#I wanted to color code the aps but there were too many:/

[amarylliasky]

Number 31! We’re really at the final day huh? Welp, let’s get right into it! (Notes at the end).

And They Stayed, Like It Was Simple.

—————-

-Rock paper scissors shoot!

-Aww! I lost? Noooooo!

-Hah! Suck it, Cheapskate!

-Darn…

-Huh? I won..?

-Tsk.

-Sorry, kid. Better luck next time.

-Now that it’s come to this. I’ll play against Crybaby and then the winner will go up against the Crazy Kid.

-What? No fair! I wanna go up against you first, Old Man!

-Hyung, do I have to? What if I win? I’d have to go against her..

-As if!

-…Are you actually afraid of winning against Super Rock?

-Fine. I’ll go against the Crazy kid and then whoever wins will go against the Crybaby.

-What?! B-But then I’d have to go against the winner.. Can’t I just forfeit?

-But that’s so boring!

-Rules are rules. You can’t back out now Crybaby.

-Wait, what about Glutton?

-Hm?

-Uhh

-Glutton?

-What is she doing?

-Uh, hey Glutton? Whatcha doing there?

-She’s not listening….

-Strange.

-Do something, Super Rock!

-What do you want me to do?

-I don’t know? Shout for her?

-Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?

-Argh! Come on! Why isn’t she answering us?! Is she ignoring us?!

-Shhh!

-Huh?

-Glutton! You’re alive!

-Well, actually none of us are….

-Shut it, Crybaby!

-What were you doing?

-Quiet guys! Cale’s sleeping!

-Uh yeah? We know. That’s why we’re playing Rock Paper Scissors.

-Can’t you tell? I think he’s having a nightmare..

-Huh?

-Now that you mention it, I can definitely tell that something’s wrong..

-His heart is beating really fast! I think Noona is right!

-But how did the Glutton know? And before us?

-Glutton?

-I think…maybe it’s because I’m closer to his heart?

-But the Crybaby is literally part of his heart.

-Um, maybe because I’ve been here longer? Or because I technically absorbed the Crybaby’s powers into mine?

-Hmmm. It’s not much, but it’s a good guess.

-Focus guys!

-Right. Cale.

-What do we do?

-Try to wake him up?

-You think he would sleep through all this shouting if we could?

-Good point.

-Then?

-Hmmm. Glutton, you felt it first. Why don’t you try to do something?

-Like what?

-Maybe reach out to him?

-Like we just said wouldn’t work?

-Not like that! Maybe, through her connection with him? As she said before, she has been with him for longer. Maybe she can reach him.

-Well…

-It’s worth a shot?

-I believe in her!

-I guess?

-O-ok. Then I’ll give it a go!

-Now be quiet, everyone.

-Why?

-Come on! Just do it!

-Ughhhh, fiiine.

————

The first thing she noticed was the smell of ash and blood. Which immediately set off alarm bells in her head because, as previously stated, she’s dead. She should not be able to smell anything.

The next thing she noticed was the screams. The voices of humans and monsters mingling together in a dizzying cacophony of noise all around her. What was going on? She felt an acute sense of wrongness with the situation, like she shouldn’t be where she was now. But where was she, anyway?

Prying open her eyes, she was immediately assaulted with the view of what she could only describe as pure despair. Monsters ran through the city, ravaging whatever they laid eyes on, people ran away in terror, many not even making it more than a step before being brutally killed by the horrifying creatures.

Glutton felt fear. She felt it so strong that she almost forgot herself. When was the last time she felt so afraid for her life? But she couldn’t dwell on it, she had a job to do after all. Find where she was, find Cale, wake him up. Simple.

Not simple. At all.

As soon as she took a step, she abruptly realized that yeah, she actually had a body. Which, one would find obvious as she was feeling and seeing things like any normal person would, but here’s the thing; Glutton was not a normal person. She has been dead for over ten thousand years. She hasn’t had a body for ten thousand years. If she hadn’t already known that she was in a dream, this alone would have tipped her off. It was jarring, to say the least.

Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes, or what seemed like so, to get used to her new mobility before the ear-piercing screech of a monster broke her out of her stupor. Looking toward the noise, her entire body froze. She recognized that monster. It was a huge, terrifying beast, unlike any she had seen when she had still been alive. The thing seemed as if it could swallow up the entire city. Not only that, she could faintly make out the silhouettes of dozens of smaller monsters beneath it, they roamed around the gargantuan beast, almost as if they were its underlings. Yes, Glutton knew this monster.

But it wasn’t from her memories. This was the unranked monster that had killed all of Cale’s teammates in the past. This wasn’t just a nightmare, it was one of Cale’s worst memories, and it was being replayed in his sleep with sickening clarity.

She ran.

She didn’t know if she would be able to reach him before he was forced to relive that same awful moment, but she couldn’t stop. Even if she didn’t make it in time, Cale had saved her. He’d saved all of them. Cale had done so much for them, who weren’t even real people; not even real souls. They were the left over wills of people long passed, and yet he still cared about them and treated them as people worth cherishing. They owed everything to him, and she would do anything to help him.

Breaking through the wreckage, she came face to face with something that would haunt her own memories for weeks to come. There was so much. So much blood, so many bodies; both monster and human, there was so so much death and destruction. She felt sick. Forcing herself to take a step forward, she was determined to reach him. She didn’t know if he would be able to see her, or even hear her, but she had to try. When she was running, she had found that she couldn’t interact with anything in the dream, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t reach him. They were connected, after all.

Her steps were unsteady. Even in this dream, this memory, her nonexistent body still felt every bit how terrible this situation was. She felt the urge to run get stronger with every step, but still she pressed onward.

Reaching out toward him, she called his name as loud as she could. She heard the roars of monsters, the shouts of the reinforcements that were too late; she saw in front of her the people he had held so dear to him, but none of that mattered to her. Not at the moment. What she came here to do, what she had to do for him, was to pull him out. He needed to wake up. She could feel her heart thrum with the wills of her friends. She couldn’t hear them, but she knew that they were backing her up, just like always.

“Cale!”

Crack.

Crack crack crackcrackcrackcra-

Her surroundings shattered like glass. The last thing she saw before it all went dark was the slow turn of Cale’s- Kim Rok Soo’s head towards her. She hadn’t seen his face, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. She lost consciousness before she could, anyway.

……….

-utton…

-Gl-…

-Glutton!

-Gasp!

-She’s awake!

-Oh thank goodness…

-You really gave us a scare! The Crybaby nearly cried himself into a panic attack when you wouldn’t respond!

-Hic. Nooooonnnnaaaa! I-I thought that you were goooneee!

-We were worried that something happened to your consciousness.

-I….I’m fine. At least I think so? Wait- how’s Cale? Is he okay?!

“Ugh.. what…was..?”

-……

-…..Cale?

“Hm? Glutton? What is it? Is something the matter?”

-….

“Uh…Glutton? Super Rock, why is she acting so strange? Is everything okay?”

-Well…-

-Everything’s fine, Cale. Go to sleep. It’s late.

“Are you sure? Really, is there nothing bothering you? You’re acting weird.”

-Everyone is alright now. Go to sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up.

“….”

“If you say so…”

-And Cale?

“Yeah?”

-Make sure you eat a hearty breakfast. Good food really is the best way to start the day. Eat lots and lots.

“Umm, okay.. I will.”

-Mhm. Goodnight Cale.

“Goodnight Glutton, everyone.”

Through the chorus of “goodnights” whispered by the ancient powers, Cale’s heart calmed down and he closed his eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep and knowing that they would still very much be there when he wakes.

//////////////

So, I originally planned for a fluffy little one-shot before the big day, but it kinda got outta hand. As much as I frequently forget that they exist, I absolutely love Cale’s relationship with his ancient powers. They really are a part of his family; a bunch of siblings/uncle and aunt figures that watch over him(and assist him in creating chaos). I also wanted to explore the idea of them being able to kinda enter his consciousness when needed. Think of it like an au or something, since there’s no evidence to support that being in any way possible in canon. So yeah, it ended up a lot more angsty and all over the place than I originally planned, but I’m sticking with it.

Anyway……It’s almost here! Tomorrow is the day, and I plan to post the final piece for this countdown relatively early in comparison to how I normally post. I did not plan to post most of these this late every time, but I’ve got a job and a million other responsibilities so time kinda gets away from me. But hey, I’m so happy I’ve been able to post these every day.

Well, that’s all for now. See ya guys tomorrow!!

[writinandcrying]

TMNT HEADCANON / how the turtles text

A lot can be said from how someone express themselves through texting, so this is just some crack / light headcanons !

Not really based on a single version per say, more that turtles have been deprived of social interaction for the majority of their life and I think texting them would be an very interesting experience lol

Idea based on @avery73 last random turtle post (thanks for being one of our strongest soldiers and writing wonderful pieces 🫡) English is not my first language and I didn’t proofread this, if there is any grammatical erros pls don’t hesitate to tell me!

Mikey

🎢 Single texts

🎢 Just like this

🎢 Loads of it

🎢 You got 60 new messages

🎢 in the past 2 minutes

🎢 Loads of gifs too

🎢 And voice memos

🎢Oh look

🎢6 personality tests links

🎢What do you mean you won’t do it

🎢He needs to know what kind of cupcake you are!!!!

🎢 And music recs

🎢 Your phone won’t stop vibrating

🎢 for the next weeks

🎢 After you meet him (Honestly really annoying unless you have a crush on him)

🎢 For the latinos/latinas; if he EVER finds out about WhatsApp and the stickers. Oh you are so done. If you have an older phone that shit WILL blow up / malfunction for SURE

🎢 uses TONS OF EMOJIS !!!!! 😍😍😝🤪😋🤩AND CAPS AS WELL!!! 🥳😽✌️👅🗣️

🎢Mikey live reaction when you ask if he’s upset that you asked him to tone it down a notch with the texting on a busy day:

🎢 Will lowkey tone it down with the emojis when he finds out some ppl find it cringe, but with his angels cakes ???????? 🫵 YOU BET 🗣️ HE WILL SHOW YOU WITH IT 💋🫦💅🏻🤳🏼💃🏻🕺🏽🙈🦋🌺🧡🌚🌻🔥💥🌟

🎢Will accidentally send you some random ass emoji that wasn’t supposed to be on the context of the text, also the autocorrect is def not his friend

Mikey : how’s it going baby gorila

Mikey: babygirl*

Mikey:

Mikey: I’m sorry

🎢 adds emojis to very contacts in his t-phone:

Leo: Leader of the pack 🐺 🐢 🫡

Donnie: Eistein 📚🧬⚗️ (Raph also shares this name on his t-cell)

Raph: Murderous teddy bear 🧸 🧨

Splinter: Mafia Boss 🪤 (no one knows about this name tho)

April: Chanel N.6 🎤(or World of Apes 🦧 lmao)

Casey: New York Hockey League 🏒

Vern: Some dude (adds 🦅 so he knows it’s Vern and not “some random dude”)

Y/n: angelcakes pookie wookie baby boo boo love of my life !!!!!! 😍🥰👀🧚🏻‍♂️

🎢Mikey live reaction when Raph yells at him to stop flooding the chat, followed by mikey texting him “make me” (they are sitting next to each other):

Donnie

🔭Huge blocks of it in the speed of light. many topics, many questions and also explanations at just one sitting

🔭But won’t hold back on a smart ass short cut response for one his brothers (literally has the sharpest tongue)

🔭Will hardly uses emojis, only when it’s a single text to express an emotion (most current used emojis: 🤓when he does something impressive 💜: for y/n 🙄: when venting about something annoying Leo / Mikey / Raph did)

🔭Will want to discuss random ass problems he has encountered in his projects, in forums online, specially if you ever show interest in debating / doesnt hold back into showing your strong opinions

🔭 Has named their brothers as “Failed Lab Experiments” and managed to color code their messages (has the only t-phone that has this feature)

🔭Donnie creating the most unique and smartass way to charge his phone just cuz he can:

🔭Deadass his reaction when texting his crush 👀:

🔭 Has modified Mikey’s phone so he doesn’t have access to emojis for a whole week after his baby brother decided to spam him “out of no where” (after Donnie won consecutively 10 Mario Kart matches AND ate the last 2 slices of cold pizza)

🔭Result: mikey spammed EVEN MORE and only spoke to EVERYONE by Japanese emojis. Leo and Raph begged demanded that donnie install his emojis back cuz they were DONE with the whole situation

Failed lab experiment N.4: ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)σ" °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° (♡´౪`♡)

Failed lab experiment N.1: Stop.

