#britta knack

[necile]

The first thing these three did upon moving in was read skill books.

#necile plays ts3 #ts3 #the sims 3 #lepacy #cromwell legacy #cromwell gen 4 #midnight hollow #kirby wise #horus cromwell #britta knack

[beakersmeepersmeep]

Something I am really looking forward to in the Community movie is (presumably) getting to see Troy return with a greater sense of who he is as an individual. I want to know about his hobbies and interests and opinions and values. And I want to know these things not just because I care about Troy as a character, but because I love the relationship between Troy and Abed.

I think that Troy has one of the more meaningful (albeit incomplete) character arcs in the show. We watch over the first two seasons as Troy lets go of his former identity as a jock and prom king, and learns that he can be vulnerable, or silly, or dorky. He realizes that being a man doesn’t have to look a particular way, and all of these realizations are largely due to Abed.

But stripped of his old identifiers, Troy begins to build a new identity largely based on his relationship with Abed. And while his relationship with Abed is unabashed, and joyous, and revolutionary (for both parties), the reality is that it’s not possible for Troy to build a stable, healthy identity based solely on a relationship with some other person, no matter how fulfilling that relationship is.

[I’m always slightly torn here with this lack of individual identity for Troy at this stage. On the one hand, it leads to this aforementioned meaningful character arc. Moreover, the idea of someone shedding an old identity and trying new ones on is a good and realistic storyline for a show set in college, especially one like Greendale. On the other hand, it sometimes seems like the writers just never got around to fully reconceptualizing the character of Troy after this shift away from jock-Troy, instead relying on his chemistry with Abed, together with DG’s talent for improvising funny one-liners, his ability to make gif-able faces, and his knack for portraying a physical and/or emotional meltdown. Okay, tangent over.]

In many ways we reach the full realization about Troy’s lack of an individual identity by Pillows and Blankets in the back half of season 3. And while we see some additional exploration of Troy via the Truest Repairman plot line as well as via his relationship with Britta, I think Troy largely postpones exploring his own sense of self (whether consciously or unconsciously) up until his decision to leave Greendale and sail around the world in Season 5. [I certainly don’t want to assign value to characters based on their labor output, but I think it’s telling that in the episode Repilot, Troy can’t seem to name anything he has been doing—whether recreationally or otherwise—and instead can only share a vague, half-joking plan to sue Abed in the future.]

Meanwhile we get some really wonderful Troy/Abed moments throughout this time period, but to me they often feel bittersweet, exactly because we as the audience are aware of this tension and its lack of resolution.

I’ve been focusing on Troy thus far—simply because Abed is the one that stuck around, so we actually do get to see him grow and change further—but Abed, as the other half of this duo, has the opposite struggle and we can see his journey in parallel to Troy’s:

Abed knows who he is as an individual but is inexperienced in connecting to others and in building and maintaining relationships. (Unlike Troy who is tremendously likable and connects easily with others but does not know who he is yet.)

It is Abed’s relationship with Troy that shows him he can in fact connect with others. (Just as Troy’s relationship with Abed helps Troy to shed his fake persona.)

But because Troy has a propensity to always defer to Abed and to not stick up for himself, Abed was able to build a relationship with Troy without fully accepting the importance of compromise in a partnership. (Similarly, Abed’s strong personality, imagination, and creativity meant that Troy could adopt Abed’s interests and goals instead of finding ones of his own.)

None of this diminishes the value of Troy and Abed’s relationship—if anything, I think it elevates its importance, as each was exactly what the other needed. But I think it does mean that, as written, Troy’s departure became the inevitable conclusion. And you could write a series that diverged from the prime Community timeline around Pillows and Blankets which allowed for Troy and Abed to both grow and change without either of them leaving, but that’s not the show we got, and ultimately, I’m not sure if it would be a better series. After all, I think Community really shines in this bitter-sweet intersection.

So one of the things I am most looking forward to in the Community movie is getting to know who Troy is as a more fully realized individual, and then getting to see the relationship between new Troy and new Abed. Having a more complete arc for Troy is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and I think it is going to be cool and funny and really cathartic.

#community #nbc community #troy barnes #abed nadir #trobed #six seasons and a movie

[jeramy-beramy-baby]

hiii can you do some community headcanons? maybe stuff about the study room & like what's in it or like how they study? i have finals coming up so maybe it'll be motivational :) i wish i was a part of their group!!

Yeah no problem op!! :)

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show: community

request: yes

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At first when the study group used the space they were always very hesitant to leave anything behind (mainly Annie’s insistence that someone else was going to end up using the space)

But eventually as time wore on, they grew more comfortable (or maybe cared less about what others thought, you choose) and began bringing in little knick knacks

To make it feels more “homey”: Annie brought a bunch of pens (many purple) and a homemade grade school ceramic jar to keep them in. Abed brought in a DVD Bluray copy of The Breakfast Club with intentions of the group watching it (don’t worry he has a 2 disc special edition at home). Troy panic bought a vague “Home is where the heart is” sort of thing in a TJ Maxx, it holds a place of honor. Jeff brought a paper weight from his place. 

For studying the group always tries to bring food (mainly to keep everyone happy). Annie tries to institute a schedule organizer, and this works for about three days before it falls a part for one reason or another. Eventually Shirley is the sole snack bringer. And while she does try to get others to participate, she secretly loves getting to make food for the people she loves.

When it comes to actually studying, Troy and Annie make flashcards, Abed and Britta make a review sheet, and Jeff and Shirley reread the assigned articles. Pierce is just kind of there. 

Of course what’s listed above is a dream scenario, many times though the group will get on track before Annie makes them course correct  

Sometimes if study sessions go later, Jeff and Britta will leave midway through to pick up some dinner, they will inevitably fight in the car on what to get before settling on pizza

Also if study sessions go later, sometimes someone will crash on the couch for a couple hours. Britta eventually brings in a blanket (mind you it’s one of those photo blankets with a giant photo of her cats. Its a little unnerving but very comfy)

Also usually before any exam or test, Jeff will try to give the group a little half hearted pep talk. It helps settle some nerves and even though Jeff pretends he doesn’t put much effort into it, he secretly jots down ideas on a note card the night before

#tysm anon!! #community #community nbc #community tv show #six seasons and a movie #community headcanons

[katkatkatina]

Lesson #2: Taking note of your surroundings

My room is outside of the apartment, on the way to the garden. You step out of the apartment and the first (and only) door to the right is my room. It is not small, nor big. There are two spaces where I sit and work, I shift from one to another when I feel tension in my back. The table is to the right of the door and it is wooden, with a light brown colour, and only one leg in the middle, holding it upright. I keep a lot of stuff on my table. 

There is a notebook under the window sill, with a variety of pens, but they all leave the same colour mark on paper. I keep a lot of knick knacks on top of my notebook. There are some wet wipes (small size), nails (for hanging pictures), a hammer and Patafix rubber paste, two packs, one new and one almost finished. There is a half empty Britta water filter jug and a glass to the left of the notebook. It has an Apple sticker. It’s a MacBritta jug. A white metal table lamp is behind the jug, the bulb turned upwards, for more light. It carries larger size post-it notebook on its base, with the first paper torn in half. Where is the other half? What did I write on it? I don’t remember. Maybe it comes back to me. 

There are a lot of small things between the lamp and water jug: glasses cleaning spray and wipe cloth, chap stick (Labello, lavender scent), hand cream, user booklet for my swimming goggles, an open bag of Fisherman’s Friend lozenges (Tropical flavour), an open tissue box with a used tissue next to it. I have a deviated septum, my nose runs all the time. 

In the middle of the table there is a laptop holder, grey and metal, with different height levels. It is usually set to the lowest level, which makes it easier to type cause I don’t have a wireless (or any kind of) keyboard. 

There is a big cardboard box under the table. And a small one. I’m keeping them to send my sisters and Mom their presents from India. I’m not sure about the size, so I’m keeping them both. It’s been a while and I still haven’t sent them the package. A small brown carpet with silky blue hearts lays at the foot of the table, to keep my feet warm. My desk chair is not really a desk chair. It is just a random chair that my landlord left in the room. It does no favour to my back when I work. It is an old hospital waiting room chair, just barely comfortable enough. After a while sitting on it, you start squirming and shifting your weight from side to side, front and back. You get up for a while and when your feet get tired you fall back into it hoping that it will give at least some more comfort. That’s how deceitful it is, the black waiting room chair. It’s never comfortable enough. It keeps you on your toes. 

