#i too am madly in love with astronauts

[dovewingkinnie]

space man kiss first animation of the year!

#oc #oc art #oc animation #its ok #i too am madly in love with astronauts

[vodkaskys]

FANFIC REC: M-preg

As The Clouds Go By (Harry and Louis deal with the loss of their child.) (2K)

Aftermath (Harry deals with the aftermath of Zayn's departure from the band. Even though this chapter is full of angst, it leads back to chapter one, "Three Little Words," because if you're a Zarry you always have hopes for healing between these two.) (1K)

WHITES & PINKS (louis tomlinson is a french painter who runs into harry styles in america. art, love, and babies ensue.) (4K)

Darling, Just Hold My Hand (Louis and Harry decide to spend a week at a skii resort with their families during the Christmas holidays.On Christmas night, Harry goes into labor but the family gets snowed in which forces him to give birth in the cabin in the middle of nowhere.Luckily, his husband is a surgeon who can help.) (10K)

Zaccheus (he locals always told Louis to never go by the water.He’s fairly sure that’s something they told everyone; an old wives tale about sea monsters, probably originally meant to keep small children safe from falling in when they couldn’t swim.But Louis’ tired. Tired of going from village to village to collect taxes. Tired of the glares, the mean words. Of getting thrown out of just about every establishment. He’s not the one who keeps raising the taxes, after all. He’s just the one who couldn’t find another job. Not enough skills to join a guild, a sibling too many to get part of the family farm. His options had been slim.So he’s tired, and he’s hungry, and maybe he’s a little petulant. A little willing to ignore the dire warnings of the locals, it’s probably just because they hate him anyway.) (2K)

So This is Love (Harry and Louis get the ultimate Christmas gift.) (3K)

Satellite (Harry cares for his sick baby.) (3K)

ROCKETMAN (louis tomlinson is an astronaut with a husband and daughter at home) (5K)

You're In Love (When a family of four becomes five.9 (4K)

Us Against the World (After finding out news about their daughter, Harry and Louis are willing to do anything to help her.) (7K)

Welcome To the Family (Zayn just wants his baby, and the universe grants him that wish, but it takes longer than he would've liked it to. It's all worth it though, when he remembers that he gets to be a dad, and gets to watch the love of his life be a dad.) (3K)

Daylight (Harry and Louis welcome twins.) (7K)

Watermelon! ("Veggies and dip, strawberries, grapes, apples," he mumbled, pointing at everything as he said it. "What am I missing?"Arms wrapped around his waist and Louis rested his head on Harry's shoulder from behind. He kissed Harry's cheek and rubbed his hands over Harry's growing pregnant belly gently."Why are you making your disgruntled kitten face?""Something's missing from the spread and I can't figure out what it is.") (600)

The Last Great American Dynasty (President Louis Tomlinson is a little too tough and stern for his own good. His new bodyguard, Harry, comes in the form of a proper American jewel to soften him. They fall in love.) (26K)

Summer Lovin' (Prompt: Harry's and Louis' families have had summer beach houses next to each other their whole lives but their actual houses are too far away for them to see each other that often, so they always look forward to the summer when they can see each other. One summer Louis finds out that his parents can no longer afford the beach house and they are going to sell it, which means he'll hardly see Harry anymore, if ever again. They both get their sisters in on a plan and spend the summer trying to earn enough money to save Louis' beach house. When they realize that it would be impossible for them to raise the amount of money it would take to save the house, they have to get creative.) (15K)

Little Sunshine Love (Harry and Louis welcome their first grandchild.) (5K)

A Life Turned Upside Down ( Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were madly in love from the moment they met. Their contracts would not, however, allow them to publicly announce their love. Forced to take part in stunts, they persevered. Until one stunt became too much, and Harry left.) (29K)

Love Rush (Harry and Louis get thrown into parenting much sooner than they expected.) (3K)

I love you ( Louis a trans man finds himself unexpectedly pregnant at the start of the otra tour luckily he has Harry his band mate boyfriend and best friend who loves him and their baby) (11K)

Hijack My Heart ( A self indulgent story featuring Harry as the "cool dad", Louis as his guardian angel, and Niall as the best wingman you could ask for.) (18K)

Momrry (Harry Styles yearns for a baby but perhaps they're going about this the wrong way....) (2K)

late nights and good intentions ( a Victorian era au where Louis pines for his overprotective older brother’s very charming best friend) (71K)

‘TIS THE DAMN SEASON (in which high school sweethearts harry and louis find each other again, years later, and decide to take an impromptu road trip during a horrible snowstorm.) (6K)

Forever Love (Harry and Louis have twins.) (4K)

New Life (Trial) - Larry Stylinson AU ( Single dad Harry with a bad past, meets One Direction member Louis Tomlinson and might get a chance at a new life for himself and his daughter.) (3K)

Cherished (When Harry’s very pregnant and uncomfortable, Louis finds a way to make him feel loved and cherished.) (1K)

JEALOUSY, JEALOUSY (harry becomes a surrogate for liam and zayn. louis has a hard time adjusting.) (8K)

Enchanted (Where Louis finally meets his neighbour. After a few conversations, he begins to realise he is too weak to resist the charms of the new mother and his six month old daughter.) (25K)

#larry fanfiction #larry fanfic rec #fanfic rec #fanfiction rec list #fanfiction #mpreg

[hollowsorrows]

Tell me more about that comic!

OH ABSOLUTELY!!!! infodump under the cut ^^

so hdka is a korean comic by raintime on naver!! its kind of cartoony and it looks silly but. its not. hell the main character, a joke character, has anxiety and trauma. he is also pathetic and positive and stupid and i love him so fucking much,,,, dont make me rant about the protag fucking dont. also all the characters have like 2 or 3 letters as their names.

the story follows along 3 mentally ill guys, kk, bk, and astronaut! astronaut isnt his real name but im not saying what it is bc spoiler and also it ties with the trauma said character has. (also hi im astronaut irl!!!!) kk is the protagonist. he is silly, positive, and very stupid, but we love him for it. hes the hero of the story, even if he always fails ^^ he is also the eight descendant of a long line of heroes with the same name!! i am madly in love with him btw so i may have a bias.

bk is the demon king, or essentially the devil! he is the ruler of the demon race, and is able to use black magic (checks out since hes a demon). he is socially awkward and straight to the point. he doesnt quite know how the human world works, but hes interested in it ^^ also!!! he loves carrots!!!! he is nicknamed the carrot king by me (astronaut) for a reason ^^ i am also normal about him but like not as much as kk

i, astronaut, to put it bluntly, am a little shit. i am passive aggressive, sarcastic and actually very mentally ill. i wont state why or how but yeah. i am a liar. i dont trust anyone with anything. my past is shrouded in mystery, and i dont even tell people my name. i say im from space, but am i really? i hide my face when im out and about. i cannot say why, but it is very. uh. bad :) trauma yippee!!!! all of us have trauma but i especially do. i also know a lot about,, certain things i should not know about.

so theres a major event that i can talk about that happens before the events of the comic. long ago, there waged a war between humans and demons. the hero, kk, was the one who banished the demons. not our protagonist btw this is one of the previous kk's. i should mention that im pretty sure another battle happened????? the seventh kk and bk's dad fought and died on the battlefield. i dont know whats up with that. this is Very important and actually im pretty sure i got something wrong or misunderstood since my friends who read the comic fully said they think kk7 and father bk died fighting side by side and were homies. whatever the characters have trauma because of it

so anyway the story mainly revolves around kk!! he is the most important character, although there are a lot of sideplots with the side characters. (i also happen to be one of the side characters!! i'm AS!!!) some of them take place at his school (k-tho80dkio), where he learns how to become a warrior. some sideplots take place in other kingdoms, too!! (on that note FUCK the r kingdom all my homies hate the r kingdom. the king of it is fine n cool n all but yeah)

there is So Much i can say but i Will Not because Spoilers but if you're interested in reading it i could drop a link!!!

[youthmasala]

50+ Naughty Dirty Pick Up Lines Cross The Line For Him | Her | Guys | Girls 2022

Yeh! Today's Post Not for kids So if are a kid then go back i just kidding 😂 So if searching for  inappropriate pick up lines for him or naughty pick up lines Then your come to the Right place these 50 dirty pick up lines to say to a guy Very Useful for you specially if Want to impress any guy or girl. I search and read many pickup lines and Select some sexiest & dirtiest pick up lines for her/him. Lesson Carefully before using These sexy pick up lines, if you have a great sense of humour then you don't face any problem but you don't have then most probably after saying these dirty pick up lines you get a slap! So if want use these dirty pick up lines on tinder then use Carefully or your own risk.  

30+ NSFW Dirty pick up lines to say to a guy:-

1. Do you have any room for an extra tongue in your mouth? 2.Do you have pet insurance? No. That’s too bad because your pussy is going to get pounded tonight. 3. I love my bed but I’d rather be in yours. 4. I may not have gotten your virginity, but can I at least have the box it came in? 5.Can I borrow a kiss? I promise I’ll give it back.  6.Can you tell me what time your legs open, please? 7.Did you send the invitation to the party between your legs in the post or do you wanna give it to me in person? 8. Do you believe in karma? Because I know some good karma-sutra positions. 9.I think I could fall madly in bed with you. 10. I’d love to see you wearing your birthday suit. 11.I’m a mind reader and yes I will sleep with you. 12. I would tell you a joke about my penis, but it’s too long 13.I’m a zombie, can I eat you out?   14. I’m an adventurer and I want to explore you. 15. I’m gonna have sex with you tonight so you might as well be there. 16. Your body is made up of 70% water. . .and I'm thirsty. 17. I’m not a dentist, but I bet I could give you a filling. 18. Are you an archaeologist? Because I've got a large bone for you to examine. 19. What did you say your name was? I want to make sure I’m screaming the right name tonight. 20. Are you a light switch? Because you really turn me on.   21. Whoops Can I help loosen your belt? It looks really tight.   22. Am I the only one wet in this room? 23. Would you mind a happy death? Because people say, sex is a killer. 24. It's too hot in here, or is it just you? 25. I feel a bit wasted, but the latex in my purse should not go to waste. 26. I’d give you my phone number, but I seem to have lost it. Could I borrow yours? 27. Sing the ABC alphabet, and I'll take on from the fourth letter, D. 28. So, what happens when my hands are damn cold. I guess I should put them in your pants to get some warmth. 29. I need someone to help me carry my tongue. Is there enough space in your mouth? 30. Your clothes look so uncomfortable. Why don’t you let me help you take them off? 31. I wish you were here to play ‘Simon Says’ with me… in bed. 32. Did you sit in a pile of sugar? ‘Cause you have a pretty sweet ass!   Also Read:-Free Fire Redeem Code Generator without human verification   

Funny and naughty Pickup Lines:

33. Let’s play carpenter! First, we’ll get hammered, then I’ll nail you. 34. Do you have any room for an extra tongue in your mouth? 35. Do you want to know how I got these muscles? Picking up beautiful women like yourself. 36. I don’t like children until they are OUR children. What do you think about that? 37. Hey. I’m doing my thesis on the finer things in life. Can I interview you? 38. Are you a magician? Because when I look at you, everyone else disappears. 39. I’ll cook you dinner if you cook me breakfast. Deal? 40. Do you like coffee? Because I like you a latte. 41. Can I give you a hug to show you how soft my sweater is? 42. “Hi, I’m an astronaut, and my next mission is to explore Uranus.” 43. If a star fell from the sky every time I thought about you, then tonight the sky would be empty. 44. Is it hot in here? Or is it just you? 45. “Your body is a wonderland, and I want to be Alice.” 46. I don’t have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out? 47. Are you the sun? I’m about to get a sunburn looking at you. 48. “The word of the day is legs. Let’s go back to your place and spread the word.” 49.“If you don’t want to have kids with me, then why don’t we just practice.” 50.“Sit on my lap and tell me the first thing that pops up.” Read the full article

#dirtiestpickuplines #DirtyPickUpLines #inappropriatepickuplinesforhim #naughtypickuplines #sexypickuplines

[fipindustries]

critical missive

dedicated to @cryptovexillologist

oh boy arent we in a fine pickle now?

usually i enjoy talking openly and bluntly about my opinions on whatever the last thing i read is, safe and secure in the knowledge that the author will most likely never stumble on my measily 700 followers tumblr blog, so i am free to express my opinion to my heart’s content knowing that no feelings will get hurt. 

mission critical would be no different except i talked with the author and read their acknoledgement and the AMA they did on discord after writing the story and they have endeared themselves thoroughly to me so my language will have to be neutered, at least for the first half of this excercise. afterwards things will get a bit harsher but i’ll try to rest at ease in the knowledge that we seem to be kindred spirits and i would be delighted in hearing any kind of criticism of my work either positive or negative. 

ok, enough coaching done, lets go on to what i thought of this novel.

