#the other Q has this weekend off so that’s nice

[quins-makeshift-menagerie]

Hey Quin? How are things going with y’all?

I want to say better but I don’t think that’s entirely right

For now things are just okay. Like a neural okay

[mopillow]

He Tian wanted to take advantage of the drunk Mo ☠️ I thought he had changed…..

Hey there, thank you for the question, I honestly don’t think this is the case, we all witnessed how HT was asking constantly about consent a few chapters ago so I highly doubt that he would jeopardize his kissing terms with Mo this easily since he is leaving soon and doesn’t want any misunderstandings between them

I’m NOT saying at no point that is OK to kiss people while they’re half asleep or drunk all I’m saying is that every couple has boundaries and I honestly don’t know the terms and conditions of their relationship, what is ok for one couple is not allowed in others but I honestly think that if this was the case HT would try to take away the 🧯first to have better access to what he wants to touch but isn’t allowed yet, all I saw was HT getting super close to Mo’s lips, and as far as I know kisses are ok for them, unfortunately we don’t know if Mo said it was ok to kiss as long as nobody was watching or if HT needs to ask for every single one

Now is Mo actually drunk??? I didn’t knew but I did made some research on the weekend soooo let’s check how cooking wine works in the lest get drunk department, kids don’t do this ever is not a great experience

Chinese Cooking Wine usually has an alcohol content of between 15 – 20%, is like a nice red but let me show some differences in alcohol content for reference

Like any alcoholic beverage you can get drunk off cooking wine if you drink it straight from the bottle, two glasses of cooking wine in an hour makes you drunk but it’s liable to make your stomach feel sick with all the additives, it does hurt and the taste is like syrup is not worth it

So how much did Mo drank??? No idea because we can’t see neither the amount inside that bottle not the % of alcohol

Looks like the bottle is a hand big doesn’t look thick either and I found the contents to go from around 300ml to 775ml, personally I don’t think that if Q doesn’t have the time or skills to cook he would have a big bottle, he’s a cheap bastard, what we do know is the he drank almost all of it

I did try and for the amount of time that took HT to take away that bottle I’ll say is the one around 300 ml, he could get tipsy with this amount but not sure if completely drunk, I didn’t but then again I’m a heavy drinker, although I have reasons to believe he isn’t because let me tell you that when you’re out of it the rain wouldn’t wake you up, you just lay there getting wet and you don’t have to believe me but there’s someone who is actually like this in this group

Mo is getting up and moving but not getting away of the water don’t know if he wants to try and help closing that window what I do know is that JY is not giving a single one if you ask me the one that seems to be drunk is him

I would like to include some pics that make me believe that Mo allows some sort of touches as long as nobody is looking

Again I’m not saying is ok to kiss while the other one is half sleep but that depends on the couple some allow more than others and is my belief that if HT didn’t had green light for kisses he wouldn’t go for them

[sixty-silver-wishes]

Original Short Story: "I Taught Her Everything She Knows"

This short story is inspired by the writing style of Shirley Jackson, but is entirely my own.

-

It was a bright, lazy afternoon, with a cool breeze blowing through the garden and a sky blue enough to drown in. Bumblebees hovered idly overhead, their faint buzzing accompanied by the clinking of glasses as Mrs. Daniels and Mrs. Oliver sipped their sweet tea, sweat beading on their brows as the cubes of ice in their tea slowly melted into honey-brown oblivion.

“I’m glad Sarah decided to join dance class,” Mrs. Oliver said, leaning back in her rocking chair with the white paint chipping off the armrests.

Mrs. Daniels smiled. “She’ll be so excited to start next Monday,” she responded. “As soon as she heard Gloria was taking dance, she wanted to join, herself. It’ll be nice for her to finally make friends.”

Mrs. Oliver narrowed her eyes. “Gloria?”

“Oh, no,” Mrs. Daniels cut in hurriedly, condensation from her glass slipping onto her fingers. “I mean Sarah. It’ll be good to get her off the iPad, I suppose.”

Mrs. Oliver nodded sensibly. “She’ll have to work hard to keep up with the other girls,” she said. “Especially if she wants to get into the same class as Gloria. She has classes for three hours a day, except for on weekends and holidays, and she practices at home with me. I used to be on the dance team when I was in college, you know.”

“I see,” Mrs. Daniels said, and sipped her tea thoughtfully. “Well, Sarah could use more exercise. It’ll be good for her.”

As she leaned back in her chair, Mrs. Oliver took out her phone, tapping at it for a few minutes before slipping it back into her pocket. Mrs. Daniels waited patiently, pretending not to notice.

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Oliver said. “That was Sandy Nelson. We’ve been trying to arrange a playdate for Gloria and Nicole. Does Sarah talk to Nicole Nelson?”

Mrs. Daniels nodded, her lips pursed. “I’ve heard plenty about Nicole,” she said. 

“Well,” Mrs. Oliver said, “Sandy is on the PTA. And Nicole seems like a nice girl.”

“It’s always the ones who seem nice,” Mrs. Daniels replied.

As Mrs. Oliver was working out a response, Sarah came running up from the garden to the front porch where the two older women were sitting. A half-dressed Barbie doll dangled from one of her hands, two circles of dirt on her knobby knees. She noticed Mrs. Oliver, and shuffled her sneakers on the ground, clutching the doll in her hand.

“Did you finish planting the flowers?” Mrs. Daniels asked her.

Sarah nodded. “Do you want to see?”

“I bet they’re very pretty,” Mrs. Daniels responded. “I’ll take a look once I’m done talking to Gloria’s mommy, okay?”

“Why don’t you run inside and rinse off the dirt from your hands?” Mrs. Oliver suggested. “It’s gotten all over your dress, too.”

Mrs. Daniels looked at her, then at Sarah. 

“Gloria always washes up after playing outside,” Mrs. Oliver continued. “And she’s nice and neat, so she never gets dirt on her clothes.”

“It’s okay, Sarah,” Mrs. Daniels cut in. “I can wash your dress later.”

Sarah didn’t seem to hear her, and tilted her head, swinging the Barbie doll back and forth. “Gloria spilled paint on her shirt at art class yesterday,” she said. “And she cried.”

Mrs. Oliver blinked. “She didn’t have any paint on her shirt when she came home,” she said.

Sarah nodded affirmatively. “But it’s true,” she continued. “She cried a lot, and Mrs. Q the art teacher thought she got hurt. But it was just paint, so she helped her wash it off.”

“If you go inside and wash your hands now,” Mrs. Daniels said, “I’ll make you lemonade, and you can have a cookie.”

“Can Gloria come over for cookies, too?” Sarah asked. “My mommy made lots of them a few days ago. I helped mix in the chocolate chips.”

Mrs. Oliver smiled, showing her whitened teeth. “Gloria has dance class today,” she said. 

“Oh, yeah,” Sarah answered, “But she can come over before class, right? I think she’d really like a cookie. I brought one to lunch, and she wanted to trade her granola bar and an apple and her carrot sticks for it. I said no, because it was my cookie, but I felt bad because she really really wanted it. But she can have one if she comes to my house.”

“If you’re okay with it,” Mrs. Daniels put in. “Or you can take some home if she can’t come.”

“Gloria has a dance recital coming up,” Mrs. Oliver said.

Sarah blinked. “But can we give her a cookie?”

“You can’t have too many cookies if you take dance classes,” Mrs. Oliver answered matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” Sarah answered.

“But maybe every once in a while,” Mrs. Daniels tried to add. “It won’t hurt. Now, Sarah, please go inside. I want you to wash up.”

Sarah nodded, heading up to the porch.

“Maybe you can visit Gloria this weekend instead,” Mrs. Oliver said. “She’s having a playdate with Nicole Nelson; you can come over if it’s okay with your mom.”

“Gloria’s always welcome here,” Mrs. Daniels said defensively.

Sarah paused, wrinkling her nose. “I hate Nicole Nelson,” she said, demonstratively shaking the Barbie doll in her fist.

“Hate’s not a very nice word,” Mrs. Oliver scolded.

“Gloria taught it to me,” Sarah said proudly. “She hates Nicole Nelson, too.”

“You shouldn’t say hate,” Mrs. Oliver said. “It’s a strong word, and not one that nice girls use.”

“Nicole’s not a nice girl,” Sarah answered. “She called Gloria a baby because she’s never seen Spongebob Squarepants, and everyone else at school knows Spongebob. Have you heard of Spongebob?”

“Spongebob will rot your brain,” Mrs. Oliver said. 

“But my mommy lets me watch Spongebob,” Sarah said, and began to sing. “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea…”

Mrs. Daniels laughed nervously. “Only after she’s finished her homework,” she said. “And her chores.”

Mrs. Oliver watched the Barbie doll swing about in Sarah’s hand, its hair coated in dirt and Magic Marker scribbles on its plastic face. Spittle formed at the corners of Sarah’s chapped lips as she kept singing that stupid Spongebob song in an obnoxious off-key warble, the gaps between her crooked baby teeth showing as she screamed the titular character’s name by the end at the top of her lungs. Grime caked the undersides of her fingernails, and the April sun was already beginning to burn the tip of her nose a bright strawberry red. As soon as Mrs. Oliver left, she knew, Sarah would be shoving her chubby cheeks full of homemade chocolate chip cookies, and play iPad games with those filthy grub-shaped fingers, and watch Spongebob Squarepants until her eyes glazed over and her little brain turned to mush and leaked out her ears in gray-pink clumps. And Mrs. Daniels, her selfish mother, would let her, baking more and more cookies and blaring more and more insipid TV shows and teaching her more and more words like hate.

If there was one consolation, Mrs. Oliver told herself as she smiled at the awful child, it was that there was no way Sarah would ever be able to join Gloria’s dance class.

[accio-victuuri]

CPN : here have some sunday sweets 🍡🍧

everyday is a good day to clown, moreso during the weekends when we’re well rested ( hopefully ) and free to spend time on fandom. let me start with them randomly going on hs this evening. the way i panicked, cause what the hell is going on. it’s a comparison of how yiye and yibo as lei yu in the btf premiere are saluting. lol. i know all yizhan au pairings are valid so i appreciate it. It’s cool to see them on hs side by side, and tbh, it’s a mostly harmless post/topic. but we know how certain people get very agitated when their names are associated with each other. i get the sentiment, but people should chill.

on a lighter note, we probably have the best hs related to yibo for this year so far. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

he channeled his inner tom holland, casually spoiling the movie lol. to be fair, those in attendance already watched it. the Q&A is about the film. it’s just that those who are posting the videos are also not giving any warnings. the “wyb shut up!” is also familiar, how zhan ge told him off 😂😂😂

let’s move on to the more “coincidence” type of things, but doesn’t mean they any less sweet….

