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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 months

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2600’s amazing Hackers on Planet Earth con may go down under enshittification

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

It's been 40 years since Emmanuel Goldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. 2600 wasn't the first phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:

https://www.2600.com/

2600 has published hundreds of issues in which digital spelunkers report eagerly on the things they've discovered by peering intently at the things no one was supposed to even glance at (I'm proud to be one of those writers!). They've fought legal battles, including one that almost went to the Supreme Court:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS

They created a global network of meetups where some of technology's most durable friendships and important collaborations were born. These continue to this day:

https://www.2600.com/meetings

And they've hosted a weekly radio show on NYC's WBAI, Off the Hook:

https://wbai.org/program.php?program=76

When WBAI management lost their minds and locked the station's most beloved hosts out of the studio, Off the Hook (naturally) led the rebellion, taking back the station for its audience, rescuing it from a managerial coup:

https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

But best of all, 2600 gave us HOPE – both in the metaphorical sense of "hope for a better technological tomorrow" and in the literal sense, with its biannual Hackers On Planet Earth con:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_on_Planet_Earth

For decades HOPE had an incredible venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania (memorialized in the phreak anthem "PEnnsylvania 6-5000"), a crumbling pile in midtown Manhattan that was biannually transformed into a rollicking, multi-day festival of forbidden technology, improbable feats, and incredible presentations. I was privileged to keynote HOPE in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1D7APjmVbk

But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.

But HOPE wasn't lost. In 2022, the ever-resilient 2600 crew relocated to Queens, hosted by St John's University – a venue that was less glamorous that the Hotel Pennsylvania, but the event was still fantastic. Attendance fell from 2,000 to 1,000, but that was something they could work with, and reviews from attendees were stellar.

Good thing, too. 2600 is, first and foremost, a magazine publisher, and these have been hard years for magazines. First there was the mass die-off of indie bookstores and newsracks (I used to sell 2600 when I was a bookseller, and in the years after, I always took the presence of 2600 on a store's newsrack as an unimpeachable mark of quality).

Thankfully for 2600, their audience is (unsurprisingly) a tech-savvy one, so they were able to substitute digital subscriptions for physical ones:

https://www.2600.com/Magazine/DigitalEditions

Of course, many of those subscriptions came through Amazon's Kindle, because nerds were early Amazon adopters, and because the Kindle magazine publishing platform offered DRM-free distribution to subscribers along with a fair payout to publishers.

But then Amazon enshittified its magazine system. Having locked publishers to its platform, it rugged them and killed the monthly subscription fees that allowed publishers to plan for a steady output. Publishers were given a choice: leave Amazon (and all the readers locked inside its walled garden) or put your magazine into the Kindle Unlimited system:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/arp/B0BWPTCP4K?deviceType=A1FG5NAKX0MRJL

Kindle Unlimited is an all-you-can-eat program for Kindle, which pays publishers and writers based on a system that is both opaque and easily gamed, with the lion's share of the money going to "publishers" who focus on figuring out how to cheat the algorithm. Revenues for 2600 – and all the other magazines that Amazon had sucked in and sucked dry – fell off a cliff.

Which brings me to the present moment. After 40 years, 2600 is still at it, having survived the bookstorepocalypse, the lunacy of public radio management, the literal demolition of their physical home by an evil real-estate developer, and Amazon's crooked accounting.

This is 2600, circa 2024, and 2024 a HOPE year:

https://www.hope.net/

Once again, HOPE has been scheduled for its new digs in Queens, July 12-14. Last week, HOPE sent out an email blast to their subscribers telling them the news. They expected to sell 500 tickets in the first 24 hours. They didn't even come close:

https://www.2600.com/content/hope-ticket-sales-update

It turns out that Google and the other major mail providers don't like emails with the word "hacker" in them. The cartel that decides which email gets delivered, and which messages go to spam, or get blocked altogether, mass-blocked the HOPE 2024 announcement. Email may be the last federated, open platform we have, but mass concentration has created a system where it's nearly impossible to get your email delivered unless you're willing to play by Gmail's rules:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/

For Emmanuel Goldstein, founder of 2600 and tireless toiler for this community, the deafening silence following from that initial email volley was terrifying: "like some kind of a "Twilight Zone" episode where everyone has disappeared."

The enshittification that keeps 2600's emails from being delivered to the people who asked to receive them is even worse on social media. Social media companies routinely defraud their users by letting them subscribe to feeds, then turning around to the people and organizations that run those feeds and saying, "You've got x thousand subscribers on this platform, but we won't put your posts in their feeds unless you pay us to 'boost' your content":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first

Enshittification has been coming at 2600 for decades. Like other forms of oddball media dedicated to challenging corporate power and government oppression, 2600 has always been a ten-years-ahead preview of the way the noose was gonna tighten on all of us. And now, they're on the ropes. HOPE can't sell tickets unless people know about HOPE, and neither email providers nor social media platforms have any interest in making that happen.

A handful of giant corporations now get to decide what we read, who we hear from, and whether and how we can get together in person to make friends, forge community, rabble-rouse and change the world. The idea that "it's not censorship unless the government does it" has always been wrong (not all censorship violates the First Amendment, and censorship can be real without being unconstitutional):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/

What can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can sign up for HOPE. It's gonna be great. They've got sub-$100 hotel rooms! In New York City!

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv

If you can't make it to HOPE, you can sign up for a virtual membership:

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv-virtual-attendee

You can submit a talk to HOPE:

https://www.hope.net/cfp.html

You can subscribe to 2600, in print or electronically (I signed up for the lifetime print subscription and it was a bargain – I devour every issue the day it arrives):

https://store.2600.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

2600 is living a decade in the future of every other community you care about, weird hobby you enjoy, con you live for, and publication you read from cover to cover. If we can all pull together to save it, it'll be a beacon of hope (and HOPE).

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/19/hope-less/#hack-the-planet

#pluralistic #2600 #hackers #magazines #publishing #kindle unlimited publishing #kindle #enshittification #monopoly #end to end #competition #events #nyc #hope #hackers on planet earth #amazon

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alienssstufff · 1 year

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MISSING PERSONS ARTICLE (5/10/ NULL):

An extract from a local article published by The Weekly Hermit on the 5th of October (Year: NULL). Covered by Pixlriffs [Pen Name] –DISAPPEARING ACT, The Bachelor Who Vanished In Thin Air

[MEMORY : 1/2 ] [MEMORY : 2/2 - HERE]

>[READ ARTICLE?]

They were young and unafraid, Joel [LASTNAME] alongside friend Scar [LASTNAME] would venture on a hiking trip around the mountains only to vanish without a trace.

With the Joel engaged and set to be married to the current head of the Fairy Fort Resort ranger Lizzie [LASTNAME], accounts state that him along with best man Scar were last seen on the 22nd of September in the safety of Hiker’s Checkpoint, a popular camping destination of the Last Life woodlands.

“He said it was supposed to be an ‘act of bravery’. He wanted to prove he was strong to me.” A distraught Lizzie recounts.

“I knew Scar was acting rather off the last few weeks, but I never expected he would just.. Up and run away like this. Especially with someone as inexperienced to hiking as Joel – I didn’t think they would go this far!” witness and former roommate of Scar, Grian, relays to the press.

Further interviews with the witnesses on the day of the disappearance recount in agreeance to meet the two at the Fairy Fort Reserve, a small group had held an early-morning farewell bachelor party at the Hiker’s Checkpoint, where the two would begin their 3-day trip along the marked Mycelium Trail to the wedding venue on the 25th of October.

Joel was last seen wearing a thick brown sheepskin sweater, brown pants, and worn white-and-green running shoes - with his most noticeable feature being green, dyed highlights in his hair. Scar was last seen donning a brown aviator's jacket above a black, multi-purpose utility jacket and white plaid flannel with blue cargo pants - most noticeable feature being the green bandanna found at the checkpoint.

Prior background given by loved ones and witnesses of the party reveal that the wellbeing of Joel, a novice hiker, would still be under the guidance of friend Scar who is reported to have years of experience of hiking both within and beyond the hiking trails of the woodlands.

Reports to the authorities of their disappearance were made just 24-hours past the expected date by the Fairy Fort Reserve and the duo would be officially declared missing on the 28th of September. Several smaller search parties made within the FFR, Lizzie admits, were held prior to making the decision on contact around the reserve and the Hiker’s Checkpoint. A larger, more extensive investigation along the Mycelium Trail was held from the 28th onwards as more people volunteered and potential witnesses were questioned.

The Mycelium Trail is a relatively accessible route for both man and off-road vehicles to traverse between various locations in the Last Life woodlands. While recordings of the weather at this time of year had been colder than usual, there had been no signs of snow, rainfall or forest fires that would hinder the mens’ trip.

A total of 78 individuals have participated in the search for our runaway bachelor and avid adventure-lover with little succession as damp footprints of the missing, Scar’s green bandanna, a set of binoculars belonging to Scar, and two discarded lighters and canteens found within the bounds of the Hiker’s Checkpoint.

Suspect of foul play between the men were brought up in questioning but was avidly rejected by witnesses and investigators for lack of motive even considering Grian’s accounts on Scar’s unusual behavior. Further theories relating to mentions of exploring the nearby Magical Mt were also suspect and a smaller search party made closer to the foot of the mountain was conducted to no avail due to the frigid weather. Urgencies from Lizzie to authorities in further investigation within the mountain were set forth and ultimately rejected due to windy weather and unstable, difficult-to-cross terrain.

As of current release, the status of Joel and Scar remains unknown. For information leading to the safe return of Joel [LASTNAME] and Scar [LASTNAME] please contact [NUMBER REMOVED] at the Fairy Fort Reserve investigation team.

>[ARTICLE ENDS HERE]

#stufffsart #myart #last life apocalypse au #gtws #goodtimeswithscar #gtwscar #smallishbeans #ldshadowlady #[mentioned]#last life #last life smp #life series #life smp #trafficblr

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luimagines · 5 months

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I dare you to do one with your favorite trope to write (unless you've already done it)

Oh my goodness, this might be longer that usual. XD

And I really had to think about what I wanted to write. I think I'll make this a one-shot. (unless you guys want more anyway) Prepare for this to be as self indulgent as hell. :D

And I'll make it Time while I'm at it.

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

This was the third time this week that you found something like this. You didn't know who was doing this.

A basket, filled to the brim with goodies and trinkets alike, sat properly outside of your window sill. It would be charming if you weren't on the third floor. Someone was climbing up to your balcony and leaving the baskets for you to find.

It was creepy- to a degree. There was never anything malicious about it though. The baskets typically held a flower, a warm meal (or groceries) and some little thing for you to put around your apartment.

You see, you moved to the Kingdom of Kokiri with nothing but a backpack and small child's wagon. Your apartment wasn't even on a nicer side of town. But it hard to be worried about robbers when you're home is bare and empty.

Slowly, that's been changing though. The baskets always had a poem attached, but no name. You secret admirer would give little things from time to time. The baskets are getting more frequent too.

What used to be a small monthly thing, turned weekly then bi weekly- and you're beginning to suspect that they're turning into a daily thing.

Part of you worries that whoever this is, is spending too much on you.

But seeing that the last basket had a new set of dining wear with plates and cups and a some nice utensils to match- you're not inclined to have them stop anytime soon when they're improve your very living conditions as it is. Even if you feel a little guilty.

That being said, this basket had a warm meal already prepared, still steaming in the glass tupperware. There was a small bouquet of roses near the top and a small little box that you opened to see a single slice of chocolate cake.

The card was attached on the inside but it lacked the typical poem. It simple read: "Rest well, Love. You've worked hard today. Dinner's on me. I just want to see you smile in the morning."

You smiles and tucked the card back into its place, bringing the basket back into your apartment.

You have to figure out who this secret admirer of yours is. It has to be someone with access to your floor but it can't be a neighbor. Right? You're on the corner so it can't be anyone to your left. But maybe your neighbor to the right? That's a creepy thought. You hardy ever see him and you don't think he showers throughout the week.

It can't be him. Or at least you're going to deny it.

Maybe it's someone from above? That's more likely. There is this cute guy that you know lives on the floor above you, but you don't know which apartment. It wouldn't be hard to drop the basket secretively onto your balcony from above if that was the case.

The thought rotates in your head as you eat the food. It's delicious. Decadent, even.

Gratitude fills your heart and soul. you have to return the favor somehow after everything this person has provided for you. But how?

