#and they already regularly work 14 hour days

[tevanbuckley]

The buddie shippers are BIG mad with the interview coming. Have you seen the tweets??

i've seen a handful that have been cross-posted here, and like i've said before, it's all just kinda sad imo, i feel sorry for anyone's whose life has become so consumed by this stuff that they're frothing at the mouth mad over two actors doing press for a network tv show.

there's a million considerations that go into when press happens and who does it. with lou i'd speculate they wanted/needed to get contracts etc. sorted for s8 before trotting him out for a bunch of press.

also whether certain ppl wanna admit it or not, bi buck (and by extension bucktommy) is the storyline that has by far and away got them the most press attention, especially outside the usual bubble of entertainment journalism, from a PR standpoint they'd be crazy to not capitalize on that.

[weirdkpopgirl]

Back Scratches pt. 2 | Dream Headcanon #14

Headcanon: Back Scratches

Genre: Fluff, slight angst in some of them

Warnings: might be mildly suggestive in Mark's and Haechan's? mention of anxiety in Jisung's

Word Count: ~2.4k

Author's Note: Okay, I know I've already written something about this which was actually the first headcanon I wrote for 7Dream on here. It was also one of the firsts requests I received. But I wanted to write an improved version of it, and I really do find the idea cute. So I hope you guys enjoy this and thank you for reading ^ ^

~ ~ ~

mark 

Back scratches with Mark were initially quite amusing, mainly because he’s not used to asking for help. The first time you noticed his struggle was when you glanced up from your book after hearing his grunts of frustration as he tried in vain to reach the middle of his back. His eyes met yours, and he laughed awkwardly. You then stood up from your couch to approach him from behind and scratch the exact spot he needed without saying a word. After that, Mark realized it was silly to be embarrassed about asking when you clearly didn’t mind.

From there, Mark grew to love having you scratch his back. Not just when he had an itch, but also after a long day of work. The feeling of your perfectly manicured nails running along his back, above the fabric of his shirt, really helped him unwind after hours of dance practice and recording sessions. When it came to these moments, you’d start with light, gentle strokes where your nails would barely graze his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. Gradually, you’d increase the pressure and use slow deliberate motions to trace soothing patterns across his back. You always paid more attention to the areas around his shoulder blades and the small of his back, knowing that was where the tension often built up the most.

Mark would close his eyes and lean into your touch, unable to stifle a groan as your fingertips moved in circular motions, working out the knots and easing his muscles. At first, the sounds Mark made during these back scratch sessions left you blushing, though he was completely oblivious to the effect he had on you. However, you soon became accustomed to the dramatic moans that came from your boyfriend regularly. Though you often rolled your eyes when he gave such reactions, you could never bring yourself to tease him. 

More often than not, Mark would talk to you as you scratched his back. And you’d listen quietly as he spoke about whatever was weighing on his mind. A smile was always brought to your lips when you’d hear his muffled voice due to his face being squished against the pillows. You often worried about him being such a workaholic, so you were especially happy that you could help him relax. For Mark, just you being with him meant so much more than you knew.

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renjun 

Back scratches with Renjun always leave you gushing about how adorable he is. He comes across as the type who prefers to handle things on his own. So if his back ever got itchy, he’d try to take care of it himself, even if you were in the same room. Especially if you were already doing something else, he wouldn’t want to bother you with what he perceived as a trivial matter. But similar to Mark, it was Renjun’s facial expressions of subtle frustration and determination that would often catch your attention as he struggled on his own.

However, you chose to wait until he was ready to give up and swallow his pride to ask for your assistance. The look of desperation in his eyes and the faint blush coloring his cheeks made you want to kick your feet in the air because of how cute he looked. Then when you turned him around to scratch the spot for him, he let out a huge, relieved sigh. The way he tilted his head back nearly made your heart burst with affection.

It was at that moment that Renjun discovered just how much he loved your touch. He would describe your back scratches as uniquely soothing, as the intricate patterns you traced along his spine made him shiver but also caused his shoulders to sink in relaxation. He’d marvel at how your touch seemed to melt away the stress of the day, bringing him this sense of tranquility. Each scratch became a silent conversation, a language of comfort and care that only you two shared.

So, he began to ask you to scratch his back more often. Not just because it relieved him of his physical discomfort, but because it offered a moment of solace in a hectic world. But he’d always make sure to check if you weren’t busy with anything before he asked, despite knowing the answer would always be yes. Renjun would cherish every instance when your hands danced across his back, feeling his love for you deepen with each tender touch.

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jeno 

Back scratches Jeno were just another excuse for him to be clingy with you. He might be a little shy the first time you offered to do it. But as your bond deepened, your back scratches became another form of physical intimacy that he cherished. Outwardly, he’d act all cool about it like, “Oh you want to scratch my back? Go ahead, I don’t mind.” But internally he’d be overwhelmed by this warm, fuzzy sensation. Each tender stroke of your fingers against his back left him not only feeling physically comforted but emotionally connected to you in a way that words couldn’t fully express.

Eventually, Jeno would stop hiding how much he loved when you scratched his back. It doesn’t matter if he found you engrossed in a K-drama playing on the television or preparing to retire for the night, he seized every opportunity to engulf you in a warm embrace, his eyes sparkling with anticipation as he cutely requested your touch. And every time, you’d forget about whatever you were doing before to lovingly give him what he wanted. The groan or heavy sigh that escaped him immediately afterward was definitely worth it.

His cuddle sessions with you became a regular occurrence, including back scratches. He’d happily be the small spoon in these moments, his arms wrapped around your waist snugly as your hand found its familiar place under his hoodie, letting your nails rake up and down his bare back. He’d also prefer you to scratch a little harder, just because he loves the feeling of your nails pressing against his skin. 

Besides, it comes in handy when an unexpected itch pops up on his back. He doesn’t even have to say anything, you just intuitively apply the perfect amount of pressure to make him hum in delight. You always blush when he squeezes you a little tighter and nuzzles his nose against your neck to show his appreciation. More often than not, this boy would drift off to sleep while you scratched his back, which you found to be so endearing. You’d gradually stop scratching and press a chaste kiss to his forehead, before also falling asleep in his arms.

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haechan 

Back scratches with Haechan became a demand after the first time you offered it. To him, scratching his itches was simply another one of your responsibilities as his girlfriend. Whenever you were trying to get some work done on your laptop or seemed preoccupied with your phone, he’d pester you nonstop with aegyo until you relented. Then he’d drag you to the bed and pull off his shirt, eagerly waiting for you to start. The moment your nails made contact with his warm skin, he’d let out a satisfied moan that made you blush profusely.

The first few times he had you scratch his back, you found his presumptuousness amusing, but it soon became a regular part of your routine. Haechan had a way of making even the simplest gestures feel special, and his playful attitude made it hard to say no. He’d dramatically sigh in relief as your fingers worked their magic, exaggerating his contentment just to make you smile.

Similar to Mark, you got used to your boyfriend’s antics. But you genuinely didn’t mind scratching his back, knowing how hard he worked. When he was really tired, he wouldn’t even say anything. He’d just curl up beside you on the bed and drape your arm over his back, silently asking for your touch. How could you say no with the subtle pout on his lips?

Despite his playful demands, there was this underlying sweetness in these moments. You could feel how much Haechan trusted you, as he’d lean into your touch with a vulnerability that he rarely showed. Each stroke of your fingers down his back was a reminder of the closeness you shared. Even though he acted like it was your duty most of the time, you both knew it was a cherished way for him to feel loved and cared for.

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jaemin 

Back scratches with Jaemin made you seriously wonder if he was secretly a cat disguised as a human. However, the first time you scratched his back was a little different. It was during a lazy at-home date when you noticed him trying to reach the same itch on his back throughout the day. While his struggle was endearing to watch, you couldn’t stand by for long. Eventually, you gestured for him to turn around, and with a gentle touch, you scraped your nails across the offending spot right between his shoulder blades. Instantly, Jaemin released a relieved sigh, and his knees almost buckled at the sensation of your touch.

After that day, Jaemin went to you whenever his back was itchy. Once the itch was gone, he’d calmly ask you to keep doing it because it felt good. So he’d be sitting at the edge of the couch, with you behind him as you scratched his back attentively. He loved it even more when you scratched under his shirt, relishing the feeling of your skin on his. Even if your hands were cold, he actually found the contrast to be surprisingly soothing. The coolness of your touch combined with the gentle pressure of your nails never failed to send shivers of pleasure down his spine, making him feel even more connected to you.

At some point, you swore you could hear him purring against your touch. The resemblance to his own cats was uncanny, which you found both hilarious and adorable. Just like his fluffy companions, he would lean into your touch, his eyes half-closed in pure contentment, a soft hum of pleasure escaping his lips. The endearing similarity never failed to make you smile, adding another layer of warmth to these intimate moments.

It was safe to say you loved giving Jaemin back scratches just as much as he loved receiving them. Sometimes you’d notice him stretching uncomfortably after long dance practices or intense workout sessions, so you’d offer to scratch his back before he even had a chance to ask. There was something incredibly rewarding about seeing the tension melt away from his body. While you took pleasure in providing this small comfort, you also appreciated these quiet moments of intimacy with him. Scratching his back was a simple act, yet it spoke volumes about the care and affection that you didn’t always express fully. 

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chenle 

Back scratches with Chenle were annoying at first. He would often come up to you, casually asking for a back scratch from you. Although you didn’t necessarily mind, the moment your fingers touched his skin, he would start squirming and wiggling because he was so ticklish. His constant moving made it nearly impossible for you to scratch his back properly. Although his giggles and yelps were cute, you felt like you were trying to tame a playful puppy.

This happened every time, and you’d try to leave out of frustration. But Chenle would always pull you into a back-hug and beg you to say. “No, don’t be mad! I swear, I won’t move this time!” He’d insist, but you knew all too well that he wouldn’t actually keep still. He couldn’t help being ticklish, which he often argued in his defense. So you had to figure out a way to scratch his back without him convulsing under your touch.

Eventually, you started focusing more on scratching his upper back, a less sensitive area where he wasn't as ticklish. You noticed an immediate change the first time you tried this. Chenle stopped squirming as much and began to relax under your touch. His laughter subsided into contented sighs, and he would lean into your scratches. He clearly enjoyed the sensation of you tracing circles around his shoulder blades, though he’d never admit it out loud.

