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adriennebarnes · 22 days

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Meet the Family Part 2

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Hispanic/Latina! Reader

Summary: after much discussion, Charles flies out Y/N’s parents to Monza so they can meet Charles’s mom before they decide on spending Christmas together in New York

Warning: the usual. IT IS EDITED, I MADE IT LONGER, starting from You

A/N: questions at the end of this imagine, I hope you like part 2 @ilovechickenwings

“You didn’t have to fly them out first class.” Y/N said in the car.

“They’re your parents, what kind of person would I be if I let them fly coach, knowing I can afford first class.” Charles said.

“True. I can’t believe you invited them to the Monza Grand Prix.” Y/N said.

“Well my family is also coming to this Grand Prix, I figured they could meet. Hopefully they get along so we can spend Christmas on New York.” Charles said. Charles parked the car and he did a lot better than he usually does. They got out of the car.

“Your parking is getting better, muñeco, I am so proud.” Y/N said. “What time does their flight land?”

“Um, it says at that it should have landed 10 minutes." Charles said checking the flight information. They walked into the airport, Charles signing whatever the fans give him, they made it to the gate and Y/N saw her parents.

"Mami, Papi, que gusto verlos. Como estuvo el vuelo?" Y/N asked her parents after hugging them.

"First class es tan fancy, no creo que puedo volver a volar en coach." Elena said breaking the hug with Y/N to turn to Charles and hugs him. "Charles, thank you so much for flying us out, I can't believe we are in Italy, I always wanted to come here." Elena gives Charles a kiss on the cheek before letting him go, Charles blushing a little and laughing.

"It was nothing, I really wanted you two to meet my mom and brothers." Charles said.

"Right, we need to see if we get along before deciding on spending holidays together. A ver Charles, what car did you decide to rent?" Enrique asked.

"Mm, a Mercedes Benz, plenty of space for your luggage. Lets go, I want to invite you guys to eat before heading to the hotel." Charles said, taking Elena's and Enrique's carry on bags, leaving the airport to go to his car.

“Are we meeting Pascale there?” Y/N asked.

“Yes, my mom texted me saying shes on her way to the restaurant so let’s go.” Charles said, putting the carry on bags in his trunk, helping Enrique put the big suitcase in the trunk too before closing it, everyone got in the car.

“Can’t wait to go sightseeing and shopping.” Elena said.

“Oh yes, Monza is beautiful. Tomorrow is media day for me so if you want, you could go sightseeing by yourselves.” Charles said.

“Yeah, that seems fine, will Y/N be with you during media day?” Enrique asked.

“Yes she will.” Charles said.

“Yeah, that seems okay.” Elena said. The rest of the ride to the restaurant was filled with Elena and Enrique talking about what they want to see. Charles made it to the restaurant (I google restaurants in Monza, did you know there is a Peruvian restaurant there? I am so happy about that) and Charles parked his car in the Vecchia Ostuni parking lot.

“Mira eso, Y/N didn’t have to park for you.” Elena teased. Charles looked at Y/N.

“You told them I can’t park?” Charles asked in a whiny voice.

“I didn't tell them anything, they probably saw me parking your car when we visited.” Y/N said.

“Fair enough.” Charles said. They walked made it to the restaurant entrance and saw Pascale. “Maman!” Charles exclaimed before hugging his mother.

“Pascale, it’s good to see you again.” Y/N said, hugging her. “So Pascale, these are my parents Elena and Enrique.

“Nice to mee you.” Pascale said, hugging Elena and Enrique. “Let’s go in, I am starving.” They entered the restaurant, Charles had a reservation for them and they were seated right away. “Elena, Enrique, Can i just say I love your daughter, she is such a sweetheart, perfect for my Charles, I love having her over whenever they’re in Monaco.”

“Oh thank you, we only found out about Charles recently when he came to visit us in New York, but he makes Y/N happy and that’s good enough for us. Plus the gifts, thank you again Charles, I take that bag everywhere.” Elena said.

“It was my pleasure.” Charles said.

You know how sometimes your parents will share stories from your childhood? That’s exactly what happened.

“When Y/N was younger, she would name any animal she saw, whether that is a stray cat in our neighborhood or a mouse caught in a trap.” Enrique said, the three parents laughing.

“She still does that! They were over and we have this garden (I’m making this up) and she found a caterpillar on a leaf, Y/N named it Heimlich.” Pascale said and Y/N covered her face from embarrassment, leaning against Charles.

“Aw, don’t be embarrassed, Mon ange, it’s very cute and endearing how you name random animals.” Charles kissed her forehead.

“I think she got that habit from Lilo and Stitch, she would watch that movie all the time.” Elena said.

“Oh Charles here was obsessed with the movie Cars, I sometimes think thats why he kept karting, to be like Lightning McQueen. I have seen so many posts on Instagram for the fans comparing him to Lightning McQueen.” Pascale said, now it’s Charles’s turn to be embarrassed, he was blushing slightly while Pascale showed Elena and Enrique some of the comparisons. “It doesn’t help that there’s a video of Charles saying ‘kachow’, you know.” Pascale said.

“Our little Disney fans, they’re perfect for each other.” Elena commented.

“They are, they seem so in love. When Charles was first calling me about her, he was so smitten, asking me for advice because he had no idea how to woo her since she’s American.” Pascale said, Y/N turned to Charles.

“I didn’t know that.” Y/N said.

“Yeah, it was actually the first time I got nervous talking to a girl. It’s not like I’ve seen you in Monaco before, you were completely new, you knew nothing about me, I wanted our first date to be perfect.” Charles said, playing with his rings. Y/N kissed his cheek.

“You’re so cute.” Y/N said. The parents kept talking amongst themselves. The check came, Charles paid, Pascale gave Elena her phone number and they started texting on WhatsApp. They said goodbye to each other, went to the parking lot and drove to the hotel they’re staying at.

Charles helped Elena and Enrique to their room, Y/N hugged them goodbye before going to her shared suite with Charles. After Charles helped them with the luggage, he went to his suite and found Y/N splayed across the bed.

“I am so tired.” Y/N said.

“Mon ange, we didn’t do anything.” Charles said.

“I know but we had to listen to our childhood stories.” Y/N said.

“Yeah, that’s true. But I’m glad our parents are getting along, I sense a New York Christmas in our future.” Charles said, getting on the bed and moving Y/N so her back is against his chest. Charles kissed her forehead.

“Same here.” Y/N said and she got a text notification from her mom, Y/N stifled a giggle,

“Whats so funny?” Charles asked.

“Is it true that when you were 4 you opened your closet every night to see if Sulley would be there?” Y/N asked.

“Ugh, maman.” Charles groaned and Y/N was laughing.

“That’s adorable.” Y/N said, kissing him until Charles realized something, holding her back from kissing him again.

“Wait, when we were in Spa, there was a stray dog, did you name him?” Charles asked.

“What? No.” Y/N said. Charles looked at her. “I named him Koda.” Y/N admitted. Charles kissed her.

“Adorable.” Charles said, Y/N pouted but Charles kissed her pout away. "You think we can go to Niso Fumagalli? Its your first time here, I want to do something romantic." Charles said, still kissing her. Y/N pretended to think.

"Would I have to change?" Y/N asked.

"Absolutely not, you look beautiful." Charles said. Y/N smiled.

"You're very sweet, guapo, I'll text my mom to tell her we're going out." Y/N said.

Charles and Y/N spent the rest of the day in the rose garden Niso Fumagalli and they took so many photos together, Charles will definitely post them later after they are editted to match his aesthetic.

The next day was Media Day, Y/N was in the Ferrari hospitality hanging with Rebecca while Charles was answering some questions.

"So Charles, we hear your American girlfriend is here, how is that going?" the interviewer asked.

"Very good, this is her first time coming to Monza, even though she is very new to the world of Formula 1, she is very excited to be here, I even flew her parents out." Charles said.

"Wow, what a considerate boyfriend you are, how are the future in-laws?" The interviewer asked.

"I like them, I really hope they like me as well, my mom loves my girlfriend so I am hoping to have the same connection with her parents." Charles responded sincerely. He thinks of himself as a very nice guy, even though Enrique has said himself that Charles seemed good for Y/N, he doesn't get the feeling that her parents consider him family yet.

"I'm sure you will, whats not to like, the grid loves you." The interviewer said and Charles laughed a little, messing with his shirt collar.

Charles then had another interviewer.

"Charles and Carlos, you two are going to answer whatever questions are written on the piece of paper you pick out of this hat." The interviewer said, Charles went first.

"Who was your celebrity crush when you were younger? Oh, that is such a good question, I'm trying to think, mm, oh, it was (a celebrity you share similar features with, for me it would be Selena Gomez cuz of the round face, dark hair and eyes) I was obsessed with her movies/tv show/music, watched every TV interview she did, my mom would call me every time she was on TV." Charles admitted, completely embarassed he just confessed that.

"Doesn't your girlfriend have the same color eyes, hair, and skin tone?" The interviewer.

"Lord Perceval, who knew you had a type." Carlos joked. "You totally manifested your girlfriend."

"I guess i did. Your turn, Carlos." Charles said.

After many interviews later, he went to the hospitality to find Y/N eating a snack.

"Baby! How were the interviews?" Y/N asked, hugged him, Charles hugged her back twice as hard.

"They were good, a little tiring. Want to go out to eat? There was this peruvian restaurant we could go to, I know you miss Latin food when you're in Europe with me." Charles said.

"Ooh yes, lomo saltado sounds so good right now. I love you so much." Y/N said, kissing him.

"You think your parents like me?" Charles asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course they like you. Come on, lets get to your car." Y/N said. They were walking to the parking lot.

"Its just yesterday your mom mentioned that she only found out about me recently. She hasn't really complimented me except to tell me she loves her bag." Charles said.

"Well Charles, they don't really know you, it's kinda hard considering they live in New York." Y/N said.

"You're right, we should go to the hotel and pick up ypour parents so we could eat at the Peruvian restaurant." Charles said.

"Oh no need, they're here with Pascale." Y/N admitted.

"Mon coeur, you could have told me before we got into the parking lot." Charles said.

"I'll tell my mom where we are going and Pascale could join them at the restaurant, it will be like yesterday." Y/N said.

"Yeah, that sounds good, you are so smart." Charles said, kissing her forehead.

"Thank you, lets good, I just texted my mom." Y/N said, They get to the car and drove to the restaurant. Pascale showed up with Elena and Enrique a few moments later.

"Why are we here?" Enrique asked.

"Oh, whenever we are travlling for my races, Y/N will miss the latin food that she is used to cooking herself. She gets homesick, latin food helps her, and that is why we are at a peruvian restaurant." Charles said, with his arm around Y/N. Enrique hums approvingly before they entered the restaurant.

During lunch/dinner, Charles did or said little things that won him brownie points with his future in-laws. He knows it might be too soon, but he feels as if Y/N is the one and he needs to know that her parents approved of him.

"Maman, Christmas is a few months away, I was wondering how would you feel about spending it in New York?" Charles asked.

"New York? What about your brother and Charlotte?" Pascale asked.

"They would come too! Imagine spending New Years in New York, watching the ball drop in person..." Charles started.

"Don't do that." Y/N and her parents said.

"It is going to be so crowded, you'll be freezing the entire time, you probably won't even get a good spot to watch the ball drop or the New Years performers." Elena said.

"But we could see the tree at the Rockefeller Center." Charles said, looking at Y/N to make sure that was a good plan and Y/N nodded.

"I wouldn't want to spend Christmas without my parents, but I know you wouldn't want to spend it without Charles either." Y/N said. Pascale doesn't look convinced.

"Pascale, you never travlled outside of Europe, it could be fun. Enrique and I obviously don't have a big house but you can stay in a hotel near us." Elena started.