• Oh how we love getting a glimpse of the bone necklace. It’s so nice that he has that piece of him ( xz ) wherever he goes to keep him company. 🫶

• Comparison of girls giving them something! to yibo ( a drawing ) and a letter ( to xz ). What’s not to love? They are really sweet and nice geges!

• Since i am weirdly attached to their accessories — i am lovin how XZ is decked out in Ositerm for his Ralph Lauren shoot! and he is is wearing them so well. Sometimes i wanna see him in simple stuff like this too. and of course, Ositerm is a running cpn association with them.

• next level coincidence! in GG’s esquire issue, if you open it on page 85, it’s an interview feature with Yu Dong— who is Wuming’s producer. He also talks about the film in the article. See? The universe is truly clowning us.

• since we are in the topic of numbers, let’s appreciate bobo seating at #5 chair. sure, he is mister 08/05, who is the husband of mister 10/05 🫶

-END.

[thewritingofspencerrose]

Mamma Masterlist

The Lake House

Summer 2018

"Jim! Can you get the door honey?" Ellen's voice sounds from inside the house, making Quinn chuckle from my side, our luggage in his hands.

The door swings open, revealing Jim Hughes, the yelling of the boys clear as they run around the lake house. Our last summer before Q joins the Canucks full time.

"It's Quinner and Ruthie!" Jim bellows, and it's clear where the Hughes boys get their volume from. "Hi sweetie," He greets me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Dad," Quinn greets, making his father laugh as he pulls away, going to hug his eldest.

"Don't act like it's not clear that Ruthie is the favorite child," Jack speaks up, the chaos having calmed as all the boys crowd the hall that Jim lets us in to.

"Q," Jack greets his brother, Quinn setting down our bags for a moment to hug his brother as Luke approaches us, the 16 year old heading straight into my arms.

"Hey kiddo," I welcome, giving him a tight squeeze. "You're practically a string bean. When did you turn into a giant?"

He chuckles, giving me another squeeze before pulling away. "The same time you got old."

"Old!" I yell, shoving him back. "How dare you! I am barely four years older than you! Q, Moose is being mean to me," I complain jokingly.

"Dude, you never call a woman old, Ladies 101," Jack advices, him and Lu switching places as I pull the 18 year old into a hug. "It's good to see you Ruth."

"Always good to see you kiddo," I return, looking towards where Trevor, Alex, Cole and Jamie stand. "And hello to you boys."

"Hi Mom," Trevor is the one to respond, and from the corner of my eye I can see Quinn roll his eyes at the wild teen.

"Speaking of mom, where is Ellen?" I question the Hughes.

"Right here, sweetie, which means it's my turn for a hug!" Ellen speaks up, apron still on as she pulls me into a hug. "God, I've missed having another girl around," She all but groans.

"How does it feel, knowing our parents like your girlfriend more than any of us?" Luke asks Quinn, the younger boy wrapping his arm around his brother as Jim disappears with our luggage.

"I don't like her more," Ellen defends, pulling back with a directed look to her sons. "She's just the first girl in the family. Let me appreciate her," She requests, smiling brightly before looking to me. "Why don't you get settled sweetie? I need to borrow Quinn for a few minutes to catch up with my oldest baby."

"Of course Ellen," I assure, giving her a side hug before making my way to Jack's friends. "Now, who wants to tell me what y'all have been up to?"

"Is everything ok Mom? We talk almost every day, there's nothing to catch up on," Quinn questions as his mom pulls him into the kitchen, leaving Ruth with his brother's and Jack's friends, all of who call her mom.

"What are you and Ruthie planning about Vancouver? Is she going to stay at UMich?" Is the first thing out of Ellen's mouth. "I think you should propose before you take off. I trust her, but men will hit on her otherwise."

"Whoa Mom what? I'm not proposing just because I'm moving to Vancouver," He denies the crazed idea, not admitting it had run through his head as well. "And Rue is staying in Michigan. She has to finish her degree."

"Oh poor thing, with her exams and student teaching schedule, and you everywhere all the time it's going to be so hard for her to visit, or for you to visit."

"Isn't student teaching just a couple days a week?" Quinn questions, having thought it was just like any other class when Ruth had said she was applying.

"Honey, student teaching in 5 days a week, 7am to 5pm, on top of coursework. Ruthie said it'll be a lot but she thinks if she leaves immediately after work on Fridays she'll be able to visit you on weekend-"

"I can't let her disrupt her life and scurry around to see me," Quinn interrupts, his Mom knowing where his head is.

"Then it sounds like you have some thinking to do, Honey," She says softly. "Because that girl out there would do anything for you. Move anywhere, travel anywhere, and do everything she can to make you two work. And it sounds like you don't want that work for her."

And as much as Quinn hates it, his mom is right. He doesn't want the constant stress and traveling for her. He loves her too much for that.

[beautifulhigh]

The update for @oldfarmwitch if no one else...

Last time on "Jen's grand plans"...

Clean kitchen, all going well. Happy Jen. (This will not last.)

Order the new tap I want for my kitchen sink because the current one is leaking at every joint and I think in places where there isn't one...

Discover we can't move the fridge on the wheels due to them being offset so the wheel braces are sitting like / \. In the process of discovering this both me AND my dad received injuries

Couldn't find the water stopcock. Took apart cupboards, moved the washing machine (more on that in a bit), found it behind a fucking panel

Discovered that one of the cupboards is rotting away due to ill fitting pipes

Struggled to move the washing machine, only for Jen to later realise that they forgot to unplug the fucking thing which was why it was a chore. Therefore the plug had been ripped out of the socket, but not before the socket had been ripped out of the back of the cupboard it was (barely) attached to.

Failed to have any food in the evening because I was just Done™ with the whole thing and went to bed.

This morning on "Jen's LOLZ life":

Woke up, ankle still hurts. Just great. I don't want to move so I stay in bed as long as possible

Get up just in time for Dad coming over. He has brought EVERY tool he has and most of his plumbing kit.

His plan: sort out the cupboard and then tackle the sink and its pipes.

Cupboard panel comes apart in Dad's hands. Whoops. We manage to get the new feet in place and get it level. It was a great time to discover it's also holding up the end of the unit so that will need resealing on the tiles.

Washing machine goes back into its hole.

Look to the pipework. Dad has the wrong sized... things. They're elbow shaped so I shall call them Elbow Things. Anyway, the Elbow Things are 10mm, we need 15mm. Look online but can't get anything this side of the holiday weekend.

Go off to this little plumbing shop Dad knows. They don't have any either. Go to B&Q to have a look at what they have (we'd checked their site but Dad wanted to check out what I shall call Flexi Pipes). While there we talk about the tap that's coming and I find a picture online where a reviewer took a photo of what came in the box.

I suddenly love unboxing videos because thank you.

Dad realises that we can get away without the Elbow Things because the tap is coming with its own Flexi Pipes and so we can use Straight Things instead. He knows he has one, so we pick up another in B&Q.

At checkout, Dad realises his wallet is in the car. (No, really.). That's fine, I'm a modern girl, I have a pay app on my phone. Which doesn't want to connect to the machine. Takes three attempts to pay for the £2.50 Straight Thing.

Get home, Dad is now under the sink. Plan: heat up the pipes to break the seal, put in the Straight Things, wait for the tap to be delievered.

Universe: LOLZ

The water is turned off, all pipes are drained.

Washing machine comes out, that's drained too.

The sink pipework is VERY tight and crammed in together so we have to take the washing machine back out so he can get that pipework out of the way.

One pipe is fine, the other one has Separation Anxiety and will not let go.

Washing maching goes back in to give more working space in the kitchen as when it's out it cuts off access to the other side of the room (think galley style kitchen, long and somewhat narrow).

I realise I haven't eaten all day. I've had a caffeine drink and I've had two lots of paracetamol (because ankle). Just Eat is now becoming my most-used app. Sorry to my bank account and to my trainer.

Dad is swearing up a storm. He used to be a sailor. People forget that. The second pipe will not move and he's burned the back of the cupboard and he almost melted the U bend thingy that comes down from the sink. He takes the U bend thingy off, takes off the drawers and facias of the cover, and gets in there with some Proper Tools. The pipe is cut - no conscious uncoupling here.

Nice man arrives with my lunch.

Dad imparts instructions for how to get the sink out of the unit. The waching machine comes back out again because we need to get at the clips under the sink.

Dad leaves because it's his brother-in-law's birthday. I sit down and INHALE my Greggs sandwich. I also bought treats. Again, sorry to my trainer. Sent @wtfuckevenknows a few voice notes with a short summary of what has happened before this point.

The water is back on but my kitchen sink is no longer plumbed in. Neither is the washing machine. I use the bath tap to get a bucket of hot water and put soap in so I can finish cleaning the oven and the racks which have been marinading in the cleaning stuff overnight.

The rack bag has leaked and some of the fluid soaked into and stained the wooden shelf I put it on.

I manage to mostly dismantle the over door to properly clean it, but the latches for the door to come off will not move. I do the best I can.

I have to go back upstairs to refill the bucket and I'm doing the cleaning outside on my wooden decking which gets slippery when wet.

My ankle still hurts and yells at me when I slip a little. This is also the ankle I have broken twice, although I didn't know I'd broken it twice until I broke it for what I thought was the first time and then ortho then showed me on the X-Ray where the old break was and how the new break was actually just me re-breaking it although not as badly. That was an interesting moment a decade ago.

Anway. Ankle is not broken but it's not happy.

Oven is now cleaned although I have the bowl of the goop that I scraped out of the bottom of the oven to dispose of. It needs to be diluted with a lot of soapy water and that's another trip up the stairs.

I use the bucket I have to dispose of the fluid in the cleaning bag and go to pour it in the outside drain, only to find out that's blocked when it all overspills.

I don't want to do this again with the stuff from the oven.

I also bought more treats from Greggs (very, very sorry, trainer) and I inhale two caramel shortbreads while I load up Tumblr and see that @oldfarmwitch is wondering how my day is going.

I sit down with my laptop and I type what is absolutely going to be tagged with "long post" because I can't even see the top of THIS bullet point list.

So I now need to put the over back together, then I need to get the sink out of the unit. That involves:

Cutting the current sealant

Removing the remaining clips

Lifting it out of the hole

Cleaning down the sink and the worksurface with remover which then has its own, bespoke clean up process which will allow further sealant to be applied. If I do not clean this up properly then no future sealant will, well, seal.

Removing the tap from the sink and waiting for the new one to arrive. Which, given the family's Easter plans, will be Monday morning when Dad has a "bit of spare time".

I still need to prime and paint the walls. The masking tape I put up yesterday isn't sticking properly to some of the window facias and is falling away already so that will be fun

There is more of my kitchen in the living room and more to come yet. Because I figured the Universe owed me a break I put £10 on the EuroMillions last night.

I won £6.20.