Therefore, scratching his back became a much more pleasant experience for both of you. It started to become a routine for you two after he came back from playing basketball or to help him fall asleep. You firmly believed that your usually loud boyfriend was the cutest when he was peacefully asleep in your arms. While he could certainly be a handful at times with his playful antics and boundless energy, you knew he appreciated you. He'd often surprise you with little acts of kindness that showed how much he valued your presence in his life.

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jisung 

Back scratches with Jisung became his source of comfort whenever he felt anxious. You’d notice him pacing around the room, his tall frame hunched in worry as he muttered to himself. As someone who also tended to overthink, you probably understood Jisung better than anyone. Which motivated you even more to find a way to calm him down. Without a word, you’d guide him to sit somewhere and gently start scratching his back. Your touch seemed to ground him, the soothing motion helping to ease his restless mind.

As you worked your fingers up and down his back, applying just the right amount of pressure, you could feel the tension in him gradually melting away. When you thought he was feeling better, you’d start to pull away. However, Jisung would clutch onto your hand, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he looked up at you. “Can we stay like this a little longer, please?” His voice, though deep, carried a vulnerable edge, revealing just how much he needed your comforting presence.

So you’d continue, letting your fingers move gently along his spine. During this time, Jisung’s usually shyness was replaced by quiet contentment. He’d lean into your touch, his breathing evening out as the anxiety faded. Oftentimes, he’d share his innermost thoughts and you’d listen quietly until he was done. He didn’t expect you to respond with any solutions though, knowing that your support alone was enough. Still, you tried to provide words of reassurance, and he valued every effort. These tender moments made Jisung realize how deeply in love he was with you.

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previous masterlist -> current masterlist

[prettyinpurplelights]

IV.

“I cannot believe we actually made it.” Mia gripped your hand excitedly, her acrylic nails digging painfully into your skin.

“Girl, hold my hand any tighter and you’ll crush my bones. I won’t have a hand to collect my diploma with.” You giggled softly, prying her fingers off the back of your hand so you could lace your fingers together instead, her sweaty palm pressing against yours.

“Sorry.” She replied and you squeezed her hand in response. “I’m just so nervous, can you believe after all our hard work, we’re finally here?”

“I know.” You sighed, looking out into the audience of family members and friends that were filling into the giant cathedral to watch and support their loved ones on one of the most important days of their lives. You and Mia had finally come to the end of your degrees, and today would encapsulate the last four years of all nighters and countless assignments. You were graduating with a Master’s degree in fashion design and marketing, Mia in medical neuroscience with psychology. As well as saying goodbye to your university, you were both parting ways with the city too, leaving Marseille for Paris early the following morning. During your final year, your main project was to put on your own fashion show, making the pieces as well as being responsible for promoting and marketing the event. You didn’t sleep for several weeks, but it had all been worth it because the show was a huge success, landing you the highest grade in your cohort as well as a job waiting for you at Louis Vuitton, whom having interned for them the summer before, and after your show being such a hit, offered you a place at their headquarters in Paris. Mia had also secured a fellowship in one of the biggest hospitals in the country, working with their research department on new treatments and cures and finding the causes for all sorts of illnesses to do with the brain that she had tried to explain to you but had gone completely over your head. All you understood was that it was incredibly competitive and very hard to get into, so you were extremely proud of her, and very excited to start this new chapter of your young adult lives together. You had already leased an apartment to share, and moved almost all your stuff over during the summer break. It was now a matter of starting to unpack and make it more of a home when you both returned to Paris for the last time in less than 24 hours.

“Ouuu I see Elliot!” Mia squealed, waving her hand that wasn’t holding yours excitedly. “He’s with our parents, come on, let's go and say hi before grad starts.” She stood up, dragging you down the small steps where the choir would usually be during mass, instead, today, it was where the graduates were to be seated during the graduation ceremony. She pulled you through the aisle, mumbling a few excuse me’s as you weaved through the sea of people talking to each other, the atmosphere electrified with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming ceremony.

“Mommy, Daddy!” Mia's smile grew wider as she hugged her parents tightly. Her parents had moved to London when she was 14, her dad’s hotel business was expanding and he’d started to branch out into the rest of Europe. Mia was supposed to have gone with them but she didn’t want to move to England, and after a lot of bargaining, she’d managed to agree with her parents that she’d live with her grandmother instead, hence how you became friends, she had moved to Bondy late into the school year and the only spare seat in your form tutor was next to you and the rest was history. Unfortunately, Mia’s grandmother had passed away just before she was due to start university, and since she was officially an adult, her parents let her stay in France. She’d fly out to see them regularly but it had been a while since she last saw them, and they’re very busy people so you knew she was very pleased to have them here and you’re glad they could show up for her.

You hugged your own parents, your dad clicking at his camera repeatedly, making sure he had enough photos to commemorate this occasion.

“Dad, I don’t even think I’m in the frame in the one you just took.” You laughed at him, as he squinted behind the lens.

“Close enough! I’m so proud of you, my sweet baby girl.” He leant over to kiss your cheek before walking off, muttering about finding someone to take a group photograph.

“You know I don’t think he made such a fuss when I was graduating.” Elliot appeared by your side, his hand reaching up to grab your cap, to remove it so he could ruffle your hair. You ducked under his arm, knowing exactly what he was trying to do and pushed him away from you.

“Don’t you dare El, I was up at 6 this morning doing my hair, you’re not messing it up!” You scowled. “And besides, we both know I’m mum and dad’s favourite.” You added. A smug smile spread across your face as you shrugged your shoulders.

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes. “At least I’m the smart one, all you do is play with pretty fabric all day.” Elliot had graduated with a degree in sports science the year before, ending up at PSG, working as part of their medical staff. From what he had told you, he was really enjoying himself, and it probably helped that it was the same team Kylian played for, those two together, you were sure they were putting the other PSG players and staff members through hell.

“You know without people like Y/N, the rest of us would have nothing to wear, you’d be naked right now.” Mia slid up to Elliot, her arm wrapping around his waist as his went over her shoulder and squeezed it.

“I know you wouldn’t complain about that.” He replied.

“Mmmm, probably not.” She looked up at him, pursing her lips as he reached down to kiss her.

“Ew, the both of you. Please, I’m literally standing right here.”

They both laughed, pulling away just as your dad returned, some poor 20-something looking boy in his stead, holding the camera.

“Where’s Marco? Is he not coming?” Elliot asked, craning his head around to see if he could spot your boyfriend.

“Um…he’s in Tokyo. We broke up.”

Ex-boyfriend.

“Oh shit, sorry sis. What hap-“

“Group photo everyone, quick together!” Your dad interrupted his sentence, and you were thankful for his extraness in that moment, not wanting to answer any questions about your break-up. Your dad ushered you, your mum, Elliot, Mia and her parents into a huddle. It took a couple of minutes to organise everybody, your dad was kind of a perfectionist; it’s probably where Elliot got it from. You were stood between Mia and your mum, your brother behind the both of you. You turned to face him and from the look in your eyes and the way your lip turned downward slightly, he knew what you were going to ask, the issue of Marco long forgotten. Someone else was on your mind now.

“He’s going to be here Y/N. He might be a bit late, but he’ll be here.”

“He didn’t come down with you?”

“I had to pick Mum and Dad up so we got a later flight, he said he’d make it down himself. He wouldn’t miss this. I’m sure he’s on his way.”

You nodded, as you turned back to the boy holding the camera, mustering up the biggest smile you could, trying to ignore the way your heart felt so heavy in your chest and the sudden way your gown started to feel stuffy and uncomfortable. You and Kylian weren’t on bad terms, in fact, you were great. It had been almost three years since you’d decided to take a step back from him, and focus on yourself and who you were outside loving him. Not to say you stopped loving him, you don’t think that was something you’d ever be able to do, but you’d reached a point where he wasn’t all you thought about and it didn’t dictate everything you did and consume your entire being. You’d even managed to date someone this year, your first official boyfriend, Marco, for about 10 months, until he had to move to Japan for a student exchange transfer and you’d mutually decided to end things while you were on a good note because long distance for a whole year was not worth it; you’d remained friends though. You liked him a lot, but you didn’t love him, which was one of the reasons why he’d also agreed, howbeit reluctantly, to break up before his transfer, he’d told you he loved you 2 months prior and you were still yet to say it back. He had wanted to stay for you, but you encouraged him to go, not wanting to hold him back, especially when his feelings were so strong for you and yours were…well, not as strong. You didn’t want to disappoint him if you still couldn’t commit several months down the line and he’d thrown his future away for you.

“Graduates please make your way to your assigned seats, the ceremony will begin in 5 minutes.”

You and Mia hugged your families one more time before making your way back towards the stage. Your phone buzzed in your hand as you sat down, bringing it up to your face.

“Kylian?” Mia asked, her inquisitive nature causing her to lean over your shoulder and read the text on your phone.

“Ouuuu Marcoooo.” She sang teasingly as sat back and unlocked her own phone.

Hey, I know we’re not together anymore, but you’re still my friend so I wanted to wish you luck today! ♥️ proud of you always

Thank you Marco 🥺 I really appreciate it. How’s Japan treating you?

It’s amazing. The culture is just wow. And the sushi DEFINITELY tastes better here. You’d love it.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to type out a reply when he sent another message.

I miss you.

You heard Mia wince audibly next to you, obviously reading the conversation between you and Marco.

“Get your big ass head out of my business.” You bumped your shoulder against hers as you sent Marco a quick reply about the ceremony starting so you had to go, not at all in the mood to unpack what that “I miss you” meant.

“Shame. I liked Marco. He was good for you.”

“Mmmm.”

“At least he congratulated you, better than that idiot your brother calls a best friend.”

“Ky’s our best friend too. And I thought you were on his side? Team KyY/N?”

“That was two years ago Y/N. He couldn’t even be bothered to send you a message about not coming.”

“El said he’d be here.”

“You think so?”

“I told him about today personally. He promised me he’d be here. For the both of us.”

“Oh we both know which one of us he’s coming for. And honestly I couldn’t give a fuck if he shows up for me, no offence. But for you? I’m skinning him alive the second we get to Paris.”