"Alright, you convinced me, a New York Christmas it is. Would you spend your entire winter break in New York, Charles?" Pascale asked.

"Not the entire break, just 2 weeks." Charles said.

"Alright, sounds good. Let me call your brothers." Pascale said, standing up from the table.

"Tengo que ir al baño, acompáñame, Y/N." Elena said, dragging Y/N to the bathrom, leaving Charles and Enrique alone. There was a moment of silence before Enrique decided to speak.

"You're a good guy, Charles. It may not seem like it, but I like you. You make Y/N happy, she actually started calling us every week to tell us about you and what you did that made her happy that week. You bought her a vase?" Enrique asked.

"Yes, she has been saying that the counter in her apartment looked plain so i bought her a vase and I would bring her flowers so the apartment would look..alive, I guess." Charles responded.

"That's the kind of stuff I want my princess to experience. My wife and I have never fought in front of Y/N, we have never raised our voice at her, hit her, or anything. I'm assuming you would never do that to her either." Enrique said and Charles immediately shook his head.

"of course not, i respect your daughter, I love Y/N so much that I would rather die than even think about doing that kind of thing to her." Charles said.

"Thats exactly what I needed to hear, son." Enrique patted Charles back and he was so happy that Enrique called him 'son". The women came back to the table.

"We were gone a while, what did you talk about?" Y/N asked.

"Nothing, mon ange." Charles said.

"Todo anda bien, princesa." Enrique said, Y/N accepted it but she noticed that Charles had the same gleam in his eyes that he gets from winning. Y/N whispered in Charles's ear.

"He said he liked you, didn't he?" Y/N waited for a response and Charles nodded his head. "See? You had nothing to worry about." Y/N whispered again before deciding to place her head on his shoulder.

The End

HOPE YOU LIKED THE NEW ADDITIONS, I did not know how to write them meeting for the first time, the naming animals habit is actually mine, there are 2 stray cats by my house, I named one Thomas O’Malley and the other is named Fígaro. I also named a mouse Roquefort, I genuinely think I got it from Lilo. Hope y’all liked it! Comments are appreciated.

I have 3 ideas for new one shots

Idea 1: Charles Leclerc and Y/N are married and Y/N has a habit of adopting any dog that “gives her a sign” like it would follow her, whine if she tries to leave, etc. But the catch is, Charles and Y/N already have 8 dogs so when Charles is away at a race, Y/N picks up another dog but she tries to make it seem like she had an affair so the dog thing isn’t so bad. 100 percent inspired by that story Salma Hayek told on Jimmy Fallon. Btw, I got the dogs and names picked out.

Idea 2: there is a Bachelor Auction for charity, Charles is obviously one of the bachelors, Y/N bids on him, they go on a date, have a really good time, Charles wants to go out again.

Idea 3: Charles and Y/N are friends and roommates. Y/N lost her journal/diary, Charles found it in the driver’s room and instead of giving it back, he reads it and discovers she has a crush on an F1 driver. Instead of thinking the F1 driver Y/N writes about is himself, he thinks it’s Lando and is lowkey sad and jealous when he sees Lando and Y/N talk because Charles also likes Y/N.

#hispanic reader #latina #hispanic #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc x reader #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #formula 1 #formula one

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nightgoodomens · 7 months

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So what if

Jesus decides he’d rather drink in the pub with Crowley instead of judging anyone.

Zombies get too busy dancing in Michael Jackson’s thriller and so find their new purpose that makes them happy.

God doesn’t even know what’s going on, too busy having dumbass fights with Satan.

Aziraphale comes back to Earth because he gets fired, Crowley wants to know why, and Aziraphale pretends it’s because he tried to thwart the big plan, but actually, it’s because he spent all his time drawing Crowley instead of doing boring paperwork. They also found him with his mouth full of cake.

Crowley knows. He laughs inside.

Metatron tries to start Armageddon but literally nobody is interested because they were invited to Beelzebub&Gabriel wedding and the preparations make Angels and Demons busy.

Aziraphale and Crowley are too busy bidding on a cottage. They don’t tell each other. So they’re bidding on the same one. So when Aziraphale wins he has to sell all the buildings he owns in Soho because Crowley bid so high, and Aziraphale failed to give up, that the cottage was sold for 10 times what it was worth.

Crowley bursts out laughing when Aziraphale takes him to see the surprise. When he explains he was the other bidder, they finally promise each other to not hide things from each other again.

They go to Beelzebub&Gabriel wedding. Angels and Demons dance together. Nobody cares. Everyone is happy. Metatron sits in the corner.

Crowley is there for alcohol. Aziraphale is there for cake. They finally recreate their dance.

Aziraphale watches Crowley who’s tipsy enough to start dancing with Beelzebub. Demons can dance. Crowley is really hot.

They take a walk outside to cool down, for different reasons, and when they sit by the lake, stars shining above them, Aziraphale pops the question.

Crowley grins. He says of course. Not in a bloody church though.

Not in a church, they agree.

God and Satan and Jesus are invited to their wedding. They get absolutely shitfaced. It’s the funniest and most loveable wedding the world has ever seen.

Honeymoon in Alpha Centauri. Also Maldives. Also everywhere where they’ve met over the 6 thousand years. This time not needing to hide or worry or pretend.

They celebrate everything.

They renovate their cottage and Aziraphale discovers Crowley is very DIY and he doesn’t mind at all seeing him dirty and sweaty without a T-shirt. Sometimes he breaks things on purpose.

Crowley knows.

Bentley has her garage. She’s very happy.

The cottage is yellow. Of course.

Christmas Tree has a star on top of it.

Their garden wins all the village awards.

Their baking is talked about by everyone.

Aziraphale has a huge library at home and he doesn’t need to worry about anyone taking his books anymore.

Crowley has plants all over the house and he doesn’t need to scream at them anymore because they’re growing beautifully from the pure love and happiness at home.

He takes care of the garden and Bentley. He buys another car and works on it as his hobby.

They join car shows.

They know all little cafes and restaurants everywhere.

Aziraphale writes his own novel. It’s really good. Crowley just ensures it definitely is talked about everywhere.

They visit Soho whenever they feel like shopping.

They always build a snowman when it snows.

And they spend evenings either on a date, on holiday, or in front of the cracking fire, within comfortable blankets and pillows, drinking, snacking, reading, watching movies and their favourite tv shows.

Everything is perfect.

#good omens #crowley #ineffable fandom #good ineffable omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable boyfriends #ineffable dumbasses #ineffable idiots #ineffable lovers #aziraphale #aziracrow

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bcacstuff · 17 days

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Timeline 11 December 2023 - February 2024

For completeness and to consult when there’s discussion about his whereabouts. In addition to the previous timelines.

Timeline 11 covers 20 December2023 - 28 February 2024

For previous dates see timeline 10

A promo video posted on 20 December shows he's at home, apparently he recorded the same day HSC with Josh H who posts a clip announcing him the next day.

As it seems he spends Christmas at home with family

Despite a fan pic from London posted on 28 December which is clearly posted later on, as he posts a snowman in his garden on 30 December proven to be RT as it was snowing that day in Glasgow.

The same day (30 December) he's seen at the airport in Glasgow, most likely to pick up Marina, who later on posts a reel from her trip to Scotland showing Sam in a pic that matches her stories from 31 December and thus adds up to the assumption she spent NYE at his place

On 3 January Davie posts a pic showing him and Sam in Sam's kitchen. The next day on 4 January a fan spotted him on shuttle boat in London.

On 6 January his hair dresser Charley M posts a story showing Sam had a hair cut at Four, London. The same day we learn about a tweet saying he was seen 2 days in a row in London and after some convo's we got another pic from someone spotting him on 4 January and spoke to him on 5 January.

On 9 January he posts a video running in Scotland near his house in the FB MPC group and the next day on IG (but deleted it later on), announcing a Live IG on Friday 12 January.

On 13 January he posts a video with Valbo working out and mentioning the live IG 'yesterday', so posted RT.

Because of a tweet we learn that he flew on 14 January to Gran Canaria. Another live IG is announced for 16 January and indeed doesn't come from his home, but from a villa in Gran Canaria where it turns out he is not staying alone, even though some seem to question this.

On Friday 19 January he was on an early flight and posted later on from Kitzbuhel, where he stayed the weekend at the Aros Hotel as an Audi ambassador

And enjoyed some skiing after the weekend. After a boxing session on 24 January he apparently went to Munich to watch a football match which he posts about later on though the match was on 24 January in the evening

On 27 January he's at a dinner with Eleanor and Dries at the restaurant Willem Hiele in Oostende

The next day, 28 January he unveils the Star together with Eleanor at the Walk of Fame, the RC for the screening and Q&A, some BTS and an afterparty for fans and vips (though separated) Please see my archive for much more footage

On 31 January he posts a story showing Paris, though later on that same day another story is posted showing him skiing.

On 2 February he posts a picture and tags a producer he met in LA the day before. It's food for debate whether the Paris and ski story were latergrams or not. Hours later on Alex posts another pic in LA, which has a comment of someone they met that day. A picture of that meeting was reposted by S in his stories early Sunday morning (LA time) 4 February.

On 5 February the casting for BOMB is announced by Starz

On 7 February Sam posts a picture with the famous photographer Andy Gotts, he met him in Beverly Hills. While it first looks not to be a photoshoot but just that one selfie later on more photo's were posted from that day. The same day he walked and recorded a video with AN at Runyon Canyon which was posted the next day in the MPC FB group

On 9 February a polaroid was posted by a photographer he followed the night before after doing a photoshoot at the Chamberlain Hotel, West Hollywood for Nobleman Magazine

On 10 February he posts a video driving a motorbike at Huntington Beach apparently recorded on his way to the Ramona Gym with Nic R posted the next day.

While it looks like he left LA, no confirmation of his whereabouts are posted before 22 February being in Sydney, where he was spotted as well by a fan visiting an event at Bondi Beach on 22 February

23 February he's bridge climbing with the rest of the gang, spotted by fans and in the evening spotted for the M&G

24 February the first day of the Hublander con takes place in Sydney. Many pics and videos, see my archive for more. Robert Licuria is there to interview Sam

25 February Day 2 of Hublander in Melbourne. Many pics and other footage is posted and some reports as well. See my archive for more

26 February the gang was invited to visit and meet some animals with a zoologist, it turns out Sam did not attend but left Melbourne by Tuesday 27 and according to information flew home on Wednesday 28 most likely posting his Australian dump on a stop over

Other timelines:

Pre Hawaii timeline

Timeline 1 August 2020 Timeline 2 September 2021 Timeline 3 February 2022 Timeline 4 August 2022 Timeline 5 October 2022 Timeline 6 January 2023 Timeline 7 April 2023 Timeline 8 June 2023 Timeline 9 August 2023 Timeline 10 October 2023

#timeline #december 2023 #january 2024 #february 2024

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sreegs · 1 year

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‼️READING COMPREHENSION WARNING‼️

Read and comprehend the topic of this post above the "read more" link before attempting to respond. This is your only warning. Violators will be mocked and blocked.

A GUIDE TO TIPPING IN AMERICA FOR TOURISTS AND VISITORS

AND ASSHOLES WHO SOMEHOW LIVED HERE THIS LONG WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THIS

This post is going to cover tipping people in restaurants/eateries and private transportation. Tipping can also apply to many, many other service industries including but not limited to: movers, handypeople, mechanics, etc. Since this is meant to be brief and focused on info relevant to visitors and tourists, I won't discuss that here.

You're tipping 20% minimum on your food and public/private taxi rides (including lyft, uber, etc). Include this in your budget calculations for engaging with these services.

I was going to jokingly just end the post here but let me explain. Minimum wage laws in the US allow employers to pay their employees UNDER FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE if they're in an industry that receives tips on the regular. Taxi drivers are self-employed and have to pay for the costs of the lease on their vehicle, gas, and give a cut to their garage or ride service provider.

