#thanks for all the people who make review videos for ap classes

[lyss-draws-sometimes]

I’m finally finished with all my testing! I’m free!

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

OED Word of the Year expanded for ‘unprecedented’ 2020 (BBC) This year has seen so many seismic events that Oxford Dictionaries has expanded its word of the year to encompass several “Words of an Unprecedented Year”. Its words are chosen to reflect 2020’s “ethos, mood, or preoccupations”. They include bushfires, Covid-19, WFH, lockdown, circuit-breaker, support bubbles, keyworkers, furlough, Black Lives Matter and moonshot. Use of the word pandemic has increased by more than 57,000% this year. Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Dictionaries, said: “I’ve never witnessed a year in language like the one we’ve just had. The Oxford team was identifying hundreds of significant new words and usages as the year unfolded, dozens of which would have been a slam dunk for Word of the Year at any other time. “It’s both unprecedented and a little ironic—in a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other.”

Jury duty? No thanks, say many, forcing trials to be delayed (AP) Jury duty notices have set Nicholas Philbrook’s home on edge with worries about him contracting the coronavirus and passing it on to his father-in-law, a cancer survivor with diabetes in his mid-70s who is at higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19. People across the country have similar concerns amid resurgences of the coronavirus, a fact that has derailed plans to resume jury trials in many courthouses for the first time since the pandemic started. Within the past month, courts in Hartford, Connecticut, San Diego and Norfolk, Virginia, have had to delay jury selection for trials because too few people responded to jury duty summonses. The non-response rates are much higher now than they were before the pandemic, court officials say. Judges in New York City, Indiana, Colorado and Missouri declared mistrials recently because people connected to the trials either tested positive for the virus or had symptoms. “What the real question boils down to are people willing to show up to that court and sit in a jury trial? said Bill Raftery, a senior analyst with the National Center for State Courts. “Many courts have been responsive to jurors who have said that they’re not comfortable with coming to court and doing jury duty and therefore offering deferrals simply because of concerns over COVID.”

The next few months could be rough for the U.S. economy (NYT) The next few months have the potential to be very unpleasant for the American economy. Many states are reimposing coronavirus restrictions, which will likely lead to new reductions in consumer spending and worker layoffs. As Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, recently said, “We’ve got new cases at a record level, we’ve seen a number of states begin to reimpose limited activity restrictions, and people may lose confidence that it is safe to go out.” Adding to the economic risks, several of the government’s biggest virus rescue programs are scheduled to expire next month. It isn’t clear whether Congress will renew them, because congressional Democrats and Republicans disagree on how to do so. A lack of government support, Powell has said, may lead to “tragic” results with “unnecessary hardship.” The longer-term picture is more encouraging, though. There is reason to hope that the next economic recovery, whenever it comes, will be stronger than the frustratingly weak recovery after the 2007-2009 financial crisis. “It’s a good guess that we’ll get this pandemic under control at some point next year,” writes Paul Krugman, the Times columnist (and Nobel Prize-winning economist). “It’s also a good bet that when we do, the economy will come roaring back.”

Student loan repayments (WSJ) The U.S. government stands to lose more than $400 billion from the federal student loan program, an internal analysis shows, approaching the size of losses incurred by banks during the subprime-mortgage crisis. The Education Department, with the help of two private consultants, looked at $1.37 trillion in student loans held by the government at the start of the year. Their conclusion: Borrowers will pay back $935 billion in principal and interest. That would leave taxpayers on the hook for $435 billion, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The analysis was based on government accounting standards and didn’t include roughly $150 billion in loans originated by private lenders and backed by the government.

Brazil’s local elections (Worldcrunch) Brazilian local elections can be fun to watch. Candidates come from every walk of life, and are notably allowed to use nicknames on the campaign trail—and there have been some true gems over the years: a loud man with thick sideburns and bushy hair campaigned as “Geraldo Wolverine”; an elderly man in army uniform and full beard was “Bin Laden for Governor”; and we’ve also seen a tropical, chubby Spiderman, an old Robin, and Jesuses in various shapes and sizes. Earlier this month, as Brazilians headed to the polls to elect local leaders in the country’s major states and cities—including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro—there were exactly 78 candidates who chose to run as some form of “Bolsonaro,” and even one as “Donald Trump Bolsonaro.” Results are in and 77 of them failed to get elected, including the president’s ex-wife, who campaigned as Rogéria Bolsonaro. The Brazilian leader personally chimed in on his social media accounts to endorse the 59 candidates (with and without familiar nicknames) he favored—only nine of whom got elected, according to Estadão de S. Paulo daily. Centrist and moderate parties made gains in the local contests, which also came at the expense of the other massive political force in the country, the leftist Workers’ Party.

Reporter Gatecrashes EU Defence Chiefs’ Video Call After Login Details Posted on Twitter (Vice) A Dutch journalist managed to join a video call for EU defence ministers, much to his and everybody else’s surprise. Video posted on Twitter shows Daniël Verlaan, a technology reporter for broadcaster RTL Nieuws, in disbelief as he realises he’s actually managed to jump on the call. RTL said that Verlaan was only able to do so because of information tweeted by Dutch defence minister Ank Bijleveld, including a photo (since deleted) showing five digits of a six-digit PIN needed to join the call. Defence ministers representing EU members and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell were on the call. When Verlaan joins, Borrell asks, “Who are you?” After exchanging pleasantries, and as laughter is heard in the background, Borrell asks the reporter if he knew he was “jumping into a secret conference.” “Yes, I’m sorry, I’m a journalist from the Netherlands,” Verlaan says. “I’m sorry for interrupting your conference, I’ll be leaving here.” A spokesperson for the Dutch ministry of defence told RTL a staff member had accidentally tweeted the picture containing information that allowed Verlaan to join the call. “This shows once again that ministers need to realise how careful you have to be with Twitter,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

France’s Dragnet for Extremists Sweeps Up Some Schoolchildren, Too (NYT) Armed with assault rifles and wearing balaclavas, dozens of police officers raided four apartments recently in a sprawling complex in Albertville, a city in the French Alps. They confiscated computers and cellphones, searched under mattresses and inside drawers, and took photos of books and wall ornaments with Quranic verses. Before the stunned families, the officers escorted away four suspects for “defending terrorism.” “That’s impossible,” Aysegul Polat recalled telling an officer who left with her son. “This child is 10 years old.” Her son—along with two other boys and one girl, all 10 years old—was accused of defending terrorism in a classroom discussion on the freedom of expression at a local public school. Officers held the children in custody for about 10 hours at police stations while interrogating their parents about the families’ religious practices and the recent republication of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in the magazine Charlie Hebdo. The fifth-grade classmates are among at least 14 children and teenagers investigated by the police in recent weeks on accusations of making inappropriate comments during a commemoration for a teacher who was beheaded last month after showing the cartoons in a class on freedom of expression. As France grapples with a wave of Islamist attacks following the republication of the Charlie Hebdo caricatures, the case in Albertville and similar ones elsewhere have again raised questions about the nature of the government’s response.

France’s Sarkozy goes on trial for corruption (Reuters) Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial on Monday accused of trying to bribe a judge and of influence-peddling, one of several criminal investigations that threaten to cast an ignominious pall over his decades-long political career. Prosecutors allege Sarkozy offered to secure a plum job in Monaco for judge Gilbert Azibert in return for confidential information about an inquiry into claims that Sarkozy had accepted illegal payments from L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007-2012 and has remained influential among conservatives, has denied any wrongdoing in all the investigations against him and fought vigorously to have the cases dismissed. Next March, Sarkozy is due in court on accusations of violating campaign financing rules during his failed 2012 re-election bid. Next March, Sarkozy is due in court on accusations of violating campaign financing rules during his failed 2012 re-election bid.

Merkel, Germany’s ‘eternal’ chancellor, marks 15 years in power (AFP) In power so long she has been dubbed Germany’s “eternal chancellor”, Angela Merkel marks 15 years at the helm of Europe’s top economic power Sunday with her popularity and public trust scaling new heights as her remaining time in office ticks down. With the coronavirus raging around the world, the pandemic has played to her strengths as a crisis manager with a head for science-based solutions. Merkel, 66, has said she will step down as chancellor when her current mandate runs out in 2021, and leave politics altogether. Assuming she finishes out her fourth term, she will tie Helmut Kohl’s longevity record for a post-war leader, with an entire generation of young Germans never knowing another person at the top. The brainy, pragmatic and unflappable Merkel has served for many in recent years as a welcome counter-balance to the big, brash men of global politics, from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin, as liberals have looked to her as the “leader of the free world”. A Pew Research Center poll last month showed large majorities in most Western countries having “confidence in Merkel to do the right thing regarding world affairs”.

China tests millions after coronavirus flare-ups in 3 cities (AP) Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. As temperatures drop, large-scale measures are being enacted in the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai and Manzhouli, despite the low number of new cases compared to the United States and other countries that are seeing new waves of infections. On Monday, the National Health Commission reported two new locally transmitted cases in Shanghai over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to seven since Friday. China has recorded 86,442 total cases and 4,634 deaths since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Singapore, a City of Skyscrapers and Little Land, Turns to Farming (WSJ) In this skyscraper-studded nation of nearly six million people, all the farmland combined adds up to about 500 acres—an area roughly the size of a single American farm. That explains why more than 90% of the city-state’s food comes from abroad, a feat of globalization that plays out every day as beef is brought from New Zealand, eggs from Poland and vegetables trucked in from Malaysia. But recent developments—from Covid-19-related border closures to international trade fights—have shown that near-total dependence on the outside world may not be the best strategy in a shifting global environment. The Asian financial hub long focused on growing investment is turning to growing food. It can’t be done the traditional way, however. Land is so scarce in Singapore that the government continually reclaims territory from the sea to build new urban infrastructure. Instead, businesses are trying to reinvent agriculture. Industrial buildings are being converted into vertical farms with climate-controlled grow rooms. Rows of lettuce and kale are nourished not by soil, but via automated drips of nutrient-infused water. LED lights substitute for the sun. The government’s goal is to have 30% of the island’s nutritional requirements produced in Singapore by 2030, up from less than 10% today. Earlier this year, it shipped 400,000 seed packets to households to encourage home cultivation of leafy greens, cucumbers and tomatoes. In September, it announced about $40 million in grants to expand high-tech farms.

Reports: Israeli PM flew to Saudi Arabia, met crown prince (AP) Israeli media reported Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which would mark the first known encounter between senior Israeli and Saudi officials. Hebrew-language media cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Netanyahu and Yossi Cohen, head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, flew to the Saudi city of Neom on Sunday, where they met with the crown prince. The prince was there for talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A Gulfstream IV private jet took off just after 1740 GMT from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, according to data from website FlightRadar24.com. The flight traveled south along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula before turning toward Neom and landing just after 1830 GMT, according to the data. The flight took off from Neom around 2150 GMT and followed the same route back to Tel Aviv. While Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates have reached deals under the Trump administration to normalize ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia so far has remained out of reach.

Cyclone Gati hits Somalia as country’s strongest storm on record (Washington Post) Tropical Cyclone Gati struck the arid nation of Somalia on Sunday as the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, making it the strongest storm on record to hit the country. The cyclone made landfall after undergoing an extraordinary period of rapid intensification, which may have set a record for the entire Indian Ocean basin, at one point attaining the strength equivalent to a Category 3 storm, with 115 mph maximum sustained winds. Its landfall was farther south than any major hurricane-equivalent cyclone on record in that part of the world as well. Landfall occurred near Xaafuun, a small community about 900 miles northeast of Mogadishu, where the land juts east near the northern tip of the country. Hordio and Ashira, both desert communities, were also directly affected by the core of the storm. A broad four to eight inches of rainfall accompanied the system through northern Somalia, the driest part of the country, drenching desert regions with a year or two’s worth of rainfall in just a matter of hours to a couple of days. Rains also swept through the Gulf of Aden and brushed up against Yemen.

[studynwrite]

My Exam Score: 5

Let me preface all of this by saying that my perspective on this course is coming from someone who is very much a humanities person and who had already taken an AP History (World) before taking this course. That said, let’s begin.

So, unlike AP World, APUSH requires you to know a lot of very specific details about history; among the things that you might need to know, for example, are the year the cotton gin was invented, and by whom, (1791; Eli Whitney), what president and party passed the Alien & Sedition Acts (Adams; Federalist), what caused a split between suffragettes and abolitionists (the 15th Amendment), so on and so forth. This was definitely the part of this course that was the hardest for me. I already had experience with the historical thinking skills thanks to World and I feel I’m pretty good at thinking in the big picture of the themes of APUSH (again, similar to World, though APUSH has many more themes than World did), but learning all of the very specific details was difficult.

All of that said, my biggest tip for anyone in APUSH is, as my teacher would lovingly yell at us during class, know your content. If you don’t take the time to learn the facts of history (like those mentioned previously), you will struggle through connecting historical periods or historical themes, and that is truly the crux of APUSH (and AP history in general). 

Aside from just memorizing facts, though, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for the exam is to practice reading and analyzing historical sources (for APUSH these won’t be any older than the 15th century, but a bulk of what you see will be post-revolution). Understanding historical documents is necessary for the multiple choice, the short answer questions, and the DBQ (especially the DBQ). The best way to practice would be to either find a quizlet or something with a list of documents and their meanings or through the official College Board scoring guidelines for the exams--every year there is a detailed breakdown of every document from the year’s DBQ, thought I don’t think this will hold true for the 2020 exams.

Further, I will always preach that reading the Chief Reader Reports from exams will do wonders for your score; in the report there is a breakdown of knowledge gaps for nearly every period featured on the exam. With this, I recommend reading the breakdown of each FRQ and the example FRQs given. All of this can be found on the AP Central website.

I would also recommend using Fiveable, a platform made for AP studying; Quizlet (just search for APUSH and a multitude of options for studying will come up); Khan Academy; and Albert.io, which is a paid program that I used for World (Not, APUSH) that is definitely worth it if you can afford it (or maybe ask your teacher/school about getting it for the school--that’s how I used it for World!).

Really, APUSH comes down to your memory, your ability to connect ideas together, and your ability to articulate both of those skills in writing. A good practice would be to take major events/people/ideas from the course and sort them into the various themes that are presented in APUSH, and maybe even try to connect them using historical thinking skills as well. 

That’s all I have to say! If you have any questions about APUSH/AP History/AP Classes & Exams in general feel free to ask me! 

(Though I will be making similar posts for English Language & Composition and Biology so)

Much love & Good Luck in APUSH!

Colby <3

Resources:

APUSH AP Central Page

APUSH Course & Exam Description

APUSH 2019 Scoring Guidelines

APUSH 2019 Chief Reader Report

Heimler’s History DBQ Guide

Jocz Productions (Really Good APUSH Review Videos!)

Fiveable

Albert

Quizlet

[zukofenty]

Sugar

➜ Summary: The one where there’s a former skateboarding photographer turned teenaged masked vigilante running around protecting the city from crime. Yet, Katara always knew she wasn’t meant to just sit a good fight out.

“Did you just fucking slap me?” Zuko is incredulous, clutching his reddening man tit.

“Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Be mad?” Katara bites back.

➜ Genre: Spiderman!AU, Modern!AU, humor

➜ Words: 3.8k

➜ Warnings: I love Zuko😩

AO3, My Zutara Month Playlist

@zutaramonth​ hi!!! this my late day 1 hehe

“Self care 2020 is officially over. We’re doing drugs again.” 

  Suki stares at Katara quizzically. “No, I don’t think that’s how it goes.” 

  “Are you sure?” Katara asks, puzzled. Suki just rolls her eyes, picking at her chipping manicure as Katara focuses on her biology homework. 

  “It’s only been like two weeks into the New Year. Yeah, I’m sure,” Suki deadpans. “What makes you think that doing drugs again is remotely going to-” Her rant is abruptly cut off at the sound of commotion coming from the courtyard. “Fuck, not Jet again.” 

  Katara jumps to her feet. Not this bitch again . Before she has to do more damage control than Camila Cabello’s publicist every time she opens her mouth and something stupid (and/or racist) for the 1000th time, Katara surveyed the scene before her. Freshman Aang, still prepubescent and so, so tiny was spared from having his face shoved in a moldy grilled cheese sandwich the cafeteria gave to kids who couldn’t afford lunch (yay public school!). He’s not facing Jet’s usual wrath inflicted on any short king 5’9” and under. Instead, a figure was gasping for air in an oversized black hoodie, hands clawing at Jet’s angular face. 

  “Hey Jet!” Katara yelps, pulling the tall boy up by his belt loops. He pauses in pummeling Zuko’s oh so pretty face, and grins unabashedly at Katara. The smile she knows is only reserved for her. 

  “Yes, Katara?” He smirks when he could almost hear pussies clench. He knows his power. 

  She smiles back at him, making it almost reach her eyes. “I did a little research, and guess what?” 

  “What?” 

  She pushes her bangs from her eyes, looking so sweet and innocent in her blazer and her signature knee length boots. “You’re a whore. A dumb whore.” He can’t help but let anger paint his face. “Leave these damn kids alone ! Don’t you have another class to ditch? A military program to join? A car to mod? Find a hobby. Go to therapy. Stupid.” 

  Her hair flows whips around as quickly as she does, flowing and bouncing effortlessly as she heads to AP Chemistry. 

  Zuko smiles, despite the pain in his chest from where Jet shoved his converse into. He thinks he loves her. Or what anti social kids like him thought love was because he doesn’t think she knows who he is. So polished and passionate about everything she does. Captain of the debate team, president of the Student Advocate’s club, and head intern at Phoenix Corporations in working on projects to mass clean polluted waters. She managed to do everything and still have kindness in her soul. The kind of love that you could almost feel surrounding a person. 

  He decides he likes staring at her, even if it’s the back of her head during chemistry. It was too easy to fall in love, when she was yelling at him to photograph the debate club’s photos in a certain light so they could post it on their Facebook for student recruitment season. He manages to always trip on his laces every time he’s around her, or stumble on his skateboard when she sends a small smile his way as they pass each other in the hallway of Ba Sing Se Academy. It’s always worth the detention Principal Pakku serves his way, if it meant he could get her attention. 

  In high school, guys like him and girls like her weren’t meant to be together. He’s impossibly clumsy, according to Uncle Iroh, and dangerously emo, according to everyone else. Katara, well she’s meant for bigger and better things, she’s meant to be out in the world and changing it. 

  She startles him, the way she turns so fast her ponytail narrowly misses his bruised face. “It was great what you did. It was kind of fucking stupid. But great.” 

  “Thank you?” 

  Katara beams impossibly wide. “You’re welcome. What’s your name?” 