Failed lab experiment N.4: ┬┴┬┴┤ᵒᵏ (･_├┬┴┬┴ Failed lab experiment N.4: (;﹏;)

Failed lab experiment N.2: You stupid IDIOT Failed lab experiment N.2: look what you've done now he’s sad

🔭 Donnie also has to deal with his brothers thinking he is their personal Google (he will always answer their questions, even out of spite):

Failed lab experiment N.4: Donnie what’s a Cochlear implant

Successful lab experiment: A small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin.

Failed lab experiment N.4: :0 yikes

Failed lab experiment N.4: Okay thanks!!!!

Successful lab experiment: Stop asking me stuff when you can just Google it.

Failed lab experiment N.4: But I like talking to you 🙀😔

Failed lab experiment N.4: You are my favorite turtle Siri!!! 😉

Successful lab experiment: I’d prefer if I wasn’t... Also, why are you curious about cochlear implants?

Successful lab experiment: Mikey?

Successful lab experiment: Mikey!!!!!

(He still doesn’t know why)

Raph

🥊 Barely uses emojis. Lowkey barely texts? doesn't see the appeal to it, rather prefer to hang out with you 1 on 1 than being far away from you (will never ever admit to it. maybe after 3 years in a relationship)

🥊as a friend: he wont be the one spiking a conversation, but might keep going if he's truly bored (this is prone to happen during daylight / evening when they still can't go out) but will probably be the one to ask to hang out when he needs an outlet and such 🥊*sees messages* eh i'll reply later *completely forgets about it*

🥊 will effortlessly take the most breath-taking pictures of new york during patrol and send it to you 🥊 if you are already his s/o / someone he trusts: will most likely text you to ask about stuff (if you need anything or something he needs from topside) or to diss / vent / gossip about his brothers 🥊 will send embarrassing pictures of his brothers to you cuz he can't deal with that shit alone lmao

🥊 will either be pretty clueless with the most random ass stuff or out of propose just to tease you: y/n: jniasunoakpfa raph: what was that y/n: keyboard smash? raph: how do i do that y/n: just press anything raph: 7 🥊 Raph Live reaction as soon as he realizes he has feelings for you:

🥊 Also Raph Live reaction when he comes to terms with this feelings and has an excuse to ignore Leo (even if he doesnt like texting) just bc he can ignore Leo as he pleases:

Leo

🎏 Perfect texts 🎏 looks like an email/letter sometimes 🎏 to most people: 1 message with divided topics. pretty direct 🎏 when he can't reply right away: "Hello. I'm happy you wrote to me. I try to reply promptly but currently I'm not available at the moment-" Like omg bro RELAX. 🎏 to his s/o: 70% direct, the other 30% likes to send little reminders, either with songs or pretty things she has seen during a patrol with a "thinking of you" message. lowkey romantic when he doesn't even mean to be, def shows how thoughtful he is 🎏 prefers to call you rather than texting. especially if you are dating/has a crush on you he might not even realize why he likes calling you so much, until it hits like a brick that he just wants to hear your voice 🎏Leo when he calls you and doesn't know when to "intervene" / his time to talk back (god forbid he's unpolite and interrupts you):

lowkey him listening to April vent about smth dumb shit Casey did /any human friend venting and he doesnt know how to react lmao 🎏Just like Donnie, has favorite emojis and will only use it in specific situations (this will take time for it to happen, like after years Donnie first invented the t-phone and finally relized he didn't had to be so formal when texting): 🐢 when talking about team work or his brothers / 🪷 for meditating or mindfulness (thinks its peaceful) / 💙 for his boo and his boo only / 😏 only in a relationship, especially when he's feeling scipy (extremely rare for it to happen over text tho)

——————————————————————————

Group chat (more than one reaction)

💚 catching social cues irl can be hard, you are telling me there are hidden social cues in texting too??

💚 “Nah shut up” group, doesn’t care much about it and won’t change their ways: Leo, Raph

💚 Will research about it, will talk to every single human he knows (yes. you. Vern. Casey and April) Needs to know the social cues. NOW: lmao try to guess

💚 Also needs to know, but for meme reasons, he has to say up to date w the terminology/ slangs: another hard guess /j

💚 Oh btw, Donnie totally uses /j /Tw /srs terminology WHILE he texts fast AND huge text blocks. none of his brothers know how he does it

💚Will over use fresh lingo he has learned overhearing humans on patrol, shows, from his humans friends to the point it’s almost unbearable: Mikey 💚Live reaction of Raph and Leo trying to understand when Mikey or Donnie spamming the group chat with their extremely recent memes or hyperfixations:

💚the chat WILL be flooded with things related to their favorite basketball teams, show they want to see or dumbass pictures of their daily lifes, example: Mikey: *has sent an selfie*

Mikey: you know y/n

Mikey:If you’re fortunate enough

Mikey: your internal organs will spend their entire lifespan in absolute darkness

Mikey: but mine?

April: oh boy here we go

Mikey: Hasn’t. 😏😏😏

Y/n: Oh?

Mikey: *send another selfie flexing muscles* you see when you fight crime everyday-

Raph: yeah he shallowed a glow stick

[daddysfangirls-dc]

UnTamed CH25

Damian Wayne x Oc! Female

Prev | Next

"No, You've never mentioned a brother."

"There was no real blood," she spoke softly as a butterfly landed on her finger. " He died when I was 7."

"The boy that found you. I'm sorry to hear that. How did he come to be your brother?" Damian had never heard of Eren before then again she was very vague about her childhood.

"He said he found me under a dumpster. My mother was dead next to it. I don't remember. My memories of mother are hazy." the butterfly flew away finding a more appealing flower. She turned to see another butterfly on her teacup. " He was 12 when he found me. He took me and raised me the best he could, young and homeless. He shouldn't have but did." She watched as the butterfly drank her tea while softly batting its wings. It had colorful wings that the sun seemed to dance on. 

"He died right before his birthday. He would have turned 16." 

She had managed an actual gift that year. A camera, a bit broken yet still functional. It would have been enough for them.

"He encouraged my nudity. I'd rip, tear, and lose clothes. We couldn't afford new clothes, and we couldn't afford any. It didn't matter back then; I was always an animal, and we traveled by back alleys, roofs, and sewers. He didn't care about being naked. However, he did tell me to stay away from men-boys. Stay to myself was the only rule... I broke it." Damian looked at her, confused. " I'm here with you, aren't I?" 

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I don't think Eren would-" 

"I'm sorry that you're here. I'm sorry that you don't feel comfortable in your furs or in clothes. I'm sorry that I didn't notice any of this before now. I'm sorry, Eren, but I'm not here to take care of you or be proud of you. I'm sorry".

Asta didn't say anything just closed her eyes and curled into herself. Listening to the breeze, the birds had long stopped singing as the sky changed color as night slowly came. Silences.

-

In the sewers, it was dark. The only light coming from the grates above it was little to none. The water unclean a dark shady of green, more sluge than actual water. A long side of the sludge was a walking path. And on the path, a group of rats scurried a desperate scavenge for food upon them. Suddenly, one of the rats is snatched up by a boy, the others scattered for safety. 

"what are you doing?" he asked. The rat squeaked and squealed. "Oh, nice try, but I know it's you."

Suddenly, the rat is no longer a rat. Its fur is shredded for skin, and its body shifts to something bigger and more fleshy—a Girl. "How did you know it was me?" The girl asked.

He holds her hand now. " You act too smart for a normal rat." the girl scowls, but he just laughs as they walk along the path. " You, my mammal, are too smart." Mammals were land creatures, such as dogs, cats, monkeys, and even apes. He called her a mammal. It was supposed to be a reminder to keep her feet on the ground unless absolutely necessary. He didn't want her to leave him.

"What are we doing tonight?"

It was a loaded question. One question filled with many more. Would they be eating tonight? Would they be sleeping tonight? If so, where and for how long? If not, would they spend the night walking? If so where to? So many questions in so few words for such young children but they were all important. And needed answers.

"We are going to eat these subs I stole from the bodega. And then go bird watching."

Bird watching aka Batman & Robin stalking. It was also code for Rogue activity. Meaning there were too many Rogues out and about for them to find long term safety of any kind. Too much activity and too many unknowns to sleep into the night. So they'd stay awake for the night; they'd sleep in the safety of the daylights. In the dark, they'd follow the knight and his young squire. (At a distance.)

"Robin," she whispered as she watched the bird jump across the roofs, following the bat to whatever horrors of the night. To save the night. The people. And they follow in the safety of the knight and squire's shadow.

-

Eren died two years later at the tender age of 15. A victim of scarecrow experiments, he dies alone. He's put on a list of bodies to be identified after two weeks unidentified he's buried as John Doe. Asta doesn't find out until a week after his burial.

Asta is truly orphaned at the age of 7.

[nerdybeotch]

MCL: New Gen favs

Hello! This is my post to participate in the E-Girl Pack giveaway by @tetrakys.

Honestly, I don´t use social media a lot, I´m not very techie, so trying to win the code with other creators has been very difficult. But the fact that I'm not a gamer nor very used to playing anything but The Sims (thanks to my brother) is one of the main reasons I LOVE MCL SINCE I STARTED PLAYING IN JUNE 2012, just 5 days before my 14th birthday: I just needed to register, not download anything, not install software that may put my computer in danger, not need to even understand a lot about computers. So, I STARTED PLAYING BECAUSE IT WAS EASY, but I stayed because, you know, Armin ;) jejeje

I was always very shy, but the game made me very happy for years. I knew a lot of people in the forum, and I really liked discovering the story and how the characters grow while I was also growing and learning to understand my own feelings. The day I met my first boyfriend, I arrived home and played MCL feeling for the first time those butterflies in my stomach. The day we kissed for the first time, I wrote in my diary that I felt special, like a girl who could be loved as my sucrette that, in my mind, was a character very opposite to myself, she was strong, outgoing, and it was easy for her to talk to people, so she was everything I wasn't. When he asked me to be his girlfriend, I told myself: "Well, he´s not Armin, but he is mine" (I actually wrote that In my diary, which makes me laugh now that I'm older). MCL was always there, on my mind and my screen, even the day he left me and I was crying, thinking nobody would ever love me again. Yes, I was a dramatic girl, but only my family (and my diary) knew it, because I used to think other people wouldn't like me, and I had a pretty low self esteem. (On a side note, we only lasted like one month, so I was being VERY dramatic).

When I changed schools, I met an outgoing and very cool girl who loved soccer and was always talking about it. I started playing soccer too, and I met a whole team of cool and friendly girls that made me realize I can be very talkative when I´m given the chance. I introduced some of them to the game (do you remember when they gave us AP for bringing our friends to the game?) I think it's fair to say that I forced them to play, and then we all started having long conversations about it ("Castiel is the best one." "No, how dare you? Nath is the best.") It was amazing, we started bonding for more than soccer, and we shared crushes. Time passed and, eventually, my new friend (Ali) started to be distant, and I hated it because I missed her so much, after all, she was my best friend, and I didn't understand why she didn´t want to talk to me. To make a long story short, she confessed to me she was in love with me. I won´t give many details of what happened next, there are some things that still hurt since being a girl who likes girls wasn't easy in 2013 (not that it is much better now, but we didn´t even know many people who were like us, felt like us, or loved like us). What I want to say though is that things got better, and we have been together for 8 years. The best 8 years in my life.

But why am I telling all this story when I'm supposed to talk about my favorite MCL: New Gen things? Well,

MCL has been with me all this time, it MADE ME FEEL LESS ALONE, I discovered my love for writing while I was reading fanfiction with its characters.

When Priya became a crush IT MADE ME FEEL SEEN. It is one of the few games that now, as a grown woman, I am still playing, cause IT'S WHOLESOME and IT MAKES ME FORGET ABOUT THE REAL LIFE DIFFICULTIES.

I always liked following a STORY, I'm a reader and a writer, so I love stories more than anything.

One of my favorite things since I started playing is the PERSONALIZATION, and I like this even more in New Gen, with the new skin colors and the DECORATION OF MY ROOM and, of course, SWEET TAKI.

I love the MINIGAMES, dressing my Sucrette is one of my favorite things, and I just love how different she can look.

The EVENTS are also something I always enjoyed, having new things to dress my Sucrette and a new dynamic each time made me stay awake all night long, just waiting to see everything the team at MCL had prepared for us.

I also have to say that CONTROLLING MY CHARACTER'S ACTIONS is amazing, maybe because I didn´t play much, but that was new for me when I started playing.

I'll let this list end at 8, because that's my favorite number. And this one is all about the BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY that this game has. My wife and I have been playing since high school, and there are a few of my old friends from the soccer team that I know are also playing to this day, Maybe that's because we miss the old days when we had no responsibilities but to have good grades at school, or maybe it's the pure nostalgia of our teenage years, when we felt a lot, but we also were passionate about a lot of things and felt alive. Maybe we just want to save the good memories, even when they have gone, and we are "free, independent adults" (I used to want to be that, and now that I am, I don't really feel like I'm free, nor independent, nor adult).