The garbage bin is under the table, on the left. It has a ‘Pingo Doce’ supermarket bag, almost full. Mostly with tissues and incense stick ashes. Next to the bin, there is an extension cord with three outlets: one with the laptop cable, one for my portable speaker and one for the lamp. Note to self: I need another extension cord. 

It’s a messy workplace. But I like it. Not when my back starts to hurt, though. No matter how many cushions I stack under my back for support, it still starts to ache after a few hours. Then I shift to the bed. The mattress is hard, which helps a lot. The bed has a big white full-wooded frame, with a mattress that is a few inches too short on each side. But the head of the bed is high and strong, good for leaning. The bed is a double in size, but the mattress is for 1,5 person. My room has an uneven floor and this is why my bed squeaks a lot. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT. At night, with every movement, the bed creaks, making a loud annoying sound which wakes me up every time. I’ve trained myself not to move too much in the night. 

The bed is covered with a duvet and a soft, white blanket. I have a few cushions, all different in size and shape: an anatomical one for sleeping, a big one for resting, watching movies or working, a travel pillow made of memory foam that I use for whatever and whenever, sometimes I rest my laptop on top of it. And finally, a small meditation pillow which I sometimes put under my head. There’s space on my bed for me and my roommate, who sometimes comes and works from my room. These are my two working spaces. It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got. 

Someone promised to give me dest chair soon. That will be nice. 

#writerscorner #creative writing #writing courses #lesson of the day

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

To summarise:

“A new age of wonderment is upon us.”

Cheryl Blossom, 2021(possibly)

6x06 is called Unbelievable. For once, the title is apt.

It’s all about superpowers in the Dale. But don’t be fooled: it’s not an au. Even Jughead couldn’t be bothered to narrate this one.

Other people’s bombs merely explode. Hiram’s also gives you superpowers. A true legend.

All the characters of the show (core and secondary) are informed about the bomb in separate scenes because this episode is 42 min long and has no discernible plot.

Archie’s superpower is becoming dens(er than usual). We’ve been knew.

Betty’s super power is adding visual effects to her already established knack of sensing danger/serial killers.

Jughead’s superpower is suffering. He’s an author after all, and the only artist worth his salt, is the tortured one.

You know you’re down on your luck when your girlfriend didn’t pay her business insurance to take care of her employees but you had already quit working at Pop’s, so now you don’t have health insurance.  

Tabitha’s super power is not being given her own plot line. She was, however, briefly shown without her Pop’s uniform, so points for that at least.

Ironically, Bingo’s superpower is getting a plot line. More trauma for Bingo-of-the-illegal-dog-fighting-ring.

“What is happening to us, Betty?”, asks Archie. “What is happening to me?” he soon after corrects. To the woman with the two cracked ribs spending the night in the hospital for observation. So thoughtful, that Archie lad.

Only Cheryl can string together the phrases ���scholarly research” and “for realsies”. And because she can, she does.

She persists that she put Abigail’s curse on her “school chums” *insert eyeroll* although it is clear from the curse’s wording that it pertained to all descendants of Jedediah & co. That is so season 5 though: in season 6 Nana Rose burnt the og curse, so now the wording is open to interpretation.

Kevin takes his remaining kidney to Broadway: part deux. Kevin is flabbergasted by Tangs getting together, probably because this means even less screen time for him.

He later decides to postpone his musical career to play Mrs Doubtfire to baby Anthony. He will guard the baby with his life, says the man who 2 episodes ago was not ready to have a baby at all. Kevin’s superpower is flightiness.

Betty and Veronica talk. It’s not about Archie but it’s about Hiram, so they still don’t pass the Bechdel test.

The FBI is making Hiram’s capture an immediate priority, says Betty i.e. the FBI agent who let Hiram walk away in the previous episode in spite of having condemning evidence of him committing a murder.

Betty acts as if she’s in charge of Riverdale’s F.B.I. office. Having read Glen’s dissertation on the “Varying displays of the serial killer gene in the Cooper family tree”, the rest of the agents decide to play along.

Veronica’s casino must be doing really well in the newly reinstated town of Riverdale. Babylonium opened its doors the previous(?) week and Veronica already has 2 million dollars, that she invests in paying an assassin to off her father. That she let walk away in the previous episode in spite of having condemning evidence of him committing a murder.

Veronica also has a little neon sign spelling “casino” over the wall at her office at the casino. So as not to forget she is at the casino, one presumes?

FP II and FP III might have been Serpent Kings but the real heart of the gangs were the women: Penny, Gladys and, now, Twyla Twist. Did Toni get pregnant solely to join the Milf Club of Southside Gang Wars?

Hospital orderly Trevor Collins, who has been moving around the country, has done time at Shawshank. There IS really only one prison in Riverdale! (well, technically two: there’s Hiram’s prison too – unless they merged behind the scenes?)

Archie takes justice in his own hands, vol. 6.347.289.273. He intervenes at a gang war and makes things worse for the Serpents: A Fresh Story.

When Britta is not playing football, she becomes a whole different person. No, really. She’s now Abigail.

Nana Rose’s superpower is getting up from her wheelchair. You can’t do a banishment sitting down. It lacks gravitas.

Cheryl’s superpower is being possessed.

Percival Pickens, exuding really strong Patrick Bateman vibes and rocking a similar haircut and wardrobe, wants to buy Archie’s blown-up house. He’s offering good money, which is highly suspicious.

“You’re just going to spend your entire life living in the same house?” asks Mary Andrews who doesn’t know yet that Varchie’s downfall started when Archie refused to move to the Pembrooke.

Mary gets rid of her wreck of a house by selling it to her son. Mary’s superpower is lawyering.

Archie, it turns out, had quite the egg nest. Wasn’t he going around asking the Riverdale ladies for twenty grand to fund the Bulldogs?

Archie who was told by his girlfriend that she already handled Glen, decides that he has to handle him himself too. So respectful, that Archie lad.

Archie and Betty show zero interest in Jughead -the third person hurt during the explosion. This is the writers’ way of telling us that they’re still good chums. Because in Riverdale the rule is that, when you’re friends with someone, you don’t share a second thought about them.

TBK’s super power is changing his m.o. He went from torturing and killing young women and children to offing those who disrespect Betty (in this case: Glen). 1 Riverdollar says Archie’s next. We should have known this storyline would be garbage: they do call him The Trashbag Killer after all ....

While Hiram was alive, Veronica’s story line was about daddykins. Now that he is dead, Veronica’s story line is about daddykins. Veronica’s super power is having the same plot line for 6 seasons.  

Toffee is still in the Vale. Because Toffee’s superpower is knowing when a universe is wonky.

#yes I caved and watched #don't judge #Riverdale season 6 #Riverdale season 6 spoilers #riverdale recap

[ghostmaggie]

I want to write an au where abed continues in his film career in LA and annie ends up as an intelligence analyst or even an agent with the fbi, also in LA. when troy finally comes back from traveling the world (a few years later than expected, but who's counting?) he moves in with them and takes a bunch of odd jobs while he decides what he wants to do next. jeff and annie become old-school snail-mail pen pals, and meanwhile jeff and abed talk often, too, often through unlisted youtube videos abed films and sends jeff the link to. jeff leaves long, detailed comments on them. jeff and troy mostly text.

eventually, jeff has to admit he's reached the end of his time at greendale. but not necessarily the end of his time teaching. he's realized that while half his friends leaving sucked, he doesn't mind being a checkpoint, a stop along the path, a guiding force who doesn't stick around, for the average stumbling student.

spurred on by annie's regular needling and an offhand comment troy made when he shadowed the intro law class on a short visit back to greendale, jeff realized he had to really put effort into being a teacher, and he did it. well enough that he gets a reputation for being a solid professor. well enough that he gets a job at a mid-sized university in...LA.

he doesn't move in with troy and abed and annie, cites self-preservation, but they're the bulk of his social life anyway and it feels like coming home. it's not exactly the same, of course, but it feels good. and not in a head-in-the-sand, just-because-it's-familiar way. it feels healthy. sure, some part of him wishes britta and shirley and chang and the dean and all the other weirdos they'd collected over the years and, hell, even pierce were around, but they all--save pierce--manage to keep in touch, maybe some more than others, but still.

it's not immediate, but honestly, it doesn't take long, him and annie, once he's in LA. they're both adults, both continually growing and changing and failing and learning, and it isn't a perfect pairing, of course, but it's them, and they love each other and they make each other better. annie makes him softer, more curious, more energetic, more passionate. jeff makes her sturdier, more confident, more relaxed, brighter. they make each other stronger. they make each other happier. they take their relationship day by day, feeling it out, but they both know it's right. maybe it wasn't before (maybe it was), but it is now.

when the time comes for them to move in together, annie somehow convinces him--he truly doesn't know how she does it, but she has a knack for debate, he remembers that--to move into the shitshow of a house she shares with abed and troy, and it adds just enough additional zany misadventures to keep things interesting without, as abed might say, jumping any sharks.

and jeff? he's happy as hell. and so is annie (solving puzzles, helping people), and abed (making tv), and troy (trying everything), and britta and shirley and the dean and frankie and it's not a perfect life for any of them; every life has flaws. it's not a permanent life either. but it's still a good one. and no matter where they are and what they're doing, they're still friends. still family. still a community.

