#my mom used to work for him before he became president

[hollytanaka]

Today is the anniversary of the U.S.'s military invasion of Panamá, which occurred on December 20, 1989.

Julio Yao writes in the article "Legacies of the U.S. Invasion of Panama":

On December 20, 1989, former president George H.W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama. The U.S. 82nd Airborne division pummeled Panama City from the air, as U.S. soldiers from the 193rd Brigade clashed in the streets with troops from the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) and the Dignity Battalions, a militia of workers and campesinos. Thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire as the heavily populated El Chorrillo neighborhood was set ablaze. By the time General Manuel Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990, 23 U.S. soldiers and 314 PDF troops had been officially killed in the fighting. Civilian casualties were estimated in the thousands. According to an independent investigation by former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, as many as 7,000 people may have been killed. Mass graves were uncovered after U.S. troops had withdrawn, and over 15,000 civilians were displaced.

Despite the civilian body count, no Panamanian government since has authorized a commission to investigate the killings that took place during the foreign military aggression. No administration has attempted to demand reparations from the United States, nor filed a lawsuit against the United States before the International Court of Justice at the Hague.

Over twenty two years later, the U.S. “Christmas invasion” of Panama is being lost to memory, yet its legacy lives on in profound ways that continue to shape both domestic and foreign policy in Panama.

[...]

Panama’s tendency to submit to U.S. policy has resulted in a foreign policy devoid of independence. For example, Panama is one of the few countries in the world that has not established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, though it maintains relations with Taiwan in accordance with “checkbook diplomacy.” The U.S. government has prohibited Panama’s gestures toward diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Guided by this protectorate concept and right-wing policy, Martinelli’s administration [(2009-2014) had] offered its unconditional support to Israel and withdrawn all backing for Palestine. It [had] distanced Panama from the Central American process of regional integration, withdrawn from the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), and increased ties with France and Italy’s conservative former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was blackmailed by Italian arms company Finmeccanica into brokering a corrupt bilateral security agreement with Panama in which Panama was overcharged for military hardware, including helicopters, radar, and mapping systems. It signed a free trade agreement with the United States and Canada, and [had] given natural resources to foreign corporations, especially mining companies, including Vancouver-based Bellhaven Copper and Gold, Ontario’s Aur Resources, Toronto’s Inmet Mining, and New York’s Dominium Minerals Corporation. All of these actions [were] fully aligned with the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.

This was, after all, the ultimate goal of the 1989 U.S. invasion. At a meeting on December 10, 1985, four years before Bush ordered Operation Just Cause, then U.S. national security adviser John Poindexter met with Noriega with several U.S. demands: (1) Panama should allow the training of Nicaraguan Contras in the Canal Zone; (2) PDF troops should invade Nicaragua to justify U.S. aggression toward Nicaragua’s Sandinista government; (3) Panama should help dismantle the Contadora Group, a regional initiative to resolve the military conflicts that were destabilizing Central America; and (4) Panama should consent to continued U.S. military presence in Panama.

[...]

The move [of the invasion] destroyed Panamanian sovereignty and the PDF, dismantled security structures, reformed the political system, and returned power to the old oligarchy. This paved the way for new forms of foreign domination, and the Panamanian people continue to suffer its legacy.

More Resources to learn about Panamá's Invasion:

Julio Yao's "Legacies of the U.S. Invasion of Panama," NACLA (March 22, 2012).

John Lindsay-Poland, Emperors in the Jungle (Duke University Press, 2003).

The documentary The Panama Deception (2002) on YouTube

The documentary INVASIÓN (2014)

Stephen Kinzer's chapter "You're No Good," in his book Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq (Times Books, 2007)

___

Photo Credits & Description: Images taken on the morning of December 20, 1989, when various parts of the capital city were under US military control | Images from Panamá Vieja Escuela or (@PaViejaEscuela on Twitter).

[fandomxo00]

You being Peter and Wanda's mom - Erik Lehnsherr - X-men Days Of Future Past

*originally posted on my old account that I've deleted*

warnings: unedited, mature context, time passing, angsty, using google translation for Czech-

word count: 2.9k

Erik used to admire you. You remember when you first met him, he practically adored you. He wanted everything to with you, would pull aside, grabbing your attention and making you feel what he was feeling. As an empath, that wasn't hard to read his emotions and with you he always wore his heart on his sleeve. But the difference between you and Erik were the fact that you were different types of mutants. He was an active one, all powerful. And you had inactive traits that wouldn't be conducive in battle. That didn't mean Erik didn't drag you on missions, to not only read feelings of others but to control them so Erik could get what he wants. That's what drew the two of you apart, his evil his plans, they scared you, especially when you discovered you were pregnant. You refused to tell him, especially since you knew the infatuation he had with you was only for a short while. He wouldn't love you and he never could, especially if he found out the truth.  

You wouldn't know how he felt now, it had been 25 years since the first time you had seen him, and you've had two kids since then. Peter had began harnessing his powers, it started out from a young age of having a diagnosis of ADHD, though you knew it was something different, that it was his powers were the reason why he couldn't control his behavior and he to always be moving or talking. You don't know how you didn't break apart in front of him the next time you saw him. You had finally taken a night off for yourself when you saw him again at a bar. You felt the immediate rush of affection and lust that radiated off of Erik, because of course you felt him before you could actually see him. You had been stupid enough to turn towards him a seductive smile on your face as you met his blue eyes.

"Long time no see." You greeted.

"How awful it has been, liebling." He countered, you rolled your eyes at the pet name and moved your eyes towards him as you spoke in Sokovian.

"Nemůžu říct, že bych byl naštvaný tvou nepřítomností." (I can't say I'm upset by your absence) Erik chuckled at your retort, he wasn't fluent in Sokovian but he had gotten used to the language and picked up the language easily.

"Nelži." (Don't lie).

"You've always been so full of yourself." You added, throwing back your drink. Banter was dangerous for you and Erik, it always led to fights and fights usually led to sex, which in that night, had happened. Peter had stayed with your mother as Erik brought you to meet Charles and the rest of the mutants. Charles had never meant an empath, so he wanted to know more, that's when he found out the truth, digging into your mind with your permission. You did your best not to think of your son, but that wasn't how Charles powers worked and he had asked Erik to leave the room as he brought your son in conversation.

"I think you should go. Your son needs you." "Will you take care of him?"

"Erik doesn't need my protection." Charles retorted. You stared over at him, not using your powers but wearing your heart on your sleeve.

"He would make a good father, it's not right for you to keep this from him."

The guilt has sunk into you, clung onto you like a cancer. Erik had crawled into your bed that night and the two of you made love before you left. You wonder if you were the reason why Erik had done what he had done to Charles, but you knew that deep down that was a part of him no matter what you could've done. You've never tried to stop. him.

A couple months later you discovered you were pregnant again and as you saw Erik fall apart in front of everyone, killing the president and being taken away and captive. For once you finally felt like you had nothing to hide but as Peter grew his powers became more evident as he sped around the house when he was too excited. Your daughter, Wanda, had different powers. When she was young, you gave her a ruby necklace after you first came in contact with the younger girl's power. She was strong, maybe even stronger than her father. You eventually learned that her she had been born with the ablitiy to control chaos magic.

Though she had a dark power like her father, she was a sweet and caring girl, where her old brother focused on the go-go, Wanda was able to stop for a moment taken in her surroundings and adapt, she paid attention and she cared so deeply about those around her. But now it had been another 11 years, you were older and Peter and Wanda had grown up. Peter was now 22 years old, and you couldn't believe the reminders of his father in him. He had made the basement his own, and you wondered where he was during the day but one day when you went down to talk to your son you noticed the plentra of snacks, tvs and different things that Peter had 'collected' with his powers.

So you weren't suprised when yet again someone came looking for your reckless son. You opened the door to greet the strangers, one tall man with a beard and sunglasses, another man with glasses who was slightly taller than the bearded man, and a who was shorter than both with long hair-it was, "Charles?" You greeted.

"Y/n Maximoff." Charles chuckled, he looked much more dishelved since the last time you had seen him. He hadn't shaved, he was wearing sunglasses over his eyes and the shirt he was wearing was stained and uncleaned, this wasn't the Charles Xavier you had met over a decade ago. He pushed up his classes with his middle finger and looked over to the taller boy, regonizing him as Hank.

"We uh, need to talk to your son."

"What did he do this time?" You questioned.

"Nothing, we just-."

"We have to break Erik out of the pentagon, and we need his-your son's help." You glared over at Charles before turning to the taller man and the man with sunglasses sighing. You felt something odd radiating off of the man with sunglasses, his face expressed maybe annoyance or that he didn't care but his aura and emotions, he was desperate.

"Come on in." You moved back, letting the three of them in. Wanda came wondering over, her hair was red like her fathers and it made the man with the sunglasses pause in his place as he cleared his throat.

"Wanda, why don't you go to your room."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because we have to have an adult conversation and I don't trust that you won't listen in." You replied, putting your hands on your hips.

"Fine." You grumbled, as she walked into her room, red magic flowed through the air and closed the door gently.

"She's a mutant, aswell?" Charles questioned.

"Yes, she has the natural ability to control chaos magic." You answered before opening the door to Peter's room.

"Pete, we have company." You yelled down the stairs and moments later there was a quick woosh, barely noticeable but you knew your son. You trudged down the stairs and you were met your son playing Ping Pong, as if he hadn't run out to check out their car. "Peter, this is Charles, Hank and..."

"Logan." He replied, taking off his sunglasses, as Peter wooshed around the air, still listening to your words but he still loved to move.

"You know them? Because I didn't do anything." Peter defeneded, as he continued to play ping pong, before moving over to the couch with a popsicle in his hand. "I've been here all day, right ma?"

"Just relax, Peter. We're not cops." Logan replied as Peter glared at him, his arms up around his head to defend nonchalance but you couldn't feel his defenses coming up.

"Of course you're not cops. If you were cops, you wouldn't be driving a rental car." Peter explained.

"How'd you know we've got a rental car?" Xavier asked.

"His ability is speed." You began to explain as Peter groaned. "I'm assuming he went out to go check your registration."

"You can't just tell people that mom." Peter argued as you rolled your eyes.

"I know Charles, he-we go back..."

"Did you know my dad?" Peter questioned. "Are you FBI?" He zoomed across the room, stealing Charles' wallet. "Nope, you're not cops. Hey what's with this gifted youngsters place?"

"That's an...old card." Charles trailed, as he grabbed his things from where Peter threw them down.

"Why, he's fascinating." Hank commented.

"He's a pain in the arse." Grumbled Charles.

"And when I knew him, he wasn't so...young. Neither were you." He nodded towards you.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh our dear friend Logan here is from the future and we need your son to break someone out of jail so he can help us destroy a massive threat to our future." Charles explained.

"What are you talking about?" Peter laughed.

"So you're not afraid to show your powers?" Hank questioned.

"We usually don't hide our powers around the hou-" You started.

"Powers? What powers? What are you talking about?" Peter interrupted. "Do you see something strange here? Nothing anybody would believe if you told them."

"Peter." You grunted, as he his big brown eyes looked over at you with innocence. "Did you hear a word I said?"

"Yes, why should I help them? A prison break is illegal, you know." "Because that's the first illegal thing you've done." You retorted.

"You, you kleptomanic..." Charles began rubbing at his eyes. "Get to break into the Pentagon."

"And he happens to be your father, Peter, and Wanda's."

"I knew it." Hank breathed.

"So you can trust them, Peter."

"Are you coming with, Ma?" Peter replied as you started to chuckle shaking your head.

"You don't need me, I'm not like them or your sister. I'll just be in the way."

"Don't you wanna see him?" Charles asked, as you looked over at him, a serious look overcoming your face as you looked down before shaking your head.

"I've hidden two children from him, like he'd want to see me." You joked.

"I know he would, when you left." Charles began as you looked over at the dishelved man. "He knew."

"About?"

"Wanda." You stared at Charles before speaking.

"Well since you're breaking him out, if he wants to come see us, he can, he could've before too." You cleared your throat before glancing over at Peter and giving him a nod before walking up the stairs. You tried not to drown in your memories as Peter went out to help his father. You knew that this would do some healing for him, so you encouraged him to go. It was your fault that they didn't know their father, but you wouldn't blame it completely on yourself especially since he knew about Wanda. You and Erik tried to keep the relationship surface level, but in all truth, you had fallen in love with Erik. It had started with friendship, the two of joining arms and when it came to the mission in Cuba, you had left with him, leaving Charles behind. You weren't going to stay for some false sense of being good, as you've watch mutants flee back into the shadows you knew that Charles plans were just a pipe dream.

You remember the day on the beach like it was yesterday, you had been crouching over a broken Charles, tears streaming down his face, his legs now paralyzed. As a friend, you wanted to stay, but as Erik caught your attention, "Come with us, Liebling." His voice soft as he looked over at you, you felt his rush of emotions, the only thing you could've described it as was love as you left your friend for Erik. At this point, he had to know that you were pregnant, a big reason why he kept you out of the line of fire, telling you to stay where it was safe.

