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milksuu · 1 year

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'Maid' in Heaven | Hiccup x Reader | Part 6

Pairings: Hiccup 'Horrendous’ Haddock III x fem!servant!reader

Chapter Content/Warnings: minor angst and fluff

Summary: After a hostile raid from The Hairy Hooligan Tribe, you were captured and forced into indentured servitude at a young age. Luckily, the God’s had blessed you to be the household thrall of the Haddock family; to serve your kind young Lord, Hiccup ‘Horrendous’ Haddock III. Oh Thor, what to do?

an: thank you for waiting! unfortunately, due to linking my ao3 on my master post, tumblr has hid all the linked parts before this + my masterlist (sad face). please click on the 'maid in heaven' tag for previous chapters, or view the pinned masterlist post on my blog. again, thank you to anyone whose taken the time to read, comment, like, and reblog! they make me so happy and motivated. any love is much appreciated.

There was a great discussion had within the Haddock residence later that evening. Supper was served at the single table, near to the crackling fire, and blazing with conversation about various topics. The first one attended to was the matter related to the unmissed trial of your questionable innocence. From the guilt that hung like a grey cloud above your head, Stoick sought to investigate the actual truth of the matter.

Hiccup spoke on your behalf. There were some truths, possible half-truths, and perhaps a frilly white lie in between. Whether Stoick believed the lipped wit of his son or not made no difference. The Chief’s admonishing response showed a mind already made. And the folk lesson long prevailed: it paid very little to argue with stone.

“I can’t have any more mishaps, regardless of whose fault,” Stoick said with a fistful of torn meat. “Our people are on edge, and for well enough reasons. And I’m not about to let one loose sheep, or another, cause further unrest. Do you both understand?”

From your standing spot at the end of the table, a cinch of fault tightened your waistline. You bobbed your head and, with fingers coiled around the handle of a water pitcher, mouthed the word with a strained breath. Your attention crossed the table, catching your young Lord’s pinched features of rebellious reluctance. When your gaze met, you angled a chin and spoke through batted lashes for him to oblige. The request sent his eyes rolling backwards. Luckily, you didn’t need to pray for his life. To your relief, his father was too preoccupied with his plate to notice.

“Understood,” he said, and took a reproachful sip of his drink. You assumed he’d done so to keep him from taking back the word.

“Good,” Stoick said with a satisfied grumble. “Tomorrow you’ll join me to pay a visit to the farmsteads. We’ll be needing a count of all the livestock and expected yield of crops before Winter. Consider the numbers for rationing. Always best to prepare for the worst.”

“Sure, doomsday prepping sounds like fun,” he said with a lop-sided pin of his lips. “But I was thinking, after we’re done counting with our fingers and toes, you’d talk with me and Gobber. We have some ideas to export new saddles.”

Stoick nodded and spoke in a tone of allowance rather than agreement. “Time will be made tomorrow, then.”

The table quieted to small-talk, clinking tableware, and requests for another pour from your pitcher. When Stoick finished, he wiped his mouth clean with his fingers, and announced his retirement for the night. When the mass of his form disappeared beyond the aching stairs, you fetched yourself to attend the mess.

“Let me help you,” he said, taking a few hurried bites and tossing the cooked tail end of his fish to Toothless. He barely swallowed when he stood. “I just finished.”

“Although I’m grateful for your offer, I must decline you,” you said and seized his plate before he could. “You’ve done enough for me today, Lord Haddock. I’m sure the least I can do in return is my own job.”

“I don’t think there should be a limit for helping anyone,” he said rationally, “unless you think I’m wrong?”

“I think you’ll end up causing more trouble for yourself,” you punctuated your words with the lift of your nose. “Make no mistake. The road to Hel is paved with good-intentions. I don’t wish for you to end up there, of all people.”

He chuckled with a shake of his head. “Does that mean I’ll be in trouble with you?”

“Not me.” You wiggled a finger in front of your nose. “But your father—no, worse yet—an entire village. I'm afraid your father's right. The scorn of a single man is enough to give courage to his like-minded neighbors.”

“If anything else happens, I’ll take care of it,” he said indulgently.

“That is exactly my point. I don’t want for something else to happen, and for you to have to do anything about it. You’ve worked too hard for your good reputation to be ruined. How could I ever sleep at night, knowing I should be the reason to have it questioned?”

“You like to worry more about my reputation than I do. At the end of the day, I just do what I think is right. Even if that means upsetting a few people who probably don't agree with me. Besides,” he fought to dismiss the quarrel with a boyish grin. “I’ve heard Hel has nice warm weather all year round. Wouldn’t mind paying a visit sometime. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be Chief there instead.”

“There you go again with your jests,” you muttered, digging your nails into the dish. “Ignoring every bit of my concerns for you. But what does what I think matter? I suppose it doesn’t. I’m only a servant, after all. Nothing about me deserves a second thought of consideration.”

“Come on, it’s not like that,” his eyes softened, cupping your tense hands.

The agonizing brush of his touch loosened your hold on the clay dish. It collided with the wood below, breaking into unmendable parts at your feet. You paled, bending to clean up your recklessness. Your Lord motioned to join and you thrusted a curt hand to stop him. “Don’t—” you choked on the shame. “Please, my Lord. This… this is all I have. If you respect me at all, then you’ll let me do it myself.”

“I’m sorry.” With pained regard, he placed a single broken chip in your palm and rose to take his leave. “I won’t bother you anymore.”

He swept up the stairs, beckoning Toothless to follow. When the door of his bedchamber closed, you shut your eyes against a wave of remorse. Gods, you wished it would drown you. Perhaps then, the regret would no longer be tangible. You drew in a quivered breath, wishing to pick up more than the shattered fragments of a mere plate.

When morning came, you stood beside yourself, looking solemnly at the same dress and apron spread out on your cot. The same dull white smock, same plain brown kirtle, and the same serviceable apron. Stiff and ugly, you thought. All these same things punctuated how perfectly unpleasant you were on the inside. The display of your behavior the prior evening brought a taste of black licorice, which not even lye soap could rinse from your mouth. For your Lord’s sake, it would’ve served him to cut out your tongue with one of the sharper pieces of platter.

Even if deserved, there was never a sliver of imagination to conjure this—his kindness made no room for unbearable thoughts.

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

When the morning chores were completed without a word and, without complaint, you set off to the docks. With your new piece in tow, you trailed down the trodden path to a landscape filled with thatched roofs, until the hill steeped with long fisherman houses laden with crates of tackle and bait.

“My, my, little miss! Seems fate and fortune have brought us to trade once again.” Johann raised his hands to indulge the sky, descending the boat ramp. “I take it you’re faring well, even after yesterday’s dire tribulations. Oh, you should have been there to witness it—Master Hiccup was positively vexed when he landed on my ship and requested for my immediate aid. Why, I had never seen him in such a state! Made me believe ‘twas a matter of life and death. Thank the stars it was not the latter of the two.”

This information did you no favors. It further troubled your features, tense and painted with dismal lines of fault. When strings of thankfulness for his help sprang from your lips, they resonated more as apologies. “I’m sorry—truly, I am. I hate to be more trouble than I’m worth.”

“Now, now, my dear. Let’s not sit idle in the past and wallow in it like a cold bath,” he dismissed it, beckoning you closer with his hands. “Let’s get on with business, shall we?”

“Of course.” You swallowed the hot lump in your throat, extending your tapestry.

“Absolutely remarkable,” Johann yammered on when he took the fabric. He twiddled with the coins in his hands before giving them to you. “This reminds me! Oh, you must listen to this. Whilst journeying from one trading dock to another, I came upon the most curious and wealthy buyer. So enraptured by your work, they were compelled for me to have a good word with you. They have offered quite an exuberant amount of coin for a commissioned piece, should you accept.”

“May I ask who this person is?”

“The buyer has chosen to remain anonymous for the time being. I’m a respectable tradesman, and not inclined to give out customer details should it be personally requested of me not to do so. I assure you, I have a keen eye for scoundrels. This buyer is anything but.”

“It sounds like a gracious opportunity,” you trailed off, fiddling with the scant coins in your apron pocket. With someone of your luck, or rather misfortune, certain things were too good to be true. “May I think it over?”

“By all means,” Johann said. “We’ll remain in touch. I shall send a letter by mail tomorrow and eagerly wait for your response.”

A response would have to wait. Your mind wandered to the more pressing matters of keeping yourself in your young master’s good graces. How could you think of anything else when your conscience pricked at you insistently? There was only one remedy for this, and it was a whimsied gesture from childhood—surely, he would remember the meaning.

Picking up your feet, you scampered upward from the spindly dirt paths to pebbled roads. With allowance in hand, you passed through the open market, pinching your way to purchase the sweetest apple from a cart. You paid no mind to a flock of young women whispering curiously about you. The business of gossip would exist whether or not you gave credit to it. There wasn’t a need to give the webs spinning from their mouths any attention. You imagined being a curious fly was very tiresome.

