#so people searching the actual countries...

[shootingstarpilot]

saw your post last week about your job i hope it went okay!

First off, thank you so much for checking in, that is genuinely so sweet of you and I appreciate it tremendously. Now, am I answering this three weeks late because I wanted to have an actual resolution for you?

Yes. Yes I am.

Am I also about to vent for several paragraphs, screaming incoherently into the void as the insane stress of the past few months searches desperately for an open valve?

Yeah, that too.

So. February 14, 2025. With no formal warning and only 24 hours of informal warning from other rank-and-file staff, myself and several thousand other probationary employees (meaning those with less than a year in their current position) were unceremoniously and illegally terminated. Termination notifications stated that our "subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the Department's current needs." This comes into play later, because this is patently false. Myself and many others had promotions to permanent status in the works before the federal hiring freeze condemned them to the void. These terminations did not involve any of our direct supervisors or anyone who had actual knowledge of the quality of our work.

These notifications were rolled out by region. Sitting at my computer, watching the texts roll in from friends at parks across the country, knowing mine was coming and not being able to do a damn thing about it...

Yeah. That was fucking miserable.

I get very lucky. My boss goes to bat hard for me and gets me a position with our partner organization; I am unemployed only for the weekend. A lot of national parks have these (most libraries and the like have them too). These partner organizations are often vital to the functioning of the park. As an example of what they can do- because they're non-governmental non-profits, they can assist in fundraising efforts and solicit donations that federal regulations bar parks (as federal entities) from participating in.

I am, again, tremendously lucky. Other probies have families to support. Other probies are left without paychecks entirely. We are supposed to have access to our benefits for a month after being terminated; many find their health insurance is now inactive. Other probies, after uprooting their whole lives to move to remote locations for their dream jobs, are suddenly left isolated and unmoored. Many have to move back home, closer to friends and family who can help support them.

And then March 13 rolls around, and two separate judges (US District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco and US District Judge James Bredar of Baltimore) order the Trump administration to reinstate all fired probationary employees by March 18. Fully reinstated, meaning they can't just put employees on paid admin leave and call them "reinstated."

I don't know how the other agencies handled this, but just for the DOI:

Going completely against the court orders, the DOI splits all probationary employees into two groups. Group A are mostly front-line probies, those involved in visitor services, maintenance, etc., and are to be reinstated immediately. Group B are mostly back-of-house- admin, resource management, and the like- to be placed on paid admin leave. I'm in cultural resource management, so I was placed in Group B. Also worth noting- all of those notifications about group designations and reinstatements? We got absolutely nothing in writing. All of this is conveyed by phone calls from our direct supervisors, who are as baffled and furious as the rest of us.

(If you had any faith left that "oh, they're doing this to save money!", let that put those to rest. Paid admin leave means you're paying people to do nothing. We all were chomping at the bit to GET BACK TO DOING OUR JOBS.)

So, of course, this sets off a ruckus. We are contacting the courts, we are contacting our union reps, we are contacting our congressional reps, those of us who live or work in one of the 19 states that filed the lawsuits are contacting our attorney generals. We care about the work we do. We are not content with paid admin leave.

And the ruckus works. The next day, we receive notice that the group designations are no longer valid. Everyone is being reinstated, effective immediately.

Great.

Until the Supreme Court strikes this down on a legal technicality, saying that the states and the union do not have "standing" to sue. Importantly, they're not ruling on the legality of the firings themselves; that question is still making its way through the courts.

The Department of Commerce, which includes agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, immediately re-fires all their probationary employees. This is because DOC leadership is full of a bunch of stupid cunts.

DOI leadership does one thing right and decides not to re-fire their probies until the legality of doing so is decided. This is good, because it gives more time for current probationary employees to make it to a year of service, thereby taking them off probationary status. This is also what happens to me- three days after the SC ruling comes down, I make it off probationary status and breathe a (very tentative) sigh of relief.

Now I am faced with a different problem.

There are a few different categories of employment. You can be permanent, which is exactly what it sounds like. You can be seasonal, which is also exactly what it sounds like. Or you can be term. Term employees function on an annual renewal; positions can be renewed for up to four years. Normally, while the renewals themselves are only processed the week before your term is up (for some godforsaken reason), you'll usually know whether or not you're getting renewed a few months beforehand because your supervisor will tell you whether or not they've filed the paperwork to extend your term. This is generally fine, because having the advance notice lets you prepare and search for new jobs. HR basically rubber-stamps your supervisor's decision.

However, in this new hellscape, whether or not you get renewed is no longer up to your supervisor. It's up to the Office of Personnel Management, led by the guy who said he wanted to "traumatize" federal employees. Also, I cannot stress enough-

THE GOAL OF THIS ADMINISTRATION IS TO GUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

So. You know. We're all having a great time.

There is no uniformity and no guidance. Some terms are getting renewed. Some are not. These are scattered across regions and divisions and offices; there is no pattern to be found. This is becoming the depressing norm.

Again, my boss goes to bat for me. He tells me he filed the paperwork for my renewal the moment he found out I was getting reinstated. He is arguing that in order to meet the new order to "prioritize keeping parks open" (I'm not even fucking touching that right now), he needs to be allowed to keep his staff so he can reassign them if necessary. He is giving me multiple long-term projects to work on. He says he is optimistic, even though he doesn't look it.

I am not.

I am back-of-house, meaning that I do not directly impact the visitor experience the same way a staff shortage of front-line rangers would. I work in cultural resource management, which this administration is aiming to demolish. I spend the next few weeks tidying things up as much as I can for my successor, trying to process the grief of losing a fantastic job, doing very bleak math with my meager savings to figure out how far I can stretch them (the answer: not very), and applying for other positions. I try to take some sick time and fail because I actually really love my job.

This would all be so much easier if I hated my job.

