#said like ‘’what’s the deal with airline food’’

[shepscapades]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [PART 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [???]

Finally! Part 3 is here!! yippee!!! As a refresher, this takes place at the beginning of season 9, when Doc and Xisuma try to boot Etho back up after he shuts down pre-Season 8 Finale, set to the vibes of Joywave’s Destruction from DBHC Etho’s playlist! Ouguguh I’ve been looking forward to posting this part so much; it has some of my favorite shots so far… something about the grey-fade of Doc going into shock, something about the last two pages with xisuma and doc’s expressions… idk!! i really loved working on these :] Hope you’re enjoying the horrific, horrific ride!! =w=

As a partially insignificant but Special-To-Me note: Xisuma has always referred to dbhc doc as “Docm”— this is actually the first time X ever calls him “Doc.”

[darubyprincx]

every so often we stumble upon youtube videos or series from the late 2000s-mid 2010s and realize that they are a founding part of internet culture or our specific corner of it that everyone quotes without realizing it. this includes:

Code MENT

Ze End of ze World

Mianite

[coleskingdom]

Christmas Vacation

Adam Cole x ofc

Warnings Explict sex, praise kink, light dom, multiple orgasms, dry humping, vaginal sex

The trip had been shit, nothing had gone right as I just wanted a weekend away. The flight had been cancelled due to rain, the airline issued vouchers for food and hotel, but they ran out before I got mine. I decided I needed a drink I went to the bar by the gate, found a spot and ordered a vodka on the rocks.

“Hey is this seat taken?” a familiar voice said I looked up from my drink and there stood Adam Cole with a mischievous smirk on her face. “No but I’m in no mood for your shit? " I'm wounded" he-said as he sat down and ordered a beer. “Seriously though Em, what's wrong? “ he said genuine concern in his voice.

“Life where do you want me to start My vacation is delayed, I’m in a shitty airport with no hotel no car and stuck on Christmas Eve . Merry fucking Christmas to me. “ I lifted my glass and ordered another round.

“Em, my flight just got canceled, but I did get one of those hotel vouchers, just crash with me tonight it’ll be better in the morning. Besides it’s early enough we can grab some food and make the...”

I cut him off “please don’t it’s a wonderful life me, I can’t deal with it. I just wanted to drink, make shitty decisions and shut my brain off. “I huffed.

“Okay my little grinch, do you trust me?”He nudged his shoulder into my shoulder finally getting me to smile. “Of course, I trust you Cole, how long have we been friends? “

“Five or six years at this point I guess, okay then turn the night over to me, you said you didn’t want to think. “

“You know what the day is at a loss so yes it’s yours. “

“That’s the spirit” he grabbed my carryon threw cash on the bar and was exiting the bar before I could reconsider.

The airport hotel was cringey at best, I think the decor hadn’t been updated in 50 years. I decided I wasn’t going to complain it would be fine I wasn’t alone it’d be fine. Then I noticed that there was only one full size bed in the room. Well still not going to complain I told myself it’s just one night and he and I are friends. “I hope you don’t snore “Cole said playfully,I just smiled, “left or right ladies choice”. I’ll take the right, I said.

“So what’s the plan” I asked not sure if we were staying in or going out. “Sushi and Karaoke, don’t worry, they have booze, cooked food as well,and it’s a private karaoke booth it’s just us and it’s just for fun. It’ll be great “he said a twinkle in his eye again I grumbled.

I changed into jeans boots and a sweater, freshened up and he was relaxed on his leather jacket black tshirt and jeans. “Let’s get out of here I guess.” I said less than enthusiastic

I had forgotten how much fun it was hanging out with him,our schedules didn’t match up like they used to. His blue eyes sparkled as he talked of the next year, and what he hoped his life would look like in it. It was so easy being with him. However you both had friendzoned each other years ago so there was no point in thinking about any of this. No point in wondering if you could be who he wanted, what might life look like with him, and how had time only made him more handsome. Then you wondered what it would be like to kiss him, now you knew for sure that the alcohol had given you the courage to think about the things that lingered just below the surface.

“You ready to go sing your heart out” I grabbed the remaining bottle of the sake and said sure. He had always loved karaoke and I needed to be drunk to enjoy it. He picked Lit’s my own worst enemy , I couldn’t stop laughing his actions to the lyrics he was doing everything to make the night better. He wanted me to pick a song I told him he could pick the song, “I’m at your mercy” I stood up to take the stage in our booth. “I like the sound of that” he cued up I’m a slave for you , I rolled my eyes.So he wanted to play games, I considered using a chair to do the Brittany dance but decided that he would do. I sang and dropped myself in his lap as I sang the song one of his hands went to my hips holding me there the other to the microphone that he took from my hand. I was facing him straddled across his lap each of us trying to read the other one’s face. Adam, I uh, he kissed me and my lips parted he tasted like the apple sake we had been drinking . His tongue dominated my mouth, I felt myself relax and give myself over to him. My hips instinctively shifted grinding down on him, I gasped, I could feel every hard inch of him, pressing right against my clit. I moved, grinding my clit against him as we kiss, and I moaned into his mouth. The move had his fingers tightening on me and a deep groan coming from his chest, the sound traveling through me to add onto the pressure in my belly. His hands gripped my hips, shifting them again to recreate the movement and sending a lightning bolt of desire through me.

"Oh," I whisper against his lips, and his hands continue the circuit, guiding me back and forth along his hardness as pleasure bloomed and built in my belly in a way I hadn’t felt in years.Maybe ever, if I'm being honest.

"That's it, sugar," he whispers, his lips on my neck just under my ear, his words rough and breathy and driving me higher. "Take what you need." I was in another world, one where I'm consumed by lust and need. “Use Me.”Those words did something more, making my swollen clit throb as I dug my fingers into his shoulders and groan, my hips moving faster along the shaft of his cock over our clothes, and I tip them so he hits where I need it most.

"Oh, shit, fuck." I groan, my head dropping to his shoulder as I continue to move, to writhe frantically.

"That's it, baby. That's it. God, you should see how fucking beautiful you look like this, taking control. Taking what you need."

I moan again into the shoulder of his shirt, and his hand moves up into my hair, tugging so that I look at him. I find his eyes darkened with lust, so enamored by what is happening that the feeling consuming me I come on his lap moaning his name, as my hips grind on his cock. "Fuck, you're beautiful," he mur-murs, and it's not for my ears, not for my benefit, but more like a prayer he didn't mean to say aloud. It causes another ripple of orgasm to tear through me, my hips jerking on him before I collapse and bury my face into his neck with a groan. His hands still in my hair, he pulled me in for another kiss.

“Em, he said when he broke the kiss, let’s go back to the hotel”. We ducked out the back of the restaurant and he pushed me up against the brick wall in the alley kissing me again, this time raw and urgent. I’d have let him fuck me in that alley I was so needy for him. I pulled him in closer lifting my leg to bring him closer to my core. He pressed his hips against mine, I could feel him through his jeans, he lifted me against the wall, his clothed cock against my needy pussy. My legs around his hips, this time he grinded against my core Adam, I moaned. I was his drunk on him. “We’ve got to get back to the hotel, the first time I take you it’s not going to be in an alley”. How’s the first time going to be I asked, his smile turned wicked. “Oh Sugar I’ve thought about this for years, I’m going to make you beg me for it, I’m going to take my time, I’m going to explore every inch of your perfect body, I’m going to eat that perfect pussy, I’m going to make sure you’re ready for me, and then I’m going to make sure you always remember this night. “He moved my legs from his hips setting my feet back down. Now, let’s go. We walked hand in hand back to the hotel, once inside the room. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck he stalked towards the bed. He deposited me on the edge of the bed a look of fire in his eyes, he took off the sweater and jeans I was wearing. Then he was back on top of me the sparkle in his blue eyes, “Em, sugar, do you remember when you didn’t want to think?” I nodded “ I’m gonna take over now, you don’t need to think, just feel be here with me. I’ll tell you when to come” I thought he was going to kiss me again but instead his lips moved to my neck he worked his hands down and removed my bra freeing my breasts. He took his time kissing between them, his hand rubbing the right one as his mouth took in the left one. I felt a bolt shoot straight to my clit when he gently ran his teeth against my nipple. I gasped and moaned my back arching. “Adam, I need you” my fingers in his hair as he kissed lower, placing kisses through my panties. “Naughty or Nice? I guess that depends on you sweetheart. You were so naughty earlier, coming on my lap. My naughty girl is so wet for me and I haven’t even touched you.” He palmed my center before he removed my panties. He grinned mischievously as he lowered himself to the floor as his shoulders pushed my legs wide, his face inches from my pussy. His palms came down on my inner thighs, spreading my legs even wider as his mouth dropped between them.