#community #post #wrote this in like 10-20 min on my dying phone just after watching the finale #reserve the right to change my own thoughts on this later #but i love my babies

[paradigmsofbrittaperry]

3 and 7 for fic writers asks !

3. Which of your fics was most different from what you usually write?

stylistically, if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know!! otherwise, Romantic Consequences of Alternate Living Situations because it’s multi-chapter and has an actual planned out plot lol. 

7. What’s your favorite piece of description or narration?

I’ve written so much this year that it’s hard to definitively pick one, but a favorite from recently is:

“She walked through the doorway, standing uncomfortably in the middle of the room as she waited for Jeff to close the door and join her. Despite having lived with him for almost two weeks now, she hadn’t yet gotten a good look at his room.

It was immensely tidy and color coordinated - which was to be expected from a guarded person like him, honestly - but Britta thought that there was a certain sadness to it when taken in all at once. The bedspread, the rug, the dresser, and the lamp were all various cool-toned neutral colors. The knick-knacks were sparse, the only visible clutter being a pair of slippers next to his bed, a few lotions and assorted other bottles on the top of his dresser, and an alarm clock on his side table. A rectangular mirror above the dresser was the only thing hung on any of the walls, leaving Britta to stare back at her own sad reflection.” 

(from rcoals)

#ty for the ask!! #bri speaks #ask box #withatalentforsquaddrill

[thefinalwinter]

Top 10 Favourite Shows: #2 - Community

It's hard to know where I should begin with this one. Community came into my life when my fight against depression was at its worst, and this show allowed me to escape the prison that was my own mind, just for a while. I love these characters, and I love this show.

The program follows the misadventures of a community college study group enrolled in a less than wealthy school run by a ridiculously flamboyant and incapable dean.

The Study Group, as they are often called, is comprised of seven members. Jeff Winger, the egotistical and arrogant ex-lawyer. Britta Perry, the humans rights activist who has a knack for screwing things up. Abed Nadir, an aspiring film director with aspergers. Troy Barns, a dimwitted yet loveable jock. Pierce Hawthorne, an old and racist legacy to a moist towelette empire. Shirley, a recently divorced christian mother of two, and Annie, an extremley driven overachiever who cannot stand failure.

The group is dysfunctional and messy at best, yet somehow thats what makes them work. These people are all flawed, and they accept eachother for these flaws. They get along and love eachother because of these flaws.

It is due to these flaws that The Study Group often find themselves at the centre of various adventures, ranging from an argument over a stolen pen spiraling out of control to destroying the cafeteria in a riot during a memorial.

It's these drastic differences between episodes that truly makes each one feel fresh. The show also does an excellent job of parodying popular genres, including a paintball game portrayed in the style of an old western film, an in-depth documentary on an overscaled pillow fight, portraying it as if it were an actual war, and even a zombie virus outbreak that just so happens to be one of the best episodes of the series.

Although the series did drop in quality during it's fourth season, I still find charm in the later episodes, and I believe it's because the characters are so well-written that they can fit into any scenario. I love this show, and I'm still holding onto the hope that one day, we will finally get six seasons and a movie.

#community #sixseasonsandamovie #abed nadir #britta perry #annie edison

[redgoldsparks]

May Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

Shrill by Lindy West

A fast and highly enjoyable read. I imagine this book gets shelved along side Roxane Gay's "Bad Feminist", with which it pairs well. Like that collection, West's book contains sections which can stand alone as individual essays, but which also build on each other to tell a partial story of the author's life. I was a little less interested in the first four chapters about her life before college, which felt less fully realized than the later pieces. But from page 50 onward I was absolutely hooked and I read nearly the whole rest of the book in one sitting. West is a hell of a writer, and she has had some experiences which would have scarred me for life. Just reading about them made my hair stand on end. I left the book with a feeling of deep admiration, and I plan to read more of her work in the future.

Why Art? By Eleanor Davis

Reading this book is like experiencing a beautiful, strange dream that happens to also be an essay on the power and meaning of art. Eleanor Davis has an amazing mind. I've loved every book of hers that I've read; this is no exception.

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag

I've been looking forward to this book for a long time and I was not disappointed! It's a fantastical and emotional story of a family born with specific types of magic. Aster, one of 12 grandchildren who live in a large rambling house on a rural property, is supposed to grow up into a shape-shifter like his male cousins, his father and his uncles. His sister is training to be a witch like their mother, aunts, and grandmother- the formidable ruler of their clan. But Aster is more interested in the girl's magic, and what's more he seems to have a knack for it. Unfortunately it is forbidden. When he starts trying to learn witchcraft in secret, he learns the terrible fate of someone who tried the same thing in the past. Will he be able to heal a horrible family wound? Will he be able to live as his true self? Ostertag has beautifully woven queer themes into this all-ages fantasy tale.

Ship It by Britta Lundin aka @brittalundin

This book kept me up until 2am reading and made my toes curl in delight. The story weaves between two narrators. Claire is a student in Pine Bluff, Idaho, who escapes from the boredom and loneliness of high school by immersing herself in online fandom for her favorite show, Demon Heart (aka Supernatural mixed with Buffy). Forest Reed is one of the actors on Demon Heart and plays Smokey, one half of the popular m/m ship, SmokeyHeart. Demon Heart is just wrapping up it's first season, and Forest and his co-star Rico Quiroz are scheduled for a promotional convention tour. When Claire reads that Forest and Rico will be at a con in Boise, she talks her mom into driving down for the weekend. NO ONE is a bigger Demon Heart fan than Claire, so when circumstances lead to her shouting at her favs during the Q&A at their panel, she is almost as surprised as everyone else. When she coincidentally "wins" an all expenses paid trip to accompany the cast and crew to their next two conventions Claire is deeply suspicious- but not about to give up her access to insider information. Or her chance to see more of Tess, an intriguing and attractive fellow fan, who is also road-tripping to follow the Demon Heart tour. An A+ look into the world of fandom and the process of showrunning from a writer who is very familiar with both. 

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

Vera's family moved to the US from Russian when she was five, and at nine she is still struggling to make friends and fit in with her American classmates. One thing that all of them do which she's never been able to take part in is summer camps. Until, that is, she learns of ORRA- the Organization of Russian Razvedchiki (Scouts) in America. She begs her mom to send her, thinking that there at last she will make friends, roast smores, and have the summer of her life. When Vera and her little brother arrive, things are immediately not as she expected. She's in a tent with two teenagers (both named Sasha) who have no interested in hanging out with her. She doesn't know any of the songs, any of the jokes, or any of the traditions. And the bathrooms? Too scary to be described. Though she can speak Russian fluently she has difficulty reading it and struggles in the nature and history classes. Pretty soon Vera is writing to her mom, begging to be taken back home. This story, a mix of memoir and fiction, perfectly captures the experience of being young and lonely in the woods. But Vera is smart and resourceful, and she thinks up several different schemes (both foolish and wise) to improve her situation. By the end of the summer Vera has grown up a lot, and is (hopefully) better prepared for whatever life with throw at her next. Beautifully drawn and very engaging.