Looking back now you had thought it was because of your powers but it could've been protecting you for more than one reason. But it was impending conversation where he told you that he couldn't have you, that he wouldn't ever feel the way you wanted him to, that you were too good for him. You had argued, telling him that it didn't matter who was better, you didn't have expectations for this relationship you just wanted to be with him. But the reality had sat in, when you thought of your son at home. You thought of the comparisons, the stubbornness, the knowledge that the two had, the good that you found in both of them. But thinking of Erik as a father, it was role now that he clearly hadn't wanted.

"Mom, who were those men here?" Wanda broke you out of your thoughts, making you look over at daughter. You could read the curiousness coming off your daughter. "Where's Peter?"

"You remember when I would tell you stories about your pa?" You murmured, as she came over to you as you reached your arm out for her. She sat in your arm and looked up at you.

"I do."

"Well, your brother is going to go save him." You said, smiling over at her. You moved your hand down to move your red hair behind her ear with a fond smile on your face. The two of you continue to talk about her father, telling stories about mischievous adventures that brought smiles to your girl's face.

Eventually she fell asleep in your arms. You laid her down on couch draping a blanket over her before grabbing a book and settling on the armchair, waiting for Peter. You'd usually go to bed if he was out, he was an adult now, but this was a mission that could send Peter to jail. Not that you didn't believe him that's why you supported him so much in this, you knew he had the ability and strategy that would get out just about any mess.

You had fallen asleep reading your book when you heard the lock in the door. You sat up in your chair and blinked back the tiredness from your eyes before getting up from the chair. Peter walked through the door and you immediately ran up to him and squeezed him tightly. "You're okay."

"Of course I'm fine ma, it's me." Peter joked as he wrapped his arms around you and squeezed you tightly.

"Liebling."

You froze in your son's arms, before moving back and connecting your eyes with Erik Lehnsherr's blue ones. "Erik." You breathed, moving around him before looking back at Peter. "Did you-."

"He uh figured it out."

"Charles told me." Erik corrected, his accent thick and making a shiver run down your spine.

"So that's what your doing here?" You questioned as Erik looked over at Peter before stepping forward into the house. His eyes trailing around the room before landing back on to you. "Your here for the kids."

"Yeah, I'm here to meet my daughter."

"Good, but you'll have to come back, she's asleep."

"Ma-."

"No, it's the middle of night, thanks for escorting Peter home." "You don't get to push me out again, Y/n." Erik agrued, his voice raising as you glared over at him. "I have a right to meet her."

"Peter take your sister to her room, please." You murmured over to your son, glancing over at him with stern gaze before looking back over at Erik. "You've known about her for 11 years, Erik."

"I didn't know about Peter, it's been over two decades and we managed to make another child and you couldn't tell me about him." "You wanted nothing to do with me!" You agrued. "You got bored and you left."

"I was never enough for you, Y/n. For an empath, you clearly have no idea how I feel about you."

"I don't like reading your emotions anymore, last time it hurt-." You started, looking down at the ground. "I could feel that you were rejecting me and I don't want to feel that ever again."

"You know that they were better off without me."

"But I wasn't!" You cried. "I was alone in raising two children and I tried to take pride in it. When I heard you killed the president of the United States, I-I couldn't believe what you done, and I knew that I made the right decision." Erik's eyes flashed in hurt, and he stared you, begging you to read him, but you refused. "Don't you have the world to save?"

"Well, if you care about your children's future, you'll leave." You propositioned. Erik stared at you, not sure what to say before stepping closer to you and leaning down to cup your cheeks in his hands. You stared at him in awe, unable to move away as you looked up into his eyes.

"I'll leave now, Liebling, but I'm coming back and I'm giving you life you deserve, do you understand?"

"Erik-."

"No. Do you understand?"

You nodded.

[irrolyphant]

Timothy Olyphant, 55, is an actor who starred in Deadwood, Live Free or Die Hard, and Justified. He will star in the FX miniseries Justified: City Primeval this fall and currently co-stars in the Max miniseries Full Circle. He spoke with Marc Myers before the actors strike.

TIMOTHY:

You couldn’t get me out of the pool when I was a kid. We lived next door to a swim and racket club in Modesto, Calif.

I began regular swim practice at age 6. My older brother, Andy, took to tennis, which probably helped us get along. We were competitive. Our younger brother, Matt, did a little bit of everything and eventually became a water-polo player.

I was born in Hawaii, but we moved to Modesto when I was 3. My dad, Bevan, worked for Del Monte and left to work at E&J Gallo Winery soon after we relocated to California. He started in bottling and worked his way up to vice president of production.

My mom, Katherine, was a full-time mom. She was the nurturing type. Whether I won or lost, she’d always talk about how well I competed or how beautiful a swimmer I was, never about whether I won or not. She’s very sweet and encouraging.

Just as I was starting high school, my parents divorced. After they split up, we quickly figured out who was responsible for what. For example, our dad didn’t really know how to do laundry or cook. If we were going over to his place, we’d probably be eating out.

When you’re young, any time your foundation gets rocked, it sets you back a bit. I’d been a good student when my parents were together, but there definitely was a dip after the divorce. I kind of saw what I could get away with and wound up just an okay student.

I wasn’t in school plays. I’m not sure I saw that side of me yet. Instead, I was at swim practice and hanging with my buddies. I also liked to draw a lot, which I suppose is how I expressed myself.

I was a solid swimmer in the Central Valley. I set a CIF SAC-Joaquin Section Record and wound up with an All America Swimming Certificate. By my senior year, I realized swimming was my ticket out of town and certainly the only way I’d get into a great university.

I worked hard. After USC saw the times I was posting, they called to recruit me for the team. When I flew out to USC on my recruit trip, I met with the dean of the architecture school. He said there was no way I could manage both the swim team’s practice schedule and the rigors of the architectural program.

I asked him about the art gallery downstairs. He said it was part of the fine-arts department. I didn’t even know you could get a degree in that. I met with the fine-arts dean and asked if I could be on the swim team. He said we’d work it out.

Majoring in fine arts for me was like winning the lottery. In high school, I’d get in trouble for drawing when I was supposed to be doing schoolwork. Now, in college, drawing was my schoolwork.

After my senior year, I left USC several electives shy of a degree and didn’t finish until the pandemic. But before I left, I met some drama majors who got me thinking about acting.

By then, my college girlfriend, Alexis, and I had married. We moved to Seal Beach, south of Los Angeles, where I coached swimming. To fulfill some of my electives I took an acting 101 class at UC Irvine. I had a ball. It was a language I understood immediately.

I read Stanislavsky’s and Sandy Meisner’s books on acting. I realized that it wasn’t a frivolous pursuit but a craft on par with how artists I admired approached painting and sculpture. I told Alexis I was thinking about pursuing acting rather than a master’s in fine art. She said, “Tim, just do something. Just pick one thing and do that.”

The guy who taught the intro class was a graduate student who recommended I study with Bill Esper at the Esper Studio in New York. Fortunately, Alexis’s dad lived there and let us move into his place.

My career has been many little steps—a lot of one step forward, two steps back. I’m not sure if there was any one role that really changed things, but landing the lead in “Justified,” in 2010, certainly helped things along.

Today, Alexis and I live in Los Angeles and have three grown kids. We moved in 15 years ago and love the house and neighborhood. I still draw and swim.

Breakfast is my favorite meal. I make steel-cut oatmeal in my rice cooker, which has a porridge setting. When I come home from swimming and have my oatmeal, I feel like I’m 8 again. And you know what? That feels pretty good.

—————

Timothy’s Digs:

Full Circle? I play Derek in the miniseries about a kidnapping gone awry and the family secrets exposed.

Blissful space? Sitting in a blue chair in the kitchen having coffee with my wife.

Cool buy? A painting by an artist I’ve admired for at least a decade or so.

Tennis? I play with my brother and oldest daughter. The fact that they play with me means the world.

Youngest daughter? Vivian. She’s an actress in the coming season of Justified: City Primeval.

[chloeseyeliner]

i do not often do this, because i don't want to annoy my mutuals, or anything similar and not, but.

i'm listening to @henry-fox-biggest-stan 's liam and alex (from liam's point of view) playlist on spotify, and i wanted to publicly declare in my, like, thirty followers lol, that you have officially broken me. i am dead. i am trying not to scream, cry, throw up in front of the laptop.

(why i decided to finish my semester assignment while listening to the most heart-wrenching songs is honestly beyond me. i should've opted for the usual classical music choice, but no. i was stubborn and wanted to listen to music with lyrics this evening. and what... light lyrics, my god. hahaha.)

if you don't know what i'm talking about, check this out.

(oh my god, i finally found out how to do this inline link thing!)

i am so terribly obsessed with this book that i imagined(/head-cannoned lol) liam and alex as childhood best friends, liam and alex as teenagers, always inseparable, always drawn to each other but not knowing why, alex eventually assuming that it was because liam was his best friend and he never had a best friend before and that's why he constantly felt the need to be around him and hug him and touch his hair, liam realising he was gay and more specifically gay for alex, terrified out of his mind of his homophobic parents and losing alex as a friend, them consuming alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism to their individual issues, liam thinking it would be alright to have alex any way he could even if it meant becoming whatever they became described in the book, because he could at least have a part of him while their lips would touch, eventually making the decision to stop it, stop alexandhim this way, any way, discontinuing any communication whatsoever with him but still looking at the contact name before finally erasing it and trying to hold back tears every night (alex at the same time not realising why he does not have a best friend anymore, burying himself in schoolwork and work and appearances and all that jazz that comes with presidency more and more to forget that too, constantly on the verge of burning out), liam meeting spencer and having healthy communication and getting involved into a steady, wonderful relationship with him, getting to know his super supportive mom and finally feeling like home for what might have been the first time after his friendship with alex, and then.

then, after everything, liam and alex meeting on a double date with their boyfriends and going to the bar to get more beer and hugging it out after alex (mainly) apologises, because, you know what, they should have always been each others' best friends and supportive systems, and hey, they surely can never go back to what they used to have and they accept that, because people hurt people and people change as do circumstances, but it's liam who comes to thanksgiving dinners and makes henry and june (and everyone) laugh like carefree children and alex wanting to burn him with his glare while he is telling embarrassing stories of their youth, and it's alex who sends liam the first ever (besides immediate family) invitation for his and henry's wedding and have spencer and him sit at the next table during the reception, and it's just them dancing to the early 2000's pop hits playlist alex may or may not have sneaked in the dj's (nora's probably) laptop.

i'm fine.

[kjharris]

My Total Drama Headcannons

Do you know that scene in the beginning of roti when the Gen 1 cast is on the yacht? I feel like that’s the yacht party Owen promised after he won, and he finally got around to it.

Justin is definitely a barb. Knows every Nicki song word for word.

Noah and Courtney definitely became friends eventually. I feel like they’d watch Hamilton on Sundays or something after talking about class president stuff.

So we all know Duncan tries to be all big and bad. I have this feeling that when he thinks everyone in his house is sleeping, he’d watch miraculous ladybug. 😭

Justin and Alejandro are frenemies. One day they’re beefing about who’s more hot and then the next, they’re doing face masks together.

Leshawna, Trent, and Gwen play just dance. All the time.

Leshawna visits DJ and his mom a lot just bc

Harold and Ezekiel are definitely bffs. He doesn’t excuse the sexist comments made. But he still understands him.

kb5 (Duncan, Courtney, Geoff, Bridgette, DJ) have water balloon fights in the summer and they definitely have chicken fights when they go swimming at a lake or pool.

I feel like if Geoff drinks or eats anything sour he’ll turn into the biggest baby ever.

Heather became a model after the show. But she also loves screen time so she is on a couple of commercials and shows.

Gwen and Heather had “uwu” phases.

Gwen got a job at hot topic and when Cody found out, he applied there too.

Drama brothers bought an apartment together but got evicted because of all the chaos they’ve caused. (Completely Justin and Cody’s fault)

Duncan needs glasses. But he doesn’t wear them because he doesn’t wanna look “geeky”

I feel like half of them still have contact with Chris, despite what he’s put them through. Some hate his guts, while others don’t. Some actually like him!

Chris can’t cook for his life.

Chef actually makes pretty okay food. Since the island was abandoned before the show, they most likely didn’t have anything to work with for food. So Chef used what he can. But once everyone complained and Geoff asked to order pizza rather than eat his food, he made it bad on purpose.

Heather and Duncan secretly have a Minecraft village together.

Cody still plays roblox and has no regrets of it

Duncan and Geoff definitely get put on house arrest for doing something stupid.

If someone were to leave a family member younger than 10 with Duncan, he’d show them “A Nightmare On Elm Street” That kid would be traumatized for the rest of their life.

Sierra and Topher would literally be best friends if they met. I don’t think they ever would, but maybe they’d talk to each other online once or twice.

Heather secretly watches attack on titan. She’s an Eren simp.

kb5 favorite show to watch is probably “Outer Banks” or “Riverdale”

Trent and Courtney had a little friendship. I’d say during roti. They’d play their instruments together and sing.

