#not due sunday handed in wednesday after late

[rentsturner]

A Place To Hide - A.T.

Alex turner x fem!reader

warnings: smut, oral (f receiving), kissing, tiny bit of dirty talk, teasing, begging and orgasm denial (if you squint), fluff before and after, established relationship

a/n: for my bestie @ohladymoon I hope you enjoy this. its pretty short, but I needed something to get me out of my slump.

You slowly wake up to sunlight filtering through the blinds, casting a warm glow over your sleeping boyfriend, who’s softly snoring away next to you. The alarm clock next to you says 9:00 AM, a nice lie in for a Sunday morning. You think about your plans for the day before remembering that you and Alex have decided on a chilled day to spend time with each other, having not seen him much this week due to his long hours at the studio recording a new album. A warm feeling settles in your chest at the thought of relaxing with Alex all day, watching films, reading books together and probably ordering a takeaway in the evening. 

You yawn and stretch, trying taking care not to nudge Alex and wake him up, but you hear him mumble and groan, as if he can sense that you’ve awoken. 

You roll over to face him, watching as his eyelashes flutter, his squint as his eyes adjust to the light and he rubs one hand over his face, reaching up to scratch his forehead as he yawns loudly. His eyes focus on you and a tired smile spreads over his face. 

“Morning, love.”

“Morning, Al.” You smile at his voice, deep and husky, a little hoarse from all the singing he’s been doing at the studio recently. The bags under his eyes add to the picture, suggesting he may be working himself a little too hard. You make a mental note to ask him about it later, make sure he’s looking after himself. 

His arm loops around your waist, tugging on your hip to pull you closer into his warmth. You snuggle into his chest, breathing in his musky scent, but Alex interrupts you, tugging on your hair softly and tilting your head upwards to look at him. His face splits into a sleepy grin before he moves in and brushes his lips against yours. It’s slow and a little needy, making up for the lost time over the past week, savouring the first kiss of the day. His tongue swipes your bottom lip and you open your mouth for him, whining as his tongue pushes past yours. His nose is pushing into your cheek and his soft hair is tickling your forehead, but you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. 

Alex’s grip tightens on your hip, fingers squeezing gently, before smoothing his hand over your ass cheeks, kneading the flesh slowly. 

You giggle at his neediness and murmur against his lips. “Someone’s eager.”

Alex whines, but doesn’t deny it. “I’ve barely seen you all week, darling. It’s been too long.”

You roll your eyes and laugh, Alex takes the opportunity to begin kissing down your neck.

“Al, you had me Monday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday. Twice on Thursday, actually, if I remember correctly.”

“Not. Enough.” Alex huffs in between kisses. You smirk. As much as you love to tease him, you’ve missed him too - the quickies late at night, before bed, aren’t enough for you either. Alex tried his best, but he’s been so tired from recording recently that two rounds was the maximum he could go before he was snoring into the mattress. You understand. But now that he’s taking his time with you, worshipping you and marking up the skin on your neck, it's easy for you to get excited. You thread your fingers into his hair, soft and fluffy from sleep, and you tug on it gently, knowing how much Alex loves having his hair played with. 

His kisses get more frantic and frequent as he moves from your neck, down your shoulder, kissing along your arm as you giggle at his actions. He takes your hand in his, maintaining your gaze with his own as he brings your knuckles to his lips and kisses them gently. 

His gaze flits over your face and you blush at the intensity of his stare as he whispers softly “You’re so beautiful. Did you know?”

“No, Al, it’s not like you tell me everyday.” you laugh again, acting playful and nonchalant but secretly a little moved by his earnest admission.

“Well, that’s my job as your boyfriend. To tell you that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

You lean in to brush your lips against his again, humming your thanks. You pull back before he can deepen the kiss and he whines, deep in his chest.

“And you - you’re the most handsome man in the world.”

“Obviously.” Alex rolls his eyes jokingly and you scoff and slap his chest lightly.

“The cockiest man in the world too, evidently.”

“Don’t you know it…” 

Alex ducks his head down to continue his exploits on your neck, mouthing and kissing wetly at your skin, finding your sweet spot and nibbling on it, eliciting an unexpected moan from your throat. He takes your noises as a sign to continue as he manoeuvres himself so that he’s leaning over you, holding his weight up with his forearms on either side of your head. Slowly, he starts moving downwards, shuffling down your body, littering your breasts with open mouthed kisses through your thin sleep shirt. You moan as his hot mouth finds your peaked nipple, a rough palm rubbing the other one, but he moves on after a few moments, still moving south on his search for his goal. And you know exactly what his goal is. 

Finally, he settles himself between your legs. You kick the blankets away, wanting your view of your handsome boyfriend eating you out to be unobstructed. Goosebumps appear along your bare skin, partly from the chill of the air, partly from the anticipation of what’s about to happen.

Alex pushes your legs apart, hooking a finger in your panties to pull them off smoothly, but he doesn’t touch your dripping centre yet. He bites your inner thigh and you yelp, in surprise and excitement, and he chuckles, then licks and sucks over the mark, soothing the sting. He continues on the opposite thigh, biting, nipping, licking, sucking, building you up until you feel like you’re gonna drip all over the sheets. You need his mouth on your cunt. 

“Fuck…Al, don’t tease me.”

Alex just chuckles from his position between your legs, but he plants a final kiss on your inner thigh before pushing your legs apart even further. Your heart rate picks up, desperate to finally have his mouth where you want it. Alex’s thumbs reach to gently pull your lips apart, revealing how wet you've become over the last 15 minutes, your pink clit glistening like a jewel above your puffy hole. You hear him groan deeply as he takes you in, feel his hot breath fan out over your sensitive skin before finally, finally, he dives in. 

He licks one long stripe up your slit, gathering your juices on his tongue and moaning as he tastes you, then he presses his lips to your clit and suckles. After all the teasing, the feel of his hot mouth lapping and sucking at you is like a glass of cool water on a hot day and you groan embarrassingly loudly. Your hands grasp at his hair again, fingers entwining with his soft strands, tugging and pulling. Alex hums in response against your clit, the vibrations going straight to your core and you moan yet again. 

You grind your hips, moving slowly against Alex’s face, your clit rubbing against his nose while his tongue pushes easily into your hole. You peer down at Alex, gasping as you see his face contorted in pleasure, his eyes scrunched closed, his cheeks and chin glossy with your juices. You see his own hips grinding slowly against the mattress, chasing his own pleasure. It always amazes you how much eating you out turns him on, how many times he’s come in his pants like a 16 year old as his tongue laps away at you. He’s never ashamed though, often proud in fact. You’ll have to repay the favour later, most likely multiple times throughout the day.

You're jolted back to the present, a wave of adrenaline rolling through your blissful fog as Alex’s long finger pokes at your hole. He presses in just the tip, letting you feel him before pulling out again. He repeats the action, still suckling at your clit, never pushing in anymore than an inch, watching your cunt clench around nothing when he pulls back.

You tug on his hair more forcefully. “P-please, Al.”

Alex lifts his head up from your cunt momentarily, a lazy grin spreading over his face. Your juices glisten on his lips as he whispers “Please what, darling?”

You whine, too overwhelmed to think about stupid things like words, tugging harder on his hair.

“You know what I-- what I want.”

“Of course I do, I just like to hear you beg.” Alex laughs, pushing his finger in again just up to the tip, wiggling it a little to let you feel him, to tease you even more and you can’t cope anymore.

“Oh, fingers, Al, need your fingers, please, I-”

You groan loudly as he finally plunges his finger into you, up to the knuckle, moving it back and forth slowly, stroking your walls as he moves in and out. He laughs again at your reaction, then ducks his head back down to continue lapping at your clit, like a man starved. 

There's a sharp pinch and then an even deeper roll of pleasure as Alex pushes a second finger into your hole. He curls his digits, pushing and stroking against your walls and your eyes roll back, the feeling of him so deep inside you coupled with his mouth against your clit enough to bring you close to the edge already. 

“Al, I’m-”

“Not yet.” The words are murmured quietly but firmly against your skin, but you hear them just the same. You clench your fists, trying to hold back the wave of pleasure threatening to engulf you, trying to eke a few more moments of bliss before you cum. 

Alex has other ideas though. He scissors his fingers, spreading them as far as they’ll go before pulling his fingers out a little, watching your hole gape and contract around his digits. The stretch you feel is practically euphoric and you whine and pant, so close to the edge, so ready to fall. 

When Alex dips his head down one last time to lap at your open hole, you can’t hold back any longer. Your hips buck, a high pitched moan escaping from your lips, one hand yanking on Alex’s hair, pushing his head further into your cunt, the other hand grasping desperately at the bedsheets. The wave of pleasure rushes over you and your vision goes black for a split second, you feel a gush of wetness as you finally release. Alex eases you through your orgasm, fingers still stretching you, pumping in and out of your cunt gently, his tongue flicking at your clit. After a few moments, you tug on his hair, indicating to him that it's too much, too sensitive, too overwhelming, and he licks one last stripe up your cunt to clean you up before he finally pulls away. 

He sits back on his heels, taking you in with a lazy grin. You’re boneless, lying back against the pillows, covered in a sheen of sweat, chest heaving as you try to catch your breath. Alex smooths his hands over your shaking legs, squeezing the trembling muscles gently, soothing you as you come back to earth. 

“What a lovely breakfast that was.” Alex flops himself back onto the bed next to you, nuzzling into your chest and getting himself comfy.

“Wait, let me- let me help you.” You can feel his hard cock poking at your thigh, obviously having managed not to come in his pants this time. 

Alex just hums against your skin, rubbing your sides with his large palms, his eyes fluttering shut. “Later. Let me nap.”

“Al, we literally just woke up.”

“We’ve got all day, baby, ‘s no rush. Am tired.” 

He kisses your breasts tenderly, then rests his cheek against your chest - his favourite place to nap.

You huff. “Alright, just an hour though.”

Alex smiles and hums in agreement, and you smile too, allowing your eyes to close as you bask in the afterglow of your orgasm. You stroke Alex’s hair, holding his head close as the sound of your heartbeat lulls him to sleep. You aren’t far behind him, the warmth of your boyfriend draped over you and the comforting thought of the relaxing day ahead enough to send you to sleep in minutes.