  Zuko’s giving her a lopsided smile. “You don’t know my name?” 

  “Am I supposed to? You know I only keep up with Black Chyna and the lord.” Her wide eyes squint in a smile. His heart thunders, and he somehow feels as though Katara could sense it, with how much bigger her smile gets. 

  //

  “Welcome to the company single handedly transforming the genetic and biological industry. The future lies within!” The monitor’s voice announces repeatedly, Phoenix Corporation’s recognizable slogan. 

  Zuko’s in awe. He wasn’t meant for a world like this, with fancy lab coats and holographic presentations and people with glasses spewing larger than life terms. Hell, the revolving doors got him fucked up! That shit was too advanced for his liking. Science was his thing , but this was entirely out of his league. He donned glasses as an homage to a father he had never known, abandoning him when he was a baby on his Uncle Iroh’s doorstep. A labcoat was handed his way after the intern program directors approved with the badge of some guy named “Lee.” Zuko desperately tries to ignore the pleas of the real Lee coming from the lobby of the building. 

  “I swear I have a badge, I swear I’m an intern here!” 

  A guard shoves him out the door. “Can it, zit bitch!” 

  “I don’t think security guards are supposed to pick at people’s insecurities,” Lee whimpers. 

  He’s avoiding eye contact as Katara prattles away, taking the sweaty interns every which way through the company’s headquarters. “And here is Dr. Ozai, who will be discussing his cross elemental genetics project.” 

  He’s a formidable man. Tall, broad shoulders. He looks intensely polished, the type of man that always gets his way. The type of man who refuses anything less than what he wants. Zuko can’t help but stare. He looks different from the pictures Zuko found in Iroh’s basement. Meaner . Is this what he will look like in the future? He tries not to think about it too hard.  “Does anyone know the history of the firebenders are?” Zuko sees Ozai relishing in the confused faces of the teens, oily foreheads seemingly glistening in the fluorescent lighting. 

  “They were-”

  Zuko promptly interrupts him. “They were born with the ability to will fire any way they wanted. Legend has it that benders were born with abilities to manipulate all the elements: water, earth, fire, air. These people were invincible.” 

  Ozai smirks. A first for him, a student who understood his work. “Yes, all true. But the truly powerful ones were the ones who could firebend. This element is the most destructive, yet can bring beauty all at once.” He pauses to bring a holographic video to the attention of the students. “My goal is to recreate this ability that once came so easily to our ancestors. To bring humankind to be this powerful again. Where nothing will ever get in our way, no illness, no fear. Just us and the elements, joined together once more.” 

  As the fellow interns become increasingly enraptured by the presentation detailing his work, Ozai turns to Katara reviewing notes for the rest of the office tour. “Who was that kid?” She couldn’t help but feel pride in her soul. As she turns to introduce him to her mentor, her brows furrow in confusion. He’s nowhere to be found.

  //

  He hadn’t meant to sneak into the top secret chamber of research, he swears. One minute he’s looking for a bathroom because he downed one too many Fiji waters because they were fancy and he wanted to feel fancy. And then of course he’s distracted by pretty buttons, and of course the rebel in him is able to remember the passcode scientists used to enter this top secret chamber. (The password was “thrussy.”) 

  He certainly hadn’t meant to get burned. He hastily climbed into the empty tube to hide himself as security guards routinely checked the room. While trying to unlock the door, of course he just had to trip on his laces, and of course he just had to press some button. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by rainbow colored flames, engulfing his body. He remembers the last thing he searched on his computer was “what are furries festival” and prays that the police spares that from the report when they investigate his death. 

  But, he’s fine. He’s more than fine. He’s fucking fantastic . He’s strong, he has the reflexes of a fucking ninja, and he can conjure fucking flames from his hands. From his hands! 

  He practices every night, after the day at Phoenix Corp. He singed his towels, accidentally broke open his medicine cabinet when he reached for his anti depressants, and exploded his Aveeno bedside lotion. There’s an abandoned building near his apartment, and he climbs to the rooftop every night to control his newfound powers. He’s not clumsy, and swears he can rival Tony Hawk with his skateboarding abilities.

  But the best part is how agile he’s become. He’s strong, noodle arms now muscular. His baggy shirts like a conscious fashion choice, and not just because they were the cheapest in the Walmart clearance rack. The kids that ignored him and continued to make out in front of his locker without any consequence? Pushed to the ground. The bully targeting petite kings? Basketball shoved firmly into his head. 

  “I’m trying my hardest to stop being mean. It’s really not my fault everyone is so fucking stupid.” Zuko petulantly stares at the suspension slip Pakku had written as he waits for Iroh to finish speaking to the principal. Apparently justice has consequences. 

  “Zuko!” Katara serious tone is heavily contrasted with laughter. 

  “Fine, you caught me. I’ve been ditching therapy to hotbox in the Denny’s parking lot.” 

  Katara huffs. “Denny’s? Really, bitch? You couldn’t have chosen, I don’t know, Target at least. Here I thought you were classy.” 

  Their collective laughter was interrupted by Iroh’s appearance, anger maring his usually gentle face. “We’ll talk about this later. Zuko, you know better than this. Why did you have to humiliate that boy?” 

  “He deserved it!” 

  “Enough! I’m have to pick up some later shifts at the tea shop today. Show up for yours today, too.” Zuko senses his uncle has more to say, more to berate him for. He just looks exhausted . Defeated. It’s all his damn fault. Iroh swerves to Katara. “He has you on his computer by the way! I’m his parole officer, nice to meet you.”  Zuko’s mouth falls open, trying to explain to Katara who is barely holding herself together with how loudly she’s guffawing. 

  “I love you,” Iroh says, moving to exit out the school.

  “I know.” Zuko starts to move away, before he pauses. “I love you, too.” 

//

  He thought, you get the girl, you get the firebending skills and you get hot and everything is ok. Everything is perfect. The universe has so many ways to fuck up your life, because serenity is just too easy. 

  Zuko’s heart clenches, staring at his Uncle’s body. There are tears that promise to slip, but never embark on their journey. A monitor nearby is noisily beeping, a tired nurse pats Zuko gently on the back. He’s becoming a recognizable figure, after all he does visit his Uncle Iroh two times a day. 

  It’s his fault . 

  It’s a thought that becomes permanent in his mind. It’s his fault that he lost track of training himself, and didn’t show up for his shift. It’s his fault that Iroh was running around the whole damn city looking for him. It’s his fucking fault his uncle was beat nearly half to death by robbers. 

  He grabs his uncle’s limp hands gently between his own calloused ones. “I’m going to make this right. I’m going to make you proud.” He slips away before he can feel his heart threatens to simply stop, unable to process the infinite pain he feels. 

  //

He glances at his watch nervous for multiple reasons. One, that he was going to miss his shift at the tea shop and get lectured again by June, his neighbor who has graciously taken over running the shop and housing Zuko until Iroh wakes from his coma. Two, that if he stares at the sea prunes any longer without actually eating them, Katara’s grandma would start laughing at him. Three, if Katara’s father kept glaring at him he would combust with how fucking nervous he was. It didn’t help he snuck in through Katara’s window and Hakoda had discovered him watching Tik Toks on her bed. 

  The dinner was a bust. Halfway through and he’s already gotten in an argument with the police chief over a certain masked figure. 

  “I think his name is The Blue Spirit.” Zuko admits, fighting to hide a smile. 

  Hakoda stares down at the boy. “More like Blue Dipshit. He’s destroying the city!” Katara quickly steps in as the argument grows heated, taking Zuko out to her building’s rooftop. 

  “Oh my god, you should be glad he didn’t shoot your ass up.” Katara clutches the railing, staring out to the city lights. 

  The same city lights he lives by, swears by. He remembers trying to seek out his uncle’s attacker. A man named Zhao notorious for his violent temper and attacks on the city’s elderly. He was able to run into his gaggle of minions on his nights long quest. While they had successfully nearly beat him to a pulp, he swears he’s set a few jackets on fire and managed to outrun them. Even if it meant he had fallen through an unbuilt building, tumbling down six stories before landing in the pits of a former fight club. He saw it then, the Blue Spirit legend. An ancient swordsman who dominated the underground scene. 

  He decided he was going to be the best damn superhero the world had seen. Even if it meant wearing an all black leotard every night. He designed it to best complement his firebending, resistant to the heat. The mask he slipped on every night, built to protect both him and his identity. The swords at his back that he’s been training with hours on end. 

“Are you a cop?” he remembers his uncle’s attacker questioning, his new target blocked by Zuko’s presence. 

  “Really? You think a cop is going to be wearing a blue face mask and black spandex?” He doesn’t remember much of that night, anger too palpable and blinding his senses. All he will admit to is leaving him in some police car. Not the bruises littering the bandit’s body. Or his missing pants. 

  “I have to tell you something.” He joins Katara at the railing. 

  She gasps. “I knew it! You listen to Post Malone unironically.” 

  “No, god no. I haven’t hit rock bottom yet to start doing that.” He’s proud of himself for making her laugh. 

  “What’s up?” She asks. He can’t back out now. Not when she’s looking at him like he’s the whole world, not when she’s become his whole world. 

  “I-I can’t” He stutters, breaking their eye contact. 

  She nods in quiet understanding, turning away from him to walk back to her apartment. Zuko sighs, rubbing a hand at his forehead. “ Fuck.”

  He conjures up a storm of flames to surround Katara. The force was enough to whirl her around and towards him, waiting to catch her in his arms. 

  “What the fuck was that?” Katara yelps, before being cut off with the feeling of Zuko’s lips pressed against hers. 

  “I just wanted to let you know. I Am. A. God.” He swears, the flames growing steadily from his palms.  

  “I’m kind of scared of you right now. Not because of the firebending or anything, just because the amount of testosterone is making me nervous.” She initiates the kiss this time. Her lip gloss tastes sweet, and he keeps kissing her until her lips become chapped. His hands can’t help but roam her body, her hands teasing and finding contact with his toned stomach beneath his hoodie. 

  “Are you kidding me!” Sokka calls from the rooftop’s entrance, hands covering his eyes. “I swear to Spirits above Zuko I am not afraid to castrate you right here right now. Katara, get the fuck inside!” 

  Zuko blushes. 

  // 

“Katara, you’re so incredibly mature for your age.” Hama insists. 

  Katara is beaming. “Thanks, it’s the childhood trauma!” 

  The chemistry teacher freezes, looking at the still smiling girl peculiarly. “Um, well. My point is, it’s not worth it. I-I know it’s none of my business. I just see so much of myself in you. Including the mistakes I know you’re going to make. Honey, it’s not worth mixing yourself up with a guy that’s only more trouble than anything else. You’re going to go to the best college in the nation, I just know it. You just can’t afford to lose your focus now. Been there, done that. It’s not worth it.” 

  She smiled seemingly understandingly, struggling to keep her mouth shut. If only she knew. 

  The Blue Spirit couldn’t fight all the crime in the city alone. As much as Zuko was convinced he was the shit, he really wasn’t. The Blue Spirit couldn’t dare match up to The Painted Lady. 

“You’re The Painted Lady?” Zuko questions, eyes closed in confusion while trying to process all the information. To be fair, he’s only gotten two hours of sleep a night ever since his life as The Blue Spirit began. He’s convinced the police really only sit around and eat donuts. If this was Law and Order: SVU , he just knew Olivia Benson wouldn’t need a masked teenager saving people. He opens his eyes when he begins to feel pulsating water near his wounds, Katara controlling its every movement as it works its way through his wounds. 

  After reuniting with his father and become an official intern at Phoenix Corp, he soon realized his father was not as occupied with cross elemental theories. No, he was much more focused on how to resurrect the dragons of the world. The true firebenders, he noted. Zuko had found hidden notes his mother had written before leaving his father. Partners in crime, they were working on their research together. Before his mother had left with the solution, before his father could understand the consequences of his work. Before his father had made himself a subject and injected their concoction into himself, become a half scaled half human hybrid roaming the sewers of the city. 

  He had found his father, bitter to no end as he continues producing the serum that was supposed to make the most powerful being on the planet. Zuko was left with gashes in his chest that made him wanted to vomit with how much blood was pouring out. He was left to die in dirty sewage water, his father cackling as he disappeared. Until she showed up. 

  The Painted Lady. 

  The city’s emblem, etched on coins and dollar bills. He’s heard rumors about her cleaning up the city’s rivers, healing patients doctors long gave up on. Her grandmother had told her their family comes from a long line of waterbenders, the last one born 400 years ago. She had her swear never to reveal her talents, never talk about it, never do anything about it. It was dangerous, the government would want to talk to her. She would disappear, the whole family would be in danger But Katara was never one to listen to directions very well. 

  “Did you just fucking slap me?” Zuko is incredulous, clutching his reddening man tit. She’s nearly healed all the cuts on his body at the hands of his father’s claws. The burn from a dragon is more painful than any other, and Katara’s upset. She can’t heal his eye, no matter how hard she tries. 

  “Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Be mad?” Katara bites back. She pauses the water disappearing from her hands and back onto the mug on her night stand. “I can’t believe you’re so fucking stupid.” She’s in his lap, clad in only a t shirt. Her hair falls in her eyes as she returns to heal his wounds, and he gingerly brushes the strand out from blocking her. 

  “I know.” Zuko couldn’t help but press a kiss to her cheek. 

  “Don’t return the sweatpants,” Katara throws out. 

  Zuko raises his eyebrow. “Why, doesn’t Sokka want these back?” 

  “He says, ‘I don’t want emo butt juice on them,’” Katara shrugs. 

  He blows a stray hair from his scarred eye out of frustration. “I consider myself chic punk more than anything else.” 

  She pauses again. “What if there’s more of us out there?” Katara uneasily peers up at his questioning stare. “More benders?” 

  Even with all the tests and insistence Ozai had for recreating this power, Zuko had been the only successful case. The only person to fully exhibit the power of his ancestors. “I don’t know. Wouldn’t they need to go through some sort of freak accident like I did?” 

  “What if your power was suppressed this whole time?” 

  He contemplates the idea, hands rubbing up and down her waist. 

  “I think my grandma used to say something like ‘One queef and this whole building could tumble down.’”

  He is glaring at her quizzically. “No I don’t think that’s right. What does that even mean?” 

  “It means, life as we know it will change forever. If we find other benders to defeat your father. If we expose what bending is. Hell, the city still thinks you use jetpacks to propel yourself around the city.” 

  He pecks chastely at her lips. She hates how easily she’s able to relax when he kisses away her worries. “You know, I used to think if I had a boyfriend I would simply go beat pedophiles to death with him as a hobby. I don’t know whether or not to be delighted this has come true.” 

  “As long as The Blue Spirit always has The Painted Lady. Everything will be alright.” 

  “You promise?” 

  “You rise with moon. He does, too.” Zuko’s staring at the mask in his hand. His other hand firmly around Katara’s. 

[formal-fauxpines]

Siblings with Benefits Chapter 3

For this chapter @sunshineshipper let me have a lot of input on this chapter to where it is kind of my own thing. Of course I made sure to get her approval and have her give me the okay, so it is main author approved. If it seems different style wise then that is the reason why. Hope it is to your liking and still fits the rest of the story.

P.S. I am re-posting this to this current page as my original page I put this on was hit by the purge. Here it should have no problem.

Free period was always a great relief to Dipper, but  today is especially nice. He would usually  take the time to study. Either keep up with his numerous AP classes or catch up on a few personal projects. However, instead of any of that, it seems it's time for deeper thought about himself and about his sister.

He and his sister have always been close. The occasional rough housing, sharing rooms up until they were teenagers, cuddling up to each other for twin time, awkward sibling hugs. How did that all escalate to becoming siblings with benefits? This seems a bit more than unusually close. But friends who are usually that close have these kind of habits right? Take it to something more physical without letting emotions really get in the way.

None of the friends he knows, though.

They could be different. They could make it work. They've been doing a great job so far.

“Hello. Earth to Dipper,”  A hand waves in his face to catch his attention. He's startled out of all his thoughts.

Dipper looks up and sees Jared waving at him, a puzzled look on his face.

“Hey, man. Thought I lost ya there for a minute. You have some intense focus there. That or something is on your mind to an extreme.”

“A little of both I guess you can say. What brings you down here to the library?”

“Free period. Would like to get started on my homework since I have some catching up to do. You know, with being new here.”

“That’s a smart idea. Welp, pull up a chair there is plenty of room,” Dipper gestures to the table and its seats, offering him a spot in his place of solitude.

They sit together doing their respective homework, looking to one another to discuss answers and help one another. They finish early with the added brain power and spend the rest of the period discussing the latest video games, shows, and other shared interest.

“Yeah, I was getting along pretty well in my game last night before Mabel came back home.”

“Oh, yeah!” Jared perked up at the subject. A few shushes were directed toward him. He hunches down embarrassed for his outburst, “How was that? I take it she is now off the market?”

“Actually, no. Turns out the date was really a study session for the guy for art class since Mabel is an art genius. She was really crushed, so I had to, um… comfort her.”

“Makes sense. You are the good big brother and all. And by the looks of it and what I have been hearing from people, you guys are pretty close.”

“You have no idea, dude.”

“Oh? How so?”

‘Shit! Too much! Gotta draw back!’

“Well, you know…” he shifts in his chair because suddenly the hard wood is more uncomfortable than it was before, “we’re twins so naturally we are close to begin with. Plus with all our adventures we have a lot of great experiences together so makes us a bit closer. I don’t know, even becoming teens we never felt like we drifted apart. In fact, we are just as close as we’ve always been. Also so you should know she is older than me by 5 minutes”

“That’s beautiful man,” Jared smiles and pats him on the back. “I can imagine you are quite protective of her and everything too.”

Dipper thought back to all the times since that first summer in Gravity Falls and times that followed after.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“But maybe not too protective as to say, oh, I don’t know. Allow a friend to possibly ask her out on a little date?” Jared leaned back and stared at Dipper as if awaiting a response.

Dipper felt caught off guard by this question. He knew the answer to this question was a no due to his sister not wanting romance, but also can’t go so far that he admitted that she was in a sexual relationship with him too.

‘Calm down Dipper. This is an easy question. Give him the straight answer and it will be fine. He will understand.’

“Well,” Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. “While I was comforting her, she kind of opened up about her whole romance tepockle and how she is feeling about it now. Aaaannnddd, she really isn’t looking for a romantic interest right now. Kind of taking a break from the whole subject.”

“Okay, that’s cool. I can respect that decision. Will not ask her out then… But say she does at some point later on is looking to date. Would, you know, it be alright iiiiffffff…?”

“If you ask her out?” Dipper finishes for him. “I don't see why not. But that is up to her of course.”