“He’ll be here.” You whispered to no one, almost as though you were trying to convince yourself. He had given you his word he wouldn’t miss today when you’d called him a few months ago about it. Initially you thought it might be weird, speaking to him on the phone, since you’d only been texting recently, but the thing about you and Kylian is no matter how much time you spent apart, you never fail to fall right back into your usual stead of things.

You hadn’t seen him since your birthday at the end of January, where there’d been a sort of awkward moment when you’d introduced him to Marco, who then had been your official boyfriend for a couple of weeks. He had just gotten back together with Renee, they had been together since your little confrontation at the airport two years back when you’d told him to focus on her. They had been on and off since they’d started dating, from what you’ve seen in the media, Kylian never really talked to you about her. From what you’d read over the course of the years, they’d broken up a couple of times, not that you cared or were keeping count.

******

He picked up after 3 rings, his face filling the screen when he answered. You gave him a little wave and a smile spread across his features, his dimples greeting you.

“Y/N. Hey.”

“Hi!” You replied, your voice chirpier than you’d expected it to be.

“You okay? Did something happen?”

He must’ve noticed the way you anxiously chewed at your bottom lip, your telltale sign something was wrong or you were nervous. In a similar way, he would squeeze his eyebrows together and his nose would twitch involuntarily when he was feeling the same. The harder he scrunched his eyebrows, the less nervous he was, the increased frequency of frown lines strewn across his forehead meant he was more likely to be angry instead. You knew each other’s tics and tells, probably better than you knew your own. By logic you and Kylian should’ve worked, you complemented and contrasted each other in the most perfect ways, but for some reason, the universe didn’t seem to agree and rather preferred to have the two of you in constant awkward situations and miscommunications leading to petty arguments. It was a quite cruel joke to be honest.

“Um, no, everything’s fine, I’m good. I was just wondering what you were doing August 1st.”

“Hmmm, the league starts again the week after that I’m sure, so just training.”

“Or nothing, if that’s what you need me to be doing.” He added and you couldn’t help the way your heart fluttered a little bit his words.

“Well Mia and I are finally graduating on the 1st. My parents and Elliot will be there. I was wondering if you wanted to come-“

“I’ll be there.”

“Really?” He laughed at your response.

“Gummy, you’ve wanted to be a fashion designer for as long as I’ve known you. I remember when you took it upon yourself to be mine and El’s stylists in middle school, I don’t even know why I let you do that, you used to put me in the most ridiculous outfits.”

“All you wanted to wear to school was your football kit.” You rolled your eyes. “I was trying to broaden your horizon a little bit.”

“Even then, you had talent, I can’t even imagine what you’re able to do now.”

“Well not to brag, but I am on track to finish top of my class.”

“Didn’t expect anything less from my girl.” He smiled genuinely and heat rose rapidly to your cheeks as you looked away from him for a moment.

“Of course I want to be there for you. But are you sure you’re 100% about it? Not to brag, but I am kind of a hotshot on the football scene right now.” He mocked, using your words against you playfully.

“Oh shut up!”

He laughed again, before continuing.

“I’m serious though Y/N, I know you like to stay out of the limelight and stuff, I don’t want to ruin that for you or steal attention away. This isn’t a private party like your birthday.”

“I want you there Ky, I want everyone I love there. I’ll be okay.” You nodded. Just then, you heard your boyfriend call out from your bedroom, his voice growing louder as he neared you in the kitchen.

“You ready babe?” He wrapped his arms around your waist, pressed a kiss against your cheek when he noticed you were on the phone.

“Oh hey man!” He waved at the screen. “How are you doing Kylian!”

“Hey…Marco. I’m good.” The smile on Kylian’s face dropped briefly as he greeted your boyfriend with a slight grimace. You quirked your eyebrow, wondering what the hell that was about but now it was his turn to break eye contact, looking everywhere but at you and Marco.

“How’s Renee?”

“Ummm she’s good. We’re…good.”

“Still can’t believe this guy is dating the biggest supermodel in the world, very fitting.”

You scowled, turning to face Marco, his comment grating on you a little bit.

“As opposed to you dating what?” You questioned, daring him to say some more bullshit.

“The hottest, smartest, kindest girl in the world of course.”

“Hmmm, better be.”

“How did you deal with her quick temper all your life Kylian?” Marco asked, and you elbowed his rib in response.

“You see what I mean?” He laughed, walking away from you. Kylian didn’t even bat an eye, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world at that moment.

“So anyways-“ You started but Kylian interrupted you, the words tumbling out of his mouth faster than you could register them.

“I gotta go. But I’ll be there August 1st. You have my word.”

“Oh, okay, yeah sure. Say hi to Renee for me.” You had barely managed to get out before he ended the FaceTime abruptly.

******

That was the last time you’d spoken, save the occasional text, but not once had he mentioned he wouldn’t be able to make it to your graduation. So by the time the ceremony was done and you had collected your diploma and walked down the aisle to cheers from your family, received more congratulations and took even more pictures and said your goodbyes to your family, to say you were simply pissed off was a great understandment. Some fool had even thought it would be funny to do Kylian’s infamous goal celebration in front of the cameras before collecting his diploma which amused everyone in the cathedral but vexed you even more. Kylian had always been there for you, he’s always tried his best to be present when you needed him, this was one of very few times he hadn’t shown up for you. But it hurt still, this was probably the most important thing you’d needed him for, and he’d not even bothered to shoot you a text he would be a no show.

“I know for sure he got on that plane Y/N.” Elliot had tried to reassure you earlier when you’d walked him and your parents to the Uber they had booked to take them back to the airport.

“Well that means fuck all to me. He’s not here.”

“Gosh he’s such an idiot. I’m going to skin him alive when I see him.”

“Funny your girlfriend said the same thing.” You laughed, but not really feeling humoured in the slightest. “Don’t worry about it El, I don’t know why I expected any different from him.”

“I know he has the funniest way of showing it, but he cares about you Y/N. And he loves you.” You ignored his comment, giving him one last hug before he slid into the front seat of the cab.

“I love you El.”

“Love you too sis. Always. You and Mia have fun tonight alright? And I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

You nodded, saying goodbye to your parents once more before the car pulled away. Mia appeared at your side, leaning her head on your shoulder.

“Mia?”

“Mmhm?” She replied.

“Let’s get absolutely fucking wasted tonight.”

———

“Why the fuck did you listen to me when I said we should get wasted last night.” You groaned, flopping onto the couch, your suitcases abandoned by the door. You’d finally arrived at your apartment in Paris, a little before midday, exhausted and terribly hungover.

“You looked like you needed it.” Mia sat by your side, laying your head on her chest and rubbing your shoulders.

“You’re so lucky you recover quickly, I still feel like I’ve been hit by a monster truck.”

“I’m gonna go out and do some food shopping, I’ll bring you something. Get some rest.”

You’d practically gone straight from the bar to the train station. You, Mia and your group of university friends had gone out to celebrate graduating, and also spend one last night together before you all split and went your different ways. It had been a great night, but you’re definitely regretting it now, as you were sure the others were too. You hadn’t even had a chance to shower as you and Mia had to pack the last of your stuff and hand in your old keys to the landlord before 7am since the train to Paris Lyon was leaving Marseille St. Charles around 8.

You decided to take a long shower while Mia was gone, you usually felt much better after a good soak. You’re glad to have your little travel toiletries bag because you had absolutely no idea where anything was; the apartment was filled with countless unopened cardboard boxes. You had about two weeks before your new job started so you and Mia could hopefully unpack and decorate in that time.

Definitely starting tomorrow. There was absolutely no way you’d be putting together furniture and organising your wardrobe today, you planned to stay in bed as long as you could instead.

You had just stepped out of the shower when you heard the doorbell ring, probably Mia who had forgotten her keys. You wrapped your towel around you, securing it as you opened the door.

“Did you not take your key-“ You looked up, your sentence breaking down half way through when you realised it wasn’t Mia in front of you. You rolled your eyes, moving to close the door in his face but he was quick, his foot reaching out to block the door from locking.

“Y/N, hear me out, please.”

“I don’t give a fuck about what you have to say Kylian, take your foot out of the way before I crush it.”

“I have boba?”

You paused for a second, still refusing to look at him.

“What flavour.”

“Mango milk tea with passion fruit pearls. I brought croissants too, from the best bakery in Paris. Very expensive. Very tasty.”

You opened the door wider, letting him walk through, cursing him for knowing you so well. He set the items on the little bit of space he could find on the kitchen worktop that wasn’t covered in boxes before turning to look at you.

His eyes scanned your body, starting at your legs, stopping when his eyes met yours. You felt stuck to the spot, your blood turning to lead as your eyes remained fixed on his, his mouth slightly ajar, your heart pounding fast. You forgot you were angry at him for a minute, flashbacks of the last time he’d seen you like this flickering across your mind instead as you suddenly remembered you were wearing next to nothing. Your hands came up to cover your chest and legs, breaking the both of you out of your hypnotic state.

“Umm…I’ll be back. Gonna put something on.” You muttered.

“Yeah…umm…sure, I’ll wait here.”

You raced to your room as quickly as you could, ignoring the funny feeling in your stomach and the way your heart was racing like it was running out of time. You rummaged through the boxes, trying to find one that had some clothes in it. After a couple of minutes of sifting through books and shoes and everything else, you managed to find a bag at the bottom of one of the boxes with your gym clothing.

You pulled the shorts and a t-shirt over your head, rolling your eyes when you realised which top you were wearing. You walked back into the room with your arms crossed, trying your best to look angry as you faced Kylian, a smile spreading across his face when he noticed your top.

“Wipe that smug grin off your face, I could only find my gym stuff and it was the only top in there.”

“You work out with my name on your back?” He held out the boba to you, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Shut up. These jerseys are surprisingly very breathable.” You snatched the plastic cup out of his grasp, piercing the film lid with the straw and taking a sip.

“Well yeah, we do run around in them for 90 minutes so we’d hope they’re breathable. Remind me to get you a new one from this season though, that one’s a bit outdated.”

“This one’s just fine. Thank you for the boba.” You raised the cup at him before stretching your hand out, pointing to the open door that led to the hallway. “You can go now.”

“Y/N-“

“Kylian I don’t want to hear it. You think what, by bringing my favourite drink and cracking jokes everything’s okay?”

“No, of course not. I tried to call you last night.“

“And I didn’t answer for a fucking reason. Did it cross your mind maybe I didn’t want to talk to you after you stood me and Mia up?”

