#only two categories of jet lag fans

[michelles-zodiac-zone]

meeting a new jet lag mutual

[tomhollandsmut]

Loose Ropes 🤷‍♀️

Dom!->Sub!Tom Holland X Sub!->Dom!Female!Reader

Characters: Y/N Y/L/N & Tom Holland

Point of View: 3rd Person Point of View

Warnings: Smut and swearing! Some fluff as well. THIS IS REALLY SMUTTY. FR. (and hell yeah, we got switches..😉)

Category: Imagine

Quick Summary: Tom punishes you, until the roles get switched...

Requested?: No

Author’s Notes: This is HELLA LONG. Enjoy this, my lovelies! Have a beautiful day. <3

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You knew that you weren’t following the rules. His rules to be exact. Tom told you to never touch yourself without his permission, and whenever he was away. And worst of all, he told you not to ever cum without his permission as well. Yet, here you were, touching yourself, gaining the best relief you could ever feel. You’ve had so much pent up sexual frustration, and it was amazing to finally let go of it all. You felt guilty, but you also needed this. You knew that you could (would) get in trouble for this, but Tom wasn’t here. He was at his Onward premiere, enjoying his time with the fans and his cast mates. He told you that he would be coming in 2 more days. It’s been about two weeks without Tom by your side, and you needed relief, so you resorted to this.

You were laying on your shared bed, with your panties rested at your ankles. You were in a state of bliss, and let out all of your moans and groans. You didn’t care that your neighbours would hear, you were more focused on pleasuring yourself, in the moment.

You reached your high, and never felt more relieved. You then heard footsteps coming towards you and Tom’s shared bedroom.

‘Wait what?! Is he already here? I thought he would be coming in just 2 more days! Shit! Did he hear me?!’ You had thoughts swirling in your head as you quickly rushed to pull up your panties, and throw over the covers. You pretended to sleep as Tom entered the bedroom. ‘I didn’t even hear him come in, what the fuck? Oh my god did he hear me?’

You felt Tom give you a kiss on your forehead and heard him start changing. You peeked a little through your eyelids and saw him changing into comfier clothes. Fuck Did you miss him. You closed your eyes as he lie down next you, trying not to wake you up. You pretended to wake up and held his hand that was wrapped around your waist.

“Mm, I missed you,” you said, "tiredly.” “I missed you too, angel.” Tom responded, as he gave you a kiss on your head. ‘Okay, so he didn’t hear me.’ You felt relieved and snuggled into his arms. You and Tom slept for about an hour, since he must’ve felt really tired and jet-lagged.

After your little nap together, you and Tom were on the couch relaxing, while watching some TV. Suddenly, Tom started kissing you, and he went on top of you, as it started to get a little heated. you moaned into the kiss, and Tom stopped, getting some air for the both of you. “I missed you so much, love,” Tom said, as he was about to kiss you again, but suddenly stopped halfway between you and Tom’s lips. “But I know what you did.”

You froze. ‘SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT...’ You looked into his eyes and put on your best innocent face. You backed up a little as you asked, “What?” You saw his eyes turn a shade darker, and you felt even more nervous than you already were.

He chuckled wickedly, and immediately set his hand on your throat and squeezed lightly, but enough for you to get a little lightheaded. You slightly whimpered as you heard him say, “Don’t act like you didn’t cum as I walked in. I know you broke my rules, doll.”

You tried to talk him into your excuses. “Tommy, baby, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to cum so bad! I-”

You were interrupted by his laugh and his grip on your throat went a little tighter, until he fully let go. You then saw his demeanor change completely.

“I’m just kidding, darling. I know you wouldn’t break my rules.” Tom said while chuckling at your shocked and confused expression. He acted as if he hadn’t just choked you and found out your secret you though he wouldn’t ever find out.

‘How did he jus-? What? Okay, now he’s just playing with me.’ So, you decided to laugh along, as you sat up again.

Then, in a matter of seconds, Tom was about to kiss you again, then chuckled and stopped halfway between both of you and Tom’s lips, once again.

“Bedroom. Now.”

Your eyes widened as he kissed you.

You immediately ran to your bedroom and stripped, knowing that Tom would’ve wanted you to anyways. You lie down on the bed, waiting nervously for what Tom was going to do. You saw him walk into the room and he went to the dresser and grabbed out ropes and a red ball gag, and you whimpered at the sight.

‘Fuck.’

Tom tied your ankles to the bedposts with the rope, and put the ball gag on you, all while saying nothing. Dead silence filled the room as he went back to his dresser and pulled out your vibrating panties.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck...’ He could control your panties with just an app on his phone. You started to whimper as he walked up to you, and you looked at him with pleading eyes and furrowed eyebrows, as he put them on you. Tom then tied your ankles to the bedposts.

Tom looked at you with his dark eyes, and said, “Since you wanted to cum so bad, I’ll make you cum for the days you missed.”

Your eyes went wide, and you whimpered, as you heard Tom chuckle.

You missed 14 days. 2 whole painstaking weeks without orgasming.

“Listen to my rules, darling.”

Tom then left the room, and you heard him turn on the TV.

Then you felt the buzzing. Your groans, moans, and whimpers were muffled by the ball gag, but you were pretty sure that Tom could hear you. He in fact did, but tried to ignore you, as he put the TV’s volume louder, and wickedly smiled to himself.

You were on orgasm #8, and you were feeling a little weak from how intense the orgasms were. You were gripping the headboard for dear life, throughout the entire time.

