#but we're down a person this year so I'm learning how to run the planting equipment which is a new experience for me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

batmanisagatewaydrug · 2 years

Text

first reading update of 2022!

after just barely reaching my goal of reading 69 books last year with a desperate day of airport reading, I'm off to a strong start with 8 books read in January - and lads, there isn't a dud in the bunch.

Monster of the Week (Michael Sands, 2015) - Strixhaven must have done something to me; I guess I read ttrpg manuals cover to cover now? Monster of the Week is a fun and breezy read, offering a super-customizable system to let your friends get up to all sorts of spooky shenanigans. for bonus reading (or listening, I guess) I recommend checking out the Critshow, an actual play show that I started listening to the same day I started reading the book. for folks who learn better by doing than by reading instructions it can be super helpful to listen to the game in action before you try to run it yourself, and the good good lads over at the Critshow really made me fall in love with the potential of MotW's "advancement through failure" mechanics.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (Ocean Vuong, 2019) - much like Richard Siken and Mitski, Vuong is one of those artists that you see quoted all the time on tumblr in the context of various emotional compilation posts juxtaposing them with countless other vaguely sad things. also like Siken and Mitski, Vuong actually lives up to the hype and then some.

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments (Aimee Nezhukumatathil, 2020) - an exquisitely long name for an exquisite little book, in which Nezhukumatathil brings attention to some of her favorite plants and animals with short, clever essays. written in poetic prose, Nezhukumatathil extolls the virtue of everything from the smiling axolotl to the surprisingly resilient flamingo to the reeking corpse flower, weaving in her own struggles with being perpetually Othered as a brown woman in America with glittering praises of Earth's astonishing biodiversity.

A Snake Falls to Earth (Darcie Little Badger, 2021) - every time I think I'm pretty much done with YA fantasy I'm proven wrong in the most spectacular fashion. Little Badger weaves a tale of two worlds - that of teenage Nina, a Lipan girl in a world very much like ours being rocked by climate change, and of a snake-person named Oli who lives in a parallel world populated by animal spirits. Nina wants to unlock secrets left behind in a language her family has forgotten; Oli seeks a cure for an ailing friend. both protagonists delight on their own - I'll admit I was extremely partial to Oli's alternating chapters - but really shine when the narrative inevitably brings them crashing together.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Benjamin Alire Sáenz, 2012) - and again with the YA! I reread Ari and Dante in a single day in anticipation of finally getting my hands on the sequel, and I'm so glad I did. Alire Sáenz's plain but poignant prose goes down like a warm soup or a mug of hot chocolate, always a gentle comfort. I don't want to get too hyperbolic, but I really think this might be one of THE best books about young queer people out there.

Light From Uncommon Stars (Ryka Aoki, 2021) - this book blurbs itself as "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet meets Good Omens," but that doesn't begin to do it justice. this novel displays an absolutely fearless disregard for the constraints of genre, spinning the store of a trans violinist who's run away from home, a legendary violin instructor who makes her students famous in exchange for selling their souls to hell, and an alien mother who's family have fled an intergalactic danger to hide out in an unassuming California doughnut shop. their stories tangle together in soft, surprising ways, and it's taking every ounce of willpower I have not to completely spoil how unbelievably kickass the ending is. did I mention the violin instructor and the alien mom are dating?

Hurts So Good: The Science and Pleasure of Pain on Purpose (Leigh Cowart, 2021) - an introspective and empathetic account that Cowart, who is both a science journalist and sexual masochist, was perhaps uniquely qualified to write. their investigation takes them to such unlikely places as a pepper-eating contest where the champion vomits immediately after victory and a marathon than requires competitors to go several days without rest to Cowart's own childhood suffering the physical torture of dancing ballet. Cowart makes a compelling argument that nearly everyone engages in at least a little intentionally-inflicted pain to, paradoxically, make themselves feel better, and dives into the science of why while also wondering about where, exactly, the line between acceptable and unacceptable self-harm is to be drawn.

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World (Benjamin Alire Sáenz, 2021) - that crazy son of a bitch, he's done it again! I will be honest with you, beloved readers: this much-awaited sequel isn't quite as good as the original, and nor was it ever going to be. but Alire Sáenz tackles Ari Mendoza's coming of age by taking a much wider scope than he did in the first book, introducing issues ranging from the ongoing AIDS crisis (these books do take place in the late 80s, after all), grief, and racism. Ari also gets to have some great personal coming of age moments - I was particularly moved by Alire Sáenz's determination to expand Ari's group of friends, letting our poor moody boy realize at last that there are people in the world who are happy to love him, if he'll only let them in. it's significantly longer than the first installment, and I do think a little more editing and trimming might have benefitted this book, but at the end of the day I still spent most of the last 100ish pages crying, so who am I to complain?

now - for the pressing matter of the bingo sheet.

I'm off to a pretty strong start! without reusing any titles for more than one space, I still have nonfic (Cowart), a sequel (Alire Sáenz), a debut author (Vuong), an essay collection (Nezhukamatathil), SFF (Aoki), YA or middle reader (Little Badger) and a book that I reread (Alire Sáenz again). at this rate, I could have a bingo by February!

... or maybe I'll shift the game to see if I can get a bingo each month? that might be fun. much to consider. however I end up doing it, if you'd like to play along with your own bingo sheet you can download them in different colors here!

#bookblr #reading updates

38 notes · View notes

katnissmellarkkk · 3 years

Text

Andddd here’s my chappy three thoughts 🥳🥳🥳

Hmmm Katniss saying that her mother has a dress made of velvet is actually really interesting because it shows that Mrs. Everdeen Lily-Rose really was well-er off before she married Katniss’ father Hunter.

Or did she get the velvet dress from Maysilee? Oh well, who knows.

Aww, Katniss’ nervous habit of touching soft things repeatedly to soothe herself 🤧🤧.

“Crying is not an option. There will be more cameras at the train station.” — someone tell that to Peeta 🤣🤣🤣.

Okay I gotta stop picking on Primmers, I know but like. How small is she that she sits on Katniss’ lap like a toddler but then in the following year is the same height as her? Doesn’t matter I know but still I wonder.

Okay so Mrs. E is the doctor for the people of the Seam? Idk I never thought about this but who does people like Peeta or Madge or Delly go to if they’re sick or hurt? Is there a still running apothecary shop that Katniss never mentions? Are her grandparents still running the family biz?

Also okay, I gotta stop having so many thoughts on all the lil details I know but like. Katniss says here she’s familiar with the herbs her mother doesn’t grow on her own so like a). Katniss is more of a healer than she leads on because no average person knows what kind of plant is medicinal and b). Her mother is just growing herbs and Katniss never mentions it again in the whole series? Or I just missed it.

Okay imma move on from this one singular paragraph but Gale and her made a pact a year ago that they’ll supply each other’s family with game if they were to be reaped... I’m feeling like their close friendship is probably only one year old then? Idk. Just my interpretation.

Honestly I love Katniss getting mad at her mom here.

She’s sixteen, for God’s sake, of course she’s angry at what her mother’s illness put her through.

Also I lowkey like that her mother got mad back because that lady in the movies had zero personality.

“Boys who are two to three times my size.” She sounds so little, omg 🥺🥺🥺.

“I don’t care if we’re rich, I just really want you to come home” 🤧🤧🤧😩😩😩😩 okay Primmers, you got me here.

“the Peacekeeper is at the door, signaling our time is up, and we're all hugging one another so hard it hurts and all I'm saying is ‘I love you. I love you both.’ And they're saying it back...” this is so sad leave me be 😫😫😫😫

Katniss is burying her face in a pillow to block out her emotions this is too much for me 🥵🥵🥵

Omg I forgot Peeta’s father visits Katniss 😅

Why does he visit Katniss?

She describes Peeta’s father as a “big, broad-shouldered man.” And then describes Peeta as stocky. Idk the comparison of the two descriptions has always led me to think Peeta is gonna be a big dude when he grows up like his father. This made no sense and had zero correlation but I thought, so I said it, no regrets

Oh he brought her cookies 🤧

WAIT WAIT WAIT. I just had a new thought, y’all. What if instead of the baker bringing cookies being a thing he does for all tributes, what if he’s bringing the cookies because Peeta asked him to, because he made them and wants to give them to Katniss and knows she’ll never accept / trust them coming from her competition? What if that’s the real reason the baker visited her in the first place? Because Peeta asked him to? This was such a shipper comment but idc, no regrets, remember?

Omg Peeta’s father is just mute 🤣🤣🤣

Between an abusive, angry mother and a mute for a father, the Mellark brothers must have had a fairytale of a childhood 😅😅😅😅.

But seriously #PoorPeetaMyBaby

Aww Peeta’s father is gonna help keep Prim alive 😭

Omg I just remembered he’s her mother’s ex boyfriend. Haidon Mellark, as I named him in my fics.

That one fic where he was thought to be Prim’s real father is just playing now in my head, rent free.

But does Katniss not realize that he may be offering to help Prim as a favor to her? Like she claims Prim is just so wonderful people adore her but there’s like zero evidence in the text that make her endearing? Okay I need to turn this bus around, I need to find a love for Primmy Deen.

Madge is not one for preamble apparently. No “hi, how are you? I’m sorry you’re gonna die? What will your last meal be?” Just right to “here, wear this family heirloom of mine, k thanks.”

I like that Madge had to kiss her cheek for Katniss to realize they were friends 😅😅😅.

I remember always loving her and Gale’s hug here. I’ve always felt like it was platonic, but especially when I first read the books and had zero preference one way or another for Gale or Peeta, I really liked how she said even with nothing romantic between them, “when he opens his arms, I don’t hesitate to go to him” or something I’m paraphrasing ok I’m lazy

Also though, this is the first time they’ve ever hugged? Idk why that surprises me? It shouldn’t because where is a hug gonna fit into a hunting trip 😅🤣😂 “I just caught a deer!” “let’s celebrate with a hug!”

I like that Katniss remembers how her father even failed to make a good bow sometimes. Random, I know.

I like that the Capitol weren’t entertained by the people freezing to deaths because it wasn’t bloody enough 🤭🙃

“How different can it be [to kill a human vs an animal]?” She’s about to find out, Gale 🥺. And when she comes back you won’t understand 🙄😔

What did Gale want to say before the Peacekeepers dragged him away?

I used to think it was a confession of love but I’m actually sure it wasn’t now? Just the wording “remember I-“ doesn’t sound like it, considering he never confessed anything prior to her coming home.

I’m assuming now he was just gonna give her some more advice to stay alive 🤷🏼‍♀️. Clearly if it were relevant it would have made its way to the others books.

Aww, she’s never been inside a car before 😭😭. I didn’t even know they had cars in this universe but okay.

I notice though how she says “In the Seam, we travel on foot.” So is Peeta just riding his trolly down the street every day with the other merchants then? 🤣

Peeta just openly crying on camera 😅😢.

I like how Katniss is like “ooo is this an act to get sponsors?” when in reality Peeta’s like “no, I’m just a soft and genuine boy ™️”

Omg I just realized this totally goes along with Peeta’s thing later on “I want to die as myself”

He’s refusing to hold back his emotions because he thinks he’s doomed to die and he’s already refusing to pretend to be or feel something ingenious.

But a Johanna mention in book 1 chapter 3 woohoo 🥳🥳🥳 also Katniss comparing Jo and Peeta is kind of like foreshadowing of their shared torture in book 3.

Omg she just called Peeta broad-shouldered and strong. 🥰🥰🥰 my headcanon for his post-canon body is confirmed

Also why does Katniss keep allotting his strength to carrying bread trays around? Are they heavy? Why have I never once heard of people who carry bread trays being strong? I always thought Peeta was really strong because he learned to fight in order to defend himself against his mother but that’s probably wrong.

But if a mother is abusive, it can lead to one of the kids being physically violent as well and we know Peeta isn’t but he has two older brothers I’m gonna cut myself off now but I think we all smelled what I just stepped in.

Also I just find it so fascinating now how she regards herself vs Peeta here.

When talking about herself, she says, “The competition will be far beyond my abilities. [...] Oh, there'll be people like me, too. People to weed out before the real fun begins.” But when she talks about Peeta, she immediately says, “It would take an awful lot of weeping to convince anyone to overlook him.”

It’s just funny how she discounted herself right from the start but thought he was a real contender and then come to find out, Peeta believes it’s the exact opposite 😂🙃. They’re both so stupid I can’t even take it.

Wait did they actually give the location of the Capitol and the location of District Twelve in today’s world? And I just overlooked it? Brb I’m gonna go to google maps right quick.

Okay so basically what I gathered is the Capitol is probably in New Mexico and District Twelve is somewhere between Kentucky and Alabama. Irrelevant I know. But just a reminder now to everyone that Katniss and Peeta are literally speaking, crying and screaming in thick, backwoods southern accents.

It’s literally so sad how everything for Katniss is about food. Like every motive she has, every action she does is about preventing starvation ever again. 🤧🤧🤧

First mockingjay mention 🤭🤭.

“My father was particularly fond of mockingjays” 😭😭😭 I bet he was 😭😭😭😭

We always go on and on about how Katniss is a mockingjay or her children are mockingjays but Katniss herself here says mockingjays represent her father imma cry, y’all 😫😫😫😫

“It’s like having a piece of my father with me, protecting me” shut up shut up shut up shut up

Awww, Katniss has never had food like this before 😔😔😔

Neither has Peeta 🤧🤧

Katniss disliking the way Effie put the two kids from the year before down and so began to eat like a pig just to prove her point, is so her. And the beginning of her fighting for the underdog.

Omg the Rue introduction 🥺🥺🥺

Bahahahaha the commenters calling District Twelve backwards but charming 😅😅😅 they really are the hillbilly district

Peeta’s unexpected laugh 🥺🥺🥺 I love you, baby

“He was drunk. He’s drunk every year.” “Every day.” Katniss and Peeta are already finishing each other’s sentiments and teaming up to get on Effie’s nerves I love them so much 😍

Oh my God, Effie, you selfish jerk. They’re kids having fun for like one second, no need to throw in their faces they’re gonna die if the drunk won’t help them. I’d forgotten why I don’t really like the book version of her. I actually prefer her as comedic relief in the movies.