“Listen-“

“There’s not an excuse you can give me that’s valid Kylian. You promised me you’d be there. I kept looking out for you, the whole ceremony, even after it was over, we lingered around the venue for so long my parents and Elliot almost missed their flight back home. Of course I didn’t tell them why I wanted to wait around, they still think you’re the best thing that’s happened to them besides their own kids.”

“Y/N, I’m sorry. I got on the plane to come to you, I swear-“

“So you were in Marseille yesterday?”

“Yes, I was on my way to-“

“Funny you were in Marseille yesterday.”

“Y/N-“

“Because I was in Marseille yesterday, and this morning too actually, up until about hmmm, 4 hours ago? But I didn’t see you. At all.”

“Y/N-“

“You’re so-“

“Y/N STOP TALKING!” He suddenly yelled, your sentence cut off midway by his outburst. You don’t think you’ve ever seen this many frown lines across his forehead before, he must be really pissed. That makes two of you.

“Don’t raise your voice at me.”

“Well I don’t have a choice if that’s the only way to get you to fucking listen.”

“I don’t have to listen to anything you have to say.”

“You know what? You always do this. You always assume you know what I’m going to say, or how I feel so you just cut me off before I get a chance to even explain myself.”

“Because I know you’re going to come out with some bullshit Kylian! Always you and your empty fucking promises, I’m so over it. But sure, prove me wrong. Go on, explain yourself then.”

You raised your arms as if to say he has the floor to speak. He clenched his jaw, his lips in a tight line as the both of you stared at each other, a million and one emotions swirling around you. Anger, pain, disappointment, sadness. If looks could kill, the both of you would be simultaneously 6 feet under.

“I swear I didn’t mean to miss your graduation Y/N, I really wanted to be there. I literally got to the airport and I, I bumped into Renee. I swear it was unplanned, I had no idea she was going to be there, and we just started talking and she had a lot she wanted to say to me, and honestly I didn’t realise how long we were together for, I swear it wasn’t my intention to miss your ceremony.”

“So what was so important that you had to talk about there in that moment, for such a long time-“

“She wanted to get back together.”

“You broke up?” This was news to you, as far as you were concerned, Kylian was still dating her, you hadn’t seen anything in the tabloids about them breaking up.

“Yeah. A couple of months ago.”

“So you’re back together now? For what, the 5th time?”

“It’s complicated Y/N. I love her.”

A sharp but fleeting pain travelled across your chest and it took everything in you not to physically keel over. It was laughable, how easy it was for one person to completely lose feelings they claim to have had and fall in love with someone else, while the other couldn’t even utter the words to another, whether they meant it or not. Because the pent up feelings were still there, choking you, gripping your heart tight and rendering you useless, incapable of loving anyone else, but him. You felt like dying, maybe it would hurt less than living in this sick and twisted reality, this constant loop of being reminded he’s never going to love you the way you love him.

“Yeah, Kylian, I can tell. Because she clearly means more to you than I do. I told you about this weeks in advance, you gave me your word yet when something better comes along you’re quick to just brush me under the rug like you always do.”

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention. I didn’t even know how to talk to you when I realised I’d missed the ceremony, I didn’t think you’d want me there-“

“Of course I’d want you there, you fucking idiot, you’re my best friend. Why else would I ask you personally to come?

“I knew you’d at least be with your family, Mia, Marco.” He said Marco’s name with such disdain you almost laughed at the audacity he had to seem irked by the mere mention of your ex-boyfriend when he had a girlfriend of his own.

“Marco is in Japan. We broke up. For good.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Why would you? You don’t talk to me about Renee, I don’t talk to you about Marco. Some kind of unspoken rule right?”

There was a silence between you before he spoke.

“I’m sorry. I know you loved him.” For someone who’d been in your life for almost two decades, perhaps Kylian really didn’t know you as well as you thought he did. Or maybe you were so good at pretending you’d managed to convince everyone but yourself you’d been in love with Marco.

“Anyways Ky, I think you’ve done all your explaining. You can leave.”

He rounded the kitchen island, stepping closer to you so he could take your hand that wasn’t holding the drink, gripping it softly in his.

“Y/N, I really am sorry. Please, l don’t want us to start your move to Paris on a bad note. You have no idea how happy I am that you're finally here to stay. Let me take you out tomorrow. Just me and you, a celebratory dinner. On me. Heck I’ll even take you shopping, any store you like, I’ll carry all the bags and not complain one bit.”

A soft giggle left your lips and you cursed yourself for letting him get away with his shit so easily.

“Please, I’m sorry gummy. It won’t happen again. Let me make it up to you.”

“You better bring your shiniest Amex card tomorrow when you pick me up.”

“It’s a date.” He smiled, and you tried not to think too deeply into what he’d just said.

Just then, you heard the front door close, Mia appearing in the doorway with several shopping bags, singing to herself. She noticed you and Kylian stood in the middle of the kitchen, your hand in his and she rolled her eyes, knowing you had definitely let him off easy. Luckily for you, she wasn’t about to do that. She smiled sweetly, before reaching into one of the bags and pulling out an orange. It happened so quickly, you didn’t not anticipate the orange leaving Mia’s hand with such force, heading straight for Kylian’s head. He managed to duck at the last second, the fruit finding the wall behind him instead of his skull.

“Mia what the hell?!” He shouted.

“Fucking dickhead. You’re lucky that wasn’t a knife.”

/———-/

Part 4 finally 😭😭 just two more parts to go! Sorry it took so long please forgive me 🤞🏿 and it may seem like it’s going round in circles but they gotta do this stupid arguing and not talking about their feelings 5 times before they finally get their shit together so we’re getting close to the happy ending, very soon though it’s deffo going to get very messy before it gets better 😵‍💫 I hope y’all like it <3 (also it’s half 3 in the morning and I haven’t edited this entirely so I’m super sorry for any mistakes 🙏🏿)

Also I know the French don’t do graduations (shame if you ask me, I loved my grad) but I had to have one to fit the story 🤭

And I’m sorry for making y’all wait, im back at work and it’s hard to find the time to write (I had a bit of writers block) and also I find it hard to write super short pieces so it does take me a while to write so I’m super grateful to y’all for being so kind and patient 🥺🫶🏿

LINK TO MAIN POST

TAGLIST

@lululuvsfooty @nayeoniie @cherimbp @karotland @m4k444 @cixstar @lovefks

[bellysoupset]

and another question because when I hear someone is anxious and needs distraction I go into “fixer” mode. What is the worst job each of your OCs has ever had?

hope you’re feeling better - as someone who regularly wakes up at 4:30 am in a full-on panic attack, I get it.

Hi Lis! Honestly, I don't know what our brains want us to be "accomplishing" at 4:00 AM, its terrible.

So this is the ask where I reveal my characters are quite spoiled? You be the judge.

--

Leo: worst job was a candy factory he worked at that had him on his feet the entire day, doing extremely mechanic and repetitive tasks, wearing full body suit in Oklahoma's summer weather. He'd bike there after school and then do his homework on his 30 mins break and then back to the production line. Obviously they couldn't eat any of the products, so this is probably why nowadays he's got a huge sweet tooth. He also has a bit of tendinitis to this day thanks to this job, even though it was only 1 year he stayed there (his senior year). Even though he has worked retail and food serving before, he still ranks this one as the worst.

Bella: Bell has done everything under the sun. She's worked every retail you can think of, which was uh... Horrible, but mostly for her clients? This is a woman who has no chill and no patience, she'll not tolerate some Karen yelling at her. Period. Hence why she worked so many jobs, because she kept getting fired/quitting lol. Because of her "take no shit" attitude, a lot of her horrible jobs were actually not as bad in her opinion, simply because they didn't affect her. Her worst one was when she was 14 and her mom decided instead of Bella working for someone else she should come do nails in the hair salon she worked at. Since it was her mom's workplace Bell had to be nice, because it was one thing to be fired/quit, an entirely different thing to have her mom be fired as well. It fucking sucked, but this job had slightly less shitty hours than others, so it was when she started coding and that's how she ended up getting her scholarship. So yay?

Vince: Vin has been a frontliner of his mom's homemade food business from the get go. He came to the US at 10 and by age of 12 he was already doing sales to his classmates. He has worked the shop and done deliveries since always and he's genuinely really good at it, because he's very likable. When he was 15 he decided to get a job in a mechanic, around the time he started to get interested in motorcycles, and they put him to do front desk stuff, but he could venture to the back to learn some. In both jobs he actually thrived. He had bad clients, so he's got some horror stories, but no actual "horror jobs".

Wendy: Wen has never had a bad job?? She's done all sorts of stuff, because she's the type of hyper person who's got 200 hobbies. She's done her own little clothing line, she's been a receptionist to her parent's friends' business. By far the one she liked the least was doing reception work at her mother's clinic, mostly because her mother micromanaged her to hell and back and the other girls hated her guts. But even then, I think she'd have liked the job if it wasn't for the company.

I need to preface that both Jon and Luke never had real jobs until the ones they're in currently. They just didn't need them.

Jonah: He acted as an assistant to his father in the clinic procedures, which was a lot of washing equipment's and following around the real trained technician, and getting to watch his dad do minor surgeries. He's got covered in blood a couple of times and snapped at, but as for as Work goes this was his only real experience until he started interning via the university and then stuck around. He despised the part of college where they put him to intern with the G.I people, just gross.

Luke: he's my little baby pillow millionaire, this man has never worked a real job. He's done a LOT of volunteer work and we all know volunteering IS real work, however what I mean is Luke has never EVER depended on the money he's making for anything. He's always been the guy who could just walk out. He's lucky he's so competitive, otherwise he'd be a serial quitter tbh. He's got his stories with volunteering (worked at an elder's home once and boyyy, worst experience of his life), but I think the closest I can say was doing some menial desk job for his mom and his ADHD kicking his ass. He cannot sit still, period and Veronica never really realized that and got pissed when he'd wander off and just zone her out entirely.

[lemissingmask]

[ID: Sketch of Redemption-era Parker, Hardison and Eliot, with Hardison in the foreground, turning around to look at Parker and Eliot, and Parker and Eliot looking at each other. Parker is looking disapprovingly at Eliot's shoulder, which has some blood soaking through his shirt, and Eliot is half-glaring back at her with his arms folded. End ID]

-

Day 14: Bleeding through the bandage

Eliot bleeding through bandages beneath his shirt. Silly little random ficlet below the cut.