Thanks for reading hope yous enjoyed tags: @martinipoliz @almluv @zayndrider @madnesstaking0ver@atticssmellgood@leafjoon @turnerside @turnertable @yourstartreatment

#alex turner x reader #arctic monkeys #Alex turner x fem!reader #Alex turner smut #Alex turner imagine #Alex turner fanfiction #my writing

[flowerui]

♫ we both like apple cider, pgw

fluff & light angst, 4.1k words ୨୧ first fic on this blog! feedback is appreciated!! ^_^ i've had awful writer's block for MONTHS so i hope i havent gotten too rusty,,,

wherein dancing is your favorite way to destress, until a certain gunwook park goes and spoils it all.

꒰ requested. gender neutral reader (no pronouns or gendered terms used), reader is a year older than gw, dancer reader, bff hanbin, one-sided enemies to friends to lovers, college au, misunderstandings, set in the us, does this count as forced proximity? light angst, fluff (it gets so cheesy idk what happened to me), drinking/underage drinking ꒱

Dancing had always been your favorite way to unwind. After a long day of classes, practice is like a treat; the mental toll of having to listen to your professors drone on all day, and procrastinating assignments until the night they’re due is easily unraveled by dancing until you can’t feel your limbs—it’s unmatched.

That’s why, despite it being Wednesday (the second worst day of the week), you walk out of your last class with a skip in your step, like nothing could ruin your day.

Nothing except a man named Hanbin, that is.

After changing, you enter the practice room, ready to forget your worries. But before you can begin, you see a paper stuck on the wall beside the door—Hanbin must’ve finally put together the choreo for the solo and duet performances for an upcoming recital for some event on campus (truthfully, you can't be bothered to remember all the details, that's Hanbin's job), and decided on who’d best fit the roles. You’re a little late, so it’s just you who curiously shuffles over to take a look.

Seeing your name under Duet makes you smile until you read your counterpart's name. Gunwook Park.

You find a spot to sink to the floor in the back of the room. Suddenly, you’ve changed your perspective on dancing; it’s the worst thing to happen to you. You regret ever discovering this useless passion of yours, who even needs passions in this economy?!

Hanbin would tell you otherwise, but you believe that you have pretty good ideas.

You’d tried to take an easier route and complain to Hanbin that you absolutely could not work with Gunwook for a duet. But he was adamant about not making any alterations at this point, at least not just because you don’t like Gunwook—what a traitor, what happened to friendship?

Since complaining about your unfair working conditions did fuck all, you came up with a wonderful solution. You get paired with the number one person on your shit list? Just don’t show up to rehearsals. Boom, problem solved. Though it’s easier said than done; you’re a creature of habit, and the disappointment of remembering you can’t destress with dance is depressing.

And, of course, avoiding both Hanbin and Gunwook is a chore.

It’s on day four that you consider, maybe Hanbin is right sometimes. You were only successful in avoiding everything except schoolwork because college kicks everyone’s ass, and finding free time starts to feel like finding a needle in a haystack. But, maybe ditching practice when you live with the leader of your dance team wasn’t your best idea. On Sundays, both you and Hanbin usually end up being home at the same time.

And like an idiot, you forget this detail and trudge out of your room at two in the afternoon (no, you certainly did not just wake up, thank you very much) to find something acceptable to eat.

As you’re rummaging through the pantry, you hear your name called in that tone. The one where Hanbin’s voice sounds mildly shrill and a bit patronizing, the one that lets you know you’re in trouble.

Yeah, not your brightest idea—it might take over the number two spot of your top three worst ideas, followed by trying to gaslight a random group of people into believing that Play-doh is edible after you’d had a drink too many at your first college party at number one. (To be fair, you did not expect a twenty-something-year-old man to have Play-Doh on hand and tell you to prove it. Yes, you tried. You vomited on the guy’s shoes.)

Rigidly, you slowly turn to face Hanbin, who has a terse smile on his face.

“...Yes?”

“I thought maybe you hadn’t shown up to rehearsals because you weren’t feeling well, but yesterday, Gunwook told me every time he spotted you on campus, you naruto-ran away.”

“Uh,” you fake cough into your elbow, “Must’ve been someone that looks like me? ‘Cause I have been feeling kind of under the we—”

You shriek and make a run for it when Hanbin stomps over with that creepy hamster puppet you’d given him as a gag gift last year in hand. Eventually, you get cornered and get a creepy hamster puppet thrown in your face. “You can’t just ditch practice because you have some petty one-sided rivalry—or whatever it is—with Gunwook. You’re risking embarrassing the whole team! What are you planning to do, just not learn the choreography?”

“You know it's not a rivalry...” You grumble.

“You’re being childish,” Hanbin sighs, “I’ve already told you that whatever your deal is with Gunwook is some misunderstanding, he’s a sweet guy.”

“Yeah, whatever.” You huff, probably not helping the childish accusation. You’re tired of hearing that about what a good guy Gunwook appears to be because you know what you heard.

Without another word, you stomp off to your room.

If you had any hopes of getting out of going to rehearsal again, they’re promptly stomped on by Hanbin waiting outside of your class when you trudge out.

“Really?” You groan, and walk over to your supposed friend, “You don’t need to escort me.”

“I think I do,” Hanbin crosses his arms, fixing you with a look, like he knows you better than yourself… okay, he does ninety percent of the time, but that doesn’t mean he can act like it. “I’m pretty sure I saw you ready to head in the wrong direction before you saw me.” He says before grabbing your arm and pulling you down the hall.

“I don’t even get what your deal is with Gunwook,” Hanbin finally says when you’re about halfway to the studio, “I know you said you heard him say something… unsavory, but that just doesn’t sound like him at all. I think you should talk to him, I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”

“I know what I heard, Bin…”

“I’m not saying you didn’t hear what you heard, but maybe there’s some missing context.”

You try to consider Hanbin’s words, even as you absentmindedly head into the changing rooms, and reluctantly shuffle into the practice room afterward, you truly do. 

But all the rational thinking and breathing techniques in the world cannot quell your ire when you see Gunwook. Calmly walking over and refraining from saying anything uncouth is a true test of mental strength—one that you are quite afraid of failing.

“Hey—” Gunwook rises from his spot in the corner of the practice room to greet you.

“Let’s get started.” You blurt out, aware of how cold and biting your dismissal comes off. To be fair, Hanbin didn’t tell you to be particularly nice, he just insisted you show up.

“Oh, right,” Gunwook’s expression wilts, but he clears his throat and plasters a polite smile on his face. “I’m sure Hanbin already let you know he wouldn’t be here to help us out today—he’s helping Natty with her solo. I’ve got the choreo down, so I should be able to guide you if needed.”

“I practiced at home.”  You did. A little bit, it wasn’t easy with the limited space in your cramped—ahem, homey apartment. But practicing a duet by yourself, then giving up after stubbing your toe on every fucking piece of furniture in your home, and practicing it with your duet partner are two different things.

“Oh, that’s good… um, I’ll start the music.”

Your name is followed by an exasperated sigh. With reluctance—because your phone’s home screen is just that interesting—you glance up from your phone, to see Gunwook eyeing you through the mirror. 

“Could we try to get through the routine? Maybe without you scratching me this time?” Gunwook gnaws at his bottom lip, sweat beading at his temple. He’s actually been hard at work, practicing while you sat in the corner of the room—essentially sentenced to a time-out after accidentally scratching Gunwook every time you tried to run through the routine with him. Accidentally.

You can’t help the frown that sets on your lips. Only to you, it seems, Gunwook Park is an enigma. When he first joined the team, he seemed nice, and he wasn’t much younger than you, you just never got the chance to properly talk to him. However, now you never want to speak to him, the fact that you have to work so closely with him is nauseating.

Tampering down all the ugly word vomit bubbling in your throat, you mentally repeat Hanbin’s words from yesterday to yourself, ‘You’re risking embarrassing the whole team’. Not only do you find most of your teammates to be more than bearable, but you also you can’t bomb a performance because you were too petty to practice the choreography, so, even though the thought of being so close to Gunwook—having to touch him makes you full body cringe, you suck it up.

“Sure.”

Begrudgingly, you get into position and wait for your cue. As the music starts up for what feels like the billionth time that evening, you miss the many nervous glances cast your way.

Succeedingly, you manage to not cause any more bodily harm, even when you have no choice but to get close enough to Gunwook to the point you cannot look anywhere but into his eyes. The urge to flee strikes, as unease among other odd emotions you will not address churn in your gut, but you deal with it (read: ignore it).

You manage to run through the routine once, then again, and again, and again, until your limbs feel like gelatin and you have no option but to sprawl out on the floor. It occurs to you how much you missed this feeling, you can barely believe you let your pettiness get in the way of it.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Turning your head to the side, there’s Gunwook, also sprawled out beside you. Huh, you don’t even have the negative energy within you to loathe his presence in the moment.

“You just did. But you can ask one more thing.”

A goofy grin splits Gunwook’s lips before he turns his head back to face the ceiling, expression shifting a little more seriously. “Did I… was there something that I like did? Or said to upset you?”

Oh. Right. So, you haven’t forgotten your distaste for Gunwook. You feel your good mood sour, as you scoff, and force yourself to finally sit up—your limbs are very much protesting, screaming at you, matter of fact, but fuck them. And fuck Gunwook Park. “Seriously?”

You glance over your shoulder, Gunwook, who sat up shortly after you, only blinks at you curiously, as though he hasn’t got a clue.

“You really don’t know? Do you just talk shit about everyone and that’s why you can’t seem to remember me?”

“What…?” Gunwook’s brows furrow, “What are you talking about?”

“I heard you." You push yourself up off the ground, fixing Gunwook with an exasperated look, "After our performance at orientation in August, you had a lot to say about my skill, and how ridiculous I looked.”

“I don't…?” You watch as the confusion and then the recognition passes over Gunwook’s features, “No, I—shit,” he hangs his head with a groan, which doesn’t serve to dissipate any of your arising confusion. “That wasn’t about you.”

“I heard you say my name, don’t bullshit me.”

“I—okay, I definitely said your name, but it seriously wasn’t about you. There was this, um, character in a film my roommate watched for some project; they were supposed to be a dancer, but they were godawful. I was talking about the character, and I didn’t even think about how they had the same name as you, or about how loudly I was talking about that.”

“Oh,” you say, rather intelligently. You consider the thought that he could be lying, but he looks at you with such earnestness, remorse practically pooling in his eyes, you can’t even entertain the thought for more than a moment.

