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howtofightwrite · 9 months

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Clothes Followup

Hi there. Professional sportswear outfitter and part-time athelete here just chiming in on how these choices are perfectly believable, in my humble opinion: #1 SHOES "sneakers" is a loose definition. but, if the character is wearing casual/lifestyle "sneakers" like jordan lows, vans, etc., these type of shoes are FLAT (not narrow running shoes). Flat soled sneakers are often preferred training shoes for mixed arts or lifting at the gym. You could wear boots, but you're sacrificing agility. As a female, I can say that a female character likely would not inflict such a handicap as BOOTS on herself. Feet are very resilient and resistant to pain and injury. Being able to move on your feet matters a lot more than protecting them does. PASS #2 PANTS. you are not punching someone's pants while boxing. and have you watched fight club? they mostly wear jeans. they're durable, wick moisture (although it feels unpleasant), and if they're fitted properly, they're not going to get in the way of your agility. Jeans are light armor if you're speaking in tabletop rpg terms. PASS #3 SHIRT. a good tshirt of a decent quality will wick moisture, will not be bulky or baggy, and will move with its wearer. tshirts are not expensive and are the best option outside a sleeveless top or topless for martial arts. Especially if you have boobs. Boxing in only a racerback sports bra is also viable, but a tshirt will provide light protection to the skin, which is a good idea in amateur boxing. If they're WEARING GLOVES, nobody is grappling anyone's shirt so there is no risk of clothes-grabbing violations happening there. If this ring is literally underground, it's probably cold. Clothes can be shed between matches, but it's often more important to be clothed appropriately so as to prevent both overheating and chills. Becoming chilled between fights is a greater danger to performance than getting sweaty is. PASS I also have questions as to the type of boxing gloves being used. Are they full padded gloves? Light knuckle pads? Do the boxers wear headgear? Mouthguards? What areas are allowed to be hit or is it a free-for-all? Maybe you think these details are mistakes, but I disagree. Half my job is punching boxes all day. Hot, sweaty, fully clothed, wearing comfortable shoes. Lots of moving around. If I am going to punch boxes (or faces) for hours, that's exactly how I'd dress. The rest of my job? Literally outfitting people with boxing equipment. Literally selling people clothing for athletics. I am also a footwear specialist. Thank you for taking the time to read this. :) -lilkittay

So, apologies in advance, lilkittay, but you're about to get dragged. This might come as a shock, but I actually have a copy of the novel Fight Club. I just found it wedged between a copy of Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson, and the Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. I'm not going to try to figure out what lead to that sorting peculiarity. The book is exceptionally good, and if you've never read it, it's an easy (if somewhat unpalatable) recommendation. Stick it up there with books like Native Son, or Ivan Denisovich, in that it covers some really ugly subject matter, but discusses a problem exceptionally well. And, in the 27 years since the novel was originally published, it has proved itself fairly prescient. It's not about the violence, it is an excellent discussion on the underlying psychology of toxic masculinity.

Now, the last time I mentioned Fight Club, someone immediately piped up with, “you've lost all credibility.” That's their problem, but I didn't actually define it, and it is a term that gets thrown around without being defined. Toxic masculinity refers specifically to an individual who cannot engage with their own emotions, particularly painful ones, in a healthy way, because they view those behaviors as effeminate. As a result, they respond aggressively and, or, violently. That's the toxic part. You get dumped. Your pet dies. You get passed over for a promotion at work. And, instead of dealing with that in a healthy way. In any healthy way. You go out into the world and try to make someone else suffer. That is toxic.

Unfortunately, Fight Club is not the grown up version of Calvin and Hobbes, though that is an amusing fan theory, and something that holds together better in the film thanks to Brad Pitt's costuming decisions.

I'm saying all of this to point out, the characters in Fight Club have no idea how to fight.

More than that, jeans are not light armor. Motorcycle leathers? Sure, those would be light armor. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're described as light armor in D20 modern. But, the only place I'd expect to see denim categorized as light armor is a game that used, “light armor,” for mage gear, “medium armor,” as rogue's leather and chain, and, “heavy armor,” as warrior gear. Which is to say, yeah, that's not how that works at all.

The problem with jeans as armor is, they're really bad at it. Someone with a crowbar? Yeah, jeans aren't going to do anything about that. Someone with an axe? I've heard about the aftermath, it was not pretty. Against a sword? Nope. Against a knife? Personal experience says the knife will win without issue. In an underground fighting arena against someone driving a shin kick into your knee? Yeah, your jeans may look fine after the fact, but you're probably not using that leg again anytime soon.

But, that RPG comment made something click together a little, so back to footwear for a second.

Why would someone wear boots? Now, personally, I wear motorcycle boots in my day to day life. Not because I'm a rider, but because I find them more comfortable and convenient than normal dress shoes, and so long as I keep them buffed out, they pass for men's dress shoes at a glance. The interesting thing about this is that my heel has a wide, flat, block of wood under it at all times. If it was a matter of life and death, I could probably grind off a significant chunk of my heel bringing a bike to a stop without suffering any injury. Now, I bring this up, because driving 200-300lbs of force behind a sharply edged wooden mallet into your unarmored instep will not improve your agility.

In the real world, armor doesn't work like D&D. There's no equivalent exchange between mobility and being able to soak a hit. (And if you think there's an irony in substituting a term from one RPG for another... well, yeah. You're not wrong.) If you think someone's going to stomp on your foot, bring steel toed boots. What you lose in agility today, you make up for in your ability to walk without a cane tomorrow.

The paradox of humans is that we are both stupidly resilient, and horrifically fragile, at the same time. Now, at this point, I do want to say something genuinely nice to you, even if it sounds a tiny bit condescending. You've never looked at another person as 150-250lbs of ambulatory meat and considered the best way to take them apart with your hands. And you know what? That is a good thing. Embrace that, and don't let go, because never finding yourself in that kind of a place is a credit to you, and the world you've been able to live in.

All of that said, fighting another human being is not a workout. It's engineering. You're looking at an organic machine with roughly the same parts and pieces you have, and your goal is to make that machine stop thrashing around, screaming, and leaking on everything, before it does the same to you. It's not better. It's not worse. It's different, and it comes with different considerations. You don't dress to look good or stay comfortable, you dress to avoid life altering injuries if at all possible.

Competitive fighting does land at a meeting point of these two considerations however. The fighter wants to come out intact, the sponsors want good show, one that will draw an audience. This leads to things like fighting in a sports bra. Yes, it may be the most, “agile,” option, but if you're going to be in a fist fight, a heavy leather jacket, preferably one with fiberglass plates may not breathe, but it will take far more abuse than your body can. (Actually, I think sometimes the inserts are made out of memory foam these days, which should also take a hit pretty effectively, especially against an unarmed foe.)

This isn't a major issue, but it is something to consider, when thinking about the temperature of the arena, it's important to remember that human body heat in a crowded space is somewhat cumulative. So, a room that starts out at around 60 degrees, could easily warm up to a comfortable temperature once the spectators are present. There's actually consistent math for calculating what you should set the thermostat for in an amphitheater when it's unoccupied so that the temperature is comfortable when the seats are filled, but I can't remember the numbers, and can't find it on short notice.

