#also the economics in this show are so nothing. like again no effort put in. i struggle with understanding money related concepts

[rolandapostatize]

cannot get over how theodore 7th time loop is written actually. 13 year old's suicidal tendencies resolved by having polite conversation with the person he loves most and whom he was doing all that for, and who has never before in his life clearly communicated with him at all, and who due to his own emotional immaturity decided that the best way to protect his desperate younger brother is to never talk to him and act as terrifying as possible around him. one unwell child eliminating another unwell child's problems, that he was contributing to, in a single conversation

like i cant get over how quickly the conflict was introduced and resolved.

[forkanna]

NOTES: Yep, this is really the end! We have one or two side projects in mind for this little universe of ours, but this is THE definitive end of this storyline. Frui and I would like to thank you for your patience in waiting for this fanfic to finally come to light; a lot of editing, real life annoyances, and various economic situations have made it more difficult than we wish it was. We hope you can enjoy it with a "better late than never" attitude. And who's to say? Maybe we'll see the characters from this universe again sooner than you think.

This chapter is dedicated to the memory of the late great Christine McVie. Those who know will spot the tribute to her.

See you around! Where we're going, we don't need roads!

Jessex and Frui

[AO3 LINK]

EPILOGUE

"And that's a wrap!"

Anna McFly wiped the sweat from her brow before she returned her Gibson ES-345 to the stand by the drumkit. Every day for the past year, she had regretted the decision to get the Pink Heels back together for a reunion tour — especially when most of them hadn't seen each other for five years before that. But that was only because she was getting older, and putting in the work of getting back in shape, both musically and physically, was no easy task.

"Gobshite," Merida groaned as she rolled her shoulder, setting her bass down. "The whole thing was gobshite."

"Oh, relax," Jane snorted, cracking her knuckles. They missed her drum skills, but she was always better suited to keyboards in the first place – and getting older meant she didn't hit those drum skins as hard as she used to. "It's all going to come together, loves. Already sounds brilliant, you ask me."

The two redheads grunted, "Who asked you?" But they were smiling, and the smiles remained even when Jane tossed an empty water bottle at Merida's head.

"We need to tighten up those solos," Anna said. "They're going to run over if we keep doing that, and you know old ladies like us can't handle that kind of extended show anymore."

"Old ladies?! Feck, you an' Jane might count yerselves, but I'm a sprightly forty-seven if ever I were a day, I am! Full of vigour and vitality!"

As they laughed, their new touring drummer stood, hand stuffed into her dark tresses and scratching nervously. "So… are you guys sure I still have this gig? I mean, I keep feeling like I'm bringing the tempo down, but it's because I'm listening; like, I'm such a huge fan of the Heels, I can't even-"

"We know, Moana, we know," Merida sighed.

Anna and Jane didn't have the heart to point out how the fangirling was the only real downside to hiring her; other than that, she was incredible. On par with Imelda, who had been severe but passionate before they lost her to cancer at the end of their final tour. That had been the true reason the band drifted apart; they all needed time to heal.

Time was also, in the end, what brought them back together. Life was too short to waste it, to not spend it with the people they cared about, doing what they loved. It had taken a bit of persuasion with Merida; she had moved all the way back to Scotland and "given up touring", as it turned out because she had been harbouring a secret fear of flying for many years. So to get her back to Dell Valley had been a bit tricky. But it was worth the effort – and all of Merida's hours of therapy – in the end.

Or at least, Anna hoped it would be. It felt like it would be already, but age truly was catching up with them. At least when she got home, she could relax. Her wife seemed to do nothing but work lately – though she was coming to the end of her 'project', as she called it. As though it wasn't a culmination of years of work and waiting and patience.

Before she had even realised it, Anna had a dreamy, dozy expression plastered on her face. Her mind tended to wander when she was tired, and she should probably have been concerned but she often daydreamed anyway. Honestly, the worst thing was when Merida snorted at her expression. She rolled her eyes, but there was affection there, honed by decades of friendship.

"Ah, go'n home," she said, making a shooing motion with her hands. "We've been 'ere all day an' we'll be 'ere all day tomorrow."

"Oh, Mer, the least I can do is help you clean up," Anna said, waving her away. It only lasted a brief second because Jane let out a snort that sounded as if it came from a gorilla, not the petite woman.

"Oh, you think we'll clean up? You're very funny, Anna dear. No, we just arrive before you do so you don't notice."

"Not blimmin' hard, either," Merida grunted under her breath. Anna let out a sound that may have been an "oi!" imitating the both of them, but it was really hard to tell under all the laughter.

Once the two old heads said they were taking the fresh meat out for drinks, despite Moana's insistence that she was barely 21 and had never so much as tried a sip of beer before, Anna bowed out gracefully. There would be plenty of time for getting to know the new girl another night. For now, she just wanted to make her way home.

Traffic was pretty ridiculous, but Anna was able to avoid the worst of it by bypassing the skyway – which was always jammed. Backstreets helped with that. She used her vocal shortcuts to place a virtual order and picked up some Thai food on the way home.

"Welcome home, Anna," announced the computer voice as she kicked the door shut.

"Thanks, EVE. News."

"Tension growing in the rural regions of-"

"Happy news."

"A litter of puppies was born in a teacup ride at a Disneyland. Sources say the mother wriggled into the park through a gap in the fence, previously thought too small for anyone to come through."

Anna smiled sappily as she set the bag of food down on the kitchen table. Those stories worked on her, every time. "Awww…"

Once she set out the food, and no one else had greeted her, she set off down the hallway. "Always working…" she muttered under her breath as she came upon a plain white door, save for the flickering LCD screen of a sleepy face, complete with little cartoon 'zzz's. Smiling softly, Anna ignored that status update and knocked gently on the door before pushing it open.

"Hey, sweetheart? I got some takeout for dinner…"

"Ggrmm."

Elsa's voice was barely a sound; it was obvious she had been sleeping, even without the screen telling her what she had been doing. Hunched over her desk, paper marks pressed into her skin and her hair a mad tangle, it was entirely likely that Elsa hadn't had a solid night of sleep for a week.

"Hey, what did we say about sleeping in here?" Anna asked. Her voice was reprimanding but still gentle as she came to rub Elsa's back in slow, soothing circles. Elsa gave a yawn, and then another, before she could answer.

"I know, I just… this deadline is really coming up and it's nowhere near done, and-"

"And it will be waiting for you after dinner and after sleep. Come on…"

"Mmmhh."

With a mixture of leading and pushing, she finally got Elsa into the hall and heading towards the kitchen. "Have you eaten today? At all?"

"Don't talk to your… mother that way," she said, interrupted by a yawn. When Anna laughed, she smiled blearily. "Alright, alright. Yes, I had a hydrated bagel with instant lox this morning with my coffee. Is that better?"

"It would have been better if that had been after you had a good night's sleep. But yeah, I guess I'll take it for now."

Once at the table, they set about tucking into dinner. Her mother had bags under her eyes, but even with those, she still looked very vaguely younger than Anna. That was thanks to the treatments, of course. They all lived healthy lifestyles, but Anna had never gone into the future for a treatment that wasn't available yet; it was an abuse of the power of time travel. Maybe eventually, when they got to be elderly, they would partake again. For now, their timestream-hopping days were at an end. And they had exactly the results they wanted.

When Elsa glanced up from her plate, rubbing at one eye with her fingertips, she blinked in surprise to find Anna watching her. "What?"

"What-what?"

"You're staring."

"So?"

"Why are you staring?" she said impatiently with a slight smile.

"Why not? Can't I just want to watch a perfect face?"

Elsa rolled her eyes, rolling the noodles around her fork. "What a weird way to phrase that. But… I suppose you may."

"Oh, thank you for the permission, Your Highness," Anna sassed. Elsa pointed her fork, dripping with noodles, at Anna.

"That's 'Your Majesty' to you," she said, grinning before finally taking a bite. "What time does Jennifer's flight come in?"

They both turned to look at the clock, even as Anna said, "Just before midnight." She heard Elsa put her fork down, ready to speak, but she beat her to it. "And no, you're not coming with me to pick her up."

"But-"

"Nope, no 'buts'. You need sleep, Elsa - real sleep. Not just a nap in the car."

She huffed, but there was a slight smile on her lips as she said, "You sound like me."

That was enough to break the tension, if it had ever truly been there in the first place. They ate dinner in peace, Anna telling her about the changes the band had made, what they were up to in gearing up for their big reunion tour. Elsa shared the progress she had made on her novel, the changes her editors wanted that she didn't agree with.

"Just don't change it," Anna suggested, shrugging. Elsa gave a long-suffering sigh; they'd had this discussion before.

"I have to. I don't have any… what's the term? Cred?" Anna snorted, and Elsa glared. "If I want to start building a portfolio, I need to write what the publishers want."

They didn't stay on that topic long – there was no need to rehash an old argument. Elsa had not been writing nearly as long as her ex-husband and didn't have unrealistic expectations, Anna thought she should reach for the stars… rinse and repeat. At least they both agreed that the work was worth doing.

After dinner, they had a quick dessert of fruit salad and cream before hopping into the shower. They took a little longer than if they hadn't shared, but that also would have been the boring option. There was still plenty of time before Anna had to go and pick up Punz, but she refused to entertain Elsa's suggestion of queuing up a movie before she had to leave.

"Nope, you need rest, Elsa," she said sternly. Elsa scowled at her, and it would have been effective had it not been broken by a yawn.

"But I never see you anymore…" It wasn't completely true, but it wasn't exactly false, either. With their individual projects and differing schedules, they often only saw each other at breakfast as Anna ran out of the house, and at dinner. That may have been a very common trap many couples fell into, but it didn't make it any better that they missed each other so much.

So to help remedy that, at least for the day, they came to a compromise. Sleep for Elsa, and a catnap for Anna until she had to go and pick up her wife. At least this way, they got to lie together for a little while.

"I wish you weren't going on tour."

"I know," she sighed softly. "But I have to; I owe it to the girls, and to the fans. And you need to focus on your book, anyway."

"It's almost finished." But it was a weak protestation. Playfully, she whispered, "You're my daughter and you'll do as I say."

"It's because I'm your daughter that I won't." They both shared a laugh about that.

The time flew by once the chatter subsided and they simply enjoyed each other's closeness. Finally, Anna sat up and pulled her jeans up over her purple panties, a bra around her trim frame that used to be a little trimmer once upon a time. Elsa didn't seem to mind if the way her arms slithered around her middle was any indication.

"Come back soon. I'll sleep until you get here, I promise - so I can save up my energy for when you get back."

Anna melted completely into the touch. "Stop. I gotta run…" But the kiss against her neck made her sigh. "You're terrible."

"I'm in love."

"Yeah." Then she turned and got a handful of Elsa's face, shoving her back to bounce against the mattress with a little surprised laugh. "Me too."

"Alright, alright! See you soon, sweetheart."

In mere minutes, Anna was on the highway with her speakers blasting a steady stream of oldies from her usual internet radio choice. Most of them were from the 2000s, but a few from the 80s slipped in there. Tears For Fears cropping up brought a huge grin to her face that didn't fade until she was taking the exit for the airport.

Jennifer was already waiting for her along the terminal line. Her hair was getting long again, and she had gone back to blond; Anna knew she was going to miss being able to muss it up, even though she always got smacked for doing so. Despite the dim light of the lamps and a hundred other cars' headlights, her wife looked tired – or perhaps it was because of such light washing out her pale features. Either way, she perked right up when she saw their familiar car pull up alongside her.

"What's a gorgeous girl like you doing out alone at this time of night?" Anna asked when Punz stuck her head in through the window. She got a soft, if tired, smile as a response. She didn't actually speak until after her bags were safely stowed and she was in the passenger seat, kissing her wife soundly on the mouth.

"Oh, geez, I've missed you," she said, once they broke for air. "Told myself I wasn't going to say a word until I got my hello-kiss."

"Well then, hello."

"Goof," Punz laughed as they shared another brief peck. Putting her seatbelt on, she glanced around. "Elsa at home?"

Anna made a vague noise of annoyance. "Yeah, her dumb ass has been staying up too late and getting up too early trying to meet these editor's demands." Her grip tightened briefly on the steering wheel before she forced it to loosen. "You can ask her tomorrow. But how was your trip?"

"Not as exciting as it could have been," Punz answered wryly. "I think Los Angeles would be more fun if I weren't stuck inside the whole time with a band that's getting a little big for their britches. But that's what they pay me to do."

Anna pulled a face, releasing the wheel so she could hold Punz's hand. "Well, you're home, safe and sound."

"How is the reunion planning going? How is the new girl, uh… Mona?"

"Moana. She's… nice. Good at what she does, which is all anyone can ask."

They fell into more casual conversation after that. There would be plenty of time to debrief in the following days; for now, it was late and both women simply wanted to appreciate the others' company. It wasn't as though they hadn't gone without one another before; they had, many times. But each time it felt longer, seemed to suck a little more out of their sails. With Anna's reunion tour looming over their heads, and the potential for book tours in Elsa's future, their stable home life was somewhat uncertain.

"So have you been rehearsing?"

"Yeah, of course. Every day. I swear, Jane sounds better than she ever did in the old days; must be all those concertos in London. And we got…" Catching the look in Jennifer's eyes, she cringed. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"You mean rehearsing THAT."

Swatting Anna's arm, she said, "Yes, THAT! It's only a few days away now. And you have to get every word exactly right, or we might not-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. And I have been rehearsing. It's just…"

"Just?"

"Well…" Sighing, she pulled off the highway and began driving into Dell Valley proper. "I still feel bad. I know we're not really gonna be lying to her, but it feels that way. Since everything is rehearsed."

Jennifer's hand came up to pet along her arm. "Hey, I know. But it's so important you get this right! Or else… we might lose everything we've come to love about our lives over the past couple decades."

"But look at us! Are we really happy? Always running around, barely seeing each other? Sometimes… sometimes I wish I'd never gone into the past at all!"

The silence was long and heavy. "Do you?"

"No. But I'm just stressed, okay?" Turning on the self-driving and slumping down a little further in her car seat, she let Punz tousle her hair a bit. "Thanks for putting up with my cranky ass. And you're the jetlagged one, too."

"Not that jetlagged," she laughed lightly. "Just ready to be home."

"And we're ready for you to be home, too," Anna assured her. "Even if Elsa is probably asleep because she really has been running herself ragged."

Punz smiled softly. "I'll try my best not to wake her. Sounds like we could all use a good night's sleep tonight."

"I know that I always sleep better when I have both of my favourite girls with me, not just one of them…" Anna said, shooting Punz a sidelong glance. Her wife's grin lifted her spirits considerably.