it is a delightful romp, as i said before, the worldbuilding is understated and realistic with enough glimpses of depth and detail to suggest a much larger picture. this world feels inhabited, lived in, like it was well chewed on for long by the author before putting pen to paper. consequentially the characters that arose from this world feel like they belong, they feel like real people with real lifes. by far the strongest sections of the book were the flashbacks to their lives before the plot started. their voices, regretably, do sound very similar when interacting with each other but in their own sections the characters shine in their charm and cleverness. every time one of their flashbacks ended i was left with the intrigue and the desire to know how their particular story would continue.

the terra ignota influences are very noticeable, the world and its people carry the same kind of almost childlike positivity and innocence, the same kind of cheerful, happy go lucky trust in human progress and the great project of humanity for the future with the same sobering forlorn attitude towards the horrors of the past.

on top of that its silly, gosh in heaven it is silly. it has moments of cringe, in the best of ways. strange slapdash bits of flavor, immature non sequiturs, small indulgences from the author’s own weird interests and dumb meme humor. i do love me my awkward corners in a book, after all it is those that make something unique. there is a clear personality poking through and it is a delightful personality to meet.

i cant help but like this almost more for the context in which it was written than for the content itself, it was done during quarentine as a way to both stave off cavin fever and to process the author’s feelings regarding their gender identity. as someone who also wrote a story where i almost deliberatly tried to trick my self into breaking my own egg and who turned madly towards creative endeavors to survive the pandemic i can sympathize strongly with this. i am really happy that the author got to do this and kickstarted a project towards a big, possibly decades spanning trilogy.

so, yeah, those were the nice things i had to say, if you are content enough with that you can stop here but if you are curious to know more, well... you can

in short: it is a bit of a mess. again, im willing to be lenient, considering the way in which this was worked on, this is very much a really early first draft. the second half of this story was a very slow and very boring trudge towards a sudden end.

first, the fact that the flashbacks and the worldbuilding bits are the strongest part of this story means the actual plot itself suffers from being fairly boring and generic. “astronauts explore alien planet, find spooky stuff there” was already old hat by the 50′s. it is a plot so worn down and archetypical that it really cant survive if that is literally all you are going to do with it, and that is kind of all that this book does. i did mention moments of flavor and strange self indulgence. we needed way more of those. yes thats right, im saying that this story was not self indulgent enough. when you have such a well trodden plot such as this, worn down to the point that it becomes paint by the numbers, we need quirky, we need cringe, we need strange excess and personality. the author mentioned that they would love to see some of the weirder alexandria fan fics, well so do i! be the miracle you want to see in the world! the moments alexandria debated if wether identifying as a trilateral were amazing but they were not enough. we have a great structure here but lets put some proper meat on these bones, some proper fat and skin, some clown make up and a weird novelty hat and outrageous clown shoes. im getting carried away here, lets get back to the point.

the other problem is  there is not a clear trajectory for the story here, no well defined moment of climax and the emotional beats tend to fall a bit flat or to come out of nowhere. there are emotional crisis which i sort of missed or didnt get where they came from. the characters act in ways that are hard to relate to  that come off as stilted. the way they conduct themselves through the mission felt at times weirdly unprofessional and like it didnt follow much of a logical throughline, and when i say logical i dont meant “i wanted the characters to act hyperrational at all times” i mean i want the characters to act in ways that make human sense. ironically the one character that acted a bit too human for my tastes was the AI. alexandria is an interesting character but i feel that the place to explore that idea is not in the middle of an incredibly important mission where having your mainframe experience a crisis might not be the most practical thing in the world.

the ending was jarringly sudden, i didnt feel there was a proper resolution and finishing it off with flashbacks to the time the characters were training was... odd. i reached the last line and it felt like the story had just decided to stop without ever having reached anything that came even close to the third act. all of this can be easily fixed with some concientious editing and a complete rearrangement of the different sections of this story.

all in all a great first step in what i hope will be a long career as a writer.

#mission critical #it was nice #if a bit flawed

[eastertag]

Phoenix

@janetm74 gift for @katblu42

the prompts: 1) Lee Taylor, 2) rising like a phoenix and 3) a bird with a broken wing, preferably a Thunderbird.

‘Uncle Lee, Uncle Lee!’ the twins shouted, rushing up to him and throwing themselves around his legs. He bent and scooped them up as their parents followed them at a more sedate pace, bemused smiles on their faces.

‘Tina, Vincent,’ Lee said, inclining his head to them as they all made their way back into the house, and the grins broadened. Some things would never change. As Lee sat down, one child on each knee, Kayo disappeared to get supper ready while Virgil entertained their guest. 

Or rather, while their guest entertained them.

Lucy Ruth and Grant Jefferson Tracy loved their Uncle Lee. Even if he couldn’t get their names, or their parents’ names right, he told the best stories. They didn’t get to see him as often as they would like, but every time he visited the island he made sure to spend some time with them.

Virgil came over and held his arms out for one of his children. ‘Come on, bed time,’ he said, taking Grant as Lee stood up with Lucy. This was often the highlight of his visit, and Lee wouldn’t swap this opportunity for anything.

Putting the youngsters to bed, Virgil and Lee exchanged glances, waiting for the inevitable request, and Grant didn’t fail to deliver. ‘Story, Uncle Lee! Story!’ he clamoured, his sister joining in. Lee grinned. ‘Which one do you want to hear?’ The children shared a glance, then squealed together: ‘The phoenix! Tell us about the phoenix!’

Lee chuckled. He’d lost count of how often they requested this one and he sat in the chair between the two beds while Virgil disappeared to assist his wife in the kitchen, safe in the knowledge that his two would be well looked after.

‘Well, Lana and Gerry, have you ever seen a phoenix?’ he started, and as usual both children nodded and pointed at him. He rolled his right sleeve up to reveal the faded tattoo. The phoenix, rising from the flames and ashes, screaming defiance to the sky. ‘That’s right. I got this after a particularly difficult rescue…

‘Damn it, Lee, that was too close!’ Jeff yelled, pulling Thunderbird Two up and away sharply.  The corresponding swearing told him that Lee was alright, if a bit shaken. The voice of his eldest came over the comms: ‘careful, Uncle Lee. We don’t want those roughneckers thinking you’re one of them rather than one of us rescuers!’ Jeff chuckled as Lee retorted rather sharply, ‘careful yourself, Spencer, we wouldn’t want you to…’ whatever he was saying was cut off by another explosion on the rig. 

Ribbing would have to wait, and both Lee and Virgil got the rescue platform ready for its’ last run, while Jeff used Two and Scott used One to stabilise the platform enough to get the last lot of workers off. John confirmed from Five that all emergency protocols had been initiated, and that capping the well now only required the special missile Brains had put together.

Scott fired the missile once the rescue platform was safely away in Two, and both ’birds headed back to the mainland. Two dropped off the workers at the hospital and they headed back home, Virgil flying and his dad co-piloting him. 

Not long after the four men could be found relaxing by the pool. International Rescue was still very new, that rescue had counted as their last single digit. Nine rescues in eight weeks. Sure they had started slowly, but as news spread about the organisation rescues were picking up. With all three of his eldest on board since the start, having had some background training in their respective fields beforehand, Virgil was now starting to go out and put his engineering skills to use. Jeff had made it very clear to his son that Two was his, but he needed some more training on the rescuing side before his dad would hand over control completely.

That was why Lee was here. Jeff and Scott may be pilots, but Lee was the engineer, as was Virgil, and Jeff had thought that his old friend and fellow astronaut would be ideal to help Virgil learn how to assess and react on the fly, as it were. Scott was an excellent commander, and could make snap decisions that were 99.9% right, but he wasn’t an engineer, and some of the decisions involving structural integrity and stability Virgil already knew how to call. It was what would make Scott and Virgil such a brilliant team – their respective skills complemented each other perfectly, they just needed honing.

Lee spent the next couple of days going over simulations with both boys, drills being run again and again until the two worked as one and they ‘won’ every time. They were fast studies, and Lee was more than happy at the way ‘Vincent’ picked up making decisions quickly, and his confidence at telling ‘Spencer’ when he was wrong or needed to take account of a variable.

He was preparing to return to Alpha Moon Base in two days. They spent his penultimate night with a barbeque, retelling how their dad and Lee had made the Mars landing, how Lee had needed to engineer a solution within seconds while Jeff was fighting to pilot the craft, how they barely made it. Sure, with every telling Lee embellished some part or other, but the overall story was not lost on Scott and Virgil. Always be aware of what you can use around you, think on your feet, Never Give Up.

The next morning all four were torn from their sleep by the emergency klaxon. 2:30 am was not a time any of them were used to getting up, but the ability to jump out of bed, dress and present oneself to the lounge for briefing Virgil was gradually getting used to. Scott never had a problem with this, his military training more than enough to prepare for this. John also didn’t have an issue with his NASA background. 

It was, so far, their third early morning call. Getting into the lounge last was not unusual, but at least he was awake. Scott passed him a coffee that he seemed to magic from nowhere, and he gratefully sipped the scalding drink while John filled them all in. 

A mine collapse in England with several workers trapped. However, the good news was that they had had notice, so the majority of workers had been able to get away. Scott was dispatched immediately, while Brains, Lee and Virgil poured over the plans of the mine and surrounding areas, checking geology and if there was going to be any surprises.  The only thing they worried about was that there were several ventilation shafts dug out over the larger area, which was a forest, and the possibility of an explosion of the gases that naturally built up was quite high. With that knowledge in mind, Two set off with the Mole, Jeff piloting and Virgil co-piloting.

It took Scott no time at all to reach the mine, and his report confirmed everything that they had already known and prepared for. As he set about organising what he could on the ground, Virgil and Lee went over the geology again, mulling over potential issues and discussing contingency measures. Jeff listened in, his confidence and pride in how quickly his son had assimilated to his role growing.

Lee and Virgil took the mole down, and it was a textbook rescue. Five miners, minor injuries only, it took around an hour to get them all loaded on the mole. The injured were loaded onto the waiting ambulances and International Rescue were thanked profusely. As they cleared away the equipment and loaded everything, Jeff looked at Lee and he nodded. It was time. As the four returned to the ’birds, Virgil was surprised when his dad walked past Two and carried on to One with Scott. Scott glanced back at his brother, grinning madly, and gave him a thumbs-up. 

‘Dad?’ called Virgil after them, uncertain despite his brother’s obvious glee. Jeff turned around and came over to his middle son, placing his hands on his son’s shoulders. ‘Virgil, you performed really well on this rescue, both Lee and Brains said you made the recommendations yourself, you decided where to drill, you looked out the potential danger sites. You’ve more than earnt the right to fly your ’bird home without your old man standing over your shoulder.’ He thumbed over his shoulder to a waiting Scott, ‘that’s your brother’s privilege today.’ Scott mock-scowled, but he really couldn’t keep the grin off his face, and neither could anyone else.

One shot off into the distance. Virgil knew his brother would be waiting for him, but for the moment One was out of sight, and Lee huffed something about ‘show-off flyboys’ and ‘like father like son.’ Virgil just grinned. They were all flyboys really, well, except possibly Gordon but even he could fly competently (not that their eldest brother would ever admit that), only Scott seemed to have inherited their father’s love of speed so far. Alan may have, but he was too young to earn his wings yet.

Two rose more slowly – majestically was the phrase Virgil preferred, thank you very much – but she had her own turn of speed. The take-off may not be as impressive as her sister but compared to other aircraft his girl was fantastic. Using her VTOL’s to gain enough lift to engage her main engine, both Virgil and Lee kept an eye on the forest around them so they didn’t set fire to any trees. Trying to ensure he didn’t, Virgil nudged Two forward as she rose.

They hadn’t got far into the air when Lee suddenly shouted. But whatever he was shouting about was lost in the roar of an explosion that rocked Two violently, catching her back and left side, causing her to spin out of control.

Lee came too with several voices yelling for him and Vincent, er…Virgil. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but at the moment his concentration was all on shutting the voices up to stop his head from hurting. Oh, yeah. He needed to open his eyes to do that, and boy was that a mistake. Bright light assaulted him, followed closely by the smell of burning…he knew that smell, it was familiar to him. The smell of burning electrics!

It was the jolt he needed to get himself moving. Unbuckling his belt, he quickly checked himself over, nope, no injuries other than the cracked head and possible whiplash. He wiped the blood off his forehead while he stood up.

Second big mistake. He immediately doubled over and vomited. Ok, make that cracked head, possible whiplash and a concussion. But there was something more important he needed to do. The shouting was still shrill in his head and ear, but he ignored it, hauling himself over to check on Vinc…Virgil. The young man was out cold, a similar gash to his head.

It was the fire all around them that worried him. There was an extinguisher – Brains ever the overcautious, but this was extensive and he knew he needed to get them both out of there quicker than treating the flames would allow for. But as he tried the upper exit the resultant failure to open was no surprise. They would need to get out of the cockpit and the side door.

One of the advantages of being ‘space-trained’, as Lee often termed it, was that it taught you to think on the fly and to use whatever was to hand. And what was on hand, just outside the cockpit, was a prototype suit Brains was in the middle of designing for Virgil, to assist with heavy lifting. At the moment the bare bones were there, and it would be the best thing to use. Even if opening the door was easy, they would be surrounded by debris.