You do bring up a good point, the original Anon did not specify what kind of gloves were used. I assumed those were nominally regulation boxing gloves, but those could be something like the UFC gloves from a couple decades back, that left the fingers exposed while armoring the knuckles. The armor on those gloves allowed the wearer to inflict all kinds of horrific injuries on one's foes. In an event Michi is quite happy to recount, her younger brother almost lost an eye to a skull fracture from one of those during a poorly supervised sparring bout. It's fairly credible to suggest that an illegal fight club might use those simply to excite the crowds with actual bloodshed.

Now, as someone who has worked in shipping, I know full well that sometimes boxes do hit back. However, they are the exception rather than the rule. There's nothing wrong with practicing on punching bags, but boxes aren't trying to break you. At worst, they may just want to take a nap on the floor without regard to whether you're in the way or not. Live opponents? They're looking at you as however many pounds of meat machinery, and trying to end you. Looking good doesn't make their job harder, but armoring up does.

Anyway, like I said to the original Anon, nothing in their explanation was outright wrong. A lot of it was non-optimal, but not to such a degree as to shatter belief. The mistake you're making, and I really do say this with respect, is that you're looking at it like any other physical activity. As I said, combat is not a work out. Combat as a hazardous environment beyond the reach of OSHA. You wear protective gear (if you can) because that protection may be the difference between walking out alive and (basically) unharmed, or never walking again. You wouldn't (or at least, really shouldn't) take a bike out on the freeway at 60mph in jeans and a tees, you really don't want to get in a fight wearing them either.

-Starke

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#writing reference #writing advice #writing tips #starke answers #how to fight write #martial arts

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sarahreesbrennan · 3 months

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Erin go bragh! (Ireland forever.)

Behold, the special Irish edition of my book. I love how golden and fancy it is, like an opulent special treat just for me. (And others. While stocks last!) And it highlights the gilded wings of the queen’s bone throne. I think the gold colour also brings out the cracks in the title, which form in the story and everyone’s lives (distress the title more I coaxed my poor patient designer… now more… hey check out this Sex Pistols logo… Designer: hey shut up (not really, he would never, but he’d be justified).)

Note: it is a paperback, because my people hate hardcovers. I don’t know why, the Irish simply don’t buy them. Sarah J. Maas is super fancy bestselling and I just saw her latest House of Flame and Shadow in paperback on a fancy table in the airport, with the other fancy paperbacks. I buy hardcovers for my favourites myself! I like that they last. (The UK purple edition is what you want, currently, if you wish a hardcover.) But I’m so excited to have a fancy exclusive edition, in the format the Irish most prefer. There aren’t very many copies (exclusive!) so I’m nervously hoping it might sell out!

I’m also excited that it’s Irish. People often think I’m American - maybe because I have a weird accent (Liverpudlian plus Australian plus Scottish plus Irish leads people to go ‘American?’ and Americans to go ‘Canadian?’) or an American literary agent (I would never part with Suzie). I once saw someone ask why I make a fuss about being Irish American - the outrage! No offence Irish Americans, thank you for buying me drinks when I flash the passport in Boston, but I can’t have learned compulsory Irish from age five for nothing. They didn’t let you go to the bathroom without asking in Irish. Someone had an accident! (Not me, I work well under pressure, but not great.) Countries are made up, but I’m still proud of mine. I translated Catullus’s Latin poems into Irish, and the Irish poets in my life (Ireland teems with poets) were so pleased I was breaking away from my filthy prose lifestyle. Ireland doesn’t tax writers (or musicians, or any creators) if they make under a certain amount, which has saved me and some of my friends. As imaginary countries go, it’s a good one. So this feels like celebrating my country, and my country celebrating me, and believing in the book of my heart.

Should you wish fancy limited gold, pray preorder below! Kennys.ie might be the best bet for those outside Ireland. If I collected many colours like Pokémon, which one would you want to see next?

EDIT: The book is in English! So sorry to be confusing. As are Sarah J Maas’s Irish editions. Very few of our books are in Irish, though… perhaps one day… I’d love it, even though despite training from my youth, I’m actually a lot better at Latin.

#special edition #long live evil #house of flame and shadow #sarah rees brennan #sarah j maas #ireland

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callmeurbunny · 1 month

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so u wanna be an “it girl”?

do u wanna be a miumiu esoteric lana del rey lily rose depp angelcore my year of rest and relaxation rococo painting coquette 60s french girl dior east coast chanel sylvia plath it girl? the lifestyle may seem exclusive, allusive, unreachable even (i mean, that’s kinda a major facet of the aesthetic/lifestyle) yet there is hope! regardless of your age, race, gender, health status, socioeconomic status, size, you too can be the it girl of your dreams!!

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

clothing:

the simplistic vintage vibes of the style are actually rather easy to thrift! simple sweaters, skirts, etc. tend to go for super cheap (especially in colder/temperate climate regions)

i’ve gotten some of my best pieces via hand-me-downs. my tiffany and co bracelet that i wear daily was a hand-me-down :)

estate sales are another great avenue for true vintage pieces that are unlike any other

tights of all sorts are great accessories. most pharmacies and general stores in the us and mexico sell women’s tights for super cheap and in a variety of styles. i’ve also found many unopened pairs at thrift stores!

knee socks are a great alternative, altough some may find them too youthful for their personal style. definitely don’t knock ‘em til you try em tho!! this is perfect option for people w/ conditions that require compression socks

beauty products:

the makeup is super simplistic and often a little messy. u don’t need much more than some pharmacy mascara, lip gloss, and brow gel. personal fav for the brows is nyx brow glue!

you don’t need fancy chanel or guerlain perfume to smell like a doll. dollar stores & wholesale stores tend to actually have excellent body sprays/perfumes. a favorite of mine is cancan burlesque by paris hilton, found at 5below.

some perfumes offer body spray versions with the same scent, just a cheaper price. my favorite perfume (pink sugar by aquolina) retails for $18 at walmart, yet you can find the near identical body spray version for just $7!

media:

podcasts on spotify are free & have no ads! one i love is nymphet alumni

many books that are cult classics (ie. the bell jar, lolita, my year of rest and relaxation) can be found in free pdf form online

soundcloud, youtube, spotify, and bandcamp all offer free music (although they have ads)

you can find old dvds or even vhs tapes of older films at the thrift store and newer ones are often available on youtube. there’s always sketchy sites like soap2day but i don’t want anyone to get crazy malware!!

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princesssmars · 1 year

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in the darkened forest, i see you.

some stiles stilinski x witch reader headcanons

your whole life you knew you had a destiny to fulfill. its hard to juggle your magical heritage and your nosy best friends, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

wc: 1.328

contains : fluff. reader is a witch. mentions of some of season ones violence.

a/n : very self-indulgent and based on my very. very long and detailed teen wolf script. enjoy.

the name of your hometown always made you laugh inside your head. beacon hills, a sprawling town in northern california. by the title and looks you'd think the only things gravitating here would be families preparing for the future and seniors looking to settle down.

but there was so much hidden beneath the surface that almost every resident had no idea about.

when you were but seven years old you realized your family wasn't like other childrens.

where heathers dad worked in a home office, yours worked in a dingy but atmospheric antique shop selling various artifacts you've never seen before, ranging from "eye of newt" to "crushed cricket leg powder" to a bundle of weird-looking talismans.

where benjamins mom spoke english as her first language, you found out those funny words your mom would say when reading from her big book was her second language which was called latin. and how sometimes when she spoke it while cooking your food always came out tastier and you'd go to sleep feeling stronger than ever.

its on your 13th birthday when your parents sit you down and tell you the truth, how you've been born into a long line of witches from both your mother and father's side. how they can tell you've been curious as they were as kids, but they see something in you that pushed them to decide to let you in sooner to the lifestyle than other witchlings, who normally started learning before a witches becoming ceremony on their 16th.