You had to get out of the ropes You needed to. You couldn’t take it anymore.

So, you tried tugging on the ropes, and you found out that one of them was loose. ‘Why couldn’t I have found this out earlier?!’ you thought, as you mentally face-palmed yourself.

Thankfully, Tom gave you a short break, so you used this to your advantage, getting one of your hands out of the ropes. You reached over your other hand, and untied the other rope. You were mentally thanking the fact that your hands weren’t that sore from the ropes, since you gripped onto the headboard for the whole time. Then, once you were going to reach down to untie your ankles, you felt the buzzing come back again, and you flinched.

Thankfully you still had the ball gag on, so Tom wouldn’t hear you moaning out loud. You reached down, and slid the vibrating panties down to your ankles, and then untied your ankles from the bedposts. You unbuckled the ball gag from your mouth and massaged your jaw a little bit, and then quietly got off of the bed. You put on your clothes, and made your way out the door.

You looked out into the hallway, and saw Tom watching the TV. Perfect. Now’s your chance.

You casually walked over to Tom and saw his eyes immediately widen, and saw his expression switch from calm to confused.

“Y/N, how did you-” Tom said as he was getting up from the couch, but you quickly stopped him, and lightly squeezed your hand that wrapped around his throat. You heard him whimper and smirked as now he was the one with pleading eyes and furrowed eyebrows. His hands came up to wrap around the one around his throat, as you pushed him back down onto the couch. You straddled his waist and gave a peck to his forehead.

You were about to kiss him on the lips, but stopped midway from both of you and Tom’s lips, copying him from earlier.

“Bedroom. Now.”

You saw Tom’s eyes widen, and his mouth hang open. You closed his mouth and pressed a kiss to his lips. He swallowed hard and realized that he was following your rules now. He walked to the bedroom, as you turned off the TV, and followed him shortly after.

You saw him standing in the middle of the bedroom, fully clothed, and having a confused look on his face. He didn’t know what to do next, since you have been in charge of him like this, in the bedroom.

You internally got excited, but quickly said, “Strip.” You stripped only your sweatpants, and looked at him. He was still standing, flustered and confused, so you walked over to him, and kissed him. It was crazy how submissive he could get in a few seconds. But you loved it.

“Lay on your back. Hands and ankles to the bedposts.” Tom didn’t say anything, he was still too shocked and flustered to. You smirked when he listened to you.

“Look who’s in charge now, baby.” you said as you tied his wrists and ankles tot he bedposts, leaving him in the position you last were. You then grabbed the ball gag, washed it in the bathroom, and went back over to Tom. You looked at him with dark and lustful eyes, meanwhile he looked at you with big, sparkly, puppy dog eyes, filled with lust.

“Open up, baby.” you said, as you held the ball gag near his mouth, but Tom refused. You look at him with a stern look on your face, to which he quickly said, “Please angel, I’m so sorry for doing that to you, you don’t have to do this. I can make you feel good.”

You laughed at his request, “You already did.”

Tom’s mouth slightly hung open, and you took the chance to put the ball gag into his mouth. You then made sure that the ropes were secure, so that you wouldn’t make the same mistake he did, and so that he wouldn’t escape, just like you did. He whimpered when you tightened the ropes a little more, and you asked, “Is this okay?” He nodded and you gave him a kiss on his forehead, to which he whimpered again.

You looked at his hard cock. His tip was red and leaking with pre-cum, and he looked absolutely delicious.

You climbed back onto him, and straddled his lap. You left red and purple marks on his neck and upper chest, which made him moan and whimper. Tom was usually the one to leave those type of marks on your body. You looked up at him with one raised eyebrow, when you heard him tug on the ropes.

Tom looked so beautiful like this; his hands and ankles tied to the bedposts, his drool spilling from his lips, onto his chin and neck from the ball gag, his pink tinted cheeks, and his sparkly, puppy dog, lust filled eyes.

“You look so fucking beautiful like this, baby boy,” you said as you kissed down his abs, until you reached his hard cock. You held the base of his cock, which made him whimper under your touch.

“Is this what you want, Tommy? Do you want me to touch you?”

You saw him nod his head vigorously, and heard his whimpers. He tried to talk through the ball gag, but it was just a muffled and whimpered mess.

You chuckled and asked him, “Do you want to talk, Tommy?” He nodded his head, and tugged onto the restraints.

You laughed a little at how eager he was to finally be able to speak. “Okay, baby boy, okay.”

You reached over to his head, and unbuckled the ball gag from his head. You massaged his jaw, and asked if he was okay, to which he answered with a small, “Yes,” and a small smile. You smiled back at him, and kissed him. The kiss was soft, and light, but then got a little heated and needy. You traveled to his hard cock again, and placed small kisses to the side of his cock.

“Fuck darling, please don’t tease me.” Tom said, as he was groaning.

You looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, and innocently asked him, “But Tommy, didn’t you do the same thing?”

He groaned and you teased him more and more with your mouth and hands. You would sometimes lightly squeeze the base of his cock, and he would just moan. He couldn’t take it anymore, and just started to beg.

“Please doll, I want your mouth on me, anything! Please, I just wanna cum so badly.” Tom said, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence.

You could hear the neediness in his voice, and finally gave in. You licked his tip, and then wrapped your lips around it, and started to suck on it lightly. You traced the side of it with your tongue, and looked up at Tom, and saw his eyes rolled to the back of his head, as he let out a guttural moan.

