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teenyfish · 5 years ago

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Marine Biology Story of the Day #9

Welcome back to the blog—hello new followers!

So what does a marine biologist actually do for work? Is it always adventure on the high seas?

Well, it’s not always adventure on the high seas—you see, science isn’t exactly super well funded these days, and you need money to do that kind of stuff, AND that money usually comes from shareholders that want you to research things that may be beneficial to them. In addition, as a biologist, you have to spend long periods of time on shore in your office and lab, analyzing data and writing peer reviewed journals in the hopes that they’ll be published. That’s the price you pay for the cool fun times.

So what do I actually do for a living?

Welp, a big chunk of my research is working as a shrimp disease researcher and a shrimp ecologist.

Really, Jillian? You say, What about the sharks? What about the deep sea?

Well, here’s the thing—big charismatic animals are cool and all, but my tumblr handle is teenyfish, and that is because what I like to research are the tiny animals that are much lower on the food chain. Why? Because in many ways, they are the most important, and the most diagnostic when it comes to determining the health of an ecosystem.

How’d I get into shrimp disease?

Well, I used to work for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Trawl Survey.

Basically, we went out on the Chesapeake Bay and would catch all species of fish to determine how fish populations were doing in the Bay from year to year. I began noticing that all the penaeid shrimp we caught began showing signs of blackened gills.

(gradient of black gill infection on left, close up of black gills on right)

I informed one of our P.I.’s (principal investigators) and our Black Gill Disease survey was born.

What is Black Gill Disease? Well, the blackened gills are actually an immune response that a variety of marine invertebrates (crabs, shrimp, lobsters) have in response to foreign invaders (bacteria, viral disease, parasites). In penaeid shrimp (aka the shrimp we like to eat—think bubba gump shrimp), its caused by Hyalophysa lynni, a parasitic ciliate that embeds itself into the gills of the shrimp. Ciliates are microscopic single celled organisms that propel themselves around with little “hairs”

(H. lynni, picture from Frischer et al. 2019)

Once the ciliate bites down on those shrimp gills, the shrimp release melanin that surround the ciliate and begin releasing chemicals that break it down. Unfortunately though, the chemicals also cause tissue death in the surrounding gill tissues, so they start not being able to breath as well. It’s kind of like when you get the flu (or COVID-19—lets be topical) and your body responds by giving you a fever that makes you super duper weak. Gets rid of the problem, but you feel like shit.

(closeup of healthy shrimp gills (A) vs. black gill damaged shrimp gills (B), from Landers et al. 2020)

So, this means the shrimp are weaker, slower, and about 2-3x more susceptible to predation. Which means THEY IN DANGER GIRRRLLL.

This disease was first “discovered” in Georgia and North Carolina in the late 90’s, so it’s actually relative new and completely understudied. Which means once I jumped on this project my career ABSOLUTELY BLEW UP (in a good way).

I got a job as a biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Coastal Fisheries Division about two years ago, mostly because of the shrimp disease research I was doing in Virginia. Since moving down to Texas, I’ve been in charge of two major shrimp disease monitoring projects across the entire Texas gulf coast (It takes 8 hours to drive the full length from Louisiana to Mexico). We go out and collect samples from 7 major bays in Texas (Sabine Lake, Galveston Bay, East and West Matagorda Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, and Upper and Lower Laguna Madre)

I rely pretty heavily on our fisheries techs to collect samples for me since our coast is so expansive, but I do go out often on our local bay with my husband (he works at another local TPWD lab).

Once we get shrimp, I isolate DNA from shrimp gill tissue, and then I use a really cool DNA fragment tissue sequencing method to see if the shrimp have H. lynni DNA or not. DNA sequencing is just a matter of using DNA primers to go in and select a certain part of the ciliate genome that is unique and differentiated from shrimp DNA. DNA is just a sequence of proteins--adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C), and each species of animal/plant/bacteria have parts of their genome that have a unique ATGC pattern—that’s how we can differentiate species!

Once I know which shrimp are positive for black gill, we can determine if temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, location, or time of year have an effect on how much black gill we see in shrimp populations coast wide.

Now, I got asked to be on TPWD’s PBS show—so here’s a small segment to kind of streamline what I do. Watch me be awkward on television.

youtube

I’m just going to point out, I do not do lab work CSI style, in the dark.

So in addition to black gill, I’m beginning to look at other common shrimp diseases too (like the aforementioned White Spot Disease in the video). Because of this, I got to go to a shrimp disease pathology course at the University of Arizona. Why is a marine disease lab in Arizona you ask? Because Arizona is not near any body of water, so they do not risk contamination. Also, they tell me the Arizona sun is pretty good at disinfecting aquarium equipment. I got to learn new DNA sequencing methods and dip my toe into histology, which is basically sectioning shrimp samples and dying organs so you can see what is going on with an organism’s body.

(cross section of a healthy shrimp gill)

Because of this, my TPWD coworkers and I are hopefully going to hop onto a big disease study with the University of Arizona and South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources—but we are still waiting to hear back from the USDA to see if our study is going to be funded. Fingers crossed.

In addition to the University of Arizona study, I’m working with Texas SeaGrant and commercial shrimpers to collect more samples in the Gulf of Mexico (think WAAAAAYYYY offshore, 70-100 miles offshore). This is where all the big adult shrimp are, and I want to collect samples to see if adult shrimp are passing the disease to their offspring as their babies move inshore. And from the looks of it, the adults have it to.

(one of my boat captains, who is out on the Gulf right now, sent me this picture. Note the dark gills)

I’m sure I’ll have some more information for you all in the future as my studies progress, but for now, I’ll leave you with this: The Texas Gulf Coast shrimp populations are infected with H. lynni—and at some of the highest levels in the country. In the summer, upwards of 80% of shrimp can be infected in coastal Texas regions. In addition, low salinity and high temperatures tend to increase disease prevalence as well, and this might be tied to climate change and warming waters, as well as salinity changes due to increased precipitation (due to climate change) and the rerouting of river flow.

(percentage of black gill positive shrimp across the Texas gulf coast from 2019--from a WIP manuscript of mine)

Thanks for reading ya’ll, and as always, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask questions about my research.

#marine biology #marine biologist #marine biology story of the day #ocean stories #ocean biology #shrimp biology #disease pathology #shrimp disease pathology #parasite biology #real science #texas gulf coast #texas biology #gulf of mexico #penaeid shrimp #shrimp

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hermannsthumb · 4 years ago

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Once Newt and Hermann finally move in together, Newt accidentally stumbles upon Hermann's vibrator. Newt gets hard immediately just imagining his beautiful sexy husband using it on himself. Newt wants to see that. Newt wants to do that. Newt wants to see Hermann fuck himself with his vibrator, and fuck Hermann with his vibrator. Hermann's all adorably flustered when Newt brings it up, and then he sees just how turned on Newt is by the idea.

well uh. this is (as you might expect) kind of a hard 18+/not safe for work

———————-

“Need help with that?” Newt says.

Hermann heaves a small cardboard box up to his bad hip with a groan; Hermann Gottlieb is written on the side in Sharpie, in Hermann’s neat, tidy hand. All of his boxes are marked similarly. It’s kind of cute, really, that he even bothers–half of his stuff is Newt’s now anyway, and vice-versa, and truthfully has been since the lab. Odds are it’s stuffed with their shared mugs or papers Newt co-authored. “No, no,” he says. “I can manage.”

The box doesn’t look particularly heavy, but Hermann’s been quite insistent on not leaving all the heavy lifting to Newt all day, and he’s wincing in a way that means he might’ve strained himself a bit too much. Newt shoots him a small smile and places a hand on the box. “Hey, look, why don’t you take a break?” he says. “We only have a few things left. It’ll take me, like, ten minutes. Go test out the new couch. Better yet, find us some fucking dinner. I’m starving.”

The previous renter left behind a drawer full of take-out menus (which Newt discovered as he attempted to unpack their mis-matched collection of utensils earlier), and Newt’s sure at least one of them will be promising. Hermann returns the smile gratefully and relinquishes his hold on the box. Newt was right–it’s not very heavy. Pretty light, in fact. “Alright. If you’re sure.” Hermann presses a kiss to the corner of Newt’s mouth. “Is there anything you’re particularly in the mood for?”

“Nah,” Newt says, and then catches Hermann’s sleeve with his free hand to reel him in for a much filthier kiss. “Something quick. I have plans.” Those plans involve spending plenty of time breaking in their nice big, new, soft bed, before the exhaustion of the day inevitably catches up to them.

“I see,” Hermann says, and adds wryly, “Perhaps I ought to take a nap, too.”

Newt gives him another kiss for his troubles, enjoying the small sound Hermann makes into his mouth when he flicks his tongue against the seam of his lips. But when Newt pulls away, Hermann’s all business. “Do be careful with that,” he says, eyeing the box Newt took from him warily. “Its contents are–er–rather delicate.”

Mugs after all, then. Or maybe family photographs. “Kitchen?” Newt says, already headed down the hallway.

“Bedroom,” Hermann says. Oh. Newt does a one-eighty in the opposite direction. “Er–just leave it on the bureau. I’ll deal with it…later.”

Now, Newt’s no snoop, and he would certainly never go through Hermann’s possessions without permission–mutual trust, respecting boundaries, all that shit that healthy couples need–but accidents happen. He’s only trying to be helpful. He puts the box on the bureau, as Hermann instructed, but he must do it a little too hard, because its contents roll around and clatter and thud, and then–bewilderingly–begin to vibrate.

Newt shakes the box. It doesn’t stop.

He peels off the packing tape.

He’s not really sure what he expects to find in it besides the obvious: there are very few things a vibrating box deposited into a bedroom can contain, after all. Sure enough, when Newt opens the flaps, he finds himself staring down at a pretty high-end bottle of lubricant and the most expensive-looking vibrator in existence. A vibrator that’s currently buzzing. Newt flicks it off quickly, then–before he can help himself–picks it up.

Hermann has a vibrator. Hermann has a nice vibrator. It’s long, and curved, and made of a dark material that is fucking amazing to the touch. Another glance in the box reveals a small remote control, with settings in speed and rhythm all the way from one to ten, and a few bonus ones labelled with things like Pleasure Overload.

Hermann uses a vibrator that has settings for things like Pleasure Overload.

“Hol-lee shit,” Newt whistles.

Newt can picture it now: Hermann, stripped bare, face down on his bed, writhing and gasping in pleasure as he crams the vibrator into himself over and over. Begging aloud for it to go faster. Coming, untouched, all over his pasty chest, his rumpled sheets, wailing into his pillow as he fucks himself through it, not even stopping–

“Newton?” Hermann calls.

Newt throws the vibrator back into the box and tapes it messily back shut. There’s nothing to be done about his raging boner, but maybe Hermann will be too distracted by the Thai or Italian or whatever takeout to notice it. He pokes his head out of the bedroom. “Yeah, babe?” he says, heart thudding.

No Hermann in sight. Hermann’s voice comes from the living room when he speaks again. “What on Earth is keeping you?” he says. “I need to know what you want on your pizza.”

Hermann uses a vibrator. Hermann uses settings like Pleasure Overload.

“Mushrooms,” Newt croaks.

“What’s that?”

Newt swallows thickly and steps into the living room. Hermann is sprawled out on the new couch, his cane settled against one of the armrests. Luckily, he’s too engrossed in the pizza menu to look up and catch sight of Newt’s little problem. “You ought to look this over,” he says in a hum. “They have some very interesting combinations. This one has shrimp, and onions–and this one is called the Athenian, with feta cheese, black olives–oh, I forgot, you don’t like olives. Too salty, anyway. Though I suppose we could order it without if we wanted to, but that doesn’t seem to quite fit the spirit, does it…”

It isn’t like Hermann doesn’t have sex. Hermann has sex plenty, Newt as his enthusiastic witness. Hermann fucks Newt. Newt fucks Hermann. Hermann sucks Newt’s dick, and jerks him off in the shower, and moans like a whore when Newt gets his tongue in him. But a vibrator’s different, isn’t it? A vibrator isn’t just sex, and it isn’t even just jerking off–it’s a very certain kind of jerking off. A certain kind of jerking off he hasn’t even let Newt be privy to. They haven’t even used dildos together.

It’s hard to imagine the Hermann sitting in front of him now, in a moth-eaten sweater vest and smudged librarian glasses on a chain, jamming a vibe up his ass on the reg.

“Are you even listening to me?” Hermann says.

“No,” Newt admits.

Hermann scowls, but he doesn’t push Newt away when Newt plops next to him on the sofa, nor when he starts pawing at the hem of his sweater. “Newton,” Hermann says, “I thought you wanted–dinner–” Newt mouths at his neck, and Hermann gasps. The menu slips to the floor. “Newton. We haven’t finished moving everything from–”

“I don’t give a shit,” Newt says.

He pulls Hermann’s hand down and presses it at the tented front of his jeans; Hermann’s eyebrows jump. “What has gotten into you?”

“Honey,” Newt mumbles against the skin of Hermann’s neck, “can I fuck you with your vibrator?”

Hermann’s whole body tenses. He rips his hand away in the middle of what had been a pretty nice feel-around of Newt’s junk. “My what?” he echoes shrilly.

“Your vibrator,” Newt says. Oh, right, he wasn’t supposed to know about that, was he? It’s hard to think straight when he’s horny. He grins sheepishly. “I kinda accidentally looked inside the box. You could use it on yourself instead, if you want, and I could watch.” Actually, that’s kinda hotter–no effort required for Newt, and Hermann would probably be so carried away he wouldn’t mind if Newt jerked off on his chest or something. Hot, hot, hot.

Hermann isn’t a very good sport about it. “That’s,” Hermann splutters, “that’s a very personal object, Newton! And expensive! I told you–if you hadn’t been careful–I don’t go snooping through your belongings, do I?”

“It was an accident,” Newt says, and then, in a snort, “Expensive. How expensive?”

“If you must know, I saved up a month of paychecks for it,” Hermann snaps. “And it was bloody worth it. Dealing with the you day in and day out–I was tense as anything. I would’ve cracked years ago without it, and then where would we be?”

Newt sits back against the opposite arm rest with a pout. “It was a waste of money, is what it was,” he says. “Why didn’t you just ask me to lend a little hand? Or, you know.” He leers at Hermann, parting his legs slightly. Truthfully, he is a little offended, even though they didn’t start their thing until a few months after their drift–Hermann would’ve rather dropped several hundred bucks on a piece of plastic when he had a living, breathing, and very available lab partner at the ready who would’ve done anything he wanted at the snap of his fingers. Give Newt a few cans of Red Bull, hide his Ritalin, Hermann wouldn’t have remembered his own name. It’s a crying fucking shame.

“Yes, but unlike you,” Hermann says, “it wasn’t a walking breeding ground for extraterrestrial bacteria.” He makes a face. “Who knows what I might’ve caught from you. Urgh.”

That one stings a little, even though Newt firmly believes that proper lab protocol is for losers, and he was completely justified in his lackadaisical approach to…well, everything. “Hey, dude, no fair,” he says, weakly. “My tests all came back clean!”

“This argument is ridiculous,” Hermann says. “We’re not using it, and that’s final.”

Twenty minutes later, Hermann is lying on their new bed with Newt’s fingers and a decent amount of that high-end lube up his ass. Hermann, despite his posturing, is a pushover when it comes to the promise of sex. “You’re going too slowly,” he complains, wriggling and pushing back against Newt’s hands.