Luckily for the both of them, they lived on the side of town closest to the airport; instead of having to drive the extra twenty minutes, they were home barely half an hour after leaving the terminal. They snuck in like two teenagers who had just played hooky, leaving the suitcases by the door to be dealt with tomorrow. Punz wasn't sure whether to have a shower or forego it. Fortunately, she didn't have to decide because Anna simply shepherded her towards the bedroom. She didn't smell at all; it was just that she had been flying all evening, and the warm water would do anyone a world of good after travel.

That turned out to be the right call, because no sooner had she crawled into the centre of the bed about thirty minutes later when a second pair of familiar arms wrapped around her from the other side.

"Hey, Elsa," Punz whispered softly. She got a grunt for her trouble, but Elsa's arms still tightened a little more around her. Scooting closer so Anna had some room to join in, she kissed Elsa on the cheek. "Go back to sleep," she urged gently.

"No," she shot back petulantly, which made the other two chuckle.

"Elsa, has Anna been practicing her lines?"

"Hey!" Anna burst out. But Elsa's answer was kind enough that she didn't have to stay upset for long.

"She has. And she has the spirit of the message down. There's sometimes one or two words of variation, but past-me is going to eat it up regardless."

Punz settled in between them, and Anna felt Elsa curl around her other side more tightly. She reached across to clasp their fingers together as they both nestled their faces into either side of Punz's neck, earning a little hum of satisfaction from its owner.

"I missed this," she breathed.

"Me, too," Anna agreed. There was a long pause.

"If you're waiting for me to say 'me, three', it's not going to happen. Ever."

Grinning, Punz whispered, "Except you just did, Elsa."

When Anna laughed, the hand squeezed hers a little tighter for one second but she made no further comment. All three of them were swiftly dozing off, but none actually wanted to take the leap into dreamland. They just wanted to enjoy this tender moment a little while longer.

"When was the last time we were all together like this?" Anna asked. The reply came in unison.

"Your birthday."

There was a brief silence before Anna let out an ungodly snort. "That was an adventure and a half."

"Mhmm," Elsa sighed in agreement. "I didn't know a human adult was capable of making the noises you did."

Punz giggled. "Oh, and your breath smelled for days afterwards!"

"Whose bright idea was the chocolate-covered pickles, anyway?"

Both Elsa and Punz's voice rang through the late night. "Yours!"

Once more there was silence, though this time it was broken by a soft, "Oh yeah…"

As they tended to try doing when they were reunited, all three of them pushed their faces in together for a three-way kiss. It was a lot more comical than it was romantic, but they persisted, and always ended up grinning and giggling into the contact. Then they settled in again to relax.

"Ever think we would all end up in a cuddle puddle?" Punz whispered.

"Not I. Who wants to be in a cuddle puddle with their daughter and her wife?"

"Elsa McFly, duh," Anna joked.

"Hey – that's Cyndi Lorraine Mann to you, and any legal authorities who ask, thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Mommy." The slight poke into her ribs made her grin. "Okay, okay, we know how you feel about that."

Punz leaned up just enough to kiss the tops of both their heads. "Come on, you guys. I know we joke but we have a great life. Don't pretend we don't."

"You're right, Jennifer," Elsa whispered as she clasped Anna's hand again, resting the both of them on Punz's stomach. "I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China. Even with all the twists and turns and time travel, I just love you both so much."

Anna sighed contentedly as she settled in again. "Yeah. It's been… educational."

As they drifted into dreamland, Anna McFly had the world's biggest smile on her face. With those two women beside her and the future looking brighter than ever, she felt like she was on top of the world. And her future had room to get brighter still; they had nothing but time.

~ THE END ~

[divorcetual]

bai liu: so like indonesias rupiahs was never quite a strong currency but it used to be much better than it is before, like 5000 used to be expensive back in soehartos new order regime because of his contributions to rising up the economy by building a lot of cooperations with other countries particularly the west, the economy fluorished in his time but also he was actually part of a huge corruption case scandal and when he was forced to step down from office he actually got a legal case made for his extensive corruption but he evaded to show up during the court hearings by saying he was sick (and hes old so it worked and he just never fucking showed up?? and then he died so he couldnt be like tried and like have any kind of punishment for his actions) anyway like everyone knows abt his corruption but hes like dead and everyone knows abt how awful he was but everyone born before the 2000s would always see soehartos time as president as a peak golden era for indonesias growing economy at the time which is honestly insane considering that it was not that great but it could be so much worse (reformation era indonesian economy)

tawil: .... (hes so ... silly ... i need to keep him in my ... clutches... forever.)

Bai Liu: So between WWI and an economic crisis from crop failure the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell making it so the newly formed countries had to create new currency to be used, inckuding Hungary. This lead to the creation of the Hungarian korona but the overstamps used were super easy to carve yourself and people staryed making a ton of fake korona. So because of that + the aformentioned economic crisis that failed like immediately and went into hyperinflation. So then in 1927 they replaced the money AGAIN with the Hungarian pengő as a stabalization program. It actually did work for a little bit but after only 5 years the inflation was already hitting and it was actually the most stable currency of any of the countries previously in the austrohungarian empire so theu wete super happy with that. But the Great Depression hit which effected the farmers a lot, in turn effecting crop production and thus exports since wheat was a hugeeee export for them at the time. This impacted them horribly and so they thought by getting some land back from Germany and Italy that had been taken during the wars would help them, but the land was actually really underdeveloped for both agriculture and ubanization so the efforts taken to change that put Humgary in even more debt. Plus they were still in WWII literally nothing was going well for them. So after the war the pengő weakened at a rate literally never seen before or again to the point that they has a bank note worth One Million Trillion pengő, making it the highest denomination bill ever printed. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. They had used these things called the adópengo tho which was sorta just a way to shorten the number of zeros on the bill so the third Zimbabwe dollar holds the record for that. Anyway though it got so bad that in 1946 when they chanhed currencies, the exchange rate was $1 to 460,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000P. Four hundred sixty octillion.

Tawil, internally: God hes so fucking hot jesus christ

[prettymmorg]

Carvewright for sale craigslist

Nice to find something from the past, I put a fair amount of effort into making this, cut out the block on a table saw, set it up on the machine, easily a 5 hour cut, sand down the edges to perfection, cut out the base and installed the LED strip, Will try to sell it or maybe donate it to a church. One disadvantage to using plexi bases is there really is no good way to hide the controller so I just have it taped to the back of the base, I guess I should at least hot glue it but that would pop lose sooner rather than later, so I don't know. You'll notice that I didn't buff the edges clear on this one like I do most of them, I left the frosted look - Also looks like I flame polished the model once it was complete, I sometimes do that when the model itself looks a bit too "frosted". Is well over 1' tall, luckily I had it wrapped in a no scratch sheet but there are still a few scratches that will buff out easily. Made out of 1" plexi, I think this was part of my bullet proof glass bank hoard. I don't remember selling it but I must have, no where to be found so far but while I was looking for that found this one. If it wasn't for that, no way would it make economic sense to play around and experiment like this with thick plexi.įound this beauty I made years ago while rummaging through my garage tonight, I showed a pic to some guy of the aztec calendar clock he said OMG beautiful I gotta have it, how much you want ? I said well, let me see if I still have it. A little scratched up ? Sure, lucky for me also that I have a top of the line buffer that will get it looking better than new again in a minute. I seem to recall doing another of of Einstein in thick plexi, that ones still floating in my garage somewhere along with a few others. One was an epic, jaw dropping crucifix, same model as posted above, was about 14x8" with a plexi base, turned out great, sold it for $300. I've done models in plexi as thick as 1.25, don't think I ever took pics of them, must have made them after I got burnt on posting. 75 is fine but plexi gets more expensive as it get thicker so I rarely used that, really has nothing to offer over. 3/8 plexi is the one barely possible for 3d. I bought it new and I used it for 3 hours making different designs to check it out. Nerve wracking, I have punched through more than a few.Īfter thinking a bit, I think I need to revise that remark, its been a while. CarveWright CNC Machine Model CW.01.01 750 900 Posted over 6 years ago in Bradenton, FL Condition: New Home & Garden - Tools & Machinery Back to main Tommy ( 1) Member since Aug 2015 SOLD Description Im selling my CNC CarveWright Machine. 75 plexi up to 1.25, but the crucifix was done in.

[continuations]

The World After Capital in 64 Theses

Over the weekend I tweeted out a summary of my book The World After Capital in 64 theses. Here they are in one place:

The Industrial Age is 20+ years past its expiration date, following a long decline that started in the 1970s.

Mainstream politicians have propped up the Industrial Age through incremental reforms that are simply pushing out the inevitable collapse.

The lack of a positive vision for what comes after the Industrial Age has created a narrative vacuum exploited by nihilist forces such as Trump and ISIS.

The failure to enact radical changes is based on vastly underestimating the importance of digital technology, which is not simply another set of Industrial Age machines.

Digital technology has two unique characteristics not found in any prior human technology: zero marginal cost and universality of computation.

Our existing approaches to regulation of markets, dissemination of information, education and more are based on the no longer valid assumption of positive marginal cost.

Our beliefs about the role of labor in production and work as a source of purpose are incompatible with the ability of computers to carry out ever more sophisticated computations (and to do so ultimately at zero marginal cost).

Digital technology represents as profound a shift in human capabilities as the invention of agriculture and the discovery of science, each of which resulted in a new age for humanity.

The two prior transitions, from the Forager Age to the Agrarian Age and from the Agrarian Age to the Industrial Age resulted in humanity changing almost everything about how individuals live and societies function, including changes in religion.

Inventing the next age, will require nothing short of changing everything yet again.

We can, if we make the right choices now, set ourselves on a path to the Knowledge Age which will allow humanity to overcome the climate crisis and to broadly enjoy the benefits of automation.

Choosing a path into the future requires understanding the nature of the transition we are facing and coming to terms with what it means to be human.

New technology enlarges the “space of the possible,” which then contains both good and bad outcomes. This has been true starting from the earliest human technology: fire can be used to cook and heat, but also to wage war.

Technological breakthroughs shift the binding constraint. For foraging tribes it was food. For agrarian societies it was arable land. Industrial countries were constrained by how much physical capital (machines, factories, railroads, etc.) they could produce.

Today humanity is no longer constrained by capital, but by attention.

We are facing a crisis of attention. We are not paying enough attention to profound challenges, such as “what is our purpose?” and “how do we overcome the climate crisis?”

Attention is to time as velocity is to speed: attention is what we direct our minds to during a time period. We cannot go back and change what we paid attention to. If we are poorly prepared for a crisis it is because of how we have allocated our attention in the past.

We have enough capital to meet our individual and collective needs, as long as we are clear about the difference between needs and wants.

Our needs can be met despite the population explosion because of the amazing technological progress we have made and because population growth is slowing down everywhere with peak population in sight.

Industrial Age society, however, has intentionally led us down a path of confusing our unlimited wants with our modest needs, as well as specific solutions (e.g. individually owned cars) with needs (e.g. transportation).

The confusion of wants with needs keeps much of our attention trapped in the “job loop”: we work so that we can buy goods and services, which are produced by other people also working.

The job loop was once beneficial, when combined with markets and entrepreneurship, it resulted in much of the innovation that we now take for granted.

Now, however, we can and should apply as much automation as we can muster to free human attention from the “job loop” so that it can participate in the “knowledge loop” instead: learn, create, and share.

Digital technology can be used to vastly accelerate the knowledge loop, as can be seen from early successes, such as Wikipedia and open access scientific publications.

Much of digital technology is being used to hog human attention into systems such as Facebook, Twitter and others that engage in the business of reselling attention,  commonly known as advertising. Most of what is advertised is  furthering wants and reinforces the job loop.

The success of market-based capitalism is that capital is no longer our binding constraint. But markets cannot be used for allocating attention due to missing prices.

Prices do not and cannot exist for what we most need to pay attention to. Price formation requires supply and demand, which don't exist for finding purpose in life, overcoming the climate crisis, conducting fundamental research, or engineering an asteroid defense.

We must use the capabilities of digital technology so that we can freely allocate human attention.

We can do so by enhancing economic, information, and psychological freedom.

Economic freedom means allowing people to opt out of the job loop by providing them with a universal basic income (UBI).

Informational freedom means empowering people to control computation and thus information access, creation and sharing.

Psychological freedom means developing mindfulness practices that allow people to direct their attention in the face of a myriad distractions.

UBI is affordable today exactly because we have digital technology that allows us to drive down the cost of producing goods and services through automation.

UBI is the cornerstone of a new social contract for the Knowledge Age, much as pensions and health insurance were for the Industrial Age.

Paid jobs are not a source of purpose for humans in and of themselves. Doing something meaningful is. We will never run out of meaningful things to do.

We need one global internet without artificial geographic boundaries or fast and slow lanes for different types of content.

Copyright and patent laws must be curtailed to facilitate easier creation and sharing of derivative works.

Large systems such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, etc. must be mandated to be fully programmable to diminish their power and permit innovation to take place on top of the capabilities they have created.

In the longrun privacy is incompatible with technological progress. Providing strong privacy assurances can only be accomplished via controlled computation. Innovation will always grow our ability to destroy faster than our ability to build due to entropy.

We must put more effort into protecting individuals from what can happen to them if their data winds up leaked, rather than trying to protect the data at the expense of innovation and transparency.

Our brains evolved in an environment where seeing a cat meant there was a cat. Now the internet can show us an infinity of cats. We can thus be forever distracted.

It is easier for us to form snap judgments and have quick emotional reactions than to engage our critical thinking facilities.

Our attention is readily hijacked by systems designed to exploit these evolutionarily engrained features of our brains.

We can use mindfulness practices, such as conscious breathing or meditation to take back and maintain control of our attention.

As we increase economic, informational and psychological freedom, we also require values that guide our actions and the allocation of our attention.

We should embrace a renewed humanism as the source of our values.

There is an objective basis for humanism. Only humans have developed knowledge in the form of books and works of art that transcend both time and space.

Knowledge is the source of humanity’s great power. And with great power comes great responsibility.

Humans need to support each other in solidarity, irrespective of such differences as gender, race or nationality.

We are all unique, and we should celebrate these differences. They are beautiful and an integral part of our humanity.

Because only humans have the power of knowledge, we are responsible for other species. For example, we are responsible for whales, rather than the other way round.

When we see something that could be improved, we need to have the ability to express that. Individuals, companies and societies that do not allow criticism become stagnant and will ultimately fail.

Beyond criticism, the major mode for improvement is to create new ideas, products and art. Without ongoing innovation, systems become stagnant and start to decay.