Fast-forward to today. It's the last day of my term. I resigned myself last week to not being renewed. I still have not heard anything, not even about a termination notice- non-renewal of the term still requires paperwork actions. I am plodding along and trying to prioritize the most enjoyable parts of my job.

Then, with less than six hours of my term left, I find out that my term has been extended.

I have so much work to do.

I can't wait.

[goldammerchen]

pruaus y pruhun, versión cínica, tóxica, problemática

los rasgos tóxicos de pruaus están al revés 😭, confien en los colores

solo pruaus; solo pruhun; (edit: aushun!)

[icewindandboringhorror]

(also feel free in the tags to clarify Why you made the choice you made!! :0c)

[contemplatingoutlander]

Perhaps it was always like this. I’m (relatively) young, so maybe I’m just waking up to this unimaginable callousness. Maybe the emergence of social media has just made this heinous tendency more visible; seeing hundreds of accounts spring to the defense of policies that will almost certainly make their lives more difficult is incredible to behold.

It WAS always like this in this country or we wouldn't have had poor whites supporting slavery and later Jim Crow.

Early on in our nation's history, wealthy white men used racism as a way of dividing people against each other. They also used the Puritan belief in predestination that suggested that one could tell who was saved and who was not via their prosperity. This set the stage for the wealthy being admired in our society and accepted as our nation's natural rulers.

And of course the Protestant work ethic was behind the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" belief that through hard work anyone in the US could prosper. This contributed to the attitude that helping the poor through government "handouts" just kept people "lazy."

It took the excesses of the Gilded Age of the Robber Barons, and the economic devastation of the later Great Depression for working people to band together to demand fundamental changes in our government. This resulted in the state developing policies that actually helped people, like Social Security, labor laws, and later Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA, and regulations that keep our air clean and our water pure, etc.

Republicans have been against these programs from the beginning, and today call them the "deep state." They still use underlying, often unconscious, racism to divide working class people against each other. This is why so many MAGA people foolishly cheer as Trump takes a sledgehammer to the "deep state."

In today's world, Fox News and right-wing media have developed more efficient and powerful ways of "brainwashing" an entire segment of the working and middle classes to vote against their own economic interests than was previously available, which is why Trump's movement is so robust, despite his obvious incompetence and cruelty.

And as always, current right-wing "Christian" denominations do their part to reinforce the veneer of "morality" for oligarchical greed through the dubious "prosperity gospel." And they continue to use Iron Age Biblical passages to justify bigotry and sexism.

In summation, it has sadly always been this way in our country, with brief moments of sanity during the Progressive Era, the New Deal and the Great Society, when the working classes refused to buy into the messages that white, wealthy men were using to fool them.

But wealthy conservatives have "won" the recent ongoing struggle for power by keeping members of the working class busy fighting each other. They are unfortunately very good at putting a veneer of "morality" on their greed and selfishness.

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

—John  Kenneth Galbraith

[edited]

I Don't Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People

Our disagreement is not merely political, but a fundamental divide on what it means to live in a society.

By

Kayla Chadwick, Contributor

Video Editor

Jun 26, 2017, 09:57 PM EDT

Updated Jun 29, 2017

[spock-adoodledoo]

sometimes I wonder if characters who share names with/are inspired by/based off of a historical figure make that person roll around in their grave. cant imagine if you're like 2000 to 1000 years dead, a pretty accomplished intellectual back in your day, you google search your name, and get a bunch of anime drawings instead

[magical-girl-coral]

Okay, what is the Internet's brilliant idea of how to stop the I/p conflict

*checks notes*

You people are planning on boycotting an entire fucking country?

[actual-corpse]

Kentucky Gov Beshear says bill threatens ‘supreme authority’ | Lexington Herald Leader

https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article303330361.html

I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but a "libertarian-leaning" group (Americans for Prosperity, which has affiliated with a billionaire) is behind a lot of bullshit in many states and is currently stoking the flame war that is our Dem. Governor vs. our majority Rep. Legislature.

Like... This shit is frightening... Especially when Reps reveal just how stupid they think we are.

In a different article on the same subject, the director of AfP (a woman*) said, ". . . We await Beshear's resignation so that he may run for General Assembly in 2026"... which is really giving 'haha you're so triggered right now, haha did I offend you boohoo.' Like... They are trying to run this guy out of office by being as obtuse as possible.

*Republicans strongly believe that women should only ever exist and work in the house tending children. I experience schadenfreude every time a Republican woman gets fired for being a "DEI" hire... It's so stupid it could be funny if not for the entire world being at stake.

[medicinemane]

Ah... I've figured it out!

My brain's been treating Caucasus and Carpathian as the same word and that's why it's been so confusing why this mountain range seems to jump around by a pretty wide margin

Dyslexia did the same thing with Austria and Australia where just like here I knew they were different, but just didn't quite process it, which ended up with me thinking things like "Wow, I wonder why Falco's German is so spot on, like that's pretty impressive for an Australian"

Like my dyslexia just says "These two words are similar size and shape... I think they're probably more or less the same word, I'll file them away in the same spot, especially cause they're the same type of thing"

But I finally caught it seeing Carpathians mentioned being in Ukraine, and me being like "I really did think they were more over towards Georgia... maybe they go under the black se... wait a minute, I finally figured out why I'm confused"

Also see the Balkans and the Baltic where I 100% know the difference and know which one I'm talking about but very much may say the wrong one (and my dad's been like "oh you see, you just need to remember that..." and it's like dude it's dyslexia... also with GK Chesterton I'll often say "J" and my dad'll say similar stuff and it's like dude... there's no mnemonic here, J and G just sound and look similar enough my brain sometimes swaps them in behind my back)