Therefore, capitalists have shifted the cost of paying a living wage to these people on to the consumer rather than the employer. No amount of arguments against tipping culture is going to magically fix this overnight. That's the long game and we're trying to abolish this shit. Therefore, you are tipping 20% minimum. Today.

Even if you did not like the food.

Even if the food was cold.

Even if the server didn't seem cheery and smiley.

Even if the taxi wasn't as fast as you wanted it.

Even if the taxi smelled a little funny or the driver didn't talk the amount you like.

If you did not suffer immediate physical harm or harassment or discrimination at the hands of the service person who provided you the service, full tip. Five stars if you have to rate them in an app. Perfect marks.

Does the above statement seem strange to you? It shouldn't, because remember: capitalists have forced you to cover the full cost of the service. THIS IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE SERVICE WORKER.

Cash is King

Tip in cash if you have it. Credit card companies can't take a chunk out of cash tips. And if someone who works a low-paying job can grab a bit of cash under the table, away from the eyes of the IRS, then they will do more economic good with that money than the tax cut that goes to pay for bombing other countries.

How do I figure out a 20% tip?

Easy. Look at the total (THE TOTAL, WITH TAX YOU FUCKING CHEAPSKATE). Double it, then divide by 10 (move the decimal place one over to the left). Round up the remainder to the nearest dollar. That's going to be at least 20%.

What about counter workers?

There is some confusion on how to tip people who work at a counter in cafes and fast food establishments. Because they are not considered tipped employees and they get minimum wage.

The rule is, if during your transaction the POS (point of sale) register asks you to add a tip, you add a 20% tip. If you see a tip jar, you tip. If neither of these things happen, you don't tip

What about food delivery?

20% minimum tip. You called/ordered via an app, and magically food showed up. In any weather. 20% tip.

Bonus Holiday section:

Let's say you're visiting America during the peak American holidays when it's either a common "dining out" holiday or a holiday where you usually spend time at home with family. This includes, in chronological order:

Valentines Day, Fourth of July Weekend (the whole weekend), Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve and Day.

You tip even more on those days. 30% minimum. I've tipped 100% on meals and rides on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Because those people are taking the time out of spending the day with friends and family, what everyone else is doing, to make sure they have enough money to pay bills and survive in America. And no you fucking bigot, you don't get to eye up the server and figure out if they celebrate Christmas or not.

FAQ:

I can't afford a 20% tip. How do I pay for this?

You can't afford the full service or experience. You don't buy it. Next question.

Where I come from, we don't tip that much/not at all. Why do I have to do this?

You're in America now. You have to do this. Please, feel free to engage the worker in a spirited debate about tipping culture if you feel like you need more info. I'm sure you'll learn something new.

I have a tipping system. You see, first I start at 10% and for every...

Your system is bad and you're a cheapskate. 20% minimum.

Hey wait a minute, I'm an American and I have strict rules about who I tip and how much. And 20% is too high! What are you talking about?

Every decent human being quietly judges you for being an asshole. You are disliked by the people around you who tip like normal people. You are not going to become rich some day because you saved $5 on a tip. Own up and tip.

I ate at an expensive restaurant. Surely I don't have to tip 20% on a bill like this, do I?

Yes you do.

Holy shit. I'm going to follow this guide but wow. Do you Americans really live like this?

Oh buddy wait till you encounter states that don't list the tax on the price tag.

OH MY GOD TUMBLR KEEPS BREAKING THIS POST. ANYTHING BELOW THIS GIF GETS FUCKED PLEASE TRY TO BEAR WITH ME

#america #tipping culture #tipping #tourism #tourist #nyc

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 2 months

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Timeline: Part 10 - December 11-31 2017

For earlier timeline posts: click here or here.

There's a limit to how many links you can put in a tumblr post. Who knew. Anyway, continuing where we left off...

12/11/2017: Andrew Morton announces new biography of Meghan. Rebecca English writes about Meghan's yoga influencing. Meghan's "Sexy Santa" costume from Deal or No Deal is republished. Kensington Palace announces William and Kate's trip to Sweden and Norway, and The Times debunks The Crown.

12/12/2017: Harry and his friends kill 15 boars during German hunting trip (Meghan's not happy). Harry and Meghan take credit for William and Kate showing a little PDA on an engagement, while Meghan merches her parka. Later, William and Harry attend the Star Wars premiere.

12/13/2017: Kensingon Palace officially confirms Meghan is spending Christmas with the royals. Meghan is revealed as Google's most-searched celebrity of 2017. Meghan merches her handbags, especially Strathberry's, and modernizes the monarchy.

A UK survey finds that a majority of their respondents are unhappy with Harry's engagement:

67% of women surveyed are devastated by the engagement announcement.

20% of overall respondents prefer Harry to be single.

57% of respondents are against Harry marrying Meghan.

And Meghan leaks that Kate has taken her under her wing to protect her from negative parts of royal life. She tells The Express that "Harry is like a brother to Kate and she has never seen him so happy."

12/14/2017: Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, announces that he expects to preside over the royal wedding. In the morning, the royals attend a service for Grenfell Tower at St. Paul's Cathedral (Meghan isn't allowed) and they gather again in the afternoon for The Queen's annual Windsor Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace (Meghan is invited). In the evening, the Kensington Palace Christmas party is held at a nearby restaurant that Harry and Meghan may or may not have attended (it's claimed they left early) while William and Kate are papped leaving.

Meghan merches Strathberry again and she is named the #4 Fashion Influencer of the Year, besting Kate who comes in at #5. (I really doubt Kate cares about this.)

12/15/2017: Kensington Palace announces the wedding date. Palace gift shops begin selling engagement memorabilia. Harry visits Sandhurst Academy and awards Cadet of the Year. Idris Elba shows support for Meghan while Meghan merches tea tree oil.

12/16/2017: Meghan teases a Canada tour post-wedding again.

12/17/2017:

The Daily Mail reminds us that Meghan is attending royal Christmas.

Harry announces that he has interviewed Barack Obama for BBC Radio 4 Today, but the interview won't air until the end of the month.

Meghan used to work at a yogurt store in LA as a teenager and everyone just loved her.

William's diary clash: Harry scheduled his wedding on the same day as the FA Cup Final, which William usually attends.

To prep The Queen and Prince Philip for spending Christmas with Meghan, Harry says he has shown them clips of Meghan in Suits.

Windsor hotels begin to profit off the wedding by marketing Meghan and Harry.

12/18/2017: The Cambridges release their Christmas card photo and Kensington Palace announces that Charlotte will begin nursery school in the new year. Meghan is voted one of the UK's ideal Christmas dinner guests and she leaks that The Queen likes her better than Kate but Buckingham Palace hits back with a denial.

12/19/2017: William and Kate attend the Royal Variety Performance. Meghan tries to ride their coattails by hinting she and Harry may be their guests and Harry is appointed Captain General Royal Marines, succeeding Philip.

Sketches of potential wedding dresses are published/leaked again.

Doria is papped at a LA laundromat.

Meet Meghan's lookalike

Will Meghan have to curtsey to Kate?

Meghan is crowned Hello Magazine's "Woman of the Year."

12/20/2017: Meghan hypes up her Kate-like style makeover from the Windsor Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace and merches her dress again. More wedding dress sketches are published.

12/21/2017: The royal engagement photos are published and:

Prince Philip and The Queen leave London for Sandringham.

Meghan modernizes the monarchy.

Meghan merches Ralph & Russo.

Body language analysis

Yorkies are papped at Soho House.

Meghan leaks that The Queen wants her and Harry to have a prenup and that she (Meghan) is hurt the family thinks she has an ulterior motive for marrying Harry. (Well...) In the same article, Meghan teases her and Harry's individual net worths and hints at the wedding budget - £22 million minimum overall cost and her dress budget is £375,000.

Harry debunks Meghan's PR about the prenup, saying no one asked for one and that William and Kate don't have one so they don't need one.

Meghan v Kate fashion showdown over their engagement photos.

12/22/2017:

Princess Michael's Blackamoor brooch controversy kicks off.

Cambridge vs Sussex engagement portraits showdown

Meghan merches her Ralph & Russo gown again

Press criticism of the engagement photos begin

Meghan takes credit for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner posing together.

12/23/2017: Meghan announces that Guy has broken two legs in an unprecedented Kensington Palace statement and her lookalike does a wedding dress photoshoot.

12/24/2017: Meghan leaks that Harry will not participate in the royal family's Boxing Day shoot because it would upset her.

12/25/2017: Meghan joins the royal family on their Christmas Church Walk. She merches her coat and her hat is the stuff of poo memes.

12/26/2017: Criticism from Meghan's Christmas Church Walk continues with coverage on her curtsey fail and sticking her tongue out. Meghan also merches her outfit again.

12/27/2017: Harry's interview with Barack Obama is finally released. He makes a "we're the family she never had" comment that sets the Markles off. Harry also bans blood diamonds from Meghan's jewelry and Meghan merches her lip gloss.

12/28/2017: Some poor media intern who listened to the Harry/Obama interview realizes that Harry invited the Obamas to the wedding. Meghan deals with more curtsey criticism. She deflects by announcing that she was shortlisted to be the new Bond Girl but she had to give the role up because of her relationship with the Harry. Meghan also merches the Soho House restaurant she and Harry had their first date.

12/29/2017: The royal family's engagement count for the year is released and Harry worked more than William and Kate. The Markles begin popping off about Harry's "we're the family she never had" comment.

12/30/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

12/31/2017: No new Meghan or Harkle stories.

#brf #timeline #sussexes #pr shenanigans

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iavenjqasdf · 5 months

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❄cubbification🐻

I don’t mind the Cubs. I’m not really a big sports guy, so I don’t know if they’re like, problematic or anything. They kinda just seem like any other baseball kinda team to me? (Please let me know if I’m ever swerving out of my lane by saying something like that, by the way; I’m really trying my hardest to learn and do better.)

But when you're visiting the beautiful city of Chicago, and you're so cold from having just got kicked out of the hostel where all your stuff is, because they don't believe that you ever checked in or were ever supposed to be in there in the first place, and when you start to choke up in frustration they say they’re going to call the cops if you don’t immediately leave the property, so you have no choice but to run out into the cold city night without even a jacket, snow swirling all around, catching the taillights of passing Ubers in a shitty bleary unromantic gray kind of way, and you try to take a hit off your $10 disposable weed pen ($14 after tax) for a bit of warmth, that little disposable oil battery that you were so brave for sneaking through the TSA all the way from Cali (where the weed is cheaper AND it's actually good for you), but the light blinks because its out of juice and you don’t know where you can go to recharge it, and suddenly you realize as you're standing on the curb that a kind stranger has found you and is offering to give you a real taste of Chicago if only you'd get in the back of his big warm car, and hey, the whole reason I came here was because I want that authentic experience, and also to not freeze to death, and who better to make both of my dreams come true than a local, and he's even wearing a Cubs hoodie, you kinda can’t say no, right?

So I climb into the second row of his nice toasty American-made SUV, and he punches Portillo's into the GPS and I buckle up, and suddenly it’s just like I’m a kid again, going out to eat with my parents-

well, just one of them, but that’s accurate to my childhood experience, too.

He asks if I have anywhere to be, if anyone’s expecting me anywhere, and I get a bit whiny when I say nooooo, but he just chuckles and tells me that that's good because he’s gonna show me someplace really cool, and I say that sounds nice.

My legs dangle around as I begin to warm up. I look out the window, and the traffic lights and snow are a cute little screensaver again, instead of a bitter cold reality I can’t shelter myself against.

I reflexively try to take another hit off the weed pen, forgetting that it’s still empty. He tells me not to smoke in his car.