I actually just realized I really dislike Effie Trinket, I hope they never speak to her again Post-Mockingjay. Idc how you’re raised you don’t need to treat teenagers who are sentenced to a probable death badly just because they laughed at you 🙄🙄🙄😡😡😡😡. They didn’t even really laugh at her, she’s just annoying and awful, we don’t stan Effie in this household.

Okay, that’s all for my thoughts on chapter three! Until next time, y’all ! If anyone actually read this long mess of a post.

#thgagain #this is so long I’m sorry #also yes I’m gonna use a Jennifer gif again

40 notes · View notes

fractallogic · 2 years

Text

every time I think about what I have to do to make myself feel less stressed, the scream from Immigrant Song goes off in my head (but it's sharper than what's actually in the song, so it really sucks)

I'm going to try to real quick just list out the stuff I have to do to wrangle my brain

roughly in order of priority:

guest lecture (+slides) for the psylx class on monday (there will be no pre-class time to prep for it; has to be done tonight)

pay (and file) taxes ASAP

call photographer for wedding album ASAP (not actually urgent but it's been on my list since like. november.)

read and make slides for two papers for tuesday

post grades for discussion and reading comments

read article summaries, post grades

respond to the person's email from like two weeks ago at this point about the project we were supposed to start last term

send email to CW folks to apologize profusely and say I can't do next year (not like they would hire me back after this year!!! gotta beat 'em to the punch!!!)

that's what I wanted to get done this weekend because like. I am so behind on it, except for the class stuff, which I would like to continue NOT being behind on. feels like a reasonable amount (when you consider I have three students). like enough to have an actual weekend for part of it. but now... lolfuck.

and of course there was more stuff I wanted to do both late last week when I was dealing with migraines/sludge brain (which I'm now realizing is pre-migraine brain) and this weekend

review code for stats consult meeting on monday

maybe reschedule the meeting now that we're apparently not meeting for that paper until at least friday?

read and make slides for thursday's papers

finish the (2-3, I think) Q1 contracts???? at least?????

read the two articles for the other paper

put all of the refs for section 2 as zotero refs

see when RA is able to get responses collated so I can do basic stats on them

continue collating the edits that need to be done on the done chapters

finish up sections of ch 8 on language nests and nicaraguan sign

get the other edition of the experiment programmed and set up to run online with student participants

give lab UGs first crack at being paid to record stimuli for the next-next iteration

if we still need speakers, RA can draft a flyer

read something out of any of the books I have out from the library because theoretically they're useful for my research

do a little bit of digging on how to do a word-learning study with school-age kids

re-pot the aloe and orchid and a bunch of spider plant offshoots

other self-care things like doing yoga and taking really long walks outside since it's finally nice out this weekend

it's hard to do things when your executive functioning is shot and you're overwhelmed by "okay I have to ... OPEN??? documents???? god" because apparently right now that is too many steps. like I've realized I literally have to list out the things I need to open to do something right now BEFORE I EVEN OPEN THEM. like "oh shoot I forgot I said I would give a guest lecture on my current projects next week, I need to write some slides for that" means stress about when is the class, where is the class, did I say I'd do it monday or wednesday, how do I want to talk about what I'm doing, what did I give them as an example to read, etc etc etc, which means I need to very purposefully think through how I would find out the answers to all those questions, and by the time I've done that, well, there goes a bunch of brainpower. fewer things can get done today. guess I'm sacrificing the grocery store until tomorrow or sth.

i mean it all comes down to how I'm an overambitious idiot who was like oh fuck yeah I'll take on all these projects and do these things because it's gOoD fOr My CV and/or possible non-ac aspirations, and then I go oh no this was a terrible mistake when all of them are due at the same fucking time (and the stuff I had to put off is now coming back around to also have to be done at the same time). I really do need to have that punch card of "say no to nine things and you can have an ice cream" I saw on twitter yesterday. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

2 notes · View notes

fritae · 3 years

Text

The Missing Piece (Chapter 8)

Anxiety.

gang! au / ceo! au

characters: dabi x female oc, lov, other original characters

status: ongoing

read on ao3 here.

I'm sure Mr. Lane has seen me.

With a groan, I take Dabi aside.

"You can go ahead, sir." I tell him quickly, glancing behind me to see if they're watching me.

Dabi looks over my shoulder.

"Is that what's-his-face?"

I shoot Dabi a look and gesture toward Aliyah. We may be friends but I didn't tell her the real reason I left NNTV. She thinks work became too stressful and I needed a break.

She doesn't know about the argument me and Mr. Lane had after I discovered his support of the Todorokis. Or about his cutting my salary and threatening to fire me.

Besides, bad mouthing a former employer is horrible professionalism.

"It's Mr. Lane. Go, go," I try shoo-ing him away. "I'll see you tomorrow sir."

But Dabi doesn't budge.

His eyes are trained on mine.

"I don't like that look on your face."

I groan. "What look? Sir it's just-"

"Like you're uncomfortable."

The comment catches me off guard and I quickly avert my gaze.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," I say quietly. "These are my friends."

But that only seems to make him more determined. Dabi turns to face me completely, his feet firmly planted in the ground and his hands tucked coolly in the pockets of his pants. He doesn't look interested in listening right now.

"What are you worried about?" He asks. "Is it him?"

I run an anguished hand through my hair. "Sir please. Please. What happened to not asking about our private matters?"

I don't want Dabi and Mr. Lane meeting. Especially considering how our last conversation went. I didn't tell Mr. Lane I was working for the Blaze, and considering how salty he was that I left after all these years, facing him once again fills me with anxiety.

"Alright I won't ask you," Dabi ignores me. "I'll find out from him."

My eyes widen and I pull him back before he could make his way toward Mr. Lane. Aliyah went to bring Mr. Lane to say hi. I feel my chest get tighter when I see him getting closer.

"See? I don't like that." Dabi eyes me with concern. He tsks and pulls a box from his back pocket. He tries to hand me a cigarette but I shake my head quickly.

Mr. Lane doesn't know I smoke.

And with the amount of anxiety pooling in my gut, it wouldn't even help.

Dabi shrugs, no longer facing me.

"I'm here," He says. The ice in his voice from earlier is gone. I look at him once more before Mr. Lane gets within earshot.

He gives me a small nod and reaches for me, his hand brushing against the small of my back in a way that sends electricity up my spine. "He's not your boss anymore. He has no power over you."

I nod and plaster a fake smile on my face as the short man approaches us.

I hope it's enough to hide my thundering heart.

"Ms. Aoki," His voice sounds as insufferable as ever. "Fancy meeting you here."

I nod my head in respect. "Mr. Lane. It's nice to see you so soon."

As if!

But already, his attention is off of me. Instead, he eyes Dabi up and down.

"Is this your partner?" He asks.

My face heats up immediately. "Oh - no sir. This is my, um - my new boss. Mr. Dabi?"

Just as I expected, Mr. Lane's expression darkens immediately.

I expect Dabi to extend a hand out for formalities. But his hands remains in his pockets. He merely gives him a nod in acknowledgement.

"So you've found a new company after all." Mr. Lane comments coldly.

"Yes. Yes sir."

"What's the name of your company, Mr. Dabi?"

"The Blaze." Dabi says. "I do luxury trading. Rina told me she previously worked for a broadcasting company - what was it called again?"

Mr. Lane's face hardens. "NNTV. We're a leading force in the industry-"

"Right, right. That company that always underperforms?" He asks apologetically.

Me and Aliyah gasp, glancing cautiously at Mr. Lane.

"I have a friend that works at CBS, you see."

There's a smile on Dabi's face.

"I haven't even heard of your company," Mr. Lane quickly counters, evil in his eyes. "When Ms. Aoki abandoned us in such a manner, I assumed she'd join a better known business."

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us," Dabi sighs, that same mocking tone in his voice. "You see, we cater to a highly exclusive audience."

Aliyah mouth drops behind Mr. Lane, looking extremely amused. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the subject of tomorrow's lunchtime gossip.

"I see," Mr. Lane smiles at Dabi but it is anything but friendly. "Anyway. Careful with this one." He tells Dabi. "She's loyal to the - " He rubs his fingers to his thumb to indicate money. "It doesn't matter how well you treat her, if she finds a better offer she'll run off on you. Looking at you now," Mr. Lane sizes him up. "it probably won't take long."

I didn't leave because of money you piece of shit! If you actually saw me as a person, you'd know that!

I feel Aliyah's eyes on me in surprise.

Great.

Now she thinks I'm making more money and keeping things from her.

I don't face her.

"Hm," Dabi says. "What do you define as a better offer? Because we certainly don't pay-"

Don't say that! I think frantically.

I clear my throat.

Dabi looks at me quizzically. But he understands soon enough.

"...her what she's worth. With how well she's driven up sales this past month, she certainly deserves every penny."

"With all due respect," Mr. Lane smiles apologetically, venom lacing his words. "A secretary who intervenes in your business, gives unsolicited advice, and tries to control decision making is not worth her price. There are many other qualified secretaries who will drive up sales, and do it better than she can."

I feel my heart fall.

Of course he would say that.

Mr. Lane thinks of me as disloyal now. Leaving NNTV so suddenly after all these years, I knew it would matter more to him than he let on during our last meeting.

He doesn't exactly tolerate betrayal. And being his secretary for so long, I've seen how he treats former employees enough to know how vicious he can be.

That's why I didn't want him and Dabi to meet.

My face reddens immensely at the mention of my frequent "interventions" and "unsolicited advice". Because Mr. Lane doesn't believe in teams, he believes in workers who do as they're told. That's it.

But considering how much Dabi cares about his space, the comment fills me with anxiety.

Especially given the conversation we had today.

Will he think this is a pattern now? Will it drive him further away from me - cause his lack of trust in me to balloon even more?

There's an uncomfortable feeling in my gut as my mind questions all these possibilities. I wish Aliyah hadn't seen me.

No.

I wish I just told Dabi I was busy when he asked me for dinner. I hesitantly glance at him, searching for any indication of how he's receiving this.

There's embarrassment written all over my face.

However, Dabi's expression doesn't change. He remains aloof.

Although on closer inspection, I think I see his jaw clench.

I feel my eyes water. Is he angry with me?

He should be.

Perhaps I am too talkative and opinionated for a secretary.

But Dabi's response makes me furrow my brows in confusion.

"She was a member of your team. Of course she would advise you. And intervene as necessary."

My eyes widen.

"It's as much her company as it is mine, so I do hope she does more of that for us in the future."

I look at Dabi in surprise, trying to figure him out. Doesn't he hate it when people intervene in his business though? Is he just saying this in front of Mr. Lane?

That's gotta be it.

Regardless, I'm grateful that he hasn't thrown me under the bus, using me as conversation material. Anyone else would happily listen and even share their own criticism of me to keep the conversation going. Especially considering Mr. Lane is realistically the more powerful CEO of the two. Anyone would say anything to get on his good side.

And part of me feels like Mr. Lane used me in order to shift to Dabi's good side too. After all, what manager doesn't love critiquing his employees?

Only Dabi didn't take the bait.

"I suppose I should thank you actually," Dabi continues, the height difference only further emphasizing the power imbalance in the conversation. Mr. Lane looks small for the first time ever, as he stands there looking up at Dabi. "If you hadn't let her go, our company wouldn't be in the place it is today. She's extremely capable, as you know. And such an agreeable team player, as well."

But instead of responding, Mr. Lane focuses on me with those murderous eyes.

As if it's my fault he was humiliated tonight.

How dare I go on to build up someone else's company. How dare I not cry and beg him to take me back, that I was sorry and have learned from my mistake. That I would never challenge his decisions again and be the loyal, silent employee he expects me to be.

I shrink under his stare, and before I know it, Dabi's hand is once again on my back.

He has no power over you.

I take a deep breath. "Unfortunately, Mr. Dabi has a prior engagement and we don't want to be late." I tell Mr. Lane. "But thank you for coming over personally to say hello. Hopefully, an opportunity for us to meet again arises in the future."

Mr. Lane nods coldly and walks away. He didn't even shake our hands before he left. Aliyah smiles at us apologetically and comes to hug me once again.

"He's a good man," She whispers in my ear. When she pulls away, she gives me a sly wink and my face reddens. She shakes Dabi's hand before she hurries behind Mr. Lane to the outdoor seating area where the rest of NNTV's administration and senior employees lounge.

And Dabi and I are alone once again.

#dabi angst #dabi fanfic #dabi fic #dabi fluff #dabi x oc #touya todoroki #dabi #dabi x female reader #touya fluff #bnha fic #bnha

17 notes · View notes

botanyshitposts · 4 years

Note

Hi! Given that we're all in quarantine mode, what is your favorite houseplant? Also, do you have anything fun and plant themed to pass the time at home (since you seem like you spend like 70% of your time at your uni/in the lab, and I'm sure both of those are shut down now)?

actually, the seed lab is still up and running!! what happened was that my uni cancelled classes and ordered everyone to evacuate the dorms, and only let people stay who had nowhere else to go, which immediately forces like, 80% of us student workers (who handle a LOT of the menial labor on campus) back to our hometowns. from a quarantine perspective i see how this is a smart move, but from a seed perspective i am terrified and in awe; so far, a week in, it’s kind of prompted me to start reevaluating what this means for like, how plants interact in our society on a broader scale, ngl.

like, this is a seed lab, funded partially by the state and partially by the (public) university. it is based in iowa, as i have mentioned before, which is one of the largest producers of maize in the world; 95% of our state is farmland, and it is completely possible to go to another country overseas and purchase feed made from iowa field corn. for further context, sweet corn is grown in iowa, but is deemed a ‘specialty crop’ (along with popcorn) due to the specialised labor needed to harvest it, and the bulk of it sold in grocery stores is grown in california (where a ton of wild botanical stuff seems to happen on a regular basis). most of what’s grown in iowa is field corn, which in turn is used for cattle feed (biggest use), ethanol, and production of more seed. i learned in a class about world food security last year that iowa produces so much food, in the form of animal production as well as corn and soybean production, that if you were to put a glass dome over us we could theoretically produce food sustainably for the entire population without altering our average consumption rate at all.

farmers in the midwest and iowa often own their own land, due to the homestead act back in 1862; compare this system to the agricultural systems in third world countries, where single wealthy people own huge swaths of farmland and equipment that they then pay workers as small a wage as possible to farm it for them. personally i think there’s something to be said about how corporations in the US have driven prices of equipment up so high that farmers are having to resort to renting it, putting them in debt to large companies, which is REALLY just :eyes:, but that aside, farmers who own their own land and equipment tend to work harder and produce larger yields; this is actually a trend throughout the world that the US benefits from due to how the land is historically dispersed.

