#what are the professionalism requirements here i have no idea

[thegroundhogdidit]

how professional must i be sending an email to a professor who is also a family friend

[weaselle]

i had to make a solution for this for myself, mostly because of depression, but it makes a nice How To for folks who are low on spoons or could use some help in the kitchen.

Fortunately i was a professional cook for over a decade. UNfortunately the first post i made explaining it was suuuuper long. Let's see if i can do better

So you select any protein that you can cook in a frying pan -- chicken breasts, ground beef, pork chops, sausages, steak, chicken thighs, whatever. You also select one or two types of veggie (mushrooms or tubers also work, i just did this with potatoes and carrots for dinner tonight).

[i like cooking for vegetarians, but this is how i cook for myself when i'm low on spoons - perhaps i'll do another post for meatless meals]

You'll also need some kind of oil, and a sauce or two of your choice in a bottle. All cooking gear is a large frying pan with lid (i prefer non-stick) a spatula, a cutting board, and a knife.

You cut the veggies into bite size pieces, cut up enough for two meals. One kind of veggie is fine, or you can do mix two or three

Put frying pan on medium heat with a little oil. Tubers or mushrooms or go in the pan a few minutes before the protein. 2 portions of the protein goes in the pan, about 5 minutes with lid (don't worry you can still get a good sear on both sides)

Now flip your protein if it's flip-able and add normal veggies, put the lid back on another five-ish minutes.

Take your protein out and put it with one portion of the veggies in a microwave safe container. That's going to be your lunch tomorrow. Put the other portion of protein on a plate to rest (you have to let a cooked protein sit a couple minutes before you serve it or when you cut into it all the juices run out and it goes dry - the liquids thicken as it cools, preventing this drying out if you let it rest, the goal is to serve it very warm but not hot hot)

While it's resting, pour some sauce from your bottle in the pan with the rest of the veggies and turn up the heat. A single sauce/bottle is fine, i like to get fancy and mix a couple. Two examples of personal favorite mixes are 1: bbq sauce and a hot sauce like sriracha 2: roughly equal parts low sodium soy sauce and worcestershire (makes something similar to a teriyaki sauce) A swallow of wine is almost always a great option if you want to add that to your sauce too, just add it to the pan before the other sauces so the alcohol has time to burn off.

...

Here is the important bit. While your veggies are finishing, wash your cutting board and chef knife. Then when you dump your veggies and sauce over your protein on the plate, while it is still too hot to eat, you wash your frying pan and spatula before you eat. Now the only dishes you have left to do are your plate and fork. Maybe a steak knife.

...

The whole thing takes about 35 minutes even with washing the dishes, and that includes your lunch for the next day- just pour a different sauce on and stick it in the microwave for a couple minutes (or five minutes back in the frying pan) and you have a full healthy lunch with a different flavor

You can use this technique every single meal and it yields hundreds of combinations, from pork and potatoes bbq, to salmon and broccoli teriyaki, to chicken and zucchini in a soy glaze.

It will keep you down to less than an hour of kitchen time per day total for both lunch and dinner including all dish clean up, uses the least dishes, the least effort, requires the least technique, and is, depending on what you pick out, very affordable

here are a couple more examples from this month; i didn’t take pictures of the salmon i did recently, but you get the idea

it's not super fancy, but it is easy, affordable, quick, and any flavors you want. Hope this helps some folks

Happy Cooking!

[fairuzfan]

Also re:necropolitics of israel (click)

A few days ago there were reports of Israeli soldiers "returning" bodies of martyrs they took like just straight up from Gaza. Here is a report about bodies being stolen from al-Shifa (click).

The director of Al-Shifa had reported the bodies being stolen back in November (click) before his arrest. The hospital workers mentioned not knowing why the soldiers would do that. The speculation of the photo-op arose because the photo-op of October 7th within Israel happened a month and a half after October 7th, after the Al-Shifa raid. People (Palestinians) noted that the level of violence done to the bodies seemed similar to what they had been seeing with the bombs in Gaza, and found it hard to believe that Hamas could inflict that much damage. There was a thread that was examining this idea but I haven't found it as it's been a bit. If I find it, I'll comment on this post.

But even then, Israel routinely makes corpses serve out their sentences or even outright steals them for the sake of enacting psychological torture onto the relatives of the martyr (click). The burial process is an essential step in mourning and grief, which means by withholding the bodies, they ensure that the family is unable to recover emotionally from the death of their loved one nor are they allowed to move on. This is essentially a form of ensuring that people are unable to resist as the emotional toll this takes on them is quite high.

A variety of reports and testimonies are linked in this article regarding the harvesting and removal of organs throughout the years by Israel (click). The most damning of the evidence is a testimony by Dr. Meira Weiss in her book "Over Their Dead Bodies." The article has a translated passage from Hebrew about the period at the turn of the century and their practices then (roughly 1996-2002):

“They would take corneas, skin, and heart valves, while noting that non-professionals would not notice the absence of these organs as they would place something plastic in place of the corneas and ‘take’ the skin from the back so that the family wouldn’t see it. In addition, the bodies of detained martyrs are used in medical colleges at Israeli universities for research purposes.” Weiss confirmed that “in the first Intifada, the army effectively allowed the institute to extract organs from Palestinians under a military procedure that required the autopsy of a Palestinian prisoner. The autopsy procedure was accompanied by organ removal, which was used by the Israeli Skin Bank established in 1985 to treat burns suffered by Israeli soldiers. This was after the Chief Rabbinate Council issued a ruling legitimizing it, which led to saving the lives of many Israelis who were injured during attacks on Palestinian citizens, continuous assaults, and wars — at the expense of Palestinian martyrs, according to specialized Israeli medical sources for burn treatment.”

It's worthy to note: as an occupying force especially, Israel should not be doing ANYTHING with these bodies and just returning them to the families. I've seen some people say "they didn't JUST harvest Palestinians' organs, they also harvested Israeli organs." It doesn't matter. They are an occupying force that enacts systematic violence on Palestinians especially and within this context, anything Israel does towards Palestinians is a targeted, racialized violence. It is widely known that Israel denies crimes it has committed until many, many years, especially from during the Nakba, such as well poisoning.

People provide evidence that organs can't be used after a certain point in time.... in this context (October 2023-December 2023), it's not about whether or not the organs were used for anything. It is specifically for the purpose of body desecration which Israeli soldiers especially have not been shy about. Here is a report during the bulldozer massacre in which people report that Israeli soldiers run over bodies for no other reason than desecration (click).

Also, remember the grave desecration that happened a few days ago? It was reported that they had stolen bodies believed to belong to young Palestinian activists then (click). This is widely known as 'necroviolence' on Palestinian bodies in order to humiliate them (click).

You cannot remove the context of an oppressive force (Israel) that is documented to have disrespected graves and bodies. You must analyze it within this context, not any others. Withholding bodies of Palestinians, no matter what they did while they were alive, is a form of disrespect and oppression on a subjugated population. To deny that this happens and to attribute it to antisemitism is not only disrespectful of Palestinians' mourning rights, but also an effort to remold the narrative into one of "Jewish people against Palestinians" by emphasizing the Jewishness of the occupying force rather than focusing on... you know... the fact that they're an occupying force known to enact violence on Palestinian martyrs.

[steddieas-shegoes]

for @thefreakandthehair (and @vecnuthy and @wormdebut while we’re at it) because sometimes you help a baseball player through French class so they can stay on the team and then they end up on the Savannah bananas and you decide to put the fictional men into situations about it *shrugs*

Eddie was going to have to transfer out of this class. This was one of his easiest classes and it was filled with every jock on campus attempting to fill their foreign language requirement with French.

And they were all failing. And annoying. And obnoxious.

And a few of them were also hot.

But Eddie wasn’t gonna focus on that!

He was gonna finish today’s assignment and then head straight to the advising office to find another class that worked with his work schedule.

“Hey,” the guy next to him whispered as the teacher droned on about conjugating verbs. “Do you have any idea what the fuck the homework was?”

Eddie turned to glare at the person, but his face dropped when he noticed who it was.

The campus celebrity: Steve Harrington.

Couldn’t quite make it on the college baseball team, but managed to make the sort-of professional, but mostly joke team Hawkins Hooligans.