Good job he was strong, Lee reflected, hoisting Jeff’s middle boy into a fireman’s carry. This boy was heavy! He staggered out of the cockpit and into the service way, stopping before the entrance to the pod. The exosuit was housed here, a small area set aside for her, and Lee was thankful that he and Vincent were the same height as he carefully laid the lad down and got into the suit.

As with everything Brains created, the suit adjusted to fit him, and Lee marvelled at the engineering behind it. With a whirl of gears and pistons lee was moving, Vinny over his shoulder, over to the doorway. Thankfully this one slid open easily, Cahelium being so very tough, but outside the ’bird the forest was ablaze.

No sooner had Two got caught up in the fireball, Five had notified One, and a horrified pair of rescuers turned around and raced back in time to see her crash. Training taking over familial responsibilities, they set about using One’s cannon to blast the rapidly spreading fire. Jeff knew that One didn’t carry enough to douse this and directed John to call the local fire services. Scott set One down some distance away, both men inwardly seething at the distance needed because of the fire.

Their priority was to get Lee and Virgil out, so donning their fireproof suits Jeff grabbed two spare oxygen tanks while Scott grabbed extra fire extinguishing tanks, and the two set off while John constantly called to the downed men.

As Jeff and Scott burst through the forest they were met by an astonishing sight. Lee Taylor, resplendent in the exosuit prototype, Virgil over his shoulder, both bathed in the flames around them. The exosuit, still unpainted in this testing phase, shone reds and yellows. They appeared almost in slow motion.

Later, later Scott would mention how like the phoenix Lee looked appearing so suddenly. But right now, all their attention was focused on rescuing Lee and Virgil and putting out the fire.

…and once your Uncle Scott mentioned the Phoenix, that was it. Of course, that was the seed sown, but I didn’t get the tattoo straight away. Returning to Alphie was next on the cards, and it wasn’t until several years later, when your Grandpa Jeff was missing. When your Uncles Spencer and Alvin came to rescue me and Alphie was destroyed I felt that my life as an astronaut was over. Then Spencer gave me another chance when we went to Mars.

When Tina, your mom, came and found me I felt that I was given a second chance at life at my age, and I remembered Spencer remarking about the phoenix and I thought “that’s me, that’s my life.” Your uncles gave me my life back, a second life just like the phoenix. Then they went and rescued your Grandpa, and my third life began, teaching the next generation of Mars settlers.’

By the time Lee had finished both children were asleep, and Virgil and Kayo were wrapped around each other in the doorway. Hearing how their weird Uncle Lee saved their dad’s life never failed to fascinate the pair, and they loved the tattoo. Virgil had been honoured when he’d been asked to design it.

The three adults retired to the living room to reminisce. 

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2004 #thunderbirds 1965 #thunderbirds fanfiction #Virgil Tracy #Scott Tracy #Gordon Tracy #John Tracy #alan tracy #lee taylor #jeff tracy #submission

[jowritesthingss]

Un-Convention-al

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairing(s): Logince (Logic | Logan + Creativity | Roman)

Rating: Teen (for swearing and Remus being Remus)

Content Warning(s): some swearing, a couple of typical Remus-like comments (nothing too bad here tho), food

Length: 3,679 words

Brief Summary: Soulmate September, day one! While at a convention, Roman ponders his rather unconventional soulmark. And maybe, just maybe...he might find the person whose name is encoded onto his arm.

TS Masterlist + AO3 Links

*

“Heyy, Spock!”

Roman rolled his eyes as his brother raced over to a black-haired, pointy-eared cosplayer. This had to be the stupidest thing he had ever done, and this wasn’t the first time Remus had dragged him into weird shit, so that was really saying something.

Watching as Remus spoke excitedly with the dude, Roman couldn’t help but wonder why he had allowed his brother to drag him to one of his nerd convention thingies. The only acceptable thing about this was that this Captain James T. Kirk character was obviously exactly like him, so even if he was acting as some geeky TV show character, at least it was a valorous protagonist, he supposed.

Roman tapped his foot impatiently, looking around the hotel lobby at all of the booths advertising anime and mango and cartoons and whatnot. Yeah, yeah, he was supposed to be supportive of his brother and whatnot after everything, but couldn’t he have held off the supporting thing until tomorrow, at least? Roman could’ve—should’ve—been across town, meeting that famous soulmate linguist guy that was in town, but nooo.

Remus snagged the cosplayer by the wrist and dragged him over, grinning madly underneath his facial prosthetics. Which, of course Remus had to choose one of the weird characters to cosplay—what was his name? Wolf? Wharf? “You two match! We gotta get a picture!”

“Very well.” Sighing and rolling his eyes, Roman acquiesced, moving over to the poor kid. He slung one terra-cotta arm around the kid’s shoulder, striking up a pose. Best to let Remus have and do what he wanted without fighting too too much; then maybe he’d get tired sooner and they could leave sooner.

Remus backed up, bringing out his phone to take the picture. “All right, say tribble!” Remus called to them.”

“Say what?” Roman puzzled, while the cosplayer said, “That is highly nonsensical and—”

The flash of the camera interrupted them both.

“Fuck yeah,” Remus enthused. He looked appraisingly between Roman and the other cosplayer, and nope, Roman did not like that look one bit. Remus always got that look when he was up to no good. “Say, Spocksie,” he drawled, “if you’re not meeting up with anyone, wanna hang with us today?”

“I could’t possibly intrude in such a manner,” Spock tried to politely decline, weakly attempting to disentangle himself from Roman.

Wait but no, that was actually a good idea for once. If this guy stuck around with them, Roman wouldn’t have to deal with Remus on his own. He could share in the shame.

“Oh, but I insist!” Roman said quickly, tightening his hold ever so slightly. He winked, hoping his stunning self could win over the nerd. “As your captain, I command you,” he joked. Wait, uh. Kirk was Spock’s captain, right? Gosh, there were too many Star Trek series to keep track of. How did Remus do it?

“I...very well, if you insist,” the cosplayer said carefully. “If you truly do not mind.”

“Of course we don’t mind!” Roman let go of the guy to splay a hand across his yellow-clad chest. “I’m sure you’ll love the chance to bask in my glorious presence.”

Spock turned to look at Remus, who was practically vibrating with energy. “Tell, me, is he in character or is he always like this?” He raised an eyebrow. “I do not recall Captain Kirk being so...self-absorbed.”

Roman squawked as beside him Remus howled with laughter, and maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

---

To retaliate for the whole “self-absorbed” comment, Roman sentenced the Spock cosplayer to sitting in a panel for an hour with Remus, while Roman aimlessly played on his phone outside the auditorium, thankful that they only had two tickets and that the rest of the tickets had sold out before they got there.

Judging from the smile on the kid’s face as he and Remus walked out of the door, debating amongst each other, he realized that sitting in a stuffy, crowded fandom panel was probably paradise for a nerd, not a punishment. Ah, well. At least he’d had time to try looking up some new online translators, even if he’d had no luck actually translating what he’d been trying to translate for five years now.

As he stood to meet the two, Roman’s right hand slipped over to his left wrist, where it slipped under the sleeve of his sleeved yellow command shirt and unconsciously began rubbing at the characters tattooed across his skin.

Soulmates were something that everyone had, and without fail, the name of your soulmate appeared on your wrist at thirteen, so there was nothing to be confused about there. And there were so many different languages and writing systems out there that having a name written in a different language or in different characters wasn’t out-of-the-ordinary, either.

What was out-of-the-ordinary, however, was that nobody could decipher the characters written across Roman’s arm.

Five years since he turned thirteen, five years since those weird-looking letters appeared on his wrist—five years of family and friends and schoolmates and teachers and even linguists gaping at them, five years of not being able to figure out what they said, what name and secret they held.

And who knows? Maybe if Roman had gone to meet that linguist instead, today could’ve been the day he finally figured it out.

But no, that wasn’t Remus’ fault. Remus had planned on this con for over a year now. He couldn’t take his frustration out on Remus.

“Did you have fun, nerds?” he asked as he strode up to them.

“I got to ask about pon farr.” Remus grinned leeringly, and Roman wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about, but he was fairly certain that he didn’t want to know. “And Spocky-wocky here totally nerded out about Klingon.”

“Oh. Uh. Excellent,” Roman said jerkily. Did he want to know what that was, either?

His grumbling stomach made the decision that no, he most decidedly did not. At least, not for the moment.

“Why don’t we find something to eat?” Roman asked the two. “I don’t know about you two, but I myself am famished.”

Remus immediately turned and flounced away from the two of them. “Sounds dee-lightful to me, broski. I saw this stand selling astronaut food!”

Roman and the cosplayer—Roman really would have to ask his name at some point, he couldn’t just keep calling them “Spock”—hurried after Remus, and soon enough, the three were eating (more like gagging on) freeze-dried ice cream, animatedly discussing Kirk and some gal Uhura who apparently had been part of the first interracial kiss on television (“Could be gayer,” Roman said. “Could be gayer,” Remus agreed, staring mournfully at the empty packet in his hand. He had been the only one to actually enjoy the space food.)

The conversation had moved to Kirk and Spock, Remus adamantly insisting that the two had been more than friends and coworkers. He and the Spock cosplayer had a rather lively debate over it—none of which Roman understood in the slightest, so he let himself get distracted. He couldn’t help but wonder what the cosplayer would look like beneath the cosplay. The guy’s bright eyes were mighty pretty while he argued with Remus.

Mid-sentence, Remus’ eyes drifted over to Roman, and he looked away, hoping his staring hadn’t been caught. He wasn’t one to look at people that weren’t his soulmate—all the same, when you didn’t know what your soulmate’s name was, it was quite hard not to. If Remus got any ideas, though, Roman was doomed.

Sure enough, That Look appeared in Remus’ mischievous brown eyes, and he abruptly interrupted the debate to announce that he was going to go buy some more food, racing off before either Roman or the Spock cosplayer could respond.

Roman and the cosplayer instinctively turned to exchange a glance with each other, then Roman quickly looked away, flushing. Now he’d realized that the dude was kinda attractive for a nerd, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Great.

“So,” Roman said awkwardly in an attempt to break the awkward silence between the two. He fought the urge to run a hand through his hair, reminding him that Remus’ soulmate would murder him if he messed up the borrowed blond wig.

“So,” the Spock agreed. He paused before continuing, glancing between Roman and Remus. “The two of you are...friends? Boyfriends?”

“Ew. Oh, god, no.” Roman gagged. “Ew ew ew.” He looked across the floor at his brother, standing in line to buy some odd foreign candy or something. “He’s my brother.”

Spock nodded sagely, staring as Remus paid for a handful of...something. “Your brother?”

Roman watched Remus shove the entire handful of candy in his mouth, gagging. “...He’s adopted.”

Roman caught Remus’ eye from across the room, and Remus grinned at him, his deep brown cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as chunks of something slipped out of his mouth.

“Very adopted,” Roman emphasized.

The cosplayer let out a light chuckle, and oh, that was a nice sound. “You’re clearly out of your depth here. You are a good brother for indulging him in this.”

“I...suppose,” Roman said slowly, tamping down on the sudden rush of guilt over having wanted so badly to leave the convention. “So, do you have any siblings?”

The Spock nodded. “I have a younger brother of my own. Unfortunately, he lives across the country with our mother, so he could not come today.”

“Oh.” Roman blinked. Oh, shit. Had he just brought up a sore subject? Shit. “I’m sorry.”

“It is quite all right,” the cosplayer said mildly. “When we graduate, we have plans to attend the same university, and we see each other enough on holidays.”

“That’s good! That’s good,” Roman said. Oh, by Zeus’ thunderbolt, why were his attempts at maintaining conversation so miserable today? Usually he was so good at this.

Across the floor, Remus seemed quite content eating on his own, not coming back to the two of them standing so awkwardly together. He couldn’t rely on Remus to figure out some dorky topic to talk about.

Finally, grasping at straws, Roman lowered himself to asking about nerdstuffs. “So what was that thing Remus you were talking about during the panel? Cling wrap?”

The cosplayer looked mildly affronted, and dammit, if Roman fucked up again—

“Are you referring to Klingon?” he asked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

“Yeah! That!” Roman rushed out. “What’s that?”

The Spock gazed at him in wonderment. “You truly know nothing about Star Trek, do you.”

Roman shrugged helplessly.

“Klingon is a species of alien, alongside a language,” the cosplayer said, moving his hand up to his face and jerking it away at the last second. “Apologies, I forgot that I was wearing contacts for this cosplay.” He cleared his throat. “Your brother is cosplaying as one of the few Klingon characters, Worf. The Klingons are portrayed largely as bloodthirsty antagonists throughout the series.”

“Ah.” So that was why Remus had chosen to be one of them.

“Personally, I myself am more fascinated in their language than I am anything else,” the Spock explained. “They actually hired a linguist to create an entire language and alphabet for the series. Klingon is one of the most widely-spoken fictitious languages.”