“I’m going perfect,” Newt says. “It’s not my fault you’re impatient.” The lube feels awesome on his skin, kinda warm and tingly, and he can’t help but be a little disappointed he won’t get to feel it on his dick tonight. And that Hermann’s never broken it out before now. Hermann buys the lubricant they use in bulk, generic as hell and in these massive gallon-size jugs with a little soap-dispenser hand pump on top. Totally stupid. He can’t imagine what the Shatterdome delivery guy thought of them. “Hey, how come you don’t let us use the fancy stuff, dude?”

“You wouldn’t appreciate it,” Hermann says. “To the left, darling. Yes.” He sighs happily, melting against his mound of pillows, and gives his dick a few languid strokes. Newt withdraws his fingers.

“I think you’re good,” he declares. “What do you mean I wouldn’t appreciate it?”

Hermann gives him a look over his glasses. Newt understands his point, though he’s not ever going to admit it out loud; he gets a little carried away with how awesome everything is when he tops, sometimes, and Hermann gets carried away with it too. He’s not sure he’d even notice if they were using fancy lube. “Whatever,” he says, and hands over the vibe. “C’mon, I want to watch you already.”

“Impatient,” Hermann echoes with an eyeroll.

The vibe is switched on (on setting 5, to Newt’s disappointment, no pleasure overload yet) and after that, everything is all business.

“Often, if I’m–er–feeling up to it, I start–” Hermann presses the end of the vibe against his nipple, and his whole body shudders. “Ah. Oh. That’s–what I’d do, if you’d been–” The other nipple; another shudder. “Particularly–particularly dreadful one day.”

“Would you think of me?” Newt says with a grin.

“Absolutely not,” Hermann snaps.

He trails the vibe down his abdomen, stopping in the messy patch of dark pubic hair just above his dick–which, Newt notices happily, is fully hard and already wet at the tip. “Mm, maybe sometimes. I would now. Only I haven’t used it since we…”

“Yeah?” Newt says. He watches Hermann move the vibe in little circles over the thatch of hair, just avoiding his dick each time. “That’s hot.” All if it’s hot: Hermann thinking of Newt while he masturbates, Hermann masturbating, Hermann admitting that Newt is just so awesome in bed he hasn’t had to masturbate in months.

Hermann grazes the vibe down one thigh, shivering this time. “Most of the time I’d just–”

He pushes half the vibrator into himself in one sharp motion; his dick gives an equally sharp jerk. Newt and Hermann, meanwhile, moan in unison. “Goddamn, Hermann,” Newt whines, eyes glued to Hermann’s stretched, red rim, the sleek little bit of machine it twitches around. “That’s really hot.”

But Hermann’s eyes are screwed up tight in concentration behind his lopsided glasses, and he pays Newt no mind as he grips the base of the vibe and continues to push it deeper, breath coming out in a series of short, needy puffs. “How’s it feel?” Newt says. “Tell me, I want–”

“Very–very good.” Hermann grips his dick, tugging on it as he works the vibe in and out of himself in perfect tandem. He’s going nice and slow. Slower than Newt would go. Newt’s not surprised–Hermann told him it was meant to be stress relief, after all. (Maybe that’s why Hermann was always a bit more cheerful the morning after they’d had a nasty fight in the lab.) “Newton,” he groans.

Newt can’t help it: he bends down and kisses him. Hermann’s just too fucking sexy for him not to. Hermann groans a little louder into his mouth. “Hermann, Hermann,” Newt pants, “dude, can I–”

“You can do whatever you bloody want,” Hermann says, his voice high and breathy.

Newt takes that to heart. It’s a bit of an effort to fit his dick in alongside the vibe, but holy shit, is it worth it. Between the vibrations and Hermann clamping down impossibly tight around both Newt and the toy, he’s surprised he doesn’t pass out from just sitting there. Hermann, meanwhile–Hermann’s eyes roll back into his head, he writhes on the bed, and he grips wildly at Newt’s shoulders, and for a second Newt thinks Hermann might pass out too.

“Ah, ah–!”

“How’s’it feel?” Newt manages to croak out.

Hermann kisses him messily.

Once he’s sure he’s not about to blow it then and there, Newt reaches down and nudges the vibe in to the hilt. He knows at once when he hits Hermann’s prostate: Hermann’s whole body seizes, and shakes, and his mouth falls open in a wordless cry against Newt’s. After that, it’s over for both of them.

They lay in a sweaty, sticky heap for a little while, Hermann breathing like he’s just run a marathon, Newt already threatening to doze off like he always does after an awesome round of sex. The vibrator lays innocently between them. Finally Hermann prods at Newt’s shoulder and rouses him from his self-congratulatory afterglow. “You still have two boxes to carry in,” he says.

“Dude,” Newt whines.

#newmann #maria's fanfiction tag #not sfw///#like for real HAHA #Anonymous

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squidpro-quo · 5 years ago

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“Have you seen this?” Deku asked, throwing a handful of sports fan magazines onto Todoroki’s lap as he bent over to tie his skates. The covers were full of gossip headlines, printed in vivid, flashy colors and varying sizes according to the amount of scandal each exposé

contained. It was the standard issue for the week, with Aoyama’s typical flashy pose on the front despite his article being a fairly tame side story about his latest win.

“I just read the jokes out of the middle, why?” Todoroki picked up the one on top, flipping through it without much concern for what he happened to skip.

“Wait, wait, it’s that one!” Crumpling the paper with his eagerness, Deku directed him to the right page, stabbing at the pictures and conjectures with one scarred finger. “It’s about your charity event this weekend, at the podium awards.”

“Bakugo just said the usual,” murmured Todoroki, “Why is this unusual enough to warrant an entire page? The one about Ochako breaking the record got the same.”

“It’s in all of them. Don’t know why but…” His explanation was interrupted by the sound of Todoroki’s phone, an angry Enji’s voice yelling ‘ SHOUTO!’ echoing around the empty rink. “Why did you make that his ringtone?”

“It’s a preview to the main act,” was Todoroki’s only comment before he picked up the phone with a hard press to his lips. Deku sank onto the bench across from him, reading the article again in the meantime.

“Shouto!” Enji’s normal volume could thankfully be lowered to a manageable level over the phone, but that didn’t mean Todoroki was glad to hear from him. “I’ve got news about the sponsors for this year, you’ve got a shot with a big backing. As soon as the gossip dies down, they’ll sign the deal and we’ll have the Endeavor brand as our own.”

The reminder of the impending headache that had been in the making for months now, Enji’s new bid for fame and fortune in the shape of a merchandising line of sportswear, had finally come roaring in. Todoroki frowned as his father continued, pricing discussions and production numbers flying by his ear as he contemplated his future as a prop, a walking advertisement for his father with every jump he landed and every medal he earned. It was enough to make him want to quit skating despite the joy he had managed to scrape together from it.

The only recourse he could possibly have now would to take a fall so drastic as to remove him from competition despite all the medical hurdles Enji would destroy to have him back on the ice again. Looking across at Deku, perusing the tabloid pages and trying intensely not to listen in despite Enji’s booming voice, to the rink’s perfect sheen spreading out behind him, he knew he would miss it.

Not to mention the competitions. He’d been pushed into skating by Enji from the time he could walk, but he’d found a refuge away from his father on the ice during the events. Enji could yell from the sidelines all he wanted but the music would always drown him out, offering an island where Todoroki could carve out his own path.

And cross blades with Bakugo on his own terms. The spitfire who had taken the skating world by storm over the past year, known for his explosive jumps and even more explosive temper. The tabloids called him the Jumping Shrimp a few daring times, but no one could deny the air he achieved and the frankly astounding number of rotations on his jumps no less.

Despite his bafflement at what the tabloids had divined from the podium awards, Todoroki was at least aware of what conversation they were raving about. He’d taken second, by a few fractions of a point margin, and Bakugo had pushed up close to him as they were waiting for the ceremony to start. Nose to nose, he’d hissed the usual threats for taking silver, keeping a smile on his face otherwise for the cameras watching, and the end result had been a much different result from the reality of their interaction.

And in that moment, sitting on a cold bench listening to his father’s victorious imaginings in his ear, Todoroki’s brain drew a line between the contents of Deku’s hands and the solution to his problems. Now if only he could convince Bakugo to behave.

—————-

It had to be convincing, at least to the fanatics and daydreamers that wrote the tabloids, and it had be fast. With the deal hanging over his head, Todoroki put his plan into action the very next week. Getting into Bakugo’s usual practice rink wouldn’t have been easy normally, considering the ring of paparazzi vying to get a good shot of the inside, but Deku could work wonders when it came to getting information, and far more handy in this case, loaning him the pass into the place.

“You here to go a few rounds?” Bakugo snarled, coming to stop at the edge of the rink in a shower of ice and a heated glare.

“You said you could skate circles around me. But we’ve not been on the same ice at once alone yet,” Todoroki said, shrugging. He’d gotten what he came for already, annoying Bakugo was a minor bonus.

“Tch, I’m not going to bother with someone who holds back like that in a competition.”

“It didn’t even count towards our point totals.”

“Is that your excuse for why you didn’t give your best?” Bakugo scoffed, one hand braced on either side of the opening onto the rink as if to guard it against Todoroki.

“That’s why I came.” Todoroki looked him in the eyes, the step up onto the ice and the extra height from the skates bringing Bakugo level with him despite the few inches of difference. “Motivate me.”

“What!? Why should that be my job? Motivate yourself, half n’ half!”

“You said it was a problem, didn’t you? Your words to me at the Cup. So I have the answer.” Spreading his arms, Todoroki gestured to the ice, the smooth expanse of it already drawn on by the graceful arcs and spirals left in Bakugo’s wake.

“And? What’s that?” Despite his apparent ire, Bakugo didn’t leave and instead leaned against the plastic window siding, still obstructing the entrance but allowing a sliver of ice open to slip past him.

“Keep... doing what you do. I’ll just embellish a few things.”

———————————--

“Where do you get off calling me a ‘friend’, huh!?” Bakugo snarled at the next event, in one of the prep rooms in the back. The tv was on in the corner, running commentary on the big event with Russian reporters updating viewers on the newest contenders for the world competition. Todoroki could see his father across the room, attempting to circumvent an official event manager with sheer force of will. With anyone else, it would have worked in a heartbeat but Todoroki could count his lucky stars that this particular woman had a backbone stronger than a steel girder.

Even so, it would only be a matter of time.

“You agreed to this. No ‘half-assing’ as you put it. Do you have a complaint against my performance?”

“We’ll see on the ice, won’t we?” Bakugo glared at him, stretching onto the tips of his skate-guards as he leaned in close. “You give me something worth jumping for, maybe I’ll let you slide with that ‘friend’ comment. Giving those tabloids what they’re hungry for, that’s a cold move even for you, popsicle.”

Todoroki shrugged, testing the set of his foot in his skate while he eyed his father’s approach. He’d managed to earn an angry phone-call a day for the past month and change, and the merchandising deal looked to be slipping out of Enji’s grasp. All it had taken were a few pointed slip-ups before some fans and cameras, not to mention letting Bakugo’s shoves get a little more personal, and he was set. The magazines that had started it all were eating it up, eagerly awaiting the next scoop in what had been so far described as the secret relationship “hot enough to melt the ice”.

“What bothers you is not the speculation, but that I termed you a ‘friend’?” he finally asked, just as he saw the manager creek in what he knew would be eventual capitulation to his father.

“Dirtbags that run those magazines can say whatever they like, I don’t give a shit what they think. They’re not the ones I’m pounding into the ice at every event.” Bakugo grinned, eyes blazing as he looked at Todoroki and the heat that grew inside him in response was something Todoroki hadn’t quite expected. Competition had lost its inherent appeal years ago, it was simply a refuge now, but that fire made the embers that had long since cooled inside him flare up just enough for him to ignore his father for the moment.

“We’ll see.”

In the end it was close.

Todoroki watched Bakugo’s long program and knew it would be a close call for when his turn came around. The fast staccato beat of the music had been matched and sometimes even outdone by the speed of Bakugo’s spins and footwork, whirling across the ice in a trail of green and gold. He’d wondered how Bakugo could keep up that kind of rhythm, expend that much energy into a program when he could just as easily win it with less. But watching him as the final few notes died out, the heave of his chest and that infectiously cocky smirk as he bowed, Todoroki found he’d been exposed a little too long. Even before he’d started this ridiculous plan, he’d known Bakugo was formidable and ferocious, but hadn’t allowed himself to respond to it with the strict cage around him. But now was a perfect opportunity.

He ignored Enji’s instructions as he entered the rink after Bakugo, passing him on the way and sparing a quick touch to the shoulder. The fact that Bakugo didn’t immediately shrug it off was something to think about as he got into position. And it gave him the drive to do what he’d wanted to do with his long program all along.

Switching up the jumps, he stretched his limits as far as they would go, enjoying the hiss of his skates on the ice and the cold air rushing past as he spun along the edges. His arms felt lighter, legs less chained to the ground and though he was likely just imagining it, he felt like he soared higher too with each jump. He couldn’t match Bakugo’s speed but that had never been the purpose with his pieces, he was more interested in carrying himself along on the music with a slow build, the beat increasing as his seconds stretched past until he suddenly found himself reaching the end and a smile had almost stretched itself across his mouth.

The arena might have been cold—especially in the center of the ice—but as soon as the first trill of pipes sounded, Todoroki only felt the heat flowing along his arms and down his legs. His costume might have been just another of Enji’s plows at marketing, with the fringe of sheer fabric that flowed from his wrists like a halo all the way down to his ankles in waves of orange and a pale red, but he felt the flames they were meant to be inside him too.

The curious elation carried him through his bows, all the way until he’d stepped off the ice and a hand clapped him on the back.

“That’s how it’s done, Shouto!” Enji’s praise landed around his neck like a bag of bricks. “This will sweep everything else away, the performance that will put the Endeavor line into the stores and off the shelves.”

Todoroki felt the weight returning, as if his skates had turned to concrete blocks to make up for the ease with which he’d been able to complete his program. The kiss-and-cry awaited, the inevitable suffocation under his father’s self-serving pride and he found himself walking away with Enji’s words echoing in his ears. He’d undone all his plans in less than five minutes, without even seeing the score he knew what was going to happen, could tell from Enji’s barely contained excitement: his father had an obsession with calculating scores and Todoroki knew he wouldn’t be far off.

“Took you long enough,” Bakugo’s growl was a welcome distraction, so close to his face that the puff of his breath clouded between them.

“Not afraid for your gold?” Todoroki found himself leaning closer, ostensibly to not allow Bakugo to push him off-balance but he wanted the familiar threats now, the way Bakugo never spared a glance for his father but locked horns only with him.

“Pretty confident for a slow-poke, you haven’t even gotten the score yet. But looks like you finally stood up on your own. Good enough to beat.”

Todoroki stared into those burning eyes, at the challenge in them, and took a page out of Bakugo’s book. Curling a fist into the black collar of Bakugo’s costume, he fixed the problem he’d created.

The kiss was quick, was meant to be quick, if Bakugo hadn’t surged forward too at the same time, clashing into him as if determined to not be outdone. The flash of cameras popped against his closed eyelids, thoughts narrowing down to the warmth returning to him, the same fire as on the ice fanned by Bakugo yet again.

