#transport to canada also

[lysiusetareia]

my experience of reality is a package deal if u want the gold shitting goose u r getting everything else too so uhhhh do u have a trip sitter

The skibidiverse is a closed culture btw you're not allowed in if you're over 20

[leo-regulus]

Update: Union has permission from the government, we're going on a full strike.

I have literally no idea how this is supposed to work. Tomorrow I must go find my union rep and ask!

[livvylives]

@faithfromanewperspective sorry for replying to this in a new post the op blocked me lol 🥴 (which?? idc if you block me but it's weird given the situation like all I did was add other easily provable facts. I'm all for holding Taylor accountable for her actions but misinformation/misconstruing a narrative is equally not helpful) the post had weird vibes too like "Taylor is the Empress" thing. she is quite powerful but even she is still constricted by her contracts with the venues?? idk idk. anyway yeah laws definitely need to change surrounding concerts & events (like the very widespread "no water" rules) especially with climate change but even then. it's water.

[annabanannabeth]

i see your Big Drink, and i raise you: using time to measure distance

“where are you from?” “i’m from massachusetts, like 30 minutes outside boston”

“how far away do your cousins live?” “about two hours”

“the store’s not far right? these shoes aren’t that comfortable” “yeah it’s only a 10 minute walk from here don’t worry”

“you got enough gas to make it there? it’s an hour drive and it looks like your tank’s getting kinda low” “yeah i can make it, an hour and a half would be pushing it though”

i didn’t even know that this wasn’t a common thing in other parts of the world until i was talking to a tourist about culture differences and she brought it up, but apparently most cultures would say the number of kilometers/miles in all of these instances.

so yeah i think THIS is what binds all americans: using time to communicate distance

truly the most american thing is Big Drink. more than late stage capitalism, more than an unparalleled cultural focus on individualism, more than 9/11 jokes

what binds all americans together culturally is Big Drink

and you might be saying "is this fat shaming" or "but mayor bloomberg outlawed Big Drink in nyc" or "gays are so annoying about their iced coffee" or some other dumb comment but no open your minds, Big Drink isn't just sugary or caffeinated beverages

every day i see one of you hydration bitches (affectionate) on the train with a water bottle so big a toddler could drown in it. that too is Big Drink. we literally invented a bigger beer can (tall boy) in wisconsin in the 60s in the service of Big Drink

anyway i never feel more american then when i have Big Drink in my hands

[diah-the-demon]

told my mum i wanted to do more cosplay stuff soon (for pride).. turned out i forgot that she wont be in the country when thats happening :/

[reasonsforhope]

"In some cities, as many as one in four office spaces are vacant. Some start-ups are giving them a second life – as indoor farms growing crops as varied as kale, cucumber and herbs.

Since its 1967 construction, Canada's "Calgary Tower", a 190m (623ft) concrete-and-steel observation tower in Calgary, Alberta, has been home to an observation deck, panoramic restaurants and souvenir shops. Last year, it welcomed a different kind of business: a fully functioning indoor farm.

Sprawling across 6,000sq m (65,000 sq ft), the farm, which produces dozens of crops including strawberries, kale and cucumber, is a striking example of the search for city-grown food. But it's hardly alone. From Japan to Singapore to Dubai, vertical indoor farms – where crops can be grown in climate-controlled environments with hydroponics, aquaponics or aeroponics techniques – have been popping up around the world.

While indoor farming had been on the rise for years, a watershed moment came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when disruptions to the food supply chain underscored the need for local solutions. In 2021, $6bn (£4.8bn) in vertical farming deals were registered globally – the peak year for vertical farming investment. As the global economy entered its post-pandemic phase, some high-profile startups like Fifth Season went out of business, and others including Planted Detroit and AeroFarms running into a period of financial difficulty. Some commentators questioned whether a "vertical farming bubble" had popped.

But a new, post-pandemic trend may give the sector a boost. In countries including Canada and Australia, landlords are struggling to fill vacant office spaces as companies embrace remote and hybrid work. In the US, the office vacancy rate is more than 20%.

"Vertical farms may prove to be a cost-effective way to fill in vacant office buildings," says Warren Seay, Jr, a real estate finance partner in the Washington DC offices of US law firm ArentFox Schiff, who authored an article on urban farm reconversions. 

There are other reasons for the interest in urban farms, too. Though supply chains have largely recovered post-Covid-19, other global shocks, including climate change, geopolitical turmoil and farmers' strikes, mean that they continue to be vulnerable – driving more cities to look for local food production options...

Thanks to artificial light and controlled temperatures, offices are proving surprisingly good environments for indoor agriculture, spurring some companies to convert part of their facilities into small farms. Since 2022, Australia's start-up Greenspace has worked with clients like Deloitte and Commonwealth Bank to turn "dead zones", like the space between lifts and meeting rooms, into 2m (6ft) tall hydroponic cabinets growing leafy greens.

On top of being adaptable to indoor farm operations, vacant office buildings offer the advantage of proximity to final consumers.

In a former paper storage warehouse in Arlington, about a mile outside of Washington DC, Jacqueline Potter and the team at Area 2 Farms are growing over 180 organic varieties of lettuce, greens, root vegetables, herbs and micro-greens. By serving consumers 10 miles away or less, the company has driven down transport costs and associated greenhouse emissions.

This also frees the team up to grow other types of food that can be hard to find elsewhere – such as edible flower species like buzz buttons and nasturtium. "Most crops are now selected to be grown because of their ability to withstand a 1,500-mile journey," Potter says, referring to the average distance covered by crops in the US before reaching customers. "In our farm, we can select crops for other properties like their nutritional value or taste."

Overall, vertical farms have the potential to outperform regular farms on several environmental sustainability metrics like water usage, says Evan Fraser, professor of geography at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and the director of the Arell Food Institute, a research centre on sustainable food production. Most indoor farms report using a tiny fraction of the water that outdoor farms use. Indoor farms also report greater output per square mile than regular farms.

