#I’ve been indoors since Tuesday

[chris-sales-belly-ring]

Going to ask my niece and my nephew if I can video chat with their kids later.

Need to see my smiling great nephews and their cute little faces!

I miss people. I miss my co-workers. My parents and my sister visit me every day at least.

[dira333]

Passing Peonies - Post War Touya Todoroki - Part IV

When the war ended, Midoriya Izuku had proven one thing: That Villains did not need to be killed to be defeated. That you could make friends from enemies.

Touya Todoroki, formerly known as Dabi, had been one of those taken into the rehabilitation program. After one year of intense physical and psychological therapy, he's got the chance to prove himself. To prove that he can be a part of this world.

Complete fic length: 30.600 words - Masterlist

Warnings: poor mental health and resentment against past actions is mentioned, burn scars etc. as well. There is angst but this is mostly soft Touya coming back to his family...

Part 4: (2,1k words)

You’re a good teacher.

He’d known before but it becomes clearer now. 

He’s still got problems with fine motor skills, his fingers often too stiff to tie ribbons or cut the smallest branches without damaging the rest of a Bonsai but he’s learning so much, not just about taking care of plants but other things as well.

The old ladies that used to coo at your friendly gifts now flock around him, tell him about their grandkids and ask for his opinion on what to buy them.

He figures out quickly which students like his snarky comments and who’s appreciative of being guided toward a cheaper alternative.

The week after he gets his ZZ plant, he can choose between a bouquet or an indoor plant.

“You don’t even know if I’ve taken good care of him.”

“Well, have you?” You ask, pushing the sleeves of your cardigan up your arms as you prepare to dig into the roots of fiddle-leaf fig, the sight of your bare underarms distracting him for a second.

“Of course. But that’s not the point.”

“Bring him in tomorrow then if you want me to review your work.” You cheekily smile up at him. “Even if you’re just fishing for compliments.”

He picks a golden pothos for his therapist, knowing that he desperately needs a plant to light up that office while also knowing he can’t take that free bouquet and gift it to you, even if he’s starting to want to.

🌺.

Three months later you’ve fallen into a rhythm. 

Every second Friday after closing you let him into your apartment where, after a grilled cheese sandwich and a shared bowl of soup, he waters your plants and renames them.

Bob’s doing so well, he’s already a parent, one of his kids now sitting on Fuyumi’s shelf. 

Hawks has put in a request for more Bouquets for his agency, as well as his father and Shouto, who in turn has seemingly told all his classmates about this great flower shop downtown.

Touya would love how much more money you’re making now if all those customers wouldn’t cut into the time he gets to spend with you.

At least the purple-haired gremlin Shouto calls a classmate hasn’t shown up since he scared him off. He doesn’t like guys buying flowers as an excuse to check you out, especially when they’re too cheap to buy a proper bouquet.

🌺.

“No grilled cheese today.” You tell him one Friday evening as you close the door and turn the key. “I’m buying you dinner.”

His heart skips traitourously.

“You sure your plants can survive without my care?” He jokes and you grin.

“Positive. Now grab your jacket and let's head out.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, multiple things. We’ve got so much business now we’ll have to start dividing our orders into two different pick-up dates. What do you think of Tuesday and Thursday? We could use Monday and Wednesday to make the bouquets.”

“And the other reasons?”

You laugh, clearly figuring out that there’s no use in redirecting his thoughts. 

“I don’t believe in anniversaries but I’ve heard people say that it’s always hardest after the third month, so I thought you could use a little celebration.”

He looks at you, calculates the slope of your nose against the curve of your lips, and cocks his head to the side.

“And the last thing?”

You sober up quickly, looking down the street into the dark night, the sign of a gas station glowing in the distance.

“Today’s the anniversary of my father’s death.” You look up at him, your eyes open and vulnerable. “I like to do something nice for someone else on that day. As a gift to the world, you know?”

He doesn’t know. But it fits you. Like green aprons and cardigans, white shirts, and grilled cheese.

-

“Do you want to talk about him?”  

You walk in silence for a while, the same comfortable silence he’s shared with you since he’s met you, until eventually you open your mouth.

“We have the same quirk. It has been in our family for generations. My great-great-grandmother was a hero, actually. She made sure to marry someone who complimented her quirk and so on and so forth, until my father decided to marry someone quirkless, to not be a hero, or even a fancy landscaper. He just wanted a normal, comfortable life.”

You point at the door or the restaurant and he follows you, feeling like your story isn’t over yet, but not ready to push you to talk when you never do that with him.

The restaurant isn’t fancy, but it’s not fast food either, telling him that you’re spending quite some money when he’s seen how you live and knows how much the shop used to bring in.

When the waiter leaves your table and he opens his menu, you lean across the table to whisper, bringing along a scent he’s grown so familiar too. The scent of earth and greenery, of flowers and foliage, of you and your shop and your home.

“Sorry, what?” He shakes his head to clear his mind, realizing he missed every word you’ve just said.

“I said if you’re not against sharing they have this amazing combination of gyoza dumpling and melted cheese. They line the Gyoza up and when the cheese is melted you can dip the gyoza in. You can choose what the fillings are and if you want other dips for it but it’s usually a serving for two.”

He blinks at the giddiness lighting up your face. He’d never been especially inclined towards cheese until his mind started linking it to you and now, linking it to you being happy.

“Of course.” He hears himself say and sees you lighting up even more. “But if we order it, we have to go full in. Filled with cheese to dip in cheese. We’re not cowards after all.”

You giggle and he looks back down at the menu to keep himself from staring, glad that his skin grafts cannot blush.

When the waiter returns, however, he’s pulling a face that spells uncomfortableness.

“I’m sorry.” He says, clutching his notepad with both hands. “But I’m… well, I was made aware that we cannot serve you.”

“What do you mean?” Your face is full of confusion while Touya catches on faster. 

“He means he can’t serve me.” He explains and the way the man cringes tells him everything he needs to know.

“It’s alright.” He says when he feels that it’s not, in fact, alright. “I’ll just see you tomorrow then.”

“No.” Your hand’s flat on the table and your voice serious. “Matsumoto-kun, you’ll be serving us.”

“I’m sorry, please, I-”

“Leave it.” Touya tells you, the hard line of your mouth something he hasn’t seen before.

“Is there a problem?” Behind Matsumoto, a new face appears.

“Yes.” You’re standing now, smaller than the two men, but standing your ground. “You’re taking part in the rehabilitation agreement, yet you’re not willing to serve a member of the same agreement. I don’t want to do this but I will have to make a formal complaint if you continue to refuse us service.”

“Madam.” The man behind Matsumoto, obviously the manager, is wringing his hands now. “This isn’t about the agreement. You have to understand what your companion did-”

“It doesn’t matter who he is or what he has done.” You tell them sharply. “He could be Tomura Shigaraki and it would still be your duty to serve him as a customer if he came in here as part of the Rehabiliation agreement.”

“This isn’t our decision,” Matsumoto whispers, eyes looking everywhere but at Touya himself who’s now standing himself, hand on your arm as if that would do something but ground himself.

“Come on.” He tells you. “Not today.”

And somehow he’s said the right thing because you nod and grab your purse and your jacket, following him out of the restaurant.

Five steps from the door he can hear you curse under your breath.

Ten steps from the door he can hear you sniffle and when he turns, you’re full on crying, fat tears dripping down your face.

“Hey. Hey, don’t cry about that. It’s not worth it.”

“It is!” You disagree wetly. “They shouldn’t treat you this way and now I’m mad and I’m hungry and I’m upset that I always cry when I’m mad, and-”

“If it would make you feel better you could let weeds grow in front of their door.”

“They would just pull it out, that’s just hurting the plants.” You complain but you’re almost smiling now.

He’s grinning back at you. “We could spray paint their windows. Egg the front. Put toilet paper over the door.”

“What are you? Five?” 

He laughs and you laugh with him, frozen on the sidewalk in your shared little bubble.

“There’s a Kentucky Fried Chicken down the street, isn’t it?” He asks. “They have cheese fries. It’s not as good as dipping cheesy Gyoza into melted cheese but would it satisfy your cheesy needs?”

“You make me sound like an addict.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Maybe a little bit.”

-

He watches you pop another cheese-covered fry into your mouth and feels only a little weird about it.

