#hitchhiking Turkey

[youramazingthing]

I`m Mariia Peredok @mariia.doc⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I`m dreamer, collector of stories and journalist. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5 cool things I've done: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 #Hitchhiking! It is cool and funny, and you don`t know what you will meet on the road⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 All of time have listen my heart. It is very important thing. And it helps to don`t lost your way⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 I had moved in big city and never never thought to give up. Big city life learn you to be strong and confident⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Publicly performed with own stories and poems⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Worked in exhibition of most unusual contemporary #artist. And no one don`t know him really name. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5 cool things I want to do: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Will learn drive a motorcycle and more often be on the road⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Travel on real ship⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Have produce own #literature magazine⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Drop into a lot of amazing stories in around the world⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🚀 Have execute many points from own things list life ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #YOURAMAZINGTHINGS #brecanada #turkey #kekova #sea #seaside #street #portrait (at Kekova) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2tFDbHDmD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Benjamin Levin

Killing Nazis at age 14

Benjamin Levin was a young resistance fighter who, as one of the notorious “Avengers,” spent World War II hiding in a Lithuanian forest, emerging only to kill Nazis or bomb their supply chains.

Benjamin was born in Vilna in 1927. His father Chaim was a successful businessman and the family lived a comfortable life. In 1941, however, Chaim was tipped off that Nazi Germany was about to invade Lithuania. As Jews, that meant the Levins’ days were numbered. Chaim quickly sold his business at a loss, used the proceeds to buy weapons, and went into hiding with his family.

At the time, Benjamin was a 14 year old juvenile delinquent who’d started smoking at age 8 and was member of a street gang. After the German invasion, he chose not to stay with his parents in their hiding place, instead joining the fierce resistance group known as the “Avengers” led by Abba Kovner. Benjamin was an immediate asset to the group due to his unique combination of exceptional bravery and diminutive size. His baby face and unassuming appearance enabled him to avoid attracting attention, even in enemy territory.

Hidden in a Lithuanian forest, the teenager and his fellow Avengers killed Nazis, bombed their transportation lines, and smuggled life-saving food and medicine into the Jewish ghettoes. It was later estimated that the brave band of guerrilla fighters had killed 212 Nazis. Their policy was “take no prisoners.” In 1944, the Jewish fighters helped the Russian army liberate Vilna, after which they marched through town looking for Nazi collaborators to execute.

Benjamin’s parents survived the war in hiding, but when they returned to Vilna to reclaim their home, their former neighbors murdered them on the spot. With nothing to keep them in Europe, Benjamin and his sister moved to pre-state Israel, where he joined the Jewish militant group Irgun, fighting the British occupation of Palestine. Benjamin was in charge of helping Jewish survivors in Europe relocate to Israel. Benjamin’s street smarts and people skills served him well as he traveled through Turkey and Syria with European Holocaust survivors.

The Soviet army did not appreciate Benjamin’s work rescuing Jews from behind the Iron Curtain, and in 1947 he was arrested and sent to a Siberian gulag. After a year, Benjamin was released from the gulag and hitchhiked his way to Southern Europe, where he reconnected with the Irgun in Italy. The organization arranged for him to enroll in college and earn a degree in mechanical engineering. He was assigned to the engine room of a ship that sailed around the world, collecting money, weapons and volunteers to fight for the Jewish state.

The ship was called Altalena, and headed to Israel with hundreds of Holocaust survivors on board, as well as Jewish volunteers from around the world, and a cache of heavy ammunition secretly donated by France. When the Altalena reached Tel Aviv and tried to dock, the ship came under fire by the Haganah, a rival military group. Under machine-gun fire, young Benjamin leapt off the ship and swam to shore, then snuck into the country unnoticed. He had been through so much in the previous several years, had lived so many lives and assumed so many identities, that he actually forgot his own birthday. Later, he decided to make Passover – the festival of freedom – his official birthday.

Benjamin met his wife Sara, a Hungarian immigrant, in Israel, and ironically she was serving with the Haganah when they fired on the Altalena. Together they had two children, and moved to New York in 1967, where Benjamin worked as a mechanic and owned a gas station. In the 1990’s, Benjamin was interviewed extensively by Steven Spielberg as part of the Shoah Foundation oral history project.

For decades, Benjamin was an in-demand public speaker at New York high schools, where he spoke about the Holocaust and his remarkable life. Toward the end of his life, Benjamin was unable to speak, but he insisted on continuing his school appearances, with his son Chaim – named for Benjamin’s father – doing the speaking for him. Chaim remembered how much Benjamin loved interacting with students, and described his father as having “an enormous amount of energy and joy and love.”

Benjamin Levin died on April 13, 2020 at age 93. The last survivor of the Avengers, Benjamin died during Passover – his adopted birthday.

For heroically fighting Nazis and saving European Jews, and for educating generations of New York schoolchildren about the Holocaust, we honor Benjamin Levin as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[jrooc]

Weekly Tag Wednesssdaaayyyyyy ✨

Thanks for the tags and hosting @heymacy and tags from you wonderful cookies @mybrainismelted @transmickey @energievie @spookygingerr @gallapiech @roryonic @crestfallercanyon @mmmichyyy @deedala @ardent-fox

name: Jess or jrooc

age: 2 slices of Pie or a Nosho and a half

your time zone: EST

what do you do for work? Marketing for Tech/Saas companies

do you have any pets? My cat Lily who is my master, commander, dictator and co-dependant fur-heart of 16 years

what first drew you to this fandom? Someone suggested I watch the show when I was in a very low point and recovering from yet another surgery and then I became obsessed and went down the internet rabbit hole and here I am! The fandom was such a lovely welcoming place that felt like a warm hug and soothed my broken soul and I’ve been happy here since.

are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl

what are your hobbies? Reading. Writing. Fandom-ing (same, Macy, same)

how tall are you? 5' 8

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? So many places: the Bahamas? A greek island sounds great. Tulum? Turkey. Cinqo terre.

favourite color? Green

favorite book? So many. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

favorite movie? Pride & Prejudice - Kiera Knightly version is what's popping up in my brain

favorite fic? Old Rules For New Side Pieces

favorite musical artist: Right now? BoyGenius and Chapell Roan or Pinegrove. All time? Rilo Kiley. Future Islands.

what is your average screen time so far this week? 3hrs 59min

what's the first app you open in the morning? Discord to say hi to pocket friends and see the euro/aussie chatter I missed overnight.

how long have you been on tumblr? 1 year in June

finally (and i know this one is hard) tell me a fun fact about yourself: Ummm… My fun facts are boring. I’m a road cycling dork. I’ve recently been into Greek wines. And I can be a bit of a dick but I swear I don’t mean it I just forget that saying everything that comes to my brain sometimes comes out in asshole. I say things with force but I’m actually quite flexible!

