#the agency has several pokemon in their office

[enby-mori]

I feel like for a pokemon au, I want to go with a modern interpretation. like, the bracelets and gems and all that.

I imagine that if you are an ability user then your pokemon could also be an ability user. or at least borrow your power.

#ranpo's pokemon is as ridiculously smart as him so it really pushes him to be seen as an ability user #unfortunately most pokemon can't write sorry kunikida #most #anyways #im just imagining dazai's pokemon having a field day with no longer human #he's ten times more annoying in this #the agency has several pokemon in their office #mostly to protect the clerks #though the president can be seen drowning in a cuddle pile at times #bsd pokemon au #my archive

[keluturtle]

Don't Bet on It - Emmet/Grimsley

It has been a hot minute since we've written any fanfiction so forgive us for our rustiness, but we've been lowkey obsessed w/ this pairing for a couple of months now.

Anyway, this fic is basically long-form acquaintances to enemies to rivals to friends to lovers arc lol.

Read it on AO3 as well (All Aboard!)

Chapter 1: Sharpedo I

“It pursues its prey at speeds of 75 mph and finishes them off with fangs that can crush iron. It is known as the bully of the sea.” 

-Pokédex Entry #265 Pkmn Sun

The Alolan air was more than a bit stifling to the twin Subway Bosses of Unova as they saluted Elesa farewell outside her agency’s office. 

She had warned them that they needed to pack lighter, but the twins had assured her that they would be fine. After all, on their Battle Subway, they had plenty of close calls with opposing fire pokemon and their flamethrowers, flame bursts, flame wheels, flare blitzes, fire blasts, blast burns, lava plumes, overheats—

But the subway cars were air-conditioned and the battles quickly decided.

Alola was not like their precious subway.

Alola was beautiful… but it was hot.

Even without their official work uniforms, it became apparent to both that they had severely underestimated the heat index… and now were sweltering with their poor choices in apparel.

Rolling up his sleeves, Ingo glanced over to Emmet, who was still trying (and failing) to keep up a pleasant smile even with the merciless sun beating down their necks.

“Emmet, I am afraid we may be at risk for sunstroke if we continue down this track. Shall we make an early detour for appropriate apparel? I know we scheduled shopping for later this week, but—”

“Yes! Let us depart right away!” Emmet could not wait for Ingo to finish, already quickly beginning to flag down a taxi.

Alola was entirely different from Unova, despite being a close neighbor to their home region. They had challengers from there, of course, and the regional Pokémon they brought with them were always intriguing. Emmet could still clearly recall seeing the most interesting-looking Muk cross his Doubles Train. How exciting! 

They knew they had to visit at least once.

So, when Elesa invited them to stay with her in Alola while she was doing her summer modeling there, they took the offer.

It’s not like they could go to work when they were temporarily banned from Gear Station anyway.

To say Ingo and Emmet loved their job would be an understatement. It was the best of both of their interests. Even the stacks of paperwork and occasional unruly passengers couldn’t deter them from their career enjoyment.

But, while they might take the odd holiday off here and there, the Nimbasa City audit system had admonished them for not taking any substantial vacation days during their years working at Gear Station.

And so they were here in Alola on forced PTO leave. For a month.

They would need sunscreen. And lots of it.

As they stepped into the frigid air of the shop, the twins let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. Besides trains, surely air conditioning was mankind’s greatest invention.

The clerk at the front of the store welcomed them with a chipper Alola, unable to hold back a small giggle at the display.

They greeted her back, before digging through the racks.

Six pairs of tropical shirts and khaki shorts, 10 bottles of SPF 100, and two pairs of sunglasses later, the twins decided they were sufficiently stocked for the moment.

Tucking his sunglasses into his collar, Emmet turned to Ingo who was busy smoothing down his new red floral-patterned shirt free of wrinkles. 

He let out a chuckle under his breath. With the sunglasses now on Ingo’s face alongside his signature frown, he would be even harder for strangers to read.

“Shall we start making our way to the Pokémon League? The clerk said our other purchases would be sent ahead to the hotel. No more detours required.”

Emmet was positively shaking in excitement from the thought. He had wanted to visit Alola primarily for the interesting combinations their Pokémon were sure to face in battle.

“Ah… I had actually planned on visiting the observatory on Mount Hokulani today. I’m sorry, Emmet.”

Emmet blinked.

Ingo… wanted to visit an observatory? He could not recall that being one of Ingo’s interests before. Because they shared the same interests and it certainly wasn’t one of Emmet’s interests.

“An observatory? Where is that?”

“It is on the same island as the League— Ula’ula— but on a different mountaintop. It should be quite fun.”

Emmet’s smile twitched, “Your idea of fun seems verrrrry boring… If we are visiting the same island together, we should also visit the same places on the island together. You are sure you do not want to visit the League instead?”

Ingo tilted his head, “I am quite sure. But, I would be more than happy to visit the League with you at a later date.”

Emmet was at a loss for words and with those stupid sunglasses blocking his brother’s eyes he could not even look for the joke he wanted to see clearly reflected in them.

He was supposed to know Ingo. They were the Subway Bosses.

“But… we are supposed to go together… ”

The sentiment was barely a whisper, but Ingo managed to catch it and the unspoken sentiment behind those few words. He pushed his sunglasses to rest on his forehead, his gaze soft and speech deliberate as he placed a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“We are a perfect two-car train, Emmet. Our combination couldn’t be better. But we cannot always travel the same tracks. It is okay if we become uncoupled to try new things. And we can share and learn from those different experiences once we reach our final destination for the day—we share the same home station after all.”

Ingo squeezes his shoulder, the edges of his lips turning up in his best attempt at a smile.

Emmet pouts for a few long moments but acquiesces under his brother’s amusing grimace of a smile. His brother was always trying his best and he would too.

“I will go check out the League instead. You can enjoy the observatory. I will see you at the hotel once we are both finished.”

Emmet said that but still insisted on trekking up the mountain to the observatory with Ingo before parting ways. 

Even when he had built himself up to saluting his brother goodbye, it was still difficult to not sync up with his brother as he entered the building and even harder not to dash in after him. The about-face turn was grueling on his nerves along with the first hundred steps back down the mountain.

“I am Emmet. I just need a fun few battles to get my mind off things. We are still Ingo and Emmet. We are still Subway Bosses. And I am Emmet. He is going to his Singles Line and I am going to my Doubles Line. We will meet up after. I am Emmet. I can do this.”

Psyching himself up was easier when put into those familiar terms. 

He had done this before, hadn’t he? 

He was just running a station with his brother instead of being on vacation. But the formula was the same. He was going to battle separately from Ingo and then he would meet up with him later. A version of the same. And then they would battle together later.

And seeing a local trainer on the upcoming slope proved the perfect distraction from any wayward thoughts to that analogy.

He was Emmet. He was a Subway Boss. 

His eyes met the other trainer and they both reached for their first Pokéballs.

---------

Twelve matches down the mountain later, and somewhere along the way Emmet had gotten recognized by a trainer or two…

And now he somehow has a crowd of twenty asking for his autograph and a selfie with him. And many many mannnnny questions about the Battle Subway—  easy to answer— and himself— …much less easy to answer.

Emmet enjoyed his privacy as much as the next person and although he was used to the small celebrity status being a Subway Boss brought, he still did not talk to the press about himself and his personal life. He was a Subway Boss! He was famous because of his job so they should just ask about that. But—

“Are you here with your brother, Ingo? Where is he? Can I get a selfie with him too?”

“Why’d you come to Alola? Do you visit often? How long are you staying?”

“You should try the malasadas! Ooh, you should totally let me show you around!”

Emmet was starting to feel… uncomfortably overwhelmed. 

He enjoyed talking with fans, really! But usually, there were not so many surrounding him all at once and he had Ingo there with him and—

“Ingo and I are on vacation!”

The onslaught of questions came to an abrupt stop from Emmet’s work voice. And while his didn’t have the same decibel range as his brother’s, it still carried sharp authority.

In a quieter tone, he continued, “We are taking time off work. I am going to visit the Pokémon League today. Ingo is busy visiting other tourist attractions. Because we are tourists. On holiday.”

Some of the trainers looked a bit chagrin at the reminder that Emmet was off the clock, though others still looked like they wanted to continue their impromptu inquisition.

Still, Emmet pressed onwards.

“It was great to meet you all, but I must press onwards towards my current destination. Thank you for understanding.”

Sharply moving into his point and call pose, he called out his signature “All Abooooooaaard!” to further appease the small crowd of fans, before swiftly making his way down the rest of the mountain.

---------

Emmet’s brow twitched as he looked down at his Xtransiever. He really did not get good signal here in Alola.

He had been trying to pull up the map of the island to see how close the League was, but his GPS seemed confused as to where he was. Emmet was confused as to where he was too.

Sighing softly, he tucked around towards a small alcove beach to think. There had been a Pokémon Center close by, hadn’t there? Maybe he could…

His thought was interrupted by the sound of a sharp whistle and a crash of a wave.

Or Emmet thought it had been a wave. Instead, it had been a Mantine trying to beach itself… and a slim passenger stepping off onto the land before bidding the Pokémon goodbye.

Huh… his hair looked oddly familiar. The slicked back sides reminded him of a pair of Liepard whiskers and— no. Couldn’t be. Right?

But as the man finally turned away from the retreating Mantine, Emmet was sure of it.

“Grimsley? ”

Grimsley turns slowly towards him, taking him in leisurely before his poker face is broken only by a look of honest surprise in his eyes.

“Subway Boss Emmet.”

Grimsley strides towards him purposefully, lips curled into a small smirk, “I hardly recognized you without your uniform. What brings you to Alola?”

Emmet chuckled, smile both easy and relaxed from a familiar face, “I could say the same for you. Your kimono compliments you nicely though. Maybe Ingo and I should have gone for the same.”

Grimsley gives him an appraising look, eyes twinkling mischievously, “I’m not sure. I think the tourist look suits you.”

Emmet grins wider, “Well, that is why we are in Alola– mandatory vacation from the Nimbasa City Council. Ingo and I had too many working hours. They made a strong case of it being a safety hazard.”

That pulls a chuckle out of Grimsley as well, “Somehow I can imagine that being the only argument that would work on you two.”

Emmet nods, eyes crinkled in amusement.

Grimsley lets out a hum, looking to either side of Emmet briefly, “That is another point… it was harder to recognize you alone. Where is your brother, Ingo?”

Emmet’s smile froze and he twitched slightly, silent for a few moments, “He is… at the observatory. He was interested in it. I am on my way to the League.”

Grimsley nodded with another nostalgic chuckle, “You always were the more competitive of you two.”

Emmet’s smile grew tighter, “Mhm… ”

Quickly searching for any change of subject away from his departure from his brother, he latched onto the closest topic, “And you are no longer part of the Unova League, right?”

Grimsley blinked, his smile dropping subtly, eyes quickly narrowing guardingly at Emmet.

“I remember hearing about your resignation, but I did not think you would have retired here,” Emmet continued, oblivious to Grimsley’s withdrawal, “I would have thought you would prefer moving to a bigger city. Like Nimbasa… or even Castelia.”

Grimsley hummed, monotonous in tone, “I’m sure a younger me might have preferred it… But Alola is a nice place to get away from it all.”

Emmet nodded enthusiastically, “Away from the press and prying eyes, yup!”

Grimsley, crossed his arms, “Yes, exactly…” He looked away from Emmet briefly, a crueler echo of a smirk stretching across his face.

“I did resign from the League… it was only a couple of years ago, but it’s been a nice change of pace,” he gestured to the sea where he had bid the Mantine farewell, “I’ve taken up the local sport of Mantine surfing.”

“Mantine surfing?” Emmet chatot-ed back.

Grimsley raised an eyebrow, “Racing on the back of Mantines while avoiding the rough waves. It’s quite popular… and quite fun. People can get quite competitive with it–including me.”

He shot Emmet a dazzling smile to sell his pitch.

Emmet’s eyes sparkled with the idea of a challenge– and a competitive one at that.

Hook, Line, and Sinker.

“It might be fun for you to try. Ingo too. There’s nothing quite like it,” Grimsley’s eyes twinkled with mischief, and Emmet couldn’t help but be captivated by such a novel idea.

