#philidelphia experiment

[ophilosoraptoro]

The Montauk Project: The Truth is Darker Than You Can Possibly Imagine

[random-fandom1984]

Hello! If it's okay to request Can you do the reactions/interactions of TF earthspark to a pod full of sparkling beans?

thank you!

Okay, let's do this!

(I also made a little headcannon about Elita-1, and it's been a while since I started watching the series so I don't know if it would seem like she would do that. I'm not doing the Terrans because I don't have the mental will to do them. And I'm only going to be doing ones that I can actually think of.)

Autobots:

Elita-1, Optimus and Megatron

I feel like if these three were put in charge of taking care of a rouge sparkling found in the woods, they would all co-parent. Elita is the mom, Optimus is the dad, and Megatron is the papa.

Optimus would obviously teach the little one what's right and wrong and would give them a light scolding if they did something bad. I mean, it's a sparkling, they have no awareness of what they're doing.

Elita-1 would teach the little one to fight in self-defense, and somehow actually works? Like, if one of Mandroid's bots tried to take the sparkling, the little one would body slam, the elbow, and all types of wrestling moves. Meanwhile, Optimus and Elita are in the corner, watching this go down. He turns to her and asks, "Did you have them watch W.W.E.?" Meanwhile, Elita just has a proud, smug smile, hands on her hip plates, proud of the little one.

And Megatron would teach the little one about morals and ideals. Considering that he was a warlord that hurt and killed many innocent lives, who is now a better person; he has experience going down a dark road and doesn't want them to come across it and go down that same path that will on bring pain and misery to not just everyone around them, but also themselves once they've acknowledged what they've done.

Bumblebee

Sorry, excuse me, older brother coming through-

He's a good older brother figure and is not afraid to admit it! He does gets annoyed when the Terrans, Mo, and Robby tease him for it.

He's very excited about what their alt-mode's gonna be. Maybe an ice cream truck!

When he sees the sparkling somehow fighting, he's kinda surprised before he recognizes those moves and his face turns into a -_- and asks, "Elita let them watch the W.W.E. again?"

Arcee

Cool aunt, all the way.

Will spoil the sparkling and teach the little one some moves other than the ones in the W.W.E. that Elita-1 let them watch. They need to learn real moves, such as martial arts!

She finds it cute how the little one wouldn't cry when they fall to the ground, but instead stubbornly get back up with some cute honks with a determined face, causing her to cover her smile and hold back laughing at how cute this is.

Will visit the Malto's frequently just for the little one.

Grimlock

I see him as the wise uncle.

He always gives out words of advice and they work, for example, Jawbreaker.

He'll be gentle with the little one but would be aggressive to those who intend to harm or use the sparkling for evil and/or greedy purposes. He does not want them to go through what he went through in the Bot Brawl in Philidelphia.

Doesn't really care about the sparkling biting him, he just sees it as the little one letting out their inner Dinobot, and it's not like it'll hurt him; he can barely feel it.

Wheeljack

The fresh-out-of-jail uncle because of his experiments.

I can see him more like his G1 version around the sparkling. So, if he's doing an experiment and the little one is around, make sure someone will nab the sparkling before it explodes in Wheeljack's face.

Had the things on the side of his head glow every time he speaks because the sparkling enjoys it.

Unknowingly a bad influence with the amount of times they watched him perform experiments only for them to blow up.

Decepticons

Soundwave

New sparkling acquired. Kids, you now have a younger-

Feels like this is a blessing from Primus because of what happened to Rumble. Because of that, he's overprotective of the sparkling, and so are the other Minicons: Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ravage.

He now has something to fill in the part of his spark that died with Rumble's death.

When the sparkling accidentally hurts themselves, Soundwave will feel a sense of guilt as he's trying to heal them up. He's supposed to protect them, but they ended up getting hurt and he feels like he should've done better. But if someone tries to hurt the sparkling, all hell breaks loose. Soundwave and his minicons will hunt down the person who hurt the little one and tear them a new one.

Shockwave

Isn't really emotionally attached at all.

He does take care of them, but will raise them to be strong because, to him, the weak should serve the strong, and he will not raise a weakling. He is also glad that the sparkling isn't a disgusting hybrid like the Terrans.

He would even perform experiments on the sparkling, such as chemical enhancements to make them stronger than the traitorous Megatron.

Would pull a Mother Gothel and manipulate the little one as they grow up that what he's doing is for the greater good and that they are the key to that future.

Tarantulas

Unlike Shockwave, he does get emotionally attached and cares for them like a parent should.

He doesn't want them to live in fear because of GHOST thinking that the sparkling is affiliated with him because he's considered a Decepticon, which is why he decided to make the hologram avatars so they can hide and be safe.

Gave, even made, some toys for the little one that will enhance parts of the processor so they can be an intelligent individual just like their Sire.

At the end of the Missed Connections episode, he gave them to Nightshade so then they would be out of GHOST's hands. Believing that he was captured by GHOST, I think that he would stay there for the sake of the one he considers his own. When in custody, he would never mention anything about his sparkling for their safety.

[brooklynislandgirl]

information

basics

full name: Elizabeth Irene Riley {{Birth-Certificate: Elikapeka Ailine Alohaekauneikahanuola'Ilikea'wahine Riley}}

nicknames / aliases: Beth, Apples, Konachino, Jelly Bean {{the nurse shark}}

height: 5 foot even

age: 27-35 {verse dependant}

spoken languages: English, Pidgin, French, Latin, Spanish, Basic/some: Russian, German, Greek, Japanese, Mandarin, Kikongo {Kituba}, Masalit

physical characteristics

hair color: deep chestnut/mahogany brown

eye color: green/honey brown {central heterochromia iridum}

skin tone: sand/olive with warm undertones { "deep autumn"}

body type: delicate/petite {ectomorphic/triangle}

dominant hand: left

posture: straight, graceful, poised

scars: The shark bite scar/muscle atrophy/shortened tendon {right leg}

tattoos: sea turtle with the Hawai'ian island chain on its shell, with a hibiscus {left hip} {eventually the tree of life as above/so below near the bottom of her neck/between her shoulder blades} She has three sub-dermal studs just inside the arch of her hip.

birthmarks: freckles around her chin, across her nose, sharp 'little' teeth

most noticeable features: Wide doe-eyes, 'fangy' smile, nose crinkles when she does so unguarded/genuinely.

childhood

place of birth: Pearl City/Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i. {for Turn: Brooklyn, New York}

siblings: Andrew Riley, Jayden Morgan

parents: The Admiral, Iwalani Kahananui {Riley} Stern

adult life

occupation: ER Nurse/ER Doctor {verse dependant, might be NYPD or SHIELD agent} {for Turn: Wealthy Socialite}

current residence: Verse dependent {for Turn: Philidelphia, Boston, NYC} close friends: this is an entire blog roll roster of my beloved mutuals, so verse dependent? {For Turn: Ben and Samuel Tallmadge, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong, John Simcoe, Malcolm Baker}

relationship status: Verse dependent. Beth doesn't so much date as she lurks, closely. Waiting for all parties involved to tire out and just move in.