Justin definitely hangs out with the girls when their just doing girly things. Like if their doing each others hair, his is getting put into bows and clips. Makeup? Maybe he’ll let them do it. Clothes? No. That’s when he leaves.

thats all for now.

[sparkedblaze]

DAVEY

Look y’all gotta start telling me if y’all want canon or modern 💀

Okay so idk if Davey was based of Dave Simmons but let me tell you about him anyway 🥰🥰

I think Jack’s characterization is far closer to Dave Simmons than Davey’s. The only thing they share is a name.

But I digress

So! This is Dave Simmons!

President of the Union in the first half of the strike

Accused of betraying the strike, though I personally think he may have been a victim of a whisper campaign out out by the papers

The rumor was that he and Kid Blink took a bribe to sell papes before the end of the strike.

Though they both denied the accusation, they both stepped down from their position. Dave (I believe) became treasurer instead.

There’s no actual evidence that he actually scabbed. But they decided to step down rather than hinder the strike with disloyalty.

Newsies Davey

Mom friend. This isn’t even a hc it’s just canon at this point.

This boy is burnt out before he’s even an adult 💀My poor boy is so tired all the time please give him iced coffee and therapy

Book smart. Common sense dumb. Uses big words like auspicious but knows nothing of selling or anything about Snyder (despite living in NYC and being poor enough to need to join the newsies)

Here comes my rant about autistic Davey Jacobs:

Has no filter and even less chill. Davey is very all or nothing and I love him for that.

Doesn’t get social cues. See: Jack v upset about Crutchie being arrested. Davey: “abOvE thE fOld”

Special interest: learning. Especially about art. And hawking. And pretty strike leaders

He and Les have gotten stuck in echolalia circles. They’ll echo each other for hours on end.

Has trouble lying, and approaching people in general.

End of this autistic Davey Jacobs rant bc I could literally talk forever

He values honesty so much it hurts. When Jack scabs in 92sies. One of first things David says is “You’re a liar! You lied about everything!” And the devastation on his face in Livesies. Literal chills 😭😭

Where Jack ignores orders just to prove a point, Davey doesn’t mind following orders as long as they’re reasonable. As long as they make sense. When the strike starts, Davey doesn’t quite understand. He doesn’t get the difference in ten cents for a hundred papes. It doesn’t make any difference to him. When it’s explained to him, he’s wholeheartedly for the strike. When Jack scabs, Davey once again doesn’t understand because they’ve worked so hard. And this is the one thing Jack listens to?

Anti-violence. Even in the face of starvation and freezing in the coming winter (they don’t know how long this strike will last. He has to be prepared) Davey is adamant. Do not soak the scabs.

Is always 100% done with Jack’s shit.

Is Jewish!! I’m like 98% sure this is canon, but I am certain it’s at least fanon the Jacobs are Jewish

Say something about his baby brother and he. Will. End. You.

RYAN KOPEL IS SO RIGHT THAT DAVEY GETS A LITTLE MORE FERAL EVERY DAY.

Modern:

Davey✔️

He and Jack have been friends for as long as he could remember. His family always went around to the orphanages in New York, bringing old clothes that had been collected by the people of their Synagogue.

David and Sarah had always sought out Jack when they’d get to the Refuge. Snyder always put on a front of being a kind, caring guardian when there were visitors, but Jack told Davey and Sarah about some of the horrors that they were put through.

Their parents never believed them, because Jack (having a distrust of adults for some odd reason) always told them that he was fine and he wasn’t in any danger, and so they thought their children were making it up to try and bring their friend home. When Les was born, the Jacobs took time off to get adjusted to having a new child in the house.

In college for business or marketing to make sure he knows how to do what’s best to keep them successful.

Dave in the Life: Multiple videos a week just vlogging the domestic side of his and Jack’s relationship

Been There Done That: Joint channel with Jack. Traveling, doing wild shit, usually featuring many of their friends

This concludes everything coming out of my brain about Davey Jacobs right now

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[dude-iloveu]

parents of parents. uh. parents². fambly

under the cut because i like the drawings but not that much that i wanna put it out there just like that. i just wanna talk about them, mostly additional things that i would dive into less but they're on my mind anyway

1st version designs. agfgsj you can see it's an old drawing from the way i draw noct and ron

current version

-> aeron's family :]

Mom (White-tailed deer) - Zara

Dad (Yellow-winged bat) - Hariz

Zara is the co-founder of a nonprofit organization (nothing specific i've thought about. they provide services and help for struggling ppl, adolescents/young adults with no one to turn to). She started it with a friend, before they moved on to pursue other projects. Hariz is. now pensioned idk what he worked as. was a long time volunteer and contributor(?) and after being vice president(??) basically took the role as one of the directors along with Zara.

Later on they met a young lady who they helped with finding a home, and she would also sometimes do volunteering work with them. She became pretty good friends with the two, and Zara just cares for her a lot because she is "the most genuine and sweetest person she's met". Sometime later the lady had an unexpected pregnancy, tho while she did want the baby she was pretty much struggling to make ends meet. so her two friends have been most supportive for her and really just. made sure to take care of her. unfortunately she did not make it in labour. the couple, not wanting to leave the baby with complications, took it in as their own, the baby is now known as Aeron.

Sister (some type of feline) - To be named

Brother (Elephant) - to be named

they were both taken under care by the parents, the sister when she was young, who basically grew up in the streets, and the brother as a teenager who lost their family and didn't want to get caught up with their relatives' feud.

random - they're a pretty loving family but can be overbearing at times too. they kinda baby aeron alot which aeron tries to avoid. zara is intersex trans and hariz is cis het ally, they always do their best to be empathetic and understand their kids. technically aeron has more older siblings but he rarely if ever meets them. aeron is most involved with their parents' line of work, since he was raised with helping around in charity events and stuff. he would have a younger sibling but i havent thought of that

-> noctis' family

Mom (mix of California leaf nosed bat & brown long-eared bat) - it used to be Arielle but I'm thinking of changing to Cassiope.

Dad (CA leaf nosed bat) - placeholder name was Dell short for delaware (lie). still unsure what to name him.

The parents have some sort of high position in their jobs at different companies. The mom is strict on upholding a perfect family image and is very envious of others' success. The dad is more lenient, still upholds a 'sophisticated' persona but is a cheater. After it was found and fights happened, they separated with the mom taking the kids. she raised the twins to be perfectionists high achievers while neglecting their emotional and mental wellbeing.

some detail - Noctis likes to fold her ears down as a kid, and this would make the mom mad. it is because folding ears meant being vulnerable because lessened hearing ability (not attentive) which makes her look improper. ironic considering that trait/ability comes from her side. like noctis is literally just chillin lmao. punished for chill crimes.

- the dad bought noctis one of those tamagotchi type toys (virtual pet?) which she loves. he also brought them to various places on the weekends before the divorce.

Twin sister - was named Cielle. now maybe would be Cygnus? not sure yet

the beloved model student who excels in alomst anything she does. loves noctis dearly but is often unable to stand up against her mom to defend her sister.

[faytelumos]

A Good Girl's Eulogy

cw: real death; animal and human death mentions

---

On August 28th last year, some time around 5pm, my family's 18 year old chow/shepherd mix took her last breath.

When we first got her, she fit comfortably in my mom's hands. She was the runt, and mom had picked her out for that fact. The runt of the litter doesn't always get adopted, she said. While us kids and Dad were at home, fawning over our new baby, Mom went to get bowls, food, and toys. Us kids went to bed and Dad watched the puppy, the gears in his mechanic's brain working, and when Mom got back, he looked up to her, our new family member in his lap.

"We have two choices for her name. Diesel, or International."

Diesel was smart, and maybe all dog owners think theirs is unusually intelligent, but our girl was clever.

By the time Diesel was a "teenager" she knew we didn't like her out of the yard alone. She belonged in the back yard when there wasn't anyone around to watch over her, since the front yard was completely unfenced and open to the neighborhood. Every day, when Mom got up, she would let Diesel into the back yard to do her business, and ten or so minutes later, would call Diesel back into the house for breakfast. Every single day, this was the pattern. And one day, Mom strayed from that pattern to look out into the front yard.

And there was Diesel, casually patrolling the front yard, unattended.

Shocked, Mom had headed to the back yard, but by the time she got around the side of the house, Diesel, too, was in the back yard.

We learned that day that she had found a hole in the fence, and more than likely was taking daily constitutionals into the front yard, perhaps to check up on things or watch birds, before returning to the back yard to be collected for breakfast. If she ever had any more sneaky escapades or excursions, we never caught her.

We adopted other dogs, who became Diesel's companions and fellow family members in her adulthood. A stocky little thing that had been surrendered to us from another family (we gave him a Nicholas name after a US president) a tiny pup we had gotten from a local breeder (who we also gave an automotive name) and another tiny breed who we adopted from a home that couldn't care for him anymore (named after a color).

Diesel was always the biggest by far, tall and strong. She was dominant in personality and in charge, and she often led the others around the yard here and there to anything that was interesting or required attention.

She didn't need a leash if a human was with her. She started one-sided fights with President, chased rabbits and birds, always came when she was called, knew how to shake hands, and you could pat your chest to get her to jump up, put her paws on you, and gives kisses.

She deserved more love than we gave her.

Dad played fetch with her, took her for rides in the truck, and called her his good dog. He was outside working often, and they spent time together when she wasn't exploring or checking things out with the others. She'd sit with him inside in the evening, and he'd give her scritches.

Five years ago, he died suddenly. I lived out of state. The police officer on my mom's doorstep told her she didn't want to see the body.

A lot happened in that week. I asked myself more than once if Diesel knew he was gone. I came and visited, and then went back to the life I had left paused.

Three years ago, Diesel got very sick.

Mom wasn't sure she'd make it through the weekend, and I dropped everything again to return. She was sixteen at the time. She had been a part of my family for sixteen years, and I stopped just short of telling my boss and coworkers that my sister was dying.

She was his dog, Mom wept over the phone.

When I got into the house, she was in a sorry state; skin and bone, her strength sapped as she lay on the living room floor. She hadn't eaten in two days, and she'd stopped drinking that morning. I couldn't have imagine it, not from the girl who had been a powerhouse and boss over her huge back yard not so long ago.

I gave her bland food to coax her to eat, and overnight she seemed to gain ten pounds. I took her to the vet, told them where she hurt and to be careful of her temper, and then took her home. The appointment that, three days ago, had been for her final breath, turned into a prescription for antibiotics. But at her age and in her state, chemotherapy and surgery wasn't an option. So we let that battle go.

I came, visited, and then went back to the life I had left paused.

Last year, another call.

She's really bad. I think this is it.

Tell her I'm coming. Tell her I'll be there tomorrow.

I silently hoped I could perform that miracle twice.

She was so thin. She wobbled on her back feet, toes getting caught as she walked. She coughed, raspy and rough. I picked her up, my once 60 pound firecracker, and she let me carry her upstairs so mom could give her a bath in the tub.

I laid with her for hours, two towels wrapped over her and curled up against her back so she didn't shiver as she dried.

The vet came to us. A new, affordable program for geriatric or terminally ill dogs. I made sure Mom would get her ashes back. Because we'd had her for eighteen years, and she was going to stay with us now forever.

The other dogs and all of us kids and mom held her and stroked her. The vet was so kind, and we all watched as our beloved girl let go of her pain.

I carried her, wrapped in my dad's favorite blanket, to the back of the vet's car. There were two other bundles in the back. Small, and tenderly covered.

I watched her go, and I stayed in the street after she'd turned the corner.

[nathaniel-donovan]

Filled the hole in my head with prescriptive medication, and I forgot how to cry, who am I, who am I to complain.

FULL BIO HERE.

BACKGROUND SNIPPETS. (tw: emotional abuse, depression, substance abuse, death mentions)

Second child to Harold and Meredith Donovan; was always pushed to follow in his father's footsteps, with an idealization (on Harold's part) for him to inspire to gain a career within law enforcement.

If Nate could have chosen his own path in life, he would have succeeded the title of aerospace engineer, being that he always had a fascination of building/fixing things, combining that with his love for space his dream was to work for NASA. To be able to say I built that was always a teenage goal, one that was quickly stamped out by his emotionally abusive alcoholic father.

He dove into the educational path set out for him in fear of disappointing his father, becoming depressed during his late teens that carried on into his twenties, enrolling in the police academy and it was there he gained an injury that (fortunately on reflection) had him incapable of performing his daily tasks. Something that spiralled into an identity crisis, kick starting his drop out from the police force and awakening full vocal disapproval from Harold, he also became reliant on OxyContin at this time.

At 23 he joined the Sons of Silence as a prospect, with @colemonroe giving him the push he needed to do so, in turn he learned the true meaning of family. His loyalty to the Sons knew no bounds, even despite Nate constantly pushing through everyday on softer drugs.