It’s kind of hard to say no to in the moment.

We pull into the Portillo's drive thru, and I squint through the snowy window, unable to read the menu. He says don’t worry, I’ll order for you, so I settle back into my seat, listening to the faint Christmas music playing from inside the restaurant, or maybe from the car ahead of us, but also enjoying the otherwise mostly silence in this one.

A few minutes later, the window hands him three bags, and he hands one back to me as he pulls back onto the road. I gleefully tear into it, there’s a big thing of fries and a sandwich with beef and gravy and several types of peppers (I'm sure there's a term for it, but I'm not a local foodie, so I don't know what it is, sorry), and he hands me a big milkshake too, and I’m so excited and so happy, I have warm food and warm feelings and feel safe and happy again.

The next several minutes are spent laser-focused on ravenously devouring my meal, and it’s only when all the food is gone, all the greasy wrappers and fry boxes and an empty Styrofoam milkshake cup carefully crumpled up and placed back into the bag for easy disposal, that I sit back, rubbing my stuffed overfed belly as I glance out the window again.

All I see is a gray dead snow stretching into the dusk all around, and I realize we’re no longer in the city, or any place I can actually recognize.

I ask where we’re going, and he doesn’t answer. I theorize he just didn’t hear me, and continue not testing that theory.

It’s getting kind of cold again; I realize he's had his window sill cracked this whole time and the heater isn’t on anymore, so all the warmth has slowly leached out of the car into the dark snowy expanse, draining my energy along with it.

I scrounge around, and realize the floor of the car isn’t covered in plush limousine carpet; it's just old clothes strewn around. With the Italian beef aromas now safely contained within me, I realize it smells kinda bad in here actually.

I awkwardly tug at the door handle; not because I want to hurl myself out onto the road or anything, just to see if it would open, for future reference. But it doesn’t. I try taking a hit off the weed pen, but it's still empty.

I think about asking where he’s taking me again, but I realize there really can’t be a good answer to that question at this point.

My stomach grumbles, and I wish I was back somewhere warm and safe again.

---

It’s dark out when I come to again.

(Yeah, so I fell asleep. It was actually my choice to do that. In this weather, 5 miles from civilization might as well be 500, and I'm not asking for another ride even if one comes. I gotta maintain appearances, conserve my strength, wait for the right moment to make my lucky escape back to the civilized world.)

From back here, it’s hard to get a good angle on his face, dimly lit up by the navigation app on his phone that says we’re only a few minutes away from somewhere.

His brow tightens; he must've noticed me waking up. I think I ask him where we’re going again, and maybe he just didn’t hear again, because he definitely doesn’t answer.

He still hasn't closed his window, but he’s now wrapped in a crusty old green and yellow blanket, the one I remember staring at on the floor as I dozed off.

If I’d woken up with really miraculous timing, maybe I could’ve gotten away while he was getting that, but if I had that kind of luck, I probably wouldn’t be locked in a stranger’s car on a dark snowy night to begin with.

The GPS helpfully informs us that we've arrived at our destination.

He pulls off the side of the road onto a dark shoulder, overlooking a sad little ditch; it's only a couple of feet down, but it’s flat enough all around that it'd be enough to hide me from the road for long enough that he’d get away with it.

He kills the lights, and I hear him unbuckling his seatbelt, form silhouetted by a distant streetlight, flurries of white piling up on the glass and all around us as he emerges from his blanket cocoon, tugging his hoodie off.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, too, shivering and whimpering as I scoot back to the third row, but he doesn’t miss a beat, just keeps approaching me in the dark with that silent unknowable menace.

By the time I hear his switchblade click open, I barely even have to react. I knew it'd be coming any second now. I’ve read movies, I’ve seen books.

"Didn't your mommy and daddy ever tell you not to get in a car with a stranger?" he asks. Kind of a shitty joke to make to someone with divorced parents but whatever.

The light behind him crescendos, his blade catching the reflection just so. Horns swell on the soundtrack, the sight of it burns into my wide terrified pupils as he raises it over my cowering form. The dark space is illuminated for just a moment, then for another moment, and then another, getting brighter…

And those horns are starting to sound a lot like a truck’s-

The entire world slams apart around me as an out-of-control 18-wheeler veers off the road into us, ramming through all those feet of steel designed to deform and crush, deflect the impact away from my vulnerable little body. We tumble around in the washingmachinelike sleetstorm of twisted metal and shards of ice and cold glass and ragged shirts and stale fries and a big heavy bleeding body as the disaster skids into the icy dark. As the SUV comes to a rest on its ceiling, I somehow find the strength and coordination to scramble my way through, using a thick piece of cloth that catches underhand to wriggle out through a jagged windowpane, squirming towards the fire illuminating the flurries under the darkest indigo sky, a beacon blazing in the darkness, like the cherry at the end of a cigarette of a trailer, brandishing the BUCK-A-POP'S DOLLARSTYLE MERCHWORLD logo in chic saturated colors, paint peeling off from the heat of the flames roaring all around.

In the numbing cold, I tug the tattered cum-stained Cubs hoodie I'm holding onto my scared shivering body. It smells like menace and onion ring grease, but it provides me with enough warmth that I’m able to stay conscious until the paramedics arrive at the scene and get me to stop sitting cross-legged on the snow, breathing in the toxic merchandise fumes, still trying to hit the dead weed pen clutched tight in my fist.

When they finally pull him out of the wreckage, they find the switchblade lodged in one of his arteries, honey mustard still clinging to his lips.

ao3

#📝#standalone #go cubs!!!!!!!!!#original fiction #Chicago Cubs

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niccoughlan · 6 months

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We took our Carol trip!

December 10, 2023, my good friend Sarah and I piled in my small Kia and made the 1 hr 40 min trip from Indianapolis, IN to see Cincinnati and Chevoit, Ohio shooting locations from 2015's "Carol." It's the only winter movie that matters to me. Here are some of the key locations we visited.

Tagging: @belivet, @pacinos, @lesbin

Shillito Center and art deco exteriors in Cincinnati.

Shillito Center was a department store with art deco features including the beautiful clock pictured above. This was the exterior of Frankenberg's in the film. The Shillito's department store has closed but the beautiful building has been turned into luxury loft apartments!

The other buildings of note were the Bell Telephone Company's "Cincinnati Bell" building--my friend noticed that the decorative border on the building is comprised of a stone pattern of old rotary telephones! The exterior of the now-Hilton Cincinnati is another Carol shooting site, which doubled as New York City's Drake hotel.

This is the exquisite Hilton Cincinnati at Netherland Plaza. As you can see, the art deco influence is strong and the rooms are gorgeous and grand. We were hungry and wanted to have lunch but the only available menu was the Dickens breakfast buffet, priced at a formidable $89! So we enjoyed a drink and a bowl of peanuts at the bar. A quartet of professional singers in Victorian costumes sang Christmas Carols beautifully in the background. The bartender was dressed like they used to dress, in a beautiful tailored slacks, shirt, and vest uniform. He did not work at the Hilton in 2014-2015 but was delighted by our quest. The entryway to the hotel is known as the "Hall of Mirrors," inspired by Versailles.

This is the stone bathroom structure at Eden Park, which was the setting for the Christmas tree farm impromptu photography session. My friend watched Carol to prepare (she called it "fun homework") and I prepared by finding a tam o shanter hat at a thrift store. My parents had the scarf, blonde fur coat, faux fur hat, as part of their repository of items from doing over 25 years of community theater together. The rest of my clothing items are a regular part of my wardrobe. I vacillate between eras but I love 40s, 50s, and 60s best of all. I also think it's likely they filmed the scene of Therese and Richard on bicycle going through a park at Eden Park as well, but can't be totally sure.

Finally, Maury's Tiny Cove Restaurant in Chevoit, Cincinnati is the setting of the first lunch between Carol and Therese. The booth they used for shooting has been preserved and I reserved it ahead of time, although surrounding booths also have pictures from filming hanging over them. It's been long enough that the server didn't know much about the film but told us that a group of excited college students ate there once and requested the same meal Carol and Therese ordered in the movie. I had lasagna as we had not eaten much all day, and a Santa Cosmopolitan from their holiday menu. The food was wonderful and it was obvious a lot of people are regulars. We noted that there are glass windows over the booths now, unlike in the movie, probably added during the height of Covid.

Bonus, but a disappointment:

Carol & Rindy's beautiful house at Grandin Rd has been completely re-done and now looks nothing like in the movie:

And, "that's that"! A truly special and memorable experience.

Here is a link to a Google Drive with all of the unedited photos and videos we took if you want to see anything in original quality/detail. We shot video of the photography scene but it was mostly goofy and unusable haha.

We talked about the movie some and Sarah asked me which character was the best fit for my personality. Hands down, Abby. I was wide-eyed Therese once, never glam enough for Carol, but Abby will tell you the truth and not blush from it. My hero!

#caroledit #carol 2015 #cate blanchett #rooney mara #todd haynes #period drama #historical costuming

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mulderscully · 6 months

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okay whatever i'm high and oversharing, so i am once again thinking about whether closure is something worth pursuing with my ex best friend.

brief summary. ex bestie was always prettier and more popular than me. she is a huge extrovert while i'm an introvert, you know the deal whatever. so somehow we're best friends in 6th grade. like idk in a few months i would've walked over hot coals for this girl. did i have a gay crush on her? i truly do not know. i think abt is constantly and i have no idea! but her love and approval was like... i NEEDED it.

then after a while she would get annoyed with me and drop me as a friend entirely. for months. no contact, nothing. then she'd tell people i was up her ass etc while we weren't friends.

then, she'd come back. she'd start talking to me like nothing happened and i'd come crawling back to her with open arms every damn time.

this went on for YEARS. months of promises to be maids of honor and friends til we die and sleepovers and laughing til we couldn't breathe. then she'd drop me. suddenly and entirely. this went on til the summer my mom died sophmore year.

those last 3 months my mom was alive we were not talking because she was mad at me for god knows what knowing my mom is ACTIVELY DYING. then the night my mom died she was the first person i called and she just immediately knew and RAN over to my house for like the first time ever. and she stayed with me all night and we became friends again.

then she never dropped me again. she went off to college and i stayed at home working and she'd call me every night, she'd come visit me, i would visit her. FOR FOUR YEARS. the longest we ever went.

then she went to grad school in miami and i cried the entire day she moved bc i knew she would never come back. this was her dream and she got it. and she asked me to come with her. for free. i said no, okay. i said no.

then we stopped talking. not a dropped thing just. she got a girlfriend and a busy job and it was just natural. but it hurt to call her and feel like i didn't know this person anymore, esp with how our friendship started and i started getting freaked out tbh.

so one december. i think 2018? i can't even remember! she comes to visit for christmas. we make plans for dinner and i made reservations and like. i'm literally at the restaurant when she texts me that she can't come bc she's too exhausted. and i just immediately started crying and left and decided i would never talk to her again.

and i only really believed that when i checked insta that night and she was out partying instead of with me.

and i was like i'm never talking to her again.

and i never have.

she texts me. says happy birthday. tells me she misses me.

but... i can't talk to her now. because i miss her so much and i hate her so much and i hate that she doesn't even KNOW i'm mad and i'm mad because i feel like she SHOULD KNOW. she should be sorry for EVERYTHING and she just is completely unaware and i don't know if that's unfair or not.

she invited me to her 30th bash in miami this december and i'm like so you still know i exist. what am i to you? did i ever matter to you as you did to me? why did you walk all over me and why did i LET you?

i just so badly want to ask her these things and still never talk to her. but i know... idk she makes me weak in a way i can't even explain to myself so idk if closure is possible or worth pursuing. but if i truly never talk to her again, it'll plague me til the end of my days that i didn't try? god i don't know.

broken hearts on christmas are 0/10 bc it comes back every year

#personal.