BUT. going back to the entire reason i’m writing this, corn ultimately drives the economy in iowa. all things come from corn; soybeans too, but mostly corn. seed is still needing to be planted here at the beginning of the growing season, and corporations that have harvested their seed are now sending it in to seed labs to get it verified to be shipped and sold in other countries (or sold in the united states at all; you need to have certain statistics and a grading on your seed to be able to sell it here, which prevents companies from selling shitty seed to farmers at incredibly high prices as was the case back when government seed labs were first established in the early 1900s). it becomes clearer to me, with that in mind, why the seed lab i work at is still staying open, but it also raises some other questions; for instance, are all public seed labs still open throughout the US? are private seed labs still open? how will the drop in labor in these labs effect the agricultural industry? (i’m assuming the answer to the last one will be ‘not much’, but i have no idea how it is at other labs, and if they have more full time workers than part time and all that).

like, considering the wider scope of things, it’s wild that essential public services also include niche public services like seed testing. it makes sense that the seed lab will remain open. it makes sense that the amount of samples coming in hasn’t slowed down, and they’ll probably have a major delay on getting sample results/documentation and all that to companies ordering them. as long as meat is being produced, feed is needed, and as long as feed is needed iowa will keep producing corn at an incredible rate. it’s just like. seeds, man......what a world

as for your second question about botanical entertainment, i’m pretty preoccupied with classes rn but the digital flowers site from the university of Illinois is a resource we use in plant systematics a lot that’s fun to poke around; also, the KEW digital herbarium, and, of course, the famous in defense of plants podcast. oh, the crime pays but botany doesn’t youtube channel is a great time, too!

#this is A Long Post but lmao yeah #asks #plont asks #seed job #long post #Anonymous

354 notes · View notes

selkiesblog · 3 years

Text

The ruse(DracoX OC) Chapter 1- The plan

"mooom please, does she really have to spend the summer here???" The little boy with white silverish hair said pulling on his mother's robe ends, hiding his head over her kilt

Every June until September Saphira Jones would come to his mansion to spend the summer over the Malfoy's

It started as a tradition, the two families were quite fond of each other. Since Voldemort first vanished and the rumors of his return started. The Malfoy's needed to reassure their family's safety and economic stability in case of things gone wrong during the rise of death eaters and late battle. So they made a pact that neither of the children would know: for every year until they turn a majority age, they would unite their families in expectation of a great match. And not until then deny or agree with a marriage proposal, that should be made

Draco utterly despised every second and Saphira knew it, so she would try to make his life just as miserable as hers, the only problem is that the game they both plays of twisting and pulling each other until one or another give up or break was never-ending

He would bark she would bite

As a child, they would fight over toys

"Mooom!!! Saphira stole my broom!!" He cried

"No, I did not!!"

Sometimes she would indeed steal his toys and hide in the most inconvenient of places cause at the very young age she would be more advanced in spells than he, a fact that she would- till this day- constantly remind him.

"You did!! Stop lying!!"

But this time she didn't

Oh no, he was just having fun getting her in trouble.

"Safira, give him his broom!" Her mother stepped in the light

before she could deny his allegations or make any more of her comments she heard a snap and by pulling her hear she was dragged into her room "that's it!! No wand for a week!" He smirked through his fake tears

And it got worse as it got physical. In school he will do whatever it takes to provoke her, pulling her long brown braids, pushing through the halls, calling her names until she snapped over him with her hand in a fist. She got -10 points to Gryffindor's he got a red-eye

Summer came and there she was again cuffed to him like a second skin

"Kneel," he said

"No you kneel" she pushed him

"No, I'm older than you"

"And I'm richer than you"

"Enough both of you!!!" Narcissa said "now Saphira, kneel" she took a large breath, she went down reverencing like a Princess only less charmingly. He puffed his chest with pride and kept his back straight smirking with victory "now you kiss her hand" they both looked at Narcissa who seemed with her patience on the edge, both hands in her temples. Draco not into hearing more of his mother's speeches on how the Yule ball was a very important event and that he was going to make a fool of himself if he didn't know the proper steps. Soon he raised her hand to meet his lips and planted a kiss there

The music started, slower. Saphira still taken by surprise with his action crumbled over his pace, stepping on his foot. The music started again and again until she got it right, only when it was time for him to spin her and catch he let her fall

Fifteen and It was time for pranks that she learned from the Weasley twins, Fred and George. Colorful bombs in his dorm room or shoes that would fart every time he walked, name it she has it

"Never heard of it?"

"What does it do?"

"It tickles the skin non-stop until the person breaks in laugh"

"Rather harmless..." Fred started

"But very affective" George finished

"Okay!..." She whispered to herself "Rictumsempra"

In the tall estate of the games, missing one point to Slytherin score 150 and Draco catch the golden snitch. He started twisting on his broom, having a pit of a contagious laugh. Everyone started to making fun until he lost balance and crush in the dirt of the ground

She was shaking when they took him to Papoula Pomfrey, he had hit his head but the problem was in his broken arm. He was still conscious when they asked him what happened, he just looked at her, and said "I lost balance and fall"

He lied?

It didn't make sense, he knew it was her and he wouldn't tell her off? He would always tell her off. Draco was the boy who would do everything in his reach to get her in trouble, wasn't he? Did he beat his head so hard that he has forgotten he hates her? Was he gonna use it to his advantage, just waiting for the right moment to strike like a snake?

While he was asleep she stayed up all night on his side, guild kicking in, anxiety keeping her awake, looming at his facials expression as he slept. That night Saphira discovered many things...

first one: Draco talked in his sleep

"No, No I won't fail you"

he woke in shook in the morning, sweat dripping from his forehead, breathing heavily

"Are you feeling better?" She asked ready to question why didn't he told dumbledore it was her who cursed him

"Yes" he simply said

Second one: don't trust the Weasleys with spells

"It was a really hard crash" she sighed "unfortunately I have some bad news" he positioned steadily in the bed frowning "you fall so hard and ground that your face fractured" he quickly turned to the mirror on his side " now you look normal"

His delicate lips had a small cut in them, nothing scandalous, but he looked angry as he turned at her, his serious serious expression turned into a grin. They both laughed immensely for a couple of seconds and stared at each other not knowing what to say, or do.

"Draco?" A small voice echoed in the corner of the room

"H-Hi pansy!" He said

Suddenly it was a weird atmosphere that broke through the windows as she had just crossed nearly headless nick for the first time

"I'm gonna live your two alone" heading out the door, leaving space for the both to talk she realizes the Third one: she was completely head over heels in love with Draco Malfoy

And every time she would catch him snogging pansy in the corner of the halls, kissing the length of the neck, or overheard them talking, she would get this feeling of nausea on the bottom of her stomach

"You're jealous!" Hermione said

"Why would she be jealous?" Ron asked with his mouth full, she never so gentle smacked his head with her hand pointing at the way pansy would play with Draco hair

"He doesn't even like it in the middle part," Saphira said playing with the vegetables on her plate with her fork, not hungry at all

"You gonna eat that? " Ron asked

"Wait...you like Draco? " Harry asked, "why?"

"I don't like him!!!"

"Okay...But you spent every summer with him, it's a little suspicious"

"It's because of my family you know that"

"Have you ever considered confessing your feelings to him?" Hermione again asked

" I don't like him," she said again loudly "even so, he doesn't see me that way"

But the thought lingered in her mind for a couple of weeks, weeks-long enough for the students already know that Malfoy would keep his Summers busy with her. Suddenly everyone knew and assumed the same thing that Hermione did

"Are you dating Malfoy?"

"How long are you guys together?"

"What about Pansy?"

"Is he a good kisser?"

Overwhelmed by the random questions and thoughts she went to talk with Draco personally until found him talking with Blaise and his friends "come on guys, I'm not dating her" he laughs "she not even my type" he said making an ugly face "I am just is stuck with her through the Summers cause she so annoying and boring that even her parents don't want her around" he quickly realized the words that had just come out of his mouth and shut

There was so much truth in those words, the truth that she never wanted to admit nor she could. She was adopted, it's true, people didn't know and those who knew certainly didn't talk about that.

When two purebloods decide to adopt a magic muggle-born, the elite society doesn't take it very well, first of all, it's illegal. Second: the chance of dishonoring the bloodline and status of the family by polluting their legacy mixing their divergence with a "mudblood", it a risk that no one should take, even a mother who lost her child at early birth; a bare family in an empty nest; a tree rotten in its core. She was embarrassed, only for a couple of seconds, soon she was filled with the very familiar feeling that emerged in her mind of angst

She got a suspension when the school heard from her that she had used a spell against a student and wounded him during a game of quidditch. Sitting on the bench Draco looked at her stiffed

"Why did you tell them?"

"My parents are going to move me to

Beauxbatons school" he looked worrisome that she almost felt pity "then I won't have to trouble you with my annoyingly boring behavior" she was about to get up when she felt his hand on her wrist twirling her body close to his, too close even

"Is this what you want?" She felt his mint breath in her cheeks and shivered over the wooden cologne

"W-what I-?"

" You wanna ruin everything don't you?" Her stomach filled with butterflies "our parent's plans, the secret, you found out and now you wanna ruin it"

Instantly the short moment went away, she stepped out of his intense gaze and unlocked her wrist

"Secret?"

"Why do you think you would come every summer to my house?" He said

"obviously isn't because we're so friends"

"Our parent's plans all along were that we would be more than that, I guarantee you" the words hissed against her thoughts, it was all so obvious now "marriage, Saphira, they want us to be wedd"

She felt like crying, run away like a little girl who just found out that Santa isn't real. She felt like breaking. Draco was bounded to her, stuck with a girl that he doesn't want

Making his life miserable as hers

"Draco, hear me, loud and clear," she said crying out, he never saw her tears, but that day it poured like a stormy rain

"you will never, never marry me. I give you that" alone with his thoughts, he builds his first wall

You're free

That summer she didn't come. It was his darkest summer, that gloomed into his mind like clouds over a parade

_____

"Will you fail me, boy?" Voldemort whispered

"No, my Lord"

#draco malfoy #harry potter #fiction #fanfic #pride and prejudice #pansy parkinson #theodore nott #romance #wattapad #bridgerton

5 notes · View notes

heresathreebee · 4 years

Text

Garrote part 4

[Starz Power Diego Jimenez X Jazmine Mann (Black!OC)]

Warning(s): Mature (+17), sexual tension, graphic violence and language. Previous Masterlist Next

Word Count: 2.3k words

AN: Surprise bitches! I'm an impatient bastard and couldn't wait anymore. This picture is finally appropriate (speaking of, assume all photos for this series are not created by me unless specifically stated otherwise).

@nicke0115 @1zashreena1 @mental-bycatch

Something Nice turned out to be a dress Jazmine bought two years ago. A floral print with white petals she was sure a guy like Diego would laugh at. He still hadn't told her what he wanted with her, so she brought a change of shoes depending on the occasion. He got caught up in some work stuff, so the meeting had to wait until the morning. When he texted her the address, she wheezed. When she rolled up into the lobby, she gasped. It screamed elitist big money in every way from the high ceiling to the marble floors. A man who worked for the Jimenez's led her to the elevator, punching in a code for the right floor and stood silent as a statue. A dangerous, beefy, ranch-smelling statue.

It's impossible to say why she expected anything less than the secure ritzy elevator to open straight into the home like a front door. There were voices in the room that the bodyguard led her away from, taking her up the stairs and planting her square in front of a door at the end of a hall.

"Stay here."

Jazmine did not enjoy waiting. She tapped her foot until her leg cramped, she stretched, she tried the door (locked), and she tried to guess what year the paintings on the wall were made. It was probably pay back. When Diego did show his face, he had the audacity to look surprised to see her.

"What kept you?"

"Just business," he said smiling. Bastard. "Inside."

He let her enter first and it wasn't a bedroom like she had anticipated. There were large picture windows on the northwest corner of the room and a grand piano, other furniture suggesting a kind of study like a bookshelf and an armored cash (she knew a weapons locker when she saw one). Diego's hand slotted itself on her waist as he locked the door behind them.

"Want to take some pictures," he said by way of explanation.

"What kind of pictures?"

Diego smiled cryptically. Jazmine did not miss the way he appraised her form, fingering the soft fabric of her dress before backing up. He pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a candid before she could stop him. He turned the screen her way, showing her own face in the amazing lighting and quality.

"Nice, right? Sit down."

He waited until she was situated on the piano bench before he took a seat of his own. She watched him set the picture as his home screen and shook her head. "We can do better than that."

She missed the big, cocky smile he pulled when he said, "what do you have in mind?"

"A guy like you? With a picture of a clothed woman in your phone? Unlikely."

Diego hummed playfully. "I don't think your clothes are the problem."

There was a huge plush bean bag next to the smaller book stand under the window. An odd choice for such high class taste, but it didn't look like this room got much use anyways. Diego plopped down on top of it like he had just come home from a long day at work. He looked up at her from between his legs, and beckoned her with a crooked finger.

"Right here," he patted the inside of his thigh. Jazmine wasn't sure if he wanted her to sit in his lap or... but then he said, "on your knees," and she fell easily into position. "You look pretty like that. Haven't asked me what the pictures are for yet."

Jazmine shrugged, picking up his phone and snapping a picture of him for herself. "I've already got ten ideas for how to use these. My back up plans have back up plans, but I usually go with the flow. It's saved my ass this long…"

He hummed, motioned for the phone. "You trust me?"

Jazmine tensed up immediately. "Yeah."