Found himself diving deep into an intense toxic love with @gabyharrisonx when he was 24. They were equally as good for each other as they were bad. This relationship was pivotal to Nate in the sense of him choosing to remain on the single side of life once they broke up after years of dating.

A few years later he turned to harder drugs (with Gaby) and it wasn't until his sister, @logandonovan found him unresponsive that she called 911, kick starting Nate's journey to sobriety with Cole's forced help (a sobriety he became lenient with, in terms of limiting himself to 2 beers if he wanted so).

When he was 28 his mother died in a car accident, days before he had a disagreement with her and the last thing he ever said to his mom was "No", something he regrets and cannot move on from.

A year after his mom died he grew closer to @oliviaxsinclair and while their flirty situationship didn't lead to much, it ended with Olivia becoming pregnant, information of who the father was, had been kept from Nate, up until Mia (his daughter) recently turned 8 that he found out the truth.

Four years ago Nate was named Vice President of SoS by Cole Monroe, that same year also taking over ownership of The Raven from an overly handsy male by brute force (2020).

In 2023 his sister, Cassie Donovan, died and Nate began to struggle with the mental toll of her loss, blaming himself with the burden of not doing enough to help her with her own substance abuse issues. He relapsed and started leaning onto the pills he was taking and finding comfort in the form of alcohol.

2024, Nate broke off his relationship with Alara before he hit rock bottom, since trying to pick himself back up from the ground his aim is to keep to his sobriety and have no leniencies. Nate is trying to focus on himself, find himself, and remain clear headed for not just his daughter and sisters, but his MC family too.

HEADCANONS.

Has a one-eyed silver Maine Coon called Chip. Nate ensured the life of this cat was saved and has had and adored Chip for four years. He would literal die for this cat. His sister, Logan, got him an orange cat called Cheddar for Christmas '23.

Avid boxer, as well as gym-goer. These activities helps him not only to stay fit, but he finds they help him mentally.

His first celeb crush in his teens was Sharon Stone.

He was a massively into Pokémon when he was younger.

His mom used to called him Nathan, as well as her "little monkey", a nod to that is the cute monkey tattoo he has on his (right) inner wrist. Adding to this he has a full tattoo sleeve (right arm), as well as the Sons reaper on his back. Also has an Aquarius constellation tattoo on his (right) inner wrist as a nod to Gaby (his first personal tattoo).

His middle name is Joseph.

[anonymous1038]

Little Miss Perfect and President Perfect

@ila-appreciationweek day 2

(Inspired by Little Miss Perfect and President Perfect songs)

Note: takes place before homecoming in ILITW

Minor warning: mentions of emotional abuse and manipulation and implied drug abuse

Straight hair.

Straight A(s).

Straightforward.

Be the perfect daughter of Mayor Green.

She didn’t want to pretend there’s nothing wrong in her family. She hated it.

So much.

Her mother and father were constantly fighting before their eventual divorce. She kept fighting with her mother about the most ridiculous things that her brother had to keep intervening to make sure they don’t kill each other.

Stacy hated the word perfect.

It would never describe her, never be something that can define her.

So when Britney told her that she’s the perfect little princess of the mayor, she snapped. She spilled so many secrets that were locked behind locked doors that the media would have a field day with if they got ahold of it.

She thought she was safe when she shared it all with Britney, who held her and gave her a shoulder to cry on when she needed it most

She betrayed her. And made her her puppet.

It was never worth it.

Not when she’s little miss perfect.

.~.

Straight hair.

Straight A(s).

Straightforward.

Be the perfect student of the whole school.

The student body president with so much to do, too little time for himself.

The pressure became too much.

His parents’ successes played through his mind on repeat. How his mother would chew him out for losing 1% on a test, berating him for one little mistake he made. How his father read his accomplishments to him until dawn comes, as if mocking him for being lesser.

Lucas hated the word perfect.

It would never describe him, never be something that can define him.

But he tries to maintain the ‘good’ reputation he built up, until it became far too much for him to bear.

So he turned to...drastic measures.

It worked, far too well. It became a secret he must keep until the end of high school.

It was never worth it.

Not when he’s president perfect.

.~.

“Do you hate a specific word?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Perfect?”

“...yes, that one.”

In that moment, as they hugged each other, they weren’t little miss perfect or president perfect.

They were just Stacy Green and Lucas Thomas, ordinary students with too much to bear.

They’re no longer perfect in the eyes of others, but it was worth it.

.~.

“So, who wants to go and murder some bitches?” Ava reaches for the knife taped to her boot, unsheathing it and itching to use it.

“Hell yeah.” Andy cracks his knuckles.

“Do you want to get arrested for murder by your own father?” Connor’s hand on Andy’s shoulder was the only reason why he hasn’t run off yet. “Besides, Stacy’s mom is my mom and-

“Don’t care. Lucas’s parents suck and Stacy doesn’t deserve that garbage mother. And neither do you.”

“Oh yeah, kill them.”

All heads turn to Lily, who had a furious expression plastered on her face, brandishing a baseball bat that suspiciously looks like Candy the bat Jasper got at the hardware store.

“Lily. Holy shit.” Noah muttered.

“Can we kill Noah’s mom too?” Jasper asks, raising a knife menacingly into the air.

“What?!”

[ofherlionheart]

im doing this for me as much as im doing it for y’all lol pls enjoy … a like the sun ch 4 excerpt 😳

----------

They’re in the courtyard after lunch, catching their breath as they watch Piandao preside over Bishal and Manu’s bout of sparring, when Zuko’s mouth opens and blurts a question without permission: “Do you think my mother loved Ozai?”

For a second, Sokka’s eyes slide over to him; then he turns back to the duel and scratches the scruff along his jaw. “Your dad kind of sucks.”

“I know.”

“Do you think your mom knew?”

He thought about it last night, after they finished his work and Sokka ambled off to his guest room. He thought about how much time Ursa spent staying away from his father, ushering him and Azula away from the palace whenever possible, until they became too old and lessons or school filled their days. After that, Zuko remembers that she was always at Ozai’s side when she had to be—festivals and important dinners with important guests—but even those became less frequent as the years went by. The only other time Zuko saw her in those later years was when he was upset and would go running to her rooms, or late at night when she would visit him before he went to sleep.

Zuko supposes that he assumed that that was what love is: careful avoidance of potential eruptions. He’s pretty sure now, though, that it’s something different. “When Azula and I got older, I think she did,” he answers. “I don’t know about before. I took a while to realize he was wrong. And an awful father.”

“Okay, but you were his kid,” Sokka counters.

Bishal shifts too much weight to his back foot, and Zuko sees how Manu will disarm him a moment before it happens. Manu shouts triumphantly, and Piandao nods his approval; Bishal scrambles for his sword again. 

“And she was his wife,” Zuko replies. “I remember her being happy. I remember him happy.” He really does, in the strangest moments. He’ll be looking out the window when a breeze lifts the curtain and he’ll suddenly recall Ozai’s merry laughter echoing through the Ember Island house as his mother impersonated a shopkeeper they’d encountered earlier in the day. An off-tune pipa brings him back to when he was six in a teahouse and couldn’t understand why his parents kept looking at each other and stifling laughs until Azula loudly demanded, “Why does that pipa player sound bad?” and Ursa had lost it.

The memories are distant and hard to recall. But they’re there.

“Sometimes good things don’t work out,” Sokka says.

Zuko looks at him, and there’s a distance in Sokka’s eyes that makes Zuko pause. He gets a sense that Sokka isn’t really thinking of Ursa and Ozai anymore—could they ever have been called a good thing?—but before he can articulate the question struggling to form in his head, Sokka comes back to himself. “Why are you thinking about your parents?”

Zuko frowns. “I—I don’t know. I guess being here makes me think of them.”

“Did you all use to visit Piandao?”

“No. I came here the summer that Ozai made my mother disappear.”

Manu takes advantage of a misstep by Bishal again, and this time, Bishal bows his head in defeat. “I need to think about that sequence,” Bishal apologizes to Piandao.

“Visualize it before it happens,” Piandao agrees and then looks toward Zuko and Sokka. “Sokka, would you let Bishal take a rest?”

“Yes, Master,” Sokka says. He plants a hand on Zuko’s shoulder, squeezes, and then uses it to push himself to his feet.

Bishal comes over, sweat dripping from his brow despite the cooler winter air. “I hope you and Sokka were figuring out whatever trick Manu’s pulling,�� he says, bending to brace his hands above his knees.

“We were talking about my mother.”

The ease immediately leaves Bishal’s expression, something taut and serious taking over, and Zuko regrets being so bluntly honest. This stay in Shu Jing has been a breath of fresh air for all of them; Zuko doesn’t want to ruin that. “When you put too much weight back, you leave your side exposed,” he says.

“Oh,” Bishal says before lowering himself to a seat next to Zuko. They watch as Sokka and Manu bow to each other, and then Sokka immediately springs forward to attack. “Does Sokka know she might still be alive?”

“Yes.”

“What does he think, about trying to find her?”

There’s a shhhhing! of metal on metal, and suddenly Manu’s sword is halfway across the courtyard. “What?” Manu demands, and Sokka laughs good-naturedly.

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Zuko answers.

“What do you think?”

Zuko closes his eyes. He doesn’t know what he thinks, because this, too, is a place where he tries not to think. He spent sixteen years loving his mother deeply, and now that the world is becoming a better, more peaceful place, is he not allowed to keep his affection untroubled and pure?

In any case, he has a nation that’s vying for his attention in a hundred different ways for his every waking moment. As Azula said, he needs to think of the future; the headpiece that usually weighs so heavily on his head demands it of him. He doesn’t have enough daylight for the ghosts that wind around his neck to whisper in his ear, or for the molten feeling in his chest that rises and churns and swells at the strangest moments.

“Excellent!” Piandao shouts.

Zuko opens his eyes to see Manu, swordless again, and Sokka bow to each other. Manu retrieves his blade and then heads for Zuko and Bishal.

“I am not ready to go again,” Bishal intones.

“I can go,” Zuko volunteers.

He can feel Sokka’s eyes on him as he gets to his feet and goes to where he left his dao. The skin on the back of his neck prickles, and he feels like he’s already sweating anew; in a sudden burst of frustration, he yanks off his shirt and tosses it aside before taking up his dao.

Sokka whistles, and Zuko’s grateful for the hair that falls in front of his face, obscuring the heat that rises to his cheeks. “Okay, Mr. Flamey-o, we get it!” Sokka teases, raising his sword and bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You don’t get cold!”

“Do not let the physical attributes of your opponent distract you,” Piandao warns.

Sokka squawks, his ready stance lowering as he gives Piandao an indignant look. “Distracted? I’m not —”

Zuko springs forward, and Sokka barely throws up his blade to block Zuko’s strike. “Hey!” he protests, even as he contorts in a way that somehow puts Zuko on the defensive. 

Zuko redirects his slash and dances out of reach, eyes catching on the swell of Sokka’s shoulder, the glisten of sweat pooling at the hollow of his throat. “Hey,” he croaks, feeling suddenly delirious, because watching Sokka this closely as Sokka focuses so intently on him is causing flames to eat at the edges of his very being, and he —

Shhhing!

One of his dao goes spinning out of his hand, and it’s all he can do to divert Sokka’s momentum against him and push forward again. For a moment, they’re close enough to breathe the same air. Sokka’s eyes are boring a hole somewhere in Zuko’s torso, and it’s here that it strikes Zuko, with the clarity and inescapable destruction of a lightening bolt, that the entirety of one of his favorite people in the world is somehow contained by this ordinary body of mortal flesh before him. How can something so mundane house a spirit as vast and powerful and layered as Sokka?

Before he’s realized it’s happened, his other dao is knocked out of his grip, and he’s left, defenseless, at the end of Sokka’s gaze. They can’t have fought for long, but Zuko finds he’s gasping for breath, wheezing for air that crackles like live embers in his lungs.

Sokka lowers his sword, relaxing his stance as he tilts his head. “You okay?” he asks, his brow crinkling.

Zuko wants to smooth out that crease with his thumb. He wants to fight without weapons, just bare hands and feet, because he wants to know intimately what the flex of a body resisting his feels like. He wants to run to the edge of this island and fling himself into the ocean because maybe then he’ll finally remember what it is to be cool and calm and balanced.

“I’m fine,” he snaps.

Sokka doesn’t flinch, but he stays quiet as he watches Zuko retrieve his dao. Zuko’s never realized until now how much Sokka just looks at him. People in the capital don’t look at him like that. In the capital, such a sustained, direct gaze is aggressive. It’s asking for something.

“Zuko.”

At the sound of his old master’s gravelly voice, Zuko straightens his spine. Piandao’s dark eyes pin Zuko where he stands, and while Piandao can’t possibly know the thoughts that are rushing through Zuko’s head, it feels like he does. Regret and shame rise in Zuko’s throat, and he turns to Sokka. “I’m sorry,” he says. “My mind was somewhere else. I am okay.”

Sokka nods with a smile, easy as anything, even if there’s something in his expression still scrutinizing Zuko. “It happens,” he says and reaches out to lay his hand on top of Zuko’s head.