Energy use, however, is the "Achilles heel" of this sector, says Fraser: vertical farms need a lot of electricity to run lighting and ventilation systems, smart sensors and automated harvesting technologies. But if energy is sourced from renewable sources, they can outperform regular farms on this metric too, he says. 

Because of variations in operational setup, it is hard to make a general assessment of the environmental, social and economic sustainability of indoor farms, says Jiangxiao Qiu, a landscape ecologist at the University of Florida and author of a study on urban agriculture's role in sustainability. Still, he agrees with Fraser: in general, urban indoor farms have higher crop yield per square foot, greater water and nutrient-use efficiency, better resistance to pests and shorter distance to market. Downsides include high energy use due to lighting, ventilation and air conditioning.

They face other challenges, too. As Seay notes, zoning laws often do not allow for agricultural activity within urban areas (although some cities like Arlington, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, have recently updated zoning to allow indoor farms). And, for now, indoor farms have limited crop range. It is hard to produce staple crops like wheat, corn or rice indoors, says Fraser. Aside from leafy greens, most indoor facilities cannot yet produce other types of crops at scale.

But as long as the post-pandemic trends of remote work and corporate downsizing will last, indoor farms may keep popping up in cities around the world, Seay says. 

"One thing cities dislike more than anything is unused spaces that don't drive economic growth," he says. "If indoor farm conversions in cities like Arlington prove successful, others may follow suit.""

-via BBC, January 27, 2025

[assignedmale]

You might remember that my Finnish husband and I have been on a journey to pregnancy through IVF for a few years now. I rarely update you on the matter because it's honestly been quite bleak. So many appointments with endless delays between each one, doctors getting their schedule mixed-up (for real), bureaucracy, straight-up incompetence... but also a lot of support and care from medical staff and our families and friends. A real roller-coaster of emotions that we are relieved to see come to fruition.

Today, without early notice and after months of obstacles, we finally got green-lighted to get the genetic material that I froze as a teenager from Canada to Finland. However, we can't just release the sperm in the Saint-Lawrence River and tell them to swim to the Baltic Sea. Some agent with sunglasses must transport it by plane in a secure container filled with liquid nitrogen, and that's the only part of this whole adventure that isn't covered by either of the countries' healthcare system.

We have about a week to gather a few thousand dollars to cover this trip, so you'll be seeing a few reminders of the ways you can support my work, such as by getting me a coffee (www.ko-fi.com/sophielabelle ) or the Friendship Book Bundle ( https://ko-fi.com/s/c9ab772abf ). I'm also putting some of my recent needlework up for grabs at https://ko-fi.com/sophielabelle/shop/needlework , in case you were looking for great conversation starters for your next family gathering! (As they take several dozen hours each to make, they are very limited.)

Sophie

[fatehbaz]

can't stop thinking like this when i see posts

"three types of animals defined by utility and simplified transactional relationship to humans. including categories of productivity, domestic companionship, or passive/threat/disgust/pest":

British and colonial American institutional and folk taxonomy of "the natural world" in the eighteenth century. The unofficial-but-still-influential way of imagining animals in "utilitarian" ways that support material accumulation and colonial "productive land" and "land improvement." Like a secularization of previously explicitly-religious "great chain of being" schema but adapted for Englightenment-era scientific cosmology that reifies racialized imaginaries of environmental space and reinforces class/racial/species hierarchies with technical expertise.

"we have to do something about the distances":

Britain and the United States in the nineteenth century trying to control the globe and conquer "frontiers" and obsessively trying to more quickly and efficiently move trade, industrial products, information, communications, administrators, indentured laborers, and imperial military across seas and vast distances to cement hegemony by utilizing technical expertise with railroad networks, sailing ships, steamships, investments in cartographic surveying, latitude/longitude establishment, canals, and elaborate systems of telegraph lines.

"they should make a big heavy machine beast that can pull tons of black iron across grasslands and such":

British Empire technicians, Canadian administrators, and their US advisers from 1900-1930-ish when the Canadian "federal government also established breeding programs designed to cross cattle with bison or yak to create a new [ultimate] range animal" with "a reserve stock of pure blood bison of the highest potency" and an "enthusiasm for stocking northern [boreal and northern Great Plains] environments with exploitable game populations" when "nothing, in fact, captured the imagination of bureaucrats and private promoters in the early twentieth century more than the idea of importing domesticated reindeer from northern Europe as a the vanguard of a settled and prosperous agricultural civilization in northern Canada." And they partially pursued the project as "a response to the success of Americans" in "assimilating" the Inuit by importing 82,000 European reindeer to Alaska by 1916: "[A]n Alaskan Bureau of Education Report proudly proclaimed [...]: 'within less than a generation, the [slur] throughout northern and western Alaska have been advanced through one entire stage of civilization.'"

And in the same decade with British administrators in Southeast Asia, when they pursued the "purchase of elephants whose labour made possible the logging and transport of this harder-to-reach teak [in Burma]. By the period between 1919 and 1924, elephants represented the largest assets owned by the biggest timber firm operating in the colony […]. This animal capital, of around three thousand creatures, represented [...] the equivalent of roughly a third of the corporation's liabilities [...]. And these elephants must have been busy. This five-year period saw half a million tons of teak exported out of the colony, the overwhelming majority of which was exported by a handful of large British-owned firms. Their ownership of these beasts of burden gave imperial trading firms a considerable advantage."