Sensing the brewing storm behind him, Todoroki let go of Bakugo and made to head for the kiss-and-cry again, but Bakugo held him fast for another second.

“Those fuckers are calling it a ‘flash paper’ romance, half n’ half,” was all he said. And Todoroki wondered if they knew just how wrong, and maybe just how right, they really were.

AN: For the Todobaku Valentine’s exchange! Also on AO3

Prompts open

#todobaku #todoroki shouto #bakugo katsuki #bakutodo #boku no hero academia #bnha #my writing #apparently i have to make an ice-staking au for every ship i love #and it was their turn

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 12

Episode 12 - “One is All, All is One” We open with whoawhoawhoa it’s Beardy from the intro. Papa Elric? Do we finally get backstory on Absent Dad this episode?

Beardy doesn’t look happy about something. And Ed wakes up in shock. More points towards it being Papa Elric, and also it not being the healthiest of families. But hey, this is anime, good luck finding any Protagonist families without Drama. Al says they’re almost at Dublith, asks if Ed was having a bad dream. Then stays oddly quiet when Ed says it was about ‘him’. Jeez, what’s with this guy? In town, both boys are very unenthusiastic about seeing Teacher again. And now the screens suddenly shaking, the door creaks open ominously gah bloody knife what the Oh dear. A very very big man has just stepped outside. Seriously, this guy looks like he could give Armstrong himself a run for his money. [Ed]: “Um… hello, Sig.” [Al]: “Long time no see.” Ah, a butcher! Got it. He’s rather chill about seeing the Elrics after so long, just patting them on the head and commenting on how they’ve grown (and can I just say how it’s adorable for the Giant Fanged Suit of Armor to be happy about having his head rubbed? Daw.) Sig pokes his head through a window, tells “Izumi” that the “Elric Shrimps” have come for a visit, she puts down an Alchemy book and says that she’s feeling a little better today. You’re right Al, that doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong with Teacher? Oh. Oh dear. Ed just got done kicked in the face across the street. I believe I have a good read on Teach, now.

To menacing music, McKickyFace steps outside, looking down on Ed with shadowed face and glowing red eyes. [McKickyFace]: “Hello, my stupid pupil! I hear you’ve become one of the military’s dogs!” And then the creaky door betrays Al’s hiding spot, she turns… and Al’s cuteness factor is unstoppable, McKickyFace instantly transforms to Izumi, commenting on how Al has grown. Aw, that’s nope never mind just a ruse to easily throw Al to the dirt. Jeez, for someone “not feeling well” you’re tossing these chumps around like ah that’s blood. No Teach, I don’t think you’re “perfectly fine.” Sig tells her not to exert herself and oh they’re married. One, that’s adorable, and two, ok that explains why they went to Sig. But above all else that’s adorable. Also funny how their love is so overpowering that Ed’s just standing there unnerved, getting bumped in the head by floating hearts. Inside, the four are sitting around a table, the conversation as typical being about the Philosopher’s Stone. Teacher doesn’t know much about it though, says it doesn’t hold much interest for her. Why’s that, do you know the secret or just have that much faith in your own abilities? Sig contributes that there was one guy in Central who knew about it. A guy called Hohenheim? Whoa Ed what’s wrong? And Al, do you recognize it too? Ah, image of Beardy! Teacher asks why the reaction to the name, Al confirms that it is indeed Papa Elric. Who “ran out” on them when they were little? Damnit man, why do you have to perpetuate the trope of Absent Anime Father? Flashback! Mama and Papa Elric are standing at the door, Baby!Ed and Baby!Al happened to be up early in the morning. Mama’s of course all over her children, but Papa Elric… just glares down at Ed, that’s the only description I can use for that look. Then he turns without a word, and walks out the door. ...seriously? Dude, dick move. So Mama Elric did say later that Papa left, but not with any finality. Then we get various scenes of Mama Elric and the Babies being cute, until… Mama Elric collapsed on the floor. Back in the present, with Ed still lost in Flashback-Land, Ed asks if Papa Elric had said anything about the Stone. Teacher says it was something about a life-long dream coming true. Even happy when he said it. Then she gets up, punches Ed out his sulk, and says that they’re going to eat.

At the dinner, Sig offers Al some food… uh oh. Have the Brother’s really not explained about Al’s state? Wow, really subtle attempt to change the subject to the last episode there Ed. I can tell Sig’s not buying it, he just looks to Izumi drinking her tea. Another flashback? A big storm in their hometown, the young Elrics are looking down with the other townsfolk as men try to keep a sandbag barrier holding against a flood. The wall’s breaking, everyone’s pulling back- except for Teacher, who’s striding past them as the epic string music picks up. With a clap of her hands (ooh, so Ed picked up on not using TCs from her!), she earthbends a bunch of walls up to hold back the river. And then Sweetie Sig walks over with an umbrella as she turns to the crowd. Who don’t recognize her? Ah right, a passerby, she lives in Dublith after all. And then she vomits blood again. Oh dear. Ah, so the boys were too short to see the blood this first time, all they saw was someone being Awesome and Saving The Town. So of course they run up and ask her to be their teacher. Buuut maybe don’t call her “Old Lady”. She refuses at first, she doesn’t teach and she’s just passing through, but when she’s told that they two boys clinging to her arm are orphans? [Pretty Lady]: “How am I supposed to say no to that?” And now for the first lesson: apparently, getting dropped off on an island and left to fend for themselves. Without any alchemy, even. Lady, I have to question your teaching methods.

Titledrop! “One is all… and all is one.” They have- one month?! Good Leto woman, you’re leaving them on their own for a freaking month? Yeah, the boy’s aren’t doing too well their first night. Trying (and failing) to sleep on some palm leaves, stomach’s rumbling. A lesson in wilderness survivalism, then? Ad-break picture of Sig and Izumi looking ready for a fight, shows last name of ‘Curtis’. So what’s their story? Sig seems to be working away as a butcher, a proper butcher unlike a certain Pudgy we’ve met before. But what about Izumi? Where did she get her training, and learn how to do non-TC Alchemy? Aaand where the first picture was of them looking tough, the second is of Big Tough Sig fanning his blood-spitting wife. Lady, maybe you should get that looked at. Oh, show’s answering my question already, apparently they work the butcher shop together. Sig’s wondering if they’re doing alright, Izumi stands by her lesson as being the best way to learn the essentials of alchemy. The same way she was taught, even. Casual throw of sharpened knife to Sig who does a two-finger catch (making me wonder if he has any training?), Big Butcher says he’s more concerned about their lives being in danger. Izumi scoffs, saying her training began with fighting bears for a whole month in the mountains. In winter, no less! ...couldn’t help but notice that you look a bit older that the Elrics in that picture, Izumi. On the island itself, the Brothers have just caught a rabbit in a snare! However, it leaves them with a live rabbit, so they’ll have to kill it themse- Oh that is just not fair. Rabbit’s going full Cute Anime Mode to avoid being dinner. The Brothers are playing Hot Potato with the knife to avoid using it. Until a passing fox takes advantage of the easy meal, and runs off with the rabbit. But look! The fox took the rabbit to feed its cubs! Aw, that’s sweet. Then the cubs start eating, and the Brother’s quickly decide to try fish instead. Yep, kinda hard to fish without rods. Maybe you can carve a spear? Or just build a lean-to, and go without food for a few more days. Yeesh, Ed’s not doing too well. Had a moment where he hallucinated Al as food and chomped, and now is alternating between nomming on ants and screaming about how gross they are. Oh, turning point! Ed’s talking about how he’s alive because he ate the ants. Um, no? I seriously doubt those few bugs gave you enough calories to make up for a few days foodless. Or rather it’s a metaphorical thing, how Ed’s alive because he consumed life. And then I guess he resolves that if he’s going to eat life to live, and by Leto he’s going to be at the top of the food chain! Cue montage of the Brothers going all Lord of the Flies, fashioning tools, chasing down a rabbit and killing it before a passing fox this time, starting a fire. They even get to the point that they toss some cooked food to the fox cubs in passing. Finally, it’s the night before Teacher’s to come back. Al asks Ed if he’s figured out what she meant by “One is all, and all is one.” Ed confirms that after he ate the ants, he thought his body feeding the ants, going to earth and becoming grass that the rabbits would eat... ...if I wasn’t doing a Professor Moody theme this episode, this would be a perfect spot for a Lion King gif. So yeah, Ed thought about the food chain. But also the island, how long ago it was under water, and thousands of years from now it could be the top of a mountain. It’s an “all things are connected” lesson, how in the span of the cosmos even our Main Characters are smaller than ants are to them. Test time! Teacher arrives and asks for their answer. [Al]: “All is one!” [Ed]: “And one is me!” Teacher… bursts out laughing? But she accepts the answer, and says the real training starts now. Now in Dublith, Teach is casually reading a cookbook while she lectures about TCs as the basis of Alchemy and absently spars with the Brothers. Sick moves lady, her technique seems to be all about deflecting and redirecting their attacks. That’s Judo, I think? Reviewing the lesson, Al calls her out on not using TCs when she casts, they ask how she does it. Teacher says something cryptic about herself being the matrix, that it might be something they learn if they see the truth. Wait… truth, or ‘Truth’? And yup, Ed wakes up with a realization: Teacher has seen the truth too. The next day, the Brothers are meeting with Teacher in the front yard, presumably to ask her. But she suddenly Alchemizes a spear from the wall, strikes out at Ed who has to TC-less change his arm to a blade in defense. That, on top of Al being armor and Ed missing two limbs confirms it for her: Edward’s seen it too. Which begs the question: how did Izumi see the Truth? Did she try Human Transmutation too? Yep, she did. And the rebound struck her… stomach. And in the center… Ah. That’s who she was trying to bring back. Izumi confirms the sad tale, why she committed the taboo. And when she says that it must have been awful for them, the Elrics adopt their customary bravado about it. ‘Not a big deal’, Al’s got his list of stuff to do, ect ect... [Izumi]: “You darling little idiots. It’s ok to hurt.” ... [Ed]: “Forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry, Teacher.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” Flashback to the island, the young brothers expounding on living being the deconstruction and reconstruction of old life to new life [Ed]: “Alchemy is part of that flow. And the flow is life itself.” End-credits. Oof. Started out as a mostly amusing episode, was mostly looking for details on Absent Papa Elric. But nope, Brotherhood continues to be brutal to my emotions.

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 12

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globalkids · 5 years ago

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Day 6 in Madrid.

Today was extremely eventful. Following the day after our last time visiting COP25 and still glowing from yesterday’s photoshoot fever, we all set out for Toledo with the intention of taking full advantage of the day. First, we hastily made our way to the bus station, taking the subway to our destination. There, we picked up some small snacks at a store nearby and found our way to our seats. Then, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke up, after about an hour and a half had passed, and we had arrived in Toledo. It was a beautiful city, with the most gorgeous buildings and structures that paid homage to older Spanish architecture and detailing. We waited a short amount of time for another public bus to bring us to our central goal: the Alcázar de Toledo. It was a stone fortification located at the highest point of Toledo, once used as a Roman palace in the 3rd century. After we had arrived, we roamed the vast expanse of the sprawling space, taking photo after photo of the massive building and drinking in the incredible landscape. In between, we took a break in a nearby children’s playground, where we took turns on the swing set and let our inner children explore the shiny plastic equipment.

Once we had our fill of the Alcázar and the playground we made our way further into Toledo to walk around the area and take in more of the sights. We visited the Museo del Ejército, where we immersed ourselves in the deeply Spain’s unique cultural background. The group strolled through its hallways, admiring age old paintings and incredible sculptures. Afterwards, we stopped in at another museum, the Museo National del Prado. There, we enjoyed the wide array of colorful artwork and took in crucial information about historical developments throughout Spain. Since a few of us had been campaigning for it since the start of the trip, we decided to eat lunch at a McDonalds nearby. It was mainly just to get the experience of eating at a fast food chain in another country/continent; half convenience, half experiment. The place was in this plaza-like area with outdoor seating and other restaurants/food places nearby. Inside of the McDonalds was extremely crowded and we struggled to find a seat, let alone enough for eight people, but I think everyone can agree that it was worth it.

Once we had finished our meal and taken some time to breathe, we took the scenic route back to the bus station where we would catch the bus headed back to Madrid. We passed by sprawling hillsides, lush, green valleys, sun dappled rooftops, and breathtaking buildings. Everything from the cobblestone roads to the endless alleyways piqued our interest, as we snapped photos and overflowed with admiration almost every step of the way. In our sea of beautiful distractions, we had narrowly missed our bus back. But, another one pulled in behind it very shortly after, so no serious harm was done. This time I did not fall asleep, I promise. Instead, myself alongside some of the rest of us sat at the very front to take in even more stunning scenery (and enjoy the extra leg room). The open valleys made up of butter yellow and grassy green seemed to stretch on for miles, frames by massive billboards against the backdrop of the retiring sun. When we made our way off of the bus upon arrival and through the Madrid subways, we dedicated a good amount of time to souvenir shopping and further exploring any last unturned corners of our little bit of Madrid. Carly had recommended an extremely popular restaurant that was known for their paella, so that was the end goal of the night. We walked with purpose in the direction of our destination, stopping every now and then for pictures, window shopping, and conversations. When we got to the restaurant, it was closed but would reopen at 8:30. So, to pass the time, we did some more walking. A few of us needed the restroom, so we revisited another restaurant where we had eaten a quick breakfast on the day of our NYU class some days prior for a break. I was hit with a smal wave of nostalgia at just how quickly the days had passed. I remembered how it had barely set in that I was really and truly in Spain, a completely new country and continent, just as we were gearing up to head back to the States. Eventually, we made our way back to the restaurant. Once we were seated at our dinner table, its surface draped in white tablecloth and fine silverware, our mouthwatering paella was ordered (shrimp/seafood over rice and chicken/meat over rice) and our respective drinks were poured into dewy, sweating glasses. We talked, laughed, completed our nightly card game meant to reflect on the day/trip, and took countless photos. There was a slightly somber energy surrounding it, with us knowing that it would be the end of our final full day in Madrid. Dinner was, without a doubt, incredible.

After our eventful day, we followed up with some last minute souvenir shopping. Everyone made sure to pick up any and all remaining gifts and knickknacks for the people back home awaiting our return. It was a little chaotic, with many of the shops that we wanted to visit being closed for the night, but we all managed to make it through with at least a few gems to get excited about. Admittedly, we were relieved to have finally washed our hands of brightly lit souvenir stores and 7 for 10€ deals on magnets. We dutifully dragged our tired bodies back home, aka our AirBnB. Though we were exhausted, we were still buzzing with nervous energy and excitement, knowing our time here would be coming to an end in just a few hours. So, myself, Xavier, and some of us set out to watch a movie for our final night. Pulling our blankets behind us from our beds to the couch, setting a bowl of salted sunflower seeds on the coffee table, and arranging the various throw pillows accordingly, we cozied up on the couch and queued up one of my all time favorites, Coraline, on Xavier’s laptop. Some of us, like Abdullah, had never seen it before and I was excited to see first reactions and carry out this final night with everyone else. Unfortunately, I felt myself dozing off embarrassingly shortly into the movie’s runtime, easily losing my fight with exhaustion. I remember myself debating if I should try harder to stay awake. On one hand, I had seen the movie before so what was the harm? On the other, this was my last night in Madrid; how could I possibly let myself sleep through it? Ultimately, sleep won above all else, regardless of my efforts. In the end, I remember myself thinking to myself, enveloped in that heavy, warm, and silent night, comforted by the eerie sweet soundtrack of the movie, I couldn’t imagine taking a trip like this anywhere else with anyone else.