“Feeling better?” He asks, chewing on his straw.

“A bit. But I’m still going to put in a formal complaint. It’s not okay.”

“It’s been a year. It’s going to take some time.”

“Still. God, now I can never go back there again and I don’t know anyone else who offers that dish.” You complain.

“I could learn how to make it.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them and he bites his tongue, regretting them immediately when you pinch your brows.

“I didn’t know you can cook.” You offer him an easy way out and he shrugs.

“I don’t. But it doesn’t sound that hard.”

You laugh. “Oh, it is. Why do you think I only offer you Miso soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?”

“Because that’s your favorite food?”

“True. But it’s also the only thing I can make. Well, when the sun’s in the right position and the moon’s not looking, I can also make a fried egg.”

He laughs at that. 

“You seem so talented, I thought you’d be good at everything.”

Your smile wavers and you wipe your fingers, signaling you’re done with your food.

“Want to take a walk?” You ask and he nods, throwing away the trash and meeting you at the door.

Something in him wants to take your hand, make sure your pulse is still the same as always, that you’re fine and well and there with him, but he knows that’s not the whole reason.

He wants to take your hand because he wants to hold it and feels like a ZZ plant that’s been put in a dark spot, longing for more light and scared it might burn him at the same time.

He doesn’t put his hands in his pockets, lets them hang by his side loosely, hoping against hope that your hand will knock into his as if a ray of sunlight might accidentally come his way.

-

“My father died five years ago.” You tell the night sky above you. “He had a heart attack and died in his sleep. I miss him every day. And I know he’d be proud of me. Of what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. He’d love my apartment and my shop and even if he’d call every bouquet I make perfection, he’d still pluck around in it, because he couldn’t let anything go untouched. Isn’t that love, that you love something not only despite its imperfections but simply because of them?”

Heaviness settles in his gut yet again as your words sink in. 

You look at him and he wonders if you’re talking about him too. 

He thinks about his parents, his siblings, his friends - if he can call them that. 

He wonders if they love him despite his imperfections and he wonders if he loves them.

“My mother remarried three years ago. And I’m happy for her, because her new husband is really nice, and she’s happy. But they moved, about two years ago, to America of all places. Plane tickets are expensive.”

“It gets lonely sometimes.” He says, not really knowing why until you nod.

“Yeah.” You breathe out. “Yeah.”

He wants to say that he’s here now. That you can lean on him. That he’ll be there for you.

But he doesn’t. Because he can’t. He shouldn’t. He won’t.

So he doesn’t say anything and it seems to be the right thing, allowing the two of you to walk in silence through the dark.

taglist: @misfit-megumi @shoulmate @pixiesavvy @the2ndl @neko-my-cat @chelseaquake

taglist is open, if you want to join, just mention it in a comment or send me a message.

My Kofi if you want to tip me

[rplayford02]

KEEPER: Production

The shoot ran fairly smoothly. Here’s a run down day by day!

Friday - Changing Rooms

The prep we did during the tech recce really helped here. I was able to tell Tom exactly where he should boom from without having to consult camera. We did eventually need to consult camera to check exact edge of frame, but the prep definitely streamlined our communication.

Saturday - day off!

Talked about the shoot with Ben.

Sunday - Will’s Bedroom

A lot of time spent basking in the sun on the decking at Jake’s, waiting for the light to change. It was an indoor location where we had full control so it was fairly easy for sound. Only challenge was space. The room wasn’t very large and we (Tom and I) had to hide in a corner behind camera. When I wasn’t soaking up the sun, I was hiding in a cupboard next to an unnerving pillow of Jake’s face.

Monday - 1st Pitch Day

So rainy! The weather made communicating anything ten times harder, and it was our first day out on the pitch so we were still settling into the environment. To make it all just slightly more complicated, we switched around the schedule so we were basically shooting in sequence. It was necessary to move all of scene 5 onto this day to minimise continuity errors, however it did create some confusion. I hadn’t really prepped to shoot those scenes on that day so it kind of put us on the back foot. This being said, we still got everything shot and only wrapped slightly late.

Tuesday - also a day off!

Had crew dinner at Nando’s and conversations with Ben about the direction of the film so far - what beats we were already hitting, what might need adapted. With our style of shooting, there was room for some flexibility. Was also able to speak with Zoe at SAS about how sound was going. Came up with a strategy with Alex and Ben for how we would better communicate over the next two days on set.

I’ve never been able to reflect on a shoot whilst it was happening before and I was surprised at how valuable I found this day off. Such a shame that I’ll probably never have the luxury again!

Wednesday - 2nd Pitch Day

Ran much smoother. No huge issues, except that Monday’s shoot had made me ill. :((

Slightly concerned about the sound for water break 2 - the boom couldn’t be close at all and I couldn’t get LAVs on them, since it’s a continuous take from the scene before.

Tom continued to be an incredible boom op through very, very long takes in the freezing cold! I was very grateful!

Thursday - 3rd Pitch Day

Last day ever on a set in uni! People cried! Unusually, not me!

Also ran smoothly. Re-shot the walkout shot from Monday. Sound was good, probably the best of the three days. Had a chance to get some extra field tracks of the ambience.

In the end, sound wasn’t actually forced to compromise much at all. There were a lot of factors which we couldn’t always control and that was scary, for sure. The improvised dialogue, improvised movements, the loud, inconsistent, constant background noise, the weather, the broken/missing kit (two crackly radio mics and no waist bands!) - it was all against us and yet there were no real catastrophes, which shows how much my sound recording has improved in the past two years.

At times the stress got the better of us (mainly me, maybe Alex) but on the whole, the set was extremely professional and well run. I really enjoyed being able to focus entirely on sound recording, which never really seems to happen on student projects. I just loved working with this team! Everyone was firing on all cylinders and I could trust that everyone was doing their jobs amazingly and just focus on my own sound shit. I still had my overstepping, control-freak moments but they were significantly reduced.

It was so cool to see it all come together from pre-production. I’m so proud of everyone and grateful for all the work they put into this film!

[qrfit]

Day 2 of 5 day workout week:

Rainy Tuesday morning keeps me and my doggy Nico indoors, canceling our walk. We were not thrilled 😕. But, after playing some indoor games with him and tiring him out, I decided to jump on my indoor bike and get my calories burned from my missed walk! Threw on some Indie Rock and burned a quick 90 calories 💪🏽.

Jumped into my shop today, ready to go with high intensity step aerobics! Nothing works me out like step does. I’ve been doing it since college and it truly never gets old! 45 minutes and I am drenched. 😅 Finished up with 15 minutes of abs/core and a stretch. Feeling strong and ready for hump day! Hope you guys put in some good work today! Keep stacking days of progress. 🫶🏽

[beardedmrbean]

The ongoing migrant standoff at a Manhattan hotel turned ugly Wednesday after a group of about 10 outside activists used open umbrellas to prevent the news media from documenting the scene.

The intervention prompted several migrants to angrily confront a journalist who was shooting a video for Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV, with one migrant hitting the camera and dislodging its small monitor unit.

Some of the 35 migrants gathered in front of the Watson Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen also shouted at other camera operators to try to intimidate them.

NYPD cops issued warnings but made no arrests.

The newshound whose camera was struck, Ghassan Masoud, said he’d never been treated so badly during a career that’s included coverage of the Iraq War.

The ongoing migrant standoff turned ugly Wednesday after a group of outside activists used umbrellas to prevent the news media from documenting the scene. Matthew McDermott

“In 30 years, even in war zones, I’ve never experienced aggression like that,” Masoud said.

“In 30 years, even in war zones, I’ve never experienced aggression like that,” Masoud said.

“I know their situation is bad. I just want to tell their story and they attacked me.”

Masoud, who usually covers the United Nations, described the migrants as “aggressive.”

“One migrant threatened to hit me with a broom, which is when the cops stepped in and told them I had every right to film,” he said.

The migrants have been camped out on the sidewalk since the weekend when they were told to relocate to a new migrant processing center at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook.

City Hall has blamed activists from groups including “South Bronx Mutual Aid” for fueling the standoff, with mayoral press secretary Fabien Levy saying, “I don’t even understand the logic here.”