So that's where I'm at. New tag for these posts because yeah.

[thestalwartheart]

Hi there ! ✨

I’m a huuuge fan of your writing (I mean, I wait for your updates the way I would wait for a new Tay Swift song)

If you’re still taking prompts I was wondering what tou could do with “pillow” ?

Have a nice day and happy writing!

Hi! Your ask was so kind, thank you so much. Waiting for my updates like a Tay Swift song is such high praise!

This took me far too long for what it is, but life got in the way for a few weeks there.

This one was meant to be wholesome and sweet but instead we ended up in E-rated territory. 🌶️ I do think it's still quite sweet, though, and domestic enough to probably fit with @mi6-cafe's Jammies January theme.

You can read it below or on AO3.

Enjoy!

Q sighs awake to feel a kiss at the nape of his neck. His pillow smells of citrus and smoke.

A weak beam of light streams in from the gaps at the edges of his blinds, revealing the chaos and untidiness of Q’s room. It’s the sort of light that says nothing about whether it’s a nice day or not, though it's definitely a cold one outside the bed covers; he knows that much. The freezing sliver of his face bared to the room is proof enough of that. The rest of him, however, is lovely and warm.

“Good morning,” croons a voice from behind him.

Bond.

Q is getting worryingly used to waking up to find Bond curled around his back like this. He must have snuck in during the night, finished with whatever had kept him away at the end of his last mission in Brazil. A woman, maybe. The weather, probably. The latter, at least, was irreplaceable in London.

“What time is it?” Q shoots an arm out from under the duvet — rather bravely, he thinks — in search of his phone. Bond catches his hand before it can make it very far and hums, sounding awfully content.

“Don’t worry about what time it is.”

Q would usually be more sceptical of a plea like that, but in the foggy recesses of his memory, he recalls deliberately not setting the alarm on his phone last night. It’s the weekend, then—a rare one without any work to get out of bed for. And James Bond is back on home soil, which means Q will be doing little else except rolling around between the sheets with him.

Q resolves not to worry about the time and instead sinks into the warmth of Bond’s chest. As a reward, he gets another kiss to his neck.

“Finished the job, then?” sighs Q.

“Mm.”

“And you’re all in one piece?”

“I am now.”

Alarmed, Q tries to turn around. It wouldn’t be the first time Bond’s hidden an injury from him. The last was a dislocated shoulder that Q had only found out about in the breathless wake of a post-mission shag when he’d gone to lay his head on Bond’s chest. He has no desire to hear a grunt of pain like it again.

Bond stops him from moving. “I’m fine, Q. Relax.”

Q wishes it were easier to resist that, but with Bond’s arms trapping him in place and his sturdy, warm hands of his travelling the length of Q’s torso so pleasantly, it’s hard to put up much of an argument. It’s harder still when one of those hands starts teasing at Q’s morning wood through the soft flannel of his pyjamas.

“Oh, I—”

There’s another scorching kiss to the side of Q’s neck before Bond begins murmuring filthy, delicious promises in his ear about how many times he’s going to make Q come and how they’re going to fuck each other all over this house and how neither of them are going to be putting clothes back on for the entire weekend unless it’s Q slipping into one of Bond’s shirts for a while.

(The whole aim of the latter, obviously, is for Bond to rip it off in short order.)

At some point during all those promises, Bond’s hand slips under Q’s waistband to pull slowly at his cock. The overwhelming heat of it has Q bucking forward, desperate to feel it tighter and faster.

Being with Bond is always like this. Zero to sixty in less than a moment. One flick of his hand, one kiss to the neck, one filthy smile from across a room…each acts like a flick of a match to an open gas valve. It’s a wonder they aren’t both incinerating beneath the duvet cover. Q certainly feels as if he’s burning up.

He tries to grind back onto the growing hardness at his back, but again, Bond refuses the movement.

“Slowly, Q,” he chides, sounding aggravatingly unaffected. “There’s no rush.”

There is, Q would argue. He hasn’t been in the same room as Bond in weeks, and in that time, he’s had to watch the man being chased across rooftops and over cliffs and into the sea and into other people’s—

With a huff, Q flings away that thought. It only matters that Bond is here now. That he has returned to his Quartermaster again, as he always seems to these days. That his hand is a tight pump around the head of Q’s cock, that his thumb is circling, spreading around the wetness there, playing Q expertly. That his lips are sucking little red marks into Q’s neck, into his shoulder. Though his breath remains even, Bond is clinging to him, as he is wont to do with anything that promises life or pleasure for a few desperate hours.

“Christ, Q. I’ve missed you.”

An embarrassing noise escapes Q’s throat at that, not that he’ll ever admit to it later. He can’t stop his hips from moving in little bursts, pushing into the tacky warmth around him, then back to the hardness that has settled between his cheeks, a hardness which is hot and pulsing even through layers of clothing. Bond is no longer teasing. It’s still slow — infuriatingly so — but it’s tight and intense, and Q’s burning inside. Slowly. Deliciously. It’s the sort of drawn-out, hot-treacle pleasure he never has the patience or the time to give himself. He rests his head on his fist and feels as if he might pass out. Bond’s hands and mouth seem like they’re everywhere.

“James — oh — I’m—”

Bond hums again. His teeth graze Q’s ear lobe, and that’s it. He’s shuddering, he’s splintering, he’s—

“Fuck.”

He’s making a bloody great mess is what he’s doing. There’s come all over his belly, the sheets and Bond’s hand. No matter—he’s flying too high to care. It’s been weeks since he’s had this, any of it. Working so late so consistently means he hasn’t been able to summon the energy for a wank in ages, let alone a date or a one-night stand. That’s just the way of things. He’s not bitter about it, but he is glad to feel this kind of pleasure again.

As Bond turns Q’s head to kiss him, Q smells a familiar hint citrus and smoke. It reminds him of the lemon twist in a lethal drink. Of gunpowder, cigars, peated whisky and sunnier climes. Of his sheets when Bond’s been sharing his bed.

Q can’t help a grin. He smothers it in his pillow before whispering, “Welcome home, James.”

[fractallogic]

Also I’m realizing that I need to step carefully about outdoorsy topics (and that REI is slightly triggering)

So imagine: friend goes “we should hike clear lake next weekend!!” and I’m googling and just awed by the pics I’m seeing, and it’s a five mile walk, basically, with well maintained trails and virtually no elevation gain, and she’s also like “AND hopefully Other Friend can come too, because she’s so fun to hike with” and I’m like oh hell yeah that would be GREAT

And so given that I think well, next weekend is actually the last weekend I’ll spend with scone on zoom, which will actually free up a lot of exploring-nature time, and I’ve kinda wanted to get back into hiking (just chill ones, though. I’m not talking about camping. Still don’t want to go camping when I have a perfectly good house at home.), and everyone always prattles on about Oregon’s natural beauty, blah blah blah, and actually scone also likes going on hikes but is even less experienced than I am (because he didn’t have a dad who would rather just turn into a moose and live in Yellowstone, or a mom who took her toddler on long hikes, and camping, and whatever, until I decided that I’d had enough of having to either pee all over my shoes or use those massive scary permanent port-a-potties)…

…so I was like you know what. This could be a fun new hobby to do. You pack water. You pack snacks. You pack a first aid kit and a compass and some sunscreen and a hat and you’re good to go!

It would be nice if I had something smaller than my normal backpack and more useful for hikes than my cross-body purse though. So idk REI always has sales, I should see what’s going on. Oh they have a nice SMALL daypack for much less than I was expecting, this is perfect, I’m going to get it.

And then because I wanted it in my hot little hands right that second, I went down to the local REI and also looked around, because sometimes it’s fun to do that

No, it turns out that I have absorbed as part of the experience of my mom dying that she started dying WHILE GODDAMN CAMPING and camping was a huge part of her life and then became a huge part of her life again with her new partner; she had a ton of outdoors equipment and loved REI; she would do multi-day bike races for charity across mountains; she would report to me that the basically camping MREs weren’t so bad, actually!; etc etc etc

Now also, there’s q, who I dated for YEARS and ended up being emotionally and sexually abusive and whose name I curse every time I feel broken about sex (which is a lot). HE was also very outdoorsy, worked in americorps during hurricane sandy, loved jeeping, camping, hiking, you name it; he eventually took a job working for saguaro national park where he’d leave the house at 3:30 AM and spray for buffelgrass and other invasive plants; he’s now doing some other kind of naturalist work outside of Austin and is married to a Texas state congressperson (who he met in Tucson and cheated on me with and HAPPILY and freely admitted that at the time, so of course I was the coldhearted bitch who kept him from being happy when I told him no, I did not appreciate that and I did not want to have an open relationship so he could continue dating her) (no I’m not still traumatized YOURE still traumatized)

UH

BUT ANYWAY

HIS favorite store was ALSO REI and would regularly come back with buffs and sun shirts and whatever fun new gadgets he could find; he was SO GODDAMN ANNOYING to walk around the store with because ugh Shiloh you don’t even like being outside why would you need any of this, are you actually going to USE it (derogatory, not helpful)

…so…

So maybe this is what’s making my brain Funky and Off. I mean it’s been happening longer than just like Thursday afternoon, when my friend called and was like “let’s go hiking!”, but still. This doesn’t help. I keep poking at it like a bruise. This is part of the reason I think that emotionally immature parents video got to me, because I already had mom on the mind.

It’s just fucked all the way around.

But at least now I have tentative plans to go hiking next weekend AND I have a very cute purple backpack to hold my water and snacks. So. You know.

[dropintomanga]

Communication Is Power

The convention scene this summer has been fun to read about so far. Many popular guests have shown up with the crowds to back them up. With COVID becoming more and more of an afterthought, fans have been rushing out to meet and learn about their favorite guests.

One guest in particular had a quote, in my opinion, that spoke volumes about how to become good at what you want to do.

As you can tell from the artwork, I'm talking about Makoto Yukimura, the highly-praised mangaka of Vinland Saga. He showed up at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 years after the manga had a rough start, sales-wise, back when it was first licensed in the United States. But with how great the anime has been, the manga has found a strong foothold here.

Anime News Network did a extensive report of Yukimura's panel at SDCC 2023 and it was nice to hear his perspective on the story, the anime, and more. The fun part came the Q&A from fans. While there's definitely cringe questions at most Q&A sessions, a few questions do stand out. The ANN report reported one fan question that Yukimura gave a excellent response to - what's the biggest lesson you've learned after all the years of being a mangaka?

Yukimura responded.

“What I learned is that there's no way you can work as a mangaka without communicating with people from outside. For example, our conversation will nurture me into becoming a better creator and will be reflected in my work too.”