The touch is brief, but there’s weight behind the contact. Blood rushes in Zuko’s ears. “Again,” he says roughly, taking a step back and raising his dao.

[high-five-of-teenager-trashblog]

I've been stanning H.o.t since like 2018 and I'm annoyed by the lack of subbed content or just content in general. I was wondering if you knew any content that can help me know the members more?

I think it's a combo of both. 1st gen didn't have nearly as much media as groups these days, but also there isn't much subbed in English. There's a lot out there, but a lot more content is in print or stored on old media. It doesn't help that a ton of content has been taken down over the years.

There are random subbed English videos, but the only actual YouTube channel I know of that is dedicated to subbing vids in English/Spanish is FOREVER H.O.T. EN ES SUBS. There are dedicated channels Vietnamese and Chinese fans have, but English is still way behind them. There’s way more misinformation about H.O.T in English than actual info, which is why I’ve stopped using places like Wikipedia and just switched to Korean sources.

As for content to explain the members, I've been around for so long that my knowledge came about from years of finding stuff. How I originally learned about the group was from sources that aren’t still around. I did make a summary post about Kangta last year and a video, but I haven’t updated any of the info or made ones for the other members yet.

I haven’t been able to work on H.O.T stuff lately cuz of Tiny-G, but after that then my priority is to work on the book. That thing has a ton of good info on the group that non-Korean fans aren’t aware of. (H.O.T wrote an autobiography back in the day) I’ve been meaning to make meme videos about the group, but I haven’t gotten around to it -- not even bringing up the H.O.T project.

But I have posted a ton of info with links on here over the years, so until I get my act together, a good place to start look for info is to just scroll through and check the tags.

I hope this helps. There’s a lot of info, but it’s scattered which makes research dififucult. :/

Quick TLDR of the members (without links, cuz I’m lazy right now)

Moon Heejun

Born in 1978, and was the oldest member

His individual color is yellow

Leader because he paid attention to detail and could defuse situations

Talented at singing, rapping, dancing, composing

Highest IQ in the group

Very passionate about stuff he loves

Best friends with Eun Jiwon of Sechskies

Was a member of H.S.g.R

Married, soon to have 2 kids

His solo career started in 2001 and a lot of fans were mad at him over it -- his Legend album still gets hated on.

He composed and choreographed “Outside Castle”

His family had severe financial troubles when he was a teenager, and his guitar was even marked when his family was going through foreclosure.

He was in a dance team pre-debut that was so famous even Kangta heard of him before they met

He auditioned for SM at the same time as Kangta

In school, he tended to be class president

Jang Woohyuk

Born in 1978, and was the 2nd oldest member

His individual color is blue

Rapper and dancer, but also had the unofficial title of vice-leader

He became the leader of JTL after H.O.T’s disbandment

He was in a dance group pre-debut and performed at Lotte World where he was found by Director Kim

His homeroom teacher, Director Kim, and Lee Sooman all coordinated together to convince his mom to let him debut

He was the 4th member to join

He was friends with Jaeduk of Sechskies pre-debut

He is a massive fan of Back to the Future and references it a lot

Him and Tony were the only two members who stayed in the dorms originally because the other members were locals

Pre-debut he liked the message of “Warrior’s Descendants”, but was disappointed with how easy the dance was.

His dad’s business went under when he was a kid and that impacted him.

He was the first member of H.O.T to upload videos of the group on YouTube

His solo music has more accolades than most of the members, and he’s known for his robotic dancing. He’s been compared to Suju’s Woohyuk, but they’ve never collaborated or had a dance battle.

Lee Jaejin from Sechskies still wants to have a formal dance battle with him.

He won his lawsuit against Director Kim that went all the way up to Korea’s supreme court and led to H.O.T getting their trademark returned to them (supposedly Director Kim has tried to appeal it, but I haven’t heard if it went through). Woohyuk also started the company that got H.O.T’s merch ready for their concerts, but he has yet to do an online store for it. He has a separate company under his name.

Tony Ahn (Ahn Seungho)

Born in 1978, he was the 3rd oldest member

His individual color is red

He’s a talented vocalist and dancer

He was considered to be the “foreign” member of the group even though he was born and mostly raised in Korea.

He was a member of JTL and H.S.g.R

His parents divorced when he was a kid, and he lived in the US for a number of years due to that.

He graduated high school in LA and was considering applying to a UC school.

He was the last member to join the group, as there was a vote between him and Andy (who eventually ended up in Shinhwa)

He and Heejun had a Tom and Jerry relationship

His best friend is Jaeduk from Sechskies and they have two dogs

He was in the drama “Fly Again” last year

He quit smoking a few years ago

His stage name was almost “Pickle”.

The only time H.O.T fans have stormed the stage was during “Light” and they targeted Tony because they wanted to hug him.

Kangta (Ahn Chilhyun)

Born in 1979, he was the 4th oldest member

While H.O.T fans are called White Angels or are part of Club H.O.T, solo fans of his are called KITs

Before he got into SM, he used to wander down to the office and hang out

He was discovered singing at Lotte World by Director Kim

He loves dogs and has a lot of them

His R&B-style of singing began after listening to artists like Brian McKnight in Yoo Youngjin’s car

He once stayed out late and made his parents worry because he was having a jam session with a friend

He wrote “Light” and soooooo many other songs including “Rain” for NRG

He arrived at SM around the same time as Heejun, as they auditioned and were accepted from the same audition

His solo debut was “Polaris”

He sang on the OST for the Korean release of “Journey to Atlantis”

He’s a creative director at SM and the only member still at the company

His solo color is green

He was close with Hyesung and they were in S together

He’s done a lot of acting over the years both in Korea and China

He did a collab with Vanness

There’s a term for male idols at SM called the “Kangta Line”, which is basically just idols at SM who look like Kangta. (SM often recruits idols who have some physical similarity with the members of H.O.T, but this is a specific line of people who even Kangta refers to as being similar to him)

He has a girlfriend

He used to have a radio show

Lee Jaewon

Born in 1980, he’s the youngest of the members

He was mainly a rapper and dancer during H.O.T’s time, but can be a good vocalist.

His color is orange and he’s known for being shy. SM marketed his shy, quiet personality as a “concept”, and many idols since have had that “concept” despite it not actually being their personality.

He is the tallest member of H.O.T, but he doesn’t like how that’s the first thing people say to him. His nickname was octopus because of his long limbs. Due to his height, Heejun tends to grab him by the neck to hug him.

He was in JTL

The first song he wrote was “You Got Gun?”, which got banned. He was sad over it because he wanted to make songs like the rest of the members and had bugged them and Yoo Youngjin for help.

His mom died of cancer when he was a kid and that led him to being reclusive. His family was in a bad financial state and had to move to a smaller home after he death due to how expensive the hospital bills were. His dad was worried about him so he pushed him into martial arts, which led him to dancing.

His teachers encouraged him to dance and meet with other kids at his high school who were interested in it because that was the only thing that he got excited about. He went with two of them to audition at SM and they did badly. Director Kim didn’t like him, but called him back and Jaewon auditioned in front of Lee Sooman. He did terrible because nerves got to him again, but Lee Sooman liked him anyway and said they could work on his dancing.

He was the 3rd member to join SM and he acted as a backup dancer for Yoo Youngjin along with Heejun and Kangta.

He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer around the time he was doing solo promotions in China, but nobody knew about it until months later. He avoided the spotlight while recovering, and didn’t feel confident that he could take the stage again. Tony dragged him back and got him to start DJing. He did fine at the H.O.T concerts, but he still gets nervous.

He took up boxing and is certified.

He just started up a new business.

He wasn’t the stereotypical bratty maknae (that trend started with TVXQ’s Changmin), but his members will go out of their way to do things for him anyway. For example, they stole a table umbrella to give him shade while filming Haengbok’s MV.

[feuqueerfire]

Moonlight Chicken Live Blogging

 GMMTV Youtube

Another GMMTV 2022 BL that's finally been released! I do like it when Disney+Hotstar releases the shows 2 eps a week because I get to binge the shows sooner (as long as they still put it up on Youtube...)

I avoided spoilers mostly except after watching My School President and kind of getting into GeminiFourth, I also got spoiler for almost their whole storyline last week haha Also, apparently it's not a cheating story as expected but rather Alan and ? Wen? are exes.

NLMG was up wonky in its last few episodes, so here's hoping another of my most anticipated shows from the 2022 lineup doesn't let me down.

Ep 1: Only You in the Full Moon Night (Mar 1)

1-1

ah they're talking about the effects of Covid on the economy - I think I remember somebody talking about the gentrification that happens or something?

Ah, I don't know if this is one take but I loveee the handheld (?) camera following around Jim as he travels from Leng to Li Ming to Gaipa, etc. It gives the impression of there's always something to do, something's always happening

lmfao jinxing Praew still having her period cuz I think she's gonna get pregnant, right?

oh this was filmed September 10 2022

(Linguistics) Jim is using -ha ending particles with the grandma

drunk driving with no seatbelts lmfao

ah the 2 of them just praying and wandering around the streets

plssss I've seen the clip of Wen walking into Li Ming's room before but I didn't realize it was like this, I'm crying

"It won't be complicated, right?" lmfao

there was a kiss on the back in NLMG as well

this is a lot for me tbh I keep wanting to skip but ah I won't, I'm nervous about missing things. I'm just watching it not on fullscreen

Very good start but do I finish up this episode before sleeping or do I do a LeetCode like I've been meaning to all day instead?

1-2

Okay, I did my leetcode (very badly rip) so I get to reward myself with part 2

gbye Wen playing with Jim's cat after their one night stand killing me so bad

ohhh this is the cat food PPL people were talking about lmfaooo

lol pls Gaipa's mom covering for him about the Sour Soup even though Leng was right when he said it wasn't his mom who gave it but Gaipa himself

please my poor Gaipa giving the mooncakes to Jim out of his crush on him but Jim just thinking about sharing one with Wen last night

ah Khaotung my most beloved boy, I missed seeing him on my screen

Wen's back at his own apartment and I know it's exes living together instead of cheating storyline apparently but :< I wish it was cheating. who would've thought I'd want that but Love Mechanics did a number on me I suppose

two chargers

1-3

I should go to sleep but part 2's preview showed Heart and Li Ming so... here I am instead

both of them keep thinking of that night

Li Ming is so boyish and trickster-y when he manages to get the keys to the motorbike and ride despite his license

lol Li Ming really left poor Heart with the broken glass

ah, I know so much about Heart and Li Ming already :< like Heart became deaf a few years ago and his parents don't let him go anywhere and haven't learned how to communicate with him

pls "We both took turns" "Hehe, that's my slutty boy"

(Linguistics) I've noticed Thai people sometimes say "chill chill" in English instead of just chill and now this guy used "pure pure" to describe pure sex. I wonder if this type of repetition is common in Thai as well and I just don't know it because I don't know Thai or if it's specifically with English words. Actually, I think plural is just repetition of the word at least sometimes? dek = child, dek dek = children, so it's not just English loanwords

Wen's avoiding his apartment?

1-4

who's Mrs. Jinata? oh is that Heart's mom

rip not only are Li Ming and Jim poorer than the officer, the officer is also obviously a cop. So they could ruin them

ah Li Ming's gonna work for Heart's family to pay it off 7k baht

How come Heart let Li Ming take the fall? I wonder if his parents are just not listening to him saying what he's trying to communicate or if Heart's a jerk and is letting Li Ming take the brunt of it all

Wen taking lessons about one night stands from his P'Gong and yet still showing up to Jim's to drink a beer lmao instead he even wants to waitstaff at the restaurant like bro what about your real job. then again what even is his job? he was at his apartment and the gym and he seems to spend money much more casually than Jim but what does he do to earn that money?

Very good, delightful episode with good acting, writing (in terms of characters and sensibility of events), and directing/cinematography. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the episodes.

Oh yeah another big spoiler that I didn't wanna put up there was that I've been saying ppl post behind photos of MLC and saying Gaipa's mother is gonna die. It's ep 6 been released and she hasn't died yet I don't think from the way the tweets are worded, so I'v been spoiled about something that hasn't even happened yet lmfao

Ep 2: The Temporary Chicken Rice (Mar 1)

2-1

not Leng's premonition dream about their daughter

Li Ming is soooo teenage boy here my god I wanna be him so bad

like he's rude to his uncle and doesn't let Heart get away with sitting around and it helps that Fourth was 17 when filming but it really is so 17 year old behaviour

lol Wen's not gonna let up

2-2

please Gaipa starting shit in Leng and Praew's relationship just for the hell of it

why does Gaipa handle the chicken and everything else with the same gloves T.T

Wen vs Gaipa over Jim's affections lmfao this awkwardness...

I wish I knew Wen and Gaipa's ages like how old are they supposed to be

Li Ming giving me the most random gender envy like I think I could be fixed if I was a 17-year-old boy who was playing soccer while shirtless with some other boys

so does Li Ming know he likes boys/is starting to realize he likes boys/knows he doesn't like girls? like was his disinterest in the girl because of his lack of attraction to her or is it because of his worries covered up by apathy about the future?