Tags below the fold (there’s a tumblr tag issue so sorry if this breaks- also why the tags are spaced weird lol)

@lee-ow pat pat pat @sgtmickeyslaughter @astaraels @guinguin1984 @suzy-queued

@mickeysgaymom @heymrspatel @gallavichsuperfan @rayrayor @bawlbrayker

@look-i-love-u @redwiccanrobin @sillygoofygoobersstuff @krysmiss

@spoonfulstar @doshiart @too-schoolforcool @creepkinginc @ian-galagher

@such-a-barbarian @blue-disco-lights @francesrose3 @ms-moonlight-inn @notherenewjersey

[14846]

Chapter 8: God

Reiner had lost track of where he was by this point. He had to wipe himself down in a half-assed motion to try and clear his person from any look that he had just dived in a soot-filled chimney. Santa Clause his ass.

By now he had purchased himself a map, some fresh clothes, and even a pack of cigarettes. He was surprised to even see such an item within the island, but it could definitely make all the sense now considering connection with the outside was growing more and more.

He didn't enjoy smoking, but he was attempting it as a last resort to try and occupy his mind with another addiction than those stupid coca leaves. He should've done this when he had some wiggle room with the amount of leaves he had left, but now it was seeming like a cold turkey transition was going to have to be closer in order than he'd like.  

He had to make do with what he had. He tore his old shirt into strips and wrapped them around his shins to create some sort of compression to mediate the shin splints that were still giving him a hard time. He rolled bottles and other means against them to try and relieve the pressure, but they were getting worse and worse by the day. Proper rest was supposed to be in order, but the longer he stayed near the interior, the worse the chances would be for him. 

Posted up against a tree against a more desolate road bound for the countryside, Reiner stood puffing on the stick of tobacco. His eyes were scanning over the map and giving it a once-over. It was already bad enough that he seemed like a hitchhiker on the side of the road, let alone with a rather large map that screamed he was foreign to this part of the island. With firm hands, he folded the wrinkled chart and stuffed it in his bag- a new bag, if he were to add. The other one was not painting a good picture for himself, so he purchased a more firm fitting satchel. He did feel a bit ridiculous with it, but he for sure needed it to hold his precious cargo. 

He let his legs carry him, his eyes ever-so-slightly narrowing in tolerance at the needles that stung into his legs. He went from zero to one-hundred in such a short amount of time. Prison to breaking it free in the span of one night. He was smarter than that, and should’ve prepared himself by keeping himself fit and engaged with the physical turbulence that he was bound to face while in prison. He shook his head at himself every time the thought erupted into his mind. 

He made sure to keep his distance enough from the road to not be seen, but not far enough away to seem suspicious to passing people in their wagons. It was a relief, to say the least, when, after ten days of walking, he made it to where the map told him Klorva was. 

—

It was like all the weight of his determination washed completely over, because the man just about collapsed into a chair at a local tavern. He let his guard down, because it was immediately then, when he lowered his head to face inches from the table, did he feel a firm grasp on the back of his head smash his face into the polished wood. 

The hand pulled his head up by the hair, and with another blow, his face met again harsh against the table. Reiner was blinded, but like the brute he was, he was quick on his feet, his own hands grabbing for the chair that he had just been sitting on, and with a swing, he met it with his attacker. 

He was so weak inside, though, that the swing even sent him back a couple of feet. To his dismay, he fell back right into the grasp of two other men who held him down. The words between the group of men- he was sure- were calling to get some police officials in the matter. He had been caught, and of all places, somewhere far away from the interior. 

He was almost given up as they pinned his shoulders down, the men arching his back in an unnatural way against a booth table. He had not even realized how the blood smeared onto his face from his lips and nose, and so it was of no illusion to the shock in the people’s faces as Reiner began to laugh. So close to freedom, teased with success, only to be for sure knocking at death’s door by the hands of the government. 

His laughs grew louder, and his legs gave in to any of the support they may have offered in his uncomfortable positioning. The men had to hold him up against that damned table, because Reiner was absolutely losing it. When one of them looked down at the blonde’s face, he was met with a bloody spit that splattered across his face. 

Maniacal he became in this last moment of free will. To the guillotine he was to go! How dare he ever think of any search for peace and forgiveness. How dare he hold onto any hope? The corner of the table knived into his back as he failed to hold himself up, the jitters of his guffaw making it worse and worse for any possibility of stature.

“Who’s to say- who’s to say I can’t kill you all right now?” The blonde beamed. His leg kicked as he tried to hold himself up, the pain of him being somehow suffocated by his awkward positioning meriting a grunt for breath. “Who’s to say I can’t?!” 

The look of the peoples in the tavern would tell as if they were witnessing Satan incarnate. Some held onto their religious-worn necklaces. 

“What makes you think that I am not withholding destruction? I am the chosen one! You only think the jotunns are long gone! You know nothing!” His eyes scanned around the room, an eerie smile cutting through his face. He had to play into this nightmare. Maybe he could plead insanity as well, if he was unsuccessful here. 

One of the men let go, and he sat up just slightly, though he got firmly pinned back against the table by the other oppressor. He slammed his own fist against his chest a few times, his lips pursing in graveness as he read the room. “Who started this and shattered your world? I did!” He pulled himself up again in defiance, his eyes rooting into the man who now slowly stepped back, abandoning any more effort to hold him down. “I am the reason you have no mothers! I am the reason your children are dead!” He propped his palms against the corner of the table and wearily carried himself up straight. “And I, too, have the luxury of being called your savior! You have no more destruction- because of me!” 