You head to bed with a smile on your face and a full stomach. You'll have to start small but you can think of something.

The next morning you head to the castle and walk straight to the throne room.

It was a deal that the king had proposed personally to you. You get to work concern free in his kingdom but you have to report to him every other Tuesday. Seeing as you had nowhere else to go, you didn't think it wise to refuse.

You've grown somewhat close, but with his power and status by his side, you couldn't help but slightly intimidated by him even now.

The king- like most Royals of Kingdoms of Hyrule- was a dragon. Sure, he could take the form of a typical man, but he stayed in his half form more often than not. His age and strength add to his credentials. As the current senior amongst dragons, all you've gathered is that he's lived longer than he appears. The older the dragon, the stronger they are.

King Link is a force to be reckoned with.

However, he's kind and patient with you. He's not all that bad.

You nod and grin at the Captain, who's affectionately called Warrior. Another dragon hidden among the people. You don't know his story, but he's a hard working fellow. He also came to the king in a time of need, looking for asylum and has been working under his employ ever since. He is the king's right hand man.

Warrior smiles back and salutes you softly as you enter. You'll never understand why you've more or less been given free reign of the castle, but with his approval, you feel better to head on in.

You meet the king and curtsy clumsily, still feeling rushed. He's asked you call him Time and he stands from the throne. His face is kind, amused even. A chuckle tumbles out of him as he walks toward you, his marble like tail swinging behind him. "I thought we were passed the formalities, my dear."

You clear your throat. "Were we? I don't recall."

He laughs again. "Come. We have much to discuss."

You nod and follow. He leads you to the back room with a gentle touch the small of your back. It's a familiar routine that you've grown comfortable with.

There's a small rounded table with a pale blue laced table cloth. There's a delicate tea set and it's covered to the brim with snacks and treats alike. You think you see a few of your favorites and your eyes light up at the sight.

King Time notices and he smiles, pleased. "Sit."

You nod and take your usual spot. Time sits across from you and serves you the pieces that you eyes earlier. You almost feel bad. You're still full from the night before.

Time notices. "Something wrong, dear?"

"No." You shake your head, afraid of insulting him. "Someone gave me dinner last night and I'm still a bit full from it."

Time seemed to be shocked by the tidbit. "Really?... Was it good?"

"It was delicious!" You can't help but gush. "I would normally cook for myself but they send food from time to time and it was still warm so I couldn't resist."

His smile turns a little tight. "Is that so? I'm glad that you were fed adequately then.... May I ask who?"

You falter, the smile on your face turning more soft and shy. "Um... I think it was my neighbor..."

"...You don't know who it is?"

You blush and look down onto the table, playing with the treats on your plate. "I know that I should be more cautious. But they've only ever left it on my balcony... It's a secret admirer so to speak. They've given me trinkets and flowers and food. It seems as if they've slowly been furnishing my house for me. I don't know... I've been trying to think about who it may be, but I'm coming up short. Regardless, enough about my lack of love life-"

Time abruptly puts his hand under the table but you catch the reason why before he can hide it.

He's bent the fork in half with his hand, seemingly without realizing it. He smiles brightly, as if nothing happened and the thought gets put on the back burner for now. "Right... Well, you can always ask for my assistance, Darling."

You shake your head with a small smile. "Thank you, but I'm here to report my work. Let's get to business then."

Time clenches his jaw slightly but nods in agreement. "Right. I believe last time you mentioned that you were following a trail of some suspicious individuals on the property of the farm lands for relief efforts. Did that bloom into anything substantial?"

You pull out a manila folder with a smirk and hand it to the king. "Did it ever."

The time passes before you know it. Little by little, as you give your report, if drifts away and you're talking about your lives as much as you can before you leave.

Warrior comes in, informing Time of another meeting has to attend. He looks apologetic.

The king winces but you're quick to stand up, mid panic. "I'm sorry. I've overstayed my welcome."

"Impossible." Time blurts, standing abruptly as well. He reach out as if to stop you and moves around the table as if to block your path. His tail curls around your ankle, stopping your in your tracks. It's gentle but firm. Even if his grip is painless, you can already tell that you wouldn't be able to escape on your own.

You freeze and after a beat he lets you go. Time gulps and stands, seemingly more aware of what he was doing. His grip falls away and he takes a step back. "R-right... I won't keep you from your work much longer then."

You can't help but blush. He's always been fine with putting a hand on your shoulder or your back... but the tail is one of the most sensitive parts of a dragon. And he just grabbed you with it. For some reason, you find yourself blushing.

You nod dumbly, as if your schedule is jammed packed like his. Your heart is pounding. You follow Warrior out of the room as he leads you back to the main gate of the castle.

"Sorry." Warrior says quietly. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Nonono-" You're still shaken by the phantom feelings of the scales around you. Even if it was just a brush, there was a power there. You don't know why you're so out of whack suddenly. The act was more intimate than you were able to admit. "If you didn't say anything, I would have kept going. Honestly, I swear he's just humoring most of the time."

"This is the only time we get him to actually take a break." Warrior tells you. "He'd work himself t the bone if it weren't for you. It's not like he can't afford it. He's two years ahead of his work. By all means, keep him there longer."

You flush and look away, walking out of the gate. "Oh please, he'll get sick of me before we'd know it."

Warrior is quick to bite his tongue, biting back the instant retort that no doubt sat on his tongue. He takes a breath and shakes his head.

"...He likes you." Warrior looks pained. Like there's something there that he wants to say but can't. You don't see it. "Would you like me to walk you home? If I recall you live far enough away-"

"Not enough to cause concern, Captain." You smile and pat his shoulder. "But thank you."

"His Majesty wouldn't like it if anything happened to you." Warrior tries to push it a little bit.

You shake you head. "And take more of your time away? You work just as hard, if not harder, than the entirety of the castle staff. I think only the King works harder than you."

He presses his lips into a thin line. His own scales poke from under his skin. Something is riling him up but you don't know what. You've never seen his dragon form or even his half. He seems to hide it more often than not. You would never know he was a dragon if the King hadn't said anything earlier.

Warrior sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Very well... Just... be safe, yeah? I don't think the goddesses themselves would be able to calm the king should things go wrong."

"Like what?" You snort. "I end up in the hospital? I'll be fine. No worries."

You wink for good measure and head home, happy, fulfilled and ready to take on the rest of the week.

You miss the next three visits.

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aohisworld · 13 days

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MAGNETIC PULSE! 02

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ ENHYPEN’s new co-ed group starts their first album, MANIFESTO. Aohi makes a mistake that allows Jungwon, to give her a bit of sympathy that she didn’t ask for.

ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝ eventual poly!ot7 x added member!oc. (jungwon centric). contains. angst, a little arguing, a smooch, uhm cringe writing lol.

| : ̗̀➛ MINTIE’s NOTES: Jungwon chapter yippee yippee!! Also important announcement that my asks are open now, and I’d love to get some interactions :3 don’t be a silent reader! Reblog, comment, send an ask!!

| : ̗̀➛ WARNING! How I write ENHYPEN is not meant to portray the idols irl, this is my au and I write this for fun. contains angst and a little bit of bickering/awkward tension.

✧. ┊ Jungwon was always born to be a leader, unlike Aohi, who just followed the crowd, Jungwon was born to lead it.

When he was picked as the best candidate for ENHYPEN's leader role, he was overjoyed, of course, but a part of him also wondered if he was ready for that role.

Jungwon worked to his limit to make sure ENHYPEN was where they were now. Aohi and Xiulin... he was stumped on what to do, they were suddenly thrust upon his plate when he already had so much.

Jungwon had no idea how to lead the girls, he didn't go through I-LAND with them, nor did they meet long enough to help them....

so, he didn't.

For about a few months, that went excruciatingly slow by the way, Jungwon barely made the effort to even glance Aohi's and Xiulin's way, well, more Aohi's because he respects Xiulin as his elder sister.

At first, it was smooth sailing for Jungwon, it wasn't that hard to ignore Aohi or avoid her, but as time passed on, Jungwon didn't realize her cold attitude would sting, like being out during a snowfall and it got too cold that your hands would freeze, kind of sting.

Jungwon didn't think the glare Aohi would sometimes direct at him would bother him so much. Like, made his stomach turn kind of bother.

For one, it made him feel like he was a bad person. (he doesn't think he is, is he?)

Secondly, he hated to admit that maybe, just maybe he did deserve it, and he wasn't really living up to the leader name.

Jungwon knows Aohi and Xiulin are his group members now, hell, they're making their first album with the girls now!

As a leader, he was supposed to help the girls, especially when he needed to navigate this whole co-ed situation as well, but he didn't, and knowing that left an incredibly sour taste on the boy's tongue.

That's what brought us to Jungwon now, sitting in an empty meeting room, after a weekly... report? Status? whatever it was, had happened. The boy stared straight ahead at the table, seemingly burning a theoretical hole into the furniture.

He sat unmoving for a while, getting lost in his thoughts, you could say he got it from Sunghoon's morning spacing out routine.

It was only until a can was placed in front of his line of sight did his gaze change from the table, to the girl he was exactly thinking about.

"You stare at that spot any longer, you might've actually burnt a hole into the table."

Jungwon didn't respond, glancing up at Aohi's brown orbs, before looking back down at the can on the table. "What's the drink for?" Jungwon nudged towards the drink, as if scared to touch it.

"To drink? What else?" Aohi stated, sitting opposite of Jungwon, in which Jay sat in before her, so Aohi cringed slightly as she felt the warm seat.

Aohi seemed to magically produce another can of warm tea— Jungwon had analyzed, in front of him, opening it with one hand.

"The drink was Xiulin-unnie's." She hums, blowing inside her can to take her first sip, tasting the tea and nodding her head, outwardly approving the flavour.

"Why didn't you give it to her then?" Jungwon hesitantly took the drink off of the table. "Couldn't find her." Aohi shrugged.

Jungwon made no move to open his drink, sitting up in his chair. "Why're you here?" He asks, moving the metal can from one hand to the other, temporarily using it as a handwarmer.

Jungwon didn't seem to like the fact that Aohi was so close without any reasons to be, he had no idea why he was so alert around her either, as if two cats meeting on a territory and intimidating each other.

"Why can't I be? I'm sitting with one of my members, I don't see anything wrong with that." Aohi's eyes narrowed like that of a cat as she willingly made eye contact.

As the two cat-like members stared on, Jungwon could feel that grumbling feeling in his stomach once again as he didn't back down from the intense eye contact Aohi established.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with it, I mean that you don't really like us—"

"I like Ri-ki, so I don't think that I don't like my group members." Aohi's shrugged once again, "You look at us like we're the worst people on earth." Jungwon scoffed, already disliking Aohi's response.

"I don't know why you have to look for a reason for me to be here, I'm being nice—" Aohi grumbled, placing her drink on the table since she was an easily irritable person, and this conversation— is it still even a conversation? could end up firing her up even more.

"With a stare like that?" Jungwon raised his eyebrows, he'd never seen someone who was being nice have a stare that could probably kill.

"Gosh, why do you have to start a fight with me all of the time?!" Aohi stood from her seat, pointing at Jungwon with an accusatory finger.

"Because you have so much against my hyungs and I! You don't even know us," Jungwon stood up from his seat as well, pushing Aohi's finger away with the back of his hand. "You just decided we're not even worth being nice to!"

"Neither do you! I wasn't the first to be rude, it was the hyungs who looked at me and Xiulin-unnie like we were of no hope!" Aohi argued, her words were true, how could the young girl forget?

Xiulin-unnie had to learn everything for herself and Aohi, because Aohi was finishing her studies and had to miss most of their practices.

Aohi was only angry because she cared for her unnie, and a few months in living like that, Xiulin was already extremely exhausted, and Aohi couldn't do much to help her.

Aohi was frustrated, she only wanted the boys to help, not just Ri-ki, all of the boys.

"Well—" "I'm not done!" Jungwon was silenced by Aohi, taken aback by her sudden outburst, even if he wanted to, what Aohi said was true, they truly didn't think they could debut, not so late into ENHYPEN's career at least.

Still, how could Jungwon admit that?

"Xiulin-unnie and I needed help, and we couldn't even confide in our hyungs, much less our leader." Jungwon's throat dried at Aohi's words, not knowing how to respond to that.

In all honesty, he felt like he was slapped with a hot iron pan of truth.