“Oh, psshh, of course man. Got to just use the old charm and let her decide for herself.” Jared bobbed his head as he fired off a set of finger guns toward Dipper.

“Dang, dude. And I thought I was a dork.”

“Come on man, we are both denizens of dork-dom.” Jared held out his fist to Dipper who met it with his own. They shared a quiet chuckle together hoping not to be too loud to warrant a ‘shh’.

“Oh yeah, just remembered,” Jared said before rummaging through his backpack. “Since we talked about it yesterday I figured you would be interested in this game.” Jared pulls out a game from his pack and hands it to Dipper.

“No way, I saw some great reviews on this. Look forward to trying it out. You sure this is okay?”

“Yeah man, say it’s a thanks for being so awesome to me as a new guy.”

“No problem man, I know it can be hard.”

**************************************************

At the end of the school day, Dipper met up with Mabel as per usual as Jared tagged along to chat with Dipper,  and get more time with Mabel. They seemed to get along well for having just met, but then again that was Mabel’s specialty. Not too long after Jared parted ways from the twins to head to his home.

“That guy is pretty cool, much like my bro bro, in a very dorky way.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool. Lent me a new video game today.”

“Ah man. I had plans for us tonight Dipster. Now you’re just gonna be a poophead and want to play that.”

“Sorry Mabel. Just kind of popped up. Plus I been looking forward to playing this one. Just haven’t had the money as of late.”

“Well it was going to be a nice surprise, but now we will never know.”

“Come on Mabel you can tell me. Maybe it will change my mind.”

“If that’s what you think, then you have fundamentally misunderstood what a surprise is oh brother of mine. Shame on you.”

“Okay, okay. Fair enough.”

“Hmm. How about this. I’ll race you home and I will tell you what it is then.”

“Wait, a race? Mabel you always beat me at those.”

“Only way Dipper. Guess it will stay a secret forever.”

“Okay fine, deal”

“Allllllrrrriiiggghhhtt… READYSETGO!!!” With a last rapidly made statement Mabel bolted toward home leaving Dipper in the dust.

“Of course she would.” Dipper took off after her in the hopes to keep up, yet he knew it was a futile effort. Without the adrenaline he usually gets in a monster encounter, Dipper’s athleticism was much to be desired.

‘Where did she get this energy from. It was just this morning that she shook off a hangover and we did it twice. How is she not dead tired?’

Dipper shook off his thoughts as he got into a good pace, catching up with his sister enough. Unfortunately for him the race was over as she bolted through the door of their house while he just reached the front yard. Out of breath, he stumbled into the living room where Mabel was doing her victory dance.

“ALPHA TWIN! ALPHA TWIN!” She chanted rhythmically though her breaths.

“Alright Mabel you won. I guess you can keep your secret then.”

“Well I never said I wouldn’t tell you if I won. I just said you had to race me.”

“Wait, why make it a competition if you were just going to do it anyways?”

“Well, for one it was fun. Two, got to show I am Alpha Twin still. And three, I wanted to get home as quick as possible without spoiling the surprise.”

“Danm Mabel,”Dipper manages to get out after finally catching his breath. “What the heck is the surprise then?”

“Ooohhh, just this.”

Just as Dipper catches his breath, he finds it snatched away again as Mabel removes her sweater and shirt revealing her bra and bare skin.

“Mabel! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Relax bro-bro,” she said as she sauntered over to lay a kiss upon him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Turns out mom and dad have another late night at work and won’t be back for some time. So that means we have another evening to ourselves.

She gives another kiss to her brother who is slightly caught off guard still by his sisters boldness and the news she lays upon him. Mabel releases her grip and takes a few steps back leaving him with a bewildered expression on his face.

“Then again you do have that new video game you wanted to try, so maybe we don’t have to do it tonight. We’ll just have to wait for another opportunity for the parents to be gone for an explicitly long period of time. Oh well.”

With that statement, Mabel begins walking up the stairs. Upon reaching the top, she decides to remove her skirt revealing a lace purple thong.

“I’ll be relaxing in my room if you want to join me Sir Dippingsauce.” She gives him a wink and sauntered off to her room.’

Without even thinking, Dipper dropped the game and his bag on the floor where he stood, bolted up the stairs, grabbed a few condoms from his room, and darted into Mabel’s room, locking the door behind him.

Here she laid before him. Body the epitome of perfection; lythe form, perky breasts, beautiful face, eyes that were lipid pools that were the gateway to the soul. A body so incredibly hot that it was in the middle of the tundra and he wouldn’t even notice the cold. Legs that go on forever, curves that could be put on graphing paper and the equation would be called perfection. His brain was short circuiting over the fact that he is about to have such an intimate time with this perfect creature.

A soft moan snaps Dipper out of the rollercoaster ride his brain was taking him. Apparently, Mabel was getting bored waiting for him. The sight he was treated to now had his mind, and loins, at full attention that no amount of worry less than getting caught, or the end of the world could distract him from.

Her hands exploring the contours of her body was a breathtaking sight. The way she ran them over her form was nothing less than an elegant display of what her craft worthy hands could do. As they explore, she focused more on the most pleasurable areas of her anatomy. Caressing and fondling, always staying outside her lingerie, as if saving the more direct touches for him. Her eyes bored in to him as she touched herself, half lidded she says “You can look, but aren’t you going to touch?”

Dipper walks over to her, trying to play cool and failing to hide his anticipation, placing the condoms on her nightstand. He undresses down to his boxers before settling down next to her. She scoots over to make more room for him, keeping eye contact the whole time.

“I-is it alright if I touch you?” he asks.

She nods, biting her lower lip.

Dipper places his hand along her stomach gently caressing her milky smooth skin. She lets out a slight moan and giggle. He notes the reaction and begins to slide his hand lower making it over her hips and down to her thighs. As he lets his hands explore her lithe figure, he moves in to kiss her. It’s slow and intimate. Lips press gently to one another as tongues reach out to meet and entwine. All the while his hand runs over her giving her goosebumps.

She grew more eager by the minute as the kisses grew more passionate and desperate for his affection. Eventually she grabs his hand and places it between her legs. Dipper’s stunned by her sudden boldness.

Is this really his sister?  The same person who just last night was having difficulty just staring at him while naked, is now making the next move?

His mind is pulled out from its concerns as a desperate whimper and a bucking of her hips begs him for more. Dipper could think about this all later. For now he has a job to do. Refocusing he runs his fingers back and forth over her panties. He notices how wet she has gotten just feeling the outside. He could hardly believe any of this was his doing.

As he continues to caress her moistened sex, he breaks the kiss and moves to her neck, laying a series of kisses on her pulse, sending shivers through her body. He feels her arm move and reach down to grab hold of his manhood. It breaks his concentration enough to where he has to look up and see her face and stare into her eyes.

Eyes glazed over with lust and desperation, she’s practically begging for more of him.

“Dipper? I think I'm ready for it now,” she moans in a sultry voice.

As soon as he nods, she shifts her body. Grabbing his shoulders, she pins him to the bed to straddle him. Eyes now wide and shaken from the euphoric haze that clouded his mind earlier.

‘Okay, seriously. Where did all this come from?”

His mind is plunged into the haze again as she rocks her hips, gliding herself over his bulge. Even through two layers of cloth, he can tell how wet she had become. She continues rubbing herself along his clothed shaft. She pants and moans with pleasure. Every so often she would dip down and kiss along his neck and ear shuddering out inaudible words to him. After teasing him enough, she lifts her head to stare into his eyes. Even through the fog in his head, he can see the hunger she has for him. Before he could say anything about it, she plants such a passionate kiss to him that it put all they had shared to shame. Her kiss gives off a white hot intensity and he couldn’t believe it. Particularly the fact that he's the one receiving it.

She lifts herself up enough to break the kiss, “Are you ready, Dipper?”

“Y-yeah,” is all he can let out. He used to be the stable one between the two of them during these newly found sensual sessions, but now it's her turn, and he’s just fine with that. He wants her to be more comfortable with all of this after all, and it seems like she's more so than expected.

Mabel moves herself down, positioning herself on his thighs. She reaches over to the condoms and tears one of the squares off. She lifts herself enough to pull down her thong revealing to Dipper her moist slit. As soon as she’s done she focuses on him, removing his plaid boxers in one felled swoop letting his cock finally stand at full attention.

The look of admiration in her eyes sends Dipper’s heart into high gear, clearly visible with how his member twitches. Removing the latex sheath from it’s package, she grasps his member with her hand, giving it a few light strokes to tease him. It works well as he moans in surprise, anguish, and pleasure. Satisfied with her deed, she places the ring of rubber to his head and rolls it down the shaft. How the hell she learned to do it so smoothly would be added to is piling list of questions. For now he doesn't dare interrupt her flow.

She positions herself above his shaft once more, grabbing it to better guide it into her. Before she lowers herself, she gives a nod to Dipper who nods back. With that, she begins her slow descent, inching every bit of him into her. It may have been their third time, but it felt just as amazing as the first.

As she manages to slide all the way to meet his pelvis, she grinds into him, feeling him reach the deepest parts of her from this new angle. It’s different for him not having the control like before. Perhaps it was for the best though, letting his sister find her rhythm since he already found his. Especially when she hits the right spot and cries out his name, he has no complaints about being bottom this time.

She goes through varying motions and readjusts herself while on top of him. From gyrating her hips while sitting upright to getting close to him and lifting herself up and down on his shaft while kissing him all over. He returns the favor the best he can by reaching up and massaging her breasts or sucking upon them given the opportunity. Whatever he thought he could do best and provide her more pleasure.

Eventually they settle into a rhythm that works best for both of them. Mabel riding Dipper with gentle thrusts on his part to reach the right spots. All while he grabs her backside, helping her in the motions while still letting her keep control.  Seeing her in this position, having this much control over him, drove him all the more wild.

After a few more minutes of pleasure, Dipper felt the coil in his core tighten as Mabel’s schlick walls begin to grip more around him, feeding into his pleasure. He isn't going to last much longer.

“M-Mabel, I’m,” he groans through labored breaths, “I’m not going to last much longer.”

With breaths equally as sparse, “It’s okay, Dipper. Just give it to me. Don’t hold back.”

With those words uttered, in the way she did, opened the floodgates for him. He picked up the pace, tightened his grip, and mustered all the strength he had left to thrust into her. Mabel must have had the same thoughts as she pushed into his shoulders more, and ground her hips into his to meet his motions at full force. He would say that if they were having a competition, she was winning.

His suspicions were right as she bucks her hips desperately, repeating his name and cursing between her moans. That did it for him as he gives one final thrust lifting them both off the bed. The force sends her forward, taking advantage of it she leans in for a last passionate kiss as she hums her moans into his mouth. The tight coil finally lets loose.

As he cums, he holds her tightly to him, not wanting to let go.  She continues to buck her hips onto him as to squeeze every last bit out. It didn’t matter as they were protected, but he appreciates the motions, giving him a pleasure that he didn’t experience the other times given his immediate removal from her nethers.

‘Perhaps I can hand over the reigns more often to her,’

The room was filled with sounds of heavy breaths and a mist of pure euphoria. Mabel dismounts her brother slowly, his once turgid phallus gradually growing flaccid. She lays at his side, propped up on her shoulder looking down upon him, a smug grin on her face.

“So?” She asks

“So?” He replies, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“What did you think of that?”

“It was amazing Mabel. Like, I have no idea where all that came from.”

“I can ask you the same with where you learned any of what you did? I do know, however where you came from.” she says reaching down to stroke the underside of his member, now laying against his stomach. He shudders with how sensitive he is now and proceeds to swat her hand away. She giggles at his reaction and leans in to kiss his cheek to apologize.

“Sorry Dip-dop, but I have to maintain whole Alpha Twin title.”

“Come on, Mabel we’ve been over this a thousand times. You’re only 5 minutes older than me,” he shifts his eyes away from her, “But if that’s what you do, then I don’t mind you being the Alpha Twin more often.”

“But of course. Always happy to assert my role,” She leans down to peck him on the lips and readjusts herself to cuddle into him again. He wasn’t expecting to cuddle so much for it just being about the sex. He didn’t mind though. Now it was just closer than usual twin time.

After about 20 minutes of cuddling, talking about random stuff, and an impromptu naked tickle battle, the twins decide to get dressed and move down stairs to work on homework. They set themselves up with drinks, snacks, and order a pizza as they crank through their class work. However, upon picking up his backpack Dipper notices the game that Jared lent him, and subsequently the conversation that they had.

“Oh, yeah. Hey, Mabel. I got something to talk to you about.”

“What up, Bro-migo?”

“Well, I was talking to Jared today and he was asking me about you and your whole bad date thing.”

“Yeah? What did he want to know?”

“Just about how it went and if your availability changed.”

“Oh? What did you say?”

“Just that after all that stuff last night you weren’t looking for anything right now.”

“After all that stuff, huh? Wow, Dip, didn’t think you had it in you to tell someone else of our sexy-times.”

“What?! Wait… no, I meant…”

“Relax bro-bro. Just messing with you. I know you wouldn’t tell anyone. But thanks for telling him that.”

“Well that wasn’t all actually.”

“Oh?”

“Well, he also asked when the time came, when you were ready to date again, if it was alright with me if he dated you. Being your brother in all, I guess he wanted permission. And I told him it was okay.”

“Wow, that was old fashioned. So, you are okay with letting me date again with all this?”

“Yeah, of course. I mean, I said yes so that I wouldn’t come off as possessive or anything. Don’t need people thinking I want my sister all to myself all of a sudden. But also, we agreed on the fact that either of us could end this for any reason, and that includes dating. So if you ever want to date again, I won’t hold you back.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet Dipper.” With that she went up to him for a hug and kiss, “Thanks for looking out for me. As far as I can see it I won’t be dating for a bit now that we have this whole no fuss, no muss thing. It's so much easier than actual dating.”

“No problem, Mabel. Just figured you should know is all,” he rubs the back of his neck, “Welp, let’s knock out this homework.”

After finishing their work, the pizza guy arrives with their food and they resumed normal twin time.

**************************************************

The next day at school Dipper runs into Jared again at the library during  his free period.

“Hey, Dipper,” he hears Jared speak and looks up from his book just in time to see him walking up.

“Hey, what's up?”

Jared tosses his book bag to the floor and sits in the chair next to his, “Did you get to play that video game I gave you yesterday?”

‘Oh, uh, no. I was busy,” he taps his fingers against the table.

“Okay. Doing what?”

‘My sister.’

No, he definitely couldn't say that, “Uhhhhhh… Well you know just homework and stuff. Plus hanging out with Mabel. She is always very insistent on us spending time together, you know. Graduation soon and all that jazz.”

“Gotcha, gotcha. Maybe I can come over tonight and we can hang out and play it. Maybe your sister won’t mind. After all she can’t hog all of you, right?”

“Um, I’ll ask. I’m sure she will be cool with it.”

Dipper pulls out his phone and sends Mabel a text message. She responds in kind with a m yes and a series of cute emojis. She also sends him a text of a winky face, peach, and banana and the note ‘Another time then.’ He blushes and shifts in his seat before deleting it and putting his phone away.

“She says it’s cool.”

“Awesome, can’t wait to see your reaction to the game.”

**************************************************

After getting back to his house, Dipper shows Jared around and up to his room with his game system. They settle in and pop the game in. Dipper has to admit that he's definitely amazed by how well the game plays compared to what he was expecting. The hype was real.

“Hey, Dip,” Jared uses his controller to pause the game and it catches Dipper's attention, “Mind if I get a soda from the kitchen?”

“Sure, no problem. ”

Dipper keeps playing and upon reaching a point where he can stop, he realizes Jared has been gone for a bit longer than expected. He exits out to the home screen and gets up to check on him.

Going down stairs he hears a little bit of chit chat going on. Jared and Mabel are the only ones home by his guess, so he figures it’s them. He hears a laugh that was unmistakably Mabel’s. However, her laugh that usually brings him such joy, this time brings a small lurch in his stomach. Was it because it was brought on by someone else? It shouldn’t be that way. It was still Mabel after all, his sister. And it wasn’t like she was his. So why was he feeling this way?