You came up to the Blacksmith, clanking with sounds of clashing metal, and pluming with smoke from the forge. From the open stall window, you rapped against the wood. When nothing but hammer to iron responded, you insisted with more egregious thumping. “Get outta the way, Grump!” A guttural curse or two struck the air. After a stumbling moment, Gobber’s rotund frame hobbled to view.

“Quit ye’r knockin’, I’ll be right there.” Gobber poked his eyebrows up at your small face peeking through the window. He cleared the indignation from his throat. “Sorry, lass. Didn’t expect ye’w of all people to stop by. What can I do for ya’h?”

With a woeful face, you placed the apple on the counter.

“The ol’ apology apple, eh?” He said with a scratch of his furrowed brow. “Can’t say I understand it myself, but the two of ye’w always had a way of managing. I’ll be sure ta’h give it to the lad when I see ‘em.”

“Thank you ever so much.” You dipped your chin, turning to take leave.

“Hiccup’ll forgive ya’h,” he called out with sympathy. “Always does.”

Hope fluttered your heart, and you thanked the man twice over.

Whisking back to the Haddock Residence, you took out your nerves in the form of extra sweeping and dusting. You did so until you were choking on the splinters raised from the floorboards. With your habit of carrying on with meaningless distractions, you hadn’t noticed the afternoon light spilling from the open window. You lamented on the time and hurried to simmer a pot of stew over the kindling hearth.

A wind danced inside, grazing the back of your neck. A delicate reminder to shut the window before the cool of night waltzed in unannounced.

You turned and spotted a sheen of red gleaming by sunset hue on the sill. When you went to greet it, you picked up the plump portion of a half eaten apple. You pressed a smile to the remaining flesh of it. Taking your own bite, you sighed against the burst of sweetness. The taste of licorice no longer soured your lips.

You leaned into the cheerful air, enriched with slopes of green and spiced with a dusky glow. And as if the breeze could carry words, you spoke:

“I’m glad we’re still friends.”

Reconciliation was a word you hadn’t thought of tasting so sweet.

#hiccup x reader #httyd #how to train your dragon #hiccup horrendous haddock lll #httyd fanfiction #httyd rtte #fanfiction #y/n #hiccup httyd #httyd x reader #maid in heaven

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sophieswundergarten · 1 year

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Guess what it's my blog and we're going to talk about the Waiting Room now.

In the show, it seems rather boring at first glance. However, this is a LIE because they want to throw you off. There's only one chair, and it has a short leg. There's a weird spirograph-type piece of art on the wall. There's a fish tank, for some reason. There's a bunch of very strange shelves. And there's a giant clock on the wall. THIS IS NOT ALL. The normal entry door is invisible due to the paneling, and the back wall MOVES. It is also possible the clock moves to create loss of time and the floor slants, although these might be stress-induced hallucination. It is a perfectly designed horror liminal space, and, depending on who you put in there and why, I'm fairly certain it can be defined as psychological torture. It evokes the same kind of discomfort and lack of control that a convict being placed in solitary confinement experiences.

HOWEVER

In the books, it is entirely different, and arguably worse. Again, depending on the person. In the books, it is a completely dark room full of slimy black mud that isn't thick enough to stand on. It is also a very deep pit of mud, so anyone who enters for a period of time slowly starts sinking. It also has bugs in it.

Now. If you are not the type of person who is terrified of who you are waiting for, or if you are a person who typically enjoys defying the conventional, the show version shouldn't be much of an issue. The chair doesn't work? Find a way to fix it, or sit on the floor. The room is obviously set up so you have to face whoever is going to enter? Face the other direction. Look at the fish. Sit on the really weird and randomly empty shelves. There are many things that can be done physically about what the room is doing to you mentally. It is also easier for the people who are putting you through this ordeal to rationalize. "It's just an oddly decorated waiting room. There's nothing that bad about waiting"

But the book version is another story. One that I have many questions about. One, we learn later on that the mud is created and maintained by the room being connected to an underground stream. (It takes a long time to swim/dig through the mud and other obstacles to reach the stream, so it is not a viable escape option for anyone but Milligan) It also, as previously mentioned, houses a lot of bugs. We do not know what kind of bugs these are. And yet, since they are alive, they must be living off of something in there. Most bugs cannot just live off of mud. So, either the Executives are having to refresh the bug population from time to time (And where would they get the bugs? Do they collect them? Does Curtain purchase them and have them shipped to the island? Does no one question this?) Or the Waiting Room is its own mainly self-contained ecosystem. My prevailing tentative theory is that it was designed for research/as a science experiment and then either abandoned until Curtain needed somewhere to keep people or he deliberately made the decision that it was part of his interrogation methods for the agents he captured (before he brainswept them) and then he simply extended the use to interrogating students.

BUT ALSO

How did Curtain in the book convince teenagers/young adults to leave children in there? It is an entirely different ballgame to tell someone (especially a younger person who hasn't quite got the morals beaten out of them yet) that it is completely safe and not at all detrimental to leave ELEVEN YEAR OLDS in a pitch-black room of slimy mud and unknown creatures for any period of time! That must have left some damage to the Executives, or maybe they had already experienced it and were afraid to be threatened with it again. Either way, that's such a terrifying thing to anyone, especially a child, and especially since they seemed to choose to leave kids in there overnight (Maybe so it wouldn't interfere with too many classes?) and they wouldn't get any sleep. AND THEN the meaner Executives and Curtain would GASLIGHT THEM. "It's not such a bad place" "Nobody likes to wait, but it didn't hurt you" "Waiting can be unpleasant, but sometimes there's no help for it" and whatever else they said. We don't even hear about the Waiting Room from Sticky or one of the other kids who've been sentenced; they just get extremely upset and start crying.

What I'm saying is, while it was a very clever narrative tool and an unconventional way to raise stakes without causing physical harm to children, I can see why it was toned down for the show. However, I think it is a fascinating bit of plot that can be examined in a lot of different ways.

#also i'm not that scared of bugs #so i'd mostly be upset by the texture of the mud (it sounded so gross) and the anxiety it caused me #i'd still prefer the show version though #i'd just sit next to the fish tank #however those specific type of lights make my insides want to shrivel up and die #so i'd be very unhappy either way #and also i just hate the shelves #they're dumb #i was trying to go back through book one and see if s. q. ever mentions going to the waiting room #but i couldn't find anything #it would be an interesting situation #but i also think curtain probably wouldn't send him because most of his mistakes were from being excessively brainswept #but poor sticky was terrified from the mere mention of the waiting room and also the sole member who would have the hardest time #i think some of it is because he felt like he needed to be “normal” aside from his intelligence #so he never let himself explore out of the box solutions #or do things like sit on the floor to avoid the chair #but i was proud of him for the button idea!#mbs #the mysterious benedict society #no this wasn't brought on by @nobody33333333's latest chapter of “S.O.S” and what kind of science would explain it in-story #shush

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ecoamerica · 20 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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the-real-tc · 1 year

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Fic Update! Bad Business: Ch. 12 A Place Called Heartland

Chapter 12:

A Place Called Heartland

***

To the childless wife he gives a home, and gladdens her heart with children.

- Ps. 113

***

[draft]

Hudson Hawk: Your Eye on Hudson

A BLOG

Bad Business in Hudson

If you've been following the local news lately — and it's hard not to — you'll be very aware of all the sinister events that have unfolded in our fair town over the past few weeks. Thanks to the dogged efforts of the Hudson Police and that of the neighbouring Calgary Metro Police, however, it looks like justice will prevail in the sordid murder and murder-for-hire cases that have come to light.

To recap: Mrs. Valerie Stanton of Briar Ridge Stables was shot to death while horseback riding up at Lookout Point. Also targeted for death was one Lisa Stillman of Fairfield Stables. One detail that came to light was that the horse Stanton was riding at the time of her death belonged to Stillman. This raised a troubling question: was Stillman the intended target with Stanton being the unfortunate victim of mistaken identity, or was it all a terrible hunting accident?

Nothing could have been further from the truth, as the culprits turned out to be much closer to home; their reasons much more disturbing. Facing various and sundry criminal charges are: Tanner Gunn, Theresa Haywood, Stanley Belmont, Jesse Stanton, and William Ulrich.

I know what you're probably wondering: Is Jesse Stanton related to Valerie Stanton? The answer is a resounding "Yes". He's the son of the same late Valerie Stanton, and Briar Ridge heir. He's been charged with soliciting a killer-for-hire to murder his mother. His reasons for so doing will probably come to light in the upcoming trial, or not. Whatever his reasons, what makes things all the more troubling is he decided to try to kill Lisa Stillman when the insurance payout for his mother's policy was held up due to the police investigation into her death.

Adam paused as he tried to summarize the facts of the case as he knew them. He stared at his laptop screen, wondering now if he had the right to be typing this story in his blog at all. After all, he knew the people involved. By now Georgie must have told the family at Heartland Ranch the Hudson Hawk was his chosen sobriquet.