I love this answer. People are constantly bouncing off of one another. That's how we get better. Plus, it's hard to get what you want in life if you're not able to express it to others in an effective manner. I think about the many artists who aspire to be mangaka. I know most of them may not be the best at talking to other people in person. It's nice to sit all day and draw like there's no tomorrow without worrying about people bothering you, but constructive feedback is needed to grow once you reach a wall in the artistic journey.

Over the years, there have been reminders for those who want something to speak up - especially those who feel they have been hurt by others or those who really need a helping hand for important manners. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to get it. There's nothing wrong with that.

The beauty of communicating with people from the outside is that it helps improve mental health despite how stressful the act of communicating can be. While there's definitely awful relationships out there, there's more good than bad ones. People underestimate how well conversations go.

Effective communication takes practice. Take it slow and in a safe space. I know Yukimura probably honed it over the years and that's a big reason why Vinland Saga has turned out the way he wanted.

And more importantly, learn from the good and bad of conversations. I've had my fair share of awkward moments of communication and learned how to adjust accordingly. I try to think about the other person's perspective. There's always something that will surprise you when you least expect it when it comes to conversations. I had a conversation with a stranger over the weekend on the train that made me think about how rough it is to be someone who has a physical disability and having people treat them like an afterthought.

We can't all be physically strong as Vikings, but we can be tenacious and resilient as they are when it comes to improving the important relationships of our lives by being communication warriors.

[shojizbae]

Min Ho's Madness Party

MinHo x Fem!Reader

masterlist

♨︎☤♨︎✄

From the bubbles birthed a vindictive person. I got out of the bubble bath a different person. I spent the night pampering myself. In more ways than one. Too many sex dreams left my body wired and I didn't need to worry about my volume.

The next day came and didn't pay attention to other people. I spent the day hanging out with Florian. He was actually lovely to hang out with. He admired my paintings until Q rolled up and stole him. I broke out the rest of my supplies and started painting. It was so much more comforting to let my brain turn off for the holiday. I got some lunch with Q, Kitty, and Florian after a few hours of painting. I actually studied a little for the impending exams. I got back in the bubble bath at the end of the day. Tomorrow night two of my roommates would come home.

It was nice spending the day alone in the dorm. I didn't feel like the hermit I was 2 weeks ago. My phone was being blown up the whole time and we were sharing notes and tea. The weekend passed and the girls came home. I made sure to let them riffle through this new closet of everyone's dreams. I made another batch of maejakgwa for them to much on while we catch up on their breaks. I shrug off my break and tell them "nothing special" happened.

They thank me for the treats and disperse throughout the dorm. I receive a text from Kitty to come to her dorm. She insists that I arrive at her dorm in no less than twenty minutes. I don't want to go over because I know Min Ho will be getting ready for his date with Lulu.

It stung.

I did manage to pull on an outfit worthy of sitting in someone's dorm. I put on a pair of leggings and a sweater and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I bring a batch of cookies that my roommates had yet to devour. I let my roommates know that I'm leaving and began the walk. It started to sprinkle halfway through the trip so I picked up the pace. I wave to Professor Finnerty and he smiles at me. I approach him and offer a cookie which he accepted with a shocked smile. He lets me go through the dorms to the room.

With a knock on the door, I get dragged by my arm into the room. Kitty lets go of my arm when I tell her to. She snatched the box of cookies from my hands and drags me to her room. I was put on Q's mattress across from Florian and Q who were cuddling but facing me. Kitty sat down next to them and push the container of sweets in their face.

"Why am I here?" thunder rumbles in the background

"What happened at Chuseok?" Florian started

"What do you mean?" I reposition myself

"Mon dieu, with Min Ho?"

"Nothing happened." I cross my arms and Q sighed

"Then what's the matter?" Kitty inquires

"Nothing happened." I repeat realizing my mistake "Oh my god, I wanted something to happen between Min Ho and myself."

"You like him? Why?" Kitty sounds reidiculously shocked and I get off Q's mattress and join them.

"I don't know!" I whine and join them with a flop "Hand me a cookie." someone puts food in my palm and I take a pitiful bite, "He repulses me. He's so mean and self-centered. And I like boys with freckles."

"Well, find a boy with freckles." Q states plainly

"Where? I don't go out."

"Well, Min Ho is throwing that rager on Friday."

"Why can't we talk about something else?" I divert

"Because I'm sick of hearing about Kitty's mommy issues!"

"Wait, Momy issues, what mommy issues?"

"Basically, I think my mom has a secret son and I'm like 98.99999% sure that Professor Finnerty is my half-brother. But the real drama is that I sent Dae my mom's necklace for Chuseok and he has yet to respond."

"I thought your mom was dead?"

"Yeah, and his mom died three years ago. I gifted him my mom's necklace but demanded it back when I found out he was cheating."

"So, you gave it back as a peace saying and he hasn't given you anything back?" She nods "Well that's fucking rude." Q sighs

"I'm gonna take Florian to the couch because I cannot be around this again."

"No no, I can hang this up. That's just messed up." Q sighs and get's up

"I'm gonna walk Florian home, you two can bark about this to each other." They walk out holding hands and Kitty and I both sigh and roll our eyes. The door is left open and I can spot Min Ho fixing his hair in the reflection of something in the kitchen. He throws on a pair of shoes and checks his phone before walking out of the dorm.

"Hey!" She snaps her fingers in front of my face, "Don't think about him. I know it's hard but just put him out of your mind."

"But he's everywhere."

"then don't go everywhere."

"That's not physically possible."

"you know what I mean, we'll just come over to your dorm when we want to hang out. There are ways to avoid him."

"Ok, do you want to rant about your family?"

"YES!"

♨︎☤♨︎✄

Nothing eventful happened up until Wednesday. Q, Kitty, and I were walking around during lunch with some smoothies and Kitty is whining about her family and Dae again.

"UGH Kitty all week all I've heard is 'Dae necklace Alex Yuri necklace Alexi, Yuri, Dae You're like a robot that's stuck on loop."

"Or a broken record," I suggest while biting on my straw

"Don't act like you're not a part of this! At least she's multifaceted! All day you're just Min Ho Min Ho Min HO!"

"What?" Min Ho suddenly arrived

"Nothing!" I froze up

"Please they're having a lot of girl drama you wouldn't-"

"Yeah I'm out" Min Ho stated and walked away

"I hate that you have to kind of be misogynistic to tell him off." I whine

"Well, what the hell was that reaction, nothing!" He mocks

"Yeah you really"

"Girl don't get make me get into this!"

We continue to walk through the courtyard and Q instructs us to pussy up.

"Why focus on this when we could talk about what you'll be wearing to Min Ho's Madness party?"

"why would I go to his party when I'm trying to avoid him?"

"Yeah same, Yuri and Dae would definitely be there." Kitty adds

"Well, Yuri is DJing so she'll definitely be there but Dae doesn't party. And at this party you could,"

"Watch Yuri Dj?"

"No both of you guys can find new boys to complain about to me. You could find a new boy to kiss." he placates to Kitty

"Oh my god, you're right. I can't believe I was going to stay at home moping about a boy? My god, I'm turning into LJ."

"What should I wear?" Was the question that triggered a tornado

♨︎☤♨︎✄

I managed to get through Thursday but as soon as classes finished on Friday, Q and Kitty flooded my dorm. My roommate went to her boyfriend's dorm to prepare for the party. So they destroyed my closet for twenty minutes to get me ready for this party. There was clothing all over the floor before they came to a consensus. They found a 3 piece pinstripe suit they really like.

"I just know Flo is wearing something similar so I don't want you to match."

"Aw you've moved on to nicknames,"Kitty and I coo

"Yes, but you're the focus right now." He holds the suit on its hanger and waves it around

"Well if It helps, why don't you slut me up? Like you can really make me appeal to the male gaze."

"No no no, if we're going to get you a date, you need to appeal to the female gaze." He throws the suit on my bed

"I have an idea," Kitty raises her hand timidly "When I was dressing you the other day, it was kind of hard to ignore the lingerie in your closet." I immediately freeze

"What! you had lingerie this whole time and didn't tell me!" Q seems to have gone off the rails as he frantically waves a mini dress around

"Yeah," I roll off my bed and separate some jackets to find the hidden piece "My aunt bough it for me because she thought boys would be tripping over me here. It's never been worn, the tags are still on it." I present the lacy pink body suit.

"What the hell this is gorgeous!" Q throws the dress and snatches the body suit from my hands. "Ok, Here's my thoughts" He riffles through the pile of clothes on the ground to reveal my shoe collection. "We ditch the vest in that suit and put this. Then, we get some heavy punky boots to juxtapose that softness of the pink. Then hmm, I think with the undertones of your skin and the color of the suit we add just a shit ton of silver jewelry."

"Sounds good to me, there's a cool pair of boots under my pants drawer." he opened the box to find some ankle high boots,

"No, you need bigger boots." Kitty comments. She is pulling clothes off the ground and puts them back on hangers.

"If that's the case, I'm kind of scared of these," I show some shiny over the knee boots with some buckles.

"Well, you're facing your fears tonight. We're gonna steam these in your shower so they loosen up. Kitty, we have to get started on your outfit."

We run over to their dorms and start riffling through Kitty's closet. and attack it with the same rigor. We cycle through the same treatment and then we do the same for Q. While Q is getting dressed I do Kitty's makeup and we steam her shoes. She looks so gorgeous. Q helps zip her into her dress while I straighten her hair. Florian comes over to help Q with his makeup and they end up making out so I decide to go get ready.

Once back in my dorm, I am confronted by the mess they left in my room. I take ten minutes to hang everything back up and do a quick vacuuming. I take my boots out of the shower and rinse off. But I realize that I need a much softer body so I take almost twenty minutes to shave. I blow dry and curl my hair with a face mask on and apply loads of perfume. I put oils on my skin so it feels silky smooth and put on that god-forsaken body suit.

It shapes my body well but, it gives my boobs an unneeded boost. I suit then take a deep breath and look at myself in the mirror. I look hot. I look hot! I attempt to convince myself. I tug my skirt up my legs and sip myself in. It's a little short that I was prepared to wear and it was extra tight. That's fine it makes me look hot.

I start my makeup, a smoked-out wing liner that lifts my eyes. I keep the base light but apply a blush high on my cheeks. The main focus is my lips, I used a cherry-colored lip tint to make them look extra appealing. I start picking out jewelry, I'm wearing lots of rings, some silver hoops, and a dainty necklace. I decide that my legs need some love so I find a thigh chain with some stars. I put on the jacket and roll up the sleeves and add some bracelets.

I check the time and see that I'm almost late, the party starts in twenty minutes.

Shit.

I find a thick pair of fuzzy pink socks to give my feet some reprieve tonight. Then I spend ten minutes tugging my boots up. They're so fucking tight. I finally get the zipper up my legs and get thrown back at the force. I finally look in the mirror and straighten myself out. I apply another layer of deodorant and then more perfume then put my belongings in a shoulder strap purse.

