#//she takes V good care of them; after all. Also; partners who volunteer to help her preen them? she would ADORE them

[intcrastra]

Love the idea of the little wings at Robin’s waist and head fluttering whenever she’s flustered.

[365days365movies]

January 30, 2021: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

So, now that I’ve gotten through the first of these movies, it’s probably time to talk about the director of all four films, George Miller.

Miller’s an Australian director and medical doctor. Yeah, dude went to medical school, and in his last year there, started getting into filmmaking! Nice. He immediately came off as a budding director, and made his official directorial debut with his first film...Mad Max. Yeah. Very interesting guy. Today’s entry is his second film, and he’s since made films including Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo’s Oil, Babe (yes, the pig one), Babe: Pig in the City (yes, the OTHER pig one), Happy Feet (not the pig one) and its sequel, Happy Feet Two. So, a pretty good filmography!

But throughout it all, Miller’s flagship passion was the Mad Max franchise, continuing with this movie, and eventually ending with Fury Road. And from what I’ve heard about these remaining two films, I’m in for a ride. Pun half-heartedly intended. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

An elderly narrator brings us in, telling the tale of the Road Warrior, Mad Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson). He speaks of the downfall of modern society, punctuated by increased savagery, and the takeover of gangs on the world’s highways. People are ruined and forgotten, and they lose themselves. And these people include Max, who’s wandered out into the wilderness since losing his family. Yeah, Jess from the last movie? Dead. Guess she wasn’t doing so great after all.

Max and his dog are on the roads of Australia, where things have definitely changed. Ho longer around any vestige of civilization, the Road Warrior’s driving the Interceptor, being chased by punks on motorcycles, led by Wez (Vernon Wells), a cray, screaming dude with a bike and a mohawk..

After the chase, Max happens upon a recently-wrecked truck leaking gasoline, a much treasured resource in this post-apocalyptic landscape. Wez leaves, having been defeated, and Max gathers the fuel and goes his way. He drives through the desert until finding a mini-helicopter (a gyrocopter, it’s called), abandoned on the ground. 

After taking care of a carpet python (Morelia spilota; don’t know the subspecies), he finds himself ambushed by the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), who holds him up for his fuel. However, using his dog, Max gets the upper hand. Frightened, Gyro tells him of a huge supply of fuel somewhere in the desert. He agrees to show him in exchange for his life. Max agrees, and does this.

Yeah, he tied a string to the trigger of a gun, and tied the other end to Dog’s bone. Fuck yes.

Gyro’s true to his word, and he takes him to an oil refinery in the middle of the desert. It’s being used and guarded by a gang of some kind. Max sets up camp, tying Gyro to a dead tree and spying on the gang. That night, many gang members leave the refinery, and return the next day. I should mention, at this point, that we start to see some of the crazy vehicles I love so much in Fury Road. Which, yeah, HERE for that!

Anyway, the bikers, including good old Wez, go after a guy in a tricked-out buggy, incapacitating him and...taking...his wife. Yeah, these movies are really leaning on that to vilify their bad guys, huh? First it was Toecutter’s gang and the young couple, and now it’s these random people. Not the best gimmick in the world, but...OK?

Well, Max goes down to take their gasoline, and finds that the man has lived. Max brings him back to a small settlement, where they take him in. Meanwhile, a child with a boomerang, called Feral Kid (Emil Minty), watches. Cool.

Max is taken into the settlement, where oil is being refined as well. The settlers definitely don’t accept Max, and are ready to take his car and oust him into the wilderness without fuel. And then, the bikers return. And there are a LOT of them.

These are the Marauders, and they’ve taken some of the settlers captive. They’d gone out, only to be taken captive by Wez and the others. But Wez isn’t their leader. No...no, that would be the Warrior of the Wasteland! The Ayatollah of rock-and-roll-ah! THIS...is Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson)!

...Am I in love with this movie? Holy shit, I might be I mean, LOOK at that dude! With his voice and his scraggly-ass hair and Jason mask, he notes that the settlers sent out sentries to find a truck, with which to carry their gasoline and take it out of the desert. And as this is taking place, Feral Kid pops up, throws his steel boomerang, and kills Wez’ right hand man. WHAT

YES. MORE PLEASE. Feral Kid’s boomerang is thrown at him, misses, comes back and severs the fingers of the hand of Humungus’ mouth of Sauron dude, Toadie (Max Phipps). Humungus tries to calm the throngs, Wez included, and ends up putting Wez in a Sleeper. He tells the settlers to “just walk away, and [he] will spare [their] lives. Just walk away.”

...Yeah, I love Humungus. And his inevitable death saddens me more than I can properly say. Anyway, the settlers start debating whether or not they should walk away, and Max uses a little music-maker that he found to befriend the Feral Kid. The leader of the settlers, Pappagallo (Mike Preston) tries to convince them to flee with their fuel to a safe place. They continue to argue, until Max interjects with an offer.

Max can get them the vehicle to carry the tanker of gas that they have, but demands as much gas as he can carry, and the return of his vehicle. They agree to his terms, and Max heads off into the night to get the truck from earlier, with gas canisters and Dog in tow. With a little help from Feral Kid, he escapes the notice of the Marauders waiting nearby.

He catches up to Gyro, who’s managed to break free of the tree (well, mostly), and is quickly caught by Max in order to carry the gas canisters for the truck. They get back to Gyro’s gyro, where someone has died after being bitten by his...nonvenomous snake. Yeah, these films haven’t shown very high knowledge of zoology, huh?

They take to the air in the gyrocopter, and easily fly to the truck from the beginning of the film. They get it started, and Max leaves Gyro behind, although he protests to this, and follows behind in the copter. And then.he drives past Wez, who’s still enraged after losing his partner to boomerang hit.

By the way, I didn’t mention this about the gang, but they’re literally all wearing what looks to me like leather bondage gear? Like...I’m pretty certain that’s exactly what that is; it’s pretty obvious. ESPECIALLY Humungus and Wez’s partner, lemme tell you. Just a note, as this change in visual tone and style is going to carry throughout the rest of the series.

The Marauders run Max down, and Gyro saves the day with his snake, throwing it at one of the cars chasing him. Max JUST makes it into the Settlement, but a couple of the Marauders make it in as well, Wez amongst them. He kills a Settler using his favorite weapon, HIS OWN HEAD (fuck, this movie rules), and makes his was through the compound.

Max climbs the top of the wall, and uses a flamethrower on some of the men. Feral Kid throws a boomerang at Wez, who runs off with the rest of the Marauders. Gyro also arrives, landing in the settlement. Pappagallo, in the process, is shot in the leg with an arrow. Unfortunately, the damage sustained to the truck will take 12 hours to fix.

The Settlers thank Max for his help, but that doesn’t mean he’s staying there. That night, however, Humungus retaliates, and strings up their captured settlers for all to see, torturing them throughout the night. Nobody will make it out alive, by his promise. 

For the time being, Max and Gyro are still in the settlement, waiting for their chance to leave. Gyro tries to sneak away with a young woman, but she opts to stay out of loyalty to the Settlers. Also, her hair looks like a Who from Whoville. It had to be said...it had to be said. Pappagallo berated Max for just leaving, rather than helping the rest of them and driving the tanker. Max shoves aside Feral Kid, and he takes off.

However, this is NOT the best move on Max’s part, as he drives RIGHT THROUGH the Marauder camp, and Wez isn’t far behind him. Using a NOS system (EAT IT FAST AND FURIOUS FRANCHISE), they easily overtake Max and run him off the road, DESTROYING the V-8 Pursuit Special, and injuring Max something fierce. Somehow, though, he manages to escape. But one of them KILLS DOG WHAT THE FUCK MAN

Max crawls away and escapes, but is found by...Gyro! Gyro picks him up with the copter, and takes him back to the settlement. He wakes up in a medical tent, still quite hurt. Pappagallo details the plan: use the tanker as a distraction to allow the others to escape. Max, although still injured, volunteers to drive the tanker after all. He doesn’t say exactly why, but he is now stuck there without a method of egress, and he’s the best chance they have. I’m going to choose to believe that he does it for Dog. JOHN WICK STYLE BABY

The time has come. On both sides, they head for conflict. Gyro’s air support, dropping bombs on them. But he’s quickly shot down. Meanwhile, the settlers get out in vehicles of their own, taking advantage of the distraction of the tanker. And once they’re all out…

Now, all eyes are on Max and the Marauders! With the assistance of Warrior Woman (Virginia Hey), Feral Kid, and a few more settlers, Max tries to outdrive Wez and his group. And a LOT of shit happens here, so do yourself a favor and watch this video!

Rebecca and the other two settlers die, leaving only Max and Feral Kid behind. A LOT of Marauders die in the process, and then Lord Humungus catches up. As they shoot out the tires, Gyro (still flyin’, baby!) and some of the Settlers show up as backup. And...yup, another video. Yes, really.

After ALL OF THAT, Humungus ONCE AGAIN goes the way of Toecutter, and is killed by a head-on collision with a truck. Said truck careens off the road, and Mac and Feral Kid get out. It’s then that we see that the truck NEVER had fuel in it! No, instead it was a decoy! It allowed the vehicles, which actually contained the fuel, to escape to the safe North, away from the gangs.

The Narrator comes back, revealing that he’s the Feral Kid, and that their new leader was Gyro! And the Road Warrior. That was the last they ever saw of him. He lives now...only in his memories.

And THAT...was The Road Warrior, AKA Mad Max 2. WHOOOOOOOO!!! Second verse, same as the first; epilogue at the end of the weekend! LET’S GO PART 3

January 31, 2021: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

[phoebehalliwell]

hunger games fusion: demons rule and make witch and human kids fight for their amusement. Patty was a victor at 17, mentored by Sam, her district's only other winner (and a whitelighter who died in the arena but was resurrected before anyone could notice), and they got close, but after she was so traumatized that she broke all contact with him except for the yearly games, married Victor Bennett a regular human, and had three daughters. But Victor couldn't handle the magic and left and Patty 1/?

turned to Sam. they had Paige but gave her up in another district before demons found out about a half-whitelighter baby. then Patty died shortly after, leaving her family homeless (bc you can't live a victor's life if there is no victor) and Sam a drunken mess. Cut to years later, and 13-year-old Phoebe just got Reaped for the Games. Piper volunteers in her place. Leo is her district partner. Sam is their mentor. And in the arena she meets Paige, 11 and Reaped from a neighboring district.

okay i’m picking districts. patty comes from the warren line who are known to be very powerful witches so i’m saying she’s a career. u kno what i’m gonna saying district 4 fishing as a parallel to san francisco bc like. they got fishing there. and then we’ll also say for aging purposes whitelighter don’t have immortality (or they do but they age regardless) and we’ll also say instead of being her mentor bc since i’m saying she’s a career they definitely have a plethora of winners to choose from we’ll say sam was also a tribute from district 8 textiles in patty’s hunger games they formed an alliance and she developed feelings for him despite already being in a relationship with victor back home when he died patty used her power to freeze him giving the elders just enough time to do what they needed to do. technically he “died” but he lived on as a whitelighter aiding the side of the revolution. patty wins the hunger games and brings pride to her family but feels v disillusioned w it all bc well killing other kids was not fun and losing sam was the worst and now she’s toted around like some prize jewel and she doesn’t know if victor can’t tell or if he doesn’t care that at every single gala they have to attend she feeling like breaking down into tears or feral screams. but she can’t. so she spends the next couple decades being the perfect, delightful hunger games winner, she has three kids and totes them everywhere with smiles but god she just hates it all she hates it all so much she so much. and the hunger games are on every year and her kids are glued to the screen bc that’s how they were raised but patty can’t even stand to be in the room when the games are on tv and one night she meets sam again she didn’t even know he was alive after all of these years but like meeting him makes her feel just slightly more sane bc this was something the games couldn’t take away from her they tried but they couldn’t here he was and patty almost felt like she could breathe again sam had aged normally so he didn’t look like the kid who was killed in the hunger games so he went back to district eight to watch out for his family and his community blah blah blah they rekindle the relationship patty gets pregnant but uses and illusion spell to pretend she’s not whoever can sense the magic just assume she’s using it for vanity to appear younger bc patty decided she’s not gonna raise this child she’s seen the way her kids were raised surrounded by the games and capitol touting its glories and she just would want her daughter to go through that if she has the opportunity not to so when she gave birth to paige she gave her to sam and asked him to keep her safe, so sam took her and brought her to a close pair of family friends in district eight who he knew would keep her safe and love her as their own.

and blah blah blah patty and sam continue to fight for the revolution but one day they’re found out patty is killed by the water demon and things are still kept very hush hush but like. she was a victor and she was killed by a demon. that doesn’t just happen. people talk. so when prue is reaped she’s hyped but more importantly she’s determined she’s gonna save her family and bring back their good name and she’s good she’s really good and paige is watching from district eight and she hates watching the games but she can’t help but root for the girl from district 4 who looks like her and hope that she makes it through. but the issue with prue is she has this insane protective instinct. she had it for andy, her partner in the games, and it almost got her killed. prue could be ruthless, but she undeniably had a soft spot. she ended up sacrificing herself in the games so a boy from district eight could win. leo wasn’t sure how he’d ever be able to repay her. flash forward a couple years and piper’s still grieving for her sister and her mother and she’s become ruthless. phoebe’s fallen for a demon. paige is still minding her business in district 8. when it comes time for the reaping & piper’s drawn, phoebe tries volunteering as tribute but piper shuts her down. it’s clear from the look in her eyes that she is determined to do this. she is going to kill every single person in that arena. phoebe’s begging cole to do something about it, he’s a demon, he has to have some sway. she’s already lost patty, she’s already lost prue, she can’t she can’t lose piper too.

over in district 8, paige is reaped. paige is not a fighter, this much she knows. leo, her mentor, isn’t much of one either. but leo knows strategy. he knows the others powers, strengths, weaknesses, and he knows healing pretty well. paige is mortal, putting her at a distinct disadvantage, but if she can lay low, keep from dying for long enough, she might have a shot. and another note: avoid piper halliwell. her sister died sacrificing herself for leo, piper might be looking for revenge against district 8. so just. keep your head low. and paige does, bc like. she doesn’t wanna get murdered before the games even start. but leo doesn’t. well, okay, he didn’t intentionally get in an elevator with piper, but he was the one who struck up conversation. she glared at him like she wanted to rip his guts out, but all leo saw was the immense sadness behind her eyes. he wished he could heal her. she seemed like she needed it.

meanwhile cole really needs to decide is he’s gonna risk it all for phoebe. they say demon’s can’t love, but what he feels is pretty damn close. but is it worth the risk to go against the capitol to try to save phoebe’s sister. it’s dangerous. it’s beyond dangerous; it’s a suicide mission. he could sit back. go through the motions. pretend to save piper, but he can’t, he’s so sorry, he tried, he’ll be there as a shoulder for phoebe to cry on. that’s an option. a compelling one. a really compelling one. and he better pick fast bc the games are starting.

the games are mountain themed this year, featuring very little natural resources jagged cliff edges winding caverns with a disturbing array of creatures hidden within and very thin air, especially to those coming from sea level. paige already knows this is going to be brutal. there’s not really a space to lay low, like leo suggested, and she can see from across the dias piper is giving her murder eyes. and she knows she knows she knows leo said don’t go for the cornucopia she’s mortal running into a pack of bloodthirsty witches but there’s no way she’s gonna survive without resources so like !! the clock counts down and she’s like gotta make a decision bc right now they’re all basically on a sawed off mountain top getting off of here safe is gonna be a bitch it’s something she’s gonna have to take slow if she leaves when everyone’s going for the cornucopia she has a chances of making it out alive but the odds of her making it down the ridge with supplies and killer witches on her tail. no. leo’s right. she should just run for it. mmmm but there’s some canned food about 5 yards in she could just go for that and leave. enough time to escape, small enough to carry. the gong sounds. time to commit to the bit. 

she sprints over and grabs the food, doing a quick 180 and darting back towards the cliff’s edge. she can hear brutal screams and the sound of teenagers choking on their own blood, but that’s not what gets her. it’s the fact that the kid next to her is frozen where he stands. she can’t think about it too much, that’s a luxury she doesn’t have, but she does spare a quick glance over her shoulder. the witches are fighting, sure, but every other mortal in the arena is frozen. it’s piper, it has to be piper, making sure she’s awake for the kill. paige doesn’t have time to worry about it. she begins climbing down the wall.

piper can’t figure out why the district 8 girl isn’t freezing. she tried multiple times. a telekinetic from district five knocks her to the ground but she’s blown off his hand before he can make another move. the next hit goes for the head. the district 8 boy has the power of invisibility, he’s a lost cause for now, but she can still get her revenge on the girl. piper runs over to the cliffside paige disappeared down. she can still see the raven haired girl scampering down a narrow ledge. she’s pretty far down, but piper’s been working on her aim. just in time, paige looks up, eyes wide with fear as piper throws out her hands at her. the cliffside explodes, but paige doesn’t go with it. no. she orbs. and rematerializes right back where she was, tucked in the jagged groove piper just created. piper doesn’t have time to go for another kill, she’s already had her back to the cornucopia too long. but if she could spare the time, she would climb down there herself and demand to know exactly what was going on. since when can mortal orb?

paige was Not favorable ranked to win the games. mortals never are. but after that orbing stunt, sponsors were all over her. no one had even seen a whitelighter in the games. rumor had it they were extinct. but to have one there?? well, they already died once, they could probably avoid it the second time. paige’s new orbing power didn’t give her half of the confidence the sponsors had, though. her plan was still to wait it out until the majority of the fighting was done. but there really were no resources. she would sometimes get food from the her sponsors, but the gamemakers seemed to be curbing her supply. she’d have to return to the cornucopia.

the careers had set up camp there. mainly, they’d just wait for the other kids to show up, starving and desperate for food, and pick them off one by one, but if the days were particularly dull they’d sent two off at a time to go hunting. piper always went. she almost always killed. one day, her and her hunting partner from district one (a blonde witch named billie) came back to find the other careers slaughtered and a good amount of supplies taken. double edged sword. bad, because they lost supplies. good, because that lowered the amount of tributes left. bad, because that meant billie and piper were inching closer and closer to killing each other. they didn’t go out hunting together anymore. they didn’t trust the other to have their back. they’d alternate, one witch standing guard at the mountain top while the other travelled down to hunt. paige didn’t know this. if she had, she probably would have time it out to the day piper was gone. but she didn’t.

it was hard to get a read on the situation, paige would only dare to venture a peak above her ledge every couple minutes as piper circled with a watchful eye. but the gamemakers new paige was coming. new supplies had been dropped that morning, with fresh loaves of bread, containers of soup, and canned peaches (paige’s favorite!). she just didn’t know how to get there without getting killed. she tried to talk herself through it, name every step as a method of calming down. she feared her voice would carry, though, and only risked it when the wind howled through the mountains. even still, her voice barely sat above a whisper. okay. i’ll go when piper’s the at the opposite end of her round. that’ll give me the most time. and if she tried to hit me, i’ll orb?? and once i get the supplies... then what. scaling this cliff would be a bitch. she hadn’t tried moving when she orbed, but that might end up being a learning while doing situation. okay. i’ll grab stuff, and i’ll jump. and i’ll orb safely down to the bottom. yeah. i can do that! i can do that. okay. paige took another look from her hiding place. piper was about to hit the further point of her guard. paige smiled. she almost felt like this plan could work. i’m gonna get some freakin canned peaches!! orbs swirled around the canned peaches, whisking them away. of course piper noticed. of course she noticed right where they orbed to. a tiny paige face peeking over the cliffside. oh, she was gonna kill her.

this was a horrible plan. this plan was gonna go horribly. there was no way this plan could work. but here they were, witch and demon, flying out to the arena. cole was gonna fry the area with an energy ball, hopefully disabling it long enough for phoebe to dive in and steal piper. and then they’d run. it was a horrible plan. there were a thousand ways it could go wrong. a hundred thousand. ten million. infinite possibility, infinite opportunities to fuck this up. but here they were, witch and demon, flying out to the arena.

paige grabbed her canned peaches and and thought fuck it guess this’ll have to do bc there was no was she could go toe to toe with piper’s wrath. better hope her obing power was under control. she leaped off the side of the cliff. and landed right on top of piper, knocking her to the ground. yikes! then a loud pop, like a transformer blowing, and the sky went dark. not like nighttime. like someone had turned the lights out. piper couldn’t see shit, but that wasn’t going to stop her, she reached out, clawing for anything, and found her hands around paige’s neck, gripping in pitch black. and then a voice, calling her name. piper! not prue, phoebe. piper swivelled around, but couldn’t see a thing. phoebe? paige tried to worm from piper’s grip, but piper slammed her to the ground. she could hear a pair of footsteps running closer. piper! piper, we’re getting you out of here. phoebe laid a hand on her sister’s should, and there was light. it wasn’t the arena, the power still hadn’t come back, but there was light. the shock of it loosened piper’s grip as she stared up, blue lights and witch’s orbs swirling in the air around the three girls. around the three sisters. paige stirred, barely conscious. piper, we’re getting you out of here. come on. piper paused. the girl did look a lot like prue. piper! power’s gonna come back any minute. -not without her. -what? -i mean it, phoebe! not without her. phoebe shrugged at cole. this wasn’t part of the plan, but quite frankly it was amazing they had made it this far. fuck it. why not. cole grabbed the sisters, ready to shimmer out. where to? piper looked at paige. a sister on the brink of death. she knew where she had to take her. leo.