An unconscious frown tugged at Adam's mouth. His conscience was nagging him. It had been easier when he could hide behind the anonymity of a screen name; he could pretend there was some distance between himself and the subject of his blog posts. Now...

So while he had the blessing of his parents to continue this blogging endeavour, Adam closed the file without saving it. Instead, he decided to check with Alberta Fish and Wildlife to see if they had anything new to report about the elusive bear that had been implicated in the attack on Herring and the man whose body he and Georgie discovered at the Dude Ranch. Doubtless when it was eventually found, it would be destroyed. Such would be the fate of any wild animal that targeted humans instead of other wild animals.

***

Monday, May 13, 2019

Somewhere on Highway 2, Due North.

"I'm glad she's finally feeling up to having visitors," Rachel said as Lou navigated the SUV to the hospital.

Lou glanced at her, then chanced a peek back at Ben, who was staring out the window at the passing scenery, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

"It was driving me crazy having to wait," Rachel continued. "I still can't wrap my mind around everything that's happened. It's like some bizarre dream I'm waking up from. Well, nightmare is more like it. Thank God it's over."

"I can't believe everything that's happened, either," Lou quipped, thinking back to the night Amy shot Jesse, and how Chief Parker had been able to tell the rest of the family Lisa was alive.

Rachel's joy at learning her only sister had indeed survived the attempts on her life was tempered by the fact she had been led to believe the opposite.

"I thought I was coming out here to say 'goodbye' to her," Rachel commented, her voice just above a whisper. "I thought I was never going to see her again. And I know I shouldn't be upset the police couldn't tell us the truth right away—to protect her and all that—but I wish..."

"But it's gonna be okay now," Lou said reassuringly, filling in the silence when Rachel did not verbalize the rest of her train of thought. "She'll be so happy to see you two."

The rest of the family had elected to stay back at Heartland for the time being so as not to overwhelm the recovering patient. It was expected Lisa would be discharged within the week, anyway, and Georgie and Katie were already excitedly making plans for a 'Welcome Home' party of sorts, and the imminent arrival of Aunt Evelyn.

From his position in the backseat, Ben quietly spoke up: "I keep going over in my mind the time I spent at Briar Ridge. I remember being jealous of Jesse Stanton at the time because of all the 'toys' he had. He seemed to have anything and everything he wanted. I remember thinking how much I'd love to have a Ducati like his, and how my parents' splitting up meant I might be able to guilt one or both of them into getting me one. Then I thought, hey, maybe my rich aunt could. What she did buy was jumps for Red so I could practice at Heartland. It took me days to finally thank her. Days. What a shallow, ungrateful idiot I was.

"To think... to think Jesse was riding that same damned bike when he shot my aunt..."

"For what it's worth, Ben," Rachel eventually uttered with a smirk, "There's no way I would have been giving you a Ducati back then, no matter how guilty I felt about the divorce, and neither would your Aunt Lisa."

***

South Calgary Health Campus

Lou tapped her knuckles lightly on the door to Lisa's room.

"Yeah, come on in," Jack called from within.

Upon hearing this response, Lou let Ben and Rachel go ahead of her. Despite expecting this visit from her family, Lisa felt a lump forming in her throat at the sight of her sister and nephew, and instant tears flooded her eyes. Rachel crossed the floor quickly to her sister. Lisa readily received the gentle but fervent hug that lasted several seconds.

"Hey, Rachel," Lisa uttered. "Thanks for coming. I'm so glad to see you."

"I thought I'd lost you," Rachel murmured, voice choked with emotion as her eyes brimmed.

"I know," Lisa responded as Rachel released her. "I'm sorry. You know I never wanted to put you—any of you—through that. But the decision to keep you in the dark wasn't mine. I never wanted to cause you any grief—"

"We're just glad you're going to be okay, Aunt Lisa," Ben put in hurriedly, also approaching Lisa for a hug of his own.

"Ben," Lisa said warmly while accepting his embrace, "it's so good to see you."

"Ben's right," Rachel said. "All that matters is you're going to be okay. The people who did this to you are in custody and you're still with us. That's what's important. Oh, my goodness, let me look at you..."

Rachel spent a few moments taking in the bandage that still graced the left side of Lisa's forehead, and then noticed the sling on her arm. What she could not see beneath the hospital gown were the sutures sealing the incision where the chest tube had been inserted, and the additional bandage covering the patched-up bullet wound.

Shaking her head, Rachel said, "I'm so glad you're alive, sis. You look like you've been through hell and back."

"I feel like it, too," Lisa uttered wryly.

Jack rubbed her forearm in a comforting manner at this comment. He could not abide thinking she was in any discomfort.

"Rachel, I'd like you to meet Jack," Lisa said, motioning towards her husband.

"Jack," Rachel said with a wide smile, moving to hug the man her sister married. "At long last, we meet in person. I'm sorry it took something like this to bring us out here."

"Good to finally see you in person, too, Rachel," Jack said heartily, holding her tightly for a few moments before releasing her.

"Hi, Jack," Ben said, reaching over to shake the older man's hand. "It's been a while."

"Yes it has!" Jack rejoined, grasping his step-nephew's hand. "It's good to see you again, man."

"Jack... I want to thank you for being there for my sister when that monster tried to... you know..." Rachel trailed off. "You saved her life."

"Yes, Jack," Lisa said, sending a broad smile in his direction. "My hero..."

Jack did not wish to think about or speak any more of the night he found hitman Earl McCann trying to suffocate Lisa, so he quickly shifted the conversation to a more mundane topic.

"Well, I guess Aunt Evelyn should be getting in soon?" he asked, doing his best to sound upbeat about it.

"Yes, Grandpa," answered Lou, also sensing his discomfort about the former subject. "Her flight gets in tomorrow night."

"Oh, Aunt Evelyn," Lisa groaned, closing her eyes. "She'll never forgive me for putting her through all this!"

"Of course she will," Rachel rebutted. "I talked to her yesterday. Lisa, all she cares about is that you're alive and safe. You said it yourself: the decision to keep what was going on confidential wasn't in your hands. You were at death's door at the time, for heaven's sake! Nobody's blaming you."

At this, Lisa nodded. "Thanks, Rach. I needed to hear that."

"Anytime," Rachel said. "Someone's got to knock some sense into you."

"Right," Lisa said. "And thank you for not making cracks about my 'hard head'."

"Oh, rats! That was going to be my next joke," said Rachel, feigning disappointment.

"Well, I, for one, am glad for your 'hard head', Lis," Jack said with a small smile. He traced a thumb near the bandage below her hairline, once again so grateful the weapon Jesse had used was not as deadly as he intended it to be.

***

A Couple Days Later

Heartland Ranch

"They're here!" Katie cried excitedly, rushing from the porch into the house upon seeing Jack and Lisa pulling up into the yard.

"We're home, Lis," Jack said, putting the truck in park.

"Hmm," Lisa murmured, slowly peeling open her eyes. She had not intended to fall asleep during the drive home, but too many nights of poor sleep in the hospital meant her body craved rest. Jack's steady driving and the purr of the truck's engine proved to be a fairly good natural sedative.

"Wow, how long was I out?" she asked.

"About half an hour," Jack chuckled. "I didn't realise my company was that boring."

"Oh, you," Lisa said, realising he was jesting. Now that she was coming to full awareness after her brief nap, she finally noticed the yard was not quite as empty as it normally was. "Um, Jack... What's with all the cars and trucks..?"

"You have a lot of people who wanted to welcome you home, Lis," Jack explained. "Come on. Let's get you inside."

Jack opened the door on Lisa's side and carefully eased her down. "Slow and steady, now," he advised, gingerly supporting her on the way to the house.

Though she was feeling miles better than when she first woke in the hospital, Lisa allowed Jack this expression of care for her well-being. After all, she knew first-hand how challenging it could be when the person you loved most was resistant to help of any sort.

Almost as soon as she entered the house, Lisa was met by Evelyn.

"Darling," the older woman uttered, taking her niece's face in her hands before hugging her tenderly. "I'm so relieved you weren't taken from us like that... When Jack called me... oh, I thought my heart wouldn't be able to endure it. But you're here. It's a miracle."

"I'm so sorry I had to put you through that, Auntie," Lisa said sincerely.

"Nonsense," Evelyn stated flatly. "Lou and Rachel explained everything. The police did what they had to do to keep you safe and to flush out the guilty parties."

"Then I'm so glad you understand," said Lisa with relief.

"Jack, don't be a stranger," Evelyn chided, at last noticing him. "Come here. I want to kiss the man who saved my niece's life."

"Hello, Evelyn," Jack said, allowing her to give him a peck on the cheek.

Evelyn leaned in to Lisa. "Doesn't he ever shave, darling?" she asked in a low voice, though Jack managed to hear, anyway.

"Only when the mood strikes him," Lisa answered with a chortle, patting Jack's face playfully. "But I love him, anyway."

"Yes," Evelyn said seriously. "And he loves you. And that's really all that matters, isn't it?"