Anyway, finally caught it in the act, finally understand why it seemed like these mountains jumped across a large body of water and no one ever commented on it... it's cause it was my dyslexia filing them away as both mountain ranges starting with C so... basically the same thing... yeah... yeah that's the same thing

[trafficpan-ic]

It's all really about finding a sport or type of exercise that you enjoy and that doesn't require so much effort bcs of that!!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

what’s the story about the generative power model and water consumption? /gen

There's this myth going around about generative AI consuming truly ridiculous amount of power and water. You'll see people say shit like "generating one image is like just pouring a whole cup of water out into the Sahara!" and bullshit like that, and it's just... not true. The actual truth is that supercomputers, which do a lot of stuff, use a lot of power, and at one point someone released an estimate of how much power some supercomputers were using and people went "oh, that supercomputer must only do AI! All generative AI uses this much power!" and then just... made shit up re: how making an image sucks up a huge chunk of the power grid or something. Which makes no sense because I'm given to understand that many of these models can run on your home computer. (I don't use them so I don't know the details, but I'm told by users that you can download them and generate images locally.) Using these models uses far less power than, say, online gaming. Or using Tumblr. But nobody ever talks about how evil those things are because of their power generation. I wonder why.

To be clear, I don't like generative AI. I'm sure it's got uses in research and stuff but on the consumer side, every effect I've seen of it is bad. Its implementation in products that I use has always made those products worse. The books it writes and flood the market with are incoherent nonsense at best and dangerous at worst (let's not forget that mushroom foraging guide). It's turned the usability of search engines from "rapidly declining, but still usable if you can get past the ads" into "almost one hundred per cent useless now, actually not worth the effort to de-bullshittify your search results", especially if you're looking for images. It's a tool for doing bullshit that people were already doing much easier and faster, thus massively increasing the amount of bullshit. The only consumer-useful uses I've seen of it as a consumer are niche art projects, usually projects that explore the limits of the tool itself like that one poetry book or the Infinite Art Machine; overall I'd say its impact at the Casual Random Person (me) level has been overwhelmingly negative. Also, the fact that so much AI turns out to be underpaid people in a warehouse in some country with no minimum wage and terrible labour protections is... not great. And the fact that it's often used as an excuse to try to find ways to underpay professionals ("you don't have to write it, just clean up what the AI came up with!") is also not great.

But there are real labour and product quality concerns with generative AI, and there's hysterical bullshit. And the whole "AI is magically destroying the planet via climate change but my four hour twitch streaming sesh isn't" thing is hysterical bullshit. The instant I see somebody make this stupid claim I put them in the same mental bucket as somebody complaining about AI not being "real art" -- a hatemobber hopping on the hype train of a new thing to hate and feel like an enlightened activist about when they haven't bothered to learn a fucking thing about the issue. And I just count my blessings that they fell in with this group instead of becoming a flat earther or something.

[peachybeesplease]

this page is SO MUCH to me

just like. the bed is a whole acre. two people could sit on opposite corners of that bed and they'd have to raise their voices to have a conversation. there's enough of that bed that you'd have to call a search party for a stuffed animal.

AND YET. remy has bundled himself to the very Very edge of this bed that is larger than most studio apartments to be close to jamis. sometime in the night he took one of the pillows on the cross-country journey from the middle to the end of the bed to be as close to jamis as is physically possible without actually rolling off. and he did it SUBCONSCIOUSLYYYY like I know he turned down the whole "there was only one bed" immediately but if I'm being honest with you all I think what they have going on is gayer than that

[theabigailthorn]

Hi Miss Thorn.

I was recently reading through your trans writes article about you choosing not to do PR for the NHS. In one line you mention that the medical system "exaggerates or wholly confabulates" certain medical risks, and I was wondering if you could give more of an explanation or some examples about that stuff. I tried looking it up on my own but I didn't really know what keywords to search for, and I don't want to fall into some weird anti-science conspiracy theory rabbithole (especially at a kind of vulnerable part of my transition where I'm finally giving "doing hormones" more serious thought as a Thing I Would Actually Do rather than an idle fantasy where the results magically "fix" me (or a kind of anxiety where it doesn't do anything of value at all :< )

Thank you regardless for your great videos over the years,

A Very Nervous Enby

Sure! So, I would argue that the Cass Review is a prime example of this phenomenon. It concluded that puberty blockers have caused zero documented cases of harm as long as they've been used in Britain, but they might cause some unknown kind of harm in the future, somehow; a harm that hasn't been detected in any of the other countries who have used them, whose evidence - by the way - was discarded.

So we have no evidence of past harm, no idea what a future mystery harm might be, when it might happen, the mechanism for it, or why it would only show up here, now, and not in any of the other countries who have given trans kids blockers previously...

This is clearly making shit up!

And yet the Cass Review was used to justify a ban on blockers.

The only way this makes sense is if by "harm" they mean "being trans." Cass expressed particular concern that most kids who start on blockers go on to medically transition, which - yeah duh? But whereas a normal person views this as a neutral fact about the world, transphobes see it as bad - they see being trans as a bad or dangerous thing to be - and so they want to make people "avoid it" as much as possible.

This is what I mean when I say pathologization exaggerates or in some cases outright fabricates risks of medical transition to justify restricting our bodily autonomy under the guise of "care."

[prettealolilol]

i like to think about the duality of the kids about people shipping Bruce with anyone, because the guy has been elected as the most handsome man in the country for years, has this whole playboy Brucie persona and is often seen with someone at his arms (men and women)

on one side, they'll be like "ew god no, i do not want to imagine dad like-" and "oh my god some people actually ship Bantman and Joker wtf ??" and they'll do their best to filter every social media to avoid any thirsty or shipping content about Bruce

when the press ask them about it, they be like:

Tim : "Would you like it if I asked about your thoughts on your dad cheating on your mom with his secretary ? No ? Then mind your own business." when the dad was in fact cheating with his secretary and now everybody knew because Tim was live when he answered

Jason, pulling out a gun : "i swear to god i'll shoot the next person who asks me this and then i'll shoot myself. Ugh, do i look like i fucking care about the old man's sex life ?"