[justhereforseverus]

A Rose by any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet

Miserable_toad

Chapter 14: I would not wish any companion in the world but you

Summary:

It's the day of the Yule Ball but you had a rather unpleasant night. Full of anxiety, hopes and uncertainties you follow Severus to the dancefloor.

Notes:

Lyrics by Taylor Swift from the song “This is me trying.” I’m obsessed with her latest album ‘Cardigan’ so I’m not sorry at all to include the lyrics here. This fic won’t be over anytime soon. Still much to work through with these two. I have to admit, I wasn’t very satisfied with chapter 13. Sometimes I tend to pack way too much of my own insecurities/anxiety and stuff in there, which might ruin the story for anyone outside. I apologise for that.

Listen to the song here to set the mood during the dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bdLTPNrlEg

Thank you all for your kudos and comments!! They really make my day every single time! Thank you so much for reading!

Chapter Text:

There were no classes on a Saturday, and we’ve all been busy with our own preparations for the ball. I woke up nervous, scared and numb. I had a nightmare in which I was back in London in our old backstage area. He was there, threatening us, yelling at us, making our life hell. As a consequence, a heavy cloud hung over me. I was looking forward for this evening for weeks and now anxiety reigned my heart. In addition, I’ve found another note in my pidgeon hole with the familiar red lettering of ‘whore’. I tried to calm down with tea and did some reading in my studies, thinking to myself: “Please don’t ruin this evening. Everything is going to be fine.”

Severus had send me an owl to let me know he’d pick me up at 6. Punctual as ever, he arrived at point 6 on my doorstep. He was wearing a finer version of his usual buttoned-up jacket made of soft cord fabric. His jacket was embellished with green and golden tendrils growing all over it. He wore a finer white silk shirt underneath and his longer signature sleeves were decorated with sparkling silver buttons. All this was matched with his usual black trousers. His hair elegantly framed his face and looked fluffy and soft. A white handkerchief with a lily printed on it was put in his breast pocket. He looked at me for a moment with eyes wide open, then bowed down and kissed my hand. “My lady, you look wonderful tonight.” I chuckled and thanked him for the complimemt. He looked very handsome tonight, too. On the way to the ball, my anxiety still overcame me and I couldn’t stop shaking. He put me aside in an empty hallway to ask me how I was. I just told him I had a rough night with some nightmares and was incredibly nervous. But that I was also looking forward to the evening. He looked at me worried and then said: “It’s fine. I have to admit.. I’m nervous, too. This is the first time I’m having someone next to me. But..” and here he took up my hand and squeezed it: “It’ll be fine. I don’t care about them or their words. I just want to be here with you and we can go whenever you like.” I nodded and smiled.

Usually teachers who are not head of houses do not stand in the first row when the opening dance is undergoing. Unless of course they are the chosen dance partners. Thus, I stood in the front with Severus as I was his official +1 (though I was invited individually as every staff member). Next to us stood Dumbledore who held hands with McGonagall, Flitwick who, as I was told, usually chose his wife but she was unable to make it this time, so he went with his friend Madame Pomfrey instead. Sprout had brought her tall red-haired girlfriend named Chloe. While we watched the head boys and girls dance, I could feel the eyes on me and Severus. He held my hand tightly but looked as aloof, desinterested and confident as always. I looked around and caught Remus sitting on one of the tables behind me smiling and winking at me. Sirius sat next to him in a dashing red velvet suit. He had put his hand on Remus shoulder and the other in front of his mouth, clearly hiding his laughter. I jokingly rolled my eyes when I saw him and waved.

After the head prefects had their chance to dance alone, the headteachers would be next to join. Remus told me that Severus had never joined in the dancing before and usually left quite early. This time it was different. He led me to the dancefloor and I almost tripped over my own feet because I was so nervous. But he was a marvellous dancer. Despite Remus’s training in the days before the ball, I was dead focused on not making any missteps. Severus though led brilliantly and thus it turned out ok. I think at least. He looked so satisfied and I forgot everything and everyone else in the room including my own anxiety for a while.

After the opening dance was over and the music changed into something faster and more casual, we returned to the tables reserved for the staff. Remus and Sirius came over our way. Remus was the first to talk: “Hello Severus, I didn’t know you could dance so well. That was a great performance. I could learn a thing or two from you.” Severus replied rather dismissively but polite: “Thank you, Professor Lupin.” And then… said nothing else. Silence. You could feel the tension in the air. To break the ice a bit, I said: “I hope I’ll see you two on the dancefloor soon. How are you, Sirius?” Sirius replied, after giving me a hand kiss while looking rather cheekily at Severus: “Oh, my lady, I’m doing very well tonight. And just you wait. Me and Remus have plans to dance all night and it will certainly be a show worth watching.” - he winked. He then turned towards Severus with the utmost politeness and a sarcastic little bow: “Hello to you, too Professor Snape! We haven’t seen each other for a long time. I’m glad to see you are well.” Despite these relatively harmless words you could tell he was enjoying this in a way he shouldn’t. Severus looked unimpressed with an elevated eyebrow on Sirius. He replied rather cold with a slight hint of sarcasm: “Hello Mr Black. Yes, I am. What a surprise to see you’re honouring Hogwarts with your presence once again.” “Well Sni.. “ and here Remus punched his elbow into Sirius side. “Professor Snape, someone has to take care of Remus as long as his girlfriend is gone. He isn’t exactly my type, but I volunteered to keep this scruffy professor safe.” And here he patted demonstratively Remus’s shoulder. Remus looked back at him with a very puzzling expression but then took him by the hand and said “We probably should get to the dancefloor now. Come on, Sirius.” Both waved at us and then moved towards the dancefloor.

I turned to Severus: “Well that was.. something. Sirius really tried. Why do you hate each other so much again? Remus just told me that Sirius was quite the troublemaker and you both didn’t get along at all back in school.”

Severus mouth frowned before he dismissively replied: “Long story not worth telling. But yes, I agree he was a troublemaker, always willing to put others down that he didn’t like. James Potter and he were a horrible combination that endangered the life of others. I see he hasn’t changed much, though he apparently can be polite now if he needs to… with a little help. But to change the topic: Who is Remus girlfriend?”

“ It’s Nymphadora Tonks. Do you know her?”

He nodded: “Yes, briefly. Smart girl but always seemed to be with her head somehwere else and very clumsy. Remus was always the most responsible one of the infamous Golden Trio. Guess, she is a good fit. In the end, we all got older. She might have changed.”

“She is really nice. They’re a wonderful couple.”

Severus looked absentmindedly around: “Indeed. Would you like something to drink?”. We both got some wine from the bar and sat at one of the tables in the back. It was quite empty. Most staff were either on the dancefloor or standing around it to watch the others. The bar was also rather crowded. Severus put his arm around me, and we were watching the dancing crowd. I felt a bit better now that the official dance was over. Some people continued to stare at us and then whispered in hushed tones. It made me feel uneasy but at the same time kinda proud. Though, I wanted to finally clear something up no matter how much I dreaded the question. I asked with a shaking voice: “Severus. Are we.. are we a couple?”

He looked at me like I’ve just declared that I was a lizard and the earth was flat: “What kind of question is this?” - he blured out. “I assumed that would’ve been the case for a while. I’m surprised you still saw this as an open question.”

Ouch…..damn me. “I mean, yes? I don’t know... You were so open in London but here. Obviously, we shouldn’t be all lovey dovey in front of everyone all the time but I thought you wanted to keep it a secret here. Either because you weren’t sure or because you were ashamed or something. Of course, now that we danced together and we’re here as a couple for everyone to see it’s more clear but.." I sighed..."Ok, I don’t know why I thought.. ugh.”

He drew in a long breath before saying: “You’re right but I wanted to wait until you act on your accounts. I don’t have problems showing affections here. But you seemed hesitant about it and maybe you’re not the type for that stuff. Yet, I’ve always seen us as a couple. I didn’t think we had to officially declare it somehow.”

“I’m sorry.. you know how I am.”

“Yes, I know. And that’s fine. Even though it doesn’t have to be said out loud, I say it now: I want to be in a serious relationship with you right now.”

I could feel how my cheeks turned pink and said in a hushed voice: “I do, too.” And then he leaned towards me and kissed me in front of everyone to see. I could hear more murmurs around us. But I didn’t care, and I think Severus did neither.

Remus and Sirius indeed put on quite a show on. Sirius was an absolute show off and danced like a professional pop background dancer at times but Remus was not far behind. It was clear that Sirius had learned how to dance to impress whoever he wanted at that moment. I could see how that works out though his occasional awkward breakdance moves are a bit too much at times. The rest of the staff were equally impressive. Dumbledore danced like a 13 year old in a tik tok video and the students loved it. I’ve never seen a 130 year old dancing that passionately while staying cool with the kids. I also joined them on the dancefloor at times and once sang loudly along Queen’s Bohemian Rapsody with Minerva, Sprout and Chloe. It was a lot of fun. At one point, the students of my drama group invited me to their little circle to sing along some songs. Severus stayed behind for most of the evening though he did talk with Flitwick and Albus. Every time I looked towards him, he smiled though. When I returned to him, he said:“It’s a marvel to see you dance.”

I blushed but then replied: “Why don’t you try it then sometimes? I’m sure you’d have fun.”

He cackled: “I don’t think anyone wants to see me on the dancefloor being silly. I’m not the type. Bats don’t dance after all.”

A slow song came on and the dancefloor organised itself in couples intimately intertwined. Suddenly, Severus stood up and offered me his arm: “But I think, I could make an exception with this song.”

I was beaming and we went to the dancefloor. The song felt like soft snow falling and the lyrics wrapped us in like a warm blanket:

“I've been having a hard time adjusting. I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting. Pulled the car off the road to the lookout. Could've followed my fears all the way down.”

Many thoughts ran through my head. I often was incapable of focusing on the moment. I still had to prove myself and my position at Hogwarts. The thing was the play. Would anyone notice if I had to go? Did I change anything in the few months I was here? And why do I still feel haunted and chased by all these old prejudices. I felt so battered and wounded.

“And maybe I don’t quite know what to say. But I’m here in your doorway.”

I never thought I’d find someone like Severus here. That I’d tried to love again at all. But there was still so much that lingered in my heart and mind. My life is far from perfect. I had to fix my sleeping schedule, to fix my fears and insecurities, to battle whatever is happening here. Why does he like me when he usually demands perfection from anyone around him? I still couldn’t explain that. But I knew I’d try my best to keep him, to make him happy, to hold him. My thoughts returned to his gaze. I was dancing with the most beautiful man at this school. My head on his shoulder, his hand on my waist, his breath in my ear. Still, I was scared, and I didn’t know why.

“They told me all of my cages were mental. So I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad. I have a lot of regrets about that.”

I thought about why I left London. Why, my life went like it did. There was so much he didn’t know about what happened to me, about what I did to others. About who I had been. But was this really important? On the other hand, he admitted he hadn’t told me much about his past either. Will this all last? He was like an enigma wrapped up in a riddle but at the same time… I felt like we were bound with an invisible string.

“I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere. Fell behind all my classmates and I ended up here, pouring out my heart to a stranger But I didn't pour the whiskey.”

Once everything looked different. I was so full of passion, dreams and hopes. But they had been crushed up to the moment that I came here, defeated but hopeful to escape everything. Yet, I was wrong in thinking that nothing would happen. I remembered the first time I broke down and how Severus sat next to me. The first time he was truly kind despite my childishness, my broken memories. The first time, I saw my scares clearly and recognised his presence as my medicine.

“And it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound. It's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you. You're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town”

The nightmare last night had hit me hard, made me remember things I’d rather forget. Yet, I’ve never been happier than in this moment. I looked at Severus, gazed into his black eyes and wanted to lose myself in him, to never think again. To drown in his eyes forever. His face was full of kindness and love. He was exactly how I always imagined love could and should be when I was a teenager dreaming. This realisation scared me at the same time. In that moment, he moved closer and kissed me in the middle of the dancefloor under the dim purple lights with the mirrorball above us. I melted in his embrace. He tasted like wine and daylight and a warming fire.

“I just wanted you to know that this is me trying”

And that’s all I wanted and all I’d ever do. Trying to make this work. Trying to create something from the broken shards of my life. I wanted to melt them down and start anew with you.

When the song ended, we went outside the hall. His hand in mine, he was beaming and even with his usual aloofness and control he couldn’t hide the fact that he was happy. And I was happy to see him that way. Though I couldn’t quite believe I was the reason behind it. To hold such a treasure and call it mine feels unreal. We stood on the balcony for a moment, looking at the Hogwarts grounds from above. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder and he seemed to hum along to the song we heard from inside.

I looked at him and said: “Never seen you this chippy before. I could get used to it.”

“Mhh..” he replied. “Yes, I can’t imagine why. Must be the wine. Or..”

And here he put his hand on my chin, closed the distance between us and said with a cheeky smile: “A certain nymph has enchanted me.”

I laughed: “Didn’t know anyone could do that to the famous master of potions and the dark arts.”

“Well, IT IS certainly possible but only when I want it to.”

“Then I feel honoured.” - I exclaimed and followed him back inside as it got quite cold.

Most of the staff had retreated to their sleeping quarters by now as it was very late. Even Sirius and Remus sat happy but exhausted on a couch deep in conversation about something. Small groups of students were on the dancefloor talking, dancing or just watching the DJ doing his thing.

Severus suggested the following: “What do you think about retreating to my quarters? I think we have served an appropriate time of duty at this party.” I agreed. I also felt the tiredness in my bones and  I longed to be alone with him.

[fanfic-inator795]

I’ve been thinking a lot about Michika and my “A New Slice of Life” fic (and it’s sorta sequel-oneshot) lately, so screw it. Headcanon time

Warning: this got SUUUUUPER long

Michika:

Despite being semi-aquatic, Michi doesn’t really care for seafood. She’d rather have cucumbers/other veggies or noodles. She also just LOVES fruit and baked goods, but strangely enough also enjoys black licorice

Along with being friends with Mikey, she runs into Piebald during one of her swims on the surface, and the two become fast friends. While she’s not super into horror movies, they definitely bond over their love of pranks

One day when they were bored, Mikey taught Michi about splatter paint art, and now it’s one of her fave things to do

Prefers lakes over oceans, and will hang out in parks on the Surface because of this

Has excellent aim and is great at long range attacks, thanks to her water gun and a decent throwing arm, but is below-average when it comes to close combat, and will resort to scratching/biting if she can’t get away

Despite her trickster personality, she’s loyal enough to keep a promise (sort of a Kappa’s thing) though only for friends. For anyone else, they have to get her to somehow spill her bowl water in order to ‘earn’ a promise from her

First few times she slept over at the Lair, she just slept in that moat they have in the atrium. Though, as she and Mikey got closer and she was more okay with sleepover cuddle piles with the others in the tv room, she was willing to pour her head water into another bowl and sleep somewhere dry

If she comes over when Mikey’s in the middle of doing art, she’ll just grab a bowl of chips or salad and sit on his hammock, munching away and watching, occasionally giving a comment. Mikey likes having the company and the extra perspective

She only steals food. Everything else she has, from her clothes to her water gun, she found abandoned or in the trash. She doesn’t have any morals about stealing non-food items, it’s just that she doesn’t feel like she needs to. She needs to eat, not wear fancy clothes or glittery jewelry

TV is kind of a novelty for her, since I don’t think there’s a ton of it in the Hidden City. She enjoys watching Cutthroat Kitchen with Mikey and gets a mild kick out of Lou Jitsu movies. She’s also a huge fan of comedies

Speaking of Cutthroat Kitchen, she and Mikey love to egg each other on into doing these sorts of challenges when they feel like cooking together

*Raph, walking into the kitchen to see Mikey and Michi doing a sort of three-legged thing, half-laughing and half-yelling at each other* “Uhh, are you two angry or havin’ fun?” “YES!”

After hearing enough of it from Mikey and Hueso Jr., she develops a mild love of rap/hip hop and Spanish music

She and Junior take a while to find common ground, but they do get along pretty well. They like to sass each other at times, and while Michi likes to make herself laugh, she appreciates that Junior can make her laugh with his jokes and comebacks

Hueso Jr.:

He’s autistic and finds it really hard to be social at times, but can be very talkative and expressive around his father and his friends, and when comfortable, he can be a bit mischievous and silly/loud. He also has anxiety, though is able to work through it for the most part

Has a dry sense of wit, just like his dad

Is actually quite skilled at cooking technically, he just doesn’t have any passion or drive for it

Likes playing sports ball/soccer/baseball with Mikey and the Turtles when he’s in the mood. Is also good at fencing, thanks to lessons from his dad

Through the events of ‘A New Slice of Pizza’, he ends up discovering a love of flower arrangement and table setting/making centerpieces, and while it starts out as just a hobby, he can’t deny it’s his love and makes a decent career out of it

That being said, he sometimes helps with the management stuff at Run of the Mill when Senor Hueso needs him to

Given that the Turtles have already paid his way for it (lol, love that line in ‘Portal Jacked!’), Junior does go to college for two years. He gets an associate’s degree in Literature

Through his love of wordplay and skeleton puns, he also ends up sort of getting into poetry. It’s more comedic and clever, though it’s still embarrassing for him to share. He sometimes help Mikey with rap lyrics as well

Likes music (classical, easy listening, alt. rock) and usually listens to Spanish artists

While being the same age as Mikey - 13 years old - he’s a few months younger (the opposite of Michi, who proudly reminds others that she’s 13 and a half, thank you very much)

While he may literally be all bones, he still enjoys hardy and filling foods. Lots of meat, lots of spices and heat, and (naturally) enjoys Italian and Mexican cuisine

He’s good at avoiding Michi’s pranks, which both impresses and annoys her

He’s not very good at art in terms of drawing or painting, but will still sometimes doodle and color with Mikey when Mikey’s in the mood for it and will still enjoy himself

Will watch anything and be okay/mildly entertained, but specifically likes watching sports

Mikey:

Works at Run of the Mill from age 13 to age 18, coming up with no less than a dozen one-of-a-kind dishes while there, becoming friends with all of his co-workers and earning plenty of fans through his awesome cooking skills and table service

When he starts traveling the world for a few years, both above and below the surface, to learn even more about food and cooking techniques, Michi comes along for the heck of it, and they both make sure to keep in contact with Junior as well as the Turtles/April/Splinter

When he does eventually open up his own restaurant in his late 20s/early 30s, he only had one name in mind for it: “Razz-ma-Tazz” A mix of Italian/American/Mexican/Asian cooking. Pretty much any delicious dish any human, mutant or yokai could ask for!

Enjoys cuddle sessions with his friends as much as he enjoys having fun and getting into shenanigans with them

Often sketches out candid moments he remembers (Michi catching a snooze under water, Junior smiling to himself as he’s writing out a poem, stuff like that)

As soon as he’s old enough for them, he switches from covering himself with paint and stickers to covering himself with tattoos, and is VERY proud of them

Takes care of the stray animals that hang out behind his restaurant, feeding them leftovers and giving them names

In his early-20s, after seeing April and his bros get into romantic relationships (April with Sunita, Leo with Usagi, and Raph and Donnie with two of my best friend’s OCs, heh), he starts to realize “Hey, you know what? I think I like Michi and Junior that way too!” He never really thought or cared about his sexuality too much beforehand, so realizing he’s bi and polyamorous isn’t too big of a deal for him

Unlike his brothers, who were absolute DISASTERS when it came to romance, Mikey ironically was the most mature and straight-forward about it despite being the second-youngest in the Jitsu fam. He just sat them both down, told him how he felt about them - BOTH of them - and was honest, along with telling them that he loved them just as much as friends, so if they didn’t feel the same or weren’t comfortable with the poly idea, that was totally cool.

As such, Michi and Junior both took some time - first thinking about it alone, then discussing it with each other. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that they loved Mikey too, and that they were close enough to each other that they didn’t mind being co-partners and having the same boyfriend along with being friends with each other

Everyone but Splinter was surprised with this outcome, but the entire fam (Senor Hueso included) was totally happy and supportive of them ^v^

Isn’t totally sure about being a parent with how busy his restaurant and his art keeps him, but in the meantime he volunteers with programs like Big Brothers/Big Sisters and mentorship programs, and occasionally fosters kids for several weeks

Two decades or so and hundreds of dishes later... and his favorite food is (and always WILL BE) pizza or pizza-esque dishes

Aaaaaand that’s all I have for now! If you made it this far - thanks for reading!! ^v^

[kangyunas]

⁚ ⁛  oh my god ! you can’t believe who i just saw. it was  kang yuna !  they really resemble  seo soojin , don’t they ?  i heard they started their career about  one year ago  as the  main dancer + lead rapper + vocalist  in  v-nyx , but it sure seems longer, doesn’t it ?  they always seem so  optimistic ,  elegant  +  selfless  in interviews and to their fans, but their latest scandal made them sound like  timid ,  sensitive  + cautious … oh well, must’ve been the bad lighting. did you know they came all the way from  seoul ,  south korea  to new york city ?  it was really brave of them to sacrifice so much. you think they’re survive the spotlight ? 「+ seo soojin 」

god so i’m sleep deprived and idk what i’m abt to write so let’s see how many tws i can avoid adding. apparently , sleep deprived me is good at avoiding tws so that’s cool.

