#we are on row 12 out of. 30 ??????????. and boy

[altruistic-meme]

welcome once again to me making incredibly specific memes to send to my mother

today's is brought to you by she warned me of this when i told her i was going to make a big granny square blanket

[ktsphere]

I was at the studio record for tonight's taskmaster episode, so full debrief below the readmore! (Spoilers for TM S18E5)

[Some things may be paraphrased as I wrote it all down immediately after the episode record.]

ARRIVAL AND SEATING

We got to the studio at about 10:15am, there were approx 10 people there already

The staff didn't turn up till 10:30 so we made our own queue

Staff moved our queue and told everyone with cars in the visitor carpark to move them, they join the queue in their cars while people on foot queued in the rain

Lots of waiting around, then the queue was moved, then a quick security check, then wristbands and more waiting around. There were not enough toilets. There were snacks and drinks available to buy but no "real" food.

We started moving again at 12:45.

The first 22 people got orange wrist bands and we were put in the gallery! (11 on each side)

The gallery itself is only as deep as the chairs, it's very much only decorated on the sides that the camera can see.

The decoration behind us was plasticy and painted gold, kind of like paper plate material.

The wall was painted with the same pattern as the sides, but super small, gold on red, but looked less neat than the big stuff which is more visible on camera.

Underneath us was bare wood and we were in a metal frame.

My friend went to the loo and said Greg and Alex's seats arrived on the back of a trailer and stopped at the zebra crossing for her.

The studio was much smaller than I expected, 5 or so rows of seats in the front section, literally within arms reach of the seat 1 contestant. This looked like it was all people with a red wristband, who were 2nd after orange.

The back section was bigger, I'd say maybe 8 rows deep? And wider.

There was some reshuffling of seats near the end, some people who were right at the back were put in the front row at the last minute (probably some priority people didn't turn up?)

I don't think anyone's view was obstructed by cameras, but the left gallery couldn't see the contestants' faces, while the right gallery (including me) couldn't see Greg & Alex's faces.

(I did see Alex's shoulders sort of hunch every time he got the giggles though which was incredibly cute)

INTRO

Mark the warm up man got people shouting out & making noise (he comes back at every ad break, and every set change break)(some of the breaks he asked if we had any questions about the filming of TM and answered them to the best of his ability)(one time we played audience tinder, which is like audience guess who but based on 1 single person's romantic requirements (man, single, over 23, under 30. This got everyone out, and mark announced that was why she was still single.)

Mark brought Greg on

Someone shouted happy birthday

Greg: it's not today, it was on the 14th. I'm 55. Today it's ............................... It was.................

Someone in the Audience: it was on Tuesday!

[Note today is thursday]

Greg: At a certain age you stop counting birthdays. I woke up and realised I was closer to 60 than 50, And genuinely the first thing I said when I woke up, alone in my bedroom, was "blink"

Greg brought Alex on

Alex: I have some bad news

Greg: oh no

Alex: you're actually 56

Greg: oh what did I say?

Alex: 55

Greg: oh I was in a good mood and you've put me in a bad mood now

Greg asked the audience for help with Alex's improv

Alex was told to come up with a Pop song about corn

This was misheard by Greg as porn

They decided on corny porn

Greg gives Alex a beat

Alex [singing]: Sometimes a man gets lonely

*Greg and audience piss themselves, Alex breaks*

Greg: I thought I'd give you some time there to come up with a rhyme for lonely

Alex: oh I'm going for an ABCB rhyming scheme

[Slightly paraphrased in places because I'm not perfect]

[Greg beat starts up again]

Alex, Singing:

Sometimes a man gets lonely

And that man is Alex Horne

all his friends are out for the evening

So he opens his corny porn

[verse 2]

*Something about Cracker jokes*

*something about a boy and a girl*

*[I forgot this line]*

And then they have full sex.

(((If anyone was there and remembers these lines I will happily make edits)))

Greg: I thought you were going to shy away from the sex

Alex: oh, no, didn't shy away

Greg: they have legitimate sex

Alex: well they do love each other, so it's legitimate sex

Alex: But it wasn't being filmed

Alex: It was actually behind a closed door

Greg: so it wasn't porn at all

Contestants are introduced to the audience by greg before they all sit down

Andy zaltzman is wearing a snooker outfit, with cue and chalk. He is told (by Greg, who was told by the greenroom) to put the cue over his left shoulder so the cameras can see him. He says the producer told him to wear it over his right just before the show. Greg relays this to the greenroom, and then says [to greenroom] "bit harsh", and [to Andy] "he called you a lying cunt"

Babatunde aleshe

Emma sidi

Jack Dee

Rosie jones

The Makeup team come on, there's some admin stuff (fire safety etc)

Then it starts properly, they play the introduction on the big screen

Greg: A man who told me fire fighters are the ¿Least ?? ? Of all the emergency services.

Alex: I was most scared if this one because if my house burns down...

Greg: Well you should stop telling me these things

BANTER SECTION

Alex: The group chat is popping off

The taskmaster WhatsApp, we've had some questions

Alex: Question from Brian. Actually, a lot of people asked this. Are Greg and Alex twins?

Alex: Someone else asked if I was ok

Greg: yes I always wonder that

Alex: I had an ECG and felt better

Alex: an EGG

Alex: I had an egg.

Greg: *Groans*

Greg: You do it on purpose. I was in a good mood. You've put me in a foul mood. Is that really all you've prepared? Someone thinks we're twins, and you've had an egg.

PRIZE TASK

Thing that's best when you add water

Baba, trying to defend jelly to greg: "You know when your mums just like-"

Greg: "sorry I'm going to stop you there, it sounded like you called my mum a slag

*General confusion*

[They Continue]

Baba: you know when your mums a slag

*Everyone in the audience heard it this time*

Baba confused, everyone else pissing themselves

*Repeat multiple times, everyone getting more and more hysterical*

Baba: you know when Your Mum *Says*...

Greg, holding his ear piece: How likely is it the slag comments are going to be left in? The gallery says 100%.

TASK 1: Alex is a robot, direct to charging port, gibe an instruction every 10 seconds, robot wont follow instructions with o or e

Emma makes sexual moans when she sees the robot

Greg replays VT multiple times, she calls it "Platonic arousal"

Long discussion about mascots and those tall wobbly dancing tubes, and Mr blobby

Emma loves them all but they have to move

Greg brings up a butcher mascot which was a pig cutting parts of itself off, but it doesn't move so Emma isn't interested. If it moved she'd like it

Andy: Coming from a Jewish background, would the pig cutting parts of itself off be kosher?

Emma: no! [Pause for laughter/apology/embarrassment] sorry, no because pork isn't kosher. It's the trotters.

Someone: if the pig cuts its own trotters off then maybe it could be kosher

Greg: snip snip snip, out it goes

[There's a submarine in the garden?!!]

Emma, during task: walk lady

Emma, in studio: I changed it to walk by lady, I realised I could say by

Greg: Bisexual lady?

Emma: I'm not assuming the sexuality of the robot

Lots of "I mean him, not me" from Alex when talking about the robot

Rosie points out she got a lap dance from the robot

Emma: "Oh robot - we've found it!" (Or similar)

Greg takes the piss multiple times throughout the ep

TASK 2: make the strongest smell and put it in this jar. *Jar is sealed for 3-4 months until the studio record*

Rosie's sounds very very ominous, everyone is scared

On the back of the task it says anyone who is unwilling to smell their own jar gets 0 points

They talk about how that's definitely backfired on Rosie

Rosie: I'm actually quite excited, I want to smell it

Greg makes Alex read something out

Alex: oh, strange, this one is handwritten. Alex also has to smell the jars or Greg will kick him in the gooch

Emma pretends hers smells super strong, Greg describes it as mild

Baba: marmite and coffee, makes his eyes bulge

Rosie's is hugely disappointing. She repeats how disappointed she is. Greg doesn't believe her until he smells it and says he is also disappointed.

Andy's makes all the contestants gag (sardines, vinegar, huge mix of random crap, detergent, soap,)

Alex: I was surprised you went with things that remove stubborn smells

*The smells waft up to the balcony and to some of the front row. *

Jack's makes Greg lightheaded and have to pause for a bit (air freshener)

Later, in one of the breaks:

Audience member: why didn't Alex smell the smells?

Audience ooh and mutter

Mark: very good question

[Alex did not then smell the smells :( ]

TASK 3: Present a heartwarming local news story

[Team task!]

Rosie and Jack

Andy, Emma and Baba

The intro to this gets played again because they did some smelly pickups while the table was still out, and then packed it up again, and by that time everyone had forgotten what the task was.

Greg says Andy looks younger as Isabella the old lady than as himself

*Greg talks shit about both their attempts*

Greg says he thinks they both did really well

Alex: *do* you think that? It didn't sound like that

Greg says Emma could genuinely be a newsreader (Emma: middle class), then there was a whole section where Rosie and Greg talk about how alluring/hot Fiona Bruce is

STUDIO TASK: catapult parachute target

During set up we could see Alex on the side of the stage waiting for everything to be ready, we waved at him from the balcony and he waved back with confused but happy smile

The edge of the target was literally 50cm away from the front row. Front section were warned to 'watch out'

Mark: I wasn't sure I was allowed to mention it being a catapult

*Shadow of a catapult clearly visible through the screen*

Baba tried to shoot one really flat and it flew straight into the audience (3rd row!)

He immediately sat on the losers bench before the others had even gone

Emma's doesn't unfurl and goes 2nd row of the audience

Rosie Vs jack at the end: Rosie playing up the cerebral palsy deliberately to put jack off, stuff like "you wouldn't beat a disabled girl", and "I have cerebral palsy", "I didn't breathe for 17 minutes"

Jack really struggled to get his last shot because he was bent over laughing

It looked like a draw, Greg had to adjudicate

When he called a win for jack, Rosie pretended she was really struggling to walk over to the losers bench

After they'd all been:

Alex: I'm really glad they all flew. In the rehearsals we had loads of crap goes

Greg: How do you feel jack?