I catch a taxi to Rubix and on the ride I see tons of texts I received.

'where are you?' from kitty

'why are u so damn late

'u better not be pussying out' from Q

'they're whining pls hurry' from Florian

I put us all in a group chat and share my location then say 'I'm on my goddamn way.' the driver makes small talk with me while I readjust my many rings. I wish he would leave me alone. We finally pull up to the club and I get out and he shouts something about paying. I just walk up to the bouncer and give him some goo-goo eyes. He lets me through the velvet rope with a smile. I hear the taxi driver shout one final protest before I slip into the building.

From the orange reflective hallway, I hear the music is already blaring as I step out. I hear the opening synth to Streets by Doja Cat play as I take the first step from the massive doorway. I take a deep breath and force the embarrassed smile off my face. I put on a confident bitch face and strut my shit down the stairs.

unbeknownst to me there was quite a situation happening under me. Min Ho was just finishing yelling at one of the bouncers when she walked in. She was dripping with confidence and hot. As she struts past him she smelt one of many expensive perfumes. He followed her to the bar preparing to make a move,

"Hey there pretty lady," when she spun around the pink under layer of hair was the first warning sign. But when he took in her face he yelled in shock.

"Ahh not again!" he made a mad dash as (Y/n) took a sip from her virgin spicy martini

"What the hell was that?" She asked Florian as he slid toward her.

"I don't know, he's been acting weird all night. he's like extra stuck up. I don't know." Q and Kitty approach us

"Holy shit you look hot.' Q states, Kitty merely nods with her bottom jaw slightly ajar

"Do you guys have something a little less virgin?" I hold up my drink

"Oui," Florian pulls a flask from his jacket

"Thank god," I hold the glass out to him and watch as he pours vodka into the mix "I brought some gin just in case," I pat my purse

"(Y/n)! I didn't realize you were so naughty" Q gives me a shocked expression

"Well, when you live in the UK for half a year, you learn how to hold your booze. But in Korea, underage drinking is such a huge no go so I didn't have a reason to drink." I down the margarita without a falter in my expression and place the glass on the table

"La vache!" Florian exclaims

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" i grab them by the wrists and start to drag them onto the dance floor

"how can she say something that lame and dad-ish after downing vodka like a wellness shot?"

"I don't know mon amour, she's like an onion." I drag them into the booming music. It's deafening and a perfect catalyst for my body. The booze starts to seep into my blood giving me that extra boost. The music feels like it's caressing my skin as I twist and grind to the music. I see a few people eyeing me from the sides on the floor and motion them over. They join me in dancing to the bumping bass.

man, this Dj must have put something good in his mix.

I start to sweat after dancing in the packed crowd so I traverse to the sidelines to get a drink. I order something mango but fiery and fish through my purse so find my flask. I dump out a shot and a half and smile at the flavor profile. The booze only accentuates the sweetness of the mango juice. I decide that I'm lonely and take a lap only to discover Dae whining at Q and Flo.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"We're pretty sure Dae never got Kittie's necklace."

"Oh shit, she's so mad at you man." I snort and take another sip of my drink "You better find that necklace." I empty the glass once again and set in on the table. "Are you guys staying her for a minute?"

"Yeah, we were just making out." Q states with a smile

"Aw, that's kinda gross. can you watch my purse while I dance?" I'm already pulling it off my shoulder and putting it behind the two

"Yeah sure I guess, we'll just be here." Before I turn around they're already kissing again. I gotta find me one of those. I make a dash straight for the center again. As I move my hips to the DJ's rhythm I scan who's feeling me.

One guy is a little too pointy for my liking, and one's a little creepy but right as the chorus hits I find my goldilocks. The DJ. He's got this cool distressed orange sweater and he's playing a nice set. I make my dive. I approach with a smile.

"Heyy," my tipsiness dawns on me. He is so much taller than me right now. i look up at the booth on a platform.

"Hi, you wanna request something?" he asks in Korean

"Yeah, Maria by HWASA?"

"i like your taste,"

"(Y/n)" I tell him plainly, "What your name?"

"Myung." He turns some dials

"Cool name, Myung." I step up onto the platform. At this point, I'm basically screaming over the music. He grabs me by the hand and pulls me behind the booth. There are no speakers behind us so it's just slightly quieter than before.

"I saw you on the floor, you've got some moves."

"Oh yeah," I drop my pitch a little "You want to see real moves?" He transitions from his current song to Maria. I give him a searing kiss and bite his lip tenderly as I pull away. I take a step toward the ledge and aerial off it, those 7 years of gymnastics really came in handy when I want to show off.

The pre-chorus drops with a booming thud as I make it to the center. A circle forms around me I move to the beat. People crowd me but I feel like I'm giving a private performance. It's just me and Myung. right as the Spanish key change is about to hits I spot him from the corner of my eye,

Min Ho is standing on one of the low stairs with a drink in his hand and a clenched jaw. We lock eyes a moment but roll mine at him and find someone cute to grab onto. I find a European-looking kid as the music switches and we dance to the clapping snares. His hips snap in synch with mine. I pull my hair around and turn in circles with him.

The song comes to a close and I kiss him by pulling his tie and push him away by his pec. I make my way to the bar and get something icy. I skip the booze this time and find Q and Florian once again. They never stopped kissing but somehow manage to hand me back my purse. I pull my phone out and witness a string of texts from Min Ho.

I reply with a thumbs-down emoji and finish off my drink. I put the glass on the counter and right as I want to reenter the floor my bladder chooses otherwise. I waddle to a nearby bathroom but groan at the line. I find Myung and he directs me to the staff bathroom.

"That should take down some of the wait time." I skip into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I feel five pounds lighter after peeing and I wash my hands and put on more deodorant. I readjust my hair and unlock the door.

when I step out Myung is still there, he looks even hotter in the stable dim light.

"Wanna make out?" I suggest and he pulls me in by my waist. I don't have a clue how long we spent just locked together. He felt like heaven against me and the strength he used kept me just barely off my feet. I felt like I was floating. Like I was weightless. Time slows when I'm wrapped in his arms, and I don't mind when his hands start to wander. It's only until we're harshly pulled apart that I return to Earth.

"Are you assaulting one of my guests?" Min Ho yells at Myung before he can protest he interjects "You're fired! Get out!" Myung runs to collect his thing leaving me alone with a raging pretty boy.

"What the hell was that for?" I slap his chest

"Why were you humping that loser?"

"Because I liked it." I drop a hip and give him a smile\

"You're disgusting you know he was trying to grope you? I saw his hand reaching fro your ass."

"I wanted it there," I grunt in frustration and stomp off. I find Kitty who seems past tipsy and talking to some guy in a green jacket. Before I can get to them Yuri shoes him away and give her snacks. They leave the table and I sit on the chair they neglected and angrily pull my flask out. I finish the rest which could only be 3 shots and put my flask back in my purse. The rush of booze burns my throat but I just move through it as Yuri starts her set.

She remixes 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' and I jump around to the beat. I feel free once again. I shake my hair and my hips to the beat. Man Yuri knows how to mix this shit. Maybe I have a thing for DJ's.

Right as I seep into the rhythm the music is brought to an abrupt halt. Principal Han and Professor Lee stand on top of the DJ platform with the plug in their hands. Oh shit. I make a mad dash to an emergency exit by the staff bathroom. I take the side exit and find a cab two blocks from Rubix. I don't remember making it home but i woke up the next day still covered in makeup but clad in a pair of underwear and a big ass teeshirt.

My head pounds from the gentle sunlight filtering through my blinds.

Oh fuck.

[lucy90712]

Hello! Can you write a plot with Fabio Q meeting a jornalist? Thanks

Fabio Quarararo- Crush

A/n: a lot of this will be Fabio's POV

This year is starting like most do with me flying out to Qatar to report on the first motogp race of the season. I have been doing this since 2019 but this year is going to be slightly different as usually I am there just as a journalist but this year I have a job with a tv broadcaster and so I will be doing some presenting and my usual interviews but they will also be filmed for tv now. The whole reason I'm in this position is because after finishing school I used the money I had from working part time to travel to races and trying to combine my passions which are writing and MotoGP. When I tried it I thought I would only make it to a few races but for some reason people actually liked what I wrote and I was able to make some money off it which meant I could keep going to races. Over time I kept building on what I was doing and now I'm very proud of everything I created but it's time to change things up a bit and try presenting as well as journalism. 

As much as I'm very nervous about the switch as writing something to post online and appearing live on tv are very different things I know I just need to do what I always do and I will be fine. It also helps that the first person I'm going to interview is my favourite rider Fabio, I know I'm not supposed to have favourites but he has always been super kind to me and always smiles at me when we see each other in the paddock. I know that that isn't anything special but most people don't acknowledge me when I'm walking around the paddock as I usually keep myself to myself but Fabio always acknowledges my existence which is nice. Having him be the first person I interview for tv is keeping me calmer as I know that he will be patient with me if things go wrong and he's always happy to answer questions when we did media last year so hopefully he'll be the same this year. 

When I arrived this morning I was given a schedule and joined by a camera man straight away so that we could go and set up our filming spot for the day. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing as I have never had to film interviews before as I always just use my phone to record the audio but luckily everyone else knew what they should be doing so I just had to prepare my questions and notes. As we had a bit of time before Fabio would arrive for his interview I sat down and started to write down my own questions to add to the few I was given for each interview as I like to make interviews more interesting than just the basic questions everyone asks. Quickly I realised that I was doing that as a distraction because as soon as I stopped I got incredibly nervous and had to walk away from where we had set up to calm myself down and tell myself it's just like any other interview. 

Fabio's POV

Being back to racing is great but I can't say I've missed the media side of things as that's always my least favourite part of a race weekend but it comes with the job. The first interviews of the season are usually the worst as no one really has anything to ask as we haven't been on track yet so usually questions are about testing or last season. When I first arrived to the track we had a team meeting to discuss the finalised spec of the bikes and just other general things but then it was time for my first interview so I headed there with the team media manager while looking at my phone to reply to some messages. While we walked I was given a briefing of the schedule for the day which was pretty packed but honestly it wasn't really any different to usual. 

Finally we reached the media centre where I had my first interview and just as I was about to sit down I almost stopped dead in my track when I saw who was doing the interview. Ever since I joined motogp there has been this girl who is always at every race and usually she is there with all the rest of the journalists recording and writing notes on our briefings. To everyone else she is probably just a normal journalist but from the second I saw her I thought she was incredibly pretty and always loved to see her at the debriefs. When walking around the paddock I always smile at her when I see her but we haven't spoken because I haven't been brave enough to strike up a conversation. None of that matters now as I'll have to speak to her for this interview and who knows maybe that will make me actually talk to her more often. 