children: Beth is incapable of having children, but loves everyone else's. {Turn: None...yet.}

criminal record: various juvenile charges for destruction of property, vandalism, and the like. All neatly sealed and never to be spoken of again.

vices: entirely too fond of a glass or six of wine in the 'evenings'. workaholic.

sex and romance

sexual orientation: demi-sexual {{I would say she leans towards heterosexual but the body isn't exactly a concern for her, so long as she likes/feels connected to the person}}

turn-ons: Intelligence, kindness, wittiness, passionate, idealism, honesty, empathy, caring for other people, the environment, animals.

turn-offs: Cruelty, abuse {physical/verbal/of power, etc}, lack of respect, refusal to accept boundaries, one night stands

love languages: physical touch, acts of service, quality time

relationship tendencies: Beth tends to be slightly oblivious when it comes to relationships. She is avidly keen in getting to know people, cannot help but to try and nurture them in what seem to be natural ways as much as she's able to. She doesn't experience sexual attraction until well after feeling bonded to someone. This can lead to many mixed signals. When it comes to love/sex/romance, Beth tends to be a little naive and extremely trusting,and that has always broken her heart in the past. Beth doesn't do one night stands, or casual hook-ups, though she doesn't judge others for them. Some people might consider her clingy.

miscellaneous

hobbies to pass time: surfing, dancing, knitting, reading, gardening, card games, chess. {Beth is amusingly aggressive when it comes to competitive games/sports}

mental illnesses: Beth lives with bipolar disorder, shows signs of childhood trauma, and tends toward fear of rejection/abandonment self confidence level: Beth has all the self esteem of a banana slug outside of a medical-treatment setting. ~*~ tagged by: my darling M @honorhearted tagging: Tell me about your muses!

[merunair]

With pride month coming to an end, I will now take a moment to rank some pride flags based on how much I, personally, want to eat them.

(Note, this is not a commentary on the anything regarding the origins of the flags, any surrounding politics/discourse, or the designs themselves. Just flavor potential.)

All under the cut for your convenience!

Progress flag 2/10, there's just too much flavor here. There's the tropical candy flavors of the rainbow, the rich and chocolately flavors of the brown and black stripes, then the marshmallow flavors of the blue, pink, and white. It's just too much for one mouthful.

Agender flag 1/10, it's like a minty center in an oreo cookie. I'm not a big fan of mint paired with any flavors other than mint so this is going to be a hard pass for me.

Aromantic flag 2/10, more of a lime than a mint, still repping that oreo though. Citrus and oreo don't mix well, in my experience, but I'll take it over the mint.

Asexual flag 3/10, this one pairs grape candy with oreo. Purple is just kind of an unappetizing color in general. I AM a fan of grape soda though, and grape soda with oreos isn't the WORST combo...

Bear flag 0/10, this feels like it would be like biting into a scented candle.

Bigender flag 4/10, this isn't cotton candy, but cotton-candy-flavored other candy. And those are reaaally hit or miss for me. I mean I'll TRY IT, but it's a complete toss up whether it'll taste good or not.

Bisexual flag 6/10, this has the vibes of one of those over-engineered cocktails. The kinds that cost like 40 bucks a pop and come in like a fish bowl. Taste-wise... eeehhhh... As long as I can't taste the alcohol it's probably a decent drink.

Gay flag (1979) 9/10, delicious. This is skittles or starbursts or jellybeans. Candy you eat in handfuls. Point deducted because it's bad for your teeth.

Philidelphia flag 4/10, introduced chocolate cookie crunch to my bowl of jellybeans. The texture clashes more than the flavor, to be fair, but I have sensory issues with food so I will absolutely be taking that into account. If I can pick the cookie bits out and eat those later you can consider it an 8/10.

Genderfluid flag 2/10, I don't know what flavor this parses as. Maybe no flavor at all? Maybe it's like... strawberry/blueberry Lacroix where it's more about the smell and aftertaste than the immediate flavor.

Intersex flag 0/10, this is like a splash of grape flavoring in lemonade. I'm a slut for lemonade but once I chased a capful of nyquil with it and I threw up.

Genderflux flag 5/10, see this would be DELICIOUS if it weren't for the grey stripe. Without it, it parses as a light, tropical candy with a bit of tartness to them. Something with a powdery texture.

Genderqueer flag 0/10, this would be like chomping down on a handful of clover that you pulled from the pasture. I really don't like leafy flavors at all, but my bunny would absolutely love eating this flag so that's a 10/10 from him.

Lipstick lesbian flag 0/10, yup, those are lipstick colors. It would taste like lipstick. I ate a whole tube of lipstick as a child once and it was a bad time.

Lesbian flag (2018) 8/10, this is a creamsicle. A bit of orange and rasberry with a vanilla creme. A delicious treat on a hot summer day.

Nonbinary flag 0/10, way too many clashing flavors here. You've got the grape and lemon, but this is a particularly sour lemon, plus the cream and cookie of an oreo mixed in. If I ate this I would get a tummy ache.

Pansexual flag 10/10, DELICIOUS. This is another cold summer treat but this time it's like a bomb pop. I'm a fan of sour flavors and this bad boy is aaalllll sour. A tart cherry/strawberry at the top, lemon in the middle, blue raspberry at the bottom. Perfect, mouth-watering, no notes.

Transgender flag 8/10, this is some sort of early-springtime marshmallow treat. Or maybe some kind of fancy layer cake with a lot of frosting. Very good and sweet, however it might be a bit rich for me to eat more than a couple of bites.

Polyamory flag -10/10, this does not parse as food in any capacity. Plus I can't eat math.

[bi-bard]

So... I told you guys to prepare for an emotional post about Elton John...

This is that post.

I have vivid memories of sitting in the backseat of my mom's truck while singing along to songs like "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Tiny Dancer" and "Philidelphia Freedom" and so many more.

I have listened to Elton John's music for as long as I can remember.

I was raised on his music. And I know I'm not unique in that experience, but it doesn't change the influence he had on me.

Elton John has had a major influence on the music I listen to, the way I act, the way I write, the way I look at the world... the actors I'm a fan of (shout out to Taron).

He has had a major impact on my life.

Getting the chance to watch his final U.S. show was a milestone. Even if I was sitting on my own in my little studio apartment. Being able to sing and dance and just enjoy his music like that was brilliant and emotional and everything I wanted.

I don't think I'll ever be able to explain how important Elton's music and work have been to me. How important it will continue to be.

All I can say now is thank you. Thank you for the music and impact. For helping me through every major change in my life.

I wish nothing but happiness for Elton John and his family <3

[whereareroo]

EYES ON THE MIDDLE EAST

WF THOUGHTS (9/23/24).

For decades, Americans have tended to skip over news about war in the Middle East. We tune out. There’s always war in the Middle East.