We need to believe that problems can be solved, that progress can be achieved. Without optimism we will stop trying, and problems like the climate crisis will go unsolved threatening human extinction.

If we succeed with the transition to the Knowledge Age, we can tackle extraordinary opportunities ahead for humanity, such as restoring wildlife habitats here on earth and exploring space.

We can and should each contribute to leaving the Industrial Age behind and bringing about the Knowledge Age.

We start by developing our own mindfulness practice and helping others do so.

We tackle the climate crisis through activism demanding government regulation, through research into new solutions, and through entrepreneurship deploying working technologies.

We defend democracy from attempts to push towards authoritarian forms of government.

We foster decentralization through supporting localism, building up mutual aid, participating in decentralized systems (crypto and otherwise).

We promote humanism and live in accordance with humanist values.

We recognize that we are on the threshold of both transhumans (augmented humans) and neohumans (robots and artificial intelligences).

We continue on our epic human journey while marveling at (and worrying about) our aloneness in the universe.

We act boldly and with urgency, because humanity’s future depends on a successful transition to the Knowledge Age.

[costellos]

❥ ┋ ❝ nanami, itadori, fushiguro & the things that make them flustered!

@babyyuji said: for your valentines day event can i request blush with itadori, megumi, and nanami? thank you so much!

a/n: you sure can! thanks for the suggestion 🤍🤍

tw: none.

ask game:💌 15 valentine’s day questions (closed!)

disclaimer: I’m anime-only outside of the prequel, so apologies if my character interpretations aren’t accurate.

nanami kento.

Nanami gets flustered when you fix his blazer.

fashion and sorcery aren’t a good combination. it’s a shame really, because if you’re going to be stuck in a job that you hate, you can at least make a statement. and Nanami does try to make said statement. the Tokyo Stock Exchange has a very strict dress code. since he’s left it, he’s tried wearing things that make him feel as far apart from it as possible.

key word: try. again, fashion and sorcery aren’t a good combination. he still finds rips and tears in his clothes despite how careful he is.

hence, he has a good relationship with his tailor. she’s a grumpy old woman who knows she’s good at her work. but Nanami always tips her well, and that’s enough to keep her thoughts to herself (especially when she finds dried blood on his blazers’ lapels). although her work is affordable, even that piles up over time.

so before Nanami can bring his next set of blazers to her, you take it upon yourself to fix them. you’ve taken home economics. you know how to work a needle. so much so that when Nanami comes home and he sees that his favorite’s sleeve has been reattached to its shoulder, he asks when you brought it to Mrs. Fujimoto.

his face suddenly feels warm when you beam you did it yourself. all this work? for him? a small part of Nanami is annoyed you didn’t tell him sooner you could fix it, but... most of it is pride. pride that he has someone like you, that knows him so well, and cares that much to help him. ↳ “you didn’t have to go through all this effort to do this. but... thank you. I... I really appreciate it.”

itadori yuji.

Itadori gets flustered when you make him a playlist.

it’s cheesy. even he’d admit it. but he’s a sucker for cheesy antics, and this is just one of many. it’s not his fault that mixtapes are such a personal gift, made with nothing but love for the receiver. maybe it was from watching too many John Hughes movies during his training or maybe it’s just his being a romantic, but he’s always wanted one.

no he hasn’t thought about standing outside of your window with a stereo.

it’s something you’ve known for a while now. cassette tapes are a thing of the past and other than his laptop, Itadori would have no way of listening to a burned CD. so you opt for a Spotify playlist.

you fill it with a variety of songs. songs that remind you of him, songs that you’ve danced in the quad to, the song that played during your first kiss — all little moments shared with him, all the perfect summary of your relationship. of course, it being Itadori Yuji, there’s a handful of joke songs thrown in there, too. romance and humor mesh well with him. it’s a fact you’ve become very familiar with.

and Itadori just lights up the moment you show him the playlist from your phone. the cover photo is an ugly selfie you’ve taken together, with the title being something like “heat beats 2 play on repeat.” it’s something so stupid, but something that matches your relationship so perfectly. he’s unbelievably giddy. he honestly can’t believe that you remembered such a small thing he mentioned in passing. ↳ “you’re joking. all of this is for me? I’m... agh— this is perfect! ...wait, did you seriously put Chug Jug on here...?”

fushiguro megumi.

Megumi gets flustered when you stand too close to him.

he gets embarrassed far more easily than he’d like to admit. it doesn’t help that you have this peculiar habit of coming into his personal space. it’s not that he minds, it’s just something that you do frequently.

like when you’re studying together. you always bump shoulders with Megumi, peering over his work in a desperate attempt to see what he wrote for number 12. he always covers the answer and looks away, mumbling for you to do your own work. he’s thankful it’s just the two of you in the quad today. it’d be embarrassing if anyone could see how red his ears are.

there’s also when you go out to watch movies. every damn time you do it: you get settled in your seat, nestling yourself in the plush chair with a smile on your face. and when the movie starts, you always hook your arm with his. it’s customary for you to lean your head on his shoulder at the 30 minute mark. again, Megumi doesn’t mind. he’s just glad that you’re watching an action-packed thrill ride. the beating of the film’s percussion help deafen the beating of his own heart.

his favorite habit, though, is when you take the train home after missions. Gojo’s gotten into the habit of sending you both on grueling tasks. Megumi’s starting to think that these are really the missions his teacher is too lazy to take on himself. but he isn’t complaining. he loves it when you rest your head on his shoulder, eyes closed, breathing soft. he won’t wake you until it’s time to get off. besides, he doesn’t want you to see how much his hands are shaking.

you decide to ask him about it. you’re not stupid. you know how embarrassed he gets. does he mind, though? because you could always stop... ↳ “why would I ever want you to stop? all of these things are things unique to you. if you stopped, it wouldn’t be you.”

like this piece? here are similar works! 🌑 🌒 🌓

[felipeandletizia]

Change of pace in the Queen's closet: why Letizia is now betting on small Spanish brands

During the summer the national firms blessed by the 'Letizia effect' have multiplied. Having her approval gives them a global impact, in addition to being able to sell out everything that she puts on. Why have she decided to show her support now?

During the summer the national firms blessed by the 'Letizia effect' have multiplied. Having her approval gives them a global impact, in addition to being able to sell out everything that she puts on. Why have she decided to show her support now?

Small, young, niche, of medium price and of Spanish production. The firms that have appeared in Queen Letizia's looks this summer share attributes that are increasingly valued by the fashion consumer but which, until now, had appeared discreetly and timely in the royal wardrobe. Except for some concessions – such as a dress by the Sevillian guest brand Cherubina that she wore a couple of years ago –, never before had Doña Letizia given such prominence to small Made in Spain brands. Although she has long since left the 'Varelismo' in the background and began to open up to new names in national and international fashion, including large chains such as Uterqüe or Massimo Dutti, the recent and repeated choice of labels such as María de la Orden, Galcon, Dear Prudence, Lola Li, On Atlas or Macarena Shoes marks a turning point. And it comes at a time when it can be interpreted as a message of support for a national fashion industry hit by the pandemic.  

This is how Sara Escudero, an expert in analyzing her looks and founder of the successful Instagram account Letizia, de princesa a reina, considers it. "Her style is adapting to current times and circumstances," she explains to S Moda. "Before it was quite usual to see her with the same firms, all led by the Puig group [Carolina Herrera is one of her recurring labels], but now she is betting on Spanish brands to defend our industry. It is also a way of transmitting greater closeness and reaching more people, since the prices of most of the outfits she wears are very competitive ”, adds the analyst. In this way, the result is very positive for both parties: the Queen builds a slightly more earthly wardrobe while supporting a sector that represents 2.8 of the Spanish economy and, brands, many of them unknown to the large public, gain international visibility, increase their prestige and skyrocket their sales, sometimes selling out the specific outfits chosen by Doña Letizia.

This was what happened, for example, with the white blouse and pants set that she wore a few weeks ago during the opening ceremony of the Arco art fair. “It sold out very quickly, that same day. We immediately got to work to replace it and thanks to the fact that the entire production process takes place within a radius of less than 25 km from our studio, it was available again after three days", they detail from On Atlas, a responsible sustainable Galician brand design. The story repeats itself in the rest of the labels blessed by the 'Letizia effect'. The young designer María de la Orden confirms by email that the Capri model, a blue and white striped dress that Her Majesty wore in Mallora, "is practically sold out" and for Galcon, a fashion firm that opened its doors this year , the navy blue skirt and blouse set that Letizia wore has already become their best seller. “We cannot imagine a better showcase for our designs. We must bear in mind that we went on the market very recently and this has put us on the map," says Pilar González Alcón, designer and co-founder of the brand.

The person responsible for all these choices is her stylist, Eva Fernández. "She's the one who acts as a filter between the Queen and the fashion brands. She is in charge of choosing the outfits that she considers that Doña Letizia may like, although then it is the Queen herself who makes the final decision and combines them with the rest of the accessories,” says Escudero. Eva, who was part of the team of stylists of Cosmopolitan magazine before meeting Letizia and starting to work for her, remains in contact with national brands, visits the showrooms and attends the events that communication agencies carry out to present the collections to the press. It is there that she records many of the outfits that the Queen later wears. "It was her stylist through our communication agency who chose the two models of espadrilles that she has worn this summer", confirm from the artisan footwear brand Macarena Shoes. On other occasions, Fernández buys online the designs that she considers appropriate for each occasion. "It was very exciting to receive an order like this," Galcon says.

As an anonymous source who works in a well-known fashion communication agency told S Moda, sometimes it is Eva Fernández who contacts them to request a piece that the Queen may like. Others are the brands who try their luck by sending her their creations. "One day we sent her a leather bag from a national firm and she liked it so much that she put it on. Again, however, we did the same with a clutch from another brand and she returned it to us making it clear that she thought it was beautiful, but she was not going to be able to put it on for protocol reasons. I also know that the Queen does not accept gifts and she always insists on paying,” explained the source.

On certain occasions, brands even design special models for her. This is the case of Lola Li's wrap dress that she wore in 2019 and that she repeated a few days ago. "We were commissioned by her stylist and for us it was an incredible surprise because we are quite a different pattern from the ones she usually wears," they detail from the brand. The appearance of the outfit, they assure, gave them great repercussion and visibility both inside and outside our borders. "Her style followed all over the world and, in our case, her choice marked a before and after, for which we are enormously grateful. When she put it on, we reached saturation levels on the web that we had never reached before. The white model was made exclusively for her so it could not be bought, but it sold very well in other colors," they say.

In the same way that Michelle Obama broke a spear in favor of small American firms demonstrating that the work of a first lady is also to support the national fashion industry, Doña Letizia now begins a new era in her wardrobe that promises to do the same. "She is the best ambassador we have and what's really important about her wearing one of our designs is not the economic repercussion or immediate popularity, but the fact that she endorses our brand and likes our style", affirms María de la Orden. From On Atlas they agree: "She is a very important support. Suddenly the same product, with the same effort, dedication and work, is discovered by many people who until then did not know it".

For Escudero, the landing in the royal closet of brands 100% Made in Spain, far from being anecdotal, has come to stay. “I don't think the labels she usually wears will disappear, such as Carolina Herrera or Hugo Boss, but in day-to-day or less formal events it is very likely that these new national incorporations will help her renew her wardrobe and transmit that support to the Spanish industry”, she points out. She also underlies a message of commitment to the environment, sustainability and crafts. Investigating the philosophy of all these labels, it is easy to conclude that their choice is not accidental or due solely to aesthetic criteria.

María García Alonso-Lamberti, founder of On Atlas, highlights the use of 100% natural, recycled or ecological fabrics of European origin in all her creations. “We avoid the use of polyester and plastic even on buttons, zippers, shoulder pads and trimmings in general. This makes the process much slower and more complicated, but essential in our approach”. Some values ​​that, added to the limited and close production and competitive prices (none of the outfits chosen by the Queen exceeds 200 euros), are similar and extensible to the rest of the brands recently incorporated into her wardrobe. You could even say that they share a taste for timeless Mediterranean-inspired creations. "In Spain we have a lot of national talent, artisans who have worked for several generations and, of course, top quality raw material. Spanish brands still have a lot to say and Doña Letizia makes it clear that we have nothing to envy the fashion of other places", they conclude from Macarena Shoes.

Source

[hongjoongtrasher]

Goodbye Baby Goodbye ch.2

GENRE: Angst , smut, fluff

PAIRING: office worker!seonghwa x female reader, ceo!hongjoong x female reader, established relationship, lovers to ennemies.

OTHER: little brother!jongho, best friend!yunho, colleague!yeosang, roommate!san, office worker!mingi, manager!wooyoung.

WARNING: cheating, betrayal, manipulations, protected sex (BE SAFE KIDDOS)

Masterlist - Previous chapter

Synopsis:

It all began when your now 4 year-old boyfriend Seonghwa had an invitation to his entreprise’s party. Surprised to hear you could tag along, you met Kim Hongjoong, the CEO and close friend of Seonghwa. Rumored to be a playboy, the rich boss of your boyfriend is determined to add you to his conquests.

Indeed, Seonghwa wasn’t lying when he was saying KQ Enterprise was like an empire. You’ve never been there, and yet you were here, standing in front of the gigantic building, right after your boyfriend came to pick you up.

The preps for this evening have been like a war. Fortunately, San helped you a lot. He was a good adviser for your makeup and hairstyle. Since you had received such an expensive dress from your boyfriend’s boss, you couldn’t let the rest being down. Of course, when you called Seonghwa in a intense panic, talking about the dress you got from Mr. Kim, he didn’t seem surprised.

« Oh, actually I talked to him about the dress code, and he figured out you may be hadn’t an outfit for this occasion. But I swear I didn’t ask anything from him. »

You were still bewildered after his explanation, because it didn’t explain how he got your name and address. But Seonghwa only said:

« Mr. Kim is a man full of resources Y/N. He’s the CEO at the head of an empire, so it’s not really surprising he’d found your personal informations. But don’t worry, he won’t do anything armful to you. »

Still, you weren’t really happy with the fact your boyfriend’s CEO could find your personal infos so easily.