Eddie didn’t like sports, never had. He could appreciate that it took skill and whatnot, but he didn’t care much to watch it or make celebrities of people who were just really good at one very specific thing usually involving some kind of ball. But he could appreciate a joke. And this team had jokes.

Steve was actually apparently good enough to play pro, had even been scouted by the MLB his senior year of high school. One week before his professional tryout, he tore a muscle in his shoulder, had to sit for three months and had to do physical therapy for another three, and voila! No pro ball for him. No college either since he missed spring training.

But he still had skill, and he still had a father with a lot of pull in the business, even if it wasn’t quite enough to get him on the Yankees or whatever.

So he was biding his time on the Hooligans until next year when he could try out for the college team again, maybe increase his chances of a real pro career.

Eddie definitely hadn’t watched videos of him during their first few games of the season where they faced the Indy Idols and the Chicago Charades.

He definitely hadn’t gotten a weird flutter in his stomach when Steve had been the one to lip sync to Hot For Teacher while pretending his bat was a guitar.

He definitely didn’t have a crush on Steve.

“Uh. Dude?” Steve asked him again, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. It was the study guide for the first quiz. Not due until next class though,” he whispered back.

“Oh. Thanks.”

Eddie turned his attention back to the professor, not really needing to pay attention since he already knew quite a bit of French.

A tap on his shoulder made him yelp, and the entire room turned to him. He waved apologetically before turning to Steve with a murderous look.

“What?” He hissed out.

“Do you understand this?”

“Yes and you probably would too if you stopped talking to me.”

Eddie was ignoring the voice in his head screaming at him to let Steve keep talking to him for as long as he wanted.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Steve huffed before sitting back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. He mumbled something else that sounded like ‘I’m just stupid’ but Eddie couldn’t be 100% sure.

“A lot of this stuff is just English spelled a little differently.” Eddie sighed. “You could almost definitely figure it out if you took some notes.”

“Yeah, probably.”

Eddie’s brows scrunched together as he glanced at Steve’s red face.

Hm. There was definitely something to unpack here.

“You can borrow mine if you want,” Eddie offered as he watched the professor switch slides on the presentation. “I don’t really need them until the final.”

“Oh!” Steve sounded genuinely surprised by his offer, like he hadn’t been basically asking for help only a moment ago. “You don’t have to do that. I mean, it wouldn’t do much good for me anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Steve had Eddie’s full attention now.

“I’m. I-“ Steve sighed. “I’m dyslexic, man. Reading’s hard for me.”

Well, fuck. Eddie felt like an asshole now.

“Oh.” Eddie looked down at his scribbled notes, cringing at the thought of someone else trying to read them, let alone someone who already struggled with reading from a printed page. “Yeah, my handwriting is shit so it’d probably be useless to you. Shit, it’s almost useless to me.”

Steve snorted, immediately covering his mouth to avoid any more noise from escaping. Eddie could see he was still smiling though. His eyes were very expressive.

“Don’t you have accommodations?” Eddie asked him.

“Nah, my dad doesn’t believe it’s a problem.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Said I just need to focus more and it’ll ‘work itself out.’”

“He sounds like he’s a lot of fun at parties.”

Steve snorted again. “Yeah, a blast.”

“So you aren’t a natural at French?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m barely a natural at English.”

“I could help you?” Eddie was an idiot. An idiot with a crush on someone who would never be interested in anything he had to offer except tutoring.

“Help me? You’d help me?” Steve seemed eager, maybe a little desperate.

Eddie kinda liked that.

“I mean, yeah. If you’re actually willing to put in the work and not expect me to just do the work for you.”

Steve smiled. God, that was a nice smile. Eddie was absolutely fucked.

“I work well with a reward system,” he smirked. “If you’re willing.”

Eddie’s eyes widened momentarily as the realization sunk in that he’d just been flirted with.

By Steve Harrington.

“Oh, I can definitely work with that.”

Steve nodded once, grinned at Eddie as he picked up his pen and ripped off a small piece of his unused notebook paper. He scribbled something down and folded it once before handing it to Eddie.

“Let me know when I need to show up, Eds.”

Eddie unfolded the paper and nearly dropped it.

Stevie H. 555-555-0086 My dorm at 7? No clothes required

When Eddie looked back up, Steve was facing the front, seemingly paying attention to the lecture.

Eddie quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and put Steve’s contact info in. He could wait until after class to send him a text. He could.

Instead, he typed out something quick to hold them both over until later.

Studying naked is my favorite thing 😉

Steve’s knee nudged against his in response.

Maybe Eddie wouldn’t take that trip to advising after all.

And if he was featured on the next TikTok for the Hawkins Hooligans, with Steve fake serenading him in the stands, nobody had to know he didn’t really like sports.

He liked Steve, though. Even when Steve actually managed to play real competitive baseball. Even when Steve managed to get a spot on the Cubs.

Especially when Steve proposed to him during a game in maybe the worst recorded French of all time.

[reinen5astro]

Your Career/Reputation/Legacy Indicators according to astrology pt.2

This time I'll go over the 10th house. If you would like to see part 1 [the second house] go here:

Tutorial

~ First find the sign your 10th house is in by pulling up your birth chart

As you can see their 10th House is in Scorpio [I circled it + pointed to the line that indicates what sign it's in]. If you don't feel like pulling up your birth chart right now, you can just think of the 9th sign after your rising sign. For example, a Sagittarius rising has their 10th house in Virgo [the ninth sign after Sagittarius], while an Aries rising has their 10th house in Capricorn.

~ Next, look at the ruler of that sign. This is the ruler of your second house. I've written them down below

Aries: Mars

Taurus: Venus

Gemini: Mercury

Cancer: Moon

Leo: Sun

Virgo: Mercury

Libra: Venus

Scorpio: Mars and Pluto

Sagittarius: Jupiter

Capricorn: Saturn

Aquarius: Uranus and Saturn

Pisces: Neptune and Jupiter

~ Lastly, find what sign your ruler/rulers are in. My interpretations are down below.

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

10th House Ruler in The....

1st House:

Your professional success is fully related to your personal expression, your confidence and your initiative. Your physical body and appearance will affect/have something to do with your job [you may be a dancer for example]. Your personality, view on life, body and physical appearance will also have a big impact on your status as well. Whatever you achieve in life, you will have to do it on your own and this contributes to your legacy, reputation, and pride. Try to avoid the tendency to become egocentric as again, your personality and view on life WILL affect your status, career and legacy. You may do best when self-employed. You tend to dress in accordance with your career; essentially, your career immensely affects your life, your career goals even affect your approach to life. You have an inert desire for recognition and respect and care about how you present yourself to the world. Overall, any career would suit you, but keep in mind that your career will affect you as a whole [more than most people], and your appearance/physicality may have something to do with your career.

2nd House:

Your professional success will be reflected in your income. Most likely you will make money through any profession/the profession you choose. Your resources and values play an important role in your future success. You may have a career involving finances. You require a career that fits your values and that provides you with financial security. Your self-esteem increases when you gain authority [gaining authority also tend to increase your net worth]. Your attitude/relationships with authority figures impacts your money-making ability. Your legacy will most likely be related to how much money you've made in this lifetime.

3rd House:

Your career is related to some form of self-expression. You feel a need to communicate and to express your own ideas through the profession you choose. Your career may need a lot of short-term traveling. The need to be seen as an authority influences the way you communicate. Your profession is always on your mind. Your career may involve, blogging, transportation, making connections locally, helping the community, writing, conferencing [online correspondences], language. You may also work as an early schoolteacher or guidance counselor. Your voice holds authority. Your legacy may be the way you communicate, and you pass on your professional experience through teaching and writing.

4th House:

Your profession is related to your home, and because of this, you may work out of your home or with one of your parents, possibly continuing a family business. This astrological influence also could lead you to try fields having to do with soil, property, land or those that have to do with your place of birth. The recognition you receive from the outside world affects your emotional security. Your social status impacts your family or your family's social status may impact your career. You bring an authoritative attitude to your home life. You set the rules at home. You may find a way to live out your true vocation from the comfort of your own home [virtual working]. Your reputation affects how your family sees you. You build a reputation for yourself as a family man/woman. You build a reputation for yourself as a nurturer or caretaker. You use your status to help your country. You may even gain recognition + authority for serving your country [military]. You become an authority on your personal heritage and culture. You become an authority on your family tree. You become an authority on your cultural roots. Your legacy could be related to your familial heritage, how you treat your family and your authority in your home/country.