Well, it’s time to pay attention. It looks like the current conflict may be spiraling out of control. It may soon involve all of the countries in the Middle East. It could spread beyond the Middle East. Because of our ironclad support for Israel, America always plays at least an indirect role in any Middle East conflict. If the conflict spins out of control, we may be forced into a more extensive role. We already have 40,000 troops in the region.

I won’t burden you with ancient history. Let’s just take a quick look at the past year.

Last October 7th, a terrorist group called Hamas launched an attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The Gaza Strip is a little strip of land, about the size of Philidelphia, that sits along the western Mediterranean shore of Israel. It is Palestinian Territory with a population of 2 million that is almost exclusively Muslim. Israel has totally blockaded Gaza, by land and sea, for 20 years. We won’t discuss that blockade today. There has been constant friction between the Gazans and Israel. Hamas is a Gazan terrorist group, funded by Iran, that objects to Israel’s actions. Hamas and Israel have battled for years. The latest battle has been ongoing since last October 7th. At the start of this round of fighting, Hamas had a relatively small fighting group of 25,000. Last October 7th, Hamas caught Israel by surprise and attacked a music festival in Israel. Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. For the past year, Israel has responded with brute force. Even though the Gaza Strip is only the size of Philidelphia, Israel has been brutalizing Gaza for 12 months. The Gaza Strip has been flattened by bombs. The entire population has been displaced. More than 41,000 Gazans have been killed and another 95,000 have been injured. It has been an absolute horror show. Keep in mind that this is a relatively minor skirmish, in a very confined area, between Israel and a group of 25,000 terrorists. The fighting continues and there’s no end in sight.

I’m sickened by the events in Gaza, but that’s not the battle zone that has me worried right now. I’m worried about the increasingly hot conflict on Israel’s northern border. That’s the border with Lebanon, which is home to another Palestinian anti-Israel terrorist group (also funded by Iran) called Hezbollah. You need to pay attention to this.

Out of solidarity with Hamas and to advance its own interests, for the last year Hezbollah has been launching missiles and rockets into northern Israel. Israel has retaliated. Since July, the fighting has become more intense. On July 3rd, Israel launched an air strike into Lebanon and assassinated a top Hamas commander. Hamas retaliated by launching massive air strikes into Israel. Ever since, the fighting has been intensifying. It has been the most intense fighting on the northern border since 2006. Last week, in an amazing work of spycraft by Israel, 12 Hezbollah leaders were killed when their wireless devices exploded simultaneously at 3:30 p.m. The explosions also wounded 2,750. A day later, more wireless devices exploded killing 30 and wounding 750. Hezbollah has promised a very aggressive response. The northern border has become a very dangerous powder keg.

Let me tell you why this is more worrisome than Gaza. Hezbollah is a much bigger and stronger fighting force than Hamas. Hamas is a minor league team. Hezbollah is a championship big league team. The Hezbollah army, at 100,000 or more, is four times the size of Hamas. They have extensive fighting experience. Intelligence experts believe that Hezbollah has an arsenal that includes more than 150,000 missiles and rockets. Hezbollah is not a small terrorist group that Israel can easily control. To make matters worse, Hezbollah has ties with Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Any or all of those countries could easily be drawn into the current conflict. If that happens, other countries in the region will get involved too. If the ball bounces the wrong way, the world could be faced with a complex multinational war. In such a conflict, the death toll will vastly exceed the horror that has occurred in the Gaza Strip. The human suffering would be immense. This is a very serious- -and very frightening- -stuff. You need to keep your eyes on this.

This afternoon, Israeli bombs killed 750 people in Lebanon. Also this afternoon, our Department of Defense announced that America is sending additional forces to the area to supplement the 40,000 already in the region. Let’s hope and pray that Israel and Hezbollah find a way to de-escalate the situation. At the same time, we all need face reality and understand that we may soon be seeing another major war in the world. Pay attention to the news. This isn’t a minor conflict that you can ignore.

[tazzmanian-devil]

Lost, Star VS, MP100, MHA(up to s7), Owl House, LMK, Dragon Prince, Infinity Train, Tangled, Breaking Bad, FMA:B, The Twilight Zone, House MD, The Good Doctor, Grey's Anatomy, Arcane, Fiona and Cake, Adventure Time, Dungeon Meishi, Dorohedoro, Chainsaw Man, Scrubs, SpyxFamily, Letterkenny, It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia, Serial Experiments Lain, Russian Doll, The Great Canadian Pottery Show, lucky star, nichijou, Mysteries of Mental Illness, Gurren Lagann, star trek, one punch man, scavengers reign, the cyberpunk anime, the good place,

Moulin Rouge, FNAF the Movie, 57 Seconds, the Hulu Fyre Festival documentary, The Colourful Mr. Eggleson, The Blair Witch Project, Uncle Buck, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Day After Tomorrow, bill and ted, last night in soho, Green Room(2015), sinbad, the Oceans movies, world war z, speed, speed 2, the big short, too big to fail, the florida project, kung fu panda 4, jerry maguire, dnd movie, challengers(2024), the bad guys, shark tale, the descent, the descent part 2, mothers' instinct, sting, burn after reading, michael clayton, being john malkovich, oppenheimer, die hard(SERIES), cocaine crabs, Mutant Mayhem, the shining/doctor sleep, abigail, baghead, tarot, the first omen, my oni girl, jaws, 28 days later, missing, fall, ready or not, 10 cloverfield lane, pearl(2022), raw(2016), the autopsy of jane doe, the cabin in the woods(2011), The Wolf Man, an american werewolf in london, rabid, thelma the unicorn, RUBY GILLMAN, boeing documentary, i saw the tv glow, we grown now, if, bedtime stories, everest, goodnight mommy, the caller, the invisible man, PERFECT BLUE, tcm 1 and 2, bambi II, gremlins, how to lose a guy in 10 days, the wedding planner, the boy and the heron, in the heights 2021, despicable me 4, inside out 2, the boy,monica and david(2009), BYE BYE TIBERIAS, Dude, Where's My Car, skinamarink, The Rocky Horror Show, Kinky Boots, Spiderverse 1 and 2, The Celluloid Closet, Vivian Meyer, Jeff Wall, The Fruit Machine, The Third Care Bears Movie, baby garfield, need for speed, payback, fast and furious, tomorrowland, gravity, the ides of march, one cut of the dead2017, king kong1933, halloween1978, shaun of the dead2004, Diabolique, the invisible man2020, nosferatu1922, invasion of the bodysnatchers1956, rosemary's baby, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Eyes Without a Face, Train to Busan, the ring, night of the living dead, his house, talk to me, repulsion, frankenstein, vampyr, freaks1932, night of the hunter, dawn of the dead, scream(SERIES), peeping tom, godzilla1954, a girl walks home at night, the fly, suspiria, zombieland, the birds, the innocents, whatever happened to baby jane, x(2022), the amusement park(1973), it follows(2014), dead of night1945, dracula1931, carrie 1976, the host2006, kwaidan1964, dont look now1973, thelma2017, barbarian2022, evil dead, evil dead 2, eraserhead, hereditary, return of the living dead, TCM, phantom of the opera1925, the conjuring, cat people, the thing, house of wax, dr jekyll and mr hyde, mandy, the cat and the canary, let me in, tenacious d the pick of destiny, village of the damned, duel, the wicker man, dead alive, you wont be alone, beast, poltergeist, the evil dead(SERIES), fear street(1,2,3), theater of blood, the haunting, the witch, annihilation, the dead zone, the others, rare exports: a christmas tale, santa sangre, the night house, the black phone, the endless, the exorcist, the mummy, dead ringers, day of the dead, the omen, predator, fright night, crawl, fresh, better watch out, the abominable dr phibes, candyman, carnival of souls, halloween, warm bodies, sisters, house of usher, the house of the devil, smile, 1408, innerstellar, failure to launch, jason x, existenz, scanners, the brood, fast company, mission impossible, ella enchanted, the princess diaries, brokeback mountain, charlies angels(SERIES), oceans 8, cocaine shark, the bourne ultimatum, mad max, citizen kane, gone with the wind, the shawshank redemption, lord of the rings, its a wonderful life, cassablanca, blade runner, rocky, saving private ryan, edward scissorhands, better watch out, cam(2018), extremely goofy movie, planet of the apes, scream 2022, your monster 2024, bed rest 2022, southbound, v/h/s, devil's due, 1993 mario movie, Immaculate, labrynth, the dark crystal, the neverending story, narnia, ma, shorts, jennifer's body, the boy