« Y/N…Just accept this gift. I’m sure he didn’t want to upset you, just pleasing you, in a certain way. »

« Fine, I won’t talk about it from now on » you grumbled into your phone. « But I don’t want any of those things in the future. »

And the D-day came. San had left you right after you were done, his own boyfriend came to pick him up as well. It was the first time you were meeting Wooyoung. He seemed to be a nice guy and you had this sort of feeling of knowing him for a long time even though it was the first time you were meeting. While San was still in the bathroom, Wooyoung explained to you his position in KQ Enterprise. He was the team manager of the economic team whereas Seonghwa was a manager into the CEO personal team. You were impressed by how high they were into this enterprise but Wooyoung smirked and mischievously answered:

« Because KQ Ent is mainly composed of young people. The Boss is privileging youth over oldies who will soon retire. »

San soon came to see you both, signalling his boyfriend he was ready. Wooyoung smiled at the other male who was really handsome tonight. You didn’t know San could be this hot in this all black tuxedo and hair pulled back. You were so used to see him in sweat pants and shirts with messy hair. Such a loss for the women population you had thought at this moment.

« Weeeell, I’m ready, so we’ll go ahead Y/N, see you there ! ~ » said San with a large smile which made a weird difference from his look.

You nodded and waved to the boys. Only five minutes after, Seonghwa knocked at your door. You came to open the door, trying not to step on the expensive shiny dress you were wearing. When you opened the door, you had found a subjugated Seonghwa, his mouth opened as soon as his eyes landed on your elegant figure. But he was so handsome as well. Wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a white shirt, a silky pocket tissue on his perfect blazer. His dark hair were neatly styled by some wax, and you could smell his cologne from here. You felt so lucky at this moment to have him as your boyfriend.

« You’re gorgeous » he only whispered after a moment, which made you blush.

« T-Thanks. San helped me to..mh be prepared » you mumbled back shyly, not used to wear expensive stuffs.

« You ready ? » he asked softly.

« I just have to grab some things and put my shoes and we’re good to go. »

You wearing heels was a thing to watch. Fortunately, the most suitable pair you had was almost brand new. You had bought them with your first pay check from your part time job, but soon gave up when you tried to keep them more than a whole day. You also had a classic white blazer and a small pouch that Seonghwa had gifted to you for your second couple anniversary.

« Hwa…What should I do ? I’m so nervous » you shakily said when he came to you after parking his car.

You felt his hand falling on your back as he made sure you were facing him. His eyes searched for yours as he said firmly and yet so sweetly:

« Everything’s gonna be alright Y/N. I’ll be by your side. »

His other hand gently stroke your cheek as you nodded, trying to repress your anxiety. Seonghwa took your hand to pass it around his arm. And then, you both entered the giant building where security guards were controlling the entry. They didn’t ask your name but bowed their head at your boyfriend, letting you pass easily while shouting : « Good evening sir ! »

For a second you thought being in a drama, it felt so unreal that you almost lost your nervousness. Seonghwa leaded you calmly to the reception hall, where you could already hear people chatting and the classy jazz music in the background.

« Oh my God » you repeated to yourself, squeezing Seonghwa’s arm tightly to which he responded by squeezing your hand with his free one.

The huge hall was crowded with a lot of people, most of them were employees here. You just kinda followed Seonghwa, politely greeting people he was saying « Good evening » etc. You glanced around you furtively, small standing tables were on display for everyone to get some appetizer even waiters were going through the crowd with silver trays with champagne glasses. You got one from Seonghwa. You weren’t usually drinking, or more you weren’t a good drinker, but you were feeling like drinking right now to forget your tension. As Seonghwa was talking to another manager, suddenly everything stopped and most of the others’ eyes were all directed in one direction.

A rather small man had entered the huge hall, platinum hair pulled back but with a sharp glance arrived. Even if you were at the other side of the room, you could feel his obvious charisma as he made his way through the mike stand near the small pair of musicians. You noticed his dark winey red tuxedo, perfectly fitting his body. You almost shivered when Seonghwa leaned to your ear to whisper: « It’s CEO Kim. »

Kim Hongjoong, the brilliant CEO of KQ Enterprise. He was known to be really young to be the owner of such a company, but his youth wasn’t a hurdle to rule over his company with an iron handle. The hall had gone completely silent, waiting for the host of this party to talk. He cleared his throat before offering a smug smile to the assembly, his eyes scanning the large hall.

« Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual party of KQ Enterprise. Tonight, is the night where we are celebrating our achievement for the past goals we were keeping in sight. I am well aware that I maybe asked for a considerable amount of efforts during those past months, but this is thanks to your hard work, perseverance and audacity that we can proudly announce that KQ Enterprise will add the brand new branch in the US market… »

A salvation of applauses erupted in the huge hall, Seonghwa clapping enthusiastically. You were a bit confused but followed the move, fairly impressed by his speech. But he wasn’t done yet.

« As you also know, I may be the CEO, but everything wouldn’t be possible without my dear sister, Hyewon - once again people applauded towards a young woman who was standing at the corner of the stage, humbly bowing her head at her brother’s words- who always find the good words to guide me. I received a lot of praises from you all tonight, but I am not the only one to be thanked tonight. You all deserve to be thanked for your hard work, and be proud to belong to our enterprise. Thank you »

A standing ovation exploded as the blonde exited the stage, bowing slightly to some people who were still applauding him.

Seonghwa looked so proud at the moment that you turned to him to congratulate him as well. « You’re amazing, I’m proud of you » you said as he chuckled in shyness. « I’m not that amazing, I’m just doing my work »

Soon the classic music returned and people began to chat between each other’s again. You gazed to the next standing table to see San with Wooyoung, champagne glass in one hand. Your roommate noticed you and made sure to lift his glass to you, which you imitated for him. After a moment, you began to think this party wasn’t so bad, until you heard the same voice earlier from the mike addressing to your boyfriend.

« Seonghwa, you came ! »

You turned quickly to see that CEO Kim was here, giving your boyfriend a brotherly embrace, his hand tapping his back as Seonghwa looked slightly surprised but soon gained his composure again. You felt your body froze suddenly.

« Congratulations, Mr. Kim » he said genuinely happy for his boss.

« I told you already to call me Hongjoong » said the blonde with a wide smile, showing his white teeth.

Then his dark eyes soon switched to your persona. You quickly bowed to your boyfriend’s boss, feeling his gaze scanning your whole body.

« You must be Y/N…I’m glad to see the dress I’ve sent you fit you so well. Not to say, you’re beautiful »

You straighten up to mumble awkward words, but the blonde took your hand to do a hand kiss, making your heart flutter.

« I…It’s nice to meet you Mr. Kim, and you shouldn’t have for the dress » you quickly said in a choked voice, making him laugh.

« It’s nothing, it was my pleasure. I hope you will keep it. »

His eyes fixed yours, making you drown into their intensity, as he softly let your hand goes. You heard your boyfriend’s greeting someone else who was no one but Hongjoong’s sister. Seeing her close, you could tell she was gorgeous. Beauty was running into the family genes you thought as your gaze hadn’t left Hongjoong’s figure.

« Hyewon, this is Seonghwa, my manager into my team, and his girlfriend, Y/N »

Hyewon smiled at Seonghwa, bowing her head slightly and to you as well.

« It’s nice to meet you. I heard a lot from my brother about you Seonghwa. »

You looked at your boyfriend who seemed fluttered by her. You had no doubt about your boyfriend’s work, and you felt proud for him. But you soon felt like about to faint, not really knowing how to follow the conversation. Unless you excused you politely to join San’s table.

« Hey, how is it going Cinderella ? » he asked you teasingly.

« Stop it » you groaned lowly once you were next to him. « Wooyoung ? »

« Went to the bathroom » answered your friend, taking a sip to his glass. « You met him right ? »

San was indeed talking about Hongjoong, and you nodded, also taking a sip of your golden liquid.

« Yeah…He…He seems nice but, he has such an aura…so charismatic » you told San openly.

« No wonder, have you heard his speech earlier ? He probably is our age, but act like a king » San chuckled before Wooyoung came back.

« Everything’s good for you Y/N ? » asked your roommate’s boyfriend, probably worried not to see Seonghwa by your side.

You nodded in confirmation as you nudged your chin behind you where Hongjoong was still talking to your boyfriend with her sister.

« He’s incredible right ? » asked Wooyoung enthusiastically.

« Yes, indeed, he’s a genius in a sense » you hummed.

« Thank you »

You gasped when you heard again Hongjoong’s voice behind your back, making you turn quickly to face him. You’ve turned so fast that you almost stripped on your dress, Hongjoong carefully stretched his arm to hold you back if you were falling. But fortunately you didn’t.

« Wow, be careful, I didn’t mean to scare you. I apologize. »

« No no, it’s fine, I’m the one who should apologize haha » you nervously croaked back, making him slightly smirk.

Wooyoung and San bowed to the impromptu visitor. Hongjoong greeted them back but it was obvious he wanted to talk to you alone, so Wooyoung gently dragged your boyfriend away, pretexting the appetizer were better at another table. Once you were alone with Hongjoong, you didn’t dare to look at him in the eyes, to shy to do it as you could feel his piercing gaze on you.

« Are you enjoying your night ? » he asked softly, his hand gently turning a darker liquid on a glass.

« Yes, absolutely, it’s…wonderful. » you answered, trying to appear as calm as you wanted.

« I’m glad you like it. I don’t like sort of …formal gathering, but Hyewon says it’s important for the employees and she’s right. »

His eyes hadn’t left you from the beginning of this conversation.

« Seonghwa is lucky to have you by his side » he commented, making you surprised to ear this from him.

After all, he was the CEO, the almighty here. He could have any woman he wanted, anything could be his in a flash. But seeing one of his close friend having such a cute girlfriend like you made him slightly jealous. Cute and beautiful. He was subjugated by your beauty as soon as his eyes landed on you.

« I’m the one who is more lucky to have him » you explained in a shy smug smile. « He is very capable in every thing. »

« Indeed…I agree » hummed Hongjoong, finally departing his eyes from you to see his sister still talking with your boyfriend.

The night went well, since Seonghwa came to find you not a long after with San and Wooyoung, Hongjoong already had left since he had more people to talk with. You were somehow in a daze. Talking to Hongjoong kind of relieved your stress but at the same time left a deep impression on you.

« Are you alright baby ? » whispered Seonghwa to your ear since your cheeks were bright red.

« I’m fine ! »

« It’s because she’s drinking her fourth glass of champagne ~ » teased San while you gave him a deathly glare.

Seonghwa frowned at your roommate’s words.

« Y/N, you know you cannot handle alcohol very well »

He wasn’t angry or anything, just worried about your current state. Actually you weren’t that drunk, just enough to be dizzy and mostly feeling the urge to go to the bathroom. You just smirked and said:

« Let me go to the bathroom, and I’ll be back. »

« We should go after. » softly said Seonghwa before watching you leave the hall.

It would be a lie to say you were walking straight, or at least in your head you were. But while you were gone into the hallway, you went to the bathroom to relief yourself and also try to refresh your face. Once you were done, you came out from the bathroom, expecting to see people, but no one was here. The silent corridor made you uncomfortable so you decided to go back to your boyfriend until you heard footsteps coming right at you. You froze when you saw Hongjoong in front of you. He looked a bit tired, but his elegant face was still expressing the same charisma as earlier. He looked up to see you and a slight smirk appeared on his face.

« Oh…isn’t it Y/N ? Are you alright ? » he asked politely.

« I…I’m doing fine, thank you sir. » you answered quietly, the ambient silence making the conversation awkward since there wasn’t music as before or people to break it.

He arched a brow at your answer as he took a step closer, now facing you. He was so close that you could smell his cologne. Suddenly, you wanted to leave right now, your heart pounding hard into your chest.

« Really ? You look a bit red. Did you drink a lot ? » his voice was soft, but somehow different.

« I maybe had too much champagne » you chuckled nervously, trying to avoid his gaze.

He didn’t answer, instead his gaze was gauging your face. God, you were so pretty. It would be difficult to deny he tried to see you each time he was near you, but he couldn’t due to others circumstances. He really like how you look gorgeous into this dress he had bought for you.

« You’re gorgeous …You know that ? »

His remarks make you gulp, your eyes slightly looking up to see his, still fixed on you, his hands in his pocket.

« T-Thank you. I’m really grateful for the dress you’ve gifted me.»

He took a moment of silence before the corner of his lips went up.

« Are you ? Well, will you do me a favour ? » he asked, still contemplating your gorgeous, so tempted to do a dangerous move.

You were kind of puzzled. A favour ? What possibly could you do for a man who had almost everything ? You slowly nodded, unsure of what you just agreed to do if you could.

« Just stay still » he said faintly.

It happened very fast. Even before you could realise, Hongjoong had you pinned on the wall nearby, his lips crashed on yours for a heated kiss. In shock, you didn’t react fast as one of his hand groped your thigh firmly. Your body was frozen, but your brain soon snapped, making you push the man who was kissing you.

« S..Stop ! What do you think you are doing right now ?! » you yelled, panting as if you’d just ran a marathon.

Your boyfriend’s boss just kissed you while he clearly knew who your boyfriend was. Astonishment soon left place for anger. Hongjoong dark eyes glanced at you with a devilish tint. You felt like a pray, caged by the predator who could eat you in a second and you hated that feeling.

« Somehow, I couldn’t help it. I wanted to kiss you as soon as I saw you. » he explained in a nonchalant tone. « Of course I know, you have Seonghwa and everything, but…You must have heard about it. I love women, and when I want something, I get it. »

His words made you shiver in horror. What kind of man could do this without any guilt ?? It was enough for you, that a neat and loud sound of a slap echoed in the empty hallway.

« You’re crazy. » you just muttered after you faced Hongjoong’s, head turned on his right as he just got slapped.

Without any words, you hurried to join your boyfriend, horrified by what happen. But you also realised you couldn’t say anything to him. You could, but it wouldn’t be a good option for him. You knew how close they were, but knowing this, he would surely fight against his boss and be fired within the next days. That’s why you decided to take the best normal face you could have and found Seonghwa at the entrance of the hall.

« Are you alright Y/N ? I almost thought something happened. » Seonghwa asked in a worried tone.

« N…No everything’s alright. I just…took time in the bathroom, sorry. » you muttered, lowering your head. You couldn’t watch him in the eyes at this moment.

Seonghwa looked also puzzled, noticing your cheeks were abnormally red. He thought it was because of the alcohol so he didn’t try to ask for more.

« Let’s go home. » he said, his hand gently pushing you by the back towards the exit.

You nodded maybe too fast, but at least he wasn’t suspicious of anything.

« What about San ? » you asked while you exited the place to your relief.

« Wooyoung drove him home too. He was quite…tipsy. » said Seonghwa next to you.

You appreciated the fresh air brushing your face, happy to head your roommate would be here once you would be home.

The trip back to your home happened in silence, your head dropped on the head back of your seat, just watching the lights and neon passing by your eyes.

« So…Did you like it ? » asked suddenly Seonghwa, making your heart dropped in a second.