What's Li Ming watching on his phone?

okay just kidding I don't envy his grades nor his lack of direction for the future and his money troubles

also quick insert from after watching the ep: he got a 2/10 on his English but he wants to travel abroad for work to like America or Australia

A tiny truce between Li Ming and Heart

haiaiai Praew's now pregnant and her parents will want her and Leng to get married but he doesn't have the money for it rip the stress making them fight is the worst because they were so cute so far this ep

2-3

I don't fully get what's happening with the Car Insurance letter thing

oh instead of paying that bill he bought gold jewelry for Praew?

lol ofc he'd run into Wen

So I guess Wen makes enough to have some income to spend on some things but not like he's freely spending

ah Wen saying "I have so much time for you"

Li Ming's hopes of going on America or Australia bringing back immigration time memories even though I don't remember much. I know lots of international students who come to study here but you gotta be loaded for that; Li Ming as a young boy who doesn't know the language coming here would be so difficult it's actually making me already anxious. I want him to break out of the small town/restaurant if that's what he wants but coming to work in North America with little education, skills, and command of the language is its own version of hell

but maybe at least knowing Wen's relatives would help him

Note upon rewatch: lol I think someone on Discord mentioned it so I rewatched this part where I initially thought Heart looked around, didn't see Li Ming, then went on his phone but instead Heart saw Li Ming and immediately went on the phone to cover up the fact that he was looking for him and ignored him until he was touched lol silly boy

Heart wanting to watch a Thai movie that doesn't have Thai subs but ironically MLC also doesn't seem to have Thai subs

the pimples and bumps on Gemini's face I love you. reminds me slightly of watching Not Me and getting to see their faces not just blurry

ah Heart said thank you for being my ears

oof Heart's mom forbidding him from going out is so

ahh yeah Jim did indeed get it for Leng to give the necklace as Praew's dowry

pls not Leng saying "one during the day, another at night" about Jim with Gaipa and Wen

2-4

not a fucking mistake when reversing a car that sends ppl falling - my worst nightmare

fuckkk not Jim needing the car insurance after he bought the necklace instead of paying the insurance bill

are the couple faking it? did they purposely go behind the car and pretend to fall and make a big deal and just leave with the money?

bro Wen's saying yeah I just gave them 3k baht and it's okay, you don't need to pay me back? be so serious

so how much money does Wen actually have?

Jim tryna get a home and a kiss from Jim but Jim not wiling to provide either

This show shows something about the small pleasures of the poor/those struggling with money. Leng's cigarettes that cost 4 baht for 1 and Jim drinking 1 beer a day. People who aren't in that situation say to save that money as if that little will solve their problems; instead, the small pleasures and vices help people to get through the day

Ep 3: The Dream of Eternal Moon (Mar 1)

3-1

ah yeah Mix is working on the Marina food court ting that Jim and Gaipa were previously discussing

Are those Wen's photos with Jim's cat? or a diff one?

ahh they're negotiating the demolition of the place where Jim's restaurant is

ah fuck the team Wen's in spoke to Gaipa's mom because she's the owner of the chicken restaurant and got her to speak to other owners or whatever about something for them (selling their businesses, I think?) and got the contact for the person who owns the property where Moonlight Chicken is. However, they didn't tell her they're gonna demolish it so she doesn't know and is complaining that these people keep demolishing things and should instead be preserving ahhh.

Also, Gaipa and Wen's staring at each other in during that conversation because only the two of them know both the facts that 1) Wen works at Moonlight Chicken and 2) The demolition stuff will be happening

Giddy little Heart at Li Ming learning sign language and trying to speak with me. My poor boy who has been so isolated and neglected for the past few years T.T

oof Jim thinks Wen's worried because of monthly bills and payments

oh Papang's character used to be Jim's boyfriend

Papang yelling out loud about their love is making me nervous

oh smiley, happy Jim

lmfao so dumb to just have the person you're cheating with's phone call background be a cutesy photo of you and them + have your camera roll be filled with them wtf

so is the homophobic sister the same as Li Ming's mother?

rip Wen just learns more than Jim can even say he loves his diner and his history with it; the whole time, his company's planning on demolishing it

3-2

no like Li Ming so true because when you're rich or have status, you get endless free things or it's easier to get to borrow things whereas poor people or those who really need said free help/loan have to fight tooth and nail to get a portion

Wen has Jim as Chicken Stranger on his contacts

bro people pointed it out on Reddit and Discord that Earth sighs too much and now I'm noticing it too. Even Wen sometimes sighs too much

Finally some angst and conflict between Jim and Wen

3-3

pls Gaipa's "Na?" with the smile reminded me so much of Ayan

ah more of Jim and Li Ming's conflict

I fully get Jim's concern because what the hell do you mean you're gonna somehow acquire money to go to the US and somehow manage to get work there and then have no plans after that? While having no money, grades, connections, English? But I also get 17-year-old Li Ming who is desperate to get out of this fucking place

omg Li Ming is so fucking teenager. Doesn't tell anything to Uncle Jim because "he's so annoying, all our conversations end in a fight"

Leng and Praew are so cute to me

ah my beautiful Li Ming sitting and gazing out to water

2-4

the fucking chin tickle thing will actually kill me one of these days. Li Ming to Heart, Gun to Tinn, Fourth to Gemini

not Wen inviting Jim to a dinner with his father my goodness

underage drinking ah it's typical but it makes me nervous that it's happening at Heart's home + Li Ming originally got in trouble because of the alcohol

it's so typical teenager, to drink from their parents' alcohol and water it down to make it seem like it hasn't been drunk from. or maybe it's not really typical teenager behavior and is just based on the YA novels I've read but hasn't appeared much in BLs

Heart doesn't even know it's Loy Krathong today

ah happy babies

insane to call Jim as Loong in front of your father

"A hard life over there is better than living here" hmm I guess? maybe? Well actually idk but Li Ming's in a bad position even in Thailand, so I guess only way it can go is up. Just that he'll be lacking a lot of the things he has in Thailand including familiarity, family and support, language

why does Wen keep saying he lives paycheck to paycheck when it's not true?

Well at least Jim calls him out on it

Next year Loy Krathong pinky promise please I'll cry if Li Ming and Heart aren't together for that next year

my beautiful dancing boys T.T

ah Gaipa with his mom

"I can't wait to see who your lover will be" man all the ep 7 clips I've seen have been the characters in black, presumably at Gaipa's mom's funeral fml man and all the talks about how long they'll do this together

Heart and Li Ming sleep over T.T

ah flustered Heart turning away and going to sleep is so reminiscent of when Gun did a similar thing after the eye contact with Tinn scene

the whole entire scene with Wen at home, grabbing a beer that has significance to him and Jim, looking at random things on his phone while smiling - probably something to do with Jim - and then going to the bedroom with Alan sleeping is so aklsdfj I wonder what it would be like to watch this show with little to no knowledge. Not only did I know about Alan, I knew he'd appear at the end of the episode while in bed because 1) people said he was there for 2 seconds and 2) in people's archives, I saw gifs of this scene even though I was trying to avoid these

Ep 4: The Midnight of Lifetime (Mar 2)

4-1

ah my beloved cute heartliming and once again heart pretending he’s not looking at li ming ahhh so cute pretending to sleep

i too love li ming’s eyes so i get heart

the fucking legs what if i died

naurrr Alan’s arm over Wen and Wen just continues to look at him with such contempt. even that 0.2 second glance in the last episode was similar

this Wen and Alan convo so tense my god and yeah they’re still living together but not actually together

First is so freaking beautiful with those glasses and glossy lips

pls not the underage smoking as well tho Li Ming didn’t look experienced

ah fuck ofc everything is so tense between them and Li Ming walks in the moment Jim looks in his drawer

fucking fuck this scene between Li Ming and Uncle Jim killed me so bad

my lovely silly boys heart li ming

also now Heart tickling under Li Ming’s chin is soooo cute

pls Heart being dazed at shirtless wet Li Ming so funny

pls Li Ming is sooo rough teenage boy with the colour complain

2-2

Wen planning a surprise birthday goddamn

beautiful Li Ming with the sweetest face like truly congrats to Fourth for having the face he does

ah so indeed Wen is almost 30

keep calm and eat chicken

Wen really is endlessly persistant and forward lol

ah Wen approaching for a kiss and all Jim can think about is sex with Ben or whatever Papang’s character’s name is rip

beautiful Wen

this fucking cat product PPL pls

I can’t think of Alan objectively as a character like I’m just delighted to see First

ah what did Alan do without asking Wen that broke them?

also Alan really going to Gong to ask about Wen’s relationship status lol

4-3

ahh Alan in banking sees the man from Wen’s IG story. He’s interacting with Jim already knowing about him negatively and as a rival while Jim’s clueless

sucks that Jim can’t get a loan rip

please Gaipa and his mom are so delightful

mom supportive of gay love for a liiiiittle bit of aroacephobia lol i’m gonna choose to ignore it bc maybe she didn’t mean it that way

i fucking love Gaipa and his mom I’m gonna be so mad sad when she dies

the show is going by so fast, it was September in ep 1 and then Halloween time October in ep 2, Loy Khratong was in November in 2022 for ep 3, not almost Christmas for ep 4

Heart’s parents really speak 1 sentence to him a day and like they’re so uninterested in his life that he just has Li Ming in hiding and they suspect nothing

Heart Li Ming so cuteeee what if I died

I have a class and then a project meeting so I can’t watch part 4 for like 2 hours what if i was a villain

4-4

I ate while watching this so I didn't write anything but it's just

(Fave) all the way through

I loved the way we got to see Li Ming take Heart to the mass for deaf people, got a little info sharing PSA about life and treatment of deaf people, and then that old man's answer was the throughline for the other storylines like Alan Wen Jim, Gaipa and his mom, Leng and Praew, and ofc Heart Li Ming themselves

Also, so far, my love for First kept overtaking any other feelings I could have about the character in the first 3 parts because I kept seeing him but in this part, Alan has started to take a stronger form. At that store, that was little bitchy Alan

Also, the pawn shop form... Leng sold the gold necklace lol I knew that was a possibility as soon as Jim told him not to sell it. I wonder what he's gonna do with the money? Spending it on baby related stuff is one thing, I just hope he didn't put it in the lotto stuff

Also, I get why they didn't translate Heart's signing in the first 2 episodes to make us go through the same things as Li Ming but now that Li Ming understand Heart, we should be getting translations. It's like [speaking a foreign language] when the main character is also not supposed to understand is fine but saying that isn't fine when everybody in the conversation is supposed to understand the language. By ep 4, Li Ming understands and communicates with Heart and what Heart says back should be understood by the audience.

Ep 5: Wrong You In The Right Time (Mar 3)

5-1

(Fave) ahh cute 1st year anniversary Wen and Alan

they gaveth me FirstMix and then they taketh it away T.T

so they were together for 5 years but by Feb 2022, they were broken up and living together as 'friends' and Wen's reasoning was just falling out of love

oh fuckkkkkkk AlanWen slept together after breaking up bc Alan kept initiating and Wen says he felt bad for Alan, that's why they slept together rip fr

ahhh not Alan being like come here, I'll dress your wound. girl you caused it?

This confusingly civil conversation at the table like idek, Wen does even know, Alan doesn't even know

I guess Wen's keeping it civil till he can actually move out

bro Gaipa, don't give your mother's land as collateral to Jim to get a loan to buy out the restaurant T.T mans doesn't love you

messy as Li Ming, first shouting out Gaipa and now Wen to come to the same table with him and Jim

I think this part gave me like 7000 emotional damage

5-2

plss Li Ming asking Jim about Wen and saying he seems like an okay guy

last part was just so much emotional damage but now Heart and Li Ming are so cute and adorable >.<

Engineering or Com Sci <- lmfao Heart is my friend group except for the one person who is doing bio

agh Heart's mother not letting him go to school anymore

they're sooo cute in their big costumes T.T also Heart-Gemini reminds me of Barcode here, so cute

cute beloved Heart having fun with his drink

lmfao Li Ming is such trouble, mentioning to Wen that now Gaipa works at the restaurant

Wen being like wow these bitches gay

Li Ming so funny getting involved in Wen's gay business and then involving Wen in his own gay business

Alan and Jim at the bank goddamn Alan was tryna kill Jim with his stare and also is he suspicious that the title deed is actually fake or something?

