#this feels like important information Joann

[creativly-anxious]

Currently losing my mind over the fucking Fidelius Charm while trying to plot a timeline for my Harry Potter au

[kazz-brekker]

one of my favorite ways books can do a plot twist is to use the fact that they are a written medium and not a visual medium to tell a story in a way where you THINK you know what's happening and who the characters are, but actually, what you're imagining is different than the reality of the story because of a few key details you didn't notice have been left out. and then, when the truth is revealed you're like "oh my god! how did i not see this!!" when of course the reason why you didn't is because you're seeing the book filtered through the perspective of a narrator who does not feel the need to explain every aspect of the world and their mind to you, and so something that is so shocking to you has actually been known to them all along.

[astropookie]

synastry/composite chart observations not the type you wanted though 😝

joann sfar

synastry

⚘ I’ve noticed every friendship I’ve that ended up other me cutting them out had their Chiron on my 12H. could mean searching for your path, like taking conscious for what direction their friendship is going.

⚘ I have a twin and we have the same birth chart: our synastry is horrible. jk but there’s a lot of conjunctions -exact positions-, conjunctions are not always ideal, a lot less when it’s in excess. not if you’re searching for a deep relationship. there’s a lot of boredom and conflict. for example, ascendant conjunction ascendant can bring superficiality and from one part trying to be peaceful, without expressing themselves truthfully, delivering to boredom from both parts.

⚘ venus opposition moon: venus can feel the moon is too distant, as if they have wall in front of them. the way venus wish the moon shows their love and care for them is not as they expected. venus has to somehow try to understand -if they want the relationship to advance- not everyone shows love the same way. also moon needs to exteriorize or help the moon: not only venus to do all the work.

⚘ their lilith (mean) on 12H means the lilith person embrace what 12H represents on the house persons's life. their spirituality, their subconscious. to be more in tune with it. for example, ik two people with this synastry and the lilith person is very spiritual, they even have payed for medium sessions for the house person -doesn’t have to be that specific, spirituality can be expressed in different ways-.

composite

𑁍 the ascendant says a lot in a composite chart, it’s the vibe, how they unfold between each other. for example, if the ascendant is in aquarius, while time passes, they learn to enjoy and embrace the goofiness of each other, they spend a good time and are comfortable with each other.

𑁍 also, the degree of the ascendant it’s important. it explains how they react to things in general, how they solve their problems in pair. for example, if there’s aries degree, it says that there’s a part of individuality here, aries reminds me of someone who can get carried away by their impulses and leadership traits, they want to do their thing, on their own. one of the pair it’s feeling left out in some kinda way. not saying all the time but in a specific topic, there’s more information if you between the dots reading the chart.

𑁍 jupiter conjunction venus tells in this relationship they can bring positivity and joy between each other, they help each other to get out of hard/emo times. they could have survived together from different groups.

𑁍 10H stellium can tell they share the same vision, goal drive. the both of them are focused on their careers and success, they agree that’s first on their life.

𑁍 saturn square neptune 1° orb: there’s tension between focusing on what’s necessary and what’s what they want, their dreams or main goals can be postponed or realized later on life, together. lack of discipline?

𑁍 north node opposition saturn: they’re meant to have difficulties with understanding the order of the other, their attitude towards authorities, their goals, their ethics are different.

𑁍 taurus 11H stellium can tell this relationship is build by the same values and it’s more likely to be a friendship than another type of relationship. they’re more conservative and protective of each other, I’ve also noticed they’re able to give each other space when the other needs it or to not be too persistent between each other. also they can gossip A LOT. they can literally see each other just for the yap.

𑁍 chiron square mars 0° orb: there are issues to being direct in what they’re annoyed, to fight and to not escape, they probably want to be in peace and focus on it, not remembering that treating the problem together can be more beneficial. the orb makes an emphasis. while time passes, they’re meant to reach balance, in other words, to learn from this and take action.

(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ૮꒰ྀི⸝⸝> . <⸝⸝꒱ྀིა ∗ ࣪ ˖༺ ♡ ༻˖ ࣪ ∗ */ᐠ - ˕ -マ✩ (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)∗ ࣪

♡ Based on personal experience and I’ve analyzed in my surroundings.

♡ English is not my first language.

♡ I’m not a profesional astrologer.

Thank youu. baibaiii🫣🫶🏼💋

[nenelonomh]

how to effectively organise flashcards

organising flashcards can help you to enhance your study sessions and retain information better. here are some tips:

decide on your flashcard preference. choose between digital apps like anki, memrise and quizlet or traditional paper flashcards. personal preference plays a role here; some prefer the tactile feel of paper, while others appreciate the convenience of digital. try to keep all of your flashcard sets in the same app, or place.

use visual aids. incorporate pictures and symbols to replace text when possible. this encourages active engagement with the material rather than rote memorization.

colour coding. use different colours for questions and answers to help organise your cards and make it easier to focus on the content you're reviewing. for example, the cards for mathematics may be one colour and english may be another colour (maths is red guys, english is blue, science is green).

arrange the flashcards into order of importance or difficulty. start with the ones you find most challenging to reinforce those concepts.

develop a system for reviewing flashcards. for example, you may decide to use the leitner system which involves moving cards through different boxes based on how well you know the material.

i hope this post helps.

❤️ joanne

[panelshowsource]

it's actually been leaked for some time, although — and not to sound whiny — any time i've posted it or just talked about it i've gotten 10+ anonymous messages telling me i'm the devil and ruining the establishment of taskmaster with my irresponsible gossiping. so i didn't post about it and deleted any of the asks/convo about the new cast, even though ofc everyone has had tonsss of thoughts about it 😅

anyways would have laid down my whole life betting john robins (one of THE most obvious future tm contestants, being such a good friend of alex's!) and joanne mcnally would be on so i feel very vindicated — and excited! — in that regard! we're gonna have a great time :)

someone sent an anon asking about people i'd bet — not who i want, but who i'd bet — would be on the show so i'll think more about that and post later this week! the series will def have more seasons so i'll try and get some guesses in heh

OMG ME TOO her name is mabel! she's sooooooo cute ≧◡≦

hello anon!! actually you don't need me for this, it was recently posted on tv_bunny :)

enjoy!

she's great! she reminds me a lot of roisin, in that when she's not doing her semi-pre-written joke material, she's supremely good at hanging, bantering, fitting in with the vibe. i really appreciate that when it comes to panel shows particularly! but i can't say i've seen much of her standup

(wait — can i digress for a second — roisin is one of the ONLY recurring catsdown contestants who actually brings in sensible mascots that have the purpose of helping her/bringing her luck, and her presentations of them are always so hilarious and she deserves more credit for that)

+ not important but i really like her voice

thank you for sending her well wishes <3

i appreciate the message and you weren't the only person to say this, but i think some people are only part-way informed as to her journey reclaiming her name. her intention was never to scrap the nickname shappi or stop people from calling her that; it was 1) to reconcile her experience growing up in the uk with her name and how that led to her committing to shappi as a teen, and 2) to be published, credited, and billed as shaparak in professional capacities. she has clarified many times, including here and here, that it is totally acceptable to call her shappi; people on tv & radio still call her shappi after formal introductions, like in the new wilty when everyone calls her shappi throughout the entire episode; her social media handles are still shappi; and so on. she's shaparak, but that doesn't mean she "no longer goes by shappi". there is some confusion here i think some people are taking her journey, which was lovely to follow, as rejecting shappi — but that isn't the case.

i already updated her tag to 'shaparak khorsandi' a while ago and would definitely credit her full name where necessary, but socially, colloquially, like in the quick text post i made asking people to give shappi some love, there is no disrespect in calling her that! of course, plenty of people are credited by one name and are regularly called another/a nickname, like olivia colman who is actually called sarah by her family and colly by most everyone else. she seems really happy with having done her book and her recent show under her full name, and it's been beautiful to see her come around to love shaparak as much as she has loved shappi :')

btw for anyone who doesn't know, shaparak means butterfly in farsi!

hahahahaha that is hilarious

long story short is just that keith lemon is a disreputable character (and i mean character literally, he's not real, he's played by leigh francis!) who spends a lot of his energy shouting and oogling over boobies etc

i think it's fair to say hating on white supremacists does bring us all together 😅

i'm sorry i haven't seen it! but ugh tamsin greig is one of my longest-time crushes fr i actually think the friendship between her and stephen mangan is one of my roman empires. i have a list of scripted tv rewatches i plan to do this year — the thick of it, peep show, and so on, some of my faves ever — and green wing is def on the list so maybe i'll add friday night dinner!

—————

PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS / NON-PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS FAQ / TAGS / ASK

[rlch-marvln-whlch-marvln]

Ok team so I’m back at it again with the shenanigans only this time I’m in a bit of a RENT phase so brace yourselves

So anyways— here are a couple super important questions I have regarding my current favorite thing to think about, RENT:

1. How in the world did Benny meet Alison and how did they get together? Similarly, how did Maureen meet Joanne?

2. Mark is Jewish but is mom calls him to say they’ll miss him tomorrow, which is Christmas??

3. What did Benny do before he got with Alison?

4. What do you think Mimi studied at school before she left?

5. How did Mark, Roger, Benny, Collins, and Maureen all live together and everyone managed to survive?

6. I feel like we should get to know more about April?? Like, she was there, they knew her, she dated roger, and then that’s it… I just think we should get a little more information than that if you know what I mean

That’s all for now… I’m sure I’ll be back with more soon :) thanks (maybe I’ll even make a meaningful contribution to the internet then lol)

[bteezxyewriter12]

Don't Forget/ 1

Pairing- Yoongi x Named Reader

Word count- 3.9k

Includes- Angst, mentions of accident, amnesia, heartache, caretaking, some fluff, unconditional love

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxxmine @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@borntowalkaway @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @seokwoosmole

Masterlists- check out for more fics

📝Masterlists 📝BTS Masterlist

📝Yoongi Masterlist

Part 2

J POV

"Your name is min, Yoongi", I say, holding his hand, brushing his hair behind his ear

"You were born in Daegu, South Korea. You live in Seoul, South Korea. You're 29 years old"

He doesn't say anything, just looks straight ahead, his hand limp in mine but I keep playing with his hair

He used to love that and I hope it's still a comfort to him

It breaks me to see him like this

Barely responsive

I don't know if he hears me or understands what I'm saying

But the doctors told me to say this every time I come see him

It could help him remember, it could make him want to try to speak more if he hears my voice