You winked at him when he looked back at you, and he smiled back. You licked up the side of the shaft, and then deepthroated him as far as you could, without him expecting it. You felt Tom’s hips start bucking, and heard his moans pouring out of his mouth.

“Fuck darling, just like that! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you heard him say, breathily.

You could’ve came right then and there at the sound of his moans. They were music to your ears.

You deepthroated him, and then came back up to lick the tip, and you heard Tom moan, “Fuck. I’m gonna cum! Fuck love, right there, right-fuck!”

You immediately took your hands and mouth off of him as he came. He whined and whimpered, as you saw ribbons of his cum landing on his stomach.

“Fuck love, what the hell?!” Tom said, and you immediately grabbed his sensitive cock and lightly squeezed. “Want me to keep going?”

“Fuck! Please, no, doll,” Tom breathily whined.

You smirked at him, and kissed the tip of his cock, to which he bucked his hips and whimpered. You licked up the cum that was on his stomach, while looking directly into Tom’s eyes.

“Fuck princess, you’re such a tease.” Tom groaned. You smiled at him.

“You hungry?” you asked, as you straddled his waist.

“Fuck yeah. Come sit on my face, pretty girl.” you heard Tom say, to which you glared at him, and lightly squeezed his throat again.

You quickly smiled as he went back to his submissive side again. You kissed his cheek, and whispered in his ear, “Know your place, baby.”

You straddled Tom’s face and asked if he was okay.

“Yes, love.”

You sat on his face, and he wasted no time to get you near your high. You were a moaning mess already. Even though Tom didn’t use his fingers, his nose was prodding at your clit, as he stuck his tongue inside of you, and quickly shook his head in your pussy. You grabbed onto his hair and caught him looking up at you, and you bit your lip.

“Fuck Tommy, just like that! Keep going, baby,” you moaned, getting out of breath quickly.

Tom then moved his lips and sucked your clit, to which you let out a breathy and loud moan. You heard Tom groan in your pussy, and the vibrations felt amazing, as you moaned again.

“Fuck love,” you heard Tom mumble into your pussy, which made you throw your head back and roll your eyes to the back of your head.

“Fuck Tommy! I’m gonna cum!” you moaned as Tom kept on licking and sucking your pussy, using his tongue and nose to pleasure you.

“Mm, cum for me, angel,” Tom mumbled into your clit, and you threw your head back, rolled your eyes into the back of your head, and moaned loudly. You were seeing nothing but white, and felt nothing but euphoria. Tom kept on eating you out, and licked up the mess he made you make, which made you moan even more.

When you caught your breath, you got off of Tom, and straddled his waist again, admiring how his face was soaked with your juices. You leaned down and kissed him, moaning into the kiss when you tasted yourself.

You then lined yourself up with Tom’s cock, and sank down.

“Ohhh, fuck,” you heard Tom say as he threw his head back against the headboard, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as you squeezed around him.

“Fuck darling, you’re so-fuck, you’re so fucking tight. I missed your tight pussy.” Tom moaned, and you clenched around him again, which made him moan again. You start moving up and down on his cock, and he starts to turn even more red, enjoying the view, and feeling hot.

“Fuck, you look so beautiful, darling,” Tom groaned. You felt him start to buck into you too, and your eyes rolled into the back of your head as you leaned down and kissed his lips, moaning into them.

You bit into his neck, and he groaned, “You like that, Tommy? Does that feel good, baby boy?”

Tom nodded, and you kept attacking his new sweet spot, licking and biting that spot. You leaned back up again, and bounced even harder onto his cock, and you hear Tom moan and see him gripping hard onto the headboard.

“Fuck baby, I’m getting so fucking close!” you whimpered to Tom.

“Me too angel, fuck, rub your clit for me, love. Just like that, darling,” Tom moaned while looking at you rubbing your clit in small circles.

“Fuck Tommy! I’m cumming!” you moaned as you came around his cock. Your orgasm felt more intense this time, and you felt even more euphoric than your last orgasm.

“Shit, shit, shit! Fuck yeah, darling. Come all on my cock. Fuuuckk” you heard Tom say as you were still caught up in your orgasm. You felt ribbons of cum coating your walls, and you clenched around Tom as he came, and he let out a guttural moan.

You didn’t see the mess you made until you heard Tom say, “Fuck princess, I didn’t know you could squirt. Damn, that was hot as hell.”

Your eyes widened as you looked at Tom’s body, and saw all of your juices, covering Tom’s chest and stomach. You turned redder than you were before, and hid your face with your hands.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Fuck I didn’t know I made this mess-” Tom cut you off and admitted, “No angel, don’t apologize to me about that. That shit was fucking hot. I’ll admit it.”

You looked at Tom, and leaned down to kiss him, which was sweet and soft. You finally got off of Tom and helped him out of the ropes. You clean up Tom, and he admires and smiles at you as you do. You smile back at him and playfully stick your tongue out at him, which makes Tom chuckle.

“I love you.” Tom said, stroking your cheek, which made you smile warmly at him.

“I love you more, Tommy.”

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Author’s Notes: Thank you for reading!! So sorry that this was long as hell, and that it took me a long time to upload a fic, but hope you lovelies enjoyed<3

Feel free to like, reblog, and/or share!

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[contemplatingoutlander]

Did you see the latest timeline of SC done by balfeheughlywed titled this is a timeline ive been working on jess? God, this nightmare will never end!