-Esther Eboh from Bronxdale High School

#COP25 GKinMadrid

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rgr-pop · 6 years ago

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I need an ENTIRE afternoon wall of noise. 4/3 music library on shuffle until I hit a killdozer song.

the thermals - “god and country” reset - "double cross" nirvana - "polly" (1986-88 home recording) nirvana - "radio friendly unit shifter" (2013 mix) peterbuilt - "sateliteyes" the dickies - "got it at the store" apocalypse hoboken - "box of pills" fiona apple - "slow like honey" tex & the horseheads - "big boss man" everclear - "the drama king" anti-flag - "america got it right" neil young - "tonight's the night, pt. ii" everclear - "brown-eyed girl" noooooooooo oh my god no please millencolin - “israelites" listen you know that i'm p tolerant when it comes to this subject but why specifically did you boys do this. specifically you useless id - "note" never accuse me of pop punk nationalism again! that's three of global pop punk the selecter - "selling out your future" built to spill - "some things last a long time" holidays - "proof" let's wrestle - "bad mammaries" radhos - "one breath" ween - "boing" bracket - "g-vibe" local h - "'cha!' said the kitty" sublime - "40oz to freedom" failure - "saturday saviour" blink-182 - "don't leave me" (tmtts live take) why did they make this live album, they were so bad live shrimp boat - "melon song" interpol - "not even jail" the ataris - "angry nerd rock" 50 million - "superhero" skankin pickle - "violent love" the breeders - "put on a side" all - "honey peeps" the commandos (suicide commandos) - "weekend warrior" suicide machines - "friends are hard to find" the eclectics - "laura" good ska block! love this band pansy division - "jack u off" rocket from the tombs - "ain't it fun" dynamite boy - "devoted" young pioneers - "downtown tragedy" the breeders - "so sad about us" fenix tx - "jean claude trans am" fuck i love this song nofx - "bob" hickey - "happily ever after" bob dylan - "tangled up in blue" (bootlegs vol. 2) gas huffer - "king of hubcaps" tullycraft - "crush this town" atom and his package - "goalie" faith no more - "the real thing" carly rae jepsen - "tell me" bis - "listen up" one direction - "still the one" mtx - "she's no rocket scientist" eugene chadbourne - "roger miller medley" grouvie ghoulies - "carly simon" white town - "thursday at the blue note" gas huffer - "moon mission" rx bandits - "sleepy tyme" everclear - "rocket for the girl" failure - "kindred" blood on the saddle - "johnny's at the fair" the distillers - "red carpet and rebellion" cruiserweight - "dearest drew" stp - "plush" everclear - "wonderful" (live, from the closure ep) (don't hate it) new found glory - "sonny" everclear - "otis redding" (impure white evil demo) (BEST song) stp - "adhesive" incubus - "have you ever" cub - "tell me now" everclear - "short blonde hair" i simply do not hate it letters to cleo - "happy ever after" amazing transparent man - “the ocean is a fuck of a long way to swim” nerf herder - “(stand by your) manatee” kitty kitty - “ab tokeless” osker - “the mistakes you made” perfume genius - “hood” radhos - “shut up & deal” (welcome to the jungle take) osker - “the body” gas huffer - “the sin of sloth” the fall - “bombast” excuse 17 - “code red” mad season - “lifeless dead” unwritten law - “differences” hanson - “two tears” the eyeliners - “anywhere but here” moby grape - “lazy me” brian wilson - “wonderful” 88 fingers louie - “something i don’t know” sicko - “wisdom tooth weekend” the replacements - “love you till friday” suicide machines - “green world” midtown - “another boy” hickey - “cool kids attacked by flying monkeys” the roman invasion suite - “carnations” the beat - “tears of a clown” local h - “24 hour break up session” okay i’m awake i want to end this now toots & the maytals - “funky kingston” local h - “strict-9″ his name is alive - “her eyes were huge things” nirvana - “frances farmer will have her revenge on seattle” slapstick - “almost punk enough” urge overkill - “bionic revolution” janet jackson - “you want this” piebald - “long nights” small brown bike - “now i’m a shadow” the story so far - “left unsaid” crj - “more than a memory” tracy + the plastics - “my friends end parties” liz phair - “6′1″“ fastbacks - “555, pt. 1″ this mix is feminist now swindle - “one track” shockabilly - “burma shave” temple of the dog - “say hello to heaven” amazing transparent man - “shove” cool soul asylum cover from dekalb illinois :)) the vindictives “eating me alive” midwests only!! the judys - “radiation squirm” gulfs only!! frogpond - “sleep” flipp - “rock-n-roll star” throwing muses - “red shoes” everclear - “santa monica” throwing muses on summerland??? mekons - “atone & forsaken” holidays - “take me home country roads” this is a good tone to lead up to killdozer... true believers - “all mixed up again” prince - “adore” beulah - “queen of the populists” eveclear - “rocky mountain high” (99x live acoustic--I don’t have a date for this actually) of montreal - “dustin hoffman thinks about eating the soap” heatmiser - “stray” rickie lee jones - “woody and dutch on the slow train to peking” tar - “viaduct removal” common rider - “carry on” the frogs - “u bastards” mudhoney - “this gift” hammerbox - “outside” fuck my mom would have loved this song if it had gotten the airplay it deserved in 1993... hammerbox on summerland!!!! letters to cleo - “little rosa” kay hanley on summerland!! nine pound hammer “wrongside of the road” hanson - “with you in your dreams” (3cg demo) hamson on summerland!!! fastbacks - “555, pt. 1″ again... fastbacks on summerland!!! face to face - “sensible” soul asylum - “happy” soul asylum on summerland!!!! television - “see no evil” pinq - “careful not to mention the obvious” the dickies - “nights in white satin” tar - “mel’s” truly - “chlorine” babes in toyland - “deep song” hole - “berry” hellbender - “half driven” hammerhead - “new york? ...alone?” everclear - “malevolent” guzzard - “last” archers of loaf - “tatyana” hum - “stars” hum on summerland die kreuzen - “don’t say please” this is not fair joanna newsom - “sadie” down by law - “peace, love and understanding” nirvana - “aneurysm” (1990 demo) hovercraft - “endoradiosonde” modest mouse - “cowboy dan” rage against the machine - “born of a broken man” skatalites - “scandal ska” pylon - “driving school” the vindictives - “babysitter” jimmy eat world - “ten” the get up kids - “lowercase west thomas” oh we’re doing this now? hot rod circuit - “knees” fine triple fast action - “the rescue” FINE full disclosure i do skip emo diaries tracks at my discretion the amps - “bragging party” everclear - “am radio” this is not fair mxpx - “middlename” MXPX ON SUMMERLAND chokebore - “your let down” bob dylan - “you’re a big girl now” helmet - “primitive” pond - “filterless” blink-182 - “all the small things” local h - “ralph” tar - “over and out” pearl jam - “black” the gits - “sniveling little rat faced git” local h - “eddie vedder” >:) tar - “flow plow” i always misremember this as a subpop single so i’m like “i’m not amphetamine reptile biased?” but it was an a/r release, lol. brad wood produced it. lake michigan as hell unicorns - “jellybones” this song makes me sad ever since i didn’t get to adopt the jellybones cat oblivion - “clark” desmond dekker - “jeserene” veruca salt - “one last time” veruca salt on summerland!!!! dead moon - “dead moon night” extremely dead moon on summerland fishbone - “i like to hide behind my glasses” dead moon - “on my own” paw - “sleeping bag” tar - “goethe” doc dart - “casket with flowers” smashing pumpkins - “zero” i don’t want billy corgan on summerland and i am sorry for that kicking giant - “&” kicking giant on summerland lmao shockabilly - “pile up all architecture” ween - “sorry charlie” sublime - “april 29, 1992 (miami)” heatmiser - “blackout” the clash - “pressure drop” hellbender - “pissant’s retrospective” the queers - “i won’t be” the vindictives - “circles” the beat farmers - “selfish heart” screaming trees - “end of the universe” 7 year bitch - “second hand” bourgeois filth - “above” nirvana - “scoff” the breeders - “cannonball” saturday looks good to me - “save my life” cara beth satalino - “good ones” communique - “dagger version” soul asylum - “sometime to return” sublime - “jailhouse” tullycraft - “twee” nuns - “wild” beyonce - “countdown” the replacements - “sixteen blue” living colour - “what’s your favorite color” britney - “why should i be sad” mdc - “church and state” alice in chains - “junkhead” rage against the machine - “mic check” everclear - “nervous and weird” soundgarden - “fresh tendrils” helmet - “army of me” the gits - “it all dies anyway” pansy division - “smells like queer spirit” mtx - “i’d do anything for you” 5 year sentence - “just a punk” pennywise - “nothing” mudhoney - “thirteenth floor opening” yesterday’s kids - “eighteen” mxpx - “punk rawk show” small brown bike - “zerosum” incubus - “trouble in 421″ hanson - “speechless” incubus - “circles” dead moon - “my time has come” (!!!!) first of all is this killdozer blink-182 - “here’s your letter” everclear - “electra made me blind” (nervous & weird take) saves the day - “through being cool” groovie ghoulies - “don’t go out into the rain (you’re gonna melt)” babes in toyland - “never” husker du - “target” guzzard - “biro” fairweather - “next day flight” mcr - “house of wolves” broadcast - “until then” liz phair - “never said” the dicks - “rich daddy” quasi - “the iron worm” mustard plug - “not again” janitor joe - “boyfriend” snapcase - “new academy” neil young - “someday” blindsided - “spaceman” placebo - “without you i’m nothing” the creeps - “lakeside cabin” solomon grundy - “time is not your own” the clash - “the card cheat” silversun pickups - “common reactor” lagwagon - “leave the light on” denali - “where i landed” system of a down - “highway song” sprinkler - “personality doll” the vindictives - “structure and function” unplugged” the queers - “ursula finally has tits” we’re entering no repeats territory buffalo springfield - “expecting to fly” hit squad - “pictures of matchstick men” cows - “almost a god” hop along - “young and happy” pixies - “i’ve been tired” the fall - “spoilt victorian child” camper van chadbourne - “knock on the door” queens of the stone age - “tension head” choking victim - “war story” cool that we have gotten to drop by the greatest song ever recorded :) guttermount - “happy loving couples” audio karate - “nintendo 89″ tad - “pork chop” the kelley deal 6000 - “where did the home team go” colorfinger - “hateful” :} man or astroman - “evil plans of planet spectra” pere ubu - “arabian nights” accepting repeats for new found glory - “my friends over you” cool moving on american steel - “optimist” tom petty & the heartbreakers - “even the losers” meat puppets - “another moon” black cat music - “wine in a box” wallside - “ready” crucifucks - “pig in a blanket” the bananas - “my charmed life”

KILLDOZER - “EARL SCHEIB,” UNCOMPROMISING WAR ON ART UNDER THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT, 1994. KILLDOZER ON SUMMERLAND

#music

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niche30 · 3 years ago

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The First Encounter

Year 2017, I am at the peak of my career. My agency was choosen to do adverts to an affluent businessman named Vance. Who came from a well known family of hotel and restaurant chain business and major stockholders around asian countries.

The appointment will be in 2 days, so i have to prepare. I’ve been asking people what Vance like so i can match the ad proposal to his liking. The only answer i got is: He’s an only child and you know what that means. As a perfectionist that didn’t really help me, at the back of my mind i was wondering “so this unico ijo is not easy to please?”. Well then i should make an impression.

On the day of our appointment, I’m literally in rush cause i’m super late. It’s a lunch meeting, i have to endure the heat and heavy traffic going to the location. When I arrived, Vance is on the phone with the investor and didn’t even bother to look at me.

“Suplado akala mo gwapo.” was talking to myself silently. I was then introduced by one of his secretary. “Excuse me sir, Ms. Breatrice Chua is here.”

He looked and said “Are you okay? How’s the traffic? you look stressed”.

I really don’t know what to say plus i think I’m screwed for being late. I just smiled and said “Nice to finally meet you Mr. Archival”.

“Please, call me Vance let’s not be too formal”.

We took our lunch, he ordered Shrimp in saffron sauce while I’m having Steak cooked in hilaw.

He noticed i’m not eating the steak so he ask “something wrong with the food? you’re not touching the meat only the gulays around it”.

“The meat is hilaw kasi”.

He smirked “Did you tell the waiter to cook it in medium well or well done?”.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s my first time here, i asked the waiter what’s their best seller and she recommended the Angus Steak.”

He called his secretary “Carl, can you take Ms. Chua’s plate and tell to the waiter to cook the steak in well done”.

“Hey you don’t have to do that. it’s fine”.

“It’s not fine Ms. Chua”. I butt in “please Bree na lang”.

“Okay Bree. Look they will appreciate if you’re honest. Trust me, you will break the chefs heart if you are not eating what they prepared for you”.

Sabagay he is tama. He is not supaldo at all. After we eat (i finished the whole steak by the way na hindi na hilaw), he went straight to the topic. He is such a goal oriented person, he knew what he wants, in fact he already outlined his idea for an advertising campaign. The meeting went 4 hours and it’s all good.

“Thank you Vance for the lunch. I will keep in touch and will probably send you galleys for the ad. But we will be needing some pictures”.

“Bad news walang pictures. Good news is pupunta kami bukas sa location in Cavite. We just finished building the towers and we’re currently working on the landscape. You can join us tomorrow, we will be conducting ocular inspection on the site also.”

“Well, yeah, sure. What’s the call time?”.

“We’ll depart early but you can go anytime in the morning. My secretary will be in touch with you baka maligaw ka. You know the direction naman diba going to Cavite?.”

“Of course no. Grabe ka naman.” Then he smiled.

While we’re going out and both heading to our cars, he’s talking insights about our new partnership but i’m no longer paying attention cause my eyes are fixed on his shoes and his suit’s designer brand.

In my mind i’m like “Geez this guy got some style, I am so under-dress!”(he’s very charming wearing a Valentino Uomo and in that Burberry Loafer) I’m literally zoned out.

“Hey Bree? Bree? what up? I was talking and you’re like tulala lang. Have you heard what i said kanina?.”

“Sorry Vance, uh, well, uhm I was thinking some ideas lang para sa campaign. I will see you tomorrow Mr. Archival. I mean Vance.”

“Okay see you. Take care.”

To be continued….

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xtruss · 4 years ago

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A mother polar bear and her cub traverse the sea ice in Nunavut, Canada. PhotographBy Paul Nicklen, National Geographic Image Collection

The Surprising Reason Polar Bears Need Sea Ice to Survive

A new study investigates an important link in the predators' food chain.

— By Lesley Evans Ogden | April 1, 2019

Every winter, Arctic sea ice grows around the pole, its frozen tendrils threading along northern coasts. Right now sea ice has just passed its peak coverage for the year, and will begin to shrink with the coming of spring. It’s a crucial time for polar bears, whose food supply is inextricably linked to sea ice.