I will do anything for him, no matter what it is

Anything to help him

"You're in a group called BTS. You're a rapper. Composer. Lyricist. Performer. A pianist. A guitarist. A musical genius"

Over the months he's been in the rehab center the doctors told me to add more information and details to what I say to him, to try to jog his memory

"You're famous, you have millions of fans all over the world called ARMY. You have dozens of awards for your hard work with the guys and your solo work"

I've showed him pictures of the guys, they've come to visit too but they get no reaction either

Same with his parents

Still I have a small album I bring everyday and show it to him, naming the guys, his parents, his brother, Holly, anyone important in his life

Sometimes he'll raise his eyebrow or he'll stare hard at the picture before his eyes flit away

But he doesn't say anything or acknowledge anything

I know it has to be hard for him too

I don't want to push him which is why I keep these sessions under an hour, then spend the rest of the day with him doing whatever he wants

Which isn't much

I take him outside to the small garden they have here where he can sit to get some sun

We watch TV

He naps

He goes to rehab in the mornings to improve his walking, his speech and his fine motor hand skills

All that was damaged

He's slowly getting better but I don't know how his brain was affected

The doctors don't either

They know he lost almost all of his memories and they think all his cognitive skills are intact from his sessions with them

The doctors get more of a reaction from him

He answers yes or no questions with a nod or shake of his head

They told me that he does speak sometimes but it's a struggle and he becomes discouraged

They want me to try to get him to talk but I'm not going to force him just because they want him too

He needs to do it at his own pace

"You're an amazing man Yoongi"

The doctors think he's depressed which explains his lack of speaking and interest in anything

I think he's depressed too and I hate it

I've been around when he was depressed and it can get bad

So I approved the psychologist sessions and anti-depressants too

I know him, all of him and I'd know what he'd want

He wouldn't want to be depressed

I've known him since we were little

We got together officially in high school and it's always been us

No breaks, no break ups, just me and him

High school sweethearts and all that stuff

I've loved him my whole life and I will never stop

He was in love with me the same as I was with him and I hope he still does

But I don't know because he doesn't respond

I don't know if he knows who I am or if his feelings for me are still there

It kills me to think about but I hold out hope that he still does

"I'm Min, Joanne. Your wife", I say, trying to keep my voice steady, "We have been married for three years"

Together for 15, married for three of those 15 years

I've never looked at anyone else, never worried about the whole being with someone else to see what's out there stuff people used to tell me

I didn't want what was out there

I wanted him

He felt the same and told me that but I was skeptical because of BTS

He's famous, girls everywhere were willing to throw themselves at him

He was around female idols and female ARMYS who are way prettier, way sexier than I am

But he proved to me everyday that he was serious when he said that I was the only one for him

He meant it and I'm so grateful for him

"I love you so much. And you loved me", I say, hoping it's still true

I fix our hands, lacing our fingers together and kiss the back of his hand

His eyes move to our hands for a few seconds then back to nothing

At least it's something

Looking at him, he doesn't look at me, his face staring straight again

He is so beautiful

The scars he has on his face and head from the accident, don't take away from his beauty

He's always been everything to me

He's the love of my life

"You're my everything Yoongi. My sun, my moon, my stars, my heart. My naekkeo"

I take a second to compose myself before tears burst out

I don't want to cry in front of him

I don't want him to feel guilty or upset

Nothing is his fault and I won't make him feel like it is

"I'll do anything for you naekkeo. Anything. I love you."

I pause for a little, to hopefully let what I'm saying sink in

And to give him a chance to respond

After ten minutes of complete silence, I decide to continue and pull out the album to show him the photos

---------------------------

I sit next to him on his bed, holding his hand, visiting hours almost over

I absolutely hate leaving him here overnight but I can't do anything about it

I'm not allowed to stay

No visitors are

Turning to him, I start speaking softly

"I won't be able to come tomorrow baby"

He doesn't turn his head from the tv

I doubt he's even watching it

It's just on for noise

But still I continue, just in case he's listening

I have to go to court tomorrow to speak at the sentencing hearing

I don't want to

I want to be with him but his lawyers say that it will help if I spoke, letting the court and the defendant know how much her actions damaged Yoongi's life

It could make her sentence longer

And I always said I'd do anything for him and I will

I just hate that it has to be away from him

I slowly run my hands in his soft black hair

It's longer now and I like it

I don't know if he does or if he wants to cut it

There are bigger problems than a hair cut right now

"I have to do something tomorrow. I have to go to court to talk about the accident. To make sure the sasaeng who did this to you gets the full sentence. I don't know how long it will take at the court. Maybe all day. So don't think I'm not here because I don't want to be. I do. This is just something I have to do ok? I'll be back on Saturday", I promise him

His eyes, expression, body stays the same

No movement except for the little tremors in his hand that are always there, making his fingers twitch

Tears well up in my eyes but I force them back

When I leave here, I can fall apart like I do every night

I miss sleeping with him so much, miss having him in my arms, kissing his cheeks, rubbing his back, playing with his hair

Every night I ask whoever is out there why

Why this had to happen to him?

What did he do for this to happen?

Why take his memories?

The damage to his body was bad enough but to take his memories away, leaving him not knowing who he is or the people in his life?

It's cruel

But like always, I never get an answer

"Come naekkeo, I'll help you into bed

Helping him lay down, I pull the blankets up, tucking him into bed

I leave the tv because he likes having the noise and he'll fall asleep to it eventually

"I love you so much naekkeo. If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you on Saturday"

Leaning down, I kiss his cheek and for a brief second I lean my head against his, just breathing in the scent that is Yoongi

He still smells the same and his smell gives me some comfort

"Love you", I whisper, then force myself to move away from him

My heart breaks as I walk to his room door

I turn back to him, hating seeing him look so small in that big bed, a look of emptiness on his face

I force myself to walk out of the room, tears streaming down my face as I make my way down the hallway

---------------------------

Glaring at the back of the defendant's head, anger surges in me and I want to kill her

Just fucking cut her head off or stab her

Yoongi is the way he is now because of this cunt

Because she had to follow him in his car after seeing him in a store

She had to speed after him and crash into his car because she wanted to kill them both so they could be together forever

She was under the delusion that she and him were in a relationship and was upset that he was married to me

She wanted both of them to die to get him away from me

A crazy sasaeng

Getting that call from the cops was the single most terrifying thing to ever happen to me

I couldn't believe what I was hearing and it didn't feel real

I don't remember much from that phone call

I remember screaming and crying, driving like a mad man to the hospital, demanding to see him when I was in the ER

The guys were already there and they brought me to their waiting room where they explained what happened

And I fucking lost it

I remember the complete and total fear that he was going to die

The white hot rage at this bitch

The screaming, the hysterical crying, Hobi and Namjoon trying to calm me down

Then came the numbness

The waiting

And the utter relief when I was told he was alive

He made it but there would be complications

It didn't matter because he was alive and I was going to help him anyway I could

The second worst thing to happen was him waking up and not recognizing me

He couldn't talk but he refused to look at me

He kept his eyes closed, shaking his head over and over

It wasn't just me he did it to, doing the same thing when the guys came to see him

The pain from hearing the doctors tell me he lost his memories a few weeks after he woke up was immense

All that time I didn't know what was happening with him, why he wouldn't look at me when I was with him or acknowledge I was there

Finally finding out the reason for all that was a good thing but it still was devastating

This cunt has no idea what she did to him

I want to strangle her

She doesn't even look fazed when I came in and saw her sitting here

She was talking to her laywer and smiling like everything was good

My hatred is burning and I don't hear anything else going on

I've been here since the morning, so many delays happening that pushed the time well into the afternoon

Yoongi's parents are talking right now and I'm next

Then Namjoon, representing BTS

After ten more minutes, the judge thanks his parents and they sit down

"Min, Joanne", the judge calls

I take a breath, standing up, holding the paper with what I'm going to say

I had to write it down because if I just spoke from my heart, I know I'll break down

I also know I'll curse this cunt out

Getting to the podium, I put the paper on the flat desk part and take a breath

"I'm Min, Joanne, Yoongi's wife. I'm here to let the jury, the judge, the defendant, the world know what has happened to Yoongi"

I pause, my hands shaking a little

"This woman has turned Yoongi's life upside down. With that one idiotic decision to crash into his car she took everything away from him. His career, his life, everything"

I turn to the woman, seeing her glare at me in hate

I push my rage down to do this

"Because of you, Yoongi can't speak well. He had to learn how to speak again. He had to learn to walk again. His hands constantly shake and he can't stop it. He lost his memories of his whole life, leaving him not knowing who he is, who the people he loves and who love him are"

I fist my hands to keep them from shaking as tears begin to fall

Just remembering how he's suffering kills me

"You took his career away forever. He can't rap. He can't dance. He can't play any instruments. He can't create melodies, songs, anything that he used to do for BTS. The things he loved to do. The things that made him him. You took music away from him for your stupid selfish reasons"

She just sits there still glaring, my words having no effect on her

"Yoongi needs physical therapy every day to help him walk, to strengthen his hands, arms, fingers. He still has trouble walking. He refuses to speak because he can't speak as fast as he thinks, he slurs words, stammers and speaks in incomplete sentences. That makes him depressed and frustrated on top of everything else he feels"

I continue, "Yoongi has been in the rehab facility for almost a year. It took him almost a month to wake up from the initial accident because he was in a coma. Yoongi can't come home, can't be in a place that is familiar to him, a place that could help with his memory because he is not well enough to go home"

I feel the anger rising inside me as this bitch rolls her eyes at my words

And I'm done

"You have some fucking nerve sitting there, glaring at me, rolling your fucking eyes, while I tell you how you ruined his life, how he's suffered because of you. You're going to prison and I hope you never get out. Because if you do you better watch your fucking back", I snarl

"Mrs. Min, please", the judge says

I hear him but I don't care

I hate this woman even more with how she reacted to Yoongi's condition

She supposedly loves him so much but she acts like she doesn't care about him

"Fuck you", I snap at her, then grab my paper and leave the podium

I don't stop walking, storming out of the court room, not waiting to hear what anyone has to say

I need to get out of there or I will lose it

I'll lunge towards her and choke her out, kill her and then they'll be no one to take care of Yoongi

That can't happen

I need to be there for him

Taking out my phone, I text Namjoon that I'm leaving

Looking at the time, I figure I can make it home in time for my online class

I'm taking classes to be Yoongi's home attendant so I could bring him home

I can't take him without a certificate so I've been working on it since the accident

I'll be done in two more months then he can come home with me

If he wants to

Sighing, I head to my car, wiping my eyes, wishing I was going to see Yoongi.