Thanks for letting me know about this anon. No, of course it will never end. Many of the ES are spite shipping now. Many don’t really even like Sam and Cait anymore. But they want to “win.” They want to prove they were “right” all along. And they won’t stop until they do. And since they haven’t been right all along (after all Sam and Cait are not a couple) they clearly won’t ever stop because they will never be proved correct.

The ES have created their own alternate reality to support their faux ship. At some point in time, I’ll debunk nearly everything on that timeline.  But let’s just debunk two of the things on it for now. I might as well go in chronological order with the debunking.

SAM WAS NEVER IN COSTA RICA

- Sam and Cait miss the PCAswhere they were expected to attend; Sam claims flight was cancelled, Caitclaims work commitments; only missed flights were out of Costa Rica

Well, right off the bat she is misremembering. Sam didn’t say that his flight was cancelled, he said this:

What it probably means is that he booked too late to get a flight that would get him there on time OR the flight was delayed–NOT CANCELLED. 

Actually, Diana Gabaldon affirmed that Cait had a work commitment and Sam “was unable to get a flight in time to make it.”

“Neither Sam nor Cait was able to be there; she had a work commitment and he was unable to get a flight in time to make it. (Fwiw, they told me last year, that when they both won, they weren’t announced or called to the stage–an assistant just showed up and thrust the awards into their hands while someone took photos. SciFi Cable may not be considered one of the sexy categories. )”

For more on geotagged and timestamped posts that indicate that Sam was in Thailand right before the PCAs see this POST.

Sam never left Thailand for Costa Rica. Two witnesses (Nell and the Muay Thai gym guy) as well as Sam have all testified to that. Furthermore, we have evidence that it was Tony who was probably seated besides Cait on that boat. The full debunk of Sam in Costa Rica can be found in this POST.

THERE WAS A LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT SAM WAS EMOTIONALLY FINE DURING THE KDS/ IFH AND AFTERWARDS AS WELL

- Sam and Cait deny being ina relationship in interview with KDS where suits were reportedly in the roomwith them; afterwards, Sam was so upset he didn’t stop to speak with fans

Sam was jet lagged and sick that day and he was also appeared to be a tadannoyed with certain fan behaviors that forced himself and Cait to reveal their private lives (see POST), so he might not have been in any mood to greet fans after the interview (if indeed he didn’t stop to talk to fans).

But even in the interview (that was longer than just the denial segment–different segments of it were published separately but it was all the same interview), there were points were Sam did NOT look like a man who was devastated.

He didn’t even look very devastated at the end of the denial segment of the interview.  I mean he smiles and laughs at the end. 

And finally Sam also appeared to be FLIRTING with Sarah Armstrong at the Starz Golden Globes party later that evening:

Yeah, Sam did not look devastated.

(See more under the cut.)

I never heard that “suits were reportedly in the room with them” during the KDS/ IFH denial videotaping. Whatever, they might have been PR people. But Sam and Cait didn’t lie in that video (see my analysis of it in this POST) and there is no way that TPTB made them lie.

No studio in this day and age could legally force Sam or Cait to lie about having a personal relationship with each other, to hang around with a “fake SO,” or to avoid being seen with each other in public. Certain One Direction fans have pointed out how contracts couldn’t be legally enforced to hide someone’s sexual relationship. (See this POST, this POST and this POST.) There are also privacy rights laws that make it impossible to force a celebrity to hang out with a “fake SO” in their spare time (see POST).

Nearly, everything in the ES timeline has been debunked before, but I’ll bring up some of the old debunking posts and debunk a couple of things at a time that appear on their timeline.

What’s interesting to me though is the ES NEVER admit when they are clearly wrong. I admitted I was wrong about kitchen-gate and apartment/ car-gate (although I still believe there is a logical explanation for both things–remember S & C have always had separate drivers, which makes no sense if they were living together). But the ES keep pulling out “receipts” that have been CLEARLY DEBUNKED (like the FauxCait at the baseball game who is way too short to be Cait or the FauxSam in Paris, that is clearly not Sam when you see the uncropped version of the photo.)

The ES will never admit they were wrong about anything. Hence they create their own SC purgatory that they won’t let themselves get out of.

As I said, the ES have an alternate SamCait history going. They can post their faux timeline but that is all it is, a timeline of misinterpreted events and missing pertinent information. 

It really is unfortunate anon. But it sadly certain ES will continue to generate misinformation about Sam and Cait and their real SOs.

Posted 03.15.18; updated 07.22.18

[kktravelblog]

england: april 2018

I finally reached my breaking point of sitting at a desk this past April. I always knew it wasn’t for me, but thought I’d give it a valiant effort. I mean after all, it is what everyone else was doing. After months of contemplating what’s next, I decided to quit my desk job while still giving a somewhat traditional path a try and found a nanny position in Hoboken. And the best part of changing jobs is having the opportunity to have a free week of vacation time built in. If you don’t do this, you’re honestly missing out. 

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. Typically, I use every vacation opportunity to go somewhere exotic with beaches, diving, mountains and hiking, but because summer was right around the corner, I decided to go to cloudy England, which would be only the second time I’ve visited Europe. This always comes as a shock to people, but it just hasn’t happened yet. However, this time around, England was almost too easy to pass up because my two good friends from Australia, Anna and Katie, already lived there and I had free places to stay. So within less than a week, I had a trip planned and was on my way. 

This was my first solo traveling experience, which I really want to do one day (stay tuned AGAIN). I had gone to Australia alone, but I view that as a completely different category of travel. I looked it as a real small baby jump though, since I would technically have two friends awaiting my arrival in each city I was to visit. And they speak english. But it was still a step in the right direction.