And in recent decades, sea ice has been shrinking faster than ever. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, 2019 has the seventh-lowest sea ice cover in the Arctic since they began collecting satellite data 40 years ago.

This year “doesn't break any records, but it's the trend that matters,” says University of Alberta polar bear scientist Andrew Derocher. “The downward trend in Arctic sea ice across all months is the concern,” he says, and “now we wait to see what spring conditions bring.” (Read more about global warming’s link to polar bears.)

A cold spring allows ice to linger, giving polar bears easier access to one of their favorite foods: seals. A warm spring cuts short the availability of their food super-highway. “For polar bears, it's survival of the fattest,” Derocher says.

Fatter bears have better insurance to survive the ice-free summer when food is scarce or non-existent. And fatter females need energy to successfully birth and nurse healthy babies. “No polar bear ever looked in a melt pond and thought, I'm too fat," jokes Derocher.

We’ve long known that sea ice is an important platform for polar bears to hunt and raise young, but it turns out that the ice itself also carries a valuable energy source.

More than 70 percent of polar bears’ diet—at least for three bear populations in northern Canada—can be traced back to the algae growing on sea ice, according to research published in 2018 in the journal PLoS ONE.

An Icy Food Chain

You might picture sea ice as a vast, chunky expanse of white. That’s the view from above. But seen from below, sea ice is coated with a greenish-brown mat made up of many algae species.

If you’re now picturing massive jaws chowing down on a crunchy icy meal covered in green slime, no, that’s not it. Polar bears do not eat sea ice directly. Instead, researchers found that the majority of polar bears’ diet is made up of critters that ultimately depend on sea-ice algae as a food source. Their study examined polar bears from Baffin Bay, western Hudson Bay, and southern Hudson Bay.

Polar bears eat a lot of seals, and in some places, beluga whales too. Both seals and whales eat fish and other creatures that get their energy from tiny creatures called zooplankton, which in turn eat the algae on sea ice. One of the polar bear’s favorite meals, the ringed seal, eats a variety of fish and shrimp that munch on algae-eating plankton.

Individually, these algae are “smaller than a hair’s width,” says Thomas Brown, a marine ecologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science. But collectively, tiny sea ice algae have a massive impact on polar ecosystems.

After each long dark Arctic winter, spring light stimulates algal growth. That provides a bonanza for tiny creatures called copepods, amphipods, and zooplankton that feed on sea-ice undersides. In summer as ice melts, the algae sink. Fish that scour the sediments, and seals that eat those fish, create the links that clamber up the food chain to polar bears.

Bears on Ice

Over the years, Brown has explored polar ecosystems from the bottom up, so to speak. While examining starfish and sea urchins on the seafloor, he found that they contained a chemical also found in sea-ice algae, indicating that algae from up above had made it into their food supply.

Then Brown and his team looked for this chemical, called IP25, as a biomarker of sea-ice algae’s presence in polar bears. They collaborated with government officials in the Canadian territory of Nunavut and with Inuit people, who provided liver samples from subsistence-hunted polar bears. The results showed that carbon derived from sea ice dominated the predators' diets.

The University of Alberta's Derocher applauds the study, adding there are 19 polar bear populations across the Arctic, so the next obvious next step is to examine more of them. (Read how polar bears are showing up in surprising places.)

He adds that while ecosystems are robust, if you take away one component, “it won’t be that same ecosystem over time.” He thinks of sea ice as akin to soil in a forested ecosystem: “It’s a substrate that’s essential to the ecosystem as we know it.”

Sea ice is already known as important habitat for polar bears. “But what if we’re not seeing the whole picture, and what if sea ice is more important than we’re giving it credit for?” says Brown. “Less sea ice means less habitat, not only for polar bears but, importantly, also for the sea ice microorganisms that form a big part of the very base of the bear’s food chain,” he says.

With sea ice availability changing, “we may need to revise our assessments of how threatened polar bears are likely to be,” says Brown. It’s too early to tell, he adds, but it’s clear that for polar bears, ice is nice in multiple ways.

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randylavalley · 5 years ago

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HOW TO SEE TORONTO’S TOP ATTRACTIONS IN 48 HOURS

Toronto's been my home base for the last 4 years. And also while I may not have stepped foot in the city before relocating there in September 2013, I have actually definitely taken my role as a full time tourist pretty seriously in Canada's amusement capitol! Throughout my time in Toronto, I've uncovered a few secret bars, discovered some impressive gluten-free & vegan eats, and also learned the streets inside and out.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've put together a 48-hour itinerary for every one of Toronto's top tourist attractions for first-timers. After showing around my city to a couple of out-of-town visitors, I have my tour guide down pat and I thought I would certainly challenge myself to make this itinerary extremely reliable to maximize your time in Toronto!

I've additionally consisted of some tips concerning Toronto transit passes, essential courtesies as well as various other general Toronto ideas at the end of this post to make your trip a little bit simpler. And there are also some recommendations for some all-day tasks in case you require to plan for a third day in the 6ix.

So without more so long, below's just how you can see Toronto's leading tourist attractions in two days!

A 48-Hour Overview to Toronto's Leading Tourist attractions

Day 1

Starving Musician

Address: 810 University Street

Hours: 9 am-- 6 pm daily

Start your early morning at one of Toronto's brunch staples: Starving Artist. Known for its waffles, you can have a pleasant or savoury breakfast to load you up for your day ahead. My individual favourite is the Starving 4 Waffles covered with strawberries. The gluten-free as well as vegan waffles have a slight banana preference from the banana in the batter, so pleasant garnishes make the ideal pairing! It features fruit as well as your choice of salad or maple-baked beans.

There are also options like chicken and also waffles, or eggs benedict waffles for your omnivorous buddies!

Keep in mind: This is a cash-only facility. $20 is sufficient to cover a solitary morning meal with a coffee. They also have an ATM on website, in case you're like me and forget these points all the time.

Ossington Laneway

Instructions: Starving Artist to Ossington Laneway

Walk time: About 15 minutes

After a filling up breakfast, stroll down one of Toronto's the majority of famous roads- Ossington Method. Lined with attractive store fronts, one-of-a-kind breweries and also regional cafe, the appeal of this method will capture your heart!

Continue down Ossington up until you're virtually at Queen Road. Transform right, and also become the alley between Queen and also Humbert Streets. This is one of Toronto's graffiti treasures. As opposed to dealing with tags with white paint, Toronto police collaborated with the city of Toronto to create attractive street art along the Ossington Laneway! Since then, it's come to be the very best spot to see promising street musicians in Toronto!

Queen Street West

After scoping out Ossington Laneway as well as breaking some pictures, proceed East along Queen Road West. With a lot of special secondhand as well as document shops, delicious restaurants, the beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park, and enjoyable road art, it's the best method to connect with the neighborhood Toronto scene. A few of my favorite shops are The Paper Area (straight throughout from Trinity Bellwoods park), Mother Loves Vintage, Black Market, as well as Anthropologie (not a Toronto business, however this particular area is stunning)!

Graffiti Street

Instructions: Ossington Laneway to Graffiti Street

Stroll time: About 20 minutes

As you proceed roaming down Queen Street West, take a mild detour at Portland Street (at the Loblaws) to Hurry Lane, the street way running beside Queen Street. The whole alleyway is lined with some of the city's finest graffiti! And it's so iconic to Toronto thanks to Canadian comic Rick Mercer who would certainly film his political tirades in these alleys.

Khao San Road

Address: 11 Charlotte Road (instructions from Graffiti Street right here).

Hours: Monday- Saturday 11:30 -2:30 pm and 5-10 pm; Sunday 5-10 pm.

As soon as you have your fill of Instagram-worthy images from Graffiti Street, make your means over to Khao San Roadway for some scrumptious gluten-free and vegan Thai food! Unlike a lot of Thai dining establishments, who have shrimp paste in many things, Khao San Road has actually committed gluten-free as well as vegan menus with a lot of choices.

I highly suggest their gluten-free and also vegan fresh rolls as a starter. They're packed with carrot, lettuce, thai basil, mint, and fresh baked peanuts covered in rice paper, as well as a chilli tamarind dipping sauce! They likewise have a broad variety of curries, noodle as well as signature meals for mains. I went with the vegan green curry (gaeng kaew wan) when I went and I was not disappointed.

If you're fatigued of flavor, don't worry- you can choose anywhere between non-spice (0) and melt your challenge (11 ).

City Hall.

Instructions: Khao San Road to Town Hall.

Walk time: Little under 20 mins.

After refuelling with some tasty Thai food, make your way back approximately Queen Street West and also continue strolling eastern up until you struck the row of food vendors aligned beyond Nathan Phillips Square, also called the balcony beyond Toronto's Town hall!

During the summer months, the structure has a gorgeous water feature before the iconic multicoloured Toronto indication. And also once the city ices up over in cold weather, you can rent skates for $10 simply outside the rink! And in case you're questioning what the attractive structure next door is, it's Toronto's old city hall!

Eaton Centre.

Instructions: Town Hall to Eaton Centre.

Stroll time: 4 mins.

Found at the crossways of Queen Street West and also the longest street in The United States and Canada, Yonge Road, the Eaton Centre is Toronto's only downtown shopping mall. If you remain in Toronto throughout the ramp up to the holidays, it's most definitely worth appearing even just to see the mall's decorations!

Fun fact: The Eaton Centre was named after Eaton's department store, which was once Canada's largest outlet store. The chain store and also its catalogue played such an essential function in Canadian background, that it's memory lives on in among Canada's most well well-known children's tales: The Hockey Coat by Roch Provider.

Yonge-Dundas Square.

As soon as you walk through the Eaton Centre, you can exit on the main degree into Yonge-Dundas Square. Called Toronto's "Times Square," the square holds many concerts, demonstrations, buskers as well as-- naturally-- signboards. While it might not be as huge as Times Square, it's most definitely worth the stop off.

Kensington Market.

Directions: Yonge-Dundas Square to Kensington Market.

Stroll time: About 20 minutes.

Continue West along Dundas Road up until you strike Spadina Opportunity and also you'll strike Kensington Market! Situated in the heart of Chinatown, this hip area is recognized for its fusion food, street art, buskers, cheap consumes, pre-owned clothing stores, and funky bars!

Insect Dining establishment.

Instructions: Kensington Market to Grasshopper.

Walk time: Regarding 6 minutes.

Located nearby from the Northern idea of Kensington Market, Insect Dining establishment is a gluten-free as well as vegan foodie's desire! Start with a scrumptious offering of their sesame french fries, which are deep fried in sesame oil. For a primary, I extremely advise both the miso veggie dish as well as the mushroom 'n rice bowl. They're both unbelievable filling therefore delicious that I can never choose in between the two! (Luckily, my boyfriend wants to get both so we can go halfsies!) And also if you're still feeling peckish after dinner, I highly advise their cashew cookie! It's the excellent amount of wonderful to round off your meal!

Cold Tea.

After a tasty supper at Insect, head back right into Kensington Market to among Toronto's much-loved secret bars! This location is definitely off the visitor radar, as many Torontonians don't also understand where it is! Head down the hallway to the right of Kensington Shopping mall, until you get to the blinking traffic signal. During the week there's no line, so it looks a bit sketchy, but trust me it deserves it! (I won't spoil the shock when you initially stroll within, but it'll be the strangest bar experience you'll have in Toronto!).

Day 2.

Hibiscus.

Address: 238 Augusta Avenue.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11:30 -6 pm; Weekend break 11:30 -9 pm; Closed Mondays.

Day 2 starts off once more in Kensington Market at one of my preferred gluten-free and also vegan brunch places in the city! With plenty of vegan alternatives, Hibiscus is a wonderful location to obtain a filling breakfast. I highly suggest obtaining among their cold matchas to go along with their vegan mozzarella, tomato, basil, spinach as well as mushroom buckwheat crepe that comes topped with zucchini and also avocado. It's virtually unsubstantiated that these large crepes are vegan as well as gluten-free! And also if you're not in the state of mind for crepes, their quinoa salad and also everyday soup are always a hit!

CN Tower.

Directions: Hibiscus to CN Tower.

Hrs: 9 am-- 10:30 pm.

Admission: $36 per grownup.

After a filling up breakfast, make your way over to among Toronto's the majority of legendary landmarks-- the CN Tower. Integrated in 1973, the CN Tower held the title of the tallest freestanding framework worldwide for 31 years. Standing at 553 metres tall (1,812 feet or 147 storeys), you can see the entire Greater Toronto Location and also have an outstanding sight of the Billy Diocesan Airport out on Toronto Island. If you're lucky, you can see part of a Blue Jay's game over at the Rogers Centre! At the lower observation deck, you can walk the CN Tower as well as snap selfies on the glass floor. (If you're brave, do a little jump on the glass flooring!) There's likewise the choice to go to their higher observation deck or, for adventurers, you can stroll along the edge of the tower for an additional expense.

Union Station.

Directions: CN Tower to Union Station by means of COURSE.

Stroll time: 5 mins.

When you have actually had your fill of Toronto up in the sky, come back to road level as well as head over to among Toronto's earliest structures, Union Station. The station connects all significant trains in midtown Toronto including TTC (downtown Toronto transportation), the GO Train (attaching the GTA to Toronto) and also VIA Rail (Canada's nationwide rail service). The structure is currently going through indoor renovations, yet will certainly soon consist of a shopping centre inside. Nevertheless, the beaux-arts architecture of the station is certainly an amazing consider Canada's history!

Gooderham Building.

Instructions: Union Station to Gooderham Building.

Stroll time: About 10 mins.

From Union station, proceed strolling eastern along Front Street past the Hockey Hall of Fame (in case you doubted just how much Canadians enjoy hockey) towards its junction with Wellington Road. There you'll discover one more New york city City look-alike! The Gooderham Building is Toronto's Apartment Iron Structure doppelgänger! It's a cross in between Romanesque Rebirth and French Gothic style and also by far among my most preferred structures in the city!

Planta Burger.

Directions: Gooderham Structure to Planta Burger.

Walk time: Regarding 10 minutes.

After checking out several of Toronto's a lot of iconic structures, get a fast lunch break at one of the city's up as well as coming plant-based restaurant chains! Planta Burger turned up this summer after the large success of its original Planta dining establishment in Yorkville. The burger patties are nut-free as well as gluten-free, and also there is the gluten-free option of a collard green cover. Try The golden state bunless hamburger option, and also for the complete burger joint impact, add some fries as well as a strawberry mylkshake!

St. James Park.

Instructions: Planta Hamburger to St. James Park.

Walk time: About 8 minutes.

After lunch, take a soothing walk over to St. James Park. Situated alongside among Toronto's oldest churchgoers, the park uses unbelievably manicured gardens as well as a stunning gazebo. Delight in the flowers and citizens grabbing lunch before rushing back to the workplace. St. James Park is really one of the most attractive parks in the city!

St. Lawrence Market.

Instructions: St. James Park to St. Lawrence Market.

Walk time: 2 mins.

Hrs: Tuesday-Thursday 8 am-- 6 pm; Friday 8 am-- 7 pm; Saturday 5 am-- 5 pm; Closed Sunday & Monday.