Dick, smiling uncomfortably : "i don't really live at the manor anymore and i barely see him with my job so you know..." when it has been in fact a week he's been sleeping at the manor after patrolling with Batman

Damian, frowning as usual, looking at the guy who asked him as if he did not have a brain : "Father is careful in not mixing his carnal activities with the family life so i do not have any hindsight on his sex life. i do not wish to know regardless." the journalist is taken aback by the explicit answer of this ten year old, while his brothers are trying not to laugh behind him (Jason was not hiding his snickering)

on the other side, you cannot tell me those guys are not the biggest shippers in the world

like Jason would want Batman to date Wonder Woman just so she could be his step mom. i strongly believe the guy has a ao3 and tumblr account and is very much active on both. he definitely reads batman x green lantern fics just to annoy Bruce (even though his dad has no idea, but still gets shivers when Jason is reading one)

Dick and Duke both ship SuperBat although for different reasons. for Dick, that's his uncle there, he was there when they met and saw them as they slowly became best friends. he strongly believes they are made for each other. Duke just think it would be super cool (no pun intended) if the Superman and the Batman were dating.

Stephanie just likes to roll with it, some days she feels like shipping superbat, others she'll be more into batcat, or batlantern. she's pretty volatile and doesn't really have a favourite, but when she gets into one she's all in. she'll be arguing and insulting people online who disagrees, sharing crazy theories...

Cass doesn't really care, she'll listen to any of her siblings ranting about their thoughts (especially Steph) and juts find it adorable (and funny how much they care)

Tim probably ships superbat because they are completely opposed, and he finds the parallels really interesting. he definitely writes fics (Jay reads his fics and they exchange about it without knowing it's each other)

Damian doesn't really see the point. but he has drawn of few fanart (Jason tried to bribe him with money once and Damian had to remind him of his inheritance) when Bruce benched Tim and him and he ended up drawing some batlantern that Tim printed and plastered all over the manor. Bruce had to restrain the access to the printer (Tim hacked into it the next day)

Barbara, although she doesn't really ship, is the one you go to if you search some content, she'll find you the most heart wrenching, 200 thousand words, slow brun, angst/comfort fics you'll ever read (the type of fic that changes you deep into your soul). she still likes debating with the batkid

Regardless, if there's one things they all agree on, it is Bruceman (love those fics were the batkids just go along with it). like it's hilarious but the fans make some pretty good points and they are in fact impressed. it's also the safest ship as it would not happen in any situations so they don't have to worry about their dad being stolen

[be4chywritez]

lucky you | luke hughes

luke hughes x fem!reader

rec:#37 with Luke? Maybe he goes down on the ice and the reader freaks out when she sees him laid up? Thanks! Love your writing 🫶

prompt: Shit. Shit, shit, shit, c'mere."

recs are open + prompt list

beachy’s masterlist🐚

Luke had been wired since the moment he woke up.

Jack had noticed it immediately—the way his little brother was practically bouncing from room to room, energy barely contained, constantly checking his phone. Jack had been willing to ignore it until the loud, painfully obnoxious country music started blaring from Luke’s room.

Jack groaned, rolling over in bed and grabbing his phone, but one look at the time made him throw the blanket off instead. Storming down the hall, he banged a fist against Luke’s door. “Jesus, LUKE!”

The music lowered—not off, just low enough to be tolerable. A second later, Luke stepped out, wearing his good suit. Not his usual game-day one, but the one he only pulled out for interviews. Or—

Jack narrowed his eyes. “What’s with the good suit?”

Luke didn’t answer right away, but the small twitch of his lips gave him away. That stupid, dopey smile that made Jack want to shove him into a locker.  He looked ridiculous, lovesick in the most obvious way.

“Oh, never mind,” Jack groaned. “Your girlfriend’s coming.”

Luke didn’t even try to deny it. Jack didn’t blame him—he likes you, actually. You were funny, sharp, and most importantly, you were one of the few people who could shut Luke up when he was being a pain in the ass. But watching Luke act like this? Jack could do without it.

Luke ignored the way Jack grimaced as he grabbed his bag off the floor. “Shut up, man,” he muttered, brushing past his brother. But Jack caught the way he checked his phone one last time before locking the screen.

Jack shook his head, following him out the door.

By the time you got to the arena, warm-ups were already underway. Your seat—right by the glass—gave you the perfect view as the Devils took the ice. Your eyes immediately searched for Luke.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, he spotted you.

And, just like that, his entire expression changed.

He skated over, tapping his stick against the glass. “You come here often?” he mouthed.

You laughed, rolling your eyes at him.

Luke reached into his glove and pulled out a puck, holding it up dramatically before flipping it over the glass. You caught it easily, tucking it into your lap as he gave you an approving nod.

“Lucky catch,” he mouthed, flashing a grin before skating off, but not before sneaking in a wink over his shoulder.

Your heart fluttered. He was such an idiot.

The first period was fast, aggressive. Luke had been playing well, making quick plays and smart decisions. You could tell he was locked in.

And then—

It happened so fast.

Luke was chasing the puck into the corner, his focus locked in on the play, when an opposing player came barreling into him, shoulder first. The hit landed hard.

Too hard.

The sound of the collision—Luke’s body slamming into the boards before crumpling onto the ice—made your stomach drop.

Something wasn’t right.

He wasn’t moving.

Your grip on the railing tightened as you watched, waiting, willing him to get up. Nothing.

The hit was hard. Too hard.

Luke didn’t get up.

Your heartbeat pounded in your ears.

He always got up.