“Yeah, oh. I’m sorry you thought I was talking about you…”

“No, I’m sorry,” you quietly sit back down, anger gone as quick as it arose, and flop back on the floor with a sigh. Having your entire view of Gunwook Park debunked in a mere minute was not on tonight’s bingo card.

“I should’ve—Hanbin kept telling me it was probably a misunderstanding and to confront you, but I just stewed in my misguided hatred. God, Hanbin’s going to be insufferable once I tell him he was right all along.”

Gunwook huffs a laugh, “I’m glad we sorted this out, finally. Um, I guess we should wrap up for tonight since it’s getting late. Can I walk you home?”

“Don’t you live on campus? You don’t have to walk me home if you just have to walk back here…”

“It’s fine!” Gunwook smiles, oddly enthusiastic. Weird, personally, you dread having to walk home after practice. “I want to, and I guess now we can get to know each other? Now that you don’t hate me.”

“Yeah… okay, I’ll grab my stuff.” You sit back up again, as much as you’d like to become one with the floor.

“Okay, cool.”

“Cool.” you can’t help but smile, seeing the wide grin on Gunwook’s face. You’re going to choose to believe the warmth in your cheeks is because you’re still cooling off from rehearsing.

The idea of rehearsing is a lot more palatable now that you don’t despise your duet partner. The actual rehearsals aren’t too bad either… they’re actually kind of enjoyable.

Hanbin was, in fact, very insufferable when you spilled everything that’d happened that day to him. He’d been waiting up for you, sitting on the armchair in your living room, and nearly gave you a heart attack when he flicked on the lamp beside him; like he was your mother and he’d caught you sneaking back in the house.

“Hey, how was class?” Gunwook has taken to waiting for you outside your classes on rehearsal days, you even say hi to each other when you see the other on campus, and maybe talk if you’re not busy.

“Don’t get me started…” you groan, “I have no idea what my professor was on about today, but I thought his jaw was going to unhinge before he finally stopped talking.”

Gunwook chuckles, and grabs your bag from you, cradling it to his chest. “I thought I told you I could carry my bag myself?”

“And I told you that you could try to take it back.” 

You did try, and you decided you do not like freakishly strong guys. “Whatever… what about you? How was your class?”

“Didn’t go today…” Gunwook trails off, glancing down at your linked arms. A habit after losing Hanbin in crowds one too many times. It feels nice with Gunwook, though. “Um, my roommate—” he clears his throat before he continues looking forward, revealing his red ears. Oh, that’s cute.

“He kept me up late ‘cause he needed help with his film project that he’s been procrastinating. I ended up waking up at like one-thirty…”

“Really? So, you just came straight here after waking up?” You tsk, choosing to look away from his pouted lips for your sake. “Did you even eat? Let’s stop by this café a few blocks away before we rehearse. It opened last month, Hanbin and I were supposed to check it out, but I think he forgot.”

You’re not blind, of course, Gunwook is, well, objectively attractive (subjectively as well, perchance). With much coaxing, you might’ve been able to admit it a week ago when you hated him. But, his attractiveness is far too illuminated when you’re a mere inches from his face; faced with his distractingly pretty brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. Oh God, he’s cute. He’s so fucking cute, and you are so fucking screwed.

Before you can say something so embarrassing you’d have to migrate to another country and assume another identity, you take the initiative to part from Gunwook, carefully backing away, and clearing your throat, “Should we take a break?”

Except that doesn’t even help, because when you sink to the floor to watch YouTube, Gunwook is beside you, smushed at your side to watch whatever you’re watching. You can’t even remember what video you tapped on, but apparently, you’re seven minutes into a video when Gunwook reaches over to pause it.

“Hey, um, one of my friends—his name’s Junhyeon, his frat, Zeta Rho Xi is having a party this weekend. He kinda roped me into going, and I was just wondering if you were free…? I would, um, it’d be cool if you could stop by.”

Parties haven’t been your thing for a long time; you tried to party freshman year, since people seemed to go on about the college parties. You just couldn’t get super into it, plus only things like the Play-Doh incident came from parties… and that’s why you’re not sure why you say, “Yeah, no, I should be free. I’ll check it out.”

You aren't even free, you have an essay you’ve written approximately two sentences for that happens to be due Monday. But the smile on Gunwook’s face makes agreeing feel like the right choice.

Immediately upon stepping inside, you remember why you hate parties. One, you lose Hanbin instantly. Two, trying to push through a bunch of sweaty, drunk people (who are surprisingly sturdy) is a pain in the ass. And three, it’s loud, you already feel like you need a drink. Or maybe three.

You manage to make it to a mostly empty kitchen, and at that point, you’ve lost any motivation to go search for Hanbin or even Gunwook. For the most part, you’ve given up caring about being ‘lame’, so, you’re perfectly content sitting in the kitchen on your phone at a party while sipping on possibly the worst quality beer you’ve tasted in your twenty years of life.

It’s maybe thirty minutes until you finally look up from your phone at the call of your name over the ear-damaging volume of music.

Hanbin stumbles into the kitchen, using Gunwook as support. You can make out your friend’s flushed cheeks, even in the dim lighting, you have no idea how he’s gotten drunk so fast. “There you are! I found Gunwookie, it looked like he was waitin’ around for you, ‘cause he was just in a corner lookin’ around… didn’t you guys exchange numbers?”

“I already told you I forgot to ask…” Gunwook mumbles.

“Oh,” Hanbin lets go of Gunwook to slide up beside you, “Hey, did you know that, um—” Gunwook rushes over to slap a hand over Hanbin’s mouth, are they both drunk? It’s more difficult to tell with Gunwook, his cheeks always look pink…

Hanbin removes Gunwook’s hand with a glare, “Don’t interrupt me,” he chides, as sternly as he can while drunk. “Anyway, ‘m so glad you two figured things out. I hope Gunwook tells you about his massive heart boner for you.”

Hanbin makes it probably ten times worse by continuing, “He’s—he’s had such a big crush on you since like, um, since like the millisecond he joined the team. But this whole time you thought he was mean to you, isn’t that silly?”

What isn’t silly is the look on Gunwook’s face, he looks positively mortified.

“...Okay, Bin, I think you’re ready to go home already,” you smile tersely, side-stepping the topic for now, maybe forever actually. “Gunwook, can you help me with him?” You ignore Hanbin’s slurred protests. It must take a moment for Gunwook to recoup before he’s at Hanbin’s other side, helping you pull the drunkard up.

You avoid looking in Gunwook’s direction, despite the fact you can feel him burning holes into the side of your head. Of course, there’s no avoiding the conversation—inevitably, you’re going to have to talk to Gunwook about what Hanbin said, but maybe you can get out of it tonight…?

It’s not that you’re particularly afraid… okay, well, you are, except it’s just unnecessary anxiety. Now you feel better about admitting to yourself that you’re interested in Gunwook. But what if Hanbin’s drunk rambling was just drunk rambling, and it was all nonsense? Well, Gunwook probably wouldn’t seem so nervous if that were the case, but maybe he’s nervous because he just doesn’t want you to be under the impression that he—

“Oh, hey, I’ve been looking everywhere for Hanbin…”

“Oh, Hao, hey.” you mentally thank Hao for unknowingly rescuing you from spiraling into your annoyingly irrational train of thought.

“Do you want me to take him off your hands? We were planning to ditch before he disappeared.”

Okay, time to put on your big person pants and be an adult. “Yeah, thanks.” Handing Hanbin off is pretty easy, the man completely unbothered that he’s thrown two of his protégés for a loop (he’ll probably feel a lot worse about it tomorrow, especially when he’s hungover). What’s less easy, is being left with Gunwook.

“Well, since Hanbin aired everything out…”

“Right, yeah. We should talk, maybe outside?”

Gunwook nods, leading the way to the back door, you follow closely behind him. As not to lose him in the clusters of people, and maybe just because you want to, you grab onto his arm.

Outside, your eardrums thank you for finally getting out of there, though your nervous heart is another story, rattling against your ribcage incessantly. Warily, you avoid looking at Gunwook, distancing yourself a good few feet away from him, “So…”

“I like you,” Gunwook blurts as if he won’t get another chance to say so, “like a lot. I initially joined the team ‘cause of you actually, I hadn’t even danced since middle school. But you were so—watching you on stage at orientation felt so… enchanting.”

Heat rushes to your cheeks at Gunwook’s flattery, and he only continues, “I thought you were perfect, so obviously I immediately signed up for the dance team, even though I wasn’t even sure if I was any good at it anymore, just so I could have an excuse to see you. Only for me to never gain the courage to even talk to you…” Staring at the wooden planks of the porch beneath your feet, you see Gunwook’s beaten-up Converse come into view, urging you to look up again.

“Gunwook, I—”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel anything like that for me, I just can’t let the what-ifs get in the way of me trying anymore.” Oh, how could you not feel something for him? Surely anyone could fall for him just by staring into his pretty brown eyes.

The weird feeling in your gut, which must be those butterflies people talk about, amplifies, you think you’d have to be a fool if you didn’t feel something for Gunwook Park. “I don’t… not feel something,” you hastily avert your gaze, “I guess I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I am interested in you. I, um, would be open to exploring that.”

“I understand—wait, you… really?”

You look up in time to see the overjoyed grin split Gunwook’s lips. It’s infectious, you can’t help but mirror his smile, laugh tumbling past your lips, “Yes, you dork. You better sweep me off my feet.”  You playfully shove at his shoulder.

“I will,” Gunwook grabs your wrist before you drop your arm, thumbing at the inside of it, “are you free tomorrow?”

“I…” You aren’t free, remember that pesky essay of yours? “Yeah, I am.” Oh, well, you suppose it can wait; likely until tomorrow night, when you finally open your laptop at eleven-thirty at night, when it happens to be due at midnight. You happen to work great under pressure!

“Perfect, can I pick you up at your place at two?”

“Sure, are you gonna remember to ask for my number this time, though?” You tease, making a ‘give me’ motion with your free hand.

Gunwook’s cheeks somehow get pinker, as he finally lets go of your wrist and retrieves his phone from his pocket, handing it over with the new contact screen open. Quickly, you type in your number and then your name, cheekily adding a heart beside it.

“Can I walk you home? Or, uh, if you wanted to go back to the party, that’s fine too…”

“Nah,” you’d rather do just about anything else than go back into that mess, you’ve had enough parties for the rest of your college life, “I’m pretty tired, and I have a super important date with a great guy tomorrow.”