Thinking about it more I don't know why she's doing this interview as normally she just writes about the sport which I know because I like to read whatever she puts out as it's actually interesting to read. As this is an interview for tv I'm quite surprised to see her as it's not something I ever expected her to do but I'm actually quite happy to see her as if this is something she's doing all season I think media is going to be a lot better. I also felt somewhat proud that after these last few years of just seeing her sit quietly and work hard on her skills that she got the recognition she deserved and is now working for a tv broadcaster. 

As I sat down she looked very nervous as I could see her biting her lip and tapping her pen on the notebook she had in her hand but I was hoping I could make her feel less nervous once we got started. She offered me a smile as she handed me a microphone which I could tell wasn't on so I quickly turned it on so that she didn't get embarrassed about doing something wrong before we even started. Once we started rolling and got a few questions out the way she definitely settled down and started to have more fun with it by asking more interesting questions which I enjoyed as I know for the rest of the day I'll be asked the same question a million times. We definitely went over the scheduled time but it was well worth it as it's the best interview I've done in a long time. After we were done with the interview I was determined to actually talk to her so I went over to her before realising I didn't know what to say. 

"Hey I just wanted to properly say hello as I've seen you around the last few years" I said 

"Well hello I should probably introduce myself I'm y/n" she said 

"Lovely to properly meet you y/n I'm Fabio but you already knew that" I joked 

We talked for a bit longer and I learnt that she started all of this on a whim after turning 18 and has since made it a career which I thought was really impressive. She talked about her new position a bit and how now she'll be doing more interviews and some presenting so I should see even more of her than usual. With how tight our schedules are we didn't really get chance to talk about anything other than work but it gives me an excuse to talk to her again. I didn't even get chance to properly say goodbye to her as I was made to go to my next interview and she had to talk with one of the other presenters about something. 

~~~~~~~~~~

After the first race I have seen so much more of y/n as she does all the interviews for the broadcaster she works for so I get to see her on media day and throughout the weekend. Doing those interviews has become my favourite parts of the day as she always has a smile on her face and always has something positive to say about the session even if it hasn't been the best for us which I like. I have also been trying to speak to her a bit outside of interviews which isn't always the easiest thing as we both have other things to do all the time but I try my best. Because I keep trying my best to speak to her I have learnt a bit more about her as a person like I know that she is a year younger than me and can speak bits of many different languages as she learnt them to speak to people around the paddock. She's just such a cool person and has so many stories to tell but you would never know as she just does her own thing and no one else cares enough to find out more. 

As much as I enjoy when I have interviews with her and getting to talk to her a bit in between I would love to spend time with her outside of work when there isn't such strict schedules to stick to. This is why I've been trying to build up the courage to ask her to go for drinks or something after a race weekend but its not been going quite to plan. Every race weekend I tell myself that I'm just going to ask her as the worst that can happen is that she says no but I just can't make myself do it. However this weekend I have promised myself that I will do it and I have told Jake (Dixon) so he will hold me accountable no matter how nervous I get. I don't know why I'm so nervous about it as I've never been like that before but something about y/n just makes me nervous in general. 

This weekend has been pretty chaotic as it is Le Mans which means I've had more interviews than usual so I haven't really had chance to speak to y/n but today after the race I'm determined to do it for myself and to avoid being ridiculed by my friends for backing out. Once the race was over my mind went straight to thinking about y/n like it usually does just this time I was worried about seeing her not excited. Through all of my other interviews I wasn't really paying attention as my one with y/n happened to be my last one which felt like the universe was trying to push me to ask her as well. 

When I got there she was all smiles as usual but there was no time for us to even say hello before we had to start as we were both running late so we quickly got on with the interview. After we were done she began to pack up all of her things and thanked the camera crew as they were now done for the day while I let my media manager go so that I could be alone with y/n. As I stood there waiting I began to get incredibly nervous again but I knew I had to do it especially when I got a text from Jake telling me that if I don't do it he will do it himself which I definitely don't want. Once she was ready I made my way over to her and psyched myself up to ask her but before I could start the conversation she did. 

"Hey there I feel like I've barely seen you this weekend how has your home race been?" She asked 

"Its been amazing even if I would have liked to have won the atmosphere has been incredible it's so weird to see so many people cheering for you" I replied 

"I could hear the crowd earlier and it was pretty loud from here so I can only imagine what its like actually out on track" she said 

"Yeah it was really cool, I wanted to ask you if at some point you would want to go and get drinks or some food" I said 

"I would love to when were you thinking?" She asked 

"If you are free now I know somewhere quiet we can go" I said 

"I'm free" she said 

~~~~~~~~~~

We agreed for me to pick her up from her hotel at 6 which is why I'm currently sat outside waiting for her to come out the door. Since I asked her I've been a lot less nervous as I know we get along and there is a lot for us to talk about so it shouldn't be awkward at any point plus she agreed to come out with me so it's not like she doesn't want to be here. At exactly 6 o'clock because y/n is always on time she walked out of the hotel front door looking absolutely stunning. She wasn't wearing anything particularly fancy but her hair was down and looked incredible and she had taken her makeup off so you could see how naturally beautiful she was. Once I saw her I got out of my car and went around to open the passenger door for her which she thanked me for after she said hello and got in the car. When in the car we got straight to talking like we had been friends for years which made me feel a bit conflicted because as much as it's nice that we are so comfortable with each other I would love to be more than friends but I'm not sure if that's what she wants. 

When we got to the little bar/restaurant I picked for us to go to we got given a table pretty quickly and then ordered our food and drinks before getting back to our conversation. Immediately we started joking and laughing with each other which had some people in the restaurant staring at us but neither of us cared as we were having fun. We told stories from our lives outside of the track the whole evening which was really nice as we haven't had too much chance to get to know more about each other's life. She kept saying that she hasn't lived the most interesting life but I loved every story that she told as I haven't lived a very normal life so it was interesting to hear what she had done with her life and family. 