 —   𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐.

on march 9th, 1998, kang yuna was born and raised in seongbuk-dong, seoul.

if the neighborhood wasn’t enough to tip one off, the kangs were well-off; her father having been the ceo of the family business in and around medical equipment while her mother was off signing paperbacks for her avid readers.

— quite a happy  little  family, which she pointed out time and time again to her parents soon after she learned how to walk and talk. and sing and dance, as they soon realized.

and who were they to ignore their precious little girl’s requests ?

(  ... ok, so they already planned on having another child but it made her much happier to think that she convinced her parents for a sibling  )

but by the time she was on her way to english preschool, she doted on her younger sister; it seemed endearing to those outside of the household, but beyond the surface, was an unfortunate side effect of two hard-working people that were too busy to come home and have dinner with their children.

only when she turned nine did she realize  why  she saw less and less of her parents.

as it turned out, her mother had an affair with one of her publishers and she’d taken advantage of yuna’s pleas for a sibling as a cover around the time.

her father found out, over the years, due to how much their youngest  didn’t  look like him — and more like that one publisher.

long story short, the teen lost her mother and sister as she got back home from school, leaving bare rooms and sour memories, their belongings all gone.

the news was publicized almost immediately and she and her father had to deal with the aftermath. bright flashes, handheld mics, and condescending tones became their norm for a little while.

from then, she saw her father even less... those early morning flights, late night meetings, or long business lunches really holding him captive. other than the times he’d try to show her the ropes of running the company, she saw the man maybe twice a week if she was lucky.

she quickly learned how to take care of herself without the help of their staff.

doing a lot of the house chores by her lonesome, it offered her some peace of mind. for whatever reason, her father took that as a sign that she was preparing to be a housewife.

arranged to be engaged to a business partner’s son by the age of sixteen, yuna tried her hardest to get out of it.

the most rebellious and impulsive thing she did was sneaking out to go to an open audition after being cast by a company scout at a talent show.

her father refused to let her become a trainee for two years, for obvious reasons, but yuna was adamant and in the end, he let her go.

(  suddeN i know i’m sorry i didn’t know how to get here without taking another 3pg essay to explain as;dlkf  )

she trained hard as a main dancer for a couple of years before she found her girls.

though she was very shy in meeting and training with them, she immediately found a safe place in their group. in their little family.

tbc.

    —   𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.

vvvvvv timid, even though she was raised to be a businesswoman

performing on the stage and in front of the cameras is a bit of a different story

but incredibly shy

will try to get a smile on your face, nonetheless

wears her heart on her sleeve tbh, she can’t tell a lie without her eyes getting glassy

the Mom Friend™

she’s used to taking care of the others honestly

no matter how much of a mess they make

probs cuts up apples and orange and peels grapes for snacks

and makes sure they eat something for breakfast

also packs the girls’ lunches when they have indv schedules

a pure bean

    —   𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔. 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕.

once agaiN, this is basically soojin w a few exaggerations here and there

has a black belt in taekwondo for some reason probs so she can kick my ass

speaks english fluently bc she went to those fancy pants schools all her life

hates being called a chaebol / doesn’t want the attention that comes of it

loves cherries and avocados but like,,,,,,, not together

volunteers at the local animal shelter when she has time

could own a tesla but she probs has a minivan or a hatchback bc she a soccer mom

may look like she knows what she’s doing but is in a perpetual state of confusion

yuna at all times: ???¿¿?¿??

connections??????? haven’t thought of them yet but am always down to brainstorm but it’s like 3am and i’m supposed to be up at 8am goD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but as always, IMs are always open so pls come and plot with me and my bean ~

[mcrtiniblues-blog]

hey guys ! i’m kat and atm, i’m either splurging at sephora or on my way home so i can’t be on for this first wave of activity. i kinda whipped everything up between endless exhaustion from my daily routine and people constantly looming over my shoulder at work and at home, so don’t mind my theme and everything, i’m still trying to figure out what i like and that means taking a while to set up my pages sklsd plus i wasn’t expecting us to open so soon, so i’m unprepared af, BUT ! we’ll make do with this intro for now.. didn’t have enough time to finish amla’s before i got off work. now, all of that being said, this is a monster of a post, so get settled as i introduce sovana’s resident skating brat halle, a bitch who overworks and doesn’t know how to chill long-term !! stats page is HERE for your reading pleasure, plots and what not will be up later on !

( jeon somin, cisfemale, she/her. ) hey that’s hyunmi “halle” chae over by the fountain! i wonder if they took a coin out. i heard the twenty-four year old’s been in sovana for three months and they’re known to be pretty darwinian but also charismatic. a song that describes their life would be challenge by lolo zouaï and blades gliding along the surface of ice, classical music on a rainy day, & silk bedsheets always reminds me of them.  

honestly she is.. fucked sgjfsgdkl

this is mostly a carbon copy of an intro i’ve made for her in the past, so while some random points seem a Little dated or repetitive, they’re valid enough to stay here sfdlgkdg

i’ve had inspo for her ever since last year’s olympics and really wanted to use her Somewhere and Successfully, so if some things here seem a little.. idk, farfetched for your taste, we’ll pin it on that sfdgkdfj

this is her as popular vines

so chae hyunmi aka halle, ulsan born, raised in seoul and relocated to toronto, canada with her parents, little sis and partner — aka sho — to train bc..

she’s a figure skater, good enough to win ( .. junior ig ) titles when she was in her early teens, so it was only inevitable for her to leave for toronto to train with the Best eventually

she’s competed in international competitions, as part of a pair, and made her olympic debut in sochi by the skin of her teeth; hers and sho’s highest placement was third place ( not at sochi pls sgjkld they prob ranked in the top ten at best ), so she’s got a medal or two to her name

ultimately it was after sochi that she saw her coach and ( ex ) partner intervene with her.. unhealthy practicing habits

she’s a perfectionist through and through, so of course she’d spend hours on the ice at just seventeen/eighteen years old, even younger tbh, to get a routine right. but she pushed herself harder and harder, where small missteps would lead her to fall hard and recover for days on end, even spraining her ankle just before competition season was to begin

so when her coach insisted she take a break, her parents following suit, it was with good reason — one that she didn’t fucking see fsdkgkl

even so, them pushing her to prioritize education for a bit, to get ahead of the skaters who would prob only be able to do so upon retirement in a good few years’ time, and hanging up her skates until she saw it as.. less than something she needed to abuse herself to feel comfortable with, for as long as they would do so led to her resolve shattering and her applying for universities both in canada and sk ( the sly brat reasoned that it’d be nice to be reconnect with her roots.. for the sake of having something going for her beyond just competing in pyeongchang ! )

which is how, miraculously, she got accepted into uni in seoul ( still figuring out which, rip ). her grades were good, she had a super brief volunteering stint and she’s a rising star ( well, was.. the bitch wouldn’t be competing again anytime soon to keep herself where she was within the skating circuit ) in her favoured sport, she deemed it inevitable sfkljfdgk

the transition wasn’t too hard ofc; she got comfortable with the campus and seoul and was back on the ice in no time, joining the uni’s skating team under her parents’ noses and making the most of it as comeback/olympics prep

she saw herself as poised to be added to the roster once again, now a singles prospect after a major falling out with her longtime partner for one too many dumb bitch moves, and was desperate for it since it’s in pyeongchang, however the stars didn’t align when she just missed obtaining qualification on sk’s roster on a technicality, and nothing could’ve compared to the agony that was missing her chance in something she invested sm practice, time and compliance with the people around her to pull through and get to pyeongchang

she’s still distraught over it, it’s been a few months since that happened and she gets emo real quick, misty-eyed if you bring it up ( she uh, has issues with moving on from things if you can’t tell )

suffice to say she resents her coach for his minor contribution in fucking her and himself over, dropped him out of anger ( a move she.. does feels bad abt on a personal level but professionally ?? pft ) and linked up with one back in toronto who she began seeing when she was “ prepared ” to give it a shot again.. so right after graduating

wrapped up a season dedicated solely to training ( meaning she’s currently on hiatus from the sport, but she knows a good few people think her career is Over now — and it pisses her the Fuck off ) before her sister convinced her to have a proper break that wasn’t Just to appease someone else

.. even though it was to appease her sister. but she let it slide bc the kid’s the Only person who can do no wrong in halle’s eyes and she might as well keep her from stressing

literally the only instance she’ll ever, in her lifetime, Cave to someone SDFLKGSDFKL

so she picked sovana as her retreat at complete random and has been here since april

it’s a little weird to think of her Not being in her usual spots so this is as much of a ride for y’all as it is for me, the bitch doesn’t have many hobbies after all SDFKLSDF

studied history despite wanting to be a skating coach when she retires as a competitor, bc she rly loves history ok ??

personality and other shit

she is.. a mess rly

inflexible, independent, charismatic, etc

most of her actual personality is further down oops dsfgjklfg

kinda detached ?? like she doesn’t want too many distractions and she deems relationships as the fucking Worst for it.. she’s had some pals from skating with potential go downhill when they got too deep with certain partners or just with too many side hobbies, social obligations, so she’s trying to be level-headed while not destroying her social life ?

idk it’s hard to explain, she’s an enigma even to me in that area

only dated once. when she was like nine. with some other chick’s skating partner that she quickly ditched.

not.. super sexually active either ( rip ?? )

but she’s been Involved with people so fdskng

on the ice, or just in whatever she’s applying herself to, she’s domineering and blunt, v strict on herself though she’s slacked off a bit over the years.. so imagine how self-disciplined — in the worst of ways — she was when she was younger

with a rigorous work ethic like hers, her being a leader among those at the local skating club back in toronto implies that she’d be strict too with what little power she has.. but she’s kinda chill overall ?? tho you still have to get your twizzles right before the end of the day, don’t care that the hockey players will be out in two ! let’s go !

uh.. her attitude carries over with a Lot of things. she especially has no time for people who are Committed to their sport/career but show poor performances bc of laziness, distractions, etc. so brace your kids for hurricane hyunmi ??

call her ice queen. try it. try it. GKFDJKGDSF she hates that nickname 95% of the time, usually bc she assumes people are basing it off of her initial/professional demeanour first and her passion second

she really just has a hard shell where it matters, aka her career and stuff, but is a semi-precious gem overall

or, for a better way to describe it though it sounds like i’m just repeating myself: she gives off Proper head bitch vibes ( subtract the Need to feel powerful in being a piece of shit to anyone who walks past you while being surprisingly thin-skinned ) but she’s really just a blunt and serious brat with a super dry and at times menacing sense of humour

so don’t think i’m taking the piss out of anything on purpose or that she acts out of malice.. i had a better way of phrasing this but completely blanked, sorry SDFKLJDKL

kind of dramatic and a meme ngl, curses quite a bit, whips out korean or her conversational-level french far too often — especially if she’s shit-talking bc you made an ugly choice but is trying to be a Supportive Friend

english name came from halle berry bc hyunmi thought she was really pretty on all of the red carpets her mom would have on growing up sfgdkjflk

unwinds with the usual netflix and wine, but also dance — helps with her choreo for routines too so

oH also probably still hurts herself by overworking, especially after That Lost Opportunity, i hate

she’s pan but….. girls disappoint her far less than guys so she has a preference djfgskgdkf

all of that being said, it clearly plays into how she’s perceived by others, so —

[hclles-blog]

hey guys ! this has been sitting in drafts for at least a day now, but trust me when i say i’m as excited as i was when typing this fucking monster of an intro SDKFGJKFD but i’m jules, kard and clc supremacist and a struggling student about to apply to the english faculty of my uni ! like i said, this is a super long intro, so get settled as i introduce asteria’s resident skating brat halle, a bitch who overworks and doesn’t know how to chill long-term !! stats page is HERE for your reading pleasure, extensive plots and an extra list of options are linked accordingly !

jeon somin, cis female, she/her. — have you seen ( hyunmi “halle” chae ) around ( hecate ) ? they’re a ( twenty-two ) year old ( senior ) who’s majoring in ( kinesiology. ) i know they’re busy with ( dance club, women’s volleyball, and kappa delta sorority ), but you should tell them to check their latest starred rating ! ( jules, 21, she/her, gmt-3:30. )

honestly she is.. fucked sgjfsgdkl

this is mostly a carbon copy of an intro i’ve made for her in the past, so while some random points seem a Little dated or repetitive, they’re valid enough to stay here sfdlgkdg

i’ve had inspo for her after the olympics and rly wanted to use her somewhere, so if some things here seem a little.. idk, farfetched for your taste, we’ll pin it on that sfdgkdfj

this is her as popular vines

so chae hyunmi aka halle, ulsan born, raised in seoul and relocated to toronto, canada with her parents, little sis and partner to train bc..

she’s a figure skater, good enough to win ( .. junior ig ) titles when she was in her early teens, so it was only inevitable for her to leave for toronto to train with the Best eventually

she’s competed in international competitions, as part of a pair, and made her olympic debut in sochi by the skin of her teeth; her highest placement was third place ( not at sochi pls sgjkld she prob ranked in the top ten at best ), so she’s got a medal or two to her name

ultimately it was after sochi that she saw her coach and ( ex ) partner intervene with her.. unhealthy practicing habits

she’s a perfectionist through and through, so of course she’d spend hours on the ice at just seventeen/eighteen years old, even younger tbh, to get a routine right. but she pushed herself harder and harder, where small missteps would lead her to fall hard and recover for days on end, even spraining her ankle just before competition season was to begin

so when her coach insisted she take a break, her parents following suit, it was with good reason — one that she didn’t fucking see fsdkgkl

even so, them pushing her to prioritize education for a bit, to get ahead of the skaters who would prob only be able to do so upon retirement in a good few years’ time, and hanging up her skates until she saw it as.. less than something she needed to abuse herself to feel comfortable with, for as long as they would do so led to her resolve shattering and her applying for universities in canada, the us and sk ( the sly brat reasoned that it’d be nice to be reconnect with her roots.. for the sake of having something going for her beyond just competing in pyeongchang ! )

but the latter wound up being a bust bc she opted for asteria u, close to some of the popular yet secluded skate clubs the greats went to during their off-season training.. and before tr*mp got elected bc she would’ve cancelled everything, demanded her money and scholarships back, had she arrived after that LSDFGJFKLD

should be noted that her grades were good, she had a super brief volunteering stint and she’s a rising star ( well, was.. the bitch wouldn’t be competing again anytime soon to keep herself where she was within the skating circuit ) in her favoured sport, so she deemed all of this inevitable sfkljfdgk

though the school didn’t and still doesn’t offer its own skate club so, that was a slight drawback for the invested bitch

the transition wasn’t too hard ofc; she got comfortable with the campus and was back on the ice in no time, joining one of those aforementioned skate clubs under her parents’ noses and making the most of it as comeback/olympics prep

she saw herself as poised to be added to the roster once again, now a singles prospect after a major falling out with her longtime partner for one too many dumb bitch moves, and was desperate for it; however the stars didn’t align back in 2017 during her sophomore year, when she just missed obtaining qualification while now on canada’s roster on a technicality, and nothing could’ve compared to the agony that was missing her chance in something she invested sm practice, time and compliance with the people around her to pull through and get to pyeongchang

she’s still distraught over it, it’s been a couple of years since that happened and she gets emo real quick, misty-eyed if you bring it up ( she uh, has issues with moving on from things if you can’t tell )

suffice to say she resents her coach for his minor contribution in fucking her and himself over, dropped him out of anger ( a move she.. does feels bad abt on a personal level but professionally ?? pft ) and linked up with one back in toronto who she’ll begin seeing when she’s “ prepared ” to give it a shot again

meaning she’s currently on hiatus from the sport, but she knows a good few people think her career is Over now — and it pisses her the Fuck off

studying kinesiology despite wanting to be a skating coach when she retires as a competitor, bc she rly loves being active and thinks she’d be a resource in the field down the line ok ??

anyways, she’s found new things to invest her time in, such as the sorority, dance club and volleyball

dance helps with the choreo for her routines.... or Did, but we all know she’s still doing Some amount of skating on the side so

and it helps in areas where muscle memory and years of flexibility can’t quite do so

volleyball’s a great second option for her as a sport, mostly bc she can exert as much of her frequent frustration as possible into a game and act like it’s just her being into it. though she really can be That competitive, as you can see, rather than bratty

so, moving onto other things —

personality and other shit

she is.. a mess rly

inflexible, independent, charismatic, etc

most of her actual personality is further down oops dsfgjklfg

kinda detached ?? like she doesn’t want too many distractions and she deems relationships as the fucking Worst for it.. she’s had some pals from skating with potential go downhill when they got too deep with certain partners or just with too many side hobbies, social obligations, so she’s trying to be level-headed while not destroying her social life ?

idk it’s hard to explain, she’s an enigma even to me in that area

only dated once or twice. the first time being when she was like nine. with her first pairs partner that she quickly ditched.

not.. super sexually active either ( rip ?? )

but she’s been Involved with people so fdskng

on the ice, or just in whatever she’s applying herself to, she’s domineering and blunt, v strict on herself though she’s slacked off a bit over the years.. so imagine how self-disciplined — in the worst of ways — she was when she was younger

with a rigorous work ethic like hers, her being a leader among those at the local skating club implies that she’d be strict too with what little power she has.. but she’s kinda chill overall ?? tho you still have to get your twizzles right before the end of the day, don’t care that the hockey players will be out in two ! let’s go !

uh.. her attitude carries over with a Lot of things. she especially has no time for people who are Committed to their sport but show poor performances bc of laziness, distractions, etc. so brace your kids for hurricane halle ??

call her ice queen. try it. try it. GKFDJKGDSF she hates that nickname 95% of the time, usually bc she assumes people are basing it off of her initial/professional demeanour first and her passion second

she rly just has a hard shell where it matters, aka her career and stuff, but is a semi-precious gem overall

or, for a better way to describe it though it sounds like i’m just repeating myself: she gives off Proper head bitch vibes ( subtract the Need to feel powerful in being a piece of shit to anyone who walks past you ) but she’s really just a blunt and serious brat with a super dry and at times menacing sense of humour

she won’t hesitate to call you out on your shit or make it clear that she doesn’t like you, though, even if she appears cordial on the surface

as a result, hockey players HATE her !

bc she rips into them the most for frequently poor experiences with her fellow ice people. most of which are them hogging her reserved practice time, and being thirsty and pretentious dicks about it within and outside of the arena

kind of dramatic and a meme ngl, curses quite a bit, whips out korean or her conversational-level french far too often — especially if she’s shit-talking bc you made an ugly choice but is trying to be a Supportive Friend

english name came from halle berry bc hyunmi thought she was rly pretty on all the red carpets her mom would have on growing up sfgdkjflk

unwinds with the usual netflix and wine

oH also prob still hurts herself by overworking, especially after That Lost Opportunity, i hate

she’s pan but..... girls disappoint her far less than guys so she has a preference djfgskgdkf

all of that being said, it clearly plays into how she’s perceived by others, so —

her view and reception on starred

she..... probably doesn’t do too hot tbh

well. maybe she Does if starred's social ladder resembled most high school/college shows, movies.... rps, but it doesn't really so —

in all fairness, she probably does do better than i'm assuming rn bc.. she Is a character of sorts, who knows gskfksl but MOVING ON !

her blunt and kinda snarky attitude is partially Why she hates this point system, bc people tend to kiss ass just so they aren’t given a low rating whereas she can only hold back about 5% of her unfiltered opinion — but that’s IT !

tbh she relies heavily on her involvement in extracurriculars, and especially her public image from her glory days, more so than she herself to keep her head above water

so she looks entitled from that alone

given the way i’ve played her in the past, ik she might come across as a hbic type: thinks she’s the best ( which.. she kinda does sjkfgd ), savours the power she tries to or does in fact exert, doesn’t come across as particularly sympathetic or nice, etc

but she’s just a shit disturber with thick skin and a slight kink for receiving admiration and respect, puts herself first a little too much

in fact, she doesn’t really Care to hold people by a leash, but yeah, it can come across much differently since her tone never really Shifts if she doesn’t know you well, doesn’t trust you, knows you’re naive with such things, doesn’t like you, is just fucking around or in a sour mood.... the list goes on

so if your character focuses on who’s the nicest or most cheerful when giving high ratings, makes a v quick judgment on their character from a first impression, she’s gonna be near the bottom of their list dfsghkfgj

and like i said, she doesn’t care for the system Enough to change any of this, so she gets by

KDFJGSKFL uh, let’s end it there bc this is painfully long — congratulations if you’ve made it to the end of this intro from hell ! if anyone wants to plot, like this or im me !! ( ps, if you prefer d*scord like yours truly, just ask for it or send me yours ! )

[bloojayoolie]