(annabelle, saw 2, The Scott Tibbs Documentary, saw 3, saw 4, the rest of the saws, mlp g5, ex machina, fraggle rock, defunctland fraggle rock, onward, lightyear, m3gan, the orphanage2017, childs play, upgrade, hatching, videodrome, frailty)

Welcome to Night Vale, The Magnus Archives, Red Valley, Creepy Podska, qanon anonymous, Stuff You Missed in History Class, wayne radio tv,

Under the Dome, Gideon the Ninth, Dungeon Meishi, The Celluloid Closet, Harrow the Ninth, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, The Fox and the Hound, House of Leaves, Stone Butch Blues, Wool, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, that photo book, For Folk's Sake, the ROTTMNT Comic Book, The Prince, Discourses, The Art of War, Five Rings, this is how you die, The Rescuers, asops fables, the raven cycle, reanimator, watership down, the wizard of oz, beastars, the most dangerous game, how Europe underdeveloped Africa, sappho

[non-reader]

February Wrap Up

This month has not been my friend. It has been too quick and too busy to read anything. I have only read four books this month, two of which were for a class I am taking. I am so exhausted, stressed, and disappointed but that's how it is sometimes.

The two books for my classes I read were Killing the Black Body by Dorothy Roberts and Doing the Best I Can by Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson. Killing the Black Body was a book discussing about reproductive rights of black women in the US, and Doing the Best I Can is about dads in urban Philidelphia and their experiences. As I have said, I'm not going to do a review on these books because these are not really books, I would have picked up on my own. They are good books and very informative, but they just aren't my thing.

The two books that I was able to read on my free time was Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin and How To Understand Isael In 60 Days Or Less by Sarah Glidden. Rosemary's Baby is hard to explain without giving the ending away, but basically, it's about this woman who is pregnant and the weird obsession everyone around her has with the pregnancy. How To Understand Isael In 60 Days Or Less is about the author's experience in Israel through the Birthright program.

I'm hoping that March will have more free time for me to read and do other things I couldn't do as much.

[gentlyouttatime]

the philidelphia experiment? in my video game?

[blue-opossum]

Thoughts of Recovering Trees

        Thoughts of Recovering Trees

        1 minute and 30 seconds to read.

        Monday morning, 3 July 2023.

        Dream #20,650-03.

        Temporary artificial "memories" place me in Cubitis (where I have not lived since 1978). It is nighttime. I "know" Zsuzsanna lives here with me (even though she has never been to America in waking life). However, I do not recall being in the house at any point since my dream begins with me walking to where my computer is, which is in the middle of Highway Seventeen. (All dreaming experiences in this mode and sleep depth start with me walking in an outdoor location.)

        I have no thoughts or expectations of traffic and remain unwary about sitting in the middle of the highway using my computer. I feel the essence of an approaching storm but in a cheerful way. Even so, I consider how many trees in Philidelphia had been "displaced" by a storm. At one point, I anticipate an area near the south sideyard to begin to have minimal "stormy" weather, but nothing like a storm ever occurs.

        I consider a recent storm south of Cubitis (the opposite direction of where Philidelphia would be). I think I can use my computer to restore the recently uprooted trees. I feel confident and cheerful.

        This ambiguous but peaceful narrative contained influence from seeing a couple of videos on YouTube regarding the Kensington (Philidelphia) homeless people. Even so, in my dream, I had no recall of them. However, the background analogy of uprooted trees and homeless people is self-evident.

        The basis of this narrative combines a typical proto-cognitive and potential mobility analogy. Here is why:

        Using a computer is a cognitive task. Learning is associated with going to school. In my dream, I am sitting where the school bus stopped during one part of my youth. A bus anticipates mobility and transition, which cannot occur while I am asleep in bed and with inactive real-world cognizance. Often after waking up and getting ready for school, I would walk down the Cubitis house driveway to wait for the bus on Highway Seventeen's wayside. Zsuzsanna erroneously living here is an “anchor” to potential real-world recall in an otherwise ambiguous and fictitious narrative. Virtual amnesia is otherwise predominant to prevent associations with real-world perception and viable memories.

[unlock-all-monuments-citihd]

unlock all monuments cities skylines mod

⭐ ⏩⏩⏩️ DOWNLOAD MOD - LINK 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Monuments ), Unique Buildings Levels I-VI. A true economic simulation game based on the rules of the market, Megapolis allows you to design your own city to your heart's content! A unique city building experience. Explore all additional layers of the game's depth and enjoy the incredible attention to detail. Cities: Skylines Deluxe. SKYLARKED SKYLARKING SKYLARKS SKYLIGHT SKYLIGHTS SKYLINE SKYLINES SKYMAN UNLOADERS UNLOADING UNLOADS UNLOBED UNLOCK UNLOCKED UNLOCKING UNLOCKS. EVERWHERE EVERWHICH EVERY EVERYBODY EVERYDAY EVERYDAYNESS EVERYDAYNESSES EVERYDAYS EVERYMAN EVERYMEN EVERYONE EVERYPLACE EVERYTHING EVERYWAY EVERYWHERE. #3)we converted all strings to upper case, and removed any strings CITE CITED CITES CITIBANK CITIES CITIFIED CITIGROUP CITING CITIZEN CITIZENRY CITIZENS. cb chapter cherry chicken chilis cities colossal comics compilation computer upper uppers amsterdam skyline philidelphia absolutely fabulous darling. ##ros ind ##een ##ret off ##iak over esk bo New ##ence pos all ##uan fil ##etw ##co dist ##able mu may can ##ings 15 mod ##tu Con cre ##este ##ted. modeli illa kuweka motivo quick ##all ankora ##zioa natuurlijk convallis.