"your magic can be a blessing and a curse," they said, sitting with you on the couch while your father showed you the family picturebook holding portraits of ancestors dating back hundreds of years. "but in our family, we've always put the greater good of witch kind before others. we protect our own and they protect us. you'll always have someone in your corner when things seem impossible. "

your parents were kidding, with you being introduced to some of the other witch kids in town. contrary to what you were thinking they were pretty popular, and welcomed you into their circle nearly immediately.

being popular means meeting many types of people though, and that's what led you to meet the one and only stiles stilinski.

he was a bit nerdy, and definitely less popular than you were but that didnt really matter. your first conversation was in english class freshman year, when you asked him for a pencil and he accidentally gave out four at once. you laughed at him and he told you that you had the prettiest smile he'd ever seen, and that since smiling made people live longer he hoped you live to be 110. it was weird but cute.

since that day you'd been friends, hanging out with stiles and scott often. you'd even show up to cheer at their lacrosse games even if they sucked. you tried giving them small luck charms before games which luckily seemed to work.

even if you found yourself growing close to them, you still kept the knowledge of your heritage close to your chest. even if stiles, being the mini detective he was, seemed to nearly figure it out multiple times.

but it's during the latter end of your sophomore year when things take a turn. stiles shows up to your house in the dead of night asking you to come with him to get some snacks and chill. figuring you had nothing else to do, you agreed and decided to walk the short trek with him to scott's house.

what he didnt tell you was that the three of you were going into the woods to find half of a damn dead body, the boys ignoring your complaints from behind them as they searched the forest floor. sure you could've gone home, but it'd be a lie to say you weren't just a bit interested yourself. and scared they'd get themselves killed.

the funs cut short when you and stiles are caught by his dad, who on the drive home awkwardly insinuates that he thought you two had snuck away to fool around in the woods, making the both of you loudly deny it. but after you get dropped off at home you start thinking if it'd be the worst thing in the world to date the stilnksi boy.

the next few weeks are chaos, with you finding out that not only are werewolves back in beacon hills but the newest addition is scott himself. you try to give him as much help as you can without seeming too suspicious.

but it's one afternoon when stiles comes up to you acting the calmest you've ever seen him and tells you he's taking you out for burgers, his treat. you agree because one free burgers and two alone time with your...best friend stiles. win-win situation, right?

wrong, because as soon as you're settled in the passenger seat and ready to eat a burger after the crappy school lunch, stiles turns in his seat and asks "are you supernatural too?"

you looked at him and knew you couldn't lie to his face, the truth spilling from your mouth faster than you could comprehend. he seemed more excited to hear about you being a witch than you did when you found out you were one.

you swear him and scott to secrecy, telling him it's already dangerous enough that they know. your secret is safe with them but god are they annoying about it.

what spells can you do? do you have a cauldron? do you have any family members who died in salem? could you put a curse on jackson? not a super serious one just so he...ok nevermind.

as irritating as it could be, you knew that they meant well.

sometimes when you're in your room studying your grimoire, stiles will ask you to translate the little latin notes on the sides to him. when you start to get annoyed you'll explain one to him and tell him that whatever you just said is a curse and because he asked you to say it its now on him. his face is priceless every time.

the day of your becoming ceremony is pure chaos to put it simply. your parents wake you up and give you your favorite breakfast foods which is always nice. the stiles picks you up from school while he and scott are acting completely suspicious about a surprise they have for you.

you find out what it is when you get to school and see a giant banner at the front of the school that reads "happy birthday y/n!". it's almost enough to make you cry.

once the school day is over you have to head home for the ceremony, but not before your best friends beg you to tag along, not knowing that you haven't exactly told your parents that you told them your secret.

its safe to say they were pissed off when you got home, but we're more understanding (and slightly shocked and scared) when you told them that scott was a werewolf. but the more supernatural the better!

the ceremony goes off without a problem, and by the end you already feel stronger. the new power surging through your veins gives you a boost of confidence.

you drive with stiles as he drops scott off, before he takes you up to your favorite spot overlooking the city. its one of your favorite ways to end a night, looking out at your home and talking to your favorite person in the world. with your newfound confidence, you admire stiles as he rants about something before grabbing his face and bringing him in for a kiss.

you pull away after a few seconds, looking at his dazed face to see if he reciprocates your feelings or not. when he gives you that signature dopy smile of his and kisses you, its more magical than you could've hoped for.

#stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles stilinski fluff #stiles stilinski #scott mcall #teen wolf x reader #teen wolf #stiles stilinski x witch reader #witch reader

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vivaciousofficiall · 20 days

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Move In Silence & Protect Yourself From Monitoring Spirits.

Hello ladies, welcome to Vivacious Official.

Today we’ll be discussing how to move in silence & protecting yourself from harmful spirits.

As a woman on a spiritual or self development journey, you have probably encountered "monitoring spirits". This is due to the fact that you are a woman with a purpose & not everyone is happy about that.

What is a monitoring spirit?

In simple definition, a monitoring spirit is someone that is hyper fixated on you with the intent of causing harm. This being is triggered by your existence. This is often fueled by feelings of insecurity, envy & inferiority.

The truth is if you are of woman of faith then remember you’re divinely protected.

As God said "no weapon formed against thee shall prosper"

In addition to God’s protection you can always protect yourself too.

Signs of a monitoring spirit.

1. They study you closely. (Mannerisms, Style, Relationships, etc)

2. They seem to want to know everything about you even though you can sense their distaste for you.

3. Smear campaigns : They go around slandering your name. (Especially to the people closest to you)

4. They are extremely competitive with you.

5. They put doubt & fear in your mind ( especially after sharing a personal goal)

Why should you move in silence ?

1. Self Validation

As I grow further in my journey, the need to show my personal life decreases. This is because I don’t need external validation. That is a sign of growth.

This is how you must see your life. You are sacred and you have a purpose. You don’t need to prove to anyone what God has already qualified you for.

If you feel the need to post every single thing on social media or telling random people, that is sign of needing validation from others.

2. Protection

When you post "good news" the people that are truly gonna be happy for you are those that have a similar mindset to you. (ie. positive people) As sad as it is, the population is filled with negative people that are stuck in scarcity mode. They see your success as a personal attack. They don’t believe there is space for both of you to win in your respective fields. Your win is then seen as their loss.

How to deal with a monitoring spirit

If you don’t have to be around this person then my best advice is to quietly let them go. There’s no need to confront these types of people because they will never admit to being envious. Choose yourself. You deserve a life filled with people that love you.

If you HAVE to be around this person ( boss, colleague, family member, etc) then I have some temporary advice for you.