“…Feeling the salty splash of the ocean on your face—” he gestured to his own face, smiling wide with open glee.

“…The sun’s rays on your back—,” he gestured this time to Emmet who could not help but match Grimsley’s smile himself.

“…The wind blowing through your… hair.”

Grimsley’s smile stayed in place, though his eyes reflected a more cruel joke. An amusement reflected in them as they drifted conspicuously towards Emmet’s hairline before meeting his eyes again with an easy grin.

Emmet’s smile faltered at the obvious joke.

“You are making fun of me.”

“Making fun of you? Whatever do you mean?” Grimsley faked a look of innocence, “Surely you don’t think I could be so cruel.”

Ah… so it was going to be like that, was it? So be it. A battle of wits is still a battle to be won. And Emmet loved winning more than anything else.

Emmet’s eyes drifted to take in more of the ex-Elite Four member, head tilting to truly consider him. His evaluation and plan of attack had to be perfect.

“No… I think you are enjoying your well-deserved vacation. You are retired after all. You just wanted to suggest a fun activity while I am also on vacation. It was verrrrry thoughtful of you and I am sorry that I mistook your words. Perhaps I am simply still too overworked and on edge because of it.”

Emmet’s smile softened in fake apology as Grimsley considered him. 

“No need to apologize… there was no harm done.”

“I am glad to hear that. Perhaps this means I should also seek to relax myself. Your outfit looks very comfortable… and…” Emmet let his eyes pretend to scan the garment with consideration, letting his eyes then drop further down towards his target.

“…You are wearing shoes with it?”

Grimsley raised an eyebrow, head tilting slightly to the side as if to say ‘What of it? ’

“I am.”

Emmet’s eyes met Grimsley’s, piercing blue meeting steely grey as Emmet picked his next words carefully.

“You wear them often at the beach?”

Grimsley’s eyes sparked with curiosity.

“I do.”

“You haven’t considered sandals instead?”

“I have.”

“And you do not wear them? Surely it would be more comfortable. You are already wearing such loose garments.”

A feint. Hopefully, it would not be an obvious one.

Luckily for Emmet, Grimsley fell for it, the gambler’s eyes closing shut as he sighed and shook his head, “Alas, the sand here in Alola gets too hot for a foreigner, even one who has been retired here as long as I have. Sandals just don’t cut it,” he opened his eyes with a smirk, “Though I apologize if the sight ruins your personal preferences.”

Emmet’s smile twitched with barely concealed mirth.

“That is unfortunate. But it makes sense. Ah well…” Emmet could not fight the growing grin on his face as he stared Grimsley down, “At least Marlon will be ecstatic that someone else finally matches his tan line.”

The look of dawning horror was so sweet that Emmet had to take a moment to savor it. The blanch that Grimsley was fighting to keep off of his face was worth any amount of balding jokes. Emmet had won and it was a verrrrrry satisfying victory.

“Well! I should continue my tour of the island before it gets too dark. It was nice to see you again after so long. I may take you up on your offer to Mantine surf at a later date.”

With that, Emmet gave a short and smug salute as he turned to march off triumphantly to his next destination—

“Likewise, Subway Boss Emmet.”

Hm? He was still standing after that crushing blow? Well, he would not outsmart Emmet with his tricks. He stopped in acknowledgment, though he did not turn around to face Grimsley. He looked forward only towards the future battles ahead (and not towards the sore loser behind him.)

“It has been a long time since I’ve seen anyone from Unova, so it was a nice surprise to run into someone from my home region… Oh! And a word of advice—” Emmet’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, “—it’s best to learn how to Mantine surf during low tide. The high tide here in Alola can be very unforgiving and rough for even the most experienced surfers. I’ve had more than my fair share of wipeouts even when riding Sharpedo during them. There are plenty of lifeguards around to help in case of accidents, but I can’t imagine you’d want to be sat up in bed recovering for the main duration of your stay.”

Oh. Maybe he was actually just giving some proper advice this time after all.

Face softening somewhat, Emmet began to turn to face him, mouth opening to express his polite acknowledgment of gratitude—

“—No, it’s best if beginners such as yourself start learning once the water line has fully… receded.”

Fuck you.

Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.

Emmet’s mouth clicked shut into a tight smile before he gave a terse nod and final salute to Grimsley before stomping off to explore the rest of Ula’ula Island. He would get the last laugh. He would, he would, he would. He loved winning more than anything else. He would not lose to Grimsley.

#pokemon #submas #pokemon emmet #grimsley #pokemon grimsley #my fanfic #fanfic #frighttrainshipping #alter brian

[ailtrahq]

In a predictable move, the SEC filed a motion to oppose Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the case on Oct. 3. “It’s more of the same old same old,” said the exchange’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal. The SEC sued Coinbase in June, a day after it went after Binance. It accused the firm of selling unregistered securities and providing an unregistered staking service. However, Grewal said that the agency has no grounds for these claims as crypto assets have not been legally deemed as securities by Congress. “Over and over again the SEC makes sweeping claims of what the law is/must be without any legal citation.” The @SECgov just filed its opposition to our motion to dismiss their case against @Coinbase. It’s more of the same old same old. But don’t just take my word for it – take a look for yourself. 1/7 — paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) October 3, 2023 A Predictable Response Coinbase filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on August 4, arguing that the Commission had violated due process and abused its discretion. The SEC’s response was predictable as it reiterated the same old arguments that crypto assets are securities, similar to company stocks. Grewal said: “The assets we list on our platform are not securities and are not within the SEC’s jurisdiction. Court decisions over the past several months have made that plain.” He added that under the SEC’s claims, “everything from Pokemon cards to stamps to Swiftie bracelets are also securities,” however, this is not the law. In late September, SEC chair Gary Gensler was questioned by New York Representative Ritchie Torres during a U.S. House Committee on Financial Services meeting. When asked about a physical Pokémon card, Gensler said it does not qualify as a security. However, his response became muddled when Torres brought up NFT tokenized Pokémon cards. Crypto lawyer John E. Deaton said: “After reading the SEC Opposition, the odds have improved in Coinbase’s favor and stands, at least, at 50%.” Before the SEC filed its opposition to Coinbase’s Motion to Dismiss, I placed the odds of Coinbase winning at 40% – an extraordinarily high percentage for victory on a Motion to Dismiss. Normally, the odds would be no higher than 10%. After reading the SEC Opposition, the odds… — John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) October 4, 2023 Ignoring American People Grewal said the SEC’s aggressive policing of the sector ignores a large segment of the population that has invested in crypto and could lose money through the torrent of litigation against the industry. “The SEC’s continued regulation by enforcement approach also ignores the voice of the 52-million strong crypto constituency in the US that wants rules and regulations for this innovative tech.” Coinbase will file their response to the SEC on October 24.

[elementalwriter67]

The Vagabond and his Buddy Part Two

Pairings: (past) Jeremwood, (present?) Raywood(?)

Word Count: 6848

Part One

Summary: Jeremy finds out something he never thought was possible.

“Hey guys, do any of you know where Golden Boy is?” Rimmy Tim asked as he walked into the living room of the penthouse to find Mogar, Vagabond, and Brownman sitting there. Mogar was sitting in Geoff’s arm chair, slouched down with his feet up on the coffee table while the Vagabond and Brownman occupied the ‘L’ shaped couch. Vagabond was sitting with one leg up on the coffee table and one of his arms up on the back of the couch giving Brownman with the space to lean against his side. While Brownman was leaning against the Vagabond’s side he was playing Pokemon with his DS resting on his knees.

“Sup Rimjob.” Brownman commented not bothering to look away from his DS as he continued the battle that he was currently in. Rimmy Tim rolled his eyes in response, crossing his arms over his chest, frowning at Brownman from behind his mouth mask. 

“Ha ha, very funny Brownman, it’s not like I haven’t heard that one a thousand times before.” Rimmy Tim grumbled and Brownman smirked as he glanced up at Rimmy Tim. 

“Thank you, I thought it was pretty funny too.” Brownman commented before turning back to his game and Rimmy Tim gave him a dead-pan expression holding back his urge to fire back with another sarcastic comment. He had a job to do and it did not involve standing here arguing with Brownman over a stupid nickname especially when Brownman didn’t even care in the first place about his argument.

“What do I look like his fucking keeper? No I don’t know where fucking Golden Boy is.” Mogar grumbled not bothering to look up from whatever he was doing on his phone. Rimmy Tim narrowed his eyes at Mogar, it was a well known fact that Golden Boy and Mogar were practically attached at the hip so may God help Mogar if he was texting Golden Boy right now telling him that Rimmy Tim as looking for him. Rimmy Tim was going to fucking kill him.

“Gee thanks guys, you’ve all been a big fuckin help.” Rimmy Tim grumbled when Vagabond didn’t answer after he gave him a couple of seconds. Turning away from them all he went to walk away from them all and go search the rest of the penthouse when his arm was suddenly grabbed freezing him in his tracks. Looking down at his arm he followed the arm of the gloved hand to find that it had been Vagabond who had grabbed him and Rimmy Tim felt his heart literally stop for a solid millisecond as brown eyes met shadowed icy blue. Upon meeting those eyes Rimmy Tim’s life flashed before his eyes as the icy cold feeling of dread settled over him. This was it. This was the end. The Vagabond had grabbed him, he was marked for death now, Vagabond never touched anyone outside of main crew unless he was going to kill them. So this was it, this was the end, Rimmy Tim would be lucky if he made it tomorrow, hell if he lasted the whole week.

“Try his bedroom.” Vagabond rumbled his voice low and emotionless as he continued to watch Rimmy Tim. 

“W-What?” Rimmy Tim muttered out blinking dumbly at him a couple of times, that had not been the death threat he had been expecting. 

“Geez V, I think you just broke Rimmy Tim.” Brownman commented as he looked up at Rimmy Tim an amused looking smirk on his face. 

“Forget breaking him, I think V just made him shit his pants.” Mogar stated his tone amused as he watched the exchanged chuckling quietly to himself. Vagabond rolled his eyes glancing briefly at the other two, shooting them both an annoyed look that only caused them to chuckle. 

“Quiet both of you. Check Golden Boy’s room, if he’s not where he’s supposed to be he’s probably hiding in his room.” Vagabond explained to him as he let go. Rimmy Tim blinked a couple of more times at him before his brain caught up with what was going on. 

“R-Right… right yeah, thanks. Thank you Vagabond.” Rimmy Tim said as he nodded his head. Vagabond watched him for a couple more seconds before turning back to the TV and going back to pretending that Rimmy Tim wasn’t even there. As soon as the Vagabond’s attention was no longer on him Rimmy Tim all but ran out of the living room desperate to get away from the humiliation of what had just happened. 

Mogar and Brownman’s laughter and teasing echoed down the hallway but Rimmy Tim ignored them as he stood in front of Golden Boy’s room shaking off the remaining feelings of fear and dread. Taking a couple of deep calming breaths he steeled himself and raised his hand knocking on Golden Boy’s door. 

“Golden Boy, you in there?” Rimmy Tim asked as he knocked on the door. He waited for a couple of seconds for a response but when nothing came he knocked again.

“Hello?” He called out pressing his ear to the door straining to hear some sort of noise coming from the room to signal that Golden Boy was in there. The manic clicking of keys signalling that he was at his computer, or the sound of a video game being played, something, anything, to signal that the Golden Boy was in there and awake but there was nothing. And if there was nothing on in the room then that meant one of two things; Golden Boy was either not in his room or he was sleeping and Rimmy Tim was willing to bet it was the later because Golden Boy was the second most notorious night owl of the whole crew. 

“Damn it Golden Boy! Open the fucking door! You were supposed to be at the meeting with Kingpin forty fucking minutes ago!” Rimmy Tim shouted as he banged on Golden Boy’s door this time, hoping to wake him up from whatever exhausted sleep he had fallen into. Once again there was no response to his knocking. 