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snackugaki · 1 year

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now with more Keno and Irma

my tmnt au (where everyone made it past their 20s, splinter’s alive just old, venus is here, and they deserve some goddamn respite and shenanigans)

tmnt au omake 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

lny visit 1 | 2

87 cartoon spoilers...maybe Secret of the Ooze spoilers, I don’t know which iterations the kids know about or caught up with honestly

my dumbass just now realizing I should’ve put Keno in a wolf cut as a shout out to Kuya Ernie’s righteous early 90s mullet

rewatching as an adult, they did Irma dirty in the 87 cartoon so I’m making her cool as fuck

which means I’m taking heeeavy inspo from Russian Doll’s Nadia as a base because Natasha Lyonne cool as fuck

she deserves

if you went through what 87 Irma did, becoming like Nadia seems like a natural character development tbh, another unflappable new yorker with the stuff to back it up

Keno primarily specializes in arnis, muay thai in that order

spars with Leo since they’re both, technically, dual wielders

also Donnie since they’re both stick wielders

jokes with Mikey she doesn’t need a chain because she doesn’t lose her weapons

still paying for stepping on Raph’s foot That One TIme (nod to SotO)

Irma likes moths, it’s Her Thing, her motif; a nod to the time she was mutated into a moth monster in 87

Keno dressed up as the third Bash Brother for a couple halloweens with Casey and Raph

Irma goes to April’s uncle’s restaurant for Christmas, Venus tags along if she’s in town

#tmnt au #visdev is my enrichment activity #this is so much extra shit #when I was just gonna draw gag comics of them hanging out at stoops #visiting bodegas #chilling on the roofs #arguing where the better pizza shop is

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unhonestlymirror · 7 months

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Rating food of the countries I've been to, from West to East:

Disclaimer: it's veeery subjective

***

Spain🇪🇸 : 7/10. It's okay. I expected their fish and seafood to be better, tho. A LOT of relatively cheap fresh juices, 10/10 for health. They also make surprisingly amazing pasta and surprisingly average paella.

France🇫🇷: 9/10. Never visited cafes or restaurants there, but Carrefour has an incredible variety of good meat. I love their pineapple pie, too. There are a lot of products for vegetarians, Muslims, and, in general, different people who have different eating styles. There's a lot to see. And omg, their bazaar days are something worth attending: I still regret that I never tried clams with white wine.

UK🇬🇧 : 6/10. Not impressed. Something tells me that they deliberately make fish-n-chips that terrible. But I absolutely loved the strawberries under hot chocolate, which was sold by two cheerful Polish girls near Madam Tussaud museum.

Switzerland 🇨🇭: 6/10. Migros has nice buns with spinach and those Japanese "sandwiches", overall, your whole salary is gonna be spent on food. (Lithuania core lol😭) McDonald's there SUCKS.

Norway🇳🇴: 4/10. I expected a lot for some reason. Prices gonna cause you a heart attack, the quality is gonna give you a second heart attack. Also!!! THERE WAS NO FISH IN THE SHOPS EXCEPT THE CANNED!!! I was deeply injured. Norwegian salmon is super popular in Ukraine, how can they not have any normal fish in the big supermarkets...

Germany🇩🇪: 1/10. I may be just unlucky, but every time I visit Germany and pick a random cafe with lots of people(!), it has the worst food I've ever tasted in my life. It's like that scene from Desperate Housewives: "Really? A woman who orders Chinese food for Christmas dinner cooked a pineapple pie?" I understand now why Ukrainian women often marry Germans. My heart bleeds when I see what exactly you eat. I want to cover you with a blanket and cook you a normal soup.

Czech Republic 🇨🇿: 7/10. The soup was nice, ставлю вподобайку👍

Poland🇵🇱 : 8/10. Soup in bread, my beloved. Doughnuts were some kind of overcooked in oil, tho.

Montenegro🇲🇪: 10/10. I love you. I love your salads, your seafood, and I LOVE YOUR LEMON ICECREAM!!!!!

Slovakia🇸🇰: 7/10. I don't really remember what I ate, I am sorry. But I was really impressed with your supermarkets for some reason. Gotta visit it again.

Hungary🇭🇺: 6/10. It was my first time I've ever tried street food, and I liked it. You guys know how to cook meat.

Greece🇬🇷: 7/10. One day, I'll find the guy who can cook Karavidopsiha and beg them to cook it once again. Nice fish!!! I remember your arbutus honey as old women remember their best lovers. But. One time, a man served my family with unpeeled shrimps in batter. :/ What the hell was that? Is that some kind of a national dish I'm not aware of? Minus three points for such bullying.

Cyprus 🇨🇾: 7/10. I shouldn't be obsessed with your carob tree pastille that much.

Lithuania🇱🇹: 10/10. I love you. Although, I'd love to spend less money on food too. I love your Maxima and Rimi and Iki. I love your cafes. I love your bakery, I love your cocktails, I looooooove your soups, and I love your Asian food too. It's very easy to become an alcoholic with such delicious wines and tinctures.

Latvia🇱🇻: 11/10. Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm on my knees. Your cream chanterelle soup and Lidl croissants and marinated onion and šašlyk and fish and dairy products🛐🛐🛐. You guys know how to serve. I've never seen such pretty food designs anywhere. And of course, Lido. It brings me in tears of joy and makes me remember Puzata Hata. No, for real, is there any dish you don't know how to cook?

Finland🇫🇮: 7/10. That's okay. Nice street food.

Belarus ⚪️🔴⚪️: 9/10. Oh my dear Belarus, you're gonna be the best chef in Europe once you're free from russia. I wish I ate more machanka and drank your pine tincture when I had the chance. I love your chicory, it's a bit greyish, but it's much more delicious than an average chicory. Delicious meat in the shops. Other food is soviet-like, which makes me nauseous.

Ukraine 🇺🇦: ♾️/10. Вітчизно моя! Ти як здоров'я, наскільки ти цінна, тільки той знає, хто тебе втратив. I don't know if my favourite shops still work. I loved every single cafe I've been to, yes, even that shitty prorussian Mafia and Eurasia. I loved Puzata Hata. I loved Khlibna Kava, and its amazing cherry cupcakes. I loved Moloko Vid Fermera. I loved little kiosks with fresh Makadamia nuts and huge variety of vegetables and fruits. I loved Flagman and Silpo, Lvivśki croissants, and chocolate shops. I loved my seafood store. I loved giant frappes in Shevchenko Park. I loved my Continent with its old classical French background songs. I love my Japanese food stores. There are so many places I love. I used to find my bazaar so ugly and dirty, but I would give everything to buy the sea buckthorn jam from the cheerful old lady. But it's not gonna happen. My bazaar was shelled by russians to the ground.

Turkey🇹🇷: 9/10. Your Katmer, seafood soup and baked shrimps(?) are something 🛐.

Jordan🇯🇴: 7/10. Nice! You cook paella better than Spain, be proud of yourself. Although, I'd love to not be scared for my life as a woman all the time. Your bazaar seemed very interesting, but unfortunately, I don't speak Arabic. And I am a woman, which also sucks, I guess. I was totally covered in black, except for the face and hair, and people still stared at me like on a zoo exponate. McDonald's kinda sucks too, but not as much as in Switzerland.

Egypt🇪🇬: 7/10. It's okay. I've tasted only hotel food.

Sakartvelo🇬🇪 : 10/10. Our guide forgot about our existence, and we had to find any source of food to not die from hunger, so we went to your local bazaar and asked to fry some cheap fish. It had lots of bones, and I hate fish with bones, but I ate it all, and it tasted amazing.

Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦: 6/10. Most of the week, I just cooked some simple spiceless products like pasta and eggs from the small store. You are far from the level of grocery stores in Turkey. Although, your cold orange juice bottle saved my life from dying in the middle of the desert.

Qazaqstan 🇰🇿: 7/10. I don't really remember your supermarkets, I guess they were okay. But your bazaars are definitely something worth attending. Millions of varieties of honey with millions of tastes and very salty hard cheese Kurt.

#rambling #countries #food

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putschki1969 · 1 year

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December 25: Wakana Activities & 「Wakana Classics 2022 ～Christmas Special～」

Note: Okay, I know this is long overdue but I have simply not found the time and motivation to write up a detailed report ever since coming back from Japan. The trip itself was quite exhausting due to a busy schedule and being sick for almost the entire duration of my stay T_T. Then I made the huge mistake of going straight back to work on the 27th so I have just felt utterly drained for the past few weeks. It’s a huge shame because I really didn’t want to wait this long to write down my impressions. I mean, it’s hardly a “first impression” anymore if my thoughts have been marinating in my brain for nearly a month. But hey, better late than never, right? If anyone is interested, here’s a link to my December 17 report. I am definitely planning to write reports of some of my other activities but who knows how long that’s gonna take. Please don’t hold your breath. Without further ado, let’s get to it 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Before the Live

In the morning I went to visit Koishikawa Korakuen with a fellow Kalafina fan (Akuma from Taiwan in case some of you know her). I had already spent all of Saturday doing various Wakana activities with her so it only seemed fitting that we would dedicate the morning of the 25th to a lovely Wakana activity as well. Wakana visited this gorgeous landscape garden back in April 2022 (Source:Wakana Instagram). Koishikawa Korakuen (小石川後楽園) is actually one of Tokyo's oldest and best Japanese gardens so I was excited to check it out. While the late winter scenery is probably the least spectacular, I can still recommend going there if you are ever in Tokyo and want an escape from the hectic city life. It was a gorgeous, sunny day so I got to take some lovely pictures and thankfully, some of the autumn colours still remained. After spending a couple of hours there and basking in the winter sun, I got a little antsy so we decided to head to the venue. In the past, most fans would try to arrive as early as possible to line up for the merch sale. However, lots of things have changed since the pandemic so venues actually discourage people from lining up early in advance. Despite knowing that we wouldn’t be allowed to line up yet, I still wanted to know the venue’s exact location and check whether anyone had arrived yet. When we finally got there, no one was there except us and the door staff told us to come back in two hours XD It was super hard to find a café or restaurant near Kioi Hall so we had to walk all the way back to Yotsuya Station. I felt really sorry for Akuma because I dragged her back and forth, she must have been so exhausted. Guess I can’t help but be one of those annoying people who are low-key control freaks and who won’t leave anything to chance. I’d rather be 2 hours early than even 1 second too late. Anyways, at a tiny shopping mall, we found a small café and had some cake and coffee. We went back to the venue once we saw the first few tweets of other fans starting to line up. Most people got there around the same time so it quickly became quite crowded in front of the venue about 45 minutes before the live. I am glad we ended up being pretty far ahead in the line because I don’t think the people in the back had enough time left to buy anything. It took quite a while for staff members to check our tickets and temperature. Everyone was also taking their sweet time deciding on what merch to get so there were literally only a few minutes left till the live once I had bought everything (I got the shirt/pamphlet set with the postcard, the pink gloves, the little drawstring bag and the keyholder). All items are still available in Wakana’s Official Online Shop so be sure to get them.