Tim approached just then. "Everybody's waiting in the living room," he announced, somewhat impatiently, then amended his tone. "Is Lisa okay?"

"I'm fine, Tim," Lisa replied. "I just didn't expect something like this when I got home."

"Let's go," Evelyn said perkily. "Can't keep your well-wishers waiting."

Lisa sank into the middle of the couch, deeply touched by the gathering of dear family and friends that afternoon. She was further impressed by the efforts Katie and Georgie put in to decorating the space to enhance the celebratory mood of her return home.

"Do you like what we did, Lisa?" asked Katie with expectant enthusiasm, grinning widely. Georgie stood by, also waiting to hear what Lisa would say.

"It's beautiful, both of you," Lisa responded, taking in the large 'WELCOME HOME, LISA' banner, streamers, balloons, and cheery tea lights. "This was so very thoughtful of you. So special."

Heartened by this praise, Katie zipped over to where Peter stood with Lou and happily told them that Lisa loved her handiwork.

Everyone took time to express to Lisa their happiness that she was going to be okay after her brushes with death. But there were two people in particular Lisa knew she was more than obliged to see and to publicly commend.

"Ty; Scott," Lisa spoke up, grabbing the attention of everyone. The two veterinarians looked uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny of the others.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your quick actions that day out on the road," said Lisa. "I don't remember any of it, but I'm eternally grateful you stopped and helped."

"Of course, Lisa," Ty said.

"We would have stopped for anyone in distress, Lisa," Scott added. "It just so happened we knew you."

Neither man was able to say anything further, as memories of that incident were still difficult and disturbing.

"We're just glad you made it, Lisa," Ty said.

"Right," Scott said in agreement.

"Thank you, both of you," Lisa said, once again fighting back tears.

An hour or so slipped by. Lisa could feel her energy starting to wane; friends such as Caleb, Jen, Mitch, and Scott made their departure. At length, only the family remained in the living room.

Before it got to be too late, and before Lou lost her nerve, there was something she had to get off her chest. "I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, Lisa," Lou said tentatively, "but the truth is you're very special to me, and to all of us here. It felt like losing my Grandma Lyndy and my mother all over again when we thought the worst had happened to you..."

Lou suddenly could not continue.

"I felt the same way, Lisa," Amy put in. "After my miscarriage, and after everything you shared with me, I was devastated at the prospect I was facing another personal loss... but you're here, and I'm so glad."

"And I..." Georgie started, but was unsure if she could continue. She looked to her mother, who nodded some encouragement. "I didn't know what to think of you when I first met you, Lisa. I thought you were some rich snob who was going to take Jack's time and attention away from me—"

"Oh, Georgie, honey..." Lisa murmured.

"I never got to say I was sorry for that," Georgie went on in a rush. "And Lisa, I'm sorry for all the mean things I said about you. I'm so sorry. I-I never knew my grandparents or my great-grandparents, for that matter, but you've been everything I could have ever wanted in a great-grandmother, and more."

"Thank you for that," Lisa said, eyes misting, looking at the family that had been grafted onto her heart. "Thank you all. And I want you to know I feel the same way. You know, I had a full life before I met Jack. A life I thought I loved. I thought I was living my dream life. But I look back now and see I didn't realise how sad and empty my heart was. I love you all very much. My life and my heart are full now."

***

Later that Evening

Dinnertime was over. Jack helped settle an exhausted Lisa into bed where she dropped off to sleep in minutes. It was early still, and after all the social activity of the day, Jack decided he needed to clear his head for a bit, so he brewed a cup of tea and escaped to the porch.

He had been there only a few minutes when he heard the sure creak of the door. Someone was coming outside and he turned expectantly to see who it was.

"There you are," Rachel said to Jack, softly closing the screen door while exiting the house.

"Hi, there," Jack said amiably from his position on the porch bench. "Have a seat."

"Thank you," Rachel said, and joined him. A few seconds later, she added: "It's every bit as lovely here as Lisa and Ben described, Jack."

Jack merely nodded.

"We haven't had a chance to really talk yet," said Rachel.

"No, we haven't," Jack said in agreement, though he wondered what Rachel might want to talk about.

"It's years too late, but I want to thank you for offering to put Ben up when I was going through my divorce," Rachel said. "At first, I wasn't thrilled with the idea when Lisa told me that 'plans had changed'; that he wasn't going to be at Fairfield; that he was going to be boarding at some place called 'Heartland'. But after Ben got over his own issues, he admitted he actually didn't mind this place so much, and he was sorry he didn't appreciate it enough at the time."

Jack nodded again, thinking back to how sullen Ben had been in those days. "Divorce is never easy on anyone, especially when there's kids in the mix," he said, remembering some of the ways Lou and Amy struggled to cope in the wake of Tim and Marion's divorce.

"I love my sister to bits, Jack," Rachel said. "She's my big sister, you know? I idolized her growing up. I was relieved she would be the one to take over the family business because I sure didn't want to be responsible for it. She seemed to be happy when she married Dan and moved to the U.S., but we both know how that all turned out. That time in her life changed her, Jack, and not for the better. I wish only happiness and love for her, and I'm so glad you're in her life, because it's clear you're the one who can provide those things for her."

"Well, I'm glad she's in my life, too," Jack admitted, though that hardly covered the length and the breadth and the height of things when it came to expressing how he felt about his wife.

"I don't know what fair wind blew you two together," Rachel said, "but I pray you two stick together."

"That's the plan," Jack said, thinking back to that evening at the Open House when he first laid eyes on Lisa Stillman. Never in a million years would he have guessed what the future would bring him after that chance encounter.

"You wouldn't happen to have a brother who's just like you out there somewhere, eh, Jack?" Rachel said with a laugh.

"No, no. Just me," Jack responded with a smile and a quick laugh of his own. "I think they broke the mold when they made me."

Rachel looked over at him, seeing his features in the light streaming from the kitchen window. "I think you're right about that, Jack. My sister is a very lucky woman."

"I think I am the lucky one," Jack said with sincerity. How many people get a second chance at love in their lives?

"Yeah..." Rachel said. "Well, goodnight, Jack. Thanks for loving my sister the way you do. You've saved her life in more ways than you'll ever know."

The younger Stillman sister leaned over and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Rachel," Jack replied.

***

Epilogue

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molabuddy · 3 years

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i always think abt quitting fish blog bc its kind of hard to keep up every day but then i see ppls funy and sweet tags about that day’s fish and i’m like :-] !!

#fish blog must prevail !#eli talks

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travelcenter-uk · 3 years

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Sponsored

Celebrating Black Voices in Anime with Funimation

By Daniel Kurland

Demon Slayer Review: Netflix Anime Reinvents Classic Action Tropes

By Daniel Kurland

The young girl’s arc to control her power and self-esteem is straightforward and therefore the easiest to follow, but because the show underwrites the complexities of Yasuke’s baggage, its main subject’s quest to overcome an identity crisis and assert his existence does not fare as well. But it’s when Yasuke shows his combative and moral prowess on the battlefield that he shines most as a character. Stanfield’s Yasuke is convincing as a soul who embodies personal convictions: his honor, desire to prevent bloodshed, and his reverence such as when he closes the eyelids of his decapitated opponent and prays.

If you’re critical of the story, there’s still plenty to enjoy about the surface-level dynamics, journeys, and striking symbolic imagery. When Yasuke occupies itself in its twistedly bizarre feudal setting, it indulges in some real fun weirdness. Enter a troupe of ruthless bounty hunters: a hulking Russian werewolf woman (Julie Marcus), a shaman (William Christopher Stephens) hailing from the Benin Kingdom who can summon phantom fighters, a spandex-clad assassin (Dia Frampton) waving scepters, and a scene-stealing sentient mecha (Darren Criss) with a Baymax inflection who ruminates on statistical success and teamwork. These bounty hunters are sure to be fan favorites and the story soon engineers them back into the narrative when they exit.

From forested sceneries, earthly purple-bathed soldier-littered battlefields, and luminous astral planes, Yasuke is polished visually with hardy character designs by Takeshi Koike, world art and art setting designs by Minoru Nishida, vivid art direction by Junichi Higashi, and color setting designer Azusa Sasaki. From the MAPPA studio that brought In This Corner of the World and Attack on Titan, its sweeping scale is no surprise.

The Grammy-nominated Flying Lotus also contributes to the mellow electronic beats that prevail whenever Yasuke proves himself in combat. Other than contributing to the story, Flying Lotus provides the soulful opening theme “Black Gold,” performed by Thundercat, and a lulling closing theme “between memories” with lyrics and performance by Niki Randa. Both songs befit the warmth of its star samurai.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Yasuke resolves itself in a tight package. But stay for the end credits and it’s evident there’s a continuation teased without being a cliffhanger. I’m not sure whether its story proved Yasuke can sustain for additional seasons. Still, there is something about the sincere romanticism of imagining a vanished historical figure and giving him more dignified possibilities than (speculative) history could have ever given him.

All six episodes of Yasuke will be available to stream April 29 on Netflix.