« W-What ? »

« The party » he said, his eyes on the road.

« Oh…It was alright I guess…But I don’t think I would go again » you muttered, the reason was pretty clear for you but your boyfriend could think another reason.

« Sorry, I know it made you uncomfortable. Next time I won’t force you to go. »

« No it’s alright, it was fine…It’s just that …it’s a different world to me » you forced a smile for him, your hand gently pressing his shoulder.

Soon, you arrived in front of your building. Seonghwa made sure to get you safely to your door.

« Thank you for tonight » he said lowly, maybe because it was late and didn’t want to wake anyone asleep. « You did well, I’m proud of you »

His praise made you smiled genuinely while you tried to erase the flash of Hongjoong kissing you.

« I’m glad…Thank you for tonight. »

Seonghwa’s warm hands gently cupped your face, pulling you to him for a sweet kiss. This time you were relaxed, because it was him. Because his lips were the only ones which had rights to kiss you and no one else. But why your head kept sending you back to Hongjoong’s lips feeling ?

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[oldshrewsburyian]

if u ever wanna dump an essay about edward fairfax rochester to me...I’m here!

Ahh, you must know how dangerous such an invitation is to an enthusiast! It’s a rainy Sunday evening, I’ve poured myself a glass of wine, and I’m ready to do this. I think Charlotte Brontë is doing and exploring some really interesting things in the character of Rochester, which sometimes get flattened/left out in adaptations. To be fair to the adaptations: he’s still compelling as a Brooding Gothic Protagonist.™

Prolegomenon I: I haven’t read the scholarship on Jane Eyre since undergrad, and I haven’t read The Wide Sargasso Sea since graduate school. I make no claims to particular originality here. And of course, literature can and does hold multiple meanings, etc. etc.; this is my take on Edward Fairfax “Self-Delusion” Rochester. The subfields of Jane Eyre criticism I’m most familiar with/informed by are “Jane Eyre + feminist theory” and “Jane Eyre + ‘early 19th-century debates within Anglicanism, pretty wild, right?’” This should surprise exactly no one who follows this blog.

Prolegomenon II: when I get caught up in my Rochester Feelings in conversation, there is inevitably a point where one of my English-major or -professor friends will shout me down and say “He kept a WIFE in the ATTIC” and I know. I know. It’s inexcusable and I’m not trying to excuse it, and everyone should read Jean Rhys. What I am really interested in doing, though, is exploring Rochester as three-dimensional character, not “man whose bad behavior gets hand-waved aside because reasons.”

First off: Rochester is a man of contradictions. He is a man who is generous to his retainers and his tenants. He is a man who shoulders even social responsibilities that are not strictly his, as we see in the education of Adèle (who might otherwise have died in an uncharitable charitable institution, or become a laundress, or become a courtesan.) True, we meet him as an extremely awkward and fumbling and sometimes resentful figure in loco parentis. But he is trying. I think this is perhaps the key thing about Rochester: what we see him doing for most of the novel, almost always badly, is trying to achieve better (more just, more humane, more equitable) results within a system (patriarchal, economic, colonial) that is rotten at its core. It is not everyone who has the moral fiber of a Jane Eyre, to say “this system is rotten at its core and it is better to starve on the moors or live forever unhappy than to be complicit in it.” The second thing we see Rochester doing, almost always badly, and this is where the contradiction comes in, is trying to avoid his own pain. I’ve intentionally said pain rather than guilt. I think that gets closer to the heart of the matter.

I’m going to get back to my essay in a minute, but an interjection of sorts, before I put the rest of it under a cut: I think it is vital to the novel that Rochester genuinely changes. Justification of this argument and More Emotions below.

For contemporary readers, the concept of repentance as a process may feel unfamiliar, trite, irreversibly sullied by hypocrites. But even if we take it out of Brontë’s extremely Anglican framework, I read Rochester’s profound, unconditional acceptance of his own sin (wrong, if you prefer) against Bertha and the losses which he sees as divine punishment for it as absolutely key to his having a chance at a future with Jane. The concept of divine retribution is surely stranger to us even than that of repentance, but having Thornfield, Rochester’s inheritance, sign and symbol and engine of his patriarchal wealth, built on colonial exploitation, literally go up in flames like the wicked cities of the Old Testament, is Not Exactly Subtle. And, of course, he loses his sight: “If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out.” His sight has been, in the most fundamental spiritual sense, diseased. He has been incapable of accurately seeing his own guilt (which is to say, seeing it in proportion to all other things, the other facts of Bertha’s madness, the duplicity of his family and that of the Masons, etc. etc.) So he loses his sight. And then he gains a much richer understanding of, well, everything. Gradually. Not all at once. I have Feelings about the psychological realism of those final chapters, but let me rewind, as it were. [N.B. I’m not arguing that Charlotte Brontë presents all this as a straightforward Divine Smiting. It matters that Bertha gets the freedom to bring all this crashing down (literally), and that she chooses her own end. But I do think that Rochester reads it as Smiting; I think we need to take that final assertion of his seriously. It’s entirely possible to read the Elm Tree Incident, and indeed that bizarre wedding morning, as Rochester waiting, waiting with pounding heart, for the bolt of lightning.]

I believe passionately in Rochester and Jane as a couple for a number of reasons (so many reasons, all the reasons), but perhaps chief among them is that they are both, bless them, raging romantics who have had very little outlet for their rich emotional life or for their unconventional, erudite, intelligent, exploratory spiritualities. OR (sorry, I forgot one) for their intellectual life, come to that! Rochester with his library full of science and his feelings about moths and Jane who becomes a teacher and genuinely loves nurturing young minds. *sobs* I love them so much. But Rochester is far too ready to manipulate others as he has been manipulated, and as others seek to manipulate him. His treatment of Blanche Ingram, for instance, I read as being several things, in shifting proportion 1) an effort to distract himself from Jane; he has few if any scruples about involving the unscrupulous and mercenary Miss Ingram in bigamy 2) an effort to distract the neighborhood and its gossip from Jane; why, after all, has he been at Thornfield so long without entertaining anyone?? very suspicious 3) an effort to find out what Jane’s feelings for him are. We see her ready to sting him into jealousy at the end too, a nice little bit of symmetry. Rochester is, yes, high-handed in the extreme. But I read the conversation under the elm tree not as a cynical test, but a genuine and painfully awkward attempt to figure out what Jane’s feelings for him really are. Yes, they’ve been having High Spiritual Communion and intellectual discussions and mutual teasing and borderline flirting for however many weeks it’s been. But also: he’s her employer. He’s at least 15 years older than she is (I forget the details on this. 15? 20? anyway, point stands.) He is not and never has been handsome, and he knows exactly how little his wealth counts for with Jane. He’s deeply weird and his house is weird and he comes with a French ward and a mysterious attic and a wife. But does she love him anyway? She does! *cries about it* 

Of course, none of this excuses the inexcusable. The proposal-to-wedding sequence shows us Rochester at his moral nadir, in relation to both Bertha and Jane. It also shows him on the knife edge of losing control over his integrity in other ways, now that he has violated this one. (Remember when Jane comes back to Thornfield and says “Reader, I had feared worse; I had feared he was mad”? Yeah, there’s a reason for that.) Anyway, allow me to present excerpts from Chapter 27, which lives in paraphrase in my head at all times:

[W]hile he spoke my very conscience and reason turned traitors against me, and charged me with crime in resisting him. They spoke almost as loud as Feeling: and that clamoured wildly. "Oh, comply!" it said. "Think of his misery; think of his danger—look at his state when left alone; remember his headlong nature; consider the recklessness following on despair—soothe him; save him; love him; tell him you love him and will be his. 

Whew! Anyway, she decides not to despite the fact that she and Rochester feel exactly the same way in this moment:

I am insane—quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.

*sobs harder* I think it is vitally important to point out that Jane is not cold or even, in this moment, convinced by her own arguments. She and Rochester are, moments after this, in each other’s arms, the language of fire and flame used for them both, and Rochester releases her first because he wants her influenced by nothing but her own will; not their shared passion, and certainly not his own force.

...Where was I before I got caught up with the unbearable sexual and emotional tension? Oh yes, Rochester after Jane leaves. He embraces an extremely thorough program of self-punishment. The most obvious course of action for him -- the one that Jane, the person who knows him best in all the world, assumes he has taken -- is to run away from his pain again, to leave England. He does not do that. He does the opposite of that. He refuses to so much as leave Thornfield itself except to roam the grounds at night. I love this book so much.  Then, after the fire, which happens only 2 months after Jane leaves, he goes to Ferndean. Now! The only thing we have learned about Ferndean previously is that Rochester refused to have Bertha live there because its bad climate would have (or at least might have) killed her. We learn from Jane-as-narrator that literally no one will rent it, again, because of its “ineligible and insalubrious site.” Rochester has, with heartbreaking obviousness, given up on life. He has, by his own account, been “doing nothing, expecting nothing,” in “ceaseless sorrow... [and] delirium of desire.”

 ...Edward Fairfax Rochester has never heard of chill. Also, as we learn, though he is worried about his disabilities because he is worried that Jane will mind, and because they make him a less eligible potential husband in his own estimation (*sniffle*), what he has been chiefly preoccupied with for the last year is worrying about where Jane is and if she’s all right. Again: the man has never heard of chill. But his impulses are generous. He is the heir to a rotten and a poisoned inheritance, and he begins by blaming this inheritance -- his external circumstances, both his privilege and the choices that he is pushed into by his father and brother -- for his own injuries and the ways in which he has injured others. But I (obviously) vigorously cling to the belief that he genuinely turns away from this, that he confronts his own sins and repents and accepts that he will not, cannot, be reunited with Jane in this life. But then he is. *cries about it* Moreover, in a key reorientation from his earlier avoidance-and-denial coping strategy, he accepts Jane’s services “without painful shame or damping humiliation.” He un-hermits himself! He and Jane travel to see friends and family! They receive visitors! These romantic-hearted science nerds proceed to be shockingly normal... for their own given value of that. I’m also convinced that they have the kinkiest sex in nineteenth-century English literature, and I support them. And part of their happiness is the happiness of others; it’s the opposite of Rochester’s globe-trotting, radically individualistic conduct in the first part of the novel. Of course it’s more than he deserves; he knows that, and he needs to know it. But it’s narratively elegant, and (I think) deeply satisfying. And I love it. And, obviously, him... again, more than he deserves.

[tester2080]

The Leaving Cert is an awful system.

09/09/21

In case you are not from Ireland, the Leaving Cert(ificate) is the exam system that determines which uni we can get into. Rather than having a GPA via continual assessments or any sort of entrance exam or letter of application we simply have one set of exams. There are obviously other exams (such as the christmas and summer exams in other years), however, the Leaving Cert exam is the only one that matters.

When you take a subject you can either do ordinary or higher level. Ordinary level is easier but rewards less points, and higher level is more difficult, but rewards more points. A H1 is worth 100 points (except for HL maths which is 125) and is given if you get between 90 and 100%. A H2 is 88 points and 80-90% and so on. An O1 is 90-100% in an ordinary level subject but only 56 points. There are some weird changes to the system when it comes to medicine but I won't get into that right now. Universities award places based solely on the points you receive. This leads into the first problem.

Whilst the education experience is a multi year process (6 years in secondary school in our case), what determines your uni course is a single event, often just a single week out of many years of learning. This is insanity and leads to so many obvious problems. A person could be getting H1s throughout the year and forgot to study just one topic and end up with a H3 in the leaving cert at the end, and a H3 student could get lucky and study a topic that happens to come up and get a H1. Even a single grade can be the difference between getting into the uni you want and losing out. The leaving cert does not measure you abilities as a student, your effort, or even sometimes your ability. The leaving cert measures your memory and how well you can perform on the day. You getting 100% in every single subject for the past 6 years and a family member dies a few days before the exams and it absolutely ruins your mental state? Too bad. In the eyes of the university you are not a good enough student. You are a perfect student but got a bit nervous and stayed up a bit late the night before to get some extra study in and are tired the next day? Too bad. You've been getting 625 in every set of mock tests but on the day your mind goes blank with the incredible stress, the knowledge that one test will determine the rest of your life? Too. Bad. There are no exceptions to the hand of the points system and claw of bad luck. You cannot explain to the uni. They. Will. Not. Care. Nothing else is taken into account. Students will have bad days. That's just life, we're all human. However that must be accounted for. Nobody should miss out on their life's dream because of a single day. That is absolutely absurd.

When you ask someone what education is about t. There is a filter type system for different categories of posts and all that, so if you're interested in what I have to say, I'd recommend going there for the better experience. I also have no fucking clue how to use tumblr sof you ask them what the leaving cert is about they will say it's about getting into uni. Clearly there is a disconnect here. Where has education become so distorted that now it is nothing more than a way for universities to quickly and easily judge us? Education must be about teaching children, not for some uni test, but simply so they can become more knowledgeable, so they can get a thirst for information, so they can locate their strengths and weaknesses, so future generations can live better lives than we will. University selections must be nothing more than an afterthought. It is even worse when the leaving cert is a horrendously stressful system. We put ourselves through sometimes 6 years of stress and bad quality of mental health to make it easier for universities??? What a ridiculous idea.

The leaving cert isn't even a fair way to judge students. Here, I'll be able to determine how good you're likely to do in the leaving cert with two simple questions. Do you have a good memory? Are you good at maths? If you answered yes to both, the chances of you doing well are very high and if you answered no to both - well - the chances aren't quite as good. A huge amount of the leaving cert is simply a memory test. I know the state will talk constantly about how rote learning is discouraged and all that, but realistically that's not the case. Take for example the English paper. You get to know which poets might come and which poems you can use before the exam. This mean your teacher can simply write you a good sample answer and if you can remember it, that's at least a H2 for that part of the exam. And as for being good at maths - if you're good at maths you already have 3 subjects which you can say with reasonable certainty you will be good at - maths, physics, and applied maths. Students who aren't good at maths have nothing like this unless they are fluent in several languages. A big problem when you arises most of the non maths subjects are based on memory, and the ones not based on memory are based on maths. History? Memorising essays. Irish? Memorising poems. Biology? A lot of memorising. Physics? A lot of maths. Accounting? A lot of memorising. This continues throughout basically all the exam subjects, with only maybe one or two exceptions. I know someone who hasn't even started 5th year, and yet they already know they're screwed and have basically given up on their first choice course because they have dyscalculia and a terrible memory. They can try as hard as they want, study as hard as they can, but realistically, they aren't going to come close to someone with a good memory and are good at maths who put in the bare minimum effort. It's bizarre too, given the amount of jobs that don't require either maths or a good memory.