Apparently, Bailey Jay, and Children: KING OF THE BALL WITH PERFECT MANNERS it Very Fun ASPEN #31263 * 3 yrs old * 46 lbs Waiting to play and cuddle @ Manhattan ACC AN ALL AROUND TOTAL AND COMPLETE DELIGHT!W TO BE KILLED - 11/17/2018 *** POOR ASPEN HAD BEEN IN ACC FOSTER CARE SINCE 6/26/18 - NOW DUMPED BACK AND ON THE LIST O DIE -- PLEASE SHARE THIS SWEET BABY **** A volunteer writes: “Aspen is lots of fun to be with. He is an energetic, active and playful little guy who is the King of the Ball but also a very obedient pooch who sits and poses like a perfect little choir boy! A kennel is not his place and like his given name suggests, I can see him hiking mountains and skiing down the peaks. He runs at a great speed after the ball rather than jumping after it, and loves to lay down to mull it in his mouth. Aspen is really a happy camper in the yard! He is a very cute and medium-sized little guy, so attractive in his grey suit, and who wears quite smartly any outfit you might have for him. He is good on the leash, likely house trained and proper with dogs neared in the street. Aspen is an athletic young pooch who loves action but appreciates cuddles and sweet talks once his batteries are depleted after a good chase or a ball game. If you want an active companion and best four legged friend, Aspen is the one who will fulfill your dreams. Come and meet him soon at the Manhattan Care Center!” PRIVATE MESSAGE our page or email us at MustLoveDogsNYC@gmail.com for assistance saving his life. Aspen is counting on us, each and every one, to make sure he finds a safe haven. HIS ADORABLE VIDEOS: In playgroup with Ebony! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl_Sm5aIBpg Playing with his ball! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22g7gIJdMEE&feature=youtu.be ASPEN, ID 31263 @ 3 Yrs. Old, 55 lbs. Brooklyn ACC, Large Mixed Breed, Gray / White, NeuteredMale I came to the shelter as an Impound, 15-June-2018 Shelter Assessment Rating: New Hope Rescue Only Intake Behavior Rating: 1. Green AT RISK MEMO: Aspen has been diagnosed with canine infectious respiratory disease complex which is contagious to other dogs and may require a course of antibiotics. Behaviorally, we recommend he be placed in an experienced pet home. Aspen is at risk for medical and behavior, he was diagnosed with canine infectious respiratory disease complex which will require rest and in home care. Behaviorally, Aspen is weary around new people growling and snapping at times and has been noted to react to other dogs while on leash lunging, barking and growling. We Recommend New Hope placement. INTAKE NOTE, 15-JUNE-2018: Surrendered by caretaker. Aspen was left with the cousin of the Owner for several months and original Owner never came back. SURRENDER NOTES – BASIC INFORMATION (latest – back from foster care): Means of surrender (length of time in previous home): In foster home for 5 months. Aspen snaps or growls if strangers reach over his head quickly. He is reactive on leash to other dogs. Aspen had an incident where a person who he knew was petting him and he froze and growled. He gets excited to meet new people but will hard bark at them after a few seconds of them petting him. SHELTER ASSESSMENT – DATE OF ASSESSMENT 6/18/2018 Look:: 1. Dog leans forward or jumps up to lick the Assessor's face with tail wagging, ears back and eyes averted. Sensitivity:: 1. Dog stands still and accepts the touch, eyes are averted, and tail is in neutral position with a relaxed body posture. Dog's mouth is likely closed for at least a portion of the assessment item. Tag:: 2. Dog is not fearful, but is unresponsive when touched. Approaches the Assessor when the game ends (may need coaxing to approach). Dog is focused on stimuli other than the Assessor. Paw squeeze 1:: 2. Dog quickly pulls back. Paw squeeze 2:: 2. Dog quickly pull back. Flank squeeze 1:: Item not conducted Flank squeeze 2:: Item not conducted Toy:: 1. Dog settles close, keeps a firm grip and is loose and wiggly. Dog does not place his/her body between you and the toy. Summary:: Aspen quickly approached the assessor with a soft body and jumped up on the assessor in a social manner. He was distracted during the assessment, sniffing the floor, but also displayed a high level of activity and jumped up several times. He allowed all handling. PLAYGROUP NOTES – DOG TO DOG SUMMARIES: Aspen has displayed social, playful behavior toward female dogs int he care center. He has appeared uncomfortable and offered appropriate warning signals when introduced to the helper male dog. The previous foster home reports that Aspen has played roughly with other dogs. A recent incident involving another dog in the dog park was described, where Aspen escalated toward another dog whilst seemingly unprovoked. It is recommended that any future interactions between Aspen and other dogs be conducted to well socialized dogs, and under close supervision, taking the prior observations into consideration. PLAYGROUP Summary (1):: 6/16: When introduced off leash to other dogs, Aspen follows the female dog, sniffing and posturing to mount. When she solicits play he engages in brief play. He ignores another male in the pen but when the male continues to attempt to greet face to face, Aspen offers a low growl and moves away. PLAYGROUP Summary (2):: 6/19-21: Aspen plays exuberantly with a female dog. PLAYGROUP Summary (3):: 11/9-10: Aspen plays exuberantly with female dogs. ENERGY LEVEL:: Aspen is a young, enthusiastic, social dog who will need daily mental and physical activity to keep him engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct his energy and enthusiasm. IN SHELTER OBSERVATIONS:: 6/25/2018 Update: Aspen remains social when interacting with handlers. He readily approaches to greet with a soft and loose body. Aspen lacks basic manners, jumping up high towards handlers (in a social manner) so we recommend positive, reward based training to aid in teaching Aspen impulse control. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: NEW HOPE ONLY Behavior Asilomar: TM - Treatable-Manageable Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner Recommendations comments:: No children: Due to Aspen growling and snapping when novel people move quickly towards him, we recommend an adult only home. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to Aspen's behavior of growling and snapping at new people who reach to touch him, and having growled at a person he knew who was petting him, the behavior department recommends he be placed with a New Hope placement partner who is able to provide an experienced adult-only foster home. A period of decompression is recommended to allow Aspen to acclimate comfortably to his new environment; force-free, reward based training only is advised when introducing Aspen to new and unfamiliar situations. Consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended for guidance to safely manage/modify any behavior Aspen presents with outside of the care centers. No do parks: Due to apparent selectiveness interacting with dogs in the care center (growling at the male helper), dog park settings are not recommended. Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration Potential challenges comments:: Basic manners/poor impulse control: Aspen displayed a high level of activity and jumping up during his assessment. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach him to control his impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward based training only is recommended. Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Aspen has been reported to bark, growl, and sometimes snap when new people have pet him or moved too quickly towards him. Guidance from a professional trainer/behaviorist is recommended to assess behavior after decompression in a new home environment. Force-free, reward based training is advised when introducing or exposing Aspen to new and unfamiliar situations. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Aspen has been observed to react to other dogs and things passing by while he is on leash, lunging towards them, barking and growling. Aspen may need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach him to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness or head halter to help manage this behavior. MEDICAL NOTES: 18/06/2018 DVM Intake Exam Estimated age: ~2-3yrs based on PE Microchip noted on Intake? scanned negative by LVT on intake. MC placed on intake. History : Surrendered by caretaker. P was left with cousin of the O for several months and original O never came back Subjective / Observed Behavior - BAR, very excited! Jumps on people; loose body and tail wagging throughout exam. Evidence of Cruelty seen - none Evidence of Trauma seen - none Objective BCS 4.5/9 EENT: Eyes clear, ears have dry skin, crusting and ventral aspect; no nasal or ocular discharge noted Oral Exam: dc 1/5; pd 1/5 -- muzzled. did not fully examine. PLN: No enlargements noted H/L: No murmur ausculted; CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated U/G: intact male. testicles smooth and symmetrical. minor scrotal irritation with crusting MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted; haircoat is dirty with multiple areas of alopecia (old scars and pressure points) CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities Rectal: grossly normal. Assessment Apparently healthy dental disease dirty coat Prognosis: excellent Plan: ok for sx and adoption SURGERY: Okay for surgery 22/06/2018 Hx: Scheduled for neuter today S: Energetic, jumping around O: BAR, MMs pink -Sniffling -Moderate serous nasal discharge A: CIRDC likely P: Move to isolation -Doxycycline 200 mg PO SID x14 days -Cerenia 45 mg PO SID x4 days -Do not neuter today 1088 29/08/2018 Foster Exam History : In foster care, doing well S/O: BARH, active, reportedly growling at people in lobby, wagging tail and hyperaware, soft muzzle placed as precaution EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean but mild dry skin AU, no nasal or ocular discharge noted H/L: NSR, NMA, CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated U/G: Male, two scrotal testicles MSI: Ambulatory x 4, healthy hair coat, BCS 5/9 CNS: Mentation appropriate, no signs of neurologic abnormalities Assessment: Apparently healthy Plan: Recommend neuter SURGERY: Okay for surgery 31/08/2018 SO post op recheck. BAR in kennel. Incision site is clean and dry. A healing incision site P Continue to monitor in shelter. 14/11/2018 S/O pt BAR EENT – clear serous nasal dis-charge, no ocular discharge, mild nasal congestion, intermittent coughing Assessment - Suspected CIRDC “typical kennel cough” Plan - + Move to isolation + Enrofloxacin 10 mg/kg SID for 14 days + Doxycycline 10mg/kg PO SID for 14 days + Cerenia 2mg/kg PO SID for 4 days + Proviable 1 capsule SID x 5 days SID PO + Recheck in 7 days for resolvement and return to general population PROGNOSIS EXCELLENT *** TO FOSTER OR ADOPT *** ASPEN IS RESCUE ONLY. You must fill out applications with New Hope Rescues to foster or adopt him. He cannot be reserved online at the ACC ARL, nor can he be direct adopted at the shelter. PLEASE HURRY AND MESSAGE OUR PAGE FOR ASSISTANCE! HOW TO RESERVE A “TO BE KILLED” DOG ONLINE (only for those who can get to the shelter IN PERSON to complete the adoption process, and only for the dogs on the list NOT marked New Hope Rescue Only). Follow our Step by Step directions below! *PLEASE NOTE – YOU MUST USE A PC OR TABLET – PHONE RESERVES WILL NOT WORK! ** STEP 1: CLICK ON THIS RESERVE LINK: https://newhope.shelterbuddy.com/Animal/List Step 2: Go to the red menu button on the top right corner, click register and fill in your info. Step 3: Go to your email and verify account \ Step 4: Go back to the website, click the menu button and view available dogs Step 5: Scroll to the animal you are interested and click reserve STEP 6 ( MOST IMPORTANT STEP ): GO TO THE MENU AGAIN AND VIEW YOUR CART. THE ANIMAL SHOULD NOW BE IN YOUR CART! Step 7: Fill in your credit card info and complete transaction HOW TO FOSTER OR ADOPT IF YOU *CANNOT* GET TO THE SHELTER IN PERSON, OR IF THE DOG IS NEW HOPE RESCUE ONLY! You must live within 3 – 4 hours of NY, NJ, PA, CT, RI, DE, MD, MA, NH, VT, ME or Norther VA. Please PM our page for assistance. You will need to fill out applications with a New Hope Rescue Partner to foster or adopt a dog on the To Be Killed list, including those labelled Rescue Only. Hurry please, time is short, and the Rescues need time to process the applications.

[cloudwarf]

Thrilling intent orchestra au please?

Thank you so much for requesting this I,, love orchestra aus. This is going to be a long ride and only scratch the surface so uh strap in. (This is through the lens of a school orchestra au, but kind of a setup for them being professionals later on, if that makes sense)

Ashe:

Although she’s associated with Irish fiddle in metacanon, I’m convinced Ashe would play viola in an actual orchestra

Even by orchestra standards they’re individuals and are always the butt of (good-natured) jokes and ribbing, leading to them being very attached and defensive about their instruments, which are Very Important, Fuck You

Although it grows on her over the years, initially the large group aspect is by far her least favorite thing about a traditional orchestra, and she especially doesn’t take kindly to someone constantly critiquing her and telling her to change how she’s playing, even if it’s for her improvement

She has difficulty not taking criticisms to her section and especially her individual playing personally, and all of these things coalesce into her taking up fiddling early into playing

Ashe wasn’t even sure if violas could fiddle, until she encountered a street performer outside of a pub performing drinking songs and was so enamored with it, she immediately went home and looked it up

It gives her the freedom she craved, since she doesn’t need other players or a conductor to play a piece

She also just kind of gets it better, like the loops with increasing complexity and/or speed to a steady beat just kind of makes sense, and soon enough she’s composing for herself and it beholden to nobody’s imposed limitations

It’s also exactly what she needs to develop quickly as a player, since now she’s playing and practicing constantly and gaining a deeper understanding of music and why certain techniques and styles work together

And it’s all driven by this newfound passion and love that causes her to put all of herself completely into her music

She seriously contemplates quitting symphonic orchestra all together, and maybe she even does for awhile, but she’s actually grown rather fond of some of the people in it and finds that their friendship and company outweighs her gripes 

Markus:

Markus is a little trickier to type because in terms of instrument section personalities, a strong case can be made for literally all of them except second violin

Actually you know what, fuck it. Markus starts out playing first violin because, hey, they get to show off the most, they’re most noticeable in a performance since they always get the melody, they have the most interesting parts in a piece, and pretty much everyone in the section is at least a little over-dramatic, which he can appreciate 

But as time goes on he starts making friends across sections and listens to them talk about why they love their instruments

It kind of starts out as a joke at first, Markus bugging his friends to teach him how to play their instruments and read alto and bass clefs, resulting in him fucking up royally and everyone having a good laugh 

But then he starts practicing them in his free time, learning the different bow pressures and finger patterns and vibrato techniques

And all instruments take time to learn, sure, but Markus picked up violin basics relatively quickly and he picks up viola, cello, and bass even quicker, and finds something he loves about playing each one 

Viola’s don’t look too different from violins, but their strings are completely different and also it turns out, proportionally too thick for the size of a viola, and now he’s dealing with an instrument that just by its nature sounds not quite right, and the challenge of playing an instrument that kind of has everything working against it is a fun one

It’s also how he meets Ashe, who agreed to help him after not a little pestering, but who also tries to teach Markus fiddling and it just,, does not compute like how the fuck does she even move her fingers that quickly  

Cello is fun enough on its own, but what Markus really loves are the people who play it. They’re all lighthearted and funny, cracking jokes and generally having a good time. He immediately clicks with Kyr, who’s also an electronic music mixer, and while he doesn’t always explain things in the clearest ways, his words always emphatic and passionate, his excitement contagious 

Though last on this list, the first instrument other than violin Markus learns is actually contrabass, since its strings are the same. It takes some adjusting to, but once he gets used to it he fucking loves it, because you get to put all of your body and strength into playing without any reservations, and he likes the purpose being the backbone and steady rock of the orchestra gives, even though it’s so different from first violin

Thog doesn’t say yes to teaching him, but gets so fed up (and maybe feels a Little bit bad) watching him flounder that he gives in 

So Markus turns into this versatile player who provides an extra player in other sections when it’s needed for certain pieces 

Through this whole process he meets and becomes friends with everyone in the orchestra and nobody can really help but love him 

Gregor:

Gregor took me like a solid twenty minutes to decide on but I think I’ve settled on second violin

Not really interested in the spotlight like firsts, second violins tend to be a bit more reserved and take longer to really get to know, but are also almost always extremely kind and just Good people 

Gregor is always encouraging not only his section, but the entire orchestra, with an optimistic viewpoint that’s growth-oriented 

While most everyone else gripes about their performances and talk about how much they’re dreading and feel unprepared for upcoming concerts/competition, Gregor is always the one to tell them to instead use that energy to get better and put their best foot forward

He works hard and practices regularly, not only to follow his own advice, but also so that he knows he won’t bring down his team and have a positive contribution to their overall sound and rating 

Has never missed a single practice and definitely not a performance, even the time he got the flu and they had long weekend practices in preparation for an upcoming concert (nobody even realized he was sick until he passed out while their conductor was giving final feedback to the cello section)

Writes notes of encouragement in the space above his music, more for his stand partner Zalvetta than himself

Volunteers for every fundraising event the orchestra has and just,, cares about his orchestra family a lot

A couple other things:

Markus’ stand partner is Inien, mainly because he’s one of the few that actually gets along with her and doesn’t mind that she never has a pencil or rosin and gets coffee stains on their music 

Ashe, Gregor, and Markus all become good friends instead of just friendly orchestra acquaintances when they compete in Solo and Ensemble festival together, and every year after that more people join their competing ensemble 

Firi is a cellist and her and Ashe play some v romantic duets once they start dating  

If you made it through all of that, thanks! I love this au a lot so if anyone is interested in it & wants to know more, my ask box is always open!

[hyvnmi-blog]

so my dumb ass decides to spend quality sleeping time creating a blog and doing an intro.. tomorrow’s early rise will surely be an Experience, dear fucking godsdgkljldf. hey guys, i’m jules !! i’m a uni student from canada, thankfully off for the summer, and am.. so obsessed with that hui x somin duet that i went against my desire to play a different fc ( bc im so far up this girl’s ass already ) but.. her abs.. klsgdjl. also excuse the clashing icons in the theme, just added a couple i last had saved until i could make it Perfect tomorrow evening. i’d say more abt myself, but i honestly don’t have the patience dgsjk so below you can read up on seoul’s resident skating brat halle, a bitch who overworks and doesn’t know how to chill long-term !! stats page is HERE for your reading pleasure, plots and what not will be up later on !

└ jeon somin, twenty-three, she/her ┐ this town wouldn’t be complete without chae “halle” hyunmi wondering around. they’re known as the prodigy and have been living here for four years. i hear they really like cranberry salsa, classical music and rain, but can’t stand distractions, laziness and cherries. their sole purpose? i hear it’s to finally become an olympic medalist, but we’ll see how that goes. ( jules, 18+, gmt-3:30, she/her )

honestly she is.. fucked sgjfsgdkl

i’ve had inspo for her after the olympics and rly wanted to use her somewhere, so if some things here seem a little.. idk, farfetched for your taste, we’ll pin it on that sfdgkdfj

this is her as popular vines

so chae hyunmi aka halle, ulsan born, raised in seoul and relocated to toronto, canada with her parents, little sis and partner to train bc..

she’s a figure skater, good enough to win ( .. junior ig ) titles when she was in her early teens, so it was only inevitable for her to leave for toronto to train with the Best eventually

she’s competed in international competitions, as part of a pair, and made her olympic debut in sochi by the skin of her teeth; her highest placement was third place ( not at sochi pls sgjkld she prob ranked in the top ten at best ), so she’s got a medal or two to her name

ultimately it was after sochi that she saw her coach and ( ex ) partner intervene with her.. unhealthy practicing habits

she’s a perfectionist through and through, so of course she’d spend hours on the ice at just seventeen/eighteen years old, even younger tbh, to get a routine right. but she pushed herself harder and harder, where small missteps would lead her to fall hard and recover for days on end, even spraining her ankle just before competition season was to begin

so when her coach insisted she take a break, her parents following suit, it was with good reason — one that she didn’t fucking see fsdkgkl

even so, them pushing her to prioritize education for a bit, to get ahead of the skaters who would prob only be able to do so upon retirement in a good few years’ time, and hanging up her skates until she saw it as.. less than something she needed to abuse herself to feel comfortable with, for as long as they would do so led to her resolve shattering and her applying for universities both in canada and sk ( the sly brat reasoned that it’d be nice to be reconnect with her roots.. for the sake of having something going for her beyond just competing in pyeongchang ! )

which is how, miraculously, she got accepted into uni in seoul ( still figuring out which, rip ). her grades were good, she had a super brief volunteering stint and she’s a rising star ( well, was.. the bitch wouldn’t be competing again anytime soon to keep herself where she was within the skating circuit ) in her favoured sport, she deemed it inevitable sfkljfdgk

the transition wasn’t too hard ofc; she got comfortable with the campus and seoul and was back on the ice in no time, joining the uni’s skating team under her parents’ noses and making the most of it as comeback/olympics prep

she saw herself as poised to be added to the roster once again, now a singles prospect after a major falling out with her longtime partner for one too many dumb bitch moves, and was desperate for it since it’s in pyeongchang, however the stars didn’t align when she just missed obtaining qualification on sk’s roster on a technicality, and nothing could’ve compared to the agony that was missing her chance in something she invested sm practice, time and compliance with the people around her to pull through and get to pyeongchang

she’s still distraught over it, it’s been a few months since that happened and she gets emo real quick, misty-eyed if you bring it up ( she uh, has issues with moving on from things if you can’t tell )

suffice to say she resents her coach for his minor contribution in fucking her and himself over, dropped him out of anger ( a move she.. does feels bad abt on a personal level but professionally ?? pft ) and linked up with one back in toronto who she’ll begin seeing when she’s “ prepared ” to give it a shot again

studied history despite wanting to be a skating coach when she retires as a competitor, bc she rly loves history ok ??

lives on her own bc she can’t deal with even minimally questionable people as roommates jdfgkls

personality and other shit

she is.. a mess rly

inflexible, independent, charismatic, etc

most of her actual personality is further down oops dsfgjklfg

kinda detached ?? like she doesn’t want too many distractions and she deems relationships as the fucking Worst for it.. she’s had some pals from skating with potential go downhill when they got too deep with certain partners or just with too many side hobbies, social obligations, so she’s trying to be level-headed while not destroying her social life ?

idk it’s hard to explain, she’s an enigma even to me in that area

only dated once. when she was like nine. with her first pairs partner she quickly ditched.

not.. super sexually active either ( rip ?? )

but she’s been Involved with people so fdskng

on the ice, or just in whatever she’s applying herself to, she’s domineering and blunt, v strict on herself though she’s slacked off a bit over the years.. so imagine how self-disciplined — in the worst of ways — she was when she was younger

with a rigorous work ethic like hers, her being a leader among those at the local skating club implies that she’d be strict too with what little power she has.. but she’s kinda chill overall ?? tho you still have to get your twizzles right before the end of the day, don’t care that the hockey players will be out in two ! let’s go !

uh.. her attitude carries over with a Lot of things. she especially has no time for people who are Committed to their sport but show poor performances bc of laziness, distractions, etc. so brace your kids for hurricane hyunmi ??

call her ice queen. try it. try it. GKFDJKGDSF she hates that nickname 95% of the time, usually bc she assumes people are basing it off of her initial/professional demeanour first and her passion second

she rly just has a hard shell where it matters, aka her career and stuff, but is a semi-precious gem overall

kind of dramatic and a meme ngl, curses quite a bit, whips out english far too often — especially if she’s shit-talking bc you made an ugly choice but is trying to be a Supportive Friend

english name came from halle berry bc hyunmi thought she was rly pretty on all the red carpets her mom would have on growing up sfgdkjflk

also likes cranberry salsa?? an odd fave but it’s one of mine and i wanted to include it just bc jgsflddgks

unwinds with the usual netflix and wine, but also dance — helps with her choreo for routines too so

oH also prob still hurts herself by overworking, especially after That Lost Opportunity, i hate

ok idk what else to say rn, accept this pls

KDFJGSKFL uh, let’s end it there. if anyone wants to plot, im me !! ( ps, if you prefer d*scord like yours truly, just ask for it or send me yours ! )

[whimstories]

BalconyAU Part 5

Part 1 // Part 4// Next 

Word Count: 5.2k

A/N: Hey look, convenience of ao3, so you can see my struggling in a brighter and better text! ;D

Anyway, here you go, its a thing. I’m pretty excited to outline some other stories after learning from this one. This one which isn’t outlined at all, and there’s no going back tbh LOL 

I always write to improve, so comments and critiques are welcome! Please rip this to bits! Thank you!