Jack: Guilty

Greg: And how do you feel Rosie?

Rosie: *Big fake sad face (which kept breaking)* "...*tiny broken voice* sad :( " *Followed by instant giggles*

TIE BREAK: how many days old will Alex be on Christmas day 2024? Have to be looking into his eyes the whole time

Emma Vs jack, Emma got very close, jack just gave up. Rosie actually got the closest (within 70? Days)

END:

And we've learned that my mum's a slag

We were told it was the first time ever all 5 contestants have won the first 5 episodes

*Contestants leave*

Man with crutches in audience [to rosie]: before this I thought you were so sweet (ominous pause) but now I think you're *wonderful* [Rosie hugged him!]

Greg: we all thought you were going to say something horrible. I was getting ready to put Alex between us

PICKUPS

Greg and Alex do lots of repeats for previous fuck ups and make lots more fuck ups.

*Talking to empty chairs*

Greg keeps apologising for how long it's all taking

Greg: we all want to go home

Greg: We're going to do a physical bit and you're going to absolutely love it. You'll know it when you see it.

*At the end of one of the pickups they both turn in their chairs and look at the blank screen. Audience love it*

Greg gets told by the gallery to repeat ¿papas meat?

Greg:shall I do it sexier? How much sex do you want? 8/10 sex?

Alex: you sound like Rachel

*They do a massive exaggerated turn to the screen*

Greg: I overcooked that one

They repeat the shakespeare bit 2 or 3 times. Greg says every time he's asked to do it again he'll ham it up more.

Alex: I'm really hungry, are you really hungry?

They did some extra "taskmaster the live experience" advertisment filming

Greg notices a really big man in the audience and asks him how tall he is (6'5") and then gets very distracted by his "brethren" and repeatedly flubs his lines

Greg: What are you doing?

Greg: Look at me you grubby little ferret

[This was repeated about 5 times because Greg kept fucking up, and then when he got through it Alex immediately fucked up the next line]

Greg said we were the best audience so far (he also said he wasnt lying or exaggerating. If anyone else has been to one, does he say this to evey audience?)

Got let out at 5pm

[Extra things that I can't remember when they happened]

Alex: When we watch telly together

Greg: ... Because we are actually lovers *puts hand on alex*

Greg: Or so some corners of the internet would have you believe

During breaks, makeup people come in and remove the lint from Greg and Alex's jackets, Alex gets a sticky roller, Greg gets a little brush

They dab Greg's head as well

Greg: I like making people on the internet angry

Overall a delightful day out, 10/10 experience, would recommend!

[houpss]

REST

🧊–return to masterlist ¡! ✥

"Good day, this is JYP ENTERTAINMENT. 26.12.2021 Lily Hwang of Stray Kids is taking a rest due to worsening panic attacks and anxiety disorder, which is why her activities are suspended for a while. All of Stray kids' next events, comebacks and promotions will be released without her participation until she is fully recovered! We ask fans for understanding and all possible support, she asked you not to worry about her.JYPE will consider the artist's health a top priority and will do everything possible to support Lily's speedy recovery."

Then this statement from the Company shocked everyone and everyone was very upset by this development of events. Hundreds of thousands of letters of support were written to Lily in the bubble, they never forgot about her and encouraged her. MANIAC's comeback came out without her participation, but the students were so upset because Lily was in the teaser and in the video, but she was not in the promo or other songs.Lily appeared for the first time since her return to the bubble in May (01.05.2022), writing two messages:

[🐻]::Y/n!! hi, I feel much better. did you hear that the boys will have a world tour?:) Please visit it! I promise you'll like it (06:19 a.m)

[🐻]::I miss you and the boys, pain makes us stronger (08:32 a.m)

○○○

On the first day of the STRAY KIDS world tour in Seoul, Lily came to the concert with Mingi and Tenshi (she was the only one who was very scared), sitting in the front rows and she was shown on the big screen at the end of the concert, the boys burst into tears and were very happy to see her because they didn't know about her arrival at the concert, Lily also cried, and then she was allowed to go up on stage and they all stood there together and cried,they hugged so much:((( I can say that it was a difficult concert without Lily and the first concert after the pandemic, the boys were very upset and happy to see Stay again, but so tearful because of Lily. (this moment went viral everywhere), (date 05.05.2022)

On July 31, 2022, the video and song TIME OUT were released, with the release of which Lily left the rest, and the students were in great shock and also cried when they saw Lily in the video and heard her voice, everyone was incredibly happy about it. Then Lily wrote in the bubble:

[🐻]::Next to Y/n I am stronger, I promise to work and work and make my baby Y/n happy (11:02 p.m)

[🐻]::War is over (reference to the song) (11:07 p.m)

[🐻]::Oh...do you want for me to stay with you? (11:10 p.m)

[🐻]::During these seven months my life has become better! all thanks to Y/n's support~ (11:12 p.m)

[🐻]:: I missed you too, baby! let's continue to work harder so that we move forward together (11:15 p.m)

[🐻]:: I traveled a lot and went to a psychotherapist, so I felt better... (11:18 p.m)

[🐻]:: My close friends and boys helped me a lot (11:27 p.m)

[🐻]:: I don’t regret that the MANIAC comeback was without me! so Y/n saw the boys' talents to the fullest (11:28 p.m)

[🐻]:: Should I live onair tomorrow??

[🐻]:: I'll carry it out! and we'll have fun! (11:30 p.m)

[🐻]:: And now I'm going to bed! soft dreams, baby 🩷 (11:35 p.m)

Lily suffered all these seven months, she was terribly ill. She did not leave the room, did not eat, and did not communicate with anyone. Even SKZ couldn’t get her out of this state, not to mention Lily’s friends. Then Donghyun arrived from New York and, together with Kiri and Tenshi, began working on Lily’s condition. They organized a tour for her to different countries: Italy, France, Canada, Greece, UAE, Japan, Great Britain, and she also visited the Maldives. Lily even thought about committing suicide if it weren’t for Seungmin, who saw the prerequisites in time and sent Lily along with Chan to a psychotherapist (Lily refused to go alone). She wanted to quit K-pop completely, but her close people stopped her. What about Lily's parents? They didn’t know about it, or rather, Lily’s mother knew and quietly sent her money for treatment, but her father simply didn’t care. he abandoned his daughter back in 2017.

I can say that everyone handled Lily's rest differently, but it was hard. I think Felix and Jongin were the most depressed,Changbin hid his fears within himself , Minho became more irritable and Jisung was anxious without Lily...what about Chan and Hyunjin? They saw Lily most at this time, perhaps she only let them in and sometimes Felix, she didn’t want to see others. Seungmin observed the situation from afar and he was the one who helped her the most, but is not visible.

[gojocumdumpster]

"My name is Baki..Baki Hanma”

(Beep..Beep…Beep..)

Y/n groans as the bright sun shines through the window into her eyes. She rub her eyes as she squints from the sun. “What time is it?!” You reach over to your night stand and look at your alarm clock. “TODAY IS THE TOURNAMENT! (….10:00AM…)I never been there before. I’m sure it starts at 11:30AM..I wonder what’s the hype about?”. You yank the covers off and head to the bathroom to take a shower. (..10:30..) I step out the glass shower into a steamy bathroom. I walk out the bathroom into my walk in closet. “Hmmm..what to wear?” I thought to myself. You pull out some Cargo denim shorts and a red crop (Or what you prefer)…..(…10:37…) I put my outfit on and head back to the bathroom to do my routine and makeup. (..10:45..) You walk out the room and head to your nightstand and grab your phone and bag/purse. I walk out the room and head to kitchen and look at the time on my phone. “Snap! I need to hurry up. I bet there’s traffic” I assumed. I grabbed a protein bar from the pantry and ran out of my apartment room and locked the door. ...(10:55...). You managed to jog to your car and get on the rode. (..11:10..) You turned into the tournaments parking lot. “Thank god I payed my parking ticket through the app” You went through the line for the people who payed through the app. There was about 6 people in front of me. (..11:20) I finally made it to my seat which was the front row but I was high up, so it was a good view from down there. (...12:50..) Roars and chants echo through the crowd. As the last match was about to begin. Soon a short 5’6 reddish-brownish curly head boy with scars came out and another unknown fighter. I heard girls around me talk about how hot and cute he was. But I didn’t think of anything about it. The match begun with just a few kicks and punches the unknown fighter was out cold. I was shocked. As the red curly head fighter walked backed to leave, he looked up at the crowed and saw me. He paused for a second and continued to walk. Soon he had disappeared. I had a confused face. “Why did he look at me and stop?" I thought to myself. As people got up and started to leave, i got lost and wondered to the back. “Where am I? This doesn’t look like entrance from where I came in?” You walk through the hallway that seemed never ending. Along the way you saw injured fighters. Some walking passed you smirking at you. "Disgusting" I rolled my eyes and kept walking. Soon I saw a familiar reddish-brownish curly head boy walking towards me. "I think he knows where the exit is at." I thought to myself. He looks at me with wide eyes. We make eye contact for a few seconds. "Uhm...can you help me find the exit please?" I look at him. "Oh, yea sure" he says scratching the back of his head. As we walked awkwardly through the hallways there was a hint of sweat coming from him, but I didn't mind. "Uh are you coming to the next tournament?" He says. "Yea I never been to one of these before in person so this was fun." I say with a smile on my face looking at him." "I'm glad you liked it." He says smiling back at me. As we reached the exit. I wanted to ask him one more question. "My name is Y/n L/n by the way" I told him. “That's a lovely name" He says blushing. I smiled and looked away. "My name is Baki..Baki Hanma." He says. I said my goodbyes and headed to my car. I started the car and thought. "So your name is Baki..Baki hanma." I said to myself. I started the car and drove off.