5th House:

Your professional success is related to your creativity. No matter what profession you choose, you always show your originality and desire to do things your way. This astrological position leads you to find success, especially in sports or artistic careers. Working in your profession will be a pleasure for you. You may build a reputation for being a flirt, a creatively expressive person, a gambler, or a risk taker. Your professional life revolves around the arts., children, and athletics. You bring an authoritative approach to music, theater, art and dance. You attempt to add structure to your creative impulses. You may discipline children. You may even work as a choreographer. You are a professional stage actor. You bring a professional approach to your hobbies and may even make a career out of a hobby. You become an authority on music, dance, art, and theater.  Overall, your legacy will be related to your creativity, and your children.

6th House:

Your professional success is related to service. No matter what profession you choose, it will be more gratifying for you if you feel that you are helping others. You may pursue professions linked to medicine, therapy or nutrition. If you do not have a career, you are likely to work in a company that provides some kind of service. You build a reputation for your daily work performance, and you may become known as a workaholic. Especially since your vocation will most likely require you to work every day. Your career could be related to work with animals, involvement with fitness and diet. You may discover your true vocation through an apprenticeship or specializing. You may become a specialist in a certain area and therefore carry authority when you speak on that topic [professional weightlifters, professional animal activists, etc.]. Your true work most likely requires you to be an employee rather than a boss. Your vocation involves lots of employee and coworker interactions. Awards/recognition will come through your daily work. Overall, your legacy will be your aid/service to those who are in need.

7th House:

Your professional success is related to the public, society and marriage. You have a need for give and take with the public; your contact with the public could be on a large scale as well as people individually. Your professional progress will be stimulated by the training of some association or by the support you receive from your mate [husband/wife]. You gain recognition and social status through your partner. You gain awards and recognition for your efforts in a partnership [marriages aren't the only type of partnership]. You may work with your partner. Your profession involves working in one-to-one relationships. Your professional success is dependent on your ability to relate to other people. Your professional success is dependent on your ability to form significant relationships. You are an authority on marriage, and business partnerships. You bring a professional approach to marriage. You treat your marriage like a career. You lay down the rules in marriage. You bring your outer expectations of success to your marriage. You want your marriage or partnership to live up to society’s standards. People with this placement do not take marriage lightly subconsciously because they know how much marriage can help their life and its value, but they also know how much it can hurt their life as well. they tend to be very picky with marriage partners, but they usually choose the right one [of course unless there's other aspects or placements interfering [for example, Lilith/Chiron/mars/Saturn/Pluto in the 7th house]. What each partner does for a living can be an 'issue' in a relationship or marriage. Each partner’s social status can be an 'issue' in marriage or partnership. Ideally the partners should have equal status and equal standing. Partners should have balanced careers. Partners should have the same ambitions and goals in mind. Partners should want to have the same achievements [or rather same type of achievements]. Your legacy will be your relation to your marriage partners, your relation to the public, business partnerships, and your one-on-one relationships. [I personally have the placement and it's pretty accurate. I'll see how it pans out though because I am a minor, and have in fact not gotten married lmao]

8th House:

Your professional success is related to your ability to produce changes or transformations in yourself as well as others. This astrological influence brings financial support from others that will help your career. That help could come from a financial institution as well as your marriage. You may work in an investigative or financial field [journalist, researcher, scientist, detective, accountant, miner, archaeologist]. Your work may be related to your sexuality, death [mortician] or rebirth. You may turn your spirituality into your profession as well [astrologer, tarot reader, professional witch]. You may deal with confidential information and negotiate in secret. Somehow you always end up in "special" projects where there is secrecy [ you will have to sign NDA's]. Beware of shady dealings as it will affect your public status. There are often transformations in your social status, career, and reputation. Your legacy may be related to how many hardships you've gone through and made it through; it'll also be related to your financial status and spirituality.

9th House:

Your professional success is related to your ideals, university degree, higher studies, religion and traveling. You may establish yourself professionally in a different place from that of your birth or your work could necessitate you to travel often. You always feel the need to expand your knowledge and to make the most of each day; as a result, you may keep going back to school/college. You choose a profession that allows you to travel and interact with people from other countries. You choose a profession that falls in line with your faith. Your career may be related to your religion [ex. priest] You receive awards for academic achievements and religious work. You choose a profession that allows you to search for higher meaning. You bring an authoritative approach to religion, faith and belief, and academic learning. You may have a career in professing [professor]/lecturing. Having a profession, status, and recognition gives your life meaning. Your legacy will be related to your faith, ideals, and education.

10th House:

You are likely to put a lot of energy into achieving professional success. Your ambitions and goals are clearly defined, and you have a need to demonstrate to yourself and others what you can achieve through your own effort. Your career may depend on parental support or guidance, or you may follow in the footsteps of your parents. Either way, you always point out your individuality and personal ability. Getting out in the world and making a name for yourself is important to you. You want to be known for something and to receive awards and recognition. You want to climb to the top of the mountain in whatever you choose to do; you are ambitious for the sake of being ambitious. You have an authoritative approach to career and vocation. You want to reach the top of your profession. How much you know in your career builds your reputation. You become known for your achievements…"Oscar winner…”, “Nobel Prize winner…” etc… You become known as an authority on whatever type of work you choose to do. Your legacy will be your achievements.

11th House:

Your professional success is related to your participation in some organization, group, union, or club. The support you receive from your friends will be crucial and because of this, you have to consider sociability as an important part of your life. Your true vocation involves working with groups of like-minded people. Following your calling depends on your ability to gain friends and fans. As a result, you have a professional approach to friendship and bring your need for recognition to your friendships. You choose friends who will boost your social status, and who won't outdo you in social status. You choose friends who have won awards and made achievements. Your ambitions influence your friendships. Your career involves working for social causes and movements. You want to reform society’s standards, expectations, and role of authority. Your relationship with your parents influences what types of social causes you become involved with. You may eventually belong to a professional club or guild., be a member of a professional board, or even belong to a board of directors. Your ability to conduct yourself professionally influences how many fans you gain. Becoming famous results in a lot of fans. You want to be in a profession that has an audience. If you get famous, fan clubs will spring up. Fame allows you to help social causes. You have high hope and ambition for your career. Your legacy could be your hopes, wishes, friendships, and social activism.

12th House:

Your professional success is related to your ability to serve others behind the scenes. Your profession is likely to be performed behind closed doors or in private. When I think of this placement, I think of the people who make the sets in a movie or show. This position favors professions that require power behind the throne; that is to say that you make suggestions or decisions without conferring with the public. Activities linked to secret information, medicine or investigations would be very favorable. You may work in a hospital or prison, or charity.  Finding your true vocation helps you release grief and sorrow. Gaining recognition/becoming famous is the self-undoing but may help you release your grief and sorrow. Becoming famous causes you to isolate. Becoming well-known may be a fear of yours, but also a desire. Fame enables you to help your favorite charities. Fame allows you to pursue your interest in the paranormal. Your social status causes you to retreat and too much exposure makes you want to hide and escape from reality. Your relationship with your parents/authority figures makes you want to escape from reality. The best career for you involves working alone. Your true career involves working with prisoners, the insane, hospitalized or underprivileged, meditation or spirituality, working with the paranormal, developing psychic abilities or becoming a channel. You may not have much of a legacy but if you do, it would be your charity work, and your work with the underprivileged, hospitalized, or imprisoned.

Yep, thats the 10th house ;). Hope you enjoyed, and I hope that it was accurate.