[mauve-moth-machine]

[codrs]

Hey All 👋

I'm ActuallyZach, a student from Philidelphia who really likes making things. I have won Apple's Swift Student Challenge twice, once in 2020 and 2021. I really like to dive into difficult projects and help others with their projects. Currently, I am really interested in Compilers, Text Editors, and Genetic Simulations.

WWDC Wishes

I'm really looking forward to participating in WWDC this year. I'm hoping to see a lot of improvements to Shortcuts and frameworks relating to passing information between iOS apps. Also, I would love for Apple to release a new version of UITextView or a more friendly Text Kit API. I really hope they upgrade these because it would be really great to use in my text editor Firefly. I would also like to see more Apple Silicon hardware and maybe some new AR-focused hardware.

My work

I have been a developer seriously for about 3 years now. I have released 2 apps onto the app store and created countless other projects.

Jellycuts

Jellycuts is currently my main project. I have been working on it for almost over a year at this point. I enjoy working on this project because of its complexity and it is something I have never done before.

Jellycuts is an IDE that allows you to code iOS Shortcuts in plaintext. You write each Jellycut in a custom programming language called Jelly. Once you have finished writing the Jellycut you can export it into Shortcuts.

WWDC 2021 - Winning Submission

My WWDC 2021 submission is a genetic simulator with a wide range of customization. The user can add new species, change their genome, and also how they look. Once the user creates all of the species they want, they can start a genetic simulation. This will simulate all of the species living in a procedurally generated world. The experience is also styled as a terminal interface with an alien artificial intelligence guiding you through everything.

You can check this out on my YouTube channel here

WWDC 2020 - Winning Submission

For WWDC 2020 I made a text-based procedural dungeon explorer. This was my first submission to the WWDC competition and I had a lot of fun creating this project. You can check out the code for this over on my GitHub

[justforbooks]

Why do we read? The wealth of genres available suggests that some of us read for comfort, escapism, knowledge, or to improve ourselves. Whilst these are all perfectly valid reasons, it’s also worth thinking about reading about themes, perspectives, and societies that go beyond our own comfort zones.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been estimated by the proofreading service, Global English Editing, that 35% of the people in the world have read more books than usual this year.

With normality disrupted, is it no wonder we have turned to books more? Books can give us all sorts of benefits, but when thinking about our reading habits during a pandemic, it is worth looking at this from a mental health perspective.

The Benefits of Reading — But Why It Should Also Challenge Us

Reading can force us to be mindful, take us away from the blaring digital world that we have become more reliant on, and force us into the present by talking one page at a time. “Bibliotherapy” is a relatively new form of reading therapy being used in clinics, libraries, and schools to promote recovery in people with mental health difficulties in some places in the world.

With these mental health benefits in mind, it is one explanation for why so many of us have taken to reading during the pandemic. But reading to improve our mental health can also be coupled with challenging and educating ourselves. Reading fiction is one of the best ways to do this. Not only are you benefiting from its natural escapism, but in many cases, fiction forces you to put yourself within the shoes of others.

A central theme with my reading habits in 2020 was choosing books that challenged me. In this respect — the books that follow have forced me to go beyond what’s comfortable — as I have learnt about different issues experienced by characters I wouldn’t necessarily encounter in my daily life.

Each has changed my perspective on a range of issues — highlighting why it’s important to read books that challenge us.

An American Marriage, Tayari Jones

Literary fiction

Celestial and Roy are a newlywed couple — for a brief moment — they indulge in the feeling of being married and the excitement of spending the rest of their lives together. Until one incident changes everything. Roy is wrongly accused of a crime he didn’t commit and is sent to jail for the rape of a woman.

“Much of life is timing and circumstance, I see that now.”

Whilst in jail, Roy desperately tries to keep his new marriage alive, whilst sending Celestial letters and hoping for a better future. But Celestial cannot continue to live her life waiting for theirs to start. In many ways, it is a story about relationships and love but heavily tainted by the blatant racism that lays at the heart of the American criminal justice system and how it has the power to alter lives.

Why Did it Challenge Me?

Reading this as a white woman, made me realise this situation would never happen to me. Reading from the point of view of Roy, a black man, wrongly convicted for a crime he didn’t commit purely on the grounds of his race and circumstance — was a learning experience for me.

I grew up in a considerably white town. Until fairly recently, I knew very little about racism and how it perpetuates the very systems that we typically view as ‘just.’ Therefore, reading about these types of experiences that I wouldn’t usually be exposed to in my life, was essential for me.

“Twelve years is what they gave him. We would be forty-three years old when he was released. I couldn’t even imagine myself at such an age. Roy understood that twelve years was an eternity because he sobbed right there on the defendants’ table. His knees gave way, and he fell into his chair, The judge paused and demanded that Roy bear this news on his feet. He stood again and cried, not like a baby, but in the way that only a grown man can cry, from the bottom of his feet through his torso and finally through his mouth…”

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell

Political fiction

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists was written during the early twentieth century and tells the story of a group of Edwardian workers. Owen, the outspoken socialist, makes it his mission to persuade and educate the rest of the group on the importance of a fairer society. He tries to make them realise the extent of their exploitation and how little it achieves — but he is always fighting an uphill battle.

In many ways, this book could be regarded as a socialist manifesto. But in others, it is far more than that. Through Owen, as readers, we learn that poverty is not about misconceptions such as laziness, but is more often than not, a political choice.

It’s rhetoric surrounding the workplace, and the unskilled versus the skilled worker highlights how we still undervalue certain people in society. Nurses and cleaners make up the groundwork of our society; however, they are still persistently underpaid. Throughout the novel, Owen makes a case for a redistribution of wealth, workplace rights and an overhaul of the capitalist system which in his eyes, is responsible for the vicious cycle of poverty they find themselves in.

“Every man who is not helping to bring about a better state of affairs for the future is helping to perpetuate the present misery and is, therefore, the enemy of his own children.”

Despite being written long ago, it contains an essential insight into the reality of working-class, Edwardian poverty, poor workplace conditions, and poverty workers' experience to keep themselves alive. Of course, it is inherently political, but it also teaches readers about human and societal values. Such as fairness, equality, and decency.

Why Did it Challenge Me?

Despite it being set during a very different time, it made me re-evaluate all the problems within our own society whether that’s the persistent gender pay gap, poor sick pay, or people not being eligible for financial help during the Covid crisis when they’ve had to stay at home during lockdowns.

Above all, the descriptive scenes of the workplace — most notably — one in which a young boy, Bert, who is told off for trying to light a fire to keep himself warm — made me realise how brutal and hard work manual labour jobs in the Edwardian period were — and how little rights they had.