I HOPED YOU GUYS LIKED IT LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT A PART 2 ALSO SEND REQUEST PLEASE!! (THIS IS MY FIRST STORY SO DONT HATE MEEE)

[noxturnalnymph]

Life Update

It feels to be like I've been pretty absent on here and that bums me out. I had to step back a little for my mental health because the negativity in this fandom does affect me. But stepping back also bums me out because this site can be SO fun when I'm interacting with my moots and making new moots and all of us are squealing about new pics of our boyfriend together.

That being said - the MAJOR reason I have been absent in the past 2 weeks is because of travel. And oh boy.... is this a whopper of a story. So, if you're interested in a tale of insanity, read below the cut.

[TL;DR] I'm back (not that I went anywhere)

sorry I couldn't resist TUWOMT reference, I actually went a lot of places and some of them were good and some were terrible but I really am back now. (Also, I posted this at 2am apparently but did not mean to do that then, so I am reposting now)

So first of all, I was in my hometown in upstate NY last week visiting my family because we are planning to move to the West Coast after our lease is up here so we wanted to visit again before we moved across the country. I live in Florida and we drove 2 days - with our cat in tow - (because my anxiety is so bad it makes it impossible for me to step on an airplane). While I was home I took the train with my bff to Manhattan for 3 days and we hung out there, didn't get to meet Pedro Pascal even once, and took the train back to my hometown. My husband and I drove the 2 days back home and got back Sunday night. It was exhausting and I was only home for like 38 hours and then Tuesday at 1pm I began my next trip. Started with an 18 hour bus ride from Orlando to Lafayette, Louisiana to get a train from Lafayette to Los Angeles, CA. I was planning on being there 12 days before getting the train back to Lafayette and then a bus back to Orlando.

So as I've said I have a terrible fear of flying and I am also the owner of a very bad back (and since my husband and I share a car) I didn’t want to do all that driving alone (dangerous/stressful and bad back) and couldn’t fly cuz of my mental illness. So this is by no means meant to be offensive, but I’m apparently too much of a babygirl to be a bus person. I did not know this. I thought I was tough. Nope. 2.5 hours in on the bus ride and I’ve been listening to this man 2 rows in front of me play instagram reels on his phone the whole time even though the driver said 5 times (FIVE TIMES) to wear headphones….. Well the driver gets sick of it, pulls over at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and tells the guy to leave. He won't so the cops are called. The cops show up and he finally gets off the bus after a 30 min delay. I’m like….. WHAT THE FUCK? IS IT ALWAYS LIKE THIS??? I didn't know if this man was gonna get mad and start swinging on the bus driver or the cops..... it was scary.

The first station I was at in Orlando I almost threw up cuz I was so nervous. Before I got on the bus I went to pee and to wash my hands and there wasn’t any fucking soap in the bathroom. I thought that was bad. AND YET SOMEHOW.... every subsequent stop was somehow worse. Literally, I kept saying to myself “this can’t get any worse” ....and it kept getting worse. These are the sketchiest, dirtiest fucking places you can imagine. I was staring at this toothless old white dude behind the counter at one of their convenience stores and thought to myself “this has got to be a movie set cuz this can’t be real.” Kind of waiting for someone to jump out and say "PSYCH this is all a joke. I know the floors here look like they were mopped with literal dirt, and everyone looks angry or drugged out, but this is all fake. It's all a joke meant to make you lose your mind." But that didn't happen. I've just never experienced anything like it. I’ve never seen anything so disgusting in my life. The 2nd to last stop only had doors on 2 of the 7 bathroom stalls. One of the stations had a TV on that just played old reruns of a Jaime Fox show while every child in the building cried and coughed at alternating intervals. Yes, this was 3am, and they made three busses full of people cram into a station with not enough seats and wait around for an hour... This is not a joke. 

I felt so fucking unsafe the whole time but I had to get off the bus at the stops and walk around (cuz they made you) but also cuz I was VIOLENTLY motion sick the whole fucking ride on the bus. Like clutching a barf bag with a pounding head and miserable. Also on the bus almost everyone else had two seats to themselves and I had a seat partner the entire time, but it kept changing. First it was a girl and then a kid and they were cool but then it was cigarette smelling guy and then guy who literally wouldn’t stop accidentally touching me, including putting his elbow in my back multiple times (I have fucking herniated discs so this did NOT feel good). 

And when I tell you that my back hurt, i mean i couldn’t spread out or anything cuz someone was fucking next to me the whole time so my back was on fire. I was in so much pain I cried 3 separate times. So I couldn’t sleep cuz people kept talking and I was in pain and the ride was rough and guy kept touching me. And I just kept telling myself, ok countdown cuz you’re almost there you're almost there. And by now I told myself - this final stop - the bus/train station in Lafayette - is not going to be clean but it’s okay, because you’re going to be off the bus and it’s going to be okay.

WRONG....

When I tell you that they pulled up to a dark parking lot at 4:50am next to a building with gates drawn down over the doors and dropped me off - I was in fucking shock. “Is this building closed?”  i shouted at the bus driver. “yeah,” he says, getting back on the bus.  “Ummmm, where do i go?” I’m fucking starting to panic. “You can go sit on the platform till they open in a few hours.”  and he’s gone. 

I’m alone in the dark with my luggage at the fucking bus station in downtown Lafayette. 

Oh except I’m not alone because there are 3 men milling about, one of them keeps asking me my name, two of them ride bikes past me back and forth. I go to sit on the platform and this alarm goes off and this voice comes over the loudspeaker shouting  “THERE IS NO LOITERING ALLOWED HERE. PLEASE LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.” and repeats non-stop.  One of the guys goes “why is it doing that? Is it gonna call the police?” HOW THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW?? I FUCKING WISH IT WOULD MY DUDE, ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I tell him my name to be nice and he keeps telling me i should come sit with him and this other guy cuz it’s “safer” and I’m like….   IS IT THO?!?!?!?  and he keeps saying “youve never been here? Do you wanna go see downtown? It’s a short walk, i’ll help you roll your suitcase.”   BRO WE’RE NOT GOING COURTING IT’S FUCKING FIVE IN THE MORNING. This man wants to go on a fucking stroll with me and I am just envisioning what my Forensic Files episode is gonna be like and hoping the re-enactment actor they get to play me isn't too ugly.

I’m desperately trying to call a lyft to take me literally anywhere else, and no one is accepting my ride request. FINALLY someone accepts, and after 45 minutes of sitting in the dark, trembling out of fear and cold in only a tshirt with my bags hunched around me, I get my ride. The lyft driver takes me to a Hilton hotel by the airport. I walk in, and I’m mid panic attack and crying and tell the employees there at 6am my story and ask if I can pay for a room so I have somewhere safe to hang out. They refuse to make me pay and offer me the lobby (lots of outlets and large, plush couches) for as long as I need it and tell me to help myself to the hot breakfast and coffee. Fucking Angels.

Does it stop there? No it doesn’t. Cuz I still have to go back to the train station for my train to California, which leaves at 12:30pm. So I spend HOURS in the hotel lobby, chilling and eating and it’s nice and I feel safe. I schedule a lyft to pick me up at 11:15 so I can get back to the train station with an hour before I’m scheduled to depart.

BUT OH WAIT.

10:45am I get a text that my train has been canceled. CANCELED.... Apparently, there are storms affecting the route, so my train will not be running between New Orleans and San Antonio, TX (I’m 2 stops after NO). But they will provide me BUS ACCOMMODATIONS to get me to San Antonio so I can continue my journey there.

Wrong word, my dude. BUS??? I’m fucking triggered. I start bawling like an insane person. The girls who let me stay in the lobby at this point are probably like “oh shit we thought she was normal but she’s crazy.” I call my husband, I call my mom, I call a couple friends. I’m a fucking mess. I just want to go home at this point but I’m still a 12 hour drive away (with no car of course) and OH YEAH I haven’t fucking slept!

So first thing’s first - I ask the hotel for a room and they feel terrible for me (cuz i’m a crying sniveling mess) and give me a discount on a suite and let me check in right away. I call Amtrak and cancel my train, sobbing on the phone with them (and it’s a man so he’s very awkward about it) but they give me a FULL refund. I most likely won’t get refunded at all for the VRBO rental I got for Los Angeles though. I got to the room and booked a rental car for the next day from the airport that I was like right next to, and so the plan was to sleep there overnight and get a lyft to the airport and drive back towards home the next day. 

My husband offered to take off work and drive to meet me at an airport along the watly so I wouldn't have to drive the whole 12 hours with my terrible back.  I ended up getting a Malibu which was such a nice ride and it had a lumbar support in the seat and my back felt FUCKING GREAT. I met up with my husband at our planned location and we drove home. Between the time change, massive rain storms, and construction traffic, we didn't get home till 10:30 but I fucking made it home. (Because of course with all my bad luck I was terrified that I was going to die on the way home.)

BUT IM HOME SAFE IF NOT A LITTLE WORSE FOR WEAR (mentally and physically exhausted). I will make a post later today with my plans for my writing updates. I have a new WIP I want to share and I know some of you are waiting on my current series as well.

TY always for your love and support ✌️💖🫂

[paperboy-pb]

"A Very Special Day" [Life Story]

[TW for: ableism against kids, internalized ableism, and mentions of suicidal ideation.]

9 years ago today, in the state of New York on September 5th, was my second day of 6th grade. Being a Special Ed kid, I was upset; my school, a K-8 that I had been with since the start and stayed with until the end, had always treated us so differently. And the world around me had promised that things would change once middle school began. But they hadn't. In fact, barely anything was new at all.

Same old baby talk from adults who saw me every day, but willfully ignored how big I had grown.

Same old bullying from my peers, disabled children who spent their days as pots calling kettles black, because no one had any intentions of teaching us better.

Same Adapted Phys Ed, getting ready to interrupt my morning reading every Monday, Wednesday, Friday; even though they'd promised to let me play in Gym with the rest of my class years ago by now.