With a coy smile to match Gunwook’s shy one, you cozy up to his side and link arms with him, “Let’s go?”

You’d still consider dancing to be a great way to unwind—still one of your favorites, it's just been demoted to second place.

Nothing ebbs away your stress like Gunwook popping into your room with your favorite food after you’ve been staring at your laptop screen for hours as if you were hoping your assignments would finish themselves. Or his hugs—always so warm, it’s like hugging an oversized stuffed bear. Or just… him.

Unrivaled after several years, dancing has finally met its match: Gunwook Park.

#꒰ 📞 ꒱ new message! #zb1 x reader #zerobaseone x reader #gunwook x reader #park gunwook x reader #gender neutral reader #kpop x gender neutral reader #kpop x reader #x gender neutral reader #mild angst #fluff #kpop fluff #kpop angst #zb1 fluff #zerobaseone fluff #gunwook fluff #gunwook angst #zb1 x you #gn reader #x gn reader #kpop x you #zb1 gunwook #zerobaseone gunwook #light angst

[wol-fica]

-𝕊𝕠𝕗𝕥𝕪 [𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥]-

summary - due to being overworked, you pass out in the quad while writing an essay late at night; fortunately, wednesday comes to help you. wednesday and reader are alr dating.

warning - fluffity fluffy fluff for days :333

an - this was a request from a dm but the message was deleted for some reason. if this is your request, please enjoy!!

—————

It was a late night for Wednesday, almost 10:30 by the time she finished chapter twelve of her novel. She sat up in her chair, cracking her back and stretching her arms as she stood to prepare for bed.

Slowly she moved around her room, putting the progress of her work away whilst pulling out clothes for bed. Once she was organized and changed for bed, she headed to the balcony to get some fresh air before sleeping.

She leaned against the balcony, staring lazily out into the night sky. The peaceful hum of Nevermore filled her ears as she basked in the silence. But suddenly, the sound of a loud thump echoed from the quad down below.

“Who could be up at this hour?” Wednesday muttered, heading out of her room and down to the first floor.

-pov switch-

You groaned and rested your forehead against the cold wood of the picnic table.

You had been working nonstop on a stupid cyber-hack essay but just couldn’t seem to finish it. Your teacher assigned it to you and said he wanted it done by Monday; right now it is Sunday night.

“Y/N?” 

You heard someone call your name softly, but being too tired to respond, you kept your head down. Footsteps padded on the grassy ground and stopped by where you were. Suddenly, you felt a warm hand slide up and down your back. Your hair was moved away from your neck and soft lips gently pressed against your skin.

“Cmon, let’s get you to bed.” Wednesday mumbled, pulling you out of the chair.

You wanted to protest but all that came out was a yawn and a whine. Wednesday chuckled and helped you stand up, holding you close to her side. You leaned your head on her shoulder and sighed, inhaling her distinctive scent. 

Eventually you made it to your room, where Wednesday opened your door and helped you inside. She set down your bag and led you over to your bed, letting you sit while she went to grab pajamas for you.

“Here.” She said, handing you the clothes before she turned around so you could change.

You did, sliding out of your uniform and pulling the oversized band shirt on with a pair of black basketball shorts. After throwing your uniform in your hamper, you made your way back to your bed where Wednesday was sitting waiting for you.

She carefully laid down on your bed and lifted the blanket up for you. She pulled you into her arms and caressed your cheek, letting your head rest against her chest. You snuggled into her, hugging her tightly as she ran her fingers through your hair.

“Mmmm, thanks f’ takin’ me to bed.” You mumbled into her shirt.

“You are welcome, you need sleep anyways. Your essay will be better if you actually rest.” She replied, kissing your forehead lovingly.

Moments like these, stored away behind closed doors, is where you can be as comfortable as ever. Wednesday appreciates nights where you two are together; she has the freedom to show her love for you and much she cares.

She can be such a softy for you, and you loved that.

—————

#jenna #ortega #jenna ortega x r #jenna ortega #wednesday adams imagine #wednesday rp #wednesday addams x reader #wedneday addams #wednesday #wednesday addams x r #addams

[a-wins-a-win]

mouse's attempted B;APO timeline

aka i was writing an irrelevant detail in a silly little fic and it occurred to me that oh wait i could actually think about this!!

credit where credit's due - i am using this timeline right here (from @hearmyvoicee) as a base, but i have some particular thoughts/interpretations of my own + felt like using 2001 dates! (bc why not, ya know? keep it basically of the time it opened) so this whole thing is mostly for my own reference, but if it makes sense to any of y'all as well? great <;3 [keeping it under the cut for my own sanity + yours]

.✨.

Sunday, January 7 [the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th, or the closest Sunday to that date - in the case of 2001, that's the 7th]

Epiphany

Monday - Friday, January 8 - 12 [ i swear on my life someone mentioned to me once that it's generally accepted that You & I spans several days?? i cannot find who or where but someone tell me i'm not going insane ]

You & I

Friday, January 12 [the friday is entirely arbitrary, just seems the type of day you'd hold auditions - give it a week to stir interest, cast on friday, start up your rehearsals from the next monday onwards] [i have never been in theater though, so don't hold me to that]

Role Of A Lifetime

Auditions

Plain Jane Fatass

Thursday, February 22 [to me the phrase "we'll meet in Tanya's room on Friday night" implies that it's not yet Friday + in theory the song takes place during study hall, so an actual weekday? so to that end it could be any day monday-thursday, the specifics not mattering in particular, but i arbitrarily went with thursday so that Ivy’s birthday lines up right]

Wonderland

Friday, February 23

A Quiet Night At Home

Rolling

Best Kept Secret

Wednesday, February 28 [borrowing from the previous timeline for this one - the Lent + Ash Wednesday significance makes sense] [to that end, Ash Wednesday 2001 was in fact February 28th]

Confession

Portrait Of A Girl

Thursday, March 1 [in Wonderland they reference the fact that "Ivy's birthday's in a week", ergo wonderland date + 1 week]

Birthday, Bitch!

One Kiss

Are You There?

911! Emergency!

Friday, March 2 [peter mentions 911! Emergency as being "last night"]

Reputation Stain'd

Ever After

Saturday, March 10 [generally, the Spring Break week is from March 11 to March 17, so in my head it makes sense for them to be leaving for their spring break the day beforehand - ergo, March 10th]

Spring

One

✨ spring break / intermission ✨

Sunday, March 17 [the sunday makes sense in my head to mirror Epiphany]

Wedding Bells

Monday, March 19

In The Hallway

Monday, March 26 [ as claire says - "gone a week, i miss you already". so if classes started again on the 19th + 1 week is the 26th ]

Touch My Soul

See Me

Warning

[sidenote, easter 2001 was sunday april 15. to that end, to account for the Easter Monday holiday, likely they had the 16th off also]

Friday, May 18 [okay listen!! i know it crowds A LOT of act 2 together but!! the way sister chantelle says here "if you decide you want to get together one more time" implies to me that they aren't going to be having more Official rehearsal time before the play actually gets performed] [it all has to occur between monday may 14 & sunday may 20 for jason's "graduate next sunday" line to be technically correct] [rory's decided that they'll "meet back here. seven o'clock" - which i was always under the impression is the supposed to be rehearsal that sets up Promise] [Nadia's "call me tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever" to me implies that she won't see him tomorrow? so probably they don't have any classes or rehearsal the next day]["i know it's late" in Cross is such a little detail, but to me it just ties it all up]

Pilgrim's Hands

God Don't Make No Trash

All Grown Up

Promise

Once Upon A Time

Cross

Saturday, May 19 [saturday night seems a reasonable time to put on the show, right? like in order to make it accessible to family + friends outside of the school?]

Two Households

Bare

Queen Mab

A Glooming Peace

Tuesday, May 22 [a {catholic} person is buried between 2 and 7 days after their death, typically around 3. i always got the vibes that Absolution was supposed to take place on/around jason's funeral, ergo the play + 3 days]

Absolution

Sunday, May 27 [going with the assumption that they graduate on the last sunday in may, in 2001 that date was the 27th]

No Voice

.✨.

wanna make it super clear that i a) am australian and b) am not catholic and c) have never been to boarding school or in theater so a lot of dates were found via google search, and/or arbitrarily assigned weekdays

also also at the end of the day i'm not sure the specifics of the timeline super duper matter, it was mostly just for fun - but like. feel free to share ur thoughts!

#bare a pop opera #bapo timeline #mouse talks bapo #look i know its kind of insane pacing to have pilgrim's hands through to cross all happen in the space of like. 6/7 hours. BUT #i mean you COULD stretch it out to have pligrim's hands through promise happen on the thursday / OUAT + cross on the friday / #the actual play on the saturday - but if there was a friday between promise + the play then why wouldn't they have another rehearsal? - #- the kids being generally untalented/unprepared as they are

[krankittoeleven]

Snippet Sunday?!

Because Wednesday is sort of like a weird void in my week and I can't seem to remember that it's Wednesday when it actually is Wednesday, I present to you Snippet Sunday. It's just like WIP Wednesday, except it's on a day my brain acknowledges the existence of. =D

This is another snippet from CH 12 of Water of Life, just a quick little bit from a fluffy little scene with maybe just a little reminder that OH YEAH, these guys are Vikings that get in fights and stuff. LOL Hoping to have the chapter out next week but next week is also the most chaotic week of the year when all of my clients come yelling for tax advice despite the fact that I am not a certified accountant. So IDK, it depends on how needy everyone is *eyeroll* I love my job except the week before taxes are due.

Anyway...

Sighing, Vili casts his gaze over Ubba as he sleeps on his back. He is quiet and still except for the slow and steady rise and fall of his chest. It almost feels like an intrusive thing to see, like a private part of Ubba’s life he had not previously had access to, except in Jorvik when Ubba had been recovering from his injury. But even then, that had not been sleep so much as potion induced unconsciousness in which Ubba had often looked pained and uncomfortable, despite his many protests to the contrary upon waking. Any other time and Ubba would have been awake long before Vili had begun to stir, but here and now in the growing light of the early morning, Ubba looks comfortable and relaxed and it eases some of Vili’s anxiety that had been stirred up by his return.

Slowly, lazily, Ubba rolls onto his side, his hand sliding along the bedding as if he is searching for something. Searching for him, Vili realizes, as he uncrosses his legs and stretches them to their full length, giving Ubba’s hand something to find.

“You are awake early,” Ubba says, his voice husky with sleep as his hand settles on Vili’s ankle, his fingers caressing first, then squeezing.