---------------------------

"Hi naekkeo", I greet him as I walk into his room on Saturday

To my surprise, he turns his head to me, looking at me as I get closer to him

I give him a soft smile, bending down and kissing his cheek

As I take my coat off, he turns back to the tv

Well at least he looked

It's all I can ask for

Sitting next to him, I take his hand and start on the whole speech

I like to do it right away so it's not looming over the visit

Best to get it out of the way

"Your name is Min, Yoongi"

I steadily go through everything about him before moving on to me and our life

"I-", I start

"Yyyy....you...r....Jo", he struggles to say, my heart pounding at the speed of light hearing his voice

He turns his head and faces me full on

In his eyes I see recognition and I'm floored

He remembers me?

"My www-iiii-ffffee"

He slowly lifts his hand and touches his wedding ring on the necklace I'm wearing

They gave it to me at the hospital and I didn't feel right forcing him to wear it when he didn't remember me so I put it on a chain and wear it until he wants it back

Whenever that would be

"You. Lov. Me."

I nod, tears that I can't hold back, pouring down my face

He's talking

Oh my god, I didn't realize how much I missed his voice

"And I....I....I....love you"

I nod, so happy that he remembers the things I've been telling him

That he was hearing me and understanding

"I. Am. You. You. You", he struggles, stopping for a second to breathe in a few times, speaking slowly, "Everything. You Sun. Moon. Stars. Heart. Naekkeo"

"Yes baby you are", I answer, gently touching his cheek

This time he moves his face into my hand, his hand holding on to my wrist

I'm so happy he's better today

For him, not for me

I hope once everything physically gets better, his depression will get better

He'll be better

"You do anything. For. Me", he gets out

I nod, wiping my eyes, "Always Yoongi. Always"

He lets go of my wrist, his arms struggling to move around me

I help him, moving closer and moving his arms around my body

He pulls me to him and hugs me surprisingly tightly

And I just melt in his arms, the feeling of finally holding him such a powerful feeling

Like I'm home

"I. love...you Jo", he says softly and that does it

I break down, sobbing, burying my face in his neck

I just need a few minutes

I've been barely holding it together every time I'm with him but now, hearing him say he loves me, fills me with pure joy

"D. D. Don't cry. Jagi", he says, effectively making me cry harder, hearing him say the nickname he always called me

"I love. You. So...so..so much", he tells me

"I love you more than anything Yoongi. So much"

He has no idea how deep my love for him is

Words can't describe it

He is my life, my universe, my absolute everything

After a few minutes, I calm down, stop crying and am able to move back to face him

He gives me his gummy smile that I haven't seen in months

It's like I'm seeing it for the first time and I'm just in awe of how beautiful he is

"Do you remember?", I ask

"A ..a ..little bit", he answers, "I...I...I. miss yyyy..you. Yesterday."

"I'm sorry naekkeo. I missed you too. I didn't want to be away from you", I say gently

"I. Know. I remember...what you say. You go go go tttt.... to uh...court"

I nod, glad he does remember

Glad that he doesn't think I just didn't want to come

That would never be the case

"When I miss. You. I rrrrr....remember more", he gets out, "First kiss. Wedding. You support me. In everything."

"You remember those things?", I whisper, tears welling in my eyes but a smile on my face

"Yes. I. Don't. Remember everything", he says, softly touching my cheek, his hand trembling

I hold on to his wrist, turning my head, kissing his palm

"But I know you. I love you", he finishes, "My. Jagi. My world"

I just smile, a few tears falling

"I love you Yoongi. Always. Forever"

He nods once, "Forever"

I feel so much happiness, so much relief and so much hope that this will be the start of him getting better

His hand moves down my face, his fingers softly trailing along my skin, trembling slightly

I close my eyes, his fingers feeling so good and heating every nerve

I missed his touch so much

Just to even hold his hand, I want it so much

His fingers touch his wedding ring around my neck

"Can. Can I. Wear it?", he asks

"Of course naekkeo", I answer, smiling as I raise my arms to take the necklace off

Unclasping the chain, I take his ring off and hold it out to him

He takes it and I watch him struggle to move his hand to his other, frustration on his face

I move my hand around his, steadying his and guiding it to his other

I hold his other hand too, straightening his fingers for him

He winces, making me panic, "I'm sorry"

"It oo.oo... ok. Hurts a. Little"

Ok we have to make this quick

I don't want him to hurt more

I get his fingers of his other hand to hold the ring then help him slide it back on his left ring finger

"There naekkeo", I say, letting go of his hands

He brings his hand up, looking at the ring, a soft smile on his face

"We. Mmm...married"

I reach up, running my fingers in his hair, "Yeah baby. We're married. I love you"

"I love. You"

He reaches out for my hand and I immediately take his, gently intertwining our fingers

"Jo. Can. Can I come. Come. Come. Home?", he asks, "Why. I here?"

I might as well tell him

"Yoongi you have a lot of.... complications from the accident"

He nods, "Yes"

"And it will be hard for you to be home without a nurse or a qualified caregiver"

"I need nurse?"

I nod, "Yes naekkeo. And I'm not one so they won't let me take you. Here they have nurses and doctors right outside your room"

His face falls, "So I stay? Not go home?"

I squeeze his hand reassuringly, "Just for two more months"

"Two. Months? Why?"

"In two months I graduate from school so I can be your caregiver. I've taken all the classes for it and I finish in two months. Then I can take you home"

A smile forms on his face and it's stunning

"Ok jagi. I wait. Two. Months", he says, "Then I stay. With...with...with you?"

I nod, smiling, "Then you stay with me. At home"

"Ok"

We sit in silence for a few seconds but this time I'm not anxious or ready to burst into tears

This time I'm happy and hopeful

[lightlyknitted]

So you want to knit a wedding veil?

If you’re new here, I am knitting my wedding veil. My partner and I are getting married in Sept. 2024 so I knew I had some time to make something that felt authentic to me.

I’m about to dump a ton of information down below because I have thought way too long and way too much about this topic over the last few months and I need to get it out.

So once I had decided on knitting a veil and not a sweater/ shrug or dress I set about doing some research on what others had did. I first went to pinterest, google and reddit. On Reddit I searched r/knitting, weddingplanning, crochet and advanced knitting. As I suspected I found a few others who had knit veils and a couple of patterns I could use.

USING A PATTERN?

Patterns people have used as veils are plenty and have a wide diversity to them. There was Maria’s Veil from Interweave, the Elvenstar and a few others I found searching on Ravelry. Another popular option is to find a Shetland Wedding Ring Shawl and make one of those.

The choice to make my own pattern came from a desire to make it feel unique to me and also not feeling particularly drawn to knitting them. To find the lace patterns I started with looking at a few doily patterns for the center and stitch dictionaries.

SIZING

Size was also important to consider. Wedding Veils can range depending on what kind you want – from birdcages to cathedral. After browsing pinterest for veil suggestions and common bridal looks I knew I wanted it to be longer than a shoulder (about 20 inches) but not hitting the ground. We’re having an outdoor wedding and I can imagine the meltdown I’d have if I got a grass stain on it. A fingertip veil is about 38-40 inches which would work well for a veil and a shawl when the wedding is over. YARN

I am using knit picks bare shadow which is 100% merino lace weight yarn. Because it’s wool, it’s going to be light enough that it shouldn’t cause any headaches while wearing it and be able to hold itself up without too much effort.

Popular options for yarn are merino wool or silk because they are lightweight. There are tons of options for veil yarns like Jamieson’s of Shetland Ultra Lace (the same yarn used for Shetland Lace shawls), Malbrigo Lace, Knit Picks Bare Shimmer Lace and Cascades yarns Heritage silk.

We’re starting with 400 g of yarn and I also picked up an array of beads from my local joanns and michaels. I am using US 3 DPNs and circulars. Bigger needles could be used but I followed the pattern suggestion from the doily in the center.

BEADS

To add some bling and to add some weight I choose to add beads. Seed beads are a common addition and can be found online. Silver-lined have a better color. Beads have tons of sizes and it depends on what size of yarn you’re using, I chose to use 6/0. I could string these and use a crochet hook (in most of them, because I chose cheaper beads they have some inconsistent sizes).

I decided to use ones I found at joanns and michaels because of convenience. I could have gone online and had a better chance at finding more uniform beads but I like the mismatched sizes on some. I got beads in green, taupe, red, blue and a copper blend.

There are two options for placing beads in your knitting. You can string them onto the yarn and then knit them in or you can place them one by one with a crochet hook. Because I didn’t know what beads I wanted to place where, I decided to place them individually.

DESIGN PROCESS

For the shawl, I knew I wanted a circle. Since I haven’t knit a lot of shawls I decided to use a doily pattern for the center for ease. The doily in the center is from “The Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting” and is the pattern Valentine Doily.

I kept all the lace stitches I wanted to use as an eight row repeat for consistency in each section. Each section will be followed by a small section of plain knits for set up and to add a definite start and stop.

I wrote a quick pattern to carry with me and write notes on since I had to return the stitch dictionary to the library. My next step is to knit the shawl. I started with a test with some lace weight yarn I had in my stash. I got through the center and part of the first lace repeat before I moved to the final yarn.

GAUGE

My unblocked gauge gives the center circle a radius of about 4 inches. It is about 7 inches to the first set up rows. My gauge is not extremely important while knitting because as long as I can get a finished radius of around 38 inches I am fine with it.

Gauge is important in knitting, do not get me wrong. For this shawl I am not as concerned with gauge as long as the final project turns out because I find it to be a bit easier to fudge the pattern to make it fit.

I’m still in the beginning stages of this project and hope to have more updates coming soon.

[entireoranges]

Random thoughts about Quiet On Set (because its 3am and I should be sleeping)

Of the shows featured/discussed I only watched iCarly and Victorious.

Yes some of the scenes, wardrobe, etc made me uncomfortable to watch before this, but now I feel bad because on hindsight I should have realized how bad and wrong it REALLY was.

Will I watch these shows again? I know I should say no, but to be honest I probably will.