Sighing in frustration Rimmy Tim looked around the hallway making sure that no one else was around before turning back to Golden Boy’s door. ‘Fine you want to pretend to not hear me you annoying Brit, then I’ll just drag you to the fucking meeting myself’ Rimmy Tim thought to himself as he tried the door handle finding the door to be unlocked. Throwing open the door Jeremy stepped into Golden Boy’s bedroom his eyes doing a quick scan of the room to find that Golden Boy hadn’t fallen asleep at his desk, and that there was a suspiciously human shaped lump on his bed. Glaring at the mound on Golden Boy’s bed Rimmy Tim walked over to it and grabbed a hold of the blankets. 

“Alright Golden, enough screwing around it’s time to wake the fuck up and get the fuck out.” Rimmy Tim grumbled as he yanked the blankets off the bed only to find that Golden Boy wasn’t actually underneath the blankets. Rimmy Tim stared at the empty bed for a solid several seconds before throwing the blankets down with an annoyed huff. 

“Where the fuck is he?” Rimmy Tim grumbled as he walked away from the bed, scanning the room for any sign of where Golden Boy might be hiding. As he scanned the room his eyes caught on a manila folder that was perched precariously on the edge of Golden Boy’s desk with the initials RH written on the tab. If Rimmy Tim was a better man maybe he would have left the folder well enough alone, would have just written it off as Golden doing some main crew work for Kingpin, but because Rimmy Tim wasn’t a better man he was going to do the opposite of that. He checked to make sure that no one was there and upon seeing no one he made his way over to the desk, careful to pull it out so that nothing else on the desk was disturbed. Turning his back to the door Rimmy Tim flipped open the folder, his heart stopping and his whole body tensing when he saw what was in the folder. 

There sitting in the folder like it belonged there, like it belonged here in Golden Boy’s room was the profile of the man that he had long since lost, that had long since died.

“Why the fuck does he have this?” Rimmy Tim muttered as he started reading the pages. He had to make sure that this was actually Ryan’s profile, that this was his Battle Buddies profile, the steadily growing ball of anxiety in his stomach forcing him to relive the past he wanted to forget. 

‘Name: James Ryan Haywood’ underneath Ryan’s name someone had crossed out what his age had been at the time of making the profile and instead had written down ‘39.’  But other than that all of the information was correct, the date of birth, the place he was born, what he looked like, how tall he was. Hell the picture stapled to the file, while old, was Ryan there was no doubt about it. But still why on earth would Golden Boy have this in the first place? Rimmy Tim had made damn sure that there were no traces of his past left for someone to find, he had gone through and wiped everything and anything that could have been about him or Ryan. So how did Golden Boy even find this?

Shaking his head Rimmy Tim pushed the questions aside, those were things he could ask Golden Boy once he had found him and the two of them were alone. For now he settled for flipping through the pages of the file his hands shaking slightly as emotion after emotion crashed into him. 

‘Notes: 12/12/2001- Haywood will make an excellent field agent the man has excelled in all of his training both physically and virtually. There is no doubt in my mind that this man will become one of the agency’s most elite soldiers. We’ll be field testing him soon to see how well he will operate.’

‘07/13/2002- Haywood has proven once again that he is an excellent agent. Within the past seven months that man has successfully completed all missions and assignments given to him. General Smith is thinking of putting him in for a promotion.’

‘10/31/2003- While Haywood has made great strides as a solo operative command can’t help but think that the man might benefit from having a partner, and while Haywood would like to disagree with them on that I can’t help but believe that they’re right. Haywood while good in the field has become closed off to the rest of the agents and has begun to isolate himself, behavior like that from a senior officer has started to worry those in command and those around him. People fear that if he continues down this path he might become damaged without having someone to share the burden of this line of work with.’

‘11/01/2003- Haywood will be getting a partner.’

‘12/01/2003- We informed Haywood today that he would be receiving our newest recruit needless to say he was not pleased about learning that a newbie would be his partner. We however believe that Dooley will make an excellent partner for Haywood, seeing as the kid has already started to excel in his training and become top of his class.’

‘5/10/2004- Despite his early disapproval of having Dooley as his partner the two of them seem to be getting along like a house on fire. In the six months that they’ve known each other they’ve become practically inseparable and absolutely impossible to deal with. It seems that we may have underestimated Dooley’s ability to get Haywood to come out of his isolation because now not only is he out of his isolation but Haywood and Dooley have started causing a fair amount of mischief around the building. This week alone I have filed three separate incident reports involving those two and their inabilities to keep their mouths shut. Despite their ability to cause mischief however the two of them make a fine pair and have become the agency’s go to team for any team related mission.’

‘5/20/2004- Dooley and Haywood would like me to make it known in their records that they’re team name is now team Battle Buddies, and that they would like to be referred to as such from now on. May the Lord help us all they’ve named themselves.’

‘5/22/2005- Agent Dooley and Agent Haywood were caught once again making out in a corridor by Agent Lie Ren that marks the tenth incident this week in which they have been caught and tried to play it off like that wasn’t what they were doing. Sometimes me and the higher ups wonder if we should tell them that we know they’ve been in a relationship for almost the past year or so, but then we think that it’s much more fun to watch them scramble about trying to hide their relationship. As if the whole agency doesn’t know they’re dating, though I will admit they are much more subtle than Agent Ren and Agent Valkyrie.’

‘06/10/2007- Agent York won the bet much to Agent North, Agent Carolina, and Agent Washington’s displeasure. Two years, six months, and ten days, Haywood and Dooley finally came clean to us that they were in fact dating and have been for a while. Agent Washington is currently pouting in his room because he’s now down fifty bucks.’

A small smile tugged at Jeremy’s lips as he read over more of the notes made by their commanding officer. It had been forever since he had thought about some of these memories, not wanting to remember them all because they hurt too much. As he flipped to the last page his eyes widened slightly both in shock and confusion as the neatly typed writing turned to the choppy scrawl of the Brit that he had come searching for. Reading what Golden Boy had written on an extra page Jeremy felt his heart clenched painfully as his hands started shaking. His stomach filled with a hot burning sensation as he stared at the page processing the information in front of him. 

“Rimmy.” Golden Boy said as he froze in his doorway staring at the purple back of his crew mate. Jeremy didn’t move as he continued to stare at the piece of paper in front of him. Gavin took a cautious step into his room, peering around Jeremy to see what he was looking at and upon seeing the manila folder in his hand Gavin paled. 

“I’m sorry. I tried to keep the two of them apart, I really did.” Gavin said as he gently closed the door behind him trying not to provoke the tense killer in front of him. 

“How long?” Jeremy asked his voice barely above a whisper. Gavin’s brow furrowed in confusion as he took another step towards Jeremy.

“What was that Tim?” Gavin asked trying to keep his tone light and emotionless. 

“How long?” Jeremy’s voice was slightly louder this time but still Gavin wasn’t sure what he had said as he took another step forward. 

“I’m sorry, but can you repeat that one more time?” Gavin asked.

“I said HOW LONG?!” Jeremy shouted as he suddenly whipped around the closed file clenched tightly in his fists as he glared at Gavin. Gavin squawked in fear as he jumped back from Jeremy, never before had he been so glad that he had had his bedroom soundproof than he was right now. 

“I… I ah… well you see-”, “Damn it Golden how fucking long?!” Jeremy interrupted him raising the hand holding the file like he was going to hit Gavin. Gavin flinched away from the hand, holding up both of his in a surrender fashion. 

“Three months. I’ve known for three months.” Gavin squawked and Jeremy froze where he stood his entire body going rigid as he stared at Gavin. Jeremy’s eyes were wide in shock and disbelief as he stared at Gavin his brain slowly processing what the Brit had just said. Gavin didn’t dare say a word as he watched Jeremy.

“Three months… You’ve known my real name and Ryan’s real name for three months… you’ve known what we meant to each other for three whole fucking months… you’ve known for THREE MONTHS?! THREE FUCKING MONTHS AND YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TO TELL EITHER OF US THAT THE OTHER WAS ALIVE?!” Jeremy shouted violently throwing the file down and Gavin took another step back, his back hitting the wall. This was a side of Jeremy that he had never seen before and if he was being quite honest with himself he did not like this side of Jeremy at all. 

“I swear I was going to… at first.” Gavin said not meeting Jeremy’s eyes. Jeremy’s entire body was tense as his eyes narrowed at Gavin.

“What do you mean, at first?” Jeremy asked his voice startlingly calm and a terrified shiver raced down Gavin’s spine as he felt the heat from Jeremy’s death glare on him. 

“At first I was going to corner the two of you and say I knew what the two of you were but then I saw the way that the two of you acted around each other on the few heists that you’ve helped us on, how in sync the two of you were when you’d be teamed up together. How easily V just talks when you’re around, he doesn’t talk around the other B-Team members, won’t even acknowledge them but with you he acknowledge your presence and is willing to work with you, he’s not like that with the other B-Team members. So I just sort of thought that the two of you already knew that the other one was alive, that you were both in the same crew but then I saw how V and Brownman started getting closer, and closer, and well by the time I realized that neither of you knew it was too late.” Gavin explained and Jeremy stood there silently staring at him for so long that Gavin couldn’t help but look up at him to see a confused, and slightly shocked look on Jeremy’s face. 

“Getting...closer?” Jeremy muttered to himself looking away from Gavin for a second as the image of Vaga-Ryan sitting on the couch with Brownman leaning against his side. A position that the two of them had sat in countless times when they were watching TV in the agency common room. 

Another image of a time Jeremy had walked into the planning room in search of Geoff only to find the Brownman flirting shamelessly with the Vagabond who was leaning against the wall. Then one of when he’d just arrived at the Penthouse’s garage to see the Vagabond pinning the Brownman against one of Vagabond’s own cars his masked face suspiciously close to Brownman’s. Then all the times that Jeremy had even seen the two of them interact, the ease and flow that Brownman interacted with the usually silent Vagabond how Brownman would easily drape himself over Vagabond in either joking or flirtatious. All the jokes the others would make about the two of them getting together, the betting pool that B-Team had running for the same thing. The looks, the stares, the concern about the other and the stupid team name for the two of them all things that Jeremy and Ryan used to do.Jeremy’s chest tightened almost painfully as his hands balled into fists and he stared at the ground. He felt like he was going to throw up, scream, and cry all at the same time. It felt just like when he learned that Ryan had died, that he was gone and wasn’t coming back. 

Jeremy groaned as he turned his head to the side everything felt fuzzy and warm, like his body had just been wrapped up in a blanket fresh from the dryer. It was so warm and soft that he almost didn’t want to wake up all he wanted to do was let the warmth lull him back to sleep, and he planned on doing just that but just as he was about to fall back asleep the memories of the past 24 hours slammed into him and his eyes snapped open. Instantly he groaned again the harsh fluorescent lights nearly blinding him, blinking a couple of times he allowed his eyes enough time to recover from the sudden brightness. Scanning the room he search for any hidden danger, his ears straining to hear any beeping that might be coming from a bomb, but all he heard was that of his heart monitor. When he was certain that there was no danger in the room his eyes traveled away from the door and too his bedside expecting to see Ryan sitting next to him sound asleep in the chair only to find that it was empty. 

Jeremy’s brow furrowed in confusion upon not seeing Ryan sitting next to him. The two of them always made sure to be there whenever the other one was in the hospital, even if it meant defying orders the other would remain by their side. So it was strange that Ryan was sitting next to him, unless he got up to go to the bathroom or to grab something to eat, yeah that was probably it, he would be back any moment. Just as Jeremy thought that he heard movement going on outside the door and instantly he perked up sitting up a little straighter, wincing as he pulled the stitches he hadn’t felt until now. His mood however fell when the only person who walked through the door was a nurse.

“Oh! Good you’re awake.” The nurse commented as she walked into the room a pleasant smile on her face as she walked over to him, grabbing the clipboard off the edge of the bed. 

“How are you feeling Mr. Dooley?” The nurse asked and Jeremy opened his mouth to respond only for a wheezing rasp to be let out instead as he winced, his hand flying up to grab at his throat as pain shot through it. The nurse seemed to notice this immediately as she rushed over to his bed side, he tried to turn his head to look at what she was doing but the action only served to make him dizzy. 

“Here drink this.” The nurse said as she handed him a cup of water, the bed rising up so that he was in a sitting position. Jeremy gave her a thankful expression as he took the cup from her hand and drank as much of the cool liquid as his body would allow. 