[rebeccapelsaert-blog]

Convert And Break up APE Into FLAC Utilizing A CUE File Squalid Heights

As Wes Phillips not too long ago reported on this website , CD sales are down and legal downloads of audio files are up. Stereophile has been criticized greater than as soon as for not paying enough attention to the topics of MP3 and different compressed file codecs, corresponding to AAC , and for offering no steerage at all to readers about how one can get one of the best sound quality from compressed downloads. APE: APE is a very extremely compressed lossless file, that means you may get probably the most area savings. Its audio high quality is similar as FLAC, ALAC, and other lossless files, nevertheless it isn't suitable with nearly as many players. Additionally they work your processor tougher to decode, since they're so extremely compressed. Generally, I wouldn't recommend using this until you are very starved for space and have a player that supports it. In the event you're unable to play or edit a certain audio file the best way you need because the format isn't supported by the software program you're utilizing, certainly one of these free audio converter software applications or on-line tools might help. Click on "Profile" drop-down arrow and open the "Profile" record, here you possibly can select "General Audio > FLAC (.flac)" as output format. Whole Audio MP3 Converter supports batch conversion, and is full compatible with Vista and Home windows 7 (each 32-bit and 64-bit editions). APE is a bit more environment friendly and FLAC is a bit more widely supported. WavPack has the nicest author. All are open, free, and secure decisions. Click on on Convert button and then obtain the converted file to your computer. FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec , an audio format much like MP3, but lossless, that means that audio is compressed in FLAC with none loss in high quality. That is much like how Zip works, besides with FLAC you'll get a lot better compression as a result of it's designed particularly for HD audio. For the final 12 years I have been listening to solely 320mp3s and every time I come accross flac or CDs, I actually do not hear enough of a difference to alter all the pieces to flac. It has a bonus over MP3, although, in that it's going to probably achieve better sound high quality with the same file dimension or smaller. FLAC is a lossless audio format. There are a limited variety of media players that assist this, too. Click on OK a few instances to get again to the principle display after which click on the Play button at high to start the encoding process. In my example, I converted a 6 min forty five sec sixty eight MB WAV file to a 12 MB 256 kbps MP3 file utilizing this program. Should you go with the default settings, you'll get a 4 MB MP3 file. However, my threeape information are incomplete (93-ninety eight%) and Monkey's Audio generates an error message (Error: Invalid Checksum") throughout decompression and doesn't decompress the file. So I am unable to get to the following step(s). Video Converter Movavi is a sturdy but easy-to-use video and audio file converter that is specifically designed for the Mac. It is the correct device for quick multimedia conversion between customary codecs and has no unfavourable influence on the standard. FLAC is greatest than MP3 just because it's lossless. Some peoples state that they do not hear any distinction between FLAC and excessive bitrate MP3 information. It's true for most individuals who do not use professional music gear. As at all times, I researched Medieval Cue Splitter and located a variety of great reviews. It isn't a monster editor, butcue recordsdata it does very nicely. The progam was easy to obtain, its structure easy, and I need to say your directions were even less complicated. I had my doubts, it will probably't be that easy, plus I had no thought whatcue files had been or what they did. I nonetheless do not. I am unable to say how a lot I'll use this program, but I know what it does beautifully and shortly, splitcue information. Your tutorial made my day. Thanks once more Ross. Lossless compression is benign in its impact on the music. It's akin to LHA or WinZip laptop information crunchers in packing the data extra efficiently on the disk, however the data you read out are the same as went in. The first difference between lossless compression for pc knowledge and for audio is that the latter permits random entry within the file. (For those who needed to wait to unZip the entire 400MB file of a CD's content material earlier than you would play it, you would rapidly abandon the entire thought.) You will get reduction in file size to forty-60% of the original with lossless compression—the efficiency of assorted lossless codecs is in contrast right here and right here —however that will increase the capability of a 4GB iPod to solely 300 songs, or 20 CDs' value of music. Extra compression is important. As soon as your file have been uploaded, you may see them in the window. Drag the handles to select the half you wish to get as a brand new audio file. Present a brand new filename and format for the output audio, then click on "Lower and Convert" to finish the process. There is much more you possibly can convert to with Foobar. Some of them being even simpler to set up than these above. I feel Foobar is a powerful software everyone should at least try. Get pleasure from your easy audio conversion. Tips: To transform APE to lossless audio format like convert APE to FLAC, convert APE to WAV, convert APE to Apple Lossless ALAC, select them from the "Lossless Audio" class. How to convert the mp3 music file to APE? It is easy to transform APE to mp3 however I have no idea to convert mp3 to APE. In case you like to buy top quality music recordsdata, as many sites now offer files in lossless WAV format, you'll probably need to convert them to be used on a transportable device. Key Features: Using AppleScript, this MP3 audio converter converts PC, APE, WV, FLAC, OGG, WMA, AIFF and WAV information to MP3, which is likely one of the most popular and suitable audio codecs available. APE audio converter makes issues simpler. It's an extremely stable and full fledged audio changing program that means that you can convert audio information (including APE) on Mac or PC's to nearly any other audio format to solve the compatibility concern on any dedicated gadgets or enhancing software. With a rudimentary constructed-in editor, it enables you to to personalize the audio: trimming, merging audio files, altering audio channel, adjusting audio bitrate, compressing audio to a smaller dimension, and so on.

Moreover the professional ape to flac converter free download converters, you can too use some online options to eliminate the program. Just take a look at the chosen on-line tools to convert APE files as under. This is an interesting article, and the assessments are worthy of consideration, but now we have to think about why someone would use MP3 or AAC over FLAC or uncooked PCM to retailer their music. Certainly, many customers have area constraints, however they still need to hearken to their tunes on their desktop, laptop computer or moveable machine. 30 years ago, they'd have used a cassette machine, reminiscent of a Sony Walkman.

[popculturebuffet]

Changing the Channel: My History as A Channel Awesome Fan and Why I Unsubscribed

I thank anyone who reads this. As the #changethechannel movement takes the internet by storm and slowly but surely destroys Channel Awesome, I felt I needed to let out some emotions regarding the skeletons tapdancing out of channel awesome’s closet following the revelations in the Google Doc. 

A long time ago in a High School Video Media Classroom far away, 8 years ago to be exact, I was a fresh faced young man living the dream of helping produce the school news show Wham TV, a dream I’d had. But as I was just the lowly credits guy, I had a lot of free time on my hands and during one of these down periods I noticed a bunch of the guys watching something on my friends computer. And that is how a young me found the Nostalgia Critic. I was a huge fan, binging every episode I could find at home since the entire series was on YouTube.  And if that wasn’t enough, as school ended I soon found out there was an entire SITE full of other people like him, riffing on bad films, comics and just about anything thanks to the crossover film Kickassia. I loved it at the time, and it opened my eyes to all these other people floating around. I watched the crossovers that came out and once I got a computer at home fast enough to actually watch blip without it taking two hours to load, I dove right in.

For the next few years I slowly found my faviorites: Lupa, Linkara, Todd, Spoony, The Nostalgia Chick… I devoured their videos along side Doug’s at rapid pace.  And as my first year of Community College went on, I found myself more and more isolated: I was an awkward young man ape, unable to talk to women at all, barely relating to my fellow guys, and finding myself in a very unhealthy online friendship with an asshole that constantly made me feel like crap and insulted me at every turn that I was desperate to impress and was close to my best friend. And in those dark uncertain times.. Channel Awesome was my light in the darkness. A beacon that provided weekly mounds of entertainment to binge at school after class, people like me who were nerdy but had fun making hilarious videos and clearly had a tight knit surrogate family to back them up.  I aspired to be one of them, to make my own reviews. I wasn’t great and bottomed out, but I still wanted to be one of the shiny happy people walking by, the nerds who had friends and relationships and were loved by many.

I never made it, a combination of having no camera, little skill, and a huge amount of homework squashed that dream… and in hindsight.. that was a good thing considering just how bad that dream went for the people who did make it. What I never realized is that while Channel Awesome really was a family to some people.. it was also a nightmare of mismanagement, misogyny, and neglect as time went on.

When I saw Suburban Knights I saw a stellar sequel to a movie I loved..  not poor Iron Liz getting starved and being treated like a pack mule, several people being injured, and Doug being Tommy Wiseau levels of dangerously incompetent.

When I saw to Boldly Flee I saw a deep exploration of the fear they all faced in the wake of SOPA and a touching sendoff to the critic. I didn’t know that Doug just outright refused to listen to ANYONE about the script even with it involved characters they made, terribly sexist jokes, horrendous rape scenes, and script bloat, not to mention giant amounts of cast abuse.

When I saw Demo Reel while I gave it a chance, feeling that Doug was finally living his dream I didn’t realize that he was tanking the site and didn’t give one shit what happened to anyone else. And when I heard Allison Pregler, one of my favorite reviewers on the site was being harassed I just naturally assumed that Doug, like just about everyone else, had come to her aid… instead of ignoring said harassment even when it got to the point there were threats on her life. When Fool Fantastic was fired, I assumed he was just some lazy kid, never realizing that instead he was basically forced into video reviewing due to a format change, then went through several months of upheaval dealing with high school graduation and coming out to less than accepting parents.. and then  finding himself removed from the site despite having told a staff member about it, and given no sympathy by Rob and Michaud despite having gone through hell. And that, in this inferno of horrible facts coming to light that’s been #changethechannel, what’s gotten me the most. People suffered. People struggled. And I saw none of it. Wether it was due to pressure to keep things under wraps to keep their jobs, as Channel Awesome, or just plain feeling like no one would care due to not having many friends on the site, I was blind. Even when Allison and Phelan came out post firing about their mistreatment, I saw it as just Rob and Mike’s fault. Doug had to be innocent right? He had to be a good person? I can’t have been following a giant sack of dicks for years at this point?  But I was so wrong. While Doug wasn’t nearly as bad as these two.. he still didn’t seem to give two shits about anyone outside a select few he’d bonded with. It was all about the Nostalgia Critic to him, it was all about the critic to rob and it was all Michaud said.

The rest of Channel Awesome were just window dressing, minions to be used and discarded whenever they decided they weren’t needed anymore. To be fired for missing ONE video after years of service, to be fired for missing a goddamn Skype call or just for no damn reason.  While Doug wasn’t’ nearly as abusive as Michaud he still did jack all to change things at the site or actually talk to anyone. He just let his brother and actual animate sack of dicks CEO do whatever and slowly run the site into the ground. And amazingly despite having the management skills of a flamingo that’s on fire and had it’s brain surgically removed and replaced with a can of tuna with the word “BRAIN” sloppily written on the side that the site still stands today. And it’s amazing that even as quality dipped and it became clearer and clearer just what a waste of space Doug Walker’s work was… I stayed by anyway. Because he was a nice guy and surely it’d turn around. But it didn’t and he sure as shit hasn’t, letting the company twitter send out half assed apologizes and according to one report DEFENDING that heartless mass of diseased rats and spittle.  And if he won’t just man up and get his show back, fire this asshole and firmly apologize for EVERYTHING, then why do I need him.  After MONTHS of finding out people I liked in movies and such were the worst humanity had to offer... why should I give him ANY sort of chance. And with that I unfollowed channel awesome and spent the next few days beating myself up about watching Doug for so long. I felt terrible, like by supporting the site and him I’d hurt so many people... for ignoring the signs... and so... that’s why I’m here today. Because I felt like I had to get my feelings out and in doing so I realized that while I was a dum dum for giving Doug the benefit of a doubt… I’m not dumb for just HOPING beyond hope someone was a good person.  It’s not bad to have faith, but you can’t let it blind you. And you can’t beat yourself up for hoping he’d get better or that things would change… al you can do is walk away, leave Doug to let Rome burn and hope beyond hope that the people still on the site don’t go down with him.

And even with all Michaud has done and the walkers let him do… Channel Awesome WAS still a family. For many of it’s former contributors it was home and they found best friends, spouses and comrades.. .. and if anything all this coming to light has only strengthen those bonds, and shown that no matter WHAT mike did, no matter what he tried to take.. he couldn’t take away their friendship, their audiences or their basic dignity. And he certainly isn’t taking my peace of mind anymore.

[ajrelationship948]

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[olicitysecretsanta]

Mystery Solved

To: @felicityollies

From: @ginervamariechaseeverdeen (Lauren)

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this hopefully fun high school AU about a mystery, hacktivism, the Arrow, a game of Secret Santa, and the start of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship!

>>––––––––>

“Frack! Of course, I would get stuck with Oliver fracking Queen, Mr. Perfect Billionaire who has everything and anything he could ever want. What in the world am I supposed to get for someone like that?” Felicity ranted to her friend Alena while they sat in her car during lunch.

The two girls first met when Felicity was freshman and Alena was in 8th grade, when Alena’s parents moved her family to Starling City. They had hit it off rather quickly, which was unusual for the two girls who were usually loners, but they bonded over their shared love of tech and eventually discovered another mutual interest—hacktivism. And that was the beginning of Helix, their hacktivism club in which they gave themselves projects ranging from breaking through the school’s pathetic firewall and into the system to fix an unjust grade—there was absolutely no justification for getting a failing grade in PE just because you couldn’t do a perfect pushup— to their current project, finding the identity of the Arrow, a vigilante who had been actively working to take down many of the city’s rich and powerful for the last few months. As well as discovering his identity, they were also trying to determine whether he should be stopped or helped. So far, however, they hadn’t made a lot of headway.

“I don’t know,” Alena replied, “but you should at least be glad your AP Bio teacher is letting you have a Holiday party and do Secret Santa on the last day of class since you’ll have already taken your AP test. Advanced Physics is just studying for the final which will be oh so much fun,” she sighed.

Felicity just laughed. “You take apart a computer and put it back together blindfolded, but physics just might defeat the mighty Alena. On another note, any leads on the Arrow?”

“I think he’s working out of the Glades. See?” she turned her laptop to face Felicity, and on the screen, were several videos taken from CCTV showing the Arrow riding his motor cycle down the same few streets in the Glades.

“He’s smart. He isn’t taking the same route every time, but he’s not that smart, because he’s just switching between four different routes. Now if we look at these streets on an overhead map, we should be able to triangulate his point of origin.”

“I completely agree, but that might have to wait until after school because the lunch bell should be ringing in three, two, one.”

A shrill ringing sounded from the school and all the students who had been eating outdoors despite the chilly December weather began to head back inside.

“It’s a little eerie how good you are at that,” Felicity laughed as she turned off her car and climbed out.

“It’s a gift,” Alena responded a bit sarcastically. “See you after seventh period?”

“Yep! And then we can get back to work on our project. Mom’s working the late shift again tonight, so my house is open.”

“Sounds good!”

The two girls separated to go to their respective classes, Felicity heading to AP Biology. The AP test was tomorrow, so she probably should have been paying better attention, but her thoughts kept coming back to Oliver Queen and what she should get him for Secret Santa. Despite the fact that they hardly spoke, Felicity liked to think she knew him pretty well. He was a year ahead of her, and his first three years of high school, Oliver was a notorious party boy, skating by in his classes and dating every pretty girl in school, but mostly Laurel Lance, his on again off again girlfriend since middle school. After his father had died in a boating accident last summer however, something had changed. He stopped partying so much, started actually trying in his classes, was currently off again with Laurel, and maybe for good this time, and apparently got into weight lifting. Because he had gotten really buff, not that Felicity paid much attention or anything.

Oh, who was she kidding. Oliver Queen was really cute and every girl in the school knew it. Not that it mattered what she thought of him. Oliver Queen had a very specific type: tall, blonde, and beautiful. So, a short goth chick with black hair and purple highlights didn’t exactly fit the bill.

“Maybe I can get him some workout clothes,” Felicity muttered unintentionally to herself, staring at the muscles in Oliver’s arms. Her brain to mouth filter was a bit faulty from time to time.

“What was that Miss Smoak?” Mr. Raymond, the teacher, asked and all eyes were immediately on Felicity.

“Nothing,” she said softly and began blushing, staring down at her desk.

“I know this material may not be challenging to some of you,” Mr. Raymond said looking at her pointedly, “but that does not mean that other students do not need this review session. So please refrain from speaking in class.” Then he began to carry on with the review.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Felicity gathered her things and began to walk towards her last class of the day. Before she could make it out of the Biology room however, someone called her name.

“Felicity Smoak?”

She turned around to see that it was Oliver Queen talking to her. Well this was an interesting turn of events.

“Yes, that’s me,” she replied.

“I’m Oliver Queen.”

“I knew that. I mean I think everyone in this school or maybe even the whole city knows that. But you were probably just trying to be polite and introduce yourself and I’m babbling like an idiot which will stop in three, two, one. Can I help you with something?”

“Yes actually, I’m having a bit of trouble with my computer, and I hear that you’re really good with them. I was wondering if you could maybe take a look at it.”

“Uh sure. What seems to be the problem?”

“Can I bring it to you tomorrow? It won’t even turn on right now, so I didn’t bother bringing it today.”

“Any ideas why it won’t turn on?”

“Um, I spilled a latte on it,” Oliver responded like he wasn’t completely sure that was the reason.

“Okay then. I’ll look at it and see what I can do. Just bring it to me tomorrow morning. I’ve got to head to class now. Don’t want to be late! Bye Oliver!” she called as she sped out the door and into the hallway.

“Thanks Felicity,” Oliver said, grinning a little as she hurried away.

>>––––––––>

            That afternoon, Felicity and Alena took up residence in what was formerly the spare bedroom and had, over the years they lived in Starling City, turned into Felicity’s office and computer workshop as well as Helix’s unofficial base of operations.

            “Any luck discovering his base?” Alena asked.

            “If my calculations are correct—” Felicity began.

            “And they always are!” Alena interrupted her before smiling sheepishly and motioning for Felicity to continue her thought.

            “If they’re correct, then the Arrow Cave is somewhere on this block,” Felicity said as she pointed at a street with practically nothing on it.

            “Well that makes no sense,” Alena said. “All that’s there is the Queen’s old steel foundry and that shut down years ago. Why would his base be in an abandoned part of town?”

            “I know right! It would make so much more sense to work from a populated area so that he could come and go without attracting so much notice on CCTV as the only person who ever went there.”

            “Exactly. Also, I’ve cross referenced the list of all his victims so far, and I think you’re right. It’s not just the rich and powerful he’s after. It’s the corrupt rich who abuse their power. With a little more digging, I found lots of dirt on all the victims that could have potentially landed them in jail if the SCPD was actually competent and active in the Glades,” Alena told her friend.

            “Have you figured out who he’ll go after next?”

            “Well, I have a list, and it keeps growing. There doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern to the order he’s going after these guys, so it could be any of these people or even someone we haven’t thought of.”

            “Well I guess our best course of action would be to hack the CCTV near the old Queen steel foundry and see if anything turns up in the next few days. Speaking of the Queens, you’ll never guess what happened to me today.”

            “You figured out what to get Oliver for Secret Santa?”

            “Nope. But it does have to do with Oliver. He asked me to fix his computer because he apparently spilled a latte on it.”

            “Well he came to the best. I’m just surprised his parents won’t just buy him a new one. It’s not like they can’t afford it.”

            “Well, the whole thing was a bit suspicious. I mean, Oliver Queen has never spoken to me that I can recall, and then he didn’t seem super sure about his latte story. He’s bringing it tomorrow, so we can take a look at it and see if anything is up.”

>>––––––––>

            The next morning, Oliver Queen approached Felicity as soon as she got out of her car holding a laptop riddled with what appeared to be bullet holes.

            “Uh, that doesn’t look like you spilled a latte on it,” Felicity blurted out.

            “Well, good morning to you too, and my coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood,” Oliver replied with a grin and shrug before handing her the laptop.

            “So, I’ll take a look at it and see what I can do. I’ll let you know by the end of the day tomorrow if I’ve salvaged anything.”

            “Thank you, Felicity! I really appreciate it!”

            “You’re welcome, see you later Oliver,” Felicity said quickly as she put the laptop into her backpack and dashed inside to find Alena before their first class of the day.

            “Alena,” Felicity furiously whispered as she found her friend at her locker. “You have to see this!”

            “What? Why are you being weird?” Alena asked, very confused.

            “Oliver gave me his laptop in the parking lot and you’ll never believe what it looks like. Here look,” Felicity told her as she shoved her open backpack into Alena’s face.

            “Uh dang, his coffee shop must be in a bad neighborhood or something…”

            “Yeah that’s what he said,” Felicity muttered, frustrated with all the secrecy. “How in the world did Oliver Queen get a laptop riddled with bullet holes?”

            “No idea. I think we need to investigate this at lunch.”

            “Most definitely. There’s definitely some funny business going on here.”

            “Do you think it has something to do with our secret project?” Alena whispered as the girls headed to first period.

            “But why would Oliver Queen be involved with the Arrow?”

            “Well he is rich…”

            “Yeah but I don’t think it’s necessarily on par with the previous victims.”

            “Maybe he has a deep dark secret!” Alena whispered with a chuckle.

            “Oh yes,” Felicity responded with biting sarcasm as they walked into their classroom, “he’s secretly using his wealth to force the citizens of the Glades to do his bidding. Honestly though, this is weird.”

