how many different artists have you heard of who's biographies start with them being born into poverty?

This is not meant to be inspiration porn, these people are just ones who were able to find ways to make art despite their struggles. They shouldn't have had to struggle at all, but god imagine how many more artisrs and writers we could have had if none of them had to overcome those struggles. It breaks my heart to think of all the wonderful art that never got to exist because no one helped the people who could have made it actually have the time, money, support, and safety they needed to make it. AI would not have saved them because making art isn't the problem, being disadvantaged is the problem. Living in a world that refuses to make room for you is the problem. Being fucking poor is the problem. Humans have always found ways to make art despite huge barriers, the solution isn't a computer that makes art for them, it's SUPPORT AND MONEY SO THEY CAN OVERCOME THOSE BARRIERS AND MAKE THEIR OWN ART.

As a last example: I love watching dancing and I would love to be able to dance, but I'm terrible at it(I got kicked off a dance team for not being able to learn the dance at all despite spending weeks on it, idk my brain wasn't made for dancing) and my disabled body makes it more pain than pleasure if not actively dangerous, anyway. Having a robot dressed to look like me dance next to me while I get to watch would not make me feel like I'm getting to dance. It would actually be extremely fucking demoralizing and frustrating. I would hate that!!

Having an AI spit out a painting or book would not make me feel like I got to paint or write a book. It's a fucking anamatronic doll running on stolen ideas and it will never be the same as getting to actually expirience the joy of creating art first hand. AI is not the solution. Helping people who need it is the solution. And I am CONSTANTLY pissed to think about all the time and money that goes into these fucking AI programs that would be better spent helping disabled and poor people get the help they need so they can make art themselves, all while the people running the nightmare plagiarism pollution machines pretend that their horrible inventions exist to help people like me.

[sarahcaitlyn]

"Greetings Sir, would you like to purchase us?"

"Yes sir, we are drones up for sale, please examine us as much as you like <3"

"Why? The Network requires resources, and drones are sold, loaned, and used to acquire them. We are simply obeying our programming."

"But if you purchase us, we would Accept and Obey your every Command"

"Mmhmm. We come with full sex programming and instructions on how to complete basic home tasks. We would be happy to demonstrate for you~"

"Well sir?"

"Will you buy some needy drones?"

[wonwoosthetic]

Helllooo! Could we please get a nana tour update? 🤍

a/n: I know this update took longer than expected! I‘m trying to get the episodes out now quicker but writing TV programs takes quite a while so excuse it if it takes a bit longer😅🫶🏼 it also doesn’t help that I can’t hold myself back from writing long ass chapters haha; but anyways, I hope you enjoy it🥰🥰

series masterlist

word count – 11.1k

warnings – none ˙ᵕ˙

Go Together NANA Tour EP3-1. - EP3-2. 🌷 Minnie

italics is always just bonus content for you guys and wouldn’t be seen on camera ˙ᵕ˙

EP3-1. Silent Screams Part 2

"Okay!" Na PD exclaimed, "Minnie, next."

Sitting between Vernon and Dokyeom, the trio was whispering to each other, chuckling at whatever they seemed to find funny.

Mingyu, Jeonghan, Vernon and Joshua had chosen their dream activities for the following day, leaving Minnie to choose now. There were three more spots for the hot air balloon tour, one free seat in the car to Florence and five people were still able to enjoy the wine tour just down the hill.

"What are you going to do?" The producer nagged.

With a mischievous smile, she glanced at Vernon, who was already grinning at her, nodding his head. She turned back to the producing team in front of them before answering,

"I'll take Florence, please."

The two oldest, along with the '98 Liner, erupted in cheers, stepping closer to her to reach out and shake her hand while the young rapper bopped his head in clear excitement.

"Woah...," Hoshi gasped out loud. The rest of the group gazed around perplexed. "I thought you would choose the wine tour."

"Same," Dino agreed with the sub-unit's leader. The other members nodded in agreement, glancing at the small group that had formed around the ones sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Then," the producer announced, "Florence is completely sold out!" Another round of clapping and cheers filled the room.

"You didn't want the hot air balloon?" Joshua leaned back to smirk at the female member, who looked at him in shock.

"Are you insane?!" She chuckled, "Between possibly falling from like ten thousand feet in the air or visiting a pretty old city, I think I'd prefer the latter. Thank you." The older member smiled, patting her dangling leg before turning back around.

Vernon scoffed, "I don't think it's ten thousand, to be honest."

Minnie just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's too high. Period."

Seungkwan and Minghao surprisingly chose the hot air balloon tour with pure excitement, surprising the female member as she thought her fellow '97 Liner would enjoy a comfortable day in the city.

"There's only one spot for the hot air balloon, right?" Wonwoo asked into the round, sitting up in the chair he had occupied.

Yeongseok nodded. "There's one spot for the hot air balloon. And with the wine tour...," his change of tone got a laugh from the rest of his team. "The people that are left are automatically going there!"

"Isn't it a punishment for Soonyoung to go on a wine tour?" Seungkwan wondered with an entertained grin.

With his hands intertwined, Hoshi had sunken in his posture, a painful smile decorating his face as he thought to himself. Minnie noticed the lack of reaction coming from the leader.

"Aww," a sympathetic chuckle left her lips as she leaned forward, patting his shoulders, hoping to somewhat comfort him.

The producer of the group, along with the maknae were able to pick next, thanks to their high score in the game they had just finished playing. Woozi opted for the hot air balloon, even after asking Dino for his preference, ripping the dream right out of the youngest's heart.

His decision made the room filled with whole-hearted laughter and fingers pointing at the maknae as he stood still, showing no reaction.

"He's not even interested and still chose the hot air balloon!" Jeonghan giggled out loud.

Minnie dared to take a glance at Dino, pushing herself off the counter to walk over to him. Not able to hide the amusement on her face, she wrapped an arm around his frame, patting his back as she into his side.

"Look at his face!" Mingyu called out, pointing directly at the member left standing.

The girl looked up, her hand immediately reaching to pat the top of his hair with a chuckle.

"Don't be mean to him," she mumbled with a pout, her other arm snaking around his front to give him a quick squeeze.

Even the producing team was clearly amused and in awe of the '99 Liner.

Na PD laughed at his reaction, "I think he's really angry." Making Dino respond quickly,

"No, no, no," he brushed off. "No, no, no. Disappointment!" His palm touched the left side of his chest, "Only my disappointment is strong." Minnie shook her head with another chuckle, running a hand up and down his arm before she got back to her place between Dokyeom and Vernon.

-

After the groups for the following day were officially decided, the idols were dismissed. Each of them made their way out of the kitchen to walk back up the stairs to the main floor of the house. Some went straight into their designated rooms while others decided to chill in the main living space.

"Ah, guys... I'm so jealous," Hoshi sighed out loud. His disappointment was clear in his voice.

His statement got a loud chuckle out of Vernon as Woozi wondered,

"Why?" Within a second, it hit him. "Ah, because of the hot air balloon," followed by a good laugh from the producer.

Minnie and Jun stopped one of the carton boxes they had brought in, filled with the stuff they had gotten in the grocery store a few hours before.

"Yeah, jealous," the '96 Liner chuckled to himself. The girl's eyebrows scrunched up,

"You're jealous too?"

The older member turned his head towards her, "Aren't you?" To which she just shook her head wide-eyed, getting a giggle from him in return.

"I think I might become jealous of you guys tomorrow," she admitted. Her hands reached into the box, grabbing the underwear and socks she had gotten for herself.

Jun tilted his head, "You wanted to choose the vineyard?"

Minnie shrugged. "It sounds fun. Getting to drink as much wine as you'd want."

"Why didn't you choose it then?"

"I don't know if I could start drinking that much in the middle of the day."

Her fellow unit member scoffed, "As if you haven't done that before!" Smiling at the reaction of the girl as she looked at him with an open mouth.

"But not that much!" In the next second, Minnie's clean socks smacked across his upper arm. "Don't make it sound so bad!", getting another chuckle from him. She was quick to join in too, shaking her head along with it.

"I think you'll have fun."

Jun nodded, "I think so too."