Wait. Roman frowned, confused. “People speak fictitious languages?”

“Well, yes, of course,” the cosplayer said evenly. “All language is made-up, and besides, it is logical that dedicated fans would pick up some throughout the television shows. I myself speak a bit.”

Roman snorted. “What do ya know.” Maybe that’s something he would have to add on his list of language to look up—he had almost exhausted dead languages and alphabets, might as well see if his stupid soulmark matched a fake language. It wasn’t like it could hurt anything; he wasn’t going to find them regardless.

“Aw, you’re not making out?” Remus was back, standing in front of them once more.

“I—no, of course not!” Roman blustered.

“Why ever would you think—” the cosplayer stammered at the same time.

Remus grinned widely at them, flashing a pearly white, seemingly threatening smile.

“Wow! Would you look at the time!” Roman exclaimed loudly, not looking at all at the time. “Why don’t we go and look at some of the booths and tables, Commander Spock!” He grabbed the other cosplayer’s hand and rushed the two of them away as a snickering Remus followed from a distance.

As the trio navigated the crowds of people and tables of merch, Roman ignored the fluttery feeling in his stomach and the childish glee over how the cosplayer had yet to pull his hand out of Roman’s.

---

Before Roman knew it, the end of the day had reached them, and they were ushered out alongside other convention-goers. The rest of the day had passed much more quickly than he had expected, with someone else to share his grief over Remus being Remus, and good hour or two he had completely forgotten why he’d been sulking about going in the first place.

Roman, Remus, and the cosplayer that Roman still hadn’t gotten the name of lingered on the sidewalk outside of the Marriott. There was no real reason for them to stay, but despite the Spock cosplayer’s nerdiness, Roman had discovered a shared interest in Broadway and analyzing Disney, and he almost wanted to ask for the guy’s number, awkward and embarrassing as it was.

But Remus thankfully beat him to the punch. “Say, Jabberspocky, can I get your number? My brother over there is too boring, so he never likes to talk about nerd things. I could use more cute geeks in my life!”

The Spock nodded. “That would be amenable,” he agreed. “It has been most invigorating to discuss the intricacies of the Star Trek universe with you.” The cosplayer swung around to look at Roman, looking almost...nervous? “Would you like to exchange numbers as well? You are a worthy debate opponent when it comes to Disney media.”

“Oh.” That was a compliment, right? Well, Roman was taking it as a compliment. He preened. “Of course! It would be an honor! ...For you, of course.” He grinned jokingly.

The cosplayer rolled his eyes good-naturedly, fishing his phone out of his back pocket, unlocking it, and handing it to Roman. “If you wouldn’t mind filling out your contact information, please.”

“Most certainly!” Roman pulled out his own phone and tossed it at the Spock cosplayer, who just barely caught it with his fingertips. Aw, cute, the nerd was clumsy. He focused in on the phone in his hands, typing in his name and his phone number. “There we go.”

When the cosplayer took his phone back, he glimpsed briefly at their contacts in his phone, then glanced away.

He froze.

Baffled, Roman watched as the cosplayer’s wide eyes retrained themselves down on the cell phone screen.

“Is...is everything all right?” Roman asked, feeling a spark of worry. Did they somehow know each other from elsewhere? Had he or Remus done or said something in the past?

“Oh, my,” the cosplayer said in a slightly-strangled voice. “We...I never asked what your names are, did I?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Roman mock-bowed. “Roman Sanders, at your service.” He gestured over at his brother, grinning. “And that oaf is Remus.”

“Oh, my,” the cosplayer repeated, breathless. He looked almost anxiously up at Roman. “My name is Logan Lehrer.”

Roman smiled reassuringly. “A most lovely name!”

“Is it....” The Spock cosplayer—no, Logan—hesitated. “Is it, by any chance, a familiar name?”

Furrowing his brow slightly, Roman pondered it. “...I don’t believe so,” he said at long last. “Why? Do we know each other from elementary school, or middle school, perhaps?”

“No, I just—” Logan sucked in a breath. He fiddled with the hem of his blue science shirt. “May I—” he said haltingly. “May I see your wrist?”

“My wrist?” Roman tilted his head, bewildered. He held out his right wrist. “Why?”

“No, no, I mean your—here.” Logan reached out a shaky hand, gently grasping at Roman’s left wrist. And—oh.

Oh.

Roman held his breath as Logan slowly tugged back his sleeve. There was no way—was there? Or...maybe?

Logan stared at the white symbols etched across Roman’s tannish brown skin. The five symbols, Roman now realized. Five symbols, five letters...just like Logan’s name, maybe?

Then Logan began to laugh.

Roman blinked. He had only known the guy for, like, six hours, max, but the quiet, reserved nerd he had seen so far did not seem like the type to burst into mad fits of laughter.

“Are—are you all right?” Roman asked, totally lost. What was happening here?”

“Oh my—” Logan wheezed, and Roman now was genuinely concerned. Should he call an ambulance? Should he go back inside and find the medics they had at the event?

“Whatever is going on that’s so funny?” Roman questioned.

Trying and failing to speak through the chuckles running through his body, Logan rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and practically shoved his wrist in Roman’s face, still trembling from laughter and nearly whacking him in the face.

“Oi—” Roman prepared to snap, mildly offended, but the name written across Logan’s wrist caught the words in his throat.

Roman.

Sweet Sif, Roman was Logan’s soulmate. That meant—

That meant Logan was Roman’s soulmate. That mean that, whatever language it was written in, Logan’s name was written on his arm. Logan’s. Logan.

“It’s,” Logan wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye, straightening up and slowly composing himself again. “Th-that is my name on your wrist, Roman.”

“It is?” he heard himself say dumbly, as if from a distance away, still not sure that this was really happening.

“It is,” Logan confirmed. He carefully lifted Roman’s wrist to his face and traced the characters with a thin fingertip.

Roman bit back a whimper. Oh, god, he never wanted Logan to stop touching him. Hell if that sounded inappropriate.

“This is my name,” Logan said, struggling to maintain a straight face, “in Klingon.”

Roman was silent for a good minute, processing this information, until finally he realized, “Wait, Klingon? Like, that made-up alien nerd language?”

Logan’s cool facade cracked, and he grinned down at Roman’s wrist, cheeks a rosy red. “Indeed, it is ‘that made-up alien nerd language’ Klingon.”

“Why the hell...?” Roman wondered, bemused.

“I am afraid that I have no idea,” Logan informed him, still scrutinizing Roman’s wrist. “There have been records of soulmate names being written in Ancient Greek and the like before, but I don’t think anyone has recorded any in Klingon before.”

Roman could have puzzled over this for ages more, but as it finally occurred to him, this was his soulmate standing in front of him. Shouldn’t he do something about that?

Wriggling his left wrist out of Logan’s loose grasp, he cupped the other teen’s face gently in his hands. Logan’s pale whitish green makeup was coming off in his hands, and the two of them no doubt looked ridiculous from an outsider’s perspective, but he found that it didn’t matter to him in the moment.

“I must say,” Roman said quietly. “While unexpected, this is most certainly not an unwelcome development.” A suave grin danced its way across his face. “I’ve been eyeing you all day, cutie.”

Logan’s breath puffed out softly against Roman’s face. “I....” The loquacious cosplayer seemed lost for words again as he pressed closer. “I—”

“Oh, go get a room already!” a warbly voice interrupted them.

Roman and Logan sprang apart, their cheeks heating up equally in embarrassment.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Remus grumped. “I’m still here.” After a moment, though, he brightened. “Oh, wait! This means you two can go on double dates with me and Janus and we can make out and embarrass you!”

“Please, do not,” Roman groaned, He reached out for Logan once more, reveling in the tiny squeak he let out, and he buried his face in Logan’s hair. “You ruin everything, asshole.” It was a playful jab, though; without Remus there to drag him to the convention, he might not have ever even met Logan.

So it had been a good thing after all that Roman had gone with Remus to this geeky convention thing, instead of to hear that linguist’s lecture. All the linguists in the world couldn’t have helped him beyond deciphering the words on his wrist. All the linguists in the world couldn’t have quite literally grabbed his soulmate by the arm and dragged him over, like Remus did.

“Thank god!” Remus realized, gleeful. “This means you’ll finally stop complaining about being lonely forever!”

“We’re soulmates,” Logan realized, sluggish. “We—I have your name on my wrist. You have my name on your wrist.”

“Oh my god,” Roman realized, dismayed. “This means I have a nerd language stuck on my arm for the rest of my life!”

Although, if it meant being with Logan for the rest of his life...perhaps a permanent nerd tattoo was a small price to pay.

Roman untangled himself from Logan and pulled away, biting back a grin when Logan instinctively chased after him. “Wanna come get milkshakes with us?”

“That would be satisfactory.” Logan nodded his assent. “However, we might want to take off our cosplays first.”

“Nah,” Roman dismissed. As a theatre kid he’d been to plenty of Steak ’n Shakes in full stage makeup, and he was pretty sure all the local Cookouts knew his order by heart at this point. “That’s part of the fun!”

Roman reached out and grasped Logan’s hand in his own, pulling him with as Remus began honest-to-god skipping to the car. The three broke into easy banter about the best milkshake flavors, and this time Roman couldn’t hold back the grin as Logan passionately decried the practice of dipping fries in shakes.

A small price to pay, indeed.

Fin

Day 1 || Day 2

*

Day one of @tsshipmonth2020​ ’s Soulmate September! I’m almost an hour late in my time zone, but hey! It’s still September first in Alaska, so this totally counts as on time! ...Right?

Want to be added onto any of my taglists? Shoot me an ask or a message here or via my other social media!

#tsshipmonth2020 #tsshipmonth #sanders sides #thomas sanders sides #ts #tss #logince #ts roman #ts creativity #roman sanders #ts logan #ts logic #logan sanders #ts remus #ts dark creativity #remus sanders #ts soulmate au #ts fanfic #ts fanfiction #jwt sanderssides #soulmate september #cw swearing #cw food

[70ships-moved]

untitled | honeymoon suite

very brief summary: patrick can’t sleep. his solution? interview your boyfriend.

pairing: malcolm (oc) / patrick (s/i) | honeymoon suite

words: 2088 (yikes!)

notes: this is the very first fic i wrote about malcolm and it turned a year old like two months ago (wow! i didn’t even know that until now), i didn’t want to change or edit too much because this holds a special place in my non existent heart :), written in the pov of my s/i (first person)

   Today I found a magazine with one of my idols (and celebrity crushes) on the cover in my nightstand drawer stashed away like a porno magazine. I remember the exact day I bought it too. I was at a bookstore and I saw it in the checkout area and the moment I saw who was on the cover, I made a mad dash for the checkout area. I did contemplate it though; the magazine was like twelve bucks which is stupid for something no one really buys but skims through and puts back. (When was the last time you bought a magazine? Man, wait until you hear about the internet.) But for who was on the cover, I was more than willing to pay the stupid twelve dollars.

    Like any child that picks up a book, I looked at the pictures and read some of the interview. My only takeaway from the interview was that he liked this Bolognese recipe he found- or made himself. I didn’t read it all. He puts bacon bits in it, and he says it’s even good when cold. I took this magazine with me to school almost every day. I really liked the guy, okay? I’d show it to my best and only friend at school at the time who hated my obsession with him. It was weird because she was one of those friends who would always get an ugly boyfriend and would force you to compliment him- no matter how ugly you thought he was but proceeded to get mad at you when you were being honest about his looks. I could handle her opinions about this man I claimed to love but have never met in my life.

    Four years later and I finally read the interview. It was a good read. The interviewer had nothing but nice things to say about him, mainly because he was and still is a sweetheart. And he only had nice things to say about the people he talked about. After reading the interview, I had something other than his good looks to admire. As far as I know, there isn’t a hateful bone in his body. When talking about his controversial relationship with his ex (long story short, the public wasn’t buying it), he said he only knew the girl he fell in love with and that’s saying something for a relationship that felt like it only lasted a week.

    It inspired me to conduct my own interview with someone who I love just as much, my partner Malcolm. I’ve interviewed other people before rather awkwardly but this is Malcolm we’re talking about. He has walls. We all do. He's a bit on the reserved side but with the time I’ve spent with him, I’ve seen these walls come down. These demolished walls are my favorite part of him. I even went out of the way and got a recording device from a buddy who works in film. I like being extra.  

    It’s about 2 am. There’s this thing my body does where I just have to wake up at this time. It’s every day too. When this happens, I wake Malcolm up. He encourages me to do so because it is incredibly difficult for me to go back to sleep once awake. Also, it’s kind of boring being awake all by yourself. In these hours, I learned how to call from a private number (*67, for prank call purposes), learned useless but interesting facts about space and how sex can be one hell of a sleeping pill. Tonight, I wanted to do something different.

    We’re sat in the kitchen area of the suite. The only thing separating us is the kitchen island. My recording device sits in the middle of us. Are you ready? “Mhm.” Great, I start with an over-the-top introduction of him. Ladies, guys, and people who don’t care what’s between their thighs, it’s two in the fucking morning and I can’t sleep but the man I’m sitting across from makes it all worth it. He’s got great hair and even great taste in men. He’s dating me! The man, the myth, future astronaut, and legend: Malcolm Hall! I feel like a podcast host. It’s a good feeling. “You’re so annoying.” That’s why he loves me.