-

“Do you have scurvy?”

Hardison was pretty immune by now to the unusual things that Parker sometimes said, but every now and then, one still got him.

Like that.

It could have been directed to him or Eliot, the only other people in the room, and turning he saw that it was the hitter who had just been accused of a vitamin C deficiency.

Understandably, Eliot was looking bemused, with that edge of irritated that came when he was trying not to be amused or endeared by them.

“Do you have scurvy?” Parker repeatedly, glaring back at him.

“What?”

Parker sighed and jabbed her index finger at the right side of Eliot’s chest, “You’re bleeding.”

And, he was. Deep red seeping through his shirt. Not a lot, and not quickly, but it was definitely there.

Eliot didn’t bother looking at where Parker was prodding. He was presumably already aware of the blood.

“People’s injuries reopen and bleed again when they have scurvy,” Parker pointed out, accurately, and demonstrating the very bad idea it was for Eliot to have decided to introduce her to historical naval fiction, “And you’re bleeding. Where you got shot.”

“I’ve been shot in a lot of places,” Eliot rejoined, “This ain’t an old wound.”

He jerked away from her finger when she made to poke again, but the thief followed and he didn’t bother attempting the escape more than once.

“If it’s not an old wound, when’d it happen? You said the hitters we ran into on the last job were amateurs. You went on a whole hour-long rant about useless hitters and the idiots who hired them,” Hardison asked, turning fully away from the screens with the job they were planning. 

This seemed more important right now.

“Incident at Paul’s place yesterday,” Eliot said, offering no further explanation, and trusting them not to be indiscrete enough to ask for details.

Eliot had started visiting Paul regularly, sometimes for social visits, occasionally with invites extended to the team, and sometimes to help out at the clinic.

Yesterday, he had been there to help, and somehow had got injured.

Hardison could guess explanations: a patient caught up in the trauma of war grew violent, a fight between people who once served together or maybe a grieving loved one and someone their lost companion had served with, anti-war violent protestors deciding to cause trouble in a small clinic, a slippery scalpel sliding out of Paul’s hand and coming to rest in Eliot …there were thousands of explanations ranging from simple and realistic to Sophie-soap opera level dramatic.

But he could imagine all day and Eliot would only tell them if they pressed, and if it involved no one but him.

“Need a hand with it?” Hardison asked as Parker poked at the injury again, now more out of revenge for his not having told them sooner.

Eliot shook his head, “Tore the stitches trainin’ this mornin’.  Didn’ have time to redo ‘em.”

“Okayyy, well, you have time now, so…”

“I’ll do it later,” Eliot glared, “Just carry on with the…keep doin’ the…briefing!”

The words were broken by a combination of his own ever-present discomfort at expressions of concern directed towards him, and Parker getting in one last prod before they got back to work.

Reassured that Eliot wasn’t in any actual danger, Hardison smirked and turned back to the screens, picking up where he had left off while Parker gave Eliot quiet advice on how to avoid scurvy.

Hardison was pretty certain that the next time Eliot had a beer, Parker would be trying to put lime juice in it.

-

[musubiki]

I don't know if you have answered this already so if you have you can ignore this, but how did mochi and coco become friends? Since coco is a bit older is she from another class?

she is a bit older, but not in another class! shes one of those people in high school that either have a very early birthday so theyre always the oldest in the class, or she maybe fell behind a grade (since she had delinquent tendencies growing up)

BUT A GOOD QUESTION AND I DONT THINK I EXPANDED ON IT BEFORE MAYBE??? its somewhat skipped over in that webtoon chapter.... first ill talk about a little coco backstory that leads up to it:

essentially, growing up coco was the lazy, troublemaker, didnt-take-school-seriously kind of student that always had bad grades and skipped class. her parents obviously werent thrilled about that, but they were never really hard on her about it and had a good relationship with coco!! at one point (when she was about 12-13 maybe), they had quite a light-hearted and humorous talk with her about getting herself together before high school, and made a little list of things for her to do to have a good life ("a better life than we did," is how they put it).

the things on the list were rather mundane and normal, sometimes kinda dumb. it was things like "study hard 8 hours a week," "learn to cook," "exercise regularly," etc. it also has rather strange ones, one being "change someones life," which coco spent a lot of time trying to figure out what that one was supposed to mean. at the time she treated it lightly and as a joke, and more of a chore like "ah damn i gotta exercise now?? ill do this stuff later"

anyway, when coco was 14, both her parents and her little brother passed, and coco to this day holds on to that list and tries to fulfill every item (which is why she does the things she does, including running every morning, working hard on studies to go to college, getting a part-time job, etc).

NOW how this relates to mochi: one of the items on cocos list is "make friends with good people." when coco first moved to wessport and started school there, obviously she was new and didnt know anyone. the week she started was (if you remember the beginning of that one webtoon episode!!) a week where lime was fighting off a cold or something, so he didnt come to school and mochi was by herself.

their meeting was actually pretty mundane, but coco was lost in the school and asked mochi for directions to various classrooms and such. mochi was very nice to her (as mochi normally is), like she lent her a pencil and piece of paper cuz coco didnt buy any yet, things like that.

at the end of the school day coco just looks at her for a long time and goes "...hey, so you're a 'good person,' then...right?" and mochi just goes "Uh....I guess I try to be?" and for that week coco seeks out mochi to hang out with her. by the time lime gets back theyre already friends and coco lowkey adopted mochi ehehe (and then that one coco intro episode is where this mini story picks up)

[changelingsandothernonsense]

Wip Whenever the Day of the Week!

So last week I finished two renders Woo! This week we have two new arts that I'm starting (4 technically but you know, just sharing the personal work) and some writing (I did share this to discord but I'll throw this in here too). Tagged by @paraparadigm @mareenavee and @friend-of-giants

If you wanna do it too then go ahead! Everyone's already shared by the time I get to mine (14 hours ahead, 24 behind XD).

Art First!

Relates to the fic I guess. It's fun, I draw birds! There's a time difference!

The rest is under the cut!

Now for writing.

So I power smashed out a chunk of a chapter from Teldryn's POV yesterday. He's waiting and he's bored and he's in his head, so is someone else. Some of you have already seen it, and some not. There's a fight scene that I'm, in the middle of which I'm not ready to show yet but have this.

The bastards took his keys. Both of them, right from his pack. The bastards just kept coming. The last two weeks had been truly unrelenting. He’d hit Sigrun’s men at the barrow, then near the Telvanni stronghold, some even managed to make it as far south as Fort Frostmoth after that woman from the Netch had cleared the entire place of ash spawn and undead. All by herself too, not a single guard had accompanied her according to Geldis. Though Teldryn was certain the old fool was exaggerating, that place was infested with those disgusting things. They regularly assaulted the Bulwark, each attack taking out more of Veleth’s guardsmen. Teldryn smiled to himself, he had his opinions on their competence, and it wasn’t flattering.  He’d told Veleth as much during the last assault and was once again met with the old guard captain’s gruff indifference.

So, she was better than a few guards? Who cares? He did, apparently. He’d been ruminating over their encounter for the last two weeks. He had made an utter fool of himself, completely blew it. Fuck! He actually stole from her! And he didn’t regret it either, she had good shit. Besides, he needed it more than she did… not to mention he was certain she was after him, the whole situation just didn’t add up. Gods, why was he thinking about this? Why did he care?

He fiddled with one of his rings under his gauntlet. The one with the misspelled engraving that he never bothered to have fixed and felt sick to his stomach. Guilty, he still felt guilty after all these years. He wanted to drown that feeling out again, but he couldn’t. Not yet, not when he was supposed to be watching the shore for more of Sigrun’s goons.

He was distracted again, he was always distracted. He wanted to pace, scratch at something, anything to get his mind off of him. Two hundred years and the pain still felt so raw. Does it ever end? He started fiddling with a loose thread on his scarf, unravelling it until a new hole was created. He’d fix it later if he remembered. Probably not. By Azura was he bored! The bastard said that his companions had set up again by Bloodskal Barrow again, but they weren’t there! He wanted that lizard that took his keys! By Boethiah he wanted his head on the end of his sword! His gauntlet caught alight; he was getting angry again. Good. Good. It was better than his perpetual wallowing. He was productive when he was mad, could get shit done! He threw the fireball that had formed at the ashen sand, it solidified under the intense heat. The cracking sound was awful but it was something.

He can’t sit still. His head felt itchy, and he ran a gauntleted hand through his hair. He needed to cut it, or at least shave the sides down again. He didn’t have his things. He needed his things!

Fuck where were they? Teldryn lay back hard, causing a small bloom of ash to raise around him. His hair fell in his eyes and he lazily brushed it aside. He stared up at the sky, it was now well past sundown, an aurora danced above, its green and violet symphony drowning out the stars. It was almost romantic if he would allow himself to think of such things. A bad idea.

So he tried to clear his mind and concentrated on the light lapping of waves on the shore. Those distant groans of netches further down the beach, the soft sound of booted footprints in the ashen sands.

Teldryn sat up to get a better look around, he could make out a figure about half a klick downwind of his position. Bonemold, one of Veleth’s boys on patrol? No, he’s too far away from town. He watched the lone guard as he sauntered along the shore. The guard sat on a log, his back facing Teldryn and pulled something out of a small sack that he couldn’t quite see. Food? Most likely. Teldryn felt his stomach growl and he fell back onto the sand. He’d forgotten to eat today, didn’t he? It was a habit he’d developed a long time ago. Easy when everything tastes like the ash of Red Mountain was swirled in a salty brine. It no longer brought him any joy. Still, his mouth watered. If those bastards didn’t show up soon he’d have to go bother Geldis again. He was out of food, he’d been out of sujamma for days as well. Gods was he craving that! Anything that could drown him out really. His fingertips itched and he pulled off his gauntlet with his teeth. It was that fucking ring again! It was too tight. It was never meant for him. It was his. He couldn’t get rid of it! By Azura had he tried, it was a part of him now. He should never have put it on! He held the ornate shape of it between his front teeth and gave it a light tug, relieving some of the pressure.

“Stop it!” “No, you parasitic fuck!” Teldryn growled under his breath. He tugged again. “That won’t work.” “Try me!” he growled, yanking at it harder this time. The force hurt his teeth. “Quit your incessant whining and listen.”