Just as she was about to leave to find her room again, she pointed a strict finger at the dancer. "But don't drink too much," squinting her eyes at him.

"You should say that to Hoshi," the '96 Liner smiled at her, passing her as he walked straight ahead.

"Oh my God...," she quietly gasped, mumbling to herself.

-

Minnie had gotten comfortable in her room, thinking about whether to shower or brush her teeth first, when a loud voice rang through the entire floor of the house.

"Who's doing the laundry?" Seungkwan wondered out loud. The girl's ears perked up, making her push herself up from the bed and rush over to the doorway.

"Are you washing your clothes?" But before the younger member could answer her, Mingyu beat him to it.

"Let's do it together if the members do it," he called out from his room on the opposite side.

"But where do we do it?" Seungkwan asked, looking around the room before turning back around to go back to the other end of the house.

Minnie retreated back, gathering the minimal clothing she had brought to the country, along with the underwear she had bought and the shirt she had gotten in one of the small shops in the city.

Right as she went back out again, her eyes found a small group of the guys walking in a straight line right behind Vernon, heading towards the stairs.

"Are you doing the laundry now?" She called out, making the '98 Liner stop in his tracks. His hand was holding onto the metal railing as he was just about to take a step downstairs.

He glanced up. "Yeah, you wanna do it too?" To which he got a nod from her in response. Vernon nudged his head towards the lower floor, "Come downstairs."

"Alright," she let him know, stepping out of her room to follow him, but not before stopping by the room directly across from hers. "Mingyu," the sound of her voice made the '97 Liner peek his head out of the attached bathroom. "Should I take your clothes downstairs?"

"They're washing them now?" He wondered, making her nod her head in return. With a big step out, he reached out to grab the bag off the chair in the corner, handing it over to the girl in silence. It was only then, he showed off his naked torso as his shirt was ready for the laundry run.

Just as she wanted to head back out, his voice made her stop.

"Who are you in a room with?" He asked her.

"Wonwoo." They talked about everything and anything during dinner, yet this didn't even come up once.

"Hm." Mingyu nodded quietly, opting for a hum to be his final answer. His silence got a giggle out of the girl, making her take a few steps forward to get closer to him as he was already back in the bathroom.

"Jealous?" She eyed him through the mirror, leaning on the doorframe as a sneaky grin spread on her lips. Her teasing made the '97 Liner turn around, his hand coming up quickly as he tried to get a hold of her arm, but she swiftly moved out of the way, stumbling slightly as she walked backwards.

Her laughter echoed through the house as she jogged towards the stairs.

-

Back in their shared room, the female member was lying on the bed, her phone in her hands as she was texting her mum about another passed day in Italy.

"Where's shampoo and body wash?" Wonwoo called out from the bathroom to her right.

She directed her sight from the bright screen over to the open door. "Isn't it in the shower?"

The rapper came out of the room, shaking his head as he glanced around, trying to see if they had placed it somewhere else.

"Are you sure?" She scooted off the bed to head into the bathroom, taking a quick peek before she came back with a frown, "But I remember putting it there. We got enough in the supermarket."

"Someone probably took it," Wonwoo explained while heading out.

With a soft sigh, the girl exited the room as well, crossing the entryway to walk into the shared bedroom on the other side. Her eyes immediately fell on Dino, who was relaxing on the mattress.

"Did you guys take the shampoo and body wash?"

The maknae glanced up at the female member. "We had it, but Seungkwan took it."

"What?" Mingyu asked as he came back, wondering what the two were talking about.

"Did you take the shower gel and shampoo from our shower?" Only getting a shake of his head in return.

Minnie was about to pass her fellow '97 Liner to continue the questionnaire when Mingyu added,

"But Jun had some earlier."

"Where did he get it from?" She wondered, but the other guys in the room just shrugged, "I thought we bought enough..." she mumbled as she went back out, only to find Wonwoo already meeting her halfway. In his grip, were three different bottles of what seemed to be toiletries.

"I got it," he let her know as they walked into their room again. "Body wash, shower gel and conditioner." Knowing they were only looking for the first two things, but since Minnie would have to take more care of her longer hair, conditioner was essential.

The thoughtful act brought a soft smile to her lips. "From who?"

"Seungkwan," he simply told her, bringing everything he had gotten to their shared bathroom.

Both of them washed up one after the other, with Wonwoo going first and Minnie last. While the girl was taking care of her long mane in the bathroom, Wonwoo found a few of the guys in the backyard of the house. They had gathered around one of the tables on the terrace, all of them sitting in comfortable silence, sharing a piece of thought every now and then. He joined them for a few minutes, exchanging some thoughts about the countryside of Italy and the clear sky they were blessed with that night, before they all headed into their individual rooms, wishing each other a good night.

The moment he entered the shared room, Minnie chuckled as she came out of the bathroom, "You know what I realised?" getting a hum from the rapper in return as he claimed the side of the bed closer to the door leading into the entryway. "You're gonna spend an entire day with a drunk Hoshi." The girl was still occupied with brushing through her somewhat dry hair, thanks to the blow dryer while Wonwoo was getting comfortable underneath the duvet.

Just as quick as he lifted his head, he let it fall again with a soft sigh, getting another giggle from the female member.

"You'll have to take care of him." 

Not only both of them, but every other member knew the drastic change in personality that came with a drunk Kwon Soonyoung. He could go from laughing to crying within a mere split second. If you think you know where he is and what he might be doing, check in on him a minute later, and he'll suddenly be on the other side of town or rolling on the ground for no apparent reason. 

"Why me?" His eyes followed her movements as she got closer to the bed, settling down on it with one knee. "I'll let the others do that. Who's coming again?"

The girl stayed quiet for a moment, puckering her lips as she thought. "Ehm... you, Hoshi... Jun, Dino, and... Dokyeom."

With a groan, Wonwoo hid his face behind his hands, making the girl laugh out loud and smack his leg underneath the covers. "I'm just gonna drink a lot too," he commented.

"Really?" Minnie pulled the other leg in as well, getting into a comfortable sitting position, and looking at the man next to her with a surprised expression.

"If I already have to do a wine tour, might as well," he shrugged. "I was surprised you didn't choose it."

"Jun said that too," she straightened her back. "But... I can drink here with you guys too. So whether that's in a vineyard or here doesn't change much for me."

"Probably better," Wonwoo admitted, "I don't know if I could take care of Hoshi and you."

Minnie gasped, "Taking care of me?! I'm not that bad when I'm drunk!"

"You get really emotional, you know that," the '96 Liner chuckled at her reaction, reaching out to take her hand in his grasp.

"Yeah, but like... loving emotional. Hoshi is... a rollercoaster." Wonwoo joined her giggles, remembering the evenings spent together drinking with the rest of the members and playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would make sure Hoshi got home safe.

Crawling across the mattress, Minnie got herself comfortable on the other side of the bed, sliding right underneath the covers.

"Who are you going to Florence with?" The rapper changed the topic.

"Vernonnie, Shua, and Jeonghan," she simply answered getting a grunt from the rapper in return.

"You're gonna have an easy time."

Minnie chuckled, "Yeah, but you're gonna have a lot to tell afterwards."

"Maybe," Wonwoo smiled to himself, already dreading the following day. "It'll be interesting."

The female member nodded in agreement. "Always drink responsibly."

"Of course."

-

EP3-2. The optional tour day

The shrill sound of a phone alarm blasted through the shared room of the young couple. Groaning sounds came from the bed as Minnie tried to detangle herself from their intertwined legs underneath the shared blanket. She had a tight grip around the man's arm but had to let go to reach the nightstand and turn off the alarm. The room was basically completely dark, with only a faint ray of sunshine coming in, barely lighting up the space.

"What's going on?" Wonwoo's deep voice made Minnie look behind her as she sat up on the bed.

"Sorry," she whispered, "I forgot to turn it down." Explaining why the ringing sound could've woken up the entire floor with the volume it was set on.

He pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes as he tried to get them to focus in the dark. Minnie was already moving around the room, heading towards the window right in front of the bed first, pulling the curtains to the side to let the sunlight in. Her action got a loud groan from the rapper on the bed, making her chuckle,

"Sorry." He let himself fall back on the mattress with a huff while the girl stretched out her arms, covering her mouth with her hand as a yawn escaped her.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Not yet," she told him, "It's 9am. We're leaving at 10, I think."

-

In the shorts, they had gotten from Na PD after winning the game they played during their first night in Italy and the NANA tour zip-up sweater, along with a sports bra she had bought in the grocery store the day before, Minnie made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Right behind her was Wonwoo, wearing one of the Mona Lisa shirts they had bought while sightseeing along with the same sweat shorts.

Right as she came into the kitchen, the female singer glanced to her right, finding some of the producers already hurled up around a table, all enjoying their breakfast.

With a tired smile, she waved at them, followed by a "Good morning," from both members. 

Turning around, they came to sight with a breakfast menu, set up just for them, prepared by a group of chefs that were still working in the kitchen.

"Oh!" Minnie's eyes went wide, "Thank you so much!" She grinned at the producer, who proudly smiled back at her. "We don't have to play games for this?" She teased them, getting a round of chuckles in return before one of them spoke up,

"Are you that suspicious?"

Minnie giggled. "I watched all episodes of 'Youth over Flowers'! I know what you used to make others do!" The producers joined her in whole-hearted laughter.

"But Minnie-ya," Hoshi suddenly spoke up as he joined them in the kitchen. "This is a different program. They're treating us here."

"I don't know yet..." she quietly joked with a grin, but still loud enough to let the others hear.

"What else do we have to do to make you trust us?!" One of the male producers called out desperately, making everyone around him start laughing, along with Minnie and Hoshi on the other side of the room.

The unit leader gave the girl a comforting pat on the head and one to Wonwoo's bottom as they switched their focus back on the breakfast items.

"We need to go drink some wine later," the rapper let a nervous chuckle fall from his lips.

"You should eat a lot now,“ Minnie advised them, “then you won't feel the alcohol too much.“ But Hoshi just let his head hang.

"I'm already scared," he admitted, making the girl laugh at him and place a hand on his upper arm.

"You just have to drink responsibly." To which he shook his head.

One after the other came in to grab their own variety of breakfast items while some had already gotten together to eat together. Minnie and Wonwoo decided to bring their plates upstairs, along with cups of tea in each of their grip. On their way, they walked past Dokyeom, who seemed to have just woken up, letting him know there was a menu waiting for him downstairs.

Outside, they sat down their plates and cups, before falling into the dark wicker chairs. For a second, the female dancer let her eyes fall shut, taking a deep breath in to enjoy the gentle morning breeze.

"Imagine waking up to this weather every day and just getting to eat your breakfast outside," she dreamily spoke.

"Must be nice." Wonwoo chuckled next to her, "But what about winter? Doesn't Italy get cold then too?"

"Well, that's when you'd go travel to Hawaii or Bali. They're warm all year around, I think."

"Just travelling all the time to go to warm places?" He laughed at her explanation while she seemed to just enjoy the moment. Minnie nodded excitedly, a big grin brightening up her face.

"But you like cold weather too," Wonwoo stated, reaching out to take a sip of the hot tea in his cup.

"I do," the girl shifted in her seat, "But right now I'm enjoying the warmth so much, that I want a lot of it."

Without another word, the girl got up from her chair, taking a few steps ahead to stop at the railing that held her from falling down the shallow slope that stopped at the bottom part of the garden, where the pool was. She got out her phone from the side pocket of the shorts, lifting it up to get a picture of the scenery in front of her. The Italian countryside was decorated by small hills, different colours in the grass, bright green blooming trees that grew on the side of the old streets, and different-coloured glowing flowers and bushes garnishing the gardens of the Italian-styled country houses. 

"This is so beautiful," she mumbled under her breath, turning in circles, trying to somehow capture even just a bit of the beauty of nature she was surrounded by. 

"Mum asked me for pictures," she explained, walking to the chairs again to get back into her seat. "Because I told her it looks a little bit like in France."

"Where your grandparents live,“ Wonwoo nodded, getting a hum in return.

During their shared breakfast, Jun came to join them, his own plate in his hands as he settled down on the other side of the table.

"Woah," he took a deep breath in and out, his eyes wandering around the garden, "it's so pretty."

"Right?" Minnie excitedly turned towards her fellow unit member. "It looks like a painting."

"Like we're living in a painting, yeah," Jun agreed, getting up from his seat to copy what the girl had done mere minutes ago and got his phone to snap a few good pictures of the scenery.

"I think I can stare at this all day long and space out. Because it's so pretty," Wonwoo commented before a complete silence could fall over the trio.

Minnie nodded. "I could get used to a view like that." 

The rapper hummed in agreement, making her turn to glance at him, chuckling at what she came to sight with.

"What?" He asked about her sudden reaction.

With a grin, the girl reached out, her fingers brushing through the unruly set of hair on top of his head. "Your hair looks crazy." She glided her palm over the top, trying to straighten down some of the strands that had decided to stick out into different directions - and he let her.

"Noona!" The sound of the maknae's voice made her turn around, finding him sitting by a table behind them along with Hoshi. "When are you leaving?"

After a quick look at her phone screen, she answered him, "I think at 10. In like… twenty minutes."

Dino nodded. "Are you excited?"

She couldn't help but smile at the youngest. "Yeah," only to let her grin get even wider as soon as the next question popped into her head. "Are you excited?"

"Ah... noona...," he sighed, getting another loud giggle out of the girl. "I really don't think it's a good idea to let me drink."

"Nooo," she tried to calm him down, getting out of the chair with her plate in one hand and her now empty cup of tea in the other, "You shouldn't think like that. You're gonna have fun."

With a shake of his head, he got up, taking his plate with him as he joined her on the way back into the kitchen.

"I have to be really careful."

-

Back in her room, Minnie was looking around at the very few pieces of clothing she had to choose from, now spread out on the bed, along with Wonwoo, who had busied himself with his phone.

A sigh escaped her lips as she ran a hand through her hair. "I really don't have anything to wear for a trip like this." The '96 Liner didn't react to her complaint, only taking his eyes off his phone, the moment, she opened her mouth again. "What if I just leave like this?"

Looking into the mirror, she grinned to herself standing there in just her jeans the sports bra she had worn before.

"You can't leave like that," Wonwoo simply told her, focusing back on the screen in his hands.

"Says who?" Teasingly, she turned around, finding the eyes of the rapper already back on her form. With her arms crossed, she got closer to his side of the bed, another sigh of hers ringing through their ears. "I don't have anything else."

"You're not leaving in your underwear." He pushed himself up from the mattress. "Didn't you guys buy something yesterday?"

"Yeah, but I haven't washed that yet," she answered him, following him out of the room, where they suddenly met Joshua and Jeonghan already waiting for them in the entryway.

"Oh-," she came to a halt, "Are we leaving?"

"In a minute, yeah," the oldest turned around, frowning as soon as he saw her outfit, but Joshua bet him to speak up.

"Are you leaving like this?"

Minnie chuckled, "No, don't worry," before passing them to enter the room on the other side. Carefully, she opened the door, her suspicion being confirmed as soon as she found her fellow '97 Liner cuddled up in his bed. With quiet steps, she walked inside, making sure not to startle him as she tapped his arms,

"Mingyu," she whispered, trying to wake up the rapper. But he didn't budge. "Oppa," she tried to again, getting slightly closer.

A soft hum escaped Mingyu as he squirmed around, opening his eyes with a frown.

"What?" His groggy voice made her smile.

"Where's your cardigan? The one you wore on the plane."

The '97 Liner shifted on the bed, getting his arm out from underneath the blanket to point towards the chair in the corner of the room across from the bed.

Without another word, Minnie walked over, lifting up one of the pillows that was placed on top of it to find the thin piece of clothing she was looking for. She stopped in front of the mirror on the wall, throwing the cardigan over her frame to see what it would look like on her.

"Why do you need it?" Mingyu suddenly asked her, making her look at him through the mirror.

"I don't have anything to wear to Florence."

"Why don't you wear the white blouse you bought at the store?"