Same old kids from the neighborhood filling up the rest of my grade, coming in smiling and laughing and oh so free in their new groups of 30. 30-something of them. 12 of us.

They'd even gotten some new kids from the K-5s around town. All of which seemed really nice. Man. Lucky them. Meanwhile, everything was so same-y that I'd considered running away from the school bus when it pulled up.

September 5th, 2014. Still kinda hot in Brooklyn. Sunny out there.

The day had gone bad. My classmates were talking FNAF, and being mean about things I don't remember. They flicked food at me during lunch while I tried to read and mind my own business. We weren't allowed to change seats, even though the rest of our grade got that privilege. It was supposed to be for all of us middle schoolers, but when I'd asked the day before, our lunch aide had no idea what I was on about. She suddenly insisted it was never a thing! While the rest of our grade was splitting into cliques behind her back, paying us no mind, knowing they'd somehow earned it and we didn't.

10-year-old me couldn't wait to go home.

By the end of the day, I was drained like no other. Head down on the desk and all. I was thinking, 2:20-something. Just a few more minutes.

God, why are things like this? Is it gonna get better later this year? I hope so, it's only the second day. Maybe it just starts bad!

Man, I miss summer already. I wish I spent today home all day eating onion ring chips again and playing Animal Crossi--

"Alright guys, listen up!" Said Mrs. Z, who would pretty much be our only teacher this year. (Meanwhile, everyone else got to have different people for different subjects.)

I don't remember her exact words. But she held up a white booklet with a bunch of kids holding hands and awkwardly smiling at us from the mostly-white cover. She said something about it being very important. And she ended her little stanza with, and I quote, "DON'T read these, alright? It's for your parents."

I think that one line changed the trajectory of my life.

As our para handed them out, my bookworm ass couldn't help but furrow my little brows. I'd had teachers assume certain books were "too hard" for me when they weren't, and get upset at me whenever I summarized the plot of them correctly. I'd had teachers tell me not to read other books during class, which was fair enough, I guess. But a teacher telling me not to read something at ALL?

Now THAT'S a new one...

It felt plasticy, not like paper. It's a packet, not a book. Six kids in a row, but none look like me, as usual. The cover said, "Family Guide To Special Education Services for School-Age Children. A Shared Path to Success." ...I don't think a title should be that long. Why not parentheses that end bit?

After that, we were dismissed. Me & some peers headed into the hallway down to the first floor to wait for our bus, and we chatted about it a little bit?

One was like, "Is this a report card or something?"

Another was like, "I guess?"

The first boy skimmed it, though, and saw nothing about him. Which eased his nerves.

A third asked me what I thought it was since I was the only kid who'd hit a Z-reading level. They figured I could make sense of it. And my first thought was boring adult stuff, or some sort of... after-school? Program? Thing? But I didn't really answer. I was too preoccupied with what Mrs. Z said.

What kind of teacher tells me not to read something? Give it to my parents is one thing, but specifically, "don't" read this? Dude! What doesn't she want me to see?

Everyone else had tossed the damn thing into their bookbags and zipped 'em up by now. We headed downstairs, and I couldn't help but notice that our 6th grade class was on the third floor; with a lot of grades 2-4 around us.

Meanwhile, the rest of the big middle school classes came down from higher up. It turns out that they all had their classes high up on the top floor. A bunch of bright minds floated down from above like they were that summer's fireflies, and we were the tips of night grass. Or maybe even worms, burrowing into the dirt and calling it a day.

...

By the time the bus was moving, I still had the packet in my hands. I was wondering why they all got to be up there and we didn't. We lived pretty close to Coney Island, after all: it must be cool seeing the parachute jump from the hallway window on your way down every day.

I barely had time to stuff the packet in my hands once we pulled up to my apartment.

If you've ever wondered what Kid Jonah was like, imagine some sort of hybrid between a miserable little nerd & the most optimistic goody-goody you've ever met. Like, yeah, I'd been in a few fights by this point, broken some rules behind their backs, but I was also... 10. And known for being "THE good kid" in front of teachers. I didn't like to defy them, you know? Even if they did always make me feel weird, or on-edge, or like I was a part of something bad.

So when I made a beeline for my room, I was like, Oh my God, I'm actually gonna do this...? And I didn't tell my parents a thing. I've kept the packet all this time and they STILL haven't read it!

But I did. I think I hesitated, but I remember opening it on my bed.

"Welcome.

Dear families, we've come a long way since our special education reform initiative, A Shared Path to Success, was launched citywide in 2012... we've also been changing hearts and minds as our core belief- that special education is a service, and not a place- has taken hold in our schools...

Section 1... Children learn at different speeds and in different ways. Some children have physical and/or intellectual disabili..."

WHAT?!

...

It was a really dense packet for a kid. Long, boring, seemed endless. But I understood the words. Especially that D one. And at the time, 10-year-old me knew it was a bad one.

I'd crossed the point of no return by then. I kept reading. And I didn't dare skip a word. "Intervention," "Special," "Disability," "Meeting," "Evaluation," "Eligibility," "IEP,"-- Hey, I know that word! IEPs are the dense things stapled to my report cards!

I remember the anger flaring in my heart, out my nose, widening my eyes once I got to the Eligibility bit. I thought, and I quote, "THEY THINK WE'RE DISABLED?!" I don't think words can articulate how insulted little 10-year-old me was!

...I don't think I can articulate how sad that is now, either. How do you instill such heavy ableism into a little boy like that? How do you live with yourself?

But I couldn't throw the book at the wall or take one of my mom's lighters to it like I initially wanted. Because I realized pretty quickly... Oh my God. This is it. These are THE ANSWERS! THIS IS WHY IT'S ALL HAPPENING!

I couldn't believe my eyes as I took it all in. The 13 disabilities that landed me and my friends in this mess, some of which matched up with certain kids I knew right away. But what really caught my attention were the services. Terms that I KNEW about. Things I engaged with. Things I... hated.

"Occupational Therapy." That nice older lady who takes me out of class every few days so I can play memory games, or play with this hand-gripper, or yank pegs outta this bright green putty.

"Paraprofessional Services"; those weird second-teachers that annoy us and only us, but never anyone else in the other classes. They're so stuck-up sometimes! And they never really seem to know how to leave us alone. Especially certain kids.

The stories I could tell about them all now... good fucking lord.

Physical Therapy; That's the one where the lady is always making me feel bad about things and do sit-ups or run drills in the hallway and stairwell... and do embarrassing stretches like people aren't walking by.

And she got upset with me because I brought a lunchbox every day for years; she told me, "You'll never be a big kid if you keep bringing food from home, Jonah!"

And I told her, "But my mom doesn't even make the sandwiches anymore! I make them for myself!"

And she was like, "But still!"

She also measures her footstep, saying it was a foot of distance. Like, 12 inches. But nuh-uh, it was never a foot! Her sneakers aren't that big. Rulers are longer. Why didn't she just get a measuring tape? What's this lady's problem?

The one that sunk my heart, though, was Adapted Phys Ed. The packet said it was "A specially designed program of developmental activities, games, sports, and rhythms suited to the interests, capabilities, and limitations of individual children who may now safely or successfully participate in the activities of a regular physical education program."

And I thought: ...That's the watered-down gym class I do three times a week.

The one where we do "challenges" like stepping into each hole of an agility ladder mat and doing a squat before moving to the next.

The one where we never play sports like everybody else gets to do.

The one that makes the gym teacher sit me out on the bleachers by myself, and watch literally everybody else I know have fun. And when I ask why, nobody tells me anything.

The one where I ask how I can improve in order to go play with everybody else, but nobody tells me anything.

The one where Mrs. D keeps promising me that I'll get to play with the rest of my class soon... but it never comes true.

This is why everybody acts so weird around us.

This is why we can't even talk to the rest of our grade.

This is why nothing ever changes...!

It all made sense. 10-year-old me couldn't feel the floor or the bed anymore. The back of my mind buzzed like shaken soda, fizzling against the back of my skull. I didn't cry. I didn't have tears. But I did sink down, down into the depths of I-don't-even-know-where.

I went time-traveling back to May of last school year, where a Special Ed kid the grade above me was saying to his classmate, "We're all just the kids nobody wants." But I didn't have context. Was this the context? He sounded like he was about to cry.

I went back to 4th grade when I headed into the bathroom and saw two kids from my grade walk by with papers promoting the talent show to everybody. I saw the text written on them clear as day! And I got excited; Our school's having a talent show? COOL! We must be getting those later today, too!

The papers never came.

I went back to 3rd grade, where paras would hover over our class during lunch, but nobody else's. They always stood tall above and between us, like they were a scarecrow keeping the birds of our grade away.

And there was so much. More. Than that.

...

I still wonder why Z didn't want me seeing that. Maybe she knew I would spiral or label myself. But at the same time... that's a learned behavior. Ableism is a hatred, and hatred is learned. From ADULTS. One that she and the rest of the school could at least try to curb if she noticed.

Z wasn't a bad lady. I think she was trying to protect me? But... we already knew we were being treated unfairly. Why would keeping this secret protect me?

The anger only lasted a little while. Because something else dawned on me.

I can't stay here.

This place had been upsetting me for YEARS. And now I knew that it was happening for a reason. A shitty one, but still... a reason. It's not just bad luck. And that it wasn't going to change unless I removed that reason from their minds.

I had to leave. Sound familiar?

The next day we had school? I was completely shaken up. Kinda surprised no one noticed. I was finally seeing just how deep this all went. The teachers smiling in my face, baby-talking, getting reallll close while having this sense of disgust in their eyes.

The staggering difference in numbers between "normal" classes and ours.

Our class locations.

I even found this board on the first floor that had a picture of every teacher and what they taught. Sure enough, "Special Education" was specified in the label for every teacher I'd ever had. I was even able to find the next teachers I'd have for Grades 7 & 8. And my blood went cold because I knew those two particular ladies were pretty mean.