It was still such a relief, an almost unbearable weight in and of itself, to feel Ubba’s touch again.

“Maybe you’re just up late?” Vili suggests, not wishing for Ubba to know just how much his being gone had affected him.

Ubba smiles, only half of it visible with the way his head is turned.

“Maybe,” Ubba agrees before he pushes himself up into a sitting position.

Vili scoots closer to meet him, and now he can better see that small patch of gray hair above Ubba’s lip that he’d noticed the night before, that he’d been staring at since the light first lit upon it that morning, and the new scar that leads up towards his cheekbone. Gently, Vili reaches up and turns Ubba’s head to the side and caresses the scar with the fingers of his other hand.

“What did they do to you in Dorstate?” Vili asks, curious not only about the scar, but also if it had come before or after the gray.

“Not Dorstate,” Ubba replies. “Even at home, I have the occasional enemy, perhaps in part because I left.”

“I hope they walked away worse off because of it,” Vili says, smiling, as he imagines Ubba very deftly defending himself.

Ubba turn his head back towards Vili, a surprisingly serious look on his face, considering the moment.

“They did not walk away.”

Ubba’s eye meet Vili’s and he holds them in his gaze, like he is frozen in a glacier.

“Good,” Vili says before leaning in to press his lips first against the scar and then Ubba’s lips. In all things he would have Ubba emerge victorious, no matter the cost.

#water of life #ubba x vili #snippet #snippet sunday #wip #my writing #my fic #fic preview #vili x ubba

[annakie]

D&D/PF2e and my Sunday Night Game

This is just me needing somewhere to ramble about D&D stuff and work some stuff out.

Honestly really feel like I'm stumbling over the finish line finally getting to the finale of a D&D campaign we've been playing 2 hours a week for about four years, maybe four and a half years.

We've missed a ton of sessions this second half of the year due to scheduling issues or illness (several of those being ME!), and I'm honestly just not as thrilled as I wish I was about how the campaign is ending but it's much too late to change it now.

The one redeeming thing about it is that we're stopping at level 18 and I have "reunion specials" mapped out for 19 and 20 that we'll do in a year and two so that'll be the real conclusion, later.

---

We're also going to be starting PF2e Beginner's Box then Abomination Vaults after we finish this campaign, and moving to Foundry. Which, one one hand, they're excited about and it'll be so easy for me to run (except for the fact that I'm way more iffy on the PF2e rules than I am on 5e.)

The problem is that I am also running that for my Wednesday group. And at first I was super excited because it will mean basically no prep for Sunday, until they catch up to where my Wednesday group is (and they will, we play more consistently in the Sunday group and God love them, my Wednesday group LOVES to stop and RP which is SO GREAT but you know, slow things down!)

But also now I'm very worried that I'm going to get bored.

My Sunday night D&D group has been run the entire time with various modules I found on the DM's guild, written by many different people, which were used as the structure around which I built an epic and I think pretty coherent story, and addressed individual player character stories pretty well.

Now I'll be running the exact same campaign twice in the same week which is supposed to be one of the best campaigns available for anything anywhere, but it's also very structured.

And the module is already completely built in Foundry which means I have so little to do but log in and click buttons and tell mainly the story the module presents. I'm well aware that I can of course change and tweak things to suit my needs, believe me I do that a LOT, but its still way more structured than how I'm used to running my Sunday game.

And I loved throwing my players into new environments and exploring an entire world that I built, then moving them into the Astral Plane and exploring the Plane of Water and an entire new world and the Radiant Citadel and a fucked-up land where stuff is crazy. Abomination vaults is one long 10-story dungeon crawl with occasional visits to town. Am I going to get DM claustrophobia?

IDK I am seriously worrying that it's going to kill my love of DMing twice a week if I move forward with this plan that is what I let my players vote on many months ago and we're still well into planning executing.

I have looked into running one of the other already-made PF2e modules for Foundry. None of them sound that appealing. I know Kingmaker is coming out but my RL DM is thinking about starting an online game running it and I would want to play in that, PLUS the size of it and amount that still needs to be filled out sounds kind of intimidating. I still might consider it.

My other big thing is like... jfc I have spent so much money on 5e shit, you should see my bookcase and my D&D Beyond account. So much really great, AMAZING stuff that I really want to run in 5e, or Tales of the Valiant when Kobold Press finally gets their 5e Clone out the door. I keep telling myself that we'll do PF2e Abomination Vaults and by then TotV should be in a playable state with hopefully a Beyond20-like way to send rolls to a VTT in like... Nexus so I can stop giving WotC money. Then we can get back to running what I'm good at.

I have about a month to make a decision, I am thinking of telling my players we're starting the new campaign with the new year. I just don't know if I should voice my concerns or not. Maybe it'll be great and I'll enjoy not having the prep to worry about! Or maybe a year from now I'll be dreading Sundays instead of having it be a highlight of my week.

Yeah I know I should say something. I just don't want to disappoint anyone and I could be wrong, and not having much prep for a good long while could be amazing.

#personal post tag thingy #annakie's dnd stuff #dnd #dungeons and dragons #D&D

[twins2994]

Detroit Tigers-Minnesota Twins Series Preview

5.23.22-Beau Brieske RHP (0-3) 5.13 ERA Vs. Chris Archer RHP (0-1) 4.10 ERA

5.24.22-Elvin Rodriguez RHP (0-0) 13.50 ERA Vs. Sonny Gray RHP (1-1) 3.48 ERA

5.25.22-TBA Vs. Dylan Bundy RHP (3-2) 5.14 ERA

The Tigers At A Glance- Everyone thought the Tigers made a big leap forward in 2021 with 77 wins and some first round picks reaching the Major League level. Detroit has went 8-14 since the Twins last saw them and are tied for last with the Royals in the American League Central. The Tigers split what turned out to be a two-game series in Cleveland this weekend. Saturday’s game got postponed due to rain. Since we last saw the Tigers, Tyler Alexander is out with an eblow injury, Michael Pineda broke his middle finger on his pitching hand, Eduardo Rodriguez has a left ribcage sprain, Will Vest was put on the injured list, Austin Meadows has vertigo, and Victor Reyes has a right quad strain. Detroit claimed lefty Sam Howard from the Pirates and Brendon Davis from the Angels. Akil Baddoo was struggling so bad that he got sent to Toledo. Harold Castro has been the most consistent hitter with a .288 average. The Tigers have just twenty-one home runs in forty games. The pitching staff has been decent with a 3.63 ERA as a whole. The Twins will miss Tarik Skubal, who’s been really good. Wily Peralta has allowed just two runs over 16 1/3 innings of work. Alex Lange, Andrew Chafin, and Will Vest have been good in the bullpen. Gregory Soto has locked down seven saves on the year. 

The Twins At A Glance- The Twins keep on finding ways to win games and Sunday’s game proved to be another point. They have won six of their last seven games and lead the division by four games over the White Sox. Trevor Larnach returned to the lineup on Sunday and went 0-for-5. Luis Arraez went 5-for-8 in the last two games of the Royals series and has a .336 average on the year. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton were out of the starting lineup on Sunday after the Twins had won the first two games of the series. Gary Sanchez has smacked three homers and driven in thirteen runs in May. Danny Coulombe is set to begin a rehab assignment in Wichita this week. Josh Winder will get some rest after being placed on the injured list with a sore shoulder. He was pitching through the pain and the Twins want to rest him arm for a bit. The Twins starting staff owns a 3.25 ERA, which is fifth-best in baseball. Joe Smith has not allowed a run over 13 2/3 innings of work. Jhoan Duran hasn’t allowed a run over his past 7 2/3 innings. 

What To Watch For- The Twins swept the Tigers in the first series of the year in late-April. Chris Archer is (2-3) with a 3.66 ERA in eleven starts against the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera has homered off him twice. Sonny Gray is (2-1) with a 3.23 ERA in six games versus the Tigers. Jonathan Schoop is 6-for-18 against Gray. Dylan Bundy is (0-2) with a 4.70 ERA in five games against the Tigers. The Tigers have not announced a starter for Wednesday, but that game could be postponed due to rain in the forecast. The Tigers are here in early-August when a makeup game could be played. The Twins were forced to finish the night game with the Dodgers and played a suspended game with the Astros earlier this month. The Twins need to continue to beat up on bad teams within the division this week. 

-Chris Kreibich-

#Twins #MnTwins

[phillipcole]

Post-AGT Appearance 1285: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert January 10

I would later proceed to the Late Show for the interview I would have been dreading for almost 2 years. I would be the first guest, after the first commercial break.

Colbert: Welcome back. Our first guest tonight is an interview that was postponed due to my little stomach disorder. It's a very timely interview and let me tell you the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the host or management.

(He would mouth the words "but we agree." Many would think he was mouthing something else.)

Colbert: So welcome Phillip and Cole's Variety Team.

(They would play the chorus of Canadian Wildfires as I walked out, as previously posted.)

Colbert: Well Phil, first of all I know you have some sad news.

PBC: Yes, my wife's maternal uncle, a beloved, wonderful man died of heart failure Sunday night.

Colbert: Was there anything unusual about his death?

PBC: Yes there was. Back in October he spent a long time isolated, fasting and praying for the sinful world. When he tried to resume normal activity he was too weak. His immune system was compromised. He got covid. Just as he was doing better he had a stroke. Then they diagnosed him with dementia. We prepared for a long ordeal with that but last weekend he went back to the hospital. That's in Trinidad, not here. He passed Sunday night.

Colbert: So sorry for your loss; now there is good news too. You have a movie coming out Friday and we have a clip. Tell us about it.

PBC: Miley Cyrus plays a singer.

Colbert: ha ha ha good casting.

PBC: Planning this almost 10 years; so she isn't doing well on the charts. A few years earlier, when she was at her peak, she did a little acting, so she tries to get back into movies, but her only offer wasw porno.

(Loud reaction)

PBC: Thank you, I think. She specializes in tongue work and, in an effort to improve her skills she starts studying toads and meets the professor.

Colbert: Who plays the professor?

PBC: I do. So this clip is the pivotal moment in the movie, the first step on her way to becoming the Toad Woman of Tennessee.

Colbert: Let's play it.

(They show a much shorter portion at the end of the clip posted Wednesday.)

Colbert: So...what was she looking at?

PBC: I have a still photo right here...and...we'll be selling the doll that matches this starting Friday!