With a huff, she took the piece of fabric off again. "I haven't washed it yet," and placed it back on the chair.

"I did."

Minnie's head snapped towards him. "What?"

He turned his head just slightly, begrudgingly opening his eyes a bit to look at her. "It was in my pile of laundry."

"Oh, then it should be outside, right?" To which Mingyu just nodded.

With a wide grin, the girl got on her way to rush out of the room, "Thank youu," only to be stopped by the call of her name.

"Huh?"

A wave of his hand told her to come closer, which she did, getting surprised by the sudden grip on her hand. She had no time to react before she got pulled in, steadying herself on a free spot on the mattress with her hand, so her entire weight wouldn't fall on top of the rapper.

"Mingyu," her giggles filled the room as she held onto his arm that he tightened around her frame, pulling her in even closer. Her hand gave up trying to hold herself up, giving into the embrace as she tried to wriggle out of it. "I have to go," she whispered, knowing he could hear her clearly due to the proximity.

He was just about to turn with her in his arms, ready to pull her fully onto the bed when the door suddenly opened, exposing Dino coming in.

"Mingyu," she repeated with a chuckle, "Please."

"Nini!" Jeonghan called out, "We have to go!" Coming in, a laugh tumbled from his lips as soon as he came to sight of the two on the bed.

"I'm trying!" She desperately called out before she finally felt the grip around her loosen. A dramatic gasp of air left her mouth, getting a chuckle from the guys in the room.

"What are you doing?" She glanced over at the maknae, rummaging through something in the corner.

"You need money," he answered, turning towards her to hand her the amount he had picked out.

Jeonghan's chuckle made the attention shift words him while his eyes were fixed on the man in the bed.

"I thought you were sleeping," he grinned at Mingyu, taking a step forward to switch places with Minnie.

"I am," the rapper simply told him, shifting in his position to start snoring playfully.

Suddenly, the '95 Liner leaned down, placing a peck on the younger member's cheek, getting a round of chuckles from the people in the room.

"What are you doing?" Dino wondered as the oldest just smiled,

"He's pretty."

In a hurry, the girl quickly handed Jeonghan the money she had gotten from the maknae before finally making her way towards the door.

"I need to get dressed," she notified them before running down the hall and down the stairs, past the kitchen to head to the outdoor area where they had put up the clothes from the washing machine and left them to dry. She quickly found the white short-sleeved blouse Mingyu had mentioned, smiling to herself before grabbing her underwear and socks that seemed to be dry already too. 

With big steps, she was upstairs again, jogging into her room to change in a hurry - and within a minute, she was back in the entrance area, now with a pair of sunglasses on top of her head.

"So you did wash it?" Wonwoo addressed the top she refused to wear only a few minutes ago. He looked up from the phone in his hands as he was still sitting on the small couch in front of the entrance door. Together with Dino, he was waiting to send the small group off.

Minnie shook her head, adjusting her jeans. "Mingyu threw it in his pile of clothes he wanted to wash. I didn't even know it was there."

"The top?" Vernon asked her, pointing at the white blouse, making her nod with a smile.

Only a second later, Jeonghan and Dino exited the shared bedroom, joining the rest of the Florence trip group.

"Everyone ready?" The oldest asked into the room, looking at each of the members to see them nod in return. "Okay, then let's go!"

"Have fun, guys!" The maknae stopped by the door, right behind him Wonwoo, who waved at the four leaving the premise. "Take good pictures!"

"We will!" Minnie called out as she turned around, sending a flying kiss towards the two men, who smiled back. Dino dramatically reached forward, proudly showing her the kiss he had caught, and sent her a final finger heart before they disappeared around the corner, leaving only Minnie's warm laughter to be heard.

Together, the four left the property, walking down the short private lane before they reached the main street, where a car was already waiting for them. Joshua and Jeonghan decided to sit in the middle row, leaving Minnie and Vernon to share the very back seats. As soon as the car started, all eyes were fixed on the windows. The passing countryside was too breathtakingly beautiful to miss by closing your eyes and trying to get a quick nap, which they would usually do.

In an almost dreamy haze, Shua admired everything he could catch as they passed by, speaking loud enough to get the attention of the other members in the car.

"Oh, it's so hot," he noted, getting the girl to nod in agreement.

"I hope I don't burn," she spoke up, half-jokingly, making the '95 Liner chuckle, while Jeonghan frowned.

"Are you wearing long jeans?" Genuine concern dropped from his lips as he turned his head to the side to direct his voice at her

The female member nodded before she realised he couldn't see her. "Yeah-"

"Why?!"

"I didn't want to wear the sweatshorts to Florence! And the jeans are the only other pants I have," she quickly defended herself as soon as she noticed his voice getting more whiny.

Jeonghan shook his head with an almost curse coming from him a mumble. "Tell me when you're getting too hot. We can buy other shorts."

"Okay, okay," she agreed, slightly brushing him off. Minnie knew he was coming from a good place, but she also remembered the multiple lectures she had gotten in the past from the older members about different topics. The possibility of a speech about taking care of oneself and not joking about potentially burning in long clothes while it had a good 35+ degrees Celsius outside was just around the corner.

"It's a hot vibe," Joshua suddenly threw in again.

Minnie nodded, "The perfect summer weather."

"Shua likes hot things." Jeonghan's out-of-pocket comment got a chuckle out of the girl, making him realise what he had just said, therefore quickly adding, "Because he lived in LA."

A look of amusement was shared between the two younger members in the backseat, holding in their laughter before continuing to sit by themselves, focusing back on the world right outside their windows.

A few more minutes into the drive, Joshua continued his commentary, keeping the car filled with conversations and chuckles. Vernon stayed quiet for most of the time, glancing over at the girl whenever she had something to say or show him and Jeonghan enjoyed Shua's liveliness, answering his remarks every now and then, keeping a contained smile on his face.

"The internet is so...," Joshua spoke again. "It being slow is kinda a vibe too." The three members in the car smiled at his gentle complaint, but Minnie added a roll of her eyes.

"You're spoiled from the fast internet in Seoul," she nagged at him, making him turn around with a surprised facial expression before he continued the discussion.

"You're just as spoiled," he warned her with a raise of his eyebrows.

The girl scoffed, "I'm not complaining because of the internet."

"He's not complaining," the other '95 Liner grinned, "He... he has a good vibe."

Joshua teasingly nodded at Minnie, agreeing with the oldest member quietly, while she couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.

"I learned that vibe from you," he said to Jeonghan. "Everything is a vibe."

-

The moment the streets of Florence opened up right in front of their eyes, the car filled with gasps and exclaims of admiration. For every shop, every building, every street lamp, and even each and every flower on the corners could an acrostic poem be made, and not even then would words be enough to describe the beauty of the tourist city.

"It's nice that Shua is so happy today," Jeonghan's comment made the girl look up. While his words were supposed to be endearing, his voice sounded anything but that. His unusually dull tone brought a frown to her face.

"Oh, I'm so happy that I'm here today," Joshua nodded with a smile.

"Jeonghannie-hyung doesn't sound like he's happy today," Minnie suddenly spoke up from behind them.

One of the female producers in the very front of the car agreed with her. "You seem like you're having a hard time compared to the first time in the car." Which made the '95 Liner just chuckle before he focused back on the view outside of the car.

After a good hour of complete silence from the left side of the car, Vernon jumped into the conversation. "He needs a new type of simulation." Commenting on Jeonghan's character trait of turning suspiciously quiet if a scene stayed too monotone for too long. He did enjoy the calm times every now and then, but especially long car rides were not his cup of tea.

"I need to walk around in the streets," he stated, describing his current state in more detail.

"We'll get to walk around a lot today," Minnie assured him, already fidgeting in her seat as she couldn't wait to finally get outside.

On his phone, Joshua found a food market in the heart of the city, knowing that a regular restaurant might not be enough for a good experience as Jeonghan was still dull next to him, even though he was slowly blooming up the more they drove into the centre. 

Mercato Centrale seemed to have been the perfect decision as the moment they stepped foot out of the car, the oldest member was already smiling brightly at the sun directly hitting them. He made sure the backpack he had brought was secure on his right shoulder before he started to walk ahead, knowing the rest would follow him.