He spat some blood onto the floor. “I am your god.”

A weak breath exited, but because he seemed weak, crazed, and abysmal, did the people take him seriously. He had become unpredictable. He had always been unpredictable. That is where his true power lied. “I am the image of all of you- all of what you have ever wanted in your life.” The only sounds that emanated from the tavern were the sounds of his shoes now creaking against the planks of the floor. He made sure to pierce a good look at all the people. “Let me go, and you will live.” He pulled his hand into his pocket and pulled out the shaving knife he still had handy, and he pressed it to his palm, looking as if he were about to take part in the ritual he had done so many times before. 

It was a long shot, but perhaps he could play into the ignorance of the people. People were sheep and could conspire about anything if given the chance. A few people ran out of the tavern, hearing only the stories of how the half-people, half-titans could shift at their will of bloodshed. 

Without a word of exchange, it became apparent that they were to let him go.

 He had to leave now before the police were to arrive. That could be any minute, but as he was just about to pick up his things and leave, his body still battered and worn but held so straight in triumph, his eyes froze onto someone staring at him.

Someone who looked familiar to him. A girl. A girl he stayed up thinking about in his lonely nights and only but dreamed of. A friend who understood him, and who he'd gladly kneel fealty over. 

Janette.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Okay, I was too busy yesterday to watch this episode, and today I have shit to do this evening, so I unfortunately can’t spend ages on the Taskmaster episode like I normally do. I normally do giant posts where I screenshot like half the episode, but that makes watching it take several hours, and unfortunately I do have a modicum of a life at this point. So I’ll still write down thoughts as I watch, but there will be fewer of them, and I won’t accompany them with screenshots, which should save a lot of time.

Anyway, I’m really excited for this episode either way. Thoughts on Taskmaster s15e04, written as I watch it:

- Excellent start. Alex’s horsefly pun got a proper laugh out of me, the Italy anecdote was exactly the sort Alex Horne-style “just drop this bit of talking into the air and pretend like it makes sense” that I enjoy, and then there was Hitchhiker’s Guide reference. And a fun prize category, with lots of room for different interpretations. Well done all around.

- That was way too short an exchange about Mae’s prize. Please tell me more about why they have a blowup doll of themself and think that would be fun to put on your head. I will be disappointed if we don’t get that in an outtake.

- Look, Frankie’s prize is not in a frame! It also has absolutely nothing to do with the remit, probably one of the most egregious examples ever of a constant just bringing in some shit they wanted to bring in even if it has nothing to do with the category. I wouldn’t have expected Frankie to play this any other way.

- More references to classic Britcom from my childhood, with Ivo Graham not messing around, bringing in something that perfectly fits the remit, a turkey. An item famous – famous worldwide, if we are to believe James Acaster’s Cold Lasagne claims about everyone in the whole world being into Mr. Bean – for being funny when it’s worn on a head even though you’re not supposed to wear it on your head. I didn’t know Friends did it too, though.

I mean, if I wanted to be pedantic, I could point out that a turkey on the head is funny to everyone else, but isn’t exactly a fun thing for the person wearing it. But I enjoy the joke enough to let that go.

- I swear I wrote the above point before I saw Frankie Boyle say “I don’t want to be too pedantic here, but…”, and then made pretty much that exact point. Not sure he has enough high ground for pedantry with his prize, but he’s got a point, as Ivo instantly admitted.

- Obsessed with the level of thought Jenny put into her pitch for her prize task, and the enthusiasm with which she delivered it. Also, I assume she didn’t make that herself, so did a member of production have to knit that? Was it the same person who made Jamali’s sweater?

- Absolutely wild over-scoring of Frankie Boyle there, what are you doing, Greg?

- I immediately love the instructions on that first task. That is so much fun. Like the season 8 bouncy ball task, but updated for a bigger budget. Too bad Frankie couldn’t find this thing during the “recreate musical instruments” task.

- Haven’t seen much of it yet, but my first thought is to take the drums and cymbals off their stands and put them all on the ground next to each other.

- Sort of like what I just watched Kiell do, but I feel like you could take it farther than that.

- Jenny, I would never call you a silly cow. I am really enjoying her energy.

- “You counted to seven but you only hit five” is somehow a problem Kiell has already had on this show, with the barge task. Why is Kiell not able to count to five?

- Okay, I’ve been calling the team of two “Franko”, but Alex got in his No More Jockeys reference by calling them “a big IF”, and I think I’m going to need to re-name the team to that from now on. Team Big IF.

- There, that thing Frankie’s doing, that’s what I’d do.

- Delightful to watch how much Frankie’s enjoying this. Ivo might be overthinking. I mean it’s amusing to include the Greg statue, and I do think overall Taskmaster has been underusing that thing, but it doesn’t really help.

- Honestly, I could watch Frankie Boyle drop a ball down a row of drums and then giggle all day.

- Ivo’s last idea would definitely be cheating, as it said one throw of a ball and of multiple balls at once, but it didn’t work anyway so it doesn’t really matter.

- Again, Drum March/April/Mae – solid pun. Alex is on form this episode.

- Love that Mae is not even pretending to not have watched all previous seasons and be using that for ideas. No messing around by trying lesser strategies and then coming up with this new one, just going straight for the Lou Sanders approach.

- Hang on. Hang on. What the hell are they arguing about in the studio? This precedent has been set. Okay, here are the wording of two different tasks:

Season 8 task: Bounce one of these balls so that it lands in that bin. After propelling the ball, you may not touch or strike it on its way to that bin. You must use the ball you touch first.

Season 15 task: Strike the most drum skins and cymbals with a single throw of a bouncy ball.        

In season 8, Lou Sanders had her attempt count when she tied it to string and bounced it over and over. Yeah, “propel” and “throw” are different words, but they’re close enough. They both involve releasing the ball and then not touching it again, which neither contestant did. That precedent is already on the books, this should definitely be a win for Mae.

- There, according to Alex, the definition for “throw” says “to propel”. Meaning “throw” and “propel” are the same thing, those tasks should be considered equivalent, the precedent should be considered relevant, therefore Mae wins.