    I have a list of questions I wrote down in less than five minutes. They’re nothing special and I want this to be fun and not so serious. This man constantly throws himself at his work- spending endless hours at a desk. Serious is his middle name. When he’s not in his office, he’s at the bar talking to you about a film he saw with a margarita in front of him or playing blackjack with you and your coworkers. Maybe he’s in suite 505 kicking it with yours truly, telling me about his day while I struggle to put a face mask on his moving face. How are you doing? He chuckles. That fucking chuckle. “Tired. But I’m with you, so I can’t complain. How are you?” I’m not so tired but I can’t complain. You’re here.

    I see you’re well-dressed for our interview. A bit too casual but you look good regardless. “Fuck off.” He says this in a whisper but it’s almost too quiet, it almost looks like he’s mouthing it. He’s in a bathrobe, his hair tossed from sleep; strands of it falling into his face. His face is resting in his palm as he looks at me with a tired smile, his eyes struggling to stay open. This is all unintentional, but I think this is extremely sexy of him. These small things have such a tremendous effect on me. They light the pit in my stomach and make me squirm in my seat a little. I’m messing. You look great as always. “You’re not looking too bad yourself.” I know. If I ever die in my sleep, I want to be in the best damn pair of silk pajamas there is.

    The coffee machine makes a noise indicating that it’s done brewing his cup of caffeine. That’s a nice coffee maker. When did you get it? I’m going off-script. “This thing?” He taps the machine like the hood of a car. “It came with the room. The interior design people take care of that. I just run the place, so I don’t really know when it got here. But I do know that the other machines were really fucking old.” Oh, interesting. “Not really. You know, I was expecting you to give me much harder questions.” Really? Well, it’s important to expect the unexpected. “Now you’re scaring me.” Good. Part of me can’t tell if he knows I’m teasing him.

    I’m not a coffee drinker like him but if it tasted as good as it smelt, then I could be. It’s a hazelnut blend. He mixes it with half-and-half and three scoops of sugar. His sips are slow and cautious. He seems to have bad luck with hot objects. He burnt his hand in a waffle iron one time and a dozen more times while preparing dinner. Maybe a hot object, liquid, or thing is the reason for the tape on his right hand. What happened to your hand? He looks up at me through his mug. “Masturbation incident.” By the way, I am madly in love with this man.

    Do you remember when we met? This is a weird transition because it was on my list of questions and my timing couldn’t be any worse considering moments ago, I asked a question and the answer I received was masturbation. The question makes him smile though. He either remembers or he’s pretending to remember. “Yeah. Of course I do.” He takes both my hands, gliding his thumbs across my knuckles. I want dates, times, names, everything. “I don’t remember the exact date, but I believe it was March.” He’s correct. “It was at the hair salon and I booked an appointment with you.” He’s correct again. I cut his hair for free now- well, unless he’s pissed me off. Then, I charge him ten bucks. Twenty if I’m really upset.

     Do you remember what time you showed up for your appointment? “Late. Very late.” He came in about two and a half hours late. I was pissed. “You were pissed.” He apologized profusely, and I still cut his hair. I remember it being soft and full. It still is. That's just one of the perks of having a hairstylist as a boyfriend. “I remember when you washed my hair. It’s my favorite part of you doing my hair.” I remember that too. The shampoo had a minty menthol smell. When it was on your head, it added a cooling factor and when you inhaled it, your lungs felt like winter. Basically, vapor rub for your hair.

    He got lost in the way I massaged his scalp, his eyes closed and smiling. I can still hear his Yorkshire accent telling me “Tha’ feels good.” After I washed it, I blew it out and started cutting it. That’s when I told him his hair was soft. “Looking back on it, you kept your hands in my hair way too long.” It’s part of the job. “That’s what they all say.” He takes a long sip from his mug, his eyes not leaving mine. “Your hair was...interesting as well.” Interesting, in the way he’s using it, is slang for saying you don’t know whether you should like something because you’ve never seen it before. Back in the day, I’d dye my hair all types of colors. Shit, I thought I looked good.  

    “The Smiths played on the stereo and your singing was terrible.” That’s a lie. I’m not Morrissey but I try to stay on key. “I’m kidding. But when you moved around the shop, you were always swaying to the music. You were fun to watch.” He winks at me and my face heats up at the memory. I danced like no one was watching. “We talked and talked and next thing I knew, I was asking you out on a date.” The first date was meant to be memorable but due to one incident, I feel like our date was memorable for the wrong reasons. “We went bowling. I’ll never forget it.” I know why. “You slipped and fell in the aisle.” I was so embarrassed. Is that the only thing you remember? Whenever we talk about it, you always bring it up. “That’s how I break the ice. ‘My boyfriend and I went bowling and he fell in the aisle. It was our first date. It's nice to meet you.'" 

    I’m a little tired now, my eyes a bit heavy and my voice softening. He answered the first date question I had prepared, so I decided to move on to my last one. Have you ever been in love? “Yes. I’d say so. Are you or have you ever been in love?” I’m supposed to be asking the questions, but I answer anyway. Yeah. I am right now. It’s a funny feeling because I’ve never been in love before. “Really? Who with?” You. My eyes can’t take the weight and close. “Good answer.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

    It’s a few minutes to 4 now. Our interview is done, and we’re ready for bed. We don’t go straight to sleep though. I listen to him talk some more with my head on his chest, his little chest hairs tickling my cheek. I begin to absently trace patterns across his chest. He says it tickles. His hand goes up my shirt, moving his hand up and down my back almost in a soothing rhythm. Sometimes, he stops, and I think he’s asleep, but I get the feeling that he realizes that I sensed he’s stopped and keeps going until I’m asleep. The hum of his chest when he speaks, combined with his hand and heartbeat is enough for me to call it a night.  

    His skin radiates a warmth that can’t be duplicated. His hands have a pattern like no other, each touch raising the hairs on my body. Despite it being hours since he’s showered, I can smell the scent of my cherry soap on him. This moment is something I never knew I needed and if it were to be taken away, I would be devastated. I close my eyes. I cannot think of any other place I’d rather be than here.

#puck.docx #💒 | honeymoon suite #self shipping #self shipping community #me getting ready to post this on my blog where ppl can read it: god i hope no one reads this #PLEASE i'm so embarrassed abt my love for this man that lives in my head #who pays NO bills i may add #a year later and i still can't come up with a title smh #ah and the person on the magazine was tom hiddleston who i still love to this day 😌 #but fr i think this fic serves as a good introduction to this ship #it saves me the time of having to explain everything or at least that's what i think

[futurewriter2000]

Why?

A/N: This is a short one and I think it’s kinda cute. I don’t do prologues but I’m really trying to avoid series right now. Especially James and Sirius ones bc those tend to become series quickly.j

REQUEST: James fic with slyrherin reader. He's madly in love with her but she says she doesn't like him *she does like him a lot*. One night he's in the great hall or library with her and the reader says something that sparks him to confess his insecurities which makes her tell him she likes him because she thinks he's a fuck boiiii. Very very specific ik but i thought of it and it sounded cute! Also could you do a prologue please!

XX

With everything in your mind, James Potter wasn’t an easy distraction. You could have sworn that you have never thought a boy like him would like a girl like you. A Quidditch player, a straight O student, a charming Gryffindor and so bloody handsome.

Why would he like you? You, who was nothing special. You, who didn’t have perfectly stunning legs as the rest of the girls in Hogwarts, perfectly styled hair or something that would make you even close to being in his league. Why you?

It was impossible and you knew, he must have been joking with you to ask you out. And a Slytheirn? Definetly not James Potter’s style.

“One date, sunshine? “ he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and walked alongside you. “ One date to make you fall in love with me head over heels.” he grinned and you only shook it off.

“And after?” you asked, clearly messing with him a little.

“Then a second date, third, fourth and on and on. After that we’d move in together, I’d make you a gorgeous wife and you’d give me some gorgeous children. A boy, preferably.” he rambled on and you felt your heart trying to burst out of your chest.

“Lovely dreams, Potter but a first date? That’s far from here.” you moved away from his arm and started walking backward. “See you in the next class.” and you were off.

Though you had a free period at the moment, you knew he did not. So, why was he still walking after you to the library? Didn’t he have class?

“A stalker are we?” you whispered as you turned around when you walked among the bookshelves.

“For you, I’d be anything you’d ask me to be.” he walked closer, his fingertips brushing on the books.

“How about a clown?” you joked around.

“In a second.”

“An astronaut?”

“Immediately.”

“A murderer?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“And what if you murder me?”

“I couldn’t. The brightness blinds my eyes with this one.” he was now too close, his fingers supporting your chin as you didn’t dare to look at him in the eyes.

And that was why. Why you? Why exactly you? The answer was why not you? Because you were the one for him. Each time you walked in the room it was as if his heart would fly away from his chest as his mind did, to cloud nine. Whenever your eyes met, his soul caught on fire, whenever you smiled, his whole day was rainbows and butterflies. He was the one head over heels for you. For your eyes, for your smile, for your voice, your laugh, your thoughts and your mind, your heart and your flaws. He wanted you because he couldn’t find a single thing to hate about you. He loved each corner of you, each secret, no matter how dark. He loved you whole and he just knew you were the one for him. You were meant to be with him as he was meant to be with you.

“Why not one date?”

“Why to be another one of your acquaintances?” you asked in return. “Be one of those girls you date until you move on to the next.”

“Where have you heard that rubbish?” he furrowed his eyebrows at you. “The only girls I’ve ever even been close to holding hands were only my mother, my nana and I’m pretty sure there was this one girl back in the First year, I accidentally bumped into her and touched her hand.”

“So Gloria?”

“Sirius.”

“Martha?”

“Sirius.”

“Jenine?”

“Also Sirius-no wait. That was Remus, I think.”

“Then what about that girl, Ana?”

“She is only my Quidditch co-player. I don’t fancy her.”

You stared at him blankly. Was everything you heard only a rumor? Was he really as innocent as he appeared to be?

“I fancy you, (y/n). “ he took your hands and kissed your knuckles. “It’s always been you and I don’t know if it’s my messy hair or the arrogant, obnoxious attitude people tend to say but I’m not that person. If you just give me a chance to prove to you that I am not the-”

“One date.” you cut him off and smiled at him.

“What?”

“One date and you better not blow it.” you smiled as you backed away from him.

“Wouldn’t dream of.” he smiled broadly. “You won’t regret it. I promise you.”

“And leave the messy hair. I like it.”

#James Potter #james potter x reader #james potter imagine #sirius black #sirius black imagine #remus lupin #remus lupin imagine #peter pettigrew #peter pettigrew imagine #Marauders #marauders era #the marauders #marauders imagine #marauders imagines

[flibbertigiblet]

Jon x Sansa | Modern AU, Imi-taters need not apply

(Also on AO3)

“Sam! Put that down and come back here. No. Sam, you little brat, you need to go upstairs and change into…SAM!”

With an impish laugh, the little boy finally dashed upstairs to his room, and Jon collapsed onto the nearest chair in relief.

The thing is, when Samwell Tarly (senior) had called him two days ago, asking for a favor, Jon had agreed immediately without thinking too much about it. That’s what people do for their friends, right? And he’d known that poor Sam and his wife were both down with a nasty cold for nigh on two weeks now; agreeing to take their son trick-or-treating was no big deal. One might even say it was small potatoes.

Jon looked down at himself and winced. Okay, that phrase was maybe too on the nose. 

Jon had never before had cause to wonder how difficult it would be to chaperone a child on Halloween. The last time he’d gone trick-or-treating was when he himself was a child, traipsing around the streets of Winter Town with Theon, Robb, and the rest of the Stark brood. The last time, he’d been dressed up as a knight, waving a cardboard sword around and vowing to save all the best chocolate for his redhaired fair princess.

This time, he’s dressed as a tuber.

With a face on it.

This…was a considerable downgrade.

Little Sam was a sweet kid, really. It’s just…look, he’s six-years old, and he’s hyperactive to begin with, and they haven’t even left the house yet and Jon’s already had to run around chasing him for fifteen minutes just to get him to go put on his costume, and oh gods, he’s going to be high on candy before the end of the night, isn’t he?

“Jon Snow, you are an angel and a saint,” said the hoarse voice drifting up from the bundle of blankets on the couch, under which his friend and his wife were huddled together in all their flu-ridden misery.

There was no denying that both Sam and Gilly both looked the worse for wear. Still, Jon expelled a breath so deep and melodramatic that the curls on his forehead fluttered in the draft. “No, Sam. What I am, thanks to you, is a walking, talking…potato.”

“Potato head,” said Sansa helpfully, as she came in from the Tarly’s kitchen with two large and steaming mugs of herbal tea. Her own potato - sorry, potato head - costume was as cumbersome as his, and yet Sansa managed to look graceful as always as she navigated her way around forgotten toys and discarded sneakers in order to deliver her bounty to the invalids. 