“Instead of encouraging asylum seekers to sleep in warm, indoor, temperature-controlled quarters at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, these groups are telling migrants to sleep in tents on the streets,” he tweeted Monday. “The lack of reasoning here is astounding.”

During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Mayor Eric Adams referred to the activists as “some agitators that just really I think are doing a disservice to migrants and doing a disservice to the children and families we’re moving to hotels.”

Adams also said that “single adult males all over the city are living in congregate settings” like the cruise terminal.

“Children and families, we don’t want to put them in congregate settings,” he said.

On Tuesday, four migrants agreed to tour the processing center with city Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro — but decided they’d rather sleep outdoors and returned to the hotel sidewalk.

Adams blamed that choice “on what they were hearing from some of the agitators, that they were going to be shipped out and that’s why we’re taking them there.”

Late Wednesday afternoon, about half of the migrants outside the hotel grabbed their belongings and piled into a yellow school bus after cops shut the street to eastbound traffic.

They later arrived at the cruise terminal, with one telling The Post in Spanish from a bus window, “We reached an agreement to improve the new facilities while they relocate us to a better place.”

The remaining diehards told The Post they had no intention of leaving, despite weather forecasts that predict sub-freezing temperatures, including a low of 6 degrees Friday night.

“I would 100% rather stay here on the street than go to Brooklyn,” said Jesus Colmenares, 27. “We want to be in Manhattan, where everything is happening.”

The Venezuelan native said he visited the cruise terminal Wednesday morning, adding, “I’m not going to go there and sleep to rest my head next to somebody’s feet. That’s how close the beds were. And there’s people from all over being sent there, not just from the Watson.”

But Colmenares also said, “I’ll go if they give me a work permit. We need to work, we just want to work.”

[howluckyiamm]

week-long escapade

I got a chance to travel to my hometown again last week, and it’s a special one because I have an extra time to travel yeay. It’s approximately one week long, I left Jakarta at Tuesday night last week and right now I’m writing this in the train going back to Jakarta.

By the time I arrived in my hometown, one thought that’s instantly popped up on my mind was to visit my favorite cafe named Ewok, it’s a bit far from my place, but I really like to go there mainly to work ( and of course I still have to work during my travel :/ ) and taste it’s iconic Americano coffee. Few years on I think for me this cafe is still the coziest place to work, because of its fast wifi and subjectively they also provide an air conditioned indoor smoking room—the most important feature of a good cafe, if you ask me ofc hahahha. I hope I can go to this cafe again next time.

Other than my hometown, I also visited Surabaya and Malang, it’s a quite long journey I know, but absolutely worth it. In Surabaya, my main goal was to visit my friends there, the last time I met them was in October last year so it’s really good to be able to meet with them. Aside from getting a drink and talks about each of our life situation, we also go to the pool cafe to play billiard. I’ve grown to like pool since my first time playing it with my other friend in Bandung in January this year.

I only spent one day in Surabaya, but I think it’s enough to satisfy my desire to meet my friend there. After I finished meeting up with my friends in Surabaya, I go straight to Malang, there I also meet my friends, this one is my longest lasting friendship that I had, we’ve been friends since junior high. It really bring back the memories that I have when I was still frequently visiting this town. 

in above pic is Koko!, she’s a stray cat that is being taken care of by my friend this past few months

I stayed in my friend’s home for one day and a half, four of us had a lot of fun, I also played pool there, talks with my friends till dawn and cooks a simple meal for Iftar with them. I think Malang had the best atmosphere with its cold weather and the warmth of my friend’s home.

Alas, in Sunday evening, I had to go back to my home and spend two more days there before I go back to Jakarta. Even though visiting this three towns made me feel a bit tired, but I would do this again without second thought! Hopefully I can do something like this again in the near future, wish me luck!

[jodilin65]

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1991 It’s so hard to believe I’ve only been here for 23 days. It seems like so much longer.

Kim and I have continued to have great times together. Can you believe she bought me $75 roller skates?! They’re so nice too. They’re the boot kind and they’re indoor skates rather than my old outdoor sneaker skates. The boots are white with neon pink wheels. Since I got my schedule pretty much normal, I’m gonna go roller skating this Thursday night.

Next, she’s talking about a new spring jacket. You know me, I never ask and she won’t take no for an answer, but it feels weird. Only my parents would buy me stuff like that. But then again, Brenda bought stuff here and there till she came into money problems and I helped her out. I was more than happy to return the favor, but not for crack.

Kim may have gotten a job at the doctor’s office where I went to follow up on my asthma. He gave me a new inhaler and in between that and the clean fresh air, my breathing better. Also, my skin looks and feels better and my hair is growing faster and my hair always grew like a weed to begin with.

This Earth Day thing has hundreds of people spending many hours cleaning up the Mill River. They wait till I leave to do it.

I spoke with Jenny who called earlier and we had a nice chat. Bill hasn’t called back yet but I’ve spoken with Hank and Nervous and have yet to speak with Jessie, Steve or Brenda. I’m not sure that I will but I’ve got to contact Jessie to arrange for her to either bring the bathing suits she borrowed up here or mail them. I don’t know yet when Tammy’s coming up yet or when Mom and Dad are.

Oh, almost forgot, I spoke with Andy yesterday and I played him new edits.

I do have more to write about but I’m in one of my phases where I’m not in the mood to write so, I’ll continue updating later.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1991 I had a really good talk with Kim last night and she bought me something that cost between $20-$40 and has 20 or 30 pieces and also 5-6 colors but insists it’s a surprise. She says I’ll love it and that she can’t wait till I see it. She also said it was something I mentioned once or twice when we first met. She kept giving me all these weird clues and even drew part of it from two different angles. I still have no idea what the heck it is, but I guess it’s music-related.

Tammy also called to tell me she may be here the weekend after next but she’ll soon let me know for sure. Lisa still has strep throat and I spoke with her, too, briefly. Tammy also said that a cat she’s been feeding had two kittens under Lisa’s bed. She may give them to me, but I have to wait 6 more weeks before they’re done nursing. I also told Tammy how Kim feels about Mark and how she feels about me.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1991 Kim came over and we chatted for a while. This week she’s gonna take me to get the discount form for the heat/AC bill. Also, I’ll go to SS and welfare about my food stamps. I don’t need to sign up for next winter’s fuel assistance program till this July or August. I will not transfer banks till my book of checks run out and I’m now on my last book. The other thing I’ve got to do is get a new address label for my license. Thank God I don’t need to renew it till ‘93 or ‘94. All I have to do is get this little sticker you stick on the back of it. I remember that when I moved to Oswego St. Of course, moving back to Woodside Terrace, all I needed to do was peel the sticker off.

I watched a little TV earlier with Mark and when Kim was here I played her the slurred edits. Of course, she was amused. I mean, they are so funny. I’ll never get sick of any of my edits although I need to start doing more which I’ve got to send to Andy along with other stuff. Old stuff that he never got that got edited right after he got the tapes I made for him and that was quite long ago. I think the last thing Andy got was Donna A so I’ll pick up from there if that’s where I left off.

I’ll write more about my hair and weight later. I may verbalize it a lot but haven’t written about it in a long time.

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 1991 Damn, am I bored! I wish Kim were here more often. I guess I’d still much rather be bored here than in Crack Alley. I am, however, going out Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Shadow didn’t go roof climbing today but he sure did once again yesterday. I made the perfect leash for him too, or so I thought. I took an old necklace that wasn’t too tight, nor was it loose enough for him to slip it off over his head. Then I tied a long ribbon securely to the necklace but he managed to snap the necklace in half. I’ve got to get a real leash.

Other than that I did nothing spectacular today other than walk to the store to buy smokes and watch A Current Affair.

There is something me and Kim are working on. The same fun project as what we did with that Dr. Statz. You know, snooping. Of course, as I mentioned before, the doc is gay. Or bi, I should say, but is married to some rich lawyer. Well, it’s this cop and you know I’ve always had a thing for them. I don’t know her name, therefore I’ve given her the name Jamie. Like I said long ago, every now and then I’m attracted to one where you can tell. Remember? It’s once in a million years with a feminine one and once in a billion years with a half-butchy one. Never a diesel butch. Well, maybe I should keep that last line and change the rest. Every 15 years with a feminine one and every 50 years with a half and half. You can tell but she’s pretty at the same time and Kim agrees.