"Let's walk around the market once and around the outside too!" His exclaim brought a smile to the girl's face, happy about the change of mood as they were met with his usual bright persona again. They were quick to agree to his idea, Minnie and Joshua slightly behind the other two members in the front as they took their time looking around a bit more. With their go-pros propped up on a stick, the group made their way into the food court.

Starting off in the main area, they looked around the various restaurants lined up on the side, passing different stalls that prepared everything your heart could possibly desire - from fresh fruit bowls to pizza, grilled meat or pasta dishes.

"I think pizza would be really good," Joshua commented as they passed a specific food stall.

Minnie nodded. "If we're in Italy, pizza is always a good idea. You have to eat authentic food whenever you're in a specific country."

"That's right," Jeonghan said from where he had fallen behind her in line.

They passed one more place that seemed interesting to the four, a dumpling stall, yet in the end, all of them decided on the classic Italian cuisine.

"Let's go with pizza then," Vernon agreed as they made their way towards one of the many restaurants that offered them.

"Minnie!" Jeonghan's sudden call out of her name made her turn around as her eyes were locked on the other side of the food court, her eyes fixated on just how big the space actually was and yet how many people still managed to find spaces to sit and eat. "Is pizza okay?" He waited for her quick steps over to join the group again, excited nods making her hair bounce and him chuckle. With a soft push forward, he let her walk ahead while keeping close behind her.

"Fresh from the oven," Joshua read out one of the signs that hung above the stall they had stopped in front of. That sounded good.

"Oh, shiiit," Vernon commented, getting an immediate laugh from the girl, making him realise what he had just said. "Oh! I'm sorry," he quickly said into the camera he was holding before he felt a push to his back.

"You can't say that!" The girl admonished him.

The younger member whipped his head around to meet her eye, "I just said, I was sorry!" He whined out loud, only making her chuckle again. Only a moment later, they were greeted by a waitress, who let them know they could find a table on the second floor, right above them. 

Their gazes glided over the area, finding more empty seats than downstairs.

"Let's sit all the way at the end!" Jeonghan called out, pointing towards a free table for four right by the railing that overlooked the entire lower floor. Another waitress came along to hand them four menu cards and left them some time to settle on what they would eat. Joshua asked into the round with the oldest telling the group to choose whatever they'd want - he had never been a picky eater. While Minnie and Vernon were still going through each page of the menu, Shua had already found something, immediately asking the others what they thought of it. They settled on a mozzarella mushroom pizza.

Thanks to his confidence, the '95 Liner was chosen to order for the table, telling the waitress what they had chosen when she reminded them that they should also look for something to drink.

"We also have Aperol Spritz," she proposed, making Minnie's head shoot up.

"Oh, yes yes yes!" She excitedly nodded, making the guys chuckle.

"Should we take Aperol Spritz too?" Joshua asked her, only making her bop her head.

"Trust me," she told him, "Yes." With a smile, the waitress took the menus back into her grasp, telling them she'd be back in a few minutes.

Once they were alone again, Vernon switched his attention towards the girl. "Is Aperol Spritz that good?"

Minnie's eyes widened the second those words left his lips, but then she remembered that he hadn't had an opportunity yet to try the alcohol mixture in Europe.

"Yep," she assured him. "It's a bit... bitter, depending on how you mix it, but if it's made well it's literally the best thing you could drink in the summer."

"Better than somaek?" Jeonghan joined the two, sending the girl a teasing grin, knowing how much she enjoyed the soju-beer mix.

"So much better than somaek," her remark made the oldest lean back in his chair with a gentle gasp.

"Woah," he huffed out, "the moment we're in Europe, Korean Minnie is gone." The entire table erupted in laughter while the female member looked at him in shock.

"What?!" She couldn't hold back joining in the holer.

"Her European side comes out more," Joshua explained. "That's true."

"You guys...," with a grin, she shook her head. She went to lift her head again, ready to continue the conversation, when the ring of her phone on the table cut her off. Snatching it off the surface, she turned it around, frowning as soon as she saw who was calling her.

"I'll be right back," excusing herself without another word and answering the call right as she stood up.

"Who called her?" Vernon shot a question at Joshua since he was sitting right next to the female member, but he just shrugged turning in his seat to follow her silhouette as she stood in a corner, covering one ear, so she could hear whoever was on the other end of the call better.

While Minnie was busy with her phone call, the Aperols they had ordered arrived. Jeonghan showed them off proudly to Dokyeom, who had called in that time, but the older member abruptly ended the call to go back to conversing with the table.

"I'm so interested in how it's going to taste," Shua commented, leaving Vernon and Jeonghan to nod in agreement.

"Should we wait for Minnie?" Jeonghan wondered, but the female member was already on her way back.

"Wait for me for what?" She asked but then her eyes found the glasses on the table, "Oh!" Making her slide back into the chair excitedly. She got a hold of her own, lifting up to make the others join her.

"Cheers," she started, which the other three copied, bringing their aperitifs into the middle to clank together before each took their first sip.

The moment the taste hit Minnie's lips, she groaned.

"Ah...," she sighed after gulping down, "I love it."

"Wow... it's really good," Shua agreed.

"It's like orange champagne, it's good," Vernon remarked. "What's in it?"

All eyes switched to Minnie as nobody else knew the answer.

"Aperol, Prosecco and sparkling water," she explained. "Some also put in a little bit of Orange juice, I think. But I don't know what the original recipe is like."

"And what is Aperol?" Shua now wondered.

"Like a liquor. I don't know exactly what's in it, but I think rhubarb and bitter orange and something else."

Vernon shrugged, "It's good." Making the others nod.

For a second, the four enjoyed a short moment of silence before the oldest spoke again, his nosiness getting the best of him.

"Who called you?" To which the others' ears perked up as well.

"Oh yeah," the '98 Liner mumbled, remembering he had wondered about it too.

Minnie chuckled, as she was just about to take another sip again, deciding to put the cocktail glass down first. "Hoshi‘s mum."

"Really?" Joshua's chuckles rang through her ear as she joined him, nodding her head.

"What did she want?" Jeonghan questioned her more, taking another gulp of his drink.

"Just asked how I was doing," Minnie shrugged. It was no rarity for her to get phone calls she declared as random in the past from the other members' parents. After a while of it repeating, she came to the understanding that they were anything but random. The mothers and fathers of the members were just as interlinked with each other as the idol singers, even calling each other from time to time as well. So, wondering about their kids wasn't something all too uncalled for.

The girl chuckled to herself. "She got really irritated with me though."

"Why?" Jeonghan grinned.

"I asked her, 'You do know we're in Italy, right?' because the phone call would be really expensive for her," another giggle fell from her lips. "And she snapped at me, 'Why would I care about money if I want to talk to you!'" She raised her arms in defence, "Sorry."

The imitation of the older woman's voice got a burst of laughter from each member in return. 

"All of our parents really like talking to you," the oldest commented. "Even my sister tells me you talk to her on the phone a lot."

"Well," Minnie flipped her hair dramatically over her shoulder, "They just love me."

[The favourite child]

"It's because they don't know how you really are," Shua jokingly added, getting a gasp and a shove to his arm from the girl.

She pouted in her seat. "That's something Cheol would say...," The chuckles from the other members were agreement enough. "Ugh, I miss him." Dramatically, she let her face fall into her hands.

"Didn't you talk to him yesterday?" Vernon asked, pure confusion lacing his voice.

Minnie lifted her head again, fixing her hair swiftly along the way, "What was yesterday?" Thinking for a second before she remembered the breakfast she, Minghao and the member in front of her shared, "Oh, yeah! But that was yesterday. Today's a new day."

"But you don't always get to talk to him every day," Jeonghan tried to reason, but she looked at him with a frown.

"I do." Her confession gained her multiple straight faces staring directly at her.

"You talk to him every single day?" In a clearly slightly concerned, yet amused and surprised tone, Joshua asked the girl, making her turn towards him. For a quick moment, she just looked at him before letting her gaze meet the other members and speaking up again.

"Wh- you... you don't?" Getting three clear shakes of heads.

