#* thread | ft. libby

[biuemondays]

closed starter for @caeruleums​ (3/3)

               cynthia’s good at what she does. it’s why she gets paid as much as she does and why she’s been able to thrive the way she has. and it helps that she’s never lost a case, even when her clients have been arguably despicable people and those who were actually guilty of her crimes. but cynthia doesn’t care about morals, she cares about money and winning. so that’s why she finds herself here, defending libbie cheong who definitely should be locked away. but due to cynthia’s stubbornness and the amount of money on the line, cynthia’s going to work her ass off to make sure an entire jury find the woman innocent.

               “i want to help you, libbie,” cynthia states, leaned up against the wall as she gazes at libbie. upon first glance, libbie didn’t seem like she could be capable of the crimes accused off. but appearances are deceiving and cynthia knows better. “really i do. mostly for the sake of saving my ass but also to make sure you’re out of jail. but you’re going to have to trust me.” a loaded term for someone like libbie but cynthia’s not going to back down so easily. “if i’m going to defend you and make sure you win, you’re going to have cut the crap and tell me who’s bringing up all this dirt about you. we need to find them and destroy them. figuratively, of course, in court. we don’t need another crime to add to your growing list, do we?” cynthia’s blunt nature is sure to get her killed but she’s determined to keep going. “it’s the only way we’re gonna win. we need to disprove their claims and show them to be a terrible liar. bonus points if we can find a way to point everything at them instead of you.”

[harmcomforts]

“you wanna do what?” elias blinked as he stared up at her, hands on her waist as she straddled his lap. it wasn’t that he was completely put off by libby’s words, just taken aback. it wasn’t something he’d ever had a girl say to him before, though that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. it was just different. he was trying to wrap his mind around it, tilting his head to the side. “i mean... i don’t know that was something you wanted, babe.”                /  @coolwxthyou​

[lostin-thewild-indie]

“it’s just that…” libby is generally quite bold, but suddenly she finds herself worrying about her words, not wanting to be misunderstood. “i know that i didn’t make you hot, but i helped you feel hot, and i didn’t even notice you were hot before. that was my mistake, but…” already, she feels as though she’s failing at getting the point across, huffing in frustration. “you like someone else, and not me, and i’m jealous. i don’t know what to tell you.”

was he hot before? was he really hot now? he didn't really feel any different. he'd just listened to what libby had said and trusted her. now she was making him feel... he didn't even know what. "i don't- i mean. i don't know what to say," said max, and he found himself blushing at that. "of course i like you." he just hadn't considered her. they were friends.

[20straveling]

Anotha One (List of Activities that are C19 Safe!)

I can count on both hands, and some toes, the number of COVID19 emails and articles I’ve seen talking about all the things to do during our current global situation. Their lists (yes, from the marketing people) have been:

- subscribe to this new service ($$$)

- shop our online sale! ($$$)

- sign up for this service to read articles for “free” ($$$)

And I was pretty disappointed by most of the emails I was reading...but there were a few that warmed my heart a little.

- free delivery and no service fee when you order from local restaurants

- all proceeds of ____ sale are going toward helping homeless or those in poverty receive the supplies that are currently unavailable to them

and so on, and so forth. These are the companies and groups that I was happy to see in my inbox, knowing that someone was doing something to help the world.

But, we’re human, and we can only do so much for our community and our global family. That’s just reality. And that’s okay!! If you spend the whole time giving, and no time taking care of yourself, then you’ll have nothing left to give.

So, with that in mind: here are some ideas for social distancing and quarantine activities!

At Home Activities:

- Photography! The majority of us have a smart phone and it’s got one (or two, shoutout 11 pro peeps) cameras on it — use that sucker!! Take silly photos with your family (fuzzy or otherwise), snap pics of your plants or collections of things, or even take photos of random stuff in your house (I know you’re bored enough to).

- Editing these photos is also a good pastime, with lots of free apps on smartphones, and online editing software like PicMonkey and similar — have fun playing with filters and stickers and all kinds of creative adjustments

- Online, Virtual Tours! This is such a cool resource that has been taking root in the last few years as accessibility and outreach have been gaining prominence! Many museums and national parks have posted online tours (similar to Google Street View) of their amazing spaces for online viewers around to globe to interact with. Get out there (online), and explore some amazing works of art and nature, alone or with the whole family through a TV!

- Share the love online and talk about the new things you’re discovering to encourage others to take advantage of these great online-passes to some of the worlds best views (on walls or outdoors).

- Read - yep, the easy one. Whether its new blogs from people online, the book that’s collecting dust on your “to read” shelf, or something like Audible where you can listen to a book and still get something else done - feed your brain!

- A good follow-up to reading is writing! Head online for good writing prompts, or even silly games where you can write a story with the help of the whole family, sentence by sentence!