A lot of people are pissed, angry, hurt, and ready to cancel anyone who wrote a letter of support to Drake’s rapist. I think it’s important to remember or consider a few things… often when a person is told to write those letters they are given the most BASIC information, abusers are amazing at manipulating people and gaining sympathy from others, jobs might have been threatened, etc. On the documenty the creator of it stressed “we don’t know what they knew or if the court room” but it seems so many like I said want them cancelled without attempting to learn the truth.

For the record this applies more specifically to the kids/young adults then the full ass mature adults. Though to be fair Joanne Kerns did say she had no idea of the true nature (or really anything about the case) when writing the letter and if had known won’t have. Which makes me think that might be the case for some others.

Stop trying to get other celebrities who were on shows during this period to speak out. Not everyone has a horror story, not everyone wants to share their story, etc. We love as a society love drama and juicy details. And while it’s important for these stories to be exposed it’s also important to respect those who have the stories to share.

Everyone wants Disney exposed and chomping at the bit for it. I don’t think it’ll happen. The company is too big and powerful. I know. You know. We all know. Far as a 4 part series exposing everything? Will never see the light of day.

Been listening to Alyson Stoner’s Dear Hollywood, Toddler To Trainwreck Pipeline series. OMG I can’t recommend enough.

Child and teen actors need protection. We need to do more. The system has to change. Though sadly even with this hardcore (and needed) exposure I don’t think it will.

[speed-seo]

Email Marketing ROI: Convert Clicks to Cash

Figuring Out if Your Email Marketing ROI is Actually Good for Your Business! When I first started my little agency, I spent hours each week putting together emails to share my latest projects with customers. But it was hard to know if all that work was paying off. Was anyone even opening and reading them? Were they leading to more visits to my site or even sales? I knew I needed to start tracking things better if I wanted my mailers to really start making a difference. A friend suggested I use Google Analytics to help measure how people were interacting with my emails. While it seemed pretty technical at first, once I got the hang of it I could finally see which emails were resonating and which topics my subscribers cared about most. Now when I sit down to plan my next newsletter, I have real data to guide me on what catches people's attention and how they respond. It gives me confidence to keep investing my time, knowing if I create relevant content that readers want to engage with, it will help my little business grow. What is email marketing ROI and why is it important? Email marketing ROI refers to the measurement of the return on investment generated by your email newsletters. It helps you understand the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and enables you to make data-driven decisions to improve your campaigns. By tracking the ROI of your email newsletters, you can determine the success of your campaigns in terms of revenue generated, conversions, and engagement metrics such as open rates and click-through rates. Measuring email marketing ROI is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows you to allocate your marketing budget effectively by identifying which newsletters are generating the highest return. Secondly, it helps you identify areas for improvement in your email marketing strategy. Thirdly, it provides insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing you to tailor your newsletters to better meet their needs. Overall, measuring email marketing ROI enables you to optimize your campaigns and drive better results. Understanding the Impact of Your Emails with a real live example As any small business owner knows, it's important to make the most of your marketing efforts. When A friend of mine launched her cafe last year, I told her that email would be a big part of building her customer base. "I love sharing the latest recipes and photos from the kitchen. But somewhere between writing the newsletters and hitting send, I realized I wasn't actually tracking if all that work was paying off." She knew she needed a way to gauge how people were interacting with her emails and if it translated to more customers through the door. That's when I helped her to start exploring metrics like open and click-through rates. "Seeing those numbers gave me a whole new perspective. I could tell which subject lines or styles of content made people want to learn more. And I noticed busier weekends usually followed my mailers right away." Armed with that visibility, Joanne was better equipped to focus her energy. She doubled down on newsletter elements that seemed to drive the most traffic and sales. Over time, she gained a real sense of what type of information her readers found truly engaging and useful. "It's been really cool to see the direct impact my emails can have. Now I feel confident putting more thought and care into crafting messages my subscribers will appreciate. Which at the end of the day is good for them and good for business!” By understanding how people responded through measurement, my friend Joanne found ways to heighten the value of her newsletters and continuously grow her cafe’s reach. It just goes to show that a little insight can go a long way. How to set up Google Analytics for email marketing ROI tracking? Before you can measure email marketing ROI with Google Analytics, you need to set up tracking for your newsletters. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started: 1 — Create a Google Analytics account: If you don't already have one, sign up for a Google Analytics account and set up a new property for your website. - Go to the Google Analytics website: Open a web browser and go to https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/. - Create an account: Click on the "Start measuring" button in the top right corner. - Provide an account name: Enter a name for your Google Analytics account, such as "My Website Analytics" or "My Business Analytics." - Configure data sharing settings: Choose whether you want to share data with other Google products, such as Google Ads and Display & Video 360. - Click "Next": Continue to the next step to create your first property. - Create a property: Enter a name for your property, such as "My Website" or "My App." - Select the type of property: Choose whether you want to track website traffic or app usage. - Enter your website or app URL: If you're tracking a website, enter the full URL of your website. If you're tracking an app, enter the app's URL in the format "package_name://YOUR_APP_ID". - Select the time zone and currency: Choose the time zone and currency that you want to use for your reports. - Specify your business objectives: Tell Google Analytics about your business objectives, such as increasing website traffic or generating more leads. - Click "Create": Google Analytics will create your property and start collecting data. - Add a data stream: Google Analytics will ask you to add a data stream to start collecting data. If you're tracking a website, you can add a Universal Analytics data stream using the Google Analytics setup wizard. If you're tracking an app, you can add a Google Analytics 4 data stream using the Firebase console. Once you have added a data stream, you can start using Google Analytics to track your website or app traffic. You can view reports on website traffic, user behavior, conversions, and more. Here are some additional tips for opening a Google Analytics account: - Use a strong password: Create a strong password that is difficult to guess. - Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your account. - Review your data sharing settings regularly: Make sure that you are comfortable with the way that your data is being shared. - Monitor your account for suspicious activity: Keep an eye out for any unusual activity in your account, such as unauthorized access attempts. 2. — Enable tracking for email campaigns: In your Google Analytics account, navigate to the admin section and select the property for your website. Under the "Tracking Info" tab, click on "Campaigns" and enable the option for "Enable Demographics and Interest Reports". - Tag your email newsletter links: To track the performance of your email newsletters, you need to add UTM parameters to the links in your newsletters. UTM parameters are tags that you add to the end of your URLs to track the source, medium, and campaign name. You can use Google's URL Builder tool to generate UTM tags for your newsletter links. - Integrate Google Analytics with your email marketing platform: Most email marketing platforms have built-in integration with Google Analytics. Consult the documentation or support resources of your email marketing platform to learn how to integrate it with Google Analytics. This integration will allow you to track specific email campaigns and measure their performance in Google Analytics. How to calculate email marketing ROI with Google Analytics? Once you have set up tracking for your email newsletters, you can start measuring their ROI using Google Analytics. Here's a step-by-step process to calculate email marketing ROI: - Define your goals: Before you can measure ROI, you need to define the goals of your email newsletters. These goals can include revenue generated, conversions, lead generation, or any other key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business objectives. - Create custom goals in Google Analytics: In your Google Analytics account, navigate to the admin section and select the property for your website. Under the "View" column, click on "Goals" and create custom goals that align with your email newsletter objectives. For example, if your goal is to generate revenue, you can create a goal that tracks the number of transactions, or the total revenue generated from email campaigns. - Track conversions: With your goals set up, Google Analytics will start tracking conversions from your email newsletters. You can view the conversion data under the "Conversions" tab in Google Analytics. This data will give you insights into the number of conversions, conversion rate, and revenue generated from your email campaigns. - Calculate ROI: To calculate the ROI of your email newsletters, you need to compare the revenue generated from your campaigns with the cost of running those campaigns. The cost can include expenses such as email marketing software, design, copywriting, and any other associated costs. Divide the revenue generated by the cost and multiply by 100 to get the ROI percentage. How to improve email marketing ROI with Google Analytics? Now that you have the tools to measure email marketing ROI with Google Analytics, let's explore how you can improve your ROI by leveraging its features: - Segment your audience: Use Google Analytics to segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, or engagement metrics. This will allow you to tailor your email newsletters to specific segments and deliver more relevant content, resulting in higher engagement and conversions. - Analyze engagement metrics: Dive deep into the engagement metrics of your email newsletters, such as open rates, click-through rates,bounce rates, and time on page. Identify patterns and trends to understand what content resonates with your audience and what needs improvement. Use this data to optimize your email newsletters and increase their effectiveness. - Perform A/B testing: Use Google Analytics to conduct A/B tests on different elements of your email newsletters, such as subject lines, call-to-action buttons, or design layouts. Analyze the results to identify the variations that perform better and implement them in your future campaigns. - Track conversion funnels: Set up conversion funnels in Google Analytics to track the entire customer journey from receiving the email newsletter to completing a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Identify any bottlenecks or drop-offs in the funnel and optimize those areas to improve your conversion rates. - Monitor campaign performance: Regularly monitor the performance of your email campaigns in Google Analytics. Keep an eye on key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated. Identify any fluctuations or anomalies and take proactive measures to address them. How to measure email marketing ROI with Google Analytics dashboards? Google Analytics provides customizable dashboards that allow you to visualize and monitor your email marketing ROI metrics in real-time. Here's how you can create a dashboard to measure email marketing ROI: - Navigate to the Dashboards section: In your Google Analytics account, click on "Customization" in the top navigation menu and select "Dashboards". - Create a new dashboard: Click on the "+ New Dashboard" button to create a new dashboard. - Choose a layout: Select a layout for your dashboard that best suits your needs. You can choose from a blank canvas or pre-built templates. - Add widgets: Click on the "+ Add Widget" button to add widgets to your dashboard. Choose the metrics and dimensions that you want to display, such as revenue generated, conversion rate, open rate, or any other relevant metrics. - Customize and save: Customize the appearance and configuration of your widgets as per your preferences. Once you are satisfied with the setup, click on the "Save" button to save your dashboard. By creating a custom dashboard in Google Analytics, you can have a consolidated view of your email marketing ROI metrics, making it easier to track and analyze the performance of your campaigns. Here's what else to consider When measuring email marketing ROI with Google Analytics, there are a few additional factors to consider: - Attribution modeling: Google Analytics offers different attribution models that determine how credit is assigned to different touchpoints in the customer journey. Experiment with different attribution models to understand the impact of your email newsletters on conversions and revenue. - Frequency and timing: Monitor the frequency and timing of your email newsletters. Test different sending frequencies and times to identify the optimal schedule that generates the highest engagement and conversions. - Content relevance: Ensure that your email newsletters provide valuable and relevant content to your subscribers. Personalize the content based on their preferences and behavior to increase engagement and conversions. - List hygiene: Regularly clean and update your email subscriber list to maintain a high-quality audience. Remove inactive subscribers and ensure that your list is GDPR compliant to avoid any legal issues. - Benchmarking: Compare your email marketing ROI metrics with industry benchmarks to gain insights into how your campaigns are performing relative to your competitors. This can help you identify areas for improvement and set realistic goals for your email marketing efforts. In conclusion, measuring email marketing ROI with Google Analytics is essential for optimizing your email marketing campaigns. By setting up tracking, defining goals, and analyzing the performance metrics, you can make data-driven decisions to improve your ROI. Leverage the features of Google Analytics, such as segmentation, A/B testing, and dashboards, to enhance the effectiveness of your email newsletters and drive better results. Remember to continuously monitor and optimize your campaigns to stay ahead in the competitive landscape of email marketing. Read the full article