- Okay, Kiell’s argument was bullshit, you can absolutely drop something and throw it at the same time, that’s just throwing it downward. Ivo’s masturbation joke was quite funny but irrelevant. Frankie… might sort of have a point with the “casting” thing, about whether the moment they jerked it backwards, the first throw was over. That could be up for debate, if this were five years ago. But it isn’t. Season 8 has aired, the precedent has been set. You have to honour the precedent!

- You are not letting them get away with anything, Greg, you let Lou Sanders get away with it already and if you didn’t allow this we’d have anarchy! But that was enormous fun, that whole exchange. I did say I wouldn’t screenshot the whole episode again, but Greg’s right, Kiell’s face is pretty good.

- Bridges for potatoes and boats for eggs. Ordering things with restrictions based on letters of the alphabet. I like that some of the tasks in this season feel like classic Taskmaster.

- What the fuck are you going to do with a golf ball, Kiell?

- Power of suggestion’s pretty strong here, isn’t it? They all hear the word “boat” and then three of the five choose B as their letter.

- Title drop from Kiell, and it’s a good one. He does seem to be bad at both basic counting and working out whether things are heavier than water/air, given the time he through he could move a golf ball by blowing on it.

- Look on Ivo’s face when he broke the egg was some solid comedy.

- Ivo’s studio banter has been strong all episode.

- Okay, I haven’t seen them all go yet but having seen them made, I think Mae had it the best. Frankie making it out of paper seems like a bad idea, what with water tending to compromise paper’s structural integrity. No idea what Jenny made, and I think she just wanted to be able to say “bra” a lot, which to be fair, was funny. Kiell’s balloon was a good idea, Ivo’s multiple balloons were better.

- Well, I was definitely wrong about Mae’s boat. But that was actually really good, I think that worked better than I expected. Nice little editing with the music over Mae’s boat at the end. That was an enjoyable watch. And my apologies to Frankie Boyle, I underestimated the power of a little plastic to protect the paper.

- Oh no! Oh no! I am glad my roommate’s still out of town because when they showed the egg fall, I may have involuntarily called out “Oh no, Frankie!” before realizing I was saying it out loud. Oh no, Frankie! It is possible that you do, after all, need more structural integrity than paper with a little plastic coating.

- Ah, well done. Greg pretending to let Frankie go just to fuck with Kiell. This is fun.

- I’m really enjoying how genuinely nervous Mae seems. Which might be a weird thing to say, it’s just a sign of their extreme competitiveness that they look constantly on edge, expecting some surprise, trying to look for any loopholes. Funny, also highly relatable. I mean, I realize I’m biased by Mae Martin being one of the most attractive people I have ever seen on a screen, but I think they’d be one of my favourites even if they weren’t that.

- Love that they put the task where Kiell has to drag a bin full of water right after the egg boat task. How heavy is the water now, Kiell?

- Kiell is not wearing shoes, guys.

- I’m absolutely fine. I mean, I just thought the words “Damn, Mae scrambling to do math in their head is hot”, and then wondered if I should write those words down, and decided I will. But I’m doing fine.

- The obvious thing to do with bubble wrap is to rip off one bubble, put it to the side, and then crush the rest all at once with a book or something, right?

- Oh my God they took twenty minutes on the bubble wrap. Meticulous Mae. I love them.

- I’m not sure the banana sign is the same as a banana, is it?

- Could have been just editing that made it look this way, but I love that it appears that Frankie instantly knocked the bin over to spill the water on the ground, after Kiell had tried to carefully empty it into the bath.

- And then Frankie forgets that he can open the gates instead of trying to throw a large bin over them. Nice.

- Jenny shouting in all four rooms of the house had some strong “essence of Taskmaster” energy.

- The John part is pretty funny, seeing how long it takes them to work out that they have to call someone and John isn’t just in the house.

- Oh, it took me a moment to realize Frankie was burning the bubble wrap to complete the tasks. I thought he’d already popped all the bubble wrap so his task was completed, and he was so annoyed about what he’d had to do that he gathered up all the tasks, put them in a bucket, and burned them for no reason.

- Glad Frankie Boyle got to set some shit on fire, though. I always say people don’t realize there’s a strong intelligent and well read and thoughtful and politically informed side to Frankie, he’s not just what you see on Mock the Week compilations! But, you know, if you’re going to get Frankie Boyle on Taskmaster, you want to have a bit of bringing in pornography and setting shit on fire. I hope all five of them set some shit on fire this season.

- Okay, one screenshot and that is it for the whole episode. I just… I just need to take that picture of Mae Martin being petty about the definition of “throw”, and then coyly acknowledging the hypocrisy. For personal reasons, I need to show people that image.

- Really enjoyed Greg and Frankie yelling at each other about the definition of a banana. And I want Frankie and Jenny to be right, I really do. But a sign that says “banana” is not, in fact, a banana.

- Well, that whole sequence with Ivo was brilliant. He seemed to figure out that you’re allowed to pass on a task that’ll take too long, which could have been a smart strategy, if it weren’t for the fact that he had a complete breakdown and did every singe thing wrong. Mistaking the caravan for the shed is classic. Also forgot that the gate opens. I’m remembering what Nish Kumar said on the podcast before this season, that he thinks it’ll be fun to watch because he knows that Ivo Graham falls to pieces as soon as anyone puts the slightest bit of pressure on him. That was very funny all around.

- Really enjoyed the live task, too. Kiell trying fancy things, Frankie seeming to genuinely get into the art therapy side of it, Mae playing it too safe and meticulous, the look on Jenny’s face when she broke the stream for a second. And Ivo just had a solid strategy. Well done.

- Well, obviously I wrote that before I saw the ending. Good stuff. Classic Taskmaster. I do love it when they stick to the rules to the point of making it a ludicrous result. Also really enjoyed Frankie’s petty comment about the episode being  a journey through language and meaning – he’s had a few of those throughout this episode, seeming to be fine with outcomes but then bringing it back later to complain. Which I also enjoy. I love some pettiness in a Taskmaster contestant.