"america will be a manufacturing nation once more , We're going to build great and terrible machines, so great and terrible they carve the land they walk on, the sun will set and it will rise and the forge will still burn and the hammer will still ring true folks"

Without comment:

[Quote.] [O]n the morning of February 20, 1915, [...] Franklin K. Lane, the secretary of the Interior […] intoned to the crowd, “The seas are now but a highway before the doors of the nations […]. The greatest adventure is before us, the gigantic adventure of an advancing democracy, strong, virile, kindly, and in that advance we shall be true to the indestructible spirit of the American Pioneer.” The fair did not officially commence, however, until President Wilson […] pressed a golden key linked to an aerial tower […], whose radio waves sparked the top of the Tower of Jewels, tripped a galvanometer, and closed a relay, swinging open the doors of the Palace of Machinery, where a massive diesel engine started to rotate. […] [T]he PPIE was organized to commemorate the completion of the Panama Canal […]. As one of the many promotional pamphlets declared, "California marks the limit of the geographical progress of civilization. For unnumbered centuries the course of empire has been steadily to the west." […] One subject that received an enormous amount of time and space was […] the areas of race betterment and tropical medicine. Indeed, the fair's official poster, the "Thirteenth Labor of Hercules," [the construction of the Panama Canal] symbolized the intertwined significance of these two concerns […] that crowned San Francisco as the Jewel of the Pacific. […] The construction of the Panama Canal unfolded against the backdrop of […] the installation of American colonial rule in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawai’i. […] In San Francisco, […] this meant the presence of artifacts such as Fountain of Energy, a strong male mounted on horseback […] crowned by figurines of “Fame” and “Valor.” Referred to by its creator as the Victor of the Canal, this sculpture symbolized “the vigor and daring of our mighty nation […].” In his address titled "The Physician as Pioneer," the president-elect of the American Academy of Medicine, Dr. [W.H.], credited the colonization of the Mississippi Valley to the discovery of quinine […]. [A]t the Pan-American Medical Congress, where its president, Dr. [C.R.] delivered a lengthy address praising the hemispheric security ensured by the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and "the combined genius of American medical scientists […]" in the Canal Zone. […] [A]s [CR]'s lecture ultimately disclosed, his understanding of Pan-American medical progress was based […] on the enlightened effects of "Aryan blood" in American lands. […] [End quote.]

Source: Alexandra Minna Stern. "Race Betterment and Tropical Medicine in Imperial San Francisco." Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America. Second Edition. 2016.

[ratisangy]

As an American I would like to leave ❤️

So far Trump and his goons have blessed us with this list. I'm sure I forgot to add something.

Trump halting CDC research on the bird flu (67 people infected one dead) millions of birds and hundreds of cows dead from it.

2 million federal employees contacted and strong armed to resign.

ICE just in general is awful but now also is detaining native Americans

Feb 1 plans for tarrifs for Canada, Mexico and China.

Immigrant workers not showing up to farms due to fear of deportation.

Federal freeze that was constantly changing and unclear. With temporary consumer reported freezes, even to federal funded programs said not to be affected.

Trump removing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard before their terms were completed.

Elon Natzi salute

[driftingdreams]

I put all my ideas in the tags but i reached the tag limit when talking about this so uhhh I'm gonna reblog again

So let’s say that, in theory, a girl wanted to write a MCYT Hunger Games AU. And in that same vein of theory, that said girl needed help, allegedly, assigning districts and roles to characters. Who would be from what district? Who’s from the Capitol? Who are the mentors and who are the tributes? Which crafters are past victors that we’d see in the Quarter Quell? Who’s our President Snow?

Any crafter from any SMP (Hermitcraft, life series, DSMP, OGs, etc) are on the table as long as their role makes the tiniest bit of sense. Go nuts

[dinodorks]

[ The skull is mounted on a custom steel armature, which allows for it to be seen all the way around. ]

"After seven years of work, the best preserved and most complete triceratops skull coming from Canada — also known as the "Calli" specimen — is on display for the first time since being found in 2014 at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. A museum news release calls the specimen "unique" because of where it was discovered, the age of the rock around it, and how well it was preserved. Following the floods that tore through Alberta about 10 years ago, the Royal Tyrrell staff were engaged in flood mitigation paleontology work when the triceratops skull was discovered in 2014. Triceratops fossils are rare in Canada. This skull was found in the foothills of southwestern Alberta — an area where dinosaur fossils in general are uncommon — and nicknamed "Calli" after Callum Creek, the stream where it was discovered. Transported via helicopter in giant, heavy chunks, the skull and most of the jaw pieces were extracted over the course of a month in 2015. The rest of the triceratops' skeleton was not found. Roaming the earth roughly 68 to 69 million years ago, the museum says this skull was buried in stages, evident by the fossilization process.  "Paleontologists know this because the specimen was found in different rock layers, and the poorly preserved horn tips suggest they were exposed to additional weathering and erosion," reads a museum blog about the triceratops skull.  "The rest of the skeleton likely washed away," noting that the lower jaws were found downstream. From 2016 to 2023, Royal Tyrrell technician Ian Macdonald spent over 6,500 hours preparing this fossil, removing over 815 kilograms of rock that encased the skull. This triceratops skull is the largest skull ever prepared at the museum and its third largest on display."

Read more: "Canada's biggest and best triceratops skull on display in Alberta" by Lily Dupuis.

[pintadorartist]

THE TRUMP-MUSK FUNDING GRAB: THE QUIET COUP

Since taking office, President Trump and Elon Musk have worked together to defund the federal government from the inside while consolidating power into the hands of a right-wing elite. Their goal is clear: gut federal agencies, strip public resources, and redirect power and money into their own hands.

Agencies Are Starved of Ability to Help People: Key federal agencies—including the Departments of Health, Education, and Transportation—have been forced into bare-bones operations, unable to implement vital programs we depend on.

FEMA and Disaster Relief Blocked: Funding for emergency relief programs is being deliberately slowed or denied, leaving communities vulnerable.