The post Yasuke Review: Netflix Anime Reclaims The Story of a Black Samurai appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2QE2BUt

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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businesssuppliers1 · 3 years

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How To Land A Large Offer In Lead Generation

After all, telemarketing isn't precisely the goose that lays the golden egg these times. Get their input on suitability and appeal to target market. A video clip that is academic and informative is very best.

youtube

One of my predictions is that the new middle course of the world in a generation or two ahead will be in India whilst the current center courses of the traditional western globe will diminish. Produce or disintegrate. This will naturally signify a significant shift in the globe economies. The western world does not perceive this as risk and is pretty relaxed about its coming for some currently apparent reasons. 10) You are not a beautiful snowflake. There isn't anyone out there, with butterflies in their tummy, glued to their Computer, awaiting the arrival of your B2B e-mail. I know that you've got a nicely devised define, and that you'd place a lot of work into it. But, that's in addition to the point. What really issues is that they're obtaining it. Just concentrate on what you know about your viewers. Test cricket is unfold over five times with 4 innings-two a aspect. For the Board of Manage for Cricket in India (BCCI) the advertising strategy was definitely not inspired by test matches. There had been lots of mind storming periods on the deemed loss of recognition of test cricket in terms of much less crowds and much less money. Shorter forms arrived to the fore. The T20 Indian Leading League (IPL) tournament became such a revelation that cricket was likened to movies-each giving instant gratifying enjoyment in about the exact same time. If one can entertain the most and make the optimum revenues in the fastest possible time then why go for prolonged varieties. Marketing priorities had been very clear and loud.

India 's biggest commercial car producer, Tata Motors feels that a trivial increase in loan prices might be absorbed by purchasers. Other car manufacturers share the same thought. Automobile experts feel there are numerous other factors that can catalyze the revenue figures in India. India has obtained sufficient rains this year and this can push sales in rural India. Monsoons in the country prevail for over 4 months. Nevertheless, data reveals that India has obtained ninety nine per cent rainfall of the lengthy-phrase typical already, within the initial three months of India's monsoon season. Food Is Spicy: In general, food is spicy. In most places in India, especially in the northern and western areas, cow is a sacred animal. So beef is not extensively accessible. If not from high-priced hotels, meat may not be a good choice. For strict non-vegetarians, it always better to go for fish, particularly coastal locations. Keep in mind that the food is spicy and you should inform the waiter to serve you gentle or medium variety. 6) PTP emails only. Consider using a personal get in touch with deal with when choosing to talk with your visitors. This is particularly important if you're operating with executives. It'll just merely look much better if its coming from a CEO or affiliate. It is counted among the most well-known churches of B2b India and is situated in the stunning state of Goa in South India. Built in 1695, this church is located in Panjim, the money city of Goa. One of the primary attractions of this church is the preserved remains of St. Francis Xavier. When the body of the holy saint is opened for community show, the church draws in a large quantity of visitors at that time. It has also been declared as the world heritage website by UNESCO. https://suppliersb2b2.doodlekit.com/blog/entry/11536342/5-places-to-marketplace-your-business-offline and company development. Methods must coincide with the market trends. As this kind of, constantly monitor your steps, evaluate and develop. Do not stick with applications that only give you high expenses and poor outcomes. For methods that work miracles, find methods for its betterment. 5). You can select a financial institution that doesn't even have a large existence in India like the State Bank of India does. For example, HSBC charges $30 to transfer $100 to India, or 4796.35 rupees. For this price, it will be sent to the branch of HSBC in India. If you want to transfer cash to another bank outside of HSBC, anticipate it to cost about $45.

#Business #Business to business #Wholesale #Suppliers #B2B #Marketplace

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geohoneylovers · 4 years

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USDA Announced Updates for Honeybee Producers

USDA’s (The U.S. Department of Agriculture) Farm Service Agency (FSA) updated the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).For honeybees cultivators, ELAP covers certain colony losses, hive losses (in case of the physical structure alongfeed losses (in case of natural disasters, or in cases of colony loss by colony rupture, however, the losses must exceed the normal mortality in such cases). Emergency assistance is also granted through ELAP to eligible livestock producers including grazing and feed losses. Moreover, they are also entitled to claim covers because of losses caused by eligible adverse weather conditions (including, but not limited to, blizzards and wildfires on non-federally managed lands).

UPDATES:

The updates include fluctuations obligatory by the 2018 Farm Bill and the flexible changes envisioned to advance the management of the program and simplify prevailing requirements.Honey bee producers must closely look into the changes in ELAP program, especially the beneficiaries, ensuring that they meet the proposed deadline requirements. These changes are made to better align the two key disaster assistance program deadlines in order to improve the consistency and ease of administration for honeybee producers.

Previously ELAP was monitored on the basis of FSA’s fiscal year which shall now run according to the calendar’s current year. However, producers will still have to submit the application for the payment within 30 days of the program end year. The policy shall not change but the deadlines will be affected and altered. The signup deadline for calendar year 2020 losses is January 30, 2021.

From this year, the honeybee producers shall have 15 days, instead of 30 days, from when the loss is first apparent, to file a honeybee notice of loss. This change is in accordance with ELAP and the Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, having a 15-day notice of loss period for honey.

Program participants who have been the beneficiaries and have been provided funds to cater the losses of a honeybee colony or hive in either or both previous two years, will now have to provide additional documentation to authenticate how present year inventory is developed.

Message from us:

Geohoney wishes all the U.S. based honey producers to notice these changes and apply for the loss aids in accordance with the new deadlines and shall prosper in their honey production.

Blog Source URL: https://blog.geohoney.com/usda-announced-updates-for-honeybee-producers

#honey bee #true honey #top 10 Honey #global Honey Brands #Blossom Honey #buckwheat honey #black seed honey #world most expensive honey #Buy Organic Honey #alfalfa honey #bulk honey #honey supplements #honey index

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manishbloggerworld-blog · 5 years

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Premium Gift Ideas, This Diwali

So what are you gifting this Diwali for your loved ones? Already sorted with the gifts, or still after it? Well, my today’s blog is only and only about the premium gift ideas that you could greet with, especially to your loved ones. As I bring you handpicked leather goodies to choose, have and share on this dazzling occasion. So why wait? Let us get started with the good leather gift items exporter and premium leather shopper bags factory.

The Diwali Gifts

I feel, every occasion has its own significance, its own charm. From Baisakhi to Onam, from Durga Puja to Diwali, each festival lights up with its own kind of joy spread amongst the loved ones. For there is not one, but more than one reason to this joy. There is good food to relish, best clothes to wear, amazing times to spend with friends and family, and yes, how can I forget the gift part? Gifts are on the sweet side of every festival!

Truth be told, all of us love to receive gifts. In fact, we wait for gifts, we cherish the moment we touch it. We are filled with excitement when we unwrap it. It is a wonderful feeling altogether. So what are you gifting this Diwali?

For the Wife: For the better half, the gift has to be way better than the last year. Why not a leather bag? You may visit the leather gift items exporter to choose from the hundreds of thousands of leather bags and strike a great deal.

For the Husband: Is he still using his 5-year-old purse? Well, you have a great excuse to gift him a new one. Go for it!

For the Son: If he is old enough to run his own wheels gift him a nice leather keychain. Simply a classic!

For the Daughter: Does she just loooooove shopping? Well, you know the answer then! A premium leather shopper bags factory is your destination this time!

For Your Mother: A nice leather wallet, what do you say? For the kitty parties, shopping hauls and what not, she must prevail as the queen.

For Your Father: Does he still go to work? A leather portfolio would be amazing! If he’s retired then give him a pair of boots and take him to fishing… life must feel good!

For Your Cousins: Keychains should serve good I think! Share happiness!

If you have some more ideas please share in the comments. We always look forward to your thoughts.

#Premium Leather Shopper Bags Factory #good leather gift items exporter #asian leather #leather accessories #Leather bags #leathermen

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jilliangkenny-blog · 5 years

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Remembering Why We Should Preserve Our Long-Lasting Earth

Blog Post #3

The earth we live on today has been around for millions of years. Countless other species have walked on this earth, flown in this air, or swam in this water. This should be a reminder to us that Earth does not exist solely for our disposal, and it has existed for so long before us. This should prompt us to treat it with the respect that other animals had for it.

How Wolves Change Rivers

Trophic cascade - an ecological process which starts at the top of the food chain and tumbles all the way down to the bottom

Ex - Yellowstone National Park - Wolves reintroduced

Deer population in Yellowstone was very large - no control over their population, which reduced vegetation

The wolves had an effect on the population - killed some deer, changed the behavior of the deer - started avoiding the places where they could be trapped most easily, and these places started to regenerate

This led to a growth in other species as well - otters, ducks, fish, amphibians, etc.