Colbert: Impressive; I can hardly wait. Now, you do have a very serious matter to talk to our guests and viewers.

PBC: Yes, the New Hampshire primary is 2 weeks from yesterday and...I said before on this show...if Trump wins my colleague Phillip will go into a coma and...never recover.

Colbert: Will you pull the plug someday?

PBC: No, you will. His fate will be in your hands.

Colbert: And if that sad day comes, will you then tell us the last name on Phillip's sick list?

PBC: Yes, also on a date of your choosing. So please, New Hampshire people, if there is any possible way, go to the polls, vote in the New Hampshire primary and vote against Trump. That will keep Phillip alive at least until the convention.

Colbert: What about other states?

PBC: No individual state other than New Hampshire will trigger a coma, but every living creature will be in grave danger if that man becomes President again.

(long, loud response)

Colbert: Now the former President is facing 3 criminal procedures. Can you comment on them?

PBC: For that I give you my colleague Ford, a former judge in Tennessee.

(I rise up, turn around, put on a small gray wig and dark glasses and sit in the other seat.)

Ford: My name is Ford. I am a former criminal judge from Tennessee.

Colbert: Funny, you look like someone else. So the first charge against the former President is in New York. It involves lying to get a better loan deal.

Ford: He should have been tried for that about 30 years ago. There is no doubt he is guilty. The penalty should be a large fine. He can afford it.

Colbert: The second charge is inciting an insurrection January 6, 2021.

Ford: There are a lot of aggravating and mitigating factors. Perhaps disturbing the peace is a proper charge and almost certain to be a conviction.

Colbert: thank you. The third charge is having classified documents in his garage in Florida.

Ford: He has already told the public in no uncertain terms that he is guilty. The proper charge is treason and the proper penalty is death.

(Massive reaction, the camera panning the crowd)

Colbert: (close up) Phil, do you agree with your colleague Ford?

PBC: (back in the first chair minus wig and glasses) Yes. Think about it. When a man has a garage full of things and needs money for...legal bills for instance, he holds a...

Audience: Garage sale.

PBC: Classified documents, 2 dollars a page; might be the nuclear codes, might be the combination to the restroom, might be a meatloaf recipe.

Colbert: Touche.

PBC: He isn't the only one who should be tried for treason.

Colbert: Now, every time you join us you eliminate a suspect of who might be the last name on Phillip's sick list, one of the top 10. As we just discussed, this might be the last time you do that. Let's take a look at the top 10, latest update. Well at the top is Nancy Pelosi, then Lorne Michaels, Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton all the way down to Harvey Weinstein and Madonna. Which one will you be eliminating tonight?

PBC: Madonna.

Colbert: Wow! and he'll do it right after the break. Stay with us.

#stephen colbert #donald trump #madonna

[restorativemeal]

Menu Four

Menu Four from Bishop and Carruthers' "The Vegetarian Adventure Cookbook"

Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber Soup:  Watermelon, cucumber, orange juice, natural yoghurt, mint leaves. 

Savoury Cheese Charlotte: wholemeal bread, butter, tasty cheddar cheese, eggs, mustard, milk, onion, salt, pepper. 

Avocado and Citrus Salad: iceberg lettuce, orange, avocado, lemon juice, salt, pepper. 

Grilled Tomatoes with Herbs: tomatoes, italian herbs, parmesan, salt, pepper. 

The week began with canceled plans, which was immediately unfortunate for it was my birthday week. In the culinary space, it was Week Eleven, I’d already covered Menu Eleven in Week Five, and covered Menu Five in Week Four. To finally address Bishop and Carruthers’ fourth menu felt like tying up a loose string and sewing up the final stitch of my 23rd year. Menu Four, the one I had skipped in September “due to seasonal reasons” was now a concrete example of the fact that it was November and the season was different and time was changing. Returning to one of the earlier menus should have seen the return of the experimental nature of the early days, unfortunately you can’t erase the knowledge of the way things are by taking people back to a section of a cookbook when things weren’t that way. 

Seasonal swindled watermelon.

I was working the late shift at work this week, so I walked over to the fruit store close to my home on Tuesday morning to pick up a watermelon. I accidentally swindled the lady at the checkout because she misread the $8.99 price tag as $3.99 and I didn’t say anything. After work I completed the grocery shop and then met with the friend who had canceled on me the night before for dinner. It was the first Tuesday since starting the cookbook that I’d left the house on a Tuesday to engage in an activity void of relevance to the menu that week. It was also the first week I hadn’t done my grocery shopping on Monday. Things really were changing. 

Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber Soup pre chilling and Mademoiselle Charlotte.

There were either going to be three or four guests on Wednesday night and it was the day before I officially entered my mid-twenties. I was starting to think about my cortisol levels, even though cooking the menus didn’t stress me out the same way that they did in weeks one, two, and three. I no longer timeline the cooking process and instead go by natural intuition. The Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber Soup was the first thing I prepared because I wanted it hidden in order to surprise my guests upon serving it. I blended it together in two batches, which proved difficult because the measurements varied across the batches. It was only in theory that the two mixtures I poured together in the silver bowl were the same mixture. It wasn’t as bright as I would have liked, more like the colour of pale skin. The Savoury Cheese Charlotte was easy to assemble but required a 45 minute baking time, it went into the oven at 7 50 and the oven shut down as it often does at around 8 25 when I went to put the tomatoes with herbs and parmesan inside of it for a grill. I had to push dinner time back to 9 PM. The oven switched back on after 15 minutes and the heat surged again, around this time I remembered I had forgotten to put the mustard in the egg mixture for the charlotte. I assembled the Avocado and Citrus Salad and plated the soup, garnishing it with mint leaves. My fourth guest canceled. Dinner was quiet with just three guests and myself and I loathed the Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber Soup. I unwrapped a present from a guest, a beautiful hand painting from the Sunday Market wrapped with ribbon and wrapping paper that said “Are You Happy??”. Two of the guests loved the Chilled Watermelon and Cucumber soup. There was a comment that I hadn’t shredded the lettuce small enough. I hadn’t. 

Dinner served and a "big" shred of lettuce.

I had promised myself in January that I would rise like a phoenix from the ashes for my 24th year. I likened the new age to a wave, a baptism almost. I wanted to go to a beach over the weekend to dive into a wave, but I didn’t do that. I wanted to pray to my rosary, but I didn’t do that either. 

#home cooking #vegetarian #recipes #self discovery #foodpics #cooking #foodblogger

[paulbeal]

FREEWILL HOUSE, BARNARD CASTLE, NORTH PENNINES This building is one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels in the North Pennines and was an important meeting place for dales people during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is situated in Briscoe, Baldersdale, about three-quarters of a mile east of the Hury Reservoir dam.

The property originally had a roof thatched in heather from the local moorland. It was accessed by the congregation at first floor level where a porch led into two larger rooms in the now derelict section. One was used for meetings and the other as a supper room.

There is also a small sitting room which may have been used by the preacher prior to the service. The ground floor housed the chapel keepers, adjacent to the area where sheep were kept. The two-storey section at the end of the building was added at a much later date and was accessed from both floors. Its purpose is unknown.

The job of the chapel keeper would have been a highly sought-after position as it provided accommodation in the property, together with use of its productive garden and the surrounding land, originally divided into three small fields.

The role of chapel keeper was combined with that of a shepherd on the moor. One of their most important tasks was to house sheep under the meeting room overnight on Saturdays to warm the room for the Sunday services.

An early record exists of chapel keepers John Killen and Ann Addison who married in 1746 and lived in Freewill House where their children were born. The Killen family would have been able to keep sheep, hens and at least one horse to be ridden around the extensive area of moorland when shepherding the sheep. They would have lived a very hard life. Water would have been drawn from the stream and electricity did not reach the dale until over 200 years later during the 1960s.

Sunday was regarded as a day of rest and many people believed, until as late as the mid-twentieth century, that it was a sin to work on the Sabbath. The Sunday service provided a welcome break from daily routine and was well attended.

Some members of the congregation would have travelled several miles to be there. Many would have arrived on foot, while others travelled on horseback, by horse and trap or on bicycles. It was an opportunity to dress up, meet friends, share news, celebrate the completion of seasonal work and in some cases even meet a future husband or wife.

After the service the congregation would move into the supper room where a meal of sandwiches, cakes and tea would be served before beginning the journey home.

Many farmers lived on small holdings and worked on neighbouring farms or practiced a trade. Farms were very labour intensive. The twice daily milking of cows, feeding and managing animals, haymaking with horses, shearing sheep by hand and caring for flocks of sheep, particularly at lambing time, was very hard and time-consuming work involving whole families.

Some farms also produced butter and cheese which they sold at the Butter Market in Barnard Castle on Wednesdays. Resident workers were essential due to the variable working hours required, and together with larger families, this resulted in a high local population.

At significant times of the year, such as Harvest Festival, services were very popular and there became a perception that a larger chapel was needed. The Teesdale Mercury, the local newspaper, recorded that over 70 people, present at a Saturday evening meeting at Freewill House on 20 January 1897, expressed a strong belief that a new chapel was required. A community fund-raising effort, driven by the Cotherstone station master Henry Park, eventually resulted in the building of the Briscoe Free Mission Gospel Chapel.

Opened in 1905, Briscoe Free Mission Gospel Chapel appears to have remained close to its original roots. Standing near to Freewill House, the foundation stones of the new building were laid by the fund raisers. Their names are recorded on the stones including that of a Mrs Park, the wife of the Cotherstone station master.

Nicholas Wearmouth (1875-1932) a local stone mason and farmer and his brother Frederick (1879-1962) originally from West Briscoe, built the new chapel. Nicholas and his wife later left the area, moving their family of six children to West Yorkshire, using only a horse and cart. Fred later farmed at Bowes where both brothers are buried.

[umichenginabroad]

Dublin Week 16: Classes Going Crazy

Hi there, it's me, Sam, again. I can't think of a good intro, so I'm just gonna get into it.

I started this week in something of a panic because while I was in Copenhagen, I neglected to do a number of things I should've been doing for the week ahead. He is the complete list of things I should have been doing:

Studying for an applied dynamics quiz on Tuesday

Finishing up research and making a poster due on Wednesday

Studying for a lab exam for statistics on Wednesday

When I got back on Monday night from Copenhagen, I frantically studied for my quiz the next morning, and apparently this was good enough to do reasonably well. Yay me! Then I had to get to doing my research!