I gasped from the from the feeling the soft, slick stroke of his tongue over me just teasing me. His beard tickling my thighs. Adam changed the position he put a pillow under my ass, and my legs over his shoulders . He dove back into my core with rough licks, he sucked on my clit, I began to squirm my hips taking on a rhythm that matched his tongue. “Just like sugar, just like I knew you would be.” He removed his tongue from my core and inserted two of his long fingers as my back arched off the bed. I rested on my elbows and watched his forearm tense and release as his fingers moved in and out of me.”That’s my good girl, ride my fingers sugar, you’re doing so good for me” his words making my pussy clench on his fingers. I was so close “Adam please…” I begged “So obedient for me, waiting like a good girl. My sweet ‘Em go ahead and come for me” He took my clit in his mouth sucking and pulling on it and when I came he worked me through it as I came in his mouth prolonging the feeling as long as he could. I hadn’t realized in the moment that I came that hard.

Adam stripped pulling of his clothes in lightening speed. He was hovering over me, looking me in my eyes. “What am I going to do with you?” he said I raise my hips offering myself to him as if he needed further invitation. “Sugar, I’m talking about after tonight, after I’ve fucked you so thoroughly that the only thought in your brain is me.” I moaned at the promise knowing he’d fulfill it. "Yes, after. After tonight. After we leave this hotel room. This can't be just a tonight thing. I'll go absolutely mad if I don't get to fucking make a home out of you every god damn day from now until forever. Swear to me that you won't deprive me again. Tell me that sweet little pussy of yours is as desperate for me as I am it. Swear to me that after we leave this hellhole it'll still be mine. Promise me you'll still be mine tomorrow.”My insides clench at his words. God, they're so beautiful. I don't know how his words can be so dirty yet also be so poetic.

“Adam, I promise, please I beg you.” It was like my words finally registered in him , and nothing else needed to be said he pushes into me, I moaned from the sheer pleasure of how he felt as he stretched me. "Now it's time for you to be a good girl and take all of me."

He sheaths himself in me, filling me completely with him. I feel full, the pain only a dull throb compared to the euphoria of the feeling of the head of his cock bumping the spot where it feels the best.

"I can feel you stretching around me, molding perfectly to my cock."

"More," I plead, my hands finding the muscles at his back. I scratch at him, trying to bring him even deeper inside me.He slowly pushes in and out, leaning down to lay light kisses to my chin.

His hand snakes up, his fingers pinching one of my nipples before he cradles my face. "I want to go slow for you,"he says, his lips moving against my mouth. "But fuck sugar, I need faster. I need it harder. I can't help myself." My hips buck, my body desperate for the same things he wants.

"That's what I want," I mutter. "I can take it."

A loud growl erupts from his chest as he jerks his hips into me, forcing me to take all of him. My fingertips dig into the taut muscles of his back as he rails into me. The bed shakes underneath his power. The backs of my thighs hit his torso, a smacking sound filling the room.

His hips are punishing, but his tongue in my mouth is sweet. The perfect combination to have pressure building low in my stomach. My eyes open, needing confirmation that he's as affected by what's happening right now as I am. I've never felt the desperate need for someone as I do right now.

I want to claw at his back, to mark my territory, to take him and mold to him perfectly so I won't fit with anyone else.

I pull at his hair, needing something to hold on to as he continuously pushes into me so deep I feel like I might break.

He slows down, pulling himself out until only the head of his cock remains.

It's like he knew I was on the brink of coming and he wanted to prolong the feeling of almost falling over the edge even longer.

In one easy motion, he takes the hand that plays with his hair and shoves it into the pillow above my head. He repeats the same thing with my other arm, shoving both above my head until he holds both my wrists in one hand. He shoves them into the pillow, taking all of the control.

All I'm left to do is let him have his way, reveling in every movement of his hips.

"Look at you," he muses. "Taking every inch of me like the good girl you are." I moan, my back coming off the comforter. His words mixed with the punishing push of hips is pure ecstasy.I never want to stop. I'd gladly beg over and over if it meant I got to feel like this.

"Do you like giving me the power to fuck you however I want, Em?"

All I can do is nod. Words fail me.

I'm so close to coming that I can't do anything but focus on the buildup between my legs. “You’ve been such a good girl, come with me Em”I can't hold on any longer. A moan erupts from my chest as my entire body erupts into fire-works.

Adam continues to push into me, milking every last second of the orgasm from me. I can feel my muscles clench around him, wrapping around him tightly as he chases his own release.

"You're so god damn sexy when you come on my cock," he growls, his lips still right next to my nipple. I felt him empty himself into me. He collapses on to me, he untangled him self from me. He went to the bathroom, he came back with a warm washcloth and a glass of water. “Em, sweetheart are you okay” he said softly his eyes softening but a new look in his eyes. “ I’m more than okay, Adam” grinning I took the glass of water as he washed me tenderly. He took the glass from my hand when I finished. He pulled back the covers and settled me in the bed and climbed in behind me. “Em” he whispered “I wasn’t the shitty decision that you made tonight was I”the uncertainty in his voice broke my heart. I rolled over to face him. “Adam, no, I think I’ve always known it was you who I wanted.” He kissed me again and pulled me on to his chest, and I fell asleep content.

[honeyynymphh]

I had a thought for a fic and bc I love ur writing…

copia x mile high club

first of all, thank you so much!! mile high club certainly is not something I would have ever thought of but it did give me an idea so here it is! Inflight Meal Papa IV x FemReader rating: E words: 2600 tags: dom copia, cunnilingus, sex, fucking on the job, drinking on the job, dirty talk, cheesy af, there is no resemblence to canon like anywhere in this story lmao AO3

summary: as an air hostess you are used to strange people, especially when they have their own private jet. but this was definitely the strangest one.

also Copia still has his moustache because I said so! I know nothing about flying, this is pretty silly and it is not checked so sorry for any mistakes!

Straightening your skirt you stand waiting for the passengers to board the plane. Last minute you’d been called in to help on an overnight flight to Italy by Jack—the usual pilot you flew with. Apparently, some priest was travelling back to his hometown for an important ceremony and his crew were short a few staff members. You would have refused at such a late request, especially as you had to wear a completely different uniform. It wasn’t the airlines—apparently the priest had insisted all the crew fit in with the rest of his staff.

What an arrogant prick. 

But the money had been way above the norm and you rarely were asked to do private flights. And the uniform was not much different than your usual skirt and jacket. Except it was cerulean blue with little embroidered golden details—and a strange inverted crucifix emblazoned on the chest. You were just grateful it wasn’t a nun's habit.

You heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs to board and straightened your back, plastering on the practised smile. Many a jerk you’ve had to deal with and today would be no different—no matter how fancy an aircraft it was. You’d had a little snoop before. The whole aircraft was dark wood and detailed with the same shade of blue and gold. The jet was fitted with a main bedroom, kitchen, office and then the main seating area. God must be real generous, you think with a roll of your eyes.

The first person aboard is an older woman, her blonde hair styled to perfection and wearing a severe yet fitting suit jacket and skirt—all in black but detailed with the same hints of blue and gold as your uniform. She smiles at you and you gesture for her to enter, giving her a welcoming smile as you bid good evening. Next is a man…at least you think it’s a man. The smile on your face falters a moment before you right it again on your perfectly painted lips.

His dress is fine. He’s dressed all in black—though his jacket has the same little crucifix on it as yours—it’s the mask he wears that throws you. It’s silver, demonic and completely obscures his face.

Weird. But you were here to serve drinks and food, not care about the passengers and their odd choice of attire. The…man walks past you without a glance and settles into a chair before pulling out a rolled-up magazine from his trouser pocket.

You’re too busy still looking at him when a voice says, “Buonasera, Signorina.”

When you turn towards it, you’re met with a pair of mismatched eyes set in a face painted like a skull. But despite it, it’s still an attractive one and the man’s voice is pleasant—the Italian lilt to his words makes your smile genuine, if not a little bemused. He’s dressed in a dark blue suit, way too tightly fitting that it’s almost indecent.

He takes your hand, the soft leather that encases his hand is buttery soft and warm. He kisses your hand, moustache tickling your skin. He introduces himself as Papa Emeritus the Fourth before he gives you a smile and heads into the plane. You watch, bemused, as he greets the other two—the woman talking quickly and hovering around him like a mother hen. He waves her off with some words in Italian and disappears down to the back of the plane.

That cannot be a priest, you think. Maybe Jack got the information wrong. He looks too…you don’t even know. You rub at your hand. At least he didn’t seem like a complete asshole, nor had he started preaching—and really, that was all you cared about. You kept staring off down towards the back of the plane, mind still fixated on the mysterious man.

“You ready?” says Jack, ducking out of the cockpit.

“Huh?” you say distractedly, head snapping to look at the pilot. 