Social Security and Medicare Under Threat: Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” has gained full access to the U.S. Treasury's federal payment system, which processes Social Security, Medicare, and tax refunds. His team now has access to millions of Americans’ financial data and can manipulate payments.

DOGE is a Smokescreen for Dismantling the Federal Government: Under the guise of “efficiency,” Musk has proposed cutting $1 trillion in government spending, targeting social programs, education, healthcare, and regulatory agencies that protect consumers and workers.

At the same time, Trump and Senate Republicans are fast-tracking Russell Vought as OMB Director to oversee this attack on federal funding.

VOUGHT IS THE ARCHITECT OF PROJECT 2025

Vought wrote a chapter of Project 2025, which starts by outlining the role that OMB should play in implementing the massively unpopular playbook. If confirmed, Russell Vought will control federal spending. That means he will claim to have the power to:

Freeze funding for critical programs like Medicaid, public schools, environmental protections, and infrastructure.

Redirect federal dollars to right-wing priorities, including tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate handouts.

Defund regulatory agencies that keep corporations in check and protect workers and consumers.

THE PROCESS: HOW THE SENATE WILL PROCEED WITH THE VOUGHT CONFIRMATION VOTE

Monday: Motion to Proceed (MTP) passes, allowing debate on the nomination.

Immediately After: Republican Sen. John Thune can file cloture, starting the two legislative day clock before a cloture vote.

Wednesday: Cloture vote happens, kicking off 30 hours of debate.

Wednesday - Thursday: Senate Democrats must use the full 30 hours to expose this crisis and block the nomination at every turn.

Thursday: Final vote on Vought’s confirmation. If he is confirmed, the Trump-Musk takeover accelerates.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1.THIS LINK BY INDIVISIBLE LEADS TO A PAGE WITH RESOURCES INCLUDING POSTERS TO USE WHEN PROTESTING AND WHAT TO DEMAND FROM YOUR SENATORS

2. THIS LINK LEADS TO A CALL TOOL THAT PROVIDES A SCRIPT FOR YOU TO USE WHEN CALLING YOUR SENATOR. TELL THEM THAT WE ARE IN A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

3.Fax: use this link and send a fax to your senator

4. Read through the list of Senate leaders and call a number

5. Contact Your State Attorney General by phone and email:

Minimal script for ALL state attorneys general: We are all learning that Elon Musk, a man who can’t even get the security access he needs to enter parts of SpaceX, and a band of unaccountable teenagers and business cronies, walked into the GSA, TTS, the U.S. Treasury and the USAID offices and took whatever private information they wanted, firing any civil servant who tried to stop them. [Your Stateians] records have most likely been invaded in violation of the Privacy Act of 1974, and as he’s now embedded himself in the Treasury department computer system, payments for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other federal programs are at risk if the Trump administration decides to punish our state, [as he’s currently doing by holding fire victim funding hostage in exchange for extremist voter ID requirements.] Even the short pause from Trump’s executive order to freeze federal disbursements caused panic. We want you to sue the federal government to stop this corrupt and possibly treasonous attack on the privacy rights of our states’ citizens.

6. Contact the Secretary of the Treasury Department! – 202-622-2000

Minimal script for Secretary Scott Bessent: I’m calling to demand that you remove Musk’s access from all systems under your control, that all his equipment is confiscated, that his team is interrogated as to all actions they took under his direction, and that a computer forensics team is assigned immediately to check the system for integrity of its security systems.

More info on: https://indivisibleventura.org/2025/02/01/the-guy-nobody-trusts-with-a-full-security-clearance-now-has-access-to-all-your-private-data/

[106alibi]

dive into you. mark lee.

pairing: swimmer!mark x sportsreporter!reader

genres: fluff fluff fluff!!, slight childhood friends to lovers?

disclaimers: mark and yn are so awkward and shy it's kinda painful

wc: 4.1k

a/n: my friend had requested for a bonus scene inspired by the pole vaulter who went to kiss his girlfriend after breaking the world record and I folded in half and ended up writing a whole ass part 2 so expect a part 2 🤗 also feedback is so so greatly appreciated!

you wiped your clammy hands on your cotton pencil skirt and tugged at the collar of your blazer for the nth time. you were feeling unbelievably stuffy in your formal wear, but you couldn't complain when you were given the privilege of free front row seats to one of the world's biggest sports events, more specifically, the swimming category of the event.

being a sports reporter for one of the mainstream news channels in south korea meant that you were sent to these international events and the task of bringing the victories (and losses) of your home-grown athletes back home. having been in the job for just over 2 years now, you've seen your fair share of matches and become acquainted with quite a few local and international athletes from various after parties and social gatherings, but this time round there was a new face on lane two.

you didn't expect to know every athlete in the world, not when you were still considered relatively new to the field, but your eyes couldn't help but travel to lane two, who seemed to be doing extraordinarily for an athlete you didn't recognise. maybe it was the comically blown up maple leaf on the top of his swimming cap, or the way his entire demeanor changed as he pulled his goggles down to his eyes. there was something about the air around him that drew you in even though you were there for the korean swimmers.

you couldn't help but applaud him along with the rest of the crowd as he swam up to the edge of the pool shortly after the second contestant. he was in third place, and you couldn't help but be amazed even though you weren't normally all that interested in swimming.

"absolutely phenomenal, did you know this is his debut event? I wonder where canada was keeping such a gem" one of your friends, who was a reporter for china, leaned over and commented, both your eyes never leaving the lanes. you finally got a front view of mr canada's face when the big screen panned over from another competitor, with his timing, ranking, and most importantly, his name showing up on the screen. "mark lee, third place." the serious, stone-cold gaze he held was now broken by the cutest shy smile you've ever seen as he swam over to the other lanes to congratulate them and receive his own for literally placing third on his debut event.

great, another athlete to add to my list of cute athletes.

your thoughts were interrupted by your colleague, who you now realised was waving frantically at you from the side of the pool while you were in a trance (read: mesmerised by mark), and that was your cue to leave the stands and do your job.

you bowed and congratulated your athlete once again for his gold medal as the cameras stopped rolling. as your team of camera men moved around you, transporting equipment and packing up, you felt something bump into your shoulder. something wet. you jumped at the damp sensation, whipping around to apologise to who you assumed was one of the swimmers, yet you were only met with the face of your newest addition to top 10 cutest athletes ever.