Your breath caught in your throat as you stared at the ice, willing him to move. Nothing.

Jack was already there, skating over in record time. His whole body was tense, eyes darting between Luke and the guy who hit him. His fists clenched at his sides like he was seconds away from throwing down, but his focus kept shifting back to his brother.

Come on, Luke. Get up.

You barely registered the trainers rushing onto the ice, kneeling beside him, talking to him. The whole arena felt eerily silent, the energy completely different from the roaring crowd just moments ago.

Finally, Luke stirred.

Your breath whooshed out of you as he groggily pushed himself onto his side, barely nodding to the trainers. He winced when they helped him up, his weight leaning into them as they guided him toward the tunnel.

Straight to the training room.

Not the bench.

That wasn’t good.

Your stomach twisted.

Jack was still on the ice, his gaze flicking toward you, as if to check that you were seeing this too—like he knew you were probably freaking out. But his glare quickly snapped back to the guy who hit Luke, a murderous look in his eyes.

For the rest of the game, you barely paid attention. Your fingers drummed anxiously against your knee, your eyes constantly flickering to the tunnel, hoping for any update.

Nothing.

And then, finally, your phone buzzed.

Jack: Training room. I’m outside. You can come see him.

You didn’t hesitate.

By the time you made it to the hallway outside the training room, Jack was already there, still in his gear, arms crossed, looking impatient.

“He okay?” you asked, slightly breathless.

Jack sighed, tilting his head toward the door. “See for yourself.”

Luke was slumped against the training table, his good shoulder resting against the wall, looking like he was seconds from either passing out or saying something incredibly stupid. His jersey and pads were long gone, replaced by a thick wrap of ice around his left shoulder. His whole body was loose, almost boneless, but his eyes were sluggish and unfocused in a way that made it obvious he wasn’t fully present.

“Baaaaabe,” he slurred the second you stepped inside.

Jack, who was still lingering by the door, groaned audibly. “Kill me.”

You ignored him, exhaling as you stepped closer. “Jesus, Hughes. How many did they give you?”

Luke blinked at you, a slow, lazy grin spreading across his face. “Dunno. But I feel so floaty.”

Jack sighed, crossing his arms. “I told them to only give him half a dose, but he was already feeling it before I could stop them.”

Luke squinted up at you like he was trying really hard to focus. “You came,” he said, like he was just now registering that fact.

“Of course I did,” you murmured, finally reaching him, letting your hand rest lightly on his uninjured arm. “How’s the shoulder?”

Luke’s brows pulled together. He shifted like he was about to sit up straighter—

And then immediately sucked in a sharp breath, his face twisting in pain.

“Shit,” you cursed, reacting instantly. “Shit, shit, shit—c’mere.”

Your hands were on him before you even thought about it, guiding him gently back against the table. His whole body had gone tense, jaw locked, breathing uneven.

Luke let out a shaky exhale, his head tipping back against the wall as he blinked up at the ceiling. “That sucked.”

You swallowed, pressing your lips together. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Jack muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like idiot, but you didn’t acknowledge him. Your focus was entirely on Luke—on the way he was forcing his muscles to relax, blinking sluggishly as he readjusted his position.

You reached out again, this time more careful, brushing your fingers lightly over his forearm. “You need anything?”

Luke hummed, tilting his head toward you. “A kiss.”

Jack immediately gagged.

You sighed, shooting Luke a look. “Try again.”

Luke huffed, his lips twitching like he was fighting a smirk. “Mmm… a ride home?”

You softened. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Jack perked up from his place by the door. “Wait, she’s driving?”

You raised an eyebrow. ���Do you want to?”

Jack glanced at his brother—who was still slumped against the table, barely holding himself upright—then back at you. “…No.”

“Then shut up.”

Jack rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue.

Luke, meanwhile, had a very pleased look on his face. “I love you,” he murmured, voice still slightly sluggish.

You exhaled, shaking your head with a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get you home.”

Getting Luke into the car was an ordeal.

He was heavy—not in the way where he was too big for you to help, but in the way that he wasn’t doing much to help himself. Jack was the one who had to sling his arm over his shoulder and maneuver him into the passenger seat, muttering curses under his breath the whole time.

You climbed into the driver’s seat, adjusting until you were comfortable. Luke’s car was nice, but it definitely wasn’t your car.

Jack barely got himself buckled in the back before Luke was adjusting in his seat, slumping slightly to the side so his head rested against the window.

You glanced over. “You good?”

Luke made a vague noise of confirmation, eyes half-lidded. “Mmhmm.”

Jack snorted. “He’s gonna be out cold in five minutes.”

You hummed, starting the car. “Good. That means I don’t have to listen to him whine the whole way home.”

Jack huffed a quiet laugh but didn’t argue.

The first few minutes of the drive were quiet, save for the occasional sound of Luke shifting.

Then—

“Hey, babe?”

You flicked your eyes toward him briefly. “Yeah?”

Luke sighed, tilting his head slightly toward you. “You’re really good at driving my car.”

Jack let out a loud groan from the backseat. “Oh my god.”

You smirked, keeping your eyes on the road. “Glad you think so, Hughes.”

Luke hummed in response, already sounding half-asleep.

Jack sighed, resting his head against the window. “This is gonna be a long night.”

You just smiled, shaking your head as you drove the two of them home.

Luke wasn’t completely out of it—just slower, his movements lazier, his usual filter missing. He walked fine, if a little unsteady, but there was a looseness to his posture, a sleepy, heavy-lidded look in his eyes that told you the meds were still doing their job.

You kept a steady hand on his lower back, guiding him toward his room. Jack had already disappeared into his own, muttering something about not dealing with this shit before slamming his door. That left just you and Luke.

Once inside, you flicked on the lamp. “Alright, Hughes. Let’s get you changed.”