Another crew member has appeared, she’s wearing the same uniform as you and she’s standing there patiently waiting for you. You had only briefly spoken to her earlier, she had said her name was Sister Hayley you think. A nun. Not that the woman looked anything like a nun.

“Arm and crosscheck?” he says.

“Oh, yes, right.”

When miles above ground and flying somewhere over the Atlantic ocean you’re giving out drinks. The man in the silver mask declines anything, choosing instead to lounge on the plush seating like an overgrown cat while the woman—who had politely introduced herself as Sister Imperator—sat in one of the comfortable chairs at a small desk. You’d given her a drink—a gin and tonic—and then headed down to go find the enigmatic Papa Emeritus.

The office is empty and so you head to the bedroom, the door is closed and you knock politely before sliding it open. You find the man propped up on the bed, book in hand and a pair of glasses perched low on his long nose. He glances up at you and the darkly painted lips quirk into a pleased smile. It makes your stomach flip.

“Sir, would you like a drink?” you ask, standing there with your hands clasped in front of you. “Or something to eat?”

The man gives you a smile, easy and smug. Again you wonder why he was wearing such tight trousers. What the hell kind of church was he from?

“Si, wine, per favore. Anything from the stock in the kitchens. Pick something.” He gives you a long look. “Two glasses.”

“No problem, sir, anything to eat?” you ask. Fuck you wish he’d stop looking at you like that.

His painted lips quirk but he shakes his head. “Just bring the wine, signorina.”

You head to the little kitchen and randomly grab a bottle, simply picking one based on the label. You grab two glasses and then walk back towards the suite. You smile politely as you enter and place the glasses on the little table next to him.

“Is this to your liking, sir?” you ask, holding out the bottle for him to inspect. 

“Papa,” he says, leaning over to peer at the label before he nods. “Not ‘sir’.”

You pour him a glass and place the bottle beside it. “Is there anything else?”

He closes the book he is reading a throws it on the bed, you catch the cover—it’s in a different language but it has a picture of a goat and a pentagram on it. He waves a hand at the other glass.

“Pour yourself one as well, signorina.”

You frown at him. “That is kind of you, but I am working.”

The man winks at you, grabbing the bottle himself and pouring out a measured amount. You watch the liquid slosh in the glass.

“I promise I won’t tell,” he says, extending it out to you.

You take it and hold it awkwardly, the smile on your face fixed. You did not want to get in trouble with Jack and lose your job. But a glass couldn’t help and you’d attended to everyone. You sip it and Papa smiles.

Somehow you end up two glasses deep. It’s not enough to make you drunk but damn it’s enough to make you feel far too relaxed. And you’ve somehow found yourself sitting next to him on the bed. You really should go back though. But it’s been lovely chatting to him, he talks of his flock with affection and mentions Sister Imperator fondly.

“This might be a stupid question,” you ask, the wine having loosened your tongue, “but what exactly are you a priest of?”

He laughs and it’s such a pleasant sound that you can’t help but smile. You’ve grown used to his strange face and it’s somewhat endearing to watch the lines on his face move as he chuckles.

“Not a priest, dolce,” he says. “Once upon a time, si, but now I am Papa.”

“You say that like I should know what you mean,” you reply.

“Like the Pope.” He grins. “Less preaching about the good of man and much more sinning.”

You cannot help but laugh, it sounds ridiculous. “I thought god said sinning was bad.”

“We do not worship a false god of fabricated mercy,” he utters, voice low. You stop laughing at the serious expression on his face, but it melts away when he adds. “We worship the lord below who relishes in sin. We are human, si? So we should take comfort in the pleasures it provides.”

“You’re telling me you worship the devil?” you ask, breath hitching when he leans in a little closer.

“Si,” he says, eyes fixed on you. “And I fear I have not worshipped in his name today at all. Perhaps you can help me, dolce?”

Suddenly his mouth is on yours. You freeze a movement but when you respond, his hands hold your face and pull him flush against him. His mouth is urgent and hot against yours, tongue delving into your mouth while your legs tangle together. Your lipstick is smudged red over his face and you’re certain he’s covered yours in black—you can taste it on your own lips but it doesn’t matter. He kisses like he is worshipping, hungry and possessive. It makes your head spin and you completely forget that this is certainly a breach of conduct. Especially when he’s flipping you onto your back, dragging your legs to the edge of the bed as he pushes your skirt up to bunch around your waist/

“Sorry, dolce, but now I’m feeling rather hungry.”

You hear the snap of your garter belt and feel the tension ease around your stockings so he can pull your knickers down your legs. Before you can draw another breath his face is between your legs, his breath skating over your wet folds before his tongue is flicking against you. You moan, hands instantly grabbing tufts of his peppered hair between your fingers as he works some sort of ungodly magic on your aching cunt.

Fucking hell.

Your back arches as he draws the tension out, leaving you panting on the edge of delirium. His arms move under your thighs and pull you closer to him as he devours you. You pull at his hair and grind against his face, unable to stop yourself from seeking more glorious threads of pleasure to wind tighter around your core.

His mouth breaks away as he can come up for air. You stare at him with a heavy-lidded expression, taking in that wicked mouth all glistening and smeared with paint by your own slick. He looked like the fucking devil and you were more than willing to sell your soul if it meant he wouldn’t stop.

“Cazzo, your pussy is delicious, dolce,” he breathes, nipping at the inside of your thigh.

His face returns to press against your cunt. And that nose! It’s pressed against your clit, mouth wet and tongue searching while his moustache tickles your skin. You arch back and your hands grip the sheets as the plane suddenly rocks—turbulence. Fuck.

Jack’s voice floats through the plane’s intercom system, certainly a mood killer, but Papa doesn’t stop. 

“Please return to your seat, we are experiencing some mild turbulence.”

The craft rocks again but your eyes are too busy rolling into the back of your head as he eats you out like he’s on death row and you're his last meal.

You moan when you feel fingers, leather-clad ones, pressing into your pussy and stretching you. You bounce on his hand when you hit another pocket of turbulence, and his grip on your thigh tightens while the other hand is busy pumping into your wetness. Another pocket and another moan have you on the edge and trembling.

It doesn’t take much to have you rocking along with the aircraft as you come. You try not to moan too loudly and shove your fist in your mouth but Papa leans up and pulls your arm away from your face, that devilish visage hovering over you.

“Don’t silence such pretty sounds, dolce.”

You sigh, luxuriating in the waves that still ripple through you while the plane rocks again. Fuck. You feel his body move away from yours and you sigh. Your eyes had fallen closed as you relaxed but they snap open when you feel him crawl on top of you. He’s rid himself of some of his clothes—well, most of them. A heavily unbuttoned shirt was the only thing on him. You can see the hairs on his firm chest and when you feel his cock pressing between your legs you immediately spread them for him.

When he sinks into your welcoming pussy you moan. The stretch feels incredible and you desperately tilt your hips so he can sink in further. When he bottoms out, you both sigh. Papa has removed his gloves, and his large hands hold your hips, creasing the fabric of your uniform even further as he starts to pump into you.

You’re already so worked up and sensitive that you are already ready to come again quickly. Your walls are squeezing him and the sounds it draws from his lips are downright demonic. Your hands reach up to grip his shoulders so you can thrust up to meet him, both of your movements becoming hurried in your desperation for release.

“Do you want my cock so badly, signorina?” he growls, leaning over you and thrusting into you roughly. Your pant out a yes, or something that was meant to be a yes and only comes out as a string of incoherent nonsense as you nod your head fervently. “You have to come for me first, dolce.”

A hand moves between your bodies and he's rubbing at your swollen and sensitive clit. You cry out, not giving a single fuck that the entire plane can probably hear you. The plane rocks one last time and you hear the seatbelt sign turn off. But you are barely paying any attention to anything else except his cock buried inside you.

The tension in your core tightens again and with another deep thrust he has you coming apart for him. Your eyes shut as it crashes through you but he doesn’t stop. Your hands are gripping feebly at his shoulders, then the nape of his neck, his hair and then fistfuls of the front of his shirt to bring his mouth against yours.

You feel his cock swell within you as he growls against your mouth, teeth nipping at your bottom lips as his hips jerk. You feel him come, painting the inside of your cunt as he continues to thrust into you while his tongue does the same to your mouth. It’s desperate and you’re sweating in your uniform but you don’t care. It feels far too fucking good.

When the high finally eases and he rolls off you to lie beside you, you sigh in relief. Fuck that was something, you think.

“You call that worship?” you pant, turning your head lazily to look at him Your makeup and hair must be absolutely ruined because his is completely ruined. He looks deranged with his hair falling in his face and his paint all smeared.

He hums. “Si. My lord believes in the power of the female orgasm. Is there anything more divine than pleasure?”

You shake your head, mind still foggy with bliss. You utter the only words you can think of. 