Note : this advice isn’t a permanent solution, the permanent solution is low/nocontact. This is a temporary solution as you are getting ready to go no contact. (eg: while you are looking for another job, while you’re trying to move out of your family house, while you’re in school etc)

1. Grey Rock : Become as boring as a grey rock. Don’t share anything with this person. Let them think you have nothing interesting going on. Save your interesting stories for the people that mean well.

2: Be Evasive : Look up celebrity interviews. When asked an intrusive question they are able to answer it without actually answering the question. Learn to say something while saying nothing at the same time.

3. Sell a story : Instead of talking about your personal life, talk about the most irrelevant things but make it sound interesting. You could exit a whole gathering and all they would know is how you’re getting a new couch.

Stay Safe Ladies!

Xoxo, Vivacious

Subscribe To My Youtube Channel For More Detailed Advice

To Book An Inner Work Clarity Reading With Me!

#divine feminine #spirituality #chosen one #femininity #high value woman #feminine journey #lightworker #selflove #inner work #innerunion #healing

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ourdreamsareneon · 1 month

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it's crazy the level of discourse there is about antis/pros and how teenagers just devolve into purity culture so quick. I'm sure I used to be like that, but somewhere between dating gang members and reading copious amounts of philosophy the world became a lot more gray to me when I entered my twenties and I've realised three things that I think are important for teenagers to know:

To quote my favourite childhood book series: "People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict." Sure, going to car meets, selling drugs, drunk driving, stealing cars, playing chicken with cops are all examples of bad things that you shouldn't do but am I going to sit in my lovers bed and tell him that this life he was born into that saw all his friends die in drive bys and that saw his own dad pull a gun on him when he was a kid makes him a shitty person? Even though I can see all of the good in him, and can tell he doesn't want to do this, I should ignore it and focus on the negatitives? We have all done bad things, we all do bad things, and we all will do bad things. It doesn't make you a bad person.

Purity culture hurts everyone. There's a great book about this called the History of Sexuality that delves into how purity culture and the censorship of sex is at its essence the capitalist authority controlling the means of reproduction. At large scale 'pray the gay away' and 'contraception is a sin' make it so that men and women couple up more (instead of same sex coupling) and have unprotected sex. On a smaller scale 'AO3 is evil because it has pedos' and 'watersports is the grossest thing ever' do the job of the capitalist authority on a more digestible level. Us vs Them no longer is 'alt right vs communism' they use your words to make it 'pure good hobest people vs pedos who like piss play.' you are making bullets for your enemy and handing them your own damn gun. I promised I wouldn't make this whole post this one point tee hee sorry if you want me to elaborate just ask lol

Fetish ≠ real world experience. I'll build my own pyre as an example: I love me some good CNC (consensual non-consent) in my fanfics but in real life sex I have a praise kink so bad I have cried during sex multiple times. I am into tooth rotting sweet stuff and the kindest people in the world in real life. The media you consume 1000% has an effect on you, I'm not arguing that. I am however arguing that if you have media literacy and know what media is and is not harmful to you, it shouldn't effect your real life drastically unless you have other shit going on. I know this is rich coming from the "I have dated people in gangs" guy because that may show what kinda guy I'm into but prommy that's not a sexual attraction thing, it's 100% a lifestyle thing that again I will elaborate on if you want. Point being, porn ≠ reality and what gets that blood flowing isn't necessarily a reflection of how good or bad you are (ofc there are kinds of porn that are bad but that's beside the point and a very complicated thing for me to type while I'm this sleepy)

thank you for coming to my ted talk. pls I am begging on my knees for people to stop having black and white world views but i also know that's just a product of being a teen so if you are a teen pls! go out there and! consume media from different cultures and people with different lives to you! the world is at its best when it is wide!!! and full of love <3

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bookswagon-india · 2 years

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Keeping yourself motivated and healthy in order to improve your well-being is one of the most important things one can do.

And guess what, according to a study just 6 minutes spent with a book each day is said to reduce stress level by 68% while the non-readers are more likely to report depression.

Hence Healthy Lifestyle books are a must add in your routine.

It's rightly said health is not just about what we eat. It is also about what we think, say and do.

Our mental health forms a very important part of our wellbeing, psychological health and emotional health.

#Lifestyle Books #Lifestyle Book #Best Lifestyle Books #Lifestyle Books Online #Best selling lifestyle books

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rarepears · 1 year

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"go ask your mom"

But instead

"go ask your martial uncle/aunt"

Whenever they dont know the answer.

But they do it TO EVERYONE.

"Liu-Shizun, how do i do this?"

"... GO ASK SHANG QINGHUA!"

"Qi-Shizun, where do i put this?"

"go ask Mu Qingfan."

If Cang Qiong was more of a family (and less concerned about outward appearances/ rumors popping up about their incompetence and other negative portrayals), then this would be hilarious.

Especially when it comes to Shen Qingqiu.

For once, all the disciples, even when their shizun tells them to direct their question to the Qing Jing peak lord instead, are too scared to actually ask Shen Qingqiu. They know that the peak lord will bite their head off, assign them punishments, and more as the rumors say.

But! But! But!

They have no choice! If they don't go to ask Shen Qingqiu, they won't be able to complete their mission or assignment and then they would be even more screwed! So they go asking their fellow peers for tips on how to approach the Qing Jing peak lord and so forth.

The disciples, like all teenagers and kids, are quick to pick up things. Like the fact that Shen Qingqiu will scowl and scold, but he's softer towards the female disciples and will answer the questions thoroughly. It's best to ask him questions after his tea break, especially when he's eating something sweet. Never approach the man if Yue Qingyuan was spotted on the peak the same day.

(A little black market forms. The female disciples make good money by asking questions on behalf of their male fellow students. Older disciples sell information about when and how to ask questions towards Shen Qingqiu. One smart An Ding peak compiles a "FAQs" book of questions that Shen Qingqiu frequently gets from disciples; it can be borrowed by the hour.)

Something else that the disciples notice? The way that Shen Qingqiu's punishments are actually no more harsh than their own shizun's regular punishments. They notice how Shen Qingqiu's favoritism towards girls is nothing more than a overprotective paternal affection - and some misbehaving disciples who snuck into town even reported of how the peak lord's visits to the brothel always resulted in the whole place being shut down.

(The male disciples all applaud the Qing Jing peak lord's... uh... manliness. But only in private! Still, they theorize Shen Qingqiu's ability to please women and then some decide to mimic the peak lord's lifestyle to see if it would help them out with the ladies too...)

#made up fic title ask game #svsss #scumbag villain #scum villian self saving system #scum villain #shen qingqiu #cang qiong mountain sect #pidw #scumbag self saving system #observant cang qiong disciples realize somethings about their Shen shibo AU

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hccn-overseer · 6 months

Text

Issue 32, 12/06/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

News from the Shopping District

By Mateo

There has been a lot of activity in the Shopping District as of late, with shops getting busier likely due to the time of year, so I’ve decided to make a little recap of the past few weeks!

Several newer citizens have been taking the time to tour around the shopping district to explore and meet potential friends, and many citizens are seeing familiar faces in nearby shops. There are people that may or may not be going on dates, and others learning that they have more freedom to be who they are and enjoy life more, and yet more who are just visiting their shopkeeper friends.

Our own Roo has been venturing around, meeting new people and making friends, and we are all very proud because socialization is difficult.