"oh my goodness, i’m so sorry-"

"no wait, um..."

mr canada, or mark lee, bronze medalist on literally his debut event, scratched the back of his head awkwardly. droplets of water dripped from the ends of his black hair like icicles as he held the towel around his bare chest with one hand.

"I saw you staring at me from the stands earlier."

you blinked at him as you felt heat creep up into your cheeks from embarrassment. when did he even find the time to catch you ogling at him?

"I just wanted to ask, do you perhaps... remember me?"

now you were blinking at him in confusion, your head tilting as your mind flipped through every sports-related memory. maybe team canada had brought him to an event before, maybe he had visited korea for a training session.

"oh if you could remind me where we met, I might have a more vivid recollection!"

you chirped shamelessly, forcing a polite smile onto your face. being a reporter, you’ve been in this situation far too many times, you knew how to save yourself! Mark cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere but at you.

"oh uh...sejeong middle."

"huh!?"

your confusion had escaped your lips faster than you thought as you clapped a hand over your mouth to stop your exclaims from embarrassing you even further. you expected him to name a country, an event, maybe even a person, but not your middle school.

"we were partners for PE, remember?"

your eyebrows furrowed as you pulled up a hazy memory of you back in Sejeong middle, with your PE teacher, Mr Jung, making you and your partner run laps around the field for forgetting to lock the gymnasium storeroom the day before. your partner, who you had to drag by the arm to complete the final lap, was a small, scrawny kid who was a whole head shorter than you, and had chubby cheeks that made his head seem rounder than it already was from his bowl cut.

"lee…minhyung?"

you blurted out from the memory and watched as mark's eyes lit up. he nodded like an excited puppy and started bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"that's me!"

you knew minhyung had migrated overseas later that year, but you didn't know he had gone to canada, or even started swimming.

your eyes subconsciously traveled the length of his body, from his slicked back, pitch black hair you traced the features he had grown handsomely into; his high cheekbones that were hiding behind his baby fats and his boyish smile that was still reminiscent of the lee minhyung you remembered. his stick-like arms were now defined biceps that flexed underneath his skin whenever he crossed his arms. and now you even had to look up to speak to him.

"you look so…different.”

red crept into his cheeks as you trailed off. he cleared his throat nervously again.

"um, if you don't have any plans after this, team canada is throwing an after party later tonight and I'd love to have you there. of course, that is if you want to!"

he completed anxiously, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. you nodded blankly, still trying to process the fact that your ex-middle school classmate was now an international-competing swimmer, and a bronze medalist for crying out loud, and also the embarrassing fact that you had unintentionally ogled over your ex-middle school classmate.

both of you exchanged contacts, with mark promising to pick you up from your hotel. light pink dusted his cheeks as the offer left his lips, his eyes looking at you expectantly for some confirmation. for some reason, your heart skipped a beat, quickly nodding in hopes that he didn't notice the way your body stiffened or the way your breathing changed. it wasn't the first time a guy picked you up, in fact your colleagues, regardless of gender, did that all the time when it was convenient. he was just being a gentleman, and you were just being weird (and painfully single), you told yourself.

“okay, um, see you later!” was all you managed to blurt before scrambling away.

you had changed out of your blazer and skirt into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. you stepped out of your hotel lobby and instantly regretted not choosing the sweater as the breeze tickled your arms and permeated the thin fabric draped around your torso. you hugged yourself, rocking back and forth as you waited for mark to arrive.

mark. you weren't sure if you could get used to calling him mark.

lee minhyung was all you had known him as.

the little boy, significantly shorter and smaller than the other boys in class, who always got picked on for his thick, owl-framed glasses that always slid down the bridge of his nose, his comically gigantic school bag, and of course his metal spider-man lunch box.

the little boy who was always on chalkboard cleaning duty, which you soon realised was one of the ways he was picked on as the boys just loved to see him struggle to clean the top.

the little boy who didn’t know how to stand up for himself, and that infuriated little you, who had a bad habit of being painfully straightforward. you suddenly remembered your argument with his bullies that had sent you and the bullies to the principal’s office, where you continued to fight in front of the principal herself.

your trip down memory lane was cut short when the said boy arrived, his lips stretching into a smile when he saw you waiting for him.

his eyes traveled to the way your upper body curled as the breeze blew again and, without a word, immediately slid his team canada windbreaker off his shoulders and wrapped them around yours, exposing his bare (and broad) shoulders and the black tank top that hid under his windbreaker.

“wait- minhyung- I'm alright-”

“you get cold easily, don't you?”

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. had you mentioned it to him before? he seemed to read your mind as he quickly added,

“oh it’s just that, you often wore a cardigan to school so i assumed…”

you did, and you were speechless because you couldn't believe that he remembered something as insignificant as that after all these years, when you could barely recognise his face earlier. your ears burned and you couldn't tell if you were touched by his gesture, embarrassed that you couldn’t recognise him, or the fact that his bare biceps were now staring at you (you always had a thing for biceps.)

you quickly looked away before he could catch you staring.

“let's get going, shall we.”

you always thought you were pretty social for an introvert, or you were at least skilled at looking social, but all the confidence in your social skills went out the window when you entered the hotel suite.

all eyes had turned to you and mark as soon as the door swung open. you had no idea you were even late for the gathering, but you must've been considering that almost all the canadian athletes were already present.

you suddenly felt small under their gazes. you squeezed the hem of mark’s oversized jacket for some comfort.