The subjects you can study in the leaving cert is also extremely limited. You have to study Irish, English, Maths, and a third language. In public schools you then basically have the option of History, Geography, Accounting, Business, Economics, Art, Music, Religion, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and DCG. There are no electives to try out things similar to careers you might be interested or anything like that. Now those that plan to go into business will be happy I'm sure, however, for most other people, the subjects have very little in common with the career you want to do. You're doing law? I suppose a business subject might somewhat help??? You're doing computer science? Maths is kinda related. Medicine? Biology sure, perhaps a little bit of chemistry? But at most 2 out of your 6 subjects will actually be any way relevant to your career. To make it even worse, public schools have subjects in blocks. This means there will 3 blocks of subjects and you pick one from each block. You're super good at both physics, chemistry, and business? Well too bad, there's a very high chance you won't get to study all 3, and you'll have to pick up geography or some other subject you have no interest in. In some cases all 3 of the subjects you like may be in the same block, meaning you'll have to pick up 2 subjects you have no interest in and will likely be worse at. Once again, simple luck plays a huge part in the leaving cert. Going into 5th year, the subjects you're allowed pick will likely change your eventual points by around 30 or possibly more. Furthermore, private schools provide a massive advantage, often with your chance of getting good grades being around 4 times higher. You were born with well off parents? Congrats, here's an extra 100 points have fun. Absolute insanity. The leaving cert is really just determined by luck every way you look at it. Now obviously luck plays a part in everyday life too, but the leaving cert basically caters to the lucky, and a whole lot could be done to reduce the benefit they have based on luck alone, rather than quality of character, or time studied, or effort put in, etc.

I suppose I've reached the stage where I should stop complaining and start giving actual suggestions for improvements then. Fine. Firstly, remove the idiotic one exam process. Instead have some sort of GPA system with continual testing, so it shows how good a student is on average, not just on their worst/best day. Increase the amount of uni places available so that getting into the uni and career you want becomes more of an afterthought, rather than a constant stress looming over you. Add more subjects and electives that will be relevant to the career the student is planning to go into. Make learning and discovering your strengths and weaknesses and just enjoying life in general a main focus. Give students time to relax and do sports outside of school, even in 6th year (which is something basically impossible to do under the current system). Allow the tests that determine the GPA to be open book. Make understand more important than simply memorising. Remove the subject block system so students can do all the subjects they actually enjoy and are good at. I believe that the single test system is one of the reasons that private schools perform so well, by removing that, I believe the scores wouldn't be so far apart. However additions restrictions, or even total banning, of private schools could be implemented. After all, surely everyone deserves the same quality of education. These are children and teenagers for gods sake. There shouldn't be a heirachy of education based on their parents wealth. All students should be given the same opportunities. Private schools largely do better due to having better teachers. There currently isn't a large enough supply of very good teachers to go around, and the private schools can simply buy up the majority of good ones. We should pay teachers more, a lot of people thinking about careers may be dissuaded from teaching, despite having a passion, due to the low pay. Many good teachers also go to places like Dubai thanks to the better pay. Overall in society, teachers are sort of dismissed as a profession, and if we wish to improve the lives of the next generations, this must change.

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

I was talking to a coworker today about the idea of abolishing the police. She asked the usual, reasonable questions, like “What will a world without police look like? Who will keep us safe from violent criminals? Who will enforce the law?” and I didn’t have all the answers. I knew, though, that smarter people than me had thought this through, so I’ve been looking for resources, and I’ve found a ton. I’ll link some below.

A short(ish) version is that, to start with, there are a LOT of things that the police do now that either don’t need to be done at all (and are harmful), or that would be much better handled by other groups. If your neighbor is having a screaming meltdown, he doesn’t need an armed cop called on him, he needs a mental health crisis worker. If you need to file a legal report after a car accident, why is the same guy who could be chasing down rapists taking down the details? “Armed bureaucrats” are not something we need. Out of date license plate, parked in the wrong place, etc: these do not require a threatening and potentially deadly interaction with a cop. And when the police are ticketing or arresting people for having an open container in their own front yard, lying about their home address to get their kids into a safer school, being too poor to have a home, or any nonviolent drug offense, or when they show up at peaceful protests in military gear and shoot people in the face with “less lethal” weapons  – well, they could just not be doing that at all, and we’d all be better off.So that brings us wayyyyy down on how much police we use.

The actual protecting from, investigating, and solving violent crimes is a minor part of the current scope of policing. This probably seems like the most important part of what the police do, but they’re bad at it. They hurt or kill too many people in the process. They lie and cheat to get arrests and convictions, and they’re obviously really fucking racist along the way. (Xenophobic, sexist, and anti-LGBT to boot! Intersectional violent oppression.) Many crimes go unsolved, and those that do have a resolution often fail to restore anything to the victims, or do anything to prevent the perpetrator from doing the same again. Nothing for the structural reasons that made a person decide to commit that crime. Surely there is a better way to deal with violence than this – why don’t we at least try?

Ultimately, dealing with violent crime without police is a systemic issue. If everyone has enough to eat, a place to live, and a stable life, there will be less robbery. If you for a mutual aid group with your neighbors, you won’t fear each other, and you’ll know people you can count on in a crisis. If everyone has mental health support, there will be less drug addiction, and if drug use isn’t a crime, they won’t need to commit others to support it. Actually, the first article linked below makes this point better than I can:

“The police are not performing the function we say they are, and there are real ways to achieve a world with less violence that don’t include the police. We simply haven’t tried. Until we invest in full employment, universal healthcare that includes mental health services, free education at every level, comprehensive sex education that teaches about consent and bodily autonomy, the decriminalization of drugs and erasure of the stigma around drug use, affordable and adequate housing, eliminating homophobia and transphobia—things that actually reduce the amount of violence we witness—I don’t want to hear about how necessary the police are. They are only necessary because we are all too willing to hide behind our cowardice and not actually put forth the effort to create a better world.” (Mychal Denzel Smith)

Most of these articles also get into the Why of abolishing policing, so if it doesn’t already sound like a good idea to you they’ll help with that as well.

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/abolish-police-instead-lets-have-full-social-economic-and-political-equality/

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/06/police-abolition-george-floyd/

https://www.themarshallproject.org/records/3382-police-abolition (this one is a big roundup of links)

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59ead8f9692ebee25b72f17f/t/5b65cd58758d46d34254f22c/1533398363539/CR_NoCops_reform_vs_abolition_CRside.pdf

http://criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing/ (source of the above pdf)

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #3

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T/N: Okay, so, this is one of those chapters where the author makes mistakes in linguistics (but she’s trying, guys, she’s trying!). She writes “prasinon” as “prase” for some reason, and I took the liberty to fix it myself when translating.

Connecting Chrysoprase

Jewelry Etranger sat inconspicuously at Ginza 7-choume. The store owner, Richard, was the possessor of a beauty that you couldn’t think was from this world, but no matter how beautiful he was, once half a year had passed, you would get used to it. And as I got used to him, the questions also surfaced.

“Hey, Richard, don’t you have any favorite foods other than sweets? Do you eat ramen or anything like that?”

Mr. Richard Ranashinha de Vulpian looked at me with scrutinizing blue eyes. Sitting on the red sofa, he had been observing the contents of a large jewel box, holding them up over his head against the morning light shining in from the window.

“I find difficult to figure the aim of the question. Why ramen? I have had meals with you numerous times. I eat anything without likes or dislikes.”

“I know. It’s not like it’s limited to just ramen, but you don’t eat that kind of stuff much, do you?”

Like chives. Or garlic. Or grilled meat dripping with juices.

I knew that this didn’t suit his image. He was a man whose features seemed to have accidentally come out of a dream world. If he told me that he could live off eating department store sweets and pink roses, he could probably have me seriously convinced up to about 70%. That was exactly why I would feel like searching for a gap.

As I was about to ask if he understood this logic, Richard replied curtly with a clay doll-like face, “What ill intentions.”

That was true. I wasn’t some obsessive follower of an idol’s personal life or anything. Richard hit bull’s-eye with the deduction that I “probably ate ramen yesterday”. For some reason, things got awkward. I was in a position where it was better to retreat for a while. Time to change the subject.

“What stone is that? Looks like candy and it’s pretty cute.”

“A type of chalcedony. They are in the same category as crystals. In particular, this one with a milky apple-green color is called chrysoprase.

“Ah~...”

What Richard was pinching with his bare hands - because it was safer to touch it with bare skin rather than wearing gloves, he said, as it wouldn’t cause any damage - was a pale green, round stone. It had low transparency, was cut en cabochon and looked like an old-style candy.

“W-What was it again? The name. Chry...?”

“‘Chrysoprase’,” Richard repeated for me.

How many times had something like this happened? The stone’s name was in a Western language. Basically, all of them were in katakana. My ears did register it, but I couldn’t memorize it in one go at all. Richard was a helpful person, so there were times when he wrote down the names in romaji and explained them to me, but I honestly couldn’t keep up with him. There were countless stones in this world.

“Chryso... aah, no good. It’s hard to memorize.”

“‘Chrysoprase’. It is said to be a stone that helps to harmonize and integrate personalities. Medieval European literature also mentions it as a stone that Alexander the Great loved.”

Alexander the Great. A person I had learned about in high school. Even I knew that name. The fact that a stone adored by a warlord who had long passed away was still loved by people of the current times was thought-provoking. The range of the gemstone world was broad. But, well, leaving that as that.

“How d’you memorize stones’ names? It’s not like you’ve got some test to do like in a history class...”

“Do you think anyone would buy goods from a trader who cannot even say their names?”

“I don’t, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard. There’s lots of types and they sound like magic spells. Like ‘Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte’. It wouldn’t be weird if you felt like cheating without a care in the world. You got any trick for memorizing them?”

“My compliments to you for being able to pronounce the official name of Sri Lanka’s capital. But I cannot praise the part about carelessly deceiving people. Once your reputation falls to earth, it does not recover so easily. To begin with, your perception of business in general is too lax for someone enrolled in the Faculty of Economics. I know you have the aspiration, but if you do not pair it to practical abilities and skills, you will be running idle. Shouldn’t you try to improve these skills once again so that you can avoid unnecessary hardships in the future? Instead of obsessing over finding out something unexpected about the shopkeeper from your part-time job.”

The arguments were so spot-on that I was at a loss for words. Even so, still with a slightly exasperated face, Richard continued to speak. Most likely, it was his gentle side’s turn from here on out.

“Still, you are right, I do have a trick. If I were to use the capital as an example, ‘Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte’ had its original name ‘Kotte’ being embellished with the title of ‘President Jayawardene’s Sacred City’. When you know the origin of it, doesn’t this line-up of katakana letters that only appears in magic spells turn into meaningful words?”

“So it had that kind of meaning? I see...”

“Is this time to be impressed? Do the same and discover the relatedness of all kinds of matters in your daily life. If you direct your eyes to the depths of your history without sticking to the surface, I guarantee that your world will broaden much more richly.”

“Then what about the chrysoprase of just now?”

As I took a stab at arousing his enthusiasm, the volubly beautiful shop owner smiled gorgeously. I felt that this guy would stay in a good mood forever just as long as I gave him sweets and let him talk about gems. And I liked Richard’s face the most when he was in his best mood.

“This word is taken from the Greek language. It consists of two separate words, ‘chrysos’ and ‘prasinon’. The meaning of chrysos is ‘gold’. The bright golden that can be seen showing through within the green was associated with gold. Prasinon means...”

What happened? His enunciation suddenly got bad.

When I urged him to continue, Richard looked down at the stone in his hand with a dull look and sighed a little. “The meaning of prasinon... comes close to plants such as chives or green onions.”

“Ooh—!”

As I clapped my hands together with an “all paths lead to ramen”, Richard made a face like he had just woken up from a nightmare. What is it? Please laugh.

“In any case, the mental attitude of trying to master something is commendable. I pray that your efforts will bear fruit.”

“Thanks, thanks. Well, will you eat ramen after all?”

Mr. Richard, the jeweler, looked at me with an awfully sharp gaze. What was that face? His facial expression looked like the usual nuance that he was growing fond of my foolishness had increased to about 30%. Did he intend to poke fun on me?

“Yes, yes, I will.”

“What do you prefer? Like miso or soy sauce?”

“A large helping of green onions and garlic. And even then, it is good to grate raw garlic and put in it.”

“That’s a pretty hardcore taste for someone who works with close-contact service business.”

“Which is why this is not something I can eat whenever. I eat it carefully by myself when I do not have to meet anyone the next day.”

As my eyes widened, the beautiful storekeeper raised his chin arrogantly. Did he want to say that this didn’t suit his image or had it just unfolded anew?

“How was it, did you enjoy the so-called ‘gap’?”

“No, it’s not like that’s the main goal.”

“Hah?”

“I can’t invite anyone for a French cuisine restaurant or a high-class sweets store, but if it’s a ramen shop, there’s lots of them near my university. If you like, why don’t we go eat together next time? They’re mostly shops that seem better to drop by wearing a t-shirt rather than a suit, but I wanna try chatting with you while eating this kind of junky stuff every now and then.”

“For you to discover a new unexpected thing about me, you mean?”

“I just wanna get along with you better.”

For an instant, Richard’s facial expression strained hard. What was up? His face looked like he hadn’t known better and bit a sour pickled plum or something. As I furrowed my brows, his blue eyes narrowed, looking glum, while he closed the jewel box with a click and stood up.

“Ah, show me more. It wasn’t nearly enough—”

“The chrysoprase is said to have the power to put the balance of mind and body in order, as well as make it spring up comfortably. Perhaps because its fresh grass color is a reminder of spring. Isn’t this stone unnecessary for you, since you are always in a festive mood?”

“Why’re you angry?”

“I am not.”

“Shouldn’t you take a better look at the chrysoprase?”

“Thank you for the unnecessary meddling.”

Leaving me with things to say, Richard disappeared into the back room. Was it that bad to invite him to a ramen shop? It wasn’t a good idea to let him stay angry, so I voluntarily prepared two cups of royal milk tea in the kitchenette. Having come out into the reception room, Richard said nothing more than the expected as he drank a tea that had a little more sugar in it than usual.

After the customer of that morning had gone home, Richard showed me the chrysoprase once again. Upon a better look, I understood the meaning of that naming, which I couldn’t think of as anything more than a mystery at first. Didn’t the people of ancient times think that this was a plant born from gold? The uneven surface was smooth and wavy like an organic body. Chrysoprase. Gold and green onions. Even though there were several gems in this world, I would probably never forget the name of this one. If I ever got to eat ramen with Richard someday, I would definitely bring up this stone.