After we finished eating and had a few drinks I paid even though she wanted to split the bill and then we went for a little walk around the town as its a small place so not too many people should be around. As time went on it got colder outside which y/n clearly wasn't prepared for as I could see her getting a bit cold. We walked for a bit longer before I could see that she was really cold so I took my hoodie off and gave it to her which she refused at first but I made her put it on before we went any further. Eventually we made it back to the car and I drove her back to her hotel where we said goodbye to each other and said we would do this again at the next race which happens to be next weekend.

~~~~~~~~~~

It is Thursday again which means its media day but luckily I'm almost done for the day and next I have my interview with y/n. I haven't seen her since we went out together last Sunday so I can't wait to se her again and maybe properly agree to do that again. I was so in my head thinking about plans for this weekend that I didn't even realise that it wasn't y/n doing the interview it was one of her colleagues. It took me by surprise but I told myself that she must just have something else to do or maybe her flight got delayed both of which are very reasonable things but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but worry about her. 

As the day went on I hadn't seen y/n around at all which wasn't how it normally is as usually we run into each other all the time and because I hadn't seen her my mind has been running wild with a million things that could of happened some of which I know are ridiculous but I can't help but worry about her. Typically we have never exchanged phone numbers as most of the time we only talk in the paddock so I can't just text her to make sure she's ok. I tried to just ignore it as its only one weekend but it was bugging me too much so I decided to find one of her colleagues to see if they had her number as they know we get along so they should be ok with giving me her number. 

I found one of her colleagues quite quickly and they were happy to give me her number and didn't even ask why which was great as I didn't want to admit that it's because I like her so much that her missing a race weekend has me worried. Once I got out of the conversation I went straight back to my motorhome and typed the number in and clicking the call button. Straight away I kind of regretted it as if she answers and has some good reason for not being here she's going to think that I'm weird for calling her and being so worried. I was beginning to hope that she wouldn't answer which is quite likely as to her it will just be a random phone number. With each ring it was looking less like she was going to answer but just as I thought the universe had saved me from embarrassment the ringing stopped and I heard her voice come through my phone. 

"Hello, who is this?" She asked 

"Hey y/n its me Fabio I'm really sorry for calling you but you weren't at the track and I wanted to make sure everything was alright" I kind of rambled to try and make myself look less weird 

"Oh hi everything is fine I just caught an awful sickness from my nephew when I went to help my sister out and they told me not to come to this weekends race even though I wanted to" she explained 

"That sounds awful I hope you feel better soon" I said sympathetically 

"Thank you but I have to ask who did you get my number from and why did you phone?" She asked 

Those were the exact questions I didn't really want her to ask as I know I'm going to have to tell the truth which could be awkward.

"I got your number off your colleague and I phoned as I was worried about you I mean you are always here and when you weren't I couldn't stop worrying about if you were ok" I said 

"Why were you so worried?" She probed 

"I'm just going to admit it as it will make things easier I really like you y/n and as more than a friend which is why you are always on my mind and why I was so worried when I didn't see you today as I just want to know that you are ok and happy" I admitted 

"Well I like you too" she said 

"Oh thank god I was worried I would ruin a good friendship how about we go on a proper date once you feel better" I suggested 

"I would love that I'll text you now that I have your number" she laughed 

With that I ended the call with the biggest smile on my face. It probably would have taken me months to actually ask her on a date if this hadn't happened so I guess her being sick has a good side to it. 

[ocean-anchored]

Dear Future self....July 24, 2024

Man, I've been procrastinating this one for a while. Life has been wildly busy, I don't even know where I left off last time so I'm not going to even attempt to try & recap the last few months or weeks. Between going to Edmonton for hockey games, Jasper weekend for Coleson's golfing, going to the farm, stampede, Kamber moving to Lomond, work. It's been crazy busy. I don't even have the mental capacity to really write much, I barley slept last night & feel like I've been on the cusp of burnout for a while just being nonstop. Everytime I'm home it's like I've packed my week back to back with seeing people & then I go to the farm & that's great, it's relaxing but it hasn't been enough. Work has been going well, managing some team members, thankfully it's been a bit more chill minus the odd day, where I've been able to have a bit of down time (lately its been for packing though). It's been good though & Q has been working out. Went to Edmonton Monday to yesterday & met Jason Frye our government relations advisor which was great. Going to be going to Cleveland/Columbus & Minneapolis in October though. Friends have been overall pretty good. Sasha's been going through a difficult time with her BF & debating on carrying that relationship on. Amber's been great as usual, still been spending a few times a week with her as I can. Kamber I've barley seen but we went for Hot Pot some weeks ago which was great, she just moved last weekend to Lomond which is only about 30 mins from Coleson's which is amazing. Amanda started a womans prayer night which has been really great & so needed. Just her, Allison, Stacy & I. We're supposed to have another one tomorrow night which will be our 3rd, it's been really great to connect & to pray for each other. Steven & Amanda have been great, they came out to the farm a few weeks ago which was nice for them to come out. There was a wildly crazy storm & the power went out overnight but it was a nice weekend. I've seen Mel & Gray a handful of times, but this past week or two has been a bit weird with Mel & I feel like she's mad at me or something. But I had a chat with mom last week in general & we were just talking about her & yeah, I think just with putting up boundaries she's maybe realized she can't "parent" me anymore & that I've "challenged" her on some of her views (soul ties, jezabel spirit etc) where I haven't found these things in the bible so maybe that's caused a bit of a difference between us & maybe she doesn't feel she can share as much with me because I don't believe in some of these things but we'll see. I'm moving this weekend to the farm to live with Coleson's parents so that's going to be a big change. It's been one thing saying I'm moving, but it's been hitting me slowly the last week that I'm actually going. I look forward to being able to just get back into routine though, but it'll be a learning curve with more effort into making plans with friends & seeing people. A big heavy reliance on communication, but I'm sure I'll have more time for writing soon. Coleson's brother got two little Bernese pups which are super cute so that's fun.

[frolickingaroundflorence]

Studying Abroad in Florence, Italy - The Opportunities are Endless!

Florence, Italy has been a hot spot travel place for as long as can be remembered. It is especially popular here at Endicott College, as about 150 students decide to study abroad there each school year. It is one of the many countries Endicott College offers as their study abroad destinations and year after year, the number of students who pick it as their preferred destination grows. From the culture to the food to the possibilities it has to offer students, it is a great place and the abroad program Endicott College has makes it so easily accessible for students, especially since we have a sister school named Florence University of the Arts. Thich allows students of all majors to be able to choose Florence. I had the chance to sit down with Warren Jafarian, the Dean of International Education, and talk to him about his involvement with the study abroad program at Endicott, and we got to discuss the importance of experiencing different cultures, saying “we need to take into account other people’s perspectives and views and that ultimately the more we get to know something the less we fear it and we can integrate and become less fearful of others differences”. 

Not only is Florence an amazing place to visit, but just being abroad gives you the opportunity to travel to many other places in Europe. Getting around the continent of Europe is much easier than the United States and with your weekends free, you can hop from place to place, getting to experience so many different places and cultures. I had the chance to study abroad in the spring semester of 2023 and it was such an terrific experience. I was able to visit seven countries in just four short months and I will never forget the memories I made. I had the chance to sit down and talk with my roommate and travel buddy Kathryn Ross, a senior marketing advertising and communications major who also experienced Florence and had nothing but incredible things to say about her time there and all of the opportunities she had while being abroad. 

Q & A with Kathryn Ross:

Paige: Hi Kat, thank you for agreeing to sit down with me and talk about your experiences while studying abroad in Florence, Italy. So to start off, how would you say you decided to study abroad and how did you pick Florence? Has studying abroad always been something you have wanted to do?

Kat: I have always wanted to study abroad. I went abroad for a week in high school and I really loved the experience so I knew I wanted to go back. I went to Italy in high school but never went to Florence, so I knew that’s where I wanted to go to explore more of the country I loved so much.

Paige: That sounds awesome! Next I am wondering what an average day looked like for you in Florence?

Kat: A day in the life for me while abroad was pretty much the same every day. We only had one class a day which was so nice because we had so much free time to explore the city. I would normally wake up, get ready, go to a cafe for breakfast and get a croissant and cappuccino, walk around a bit, go to class which normally lasted three hours, make some sort of fantastic dinner, and then go out on the town at night!

Paige: What was your favorite place you had the opportunity to visit while being abroad?

Kat: Ooh, that’s tough. I think my favorite place was Sicily because it was so different from all the other places we went to and it being in Italy yet being so different from the city we were living in was really cool to see. We went in April and the weather was amazing, we got to go to the beach and it was just such a relaxing yet fun trip.

Paige: What were some challenges of studying abroad?

Kat: I would say my biggest challenge was money. When you’re abroad you want to do as much as you can, but not having an income yet spending so much money was hard. By the end of the four months, I was pretty low on money but that just shows it was a great time haha. 

Paige: I think it is so great how being abroad gives you so many opportunities to travel that you may have not had otherwise. What would you say are the differences between traveling abroad and traveling within the United States? 

Kat: It is so easy to travel abroad. It is definitely hard to coordinate trips with a group of people but if I was traveling alone I literally could just bring my passport and go wherever I wanted to. There are also so many more options like trains, planes, ferries. It is like going state to state in the United States and you can just travel from country to country as long as it’s in the EU. It is also so much cheaper which gave us a lot of amazing opportunities to travel to seven different countries and many different parts of Italy while we were there. 

Paige: You seem to have had a really amazing time. Why do you think it is important for students to take the opportunity to study abroad, especially since Endicott has such a great program for it?

Kat: I think that going abroad is an experience that you may never get again and it is so important to take that opportunity while you have it. It is the perfect time in life as you’re not there to work, you're just taking classes yet getting to experience so many different things. I think it is so important to experience different cultures, lifestyles, people and the study abroad program at Endicott really gives you that.  

Paige: One funny question, what was your favorite meal you ate in Italy?

Kat: Oooh that’s such a tough question. I think I have to say two: there was the avocado and pomegranate pasta at Acqua al 2 that sounds weird but was so good and then a ragu and cheese pasta dish which was so basic but done so so well. I wish I could go back and eat it all again. 

Paige: Two things to end, what is the next country on your bucket list and what is one thing you think students should know before studying abroad?

Kat: The next country on my bucket list is Copenhagen, we didn’t get the chance to go anywhere Northern really during our time there because it was a bit further so I definitely want to get up there someday. I actually have applied to a job that has both a Boston and Copenhagen office and I think studying abroad gave me that confidence to apply. And then something everyone should know… I think everyone should just be very open minded and honestly say yes to everything! 

Paige: Thank you so much for your time, Kat. It was a pleasure to talk with you and hear about your experience! 

Kat: Thank you I’m glad I could help you out!

Q & A with Warren Jafarian: 

Paige: Hi Professor Jafarian , thank you for agreeing to sit down with me and talk about your experiences with the study abroad program here at Endicott. Would you like to introduce yourself?

Warren: My name is Warren Jafarian and I’m the Dean of International Education here at Endicott College.

Paige: Awesome, so can you tell me a little bit about how you got started with traveling and if it had always been something you were interested in?

Warren: It first started when I was six years old and my father was working for a corporation in Boston that wanted to go international. So, he packed up the family and we moved to Switzerland and I was just starting first grade. From that point, I grew up in Switzerland and went to an international school where we spoke both English and French in Geneva. Then I came back to the states to finish high school and that kinda helped my whole trajectory after that. 

Paige: That is so cool. Ok, next I am wondering how you got involved with the study abroad program here at Endicott?

Warren: Well, I worked in international business and I would come to the college every summer for a conference and I got to see the place grow and I got to know the president and one year he asked me if I had ever had any interest in working in higher education. I told him I did, and he said “well have you ever thought about working at Endicott” and I said I’ve seen the place grow, I’ve seen the dynamic, it’s a beautiful place and it all just kinda started there. I ended up being offered a job to expand and grow the international program here and so I’m in my thirteenth year now and it’s … I’m not taking credit but things have grown significantly since I first got here and it’s just great to see. 

Paige: I love that. Ok, why do you think it is important for students to take the opportunity to study abroad?

Warren: I think because we end up, if we don’t, we end up seeing the world through just sort of one lens and we miss out on the fact that there isn’t just one solution to a problem and we need to take into account other people’s perspectives and views and that ultimately the more we get to know something the less we fear it and we can integrate and become less fearful of others differences. 