- Aw, Jenny Eclair won an episode! A good one for her to win, too, as she seems like the one who’d have the most fun putting things on her head.

- Good stuff, I really really enjoyed that, and this is by far the fastest I’ve ever done one of these Taskmaster liveblog posts. Great episode, great season, I would watch Frankie Boyle narrate literally anything, did I mention how hot Mae Martin is enough times? Okay I have to go do actual things now, but that was a really good one, best episode of the season so far, I think.

[jedidiahxowens]

ꕀ ᐝ 𖠳 pete wentz, cis male, he/him 𖠳 ᐝ ꕀ ‷ heads up ; if you hear bishop's knife trick by fall out boy blaring, it’s most likely jedidiah (jed) owens making their way down the shore ! they’re 43 years old and celebrate their birthday on 10/9- i knew they were a libra ! especially since they’re very intelligent and indecisive. they are from dillon, texas staying in the cove and are currently working as a house band bassist at aretha's corner, here at the cape. they always did remind me of the buzzing glow of a neon sign in the dark, the feeling when you get off a rollercoaster and had the time off your life, and the desert wind in your hair as you speed down the open highway.‷

full name: jedidiah ezekiel lewis owens

nickname(s): jed, jj (taluluah/sibs only)

date of birth: 10-9-1980

gender: cis man (he/him)

sexual orientation: pansexual

spoken languages: english, conversational in patois (Jamaican secondary language)

neighbourhood: the cove

occupation: house bassist @ aretha's

physical.

hair colour / eye colour: naturally black/bleached blonde / hazel

height: 5 ft 6in

body and built: slim, atheletic

tattoos: (will provide a second post but all of the FCs tattoos)

piercings: tongue, left nostril

personality.

positive trait(s): intelligent, creative

negative trait(s): indecisive, stubborn

background.

his dad, a jamaican man named leroy, disappeared the day his mother told him she was pregnant with jed.

jed is tallulah (he calls her loulou) owens' oldest (half) brother.

he acted out growing up, getting into trouble, tattoos and drugs way too young.

at the age of 15, he got into some trouble with a local gang. he asked his step dad for help and he threw a bottle at his head.

jed stole what cash his step-dad had left and settled with the gang.

when the dust settled from that, he realized he didn't want his younger sibs to feel the way he felt when he asked for help and was refused, so he took on the role of man of the house and quit everything (but weed) cold turkey and got a job the day he turned 16.

jed never graduated high school, but he provided a steady source of support and income for his siblings.

he stayed till the youngest brother left home and then he himself traveled (read: couch surfed and hitchhiked across the country, but when tallulah moved here, he came to visit and never left.

currently lives in the small guest house on her property.

headcanons.

jed loves all kinds of music with the exception of country. it grates his nerves like nothing else.

he only ended up playing bass because he won a bass when he was 17 off a poker game with friends. he taught himself and played in a few shitty bands here and there, but never made it big.

he writes (dark) poetry daily.

he DIYs 99% of his clothes. he'll buy a plain shirt, jeans, or hoodie and create something sweet. he started in high school with sharpies and it expanded into cricuts and a screenprinting set up in his little guest house.

[unhonestlymirror]

Antanas Poška (1903-1992) – Lithuanian traveler, scientist, anthropologist, writer, journalist, Calcutta University honorary doctorate (2014).

1931-1933: At the University of Bombay, Antanas Poška studied anthropology and acquired knowledge of Sanskrit.There, he met the famous Indian (Persian) researcher Jivanji Jamshedji Modi. He accompanied Oxford University professor Aurelius Stein on an expedition to Chinese Turkestan. In 1933, he received a diploma from the University of Bombay for the work "The Aryans, their origin and migrations". Later (in 1934), he participated in an expedition to Baltistan and visited Nepal. Prepared a dissertation. 1933-1936 participated in anthropological expeditions around Southeast Asia, collected data on the Chinese-speaking peoples in the northwest of the Himalayas, visited Burma, the Takla Makan desert, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Benares, with the help of local pandits, Antanas Poška deepened his knowledge of Sanskrit and prepared a translation of the Bhagavadgita.

In 1937, he traveled to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkish Kurdistan. In Turkey, Poška was arrested, suspected of being a British spy, imprisoned, and his collected material and translations disappeared.

In 1937, he returned to Lithuania.

In 1945, June 28, he was arrested, imprisoned in the Arkhangelsk region and Komi camps. He worked as a paramedic in Kazakhstan. 1949-1958, he worked in Central Asian local history museums (Petropavlovsk, Osh, Andijan), participated in expeditions. In 1958, September 18, the Criminal Cases Panel of the LTSR AT closed the case of A. Poška, ​​and the traveller returned to Lithuania in 1958. 1960-1969, he led the Lithuanian Esperanto club.

In 1960, with Prof. Tadas Ivanauskas, he travelled to the nature reserve "Tigrų Balka" [idk how to translate it] in Tajikistan. 1965-1966, he hitchhiked to the Esperantists of Leningrad and Moldavia. In 1972, he travelled by motorcycle to the republics of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. In 1973, he visited the place of exile in Komi, 1976 - Kyrgyzstan.

In the last decade of his life, he managed his rich archive, prepared his books for the press, but the soviet censorship did not let them pass. 1987-1988, he visited Czechoslovakia. In the 1980s, his health deteriorated, and he died in 1992 after a long, serious illness.

[aventurasdeunatortuga]

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Okay I am almost caught up from the last week. Long post ahead but lets face it all my posts are long. Post 3 of 3.

So the last three days were spent doing something that was either very adventuresome or very stupid. Probably mostly stupid. Hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge alone without a guide.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest gorges in the world. It is located in Tibet, about 2 hours from Lijiang. It is a very popular destination in China. Irene hiked it when she studied abroad in China back in 2014, so that’s how I found out about it. It’s called Tiger Leaping Gorge because there is a legend about a hunter who was pursuing a tiger in this gorge and at a narrow point in the gorge with rushing river rapids the tiger escaped by leaping across the gorge.