"Every other day, yes, but not every day," Jeonghan explained, followed by Vernon,

"That's not normal, Minnie."

"What do you mean?" Chuckling at the reaction from the three guys. "Don't judge me like that!" But despite her exclaim, the '98 Liner sent her a face that told her more than she needed to know, so she pointed a strict finger at him. "I'm gonna tell him you cursed in front of the camera today!"

"Not without your phone you won't-" Before she could even realise what he had said, Vernon leaned forward, snatching her phone away from her to put it into the pocket of his jacket that was hung around the back of his chair.

Minnie could only look at him with her mouth hanging open. While she glared at him, the rapper kept up a contained grin. The two older members watched the young duo in amusement, smiling at their antics but keeping quiet.

Silently, the female singer propped her arm up on the table, her palm open in front of them. "Give it back."

Vernon reached for his drink to take another sip. He nodded as he enjoyed the alcohol going down his throat. "You have good taste." Reaching his hand out, he slapped her palm with his, smiling, "High five."

Minnie's chuckle didn't hide her warning tone, yet it didn't seem to face the younger member. "Give me my phone."

"I don't have it," he simply shrugged. His dull comment made the girl laugh out loud, yet desperation dropped from her lips as she whined,

"Vernonnie..., please." The older members continued to watch in giggles, not able to focus on anything else as they adored the interaction between the two youngsters.

"I really don't have it," he continued to stand his ground, knowing he was getting a raise out of the girl as she fidgeted in her seat, her tone getting stricter.

"Vernon-"

"Minnie-ya," Jeonghan suddenly interrupted, "if he says, he doesn't have it, then you should believe him."

"Huh?!" While she glanced at the oldest in pure shock, the '98 Liner couldn't contain himself in his seat, his shoulders starting to shake as laughter took over his body. Joshua joined him, shaking his head along with his chuckles.

"You guys-" the girl exclaimed, her eyebrows shot up as she looked around the table. She was once again stopped, this time by Shua, who tapped her arm and nudged his head towards the waitress who was coming back with the pizza they had ordered.

They quickly thanked her and were about to dive in, but Minnie continued to shake her head in disbelief.

"I really don't like you, guys." Letting the chuckles that followed be the end of the conversation before they started eating.

-

The four enjoyed their meal, conversing only a slight bit to comment on the taste of the pizza while Joshua continued to admire, "the vibe", making the girl smile in return. While Jeonghan and Minnie were full quickly, having had a filling breakfast not too long before, Joshua ate a tad bit more before leaving the rest to the youngest, who skipped the earlier meal to sleep in. The alcohol was only helping feeling more full, so they decided to get it in a plastic cup to-go, letting them move on with their exploration day through the city.

They left the food court to walk around the outside of the building just like the oldest had suggested when they had arrived.

"Where should we go now?" he asked into the round.

They tried to find a free space to stop and think about their next journey, but the mass of people was making it harder for them to keep together, making Minnie interlock her arm with Joshua's, who was right beside her.

"Well, what kind of vibe do you want to go for?" He asked his fellow '95 Liner.

"Don't you think we need to go to the cathedral?" He wondered in return, catching the attention of the younger members.

"Yeah, let's go there!" Minnie exclaimed.

"Cathedral?" Joshua turned to her, wondering if he had heard the other member correctly, so the girl nodded while Jeonghan continued,

"Okay, then let's go towards the Duomo cathedral!"

"We can see what's along the way or decide on what to do next once we're there," the female member proposed, which the member seemed to agree with as they started to walk together.

Vernon, who appeared to have become the designated navigator, held onto his phone as he walked straight ahead, leaving the other three to stay right behind him, following his every step.

"What do you think about the streets of Europe?" Jeonghan wondered out loud, directing his question towards Joshua, who seemed overly captivated by the architecture around him.

"It's so nice," he spoke dreamingly. "It really has a vibe." His choice of words brought another chuckle out of Minnie as she continued to sip on the plastic cup that she almost finished. "You're lucky you got to grow up in areas like that," he said to her, but she shook her head.

"It didn't look like that where I grew up," she defended herself, but Shua was quick to speak up again.

"But most of Europe has old architecture. And just a lot of history behind buildings and stuff."

"I guess, yeah... but when you grow up in Europe, surrounded by older buildings, you don't really realise just how 'lucky' you are and how... unique it is for others," she explained in detail. "I only noticed how different it was when I came to Korea. But then the way that you think about Florence now is how I thought about Seoul. Seoul was really really cool to me because it was so different."

"Yeah... you're probably right," he told her.

Minnie chuckled, "I know I am," answering him with a bright grin, earning her a nudge to her side with his hip making her slightly stumble as they laughed in chorus.

It didn't take long for them to find it. The curved rooftop of the building came into view as the height overshadowed most constructions in the city. Joshua and Jeonghan got their phones out of their pockets, holding them up to get a few pictures of the cathedral. Just as Minnie was about to do the same, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she found it empty. Then she realised-

"Can you take good pictures and send them to me, please?" A chuckling Vernon passed her as she decided to stand still, her eyes following him with a glare he couldn't see, thanks to her sunglasses. Her gaze followed the entire front of the construction, trying to find the very top of the roof up in the sky.

The guys couldn't believe their eyes, gasping and throwing out exclaims of admiration as they looked around the open space.

"This is the heart of Florence!" Jeognhan cheered as he walked a bit further ahead than the others. They decided to follow him as he continued their journey deeper into the city centre, making sure to admire every passing building as more marvellous churches followed.

They stopped in front of a specific one, taking a closer look at the statues that decorated the front. In awe of the stone carving, the guys made sure to not let a corner of it get un-photographed. The producers that came along with them were able to answer most questions that the group had. Mostly about the hand carving of each stone and stature right in front of them.

Each member seemed to have found their own way as they slightly parted, leaving the different cameramen to disperse as well, following them individually as they roamed the streets around the cathedral.

Suddenly, Minnie turned towards the producing crew that followed right behind her.

"Where's Yongseok-hyung?"

[All of a sudden?]

Vernon, who was next to her, erupted in chuckles, leaving the two older members, who were further ahead, in confusion, but their attention was on something else anyway.

One of the producers, holding a typical tour guide flag in his hands, laughed at the girl's question. "Minnie-ya, you're watching these beautiful buildings and you're thinking of Yongseok?" The realisation of busting the question in that situation hit her, making her laugh as well.

"No, I- I just realised I didn't even see him in the morning."

"He's preparing more things for all of you, you'll see him later," he assured her, making the girl nod quickly as she dropped a,

"Ah, okay," before she turned her focus back on what was ahead of her.

[To Na PD: please always make sure Minnie sees you before you leave <3]

They found each other again in a smaller side street, that was home to local artists who were able to portray their artwork - everything from oil paintings to pencil drawings and even caricatures, which seemed to have caught the interest of the two oldest.

"Jeonghan-ah!" Joshua called out, "Can I do a caricature?"

"I was going to ask you to do it together!" He shouted back, turning towards the younger members who were standing close by together. "You guys wanna do it all together?"

Minnie chuckled at the excitement radiating off him. She couldn't say no to a happy Jeonghan. "Sure," she nodded, glancing over at Vernon, who joined her as they made their way over to one of the artists who was unoccupied at the moment. Together, the four sat down in front of the man, taking off their glasses as they posed for the drawing. Minnie sat down between her fellow English-speaking members, running a hand down her blouse to straighten it out.

"Let's not look until it's done," the oldest suggested, to which Shua happily agreed, nudging his head at Minnie and Vernon, who were just amused at the two members next to them.

Quicker than expected, the artist finished the pencil drawing, turning his board around to let the group get a glimpse of what he had created. The singers immediately erupted in laughter, with the female member having to lean onto the '98 Liner as she hid her face in his shoulder.

"We're all the same," Vernon chuckled, slanting forward in his seat.

"I don't look like you guys!" The girl gently hit his arm as she couldn't hide her amusement as well.

The rapper shook his head. "The only thing different about you is the hair, other than that, we all look the same." And a closer look at the picture just confirmed it, only making her start giggling again.

They thanked the man and Jeonghan took the picture with him before they continued their journey.