“Better?” The nurse asked when Jeremy handed her back the empty cup. 

“Much… thank you.” Jeremy’s voice came out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper and the nurse gave him a sympathetic look before she went back to looking over his chart and writing things down as she looked at the machinery. Jeremy watched her for a moment, trying to gather the strength to ask her if she had seen Ryan when she turned away from him and started walking towards the door. 

“I’ll let Dr. Smith and the young man who had brought you in, know that you are awake.” The nurse said right before she left the room. Jeremy perked up at the mention of a young man, ‘that had to be Ry, there was no way it could have been anyone else, it couldn’t be.’ A large smile spread across his face at the idea of seeing Ryan, of knowing that the two of them had survived the attack on the agency, that the two of them were alive and well. Plus he was sure that Ryan was worried sick about him… actually now that he thought about it, it was weird that Ryan wasn’t right besides him to begin with, usually he was whenever Jeremy ended up in the hospital. 

The sound of the door opening pulled Jeremy out of his thoughts and he looked up from his lap to the door as the person he assumed was Dr. Smith walked into the room, the nurse trailing behind him. His face fell silently when he saw no sign of Ryan trying to push his way into the room and Dr. Smith smiled kindly at him as he walked up to him setting the clip board with Jeremy’s paperwork down on the table next to his bed. 

“So, Mr. Dooley tell me how are you feeling?” Dr. Smith asked as he put on his stethoscope and pressed it against Jeremy’s chest. Jeremy was silent for a moment before looking up at Dr. Smith. 

“Like I got… hit by a truck.” Jeremy rasped out. His voice still sounded like shit and the nurse reached behind Dr. Smith poured him another glass and handing it over to Jeremy when Smith was done listening to his heart beat. Jeremy gave the nurse another grateful look before gulping the water down, his throat already feeling a little better. 

“I’m sure you do, that’s to be expected when a man survives a propane explosion.” Dr. Smith stated as he moved on to checking Jeremy’s lungs. 

“Other than feeling like you were just hit by a truck, how are you feeling?” Dr. Smith asked and Jeremy was silent for another moment before answering. 

“My throat is a little sore, and my legs feel stiff, like really stiff, and I can’t feel bits of my body.” Jeremy said, his voice still sounded a little rough but it was better than it had been. Though his throat still hurt like a mother fucker. 

“You inhaled a lot of smoke it’s only natural that your throat would be so raw, the more water you drink the better your throat should get. As for the stiffness and the numbness those would be because of what happened to you during the explosion. During the explosion a wooden beam fell on you and knocked you out, it’s a miracle that you made it out of there alive, so needless to say when you came in you were covered in third degree burns. The burns were worse where the beam had pinned you down, we injected the area with a higher does of pain meds and human growth hormones to help stimulate the cell growth there.” Dr. Smith explained and Jeremy nodded his head as Smith wrote something down on his chart.

“If you don’t mind, I would actually like to check on your wounds make sure they’re healing properly.” Dr. Smith stated. 

“Knock yourself out doc.” Jeremy said and they all lapsed into silence as Dr. Smith looked him over muttering things to himself that Jeremy couldn’t make out but the nurse seemed to understand cause she had taken to writing whatever the Dr said down.

“Alright everything seems to be working properly, I’ll let your friend know that you can take a visitor now that I’ve looked you over.” Dr. Smith said and an eager look crossed his face as Dr. Smith and the nurse left the room. Jeremy’s face fell however when he saw who walked through the door. 

“Wash? What are you doing here?” Jeremy asked, and Washington gave him a small unsure smile as he stopped at the foot of his bed looking down at him. 

“Hey Dooley, how are you feeling?” Washington asked instead and Jeremy’s brow furrowed in confusion, he was starting to get concerned about what was going on. 

“I feel like I just got run over by a fuckin semi truck, but that’s not important. Where’s Ryan?” Jeremy asked noticing the way that Washington tensed up at the mention of Ryan’s name and his concern turned to worry as his brow furrowed even more. Washington was silent for a moment, his eyes looking everywhere but at Jeremy as he struggled to find something else to talk about. 

“Washington, where is Ryan?” Jeremy pressed and Washington sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping and his gaze meeting Jeremy’s. The solemn look on Washington’s face caused Jeremy’s stomach to drop as Washington pulled his hands out of his pockets and tossed something on to Jeremy’s lap. Jeremy’s face furrowed in confusion as he lifted his hands and picked up the shard of metal that Wash had thrown onto his lap and his heart stopped as his eyes widened. 

“No. No. No. This isn’t possible, how did you get this?” Jeremy asked looking up at Wash who gave Jeremy a sympathetic look. 

“Maine found it when he went back in looking for survivors.” Wash said and Jeremy looked back down at the broken dog tag cupped in his hands, Ryan’s name was split right down the middle. Jeremy shook his head as his hands wrapped around the dog tag hot tears starting to prick at his eyes. 

“No, no, that’s not possible. I saw him get out. I pushed him out the window, he was outside before the building exploded, there’s no way he’s gone, he can’t be. He got out. I made sure that he got out.” Jeremy said as he shook his head, his hands trembling slightly as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. 

“Griff said he saw him running back into the building after the second explosion, he must have gone back in looking for you.” Washington said and Jeremy shook his head his hand tightening around Ryan’s broken dog tag. 

“No. No. No, this has to be a mistake, he isn’t dead. He isn’t. He can’t be. You’re lying.” Jeremy said as he screwed his eyes closed against the tears. Washington balled his hands into fists as he looked down at the ground his whole body tense.

“There’s more than just that.” Wash said his voice solemn as he continued to look down at the ground. 

“More?” Jeremy asked his voice strained from holding back the emotions threatening to over take him. 

“We found a body… it’s charred and nearly unrecognizable but it matches Ryan’s DNA and description. It’s Ryan Jeremy.” Washington said and Jeremy felt his heart stop and he was silent for several seconds processing Wash’s words before he spoke again. 

“No.” Jeremy said, his voice firm like through sheer force of will alone he could change everything that’s happened in the past couple of hours. 

“Jeremy-” “NO! YOU’RE LYING!! YOU HAVE TO BE! I SAW HIM GET AWAY! I SAW HIM GET OUT BEFORE THE SECOND EXPLOSION WENT OFF!! HE’S NOT DEAD! HE CAN’T BE!” Jeremy shouted interrupting whatever Wash was about to say and Wash cringed away from him.

“Jeremy you need to calm down.” Wash said raising his hands in a calming manner as he took a step towards Jeremy who glared at him.

“Calm down? Calm down?! I don’t need to calm down! What I need to do is get out of this fucking hospital bed and go find him because there’s no fucking way that he’s dead!” Jeremy shouted as he moved to stand up and Wash took another step forward. 

“Jeremy stand down now! That is an order!” Wash stated doing his best to sound serious and Jeremy actually snarled at him as he threw the blankets off of him revealing his heavily bandaged body. 

“Screw you and your orders!” Jeremy shouted as he tried to sit up and Wash rushed over to push him back down. 

“You need to stay in bed!” Wash shouted as he held him down and Jeremy struggled against him trying to shove him off. 

“NO! What I need to do is find him! I have to find him Wash! He’s not dead! He’s not dead! I have to find him!” Jeremy shouted shoving at Wash’s hands. His meditated state and the fact that he wouldn’t let go of Ryan’s dog tag making the action far more difficult than it needed to be. 

“He’s dead Jeremy you need to accept that!” Wash shouted back holding down a struggling Jeremy. Jeremy’s head whipped side to side as the tears he had been holding back finally started streaming down his face. 

“STOP LYING TO ME!!! RYAN’S NOT DEAD!! HE’S NOT!!! YOU’RE WRONG!! HE CAN’T BE DEAD!! HE CAN’T BE!!! HE WOULDN’T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!!! YOU’RE LYING!!” Jeremy screamed thrashing and clawing at Wash who took it all like it was no more than a child throwing a tantrum. Jeremy felt his heart break as he looked into the eyes of his commanding officer who stared back a solemn look on his face.

“He’s dead Jeremy. Ryan’s gone. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can move on.” Washington said doing his best to keep his voice emotionless, he never did like seeing one of his friends in pain. 

“NO, no, no, no, no, NO! NO! HE’S NOT DEAD! HE’S NOT DEAD!” Jeremy shouted and in a sudden burst of strength he surged up, heading butting Wash right in the nose and causing him to stumble away from Jeremy as his hand flew up to hold his bleeding nose. Jeremy used that time to rip the IV out of his arm before he pushed himself up and off of the bed, standing on unsteady and numb legs he slowly started making his way to the door using the bed as support. 

“NURSE! NURSE! WE HAVE A PATIENT ESCAPING!” Washington shouted as he let go of his bleeding nose and rushed forward to grab Jeremy his arms wrapping around his chest, careful of the bandages. 

“No! Let go of me! Let go! I have to go find him! I have to make sure he’s ok! He’s not dead! He can’t be dead! Let go of me! Let go!” Jeremy shouted as he struggled to get away from Wash as the nurse burst into the room looking startled at the sight in front of her.

“Sir, sir please, you need to calm down or else I’m going to have to sedate you.” The nurse warned him once she had recovered from the shock of seeing him up and about in the first place. Jeremy shook his head. 

“No, stay away from me! Stay away!” Jeremy shouted as he continued to struggle, trying to get away from both the nurse and agent Washington who shifted his grip just enough so that he could get one of Jeremy’s arms locked in an easy access position for the nurse. 

“I said stay away!” Jeremy shouted as the nurse came closer, pulling out a syringe. Washington looked at the nurse and nodded his head as she grabbed Jeremy’s arm. 

“No! No! Please! Please don’t! Please! Stop! I just want to find him! Please!” Jeremy begged, his voice cracking slightly at the end as he sobbed and the nurse jabbed him with the needle. Jeremy continued to struggle for a couple more moments as together Wash and the nurse managed to get Jeremy backup on to his bed. 

“No… no… he’s not dead… he’s not… dead… he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t leave me… like this… he promised… he promised we’d go out together.” Jeremy muttered as he fell limp against the bed, his eyes drooping closed as the medication finally took full effect and his world went dark. 

“Rimmy are you-” Gavin was cut off when Jeremy’s fist slammed into his jaw snapping his head to the side and effectively stopping the hand that had been reaching out to touch him. 

“Find your own fucking way to the meeting you piece of fucking shit.” Jeremy growled as he shoved past Gavin, making sure to slam him into the wall as he passed by him. Jeremy slammed Golden Boy’s door shut behind him as he stalked out of the penthouse, ignoring the questions that were thrown at him by Mogar and Brownman. His stomach twisted painfully at the thought of Brownman and he hurried even more to get to the door, he needed to get out of there before he did something he was going to regret.

Skipping the elevator Jeremy all but ran down the stairs, and by the time he reached the Fakes personal garage his breath was coming in short jagged puffs as he struggled to get air in. Jeremy fell back against the wall of the garage and slowly slid down it as he struggled to breath past the sobs threatening to escape and the tears burning his eyes. After all this time he was alive. Ryan was actually alive and he was here in Los Santos, in the same crew as him, he was right here all this time. Jeremy could have been with him this whole time, the two of them could have been together this whole time if Golden Boy had just opened his big stupid fucking mouth! But no instead Golden Boy kept his mouth shut and now Ryan had moved on, had forgotten all about his battle buddy, had gone and fallen in love with someone else. Someone that wasn’t him, someone that was probably better than Jeremy in every way imaginable and it was all Golden Boy’s fault! It was all… his fault. If he had just looked harder, if he had just searched a little more early on, if he hadn’t so readily believed Wash’s words, if he had been quicker during the fire, if he had just been better then none of this would have happened, then the two of them would still be together but that wasn’t the case, that would never be the case not now anyways.

“Rimmy Tim?” Jeremy froze at the sound of Ryan’s voice. It was gruffer than before but it was so unmistakably Ryan, how had he never noticed before? How had he been so stupid before as to not notice that it was Ryan under that mask?