>>––––––––>

            “Okay,” Felicity said as she sat in her car with Alena at lunch that day, “hook me up!”

            Alena plugged the cord coming out of Felicity’s computer into Oliver’s very dead laptop so that Felicity could attempt to extract any surviving data off the hard drive.

            “Well, well, what do we have here?” Felicity asked as she looked through the data she was pulling from the destroyed computer. “It seems that Mr. Queen is taking things that don’t belong to him. This computer says it belongs to a Mr. Warren Patel.”

            “And a quick search on him tells us that our dear Mr. Patel is rich and is competing with Oliver’s new stepdad to buy Unidac Industries. Oh, and surprise, surprise, he’s on my list of potential future Green Arrow victims,” Alena informed Felicity.

            “Why would Oliver have his laptop? Do you think it’s some sort of corporate espionage? I mean, couldn’t they have had someone at Queen Consolidated attempt to salvage the laptop if it was? And I still can’t figure out how the laptop got shot up in the first place,” Felicity babbled.

            Alena gasped, putting pieces together as Felicity babbled. “What if…” she trailed off.

            “He couldn’t be. There’s no way!”

            “But our footage from last night shows the Arrow definitely going to the old Queen foundry, so that’s got to be his base. And Oliver has gotten suspiciously buff this year which matches the Arrow’s description. Think about it. And now he’s got this laptop. It just adds up,” Alena argued.

            “I mean, I guess you could be right. Now that I think about it, based on the SCPD’s witness descriptions of the Arrow, he seems to have the build of a teenager or someone in their early 20s rather than an older guy. And I’m almost positive I remember something about Oliver taking archery lessons in middle school. And it would make sense that he wouldn’t be going to parties anymore if he’s out all night as the Arrow…”

            “I think we might have finally found him. Hey, what’s that?” Alena asked, pointing at Felicity’s laptop which was now displaying a blueprint of the exchange building.

            “If Oliver really is the Arrow, he must be after someone at Unidac Industries auction. But why would Warren Patel have had blueprints of this building. Unless of course he’s planning to try something at the auction this weekend which would make him a valid target for the Arrow.”

            “Felicity, I think we’ve got to get this to Oliver. If he really is the Arrow, which despite the evidence, I still think is insane, then he’ll need this information.”

            “Yes, but what if Oliver’s not the Arrow? I still think we need to get this info to the right guy…”

            “True. But how can we tell for sure. We can’t just go up to the guy and ask him point blank without seeming like we’ve gone nuts.”

            “And it could be dangerous. What if he doesn’t want anyone to know his secret? But Alena, just imagine if he is the Arrow! You would never be able to make fun of me for my tiny crush on Oliver ever again. I mean he would basically have the total package: handsome, mysterious, strong, fighting for justice…” Felicity began to babble again sharing more than she initially intended.

            “Felicity, you can stop with the many virtues of the new and improved Oliver Queen. He’ll probably get back with Laurel again before you know it. Arrow or not, you should probably move on. You know Cooper has been hinting that he wants to take you to the Christmas dance.”

            “No way Alena. Coop may be pretty cute and smart, but can you honestly tell me he doesn’t seem just a bit devious.”

            “Felicity, that’s a load of crap and you know it,” Alena laughed. “But let’s get back to the subject. How do we figure out for sure if Oliver’s the Arrow without asking him outright?”

“Hey! I’ve got an idea!”

            “What?”

            “So, Secret Santa is tomorrow, and I have the perfect idea for a gift for Oliver.” Felicity told Alena with a smile.

            “Which is…” Alena urged her friend to continue.

>>––––––––>

            “Thank you everyone for bringing your Secret Santa gifts. Please come up to my desk to find the package with your name on it. You may then open them and try to determine who your Secret Santa is. After that, we will enjoy some of the wonderful looking snacks you all bought while we watch a Christmas movie. Now let’s begin this holiday party,” said Mr. Raymond.

            Everyone grabbed their gifts, returned to their seat, and opened them, eager to see what they had received. Felicity was too busy watching Oliver open his gift from her to pay attention to the bag with her gift. As soon as he opened the box to see a Nerf bow and arrow, a brief look of worry appeared on Oliver’s face before he schooled his expression into a more neutral look.

            That look was all the confirmation Felicity needed.  Oliver definitely had the look of a guilty man on his face when he saw the bow. He looked worried that someone knew his secret, so Felicity planned to confront him with the laptop after school. Turning her attention to the movie, Felicity forgot about her unopened gift that sat on her desk.

>>––––––––>

            At the end of the day, Felicity and Oliver both approached each other in the parking lot.

            “Can we talk somewhere more private?” Oliver asked tensely.

            “We can sit in my car if you want,” Felicity offered.

            “Let’s go then.”

            “Okay, this one’s mine. It might be a tight fit…”

            “I’ll manage,” was Oliver’s only reply.

            After the two squeezed into Felicity’s tiny car, she pulled out the laptop and handed it to Oliver as well as a flash drive with all the information she extracted from it.

            “So, this laptop isn’t yours—” she started to say before Oliver interrupted her.

            “How did you find out I’m the Arrow? I know you were my Secret Santa Felicity, but how did you figure it out?” he asked gruffly.

            “Well it wasn’t that hard after my partner and I put the pieces together. You have the right build, you used to take archery lessons, you’re never at parties anymore, and you gave me this sketchy most definitely bullet ridden laptop. And it’s most definitely not yours. Mysteries bug me. They need to be solved. By the way, that flash drive contains blueprints of the exchange building where the auction for Unidac Industries is occurring tomorrow. One in which both your stepdad and Mr. Warren Patel, the owner of this laptop, are participating in. And it seems like Patel is up to something suspicious.”

            “Are you going to tell anyone?” Oliver asked point blank.

            “No. I think you’re doing a good thing. I don’t exactly agree with your methods, especially the killing, I really wish you wouldn’t do that, but if I were going to turn you in for being a vigilante, I’d have to turn myself in for being a hacktivist, and I have no plans to do that anytime soon.”

            A small smile appeared on Oliver’s face. “Felicity Smoak, you are remarkable.”

            “Thanks for remarking on it,” she replied with a shrug and grin.

            “You know it’s funny,” Oliver told her.

            “What?” Felicity asked very confused.

            “Did you even open your Secret Santa gift?”

            “Uh no, I actually was more concerned with being sure if you were the Arrow based on your reactions to your gift. I think it’s in my backpack though.”

            “Why don’t you open it?”

            “Uh okay then…” Felicity trailed off as she pulled the bag out of her backpack, pulled out the tissue paper, and found a sprig of mistletoe inside as well as a Bill Gates biography.

            She made eye contact with Oliver, and he smiled back.

            “I was your Secret Santa. It’s kind of funny that we both got each other. I wanted to get you something you might enjoy and something symbolic. Felicity, ever since you and your mom moved to Starling City, I’ve been fascinated with you. You’re smart and kind and you don’t care what anyone thinks of you. And most of all, you stand up for what’s right. I never realized before this year that I kind of liked you. I think I have all along, but I was too caught up in my old lifestyle and in Laurel that I never really looked at you like that.

            “I’ve been trying to come up with a way to talk to you all year, but then I decided that I didn’t want to put you in danger by associating myself with you. If my enemies ever find out who I am, my friends and family will all become targets. But, this computer stumped me, and I hoped you might be able to help. So, anyways, Merry Christmas Felicity,” Oliver told her stunning Felicity into silence. He slowly started to lean towards her when Felicity interrupted him.

            “I’m Jewish,” she blurted out.

            “Well then, Happy Hanukah,” Oliver chuckled and then leaned back in.

            Felicity met him half way and their lips met in a soft kiss.

            “I’ve had dreams about this,” Felicity mumbled.

            “You have?” Oliver asked, smiling.

            “I said that out loud didn’t I?” Felicity panicked.

            “Yes, but I like that you speak your mind.”

            “At least someone does. By the way, do you happen to have any openings for tech support in this whole Arrow venture? My partner and I have decided that you need the help, and if this laptop is any indication, you do not treat technology with the care it deserves.”

            “Are you sure you know what you’re getting into? You know the risks?”

            “As a matter of fact, I do. The members of Helix already break the law to fight for justice. We just want to join forces with you so that we can all be more effective,” Felicity explained.

            “And Alena is trustworthy too?”

            “What? How did you know she’s my partner?” Felicity asked, thrown for a loop.

            “You’re not the only one good at solving mysteries,” he said simply.

            “Well, okay then. Yes, she’s trustworthy. You have to be good at keeping secrets to do what we do.”

            “Then I’ll see you both at— “

            “At the old Queen Steel Foundry in the Glades tonight at 7. We’ll be there.”

            “I think I need to stop underestimating you Felicity Smoak.”

            “Like I said, mysteries need to be solved.”

[stargleeksil-blog]

Criminal Minds S07E04 “Painless” review

Episode 04 – Painless

Heyo! So so far this is shaping up to be one of the most awesome seasons (excluding 2-5 XD) and this episode’s name is seriously freaking me out.

Really frightened of what’s going to happen.

Aww, Hotch is reading to Jack and he’s the best in the class, of course he is. Jackie boy.

“We just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night.”

“So he’s reading at a fourth-grade level.”

He’s holding back?

“Why do you think that is?”

“Paul Cain?”

“Yes, he’s been over. He’s a friend of Jack’s.”

Wait. So Jack’s bully is a friend of his and he invited him over? Something’s not right here.

“How long hast this been going on?”

“Well, Jack says that things are going very well at school, so the steps you’re taking must be working.”

“Let me know if anything changes.”

“Can I keep this?”

“Thank you so much.”

“Does anyone remember this picture?”

“Hotch and I were there.”

“That’s principal Doug Evans. We had to drag him to safety.”

“High school bombing in Boise, right?”

“School shooter and school bomber.”

“A kid named Randy Slade shot three students and set off an IED in the cafeteria via cell phone, killing himself and thirteen kids total, but not before posting all of his plans online.”

“Last night, Principal Givens was killed by a bomb modeled exactly like the old one.”

“It feels like the unsub wants to attack the man who kept the school together after the bombing.”

“It’s a pretty symbolic target.”

“And this week is the tenth anniversary of the massacre.”

“And today is the first day of a four-day event to commemorate the bombing at the school.”

“Except commemorating it isn’t enough for this unsub.”

“No. He wants to relieve it.”

Andy Partridge: “You may leave school, but it never leaves you.”

“Perpetrators of school violence are often sophisticated with their weapons. Randy Slade carried his bomb in his backpack.”

“This guy hid his in Givens’ clock radio.”

“Yeah, and progressive. Each one tries to top the body count of the one previous.”

“And they’re loners by default, not by choice. They try to join various social groups, but they get shut out.”

“Randy Slade wasn’t a loner at all. The family cooperated fully with us.”

“He was a high-functioning psychopath, straight-A student, varsity wrestler, lots of girlfriends.”

“With an above-average intelligence that made him incredibly resourceful. His explosive of choice was Semtex. It’s found at demolition sites, but it’s held under lock and key.”

“Which made us consider the possibility of a partner. Never found one.”

“Slade was too much of a narcissist to share credit.”

“But he was also an impulsive teen, which is what bothers me about this unsub.”

“His sense of control?”

“And the end game that he’s working toward. Slade’s pathology revolved around the big kill. This unsub could have done the same if he’d waited for the candlelight vigil.”

“Which means there’s no blaze of glory fantasy here.”

“This unsub has more bombs made, and he’s savoring the anticipation of his next attack.”

“Did you get the student files to our technical analyst?”

“Good. We’ll start with criminal records.”

“What’d you find, Garcia?”

“A blast from the past, I believe. Does the name Brandon Slade ring a bell?”

“Yeah, the bomber’s younger brother. Sweet kid. He couldn’t give us much back then.”

“Most seven-year-olds don’t. They do, however, grow up to become seniors who attend the same high school.”

“I thought the Slades were gonna leave Boise.”

They separated and the mom and kid stayed ... yikes.

“Did you question Brandon about last night?”

“We’ll need to talk to him.”

“So this unsub has to be tied to the school somehow, right?”

“Current student, alumni, family member who lost someone?”

“It could be Slade groupie celebrating his hero.”

“He taped nails to the exterior of the bomb, specifically to rip open flesh. That’s a sadistic detail of Slade’s the unsub copied.”

“Except he tricked Givens into blowing himself up.” 

“A groupie probably wouldn’t show that much self-control.”

“But someone with an ax to grind against the principal would.”

“Maybe he’s a surrogate for the tormentors in high school he can’t punish.”

“Who were yours?”

“I don’t even remember.”

What?

“You don’t even remember?”

“Wait, were you one of the mean girls?”

“No.”

WHAT? NO WAY!

“Valedictorian, soccer scholarship, corn-fed, but still a size zero. I think that you might have been a mean girl.”

“I was actually one of the nice girls, even to guys like you.”

“Guys like me? I’ll have you know that my social standing increased once I started winning at basketball.”

“Oh, yeah, you played basketball?”

“I didn’t play. I coached basketball. I broke down the opposite team’s shooting strategy.”

“Is that why Morgan kicked you out of the pool last week?”

“Yeah. It took him three rounds to realize I was hustling him.”

“Huh.”

Okay, it’s official, Reid is my favorite. Who the fuck scams Morgan and gets away with it for so long? DAMN.

“Well, it looks like we’re not the only ones interested in Brandon.”

“It’s gonna make it a lot harder for us to talk our way in.”

“Unless we use it to our advantage.”

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.”

“My name is SSA David Rossi of the FBI. That’s R-O-S-S-I.”

“So if anyone has any questions, you’re free to ask them now.”

Well that was certainly a distraction of the press.

“Mrs. Slade? I’m Special Agent Emily Prentiss with the FBI. This is …”

“Martha, we can do that. We’ll just have to come back later.”

I, too, don’t believe that her son did it. But ...

“Let us prove that for you.”

“Once we rule him out, we can get these people off your lawn.”

“Martha, you can observe. You can stop us and call your lawyer whenever you want.”

“Agent Rossi was always very nice to Brandon. Let him do it.”

Of course Rossi is the cutest thing ever and leaves a good impression.

“Dave.”

“All right, feel free to call me if you have any other background questions. My phone number is …”

“It’s Dr. Spencer Reid. R-E-I-D.”

What the ... oh my god, it’s Morgan payback. I am starting to like this episode. Oh boy.

“You know, there’s a sniper right be … oh!”

“Never mind.”

I love that Rossi is into video games.

“Oh, a while back. After this kid told me how much he loved playing with his big brother.”

“First edition. I’m touched.”

I’m impressed. And apparently, the kid is also a good writer. Damn.

“So are you.”

“I read one of your AP English essays. The Futility of Jay Gatsby and the Green Light.”

Whoa.

“Well, I was curious as to, uh, what kind of kid you grew up to be.”

“But that didn’t stop you from getting beaten up on a regular basis.”

Hee hee, that kid is seriously my fave here. ‘You bang your fans, mine beat me up.’ He’s sharp as fuck.

“And uh, Principal Givens, he couldn’t stop that, could he?”

“That must have really ticked you off.”

“Well, just because you downloaded them doesn’t mean you sat here and watched them.”

Ooh, someone’s been taking lessons from Garcia.

Rossi was much cooler ten years ago?

“So were you.”

Oh snap.

“When did Harry leave?”

“Is that why Brandon ended up in North Valley?”

“Just want to see if you took after your big brother.”

“Actually, dude, I don’t think you’re mean enough to have done it.”

“But tell me the truth. You’re happy that Principal Givens is dead, aren’t you?”

“Well, Randy wanted the whole school dead.”

“Whoa. Am I missing something here, Brandon?”

“Well, did Randy have some sort of agenda? Did he target specific people inside of the school?”

“We didn’t. We couldn’t find any logic to his actions.”

“So how do you know, huh? Did he tell you?

“Did a seventeen-year-old confide in a seven-year-old?”

“Did you find something?’

“He had a list, didn’t he?”

“If he still has the list, it’s somewhere in that room.”

“Martha, do you know anything about this?”

“I can have a search warrant in an hour.”

“Tear it apart.”

Whoa.

“Yeah, bookshelf is clean.”

“I love dating readers, hate profiling them.”

“Catcher in the Rye, Atlas Shrugged.”

“These are all titles that a teenage kid would obsess over, but Randy made that list when Brandon was just a kid.”

“You’re right. So, however Brandon got his hands on that list, he would have hid it in something a seven-year-old would read.”

“Hotch! We found it.”

“Principal Givens is on this list.”

“You’re on speaker, JJ.”

“So we might have another one.”

“Might?”

“One of the North Valley alumni was killed in her motel room. No bomb or gun this time. Looks like he used his bared hands.”

“You got a name?”

“Chelsea Grant.”

“She’s on the list.”

Shit.

“The unsub crushed Chelsea’s throat so she couldn’t scream, then he pulverized her ribs, sending fragments of bone into her heart.”

“Principal Givens was high-profile. Chelsea wasn’t.”

“Right now the only thing connecting them is they’re both on the kill list.”

“A kill list Brandon kept secret for ten years.”

“But he was in custody when this happened.”

“The question is, how did the unsub get the exact same list?”

“We ruled out a partner, but not exclusively. Slade made every part of his plan public.”

“It doesn’t make sense that he would hide a partner. He didn’t want to share the credit.”

Well, I really don’t like where this is headed.

“And this weekend is the partner’s best chance to claim it.”

“Partners of dominant psychopaths are usually submissive, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be intelligent or that they’re physically weak.”

“The unsub laid low after the bombing and successfully evaded police and FBI. That took cunning and patience, which he’s exhibiting now with his current murders.”

“We think he fits the loner profile Slade debunked. He grew up in an abusive home, which kept him from forming the normal social bonds in high school.”

“Even outcasts eventually form friendships. But this unsub was the outcast the outcasts rejected.”

“He won’t stand out in any capacity, and as a matter of fact, most of his fellow students probably won’t even remember graduating with him.”

“And that invisibility is what made him attractive to Slade.”

“This partner wouldn’t steal the spotlight.”

“Slade turned to the cafeteria because of the names on his list ate there together during fifth period.”

I love the way he points with his pinky.

“So his hatred festered when the names on the list emerged from the cafeteria as media heroes.”

“And now he wants to finish the job that Randy started.”

“Emotionally, this weekend is more a high school reunion to him than a memorial.”

“We go to reunions to show who we grew up to be. Often that means changing everything about who we are.”

“Consciously or not, Randy Slade revealed clues as to his partner’s identity when he detonated his bomb.”

“Agent Prentiss will be conducting cognitive interviews to see what the survivors might remember.”

I’m with those skeptics. I mean, they survived a traumatic experience, and now they want them to relive it? No dice.