Yep, I went deep with that one, Now I'm crying just remembering the good old days, but I also love that this game is giving us another chance to fall in love again with all the things that made us fall the first time. And maybe I'm starting to be too old to play MCL, but I don't care. THIS GAME WAS A BIG PART OF MY TEENAGE YEARS, AND I WANT IT TO BE PART OF MY YOUNG ADULT ONES.

PS: Also, I wouldn't complain if Brune was a crush on New Gen, and maybe she could be reason 9, but I don't want to be that girl who says that the sapphics would be happy if we could win her heart.

Well, that's it. I have my fingers crossed right now. I really like this pack.

ANOTHER PS: English is not my first language. I'm hoping it's not noticeable, but if it is, I'm sorry, I did my best.

[lee-scribbles-and-doodles]

S3 ep5

Current emotional status: FEAR

Cthulu Max has been on the rampage for a whole week!?

Ew, the narrator

Oh man, are they sending the airforce after him?

I really like Cthulu Max's design

Momma Bosco 💗

Oh hey, Norrington and Papierwaite are alive.

Superball are you saying you tried to send the Maimtrons up Max's--

Also he's acting president while Max is... deposed of.

Superball is only giving Sam until 6am :(

Featherly!

"Wandering around the moleman tunnels is no fun without Max."

"You got it all wrong, we're trying to help Max." "We will help him... to a generous serving of ass whooping."

"That is one rabbit who will be multiplied... into 2,000 smoldering pieces."

Carol ran off with Blustet

"I only want her to be happy, is all." Aw, Curt

Superball just admitted to having separation anxiety from Max

Ok Momma can't come but Papierwaite and Norringron can.

I like Norrington :)

GASP

Is it?

It is!

SYBIL!!!!

RETURN OF THE QUEEN

Oh, she is very pregnant

She was a wizard at one point?

She's gonna help!

Superball there's no such thing as acceptable losses

Abe has his body back

"Four score and seven tons of raw power"

HE CAN FLY NOW!?

Sybil, I love you, but why did you mod someone else's car???

Grandpa Stinky I love you

Oh, he just handed us the recipe for once.

Asdfff the spore maxes swarming Grandpa

They stole Grandpa's hotdogs

"We must feed the host! Piglets and sphinkters make us stronger!" "We regret nothing!"

Grandpa hasn't slept in three years

Sam just casually taking the last of Grandpa's corndogs

The spores are trying to get it

Lol Sam slapped them

Sal's alive!

He's hiding from Sam :(

Lol we can control Cthulu Max with Corndogs

Ew, the cornstarch got mixed in with the giant puddle 🤢 Looks gross

Love how Sybil completely ignores the Flaming Max head

Also the look of disappointment on the spore's face made me laugh

Fifth trimester???

The way the one Max spore by Grandpa's truck is bobbing in circles with his mouth open is making me laugh.

Sam showing concern for Sybil because she’s preggers 🥺

Her being pregnant with Abe's child implies that statues have working genital in this universe

She put a weiner scented airfreshener in the desoto

At least Sam and a Max spore seem to like that (of course they do)

"Sybil you're the best!" Hell yeah she is!

Sam's mind went to the color bar codes to prevent being traumatized by Sybil's oversharing

We drowned the desoto

Asdfgh Sam just botched slapped one of the spores for trying to say "that's none of your damn buisness."

Ew, Max's spine is pointing out

Oh hey, Satan and Jurgen

Why is Jurgen wearing his old fashioned clothes instead of his emo clothes?

Lol Sam snuck into frame to shout "Go Mets! New York rules!"

"--besides it's just a good and noble thing to do." "You're not familiar with my previous work, are you?"

"Sam, what happened to you to make you so cynical?" Gee, Jurgen, I wonder what could have possibly happened.

Oh so the water tower counts as vegetable oil because Momma did something to it

Pfft we can replace Satan's microphone with a corndog

Omg they jumped off the building to avoid Max

Oh, they're fine, and the oil is in the giant puddle.

I'm thankful to Featherly for giving us an egg but I'd have preferred not to watch him lay it. Granted it was just in a cartoon way but he still made weird noises

Also TRANS FEATHERLY 2021

"I desperately wanted to see that, sir. Ask him if he'll lay another one."

Oh hey, the Flaming Max heads helped heat up the giant desoto corndog

Since I'm playing this in 2021 the Maimtron's song references are super dated, which defeats Superball's efforts

Oooh! A unique opening sequence???

Oh this music is jazzy af

Sam really doesn't like the Max spores

Sam how do you already know what Max's insides look like???

"Even when he's not a collasal monster Max's food comas can last for weeks."

Ok we wake Max up with the coffee beans, right?

Yup!

The gi Max spore is so sad he doesn't get to come 😢

"But I'm a horrible monster!"

"I suppose Max's brain always looks like a living room?" "Well, Max is host to all kinds of weird parasites, and he likes to he a good host!" WHAT

No really, this brings up so many questions about lagomorphs. Are they some kind of Symbiote or something?

And a previous episode confirmed Max is amphibious

Max has tumors!!!

It shocked Sam!

"Eugh! Get away fake Max!" "Do you find my warmth... alarming, Sam?"

"What do nightmares taste like, anyway?" "Pepsi"

Max wants to be author 💗

He also writes fanfiction about Flint 🤣

I'd unironically read his books.

Tina Belcher voice: Friend fiction

Max has an experimental fusion jazz band???

"He just killed a great white shark--"

Max being completely unable to describe a woman is very gay of him. Good for him.

Max's brain teleported everyone to different parts of the body.

Found Sybil in the gym/legs

The brain is broadcasting Sam's thoughts???

Sam couldn't think of a joke for the medicine balls :(

"Wow Max is looking pretty buff. Would it be too weird if I asked him to turn around?"

Sam! Stop thinking bad things about Sybil's pregnancy she can hear you you putz!

She's upset with him now

"Can you believe this guy?" "I find the entire situation to be very contrived and misogynistic." Same spore Max, same.

Sam stop being so mean omg!

"I changed Sybil, I totally get the whole parenthood thing now." "Really now?" "Tax deductions."

In Max's inventory now

Y'know, I never really thought about it as a storage house

Hit The Road reference :3

Baby roach hatched in

"Pa..papa?" "Now I am little champion, now I am!"

Max has a Maximus shrine

Sam turned into a roomba!

Aw, he named it Sam Jr 🥺

We won Sybil back through his love of Sam Jr

Found the conjoined twins

Huh, Max lost as eye. Does that mean he has a glass one, or do lagomorphs have regenerative abilities?

Pfft we have to play twister to control his arma

The brain is messing with things again

Oh, we need a roach to operate the game because of radiation

Well, let's kidnap Sal

Oh, poor Girl Stinky. She's really going through it

Aw, Sal feels bad

Sal?

Honey, are alright?

He's dying???

He's not immune to irradiation!?

Oh no, he's gone

I'm so sad 😞

Gotta pick up Sam Jr. Before I control Max

They mad Max do a magical girl pose

Ugh the narrator is back

Wait, what?

He's Max's brain??? SUPEREGO???

WHAT

"I was always ignored" Yo if my super ego was as pretentious as you I 'd ignore it too 😤

He wants to kill himself and Max???

I know Max had a self loathing complex but holy shit

The super ego is perfectly fine with destroying half the east coast what a jerk

Just noticed Sam's tie is red. Had no idea about this while drawing PI!Sam lol

We have to help Max get his memories back to use the ASTRO projector

Skunkapes has three Sam clones imprisoned

Sam had canon ocd?

Gasp Gordon???

No, it's Sammun Mak

I love him, little child tyrant

Just make him a mobile brain in a jar and let Sam and Max adopt him

Why is Grandpa here?

He isn't talking like Stinky

Too polite

Sam sees it too

He's a space gorilla

They switched brains?

Found the cloning g chamber

Let's go to Momma's first

CONE OF SHAME CONE OF SHAME CONE OF SHAME

Superball is "wracked with guilt"

"Keep it together Superball. Sam will be able to save the day. He always does."

Ok, let's go to the cloning facility

I'm still thinking about poor Sal yo

FLIIIIIINT!

He's punching space apes!

Girl Stinky really playing up the evil Mistress role

The doggleganger has a bomb on him!!!

Wait so Girl really is a mermaid??? I thought that was just her aestetic

God I love Flint

Haha we tricked Skunkape with scooby doo villain tactics

Got the robot

Her water broke... and it was pennies

Max wants to save Sybil! 😭🥺💕

Super Ego is here

Oh now he wants to save Max

The only thing here are those records

Super Ego waved goodbye

Cthulu Max is cute when he cries

Wait What?

His head is on fire!

The maimtron hit him!

He waved goodbye... and teleported away.

He exploaded!!!!

He promised he'd take Sam with him and he didn't!!!!

AAAAAAH

I thought the dead Max thing was popular angst fanon fic thingy!

We're cloning Max?

It didn't work 😭😭😭😭😭

Superball ran off crying

Oh God the credits are just Sam walking sadly what the hell

He's not even stopping to fight any crime 😢

💔💔💔

God the way he's clinging to himself

What?

The elevator???

MAAAAX

he's back???

Past Max???

He blew his Sam up???

Wait hold on I'm glad they're together again but this doesn't fix anything

There's so much trauma from this season

All the horrible things that happened during 301-304 happened in like 3 days tops, then Sam had to deal with Max being a monster for a week before watching him die!

And the new (?) Max had BLOW HIS SAM UP!!!

And they left the franchise like that for a decade????

What the hell?

I want to be happy but this shit is going to consume my brain for the next week at least what the hell

Aaaaaaah!

Like maybe they really do just brush it off but it feels unlikely

I know Max has a connection with his other selves so it'll be easier for him to adjust but certainly Sam is going to notice the discrepancies since he doesn't get the same deal

Someone told me there were multiple endings hold on

Aw, they walked off into the sunrise together

But still

AAAAAAAAH

[thekidsarentalright]

Fob Survey Results

Hi! So, a few days ago I made a post asking u all to take a survey i made so i could, basically, just see the different opinions in the fandom and nearly 400 people responded, which is crazy! I didn’t know that many ppl still were in fob bandom 😳 Anyways, without further adieu, the results are enclosed below under the cut!

First, I wanna start with some disclaimers or lil housekeeping things. The first thing I wanna mention is that, obviously, this sampling of people is small compared to every single fan of them ever but regardless of that i’m still gonna be referring to it all very generally just bc that’s easier for me lol. Next, I made a pie chart for every single question just so there was a visual of it but a few of them are a bit stuffed, just because the sheer amount of variety in peoples answers, which is great! But I just wanted to warn, and assure that i’ll be breaking down the charts a bit below the pictures so it’s more comprehensible. Also everything is color coded to try and make it a little easier! Lastly, more info and like discussion about any of this is totally welcome! if u have q’s, ask me! 

Question 1: When Did You Become A Fan?

This chart is one of the more comprehensible ones, thankfully. It shows that the era most fans became a fan was srar era, with 104 people answering that. The era with the least being tttyg era with only 5 people (technically pre-tttyg era/folie era since no one answered those). It’s so cool, to me, to see such a variety of answers! Fob rly are timeless 😌

Question 2: What’s Your Favorite Album?

I feel, for me, this one wasn’t a big surprise. Folie is clearly the fan favorite with 37%, while take this your grave is in last with only 9 people saying it was their fav. Again, lots of variety in this which is pretty cool to see! (also sorry that ab/aps name got cut off lol)(Also also justice for abap and mania)

Question 3: What’s Your Favorite EP/Non-Album?

Here, Lake Effect Kid Ep dominated the results with 126 people saying it was their favorite. B-Side was sort of close behind, with Pax Am Days in third. Here, what surprised me, was that anybody answered with eowyg or llamania, tbh. And, though I didn’t include it in the chart, 7 people answered saying they didn’t have a fav or hadn’t ever listened to one of them!

Question 4: Who’s Your Favorite Member?

This was one of the most biased questions with nearly 50% of u saying Patrick is your fav. I expected that, though I thought it’d be more of a battle between him and Pete. The only thing rly worth saying, ig, is that Andy and Joe deserve more love :(

Question 5: Favorite Fob Related Artist?

When I made this question and put mcr as an option I knew they’d be number one, so that’s not a shocker, to me. Here are your guys’ top 3 fob adjacent artists: 1. My chemical romance 2. Paramore 3. Panic! at the disco And, honestly, rest didn’t stand a chance against those 3 which I kinda expected but it is nice to see Some people appreciating cobra and gch! (Misc. answers included bands like idkhow, waterparks, as well as green day and elton john! Lots of variety!)

Question 6: What’s Your Favorite Song?