General Impressions

Venue: This was my first time at Kioi Hall. It’s located in a nice area near Yotsuya Station. Venue, You have to walk around 10 minutes on Sophia Dori which is a lovely thoroughfare. I hear it’s super pretty during cherry blossom season. After Opera City, this was only my second time in a classical hall in Japan. Not as big as Opera City Hall but equally impressive in terms of acoustics and grandeur. But oh boy, they really could have lowered the temperatures, it was boiling hot inside. I don’t know how people managed to sit there with their winter coats fom beginning to end. I was literally melting and I didn’t even wear a warm winter jacket. Kioi Hall is a rather intimate venue with a capacity of about 800 seats. None of the balcony seats were occupied iirc but we managed to fill out pretty much the entire central ground floor. So yeah, definitely not a sold-out concert but very well attended nonetheless (which obviously made me happy because I still recall her Voice tour where they had picked venues that were way too big for Wakana’s fanbase). Outfit: Her dress didn’t impress me all that much to be honest. The bold red looked lovely on her but the basic A-line was a little too plain for my taste. No lace, no embroidery, no frills, no layers, no sparkles... I am also not a big fan of straps when it comes to evening dresses. Wakana has the most beautiful shoulders, it’s a crime to not show them off. In my opinion, she should always wear something that is off-shoulder, preferably a majestic ball gown. The highlight of the dress was definitely the back (as seen on the image above). Whenever she turned around to have a little sip of her water we were blessed with the most gorgeous sight.*drools* Wakana truly has a beautiful back and it’s rare that we get to see so much of it XD. Ticket System: As you may know, I’ve had a few issues with SKIYAKI but at the end of the day I have to admit that it is an extremely convenient service. All steps were foreigner friendly and I didn’t run into any issues with the app. Still, I can’t recommend it with a clear conscience because of what happened with my credit card T_T As you know, I got a Christmas Special Fan Club ticket and I was pretty lucky with my assigned seat. Row 4, smack in the middle with a perfect view at Wakana. Thankfully no tall people in front of me.Fun fact, right in front of me there was a woman who wore one of Wakana’s dresses, the EXACT same one I had brought to Japan with the intention of wearing it at the concert. However, a few days earlier I had found Wakana’s red checkered pants and ended up buying them so of course I couldn’t help but wear them to the live. Still, I found it funny that someone had the same idea. She also wore Kalafina’s pinky ring so she was clearly a super obsessed fan.I am still wondering what her username is on Twitter. I guess she must be following me if she knows about all this fashion stuff. Arghhh, I wish I had approached her after the live but as always, I was way too socially inept... Cameras: I am pretty sure I mentioned it already but there were a lot of cameras all across the hall. Not just the tiny ones which are used for news reports and such. They had a whole-ass camera crew on-site. No idea what they are planning to do. Either we will be getting a broadcast sponsored by BS Fuji or they will use the footage for a home video release. They might also add the footage (or at least parts of it) as bonus content for Wakana’s 3rd album. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. There’s no way they hired all those cameramen and equipment for nothing. Vocals: For the most part, Wakana was in great shape. It’s such a pleasure to hear her in a classical hall accompanied by strings and piano. And honestly, a couple of these acoustic arrangements were out of this world. So freaking good! I feel like her microphone was maybe a bit too loud at times or the instruments were simply too quiet but it didn’t really take away from my enjoyment. Plus, they can always fix that with a bit of studio magic if they really end up releasing the concert. Nevertheless, I’d really like to have more strings in future concerts, just to add a little more oomph. Maybe I am the only one but I feel like I need at least a string quartet XD Setlist: Overall, I was quite happy with the setlist since it contained all three of her new songs and some of my faves but I probably would have made some changes if the choice had been up to me. Can’t lie but I was hoping and praying for “breathing” as intro. Instead we got “Yakusoku no Yoake” which is always nice, don’t get me wrong, but meh, we already have a performance of it on DVD/BD and let’s be real here, “breathing” is the superior song, at least in my opinion. Am I the only one who is kinda growing tired of “Ai ni Dekiru Koto wa mada aru kai“? I feel like the song doesn’t have a standard ballad structure so it’s quite hard for me to get into it, especially considering its crazy length. Personally, I would have much preferred her to sing “Inochi no Namae” or “Kimi wo Nosete” from her Cover Album. Also had my issues with “Nagareboshi”. I don’t outright dislike this song but it has always been a bit of a snoozer so naturally. I wasn’t overly excited when she announced she would be singing it as her final song. I mean, it kinda works as a wrap-up for the evening but I would have honestly killed to hear an acoustic version of “Ai no Hana”, it’s literally the perfect winter song!! Such a missed opportunity, I feel robbed.T_T Last but not least. let’s talk about her Kalafina song choice. Wakana often manages to pick my least favourite Kala-songs but I realise that I am pretty much alone with that opinion, especially regarding “Kimi no Gin no Niwa” which is obviously a fan-favourite. To her credit, she pulled it off well but ughhh, I cannot stand that song. I am still salivating when I think about her 2018 Symphony Orchestra Concert where she performed “Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku”. Who do I have to bribe to get something like this on DVD/BD??!!

Song-specific thoughts

M01 約束の夜明け(Yakusoku no Yoake): As mentioned earlier, I was low-key hoping for “breathing” but I really like “Yakusoku no Yoake“ so it’s not like I was disappointed or anything. It might even be one of my favourite tracks from her 1st album. The beginning always blows me away, it’s by far the best part of the song and Wakana knocks it out of the park every single time. However, I think that some sections of the song aren’t particularly flattering to Wakana’s vocals. I know for a fact that she can handle much higher parts but I guess it’s the singing style she keeps using for this song hat makes it sound like she is out of her comfort zone. Oh well, she still does a decent job of powering through those sections. Overall, I quite enjoyed the performance and thought it was a fitting intro.

M02 442: Absolutely blown away by the acoustic arrangement and Wakana’s powerful performance. They better release the video footage soon because I am dying to hear this again. I am telling you, she SLAYED! “442″ is undoubtedly one of her best songs that highlights all of her strengths as a singer so it’s always a joy to listen to it.

M03 オレンジ (Orange): Yet another lovely arrangement. Much better than the studio version if you ask me. I can’t remember any details but I definitely liked it.

M04 夕焼け (Yuuyake): Initially I did not care much for this song but every time I hear it live, I fall more and more in love with it. It’s just so precious.

M05 myself: Oh yes!! Jackpot! This was utterly beautiful. It’s the type of ballad Wakana excels in, when all that tragedy is laid on thick and you are being hit right in the feels. Hearing it in a classical setting makes it even more heart-wrenching.

M06 時には昔の話を（Toki ni ha Mukashi no Hanashi wo): This will never get old. There’s a reason they chose this song to promote Wakana’s cover album and it’s because it’s such a perfect fit for her.

M07 愛にできることはまだあるかい（Ai ni Dekiru Koto wa mada aru kai): I guess I already shared my thoughts about this. I think Wakana really likes the song so I feel kinda bad for not being into it. Maybe it’s because I never watched the film? The lyrics are lovely but the song just doesn’t resonate with me. Or rather, I have to be in the right mood for it to resonate with me. Isolated, I believe it can be quite powerful. Despite its understated nature there is a bit of a build-up after all. But it falls a little flat for me if you place the song right after a bunch of other ballads.

M08 君の銀の庭（Kimi no Gin no Niwa): Well, it was unfortunately the wrong Kalafina-“Kimi~” song for me but hey, what can you do about it? Whatever my thoughts might be about this particular song, I truly appreciate the fact that Wakana still makes a conscious effort to include Kalafina pieces in her setlists because on the one hand, she wants to honour that legacy and on the other hand, she knows that it will make her audience happy. During the MC leading up to the performance she actually explained how picking a Kalafina song is always the most difficult part of putting her setlists together. Overall, it was a solid performance. She did quite well covering the other parts.

M09 Winter Wonderland: I definitely did not think that Wakana would sing this. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up with them but I have a bit of an aversion to most Anglo-American Christmas songs (including this one) so when she announced the title of the upcoming song, I felt more than a little disappointed. Especially since I had no idea how it would fit her singing style. However, I am happy to report that I was proven wrong. This far exceeded my expectations and it actually turned out to be a very enjoyable performance. I would say this was only the second song of the night (after “442″) where we got to hear a more fierce and daring approach by Wakana. Still not a fan of the song but damn, Wakana’s version sounds good!

M10 Silent Night: Now we are talking. A Christmas song I actually like. And as expected, Wakana nailed it. I mean, she was literally born to sing songs like this. With everyone always comparing Wakana’s singing to an angel’s voice falling down from the heavens it’s only natural to think that she would do an amazing job with Christmas carols and hymns. A little nitpicking though, I wasn’t fully invested in the arrangement which may or may not have been a bit too pop-ish, I don’t know.

M11 標 (Shirushi): I was really hoping that we would get to hear this brand-new song and I am so glad that my wish came true. Knowing the entire backstory to this and having Wakana share a few bits and pieces again during the concert really made it very hard for me not to cry like a little baby. For those who don’t know yet, this is basically a daughter’s declaration of love to her father (Wakana’s father passed away not too long ago). This song was more or less custom-made for this occasion so it hits a little closer to home than others. While I cannot relate at all to a strong father-daughter relationship, this still hit me right in the feels. I did expect something woeful with heavy strings but it was actually quite understated. Filled with a lot of gratitude and pride. I wish I could say more about it but it’s so hard for me to recall details of a song that I have only listened to once. If I had to compare it, I would probably say it comes closest to “Ato Hitotsu” as far as the overall sound is concerned. It is longer though.

M12 明日を夢見て歌う (Asu wo Yume Mite Utau): I was of course super excited to also finally listen to Wakana’s other new song. This however was a bit of a letdown if I am being honest. It was written by Satoshi Takebe whose collabs with Wakana are always a bit of a hit-and-miss for me. It’s like “Kimi dake no Stage” 2.0. If you enjoy that song you will also like “Asu wo Yume Mite Utau“ I think. The emotion is all there in the lyrics and I can feel what kind of message Wakana is trying to convey to us but meh, the song doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. Fun fact: For the longest time I thought it was “Ashita” in the title but it’s actually “Asu”.

M13 Flag: Another absolutely gorgeous acoustic arrangement that really blew me away. Right up there with “442″ and “Winter Wonderland” in terms of fierceness.

M14 Happy Hello Day: Can’t believe this was the first time hearing the song live at a venue. Experiencing it right there while breathing the same air is so much different than just watching it on a live stream. As much as I appreciate the influx of online broadcasts, nothing beats the euphoria of actually being there at the venue and enjoying a song that makes you feel so incredibly connected with your favourite artist. I truly had a blast during this performance.

EC01 記憶の人 (Kioku no Hito): What a pleasant surprise. I am very much in love with this song and it’s definitely among my favourite Wakana solo songs so I can never get enough of it. Beautiful performance.

EC02 magic moment: A bit on the fence about it. We all know that I am not the biggest fan of the song’s structure, it starts really melodious with its symphonic grandeur but then it somehow become quite messy to my ears. I can’t explain it very well but there is just a lack of flow. However, that doesn’t mean that I cannot appreciate Wakana’s vocal prowess in it. Just thinking back to her performance during the “magic moment” live tour gives me goosebumps (although I obviously only ever experienced it on blu-ray). I would say that performance still remains her best one yet. This one wasn’t quite as epic but maybe that’s just because of the added studio magic in the blu-ray.

Fan Club Exclusive Part

Very happy to see that almost everyone had bought a special Christmas ticket. At the end of the main part of the concert, audience members were asked to leave the hall if they didn’t have a fan club ticket and only a handful of people actually left. Still surprised that they just trusted us to be honest about this. Typical Japanese mindset I guess. I mean, people could have just remained at their seats, no one would have checked their tickets again. However, I think they had most people with regular tickets seated in the back area so it was easier for staff members to figure out who was required to leave. At this point none of us knew what to expect but I had a feeling we would get a special encore. When Wakana and her musicians returned to the stage in their cute Christmas getup I was pleasantly surprised to realise that we would be getting a little talk corner. Mind you, it wasn’t anything super special, just some random small talk among them, they all basically just shared some Christmas anecdotes but hey, it was fun. I vaguely remember Wakana talking about trying to find the perfect colour for a new winter coat but she ended up with a boring grey one XD I had almost given up hope that they would perform another song when their talk just kept going on and on. It was already way past the scheduled time for the live to end so I thought we would run out of time. But then Wakana surprised us all by announcing that they still had a short performance in store for us. Until the very last moment I had hoped that I would get to hear “Ai no Hana” but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. As mentioned earlier, I wasn’t too thrilled about “Nagareboshi” but it was a fitting send-off. I believe everyone thought that this would be it but when we left the hall, we were all given a paper bag containing even more awesome goodies. Our Christmas present from Wakana was made up of a postcard with a handwritten message and signature as well as a pretty glass fitting perfectly into her series of previously released glasses. *weeee* All of this was definitely worth the extra money. If you ever wonder if it’s worth going for pricier tickets, here’s your answer: It absolutely is! You typically get a lot of bang for your buck so always go for the expensive option if you have the means. And I am actually so glad that the Christmas present didn’t turn out to be a fugly t-shirt, I am just not a t-shirt person.