[inkskinned]

im having a particularly terrible night with urges and imagery that i dont know how to handle. i gave in to some things. held back on some others. but im barely holding on, dear internet stranger.

you do not owe me your time or your words.. but if you could write some hope into existence for me.. i would be unendingly grateful to you.

please. tell me how you do it. tell me how you survive. because im not so sure i can get through the fifteen days it'll take to get to my seventeenth birthday.

could you please give me something to place my faith in? i dont think the universe is watching out for me anymore.

i don't usually answer these, because i am not a professional, and you deserve professional help. when i was 17 i was terrified of the idea of professional help, because my household was extremely unsafe, and made it clear that if i ever chose to get help, i would be punished for it.

i hope this is not your case. i hope that you can call someone, and they can take you where you should go.

but i will give you the advice that i wish i got, when i couldn't get help at 17, when i was so bad that years later, i literally don't-know-how-i-survived it: what you want is peace, not death. your brain is sick. it has romanticized an ending where there are no consequences. where effort isn't necessary. where you can just... forget.

you want peace. that is a normal, human thing to want. maybe it feels more like you want quiet. or just... to take a break for a second.

here is what i will say: to end yourself means you never get to experience what it's like to actually be happy. i thought i knew what it was like, and i was bitter about it. i'd say - i've been happy, it's not worth it, because i didn't know what i was missing. i thought that happiness meant having a partner or having a job or money or a college degree. it sounded like effort. it sounded like something that had to happen to me.

for the first time in my life, just this week, i was able to go to a concert and just-enjoy-it. no liquor, no drugs. just stomping my feet and getting caught up in it. i didn't feel nervous or self-conscious or overwhelmed. i just had a good time. these days have a lot of these firsts for me - it is the first time i can eat cake without crying. it is the first time i can be around an exacto blade without supervision. it is the first time i have too many people to call when i am crying.

i can't tell you where you'll run into happiness, only that, for me, it started once i was out of that fucking house. it started once i figured out where the pain was coming from. once i figured out that i was not possessed, something medical was wrong with me. that i am not stupid or lazy, i have depression and adhd. the first few years were difficult. at 19, during my efforts to recover, i actually got worse by a considerable margin. and then, with time and patience - i got better.

happiness doesn't feel like what you think it will. in movies it's so golden and all-encompassing. but it doesn't fly into your hands when you buy your first car nor does it arrive in the arms of a partner nor does it require passing your classes. happiness came to me on a tuesday in the form of a red-winged blackbird, and i looked at her, and she looked at me, and i said - oh. the whole world suddenly filled itself in with color. like i had been forever-asleep. like every corner of every room was suddenly glistening.

it ended quickly, back then. it just stopped in to check in on me. but it was enough - this thing i had never experienced, but that i knew (logically) could happen. before that, i was only staying because it would make my mom sad if i died. that was my only reason. and then the happiness came, so strange and brilliant and lovely that for years i couldn't even look at it directly.

these days, things are so different. life is so much easier. i don't wish for death because so much of what i have is already at peace. my boss understands when i need a mental health day. people in general are less prone to high school drama. entire communities hold my hand and have my number. i have a car and a dog and a little apartment garden and candles on all available surfaces and today i bought myself a little cake just-to-celebrate-nothing. my body is my own and we are both dancing.

there are so many things i've gotten to taste in the last 10 years. i know, for you, that is an eon, because it's more than half of your life. but if it helps? in the 5 years between 17-21: i filled myself with laughter and love. i got to be a lead in a ballet and got my first tattoo and then my second and pierced my ears the way i'd wanted to (one of them professionally the other over a hot stove with a potato) and i discovered hozier is my favorite singer (i know. he was new back then) and i got my first real job and my first real paycheck and i hadn't ever been seen as smart but then i started to actually treat my adhd as a condition rather than a burden and people started saying you're like the smartest person in the room and my best friend met her husband who i will one day stand next to as maid of honor when he is her groom and i got to help people and make a stupid blog called "inkskinned" and find out that writing is actually my passion and that maybe i'm actually kind of good at it if i just practice and i got to meet my parents' dog (his name is kaiju) and i slept on couches and kissed people and tried new things and learned how to breathe without feeling my chest tighten and that peace is here, on this planet, that peace echoes everywhere, it is in my hair and my homework and my houseplants, it is quiet and divine and mine because i fought for it and i built it and yes i lost hair over it but holy shit the whole world feels like it is shifted through a sunbeam

recently someone asked me if i could go back in time to 6th grade, with all the knowledge i have now, would i? and without thinking, i barked absolutely not. i know i should say it's because i wouldn't want to risk losing any of this stuff - but really it's because i would never survive being a teenager again. it sounds incredibly lame and impossible, fake - but being a teenager was the hardest thing i ever did. i had no voice, no control, only fear and hatred.

but i did survive it. nothing about me is special. nothing about me is stronger than you or better prepared or more efficient. i didn't survive it perfectly. i made a lot of mistakes and lost a lot of friends and harmed myself in ways that i'm still recovering from. but i did survive it. and there is a part of me looking at you in the past and saying - i'm you in the future.

and holy shit. every day. every goddamn day i'm glad we survived to see the rest of it. because you hit 18 and everything changes. like, everything. and holy shit, it is infinitely worth it.

[occultopossum]

Ok, ran a test run of glaze, so have an informative post about the process. Since there is a lot of 'Just glaze all your art!' being thrown around a lot right now, then not giving much information where to find it/how to use it. You can find glaze here (https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu/) Was about 2.6GB to download the program Then about 4.8GB to extract the zip, for an idea of it's size/space requirements. Got it running from the application in the extract folder.

The general layout of glaze which it is simple/easy to use interface, at lowest they estimate 20 minutes, but from my test run it takes *significantly* longer, which it does disclose that on the bottom left. In terms of CPU, yes it is very intensive, I have an average laptop with 'average specs' (i.e I can run a fair few games, but nothing like 'top graphics) I ran glaze at the lowest settings, default and faster My memory Cpu usage while using glaze was at Cpu 50-60% / Memory at 70-80% * Before I ran glaze it was running 11% cpu and 42% memory (I had discord open in the background the whole time but closed out of much else, so if you do run to much you may experience a crash)

*As glaze did reach the half way point the cpu and memory usage slowly lowered Now here's the time frame it took to glaze one picture of mine that was 5.05MB

The process takes *much* longer the settings indicate (used fastest setting which was estimated to be 20 minutes), so I spent approx (9:30pm to 1:00 am running glaze) The final result

This is what some of the warping looks like (which you can see it in some of the examples on glazes website)

I've already posted this art before unglazed so used it as an example. The unglazed version is the left, and glazed is the right. I do imagine you'll get less warping at the higher settings but likely that'll be much more intensive in time and resources. In short, glaze I'm so glad this tool is there for artists, but it is *really* not feasible solution/catch all for everyone to go back and glaze every piece of art/or glaze every piece of art going forward. Between the time it takes and how intensive it is, it's likely not accessible for everyone.

Where I feel this tool is best suited (and likely intended) is more art industry settings, examples like 'I'm posting art for a industry client and/or my professional portfolio' type scenarios.

Just wanted to give a more detailed experience of using glaze. I've seen there was sign ups for people to make accounts to use glaze for a faster experience, but as far as I've seen on their site/other posts it's closed at the moment.

[educatedsimps]

— bonus headcanons, iwaizumi hajime

≪ back to fics masterlist main fic here!

iwaizumi hajime x gn!reader

a/n: idea dump based on this iwa request (main fic) so this is basically just everything i wanted to put into the fic but i kinda lost the energy and the bandwidth to write everything up to the standard i wanted so now this exists HAHA hope u like this and tysm for reading! :)

headcanons under the cut!

You remember asking him once, "Hajime, why do you do that?"

And he replied "Do what?" with deadass the most confused look on his face.

"Kiss my wrists and palms all the time," You clarified.

"Oh," He stopped. "Yeah, why do I do that-"

ok so basically, Iwa finds the wrists a very delicate part of the body, and given his experience as a volleyball player, and the nature of his job, he takes extra special care of them.

he remembers his coaches always reminding him and his teammates not to injure their wrists during training, which translates to "YOU BETTER HAVE GOOD FORM WHILE SPIKING, SERVING AND SETTING, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

anyway, i think he started noticing wrists when he was in high school, especially since he was seijoh's ace and had to use his wrists a lot to spike. he probably injured his wrist(s) once and has always listened to his coaches ever since.

now that he's a professional volleyball trainer he makes sure that his athletes don't injure their wrists either.

so i think all of this adds to why he pays extra attention to your wrists especially.

bonus if your job requires you to use or rely on your wrists a lot, eg. musician (like me), athletes, surgeon, author, artist, etc... idk.

YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME THAT HE DOESN'T GIVE THE BEST 👏 FKING 👏 MASSAGES 👏 ON EARTH 👏 and at the end of the massage he'll always kiss your hands and wrists and idk why but it just feels so chivalrous. like ofc it feels intimate when you hold his face in your hands and he plants kisses on your wrists/palms and but sometimes it just feels so chivalrous and gentlemanly ykwim?

OMG WHEN HE PROPOSES TO YOU like after he slides the ring onto your finger AND THEN KISSES YOUR WRIST/HAND AND IT FEELS LIKE YOUR HEART COULD EXPLODE 'cause i know mine would actually explode if he did that.

anyway some instances i thought of adding to the fic (but couldn't cuz i don't have the ability or capacity to write them out well) include:

waking up in the morning together or when you hold his face and kiss his forehead (these two are in the main fic linked above!)

when you're cuddling on the couch after a long day and just watching a show together or napping. if you're laying on him and touch his face he'll 100% kiss your wrists/palms

when he hugs you from behind and you reach up to run your fingers through his hair (like when you're cooking dinner together or something) and he'll pull your hand down to kiss your wrist

when you hug him with your arms around his neck and he catches your wrist before you pull away

when you shower together (SFW, DON'T WORRY) and you're facing each other and he's tilting his head / bending down while you wash his hair or massage his scalp and when you're done washing it he'll give your wrists a gentle kiss before returning the favour

BONUS: when he holds your face in his hands and you decide to give him a taste of his (very sweet) medicine. you’d twist your head to kiss his wrist and then his palm and he'd be BLUSHING because he's usually the one who does that AND HE'S SO CUTE he's like, "hey... you can't do that. i'm supposed to be the one doing that for you." while blushing and smiling and getting a lil shy and everything and HE'S JUST TOO CUTE FOR MY HEART 😭😭💕

a/n: ok that's all for the iwa brainrot ... i'm kidding, the iwa brainrot will never end. THANKS FOR READING THOUGH and thank you anon for sparking my two week long obsession with iwa once again

© educatedsimps 2024. do not repost, copy, translate or plagiarize any work from this blog on tumblr or any other platforms. if you do, the simps will hunt you down. likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[kimsmuse]

yandere coworker !!

i don't remember who i got the idea about this from but i just thought of someone who wasn't like too older to the reader yet in a powerful and manipulative position.

also i wrote this back in july lolol someone give me back my ability to write or else i'm doomer completely

this is very very rough but it’s hard to say if i’ll ever write this whole thing, but let’s talk about something.

no warnings except typical yandere content, mentions of drugging and manipulation. don't ask me the word count but this is just a short thing that just popped into my head at one point.

yandere coworker, who’s in love with as soon as you stepped in the office as a new recruit but love at first sight is cheesy, so he dismissed it as some casual admiration. but when his boss calls him to his office and asks him to teach you the ropes of the job, he’s internally screaming on how something like this is literally a sign from god himself.

and he talks to you, jokes around because he can see you’re nervous but there’s no need to be nervous, darling. (it’s all in fun and games that he’s calling you that, obviously) because you’re more than capable of doing it, it’s not a very hard job and even if you do mess up, there’s no reason to worry because he’s one of the seniors here, and he’s going to excuse it no matter how bad it is. (doesn’t tell you the whole part, just that he’d manage if you made a mistake. it’s okay, darling. everybody makes mistakes, even he did)

yandere coworker who is more than thrilled to find out you’re great at your job!!! (kinda disappointed tbh that he doesn’t get to coo over you making a mistake and then using it to get an upper hand 😔 but it’s okay there’s going to be plenty of opportunities he’s sure of it)

he takes you out to dinner for doing such a great job!! you’re truly one of the most efficient workers in the office and this, in just under a month! isn’t that wonderful? his darling is so intelligent! but as you talk to him over dinner, it opens a side of an informal relationship with your coworker, you both have inside jokes that you can remind each other of, even during the weekend and which gradually turns into hang outs with just the two of you and you insist on the fact that you both are “just friends” to your own friends, who obviously don’t buy it. but you feel guilty about it because your coworker has been nothing but nice and respectful and maintained his boundaries with you, he doesn’t even feel that way about you!

the turn of events come in the form of a new guy, an intern that you’re required to train and you’re more than happy to because it’s something that your coworkers didn’t get an opportunity on, even with their years of working with the company and you landed in about 6 months. ofcourse it’s your hard work but it’s also something our yandere coworker helped in, put in a good word about you. made sure you got the job and the increase in pay that came with it.

but god, oh god, how he wishes so bad that he’d thought it through as he walks around the office (instead of sitting in his comfy cabin. oh, the things jealousy makes you do) in the echoes of your laughter as the intern makes you laugh. what did he say that was so funny? and why weren’t you working? did you lose your professionalism for this guy? this guy who hadn’t even been here for a day? pathetic. he did not expect his darling to do that.

after about 3-4 days, he can’t physically take it anymore, he has to do something about it. now he knows he can’t say anything to the intern or else he’ll get scared or something. so he calls you in his cabin.

“all the other staff is complaining about your and the intern's disturbance, my dear, please keep it low. and maintain professionalism, okay?” you nod your head. he had never talked to you like this before and it took you a little back that the people you called friends had been backbitching about you? because you had been nothing but nice to everyone around. but you nodded, you thought you might have been stepping over the line. but what you didn’t know is that none of the coworkers had even noticed, they were doing their own job, so tangled up in their stress and why would they rat out one of their own?

you minimise contact with the intern as soon as he knows what to do and keep it to a subtle wave for a “hi,” and “goodnight,” he notices but he thinks that you were being nice to him in the initial days as a way of welcome and he’d heard so many horror stories about coworkers not being nice to each other that the fact that you weren’t at least bullying him made him thankful.

your office friends try and invite you to dinners and karaoke afterwards but you just can’t bring yourself to go because you were already so reserved and closed off but then you find that the people you actually trusted had been complaining about you made it difficult to pretend that it was all okay. because it had been just them for you as friends, since you spent majority of your time with them.

so nowadays it was just walking home early, ordering some food, watching something and then heading to sleep. which was perfectly alright for you, you didn’t need the hangovers that came with drinking on weekdays. and on the weekends.... it got hard but there was music, there were books to read, it kept you busy.

that’s when he texted you.

your yandere coworker was around your flat, could he come over.......? his formal and passive aggressive tone still repeated in your mind, but it wasn’t his fault. he had to do his job. so you gave him a green signal. “yes, sure,” and deep down you’d been craving company so much.

when while talking how he mentions how he doesn't have an instagram account yet, (and he needs one to stalk you btw) you just laughed and he made a joke on his age, it wasn't his fault he was not up with the trends. you offered to help him set it up and show him the ropes. and as you do that, set up a username, find some accounts of interest that he might like, he finds your adorable features all focused so cute!! and you're doing it for him so he gets up and decides to get you something to eat from the shop downstairs!!

but, um, this was really careless on the yanderes part because. how the fuck do you leave your phone w someone else? and when you have an entire album full of photos of that someone else which aren't even taken from the ones you've posted but its a photo of you from one of your work gatherings which you don't even remember this guy attending! and so many photos from the same angle after that, from his cabin to your cubicle...

being a boomer really sucks because this would not be a problem for me i know of a thing called a secure folder so !!! <3

but yes, back to it, when he rings the bell, you panic, you can't not open the door, right? and even if he had been clicking those pictures or whatever, he hadn't proved harmless yet. and what if its just a crush he's clicking pictures of. sometimes people did that. it was normal, wasn’t it?

the yandere might be delusional but you give him a run for his money if your job was having delusions !!!

but as soon as he goes home that night and looks at the tabs opened on his phone (he‘s not that much of a boomer that he won‘t know what recent tabs are) he's scared and when he connects the dots to your offputting but not so much that he would actually suspect it behaviour. it made sense. he sat down for a bit - beating up his table and running his hands through his hair, how could he have been so careless?

he realizes with a sigh that he needs to work quickly now, if he ever wants to have a chance with you. it's now or never. and yandere coworker is anything but someone who backs down from a challenge.

so what he's going to do is simple, he's going to invite you over, preferably in the next 2-3 days to try out this new recipe, and he's gonna knock you out then, (he's sorry it has to be that way) and as for the rest he's quite confident he can make you fall in love with him quite easily!