Simply southern of St. James Park is just one of Toronto's many renowned markets, the St. Lawrence Market! The domed structure was first built in the city given that 1803, with a 2nd structure homes what once was Toronto Municipal government erected in 1845. It was named the world's best food market by National Geographic in 2012 for its wide variety of meats, cheeses, produce as well as plenty of neighborhood vendors offering classic Canadian souvenirs. Sadly, there aren't numerous gluten-free or vegan choices, but it's certainly worth checking out!

Ethiopiques.

Instructions: St. Lawrence Market to Ethiopiques.

Stroll time: Concerning 15 minutes.

As soon as you're done checking out the St. Lawrence Market location as well as are ready for dinner, head over to one of Toronto's best Ethiopian-owned dining establishments, Ethiopiques! As Toronto is one of the most multicultural city in the world with majority its occupants birthed outside of Canada, I would extremely advise attempting foods from various societies while you're visiting! Ethiopiques deals gluten-free injera and also a big vegan plate, which offers example sizes of its several vegan dishes. A single person plate might quickly feed two individuals if you were still a bit complete from lunch.

Distillery District.

Directions: Ethiopiques to Distillery Area.

Hrs: Monday-Wednesday 10 am-- 7 pm; Thursday- Saturday 10 am-- 8 pm; Sunday 11 am-- 6 pm.

Admission: FREE (Examine Xmas Market for admission from mid-November with December).

An excellent method to end the evening is in the romantic Distillery District. Previously called Gooderham & Worts Distillery-- who started their financially rewarding windmill service to transform grain right into flour-- the Distillery District is recognized for its uncommonly premium Victorian industrial structures. It has since ended up being house to a number of local dining establishments and stores, including Toronto-made apparel, jewellery, knick knacks as well as vintages!

Around the holidays, the Distillery Area Xmas Market pops up as well as Torontonians flood to the happy historic premises! With mulled white wine under big space heaters, a variety of handmade wooden accessories and also carollers, it's the best way to start the holiday celebrations in Toronto!

Other Tips To See Toronto's Top Tourist attractions.

Toronto City Tips.

That needs a North Celebrity when Toronto's obtained a South Post? The CN Tower shows up from almost every corner of the 6ix, and unless you have actually taken a trip south of Front Street, it's the south tip of the city. I used it practically such as a compass throughout my time in the city. Follow roadway policies when walking or on the escalator. I can not emphasize this point enough. Torontonians are busy individuals and will probably either call out "Excuse me" in an upset voice or will certainly huff as they walk you on a hectic sidewalk. If you're not in a rush, stick to the appropriate side of the escalator or pathway to appease the residents.

Transportation.

Toronto is most definitely a walking city. Throughout my four years there, it was my primary mode of transportation. Please bring comfortable walking shoes for your trip.

Public transit is $3.25 per adult. Toronto Transportation Compensation (TTC) accepts coins, Presto cards and symbols (to be eliminated soon) on all streetcars, buses and also metro stops. New TTC streetcars and all metro stops accept credit cards.

On weekend breaks, a single day pass ($ 11) covers two grownups and also up to four children under the age of 19. Throughout the week, grownups must pay individually for the solitary day pass or for a single-use pass. This is readily available for purchase only at subway terminals.

FOR THIS TRAVEL PLAN: I would certainly NOT advise getting a day pass for Day 1, as all locations are within a 20 minute stroll of one another at the most. Day 2 would certainly be an optional day pass, as there are three 'trips' that are thirty minutes or more apart by public transit (totalling to $9.75 per adult). If you feel you would certainly take public transportation a 4th time that day, you're better off with a day pass as opposed to paying the $3.25 single-use pass.

More of Toronto's Leading Tourist attractions (Day 3 possibilities).

Where are Toronto's many Instagrammable graffiti places?

Toronto also warm to manage? Cool off at these 3 Toronto beaches!

What's Toronto's favourite means to leave the city during summertime? Have A Look At Toronto Island right here!

Gluten-free & vegan in Toronto? NOT A PROBLEM. (Like actually. At all.) Below are my 7 favourite brunch spots to begin your time off right!

Make use of the warm temperatures and admire the Greater Toronto Location's charm at the Scarborough Bluffs!

Who recognized Toronto had a castle?! Venture a bit north in the city for a stunning journey via time at Casa Loma!

Seeking to knock back some neighborhood brewskies on the affordable? Check out some of Toronto's best dive bars!

Go out to Niagara Falls for the day! With 7 various methods to see one of Canada's best wonders, it's impossible to leave dissatisfied! Optional: Stop off at one of Niagara's several wineries, consisting of an ice winery- a Canadian specialized.

The post “ HOW TO SEE TORONTO’S TOP ATTRACTIONS IN 48 HOURS “ was appeared first on the full time tourist

The IV Lounge - IV Therapy Toronto Drip Clinic

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umichenginabroad · 6 years ago

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Wuhan Trip Pt. 2

Let’s share some of the cuisine I had during my stay in Wuhan!

Choudofu, translated literally to stinky tofu, is a delicacy found throughout China, with each region having its own version. Coming from Taiwan, our version is fried to crispy-gold, with some spicy-sour sauce and coriander sprinkled on top. In Wuhan, me and my friend, a native to Wuhan, tried Changsha stinky tofu, a variation that is black as in the picture. It is also fried and eaten a a street food, with some bamboo shoots served on top.

This version is definitely one of the best I had. I regret not getting a larger portion. Definitely spicier, but I do recommend people who do eat spicy food to give it a try even though it does smell stinky. Even though it does have somewhat an unpleasant smell from a distance, actually holding it and eating it does not give you that smell at all.

One representative Wuhan cuisine is Reganmian, or hot dried noodles if translated literally. I had it in one of the chain restaurants in China, which I think has a more guaranteed quality.

Reganmian uses sesame sauce among other sauces, which I think gives it the unique flavor it has. On top of the noodles, you can eat it with beef as I did, shrimps, or vegetables. This small bowl made me craving for more, and actually led me to buy a whole pack of Reganmian instant noodles back to Taiwan to share with my family!

Apart from food, I found the scenery at Donghu a breathtaking view and a must if you visit China. The Donghu park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is centered around Donghu, known as East Lake in English. Below you can find some photos I took.

Many poems were written in Donghu, and i could really feel the poetic air brimming in this artistic and cultural place in China. It was surely a break from the concrete jungle Shanghai is. My friend and I ended up taking an afternoon walking around Donghu, talking and having a wonderful and peaceful time.

While visiting Donghu, I was interested in how Xihu (West Lake) in Hangzhou compared to the East Lake in Wuhan. Both places are part of the best natural landscape China has to offer, and I would like to visit Hangzhou if given the chance.

#UmichEnginAbroad #ipeshanghai #yunzenhuang #ipesummer2019

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celestialprincesstrash · 7 years ago

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Who You Are: Chapter 6

FanFiction.net

Rated: M

Genre: Drama/Romance

Lucy stepped out of her bedroom to see a snoring Natsu draped across her couch and sighed. She walked into the kitchen to start making breakfast when she heard a quick but loud knock at her door. She crossed the room to open the door but found no one behind it; thinking it strange, she poked her head into the hallway and looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of her mysterious visitor, but still found no one. She was about to close her door when she saw a small white envelope on her floor. She picked it up then closed the door to her apartment and locked it for good measure. On the front of the envelope was her first and last name scribbled hastily without her address or a return address. Clearly the letter had been hand delivered by the person who wrote it, but what Lucy found strange was that it had her first and her last name but it didn't look very official and those were usually the only ones she received with Heartfilia on them. Sliding her thumb into the envelope to tear it open Lucy grew curious as to what she would find and who would be sending her a letter at all. She pulled a folded up piece of paper from the inside and opened it up to read what was inscribed.

They're coming for it. Then for you. Get ready.

Lucy stared down at the strange letter in confusion and blinked a few times. She turned the paper over to see if there was anything else and found it to be blank.

"How strange…"

"What's strange?"

Lucy jumped into the air and shrieked at the sudden question in surprise. Lost in her thoughts, Lucy hadn't realized that Natsu woke up when she closed her apartment door and was now staring at her with a curiosity and impatience clearly displayed on his face. Lucy placed a hand over her chest to feel her racing heart and took a breath to calm herself.

"Jeez Natsu, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Natsu smiled at that in amusement and got up off the couch reaching for the envelope in Lucy's hands.

"Hey Luce, what's this?"

Lucy turned to see Natsu holding a picture that he had pulled out of the envelope. She took it from him and looked at it to see some sort of strange tablet. It was gold and had an odd language written into it, one that Lucy had never seen, not even in Levy's ancient language books.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I've never seen it before. Do you think maybe the sender had the wrong Lucy?"

"Maybe"

Natsu watched Lucy's face wrinkle in worry and confusion.

"Look Lucy," he said taking the letter from her, "don't worry about it, it's probably some stupid prank from one of your fans."

"Natsu this looks a little too specific to be some random prank."

"Whatever, I just don't think you should worry about it k?"

And with that the letter, the envelope, and the picture inside went up in a small ball of flames and then crumbled to ash within Natsu's fist.

"There, see? Like it never existed, let's head to the guild alright?"

"Alright, I hope you're right."

"Course I am. Have I ever steered you wrong Lucy?"

Lucy scoffed at his question and the large smile that accompanied it. He really was such a fool sometimes.

The walk to the guild had been quite enjoyable. The sun was out, birds were chirping, Natsu kept her entertained with his antics, and Magnolia as a whole felt incredibly lively as they passed shops, trader's markets, homes, the church, and the town's main square. Happy found them half way and happily flew next them and fooled around with Natsu, enjoying the beautiful day and the slight breeze under his wings. It was as they were passing a well-known jewelry shop that Natsu's suddenly jumped into the air with an excited shout of Lucy's name. Lucy giggled at him and asked him what he was so excited for.

"I forgot to tell you why my solo mission was such a secret!"

"Natsu, what are talking about?"

Natsu hastily reached into his bag and dug around for a bit before he fished out a gold chain necklace with a thin and delicate gold disk attached, engraved with the name Lucy in elegant script.

"Oh my- Natsu what in the world?"

"Well, I knew your birthday was coming up soon and just wanted to get out of town to get your gift without you knowing. Do you like it?"

Lucy grabbed for the necklace excitedly and smiled brightly at her partner.

"Natsu, I love it! Thank you!" She jumped at him and granted him a large hug as thanks, feeling him wrap his arms around her.

"Good, I'm glad," he said as he released her, "Why don't you try it on? I wanna see how it looks."

"Sure, could you help me out a bit? I've never been good at these things."

Natsu stepped around Lucy and brushed her long blonde hair to the side of her neck then reached over her to place the chain on her neck.

"Agh! Natsu don't pull so hard, you'll choke me."

"Sorry Lucy."

He fastened the clasp and moved her hair back into place then stepped back around her to get a good look at it. Lucy blushed under his gaze because it felt like he was inspecting her and perhaps determining whether he liked it.

"How does it look?"

Natsu smiled large and gave her a thumbs up.

"You look great Luce!"

Lucy blushed at his comment on her entire appearance instead of just the necklace. It wasn't everyday Natsu was complimenting her. It was usually some joke about her weight or creepy smile or how weird she was so the compliment happened to catch her by surprise. She gave his shoulder a light shove and continued walking.

"Whatever… idiot."

"Youuuuu liiike hiimmm!"

Lucy swore she'd skin that cat one day.

When they arrived at the guild it had been as lively as ever and Natsu immediately left her side to go pick a fight with Gray and Lucy looked around to see if she could find Cyrus or Erza. She failed to find either but did manage to spot Levy sitting down with Gajeel at their usual table. It had been days since she'd seen the pair so she decided to go sit down and chat with them for a bit.

"Levy!"

"Hey Lu! How's it going?"

"Really great, actually. How about you?"

"I'm doing alright I guess."

Lucy heard Gajeel snort at that and looked over to see him munching on a plate of bolts. Levy gave him a glare that clearly said she didn't appreciate the sound and he rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on chewing.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"Oh no, Lu, well actually, I don't know. Do you remember that artifact that I was researching?"

"Yah, you lost like weeks of sleep."

"Yup, well as soon as I had actually started to stumble across some information on the damn thing, the magic council caught wind of it and stopped by to collect every inch of research that I had collected."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, I wish I was. It's a little maddening to be honest but they'll be coming by today to pick up[ the artifact itself and lock it up, so I guess it must be pretty important. I think they just don't want it and my research to somehow fall into the wrong hands."

Lucy nodded in understanding at Levy's reasoning.

"I don't know. Shrimp did all that work and they get to just come by and steal it all away? If you ask me, the whole thing sounds a like big load of shi-"

"Gajeel, if you don't shut up, I swear I'll have to shut you up myself."

Gajeel patted his girlfriend's hand in an attempt to calm her temper that he didn't mean to ignite. Levy was clearly done discussing the matter and the three went on to discuss other topics. Despite the occasional snide or crass comment from Gajeel, the conversation was fairly mundane, telling each other what they'd been up to lately. It felt nice to finally take break from the crazy life of a mage and just have a normal conversation on a normal day. Suddenly everything felt slowed down and the air became thick as a low hum of magic went through the guild, a magic that left a bad feeling in the pit of Lucy's stomach and then everything came back to reality as she heard

Natsu shout from the other side of the guild.

"Get down!"

Author's Note: Who left Lucy the mysterious letter? Why does the council want the artifact? How are things about to change for Fairy Tail? Find out in the next chapter!

Alright so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, since I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm finally jumping into the main plot line. I've got so many ideas and events in store for everyone and I can't wait for you guys to read them! Once again, don't be afraid to review and let me know what you think of the story. I want to hear from the readers. I'll also start posting the chapters on tumblr. You can follow me at celsetialprincesstrash. Go ahead and message me as I'm looking to meet people within our awesome fandom! Thanks again for reading!

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miopetrovic-blog · 8 years ago

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Welcome home?