My school was DEFINITELY failing that, "Special Ed is a service, not a place!" shit the state allegedly wanted to accomplish. It was a place. And I... was trapped.

And I couldn't stay trapped. Because as far as I knew, education was everything. I was a very academic little boy back then. And I didn't know what staying in a place like this could mean for my education later down the line.

I didn't want to find out.

I also didn't want my social life restricted like this. Especially since there weren't many kids who treated me well. I wanted freedom. I wanted independence. I wanted a chance to actually find real friends!

And this is sad, but... I was already very depressed by that age. Due to the nature of Special Ed at school. Had been since 8. And so... I made a plan in my bedroom the same night I found the packet:

I can't carry this environment with me into high school. I have to do anything-- EVERYTHING I can to get outta here by the time 8th grade starts! And if I fail... I can't finish 8th grade like that.

The Verrazzano Bridge and the walkway by the water, the one with the short fence that I can get right over, are only a fifteen minute walk from home. If I don't get out of Special Ed by 8th grade, then... I have to go out there and throw myself off. I have to kill myself. I have to...! Because I know for a fact I just can't. Stay. Here.

And I was serious. Dead-serious. Because I thought about it every day for the next 2 years straight.

...

That packet started it all for PB. And as sad as it is that I technically had to go behind adults' backs just to learn something about myself and where I was, I'm extremely glad it happened. Because it's also what kickstarted my interest in disability topics. My journey in learning who we were, what we were, and what we do & don't deserve.

It led to the first drafts of PB just under a year later, which set my life on a completely new path. Paperboy would not EXIST if it weren't for that day. Hell; I don't even know if my OTHER projects (like Weirder Than Usual) would, either!

That wasn't right. None of that was right. But it did give me a story to tell. One that you guys are finally starting to see!

And one that I'm very, very proud of.

Disability conversations are extremely important to me now. I don't think I'm the beacon of anti-ableism or anything like that. I know I've fucked up as I grew up, especially in my younger years. But this entire situation showed me how hush-hush the world likes to be about it. And while it's better now than it was in 2014, it ain't great yet.

And I think I owe it to 10-year-old Jonah to change that shit. Because when he googled "Special Ed makes me feel bad," he barely found anything.

It was definitely an experience I will never forget. And as you saw above, I still keep that packet with me to this day, and I always will, because of just how heavily it changed my life.

I have no idea where or who I'd be if it wasn't for that.

Happy 9th birthday, SpEd packet. Can't wait for the 10th!

[seventeenlovesthree]

Quick thoughts on the Digimon Adventure 25th anniversary PV

First things first: It got me incredibly teary. It was beautifully nostalgic while still giving it a fresh paint to some degree. I feel like this is what Butterfly could have been if Toei decided to merge Digimon with One Piece - because just like it's the case with OP openings, there are always so many things going on that it takes numerous rewatches to see what's going on. So let's break it down, shall we?

So the PV was an overall homage to some of Adventure's most famous/prominent scenes - but instead of re-animating it 1:1, they merged several scenes that didn't happen in the exact same way. The only 1:1 shots could be seen when the 8 kids got their "sad moments montage" each. So, what's new, what's memorable, what does the PV tell us about the characters?

They animated the novel scene of the baby Digimon meeting their partners - which was absolutely adorable. If you didn't go "awww" at Tsunomon, Tanemon, Pyocomon, didn't chuckle at Pukamon and didn't melt at Koromon, I cannot help you!

Then we got the montage - and the amount of "low res shots" I will take in the next few weeks will be insane, because they were absolutely beautiful. But let's go step by step - I will not discuss every moment, just my favourites, since we got A LOT of group shots!

Here we already see a lot of common themes: First of all, Taichi is depicted to be incredibly curious, basically exploring the entire time. Of course he radiates happy MC energy overall, which I will always adore, but also seems more serious than we're used to. (Unless... he's bickering with Yamato. Which is a common theme for him after all, but I will get to that in a second.) The other theme is Mimi's >o< face, which I will never get tired of. They really hammer down the point that she is NOT happy with the situation they're on and finds something to complain about throughout the first few episodes;

We even get a merge of episode 5 and 10 here! Koushirou is usually seen thinking and theorizing (before he's being interrupted by something/someone). Sora's theme overall is... Being pretty chill, I'd say? We'll get to that in a minute as well. Yamato is the resident cook of the group (THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH EGGS THOUGH) and Takeru's job is just being adorable (meanwhile Hikari unfortunately suffers from a severe lack of screentime, but that was to be expected)...

But what about Jyou, you may ask? I feel like he'd deserve his very own post, because... Boy is straight up not having a good time and may or may not have several life crises in a row. Aside from Mimi, Palmon and Taichi, Jyou might provide the best low res screenshots and, like I said, I will have a blast looking for them.

I also really love the snowball fight there. Oh look, Takeru is attacked by snowballs again, where have I seen that again in the past 12 months??? Sora's helping Jyou to build up his safe space, meanwhile Koushirou has to play mediator between Taichi and Koushirou (welcome to your life for the next 30 years at least, my boy). Speaking of Yamataishirou...

You may have noticed that the scenes are out of order - and I also noticed a little mistake in this screenshot here! hile it is true that Taichi, Agumon, Yamato and Koushirou were missing from the group and the others were ordered to mediate - Patamon was not Patamon yet though, but still Tokomon!

Again, there are so many scenes to show, and I will just post a few more, but will only talk in more detail about two scenes here;

I absolutely ADORE the Gennai scene, oh my God. There was absolutely no need for these absolute dorks to collapse on top of each other, and yet here we are, 5/6 are, once again, not having a good time... And THEN THERE IS MIMI, who we saw complaining the whole time, and now she's having the time of her life falling on top of her found family pile (Sora and Koushirou in particular by the way). Meanwhile Takeru is just like... What the heck did I just look at. Absolutely amazing. 10/10, would watch again.

In case you haven't noticed, I feel like Mimi got pretty much the biggest piece of cake in this PV - and thus we were blessed by the most beautiful Jyoumi scene we've seen in a while. Wholesome. 10/10, would watch again. Also, Sora just enjoying her tea - GOOD FOR HER.

I just love all of this so much, I do love the following montages, the fight against Apocalymon, the ending got me teary again... I love them all so much.

[webseoul]

sung hanbin short au - after

warnings: none

fluff, no angst

note: based on a dream i had <3

words: 1.2k

——————— Start ———————

“Say my name!~” , you cheered loudly as you watched ZB1 performing right in front of you. Their company decided to promote them in small towns so they can get more interest. They’re performing in front of your school and you came early to get front row. Sung hanbin was in front and smiling brightly despite you being the only one who noticeably knows their songs. You nudged your friend and told him to copy what you’re saying so they feel at ease with some fans there.

———————— after the performances ———————

“i’ve never heard you like that before“, your friend stated in shock after the mini concert was over.

“what can i say… i like them“, you blushed at his statement realizing how loud you were during their performance.

The car stopped at a nearby restaurant. It was one of y’alls favorite places to eat at. The inside hanging with fairy lights and beautiful beige oval tables. The food there was all freshly made and tasted like a home cooked meal. They even had freshly baked pastries at the counter.

You and your friend sat at the corner by the window.

———— 20 minutes later ————-

You and your friend are chatting while waiting for your food when you hear the bell from the door ding. You turn around out of curiosity and see ZB1 walking in, still slightly sweaty from their performance. Lastly, sung hanbin walks in with a smile.

“ohhh this is so pretty“ , he looks up following the trail of fairy lights towards the corner you’re sitting in. Both of you lock eyes and he smiles brightly recognizing you. You bow in your seat with a smile and he bows back. They sit at a table in the middle and look at the menu.

Though y’all aren’t seated next to each other, you’re not too far away either. You can hear them talking about wanting to get something refreshing after they finish their meal.

Your food finally arrives.

———— 30 minutes later ————-

You and your friend finished eating 10 minutes ago but were just chatting about stuff. You noticed they were almost finished eating and the waitress was also headed your way to check on you.

“how's everything going here?”

“great! Can I order some dessert?”

“Of course, what can I get for you today?”

“i'll take these ice cream cubes, uhh lets do the 12 count and for the flavor…. a bit of everything please”

“got it! Is that for here or to go?”

“Actually, can you send them over to that table, I'm buying this for them”, You stated and the waitress turned to see the table you were referring to. She nodded and said will do!

Your friend looked at you in surprise.

“ooo bold move”, he laughed

“Not a bold move, I just heard them talking about getting something cooling earlier that’s it”, your ears reddened as you replied.

—————— 5 minutes later —————

You and your friend were waiting for the check when you saw the waitress taking a tray to the boys. Thankfully they all finished eating by now so it came at the perfect time.

You looked at their reaction and they were so confused and surprised, it was cute.

You noticed the waitress talking to them and then turning in your direction. You heard faint gasps and oo’s coming from their table. Suddenly, they all stood up slightly and started thanking you and bowing. You gave them a smile and bowed back, your face reddening once again.

The waitress then walked over to your table and handed you guys the check. You and your friend stood up and walked to the counter to pay, you paid first and then waited for your friend.

Hanbin had stood up from his seat and made his way towards you with red ears. oh my god. Your heart is thumping in your chest.

“Hello… I just wanted to thank you for the dessert. We all appreciate it so much” , he said in a bright smile.

Although you were so nervous, you tried your best to maintain your composure.

“No problem at all, i’m sure y’all could use something to cool down after the concert”, you managed to say

“You were in the front row right? i remember you, you were cheering a lot”, he chuckled.

“your boyfriend..?”, he looked behind me at my friend

“he seemed to be cheering as well”, he said with a light flush on his cheeks.

I giggled “yeah my friend was cheering too , since y’all did great!”, I said with an emphasis on the word friend.

He smiled and said thank you.

“If you want, we could take a picture together”, he said shyly.