The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

A thoroughly researched and easily readable biography of the Prussian scientist Alexander Von Humboldt, whose ideas have become so widely accepted that the man behind them is nearly forgotten. Born in 1769, Humboldt was one of the most famous men in the world by the time of his death at 89 years old in 1859. He traveled expensively through South America, Europe and Russia studying every facet of the natural world: geology, botany, zoology, agriculture, indigenous culture, history, and how politics are impacted by the environment. He wrote books that for the first time connected diverse forces such as weather to landmass, human activity to ecological damage, vegetation zones to altitude. His work heavily influenced his contemporaries Charles Darwin, Johann Wolfgang von Geothe, Thomas Jefferson, and Simon Bolivar as well as the following generation of scientists and nature writers such as Henry David Thoreau, Ernst Haeckel and John Muir. All my life I have known of Humboldt county, Humboldt Bay, and Humboldt University; I am very glad to finally learn about the man who they were named for.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towels

Count Alexander Rostov, recipient of the Order of St Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt, was the heir to his family's estate, Idlehour, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian. But no longer. After the revolution and a brief court appearance before the Emergency Committee of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the Count becomes a permanent resident of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. At at age 30, in 1922, he begins the second stage of his life there under house arrest. If he so much as steps into the street, he will be shot. So begins a masterful work of historical fiction, one of the best books I have read in a long time, and the best work I have ever read about this turbulent period of Russian history (1922- 1954). The Count is confined, but in a spot where much of the world can come to him. The Hotel Metropol has six floors, two restaurants, an American style cocktail bar off the lobby, a barbershop, a flower shop, a tailor shop, a ballroom and many basements. It is regularly visited by members of the Party, trade union meetings, and- when they are finally allowed back into the country- foreign ambassadors, journalists, and tourists. Even so, after just a week of confinement the Count is wondering if he will go insane from boredom... until he meets Nina, a 9 year old girl who also calls the hotel home. So begins a friendship which will change the course of both of their lives forever. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up by Mariko Tamaki illustrated by Brooklyn Allen

The previous Lumberjanes novel by Mariko Tamaki ended on a cliff hanger scene... Jo glimpsed from the window of the Roanoke cabin a round glowing craft like a tiny moon descending in the forest and a small figure slipping out into the night. Shortly after, cheese begins to go missing from the Lumberjanes kitchens. But Jo has a lot of other things on her mind: the first annual Galaxy Wars- four days of space-themed contests and activities- is about to kick off in camp. And the Jo receives a letter, forwarded from home: an invitation to The Center for Scientific Advancement and Research's Summer Theory and Advanced Astronomical Research summer program. It's a dream offer except for one catch. She would have to leave the Lumberjanes behind.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green read by Kate Rudd

When Aza was eight years old, she met a boy named Davis at a camp for kids who had experienced grief- she had just lost her father, and he his mother. By high school, the two have drifted apart, though they still live very near to each other in Indianapolis. Now sixteen, Aza tries her best to get through day after day of school while plagued by frequent intrusive thoughts about the terrifying possibilities of infection and disease which are constantly present. Daisy, Aza's best friend, hears that Davis's father- the enormously wealthy owner of construction company- has gone missing. What's more, there is a $100,000 reward for anyone who can deliver information that leads to his recovery. Daisy decides it's time for Aza to rekindle her childhood friendship with the missing billionaire's son. All three teens have the weight of too much on their shoulders, and their steps and missteps at caring for each other and themselves felt gratifyingly true. 

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

A very sweet and quiet story about friendship and craft. Greta, a young apprentice blacksmith, finds a small lost dragon in the marketplace. When she learns that it belongs to a couple who live nearby she returns it at once. They invite her to learn more about the creature, a tea dragon. Greta begins to cultivate a friendship with them and their shy ward, Minette. Gorgeously drawn and woven through with plants and colors of the four seasons.

Enough Space for Everybody Else edited by J. N. Monk

A really excellent collection of space-themed short comics from Bedside Press which I backed on kickstarter a very long time ago. One of the stories, "Transplant" by Megan Rosalarian Gedris, was nominated for an Eisner award in 2018. Other standouts included "Turtles" by Jon Inaki, "Art Pirates" by Tod Wills, "Stargazer Jr" by Z Akhmetova, "Habitus" by Ver and "A Pilgrim's Progress" by Sarah Winifred Searle. I appreciated the diversity of the authors included, with contributors of many nationalities represented as well as queer, nonbinary, and indigenous writers.

B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton read by Mary Pfeiffer

A solid second entry in this well known and well loved mystery series! Only a few weeks after the dramatic ending of the first novel, private detective Kinsey Millhone is hired by a rich and self-absorbed LA woman to find her sister, Elaine Boldt, who hasn't been in touch for about six months. The sisters aren't close but the Los Angelian, Beverly, needs Elaine's signature on some paperwork. Kinsey dutifully starts looking into things, and quickly into a bunch of strange circumstances: the missing woman usually visits a vacation house this time of year, but it's occupied by a sub-letter. She also owned a cat, which is missing as well. And a house across the street burned down after a murder a few weeks prior. How are these pieces connected? Once again Kinsey's case looks almost cold- up until it completely explodes in her face. 

#books #reading #comics #queer ya #book reviews

[acharlescoleman]

One of the worst parts is getting older for me is like any probably nick knack health issues makes me think for the worse like on Friday,   I was fine at until like around noon or so when I started to have like a really bad stomach ache like the kind of where you feel like throwing up. Like I was just running through my mind what could have caused it,  was it the Jack in the Box the night before? But then I was like,  wouldn’t that have ruined my entire evening instead of the day after? Then,  I wondered if it was my Britta water. I always bring like two bottles of Britta filled water when I go to work. I’m not a doctor but I suspect I must be due for like a filter change and I’m totally paying the price for it but again not a doctor so who knows! 

Anyways,  I stopped chugging water that day for my shift, just took a few sips every other hour and I don’t know I still felt sick the rest of the night. Although,  my body finally figured out a way to get rid of some of the bad stuff that was harming me later that evening (that’s as gross as I’ll get lol) and as the days have gone on I’m slowly starting to feel better but it was still super annoying. I also have a baby cold. I’m ugh a mess.

On the bright side,   I’m less than ten days away from getting my second vaccine shot and that’s a very good thing. 

#what im up to #I wish you all good health and whatnot

[dailyregister]

Snowy Owl and Phoenix Spotted on UMMwarts Grounds, Rumors Swarm Across Campus

By Christian Pfeiffer, Editor-in-Chief

Between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m. this past Monday, numerous sources reported seeing a phoenix and a snowy owl flying across UMMwarts grounds, and since then, rumors that these birds may in fact be the old pets of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter have rapidly spread across campus.

According to the current Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Minerva McGonagall, her predecessor owned a phoenix named Fawkes. This bird, she said, disappeared following Professor Dumbledore’s funeral service and was last seen headed across the skyline above Hogwarts’ Forbidden Forest.

“He really was quite the phoenix,” said McGonagall in a letter to The Daily Register. “He had a very close relationship with Albus, who was somehow able to get him to Apparate to Albus’s location on command. To this day, I’m not entirely sure how much of that was training, magic, or the strength of their emotional connection to each other.”

McGonagall also recalled how Fawkes once aided a second-year Harry Potter in killing Salazar Slytherin’s basilisk. “After Potter returned from the Chamber of Secrets, he recounted his story in Albus’s office, saying that just when he felt all hope was lost, the phoenix had swooped in and dropped the Hogwarts Sorting Hat at his feet. As it used its talons to rip the basilisk’s eyes out, Potter was able to summon Gryffindor’s sword from the hat and use it to slay the beast.”

McGonagall’s account of the bird, coupled with the knowledge that, due to their cycle of rebirth, phoenixes can live extraordinarily long lives, means that the phoenix spotted on the UMMwarts grounds could be the very same bird that once saved the life of a young Harry Potter. However, skeptics of the rumor are quick to point out that the owl from Potter’s childhood was said to have died years ago during a struggle with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters.

“I didn’t see it, meself,” said Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures Professor and Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, in a Floo Powder interview with The Daily Register. Hagrid, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, was one of the people who escorted Potter to a safe house the night Hedwig was said to have been killed by a Death Eater’s stray Killing Curse.

Recounted Hagrid, “I was a bit preoccupied tryin’ not ter die when it happened. An’ there’s a good chance I was knocked out when tha’ spell hit the poor bird. Bein’ my size an’ all makes you an easy target fer Stunning Spells, an’ I reckon I got hit with about eight o’ the blasted things before we crash landed in the mud. I know Harry was righ’ upset, though. We lost Alastor Moody durin’ tha’ flight, too. It was a pretty rough night fer everyone.”

Still, Hagrid’s testimony means that for some students, there’s reasonable room to hope Hedwig survived.

“It’s really down to Harry Potter’s own memory whether or not Hedwig survived,” says UMMwarts Transfiguration major Katie McCreary. “I personally don’t trust that a memory formed in the middle of a scrap with You-Know-Who and some twenty-odd Death Eaters could really be that accurate. Especially with all the bumps Potter’s probably taken to his noggin before, during, and afterwards.”

Some students are taking the theory that Hedwig survived one step further by aiming to explain the alleged dual sighting of Fawkes and Hedwig by arguing that they are inter-species lovers on holiday.