I was initially planning to go with a group. But since its the off season and since there are almost zero foreigners traveling in China right now there weren’t any tours offered other than private tours, which would have cost me nearly $1,000. So I did a lot of research, mainly using articles from 2019 before the border closed, and thought I could manage it on my own. Which was my first stupid or adventurous decision.

The trek itself is about 20 miles total and generally takes between 2-3 days. There are several inns along the way to stop at over the night. I used a map from 2019 to plan my way and it looked doable.

I took a bus from Lijiang, and arrived at the gorge without a hitch. However, despite the family sitting next to me on the bus translating everything the driver was saying with their phones and trying to help me, I got off the bus at the wrong stop. I got off at the tourist viewpoint which is at the most narrow, lowest part of the canyon directly next to the rushing rapids, where the tiger allegedly made its escape. You have to hike down a ways from the road to get down to the river. Not gonna lie it was truly impressive, the river was absolutely ferocious. I’d never seen rapids like that before. But then I realized that the place I was supposed to start the hike was actually 3 miles in the other direction.

So I hiked back up to the road and tried to figure out what to do. There were tourist buses but they were all for tour groups making stops at the viewpoint, I couldn’t really ask them for a ride. So I thought, its 3 miles, I can handle that. That was the next stupid decision.

One of the lessons I learn the hard way over and over again is “no, actually, you can’t walk that”.

So I walked for about an hour. The road was pretty precarious. It was a highway with a cliff on one side and a dropoff into the canyon on the other side. I never felt like I was in danger, but it was certainly a sight to see. At one point I walked by a policeman and I thought he was going to tell me I couldn’t walk there but he just looked the other way. I met a few people selling things along the side of the road and they all laughed and laughed as I walked by, which, understandable.

After about an hour I still had a mile to go. A car pulled over and the guy told me he could give me a ride the rest of the way, I accepted, also not the smartest choice but it worked out fine. This makes the third time I’ve hitchhiked; I did it before in Mexico and Turkey as well.

He brought me to the ticket office of the park, which I had thought was the entrance to the hike. It turns out in a brilliant stroke of stupidity that the place where the car had picked me up was in fact the entrance to the hike and I hadn’t realized it. There was an enormous sign and an arrow literally painted onto the cliff that I hadn’t noticed. I only realized when I asked at the ticket office where the entrance of the hike was.

So I turned around and walked back the exact way I had come for about 45 minutes along the highway. At one point some kids chased after me going “hello! hello!”.

After about 3 hours total, I finally made it to the entrance of the hike. The map said it would take me about 5 hours to hike 12 kilometers. Which in hindsight was laughable. It took closer to 7 hours. At that point it was 1pm and it was going to get dark at 8pm. I started walking and it was gorgeous but man it was difficult. It was all uphill. I saw absolutely no one, local or hiker, for about 3.5 hours. It was all farms and mountains. It was a bit unnerving being the only person there, but at least I was sure I was going the right way. There were red arrows painted on the ground every few feet which was reassuring.

After a while, I was at the point where I had calculated that I had 25,000 steps to take still and was counting all of my steps individually because I was so tired. Then I saw a lady waving at me. She asked if I wanted to ride a horse part of the way, in my obvious exhaustion I agreed but in hindsight I should have been more prepared and asked for more details about what this would entail. It was 100% my fault. I spent about 40 minutes on the horse going up the steepest part of the trail called the 28 Bends, which, self-explanatory name. The trail was very difficult, I felt bad being on the horse while the lady was walking behind me, I had thought she would be on a horse as well. She also insisted on carrying my backpack even though I kept saying I could carry it.

We made it up, and then she informed me that I was halfway there. When we had been negotiating a price earlier I had thought she had said 40 yuan, I had 200 yuan in cash so I had agreed. Everyone in China also uses a digital payment system called Alipay and another called Weixin Pay. I have Alipay because for Weixin Pay I couldn’t figure out how to set it up without a Chinese bank account. So we’re at the top of this mountain and this lady informs me that I had misunderstood and the price was actually 400, not 40 yuan. Which, I mean, considering the difficulty of the trail was a fair price but I hadn’t expected it. I showed her my cash and asked if I could pay her digitally, she said yes. She only had weixin pay though, and alipay and weixin pay don’t work together. So we were stuck. I didnt have any way to pay her. We sat there for probably 45 minutes trying to figure out what to do. It was 100% my fault for not understanding and not being more prepared. I hadn’t come across this issue the whole time I had been in China, everyone I’d met before accepted Alipay and I’d never had anything cost more than 200 yuan cash. I tried everything, even tried setting up a weixin pay account but i couldn’t do it without a chinese bank account. Then she told me the price had increased to 600 yuan. I was like I’m not sure what to do here. I called Irene desperately and somehow miraculously had service and she was miraculously able to send the lady money from 3,000km away. I will be forever grateful for friends like her saving my skin.

The lady then told me to be careful and rode away. It was 5:30pm then somehow, and there was still 2 hours left until the inn I was staying at. I also had had to use the bathroom for about 2 hours at that point and between the precarious horse ride up the steep mountain and the fiasco with the lady, hadn’t had a chance. Also 0/10 would not recommend riding a horse while having to pee. I was literally on the edge of a cliff with not even a path into the bushes, but there was at least not a single person around. I hid behind a tree and did what I had to do way too uncomfortably close to the edge of the cliff, thinking “well its already been a wild day, this may as well happen”.

Then I calculated that there were 13,300 steps left until my hotel. I didnt see a single person that entire time. My brain wasn’t capable of doing anything at that point other than putting one foot in front of the other and counting. Finally, in the pouring rain just before dark I made it 7 hours and 13.5 miles total after starting the hike, to my hotel for the night. I have done more physically difficult things in my life, but never for such an extended amount of time and never completely alone and with such uncertainty. The whole way I was thinking through all the decisions I had made today and regretting every single one of them. The views were spectacular though.

I made it to my room completely out of cash at that point and collapsed on the bed. I made it to dinner at the hotel and then came across the same exact issue I had encountered earlier with money. No one accepted Alipay connected to international credit cards, only alipay connected to Chinese credit cards, weixin pay or cash. After being in China for 3 weeks I had never encountered this problem before, everyone accepted Alipay and I had very very rarely had to use cash, people prefer not to use cash most times. So I couldn’t pay for my meal. Irene saved me again, and ended up doing so three more times over the course of this trek. I have learned yet another lesson the hard way, always bring more than enough cash and have a payment backup plan, especially in rural areas, and I am very grateful to have a friend like her to save me from my own stupidity.