“Did you still want your inflight meal?”

He grins at you. “Maybe in an hour or so, signorina. I just ate.”

[sea-salted-wolverine]

Did everyone have a good thanksgiving? I had a good thanksgiving, but I need to vent a little bit, so you are about to hear all about the last Two Weeks of my sitcom Life.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There are no obligations except to cook and eat delicious food. But what about it's bigoted and racist history, you say, what about the bigoted racist family members you must deal with? Well I say to you, once you have taken charge of your own life the world opens up and you realize that every holiday has a bigoted and racist history, but this holiday in particular offers you the chance to ridicule those bigoted family members to their face while eating yourself into a food coma and pretending to be polite about it. You can do the same thing at Christmas, but there's not kitschy annoying music or obligation to buy presents at Thanksgiving.

So I had plans for Thanksgiving. I was going down to see my family for the week. I had invested dozens of man hours and hundreds of dollars in plans for the weekend which are now getting shunted into Christmas presents, so that's my shopping done.

So I go out on Friday with friends and we did not intend to close down the bar that night but we did and then me and my partner were up at the crack of dawn to get on the road and drive down for Thanksgiving. It's a 7 hour drive but we make it fairly regularly.

But then my dad calls at 8:30 in the morning just before we leave. Grandma in Texas has passed away. And really I should have been thinking about it but I didn't, Because approximately 3 hours and 200 miles later we get another phone call and we are going to Texas.

So fun fact, last minute airlines tickets are always a bitch, but last minute tickets on a holiday weekend are a whole other Beast. Also, i am packed for Thanksgiving in Alaska. Not a memorial in Texas. But I had a chance to ditch my snowpants and mukluks at my moms house before I flew down early with her to go clean out my grandma's assisted living apartment. And this was where I had my first fuckup.

In total we were in transit for something like 9 hours, because Alaska is a long ways from everywhere. And we wanted to watch something. And I said The Fall of the House of Usher is good. And I didn't even think about it.

And it is good, but if you haven't seen it, you should know that the first episode, includes the main character explaining what he is such a shithead by blaming it on his mommy issues. Mom turns out to be the kind of person who says things like "pain and suffering are the kiss of Jesus" and you think he might have a point, but then she dies and gets buried in the backyard but she's not actually dead so she rises from the dead to go commit murder, and that is what I watched with my mother on the plane to go settle my grandma's affairs.

[justhere4kpop]

Chapter 14: Better

“Mingi you can’t be here.” I said hiding behind the door.

“Like hell I can’t!” he pushed the door open. 

“Min please you’ll get in trouble.”

“I don’t care.” he sat on the couch. “Take it back and I’ll go.”

“Mingi I already told you I’m not taking it back.”

“Then I guess I’m staying until you change your mind.”

“Mingi.” my lip trembled. “Please just go. You can’t be here.”

“I can be wherever I damn well choose to be with whoever the fuck I want!” he moreso shouted at the tv than me.

“Mingi” my voice cracked, tears falling. “Please.” I tugged at the end of the hoodie I was wearing…his hoodie I was wearing.

I didn’t want him to go, I wanted him to stay right there. I wanted both of them to stay there I wanted to crawl into that couch next to them and disappear. I wanted to take it all back, but they were better without me. No hate, no threats, no scandals.

“Tell me you didn’t mean it and I’ll go….y/n….Tell me you don’t love Yunho and I’ll go…tell me none of it was real, you were using us for fame and I’ll go. Tell me you don’t love me and I’ll go. ” he stood in front of me. I shook my head no. No….I couldn’t….I couldn’t tell him that. “I’m not going anywhere.” he pulled me into him gently and lifted up my face to look at him, I couldn’t meet his gaze. “You’re crazy you know.” he smiled softly.

“What did you mean no?” I hiccuped.

“I meant no, you can’t just break up with me that easily.” my eyes flicked to his face briefly. “Remember we said we’d deal with it together? Let’s handle it together.”

“I’m too scared Min.”

“That’s why we’re both here. Yunho and I. You don’t have to worry about stuff alone. You weren’t ever alone.”

“Please don’t…….”

“If you think I’m not scared of this every damn day of my life you’re wrong. I’m scared of all of this. I don’t run from it because no matter what my best friends are at my side. Y/n, my love, please…don’t run away from this. If you think Yunho doesn’t feel the same either you’re wrong…..stay here baby….you’re safe here.” he squeezed me tighter and started humming softly. 

It was that stupid voicemail all over again. I started crying against his chest, his shirt getting drenched no way around it. 

“Hey maybe we just moved a little too fast okay?” Yunho spoke up popping in finally. “Sorry I was waiting for the right time to come in with food. I said I was bringing dinner.” I turned around and hiccuped or coughed…still unsure which one kind of in between the two. “It’s okay, let’s pump the brakes a little and just…take our time.” he smiled softly.

Always the voice of reason.

“Please don’t go.” I whispered as he handed me the bag of fried chicken and beers.

“I’m just clearing a space at the table.” he smiled and patted my head. “I’m not going anywhere Tiny.”

“Told you so.” Mingi nudged me gently.

“Min?” Yunho held up my broken camera. “Did you?”

“They did that.” I said quietly.

“The fans?!” Mingi grew hot with anger.

“No the airline….they threw my bag on and it got smashed…I don’t need it anyways.” I sighed.

“You’re a photographer you need a camera.” Yunho deadpanned at me and looked at Mingi.

“Probably not for much longer. It’s fine…Wooyoung was right I don't….I don’t need the job and I can figure something else out.” I shrugged. “I’m okay not having the job.”

“It’s your dream.” they both looked at me.

“I have other dreams too.” I played with the hoodie. “I’m just saying you don’t have to worry…about that.”

We sat down to eat finally, my face puffy from tears. The vibe was tense but slowly calmed as we started eating. I really was happy they were here….I was happy they fought me so hard. I guess sometimes they are right. Yeah…. I needed a hard slap to the head.

“Ow!” I looked at Mingi.

“You said I could slap you when you’re being ridiculous.” he smiled.

“I said that in high school.”

“Still counts. Because you said “as long as we’re together.” he hit me again.

“You bastard.” I rubbed the back of my head. “You’re so getting it later.”

“Promise?” he winked.

“You’re gross.” I stole the piece he was reaching for to eat it.

“Hey! Yunho!!!” he pointed at me stealing the chicken.

“Just take a different piece.” he shrugged his own mouth full.

“Whoa whoa this is a partnership, you can’t just take sides like that.”

“Just did, eat, there’s too much chicken here.” he gestured towards the chicken.

Okay….maybe I was stupid for breaking up with them for 4 days….

“You know you talk a lot of shit for someone who’s single.” Yunho winked at me while looking at Mingi.

“Oh I’m single? Guess who else is.” he pointed at Yunho. “You betray me all the time anyways. Just like those letters! Every time!”

Oh god….losers….my losers.

~Prev/

tags: @yunbug, @gxlden-bxbyy, @byuntrash101 <3 <3 <3

[kaimelia]

my people

a/n: wow, I can’t believe kaimelia never went to the dinner party last night! well, here’s something I’d started before the episode, basically a between 18x17 and 18x18 fic. I hope you enjoy it!

"Hey," Amelia smiled, her face softening at the sight of Kai on her screen.

"Hi," they chuckled, stirring something in a pot on their stove. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she sighed, pulling pajamas out of her dresser. "Long, boring, just the typical. Is it bad if I want there to be some huge trauma that happens near here?"

"I would not say that to anyone who isn't a doctor." They raised their eyebrows, setting down the spoon they had used to stir. "Or just phrase is as you just want to be able to help people." They wiped their hands.

"I want to cut into a ton of brains," she muttered. "What are you making?"

"Just some pasta. I got back here later than I planned, and I'm just about ready to crash into bed." They grinned as Amelia pulled her shirt over her head and grabbed her pajama top. "Although, I'd stay up if you are."

"What is it, midnight there?" Kai nodded. "You need to sleep."

"Food first, Shepherd."

"How was the lab today?"

"Pretty slow, but I think Hamilton's catching onto that. Don't be surprised if he starts begging you to spend a week here or something."

"You should come visit me here soon," she whispered, laying her head on her pillow. "We can brainstorm here."

"You miss me that much, huh?"

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." A moment of silence passed as Kai strained their past and pulled out a bowl. "Are you busy this weekend?"

"Mm, I have a show Friday night, but that's the only thing that can't be changed." They grabbed a fork. "Should I start looking at plane tickets?"

"We're having a dinner party for Nick. Some people from the hospital, Mer, Maggie, Winston; just our little circle here. You could fly out on Saturday and stay a night."

"Are you working on Monday?" She shook her head. "Could go absolutely crazy and stay for two nights."

"I have Scout on Monday, so I don't think you want to stay for that." They frowned.