Such A Fun Age

Fiction

Emira is a young black woman, living in Philidelphia and trying to find her feet. She works as a babysitter for a middle-class, white blogger who thinks she’s all clued up on race. Through the perspective of Emira, the novel deals with the casual forms of racism and microaggressions that many of us (particularly white people) may not usually notice in our day to day lives.

“Emira had met several “Mrs. Chamberlains” before. They were all rich and overly nice and particularly lovely to the people that served them. Emira knew that Mrs. Chamberlain wanted a friendship, but she also knew that Mrs. Chamberlain would never display the same efforts of kindness with her friends as she did with Emira: “accidentally” ordering two salads and offering one to Emira, or sending her home with a bag filled with frozen dinners and soups.”

Switching between Emira’s perspective, and Alix’s, the blogger, Such a Fun Age is a poignant, comical and revealing portrayal of the present world and the half-hearted ways in which white people commonly approach the subject of race. Alix thinks she is all clued up on what it’s like to be a black woman, as she has plenty of black friends, and after all, employs a young black woman.

Stephanie Hayes, writing in The Atlantic, sums her character up brilliantly in stating that the novel, “satirizes the white pursuit of wokeness.” Furthermore, this switching between two completely different characters means,

“Alix’s myopia isn’t lost on Emira. Writing from the younger woman’s point of view, Reid renders white people whose eagerness to shed their blinkers results in fumbling attempts to identify with black people — as much to burnish their own images as to genuinely connect with others.”

Why Did It Challenge Me?

It made me realise that some of the ways I used to approach talking about race — were wrong. By reading about Emria’s experience with her boss, Alix, I was exposed to the realities of casual racism. Something, as a white woman, I am have never experienced myself. This is obviously something I will never understand, but after reading this, I feel more aware and educated about it.

Reading this forced me into the perspective of Emira, a character living completely outside my own bubble. It opened my mind up to how the daily lives of others can be so different. Most of all, it forced me to stop and think.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying, George Orwell

Political fiction

This book encapsulates the dilemma that many young, recent graduates like myself, have to deal with. Do you strive to embark on a career that’s safe and stable, or pursue something you love, even if it takes longer and involves many more hurdles along the way? Gordon, the protagonist, has a safe job at an advertising firm; however, he gives this all up to work in a bookshop, for a slither of his previous salary.

After leaping into the unknown, he tries to stand against the capitalist society he feels he is forced into. Deliberately quitting a good job, and living below the poverty line, Gordon thinks he is making a robust, political stand. He tells the reader how he hates money and how this rampant need fuels every part of our society.

However, Gordon eventually realises the errors of his ways — as he learns his actions aren’t realistic because they aren’t encouraging a change to the system.

“The mistake you make, don’t you see, is in thinking one can live in a corrupt society without being corrupt oneself. After all, what do you achieve by refusing to make money? You’re trying to behave as though one could stand right outside our economic system. But one can’t. One’s got to change the system, or one changes nothing.”

Why Did It Challenge Me?

In this current job climate, it was a reminder that at the moment, no industry is ‘safe’ and that there is no such thing as a ‘proper’ job. Those jobs such as advertising, marketing, retail and hospitality — that we were always taught—were secure and ripped apart during the pandemic. It made me think about my own plans and perceptions of the job market.

Additionally, Gordon’s inherent dislike of money and the capitalist world reignited my desire for a more minimalist outlook and society. After all, money is never the route of all happiness.

Reading fiction is an enjoyable form of escapism, but it can also teach us a lot about other peoples’ lives, and challenge our own ideas and values. We can often become comfortable living in our own bubbles and reading the same books we have always turned to.

But reading fiction can help challenge our own comfort and promote a more diverse world view — when dealing with subjects such as race, society and culture. By reading fiction, we get to be inside the minds and live inside others' shoes we may never encounter in real life. Thus, it’s a form of stepping outside that comfort bubble, a form of social education, and a way of understanding people.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[queeniewriteshockey]

Sidelined ||Nolan +Reader

Author Note: I received several requests for a medical profession examining Nolan after an injury. This trope is apparently popular.  I also added a little nervous Nolan which was also a request of mine. This combines 3 or 4 prompts in one. 

Word Count: 3519 All errors are mine. 

The space between the benches and the locker room were always so crowded, but it was often where you spent your time during games. You had yet to really be needed during a game, you were just one of the many trainers on the team. You were a baby by everyone else's standards. A junior trainer in training, really. So, for the most part, you waited in the wings, watching the games, learning the ins and outs of the way the players moved and understanding how the pads both helped and contributed to the strain on them.

You didn't mind, though. The game was fast paced and interesting. It made the time go by pretty quickly. Sports medicine had always been a passion of your but, truthfully, Hockey hadn't been where you'd expected to land. Soccer was your own personal preference when it came to games to play, but when it came time for your internship, it just wasn't available. Hockey was not a game for the faint of heart, though and you figured, what the hell. You could do that.

So far, you'd only really watched as the other trainers attended to some of the injuries the team had sustained. You were who came in after the injuries were assessed. When the downtime was over and the body needed to be reminded of how to work. You were the last line before the boys got back out on the ice. You weren't really needed when it came to game time, but you were there anyway. The main trainer demanded it of you.

Again you didn't mind. It wasn't like you didn't enjoy the sport or the players on the team. Some of them were beyond frustrating and a little on the dumb side, but there were others you were rather fond of. They'd warned you not to get attached to the players in class, sports teams had a nasty habit of trading players on a whim. More than that, they also warned you about keeping things professional. There was an entire class based solely around maintaining your professional behavior. You made it a point to avoid a few of the eyes on the team for that very reason.

One, in particular, was a *problem* but for the most part, you were able to skirt around his eyes. It was hard, though. You could feel his stare on the back of your neck when you were working with a few of the other guys. Particularly when you worked on Travis' hip. The tall brunet seemed to always be there, brooding in the corner, watching silently. You ignored it, as best you could, knowing that even if he wasn't technically supposed to be there, he wasn't going to be going anywhere.

He'd speak from time to time when Travis would ask him a question, but you did your best to ignore the sound of his voice and focus instead on the way Travis' hip shifted and the strength of his muscles when you pushed on them, trying to gauge where the pain was. You weren't a chiropractor, but you could still help to ease the pain. They always seemed to want to talk when your eyes were closed and you were trying to focus on what you were doing. Nolan's voice made it hard to do and you were pretty sure Travis knew that. If the dangerous smirk from the man under your fingers was anything to go by the last time they'd been at it. He knew exactly what he was doing. If the massage you'd given him was a little harder than normal, well, served him right.

Standing between the players' bench and the locker room was always such a high energy experience, but you mostly kept your focus on the players on the ice rather than the people walking by. The people walking by were inconsequential to your job and your paycheck. It was the ones on the ice that mattered.

Naturally, every hit the players took got your attention. Each one was potentially a reason you would need to be called into action. You had expected this game to be no different than all the others. It would yield nothing more than a few bumps and bruises and you would be on your way home the second it ended. You were really hoping that was how the night would go. You were exhausted. But the moment the knees collided on the ice and Patrick spun out on the ice, you knew your night wasn't going to go as smoothly as you had hoped.