I spent the evening trying to figure out a way to set up weixin pay and found an extremely complex way to do it which involved an hour long phone call with my parents and then at the end of the whole process was informed it would take 3 business days to verify my identity and activate my account, which was useless. I could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation and go to sleep.

The next day I felt more at ease because there were other hikers. Apparently what people do nowadays which is way smarter, is to take a car from the beginning of the trail to the first hotel because there is apparently a back road. They stay at the hotel for the night, send a car with their bags ahead to the end of the trail through the back roads and along the highway, then they walk the second leg of the trail with no bags. This would have been the ideal way to do it, but alas, here I was without money and with my heavy bag already at the top of the mountain. Oh well. Today was only a 10k hike to the end of the trail, and there were other hikers which made it a lot less unnerving.

I even met two foreigners, I hadn’t met any foreigners in quite a while. They were teachers in Shanghai, one from New York and the other from London. They’d been living in China since 2018. They were very surprised I was traveling around and wasn’t living in China, they said China really isn’t set up for people to just travel around. Its very difficult if you don’t have a Chinese bank account or speak Chinese, and theres almost no up to date information out there since the border reopened in January 2023. I was like…yup..tell me about it….

They talked about what it was like to go through covid in Shanghai, which other than Wuhan, was the most heavily impacted place in China. They had the strictest lockdown in the world. They literally could not leave their apartments for any reason for a total of 86 days straight. Some people were even literally sealed inside their apartments. They had to rely on food rations from the government being delivered and they weren’t always consistent. Lockdown was rough for everyone but this was another level.

Anyway, I got to talk to them for a while but then they moved along. Then I met another guy who was hiking alone. He spoke to me enthusiastically in Chinese and didn’t seem to be impeded by the fact that I could not understand anything he was saying. I think what I gathered after a while was that he thought since we were both hiking alone we should take photos of each other. He had me take photos of him and then he took photos of me, insisting that I hold his hiking poles. He did this a few times in increasingly precarious photo locations and then I was like ok this has gone too far. We kept walking for a while, almost an hour, and I was kind of ready for him to stop talking to me. I started walking really really slow to try and get him to go ahead but he kept stopping and waiting for me and telling me to hurry up. I can never tell when people are being friendly or being creepy. I always feel uncomfortable with people talking to me so its hard to trust my gut. There was also the language barrier and cultural differences to consider. I think he thought he was being friendly and looking out for me as women traveling and hiking alone is an oddity, not to mention being a foreigner.

After over an hour I think he finally got the hint so he said ‘bye bye’ and went ahead. I met one more group of hikers along the way, a group of 4 friends who greeted me by going “Hello! Fuck! Hi!” which was pretty funny actually. Lots of people yell hello at me on the street when I go by which I think they find funny because they always laugh afterwards and I never know how to respond. This was a new one though. This group talked to me for a little bit and then went ahead.

The path was extremely precarious at this point, but the views were absolutely breathtaking. It was an incredible hike. Finally, after 6 hours because of how slow I walk, I made it to the hotel at the end of the trail. 2 days, 20+ miles, 12+ hours of hiking, and many stupid decisions later I had made it one way or another. There were many times throughout I thought that I truly couldn’t do this and I should give up, but giving up wasn’t really an option, I had to push myself to keep going, and I eventually one way or another made it.

The only room the hotel had was an 8 bed dorm which I shared with a group of bikers who were thoroughly confused by me but were very polite and respectful. They all went out of the room and talked animatedly amongst themselves for a while after I went in the room and looked things up on a translator. I only understood 哪国人 (foreigner) 一个人 (alone) 为什么(why) and 中文 (Chinese). Then they asked me using the translator if I spoke Chinese, where I was from, and after much furious whispering, ‘how do you communicate with people here’. I just laughed and said “不知道，我用我的手机。” I don’t know. I use my phone. They thought everything about me was quite befuddling.

The next day the bikers checked in on me to make sure I knew how to get to my next stop, which was nice of them. I was able to get a bus directly from the hotel back to Lijiang, it ended up taking the entire day because there was only one bus but it was pretty seamless. I very much enjoyed the scenery of the wilderness but am very glad to be back in town where there are atms and people accept my bank card and I more or less know how to get around.

There were a lot of poor decisions made the last few days, but thanks to the kindness of friends and strangers it all worked out. I would do things differently knowing what I know now, but I am glad I did this in the end. It was an amazing experience.

I’ll be back in Lijiang for the next few days, before heading to my next stop. I’m writing this post now in a beautiful park by a lake in Lijiang while eating spicy noodles. I’ll try to update again before I leave to avoid a backlog again.

[nekofantasia]

———  basics! ♡

(PEN)NAME:  Chirunobyl is usually my full nick but call me Chiru

PRONOUNS:  She/Her

ZODIAC SIGNS:  Doggo / Libra

TAKEN OR SINGLE:  The most single pringle

TIME ZONE: (GMT-6)  

———  three  facts! ♡  

I’m my own alarm clock as I have the ability to wake up any hour I tell myself before bed. Even programming an alarm clock has proven redundant because I always wake up right before it.

I have a hitchhiker’s thumb.

I can roll my tongue into a taquito!

———  experience ! ♡

LMAO I DON’T HAVE RP EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO MAKING THIS BLOG. Crazy right? 

Oh but back when I frequented forums I did have friends that RP’ed so I guess some stuff stuck with me.

I suppose you could say that I made this blog once I finally had the balls to put my writing out there huh?

———  muse preference !  ♡

Give me your most plucky adventurous person out there and I’ll love them forever. Extra bonus points if they’re gender non conforming! 

———  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡    

FLUFF: Yes please. Everyone that follows me knows that I’m not slice of life stuff so PLEASE WRITE SLICE OF LIFE WITH ME I’LL PAY YOU I SWEAR.