"What makes you think that?"

"The whole, I don't want any kids of my own thing." She sat up in bed and shrugged. "If I'm wrong, feel free to let me know."

"Well," they covered their hand as they chewed, waiting a moment more to speak, "one day with Scout is not going to kill me, and it's also a day with you. He is a part of your life, a big one, and even though the idea of raising a child terrifies me, that's something that can change. And who knows if I'll even end up in that position, you know? I'm open to the path I'd planned for my life changing because I'd be lying if I said you haven't shifted it already." She smiled, leaning her head onto her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs. "So, if you and Atticus are both comfortable with it, spending a day getting ice cream and pushing a stroller doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world."

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her head to the side. "I needed to hear that."

"As long as you deal with someone's Dad and get his permission," they opened their computer, "I'll start looking at flights."

"I will."

"Alright. I can get there Saturday at 10," they scrolled on their computer.

"Which gives us some time before we'll need to be at Mer's to help out." Amelia laid back down. "I can book us a hotel, and then we don't have to worry about other people in the house or being quiet," she sighed contently.

"Enlighten me as to what you have planned," they raised their eyebrows. "I can leave on Monday at 7 in the evening."

"That gives us almost 60 hours here. You'll meet my family, my people, and then a day of quiet-"

"You're not that quiet, Shepherd," they closed their computer.

"I can be quiet," she pouted and rolled her eyes.

"I'll believe it when I see it, because I'm all booked."

"That was quick."

"That's what happens when the airline has all of your information saved from previous bookings." They ate the last of their pasta and brought their bowl to their sink. "Am I allowed to bring toys to bribe Scout into liking me?"

"As long as it's nothing purple. He hates the color purple right now," she grinned. "All of his purple toys are currently hidden under my bed."

"Mm, my nephew has hated the color red since he was 3, so I get it." They chuckled as Amelia yawned and pulled her blanket up. "It's your bedtime," they teased.

"I need to start resting up for this weekend." Her eyes began to close, and she blinked quickly. "I can't wait to see you."

"What's got you being all sentimental?"

"I was talking about you today," she covered her mouth with the blanket. "With Teddy, Leo's Mom," Kai nodded. "And just thinking about how I've felt more like myself these past few months than I have in a long time. And I want you here in Seattle because I have all of these incredible people around me here, and I," her voice trailed off as her brain ran over the words threatening to spill out of her mouth. "I want you to meet them. You're important to me, and so are they."

"I'd love to meet them. And, next time you're in Minnesota, I'll properly introduce you to my bandmates. They're my people here."

"That'd be nice," she smiled, and her eyes shut.

"You'll call me when you get off work tomorrow? I won't be able to talk for long because of my show, but it's better than nothing."

"Of course." She pursed her lips. "I'll see you on Saturday."

"Get some sleep," Kai laughed, waving their hand goodbye. "I'll see you on Saturday."

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Okay, now that I've not been up a full 24 hours forget what the clock says and I've had some food and some tea: holiday run down, the short version. The long version will be very long, will come in parts, and will happen after I've sorted through my 3k+ photographs.

I will never do something like this again unless I can fly a better class or someone perfects Wrinkling, because while I loved England and Scotland and would really, really like to see Wales and Ireland, I do not do long flights well. Jet lag is a bitch, managing motion sickness meds when changing time zones is damn near impossible, and there is a special place in hell for people who fly economy and put their seats back.

That said the cabin crew on British Airlines is very nice. Especially the lovely human being who brought me a Coke unasked for at the end of the flight over when my Dramamine had worn off and I was testing the strength of the provided paper bags. I mean, I told her that she was an angel who deserves to be canonized as a saint, but I don't think that quite got the gratitude across.

Watching my parents who are well traveled, but whose experience ranges from mission work in the Congo in a place with 3/4 of a toilet seat to standard lodgings at the Holiday Inn deal with the staff of five star English hotels was really kinda funny. I was seriously the only one who didn't have problems with people insisting on taking my luggage for me.

While I didn't spend as much on souvenirs as I could have, I am glad I'd been saving for this for three years, because I have bad impulse control and am too damn generous for anyone's good. My coworkers have no idea how utterly spoiled they're going to be when I get back to work. I have enough shortbread and fancy chocolates to bury a full table in the break room.

Given that I am addicted to waistcoats, herringbone tweed, and tartan, I should have brought a third suitcase and just accepted I was getting a new wardrobe. As it is, packing to come back was a sticky prospect, and I have regrets over things I didn't buy.

While I understand and appreciate the 'go big or stay home' mentality my parents (largely my step-mother) adopted for this trip, I'd have largely been happy if we'd done fewer guided tours and more just wandering around cities. That wouldn't have quite worked in places like Castle Combe, and I really would have had a whole new wardrobe, but in other places less structure would have been nice.

If I moved to York I'd lose my accent in a month. Really, my accent didn't try slipping as much as I was afraid it would, but in York it sure did try. By the end of Scotland it was playing up a bit too.

My step-mother can drive me batty, but damn is she a good person to have around when you want to get something done.

It is impossibly nice to finally know - definitively - what my family tartan actually looks like, what you have to do to get anything in it (order a bolt from the manufacturer and make it yourself), what other clan we're affiliated with, what you have to do to get anything in their tartans (same thing, basically), and have assurance that these days you can wear pretty much any tartan you like if you can't stand or get your own.

I am not fond of coos in general, but Heiland coos are love.

Heathrow airport is actually a small city and is not my favorite. Landing is fine, but leaving is a headache. That said, they do have an M&S if you have a massive lay over because your family did not want to rush a connecting flight (which turned out to be a good decision).

And that's the over view! I am glad to be home! After lunch I will get my pictures transferred and stare sorting. In the next few days the real travel log will start.

You have been warned.

[etaleah]

Southwest Airlines Needs to Pay.

This situation is so much worse than it sounds. It isn’t just about missing Christmas. All the cancellations, delays, and fuckery has gone from inconvenient to dangerous. Here are just a few of the details I’ve read about:

People have been stranded in cities and states they don’t live in for days, sometimes as long as a week. Many hotels are full because of the holidays. One person said that some terminals are so crowded that they have actually become standing room only.

No one can shower or bathe. Some may not even be able to change clothes. Their only option for food is likely to be overpriced airport food, IF they’re willing to stand in long lines for it.

Luggage is also being stranded in cities that are far away from the owners, and at this point there’s so much of it that it’s just being left out in the open. If someone wants to steal your suitcase or anything in it, there is nothing to stop them.

Parents are running out of baby food/formula and probably diapers too, and good fucking luck trying to get more since airports don’t usually sell it.

Parents who have checked strollers or car seats cannot get them back because they’re now in two different cities. In the case of the car seats, that means they legally can’t drive home with their kids even if their car is at the airport. And good fucking luck getting another one because airports don’t typically sell those either.

Cancer patients and other folks with illnesses/chronic conditions can’t take their medication because either they didn’t expect to be stuck in an airport for a week and didn’t bring enough to last that long or because the medication was in their luggage, which they now can’t get. Yet another thing airports don’t sell.

Rental cars are becoming less available as more people try to get them, so for many folks, that isn’t an option either. And even if it is, rental cars are expensive and get more so the further you have to go.

Not to mention that driving at this time of year is really dangerous in the colder parts of the country because of black ice, snow accumulation, and slippery roads.

Anyone who was traveling to attend a funeral or be with their loved one in hospice during their last moments is probably going to miss it. Not exactly something you can reschedule or do again next year.

Not being able to get home could potentially mean job loss for some folks. And while most of this has happened during school breaks, if it keeps up for much longer, students could potentially miss time at school/university.

Pet owners are either paying through the nose for longer-than-expected pet care or are scared that their pets will die if they can’t get home to care for them.

Lines to speak to anyone at Southwest, both in person and over the phone, are hours-long.

And all of this is without even TOUCHING what the poor employees have gone through. I’ve read stories of them working 16-hour days and dealing with understandably upset, angry, frustrated customers. They, too, are likely stranded far from their homes and are missing out on spending the holidays with family and friends.

To be clear, this was only partly because of the weather. Most of it was Southwest Airlines’ outdated system and their practice of scheduling too many flights too close together. They were warned that their tech was outdated and needed an upgrade and they chose to spend their enormous amounts of money and Covid bailout giving their millionaire CEO a raise instead.

There needs to be a class action lawsuit and Southwest needs to pay the fuck up.

Also: I’m not blaming individuals but PLEASE for the love of god never put medication or anything valuable in your checked luggage or even your carry-on if you can help it. Keep it in your personal item like a backpack or purse if at all possible. Never put ANYTHING in your checked luggage that you are not willing to lose.