"I wasn't aware I was taking it" "That's alright. Now that you're aware, just return what you took from me" sure is some dialogue my god

5-3

I need to seek help, Alan's being a dick but he had a little pout at 1:40 and I've died my beloved beautiful First ah

lol Wen seeing Jim ignore his call

lol "We broke up but live together. no biggie" about Alan who came to cause a scene at the restaurant is certainly a choice

no I get Jim fr though like I am not gonna be involved in this mess, thank you and goodbye

I thought Wen lived with Alan out of some sort of necessity but it really doesn't even seem to be the case. He's just unable to really let go and just leave for real?

not this beef and chicken convo. with them both having teary eyes

oof Wen losing his feelings probably had at least something to do with him eating beef despite him not liking it because Alan does (ie. making accommodations for Alan to his own detriment?)

damn Wen even saying he was also hoping they could work it out

P'Aof sighting

bro Wen even had some promise ring or something still? they really had such a murky relationship

ah they've finally really truly broken up i guess. also Alan really now knows that even if there was no Jim, Wen wouldn't love him again

also did Alan really not do anything? idk what was being hinted at last episode

5-4

Leng calling Li Ming nong rak

oh yeah Leng sold the gold chain, right?

not the gay couple in the gay chicken restaurant

H <3 and Ming :)

I'm so nervous bc they're gonna get into a motorcycle crash soon ah

bro I feel like you'd need special training to teach a deaf person how to ride a motorcycle bro tf and Li Ming doesn't have a license either

girl, not the crash and Shit! from Li Ming

Heart injured his hand ahh

I don't wanna watch this conversation with Heart's parents, Jim all present

okay good I thought they'd just get mad at Li Ming but I'm glad Heart's also getting to say his piece

(Fave) The conversation between Heart and his mother facilitated by Li Ming... his mom literally having to hear all of Heart's frustrations and thoughts through this kid they've known for a few months because she hasn't learned to communicate with him for 3 years

I didn't realize originally that Heart seemed hopeful for one second when his mother started doing hand gestures but then rolled his eyes when he realized it was her signing

sad Heart T.T

Li Ming so teenager once again like he was correct to me in the sneaking Heart out but letting him drive the motorcycle was too much and the way he was like you don't have to help me, I'll take responsibility because I'm grown to Jim is so teenager but also I get it because while Jim tries to support Li Ming in his own way, he’s constantly opposing all of Li Ming’s choices and decisions and hopes

This episode was just so much emotional damage and also really realizing just how much every other relationship is more interesting than Wen and Jim. Whether it be our side couples, Li Ming with Jim or Wen, Alan and Wen, Alan and Jim, Gaipa and his mom, Heart and his parents. Gaipa and Jim are meh as well because it's just awkward how much Jim doesn't reciprocate while Gaipa's trying so hard but it's meant to be that way.

Also I wish I knew how long Li Ming has lived with his uncle. Jim’s missteps are more understandable if it’s been like just a year and he wasn’t prepared to parent/be the guardian of a teenager rather than if it’s been like 5-6 years.

Ep 6: The Walk to Forgive and Forget (Mar 4)

6-1

she really knows nothing about her son my goodness

kinda parallels about Li Ming telling Heart's mom that actually Heart's quite communicative because Li Ming tells Jim nothing but is communicative with Wen

oof, yeah I read a comment (on discord?) that Jim's ex died

6-2

oof Alan's immature to not be able to just process Jim's loan but at least he told Jim to go elsewhere rather than sabotage it - and he was right when he was like why is Jim coming to my bank instead of any other?

ah fuck Gaipa confession, I don't wanna watch this

not Gaipa's teary eyes ah and drinking water and avoiding eye contact T.T

bro not Gaipa literally wiping off his tears and everything and Jim also returning the title deed when tf will this scene be done I can't, like I'm watching it via my peripherals

"Come on, we already talked about this" Wen is so funny because he finally left Alan where he consistently had to be like no romantic relationship to go to Jim's who keeps telling him I don't want a romantic relationship

damn Jim fr the other man

"We just fell in love with a selfish man" ah. I do find it somewhat refreshing when characters talk frankly about a dead person rather than put them on a pedestal because they're dead

6-4

Heart and Li Mingggg

ah pls Li Ming is so excited at Heart's voice like my guy what do you mean how can he speak T.T He used to speak as his main form of communication till 3 years ago

I've been looking forward to "You're poor and now you're gay too" since starting the show and finally Jim has seen them kiss

pls Heart Li Ming sooo cute

not Alan wearing both the rings

oh mans was drunk driving

Ep 7: My Heart Represents the Moon (Mar 5)

7-1

ah fuck Wen as Alan's caregiver is so... does Alan not have family nearby?

ah so he wasn't drunk driving, he was sitting at the back of someone's motorcycle while drunk

okayyy so Alan's sister is here, nice

Alan and Wen are decent and nice but working on extracting each other from themselves

naurrr sad Gaipa

adfsjlkasfj Gaipa's tears around Jim T.T

pls Gaipa's already so sad but at least his mom's there - soon she's gonna die T.T

ah Li Ming and his mom's conversation here and their different demeanours compared to MSP despite being the same people is so good

wait does Jim know his sister's in the house? no, right?

ah this discussion between Jim and Li Ming... interestingly, he didn't yell at Jim at all. was just so apathetic to Jim's scolding like bro who cares

I once again wonder how long Jim's had Li Ming. he's so unable to have a decent conversation with him or navigate any topic

7-2

no like Jim is cruel to Li Ming but that stems from the fact that he can foresee these conversations by society and his sister. He defends Li Ming to his sister saying he did nothing wrong but he acts that way with Li Ming because his life just got harder

okay she said Jim raised Li Ming. that's too long for Jim to not have figured out some sort of way to navigate conversations with him

ah his sister is kinda bribing Jim to convince Li Ming to go with her by giving him the title deed

ah so they do touch on abortion just a bit but since Praew's parents said they'll support the child, it's okay

so will we also talk about the pawn shop certificate or no

None of Wen's friends are gay? Gong's straight? oh wait he has a gf that we literally saw, I forgot but still idk why I was fully convinced he liked men as well

so indeed Jim spells out that he can accept Li Ming but is just worried about him because of the state of gay acceptance

another marriage equality PSA and also a mention of the dinosaurs dying - like in MSP ep 12 also

lol the convo about Wen chasing Jim for the longest and being like I might disappear one day you know like you know if this a longer series, it probably would be that way

7-3

why are all the interactions in this show so fun like I love Gaipa and Leng so much, just teasing each other non stop and causing problems

Gaipaaaaa T.T Gaipa's mom T.T

omg she was only 49 years old? that's too young

lmfao not the Gaipa and Alan meeting pls like I've been conflicted about the possibility ever since The Eclipse aired and KhaoFirst became popular and became aware that this happened when the last 2 eps came out but I just... how do I feel about it? like if this weren't KhaoFirst but just the characters themselves

okayyyy Heart's mom is speaking to him using sign as well

Heart Li Ming my loves actually like I love them so bad

Jim's not vocal approval but he's laid up on Li Ming as well

bro Beam's family also such dickheads. Beam had all the bank accounts and stuff in his name and so his family took it all

this Alan and Jim convo is so exhausting and I'm not even a part of it

7-4

ah so Li Ming's been with Jim for 5-6 years

ahhh shy Li Ming after saying that he loves Lung Jim T.T

lmfao Li Ming being offering beer by Jim

Jim and Li Ming lovely convo that didn't devolve into fighting, so true

being told "he knows how to jack off" by my uncle in front of my mother would actually send me into an early grave like i'd just pass away

anyway, I hope they support Li Ming's decisions in the future

happy Li Ming having happy dinner with his mom and Jim >.<

(Fave) damn the singing as Gaipa's crying is actually killing me wtf I teared up for the first time while watching this show

Also the dynamics of the funeral arewild because it's consistently Gaipa-Jim and Alan-Wen paired up with even some occasional crossover like Jim and Alan

Wen returning the apartment keys to Alan ah

damn this ep is end of so many chapters, including the Moonlight Chicken lease being up

Ep 8: The Self-Made House and Home (Mar 5/6)

I'm gonna need to take a break from shows for a few days after this show because why am I starting this ep instead of doing my assignment due tomorrow, doing my interview prep for tomorrow, getting some sleep since it's 12AM?

8-1

Yeah, both Jim and mom are worried about Li Ming but let's support him even if the world doesn't

I watched the title credits finally and yeah after listening to the song a few tmes in the show, it's a good one. I should add it to Spotify later

Li Ming and mom touching times aw

goodbye to Moonlight Chicken restaurant

8-2

Alan being okay with leaving behind the photos of their anniversary behind to show that he's finally moving on actually

so Heart's also going to America for university for deaf people - I did get spoiled that they're both going to the states but wasn't sure why Heart's gonig

ah parallels of Li Ming and Heart at the temple to back when Jim and Beam were were praying there

pls Li Ming saying "But I didn't copy you for sure" to Jim is so cute and funny

ah Jim being explicitly supportive of Li Ming T.T

I love Jim and Li Ming so much now T.T

watched first 2 parts, time to go to sleep now. 40 more minutes left for tomorrow.

Bro here I'm back almost 24 hours later after an interview, an assignment submitted, and another one discussed sigh

8-3

2 months later

Alan Gaipa everybody's beloveds, convince me too since KhaoFirst are my beloveds

well at least it's been 2 months since they first met and have had some time to get over their previous love/crush and develop affection for the new person

not Alan asking for Gaipa's chatID T.T shocked Gaipa like kab? and Alan terribly covering his ass talking bout some headquarter documents

not Alan's pen again lmfao

oh, he's got a food truck now

ah Leng, he's beloved to me too

8-4

oh we're getting a lot of resolutions in these last 30 mins I guess like we're going to Jim's sister's house and also Alan's gonna show up at the food truck

ah Jim introduces Wen as his boyfriend finally

I fucking love Li Ming's teeny nods like I first noticed it when he was talking with Wen in 3-3 where they were talking about Work and Travel at 9:40 I think? (after I wanna work and get paid for it) and now at 3:52/3:53 he gives the smallest nod like idk if it's a Fourth habit or if it's just something for Li Ming (since I don't know if Gun does it? I at least didn't notice it). omg again at 5:46 here

Li Ming talking to his mom about America and also she hasn't said anything bout Heart but I know she realizes

Heart and the child ahhhhh so cute

I still don't fully get the deal with Heart's speaking beyond deaf people sometimes are uncomfortable speaking when they can't hear themselves

Li Ming and Heart my beloveds

Jim supportive of Li Ming's America dream T.T lending him 30k baht T.T and going with him to sign documents and stuff

no it's so funny like Alan and Gaipa are meeting to 'discuss documents' at Jim's food truck

asdklf not Gaipa not even knowing about Alan and Wen omg

pls Alan about to wither away vs Gaipa early being like join us for dinner ^.^ without knowing the history

Leng is so meddlesome heh I continue to love Leng and Gaipa ahhh

ah everybody at this food truck including Heart-Liming, Alan-Gaipa, Leng-Praew with daughter

cute mini endings - hopeful for everybody

ah Wen did reject the job promotion

added the song to spotify, it's good

Overall:

It's a good one! High quality with good acting and interesting storylines that are unique in BL. It didn't hit me as hard as it seemed to hit some other people though and I'm not thinking about it much at all since finishing. I think Jim/Wen's relationship was one of the weakest aspects of the show to me because I didn't care nor did I really feel anything.

I loved Heart and Li Ming, I enjoyed getting to see Jim grow and also how his relationship with Li Ming changed, I liked getting to see Wen and Alan's flashbacks and to present tense relationship, I like Gaipa showing up once in a while to be bright, I thought Gaipa and Leng's interactions were funny, I loved Li Ming as a character so much, I wished to be him so badly.

Rating: 7/10

Tiktoks

Ep 2 HeartLiming (bg: Little Freak)

[Fave] TinnGun x HeartLiming (bg: About You by The 1975)

Mix and First characters

HeartLiming Dancing - not answering phone (bg: Fly Me To The Moon)

heartliming this is gay - pink shirt

li ming learning sign for heart

heartliming vs the world - compilation 

Gaipa and his cool mom 

Ep 1 - 5 Li Ming (bg: i’m so sick of seventeen)

Trailers

New Trailer:

I watched the reaction with the cast and the trailer itself was okay, though it gave away too much, but it was fun seeing the cast being excited

Mock Trailer:

I've watched parts of this before but I hadn't actually watched it fully I think? Good enough for a mock trailer, definitely gave interesting story threads without giving too much away.

[saleintothe90s]

465. Daily Press, August 1, 1993

We all know that JTT was the only one who deserved hat raise.

Okay, so the person who wrote this letter about his Davey Allison NASCAR flag being stolen is the father of these two absolutely mean girls who I went to school with. Davey had died a few weeks earlier so I guess the thief thought that flag was going to be worth something.

Suffice to say, Kim did not make it to another Olympics. She tried a comeback in 1998, but it didn't work out. I didn't know that Phoebe Mills was also a diver! I can't find a clip.

So this was August 1st. Jurassic Park came out in the theaters on June 11th. You don't see ads in the papers for movies 2 months after it comes out anymore. Heck, unless it was a huge release, it's out on DVD nearly two months later these days.

I went to this!

Southwestern / Santa Fe was def a trend around this time. Does anybody remember the last couple seasons of Perfect Strangers when the gang moved into this huge house, and Balki's room was Southwestern/Mypos/Wayne Newton?

Daily Press held onto this Comics banner for years.