Luke sighed, dropping onto the bed. “You just wanna get my clothes off.”

You shot him a look. “Not with you like this, dumbass.”

He smirked, eyes half-lidded as they raked over you. “So you’re saying you would under different circumstances?”

You rolled your eyes, stepping closer to help him with his hoodie. “That’s not what I said.”

Luke let you tug it off, his smirk never faltering. “Didn’t say it, but you didn’t deny it.”

You huffed. “Shut up, Hughes.”

His grin widened, but he let you work. He even managed to push down his dress pants himself, though when you knelt in front of him to help, he made a low, thoughtful hum.

“This is kinda nice,” he mused, voice dipping lower. “You, on your knees for me.”

Your hands froze on his waistband. “LUKE.”

He laughed, head tipping back against the pillows. “I’m just saying.”

You smacked his thigh—not too hard, given the state he was in—and yanked the fabric off the rest of the way. “Try saying something that doesn’t make me want to kill you.”

Luke stretched out, smug and unbothered, as you tossed his clothes aside. “Can’t help it, babe. You’re taking such good care of me. It’s kinda hot.”

You ignored him, moving toward his dresser. “I need to change, too.”

That got his attention. “Into what?”

You grabbed one of his T-shirts. “Jeans aren’t exactly comfortable to sleep in.”

Luke watched, eyes darkening slightly, as you pulled off your jersey, leaving you in just a sports bra. His gaze dropped, flickering over your bare skin, then lower to the spandex hugging your thighs.

His good hand flexed slightly against his thigh. “Jesus.”

You turned back to him, pulling his oversized shirt over your head. “What?”

Luke blinked slowly. “That’s my shirt.”

You snorted. “Yeah, I know. I just took it from your drawer.”

His tongue flicked out over his bottom lip. “Yeah, but it’s my shirt. And you’re in it. Looking like that.”

You frowned, tugging at the hem. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Luke let out a slow, low breath, his fingers drumming once against his thigh before he muttered, “It means I should be injured more often.”

You huffed a laugh, moving toward the bed. “Get under the covers before I make Jack put you to bed.”

Luke smirked but did as you said, shifting under the blankets. The second you slid in beside him, his good arm immediately pulled you in, his fingers finding your waist.

“You know,” he murmured, his lips brushing your temple, “if I wasn’t so tired, I’d make you regret putting that on.”

His fingers skimmed just under the fabric. “Yeah. I’d take my time peeling it off… starting real slow.”

You snorted. “Mmm. Sounds like a lot of effort for someone who could barely put his own pants on.”

Luke tensed slightly. “…I could still do it.”

You bit back a laugh. “Sure, Hughes.”

His fingers twitched. “Don’t ‘sure, Hughes’ me.”

You turned your head, letting your lips graze his jaw, voice dropping to a whisper. “Then prove it.”

Luke inhaled sharply—actually sharp—before going completely still.

You grinned. “What? No snarky comeback?”

He blinked, processing. “I—I…” He huffed, shaking his head. “Not fair.”

You laughed. “Oh, it’s completely fair.”

Luke groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Jesus. I’m never getting injured again.”

You patted his chest. “Good plan.”

Luke sighed, finally relaxing again. His voice was softer when he murmured, “You’re taking good care of me, babe.”

You smirked. “Well, someone has to.”

Luke huffed, eyes already slipping shut. “Lucky me.”

You smiled, letting your fingers brush lightly over his side. “Yeah,” you whispered. “Lucky you.”

And with that, Luke Hughes—NHL player, hockey menace, and normally way too cocky for his own good—fell asleep with a slight pink tinge to his ears.

And that? That was a win.

[foldingfittedsheets]

When I was young I was dating this absolute cocknob right as I graduated high school. More on that later.

As a present ostensibly to me (but mostly my folks) I was whisked away after graduation to spend two weeks in Europe with my parents. The plan was to see London, Paris, and Heidelberg.

I was moody and a teenager and was largely disgruntled by this fabulous adventure. I went along with sullen foot dragging and black looks. I commandeered my reprehensible boyfriends enormous black hoodie and wore it on the trip. At the start of our jaunt into London I mentioned offhandedly to my mom that it was burning when I peed.

“You’re just dehydrated, and your period is about to start.”

She was right on both counts. I upped my water content, and had my period (which may have contributed to my overall ill humors.)

So we found ourselves in a tiny hotel in Paris, a week into our jaunt, when I repeated, “Man, it just really burns when I pee.”

“What?!” my mom demanded.

“I told you like a week ago that it was burning.”

“Augh! Now we have to go to the hospital!” she proclaimed.

“What?! Why?”

“Because,” she snapped, “You have a bladder infection.”

More bickering ensued, and my temperament was not improved by knowing I’d told her I was having an issue a week ago and been ignored.

My dad heard about the itinerary shift with resignation and we trooped down the narrow stairs as a family to ask the concierge where the nearest hospital was.

The absolutely lovely man at the desk was immediately so concerned when we asked for directions. “Is everything okay?” he asked with very genuine sympathy and I muttered that everything was fine, we just needed a quick visit.

Lucky for us the hospital was only a few blocks away. We walked there and the building was massive, home to what appeared to be several separate wings but no obvious main entrance.

We wandered inside and it was like a weird dream. There was no one around. Huge echoing corridors met us as we peered in vain for a front desk or possibly signs. We searched with increasing frustration for anyone to talk to and somehow found ourselves in some tiny back offices.

A woman sat at her desk and looked bewildered to see three lost Americans approaching her. She greeted us and as a family we all simultaneously realized the massive flaw in our current course.

You see, dear reader, we did not speak French. My dad and I both spoke German. I inquired politely if she also spoke German and she shook her head looking increasingly cornered. We asked if she spoke English.

“Leetle…?” she replied.