- Online Concerts! Many artists are doing online tours, and you can enjoy some “live”music from the comfort of your own couch!

- I personally love Tessa Violet, and she has created her “Something to Look Forward To” Tour, where she plays her music, and has dance breaks to engage her audience and take polls of what song she should play next

- ReThink a Space: this one’s a little more broad, but if you have an area of your home or outdoor space that feels as stale as the air you’re breathing while staying inside all the time, REDO IT! Now is the time to start that obnoxious project that takes too long! Some of the most obvious spots are:

- Bedroom/bedroom closet - change out winter for spring!

- Guest room closets (because who knows what’s lost in there)

- Office spaces/playrooms (equally busy, equally disorganized!)

- Bookshelves/display areas

- Crafting: now, I know we can’t all run out to a Michelle’s or a Hobby Lobby, but I can almost guarantee that most of us have some form of markers/pens, and maybe a printer (but if not, have faith!)

- Checkout online tutorials for drawing or calligraphy, and get those hands moving! There are plenty of studies about how calming coloring is, and stimulating the brain with simple things like learning calligraphy are perfect for indoor or outdoor activities solo, or with family

- Pictionary! Or the like. There are online prompts if you don’t have the physical game in your house, and websites like Jackbox have online versions so you can play with your friends, without being in the same room!

- Collaging/crafting with outdoor objects: take a hint from the children that keep wanting to bring home spikey balls or a pretty leaf! Sometimes those objects are silly but can create a fun craft! Using some thread or string, and a stick or two from outside, make a hanging wall decor piece or mobile with the things you are collecting on your walks!

- Video games!! Although it’s not an option for everyone, video games are a great time to have some competitive fun between members of the household, and also help to connect online with other friends who are also playing the game

- Steam and Origin are the two main gaming platforms I know of, and The Sims, and other games, are on sale right now to help offer entertainment and connect people digitally!

- Cleaning, which I’m sure we’ve all done a bit of at this point (not judging if you haven’t but here’s your list of ideas!)

- Starting from top to bottom, now is a great time to get that deep “Spring Clean” that everyone talks about this time of year! Dust of the tops of things that you forget about, like picture frames or door frames, and go down from there, wiping down surfaces, cleaning that gross space between your window pane and the screen (it’s disgusting but if the windows are open, you get to breath all that funk), and continue on to dusting baseboards and sweeping/vacuuming/mopping floors

- And disclaimer: I have not done all these things, but I’m still on the “Rethink a Space” part, so there’s stuff all over the things I want to clean...

- Don’t forget to Clorox those popular surfaces we forget about, like light switches, cabinet knobs/handles, and the power buttons for things like a Keurig or other small tech

- write snail mail for family and friends you’re unable to see at the moment! Yeah, technology exists, but there is always something special about hand-writing some fun messages to send to your loved ones!

- If you think ahead, you can make some fun art, and send that along with your letters, as a bit of cheer to spread along to others!

- Find something to research: whether it’s how video games are made, how to grow new plants, the sound in space, or what that cool movie you just watched mentioned! There’s a million resources online, and even in your local library (using Libby, an online library source for e-books, and more!

- Checkout online resources for your everyday habits: gym or yoga studio’s facebook or YouTube, university resources for free classes/access to databases, educational resources for children (often found on library sites)

You may notice that cooking is missing from this list. I realize that grocery shopping is difficult at this time, so I’ve tried to think of ideas that involve resources you already have in your homes/yards. If cooking is your thing, or you’d like to take it up during this time, please, do so!! It’s such a great way to feed your brain and your body at the same time! Checkout online channels like “Binging with Babish” and other food related YouTubers or Bloggers to find new recipes or content. If you need to go out and grocery shop, just remember to be courteous of other’s and take hand sanitizer or Clorox mini-wipes to get those surfaces like cart handles and self-checkout/checkout screens and surfaces.

My brain is tapped out for ideas at this point, as I’m mainly doing the things mentioned above because they fit with my personal lifestyle and interested, but if you guys have thought of or done some things that might interest others, please list them below!! And those with kids: PLEASE, link a Pinterest board of ideas, educational (and FUN) websites you’ve found, or even just some good games/crafts/activities you’ve been trying out! I heard a coworker talking about a scavenger hunt they created that involves the kids texting/collaborating online to complete the outdoor hunt!

Get creative, do the most mundane thing in a new way, and hang in there! And if anyone wants a FT date, or more help researching things, please, let me know! I’m happy to dive deeper or even chat in general to help alleviate some of the adjustments and isolations going on right now - please don’t hesitate to reach out.