Oh my god. Does anybody remember when Bill's younger half brother, Roger was some sort of popculture sensation right after Bill became president? and he tried a singing career?

They didn't last.

Things that aged poorly.

Glamour Shots is something I did not like back then. They made everybody look 30 years older. Even as late as 2001 when I graduated from high school girls at my high school were getting their senior photos at glamour shots at the Coliseum Mall.

Okay, so for some reason this month there were no Sunday ads on the proquest edition for this paper. I had to grab these from the Ocala Star Banner from Florida. This Montgomery Ward salespaper was like, 70 pages. No wonder they went out of business a few years later.

These look absolutely to die for! Starburst fro yo?! The bars look like they would melt in three seconds, but the fro yo cups?!

Unfortunate placement in this drugstore salespaper.

OH. This is the beginning of striped shirt trend! Mom didn't like me wearing striped shirts because I was so fat.

This was the first "grown uppy" stuff I was allowed, about a year after this ad ran. I didn't know how to use it.

I remember seeing these at people's houses back in the day and thinking they were for the washing machine. No, they were for the dishwasher?!

I guess Goldfish Cookies were Pepperidge Farm's answer to Teddy Grahams?

Is that holographic school box a cat?!

Aw, I have memories about these pencils. I remember my dad buying them for me one time.

I miss these cardboard car shades. I hate those flimsy ones we have now.

So I left the big one for last, it was the main story that day. It was a giant investigation about a local businessman, David Merritt, and how he duped people in my hometown when he said that he would build a night club in the old Post Office in the downtown area. The night club, named after him (!) was only was fully functional for a few weeks, then it became special occasions only.

Highlights:

Another mistake, critics say, was Merritt's decision to dip into his limited personal resources to build his basement offices and a lavish, 1,700-square-foot apartment before the restaurant. That ate up more than half his money, while delaying the opening of the restaurant - and the revenue source that would return the money spent on construction.

"He reversed the deal," O'Neill says. "Now the restaurant not only had to carry itself, it had to carry the other two."

Says Merritt, "Looking back now, I wouldn't do the apartment and offices first."

But he offers no apologies for the amenities inside, which included a state-of-the-art stereo system, a tanning bed, a 50-inch TV, a $1,700 sofa and a weight room - the last so he could stay in shape.

[...]

Merritt unveiled a grandiose - and costly - vision for the place. It would feature an indoor gazebo, a 1931 Ford roadster, an old-fashioned jukebox and a bakery counter. But its opening date kept moving into the future: from late 1989 or early 1990 to May or June 1990 to sometime in 1991. It finally opened in August 1992.

[...]

Promising "casual gourmet dining at its best," Merritt's finally opened in mid-summer. Behind the scenes, its owner was staving off contractors and others who demanded that he pay his bills.

In December, Merritt's closed, except for private parties. In the coming months, it reopened sporadically, on weekends, marketed not as a restaurant but as a nightclub. Soon neighbors were complaining of gunfire and rowdy crowds on weekends.

It took years, but David got jail time. He was sentenced in 1998! :

NORFOLK — David J. Merritt turned and faced his family, friends and former contractors Wednesday, and apologized to the dozens of people he scammed in his failed Hampton restaurant project.

"I love all of y'all," Merritt told his relatives in the U.S. District courtroom. Then, with his voice cracking and his lips quivering, Merritt spoke to his brother in the first row: "Tell Mom and Dad I love them."

Minutes later, Judge Raymond A. Jackson dashed any hopes Merritt, 39, would see his elderly parents anytime soon.

Agreeing with a prosecution request to go above the recommended guidelines, Jackson sentenced Merritt to 140 months - almost 12 years - in federal prison on 82 counts, stemming from fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice convictions. Jackson also ordered Merritt to pay $717,672 in restitution.

The paper used to do a feature where they would do a phone in poll everyday. Although nobody should ever use the word "rape" in this way:

tSeptember 23, 1992

September 23, 1992

You know it's bad when the FOOD gets repoed.

This was the only photo I could find of the inside of it.

When David was released from prison, he became a trainer at the local YMCA in 2008. He later moved to Florida and resumed his publishing company.

Facebook | Etsy | Retail History Blog | Twitter | YouTube Playlist | Random Post | Ko-fi donation | instagram @thelastvcr​ | tik tok @ saleintothe90s

[switchywitchy]

7 years ago today, I got married.

A lot has happened since then, and I’m having a lot of feelings lately (but especially today) that I’m not sure how to work though. So, I guess when in doubt, get the words out of your head- make them real- and maybe they’ll start to make more sense.

Let’s flash back further than 7 years ago- let’s flash back over 20 years ago, to when my mom divorced my dad. Back then, and in the years that followed, my mom would swing between extremes; she either waxed on about how the love of her life “died in the desert” (my dad was in Desert Storm and suffered a tremendous amount of PTSD), and that the man she divorced wasn’t the man she fell in love with, or she would spit at the sound of his name and tell us what a terrible father and person he is- and how lucky we are to be with her instead.

As the years passed, she was married and divorced three more times. Including her marriage prior to my dad, she has been married and divorced an impressive five times.

I remember being a 10,12,16 year old child thinking “I’ll only ever get married once. So if I want to get married, I have to be sure I can be with that person forever.” (Thankfully, this way of thinking turned out to be temporary.)

But I digress- this isn’t about my mother, or how her selfishness, narcissism, and outright abuse helped shape my development.

In 2015 I quit my job in Florida and moved to D.C., where I planned on starting a life and career for myself outside the reach of my mother, and my ex “C” who had an annoying habit of finding me no matter where I seemed to go). I was there for two months and was barely scraping by with my new job, I didn’t have any friends, and in a desperate attempt to make some I tried searching for human connection through an app.

That ended up being a terrible idea, when I was assaulted by one of the very people I wanted to make friends with.

I was ready to leave, even if it meant going back to my mother. Instead, the weekend before I was set to move, I met “J” and found someone who was kind, thoughtful, handsome- he made me feel safe. And I threw myself wholly into becoming part of his narrative, not caring what parts of me where overshadowed and left to wither.

I knew him for four months before I decided to move to Ohio with him.

His family- while surprised- welcomed me with open arms and did their best to make me feel loved and like I belonged there. They constantly said how great I was for J, and how blessed they were to have me in the family.

J and I got an apartment together, then two cats. When he proposed in December of 2015 I said yes- completely ignoring all the red flags to that point. We had fought before about him feeling insecure with how many sexual partners I’d had, that I wasn’t Christian (though I did attend church with him), that I was taking anti-depressants when instead I should let the congregation pray over me to exorcise the demon of depression. He hated the fact that I’m attracted to all genders, not just men.

In 2016 we got married anyway. I look back on my wedding photos and see how happy I look, and I remember how happy I felt to be surrounded by my family and friends, and to be starting a new chapter of my life.

He got me a little white schnauzer as a wedding gift. Luna. I had to leave her and her brother, Merlin, in Ohio when I left; something I haven’t truly come to terms with (if the overwhelming knot in my throat and the hot tears stinging my eyes are any indication).

Donald Trump became president that year, and J dove hard into the MAGA life. He drank more- going through an entire bottle of moonshine a night. He watched Fox News at all hours of the day, and when he wasn’t watching it he was listening to the hosts podcasts and YouTube channels. His behavior turned more and more aggressive, and I drifted further and further away into myself while trying to pretend like everything was fine.

As the presidency progressed, so did J’s paranoia. His behavior escalated and I got more and more lost.

He started demanding sex and acting in ways that triggered my trauma responses. He actively dismissed my feelings and requests to go to therapy. In his words- if we weren’t going to church to seek help through God, we weren’t going to therapy.

In 2019 I was jobless, and was drinking a handle of whiskey every three days just to cope. That year, my youngest sibling committed suicide, and then my grandfather passed away. Things got worse.

Enter the pandemic. Being locked in with him during quarantine gave me lots of time to think. I had completely lost sight of myself. I was depressed, miserable, suffering internally feeling alone and isolated from my family, my friends, my life. I decided I had to get out. I stopped drinking and started applying for jobs.

I got a job May 23, 2021, two days after my 5 year anniversary. The weekend of our anniversary I spend the last of my savings on a “Save-Our-Marriage” weekend getaway, where I earnestly tried to reconnect and get him to try and understand my feelings- ultimately I was unsuccessful and the weekend was awful.

I told J I wanted a separation. He begged me to stay, and ended up agreeing to therapy (as long as I paid for it) as a last-ditch attempt to keep our marriage intact.

I tried, friends. I really did. Did I think it would work, honestly? No I didn’t think it would. I had mostly made up my mind, but I couldn’t in good conscience leave without trying one more time.

I searched and found a therapist that specialized in couples, had an extensive history with trauma patients, and who (as a bonus for J) was very faith-centered. Eight months of therapy left us no closer to reconciling- if anything he was angrier than before and was trying desperately to get any sort of rise from me even if it was negative.

I rented a POD, made the plans to stay with a friend, and told J the time had come and I was leaving. I packed myself and the cats, and left.

I ended up staying with a friend and her husband for four months (which ultimately turned out to be a mistake, but that’s a story for another day). In those four months, J blew my phone up every day with calls and texts, first begging me to come back then cursing me for leaving. He tried to manipulate me, destroyed my personal property, and held a family heirloom “hostage”. We filed for divorce, which was granted last August.

Now, it’s the day that would have been my 7th marriage anniversary, and here I am, divorced. I’m not upset about being divorced, but I am feeling melancholy about what could have been? I dunno, friends. My life has changed so much, and I do feel more like myself. I don’t feel lost anymore (well, I do a little, but I think everyone feels that way), but I still feel like things are unresolved.

I need to learn from this and move forward. But what is the lesson to be learned here? To not lose sight of yourself? To learn which situations to avoid to protect myself? That we have to leave important things behind in order to be happy?

I don’t know anymore.

I’m sure this feeling will pass, but for now I’m trying to sit with these feelings and make space for them, instead of burying or running from them.

I’m gonna splurge on a burger, put on Treasure Planet, and make smoke. Things will get better, and they won’t stay like this forever. Sorry for the long post, and if you stuck around and read this much, thank you- it makes me feel a little less alone.

-Switchy

[templebain]

How To Save Cash With Auto Body Repair

Salvage diving is great because you are guaranteed an adventure ever time you go dive. You will face extreme conditions - cold, currents, and limited visibility. You will have success and you will have failure, but you have to take it all in stride. That is part of being a salvage diver. What cannot be used, like aluminum, is compressed and sold when the prices is right. Hubcaps are sold for very little and the same goes for batteries. If potential customers have visited your website they are obviously interested in your business. Auto Responders allow you to stay in contact with these potential customers and build a rapport hopefully leading to selling them your products. If this process sounds complicated, it's not; it's very simple and very effective. It's all about is building a customer base or list as its known. You will need some money after purchasing these vehicles. Like I said before they will need to be repaired. Repairing make take as little as replacing a bumper. Or it may be very extensive as repairing the frame and putting an engine back in place. yonke near me should be a good deal with some of these reparable salvage cars.

If you're thinking of selling off the car parts on your own, think again. The cost you will incur on repairing those damaged car parts before selling them, will be much higher on the actual money they will fetch you. The headache of looking for buyers also cannot be ruled out. Once you salvage your car, however, you don't have to worry about a thing, as the company you sell it to will take car of everything. They are the perfect way to get rid of cars that have reached the end of their service life. Once you feel confident that you are looking at quality vehicles, there is the financing. Here too car brokers have many financial resources who lend clients the money to purchase a bankruptcy auto loan. The exceptional personal service through a car broker includes getting you the best terms for your new used vehicle. And do not worry about the time, you can simply find out if the parts are available online. There are a number of websites who offer import auto salvage car parts services. They will either put you in touch with the best salvage suppliers or you could either check if they have the car parts themselves. The process is easy and only takes a few minutes. One of the classic stories about my dad is his first vehicle. Because his mom certainly could not afford to buy him a car, and the money he made on side jobs and summer employment was not going to get him a car, he got very crafty. He went to the crawford junkyard, bought four junk vehicles, and took the good parts to form one working vehicle. Every time he needed maintenance done, he would go to the junkyard and either find the part in good condition or refurbish a semi-decent part. Through all this work, he became very good at truck repair, which made him very proud. He tells stories about cruising around town with his brother in tow like the two of them were the president and vice president in this beat up old Ford. Auto lenders understand that it is not possible for everyone to get 10%- 20% money as down payment. It's okay if you don't have cash down payment. But, here's one tip if you are short of money - use your old car as trade-in. A trade-in will lower your car loan amount and will have the same benefits of a down payment. You can also use your cash rebates as down payment and avoid paying money out of your pocket. There are many individuals who specialize in rebuilding salvaged cars as a hobby or to resell the vehicle to make money. Before buying a salvage title vehicle, whether it be a car or truck, either to keep for yourself or to sell it, it's vital that you check with your local DMV to find out what the requirements are for putting a salvage auto back on the road. Every state has different laws so it's important to know what your state requires before making an investment.