——————

After speaking to Manon, Marinette rides the elevator up to her floor, the muffled whirring of the cables and pulleys the only noise, and takes the moment to heave a sigh.  

The entirety of yesterday was spent pretending to be a lady in waiting, none too different from a princess locked in a high tower and imagining her faceless knight whisking her from her troubles. It’s the sort of behavior befit of a teenager rather than an experienced adult who knows the difference between fickle romantic notions and serious pursuits of a relationship.

Her face scrunches when she can’t help but acknowledge her ease at the notion. She rather try the overly romantic perfection in her head, even if it’s fickle, rather than a partner she thought she knew pretending to be serious about her then changing face when they got what they wanted.

But why is Chat Noir taking so long? Had a dragon vanquished him along the route? Did he realize the effort wasn’t worth it? She’s beginning to regret missing the opportunity to grill Manon for more information.

According to her, he called Plagg on Wednesday. It’s already Sunday, and nothing is different in Marinette’s life, besides him missing each night. She wonders how long she would be willing to put her life on hold just from the concept of a male knocking on her door. Her upper lip pulls to a grimace when the answer becomes obvious.

The elevator doors chime and she ambles down the floor, doubt in her predicament slowing her pace. The journey to her door, however, is fraught with an obstacle.

Chloe Bourgeois, in all her feminine wiles, is literally hanging on the shoulders of Adrien Agreste, who looks ready to jump out a window if the option is presented to him. His arms are hovering in a ‘v’ at his sides, as if touching Chloe is an invitation to the nether realm  he is not ready accept.

The biggest issue with this scene is not witnessing a poor man struggling with the attentions of Marinette’s not so precious neighbor, but that he catches sight of her before she can enter her home. She shuffled to the door with as much speed and silence as is her practice when working around hungover co-workers or when she use to sneak sweets to her room from her parent’s bakery— but she must be out of practice.

She struggles to deny him eye-contact, ignoring anything involving Chloe guarantee’s a ninety-nine percent better day, but the growing shadow of his stare implores her to look back and Marinette views something she thought to see from him: frustration, panic, and irritation.

“Adrikins, lets go out today. I want to show you off to my friends,” Chloe cooed.

When Marinette’s keys jangle toward the lock, Adrien’s brow furrow to a definitive pleading curve. They aren’t exactly friends, so she would gladly send a ‘sorry for you condolences’ smile and walk away. As far as she understands, he dug this grave and he will be the sacrificial savior of keeping Chloe out of everyones hair and maybe reforming her to being… well, ‘decent’ is a nice start.

She tries to convey her gratitude for such an offering with her solemn smile, but apparently Adrien decides fate and takes a bold step towards her and grips her arm.

Is he mad?

“I’m really sorry Chloe, but I have plans with Marinette today.”

He wrestles out of Chloe’s dead fish grip, a tad impressive when you consider her self-importance is equal the density of Jupiter, and swivels behind Marinette like a human shield. Coward. His grip on her arm transfers to her shoulders and he’s patting them, a clear indication to open the door— which she is loathe to do, because she certainly didn’t volunteer.  

Chloe scoffs in her direction, taking in her run attire and the many frays dancing around her face. “Her? You might as well visit a graveyard. It’s just as cheerful and nice to look at,”

Marinette puckers her lips, restraining from stooping to her level. It doesn’t do her good saying anything to Chloe, it’s a waste of time and a sap of energy.

“Plus she’s like the dollar menu of designers. Only the homeless would consider wearing them.”

This is the first time Chloe has acknowledged Marinette as a designer at all. She should take it as a compliment. Also, with the money Chloe makes, she wasn’t aware she knew a dollar menu exists. Bravo.

“And don’t get me started on that fake journalist friend that hangs around here. She’s so desperate to keep her job she writes the biggest lies in the city.”

Marinette stiffens, Adrien’s grip tightening on her shoulders in reaction. She should let it go, this woman lives to rile people up over nothing, but all she can envision is tearing the fake lashes and tacky top from Chloe’s overly plastic exterior. Then Adrien, the bold bastard probably sensing her intention, takes the keys from her right hand and jams them into her lock. The door swings open and he practically shoves her beyond the arch before slamming the door.

Marinette turns around, expecting him behind her and telling him off when she all she can witness of him is his stern voice on the other side. She leans to flatten her ear against the door, curious of the rapid altercation, and kind of itching for a piece of the acton.  

Chloe is the easiest to decipher as her shrill voice could cut through vibranium.

“Good riddance. I knew you’d rather spend time with me. Now, what do you say we go inside and—”

His response comes in strings through the door, speaking in low tones, but she can tell his voice is steely in a way that sends chills to her heart. Its cold and unforgiving, a sort of tone that leaves no room for argument and means you have crossed him in the worst possible way. “Stop——say I have plans—take it too far——I was wrong—“  

Marinette wishes she could witness Chloe being told off, she imagines it being equal to the people storming the Bastille, but she thinks she understands without hearing all of Adrien’s words what he’s doing and her chest unfurls and expands with warmth.

A click at the turn of the knob makes Marinette jump back from the door as it swings open, belatedly realizing she probably should have locked it to avoid any more dramatics. Adrien swings inside, leaning against the door to slam it shut behind him. His entire body is tight and high strung, though his head is dipping towards the ground as if he survived a marathon.

She stares at what the entryway lighting does to his hair color and for once it looks less like burning rays from the greek gods, and more like a pale honey, a sweet and pleasant color.  

When he finally deigns to lift his head, his brows are already furrowed in apology. “I know you can handle her yourself and that you prefer I didn’t interfere but, it was my fault she said anything in the first place and what she said wasn’t fair and-“

He’s rambling. She thought him odd since the first moment she met him, but it was always on a different plane of existence. A sort of aristocratic strangeness to him, as if he were bred so perfect he was naturally bound to have strange quirks. However, here he is, nervously attempting to apologize in a language Marinette knows too well—pure ridiculous rambling.

She’s carefully stepping towards him and trying so hard not to laugh, but it’s so endearing that he just defended her, and also her closest friend who has never met, against Chloe— his supposed girlfriend. She can’t help but find it kind of sweet.

She’s mere inches from his space when he stops talking. His face is red and the scent of honey and peaches wraps around him. She places her hand on his chest, pats it amicably, and pecks the side of his face, the overflow of gratefulness filling her to the brim.

“Thanks,” She says simply.

His lips clamp together and his face reaches a brighter red before nodding wordlessly and commences his natural state of staring at her too intensely, which she is slowly finding familiar. His breath hits between her eyes in a way that feels intimate, their distance blaring louder into her mind when he seems to come closer.

She takes a casual stride backwards to cut the atmosphere. “I-um, yeah, but don’t do it again. As you said, I can take care of myself.”

He’s blinking at her, the translucent haze in his eyes slowly changing back to a clear color, before he has the sense to respond. “With a thanks like that, it’s hard to not want to find every opportunity,” He says. Her pinched glare sends him back tracking. “But, if that’s what you want. Of course.”

Marinette awkwardly looks around her entry way. “Well, if that’s all, I guess I’ll see you another time?”

“Oh, no, princess. I said we had plans, and even if I gave her a talking down, she will hunt me down if I’m left alone.”

“That’s really none of my business.” Again Marinette is reminded of his strange predicament and has to ask, “Didn’t you say you fell for her the moment you heard her speak? And now you’re trying to escape?”

“Umm,” Adrien’s eyes are darting beyond her like a child eager to enter a candy store. Which makes her aware that, though technically the son of her favorite designer, a strange man is in her house through forced entry. “I did, but I don’t think I meant it.”

She clears her throat when he takes a few steps forward and tries to look beyond to her living room. His eyes focus on her, feigning innocence, but his tiny smile at her irritated pinched expression seems to grow.

“‘You don’t think’? Have you never talked to a woman before?” Being honest is literally the number one rule of a decent relationship and he broke it on the first line. “Either way, you dug this hole yourself. I am no accomplice. She hates me enough as it is, which isn’t much consequence, but I’ve never looked like a home wrecker to her before.”

“Look, I really am sorry. If you let me stay here for just a while, I’ll make it up to you. Please.” Adrien’s hands slap together like a prayer and he does the look. The same look she’s seen on many models before, she swears its a trade secret only to be used under the utmost emergencies. Their dark pupils expand like globes and they tilt their head that looks both submissive but not pitiful. Their mouths pucker in the slightest pout and she swears for .05 seconds their eyelashes even grow—its a superpower.

If any other model threw that look she could resist it, but her heart was already softened by his empathy so she grumbles, “Don’t touch anything.” Then she turns on her heel towards her bedroom.

She can practically hear his gloating preen.

She takes an inhumanly fast shower, because showering is always a comfort when a stranger freely lurks in your home. Her hair is barely toweled through in strands, falling to the middle of her back and soaking droplets onto her sizable thigh length sweater.

She tip toes beyond her door to the living room, hoping he left in the time she was gone. The apartment is eerily silent, a strange tension likened to the rising music in a horror film when you know a jump scare is just around the corner.

When she can’t view him a heavy sigh cascades from her mouth. “Thank goodness.”

“Oh, you’re finally out!”

The cheerful statement jumps the bones from her very flesh and Marinette clutches around her heart. Adrien appears from the left side of the entertainment system, where his body must have hidden. His expression is much brighter than before her shower, making her wonder if one regains life relative to the distance of a Bourgeois.

His right hand is holding a game case and Marinette gives him a flat stare. “You’re touching something.”

He looks at his hand, surprised, as if it leapt from its perch and he happened to catch it. “Oh—sorry. I was curious,” Which causes Marinette to squint. “and I haven’t played french video games in a while. It’s a fighter, right?”

Marinette takes long strides to pluck the game out of his hands. She glances at the title, her Ultimate Mecha V game that she’s been playing every night this week, before crouching to put it back. “Yes, it is.”

“Do you play?”

“Sometimes.”

“Would you want to play now?”

“No.”

There’s a beat of silence. “So, you’re not any good?”

She bristles and stands with her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

“Clearly, you don’t think you could beat me. I know my confident looks are rather intimidating, but I’ve really never played. You just don’t want to be embarrassed, I understand.” He is looking around her apartment again, paying no mind that small woman before him is quite efficiently imagining tearing his smug, handsome face through virtual dirt.

“Sit down.”

“Pardon?” He’s looking at her now, a pinched pucker to his lips, as if restraining his expression.

“Sit, stay quiet, and lose with some dignity.” She asserts before turning on her game console and hooking up a second controller. The opening sequence blares in her tiny space before she’s tossing the controller in his direction and sitting cross legged adjacent to him.

His expression is more gleeful that she expects and she’s positive she fell into a trap, but she’s going to destroy him anyway. There are minimal things in this world that can rile her up, and Adrien just stepped on a landmine.

“Do I at least get a practice round?” He smirks.

“It wont make a difference.” She smiles too sweetly in his direction. The bold confidence seems to light something in him. His laid back exterior straightens up, like a metal rod shooting up his spine, and he leans forward towards the screen with greater focus.

“I’ll take my chances.”

Of course, it makes no difference. Their difference in skill isn’t as big as she assumed, but stomping him was as enjoyable as she expected.

“Quarter circle plus low kick and then flying hyper strike, triple combo, and whoop! There it is!” After the last blow ends the life of his mech, Marinette jumps out of her seat and laughs victoriously. “You’re a million years too soon, Agreste, because I win, I win.” She sings in his direction while her arms dance in circles. Her voice carries across the apartment, which when she’s alone is quite normal because no one can hear her competitive wails, but she isn’t alone this time.

Not many people find competitiveness a redeeming trait, especially when gloated in their face, so she tries not to play video games with people outside her immediate social circle. Usually when she plays, she gets so involved she’ll spring across the couch like her movements affect the controller and voices over her commands and plans like a reigning general. Alya describes her as the Julius Caesar of video games, ruthless and unafraid, but also because if the online players heard her comments they would also end her life in a similar fashion.  

As the silence of the apartment weighs down after her shrilling gloat, Marinette’s embarrassment sets in and she’s loathe to look at Adrien’s reaction.

When she gathers the courage, he’s not looking at her with any judgement, which isn’t even the biggest surprise. He’s looking at her in awe while glancing at the controller in her hands, like it’s a radioactive super weapon and only Marinette knows the combinations to wield. Then he’s staring at the screen a wild grin on his lips.

“Again.”

Marinette’s heart stutters. “Look, I get carried away—“

“Again.” He asserts.

Her eyes flutter a couple thousand times, trying to comprehend his excitement. Honestly he should be appalled with her, but his teasing and cocky grin fires her up again and she thumps back onto the couch, clicking for the rematch.

The second time is even easier beating him, though Adrien begins yelling, cheering, and hopping around as much as she does, which causes her to laugh heartily when its over and he’s throwing his hands up in indignation and accuses her of witchcraft. The third round begins without a word, and Adrien again becomes even worse at the game but she realizes he keeps glancing at her controller style, which had to be pointed out to her is quite different.

This happens for at least five more rounds, where he gets progressively worst, which makes her consider he’s losing heart, until he switches tactics. Marinette is in the middle of a low kick, roadhouse combo when Adrien swings his controller and bumps their hands together. It stutters her input and the combo doesn’t go through, dammit. “I want to raise the stakes if I beat you. What do you think?” Adrien asks.

“I think if you win against me, that should be pride enough.”

“Hmm, if I win I want to…” He draws out his contemplation but his tone is already decided. “…braid your hair.”

Marinette doesn’t just stutter on her next combo, her brain fries and she hops a foot away from Adrien to stare at him like a loon. He’s looking at the screen with the same seriousness and smiling with a fierce exhilaration. It’s his tone she can’t decipher, whether he’s ‘pulling her hair’, so to speak, or it’s a strange sincere wish. He is able to get two decent combos off of her in that time and she struggles to get serious again and has to jump her character three times to the left to avoid more damage.

“That sounds nefarious,” She states.

He chuckles, “It’s not. I’m being sincere. You look,” he takes a breath like the word is too grand or too dismissive to say in a single instance, “nice, as you are, but I think you’ll look even better when I’m done. I have multiple talents, too, you know.” He teases. “What do you say?”

Marinette wants to think of a reason to say no, after all it is ridiculous, but she can’t imagine losing to him. The last time she lost a round of Ultimate Mecha she was still wearing overalls and playing at home with Papa. That was when her papa would tickle her to cheat his way into winning, which she doubts Adrien would stoop to doing.

“Alright. If you lose, same stakes. But you probably won’t be recognizable when you leave.”

“As you wish,” he smiles and the screen reads Adrien with a fifty point lead in health but Marinette isn’t discouraged. Well, she wouldn’t have if Adrien wasn’t a sly, underhanded cheater.

Apparently, the last few round were ploys because his last combo was unexpected. He baited her into her high flying kick then did a low kick dash to land behind her. Then a simple low punch to kick combo in her back, which does double damage, and it was over.

“You fox!” She shoves at him and he’s laughing with his head tilted back and adam apple exposed. His shoulders shake the couch beneath them and he’s clutching his sides from breathless shock.

“No, you’re an open book! You do these cute little stresses on your vowels right before you call your next combo. Each one is just slightly different from the next. I was really lucky and really careful to predict that last one.” He’s leaning in her space and grinning like a devious cat, so she covers his smug face with her palm and shoves him away.

“I’m an open book, huh?” She raises her brows, smiling.

“Elementary, my lady.”

She leans heavily into his space, causing him to bend backwards. “I’m predictable, is that it?” She breathes against his chin.

His eyes cannot lock on one portion of her face, switching between her eyes, her hair falling around her, and her lips. The tint of pink on his face is unmistakeable.

She drags her hand through a corner of his locks, his eyes flutter and leans towards the gesture, then she takes her hand on the other side before issuing her attack. She ruffles, fluffs, and mangles his hair to all hell—shouting victoriously when he yelps in surprise—and holy shit its perfection.

His hair runs through her fingers like a cloud was weaved into strands of gold. Even when dealing with models, rarely is she fussing around their heads, since the makeup team would murder her with a bagel, so she cannot recall an immediate comparison.

She could imagine sleeping in a chamber of this texture.

She becomes a tad irritated at the revelation, hoping she can ruffle it to look terrible at least. This man can’t have it all, its just not fair.

When she’s done, she lounges back in her seat in glee, however, on closer inspection his hair doesn’t appear like a misshapen porcupine as she hoped but more like a sex demon rising for the next bout.

Seriously? She thinks.

“That was dirty, princess.” Adrien’s joyful pout reveals itself but the upper half of his face is covered by strands in every direction with one crinkled eye peaking through.

“It was better than kicking you out,” She raises.

Even the frays of his hair couldn’t hide the deep set horror of being found by Chloe. She feels vindicated from that fact, at least.

“Touchè.”

They sit in a crisp silence, staring at each other as he fixes the mess of his head, which takes little more than two doggish and a few combing strokes with his fingers.

Marinette looks down at her hands, grasping each digit in random strokes. “Well, get on with it then.”

“Hm?” Marinette glances back and forth between his face, a picture of relaxed mirth like a kept pet, and her fingers as she tries to uphold his silly deal. Her chest is fluttering from the weird atmosphere, feeling strangely intimate again with him. It seems to come easily, she realizes, and she’s not sure what to do.

“Chop, chop, hairdresser. I don’t have all day,” she attempts to say in a haughty tone, hoping to have a lighter atmosphere again, and flagrantly flips some locks out of her face. She raises her chin and looks straight ahead, like an empress on her throne. A light responding huff from in his direction calms the pitter patter in her chest.

“As you wish.”

Unfortunately for Marinette, the next fifteen minutes are somehow even worse than the atmosphere before. Adrien stands behind the couch and bundles her hair away from her face. She remembers to ask if he needs a brush or hair ties but he denies them immediately. At first, it’s a confusing refusal until she thinks he wants to tease her more and create a sort of birds nest on her head.

But the thought leaves her in an instant when the first sweep of his hand runs from the base of her skull down her long strands. The roughness of his long fingers meticulously maneuver parts of her hair in different angles with soft tugs and twists. Each repetition where his hands have to touch the base of her hair feels longer, almost like torture, and his fingers seem to linger in exploratory strokes.

The soft surprised grunts and occasional sighs leave her without permission, like an attention starved animal, until she realizes thats exactly what it is. Marinette always lets Alya cut her hair when the time comes, since her experience with younger siblings sometimes meant she played rogue hairdresser for styles that the parents didn’t allow. Alya is gentle, which is to be expected, but also clinical and precise. Its ‘tilt your head thing way’, several tugs here and there, and most of the contact is through plastic or brush fibers.

This sort of contact is much more familiar and sorely missed when introduced again.