“I’ve added a bit of lemon for the vitamin C and honey to soothe your throats,” she told them, smiling. 

Jon felt his own face ease into a goofy smile as he watched Sansa fuss over their friends – fluffing cushions and making sure the box of tissues and waste bin were within easy reach – but he quickly schooled his expression when he caught Gilly smirking up at him.

Sam cupped both hands around his drink and took a careful sip. “Sansa Stark, you too are an angel and a saint,” he pronounced with a contented sigh. “Thank you both for agreeing to take Little Sam trick-or-treating.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I asked Sansa to join you, Jon,” Gilly piped up, her shrewd eyes still on Jon. “Little Sam can be quite a handful, and I thought you might want the company. Plus, we had the costumes already, and what’s a Mr. without his Mrs.?” 

“Whose clever idea were the costumes?” grumbled Jon, even as his heart skipped a beat at her too-casual words.

“It was Little Sam’s idea, I’m afraid. Toy Story is his favorite movie, and he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear. But I wasn’t ‘allowed’ to be Woody, because his best friend is going to be Woody.” Sam looked so woebegone that Jon didn’t have it in him to continue sulking, so he nodded instead.

“Oh we don’t mind, do we Jon? We love Little Sam, and these costumes are adorable!” Looking at her reflection in the hallway mirror, Sansa adjusted the yellow bucket hat she was wearing to a jauntier tilt. “In fact,” she said, eyes sparkling as she turned to him now, “I thought your costume lacked one final piece, so I found something to complete the look.”

She reached into the bag that she’d brought with her, and with a flourish, she pulled out a bowler hat.

Jon stifled a groan.

“Now I know it’s an absolute crime to hide this gorgeous head of curls under a hat, but Mr. Potato Head needs his bowler, don’t you think?” Sansa ruffled the curls in question and Jon flushed slightly, embarrassed and pleased by the compliment. He stood still and allowed Sansa to position the hat on his head to her liking, basking as he always did in the warmth of her affection.

Theon and Robb would howl if they could see him now, but luckily that was never going to happen.

She patted his face when she finished, then turned them both towards the couch to seek their friends’ approval.

“An iconic pair,” proclaimed Gilly with a quirk of her lips.

“Hear, hear,” Sam agreed in a muffled voice as he blew his nose.

Behind them, pounding footsteps more suited to a stampeding elephant than a six-year old astronaut signaled Little Sam’s return.

“I’m ready, let’s go! I don’t want to miss all the good candy! Hurry up, let’s go!” Buzz Lightyear indeed. The kid was practically vibrating with excitement – and this was pre-sugar - but Jon was in a good mood all of a sudden, and so he smiled at him indulgently.

“Well, come on then, kiddo,” said Jon, making a move towards the door. 

“Wait-” said Sansa, grabbing his hand.

He stopped.

“We need to take a picture! When he found out we were going trick-or-treating, Theon asked me to send one to the group! And Robb was the one who was nice enough to lend me the hat in the first place!”

Those rat bastards.

“I have a better idea. How about we don’t?”

But they did. Such were the extent of Sansa’s powers. She even got him to smile and wave to the camera, because of course she did.

Their phones buzzed immediately after the pic was sent.

Theon:          OMG

Arya:             what a spud

Robb:            Sansa Starch and Jon Snowtato

Bran:             You guys do look very a-peeling together

Robb:            Truly a mash made in heaven!

Theon:          HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Sansa:           Very punny, you guys

Rickon:          If you’re looking for potato puns, you can count on me to chip in

Gendry:         Don’t mind me, I’m just a spec-tater

Sansa:           Tuber honest, this is better than I expected from you lot

Theon:           HA!

Theon:           HAA!!!

Theon:           HAAAAA!!!!!

Jon:                Alright, that’s enough

Arya:              don’t be salty, jon

Rickon:          Taters gonna tate 

Robb:             I think we’re frying Jon’s patience

Bran:              We’ve really made a hash of things

Jon:                You know very well that Sansa and I are only doing this as a favor to Sam and Gilly

Sansa:            He’s right.

Arya:              …ok, fine

Rickon:          Sorry, Sans. Sorry, Jon :(

Robb:             Yeah, we’ll stop

Theon:           But…I haven’t even gotten to make a potato pun yet :(

Robb:             Jon, you have to admit that you guys look ridiculous though

Jon:                Sansa looks beautiful even when dressed in a literal potato sack

Sansa:           <3<3<3

Arya:              gross. now i’m definitely out.

Theon:           Damn Sansa, how’d you manage to land such a sweet potato?

Theon:           (AW YIS!)

Jon:                …

Jon:                …

Jon:                …

Jon:                It’s just the way I yam.

Theon:           …

Rickon:          …

Robb:            …I think we’re done here.

—–

Written for the Jonsa 100 Challenge. Was tagged by @zarahjoyce with the the prompt “run” (which I only used very loosely in the fic, sorry!)

Inspired by:

“The Potato Heads, Mr. and Mrs.! You’ve gotta keep ‘em together, ‘cause they’re madly in love…”

I know I could have gone with any number of options for a Jonsa couples costume edit, but this concept made me lol so I decided to roll with it! Longtime Jonsas will know why I have to give special credit to @riahchan - years of seeing her call Jon a potato means this idea was probably percolating in the back of my head for a good long while!

Tagging @amymel86 next with “tissue”

—–

Check out my other stuff here: @flibbertigiblet-edits

#jonsa #jon x sansa #actuallyjonsa #jon snow #sansa stark #gotjonsnow #gotsansastark #gotedit #got fanart #got fanfic #jonsa fanfic #got au #modern au #my edit #flibbertigiblet

[stardustandheart]

A Light in our Darkness

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

4:33PM EDT

They were ready. Were you?

Everybody was ready. All were ready except for one: The one who ultimately runs the show, the goddess Mother Nature.

Yesterday my family and I got in the car and headed to Cape Canaveral for this historic day.

It was a special day, the mark of a new era. For the first time in 9 years after the final space shuttle mission, NASA would launch 2 special and most worthy humans to the ISS, off of U.S. soil. On board the Crew Dragon spacecraft that sits on top of the Space X Falcon 9 rocket were veteran astronauts Doug Hurley (one of my role models) and Robert Behnken. Few words are needed to describe what they were about to feel and achieve.

“Astronauts are the worthy explorers of untouched lands”

But this dynamic duo-crew alone wouldn’t fill the crew cabin because flying with them to the ISS are the dreams of every American and all generations past.

We live in a dark time right now. I think it is so beautiful that even amidst a global pandemic where fear drives our pain and sadness, our innovators and leaders have even so pushed through and manifested our dreams to explore beyond our planet.

And so NASA said “let’s light this candle.” All was ‘go for launch.’

For the last week and a half or so that I had been home, it was storming every day-(typical Florida pre-hurricane season), all throughout the week I was doubtful of the launch but I remained hopeful and so did our astronauts, along with every person working behind the scenes, I truly believe it.

Our entire planet united, rooting for our heroes. Our heroes who would be this light in our darkness.

I woke up yesterday with a hunch that it wasn't going to happen, but I was fighting it. Four hours later when we arrived to the park where we would witness this historical moment, I remember just feeling… {how is this happening}. Feeling concern over our astronauts, fearing a catastrophic mistake wouldn’t be made. I was almost hoping that they would scrub the launch. Having had a near-catastrophic avionic experience, I will never be the same. I really truly believe it in my body and mind that I have developed a “sixth sense” where I can feel and sense danger in the sky.

Right as we walk up the our viewing area, straight across from me I see a lightning strike. And in that moment, I just knew it in my body, it was scrubbed. With only about 10 minutes to liftoff, sure enough it was canceled.

I felt nothing but relief.

The issue was that there was too much electricity in the atmosphere; while every single other exterior and interior condition was aligned perfectly, launch director of the mission feared that the launch of the craft would actually trigger a lightning storm, which could result in catastrophe.

So it was Mother Nature’s call this time. Everything, absolutely everything happens for a reason & I trust the universe with my whole entire being.

The launch has been postponed to Saturday, May 30 with a liftoff time of 3:22PM EDT.

This craft that they are flying to the station is one of the most sleek, modern, safe, and advanced systems ever built, truly a milestone in the space economy, able to fly up to 7 crew members at once to space and beyond. Demo-2 is the final major milestone mission for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions, to and from the International Space Station. This means that if this mission is successful, this craft will be used in future space exploration missions, specifically the Artemis Program which will take our civilization to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It gives me chills.

There was no launch yesterday, but this is no failure.

Post-launch scrub, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said “It was a great day for NASA, it was a great day for SpaceX. I think our teams worked together in a really impressive way, making good decisions all along.” The scrub yesterday was the best decision they could have ever made in order to keep our crew safe. Safety is the mostimportant thing for our astronauts. Safety is paramount, which leads me to something that I am so passionate about, & that is CRM and the importance of it in aviation & aeronautics safety. CRM stands for Crew Resource Management, and it is “the effective use of all available resources for flight personnel to assure a safe and efficient operation, reducing error, avoiding stress, and increasing efficiency” (Skybrary.aero). The concept was developed as a response to new insights into the causes of aircraft accidents. It is absolutely shocking, from this research, how many fatal aircraft accidents were not causes from technical malfunctions of the aircraft or its systems themselves, but simply because of a lack of effective communication and teamwork on the part of the crew. I see it even when I work my flights- the inability of crews to be able to respond appropriately to the situation in which they find themselves. No situational awareness, or if there is, not voicing this to the other crew members, fearing that it is not important and/or carelessness. All this leading to ultimately a wrong decision or series of wrong decisions that result in catastrophe.

I am so passionate about situational awareness, especially after my own aircraft incident. Not only can I stress how important situational awareness is, but CRM, and being tuned in live during this launch yesterday it was just spectacular to watch and listen to the dialogue between NASA and the crew and see how effectively and composed they worked together to make the best and safest decisions. It always, always amazes me and not only that, but teaches me something new about CRM each time. Invaluable information that I can take with me on my own flights. More importantly than just situational awareness, effective communication, and composed teamwork, really lies the most special and distinctive quality that separates effective CRM from weak CRM. And for me personally, that is the ability of the crew to really tune into this sixth sense as a collective entity. It is almost other-wordly, magical- so to speak. It is when the crew can successfully become a unified force and be able to successfully execute the right decision, but this can only be done as a united entity and with complete collaboration and agreement. Everything has to be lined up correctly. It’s magic, really. Because if you read/watch any real-life emergency experiences from the most famous of events and iconic astronauts/aviation professionals (such as Apollo 11 for example), they will tell you the same thing.

My ultimate icon, Christina Koch said some words at yesterday’s event that I want to share as well:

“So much history … it is really just such a testament to NASA, not only are we pushing the boundaries of knowledge and discovery and exploration but, we’re pushing the boundaries on how we accomplish that mission, we’re bringing in commercial partners, we’re fostering a space economy so we’re making sure that we’re always pushing forward, always taking that next step. I think it’s such a privilege to be part of an organization that recognizes if we’re not actually making steps and innovating every single time we do this, then we’re not truly answering humanity’s call to explore and to push those boundaries.”

And she really just put into words what I couldn’t. For NASA to still be able to push those limits amidst this covid-19 global pandemic is truly what it means to answer humanity’s call to explore our universe. As I always say- and what keeps me moving- “the world must go on.” It’s that “how” factor that Koch points out that marks this event as truly a pivotal turning point- innovation and ingenuity. How we are changing the way we do things, experimenting, pushing our limits. It is what makes the human race a truly incredible civilization.

Today I will leave you with one of my favorite things, an Aesop fable. This one is called “The Astrologer”:

A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer, and spent his time at night gazing at the sky.

One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on the stars. He thought he saw there that the end of the world was at hand, when all at once, down he went into a hole full of mud and water.

There he stood up to his ears, in the muddy water, and madly clawing at the slippery sides of the hole in his effort to climb out.

His cries for help soon brought the villagers running. As they pulled him out of the mud, one of them said:

“You pretend to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is at your feet! This may teach you to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself.”

“What use is it,” said another, “to read the stars, when you can't see what's right here on the earth?”

And so the message is ~[Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.]~

The weather, yesterday, was our “little thing” in the big picture. We are taking care of it. Our vision and our mission does not cease. And so the countdown to Saturday begins.

Let’s light this candle.

This is strange, dark, and ominous world we live in. Take it one day at a time.

I promise that you will be okay. And remember, my door is always open.

So much love.

And so the world goes on.

Open your eyes, look up to the skies

-Elon Musk

Xx~

Jami

[centaurianwisdom]

The Time Has Come

Hey guys! So, um, this is a piece of original fiction that I’ve been able to write after two years of a creative dry spell. Its a short piece set in space, and has a sad ending, which is well within the theme of what I was given. However it deals with feelings of love and longing, the thirst of knowledge, the silence of vastness and infinitude, and the inevitability of death. I hope you like it, please do review it and add your comments in the notes or tags. I swear to you, every reblog, like, and comment means the world to me. This piece is based on the song Space Oddities by David Bowie. Enjoy!