Open Mic Night at Get Vexed Diner, run by citizen Atelo, is always an amazing option if you want to sing to your favorite song without getting judged. Citizen Stitches, a plushie shop, is temporarily closed so that co-owner Jax can have a day off. Nox, of Nox’s Flowers (and Sculk Clearing), could probably use some positivity in these trying times.

There are several shops open dedicated to clothing, a few bookshops with mysterious owners, places where art drives the entire shop, several bakeries, and the well known Overseer Headquarters, among others like the pirate ship off in the distance that sells various treasures and trinkets.

There are so many talented shopkeepers that if we were to name all of them, the list would be longer than the wait for someone to get home so you can see their response to your latest message.

Not everything is fun and games, however. A shop has had to close down in the past few weeks due to a shift in management and repairing damage done to various parts of it. The Pharmacy™, formerly run by citizen Ender, has been taken over by citizens Avid and Cordelia (a new addition to the server) because of an incident last week involving sculk catalysts, a frying pan, several unsuspecting bystanders, and a mooshroom island. The two have been giving their best efforts to de-sculkify the shop and fix it up so it can get up and running again, but it is a slow process.

Other places have been affected by sculk spread, with several shops, including The Pharmacy™ and Nox’s Flowers (and Sculk Clearing), being visited by a citizen by the name of Mos, who is having a midlife crisis at the ripe old age of seventeen, but that is about par for the course of the Hermitcitizen Lifestyle™. If anyone sees them, just be careful.

I also write bearing a suggestion from Raidne of Raidne’s: Tailoring and Outfits for All Occasions and a newcomer, a skeleton named Roman with a pretty cool cape and active hatred of the sun. Please consider, if you haven’t already, that there are a lot of people on the server who can’t be out during the day due to the lack of shade and being partially or fully mob. If you can, if you have a shop, it might be a nice idea to have covered walkways in the shopping district so that people who are hurt by the sun can still come around and say hello.

Now onto other news below the cut!

Affiliate Summaries

By Mateo

Mumbo: Send help they're making the Josh Hutcherson whistle edit with irl Mumbo and it's scary, and also they're luring British people with tea— OH GREAT HEAVENS

Pearl: Soup (in the soup bowl)! And Wet Cat Wednesday!

Scar: The Scarland art book has been released and affiliates are celebrating! Go check it out— it's full of very talented artists.

Grian: A chandelier with birds on it. Don't ask, it's just majestic.

Joe Hills: Joe Hills (Joevember has ended).

Anyways that's all that news! See y'all next week!

Weekly Weather Report

by: Mateo

These are in Celsius! Apologies, fellow Americans!

Wednesday: Temperatures will reach highs of -1° and lows of -12°. Light snow is expected with little wind.

Thursday: Temperatures will reach highs of 0° and lows of -9°. Skies will be cloudy with wind speed of 20 miles per hour

Friday: Temperatures will reach highs of -3° and lows of -11°. Expected flurries and wind speeds of up to 30 miles an hour.

Saturday: Temperatures will reach highs of 2° and lows of -4°. Skies will be partially cloudy with little wind, but about a 50% chance for light rain later in the day.

Sunday: Temperatures will reach highs of -1° and lows of -8°. Expected thunderstorms early in the day but clearing up in the afternoon. Wind speeds from 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Monday: Temperatures will reach highs of 0° and lows of -7°. Skies will be clear with little to no wind.

Tuesday: Temperatures will reach highs of -4° and lows of -12°. Skies will be clear with higher wind speeds of 15 miles per hour.

Wednesday: Temperatures will reach highs of 3° and lows of -10°. Skies will be cloudy with wind speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, with chances of snow later in the evening.

Scarland Volcano ready for action!

By Azurecake16

Following the recent opening of Scarland, work has begun on the park's next area, Adventureland! Alongside stunning gardens, and Ellie the Elephant, this area will feature the long awaited Volcano of Scarland! Made using almost 50 000 blocks, this attraction towers over even the main castle, and is surrounded by seemingly charred forests, and is buried deep in the jungle! Wander through Adventureland to see it for yourself, it’s impossible to miss!

With many rides, plenty more secrets to come and more areas being built up, we here at the Overseer can’t wait to see where Scarland will take us next!

ADVERTISEMENTS

By Jamie

—————————————————

Greetings to all citizens! As you all very well know, Scarland is one of the fastest growing places of fun on the server, with dozens of our friends and fellow hermits working there! This past week the official Scarland Art Book was published and is open for FREE download. Please go check it out at the link!

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To all Garden members : This Friday there shall be a meeting in the sculk bolder amongst Dwayne (Grian's Base). Please bring a mandatory daisy for entry, as well as any other florals you deem fit. Do not be late. —————————————————

CALLING ALL AVIANS! There shall be a council meeting held at the treehouse in two weeks time to discuss the possibility of a flying (elytra) course! If you have any ideas on the theme or how the trials should be set up please be prepared to present them on the 20th.

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Fun and Games

This week's fun and games are brought to you by Azure and Rookie!

Brain Teasers by Azure

Coloring page by Rookie

And that's all for this week folks! Big thank you to our new writers and contributors and thank you to you all for reading!

#hermitcitizen #issue #hccn affilate happenings #hccn weather #hccn advertisements #hccn fun and games

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addturnip · 5 months

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You know the type. They hate people who come up with excuses like happiness. Live a life of hustling “all the time.” They have a Lamborghini and live in an expensive house (usually rented offscreen). They’re fit and have a strict diet and exercise regimen. Most of them are men. And they all tell you their lifestyle is easy. So easy that you feel stupid for not having become like them sooner. Their ads are aimed at younger men between the ages of 22 to 35 who are making less than 50,000 USD$ annually, probably lonely, broke, and single and basically miserable with their lives. He was selling various courses that day, and to this day he still does. It’s all the same kind of story that you see time and time again.

They make their millions through common revenue streams before offering courses and charging hundreds or thousands of dollars for them.

They say the real virtue is “passive income,” though the only thing that’s truly passive is your money leaving your bank account and into the pockets of someone who looks like a multi-millionaire but actually isn’t.

As we’re looking down the barrel of a recession, more wage gaps, and financial disparity and injustice in the world, these kinds of individuals appeal to many. It's unsettling to see the culture stay the same, before it was pickup culture, now it's jumping on the AI bandwagon.

Some involve using ChatGPT to generate custom workouts or meal plans or suggest selling chatbot-generated tutorials on education sites like Udemy. One strategy involves using ChatGPT to answer popular questions on Q&A sites like reddit (e.g., “how to lose weight”), then stuffing your profile with affiliate links. Others draw on additional AI tools. Why not use ChatGPT to write a children’s book, for example, illustrate it using an AI art generator, then sell the result on Amazon’s self publishing platform?

There’s an old quote in my family "I asked a murderer what the best thing to make a noose out of was, he told me it was hope." they don't make money *WITH* their advice, but by selling it. These people who are on instagram flaunting their “wealth” are simply trying to sell you. True work that’s sustainable takes lots of time, especially in business. It takes years, not weeks or months. When was the last time we saw fully functional capitalism?

#natural beuty #beautiful #beauty #side hustle #hustle culture #late stage capitalism #capitalism #socialism #communism #anarchism #marxism #marxism leninism #history #academic writing #lenin #karl marx #grand canyon #walmart

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fics-by-em · 11 months

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Amorous Facades - Chapter Eight

A wild night out leaves the lives of Jamie Tartt and Ophelia Adams more intertwined than they ever would have imagined.