“When you’ve read as much fanfic as I have, you get a knack for identifying these sorts of things, trust me,” said Divination major Britta Hanson. “I’d wager a fat Galleon that ever since their eyes first met, they went pixie-shit for each other. They probably only kept their love under wraps because society still isn’t ready to accept an inter-species relationship. I bet during that air skirmish, something knocked Hedwig’s cage open and she decided ‘yo, man, I’ve had about enough of this Avada Kadavra, abra cadabra shizz-ness, I’m outta here! I’m flyin’ off to see my flaming hot man.’”

In response to the question of how she knows Dumbledore’s phoenix is exceptionally handsome, Hanson responded, “Pshh, I saw him! I was one of the first people who spotted him flying over campus and let me tell you what, that bird puts the ‘Fawkes’ in ‘foxy.’”

Where do you stand on the rumors that Fawkes the phoenix and Hedwig the snowy owl visited campus? And do you believe they were likely romantically involved with one another? Send your thoughts to The Daily Register for a chance to have your opinions shared in our next issue!

#harry potter #daily prophet #daily register #fawkes #hedwig

[necile]

These two are still around and will be forever now, thanks to the Immortal LTR.

#necile plays ts3 #ts3 #the sims 3 #lepacy #cromwell legacy #cromwell gen 4 #bridgeport #horus cromwell #britta knack

[workfromhomeyoutuber]

Uptick: Growth Marketer

Headquarters: Bloomington, MN URL: https://uptickapp.com

We’re hiring a marketer to join the Growth team to help attract new people to try Uptick and to help retain our existing happy customers. We’re accepting applications for the next two weeks with a start date in mid March.

We strongly encourage candidates from all different backgrounds to apply. It doesn’t matter if you’ve worked on a software product before. We haven’t hired a full-time team member in a while and we’re excited and eager to diversify our company. Uptick is committed to building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

About the team

We aren’t “growth hackers” or “hustlers”. So why do we still call it the “Growth” team then? Why not marketing?

It’s a fair question — it’s more about mindset than anything else. We aren’t just promoting the product. We talk to users. We work with the software team to improve user experiences. We release the Let’s Talk Teams podcast. We work with customer success to help make and keep our customers happy. It’s our duty to help Uptick grow in many facets.

The Growth team, isn’t an “in-house” team, yet. Michael Probert leads growth but he’s the only person in-house. He works with Kamil Rextin from 42 for ads, Tyssul Patel for visual design, Elaine Atwell from Animalz for content development, and Britta Probert our Customer Success Manager (yes, they’re married 👀).

In very broad terms, The two core outcomes of what we do are:

Get people talking about and trying out Uptick

Work alongside Customer Success to help managers and their teams thrive with Uptick

If a project or idea fits in those descriptions, it’s in our court and we’ll bring it to the betting table to give it a shot at getting worked on.

We have deeply aspirational visions of helping managers craft trusting, high-capacity teams. And, we also have specific goals for user growth to help us know we’re on the right track — it’s not all flowers and visionary pixie dust — this is a business after-all.

About our mindset

We subscribe to the out-teach rather than out-spend philosophy.

We’re scientific when we can be and follow our gut when we can’t.

We guess and test instead of fight and delay.

Data wins, not a single person’s opinion.

We’re really big on the teaching thing. There’s an epidemic of un(der) trained managers in the workplace. People get promoted to be a manager and are assigned their first team member. Then they get a swift pat on the back and are sent out the door with a “Good luck out there!” But the unsuspecting team member is the one paying the price for the new manager’s “trial by fire” learning.

It’s important to us to step in that knowledge gap and meet managers where they are whether they’ve been at it for 15 minutes or 15 years.

We believe that helping managers learn the ropes and equipping them to lead well is a worthy endeavor because it helps everyone on their team have a better work life. But more than just being a “worthy endeavor”, we have a strong conviction that, in good time, it will make attracting people who could use a tool like Uptick easier.

We’re not out there trying to “win business”, or “beat the competition”. We’re out there to make life better for people at work by educating and equipping managers.

About the work

As a member of the Growth team at Uptick, you’ll lead big creative projects and you’ll also upload cover images to blog posts. (Yeah, it’s not always glamorous.) You’ll give constructive feedback to others and receive it too. You’ll have the freedom and autonomy to do your best work, and plenty of support along the way.

Here’s some of what we’ve been up to lately:

Put together a guide on how to have great 1:1 meetings downloaded by over 4,500 people

Launched a podcast about leading teams and what’s happening on ours

Weekly email to 8000+ subscribers with an open rate hovering around 20%

Tweaking drip campaigns to continue to educate new email subscribers about 1:1s

Split testing social cold-ad campaigns

Here are some things on the docket or that we’ve been considering:

1:1 conversation starter card deck

Curated question sets by job type to make 1:1s contextual

Management Slack community

New blog series on 1:1 blunders

Partnering with tangential companies for more education materials

Partnering with job boards to help new hires thrive with their new team

About You

Generally speaking, if you can chart your own course once pointed in the right direction, you’ll thrive on the Growth team. That doesn’t mean you’ll be left hung out to dry. You’ll be able to handle, work through, and find a path through ambiguity. There’s no straight line in growth. We’re quick to trust. We have each other’s back and grab a bucket when there’s water to bail. We’re kind to each other, respect each other, and believe the best. Rather than asking what to do next, you’ll come with your intention of the next best step to take.

You’ll have a degree, work experience, or intuitive knack that helps you understand how to relate to people, and how to uncover their true needs. If you don’t have an MBA in Viral Social Campaign Optimization, that’s not a problem — and honestly, that’s not what we’re on the hunt for. We care about what you can do and how you do it, not your pedigree.

There isn’t a job or task too basic for you. And you’re excited take on a juicy, semi-formed idea that you can run with while using your own personal flair.

We currently have an office in Bloomington, MN (12 miles from Minneapolis & St. Paul). But you should be comfortable working remotely — many of the people you’ll work closest with aren’t here! Which means the bulk of your work is written or via video calls with those helping you make it happen.

We value people who express their opinion and hold it, even when it’s not in the majority. We debate ideas not people, but we know it requires trust, which takes time.

About Our Pay and Benefits

Our pay isn’t in the top bracket of the industry — just being straight up. We are a self-funded start-up still early on the journey toward profitability. That’s not an excuse, just an explanation.

Our benefits at Uptick are all about helping you lead a healthy life away from work. While we have an office in Bloomington, you won’t find a ping-pong table, a stocked liquor bar, or catered meals. We want you to enjoy your work with people you like, then put your work away so you can enjoy the other great things in your life.

Work can wait. Sometimes there are emergencies, like the website going down, but most things can wait until morning.

We have top-shelf health insurance and a retirement plan with a generous match.

How to Apply

Please send an application tailored to this position that speaks to us. Introduce yourself as a colleague. Show us what working with you would feel like. Forget the generic resume and take your time. The last application will get as much time as the first one submitted.

We’d like to hear about how you’d approach some of the example projects listed in the description about the work. Imagine you’re doing the work and walk us through your thinking.

That said, please don’t send us a 20,000 word mega blog post. We won’t ask you to write something we won’t read — now or later — so please be kind and keep your cover letter under 800 words and the thoughts on the project in the same ballpark.

Go for it!

We are accepting applications for this position until Tuesday, March 3rd. We’ll let you know that we’ve received your application. After that, you probably shouldn’t expect to hear back from us until after the deadline has passed. We can’t wait to hear from you!

For the imposters, we are too. Take a deep breath and apply!

To apply: [email protected]

from We Work Remotely: Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more https://ift.tt/3bQCbok from Work From Home YouTuber Job Board Blog https://ift.tt/2uXH1zx

#WorkFromHome #OnlineJobs #RemoteJobs #Entrepreneur #WorkFromHomeJobs #WorkAtHomeJobs #Self Em

[catty-words]

suppressed devotion

summary: 5 times Jeff inadvertently and indirectly tells Annie he loves her and the 1 time he does it and means to. (a Jeff/Annie-centric season 5 AU) word count: 5,360 author’s note: Thank you a million times to @bethanyactually for her beta skills (she’s actually more or less responsible for my favorite line in this story), but, more importantly, for her friendship. much like Jeff is grateful and feels lucky to have Annie in his life, I owe the universe a lot for bringing us together. Your graciousness and kindness knows no bounds. Thanks for sending a little my way. i love you a lot, and i’ll forever cherish the fact that fic brought us together. of course the most fitting way to celebrate your birthday was to write you some. i’m sorry it’s so late. that doesn’t mean i love you less!