[transmutationisms]

Feel free not to answer this ask so you dont have to step into this particular hornet's nest but do you have any thoughts about people sharing inaccurate science about COVID in order to push for more COVID regulations? I agree that COVID is being neglected and we need better policies but I'm also a biochemist so it pisses me off to see people cite research in a way that makes exaggerated and terrifying claims. Two years ago, I was warning my colleagues against this condescending "just trust the science" approach but now the same crowd pushing that has shifted to pushing "don't trust any of the positive science, only my catastrophic interpretations of it". Can't we mask without also trying to convince each other that COVID is a guaranteed one way ticket to death and permanent disability?

you must be new here haha i swing bats at this hornet's nest like once a month. yeah i think the current state of covid communication sucks a lot. i mean the truth is that "follow the science" is always a disingenuous sentiment; Science doesn't speak, and scientists disagree with one another. and it's naïve to pretend majority consensus is a reliable mechanism to identify truth—anyone who has followed the covid aerosolisation about-face will recall that although linsey marr was not the first researcher to challenge medical orthodoxy on airborne disease transmission, even well into the covid pandemic the idea of aerosol transmission was marginalised by global health authorities because it was politically inconvenient, out of favour with powerful established academics, and reminiscent to some of pre-pasteurian miasma theories of disease. those who would "follow the science" were not presented with a convenient dichotomy between reasonable evidence-backed expert consensus and fringe peddlers of heterodoxy; to evaluate these positions required actually, yknow, reading and evaluating the arguments and evidence from multiple competing positions, and deciding which had the greater explanatory power. which is good epistemological advice only insofar as it's so obvious as to be trite.

fundamentally a huge driving force of this situation is the social, political, and institutional forces that make expert knowledge (a generally good thing) all too often synonymous with inaccessible knowledge. i don't mean inaccessibility caused by knowledge being specialised; obviously this is inevitable to some extent simply as a result of the fact that no one person will grasp the entirety of human knowledge. but the fact that knowledge is specialised, specific, highly technical, and so forth doesn't automatically mean, for example, that it has to be monetarily gatekept from all but a select few with the resources to persevere through a highly punishing, nepotistic, hegemonic university system; this is a political problem, and one that additionally has the effect of enabling and sheltering low-quality work (see: replication crisis) behind the opaque walls of university bureaucracy and the imprimateur of the credentials it grants. in lieu of an ability to actually engage with, read, or challenge much of the academic research being generated on any given topic, the lay public is supposed to rely on signs of reliability like possession of a degree, or institutional reputation. what we in fact see again and again, and with particularly high stakes in the case of something like a pandemic, is that these measures are instruments of class stratification and professional jockeying that don't inherently ensure quality information: MDs can and do peddle anti-vaxx lies and covid / long-covid denialism; the CDC and WHO can and do perpetrate bad and outdated scientific advice, like that masks are unnecessary and isolation periods can be shortened for convenience. many of these are just blatant cases of kowtowing to political pressure, which arises from the capitalist logic that counterposes disease prevention to economic growth.

this all leaves us in a position where it is, in fact, smart and correct to evaluate the information coming from 'official' and credentialled sources with scepticism. the problem is that in its place, we get information coming out of the same capitalist state-sponsored scientific institutions, and the same colonialist universities; the idea that some chucklefuck on twitter is telling you the secret truth just because they correctly identified that the government sucks is plainly absurd. where covid specifically is concerned, the liberalism of academic and scientific institutions is on display in numerous ways, including the idealist assumption, which many 'covid communicators' make, that public health policy is primarily a matter of swaying public opinion, and therefore that it is always morally imperative to form and propagate the most alarmist possible interpretation of any study or empirical observation. this is not an attitude that encourages thoughtful or measured evaluation of The Science (eg, study methodology), nor is it one that actually produces the kind of political change that would be required to protect the populace writ large from what is, indeed, a dangerous and still rampant virus. instead, this form of communication mostly winds up generating social media Engagement and screenshots of headlines of summaries of studies.

meanwhile, actual public health policy (which is by and large determined at the mercy of capitalist state interests, and which by and large shapes public opinion of what mitigation measures are 'reasonable', despite the CDC repeatedly pretending this works the other way round), remains on its trajectory toward lax, open exposure of anyone and everyone to each new strain of covid, perpetuating a society that is profoundly hostile to disabled people and careless with everyone's life and health. this fucking sucks. it sucked that we have treated the flu like this for years, and it sucks that we are now doing it with a virus that we are still relatively immunologically naïve to, and that produces, statistically, even more death and disability than the flu. and it sucks that the predominating explanations of this state of affairs from the 'cautious' emphasise not the structural forces that shape knowledge production under capitalism, but instead invoke a psychological narrative whereby individuals simply need to be sufficiently terrified into producing mass action.

[the-writer-arrived]

Wedding Bells Underwater

Synopsis: after things have finally settled down in fontaine, wriothesley can finally fulfill the promise he made to avice and faissolle. watching their dream come true makes the duke think about his own future, one with you, he hopes.

Character: wriothesley.

Warnings: gn!reader; established relationship; spoilers for wriothesley's story quest.

A/N: i got so happy that they were included as a nice easter egg on wrio's birthday art 🥺

"...I'm sorry, you want me to do WHAT?"

"Help me organize Avice and Faissolle's wedding."

You stare dumbly at Wriothesley, the faint music coming from the gramophone the only sound in his office while you try to gather your thoughts. Has the workload finally taking its toll on him? Surely he knows that you have zero experience in organizing a wedding???

"It's nothing too complex like you're thinking. I just want you to act as a 'bridge' between the couple and me, since I have other matters regarding the Fortress and can't focus solely on them."

You make a 'ohhhh' expression, now understanding what is expected of you.

"Why didn't you say so from the very beggining?"

"Because I wanted to see what kind of face you'd make. And I must say, you never disappoint sweetheart."

Like the mature adult that you are, you decide to not say the snarky remark you thought and simply leave his office to look for the said couple.

(It's a lie, you stick out your tongue childishly and rushed out of the room before your lover considers cuffing you for disrespecting authority. Not that you would mind it that much).

----------

For someone who knew basically nothing about planning a wedding, you got into it pretty quickly... Maybe a bit too into it, if you were being honest.

The decorations, the location, the order of the events, the dress! Blame it on your perfectionist side, but really, after everything Avice and Faissolle went through in the Beret Society incident, they deserved a perfect wedding.

Even if it wasn't going to be a large scale event, due to all the limitations that comes with choosing the Fortress of Meropide as the venue and the couple's own wish for keeping it simple, there still was a lot of work to do. Knowing that, Wriothesley announced that those who help with the preparations would be awarded with double Credit Cupons. Suffice to say that you got all the workforce needed pretty quickly for the preparations to go smoothly.

After many meetings, headaches and shipment delays, you can now admire the results of yours, Wriothesley's and all the volunteers' hard work.

"Didn't know you had a secret talent for this. Ever considered changing careers?" The man beside you asks quietly while the bride and groom are giving their speech.

"Archons forbid! Do you have any idea how stressful that was? I have a newfound respect for professional wedding planners." You whisper back, remembering the way you basically passed out in bed the day before, all the stress and sleepless nights knocking you out.

Before he could say anything else, the spotlight shines above him and all the guests turn to look at your table.

"Your Grace, words are not enough to properly thank you for everything you've done for us. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here and be able to call Avice my wife." Faissolle's words falter, him and his bride trying hard to control the tears. Wriothesley smiles at them, raising his glass in appreciation for their words.

"Of course, we can't forget the one responsable for turning our ideas into reality." The spotlight is now shining on you as well and you feel your face warming at the sudden attention. "Thank you so much for creating such an incredible wedding for us, we'll never forget this day."

Everyone raises their glasses in a toast for the newlyweds, cheers running through the crowd of guests when the couple finishes their speech.

----------

"...A penny for your thoughts, Your Grace? Or does it require Credit Cupons as well?"

You nudge your lover's arm to get his attention, seeing his faraway look.

"Oh yes, at least 500 Credit Cupons for such information." He chuckles when you roll your eyes. A beat of silence falls and you wait patiently for him to continue, if he wishes to do so. "I was just thinking that, in all the years I've been in the Fortress, I've never imagined I'd one day have it decorated for a wedding, of all things."