[xtruss]

A detail view of a face mask on September 24, 2021, in Kohler, Wisconsin. Donald Trump and conservatives across social media are heightening awareness to potential mask mandates due to new cases stemming from coronavirus variants. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

United States: Mask Mandate Comeback Sparks 'We Will Not Comply' Movement

— By Nick Mordowanec | August 31, 2023

will not comply' movement is slowly formulating across social media, spurred by Donald Trump's renewed focus on mask mandates and COVID-affiliated lockdowns that he initiated at the pandemic's inception.

Trump, in a video posted Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, vowed to reject any "fearmongering" of new coronavirus variants and if elected president pledged to cut federal funding for entities like schools and airlines that follow such protocols.

Trump was the individual who set the original mandates and lockdowns in motion, however, when coronavirus cases escalated exponentially starting in March 2020. At the time, he urged individuals to avoid bars, restaurants and other areas where 10 or more people were gathered in the hope that the virus would dissipate by that summer.

"'Do not comply' means your [sic] not going to go to work if your employer requires a mask as part of the 'mandate' not law; your [sic] not going to wear one at the Dr, Dentist, restaurant or stores," wrote one Facebook user. "Imagine if everyone did not comply how that would hurt our government or economy.

"If every American did not go to work or buy anything at all for one or two days things would get real. We are all slaves to our Government until we stop conforming to the demands and dollar."

New coronavirus variants now emerging with case spikes in certain parts of the United States include EG.5 and BA.2.86. Major companies like Pfizer and Moderna who were highly involved in the swift rollout of vaccines at the height of the pandemic are scheduled to release a new vaccine in mid-September to combat the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, pending approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A CDC spokesperson told Newsweek on Thursday via email that the center's advice for individual and community actions around COVID-19 is tied to hospital admission levels, which are currently low for more than 97 percent of the country.

"CDC continues to recommend that all people are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines and take steps to themselves and others," the spokesperson said. "Anyone may choose to wear a mask at any time."

Time may tell whether the discussion around mandates and lockdowns is alarmist considering that very few places in the country have COVID-related measures currently in place.

One, for example, is Morris Brown College, a small Atlanta-based historically Black college, which told students to adhere to mask-wearing for a two-week period due to an influx of COVID-related cases.

"Dear Atlanta College, Regarding your precautionary mask mandate... I have a precautionary Foot I'd like to shove up you're a**!" wrote comedian and former Saturday Night Live actor Rob Schneider on X, in response to the Morris Brown mandate. "But don't worry, it's just for the next 14 days! For your own protection! Ps. Students WAKE UP, SHEEPLE! SAY NO!"

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin released a video on X of her literally shaking her head when confronted with hypothetical mandates, even burning some masks outdoors.

Libs of Tik Tok, which has 2.4 million followers on X, is encouraging individuals to ignore all mandates and pledges to support impacted businesses—and even pay any fines for noncompliance.

One X user posted that she would ignore mandates instituted by Trump, President Joe Biden or anyone else.

"I won't mask again," the user wrote. "I don't care what Trump or Fauci or Birx or Biden or any other governmental agency try and push again. I won't deal with the anxiety mask wearing brings me again. Not going to cover my daughter's beautiful face or force her to deal with the frequent painful breakouts again. Nope. For my child, I say, never again."

[college-girl199328]

Last year was rocky for Canadian airlines, with hundreds of flight delays and canceled flights from major carriers like Air Canada, WestJet, and Sunwing.

With 2023 not proving to be much better, travelers may be what they're entitled to if their flight is delayed or canceled. If you're in this boat, the Canadian Transportation Agency has information about passenger rights in Canada.

According to the CTA, when an airline delay or cancels a flight, what passengers may be entitled to depend on the level of control that the airline has over the reason for the delay or cancellation.

There are three different kinds of situations, and each warrants a different outcome in terms of compensation. The delay or cancellation could be within the airline's control but required for safety or outside the airline's control.

According to the CTA, issues considered within an airline's control include staffing issues, decisions to consolidate flights due to low demand, and disruptions due to scheduled maintenance.

If your flight is canceled or delayed due to one of these reasons, the CTA says that, when applicable, airlines must offer you alternative travel arrangements or provide you with a refund as pay you.

In situations, travel arrangements are to be provided free of charge if your flight is canceled and for flight delays of three hours or more says.

They must also provide assistance in certain circumstances like the delay or cancellation less than 12 hours before their original departure time and waiting two hours or more since the original.

In this case, the airline must provide a "reasonable amount of food and drink" at no charge, as well as access to means of communication (such as Wi-Fi or a prepaid calling card) and overnight accommodation that's free of charge, including transportation, if the disruption means a passenger will now have to wait overnight for their flight.

When the issue, however, is within the airline's control but required for safety, it doesn't have to provide compensation. It does, however, have to meet the other obligations if the disruption wasn't.

For situations outside the airline's control, like extreme weather or security incidents, the airline doesn't have to provide you with compensation accommodations. It does, however, have to make alternate travel arrangements for passengers or issue a refund in some cases.

You can find more specific information about what each airline offers online, like WestJet flight cancellations and delays and those from Air Canada.

Airlines have to compensate passengers if the notice for the delay or cancellation comes 14 days or less before their departure time. If you take a ticket refund instead of other travel arrangements, the airline still has to compensate you for the inconvenience. Large airlines must pay $400 airlines to have to pay $125.

If you experience a problem while flying, you'll first airline writing about the issue. If you're unhappy with the reply airline didn't reply at all, you can then contact the CTA and ask them to review your case.

It's worth noting though CTA is currently dealing with a backlog of traveler complaints — Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said on March 14 that the number of complaints was most recently at 42,000.

The minister announced $75.9 million in additional funding over three years, starting this year, to help ensure that the CTA has the resources to address the complaints.

[candycritic]

Airport and Airplane Food To Oman, Qatar and Back

How do I put this, the food I ate while traveling to and from the Middle East was both very interesting and not at the same time. To be clear, we flew business class. While it seems like we've been doing this a lot lately, it has more to do with the current situation with airlines than it does with us being particularly fancy. First of all we found a really good deal with these business class flights, like really good. Secondly we had one overnight flight and several long waits in airports. This means we would get comfortable sleeping arrangements on the flight and lounge access in the airports. So it almost became worth the small amount extra to get business class... well sort of.

Our first flight was actually not business class, that's because the flight we took was a pretty short haul (prop plane), and they didn't even offer business class. This was also the most "interesting" meal we ate the entire journey. The photo does not give it justice because it just looks like a nice plate of butter chicken. The problem is that it was cold. When I say it was cold I don't mean it was heated up and then it didn't stay warm once it was delivered to me. This butter chicken was delivered to me as if it was a salad. Is this a thing?

Once we landed in Thailand (our first stop) we headed straight to the lounge... no we didn't. We headed straight to McDonalds. We went to McDonalds because the current place we live does not have a McDonalds. We seem to have a gift for living in countries that do not have the Golden Arches. Some might consider that a blessing, but I find that when I live in a place that doesn't have a McDonalds, I crave McDonalds all the time. So the first thing we did when we landed in an airport with a McDonalds is stop and get burgers.

We did eventually get to the lounge as we had a long layover and I picked up these absolutely beautiful desserts. The rose shaped tart was a mango tart and it was amazing. The cup dessert was the most fancy apple crumble I've ever seen in my life. It had blueberries and gold leaf added, which are both equally weird additions to apple crumble for completely different reasons. I'm starting to believe that apple desserts are considered fancy in South East Asia, even the ones we consider in North America to be very simple.

Somehow, after our first layover all we ate on the rest of our flights was breakfast. I think it had something to do with the long flights and how we were crossing over time zones. I'll be honest it was all a bit of a blur. We got onto our second flight of this adventure and prepared to sleep, which I didn't because I can't sleep on planes. I will however say, in good Candy Critic style, all of the breakfasts I selected were pretty much just desserts. It started with what I thought would be a couple of slices of banana bread (my favourite of all breads). I thought it would be a nice little snack to wake up to, instead it was probably the most over the top banana bread I've ever seen in my life.

It also came with a puck of butter. When I say puck, I mean the most perfectly round slab of butter ever created. I believe mathematicians could use this puck to calibrate their instruments.

I have a curiosity when it comes to sweets, so before getting off this flight I saw on the menu that as a snack they offered chocolate. There was no description of what kind of chocolate and how it would be delivered. At some point in the middle of the night the flight attendant saw that I was awake and asked if I wanted anything. Bleary eyed and confused I remembered that I saw the words chocolate on the menu, so I said "chocolate". She brought me back these, and they were pretty good. I mention this because it will come up again in the future. I also should mention that even though I wasn't hungry I ate both of these chocolates and while they tasted good, I don't think it was doing much for my health.