Kim tried snooping around yesterday but couldn’t get her alone. She did hear Jamie say how much she hates Springfield and when she has kids, she’s not raising them in Springfield. Kim then asked her if she was married and Jamie said no and then quickly changed the subject.

Kim is like me. We both know things instantly about all kinds of people. Things that most people never know unless they’re told or find out somehow someway. My gut feeling is that she’s spoken for. She’s a cop. Not that God would allow me to have her anyway and if he did I’d dump her real soon of course. Or, of course, she’d dump me if I didn’t dump her. Anyway, it all comes down to what I said before about snooping and playing detective. It’s fun and the chase is always better than the capture. I like to be wondering and guessing even though I know I’ll never have her.

Oh. I never mentioned how I ran into her, but it was by asking for a light at the ER while waiting for Brenda to pick me up. I also think I may have seen her a little over a year or so ago late at night when Andy and I were out. Another thing is, and God I hope to hell I’m wrong, but I think that when I was dragged into jail for calling that pig, she might have seen me there.

I’ll keep writing about what happens (nothing).

SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1991 I just spoke with Andy who’s still doing just fine and loving Phoenix. He reminded me that our clocks here go ahead an hour but they don’t change out there. Weird, huh? He’ll now be 3 hours earlier.

I played him the slurred edits, where I had the pause button partially down. They are so funny. I may do more editing later now that I have two tracks in working condition.

I fell asleep near 5 AM yesterday morning and woke, as usual, 4 hours later with an attack. Not a killer one, but a very annoying one. Kim is picking me up a refill on Alupent on her way to Springfield to work at Baystate. I’ve got a doctor that Kim called to follow up with this Monday.

Also, I stopped my Theodur like a jerk, but you know I hate any kind of drug. After the Navane, I’ve been really paranoid although that too has been better since I moved. What a major curse Springfield was.

Kim is so great and so sweet. She’s everything I look for in a person. I feel I can never express how grateful I am for all that she’s done for me. It’s like being rescued from Valleyhead. She’s a person that comes rare and is far and few between. I will just repay her by being a good friend.

Also, I was right from the very beginning as I may have mentioned before. She is very attracted to me and who I am. It’s amazing too, as I’ve always said, “Is there anyone out there who’s sane and upper class but yet will accept me for who and what I am?”

Sure enough, as we both agreed, we’re a lot alike. Not all serious, not all nuts. We’re both half-sane, half-insane. Also, she’s like me in always wanting to help others. I feel guilty, though, as I have no money to give her if she needed it. She doesn’t need it but part of me wishes we could swap incomes for a week or so, so I could do for her what she’s done for me. I wish she were here with me now. I could use the company and I’m bored but I don’t do walks at night even though I can usually defend myself quite well. I did cruise up and down Elm St. a bit today at around 2:30. It was 80º today and I got a great breeze through my windows, even though Kim and I have yet to figure out how to open the skylights. Thank God cats are sure-footed as Shadow went roof cruising for an hour or so. Can you believe it? I was scared shitless for him at first but even though he enjoyed it and was not hurt, I’m getting him a leash. That way he can also accompany me on walks. I tried taking a big ribbon and tying him up to one of the posts on the deck but he just kept slipping it off of his neck and going about his tour.

I feel so happy and safe since I’ve moved, but at the same time, a little lonely. I miss my friends and I can’t lie, you know me, but the urge for a lover is picking up here and there. I hate that feeling. I’ve learned now, that those feelings don’t mean I’m weak and yes I know you can be with someone and still be independent, but I still wish I could want to be alone 100% of the time. Oh well. I couldn’t get someone if I wanted to as I’ve written about 10 billion times before.

Getting back to Kim, sometimes I wish she were here to give me a hug and just hold me, but I try to keep my feelings inside. There’s no point saying anything. The last thing I need to do is make her feel depressed or burdened in any way and I don’t want her to feel used. I only hope I haven’t talked too much already. I also feel like a jerk cuz all my bottled-up frustration came out earlier today when I had that attack. Sometimes that’s the only way to vent it out, though, and get it out of me, rather than trash my place or something stupid like that. Those days are over and I haven’t slashed my wrists since age 17 and even though I was trapped, a minor and couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt the ones hurting me. Like I said, they’re over.

I don’t want to lead Kim on either, as I am not attracted to her.

Time for some hot chocolate.

I want to be a singer!!!

Wait till I tell Kim about that call.

FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1991 South Deerfield…

Boy, do I ever have lots to write about. Yes, I’ve finally moved and man oh man is it quiet here. No people yelling. No horns honking. All you hear 2-3 times a day, but only during the day, is a train passing by. It runs right by Kim’s apt. I like trains, though.

Today is my father’s birthday. He’s 60, but he says he still feels young. No one in the family looks their age except for Tammy.

Tammy had told me she was writing a farewell letter to Mom, but she and Dad could call to keep in touch with Lisa, Becky, and Sarah. However, she must have spoken to them or maybe only Dad cuz he said earlier tonight that Tammy said she was gonna drive up this weekend but Lisa got sick.

I feel like I’m on some luxury vacation in a big beautiful hotel. I mean this place is huge! I never thought I’d laugh my ass off about the Woodside apartment. I had so much fun using my dishwasher, Jacuzzi, trash compactor and my washer and dryer.

It also is easier to breathe here for sure and the temperature was 72º today. Therefore, I had my big window door open and other windows and I got a hell of a breeze. We are more up in the mountains and cuz it’s further north, it’s colder and it snows more in the winter.

Shadow loves it here. He seems much happier here and causes less trouble. No more eating my napkins or going in the pails.

Like I mentioned before, we each have our own stairwells. There are 30 stairs that go straight up and Shadow loves it when I toss his balls down and he chases them. His litter box is down there too, along with Gloria’s pictures. I keep him there at night with a bowl of dry food. His canned food is up in the kitchen. And, of course, the toilet paper in the bathroom.

The day before I left, Jai came over and we had a great visit. I saw his place too and says he and Jenny will come up sometime. Also Steve and Jessie and hopefully Brenda, too. Also, Nervous came up the day before I moved and helped Kim and I drain the waterbed. It really was easy and lots of fun. I really enjoyed Nervous visiting, too.

Later…

I just finished listening to my stereo. I used that $488 fuel assistance check but I got a great deal on it anyway. It’s sort of like my old stereo which Brenda now has. It looks a lot like it and it came with the same kind of stand. I got it all for only $275 and that includes a turntable, dual cassette, AM/FM radio, and the CD player. The CD player was a separate unit. Editing works out great and the only thing I hate is the continuous play. I can’t rewind a tape while I’m listening to another. I have one speaker on top of the bedroom. The bedroom is the only one with a lower ceiling and is basically in the center of the place. The cathedral ceilings slant down over that and the rest of the place. The bedroom ceiling does slant too and part of it is straight. It’s super hard to describe. You have to see it.

Earlier, I had pork chops for dinner with Kim and Mark.

Mark saw the place since it’s all been fixed up and decorated and he freaked. Kim saw it when I got it all done 2 days ago. I love to decorate. I guess it’s the creativity in me and also being artistic.

So that’s it. Other than that, I spoke with Tammy and Hank, painted my nails and drew a picture.

[umichenginabroad]

WEEK 5: Ibiza, Sunsets, Midterm, McDonalds, Opera

Dobry den!! 

We survived Ibiza and had an amazing time! On Friday morning we went to the airport and arrived in Ibiza at around 4pm. We had tickets for the Calvin Harris concert, and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. We got there soo early, we had to stand around for about 3 hours before he came on, but it was so worth it. We were right in the front and center!! It was incredible and I definitely recommend going to a concert in Ibiza or Europe in general. We also had tickets for David Guetta, and after Calvin Harris ended, we went to see David Guetta play. He was also really good and it was so fun to be at a concert with my friends in Europe! We watched the sun rise on the beach and went for a morning swim, followed by a much needed nap on the beach. We were all so exhausted after our 24 hours in Ibiza, but it was such a cool experience (checked it off the bucket list!) and a story I’ll tell for the rest of my life. 