"Sure, Jake-hyung barely tried to help us with our dance practices, but not before pointing out every little wrong thing from us." Aohi poked her finger to Jungwon's chest, hating the way he was silent.

It wasn't like Aohi didn't know that Jungwon was the type to lead, from just meeting him, you could already feel it. That's what makes it worse.

The girls— Aohi, needed someone to follow, because that's all she knew to do, and she hoped that there was a small chance, Jungwon, as the leader, would knock some sense into his group members and allow her and her unnie to have someone to follow.

Apparently it was too much to ask for.

"We didn't even know each other, and we just decided to hate each other... months straight, we'd barely interact, even when we started to record the album.." Aohi frowned, seeing that she'd stunned Jungwon into silence.

Aohi wasn't sure whether to continue after that, only sighing and sitting back down, taking her cup of warm tea, trying to drink the tension away.

Jungwon stayed standing up, thinking. Jungwon knows he was cruel, but he thought he was doing right, he followed his hyungs along as well.

He could remember his Heeseung-hyung telling him that the girls will not gain anything by being in ENHYPEN, that they should let it be for their own good.

Jungwon should've asked what Aohi and Xiulin's thoughts were, if they could really do it, if they were really willing. Maybe then, he could've helped them, give them a place in the group, rather than giving up on them from the start.

"...I'm sorry." Jungwon hesitated, sitting next to Aohi, rubbing the palms of his hands nervously.

"You're only apologizing because I told you—"

"You're right, but I really am sorry, I mean that from the bottom of my heart." Jungwon interrupted her, Aohi turns to Jungwon, looking at him with a skeptical look.

"I was stressed, and I know that it's not an excuse, because you and Xiulin-noona were also under a lot of pressure," Aohi didn't bother to try and intervene with Jungwon's ramblings, he seemed to have a lot to say.

"But let me try and make it up to you, and Xiulin-noona."

Aohi stayed silent for a few moments, thinking, if Jungwon was genuine, and he was serious about treating her and Xiulin like actual members, maybe...

"It's been months, Jungwon.." Aohi replied curtly, turning to the side, as if hesitant to even agree. "Then I'll make up for it for as long as you girls want."

"You—" Aohi tried to start, Jungwon shaking his head at her reply, "I will, as long as you don't look at me like that again. I'll change."

And change, Jungwon did.

Aohi was taken aback the first time he did something for her, it was an interview, their first interview as a debuted co-ed group.

Aohi sat in one of the dressing rooms, spacing out on a make-up chair as the girls' own stylist worked her magic onto Aohi's newly dyed hair.

Xiulin and Aohi were successfully debuted into the group, despite the boys' hesitance, except Ri-ki and Jungwon, who happily congratulated the two girls.

Aohi remembers how much they had to handle on the first few days, the incorporation of Dark Moon, the making of their first co-ed album, it was a mess, and not to mention they barely had any breaks.

"Aohi-ssi, your make-up is done." Her stylist spoke, ushering her behind to start working on Xiulin next. Aohi stretched her arms in front of her as she sat on the couches, next to Ri-ki.

Ri-ki instantly turned to her, phone in hand to show whatever he was currently laughing at.

While the two teens giggled over whatever was on Ri-ki's screen, Jungwon approached the couch with drinks in hand, just like Aohi did, and for some reason, the leader of ENHYPEN disliked that their youngest was shoulder to shoulder with Aohi.

Without thinking any further, Jungwon pushed the two apart, Aohi looking startled at the sudden intrusion. Aohi looked up, seeing Jungwon looking down at her.

"I got you a drink, you have to stay hydrated." Jungwon took Aohi's hand and placed the cold drink, using his palm to curl her fingers over it.

Aohi's eyebrows just furrowed, glancing at Xiulin, who only stared from the mirror of the stylist chair in shock.

"Thanks, I guess.." Aohi mumbled, placing the drink on the table in front of the couch. Ri-ki didn't seem to notice, or suspect anything as he just returned to bumping shoulders with Aohi and looking at random videos.

Jungwon seemed to bite the inside of his cheek at the unsuccessful attempt at separating the two, wait— why was he even annoyed that they were so close to each other?

"Noona, are you going to drink that?" Ri-ki points to the drink Aohi had recently placed on the table.

"Why, are you thirsty, ki-yah?" Aohi hummed, grabbing the can, wiping the top and popping it open for the youngest to drink.

Jungwon stood behind them, a bit offended as he watched Aohi place the can to Ri-ki's lips, like a big 'screw you!' from Aohi to Jungwon as she gave Ri-ki the first sip of the drink he decided to kindly get for her.

"Good?" Aohi asks Ri-ki, grinning when he nods. "That's really good grape juice." He nods, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"here, you can have it."

Jungwon could hear his heart crack as he heard that from Aohi's lips, and Aohi heard clearly.

'You aren't gaining my forgiveness that easily..' She thinks, glancing at Jungwon, a slight mischievous smile on her face.

Since then, Jungwon had been... overbearingly kind to Aohi and Xiulin, as in... even sneaking in ordered food for them late at night. Jungwon was really determined to gain Aohi's forgiveness.

Jungwon had already earned Xiulin's respect, it's just Aohi being stubborn.

"Here..." Jungwon huffed, having ran a few floors down and back up to deliver the ordered food to the girls' dorms.

Aohi could only blurt out a small thanks before closing the door in front of their leader's face, stopping him from even saying anything.

Jungwon sat in front of their door for a bit, catching his breath, letting out a sigh before turning around, despite hearing muffled voices behind the door.

"Aohi! That was rude! You know he's still a member, he's stuck with us!" Xiulin whisper-yelled from beside her, opening the door as soon as it was closed. "Sorry, won, she's just hangry, have some with us." The older girl ushered, pulling a turned Jungwon inside.

"Unnie!" Aohi gasped, somewhat stomping her foot from the door and staring up at Jungwon with a frown. "Don't be like that, we ordered enough for an extra person." Xiulin scolded.

"I could've called Ri-ki..." Aohi grumbled, turning around and stomping into the kitchen. "You're not calling the youngest down for some fried chicken, Aohi." Xiulin retorted.

Jungwon stood by the entrance awkwardly, he was the first of the boys to even be in the girls' dorms. "Don't just stand there, go!" Aohi pointed to the living room, chopsticks and plates in her other hand.

Jungwon hesitantly approached the room, looking around curiously at the new environment, before sitting next to Xiulin, on their couch.

"I'm hungry, hurry up!" Xiulin whined from the living room, the TV still turned on, they seemed to be watching a random k-drama, obviously bored but not tired.

"Eung!" Aohi replied, sitting by the table in the middle of their living room as they started to open the food they ordered. Jungwon sat back with his hands on his lap, a bit nervous.

"Loosen up, won." Xiulin looked from behind her, Aohi placing a plate and chopsticks for Jungwon to use. The two girls were silent as they placed the food out.

"Looks so good... I'm literally about to devour everything." Xiulin let out a 'psh!' sound, bumping Aohi's leg with her own and gaining a protest from Aohi.

"I will enjoy this food.." The three recited, Jungwon slowly sliding into the middle of the two girls as they started to eat.

The trio ate silently, an occasional groan or dislike for any event that went on in their k-drama. "She's so fake for going back to her ex.." Aohi spoke, looking at the TV with a furrowed brow.

"Right? Like, if you're going to go back, don't do it in front of the boy who's liked you for forever.." Xiulin scoffed, taking a sip of her cider. Jungwon silently chewed from between them, just listening in.

Jungwon stared down at his plate, swallowing, 'ah... I need some pickled radish..' Jungwon looked for the container around the table, seeing it but... it was being guarded by Aohi.

Jungwon didn't want to ask Aohi, just watching the girl place another cube into her mouth. Xiulin glanced from beside her, seeing Jungwon eye the container.

"Yah, Jungwon wants some, don't finish it all." Xiulin spoke, nudging her head towards Aohi's direction.

Jungwon felt alarmed at the sudden call-out Xiulin made, jumping in his spot, "Ah— no, it's okay!—" Jungwon used his free hand to make a no motion.

Aohi stared at Jungwon, chopsticks in her mouth, before staring back to the TV. The younger boy felt a little awkward as the noise died down between both Aohi and Xiulin.

Aohi then stared down at the container of radishes, there was only five cubes left.. and she really liked the radishes, she glances at Jungwon, who seemed to have a bit of trouble eating the last of his bites, using cider to down it.

Jungwon grabbed the last bite of the boneless bites he was eating, getting ready to chew his way to a finished plate, unknowing to Aohi's gaze at his struggling figure.

In a small moment, Aohi made the decision to pick a cube up from the container with her chopsticks, before turning to Jungwon.. "Eung.." Aohi was feeding him a cube of radish.

Jungwon stopped mid-chew to stare at her like a deer in headlights, Xiulin was too busy being immersed in her digital show to even bother seeing the live-version play out right beside her.

'Did.. did she want to feed me?' Jungwon thought, looking at the radish before looking back up.

Aohi waited with a blank look on her face as Jungwon swallowed his bite, hesitantly coming forward as he used his teeth to bite the radish, so that his lips wouldn't touch her chopsticks.

Jungwon could feel the back of his neck warm slightly, trying to finish his food.

Ever since then, it was even more awkward between Aohi and Jungwon, the leader starting to practically follow the girl around like a cat does to his owner.

Aohi guessed he wasn't that bad, more so tolerable. Aohi didn't mind Jungwon that much, just thought it was a little tiring having to be followed around.

It's been almost eight months since Jungwon promised to change, and Aohi and Jungwon seemed to be... friends? Acquaintances? All the leader knew was that Aohi didn't avoid him anymore.

Aohi was secretly appreciative of Jungwon, he had helped plenty with her and Xiulin with coordinating their first album together, MANIFESTO.

Aohi and Xiulin learnt their roles in the dance pretty quickly, thanks to Ri-ki and Jungwon. Aohi started to find her confidence in being in the group, trying to find her dynamic, trying to fit in.

Aohi thought she was ready, actually. That she was perfectly in the spot she was. That was, until their first performance of their songs.

"Get her and Sunoo off-stage, quickly! Check on her, see if she broke or injured anything!" The staff ran around frantically behind stage, trying to close the lights to cover up the incident on-stage.

It was their first performance of their song, ParadoXXX Invasion, Aohi thought she was going to nail this first performance, she really did.

Aohi lost her footing half-way into the song, tripping onto Sunoo as the two came tumbling down. The lights dimmed as their fans gasped, murmuring at the sudden absence of lights on-stage.

Sunoo held Aohi stable as he winced, feeling a sting from his lower back from where he fell.

Aohi looked at Sunoo with teary eyes, shaking her head as a worried expression washed over her features.

"Sunoo-hyung... I'm so sorry.. I'm sorry- i didn't mean—" Aoihi whispered, wrapping her palm around her mic, just in case it was still on. Aohi didn't want the crowd hearing her lose her composure.

The whole group was ushered off-stage as Aohi couldn't even hold back her tears as she suddenly burst out in worry, and honestly, in fear.

The staff members had no idea how to comfort the overwhelmed girl. Aohi felt vulnerable at this moment, she felt more like Yoon Aohi, the seventeen-year-old girl who was a little too sensitive for her own good.

Xiulin could only usher her away from the eyes of the other members, letting out soft mantras of reassurance as they walked away. Ri-ki and Jungwon looked on in worry, being by Sunoo's side as the medic on seen checked on him.

"Go check if she's okay, I'm okay—" Sunoo grabbed Jungwon's arm, looking at him with a strained smile, knowing Jungwon's conflicted thoughts behind his eyes, of staying with his hyung, or going after Aohi.

Jungwon glanced up one more time from Sunoo to a fading Aohi, through the crowds, the boy could see glimpses of Aohi's face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

In that moment, Jungwon didn't hesitate to follow after her, swerving through different staffs as his hyungs called for him.

"I'll just leave you here, okay? I'll be right back... just stay here.." Xiulin softly spoke, rubbing Aohi's shoulder for a bit, leaving to go talk with staff.

Jungwon tailed after the girls, approaching the dressing room that Xiulin left. Jungwon stood in front of the door for a bit, hesitating to knock before he did.

Thankfully, he did manage to do it, cracking the door open soon after, entering with as little noise as possible.

Aohi looked up from her make-up stained hands, up at Jungwon. Aohi sniffled as she wondered why Jungwon was there.

Jungwon could feel his heart tighten at Aohi's tear-stained face. Her expression seemed to hurt even worse than all of those glares she shot his way in the past.