His movements were slow as he reached up for the back of her head. Gently, he pulled her down until her cheek rested against his clothed thigh, her chin practically inches from his zipper. He watched her gulp but she didn't pull away and he let her go free.

"That's a good one. Come here." He pulled her up into a wet kiss and she melted into it. He licked his way into her mouth and swirled his tongue around her plush lips until he was satisfied with how shiny and swollen they became. Jazmine settled back instantly into position, proper her hands on his thighs for support as she posed. If his pants were loose, the sight would be obscene. As it happened, he tried not to move too much as the space in his pants became too tight. Diego snapped a couple of pictures, frustrated he couldn't get far enough to get the framing right. She watched him lean his head back to get it right and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright. We done?"

"One more." Oh, the way she crawled up his body should not have felt so good. She sat her plump rump right over the button of his jeans and he bit his lip to stop from groaning. Jazmine sat up on her knees, sinking into the bag and snapping the perfect picture. "There."

He could tell she was doing something, her fingers flashed over the screen and he resisted the urge to snatch it from her hands. Her eyes lit up as a notification sounded and just as quickly her eyes averted. He saw as he took the phone she had her contact open, sending herself her favorite pictures (the first and the last), and he also saw that Alicia needed him.

"I gotta go," Jazmine announced as she headed for the door.

"Don't get lost." She did a double take at the sudden turn in his demeanor. It sounded like a threat. Diego’s verbal threat paled in comparison to the ice cold, regal look a woman gave her on her way out. That was how Jazmine got her first look at Alicia Jimenez.

Bored at work, Jazmine let her mind drift back to the morning. She couldn’t get it out of her head, the way his hands absentmindedly twirled the fabric in her skirt between his fingers when he could have easily done so and felt her up. It was intoxicatingly soft, especially for how cheap it was. She slapped some pants underneath it and wished she’d taken out her earrings before her shift– they itched now but if she put them in her pocket she’d never see them again.

The flow of customers was that of a leaky drainage pipe. They often rolled in and out without so much as a look at her eyes or her name tag, some even going out of their way not to touch her and to turn their bodies sideways as if her existence offended them. Pricks.

This last guy was acting extra suspicious. Young man with a hat, sunglasses, and a hood drawn up. He was wearing loose basketball shorts in the middle of winter and had his head on a constant swivel. Definitely going to rob the place. Snatch and runs were commonplace, but they hardly looked like this. He was too old not to know you needed a crew for the best haul. But then that means…

Fucking kid had a gun on him and he was pointing it in Jazmine's face. The chips he had thrown down on the counter were forgotten in favor of the cash in the register– all the cash. He seemed like he was looking for the thrill rather than the kill, but the way he was waving his piece around, he hadn't had much gun safety training. She wasn't dumb enough to try and correct his form right now. Every second he took his eyes off her to scan the area and the barrel of the gun drifted away from her person, she was able to breathe. He ran out the back door.

Now came the real worst part. Yeah, almost getting shot over $87 wasn't the worst part– calling her boss was. He didn't like his employee's making reports to the police, they had to go through him. Jazmine knew he was into some shady shit, she never felt curious enough to have a look. She barely even registered how long the grown man had been screaming in her face when she heard the door open.

"Sir we're temporarily closed--"she started to say until she turned to see Diego standing there.

"What," Frank huffed, "no we are not closed– sir, take as much time as you need, we'll be with you in just a moment."

Jazmine rolled her eyes. 'We' really meant 'she'. She didn't know how he expected to make change if we didn't have cash, but then something strange happened.

"This guy bothering you, baby?" Jazmine did a double take. Diego was leaning dangerously over the counter and had locked eyes with Frank. Her boss actually gulped. Taking control of the situation, Jazmine pulled Frank's ass around the counter. Diego followed closely, mirroring their every step with an uncontrollable itch in his fingers. It was beginning to make her nervous.

Frank turned to snap at Jazmine, "who the hell is this guy" when he came nose to nose with Diego himself. He looked like a panther baring his teeth, and Jazmine watched his hand disappear behind his back. She snatched his wrist, pushing him back to get between the two men.

"Don't," she hissed in Diego's face. The cool metal of his gun sent tingles up her fingers. "Just my boyfriend, Frank. I asked him to take me home."

"OK," Frank still sounded confused. Diego's hand slipped away from the gold plated handle of his gun and Jazmine stepped away to gather her bag and wrestle the vest from her shoulders. "Hold on– I didn't say you could go!"

"Yes you did," she affirmed with a lie. Diego caught the bag thrown at him with a huff, and she fisted his shirt to push him backwards towards the alley exit.

"No I didn't!"

"Sure you did! I'll see you tomorrow."

She knew Diego was pissed. But so was she. As soon as they were free from prying eyes, Jazmine stupidly punched the drug king in the arm.

"You need to learn about something called boundaries!," she yelled. "From now on, there's gonna be rules about when and where you show up, and who you're allowed to shoot."

"Eres loco?!" Diego's hand fisted in the collar of her dress and dragged up to look up at him. He pressed the barrel of his gun into her neck and crowded her into the wall of the building. "You think you can tell me what I can and can't do, little girl? Do you know who the fuck I am?"

He put the gun down so he could slam her into the wall, harder this time until her eyes spun with stars. "You're fucking nothing, cabrona. Todo nada. Do you know how many drugs go through my organization into this city alone? How much money I make?" Jazmine's eyes screwed shut and she let out a loud and regrettable sound. "Are you really shushing me right now?!"

Diego was about to put a bullet in her head when her hands flew up in surrender. The blow to the head had rocked her– if he wasn't holding her up, she would have fallen to her knees already.

"I don't want to know about any of that stuff," she said. "I-I can't, Diego. You can't say shit like that around me."

The man was at a loss. She truly amazed him with her audacity. He let her go as soon as holding her no longer interested him and she slid onto her butt to catch her breath. One hand clung to her throat and the other came up as if to protect her head from a bullet. He considered it, then put his piece away. Alicia would be furious if their deal with Healy fell through like this. For Porsche.

Cooler heads prevailed. Diego only helped her stand so she would be easier to get into the car, and they drove in silence the whole way to her apartment. Not once did she look him in the eye or apologize, nor did he take his ferocious stare off of her person. Jazmine sighed in relief when the car finally stopped, but as she was climbing out, Diego caught her by the throat one more time and pulled her ear close.

"I'm not your fucking boyfriend, Jazmine. We are not friends. Don't forget that, querida."

Healy was waiting for her in her living room. His eyes drifted straight to the red marks rising at her pulse points and the soul crushing exhaustion in her eyes. He offered her a plate of pasta and let her eat in peace for a while.

"I'm sorry, Jazmine. Really, I am." Healy kept his hands to himself, but he did offer Hercules a treat to keep her busy. "I'll have a talk with los Hermanos Jimenez so you don't have to be on the receiving end of another tantrum like that. The next time you see them, they'll be more careful about what they say around you."

Tired and beaten, Jazmine merely nodded.

"Make sure you charge your device. I can't help you if I can't hear you, sweetheart." He left in a moment and for once, she was so glad to be alone.

#Diego Jimenez X OC #Starz Power #Diego Jimenez #three bees writing #🐝🐝🐝✒#Garrote

24 notes · View notes

headshxtina · 5 years

Text

[halcyon (adj): denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.] [🌌]

[11:45 pm]

"y/n. i'm really tired. maybe you should go alone."

changbin muttered tiredly under his soft and embracing covers which seemed so delicious for a man who had been busy working for seven hours straight, his feet poking out from the covers because it was covering all of his head.

"it wouldn't be fun then... i didn't remember that you were tired. i really wanted us to go for a stroll upon the streets and the hill back there across the park. i wanted to do something for you, like pay stuff for you completely, you know."

"and why's that?" he whined and breathed into his fluffy pillow, pretending not to know.

"your birthday, you asshat."

"but you've already given me some stuff this morning..."

"not enough. you always ask to pay for me. not fair." you stated, feeling like a mom. you wanted to make him feel like the most precious and protected person on his birthday, to reciprocate the care he had always given you with willing. the day wherein he was born twenty years ago, the day where the stars had connected to gawk down and take care, meanwhile handing the multiple wonders of talent down to a little boy.

you wonder if his stars had also noticed your stars that you guys would meet on a faithful day.

"well. good night, love." the endearing words left your lips as you exhaled sadly while pulling the door out and had just walked a few steps only to meet with a slight accidental push from someone.

"nevermind. lets stroll."

without a second for you to comprehend and make out who was pushing you, a slightly cracked voice called.

"changbin?"

"come on, princess. i made up my mind. it'd be fine anyways. i've had enough sleep." he said, locking the door as you two beckoned to get out of the house.

---

[12:00 am]

the slightly chilly air of autumn swept over the affectionate connection the two of you. your hands never left along with the little night exercise you two were doing.

"changbin," you started. "how was the day?"

"great, everyone was wishing me happy birthday. chan gave me a big ass pan because he wanted me to continue to learn how to cook." the boy confessed, eyes looking forward to avoid the embarrassment.

you mocked his confession, "ohhh, he should be!"

"oh my god, shut." changbin chuckled while hitting your arm, making you hit back because of reflex.

the laughter was still lingering among you two when the bell of the convenience store rang as a respond to your appearance.

"I CAN COOK! i can make a lot of dishes now." he laughed loudly, making you two seemed like two annoying pricks messing up the quiet space.

"funny how you're learning to cook because of embarrassment."

"no. actually, it's just a particle. the main reason is because..."

you made no response, eyeing the mischevious and incomprehensive glint in his brown eyes, those who were now avoiding your gaze.

"i want to cook for you, you know..."

you let out a mere laugh. "oh changbin, i can cook too. but, thanks, i guess. it's good because both of us never actually cook and need delivery. mainly because i'm lazy, but still."

"and you shouldn't be cooking for me. we should all know how to cook. i should've learnt sooner." he stated with a strong voice.

"okay, mister rich boy."

both of you laughed, picking up some spices. "im paying today, changbin. shut up."

---

[12:45 am]

"do you like to go up there? like fly to the moon?"

"no, i wouldn't want to die."

"oh my god... you're so dumb."

now, you two lovebirds were laying down the surprisingly soft grass, on the hills behind the central park.

it was a moment of silence, his shadow seemed to be bursting out with gleam, matching the starry sky, even though it was a very dark and shadowy scenery.

changbin's outline was there, like a sketch the angels have drawn before, his nose, his delicate lips and his masculine jawline, the fluttering eyelashes moving elegantly under his fringe. you loved how the wind was sweeping past his face, revealing his forehead and a pretty smile of pleasure on his face.

every exhale he put out, the way his veins moved merely under his skin, his hand never leaving yours ever since you had been there on the hills, everything about him was so gorgeously planted on by love and care from mother nature.

his eyes seemed to speak his soul, with a child-like wonder gawking at the extraordinary and massively addictive night scene, as if you two were immersed into the sky with a big hug from the universe, matching you next to each other, shining brightly as well. stars fated, never leaving each other as lives kept reincarnating and envolving, and never leave each other, through deaths and reborns.

at the moment you met each other, you started to have a calm and balanced life-style. he kept you company, he made you feel free but still protected. seo changbin, he made you feel great.

"now can you look away now?"

"oh."

the annoying cocky eyebrow raise was there, as a organic representation of the word "asshole."

"oh, shut, y/n. stop fucking staring, i swear. you love me too much."

"and what about it, son?"

"so you need punishment!" he joked, moving inches closer, until your nose was on his, the sound of breathing connecting you.

"y/n. i love you."

"i know."

"no, it's not just 'i love you.' it's more like a kind of 'i love you so much i can't resist' kinda thing. i'm happy you're here with me. i love your company. you give me euphoria."

"changbin..."

"and i think, as cheesy as it sounds, you're essential. you help me understand more about myself. you make me, me. and i think that it's enough for someone perfect as you to be deserving love. you know that kind of middle school first cringey crush? well, i had felt that way when i first met you, it came in reverse all over again. it was so exciting."

"you helped me understand love novels, love lyrics i was contemplating about if i would ever get and write them myself. but now i could. because you give me the same feelings i never knew i needed so much that i came to ignore. but you solved it. you make me feel safe even without you around all the time. that is self-company AND love at the same time."

"it's not like i'm moon and you're star. it feels more like we're both stars, helping each other shine. no attachments, no angry fascination for just a short time. it's long and andearing, the more i realize as i fall in love with you each day. i'm happy i met you."

without a second word, you could feel a soft tear run down your eye at the way he was talking so fast with ebullience, without having to brood nor wonder.

falling into his embrace, you were ecstatic. it was his birthday, but he was giving you so much.

"changbin. shut up."

"so, i'm fine with you here." the words left his lips as he planted the softest kiss onto your lips, it felt like ineffable silk and honey.

"y/n, i'm crying seeing you cry. stop crying."

"fucking coward. just cry you asshat."

- tina

#kpop #stray kids imagines #stray kids #fluff #skz #incorrect stray kids #stray kids reactions #changbin #changbin seo #stray kids changbin #skz changbin #changbin fluff

27 notes · View notes

claveriaspostsblog · 4 years

Text

BIOGRAPHY

“IF YOU PURSUE, THEN YOU WILL REACH YOUR DREAMS”

Leonard Quemado Claveria, was born in Igbical Hamtic Antique. He had a award in the college as the member of International Agriculture exchange Association in Japan. After he graduated in college he goes to Japan to work. He working in the piggery. He almost two years in Japan. After two years he go home to antique, for a few months he goes to manila and looked for a job because there was nothing in the province.

Then after one year he going home to antique because he couldn’t do his job. He help to his father in the farm, sometimes he planted the vegetables in their field. He returned to manila and find the jobs. He work in the Mall of Asia as a sales boy in the cellphone. After five years he thought of doing a business here in Cavite because he was tired of looking a job and he wanted to rest. He started a business in 2018. Since his small business has gradually grown in his effort and perseverance because of his diligence, he bought two cars and now he had a two stores.