This question is where it starts to get a bit messier. I did my best to make it as clean as possible, but it still def looks a little wacky (sorry). According to you all, however, your top 3 favorite fob songs are as follows: 1. Disloyal order 2. (Coffee’s for closers) 3. Hum hallelujah Now, I am not at all surprised that disloyal order is that high up there, nor does hum hallelujah surprise me but coffee’s for closers kinda does! I’m also shocked that ginasfs isn’t higher. (where’s tkaa tho)

Question 7: Most Underrated Song?

Luckily, I managed to get this one a bit more organized looking (in my eyes) but, again, sorry if it’s messy! Regardless, according to you all, the top 3 most underrated fob songs are: 1. You’re crashing, but you’re no wave 2. From now on we are enemies = Headfirst slide 3. Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel in NYC) = Coffee’s for closers What is the funniest, and most interesting to me here, is that there are so many ties and also that 2 of these songs (Headfirst slide and coffee’s for closers) were in your top 5 favorite songs... making them clearly not underrated. I was delighted to see you’re crashing at 1, though. It hits hard.

Question 8: Most Overrated Song?

Now, with this one, I fully expected the results I got. It was very predictable: The singles are the most overrated. Something about them playing nonstop on the radio 6+ years ago rly bugged y’all (/j). Here are your top 3 most overrated songs: 1. Centuries  2. Uma Thurman = Immortals 3. My Songs  I’m very very stunned to see what a catch on there. And to all the people that said mania and the kids aren’t alright: ow :(

Question 9: This Or That 1

All the this or that’s are pretty self-explanitory, I believe. By a very thing margin, you all prefer sugar over thnks fr the mmrs!

Question 10: This Or That 2

By another very thing margin, wams beat out just one yesterday.

Question 11: This Or That 3

A pattern you’ll notice is that all of these are super close... once again, by a thing margin, Immortals (famously disliked) beat out champion (even more disliked apparently)

Question 12: This Or That 4

This one was ridiculously close the entire survey, for a majority of it pavlove was winning, actually. But, at the very end, from now on we are enemies won it 183 to 146.

Question 13: This Or That 5

Lastly for the this or that series, we have the most biased one. I thought this would be closer, but clearly you all have a Lot of love for disloyal order, picking it over the kids aren’t alright 240 to 105. That’s fuckin crazy.

Question 14: What’s Your Favorite Lyric?

For this one, so many people answered so many different lyrics all presented in a different way that I physically could not bring myself to organize them like i did the previous song questions. So, I present to you the songs that were quoted/referenced the most and therefore are precieved to have the best lyricism, according to you all. The top 3 most mentioned songs are: 1. Disloyal order (shocker) 2. Hum Hallelujah 3. Wams = Miss Missing You What surprised me the most here was that apparently overrated songs appeared, with a few people mentioning centuries, my songs, what a catch among others. And that disloyal order once again came out on top. 

Conclusion: What I learned from this is follows; the fob fandom (on here) is made up of people with somehow both very varied and yet congruent opinions. We might not all have the same favorite album or ep but we do all lose our minds to disloyal order and think that patrick is the best which i think is just beautiful.  (Feel free to come into my inbox and talk to me about this!! Naturally, I have all the data- the stuff that’s hard to see or wasn’t shown on the charts is interesting too. I’d love to talk about any of it!)

[the196thbattalion]

star wars human! high school! au

i’ve seen so many headcanons circling throughout the star wars tumblr about high school au’s, so i wanted to share my bit with all of you :D

anakin skywalker

five words: REBEL CHILD ON A MOTORCYCLE.

he doesn’t like riding the school bus because it makes him feel extremely claustrophobic, so he scrapped and scavenged up parts to make his own customized motorcycle, which he lovingly dubbed artoo.

the blue and silver detailing was the joint effort of ahsoka and obi-wan, because anakin doesn’t know how to paint.

if he can catch up to the bus, he’ll ride alongside it and flip off the students on it before revving on ahead of them. (the freshmen think it’s the funniest thing in the universe)

probably one of the most well-known juniors in the entirety of temple high school (mostly because of his shenanigans but partly because he’s dating padme fuckiNG AMIDALA, PRETTIEST GIRL IN THE DAMN SCHOOL)

he always wears this worn-down leather jacket his mom gave to him before she passed away, and refuses to take it off, even though it’s somehow “a violation of the dress code and should be outlawed.”

his hair alone has seduced eight different students (boys and girls)

sometimes during study hall, ahsoka or padme will get a hold of his hair and style it into little braids or make a super rad ponytail.

he really likes iced coffee with milk and sugar. he puts in the milk to make it nice and light (it’s aesthetically pleasing, obi-wan!), and then like eight tablespoons of sugar to make it actually taste good.

his favorite class is mechanics, taught by kit fisto.

anakin spent months on a mechanical arm project to replace his clunky plastic prosthetic, and he was so freaking happy when it was finished; he almost cried. (he did cry and ahsoka got it on video)

obi-wan kenobi

a mixture of the soft™, pretty™, hippie™, grunge™, vsco™ and nerd™ tropes.

he really likes peppermint tea with lots of honey but takes his coffee black.

he has had too much tea.

someone needs to stop him.

almost all of his classes are ap courses, and if cody hadn’t been watching when obi-wan was making his schedule, all of them would be.

him, cody and padme have ap english with mace windu, and cody knows how much his classes stress him out, so he lets obi-wan sleep during class and sends him the notes

the only ap class obi-wan doesn’t take is mechanics, and he shares that class with anakin.

anakin and obi-wan are super close with each other. kenobi was there when ahsoka was adopted, and anakin was there when kenobi got his cat. (they were like 5 okay)

“NAME IT C3PO OBI-WAN, OR I SWEAR TO FUCK-” “what kind of name is that, and why would i - anAKIN PUT HIM DOWN!?”.

mr. fisto constantly has to split them up for disrupting the class, but it’s almost like they can communicate telepathically, and the teachers have a running bet

mace windu literally bet $50 on these fucking nerds so you know it’s for realsies

in reality, they’ve just gotten super creative with passing notes.

kind of off topic, but he has these brown harry potter glasses that he uses (kinda for reading???? but mostly so he can do that anime pushing up glasses thing)

cody thinks it’s the funniest shit ever

whenever cody is feeling stressed, obi-wan just does the thing™ and BOOM! happiness.

people think he’s a goodie two shoes, and honestly, it’s really easy to think that. if the iconics are trying to do something stupid, he’s usually the voice of reason.

but parties?

…

you know what, just ask anakin for the video footage.

ahsoka tano

this hs!au ahsoka tano turned me bisexual confirmed ✔

okay before i go into her style, which is mainly what made me drool over my computer, can i just put skatergirl!ahsoka out there?

spray painting of the rebellion symbol all over the bottom of her board and on items in a couple of the places where she skates the most (like the back of an abandoned car yard)

her instagram is filled with these super cool vhs-tape recorded skate videos (u know)

lots crackhead 3am visits (starring anakin, rex, kenobi and barris) to a gas station to get slushies and grind the shit out of the curb connecting the store to the parking lot

trying to teach anakin how to skateboard but he just can’t figure it out? uh yes

“try to balance skyguy!” “HOW DO I MOVE? DO I SCOOT? SNIPS THIS ISN’T FUNNY AND I WANT TO GET OFF – GUYS, STOP LAUGHING!”

okay okay okay i’m done

for now

anyway, her style???? is so???? fucking????? cool!!!!!

her genetics gave her a 80% of having vitiligo, so it really wasn’t a surprise when patches of her skin got lighter, but it still freaked her out a little bit.

basically, went like this: “DAD, I’M TURNING WHITE!” “???? oh my gosh ‘soka, no.”

she has long braided dreadlocks she dyed a super bright orange with various colored beads woven into them with the help of anakin and padme. she usually styles them into little space buns atop her head.

her entire clothing wardrobe consists of fishnets, neon bomber jackets, at least 11 bisexual beanies™, handmade patchy jeans, white tank tops, and light-up platform shoes.

she doesn’t give two flying fucks about the dress code, and – IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOST BUSY HALLWAY - punched principal sidious over whether or not she “could wear shorts that short” (anakin may or may not have cheered when she broke his nose).

the fetts (chuck have mercy)

*cracks le knuckles* i’ve put it off long enough

we have: fox (24), wolffe (19), cody (17), rex (17), echo (16), fives (16), boil (15), waxer (14), hardcase (13), jesse (12), longshot (8), kix (6), tup (3), gree (2) and boba (9mo)

wolffe is off at college - fox already graduated and moved out, that cheeky little fucking shit - but both still keep in good contact with the fam, and it’s a constant clamor between eleven of the siblings of who gets to talk to them first

fox majored in government/politics, bly is majoring in space/astronomy, and wolffe is majoring in police/law enforcement shit (i don’t know how college works, so sue me)

cody and rex are juniors, and despite their similar looks, the amount of schoolwork each of them completes drastically varies

cody is the honor roll student, valedictorian, whatever you want to call it

rex kinda just either does the work really well or 9/10 times gets distracted by anakin or ahsoka sending him some nice spicy memes

cody tried to tutor rex but it ended up almost landing tup in the hospital

“that’s really simple, actually. if you – vod? rex, are you okay? what are you oH NO TUP DON’T PUT THAT IN YOUR MOUTH-”

fetts on the varsity football team is like a right of passage in the family

right now, only the juniors of the fett family are on the team, but the coach has eyes on fives and echo for next years team

SPEAKING OF

echo, fives and boil are the infamous sophomore trio that pulled the milk bucket prank on the gym teacher, pong krell.

they had to help the janitor (99) clean up afterwards, but they genuinely enjoyed 99’s company, because he’s rad as shit and knows all the secret school passageways.

to be honest, not one person (except maybe sidious) was complaining

that motherfucker makes everyone run like eight laps during gym class

even mr. windu gives them a small smile in the hallways after that

boil says he was blackmailed into it

waxer is a freshman (the poor dude, i’m so sorry), and he always looks out for the nervous freshies

if someone is having a bad day, he’ll give them a lollipop (he carries around a whole bag), a place to sit during lunch, and a shoulder to cry on

all you need to do to find waxer is to locate this long ass line of children

the school counselor, plo koon, sometimes brings his niece numa into school during the day because he can’t find a babysitter, and waxer. fucking. loves. her. PERIOD.

w+n pull these tiny little pranks on teachers, and the staff pretends not to notice, but numa always giggles and gives them away.

boil has a soft spot for numa too, and sneaks her rice krispies.

bonus shit i want to add in but can’t figure out where to put it (or i’m just gonna add it on and shit)

plo koon adopted anakin after his mother died (him and anakin’s mother were good friends), and found ahsoka on the side of the street, shivering like a maniac.

he doesn’t know where ahsoka came from, but he loves her so gOD DAMN MUCH.

he’s the school counselor, and still keeps in touch with a lot of students even after the graduated (he thinks that majoring in law enforcement/police is a bit dangerous for wolffe but he still supports his unofficial but basically son 100%)

yoda is the super old but radically rad english teacher.

his entire point of existence in my mind fic is to troll the shit out of palpatine.

a recent conversation starring yoda and palps: “did you give the students the mountain of extra work i assigned them?” “for the students, that was?” i’m sorry. my bad, that is.” “this is the seventh time, yoda.”

okay but for real

mace windu violently roots for the school football team.

“BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM, CODY! YOU TOO...OTHER CODY!”

“THAT’S A HOLDING! THAT’S A HOLDING!”

“REF IF YOU DON’T COUNT THAT TOUCHDOWN THEN I SWEAR TO SAMUEL L. JACKSON I WILL COME DOWN THERE AND BEAT YOUR SORRY PINSTRIPED ASS!”

[kirstinmaldonado]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 2.0

I remember watching Glee. The pilot episode came out the end of my junior year, and then resumed my senior year of high school when I’d already been chosen and named Show Choir Captain (which of course was the biggest triple threat honor and validation one could have as a senior in the arts, right?). ;)

I’ll remember how I felt after the pilot episode forever. A spark lit up inside of me. Of inspiration? Of drive? Of acceptance? 

All three!? It made this little choir nerd feel COOL! I remember being blown away because there was nothing quite like it at the time, representing teens unabashedly following their passions whether it seemed cool or not, right or wrong. To just be! The next morning at school we all chatted about how badass we felt and how we would bring that energy to show choir. How cool it was that such a show came out when we were seniors, in a very “Watch out world, this is OUR year” way!

Little baby Kirstie transferred to Martin High School, with its renowned and arguably top music and theatre program of high schools in that area, for freshman year; which felt simultaneously like a nice clean start and incredibly horrifying. I had a few friends from community theatre but not too many in my grade and not too many that I shared classes with.