I arrived in London, found wifi to alert Katie, then started my journey to her flat just outside of center city London. Once I got off the tube and made my way outside, I found Katie waiting for me. And no joke, the second I stepped outside, I felt like I was in Harry Potter. To all of you that don’t know, I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. To me, it has always been a mysterious place created in my brain while reading the books and later by Hollywood. So to see the country it was created around was surreal. I probably mentioned “that looks just like Harry Potter” more times than I can physically count. But it still blows my mind. *American fangirl* 

Katie’s flat was only one stop outside the center city of London, making it extremely convenient and a great place to be. After a quick pitstop to refresh after the long flight, we headed into the city to meet up with her boyfriend and to have lunch at this cool indoor food truck market/explore a bit on her lunch break. I was quickly informed on this mini tour just how many buildings were older than the United States of America, which is pretty nuts to think about. I never cared for history, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around that fact. Katie and her boyfriend both had to head back to work, so I was left to explore the city on my own which resulted in me walking over 15 miles. I saw a lot, including Big Ben (although under construction), the London Eye, the bridge that collapses in Harry Potter, the London Bridge (from the famous song), and more. Somehow, in a square mile city though, I somehow managed to completely miss Buckingham Palace. Not sure how and the only way I realized is when I later complained that I didn’t get to see the men in the red suits and Katie and her flatmates were flabbergasted and made me show pictures of where I was.   

While exploring the city was great, my most memorable day in London, to no surprise, was my solo trip to Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio. IT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT. I know you get it, I am a huge fan, but I just cannot help myself. Magic is so cool. I spent over three hours there, winding through the sets and reading everything available. I was incredibly shameless, to the point that not only did I have strangers take my picture throughout, but I also mounted a broomstick in front of a green screen just so I could get a video of me flying through Harry Potter scenes. Some call it desperate, but it’s really commitment. Don’t worry the short clip is public, but I have the full version waiting for your viewing if you choose to want to see it. Warning, it’s two minutes long. I also don’t think its fair if I leave out that the majority of the other people there were either couples or families. I was the only single person, who got ID’d for age. ID’d at the Harry Potter studios. But honestly, there is no shame in this game. 

The next day I headed back into the city to see Buckingham Palace. Not making that effort would have been embarrassing. It’s like completely missing the Empire State Building. It honestly was worth it to see too. It puts the White House to shame, that’s for sure. After that, I spent the rest of the day wandering and then met up with Katie for dinner. We had an early night as I had planned to set off to Birmingham early the next day, with a stop to see Stonehenge and Bath on the way. 

Stonehenge was really cool. I’ll be honest. I skipped the museum part due to timing (and lack of interest), so I honestly cannot tell you much about it. But I can tell you the rocks were really cool and my timing with the weather was impeccable. The entire drive to Stonehenge, plus the short bus ride from the parking lot, it was downpouring. But I swear, as soon as I stepped off the bus, the clouds parted and the sun came out. Luck was on my side. I’ll get to why in a second.

Next up was Bath. Bath is a really unique city and I definitely recommend stopping by if you have the time when you’re in England. It’s known for its natural hot springs, Bath Abbey and Roman-era Baths as well as the architecture. The architecture is traditional and old-fashioned, however the overall vibe of the city and the stores within are new and modernized. I could totally see myself living here. Check it out, and let me know what you think. 

And finally, I made it to Birmingham, where Anna and I quickly headed to the local food truck markets to eat and catch up. Anna (she’s American) had been my closest friend in my Australian adventure and recently moved there with her Australian boyfriend. Dreams do come true. 

This is where traveling gets cool. While in England, I had the opportunity to go visit Richard and Helen Combe at their countryside English home. Turns out, luckily, they live right outside Birmingham. If you don’t recall, I met Richard on the top of Rob Roy Glacier in New Zealand in 2015. It was a series of weird coincidences that brought us together, but showed me just how grateful I am for how the world works and the people it brings into your life. Richard had lost his son, Stephen, in a helicopter crash a week prior to us meeting. We only spoke for a short time that day, but it was an incredibly impactful conversation. After tracking him down, I was able to reach out and maintain a friendship with him and his wife Helen throughout the years. It was really cool to hear their side of the same story and how many similarities there were, most notably, that we were meant to find each other for a good reason. Spending the day with them in England will forever be one of my most memorable traveling days, of course, after the day I met them. They welcomed me into their home as one of their own and showed me a glimpse into their lives, including meeting their daughter and Helen’s mother. They also told me tons of stories, showed me around their town, took me on a short walk to a part of the city where you could see Wales in the distance, and updated me on their lives, while also being incredibly interested in mine. I will forever hold that day incredibly close to my heart. 

I should also mention, I am not spiritual in any way. I believe in a lot of cliches like things always work out, when there’s a will there’s a way, etc. but I am not spiritual by any means. Except I do believe their son Stephen played a huge impact on how seamlessly my trip worked out. From the plans, to the odd weather occurrences, to how close they lived to the only other city I was visiting to… did i mention the car company randomly upgraded me from some random car to a Mercedes A class (still don’t know what it means, but know that is definitely an upgrade) for free? All of those things had to of had some help. It doesn’t make sense otherwise. But it was these moments that really reminded me of how special my friendship with Richard and Helen is. And what it reminds me of life. I always say the punchline of every joke, story, moment will always come, but sometimes not right away. And this one proved it by coming three years later. 

Ok back on track now… Sometimes I need to include things for you guys, but also for my own personal memory. 