And also he bought a land in alapan and vista verde. Every December they also have a Christmas party and he gave them a money as a bunos in his staff at store. He was so kind person, he treated his staff for their birthday and he celebrated the party in his house. Leonard's work has provided his extensive exposure and experiences in agriculture and he developed in Japan. He doing work enjoy because for his it’s give a energy. He said when he woke up with new ideas everyday and with solutions to conquer the challenges that cropped up the day before.

TRAVELOGUE IN PALAYA NATURAL FARM

Our recent trip to Tanay Rizal at PALAYA NATURAL FARM, we spent a good three

days. PALAYA NATURAL FARM is about three (3) hours drive from Cavite to Tanay Rizal.

The drive was okay, but you'll have about 30 minutes of rough roads when you're near the

farm. We just went a long with the shaking of the car, and we laugh. Be warned that in

the PALAYA NATURAL FARM there is absolutely no phone or internet signal. That's why if

you're waiting for an important message or call it'll have to wait until you're back in

Cavite. And we're here. When we enter we saw the PALAYA NATURAL FARM has

plantations of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. You are immediately greeted with greenery

and fresh air.

There been impressed with this tall and fat tree with the swing. I think this is the first

time that I saw an actual Calamansi plant. The son of my uncle he became so curious

with the fruits, and vegetables growing all around. There is always something so relaxing

when you see a walking lined up with greens.

PALAYA NATURAL FARM main produce are dragon fruits. I showed how they have

cement blocks for the dragon fruit trees. The blocks are cut and are used like, so. This is

actually my first time to see a dragon fruits plantation. PALAYA NATURAL FARM doesn't

just grow produce. You could even book a night here for that your nature experience and

you can take pictures for your memorable places in this PALAYA NATURAL FARM. Rates

for the wooden huts and tents are very affordable. They had no air-conditioning needed. If

nipa huts are not your thing. You could go for the tents. The only drawback is that they

only here one restroom for all the guests. Hopefully in the future, they could install more.

There was another large tree that gives a nice shade with Its towering branches. The

tents and hunts still work even if it was sunny.

PALAYA NATURAL FARM had a cool breeze. There as a running stream behind the

mountains where you could swim or just made around. If you wish to take a bath in the

batis, don't worry the water is clean, and they made a make shift pool using rocks as

divider. I'm not sure through how “swimmable” the batis would be through if there are

more people of about 10 or 20. For lunch, we had the option of dining by the stream but

since there was a buffet. My uncle choose to go to PALAYA NATURAL FARM mess hall,

because many people had already purchased their goods. Still, we had fresh fruits and

meats to buy at a very cheap prices. We are certainly had a unique and enjoyable.

EDUCATION

Having a high-quality education is the basis for changing a society's trend toward a prosperous economy. Higher education is not just based on books or things learned in our schools. Although, among these key elements to having a good education, practical education based in our daily life to be still necessary. Education is strong if it is combined with the knowledge of formal studies in certain subjects and matters of life, and how to live well. Education is the way to a successful future for a nation. Without it, and if the citizens of a society do not have a solid and solid foundation of education, it will be difficult for them to achieve development.

It is only necessary to understand that education will lead them to their aspirations. The primary purpose of education is to have knowledge of things and information now, in the future, and in the future. It is mechanism by which one's thoughts, feelings, and interactions are formed. It is also the source of good and good events in our world and the changing environment. Education is necessary for our youth because it will be their weapon in the life of their future. Their youth is the state in which they direct their thoughts and feelings to the things they need in their old age.

Education is important because it enables a person to gain insights into his or her life, personality and community. It is shape of thoughts into a successful world that everyone needs to fully take advantage of the world and realize its goals. Young people should only get adequate education through their experience and formal programs available in schools. It will be their weapon, so, they can deal with things that will be their future. And since they are our hope, it is only righting that we give them all the education they need so that they can reach the dreams they want to achieve.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE

“Simple birthday is the one more year has been successfully completed”

We all know that birthday is one of the happiest events of our lives. One person's birthday is held once a year. This is the best gift the Lord has given us. And for our young people, these are the happiest and most troubling events in our lives. There is a meal, a song, a dance and a drink that the

young people are celebrating their birthday with. This day is my 18th birthday so I wake up early and went to church by myself. When I got home the door and windows were locked. When I opened the door, I was surprised at the surprise of my friend and classmates that it was a day, I will never forget in my life. I cried for their surprise at me and I'm very happy with what they did to surprise me. My parents also enjoyed what my classmates did. After we all eat, my were watching and Arvie song happy birthday for me. My cousins then stood up to give me his gift to. As I accepted their gifts, my friend she had prepared a message for me. As she walked over to me and spoke her message to me I was moved to tear because of the two of us.

When she handed me his gift she told me to open it, so, I opened it. Before my birthday I thank my classmates and especially my friends who made me so happy. Before my classmates came home, I gave them even a small dish and so on, so that they could have something to eat for their brother or father. My friend brought her home because we were still singing. Before she came home I also brought him food,and we took him with me to their house. Before the day ended, I told my parents how unexpected things were and how grateful I was for the time, money and effort that they’ve spent for my birthday. I had no idea that it would be one of the most memorable moments in my life and how simple yet eventful it is. If someone looks through it, the celebration would be normal, simple, and nothing special; but, for me, it would be something that I will be always thankful for and a moment that I would acknowledge God’s grace through our family.

REACTION TO A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

My reaction to Vanissa Iligan Personal Narrative are; It was a typical essay that a student will make. But because it is personal and it was by the first person point of view it was easy to interpret and can easily understand by the readers. Also it can be that entertaining as it came from personal experiences, that the first person shared to all the readers. The emotions and feelings as easily interpreted because we can understand the essay easily as the writer wrote each words specifically so we the readers can’t have a hard time to understand the information inside of the body of essay. Since Personal narrative also narrates us the personal experience of the writer we can also somehow indentify what kind of person the writer is as he or she describe or write down the way how he or she deal in that particular encounter of her personal narrative.

Lets moved on now in the whole paragraph and what is written on it. The paragraph are well arranged. The writer used of grammar are all correct she have no misspelled words and she write the information detailed by detailed. Also I can understand easily the whole context and I never get bored while reading it maybe because the writer wrote it really well and I can understand each sentenced clearly. Also the emotions showed in the essay is easy to interprets and I can feel those emotions too each sentence. All in all the Personal Narrative really conveys the information well and we can understand it easily and we can also feel what kind of emotions that the writer has upon constructing their personal essay.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

“WHO AM I”

My name is Flordeliza Claveria Oliveros. I was born in Bongbongan Hamtic Antique. I started school when I was six year old. When I am grade two I stopped studying for two months because I took care of my sister daughter. In the morning she brought on me in the house of her husband in Bugasong Antique. After two months I go home to continue my studies. As I entered our room I was ashamed because I had not been to school for so long. After my class my teacher talked to me because of my absentism. I told him why I hadn’t been to school for so long. When I was in high school I see the hard work of my parents for our needs in school. What I do after my class I helped to water the vegetables in the field, so my parents are taking up our needs for projects in school and etc.

When I was in grade eight my sister Corazon is a very sweet and kind, she would do anything for me. But my younger sister Cristine and me fight like cat and dog. Sometimes when no one was around, Corazon would come up to me and she would bite my toes for no reason. I still love her but only because she is my sister. When I’m grade nine I decided to joining as a part of children of mary (COM) in our church. Every sunday I attend the mass and after that I went to the grotto of Mama Mary and prayed. During the children of mary (COM) had a activity in church I join and participate.

When I was in grade ten my brother entered the seminary because of financial constraints. When my brother seminarian come home and he asked for his allowance to my mother. My mother have no money that day, so my mother do was borrowed the money of my auntie for the allowance of my brother. A few weeks my mother talked to me to stop studying because my father couldn’t work because he was older and he want rest. In evening I thought of what my mother said. In the morning I heard to my auntie my cousin had come home from Manila and he was looking for a cashier in his store. I thought of him I want to work for my family. In two days later my cousin said he want to work in his store. So I stop for one year because lack of financial. Until now I still working to my cousin store, as a working student because I want to finish my studies.

CRITIQUE MOVIE

This movie “Coach Carter” was from 2005 by Paramount pictures and it is directed by Thomas Carter. It was based on a true story, in which he was a head basketball coach of Richmond High School, California, Ken Carter made the headlines in 1999 for benching 15 players of his undefeated team due to a very bad academic performances. This action is known as the lockout, but this kind of action was very criticised by the Richmond High School, the players’ parents, the city, and media commentators. Ken Carter was maintained that his athletes must take their studies a seriously, so they could get an access to college and other opportunities later on thier life and the community opinions eventually was changed when they're started to see his reason, and after that he was praised for his determined emphasis on prioritising these good values for his players.

As much dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as well as their have a very bad performances on the court, Carter sets about to changed both. He was an immediately imposes a strict regime typified in written contracts that he was included stipulations for respectful behavior, a dress code and good grades as requisites to being allowed to participated. These initial resistance from the boys is a soonest dispelled as the team under Carter’s tutelage becomes a undefeated competitor in the games. However, when the overconfident team’s behavior begins to stray and Carter learns that too many of players are doing poorly in their class, he was takes immediate in action. Carter was cancels all the team activities and he was locked the court until the team shows acceptable academics improvements. Carter was fights to keeping his methods, to determined to show the boys that they're need to rely on more than sports for their futures.

You should not only see this kind movie because of the basketball, that is just a bonus you get, but you should see this film if you like to see this films about people who make a differences. Ken Carter was makes a difference to some of a poor players without hope in their lifes. The team was starts out whit no hope or dream about getting in to college and the team was got no unity. All these things was plus many more are Ken Carter trying to change. So if you like to see youngsters with a poor life getting a new chance in life, you should differently see this movie. This movie was could sound kind of boring, but its actually not. This movie has a many lot of moving moments and inspirational speeches and scenes. It's not only moving moments, there are also an action in it, on the basketball court, but also in their life.

FACIAL RECOGNITION

MY SORROW ACCOMPLICE

Joshua Oliveros. He is my cousin, he is loving, kind, helpful, hardworking, considerate and above all godly. I remember him whenever I was sad because he was always the first to approach me when I had a problem. He was my friend because when I was sad and when I had a problem, he first approached me so what he was doing to me was going to make me happy until my problems disappeared. He was a simple man and preferred simplicity and above all, from his clothes, food, etc. His simplicity.

He does not like things that are complicated or confusing. He was honest. He always maintained her family's trust in his and the people connected with him. He is an emotional person and sometimes he thinks too much about the little things in his life or the lives of his loved one. He doesn't talk very much unless there is something special to one or close to him. He is a pragmatic person, and he believes in right actions. He is a philosophical man and sometimes he wants to counsel people when they do something wrong. He loves to travel to new places, and feel different cultures. He is a family man. Family was the most important part of his life, and it came Foremost. His favorite shows are movies and TV series. She wants to hang out with her friends. He was a positive person, but he looked on both sides positively and negatively because you never knew what was coming.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY

MY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL JOURNEY

As a Senior High student, it wasn't easy for me. Lots of trials came, there was the right to give up because I was struggling. Because of this I am content with myself, I fight for the beauty of my future. And giving up on this I never did, I continued my life as a student, even though it was very difficult for me to make and succeed. Since I surrender I know I have no purpose in life.

Now that I am a Senior High, I hope my family can finish school and someday find a good job as I relive the hardships and perseverance of my family's experience knowing that I can only afford to spend time with them. What a great day to go to school. Life indeed is not that easy. The moment we get out and face the real world, we need to be strong and determined to be able to survive. There would be a lot of challenges that we never get to understand yet until we get to experience it ourselves. So, I am really grateful enough that I was able to gain all the knowledge and strength during my senior year and finally decided the path that I want to take in college.

TESTIMONIO

CHANCE TO CHANGE

A lot of people change, chill, on and off in worship, sometimes we can't avoid that, because we're just human, we make mistakes, we're not all perfect, like me, I'm Florence Oliveros actually I'm not active in the church. this is about my faith in lord, I know I am superficial because I just barely managed to keep up with god, so yeah, as a youth I can't avoid being in love, hurt and broken heart, poor for me to go to church that time, because it was so heartbreaking for me to have an ex boyfriend who is my churchmate then my best friend who is still my rival. I also don't know why we broke up, maybe it's my fault because I have a bad attitude, every time I see them talking, together, laughing, when they're happy I'm sad, I can't explain how they feel, sometimes I just want to get away , so I don't see them that way, yes it hurts but I have just thinking about broken love life, you are going to dramatize that is wrong, and that should not be my prayer then, one time I decided not to go to church because I would see them, I would only feel sad, about a month ago I went crazy and didn't go to church, for no good reason I'm laughing right now, since they came to my house saying hello, asking why I didn't go to church, my answer was "Do not know" that came to my mind. I didn't explain it until they asked me in person, but it was a joke that I probably didn't care because I was jealous.

No choice, I miss the sermon because sometimes I see them, I don’t know the topic, sometimes I just pray, ask why I feel like this? So my younger sister Flordeliza explained that they were just friends and they were close to me, boy was just helping us get back together, and more explanation. So I was enlightened, there was even a cry, because they had missed me in serving GOD, and my music ministry seems to have neglected me, so I kept thinking about what they said if I stayed focus in a man who once loved me and lost me, I will lose to the LORD, for it is said that the LORD'S only love is changing and that I have forgotten, that there is still love for me and that they are many. So I asked if there was still a chance to change my perspective and return to my ministry, and their answer to every body needs a CHANCE TO CHANGE, and to give my ex back, actually I should give it to him. because I had a lot of bad thoughts about her so I did. I prayed that my anguish would be gone because of that past, all was well and thanks to the LORD, for I suspect that he had corrected me.

DEFINITION ESSAY

I am Flordeliza Claveria Oliveros and I am a person of many personalities, traits, and identities. Many ways, that I recognize myself, in fact, are the ways to bestow who I am. My Identity is just something I can fully give. My little brother, who is so kind to me is the only one who understands me every time I have a problem or not when I'm sad he wants me to be happy. My parents, will do everything for their children. I was humanities and social sciences because I wanted to be a teacher someday. I can say that I am a responsible person and a hard working student.