If Adrien does need to tilt her head, he freely touches the base of her neck, his hands slightly cold, and maneuvers her as he wants. Her head is buzzing like his fingers are laced with alcohol and each touch on her neck puts her awareness on hyperdrive. The house is quiet, but it’s not awkward and it’s not oppressive.

He walks around to face her once, and it’s definitely the worse moment. She attempts to looks towards her lap in serene disinterest but she’s too curious at the sort of expression he could be making. He’s neither a hairdresser, that she knows of, so it’s interesting to know what he’s thinking. Not that she’s had any success deciphering him thus far.

She glances up once and he’s not even looking at her hair. He’s looking directly at her, which causes her to shiver. His eyes are soft and open, yet half lidded with a fierceness of thought, and his mouth is parted in that natural way a model practices in front of a mirror for days—it extenuates the cheekbones yet invites inquiring stares. It’s indecipherable but its like he’s staring at a two way mirror, and Marinette is the key to reveal a long awaited message or person.  

Catching her eyes, he blinks away the expression and sends a devious leer, like he was the one ensnaring her and she flicks at his chin in retaliation.

He walks around her once again, hair still held aloft, and she hears a definitive click. She could have imagined it if not for the singular pressure on her head that felt like it held together a complicated maze of weaving.

“All done,” Adrien’s voice is a soft gravel above her head and a soft sweeping of lose strands is felt at the base of her head.

“Th-thanks,” she coughs to clear her stuttering. “Do I dare look?”

“I dunno,” he purses his lips as he walks around to look at her again. “You might not be able to handle it.”

She grimaces at the imagery of horrible rats’ den of a hair style. “How horrible it is?”

“How beautiful you look,” He says casually, a tilt of his head and a smirk on his lips.

Marinette twists her mouth, disbelieving, but a warmth rises to her cheeks anyway. She stands from her spot to march to her bathroom mirror but Adrien grabs her arm.

“I should probably leave, now,” He starts, though his rocking feet make him seem unsure of his words. “I just want to say thanks, again. Chloe is…um—“ He’s looking around the room, trying to find the word and she can relate in an instant.

“Passionate? Lively? Straightforward?”

He huffs a laugh. “In a positive light, yes.”

She looks at his hand still gripping her arm. A rolling guilt and lump in her throat suddenly gripping her, yet she can’t explain why. “She is your girlfriend, you realize?” She tries to laugh.

A twist of his lips and his glance at their contact, warm and simple, doesn’t give her a clue to whether he regrets it, though according to Manon would be a hell of a way to dig your grave, or perhaps Chloe was lying and it’s something he wants to refute but cannot. He squeezes her arm lightly before letting go and walking towards the doorway.

“I’ll see you soon, I hope,” he smiles. “I still owe you one.” He winks and the soft clicks of his shoes walk across her entry way, then follows with the click of her door.

Marinette just stands. She stands and feels the instant loss of Adrien’s presence in her home, like a tight rope cut from the base and she’s the one lying in the net below trying to remember how to walk without it.

It was weird having him there: the teasing, the irritating, the intrusion, and somehow quite nice. Comfortable. A small smile grows on her lips, realizing she kind of had fun hiding him away, even though they were barely within the realm of friendship.

She tries to flick back a portion of her hair when she catches onto nothing and remembers the possible hideous wreck on her head. She’s snickering and hustles to her bathroom to catch the atrocity. She catches her humored expression and glowing pink cheeks before being flabbergasted at the styling on her hair.

How in Hades did he—?

It’s, to put simply, lovely. It’s one of those princess crown braids that wraps around the head with soft tendrils falling out on the side. It’s better than she could ever attempt. She’s good at symmetrical braids that fall directly from the base of her head, but ask her to create more than a singular part that wraps to fit snugly against her head and she will have lumps and falling frays all over the place.

She’s twisting her head, trying to figure out the conundrum of such a talent from a male with short hair as Adrien’s and without the use of bobby pins. It’s equivalent to witchcraft as far as she’s concerned.

Then she catches the opaque shine at the very back of her head. She can barely catch it at her angle but its about the size of her palm and looks like red vines, curving in organic patterns, with black gems scattered across. It’s the same spot she felt the heavy support keeping her head at bay. He must have had it on him in his pockets. Though, why, is a blaring question in her mind, she’s too enamored with the final product to reflect on it. She’s loathe to ruin it and almost fears when she’ll have to sleep tonight.

She’s still dazed with a giddy joy when she walks back to the center of her apartment and looks beyond her balcony to realize its still midday. Her balcony. She furrows her brows before she’s grabbing her face in horror.

“Chat Noir,” She says like a sudden revelation. “I completely forgot about Chat and a man was just in my apartment. Flirting.” She runs to her couch to grab a pillow and promptly groans abnormally loud like a revving engine.

He could have knocked on her door today. She would be forced to answer and he would see Adrien and assume. Who would want to assume against that? Marinette would never be ashamed to admit when someone is too attractive to walk the face of the planet, some people are just built to be such, but when it comes to budding romance the first judgement tends to lean superficial. Only an overinflated peacock or a self assured handsome Zeus could be confident enough to think there is nothing between them.

“Which there isn’t,” she vehemently swears. Adrien got it in his strange mind that they were close friends since she complimented him twice, sort of on accident, and she was too delirious on love to comprehend her actions in the hallway yesterday— thus his intrusion in her life today.

Plus he clearly has Chloe, albeit unwillingly but that’s his personal business. And getting between Chloe and a man is not a situation she would sick on anyone.

[merelymedia]

Back in Town Chapter Seven

Read from the beginning on AO3.

In the middle of the night Harvey was still lying wide awake when he felt Mike lurch out of bed and scramble for the bathroom. He got up and wet a rag with warm water, knowing Mike would appreciate it in a moment. For the next several hours, Harvey sat with Mike on the bathroom floor rubbing wide circles on his back and whispering sweet nothings as Mike went through the painful process of ridding his body of the toxic alcohol, until Mike finally brushed his teeth and crawled back into bed.

Many hours later Mike woke slowly, holding on to every last vestige of sleep he could to avoid the headache and grim reality that waited for him in wakefulness. Opening his eyes with a groan he was surprised to see Harvey still there. He was in slacks and a grey V-neck, sitting up with folders spread across his half of the bed. Hearing Mike groan he turned to look at him, peering over the glasses Mike had never seen him wear before. The glasses momentarily distracted Mike from realizing that Harvey was laughing at him.

“You look like shit,” Harvey said chuckling.

“I feel even worse.”

“Yeah well I imagine drinking yourself half to death will do that. There’s water on the table, drink that whole glass then start on the Gatorade.”

Mike pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing as he did. Swallowing the medicine with a large drink of water he rested his head back on the headboard with a sigh and closed his eyes.

“How bad was it?” he asked.

“Bad,” was all Harvey answered.

Mike had prepared himself for this to go one of two ways: Harvey would either make a joke about what an idiot he was, or he would be genuinely mad about the cost of the alcohol and the mess he must have made. When he opened his eyes he didn’t expect to see the expression of pain which was clearly evident on the older man’s face.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Mike asked, confused. When Harvey saw Mike looking at him he tried to put his mask back on, the ‘try me, I dare you, you’ll lose because I don’t give a shit’ mask that he wore for most of his life. But he could only manage it halfway, and even that didn’t last long.

“I took a few days off. You may have promised not to die in the apartment but apparently you can’t be trusted to keep that promise on your own.”

“I’m sorry Harvey, but I’m fine. You can go to work, you don’t need to stay here with me. It’s all good.”

“Goddamnit Mike.” The sudden anger surprised both of them. Mike had expected Harvey to be angry earlier, but this had a desperation to it that he didn’t see coming. Harvey had turned sideways in the bed so he could face Mike, “I came home to you collapsed and bleeding on the floor. I swear for a second I thought you were dead. You might not care about that. But I do. I care,” Harvey was breathing heavy by the time he finished and the raw emotion coming from his normally collected mentor threw Mike off.

“Well you shouldn’t,” Mike mumbled.

“What?” Harvey asked exasperated.

“Nothing, forget it. I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m fine now. You should go back to work.” Mike threw off the covers and moved to get out of bed but Harvey reached over and grabbed his wrist firmly to keep him from leaving.

“Stop,” he said. The anger in his voice was gone, but there was a steel in it that left no room for argument, “I have given you space. I kept Donna from knocking the door down whether you liked it or not. I intercepted all the mudding invites, broadway tickets, and cat videos Louis has tried to send you. I let you lock yourself in here and drink. But yesterday I had to pick your unconscious body up off the tile and clean you up so you didn’t choke on your own vomit.” Mike flinched at the image he had no memory off as Harvey continued, “so I’m not giving you space anymore. It’s time you talk to me.”

Mike briefly considered pushing back, but he didn’t have the energy and he knew from experience Harvey always got what he wanted anyway.

“I got official divorce papers yesterday.”

Harvey nodded. “I know,” his voice was kinder now, evidently appeased that Mike was sharing. “You’ll have to request another copy; yours is crumbled and was soaked in scotch.” Mike cringed again at the details of the night prior.

“This makes me sound like a total asshat, but it wasn’t even about Rachel that the papers made me lose it. God, that is so egotistical, but it was because it was one more thing I failed at. When I was in prison-” he paused, his voice thick when he continued “I know I barely served any time, that I had it easy and have no right to talk-”

Harvey held up his hand to interrupt him, “Mike, you were attacked more than once in that place. You had to live every second on guard. It doesn’t matter how early you were released. You have every right to feel whatever you do about your time there. It was no small thing.”

“Yeah. Well, when I was there, there were moments where I lost hope and I really just didn’t think I would make it out. I mean Galo controlled everything and everyone. So I started thinking that if that was the end, then what had I actually done? I had gotten kicked out of school, helped people cheat the system, destroyed my friendships, told Grammy I’d get my life together only to end up in prison after I spent the year before her passing blowing her off. I made every case I ever worked on vulnerable. I caused the entire firm to walk out. I left my fiancé at the altar, and I put you on the map of an Assistant Attorney who is now out for your blood.

“I told myself if by some miracle I did make it out things would change. I would do good for people, I would be the partner Rachel deserved, I wouldn’t put my friends at risk, and I would live a life I could be proud of.” Every fiber in Harvey’s being fought against the words Mike was speaking about himself but he stayed quiet to allow Mike to voice everything he had been holding in.

“And then I did get out, and as soon as I did I put the firm in trouble again. I almost caused you to give yourself up. I got cases thrown out. I got Jessica kicked out of the bar. But the one thing I still had was doing right by Rachel. Starting fresh and prioritizing our marriage. Except I couldn’t even do that. So now what? I’m an unemployed, divorced, convicted felon? Everything I touch I make worse. I’ve failed every single thing I’ve done. So no Harvey, you shouldn’t care. Because I’ll just destroy you the way I’ve destroyed everything else.”

“Are you done?” Harvey asked patiently.

“Yes.”

“Look at me.” Mike reluctantly turned his gaze so they were face to face. Harvey wanted to take him in his arms but he resisted. “You Mike, are the single most determined and talented person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. All those cases you worked on both at the clinic and the firm are still standing, and many of them would not have had the same results without you working on them. The firm is stronger than ever. You were there for Rachel. You helped her get into law school and reach her dreams. You helped her start over, and from what I hear she’s kicking ass out in LA. Even Trevor and Jenny who I couldn’t care less about are happy. If it weren’t for you Trevor likely would have been found dead in a back alley somewhere. You found it in you to have compassion for the family of the man who tried to kill you.” Mike looked back down at his lap. “I said look at me. You have done amazing things with your life, and you will continue to do so. Everyone who has known you is better off for it.”

“It doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”

“Well I’ll be here until you pull your head out of your ass and see the truth.” Mike just gave a small smile. Harvey gave Mike a friendly slap on the thigh saying, “now put some real clothes on and let’s go. You slept until lunch time and we’re actually going out this time.”

“Thanks but I’m going to stay here.”

“I’m sorry, did you hear a question in there somewhere? Because there wasn’t one. And if I have to look at you in sweats one more day my eyeballs might fall out. Come on get up.” This time Harvey gave Mike a less than gentle shove in the shoulder to get him out of bed.

As a couple of days passed Mike started looking more and more like himself. He got dressed in the mornings and started asked questions about Harvey’s cases. While he still wouldn’t come to the office for lunch he at least volunteered to pick up dinner each night and bring it home. Things were going well. And it made Harvey anxious. While it wasn’t the same as working with him at the office, going over his cases with Mike felt like old times. Plus he was getting used to coming home to Mike placing a warm dinner on the table and asking about his day. He began to fear how he would possibly go back to his old life after Mike left him again; it made him want to grab onto this as tight as possible and never let go.

One evening Harvey and Mike were sitting on the couch, Harvey reading documents and Mike a novel when Mike looked up,

“So there was something I wanted to apologize for.”

“Oh yeah?” Harvey looked up curiously, “you finally going to apologize for drinking your way through my entire liquor collection in two weeks?”

“Oh, uh no. Well I’m sorry for that too but that’s not what I meant.” Harvey gave the same annoyed expression Mike used to get all the time when he thought Mike wasn’t getting to the point fast enough. “In therapy, it made us fight like crazy, but it also made me realize a couple things about myself. I already told you when I got out of prison I was determined to do good.” It was the first time either of them had mentioned Mike’s emotional confession. “But looking back I can see how I would get focused on this black and white version of right and wrong, and it made me ignore the way my actions affected the people I care about. You always had my back, and I took that for granted. I should have prioritized you. I know I was a pain in the ass, I’m sorry for that. Honestly I don’t know how you didn’t kick me out long before I left.” Mike looked up and Harvey was taken aback by the open vulnerability in his face.

Harvey had always scoffed at poetic language. He was a lawyer after all, so language was supposed to be clean and precise with only one interpretation. But when he met Mike’s eyes he understood that saying a heart was breaking wasn’t poetic. Because seeing the insecurity in Mike’s face Harvey felt as if his heart was literally shattering into tiny pieces.

“I…” he tried to find the words to explain that nothing Mike did would ever push him away. That if it were up to him Mike would never have left Specter Litt. That Mike’s desire to do what was right no matter the cost is exactly what made him the most incredible man Harvey knew. Instead, as if his mind no longer controlled his body, he leaned forward, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to Mike’s. He could feel Mike’s surprise at the touch. Mike startled, but didn’t exactly pull back. The movement was enough though for Harvey to realize what he was doing and yank backwards.

“Fuck,” Harvey uttered, angry at himself.

Shock was written all over Mike’s face. He didn’t have time to say a word, not that he would have known what to say, before Harvey stood up and practically raced out of the apartment.

[ballbubble3-blog]

$36,000 in a week: How local news partnered to fight hunger and poverty in Philly

The belief that Philadelphia is the greatest city in the world stems from a civic pride rooted in innovation. Our reputation as a “city of firsts” spans disciplines and transcends industry.

But Philly’s position at the front of the pack isn’t always something to celebrate. Right now, a bigger percentage of our residents live in economic hardship than in any other large U.S. city, and the number of people experiencing hunger here is rising, even as it declines nationwide.

Can we harness the city’s innovative spirit and use it come up with solutions that attack these pervasive problems?

That’s what we asked with the Full City Challenge, an initiative launched this year by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia in partnership with Billy Penn. And after seven months of planning, six weeks of applications, a daylong workshop and an exhilarating two-hour pitch party at the end of February, it’s clear the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

It took an impressive collection of Philadelphians to reach that conclusion:

Self-starters willing to envision new pathways, and put in the work to feel them out

A diverse cohort of leaders willing to volunteer time and expertise

Sponsors and individuals willing to donate actual cash and services to the cause.

Thanks to all these groups working together, the first-ever edition of the Full City Challenge mobilized $36,000 in philanthropic funds — and we’re not done yet.

$5,000 grand prize $2,650 raised on GoFundMe

When Oscar Wang began speaking, a hush came over the room. Gathered at Green Soul restaurant for the Full City Challenge main event, 120 party-goers stopped chattering and turned their heads to listen.

A recent college graduate himself, Wang stood on stage and invited the audience to consider the tale of a local student struggling with an unfortunately common choice: keep up with his studies, or maintain the fast-food job he’d taken to help his mother pay for insulin.

“Instead of having to choose between being a learner or an earner,” Wang told the crowd, “we want to create a new paradigm: the learning earner.”

HospitalityTogether can make that happen, Wang declared.

His five-minute pitch had been honed during a rapid incubator held at the University City Science Center. In a meeting room at the Quorum gathering space, Wang and his partners — restaurateur Judy Ni and admissions expert Dustin Rodgers — had examined and re-examined every inch of their proposal.

Danya Henninger / Billy Penn

The set of advisors assigned to the group included representatives from the Philadelphia Foundation, USALA radio and Wharton Social Impact. As the experts provided guidance and suggestions, the HospitalityTogether team refined their presentation on the spot.

“We gave Oscar some feedback,” marveled Phil Fitzgerald, director of grantmaking at Philadelphia Foundation, “and five minutes later he’d incorporated it into a brand new pitch.”

One week later, the refinements to the spiel — in which Wang was tasked with explaining the problem, the solution, the methodology and the outline of a pilot test program within the span of just 300 seconds — proved out their worth.

“Who is that guy?” whispered United Way chapter head and Broad Street Ministry founder Bill Golderer, taking in the scene as one of the six local food celebs on the Full City Challenge judging panel. During the post-presentation Q&A session, Golderer piled on the compliments.

“Forget about Tony Robbins,” he told Wang, comparing the young man to one of the country’s most successful marketing speakers. “You’ve got this.”

$2;500 matching prize $12,900 raised on GoFundMe

Poised speechmaking goes a long way toward convincing people that your social impact project is worth putting money into, but it isn’t everything.

That became apparent when the judges convened to pick their winner. Ensconced in Green Soul’s mezzanine private dining room while everyone else mingled downstairs, the half-dozen local food luminaries debated the qualities of the five inspirational projects they’d just been presented.

Each project had already proven itself by being designated a Full City Challenge finalist, besting dozens of other praiseworthy projects in the process.

Although the purse we dangled wasn’t all that big, we also offered the winner advice, exposure and strategic assistance in implementing a pilot.

Danya Henninger / Billy Penn

“Be sure to make that clear,” advisor Megha Kulshreshtha of Philly Food Connect had suggested in an early steering committee meeting. “List out the nontangible benefits. This is a lot more than just the $5,000.”

Good advice. Thanks to help in spreading the word — by the Broke in Philly reporting collaborative, by Economy League board members, and by others across the city — the combo of funds and assistance was enough to garner more than 30 submissions to our call for new ways to use the city’s rich food economy to lift up Philadelphia.

It wasn’t easy to narrow the field. Reviewing the contenders, we returned often to one of our original charges: that the project should rely on collaboration.

Why’d we deem that critical? There’s already a lot of good work going on in the city, so creating new cross-discipline or cross-community or cross-generational connections might be just the thing to spark fresh ideas.

Danya Henninger / Billy Penn

Perhaps none of the Full City finalists exemplified that concept better than the Rebel Market, a team comprising three organizations that had never before worked together.

“We’d heard of Siddiq [Moore, of Siddiq’s Water Ice] before,” said Rebel’s Jarrett Stein, “but this is what caused us to finally reach out.” They also tapped Tom McCusker of Honest Tom’s Taco Shop, and the trio joined forces to come up with a plan for a healthy, affordable corner store run by Philly students, for Philly students.

At Green Soul, the collaborative spirit proved infectious. Rebel’s proposal received serious consideration from the judges — and scored thousands more in GoFundMe donations over the course of the night.

Victory V Farms

$8,225 raised on GoFundMe

Philly Food Rescue

$2,750 raised on GoFundMe

Care About Restaurant Employees (CARE)

$2,875 raised on GoFundMe

Kait Moore Photography

Crowdfunding plays a growing role in modern philanthropy, and GoFundMe was an integral part of the Full City Challenge.

During the rapid incubator a week before the main event, a GoFundMe coach flew in from California and worked with each of the finalist teams to set up a campaign page. Along the way, she imparted lessons applicable to many kinds of individual fundraising. (Use lots of photos! Start by telling people you know! Set a small, attainable goal and grow it as you go!)

The resulting campaign pages, which went live the day after the workshop, provided a way for party-goers to vote in real-time: whichever team had raised the most by the end of the night would be awarded the People’s Choice prize.

But it’s not easy to convince a room full of strangers you’ve got an idea worth funding — even if you know they’ve come specifically to hear your pitch.

On stage at Green Soul, Frank Sherman of Victory V Farms struggled somewhat to give voice to the salient points he’d used multiple times before (the project already has some big money investors behind it). His loss for words notwithstanding, the idea to turn abandoned buildings into vertical farms that produce food for and employ neighborhood residents still raked in thousands of dollars on the crowdfund platform.

When it was her turn to present, Philly Food Rescue’s Victoria Della Rocca started with a wry twist on a classic Philadelphia phrase: “We the people…are hungry!”

Kait Moore Photography

As her spiked heels deftly navigated a tangle of microphone wires, Della Rocca spoke clearly and forcefully about building out a tech platform that connects volunteers with restaurants and supermarkets to solve the last-mile problem of getting fresh food to hungry Philadelphians.