“Yes, but there may be some details that you didn’t think were important at the time that could help us now, things that could help us learn about the partner.”

“The interviews we’re going to conduct won’t focus on what you saw, but what you felt.”

“The Boise police have offered everyone on this list a protective detail.”

“So as you can see from your board there, this kill list is weirdly similar to high school. Group one is like the popular kids – prom court, football team, Dean’s list .the Heathers, if you will.”

“Kid’s in Slade’s social circle.”

“What about number two?”

“That would be the kids from the other side of the tracks, 180-degree difference, kids this close to getting kicked out – stoners, burnouts, mental cases.”

“Chelsea Grant is on this list.”

“Maybe Slade targeted them because they disgusted him?”

“But they didn’t threaten Slade’s sense of superiority. He wouldn’t have even cared about them.”

“All right, well, maybe the partner put them on the list. They’d be closer to his social status than Slade’s.”

“Why would the …”

“I’m so sorry.”

Oh my God, it’s working.

“Why would the unsub list kids that he fit in with?”

“Apparently that’s how this clique worked.”

“The kids in it were meaner to each other than kids on the outside.”

“Garcia, separate out all the kids who got into trouble regularly. Then eliminate the names that the partner put on the list. Now, who’s left that came to the memorial?’

“Right. Whoever made the list wouldn’t put their name on it.”

“Uh … Sir, I think … I think I’ve got him.”

“Lewis Ramsey. FBI.”

“Put the drink down. You’re coming with us.”

“Did you hear the conversation?”

“What did you notice?”

“That was when he ordered you to lock the doors, right?”

“What did he say?”

“Why did he detonate so early?”

“Now, let’s go back for a second.”

“Randy was pointing the gun at you. Did you see the cell phone in his hand?”

“What was on it?”

“The black cell phone?”

“Are you sure? The grey cell phone was the detonator.”

“The black cell was the one he’d talked to his mother on.”

“Then how do you explain your fingerprints in her room?”

“You’re very convincing, Lewis. But you were convincing ten years ago, too.”

“Oh, yeah. You were blowing up in the back parking lot, right?”

Oh dear, sarcastic, judgy Morgan is seriously the hottest fucking thing.

“Yeah, of course it was.”

“It also allowed you to pose as a loser. The very type you wanted to kill.”

“You know how we know? You wrote it down.”

“‘All the losers in this godforsaken school’.”

“But you did type up the rest of the list.”

“Lewis, we know how guys like Randy make friends.”

“They build up rapport through secrecy.”

“Only the two of you are smart enough to see through the BS of high school, right?”

“And it felt so good doing whatever Randy said and not have to tell anybody about it.”

“Make me a list of kids we should kill.”

“Sure, Randy.”

“Get me a pound of Semtex from your dad’s construction site.”

“Whatever you say, Randy.”

Ugh.

Oh what, he thought he wouldn’t use him? God, this dude is stupid as fuck.

“He would use you?”

“You were mad that he actually did it.”

“But you were also mad that he left you behind.”

“Then why come back?”

“What does a loser like you have to gain by seeing all the kids that he hated so much?”

Oh shit. Morgan talking down on potential unsubs shouldn’t be getting me all hot and bothered like this.

“You buy it?”

“He fits the profile, and the evidence points to him, but he seems sincere. He’s not the unsub.”

“He was the partner, but look at how Slade added ‘all the LoSeRs in this Godforsaken school’.”

“This capitalization isn’t an accident. Look.”

“L-S-R … Lewis Stuart Ramsey.”

“So Slade named his own partner.”

“Ironically, Lewis’s marijuana conviction saved his life.”

Thank you for using ‘ironically’ correctly.

“Well, that puts us back to our original problem.”

“If the unsub isn’t the partner, how did he get his hands on a list that Slade and Lewis kept to themselves?”

“The only answer is that part of the profile is wrong. The unsub’s vendetta has nothing to do with the list.”

“Did you get anything from Jerry Holtz?”

“Only that he mixed up the cell phones that Slade used. It felt like he was making the story up, but I only had a hunch.”

Important lesson: Always trust your gut instinct, Emily.

“We need to find him now.”

“There’s a connection to the victimology that we’re missing.”

“Whatever he’s holding back might be the key.”

Oh shit, the guy Emily interviewed just got stabby-stab-stabbed like shit. Fuck.

“Jerry Holtz?”

“How long?”

“Less than an hour.”

“The only people who knew we were doing cognitive interviews were the other survivors.’

“The unsub must be a part of that group,”

“Well, we don’t know that for a fact. He could have been lying in wait. Look, Hotch wants me to go through the victims’ lives and find the overlap. We can compare their histories with the unsub’s.”

“Well, what else do we have to go on?”

“Spence said the unsub would have broken his hand beating Chelsea to death. Did you notice anyone with a cast on their hand, someone who seemed hurt?”

“No.”

“I might know why. This unsub doesn’t feel pain.”

Of course he does.

“There’s a medical condition called pain asymbolia, where patients register harmful stimuli without being bothered by it.”

“They’ve been documented holding their hand over an open flame because their brain doesn’t send pain signals to the central nervous system.”

Oh shit, so this fucker can’t even register pain? Damn, that is fucked up.

“Sounds pretty rare.”

“You sure the unsub has it?”

“The crime scenes prove it.”

“This unsub displayed an unusual level of savagery towards his victims.”

“And consider this – he smashed through a glass display case, but there were no cuts on Jerry. That means he most likely punched through it as a show of force.”

“Now, the only way the human body could withstand that level of pain is if he couldn’t feel it at all.”

When Reid realizes something is up ...

“It must have taken a major toll on someone’s emotional development.”

“A significant contributor to our sense of empathy is the way we personally experience pain.”

“And the unsub didn’t develop his sense of empathy because it was cut off.”

“Does every person with asymbolia have this?”

“Actually, most feel empathy just fine, which makes me think the rest of our profile is still accurate.”

“Loner, invisible, outcast, boiling rage ….”

“Son of a bitch!”

WHAT?!

“Hi! This is Dr. Spencer Reid. I actually can come to the phone right now with a very special message that your mother is …”

“Reid.”

“Sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“I don’t know where that came from.”

“Where were we?”

“I’m going to have Garcia check medical records. What causes asymbolia?”

When Reid suddenly realized that Morgan got him back ... 

“Severe trauma produces lesions in the insular cortex, usually after a stroke.”

“But this unsub’s young, it’s most likely caused by an external factor.”

“Like a bomb going off next to him?”

“Yeah, a bomb going off next to him.”

“I will crush you.”

“What?”

“What?”

Ooh, my puppy is gonna get it this time.

Okay.

I just ....

Hands down one of hte best scenes in the entire seven seasons so far.

HOLY SHIT.

“It’s so weird seeing yearbooks again.”

She’s so cute! I love JJ so much.

“A friend of mine who teaches said that Facebook is making them obsolete.”

I’m in total agreement. Facebook is making life obsolete, but ... different discussion for a different time.

“I’m having serious flashbacks going through these senior bios.”

“Four years of accomplishments boiled down to one paragraph.”

“Hey, did your school have anything called Top 10?”

“No. Is it an academic thing?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Only ten of the survivors listed it, including Jerry and Chelsea, and neither of them were valedictorian material.’

“Okay, so … what are we looking at here?”

“Well, maybe it’s a clique inside a clique.”

“Yeah, but it’s jocks, nerds, theater geeks. Nothing that would bring these kids together.”

“Except …”

“What?”

“I know what the Top 10 is.”

“Recognize the Top 10?”

“No.”

“They were the students that went in front of the cameras after the bombing.”

“I thought all the surviving students were interviewed.”

“After the initial aftermath, yes, but these are the kids that went on talk shows, traveled to other schools.”

Wait. So the list comprises of those ‘elite’ that have gone on talk shows and talked to schools about the tragedy? Oh boy ... I have a bad feeling about this.

“My guess is that they didn’t self-select who made the cut.”

“Principal Givens did.”

“That’s why the unsub killed him first.”

“He was an outcast who wanted to fit in.”

“Being a survivor should have been his golden ticket. But he was excluded again, and that’s why he’s killing them.”

“Yeah. The rules of high school never changed, not even after a tragedy.”

“Go ahead, Garcia.”

“Hey, listen up. I cross-referenced students files with medical records.”

“Now, there were six kids that were knocked unconscious in that blast, but only one fits the outcast profile.”

“His name is Robert Adams, and he just used his credit card at a local restaurant, the address of which …”

“I just sent you right now.”

“I’m on my way.”

Oh shit. That fucktard who can’t feel anything just took the top eight hostage in a fucking restaurant ... oh damn.

“He’s nowhere near the window, so there’s no line of sight.”

“We profiled this would be like a reunion to him.”

“He wants people to recognize who he is.”

“I think I know what he wants to be recognized for.”

“Robert Adams, we’re with the FBI. We just want to talk to you.”

“We know why you’re doing this, Bob.”

“Bob, you’ll be in the news for a couple of days. But no one will know the real story.”

“Tiffany … what did Randy say to the kid who looked him in the eye?”

“But he didn’t say it to Jerry, did he, Bob?”

Wait, so this whole thing started because they stole his thunder and told his story? Oh boy. This is fucked up in the head.

“Did he, Bob?”

“We can give you back your story, but you have to drop the gun.”

“Drop the gun.”

“Bob.”

“Morgan, he’s heading to the south entrance.”

“Copy. I got the back covered.”

Awesome.

“FBI. Drop the weapon, Bob.”

“Hotch!”

“Prentiss, in here!”

“We need medical in the boiler room.”

“Hold your fire.”

Damn. Hotch is one badass motherfucker.

Khalil Gibran: “Pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

My gorgeous honey enjoying his music

Until ...

“We interrupt your regularly scheduled musical selection with an important announcement.”

“Never wage a practical joke war against an MIT graduate, because we have a history of going nuclear.”

Who hacked into his playlist?

“Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the dulcet sounds of me screaming in your ear.”

Screaming.

“Okay, kid, that was cute.”

“But that’s all you got?”

Snoring.

“Hey, baby gi…”

Screaming.

I am so in love with this show.

Oh my God, Rossi giving him the white towel of surrender. AWESOME!

“Uh-uh.”

“All right, Reid, it’s on.”

“Just know that paybacks are a bitch.”

Snoring.

Oh my fucking god, just when I thought this show couldn’t get any better. This is seirously the best episode ever.

“Hey.”

“How’s Jack?”

“There’s a kid that’s being mean to him at school, and Jack’s solution is to invite him over and make friends with him.”

“That is the sweetest and saddest thing I’ve heard.”

“How did you find out?”

“His teacher told me.”

“He wants to solve it himself.”

I love Jack Hotchner so much. He is possibly the best human being ever ... on television.

“There’s probably a part of you that wishes you could step in.”

“Well, there’s a part of me that wants to protect him from everything that could hurt him, but I know I can’t.”

“No. But you can show him that he doesn’t have to face it alone.”

“How did you get by in Paris?”

“Um, I, um … I played a lot of online scrabble.”

“With some girl named Cheeto Breath.”

XD

I am so in love with this kid.

“We haven’t talked to mom in a while, so I thought it would be a good idea if we did it again.”

“Buddy, you’re not making me sad.”

“It makes me happy, because it reminds me what a great job mom did with you.”

“So maybe if we got in the habit of doing this again, you know, mom could help us.”

“You know, if you have a bad day.”

“Mrs. McKee said Paul’s been mean to you.”

“No?”

“Okay.”

“Well, mom, look out for Jack anyway.”

“Oh, dad, too. Of course.”

“Good job.”

“Okay. Time to settle down.”

“Good night, buddy.”

“I love you, too.”

Best daddy award to Hotchner.

And best son award to Jack, because that kid is the fucking best!

So despite the horrific part of this episode - oh my fucking god how the fuck are those people managing to make me giggle during a serious show???? 

The Morgan/Reid prank war.

The knowledge that JJ is addicted to Cheetos and plays scrabble.

And Jack Hotchner always brings a huge smile to this face.

Again, thank you so much for keeping up with me and my crazy notions.

See y’all next time!

[biopsychs]

using your time wisely on public transport

The bus ride to my university takes an hour there and back each day. Those hours spent on the bus tend to feel like a waste of time. However, that time doesn’t have to be useless. 

General tips:

Check out the transit schedule before you make your timetable. For me, there’s no bus at 3 pm so if a class ends at 2:30 I have to wait till 4 for the bus.

You can’t always be productive the entire time. When I’m on the 7 am bus on Mondays I make a deal with myself: Be productive for at least the first half of the bus ride. After that, listen to music and stare out the window all you want.

Pack your bag lightly. Your back is gonna hurt if you try to bring everything with you. If you and a classmate have a break together, make a deal that only one of you will bring the textbook each week. Or buy a binder-ready copy of your textbook (so you can bring individual chapters with you).

Bring snacks and a water bottle always! You’ll be thankful for that granola bar on your way back, especially on days when you’ve been on campus for 12+ hours!

Things you CAN do on public transport:

Study flashcards. Bring a stack of flashcards with you or use Quizlet. Quizlet is a good app because you might find that someone else has already made flashcards for the class you’re taking, you can star which terms you already know, and you can have the app read out the flashcards to you (I find I remember thing better if I hear them as well)

Do your readings and/or prelabs. I wouldn’t recommend bringing more than one textbook otherwise your backpack will be super heavy all day. Read through a few chapters. If you like to write down notes as you read, bring a pen and a pack of big sticky notes. If you have labs like me, finish up your prelabs for the following week when you’re heading home after a lab. I’ve managed to finish my physics and chemistry prelabs on the bus, every week so far this semester.

Catch up on that Netflix show you’ve been watching. Not so productive, but I see it as a way of unwinding. And if you’re going to watch an episode when you get home anyways, why not do it on your commute? So download those episodes and relax (I recommend The Office and Brooklyn Nine-Nine if you need a laugh)

Read over your lecture notes. You should be doing this anyways so why not do it on your commute? Looking over your lecture notes from classes you had that day will help reinforce the content in your mind. Look over notes from weeks or months ago too. Reviewing older content will help you so much when finals come along.

Watch some Khan Academy videos. Did you know that Khan Academy has an app!?? Download videos beforehand and watch them on the go. Since this requires a bit more focus I’d recommend not watching videos for stuff you just learned that day -- go home, read your textbook, and then watch a video the next day to clarify things/learn the info in a new way.

Catch up with people you haven’t talked to for a while. Send a text to your mom or that friend who’s studying across the country. Trust me, they miss you and talking to people who support you is good for your mental health.

Get out your planner (or bullet journal) and plan your week. If you’re feeling overwhelmed making a to do list for each day of your week can help. This also ensures you won’t be forgetting about an essay due the next week.

My Other Posts:

AP lit tips

high school biology

organization tips

recommended reads

reminders for myself

what i learned from high school

[noelmu]

MONTH IN REVIEW 12/3/17 - 12/31/17

As another year ends, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to “put everything in perspective.” It’s helpful advice, I think, though it’s advice that depends a lot on what kind of perspective the person proceeds to take. Throughout 2017, I know a lot of us have struggled with anxiety over geopolitical matters that are beyond the average person’s control. For me though, one of the takeaways from this year is that whenever possible I should remove myself from the daily discourse for a second, take a breath, and adopt either a broader or narrower view.

In the broader sense, I’ve found that it’s helped to look at history, and to think about the difficulties faced by civilizations before us, and the various cycles and swings: from prosperity to lack and back again, and between poles of authoritarianism and openness. Even in recent years, I’ve noticed that over and over our pundit class has made pronouncements about changes in the culture that they insist are locked-in and permanent, until they turn out to be anything but. I’ve seen Democrats and Republicans win elections after political scientists have declared that demographics and/or social attitudes should’ve made those victories impossible. In my lifetime I’ve seen radical changes in Eastern Europe, China, and the Middle East -- sometimes for the better, sometimes not. All I know for sure is that what we’re afraid of one day has been known to dissipate almost overnight (usually to be replaced by some new horror, granted). This doesn't make our fears unfounded, nor does it justify complacency. But it does mean that maybe we don’t have to be on edge 24-7.

In the narrower sense, 2017 to me has reemphasized the value of acting locally. Sweeping, nationwide changes are difficult; but there are plenty of daily opportunities to improve the quality of life in our immediate vicinity. Early this year I heard an interview with Asia Argento in which she said that after a lifetime of living under a corrupt Italian government, she’s learned to ignore what politicians do, and instead to focus on the people who live on her block. Granted, Argento is a well-known actress and filmmaker, which affords her the privilege to a little philosophical. But that doesn’t make her approach to life entirely wrong. All year long I’ve read stories about people on a local level getting things done. It’s been very encouraging, to know that on the smallest day-to-day level, a civil society can still click right along.

Narrowing my perspective even further, down to my house, I have to admit that we’ve had a pretty good year here. I worked pretty much non-stop, from January all the way up to this week. Donna has really connected with her last two freshman classes, and has settled into a personally satisfying role as a mentor to some truly outstanding young people. Our own two youngsters, Archer and Cady Gray, have accomplished some remarkable things both inside the classroom and at home, as they’ve pursued their various obsessions and hobbies. Cady Gray took a school trip to New York, became the designated artist for an on-line role-playing game, and got to sing with her choir at an Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert. Archer made All-State in choir, got a 5 on the AP Physics test, a 4 on the AP World History test, and scholarship-worthy 1480 on the PSAT. We took our first real family vacation this summer, making memories we’ll carry with us for a lifetime.

One of the unexpected complications of our current time is that it’s hard not to feel a little apologetic when things are going well, given that social media and the incessant stream of news alerts never let us forget about how crummy others are feeling. But at the same time, I’ve invested a lot in my work, my marriage, and my children, and it would be ungracious not to appreciate the breaks I’ve been given, let alone to squander them.

So here’s how the Murray/Bowman household is ending 2017: stressed, but happy, and looking forward to better days, for all of us. Thank you for reading, and may God bless you all.

And now if you’re looking for something to do this New Year’s Eve, here’s a long list of links...