I have a friends because I like to communicate with other people and get to know new interesting individuals. I enjoying my time at school because it is really nice to study, with your friends and they ready to help you when you didn't know the assignment or project. I'm a enthusiastic person and I think this is a strong point of mine. My friend saying that I'm a very funny and a good friend. As soonest as I meet a new people who are happy to meet me, I feel comfortable with them. I believe that friendship is the most important values in our life. We can exchanged a new ideas, find a many interesting things about each other and a experience in a new things. I appreciated friendship and people who surround me.

To meet a new people who support all my efforts to grow up and develop my skills not only in the subjects but also in my hobbies gives me a lot of energy. Many of those friends who surround me now I meet a guy on the street while doing my hobby. I’m was inlove with photographer guy , so the thing I love doing so much became even more enjoying. I was decided to take beautiful pictures of accidental people and share these photos with them through Facebook. I feel the happiness inside seeing how they are happy to looking at the pictures where they are walking or sitting somewhere in the park. In this way, Monica became my best friend and we both believe that we meant to meet because she studies the same classes and we have similar life goals.

Self Obituary

Flordeliza Claveria Oliveros, was 19th year’s old. The seventh daughter of Ma. Cora C. Oliveros and Nelson B. Oliveros. She was born in Bongbongan Hamtic Antique. She started school when she was six year old. When she was in grade two she stopped studying for two months because she was took care of my sister daughter. In the morning her sister was brought on her in Bugasong Antique. After two months she go home to continue her studies. As she entered in their room she was ashamed because she had not been to school for so long. After her class, her teacher talked to her because of her absentism. She told him why she hadn’t been to school for so long. When she was in high school she, see the hard work of her parents for their needs in school. What she do after her class she helped to water the vegetables in their field, so her parents are taking up their needs for projects in school and etc.

When she was in grade eight her sister Corazon is a very sweet and kind, she would do anything for her. But her younger sister Cristine and her was fight like cat and dog. Sometimes when no one was around, Corazon would come up to her and she would bite her toes for no reason. She still love her sister but only because she is her sister. When she was in grade nine she was decided to joining as a part of children of mary (COM) in their church. Every sunday she was attend the mass and after that she went to the grotto of Mama Mary and prayed. During the children of mary (COM) had a activity in church she was joining and participating.

When she was in grade ten her brother was entered the seminary because of financial constraints. When her brother seminarian come home and he asked for his allowance to her mother. Her mother have no money that day, so her mother will do was borrowed the money of her auntie for the allowance of her brother. A few weeks her mother talked to her to stop studying because her father couldn’t work because he was older and he want rest. In evening she thought of what her mother said. In the morning she heard to her auntie, her cousin had come home from Manila and he was looking for a cashier in his store. She thought of him she want to work for her family. In two days later her cousin said he want to work in his store. So she was stop for one year because lack of financial. Until now she still working to her cousin store, as a working student because she want to finish my studies. She will become a teacher someday.

1 note · View note

thiswreckageivebecome · 5 years

Text

The Winter Soldier is Still Here (Part 25 - “Hail Hydra”) (Bucky/Winter Soldier x reader)

Description: You’re working at the local farmers market when you meet Bucky and catch his eye, not only because you’re the only one who sells plums, but because you treat him like a normal person. As a friendship begins to bloom, it quickly grows into a relationship and you learn that life with Bucky isn’t as easy it originally seemed. I SUCK AT DESCRIPTIONS!

Word count: 2044....a short one, I'm sorry, but I thought a short update might be better than none. In the words of Peggy, “It’s been so long.”

Warnings: Language.

Author’s Note: I don't own art.

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

READER POV

__________

I stared in disgusted awe at Jake. This...this was not happening. He was...

"Jake, " I asked almost silently. "Who are y-? Why? What is going on?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh please, " he now spoke with a heavy Russian accent, "don't even start with dramatics and hysterics. None of that will help you. Nothing will, really. Oh, the Asset thinks he will save you. Hell, he probably believes he'll sacrifice himself for you, but no. He has no idea the storm that will soon hit him."

"But, Jake....you're...you're... what about the hospital? The hike? Our relationship."

"Oh, you thought that was real," Jake questioned in the voice I recognized. Then he laughed aloud. "Woman, you're a fool. The Asset really fucked you up, didn't he? You fell so easily into the trap. You've been the easiest target we've ever had. If you had left him be you'd have never become involved, yet here you are, still pining for him in New York."

I attempted to get up but the threatening tone that propelled itself at me stopped me cold.

"Don't dare fucking move, you bitch."

"I just, I don't understand. Any of it."

"Боже. ты идиот, но теперь долго, маленькая сука. Look, you're pathetic so I'm going to tell you this and then it's lights out. I'm not Jake. I wouldn't have such a trashy American name. You were the target to get to Barnes. Soon enough he won't remember you and you'll have no way of remembering him. Therefore, rest well knowing that you're the reason he will be serving Hydra once again."

As promised I was unconscious in the next second. The last thing I remembered was his cold hands around my throat and the room slowly dimming until there was nothing but pitch black.

BUCKY POV

___________

I ran to the weaponry faster than I had run in quite some time. I had to get to (y/n) soon. If I didn't get there quick enough, they'd kill her just for spite. As I got to the vault, a message came through on Steve's phone which I would have to steal. It was a location: Jumping Jack Powerplant. While the actual location of this plant had been erased from public record, I knew it well as the hideout Hydra had used when it was after Nick Fury and after its full control attempt at overtaking S.H.I.E.L.D. The location had to be close enough to D.C. to arrive in a short time yet far enough so that it was off of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. I quickly grabbed all of my usual choices: Gerber Yari ll Tanto, SIG-Sauer P220ST, and Vz.61 Skorpion. To be honest, I didn't plan to put up much of a fight unless that's what it took to free (y/n) and get her to safety. Otherwise, I was planning to do what they asked but it was best not to go empty-handed. I closed the vault quickly and as I turned around Natasha was standing in front of me.

"Barnes, what's going on?" The tone of her voice told me she already had a clue.

"Nothing, Natasha. Don't tell anyone I'm gone. I have to go." I pushed past her but she quickly caught up.

"It's Hydra isn't it," she asked as she followed me down the steps. I'd make it downstairs quicker that way.

"Natasha," I called over my shoulder, "please, just go back and pretend you never saw me."

"No," she wouldn't leave me. I halted and turned to her quickly but before I could speak, she figured it out.

"They've got her, don't they?" Her words hit me again like a fresh ton of bricks, the reality sinking in more than it already had. I halted for a second to stop myself from stumbling as the weight on my chest began to cave in. I began to continue my descent but she didn't move.

"They're just trying to get to you, Barnes. They only want you."

"You think I don't know that? I don't care. I can't let her die on my account."

"Just so we're clear."

She quickly caught up with me and actually passed me. By the time I made it down she already had the vehicle pulled to the door.

"Get in." After I was in and the door just shut, "where to," she asked.

"Jumping Jack Powerplant. It's North o-"

"Of D.C. Yeah, I remember." I simply nodded. We rode in silence for quite some time. When we were about 15 minutes out, she broke the silence. "So what's the plan when we get in." I remained silent. "You do have a plan, right," she asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Kill anyone who gets in my way to (y/n)."

READER POV

————————

I awoke with bright lights shining in my eyes, lights so bright that I immediately had to squint. There was a beeping noise. It started to speed up and then I realized it must have been a heart monitor.

"The stupid princess awakes," Jake...or whatever his name was...spat. "The asset isn't here yet so you might as well calm down. No use in screaming either, no one will ever hear you and we made it where you can't reach your full voice anyway."

I tried to speak but no sound came out. I began to panic. What had he done to me? He smiled.

"You're one of the most stubborn women I've ever met. I just told you-you cannot reach your full voice, yet what is the first thing you try to do? You won't be able to scream or even speak for a while. You might as well calm down, otherwise, I'll put you back under." I attempted to calm down. I needed to be as aware of everything he would do as I possibly could. I tried to lie still and keep my face even and emotionless. After a few moments of this, he commented on it. "Hmm, maybe there's a reason you and the Asset got along so well. You're both able to turn off your emotion so well. Granted I'm sure the serum helps." I had to stop my eyes from growing and becoming restless again as he got ready to continue.

"You know, this little serum right here," he held up a syringe that held an almost clear, slightly blue-tinted liquid inside, "took us many years to perfect but once we did, we made vats of it. We keep it stored safely away in a top secret location, of course. I can't wait to use it on you. The ladies always have the best reaction," he finished explaining eerily. He began wrapping an elastic band around my arm and I couldn't remain calm any longer. I started to try and shake the table straps loose so that I could, in turn, get away. I knew it was useless but I had to fight. If nothing else, maybe I could keep him from getting whatever serum he was so in love with, within my body. I couldn't scream but that didn't stop me from trying. I could feel the tight sinched air attempting to scratch its way out into the warehouse but it wasn't going far. I didn't struggle for long. He stuck a different syringe quickly in my arm and there was the darkness that immediately surrounded me.

BUCKY POV

———————-

Natasha parked far enough away that we wouldn't be detected and I got into the driver's seat and drove slowly up to the building, on high alert for any sneak attacks. I knew Natasha wouldn't be far behind me, probably already making her way into the building before I pulled up and parked outside of the locked fence. After I took a quick observance of my surroundings, I got ready to jump the fence when the gate to my right began to open. They knew I was here. They had learned how to hide their cameras better than they had in the past.

I entered the grounds, even more, hyperaware of the fact that they had eyes on me even though I didn't have my own on them than I was before. After I had walked about 15 feet I saw them, I saw him. I recognized him immediately which was surprising considering I couldn't remember much else. As soon as he spoke I knew this was the man who had posed as Jake.

"Charscovsky."

"Soldier."

"What an honor that you'd meet me at the entrance, " I attempted not to sneer. All he did was smile mischievously.

"Oh, come now, Soldier. You act as though we weren't close once."

"You and I have very different definitions of 'close' then."

The eerie smile never left his face. He turned on his heel and began to leisurely lead the way into the building. As he led me in I noticed just the faintest blur of red hair to my left before I entered and I was grateful in that moment that Natasha had refused to be left behind.

"(Y/n) has had such wonderful things to say about you."

"Take me to her."

"Oh, now, now, Soldier. You'll be reunited soon enough. First, we need to discuss a few things."

"We don't need to discuss anything except you telling me where (Y/n) is. Once she's out of here we'll discuss whatever you like."

"You see, that was a huge problem that we never did perfect with the soldier serum."

He waited for me to respond but I refused. He stopped at a door and turned to look at me.

"You're not curious, huh? I suppose I'll say it anyway. It'll be valuable information to you very soon."

He paused again waiting for a response but when he realized I wasn't going to, that smile he had held for the entirety of the time since our eyes had met, began to fade which almost brought one to my face.

"Whether you're curious or not, Soldier, what I'm referring to is the ability to negotiate. You see, we didn't think about that at the time. Elimination and defense were the prime qualities we wanted but now, looking back, I can see it is something we will need to work on in the future. I imagine you'll soon wish we would have too." He arrived at a door and stopped. Four guards stepped between us as he leaned down and pressed his face to a retinal recognition. I suppose they knew I would be tempted to attack and dissemble in order to get to her if he were left unprotected. I heard the door unlock before opening into darkness. My body tensed as I didn't know what this meant. He waved off the guards so that they walked behind us and he led the way into the dark.

I then heard two thumps on each side of me. I turned, fully alert, ready for a fight, but instead, I saw nothing but as the room lit, a dash of red flew past me and took down Charscovsky, pinning him to the floor.

"Oh," he smirked, "Ms. Romanoff, what a pleasant surprise."

"Where is she?" Natasha sneered.

"Oh yes, you have become fond of her too, haven't you?" Natasha pushed down against his throat more, so that he had to put more effort into continuing, "не волнуйся, ты скоро ее увидишь." He smiled again, mischief playing happily across his eyes. Natasha stood and jerked him up along with her. I stepped to him, toe-to-toe. "Where the hell is she?" I was now snarling. He smiled and remained silent a moment. He was clearly enjoying himself.

"Oh, зимняя принцесса," he said louder as if he was calling to someone else.

"What?" Natasha quickly questioned.

"No," I said, not wanting to believe what he was saying. Fear and anger took me over. My vision blurred. "No!" I exclaimed, pushing him into the wall to my left. My left hand grasped his throat, the metal plates of my arm shifting to strengthen my grip. All the while he smiled.

"Bucky, what is it? What's he saying?" Natasha asked, worry filling her tone. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

#bucky fic #the winter soldier is still here #fanfiction #bucky x reader #winter soldier x reader #Sebastian stan #my writing

19 notes · View notes

clexa--warrior · 5 years

Text

Fear The Walking Dead' continues its losing streak in Sunday night's episode 'Ner Tamid.'

Credit: AMC

Sunday night's episode of Fear The Walking Dead was a little bit better than the rest of this half of the season, and I think I know why: There was no Morgan!s

Morgan and Al are off doing their own thing, and miraculously we didn't hear from either one this week. That's good! Sadly, we also didn't get any Alicia. She remains one of the only characters I still like on this show, though the past few episodes have done their level best to character-assassinate her (she's probably off painting more trees at this point).

The rest of the episode was pretty much about as pointless as the rest of the episodes in Season 5. Charlie "runs away" from the convoy to go find some place for them to stay, so that they're not always on the move. Finding a place to stay is a really good idea. Running off on your own in the zombie apocalypse is stupid beyond all reckoning, and I wish the writers and producers would stop making the characters act like such absolute dunces every week.

It appears the real problem is June, who is apparently in charge of the caravan and its 36 members. She's driving them all hard, not letting them stay in one place long, no rest for the weary and all that jazz. Even John Dorie is like "Hey June, baby, I love you but this is ridiculous," but it falls on deaf ears. I'm not sure why June is acting like this, or why she's suddenly in charge, or why they have a caravan instead of a base to begin with, but that doesn't matter. Fear The Walking Dead just does stuff, and we're just supposed to eat it up without questioning anything.

I think that's the only way people can still enjoy this show--just don't ask any questions, don't think about anything too much, don't expect anything remotely like logic or realism or human nature to figure into it at all.