This past semester I've been taking a class that gave me the opportunity to conduct research. I'd been working with a PhD student who's studying titanium alloys, and until this point I had worked in the lab a bit and taken some measurements, but we hadn't actually decided what I was going to write my final report and presentation on. After my quiz on Tuesday, we met up, decided what my topic was going to be, and then I the rest of my waking hours finishing my poster. At around 1am, I was done, and frankly I'm pretty proud of my work. Moral of the story: be proactive and figure out what you're researching sooner rather than later. Posters can be made in a day though (not recommended).

Me and my poster

Wednesday was considerably more chill. I went to my classes and spent my free time preparing for my lab exam. Later that evening I took the exam, and I think it went alright. I should've prepared a bit more, but at the end of the day it was a very small part of my grade, and I'm not too worried. Now that I was done with my work, I got some well deserved rest.

On Thursday, my research class had a big poster presentation in the lobby of the engineering building. I got to show my research to interested passersby, and it felt really great being able to share my experience with them. Afterwards, I didn't have any classes for the day, so I just hung around, made some food, and then went to climbing later that evening.

Friday I once again didn't have any classes, so I spent the day cleaning my apartment, relaxing, and getting ready for the Mountaineering Ball. Most clubs and societies at UCD host a ball at the end of the semester where the club rents a ballroom at a hotel and everyone dresses up nicely and dances and drinks and whatnot. You know, typical ball activities.

Around 5, I met up with some other club members on campus and we made our way to a club members house for some pre-drinks (referred to as prinks here). After spending some time there, everyone made their way to the hotel ballroom the club booked.

At the ball we were served some (surprisingly good) dinner, handed out awards, took photos, and danced. It was a great time. After the ball, a bunch of us headed into town to a pub called Doyle's. It was super crowded and loud, but we all had fun, and I ended up leaving around 3 am (yikes).

Some photos from the ball

The next morning, I wasn't up until about noon. After this slow start, I met up with my friends Colin and Cormac in town, where we grabbed some lunch and tried to walk off our hangovers, which actually kind of worked a little. When we got bored of this and hungry for dinner, we headed back to UCD. Once we refueled and bored ourselves once again in our respective apartments, we decided to meet up again and head down to Dun Laoghaire to enjoy the lovely evening and watch the sunset, which was a lovely way to end the day.

A picture from the water of the pier at Dun Laoghaire

On Sunday, the mountaineering club had its final Sunday hike of the term. We were supposed to hike Lugnaquilla, which is the highest peak in the Wicklow mountains, but our bus forgot to pick us up, and we ended up getting to the trail about an hour late. Instead we did a much shorter hike, which actually ended up being a great time since the weather was awesome and we were actually able to enjoy it. We ended our hike at a cute little pub where I got my cheapest pint of Guinness of the semester (it was still €4.80). Overall, it was a lovely way to end the Sunday hikes.

Some photos from the hike

That's all for this week! This was the last week of classes, so the next three weeks, I'll just be studying and taking my exams. I'm gonna try to do some exploring of Dublin during this time, so stay tuned for that.

Sam Adler

Materials Science and Engineering

University College Dublin

#UMichEnginAbroad #IPEUCD #SamAdler #IPEWinter2023 #Ireland #Dublin

[southbendswimclub]

Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/06-11/12

Dear SBSC families,

Practice Schedule

Riley HS

Group 1 Tuesday and Thursday 6:00-7:30

G1 Elite Wednesday 5:30-7:30

Group 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 5:30-7:30

Group 3 No practice until after HS Season

New Prairie HS 

Group 1 Tuesday and Wednesday 5:00-6:30 CST

Group 2 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 5:00-7:00 CST

Group 3 No practice until after HS Season

Practice Notes: 

No practice Friday at RHS due to the CON Skypoint Meet. No practice on Thursday at NPHS due to a high school meet

Riley families please use door #22.  This is the door on the northwest corner of the building and faces Fellows Street. If you are planning to stay to watch practice there is a stairwell that is adjacent to this door, and this will lead you to the seating area.

New Prairie families continue to use door N18.  New Prairie swimmers are always welcome to attend their corresponding group's practice at Riley. 

Lifeguard Class

As I have mentioned in previous emails we have been struggling to get our swimmers to cover practices.  Coach Brett is willing to run another class at RHS if there is enough interest.  If your swimmer would like to be part of an upcoming class, have them text Coach Brett at 574-250-6358.  Please remember any electronic communication between an athlete and coach must include a parent.

USA Swimming Memberships

With less then 8 weeks until the end of the calendar year we need all of our athletes to complete the USA Swimming Registration.  Here is a link to the document with instructions on how to register with USA-S.   A few of our members have had trouble adding their swimmers once they created their own account.  If you are having trouble, after the parent account is created, try using this link.   If your swimmer qualifies for the Outreach Membership (free/reduced lunch at their school) click on this link.  Remember, if you use this link you will need to provide documentation to me your athlete qualifies.

If your athlete has never competed in a meet for SBSC (or another USA Swimming club) you will need to send me a copy of their birth certificate.  The preferred way is to electronically send a pdf.  If that is not possible you can email a pic or bring a hard copy to the practice.

NASA Sprint Meet

I will post the results to our website early this week.

CON Skypoint Invite

I will be the coach on deck for the entire meet.  If you are running late or will be unable to attend please send me a text or call as soon as you know. Here are the pertinent times for this coming weekend's meet.

Friday

Session 1 (1650 free)

Warmups: 2:15-2:55 -- our athletes should be on deck by 2:00

Meet Starts: 3:00

Session 2 (events #3-#14)

Warm-ups: 4:15-5:15 -- our athletes should be on deck by 4:00

Meet Starts 5:30

Satuday and Sunday (Sesson 3 & 6 -- 13 and over PRELIMS)

Warm-ups: 7:00-7:50 -- our athletes should be on deck by 6:45

Meet Starts: 8:00

Saturday and Sunday (Session 4 & 7 -- 11-12 PRELIMS)

Warm-ups: 11:30-12:05 -- our athletes should be on deck by 11:15

Meet Starts: 12:15

Saturday and Sunday FINALS Sessions 5 & 8 (11-12, 13-14 A and B, 15 & Over (A, B, and C)

Warm-ups: 5:00-5:40 -- our athletes should be on deck by 5:00

Meet Starts: 5:45

Athletes will be required to know if they have qualified for finals prior to leaving the pool after their last preliminary swim.  The expectation is all swimmers qualifying for finals will participate in finals.

Here is a link to our current entry list.

ELK Rudolph Romp -- Dec. 2-4 -- Elkhart Aquatic Center

The deadline to commit to this meet is one week from today, Sunday November, 13.

Spirit Wear Order Forms

The order forms are in.  You can click here to view the form.  All forms need to be returned to me no later than November 11.  The Spirit Wear Fee you paid at registration was for your swimmer's team cap and team T-shirt.   The swimmer's shirts are different from the ones on the order form and will be handed out to swimmers this week.

Volunteer Hours For Group 3 Athletes

We are in need of several lifeguards this month at Riley.  If you have not volunteered yet please do so.

The job sign-up for all volunteering has been set up for Riley.  All athletes in this group will be required to volunteer 4 hours between now and the end of the winter season.  Due to practices at NP running simultaneously we may not be able to offer volunteer opportunities at that site until high school season begins.

USA Swimming Guidelines - MAAPP/Safe Sport

USA Swimming issued a directive with regards to electronic communication and social media contact between coaches and athletes.  Most of what is being implemented is common sense and falls in line with our club's policies.  One new requirement we will need to adhere to is how your minor child communicates with me.  For several years I have asked swimmers in Group 2 and Group 3 to text/email me if they would be missing practice.  Moving forward, swimmers will be instructed to include a parent on all communication with me.


If you are the parent of a Group 2 or Group 3 swimmer, and have never sent me a text before, please text me so I have your contact info in my phone.  This way if I need to contact your swimmer about missing practice I can be sure to include you.  My cell phone number is 574-276-6057.
  I encourage all parents and swimmers to read the full policy.  We are required to keep this policy on our website, here is the link.

Fall and Winter Meet Schedule/Dates of Meet/Location/Deadline to commit

Below is our fall/winter meet schedule. The first date listed is the day(s) of the meet and second date is the deadline tocommit. Swimmers wanting to compete will need to commit to those meets.  The deadlines are based on deadlines that were set in previous years. They may change once the meet hosts posts the meet information.  When committing to multiple day meets if the option to select the days you want is not available, leave a message in the available notes section stating the specific days you would like to attend. Meets marked with an * require swimmers to meet minimum time standards.  All pool locations can be found on our website under the "Pools" tab.

Intra-Squad Meet/Riley High School/Tuesday October 4/

Swim-A-Thon/Riley High School/Saturday October 15/

WAR Monster Splash/Warsaw Community High School/Saturday October 29/Our Results

NASA Sprint Meet (10 & Under ONLY)/Northridge High School/Nov. 5 & 6/Our Results coming soon

CON Skypoint Invite (11 & Over ONLY)/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Nov 11-13/Entry Report

ELK Rudolph Romp/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Dec. 2-4/Next Sunday November 13

DUNE Rumble IN the Region/Chesterton High School/Saturday Dec. 17/Sunday November 20

IA Tim Welsh Invite/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Jan. 6-8/Sunday November 27

CON IMXtreme Challenge/Concord High School/ Jan. 20-22/Sunday December 18

CON Last Chance Showdown/Concord High School/Feb. 24-26/Sunday January 29

*IN Swimming Divisional Championships/TBD/March 3-5/Sunday February 19

*IN Swimming Senior State Championships/TBD/March 10-12/Sunday February 26

*IN Swimming Age Group State Championships/IUPUI/March 17-19/Sunday March 5

ELK 8 and Under Super Star Championship/Elkhart Aquatic Center/Saturday March 18/Sunday March 5

*USA Swimming Speedo Sectional Championship/IUPUI/March 23-26/Sunday March 5

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

-- John VanDriessche Head Coach South Bend Swim Club South Bend Riley High School [phone] www.southbendswimclub.com

#SBSCForLife

[lifewithoutmeds]

September 18, 2022

Sunday, 8:11 a.m.

i just got back from about a 45-minute walk. it’s been much cooler, which has been nice. no need to blast the a/c all day, and the nights are almost chilly. 

so i’m back from florida, back in the old digs, back in the old hang of things.