Paige: I definitely agree. To end, if you could pick what would you say is your favorite place you have ever visited?

Warren: I get asked this all the time and it always changes, normally it’s the last place I’ve visited so I’ll go with that and say my experience of going to Kenya this past summer with a group of Endicott students. I have to say that that was a very profound experience. I had the opportunity of working in and experiencing West Africa, but getting to experience East Africa and see all the wildlife was truly amazing and we actually adopted an elephant here at Endicott that we donate funds to. It’s so important for us to go see these things and understand the importance of protecting the wildlife that is out there. 

Paige: So cool. Well, thank you so much for chatting with me Warren. It was so cool to hear about your experiences and your involvement in the amazing study abroad program we have here at Endicott. 

Warren: Thank you, this was great! 

[theultimatebakeoff-brianna]

A Look Behind the Pastry Case

Courtney Dougan’s Experience as an Employee at Quebrada Baking Company in Arlington, MA

Courtney Dougan is a hometown friend that I grew up with, and she also happens to be a student at Endicott College like myself. Right now she is an Elementary Education major, and throughout high school, Courtney was a member of the cheer team and the gymnastics team. Right after the height of Covid, Courtney got a job at Quebrada Baking Company in Arlington with the help of her cheerleading teammate Faith. While Courtney is still at college, she tends to go home and work at the bakery during school vacations and holiday weekends. 

 Quebrada has bakery locations in Arlington, Belmont, Watertown, and Wellesley Massachusetts. The Mass Ave bakery has a delicious array of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, breakfast sandwiches, and more. They also serve a selection of coffee and tea drinks. Quebrada tends to be busiest in the early mornings. Local customers keep coming back for special breakfast items and a caffeine fix. The prices for items like cupcakes and pastries range from $2 to $6. A breakfast sandwich is around $8. At the lowest price, the classic cookie flavors are $1.87 each. Customers can order cakes and cupcakes in one of Quebrada’s signature flavors, or customize a cake based on their own preferences. Quebrada Baking Co. takes pride in its community involvement initiatives to support the local community of each bakery location. In this interview, Courtney provides an insider perspective of what it is like as a young employee at a bakery. She highlights both the positive and negative aspects that come with the job. 

Q: How long have you worked at Quebrada Baking Co. and what is your position there?

A: I started at Quebrada the summer going into junior year of high school. It was right after Covid. Faith Griffin, somebody that I used to cheer with got me the job. I worked behind the counter as a cashier and food server. I still work at the bakery on breaks and weekends when I’m not at Endicott College. 

Q: What was it like when you first started working there?

A: It was very busy because I got trained in the mornings. So you have to deal with the morning rush. But once you can do the morning, the afternoon is quiet so it gets super easy.

Q: What were the main things you did on the job?

A: We took customers' orders and got them out of the case, then rang the customers up. We also made the coffee that people ordered and had to make backup coffee for the day. We decorated cakes but a lot of the baking was done at the headquarters of Quebrada. And of course, we had to clean up.

Q: Did you ever get to bake anything?

A: Yeah, we did bake cookies. We got to decorate a lot of the cakes there. We also baked the croissants for all of the breakfast sandwiches. We also baked the scones and muffins, but the actual cupcakes and cakes were baked at the headquarters.

Q: What are the customers like at Quebrada?

A: They were all very nice and a lot of them were locals. Many of them came in every single day. We definitely got to know them. I see a lot of people that I know come to Quebrada. I see so many people. So many people will come in and tell me “I know your mom!”, and I have seen some teachers. I saw a teacher from middle school the other day and she was picking something up for Easter. 

Q: Do you have any stories about bad customers?

A: We did have a few bad customers, even some over break this year. There was one lady who was refusing to pay until a Black customer left the store. I was astonished. I was like “Can you repeat that for me?” I told her that somebody else was gonna ring her up and that there was a line behind her, but I told her I was not waiting on her. I was so caught off guard to hear that at Quebrada. 

Q: Do you have any more interesting stories from working at Quebrada?

A: I have lots of crazy stories. The old manager that I worked with for about 2 weeks got fired for acting inappropriately toward some of the employees. I also don’t really like one of my managers. But I actually trained her and I have worked at the bakery longer than her. So yeah I do have many interesting stories to tell from the job. 

Q: Do you get free food or drinks while working at the bakery?

A: Oh yeah. I get free food and drinks whenever I want so I don’t have to pay for anything. That is one of the benefits of working at a bakery. 

Q: What are some of your favorite things to eat or drink at the bakery?

A: I love the sausage egg and cheese. I also love the parmesan scallion scones. I also like to make my own coffee there. But yeah nobody else has parmesan scallion scones, so I loved to get them at Quebrada.

Q: Did the bakery connect with the community in any way?

A: Quebrada does a lot of community involvement. Each month there is a charity item and all of the profits go to a certain charity that we choose. One time it was for a women’s shelter, sometimes it is certain things for education. Some are donations for cancer. They did our Last Blast cookies, which was an event for seniors in the Class of 2022 that just graduated from Arlington High School. They donated all of the cookies for that. I did cheer raffles with them. People would ask if we could donate a gift card for things like raffles, and we would always donate the gift card for that. We would sometimes give a flier for a free cake, which could also be raffled off. So they did a lot of community involvement and donations which was great. 

Q: Have you faced any challenges while working at the bakery?

A: Not really. It was mostly just having to deal with people being annoying. Nothing has ever been a long-term issue or a long-term challenge. It's just easy to get fed up with things that come with food service while I am working there. 

Q: What is your favorite thing about working at Quebrada?

A: I liked a lot of the people I worked with. It was just a really easy job for me. There were also many benefits that came with it. 

Q: What was it like working with your coworkers, were you friends with any of them?

A: When I started working at Quebrada I knew Faith, who got me the job. Two other girls that I had also cheered with worked at the bakery. There were also two other seniors from Arlington High School that I sort of knew. Later on, a few of my friends got a job at the bakery and a girl from another town did too, so we were all friends at the job. We were all around the same age, so we were all good friends. 

Q: Do you recommend working at Quebrada?

A: Yes I do recommend working there. I have gotten many people jobs at the bakery. I got a friend a job there. I always tell my cousins that they should work at Quebrada. But it is an easy job. It was also really nice because it was close to home, right in Arlington. I could leave 10 minutes before my shift started. 

Q: What have you learned from working at a bakery?

A: I learned how to deal with people and also work with them. I learned how to be nice to random people that were not very nice to me. I learned customer service skills. I learned all about coffee and espresso. I also got to learn about baking.

[letsgetrowdy43]

Touch Tank—

Quinn Hughes x Reader

ynofficial just posted!!

liked by lhughes_06 and 39 928 others

ynofficial Huggy doesn't like my affections 🌃

tagged: _quinnhughes

Load more comments

Jackhughes anyone else thinking what I'm thinking??

ynofficial stopping thinking lil jizzy it’s never good for anyone

_quinnhughes The nickname 😒

ynofficial cute nickname for a cutie like yourself 😉

_quinnhughes I hated that

user1 she is living the life 😩

user82 more like living the dream

user72 dude why can’t my nights be this fun

Bohorvat Quinner hates everything

_quinnhughes I do not, I just hate when you two team up against me

ynofficial I know you love me Q

_quinnhughes no ❤️

ynofficial this is the first complaint I’ve heard since freshman year, suck it up

—

ynofficial just posted!!

liked by @elblue6 and 29 911 others

ynofficial You're now looking at the official Media Manager for the @Canucks #promotion

Load more comments

user3 welcome to the shitshow??

user38 congrats!!

Canucks Welcome to the team!! #slayed

ynofficial I def did not post that comment myself :)

user4 You accepted a position with the most dumpster fire team in the league atm? Why?

ynofficial a) money b) annoying my roommate it’s an all around win 😏

Umichhockey guess the public relations degree did come in use!!

_quinnhughes you just took the position so you could take pictures of me

ynofficial exactly, who wouldnt wanna take pictures of your pretty face Q?

lhughes_06 is that sexual tension I sense?

Ynofficial Is that a socially awkward giant I see?

—

_quinnhughes just posted!!

liked by user39 and 50 829 others

_quinnhughes celebrating the big win vs Toronto and my favourite person/media manager’s birthday 🎉

load more comments

ynofficial IM YOUR FAVOURITE PERSON

user92 she's like a hyper child

_quinnhughes only cause its your birthday

bboeser big softie

_Eliaspettersson happy y/n day!!!

user32 2 ASSISTS AND A GOAL 🐳

user28 big day for the sad man

elblue6 happy birthday honey 🥳

ynofficial thank you Ellen ❤️

_quinnhughes kiss ass

—

ynofficial just posted!!

Liked by emmachamberlain and 18 282 others

ynofficial this charity event was a pain in the ass to plan but the outcome was so worth it <3

load more comments

user3 literally ethereal

user69 how have one of those hockey fucks not snatched you up yet?

ynsister THE SILHOUETTE ON THIS DRESS OMG

Amybethmcnulty OBSESSED WITH YOU

ynofficial thank you lovey

_quinnhughes you clean up nicely :)

liked by ynofficial and 281 others

user28 that’s what you consider flirting??

trevorzegras w rizz

canucks Cheers 🥂

—

jackhughes just posted!!

Liked by trevorzegras and 92 922 other

jackhughes moosey’s draft weekend #4thoverall

Tagged: lhughes_06

load more comments

nicohischier Congrats!!

user72 Jack looks like he’s about to explode

trevorzegras wtf is that thing on the last slide

lhughes_06 love you man

user88 this is so wholesome

NJdevils @canucks give us Quinn and y/n and we will have a full set

canucks you will have to rip them from our bare hands 🙌

ynofficial jizzy you always get me at my worst 😔

_quinnhughes I thought you looked cute

joshnorris10 Ofc you’d say some dumb shit like that.

—

ynofficial just posted!!

Liked by briiiiiiig and 38 929 others

ynofficial the gentle lover

comments are disabled

_quinnhughes just posted!!

Liked by nicohischier and 54 953 others

_quinnhughes the off season has been treating me well

load more comments

Jackhughes maybe he is smoother with the ladies

Eliaspettersson maybe he does have heart

user30 my dreams have been crushed

canucks 🤨

user74 if I can't have him at least she does 😪

graceabrams I don't keep up with sports, but I've kept up with whatever romance story this was

umichhockey been the #1 supporter for nearly six years!!

-

-

-

-

-

[mainsdeluxe]

7th call area qso party macloggerdx

7th call area qso party macloggerdx install#

AGGGGGGGHHHH!!!! Fighting Microsoft way too early on a weekend is NOT what I wanted! I noticed this same problem was previously raised on the Writelog reflector, but there was no solution posted.

7th call area qso party macloggerdx install#

Unfortunately, when I tried to install Writelog, I got a Windows error message stating that a DLL could not be run and to consult my administrator, at which point the installation halted. I woke up really early Saturday morning and arrived at the shack at 5am to install the new version of Writelog that supports 7QP. Calling CQ on Phone was surprisingly productive! Risto checked 160m, but never heard any 7-land signals there. Thanks for a great QSO party! Was only on for a couple of hours, and once again, failed to hear that elusive Idaho station! Thanks for a great operating activity!Ĭan you imagine what this will be like with a few sunspots and some decent 15 and 10 meter propagation ? Wow ! Can't wait. I sure enjoyed the first 7QP! I look forward to doing it again next year. Congratulations on organizing all the activity, more 7's on than in SS! Thanks for the Q's and the rare counties worked 95 total. My primary effort for the weekend was the MARAC CW test, so I didn't work much phone, but I ran off about 40 quick Q's on phone at 15Z. What a great start for a contest! Lots of actvity and good mobile action from rare counties. Sure made all those 7-land states easy to work. Exception: couldn't enter multiple counties on one line.Ī decent amount of activity. Logging SW improvements are needed, but TR worked well for me. Looks like a great start for the contest. Wish I had more time to play in this one. Ira K2RD, Paolo I2UIY and Rusty W6OAT (K7SB) Congratulations on getting off to such a fine start. A real tip of the hat to the fellows who organized the 7QP, the CODXC, and especially Dick, K4XU, who got the ball rolling on this last year and really showed how the Left coast can party! See you next year.ħQP was great fun. We had a blast, the rate was good, the activity was excellent, and top notch operators across the country, what a pleasure to work so many. K7ZSD me, dragging a hurt foot around wearing a cooking apron K7AR SSB and watching the Saturday soaps with my wife K7GK doing it all with rate on CW and SSB KI7Y with a key in one hand and a mic in the other Everybody here got into it and worked hard, what a group of great guys: There was no problem on 40m, we just operated high in the band on SSB. Jim's camper at that end of the property with a 250' extension cord, and we had a station that could operate CW, while we did SSB at the house! There was a bit of RF hash on 20m for the CW station, and a few frequencies we couldn't operate on phone, but it worked well. A couple of the fellows brought up radios and amps the day before, and we put up a 50' tower at the other end of the six acres here, stuck a homemade 20m Moxon on it, put up a 40m inverted V in a 70' tree, and there we were (very late Friday night). We have the station at the house with two operating positions and two towers, but we needed a third. So, waiting until the last minute, well actually the day before, we came up with a plan to operate three stations. This year we decided a week before, to operate multi in the inaugural 7QP. The Oregon QSO Party has always been an event here at Smoke Ranch and the last few years operating a multi effort. We were a bit short of operators including our top CW team. I enjoyed participating in this QSO Party and hearing so many seven call area stations on the bands. This one is a keeper - see you next year. I think the first weekend of May is now overloaded with contests (7QP, INQP, NEQP, CH, and ARI). The downside (for me) was that the 7-land guys were so active that they kind of took over the band from the New England QSO Party! :) But, it was nice to call CQ and have so many answers from WY, MT, and ID!Ĭongratulations again. Probably the best debut of a new QSO party I can think of! Congratulations to the 7QP organizers! From here in W1, it appeared that the activity from all across the 7th call area was fantastic.