After my visit with Helen and Richard, I headed back to Birmingham to meet Anna. We would later go to dinner at the local pub, and embarrassingly mess up trivia questions based on America. I spent the next day literally laying in bed, watching Netflix, letting my body relax from jet lag and waiting for Anna to get out of work so we could head back to London to hang with Katie. 

My last day was super special in terms of friendships. It was really great to hang with Katie and Anna together again and honestly felt like no time had passed by since we had last been together in Brisbane. We spent the day exploring London and different markets, walking the waterway and eating good lunch (my fav meal). And of course, Kings Cross and platform 9 3/4. That night, Anna and I were left to pick a restaurant on our own. And in true American fashion ended up unknowingly picking a chain. It was still good. Heck, I’d go back. Later, we met a few of Anna’s friends at this really cool bar that legitimately had a tree in it (that Lexi also recommended. If she ever reads this blog, I needed to make sure she got her call out) and then would later go to a London club. Did you know London clubs close at midnight? No? Me neither. It’s weird to me. But we ended the night the right way, by eating pizza and face-timing both B and Eric. No better way to end the trip than all back together. If not physically, but technologically.

The next morning, I woke up at 4 am and made the trek back to the states, through Dublin, where I was able to try a Guinness at 7 am their time. I couldn’t tell you what time my body was on. However, I refuse to count that as real. I will go to Ireland for it. Again, I can’t say it enough, this trip was special in so many ways. I know it’s getting cliche. Not only with Richard and Helen, but also it was really cool to see two of my closest friends from Australia in a different country and spend the day like no time had passed. I really look forward to when we can all cross paths again. But Anna, to be honest, it’s your turn to come to the city. Katie already did. And B and Eric, you too. 

And now I was off to live a semi-traditional life of being a nanny in Hoboken at 27 years old. 

[governingemergingtechnology-blog]

Geostorm: Fantasy or Reality?

Currently across all media sources and advertising platforms, is the trailer for Hollywood's most recent multi-million dollar, apocalyptic, disaster film titled 'Geostrom'. It plays with the concept that scientists have used the technology of geo-engineering in order to gain authority over mother nature and dictate the weather and climate of our planet with the use of satellites. In the case that you have not come across the term 'Geo-engineering' before, it is an emerging technology which deals with large scale manipulations of environmental processes, such as those which affect the climate of the earth. It is thought that geo-engineering technology can be used as a valuable tool that can work alongside, and in the future maybe even exceed, efforts to curb emissions such as recycling and clean energy, with the hope that effects of global warming can be reversed.

Although it is purely fantasy and incredibly unrealistic, there are many premises in the film which make it strikingly relevant to the present day. In the year of 2017, our planet has experienced an unsettling amount of extreme weather events, from January's subzero temperatures, snowfall and frost in the most unexpected of places including Hawaii, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines, as well as Summer's severe heat waves and fires, with over 110 recorded in America alone, not to mention we have just come out of one of the most violent hurricane seasons in recent history, following the attacks on the Atlantic from Irma, Harvey and Ophelia. Not only are the magnitude and scale of such events becoming even greater, but the timings are unusual and out of character as well. Therefore, it is not surprising that the advanced, fictional technologies portrayed in the film are greatly desired and that interest in weather control has spiked, with more and more scientists trying to tackle the question whether or not we can control the weather. The main aim of this premise would of course be in order to reduce, and perhaps reverse the effects of global warming and climate change. However, due to the damages already inflicted on to our planet it would be impossible to eliminate all effects, meaning that there will be some degree of change which is unavoidable.

Therefore, it is already a reality and an undoubtable fact that, although it is mostly unintentional and there is no level of control, humans can and have altered the climate of planet earth. This is due to the emission of greenhouse gases, featuring carbon dioxide and methane, resulting from activities such as farming, driving cars and industrialisation, coupled with the counterproductive destruction of our precious rain forests. These gases damage the protective O Zone layer, letting in more and more of the harmful UV rays from the sun, leading to global warming, extreme weather events, as well as the melting of Arctic ice, sea level rises and more. In the pursuit of helping our planet and it's inhabitants, scientists are now seeking to gain control over the powerful forces of nature and make deliberate and effective changes.

Currently, the emerging technologies of weather modification fall into two categories, the first aiming to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This solution, also known as Carbon Capture, includes the development of man-made machines which extract the carbon dioxide from the air and store it underground, or the simple procedure of protecting and planting more trees which naturally take in the gas and through the processes of photosynthesis replenish the atmosphere with clean oxygen in it's place, which is why the Amazon rainforest has rightfully been dubbed 'the lungs of the earth'. However, the second method focuses on reducing the amount of UV sun rays entering the atmosphere and reaching the earth's surface. This approach involves increasing the number of clouds in the sky, adding shiny particles to the atmosphere or the development of space mirrors, all which work with the idea of reflecting the sun's rays back into space and away from the earth.

The weather controlling satellite technology depicted in 'Geostorm' appears to be incredibly advanced compared to that of reality, as well as being on a very large, regional and even global scale. However, there have been real world events where small scale weather manipulation has been successful. While researching this topic, a friend informed me of the instance of when Paul McCartney 'stopped it from raining' at one of his concerts. The 'Good Day Sunshine' singer was set to preform his 3000th concert in St Petersburg on the same day it was suppose to rain, however he made promises to his dedicated fans that the sun would return by the time he stepped out on stage. Three jet planes were sent flying over the city to inject the clouded sky with a large amount of frozen carbon dioxide. This was done with the hope that the moisture would be locked into the clouds and prevent the concert from being rained out and ruined, and the scheme was a success! However, many scientists are still sceptical of this type of weather manipulation as it is so difficult and potentially impossible to prove.  The argument is that there is no way of providing evidence that the act, known as 'cloud seeding', is actually affective or if the whole event of vanishing clouds was just a coincidence. There is no way to know what would have happened and if it would have rained or if the clouds would have dispersed on their own had the concert promoters not spent £20,000 on dry ice.