We made it back to Prague and slept in veryyy late on Sunday. Then my roommates and I tried a new cafe by our apartment called La Forme, and it was such a cute area! They had an indoor seating area as well as an outdoor garden seating area and I will definitely be back to study there. They had such a good variety of pastries, and they were all delicious. They were also selling loaves of bread and I decided to try one, and the lady said it was infused with olives and tomatoes. Obviously I was so intrigued and love to try new things so I bought it. I 100% recommend getting bread from cafes/bakeries instead of the grocery store because it was so delicious and you can tell it was homemade!

Now that our second class is over and we only have one class a day, my roommates and I decided we wanted to be more “mobile” lol and explore Prague. On Monday, we went to Riegrovy Sady to watch the sunset until it started downpouring on us. But there were so many people at the park- it was so cute! We are going to try and watch the sunset at the park most nights from now on. On Tuesday, we decided to walk around to all the tourist attractions, like the book tower, the girl sitting on a ledge, the smallest street, and more. We also went to Vojanovy Sady, a park across the river, and saw so many peacocks!

We have also been dying to try the Czech McDonald's menu (so random- I don’t even eat McDonalds in America but they have different things here so we wanted to taste test haha). One thing about my roommates and I is we love trying new things and “taste testing” new foods we find at the grocery store each week. We picked up McDonalds for dinner and the overall consensus was that it wasn’t anything too special (although the nuggets were better than in America and the biscoff mcflurry was very good). 

I also had my midterm for math on Tuesday, and I was so nervous about it, especially it being right after Ibiza. I studied sooo much last week and the days leading up to it, but I was stressing over nothing. It ended up being pretty easy, but I guess it’s better to be over prepared than underprepared!

On Wednesday, CEA got us tickets to see the Carmen Opera at the National Theater. The theater was so beautiful and even though we couldn’t really understand the opera because it was all in French, it was such a cool experience!

Afterwards, we sat by the river and watched the sun set, which was so beautiful and we will definitely be doing this more often. We have been wanting to try the chimney cakes for a while, so I googled the best place and we walked there after sunset. They were so delicious!

This is our only weekend we’re staying in Prague, which is unfortunate, but we are so excited and going to make the most of it! Stay tuned for next week to see what we end up doing this weekend! We also have a big trip planned to Nice, France that we leave for on Monday (since we have a day off of school on Wednesday) and I’m so excited!! 

Weekly Favorites:

Cafe: La Forme

Coffee: Iced rose latte with oat milk from Rose Latte

Sight: National Theater

Food: Olive bread from La Forme

Thanks for keeping up! See you next week!!

Parker Peterson

Industrial and Operations Engineering

Engineering in Prague

[arediscoveryofself]

Been a long while since i’ve last updated this space and I wonder if people still read my post.  It’s been a long while coming back to church. I kind of still rmb the date that I’ve started going back church.. prolly around 20+ October.  And I still rmb how lost I felt because of wtv that have transpired during Oct to Nov 2022 cause it was really a terrifying period for WNB. I really had alot of bad night sleeps. Sometimes there were only 2 hours of sleep cause I was waiting for my developer to get back which he sometimes get back at 4 am or never did and I had to rush him for it.  We were basically stuck on a project and looking back, it was a mistake for us to:  #1: Accepted a job that had a very rushed timeline by client. It was initially not so rushed, but client wanted to rush it, so we only had 1 month to do up the 1st draft. And being as unexperienced gundos, we complied without knowing the technical complexities behind it.  #2. We engaged a very bad developer whom we did not work with before cause of kind - of introduction by another client. Instead of engaging our usual developer, we chose another one thinking pricer = better. But we were wrong in the end. He was not responsive and he really totally suck.  We ended up needed to engage a total of 3 developers to solve this mess. But because of this mess that was created right from the beginning, we ended up have to let go of this project because we didnt iron out the wireframe and user flow right from the beginning.  #3. So it was our mistake right from the start for not drawing out the user flow, because it means we couldn't foresee how many pages or designs we need to do to create a functional website, which ended up with a myriad of problems like rushed timeline etc.  I still rmb feeling so distraught by the project that I simply sat outside 7/11 at bugis+ and watching the cars past by. I was already smoking at that point in time, so I rmb smoking sticks after sticks while watching the cars past by.  I still rmb it was the rainy season for Singapore. So it kind of rained and drizzled. While waiting for the rain to end, I smoked indoors before going out to smoke again haha.  I still rmb it was Deepavali eve, and I was dreading for Tuesday to come. I knew I had to face client’s remarks when Tuesday comes.  Those were prolly one of my firm’s darkest days, and 2022 was a very tough year for us. Not only did client not pay on time, we had to face harsh criticism from clients and there were existing clients who dropped out too.  Now that this big storm has passed and we’re into much smoother waves, I’m simply thankful for how 2023 has transpired so far. Of course, its far too early to know how 2023 will end, but i’m immensely thankful for all the deals closed and all the clients earned.  But more importantly, thanking God for leading me back to church, to the House of God, back to this safe nest where I feel assured and calm.  I still get reminded of those dark days time to time, such as today. My heart still skipped a beat when that nasty client texted us for some follow up questions cause her tone simply sucks. Of course, as vendors we have our faults but I would like to think that the very fact that we have compensated by offering a refund, our culpability has ended. But anyways that is besides the point.  My mind still wanders back to those dark days when I walked past 7/11, but i’m just so glad, its all over now.  As i was journalling today, tears rolled down my cheeks. Maybe those days were really tough but I held it all in, without knowing I was on the brink of breaking. It was honestly a traumatising experience.  But maybe, those tears were also signs of gratitude towards God, for pulling me back to Church, where the Home is. I’m such a blessed child of God, where He really chased after my heart. I’m truly blessed.  And lastly, thankful for these 2 friends. One who randomly texted me on Sat afternoon thanking me, and another one for always jioing me to meals and winning me back to church subconsciously. 

Tonight is such a warmly night. 

I really hope, my presence makes cell alot less boring for them. And one day, may all prodigal children find Home.  Oh, how He loves us. 

[formeryelpers]

La Cubana, 801 S Glendale Ave, Ste 3, Glendale, CA 91205

There aren’t that many Cuban restaurants in the area. While La Cubana isn’t as well known as La Cochinito and Porto’s Bakery, La Cubana has been around since 1973. They pride themselves in authentic Cuban food. The menu includes appetizers, seafood, steaks, house specialties (e.g., lechon asado, vaca frita, ropa vieja), salads, sandwiches, sides, desserts, and beverages. There’s a lunch special Tuesday through Friday.

Cubano sandwich ($9.95) with ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, butter, and pickles on Cuban bread. It’s a long, flat sandwich that’s pressed and served warm. The warm white roll was thin, light, and soft. The ratio of ingredients was off and there was NO mustard. No mustard at all. There were two small pickles. It was mostly ham (thinly sliced, tender) and the roll. There was one layer of Swiss cheese and one layer of roast pork (and the roast pork, made in-house, was the best part). While I liked the sandwich, I missed the mustard and acidity and crunch of the pickles.

Tamales Cubano ($3.95): I don’t think I’ve had a Cuban tamale before. The Cuban tamale mixes the masa with the meat mixture so the meat is distributed throughout the masa. The tamale was bigger and thicker than usual. The masa was very moist, fluffy and sweet. I liked the extra seasoning (garlic, green pepper, and onion), the chunks of pork, and the moist, sweet flavorful masa. I’d like to try more Cuban tamales!

Papa Rellena ($1.20): Round mashed potato ball filled with seasoned ground beef and olives, coated in bread crumbs and deep fried. The mashed potato part is creamy and rich. The ground beef was cooked with onions, garlic, and spices. I think their balls are bigger than Porto’s but not as golden. Probably equally tasty.

Croqueta ($0.95): A small log of a ground ham mixture coated in bread crumbs and fried. I could definitely taste the ham. The mixture was creamy. A yummy two biter.

The restaurant is in a strip mall that seems fairly busy. They have indoor seating and two small 2-top tables outside. Prices are reasonable. The décor is simple.

4 out of 5 stars.

By Lolia S.

[ketchuponeverything]

Our Cats Are Sick

I was thinking of sharing this entry to my colleagues but I thought it was too personal and too much sharing so I have tweaked it a little and added more details

***

I want to share a little something to you all. I prefer to keep my personal stuff away from work but I have no one to talk to that shares the same love for animals as much as I do so here it goes..