“Is this about not wasting food, or about feeding those in need?” one of the judges wanted to know. “It’s about creating more dignity and access for those in need,” she replied.

Maria Campbell, the one-woman force behind CARE, got so wrapped up in explaining the issues facing the people who work in hospitality — the 130,000-plus workforce in the Philly region faces much higher rates of depression and disease than other industries — that she only made it halfway through her prepared pitch.

“Ask about her pilot program,” the judges were charged as they started their Q&A.

Philadelphia International Airport MarketPlace PHL PIDC

Green Soul University City Science Center CIC Philadelphia GoFundMe

Saxbys  Woodrow’s Sandwiches Di Bruno Bros. Pure Fare Evil Genius Beer Quaker City Shrubs

As the judges tallied scores and debated contenders’ merits, serious queries traded time with jokes ping-ponging around the table.

“I want this one because it’s gonna save me money,” said Han Dynasty proprietor Han Chiang. “But does this program replicate what’s already out there?” another judge wanted to know.

Danya Henninger / Billy Penn

On the official scoresheets, having a clearly defined pilot was given extra heavy weight for a couple of reasons.

One, it could jumpstart a test-and-learn culture, the modern business model where fast-failing ideas are viewed as useful tools. Second, the Economy League and Billy Penn only had $5,000 to offer — not enough to fund any of these projects fully, but surely enough for a small trial.

How will that trial play out for Full City Challenge grand prize winner?

Stay tuned to our coverage. You’ll get a front-row seat as we help HospitalityTogether help Philadelphia live up to its potential as the greatest city in the world.

Source: https://billypenn.com/2019/03/10/36000-in-a-week-how-local-news-partnered-to-fight-hunger-and-poverty-in-philly/

[dmozal-cancer-walk-in-50states]

New Mexico and Colorado, 48 and 49th Relay States

Santa Fe, New Mexico - July 13, 2018

Our first stop for the weekend of Relay For Life was Santa Fe. I was told this is the land of enchantment and it certainly was for us (my husband was able to attend these Relays with me). We met a lot of wonderful people along the way and am happy to share their stories. I apologize for the huge delay. There have been a lot of things that have happened in my personal life that have caused major interruptions.

A very special thank you to the Residence Inn for giving us such a great deal on our stay. The location was great, the room very comfortable and the people helpful. I’d love to stay there again if we are ever lucky enough to visit again. https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/safnm-residence-inn-santa-fe/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

The very first person I met was Raven Anderson, Community Development Manager for New Mexico.

Me and Raven Anderson, Community Development Manager

Raven is a “super volunteer”, someone who devotes a LOT of energy and time to help not only raise funds but also help other people.

Raven’s story is amazing. She was disabled and in a wheelchair for 14 years and has only been out of the wheelchair and off a cane for about 3 years. Her goal was to walk in a Relay without assistance, which she did 2 years ago in Orlando. She was in community college at the time. She is a doctoral student now and has been writing her thesis on diversity. After everything she has been through in her life she promised herself that she wanted to make change in the world, impacting others as much as she possibly could. What amazed me even more is the fact that even though she was “disabled” she was doing things to help other people. Part of the promise she made to herself was that if she became healthy enough she would search for a job with American Cancer Society (ACS) so she could put all her energy and knowledge to good use.

Raven was looking on Cancer.org and saw a position in Albuquerque. She applied but received an email stating the position that had been open for 30 days, was filled. Two days later she received another email saying they were wrong and the position was still open, would she be interested. As you can see Raven not only accepted the position she is the epitome of Relay.

I found out about something I had never heard of….a virtual Relay. It’s called Relay for Life of Second Life and is Raven’s home Relay. She explained that you build an avatar, build a home, etc. There are too many things to explain here but Raven says it is like SIMMS on steroids. This is their 14th year and they have raised $3.1 million. It is a 24-hour virtual Relay and Raven walked with people in 2016 from 96 countries. Two years ago she walked the survivor’s lap and has walked with the most amazing people, young and old (90’s). They have their own special avatar’s such as unicorns and elves, etc. There was an event that raised funds for a Hope Lodge in Kenya. In 2018 the event raised over $200,000.

You can find out more info on Second Life at https://secondlife.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3haQ1sznNM This was the live stream of this year

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7dJZZeZ_YkLVsqy3XBNWA This is a collection of videos

Raven shows that nothing can stop her and that inspirational attitude spills over into everything she does including fundraising, supporting others fighting cancer, or fighting for their loved ones as caregivers. Cancer needs to be stopped and Raven is unstoppable in that fight!

Joyce Graves, from Gallup, NM, is a 3-time cancer survivor. In 1993 she had breast cancer. Her doctor performed a “segmental” surgical procedure. This is where he took about a ¼ of her breast. She has a great sense of humor as she said she has a perky 20-year old breast and an “old lady” breast. Joyce also went through chemo and radiation for this cancer.

Me and Joyce Graves

In November, 9 years later she went to Portland for a national summit for ACS and Relay For Life. Joyce had become involved with Relay on a national level in 2000. The speaker at the summit was a leukemia survivor. She spoke about a new drug she was on that had no side effects and she was in remission. Joyce thought that was wonderful and was excited for people fighting the disease.

In May the next year, Joyce’s husband was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Joyce called her staff partner to tell her and her friend reminded Joyce of the woman who spoke at the summit. That woman had the same type of cancer Joyce’s husband had. She said at that moment she knew her husband was going to be ok because of what she had learned at the summit.

Paul, Joyce’s husband, took 4 chemo pills a day with no side effects. He said he felt guilty taking the medication. Joyce asked him why. Paul said he knew what she went through when she fought her cancer and he knew what other people had gone through or were going through. He said he felt guilty that all he had to do was pop a pill and have no side effects. Joyce told Paul that this was the exciting progress that was being made in the fight against cancer and someday there would be a pill for breast cancer as well.

In August that same year Joyce went for her mammogram. As soon as the radiologist walked in the door Joyce said she knew she was in trouble. The radiologist said there was a suspicious area that needed to be investigated. Joyce thought the radiologist might say let’s just wait and watch it (which Joyce knew she didn’t want to do). Instead she was told that they needed to check it out right away.

It was breast cancer again and thankfully it had not metastasized. It was a brand-new site, caught very early, but found in the other breast. This time a lumpectomy was performed, and radiation was needed.

Three years later Joyce had Basal Cell skin cancer that was taken care of easily (compared to the other cancer’s Joyce had dealt with).

As for Relay, she has been involved since 2000 and really gives her all to the events. One year she was taking a coat to her husband across the track and she tripped over a tent stake. She broke both elbows, but as they were taking her to the ambulance Joyce was saying “I’ll be back”. It was a little more than she thought so she didn’t come back that night (one elbow required surgery with plates and screws) but she has been back every year to Relay. Her email address says it all - “bleeds purple” is part of her email address, which really does say it all!!!

Joyce has been on both sides of cancer as a survivor and caregiver. Her words of wisdom for dealing with cancer is, first to keep your sense of humor. Facing cancer is tough but your sense of humor can really help get you through the toughest times, Joyce explains. Joyce also says, if you have a spouse or significant other, family and/or friends that want to help, be sure to do your best to be a good communicator. If you are tired, don’t feel good, or don’t want to do something then make sure to tell them. This also means letting people know when you want them to help. She said be specific in what you need. Give them ideas on ways they can help you.

When Joyce speaks to women through the “Reach to recovery” program that ACS has she tells them that women are the strong ones in the family. We are the “doers” Joyce says, and now we need to be the ones that let others do for us. In a way it is easier for us because we get the action part of cancer – we have the surgery, we receive chemo and/or radiation, etc. The others feel helpless. So those cancer survivors need to let their loved ones help in any way possible. Joyce’s advice includes remembering that asking for help isn’t really as much for ourselves (the survivors dealing with cancer) as much as it is a gift to the caregivers and those who are having to watch the battle. Suggestions include cleaning the house, making meals, grocery shopping, etc. The other advice she gives is to keep loving people as much as possible.

Joyce really is the embodiment of Relay. She was on the training task force locally for 2 years before becoming a member of the training task force nationally. She said this year (2018) she gets to enjoy her local events. Joyce really does “bleed purple”.

Angela Luna is the event chair for the New Mexico Relay. She is also a survivor of thyroid cancer. Eleven years ago Angela was in the hospital for severe bronchitis and during an exam her doctor found a lump on the side of her throat. Angela didn’t think anything of it at first. She figured her lymph nodes were swollen due to the bronchitis. The next day her doctor came in and said he really felt she needed to get the lump checked out. He said it could be nothing but wanted her to get it checked.

Rachel Romero, Angela Luna, and me

Angela admits she didn’t take care of her health as well as she should have back then, so she put off getting the lump checked. Finally she said something to her primary doctor. She started getting tests to see what the issue might be. Angela asked her doctor what they were looking for and the nurse said it could be several things. Angela pressed and was told “well the worst it could be is cancer”. That is when Angela started getting nervous.

When the results came back Angela went and saw her doctor. She was told that it was indeed cancer. Angela was stunned. She had this doctor for quite a while and never expected to hear those words. She felt that having cancer was basically a death sentence.

The doctor told her that she was in good hands and that they would take care of her. Angela had a needle biopsy and other tests. She was sent to Dr. Shapiro for her cancer, a great doctor in her opinion. He gave her two options: She could have chemo and radiation to try to get rid of the cancer or he said they could just “cut it out”. Angela thought at first it would mean cutting out the cancer but she found out that they would remove the entire thyroid. Angela chose the surgery and to have an radioactive iodine to kill the rest of the thyroid cells.

Angela learned a lot about taking care of herself through her cancer experience. She is diabetic and wasn’t taking care of herself very well but because of cancer she is very serious about her health now. She lost 70lbs., has good levels for her sugar and cholesterol, and now she takes care of herself. It scared her into appreciating life.

If she had to tell someone the things she has learned it is to take care of yourself, don’t try and face cancer alone, and stay positive. She was pretty angry when she was first diagnosed.

She was involved with Relay in 2011 but life got in the way for a while. Through her classes and phi theta kappa her involvement with Relay was recharged. Her team raised $1,300 the first year which is rather high compared to most first year teams. In 2017 she and Judy were asked to be the event co-chair leads but she chose not to. This year (2018) she was asked to be an event lead and accepted with renewed commitment and appreciate as a survivor and community-minded leader.

Rachel Romero is the staff partner with ACS. She has only been the staff partner for a year but has been involved with Relay For Life for several years. Her involvement started because of her experience with cancer in her family.

Rachel Romero and Angela Luna signing the Relay shirts

Rachel’s sister is 4 years younger and was diagnosed with acute lymphomas leukemia when Rachel was 6 and her sister was 2. Rachel said it was weird because no one in the family had leukemia before.

It all started when Rachel’s mom told her that her mom’s friend was going to take the kids home that day which was unusual. Rachel’s mom runs a daycare and when they were little she was putting blush on Monica when she noticed a lump. She ended up going to the hospital where Monica spent Halloween in the hospital as they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her. The doctors told Rachel’s mom that she needed to go to UNM Children’s hospital right away. Her mom called her dad and they met there. Her sister was diagnosed very quickly.

Rachel was so little and she remembers her sister being in and out of the hospital for about 6 months. She visited her a couple of times but she remembers that she came home with a catheter for her treatments.

Rachel said her sister is the bravest person she knows. She said that her sister is now a 21-year survivor. The whole family is closer and stronger because of it.

Her sister went to camp enchantment which is for cancer patients, enjoying a time when they don’t have to think about having cancer. Rachel and her brother went to Camp Superstar for siblings of cancer survivors. She said the camp helped her understand the mixture of emotions that comes from being a sibling of a survivor.

Rachel said that her sister has grown up and now doesn’t want her cancer to define her. She definitely wants to advocate for others but doesn’t feel the need to tell everyone she had cancer. Rachel said there are so many things that people don’t understand unless they’ve been in a survivor’s shoes.

She loves being a part of ACS and would love for this disease to be gone so no one has to go through what her sister and her family had to face.

Dolores Anaya-Gomez, is a 22-year ovarian cancer survivor and a very encouraging person. She had some back pain, so she decided to go to the doctor. The doctor sent her for an ultrasound. Dolores was asked how she found her issue. The question was surprising because she didn’t know what she had yet.

Dolores Anaya-Gomez and me

She had surgery where they found that she had ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer because it usually isn’t caught early. Dolores found that her back ache was bothering her enough to get checked. During her hysterectomy they found the ovarian cancer. Being so many years ago it was great that her doctor was careful enough to check the ovaries for cancer.

Dolores became involved in Relay about 3 years after her cancer diagnosis. She was invited by a friend to attend a Relay as a survivor. The next year another friend asked her to join a team (Mayor Delgato’s wife was the team captain) and she helped sell bags and raise money doing as much as she could to help the team. The following year she started a team of her own.

Dolores felt being a part of Relay was extremely important so she could help as many people as possible. Every year she helped a little bit more. At one point she was part of 8 teams; teams from her church, her grandchildren started the first kids team, she had a team with people from her class reunion, etc.

Dolores served as event chair for several years as well. She mentioned that Relay has changed since she first started participating, with events such as Making Strides Against Breast Cancer for example. This year’s Relay is back to a 24-hour event, which is longer than the last few years.

Dolores has a passion for helping others and raising money. She said she appreciates the fact that her employer matches what she raises most of the time.

Dolores says don’t ignore your body, go ahead and go get that exam. She knows it’s scary but there are many cancers that can be detected early, so listen to your body and pay attention, get any issues checked out. Most of all don’t give up! Keep searching, keep helping and have a good life.

Grace Vigil, is a breast cancer survivor of 17 years. Being in the medical field she knew the importance of breast exams.

She noticed a little dimpling in her breast but brushed it off. It wasn’t long before she went for her routine mammogram and they saw something that they wanted to check. Nothing could be felt in the breast, so they sent her for a needle biopsy which showed that she did have cancer.

Grace Vigil and me

At the time her daughter was turning 21 and the family had a trip to Vegas planned for the following month after the cancer detection.

When they got back from their celebration Grace had her surgery scheduled. She had a partial mastectomy with lymph node removal. Four of the lymph nodes were cancerous. Grace had been on the medical side of these types of diagnosis so as the patient it was a bit shocking. She had not anticipated the lymph nodes to be involved at all.

There is no breast cancer in Grace’s family, but her sister did pass away at 37 from gall bladder cancer. Her brother had lymphoma 14 years ago and her other brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. Heart and diabetes issues ran in the family until cancer popped its ugly head as well.

Grace worked for the surgeon who did her surgery. Then she went to the oncologist who happened to be her primary doctor before he became an oncologist. What a small world!

It was decided that Grace would need 6 weeks of chemotherapy. She said it felt like a long time. She got very sick during her treatments. At one point she needed an antibiotic because she had gotten so sick. The medication wasn’t cover by insurance, so she had to pay over $100 for less than a weeks’ worth of medication. She worked the whole time, answering phones during time dealing with cancer.

After getting through chemo Grace had radiation. Again, a small world because the radiologist was someone she knew. She didn’t have a lot of issues with this part of her treatment. Grace said she had a little sunburn, but they gave her cream that took care of the issue.

She found her diet was interesting because there were only certain things she felt she could eat. She drank lemonade from the health food store, Gatorade, and she ate Natillas (an Indian pudding) and mashed potatoes.

Grace said she can say she is truly blessed. She had a lot of support from her family and her church along with coworkers. In fact one of her coworkers shaved Grace’s head for her when she started losing her hair. This is a much more difficult, yet supportive act than some might understand.

As a nurse she finds that now when she relates to patients it is in an entirely different way. She has always had compassion for her patients but now she has an amazing amount of encouragement she shares as a survivor. She will tell her patients, I’ve had breast cancer too. I have survived and so will you.

She has many patients that have touched her through the years. There was one that is still a survivor even though she never had surgery or treatments. She followed holistic type of medicine and is still doing well today.

Grace said she is faithful about getting her mammograms now. Since her original diagnosis she had a walnut size lump in her left breast that was removed and was benign. She took tamoxifen for 4 years and another medication for one additional year. She is doing well with negative issues now.

She says 17 years survivor and working for 47 years in the field she has seen a lot. The one thing she wants people to know is that getting checkups is a safe thing to do. It is something that is within your control.

Cheryl Archuleta is a breast cancer survivor. Her journey started in 2007 when she had a mammogram. The doctor said there was something in the mammogram but said they would just watch it.

Cheryl and Joe Archuleta

One year later Cheryl went back for her mammogram and the spot was still there. The doctor set up a biopsy, which did come back with a cancer diagnosis. Cheryl then went to see a surgeon that performed a lumpectomy and they did MammoSite Radiation. This is where they cut the side of the breast and insert a balloon that has a radioactive liquid used to kill cancer cells. Cheryl then went to her oncologist to confirm the that everything was good for the next step. She then had 3 wires on the outside of the breast. This is where they would hook her up to have the radiation administered. Cheryl had 10 treatments, 13 minutes in the morning and 13 minutes in the afternoon for 5 days.

Cheryl felt very lucky because the cancer was extremely small and caught very early. She said she was barely considered stage 1.

There was a lot going on at the time that Cheryl was diagnosed, this was not her first encounter with cancer. Her husband, Joe, had prostate cancer and her mom had struggled with colon cancer. Cheryl knew cancer from both sides, as a caregiver and a survivor. Her mom lost her battle 13 years ago. Her husband had his prostate removed and he is now cancer free.

Cheryl had a scare in 2017, when the doctor thought he saw something. She had another biopsy, but thankfully it was not cancer.

Cheryl shared more about her mother’s battle with colon cancer. Originally when she was diagnosed the doctors said they got it all. Cheryl’s brother was in Las Vegas, so he wasn’t able to help with their mom during her diagnosis and surgery. However, once the doctors said they removed all the cancer, their mom moved to Vegas with Cheryl’s brother. About a year after her original diagnosis, their mom was in a lot of pain. The cancer had come back. Now, locally the doctor wouldn’t do radiation or chemo on Cheryl’s mom because she was in her mid 80’s but when the cancer came back while she was in Las Vegas, the doctors there were willing to be more aggressive in their treatments. Cheryl’s 85-year-old mother went through both. Cheryl was still working full time but managed to go monthly to see her mom during her treatments, from January through June, when her mom passed away. Her mom had several side effects from the treatments. It was tough watching her mom suffer and she understood the doctors concern with how the treatments would affect her mom.

Cheryl said cancer is a terrible disease and it is hard no matter what side of it you are on. She and her husband are both healthy now. With the support of family and friends they continue to appreciate life after cancer.

The Santa Fe event was very welcoming, encouraging and heartwarming. I was able to share my journey with the people who attended the event and they welcomed my husband and I with open arms. Not only that but they have a heart for each other as well as for raising money to destroy this dreadful disease.

A little rain can’t stop this Relay from happening in Santa Fe.

Supportive cancer survivors, walking in the survivor’s lap!

Such grace and beauty in the dancing. The stories told through dance was wonderful.

Even though it was sprinkling the smiles and peace that was felt from the music and movements was incredible.

My husband and I were so happy to have attended another wonderful event. The people and their stories were another example of encouragement, strength and perseverance in the face of difficult circumstances at times. The people I was able to talk to at this event had a great deal of longevity since their cancer diagnosis. I am always encouraged when I talk to survivors of 22, 17, 11 or even a few years. Or a 3-time survivor who is going strong. It shows that often cancer is treatable and beatable as we wait to find a cure!

Firestone, Colorado – July 15, 2018

Colorado, a mile high and hearts a mile wide! The people I met were kind and strong and resilient. It was such a hot day when we attended the Relay and yet I think I was the only one that look like I was going to melt. There was even someone dressed up as the Chick-fil-A mascot. No one complained, they ran the event with love and determination to raise money and support one another.

Chick-fil-A standing in the shade!

The starting line or finish line, cancer needs to be eradicated!

Sherri Everett was the guest speaker at the Carbon Valley event, she is a teacher, and an absolutely amazing women.

During her speech she told a story about Mr. Rogers and how he talked about how his mother helped him feel safe when he was afraid by saying “always look for the helpers in this world”. She tried to keep his story about helpers in her mind as she faced the scariest events of her life, cancer. She explained that she met a gentleman this past year that had gone through some of the same surgeries she had; removal of part of her stomach and intestines. Sherri said “you don’t realize how important that plumbing is until you no longer have it”.

Her sense of humor showed as she talked about this gentleman that had a stool transplant (he had a stool transplant from his wife to replace the good bacteria that was missing because of his surgeries). Yup, she said he had tons of jokes and an attitude that just made you laugh. He said things like “have you met my wife? She’s my number 2 girl.” Or “I used to think my wife gave me a lot of crap but now I know she does”.

Sherri said that she also had helpers at the infusion center provided by the nurses who asked how she was feeling, how her family was, and provided expert care.

Lastly she talked about her two co-workers, helpers that were the light in a very dark tunnel. They never gave up on Sherri. The came to see her (even if they got lost), sent text, and kept her spirits up even when she thought she’d rather be left alone. Her “blond comedy team” never stopped encouraging her and loving on her. She said they kept her from falling into the depths of despair.