“I don't want to bother but if it's okay with you…”

“Of course it is! I'd be happy too!”, he replied.

You opened your phone and put it on selfie mode. Both of y’all scooting closer together for the picture until y’all are just inches away from each other's face. Heart thumping so hard, you hoped he couldn’t hear it. You brought your hands up to make a peace sign and he followed. click.

You backed away a bit and bowed to thank him when he spoke again.

“Actually, i was wondering… if it's okay with you.. can we take a picture together on my phone too?”, he said hesitantly with a noticeable red face.

Your eyes widened in shock for a second. Then you replied “of course we can”.

This time he pulled out his phone and opened the camera to selfie mode. You both scooted together once again, your heart beating even more rapidly than before. You hesitantly laid your head on his head lightly for the picture and saw through the phone screen his eyes widening. You worried he was uncomfortable with it but before you could move your head he smiled brightly, easing the worrying and taking the picture.

You both backed away, faces redder than a tomato.

“Thank you so much, you guys did amazing once again . I'll be rooting for you everyday and supporting you!”, you said.

Hanbin placed his hand on his heart and thanked you.

“Can I ask your name?”, he said.

“…. yeah, it's y/n”, you said back.

“Very pretty name, y/n. I hope we see each other again”

“Of course we will, please tell the members they did great. Make sure to eat and rest well”, you said exchanging your goodbyes

“I will, don’t worry. have a wonderful day.”

You both bowed and he stuck his hand out to say goodbye in a hand shake, taking his soft hand. The hand holding went on a little longer than it normally does.

You both turned away, heading back to what you were doing. As you were walking out the door to leave, you could hear the members teasing Hanbin about how red his face is as he returned to his seat.

Outside by your car you were squealing and hopping in excitement after what just happened.

———————-

“Look out there”, gunwook laughed pointing to you outside the window.

Hanbin turned around in his seat to look at you and started laughing.

FIN.

[mattatouilletkachuk]

Sunny’s Fall Prompts

Hockey and Football are back and I’m just itching to start writing again.

Rules; The person you send in has to be on my list of who I write for. Please send in the number prompt with the quote and the person you’re requesting for. 😊

1. "Nah. You're a big softie."

2. "Is this really happening all over again?"

3. "is this okay?" "it's more than okay."

4. “My teammates gets annoyed because I talk about you 24/7”

5. “You sent me inappropriate pictures. When I was out in public” 

6. “Your mom gave me pictures of you when you were a baby.” 

7. “You got frosting on your face”

8. “We were never meant to be.”

9. “Don’t lie to me. I know everything”

10. “Don’t – Don’t make me fall in love again.”

11. “Why are you suddenly coming back into my life after I just started to do good.”

12. “it’s absolutely sweltering, how can you still want to cuddle?!”

13. “don’t you dare say a word about my tan lines.”

14. "It feels like I've known you forever"

15. “why aren’t you checking me out?” “do you want me to check you out?” “yes. obviously”

16. “we knew this was just for two weeks right? there’s nothing we can do now except cherish the memories” “that’s so cheesy” “heard it the moment i said it”

17.  “i’m so hot..” “loving the confidence.” “oh shut up.” 

18. “Santa isn’t real.” “You take that back right now or I’m breaking up with you!”

19. “I would like you to stay.”

20. "I didn't mean to fall for you." "And neither did I."
"..Fucking pardon?"

21. "I can't believe I did this again." / "I can't believe we did this again."

22. " My mum asked about you again. "

23. "Stop pushing everyone away."

24. "you can't be bitter now, this was your decision."

25. "Did you break into my house??" "You refused to put up any Christmas (or any holiday) decorations! What choice did I have?"

26. “No more holiday movies. Please.”

27. "I saw that. You just checked out my ass."

28. "You're pretty, I'll give you that."

29. "Sometimes you annoy me so much that I want to start planning our wedding, just so I can very publicly divorce you."

30. “I don’t know what I would do without you and I really don’t want to find that out.”

31. “Why are you lying?”

32. "I like your stupid face. It’s so stupid. It’s so… I like it. Can I touch it?"

33. "Don't tell my sober me that I told you I love you. It was a secret."

34. "So, I asked around and everyone thinks I'm a great catch and would be perfect for you." “Who did you ask?”

35. "What do you want me to do now? Give you a pat on the back? Feed you a treat, give you a belly rub and call you a good boy?"

36. "I'm really disappointed in you."

37. "Don't you realize that I'm trying to ignore you?" “I do, but I don’t like it.”

38. "Silly me to assume you would care."

39. "I'm sitting front row. I always do."

40. "Let's not worry about the future. Let's just take this one kiss at a time."

41. "It was just a kiss." "I know. But does it have to be just that?"

42. “Is that a ring box in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

43. A teaches B how to ice skate

44. Going sledding

45. Baking together

46. “You’re so unlike the person I fell in love with at first. Who… Who are you?”

47. "S'mores are perfect when the marshmallows are burnt" "You just can't cook."

48. “It’s finally pumpkin spice latte season!”

49. “If you get scared, don’t come crying to me.”

50. “You look about as miserable as I feel”

[scriv3lloirl]

HELLOOOO ALL!!

I come bearin Kitt Todd art cus I know how much y'all love them, plus I was in th' mood t' draw them a bunch. (Thank you MSI fer bein what I listen too while drawin.)

I have plen'y of Kitt lore here—it isn't 100% historically accurate.. but I'm tryin here. History was nev'r m' favorite subject.

Feat. Pre-trans Kitt n their four younger siblings.

Tfem goals tbh

I know it says "9 years old" in th' first drawin—but I meant t' write "10 years old" whoops. I fuck up ages quite a lot here lol

Not m' favorite drawin I've done; fucked up th' face.

Kitt (Todd) is the oldest of five!! They were born in 1926, a few years b'fore The Great Depression n all'at.

Their parents are neglectful. Wit their mom sufferin from severe Postpartum Depression n their father nev'r bein home cus of work, th' responsibility of raisin their siblings was left on their shoulders. They were only six.

Douglas n Todd are best friends!! They met when Todd moved into a trailer home/park down in the South (sometime durin the 1930s) fer' their father's work.

They were both each other's first crush!! They were some of the older kids on the lot (who didn't have t' work yet) so they gathered a lot of the kids t'gether n they all had fun.

When Douglas was 12-ish he moved out of the park n t' a different state cus his father found a better job elsewhere.

Finally th' siblings!! (In age/birth order)

First is Kitt, who we all know n love. They're the (Oldest; age 34—they/them pronouns. Transfemme Non-binary, Gay.)

They legally changed their name t' Leslie in order t' start a new life after gettin out of a horrifically abusive relationship. (That ex is th' reason why they became a sex worker in th' first place. (They've been in the Sex Industry since they were 18.))

They moved away from their family, out of th' South, when they turned 22—b'fore endin up in Skid Row (age 26.)

They started workin at The Gutter (age 30) as it was the only place that'd higher "someone like them." There they met Audrey, who is one of their best friends, n, eventually, their love interest, Orin.

Second is Eugene. (Second Born; Age 32—he/him pronouns. Cis Male, Heterosexual.)

There's not much t' say bout Kitt's other siblin's, mostly cus I finally started thinkin bout them more a few days prior. But he's a door-to-door salesman.

He has a wife named Kathleen n a daughter, Tamsin. They're expectin a baby boy soon. (Named Archie)

Third is Lester!! (Middle child; age 31—(ignore how it says 34. It's wrong)—he/him. Cis Male, Panromantic Asexual.)

He's a hippie n he's pretty cool. Th' only kid that still keeps in contact wit Kitt after all this time.

Last are the twins.

Virginia (Second Youngest (but older by two minutes); age 28��she/her. Cis Female, Biromantic Heterosexual.)

She's works at a hair salon as a stylist!! She's single and own a pet cat name Jewels.

An'

Constance (Youngest; age 28—she/her. Cis Female, Heterosexual.)

She works as a school teacher, n is engaged to a pilot named Herb Brewer. She's already expectin a baby, who they hope to name Peter (or Polly.)

I feel like I should mention that I nev'r came up wit a family name fer' these guys.. uhhh... I guess suggestions are open fer that?

If there's any misspellin's or anythin.. ignore it. I've been drawin n starin at a phone screen fer th' last 10 hours lol

[interestinglittlerelationship]

100 Things to Love About the OC

1. Ryan Atwood

2. Taylor Townsend

3. Summer Roberts

4. Seth Cohen

5. Sandy Cohen

6. Kirsten Cohen

7. Little Kaitlin Cooper

8. Teenage Kaitlin Cooper

9. The Summer Breeze

10. Seth’s Tahiti dream and “Yeah, she has no idea, I’ve never spoken to her before.”

11. Captain Oats

12. Princess Sparkle

13. The “I Wish I Was a Mermaid” Poem

14. 🎶California Here I Come🎶

15. Seth & Summer’s upside down kiss in the rain

16. Bagels 🥯

17. The bagel slicer

18. Sandy’s smear

19. The Pool House

20. Pad Thai

21. Callbacks and circular story telling

22. Marissa: “Who are you?”

Ryan: Whoever you want me to be.”

23. “You know what I like about rich kids?” BAM “Nothing.”

24. Ryan saying “Hey, my dad is right here,” to Sandy with the little shoulder bump

25. 🎶The Bluest Line🎶

26. 🎶Mmm, Whatcha Say🎶

27. 🎶Hallelujah🎶

28. Summer’s “Ew”

29. Bunnies🐰(Pancakes and Flapjacks)

30. Summer and Ryan’s we got into college spinning hug

31. The Model Home

32. The rare moments in which the core four were all happy

33. The “new & improved” core four, now with Taylor Townsend

34. Sophie Cohen

35. “You’re a Cohen now, welcome to a life of insecurity and paralyzing self-doubt.”