I’ve been having a very hard time in the past few days. There’s a family of cats that wanders outside our house for almost 2 years now. They are not really our cats but we feed them and just allow them to hangout outside.

Since last Saturday (September 24, 2022), all 6 of them were poisoned by our neighbor. We don’t know which one of our neighbors but I’m suspecting it’s the one at the back. One of the cats recently gave birth to 5 healthy kittens and now there’s only 2 of them left. They are only a few weeks old, still very small and very fragile. My heart breaks every time I look at them as they scream and cry and frantically run around looking for the mama cat. And if they get tired of crying, both of them would snuggle so close to each other for warmth in a little corner while they wait for the mama cat who is never coming back.

(To add: Today, September 29, 02:33 AM, the 2 kittens are no longer crying as much and when they do, the sound of their cries are a lot softer and no longer desperate. They are still babies that needs their mom’s milk. Now that their mom is gone, I don’t think they will last long)

We have been feeding this family of cats everyday for almost 2 years and its hard not to get attached to them. Every time I get off work I would right away go out to check and see what they’re up to. But this week has been the hardest because I go out every morning only to find their cold lifeless bodies lying around their favorite hiding spot outside the house. Over the last 5 days, I picked up their stiff bodies and carefully wrapped them in plastic. We can’t bury them in the garden because we don’t have a shovel. I can’t help but shed a tear and I and cant help but wonder how cruel and heartless our neighbors can be.

On Sundays we always take our indoor cats outside of the house for at least an hour or two for their morning walks. They like to go around and explore when they’re out so we always make sure we let them walk with a leash on so its easier to spot them if they get off our radar. 

Since Monday (September 25, 2022), one of our indoor cats, Namnam, refused to eat or drink anything. We fed her basically anything from chicken to grilled fish to canned wet food to spam to tuna but nothing works. She didn’t sleep in my room which is very unusual for her.

On Tuesday (September 26) was the day we took her to the vet. In the early morning after I got off work, I was observing her and she seemed a little weak. She didn’t come to me for pets but she tried to play with me a little despite not eating anything for breakfast. We took her to the vet at around noon and we were told its only an infection and got prescribed the medicines for it. She still refused to eat or drink anything the entire day but she pooped a little on the evening. Hunter, our other cat, was also not eating anything. The vomiting also started tonight for both of them.

Today (September 27, Wednesday) both Nami and Hunter are not eating or drinking anything so I decided I’m going to head back to the vet and ask how to feed Nami. They told us to force feed her the RC recovery wet food. Getting them to eat and take the medicine was a disaster because they don’t like being held and worse getting food shoved down their throat. My heart breaks every time. Tonight they are still vomiting, still not eating/drinking, and are now weaker than they were a few days ago. I don’t like to think they were poisoned but they are showing the same signs and symptoms as the outside cats on their last days minus the diarrhea. I really hope this is just an infection than can be easily cured because I can’t make myself bury one more cat.

I apologize for oversharing. I obviously don’t want to share my sadness to all of you but this is taking a toll on me- having to bury your little friends and look after the sick ones. I’m bringing them back to the vet tomorrow so I’ll be spending my day off there. Hoping and praying for good results and that they can figure out what’s going on

[brewyork]

Legislature ends “Cuomo Snacks,” other Covid restrictions loosen next week

Cups of popcorn at Beer Tree Brew Co. in Port Crane, NY the day after Gov. Cuomo announced the food requirement last July (Photo: Chris O’Leary)

Things will slowly return to normal in the next few weeks in New York state, at least when it comes to bars, restaurants, and breweries. On Tuesday, the New York Senate announced they would take legislative action to remove the food mandate for venues serving alcohol. New York was the last state to not have a plan to lift the mandate, as Connecticut announced the food requirement would be lifted outdoors beginning May 1st and Massachusetts would end theirs entirely on May 29th.

The food requirement, as I’ve documented here, was never justified with any scientific data, and its intention was to prevent parties from “mingling” in restaurants and bars, something that could’ve easily been accomplished with enforcement of social distancing rules without bringing additional contact between servers and customers in the form of food service. As for why it persisted for so long, I’m convinced that the Cuomo administration had convinced themselves that this policy was somehow of benefit to New York’s bars and restaurants, as it would add food to each bill. But owners of small venues who weren’t equipped to make food were spending each morning prepping piles of cold-cut sandwiches on white bread each day for no other reason than to comply with the rule, and brewery owners were making runs to Restaurant Depot to buy wholesale bags of chips when that time could be better spent making beer.

Wednesday, the State Senate and Assembly made good on their promise to take action, both unanimously passing concurrent resolutions to terminate the Governor’s Executive Order 202.52 that required food be purchased with alcohol back on July 16th of last year. Because it was the rescinding of an Executive Order, the rule change took place immediately — although based on an informal poll of the Brew York Twitterverse last weekend, many bars were already ignoring the order. Rest in peace, #CuomoSnacks. You won’t be missed.

Of course, because the legislature was finally raining on Governor Cuomo’s power-trip parade, the governor himself launched a pre-emptive strike on Wednesday morning before the vote with a slew of new changes that would set a path to a full reopening:

Bar seating, which had been banned since the first phase of reopening last Spring, can return on May 3rd

Catered events at residences can resume on May 3rd

The current curfew of midnight will be lifted for outdoor spaces on May 17th, although pre-pandemic, most New York City outdoor dining areas had to close earlier than the city’s 4am last call

The current curfew of midnight will be lifted for indoor spaces on May 31st

In fact, Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) suggested on the Senate floor during the debate on Wednesday’s resolution that Cuomo’s announcement was a direct result of the legislature taking action to terminate his Executive Order on the food mandate. Even when people’s livelihoods are at stake, it’s always about petty politics.

[streetlight11]

Nets and Bandaids | pt 1

Summary: They were the strongest members in their respective teams and everyone looked up to them. Except, they could never seem to get along. One day when an incident happened during the seasonal championship, that changed everything between them.