[laylawatermelon]

First Happy Queer Show Recommendation

First Day (2020 - 2022)

2 seasons (8 episodes)

Available on Hulu

Country: Australia

Age/Intended Audience: All ages (personal opinion)

Genre: Drama (A bit of romance 🥹)

Synopsis:

Hannah Bradford, a 12-year-old transgender girl, begins her first year of middle school while trying to live as her authentic self. (Google)

Review/Rant (Spoilers Below):

In depth spoilers will be marked.

Cw/tw: bullying, ignorance, transphobia

First day is one of the best children's show about a trans girl starting her first day of high school.

If you have a few hours and are ready to binge something to laugh, cry, and be hopeful for I recommend this show!

I've been looking for good teen shows to watch (I'm a future screenwriter so need to know what the kids are up to)

and I just genuinely enjoy a good story.

I happened to accidentally find First Day, a short miniseries from Australia (they're doing great outside the us fr) and let me tell you it's so amazing!

It stars an actual trans actress who is transferring schools and her journey in feeling at home with herself, her new school, and new friends (and finally wearing a girls uniform 🥹).

That statement may be a lil controversial but coming from a girl who now knows she's ace going to a queer gathering her first week in college (by accident 🤣) but having the most wonderful time and being absolutely comfortable in the setting after living in a stereotypically homophobic country I can see the benefits of it.

It also deals with her romance in the second season (which friends to lovers supremacy) and learning about how important it can be to have safe spaces.

Safe space supremacy! (/hj)

In Depth Spoilers!!

Below

|

|

|

↓

The principal assures her that she's going to have all the support she needs as the teachers will be having a training of sorts about transgender students.

In season one, we meet Hannah Bradford, a 13 year old girl on her last day of school getting admitted to her new high school.

She's excited but unfortunately she is denied use of the girls toilets and is given permission to use the gender neutral sick bay bathroom. (Yuck!)

(For Americans this means the nurses bathroom/j)

This sends her into a bit of a spiral as she's terrified of the conclusions people will naturally make as curious teens.

Why doesn't she use it bathrooms? Or is always sick?

Then they will obviously try to find out why.

Now before I go any further I have to give props to Hannah's actress, Evie MacDonald who is an absolute gem!

Her emotional performance in season one is captivating and her hormonal angry teen portrayal in season 2 is also very well done (🤣 but seriously she does have a right to be in season 2).

But before she can be finally free to enjoy her summer her mom sends her back for one last day of pretending to be a boy. 😔

Despite this her mom (Joanne Hunt, who's an absolute gem and also gets a shout-out) helps her find excuses to give to nosy kids.

Honestly as a writer I admire the way that they give you small tidbits of information about her journey and what's normal for them.

For example, they talk about how she'd dress up as a kid in stores, how her mom would help her make excuses for situations, and rules established to keep her safe (only can go over to girls houses whose family knows she's trans).

Here we meet Isabella, her bully for the rest of the show who occasionally pops in and out.

She deadnames her (yuck 🤢) and Hannah luckily escapes her.

Then the day ends and we begin to prepare for our first day!

We see her holiday, getting cute presents, get her uniform for this first time 🥹 and then finally it's her first day!

She's very nervous about it because she thinks people can tell but she just looks like any other girl.

Here she's approached by Olivia (best girl!) who practically adopts her as a friend immediately.

Her and Olivia hit it off immediately and she introduces her to her friends she's had since middle school Natalie and Jasmine (also called Jazzie).

(pictured below in order Olivia, Hannah, Natalie, Jazzie)

These four become a fearsome group of besties hanging out and getting along.

Olivia is the late friend, who is bold and stands up for her friends.

Natalie has a bit of a loose cannon mouth being blunt, but its always never meant to be malicious she just states what she sees.

And Jazzie is the closest to her in terms of them both having the same homeroom. Jazzie is a known party girl.

As time goes by and Hannah settles in you get to see her come out of her shell and participate more in classes and get to be just Hannah and not the "trans kid".

Unfortunately this is based in real life and yes life can be happy but there's also gotta be balance.

Olivia her bully transfers to the school but seems to be getting counselling. She does stop calling Hannah by her deadname though (albeit threateningly progress?).

During all of this Jazzie is having a party and even better she's having a sleepover party.

But, unfortunately for Hannah who's gotten used to being one of the girls and not treated any differently (minus the sick bay bathroom) her mom is adamant about not letting her stay over at by herself.

This rule is in place for all families who dont know she's trans and honestly i understand and completely agree.

She says it's for her safety and honestly I'd do the same thing.

Imagine if someone found out during, some people can be transphobic and throw her out, berate her, make her feel less than. They can out her on display or even worse.

I understand the fear behind sleepovers in general so that added layer makes me even more terrified.

You may not have heard of this case but a black woman went to one and never came back alive and the killer who was there still hasn't been convicted. Sadly there's many cases like this.

But Hannah is a kid. And kid's dont think that far. I didn't either as a kid. I was like fun!

So she tries to pull one over the day of with her mom but she's like ha. Either you go or you don't.

Upset she goes to just the party and tells her friends. They're all sad but understanding and tell her they'll just enjoy the party together.

Here Olivia reveals to Hannah her fears about sleeping in an unfamiliar place (which valid) and Hannah is comforted then they go party.

I personally think this is where Hannah finds her to be a safe space and person to tell.

Throughout the episodes it's alluded that Billy, a boy in their class has a crush on her and he's the most adorable awkard mess ever at this party.

Hannah is kind of indifferent and friendly but he's trying so hard and he's like this for 2 seasons -

(dis tew cuteeee)

So eventually after the party she decided to tell Olivia who asks some ignorantly hurtful questions but once she understands then she's like okay. Wanna check out this video?

And I love the normalcy of it. Like it shows how much this world can be a safer place for everyone to be included.

Billy is also shown as this and his friend group still teases him about his crush on her and continues to push him to talk to her. (which gives me hope for the kids 🥹) It also subtlety shows how his friends are also respectful of her identity and funny treat her any different.

As a black person from a colonized country I wish for the day where there's an understanding of the importance of education of diversity and integration of many different lifestyles outside of the "norm".

If they not hurting anybody leave them babies alone!!

Back to the recap/review, Olivia loudly asks about sick bay toilets and it seems like someone overhears.

Then a post is sent out.

Now who did it you may ask?

Her bully who's transferred, Olivia who loudly talked, and the bully who overheard?

Well you gotta watch to find out 😉.

In season 2 the group looks like this so you can probably infer what happened.

Season 2 is the first time Hannah has gone back to school as a girl, not pretending and sure of her self. She's just Hannah.

She has friends, a school community that cares about her and access to the girls toilets! Yayyy!

This seaon deals with gender, safe spaces/clubs for queer teens, and dating.

We also get a bit of understanding of struggles that each group can face such as Olivia being Asian and Hannah being trans.

I also love how they handled friendships and how its a relationship that's to be cared for as well.

Hannah accidentally isolates her friends as she believes they won't understand her struggles and seeks others like her (LGBTQIA+) but doesn't even give them the option to listen.

This seaon I think is so well done and they styling is amazing!

Hannah also grows as she gets over her fear of speaking up for herself literally as she was afraid if speaking in front.

This season also talks about how trans as a label can be used as being "special" in terms of rights.

Like saying oh cause she's trans she gets -( insert absurd assumption and minus her everyday struggle).

We also have male trans rep with Josh, who hadn't fully transitioned in the first season so he was with the girls and also trans solidarity. 🥹

Hannah fights for her and other people's rights this season and to this I give her an honarary dap of respect.

Also this scene was hilarious and I never noticed but the girl in front pointing at the bully took me out when I realized why she got caught.

(All the phobes call em out! 💃🏾🎵)

But Season 2 was a delight to watch and much happier.

But this post took a while as I had to rewatch the show and format it.

Also if you want more there's a whole Internet archive of cool behind the scenes stuff and the original short film it was based on! I'd check it out!

I hope you enjoy this show as much as i do and spread the joy and give me your thoughts about it!

Thank you and I appreciate you being on earth as you're lovely and worthy of being here.

Byee!!!!

- L 😘

[atlanticcanada]

'It just can’t be left to happen that way again': Families, survivors affected by N.S. mass shooting call for action, better supports

Over several days in September, the Mass Casualty Commission held a series of closed door consultations with family members and others affected by the April 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting.

What the commissioners heard was criticism of the RCMP, discontent with some of the decisions made by the MCC, and of the lack of access to mental health services and support after the tragedy.

The transcripts of the sessions were made public by the commission Thursday.

The lawyer representing many families and survivors of the shootings, says it was an opportunity for them to speak directly to those in charge of the inquiry, after spending months observing public proceedings.

“Some of them would say this should have come sooner,” says Sandra McCulloch, “but nevertheless, that they had the opportunity to have their voices heard was very important.”

Many family members laid bare their criticisms of the RCMP’s lack of command coordination, failure to issue an emergency alert, and poor communications during and after the events of April 18-19, 2020.

Nick Beaton described the moment an RCMP officer came to his home and told him his wife Kristen and their unborn child had been killed after an agonizing eight hours waiting for news.

“One guy got out and his first words to me was like, 'You will be happy to know....you're the first one notified,' is what he said to me,” Beaton said, “And I still don't know how I didn't knock him out."