Will their decision to try and use the situation to their advantage work out in their favour or will they realize that they should have cut their losses when they had the chance?

———-

previous chapter

———-

Note: All the comments on the last chapter had me feeling super motivated so this chapter came together a lot faster than normal and I thought I'd post it a couple of days early as a thank you for all the support! It really means so much to hear that people are enjoying the story, I love reading all your thoughts!

———-

Lia was truly gripped by fear that she’d ruined everything after the private kiss she’d shared with Jamie and the rejection that had followed - however reluctant her refusal may have been.

She knew Jamie well enough to know that he wasn’t used to being turned down and she’d assumed that he probably wouldn’t take very kindly to it, but it seemed his acting skills extended beyond just being a pretend boyfriend because by the time she’d followed him downstairs, there was no hint of obvious upset. For days, she waited with baited breath for his indignance to rear its head. For a petty comment, a cruel jab, any sign of retaliation. But nothing ever came.

And that led Lia to the only possible conclusion: she’d been right about Jamie’s intentions.

He wanted to forget. He wanted a distraction. He wanted the comfort of being wanted. He wanted the pride of impressing her with his skills and the reminder that he was talented despite the blow his ego had taken. But he didn’t want her. She would have just been a warm womanly body that he’d chosen because their agreement prevented him from going out to find someone more suited to his tastes and lifestyle.

He wasn’t bothered by her rejection because he wasn’t particularly bothered about her and the sting of that realization was bad enough to have her feeling grateful for the decision that she’d made to stop things going any further. She was in way too deep and clearly more invested than Jamie and she needed to start being a little more guarded if she wanted to get out of their mess unscathed.

She always wore her heart on her sleeve though and it was a constant struggle for her to keep her feelings hidden away. It was easier if she spent less time with Jamie so she found herself choosing to work late more often than not in an attempt to limit their time together. It hurt her to do so even if she felt it was for the best, but it only took him a few days to seemingly catch onto her plan.

“Ophelia!” Her dad called as he swung open the door of the office where she was sorting out the books that customers had placed a special order for. “There is a handsome, rich man here to see you!”

“There is? Who?”

“Well, that’s an interesting question,” her dad mused with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. “Do you have a lot of wealthy men pursuing you at the moment?”

“I hope not,” a familiar voice chimed in as Jamie poked his head around the door frame. “Not sure I wanna have any competition, babe.”

For a moment, Lia was a little surprised by his use of the pet name, but she quickly clued in that it was probably for her father’s benefit and flashed him a smile.

“Oh, hi, Jamie,” she greeted him. “No competition, I promise. Why would I need anyone else when I have you?”

“Wow,” her dad scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “That was impressively cheesy. We should get you writing romance novels instead of just selling them.”

“It’s easy to be cheesy when you’re in love.”

Jamie looked a little stunned by such a claim, but he managed to recover and shoot her a wink as her dad shook his head and turned back towards the door.

“Well, I’ll leave you lovebirds to it, just remember that those orders need to be sorted before you leave tonight,” he reminded her before looking back over his shoulder to flash Jamie a stern look. “And there are cameras in here so don’t get any wild ideas.”

“Dad!” Lia protested, feeling her cheeks heat up as he chuckled and hurried out the door. “Sorry about him, he just likes to stir the pot.”

“I noticed that. He gave me a bit of a hard time when I walked in, wanted to make sure I was taking good care of you and all that. And he made me agree to having dinner with him on Sunday so I guess we’ll be doing that.”

“Of course he did,” Lia rolled her eyes. “But whatever threats he made, I promise you he can’t follow through. He’s incredibly non-confrontational and I doubt he’s ever thrown a punch in his life.”

“It’s nice that he’s protective over you though, but I do have one question,” he paused and waited for Lia to look up from the pile of books in front of her before he asked, “Who the fuck is Ophelia?”

“I am,” Lia informed him, surprised by his confusion. “Ophe-lia. I just always go by Lia.”

“Fuckin’ hell, I don’t even know my wife’s name,” Jamie groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Didn’t I? I guess I just assumed I told you the night we met,” she shrugged. “But even my dad rarely calls me Ophelia so it’s not a huge issue.”

“Isn’t it from that old book?”

His description of such a classic piece of literature had a laugh slipping from her lips as she nodded her head.

“Hamlet? Yeah, it is. But Ophelia’s the one who goes mad and kills herself after her dad dies so I always thought it was an odd choice. My dad swears they picked the name before I was born, but I think he went rogue after my mum died because he’s a huge Shakespere dork.”

“It’s pretty, it suits you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I could have ended up as Rosencrantz or Guildenstern so I don’t think it’s too bad as far as names from Hamlet goes.”

“Rosencrantz,” Jamie scoffed out a laugh. “Fuckin’ hell, that would have been tragic.”

Despite their easy conversation, there was an air of distractedness around Jamie that seemed more noticeable with every passing minute. His hand drifted down to fiddle with a pen resting on the desk while his other picked at a loose thread on the bag strapped across his chest and Lia suddenly realized how strange it was for him to track her down at work.

“It would have been,” she agreed before broaching the subject. “But what brings you to our humble little bookshop this evening, Mr. Tartt?”

“I need your help,” he admitted. “I need a suit.”

“You don’t already have one?”

“Apparently not one that’s appropriate for a funeral…”

“Oh,” Lia frowned. “You’re going to a funeral?”

“Yeah, well, we are, if you don’t mind coming. The whole team will be there - including Keeley - so I think it would be good for you to come too. You know, to keep up appearances.”

“Of course, I’ll come with you,” Lia assured him, but there was a knot in her stomach as she asked, “Whose funeral is it?”

“Rebecca’s dad. We’re all going to support her, but I need help finding something to wear. Thought you might know, you know, with your experience.”

“My experience?” Lia raised an eyebrow until she realized what he meant. “Oh, you mean from when my mom died? I was literally a week old - if that - for her funeral so I have no memory of it at all, but I’m sure we can figure it out together.”

“Great, thanks, that would be great.”

His voice was soft and he seemed to be struggling to make eye contact, two very out of character things for Jamie that had Lia’s concern growing.

“Jamie, are you okay?”

Her gentle question caught his attention as he lifted his head to look at her.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” he assured her. “It’s just weird, isn’t it? The whole death thing.”

“It is, it’s kinda scary to think about,” she agreed. “Did you know Rebecca’s dad well?”

“Didn’t know him at all really,” he admitted. “I think I met him once at a match, but I’m not even sure about that. It just got me thinking, hearing everyone talking about the funeral.”

“That’s understandable. It’s a hard thing to process, but it’s part of being human. It’s what makes it so important to appreciate the time you have because you never know when it will be over.”

Jamie took a moment to think over what she’d said before slowly nodding his head.

“I guess you’re right,” he accepted her answer. “So, you’ll help me find a suit?”

“Sure,” Lia nodded. “We can go tomorrow before you have training if you’d like to.”

“Yeah, that would be great,” Jamie agreed before changing the subject. “So, what’s all this you’re doing?”

“Sorting out the custom orders,” Lia explained. “When people ask us specifically to order something that we didn’t have in stock. I’m almost done though, if you wanna help then maybe we could get some dinner after?”