Wriothesley's eyes run along the tables of guests, the other former members of the Beret Society and others who became friends with Faissolle and Avice, all smiling happily and having a good time. A peculiar sight to see when you remember this merry ceremony is taking place inside a prison.

His attention returns to you at the feeling of your hand slipping into his, fingers entwining themselves with his easily like two puzzle pieces.

"That means all of your hard work is bearing fruit. The Fortress of Meropide can also be a place of good memories and new beginnings. The proof of that is right in front of you."

The Duke knows you must have meant the event, but, to him, his good memories and new beginning are you, always have and hopefully always will be.

Throughout the process of organizing the wedding, Wriothesley had wondered what kind of ceremony you would wish for. A big and impressive one? Or maybe a more low-key one, with just your close friends and family? What kind of attire would you like to wear? From Chioriya Boutique, of course, nothing but the best for his darling in their special day.

"Everyone! I'm going to throw the bouquet now!" The bride announces, causing a buzz among the excited guests.

"So? Should we go too?" Your boyfriend asks with a smirk and a playful glint in his eyes.

"Why not? Since we're here, we might as well have the full experience!"

There's already a crowd gathered in front of Avice when you and Wriothesley decide to join them. You both don't really mind though, choosing to stay at the back and observe the enthusiasm of others.

One could think it's funny how excited someone could be at the chance of getting the bride's bouquet, a chance of getting married in the future. Or maybe, it's not about marriage at all, but actually for the idea of having a better future after their sentence time is fulfilled.

Or maybe it's all just a projection of the Duke's own feelings about this.

...Who knew a celebration like this would make him think about things he's never considered before?

He shakes his head to clear his mind. You both weren't there to try and catch the bouquet for real, so there's no need to think too deeply about it.

Unbeknownst to him, fate had other plans.

It all happens too fast. At one moment, you watch Avice throw the flowers high into the air; at the next, you feel someone bump into you from behind, causing you to stumble forward. Thanks to Wriothesley's quick reflexes, he manages to prevent your fall by wrapping a strong arm around your waist. And then, you find yourself staring at the bouquet that had landed right into your arms.

What in the world?!

"Ohhhh they caught it!"

"Man, I wanted that bouquet..."

"Does that mean we're going to hear news about the Duke's wedding soon?!"

"It's about time for His Grace to tie the knot!"

The comments, cheers and the sheer craziness of this unexpected twist makes you laugh, both in embarrasment and disbelief.

In amidst of all the excitement around you both, Wriothesley can't help but think that that must have been Celestia's sign for him to stop wasting time and go after the bright future that awaits him.

Now, what would be the best ring to buy for his future spouse?

thanks for reading <3 likes, reblogs and comments are very appreciated <3

heart divider made by @/cafekitsune

pink wriothesley banner (fluff) made by @/the-writer-arrived aka yours truly ;)

[star-anise]

It's been a hot minute since I looked at Canada's National Occupation Classification system. I learned about it when studying career counselling in grad school, and it's pretty useful in terms of job-hunting and getting information on what different types of jobs require and pay.

A friend asked me for advice about becoming a therapist so I went and looked. They redid it since I last visited, and oh man there are some chef's kiss decisions.

There are 9 top-level categories, with 1 being legislative and senior management, 5 being arts, culture, and sport, and 9 being manufacture and utilities. So I was looking for my old job's classification, which used to be 4153 - Family, marriage and other related counsellors. Knowing that made searching the government job bank really easy back in the day, because instead of searching "counsellor" "counselor" "psychotherapist" "mental health therapist" "clinical counsellor" etc etc etc to find them all, I just typed "4153" and hit enter.

Anyway, they redid the system and now that job is parked at 41301 - Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies. Here's the tree to get there:

Cool cool cool. It's tidier, even if the occupations are still a bit messy. (When I dropped out of the field, the different counselling subdivisions were tapping their toes impatiently waiting for the provincial government to let them form their own professional regulatory college. Which still has not happened. Last week my shrink said he'd got an email from the College of Psychologists announcing that it would be gathering all the smaller counselling fields into its own downy breast instead. I have no idea what's happening anymore.)

Anyway. I scrolled down to another job I once worked and HAHA WHAT

Yes. There are only three sub-units of category 44:

Nannies:

In-home caregivers:

And,

Combat specialists

I find this grouping of professions hilarious, appropriate, and deeply validating. No notes. 🧑‍🍳👌💋

[1111jenx]

what are underrated fame indicators?

This is a lot of fun! Lets dive right in:

Some Underrated Fame Indicators:

Cancer Rising: To me personally, this is an extremely underrated fame indicators. With their MC being placed in Aries, people may forget that these people are HUGE trend-setters, go-getters and can attract attention effortlessly. Especially if their Moon and MC ruler is well aspected! Cancer Rising to me just simply radiate this influential yet ethereal and very relatable energy, this is the aspect where these people, despite being famous, doesn't feel out of reach to their audiences and can easily gain the masses' love. Cancer is often associated with nurturing, mothering, and caregiving. A Cancer Rising individual might exude a protective and caring aura, making them approachable and trustworthy in the eyes of the public. This can be especially beneficial for roles or positions that require a sense of reliability and trust.

Pisces Rising: Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the planet of dreams, illusions, and spirituality. This gives Pisces Rising individuals a mysterious and ethereal quality that can be very alluring. Their presence might be felt more as an undercurrent rather than an overt display of charisma. Pisces is often associated with the arts, especially music, film, and dance. Many Pisces Rising individuals have a natural talent in these areas, and their unique perspective can lead to groundbreaking work that captures the public's attention. Unlike more fiery and assertive rising signs, Pisces Rising individuals might not seek out the spotlight aggressively. However, when they do find themselves in it, their genuine and unassuming nature can be a refreshing change and draw people to them.

Venus 3rd House: Ahh I have discussed this before but the 3rd house, another social house, is soooo underrated comparing to the 11th house haha! The 3rd House also relates to one's immediate social environment and connections. Venus here can indicate favorable relationships with peers, neighbors, and especially siblings. These positive relationships can provide support, opportunities, or collaborations that lead to public recognition. Venus is also associated with the arts. In the 3rd House, this can manifest as a talent for writing poetry, lyrics, or any form of artistic communication. Such individuals might have a knack for creating beautiful prose or scripts that resonate with audiences. While some astrological placements indicate worldwide fame, Venus in the 3rd House might bring popularity or recognition in one's immediate community or local environment. This can be through local media, community events, or social networks.

Mercury sextile/trine Venus: This blend of communication and aesthetics can lead to success in media-related fields, such as journalism, broadcasting, or acting. The individual might have a knack for presenting information in a way that is both informative and aesthetically pleasing. Mercury sextile or trine Venus can also indicate an ability to learn languages with ease and grace, which can open doors to international fame or recognition!! Venus bestows a natural sense of social etiquette and grace. When linked harmoniously with Mercury, this can translate to excellent networking skills, allowing individuals to build beneficial relationships in their professional fields.

Pluto-ASC harsh aspects (conjunctions, square, oppositions): This is a very fascinating one to me! As individuals with this aspect often undergo significant personal transformations throughout their lives. These transformations can be public and can captivate an audience, leading to increased attention or fame. Going back to that idea, Pluto's energy, especially in hard aspects, can sometimes be associated with controversy or taboo subjects. While controversy can be challenging, it can also bring fame or notoriety. Pluto's association with power can make these individuals influential in their fields. They might be seen as trendsetters or as people who bring about change.