“My daughter has a bladder infection! Blad-der?” My mother declared this at a high volume as if volume alone could bridge the communication gap, while simultaneously miming over my stomach, circling where she presumed my pelvis was under the gigantic black sweatshirt.

The woman’s expression turned extremely skeptical and she slowly repeated “Bladder…” She scrutinized me for a moment then said, “You go…. This?” And pointed to something purple on her desk.

“The purple signs?” my dad asked.

She nodded and we set off. I was stewing with resentment at my mom for having ignored my first complaint when we were in a country that spoke English. And also generalized hostility about being on the trip and the object of miming. Now here we were in a French hospital, lost and unable to communicate. I also was under no illusions that someone who didn’t know the word for purple would have any clue what bladder meant.

And slowly I realized what had actually happened as I peered at the purple signs. My mother circling my stomach with her hands, gesturing to my middle. The woman’s skeptical face.

“Hey mom,” I chirped, syrupy and smug. “I don’t speak French. But I do know that it’s a Latin based language. And wouldn’t you know, but that purple sign looks an awful lot like it says ‘maternity’ to me.”

“Shut up!” she snapped.

A few minutes later we stood surrounded by the moans of pregnant people and the cries of fresh new lungs wailing at their first taste of cold air.

I smiled sweetly at my disgruntled mother.

Luck was with us however. A nearby father noticed us and came over to ask if we needed help. With perfect English he gave us clear directions.

As we finally approached the right area for walk in services it was clear how we’d missed it the first time. A large swathe of the front of the building was covered in tarps. A huge wall sized window was broken, and construction was taking place, but at least it had a bustle of people and a clear line. We sat down in the queue of chairs.

While we sat some police officers came in. They walked up to a man ahead of us in line and with few words exchanged they handcuffed and led him politely away.

I was genuinely so out of reality. Every new thing that happened was like a bizarre dream from the empty hallways to the maternity ward and now this tarp strewn waiting room in which people could just be calmly arrested.

It was a shock to me then when we reached the front and the nurse spoke with perfectly unaccented English to assess me. Not only did she know bladder but a whole slew of other medical words I couldn’t guess at. I peed on a stick and we waited.

When we got the results she told me it was good because they could give me antibiotics today for my now confirmed infection, but bad because I’d need the doctor to sign off. I nodded and my mom and I were escorted to yet another small room to wait.

When the doctor arrived I felt suddenly gangly and awkward. I’m not tall but I towered over this tiny French woman who radiated calm composure. She seemed to be around my grandmothers age. She looked up at my blushing face and said, “Bladder infection?” Her English had a much stronger accent than the nurse but with the same medical competence.

I nodded.

She nodded too and we sat in a still contemplative moment on my UTI.

“Do you have… boyfriend?”

My face was on fire, every cell of me wanting to flee from this tiny perfect old woman. I nodded.

She nodded too. We sat still in the knowledge that I had a boyfriend and a UTI.

“Do you and your boyfriend do… it?” Her delicate accent stretched it into “eet.”

I don’t know if she didn’t know the word for sex or if she thought saying “it” was kinder but I wanted to melt into the floor and cease to exist to escape my increasing mortification and her meaningful pause. I nodded.

“Okay,” she said kindly. “When you and your boyfriend do… it… you must make pee pee.”

I writhed slightly under the psychic damage of this elegant medical professional saying “pee pee” and I nodded more emphatically hoping she’d desist this torture.

She continued. “If you and your boyfriend do… it… five times? You make five pee pees. If you do it ten times, you make ten pee pees.”

My face had never been hotter, all the blood in my body had volcanoed to my head, pounding in my ears and valiantly attempting to give me an aneurism to end my suffering. There is no mortification as acute to a teenager as an adult talking about sex and here was this medical professional telling me about… it.

Meanwhile, my mother. Who should have been regretting her poor parenting and reflecting on her neglect in failing impart this vital part piece of sex ed to her kid. Alas, she was laughing herself sick the corner. She added to my embarrassment by quietly repeating “pee pee” and “it” under her breath as she wheezed and chortled.

The doctor patted my hand kindly and handed me the antibiotics. I got to spend the rest of my trip in Europe avoiding direct sunlight and listening to my mother parrot “Do you do… eet?”

[loveemagicpeace]

🧚🏻‍♀️Astrology Notes🌊

People with 1st house placements are really good at presenting themselves. You are very good at expressing yourself. For ex.: Jupiter in 1st house- You have a lot of wisdom and knowledge. People like to listen to you. They see you as someone who is smart and has a lot of knowledge. It gives you confidence and a sense of freedom, especially in terms of how you look. You can be very careless, and you don't care what others think of you. Uranus in 1st house- u have unique approach to life and in a way that u look or dress. Sun in 1st house- u will always shine no matter what and u can also be in a spotlight a lot. You have a certain pride that you carry with you. Saturn in 1st house- You have a lot of maturity and things you've experienced. U can have sometimes hard time to express yourself. Mars in 1st house- Your energy is very noticeable. You are almost never afraid of anything.

12th house Synastry -Sometimes it feels like the person is reading your mind and sometimes they do exactly what you think. You sometimes feel like the person is taking something away from you. Example: you're watching a podcast in the evening that you really like and the next day that person posts the same podcast. There's always some kind of connection between you that's hard to explain.

Aquarius Venus-I often see them getting divorced or having unpredictable relationships. But divorces with this sign are quite common, in fact they are much more so than with someone who has Venus and Capricorn (they are very serious and cautious in love and it takes a long time to actually open up and build a life with someone). Aquarians can sometimes be more reckless and at the same time open to new things and if they feel the energy then they will quickly enter into a relationship. They also know how to get over someone quickly. Life goes on and so do they.