“oh my god, mark brought a girl.”

a voice piped up as the entire room erupted into ‘ooos’.

you were sure they were teasing mark, but you couldn't help but feel like you were being teased too. your hand stretched out for a small wave and you squeaked out a “hello”.

“it’s not like that guys, and you're scaring her.”

you had been conversing in korean with mark the entire time, but it hadn't occurred to you how hot his accent would be while speaking english. and you hoped it had never occurred to you because now you couldn’t get his voice out of your head.

“this is y/n, she works for team south korea, but she's an old friend from middle school.”

the athletes swiftly came up to greet you and shake your hand as you struggled to keep up with the names. you had planned to stick to mark, but the plan flew out the window when some of them dragged you for a drink with them on the couch.

“by the way, how come you're wearing markie's jacket?”

a female gymnast you already forgot the name of asked, her and a few other athletes leaning closer to get the gossip.

you would've laughed at the cute nickname they gave mark if they weren't implying that there was something going on between the both of you.

“oh uh, I get cold easily and he must've noticed. mark has always been a sweet boy!”

you ended off your reply with a forced laugh. you attempted to address him in the most casual, nonchalant tone you could muster to convince them that you felt nothing for each other.

but in reality, you were feeling… a lot. nostalgic at the reunion, awe for how far he has come, and unexplainably shy around him.

as time passed, you could feel your energy seeping out of you. another polite laughter and ingenuine ‘really?’ and you knew you’d be out. gossip and chatter grew softer around you as you sunk deeper into the couch in exhaustion, your brain automatically drowning out the conversations while you fiddled with the tab of the beer can with your thumb. you still made it a point to look up from time to time, just enough in order to come off as not rude.

but mark, who had been observing you ever since you were dragged away from his side, noticed the way you rubbed your hands against your lap, the way your lips curled into corporate smiles and let out strategic laughs he knew weren't genuine, and the way your cheeks didn’t quite reach your eyes when you smiled. it could’ve fooled everyone, but definitely not mark.

mark, who has had the biggest crush on you ever since you stood up for him against those bullies. and that crush lingered in the back of his mind unresolved and unrequited even as he moved across the globe.

“hey y/n, could I have my jacket back?”

you snapped out of your daze, your attention now on him as you let out an ‘of course’ and stood up almost too quickly to slide yourself out of his jacket, too eager to escape the suffocating, superficial conversations. you immediately missed the warmth of his jacket.

and his smell.

your cheeks flushed at that thought. his jacket smelled like a vanilla-scented candle; sweet, familiar, comforting.

and that was what Mark was in this very room; the sole candle burning brightly, bringing you warmth in this cold, winter-esque room.

he met you halfway across the living room, not even bothering to stretch out his hand to take his jacket when he dipped his head so that his lips were at your ear-level. his breath sent goosebumps up the back of your neck as he spoke, his voice low.

“wanna leave?”

your eyes widened as his head lifted to look at you. not just at you, into you. his eyes seemed to search yours and once it did, it held you in its grasp relentlessly. it was magnetic. for an entire second, you lost yourself in his eyes, and the longer you looked at him, you felt your exhaustion and fatigue dissipate.

you would’ve said no. you would’ve smiled and shook your head and lied that you were perfectly fine. but today, you just couldn't help it. maybe it was the familiarity of an old friend, or the way his eyes seemed to already know your answer, because strangely, you felt like you could be honest around him. you gave him the slightest nod, still unsure if you were being an inconvenience to him, but the small smile that followed quelled any doubts you had.

“hey guys, it's getting late and y/n has work tomorrow so she'll be taking her leave.”

he announced on your behalf definitively. you gathered the remainder of your social battery to force out friendly goodbyes and see you agains (you really didn't know if you wanted to) as mark guided you out of the room with two hands firmly planted on your shoulders.

as the door clicked shut behind the two of you, the initial confidence you had to be honest with him was immediately replaced with a sense of guilt. you worried that you had ruined the mood of the party, the party that he out of everyone should be enjoying. it was his debut, and an extraordinary debut for that matter, and probably his first after party as a debuted athlete with his dear teammates, and you were taking up way too much of his time.

“hey, um, I can head back by myself.”

you stopped in your tracks, folding his windbreaker neatly in your arms and passing it to him.

“you should enjoy your after party, I'll text you when I reach back if that'll reassure you-”

“no.”

you blinked at his interruption. his eyes seemed to widen at his own assertion.

“I mean, no, it's no big deal. they'll be fine without me.”

“but-”

“y/n.”

the way your name rolled off his tongue so softly, so sweetly, had your next word lodged in your throat.

“to be honest i…i only invited you ‘cause i wanted to spend time with you. can we spend some time together? just us two.”

he eyes had suddenly found interest in the hotel carpet as he spoke in a quiet voice. you couldn't find a polite response, or any response at all for that matter, because your heart was beating too fast for your lungs to keep up. you only had enough breath to stand there and stare at him.

with your lips sealed shut, you nodded, squeaking out the only ‘okay’ your lungs would allow you to. he looked up and smiled. you could get used to that smile.

the two of you strolled back to your hotel, which was thankfully not a long walk away, catching up on the years and time lost. upon mark’s insisting, you had reworn his windbreaker (you almost want to buy it off him). you had learnt that mark took up swimming as a co-curricular in high school and fell in love with the sport.

“and, to be honest…”

he trailed off. you tilted your head in curiosity, prompting him to finish his sentence.

“i decided when I moved that I'd pick up a sport. as much as I hated the bullying, I hated it more that I couldn't protect myself. i really wanted to get stronger now that i was on my own. you always jumped to my rescue and that made me fall for you, but-“

your feet stopped moving, and mark seemed to understand why as you gaped at him, his words reverberating off the walls of your mind. he let out a nervous chuckle, his hand automatically rubbing the back of his neck.