The rest of the game was just as eventful and similarly just as violent. It seemed, from at least where you were sitting, it came more from the Philidelphia side of things, though, so at least you weren't racking up the body count. You forced yourself to ignore the hit Patrick delivered to the Pen and only examined it on a professional level rather than any level that told you that it was beautiful and fucking hot. You were a professional and had clearly been hanging around the world of Hockey too long if that was where your mind had gone. Though possibly it was just who delivered it. You ignored that, too.

The entire game flowed with chaos, as was common for the sport, but even you were on the edge of your seat during overtime. Even you couldn't help but cheer when the captain of the team stole the show and won it. Even you cheered for the team as they proved why counting them out was never a good idea.

Your smile was genuine as they filed passed you, heading into the locker room and the stands emptied out. A nudge to your shoulder shook you from your thoughts as the went past. Your head turned in the direction of the nudge, but you expected it to be one of the trainers.

"Sit tight," he said, voice loud over the cheers. "I want you to take a look at Patrick's knee. Make sure everything is moving alright."

You nodded silently and followed the rest of the people down the hallway. You had expected as much from what you'd seen on the ice. You'd likely have a look at the shoulder as well after that hit he delivered.

You just had to wait for the lockers to clear out and for him to come to you. The little area behind the lockers, set up specifically for the medical teams was stocked full of everything you could possibly need and probably things you would never need. It helped that the stadium you were at typically catered to another violent, though less so, sport.

The room smelled strongly of antiseptic as you set to work cleaning and disinfecting the work area. It had probably already been done, but you hadn't been the one to do it and therefore was unwilling to trust anyone else with the task. Not when it was your patient on the table. You didn't hear him walk in, too engrossed in your work to notice the soft pad of his sneaker covered feet.

"Where do you want me?" His voice said, breaking your focus on what you were doing and making you jump. He leaned against the side of the wall, a picture of relaxation when honestly he was anything but relaxed. He was keyed up from the game, his knee pulsed slightly and he felt like he was floating a little now that he was in trainers and not skates.

A gasp fell from your lips while your heart rate picked up. You spun on the spot, turning to see him and in your hast dropped the wipes you had been using to clean the bench he would be laying on. The smirk on his lips was enough to make you want to throw something at him. "It's not nice to sneak up on someone," you reprimanded. Your voice was hauty but it also lacked true heat. You were still trying to get the heartbeat back to a regular rhythm

"Sorry," came the gruff reply. "I'll make more noise next time." He wasn't a small man, most people heard him coming, but he'd been favoring the knee as he walked so perhaps that was why you hadn't heard him. He'd do his best to make noise as he had said, next time. Even if he kind of had enjoyed startling you. The gasp was cute.

You waved away the apology, knowing full well he wasn't sorry in the least. The smirk was still on his lips and he hadn't made to move anymore since coming into the room. He was still leaned against the door jam, arms crossed over his broad chest, waiting for instruction.

"Perhaps a bell around your neck," you joked. You dipped down to pick up what you'd dropped. Before you even realized it, before you even stood back up, he was standing in front of you. Again you hadn't heard him move.

The padded floor muffled his shoes as he walked. He'd decided that the doorway was likely not where you would be conducting the exam and it was in both of your best interests that he moved into the room. "Not my kink," he said smoothly, "but I'll try anything once. If that's what you're into." The words were out of his mouth before he even thought about them and internally he kicked himself for it. He could hear TK cracking up. He should apologize, but the words died on his tongue when he caught sight of your blush.

You glanced up, face heating at his words. On your knees, collecting the dropped wipes you got a better picture of just how tall he really was. You swallowed hard before forcing yourself to stand. You were far too close to him for your liking when you finally stood and decided distance is your best friend as you take a few steps backward.

"Um," you said unsure if you should even respond to his quip or just move past it and get into work mode. He's already thrown you completely off your game. You were agitated and warm from the blush, even the crispness of the air wasn't enough to simmer that down. "Can you just...Lay down on the bench? I'll check you out and you can go."

His eyebrow raised at your words and a chuckle threatened to escape. "I thought I was the one checking you out," he quipped again. Possibly he needed to stop talking altogether. He wasn't making this any easier for either of you, but the chatter in his head was too loud and drowned out the logical parts.

The blush to your cheeks darkened and you sighed softly. Is that what he was doing? It felt more like he was tormenting you. You'd honestly figured that Travis had told Nolan about your very obvious little crush that wasn't a crush and he was just having fun at your expense. "Mr. Patrick," you said firmly, "please, just-"

He could have sworn his whole body spasmed at being called Mister. "Please don't call me that. Mr. Patrick is my father," he said firmly as he slid onto the bench, "It's Nolan." He was not his father, he wasn't even legal to drink in the country he was currently calling home. He was not a Mister.

"Nolan," you said with a nod. It wasn't the first time you'd said his name, but it still felt different to say, now that, in a professional setting, you had permission not to be so formal.

It was a relief the moment he laid down on the bench. "Thank you," you told him as you moved closer to get a look at the right knee.

He nodded once, though unsure as to why you were thanking him. His arms slipped behind his head fingers threading together while he cradled his head off the leather table. "Sure thing."

There was a little bruising around the edge of his leg, where the pads had rested but that wasn't anything you were worried about. Your fingers pressed gently into the flesh of his knee while your eyes watched his face. You wanted to see if there was a reaction - pain or anything similar - while you felt around the skin. His eyes didn't leave yours while you worked and you fell a little thrill run up your spine. His face gave no indication of pain, but there was something behind those blue eyes that had you captivated.

"Does it hurt?" You asked, finally breaking eye contact and silence.

"Not really," he told you. There was pressure where you pushed, soreness even, but actual pain wasn't something he felt. It was hard to focus on that, though. He was too focused on you and watching you.

That's what you wanted to hear, really. "What about now?" You reached back, left arm wrapping around his calf while your right arm pressed into his thigh and you lifted and bent his leg.

He shook his head before he closed his eyes. Not looking at you was in his best interest if he was going to give you correct answers.

He let you bend and twist and poke and prod. The moment his eyes were closed the tension in your shoulders slipped. His stare was a weighty one, heavy in more ways than you wanted to admit. You refused to let yourself examine why, though.

You took a moment while his eyes were closed to admire his face, but you forced yourself to get back to work before he could notice. "Does any of this hurt?" You asked while you worked. There were times when focusing on anything other than him was difficult.

It was the first time you'd had to work with him, so you were new to the way his body moved with your touch. It hadn't been something you'd wanted to learn. You were a professional and he was your patient. Only, sometimes, when you were free to consider things and contemplate what your life would be like if you weren't a trainer for this particular team, you would have considered asking the man under you out.

Your mind betrayed you as you worked, memorizing the softness of his skin and the firmness of his muscles. It held onto the scent of his skin after the showers, the way the smell of the ice clung to his damp skin and the way his body wash and shampoo scented the air. He smelled exactly the opposite of what one would expect a hockey player to smell like, but perhaps that was because he had been kind enough to shower first.