[ao3]

~~~

It was Britta’s idea, going to her bar to celebrate his first successful week of teaching. While it’d sounded like a good idea at the time—he’s not exactly one to turn down an excuse to drink, especially not lately—shortly after they settle into a sticky booth with pitchers full of beer, Jeff realizes that he’s simply not in the mood.

So he orders a glass of scotch and slips outside as soon as the rest of them start up a game of pool.

He’s almost done with the drink by the time anyone comes looking.

“Hey,” Annie says quietly as she approaches.

He jerks to attention at the sound of her voice, on edge and fuzzy-brained. “What the hell, Annie?”

“You’d been out here for a while. I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” she says, shaking her head and leaning against the brick exterior of the bar. She’s holding a mostly-empty water bottle by the cap, pinching the plastic between her thumb and forefinger, and her arm brushes up against his elbow as she settles next to him.

“Well I’m fine,” he says curtly, trying not to notice the charming way the tops of her ears turn pink at his tone or the lock of hair that’s slipping out of her otherwise immaculate updo. And he especially doesn’t take note of the way his fingertips twitch with the urge to brush the strand back into its place.

“Fine, then.” Her voice is clipped, her tone offended.

“Wait,” he calls when she turns to leave. “I didn’t mean to…it’s been a long week.”

She hesitates before coming to rest against the building next to him again. In the following silence, Jeff feels the weight of her expectancy.

“I’ve been a little stressed,” he admits finally. “About life stuff.”

“I thought you said you might like teaching,” she says, kind but confused.

“It’s not about the teaching—especially now that you’ve dropped my class.”

She tilts her head up toward him and smiles wryly. “I was just being difficult for your own good.”

“And all those other times you were difficult? That was just for the thrill of it?” he teases.

She chuckles, nudging him with her shoulder, and he ducks his head to smile at his shoes.

They both relax for a moment before Annie asks, “What is it about, then?” .

Jeff swallows hard, and knows she must sense his discomfort because she n rests a hand gently on his arm and gives him an out.

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

After tipping back his remaining scotch, he says, “It’s not that I’m trying to brood or anything. I just don’t think I can articulate what’s bothering me.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Annie says, her voice teasing and deliberately light. “Jeff Winger is one eloquent bastard.”

It’s a stupid comment and he doesn’t want to laugh at it, but he can’t seem to help it. “I’ve certainly been called worse.”

They stand in silence for several comfortable moments. Then, apropos of nothing, Annie says, “It’s strange, right? Having the gang back together.”

Jeff’s pulse jumps, but he doesn’t say anything, waits for her to elaborate.

She doesn’t let him down. “I mean, I have this constant pit of guilt in my stomach, being reunited with everyone, because we should have never fallen out of touch in the first place, you know? It feels weird that it doesn’t feel weirder.”

He feels relief swell in his chest and angles his body toward her, the edge of a brick cutting into his shoulder. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Her face softens into a grateful grin and a familiar bright sensation unfurls in his chest.

“I was sorry to hear about your law firm,” she says, her mouth twisting down in a thoughtful little frown. “I was rooting for you.”

He offers her a half-hearted smile and a derisive, “At least that makes one of us.”

The frown grows more pronounced, and the crease between her eyebrows deepens. She says nothing, though.

During the tense silence that follows his joke, Jeff finds himself desperate to do anything to make that look go away. He could blame it on the scotch, but he knows better—when it comes to Annie, he always finds himself more willing to tell her the truth, more willing to make himself vulnerable, than usual.

“At least this doesn’t feel weird.” When she quirks an eyebrow at him, not following, he continues. “Being with you. There’s no weird-that-it’s-not-weirder feeling. It’s just easy. Like always.”

That does the trick. Her eyes soften and she grins, wide and disarming.

“Like always,” she agrees.

~~~

“Did a group of scary people just show up at your door to deliver some blue robes?” Annie asks Jeff when he answers the phone.

“Uh, yeah, actually. I take it you got a similar visit?”

“Yeah, and I feel like a should take a shower or put in some volunteer time at a soup kitchen or something.”

“You really think that’d make you feel better?” he asks, tucking his cell between his shoulder and ear so he can toss the robes in question onto his counter and grab a beer out of the fridge.

“Maybe,” she says, and he can practically hear her shudder. “I don’t know. I just feel like I should be doing something beneficial for the universe to combat the presence of those…creeps.”

“Yeah, because your constant crusade to save Greendale isn’t enough,” he says, settling back on his couch.

Her responding sigh sounds both annoyed and pleased and Jeff grins despite himself.

“That’s different. That’s just as much for me as it is for any other potential Greendale student. I feel like I should do something altruistic.”

“Altruism is a fairy tale, Annie. A myth. It doesn’t exist, not really.”

She huffs. “Of course you think that.”

“I know that. Look no further than your current situation. You think doing something good for other people will somehow assuage your guilt. You’re not just trying to make the universe better for the sake of a better universe. You want to, I don’t know, even a score or balance the scales or something.”

He’s not saying it to be mean. It’s simply something that’s been on his mind a lot the past couple days—making up for the past. But he can tell by her silence that he’s touched a nerve.

“Sorry. Look, I didn’t mean—”

She cuts him off. “You’re right. We should have been more involved, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since we—well. You know.”

Jeff takes a swig of beer and kicks his feet up onto the coffee table. “Pierce.”

“Pierce,” Annie agrees sadly, and Jeff has to admit, the name leaves his throat feeling a little tight. “We should have looked out for him. Been better friends.”

“We were the best friends that man ever had.”

“That doesn’t mean we couldn’t have been better,” she says, her voice quiet and brittle. “I mean, we all knew about his reformed neo-buddhism, and yet we never did anything but joke about how gullible he was.”

“This is a dangerous path, Annie. We were good enough friends, alright? Dwelling on all the things we could have—not necessarily should have—done differently won’t change anything,” he says, sounding more certain than he feels.

“I should have at least called him after we returned to Greendale. Visited. Anything. I just got so swept up in the busy-ness of school… it’d been over a month since our last lunch date.”

Jeff hears the regret thick in her voice, and he has to swallow down his own grief before he can reply. “He knew,” Jeff says, “He knew how much you cared about him. He was an asshole and he always wanted more than he had. But he knew, Annie.”

There’s a sniffle on the other line, and then a shaky indrawn breath. “How could he have? We’re always telling ourselves that we did all we could for him, but is that really the case? Mostly I remember us being mean.”

“Not you, though.” They’re both surprised by the fervor in Jeff’s voice. “You always knew when to draw the line. You made sure he felt welcomed and loved. You have a knack for that, you know.”

There’s silence on the other end and he wonders for a moment if he’s come on too strong, made things weird.

He nearly laughs with relief when she says, “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”

“I could tell,” he says, but then is quick to add. “That doesn’t mean I was just saying what you needed to hear, though. I really meant it.”