Teldryn stopped for a moment and listened. Chattering, no, no yelling! He glanced over towards the spot that guard should have been. He was on the ground, surrounded by three heavily armoured  Nords, one pulling the sword from the guard’s back, but was unable to make it budge. Teldryn snorted, idiots. You stick a sword in that part of the armour and you’ll lose it. It was a quirk of design that he never quite understood, though it had been explained to him often enough.

“To your right.” Teldryn moved his gaze away from the guard and towards the Barrow. A boat and several more armoured men hauling gear out of it.

Oh, it’s on!

Teldryn grinned wickedly and sprang to his feet. He pulled his discarded gauntlet back on and threw on his helmet, scarf and goggles hastily, he was itching for another fight!

[purplesurveys]

1850

1 - When was the last time it snowed where you live? Do you like snowy weather or is it just a pain? Uh... Anyway, cold weather is definitely preferred. We're reaching high 40s now and will still go up to the 50s in May, and it is not only uncomfortable but also starting to get very inconvenient.

2 - Are you expecting any parcels in the mail right now? Not for a while. I ordered J-Hope's album but was already informed in advance that I probably won't get it until June since my shop ships stuff from Korea in bulk. Which is fine. With BTS on hiatus I've considerably calmed down when it comes to merch lol.

3 - How long is it until your birthday? Do you have any plans for the day? Like, 363 days haha. I just celebrated my 26th last Sunday, and all I did was watch a Spongebob movie with my sister in the morning, slept all afternoon, then went to my favorite hotel buffet for dinner with my family.

4 - What was the last thing you had to drink? Coffee. The Spanish latte I got tonight had a cracked lid so my jeans are now all soaked.

5 - Do you need to do any laundry right now? Yup.

6 - Who was the last person you got a notification from on social media? Is this person a close friend of yours? That would Alex, just a dude related to work. No, I wouldn't call him a friend but he is genuinely one of the nicest people I know.

7 - Do you regularly buy things on credit? If so, how much do you owe on credit cards right now? No. I got a surprise credit card in the mail a few weeks ago (I say 'surprise' because apparently I said yes when I got surveyed years ago...? then I just forgot about it I guess LOL), but I absolutely refuse to use it. It's not even activated yet. I don't want to form a habit around paying things on credit.

8 - When was the last time you got a call from an unknown number? Did you answer or call them back? Can't be bothered to check when exactly, but I know it was a few weeks ago. I probably answered it because at the time I knew it would be someone work-related calling.

9 - When was the last time you got off work early? What was the reason and did you do anything fun with your extra free time? I don't do that, I always do the full 8 hours. Earlier this month though I did file a morning leave to attend a watch party for Wrestlemania.

10 -  What do you typically eat for Christmas Dinner? Are you the one who cooks or does a family member do the cooking? My family is never consistent when it comes to Christmas spreads lmao, it's always different meals every year! For the longest time it was my mom and grandma who did the cooking; but now that I could afford to treat my family (and can't cook hah) I buy platters and trays of all kinds of stuff so that everyone can get what they want.

11 - What time did you wake up this morning? Did you get out of bed right away? I needed to wake up earlier since I already had a meeting scheduled for 9 AM. I think I started to wake up around 7:30.

12 - Do you have any plans for the weekend? Are these plans typical for a weekend or are you doing something different? Saturday will be for rest as I have back to back events on Sunday. I'd say at this point it is pretty typical for work to eat up what little free time I have - it also comes with the higher role - but I'm hopeful this phase would stop soon. I have no weekend events booked yet for May onwards so that's looking like a good sign.

13 - Would you like to work a job that involves going in and out of other people’s homes all day? (Like care work, painter, decorated etc.) That'd be cool, but I wouldn't know what kind of related job would fit me best. I did always have an interest in interior design – I like trying to look into people's living rooms when we drive by them in the village (but tbh this is also because I live around rich people and they all have super big minimalist mansions lol), and when I was younger all I wanted to do in GTA was to have a cheat code that would let me in people's homes lmao.

14 - When was the last time you had an injury? Was it a minor cut/scrape or something more serious? What happened? Sprained my ankle two years ago. I had one drink too many and ended up tripping in a bad way over some steps on my birthday, hehe... 15 - Do you ever watch movies or TV shows that require you to read subtitles? I mean I like having subtitles around in general. It's obviously helpful when watching foreign-language shows/movies, but even for English I prefer having them turned on because I hate it when actors mumble or have too-thick accents.

16 - What accents are your favourite? Don't have any.

17 - How many people have you texted today? Are these people friends, family members or something else? People I've messaged today, outside of work, would be Angela, Lei, my mom, and sister. 3 out of 4 of these people are family.

18 - Are you any good at DIY? What was the last DIY project you finished? I'm not good at any DIY or arts or crafts, period.

19 - When was the last time you had a haircut? When was the last time you dyed your hair (if you ever have)? Hair cut: Year and a half ago. Dye: Around six months ago.

20 - Do you prefer wearing tight-fitting or loose-fitting clothes? I prefer the baggy/oversized fit now.

21 - Are you currently warm, cold or just right? Is the heating or air conditioning on to contribute to that feeling? I'm quite warm, but it's not as bad as the TERRIBLE weather earlier today. It's evening so it's a lot more manageable, but that's not to say I've stopped sweating because I still fucking am.

22 - What was the last piece of good news you received? Was it expected? Pharmacist licensure exam results came out today and I saw that my cousin passed. Yes, I always knew she was going to kill it.

23 - What colour socks are you wearing right now? Maroon.

24 - Do you prefer hot coffee or iced coffee? What about hot tea or iced tea? Iced coffee, iced tea.

25 - What are some of your favourite Christmas songs? What time of year do you start listening to Christmas music? Christmas Love by Jimin :) Kelly Clarkson also has that bubbly song but I'm blanking out on the title. I usually start to listen around the 2nd week of December, then go into overdrive between the 24th and 25th haha.

26 - If you see cats wandering about in the street, do you stop and fuss them? No.

27 - Speaking of cats, do you own a cat? Are they a particular breed or just a moggie? Would you ever want a specific breed of cat at all? No.

28 - When was the last time you moved furniture around to clean behind or underneath it? Do you need someone’s help in order to do that? Just a few weeks ago. No, it's just a decorative chair in the living room so it's easy to move around.

29 - Do you have any medications that you need to take daily? Is this something you’re going to have to do for the rest of your life? I don't.

30 - Do you know how to start an open fire and keep it burning without using loads of wood? Is this a skill you use on a regular basis at all? I don't know how to start fire.

[oddballtumbles]

IDK if there is any kind of canon for this yet but:

I think the Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss circle of Sloth is run by a woman who rarely if ever featured on screen out of her bed and is incredibly scientifically minded. As in she is the one who (and is in charge of who) comes up with various technologies, chemicals, etc for the purposes of efficiency so she can go back to sleep. She delegates to others in her circle for maximum efficiency, so it boils down to people who work stupidly hard but are also incredibly focused on schedules in order to maximize their lethargy. Because they are so efficient they take ridiculous amounts of time off to be sloth like - which amounts to doing whatever they want. The Overlord happens to like sleeping and moving as little as possible.

In my head she is introduced by Azzie calling in a favour to help with the whole 'lust in love' thing and she responds with publicizing multiple studies already completed that the most efficient and easiest accomplished form of lust is based and born out of loving relationships.

The next most powerful is hate-fucking but that requires far more intense short term emotional investment and is thus far less efficient, especially when recovery is taken into consideration.

So she goes on a talk show or something (live from her bed), says as much, comments that it is more in line for hell to have a flagrantly adorable relationship that would confuse and likely bewilder heaven, then just drops the phone or whatever, not even bothering to hang up properly.

I picture her not in a glamorous sensual form but all pjs and soft shirts, stuff you see college students sleeping in. Very much 'I have been up for 3 days studying for this final' vibes despite her regularly getting 14+ hours of sleep/day at least.

[fire-to-fire]

Christian Summer Camp Horror Stories, Volunteer Edition:

Major TWs in Tags

They did not employ a nurse or have anyone with formal first aid training working there.

They had a policy to keep children at camp even if they were throwing up. You were never to call their parents.

They had a lift that was broken and everyone knew just to watch carefully for the signs that it was about to free fall while you were using it so you could hold on.

We were supposed to have breaks (1 half hour per 12+ hour day) but they didn’t always happen. Those who worked through breaks got praise and those who complained about not having them got shamed.

Volunteers had to surrender their cell phones and were not allowed to call home except on weekends, even then they had to use the phone in the hallway so everyone could hear you.

If we had a problem we were not to talk to our families and friends back home but instead the owner of the camp who was our “mother” while we were at camp.

The volunteer form had the option to mark what you were not willing to do but it meant nothing once you got there. You’d be spiritually pressured into doing what they wanted eventually.

Mental breakdowns of volunteers were actually pretty common. Once a volunteer ran away and slept in a nearby field for the night. Another time a volunteer locked himself in the boys dorms and didn’t let anyone else in for an entire day. Another cried every night from the stress. I myself had a meltdown in front of the rest of staff after leadership assigned me something I wasn’t capable of and then ignored me when I tried to tell them.

When my volunteer time was up they made a public announcement that I was leaving to try and shame me into staying longer. When it didn’t work they made a member of leadership take me on a private walk and try to talk me into staying longer. When even that didn’t work, I got cornered by the owner who tried to spiritually manipulate me into staying longer.

The co-owner physically assaulted me as a 14 year old and then bullied me the rest of the time I volunteered there (which was years).

The co-owner also called an Asian camper “China” the whole time she was there because he couldn’t remember her name.

The camp as a whole was also racist towards the indigenous campers (regularly stated they were all thieves and trouble makers).

They had a dress code for volunteers but it was mostly just for the women. They had a policy that if a male volunteer complained, a female volunteer could be forced to change- even if she was already following dress code.

They had a volunteer who was repeatedly aggressive with other volunteers (and leadership) but was allowed to stay because his mother worked there as well.

The same volunteer cut out a picture of Ellen from a cereal box and tacked it to the staff lounge wall. When asked about it he said he was “crucifying her for being a lesbian”. Nobody in leadership cared.

I was also there the day gay marriage got legalized in the United States and almost every volunteer started going through their Facebook and unfriending everyone who posted positively about it.