“What do you want V?” Jeremy asked and he cringed at the crack in his voice as he reached up and hurriedly whipped away tears, forcing himself to calm down as much as he could. The last thing he needed was for Ryan to see him like this, especially since Ryan didn’t even know who he was in the first place. 

“To know why you came here looking for Golden Boy and then proceeded to leave without him to come hide in the basement.” Ryan stated as he walked up to stand on the other side of the car, not coming around yet respecting Jeremy’s privacy. 

Jeremy was silent for a moment fighting against the urge to get up and seek comfort in his arms like he used too while mentally debating on what to do. On whether or not he should tell Ryan or keep it secret because if Ryan had moved on from him then who was he to bring back a ghost from the past that he so clearly wanted to forget? Who was he to take away the man’s happiness in some selfish search of love and desperation to return to a life that he honestly should have moved on from a long time ago, but found himself unable to. He was unable to move past the man that had stolen his heart so absolutely that he couldn’t even imagine loving another person let alone another man unless they were him. Ryan clearly didn’t feel the same though and that only served to make his heart break more as he clenched his hands into fists and forced himself to stand up acting as casual as he could. 

“Yeah well, the stupid Brit said something that pissed me off so he can get his own ass to the meeting for all I care.” Jeremy said, keeping his tone light and as emotionless as possible. He had never been more grateful for the fact that he was wearing sunglasses and a face mask than he was in this moment. 

“Now if you don’t mind I have other things to do, so I’ll just be going.” Jeremy stated as he went to walk around Ryan, heading towards his orange and purple car. As he moved to get around Ryan though his hand shot out, his grip bruising tight on his elbow as he pulled Jeremy close to him his ice blue eyes hard as he looked down at Jeremy. 

“If you ever hit one of my crew members again, I don’t care who you are or what Geoff says I will kill you.” Ryan all but growled and a small sad smile crossed Jeremy’s lips as he looked up at him, funny before he was saying that warning to people trying to hurt Jeremy now he was saying it to Jeremy. 

“Warning received Sargent.” Jeremy saluted as he ripped his arm out of Ryan’s grip and stalked over to his bike fighting back the returning wave of guilt and grief.

#Jeremwood #past battle buddies #little bit of ramwood #this isn't the update that #anyone wanted but it's the #one you're all getting #so enjoy #angst #hurt #death #swearing #golden boy #mogar #brownman

[effectivedetectivc-blog]

Okay, screw it, I’m going to let myself be a nerd and figure out Nick’s hypothetical Pokemon team. Some inspiration taken from this fanart:

As a general rule, Nick tends to gravitate toward ‘mons that are as negatively stereotyped as he is. Ghost, Dark, and Psychic-types make up his team - potentially very dangerous, known for more aggressive or frightening behavior and appearances than other types, but as always there are going to be at least a few who just want to live, do right by people, and be accepted, and with Nick they can. His team consists of:

Porygon. A fellow escapee of the Institute, Nick’s Porygon lives inside Nick’s own code most of the time, although it can jump to other computers at will. It never fights, but it’s very helpful when hacking or dealing with electronic security. During most versions of the infiltration of the Institute, Nick allows it to go with the raiding party to help them through the facility and help them stay hidden by monitoring the in-network security feeds.

Espeon. A feral Eevee Nick nursed through an injury, who was later able to evolve as a result of Nick’s friendship. Probably be second-closest member of his team - and a detective could certainly do worse than having a psychic partner. She’s often found sitting quiet and poised on Nick’s desk, and her eyes have been described as both unnervingly knowing and calmly reassuring. Distressed clients often find her in their lap, boosting soothing psychic energy into them through their touch. 

Drifloon. Contrary to popular belief, Drifllon don’t actually steal children (they’d be too light to pull them anyway), but they do gain nourishment from the pure, unfiltered emotions only children are capable of putting off, and if Nick calls them in the middle of a deserted city block, odds are good they’ll be able to tell him which direction the kidnapped child he’s tracking was taken. Also, traumatized kids seem to like having a snuggly ghost balloon to hold on their way home.

Absol. Nick never actually “catches” any of his pokemon - and he’d make that choice even if the Post-War supply of pokeballs is likely spare - but Absol is the one member of the team that Nick knows is strictly a friend, not a subordinate member of the Agency (and certainly not his - none of them belong to him). Nick spotted Absol in several places before they ever interacted - they had a habit of showing up at the same disaster scenes, one to warn and one to intervene. After awhile, Absol got the idea that he ought to make contact, because he was learning that if he could warn Nick of oncoming disaster specifically, he could guarantee his message wouldn’t be misunderstood, and they might actually be able to help. They’ve bonded over both being perceived as the cause of the problems they’re trying to help solve. 

Mightyena. Originally a stray Poochyena in Diamond City that Nick gave food to enough times that she followed him home and refused to leave. She’s now spoiled rotten and acts like a diva because of it, but you can’t take the street out of the street dog, and she’s the most battle-oriented member of the team. By now she’s had training worthy of a Pre-War K-9 officer, and she’s not afraid to let you know it. Nick and Ellie are the only people allowed to touch her without snapping, but she never bites without Nick’s approval, and threats to Nick’s friends will still be noticed and punished with extreme prejudice. 

Mimikyu. Nick’s baby. He found her just a few months after waking up outside the Institute - or rather, she found him, scuffling along behind him for days but getting shy before he could get close and vanishing before morning light. Nick would stay somewhere all day until sunset so that she wouldn’t lose him, and eventually she let him pick her up. They were both terrifying misfits with indescribable love to give, perpetually wearing a friendlier disguise just to be allowed to be close to other people, and the friendship that came of that was both quickly-formed and long-lasting. People have asked Nick if he’s seen what’s under the sheet, and he refuses to answer. He has, but it was a deeply personal honor, not to be shared with anyone else. She’s just as disturbing to look at as he is, but also a loving and lonely soul. 

#;; HEADCANON #thank you for letting me self-indulge #I love this shit

[amitshinde7793]

Impact of COVID-19 on Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality in ICT Industry

COVID-19 Impact on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Information and Communication Technology Industry

The pandemic started with its epicenter in China in 2019 and has been continuously spreading by then to all over the world, so far 216 countries and territories have been affected with COVID-19, U.S. being on the top with cases reaching to about 4.38 million, followed by Brazil, India and then by many European countries such as Russia, Spain, Italy and others. The COVID-19 cases reaching to the big named countries with strong dominance in the global market which has adversely affected the economy globally.

The spread of Coronavirus has led to the global recession, many companies are being bound to take stringent actions of laying of their employees, small business are being shut, manufacturing facilities are being put on hold. There has been a disruption in supply chain of many industries due to restriction in logistics and closing of manufacturing facilities. In addition, the slowdown in economy has lowered the spending capability of individuals and people are saving money for emergencies.

Virtual reality can be defined as a technology that creates fully immersed simulated environment through the use of computer technology. Virtual reality provides an immersed 3D environment to the user by simulating various senses such as vision, touch hearing and even smell.

The virtual reality uses devices such as head-mounted displays, projectors and display walls for generating realistic visuals and sounds for providing the experience of real world in virtual environment. Augmented reality on other hand provides with the digital elements on a live view often by using camera on smartphone. The most common examples of augmented reality are the Snapchat lens and the game of Pokemon Go.

The pandemic has led to the growth of digital era, the users and industries have shifted to online sources and digital platforms for their daily operations. The augmented and virtual reality has thus been benefited by the increasing requirement of augmented and virtual reality in healthcare, e-commerce, education and other industries.

"Many organizations, from giants like Walmart to small companies, use virtual reality in the education and training of their employees, and VR is also very popular in schools in the educational context."

·         Industry Expert

The industry expects the use of augmented and virtual reality to become more prominent and common after the pandemic. “One is the remote-assistance scenario. Another is guided workflow, where you see work instructions in AR in front of you in a hands-free environment. Another is retraining, or re-skilling the workforce.”

·         Industry Expert

IMPACT ON DEMAND AND SUPPLY CHAIN AND LONG TERM STRATEGY ADOPTED BY MANUFACTURERS OR STEPS TAKEN

The behavior of the individuals have certainly changed in the pandemic, people are now more concerned towards their health. The government is also working on research and development to develop vaccine and avoid any further pandemic as such. The government is using augmented and virtual reality for the known disasters which can help in reducing the effects of the disaster.

For instance,

·         In January 2020, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a virtual reality experience called IMMERSED. The new system could create an experience of actual flood like situations which can help the authorities to plan the mitigation. The action taken through virtual property can reduce the loss to life and property. Such use of virtual reality for disasters and adverse situation will develop more after the end of pandemic.

The pandemic has boosted the digital transformation of industries, companies are focusing more on digital platform to interact with their clients and customers. People working from home are also more reliable on digital sources. In regards to this the tech giants of augmented and virtual reality need to cater the evolving market. The e-commerce market is increasing rapidly in this pandemic and augmented reality can be taken advantage of by creating an artificial visual of the clothes that people like or superimpose the image of furniture on the place it needs to be place.

The virtual reality can also capture various office environments as the conferences can take place on virtual reality platform, various brands and product launches can be conducted through it. The education and healthcare sector is also to be targeted as they are the industry getting high digital transformation in this pandemic.

The pandemic has adversely affected the sales of the companies as the demand has reduced due to several factors such as slowdown of economy. People are saving their money in order to use it for emergencies and companies have lowered their investments. Companies are using their capital to pay rent, mortgages and salaries and are not investing heavily on new projects.

However, the digital transformation of various industries and the people spending more time on digital screen is gradually increasing the scope of growth for the market. The growth has highly increased in healthcare sector as the demand for skilled doctors and for research increases. The virtual reality is highly beneficial for the healthcare sector to help in extensive training. The education sector is another sector which is using virtual reality for training purposes increasing the growth of market in pandemic.

The healthcare industry is moving towards telehealth with companies such as XRHealth USA Inc. expanding its VR telehealth platform by raising USD 7 million in April, 2020. Also, the CEO of the company stated that, "Before COVID, we had two lines of business, basically: VR in the hospital, where we sold our technology through the hospital [or] healthcare facility; and... we launched our VR telehealth clinic March 1," "Now, two-and-a-half months in, we've basically stopped all the business activity selling our VR technology. We're not doing that anymore. All we are doing is telehealth VR. We already have more than 500 clinicians trained to be VR telehealth specialists and we have patients enrolling on a daily basis." The companies are increasing their focus on the health industry due to the rising concern of individuals towards their health.

The supply chain was adversely affected in the initial phase of the pandemic as lockdown prevailed in many regions globally, government had limited the workers. However, companies are making their operation work according to the government regulations by making limited workers work in different shifts. The companies are doing its best to meet the increasing demand.

However, companies such as Sony have faced adverse effects in its distribution, sales, development and production. The companies Game & Network Services (“G&NS”) segment have faced issues in production of hardware because of the problem in the logistics of its components. Such major issues have led to the disruption in supply chain during the pandemic.

CONCLUSION

As the COVID-19 prevails the initial period saw a disruption in both supply and demand of the virtual reality. Most of the manufacturing facilities were closed bringing down the production of AR/VR device manufacturing companies. However, as the market countries are getting digitally transformed and people are being more accustomed to the digital sources the market seems to be growing. Healthcare and education sector will act as major boosting factor for the growth of the market in this pandemic.

With most of the education institutions closed for time being the augmented reality can provide enhanced education capabilities to the students by using devices such as HoloLens and bringing the real life examples on digital platform such as smartphones. Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is using HoloAnatomy to display the human body on 3D for better understanding.

The digital transformation of the companies during the pandemic will highly utilize the benefits offered by augmented and virtual reality technology. Companies are even using it to avoid physical contact by having meeting based on augmented or virtual reality solutions.

“Taking AR Beyond Smart Glasses, Delivering Genuine Mixed Reality Will Change the Way We Work”

·         Industry Expert

#Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market Analysis #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market in Developed Countries #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market Forcast #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market Future Innovation

[idoloatria]

HEADCANON:

Contest Office/Bureau/Agency/thing and managers.

This is basically a ramble.

There are Contest Halls in certain towns/cities. They’re where the Contests happen, there’s the huge stage areas, multiple dressing rooms, etc. They’re big places.