Prologue: I hung up with Mio and tried to get back to answering emails. For being such a quiet guy, he was so high strung sometimes. You'd never know it though. My father, he was the one who micromanaged but saw himself as low maintenance - the worst (but it made him great...he's a great man and I'm more like him than I'll admit). But Mio? Just as admirable but the sort who stood back and let things manage themselves...and quietly drove himself crazy trying not to jump in and fix them. It was my father who finally got Mio to take over for him in Portland...and with me. I'll be eternally grateful to him for that. For the longest I felt guilty. Guilty for taking his time. Guilty for...everything, really. Until I didn't. You can't feel guilty for someone choosing to love you. It's almost insulting, you know? Anyway, that's exactly what I kept telling him about her. He was a mess (in as much as Mio can be a mess - but don’t let him fool you) and I could tell he wasn't going to relax until he finally saw her. Who needs to worry about a visit from the insurance appraiser from 2000 miles away when he knows it's taken care of? Seriously. At 11:00 pm? I told him to just relax and focus on his weekend off. I had everything covered. This woman, Clea, she was his undoing - in such a good way. He lit up when he talked about her. And if she came up, he - whom you couldn't get two words out of otherwise - wouldn't shut up about her. To be fair, “talkative” for Mio was like...normal for anyone else. It was obvious he loved her. He had two folders of pictures on his phone. Pictures for work and pictures of her. Told you. That's everything, right? But like I told him - Relax man, if she loves you, you don't need to feel guilty anymore. Tell her the truth. Tell her everything if you need to. Just...tell her. ------------------------------------------ Mio... I knew Steve had forgotten about the appraiser coming through Saturday. I needed to be focused tomorrow and didn't want to be distracted by anything - so I called hoping I'd catch him. Thankfully he was home and able to look up a few things for me about the new contractor as well. I was starting to let go and trust his judgment more, but it was harder than I thought it would be. He was so damn...he was...infuriatingly...relaxed. About everything. Once he felt like something was taken care of - he was able to just let it go and move on to whatever was next in line to focus on. Me? I always felt like I had to have a finger on everything. I scrolled through the figures I had read over a dozen times already on my iPad, oblivious to them really, but trying to stay busy while I waited for sleep to hit me. Sully was wrapped up on the floor with all the towels I'd picked up once already. I just gave in this time. If he wanted to sleep in damp towels, I wasn't going to argue with him. I was glad I brought him with me this time. He was an old man who just wanted to sleep all the time, but he was loyal and made me smile. I shut my iPad down and laid back in bed. Was she up? I wondered what she was thinking. Was she nervous? Was she just being nice, and I didn't realize she wasn't exactly eager to see me? We couldn't dance around the obvious all weekend could we? I've never seen her angry, but I knew better than to assume she couldn't be if it was warranted. She was a woman. And I mean that in the most respectful way possible. She may not even be around all weekend. I mean...I didn't even know what her life was now. She may have someone in her life...oh god what if she had someone and I'm coming through and he's… I really needed to relax. But I didn't see that happening any time between now and tomorrow night. Steve was right. I was a mess. He was convinced she loved me. I wasn't so sure. No, wait. Not Clea. I mean, I think she genuinely cared for me - that wasn't up for question. But I definitely had no idea if she ever felt whatever this was that had me feeling like I missed the best thing I ever had the chance to have. Tomorrow. It couldn't come soon enough and yet I was already dreading what could go wrong. ------------------- I tried to keep busy at work. Focused on patrons, tasks, anything but tomorrow. Amber and Brandee knew something was up. They kept exchanging glances, asking for my help with things. Around 12:30, Brandee came out to cover the desk and told me to go eat lunch. Amber was waiting for me in the staff lounge. “I picked up lunch. So have a seat and start talking,” she laughed as she pushed a chair out with her foot. I knew better than to argue. And she bought my favorite shrimp po-boy so how could I resist? I joined her for lunch and started telling her about the emails from him. Her eyes only widened briefly to her credit. We ate quietly for a while. Amber knew me well enough to appreciate the quiet between us as much as the laughter. The only other non-empath who understood me this well was my sister. Until Mio. After we finished our sandwiches, she finally asked me the question I’d been avoiding. “Are you sure you're ready to see him? To open yourself up again?” It was an excellent question. An honest one. A weightier one for someone with my gift. I wasn't angry with him for leaving. There were so many happy memories to fall back on. Things I never would have seen or felt without him. “I am. It doesn't mean that things will go back to where they were. The past is the past. And he lives in Portland now.” Amber nodded, watching me. “Who knows?” I laughed. “Brandee and Rick have made distance work for over 30 years, right?” The rest of the day passed uneventfully. On my afternoon break, I called Garrett’s office to ask about dog food and anything else I might need for a canine guest. After helping close the Library for the day, I said goodnight to Brandee, Amber and the rest of the staff. Then I headed to the store. On my way to the checkout, I impulsively picked up root beer and French vanilla ice cream. For old time's sake? Later that night, after I had done all I could to ready the guest room and stock the fridge, I laid on the couch watching a movie with Shakespeare. No Miss Fisher tonight. Tonight we watched one of our old favorites, Finding Nemo. As I stated to drift off, I heard myself mumble, “Just keep swimming.” -------------------- After sitting in traffic for a few hours trying to get through Baton Rouge, I was thankful for the long drive to Bon Temps. The traffic only made me feel like I was getting nowhere. This drive let me think. The sun set right as the flat land of southern Louisiana gave way to the hills. I was thinking back to how easy we had been together before. There were the typical missteps and bumps anyone has when you’re getting to know the other person in a new relationship...if that’s what we had...and of course, there was her gift. I still wasn’t always so sure it was a gift for her. It felt like it must be a suffocating burden to have to constantly hold back the intruding emotions of everyone around you. This was not something I had to worry about. If anything I worried I missed things that I should be more intune to. I had to stop shortly before I got into town. I was hungry and so was Sully. I’d brought his food, but he’d developed an awful habit of staring at me while I ate this week as though I’d forgotten it. I had yet to give into him and wasn’t about to start, so when he began to whine once I climbed back into the car with my fries, I just shook my head at him. “Nope. Not even sorry either.” He took the hint on the whining but made a huge show of looking dejected. “Get over it, buddy.” As I drove into town, I grew tense. The familiar buildings should have made me feel at home, but it was the subtle changes to everything that made the time that had gone by since I left so much more apparent. Young trees that were taller. New shops. A new illuminated sign for the elementary school. I turned into her neighborhood and wondered if she would even be home. I had sent a text earlier in the day apologizing if I was intruding by coming late and letting her know I would be in just after dinner. She, of course, told me it was fine and to take my time. I didn’t know what I was coming back to though...and I think that was part of why I spent so much time during the day checking in on things that could have easily waited til Monday or been handled by someone else. I looked down and noticed I was only driving 10 miles an hour. I was lost, but only in thought. Just as I tapped the gas to speed up slightly, I saw I was already in front of her house. I may have been worried about what I would find when I got there - but a part of me still knew how to find her without even trying. ----------------- I started to change into one of my dresses I usually wore for work, but then stopped myself. I didn't want this to feel like work or a date. I wanted to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. After hanging up my dress, I slipped on a newer pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt so soft it could have been cashmere but wasn't. I left my hair loose around my shoulders. A ponytail felt too confined. The only makeup my Burt’s Bees tinted lip gloss. I did indulge in the slightest spritz of fragrance. It was like the freshest green apples and got compliments from men and women when I wore it at the library. All I needed was him. He was running late so I fed Shakespeare and made myself a cup of tea. My eyes darted from whatever I happened to start on Netflix and Evey's box on my bookshelf. I meant to ask Brandee to put it in the Library safe, but I couldn't. It was going to have to wait for now. I could only handle one ghost of Christmas past at a time. Speaking of ghosts and rattling chains, I thought I heard something outside. I grabbed the remote and turned down my tv. “Did you hear that, Shakespeare? I think we have visitors.” I debated getting up and opening the door, but he had a key or at least never said he didn't. I guess I’d find out soon enough. ---------------- I hadn't really thought of using my key or whether I should knock. Of course she said use the key, but...I just felt like an intrusion. And so here I was stuck in a millisecond of doubt once again trying to determine what was best for Clea without giving her the benefit of deciding it for herself. I looked down at Sully seated patiently staring at the door with his tail already wagging. “Don't embarrass us,” I whispered down to him. He looked up at me briefly before turning back to stare at the door, tail still wagging. I don't think he was worried about who might embarrass whom. I slipped my phone into my coat pocket after shutting it off for the night and took out my keys. Picking hers out easily, I put the key in and took half-second to breathe before I turned the lock and opened the door. The volume on the television went lower and after a pause, I heard her get up. I tightened my grip on Sully’s leash as I turned to put my key on the hook I always used - still empty, I noticed - then looked up and waited for her. ---------------- His hesitation spoke volumes. I got up and moved to the doorway, only pausing when I finally heard the key in the lock. He hadn’t lost it. I heard the light metallic clink as he hung his key up and what must have been Sully’s paws walking across the floor. Sully appeared first at the end of a leash. I crouched down and extended my hand for him to sniff. Not trusting myself to look at Mio just yet. He felt even more vulnerable than I did at the moment. I wasn’t expecting that. Mio must have let out Sully’s leash because after a sniff and a lick of my hand, the dog was practically knocking me over with his affection. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Hello to you too, Sully. Aren’t you a handsome fellow?” I spent several moments scratching behind his ears, petting his silky fur and accepting dog lick kisses on my hands before finally looking up as I stood. His hair was a little longer. There was a beard now. Almost as thick and unruly as his curls. I suppose it helped with the damp cold I heard the Pacific Northwest had. His eyes. They hadn’t changed. They were as intense and clear as ever. I couldn’t read his expression. Not yet. The facial hair hid too much. “Hi.” Such a short, innocuous word, but it was all I could manage at the moment. ------------------------- She was perfect. I looked down as Sully gave up any semblance us having a dignified entrance. I couldn't help but laugh. She welcomed him easily. Within seconds they were old friends. As she stood, thankfully, Sully sat back and seemed to relax, but his tail and eyes gave away everything. He looked more excited than I'd seen him when he met me. Back when I got him, he'd stayed in the corner of his kennel and took his time, I had to earn his trust. “Hi,” I said, content to just look at her a moment. All the stress I had up until this moment must have been left on the other side of the door because once I walked in and saw her - it felt more like home than my own. My place in Portland felt as cold and grey as the city itself this time of year. Being in her presence brought a warmth I hadn't found anywhere else since we’d parted. Sully looked back and forth between us as if he expected one of us to say...something. But neither of us seemed to have the words. I ran my hand over my beard as I watched her eyes - bright and curious. I smiled at her before stooping down and unhooking Sully’s leash. Clea and I watched for a moment as he got up, walked around a bit to sniff things out, circled twice before walking back over to us, and promptly sat down next to her. Now I had both of them facing me expectantly. I couldn't help but laugh. “Well, I guess he's made himself at home.” She now had my full attention. “Thank you,” I started, then stopped. I put my hands in my pockets to keep myself from reaching out to her. Could she sense any of this? I let out a breath and waited. ------------------------- The last time I’d seen him was right after his father died. He showed up out of the blue. Held tight to me while we slept and was gone a few days later. Grief can do awful things to a person. I didn’t blame him for leaving or for needing to focus on other things. I’m sure my gift was part of the equation. But even with all that he was here. I laughed when Sully plopped down beside me. There was a comfortable warmth where his side leaned against my leg. He really was a beautiful animal, and I wasn’t even a dog person. Sully was an excellent ice breaker as well. At least he got Mio to laugh. A sound I never thought I’d hear again. “He’s welcome to stay whenever he wants for as long as he wants. As are you.” I looked down at Sully. “Just one rule. No drinking my fish. Deal?” Sully looked up at me and tilted his head. “You heard me,” I laughed and scratched him behind the ears. “Sully and I are sorted,” I said as I looked back at Mio. “Would you like to actually come in now?” When he continued to stand there watching me, I took a few steps toward him and held out my hand not sure if he’d take it. “Please?” ------------------------------ Steve...interlude... I took it as a good sign when Mio didn't reply to my texts. Lucky bastard. And yet he was worried. I couldn't help but shake my head as I put my phone down on my night stand. Boy didn't even know what he had waiting for him. It had been over a year since I started my path to sobriety. I had already had a few chats with my sponsor about dating...relationship...I couldn't even think of that at the moment. Not because I didn't want it. Goddamn, I was jealous as hell of Mio. He had someone who loved him and just...I couldn't exactly picture him as the sort to fall into the soccer dad and helping with homework barbecues on the weekend sort...but I knew him. He was the sort who did fine alone - but was better with someone who drew him out and played to his better angels. The boy needed a family. I laid back in the dark and watched the shadows on the ceiling. I couldn't even imagine what that future would be like for me. I wasn't in place of shame at all. I don't know that I ever was. I owned my sins. But I knew who I was. I knew whoever might be out there for me - I'd know her the moment I met her. ------------------------------ Mio... I looked at her. So relaxed. So...goodamnit. I took her hand and pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her. Not so tight that she couldn't pull away, but I...I didn't even know what I was doing. It was like everything of the last year or so was crashing down like glass around me and I just needed to hold her and know whatever this was was actually happening. She didn't tense up, but I’ll be honest - my selfish heart was more focused on what I needed in that moment. I held her close to me and inhaled deeply as I dug my nose into her hair. My shoulders relaxed. She was so small in my arms. I wanted nothing more in that moment to just...nothing. Honestly, this was all I wanted. Holding her. Drawing her in. Feeling like I could just...be. I caught myself and realized how awkward...wrong? Shit...I had no idea what I was doing. I loosened my grip slightly...but didn't let her go. I stepped back a half step and put my hands on her shoulders. “I'm sorry,” I started. “I don't…” I let her go and slipped my hands in my pockets again, “I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry.” ---------------- When he pulled me against him, it was as if he'd read my mind. I wanted this moment, dreamed of it, needed it more than I realized. My arms encircled his waist, but not too tightly. He felt….not fragile but like he had a tenuous grip on his emotions. I closed my eyes and released whatever hesitation I had. His embrace spoke louder than any words ever could. I couldn't separate all the emotions he was feeling, but that could wait. Abruptly he started to let go and almost push me away before stopping himself. I searched his eyes trying to figure out what happened. Was he just desperate for physical contact of any kind? Why was he apologizing? No. My gut instincts were reliable. Something was going on with him. It was me he wanted to hold, not just anyone. It was in his eyes. It is almost impossible to lie to an empath, especially this empath. I stood still and gave him a moment to collect his thoughts, trying not to be distracted by Sully’s quiet whimper. He knew too. Once his hands were hidden from me again, I moved closer with my eyes locked on his. Carefully sliding my hands into his pockets, my fingers found his and interlaced as if they had a mind of their own. “Don't think. Just be here,” I whispered before reaching up and pressing my lips to his. -------------------- After she released my lips, I reluctantly took a breath. “Clea…” It was a prayer as much as a statement of fact. I honestly didn't know what else to say as she held tight to my hands and her lips met mine...I mean..nothing should be said, right? God, the good thing was she must have known everything without knowing anything. But she didn't know...this. Did she? I needed her. Not just anyone. Since the day I left..her. My forehead rested against hers. The time lost meant nothing. Jesus...it was like everything I'd dealt with over the last year or so just let down in front of her. “Clea...I'm so sorry.” I just let myself release. Everything. Right in front of her. I knew she’d grasp it faster than words could have told her anyway. Why didn't I trust her strength before? I felt foolish. Like I was insulting the very core of her. How was this woman able to be my strength and at the same time draw out the strength in me? Sully had given up apparently and walked away. I bit both my lips to hold back everything that was pushing within me to collapse into her - “Alright,” I said, after a deep breath from us both. I pulled back and kissed her forehead. Someone needed to treat this woman like she wasn't the strongest one in the room and goddammit if it wasn't going to be me. I took her hand and walked towards the couch and sat down with her. “Stay here a moment, ok?” She nodded with a smile and sat back. I could tell it went against her instincts to let me lead, all things considered, but I knew of nothing else at this point. I leaned over and inhaled deeply into her hair once more before getting up and stepping away. I tried to not overthink. I tried to avoid the thoughts creeping in that were leading me to question everything. The thoughts that were telling me I was a bastard for leading this woman in her own house. I ignored all of them. I went into the kitchen I knew so well, found a bowl in the cabinet I knew would be there, and filled it with water. I whistled softly, but quickly - and thankfully the old man was smart enough to know I needed him to just go along with me. Sully walked in, looked around and then looked to me before noticing the bowl on the floor near the wall. “There you go,” I said simply. I went back to her, hoping she'd be...honestly I didn't even know what to hope for anymore. I was just hoping she'd still be waiting…not like she hadn't long enough already. ---------------------------------- Finally a kink in the armor. I closed my eyes as he rested his forehead to mine. I felt like there was a chance to reach him, to help him shed this heaviness that had descended upon him. Our deep breaths were almost synchronized. Like we signed some sort of agreement to release some of our apprehension over this reunion before saying another word. I followed him to the couch and sat down beside him. Just when I thought we were going to talk, he asked me to wait. I was good at that. I gave him a reassuring smile and sat back watching him walk away. But only as far as the kitchen for now. I heard the cabinet and then the water running. Sully, of course. I hadn't gotten a chance to mention the water and food bowls I bought or show him the food. I wasn't sure if Mio remembered that the yard was fenced in if Sully needed to go out. Moments later, Mio reappeared. He seemed to be studying me, memorizing what he saw. “Did you find the bowls and food I bought for Sully on the counter? I should have mentioned them earlier. I wasn't sure what kind to get so I called Garett’s office for advice. Wet and dry because I couldn't decide.” I laughed a little awkwardly, waiting for him to walk over and sit beside me once more. I tucked my foot under me, shifting so I could face him more directly, waiting. ------------------- I sat down, trying to be appear as relaxed as she was, but the truth was that I was only there when she was in my arms. How's that for poetic justice? I needed her to help me just let things go, but I wasn't sure if I could have her without… “I didn't, sorry. And you didn't have to do all of that, but I'm sure Sully won't mind the extra,” and as on cue, he slowly strolled in the room, still sniffing things out. He wandered over to Shakespeare’s bowl - eye level for him - and sniffed it before looking over to Clea as if to check if he was in trouble already. “I know that look. Watch it, you.” I was leaning forward, elbows resting on my knees with my legs wide and my head lowered. I started to speak, to explain, and I have no idea why...every time I felt pulled into my own back and forth of worry I was reminded of this woman next to me and that I was here with her. I turned to face her, resting my head on my hand and my elbow on the back of her couch. Our knees put more space between us than I liked, but I respected that maybe she needed it - despite what just exchanged between us. I took her hand in my free one. So delicate. It was almost enough to fool you into thinking she was fragile. But she wasn't. And neither was I. And, so it seemed, neither was what we had between us. “Can we catch up later? The details, I mean. Is that ok? I can tell you now that you're the last woman I've kissed, and I don't mean just now. I've had nothing but thoughts of you and regret for months,” I continued as I stroked her fingers between mine. “But right now I just want to be here with you and let that wait.” I paused, realizing I wasn't the one who should be calling this. “But you have every right to ask whatever you need. I owe you so much,” I looked her in the eyes, hoping she'd understand what I meant. ----------------- I watched Sully checking out Shakespeare. He seemed to remember my rule. I guess Mio wasn't as confident when he gave him a warning. I tried not to laugh when I saw the dog's expression. When he took my hand in his, laughing was the last thing I wanted to do. As he spoke, I wanted to stop him. To tell him it was ok. That he had nothing to explain. No need to apologize. But perhaps that was selfish. Maybe he needed to hear himself say things out loud. Instead of saying a word, I relied on what my sister’s midwife said about my gift when I touched someone. If it could ease Juli’s contractions, maybe it could help Mio too. I moved closer, eyes locked on his. Moments later I was pressed against his side, almost in his lap. I pulled his arm around my shoulder. Then I reached up to caress his cheek. “This is what I want right now.” With a smile, I kissed him with everything I had. -------------------- Every thought I just had stumbling towards my lips was caught and scattered by her kiss. My body gave in as I pulled Clea into me, lifting her onto my lap without releasing our connection. Without pause, I laid her back across the couch and pressed myself heavy into her, interrupting my touch only to take her hands and wrap them around my neck. All the need I’d been feeling for months for her cascaded down and if I’d been worried about if she sensed anything just earlier in our kiss, I wasn’t now as my hands and teeth made everything I was feeling for her perfectly clear. I only paused to look her in the eyes. I needed to know she was still with me. There she was. Those bright eyes, now closing as I shifted her weight on my lap and ran one of my hands along her thigh - whatever was happening behind those eyes in her mind we’d discuss later. For now, I loosened her grasp around my neck, took her hands once again and rested them -gently, but firmly- above her head. Holding her hands back with one hand, my other left the warmth of her thigh and pulled up her sweatshirt. It’s softness baited me into leaving it on her as I trailed my fingers along the smooth indents of her waist down to the peaks of her hips. She had no idea how much I was holding myself in check at the moment, because as much as she inclined me to treat her tenderly, there was nothing tender about what was deep-seated. I looked down at her, laying so still and beautiful. I forced myself to stop and savor what was mine, hoping she was aware in that moment how deeply she had me woven around her. I slowly released her hands from my grip and rested my head down below her chest. Her smell entranced me while each breath she took brought my face deeper into the tenderness of her skin. My inhibitions collected, despite everything still unleashed inside of me, I lay there and listened to her heartbeat. ----------------------- The healing power of touch. Perhaps my kiss was the permission slip he needed. As his hands reacquainted themselves with places on my body they hadn't seen in a very long time, I felt waves of his emotions crashing all around us. Picture From Here to Eternity….without the ocean. In almost any other situation, I might have needed to get out, to escape from the emotional onslaught. But not now. Not with him. I closed my eyes briefly and just...let go. Gave in to his desires. Trusted him with everything that made me vulnerable. None of which I did lightly. I squirmed with pleasure under his touch when his hand made its way beneath my sweatshirt. My heart felt like it was skipping rope in my chest with every touch, every caress. Despite how much I wanted him, wanted this. I think it was the moment he laid his head on my chest that made me fall deeper and harder in love with him than before. He could have continued. We...could have continued and made love right here on the couch. But somehow this simple moment was more sensual than any of the heavy petting that came before. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, contentedly as I ran my hands through his hair. Through the unruly curls I loved so much. There was a wildness to them he could never control. I couldn't ever imagine wanting to control them...or him. I opened my eyes slowly after several long minutes. I thought perhaps he’d fallen asleep. If so, I would never dare to wake him. But I then turned my head slightly and discovered we had an audience. Not just Shakespeare. Sully was sitting perfectly still with his head resting on the coffee table staring at us. His leash lying on the table beside him. “Mio? Honey? Are you awake?” ------------------- The lull of her heartbeat was interrupted by her voice. “Mmmm?” I murmured -half awake, half...very awake-. The smell of her skin was mingling with a smell I was all too familiar with. I opened my eyes and was face to face with an unwelcomed wet snout. Sully. How could I have forgotten him? Sitting up and looking back down at what I had spread beneath me gave me a bit of a clue. “Come on, old man. Time to take you out and put you to bed.” She bit back a laugh, and I gave her a look that made it clear I would be back. “Stay.” Her eyes widened in (hopefully) mock protest, and I leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Please…,” I smiled down at her. “Stay put.” Taking his leash down and trying to hook Sully while he circled me, all too excited to be going back outside - but still looking back to Clea as if she should join - “Shhh. She's not going anywhere.” Clea looked up over the back of the couch, “Stay. I'll have a treat for you when I get back.” That brought the red out in her cheeks as she laid back down on the couch. I chuckled, opened the door and walked Sully outside into the crisp air. While he wandered around her garden, sniffing out whatever had last made the rounds through it, I got my bag from the back of my car. He was still sniffing things out when I finally interrupted him, “You know, you should be backing me up here. Get it done. She's waiting.” Thankfully he obliged and then walked back towards the house. As I walked in, the smell and warmth of everything Clea came right back to me. This was really happening. I was here. We still had plenty to catch up on, but it was clear we were very much on the same page where we’d left off. I loved this woman immensely. I didn't have time to revel in what was taking place right then though - Clea was waiting. But first, I looked down and saw my partner in crime, looking up at me and patiently waiting as well. I unhooked Sully’s leash and guided him towards the kitchen. Grabbing a blanket, one of Clea’s new bowls and some of the dry food she had waiting for him, I set him up and gave him a look that he was hopefully smart enough to grasp. “Now. YOU stay.” She was sitting up on the couch, arms wrapped around her knees. She hadn't gotten up, but she had gotten comfortable. Her sweater, now back down and draped softly around her, no matter how beautiful, had to go. Walking her way, I cut out the lamps and when she reached out to me, I took her hands in mine. Before she could stand, I took her sweater and lifted it above her, revealing the softness of her skin just starting to show signs of goosebumps in the low light of night. I laid her sweater over her shoulders and told her, “up,” she listened, drawing up to her knees on the couch. I was beginning to think I either needed another human to start talking to - or I needed to remember the one in front of me was about to be a lot better bed companion than I typically had. She put her arms around my neck as I lifted her off the couch. Her legs wrapped tightly around me as I supported her weight with my hands - conveniently and tightly gripped around her hips. I didn't need to ask where, I knew. Clea’s lips met mine just as we entered her bedroom. She ran her hands through my hair as I laid her back on her bed, her murmuring in my ears about how much I've been missed, me whispering back to her about how much I was about to show her the same. I think I heard a whimper coming from the kitchen at some point…I know I heard a few coming from Clea. We ignored Sully easily; I’m sure we’d make it up to him in the morning...but tonight, that old dog was on his own.