Wolves changed the behavior of the rivers - regenerating forests made the rivers be more fixed in their course, caused soil erosion

Not only did wolves change the ecosystem of Yellowstone, but they changed the physical geography of the park

This video made me think of how much of an effect all human actions have on every single living and nonliving thing on our planet. If the mere introduction of wolves can affect every single aspect of the Yellowstone National Park, this means that actions taken my myself every day are affecting my ecosystem in the same way. For example, if I am choosing to litter, I am choosing to impact that space in which I am littering. All the trash that piles up after just a few months can change the behavior of the animals, which can change the species that exist there, which can even change the topography of the land in which I am littering. Additionally, I am just one person. If everyone behaved carelessly toward the environment, which is fairly close to the truth in our current day, this completely changes our environment. This explains how our environment has deteriorated over such a short amount of time. It also, though, gives hope for the future. If a small wolf population can restore the biodiversity of Yellowstone, the entire human population banding together could certainly solve the environmental problems we are currently facing. The biggest obstacle is getting people on board, I believe.

The Evolution of Life on Earth

Life: 3.8 billion years of existence

4am - single cell organism

1pm - first eukaryotic cells

6:30pm - multicellular life

8:30pm - sea plants appear

8:50pm - diversification of animals

Before 10pm - plants appear on land, followed by animals

10:24pm - earth is covered in forest, first insects appear

11:41pm - dinosaur extinction

11:58pm - humans emerge

All recorded human history occurs within a few seconds

An individual life lasts barely an instant

This video shows us that all of human life has existed for such a short amount of time in context of our entire world. For so long before us, there were single-celled organisms, other plants and animals, dinosaurs, all sorts of living creatures that no longer exist. This makes me think that we should be more aware of the way human life has impacted the world, since we are almost like foreigners on this earth, in the grand scheme of things. This is not just our Earth, so we should not treat it as so. It is so important for everyone to realize this.

Now it is important to learn from the textbook notes of basic environmental science. There are many definitions in these chapters, and I find it beneficial to provide the vocabulary from these chapters in order to contextualize future chapters and learn these words for future use.

I took AP Environmental Science in high school, as well as other high school level science classes, so I am already familiar with many of these subjects. I wanted to just take notes on a few things that I am unfamiliar with, or with which I want to refresh my memory.

Chapter 2

Scientific law, or law of nature - a well-tested and widely accepted description of what we find happening repeatedly in nature in the same way

Tentative science, or frontier science - preliminary scientific results that capture news headlines are controversial because they have not been widely tested and accepted by peer review; they are not considered reliable

Reliable science - consists of data, hypotheses, models, theories, and laws that are widely accepted by all or most of the scientists who are considered experts in the field under study, in what is referred to as a scientific consensus

Unreliable science - scientific hypotheses and results that are presented as reliable without having undergone the rigors of widespread peer review, or that have been discarded as a result of peer review

High-quality matter - highly concentrated, typically found near the earth’s surface, and has great potential for use as a resource

Low-quality matter - not highly concentrated, is often located deep underground or dispersed in the ocean or atmosphere, and usually has little potential for use as a resource

Law of conservation of matter - whenever matter undergoes a physical or chemical change, no atoms are created or destroyed

Chapter 3

Chemosynthesis - a few producers, mostly specialized bacteria, can convert simple inorganic compounds from their environment into more complex nutrient compounds without using sunlight

Detritus feeders, or detritivores - consumers that feed on the wastes or dead bodies of other organisms; these wastes are called detritus

Aerobic respiration - uses oxygen to concert glucose (or other organic nutrient molecules) back into carbon dioxide and water

Anaerobic respiration, or fermentation - a form of cellular respiration where, instead of carbon dioxide and water, the end products of this process are compounds such as methane gas, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid, and hydrogen sulfide

Summarization: ecosystems and the biosphere are sustained through a combination of one-way energy flow from the sun through these systems and the nutrient cycling of key materials within them

Biomass - the dry weight of all organic matter contained in its organisms

Chapter 4

Adaptive trait - any heritable trait that improves the ability of an individual organism to survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals in a population are able to do under prevailing environmental conditions

Differential reproduction - enables individuals with the trait to produce more surviving offspring than other members of the population produce

Endemic species - species that are only found in one area and are especially vulnerable to extinction

Background extinction - species disappearing at a low rate

Foundation species - species that play a major role in shaping their communities by creating and enhancing their habitats in ways that benefit other species

Chapter 5

Interspecific competition - occurs when members of two or more species interact to gain access to the same limited resources such as food, water, light and space

Resource partitioning - a way of avoiding competition with other species by evolving specialized traits that allow them to share resources by using parts of them, using them at different times, or using them in different ways

Age structure - a population’s distribution of individuals among various age groups

Environmental resistance - the combination of all factors that act to limit the growth of a population

Chapter 7

Three types of deserts:

Tropical desert: hot and dry most of the year, have few plants and a hard, windblown surface strewn with rocks and some sand

Temperate desert: daytime temperatures are high in summer and low in winter, more precipitation than in tropical deserts, sparse vegetation

Cold deserts: vegetation is sparse, winters are cold, summers are warm or hot, and precipitation is low; desert plants and animals have adaptations that help them to stay cool and to get enough water to survive

Chapter 8

Aquatic life zones - the aquatic equivalents of biomes

Major types of organisms:

Plankton - weakly-swimming, free-floating: phytoplankton, zooplankton, and ultraplankton

Nekton - strongly swimming consumers such as fish, turtles, and whales

Benthos - bottom-dwellers such as oysters and sea stars, clams and worms, lobsters and crabs

Decomposers - break down organic compounds in the dead bodies and wastes of aquatic organisms into nutrients that aquatic primary producers can use

Turbidity - cloudiness in deep waters that can occur naturally, such as from algal growth, or can result from disturbances such as clearing of land, which when it rains, causes silt to flow into bodies of water

The end of Chapter 8 comments on how human activities are disrupting the Earth’s freshwater systems. Dams and canals are affecting about forty percent of the world’s 237 largest rivers, flood control structures destroy aquatic habitats, cities and farms add pollutants into freshwater systems, and many inland wetlands have been drained to sustain human life and progress. All of these effects are creating a loss of natural capital, and this is an important factor in the degradation of the world. This must be stopped if humans want to live in a world with less disaster and more sustainability.

Word Count: 1568

Discussion question: The two videos prompted me to think of how acting sustainably can change the course of the world for how humans live; do we view this as a possibility, like how the wolves saved Yellowstone, or are humans just a few seconds in the larger “day” of life on Earth?

#ENST 1000

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highgaarden · 7 years

Note

ok so bc I'm all like DON'T GIVE UP THE SUPERPOWERS wrt Caro rn I thought why not request a canon-compliant superhero non-AU for Caro where somewhere down the line she decides to ~use her powers for good~ and do the vigilante thing, mask and everything (no stupid impractical costume tho). Extra points if she and Bonnie form a whole Witch/Vampire superhero team. Klaus can read abt it in the paper and figure out it's Caro+Bonnie and be amused and be into it. ♥♥♥

i tried my best. also, i have no clue what’s going on in the originals, but from scraps i get an a very helpful explanation from my friend anne, i sort of got the gist of it, tried to work more of the plot into this, and then decided to just… not. much apologies, please be kind to my v. confused self should you decide to leave a review.

12:51;

or: a superheroes origin story in five parts.

Klaus/Caroline, Bonnie/Damon | wc. 3705 | ch. 1/5

read on: AO3 / ff.net

—

PartOne

InWhich Everybody’s Week Must Have Been Pretty Rough

—

The weekend after Klaus escaped from his wall, he sat down in his studywith three bottles of liquor and double that amount of fresh blood, a steakcooked medium rare, and five years’ worth of newspapers to catch up with theworld.

Freya regarded him curiously. “You could have done away with the mess.We just ordered those new tablets.”

Rebekah was much ruder about the piles he left. She was probably stillmad she had had to miss four seasons of Supernaturalin order to save his skin.

Klaus didn’t answer them. He continued skimming the pages with aprevailing interest, rubbing ink and paper between his fingers. He soon foundthat he hadn’t missed much in his Marcel-imposed exile; that the mundanities oflife had persevered through the years.

His thoughts started to wonder when he was three-years deep into hiscatching up. Nothing caught his eye, and he was starting to feel the gratitudeof being able to sit in a comfortable armchair as opposed to being shackled toa floor dusted with rubble chip away.

Until he saw it.

He read the little opinion piece, then read it again, and a third timefor good measure.

And then he called Damon Salvatore.

—

At that point, not even Damon knew of their little hijinks despite havingmoved himself into their apartment. He used the pretence of “keeping an eye onthem” to make it past the front door. The living room became his sanctum santorum, and the couch he tookrefuge in constantly smelled like booze and Doritos.

Caroline was not happy with this arrangement, and made sure to be veryvocal about it every chance she got.

Sometimes it ranged from loud, to shrill, towake-your-neighbours-up-at-3am-because-Damon-you-fuck-you-left-your-underwear-in-my-laundry-basket piercing.