Sagittarius moon-they usually always have a belief in something whatever it is. They like something they can emotionally connect with. They will usually always look for a way that will fulfill them emotionally and give them some meaning. And they take a long time to get over something emotionally even if it doesn't seem that way. The trick with them is that they don't show that much emotion on the outside, so people often think they are very chill and cold.

2nd house is house of inner feelings, comfort, luxury, music, movies, food, what kind od food u love to eat. People with many planets here are more devoted to food and wanting to be comfortable. And they like to take the easy way out. They don't like to walk or do something for too long. They don't like to change their environment.

7th house stellium means there are many things you have to find out about yourself here. You can spend a long time searching for your personality. Thats why u can actually come off as a fake a lot of times. More than someone who has 12th house placements.

Countries ruled by Scorpio: Bavaria, Morocco, Norway, Syria. The places it rules are usually muddy streams, quiet ponds, swamps, vineyards, operating rooms.

Countries ruled by Libra: Austria, Argentina, China, Egypt, Japan, Tibet. The places it rules are harbors, golf courses, the tops of buildings, lobbies, closets, tables.

Countries ruled by Aries: Bulgaria, England, Denmark, Germany. The places it rules are hilly, dry, fireplaces, ceilings, hearths, rooms in the east and prominent corner buildings facing east.

Countries ruled by Cancer: North Africa, Netherlands, Paraguay, Scotland, New Zealand. The places it rules are: streams, springs, lakes, laundries, kitchens, homes.

If you want to sleep well, you can look at your 12th house and the moon. Because that will tell you where you will sleep better and which side is good when you sleep. Moon in Cancer means you’re highly sensitive to emotional and environmental changes. You likely sleep best when you feel safe, emotionally nurtured, and in a cozy, familiar environment. If something is emotionally off, it can disrupt your sleep, leading to vivid dreams or even insomnia. Mars in the 12th house, which means your sleep isn’t always restful. Mars here can create restlessness, active dreams, or even sleep disturbances because Mars is an action-oriented planet placed in a house of subconscious energies. Your dreams may be intense, symbolic, or even feel like past-life connections. Fire Moons (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)-Might wake up in the middle of the night, especially with intense dreams.

Mercury in the 12th – Overthinking before bed, talking in sleep, or receiving messages through dreams. Jupiter in the 12th – Spiritual or prophetic dreams, dreams of foreign places or guides, may wake up feeling inspired.

People ruled by saturn have one side that is devish not meant in a bad way. But if you hurt them you will face the other side of them. Many people do not know that capricorns are very strong and that they can also be vengeful but their revenge is silent.

A lot of people when they have north node transit in 11th house & south node transit 11th house -they delete social networks or use them less. At that moment, you often feel that it is not something you connect with anymore. I also often notice that gemini rising & sagittarius rising delete social networks because they want to live their lives differently. Also, many people with virgo rising do not connect as much with social networks.

If you have Venus in Gemini you must have an intellectual rapport with someone before your affections begin to blossom.  Basically, you have a lighthearted attitude toward love. Intense, heavy emo- tional commitments are like an anchor around your neck.  This position of Venus also stimulates a careless and free hand for spending money.

Venus in Leo are able to attract warm feelings on the part of others. You are extravagantly affectionate and generous, buying expensive gifts for those you love and praising them to the skies in front of other people. Needless to say you are drawn to the world of theater, and many of you are blessed with superb creative gifts. Though self-indulgent and pleasure-seeking, you are capable of making a great self-sacrifice for the happiness of some- one else.

Jupiter’s position in your chart indicates how outgoing and genial you are, whether you attract money and possessions, and in what career you will have the most luck.  Jupiter signifies the good things that come to you easily and with little effort. Jupiter can also be too much of a good thing, for its influence can make you extravagant, lazy and luxury-loving, profligate with money, and blindly optimistic. If things fall into your lap too easily, you never develop strength of character or spiritual wisdom.

Jupiter in Cancer-You are imaginative and sympathetic, and do well in creative pursuits. Old things have a special appeal to you. Anything involving food and drink also brings luck; many of you make successful chefs, restaurateurs, and cookbook writers.

Jupiter in Leo- You think big, are ambitious, and have a penchant for grandeur and extravagant display.  In professions where this is useful, such as the entertainment industry, the world of fashion, and high-powered selling jobs, you are predestined to succeed.

Jupiter in Aquarius- You usually find good fortune through your friends and unexpected opportunities. You are also endowed with a special aptitude for music. Many Jupiter-Aquarians become well known in that world. Aquarius is also the sign of the future, and as a native of this Jupiter position you tend to be successful in professions of the modern era— television, computers, electronics, aviation, and the space industry.

Jupiter in Pisces -are singled out for success in social or religious work, politics, and philanthropic organizations. Work that involves travel over water brings other opportunities into your life. You also have a deft touch with animals, would make a fine veterinarian, and many of you have lucrative businesses breeding horses, owning cattle ranches, and raising cats and dogs for show .

Uranus in 2nd house-You tend to have an unusual source of income or your money oppor- tunities pop up suddenly and unexpectedly. Antiques, curios, and collectibles are lucrative for you.

Jupiter in 2nd house-you tend to make money easily and have a talent for financial dealings. Other people are attracted to your expansive ways and you often benefit through social contacts. Traveling or the travel industry is another source of wealth for you.

Moon inn 3rd house-You tend to think emotionally and have a strong imagination. You dislike routine and your life is marked by many short trips. You have a good memory, often change your opinion. But you can also be very moody.

Sun in 4th house-You take pride in your home and family; from the time you were young you had a deep need to establish roots. One or both of your parents was a dominant influence in your life; in some cases you had to struggle for independence.

Mercury in 4th house-Your home is often a place of study or work, and the work you do may lead to changes in your residence. Your parents and early home life stimulated your curiosity to learn.

-Rebekah🧜🏼‍♀️🍀