After the Live

One of my Twitter followers had arranged a dinner/after-party with a bunch of fellow Kala-fans. While I am most definitely not very fond of large gatherings like this, it wasn’t too bad. We had some tables reserved at a Chinese restaurant nearby. In celebration of Wakana’s live, we wanted to eat a ton of gyoza and xiao long bao. It was delicious! Sadly I didn’t get to eat all that much because I left quite early (I mean, it felt late to me but who knows how long the others stayed). I was flying back to Vienna the following day so I wanted to get at least a few decent hours of sleep.

#kalafina #wakana #report #Wakana Classics 2022 ～Christmas Special～#wakana christmas special #long text post #I just cannot shut up #this took me a whole month #hope I didn't bore anyone to death

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bookgeekgrrl · 4 months

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My media this week (4-10 Feb 2024)

youtube

top 5 personal HO fave - he was he was super thrilled to be there, had a great time, lost his mind a little & flexed (literally). Incredible.

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 Throuple Honey (Brent Archer) - short, sweet & simple with lots of domestic details

🥰 "Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole" (Isabel J. Kim) - love a skillful response to the classic original story. I just kept saying 'wow. wow.'

😍😍😍 Reread the entirety of Rachel Reid's Game Changers series. I just love them all SO MUCH!!!! 😍😍😍

Game Changer (Game Changers #1) [Scott & Kip]

Merry Christmas Scott & Kip (Game Changers #1.5)

Heated Rivalry (Game Changers #2) [Shane & Ilya] {here's a really great review of this book, which is THEEEE GREATEST rivals-to-lovers story ever!}

My Dinner with Hayden: A Heated Rivalry Short Story (Game Changers #2.5)

Tough Guy (Game Changers #3) [Ryan & Fabian]

Common Goal (Game Changers #4) [Eric & Kyle]

Role Model (Game Changers #5) [Troy & Harris]

The Long Game (Game Changers #6) [Shane & Ilya, Part 2]

🥰 The Supersoldier's Amnesiac Groom (casspeach) - 48K, very canon divergent arranged marriage AU - reread for Stucky Book Club

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

A Word on Words | NPT: Starter Villain - John Scalzi

Hot Ones - Tony Hawk

Hot Ones - Sterling K. Brown

Hot Ones - Mark Ruffalo

Hot Ones - John Oliver

Hot Ones - Barry Keoghan

Hazbin Hotel - s1, e2

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Mall Madness" (s21, e5)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Can I Offer You a Nice Shrimp in This Trying Time?" (s16, e5)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Desert Island Discs - Graham Nash, musician

⭐ Up First - The Sunday Story: Tiny Desk, Big Stage

⭐ What Next: TBD - Streaming Is Cable Now

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Taquile Island

Short Wave - Wolves Are Thriving In The Radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

The Sporkful - Undercover Dining With NY Times Restaurant Critic Pete Wells

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang - The Top 10 Places We Would Love To Visit

Pop Culture Happy Hour - 2024 Grammys Recap

Vibe Check - Hey, Sis: featuring Audie Cornish

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Moynaq

Shedunnit - The Green Penguin

Vibe Check - Hell Has Flooded

⭐ It's Been a Minute - Sam Reich on revamping the game show - and Dropout's success as a small streamer

Ologies with Alie Ward - Theoretical & Creative Ecology (SCIENCE & ECOPOETRY) with Madhur Anand

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Welcome Home

Short Wave - After 20 Years, This Scientist Uncovered The Physics Behind The Spiral Pass

99% Invisible #569 - Between the Blocks

Switched on Pop - Brittany Howard's Chaos Theory (with Brittany Howard)

⭐ Song Exploder - Green Day "Basket Case"

The Assignment with Audie Cornish - Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce: Cultural Supernova

⭐ Throughline - The Scent of History

⭐ The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum

Alt.Latino - The greatest Boleros of all-time

The Sporkful - Deep Dish With Sohla And Ham: Tacos Al Pastor

Today, Explained - When one (airplane) door opens …

Dear Prudence - Is My Work Husband Keeping Me A Secret From His Wife? Help!

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Lisa Frankenstein And What's Making Us Happy

Endless Thread - Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars

⭐ Strong Songs - "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel

Today, Explained - Why Taylor left TikTok

Short Wave - Clownfish Might Be Counting Their Potential Enemies' Stripes

You're Dead to Me - Simón Bolívar

Consider This from NPR - What Makes A Football Movie Great?

It's Been a Minute - A Super Bowl in 'new Vegas'; plus, the inverted purity of the Stanley Cup

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Lena Waithe

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Putting the Awe in Audio

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

The Very Best Of Buddy Holly And The Crickets

My Mix #5 [Simon & Garfunkel, Carpenters, John Denver]

Presenting KISS

Presenting Black Sabbath

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purplesurveys · 1 month

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1847

1 - Who was the last person to knock on your door? Were they there to see you? I asked my mom to help wake me up this morning (in case I fail my alarm) since I had an early calltime for my event today. No, I wouldn't say she was there to see me per se.

2 - Have you left the house yet today? If not, do you have plans to leave the house later on? Yeah I was out since 8 AM. I was in Trinoma from 9 AM to 6 PM for an event, then I immediately drove to UP to see a wrestling show with Andi.

3 - What’s your favourite brand of chocolate? What type of chocolate bar from that brandis your favourite? I really like Reese's since it has peanut butter; my favorite is just the classic normal-sized cups.

4 - Have you ever met someone in person who you first met on the internet? Do you have plans to do that anytime soon? Yeah, I met with a fellow wrestling fan once to lend him my copy of Chris Jericho's Undisputed. I ended up not liking his personality and found him (and his friend, who he never mentioned he was bringing) quite rude, so I stopped talking to him shortly after that. Didn't even bother asking for my book back lol.

I used to feel guilty about leaving him hanging, and he even sent a handful of DMs asking what happened and apologizing for whatever he did, but then I just have to remember that he kind of sucked and I stop feeling bad.

5 - What was the last thing you used a blender for? I don't think I've ever used a blender. We've never even owned a blender.

6 - Have you ever got into an argument with a stranger on social media? Do you remember what it was about? I've been in a few. They've mostly been sociopolitical.

7 - When was the last time you cracked your joints? Is that something you do often? Can't remember, and no I don't do it a lot.

8 - What time is it right now? If you weren’t doing a survey, what else would you be doing right now? 10:43 PM. If I wasn't doing a survey rn I'd probably be on Rhythm Hive hahaha.

9 - If you had ten minutes to run around an empty supermarket and fill your trolley for free, what’s the first aisle you’d go for? My first thought was why would I need to get things if the grocery was empty? but ok it took me longer than I would like to admit to catch your drift haha.

Anyway I'd probably just get thrice the amount of things my mom would get on a usual run to help her out for a few weeks.

10 - Aside from Tumblr, what websites do you visit the most and why? Continued from Sunday evening. I have YouTube on pretty much as long as I'm awake. I like the background noise.

11 - Has COVID had any impact on your Christmas plans this year? What’s going to change or be different to normal? If you asked me this in like 2020 or 2021 I would have said yes. But it's been four years since the world's been on lockdown and everything's back to feeling as though we never had a pandemic.

12 - What’s your favourite flavour of cake? Are you any good at making that kind of cake? I don't really have a favorite flavor, more of a type – I like cheesecake and really it's the only kind of cake I have. No, I've never made one before and will always prefer buying it.

13 - Do you prefer sweet or sour candy? I don't really like candy, but I'll go with sweet.

14 - What colour is your favourite fruit? Is this a fruit you eat often? I don't like fruits either haha.

15 - Is your favourite restaurant an independent place or a chain? What is it that you love about it so much? It's a chain. Service is always great, the quality of the food is no different regardless which branch I go to, and they serve unlimited rice, cabbage, and miso soup so what's not to love? Hahaha.

16 - Are you genuinely a fan of Starbucks or do you think it’s all hype? No, I like Starbucks and go for it as much as possible when I'm looking for coffee.

17 - Do you own a Christmas jumper? What design/pattern does it have on it? Nope.

18 - What’s your favourite fit/style of jeans? High-waisted denim.

19 - What was the last non-essential item you spent money on? Iced coffee.

20 - Are you currently under any COVID-related restrictions where you live? Are people generally following the rules? We've come a long way folks...

21 - What did you last leave the room you’re in to do? If I understand this correctly, I went down to the living room for a few hours after work because that's what I usually do in the evening. I had dinner, walked and played with the dogs, and played a game on my phone.

22 - Have you ever read any self-help books? Did you find them useful? No.

23 - What’s your favourite programme on the Food Network (if you watch it)? If you don’t get that channel, what’s your favourite food/cookery show in general? I don't really watch cooking stuff anymore, even on YouTube. I used to though, a lot; Buzzfeed's Worth It used to be my favorite.

24 - Do you still watch cartoons? Every now and then when my sister and I get in the mood, sure.

25 - Who do you know with the most number of siblings? Would you ever want to live in a huge family? I knew two people from high school who came from a sibling set of 5. My grandpa and his siblings were, if I'm not mistaken, 7 in total. No, I'm fine with what our family size turned out to be.

26 - Are you a fan of garlic bread? I love garlic bread.

27 - Do you own any personalized clothing? What’s the reason for getting it? I don't think I do, no.

28 - Is anyone else in the same room as you right now? What is that person up to? It would just be me here.

29 - What colours are you wearing right now? Does your wardrobe contain a lot of those colours? White and grey. Sure!

30 - Do you like adding condiments to your food? If so, what are some of your favourites? Yes, I love condiments. Mayo, Japanese mayo, or sriracha.

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eldritchsurveys · 1 month

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1191.

Questions about random places A themed survey by Guia from scyphozoan

WHERE YOU LIVE: 1) What are the best and worst things about your neighborhood? >> The best thing is that there are multiple stores within walking distance, and the bus stops are plentiful. There are also at least 2 parks within walking distance, and a lot of people have gardens and sometimes fun lawn/porch decor. The worst thing is that it's an urban neighbourhood and therefore subject to urban noise levels.

2) If someone gave you an extra $5,000 for your house and only your house, how would you spend it? >> This confuses me for several reasons. I don't own this house, "extra" in addition to what, where am I going to live...

3) If someone outside of your town or city visits you for the first time, where would you take them out to? >> I think that would depend on what they're interested in, what they want to see and do. I would be a poor host if I just subjected them to stuff I like.

4) If you had to order a quick takeaway for dinner, where would you go to? >> Uhh... I don't know, really. I think that'd depend on how much money I have and what I was in the mood for. Takeaway isn't at all a frequent thing for me, I don't have a ready answer.

5) What’s a random fact about where you live? >> I don't know any random facts, I don't think. I must admit to not being terribly interested in this city.

THE LAST HOUSE YOU VISITED THAT WAS NOT YOUR OWN: 6) Whose house was it? >> Sparrow's parents' house.