Tonight, Damon had the apartment to himself, and was glad for the peaceand quiet. Caroline was out on a date, and Bonnie was at the library borrowinga book. She was always at the library borrowing books, and he liked tellingpeople how bookish she was in a tone that was both patronizing and fond. It hadtaken some time, but he had finally perfected it.

In the middle of his Grey’sAnatomy rerun (“Denny? You chosea dying sack of meat over Alex? Really,Izzie?” he yelled at the tv), his phone rang.

It was Klaus. He hadn’t heard from the fucker in more than a decade, andwas immediately suspicious.

“City Morgue,” he answered cautiously.

“Just to be clear, you’re still second best,” came the familiar gout ofKlaus’s voice. “I only called you because Stefan’s number seems to not beworking, mate.”

“That’s ‘cause it’s not,” Damon said. “How do you still have mine?”

“If I wanted idle chit chat I would’ve resurrected Finn again.”

Damon muted the tv and got to his feet. “And yet here you are, makingidle chit chat.”

“I merely called to enquire about Caroline and Bonnie’s wellbeing.”

“They’re fine,” Damon said shortly.

“You best make sure they’re getting adequate rest for all thecrime-fighting they’re doing,” Klaus said, and killed the line.

Damon spat out his bourbon.

That’s how it all started, really.

—

Caroline was having a crummy night. The sole of her shoe had torn awayas she was chasing her assailant across the rooftops of Midtown, and it nowflapped with every step she took, and slowed her down considerably.

“I’m gonna get you, Raul!” she yelled, to make up for how she was losinghim, fast. “Your album sucked!”

Raul the Eurovision Vampire came to a screeching halt. He was screechingquite literally, because of all the insults Caroline had hurled at him in thepast week of stalking him, this one hurt the most.

“And your win last year?” Caroline continued as she hauled herself overa crumbling ledge. “Total pandering.”

Raul hissed and bared his fangs. “You know nothing of talent, sillygirl. If you did you wouldn’t be spending your nights in cowardice, hiding yourface with a gaudy mask. A poor man’s Catwoman.”

Caroline bristled, because it had taken her and Bonnie splurging on asewing course in Uptown to get their stitching just right.

“And you would’ve gotten more than a deal sponsoring mattresses afteryou won Eurovision,” she retorted, and Raul actually looked pained.

Actual, legit pain.

Caroline sighed. “Look, I’ll cut you a deal. See this stake here? Iwon’t stick it in your heart if you meet my conditions.”

Raul warily eyed the stake she was twirling between her fingers.Normally he would have told her to kiss his ass, but he was cornered, and hedidn’t fancy becoming a splat on the sidewalk.

That, and he was afraid of heights.

“And the conditions are?” he asked finally.

Caroline took a moment to rip the failing sole completely off her shoe.It came off with one clean pull, and when she looked up Raul was still there,which meant there was still hope for a redemption arc for him.

She gave him a winsome smile. “Do you have a pen?”

—

Bonnie slid in through her bedroom window, heady with glory. She hadgotten better at sneaking in and out at odd hours, but evidently not by much,since she managed to wake Damon up.

This was because he was in her bed when she threw herself on it.

“Damon, what the hell?”

Damon awoke with a snort. “A-ha! Proofof your foolhardy life choices!”

Bonnie rolled her eyes and unhooked her cape. She made a mental note to passCaroline twenty dollars. “Took you long enough to realize.”

“I am living with hoodwinks.”Damon pouted. “How could you not have let me in on this secret?”

“Damon, you helped me with laundry last week. You literally foldedpieces of my costume. It had my alter ego name on stitched across the front.”She swung her feet and walked to the paper partition by her dresser, where shewiggled out of her outfit safe from Damon’s prying eyes into a worn Whitmoresweater and blue shorts with lightning patterns on them.

“Are those anti-aging potions you’re brewing finally screwin’ with yourhead?” Damon was still on a roll. “You know how I had to find out? Klaus!”

“Klaus is alive?” Bonnie asked.

“Yes, and even in his state of barely living he ousted you and BlondeDistraction’s sly night crime-kicking.”

Bonnie started to respond, but then got sidetracked. “Blonde Distraction?”

“Uh – yeah.” He fiddled with his phone. “Blonde Distraction and FeistyFire.”

“That is fucking terrible,” Bonnie said mildly. “And not even ournames.”

“That’s what I call you in my blog, which I only update when I’m drunk. I’vebeen following you for years. Checkout the threads!” Damon waved his phone in her face.

“Are you drunk right now?” she asked.

“Yes,” Damon said sulkily, “but only half-stupid. You were never at thelibrary, were you?”

“Well, you were really sweet about it—”

“And you kept missing all those scrabble/pizza nights!” Damon howledinto his hands, betrayal gutting him like a fish.

“Damon,” Bonnie narrowed her eyes. “I’m tired. “The next time you spendthe night in my bed, I’m burning your brains out.”

“Reduced to being treated as one of your petty criminals,” Damonsniffed. “So be it. Our friendship always had an expiry date, huh?”

Damon slinked out of her room. Bonnie considered calling after him, butfigured she’d reason in the morning. For now, she had a huge bruise in her sideto nurse, and sleep was calling.

—

It started with scaring off new vampires from innocent clubgoers, andthen keeping the pasty creep-o’s who lived in the apartment adjacent to theirsin line when bodies started piling up in their shared dumpster.

Caroline hadn’t blown all her cash for an apartment in New York just forit to be crawling with the diseased, depravity and blood, so she took it uponherself to clean it up. An act of charity, if you will.

At night, she donned a mask and put on sensible boots. No stupidimpractical spandex for her, nor did she for a minute entertain midriff-baringleather, no matter how hot she might have looked.

Sipping from her thermos of warmed AB, she kneeled by stone gargoylesand prowled through the night. Afterwards she would either jump from rooftop torooftop, or practice her parkour, feeling invincible and (not gonna lie) reallyfucking cool.

At around 1am she got the read from Bonnie (in other words, Bonnietexted her in their coded-emoji) that their target for the night had arrived.

From five stories above she followed the sound of his footsteps throughthe alleyway, waiting to catch a heartbeat. When none came, she knew that hewas the one. His steps faltered when he heard a noise behind him. Caroline tookthe opportunity to jump down on him.

“Hello,” she smiled sweetly, when he was thrashing and spittingunderneath her. She was sitting on his back, which couldn’t be comfortable.

“Killing. Maiming. Money-laundering.” Bonnie came slowly from the mouthof the alleyway, her cape flowing behind her. “That last one’s kind of random,but the other shit we have on you—yikes.”

Caroline gathered his hair in her gloved hands and yanked hard. Thevampire cried out, enraged, but didn’t look away from her piercing gaze.

“You’ve got a locker full of civilians waiting like lambs forslaughter,” she said slowly, so he might not miss the threat in her voice.“Tell us where they are and you get to live.”

“I’m gonna have to call your bluff,” he rasped. “I’ve cut a pretty gooddeal, and ain’t no stinkin’ blonde and her twitchy sidekick are gonna stop me.”

Bonnie’s face darkened.

“Oooh,” Caroline whistled. “Bad choice of words there, bud. She’s not mysidekick. We’re partners. I kick ass, she takes names. Sometimes I take names,and she kicks ass. Though ‘kick’ might not be the right verb here…”

“I prefer not having to touch you scum,” Bonnie said, and from herfingers erupted flames.

Caroline smiled, eyes shining brightly in the fear that Bonnie hadincited into the now-still vampire.

“What are vampires most afraid of?” Caroline whispered into his fear.

“Werewolf venom.”

Caroline clicks her tongue. “No, the other thing.”

The vampire, cold sweat on his forehead, hesitated. ‘Uh—stakes?”

Caroline knuckled the base of his skull. “Fire, you moron. She’s waving it right in your face!”

It didn’t help that he passed out immediately.

Bonnie sighed and dropped her hands. The alley dimmed once again. “Canwe talk about this whole intimidation tactic thing?”

Caroline refused to look her in the eye.

—

It took about twenty minutes for him to come to, by which time Carolinehad gotten bored of sitting on his back and had decided to chain him to thedumpster instead.

After they heckled and tortured the information out of him, Carolinepulled out the usual contract – stating that no further harm would come to himfrom their hands if he got the hell out of the city and signed along the dottedline – when he started monologueing and posturing in a way that was really, really familiar.

Caroline pulled the pen away from his trembling grasp for it. Shesquinted in the dark alley, trying to make out his eyes.

“Caroline?” Bonnie asked, but Caroline barely heard.

The vampire was still monologueing, and Caroline felt a rising anger.She knew a compelled gaze anywhere.

“Damn it, Bon.”

Her fist swung out of her own accord, knocking the vampire out cold.There was a satisfying crack accompanying the slump of his neck, and Carolinedusted her hands off.

Bonnie eyed his body with distaste. “Harsh, Care. Don’t you usually waitfor them to sign the contract first?”

—

True to his word, Damon had indeed started a blog following the accountsof Blonde Distraction and Feisty Fire (not their actual names, but given thefact that he only ever blogged when he was drunk, he never bothered to learntheir real names) and their vigilante crime-fighting on his blog, WatchOutVillainz.com.