Travis was never so nice when you had to deal with him. The next time you had to handle him, you'd demand he change that. Nolan had set the bar high and it was time for Travis to jump to reach it.

"I think you're good," you told him after a while. He still hadn't opened his eyes and part of you wondered if he's simply fallen asleep on the table. It wouldn't have been the first time that had happened. Add to that the fact that he'd just spend a combined total of an hour skating around on the ice at speeds people only dreamed of, exerting himself to the max, you wouldn't have blamed him either.

Nolan's mind slid back into consciousness with a bump, your voice triggering him to return to consciousness. He hadn't been asleep, not truly, but he had been close. Your hands had felt amazing on his skin and his tired muscles.

"Funny," he said, voice thick with what could only be classified as sleep, "I was just thinking that about you." His mind was still foggy from the near sleep, he hadn't been in control of his thoughts or his words.

You let go of him, though gently and stepped back from him as you release a sigh. "Is it your goal to make my job difficult?" You asked, "because if it is, it was working."

He'd been in the process of climbing to consciousness by way of getting upright when he was startled into moving quicker than he would have liked. His head spun with the change and his hand pressed to his temple as the world shifted in his view. All the blood rushed from his head and pooled in his cheeks. It didn't stop the dizzy feeling that threatened to send him back to the mat. "No, that's not..." He fumbled for words, unsure what he was going to say even as he spoke.

He wasn't focused, tired from the game. Lose from the massage and flustered from who it was that had given it to him. His fingers ran through his hair and tucked it behind his ear before he jumped off the bench, knees absorbing the shock of the impact. He was so glad his knee hadn't been hurt in the collision on the ice.

He was fine, you felt sure in your diagnosis.

"I was just... Teeks told me..." TK told him what? To make an idiot of himself? Nolan was pretty sure that was exactly what he'd told him not to do. His hands were back in his hair and his eyes flicked to the door. The desire to just leave was a strong one, but he was already knee deep in whatever it was he had done.

If your embarrassment and temper hadn't been in danger of getting the better of you, you might have thought he looked cute in how awkward and nervous he'd suddenly gotten. "What did Travis tell you?" You were going to kill yourself a hockey player, but how many remained to be seen. One for sure.

Blue eyes when wide at your words and for a moment he had visions of TK killing him for throwing him to the wolves. "Nothing! He didn't tell me anything. He just thought, maybe, you'd say yes if I asked you out." There was a lot more than he'd said, but Nolan wasn't going to reveal any of that. He liked living.

"Is that what you were trying to do?" You asked confused. Honestly, you thought he was just trying to stress you out and make you uncomfortable. It didn't really seem like his way of doing things if you were being honest, but it was late and you were tired. Add to the fact that you'd spend the better part of a few months avoiding the guy... Your mind had run away with you.

"Not very well, apparently," he laughed. "If I tried again, would you say yes?" He was so hopeful.

You laughed as well. At least the guy was self-deprecating enough to understand that he hadn't gotten off on the right foot. "I don't know," you told him, head tilting to the side to watch him. "Why don't you actually ask me?" If he actually did ask, the answer was an easy one, but after everything he'd done to make you uncomfortable, you weren't letting him off the hook that easily. He deserved to stand there, nervous and awkward, balancing from one foot to the other as the words form in his mind and flowed to his mouth.

"Do you wanna grab a bite to eat with me? Like... Now to some other time?" He was tired and starving and all he wanted was food and his bed, but he also wanted company and you were there and beautiful and he'd finally managed to actually ask you out. He didn't want to make you more uncomfortable by requiring that it be that very minute.

It was kind of cute the way he hesitated and stumbled over his words. You had seen him be so confident on the ice, but off the ice, he was a different creature. You liked this guy a little more than you liked the one on the ice. "Just let me get this place cleaned up and we can go, okay?" You didn't give him a yes or no. Gave him no reason to back out. You also gave yourself no ability to second guess your choice. If you had postponed and chosen to do it some other time, you would have backed out. You knew that about yourself.

The professional classes and the oath you had taken would have eaten away at your mind and you would have ghosted on the whole thing.

The smile you got in return for your answer was blinding. It could have knocked you over with how bright and happy it was. "That's perfect. I'll grab my stuff and meet you back here." The weight that had settled on his shoulders was all but gone. Now he had to focus on impressing you.

You nodded as he left and moved to clean up the room you'd been using. Maybe you weren't going to kill Travis. He still deserved a light maiming, but actually killing him? You'd spare him... for now.

[making-a-ru]

Denver Urban Legends: Blucifer

Blue Mustang, known to locals by the nickname Blucifer and DIAblo, is a cast-fiberglass sculpture of a mustang of located at Denver International Airport. Colored bright blue, with illuminated glowing red eyes, it is notable both for its striking appearance and for having killed its creator Luis Jiménez when a section of it fell on him at his studio.

Blue Mustang was one of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993. The sculpture was based on the eight-foot-high sculpture Mesteño(Mustang), on display at the University of Oklahoma. Standing at 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and weighing 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) including its steel armature, Blue Mustang is located in the median of Peña Boulevard. Everyone who enters and leaves the airport drives by Blucifer.

There was a bit of drama to even get DIAblo in the first place.

1992. The DIA art committee granted New Mexican artist Luis Jiminez a $300,000 commission to create the sculpture, three years before the airport would finally open. Paid $165,000 upfront .

Jiminez misses the original 1994 deadline for the work. A cornea transplant he’d gotten twenty years before had begun to deteriorate, and some people speculated that the piece would never be completed

City grants Jiminez several extent ions, but the dates were never met with completion.

2003.   The city files a lawsuit against Jimenez for the $165,000 it had paid up front, but agreed to drop the suit if the sculpture was finished by the end of the year. Sculpture not completed.

June 13, 2006. Jiminez was by himself in his studio rushing to finish the nearly-completed Mustang. He was reportedly using a rope to hoist a section of the sculpture into place so it could be welded. The hoist broke and the piece fell on the 66-year-old, pinning him to the ground and slicing an artery in his leg. Jiminez died on his studio floor.

The sculpture was completed with the help of the artist's staff, family, and professional race-car painters Camillo Nuñez and Richard LaVato. Upon completion the sculpture was sent to California for assembly and then shipped to Denver. Blue Mustang was unveiled at Denver International Airport on February 11, 2008.

Blucifer is said to be part of Denver's 4 Horses of the Apocalypse, 4 eerie horse sculptures in or around Denver.

Holistic healers have begun to wonder if the Mustang has connection to the Blue Star Kachina, a Hopi prophecy.

The sculpture has become a subject of interest for ghost hunters and paranormal researchers examining the “haunted” claims.

Others say that the Mustang bears incredible resembalance to the horse witnessed by men unwillingly subjected to time travel travel experiments in the Montauk Project, aka The Philidelphia Experiment.