In addition to raising questions about 'if' geo-engineering can be used to control the climate, 'Geostorm' also sparks questions surrounding the topic of whether or not it is a good idea to use emerging technologies such as this, and this has developed into an incredibly controversial debate. One argument is that due to the damage which has been done to the earth so far, there are already elements of climate changes happening now and in the future which are unavoidable, even if we cut our carbon emissions to zero overnight. This is due to the time lag between cause and effect, essentially waiting for the environment to react to changes. Therefore, geo-engineering is thought to be necessary to tackle extreme conditions and reduce further damage. On the other hand, we currently do not know what kind of long term effects climate altering schemes will have on the earth and they may cause more problems for our planet than they solve. Despite the fact that ‘Geostorm’ is a Hollywood fantasy, it’s appeal is that it could be reality and that we are close to this new reality. Therefore, the moral, cultural, political, economic and social impacts of that need to be debated publicly immediately. This is a debate which will have to wait until my next blog post!

Watch the Geostorm Trailer… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOlYPSEzSc

Further reading...

’20 reasons why geoengineering may be a bad idea’ by Alan Robock, 2008. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 64, No. 2, 14-18, 59. Available at: http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/20Reasons.pdf 

‘Can science fix climate change? A case against climate engineering’ by Mike Hulme, 2014. Polity Press. Available at: http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9780745682051

‘Why solar radiation management geoengineering and democracy won’t mix’ by Szerszynski, Kearnes, Macnaghten, Owen and Stilgoe. 2013. Available at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1068/a45649 

‘Science Week: Geoengineering, climate change and evolution’ by Giulia Magnarini. Available at: http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/events/2017/04/24/science-week-2017-geoengineering-climate-change-and-evolution/ 

[annamcnuff]