Jungwon never wants to see her cry like this again, he wouldn't be able to take it if he did.

"Aohi..." Jungwon calls out softly, approaching the couch as he attempted to sit down, placing a gentle hand on her arm.

Aohi quickly pulled her hand away before Jungwon could even wrap a finger, "Wag mo ako hawakan!— please!" (Don't try to hold me, please.)

Aohi sniffled as she scooted to the side of the couch, making space between her and Jungwon. he didn't know what she was asking of him, not understanding what she said.

Instead, Jungwon sat on the other side of the couch, hoping she just wanted space. Jungwon could feel his stomach spin in worry for Aohi, the last few months, spending time with her made it that way.

Despite Aohi's firm obstacles in the start, trying to push him away, they ended up becoming somewhat close.

"Why're you even here?.." Aohi sobbed.

"I wanted to know if you're okay.." Jungwon frowned, looking at Aohi, itching to bring her into his arms, itching to comfort her.

"Since when did you care?" Aohi spat, she seemed defensive, thoughts racing in her head, she wondered, if Jungwon as the leader, would scold her for being so careless.

Aohi was stressed enough as it was. Jungwon could see that.

"I've always cared, Aohi.. ever since then..." Jungwon whispered, inching closer, freezing when Aohi flinched at his sudden movement.

"Please don't push me away," Jungwon begged. "I'm not here to berate you, or scold you—"

"I don't need your pity!" Aohi cried, a sob following her words. Jungwon held grabbed Aohi's hand as she tried to stand.

"I'm not pitying you, Aohi! I genuinely care for you!" Jungwon begeed once more, keeping Aohi in place, her movements frantic.

Aohi had to admit, Jungwon was pretty strong and she had to scold herself for thinking such things in a situation like this. Aohi tried to pull her hands away from Jungwon when she was pulled into his chest.

Aohi gasped, struggling in his hold as Jungwon held her in place, whispering 'you're okay's and 'relax' in Aohi's ears as she sobbed even more, only grabbing onto his sweatshirt as she cried her teenage heart out into Jungwon's clothes.

"You made a mistake, and that's okay.. it happens.." Jungwon softly comforted the girl in his arms, his hand reaching up to pat the girl's head.

"I just ruined the performance.. I tripped Sunoo-hyung.. I hurt him—" Aohi sobbed out, Jungwon shaking his head with a soft laugh. "Aish... Aohi, you're thinking too much, Sunoo-hyung won't hate you for that."

"It's not just that!" Aohi cried out, Jungwon leans back from his hug, looking down at Aohi, who seemed to stare up at him, her eyes puffy and nose red, Jungwon was convinced he could've been looking at a scared bunny.

"Then what is it? Hm?"

Aohi sniffled for a bit, moving away from her embrace with Jungwon, "I hyped myself up so much for this album... I was so confident, Jungwon," She whimpered, using her arm to wipe her eyes.

"I thought I would be able to do the performance flawlessly. I just embarrassed us, maybe I'm really not meant to be in enhypen, won.."

Jungwon stays quiet at her words, Jungwon is reminded of their starting months, he wonders if he and his hyungs made that mindset for Aohi. Jungwon wonders if he did, he really thought he was cruel.

"Don't say that, you didn't do anything," Jungwon wanted to change those thoughts in the poor girl's head, it was the least he could do.

"You're a hard-working person, Aohi, and you made a mistake but don't think for one second that you don't belong with us because of it."

"...You mean it, won?" Aohi whispered, looking up at the taller boy. Jungwon looked down at her once again, he felt a bit stunned at how Aohi was fine with showing this vulnerable side to her, especially when he's always been avoided by her.

"With everything I have." Jungwon replied, just as soft.

The two continued to keep eye contact with each other, getting lost in each other's gazes. It was quiet in the dressing room, except for the rustling of Jungwon's hand rubbing at Aohi's palm and his rings clinking with hers.

Neither Jungwon or Aohi made an effort to move away from each other, they didn't even bother to notice that, instead of moving away from each other, they inched closer and closer.

"Won?" Aohi whispered, her eyes fluttering softly.

"..Eung?" Jungwon asked, Aohi could feel his breath on her cheek, that's how close they were.

Aohi glanced down at his lips, Jungwon following her actions, dreading for the moment they would touch.

Another minute passes, an inch following.

It was quiet, too quiet.

In a span of a second, Aohi could feel Jungwon close the gap in between them, a soft gasp leaving her lips. His lips were soft, oh so soft.

Jungwon's eyes had fluttered close, he didn't know why he ended up closing the gap, hell, he didn't even register that he was kissing Aohi!

Aohi could've melted from just how soft Jungwon's lips were on hers, it was perfect, so perfect. Aohi wanted it to last forever, the feeling of their lips moving in sync was perfect, like a dream.

but as quickly as a dream ends, it did, Xiulin being the main culprit as she busts into the room.

Aohi and Jungwon jumped away from each other, Aohi fixing her appearance and Jungwon covering the lower half of his face.

"Noona! Are you okay?" RI-ki voiced, his worried figure approaching Aohi as she tried to compose herself.

"Yeah- Yeah, I'm..." Aohi glances at Jungwon, who's forced himself not to even think to turn to look at her. "I'm.. alright.." Aohi finishes her sentence, her voice lowering softly.

"We should get you out of here, the staff gave us the green light.." Xiulin spoke curtly, staring at Jungwon as she rubbed Aohi's shoulder.

Before Aohi could even get a word in, Ri-ki was already ushering her up, softly telling her to move. Xiulin taking over when she reaches the door.

"But, won—" Aohi tried to call for the other member, Ri-ki only blocking her sight. "Go, noona." The youngest pleaded, wanting Aohi to rest.

Aohi didn't say anything further as Xiulin pulled her outside, reaching the car with their stuff in tow, letting the younger girl enter the car first.

"Unnie-" Aohi tried to speak her mind before Xiulin could even scold her, but she was instantly silenced by the way her elder sister just sent a glance her way.

"Aohi, what were you thinking?" Xiulin spoke from her seat, leaning back into her seat.

"Unnie.. it was a mistake, I really didn't mean to trip—" Xiulin made a 'nuh uh' sound, shaking her head as she raised her hand up to stop Aohi from speaking even more.

"Not. That." Xiulin turns to her dongsaeng, a slightly annoyed look on here face. "I mean that... the— you know!" Xiulin motions to her hand, making kissing motions by touching the tips of her fingers together.

Aohi watches the action with her lips ajar, she opened her mouth to try and make a reason, an excuse, on why she did it, why she... kissed Jungwon.

Since nothing came out, she only sighed, looking off to the window, as if deep in thought. There was barely any sunlight left, the night coming to replace the sun.

"I don't know.. Unnie, believe me, I was upset and—" Xiulin clicked her tongue. "I thought you disliked our members? That's all you could ever talk about, remember?"

"I know but-" Aohi sighed, looking down at her fingers, fiddling with the rings. "Jungwon- He's different—" Xiulin suddenly puts her hands up in the air, it's like she's finally noticing the plot of a k-drama.

"Different? Because he was nice? You and I have known him for a few months, batsy!" Xiulin argued. Aohi flinches at her aggressive tone, feeling like a kicked cat on the curb.

"It's the way he's changing! Believe me, I tried to push him away, but he was persistent, and I started to change—" Xiulin huffed in her seat, she truly wonders what was going through Aohi's head.

Xiulin thought of the future of ENHYPEN as quickly as she saw the scene of Aohi and Jungwon. It would cause such an outrage, especially between newly-debuted members and how it would conspire so many rumours.

Xiulin's heart was in the right place, worrying about their careers, but she has to understand that Aohi didn't mean for the kiss to happen.

"Unnie.. you said it yourself, we're stuck with them! Is it so bad to try and change? To want to be on better terms with them?" Aohi reasoned, pleading her older member to understand.

"You call that better terms, Aohi?" Xiulin frustratingly replied. The two girls seemed to struggle with finding a middle ground. "Kissing Jungwon is worse than having something against him."

"I like him, unnie!" — "Is you liking Jungwon worth more than our careers?!"

Aohi stays silent at this, for once her stubbornness flickers out like a flame.

She thinks about the whole situation from Xiulin's eyes. She and her unnie worked to debut after being picked out of their respective groups and now that they are debuting, Aohi could ruin it.

Hell, she should be lucky it was Xiulin and.. maybe Ri-ki? who saw the kiss.. Oh gosh, what about Ri-ki? What will he do?

"I'm sorry, unnie... I didn't know what I was thinking..." Aohi whispered, deciding to back down and agree to Xiulin. Her unnie turns to her, seeing the young girl deflate into her chair with a soft sniffle.

Aohi was obviously upset, feeling dejected. Xiulin could only sigh, "You should stay away from Jungwon off-camera.. You and won will only hurt yourselves if feelings start to form..." Xiulin reaches over to rub her arm on the girl's shoulder, in attempt to comfort her.

Aohi only nods, their conversation ending as their separate manager enters the car, ready to drive them home.

MUSIC BANK DRESSING ROOM, 8:56 PM—

"Hyung." A voice calls out for him. Jungwon could only squeeze his eyes shut for a few moments. "Look, just- don't tell the others.." He let out a sigh through his nose, looking up at Ri-ki, who seemed visibly upset.

"I don't care about that, you shouldn't of done that to her." The youngest spoke. Jungwon was taken aback at the sudden hostility coming from Ri-ki.

"Ri-ki, what are you talking about?" Jungwon's eyebrows furrowed, looking appalled at the youngest's behaviour.

Ri-ki clenches his fists, biting the inside of his cheek. "You shouldn't of kissed her."

Jungwon wonders why he'd bring this up, he already knew? What does Ri-ki gain from telling him again?

"You don't think I know that? I'm saying not to mention it to the other hyungs, I'll—" Jungwon spoke, trying to pass the conversation as quickly as possible, the leader didn't want to speak about it, his mind jumbled from the big events of today.

"You're going to hurt Aohi-noona, you know that?" Ri-ki replies, and at this point, Jungwon wonders why he cares so much. Sure, their youngest and Aohi has been closest, but to be so defensive about her?

"Ri-ki, drop it please." Jungwon pleaded, Ri-ki flicking his head to the side, as if ticked off. "she doesn't deserve that, you—" Jungwon stopped Ri-ki from saying even more words, words that could hurt both of them.

"I care about Aohi as much as you do, Ri-ki!" Jungwon argued, Ri-ki biting back just as fierce. "I don't just care, Jungwon-hyung!" He yells, and Jungwon is quiet for a few moments, wondering what he meant.

"You're blowing this out of proportion, ki. You know we're just friends." And at this, Ri-ki scoffs. He felt like a little kid being hid away from things he obviously understood.

"Don't bullshit me, please, hyung." Jungwon clenches his jaw, he could feel the tension rise between them.

It was a familiar feeling, one that started to become obvious as months passed, the more both spent time with Aohi.

"You don't think I notice? The way you look at Noona like she showed you the wonders of the world," Ri-ki steps towards Jungwon, and the older boy takes a step back.

"You used to hate her, and now you kiss her like the past just didn't happen?"

"That was months ago! Aohi and I are on better terms!" Jungwon takes this as an opportunity to stand his ground with Ri-ki, he has never seen their youngest be so rebellious, or hell, angry with them.

"Still! I won't let you play with her feelings like that!"

Jungwon is angered at this, Ri-ki doesn't get to put that claim on him, not when he spent months caring for Aohi, not when he's made a habit to glance at Aohi to make sure she's okay, or always asking her if she needs any help.

Not when Jungwon spent so much time caring, not when he started to form feelings, when he started to love her.

"I'm not playing with anyone's feelings, Ri-ki!" Jungwon finally yells, like a cat defending his territory, feeling offended and intimidated.

"You don't get to accuse me of that! Aohi is just as important to me! I get my actions but I won't do it again! So, drop it!"

"No! I'm not dropping it!" Ri-ki keened.

"God, Ri-ki! Why do you care so much?!" Jungwon groaned, "I said I wouldn't do it again, what more could you want?—"

"It's because I have feelings for her!" Ri-ki reveals, his hand instantly reaching up to slap over his lips. It was so shocking that even Jungwon's eyes widened slowly at his words, not expecting to hear that fall from Ri-ki's lips.

Even Ri-ki's surprised that those words came out of his own mouth.

"I.. I like her."