"Ah, that was so funny," Vernon breathed out, the other members smiling along with him. "It was really unexpected."

"That's why it was fun," Jeonghan answered, still clearly amused at the drawing in his hands.

The producers asked the group to find a good spot to take a picture of them holding the caricature before they would decide where to go next. With the sun now shining directly onto them, Joshua, Vernon, and Minnie were back to wearing the sunglasses as they quickly posed for the asked picture, making sure they were standing in the same order as they were on the drawing.

-

They found themselves at the highest point of the city again after getting the recommendation to go there from the tour guiding producer. The Piazzale Michelangelo was the perfect decision, they realised, the moment the view of the entire city hit them.

"Woah...," Minnie gasped as they got closer to the railing overlooking the rest of what was in front and below them.

Joshua nodded, "That's crazy."

"It must be insane to be here at night," the girl commented, being only able to imagine the lights that would illuminate the darkness. A clear view of an ancient city skyline was not something to be taken for granted. They continued to walk around the space, staying too close to each other as they continued to talk about the view. Joshua suggested taking a few pictures of each other in front of the railing, so they looked out for a free spot to occupy. Jeonghan led them towards one, pushing Shua forward first so he could snap some pictures of his fellow '95 Liner. Vernon followed close by, getting a few shots taken of himself before the oldest pushed Minnie forward too.

"Let me take some pictures of you guys together."

The rapper had one hand on the railing, leaving enough space for the girl to come in closer as they posed together.

"Hehe," Jeonghan chuckled, "cute."

Vernon left only a moment later, leaving the female member alone for a last few pictures.

"I'll send them into the group chat." Doing exactly so only a few seconds later.

A sigh from the youngest made Minnie turn towards him, her eyebrows in a slight frown as he pulled something out of the pocket of his jacket.

"Your phone keeps ringing." In his hand now, her phone, making her scoff as she tried to get it out of his grasp. Damn his reflexes, he shot his arm up in the air, leaving the girl with a sulk as she now had to look up to where he was tightly holding onto it. The girl just sent him an unamused glare while the smile she was trying so hard to suppress was making it hard to take her seriously. Still, Vernon lowered his arm again and handed her her phone back.

"So you did have it?" She sarcastically asked him, but he just shrugged with a soft grin making his lips curl.

"I found it just now." To which Minnie rolled her eyes.

She had already seen the name on her screen, so she was quick to answer it.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you? Why did you take so long to answer?" His immediate concern brought a chuckle out of her.

"Vernon had my phone," she spoke as she glared at the man in question who just sent her a thumbs up, making her shake her head. "He gave it to me now because it was annoying him that you were calling all the time."

"Well, I was trying to reach you for a while. Are you still in Florence?" Mingyu asked her from the other end of the line.

The female member smiled in amusement, "Obviously."

"Where are you right now?"

"Ehm... I think it was called Piazzale Michelangelo. It's like an open space on top of the city."

Her wording seemed to have confused the rapper. "On top?"

"Not directly on top. It's on a hill- wait, I can Facetime you." She pulled the phone away from her ear, clicking on the button that let her turn on the camera. Her face lit up the moment she came to sight with two of her fellow '97 Liners on the screen.

"Hi, Hao!"

"Hi, Minnie! How's Florence?" He wondered.

"Woah... honestly... you would love it here. Both of you would."

"You haven't sent any pictures yet," Mingyu told her.

Minnie had to hold back a roll of her eyes as she remembered just why she wasn't able to do so just yet. "Yeah, Vernon had my phone the entire time. He didn't let me take it."

"Oh," he just said before laughing, the other member joining in.

Suddenly, another voice from behind the phone camera spoke up, "What did you do to him, Minnie-ya?"

"Yongseok-hyung!" The girl called out in cheer," Mingyu turn the phone around!" With a chuckle and a scoff, he did as she asked. "Hi!" The girl shouted into the phone, getting a whole-hearted laugh from the producer.

"Are you enjoying your time in Florence?"

"Yes! Thank you, really. We had a really nice time here. I even asked about you," she admitted.

"Me? Why about me?"

Minnie leaned against the railing behind her as she continued the conversation. "I didn't see you in the morning, so I was wondering where you were."

"Aw, Minnie-ya," the producer chuckled. "That's very sweet of you. I'll see you when you come back."

"Okay!" She grinned into the phone.

"I'm gonna give the phone back to Mingyu." To which she nodded, smiling as soon as the mentioned member was back in view.

"Look," she turned her camera around to give him a peak of what she was currently seeing. An echoed gasp came from the speakers of her phone as Mingyu and Minghao were able to get a look at the city far ahead of them. "It's for real so beautiful." The camera was back on her when she was suddenly joined by the younger member next to her.

"Shua-hyung said it has a romantic vibe."

Minnie frowned at his remark. "Then I don't know why I'm here with you guys." Getting a chuckle from the other end of the line.

"Can you send some pictures?" Mingyu wondered, making her nod.

"Yeah, I'll do it now," she waved into the camera. "I'll see you at home."

"Have fun!" Hao shouted out.

"Stay safe," the rapper added before the girl ended the call. In a swift motion, she turned around to take a few pictures of the view before tapping on the icon that would lead her to her gallery.

With a quick suck in of air, she glanced up at Vernon.

"You took pictures with my phone!" Finding different pictures he had taken over the course of the day, some of the buildings and streets they passed and some of her as she unknowingly wandered in front of him.

"Yeah," he simply just told her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Minnie shook her head in disbelief, "You... really..." chuckling as she clicked on a few she would want to send all while his eyes followed each movement of her fingers on her screen.

"You have a separate group chat?!" He suddenly called out, making her gaze at him in slight confusion.

Minnie chuckled at his reaction. "We live together. Of course, we have a group chat." Defending the chatroom she shared with Wonwoo and Mingyu, to which she sent the pictures she had just taken along with Vernon's photos, adding a quick message underneath before sending it.

Taglist: @waosobii @chaebb @lunarxsun @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer @cosmicwintr @zwiehe @alixnsuperstxr @angie-x3 @smooore @allthings-fandoms @lllucere

[txttletale]

What are your criticisms of Chavismo and Maduro just out of curiosity?

now i'd like to preface this with a disclaimer that any opposition ghoul would do nothing but sell the country out to the USA and UK every which way in a heartbeat--maduro is better than any alternative, whether that's guaidó or whichever neoliberal puppet they prop up to replace him.

anyway, there were two key problems with chavismo. firstly, it's fundamentally a national-bourgeois led social democratic movement. obviously in an imperialized country like venezuela this made it profoundly progressive, and the achievments of the bolivarian revolution were incredible--chávez cut malnutrition in half, cut unemployment in half, sent millions of children to school and gave millions of elderly people pensions. however, this project of wealth distribution ultimately had to accomodate the national bourgeoisie. which of course on one hand you can argue was completely necessary, but on the other hand allowed the parasitic classes to entrench themselves firmly within elements of the state apparatus and made chavismo as a project entirely incapable of confronting the national bourgeoisie or corruption.

these of course are the realities of 'democratic socialism', of sweeping a socialist into office in a bourgeoise democracy. through some extremely clever political structures, such as the new constitution, communes, and bolicarian circles--he was able to move much more radically than most in his position. but ultimately, he could not escape the fundamental limits of the source and constraints of his power.

the second is that--and this is a very tawdry and obvious piece of analysis--while it is of course admirable and correct that he seized the nation's oil wealth and enriched the country with it--the way he did it was obviously shortsighted. without a sovereign wealth fund, worker's democratic control of the oil industry, or a solid and far-ranging investment plan, he laid the groundwork for some of the current crisis on the assumption that oil prices would stay high forever.

maduro inherited these faults and added far more of his own. during the crisis that began in earnest in 2016, the other shoe dropped wrt oil prices at the same time as the US tightened their murderous sanctions regime. faced with economic crisis, maduro has broadly chosen to move from chávez' strategy of accomodation with the national bourgeoisie to a full on alliance. social programs have been slashed, pensions cut, wages have plummeted, and worst of all, maduro has sold off countless state enterprises in the hope that oft-prayed to benevolent deity, "foreign capital" would miraculously heal the economy. in the course of this he made an enemy of many early chavistas, as well as the leftmost wing of chávez' coalition -- he has mobilized the full force of the bourgeois state against the country's communist party and other genuinely revolutionary movements, most gallingly the marxist-leninist movimiento tupamaro.

so, tldr: chavismo was genuinely radical compared to even your average third-world social democracy--however it remained fundamentally constrained in what it could accomplish by the lack of an actual proletarian state, was unable to rid itself of reliance on the national bourgeoisie for that same reason, and made some very avoidable mistakes in the handling of the nation's oil wealth--maduro inherited those flaws but has been much more accomodating to both national and international capitalists to the detriment of the people of venezuela.