The 50th State: Hawaii

Ah Hawaii. Islands of the sea. Land of the Hukilau cafe. Home to Polynesian princess’, pineapples and palm trees. And more importantly, the 50th state… A BUMPY START Finally sat on a plane at Dallas Fort Worth airport, I was overcome with relief, and also rather aware that we’d been stationary at the gate for quite some time. The pilot aka ‘DJ Wings McGee’ came on the tannoy. His soothing words were to the effect of 'A part of a plane isn’t working. In fact, we’re concerned it’s missing entirely. We just need to make sure everything’s 'OK’ before taking you up to 30,000ft and letting you plunge to your death.“ I couldn’t help but marvel at such a flawless execution of customer care - DJ McGee clearly missed the training memo about ignorance being bliss. To cut a long story short, I disembarked. The flight was cancelled and I was moved to another. The only casualty of the debacle being… Boudica. As I waited for her beautifully decorated pink gaffa taped cardboard box to appear in the oversized section at Honolulu, it dawned - she was AWOL. Amidst the kerfuffle in Dallas, someone had left her behind (so much for my detailed marker pen box instructions to 'treat her like a lady’). Of course, I was never too worried, you’ve gotta keep the faith after all, and within two days she was safely back in my possession. I don’t need Ms Morisette to tell me how losing Boudica en route the 50th state would have been mildly ironic. "It’s like cycliiiinngggg, 49-states-and-losing-your-bike-on-the-plane…” Boudica, with high hopes of not getting left behind at Dallas, and instructions to treat her like a lady MOUNT HALEAKALA Way back in the heat of the Reno desert, when Hawaii was just a distant dream, a wise man named JP foretold of a mystical volcano on the Island of Maui, called Mount Haleakala. It was also foretold-er-ed that it was the longest, steepest paved road ascent in the world. Considering I was on the hunt for a special little sumthin-sumthin to round off the trip, that sounded perfect. So I floated the idea to my travel agent (AKA - Mum), and the plan was set - we’d nip to the island of Maui, and take on Haleakala. Seeing as though my Dad was a) Going to be in Hawaii too and b) Loves destroying mind and body as much as I do, it was only fair that he join me on the climb. And, seeing as though he wasn’t going to be bringing his very own Pink ten-ton beast to the pedal party, I opted to leave Boudica behind on Oahu, and hire a little carbon number instead. She was Blue. She was beautiful. And I named her Wanda. I’ll level with you, frightening as it sounds to ride from sea level to 10,023 ft in one go, Haleakala isn’t the hardest climb I’ve ever done. Far from it. The gradient is steady, the road is smooth, there are switchbacks to break up the slog and when you have a support car, you don’t even need to carry the many layers of kit required. But I’ll be darned if it’s not spectacularly unique. For a start, the climb takes you through 4 micro climates. And because the gradient is so steady, rather than splitting time equally between staring at the front wheel and trying to relocate your weaker lung, you actually get a rare chance to take it all in. Usually when making the dizzy heights of 10,000 ft you’re surrounded by other mountains. So whilst the vista is a guaranteed spectacular, it’s largely comprised of neighbouring peaks. From the top of Haleakala all you can see is Maui. The whole of it. From one end to the other, and all the way across. Your eye line is spattered with views of the cinder desert landscape, the reef below, the offshore Molokini crater, lush green fields and endless delicate whisps of cloud - suspended as if someone hurridly dismantled an oversized candy floss and just… left it there. Reaching the top of Haleakala is pretty much the closest you’ll ever get to flying (well, aside from jumping off of the sofa, holding a Tesco bag above your head when you were seven. Just me? Oh, right, I see.) I’m not a huge fan of descending. In fact, my level of fanship for the descent is on a par with my level of fanship for Justin Bieber. Suffice it to say, I would gladly never cycle down another hill in my entire life. But apparently old Isie Newton screwed me over way back when, and what goes up must come down. So down I went. Now I know the textbook du cycling says that you’re not supposed to brake whilst descending, but whatevs, I’m a braker. My Name’s Anna McNuff, and I’m addicted to braking. My Dad’s a braker too, I come from a family of brakers. It’s not my fault. And when you’re a braker, 90 minutes of downhill can take it’s toll. Halfway down, my forearms began to look like Popeye’s, my teeth had just about ground down to the gums and and both hands were stuck firmly in 'the claw’ position. By the bottom I had no forearms. Nor gums. Nor hands. THE DRIVE OF DEATH Having seen Maui from on high, it was decided that we should do a little ground level exploring the following day. Within 30 minutes of setting off on a 'short drive’, we were accidentally taking the scenic route to a town called Hana. That is, 30 miles of winding cliff top highway, with a speed limit of 10mph. Granted, it was incredibly beautiful - jutting in and out of tropical forests, past waterfalls, over tiny bridges and with ample opportunity to stop at ocean lookouts. Following a stop for a hike up to a waterfall, the options to get home were either a 3 hour drive back the way we came, or via a more direct 'category B’ road. Considering I was feeling rather car sick by this point, and firmly parked at chunder-junction, I requested that we take the direct route. After all, how B road, can a B road be? On Maui the answer is beyond B. So B-esc that I wouldn’t wish this road on anyone other than Indiana Jones. And possibly James Bond. After a few miles of tarmac, it turned to single track gravel. If you’d be so kind as to lend me a moment, I’d like to place you in the back seat of that car: Jostling around from side to side as if in a Star Tours simulator, with Mummy McNuff (who has a fear of heights) at the wheel. Driving an automatic, oversized SUV, on the wrong side of the road (yes this still matters in a single track). Round sharply banked corners, a sheer drop to the ocean on one side, and rough falling rocks on the other. Watching Dad in the passenger seat grip the door handle and utter soothing comments to an almost silent and shaking Mother Bear, as you try not to vomit for a further 2 hours. It was so frightening, that at one point I opened the window - thinking 'Well if we plunge off the edge here, at least I have a way out’. Then I started wondering how I’d get Mum and Dad out too … Credit where credit’s due. Rally driver Snr Sue McNuff did well. And we actually make it home in one piece, just as the sun went down. A 'relaxing drive’ my eye… THE DOLE PINEAPPLE PLANTATION There are many great unanswered questions in this world. Like, have you ever seen a baby pigeon? What happened to the cheerleading twins from Fun House and why is Floo powder not yet viable method of transportation? Yet, until now there was one huge philosophical consideration that had escaped the wanderings of my mind - how do Pineapples grow? Stop. Let it wash over you… There we go. You’ll now have found yourself in one of three camps: Camp A) “Err duh. (rolls eyes). In the ground, of course” Camp B) “Psssshh don’t be so silly, they grow on trees.” Camp C) You know the truth. Which is of course that they grow in a bush. Sort of like a Fruit-Fugees, hiding from the outside world, nestled between leafy splays of gigantic grass. And, I don’t want to blow your mind too much, but there’s more than one type. I tell you this from a throne of authority, having visited an enormous pineapple plantation on Northern Oahu. I’d love to relay how I spent hours learning about the humble pineapple. That it was my sole motive to go there and fill my brain with fruity facts. Alas - I heard that they had the best Pinapple ice cream in all of Earth-land. So I simply went to fill my belly, and learn a little bit on the side. The DoleWhip pinapple cone was more than worth the trip. The Pineapple revelation, a bonus. WAIKIKI BEACH The hard work (and a final ride on Boudica) done, I spent the rest of my time in Hawaii relaxing. I went snorkelling, which reminded me how much I missed swimming. I lay on a beach, which reminded me how much I missed sitting still (not much). And I drunk cocktails, which reminded me how much alcohol I’d consumed in the past 7 months (again, not much). Waikiki itself is a tourist trap, there’s no denying it - but I loved it. Unlike many busy tourists strips around the globe, at Waikiki there were a distinct lack of Pikies (American readers, you might have to urban dictionary that one). There were no lobster sunburnt, beer swilling, projectile vomiting, fishbowl fuelled louts with made in England tattoos across their shoulders and gold caps on their teeth. There were simply contented individuals, enjoying 24 hour paradise, a warm sea and a civilised Mai Tai or two at sunset. If I’m not allowed to be a snob in my last week, when am I. THE FINAL COUNTDOWN I can’t believe we’ve made it to this point, Five-O gang. If you’ll stick with me for one last week, as I squirm my way through jet lag and the return to normality, I’d like to write you all a final post. A comment on the trip as a whole - what I’ve learnt (about me and about others), the highs, the lows, and where I go from here. I promise not to get heavy on your asses, but I do promise to be honest. And who knows, I might even be humorous. This week"s pictures are up on Flickr here Until then, 50 high fives to you all for each and every state, Anna :)