ANGST: Of course! Granted I like my angst that makes sense so it’s a matter of balance and managing tone.

SMUT: No.

PLOT / MEMES: Let’s have both! Plot is good, it doesn’t necessarily have to be planning a thousand chapter thing yanno? It can be as simple as just coming up a scenario or discussing an idea that just ocurred to you and you wanna share it with your friends and stuff! As well as exploring new possibilites from already established interactions! Usually this approach works best when you’re acquainted with your rp partners very well because you could easily talk about the characters and propose ideas that way. Memes are VERY GOOD and giving you ideas that you might not have thought about as well as giving you something to write to get that momentum you need to write again after going cold turkey for a while! Again, both are good!

Tagged: Nah I stole this, son. SO TAKE IT FROM ME

[androcola]

okay cool I just dreamt that then. The train lore is so cool

YAYY mike dreams. although since you're here I'll give you a little fun fact. Mike didn't immediately hop a train as soon as he left home, he actually wandered a few towns over for a couple days before finding a train that was headed to California. and he kinda hopped it in secret. he did not have a ticket. and the train didn't take him directly to LA , he probably had to hitchhike . he also came with a half pack of cigarettes, but because he was so stressed, he blew thru them pretty quickly and didn't have the money to get anymore so he pretty much went off cold turkey after like 6 years of smoking 😭

[ruebner]

How I Got Here Excerpt #1: Hitchhiking in Turkey

Hi readers, I have decided to change things up a bit and begin sharing some of what I have been working on in more long form writing. I’ve been drafting content for what will be future books, and lately much of this process for me has been recording “my story.” This excerpt is part of my experience hitchhiking in Türkiye when I completely ran out of money after only three months of budget living,…

[mariacallous]

John Watkins’ new travelogue offers an intriguing snapshot of a country still scarred by the legacy of its brutal dictator.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, it would be easy for someone with only a passing knowledge of history to think that Albania is just another part of what has become known as “the Western Balkans”, or “Western Balkans Six/WB6.” Foreign, and to some extent domestic policy on the non-EU members west of Russia, have in many ways become intertwined with the idea and reality of EU expansion, a post-Cold War process most markedly noted by the accession of ten new member states in 2004, practically and symbolically demonstrating the ascendence of liberalism and reform, and the “magnetic pull” of the EU as both a trading and political values bloc.

Following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and then Croatia in 2013, the focus for years was on the countries of the remaining Yugoslav successor states and Albania, with countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine until recently viewed as a separate potential expansion basket. (Turkey has been all but forgotten since the rise of illiberalism ushered in by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.) 

As a result, this WB6 construct – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – of countries already surrounded by EU members has become viewed as a territorial and geographical unit.

While this conceptualization eases references to this space in policy and in reports, it can also easily lead to the minimization or neglect of some key differences among these six. Language issues aside, perhaps the most important is their different 20th-century experiences, and the fact that five of these political units had been a part of former Yugoslavia, while Albania was not. 

While during the initial fever dream of the post-Cold War reform wave, economists and social scientists may have expected (or fervently hoped) that forward-moving liberal economic and political transitions would follow a similar path, regardless of the structure of the previous state polity, one cannot ignore the impact of these different histories on understanding of the past, or the present.

It is, therefore, helpful to see a number of books coming out explaining various elements of the Albanian experience for experts and interested readers in general alike. Lea Ypi’s Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History, in 2021, is indispensable in learning of the Albanian Cold War experience, which was so different to the experience of Yugoslavia until its collapse as to be incomparable. While Ypi’s memoir account is informed by her insights as a political philosopher, John Watkins’ travelogue, Enver Hoxha’s Long Shadow: Travels in Albania, provides another angle, offering an accessible snapshot of Albania today, while also explaining its recent past.

The structure of the book is centered on the author’s many visits to Albania from the UK; the first time in 1972 as a teenage hitchhiker and traveler, and then, having been bitten by the Albania bug, returning in 1987 on a tour organized by the officially sanctioned state tourism agency. During this visit, he took photos of the post-Hoxha but still isolated and unknown country, capturing images in places ranging from street scenes to factory complexes on urban outskirts. 

[xvioletxdinsmorex]

Turkey: The stupidest thing you've ever done?

Yams: How would you describe your sense of humor

Turkey: The stupidest thing you've ever done?

"Oh god, one time when I was in High School, some girlfriends and I wanted to go to the county fair and my mom said no, and my sisters wouldn't take us. So my girlfriends and I hitchhiked to the county fair and it got rained out, we couldn't get back home that night, so we slept in the woods, and then hitchhiked home the next day. We are so fucking lucky we didn't get murdered."

Yams: How would you describe your sense of humor

"Dark, I laugh at some of the most inappropriate jokes sometimes I swear. But with something like 400 years of humor in my head, sometimes it's easy to forget that all humor is cyclical. There was a time when puns were the greatest form of humor. They're kind of coming back now, which is definitely amusing!"

[spitonews]

Travel under the influencers | Opinions

Among the remaining bits of photographic evidence of a 2005 hitchhiking trip through Turkey is a shot of me lying in the back of the cab of a Turkish freight truck, clad in the same pink corduroy pants and blue sweater that I had been wearing for months. My hands are folded across my stomach, my eyebrows are raised, and the background is grey. The photo is blurry, having been taken while the…

[athingirl]

As We Give Thanks

As We Give Thanks

   So here I sit with my clipboard and trusty yellow legal pad composing my annual Thanksgiving gratitude list, starting with heat, Dr. Teal’s Sleep Soak with Essential Oils, and my crow’s feet not getting any worse.   A girl has her priorities after all.   Let’s toss in, glad I’m no turkey on the lam hitchhiking to India.   Did you know you could save one for $25?   But back to me.   Why is heat…

[coralie-tate]

My newsletter went out to subscribers last night, including a link to my Thanksgiving novella. There’s a road trip to acquire a farm-fresh vegan turkey, a mysterious hitchhiker, pastries, too much coffee, and a ghost who haunts small appliances. Sign up for my NL and LMK if you have trouble getting the story. Links in bio. #bookstagram #writingromance https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRP0ZzJk3V/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=