The third and final flight of this leg I decided to order waffles... and they gave me pancakes. I'm not sure where this breakdown happened, but everyone on the flight who ordered this got the same thing. I think it might be a language barrier or a simple mistake on the menu. As always my carbs came with a side of carbs and plenty of syrup and jam. Needless to say I was not feeling great after this.

We finally arrived in Muscat Oman, and had a wonderful time (I'll be posting about that later). After that portion of our trip it was time to head to Doha Qatar. This was a fairly short flight, but there were two things worth mentioning food wise about this leg. First of all I tried something in the lounge at the airport that I never thought about before, pineapple and mint juice. Adding mint to juice is a big thing in Oman, and I drank plenty of iced tea with mint throughout our trip, but pineapple juice? It strangely worked, really well. I would actually recommend giving it a try, but don't be stingy with the mint.

The flight offered a nice fancy meal, but the dessert (that round puck in the upper left hand) was amazing. It was some kind of custard treat that I could have eaten for the rest of my life. We arrived in Doha and also had a wonderful time (and once again I'll have more about that in its own post). 

After our great stop in Qatar we headed home (two flights). We left Doha at 1 am, so we decided to get to the airport around 9 and have a late dinner. Frankly the dinner in the lounge was okay, but kind of complicated. It was most complicated when the wifi didn't work for us at the airport and it turns out that if you want to see the menu of items at the lounge you "have" to scan a QR code. Fortunately they had a buffet with a few less items but it suited us well enough. While the food was fine, they had a few special items for the Chinese New Year including this beautiful and tasty orange dessert. I asked the person manning the dessert table which was the best, he said the chocolate cake was the most popular, but these orange desserts where a special for the New Year. I decided to go special over popular and I was not disappointed.

Our first flight home was another overnight flight that offered some kind of dinner at 1 am and then breakfast... again. I skipped dinner as we had just eaten in the airport, but opted to have breakfast. I thought I should get something sensible until I saw that they had a Nutella donut available. The thing about this donut is the menu said it was a "freshly made donut". I immediately assumed that they had a deep fryer on the plane and would be making them piping hot. I also assumed it wouldn't be gigantic. I was wrong on both accounts. While it looks very fancy, it was pretty average and cold in the middle.

I should also mention, on our flight back home that I ordered the mystery chocolate again, and once again it had no description. I had fond memories of the other chocolate I got on the earlier flight and I thought I would maybe get it again. I also should mention that I wanted some popcorn thinking it would be made fresh for some reason. This time however they gave me a Dairymilk bar instead of their fancy chocolates. I'd like to believe it's because they ran out of their fancy chocolates, but it also could have been how dirty and tired I looked on this last leg of our trip and the flight attendant just thought I wasn't fancy enough. The popcorn was also in bags and not fresh, but I did get both salted and caramel corn.

Our last leg we ate something that I don't really remember and I didn't get a picture. I was way too tired and just looking forward to going into my own bed. All in all the food we got while traveling on this journey was very fancy and tasty. We also got a pair of pyjamas to take home which is both weird but also amazing.

CC

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[rhonddaandallaneuro]

A late sleep in as we are not being picked up till 11:45am was very much appreciated. Sadly our pick up turned up late and then we had horrendous traffic so the three hours before departure cut to just on two hours. This, to cause further stress when we were advised at the Lufthansa airline checking that we could not fly to Singapore as we had not completed our vaccine paperwork (Singapore entry requirement).

Starting to really stress now as we believed we had done everything so a deal struck with another checkin person that we would buy a ticket to Frankfurt and sought it out prior to catching the final leg of flight to Singapore. All agreed when someone with common sense said we could use current ticket to Frankfurt and then sort out as previously agreed. That said the flight was late so we did get to Frankfurt without any addition stress.

During this extra time (late flight) Rhondda was able to finally get on line and do the required additional paperwork so we headed off trusting our luggage would be on the same flight. In Frankfurt we did the five hour stop over, as originally planned with this flight departing as scheduled.

The arrival in Singapore, so easy, with the alleged paperwork asked about actually not required for viewing. Seems you could just do a hard copy on arrival. A quick taxi to our motel through, what I believe to be the cleanest city in the world, we took up residence in a spacious room over looking the pool and garden area.

Not wanting to waste any time we walked through the local streets for about an hour, admiring the buildings within, finally arriving at the “Lions Gate” just in time for the laser show over the bay. Wow. The views in the harbour at night are breathtaking to say the least. Issue is that when you start a walk all excited you have to return the same distance. Haha took a couple of wrong turns due to the roads being one way and certain major intersections not allowing you to cross the roads. No more short cuts for me. Haha

Finally home and found a cheap bar with very cold beer. A few ales later we went back to our rooms, showered and dragged ourselves to bed. Sleep the great event at the end of every day.

Monday was also a late start with us walking about two kilometres to “Little India” the home of discount everything. Did not buy anything besides couple of cold fruit drinks before we started the trek back. This walk home now becoming a painful experience as the day was getting very warm so we caught a taxi. Big mistake. We went from being a few blocks away from motel to doing a Cook’s tour of Singapore. Eventually had to say something and requested a receipt so I could report the incident to our motel so he knocked off five dollars. Prick probably bitching at our Aussies now.

Again not to allow our last few days not to be enjoyed we headed off to a local restaurant where did the local food along with more very cold beer. A word of warning, when it is a Malay curry over here that means it has at least six full chillies within the meal. Cried all the way through mine but do it again tomorrow.

Currently we are sitting by our pool allowing the heat to pass and feeling like millionaires.

[mariacallous]

Foreign Policy Morning Brief: Britain’s economic agony

By Christina Lu

Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at Britain’s new economic roadmap, Myanmar’s release of political prisoners, and Russia and Ukraine’s extended grain deal.  

Britain Unveils New Economic Roadmap

As a cloud of economic gloom descends over Britain, the British government announced a £55 billion ($65 billion) plan of tax increases and spending cuts on Thursday in a bid to stabilize the budget and calm uneasy markets. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s five-year-plan will likely intensify economic pressures on a public already struggling to cope with a painful cost-of-living crisis. Inflation soared to a 41-year high of 11.1 percent last month, and the country will soon face its largest-ever decline in living standards, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, meaning Britons will see their real disposable incomes decline by over 4 percent.  

Britain has already slid into a recession, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday. In his address, he acknowledged that the government was making “difficult decisions,” although he stressed that the moves were necessary. 

“There is a global energy crisis, a global inflation crisis and a global economic crisis,” he said.  “But the British people are tough, inventive and resourceful. We have risen to bigger challenges before.” 

“We aren’t immune to these headwinds but with this plan for stability, growth and public services, we will face into the storm,” he added. 

Sunak’s economic agenda marks a sharp reversal from that of his embattled predecessor, Liz Truss, who resigned in October after facing sharp political blowback over pushing for unfunded tax cuts for wealthy Britons. 

Soon after Truss’s plan was announced, the value of the pound plummeted to a record low against the dollar and the Bank of England declared an emergency intervention into markets. As political pressure against her economic agenda intensified, Truss dismissed Kwasi Kwarteng, then the chancellor, and walked back parts of her controversial policies before eventually resigning herself. 

Sunak has now been in office for nearly a month, having just attended the latest U.N. climate talks, COP27, as well as the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. As the Financial Times‘ Martin Wolf argues, “The most important achievement of Hunt and Rishi Sunak is to reintroduce a degree of coherence and predictability into policymaking.”

What We’re Following Today

Myanmar frees political prisoners. Myanmar’s military junta freed 5,774 prisoners on Thursday, four of whom were foreign citizens: Sean Turnell, an Australian economic aide to Aung San Suu Kyi; Vicky Bowman, the former U.K. ambassador to Myanmar; Toru Kubota, a Japanese documentary filmmaker, and Kyaw Htay Oo, a U.S. citizen. 

Of the freed prisoners, dozens were likely political prisoners. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the junta has detained more than 16,000 people since launching a coup in 2021. 

Extended grain deal. Russia and Ukraine have extended the U.N. and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative by 120 days, after it was originally set to end on Nov. 19. The deal, which was designed to help ease the global food crisis, has been marked by uncertainty ever since it was enacted in July. 

“I welcome the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea grain initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 

MH17 verdict. A Dutch court sentenced three men (in absentia) to life imprisonment for murder in connection with their role in bringing down a Malaysian Airlines jet flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian territory in 2014. The attack on flight MH17, by separatists linked to Russia, killed 298 people—many of them Dutch citizens.

Keep an Eye On 

Egypt’s detained dissident. The family of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the detained British-Egyptian activist, has warned that his health has “deteriorated severely” after seeing him for a scheduled monthly family visit on Thursday. 

Abd el-Fattah, who had been on a hunger strike for months, also began refusing water to coincide with the start of COP27, the latest U.N. climate summit. He began drinking water and eating again this week after a “near-death experience,” his family said, but is intent on resuming his hunger strike.