I was one of two freshman to make show choir my first year, and while I was excited for such an honor it immediately ostracized me. No one knew who I was or where I had come from, and that made me few friends and a few enemies. Although I wasn’t popular in high school, I don’t think I was unpopular…I ran in the theatre and choir crowd and took all AP classes, even graduating in the top 30 of my almost 1000 person class. 

My amazing mother instilled a strong worth ethic in me, so I valued working hard in school. I loved the schedule, I loved taking notes because I liked looking at my handwriting and cursive, how neat it was. I liked to highlight and color code everything so it was easier and more enticing to look at. I loved immersing myself in studies and extracurriculars which I balanced well, the curriculum only made harder if I skipped studying to hang with friends, which then turned in to grueling all nighters. 

But…sometimes I’d go to first period exhausted (sliding in to my seat right on time or late, you know how I roll) and there would be a Starbucks coffee on my desk from my best friend Will. Or after school when I’d planned to walk home, my friend Jory would give me a ride, but only after we got snow-cones and belted “If Only” from The Little Mermaid musical in the car all the way home.

That’s just two tiny examples of how amazing my friends, how amazing their hearts were. I cherish my time at high school and the people I met there with all my heart!! I feel so fortunate to have spent the BEST times, the worst times, and all the times in between with them. We explored family hardships and disputes, our own sexualities, our fears, our dreams with each other.

My friends were diverse. They were FUN! They inspired me with their work ethic. We all weren’t even pursuing the same thing, and in a way that made all of our uniqueness that much more precious. 

I think that’s how Glee was. A bunch of unique people, all doing their own unique things, then finding each other by sharing a common love and becoming friends.

So senior year show choir, we all became a bunch of Rachel Berrys, Santana Lopezes, Finn Hudsons, you name it. Glee had given us, or at least me, this new sparkly confidence. It reminded me that music was exactly what I loved, and what I wanted to spend my life pursuing.

After I graduated and months flew by, I didn’t watch the show as religiously like I used to. I’d catch a few episodes here and there, ones where the characters development and newfound growth  intrigued me, but my life had taken a turn and I just didn’t have the time anymore.

July 13, 2013. I was at my ex’s brother’s wedding when I heard the news. 

Cory Monteith had died from an overdose.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever cried about a celebrity’s death before then. Although I hadn’t been close to the show anymore, a part of me felt immediately heartbroken. Heartbroken that he’d been alone, heartbroken that he was doing what he was doing in the first place, but had the ability to keep edging deeper and deeper into a point of no return. I had romanticized about a relationship like Rachel and Finn, I had admired his and all the characters hearts and purpose. I had rooted for him. They in a way, felt like my friends, because that’s how I viewed my friends in high school. He was an everlasting part of why and where I was now, because Scott, Mitch, and I formed our trio for a contest to meet the cast of Glee that first season. 

People made fun of me that day. You don’t even know him. Why are you so upset?

I watched The Quarterback and then I couldn’t watch Glee again. Occasionally it came on TV, but it didn’t feel the same to me.

To me, Glee was the first show of its kind, representing and making heroes and stars out of people who would have normally been called losers. I’d never seen representation on screen that made me feel special as a Latina or as someone pursing “not a real career.” As the season progressed it evolved past the cheeky humor and delved in to real-world topics and teenage struggles. 

Seven years later, with Naya Rivera being found the day of Cory’s passing, I couldn’t help but feel like he played a role in guiding her home.

I think Naya was incredibly underrated. The show obviously had its main frontrunners, but Naya’s character transcended the “normal” teen woes of wanting to be a star. Through her sarcasm and wit, she was more complex. She had more to hide. She had more to give.

I loved seeing a Latina woman on the screen, a REAL one, not just an actor with darker features. I loved seeing her delve in to her sexuality with her best friend, and her experiences made my own feel valid. I thought what courage it must take to sit down with your hispanic grandmother, who you love so dearly, and be able to share a part of them that they maybe wouldn’t understand. I was crying from the second that scene started, thinking I’d maybe never have the courage to be that open.

I’ve thought of Naya and her family a lot this week. I’ve seen how many people loved her. While I never met her, I know her and the rest of the cast left a special mark on my life journey, and I will forever be grateful for them, and her.

I will remember show choir practices, in our sparkly, itchy  outfits, preparing for contest.

I will remember sneaking up in to the auditorium catwalk to sneak kisses with my best friend.

I will remember making the silliest videos when we all went to All-State choir.

I will remember belting and dancing on our cars to “Don’t Stop Believing” at the local Starbucks parking lot.

I will remember holding my friends tight crying as we all wore our different college shirts in our final performance as a show choir, having no idea that I was about to go out and be a part of something greater.

Glee brought together a hodgepodge of people. And that’s what Pentatonix was too. And it brought us together.

So I guess at the end of the day, all I want to say is… thank you, to Glee. To Cory. To Naya.

For creating special characters, that lit that special spark.

Rest in peace.

[ptersparkers]

hell froze over

summary: it’s a thursday afternoon and caliban’s taken you by surprise when he teleports to earth and asks you out on a date. not that you’d ever say no.

warnings: mentions of religion and typos, probably.

a/n: lol i can hear my parents sh*uting so i’m gonna write instead because!! we love distractions!! 

add yourself to my taglist!

Sabrina Spellman swore that Hell would have to freeze over the second she saw Caliban get “soft” and care for mortals.

That day was today. 

Greendale, being the small town that it was, housed many local favorites which included Dr. Cerberus’ diner, also dubbed as the local hangout of the Fright Club. There wasn’t much to say about the whole situation about who was running Hell with Sabrina’s clone down under and the Sabrina you knew alive and well, talking your ear off about Nick this, Harvey that, and Caliban this and that. 

If you were being completely honest, you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

So when Caliban teleported back up to Earth’s surface and caught you off guard leaving school grounds, you let out the loudest yell imaginable and dropped all of the books and stray pieces of paper you were carrying. 

“Jesus Christ,” you said, clutching your heart. You bent down and started to pick up what you had dropped. 

Caliban chuckled. “Not quite. Doubt he’s ever going to come to Earth.” 

You didn’t pay much attention to his comment in favor of gathering everything that was on the concrete and Caliban frowned, bending down to help you pick up some notebooks that were closer to him than you. When you finally stood up, you moved strange of hair out from your face and huffed, annoyed. 

“If you’re going to scare me, at least do it where people won’t see because I’m pretty sure I’ve embarrassed myself enough for this entire school year.” The corner of Caliban’s mouth lifted into a smirk when he saw you try to reassure your schoolmates and tugged on your backpack strap to get your attention.

“It’s a Thursday afternoon,” he stated. 

“Yes?”

“Do you have any plans?”

You were taken off guard. 

“What are you planning?” you asked with a raised brow. 

“Nothing bad,” he promised. “Since Sabrina number two is down in Hell dealing with things for the weekend, I figured why not come up here and spend the day with my favorite mortal.” You laughed at the sentiment and fixed your backpack to keep the straps from falling. 

“Well, I’m headed to the diner to study for a little bit before I head to cheerleading practice,” you explained. “I have about two hours before I have to be there so might as well eat and study. You know, kill two birds with one stone.” 

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. 

“You want to watch me study for two hours? It’a gonna be kind of boring,” you explained. 

“Think of me as your study-buddy.”

“Where did you even learn that phrase?”

“Sabrina’s rubbing off on me,” Caliban said with a low laugh. He gestured away from you. “Lead the way.” 

The diner wasn’t too packed when you arrived and you chose a table big enough to let you put your laptop and notebooks on while having a plate of food beside you. Your water bottle sat proudly in Caliban’s hands as he looked at the various stickers stuck to it. 

“This is quite peculiar,” he said.

“It’s a bunch of memories,” you explained. “This one’s from the camp grounds Harvey and I used to go to when we were younger. The orange one is from when Sabrina and I first became friends and that red one is the first sticker I saw with the world ‘Hell’ on it after coming back from, you know, Hell.” 

Caliban smiled at that one. “You’re odd.” 

You tilted your head and chuckled, not knowing how to respond to such a comment. You turned your attention to the screen in front of you, reading online articles assigned to you for your AP World History class. 

“What is ‘AP’?” Caliban asked, looking at the textbook that sat beside your computer. 

“It stands for advanced placement. It’s basically a college course for high schoolers so we don’t have to take it when we get to college and it gives us school credit.” 

“Sounds complicated.”

“It is,” you said, clicking out of the article you had finished taking notes on. “I think this while ‘Hell’ ordeal set me back because I haven’t been studying as much as I used to. At the end of the school year, everyone who takes AP classes has the chance to take a test that determines a score, which determines college credit.”

“You humans are so overachieving,” he commented, stealing a fry from your plate. “But I suppose being knowledgable isn’t bad.”

“Sometimes I feel like I put too much pressure on myself,” you confessed, your gaze back on the man sitting in front of you. “Like, does this really matter? Whether I ace or fail my AP tests won’t matter in the long run and it’s not like I can avoid going to Heaven or Hell.”

Caliban quirked an eyebrow, realizing that discovering the secrets of witches, Hell, and Heaven had left you in a turmoil that no one bothered to discuss. Sabrina was a witch and had accepted her fate on her sixteenth birthday. As for the other three mortals, they had some sort of lineage in magic that offered them solace. You did not. 

“Going to Hell really messed with you, didn’t it?” You didn’t want to say anything in fear of offending Caliban. When he wasn’t trying to steal the throne from Sabrina, he was a decent person, you thought. 

“Um,” you said, pausing, “I think it made me realize some things. I think those things are making me confused about the next step in my life and if what I’m doing is worth finishing.” 

Caliban looked at you and the various books, notebooks, and writing utensils sprawled out on the table. He saw your color-coded planner, binders that kept your articles and paperwork in place, and the dark tint underneath your eyes. That was all he needed to know. 

“I think you’re on the right path. From the looks of it,” he said, gesturing to the messy table in front of you, “you are so passionate and dedicated about learning and doing something with your life. Not many people can say the same. You have the advantage of knowing Hell exists and the second layer to humanity while others wonder about religion and faith. Use it to your advantage.”

“If I hear this correctly, it seems like you don’t want me to give up.” 

“I don’t,” he said, almost too quickly. “Your ambition to do well on your tests resembles my quest to become King of Hell. As I have found out another way to rule Hell alongside Sabrina, I think you’re going to find out what you’re meant to do in life.” 

“You’re starting to sound like someone who believes in God.” 

He chuckled. “God and angels exist. You know that now. I suppose you’ll have to continue praying to find out what He has in store for you.” 

You sat there, dumbfounded. It wasn’t too long ago that Caliban had been in the grand room, cursing angels and Heaven above out of frustration and anger. You and Sabrina had been waiting for him to finish throwing his tantrum before she could engage in business with him, so hearing Caliban talk about having faith in something that even he didn’t believe him gave you a glimmer of motivation. 

“I don’t even know what to say,” you said softly, fiddling with a pen. 

“Go out with me,” Caliban said. “To that drive in theater across town. You mentioned once that you like to go there when you’re stressed. We could forget about Heaven and Hell for one night.” 

“Okay,” you said quietly, earning a gigantic grin from Caliban.

As you were about to pack up your belongings, you heard a “Oh for Satan’s sake” from behind you and turned to see Sabrina rolling her eyes, already dressed in her cheer uniform. 

“Caliban, my clone and I are going to beat your ass if you hurt Y/N in any way,” she said in a sickly sweet tone. Caliban nodded, heading the message without much argument. You packed up your belongings and ran to use the restroom, leaving the two mystical beings alone. 

“I really like her,” Caliban said after a brief pause. “And I know you don’t agree wholeheartedly but I intend to prove otherwise.” 

“Y/N’s smart and won’t take anything from a boy if she’s not comfortable with it,” said Sabrina. “All I’m saying is you should watch you back should you ever hurt her in any way because it’s not just the Fright Club that’s gonna come after you.” 

Caliban gulped and watched as you emerged, putting your hair in a low bun before walking outside to go to cheerleading practice. 

“How does tomorrow night sound?” Caliban asked before you entered Harvey’s truck.

“Pick me up at six,” you said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “And this time, please don’t teleport and scare me.” 

The boy made of clay laughed and promised not to, watching as you climbed into the truck and waved goodbye. He saw Sabrina give him an all-knowing look, but he was determined to befriend your friends if it was the last thing he did. 

Hell, he had an entire lifetime to get to know you. 

***

BONUS:

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you asked as Harvey and Sabrina looked at you. The keys were in the engine but Harvey didn’t bother moving, opting to look between you and the spot where Caliban had teleported to Hell. 

“I know he’s kind of a good guy now, but are you serious?” Harvey asked. 

“What?” you asked, provoking him. “Am I not allowed to be in relationships like you two?”