Sherri said that we need to make sure we don’t ignore or push away the helpers. She said look for the helpers in your life. Give them the opportunity to be there for you.

Sherri explained more of her “depths of hell” story when I sat with her and her husband Jim. Sherri is a teacher. Her story started 4 years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on the first day of summer vacation. She opted for a double mastectomy and had planned reconstruction. She now believes that reconstruction isn’t necessarily the way to go. She was 9 weeks out and after all the infections and issues she had, they had to pull the idea of reconstruction. She is still very angry about the reconstruction issues to this day, especially her concern that girls may believe that without breasts you aren’t feminine or beautiful.

Sherri had chemo that ultimately caused her loss of hair and the results are that her hair is the way it is now…not much chance of it growing more than where it is now (I think she is beautiful and I know her husband does too).

Sherri and Jim Everett

She had a lot of issues such as lymphedema and infections, so she was glad when that portion of her cancer journey seemed to be over.

Fast forward to last summer. Sherri’s belly seemed to be getting thicker and she chalked it up to weight gain, however her doctor wanted blood work to be certain. Sherri’s doctor wanted her to get a physical to make sure everything was ok. First Sherri’s liver enzymes were up. With each test her doctor said it was probably diet and exercise changes that were needed but she wanted another test, then another. Almost 3 years to the day the doctor called Jim and said she wanted both of them to come into the office.

The results were that Sherri had tumors all throughout her peritoneum (the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity). They decide to do a laparoscopy, fearing that Sherri had ovarian cancer. The oncologist came out and told Jim that Sherri had a year to live, as long as she had surgery. Jim said the doctor was crying at that point.

They found that Sherri had appendix cancer (her appendix were encased in a tumor) that secretes this gelatinous matter. Sherri didn’t really realize that she had issues but looking back she can see that she wasn’t feeling well but chalked it up to chemo, etc. She was winded or felt worn out whenever she tried going for walks or did too much in a day.

Her surgeon sent her to a team at CU Anschutz Medical Campus where, last May they had recruited a new surgeon from Pittsburg who performed the particular surgery she needed.

She said it is really hard not to google what is going with your type of cancer but for her, she found that she didn’t want to know about what the statistics say. Her journey is her journey and her statistic is her statistic. She doesn’t want to be compared to someone else because she isn’t them! Sherri said that she read a book called “Anticancer” that she really liked because the doctor who was diagnosed with a brain tumor said he wanted to be on the right side of the graph. We all do!

Sherri said they decided to do the surgery on September 15th. It is a very extensive surgery that takes a team of doctors approximately 14 hours to basically shopvac the gelatinous cancer out. However Sherri ended up with a fever labor day that ended up taking her to the hospital. It was discovered that Sherri was septic! It took so much planning for the type of surgery that Sherri needed, so she focused on getting as healthy as she could so the surgery could be performed as scheduled!

On September 15th they wheeled Sherri into surgery. She says she was calm. She felt that no matter the outcome it would be fine. She said if something happened she’d be asleep and if all went well she’d start the healing process.

Jim took over the explanations from here since Sherri was completely out of it. Since their day started at 7:30 a.m. Jim knew the day was going to be long. He saw the doctor at 9:30 that night. He also saw the residents as they wheeled Sherri down the hall. Jim says the surgeon looked pretty good but the residents looked wiped out. Part of what Sherri had during this special surgery was “hot chemo”. The procedure is called HIPEC or hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and is performed with cytoreductive surgery (although Sherri calls it MOAS = Mother of all surgeries). They put chemo that was 109 degrees into Sherri’s abdomen and then had to rock her back and forth for an hour and a half to get the chemo into every nook and cranny. Sherri and Jim also said there are only about 1,000 cases of peritoneal cancer per year.  

The doctor that performed Sherri’s surgery has done 500 of them. Originally Sherri and Jim were going to go to MD Anderson in Houston, but the hurricane stopped that travel idea. However after meeting her surgeon they knew that staying and having him perform the surgery made the most sense. They trusted him and his skill set, especially once they find out that MD Anderson was sending him their worst cases when he was in Pittsburgh.

Jim spent the whole month that Sherri was in the hospital in their camper in the parking lot. Jim would get up in the morning to make the 5:30 a.m. rounds, spending as much time as possible by her side.

Their sense of humor is amazing. They told a story about the day after surgery when one of the residents was telling Sherri their goals of the day. This was 24 hours after surgery and Sherri was still on a respirator. Jim was anxious when they said they planned to get her up to walk but Sherri responded to his concern with a very special “finger gesture” that makes them both laugh now. Sherri was strong and Jim could see she was in the fight with all her strength (and humor).

Sherri mentioned that Jim looked as bad as she did during those months. Often we forget that the family members struggle as they watch their loved ones fight this disease. They feel helpless and frustrated and angry and scared! They try not to show it and to keep the survivor on the path to recovery as best they can.

Sherri and Jim talk about the pain management team and all that the nurses, residents, and doctors did to help her recover. It’s hard to believe listening to Sheri that she had only been recovering for about 10 months after such a massive surgery. She had an ileostomy so she had trouble getting nutrients. That was reversed December 1st, 2017. They removed 30 pounds of organs and she has lost a total of 70 pounds as of July 14. Because part of her stomach has been removed it is like a weight loss surgery. Sherri only eats a ¼ cup of food at a time, several times a day.

Sherri had to receive 6 months of chemo. It is the same chemo that is used for colon cancer. She would receive the chemo though a port for 46 hours every 2 weeks. When I met her she had finished her last chemo 3 weeks prior to the Relay!

I missed meeting Sherri and Jim’s three children (Jake, Scott???, and Grace). Their eyes light up as they talk about how wonderful their kids are. The boys were away at college and Grace was home when she went through her first bout with cancer. This time Grace is away at college and the boys are home. They’d rather their kids didn’t have to deal with cancer at all!

Grace was just about to start her senior year when Sherri was diagnosed breast cancer. She shaved her head (she had long hair at the time) when her mom and Dad shaved their hair off. When Grace started applying for college the essay on the common application was “name a time when you transitioned from childhood to adulthood” so Grace wrote about how she applied to colleges by herself because her parents were going through so much dealing with Sherri’s cancer. She told her parents that they could read her paper but they couldn’t edit it.

Sherri and Jim give me hope for the end to cancer. Their fight against this disease and for their life together is inspiring. Sherri mentioned that the doctor said that at her scan in July she had no significant changes so the cancer was at a standstill. The doctor told her to go home and live her life for the next 3 months when they would scan her again (in October).

Sherri said because cancer is something that invades your body it also can invade your mind. She wakes up in the morning and thinks…. “is today the day? I feel pretty good, so I don’t think so.” She then tries her absolute best to leave that thought alone and plan her day of living. Everyone who has faced cancer can let that fear creep in but Sherri has an amazing attitude. Jim and Sherri show what a family unit of strength, power, humor, and love looks like. Her appreciation of her family and friends is apparent as she lives her life to the fullest every day, as we wait for the cure to this terrible disease. Not only does she look for the helpers in this world, she IS one of the helpers in this world.

Another wonderful woman I met was Heather Sewczak, a 19-year melanoma survivor. Heather said that her cancer was detected when she was only 22 years old. It was the summer she got married and she said that she wore her scar as a badge of honor not for herself but to bring awareness to others that skin cancer is detectable, treatable, but also deadly if ignored. Because of her annual physical her doctor found her original cancer. Because it was on her shoulder she did not see that there was a questionable area on her skin that needed to be checked.

Me and Heather Sewczak

Heather continues to remind people that because the doctor recognized that something on her skin wasn’t right she was sent to a dermatologist that diagnosed and treated her melanoma, something that is often missed. She and her family are checked annually, and she reminds her family members, coworkers and friends to do the same. She says she is that obnoxious friend on Facebook that reminds people to get their examinations. Getting these checks, she believes have kept people healthy and safe.

Last year it was discovered that she had basal cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer. As she said she is “resetting her clock” when it comes to cancer.

Melanoma diagnosis continue to rise each year. It is the most common skin cancer. There are many facts that people are not aware of so please do not take this type of cancer lightly.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

Barb Bolander was diagnosed in July, 1998 with stage 2B breast cancer. Barb found her cancer herself. She made an appointment with her doctor he sent her for a mammogram, then a biopsy, and then surgery.

Barb Bolander in her “Disney Friends” ears, walking as a survivor but also a friend whose last name was Disney.

Barb had a lumpectomy but because the margins were not clear she ended up having a mastectomy. She chose not to have reconstruction surgery. She also had 8 chemotherapy treatments and 27 radiation treatments. Barb mentions that 20 years ago the treatments were so different from today (and it’s hard to remember 20 years ago), but progress is wonderful!

Barb believes that she has many gifts and angels in her life so as a way to give back she hosts/coordinates a support group in Longmont, Colorado.

The support group in Longmont has actually been going since the 70’s. Barb has been facilitating for about 15 years. She said it is a group that contacts through email, calls, etc. There are approximately 40 people on their list but 6-15 usually attend the monthly meetings. They have speakers that come talk to the group, such as oncologists, that share their knowledge and answer questions for the attendees.

She is also part of a movement on the ground stages called Roberta’s Legacy (http://robertaslegacy.org/contact/) which she was asked to participate in as a board member, but had to resign. She said she will continue to be part of this group as much as time allows.

Barb finds that giving back helps her to continue to appreciate the life she has been blessed with, especially after cancer. She said she wondered how she could celebrate 20 years cancer free and felt that being a part of this wonderful group was an impactful way to rejoice.

Barb’s husband, family and friends were a phenomenal support for her. She said she received a card almost every single day during her 6 months of treatments from her brother and sister-in-law, and many of her friends. Barb laughs when she says she doesn’t know where they got that many cards but she kept them on the table by her chair so she could look at them whenever she was having a down day. Barb said that those reminders of love, in card form, were what kept her spirits high and her focus on getting better.

Barb says that being in remission for 20 years is an amazing blessing. She Relays for a friend of hers who was diagnosed with a reoccurrence of breast cancer when Barb was diagnosed. Sadly her friend lost her battle. She was a coworker (they were both elementary school teachers) and dear friend. She walks on a team called Disney Friends because her friends last name was Disney.

Janie Hug is a two-time cancer survivor. During a routine exam the doctor found something that she felt warranted an ultrasound. It was found that Janie had kidney cancer, so she underwent surgery. The cancer was completely contained within the kidney so after the kidney was removed no other treatments were needed.

Me and Janie Hug

Janie went in for a scan and a checkup every year. At her 5-year mark she had her scan and was called back to the doctors because they saw something in the lower lobe of her left lung. Because they were actually looking at her kidney the radiologist couldn’t see the questionable area on her lung very well. How wonderful that the radiologist looked so thoroughly at the scan, otherwise the second cancer might have been missed. She had another scan focusing on the lung area, which they could see the cancer.

Janie went to a surgeon to see what was needed but she didn’t like the first one. She called her primary doctor and asked for the name of another surgeon. She met the second surgeon and she really liked him.

The first surgeon wanted to do a much more radical surgery which Janie didn’t agree with. The second surgeon agreed with Janie, saying that since they couldn’t see cancer in specific areas they shouldn’t just be radically removed unnecessarily.

Janie had 4 rounds of chemotherapy. It was suggested that she also have radiation to the brain since lung cancer can affect that area of the body. At first Janie said no but after thinking about it she did agree. She had 10 radiation treatments for prophylactic purposes. Because she spoke with the radiologist for the treatments she felt the decision to have a lower dose of radiation as a preventative measure was much better than having higher doses if there was an occurrence of cancer.

Even though she knew it was a possibility Janie was sad to lose her hair again. Once she was done with her treatments though she was happy to move on with her life again! She went and visited her kids, met her friends in Reno to celebrate her 70th birthday, and this year she’s going to meet her friends in Las Vegas.

Janie loves Relay! She has been on both sides of cancer. Her last caregiving experience was in 2014 when her sister had small cell carcinoma in both lungs. The doctors missed the cancer, stating that the issue was COPD. Janie’s sister was never scanned to see if there was anything else going on, she only had x-rays which will not catch some types of cancer. Janie said her sisters’ last 6 months was very difficult. It was very hard to watch her sister suffer.

Janie has known many people that have had cancer. In fact she lost 3 neighbors in the last 2 years; ages 57, 69, and 74. The neighbor next to her has also had 2 bouts with cancer and chemotherapy.

Janie does what she can to help raise money for the end to cancer, and to raise hope for others. Her last name is very fitting, she is like a loving HUG.

I met two very special women involved with Firestone’s Carbon Valley Relay For Life event who work for American Cancer Society, although I bet if you ask them they will say it is much more than a job. At least that is how it felt to me.

Amanda Seier, Senior Manager, Community Development at American Cancer Society became interested in the fight against cancer about 15 years ago when she was working at a YMCA camp in Michigan. She was motivated by the children she worked with at the World Oncology Camp, that was in partnership with American Cancer Society, bringing children from 13 different countries to camp during their cancer journey so they could “just be a kid”. Amanda said these children were amazing and touched her deeply.

Me and Amanda Seier, Senior Manager, Community Development at American Cancer Society

Amanda said that when she moved to Colorado in 2003 she wanted to continue to support ACS so she became a volunteer on the planning committee and a team captain for the Weld County Relay For Life event in Greeley, Colorado.

She moved to Denver in 2011 and started working for ACS full time. She says “Now my motivation is thanks to the dozens of survivors and those who have passed from cancer that I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting throughout my journey with ACS.”

Caleb and Amanda, one is drawing a picture and the other is signing the Relay for Life Shirts

As a mom I also understand when Amanda said she also wants her son, Caleb, “to grow up in a world with less cancer”. She is working to help that happen!

The other person I had the privilege to meet was Marissa Jones, Community Development Manager for the Carbon Valley Relay For Life event, as well as Relays throughout the Denver area.

At the time this event was held Marissa had only been with ACS as a staff partner for 10 months, but she explained that her connection to the mission of ACS has been much longer.

Me and Marissa Jones, Community Development Manager

Her relationship with Relay For Life began her freshman year in high school when it was first introduced to her school. That same year her mother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. 

She and her family went through a very difficult time as Marissa’s mom lost her cancer battle the following year. Marissa said that “Relay for Life gave my family a place to turn to find hope and a community in the midst of a very difficult time for us”. She and her family continued to participate in Relay for years in memory of this important and loved woman. She also said that “Relay For Life has and always will be very near and dear to my heart”.

She loves her job because, as staff partner, she gets to experience the joy of participating in all different types of Relays all over the Denver area. The passion and commitment that Marissa feels is explained when she says “I continue to see and hear so many wonderful stories of hope from individuals on all different types of cancer journeys.  Relay helped me when all felt lost and I now use that as my motivation to do all I can to help even one person who may be going through the same type of experience I did”.

Both Marissa’s and Amanda’s drive and hope for a world with less cancer comes from their life experiences and hope for a world that will someday be cancer free.

Every person my husband and I met at Firestone’s Carbon Valley Relay had that same desire. Either as a survivor, caregiver or having been on both sides of cancer, each person wants others to know that there is life after cancer. Even if a family member or friend has lost their battle with this terrible disease, there memory and the love that others feel for them continues, which mean they live on. Cancer can take a lot of things away but it can’t touch the memory and love we have for one another.

[funkymbtifiction]

The Effect of Emotional Abuse on Each Type: ESFP

SUBMITTED by hannah-elizabeth-j

I’ve seen a few posts/requests on here about the effects of emotional abuse and the affect that it has on each Myers Briggs type so, as someone who works with a lot of domestic abuse victims I thought that I’d give my two cents worth. I wanted them to be quite detailed to give people a fair amount of information so this will be the general format; a general description of what it will look like, how this differs from similar types (ie. the ENFJ compared to the INFJ and ESFJ) and a character in fiction who acts similar to this (may not be for the same reason and I might not get one for each type but I’ll try).

ESFP

There will be some variation depending on when the abuse took place in their life but there are somethings that will remain the same.

Now I know that on tumblr this type seems to be hard to come by but….

From my observations, an ESFP while in an abusive situation can essentially be broken down into three stages and fortunately, there is a fiction example that I know for each stage.

First let’s start off with stage one or what I call the ‘Early on Daenerys days’ (as I said in the ISFJ post never read the books so this is from the TV show). Think back to the first episodes of Game of Thrones what Daenerys was in the control of her brother. She was extremely timid, rarely speaking up for herself and when she did, there wasn’t much behind it. Well, that is essentially what an ESFP will look like when either they have only been in an abusive relationship for a few months (long enough for the person to be screwing with their heads but not long enough for marriage, kids, life, etc) or for the first chunk of their lives as a child if they are being abused by a parent.

The length of this stage will be totally dependent on the situation they are in but for those who haven’t watched Game of Thrones this is what it will look like; not an ESFP. Or at least not any ESFP image that is online descriptions. Since ESFP’s are naturally so engaged with the world and at that time the world is the very nightmare that they want to escape from, they will tend to go against their own nature and focus greatly on their Ni. Unlike most other types, the grip comes into play when they are in an abusive situation instead of after they have left it. For a while, while their Fi is screaming in their head, “no this is wrong I don’t want this!” the abuser is saying that those thought are crazy and they should feel guilty for having them. So, they go along with it.

Like everyone, they spend a time appeasing their abuser because that is what they are being made to think is the right thing to do. They get their moral system screwed with, hard. Even if you have Fi, trust me these people can still twist your entire worldview, it’s just what happens.

Now at some point, something will trigger a change in the ESFP. It could be anything really, but the point is they will end up seeing that what is happening is wrong. This is when we really start to see the ESFP come into themselves in the next ‘stage.’

This is what I have dubbed the ‘Sirius Black era.’ Sirius actually grew up in an incredibly abusive household so if you really want to examine an abused ESFP, he’s a good choice. In his later teenage years Sirius rebelled, hard. The bold nature of Se mixed with the outrage of Fi is really seen here. Picture a lot of sneaking out, partying, some are brave enough to cheat on their partner if they are the abusive ones.They will do anything just to show the abuser they don’t own them, they speak up, call them out on it, do anything to annoy them and sometimes leave. Now, if they can leave at this stage, that is great but the sad truth is that not everyone can and since the ESFP has just done everything they can to push the abuser, things will often get a lot worse for them.

Here comes the last ‘stage,’ have you watched The Tudors? Those last few episodes with Anne Boleyn when she really started to lose it that Natalie Dormer played to perfection? Because that is what you can expect. If they were unable to leave after the rebelling stage then expect to see something truly tragic, the loss of hope inwardly while outwardly they are a mix of Se recklessness and unhealthy Ni detachment from everything. Eating disorders are often common. I honestly find this really hard to explain so if you haven’t watched the show I’ll just link some scenes that best demonstrate what I mean.

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ng7dU5faIg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXTtoP4OJyk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9BdTLBREV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ0_OCn0RK4 )

After they have left the abusive situation, it tends to go one of two ways, it depends on when they left. If they left during the rebellious stage, then even though they are no longer in the abusive situation, they often go into the third stage anyway. But if they went through the third stage while still in the abusive situation, what you tend to see is some intense disperse. Screaming, crying, throwing things, through to work through their emotions while at the same time not being able to express them effetely, not just because of the nature of Fi but also the havoc imposed on them and their emotional development at the hands of their abuser. They seem to completely fall apart in a very dramatic way while being unable to speak about it.

Until one day, quite suddenly to the people around them, they stop. They pick themselves up and, although often quite numb for a few months after, they piece themselves back together. They built themselves up into the person that they both want to be and are.

Now down the road of course there will be some things that are harder or flare up issues for them. They tend to identify very strongly with the people who went through what they have and often go into a full time job or volunteer position in something that will help victims of abuse like them. 

ESFP vs ESTP

Look carefully at them while in the recovery stage, an ESTP will reach out to try and talk to people more, an ESFP won’t

Look at how they were in the abusive situation in the early stages, an ESTP will be more detached and ESFP will appear to be feeling it all and killing themselves to try and detach/not feel it

An ESTP is more likely to avoid forming their life to help people from this issue. Now this  is not to say that the ESTP firstly wouldn’t help anyone they happened to meet who was going through it, they 100% would, and they would care about the issue of domestic abuse, they just tend to be less focused on forming major parts of their life from that experience

ESFP vs ISFP

ISFP’s rebel far less, if at all when in abusive situations. Compare Sirius to Harry in Harry Potter. Both spoke up for themselves at a point but while Sirius ran off to James and frequently and in any way possible annoyed his parents (like shoving it down their throats that he was Gryffindor, putting posters up of muggle things in his room, ect.), Harry just didn’t take their shit, but rarely went out of his way to annoy them and never went off to go and live with Ron (we know Dumbledore would not have let him but Harry didn’t always know this and he still didn’t)

Oddly enough since its higher for them, ISFP’s don’t get as lost in Ni as do ESFP’s (this is due to the grip)

Te grip all over the place for ISFP’s

As for fictional examples as I said; Sirius Black (Harry Potter), Daenerys Targaryen (Game  of Thrones) and late on Anne Boleyn (The Tudors), also if you want to see one that never recovered from the anger, rebelling but actually took it one step further and now must control everything so he is not controlled again character, Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries/The Originals) .