7) Why did you visit and how long did you stay? >> It was Easter. About 4 hours.

8) What do you think about this person’s house? >> I have spent way more time inside it than I would ever want to. I don't have any real opinion about it as a location, I just am quite weary of it being a fixture in my life.

9) If you can take or copy something from their house, what would it be? >> I don't want a single thing from that house.

10) What about their house would make it difficult for you to live there if you had to? >> I did live there, and what really made it difficult was the fact that it wasn't a space I had any control in, and I had to live with people I don't even like. Also, the bedroom I occupied was in the basement and I'm not really the basement-dwelling type, I need sunlight in my room and shit.

THE LAST RESTAURANT YOU ATE AT: 11) What is the name of the restaurant, and what kind of cuisine do they serve? >> Uhhhh... was it King Pot? I think King Pot was the last restaurant I was at. They serve hot pot and Korean BBQ.

12) How did you first find out about this restaurant, and what triggered you to try it? >> I don't remember how I found out about it, and I tried it because I love Korean food and fortunately Sparrow's family agreed to take us there for Sparrow's birthday.

13) What did you order and how would you rate it? >> I can't possibly remember all the specific things I ordered, such is the nature of hot pot. I rate it pretty highly, it was delicious.

14) What do you like best about this place? What about it could be improved? >> I don't have any notes. It was just good.

15) Would you go back? If so, what would you order the next time you do? If not, where or what would have been a better option than going there? >> Sure, I'd go again.

THE LAST PLACE YOU VISITED THAT WAS MORE THAN 45 MINUTES AWAY FROM YOUR HOME: 16) Where did you go and what did you do there? >> Hmm... really testing the limits of my memory here. Uh... oh, it might have been Lansing. Went to Lansing on Christmas because Sparrow's family's Christmas dinner was being held at their sister's house.

17) How did you get to this place? How comfortable was the trip? >> Sparrow drove us. The trip was fine, it was like an hour and a half or something.

18) What about this area do you wish exists in or applies to where you live? >> They do have the superior Horrock's over there. Also they have this banger pizza place that I can't remember the name of but I think about constantly.

19) Do you know anyone who lives in this area? >> Yeah, the people we went to visit.

20) If you had to live in this area, what kind of housing arrangement would you choose? >> I don't want to live in Lansing. If I had to live anywhere in Michigan, I'd choose Detroit. Otherwise, send me south. Or west. Hell, east. Anywhere but north, I guess, lmao.

#surveys #survey #category survey

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youllallriseintheink · 3 months

Text

Intervened Intervention

Henry Emily's family grows worried about his maladaptive behaviour in the wake of Charlie's death and try to help him turn his life around. But William wants Henry right where he is and thinks he's best off there, too.

I hope you all enjoy this.

---

Henry was woken from his nocturnal sleep schedule by the ringing of the phone. The call was from a familiar number that Henry had not received a call from in years: that of his brother, George. Henry ignored it and shuffled back to bed. The call didn't surprise him considering the way he'd acted at a family get-together just a few days ago, an event he certainly didn't want to think about. It also didn't surprise him that he'd stopped calling him for a couple years before this. He'd isolated himself and avoided contact after Charlie's death, unwilling or unable to handle anything but the machines he understood so well. Even going to the get-together had been abnormal for him, and as it turned out, a mistake.

There was a call the next day. And on the third, there was a message left on the answering machine.

“Hey, Henry. This is George. Connor and I are coming over today. We need to talk to you, and this is the last day before we go home. We wanted to give you more notice, but you kept ignoring our calls. We’ll be there at 1:30."

Henry sighed and dragged himself out of bed. His digital clock, the only light in the room, read 10:30 in bright red numbers. Unfortunately, that meant that his chances of getting his house in order were slim to none.

After a shower, Henry’s first order of business was to clear away all the creepy robot and machinery parts from the floor and into the closets, leaving oily smears on the carpet and hardwood where they had been. He removed the sheets of wood from the windows and picked up the pizza boxes and beer bottles on the floor, moving fairly quickly on it considering that he would normally be asleep this time of day and for hours after.

After an over an hour's work, Henry collected a six-pack of beer from the fridge and collapsed onto his couch. The scent of oil, metal, alcohol and stale food was still in the air. Dust, grit, and smears of grease still covered the floors and counters, more than he could clean in- Henry checked the clock- he still had an hour. He didn’t have it in him to get up.

An hour later, there was a knock on the door. He got up and opened the door for his twin brothers. George was carrying a gift basket with Henry’s favourite candy from childhood in it.

“Come on in,” Henry said. He tried not the pay attention to George’s obvious disdain for the house’s state, or how Connor was watching the floor to make sure he didn’t step in any particularly oily areas as they walked to the living room. Once they got there, the brothers sat down on the couch, and George gestured for Henry to do the same. Awkwardly, Henry obeyed.

George sighed heavily. “We’re really worried about you, Henry. I know that Charlie dying was really hard on you, but it's been five years. We never see you anymore, and neither does your ex-wife or Sammy. You know, up until last year, Sammy was asking every time he saw me whether you’d be up to visiting soon. And this year he stopped. He gave up.”

Henry looked away and slugged down more beer.

“Will you listen?!” Connor snapped. “We're trying to help you!”

Henry ignored him. Henry did know about Sammy. Sammy’s ignoring of him is what had driven him to drink so heavily at the Christmas gathering in the first place. He still wondered whether Sammy simply hadn’t recognized him in his degraded state, or if he didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. He didn't want to think about it.

“We think it would be best for you move in with me in Colorado," Connor said firmly. “Staying here can’t possibly be doing you any good. Are you still working?"

"Yes. Same job as before, just from home now."

"We’ll get you set up to work doing something other than holing up at home making robots for the restaurant your daughter died right outside, get you into therapy, and whatever else you need. I’ll even keep booze out of the house if need be. But we don't want to see you like this.”

"No."

"Why?" George asked.

Henry thought about how to respond. It was hard to explain, but he was used to his life. Machines, numbing alcohol, and William were his comfort zone, and he felt so delicate that anything else might break him.

George touched his hand. “You know, it would be amazing to see you happy again. You get along so well with kids. I want my kids to be able to meet the person I knew.”

“I’ll do it,” Henry said quickly. His voice lacked conviction, but it seemed like his brothers were willing to take it.

“Great. I’ll get you a plane ticket. And I want you to send your two weeks’ notice now, right in front of me, alright? I don’t want these to be empty words.”

---

When William first received Henry's resignation letter, he was rather unnerved. What could have caused Henry to want this? He visited Henry’s house the next day. He knew that Henry would most likely be asleep at 11 AM, so it would probably give him a chance to look around for any clues of what had caused Henry’s sudden change of heart. If Henry was awake, he would say that he was here to pick up the Foxy bot that William had sent him to repair. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d come in uninvited for such reasons, and though the deadline he’d given Henry for it was tomorrow, Henry would very easily believe he’d mixed up the days. He’d both done so before and believed William lying about it before.

William used Henry’s spare key, which he’d known for years now was located under his mat, and opened the door.

The first thing that William noticed was that Henry’s house was remarkably tidy compared to usual. That was strange- it happened every now and then in the first couple years of Henry’s grief, but this had to be the first time it had happened in years.

With everything clear of its usual trash, it was very easy for William to find the one-way plane ticket to Colorado on the table. Henry’s brothers were from Colorado. So that was it. Henry’s brothers had given him an intervention. That meant that Henry might very well slip from his grasp, but William wasn't going to give him up that easily. He swiped the plane ticket and left. Henry could easily call the airport and ask for another one to be printed, but that relied on Henry noticing and remembering to, and having the conviction to go through a little extra inconvenience. It wasn't much, but thankfully it was only the beginning of what William could do to prevent this.

That evening, William gave Henry a call.

“Hey, buddy,” he started off. “I got your email. I was hoping I could come over and we could talk about it. Have a little send-off for our partnership.”

“I'd like that,” Henry said. “I want you to know that it’s nothing against you. I just need a change in scenery. That’s all.”

“Of course. You did good work for us. I’d be willing to be your reference if you want. Anyhow, does now work to come over?”

“Sure does.”

“I’ll be right there.”

William showed up with a six pack of beer and two bottles of Henry's favourite whisky in a bag by his side. Henry looked a little more perked up than usual when he greeted William at the door.

“Hey,” William said to Henry, flashing a sad smile.

“Hey,” Henry returned.

The two made their way into Henry’s living room.

“So. Ten years of building robots together. And they were good ones," Henry said, sitting down in a plush chair.

"And four years before that in college," William said, sitting nearby him on the couch. "Wow, we've really only been apart for a few years in our entire adulthood."

"Yeah."

"So... what changed?"

"Connor wants me to move in with him in Colorado and help me to get my life together. It's... well, I guess I can't live like this forever."

William nodded in understanding. “I thought you had a system that worked here. But if you're unhappy with how things are, I get it. I just hope you’ll be okay out there. I mean, you’ve barely left the house in years. This is a big jump. I guess I should be proud of you.”

“Thanks. I’m a little proud of me.”

“You should be. I mean, you’re going to have to get a job where you deal with people again. There won’t be any easing into it- you’ll have to deal with people and do well at it or you’ll get fired. And there won't be any more leeway if you mess the days up.”

Henry visibly tensed a little. William handed him a beer, which Henry opened and sipped heavily from. Then, William continued. “I remember how you were in college. I sure hope you haven’t become that person again over these years stuck in your house.”

Henry put the beer can back on the table and gripped it nervously. “I suppose I really do owe you for letting me work from home.”

“It was my pleasure as your friend. It’s a shame that you won’t be making any more of these animatronics that Charlie loved so much. Do you feel like you were doing it in her memory?"

"Yes," Henry admitted. William knew he would. He'd said as much before while drunk.

The two men spent the night drinking and reminiscing. William had already planted the seeds he could, so for the most part, it was a relaxed chat for him. Towards the end of their conversation, William assigned Henry to a heavier-than-usual workload for his last two weeks, and he insisted on leaving the rest of the whisky behind. Both would lower Henry's chances of ordering that new plane ticket.

A few days later, William was at home watching football when he received a call from a worried and intoxicated Henry Emily asking if he could still call William after he moved and if he would rehire him if need be.

"I don't know, Henry. I mean, I can't hold a position open for you while you get your mental health sorted out. And you could call, but I won't have the context of your problems like I do now. You'd be better off talking to your brothers. You've been keeping good touch with them, right? Connor is an understanding man."

The next question Henry asked was even juicier: whether Charlie would forgive him if he stopped making animatronics.

"I'm sure that if Charlie is still around, she loves every animatronic we make," William said, smirking as he laid back on the couch and thought of the puppet's reaction every time a new animatronic became possessed. "Why? Are you having second thoughts about leaving?"

There was a long pause. And then Henry said that he'd think about it.

"Alright, well, keep me posted. I can always cancel your resignation," William said before hanging up.

It was another week before William received a call from Henry asking to cancel his two weeks' notice. And a week after that, William found himself at Henry's doorstep, holding an animatronic head in need of repairs.

Henry opened the door for him. He seemed more glum than usual.

"Henry. Something wrong, buddy?"

"Sort of. I never told my brothers that I changed my mind. I don't know how I'm going to speak to them again, to be honest."

"Oh. Well, let's talk about it," William said, moving inside. Trash was beginning to pile in Henry's house again, including the now-empty bottles of whisky that William had gifted him.

They did talk about it. And most likely, it would be the last time Henry would ever mention his brothers. He'd go right back to where he'd been a month ago: a good worker, numbed with alcohol and with no need to think about his pains, let alone bother William with them. Really, he was doing Henry a favour. It's not like he had it in him to get his life together. William was giving him the best life he could have.

#five nights at freddy's #henry emily #william afton #my fanfiction

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