36. Ryan and Seth little secret handshake thing

37. Sarcasm

38. Seth standing on things to declare his love

39. Summer standing on things to declare her love

40. Sandy giving Ryan his Berkley sweatshirt

41. Kirsten crying when Ryan left to go back to Chino

42. Peach Tort

43. Sandy was in a gang and, “We robbed from the poor and gave to the poor.”

44. Sandy punching Frank

45. Ryan’s sad little everyone leaves me wave

46. Ryan and Sandy’s bus stop hug

47. Ryan and Kirsten’s goodbye hug

48. Kirsten hugging Ryan and Seth at the same time

49. Seth and Ryan’s aborted handshake hug

50. Ryan and Seth’s whole friendship/brotherhood

51. Marissa and Summer’s whole friendship

52. Summer and Marissa being step sisters for a hot second

53. Summer and Taylor’s whole friendship

54. Ryan and Summer’s whole friendship

55. The gang adopting former bully Luke Ward for a hot second

56. Seth running away to live with former bully Luke Ward

57. Luke Ward

58. Alex Kelly

59. Alex and Marissa for the three episodes they were allowed to be happy

60. Marissa coming out to Summer

61. Chrismukkah

62. Chrismukkah stockings all in a row

63. Seth’s Christmukkah song

64. Summer saving Christmakkah

65. Seth’s color coded holiday alert system

66. “Taylor thinks Ryan is funny.”

67. And similarly:

Taylor: “Ryan, you told a real joke!”

Ryan: “Not a very good one, but yes I told

a real joke. Thank you, don’t tell anyone.”

68. Taylor’s red dress

69. Ryan: “How do you keep doing that?”

Taylor: “Doing what?”

Ryan: “Saying what I think before I feel it.”

Taylor: “Because I think about you.”

70. Ryan telling Taylor that he loves her

71. The whole flash forward ending montage

72. But most especially the boy on the stone wall and “Hey, kid, you need some help?”

73. Summer sticking her tongue out walking down the aisle at her wedding

74. Seth’s bar mitzvah friendship dance

75. Atomic County

76. The fact that Cosmo Girl (Marissa) gets her powers from a magic flask

77. The comic book Seth makes Ryan to convince him to come home

78. Ryan’s speech about social security running out and “Where I come having a dream doesn’t make you smart. Knowing it won’t come true? That does.”

79. The model home

80. The fact that Seth loves The Vegas

81. The fact that Seth has more friends at The Nana’s retirement home than at school

82. Ryan punching people who really deserve it

83. Seth making a list of people Ryan has punched while Ryan’s bleeding on the side of the road

84. Drunk Seth

85. The beach

86. Seth’s skateboard & Ryan’s bike

87. Seth’s Paris mural he painted for Marissa

88. Seth & Marissa’s whole friendship

89. Taylor stalking Ryan and their, “And then I can stock you.” “And then I can stock you,” scene

90. Newpsies

91. The Newport Group

92. Ryan the original arsonist and Seth the encore

93. The fact that Kirsten can’t cook

94. Everyone’s genuine terror when Kirsten tries to cook

95. The fact that Seth and Summer are the epitome of he fell first, she fell harder.

96. Seth: “At least I leave you funnier than when

I found you.”

Ryan: “I’m a lot better off than when you

found me.”

Seth: “Me too.”

97. Summer being a super cool environmental activist

98. Ryan finding his true family

99. Taylor finding her true family

100. The way Ryan looks at Taylor

[littleharpethcrossfit]

Saturday, 31 August, 2024

Class is at 0930 AM.

Pray for rain. We need it.

Warmup To Be Determined

A Birthday WOD

Partners Share, 1 Working At A Time

Can Be Done In Any Order

Row / Ski 1944m

80 Box Jumps.....(24/20)

80 Push-Ups

80 Med-Ball Sit-Ups.....(20/14)

80 Double-Under's

80 Pull-Ups

80 KBS.....(53/35)

80 Push Press.....(95/75/55)

80 Squats

Sue=43:20 (all) Warren A=45:22 (all) Herb=52:52 (all) Angel/Shannon=29:10 Robert/Tim=30:12 Dana/Esther=31:46 Paul=32:05 Bernie/Armando=33:09 Joe=33:12 Sandy/Cherrita=35:30 Rodney/Tom=41:20 Maddi/Sam/Nathan/Aiden/Below Average Dave/Far Above Average Ryan/Louis/CeCe/Alicia/Kayla/Linda/Tony/Diane/and several others who didn't post.

Notes:

A birthday celebration followed for yours truly. Alicia made me blow out candles and the traditional birthday song was sung. There was mucho food and snacks and Tom brought bubbly Champagne. I didn't taste everything, but I particularly enjoyed the home-made Bread on its home-made bread board & tomato salad (all by Sandy), quiche (Alicia), Breakfast casserole (Shannon). There was Chic fil A stuff, watermelon, pineapple, donuts, and many other items that I didn't make it to taste.

There were many birthday gifts, including several books, an orchid, and many cards that I hope have money or gift cards inside.

Sweet Maddi made her last visit. She is driving to NorCal tomorrow pulling a trailer. She is too adventuresome for her own good. I pray she doesn't pick up many hitch-hikers. It's probably only a tease, but she might visit briefly in October.

Tony and Diane came for a visit and a stroll in the Park. Oddly, Tony and I are currently and simultaneously being treated for essentially the same disease, at the same hospital, and by the same Surgeon. We went thru the surgery department only 1 day apart. This probably a HIPPA violation for one or both of us.

Average Dave dared to visit and bring his Above Average Wife Ryan. There was quiet boy-talk on the periphery of the group as all were in wonderment as to Average Daves' attributes and blind luck. CeCe also attended, as did her Brother Louis who was measured and is taller than Dad.

Sunday at 1 PM.

[whentherewerebicycles]

he’s down for his morning nap and I can hear him complaining loudly to himself in the other room 😅 I think it’s funniest when he’s obviously soooo sleepy just rubbing his eyes and yawning multiple times in a row but then as soon as you put him down he’s like um mother?? hello?? I just drank a Red Bull why would you put me to bed at time like this???? oh important update he’s now moved on from grumbling to sort of singing to himself in his crib ahaha. song of lament for a poor abandoned baby who is sooooo not sleepy at all [huge yawn].

ok some things I must do today: I gotta learn the last piece of music!! it’s not SO difficult but I’m the only person on my part and it’s arranged in a way that makes it super hard to find your place again if you lose it for even a second. I’m going to break it up into 6-8 sections and just drill each one multiple times. we rehearse again tomorrow night and then I’ll have a couple more days after that to really lock it into place. I am also walking with my old coworker and her baby around 2pm which will be nice! need to shower beforehand and make sure I have space for the stroller in my car. oh and I need to do prep work for tomorrow (finish DN’s outline and leave comments on EP’s draft). I might be hanging out with my brother/SIL/nephew tonight tbd… they all just had COVID and I’m a little nervous about the baby catching it even though they’re probably fine.

how about this:

6:30-8:30 morning routine

8:30-10:30lounge, read, leave draft comments, work on music

10:30-11:15 the boy woke up lonely so I am letting him finish his nap with mom

11-12 feed the boy + shower while he kicks around in his bouncer

12-1:30 maybe go to try to do labwork

2-3 walk with K

swing by liz’s

come home and really work on this music

[bobbinacrossafricatake2]

Public and Private

May 23, 2024

Early rise and shine. The room was comfortable and temperature without A/C quite fine. We got it together quickly and headed to “grab and go” coffee and continental tidbits to start the day. Everything was self serve. Ah, so spoiled are we!

Sylvanius and our vehicle-mates (John, Julie, Chris and Lola) were all on time and off we went. Sylvanius had fleece-lined ponchos for each of us. Thank goodness - it was COLD out there with the wind rushing by as we drove. We headed to Etosha National Park. Folks were lined up, but we cut in line (Sylvanius poo poo’d that we should be ashamed), waited for the gates to open and proceeded. We had one stop for Sylvanius to pay, but other than that we were on the road, in game-viewing mode, the entire five hours. In the national park, we’re limited to roads, and no getting out of the car. Aside from that, the big difference is all of the big vehicles - to include full-size tour busses. And of course, since we’re limited to marked roads, there are bigger groups of vehicles viewing anything of interest. The landscape is different. Rather than flora that seems half-tree/half-bush on the private reserve, it was mostly low scruffy shrubs and grasses. That made it wide open for looking. While there weren’t tons of creatures, we saw a good variety: a tower of giraffes (group of standing giraffes), lions (from afar) several types of antelope (including greater kudu, blue wildebeests, black-faced impalas, red hartebeasts), lot’s of zebras (on their short stubby legs), a yellow mongoose, few nice birds, jackals, a squirrel, a black rhino, and even (highlight of the morning) two honey badgers running around, playing and digging for bugs. We saw the salt pan (for which the park is named) — a big white expanse of salt. While stopped at the pan, Sylvanius gave us the bagged breakfasts that the lodge sent along. We didn’t need another meal, but had a few bites anyway. Our group has been good, amicable and interesting. Thank goodness for nice, adventurous vehicle mates! On the way back, catnaps were the name of the game, as we had quite far to travel with only few stops. We had lunch on our return, overlooking some good impala action at watering hole.

On the way back to the room, we decided to see what “the hide” is all about. Down a short path from the lounge area, we entered a protected path that descended to a structure with two doors. Inside is a row of 12 comfortable chairs at eye-level with the watering hole and very close to the action. We watched more impalas, includuing several boys sparring, until they decided to leave.