“I’m just surprised, is all,” said Sabrina. “I mean, you did hate him when we first met him.”

“Absolutely nobody messes with my best friend,” you said. “You two, well, the other you, is ruling with him peacefully.”

“What is he tries to pull a trick?” Harvey asked. 

You had to admit, that was a fair concern. 

“I don’t think it’ll come to that, but if it does, there’s no way in Hell, literally, I’m choosing a boy over my best friends. Who, by the way, I’ve been friends longer with.” 

Harvey seemed to like this answer and started the engine, driving back to the school grounds with you in between him and Sabrina. 

“I guess Hell really did freeze over.” 

***

taglist: 

@princessdolan @ashyramblings-ficrecs. 

[topsytervy]

Colorful Notes ~ Pope Heyward

Naming and knowing how to end my writings is my Kryptonite, I swear.

Blurb: Pope stops by your house after school while your sick and informs you his notes are boring.

Word Count: 1,451 (it's a short one peeps)

Warnings: swearing, mentions of a cold?, spelling/grammar mistakes, there's not really anything else that needs a warning I think.

~~~~~~

You laid on your couch a sniffling, coughing mess as some random soap opera played on your tv. Well, random being the Young and the Restless cause you saw it on Hulu and decided you had nothing better to do. 

You were called in from school by your father, much to your dismay considering you had an AP world history test that day, and were forced to rest. 

You heard a knock on the front door before it opened, a familiar voice calling throughout your house. "Y/N! Sweetheart!"

"In here, Pope!" You called out, immediately regretting it when you started coughing.

Within a couple of seconds, the face of your sweet boyfriend came into view and you smiled. 

"How are you feeling, baby?" He asked, walking over to the couch and setting his backpack down next to it. 

He placed a quick kiss to the top of your head as you sat up. "Like shit. And when I figure out who got me feeling like shit, they will be feeling like shit when I punch them for making me miss a test." You grumbled. Pope let out a small laugh as he sat down, pulling you into his side. You rested your head on his chest as you wrapped your arms around his waist. "Please tell me you brought me my homework."

"I did but your dad told me not to give it to you because you'll do it now and you need to rest. He thinks you got sick cause of stress and I think-"

"You think it was John B cause he was sick that one day." You cut him off and he shot you a look.

"I think your dads right." Pope finished, emphasizing the 'I' in his sentence.

You pouted. "I think he's wrong." 

Pope rubbed your back and sighed, changing the subject. "What on earth are you watching?"

"The Young and The Restless." 

"Why?" 

"Well, there's 48 seasons of Young and the Restless and I started thinking about how easy it is for us nowadays to go through an entire season. We go through a season as if it's a hot knife cutting through butter. So I wondered how long it would take me to watch all 48 seasons if I didn't just stick to a season a day which made me do the math and if I can get through 2 seasons a day, I can watch all of it on 24 days. I now have a goal to watch all 48 seasons before day 24 hits all while keeping up with everything happening." You rambled.

"And how long are these episodes?" Pope inquired.

"The show started in 1973 and up until 1980, episodes were about half an hour. Every episode after 1980 is about an hour."

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you then."

"Well, I need something to keep me busy, Pope."

"You're not gonna be sick for 24 days sweetheart which means you won't be able to watch at least 2 and a half seasons a day if you wanna get it done before day 24 because you'll be back at school." He reasoned.

You grinned. "I know. Which is why once I'm back at school I'm dropping the knowing what's going on bit. Then it can just play while I get ready, or eat, or do homework." Pope rolled his eyes and reached for the remote but you pulled it away from him. "I'm only half a season in and this is season 5, bucko."

"Alright. Alright. I just thought maybe," Pope sighed, reaching over and unzipping his backpack and pulling out some of his notebooks. You perked up at the movement, pulling away from Pope and staring at your boyfriend. "I have all these boring notes from the past week and they're so dull. I thought you would want to do your thing and make them a little less dull but I guess not." He shrugged.

You grinned and wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "Pope, you are the greatest human being on earth. Do you know that?" 

"You tell me everyday." He smiled before getting up to go grab your gel pens from your room.

This wasn't the first time Pope had done this. Letting you doodle/color code his notes when you were bored or needed a break from whatever or even to just calm you down. It was enough to keep you relaxed while also engaging your brain.

Freshman year was the first time he ever let you do it and since then, he hasn't liked his notes in just boring pencil. He also hasn't thrown away any of his notebooks and barely lets anyone touch them, besides you of course, in fear that someone will destroy your work.

"Please John B. I just wanna do something." You pleaded.

You sat at a table in the library during study hall, all your homework done, with your friends Pope, John B, and JJ.

John B looked over at you. "They're notes, Y/N/N. I'm throwing all of them in a bonfire at the end of the year. It's pointless."

You rolled your eyes before turning them onto JJ. "JJ, can I please do something with your notes. I'm dying of boredom over here." 

JJ laughed.  "Bold of you to assume I took down notes. Come on, Y/L/N. I thought you knew me better than that."

"Why didn't you take notes?" 

"I can give you many reasons. One is why waste paper on useless shit. Deforestation and shit exists. Save some trees. Two is because then I don't have to buy new notebooks next year and I can save some money. Three is why the hell would I when I can just look at yours or Pope's." JJ listed before resuming his paper airplane. You stared at JJ and he glanced back up before sighing. "This is actually for science this time. Don't worry. I'm not gonna use it to piss off the librarian."

You were about to say something when a notebook was pushed towards you. You looked across to see Pope with a small smile. "Knock yourself out."

You grinned before opening it up and grabbing your gel pens from your backpack.

JJ leaned in close, knowing of his best friends small, but growing, crush on you. "Fuckin' whipped, dude." He chuckled which caused Pope to hit him.

Since then, Pope made sure to write light enough so you could trace over the words and left enough space for small doodles if you felt some were needed.

"Do you have a color scheme in mind?" You asked, sitting on the living room floor and laying out all your pens in front of you with Pope's science notebook opened to where you left off.

Pope thought about it for a minute before shaking his head. "You do whatever you deem fit, sweetheart." 

You grinned before turning your full attention onto the small project in front of you, reading over the words in front of you to see what colors you wanted to use. 

Pope sat behind you, playing with your hair as he watched you do your thing, content written all over your face. 

"I love you." You told him after a while, sniffling as you felt your nose begin to run

Pope smiled, kissing the back of your head as he reached for the box of tissues that sat beside you guys. "I love you too. Snot and all." He responded, holding the box out in front of you.

You grabbed a tissue with a pout before blowing your nose, Pope reaching for the trash can to bring it closer. "I hope I get you sick." 

Pope laughed. "Good luck with that. My immune system is solid, baby. It'll take more than this to get me sick."

You rolled your eyes before looking up at him and tapping your lips. "Kiss." 

Pope laughed once more as he shook his head. "Nice try, Y/N/N, but no."

You narrowed your eyes at him "I'll get ya, Heyward. I'll get ya when you least expect it. You won't even see it coming."

"I bet you will. Until then, and by then I mean better, all kisses will be placed on the cheek, hand, shoulder, top of the head, back of the head, and forehead." 

You made a face. "That's rude." 

"So is getting me sick. Now are you gonna do your thing or argue with me?"

"Both." You responded as you went back to Pope's notebook.

Pope smiled as he wrapped his arms around you and placed his head on your shoulder. "Bring on the debate then baby."

~~~~

[nickcifonie]

In 2021, Anyone Can Make $ Playing Video Games!

I grew up playing games like Risk, Monopoly, a little Chess... and still remember buying my first computer somewhere around 1986 solely to play a computer game on. It was an Apple IIc, and that first game was some type of Pirate Adventure. I wish I remembered the name. It wasn’t all that good, but still, I was hooked!

Since that first adventure, I’ve spent thousands of hours as well as dollars playing just about every type of digital game that has followed! PC games, Atari, Wii, mobile games... you name it, I play it! I’d always generalize the cost (to myself at least) thinking “some guys play golf 3 days a week at $100 a round... I play computer games”.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! However, the story has changed...

“Pay to Play” has become “Play to Earn”!

If you would be to search terms like “crypto games”, “blockchain games”, “make money playing video games”, and others, you’d find some really incredible statements. Today, quotes like the ones below are becoming more and more common!

“I made $400 last week playing a computer game” “I just sold my RPG character for $200 profit”

“I was offered $1k for a skin for my laser rifle of doom” (I made up the “laser rifle of doom” part)

“I bred my pet thingamajig yesterday and sold the baby!” (it’s digital, for those of you wincing)

In 2021, thanks to the blockchain, there’s a growing community of gamers who are making real dollars daily, mining, fighting, shooting, jumping... all while playing the same type of mobile and PC games that you had to PAY to play just a short while ago...

...but let’s start at the beginning.

You paid $172,000 for a what!?

Yes... all the way back in 2018 a CryptoKitty named “Dragon” was sold for an incredible $172,000. (300 ETH) Don’t be too surprised, it’s justified! It’s an adorable digital image, or “NFT” of a cat, after all.

It’s a lot of money, but for NFTs and blockchain gaming, flipping a Kitty today may as well be considered the stone ages. It’s still a record, but while you can still get started collecting these digital felines for as low as a couple of dollars, big-dollar trades still happen daily.

On the flip side of mortgaging your home to buy a digital picture of a CryptoKitty, Bored Ape, or CryptoPunk, you may feel better if you begin your adventure into making crypto (it’s real money, dear!) by playing a video game where you can “make money” instead of spending it.

I’m not saying owning a CryptoKitty or any of a plethora of “Avatar NFTs” we see popping up on various exchanges isn’t one way to do it... I’m saying to me at least, as a life-long gamer I’d much prefer playing a mobile, console, or PC game to collecting pictures in a digital wallet.

So what the heck is an NFT?

I could go into a long explanation... but since this article is about gaming and not cryptocurrency, I’ll tell you an NFT is a “non-fungible token”, and leave you google it if you really want to dig in deep. I do want to share more, so I’ll ‘splain it as simple as I can for you Lucy!

A CryptoKitty, as stated above, is a type of image called an NFT. (the collection is called “CryptoKitties) It’s a digital picture of a cartoon cat. There are thousands of different ones that have different shapes, colors, expressions and traits. (kind of like a real cat, but eats less)

The difference, is only one of each design is actually a legitimate “CryptoKitty”. (or a legitimate whatever type of image it happens to be) To be clearer... each NFT is a “one of a kind”, so if you’re thinking “but can’t I just make a copy?”, nope you can’t.

I mean... you “can” make a copy of it if you really dig the design and want it on your desktop, but it would only be a copy of that particular NFT, not the real McCoy! Ok... so what makes one real, and the rest fakes? The blockchain.

Now, I’m going to be true to my word and keep my promise of not making this an article about crypto or the blockchain, so just know this: the difference between an image that is an actual NFT, and a copy of one, is there is an underlying digital code that designates the real thing.

So real in fact, that artists are creating or importing their paintings and creations to the web as NFTs, numbering them as they would a lithograph, and selling their entire collections. So if you are an art fan, check with your favorite creators... you may be surprised to find all of their “works of art” on an online marketplace!

NFTs are viewed on certain marketplace websites and digital wallets where the copies cannot be displayed, so that is how we know one is real, and the others are not! Having said that, sure, there’s more to it, but just know that there’s a 100% secure way of knowing an image is a real NFT.

In addition, there can be more than one NFT with the same identical image. However, each has a unique underlying code, so even if they look exactly the same, they are not! Look at it like the playing cards or comic books of old... there may be 1,000 created (or “minted” as it’s called in NFT land) but they will each be numbered 1 to 1,000.

And guess which is more valuable.....? I knew you’d get it!

And these NFT’s make money how?

You’re getting warmer! There are a lot of different types of games coming out these days where you can make money playing. There are RPG’s, MOBA’s, Shooters, games in first person and in third, dungeon crawls... you name it!

If you’re thinking “how did I not know this!”, I was the same until recently! I have been gaming almost daily since I stepped into Ultima Online back in 1997, and I can’t even begin to tally how many hours and/or dollars I’ve invested into gaming.

Now, our hobby pays!

After 30-something years, my wife still thinks I’m bonkers... but I got a totally different look from her a few days ago when I told her I sold my game character for well over $200. Legit. I sold two more yesterday, and another this afternoon.

Some of these only cost me $10 or $15, some much more. Some are free. I sold another NFT character last week for $1,950, and it was sold on the game’s website, not on the black market.

So not only can an NFT be a picture of an Ape, Vegetable, Duck, or Stripper on a pole (we’ll leave it at that) but it can be a character in a game, a weapon, a mount, armor, or more.

One game is giving away free pet turtles with each character. For the uneducated on “pets” in computer games, it’s not the kind you keep in a bowl in your bedroom. It’s a companion that fights with you in an online game and may shoot fire from its eyes, heal you, or similar.