“oh I thought I was really obvious. why do you think I requested to be your PE partner?”

“I just thought you…didn't have any other friends…”

“ouch.”

mark clutched his chest jokingly with a small chuckle. a beat too long of silence ensued between the two of you before you decided to break it.

“but…you don’t like me anymore, right?”

you didn’t know if you wanted to hear his answer or not. you didn’t know if you even could, considering how loud your heart was beating in your ears. in fact you almost felt embarrassed for even asking that question.

of course he didn’t like you anymore, it’s been quite literally years since the two of you talked, and you've changed since then. you were most definitely bolder at the age of 13, when all you cared about was bossing your classmates around and sucking up to your teacher (which earned you your role as class chairperson). life after middle school had taught you to hold your tongue and your thoughts. corporate had taught you not to speak unless spoken to, to bow your head to your superiors and nod meekly if you wanted next month's pay.

you weren't the protector mark knew you as, in fact you felt like the opposite. you went from the lion to the lamb in the years you were apart and you were ashamed at how lame you had become. how disappointed would he be to learn about the you now?

while you were lost in your thoughts, you hadn't noticed him inching towards you.

“the way you feel about me will determine my answer.”

he answered softly. you weren't dense. you knew what his words implied.

“minhyung, I'm…really not the same person you liked in middle school.”

you breathed out, your heart hammering against your chest as you awaited his disappointment.

“I know.”

“then what else is there to like about me-”

“I don't know.”

you felt your heart sink at his answer. maybe, deep down, you had secretly expected a legitimate answer. maybe you had hoped to be proven wrong. but mark wasn't finished.

“I don't know. it's been years since we've spoken, since we've met, yet my heart still beats the same, fast-paced rhythm that leaves me breathless when I look at you. when I saw you in the stands, and I'm not kidding when I say this, my legs turned to jelly and I almost slipped back into the pool. thank god you didn’t see that- you didn’t right?”

you let out a small laugh at his silly question, gosh just how cute could he be? he mirrored your expression, letting out a small chuckle of relief. his eyes softened at the sight of your laughter, internally cheering that his stupidity had somehow managed to release some tension in your features. his fingers reached to touch yours gingerly, testing the waters to see if you'd recoil, and your lack of reaction and expectant eyes gave him the green light to hold more of you. his hold on your pinky was almost phantom, as if any sudden movement would cause a fracture.

“i know you've changed, but so have I. I don't know if we'll work, but could we try anyway?”

he looked at you in anticipation. this was your cue to speak. the line preceding yours. but like an unrehearsed substitute, your mind failed to form your line. what was your line even supposed to be? you wanted to say yes and no and maybe and you're crazy and I'm crazy. but all you managed to say was

“friends?”

you cracked a shy smile as you buried yourself deeper into his windbreaker, and he seemed to get your message. you weren't sure if you could date mark just yet, you were never one to jump into a relationship, but you knew a small part of you didn’t really mind dating him.

mark released a breath he didn't know he was holding. at least you didn't reject him, was what he thought. he smiled and nodded reassuringly.

“friends.”

though, with the way your ears turned red and the way your eyes sparkled when you looked at him, mark didn’t need a psychic to tell him that your friendship wouldn't last very long.

“minhyung! someone is here to see you!”

his teammate hollered from the pool side, wiggling his eyebrows as he gestured to something behind him. nobody called him minhyung, and he would never allow anyone to call him minhyung, except for you.

mark pulled his goggles off his head and looked up at the stands. god, he had never jumped out of the pool so quickly.

without bothering to grab the towel his friend was holding at him, he ran up the steps of the stands, almost slipping on the steps as he yelped, grabbing onto the railings. he looked up sheepishly, watching you cross your arms with a quirked eyebrow. he knew he was supposed to be embarrassed, but my goodness you just looked so. damn. cute. in the denim jacket he thought he had lost and the white polo cap he had mailed to you a few months ago. and that little frown on your face from watching him make an absolute fool out of himself in front of you, he thought he would have folded right there and then.

”mark lee minhyung don’t you dare-“

before you could even complete your threat, he threw himself onto you, wrapping his wet arms around your torso and pulling you in. he buried his dripping hair in your neck as you cringed at the dampness soaking through your shirt. you groaned, your hands come up to his bare chest to push him away, only earning an even tighter hug, literally trapping you in his arms.

”i miss you too, minhyung, but you’re getting me all wet.”

“dude i actually hate you. but i hate long distance more.”

he huffed, his breath tickling your skin. you chuckled, bringing up a hand to run through the back of his wet hair as the other wrapped around his shoulder. you pulled his face away from your neck, tip toeing to place a soft peck on the lips you missed so much. mark’s lips chased yours as you pulled away, a natural pout forming on his lips as your warmth slowly dissipated, his eyes practically begging for another. you giggled, placing one last kiss on his cheek to soothe him.

“enough, pretty boy. before I have to report my own scandal.”

mark rested his forehead against yours with a sigh, your presence filling him with comfort.

“you know, y/n, I think you're a much better swimmer than me with how you dived straight into my heart.”

“oh my god, shut up."

“you love me though.”

you rolled your eyes, unable to fight the small smile from creeping onto your face. he was right, though. you did, and you think you will for a long, long, time.

[tommytofu]

oh ALSO! while i would love to see some cool stuff on other continents, i don't like traveling. the only reason i travel is to see family (in other provinces). if that could be cheaper and more accessible???? a game changer!!

sorry to double hijack your post, all the canadian politics. i did not realize i had so many feelings about this lol

Do you feel that our domestic travel flights are unnecessarily expensive? Do you feel that government should subsidize these flights to spur interest to travel domestically?