It was counterproductive to her plan of creating some distance between them, but it seemed like whatever existential dread was plaguing Jamie had him in need of a friend as he flashed her a warm smile and eagerly agreed to her offer and Lia was powerless to resist the temptation of helping him through it.

——

The damage of Lia’s resistance to Jamie’s seduction became more obvious in the days leading up to the funeral. As something was clearly weighing on his mind, she’d expected him to turn to her - especially after they’d crawled into bed together - for the comfort that they’d so readily given each other in the past, but he made sure to keep his distance as if there was a physical wall between them. She couldn’t blame him after she’d laid down her boundaries and then avoided him, but she found it hard not to coax him into opening up to her.

She was starting to think that her plan to keep her feelings out of the situation was only making things more complicated.

And attending the funeral together only seemed to make things worse.

The moment they arrived at Richmond to meet the rest of the team, Jamie slipped back into his role as doting boyfriend. They had some time to socialize while they waited for the bus, but Jamie stayed by Lia’s side for every moment. At first, she was just grateful for the support - they’d been welcoming every time she met them, but being alone in a group of people she didn’t really know was always something that gave Lia anxiety - but as the time progressed, she found the edge of protectiveness in the gesture to be stirring up other feelings.

The way his hand never left her waist as she commiserated with Dani about the pain of their formal footwear. How he draped his arm around her shoulder as she asked Coach Beard about the novel on his desk. The nuzzle of his nose into her hair as she was asked to play mediator in a fierce debate about what happens when you die between Colin and Isaac. She knew that despite any past animosity, no one on the team would be disrespectful enough to make any kind of pass at her while she was with Jamie and she knew that he knew that too, but his need to make it clear at all times exactly who she was there with sent a tingle down her spine.

She was used to being independent and prided herself on that fact, but there was something about being so wanted - so openly claimed - that she was finding very irresistible.

By the time they arrived at the funeral and she managed to escape with Keeley, she was beginning to wonder how she’d ever had the willpower to turn Jamie down as she cursed him for being such a damn good actor. But as Lia was quickly finding to be a common occurrence, Keeley Jones was a perfect distraction. She’d led her to a separate area of the church where Rebecca was hiding out in search of a bit of peace, but it didn’t take long for her quiet moment of solace to be destroyed as Keeley had them howling with laughter as she regaled them with stories from her times attending church when she was younger.

But the distraction was somewhat short lived when Rebecca’s friend - Sassy - snuck through the door.

“I have been told to come in to ask you to lower your voices,” she warned them, forcing the trio to stifle their giggles. “But…I also brought this. Stole it from a little boy in a white robe.”

She pulled a bottle of wine out from behind her back earning more laughter from Lia and Keeley as Rebecca smiled with a shake of her head.

“No, Sass…”

Undeterred, Sassy simply shrugged and cracked it open, but Keeley was quick to come to her defense.

“No, this is good because we have some gossip to discuss and we might need something to loosen up some lips,” she smirked. “Shall we start with Lia?”

“Me?” Lia questioned, her shock clear in her voice. “What gossip do I have to share?”

“Well, Jamie came to talk to me yesterday,” Keeley informed the group. “And he told me that he kissed you!”

Lia felt a wave of dread wash over her, but Sassy raised her eyebrows in exaggerated surprise.

“She was kissed by her husband? What a scandal.”

“Ah, but he’s not her husband,” Keeley clarified with a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. “He’s not even her boyfriend, it’s just a PR stunt. Or that’s how it started.”

The look on Sassy’s face shifted into something more like intrigue than confusion, but as a dramatic ‘interesting’ slipped from her lips, Rebecca wasn’t so convinced.

“Yes, but he does kiss her all the time,” she pointed out. “That boy lays more affection on her than an overly excited puppy.”

“Only in public though,” Keeley insisted. “But this happened when they were alone.”

That seemed to sell Sassy and Rebecca on the fact that there was gossip to be had as they nodded their heads and looked at Lia expectantly.

“He did kiss me when we were alone,” she admitted. “But it wasn’t a big deal. It was after they lost that match and his dad was giving him a hard time. He was emotional and wanted comfort, but I reminded him that our arrangement is just business and nothing happened.”

Sassy seemed to accept her explanation, but the look on Rebecca’s face could only be described as skeptical and Keeley was absolutely not convinced.

“He told me that you’d said that, but I thought he was lying because I couldn’t possibly imagine why you would say such a thing!”

“Because it’s true,” Lia insisted. “He was just upset, it wouldn’t have been right to take advantage of him!”

“But you wanted to?” Sassy asked. “Are you hoping for an arrangement that’s a little more frisky?”

The question alone was enough to make Lia blush in a way that she was sure must have undermined the shake of her head.

“I don’t want to make things between us any more complicated than they already are.”

“That wasn’t a no,” Rebecca smiled. “Sometimes taking a risk on something complicated can lead to something really great.”

“And Rebecca would know all about that,” Sassy chimed in. “She’s been secretly shagging someone for months now.”

Lia was relieved that the attention seemed to be off of her as Rebecca’s jaw dropped and she let out a startled, “What?”

Seemingly distracted enough to forget about Lia’s little drama, Keeley eagerly jumped in as Sassy handed the wine to Rebecca.

“Let’s skip the part where you pretend you’re not, yeah?”

“What are you even talking about?”

It was an even weaker deflection than Lia’s and Keeley was - once again - ready to back up her claim.

“How about the bullshit text after the date, the fact that I have not seen you outside of work for two weeks, and that even though today is your father’s funeral, you are glowing like a girl who just got properly plowed.”

Her blunt honesty had Sassy dissolving into giggles and no matter how hard Lia tried to resist, she couldn’t help but join her until Rebecca’s shock gave way to a smirk.

“Shit…”

Her tone made it clear the word was an admission of guilt and Keeley and Sassy shrieked with glee as Lia laughed at their dramatic antics until Rebecca’s mother - Deborah - and Sassy’s daughter - Nora - rushed into the room.

“I’ve been asked to come in and tell you to lower your voices!”

Deborah was just repeating what Sassy had told them earlier, but Nora smirked as she added, “The vicar looked like he wanted to swear. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, of course,” Keeley assured her as Lia briefly wondered if they could be kicked out of a funeral. “We’re just trying to figure out who Rebecca’s shagging.”

Rebecca sighed and rolled her eyes, but to Lia’s surprise Deborah was just as eager to stir the pot as Keeley was.

“Oh, I know,” she informed them. “And it’s good.”

That claim caused another round of shrieks despite Rebecca’s weak protests until Sassy came up with a brilliant idea.

“Okay, hang on. Let’s play twenty questions!” Everyone eagerly agreed before Sassy got the ball rolling. “Is he tall?”

Rebecca reluctantly admitted that he was, but it seemed the game was entirely unnecessary after the next question that came out of Keeley’s mouth.

“Is it Sam?”

“How the fuck did you know that?”

Even Lia couldn’t resist letting out a squeal at that admission as it was such an unexpected and unbelievable answer, but the fun was shut down when the vicar stormed into the room.

“That’s it!” He snapped, getting everyone’s attention and immediately silencing the shrieks of laughter. “Everyone out except immediate family, please.”