The two stare at each other for a while, before Ri-ki couldn't handle his hyung's gaze, dashing out with a heavy heart, and a twisting stomach.

Jungwon seemed to grab at a table behind his back, feeling his knees weaken. His hands reached up to wipe the sweat on his face, the temperature of the room seemed to change as the fighting between the two got worse.

Jungwon repeated Ri-ki's works in his head over and over, as if it was a mantra. Ri-ki liked her, he had feelings for her.

God, what will he do?

#˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑰𝑺 𝑨𝑶𝑯𝑰!#enhypen #enhypen 8th member #enhypen added member #enhypen addition #enhypen au #enhypen eighth member #enhypen female oc #enhypen ot7 #enha x oc #poly enhypen x oc #enhypen x oc #enhypen fic #enhypen female addition #enhypen female member #enhypen extra member

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lazybutsmexy · 1 year

Text

Bird hunting

Ghost x fem!reader x Soap

Chapter 1: The Snare

Series masterlist > Ch. 2

Warnings: kidnapping, drugging, violence

Summary: It is a beautiful autumn afternoon to go for a last run before reporting back to base, until it isn't.

Do not read if you're under 18. This work contains mature and triggering themes.

Word count: 1400~

Task Force 141 member sheet

Name: [REDACTED]

Call sign: Canary

Rank: Corporal

Specialty: Sniper. Infiltration.

Status: On medical leave until November 18th XXXX

November 17th

Socked feet padded across the cold ceramic floors, a soft amber hue bathing the living room in the late afternoon sunlight. Canary readied herself for her run, the last one before her reinstallment in the task force after a two-month medical leave.

There was now only a faint scar where her shoulder injury had been, a reminder of a mission almost gone terribly wrong. She had been lucky, nonetheless, as she was allowed to carry most of her leave at her own apartment. She appreciated the six weeks of almost-civilian life she was granted, being able to buy her weekly groceries at the nearby farmers market, and catching up with old friends. But to say she was anxious to return to her military routine was an understatement.

Besides, she would be able to see her lovers once again after so long. Just as she was hospitalized, both Simon and Johnny had been shipped off who knows where. All communication had been nonexistent ever since, and every day she dealt with the dull weight in her chest of not knowing where or how they were. One of the reasons why she had requested to carry her leave out of base, was actually not being able to sleep at her barrack, knowing that the one next to hers was quiet and empty. Price had assured her that they would be back around or at the same time she returned to her duties, which may or may not have caused her to count the days down until her leave was up.

Canary whistled a tune that resembled a catchy pop song that had been playing non-stop on the radio for the past week as she secured her running shoes with a double knot. She felt light and airy, all her belongings were packed and her fridge had been emptied. The apartment was sparkling clean and ready to become unused again for who knows how long. The only thing left to do was to get herself takeout dinner on her way back and go to sleep early, to be up at 4 AM sharp to report an hour later on base.

She grabbed her running hoodie - which had been Johnny’s until she refused to give it back - and her gloves. She took a moment to admire these with a blossoming smile.

~~~~

Canary had just sat down on her bed when the door knocked. After an awfully eventful day as a newly appointed corporal in the infamous 141 task force, she barely had any energy to take off her boots, but she still swallowed the groan that nearly escaped her and called out for the person to walk in.

An instant later, Ghost - her Lieutenant and the protagonist of her dreams as of late - was inside her barrack. She stood up straight, but he dismissed her before she got to salute him. Was this a surprise inspection? Canary resisted the urge to look around her own room to see if anything was out of place. She felt a wave of panic rise when she realized she couldn’t remember whether or not she had picked up her dirty socks from under the bed.

“How can I help you, Lieutenant?” she asked, almost regretting it when he locked his stare on her eyes and her heart rate spiked.

“...I came to bring you this,” he said after what seemed like hours - but were probably just a few seconds - and extended his arm to her, on his hand was a box roughly wrapped in yellow paper.

Canary gingerly took the box from his hands and inspected it, before looking up at him again with a questioning tilt of her head. She thought she heard him gulp before crossing his arms over his chest.

“...It’s from me,” he explained, “and Soap.”

She blinked and nodded, carefully unwrapping the box and opening it from the side, sliding its contents onto her open hand. They were a pair of tactical gloves with bone designs - a replica of his own, she noticed. She looked up at him again, this time there was a slight warmth on her cheeks. She wouldn’t know until much later, but the same flush sat on his own cheeks, beneath the balaclava and skull mask.

“...Happy birthday, Canary.”

~~~~

Whenever she thought back to that moment, the warmth returned to her chest. And whenever she slid the gloves on and adjusted them to her wrist, she imagined Simon and Johnny holding her hands.

With her gloves adjusted, she secured her ponytail and walked out the door, saving her keys in the pocket of her hoodie. She greeted Marian, her elderly neighbour, and left on her run.

Her route wasn't a complicated one, it was a long road that crossed the University campus and ran through the forest, then turned before the bridge and led back into the city. In total, it was about 10 kilometers long. It was often frequented by other young people, mostly university students, who chose it to exercise. This didn't bother her, she tended to prefer this as it made her running route less solitary.

However, an unusually long weekend and the closeness of final exams made the route more solitary, as students either traveled home or shut themselves into their homes to cram. Canary didn't mind this at all, taking the chance to do more sprints and put herself back into the mindset she would be in during her missions soon enough.

Her rhythm was good, cutting through her route like a sharpened knife. She imagined herself at times doing a sprint race with Johnny, like they would during training. It wasn't the same without his taunting and their bickering, but she knew they would do it in no time, any day now.

Canary crossed a few people during her run, but the crowd dwindled even more when she crossed the forest. The trees blocked most sounds from the city, allowing her to enjoy the chirping of some birds that hadn't migrated, and the brush of a breeze in the forage. It was a calm day, the sound of her breathing and the crunch of the fallen leaves beneath her feet being the only disturbance in the area.

Out of nowhere, the hairs at the back of her neck stood and a chill ran down her spine. She was being watched. Canary stopped and looked around, trying to find whoever was looking at her. She decided to continue this time being more mindful of her surroundings, although her instinct screamed at her that she was walking into a trap.

As she got closer to the road near the bridge, Canary felt a sharp pain on the right side of her back. She swallowed a cry and reached for the object that pierced her skin. It didn't feel like a bullet, but something with a needle. Her blood turned cold when she pulled it out and examined it.

A tranquilizer dart.

Judging from the direction from where it was shot, she realized it had come from the forest. Soon she heard a rustling of leaves, and she now had only seconds to reach the road and hopefully flag down a passing car for help.

Canary abandoned the trail to run in the muddy grass, nearly slipping twice. She was still gripping the dart in her left hand, when she realized that the drug could knock her out at any moment now. Her pursuer was gaining terrain on her, and a quick look over her shoulder didn't help her nerves. She unfastened her glove and secured the dart in it to make sure she wouldn't lose it, when she felt a weight being thrown on her back.

Both her and her assailant tumbled down violently onto the grass and she struggled against him, only to find out her legs weren't moving. In her panic, she tried to move around to try and get a better look at the man, but her face was shoved down in the mud. Soon, her arms felt numb as well, the only feeling was the sensation of being zip-tied, and a fog began clouding her eyes and mind. She tried to scream for help, for Simon, Johnny, anyone, but her voice was hoarse and weakened, her breathing growing shallow and heavy under the weight of her attacker.

She barely caught the sight of a gray van pulling up in a hurry, and male voices shouting to each other, then her world went black and silent.

Do not repost, translate, or transcribe any of my works in this or any other social media. Comments and reblogs are highly appreciated though ♥️

#ghost x reader x soap #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #john mactavish x reader #soap x reader #simon riley x john mactavish #ghost x soap #simon riley fanfic #simon riley angst #ghost cod fanfic #soap cod fanfic #cod mw2 #cod mw2 fanfic #cod mw2 angst

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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The Best News of Last Week - March 6, 2023

🐎 - News That'll Make You Say "Neigh" to Negativity: My Weekly Positive Roundup

1. Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing relief for millions

Eli Lilly will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month, the drugmaker said Wednesday. The move could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit.

The change, which Eli Lilly said takes effect immediately, puts the drugmaker in line with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which in January imposed a $35 monthly cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for seniors enrolled in Medicare.

2. Over 7,500 Pot Convictions Expunged in Missouri

More than 7,500 individuals in Missouri have had their prior marijuana-related convictions expunged with recreational cannabis now legal in the state.

The expungement is the latest byproduct of the constitutional amendment that was approved by Missouri voters last fall, which legalized pot for adults and cleared the way for Missourians to have their records cleared.

3. Scientists cure 22 year old former race horse's behavioral disorders after 15 years of symptoms

A team of international researchers from Italy and Brazil published findings earlier this month in the science publication Veterinary and Animal Science in which they reported a “successful outcome of four weeks-therapy with CBD” in a clinical case involving a 22-year-old Quarter horse that was experiencing behavioral disorders.

The clinical case study was a collaboration between investigators from the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna in Italy and the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University Metodista of São Paulo in Brazil. At the heart of the study was a 22-year-old mare subject that was reportedly suffering from “chronic crib-biting and wind-sucking,” which are common behavioral disorders in horses for various reasons, including but not limited to poor welfare

4. Clean energy record: More than 40% of US electricity now comes from carbon-free sources

Power from zero-carbon sources made up a full 41% of the U.S. electricity mix in 2022, a record-breaking number that has increased almost every year since 1990.

That mix includes power from nuclear plants, hydroelectric dams, solar and wind. With nuclear and hydropower relatively unchanged for years at about 19% and 10% respectively, the majority of the increase has come from the rapid build-out of solar and wind power, whose costs have plummeted in the past two decades.

5. ‘Cruelty-free’ circus replaced animals with holograms

youtube

Holograms of horses run in circles. The Circus Roncalli stopped using wild animals in its shows in the 1990s. Circus Roncalli was among the first circus acts in Europe to stop using animals in acts.

6. New UN brokered High Seas Treaty Places 30% of Ocean into protected areas by 2030 after decades of talks

The High Seas Treaty places 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, aiming to safeguard and recuperate marine nature.

The agreement was reached on Saturday evening, after 38 hours of talks, at UN headquarters in New York. The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.

7. 'Heroic' Wirral student rescues dog from Manchester canal

Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/feelgoodnws/status/1632323139454550018

- - -

Lastly, I opened a Youtube account. Subscribe for more wholesome videos. That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

#best news of last week

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habitica · 5 months

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WEEKLY STATUS REPORT: AUTUMN LEAVES AND UNCOMFORTABLE SEATS

Why sit in a squashy armchair when you could sit on an Autumn Leaf Dragon or a Hedgehog?

This past week saw the return of three popular Magic Hatching Potions for your pets and mounts: Autumn Leaf, Ember, and Frost. They're only available until the end of the month!

We also released the brand new Rough Rider achievement, which you can earn any time by collecting all Habitica’s uncomfortable mounts and corresponding pets (Hedgehog, Cactus, and Rock).

#habitica #gamification #pixel art #habitrpg #productivity #motivation #weekly status report

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penna-nomen · 8 days

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Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren’t actually dating

This one sounds hilarious lol.

Thanks for this request @ascreamintothevoid-blog! It was fun. I went with White Collar again, featuring Jones, with a little handwaving over actual case procedures...

No One Believes We’re Dating

FBI Agent Clinton Jones is about to leave the prosecuting attorney’s office, when she says, “One more thing.”

Jones nods. “Sure, what is it?”

“I’m getting a vibe.” Helena Beauchamp holds his gaze. “I can’t act on it, not when we’re working this case together. But when that’s over…” She shrugs. “Well, if we’re both still single, I’d be interested.”

“Yeah,” Jones says. “I’d be interested, too.”

But this is the culmination of the biggest, most complex case he’s ever led, and now that it’s going to trial, it’s likely to be months – maybe even a year – of needing their relationship to be strictly business.

It’s a pleasant surprise a few weeks later when the defendant agrees to a plea deal. When the bad guy goes to jail, Jones takes Helena out to dinner to celebrate. She was right about the vibe. They keep dating.

And he mentions it sometimes at work. He tells the team he’s meeting Helena for lunch or dinner. His colleagues at the Bureau nod and say, “Nice!”

Later he drops comments about taking a weekend trip together. About meeting her sister. About taking her to meet his parents. And his colleagues nod and grin and congratulate him.

Then one day, at the end of a team briefing, Peter Burke says, “One more thing.”