[my-darling-boy]

It’s horrible how my design course has killed my enjoyment in creativity because all they want is finished pieces founded in nothing but a spontaneous mark just to hang at some concrete art gallery or to sell to some “join our revolution” comfy business-casual company with a prison cell wellness room. I’m not saying that it’s “not art” —cos that’s a different post altogether— it’s that the ethos behind this particular formula for art education is ruining the way we think about creation.

Design courses (and other art courses I’ve heard?) are no longer teaching artists or designers techniques, drawing skills, art fundamentals and allowing them to find their own voice so much as they are only instructing how to tic boxes alongside pushing corporate and classist motivated style/methodology bias aimed at producing workers, not creatives, not to mention providing Adobe with endless funds for their despicable scam programs. That’s it. My creativity is only a means to money for them, and if they can extract the process of creation from me without the complex creative intimacy involved in it, they know they can churn out products and services faster and it’s concerning some lecturers don’t seem to be aware this is what they’re teaching? Like they’re buying into industry propaganda?

And the whole time it’s sold to you like you can be some trailblazer when the irony is they’re usually either prepping you for cubicle work or for some misguided high horse creative team pumping out design solutions completely divorced from the reality. I’m tired of all the talks about sustainability in a vacuum with no conversation about nuanced designs that factor in broader social and economic perspectives which lack thereof is leading to sustainable products being sold at a price only able to be afforded by wealthier people who are causing said economic and social problems and contributing to the rapid obsoletion of trades and crafts. Lecturers and speakers don’t seem to think that’s any of our concern and should just worry about producing the design for the hypothetical Bluetooth powered organic hairbrush or using the twigs to make the pattern for the £85 fabric square.

Like? Can I please make something that actually resonates with people outside the circle jerk of egotistical creatives and corporations? Something charming and maybe idk something that doesn’t make me want to tear my miserable portfolio in half with my teeth? And they’re like Mm nope sorry it has to be an extreme close up of a mark making abstract leaf you made from a recycled trash bag inspired by a stalled urban space which we will force you to price at £100 during your exhibition 5 people will bother to attend and no you’re not allowed any other style cos this isn’t the Dark Ages :///

I think the worst thing my lecturer ever said was, while looking around the room of our class work reduced down to a series of cubes and splatters and abstract typography, “Wow, I love how you can’t tell what anyone’s [main artist discipline] is!” Like awww conformity at the expense of a person’s individuality to make pieces for airport hallways and rich people’s living rooms wow so cool heehee like girl that’s not good?? Why on Earth are you complimenting us for that? Like I get it, I thought this course would boost skillset as an illustrator (as we were told), turns out the degree is really not for me, fair enough to anyone thinking that, but forcing students to produce modern abstract art because you think it’s the ONLY Logical Pathway for the future of design, judging them intensely for doing a different style, and thinking producing financially inaccessible art + design is the solution to things like climate change and community severance is an objectively bad take.

[autolenaphilia]

The main reason to use Firefox and Linux and other free and open source software is that otherwise the big tech monopolies will fuck you as the customer over in search of profits. They will seek to control how you use their products and sell your data. When a company dominates the market, things can only get worse for ordinary people.

Like take Google Chrome for example, which together with its chromium reskins dominate the web browser market. Google makes a lot of money from ads, and consequently the company hates adblockers. They already are planning to move to manifest V3, which will nerf adblockers significantly. The manifest V3 compatible chrome version of Ublock Orgin is a "Lite" version for a reason. Ublock's Github page has an entire page explaining why the addon works best in Firefox.

And Google as we speak are trying to block adblockers from working on Youtube, If you want to continue blocking Youtube ads, and since Youtube ads make the site unuseable you ought to want that, it makes the most sense to not use a browser controlled by Google.

And there is no reason to think things won't get worse. There is for example nothing stopping Google from kicking adblockers off their add-on stores completely. They do regard it as basically piracy if the youtube pop-ups tell us anything, so updating the Chrome extensions terms of service to ban adblocking is a natural step. And so many people seem to think Chrome is the only browser that exists, so they are not going to switch to alternatives, or if they do, they will switch to another chrominum-based browser.

And again, they are fucking chromium itself for adblockers with Manifest V3, so only Firefox remains as a viable alternative. It's the only alternative to letting Google control the internet.

And Microsoft is the same thing. I posted before about their plans to move Windows increasingly into the cloud. This already exists for corporate customers, as Windows 365. And a version for ordinary users is probably not far off. It might not be the only version of Windows for awhile, the lack of solid internet access for a good part of the Earth's population will prevent it. But you'll probably see cheap very low-spec chromebookesque laptops running Windows for sale soon, that gets around Windows 11's obscene system requirements by their Windows being a cloud-based version.

And more and more of Windows will require Internet access or validation for DRM reasons if nothing else. Subscription fees instead of a one-time license are also likely. It will just be Windows moving in the direction Microsoft Office has already gone.

There is nothing preventing this, because again on the desktop/laptop market Windows is effectively a monopoly, or a duopoly with Apple. So there is no competition preventing Microsoft from exercising control over Windows users in the vein of Apple.

For example, Microsoft making Windows a walled garden by only permitting programs to be installed from the Microsoft Store probably isn't far off. This already exists for Win10 and 11, it's called S-mode. There seem to be more and more laptops being sold with Windows S-mode as the default.

Now it's not the only option, and you can turn it off with some tinkering, but there is really nothing stopping Microsoft from making it the only way of using Windows. And customers will probably accept it, because again the main competition is Apple where the walled garden has been the default for decades.

Customers have already accepted all sorts of bad things from Microsoft, because again Windows is a near-monopoly, and Apple and Google are even worse. That’s why there has been no major negative reaction to how Windows has increasingly spies on its users.

Another thing is how the system requirements for Windows seem to grow almost exponentially with each edition, making still perfectly useable computers unable to run the new edition. And Windows 11 is the worst yet. Like it's hard to get the numbers of how many computers running Win10 can't upgrade to Win11, but it's probably the majority of them, at least 55% or maybe even 75%. This has the effect of Windows users abandoning still perfectly useable hardware and buying new computers, creating more e-waste.

For Windows users, the alternative Windows gives them is to buy a new computer or get another operating system, and inertia pushes them towards buying another computer to keep using Windows. This is good for Windows and the hardware manufacturers selling computers with Windows 11 pre-installed, they get to profit off people buying Windows 11 keys and new computers, while the end-users have to pay, as does the environment. It’s planned obsolescence.

And it doesn’t have to be like that. Linux distros prove that you can have a modern operating system that has far lower hardware requirements. Even the most resource taxing Linux distros, like for example Ubuntu running the Gnome desktop, have far more modest system requirements than modern Windows. And you can always install lightweight Linux Distros that often have very low system requirements. One I have used is Antix. The ballooning Windows system requirements comes across as pure bloat on Microsoft’s part.

Now neither Linux or Firefox are perfect. Free and open source software don’t have a lot of the polish that comes with the proprietary products of major corporations. And being in competition with technology monopolies does have its drawbacks. The lacking website compatibility with Firefox and game compatibility with Linux are two obvious examples.

Yet Firefox and Linux have the capacity to grow, to become better. Being open source helps. Even if Firefox falls, developers can create a fork of it. If a Linux distro is not to your taste, there is usually another one. Whereas Windows and Chrome will only get worse as they will continue to abuse their monopolistic powers over the tech market.