In any case, Charlie makes yet another new friend while out on her own. This time it's a Jewish Rabbi, Jacob Kessner, who lives all by himself at his old synagogue. All his former flock are now zombies, calling to mind Father Gabriel from The Walking Dead (though Kessner is much less annoying than Gabriel, who I still can't stand). Charlie thinks this would be a good place for the survivors to settle down, but things don't work out. Before the end of the episode, the safe haven is overrun and Kessner is out of a home. Shocking. We've never seen the survivors show up and ruin a good thing before! (That's sarcasm, by the way. Everywhere our heroes go falls apart, from the family on the island to the Mexican villa, to the ranch, to the kids' treehouse this season).

June and Dorie show up and there's some zombie action, but we know nobody is going to actually get killed by a zombie. That hardly ever happens on this show. The last time I can think of it actually happening was when Madison died, but she died offscreen so we didn't even see it. There used to be some great zombie kills in previous seasons, but there's no reason to fear anything in Fear The Walking Dead these days.

That applies to Logan and his group of feckless, toothless bad guys. At one point they chase Sarah and Dwight--who looks ridiculous clean-shaven, though I suppose it's symbolic of his being totally neutered by the do-gooder sickness that's befallen the entire cast--and almost catch them but the tank shows up and saves the day. Of course, why they were so worried and running to begin with is beyond me. Recall last week when Morgan and Al were faced with a dozen of Logan's thugs and nothing happened. They just blocked the road and that's all. Are we supposed to think that this week things are so different that they pose an actual threat now?

Of course, it turns out that the whole thing was just a diversion. Logan wanted to distract the convoy. Apparently he's figured out where the oil fields are and he wanted Morgan's group as far away as possible which, uh, kind of sounds like what he did in the very beginning of this season by having them fly off to the nuclear power plant region. They're running out of ideas so fast it isn't even funny.

Is there even a story here? I mean, there are things that happen I guess, but is there a story? Let's try to parse it all together, shall we?

Season 5 starts with Morgan and most of the crew crash-landing a plane because they thought they were helping someone but it was just Logan tricking them so that he could take over the mill. The first half of the season is spent trying to get a new plane or fix the old plane so they can fly it back. There's also a nuclear power plant that's going to melt down, and we meet a new character, Grace, who is trying to prevent that. Eight episodes are spent on this dual-plot, with Strand and Charlie ultimately saving the day by bringing propellers in a hot air balloon to the heroes who then use their years of airplane mechanic experience to fix the plane and then fly successfully back to their own area of Texas because apparently that region has zero roads leading. It is a mystical island within the state of Texas that can only be reached by air (unless you're Dwight or his wife who apparently both managed just fine on solid ground).

So that's the first half of Season 5. Crash plane, fix plane, fly out. Logan has the mill. Then, bizarrely, at the very end of the first half of the season Logan tries to make a deal with them. This deal is not struck, we discover in the Season 5 midseason premiere, and Logan goes back to working with the thugs. I can't tell if they're working for him or he's working for them, because the show has done such a lousy, inconsistent job at explaining things to us.

Speaking of which, we learn that during the break, during the period of time that occurs off-screen between the two halves of this season, that Morgan has discovered where Polar Bear's oil fields are. And I guess he's also figured out how to refine oil into gasoline. And I guess this is what Logan was after the whole time, but they just neglected to introduce that conflict in any remotely comprehensible way. Now, five episodes into the back half of the season, the entire plot seems to be "Morgan and group go around helping people more while Logan tries to figure out where the oil fields are." Five episodes of filler with virtually nothing of any importance happening. Alicia meets the guy painting on all those trees. Morgan and Grace try and fail to spark a romance. Logan is mad at Morgan but does nothing about it. They film a stupid PSA and put it on VCRs with generators wherever they can so that people know that they're out there trying to help people.

None of this qualifies as a story, at least not really. The story, if it had to be boiled down, would be the conflict between Logan and Morgan's two groups. But that conflict barely exists, as evidenced by the times they've actually encountered one another and done nothing. At least Negan did stuff. At least the Saviors posed a threat, no matter how badly produced Seasons 7 and 8 of The Walking Dead were. At least there was a story.

Here we just have people driving around wasting gas, talking on walkie-talkies, rarely having realistic conversations or actually interesting struggles or conflicts. It's all contrived. You could probably boil down the entire 12 episodes we've seen so far into two and not lose anything.

Just take away the whole entire plane crash plot and have them tricked into leaving the mill. Then have Logan realize what he wanted in the mill wasn't there and go to war with Morgan to get the map to the oil fields. The oil fields themselves would be useless to Morgan since he doesn't know how to refine oil into gasoline, but he knows that Logan is bad news so he keeps that information from him anyways. Have Logan kill some of the good guys, and have that test Morgan's resolve to be a good person. Have Dwight show up as one of Logan's dudes, on the other side of the conflict, and have that make him question whether he's made the right choice.

I mean, I think you could probably get eight episodes out of this conflict, and then you could twist things around for the second half of the season. Morgan could snap again, go full killstreak mode. He and Alicia could break into two different groups and the conflict could continue between them somehow. This is all just spit-balling. The fact is, it would be fairly simple to come up with a better story for Season 5, with better and more natural conflicts. Actually, I'd have introduced Logan as a sympathetic character and had him join the group, had his treachery not manifest until it was too late. Make the betrayal sting.

But this is all fantasy. I want the same kind of tense conflict that drove Season 3, with sympathetic characters on both sides and no easy resolution. But what we're getting is a bunch of badly written filler episodes with no real purpose and an overarching conflict that makes no sense. Meanwhile, we get things like Al leaving all her tapes in a safe and then not bothering to even shut the lock boxes, and that's how Logan discovers the oil fields. We get John Dorie shooting a bullet at a hatchet blade so that it can split in two and kill a pair of approaching zombies. That's the kind of vapid writing this show has now. It's just sad.

Next week, Logan will use the oil fields to wipe out half of all living things in the universe and the week after that Al and June and Daniel will send Skidmark back in time in a time machine they built out of spare plane parts, and Skidmark's job will be to kill Polar Bear before he ever planted the oil seeds that eventually grew into the oil fields, but little do they know that Polar Bear is waiting for them . . . . it's a trap!

I just . . . I can't. I don't know what else to say. What a sad joke Fear has become.

#fear the walking dead spoilers

2 notes · View notes

rainyrowan · 5 years

Text

Sunkissed - Chapter 1

description: Wedding of the century rolls around as the previous college clique, along with the rest of their family members, stay in preparation for it. During this time, Riley meets Lucas, a gorgeous, green-eyed wallflower who happens to be immediately taken by her. Little did she know, he has a deep secret. One that will either change her views on him forever or make her feel closer to his world.

word count: 2,626

pairings: riley x lucas

Song: Annabelle’s Homework by Alec Benjamin

chapter one; riley

Sparkley Farkley: Did you know that the slowest marathon time ever is 54 years, eight months, six days, eight hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds? Yeah, in 1912, an Olympic marathoner from Japan supposedly disappeared during the middle of a race. Some say that he stopped to get a drink from an outdoor party, but ended up staying longer than he should have. Risque, if you ask me. Anyways, he was too embarrassed to finish the race, so he flew back to Japan instead. Years later, he decided to finish what he started by running the whole marathon himself. What I'm trying to say is WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? Riley, you're seriously taking much longer to get to the boardwalk than this Japanese marathon guy. Hurry!!

I looked at the horrifically long paragraph Farkle had sent me and sighed. Being best friends with him also meant being best friends with your very own encyclopedia, which can be extremely useful at times. Although, it really isn't when your phone is constantly being bombarded with numerous texts about everything and nothing.

Gentle reminder that I live farther from the beach than you do. I'll be there soon! Don't miss me too much :)

I quickly text back. I gripped onto my camera strap, which is draped over my shoulder, as I start quickening my pace.

When we became closer over the years, Farkle and I both created a tradition of spending almost every Saturday down at the boardwalk. In regards to this, the main rule that we've agreed upon would be that if one of us couldn't make it, we would have to have an extremely valid excuse. Me being the more "laid back" friend, I've been pretty lenient on Farkle if he couldn't make it. Wish I could say the same about him, though.

Last night, I had to stay up till two in the morning helping my mother out at the flower shop. Arranging flowers isn't as easy as one may think. In result, I woke up later than usual, causing me to be about 30 minutes late. So far, I've received a fact text from him for every minute I ran late. It truly amazes me how he could just drop these facts off the top of his head.

I'm practically already running when I see Farkle by the entrance, arms crossed.

"I'm sorry!" I pant. I take a second to breathe before I continue speaking. "I.. I woke.. Wow, I'm not cut out to be.. an athlete, huh?" I joke.

He rolls his eyes as a grin forms on his face. "Where were you?"

"I was up all night helping my mom with the flowers. I woke up super late. I'm so sorry."

He nods in approval of my excuse. "That's okay. However, I don't think we could go to the diner now. Brooklyn and her minions are there. Seated in our spots too!"

The thought of Brooklyn made me sick to my stomach. Brooklyn was the Regina George of Harbor High School, and basically all of Santa Cruz. Like your typical teen cliche, she was the popular girl who also the prettiest. Brooklyn also had her own entourage, as she always had two minions following her. With her bitchy personality, you may say that it's surprising that she gets all the guys. With her body, though, it really isn't. It's probably how she had my crush of four years and counting, Charlie Gardner, falling for her.

"Well, I guess we would have to postpone our meal then," I say, linking my arms with his. We enter the boardwalk and head straight for the arcade. We're surrounded by all the games you could never ever get tired of. From Dance Dance Revolution to laser tag to racing games, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk Casino Arcade has you covered. Farkle and I have our common favorite, air hockey.

He let go of my arm, dashing straight to the air hockey table. "You ready to get your ass beat?"

He asks, slipping in a token. We love each other very much, but when it comes to air hockey, it's like we're two different people.

"You should be asking yourself that, Minkus." As air starts to shoot through the tiny holes from the table, we both grabbed our paddles. Suddenly, the puck falls through my pocket instead of Farkle's. "Well, that's a first! I guess I'm starting."

I hit the puck as hard as I can towards his goal. Hoping that this time my first hit would make it, he blocks the puck in a swift move and smiles. "Not today." This goes on for quite a bit. I concentrate on the puck as it glides across the table back and forth. That is, until a distraction came my way. Charlie.

I offer him a double take before actually realizing that it was him. He probably didn't even notice me, which was a good thing on my part. I didn't want him to know that I was here. Out of impulsive thinking, I ducked down to hide behind my side of the table. This wasn't really the best decision, though. Farkle managed to make a goal and yell on behalf of his victory. I don't even have to see what's happening to know that attention was surely brought towards us.

"Farkle!" I call out in a whisper. He walks around the table and takes a seat next to me.

"So, explain to me why we're hiding behind- "

"Riley!" Charlie exclaims. Mortified, I lift my head up to find him standing right in front of us.

"Hi, Charlie." I saw awkwardly. Thankfully, Farkle gets up off the ground and pulls me up, as I was too scared to even move.

Farkle clenches is jaw subtly enough that no one could notice, except for me. It's safe to say that he never liked Charlie. I don't blame him. Most of the time, he can be a total jackass.

I'm not too sure how or why I've liked him for so long, and still currently do. I like to think it's because of the fact that I'm always seeking the best in people. I don't necessarily like making assumptions out of people based on looks or first encounters. For Charlie, I realized how much of a good person he is, deep down, whilst working on a school project with him in the public library. My father, who so happened to be my teacher, assigned both of us as partners for a project that we had to turn in a matter of three days. Within those three days, we'd head to the library at night to work, but we were never productive. All we did was talk. Well, all Charlie did was talk. About himself, of course. I would just sit and listen. It was kind of odd not taking part in the conversation, but I mostly did not mind. As a matter of fact, I remember feeling like it was for the best since I would most likely say something stupid. Plus, I got to learn more about him and who he truly was. The downside of it was that I had to take our project home and finish it myself, but I thought that it was worth it. From that moment on, I couldn't help but keep thinking about him, about us.

Charlie extends his hand out to Farkle, expecting a shake, but he steps back. "I'll wait for you outside." He tells me. No, no. Please don't leave me alone with him.

"Well, that was awkward." He laughs. "But anyways, I am so glad I caught you. I was wondering if you're free like right now? I was hoping that you could help me out with something."

Crap. As much as I would love to help him, I promised Farke that I would spend the day with him. However, as I was looking up at Charlie's mesmerizing brown eyes, I seem to have ignored that fact. "Um, sure." I squeaked. I clear my throat and try again. "What would I be helping you with exactly?"

"You see, we're doing headshots in drama, and you're kind of known to be a really talented photographer," I blush as he says so. Along with the fact that his words make me swoon, another thing about Charlie that I liked was the fact that he is a performing arts fanatic. I'm presuming that it's something that he would like to achieve in the future. He's actually really talented if I'm being honest.

"So, would it be alright if you got a couple of portrait shots of me by the beach?" Charlie asks.

"Maybe in return, I can buy you a milkshake afterward."

Farkle is so going to kill me after this. "Er, okay."

"Great! C'mon, let's go." He starts heading towards the exit as I trail behind him. Hoping that he was the gentleman I thought he'd be, I expected him to open the door for me. Instead, he ends up leaving it to close behind him. I sigh, disappointed for getting ahead with my thoughts. Once I've exited the arcade, I immediately scan my surroundings in search for Farkle.

"I'm here." He calls out from behind me. I turn to find him leaning against a wall.

"You're going to hate me," I confess.

A smirk creeps up on his face. "Not gonna lie, I was already kind of assuming."

"You're not mad?"

"No," Farkle says softly. "I still hate that bastard, though. But I mean if you like him that much-"

I pull him into a hug. "Thank you," I whisper.

"Yeah, okay." He wraps his arms around my back and chuckles lightly.

"Riley?" Charlie yells.

I pull away from Farkle and adjust my outfit. This would technically be the first time I get to hang out with Charlie alone, so I obviously want to look presentable. However, that's clearly not the case since I'm currently in my maroon Harvard sweater that Farkle had actually bought me from when he visited last year, along with a pair of faded ripped jeans.