But they’re not where all the organising and such takes place.

In the big cities and a few towns, there are Entertainment Bureaus. They’re large office building complexes with multiple divisions within. Different floors have different specialties but they all work rather closely together. The business actually started when several entertainment groups joined together.

They all come under the one ‘Entertainment’ umbrella but some of the bigger departments do have their own branches in certain places as well, where the demand is.

The departments involve-

- Contests. (Promotions, organisation, development) - Idols. (pokemon and human. for music, contests, etc) - Film and theater (movies, tv shows, human and pokemon actors/actresses, promotion, development) - Talent (scouting, coaching, teaching/lessons) - Events (planning, promotions, hiring out) - Music (production, closely linked with other deps) - Security. - there might be more i’m not thinking of yet oh well.

Most department has ‘generic’ workers, creative teams, producers, and there is a hierarchy with the ‘head of department’ being at the top. There are also ‘branch directors’ for those departments in multiple locations.

Within certain departments are ‘managers/agents’ as well. These are the specialised people that work with certain talented people and help them manage their time and energy. There are specific managers for Idols, Actors/Actresses, Coordinators and singers. And these managers have particular backgrounds that make them well suited to this.

Lisia is in several categories, but instead of having multiple managers, she has one specially talented one that has a unique background within various industries/departments.

All of Lisia’s fanmail goes to her managers office first, and that’s where Lisia will work to answer whatever she can.

#her manager will have her own post coming up! #･ﾟ✧ LISIA — ( headcanons )

[idoloatria-archive]

HEADCANON:

Contest Office/Bureau/Agency/thing and managers.

This has been something on my mind for ages but I’m only just now trying to actually figure it out. This is basically a ramble.

There are Contest Halls in certain towns/cities. They’re where the Contests happen, there’s the huge stage areas, multiple dressing rooms, etc. They’re big places.

But they’re not where all the organising and such takes place. 

In the big cities and a few towns, there are Entertainment Bureaus. They’re large office building complexes with multiple divisions within. Different floors have different specialties but they all work rather closely together. The business actually started when several entertainment groups joined together.

They all come under the one ‘Entertainment’ umbrella but some of the bigger departments do have their own branches in certain places as well, where the demand is.

The departments involve-

- Contests. (Promotions, organisation, development) - Idols. (pokemon and human. for music, contests, etc) - Film and theater (movies, tv shows, human and pokemon actors/actresses, promotion, development) - Talent (scouting, coaching, teaching/lessons) - Events (planning, promotions, hiring out) - Music (production, closely linked with other deps) - Security. - there might be more i’m not thinking of yet oh well.

Most department has ‘generic’ workers, creative teams, producers, and there is a hierarchy with the ‘head of department’ being at the top. There are also ‘branch directors’ for those departments in multiple locations.

Within certain departments are ‘managers/agents’ as well. These are the specialised people that work with certain talented people and help them manage their time and energy. There are specific managers for Idols, Actors/Actresses, Coordinators and singers. And these managers have particular backgrounds that make them well suited to this.

Lisia is in several categories, but instead of having multiple managers, she has one specially talented one that has a unique background within various industries/departments.

All of Lisia’s fanmail goes to her managers office first, and that’s where Lisia will work to answer whatever she can.

#hmm im gonna end it there and then do a post just for her manager #⦗ ❝ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ! ❞ ⋮ hc ⋮ all ⦘ #⦗ ❝ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ꜱᴇᴇ! ❞ ⋮ hc ⋮ verse 01 ⦘ #heck i need a worldbuilding tag or something #⦗ ❝ ᴛʜᴇʏ'ʀᴇ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ꜰᴜɴ! ❞ ⋮ hc ⋮ contests ⦘

[shortyawards]

Meet the Moderator and Panelists for the next Shorty Social Good Webinar!

Agencies are better positioned than ever to help companies bring about meaningful change, transforming creative ideas into impactful realities and activations. Whether addressing issues such as environmental sustainability or social justice, public health or education reform, or diversity & inclusion, brands and organizations of all sizes enlist agencies for their unique insight and creative acumen. 

In this episode of the Shorty Social Good Series, our experts will discuss how they and their clients have worked to make the world a better, safer, and more inclusive place. 

Meet our Speakers: 

Jenna Young, Executive Creative Director at Weber Shandwick: Moderator

An award winning creative and a member of the Shorty Awards real time Academy of Jurors, Jenna was recognized in Campaign's 2020 Frontier honors for "Conquering Creativity". She leads the New York creative team for Weber Shandwick and the work her team has developed contributed to Weber Shandwick's recent Large Agency of the Year win and has been noted in three of Weber Shandwick's Ad Age 'A List' rankings, and 2017's 'A List' short list. Jenna has worked on sustainability and purpose initiatives for Unilever, Mattel, Nespresso and Anheuser-Busch among others.

She is a mentor within IPG's Women's Leadership Network and has spoken at NBC, MIT Futures of Entertainment, WNYC Green Space, PRNews Brand Film Festival, New York Festival, Brand Innovators, and this year's Cannes Live. She also loves to talk to students about the creative potential in the PR field- she's guest lectured at CUNY, VCU Brand Center, and NYU.

Bayyina Black, Global Sustainability and Impact Manager at R/GA: Panelist

Bayyina is the Global Sustainability & Impact Manager at R/GA where she creates purpose-driven partnerships and opportunities for the agency and its clients. She is also the co-founder of Grupo de Negros (GDN), the Afro-Brazilian business resource group based in São, Paulo, Brazil. The queen of pivots, Bayyina began her career in advertising, had a few sprints in media, tv/film and venture capital, only to end up where it all started. Bayyina has combined her love for sustainability, tech and storytelling to bring diverse stakeholders together for good. Recently, she co-launched the Light Cypher Labs (LCL), in partnership with the African American Arts & Culture Complex and the R/GA SF office. The LCLs gives local artists access to ground-breaking technology that enhances their stories, create cutting-edge content, and explore how to create deeper user experiences.

Pre-COVID, she could be found filling her passport with stamps and trying to outdo her #30before30 countries record. Grounded, she’s still flying high moonlighting as a licensed drone pilot and VR filmmaker.

Jeff Harter, Group Creative Director at BrightHouse: Panelist

Jeff is a Group Creative Director at BrightHouse where he’s lead Purpose projects around the globe. He believes that the world benefits from bigger thinking and more purposeful brands. He joined BrightHouse in 2013 and has extensive experience with a wide range of clients across continents, including Mercedes-Benz, Dr Pepper, Kroger, Stanley Black & Decker, Nestle, and P&G. His topic expertise is in leading creative teams that provide unique and memorable solutions to create real impact.

Over his career, he has worked for several global agencies including J. Walter Thompson, Grey, and Ogilvy. No matter what client he works on, Jeff’s focus has always been on big ideas that take brands further. His work has been recognized by several prominent award shows, but the real reward has been seeing the positive results the team of Thinkers he works with is having on our world.

He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting with a Minor in Advertising from the University of Georgia. He’s an art and architecture lover and avid traveler, and he loves getting outside with his wife and two kids.

Kathy Delaney, Chief Creative Officer at Health/Saatchi Wellness: Panelist

Kathy Delaney is Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Health, based at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness, NY. She uses her bold creative vision to tell compelling human-centric stories that promote health and wellness, while creating strong results for the agency’s clients.

She previously spent 12 years at Deutsch New York, where she helped to grow the company from a small boutique agency into an integrated marketing powerhouse.

Kathy’s passion for creating and overseeing integrated campaigns that outperform business objectives has influenced clients across the health, wellness, fashion, fitness, and beauty industries.  IKEA, Tommy Hilfiger, J&J, Revlon, Reebok, Pfizer, Novartis, Starwood Hotels, ConAgra, Kraft, and Unilever are a few of the clients her work has impacted.

In 2014, Kathy served as President of the Health & Wellness Jury at the inaugural Cannes Lions Health, ushering in a new era of recognition for creativity in health and wellness communications. Named one of “The Most Creative Women in Advertising” by Business Insider, her work has been recognized by Clios, One Show, Effies, Graphis, MM&M’s, Communication Arts, W3s, Art Directors Club, Andys, and Cannes Lions. In 2018, Kathy was inducted into the MM&M Hall of Femme and named an HBA Luminary. In 2020 Kathy was named an Adweek Creative 100 winner, recognized as one of the most inspiring minds in marketing, media, and culture.

In addition to spearheading life changing & award-winning work for the client roster of Publicis Health, Kathy invests her time and creativity into projects for charities such as Crossroads Community Services, a New York organization that provides food and shelter to the homeless and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Sandy Russell, Founder at Sandy Russell Creative: Panelist

Sandy is a Colorado native who found herself in Los Angeles fortunate to be partnering with incredible parents and students as part of Teach for America in East Los Angeles. She then headed north to work in marketing at Google, spending 5 years working on everything from strategy for Google Maps in India to launching the predecessor to Pokemon Go. 

Sandy was drawn to brand projects with meaning, creating and leading partnerships and projects with organizations including the UNHCR - to raise awareness for the Syrian Refugee Crisis -  and Patagonia - to compel the world to “Defend Bears Ears.” She left to start her own creative agency, SRC, focused on combining digital innovation with purpose-driven storytelling. SRC's recent projects include documenting blind veterans setting world records kayaking down the Grand Canyon and legendary Black female hip hop dancers creating legacies in Paris, and diving deep into the world of the 65+ demographic to create an innovative, senior-first website to help people avoid scams. Her work has been featured in 100+ publications around the world, including the TODAY show, Le Monde, Tha Guardian, and the New York Times, and Sandy and the SRC team were thrilled to be named the Shorty Awards Small Agency of the Year. 

On September 9th at 4PM EST tune into the next Shorty Social Good Series: Being an Agency for Good. 

#shortygood #shortysocialgood #socialgood #webinar #shortyawards

[aquoreus]

( ･ﾟ✧ HEADCANON. )

Contest Office/Bureau/Agency/thing and managers.

This is basically a ramble.

There are Contest Halls in certain towns/cities. They’re where the Contests happen, there’s the huge stage areas, multiple dressing rooms, etc. They’re big places.

But they’re not where all the organising and such takes place.

In the big cities and a few towns, there are Entertainment Bureaus. They’re large office building complexes with multiple divisions within. Different floors have different specialties but they all work rather closely together. The business actually started when several entertainment groups joined together.

They all come under the one ‘Entertainment’ umbrella but some of the bigger departments do have their own branches in certain places as well, where the demand is.

The departments involve-

- Contests. (Promotions, organisation, development) - Idols. (pokemon and human. for music, contests, etc) - Film and theater (movies, tv shows, human and pokemon actors/actresses, promotion, development) - Talent (scouting, coaching, teaching/lessons) - Events (planning, promotions, hiring out) - Music (production, closely linked with other deps) - Security. - there might be more i’m not thinking of yet oh well.

Most department has ‘generic’ workers, creative teams, producers, and there is a hierarchy with the ‘head of department’ being at the top. There are also ‘branch directors’ for those departments in multiple locations.

Within certain departments are ‘managers/agents’ as well. These are the specialised people that work with certain talented people and help them manage their time and energy. There are specific managers for Idols, Actors/Actresses, Coordinators and singers. And these managers have particular backgrounds that make them well suited to this.

Lisia is in several categories, but instead of having multiple managers, she has one specially talented one that has a unique background within various industries/departments.

All of Lisia’s fanmail goes to her managers office first, and that’s where Lisia will work to answer whatever she can.

#( ･ﾟ✧ HEADCANON. )

[brella]

number one jobros fan @yukikoamagi did a “tag” on me so here we are. i’ll tag @jostenneil, @caseyballvins, @fireonallwires, @myvisagewasted, @traincat​, annnnnnnd @audikatia. oops that’s six. 