Yes, its sometimes more expensive to fly across Canada than it is to fly to Europe.

I think a lot of it has to do well with a smaller population density in Canada using these inter-country flights, making it less efficient compared to the higher volume flying to other countries.

Even so, the government could subsidize flights within Canada or otherwise give funding to smaller air companies so that they can actually compete with the bigger airlines, and drive costs down that way.

[ficwritersretreat]

FIC WRITERS RETREAT (CANADA) 2025 SPACE STILL AVAILABLE

EIGHTH annual Fic Writers' Retreat, first held in Canada in 2016, coming once again in 2025.

To Register, Click Here

When: August 7-10 2025

Where: Five Oaks Retreat Centre, Paris, Ontario, Canada

What is it? Four days spent with other fic writers, at all levels of experience. There will be a mix of workshops (Topics TBA and open to suggestions), prompts and challenges, and plenty of independent writing time for your own personal projects.

It’s also an opportunity to make connections with people who share your interests and passions, and where you can focus on your own goals and creativity.

Cost (in CANADIAN DOLLARS): $480.00 

(approximately $343 USD as of this posting)

Here’s what you get for it:

All meals (dinner Thursday to lunch Sunday)

Accommodation (Shared rooms but NOT shared beds - sorry)

Daily workshops and writing sessions (planned and delivered by participants - you too, if you want!)

A retreat in a beautiful riverside setting

WiFi included

Registration Process:

Click on the Registration Link, above.

Complete the form and submit it.

Select a payment option: a) e-transfer (Canadian residents only) or b) PayPal (link in registration form)

Make your deposit of $240 CAD (50% of total cost) to complete your registration

Second payment is due on July 10, 4 weeks before the retreat begins.

Space will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis. There are 22 spaces available, after which names will be placed on a waiting list (no payment will be required unless you are offered a spot).

Travel to the venue is not included. However, shared transport from Toronto (airport or other hubs) can often be arranged with other participants.

Several participants (and the organizer) live in the area, and we have always been able to arrange ride-shares from the Toronto Airport to the various venues. These connections will be arranged after registration.

Contact me with any questions! Or see the FAQ Page

Tags under the cut. Let me know if you want to be tagged in this. If you’re not tagged it’s because I didn’t know you were interested. (Or I used an old list and forgot, or I thought you'd asked to not be tagged - correct me if I was wrong!) It's not because we don't want you! Please come.

@totallysilvergirl @blogstandbygo @addictedstilltheaddict @onwallsjcfwrites @amindamazed @fearlessdiva930 @cirquedereve @antheiasilva @inevitably-johnlocked @pippn-frodo @stellacartography @muaddib-iswriting @keirgreeneyes @missdaviswrites @nautilicious @otter-von-bismarck @mydogwatson @pipmer @aquabelacqua @may-shepard @pippn-frodo @weneedtotalkaboutfilms-blog @shirleycarlton @daringlydomestic @quesarasara @laughing-at-the-darkness @ellipsical-elle @fluffbyday-smutbynight @kettykika78 @vulgarweed @hellonewsletter @atlinmerrick @podfixx @stellacartography @1-800-get-sherlocked @thegildedbee @letteredlettered @inexplicifics @storyshark2005 @tiger-in-the-flightdeck @seriouslymarythough @anyawen @topsyturvy-turtely @noadventureshere221b @gay-pirate-anime @simpledontmeanpeachy @helloliriels @hopipp @masked-alias @doctornerdington @lisbeth-kk @amindamazed @seriouslymarythough

[reasonsforhope]

"After 50 years of contemplating an airport for Pickering, Ont., the Canadian government will instead use the land to expand Rouge Urban National Park.

Rouge National Urban Park will grow by thousands of hectares, preserving part of a wildlife corridor connecting Lake Ontario to protected land northeast of Toronto.

The expansion news came in twin announcements from the federal government Monday as Transport Canada abandons a plan to build an airport next to the park in Pickering, Ont., east of Toronto. For the last 50 years, Canada has planned to construct the airport on an expanse of agricultural land and green space known as the Pickering Lands — now, most of it will be transferred to Parks Canada instead.

Adding most of the land to the park is a win for conservationists, Indigenous leaders and farmers who have been pushing for decades for the Pickering airport plan to be cancelled. It also guarantees protection for a huge slice of green space in a region that’s also been sought for urban development. 

Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation Chief Kelly LaRocca — whose community is one of 10 in Rouge’s Indigenous advisory circle and has long opposed the Pickering airport — said she hopes the move marks the start of a better path forward. That could include co-management of the land and a First Nation Guardians program, she said in a press release, adding that her nation has asked Parks Canada to work with First Nations to develop a harvesting agreement for the park.

“The region’s natural and agricultural lands are disappearing at an alarming rate,” she said. “This land is a precious resource that can never be replaced.” ...

As Transport Canada left the plan in limbo for decades, the Pickering Lands have remained undeveloped, a rare pocket of biodiversity close to Toronto. The majority of the land is now within Ontario’s Greenbelt, which the province created in 2005...

Up until now, Transport Canada held onto about 3,500 hectares in case it needed to build the Pickering airport. But its choice to axe the airport plan entirely means the majority of that land  — including the areas with the highest conservation value — will now be transferred to Parks Canada. The federal government’s intent is for the land to be added to Rouge National Urban Park, pending consultation with Indigenous communities...

The Pickering Lands are part of the last intact wildlife corridor between Lake Ontario and the Oak Ridges Moraine, a protected rocky ridge to the north that’s also part of the Greenbelt. The corridor allows wildlife — including species at risk — to move between habitats, giving them a stronger chance of survival. The lands are directly beside the existing Rouge National Urban Park, and connected to another part of the Greenbelt to the south known as the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve."

-via The Narwhal, January 27, 2025