Everyone waits, wondering what’s up, because the boss sounds very serious.

“Over the last eight months, we’ve been joking about the time Agent Jones is spending with prosecuting attorney Beauchamp on the Castleman case. I know it’s funny when we describe the time they consult on the case as if they’re dating, and the meeting-the-parents comment last week had us all cracking up, but I’m worried we’re crossing a line. We shouldn’t be joking about something that’s deeply against the rules.” Peter looks at his team, meeting each person’s eyes. “That’s it.”

Jones is so shocked that he doesn’t say anything. He just stands up as everyone starts to head back to their desks. “Peter…” he says. “I… I wasn’t…”

Peter pats his shoulder. “It’s okay. I know you would never do something so blatantly against the rules. I should have put a stop to the jokes earlier, it’s just… Well, you’re so very serious that it was good to see you kidding around with the team.” And then Peter walks away before Jones can respond.

He knows he told Peter that the Castleman case was closed. He put it in his weekly report ages ago. And while the boss is often busy and distracted, he doesn’t miss details like that.

Jones walks to his desk, but he doesn’t sit down. Instead, he looks around the room. All of these people really thought his comments about dating Helena were just… just… committing to the bit?

He notices that Neal Caffrey looks a bit sheepish. Jones strides over to his desk. “Caffrey. You have something you want to tell me?”

Their consultant nods, and they head to a conference room away from the rest of the team.

“Start talking,” Jones orders as he closes the door.

It’s Caffrey, so of course it’s long and convoluted. Something about the evidence in the Castleman case including a forgery. Specifically, an item Neal had forged before he’d started working for the FBI. As long as the case remains open, the evidence remains in custody, and Neal has access to swap it out with the original before anyone notices. Anyone like, say, Neal’s girlfriend who works for the company that insures the item.

“It’s taken you eight months?” Jones asks.

“Oh, no,” Neal assures him. “It only took a couple of weeks.”

“Then why didn’t you let the case close?”

“Well, firstly, it’s much easier to remove something from your status report than it is to add something in. But more importantly…” And here Neal pauses to flash his infamous smile. “The bit about you dating Helena was just too fun.”

“It wasn’t a bit!” Jones protests. “We’re going shopping for engagement rings this weekend.”

“Congratulations!” Neal says, his voice full of the earnestness he learned as a con artist. “Imagine how surprised everyone’s going to be when they get the wedding invitations. It’s going to be epic!”

And maybe being in love has softened Jones a bit. Because instead of yelling at Neal, he simply laughs. “Yeah, that is going to be epic.”

#white collar #fanfic #clinton jones #reverse tropes

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w1ldthoughts · 9 months

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The Forgotten One Chapter Four: You’re my Best Friend

Series Masterlist

Warning: Mentions of medication and injuries as well as trauma.

The first month after the accident was spent gingerly easing back into somewhat of a normal routine. Jack had physical therapy three times a week for his shoulder, got rid of the sling and prepared himself to head back to work. You had been recommended by your doctors to move at your own pace. You took up yoga and daily walks, anything to ease the mind and get you to relax enough to allow the memories to come flooding back naturally. The two of you had stopped putting pressure on getting you to remember and simply started over as friends. Jack was a fantastic roommate and you could see glimpses of why you fell for him so hard. He knew you like the back of his hand: your favorite shows, foods, music. And you began to unpack a lot of things about him too, like his disdain for the color yellow and his obsession with Pokemon cards.

But the most important part was the little things. He never forgot to give you your meds and a cup of water before bed. One afternoon he came back from PT and covered you with a blanket after you had fallen asleep on one of the couches in the living room. And there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t check in and ask how you were feeling and if there was anything he could do to help. Another thing you’d added to your routine was a weekly status report where you asked each other a series of questions regarding the state of your mental health. You asked each other about nightmares, things that were plaguing your minds during normal day-to-day activities and if there was anything either of you needed to get off your chest that you felt only the other would understand. He felt like less of a stranger and more of a partner in crime and that had made this time so much more comfortable.

“Now that I’m finally able to drive and we can go out and do things, I made plans for us this week.” Jack plops down onto the couch next to you, stealing a grape out of your bowl.

You furrowed your eyebrows in anticipation, “What are we getting into?”

“Several things, but I’m taking us to our first stop right now. So I’m going upstairs to change into something casual. We aren’t doing anything crazy.”

Thirty minutes later the two of you headed off in Jack’s car to your unknown location. You let out a laugh when he pulled into a parking spot and announced that this was the first stop.

“Main Event?” You giggled, “I haven’t been to one of these since—”

“Our first date.” He finished for you. “This is where I took you after finally convincing you to go out with me.”

“This is amazing. My first date with the son of a billionaire was at a massive arcade.” You shook your head, unable to wipe the smile off your face. “Alright then, let’s do this. Might have lost my memory but I will never lose my competitive spirit. Are you ready to get your ass beat in these games Mr. Harlow?” You gave him a cocky smirk.

There’s my girl, he thought to himself.

He unfortunately got the best of you in pop-a-shot but you did beat him at air hockey. Then you headed over to the skeeball area and it got him thinking.

Four years earlier…

“What the fuck? Are you some sort of skee ball professional or something, what is this?” Jack cackled, watching you land in the 100 slot for the third time in a row. “Here I thought I was going to impress you with my ticket earnings and get you a massive bear but you might have to get me one.”

He’d reserved the entire building for three hours just for the two of you. “You know, I’m really glad you didn’t bring me to some Michelin star restaurant with seven one-bite courses. This is so much better.”

Jack grabs the ball from you, rolling it into the 40 slot, a look of disappointment written all over his body. You hugged his arm and gave him a pat on the back, “you’ll get ‘em next time buddy, maybe you’ll even be as good as me when you grow up.”

He kisses the smile off your face and every one of your pores oozes happiness. You were on a date with your fucking boss and you were actually enjoying it. You enjoyed being with him and it was apparent with the intensity of the kiss that he felt lasted a lifetime. He wanted to keep kissing you, keep laughing with you and keep enjoying every moment he got to spend with you, as long as you’d allow it.

The two of you walked over to the prize station at the end of your adventure and you let Jack pick out a prize that he happily walked around with for the rest of the day.

“Wait…is that why you have that giant blue teddy bear in your room?” You laughed, taking a bite of your pizza as you watched him nod.

He gives you a warm smile. “Sometimes when I miss you I just grab him and put him in the bed so I have something to hold on to. It’s one of my favorite memories of us. Just having fun, playing silly games without any care in the world.”

You couldn’t even begin to imagine the heartache he must feel every day. Seeing you but not being able to be with you in a way that he’d gotten used to. But it felt nice to hear him talk about your past without as much sadness in his eyes as the first days, if you had to guess it was probably a bit therapeutic.

“Well, what prize are you going to pick out with these tickets?” You asked, looking at the bag full of them.

“You should choose.” He nodded his head towards the prizes when you got there.

The two of you stood there for a second as you pondered your decision. “I think I want the purple bear with the bowtie. Purple is your favorite color, right?”

He clears his throat, physically getting rid of the lump forming there. “Um yeah—yeah purple is my favorite color, I only mentioned that once. Glad you remembered.”

“Okay so I’ll get the purple one then.” You thanked the employee when he handed it to you and you let Jack carry it out to the car. “You know that blue is my favorite color which is probably why you got it, so that’s why I got this one. Now we each have a bear in our beds and even though we’re not connected like how we used to be, we can make new memories that are just as special.”

Jack nodded slowly and pulled you in for a hug, letting out a sigh of relief when you returned his embrace. Maybe this walk down memory lane was just what the doctor ordered.

The next stop on the tour was a visit to your old apartment building, the one you vividly remembered. It was completely empty and the walls had been painted a sleek cool gray instead of the white chipped walls that you were used to.

“How did you get access to this place?”

“I bought it.” Jack states plainly. “Wanted to turn this into an extra space for you to do whatever you wanted since you mentioned how much you loved it. So I was planning on refurbishing it to whatever you decided but obviously we didn’t get around to it.”

Ew, he really really loved you and the little crush on him that you’d been pushing down for the last couple of weeks was getting harder to hide. “Okay so, this was my apartment. Why is this what you called the most important place on memory lane?”

Three Years Earlier…

“You really need to start being more serious. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is so much better than Iron Man 2 and you know that! Steve having to literally fight to the death against his childhood best friend and then realizing it was Bucky? Please, that is cinema.” You scoff, tossing another Sour Patch Kid into your mouth.

Jack throws his head back in laughter, irking your nerves even more. “You think anything with Chris Evans is ‘cinema’ so I don’t really wanna hear it.”

“Says the guy who drools every time he watches an episode of The Sopranos!” You point your finger at him for emphasis, “you have no room to talk.”

“Aw, is my baby jealous of Meadow Soprano? Come here.”

You resist his advances by turning your head back to the screen in front of you. Jack moves closer and closer until he’s sitting on top of you on the couch. “Jack move, you’re heavy.”

“Not until you give me a kiss.”

“No, just move. I can’t breathe.” You laugh as he holds your face in his large hands, scooting to the side to take some of his weight off of you, but not entirely getting off your lap.

Jack sighs as you close your eyes. “Look at me.” You shake your head and he repeats himself until you blink your eyes open. “There she is. Meadow ain’t got nothing on you baby…trust me.”

“You’re my favorite thing in the world. My one and only. And I would still love you even if you chose Chris Evans over me.”

You swore the Earth stopped spinning for a second. “You what?”

“I said, I would still love you even if—”

“You love me?” You whispered, a tingling sensation brewing in your legs that wasn’t from your boyfriend sitting on them. You felt like you were floating.

He let out a stifled laugh and gave you a gentle kiss. “I love you. So much. I love everything about you. And I’m not saying that just so you can say it back, I really mean that. I—”

“I love you too Jack. I really do, even if you do have shitty Marvel movie takes.”

Jack couldn’t wait until those three words came out of your mouth again. But he knew it would be worth it so just for that, maybe he could wait as long as it took, just to feel how he felt that day.

The two of you then headed over to Churchill Downs Inc., where everyone welcomed you with warm hugs and so much love. This really was the best place to work and you couldn’t wait to catch up on everything and head back to a somewhat normal life. And making money again didn’t sound too bad either. Jack walked with you upstairs and there was a man sitting at a desk in front of what you now noticed was your office door.

“Y/n, this is your assistant Ben. Ben, we’re just here to let her see the place and check everything out, shouldn’t be too long.” Jack reassures him, sensing that Ben was busy.

The man, who you now know as Ben, stands up anyway. “It’s so good to see that you’re out and about again. Do you guys need anything? Coffee or snacks? I just restocked your mini fridge in there just in case.”

“Thank you Ben, but I think I’m good for now.” You told him with a smile. He gives you a simple nod and returns the smile, all of his pearly whites on display. Cleo calls Ben’s phone and asks him to come to her office as Jack opens the office door and you follow right behind him.

“How long have I had this assistant? He seems to know every single thing about me.” You observe, opening the door to the mini fridge to find it full of your favorite drinks and the cabinet stocked with snacks that you thought only Jack knew you liked.

Jack leans on the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “Um, maybe like a year? Probably a little longer. He’s good at his job though, he’s been keeping track of your progress reports and other stuff while we’ve been gone. And you seemed to like him before the accident so he’s probably overdue for a raise honestly.”

“Yeah you should give him one, he seems like he knows what he’s doing and he’s clearly doing it well.” You didn’t know why you felt so strongly about this since you just met him, but you felt like you needed to let Jack know that this was important to you.

He didn’t say another word, just let you look around until you got bored and then asked if you were ready to head home. You bid your goodbyes to everyone and headed back to Jack’s car so he could drive the two of you back to his—your shared house.

While you showered and got ready for the night, you thought back to the man you met earlier. You had to admit that Ben was cute and something about him felt peaceful and familiar, the kind of ease that took a month to build with Jack, who you supposedly were madly in love with. It made you feel bad so you ignored the nagging feeling and headed downstairs to find the curly haired man rapping along to some song called ‘Industry Baby?’ You still had things to catch up on but Jack was so busy with his salmon and the song to even notice you coming into the kitchen. He looked so free and happy that it made your heart swell. You wondered how many times you’d seen this sight, your man cooking dinner for you, serenading you along the way and listening to music together while you cleaned up the kitchen afterwards. The song “You are the Reason” came up as you placed the last utensil in the dishwasher and Jack reached out to you.