“You are so bad,” Rebecca hissed to Keeley, but as Sassy pointed out that Keeley wasn’t the only one, Rebecca turned her attention to Lia. “Don’t breathe a word of that conversation to Jamie, please.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she smiled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

With that, she hurried out the door after Keeley and Sassy as they all took a minute to process the information they’d just been given.

“That is absolutely mental,” Sassy shook her head. “But good for her.”

“Seriously,” Nora nodded in agreement. “Boss-ass bitch.”

Sassy shot her daughter a warning look, but didn’t bother to scold her and Lia had almost forgotten how the entire conversation had started until Keeley circled back to it as they made their way back into the main part of the church.

“Okay, but we never got to the bottom of the Lia and Jamie situation!”

Immediately, Lia felt a knot in her stomach as Nora looked perplexedly between the women.

“What situation? We already know that she’s sleeping with him.”

Lia was caught off guard by how involved she was considering her age, but Sassy answered before she could organize her thoughts.

“Oh, you missed that part,” she smiled. “Turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Tartt are actually not a real couple.”

“What?” Nora’s eyes widened in shock. “I didn’t realize that one funeral could have so much juicy gossip.”

“We’re just friends,” Lia clarified. “I agreed to the whole thing to try and help salvage his reputation after he came back to Richmond.”

“But now they both have feelings for each other,” Keeley interjected. “And Lia won’t admit it.”

“I think Jamie is great,” Lia informed them, choosing her words carefully. “And I’ve grown very fond of him since we started our little arrangement, but he’s not interested in me romantically.”

“Well, then get that boy an Oscar,” Sassy demanded. “Because he had me completely fooled.”

“Me too,” Nora chimed in. “He looked smitten to me.”

“He is smitten,” Keeley eagerly agreed. “I know Jamie, I can tell. Plus, it says a lot that he respected your request for him not to sleep with anyone else. That boy has less restraint than a horny dog, but he’s hardly even glanced at another woman since he met you.”

The sincerity in her voice made it hard not to believe her, but the voice in the back of her head still warned her that it was all too good to be true and that indulging in the fantasy she’d created in her mind would just lead to her getting hurt.

“I’m not so sure,” she hesitated. “He is a good actor and it’s hard for me to know what’s real or if I’m just getting carried away with the charade.”

“Sounds like you need to have an honest conversation with him,” Sassy pointed out. “It’s no good living your life wondering ‘what if’. We’re at a funeral for christ’s sake, there’s no better reminder of the importance of seizing the moment before it’s too late.”

Lia’s eyes drifted over to where Jamie was standing across the room with his hand on Dani’s shoulder as he appeared to still be consoling him about the pain in his feet. It was sweet to see him be so supportive and it was even sweeter when he glanced over at her and shot her a wink when he caught her eye.

“You might be right,” Lia mused. “Maybe I’ll talk to him later.”

Even the weak promise was enough to earn another squeal from Keeley, but as the rest of the guests shot their little group some rather disparaging stares, she reigned it in as she whispered an apology and they headed to find somewhere to sit.

——

By the time the funeral was over, Lia was feeling very melancholic. Watching Rebecca be so overcome with emotion was tough and even though they’d all supported her through it with a little impromptu sing along of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, it seemed that everyone was feeling rather sombre by the time they went to the gathering at Deborah’s house afterwards.

But Lia was also feeling determined.

Sassy had been right. There was no point in spending the rest of her life wondering if giving Jamie a chance would result in her getting her heart broken and the reminder that no one ever knew when their end would come had her feeling inspired to live life with no regrets. If he turned her down or broke her heart then Keeley would just have to work her PR magic and dissolve their little arrangement, but the way that Jamie had held her hand so tightly throughout the entire eulogy had her feeling like that probably wouldn’t be necessary.

But Jamie was clearly distracted.

Lia put it down to the sobering reminder of their own mortality that the funeral had provided, but even as they mingled with the team and Rebecca’s family, it seemed like his mind was very much elsewhere. When she tried to broach the subject, he assured her that he was fine with a kiss to the top of her head, but they hadn’t been at the little gathering for long before he snuck away. Figuring that he just needed a moment alone with his thoughts, she wasn’t particularly worried, but when half an hour passed with no sign of him returning, she slipped away from her conversation with Higgins - the director of football operations at Richmond - to find him.

It took a few minutes considering the size of the house and the number of people, but she felt a wave of relief when she spotted the back of his head from across the room. As she walked closer she realized that he was deep in conversation with Keeley and from the look on her face over Jamie’s shoulder they were talking about something very serious. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but when she moved a bit closer she couldn’t help but hear the end of what Jamie was saying.

“I know this is a mad shitty thing to do, but I love you, Keeley.”

Immediately, a flush of humiliation washed over Lia as the confession she’d been planning to make to Jamie rang in her mind and had her heart clenching in her chest. Despite her brain telling her to get away from the situation before anyone noticed her, she was frozen in place until Keeley caught sight of her over Jamie’s shoulder and her eyes widened in surprise. Clearly catching the look on her face, Jamie spun around to face her as well.

“Shit,” he groaned. “Did you hear that?”

Keeley was frozen like a deer in headlights, but Lia simply forced a smile and nodded her head.

“Yes, I did,” she admitted. “But it’s fine.”

The silence that followed her words could only be described as awkward. Every moment that Jamie stood frozen - staring at Lia like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar - had Lia’s emotions rising, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and kept the smile plastered on her face until Keeley broke the silence with a softly mumbled ‘sorry’ before waving apologetically and walking away.

Jamie turned to watch her go, but it seemed her departure snapped him out of his daze as he stuttered and stumbled through several unfinished sentences until a sigh fell from his lips.

“No, it’s not.”

“It is,” she assured him. “It’s none of my business who you love, Jamie.”

“No, but it’s not…” Jamie trailed off as his eyebrows furrowed with the effort it was taking to find the words he was looking for. “It’s not like that.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” she insisted. “It’s all just business between us, right?”

She thought that the reminder would bring Jamie some relief and absolve him of any perceived wrongdoing, but for a brief moment a look that almost seemed like sadness flickered across his face. It was fleeting and Lia assumed it had more to do with her interrupting his moment with Keeley than her overhearing what he’d said.

“Sure, yeah,” he nodded. “It’s just business.”

Slipping his arm around her shoulder for the benefit of anyone watching, Jamie led Lia back towards the group of his teammates that she’d been talking to, but she found herself feeling very preoccupied.

In some ways, she was lucky - if she hadn’t heard what he’d said and had poured her heart out to him like she’d planned then she would have looked like an absolute idiot - but that didn’t stop the disappointment from plaguing her mind.

Jamie still loved Keeley.

Whether Keeley reciprocated those feelings or not - and Lia was fairly certain that she didn’t based on her solid relationship with Roy and the many conversations they’d had about her situation with Jamie - it meant that Jamie was not currently emotionally available to have feelings for her. She’d been right about their kiss being nothing more to him than a search for comfort and she hadn’t realized how badly she didn’t want that to be true until she had absolute confirmation that it was.

She managed to put on a brave face for the duration of the funeral and for the rest of the afternoon, but when they crawled into bed that night, Lia made sure to leave plenty of space between them and the next morning she found that for the first time since their arrangement had begun, she didn’t wake up wrapped around Jamie.

-----

chapter nine

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