He presses the phone closer to his ear, trying to hang onto the smile in her voice when she says, “I could tell.”

~~~

“Thanks again for letting me and Troy crash here,” Annie says, taking a seat at Jeff’s kitchen table. Her hair is a little wavier than usual and her bright blue eyes look tired—probably from the night spent on the couch—but she’s smiling at him. “Abed doesn’t ask for a lot of alone time with Rachel, so when he does, it’s kind of a big deal.”

Jeff winces as he sets a toasted bagel in front of her. “Can we maybe not talk about Abed’s sex life before I eat? I have to survive a day of evaluations, which essentially means I have to teach with the dean leering at me from the back of the classroom. So I really need these carbs. Please let me enjoy them in peace.”

Annie laughs and spreads some garden veggie schmear, which he was sure to pick up for her when he ran to the bakery earlier that morning, on her bagel. “I never said anything about sex. You only have yourself to blame for any disturbing mental images.”

They both freeze at the thought, Jeff with a bagel halfway to his mouth and Annie with her knife poised over her plate.

When their eyes meet, they break out into laughter.

Troy comes out of the bathroom in a hurry then, letting the door crash against the wall with a jarring bang. “Annie, I need the car.”

She frowns, but she’s already reaching for her backpack. “Why? Is something wrong?”

Jeff cocks an eyebrow, watching Troy bounce on the balls of his feet like an excitable child.

“Abed just texted. Vicki and Starburns are having a cat-car race in the parking lot outside Alternate Science Hall. If I leave now I could probably still catch it.”

Annie stops rooting around for the keys. “Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t joke about cat-car racing!”

She rolls her eyes, and Troy pouts out his lower lip in response.

With a weary sigh, Annie turns to Jeff and asks, “Would you be able drive me to campus?”

“Yeah, sure.”

She turns back to Troy and points a stern finger at him. “You promise you won’t speed?”

“Uh, there’s no point watching a cat- car race from the middle, Annie,” he says with a chuckle, like he can’t believe she’d even suggest such a thing.

“I’m not giving you the keys until you promise.”

Troy’s full-on squirming now. “Okay, yes! I promise! But I need to leave now.”

He practically sprints out of the apartment after she tosses him the keys.

“You have insurance, right?” Jeff asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Probably not enough,” she says, and takes a huge bite of her bagel.

They hurry through breakfast, Annie anxiously checking her phone every thirty seconds, and then grab their bags before heading for Jeff’s car.

In the elevator, Jeff pulls out his own phone, opening Twitter to get in a minute of mindless scrolling before the day really begins. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Annie shifting her shoulders and smoothing down her blouse—a conservative top with lots of ruffles and a floral pattern in muted colors that strikes him as very un-Annie-like.

She’s so fidgety that by the time they reach the ground floor, Jeff’s openly watching her fix the collar and button the top button, only to undo it a second later.

“Laundry day?” he asks casually, stepping out ahead of her so he can lead them to the car.

“Hmm?”

“You seem uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” she says, glancing down at her outfit. “No, this is…I have a presentation in my Soil Science class. I wanted to look professional.”

Jeff’s glad they reach the Lexus then, because he really doesn’t know what to say to that. Now that he’s got Annie on the topic, though, she doesn’t seem keen to let it drop.

“You don’t like it?” she asks as he backs out of the parking spot.

“I didn’t say that.”

She scoffs. “That is such a weak deflection.”

He keeps his eyes trained on the road. “Since when does it matter whether I like your clothes or not? All that matters is that you like them.”

She harrumphs and turns away from him, looking out the window.

“Do you like that top?” he asks after a second.

“I don’t know. I guess I thought…it makes me look like Leslie Knope a little bit.”

If Jeff had been drinking something, he would’ve definitely done a spittake.

“And that’s something you want?” he asks carefully.

Annie’s quiet for a long time, and when he hits a red light and glances over to make sure she’s still with him, Jeff notices her cheeks are red. She looks up from her lap and catches his gaze, the blush darkening just a little.

“People take her seriously,” she says.

Jeff raises his eyebrows before turning his attention back to the road.

She sighs and continues, “So long as I’m back at Greendale, I want to really commit to making changes. Old Annie gave up on her dreams just because she’d made a commitment to Hospital Administration. She was a child who didn’t know what she wanted and ended up in a crappy job she didn’t like purely because she thought she had to stay the course. I want New Annie to be self-assured, and I want her to stop playing at being an adult. I want to actually be an adult…you know?”

Her voice is so small and unsure that Jeff has to resist the urge to pull over just so he can give her a hug. He’s better off comforting her with words, anyway.

“First of all, very few adults knows what they really want. Sometimes people go out into the world with a degree they worked hard for, and find they hate everything about their chosen field. It happens, and the fact that it happened to you doesn’t make you any less of an adult. Secondly, following through on your commitments isn’t a bad thing. It’s part of what makes you, well, you.”

She hums in response. “I guess.”

“Well, I know,” he says. “And by the way, you’ve been supporting yourself for more than five years now. Of course you’re an actual fucking adult. You’re practically the only adult I know with her shit together.”

She laughs at that. “Come on, that’s not true.”

“Name one of our friends who’s more self-sufficient and mature than you.”

“Well, there’s Shirley.”

“Nope, doesn’t count,” Jeff says, pulling into the faculty parking lot.

“What? Why wouldn’t Shirley count?”

“She has kids,” he says matter-of-factly. “That puts her in a whole different category of responsibility. Just trust me on this, okay?”

He puts the car in park and looks over at her. She’s smiling, tentative but warm.

“Fine, I trust you.”

He nods, satisfied. When she moves to get out of the car, though, he stops her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Annie?”

She turns back to him. “Yeah?”

“Everyone took Ann Perkins seriously, too. And Donna, for that matter. You don’t have to wear boring clothes to be seen as a serious person..”

Annie considers that for a moment, then grins slyly, suddenly cheerful. “You love Parks and Rec!”

Jeff snatches his hand back and groans. “I’m never giving you a pep talk again.”

~~~

Jeff doesn’t know how it happened, exactly, but somehow he ends up hosting a birthday party for Annie at his place.

Sure, he’s the one who suggested they throw it, but he didn’t mean in his apartment. He wonders idly if he could get in trouble for having so many drunk students in his home. He’s pretty sure most of them are over 21….

“Party’s moving to The Vatican!” Britta shouts way louder than necessary considering there are only about thirty people in the room. “Last one there has to buy a round of shots!”

“How much do you want to bet that it ends up being Britta?” Annie asks, coming to stand next to Jeff as everyone else stampedes the door.

“I’d put my Lexus on it,” he says, smiling down at her. “But you shouldn’t give her too much of a head start. That’s tempting fate.”

“Oh, I’m way too beat. My party train stops here. Besides, it looks like you could use some help cleaning up.”

They both glance around the now-deserted apartment, and Jeff resists the urge to burst into tears over the mess.

Still, he says, “Annie, it’s your birthday. You can’t help with the cleanup on your own damn birthday.”

“Watch me,” she says, a challenge in her voice, and moves toward the kitchen where she retrieves a trash bag from under the sink.

Jeff knows he should try to argue, but he’s pretty sure he’d lose no matter what. Shaking his head, he joins her in the kitchen and starts putting away the food.

They work in companionable silence for a while. Annie collects all the discarded paper plates and napkins. Jeff sweeps the floor. She wipes down the counters and the tables. He packages up some leftover pizza and veggies for her to take home.

It only takes them an hour to get everything in decent shape. When Annie returns from taking out the trash and recycling, he has a beer open and ready for her.

She joins him on the couch.

“So how was it?” Jeff asks. “In the hierarchy of birthdays, I mean.”

She contemplates this, taking a sip of the beer. “Somewhere in the middle, probably.”

He gapes at her, mock-offended.

“Oh please,” she says, nudging his shoulder. “Don’t act like you care. You didn’t even want to throw me the party.”

“Hey now, I wanted you to have a party, I just didn’t want to be the one to organize it. Or host it.”

“Yeah, well, it showed. The decorations alone.”

“What’s wrong with my decorations?”

“How about the fact that they’re nonexistent.” She gestures around the living room. “And don’t even get me started on the guest list.”

“Come on! I hung up Christmas lights. And all your friends were here.”

“Plus Chang.”

“You know how hard it is to make plans without him finding out about them and then showing up whether or not you actually invite him. I figured I might as well skip the part where he glared at me for days and issued unsettling threats until I gave in,” he says defensively. “Cut me some slack here.”

She grins. “It was a lovely party. Thank you.”

Jeff tries to hide his pleased smile by taking a swig from his bottle.

“How about this? I’ll agree to host your party next year so long as you do all the actual planning. You get the party you want, I can take credit for how awesome it is, and we both avoid another critique of my hosting abilities.”

“Oh, but I’m having so much fun giving you hell,” she says, her eyes glinting mischievously.

“I’ll throw in a free birthday lunch.”

Annie holds out her hand. “You have yourself a deal.”

They’re both quiet for a minute after shaking on it, and Jeff sneaks a glance at Annie. She looks beautiful in her party dress—a green, velvety wrap with an enticing neckline—and with her hair down, soft curls tumbling over her shoulders. She looks happy, and his breath catches for a second when he realizes how much of an effect that has on his own mood.

Before he can think better of it, he’s saying, “I’m really lucky you’re in my life, you know that? I’m, uh, glad you crashed my fake study group five years ago.”

She looks over at him, a surprised smile on her face, and her eyes sparkle, reflecting the multicolored lights Jeff’s strung up around his apartment.

“I’m glad you guys kept me around.”

He nods and then offers his beer bottle. She taps her own against it with a soft clink and then they both take a drink.

Jeff watches her closely after setting his empty beer aside, tipsy and unabashed. When she catches him looking, she smiles, and he holds her gaze for as long as she’ll let him.

Eventually, her cheeks flush and she ducks her head. He keeps smiling at her, though, thinking of parallel timelines that definitely don’t exist.