“Can I have this dance?” He asked and you dried your hands off to join him. You allowed him to pull you into his arms, slowly swaying to the music, your bodies fitting together seamlessly. He spun you around a few times and welcomed you back in, your head resting on his chest as the hand that wasn’t holding yours made its way around your waist. You found yourself resting your arms around his neck, taking a look in his eyes, a toothy grin appearing on his face. This was the closest you two had been since you woke up and your heart was beating in your ears when you found yourself looking at his lips. The thought of kissing him was exhilarating and he leaned down to press his nose against yours, his touch tickling your skin. He leaned in tentatively and luckily your hands were already around his neck so you pulled him down to you, your lips connecting in a tender kiss, the most delicate one you’d ever experienced and those feelings of anticipation and nerves melted away and made way for—nothing.

You felt nothing. No fireworks or warm sensation in your body sending shivers down your spine like you expected. You were kissing your boyfriend for god’s sake. The man who had literally dropped everything and catered to your every whim the last month and three weeks and now you were finally doing something with some sort of romantic intimacy and it left you feeling…empty.

It was too much. You frantically pulled away, feeling tears brewing in your eyes and Jack looked at you, clearly concerned.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” He gave you a look over to see if there were physical signs of pain like bloodshot eyes or a pronounced vein on the side of your head that he now had come to learn you got when you had a migraine.

“I didn’t—I didn’t feel anything when we kissed.” You sobbed, a hot tear burning its way down your cheek. “Nothing came back either. I thought, I thought something would come to me, maybe even a flash of a memory, anything really.”

He sighs and runs his hands up and down your shaky arms. “It’s okay, we’re okay. We don’t have to rush anything, the way we’re headed is just fine it’s not—”

“Aren’t you concerned that I didn’t feel anything? No spark no—no butterflies, nothing! That doesn’t scare you?” You stressed, stepping back from him.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re recovering from a traumatic brain injury y/n, a true love's kiss isn’t going to magically fix it and I recognize that. We have to be patient. Take it a day at a time like we said?”

“I’m TIRED of being patient Jack. It’s been a month and I still have no idea who the hell I'm supposed to be. I don’t want to wait anymore.” The tears would not stop flowing and you couldn’t wipe them away fast enough. Things weren’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jack rushes out, alarms sounding off in his head.

You didn’t know what to say so you didn’t say anything, he watched you walk upstairs to your room and heard the door close. He took his time heading up to his room, stopping at your room for a few minutes, listening to your sobs through the door. All he could do was shed a few tears of his own, knowing deep down that he was losing his best friend.

Taglist

@jackharloww

@killatravtramp

@middlechild404

@harlowcomehome

@itsyagirljaz

@iknowdatsrightbih

@earthtoharlow

@alimaythings

@rosie-posie08

#jack harlow #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow angst #jackman thomas harlow #jack harlow au

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onenettvchannel · 4 days

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BALITANG ENTERTAINMENT: Wakfu webtoon comic sequel 'The Great Wave' premieres, featuring intimate scenes at starting point between Yugo and Amalia [#K5NewsFMExclusive]

(Written by Rhayniel Saldasal Calimpong / Freelance News Writer, Online Media Reporter and Presenter of OneNETnews)

WARNING!!! SENSITIVE GRAPHIC CONTENT! Reader's discretion is STRONGLY ADVISED!!!

ROUBAIX, FRANCE -- Big exciting news for fans of the French animated series 'Wakfu' - the much-anticipated webtoon comic sequel to the Season 4 finale has premiered! Titled 'The Great Wave', Chapter 1 picks up where the last episode left off, featuring a steamy and intimate love-making scene between Yugo the Eliatrope and Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm (now canonized under a shipping name 'YuMalia').

In a blog post review by a Tumblr user '@cocogum', the webtoon comic doesn't shy away from showcasing the passionate connection between Yugo and Amalia, which now became the 'Sharm' family. From the very start of Chapter 1, readers are treated to a series of insanely and boldingly graphic s*x scenes, which may shock you really bad for the sensitive webtoon comic readers, providing for a deeper look into the characters' relationship.

Such praises for the makers of a French cartoon show like 'Anthony Roux' for not turning himself back from guarding the physical aspect of YuMalia's love that adds such a realistic and raw dimension to their story. Fans of this series dares to enjoy this bold and daring portrayal of the characters' romance.

The release of the webtoon comic comes after the success of the already-funded Kickstarter campaign for the animated series of Season 4 to 'Ankama Studios' and French public broadcaster 'France Televisions'. Not long ago as you might recall, the kids and teens programming block 'Okoo' (part of 'France 3' and 'France 4' for Wakfu) are no longer covering new episodes to animate after this final 4th Season, because of matured audience is currently in effect, and way over targeted demographic limit for the youths, in exception with parents like you.

With the fans of the Wakfu universe eager to be fed more, the decision to continue the story through a webtoon comic format proves to be a wise one. All the chapters will be released every Fridays until late-June 2024, to conclude an extended version after the 4th and final season of the French kids show.

The move of the Wakfu series into different mediums is exiting to be thought of. The webtoon comic does not only take the relationship between Yugo and Amalia (now called on his new marriage name of Mr. Yugo Sharm the Eliatrope) to soar new heights but also provides a new way for fans to delve into the wonderful characters.

For those interested in reading something spicy about 'The Great Wave - Chapter 1' and future chapters on a last post-4th Season finale of Wakfu, the weekly webtoon comic series is out now for purchase at the Ankama Online Store website, or through Ankama launcher when available. With its mind-blowing storyline and bold approach to storytelling, this sequel will just keep fans hooked and on the edge for more.

The best thing will be when the journey of Mr. Yugo Sharm and Prncs. Amalia Sheran Sharm (both were now growned adults) turns into an intense and passionate ride in this exciting new chapter of their life as husband and wife in Sadida Kingdom, and the rest goes history for what does the future bring in a weekly webtoon comic.

COVER PHOTO and SCREENGRAB COURTESY for REPRESENTATION: Ankama Studios & France 4 BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

SOURCE: *https://store.ankama.com/en/a-16459-webtoon-pack [Referenced Listing via Ankama Online Store website] *https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ankamaanimations/wakfu-the-animated-series-season-4/posts/4080520 [Referenced Captioned Status Post via Kickstarter] *https://old.reddit.com/r/wakfu/comments/1c7lq3h/wakfu_the_great_wave_chapter_01_discussion_thread/ [Referenced Subreddit Post via Reddit] *https://cocogum.tumblr.com/post/742135291329036288/ [Referenced Blog Post #1 via Cocogum] and *https://cocogum.tumblr.com/post/748456382070751233/ [Referenced Blog Post #2f via Cocogum]

-- OneNETnews Team

#entertainment news #roubaix #france #wakfu #season 4 #saison 4 #the final season #steamy #intense #webtoon #comic #fyp #exclusive #first and exclusive #OneNETnews

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ltwilliammowett · 1 year

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Holy Sunday

Sunday at sea in the Royal Navy, started half an hour earlier than usual, which was due to Sunday duty. As every day, of course, there was also cleaning, but only a quick damp wipe and then a dusting. While breakfast was being prepared, the men had to shave and line up. Then a fresh and clean shirt was put on. After breakfast, everyone had 2.5 hours to polish everything up, which meant that the master at arms polished the weapons, the cook polished the pots, the gunner had the guns polished, and so on. The pumps were tested and the bilge washed out once if possible. The carpenter, sailmaker, boatswain and purser went through their stores and did a check of their stocks.

Divine Service as it is Usually Performed on Board a British Frigate at Sea by Augustus Earle (1793–1838) (x)

At half past ten the first lieutenant made a quick round and inspected everything. So that at half past ten all men could be called to muster. This meant that they all lined up on deck in their respective divisions and could be accepted by their respective lieutenant. All complaints were passed on to the first lieutenant, who sent the persons concerned down to work. At the same time, the surgeon also took a closer look at the men to get an overview of their health status and to prevent scurvy. After this inspection, the captain took over and looked at the men. If anything was noticed, it would be noted as negligence on the part of the first lieutenant and entered in his log book (a circumstance that, if repeated, would affect his reputation and possibly have a negative impact on him in later assignments on other ships).

Between Decks of a Man-of-War, (x)

When the captain had finished with his men and the midshipmen had completed their weekly reports, the ship was inspected. When this was also done, the divine service was called, which took place on deck under the open sky, weather permitting. Otherwise, the whole thing was moved to the gundeck. If there was a chaplain, he would hold a mass; if there was none, it was up to the captain to do it, although most of them were not particularly religious, and it was usually just a flaming speech to the men and the reading of the articles of war. Afterwards it was piped for dinner, followed by free time until 4.00 or half past 4.00. The men were allowed to do what they wanted on board according to the rules. This was usually an extended nap, playing, talking or sewing or other crafts.

Three men playing cards - A Scene on the Main Deck of A Line of Battle Ship in Harbour, by Thomas Sutherland 1820 (x)

If the ship was in a port or in a fleet, it was custom for the ships to visit each other. If the weather was good, then selected - not pressed - men were allowed to visit the others on selected ships. Often the guests were greeted there by their comrades with saved grog, which often led to drunkenness and thus to later punishments when the men returned.

After supper on Sundays the weekly muster was held, when the names were called and the men had to report present, the drunks were sorted out and then punished - like spending the night in irons. After this the Guns were examined and had to be declared ready, the hammocks were piped down and the first watch was called. With that, Sunday was considered over and regular duty resumed.

#naval history #sunday #at sea #life below deck #age of sail

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noneedtoamputate · 3 months

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Blind Dates 2024: Patsy Harangody

Pasty is the secretary you wish had, but she's not going to put up with your foolishness - even if you were the most beloved Marine officer in the PTO.

A shout out to @shoshiwrites for being an absolute peach and for beta reading my fic. All remaining errors are entirely my own. And thanks to @mercurygray for being my Andy Haldane sounding board and for creating and running the @blind-dates-fest for all of us to enjoy.

Fandom: The Pacific (AU, postwar)

September 1947

Chicago, Illinois

He didn’t interrupt while she finished typing a memo. That was the first thing Patsy Harangody noticed about Andy Haldane, before she even got a proper look at him. Most of the coaches at the University of Chicago simply walked up to her desk and started talking, even if she was in the middle of work. At the very least, they faked a cough to get her attention, as if she couldn’t see them out of the corner of her eye. But Andy Haldane pretended to be interested in a photograph on the wall until he saw her pull the sheet of paper out of the typewriter.

“Welcome to Chicago, Coach Haldane,” she said after he introduced himself. She could tell by his accent he wasn’t just new to the university but the city as well. “Please take a seat until Mr. Carlson is ready to meet with you.” She gestured to a nearby chair. “Coffee?” she asked as he sat down.

“No, thank you,” and he trailed off as he looked at her finger. “No thank you, Miss Harangody.” The nameplate on her desk simply read Patricia Harangody, not giving away her marital status. While she addressed visitors with their titles - coach or mister, sometimes dean or professor - rarely did anyone return the respect. Just Patricia. Just Patsy. Just a secretary.

She opened a drawer and took out a file, pretending to look over its contents. Instead, she watched him continue his recon exercise. She saw him look at the photos on her desk, one of her family on the steps of their apartment and the one with Ginny and Abigail and Flo when they had leave and took the train down from Washington to Virginia Beach. He took in the sorry plant struggling to stay alive despite her best efforts and the sociology textbook she bought last week, storing these pieces of information away, in case they could help him later. He looked up at the clock on the wall behind her and compared its time with his wristwatch, frowning ever so slightly at Mr. Carlson’s lack of punctuality.

“Any words of advice before I go in there?” She looked up from her reading and saw him smiling at her.

As the newest assistant football coach, it was now his job to meet with Don Carlson, the assistant athletic director, twice weekly - on Mondays to report on the game just played over the weekend, and on Thursdays to preview the game ahead The assignment always fell to the newest coach, just as her position fell to the newest secretary, as it was common knowledge that Don Carlson was the stupidest man employed by the University of Chicago.

Patsy could only guess what he had heard about her boss, and while she certainly had strong opinions, she wasn’t about to share them with a stranger, no matter how polite he was and how nice a smile he had. If she shared anything negative about Don Carlson and it got back to him, it would be her job on the line, not Andy Haldane’s.

“Coach Haldane, please understand how important discretion is to being a successful secretary. While I haven’t seen your resume, I’m confident you have the education and work experience befitting a University of Chicago football coach. I have no doubt the meeting will go just fine.”