5 things you’ll find in my bag:

my totally not-me burberry wallet that a college friend gave me way back when that i had to start using after my flash wallet broke and that i really should get rid of because it’s not to my tastes at all and makes me look rich

little memo pad i write down sleepers things in

hand mirror my french host sister got me as a souvenir when she went to spain

ancient pack of juicyfruit gum that has been in my possession since time immemorial

lots of crumpled up receipts and scrap paper with doodles on them

5 things you’ll find in my bedroom:

my boyfriend, idk he’s probably around there somewhere since we share

my brand spanking new nintendo switch that i saved and saved for, and that i still have yet to name

tons of books i impulse bought at work that are like, laying horizontally on top of all the other books on my shelf

my litten plushie

wall to wall prints from fanime and nycc

5 things I’m currently into:

yu yu hakusho ofc

the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, a work of art for all times; especially the sand seals in the legend of zelda: breath of the wild

hem’s rabbit songs album

boku no hero academia, still. season 2! so soon! the fight that launched a thousand ships in glorious HD! altho tbh i’m more excited to see uraraka vs. bakugou in HD because my daughtre is an unstoppable force of nature

asian kung fu generation, still. the re-recording of sol-fa is so good! thanks 4 catering to me, band who never ever tours in the united states!

5 things on my to-do list:

my state tax return, oops, gotta get that squared away

applying to some better jobs where i will not feel like the World’s Most Worthless Person day after day (step two is probably getting hired but like i’m giving myself some room)

shrine hunting in breath of the wild even though i already accidentally beat ganon at my boyfriend’s behest. some of kass’s puzzles are too advanced for my zelda baby brain

exchange this eyebrow pencil sephora sent me in the wrong color for the proper color so i do not look like some idiot with brown hair and bright red eyebrows whenever i want to make myself look presentable

start young justice season 2 with zach and shawn, INHUMANLY LONG SIGH

5 things people may not know about me:

i was born with a cleft palate that gave me a pretty darn noticeable speech impediment for many years. several years of speech therapy honed it away by the beginning of high school, but i will still sometimes slip into it when talking excitedly or angrily about something. due to that cleft palate i have ALSO had a very large number of dental surgeries. 

i used to be a massively picky eater but now just about the only things i don’t like are coconuts and sweet potatoes. anything else can basically be salvaged with the hearty application of black pepper. (lol sorry francia this Gwen Fact was definitely inspired by some of yours)

my appendix has been scooped on out of me and sent away into whatever massive garbage chute they send that stuff. some of you may know this because you lived through these exciting times with me, but for those of you who don’t: now you do. appendicitis ain’t fun, my pals. but it sure makes for a good story. (and if you ever want to hear the story: it is hilarious.)

perhaps the easiest task you could ever undertake in your life would be getting me to cry. i’ll do it at anything. nearly all movies, some songs, the fleeting sentimental memory that i have known my best friends for a long time and they are kind of nice to me sometimes, the sight of a cat yawning, a single piano note being played in any anime ever, someone yelling at me, someone hugging me. don’t know how to react to something? cry. do know how to react to something? do that, but preferably throw in some crying for brand fulfillment. (most of my close friends and family know this; most acquaintances don’t.) takes me months to cry over the big things, though. 

when i was about six years old i was sought out by some kids’ talent agency that wanted to make me move to LA and like, do stuff. i was 6; i don’t remember the specifics; i only cared about pokemon and the iron giant. i do remember going to some meeting in a fancy office in san francisco, though, with my mom and dad, and talking to some guy in a fancy suit who asked me to sing something for him so i sang the pokemon theme song because that was, as i said, the only thing i cared about (besides the iron giant, which did not have many songs). bafflingly, they still wanted me even after that, probably for my perfect hair and cute face, but i said, nah, don’t want to, LA is too far away and i don’t want to leave home. so i didn’t. 

#~ #about me #thanks francia!

[beautytipsfor]

California fires: Nearly 200,000 people flee homes as fifth wildfire erupts 

Almost 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by wildfires rampaging through California as firefighters on Thursday raced to tackle another new blaze. The number of evacuees almost quadrupled as a fifth fire broke out to the north of San Diego. Fire crews are struggling to contain the blazes which are being fanned by the region’s Santa Ana winds, which could yet reach hurricane force. The hot, dry winds blow in from the California desert, and the state CAL Fire agency warned that gusty condition and low humidity would exacerbate the danger throughout the weekend. The blazes destroyed hundreds of home and forced many schools around Los Angeles to close. #RedFlagWarnings in effect until Saturday covering much of Southern California. Extremely dry conditions and #SantaAnaWinds will continue to elevate fire danger. Prepare now to ensure if evacuated you and your family are ready to GO!: https://t.co/vpyKMHygCFpic.twitter.com/ynFTsKcWag— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) December 7, 2017 Flames skipped over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes' warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas amid reports that dozens of horses had been killed. North of San Diego, the newest blaze called the Lilac Fire grew from 10 acres to 2,500 acres in just a few hours on Thursday, according to fire crews, prompting Jerry Brown, governor of California, to declare a state of emergency for San Diego County. The blaze destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures. Propane tanks under several houses exploded from the heat. The other fires, which broke out on Monday and Tuesday, have reached into the wealthy enclave of Bel-Air on Los Angeles' West Side. Some major highways in the densely populated area were intermittently closed. Firefighters and helicopters sprayed and dumped bucketloads of water to try to contain the flames against a hellish backdrop of flaming mountains and walls of smoke. The Lilac Fire Credit: Reuters One death has been reported so far although authorities said they could not yet be sure whether the female body found in a car in Ventura County was the result of an accident or the fire. Three firefighters have also been injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In the seaside enclave of Faria Beach, caught between burning mountains and the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Ventura, fires spread down the smoking hills. Flames jumped the heavily used US 101 highway and headed toward clusters of beach houses. Firefighters lined up along a railroad track, the last barrier from the flames. Surrounded by strong winds and smoke, Songsri Kesonchampa aimed a garden hose at a large pine tree between her Faria Beach house and the fire, attempting to fend off disaster. “If this tree catches fire, the strong wind will blow the flames towards my house. I need to protect this tree,” she said. Songsri Kesonchampa tosses a bucket of water on to burning embers across the road from her home  Credit: AFP As she spoke, a sheriff’s car drove by, ordering residents to leave. “The fire is here. You must evacuate your homes right now,” an officer said over the loudspeaker. In the coastal city of Ventura, Maurice Shimabuku said his friends told him to flee but he was staying put for now, feeling safe because he was near the Pacific Ocean. "I know I can just run back out that way, so I am relatively safe," he said. "I even have a surfboard and a wetsuit in my backyard right now, if I need to paddle away." A plane dumps flame retardant on a fast moving fire in Bonsall, California Credit: Reuters Heavy smoke made breathing hazardous in some areas, and residents were urged to stay inside. Ventura County authorities said air pollution measures in the Ojai Valley were "off the charts”. The Los Angeles County animal shelter said it was hosting 184 pets including llamas, donkeys and horses while reports said 29 horses were burned to death on Tuesday at a ranch in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills near the Bel-Air neighbourhood to leave and charred more than 475 acres (192 hectares). Firefighters stand beside a burnt out home after the Skirball wildfire swept through the exclusive enclave of Bel Air Credit: AFP Jeremy Broekman was camped out at his in-laws' house in Sherman Oaks after evacuating his family of five early Wednesday from their home a mile away from the Skirball fire. Mr Broekman, who runs a public relations firm from his home office, had just an hour to get his family out of the house, grabbing hard drives and Pokemon cards and leaving behind a pile of Hannukah presents. He spent Thursday trying to work and checking the news while also caring for his three children, whose schools were closed because of the fire. "Although we always say we can work remotely with the use of a laptop, when you are displaced like this you are emotionally unbalanced," he said. Skirball threatened media magnate Rupert Murdoch's Moraga Estate winery. The property was evacuated, with possible damage to some buildings, Mr Murdoch said in a statement, but “We believe the winery and house are still intact."

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines http://ift.tt/2jsTjXU via Beauty Tips

from Blogger http://ift.tt/2BkAZKY

#Blogger

[chefgrillfood]

Almost 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by wildfires rampaging through California as firefighters on Thursday raced to tackle another new blaze. The number of evacuees almost quadrupled as a fifth fire broke out to the north of San Diego. Fire crews are struggling to contain the blazes which are being fanned by the region’s Santa Ana winds, which could yet reach hurricane force. The hot, dry winds blow in from the California desert, and the state CAL Fire agency warned that gusty condition and low humidity would exacerbate the danger throughout the weekend. The blazes destroyed hundreds of home and forced many schools around Los Angeles to close. #RedFlagWarnings in effect until Saturday covering much of Southern California. Extremely dry conditions and #SantaAnaWinds will continue to elevate fire danger. Prepare now to ensure if evacuated you and your family are ready to GO!: https://t.co/vpyKMHygCFpic.twitter.com/ynFTsKcWag— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) December 7, 2017 Flames skipped over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes’ warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas amid reports that dozens of horses had been killed. North of San Diego, the newest blaze called the Lilac Fire grew from 10 acres to 2,500 acres in just a few hours on Thursday, according to fire crews, prompting Jerry Brown, governor of California, to declare a state of emergency for San Diego County. The blaze destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures. Propane tanks under several houses exploded from the heat. The other fires, which broke out on Monday and Tuesday, have reached into the wealthy enclave of Bel-Air on Los Angeles’ West Side. Some major highways in the densely populated area were intermittently closed. Firefighters and helicopters sprayed and dumped bucketloads of water to try to contain the flames against a hellish backdrop of flaming mountains and walls of smoke. The Lilac Fire Credit: Reuters One death has been reported so far although authorities said they could not yet be sure whether the female body found in a car in Ventura County was the result of an accident or the fire. Three firefighters have also been injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In the seaside enclave of Faria Beach, caught between burning mountains and the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Ventura, fires spread down the smoking hills. Flames jumped the heavily used US 101 highway and headed toward clusters of beach houses. Firefighters lined up along a railroad track, the last barrier from the flames. Surrounded by strong winds and smoke, Songsri Kesonchampa aimed a garden hose at a large pine tree between her Faria Beach house and the fire, attempting to fend off disaster. “If this tree catches fire, the strong wind will blow the flames towards my house. I need to protect this tree,” she said. Songsri Kesonchampa tosses a bucket of water on to burning embers across the road from her home  Credit: AFP As she spoke, a sheriff’s car drove by, ordering residents to leave. “The fire is here. You must evacuate your homes right now,” an officer said over the loudspeaker. In the coastal city of Ventura, Maurice Shimabuku said his friends told him to flee but he was staying put for now, feeling safe because he was near the Pacific Ocean. “I know I can just run back out that way, so I am relatively safe,” he said. “I even have a surfboard and a wetsuit in my backyard right now, if I need to paddle away.” A plane dumps flame retardant on a fast moving fire in Bonsall, California Credit: Reuters Heavy smoke made breathing hazardous in some areas, and residents were urged to stay inside. Ventura County authorities said air pollution measures in the Ojai Valley were “off the charts”. The Los Angeles County animal shelter said it was hosting 184 pets including llamas, donkeys and horses while reports said 29 horses were burned to death on Tuesday at a ranch in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills near the Bel-Air neighbourhood to leave and charred more than 475 acres (192 hectares). Firefighters stand beside a burnt out home after the Skirball wildfire swept through the exclusive enclave of Bel Air Credit: AFP Jeremy Broekman was camped out at his in-laws’ house in Sherman Oaks after evacuating his family of five early Wednesday from their home a mile away from the Skirball fire. Mr Broekman, who runs a public relations firm from his home office, had just an hour to get his family out of the house, grabbing hard drives and Pokemon cards and leaving behind a pile of Hannukah presents. He spent Thursday trying to work and checking the news while also caring for his three children, whose schools were closed because of the fire. “Although we always say we can work remotely with the use of a laptop, when you are displaced like this you are emotionally unbalanced,” he said. Skirball threatened media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s Moraga Estate winery. The property was evacuated, with possible damage to some buildings, Mr Murdoch said in a statement, but “We believe the winery and house are still intact.”