Theme: University au, volleyball players au, enemies to lovers

Warning: very mild swearing

Genre: angst, fluff

WC: 2.1k

Pairing: Lee Minho x Reader

a/n: btw, Y/F/N stands for 'Your Full Name'! :)

~~~

Next

Hankuk University has two of the most powerful team players in their Volleyball school team for both girls and boys. Their names were Y/F/N and Lee Minho. There were 8 members in each team. The girls volleyball team consists of Y/N who is the Team Captain and she is able to play any positions but her main position is a Setter. 

Chungha who is the Co-Captain and also a Libero. Jennie who was a Setter. Jihyo and Yeri who were the Right Side also known as an Outside Hitter. Mina and Jisoo who were the Left Side also known as a Wing Spiker. And last but not least, Lisa who was a Middle Blocker.

The boys volleyball team consists of Minho who is the Team Captain and just like Y/N, he is able to play any position but his main position is a Setter. Chan who is the Co-Captain and also a Setter. 

Changbin who was a Libero. Hyunjin who was a Middle Blocker. Jisung and Seungmin who were the Right Side also known as Outside Hitter. And lastly, Felix and Jeongin who were the Left Side also known as Wing Spiker.

Their volleyball training was every Tuesday and Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm.

Today was no different as they had training later on since it was a Tuesday. Y/N was just listening to her lecture class when she received a text from her volleyball coach.

She noticed that Coach Kwon mentioned “captains” which means he probably texted that same message to Minho as well and he did. But their group chat was oddly silent so she texted in the group chat to inform the rest.

Just 4 seconds after she sent her text, Minho sent his. She frowned as she rolled her eyes to no one in particular.

“Did that jerk really just wait for me to send the text first?” She locked her phone screen and soon refocused on her lecture. 

Two and a half dreadful hours later, they were now dismissed from the class. Y/N left the hall only to get a text from Chungha, asking her to meet them at the rooftop garden where students tend to sit down in the wooden tables to do their school work. She arrived at the rooftop, only to find half of the girls volleyball team and half of the boys volleyball team.

“Unnie!” Yeri called excitedly as she waved excitedly to Y/N, making the elder girl laugh. The minute Y/N arrived beside the wooden table, Jihyo spoke up.

“How was your lecture?”

“I don’t think anything got into my head to be honest.” Y/N said as the rest of them began to laugh. They spent the next 2 hours doing their assignments while the rest of the team members slowly began to appear as they waited for the training time to start. 

Y/N was just standing behind Seungmin, leaning over him to check his coding since he too was a CS student when a familiar voice called out from behind them.

“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s plenty of space on the right instead of leaning over him like that.” Y/N glanced over her shoulders while Seungmin peeked past her arm to see Minho approaching them with one hand clutching loosely on the strap of his cross body bag while the other was tucked in the pocket of his jeans.

She rolled her eyes as she ignored him, only to pat Seungmin’s shoulder and began to explain to him where he went wrong.

Minho scoffed, walking over to stand opposite her just behind Chan and Hyunjin. He stared at her with no particular expression on his face. Seungmin and her seemed like they were in their own little bubble. Seungmin’s lips tugged into a smile, thanking her for her help.

Training was about to start so they all made their way to the indoor sports hall together. They were walking in small groups with mixed genders where Y/N was walking with Changbin, Felix and Seungmin. She was just talking about baking with Felix when Changbin suddenly spoke up.

“The only thing you will bake is your hatred for Lee Minho.”

“You, come here.” Y/N said in a stern voice as Changbin began to sprint down the path screaming at the top of his lungs.

She chased after him, running past their other friends only for Changbin to almost run into the glass door. Y/N jolted to a stop behind him, she couldn’t stop laughing. Changbin growled as he got her in a chokehold.

Training soon began and it was back to square one where the captains would supervise their team according to what their coach told them to do. They were all taking a break when Coach Kwon called all of them to gather around.

“Okay, as you may know, the annual Volleyball Championships will be held in 2 months time and our school will be taking part in it. However, I was told by the official management of this championship that they will be having a special round for the final game. They want the two schools who qualify for the finals to participate in a mixed game.”

With that being said, they were all curious as to what that means, only for Coach Kwon to further explain his announcement.

“The two schools would have to team up both genders for the final round.” He said, making them gasp. Upon hearing this, both the Team Captains turned their heads to their Coach who was standing right beside them.

“Both genders?” Y/N asked.

“You mean…?” Minho said as he dragged his words, unsure if he likes where this was going.

“Yes. Both teams will have to take part in the finals together.” Coach Kwon said, noticing the two Captains frowned. He seemed to sense the thick tension lingering in the air so he chose to acknowledge it.

“With that being said, I will need you two to work together and put your differences aside. Can you do that for your teammates?” Coach Kwon asked, glancing over to Y/N and Minho who were standing in their spots, stiff.

Both of them nodded even though everyone knew it was a forced reaction so as to not disappoint their coach.

With that, Coach Kwon took 2 sets of 6, of two coloured vests to divide them into two teams equally. Since Y/N and Minho were the Team Captains, Coach Kwon gave Y/N the blue vest and Minho the purple vest before asking them to choose their team members.

So each team would have a total of four girls and four boys. Y/N and Minho played a round of rock paper scissors to see who gets to choose first, only for her to win.

The final teams were Y/N, Lisa, Yeri, Jisoo, Chan, Changbin, Felix and Seungmin. Minho, Hyunjin, Jisung, Jeongin, Chungha, Jennie, Mina and Jihyo. The practice games soon started as the ones on the bench were Felix, Jisoo, Jeongin and Mina.

And immediately off the bat, the opposite gender team members could already see the huge difference in their Team Captain’s attitude during a game.

Minho tends to scold his teammates if they weren’t fast enough or if they didn’t move according to how he likes it. Meanwhile, Y/N, on the other hand, encourages her team by giving tips and pointers on how to win a game or to perfect their moves during an attack or defense.

So when they finished their first practice round, Y/N couldn’t help but speak up after witnessing just how much he scolded the girls and even the boys about their speed and techniques.

“Don’t you think you’re being too harsh on them?” She asked with a disapproval on her face.

“This is my way of leading them. If they’re too slow, then what’s the point of being on the court?” Minho said with a sharp tone in his voice. By now, Y/N was already on the other side of the net, standing in front of Minho. She looked slightly smaller than him but she definitely had a more intimidating aura on her at the moment.

“And what makes you think they’ll get any better with you screaming at them all the time? As their Captain, you’re supposed to guide them not criticize them.” Y/N said firmly, causing Minho to take a step closer only to tower over her. 

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Minho said.

“You’re not the alpha here. We all listen to Coach Kwon. We’re both here to supervise. But if you can’t do it right, that’s when your team crashes.”

“I don’t need a big shot like you telling me what I should or should not do.”

“This is exactly why your team lost the last championship because you don’t have faith in them. Not everything in volleyball is about speed, you arrogant jerk.” Y/N said as Minho was about to lunge forward but Chan and Hyunjin stopped him right on time, sliding their bodies in between the two captains.

“That’s enough. We’re supposed to work together, not argue.” Chan said firmly while Chungha held Y/N back.

“There’s a reason why I appointed you two as the captains. And that is because I have faith in the two of you to lead your respective teams into being the best players in Hankuk U. But if both of you can’t work together, I can’t do anything to make things better.” Coach Kwon said, making them fall silent.

The two captains soon apologized to Coach Kwon who then told them to swap teams and also substitute the members on the bench for those playing in the same position.

With that being said, Y/N and Minho swapped places so that both teams will get to experience their way of leading them. During that second game, Minho kept cursing at Yeri whenever she missed the ball or for when she accidentally hit the ball out of line.

So right after the game, Y/N called out to Minho again when she saw Yeri looking down as she walked to the bench.

“Yah, Lee Minho, is that how you lead your team? By cursing at them?” She asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

“If she was faster and more focused, she wouldn’t have missed the fucking ball thrice.”

“Just because she’s not as fast as you doesn’t mean she’s bad at playing the sport.” She said, only for him to growl at her in anger, shoving her shoulders now.

“Why does it matter so much to you?! I’ve been doing this with the boys for the past 2 years and they’ve only gotten better!”

“That’s because they want to avoid being screamed at by your petty little ass!” She yelled, and while most of the guys slightly agreed with what she said when she defended his teammates, they hated seeing the two fight.

“Y/N, let’s stop here. Hmm?” Chan said softly as he carefully wraps his arm around her shoulder to push her back but she didn’t want to move.

“What can we do to break that thick fucking ego of yours to make you realize that volleyball isn’t a goddamn war.” She said, making Minho glare at her. His anger slowly built up, only for Coach Kwon to speak up.

“I think we shall end early for today. Go home, get some rest. I hope to not see any of these tensions on Thursday. Do I make myself clear?” Coach said as they responded a “yes” in unison before they began to clear the hall of their volleyball equipment.

Y/N was just pushing the pole to the back of the sports hall when a soft voice spoke up from behind her, and it was Jeongin.

“Noona, I’m thankful that you stood up for us. I don’t know if you even want to hear this, but Minho hyung isn’t always like this with us. Sometimes he does give us good advice and he even helped us with techniques we could use during games and so far, they’re all really useful…” Jeongin paused as they stacked the poles at the back of the hall.

“Then why does he act so harshly to my members? To show that he has power?” Y/N asked, resting her hand against the pole only to lean her body weight on it. Jeongin laughed before he spoke up.