But if they did, he’s pretty sure this one would be the brightest.

~~~

“Oh, good, you’re still here!” Annie stops in the doorway to Jeff’s office, a couple of thick binders in her arms. “The night janitor started cleaning the study room, and that was definitely my cue to relocate.”

Jeff caps his red pen and gestures to the chair in front of his desk. “What’s got you here so late?”

She looks at him as if he’s just sprouted a second nose on his forehead. “The school year is coming to an end.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And there’s still so much to be done!” she says, dropping the binders on his desk with a heavy thunk. “We have to finalize the end-of-year-dance’s theme, complete the last twenty tasks on my Save Greendale checklist, and then finals and getting the school ready for summer. Plus, the rumor mill’s been rumbling and there’s a good chance the school board’s ordered an appraisal of Greendale, so we’ll have an official report of how well we’ve done saving the school—”

“Okay, breathe,” Jeff commands, getting more worried the redder her face gets.

She does as she’s told, sucking in a deep breath, and finally sitting down.

“So,” she starts, opening up one of the binders, “what’s keeping you at Greendale after hours?”

“Well, it turns out that if you give students assignments, they’ll eventually want them back. Graded.”

“Who would have guessed?” Annie teases, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Honestly.”

After hesitating, she asks, “But you don’t mind it? Teaching?”

Jeff shrugs. “It’s grown on me.”

They both go back to work, then. As soon as Jeff finds his focus, though, Annie clears her throat.

“Can I ask you a question?”

He looks up from the paper he’s trying to read.

“Do you think this is all gonna pay off someday?”

His brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Annie sighs and fiddles with the rings of her open binder, “Do you think coming back to Greendale is going to be worth it, in the end?”

“I still don’t understand,” he says gently, studying her face.

She nods and then looks up at him. “I guess I’m just worried that all the work I put in here won’t mean anything out there. I’ve always tried to believe that if I apply myself and work hard, that everything I want will just fall into place. But then again…I’m a recovering drug addict who went to a community college, graduated, then went back to the same community college. Am I ever going to rise above that?”

Jeff can only imagine the face he’s making by the time she’s finished.

She winces apologetically. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

“No kidding.”

When he doesn’t say anything else, she frowns. “You’re avoiding the question.”

“What? No, I’m just thinking up ways to humiliate whoever told you that you aren’t good enough to do whatever the hell you want.”

Annie laughs once, but it’s not a happy sound. “Come on, Jeff. No one had to tell me. It’s just…I know better by now than to think all my plans are gonna work just because I want them to.”

“Was it Professor Harrington? That guy’s always given me the creeps, hanging out in the dissection lab twenty-four-seven. We could probably set up some kind of accident in there.”

“Seriously? Could you please stop plotting some imaginary person’s annihilation? No one did this to me.”

“Then where is this coming from? It’s really not like you to doubt yourself.”

She frowns at her lap. “End-of-the-year blues, I guess.”

Jeff gets up from his chair and walks around his desk so he can crouch in front of her.

She tries to avoid his stare but breaks when he puts a gentle hand on her knee.

“Annie, you are the brightest and most determined person I know. Even if nothing goes according to your plan after you graduate, you’ll make a new plan and adjust. Because you don’t give up.”

A tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it away, staying silent.

“Would it help if I remind you that you wouldn’t have to adjust on your own? The group…me…we’re always gonna be here for you.”

She nods and offers him a weak smile. “You’re right. I, um, thank you.”

He kisses her forehead and stands.

They go back to work after that, but Jeff’s left with a weight in his stomach: the dreadful, nagging feeling that he should be able to offer more, but doesn’t have anything else worth giving her.

~~~

“In theory, a blast of human passion could shock the mainframe into a cold start.”

Jeff feels totally fucking blindsided by how totally fucking blindsided he feels.

No, wait, that’s not quite right…he wouldn’t have volunteered if he hadn’t felt, somewhere deep down, that he had a chance of opening the door.

The memory of Annie’s expression when she’d caught him staring directly at her blooms in his mind, the details standing out in high definition. From her rapid, surprised blinking to the way her cheeks had turned a rosy pink, it’s burned into his brain.

Damn, he’s an idiot for not figuring this out sooner. Truly.

He scans the cafeteria, looking for her in the midst of the celebration. His eyes pass over Troy and Abed doing some kind of weird jig, and Duncan longingly staring at Britta while she chats animatedly with Shirley, before he spots her.

She’s standing in front of a booth, gesturing emphatically. He can’t see her face from where he’s standing, but he can see Chang hunched sullenly over the table. She’s probably berating him for his betrayal.

He grins, feeling a strange kind of warmth in his chest, and walks over to them.

“…completely irresponsible! You could have cost this school everything! Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions before you go and do whatever the hell you want? No, don’t answer that.”

He slides onto the bench across from Chang.

“Hey look, it’s our buddy Jeff,” Chang says as soon as he sees him.

Annie glances over, but she keeps her face carefully neutral.

“Not gonna work, man,” Jeff says, shaking his head at Chang. Then he lowers his voice and turns to Annie. “Whenever you’re finished here, I’d like to talk to you.”

She frowns and glares at Chang for a long minute, clearly torn. Finally, she looks him in the eye. There’s a guarded curiosity there.

“I don’t think I’m getting through anyway, so I’m all yours. Er, I mean….” She fumbles for something else to say, and Jeff tries not to laugh.

“The study room should be free,” he says.

“Yeah, sure.”

They walk there in awkward, charged silence. He can feel Annie sneaking glances at him while he employs all his willpower to keep from openly staring back.

“Quite the day, huh?” she says when the finally reach the room. She slides onto the table and crosses one leg over the other, watching him expectantly.

“Unforgettable,” he agrees, and then starts pacing.

Apparently Annie can’t take the quiet because after a couple strained seconds, she starts rambling. “It’s not like anyone ever expects to find buried treasure, right? Abed is going to be talking about this for years. Duncan’s electrocution, Troy finding the hidden wing of the school with his air conditioning expertise. It was a true adventure. And that’s all before we almost got trapped under Greendale with the school’s founder, who, by the way, looks a bit like a walking corpse, am I right? I mean—”

“It was you,” Jeff blurts out unceremoniously. Nothing smoother is coming to mind and he really needs her to stop babbling, so why not just go with it? “You opened the door. You probably guessed that by now, but I don’t want it to go unspoken, you know?”

When Annie doesn’t say anything, he repeats it: “It was you.”

She swallows hard. “Are you sure? The rest of the group was there, after all. It could have been everyone, right?”

He gives her an unimpressed look, and takes a deep breath, trying to hold off the impending freak-out he suddenly feels closing in on him. “I’m sure, yeah. Just you.”

She opens her mouth as if to speak, but no sound comes out.

Was this a mistake? There’s definitely been something between them in the past, but maybe she’s moved on. He wouldn’t exactly blame her. He’s been jerking her around, trivializing her feelings for a long time, he realizes that now.

“Okay, well,” he says. His voice is ragged and his skin suddenly feels too tight. “I just thought you should know, and now you do so…bye.”

“Jeff, wait!” Annie says as he reaches the door. “I’m not saying…this is just a lot to process, okay?”

He takes a deep breath, then turns back to face her. “Tell me about it.”

She smiles then, shaky but radiant, and Jeff smiles back, the band around his chest easing a little.

“I’m not really sure what this means,” she says. “What you want it to mean.”

He nods, considering. It only takes him a second to make up his mind.

“I don’t think we need to know exactly what it means tonight, but here are some things I do know: you’re my best friend, Annie. I can always tell you what I’m feeling, and I never feel ashamed after I do. This is fucking cheesy, but when you’re happy, it makes me happy; when you’re sad, it makes me sad, and makes me want to make it better for you. Knowing you helps me understand why people write thousands of shitty romance novels and movie after movie about idiots falling in love because, honestly, sometimes being around you feels like I’ve been dropped in the middle of a fucking poem.”

She laughs, and Jeff can see tears glistening in her eyes.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is I love you. I probably should have realized sooner, but I’m here now and I love you. So. Say something, please… before I run screaming from this room.”

Annie rolls her eyes at him and then slides off the table. “Love, huh?”

Jeff nods. “Pretty sure.”

She’s walking toward him impossibly slow. “And you’re not freaking out about it?”

“Oh no, I am,” he assures her. “But it’s the good kind of freaking out.”

She bites her lip and stops right in front of him. “So.”

“Yes?”

She looks up at him from under her lashes, and Jeff swears his heart stops beating for a full five seconds. “You have a Hello Kitty notebook somewhere filled with poems about me, don’t you?”

He doesn’t even dignify that with a response. Instead, he leans down and kisses her.

#jeff x annie #bethanyactually #my fic

[necile]

This is basically the Cromwells in a nutshell.

#necile plays ts3 #ts3 #the sims 3 #lepacy #cromwell legacy #cromwell gen 3 #twinbrook #britta knack #beans cromwell #cromwell spares #atticus cromwell

[necile]

Here's a spoiler: They spent it sleeping.

#necile plays ts3 #ts3 #the sims 3 #lepacy #cromwell legacy #cromwell gen 3 #twinbrook #horus cromwell #britta knack