His mother, Bev Beaton, told commissioners she had to distract her young grandson while Beaton collapsed to the ground in grief. She said that terrible moment came only after her son had told police he'd go to the crime scene to find out himself if they didn’t notify him soon as to Kristen’s whereabouts.

“There's no way in hell that a victim's family should have to feel like they have no other option," she said.

She described how officers at the crime scene on Hunter Road near Debert had failed to cover her daughter-in-law’s body with a blanket, and images of her remains ended up online, including a 6-minute video.

The RCMP had the images taken down.

“Do I feel right now today this could happen again in our community? 100 per cent,” she told the Commissioners. “Do I think the RCMP would be ready for it if it happened today? No.”

She and other family members also criticized decisions made by the commissioners, such as allowing some RCMP witnesses to appear behind closed doors, and allowing Gabriel Wortman's former spouse, Lisa Banfield, to appear without live cross-examination from participant lawyers.

The daughter of retired firefighter Tom Bagley, who was murdered in Wentworth on the second day of the killings, questioned the MCC’s “trauma-informed” approach.

"...one thing that continued to traumatize me after this event,” said Charlene Bagley, “...was basically feeling like...everywhere we turned, a wall was put up for us."

Many of those left behind –- both family members of victims and survivors in affected communities -- described difficulties trying to access mental health care both in the months after the tragedy, and even now.

Ryan Farrington’s mother and step-father, Frank and Dawn Gulenchyn, were killed in their home in Portapqiue.

Farrington lives in Ontario, which he said made it even more difficult to access care.

“I didn't hear anything from anybody,” he said, “I just felt like I was in the dark and had absolutely nobody to lean on..."

Jennifer Zahl Bruland travelled from the United States to describe to Commissioners her experience after her father, U.S. Navy veteran John Zahl, and her step-mother, Joanne Thomas, were killed by the gunman in Portapique.

“I had to call victims services and tell them, ‘Do you know that your number is not accessible from the United States?’ They acted shocked. Nobody had bothered to check,” she said. Counseling services, there was six months or more before my counselor could be added, and then it took more months for them to figure out that she needed to be paid in U.S. dollars.”

“There was a lot of people that were sort of missed in the process,” says Scott McLeod, the brother of victim Sean McLeod. “When somebody's dealing with the mental health side of something like this, a five-minute meet and greet's not an end-all for anything.”

McLeod’s session with the commissioners also included several residents of Portapique, who spoke of the trauma of still living in the shattered community, and the lack of regular and meaningful contact with Victims Services.

“I don’t hear from them at all,” said former resident Mallory Colpitts, “In fact, the last time I...asked a question about a treatment option, they told me they would get back to me and never did.”

Darrin Murphy, whose brother, Bernie, was also a resident of Portapique, said Bernie changed after the tragedy.

“I talked to my brother about two months after this happened... And he told me that he was told that it would take up to nine months to get to mental health. And when I seen him, I didn’t recognize him. He was not the same person we knew,” he said.

Bernie Murphy died in December, and his sister-in-law told the Commission she believed the stress and what he experienced, “contributed to his death.”

Survivor Leon Joudrey was also part of the small group session, telling the Commissioners he never received a call from Victims Services.

“When you're shaking every day and somebody tells you, ‘it'll be three weeks,’ doesn’t help you much,” said Joudrey.

Joudrey died suddenly Sunday. The week before, he told CTV News in an interview about the “hell” he was enduring, unable to sell his home and move away from the memories that haunted him Portapique.

“When you are struggling and have to call a list of 10 or 15 different service providers....that's just not good enough,” says McCulloch. “Hopefully this is something the Commission will really dig into in its final report. We need to pay attention to what those individuals need and not leave any behind to struggle and suffer on their own, to try to find to find their own way out of this tragedy, or a tragedy like this in the future.”

“It just can’t be left to happen that way again,” she says.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/RpYgfNX

[vannybarber]

The Prenup: Part Two

Summary: After four years of being together and finally being engaged, Chris wants you to sign a prenup.

Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: angst, swearing, chris getting his ass handed to him, a lot of pain.

Part One

Walking down the isle, you grab everything that looks remotely pleasing in sight. After you left the house, you were just driving nowhere. Having to refill your tank because you wasted all the gas, the crackhead at the station kept singing Mambo Number 5 and it made you feel slightly better. Now you were in the convenience store spending your feelings away.

You get to the pain pills and grab some Aleve. Your head has been thumping for hours now. You see a pink box and knock a couple of those in the basket too just because they're pink. Whipping over to the candy isle, you grab multiple bags of Starburst jelly beans just to spite Chris because you know he loves them. Moments later, your basket it full and you head to the front.

Tipping the basket, you dump all the contents on the counter. The cashier gives you this look and you don't blame her. You had 3 bags of jellybeans, 5 random candy bars, 2 pink boxes you still can't read out, a blue Mountain Dew, a dog toy and some Doritos. Absolutely random. The cashier scans all the junk food, but when she gets to the pink boxes, she look up at you and at your left hand.

You're in a daze, so you don't see her looking at you. Your mind was all over the place and frankly, you didn't want to think about any of the latest events. Not the prenup. Not the engagement. Not Chris. Snapping into reality, you pay for your groceries and take all the bags and walk out the store.

On the drive to the hotel, you pass the park where you and Chris met. That didn't help with your predicament at all.

Dodger had gotten off his leash because he was so excited to finally have a home. You were with your niece. She is so obsessed with dogs and wanted to meet every one. Dodger spotted her and pounced on her, giving infinite kisses.

Chris was freaking out. His dog just pounced on a two year old child.

You, on the other hand, were laughing your ass off. Your niece wasn't complaining either because she kissed him back.

He apologized profusely and you guaranteed him it was okay. You guys hung out for the rest of the day and decided to go on another date, without the kids. One date lead to many others and soon enough you'd met his whole family, vice versa, and started living with him. It was unreal.

And here you are infront of a hotel, with no ring or engagement and your fianceé almost an hour away. Oh, how the tables have turned.

You get out and receive your room key. You head up to your room and set everything down. You were so tired and worn out. Getting comfortable in the bed, you knock out almost immediately.

Meanwhile, back at your house, it's pure chaos.

"Chris do you realize what the fuck you just did?"

Scott is practically screaming at his brother, pacing around the room.

"Scott can you fucking chill? You're not helping the situation" Chris snapped back at him. Scott stops and stares at him like he's an idiot.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for your stupid choices. Tell him Ma!" He looks at her to back him up. Lisa stands up from her seat and walks over to Chris.

"Now Scott, Chris is a grown man. He can handle this situation, right honey?" Her hands are on both his shoulders, looking for him to respond.

"There you go. You always do this! You always baby him up whenever he's in trouble." He rolls his eyes. Lisa draws back from Chris.

"No, I do not. I let all of you sort out your own issues, with my advice of course. Shanna, Carly, do I baby your brother?" Chris throws his head back in annoyance.

"Um, yeah kinda.."

"Sometimes...Ma, but not all the time of course"

They say at the same time. They hated to admit it but when it came to Chris, she mostly got him out his problems. He's not used to solving them on his own. Lisa utters incoherent words in disbelief.

"That's not important right now. My fianceé just called off our engagement and I don't know where she is!" Chris interrupts, getting everyone back into focus.

"Technically she's not your fianceé if she called the engagement off, but it's whatever..." Scott mumbles with his hands up. Chris shoots him a 'fuck off look'.

"Well have you tried calling her?" Carly asks him.

"Yes, but she's not picking up. She can hold quite the grudge when it comes to her feelings." And he was right. You were very protective of your feelings and anything to harm that will be shut down ASAP.

"Well we just have to hope that she is trusting her better judgment and will come back, unlike someone in the room" Scott says sarcastically turning and sitting on the couch. Chris smacks his lips.

"Scott that's enough!" Lisa snaps.

"Well he deserves everything he's getting! He put himself in this situation. Now he doesn't have a wife and he's miserable. Could never be me."

Chris had enough. He moved quickly put his chair and into the bedroom, slamming the door shut. He sat at the edge of the bed and cried.

You had finally woken up and check your phone.

26 missed calls | 63 messages.

You text Lisa and tell her you're fine. Closing the app, you look at your homescreen. It's a picture of Chris laying on your chest asleep. His lips are parted and you're grinning in the screen. He looks like an adorable puppy. You grab your charger out your bag and plug it up.

Remembering the stuff you bought, you grab the jellybeans and open them. Seeing the assortment of colors, you go straight for the red ones. Chris' favorite. You were gonna milk this to the bone. You reach in the bag and feel one of the pink boxes you bought. Still not knowing what it was, you pull it out and read it.

First Response Pregnancy

You bought a damn pregnancy test. 2 to be exact. You didn't know if you wanted to laugh or to smack yourself for wasting your money. Many thoughts went through your mind. Should you take the tests? Should you throw it away? What if you were pregnant? That last thought gave you shivers. Pregnant at a time like this? Were you even ready?

Looking down at the test, you decide to take it. Just for the hell of it. You knew you weren't gonna be pregnant because you take birth control. Not to mention you and Chris use condoms for extra measure. Nothing wrong with being safe.

You get up, pad to the bathroom and get down to business. You do all the steps and clean up after yourself. Now you just had to wait.

You were nervous as hell. You don't know why though. There isn't a chance you could be pregnant because you didn't allow there be one. You have been beyond careful. There would be zero possibility. Or so you thought.

After what felt like 5 minutes, your shakey hand grab the test and flip it over.

| |

You freeze and your eyes dart to the information section.

Not Pregnant- |

Pregnant- | |

You look back at the results. There were two lines. Absentmindedly, you shake your head and back up until your back hits the wall. You can't be pregnant. There's literally no freaking way. It's got to be false.

You grab the other test and take it. After 5 more minutes, you check it and there's two lines also. Now you were freaking the fuck out. Both tests are positive. You rush back in the room and dig through the bag for the other box. You grab it and take both tests at the same time. Don't ask.

After another 5 minutes, you stare at the back of the two tests. Moment of truth. You flip both the tests at the same time.

| | on each test.

This is where you fall on the floor in shock and fear. You were pregnant. With Chris' child. And you guys just had a huge fall out and you're all alone. You're not ready for a kid. Especially not now.