#Steve #Mio #Clea

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Your Monday Briefing – The New York Times

More countries wall off China to contain coronavirus

The death toll from the new coronavirus has risen to more than 300 people, with more than 14,000 known infections worldwide. In the Philippines, a man who had recently arrived from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, became the first recorded fatality outside of China. Some of the world’s leading experts now believe a pandemic — an ongoing epidemic on two or more continents — is nearly inevitable.

Many airlines have suspended service to China, and the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore have joined the U.S. in temporarily barring most travelers from China. China’s vast economy and the global supply chains it feeds are fraying.

But some top officials in Southeast Asia, which has the largest cluster of coronavirus patients outside China, have dismissed the threat and even pushed remedies not supported by science.

Here’s the latest, and a map of infections.

How we got here: Public health experts say China initially put secrecy and order ahead of confronting the coronavirus. Reconstructing the first seven weeks of its spread, our reporters showed how the authorities silenced doctors and others for raising red flags and soft-pedaled the danger.

In Wuhan: A new hospital for those with the coronavirus, built in just 10 days, opens today. But most hospitals are swamped and the population of 11 million is struggling under quarantine. With many of the sick going untested and untreated because of circuitous bureaucracy and short supplies, the number of infected and dead could be significantly higher than reported.

Trump to give State of the Union address with acquittal near

The impeachment trial of President Trump is in its final days.

After the Senate voted on Friday to block new witnesses and evidence, a final vote on whether to convict the president is scheduled for Wednesday, a day after the State of the Union address.

A few Republicans have conceded that they believe Democrats proved their case that Mr. Trump tried to leverage security aid to Ukraine for political gain, but argue that doing so does not warrant removal from office. Acquittal is a near certainty.

The big picture: Mr. Trump, freed of worries about congressional constraint, will take his victory and “his case of grievance, persecution and resentment to the campaign trail,” our chief White House correspondent writes in an analysis. He will be the first president in U.S. history to face voters after an impeachment trial.

Democrats make last pitches in bellwether Iowa

Today brings the first contest in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination: the Iowa caucus, whose highly unpredictable outcome could reshape the field. It’s a complicated system. Here’s how it works.

Iowa has huge influence in picking presidential candidates, but the prairie state doesn’t look much like the country as a whole — except in its rapidly aging population.

On the ground: What began as a debate over policy and ideology has given way to a fixation on electability. Candidates have adjusted their final appeals to make the case that they represent the party’s best chance of beating Mr. Trump in November.

By the numbers: The latest polls show Bernie Sanders overtaking Joe Biden in Iowa, and closing in on his national lead. And here’s how much cash each 2020 Democratic candidate has on hand.

Brexit is over. And it’s only just begun.

It’s the start of a new era for Britain.

The country formally withdrew from the European Union on Friday after nearly half a century of membership, drawing a mixed reaction of celebration, despair and relief. The shape of its society and economy and its place in the world are all up for grabs.

Looking ahead: The positive case for Brexit — one where Britain strides into a future of economic renewal and cleareyed politics — will now be tested. The question is: What if it works?

In the E.U.: Many of the British officials who worked in Brussels are now out of a job, and some are racing to claim E.U. passports.

If you have 15 minutes, this is worth it

Misogyny at Victoria’s Secret

True to its name, the world’s lingerie powerhouse has kept a secret: that of a degrading work environment where, our reporters found, women were objectified and complaints of sexual harassment were buried.

Victoria’s Secret now says it is reforming itself, but its future is unclear in the #MeToo era.

Here’s what else is happening

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic prevailed in five sets against Dominic Thiem on Sunday to claim his 17th Grand Slam singles title and the No. 1 ranking.

Britain: A man in South London was shot dead by the police after three people were stabbed in what the authorities described as a “terrorist-related” incident.

In memoriam: Leila Janah, an activist and entrepreneur who employed thousands of desperately poor people in Africa and India in an effort to extend opportunity to the marginalized, died at 37 of a rare soft-tissue cancer.

Snapshot: Above, a yacht party in Tucacas, Venezuela, northwest of the capital. While much of the country is deteriorating, wealthy enclaves in Caracas are enjoying Prada and artisanal beer for the few.

Canada: Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, has long marketed itself as Canada’s most English city. But its mayor has lately been trying to shake off the heritage of the British Empire — much like its newest and most famous residents, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan.

What we’re listening to: The “Best Known Method” podcast. Our health reporter Anahad O’Connor welcomed its return for a second season. “Greatly enjoyed this discussion with Professor Emily Oster,” he tweeted, “especially now that I’m a dad and can benefit from her parenting insights.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Looking for a quick Monday dinner with minimal prep? Try lemony shrimp and bean stew.

Read: A collection by the poet Robert Hass is among 10 new books we recommend.

Go: A show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York traces the history and cultural heritage of kingdoms on the Sahara’s rim.

Smarter Living: Our Social Q’s column offers advice to a woman who finds her husband’s nieces and nephews “unruly, unintelligent and uninteresting.”

And now for the Back Story on …

Britain’s big moment

The yearslong exit from the European Union happened at midnight Friday in Brussels, 11 p.m. in Britain itself. (Because of course they’re in different time zones.)

Our London correspondent Ben Mueller was on duty. “It felt a little anticlimactic,” he said. “There had been such fireworks, and then the legislation passed without contention.”

Alcohol was banned in Parliament Square for the big celebration, but vendors brought in beer. “They couldn’t do without it,” Ben said.

The immediate difference? “Britain no longer has representation or say in the machinery of the European Union.”

Many other aspects of the departure remain, to be resolved (or not) during a transition period that will end when 2020 does. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already signaled a tough stand for trade talks that will begin in March.

Ben noted that even hopes to have the moment marked by a bong from Big Ben (no relation) were dashed. Westminster’s famed four-faced clock is under renovation, and speeding the process up to allow the bell to sound would have cost 500,000 pounds. Efforts to raise the money fell short and parliamentary authorities nixed the plan.

So a recording of Big Ben was played outside, and inside 10 Downing Street, Mr. Johnson banged a gong.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Penn

Thank you To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Andrea Kannapell, the Briefings editor, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” In our latest episode, The Times’s executive editor, Dean Baquet, discusses the lessons from our coverage of the 2016 presidential election. • Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: “This doesn’t look good” (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • More than 200 readers responded to The Times’s call for stories about online dating in the Trump era.

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