“Do you remember that talk?” I would ask.

[sunlightwoo]

Mistakes Are Made

ღ pairing: fallen angel!yunho x gender neutral reader

ღ genre: friends to lovers, and then strangers… there is some fluff, but will end up being angst (not gonna lie i hurt myself with this one)

ღ wc: 839

ღ plot: in which you remember the three times that you’ve met Yunho, the once innocent person that you’ve ever encountered and fallen in love with who ended up being someone that you didn’t think he was.

FALLIN FOR YOU MASTERLIST

The first time that you met Yunho was in your economics class, neither of you knew what was going on at all throughout the lecture, but you were grateful to share the class with someone who was willing to brighten up your day. It was strange considering he didn’t look the way that he talked when you first held your conversation with him, but it was interesting to see that he wanted to put in the same amount of effort into your friendship with him that you did.

It was one of the things that you liked about him.

He was loyal, trustworthy, someone that you were able to confide into while suffering in college as he became your best friend over the short amount of time that you became friends with him. You thought that it was cute, seeing as though he looked like an innocent lost puppy as the two of you were known to be connected by the hip; inseparable from the other as you always went to a lot of the school events together platonically.

You believed in the first two years of being friends with Yunho, that he would always stay by your side and pull through with whatever deal that you went through along with you. However, things seemed to change as you were in your final semester together, the two of you having to have met the second time under different circumstances after a year of not talking to one another because of school and different friend groups.

The second time that you met Yunho was when he looked cooler than he once did, his entire look completely changed as he was more mature; darker. His entire aura was completely different from the first time that you'd met him because he was then a stranger to you, until the very night that he showed up to your apartment with his heart on his sleeves.

The kiss you shared was anything but what would’ve been innocent in your eyes.

That night when he kissed you, it felt like your body was on fire as he held you close to him, as though he would lose you to the darkness of the world if he were to let go, and he was absolutely afraid of that. You were someone that was fragile and untainted, to be protected by someone that wasn’t him because he was scared that you would learn about the secrets he was harboring, even though he had told you already about being an angel.

It was nothing compared to the fact that you still saw him with all the light possible in your eyes, not wanting to let him go because you believed that you loved him, and you let yourself believe that he was in love with you too after so long. However, it was until there was just one night that he leaves a note behind at your apartment without another word, all traces of him gone as he told you to forget about everything that you both once shared.

And that was how you became strangers again.  

The final time that you’ve met Yunho was the last one, just moments ago when he finally reveals a secret that you had a hunch about. You knew from the beginning that he was an angel, someone that was supposed to protect and make sure that other humans were going in the right direction, rather than sinning. You even thought that at one point, he was your guardian angel, which was why he came into your life when he did in the first place.

However, the fact that you were staring back at the stranger in front of you with shock and heartbreak, seeing as though he was wingless, his wings having been ripped out by the higher ups above. Had he been hiding them the entire time that you’ve known him in your life, or was he just really good at distracting you? Did you not see it the last time that you saw him?

“You’re going to forget about me, Y/N, and I mean it this time. You have to, and I will be the one that makes sure of it.” He mumbles to you quietly, staring into your own eyes as you didn’t know what to say to him, seeing as though you felt breath taken from how dangerous he was now.

But you also wanted him to stay, despite the fact that he was detrimental to your own life.

“What if I don’t want to forget about you, Yunho? You can’t just make me forget about you, even if we end up being strangers again.” You retort with your voice slowly retorting to a small whisper, watching his eyes get darker than you’ve ever seen them get; a look that meant that you were in it for the dangerous part of life, and you had yet to see what he was still capable of.

“Then you’re only going to be in more pain because of me.”

[realityhelixcreates]

Dance of the Spheres Chapter 4: Venusian Vogue

Chapters: 4/?

Fandom:  Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: PG 13

Warnings: drugging, kidnapping, forced marriage

Characters: Loki(Marvel),

Additional Tags:  Loki Goes Overboard, But When Doesn’t Loki go Overboard, Mature Reader, Disabled Reader, Political Intrigue

Summary:  

Images of broken light Which dance before me like a million eyes They call me on and on across the universe.                   Across the Universe-The Beatles

“I am Loki.”

“I asked for a bride.”

The declarations smashed into you like fists and took your breath with them.

There was a ring on your finger. Silvery, plain, simple. Why hadn't you noticed it before?

This was clearly Loki. Sunken eyes, and onyx hair, and refined bones. Exactly like the pictures. Why hadn't you noticed?

Too many things all at once. Too much. A fearful whine escaped your teeth, as you tugged on the ring. It didn't budge.

“You're supposed to be dead.” You whispered.

His face fell the instant you spoke.

“You know. I sometimes think that myself. Yet somehow I remain. Take it as a reassurance: you will not lose me to battle, or accident. I will never leave you. I suppose that is something that new brides must worry about, especially human ones. You may put that fear to rest.”

“That's not what I'm-” You clamped your mouth shut. You were in a bad position, worse than you'd ever been, maybe. You were completely alone here; you could contact no one for help. You weren't even sure where exactly 'here' was-no one knew where Asgard was located.

You were trapped in a room with a madman. A prince among his own people, who had proven himself capable of the mass murder of humans like you. Yet claiming you were his bride.

No one would come to your aid.

Did anyone even know you were missing?

You glanced at the ring once more. Its twin rested proudly on his own left hand. What choice did you have?

You had to play along. At least until you found some way out of this. Stay on the madman's good side, as much as that was possible.

“Why me?” You asked, fighting down your panic. Just gather information for now. “I'm literally nobody.”

“I don't understand either.” He sat down on the bed, just a little closer to you than arms length. “This was supposed to be a chance at reconciliation. I willingly gave myself up in a symbolic act of unity. Sacrificed my own freedom.”

You side-eyed him hard. Gave up his freedom? In what capacity? He wasn't the one kidnapped and married without any knowledge or choice!

“This isn't an uncommon arrangement.” He continued. “Your species has done this since time immemorial. From kings all the way down to commoners, uniting families, uniting fortunes, uniting entire lands. Surely your...leader...understood what was to be gained. Yes, I did a terrible thing to your people, but this should have forged a new alliance. A promise that not only would I not do such a thing again, but that my formidable prowess would be for your people, rather than against them. Was this not enough? This should have opened the way for trade, for treaties...And you! Why do such a thing to you? One of his own people?”

“Oh, I'm not his.” You said. “I voted against him. I march in protests against his shitty policies. I oppose him in any way I can. I'd say 'maybe that's why', but it really can't be. I'm nowhere near important or influential enough for the government to pay any attention to me. They're too busy trying to kill me through austerity. Or through the cops.”

Loki's face darkened. “I should find that officer and flay him. Make you a bodice of his skin.”

He'd been reaching for your shoulder, but you flinched away.

“Okay see? That right there? That's why people might not want to ally with you.” You pointed out.

“He shouldn't have hurt you.”

“That's true. That doesn't mean you can use my pain as an excuse to rampage on Earth!”

“I shan't!” He protested. “Never again, I promise you that.”

But how good was the promise of government? Politician or hereditary ruler, it was all the same. How good was the word of a murderer? How many promises had he already broken?

“How do you feel?” He asked. “You seem...lively. Whatever you were drugged with, is it having a lasting effect?”

“I'm a little disoriented, but I'm awake.” You said. “The food and water helped.”

“Yes. About that. Ah. Would you like to see your rooms? I've been anticipating your arrival-well, someone's arrival-for some months now, and I've had chambers created that befit your new station.”

The big unknown outside. Beyond this room was nothing but uncertainty. But you would be the first human being to see this new Asgard. You told yourself it was a perk.

“Um...” You mumbled. “My clothes...” You weren't going out there in a flimsy hospital gown, that was for sure.

“Being cleaned and mended.” Loki informed you. “I have a simple gown that I believe should fit you. Here.” Wit a sweeping gesture, he produced a voluminous, forest green garment out of seemingly nowhere.

You scooted away. “How did you do that?” You demanded.

“Magic, of course.” He said. “You...don't know about the magic...?”

You shook your head and took the robe from him. It felt real enough, smooth and soft, with fur trim and pin tucks. This was simple?

“What do you know about me, my dear?” He asked.

“Not much. Just what...turn around!” Sheepishly, he turned his back so you could change. “Just what was on the news. And the approximately three million conspiracy websites that popped up afterwards. You might be shocked by how many people think you were an inside job.”

“A what?”

“That's not even counting all the cults. You and Thor really got the radicalization machine cranking them out. White supremacists, nationalists, doomsday cults...thanks a lot. Not as if we didn't have enough problems cleaning up the mess you left behind.”

“That...was not my intention. Were you...?”

“I was not part of any cults. I was also not part of the celebration of your death, either.”

The news broadcast had interrupted every television, lit up every phone. A tired and battle-worn Thor, looking not one inch the hero the world knew him to be, as he towered over the reporter. He gave only a short statement: His brother Loki was dead, perished in honorable battle, in an effort to protect the galaxy from an ancient enemy.

People had trusted him. They'd seen the destruction that enemy had caused, in their quest to destroy everything. The odd teleportation anomalies in England that had dominated youtube for a long time. The leaves in your bathroom, the foreign plants in the park. Exotic, even alien creatures being spotted.

People threw parties at the news of Loki's demise. You'd gone out, gotten yourself exactly one drink, and then stayed home for the weekend. It didn't seem right, not after seeing Thor so hollowed out. You didn't really get on with celebrating the death of your enemies anyway, only the success of your causes.

“Oh. Well. Thank you.”

“But yeah, all I really know is that you attacked us out of the blue, and brought an army with you. You caused billions in damages and cost hundreds of lives. Thousands more lost everything. The economic blow is still with us, and led to some of the problems I've been marching against. And then you died. Except not, obviously. Was Thor lying to us?”

“No. He truly believed me dead. I did too, until I woke up. So you know nothing of me. I feared that might be the case. I am no warlord, not truly. I am the foremost sorcerer of Asgard. My magic has many applications, one of which is that I am rarely found without what I need.”

“So magic is real?” Why not? Aliens were real. Gods were apparently real.

“Yes, very. When times were...better, I used to tutor younger students. I might go back to doing that, once we are more established. Once we are safe.”

Safe? From what? Was whatever it was that had destroyed Asgard still out there? Thor had said otherwise, before the radio silence, but he had also thought that Loki was dead, and he was wrong about that, so...

“May I look now, dear?”

“Oh...yeah. I'm dressed.” The gown did fit, though mostly because it was a shapeless, oversized thing that was closed around you with ties. Still, it was luxurious, and made you feel like you were actually pretty-as long as no one looked at you too closely. Was this what a princess wore? You shouldn't allow yourself to get too used to it. As soon as you found a way out, you were out.

“Delightful. Even such a simple gown enhances your beauty. Will you come with me, dear? Let me show you our grand achievements.”

You didn't really want to be exposed to the people of Asgard, but this room was no safer than anywhere else right now. Loki hovered, and you stood, and managed a few wobbly steps before you overbalanced. He caught you instantly.

“Don't worry.” He murmured. “I'm here.”

As if that wasn't the problem in the first place.

“So, while you were carrying me off...I mean, when you, uh, received me, did you notice a cane lying around?” You asked. “I had one. Did the guys who brought me give it to you?”

“I'm afraid not.” He said apologetically. “They seemed strangely eager to quit the area.”

“Yeah, well. They had just committed a felony.” You griped. “They probably had orders to disappear. And they probably didn't want to hang around and witness what a warlord was gonna do to me.”

He winced. “I promise you, that's not what I really am.”

“Sorry.”

He held out his arm for you. “I don't have your cane, but I can support you. We will have another cane made for you. There should have been an Artificer and an apprentice Healer in here at some point, to measure you for a new prosthetic.”

“Uh, there were. I, uh, kinda told them to piss off.”

“Ah. I suppose I cannot blame you, now that I know of your situation. But they are here at your service, as is all of Asgard.”

He helped you limp along, somehow maintaining his dignified stride, even as you wobbled along like a penguin. The hallways were as bland and labyrinthine as a human hospital, if somewhat more softly lit. Again the light source was obscured behind thin panes of cloudy crystal, which diffused the light, giving everything a comforting, if slightly mysterious atmosphere, which the general emptiness of the area only enhanced.

There were few people here, but for some reason, you had been placed in a room far within the hospital complex. Maybe they wanted to hide you away, so that no one knew you were here until they were ready to introduce you to Asgard. Or until they were certain you were going to survive. It might cause a scandal if the prince's bride just up and died upon arrival.

Or perhaps it was to protect you. There were plenty of reasons why a human bride might not be accepted by the Asgardian populace; everything from nationalism, to someone wanting to make a bid for that crown themselves.

There were still no windows to be seen, and everything was made of stone, just like in the hospital room. Out here, in the halls and waiting rooms, the desks, chairs, and tables all seemed to be joined to the walls and floor, as if the whole place had been carved from a single, solid piece, like the rock-cut architecture of the fabled city of Petra. Here again were the creamy grays and oranges lining the walls, though a smooth black also made an appearance.

Eventually, you came to what must have been a foyer, with a high ceiling, complex stone mosaics, and huge, gorgeously carved double doors, but still no windows.

“We will be going outside now.” Loki said. “This facility is within the palace complex, and is not far from your special chambers, but we will have to cross a few halls and courtyards. There are plenty of places to sit, so if you need a rest, simply say so.”

He opened the doors for you, and you stepped out into a world of stone.

Everything was stone, stone or metal. Before you was a wide open courtyard, clearly unfinished, but spacious. At regular intervals were stone towers supporting open pillared hallways in a multiple storied, vaguely Roman courtyard style. The towers shot up, and up, and up...you climbed them with your gaze, following them to the heights to which they had to buttress each other with thin struts of stone, higher still, where they joined with an impossibly high ceiling.

There was a roof over the courtyard, so tall that your couldn't fathom how it had been built. Beyond the courtyards stacked walkways-six full stories-you could see the tips of other towers, lined with lights, merging with this high rise ceiling. Was the entire palace built under this massive shelter?

Clearly the sun did not reach into the palace. To offset this, the crystal-paned, inset lights were everywhere, creating complex patterns that mimicked the intricate knotted carvings that chased up the towers and pillars. The corbels glared down at you, fierce masks of bearded men, wolves, dragons and birds, lights in their eyes.

Combined, it was not as bright as sunlight, but not dim either. The softness of the glow made shadows diffuse, made the stone look soft and fake, and even shimmery in places, like the set pieces in eighties fantasy movies. If not for the pain in your bruises, you'd have thought the dreamy atmosphere was just that, and that you were about to wake up from this absurd dream any moment now.

