Unwavering Facts of Yesterday

“Mom has been texting me for the last twenty minutes. She wants me to come home. It’s a four hour drive, when the roads are clear, and from what I hear everybody is trying to get somewhere right now. There’s no telling if I’d even-”

“Everybody else has left. All the other kids were picked up, the other staff left. They gave me all the keys. I promised to stay and wait for as long as- well. Even if some of the parents show up, I guess some of them won’t, so I’m just waiting. Until.”

[Clears throat.]

“A couple of people came after everybody left. Peter, one of Aidan’s fathers, gave me three hundred dollars for staying. What am I going to do with money? It’s- anyway. I kind of get it. He wanted to give me something.”

[Audio ends]

[Audio starts]

“They’re all between 2 and 4.” Sniff. “They’re so little. Too little to really- maybe if they were older, I’d have to tell them something. But um. I’m just- trying to stay calm and keep them happy and occupied. I think that’s the best thing, right now.”

[Heaving breaths.]

“I normally use this recorder to help me remember stuff. It’s just, uh, habit to talk to it. I don’t know. They’re napping, right now. I’ve got the baby monitor, they know that if they talk into it, I’ll come, so-”

[Sobbing.]

[Audio ends]

[Audio starts]

“Mom keeps texting, so I blocked her. I sent her a text telling her goodbye, first, but. I do. But these kids need me.”

[Sniff.]

“I tried calling their parents again, but I can’t get anybody. It’s just busy signals. I called the firefighter station, 911. I can’t get through to anybody.”

[Shaky breath.]

“I went out into the yard. Um, I think they can play. It’s nice out, and you can’t really see it yet. Little bit of a glimmer, if they ask I’ll just tell them it’s a plane, but it’s nice out and we’ve got hours before-”

[Murmuring child’s voice, indistinguishable.]

[Audio ends]

This Tumblr post is the first time someone has explained to me *why* I couldn’t feed them before those instances.

every single time i have had to say, "i understand that if he had food or water, he could aspirate it into his lungs under anesthesia. i am not lying to you." THEN someone would make a little note and i would stop being repeatedly asked.

not a single time was that risk explained to me. the only reason it came up was because i already knew. i still don't understand why it isn't standard pre-op counseling or pre-op check information, when me as a parent acknowledging the actual risk also put THE MEDICAL STAFF at ease because i conveyed that i had informed understanding as reason to not lie about giving my kid food.

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

These events are almost always open bar. They're not trying to make their money back on alcohol. They want you to drink and eat and donate generously.

If there are cocktails, there will be at most two on offer, pre-made in large tubs. You cannot order a different version, it is what it is.

There are two types of events: cocktail style or seated. The first includes roaming hors d'oeuvres or a fancy buffet with tiny plates called a grazing station. For a long night, the roaming food will get a little bigger throughout the evening and have a 'main' at some point based around a protein.

A seated event will usually be more structured and may include multiple courses. Silver service is not in vogue anymore. You are likely to get either alternating meals brought to you like at a wedding, or served banquet style. A good caterer can get a plate to everyone in a 300 person event in about three minutes.

Drunk people are the same no matter how expensive their suits. They still laugh too loud, spill their drinks and slip on the dance floor. They are usually less embarrassed about doing coke in the bathrooms.

A full scale event that starts at 6pm will have staff arriving at noon to begin setup. Earlier if there's a light show or pyrotechnics. Typically venues don't just have 30 tables and three hundred chairs lying around, let alone table cloths, chair covers, etc. It's all rented and brought in on the day. Bands and DJs will be running audio tests in the background throughout.

Most heritage buildings that host these things, like museums and manor houses, aren't really designed for them. They might put down mats so you're not walking in stilettos over two hundred year old wooden floors, the kitchens are weirdly far away, and there are not enough taps. There is never anywhere for staff to sit, so if you open the wrong door you might find half a dozen waiters sitting on upturned milk crates in a room full of million dollar paintings, eating the left over bread.

Really old buildings don't have enough bathrooms, which means the staff will be sharing with the guests.

Clean up starts the second the event ends, if not sooner. Unattended glasses will start to disappear first, then table decorations. When the timer ticks over, the lights come back on and exhausted staff strip the tables, pack up dirty glasses and unopened wine bottles and have to Tetris it all into the back of a van. The venue is booked for that day only, so everything has to be gone before anyone can go home. A large event that finishes at midnight might take until 3am to be cleared away.

check out the zine! 🧡 💙

check out the zine! 🧡 💙

I can’t wait for next season.

The creator prompts for the Tim Drake Exchange are now live for everyone! Anyone is welcome to participate in creating treats based on the prompts. Tim Drake Exchange Requests Treats have no minimum requirements as long as they meet the prompters request. You can add directly to the collection here, and your work will be revealed alongside the gifts beginning July 17th. There is no due date though, so you are welcome to add treats to the collection afterwards as well!

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I was tagged by @leafymerlin Thanks for the tag! 💚

I don't have a 'on repeat' playlist, so I shuffled my 'Replay 26' Playlist:

Breakthrough - Lemonade Mouth

In The Air - Charlie Gillespie

This Is Love - Dixon Dallas

Monster - EPIC

Would You Come Home - Tyler Blackburn

Wow - Dirty Candi

Like Whiskey - Dixon Dallas

Charybdis - EPIC

Legendary - EPIC

Different Beast - EPIC

Unfortunately I don't have an "on repeat playlist", I have multiple playlists that I pick select songs from and loop 💀 That said, I did check my workout song history yesterday and what do you know, I have 9 songs on it! Here goes, in no particular order:

Devil Trigger -Casey Edwards (Nero's theme song from DMC5)

Blood and Glitter -Lord of the Lost

Ich Komme -Erika Vikman

Ulveham -Gåte

Take Me Back -PSYCHO±LIES

Kälter Als Der Tod -Die Kreatur

Ghost Love Score -Nightwish (Floor Jansen version, Wacken live)

End of You -Poppy, Amy Lee, Courtney LaPlante

Bury the Light** -Casey Edwards (Vergil's theme song from DMC5)

Hmm, last one... I'll throw in my top song from my YT recap this season, I guess: Even in Arcadia, by Sleep Token.

Tagging cool cats (I'm fucking old lol) @godotismissingx @niaswish @iriascend @deepwithintheabyss and anyone else who might like to do this. Optional of course.

I had to choose /which/ of the on repeat playlists to go with so uh... there's that I guess. I went with my "Writing Repeat" playlist that has... 201 songs. LOL

Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea by MISSIO

Chalk Outlines by Ren, CHINCHILLA

Save Us by SYSH, TAIINA

ain't afraid to die by Dir en grey

Devil'sPlayround by Droupout Kings, Eliza Grace

I Found by Amber Run

Specter by Bad Omens

Shhh (Pew Pew) [Slowed + Reverb] by Young Fanatic

Snuff by Slipknot

Separate by Saint Mesa

Bonus: Ghost Blood (with MXMS) by Saint Punk, MXMS Bonus 2: Blood & Glitter by Lord of the Lost

And hey, you wanna find the most fucking eclectic, insane, jerk you genre-to-genre playlists you've ever seen? Find my playlists on Spotify. I'm cadkitten there, too.

Tagging: anyone who sees this who wants to do it <3

1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.

2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.

3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."

4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.