i’ve had a pretty persistent headache for five days now, but today’s doesn’t feel as bad as past days, fortunately.

i suffered two pretty bad blows last wednesday: despite telling people that i was no longer in love with lorena, etc., i found myself once again pining after her, checking the time, trying to figure out where she’d be, and why she wasn’t texting me back. she was at work with a no-phone policy. she was taking one of her famous 5-hour naps. she was so involved and so present with the current task at hand, that she was not looking at her phone. she was in a several-hour jam session that would leave her fingers bleeding. there were always so many reasons why she wouldn’t text back. CA wanted to try and apparently prove a point, and made a request to follow her on the ig, and .... possibly predictably, Lo accepted her follow request and requested her own follow, prior to responding to my multiple text messages, and never acknowledging my ig message. meaning, so obviously, so apparently, that she LITERALLY cares more for a RANDOM STRANGER than she does about me. i’m functionally less than a nobody to her. with this rather irrefutable evidence presented before me, i was incomprehensibly shocked before basically running out to go sob dramatically while looking out at the marina. randomly i saw for the very first time, a small octopus scuttling in the rocks right below me and i teams messaged CA to come look, and she soon joined me and stood with me, comfortingly and apologized for ... the situation, and she saw me cry again. and i told her that i wasn’t always like this, wouldn’t always be like this, that one day she’d see me better, and she said she had no doubt she would. she’s such a good person.

shortly afterward, i was looking on fb and j posted numerous photos with her camping with the new gf: the tent, them in their sleeping bags, climbing rocks, the usual happy j, but this time with the new gf and not me. i was forlorn, drove to the fifth, and drank, but couldn’t even drink enough to dull the pain, drank as much as i wept, then left half a PBR on the bar before leaving.

for the past couple nights, Lo and i had planned watching the l word together, and for the past couple nights, she’s canceled/postponed. it’s too late, the time she proposed is now 30 minutes past her bedtime. i don’t know why she puts up with me. i don’t know why i put up with her lack of ability to put up with me.

wednesday was interesting because it was the first day we were all back in the office (less a few people, notably amir who was at a long beach conference). so ivy and CA listened with rapt interest at my stories and laughed and said we’d need weekly meetings via Teams when i was gone so they could take out the popcorn and catch up on my shenanigans. it was all said so playfully, and none of us would know how thoroughly crushed i would be by same said shenanigans by day’s end.

AA was texting me yesterday, most likely because we had very loose plans to get dinner that same day, which i ended up canceling due to a very valid headache and stomachache (i had previously had a stomachache, which was not helped any by the AYCE fogo de chao hours earlier). she went on and on about some boy she had briefly dated but they hadn’t corresponded in 5 weeks but she was still obsessing over it and i found myself very flippantly just telling her to get over it, while realizing that she sounded like me, and she sounded absolutely insane. now i think i’ll envision her doing or saying something i would want to do or say and more clearly able to articulate whether or not it’s insane. sending someone a huge thing of flowers or chocolates TO THEIR WORK, if AA did, would be INSANE. planning an entire trip around meeting someone once is INSANE. so many of the things i’ve done, said, and thought, now sound/look absolutely insane when i put it through the lens of, Would A do this?

i want to tell her to be cool. to stop ruminating. to work on herself. to not talk so damn much. to just eat healthy, exercise, read, work hard, and reflect often. i’d like the same for myself. i haven’t been reading as much as i would like to so i need to get back on that, but fortunately the writing’s been pretty steady/consistent.

may write later today, the day having hardly started.

[atlanticcanada]

World leaders head to London for Queen Elizabeth II funeral

Thousands of police, hundreds of troops and an army of officials made final preparations Sunday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II -- a spectacular display of national mourning that will also be the biggest gathering of world leaders for years.

U.S. President Joe Biden and other dignitaries are arriving in London for the funeral, to which around 500 royals, heads of state and heads of government from around the globe have been invited.

Thousands of people continued to line up around the clock to file past the Queen's coffin as it lies in state at Parliament's Westminster Hall, braving chilly overnight temperatures and waits of up to 17 hours. The Queen's eight grandchildren, led by heir to the throne Prince William, circled the coffin and stood with heads bowed during a silent vigil on Saturday evening.

Royal Dispatch newsletter: Sign up for exclusive insights on the monarchy

The miles-long queue is expected to be closed to new arrivals later Sunday so that everyone in line can file past the coffin before Monday morning, when it will be borne on a gun carriage to Westminster Abbey for the queen's funeral.

Among the foreign leaders in London was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who told the BBC she was humbled to represent her nation at the funeral and to witness the national outpouring of grief and respect for the late queen.

"The thing that I will take away from this period is just the beauty of the public's response, the kindness that you see from members of the public, the patience, the camaraderie, that has been, for me, the most moving tribute of all, has been the public response of the British people," she said.

People across the U.K. are due to pause Sunday evening for a nationwide minute of silence to remember the queen, who died Sept. 8 at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne. Monday has been declared a public holiday, and the funeral will be broadcast to a huge television audience and screened to crowds in parks and public spaces across the country.

Thousands of police officers from around the country will be on duty as part of the biggest one-day policing operation in London's history.

Crowds also gathered Sunday near Windsor Castle, where the queen will be laid to rest at a private family ceremony on Monday evening.

"I think it's been amazing," said Anna Pettigrew, a 55-year-old teacher. "It's been very emotional, and I think it's been a very fitting tribute to a wonderful queen."

Camilla, the new queen consort, paid tribute to the queen in a video message, saying the monarch "carved her own role" as a "solitary woman" on a world stage dominated by men.

"I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable," said Camilla, who is married to King Charles III.

A tide of people continued to stream into Parliament's Westminster Hall, where the queen's coffin is lying in state, draped in the Royal Standard and capped with a diamond-studded crown. The number of mourners has grown steadily since the public was first admitted on Wednesday, with a queue that stretches for at least five miles (eight kilometres) along the River Thames and into Southwark Park in the city's southeast.

Honoring their patience, Charles and William made an unannounced visit Saturday to greet people in the line, shaking hands and thanking mourners in the queue near Lambeth Bridge.

Later, all the queen's grandchildren stood by her coffin. William and Prince Harry, Charles' sons, were joined by Princess Anne's children, Zara Tindall and Peter Philips; Prince Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie; and the two children of Prince Edward -- Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

William stood with his head bowed at the head of the coffin and Harry at the foot. Both princes, who are military veterans, were in uniform. Mourners continued to file past in silence.

"You could see that they were thinking hard about their grandmother, the queen," said Ian Mockett, a civil engineer from Oxford in southern England. "It was good to see them all together as a set of grandchildren given the things that have happened over the last few years."

Harry, who served in Afghanistan as a British army officer, wore civilian clothes earlier in the week as the Queen's coffin left Buckingham Palace because he is no longer a working member of the royal family. He and his wife Meghan quit royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020. The king, however, requested that both William and Harry wear their military uniforms at the Westminster Hall vigil.

Before the vigil, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie issued a statement praising their "beloved grannie."

"We, like many, thought you'd be here forever. And we all miss you terribly. You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever," the sisters wrote.

The queen's four children -- Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward -- held a similar vigil around the coffin on Friday.

The silence in the hall was briefly broken Friday when a man lunged at the coffin. London police said Sunday that a 28-year-old London man, Muhammad Khan, has been charged with behavior intended to "cause alarm, harassment or distress." He will appear in court on Monday.

The lying-in-state continues until early Monday morning, when the queen's coffin will be moved on a gun carriage pulled by 142 Royal Navy ratings to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral, the finale of 10 days of national mourning for Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

After the service Monday at the abbey, the late queen's coffin will be transported through the historic heart of London on the state gun carriage. It will then be taken in a hearse to Windsor, where the queen will be interred alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/7j4e3Dq

#new brunswick #prince edward island #nova scotia #news #politics #canada #CTVAtlantic

[blahandwhatever]

Unfortunately, Saturday’s financial struggles bled into Sunday, as my bank continued to be a bitch, and I didn’t get my second instant transfer from the previous evening until late in the afternoon - too late for the last-minute Mother’s Day shopping I needed it for. She wanted flowers for her garden, and I didn’t really want to drive them all the way from Arlington Heights and potentially get them banged up, so the plan was to stop somewhere closer to Naperville. Meanwhile, because we were also going to a name day party for my grandfather, I had to get him a little something, and some flowers for my grandmother too, and I racked my brain over how I was going to manage all that, and I checked my bank account over and over, and I thought about asking my father for help as a last resort, and I thought about returning some of the groceries I’d bought Saturday, and I did so much weighing of factors and stressing - and in the end, no solutions needed to be implemented other than a limit on the price range of flowers I could buy, for my bank, bitch that it was, at least let me overdraw my account enough to cover everything I needed.

As if the financial pressure weren’t enough, I had to get up early to finish up some work and leave early to stop at stores, taking in the splendor of spring in Naperville through yet another state of mind too tired to fully appreciate it.

The party was, as always, a dull and awkward affair I couldn’t wait to leave, but the worst parts of the family were not there, and nothing too offensive happened. In my tired and depleted state, I neither looked my best nor acted to my full social capacities, but I managed ok.

Today, still depleted and also on my period, I didn’t get much done. I finally got my first project - a sizable one - from the job I hadn’t had any projects from yet, the first part of it due by Wednesday, the rest next week. I still find the whole operation a disorganized, poor-communication mess, but we’ll see how this goes. I am placing my faith in at least getting paid.

I decided against pursuing the latest job I’d interviewed for, despite its good pay, after seeing its test project and materials, which made clear that it was too godawfully mindnumbing. I probably would’ve sucked it up if it was a smaller job, but this was a sizable one, even requiring full-time work some weeks, and it would just be torture. It feels irresponsible in a time like this to not go for whatever I can get, but I don’t know. I know that if I did take it, I wouldn’t last more than a few months, and I think there would be too many sunk costs for me and everyone involved for that to be worth it, and I’m still banking on something better working out really, really soon.

My main job has been a bit concerningly slow, and I really hope it’ll pick back up soon. My second job is no longer as busy as it was for a few weeks but still decent.

Meanwhile, my next paycheck came along, and I had to do more hand-wringing about how to split that up, not yet paying my landlord what I still owed her from last month on top of this month’s rent because I really had to get caught up on my internet and electric bills so as not to have those services disconnected.

In other news, it is hot. It is going to be hot all week without air conditioning. Truly ridiculous how this works here.