Ground control to Major Tom

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You’re gonna reach the stars up there babe.”

“Well…um. Not the stars.”

“Oh you know what I mean, Major Literal.”

The major chuckled. His wife smiled tightly, her lips pursed, and then ducked her head, trying to discreetly wipe her tears.

“Somewhere nearby, right dad?”

The major got down on one knee in front of his little boy, and chucked his dimpled chin. The little boy flashed his teeth at him, small and uneven, with the two front teeth missing.

“Yeah, buddy. Somewhere nearby. Now remember, where I am going and where you think I am going are very different things. You gotta read up on them, okay buddy? You gotta read up on them, and you gotta report back to me, ok? What you learned? Because there’s a  lot ‘f that. Learning about space. So much to know, so much we don’t know…”

His son looked down with wonder at the major, brown eyes widening to the size of saucers. “Really? There’s stuff we don’t know?”

“Yep. And that’s why I am going up there. To learn about the stuff that we don’t know, maybe uncover what the universe deigns to reveal to us. The universe, it’s…it’s full of mysteries you know.”

“So you are like a space detective?”

The major chuckled. Oh, this kid. An active imagination, this one. The major hoped that the universe would deign to reveal her mysteries to him too, one day. If he yearned for it enough.

“Something like that.”

The click-clacking of shoes came up behind them, and a quite cough. The major turned his head to look behind him, and found a nervous looking flight technician. “The time has come, sir.”

The major nodded, once, and the technician turned and briskly walked away. A man on a mission, on an important job to get more astronauts out of terra firma and into the last frontier for more experiments, more stubborn tugging of the curtain away from the knowledge that certain portions of mankind craved.

The major started walking backwards, trying to smile his widest, and waving madly.

“Well, it’s time for me to go. Take care, you guys. I’ll see you in three months.”

“Bye, dad!”

“Bye, babe!”

The major waved, one final time, and then turned on his heels, smile faltering a bit but still staying on his face. He had work to do, then back home with his family.

“The time has come.”

 Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)

Check ignition and may God’s love be with you (two, one, liftoff)

 Space.

 “This is Major Tom to Ground Control.

I’m stepping through the door

And I’m floating in the most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

From here.

Am I sitting in a tin can

Far above the world

Planet earth is blue

And there’s nothing I can do.”

          Its’s beautiful. The limitless, pristine darkness, interrupted by distant pinpricks of light. And the earth, a vast distance away, a beautiful blue marble ball, interspersed with green and brown and delicately draped with wisps of clouds where days are clear and sunny, and an ominous gathering of grey where storms rent the land. There are other humans on the station, of course, working on different experiments, measuring, interpreting, drawing conclusions and thinking up applications to their conclusions. The major, in addition to being a pilot, is also an engineer, and sets to work repairing and maintaining the space station, chatting to his co-workers through the radio. Sometimes he stays silent though, lets the chatter fade away to white noise in moments where he catches a break, to just look around, at the vast silence that is yet filled with such noise. Made by explosive births and deaths, and the burning of stars and the fulfillment of infinite life in the infinite reaches of space. And it knocks him over honestly, the profundity of human achievement that puts him here to admire this view and realize how small of a speck he is the big picture.

          He appreciates it.

 He talks to his family when he is free. He talks about stars and planets and aliens to his son, and the immensity of his feelings, of love and loss and family feuds and the repairs around the house and the strange clunking of the car with his wife. And in those moments, even from all those miles away…

 I’m feeling very still

And I think my spaceship knows which way to go

Tell her wife I love her very much

She knows.

 …He feels…he feels he’s home.

 And three months later, he can actually see them in person. He will be able to touch them, and hug them, and see the books his son read so he can report to his father.

          He is guiding the spaceship containing his crew back to the atmosphere when

 Ground control to Major Tom

Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

 “ Is there nothing…we can do? To repair the shield plates?”

          “I am sorry. You are going to enter the atmosphere at any second and-”

          “Yes. I…understand what’s going to happen.”

“We are so sorry, we didn’t realise till the last moment-”

“Just tell my son that-that, dad’s gonna be a bit longer because he got a bigger mission to explore the stars now- and- and that’s probably gonna take some time so he better read up for me. And tell my wife I love her very much.”

          “Very well, Major.”

          “ HEY, MAJOR,” one of his crew shouted from the back, oblivious to his doom. “WHEN WE GONNA HIT THE ATMOSPHERE?”

          The major closed his eyes. He had promised. Three months. But. Some missions were bigger.

          “The time has come.”

 Can you hear me Major Tom?

Can you- “Here I’m floating ‘round my tin can

Far above the moon

Planet Earth is blue

And there’s nothing I can do.

#short story #original #i hope you guys like it!!

[libraryreads]

LibraryReads Readers’ Advisory Interview: Jane Jorgenson!

We here at LibraryReads release a monthly list of the top ten most-nominated titles that librarians across the country love - we do this so that librarians can add tools to their Readers’ Advisory toolbox to better help library patrons. But for some of us, RA is a tricky thing. How do we bring it up to patrons? What does Readers’ Advisory look like? Which resources are the most useful? In the latest in a recurring series, we ask librarians to share their own experiences, tools, and advice.

Let’s get started. Who are you and where do you work?

Hello, I’m Jane Jorgenson and I am a neighborhood library manager for the Madison Public Library in Madison, WI. Though I am not on the desk as often as I used to be, I’m still able to keep my hand in a bit by continuing to act as the content manager for our book reviews blog, MADreads (www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/madreads) and running our MADmatches events on Facebook.

How did you become a librarian? What was the process or history that got you here?

I was a big reader as a kid (shocker, I know), always had a book in hand, so of course I was told many times by other kids and adults, “you’re going to be a librarian”. But the profession wasn’t really on my radar until I got a job as a Page at MPL and began working with actual librarians. When I saw what they did, how they helped people every day, how they researched questions and dove into information with a deep, abiding curiousity? And all while seeming to love what they were doing? That’s when I decided on library school. So while working at MPL, I got my Masters’ degree and as I did so worked my way up from Page to Clerk to Library Assistant and then to Librarian.

Have you always been a fan of Readers’ Advisory? If not, how did you become a fan?

I have always been. My first “customer” was my dad. He, like me, was a big reader, but he rarely went out and got his own books, he just read what was put in front of him (though he tended to like thrillers and westerns). He relied on gifts or hand-me-downs. But as I got old enough to start getting him books, I was determined to get him things that he’d love. We talked books a lot, so I knew what he liked and I would search out readalikes for him. He not only didn’t pick his own books, he generally didn’t know what he had read already. So I became both his reading record and personal shopper. A role I took on with all the readers in my family and something I still do.

As an adult, around the same time I got the Page job at MPL, I got a job in a mystery book store. It was there I put my readers’ advisory skills to use in a professional capacity for the first time. Though I spent more at the store then I made, I stuck with it for ten years because of how much I loved talking books and trying to delight customers with their next great read. Finding that perfect match between book and reader were my moments of Zen.    

What is the genre/section of the library you’re most comfortable with?

 As you might guess, given my 10 years in a mystery book store, I’m pretty expert in crime fiction (mystery, thrillers, suspense, etc.). But I’m pretty comfortable with genre fiction in general, including romance, SF, and fantasy. I also read fiction and nonfiction (though here I tend to lean towards narrative NF).

What is the genre/section of the library you most fear?

I’d have to say childrens’ RA is what most often gives me a moment of panic. Since taking on a supervisory role, I’m not on desk as much, so I’ve gotten away from what kids and their parents are regularly asking for. I know what my go-to titles were a few years ago, but what’s hot with kids changes pretty quickly, so I do have to pause and take a moment when working this kind of RA.

When someone asks for a reading recommendation, how do you go about answering their question?

In Andy Weir’s THE MARTIAN, Mark Watney, the astronaut stranded on Mars, talks about how he dealt with the challenges that arose. He’d have his moments of anxiety and panic and then he’d begin to “work the problem”. That’s how I operate with both reference and readers’ advisory – and really it’s good advice for pretty much everything, so there’s a tip for you.

I remember the feeling I got when I was first working a reference/readers’ advisory desk, that moment when someone would come up to me with a question that I just had no clue about. For a few seconds my brain would be whirling madly, like ‘oh my god, I don’t know how to answer this, where to look’ etc. And then I’d begin to work the problem.

When someone asks for a reading recommendation, I ask them what they’ve liked recently and what they liked about those reads. I can start to build my mental suggestion list from that. If their reading is familiar to me, I might begin to pull up titles in our ILS so they can see the covers, hear the descriptions. If they read in an area I’m less familiar with, I’ll put the RA tools to use. If they haven’t been reading at all, I’ll ask about movies they’ve liked or tv shows they love. From all of that I begin to try and make some connections for them.

In all cases I try to get them over to a section of the shelves as soon as possible – something that I learned in my book store days. There’s a lot you can gather from facial expressions and body language when you put a book into their hands. At MPL we have a collection called ‘Too Good to Miss’, made up of fiction, genre fiction and nonfiction titles that have been steadily popular or have generated long-term, low-grade buzz. Not the hottest, bestseller of the moment, but those titles that just work over time. This is a great starting point for readers who are a little unsure of just what they want or haven’t been reading for a while. I put the books in their hands, I point out the covers, I book talk the titles, all while reading their responses (both verbal and not).

What is your favorite book (or books!) to recommend to people?

Hmmm, I think I have books of the moment; books I’ve read recently that I’ve loved and want to make known to other readers far and wide. But I don’t think I have any books that have always been something I want to recommend. So much depends on what the person in front of me, physically or virtually, wants to read that I really couldn’t pick one or even a few titles. 

That said, what I’ve been raving about recently to my fellow readers of the world, are K. B Wagers’ SF Indranan War series, starting with BEHIND THE THRONE, which combines great SF worldbuilding with political maneuvering and machinations, all seen from the eyes of a kick-ass heroine. In mysteries, the book that’s been on the tip of my tongue is not due out until July, but I just want everyone to read it when it does come out. THE LOST ONES by Sheena Kamal is haunting and suspenseful and again features a strong, intelligent heroine (something I’m always drawn to), who is damaged, but determined to not be a victim. And in fiction, I’ve been talking up THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett, a book that was on a lot of “best” lists this past year, but still is somewhat unknown.

What are your favorite RA sources to use? 

 I generally use a combo of Novelist, Goodreads, Amazon, Fantastic Fiction and our library catalog to get me started. I augment these with genre specific sites if necessary, Stop You’re Killing Me for mysteries or All About Romance as examples.

How does LibraryReads help you with Readers' Advisory? (Or does it?)

I mentioned our ‘Too Good to Miss’ books as a physical collection of can’t miss titles. That’s how I view LibraryReads. I use it to build my mental list of surefire, solid choices that I know will appeal. So I use it much like I would our TGTM books. I pull up previous month’s lists to show to customers who just want “something good to read”. Additionally, I have found it’s a good source for book groups who are looking for fresh titles to choose from – especially those book groups that want to get a little ahead of the buzz.

What RA advice would you give a younger version of yourself?

My first job out of high school was working as in shoe sales. I learned a lesson there about choices and selection that I eventually realized was applicable for RA work as well. The lesson was; don’t overwhelm customers with too many choices. When I was trying to sell shoes I found that if I went beyond about five or six choices for a customer, nine times out of ten they ended up walking out without buying anything. If I kept their range of choices down below that number, a sale was much more likely. I can’t tell you all the psychological whys and wherefores of this, but I sold shoes for four years, so I know it to be true. If they got overwhelmed with choices, they just couldn’t decide on anything.

A rule that I eventually realized applied to readers too. You can probably guess I’m pretty enthusiastic about this area of our profession, and when I was younger I was VERY enthusiastic. I just wanted to talk all the books all the time. But if you bombard a customer with a dozen titles that are just “perfect” for them, they will invariably walk away with nothing.

So what I would tell the younger RA me is to edit my suggestions a little, pull back before putting more titles in front of the reader. Pause a moment to read their expression and body language. Be enthusiastic, but judicious.

Thanks, Jane! If you want to catch up with what’s she’s reading, you can follow her on Twitter and Litsy (username “poptart”) 

#libraryreads #readadv #readers advisory #poptarts

[captainignatiuspigheart]

Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do anything, including remembering the time before the heat haze. Still – we shall prevail! It was a quietish couple of weeks in any case, though did have a couple of cool things in it. Not least that I’ve been able to live outside in my gazebo office, and keep a close eye on our ridiculous cats and their shade seeking antics. We were all sad when the thunder and hailstorms drove us inside… Taking keen note of the foul weather I finally picked up some serious LEGO storage towers and did some reorganising. They don’t take up less space, which is unfortunate, but I can access key bricks sets much more easily!