It was a smorgasbord of garish colour, Comic Sans, and badly-wordedheadings.

Klaus would never admit it, but he loved reading it.

He followed it with the same tenacity Caroline had for new episodes ofThe Bachelor, and one night even set up a username for himself to partake inthe lengthy discussions over who Blonde Distraction and Feisty Fire might be.

His username was entirely anonymous, and he enjoyed having a persona toparade as he took down trolls and ventured the tags, verbally maiming anyoneand everyone who dared speak ill of Blonde Distraction or Feisty Fire.

Granted, he didn’t care much for the witch, but thought that Carolinewould like it if he were to stand up for her too, so he did.

Damon showed up at his hotel room one night sullen-faced. “Get off mywebsite.”

“Make me,” Klaus said, typing progressively faster on his keyboard.

Damon failed to make him, and returned home, turning all his loyalfollowers on one hybrid_master_127. Unfortunately, Klaus seemed to have accrueda cluster of minions of his own in his short time of perusingWatchOutVillainz.com, and they threatened to hack into the mainframe of one ofhis life’s most precious work.

Damon, having limited knowledge of IT, highly doubted the existence of amainframe and whether or not it could be hacked.

In the end decided to play it safe, and Klaus stayed.

—

The way Caroline figured out it was Klaus who had been sending thugvamps her way was almost as fast as him discovering their true identities asthe Vigilantes of the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

A week after Damon had almost thrashed his hotel room, Klaus opens thedoor to his magnificently ransacked quarters. Caroline was sitting on whatappeared to be the cracked granite of his bathtub, in his living room, with herlegs crossed. She was still in her mask and boots.

“What is wrong with you?” sheyelled. “Why can’t you pick up the phone and call like a normal person?”

“That would have ruined the fun,” Klaus replied. “Besides, would youhave answered?”

Caroline hesitated.

“I thought so.”

“You never answered any of mycalls.”

“I was chained up in a wall, love.”

Caroline considered this. “Hm.”

Klaus picked his way towards her, straightening lamps as he went. Minutegoosefeathers floated about his shoulders; the pillows had all been spearedonto the ceiling fan like kebabs. “It was all too easy to suss out it was you.”

Caroline refused to bite. Instead, she stayed silent, watching him comecloser and closer.

“You offered them redemption instead of gutting them alive, in documentform to boot.” Klaus sounded reproachful and he righted an upset table to hidehis exasperation. “Furthermore, Bonnie made no secret of her pyromanicabilities. She was always very artful with that certain power of hers.”

“You compelled yourself a massacre just to draw me out,” she hissed. “Ihappen to take my craft very seriously—”

“I know, love. I’m not laughing.” And indeed he wasn’t. In fact, he sortof admired the spirit in which she undertook her task. In all honesty, he believedthis to be a phase—it took him a while to process the fact that she’d chosen tospend her eternity (or at least, a significant early part of it) doing this.

“So why are you here?” Caroline asked.

“Because.” He paused. Why was hehere? Papa Tunde’s torment had left him withered and raw; Hayley and Freya hadgone to the ends of the earth to release him and when he’d woken up Hope waswell in her teen years. Despite the world staying to same, too much of what hecared about had changed. He needed—he needed to make sure, needed to see forhimself, how she was.

Perhaps she was right. A phone call would have worked better.

“I wanted to offer my services,” is what he decided on at last.

Caroline snorted so loud he thought it was a piece of his ceiling fallingon them.

—

“I know all the criminals in this city,” he insisted, dogging her downthe street. Caroline walked remarkably fast in the night. She had left her maskin the debris of his room, stating she had ‘plenty more’.

“I’d rather go to vampire jail,” she told him sedately.

“Ah, that rather poorly masked vampire rehab you set up,” he said,falling into step with her. “The Elizabeth-Bill Institute for the MorallyBankrupt. I was just short of amused as to what an easy target you madeyourself.”

“And yet the only person who managed to figure it all out was you,” shesaid.

“Well—Kol did, too. We were playing crime-bingo with your exploits.”Klaus grinned. “I was one money-launder away from a win, so I decided to pullthings to my favour.”

“I’ll wall you in myself,” she seethed.

“Oh, where will you possibly find the time in between all thiscrime-fighting?”

Caroline whipped around, fangs bared. “Leave me alone, Klaus.”

“How are the twins?” he asked gently.

“None of your business.”

“They should be around Hope’s age, shouldn’t they?”

“Stop talking about them.”

Caroline took a detour through an alleyway, and with more agility thanKlaus expected, climbed her way up the side of a building, all to get away fromhim.

Klaus weighed his options, then hefted himself up after her.

He found her sitting on a rooftop edge, the city pulsating beneath them.He sat down beside her and was surprised when she offered him a thermos ofblood. It was still warm.

“Where were you keeping that?” he asked admiringly, studying her outfit.

She sent him a look that could kill, and went back to countingheadlights. “Please don’t tell anyone,” she said quietly, after a while.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. He cleared his throat and glanced ather. “When did it start?”

Caroline shuts her eyes. “A few years ago. Josie and Lizzie were growingup pretty fast. Alaric—he, well. Didn’t want me to have…” she gestured vaguely,“words were exchanged. I decided that if I could do my part to help in anyother way, I’d do it.”

“You’ll soon be bored with the futility of it, I imagine.”

“I’ve got an end goal in mind,” she said absently.

After a fashion he realized she had stopped counting headlights and wasfocused on a window in the building across the cobweb of streets. Two girls,remarkably alike, were pulling the curtains closed for the night.

“They’re nocturnal creatures,” he said softly. “If I could venture a guess,just like their mother.”

Caroline didn’t answer. Instead, she rested her head on his shoulder. Hestiffened in surprise, but she didn’t comment on it, neither did she move away.“Next time, just call. You can’t base my reactions on the girl you knew tenyears ago.”

“Some things will always remain singular,” he said. He wasn’t speakingabout her. She hoped she saw it in the look he was giving her.

Caroline pulled away slowly. For a long time, she only looked at him.Klaus took a chance and reached for her hand, after which she tangled herfingers in his. They stayed that way for only a short moment, but the feelingof her palm, soft in his, lingered long after she’d slid her thermos back intoits hiding place on her body and left.

—

Damon had taken to fixing them breakfast in the wee hours of the morningwhen they finally returned. He reasoned that it was the least he could do, whatwith all the slander he keeps slinging their way on his website.

“To blindside the scrutinizing eyes of the public!” he insisted,flipping pancakes.

However, when Caroline returned home with an extra guest, his spatulafell onto the island with a smack.

“I refuse to feed him,” he told Bonnie. So offended was he that Carolinehad brought Klaus home that he refused to speak to Caroline too. Looking rightthrough them, he pointed out, “And I only made pancakes for three.”

Damon gestured angrily at the table, where three immaculate plates piledhigh with pancakes and cream had been set.

Klaus scowled. “But there’s four more, burning, by the way, on theskillet.” He tried not to sound too indignant.

“You kidding me? These are all for Bonnie!”

As the two immortal beings squabbled, Caroline speared a triangle ofpancake with her fork. Bonnie sipped her glass of orange juice. It felt strangefor the apartment to be so full, especially with the presence of Damon’s entireliquor cabinet dotting every corner.

Klaus finally wrestled himself a seat next to Caroline, but not beforeflicking off Damon’s shirt that had been slung over the back of the chair with dispassion.

“That’s it! I’m done! You can make breakfast yourselves from now on!” Damon yanked off his apron and was gonewith a huff.

“Does this happen a lot?” Klaus enquired, sniffing around a piece ofbacon.

“More times than you can imagine,” Bonnie said.

—

In the coming days, Klaus visited more often. His hotel room had beenproperly demolished, he took to reminding Caroline, who sighed and held out atowel for him to use her shower.

Bonnie delighted in the fact that she now has leverage against having abroody roommate/parasite, seeing as Caroline had one of her own now, too.

Damon continued to be miserable.

Klaus continued to goad them with his offer.

Caroline and Bonnie continued their crime-fighting.

“Let’s not make this routine,” Bonnie told Caroline as she garrotted avampire who had been hell-bent on chowing down on a family of four. “By nextweek we kick them out.”

“You got it, Bon,” Caroline said, waving the contract in the chokingvampire’s face. “We’re burning the couch. And can we finally talk about that cape of yours?”

Bonnie rolled her eyes, but nodded her agreement as the vampire veryreluctantly signed her name along the dotted line.

—

tbc

9B��`

#klaroline #bamon #klaroline fanfiction #bamon fanfiction #ishenwulf #lol HOW DO I EVEN GO ABOUT TAGGING THIS SHIT #hannah writes things #askbox request #fic: 1251 #otp: speak my name when you damn me #otp: yellow ledbetter #this was fun to write and i actually had heaps more buuut i figured i'd save them for upcoming chapters #here you go ishi YOU ASKED FOR IT #tvd

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