"Do I look okay?" I ask.

He holds two thumbs up. "Can't say no to a girl in Ivy League gear."

"I love you, and thanks a bunch!" I plant a quick kiss on his cheek before running towards Charlie.

Once I've caught up to him, we both head to the beach together.

I truly do love the beach. I love the ambiance of waves crashing against the shore, along with the wailing of seagulls as they soar across the sky. Not to mention, the smell of the ocean beach as well. Everything about the beach is so captivating and peaceful, especially since it's a little early and not a lot of people are here. The afternoon is the absolute worst time to visit the beach. The fact that there are so many people who usually come on a day to day basis, makes me a little anxious to go.

Charlie leads me to where the dock is located. Farkle and I would usually come to take pictures underneath the dock. This area is quite aesthetically pleasing.

"I think this is a great spot." He says, placing his bag down as I begin to adjust the settings of my camera. I let him know that I'm ready once everything's all set. Charlie then runs towards the shoreline and starts posing of a shot. Since I'll be capturing portrait shots, I made sure that my camera is set so all my photos can have a shallow depth of field. This way, Charlie will be in focus as the background will be a bit blurry. After taking a few photos here and there, I stop to look at them. Charlie was perfectly centered, the lighting was on point, and all shots have great composition. Perfect. I think to myself. However, Charlie apparently doesn't exactly think so when he sees them.

"Yeah, this situation just isn't working for me. Let's try something different." He looks around for a moment. "Here, why don't you get some bird-eye shots of me laying on the sand."

I was a little offended that he didn't like the photos I originally took. I spoke out, irritated. "I thought we were taking portraits?"

"I'm just trying to think outside of the box here, Riles. Maybe the photos will turn out better." I scoff at what he had just said. What difference does it make? You're just going to be lying down. And I thought all headshots were portraits. There he goes acting like a douche, but here I am, still taking interest in him.

Charlie lies down on the sand and places his hand behind his head. From the looks of it, he could pass for a Hollister or Abercombie & Fitch model. I stand directly on top of him to get good shots. If I'm being honest, this isn't the ideal position I'd want to be in. It's a little uncomfortable and weird, really.

Suddenly, water hits the shore and Charlie attempts to save his khaki pants by jerking straight up. Instead, jerking straight up somehow caused me to tumble forward, allowing both of us to fall back down. I also end up dropping my camera on the sand. Water continues to run beneath Charlie, which caused his whole outfit to be soaked. "Shit!"

The water still kept going around us. I panic as I watch it slowly ooze towards my camera. Miraculously, the water stopped before it could reach it. I graciously let out a sigh of relief. "Will you get the fuck off of me now?!" He yells in annoyance. I flinched when he does so and realize that what was happening: I was on top of Charlie Gardener. Because I was on top of him, I didn't get hit by the water at all. I quickly scurried to my feet and grabbed my camera. I turned to Charlie, who was still really angry that he was drenched. He got up from the ground and gathered his stuff. "Thanks to you," He snaps. "I am soaking wet, and I have rehearsals for the musical after this!"

I feel a familiar tightness gripping my throat. As Charlie continues to curse at me, a burning heat rushes through my body and I can hardly breathe. The DJ over by the boardwalk starts blasting music that seems to be ten times louder than usual. My surroundings then become too horrifically bright. My hands become clammy as I start to lose control of my body. My vision starts to get blurry and my heartbeat begins to speed up to the point where I could hear it.

Once Charlie finishes grabbing his stuff, he walks over to me. He stops and takes a deep breath. "Just email me the photos whenever you can." And with that, he walks away. When I've lost sight of him, I walk towards the pebbles near the ocean. I stare out to sea, trying to take big breaths. I stay until I've finally coaxed my heartbeat back to normal.

#gmw #rucas #riley matthews #lucas friar #my fics #girl meets world #well here she is! my lil project that ive been ingacnito with #hope you enjoy!#chapter 2 is linked to my wattpad #so feel free to check it out:))

4 notes · View notes

gameting · 5 years

Text

“If you haven’t heard of this game already then that’s okay, but if there’s room under that rock what’s the rent like?”

Minecraft Review - Perfectly crafted

Originally created by Markus Persson in 2009, published by his own company funded by the game's huge success Mojang in 2011, and bought out by Microsoft in 2014, the original Minecraft is a far cry from the most current release. Having been in constant development for a decade it's safe to say that Minecraft has only grown mightier as the years have gone by.

The charming pixelated sandbox has gained a following akin to other gargantuan franchises like Star Wars or Disney, striking a flame with the first Minecraft convention dubbed 'Minecon' in 2010. The game itself is very much a love child of the now billionaire Markus' favourite games of the time, and what started out as a passion project has since become a staple of the gaming world.

Story: As a completely open world experience the 'story' of Minecraft is entirely in the players hands; Want to spend the next three weeks farming? Go for it! Want to focus on finding that sweet spot to build your next house? Build away! Wanna murder some tall purple-black dudes who steal your stuff and then use their eyes to find and jump into a portal to then fight a massive dragon? Yeah, me too! The story of Minecraft is non-existent; it's a truly open 'sandbox' experience where the player has total freedom.

As time has gone by however there have been updates that add end goals, such as the aforementioned dragon, but there's no “Nice one for completing the game!” screen so to speak. So what is there to do in Minceraft if there's no story, no tension, no drama or purpose? Well...

Gameplay: The gameplay can be stripped down to four basic functions: kill, eat, build, sleep. At least that's what the alpha version could have been described as. Now, however, you can ride pigs, plant wheat, breed animals, fly, enchant weapons, fish, that's right I did say fly, kill under water zombie dudes, ride horses, keep cats, ride carts, and of course mine AND craft.

It isn't very telling from the list, but there is a lot to do in Minecraft that I haven't even mentioned. So much so that if you leave the game for a few months you could come back to entirely new items and features that seemed inconceivable in the past. I mean the fact that you can fly now? I don't even know how to do that I just saw a friend do it and I've already poured the last week into trying to find out how.

I mentioned that you can enchant weapons, but you can also enchant yourself, albeit temporarily, through the use of potions. Get some glass, make a bottle, and you're one step closer to being able to see better in the dark, jump really high, do more damage or even swim faster under water. The amount of stuff to do in Minecraft can be dizzying, but part of the fun is trying to figure out how to do everything as hard as you can before turning to the wiki.

There are of course baddies in the game outside of dragons and block stealing weirdos; zombies, creepers (the green thing that go boom), skeleton archers, drowned (wet zombies), slimes, blazes (hot shooty boys), spiders, baby zombies and drowned (the worst), Ghast (big white screamy memey shooty boys) and of course other players, the latter of which is one of the best ways to experience the game.

The world in which you inhabit in any video game is just as important as the baddies you slay. Some games push you down linear corridors, some games even tie you to a single path and all you can really do is aim and shoot, and while some games give you large sprawling maps for you to explore at your leisure, in Minecraft, well, the world is made of “chunks” as we pros call it, and it never ends. No, really, it never ends, the game world is procedurally generated, which means you can pick a direction and keep going until you find the perfect mountain to make your home.

There are also a variety of landscapes in the game: taiga (snowy bois), deserts, giant mushrooms, dark woods, regular woods, birch woods, mountain ranges, swamps, igloos, flat plains, and sometimes it's just a lot of water. Whatever your favourite flavour of the real world is, Minecraft has it, and with the ability to pick your seed (the combination of numbers generated when a world is made) you can customise the world you inhabit.

The following of Minecraft also came with game altering mods that can add new blocks, features, animals, bad dudes, good dudes, currency, heck you can even mod in completely different game modes which have since become easily accessible outside of the modding community.

All of this is wrapped up in an easy to learn control scheme with hit, not hit, jump, other not hit, crouch, move around and change your characters perspective between first and third person.

Graphics: Imagine really cool pixel art. Just loads of squares dude.

Sound: The sound design in Minecraft is just so good. Open a door? Mm chunky door sound. Walking on some snow? Crunchy snow sound. The sound effects for items in the game are top notch, but the game really shines with the sounds of the enemies, specifically the creepers. Casually mining and you hear that hissing sound? Well, you were mining.

The music in the game is, as it always has been, gorgeous. Subtle tones that chime in from time to time, gentle piano as the rain starts to fall, ominous noises that can only be described as “bwam” while exploring the depths of the world, all of it works together to create a cohesive sound scape that peacefully fits to whatever you're mining, crafting or slaying. Every thing sounds as it should, and the music has a mind of it's own so it never feels noisy or excessive.

Personal experience: My first real experience with Minecraft was after I 'legally' downloaded it with 'money' on 'my' computer in my own home with my 'hands' on a 'keyboard.' It was an early alpha build and I remember running away from zombies and the hissy green boys by hiding in a mountain. I figured, y'know, wait until day, hang out, then dig my way back to the real world. Only, I'd forgotten which way was out, I wasn't paying attention and ended up spending half an hour punching my way out of an endless wall of dirt.

Between then and now I'm only slightly better at building a 9x9 wooden house, and the green boys don't scare me (as much) any more. Minecraft has been a game that I've left and returned to multiple times, and now as I write this review I find myself playing online with a friend and more invested than ever; when do we fly I ask, I don't know maybe after the dragon my friend replies, and we continue to routinely murder the same bloodline of cows until we're both wearing pink boots and hats. I'd say play it with friends, but sometimes going it alone is just as fun.

Score /10: To be honest I was going into this review with a number in mind, but now that I've finished it I have to say I'm going to keep the number: it's a 10/10. From the timeless gameplay, to the addictive nature of mining and crafting, and figuring out how the hell to fly, I find myself captivated by the simplistic depth of Minecraft, the allure of dying all my sheep the same colour and making all my tools shiny. Definitely leaving my Minecraft world in my will/10.

1 note · View note

myheartbeatskids · 4 years

Text

7,700,000,000,000,000

7.7 Zillion people in the world

I have met with T.V. executives, literature experts, political allies, every country in the world.

Before I forgot all of it, I,designed an educational program for my mom at Preston High School which was passed all over the state to teach to incoming freshmen, and elementary grades 2-4

Those were the worst... In 1999 they had to teach it to the entire school 2x.

Preston stopped in 2011 because death threats against me that went to the school. Bitches didn't know we got the whole state already.

I taught all the Abu, Mother Teresa.

They took my dad. Then my whole family.

I had nothing but the rest of the world.

All of you.

Who did you have? Like me I knew you all had no one.

So I had to be someone. Just like I saw in all those that helped me.

My information saved 19,000,000,000,000 people 3 years ago.

Not really me.

My information helped an infinite number of people to learn to help an infinite number of people that has been calculated to be 19Trillion.

But you wanna know a secret?

Nineteen Trillion people walked through those church doors in order to save themselves.

I wouldn't even walk them to that door. I would hide and peek only my eyes usually in sunglasses so they thought I was looking I the street and not at them looking back at me for what they thought was the last time.

They had to. I had to see them on 2 limbs or a skateboard or whatever leave my safety and walk into the unknown to save themselves.

19 TRILLION people. Saved themselves.

I know because I didn't hold their hands and drag them any where.

They walked with their heads held high with the past behind them and the future surrounding them.

I designed the missle and satellite to purposely fail. I could not betray 19 Trillion people.

I didn't want it to. Boy i wish this house I am in was done already!!!

But i knew it was the right thing to do.

I did however help create Saints. Armed with my knowledge 18 Million people just in the United States of America alone deserve coronation into Sainthood. I think that is amazing. Worldwide 1,800,457,956 people deserve sainthood since 1985-1995

So someone needs to call the fucking church cause I actually have a list. With their correct phone numbers

And i expect that shit to get done immediately.

And since 2017 I have saved an additional 3,000,0000,000 with the Abu until November 2019.

Which then added during WWIII a savior of 3 zillion once all the bunkers are empty.

But wait! There's more! These beautiful saved themselves and didn't say anything, no DNA tests. No nothing. Just went home or went into another,bunker,to,get their friends,and families,as,I,taught them to.

In all, 74,596,512,245 deserve sainthood. Not inckuding me.

I have a list. 5,000 pages long in 6pt type.

Not many in Valencia County -- but a lot!

I moved here without any memories or power for a period of 20 years. It has been 20 now exactly on this day.

And every single day I was treated human and didn't hate it.

How did you feel when I treated you human?

Did it make you want to stay on Planet Earth?

Now i can finally have my Earth family back and my dinosaurs cause fuck y'all I'm getting and keeping mine. Stay the fuck out my fort and we will fer along alright. I don't say shit about your cows running all over the mesa and in the road and They have horns too!! Mine don't. They don't need them.

Lets pause for the votes.

99% votes on the Flintstones post.

90% cool on video of Tiny. That's his name.

Insane amounts of positivity on the news article.

Looks like we're gonna have to rename this planet Saint Earth.

We have the fort for a controlled release. Unlike humans.

New forest in current desert will be where they pop up. And they are owned and will be tagged and chipped and will follow their own instinct home.

Talk to them like hey and hi.

They won't use the sidewalk. Tiny runs 70 mph.

Just be like dude a Fucking car because they do Fuck.

That will be on the night of my wedding.

Our personal dino friends will return before. And we will introduce via video on social media

On second thought... Tiny was terrified of the Chinnook and nearly had a heart attack

Dino,were machines and so they don't know what one is -- most anyway

Since we are downsizing them we will do neighborhood release

So the eve of my wedding world wide they will be released.

No traffic. World locked down. Out side waiting.

Or,maybe in hoise Idk

But they are potty trained!!!

Matt is reading my notes which was never a final draft so that why,its all Uhhh..

So what i think is

After they are released then we lock it down. No work or shopping or school. So they can be acclimated

They were already gentle I'm,not fucking with them.,just changing their size.

You'll have a toilet their specific size in the house. And plant life greenhouse or garden

They eat like dogs. Anything.

Remember mermaids. Half human. Half dinosaurs. They are only our legs. They think on their own and feel emotions on their own. Hug on their own. Speak, hear, sense.

0 notes