Big fella in a hedge

Little lady in her rooftop fort

Last week turned out to be a mini podcast week, so I’ve spent more time talking than usual (taking up precious drinking time, alas). More We Are What We Overcoming, which has become a cornerstone of my fortnightly routine, and really does help me think about how I feel and how I’m behaving in this quarantini time. That’s not the same as actually changing my behaviour, but being aware that I’m doing little but drinking and sighing at the sun is a start… My other half and I were also interviewed for the Knot Ready podcast: a look at marriage from a modern, feminist perspective, since we’re nearly twenty-two years into a non-marriage we have some insight into why folks may not get married, or at least, possibly, why we haven’t. It was a lot of fun to chat about how we got together (half a lifetime ago!) and other stuff. I’ll definitely remember to share when our episode is out, but you should subscribe to the podcast anyway because Lucy is pretty ace and it’s a genuinely interesting subject.

View this post on Instagram

I am KNOT READY 💍😘 . I am ready to tie the knot! I am lucky enough to have found an amazing person who makes my life better and who I want to commit to fully 💕 . So when I say I'm freaked out by marriage – it's not a commitment thing! . I'm freaked out that this institution, this human invention, controlled by religion and the state and shaped through time by patriarchal narratives, has become synonymous with romantic love, and not just culturally but for me personally! Something has got it into my head that our relationship is incomplete without marriage, despite suspecting on an intellectual level that nothing much will change afterwards. . Why am I spending a silly amount of money on one day? Why did it make me sad to not be engaged to my person? Why is marriage so important to me? . Freaky questions! For some answers, turn to Knot Ready 💍😘 Episode one comes out this Friday! Link in bio to subscribe or learn more 💖

A post shared by Knot Ready (@knotreadypodcast) on Jun 23, 2020 at 12:13am PDT

We’ve also seen a few more genuine humans in the meatspace, a thing which makes me feel ever so odd. I suspect that I have been at home for too long… But we had a lovely slow wander around the University Park lake and a bit of the radically altered campus up the back of the Portland Building. Lots of baby birds, and our friends’ new baby of their own.

Building: LEGO Hidden Side’s Newbury Haunted High School #70425

OK, so I built this ages ago, but it’s really pretty. Thing is, in its standard configuration it sprawls a little wide, and is distressingly not quite a modular building. So I fixed it! My goal was for it to fit in with the other modular buildings, but of course it’s four studs wider than a baseplate, so something had to go. In my first attempt I tried to compact the bay windows but made a horrible mess, so dismantled the whole thing and rebuilt it using the instructions and deviating where necessary. Where necessary was a bit of a pain – to keep the play functions I needed to keep the bay windows and the full width of the clock tower. My only viable option was removing the four silver unicorn spires with their supporting arches, and that hasn’t really hurt the build much. I’m not super-happy that the decorative ground floor arches are now somewhat obscured, but I’m chuffed with the overall result. That it gave me a chance to go nuts on a swirly tiling pattern in coral pink was a massive bonus. I’ve kept all the play features, but lost some of the details inside. I may remove all the worn detailing too and just have a lovely school in between the detective’s office and the bank. As was noted in the Brickgeekz Facebook group, its colours do rather resemble the now-exceedingly rare Town Hall which I could never quite afford. Win!

Four studs too wide…

It fits!

Beautiful flooring

Play features intact

Watching: Space Force

This is certainly quite fun. A show about Trump’s cretinous “space force” which supposedly satirises the idea, but instead gets caught up doing a sort-of sincere NASA knock-off to get Americans back on the Moon. It doesn’t seem to be sure what it’s taking the mickey out of, leaving the comedy unfocused and swaying madly in each episode. The characters are pretty stock fodder: uptight air force general played by Steve Carell, who looks rather lost, desperate to make it funny by crashing in and out of character while relying heavily on clearing his throat to cover all forms of emotion; very smart scientist guy who isn’t that great with people in the remarkable form of John Malkovich, who shows off his comedy chops nicely (largely by staying in character); total arsehole PR guy Ben Schwartz, who is utterly hateable (in a good way) but of course redeems himself, sort of; space force pilot/astronaut Tawny Newsome, desperate to get on the moon and be somebody; the air force general’s neglected daughter who just wants to have some fun / get any attention at all from her dad. The supporting cast do a great job too, but the tone constantly swinging from idiots messing up the mission to “hurray USA” sentiment leaves them all out in the cold. It’s just odd. I did enjoy the show, and it certainly has some splendid moments, mostly as they get towards the moon landing itself, but I’m not going to be racing back for season two. The Chinese are the main rivals in this new space race, and it’s a bit… broad… for 2020.

Doing: We Are What We Overcome

The next of our “lockdown specials”, lovingly recorded by Zoom and broadcast live in Facebook. Didn’t quite work last week, for no clear reason, so we popped it up on Tuesday instead. We talked about the thorny subject of change, which we seem to have to deal with all the damned time! It’s an interesting issue, covering not just what change is and how it feels, but how we learn (or don’t learn) to deal with it. All terribly pertinent and that. We came back yesterday Monday 19th to discuss how we feel about the easing of lockdown (or whatever the fuck this shower of wank called a Tory government are doing): check that one our here: Facebook Live.

Kickstarter Reward: Munchkin Bricks 2

With all the global lunacy I’d quite forgotten these were on the way! The last-but-one project of Guy Himber, aka CrazyBricks. These are pretty silly accessories and things to accompany the equally silly Munchkin card/boardgame. I just thought they were really cute, god knows what I’m going to do with them. Particular favourites for me are the chibi cthulus (some may become gifts for others…) and the splendid octobricks!

Swag

Swagger

You should definitely check out his current project, which is already very well funded and heading for far-reaching stretch goals: Dino Dudes! Yep, it’s just what it sounds like. Go get em! Nicely covered here by the excellent Beyond the Brick channel:

Reading: Provenance by Ann Leckie

My first Leckie, having not yet gotten around to reading the acclaimed Ancillary Justice series, though this one is set in the same universe. It’s perfectly fine small-scope space opera, focusing on a young woman’s attempts to secure her future (by being named as heir to a senior politician – her adopted mother in a society with interesting communal creche arrangements) by breaking a thief out of prison and lording her victory over her brother. The thief has apparently nicked some precious vestiges, Leckie’s intriguing concept of highly-prized mementoes of the past, which might be anything from an actual artifact, eg a bell used in the first summoning of parliament, to a signed bus ticket on a special day. The Hwaean people are obsessed with the things, and it would be a terrible shame if they turned out to be fake… There’s lots of running around with aliens and robots and occasional murder of diplomats and so on, all risking the failure of a super-important peace accord between humans and some potentially terrifying aliens. Provenance is neatly written, though it loses something in having the plot summary on the back cover take only the first chapter or so to resolve, leaving me unsure where it was going after the exciting sounding heist was dealt with so quickly. It never quite recovered for me, which definitely confirms that I should not read the back cover of books I’m about to read. The author’s interest in diversity and multiple genders, modes of address and interesting social set ups are fun and satisfying to read about, so I suspect I’ll enjoy getting properly into the Ancillary Justice vibe; I just shouldn’t have started here.

More LEGO. SCUM: A Star Wars Story

I’ve now built the main cast of our Star Wars RPG! Clockwise from top-left: my Tusken raider with savaged translator droid strapped to my back, Jon’s Twi’lek bounty hunter, Ben’s Nautolan hacker, Diarmuid’s hapless and much abused Imperial officer, Joe’s GH7 medical droid (a real delight to assemble) his Mandalorian bodyguard (played by Charlie). It’s fun! Now I wanna build some of our missions…

Watching: Agents of SHIELD season 4

I’m sure you’re growing weary of this, but Agents of SHIELD is a goddamned delight. Best show on TV? Maybe. (Warning: many spoilers ahead.) This was the last of the seasons that I’d seen before, so was by far the most familiar. And yet, in the style of all their seasons, a MILLION things happen, overwhelming any sense I had of how long any of the events took. To give you some idea of just how wild this season is, we go from introducing Ghost Rider, in a surprisingly coherent way, to another Avengers nightmare of AI coming to life and taking over various characters with robot duplicates (in this case, Ada, built by splendid returning cast member John Hannah), followed by an incredible immersion of the main cast in a vast virtual reality “The Framework” (built by Ada, John Hannah, and Fitz) a terrifying alternate reality where Hydra has won and rules the world, busily oppressing and annihilating inhumans so that Ada can build herself a real body. Jesus Christ, it’s a lot. Add to that a new director of SHIELD, the ongoing friction between SHIELD and the inhumans vs the rest of the world, plus god knows what else that I’ve forgotten, and I’m happily mindblown. Of course, it’s also the doomed FitzSimmons romance show too, as those two get yet another absolute kicking when we see that Fitz is the chief Hydra scientist, experimenting and murdering all sorts of folk, like Simmons… How will they put themselves back together? Who the hell knows because at the end of this season most of the team is abducted and wake up in SPACE! In truth I’m already a good way into season 5 and I could not be happier.

Doing: MissImp’s virtual improv comedy drop-in

I’ll admit, I’m as behind on these as I am on everything else… First up, The Tiny Glass Person with Feña Ortalli:

Followed by the marvellous David Escobedo in Discovering Your Dynamics:

Last Week: LEGO, Knot Ready, Space Force, Provenance, MissImp, CrazyBricks, Agents of SHIELD, We Are What We Overcome… many things! I’ve gotta get back to doing this weekly… TV, books, much LEGO, some improv and podcasts. https://wp.me/pbprdx-8Gx Wow, the last couple of weeks alternating surging heat and grim weather has thorough melted every bit of my desire to do…

#Agents of SHIELD #Ann Leckie #custom lego #David Escobedo #Dino Dudes #Knot Ready #lego #LEGO Hidden Side #MissImp: Improv Comedy Theatre Nottingham #Space Force #Star Wars Edge of Empire #TV review #We Are What We Overcome

[zanegreytours]

Vendor Spotlight: Eric with Eric Herod Entertainment

Meet Eric, Wedding Entertainment Director with Eric Herod Entertainment! Read how he got started as a DJ and how he treats every couple like his own family! Also, check out his tip for having a successful big day!

What makes you or your business stand out and why should a couple hire you? Every couple is part of our family. We build relationships and friendships with our couples so that we can better serve them and their guests on the wedding day. Our goal is to make every wedding a Legendary wedding, one that will be discussed in the family for years.

What’s a weird/unusual tip you tell your couples? Tip #589 (Yeah, I have a lot of them): Make sure you get the coconut shrimp. So, at our wedding, when we arrived from the ceremony, we were rushed right into the reception. Thus, we missed the appetizers, which included coconut shrimp. It was the one thing, food-wise, I was looking forward to the most. Therefore, my tip: build time for you to relax after the photos to enjoy the appetizers and drinks in a secluded area before you enter the reception because once you do, you are on your guest’s time.

What’s your favorite thing about what you do? The friendships that we have created with couples and their families. Nothing humbles us more than when we get the comment, “How long have you known the couple, it seems like you’ve been friends for a long time?”

How did you get to where you are now? I was always the kid in high school with all the music. Then, in college, I went to a club and saw a DJ live for real for the first time and knew that I could do that. When I moved to Raleigh, NC, I went to a club the very first weekend I was there and chatted with the DJ. Wasn’t long before he needed someone to cover, and he taught me how to mix beats, read crowds, and get creative with music. Once I got into the wedding industry, I started learning how to get creative with the MC work. That’s when it all came together.

What’s something every couple should know before getting married? First off, are you madly in love with your partner? Yes? Good. Then, let’s talk about how to showcase that because when you do, guests feel like they are part of something special. The reception is about your guests and they have to be participants, not observers. You have to find ways to make them FEEL the love you have for each other and for them.

What’s your go-to spot to eat in RVA? When I get down to the RVA, I love to eat at Can Can Brassiere, Wong Gonzalez, or Secret Sandwich Society. All amazing!

What did you want to be when you were little? I had and still have so many interests, but as a kid, I remember going from Astronaut to Police Officer to Teacher. Teacher landed and stuck back in 4th grade and it’s what I became back in 2001. While I taught, I DJ’d and fell in love with DJ’ing weddings.

What was your first job? My first ever job was working at Electronics Boutique, the original Game Stop. I sold video games. Yep, I am a gamer.

What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Two fried eggs on toast with cheese.

What do you like to do when you are away from work? My family loves everything Disney, so ultimately Disney World is our happiest place of all. But, if we can’t go to Disney, watching a Disney movie on the couch with the kids is awfully enjoyable too.

What’s your newest Netflix obsession? I just finished season 2 of The Punisher. That was killer. My favorite show, though, is The Walking Dead. I’m oddly into the apocalyptic survival stuff.

What’s the coolest thing you’re working on now? Remixing Education. My goal is to help light a spark in changing education focusing on teaching the 7 essential skills that aren’t being taught in America. You can find out more at https://remixing.education

What’s your go-to dance move? The Wobble. Way too many photos of me on Facebook leading The Wobble at weddings!

Learn more about Eric and the rest of his team on their website!

The post Vendor Spotlight: Eric with Eric Herod Entertainment appeared first on Richmond Weddings.