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[newseveryhourly]

Almost 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by wildfires rampaging through California as firefighters on Thursday raced to tackle another new blaze. The number of evacuees almost quadrupled as a fifth fire broke out to the north of San Diego. Fire crews are struggling to contain the blazes which are being fanned by the region’s Santa Ana winds, which could yet reach hurricane force. The hot, dry winds blow in from the California desert, and the state CAL Fire agency warned that gusty condition and low humidity would exacerbate the danger throughout the weekend. The blazes destroyed hundreds of home and forced many schools around Los Angeles to close. #RedFlagWarnings in effect until Saturday covering much of Southern California. Extremely dry conditions and #SantaAnaWinds will continue to elevate fire danger. Prepare now to ensure if evacuated you and your family are ready to GO!: https://t.co/vpyKMHygCFpic.twitter.com/ynFTsKcWag— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) December 7, 2017 Flames skipped over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes' warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas amid reports that dozens of horses had been killed. North of San Diego, the newest blaze called the Lilac Fire grew from 10 acres to 2,500 acres in just a few hours on Thursday, according to fire crews, prompting Jerry Brown, governor of California, to declare a state of emergency for San Diego County. The blaze destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures. Propane tanks under several houses exploded from the heat. The other fires, which broke out on Monday and Tuesday, have reached into the wealthy enclave of Bel-Air on Los Angeles' West Side. Some major highways in the densely populated area were intermittently closed. Firefighters and helicopters sprayed and dumped bucketloads of water to try to contain the flames against a hellish backdrop of flaming mountains and walls of smoke. The Lilac Fire Credit: Reuters One death has been reported so far although authorities said they could not yet be sure whether the female body found in a car in Ventura County was the result of an accident or the fire. Three firefighters have also been injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In the seaside enclave of Faria Beach, caught between burning mountains and the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Ventura, fires spread down the smoking hills. Flames jumped the heavily used US 101 highway and headed toward clusters of beach houses. Firefighters lined up along a railroad track, the last barrier from the flames. Surrounded by strong winds and smoke, Songsri Kesonchampa aimed a garden hose at a large pine tree between her Faria Beach house and the fire, attempting to fend off disaster. “If this tree catches fire, the strong wind will blow the flames towards my house. I need to protect this tree,” she said. Songsri Kesonchampa tosses a bucket of water on to burning embers across the road from her home  Credit: AFP As she spoke, a sheriff’s car drove by, ordering residents to leave. “The fire is here. You must evacuate your homes right now,” an officer said over the loudspeaker. In the coastal city of Ventura, Maurice Shimabuku said his friends told him to flee but he was staying put for now, feeling safe because he was near the Pacific Ocean. "I know I can just run back out that way, so I am relatively safe," he said. "I even have a surfboard and a wetsuit in my backyard right now, if I need to paddle away." A plane dumps flame retardant on a fast moving fire in Bonsall, California Credit: Reuters Heavy smoke made breathing hazardous in some areas, and residents were urged to stay inside. Ventura County authorities said air pollution measures in the Ojai Valley were "off the charts”. The Los Angeles County animal shelter said it was hosting 184 pets including llamas, donkeys and horses while reports said 29 horses were burned to death on Tuesday at a ranch in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills near the Bel-Air neighbourhood to leave and charred more than 475 acres (192 hectares). Firefighters stand beside a burnt out home after the Skirball wildfire swept through the exclusive enclave of Bel Air Credit: AFP Jeremy Broekman was camped out at his in-laws' house in Sherman Oaks after evacuating his family of five early Wednesday from their home a mile away from the Skirball fire. Mr Broekman, who runs a public relations firm from his home office, had just an hour to get his family out of the house, grabbing hard drives and Pokemon cards and leaving behind a pile of Hannukah presents. He spent Thursday trying to work and checking the news while also caring for his three children, whose schools were closed because of the fire. "Although we always say we can work remotely with the use of a laptop, when you are displaced like this you are emotionally unbalanced," he said. Skirball threatened media magnate Rupert Murdoch's Moraga Estate winery. The property was evacuated, with possible damage to some buildings, Mr Murdoch said in a statement, but “We believe the winery and house are still intact."

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[engsinanalani]

Almost 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by wildfires rampaging through California as firefighters on Thursday raced to tackle another new blaze. The number of evacuees almost quadrupled as a fifth fire broke out to the north of San Diego. Fire crews are struggling to contain the blazes which are being fanned by the region’s Santa Ana winds, which could yet reach hurricane force. The hot, dry winds blow in from the California desert, and the state CAL Fire agency warned that gusty condition and low humidity would exacerbate the danger throughout the weekend. The blazes destroyed hundreds of home and forced many schools around Los Angeles to close. #RedFlagWarnings in effect until Saturday covering much of Southern California. Extremely dry conditions and #SantaAnaWinds will continue to elevate fire danger. Prepare now to ensure if evacuated you and your family are ready to GO!: https://t.co/vpyKMHygCFpic.twitter.com/ynFTsKcWag— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) December 7, 2017 Flames skipped over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes' warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas amid reports that dozens of horses had been killed. North of San Diego, the newest blaze called the Lilac Fire grew from 10 acres to 2,500 acres in just a few hours on Thursday, according to fire crews, prompting Jerry Brown, governor of California, to declare a state of emergency for San Diego County. The blaze destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures. Propane tanks under several houses exploded from the heat. The other fires, which broke out on Monday and Tuesday, have reached into the wealthy enclave of Bel-Air on Los Angeles' West Side. Some major highways in the densely populated area were intermittently closed. Firefighters and helicopters sprayed and dumped bucketloads of water to try to contain the flames against a hellish backdrop of flaming mountains and walls of smoke. The Lilac Fire Credit: Reuters One death has been reported so far although authorities said they could not yet be sure whether the female body found in a car in Ventura County was the result of an accident or the fire. Three firefighters have also been injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In the seaside enclave of Faria Beach, caught between burning mountains and the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Ventura, fires spread down the smoking hills. Flames jumped the heavily used US 101 highway and headed toward clusters of beach houses. Firefighters lined up along a railroad track, the last barrier from the flames. Surrounded by strong winds and smoke, Songsri Kesonchampa aimed a garden hose at a large pine tree between her Faria Beach house and the fire, attempting to fend off disaster. “If this tree catches fire, the strong wind will blow the flames towards my house. I need to protect this tree,” she said. Songsri Kesonchampa tosses a bucket of water on to burning embers across the road from her home  Credit: AFP As she spoke, a sheriff’s car drove by, ordering residents to leave. “The fire is here. You must evacuate your homes right now,” an officer said over the loudspeaker. In the coastal city of Ventura, Maurice Shimabuku said his friends told him to flee but he was staying put for now, feeling safe because he was near the Pacific Ocean. "I know I can just run back out that way, so I am relatively safe," he said. "I even have a surfboard and a wetsuit in my backyard right now, if I need to paddle away." A plane dumps flame retardant on a fast moving fire in Bonsall, California Credit: Reuters Heavy smoke made breathing hazardous in some areas, and residents were urged to stay inside. Ventura County authorities said air pollution measures in the Ojai Valley were "off the charts”. The Los Angeles County animal shelter said it was hosting 184 pets including llamas, donkeys and horses while reports said 29 horses were burned to death on Tuesday at a ranch in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills near the Bel-Air neighbourhood to leave and charred more than 475 acres (192 hectares). Firefighters stand beside a burnt out home after the Skirball wildfire swept through the exclusive enclave of Bel Air Credit: AFP Jeremy Broekman was camped out at his in-laws' house in Sherman Oaks after evacuating his family of five early Wednesday from their home a mile away from the Skirball fire. Mr Broekman, who runs a public relations firm from his home office, had just an hour to get his family out of the house, grabbing hard drives and Pokemon cards and leaving behind a pile of Hannukah presents. He spent Thursday trying to work and checking the news while also caring for his three children, whose schools were closed because of the fire. "Although we always say we can work remotely with the use of a laptop, when you are displaced like this you are emotionally unbalanced," he said. Skirball threatened media magnate Rupert Murdoch's Moraga Estate winery. The property was evacuated, with possible damage to some buildings, Mr Murdoch said in a statement, but “We believe the winery and house are still intact."

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[supertrendingnewsarticles]

Almost 200,000 people have been forced from their homes by wildfires rampaging through California as firefighters on Thursday raced to tackle another new blaze. The number of evacuees almost quadrupled as a fifth fire broke out to the north of San Diego. Fire crews are struggling to contain the blazes which are being fanned by the region’s Santa Ana winds, which could yet reach hurricane force. The hot, dry winds blow in from the California desert, and the state CAL Fire agency warned that gusty condition and low humidity would exacerbate the danger throughout the weekend. The blazes destroyed hundreds of home and forced many schools around Los Angeles to close. #RedFlagWarnings in effect until Saturday covering much of Southern California. Extremely dry conditions and #SantaAnaWinds will continue to elevate fire danger. Prepare now to ensure if evacuated you and your family are ready to GO!: https://t.co/vpyKMHygCFpic.twitter.com/ynFTsKcWag— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) December 7, 2017 Flames skipped over highways and railroad tracks, and residents rushed to evacuate their homes with only minutes' warning, some leaving behind holiday gifts. People feared for the safety of animals from cats to llamas amid reports that dozens of horses had been killed. North of San Diego, the newest blaze called the Lilac Fire grew from 10 acres to 2,500 acres in just a few hours on Thursday, according to fire crews, prompting Jerry Brown, governor of California, to declare a state of emergency for San Diego County. The blaze destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures. Propane tanks under several houses exploded from the heat. The other fires, which broke out on Monday and Tuesday, have reached into the wealthy enclave of Bel-Air on Los Angeles' West Side. Some major highways in the densely populated area were intermittently closed. Firefighters and helicopters sprayed and dumped bucketloads of water to try to contain the flames against a hellish backdrop of flaming mountains and walls of smoke. The Lilac Fire Credit: Reuters One death has been reported so far although authorities said they could not yet be sure whether the female body found in a car in Ventura County was the result of an accident or the fire. Three firefighters have also been injured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In the seaside enclave of Faria Beach, caught between burning mountains and the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Ventura, fires spread down the smoking hills. Flames jumped the heavily used US 101 highway and headed toward clusters of beach houses. Firefighters lined up along a railroad track, the last barrier from the flames. Surrounded by strong winds and smoke, Songsri Kesonchampa aimed a garden hose at a large pine tree between her Faria Beach house and the fire, attempting to fend off disaster. “If this tree catches fire, the strong wind will blow the flames towards my house. I need to protect this tree,” she said. Songsri Kesonchampa tosses a bucket of water on to burning embers across the road from her home  Credit: AFP As she spoke, a sheriff’s car drove by, ordering residents to leave. “The fire is here. You must evacuate your homes right now,” an officer said over the loudspeaker. In the coastal city of Ventura, Maurice Shimabuku said his friends told him to flee but he was staying put for now, feeling safe because he was near the Pacific Ocean. "I know I can just run back out that way, so I am relatively safe," he said. "I even have a surfboard and a wetsuit in my backyard right now, if I need to paddle away." A plane dumps flame retardant on a fast moving fire in Bonsall, California Credit: Reuters Heavy smoke made breathing hazardous in some areas, and residents were urged to stay inside. Ventura County authorities said air pollution measures in the Ojai Valley were "off the charts”. The Los Angeles County animal shelter said it was hosting 184 pets including llamas, donkeys and horses while reports said 29 horses were burned to death on Tuesday at a ranch in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Skirball Fire in Los Angeles has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills near the Bel-Air neighbourhood to leave and charred more than 475 acres (192 hectares). Firefighters stand beside a burnt out home after the Skirball wildfire swept through the exclusive enclave of Bel Air Credit: AFP Jeremy Broekman was camped out at his in-laws' house in Sherman Oaks after evacuating his family of five early Wednesday from their home a mile away from the Skirball fire. Mr Broekman, who runs a public relations firm from his home office, had just an hour to get his family out of the house, grabbing hard drives and Pokemon cards and leaving behind a pile of Hannukah presents. He spent Thursday trying to work and checking the news while also caring for his three children, whose schools were closed because of the fire. "Although we always say we can work remotely with the use of a laptop, when you are displaced like this you are emotionally unbalanced," he said. Skirball threatened media magnate Rupert Murdoch's Moraga Estate winery. The property was evacuated, with possible damage to some buildings, Mr Murdoch said in a statement, but “We believe the winery and house are still intact."

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