You bury your head in your hands and let the tears fall. How in the hell were you gonna tell him?

taglist:

@flattykawa1 @mayafatimakhan @attitude-times @shawn-youth @traceyaudette @fantasticinternetpizza @kyraroseficreblogs33 @radi0active-thoughts @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @ohbarracuda @katelyneannxo @jennamarieee623 @nicochantez @craycraycraic @ilikeurdad @ppal3 @captainson-of-coul @joanne-stan @ilovetheeagles @cristinagronk16 @kelbabyblue @onyourgoddamnleft @jessyballet @misz-adrii @geminievans1 @saltyflowermakertaco @a-moment-captured @harrysthiccthighss @greatbatprofessordragon

i hope this part kept you guys' intrest like the first part😭 i felt the pressure today lmao

if you're bolded, i couldn't tag you. i'll personally message you ❤ thank you guys for your support. it means so much to me 🤧

[moon-kn1ght]

toes in the water

pairing: frankie morales x reader

word count: 2k 

warnings: kindergarten should def be a warning, maybe also incredibly unvaried sentence structure? rated E for everyone :)

a/n: this is going to be a small series surrounding a single father frankie morales and reader who is a kindergarten teacher. semi-slow burning, super cute and will def have storage closet / after-hours classroom sex at some point. thank you @wyn-dixie for the beta and for quelling my anxieties about literally everything. 

masterlist || tag form

Were you supposed to be using the kindergarten enrollment forms to sus out potential cute, single parents? No, definitely not. 

But the process of going through the individual forms and comparing them to the database for possible clerical errors was tedious at best, and grueling at its worst. Sitting on those tiny kindergarten chairs, you and the other four members of your team of teachers had already rehashed all of the gossip from the summer, including how Jessica the first year teacher from the 3rd grade cohort had hooked up with that sleazy geometry teacher from the high school at the end of the year district-wide social last May. 

“God, I remember when he was student teaching at the middle school,” Dora, your most senior coworker who had ‘been around the block a few times’ and also held onto every piece of gossip that circulated in your district for the last 17 years, drawled, “He had the grossest little rat mustache, you could hardly tell him apart from the 8th graders!” 

The group laughs in response to that joke, always ready to make of the holier-than-thou high school teachers. “You know what?” Dora adds, “You’d think after so many years, I’d be used to these tiny fucking chairs, but I am not. I need a walk and a Diet Coke.” 

“I’ll join you!” chimed Joanne, the second-oldest teacher in your cohort. The two leaders of your team left the room, leaving you, Claudia, and Andrés, the youngest teachers in the kindergarten cohort. Andrés and you had gone through your credential program together and had known each other for upwards of five years now as best friends. When the two of you arrived at Franklin Elementary, fresh out of school, Claudia had just completed her first year so she welcomed more young teachers with open arms. The three of you have been inseparable for the past several years now. 

“Okay, pull out your stacks!” Andrés orders, citing your group’s earlier plan to use this menial labor to check for potential single parents. You were just looking on the forms to see who did not have both parents listed. It wasn’t a perfect system. And yeah, it was probably inappropriate but y’all were just messing around and killing time on this sweltering August day. 

“I have one in my class!” you offer. “Student: Grace Miller. Parent: Susan Miller. Occupation: Landscape architect.” 

“Oooo, intriguing. Love someone who works with their hands,” Claudia remarks in a silly, sultry voice. “I have one, the student is named Peter, mom is Karen. She’s an accountant.” 

“I don’t like the sound of that. Karen? Yeah no thank you. Glad she’s in your class, not mine.” Andrés laughs and you join him. Kindergarten was just as much of a transition for students as it was for parents, and sometimes they took it harder than the kids. “Here’s to hoping she doesn’t live up to her name...” he continues, “Ooh, I have one! He's single dad--” 

Oooh, you and Claudia purr.

“Rosalia Morales is the daughter of single dad Francisco; form says he's a small business owner,” Andrés presents this crown jewel piece of information to a round of applause from you and Claudia. 

“Ugh, let’s hope he’s cute!” Claudia adds and the three of you dissolve into giggles as the older women  return from their Diet Coke run. 

—X—

Rosalia Morales was ready for kindergarten. Frankie Morales, on the other hand, was not. 

The younger Morales had spent the first weeks of August carefully preparing for this new (and very important) chapter in her life. She carefully deliberated over decisions like what backpack and lunchbox to get from Target (she chose a matching Sofia the First set, so that it could be a topic of conversation for her and her potential new friends at school) to what she was instructing her father to pack in her lunchbox (no PB&J’s in case her new friends were allergic, she wanted to be able to sit at the same lunch table with them and not have these seminal weeks defined by the separation of Peanut vs Peanut free lunches). Rosalia was very meticulous, and she always had been. She was well-prepared to face all the challenges kindergarten wanted to throw at her. 

While Rosalia had spent weeks preparing, Frankie had spent weeks dreading the imminent separation from his favorite person in the universe. Yes, he had sent Rosalia to preschool and pre-K but those had all been half-day programs. He would drop her off on his way to work and then pick her up at lunchtime. That only meant four hours apart but full-day Kindergarten was drop-off at 7:45am and pick up at 3:30pm. Seven and a half hours. How am I going to do it? he thought to himself. 

—X—

At Franklin, they implemented a very specific first day schedule. Parents walked their kids to their classrooms to hang up their bags, then the students got to go play on the playground while the parents left. The older teachers designed this system to reinforce to the students that school = fun. Yes, of course there were always students who had a rougher first day, but it usually took a couple of hours for the fatigue to set in before the students realized how long the day (and year was going to be). 

This system most importantly allowed for a clean break with the parents, a solid ‘goodbye!’ point that the teachers could enforce. But, always, there were some straggler parents (either loitering inside, near the front door or in their cars in the parking lot). The administrative team would let the indoor stragglers know that it was time to leave, but they would have two of the teachers go into the parking lot to make sure all the parents had cleared out. 

This year, you and Claudia had pulled those short straws, so while the rest of your team monitored the early recess, you two roamed the parking lot with reassuring waves and “I’m sorry, it’s district policy, you have to leave the parking lot after drop off.” Everyone usually took it graciously—it’s like ripping off a band-aid, it’s better to just get it done. 

You had almost cleared the lot of loitering vehicles when you came upon an older, red truck with a man inside it. His window was down so you began to speak to him a little before he noticed you, causing him to jump. 

“Hi, I'm one of the teachers in the Kindergarten cohort," you say as you run your bare left hand through your hair. “Are you a parent?” 

As he turns to look at you, you can notice that even with his cap pulled low, he has definitely been crying a little. “Hey, yes sorry. I’m Frankie Morales, Rosalia’s dad,” the man stammers, “I’m sorry, I know the policy, I think I’m just having a little bit of separation anxiety.” HIs brown eyes look a little bloodshot as he gives you a half-hearted smile. 

You search his face and see no traces of dishonesty, this is just a man very nervous to be sending his kid to school. And a cute one at that too. Claudia called it, you think. 

Before you can let your mind wander too far about this stranger, you have to say something. “Mr. Morales...” you start. 

“Please call me Frankie. Mr. Morales is my dad,” he interjects nervously.         

“Okay, Frankie,” you say. “I understand how nerve-wracking sending your kid to school can be. I may not be a parent myself, but I can empathize. But I can also offer to you that in my years in kindergarten, I’ve never seen a student not adjust to the classroom,” you offer. 

“But I also understand that our anxieties can be irrational and don’t like when presented with things that might undermine them. So it’s okay to still be nervous or anxious right now,” you add. “Do you think there’s something that I could do to help you feel better about leaving school property in the next ten minutes or so?” you smile a little to help this last bit come off as nice as possible. 

“I…” he mumbles, “I… I’m not sure, my parental intuition is telling me that something will happen in the middle of the day and it’ll take me too long to get here, which I know isn’t going to happen but… I’m worried that I won’t be able to be enough for her”  

“You worry because you care, and I can already tell that you care about her a lot. Hey, like I said, our worries don’t have to be rational to get at us.”

“She’s just all I have, she’s the center of my universe,” he adds. With this, you can see the shift in his eyes, from worry to love. You can tell that he loves his daughter with his whole heart. 

“Rosalia is in Andrés', I mean, Mr. Gonzales’s class, right?” 

“Yeah, she is.” 

“I think I might have a solution, a little band-aid just for today,” you bid and Frankie looks hopeful. “This is very much against district policy so you have to promise not to tell on me.”  

He laughs with this, and promises not to tell. “How about I give you my phone number, and any time that your fatherly intuition is telling you that something bad is going to happen, you can text me and then I’ll peek across the hall to Rosalia’s classroom, and I can factually assure you that nothing bad is happening?” 

Frankie actually smiles, for the first time in this whole conversation, “That would be great,” he says.

—X—

As you knew would happen, the day passed without incident. Frankie didn’t even text you, which you felt good about. But also a little sad because you wanted to start a little texting thing with this single dad. But you knew it would be a little inappropriate, in your heart of hearts. 

After all the students get picked up, Claudia and Andrés migrate into your classroom. 

“Don’t you think the first day of school calls for a celebratory drink out this afternoon?” Andrés probes. He always was down for happy hour (and to be truthful, you were too). “We should go to the brewery down the road, they have some nice outdoor seating.” 

“I’m in,” you state, “And I may or may not have some other good news..” you tease. 

“What? What good news could have happened in a room full of 6 year-olds?” Claudia jokes. 

“Y’all can’t tell anyone but I got the phone number of that single dad from Andrés’s class,” you say as quickly as you can. 

Claudia and Andrés both break into shrieks with this news. 

“Oh my god, I can’t believe our prowling on the enrollment forms WORKED!!” Andrés exclaims. 

“He was nervous at drop off so I gave him my number but he didn’t end up texting me, so nothing will probably ever come of it. But still, small win in my book.” 

Claudia throws her head back, “You deserve all the wins you get, whatever happens, we’re psyched for you.” 

Later, during happy hour you check your phone and notice a new text from an unsaved number. 

Hey, thanks for your help this morning, having this line of communication made me feel a lot better. Rosalia had a great day today. -Frankie 

You try to keep your facial expressions minimal as you read the message. They don’t need to know about this, you think to yourself before shooting back a quick message. 

That makes me so happy Frankie. Feel free to reach out whenever you need! About whatever :) 

You add that last line hastily and hit send. I can thank this liquid courage for that, you think as you down the rest of your pint. 