Soon after being handed out for free, they’re now selling for around $60 each.

So an NFT can be an image, a video, music, a meme... or even a shirt or shoes! But we’ll leave the NFT clothing explanation to another article. ;)

Remember that rare skin you paid out the nose for a year ago in Apex? Or the L33T character you built up in Fortnite or Warcraft? If you’re no longer playing that game, it’s money under the bridge. And you don’t own the bridge!

In this new breed of blockchain games, you could have LEGALLY sold that character, skin, weapon, land, house, mount, or whatever it was when you tired of the game. For a profit. Maybe for a LARGE profit.

Yes, in the past we were able to find ways to get around the system and dump our pixels from time to time. We’d sell the account on the black market, or cut a deal with someone like a drug dealer on a Chicago Street corner. Then we’d over who went first...

“You give me the account and weapon first!” “No you give me the money first”.  Sometimes the deals even went through. Others well... let’s just say half of the parties walked away happy.

I made good money when after 4 years of daily playing I sold my Ultima Online account for somewhere around $2,000, but I needed to find a trustworthy “go-between” to broker the deal. Even then, I was sweating it!

With today’s crypto games, not only do the games provide the platform to buy, sell, or trade your character and items, but it’s encouraged, and done with good old U.S dollars! I’ve made $ playing 4 or 5 different games already this week, as well as flipping (buying low and selling higher) NFT characters!

How else can I make money playing games?

The way you earn varies from game to game, but each week seems to reveal another new strategy, platform, or idea. Many are new strategies, and while some have “triple A” 3D animation and graphics, others are simpler and use basic one-dimensional graphics for the gameplay.

Some of these games are actually tied to a token on the blockchain. The game developer creates their own token, not too unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, and it can be bought or sold on the open market as well as used in the game as currency.

Could you imagine if back in League of Legends, Guild Wars or Final Fantasy, when you were ready to move to a new game, you could sell or easily convert your gold to cash? Some of today’s blockchain games encourage it!

Not only can you now buy and sell characters and weapons, the gold in the game can be traded, bought, sold, or saved like real currency, stocks, crypto, or collectables. Never have I been as excited about PC and mobile gaming as I am today!

As an example, I am doing some work for a new game that will launch soon called Pepper Attack. Pepper Attack has its own token or coin... called MYTE. It can be used in the game as currency, but also be traded like Bitcoin. A lot of today’s blockchain games offer this same benefit.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to mine I go!

Just by owning an NFT from the game, you can login on a daily basis and click “mine” earning real-value tokens passively. Your Pepper goes to work like one of the 7 Dwarves mining MYTE, and later on you can convert it to other tokens or cold, hard cash.

There's more to do in this particular game as well. Like any good RPG or MMORPG, each pepper has a unique combination or skills like attack, defense, evade, hit points, and more. As an example of the possibilities, if you have a high attack score, other characters will be able to pay you in MYTE to “train” them, raising their score as well.

In addition, these NFTs have unique physical traits, some are common and some are very rare. This game in particular have toons that look more like anime-ish elves with weapons and a stem... I have to admit the artwork is really spicey! (see what I did there?) Other games are of course totally different.

Some people will simply collect these NFTs/characters as an investment, like playing cards or comics. Others will use them in the game, and still others will do both. Either way, they can be held, or sold for a profit!

Unlike the games of the past, when you’re ready to move on you don’t walk away and lose all the $ you have spent for characters, skins, weapons, potions, and other items. When you’re done, you’ll be able to sell your character and items... possibly for a profit... maybe a lot of profit... and move on.

These are not your father’s computer games!

As we move ahead in the genre, we are seeing AAA studios coming out with big-dollar productions, like Blankos, Mist, Illuvium, Ember Sword and others. Some of these games actually let you buy the land you build on!

Did you have your own house in Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, or Archeage? What if you could have used It as a shop and been paid in dollars for your wares, rented it to another player, or sold it for cold hard cash at a huge profit down the road?

In many of today’s games, not only is it common, but extremely hard to come by, and quite expensive. Not only are people paying thousands of dollars for a plot in some of the games that have land, but they’re paying it many months before the game is even released.

They do it, because in many cases they know that they can easily 2X, 10X, or even 50X their investment a short piece down the road. Seriously? Seriously... and the early bird catches the worm!

Other games with lesser budgets are more graphic-based, but have super earnings potential as well, and are just as fun to play. These include Splinterlands, (a card game like Magic!) Crypto Blades, Axie Infinity and more.

Regardless of if the new blockchain game of your choice is a RPG, MOBA, a card game or racing game... the fact that you can put some coin into your pocket playing adds a whole new element. It’s heckafun making money playing a game!

The early nerd catches the worm!

In many cases, if you can catch a game before it releases, the land, characters, weapons, and other items... in most cases all NFTs... can be grabbed at a tiny fraction of the future value.

Of course, always check out the game details and team first, and be confident it’s a good place to put your money. Not all games are made the same.

If you’re lucky enough to find out about and partake in an early sale, for example, like grabbing a character NFT or two in   “Pepper Attack”  before the late September launch date, you may be in for a real treat!

There are plenty of new titles coming down the pipe that look to be fun, have great communities, and offer earning opportunities. A web search will find services and websites that will keep you on your toes and alert you of upcoming blockchain game releases, marketplace opening, and more.

As we look forward, the future of gaming on the blockchain is really, really exciting! Not only are the games getting better and more fun, but they’re getting better at making the economics work more smoothly as well.

The games are not without challenges, as they need to be made to sustain themselves economically over the long haul. In addition, they need to have higher levels of security (thanks blockchain!) and of course, work without becoming “pay to win”. Thankfully, the new breed of developers have risen to the challenge!

The next time you look for a new game to add to your phone or desktop, or just want a change of pace, look to a game that pays to play! Your wallet might thank you.

Another perk, is your husband or wife will appreciate it as well! Instead of hearing “are you going to play that stupid game all night again?”, you may start to hear things like “I’ll put the kids to bed tonight sweetheart, so you can get online and play”.

One can only hope...

Author - Nick Cifonie

Nick is a lifelong gamer, who cut his teeth at the local Chicago arcade playing Tetris as a teen. Better known as Znick or Deacon Z, Nick became a Game Master in Ultima Online in 1997, ran a large multi-game guild for 15 years, and now spends his time in the “play to earn” arena. Professionally, Nick is a writer and 4-decade marketer working with the  Pepper Attack team, as well as others. Nick is also a Catholic Deacon.

[daniel1972777]

Buy craigslist number The best websites like Craigslist The Curious Case Of The Craigslist Camel “Euphoria” Makeup Artist Donni Davy Talks Season Two And Her Career Journey

Donni Davy helped forever change the world of makeup. As one of the makeup artists on the hit HBO series, Euphoria, Davy’s colorful, intricate, gemstone-filled work became a sensation, helping to spawn Buy craigslist number  an entire beauty movement. With the show officially set to begin filming on Season 2, Davy joined NYLON for a chat on her past work, what the future holds for Euphoria, and how she got started in the world of makeup.

Davy’s work on Euphoria is synonymous with explosive uses of color and touches of glitter, but as she shared with NYLON, her own makeup routines weren’t always as experimental. In fact, it was only within the last year that she started to try out more looks on herself and share them with social media.

Ahead, Davy chats her use of color, the surprise direction Euphoria beauty routines will head in Season 2, and more.

What was your relationship like with makeup when you were growing up?

I was never a big makeup wearer growing up. I was shy, and I was not a girl wearing expressive makeup, which is kind of funny to me, because I got to do some unrequited looks for Euphoria, and sort of do a redo. I was able to have this second opportunity to really get down with fun makeup.

Then during quarantine, I started putting [makeup] on myself and I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. Why haven’t I been doing this forever?’ I’m making up for lost time now. Growing up, I was trying to blend in and be feminine. I'm really pleased to be able to go against the grain a bit now.

As someone who didn’t play with makeup growing up, how then did you end up coming up with such creative looks?

My background is in painting, drawing, and photography — visual arts in general — so I always had this relationship to color, painting, brushes, and canvases. That’s really informed a lot of what I do now.

My makeup, that I first started doing and getting more known for in the film industry, was really gritty. My work on Moonlight and a couple other projects was about gritty, realistic stuff. I wanted to do projects that I would be able to express more color and textures, but I had like no contacts in the fashion world.

I wasn't doing any editorial work or anything like that, but I was able to connect with some people on Craigslist. I would get together with some photographers who would be able to grab models from agencies who needed test shoots. I did makeup out of the back of my car to beef up my portfolio with more colorful looks. If you want to get more of a certain style of work into your portfolio, sometimes you just gotta do it yourself and not wait to be hired.

Do you plan out the looks in advance, or do you just go for it?

Both, and I love being able to do both. On Euphoria last season, that was my first TV show and it was a big cast, so I planned a lot in advance. But working with that many main characters, and then the schedule changing, all your plans can kind of go out the window sometimes. I loved that Euphoria was a combination of looks that I really planned, and I sort of got a little bit of opportunity to test on actors.

Was there a look that you created for yourself, or even for a character, that you remember seeing and feeling really proud of?

I’m still really proud of the looks for and I created. I think my favorite is Kat’s Halloween makeup. Seeing that finished look was really fun, with the black lip liner, red lip, and the sparkly upside down crosses. For me, that was a real satisfying one to see it all done.

Are there any products that you use on Euphoria, or outside of the show, that you really love?

I always go back to the ColourPop palettes. They're affordable, colorful, and easy to use. I buy loads of them. They're so fun, and that’s the number one thing I recommend to people who ask, ‘How do I get colorful makeup?’

I’ve been mixing a lot of my own glitters lately and experimenting with glitter gels and products. There’s also The Lip Bar (TLB), which makes killer long-wear lip colors.

When it comes to Euphoria, are there any clues you give us as to what to expect as far as makeup in Season 2?

It’s going to be really different, and in terms of stuff I want to explore, I am excited to take that excitement surrounding the Euphoria makeup, and play with a little bit of minimalism. I want to even go a little bit in the opposite direction, too, for the sake of reimagining what we can do with neutral colors, textures, and finer glitter.

I’m at one end of the spectrum now, right? It’s exciting to think about the other end of the spectrum, and how to go back there, but make it feel exciting, fresh, and experiment with more minimalism.

What advice would you give to people that have seen your work, and wish to start embracing a more colorful makeup routine?

There are so many fun pops of color out there that feel more safe. Use colorful mascara, or put a colorful eyeliner on your waterline.  Buy craigslist code hard to go back. Once you take those baby steps, the I don't know, the serotonin and the endorphins kick in with that feeling of putting bright, fun color on your face, and walking out the door with it, will open up the possibility of a world of fun color. It's definitely hard to go back to neutrals after that.

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Thursday, January 7, 2021

The coronavirus intensified a hunger crisis last year, but 2021 could be worse (Washington Post) The coronavirus pandemic unleashed cascades of suffering in 2020. People around the globe faced the threat of the virus, along with the devastating ripple effects of efforts to control its spread. For much of the world, the legacy of the pandemic will be impossible to untangle from the stark material inequities that worsened it—and that it exacerbated. Among the most dangerous of these: a mounting hunger crisis, set to grow even more dire in 2021. The World Food Program, the branch of the United Nations responsible for delivering lifesaving food assistance, expects to need to serve 138 million people this year—more than ever in its 60-year history. The rise in hunger is “due to what I call ‘the three Cs’—conflict, covid and climate,” said Steve Taravella, a WFP spokesman. “We don’t take the word ‘famine’ loosely, but with famine looming in several countries at once, we’re facing a genuine crisis.” And as the situation worsens, the agency is also facing major funding shortfalls. It expects to raise only around half of the $15.1 billion it projects it will need in 2021, Taravella said. The agency is steeling itself “for an especially heartbreaking year,” he said.

Pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn election (AP) A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. The nation’s elected representatives scrambled to crouch under desks and donned gas marks, while police futilely tried to barricade the building, one of the most jarring scenes ever to unfold in a seat of American political power. A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol, and Washington’s mayor instituted an evening curfew in an attempt to contain the violence. The rioters were egged on by Trump, who has spent weeks attacking the integrity of the election and had urged his supporters to descend on Washington Wednesday to protest Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s victory. Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob.      The president gave his supporters an added boost Wednesday morning during an appearance at a rally outside the White House, where he urged them to march to the Capitol. He spent much of the afternoon in his private dining room off the Oval Office watching scenes of the violence on television. At the urging of his staff, he reluctantly issued a pair of tweets and a taped video telling his supporters it was time to “go home in peace.” The Pentagon said about 1,100 District of Columbia National Guard members were being mobilized to help support law enforcement at the Capitol. More than a dozen people were arrested. As darkness began to set in, law enforcement officials worked their way toward the protesters, using percussion grenades to try to clear the area around the Capitol. Big clouds of tear gas were visible.