She caught him off guard for a moment, but he nodded, a sign of respect for what she refused to say.

Seconds later, Mr. Carlson came bumbling out of his office. “Coach Haldane, Don Carlson,” he said as he shook the younger man’s hand.” He turned to his secretary. “Patsy, why didn’t you tell me Coach Haldane was waiting?”

Patsy looked at the new coach, and she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly and rolled her eyes.

I didn’t tell him you were waiting because he specifically told me not to interrupt him. He said he wanted to show you who was in charge here.

No actual words were exchanged, but he seemed to understand.

“A pleasure meeting you, MIss Harangody,” he said before he walked into the office.

When he walked out forty-five minutes later, he gave her a look.

What the hell was that? he silently asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders and looked down so she didn’t start laughing. He shook his head and walked out of the office, still in a daze.

The next morning, Patsy saw Coach Haldane on her walk from the train station to the athletic department office.

“Miss Harangody,” he called out. “Do you have a minute?”

“Not really. I took a later train than usual this morning.” He nodded, understanding but seemingly disappointed at the same time. “You’re welcome to join me,” she added, and he smiled as they walked side by side.

Patsy loved this time of year, when you could almost smell the leaves change colors in the brisk morning air and motivated students gathered around the Gothic-style buildings, talking about classes and classmates.

“It makes you almost forget we’re in Chicago,” he said.

“What does?” she asked.

“The trees and the buildings. The parks and the lake.” He waved his hand in the direction of the water.

It was like he just read her thoughts. She felt unsettled and intrigued in equal measure.

“Were you in intelligence during the war?” she asked.

He laughed. “Hardly. And my lack of intelligence is why I wanted to talk with you.” He put his hands in his jacket pockets. “I put you in an awkward position yesterday. I shouldn’t have asked you to divulge anything about your supervisor. It was disrespectful and unprofessional of me. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

“Of course, Coach Haldane. I’m sure it’s difficult being in a new place. I don’t begrudge you trying to get an advantage, but I’m glad you understand my situation,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said. He pulled out an envelope from his pocket. “These are for you. Two tickets to the game on Saturday. It’s one of the perks of the job, and you’re the only person I know here who isn’t part of the team.”

“I’m not sure about my weekend plans …” she trailed off. She didn’t care for football, but it felt rude admitting that to a football coach.

“Take them, just in case,” he said.

She grabbed the envelope. “Alright. Just in case.”

“Miss Harangody.” He looked at her a moment longer than necessary and walked on.

She walked into her building and saw Lorraine, her friend and a fellow secretary, in line for the elevator.

“Hiya, Pats,” Lorraine greeted her. “How’s things?”

She thought of the envelope in her purse, his patience before walking up to her desk and his apology when he knew he was in the wrong. Even if she didn’t like football, there were always the trees and the tailgate parties and the coach on the sideline who she knew would be scanning the crowd for the secretary who accepted his tickets.

“I know it’s only Tuesday, but what are you doing on Saturday?” Patsy asked. “Two tickets to the football game just fell into my lap.”

#the pacific #the pacific fan #andy haldane #patsy harangody #blind dates oc fest 2024 #oc #original female character

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eggtrolls · 2 months

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park stuff calendar:

March 9th: cancel pine bark order from Home Depot ASAP

March 10th - CANCELLED: weekly maintenance at horribly degraded wetland (HDW); bring sharps container for needles

March 11th - email boat club people about boat-based trash removal in the future and logistics for non-members

March 12th - 9:30 meeting with J.S.#3 about seed project and possible mugwort eradication March 12th - get 2023 budget from C.W. March 12th - community board parks subcommittee meeting at 6, take notes; follow-up item: confirm the deadline for bringing up Earth Day Festival as item at April meeting (3rd Thursday of every month) March 14th - HDW clean up with J.S.#3 and his dyke assistant March 14th - remove the wineberry in daffodil patch by the stairs March 14th - Earth Day Festival committee meeting at 6:30

March 15th - text JLS about adding earth day event to Parks calendar (confirm with Fucking Chris about when this should happen) March 15th - PFP GRANT IS DUE March 15th - unpack Home Depot deliveries and repot AWC cohort 1 seedlings

March 16th - riverside clean-up with boat club people March 16th - walk-through with J.S.#2 at the restoration creek project March 16th - remove Atlantic white cedar seeds from fridge and plant (3:2:1.5 peat:vermiculite:perlite with the slow-release fertilizer (it's in the foyer closet on the shelf and smells weird) + transplant cohort 1 (measure and record heights), same mix [source, Derby et al. (2004)]

March 17th - weekly maintenance at HDW

March 18th - text J.L.S. about getting parks committee chair email; soft pitch my concerns about park land use to her + include Patch article from 2021 March 18th - ask J.S.#2 about Army Corp of Engineers survey results (from 2023?)

March 20th - Riverkeeper orientation at 5:30 March 20th - deadline to email chair of community board parks committee to add what I think is illegal land use to the next board meeting agenda (incorporate lack of public feedback & Army Corps of Engineers report on sea level rise)

[March 21-March 26 - vacation; no weekly maintenance at HDW; morning pruning of wineberry at Shittier Park (bring bags for removal and double-glove) or follow-up on mulberry tree pruning

March 22nd: pick up seed mix from Autistic Seth or designate one of the SC to do it]

March 27th - watch Riverkeeper Sweep orientation recording on zoom & email Frances March 27th - repot Ursa Major & Ursa Minor March 27th - bother Dan (ICC) about boat plantings; bother Jana about beach plum locations March 27th - email Compost Lady from RSC March 28th - call with JS#1 at 9 am about wetland meeting; discuss the seed-sowing project for EDF March 28th - email JS#1 the seed invoice and species list from Autistic Seth March 28th - steering committee meeting at 6:30

March 29th - call with Rachel from comedically evil non-profit at 5:30 March 29th - return of J.S.#3 and his dyke assistant Paloma to HDW

March 30th - weekly maintenance at HDW

March 31st - community gardening day with the slightly cult-y Orthodox Jewish community group (to do: reach out to other group members to see if anyone wants to join in; double check that email didn't bounce back or if there's a better email)

April 7th - weekly maintenance in park

April 9th - community board meeting at 6:30 April 9th - email Bennett Park people

April 11th - sculpture reception, 9 am April 11th - private call with commissioners 1&2, 2pm April 11th - email CB committee head April 11th - email state senator's office

April 14th - weekly maintenance at HDW

April 15th - call with CB committee head, 6pm RESCHEDULED

April 18th - update on AWC cohort status April 18th - call with CB committee head and Evil Ryan, 3 pm RESCHEDULED

April 19th - pick up giant map from Staples

April 20th (ugh) - Earth Day Festival (HAT AND SUNSCREEN AND WATER BOTTLE) + make @roycohn attend under pain of death; wake up 7 am

April 21st - weekly maintenance at HDW or help B.S. with her site plantings in Bronx

April 22nd - actually Earth Day. also Pesach April 22nd - email compost lady

April 25th - steering committee meeting and EDF post-mortem

April 27th - tentative date for visiting compost site at RPC

April 28th - monthly check for cohort 1 heights

May 4th - Riversweep with boat club people

May 25th - clean up in Rockaway

general to-do list w/o fixed date:

talk to Unfriendly Caitlin or B.S. about the Japanese pagoda trees in Shittier Park and a possible transplant

ask Beth about making flyer for EDF (English and Spanish)

ask Unfriendly Caitlin about info on native bees that hibernate in grasses during the winter; ask Fucking C for the marsh groundskeeper guy's contact info to discuss future grass clearing and ideally make them stop it.

talk to bagel place guy and trump supporter Tom about donations and whatnot

email J.S.#2 about setting up private event for plant dividing in April (post-EDF)

email A (she/they) at RPC about compost visit on 4/27

email J.S#1 about plans for mugwort removal on Earth Day, signage, using the seed mix as cover crop, and beyond

email NutraSweet about discussion of mugwort with J.S.#3

email New York Metropolitan Flora survey about incidence of river cane

urban ecologist program at NYBG

get actual sharps containers for EDF clean-up at work (possibly boat club people have extras we can use either way I'm not paying for this shit)

ask super for my spare hand pruners back

place order from Prairie Moon once AWC cohort 2 starts sprouting

email A.R. (nursery) about group volunteering in exchange for a bunch of plants (deadline [self-imposed] is March 15th)

email J.S.#1 about wetland management goals based on call with S.H.

email J.S.#1 about DEC tidal wetlands permit

follow-up email to J.S.#3 about seed project + email fucking Seth if he doesn't get back to me about the mix

identify actual trail edges that can be cleared and planted + look up if hand rake would be useful

email N.H. at BRA about testing soil samples and if there's a cost/limit (update: NONE; ask NutraSweet to drop off in her car);- discuss results with J.S.#2 and how to incorporate into wetland management plan with J.S.#1

follow up with J.S.#2 about clearing the canal, which I hate

ask M.S. or R.K. about landscape architect stuff re: boardwalk design for wetland management plan

text B.S. about tree delivery from JBHS nursery

start looking for other grants once PFP is submitted

look into seed collection techniques and seed-sharing resources in mid-Atlantic/New England

--- Cohort 1 notes: on 3/15/24, 4 of the Cohort 1 AWC seedlings were planted in 3 pots: Gemini (two together), Atlas, and Pipsqueak in the Derby (2004) medium with a sprinkle of Osmocote + original medium from cones. Heights were 14.5 cm & 6 cm (Gemini), 12 cm (Atlas), and 10 cm (Pipsqueak). Pending them not dying immediately and/or showing signs of significant growth, the remaining seedlings will be repotted. Target height prior to planting is 36 cm. Repotting showed a shallower root system than expected, needs a wider container than cone or should be replanted sooner.

3/17/24 update: might be a coincidence but Pipsqueak and Atlas are already showing new growth (crown and branches, respectively). no changes from Gemini. among the un-repotted, Ursa Minor has some browning at the crown - might need to transplant soon than later, or perhaps burning from too much sun? will rotate and see if this improves. unsure how I will separate Gemini/Ursa Major and Minor when the time comes :/

3/20/24 - separated Gemini into two pots due to lack of immediate growth/improvement shown in Atlas and Pipsqueak. Concern about browning on Ursa Minor, may attempt to divide soon. Potted Hajime and Tagalong to use up the extra medium.

3/28/24 - Potted Ursa Minor and Ursa Major (without Osmocote). Atlas and Pipsqueak continue to show the most improvement. Tagalong has started to show some new growth; less from Hajime. Gemini 1 has started showing new radial growth with a hint of crown growth from Gemini 2. Added layer of compost to all C1 after morning watering

Heights updates:

Pipsqueak - 12.5 cm

Atlas - 13.0 cm

Gemini 1 - 14.5 cm

Gemini 2 - ~6 cm (note: crown is bent)

Hajime - 13.8 cm

Tagalong - 11.0 cm

Ursa Minor - 6.7 cm (note: browning on crown might affect future vertical growth)

Ursa Major - 18.3 cm

4/9/24 - noticed some burning on Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, likely due to the shitty addition of Osmocote. stirred soil and repotted. likely that Ursa Minor is not going to make it.

Cohort 2 notes: on 3/17/24, 105 seeds were planted for Cohort 2 in the Derby (2004) medium with the Osmocote. seeds were floated (77 floated, 28 didn't float) and grouped by float status, divided into 28 cones (on average 4 seeds to each cone), planted, and additional medium spread on top ~1/4 cm. some of the original medium from Cohort 1 was used in cones where Derby medium was insufficient. all cones were watered at approximately 12:00 with 2 tsp of distilled water.

3/20/24 - no growth so far. continuing with 2 tsp water daily (morning). May try dividing into 1 tsp morning, 1 tsp evening.

3/28/24 - no growth so far. continuing with 2 tsp water daily (morning). will switch to divided watering for a sample after 30 days.

4/11/24 - FIRST SEEDLING OF COHORT 2 UP

4/18/24 - cohort 2 notes: one seedling still in cap, one with two leaves out and third budding (both in row 4FR). I didn't record the time for the first seedlings of cohort 1 to come up so this is a total craps shoot. switched back to 1 tsp of water (mornings) because of concerns of overwatering leading to bugs.

#dispatches from the park #I hate spring I love spring I HATE spring please pray for me #will update as necessary

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