Aquarius Sun: Not sure if you guys expected this haha but I think it should definitely be discussed!! Aquarius is known as the sign of the humanitarian. Many Aquarius Sun individuals are drawn to social causes and activism. Their dedication to making the world a better place can lead to public recognition and respect. Those with their Sun in Aquarius might be at the forefront of technological advancements or digital trends, leading to fame in these sectors as well. Interestingly, instead of traditional media, Aquarius Sun individuals might find fame through unconventional means, such as viral internet content, niche communities, or unique platforms. While they might not seek out the spotlight aggressively, once Aquarius Sun individuals gain a following, it's often fiercely loyal. Their genuine and consistent nature can create a dedicated fan base or audience:D

Sun opposite Moon: The opposition can lead to a profound emotional depth and self-awareness. This can be channeled into creative endeavors, making their work deeply resonant and relatable to audiences. This creates a dynamic and multifaceted personality. These individuals often possess a captivating duality that can draw attention and intrigue. The struggle to balance and integrate opposing parts of oneself is a universal experience. People with this aspect might openly grapple with this tension, making them relatable and authentic in the eyes of the public. Point blank being extremely comforting for others!! The Sun represents the public self, while the Moon represents the private self. This opposition can lead to a life where one's private matters become public or where there's a significant interplay between public and private life, often seen in the lives of celebrities:D

Mars in water houses (4th, 8th, 12th): Mars in water houses gives individuals a deep emotional drive and passion. This can be channeled into their work, making it deeply resonant and impactful. Their creations, whether in art, music, or other fields, can touch audiences on a profound emotional level. The water houses are often associated with hidden or subconscious themes. Mars here can indicate a hidden reservoir of strength and resilience, allowing individuals to overcome challenges and rise to prominence against the odds. The 8th house, in particular, is associated with transformation and rebirth. Mars here can lead to intense and transformative conflicts or challenges that, when overcome, lead to significant growth and public recognition. With Mars in the 4th house, there's a strong drive related to home, family, and roots. This can translate into public ventures related to real estate, family businesses, or anything connected to one's heritage or background. Mars in the 12th house can give an individual a mysterious allure. Their actions might be behind the scenes or not immediately visible, but when they come to light, they can captivate the public.

Sun aspecting Neptune: The combination of the Sun and Neptune can give an individual a dreamy, mysterious, and ethereal charisma. They often possess a magnetic allure that can't be easily defined, drawing people to them. In the world of film, theater, or any profession where "illusion" or "make-believe" is central, these individuals can excel. They can effortlessly slip into different roles or personas, making them exceptional actors or performers. The visionary qualities of Neptune combined with the Sun's drive can make these individuals ahead of their time. They might introduce ideas, trends, or concepts that are initially misunderstood but later gain widespread acceptance. Neptune's compassion and desire for unity can drive Sun-Neptune individuals to champion humanitarian causes, leading to public recognition for their efforts.

Here are some that I can think of on the top of my head:D Thank you for such a great question beautiful!

love,

saint jenx

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Okay I have a question about American universities, which I do not understand on general principles, and university libraries, which I do not understand in this context.

Here's how it works for my students:

As part of the £9000 a year they're paying, they get access to full library resources. I, at the start of each academic year, make sure the reading list for each module - both essential and supplementary - is up to date, meaning the library has copies (preferably online forms, with hard copies only if a PDF is unavailable)

The library also has subscriptions to pretty much every major journal going, so they are able to access most journals with their uni login. If they happen across, and need, something they can't access, they put in a request with the library for it. A ninja librarian will perform the sacrament, and a PDF is in your inbox two days later (I am hazy on the mechanism of this part, but not the result). You have up to ten requests per person per year.

How in the world do I see posts from Americans so very often talking about paying for textbooks? Like... I get that it's "Shitty lecturers want to force students to buy their personal textbook for cash monies", but what do those university libraries actually Do?

(Also as a side note I am filled with helpless laughter at the very IDEA that I would (a) be allowed to set my own book as not just essential but fundamental course reading in a field that is well researched HELLO BIAS AND FRAUD and (b) allowed to set any text as required reading that would disadvantage impoverished students HELLO INEQUALITY AND ALSO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS VIOLATION without the university's academic office arranging for a bed of hot coals to haul me over.)

[cabinette]

not to be a freak weirdo but do you think the winged lion would have put chilchuck into a cunty little outfit too if he was dungeon lord. what do you think it would look like

HI ! YES !!! SO !!!! IT WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS.

jkjkjk but no really i think he would totally keep his regular outfit- but it's in it's purely professional form. No little tidbits of his personal life that allude to his daughters nor his wife, starch white shirt that constantly gets bloodied because he keeps nosebleeding whenever the winged lion is helping him do magic. because he has everything he needs right here, right? He doesn't need more clothes when an exact copy of his family is right here. When his father is still waiting for him at the table. Don't be silly, now.

(rant below)

Also because i personally HC a lot of Marcille's outfit was based off of her mother's funeral gown and her own idea of what a calm and collected and diligent person looks like, so it would be a bit hard to apply that philosophy to chilchuck. Unless we know if he had a really pivotal moment in his life in which an important person seemed to hold a lot more understanding than him/guided him through that? like what happened with Marcille and her mother. Granted his situation with his wife- I don't think he would dress up as his wife (lol) nor do we have any understanding that there was someone else to help him get through it. In any case, he's a professional at heart, and when he's ruling over an entire ecosystem he's in a position that requires a lot of thought- So when the Lion sweeps him off his feet and tells him they'll do it all for them, he's still defaulting in adventurer mode and thinking logically about the best way to keep coinbugs n mimics and all that circulated, but it's only the default. He doesn't make the decisions himself anymore because he doesn't HAVE to. he doesn't have to work anymore because the Lion is helping him with EVERYTHING. so what's the point in putting so much more effort into his outfit, too? (He's just a puppet. He doesn't care for any of it. He doesn't have to.)

[rthko]

Hey so here's a conversation you might or might not be interested in having but if you'd like to, it's been my understanding that you participate in the time honoured tradion of cruising (TM), so I was curious about how/why you first started engaging with that? Was it an intentional choice? Are there still live spots around where you live? Natural continuation from the grindr life? Feels like it isn't really a natural part of gay life for a lot of people these days and more of an active choice.

I do like having conversations like this! Now I do cruise, but not in the ways that first come to mind with the term "cruising." My experience is limited to bathhouses, bars, and parties with play spaces, but I haven't done it in, say, a park or a highway rest stop. Cruising refers to looking for sex in places known for the practice. Said sex does not have to occur there, so finding someone at a cruising spot and going to a second location is cruising, but a couple arranging to have sex in a park is not. There are definitely gray areas--is Grindr cruising, or is it an existential threat to the culture? What's the line between a plain old bar hookup and cruising? Is going to a cruising spot only to have sex with people you already knew cruising? Maybe someone reading this knows better than I do.

Knowing spots is and always has been a matter of word of mouth, but sites like squirt . org and Sniffies have made it a lot easier. People looking to cruise might look at these sites, or look for advice for their city in forums, or just know the right people who know their way around the "pickle parks." The spots I've been to are the easiest to find--obviously people are going to be having sex at a bathhouse. But there are other options--informal, discrete spots that don't (or can't) require an entry fee. You'd be surprised just how many there are, and not just in the cities you'd suspect. I just don't know much about this world, aside from the "official" brick and mortar spots.

I started going first out of curiosity, but then I kept finding more and more reasons. It wasn't a natural continuation from Grindr life but rather a reaction against it. I was sick of Grindr. I wanted to work on people skills, like dishing out and taking rejection respectfully, and without the ego-preserving move of a block button. I had a roommate and felt awkward inviting people over. I didn't have a car and had a hard time even getting to other people's places, and by the time I got there I'd lost my sexual appetite. I found being naked or in a towel in a space full of equally naked people helped me be at ease with my body. The men I had sex with couldn't find and contact me after the fact unless I deliberately gave them contact information. I felt more freedom to say no or change my mind in a place full of sexual possibilities than I would at someone else's apartment. I found a lot of reasons beyond finding voyeurism and exhibitionism hot--which I do.

I have learned not to focus too hard on the why. A lot of different types do it for a lot of different reasons, and that's part of the appeal for me. There are closeted and experimenting men, out and proud gays who view the baths as part of their identity, disrobed white collar professionals visiting my city for a conference, locals who can't host, and nobody's really asking who's who. This is the sort of contact that Samuel R Delany wrote about, overcoming the guiding rule of cities that we "don't talk to strangers." Michael Warner also has great writing on cruising and public sex, and challenges the idea that gay victory will look like normalcy and the end of cruising. Cruising is not as popular as it used to be, and I think it's important to acknowledge a lot of this comes down to policy and not a change in the gay conscience. Ironically, the very gentrification that scrubs away these spaces has made them necessarily through a tightening housing market where fewer people can host. I would not be surprised if I heard it confirmed that more gays lately are choosing to cruise--or already are and don't realize it. At the risk of over-simplified sentimentality, I'd be glad to hear it.