The year I left was the year they put in their policy that you couldn’t be gay and work there.

[evergardenwall]

The new Jason liker is back! Honestly-- maybeeee jasico is winning out after scrolling thru some blogs 👀👀👀

If you have a second, love to hear why you love the ship / what drew you to it

oooohh 👀 feel free to share more of your jason thoughts here! i would love to read them :^)

as for my jasico journey. well. there's how i was first drawn to the ship when i was younger, and there's how i actually joined the fanbase and read fics when i revisited my pjo/hoo phase in 2021....which makes not just one but two origin stories!

so. first of all, you need to know that when i first started reading heroes of olympus, i was already obsessed with nico from reading the pjo series before, and also related to him a lot re: the rejection he faced and his feelings of alienation from both camp half-blood and camp jupiter....it's actually mind-blowing to think abut how my eleven years-old baby queer (who didn't know they were not straight yet) self completely latched onto him, both had a crush and projected onto this character, would spend hours looking at fanart and have their friend drawing shippy art of them with him-- yes, this is a thing that happened (and yes, i was one of those younger nico fangirls back in 2014... kind of cringe, i know, but that's part of why i still am attached to him to this day! he is so important to me! and hey, i turned out not to be a girl so 👀). LIKE. hello. younger sam. i know what you are

and then, house of hades happened; the cupid scene and nico having a crush on percy and actually becoming canonically gay had a stupidly huge impact on me. like, yeah, heroes of olympus is objectively the least good series riordan has written in terms of writing quality, but i would not be the same person today if hadn't read it 😞 and it's my favorite rip

i remember reading hoh for the first time back in february 2014, after a day out in paris with my grandmother during which i had dragged her to a bookstore because it had just been published in france, and feeling shaken to my core -- in a good way --, so closely drawn to this character for a reason i could not articulate. and there was jason's reaction, the way he also was drawn to nico, and his support for hades' son, later sealed with the chalice scene in blood of olympus. which was probably one of the gayest jasico scenes. btw (in my opinion, at least. and frank's pov is so fucking funny). so i was like... 'oh my god. jason and nico. [cannot articulate why they love the later beginning of friendship they have going on so much]' and completely latched onto them, but without realising it nor sharing it with other fans this time! because i was too embarrassed!

i already liked jason as a character before the cupid scene, but his chapters in house of hades and blood of olympus as well as his whole identity crisis storyline, torn between greeks and romans, made me love this character even more. imo, his best scenes are in these two books (although after re-reading the lost hero, i have grown to appreciate this book's jason a lot... thinking about when he meets thalia and the moments with leo 🥺)-- and i loved his dynamic with nico. i didn't openly ship them, because i was too intimidated too explore non-canon pairings back then, until i got into jercy on wattpad (it was certainly another time wdxwshdjs). at this moment, not only reading these silly little fics made me more confident in being a jason fan who read him as bi (because i was 13-14 back then, and all my friends at the time thought he was lame and straight), but it inspired me to write a tiny jasico fic, which i never finished but hey, the passion was there :)

after that, i got into so.langelo for a couple of years-- i wasn't familiar with archive of our own, nor fluent in english, which didn't help me finding content besides from minuiko's work (i regularly stalked her blog despite not having a tumblr account) and amvs with stolen fanart on youtube, so i ended up continuing to keep my interest in jasico for myself. seeing nico having a canon boyfriend when toa started releasing had me very excited, although i didn't really care about will..... (whereas i strongly dislike so.langelo but have a lot of headcanons about will as an individual character now. lol.)

fast forward to 2021: for a reason i can't remember (perhaps the first pjo adaptation news? having met my cousin's girlfriend and talked about the books -- and jason! -- with her very enthusiastically? someone putting random fanart on my dash? the world will never know), i decided to start re-reading pjo for the first time in a while, and because i was finally on tumblr, i decided to look at the different tags to see if jasico had a fanbase... and fell into the rabbit hole! and here i am now, sharing conspiracy theories 😞 /j

more seriously, my 2021 obsession with jasico was the first time i actually gave coherent thought to this pairing besides from the Vibes i was getting when i was younger, and rediscovered the things that made me love each character when i was younger. and oh my god, jason... i projected onto jason so much.

it was very comforting, too, like reuniting with old friends, and somehow made me understand a new thing or two about myself. i love the parallels between jason and nico's storylines and how compelling their pairing is from a narrative viewpoint. like. it makes SENSE. on that topic, i will never stop linking this presentation because it analyses the whole thing so well and i wish i could be this articulate instead of just being like.... poetic cinema reaction picture dot jpg. (my mutuals are way smarter than me. go follow them 🔫)

but anyway, long story short: jasico is very Good and i'm glad to see it's kind of becoming relevant again? <- i am unsure of whether we're witnessing a renaissance or if it's just my dash having a mass hysteria event... but i *am* seeing jasico posts getting more notes than usual and it is intriguing so 👀

[rhyslucia]

Copied from a user on reddit:

Fifteen thousand five hundred forty-three.

Here it comes yet again: "No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Happens Regularly"

Are we not tired of this? I sure as fuck am.

"The first girl I walked up to was crouched down covering her head in the bushes, so I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side and she had no face."

We live now in a country in which our children are randomly put to death in public, so that our congressmen can pose with weapons of war, by Right Wing Terrorists. We live in a country where the amount of stickers in the back of our lifted trucks equates to how many rounds of AR ammunition are stockpiled in our closet.

We live now in a country where we ban books, where we ban drag shows, where we ban doctors from helping kids in crisis, where we ban women from making choices with their bodies. We ban people from voting because some don’t like how they might vote, we ban representatives from state legislators for how they have voted, we ban immigrants, we ban some stem cells, and we ban transgender athletes, we even ban water bottles on planes.

BUT WE DO NOT BAN ASSAULT RIFLES (or assault-like or lite rifles or especially Semi automatic ones as some ammosexuals like to point out) DO WE?

Our children are randomly put to DEATH in public. Our Teachers, our friends. Our Family. Some of them just want to go and enjoy an afternoon at a mall together. Never to return. To protect somebody's right to randomly put another innocent person to death, once a month, once a week, once a day, once AN HOUR.

Well since my last update, a 14-year-old was shot in the head. What did this child do? She was playing hide and seek.

When it becomes unmistakably obvious with each death, a little piece of us dies inside, and within 10 years, or 1 year, or 1 month. The pain of that is too large to process, so we simply pretend that it doesn’t hurt anymore. We simply pretend that it doesn't hurt to think of the horror and the terror of those children and those adults in their final moments. We simply stop dealing with it. Or fighting back against it. Or recognizing that the gore and brains on the sidewalks outside the malls of this country and our streets might as well be our own.

And it turns out the good guys with guns can’t stop it. And the responsible gun owners can’t stop it, and the politicians won’t stop it and insist that thoughts and prayers are working and if you disagree with them you are one of those who doesn’t believe in an almighty god who is absolutely in control of our lives?

That translates insanely as the solution to all of these nightmares. God and we want the Fifteen thousand five hundred forty-three people shot to death in this country already this year? Did God want them dead?

I say bullshit.

Now we have news conferences, and without emotion, it’s read off the number put to death this TIME, and the number transported to the hospital and how badly they feel. Do you realize they now treat the public execution of more people, as if it was…BAD WEATHER?

Gun massacres are not bad weather.

So we ban licenses to carry handguns in Texas, give the ability for open carry all over the United States, and Ban mental health care by cutting the budgets. Ban abortion because we are pro-life, and ban books because the children are too precious to be indoctrinated, and ban drag shows because we must protect kids from grooming and we must make sure those kids are happy and fit so SOMEBODY CAN GET A WEAPON OF WAR AND EVERY OTHER DAY PUT GROUPS OF OUR CHILDREN TO DEATH.

But at least those kids were not taught something as terrible as CRT.

80 percent believe in banning assault weapons. 80 PERCENT. 81 percent believe in raising the age to buy guns or at least keeping the age at 21. 81 percent believe in enforcing existing gun laws, and 87 percent want background checks for all gun purchases and these numbers are from 2 WEEKS AGO in a poll done by FOX NEWS.

And yet non of this can pass our elected officials? BULLSHIT.

It is time for a change. Spread how you feel far and wide. Copy this, put in your story (how many of us now have been personally affected or know someone at this point), and let your representatives and the whole goddamn Country know, the whole damn planet!

NO MORE!

So now to boost the signal on some actual honest to god things that could be done about this never-ending nightmare?

For starters, the next generation is tired of this shit and is planning a sit-in at the capital on June 6th. Here is a relevant link:

https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1655293349245452289

And also this goes without saying this group has some amazing ideas:

https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/

This website is dedicated to having the media stop reporting the perpetrator's names to prevent glorifying mass murderers

https://nonotoriety.com

The Gun Violence Archive is also a really useful source on shootings. Their statistics are highly accurate and they have an up-to-date list of all that occurred in the last 72 hours

https://gunviolencearchive.org

@Emilyinyourphone on Instagram shares scripts and other resources for calling your local representative, it even has a campaign right now for mothers to get their loved ones to call instead of flowers for Mother’s Day.

Copy this post or take their info but please. Take a minute and boost the signal.

Some stats to back up this rant because Credible Hulk always comes angry and with sources.

Guns deaths by state

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/gun-deaths-per-capita-by-state

and just because it’s becoming increasingly relevant by the day

Texas Mass Shootings Up 62.5 Percent Since Permitless Carry Bill

https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/texas-mass-shootings-up-62-5-percent-since-permitless-carry-bill/

This WaPo article on the damage that an AR-15 does to a body is sobering but important reading.

THE BLAST EFFECT | This is how bullets from an AR-15 blow the body apart

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2023/ar-15-damage-to-human-body/

And finally, Check out

https://www.everytown.org/

They’re pushing to end gun violence. The more people who make their voices heard the bigger difference we can make.

[usafphantom2]

Man invades Air Force One base in the US and shots are fired

An intruder invaded the home of U.S. Air Force One, one of the most sensitive military bases in the U.S.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/08/23 - 11:00 in Incidents, Military

A man broke into the home of U.S. Air Force One, one of the most sensitive military bases in the country, and this time a resident opened fire on the intruder, Andrews Joint Base said in a statement on Monday.