“Honestly, I think he was just doing it out of stress. I mean, we’ve never played a game together with both teams involved so I guess he was just confused on how he should lead them. Trust me noona, hyung can be really tough sometimes but he’s probably one of the best Team Captain anyone could have alongside Chan hyung.”

With that, she let out a heavy sigh as she ruffled Jeongin’s hair gently before walking back to the main hall with him, not realizing that someone was eavesdropping.

[kelatonin]

let’s talk about something.

Hey all, so if you haven’t heard (or have been taking a break from the news for mental health’s sake, which is understandable these days), there was a shooting in Atlanta on Tuesday, 3/16/21, that resulted in the deaths of 8 people at two different massage parlors. (News articles here, here, and here). Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. The murderer claims that the shooting was not racially motivated, but was a result of him trying to “eliminate temptation,” as he has a “sex addiction.” There is a connection here, though, and it’s not hard to imagine that there was a racial component to all of this--at the bare minimum, it sounds like fetishization of Asian folks or stigmatization could very well have played a part. The goal of the murders doesn’t specifically have to have been “because they were Asian” to be racially motivated. With that said, I want to address something that’s been bothering me on this site.

I haven’t seen a ton of posts or discourse about this shooting since it happened earlier this week. That bothers me, and not just for advocacy reasons.  The amount of people on here who appreciate, consume, idealize, and even fetishize Asian culture and media without posting about anti-racism towards Asians makes me so upset. You can do better on your consumption-to-support ratio, I promise. It’s not that hard to advocate, or to share a few posts. I want to encourage all you anime, video game, kpop and jpop fans to give back even a fraction of what you take. Don’t get me wrong--media exists to entertain and to be consumed! Heck, I know I consume Asian media! But if we consume without supporting the folks who create the media we love so much, ESPECIALLY when they are hurting and experiencing hate crimes, then we, too, are effectively complicit in their oppression. (I want to make a note that, while this all is in a way similar to the exploitation and theft of Black music, aesthetics, speech, style, etc. by non-Black folks, the histories behind the oppression and colonization of the two cultures and all of their subcultures are very different, and I am in no way trying to compare them). If you’d like to share some resources, here is a list of some that I’ve compiled: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta :  A nonprofit legal advocacy group protecting the rights of Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Georgia and the Southeast. Stop AAPI Hate : Reporting of hate crimes and resources for education Red Canary Song : Labor organization and anti-trafficking for Asian and migrant sex workers. Sakhi for South Asian Women : Support for South Asian survivors of domestic abuse and gender-based violence. Jahajee Sisters: An organization led by Indo-Caribbean women focused on supporting women and girls. APIENC : An organization supporting the AAPI queer and trans community in the SF Bay Area. SWAN Vancouver: Supports immigrant and migrant women engaged in indoor sex work by providing support services and systemic advocacy. CAAAV: A pan-Asian community-run organization supporting low-income Asian folks in NYC. Hate Is A Virus: A movement to combat racism and xenophobia fueled by COVID-19. Chinatown Community for Equitable Development: A community-based org in Chinatown of Los Angeles dedicated to organizing, educating, and mutual aid. This great article by Harper’s Bazaar includes many of these organizations, but also a few others I haven’t listed here.

Please, folks. Support the Asian community as much as you consume their media.

[reality-schmality]

I have COVID, and I’m quarantining in my room properly, wearing two masks, a hood, and gloves whenever I go into the common areas of the apartment. But my roommate, who knows I have COVID, keeps going out.

She literally cleaned the entire apartment when she found out. Wiped down the walls and my bedroom door even and made me feel like a leper in a cave. Specifically asked me to wear a mask indoors and not come out unless I had to — no ducking shit, like I was planning on purposefully infecting her — but now she’s going out to Target and the library and her office building on Tuesday like it’s no big deal.

Which one of us is the actual problem here? I’ve already said something to her about how she needs to quarantine, too, and her response was that she’s “in a mental spiral.”

Woman. I’ve been suicidal since November because you. I’ve been in a mental spiral since I realized the friend I moved in with was actually a self-centered sack of shit in September. I’m the one who tested positive and feel like I’m dying. But, yes, you continue in your mental spiral and keep going out willy nilly. Good ducking job.

[sheswithme]

Hidden [Chapter 1]

Word count: 1000-ish

Mingi x Dragon!reader x San

This was actually just meant to be a San centred fic but Mingi has somehow snuck into this. Other members may appear.

I’m working off my iPad so forgive me if the formatting is wonky

This chapter contains : Cursing, Depictions of Drugs

Enjoy

Tuesday evening and you were passing by your favourite restaurant on your way home. Favourite meaning the only place you ate out.

You were running behind schedule an hour or two but fortunately the Thai place was open late. The familiar bell Chimed as you stepped in and made yourself comfortable.

“Just a moment!” A familiar holler from the kitchen made you smile. The indoor setting was comforting to say the least. The shop was and cramped with decorations, lights and bright colours as if to ward of any sort of darkness or unwelcome feelings. Your stomach let out a loud gurgle and right on cue, a head poked out of the beaded entryway of the kitchen.

“Well its about time you showed up! I convinced dad to not sell your extra duck when you didn’t show up like usual.” He yelled your order back into the kitchen as he stepped out to join you at the table.

“You didn’t give him too much trouble did you? I’ll eat practically anything-.” You were interrupted by your stomach again and Mingi shook his head in amusement.

“Why don’t you order anything else then?” He got up to grab you a bowl of snacks which you happily wolfed down. He watched you closely for a moment and you squirmed under his curious gaze. “You’ve never been late before. Seriously you’re here like clockwork, Tuesday at 6 and Sunday at 5.”

“Trust me I’m not so chuffed about it either.” You sighed and thought back on the day. A migraine had been creeping up on you all day and you had fallen back on your paper work for the first time since your career started. “Just a bad day I guess.” No matter how blunt or admittedly prickly you could be, Mingi could always be found smiling. It would almost be sickening if you weren’t completely convinced he was always genuine.

“Why do I only ever have questions for you?” Your face scrunched up at the absurdity and theoretical scale of his question. The kitchen bell dinged indicating your order was ready and Mingi was quick to grab it.

“Wh- I don’t know. That sounds like a you problem.” Your own words made you cringe, you were even starting to talk like him.

“What I’m trying to say is, you’ve been visiting for 6 months now. You know my name, I think it’s about time you shared yours… yes I’ve been counting.” You snorted as Mingi took your dinner hostage and dangled it above his head. Even your unimpressed glare couldn’t seem to shake him.

“You’re insufferable.” You sighed and lightly jabbed his ribs causing him to falter and basically drop the food into your arms.

“What? Are you in some sort of witness protection program?” He laughed as he straightened up again. There was a hesitant pause in the conversation before you spoke up.

“Calypso.” Telling Mingi your foreign name was a risk and you weren’t sure why you were taking it, but seeing his face light up seemed worth it.

“I forget your not from this empire sometimes, maybe you can tell me where in another 6 months.” He sing-songs the end of his sentence and you roll your eyes. You can’t help but smile as he laughs his heart out, taking it as a good note to leave on. You had almost stepped out the doors when he called out to you.

“Calypso!” It was the first time in a long time you heard your real name and you felt your heart swell in your chest. Mingi could have sworn when you turned around you were on the brink of tears but thought better than to bring it up.

“It suits you, thank you for sharing it with me.”

Shit.

You wasted no time and dashed out the door faster than he could blink. The door bell chiming in the far distance as you cleared the block in no time. You tried to calm down but the flurry of emotions pulled you in all different directions. The migraine you had been fighting the whole day was now syncing up with the incredible pace of your heart.

You clearly weren’t focused on your surroundings and almost an over another pedestrian. You managed to get away with a big shoulder bump but couldn’t bring yourself to apologise, not in that state.

The unfortunate pedestrian stood in silent disbelief, you had come careening around the corner so fast there was no possible way he could have stepped out of the way in time. The thought of approaching you didn’t survive that long as he watched you make your way down the street at top speed.

Clearly you had somewhere to be.

San tried to continue in his own direction but couldn’t help look, something coaxing him to have another look.

“WAIT! CALYPSO-.” Again San was almost winded by another collision, although nowhere near as bad as the first.

“That’s gonna get old quick..” He grumbled and turned two his second attacker. “Mingi?” San was faster this time, immediately giving him a hand up.

“Ah sorry, I was trying to catch up with someone.” Mingi dusted off his jeans and apron. Again San found himself pulled in the direction you disappeared in.

“I don’t think you’re catching up.”

You arrived home in record time although almost ripping the front door of it’s hinges. Dinner was flung into the kitchen as you practically flew up the stairs, managing to reach the top in three big steps. Finally the bathroom was a quick swing to the left but you couldn’t help but freeze and look at your appearance.

Your eyes glowed amber and your skin glowed seemingly from within. Once out of your daze, you swung the cabinet door open to avoid your reflection and pounced for the unmarked box of pills. There was only four left but you took them all, unfortunately nicking a finger on one of the hyper extended canines.

As if to confirm the dampner was working, you brought the mirror back to watch. The Amber fading into black and the glow dying inside. You hadn’t even noticed your finger nails had sharpened as they reverted to a decent trim. Exhaustion loomed as you dropped to the bathroom floor.

Finally as your blooming heart began to calm down, you started to cry.