Five hours in the vehicle is long, and we were wasted so each took naps before heading again to the lounge area. Amazing that all six of us are on-time peeps, so we headed out earlier than our designated 4:30 PM start. We spent the afternoon drive in a different part of the private concession than we had been before. There was, of course, a lot of bumpy driving, but we had some great sightings: giraffes, a few good birds, several groups of white and black rhinos. Sylvanius needs some more experience in customer service, but he certainly came through in sightings. Our final big one was a pride of five lions asleep near a watering hold. Four males and one female. They had what looked like full bellies. We found them lying with limbs strewn over one other almost snuggling. One male got up and wandered over to the water then hid in the bushes. Then later the girl moved to be near him. We hung for a while, watching the remaining three rouse now and again, roll over, yawn, and pop up their heads when they heard something. Lazy, lazy afternoon for them, after chowing down on some poor, unfortunate creature for a couple days - like the male impala we saw with a broken leg who was assuredly not long for this world. Amazing how quickly we go from blood thirsty, hoping for a kill, to sympathetic, hoping for a miracle.

Sighting on drives is really a team effort. The guide watches for animal tracks in sand while driving, also scanning the landscape at a distance for shapes and signs his experience tells him something to see is nearby. He also listen to messages on the radio from fellow guides about the location of good sightings. We (guests) also have the responsibility for keeping eyes on the surroundings. Credit for two highlights today go to our vehicle-mates. In Etosha, Chris noted everyone in a vehicle ahead watching to the right, while most of us were looking left. When he saw what they were focused on, he asked, “What are those black and white things?” They were the elusive honey badgers, romping around and putting on a show. Sylvanius shared that he rarely sees them. Later in the afternoon, driving through the concession, Lola, from the back row, spotted rhinos. At first, she quietly alerted us all, but as Sylvanius kept going and Lola kept observing, when she saw a baby in the group, she prompted Sylvanius to stop with “Baby rhinos on the right!”

Our final sighting was the full moon rising. Amazingly bright and big! Some of us agreed, we could almost see it floating up, up, up above the horizon.

As with sightings being a team effort, we appreciate that vehicle mates look out for each other. As people became aware of Jill’s knee issue, both John and Chris stood-by at different stops to assist with climbing out of the vehicle. It was sad to say goodbye, but the end of light was approaching. We drove a ways and stopped for a sundowner. Naturally, the conversation with our buddies was easy, focused on travel, with ideas for future trips. It’s been a good group. Dinner was good with excellent rhino viewing in the watering hole below. Once again, the guy with the big gun walked us to our bungalow to settle in for a long night’s sleep.

Namibia has been a delight. Who knew? It sounded intriguing but was so much more. Ongava, named Rhino in the native language, did not compare to the fantastic service and warmth we received at our first two lodges, but the game drives and sightings certainly made the stay worthwhile.

[antisocialgaycat]

since none of y'all know how the music program at my skl works i can rant so bands for next year came out today right

like 5 minutes ago

and in that time i have screamed eight times, lied down on the floor twice and almost broken my clarinet three and a half times this is because:

1. how the fuck did j move up and i didnt i am like 20 times better than him and this isnt ego its literal facts (but hey at least he's gone)

2. jazz bands havent come out yet ???????? why

3. i just found 2 new keys that dont work on my clarinet and i realised that i broke the barrel even more

4. also we have no fhorns cos they all moved up or are still in the band below which is sad but also wtf why we deserve fhorns

5. mhgfgjhkgybj i thought the tree licker was gone but i forgot she also does percussion so i still have to deal with her unfortunately (she moved up for trumpet btw)

6. why did s move down a band he deserves better

7. my sister didnt move up to the top band but other worse people did and thats not ok she deserves better

8. why. are. there. no. jazz. bands. yet.

9. c should have moved up she was the best out of all of us but yet shes still in my band (shes first clari tho)

10. why did n move up a band. wait. did he replace s. he better have fucking not.

11. i broke a reed earlier and now im sad

12. l is still one of our percussionists. for the third year in a row. aaaaaaaaaaa why must we suffer this way

13. why are there only 9 clarinets. there were 19 of us last year 14. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FLUTES

15. how dare jem move up now i have no one to subtly flip off from across the band

16. WE HAVE NO OBOES???????????????

17. we have 1 (one) bassoon

18. i think they made us have 3 different types of saxophone to make up for the fact that we have so little instruments (bad idea)

19. why did they combine treble voices and the boys choir that was a terrible idea

20. why are there so many concerts next term

21. why doesnt wb2 have a tuba ????? 22. why does wb4 only have alto saxophones ?????

23. how the actual fuck did y not move up at least to my band if not higher she deserves it

24. they spelt one of my friends names wrong

25. did n just die cos she definitely still plays flute but isnt in any band

26. one of my best friends will have to share a stand with b who doesnt understand the concept of deodorant i wish her the best of luck

27. unrelated but i think i lost my glasses (again)

28. also m just got completely forgotten too

29. i have to deal with ms e for another full year

30. i do not want to sing with the combined choir cos half of them dont want to be there and i also hate chris with a passion

i think 30 reasons is enough but i have more i am so pissed sdfsfgbgdfs

[omgsquee2001]

Chapter 1: Concerning Hobbits

In Hobbiton, much further away from Rivendell, in the quiet little village of Hobbiton, lived the Hobbits of the Shire. One particular Hobbit was sitting in his home. It was the 22nd day of September in the year 1400, by Shire reckoning. There was a map, showing Bag End, Bagshot Row, Hobbiton, West Farthing, The Shire, and Middle Earth. It was the Third Age of this world. This Hobbit in particular, lived in a hole in the ground. It was not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, full of worms and oozy smells; this was a Hobbit-hole, and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home. Bilbo Baggins was sitting at his writing desk, an empty book lay out in front of him. 

"'There and back again, A Hobbit's tale, by Bilbo Baggins'." Bilbo muttered the words as he wrote them down, his quill dipped with ink, scratching against the pages. Bilbo put his quill down, turned to an empty page, put his pipe in his mouth and sat back. He sighed in contemplation as the smoke from his pipe rose into the air. "Now, where to begin?" Bilbo asked himself. He then gasped. "Ah, yes." He dipped his quill into the ink well again and started writing. "'Concerning Hobbits.'"

Hobbits have been living and farming in the four Farthings of the Shire for many hundreds of years, quite content to ignore and be ignored by the world of the Big Folk.

Big Folk were what the Hobbits called the people who were much taller then them, the same as Hobbits were referred to as Halflings or Shirelings.

Middle Earth being, after all, full of strange creatures beyond count. Hobbits must seem of little importance, being neither renowned as great warriors, nor counted amongst the very wise.

Bilbo stopped writing, sat back and laughed. A knock sounded at the door. Bilbo stopped writing.

"Frodo, someone at the door." Bilbo shouted, sounding quite annoyed. Frodo was Bilbo's nephew. Bilbo's cousin, Drogo Baggins and his wife, Primula Baggins, died in a boating accident when Frodo was 12. Frodo then spent the next nine years at Brandy Hall until Bilbo came along and formally adopted him, bringing him to Bag End and officially making him his sole heir. With the distraction seemingly gone, Bilbo returned to his book.

In fact, it has been remarked by some that Hobbits only real passion is for food. A rather unfair observation, as we have also developed a keen interest in the brewing of ales, and the smoking of pipeweed. But where our hearts truly lie is in peace and quiet and good tilled earth. For all Hobbits share a love of all things that grow. And yes, no doubt to others, our ways seem quaint. But today of all days, it is brought home to me, it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.

The knock at the door sounded again. Bilbo sighed again in annoyance. "Frodo, the door!" Bilbo shouted. The knocking sounded once more and Bilbo sighed in defeat. "Sticklebacks, where is that boy! FRODO!" Bilbo shouted, looking for his nephew.

~~~

A little ways away from Hobbiton, in the East Farthing Woods, young Frodo Baggins

was relaxing against a tree, reading a book. Frodo was a Hobbit of 33 years old, still young for a Hobbit. In fact, 30 is considered the coming of age to the Hobbits. 

As Frodo read, his keen ears picked up the familiar humming of a voice. 

"The road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began, hmm hmm hmm hmm. And I must follow if I can." The voice hummed. Bilbo's eyes widened as he jumped up, smiled, and began to run to meet the voice. "The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began, now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow if I can." The voice kept singing. Frodo raced down the grass and stopped at a bank, looking down on a figure clad in gray with a pointy hat. The figure was sitting in a horse drawn wagon with what seemed to be fireworks in the back of the wagon. Frodo crossed his arms in mock anger. 

"You're late!" Frodo said. The figure pulled the wagon to a stop, hearing Frodo's words. 

"A wizard is never late! Frodo Baggins," the figure said. He looked up at Frodo from under his hat. The wizard's voice was gruff but held mischief. His gray-blue eyes shone with wisdom, kindness and showed signs that he had seen much war. "Nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to." The wizard said seriously. A moment of silence passed between the two. At first they looked very serious, then they smiled, and then burst into laughter, their eyes shinning with joy. 

"It's wonderful to see you Gandalf!" Frodo shouted. He jumped down onto the cart to give Gandalf a hug. They embraced, laughing. The two pulled away and Gandalf looked at Frodo with twinkling eyes.

"You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle Bilbo's birthday?" Gandalf asked, laughing. Gandalf then urged the cart on, heading into Hobbiton with his companion at his side. 

~~~~

"So how is the old rascal? I hear it is going to be a party of special significance?" Gandalf asked. He was smoking on his pipe, Frodo sitting next to him. Frodo smiled at the wizard. 

"You know Bilbo he's got the whole place in an uproar." Frodo said, smiling. "Half the Shire's been invited. And the rest of them are turning up anyway." Frodo said, making the two of them laugh merrily as Gandalf's cart continued on. 

And so life in the Shire goes on, very much as it has this past age. Full of its own comings and goings with change coming slowly, if it comes at all. For things are made to endure in the Shire, passing from one generation to the next. There's always been a Baggins living here under the Hill, in Bag End. And there always will be. 

Taglist: @werewolfbansheelove

~~~

//Here's chapter 1. What do you all think of it so far? The reader will be introduced later in the chapters. I am going to have the reader run into the Hobbits on the road, probably protecting them from something.//