TAG LIST: @wyn-dixie | @empress-palpat1ne | @marvelousmermaid | @knivesareout | @sleep-tight1 | @justanotherblonde23​ | 

[senorarelojes]

Fic: But Not Tonight (4/?)

Summary: Dave asks his best friend Alan to go to the prom with him. Pairing: Dave/Alan Notes: One of the silly little things I wrote for @pinksyndication @what-could-have-been @songsofgayanddevotion @rvphinas-blog!

Part 1: here. Part 2: here. Part 3: here.

.

Over the weekend, Dave’s mum and sister take him to Eastgate to shop for his prom clothes. Nothing catches his fancy, especially not the hideously old-fashioned tweed suits that his mother keeps insisting that he try on. Dave sneakily texts Alan to find out what he’s planning to wear so that he might get something matching, but Alan keeps insisting it’s a surprise.

In the end - with Sue as mediator - Dave and his mum finally agree on a single breasted white blazer from Topman, coupled with slacks, a black shirt and a skinny grey tie. The blazer is a little too loose around the waist for Dave, so when they get home, Sue fetches her sewing kit and helps him take it in a bit.

“Very fetching, very smart,” Sue teases him when Dave models the whole outfit in front of her full-length mirror as a trial run. When he stares at himself all he can see is a pale and terrified kid, he doesn’t feel smart. “Alan is a very lucky bloke.”

“What if he doesn’t like it?” Dave is aware that he’s just being dramatic, but it’s Sue - the only person who knows him better than Alan - so he doesn’t care. “What if he thinks I look hideous and changes his mind?”

“Then he’ll be the stupidest bloke in Essex,” Sue says firmly, grabbing Dave’s shoulders to turn him back to the mirror, her eyes quickly scanning his outfit for anything else that needs fixing. “But we both know he’s not stupid, right? You’re always going on about how smart he is.”

Dave is unable to help the dreamy smile that appears in the mirror. “He really is.” 

Sue rolls her eyes in affectionate exasperation. “Alright, alright, Romeo. Now come on, prom boy-- corsage, yes or no?”

***

Dave doesn’t see Alan much for the next few days leading up to prom, because Alan is busy with his Grade 8 exams as well as his final project for AV Club. They still text like normal, which assures Dave that Alan hasn’t changed his mind and they really are going to prom together. 

On the day before the prom, he's hanging out with Fletch and Mart in Fletch’s room and discussing the logistics for the dance. They have pooled together enough money to rent a fancy limo now, because Dave has thrown in all his savings from working at Asda all summer and Alan told them in the group chat to add in his earnings from giving the neighbourhood kids piano lessons. “Vince said his cousin works at the car rental place,” Fletch informs them, counting their combined money along with his and Martin’s contributions. “So he can get us a really good discount.”

“Thank fuck for Vince.” Dave twists one of his rings around and around his finger, wondering if his nerves will abate anytime soon. “So what time are we setting off?”

“I’ll go pick up the limo from Vince at 7.30,” Fletch says decisively. “Then we’ll go by the quickest route: first I’ll go pick up Mart, then we’ll swing by Alan’s, then you’re the last stop.”

Martin’s shaking his head. “No need, we can just pick up both Dave and Alan together. Right?” he says, shooting Dave a knowing look.

“Why?” The frown between Fletch’s brows deepens as he turns to Dave. “You two getting ready together?”

“Erm--” Dave rubs the back of his neck.

“Oh come on, An.” Martin is laughing now. “Haven’t you figured out that they’re each other’s dates?”

Dave’s face suddenly feels way too warm as Fletch’s mouth drops open in shock. “What the fuck?” 

“Andrew, language!” Mrs Fletcher scolds from the kitchen.

“Sorry, mum!” Fletch calls back with a wince, glaring at Martin and Dave who are giggling at him.

“Wait, how did you know?” Dave asks Martin. “Did Al tell you?”

“No, but you’ve been bloody nervous for the past few days,” Martin astutely points out. “You weren’t even this nervous when you first asked Joanne Fox to go out with you. So I inferred it must be someone truly important.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Dave says a little sulkily, although he doesn’t know why he’s bothering since he’s pretty much caught. Martin might be the quietest person in their group, but he’s also the most perceptive, and Dave has heard him make some horrifyingly shrewd observations over the years.

“True,” Martin says thoughtfully, picking up Fletch’s battered ukulele to strum on it. “However, for the past few days, you and Alan have been sending each other these annoying little emojis in the groupchat--”

“So that’s what those were about?” Fletch interrupts. Martin shoots him a pitying look.

“Have you ever seen them do that before?” he patiently points out.

“Alright, point taken, Sherlock,” Fletch huffs at him.

Martin turns to flash Dave his trademark crooked grin. “So, am I right?”

Dave figures they might as well know about it now instead of finding out tomorrow, so he quickly nods while Martin looks smug and Fletch is still blinking in amazement.

“Wait,” he says tentatively. “So the eggplant emoji Alan sent wasn’t about what he had for dinner?”

Dave can’t help it, he bursts out laughing while Martin pats Fletch’s knee in consolation.

[welcome-to-green-hills]

I am a 12 year old boy, and christian. But lately I've been pretending that i'm a girl, and whenever my parents leave, i put a blanket around my legs and pretend it's like a princess dress. Are these habits normal? I personally don't believe that boys wearing dresses is a sin or anything, but I don't even know if I'm right about that

Hello, buddy!

I’m very sorry that this took so long. Please know that I was not trying to ignore you at all. I have been thinking of the best mature answer to give you. I wanted to take the time to carefully evaluate my words and string them together comfortably. This post was revised a few times due to my opinion being expressed rather than the opposite. What was asked of me was if this was a normal behavior, not my opinion. For this post, I strive to only share logical evaluations and concepts before arriving to a conclusion.

(There will be articles and research data referenced as well, but I’ll put a hyperlink in it as a source and reference it at the end).

I think that what should matter is that what feels the best to you. What matters is how you feel in your heart and mind. If that is what feels comfortable to you, then that is what works best for you. Viewing this as an anthropologist, clothes are not defined with a binary—humans define it by a binary. Meaning that when clothes are made, there isn’t a strict rule as to who and what should wear it. A dress doesn’t come with instructions saying, “dresses are for girls/women only.” Humans, the cultural and social norms that they were raised in, advertise articles of clothing as a norm. In short: yes! It’s becoming normal, especially now (Ipsos 2019, #3-6). Even back when Christianity was just beginning, many wore animal skins, tunics, wool, and a special unisex skirt called a “stola” or similar to. (Wikipedia 2020).

I’ve shared a long time ago that there are at least 52--and counting--genders in the world and 6 different types of biological sex that a person can have (Joshua Kennon 2018). There is no reason, or excuse, to have clothes catered to only two options. We, as a society, hear more about people of multiple genders use clothing as a form of expression. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It seems weird now because we’re becoming, what you youngings say, “woke.” There is nothing wrong with a person who identifies as a male and wears a skirt. Nor is there anything wrong with a person who identifies as a female and wears bow ties. (Weak example, I know, but it’s the most “male” item I can think of for Western Culture). Normalizing a binary as a “non binary” is a bit odd for a hardcore culture to understand, but overtime it can be taught and woven into cultural morals later on.

Here’s an example:

One thing that came to mind while writing this was Schitt’s Creek star, Daniel Levy. In the show, he played a role (David Rose) where his character wore skirts and skorts as a norm. The character also wore a skirt equivalent to his wedding when he wedded his husband.

Recently, the show’s actor and creator wore a skirt while receiving his nineth Emmy award in 2020 (Fernandez, 2020).

I’ve been trying to find my notes and PDF files shared through previous anthropological courses through each semester to share. I don’t want to make any claims without sharing proof... plus it gives you something to read if you’re interested in it. However, in ever class I’ve attended and talked with professionals of specific archaeological and cultural fields, the use of gendered clothing appears to be traced back to when humans began agricultural societies. Agricultural (also referred to as “agrarian” society anthropologically) societies were really the start of just about everything, like governmenting officials, farming, the concepts of relatives and families, gender specific roles (like taking care of kids and gender specific jobs) in a defined group, and religion.

Anthropologist Joanne Eicher studies humans in the now, the contemporary. What she loves to view is cultural standards art, humanities, and the way that people dress as well. She brushes up on this in her published work called “The Anthropology of Dress” from the late 2000s. Give it a read if you’re interested, we can talk further about it if you have questions.

In short, if you really were asking for my opinion about it it’s okay for males to wear skirts, then my answer will be “yes.” I think that it’s perfectly okay and cool beans for males to wear a skirt. I also think that it’s perfectly okay for females to wear male clothing, like suits/tuxedos that give off an alpha vibe and sports gear.

Onto the second portion of your question:

Tackling the first section, “I am a 12 year old boy, and christian. But lately I've been pretending that i'm a girl...” Are you asking me if it’s normal for someone your age to pretend to be a girl?

If you’re asking me if it’s normal for kids in your age group to portray themselves as a different gender, then yes in some cases. It is normal, it’s just deemed as a surreal topic to hear it in public. It is perfectly normal to question the portrayal of yourself, and it’s perfectly okay to explore other possibilities (Mascareille, 2015).

As stated before, what should matter here is what you think and feel is right in your heart/mind. No one can tell you what you can and can’t be. I can’t tell you who and what you should be in life, that’s all up to you. I can’t force you to become something that you’re nots only You know what’s best for you in your heart and mind. What helps is to have that conversation with yourself. Ask yourself who you are and what you strive to be. This is an important part of life—you get to invent the person that you want to be. And the glorious thing about this development is that this is the perfect time where you’re open to all possibilities and emerging into a culture/society where we ask questions. It’s okay to ask questions and try new things (Early Childhood National Centers, n.d).

I’m going to leave two links down below to a couple website that you can read more about. I do not mean to leave you on a short note here and shrug you off. What I’m leaving you with are some other source materials that you are welcomed to brush up on as well. I am very honored that you trust me enough to have this conversation, but I can only provide so much. This means that I can provide you with much information as I can on this topic, but I don’t know what it means to you in your heart and soul. You know better than I do.

KidsHealth.org by Nemours

Human Rights Campaign—Tools for Equality and Inclusion

There is nothing wrong with you at all. None whatsoever. And if you have any questions, or just need someone to talk to about it, you’re always welcomed here. I’ll provide you with the recourses that you need in order to be successful. Stay safe and remember that you’re worthy and matter. I hope that this answers your question, buddy!✨