Italy’s migrant-smuggling rings. Following a more than three-year-long investigation, Italian authorities have apprehended 12 people for smuggling migrants. Officials said the suspects would make anywhere between 30,000 and 70,000 euros per smuggling operation by requiring each migrant to hand over 3,000 to 5,000 euros.

Thursday’s Most Read

A Theme Park Crisis Is Wrecking South Korea’s Bond Market by S. Nathan Park

Ukraine’s Appetite for Weapons Is Straining Western Stockpiles by Jack Detsch and Amy Mackinnon

Sweden’s Espionage Scandal Raises Hard Questions on Spy Recruitment by Elisabeth Braw 

Odds and Ends 

Researchers believe octopuses may use their many arms to whip objects at their peers, perhaps in an attempt to create some personal space, the Washington Post reported. In an effort to understand the phenomenon, researchers from the University of Sydney studied over 20 hours of videos; one showed a female octopus flinging 17 different objects in just an hour. 

“We can’t be sure, but we think some hits are probably intentional,” Peter Godfrey-Smith, an Australian researcher, told the Post. 

That’s it for today.

For more from FP, visit foreignpolicy.com, subscribe here, or sign up for our other newsletters.

[extreme-investor-network]

The great unrest: How 2020 changed the economy in ways we can’t understand yet

In an earnings call this week, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs expressed the confusion many people are feeling as they try to figure out what’s going on with the U.S. economy right now: “This is truly one of the most complex environments we’ve ever seen in our industry to operate in. Because we’re not just dealing with economic issues like inflation and lapping stimulus and things like that. But also the social issues of people returning to mobility after lockdown, working from home and just the change in consumer patterns.” Three months earlier, during the company’s prior call with analysts, Gibbs said economists who call this a “K-shaped recovery,” where high-income consumers are doing fine while lower-income householders struggle, are oversimplifying the situation. “I don’t know in my career we’ve seen a more complex environment to analyze consumer behavior than what we’re dealing with right now,” he said in May, citing inflation, rising wages, and federal stimulus spending that’s still stoking the economy. At the same time, societal issues like the post-Covid reopening and Russia’s war in Ukraine are weighing on consumer sentiment, which all “makes for a pretty complex environment to figure out how to analyze it and market to consumers,” Gibbs said. Gibbs is right. Things are very strange. Is a recession coming or not? There is ample evidence for the “yes” camp. Tech and finance are bracing for a downturn with hiring slowdowns and job cuts and pleas for more efficiency from workers. The stock market has been on a nine-month slump with the tech-heavy Nasdaq off more than 20% from its November peak and many high-flying tech stocks down 60% or more. Inflation is causing consumers to spend less on nonessential purchases like clothing so they can afford gas and food. The U.S. economy has contracted for two straight quarters. Downtown San Francisco doesn’t quite have the ghost town feel it did in February, but still has vast stretches of empty storefronts, few commuters, and record-high commercial real estate vacancies, which is also the case in New York (although Manhattan feels a lot more like it’s back to its pre-pandemic hustle). Then again: The travel and hospitality industries can’t find enough workers. Travel is back to nearly 2019 levels, although it seems to be cooling as the summer wanes. Delays are common as airlines can’t find enough pilots and there aren’t enough rental cars to satisfy demand. Restaurants are facing a dire worker shortage. The labor movement is having its biggest year in decades as retail workers at Starbucks and warehouse laborers at Amazon try to use their leverage to extract concessions from their employers. Reddit is filled with threads about people quitting low-paying jobs and abusive employers to ... do something else, although it’s not always exactly clear what. A shrinking economy typically doesn’t come with high inflation and a red-hot labor market. Here’s my theory as to what’s going on. The pandemic shock turned 2020 into an epoch-changing year. And much like the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the full economic and societal effects won’t be understood for years. Americans experienced the deaths of family members and friends, long-term isolation, job changes, and losses, lingering illness, urban crime, and property destruction, natural disasters, a presidential election that much of the losing party refuses to accept, and an invasion of Congress by an angry mob, all in under a year. A lot of people are dealing with that trauma — and the growing suspicion that the future holds more bad news — by ignoring propriety, ignoring societal expectations, and even ignoring the harsh realities of their own financial situations. They’re instead seizing the moment and following their whims. Consumers aren’t acting rationally, and economists can’t make sense of their behavior. It’s not surprising that the CEO of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, can’t either. Call it the great unrest. How might that manifest itself? In a decade, how will we look back at the 2020s? Perhaps: - Older workers will continue to leave the workforce as soon as they can afford it, spending less over the long term to maintain their independence, and stitching together freelance or part-time work as needed. The labor market will remain tilted toward workers. - Workers in lower-paying jobs will demand more dignity and higher wages from their employers, and be more willing to switch jobs or quit cold if they don’t get them. - People will move more for lifestyle and personal reasons rather than to chase jobs. Overstressed workers will continue to flee urban environments for the suburbs and countryside, and exurbs one-to-three hours’ drive from major cities will see an upswing in property values and an influx of residents. Dedicated urban dwellers will find reasons to switch cities, creating more churn and reducing community bonds. - The last vestiges of employee loyalty will disappear as more people seek fulfillment ahead of pay. As one tech worker who quit her job at Expedia to work for solar tech company Sunrun recently put it, “You just realize there’s a little bit more to life than maxing out your comp package.” - Employees who proved they could do their jobs remotely will resist coming back to the office, forcing employers to make hybrid workplaces the norm. Spending patterns will change permanently, with businesses catering to commuters and urban workers continuing to struggle. - Those with disposable income will vigorously spend it on experiences — travel, restaurants, bars, hotels, live music, outdoor living, and extreme sports — while curbing the purchase of high-end material goods and in-home entertainment, including broadband internet access and streaming media services. The pandemic was a time to hunker down and upgrade the nest. Now that we’ve got all the furniture and Pelotons we need, it’s time to go out and have fun. It’s possible that this summer will be the capstone to this period of uncertainty and consumers will suddenly stop spending this fall, sending the U.S. into a recession. Further “black swan” events like wars, natural disasters, a worsening or new pandemic, or more widespread political unrest could similarly squash any signs of life in the economy. Even so, some of the behavioral and societal shifts that happened during the pandemic will turn out to be permanent. These signals should become clearer in earnings reports as we move further from the year-ago comparisons with the pandemic-lockdown era, and as interest rates stabilize. Then, we’ll find out which businesses and economic sectors are truly resilient as we enter this new era. Original Article Original Article Here: Read the full article

[servantofthefates]

What Really Happens During Mercury Retrograde

Imagine that your mom is cooking a meal.

Naturally, she should keep watch of the stove, so that food and house alike would not be burned. Sure, your mom can leave the kitchen for several minutes to do something else for a while. But it would be unwise for her to leave the house entirely for a long period of time.

Your mom is Mercury. The stove is your life.

Specifically, it is the part of your life that deals with communication, electronics, travel, work, routine and health – areas that Mercury rules.

When Mercury is in retrograde, no one is watching the stove.

And like we said, sometimes, that is perfectly fine. Whole buildings do not burn down just because one stove in one apartment on one floor was left alone for one short moment.

And yet we never know when the broth would spill over from the pot, making the surface of the stove slippery, causing the pot to fall over to the floor, and on the way down, impactfully hit a pan that then ricochets onto the gas pipe, resulting in an explosion that brings about the loss of property and life.

This is why letters get lost in the mail and packages are delayed… the Wi-Fi stops working and you send texts to the wrong person… online stores charge you double the correct amount or cancel your order for no reason… your travel agent misspells your name on your airline ticket which leads to you missing your flight… you mistake AM for PM on an email which is why you are a no-show to your job interview… a power shortage occurs in your area messing with your schedule for the entire weekend… and you neglect to read the allergen information on a bar of chocolate which ends up almost killing you.

Moreover, when your mom is not around, naughty kids who are usually afraid to approach you are suddenly emboldened to ask you to play with them again. Hence abusive exes and toxic friends could come back to hurt you once more.

So you see, Mercury Retrograde is not to be downplayed. It really is a period rife with potential harm and danger.

What then can you do?

Simple.

Watch the stove.

Your mom is not around, so you have to do it yourself.

See a spill? Wipe it. Hear a scary sound from the oven? Turn it off. The pot is suddenly on fire? Use the fire extinguisher. The situation is beyond your control? Call out for help.

When Mercury is away, we are not completely defenseless. We are intelligent souls with the ability to protect ourselves.

Be more vigilant than you normally are. Read the fine print on a contract twice before you sign. Scrutinize receipts. Double check dates and timings. Allot extra hours or days for anything crucial. Always have a Plan B.

But when something goes wrong anyway, do not beat yourself up over it.

You tried your best. When Mercury comes back, he will reward you for it.