The A.V. Club The best films of 2017 that we didn’t review (I wrote about My Happy Family, Uncertain, and Walking Out) The A.V. Club’s 20 best TV shows of 2017 (I wrote about Halt And Catch Fire) The best film scenes of 2017 (I wrote about BPM and Call Me By Your Name) The 20 worst films of 2017 (I wrote about The Shack, Flatliners, and CHiPs) The 20 best films of 2017 (I wrote about Logan Lucky, Baby Driver, and Get Out, and my ballot is here)

The Los Angeles Times First person: Being a film buff in Arkansas isn't as hard as it used to be Under The Radar: Keanu, Hasidic Jews and streaming support (I wrote about John Wick: Chapter 2, Menashe, My Happy Family, Nocturama, and Their Finest) The Year In Home Entertainment: The Vietnam War and the best new video and streaming picks of 2017 Movie Review: Human Barbie can't save The Doll from its own incompetent horror Movie Review: Qatari sheiks pursue passion for falconry in documentary The Challenge Movie Review: Hollow In The Land has a winning similarity to Winter's Bone Movie Review: Eclectic guitarist gets his due in Bill Frisell: A Portrait Movie Review: Arty approach to woodland horror bogs down Desolation Movie Review: Netflix gets epic with Will Smith's fantasy-action thriller Bright, but the result is less than thrilling New In Home Entertainment: Dunkirk is a stirring and stunning World War II epic New In Home Entertainment: Tom Cruise pairs intensity and charisma in American Made

The New York Times 11 Shows We’ll Be Talking About In December TV Review: A Christmas Story Live! Wasn’t Lively Enough

Rolling Stone 10 Best TV Episodes of 2017: Better Call Saul, “Chicanery” 10 Best Horror Movies of 2017 (I wrote about Super Dark Times, The Devil’s Candy, and The Blackcoat’s Daughter) 12 New TV Shows You Should Be Watching (I wrote about At Home With Amy Sedaris, Brockmire, Detroiters, Great News, Manhunt: Unabomber, Tales From The Tour Bus, Sweet/Vicious, and What Would Diplo Do?) TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 7: Eugene-ics 101 TV Review: The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 8: The Son Also Rises

Uproxx What We Talk About When We Don’t Talk About Young Sheldon

The Verge The Twin Peaks: The Return Blu-ray set explains what the show is, not what it means The 20 best TV shows of 2017

The Week Why The Middle is TV's most underrated comedy Tonya Harding's belated moment to shine Are Molly's Game and The Post too obviously about 2017?

[fabulusshitposting]

My 2017 in a Nutshell

So I wanted to make a post were I put everything that happened during the year into one post. This is more for my sake than as a post so you can just skip over it if you want. It also probably gonna be long as fuck.  Oh and im also gonna include my new years wishes at the bottom.

January

So, I actually don't remember alot. Just that, I was starting a new semester. And afterschool theatre rehearsals for the musical I was in (Annie Jr) had started. And as per usual, my parents went "Why are you still going to theatre rehearsals, I thought we discussed it would end" and as per usual I reply "Mom, I'm in the class. Like literally, it is my class. You've seen my schedule."

February

This was the month that we perform Annie Jr. On the 14, we performed it for about 800 elementary school students who came to our school as a field trip to watch it (I also got to miss the day of school, so that was fun). My role was Pepper the Orphan. I had so much fun. And it was the biggest role I had yet, a supporting role. And I loved it. And performing for the little children was so fun because we got to hear the reactions and laughs and it was incredible. (In the picture below, I am the one on the far right)

March

During spring break, on March 17, Markiplier livestreamed some "Oxygen Not Included". I had started watching an hour into the stream and so I kept it up while I did other stuff. During it Mark say it would be great if someone made a huge form of game suggestions because everyone had been suggesting games in the comments. So I do that and post it on tumblr. One or two people pop up on it and I expected that much since I had a few Tumblr followers. Then like 50 pop up and then I was like "AHHHHH, What is happening!?" in my head. I check my phone and Mark had reblogged it. Then a few days later since I had seen Ethan (CrankGamePlays) looking for games too I made one for him and he retweeted it.

I was run crew for our musical "Guys and Dolls", this was also quite fun but that added to make March more busy for me. And I have to say one of the main things that kept me motivated to stay on top of things for the end of that school year was the fact Mark and Ethan reblogged and retweeted my thing. So Thank You for that.

April

This is my birthday month, so I turned 16 on the 24th! This month was pretty normal. It was also when we started all those reviews for the end of the year exams and finals.

May

This month school ended! I finished school. But I got a letter in the mail for credit recovery because I got a D in AP World History. The moment I saw this, it made my heart drop because holy shit how was I suppose to tell my parents that.

June

So I did my credit recovery and replaced that D with an A in just four short days. About 2 weeks later I got really sick. I was sick in bed with high fevers for a straight week and lost 10 pounds in that week too. 

July

This month was pretty normal too. I watched fireworks during the forth of July and went to the beach for a few days. And at the end of the month I got new clothes for school.

August 

So this month is when school started again. The day before school I threw up. Multiple times. And got zero sleep that night too because I was throwing up. Although I didn’t think much of it and still went to school the next day. (I also may have almost fallen asleep in my AP Environmental Science class but shhhhhh, I’ve already almost fallen asleep and have slept in that class multiple times this year. It’s not my fault the teacher has such a monotone voice)

Although I started to notice that as a few days past I still felt really nauseous every time I ate something. I would feel nauseous all day. So I go to the doctor and they say “Oh its probably Gastritis that got triggered from a stomach bug. Just eat bland foods and if it doesn’t go away in two weeks come back.” So I went back after 3-4 weeks. (Trying to find an appointment made it longer.)

I also join a knew discord server on August 19th that had some pretty cool and fantastic people on it.

September

I go back to the doctor during this month and she calls for some blood tests. Although the results for that got delayed a bit because of Hurricane Irma (I live in Tampa, Florida) When they did come back. Everything was mostly normal but my SedRate was a 72. I was told the normal was suppose to be a 20, soooo you can see the problem there. Anyways after a few more of these test to make sure it wasn’t an error I was scheduled for an endoscopy.

Also during this month Mark put his tour tickets on sale for “Markiplier’s You’re Welcome Tour” and my mom let me buy a couple for me and my sister. I payed for most of it with money I had saved up since I covered $200 of the total $285 cost.

Also during this time I was doing relatively well in school. And helped out a bit with the set building for my school’s straight show. (Barefoot in the Park)

October

I got my endoscopy done and there was nothing visually wrong but I did find out I was Lactose Intolerant. So they scheduled an Ultrasound. They also put me on a new stomach med that helped out immensely. But my parents weren’t too happy with this because 1- They thought that me being lactose intolerant was BS since I’ve been able to drink milk all my life. and 2- That I was too young to be taking everyday meds.

During the entire month though I was also stressing out about grades because report cards came out near the end of the month. 

I was also on Run Crew for our One Acts during this time.

So Mark’s tour was on the 14. The day before it I wanted to discuss the schedule we would have for the day. But my dad then goes “OH and why should I even take you in the first place. You have bad grades (I had mostly As and Bs). You know what, you’re not going” Of course this hurts me immensely since I had been hoping to go see it for so long. I had asked my mom back in June that if they came to Florida could I go see it. Those wonderful kind people I knew in the discord server I was in were nice enough to comfort me. And after about 2 hours my mom comes in and tells me she talked to my dad and that I would be going.

Anyways I go to the tour and by some insane chance of luck, I get chosen to go on stage and participate during the tour. I’ll include some pictures below that this kind person there had taken and talked to me after to send them to my email. I also have this video .

(look at Bob’s face in the back of this one tho)

November 

This month was pretty normal and relatively happy actually. School was fine for the most part. I had fantastic time with irl friends and online discord friends. I had Thanksgiving break that was also fine for the most part. I also had my ultrasound and everything was fine and normal but the accidental found a cyst on my Kidney. They said it was fine since it was small, but they did want to do another ultrasound in 6 months to make sure it didn’t get bigger.

December 

This month is when review and studying started up for midterm exams so I was worrying about those. But I ended up with mostly As and Bs so I’m personally happy (although my parents not so much, since I got yelled and fucking torn down verbally for getting a B on my math midterm)

This was also the time when deposit money was due for the trip my theatre planned to go to New York. I ha already talked to my mom and she said it was fine but my dad said no and that it was stupid and bullshit and that I shouldn’t go anywhere because I apparently am not a good daughter. So my mom gave me the deposit money and I turned that in but then I got yelled at more and more by my dad and then it just back and forth between my parents so I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled out. I couldn’t take my hopes for going to New York being crushed over and over. I actually don’t know if my mom has realized that yet. oh well.

And then we had a half assed Christmas because finals lasted up until a few days before Christmas and its usually up to me and my sister to put up decorations and stuff for Christmas. So Christmas wasn’t fun, for me at least.

So that has been my 2017 year. I think its normal as usual. The only thing that has changed is that I got yelled at more this year. And my new year wishes or resolutions or whatever the fuck you call them are the same as they have been for the past 5 years.

I hope I get yelled at less. I hope I can do something I enjoy and have my parents actually support me for once since most of the time they only support me when its something they like. I wish my life can be something I want. (But you know its probably not gonna happen. Like why do I even bother trying anymore.)

I am going to try to be better daughter too since apparently I’m never good enough too.

I just decided to do this so that maybe I can idk look back on it during next new years eve. If you actually took the time to read my shitty post about my shitty self. well then, idk what to say. 

[fancypoloevent-blog]

RELEASE

EZLO The Million Dollar Vintage Polo Collection These are the Warhol prints of our generation

Welcome to the vintage Polo collection. A collection of the most rare and sought after items by America’s greatest artist - Ralph Lauren. Featuring 100 of the most important fashion art pieces ever created. A collection so iconic, it created a culture.

This collection and these items were the beginning of the original fashion culture. Before the Supremee’s were were getting chased by the Ape, before the Sneakerheads were camping out on the street and re-selling on the internet, before every long line at at Nike, A Bathing Ape, Kith, Palace, or any streetwear brand, there was Lo. Polo is a brand that organically developed a fanbase without even trying. For every store with a line to get into, for every online forum focusing on a fashion brand, for every fashion label with a sub-culture, for every designer making “Streetwear”, thank Ralph Lauren and the Lo Life Polo collectors who created this platform.      

These are the 100 rarest vintage Polo Ralph Lauren items from the 1987-1994 Collection. This showcase is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Polo Ralph Lauren, and a 25th anniversary of the highly coveted 1992 collection. This archive has taken over 20 years to build. The Polo collectors within this culture refer to themselves as Lo Lifes or Lo Heads. Today we meet Ezra Wine, an OG Polo collector and we review his collection.

Ezra collects vintage Polo Ralph Lauren items from the 1987-1994 period. He started collecting when he was 15 in 1995 and has been obsessed from day one. His collection consists of the 100 most rare, most exclusive, most limited, most elite Polo power pieces. The collection is kept at his showroom in SoHo, where he was born and raised. Just like Ralph, his father is a painter, and he was immediately drawn to the artistic styles of the pieces in this collection. Each one of the pieces has a story, of why they’re important as a design and why they’re important to the community of fellow collectors. After 20 years in the game, it’s time to retire. Today, he’s selling his collection. No trades, no deals, no size swaps. Items will not be sold separately. This 100 piece collection is for sale, for a cool million.

The story of the vintage Polo culture started in the late 1980’s when lower income youth from Brooklyn became obsessed with the Polo style and status and literally stole the image. Polo was the aspirational, All-American, high end designer brand that was never going to market themselves to urban communities, and that’s why they wanted it. Their desire and risk gave birth to the culture we know today. These are people that are obsessed with all things Polo Ralph Lauren. The name Lo, comes from Polo, and for the last twenty five years this subculture has been changing the face of Hip Hop fashion.

Today they are buyers, collectors, sellers and addicts of vintage Ralph Lauren clothing. The movement has spread around the world and reached a diverse collective of collectors, but it all began in Brooklyn New York. The story of the Lo Culture starts in the late 1980’s in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

The Lo Lifes were a gang, formed by African-American and Hispanic teens from low income housing projects. The gangs robbed residents and sold drugs, but they were most interested in stealing from clothing stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdales and B. Altman’s. The gangs started with the names ‘Ralphie’s Kids’ from St. Johns Projects, and ‘Polo U.S.A.’ (United Shoplifter’s Association) from Marcus Garvey Village projects, then they joined forces to form the “Lo Lifes”. They became obsessed with designer labels. Coming from poor communities, they aspired to have the status of a Gucci jacket or a Fendi bag. But the brand they most looked up to was Polo Ralph Lauren. To these kids nothing was more of a status symbol than the iconic Polo horse from Ralph’s brand. Lauren had spent 20 years establishing his company as the ultimate in preppy attire for the country club and private school community. These minority adolescents saw this and wanted to represent the elite lifestyle that Polo stood for. They did not desire the educated lives and Wall Street careers that the horse represented, but they wanted the image. They came from low income families lacking the resources to buy designer labels. This was their chance to look like the wealthy prep school kids they rode the train with, while staying true to their communities as gang members that stole anything they wanted.

In 1987 the group of teens would organize shoplifting adventures they called the “Million Man Rush.” These ‘kleptomaniacs’ would walk into Macy’s with 50 kids, grabbing all the Polo leather jackets and sweaters they could carry and run out. Security could not stop them and workers feared them. They pulled stunts like this at Bloomingdales, and many other stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The “Lo” pieces were then taken to Brooklyn where they were sold and traded amongst their community. Examples of the culture are heard in Hip Hop as Rapper Jay Z mentions this in his song Where I’m From, stating “I'm from where the beef is inevitable, summertime's unforgettable, Boosters in abundance, buy a half-price sweater new.”

The gang would also rob individuals who had clothing labels they desired. Rapper Thirstin Howl the 3rd was a founding member of the gang, proclaiming to have stolen thousands of “Lo” pieces from stores and reselling the designer goods to Brooklyn friends, or giving them away to their girlfriends, or as they called them “Lo wives.” Examples of the risk of the culture could also be heard in Jay Z’s BK Anthem, “It wasn't safe on the A train, D, G or the F, Decepticons, Lo-Lifes snatch the polo off your chest”

From a style perspective this subculture was engaging in the classic battle between the lower classes desire to have the status of the wealthier class. Prior to ’87 Polo was mostly known for their small embroidered horse icon on the left breast of tennis shirts. This image stood for aspiration, however the 1987 collection marked the 20th anniversary of Ralph Lauren (1967-1987). To celebrate, Polo released a large collection of anniversary novelty designs that were loud with lettering and imagery showcasing the lifestyle that had only been seen in their advertising and in the concept of the horse logo. Now Polo was being seen for making bright and colorful boating shirts with Yachting imagery on the back, cross flags sweatshirts showing the anniversary year and ski jackets with actual skier cartoons on the items. It is unclear how the general fashion community reacted to these new styles from Polo, but it was obvious that the “Lo Lifes” had taken a strong liking to the artistic designs.

As the 1990’s began the “Lo” subculture had expended all over New York. The term “Lo heads” developed to mean non-original gang members who were still involved in the subculture. Members became diverse as New York City with the influx of Asians and Caucasians getting involved in this black market system. It became common knowledge for New York City high school kids to either steal from Polo stores themselves, or attempt to purchase/trade items from other “Lo heads.” High schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens had become hotbeds for the Lo subculture. Common language developed among the members in terms of shirt names, and codes like “eats” meaning holes, “beat” for damaged shirts, “Lizzy tags” for store security sensors. As the pieces changed hands and the popularity increased, the values went up. What had begun as high priced stolen merchandise, being sold for half price, had turned into highly collectible timeless apparel that was now selling for above the original retail price. “Lo heads” began preferring to trade items as opposed to buying and selling, because amongst the community cash was not desired. In order to get the pieces one wanted, one had to trade an item of equal rarity and value.

In Hip Hop media artists like Grand Puba from Brand Nubian were wearing and rapping about “Lo” in his song, That’s how we move it, stating “It's time to switch it up so I'll breeze back to the rest, put on some Polo gear and a baggy pair of Guess.”

Artists like Wu Tang Clan were dropping lines in songs like C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) “My life got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater, Times is rough and tough like leather.”

Other hip hop groups such as “Another Bad Creation” went one step further in music videos and popularized the style of wearing store security sensors on the clothing. This was a bragging right displaying that one had style and status, but proving that one stole it. This concept is similar to hunters in medieval times that would wear the skin of a bird they had shot down prior, as a way to visually brag about their hunting skill.

As the subculture evolved members became heavily involved in trading with one another. Much like their youth trading baseball cards years earlier, these high schoolers developed connections with members via phone calls and street meetings. Common meeting places were downtown Manhattan shopping destinations like EMS on Broadway, The Atrium on Bleecker Street and Tent and Trails on Park Place. Specific pieces began to develop common names and understood values based on original retail price, design, rarity and desirability. Members were still robbing other members and from stores. One notable piece was a ski jacket that developed the “street name” the “suicide ski” or “sui” referring to the fact that wearing this specific jacket was the equivalent of suicide, as so many youths were getting robbed and slashed with knives from people trying to rob them for that specific jacket.

Once again the 1992 collection marked the first Olympic sponsorship for Mr. Lauren and the 25th anniversary of Polo and once again celebrated with a flashy group of styles that was highly sought after and stolen from stores. From a marketing side Polo developed a new sub brand called Polo Sport, which became the label for “Lo heads.” They also hired their first African American model, named Tyson Beckford, which was a shock to the fashion world as Polo had previously only used Caucasian models to represent their brand. Tyson was a muscular tattooed teen who had been discovered by a Polo marketing representative. In hip hop media, artist Raekwon states in the Wu Tang Clan song, ‘Still Strugglin’ “A young youth, yo rockin' the gold tooth, 'Lo goose, only way I began to G off was drug loot.” He also became famous for wearing the “Polo Snow Beach” jacket in the ‘Can it be so simple’ music video.

In the 2000’s “Lo heads” and the original “Lo Lifes” were heavily involved in the subculture as the growth of the Internet spread their story. Vintage clothing sites like ebay.com became the go to source for buying and selling “Lo”, and prices had skyrocketed due to the notoriety of the items. Members of the sub-culture were popping up in major fashion cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas, New Jersey, California, Tokyo, Paris, Munich, etc. What began as an underground Brooklyn culture of stealing from department stores and wearing those items as a badge of honor, had become an international culture.

Hip Hop clothing stores such as Flight Club New York and Fruition Las Vegas, began to sell vintage Polo on their racks alongside brand new hip hop apparel from Nike, Jordan and Adidas. In hip hop media, artists such as Kanye West and Fabolous were wearing “Lo” in all of their music videos further promoting the clothing. As the items got older members became more like collectors. Being neurotic about cleanliness of the items, carefully hand washing their collections and proper storage of their antiques. “Lo heads” would spend entire evenings in their homes working on complex trades with other members in order to obtain the most sought after articles of the collection. Members had been known to bring garment bags with 50 items to do a trade in another member’s home.

Today the “Lo head” community is going strong, countless articles in Hip Hop magazines, worldwide membership and the Internet helping to promote this subculture and the collector’s items that members are still obsessing over. The current success of the culture is a mix of nostalgia for vintage clothing and the appreciation of Polo as an elite status brand name.