But the pain was there, and denied that simple, hopeful wish. And Loki was there, gently urging you forward like he was a real gentleman, instead of a heinous war criminal. There were a few other people out here as well; walking the courtyards pillared halls, resting on stone benches, carving hollows into the ground.

There was no soil here. All stone. As you crossed the courtyard, you noticed black, and gray, and cloudy crystal inlaid into the ground in a shape reminiscent of a compass rose, decorated with silvery wire knotwork in bird and serpent shapes.

There were troughs and niches being carved into the ground that looked to you like they were meant to be flower beds...eventually. You had seen no dirt here yet, no grass or growing things at all. Maybe once you finally got outside. But for now, it felt as if you had left a building, only to exit into another building, that was in turn, within another building.

It was a bit suffocating.

Loki led you across several courtyards, each with a different pattern inlaid into their bare floor, and through vaulted hallways that still contained no windows. Many of these hallways intersected in large, circular domes, and few of them had any distinctive markings. Soon you were completely lost. With any luck, you would be able to get your hands on some paper, and create a map-otherwise, any escape attempts would be doomed from the word go.

But maybe that was the point.

Your staggering steps echoed down a particularly tall and wide hallway, almost completely devoid of people. You were almost at the end of your physical capabilities, and while there were places to sit, you felt like you must be close to your destination. You really wanted to be in a room whose dimensions you could be certain of. A space you could comprehend.

Loki brought you to a stop in front of a pair of carved wooden doors. As the first piece of architecture you had seen here that was something other than stone, you found them more beautiful than anything you'd seen all day. They were something almost normal, almost like something you would have at home. If you were insanely rich, or your dad was a carpenter or something. They were a warm terra-cotta color, carved with a dizzying array of knotwork, framed with blackened, riveted iron. The handles were iron serpents.

“We imported some things from your homeland. This redwood lumber is one such thing. From what I hear, these trees are emblematic of your country.”

“Er...” How to politely say, 'not really, even though most people who live there do know what a redwood is'. They weren't very important to anyone who didn't live near where they grew. They weren't what you would call 'quintessentially American'. There wasn't anything you could really call that. The place was just too damn big.

“We couldn't bring too much, not yet anyway.” He continued. “It is expensive, unfortunately, and we only have one ship. It can only carry so much, and it takes about three days to transport. Things are moving slowly, but our construction projects are moving along speedily. There's little else to do right now, save build.”

He opened the doors for you, and led you into a fairy tale.

[sihyunws]

— woah! who’s this mess!

hello hello hello everyone! i’m mia (19, she/her, est) and this is sihyun, phoenix’s lead vocalist and self-titled healing-dol. he’d really like to convince you that he has his shit together but i’ll very swiftly be dismantling that illusion for you. to phoenix fans, sihyun is a charming, genuine idol who brings comfort to those around him. to anyone with insight into his full personality, sihyun is a desperate and self-sacrificing person who would really rather die than show any clear signs of his emotional wellbeing (or lack of it) to the public. while the kind and considerate parts of his idol persona aren’t falsehoods, he is nowhere near as tranquil or well-put-together as he makes his fans believe. now that he’s 3 years into his career, he’s about 2 steps from intense burnout and has garnered quite a dissatisfaction for his place in the industry. he has yet to admit either of these things to himself, and who knows when he ever will! 

anyway, with that all-over-the-place summary, i’ll be placing more details under the cut!   

profile | biography | career page | plots (under construction, but feel free to look anyway) 

biography:

as states in his position, sihyun comes from a poor family. as a child this didn’t really bother him as he’s always had a good relationship with his parents (who did everything they could to hide any signs of economic hardships from their kids) and older sister, but he became intimately acquainted with just how elitist kids can be by the time he reached middle school.

as you can probably imagine from the prior bullet, he wasn’t extremely popular in school. there was nothing akin to bullying, but there was a constant air of purposeful isolation.

the only “community” he really found in school was in the school choir, but even then it was still rife with hierarchical issues and he never really came out of it with “real” friends. 

however, singing grew into being something that he could release all of his frustrations into. (it is also, predictably, the beginning of his unhealthy work ethic)

to make a long story short: sihyun grinds his way into getting a soloist position in the choir, and is scouted by YS at an event they are singing at. 

the competitive environment of YS combined with his already fervent desire to change the way his family is living is a disaster waiting to happen.  

the explosion happens at perhaps the worst time possible. he had lasted over 3 years and made it into phoenix without cracking, but the snap happened on camera. 

as a part of phoenix’s predebut reality show he had to take phoenix (as well as an extensive camera crew) to his family’s home, and during the process he outright started bawling. he also cried in the interview segment where he had to talk about his life before his trainee days. this, of course, was not edited out of the program and the issue became one of the key examples as to how invasive the show was. 

to this day, those outbursts are his most regretted moments throughout his entire time being an idol, and he never wants to show such an embarrassing image ever again.

as his time in phoenix has progressed, he’s made sure to only show positive sides of himself to the public.

getting phoenix’s first win earlier this year has certainly lifted some of the weight off of his chest, but it’s not wholly gone yet. there is still a part of him that is frustrated at it taking so long. there’s also a part of him (that he has no idea about) that’s finally starting to get tired of pushing himself this hard, that can sense that he is constantly at his tipping point and is fed up with it. he has no thoughts of not being an idol currently, but how long will it take for him to start crumbling again? 

personality:

*slaps roof of the metaphorical sihyun car* this baby can fit so much anxiety and misplaced responsibility issues in it

while it may not show through in his bio, sihyun is a shockingly well-adjusted person around 75% of the time.

while this isn’t to say his obsessive tendencies are gone during this period, i would liken it to leaving a fan running. you can always hear it, but there are ways to focus on other things.

 while sihyun isn’t really the most outgoing or variety-attuned member of phoenix, his comforting personality is often attributed as being his “stan attractor” quality by his fans.

while he is lacking in regards to his own introspective capabilities, he is naturally empathetic and does well at giving advice for other people’s problems.

aside from this, he is friendly and does his best to make good first impressions. even in cases where he doesn’t like someone he is generally not one to purposefully create conflict and will usually act similarly to how he does with everyone else.

all in all, he’s generally good natured, clearly dedicated to his work, and is largely inoffensive to be around.

the other 25% is such an overcorrection from the norm, however, that it has tendencies to outshine it. 

sihyun takes care to only act this way alone, but most of the people who know him intimately (phoenix, people he was close to while training) are likely aware of it.

this part believes in the following: his family’s wellbeing depends on his success, his success is completely controlled by his effort, and his effort takes precedence over all of his other concerns. none of these things are true, in reality, but he is convinced. 

on both a positive and negative note, he is always giving 110% on stage and in practice.

without outside intervention, sihyun will work himself until he physically can’t, whether that he running his voice raw or dancing until he can barely walk back to the dorms. this was far more common during his trainee days, but it still occurs when other phoenix members are too busy themselves to keep him in check. 

in this state he is more likely to be vocally frustrated with himself and others. 

he’s very grateful for the people around him who check in on him and keep him from hurting himself like this, but there is no improvement on the actual behavior in sight for him currently. 

other: (career details)

he runs a weekly scheduled vlive called “sihyun’s calming hour” where he gives advice and listens to fans’ troubles. (a little ironic, but it’s been surprisingly successful)

is looking to branch into MCing a music show at some point in his career

has repeatedly tried to produce a song for phoenix, only to be rejected due to them not fitting the group’s image.

[thefairyletters]

Suigetsu x Sakura?? 👀

Ask me a ship:

SuiSaku

Who proposed the other first?

Suigetsu.

He often proposed to Sakura, flattered her and tagged along with her at any and every opportunity. It wasn't until he kissed her on one of their dates (not that Sakura knew they were dates) that Sakura finally realised he had meant everything he said. With Suigetsu, its hard to tell for her when he is serious and when he isn't. He is worse than Naruto in that respect. Of course she said yes to him.

So when they met up with others the next time, it was Sasuke who took one look at them and muttered something suspiciously about how they were so annoying.

Who kissed the other first?

Suigetsu.

Sakura wouldn't have realised he existed otherwise.

Who gives a good-morning kiss to other?

Sakura.

Unlike Suigetsu who works part-time at Tenten's weapon shop as a weapon engineer and isn't required to show up to work as early as 6 in the morning, Sakura has a hospital to manage and therefore is expected to leave late and arrive early. He is a heavy sleeper and she knows he wouldn't wake even if the village were to get attacked in the middle of the night. So if she gets emotional every morning because he looks like an angel in his sleep and showers him with light kisses because she feels like the luckiest women in the world, he doesn't know any of it. Not that she wants him to, it'd be embarrassing if he realises she cries every morning over him.

Who likes to play footsies?

Not footsies but...

Suigetsu loves biting her ankles, wrists, and anything of her thats fits his mouth. It might be a kiri thing, to mark people as their own, is what Sakura thinks about his fetish. Nevermind that Sakura loves being marked by him.

Of course she heals it all in the morning. Suigetsu doesn't mind because he gets to bite again. Well, when Sakura allows him.

Who is the dominant one?

Suigetsu.

For all his lean figure, he is stronger than everyone gives him credit for. You can't hold up a huge ass sword being weak. As much as Sakura enjoys pinning him, he almost always flip the roles without much effort. Not that she minds but she never goes down without a fight.

Simply put, their bed becomes their preferred battlefield.

Who likes to keep a picture of the other with them all the time?

None.

Both of them are more or less always in the village, and whenever Sakura is assigned a solo mission, Suigetsu accompanies her as her selfassigned partner. Kakashi lets them go together because if he doesn't grant permission Suigetsu would nag Sasuke (or Karin) who in turn would come straight to him and complain until he either send them away on a mission or permits them to kill him.

Sakura never minds him tagging along on her missions because she knows he knows she is capable of handling herself and only joins her because he will be bored without her. That and Karin had once specially, desperately, requested her to take all her belongings with her when she takes on a mission.

It is only after they have children that Suigetsu stops accompanying her on missions to take care of their baby girls.

Who likes to buy the other gifts?

No one.

To Suigetsu, material things hold little value. There's not much that excites him besides swords. When she once got him a stolen sword, which absolutely thrilled him, only to spend two hours listening to him rant and rave about the poor condition of the sword and how could they, to this little baby, really??? No worries I'll treat you like a princess Ah no, sorry love, but Sakura is my only queen. Regardless to say, she never got him another sword.

To Sakura, the first and last material gift he's ever got her is his own sword. He taught her Kenjutsu so she could take it with her on days he wouldn't be with her. He says she is a horrible swordsman, but they both know she has beaten him with his own sword more times than he is willing to admit. She rarely uses it on missions – always choosing to go for her versatile axe – but she always keeps it with her.

Who takes initiative in making physical contact?

Sakura.

She has always been a romantic. It took her an embarrassingly long time to figure out Suigetsu actually liked her. Holding back had been easy when they were friends, but when they moved in together as soon as they began to date, it became a challenge for Sakura to keep her distance. Their relationship isn't completely based on lust. As much as they love their bedroom moments, but they also equally enjoy the private moments where they do nothing but cuddle in their couch, take care of their weapons and watch reruns of their favourite movies.

She finds his eyes to be the most beautiful pair of eyes she's ever seen and hates it when his bangs hide them from her view. She always brushes his hair aside whenever she could so she could look into his eyes a little more. Suigetsu knows she has a thing for eyes, especially his eyes, so he grows out his bangs and never makes any effort to pin it away from his eyes.

Who plans their dates?

No one.

Their date nights is just them drinking and dancing their night away at their favourite bar every weekend.

Suigetsu is the only person she's come across who has almost beaten her at drinking. Turns out, Kiri men are exceptionally good at drinking. No wonder Tsunade and Mei had intense competition going on between them.

Who was shy on their first date?

Sakura.

When he kissed her to drill into her that he actually liked her, she was floored. He took her out to a bar he knows she has never been to before – mostly because it was on more expensive side of things and she was relatively an economical person. She was unsure if this was the kind of setting she preferred for a date and had felt incredibly guilty that she wasn't enjoying herself when he was doing it all to give her a good time. They had a drink respectively – Sakura chose the cheapest drink on the menu which still costed more than what she spends on her drinks per month.

Suigetsu could tell she was uncomfortable and was worried if she didn't enjoy his company. He decided to do what he knew would cheer her up as a last ditch effort to open her up to him. All their doubts evaporated when he somehow convinced dj to play her favourite slow songs so they could dance to it. He has asked her to dance with him many times but never on slow, romantic songs that she knew he didn't like. She thought she fell in love with him for first time by the time first song ended.

Soon Suigetsu realised it wasn't him she felt uncomfortable with but the concept of spending money on overpriced drinks. They went to their favourite udon place for dinner, just like they have many times before.

Who wakes up the other?

No one.

Before kids: Sakura would wake up before him (who is not at all a morning person) because of her work, leave him with romantic handwritten notes. Suigetsu, on the other hand, would drop by her office to eat dinner with her because he knows she wouldn't be home until very late.

After kids: they would kick each other awake, play scissors or bribe each other to take turns to do their jobs as parents in the dead of the night. More often than not, Sakura wins.

Who was shy in taking their relationship to next level?

Suigetsu.

For all he flirted with Sakura, he was not an expert in the intimacy department. When Sakura boldly guided his hands on her body where they have never travelled, Suigetsu was at loss. He hadn't stopped or retracted but his mind was miles away – calculating her every reaction to his every move. Sakura noticed he was stiff and his careful actions conveyed his inexperience, but she never teased him until they were ready to drop dead to the world.

After a third-round on their first night, both realised he was a quick learner.

Who hogs up the blankets in their sleep?

Suigetsu.

He hogs up not only blankets but also Sakura. His bloodline limit leaves him colder than most people. Sakura doesn't appreciate the chill that seeps into her bones when he snuggles up to her. If she, out of reflex, kicks him out of the bed, it is not on her.

Who is easy to get jealous?

Sakura.

Suigetsu is one of the friendliest men she's met. While she understands why he gets along with rookie 9 what with bright personalities like Naruto and Kiba in the bunch, but that doesn't explain how he manages to charm women so easily with only his grin.

Her only consolation is that his charming grin is always solely directed at her.

Who cooks in the house?

Sakura and Suigetsu hadn't known to cook anything beyond the basics required to make rice balls and grilled fish.

Until they took cooking lessons from Chouji when Sakura got pregnant. Turns out, to Sakura's dismay, Suigetsu is the better cook between them. Until she used the excuse to get him cook for them every day, much to his annoyance.

Who 'protects' and who 'nutures'?

Sakura protects.

Suigetsu nutures.