List of Links for Interactions/Ideas:

- Kelsey Ramirez (art-based ideas): https://www.kesslerramirez.com/blog/things-to-do-while-social-distancing

- Threads of Fate (wholesome naturalistic community): https://www.thethreadsoffate.com/pages/community-journey-taking-action?mc_cid=1ca95a65b0&mc_eid=3d56a629ef

- Harry Potter Alliance (yes, it’s a real thing, and yes, I’m a member) is hosting an online convention for conversations and events to bring us all together online: https://secure.everyaction.com/BEWi3AjhpEyWzUCDG-V7xw2?emci=21658d3b-0a6b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&emdi=96ab3eea-876b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&ceid=2470797

- All Online Libraries, By State: https://www.lib-web.org/united-states/public-libraries/

- Good Housekeeping’s Virtual Tour List (includes Zoos! I didn’t even realize!): 30 Amazing Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos, and Theme ...www.goodhousekeeping.com › life › travel › best-virtual-tours

- Mashed’s List of Cooking YouTubers (I haven’t watched all, but enjoy most): https://www.mashed.com/146555/ranking-the-most-popular-cooking-channels-on-youtube-from-best-to-worst/

[norkiewrites]

nico de varona ft. libby rhodes.

         𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘅, labelled it ‘do not disturb’ and thrown it deep within the well of her psyche with the hopes that it would never bob back to the surface. of course, she’d done all of that inside the time paradox ezra had held her captive within. her anger was a corrupting thing –– in some ways it had kept her afloat, but it also made her wild and unpredictable, terrifying to the libby she’d been before. but that was just the thing –– there was a before and after, much as she’d like to pretend otherwise. libby’s anger would not fit into that miserable box she’d made for herself. it spilled over, hiding its face beneath the guise of excitement, and the hot rush of desperation. there was anger in libby rhodes –– and it scorched through her, renewed, when nico reached out and touched the soft fuzz of her cheek. 

she remembered everything she had to be furious about. she remembered just where she would be if it was not for them –– him. her other half. 

and still, libby could not work out what the hell he was talking about. his thoughts were as unknowable to her as an ancient language –– and as bewitching, in some ways. the scholar in her wanted to learn nico de varona like some bygone script, just to say she could. ❝ what? ❞ she thought about flicking his fingers away, but it felt rather hypocritical when hers were tracing the bleeding skin of his chin like she could suddenly force herself to learn how to heal. hell, she’d stopped time –– what was biology in comparison? ❝ what are you talking about? what wasn’t me? ❞ 

and why did it matter? libby was here with him now. and there was a lot to do. none of them were safe here –– not with atlas and ezra both conspiring in the shadows. ❝ stop, it-it doesn’t matter –– we need to leave. ❞ this was not the we of you and I, but the we of us, six. if that number was even still accurate. it had been months, after all… they hadn’t been six in a while. 

⚛

he shouldn’t have said anything. because it’s out there now and he can’t take it back. time shifts and nico isn’t there anymore. he’s in her room back at the society and the world has fallen still. this can’t be right. he’d just seen her. this… this wasn’t real. but the feeling of her had been gone. the space she had taken up within his own universe. it had been a vast expanse of… nothingness. and her skin had still been warm, and the blood had been a wet red and the wound slashed into her ribs had been finale. an unchangeable and irreversible ending that had left him feeling like half a person.

a blink and she’s back in front of him and he can feel her. can feel the space she takes up. can feel the tangible intermingling of her power with his own. his hand shifts. falls away from her face to brush briefly against her ribs --- there’s no evidence within the makeup of her atoms that proves there had ever been an injury in the first place. but he does notice everything else. darker circles under her eyes. the way her shirt hangs looser across her shoulders. the sharpness to her jaw. even the duller tint of her hair.

nico’s jaw tightens. he steps away. “nothing,” he mutters, collapsing backwards onto the bed. “forget I said anything.” two palms pressed into his eyes, hard enough to draw an explosion of stars against the blackness. anything to block the imagine of the animation on the floor. the thing that has so grotesquely worn her face.

“and go where?” he looks to her through the fingers of one hand. the others will come soon. they’d never been good at separation. even in the time of libby’s absence they’d felt like a body without lungs. gasping and struggling to survive. they’d all known it. they weren’t individuals anymore. they were a collective of intricate and melding parts. take one away and the gap was devastating.

[lostin-thewild]

liberty was confusing herself, if she were to be perfectly honest. she had never seen max as anything more than someone she somewhat tolerated, and while the time that they had recently spent may have awakened some kind of fondness…now she was what? jealous? the realization only makes her feel stick, swallowing dryly. “really? you like my hair?” why does she suddenly care so much about his opinion? she wraps a strand of hair around her finger and looks down. “thanks.”

of course he liked her hair. why wouldn't he? he just didn't understand why her hair was relevant at the moment. "why wouldn't i like your hair?" max asks, unsure why she's suddenly so self-conscious about it. then be realizes he's asking the wrong question. "why do you care what i think of your hair?" he could connect the dots, maybe, if he could rationalize in his head that a girl, let alone this one, actually liked him. but for now, it seems like a question straight out of nowhere.