What makes this subculture so ironic is the true story of Ralph Lauren, who was born in the Bronx NY in 1939 to poor Russian-Jewish parents. His father Frank Lifshitz used the last name “Lauren”, due to anti-Semitism, to get house painting jobs in the Bronx. When Ralph started his clothing line in 1967 he used the name “Lauren” and the brand name “Polo” to signify the all American old money lifestyle that the company would come to represent. He was an immigrant who wanted the image of elite wealthy status. The irony is 20 years into the brand, “The Lo Lifes” sought the same image and aspired to obtain the status that was part of the Polo name.

Mr. Wine is selling his collection because it's a museum style collection that belongs in a museum. These are the Warhol prints and Basquiat paintings of his generation. It took him over 20 years to build and he wants to see this collection at the Whitney, The Smithsonian or at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

As a high school student Ezra understood the really important special pieces from Polo were not going to be available at Macy's and the Atrium, they were only going to be available on this black market, sold by individuals and fellow collectors that had them. He started connecting with collectors spending all his money meeting other members of the culture on lower Broadway, at Wendy’s, in front of EMS, Brooklyn train stations, doing trades, or buying pieces directly from the community.

The Polo Black market had a value system like no other, where vintage pieces, had retail prices that might have been lower when these items came out years before, but as they get older and more popular, and more collectors are involved in the culture, the prices keep going up. Some of these prices are way beyond their original retail cost. Mr. Wine is an artist and an art and fashion collector. His mom is from the south side of Chicago, and his father from North side. His parents came to New York in the ‘60s, his mom worked in the garment center for 40 years, and his father is an artist and a math teacher.

This is a community of people that really prefer to trade, because anybody can get cash. Cash has no value, other pieces have value. This is a community in a culture where if you don't have the pieces, nobody wants to do deals with you. People never want to sell a white summer hat, they want to trade a white summer hat, because they want the red summer hat.

Back in 2003 Mr. Wine was selling items to celebrities, rappers and people that work in hip-hop. Doing deals with Kanye West, Fabolous and Just Blaze. He wanted to put these pieces back on the fashion map. He wanted Kanye and Fabolous to wear these items that Grand Puba and Wu-Tang had worn previously. He was doing it to keep the culture alive and on the front page of the hip-hop media. When Fabolous wanted the gray cashmere bear sweater for the ‘Baby’ music video, it wasn't for sale, but it was rented to Fab for a one-day shoot, he wore the sweater in the video and got a lot of online hype with Polo collectors talking about the bear sweater online, and Ezra still owns that actual bear sweater that Fab wore in the video. He’s never worn it since, and it is part of this immaculate collection.

When Kanye wanted pieces for his College Dropout tour, they came to Ezra. And when Just Blaze wanted pieces for some photo shoots, he came to Ezra. And then years later when Chris Brown wanted to wear the Snow Beach Raekwon jacket on the NBC Today Show concert, they came to Ezra.

Eventually Mr. Wine became so obsessed with the sport graphics and the unique funky imagery in these Polo items that he decided to create his own clothing line based on that vintage Polo look and feel. In 2004 he started making graphic tees and button ups with sports characters, bright colors and often times using actual vintage Ralph Lauren fabrics to make custom pieces. His clothing designs are an homage to vintage Polo. He thinks of vintage Polo as an inspiration for the items that he’s made, thinking not only about the high-quality unique designs, but also about this incredible community and culture that formed around those pieces.

This collection is for sale for a million dollars, and it’s worth a million dollars. The values go up every day. It’s priceless. If it doesn’t sell, he’s happy to keep it. This collection is 20 years of labor. For some of these pieces, he spent 10 years just asking collectors about them, only to get a lead on who owned it, only to hear that they’re keeping it.

This movement is so strong that in the fall of 2017 Polo will launch a limited edition capsule collection of retro 1992 Stadium P-Wing pieces. These remakes have led to additional hype within the Polo collector community, as this is the first time that Polo is releasing retro versions of these collectors items, following the success of the retro Nike Air Jordan collection that began in 1994. Ralph is actually listening to the collectors that he seemed to ignore for the last 25 years. These retro items will allow older collectors to re-buy items from their past, and open up the culture to a new younger generation of buyers. These remakes will be a nice reminder of the ‘92 collection. However the original antiques will always be the OGs.  

This is one person’s chance to own the collection that created a culture. To own the most important pieces of hip-hop fashion history.

[batterymonster2021]

The Science of Flirting: Being a H.O.T. A.P.E. | Jean Smith | TEDxLSHTM

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The Science of Flirting: Being a H.O.T. A.P.E. | Jean Smith | TEDxLSHTM

Translator: Queenie Lee Reviewer: Ivana Korom Let me ask you whatever. Have you ever ever been in a hindrance where you’ve gotten asked your self the next question: is that this individual, is this character flirting with me? Snapshot the scene: you are at a buddy’s social gathering. You sashay into the kitchen due to the fact we all know that’s where the enjoyable is. And also you see an attractive stranger getting a drink fill up from a field of wine. Your buddy’s a student. And so that you get a drink refill, and you say anything hilarious to the appealing stranger. Attractive stranger laughs. Just right for you. And then for the following few minutes there may be some eye contact, extra speakme. However then after a few minutes you start considering, ‘is that this character flirting with me?’ Sound familiar, any one? See the character sitting subsequent to you, it is happened to them.The man or woman in entrance of you, it’s occurred to them. You see this is a universal conundrum. However no extra! When you consider that within the next ten minutes i’ll let you know the signs of flirting and under no circumstances again will you marvel: is that this character flirting with me? I am Jean Smith. I am a social anthropologist who reports flirting, a flirtologist, if you will. Now, as a flirtologist, I do study, I write books, I supply talks. And that i work with customers each personal and corporate, all with the purpose of helping people to come to be higher flirts. So i will be able to see a few of you sitting there, you are thinking, ‘particularly!? Is that this critical? I mean instructing men and women how one can flirt?’ yes. (Laughter) yes, it is. I have been doing this for over a decade.And if the question – is this person flirting with me – was once preferred then, it is now all people-desires- to-take-it-to-promenade fashionable for the reason that over the last decade the way in which that we flirt has transformed dramatically. Persons are relying increasingly on digital approaches of speaking. However let’s face it, an emoji with its tongue protruding, it is best going to get you so far.At some point, you’re going to must meet in person. Unless of course, you’re a eastern male, and in that case, you could go on to marry your video game lady friend: Rinko. In order part of my quest to aid men and women become better flirts, I did research. I went to the cities of London, new york, Paris and Stockholm, and i researched the flirting behaviour of its inhabitants.And i located there have been six things that they all had in customary. Six approaches that they could sign they were flirting and understood when any individual was once flirting with them. And i teach this as H.O.T.-A.P.E. (Laughter) it can be the six indicators – it’s an acronym for the six indicators of flirting. So what if I have been to assert to you: ‘You must be a parking ticket considering the fact that you have got received "nice" written far and wide you.’ Would you snort? Good, ‘H’ is for humour.Carry your hand in the event you suggestion my funny story used to be humorous. Go ahead, don’t be shy. Good enough, everyone with their hands up, i might entirely date you. (Laughter) good, if my husband weren’t this sort of manipulate freak. But anyway, should you didn’t carry your hands, it can be not a just right healthy. It’s just now not going to work between us. But it’s me, not you. However it is a just right factor given that HOTAPE-ing individuals – it takes time. Does any one right here like studying a excellent novel, looking at an exciting TED talk? Does anybody right here like scan cricket? These things additionally take time, certainly experiment cricket, five days? And that is where humans most of the time get it unsuitable due to the fact they want to attract everybody.However no, you just wish to entice these persons who fit with you. And that is why humour, primarily a shared experience of humour, is rather most important for serving to you to distinguish between your competencies scorching-APEs and squirrel monkeys. I imply, yeah, they may be cute. I’m sure they’ve a first-class persona. However at the finish of the day it can be a squirrel monkey. It’s no sizzling-APE. So ‘O’ is for open body language. Three things to don’t forget. Quantity one, don’t do that. I do know some of you’re guilty of this.I’ve heard it all earlier than, oh, however i’m bloodless, or, this is cozy. Good enough, whiny voice apart, wherein illustration do you wish to have to sizzling-APE me more? Like this? Or like this, right? Not scorching-APE. Sizzling-APE. Number two: be certain your shoulders are dealing with the individual. So now not scorching-APE, not scorching-APE, still no longer hot-APE. Hot-APE. No longer scorching-APE. Hot-APE. Now, the third, that is the important, and i am handiest telling you guys. This is a fairly excellent one. To look if any individual’s , appear on the direction wherein their toes are pointing. So if their toes are pointing at you, a just right sign. If they are sort of out to the part, it means they are planning their escape route. The further away our limbs are from our brain, the harder it is for us to manage them. So, Shakira, i do know you say: the hips do not lie, but the flirtologist is here to say the toes don’t lie. ‘T’ is for touch. Like humour, touch also has a positive physiological response on our body.Now as a general rule, shoulder – it can be a reliable situation to contact. But as you go down the arm in the direction of the fingers, the touch will get extra intimate. That is why I advocate everybody will have to form of faucet the hand and say whatever like: ‘Oh, you’re so funny’, folks look to like that stuff. Oh, another situation that would be excellent to contact can be just right here on the top of the back between the shoulder blades, probably if you are passing via, you could supply a light touch. Now, of the entire flirting signs, humans seem to be wariest about making use of contact. As one in every of my clients stated, ‘well, the opposite signs that you may get away with. However in relation to touch, you are culpable.’ however contact can get you out of the friend zone, and it will probably also show any one that you’re interested. And as long as you don’t forget, i love experiment cricket, it lasts five days, I should not have time to sizzling-APE with every person, then if the man or woman does not respond positively, you can try any one else.’A’ is for awareness. This one might appear apparent. The more concentration any individual is paying you, the extra they like you. However the trouble is as soon as you might be within the interaction, it can be particularly hard to be purpose. Which is why in anthropology, we’ve got a methodology, it’s referred to as participant commentary. And i consider this could be a rather useful instrument for you to use in flirting. It means that you’re collaborating, you are in the interplay, however you’re no longer so in it that you simply can’t detect.So should you had been to, for example, touch and say whatever and see the other individual blushed, it signifies that you are no longer so self-conscious that you just can not realize the result that you’re having on the opposite individual. And that my buddies is when the flirting gets really fun. ‘P’ is for proximity. Now proximity was used in two ways. The primary, if you see any person across the room after which all of the sudden they’re subsequent to your part, this isn’t a coincidence. It way they like what they see they usually must explore additional. The other way proximity used to be used is when you are surely in the interplay, they’re standing nearer than usual. So if you are attracted, excellent. If you are now not, they’re in your space. So the last of the flirting indicators is the principal. Can anyone guess what it’s? Thanks. It’s eye contact. This was the number a method that humans might fully grasp anyone who’s flirting with them and the change between pleasant and flirting.So in flirting eye-contact the gaze occurred more typically. It was once held for an extended period of time, and it used to be extra extreme. So making use of these indicators: humour, open physique language, touch, awareness, proximity, eye contact, that you can appreciate when anybody is flirting with you. And as a general rule, the extra indicators the easier. Now my favourite story of scorching-APE being used within the area was relayed to me via considered one of my customers. She had shared sizzling-APE with all of her pals. And one night time, they went out HOTAPE-ing guys. One in all her friends was once making eye contact with a man at the bar, and she went over and spoke with him. She came again a couple of minutes later, bit dejected, my consumer mentioned, ‘What occurred? What occurred?’ and she’s like, ‘Oh nothing.’ ‘well, did you sizzling-APE him?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ after which they began going by means of the perimeters: ‘Did you employ humour?’ She’s like ‘Yeah, yeah.’ ‘What about open body language? You didn’t do that such as you frequently do?’ ‘No, no.’ ‘What about touch? Did you touch him? Again, hand.’ ‘Uh, God, I didn’t use touch.’ and then they began laughing, like, ‘good, no marvel.’ And what traditionally might have been a obstacle of dejection or, you understand, feeling bad, it just turned into a enjoyable recreation.And this is the vigor of HOTAPE since it turns flirting into what it will have to be. It’s some thing fun, easy, it’s now not a significant deal. And when we feel about flirting like this, it utterly alterations our paradigm of rejection. And in instances where we’re generally feeling self-mindful or a little nervous, we’ve scientific tools to aid us recollect what to do. And finally, it makes it can be now not about us, it’s a guidelines; it’s a undertaking. It is matters to do as an alternative than how we frequently see flirting which is a stranger’s analysis of our worth. So now you understand the indicators of flirting, and i inspire you to now not simply recognize however be proactive, when you consider that these indicators additionally use so that you can specific interest. And that is my task to you: put out of your mind in regards to the sport, put out of your mind in regards to the principles, be genuine. Take action and go HOTAPE any one. Thank you. (Applause) thanks. .

[foreverasheley-blog]

Questbridge National College Match

Hello Everyone, hope that you guys are all having a good day. For this post, I will be talking about the Questbridge National College Match Scholarship. For those who may not be familiar with Questbridge, it is a non-profit scholarship organization created to help low income kids to attend highly selective colleges/universities. I was accepted to the University of Chicago as a Questbridge Student and received a full-academic scholarship. It is such a great scholarship but there are so many people who have not heard of this scholarship. Scholarships like Gates, Posse, Chick Evans, Jack Kent Cooke, etc, are very known and I absolutely recommend that you guys go and apply for these scholarships on top of Questbridge or any other scholarship program that you prefer. However, of course as a Questbridge Scholar I would love for you guys to apply.  But of course, I have to be able to convince you or at least show the benefits to applying. I will be posting a YouTube video soon to talk about my experience as a Questbridge Student through the application process and my experiences so far on campus.

Purpose of Questbridge:

             As stated, the purpose of Questbridge is to provide an opportunity to low-income students, regardless of race, origin, religion or sexuality, a chance to attend one of 39 partner colleges/universities in the United States. These colleges are the highly selective colleges/universities, ivy league schools and high selective liberal arts colleges. Most of these colleges are private institutions, though some like UVA are public. Regardless, these 39 partner schools, the newest being Hamilton College in New York, are committed to provide aid to high achieving low-income students.

What Does a Questbridge Student Look Like:

             So, regardless of what someone will tell you, there is no such thing as a “ideal student” because every student individual in their own way. It is more so about what you can contribute to the college community. However, there are some key things that Questbridge, like a college admission officer, looks at. Ultimately, we are looking for students who show high academic achievement. So how does Questbridge Define this. The follow graphic comes from the Questbridge website, a link that I will cite at the end of this article for you guys to look at. Now, the information provided below is mainly looking at the “profiles of past Finalists” and are “NOT” and this essential “NOT STRICT CUT-OFFS” (Questbridge). This is to remind you that you are more than a test score because I promise. Before I retook my ACT, I did not have this ACT they were looking for and a lot of students don’t. It is all about you showing who you are in your grades, your letter of rec, essays and extracurricular. A number does not provide all about a student.

Academic  Criteria

Grades and rigor of high school curriculum

Primarily A's in the most challenging courses  available (usually including Honors, AP, and/or IB level courses.)

Class rank

Top 5-10% of your graduating class.

Standardized test scores

SAT or PSAT scores > 1310  ACT composite score > 28

We also recommend submitting any AP, IB, or SAT  Subject Test scores.  Review the standardized  testing requirements for each college.

Additional Criteria

We also look for evidence of strong writing  ability, intellectual spark, and determination through essays and  teacher/counselor recommendations.

(Questbridge)

There are also financial qualifications as well and these are slightly stricter, but there is a sense of leniency. I don’t want to paraphrase because I don’t want to say anything wrong, so this time, I will mainly just ask you guys to look at the page because it gives more details about it. But just a summary, Questbridge students mainly come from an income below $65000 from a family of 4.

For more information on the Financial Qualifications of Questbridge, check out this link: https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/who-should-apply.

What the Application Looks Like:

             I think the biggest difference between the Questbridge Application and other scholarship applications is that this essentially a college application. You have essays, letters of recs, filling out everything about your school and yourself, short answer question, and personal circumstances. The biggest difference is that you are putting all your financial information in this application. The reason why I want to emphasize that this is a college application is because some of the Questbridge Schools only want to Questbridge App. So, what do I mean by this? If you become a finalist for NCM, you continue applying to the schools that you rank for match and submit additional documents, financial information and your common application for those schools with their supplemental prompts (this is why completing NCM early and researching the schools early is important-I will make a separate post on this part of NCM specifically because I find it really important to take note off). However, for certain schools such as Yale, your Questbridge application essential becomes your application for the school. You will not need to complete any of their supplemental short answers and short essays that they require in their common application. So, taking a lot of time with your application and putting in your best work is extremely essential.  

Application Deadlines:

             Wouldn’t there be one application deadline to a scholarship? So with Questbridge, there are multiple components especially if you become a Questbridge Finalist for the Scholarship. So, here are the dates that Questbridge have provided for the scholarship.

September 27-National College Match Application Due

October 12-College Match Rankings and Match Agreement Form Due

October 19-Finalist Notification

November 1-College Match Requirements due to ranked college partners

November 6-Questbridge Regular Decision Form Opens

December 1- Match Notification

December 11-Questbridge Regular Decision Form Due

For more information on what these terms mean, check out Questbridge.org for more information

Why You Should Apply:

So, I can tell you to apply because you can get a full ride to some of the best universities in the nation, nevertheless the world, and not have to worry about paying for college. But that is not the only reason why I want you to apply. Apart from receiving a full ride scholarship, I have gotten to know and meet the most important people of my life. I felt like I had a group of people that I can rely on and never leave my side. Of course, not everyone who is Questbridge is not my friend and maybe not like me completely. I thank Questbridge for all the opportunities that they have provided me and I appreciate Questbridge so much as a support group for everything that I’ve been through. Take some time. Talk to your parents and teachers about it and decide if Questbridge is for you. There is one thing I want to mention before I go. Most of the Questbridge schools are ED binding. Only 4 schools are an exception: MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Yale.  What this means is that if you go through with the match process and you get matched to a school, you are required to attend this school, which makes Questbridge a difficult process. However, it is worth it and I promise you that it is. Talk to adults, parents and you can even message me and I will be more than happy to give you my input. I hope to see more faces apply to Questbridge because it has connected me with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Sorry for the long post but I hope this a good summary on what Questbridge is. I will make a YouTube video on Questbridge and more information about the different parts of Questbridge at a different time. Good luck to you all

Signing Off, Yours Truly

-Naa