During the incident, which occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, “a man got unauthorized access to a housing area of the Andrews Joint Air Base,” said a statement from the base published on Twitter. "A resident fired a firearm, security forces arrived at the scene to arrest the intruder and the police are investigating the incident."

The Andrews Joint Base houses the fleet of blue and white presidential aircraft, including Air Force One and 747 "day of the judgment" 747, which can serve as the country's nuclear command and control centers, if necessary.

The U.S. Air Force said on Monday that it had nothing to add other than Andrews' statement about Monday's invasion.

Aerial view of Andrews Joint Air Base. (Photo: Marty Gopert / Wikipedia)

This is not the first time that base security has been violated; in February 2021, a man passed through the military control post for the installation and then through additional fenced security areas to gain access to the flight line and climb a C-40, which is the military aircraft equivalent to the 737 used to transport government officials.

This intruder was arrested because the "mouse ears" cap he wore seemed strange to an observer aviator.

The investigation of a general inspector found three main security flaws, starting with a "human error" of a gate security guard that allowed the man to enter the base even without having credentials that authorized his access. Hours later, the man walked undetected on the flight line, sliding through a fence designed to restrict entry. Finally, he got in and out of a parked plane without being questioned, although he was not wearing a mandatory badge that authorized access to the restricted area.

Source: ABC News

Tags: Air Force OneMilitary AviationIncidentsUSAF - United States Air Force / US Air Force

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[albicoins]

Coffee in Teamwork: A Drink of Revolution, A Beverage of Evolution

Not a fan of Mondays? We've got a solution for you: beat that work reluctance with your team. If none of you are feeling motivated to work, let’s tackle it together. Start your week with a “Monday blues” team kickoff over coffee. This can boost enthusiasm, creativity, and a can-do attitude.

Make it a tradition to gather regularly for coffee.

It's no secret that many people spend their Friday evenings in bars, drinking liquor. This was true even three centuries ago when men (and sometimes women) enjoyed gin and wine in taverns after 14-16 hours of work. European monarchs, especially French kings, tried to limit alcohol consumption. After attempts at "dry laws," their subjects turned to cafes to drink coffee.

Et voila!

The urban middle class reduced its liquor consumption and became sober. Sober people began to think. Coffee helped them concentrate on the fundamental issues of their society. This concentration led to detailed consideration, and eventually, these people sought and found solutions. Hailey Eber concluded, "The Enlightenment and subsequent intellectual movements were also fueled by coffee." This solution was the Revolution. The French Revolution and its consequences radically changed the old world. As Eddy Kyle Gilpin wrote, "During the years 1789 to 1793, many of the events of the French Revolution had their beginnings either in or in the vicinity of the Parisian cafés."

Today, teams and crews constantly need revolutionary, radical solutions to make their companies more successful.

The foundation of business success is the full cooperation of team members. But today, we have another inner engine of our companies: diversity. Many cultures, lifestyles, and attitudes help find new and non-standard solutions to current issues. Some groups still discuss problems over wine. In fact, people become more open, and their tongues work better. Among the words spoken, they can find a solution.

However, this method is not suitable for everyone in our society. Brainstorming under the influence of alcohol is not acceptable for Muslims, several Protestant denominations, Jews (unless the wine is kosher), and people who follow a sober lifestyle for their own reasons. Additionally, some people drink only with close friends and relatives.

But coffee is the best beverage to seek new methods and discover unconventional solutions together.

Nowadays, team training is all the rage. Some companies conduct these sessions every week! However, this can lead to constant distress and burnout.

Team life is already full of tension, and adding more tension can be risky for the company. That's why it's better to gather once to drink coffee and discuss things at ease. A cup of coffee will help every team member concentrate.

Thinking logically is 80% of solving an issue. Discussing logically is 100% of the solution. After a little cup of coffee, people usually start to think and speak logically.

So, gather one day (preferably after lunch) in the conference room, make cups of coffee, and start discussing. Let it be spontaneous without a set topic; the topic will emerge from the debate. And this debate will be your issue.

As Barry D. Smith, Amanda Osborne, and others emphasized in 2004, "Caffeine also enhances performance on selective attention tasks." Of course, selective attention is a necessary and even mandatory part of our consciousness to resolve issues.

Drink coffee and discuss, and your team will be steady and make a revolution in business!

Learn more

[irregulardiaryposts]

20:40 07/03/2024

okay wow well its been well over two years since i updated this 'diary' blog lol

so weird seeing all those old posts about being a teenager with existential thoughts lol i dont really think like that anymore, at least not so much. i guess an update is in order then lmao okay so im in my 3rd year of uni now and im doing my year abroad! doing it in a small city in spain and i really quite like my job, ive only got 14hrs, i have a 3 day weekend, the city is small so i can walk everywhere and this job really gives me a sense of purpose that ive been missing in my life. makes me really realise that university is NOT for me lmfao i was so depressed during my second year i probs went to like 20% of my classes loool. im pretty sure i mightve almost failed aswell but since the professors were doing a marking boycott they released grades without marking the final exam and so since i was already doing well enough in all my classes i passed! quite lucky i think cos i wouldve been so entirely embarrassed and ashamed if i had to repeat a year cos of mental health. i think things are better here tho my issues havent disappeard completely like eg i have these evening classes 6-7.40pm tuesdays and thursdays and for the past like month i havent attended :/ at first it was cos i was sick (i think it was covid lol either from glasgow or on the plane back idk) and then i just didnt go back to class. i think my main excuse is that that is dinner time for me and i dont wanna move dinner time lol. but also i think the class itself is just not for me i dont feel like i learn a whoooole lot while im there and learning on apps is easier for me? but i always felt better for going to the classes cos i was like ha! im not depressed would a depressed person do this!? but of course depression doesnt work like that and i think i need medicated ! but that seems too scary to say. but at least i found someone to do a language exchange with! ive only had one hour with her in spanish, which was yesterday, but i already feel like ive improved lmaooo like i literally dreamt last night in a mix of spanish and english ahahahah cos when i think about it i literally have not ever regularly spoken spanish, ive only really spoken for activies in class or speaking exams so no wonder i have 0000 confidence in my speaking abilities but im hopeful that this will really improve my speaking :) about my job i guess- i work in a high school and i really enjoy interacting with the kids they really do make every day different and more interesting so i am grateful for them but sometimes damnnn sometimes i wanna jump out the window especially with this third year class they are the class KNOWN for being a bitof a pain lol and sometimes i have to lead the class by myself lmaooo mid u ik im 20 but i dont look it and they certainly dont treat me like an adult or a teacher and ngl they are a bit disrespectful at times but also what are u gonna do they are 14 and i have no proper teaching experience to help them by myself i can only hope that im actuallt helping them learn english lol. it is quite difficult tho with my scottish accent to try and sound as clear as possible because i pronounce almost 100% of the vowel sounds differently than rp english which is what i think they are used to so i have to realllyyyy annunciate all my words and man is it tiring lol.

what else. im going to madrid this weekend with bestie and im really looking forward to having a relaxing and fun time but i still havent packed my bags looooooool i alwyas do this tho and its fine not a big deal at all but i def need to do it tonight cos im leaving tomorrow immediately after work so ill have to have an actual breakfast and take snacks with me. im really enjoying my time in spain or at least im trying to but i feel like i have pushed myself enough out my comfort zone to be able to look back on this and say yeah i really took advantage of that. like i think i need to be more personable (is that a word yes it is i used it right) in teaching and be more interactive with them and stuff also i feel like i shoulve arranged a language exchange sooner cos i think this will really help, and i need to interact more with the other assistant but the thing is is im just not a sociable personnnnnnn aghgh. any way cutting this short cos i need to pack my bags for my trupppppp

[focusdrinkselixir]

What are some practical strategies for boosting productivity and staying focused in an age of constant distractions?

In an age of constant distractions, staying focused and boosting productivity can be challenging. Here are some practical strategies to help you navigate distractions and enhance your focus:

1. Create a Dedicated Workspace:

Set up a designated and organized workspace for work-related activities.

Choose a quiet and comfortable environment that minimizes external distractions.

2. Prioritize Tasks:

Identify and prioritize the most important tasks for the day.

Tackle high-priority tasks during your peak energy and focus hours.

3. Time Blocking:

Allocate specific blocks of time for different tasks or types of work.

Stick to the schedule and avoid deviating during focused work periods.

4. Set Clear Goals:

Define clear and achievable goals to provide a sense of purpose.

Break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks.

5. Use the Two-Minute Rule:

If a task takes two minutes or less to complete, do it immediately.

This helps to clear small tasks quickly, reducing mental clutter.

6. Eliminate or Minimize Notifications:

Turn off non-essential notifications on your devices.

Schedule specific times to check emails and messages to avoid constant interruptions.

7. Single-Tasking vs. Multitasking:

Focus on one task at a time rather than attempting to multitask.

Multitasking can decrease overall productivity and increase errors.

8. Implement the Pomodoro Technique:

Work in focused intervals (e.g., 25 minutes) followed by short breaks.

After four intervals, take a more extended break to recharge.

9. Use Productivity Tools:

Utilize productivity apps and tools to help organize tasks and deadlines.

Tools like task managers, calendars, and project management apps can enhance efficiency.

10. Practice Mindfulness:

Incorporate mindfulness techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises.

Bring your attention back to the present moment when you find it wandering.

11. Batch Similar Tasks:

Group similar tasks together and tackle them during specific time blocks.

This minimizes context-switching and helps maintain focus.

12. Set Specific Work Hours:

Establish clear work hours to create a routine and set expectations.

Communicate your availability to colleagues, friends, and family.

13. Break Down Complex Tasks:

Divide large and complex tasks into smaller, more manageable subtasks.

This makes the work seem less overwhelming and more achievable.

14. Take Strategic Breaks:

Schedule short breaks to rest and recharge.

Physical activity, such as a short walk, can help refresh your mind.

15. Stay Organized:

Keep your workspace and digital files organized to reduce mental clutter.

Use tools like to-do lists and calendars to stay on top of deadlines.

16. Learn to Say No:

Politely decline additional tasks when your plate is already full.

Recognize your limits and avoid overcommitting.

17. Reflect and Adjust:

Regularly assess your productivity strategies and make adjustments as needed.

Learn from your experiences and fine-tune your approach over time.

By incorporating these practical strategies into your daily routine, you can mitigate distractions, enhance focus, and boost overall productivity. Experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you.