Biden win confirmed (AP) Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election, undercut the nation’s democracy and keep Trump in the White House. Lawmakers were resolved to complete the Electoral College tally, and they pushed through the night with tensions high and the nation’s capital on alert. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the election. Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, said in a statement immediately after the vote that there will be a smooth transition of power on Inauguration Day.

Democrats ahead in Georgia (Foreign Policy) Democrat Raphael Warnock has been declared the winner in his race against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler while the other race between Jon Ossoff and Sen. David Perdue remains too close to call, although the New York Times predicts Ossoff is likely to win. Warnock has a lead of more than 50,000 votes and Ossoff is ahead by more than 16,000 with most of the uncounted votes remaining in the heavily Democratic Atlanta area. If Democrats win both seats, they would take control of the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Foreign Policy’s Mike Hirsh argues that no matter who prevails in Georgia, the effect on President-elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy is likely to be minimal. “Over the past four years the Senate Republicans have been more willing to challenge President Donald Trump on foreign-policy issues—and thus may end up being more receptive to Biden’s plans, especially when it comes to restoring relations with U.S. allies that have been so damaged during the Trump years,” Hirsh writes.

New Year & New Economic Woes for Cubans as Prices Surge (AFP) Raisa Lemus had to return home to fetch extra money to finish her shopping, Arturo Sobrado was angered by the “abusive” bus fare hike and Norma Pousada was left bemused that shops no longer accepted her money. For Cubans, the new year has begun with a steep, painful rise in prices due to a complex economic reform launched on January 1 by the government that also included an increase in salaries. The two cohabiting currencies in circulation for a quarter of a century are being fused into one: and one is worth 24 times less than the other. To soften the blow, the government announced a bumper five-fold hike in the minimum wage. But basic goods such as food and electricity have also seen a sharp rise in prices since the Christmas holidays. Although the government has set a six-month period to phase out the convertible peso—which is pinned to the dollar and was introduced in 1994 to replace the US currency that was commonly used alongside the regular peso—many stores have put up signs saying they are not accepting it any more.

Chilean lawmakers propose making coronavirus vaccine mandatory (Reuters) Chilean lawmakers on Tuesday presented a bill before Congress that would make vaccination against the coronavirus mandatory as the country’s center-right government pushes to inosculate the majority of its population by mid-year. The bill would modify the country’s health code, which already requires vaccination against smallpox, whooping cough and other diseases, according to the opposition Christian Democracy party lawmakers who submitted the legislation. An IPSOS survey in early December found that seven out of 10 Chileans said they would be willing to get vaccinated. Health Minister Enrique Paris said earlier this week that officials would study the proposal.

British judge denies WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange bail in extradition case, citing flight risk (Washington Post) A British judge on Wednesday refused to grant bail and release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who will remain in a prison cell on the outskirts of London while the U.S. government pursues its case against him. Assange is charged with 18 federal crimes, including conspiring to obtain and disclose classified diplomatic cables and sensitive military reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawyers for the U.S. government said they will appeal to Britain’s High Court the judge’s ruling to halt the extradition, a process that could take several months. Prosecutors want Assange flown to Northern Virginia to face the charges, which could lead to a life sentence in a maximum-security prison if he were convicted. In her ruling from the bench denying Assange’s bid for freedom, the judge recited some history, noting that Assange was granted bail by a British court in 2010 as he fought extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for sexual assault. The Swedish case was later dropped. The judge recalled how in June 2012 Assange fled from British justice and sought refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, which granted him asylum. Assange spent almost seven years as a fugitive in the embassy, until Ecuador revoked his protection and British police arrested him in April 2019. Since then, he has been in Belmarsh.

India’s internet shutdowns cost its economy nearly $3 billion in 2020 (Quartz India) India’s constant internet blackouts have taken a huge toll on its economy. National shutdowns left Indian businesses without hundreds of hours of vital internet access, costing billions in lost revenue. Authorities cut Indians off from the internet for more than 1,655 hours as a result of national shutdowns, according to research by Top10VPN, a publication focused on internet privacy. And many people with internet still couldn’t use it without obstacles. Governments also deliberately reduced internet bandwidths for more than 7,200 hours, bringing speeds down to 2G—SMS and voice calls continue to function but modern websites and apps are rendered useless. It’s not too far from a complete blackout. The economic cost of these restrictions amounts to a whopping $2.88 billion in 2020, according to Top10VPN.

China reacts to storming of U.S. Capitol (Foreign Policy) Pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) commenters are gleeful at the scenes of chaos in Washington on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the November 2020 election results culminated in armed supporters breaching the U.S. Capitol. Many in China have made comparisons to so-called color revolutions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which Beijing paints as U.S.-backed attempts to topple hostile governments. The belief that the United States would collapse like the Soviet Union has circulated among members of the Chinese elite since the mid-2000s, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. Under President Xi Jinping, Chinese officials have been encouraged to study the Soviet collapse closely as an example of what mistakes China should avoid. The scenes in Washington, so reminiscent of the Russian parliamentary violence of the 1990s, will only encourage such convictions.

China steps up curbs near Beijing (Reuters) Chinese authorities imposed travel restrictions and banned gatherings in the capital city of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, in the latest escalation of measures to stave off another coronavirus wave. The province, which entered a “wartime mode” on Tuesday, accounted for 20 of the 23 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases reported in mainland China on Jan. 5, more than the total of 19 cases in the province in the three previous days. The head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday said he was “very disappointed” that China still had not authorized a team of international experts tasked with examining the origins of the coronavirus into the country.

Hong Kong Police Arrest Dozens of Pro-Democracy Leaders (NYT) The Hong Kong police arrested 53 elected pro-democracy officials and activists early Wednesday for their involvement in an informal primary election, the largest roundup yet under the new national security law imposed by Beijing to quash dissent. The mass arrests—which included figures who had called for aggressive confrontation with the authorities as well as those who had supported more moderate tactics—underscored Hong Kong officials’ efforts to weaken any meaningful opposition in the city’s political institutions. The police also visited the offices of at least one law firm and three news media organizations to demand documents, broadening the burst of arrests that started before sunrise and sent a chill through Hong Kong’s already-demoralized opposition camp. The moves suggested that the authorities were casting a wide net for anyone who had played a prominent role in opposing the government.

North Korea’s Kim says economic plan failed as rare party congress begins (Reuters) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his five-year economic plan had failed to meet its goals “on almost every sector” as he kicked off the ruling Workers’ Party congress on Tuesday, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. The rare political gathering, which Kim last hosted in 2016, has drawn international attention as he is expected to unveil a new five-year economic plan and address foreign policy, just two weeks before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office. In his opening speech, Kim said the country had achieved a “miraculous victory” by bolstering its power and global prestige since the last meeting, referring to military advances that culminated in successful tests in 2017 of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. But the five-year economic strategy he set forth in 2016 had failed to deliver, he said, calling for a boost in North Korea’s self-reliance to tackle internal and outside challenges hindering its progress.

Netanyahu re-election hopes hinge on vaccination campaign (AP) For media-obsessed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the coronavirus vaccine has arrived just in time. With elections approaching in March, Netanyahu has placed his world-leading vaccination drive at the center of his reelection campaign—launching an aggressive media blitz portraying him as almost singlehandedly leading the country out of the pandemic. He appears to be betting that a successful vaccination effort can persuade voters to forget about his corruption trial and the economic damage caused by the coronavirus crisis. Netanyahu, like his good friend Donald Trump and other world leaders, frequently tries to use social media and tightly controlled press conferences to bypass the traditional media—and the scrutiny that has come along with it. While this strategy has often served Netanyahu well, his obsession with controlling the message also threatens to backfire. It lies at the heart of a corruption case in which he is accused of granting favors to powerful media figures in exchange for positive coverage of him and his family. An expanded indictment released this week outlined 150 incidents showing detailed control he allegedly tried to exert over the media. This included pressure on a news site to drop critical coverage about a lacy dress worn by his wife, and pushing the site to publish photos of her meeting actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Syria says Israel strikes again, several missiles downed by air defences (Reuters) Israel struck targets in southern Syria on Wednesday in the third such attack in nearly 10 days, state TV reported as military defectors said the missiles targeted Iranian revolutionary guard bases. A military spokesman said missiles flying over the Golan Heights targeted several locations and air defences downed several missiles. Live coverage showed a multi-storey building on fire. There was no immediate comment from an Israeli military spokesman but Israel’s Defence Force Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said last month the missile strikes had “slowed down Iran’s entrenchment in Syria”. “We have struck over 500 targets this year, on all fronts, in addition to multiple clandestine missions,” Kochavi said in comments published in Israeli media.

Saudi Arabia Leads Oil Production Cuts (Foreign Policy) The OPEC+ group of oil producing countries have agreed to cut production in February, as Saudi Arabia volunteered to take one million barrels of its oil off the market per day in order to shore up prices. The decision seems to have done the trick, at least temporarily. The U.S. oil price benchmark passed the $50 dollar mark for the first time since February in the wake of the news. The Saudi decision reflects the uncertain global economic prospects in the year ahead. Vaccine programs, heralded as the quickest route to normalcy, have sputtered in some countries and are potentially years away in others. Saudi Arabia’s decision to shoulder the production cuts seems to have kept oil producing countries together, but as Edoardo Campanella argued in November, the group needs to reimagine its role if it is to remain relevant in a changing world.

Theft leads to community giving in Miami (AP) Two days before Thanksgiving, on the eve of a turkey giveaway for dozens of jobless residents in an impoverished Miami neighborhood, Sherina Jones got word that one of the free community refrigerators she’d been stocking was stolen. Jones had been helping to feed the poor in Miami for months. About half of her clients are homeless; others are day laborers who take to-go lunches or single moms who can’t feed their kids. When one of the refrigerators was stolen just before the Thanksgiving Day turkey giveaway, it was more than a theft. It felt like an act against a community in need. Just when it seemed the Grinch-like act would ruin the holiday, something magical happened: Residents of a community where many can barely afford rent pulled together, each giving a little until they ended up collecting quite a lot. The Rev. Michael Daily heard about the stolen refrigerator on the news. He works at a community agency that helps local churches and knew that many parishioners were counting on those meals. He used agency funds to buy Jones a fancy double-door refrigerator and enlisted a construction worker to help build protective housing so it can’t be stolen. A group of artists designed T-shirts and donated the proceeds. All together, more than 330 people raised over $23,000 on a fundraising website. The community’s response to a toy drive in December allowed Jones to give away dozens of bicycles, dolls and other presents to 400 families. “People come by and stock the fridge during the evenings or buy a bulk of things and drop it off. I’m so appreciative,” Jones said. “We’ve all come together to take care of each other.”

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Transferred (6)

Awkwardness, advice, and even more awkwardness. (The word awkward now doesn’t even sound real. You’re welcome for this awkward description.)

---

“Quinn, do you know when that essay for history is due?” Marinette walked into class with Nanette and Quinn.

“Um,” They checked their arms, “Thursday?”

“You need to get a planner or something.” Marinette sighed.

“I’ve been barking up that tree for three years.” Nanette rolled her eyes.

“I have a system.” Quinn scoffed.

“Writing everything on your arms is not a productive system.” Marinette argued.

“Says you!”

“Quinn, darling, as someone who meticulously keeps an organized and color coded planner/calendar in my room this ‘system’ of yours gives me anxiety. For all that is sweet and holy, buy an actual planner. Download an app on your phone. Something!” Marinette begged.

Marinette really liked Quinn, they were smart and fun and had an encyclopedic knowledge on everything having to do with conspiracy theories and cryptids. Marinette hadn’t even heard of the giant snail like creature, Lou Carcolh, until they mentioned it once while hanging out at Marinette’s house. Like them as much as she did, their organization was zero. She’s seen their locker, their bookbag, she could only imagine the neat-freak meltdown she’d experience if she ever set foot in Quinn’s room.

“Nah, this is easier.” Quinn shrugged as they took their seat.

“Quinn...no…”

“Good morning,” Kagami approached their table. Ever since Marinette had talked to her that first day the two were getting along better. Kagami was even starting to branch out more to her classmates. “Did you all have a nice weekend?”

“Morning, Kagami,” Nanette smiled back at her, “I had a great weekend. I even got to meet Marinette’s boyfriend, Adrien.”

Kagami’s pleasant expression faltered and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

“Nani,” Marinette pinched Nanette’s arm forcefully, “I told you he’s not my boyfriend.”

“The way he was looking at you though and how much you talk about him--”

“Shh!” Marinette clamped a hand over her mouth, “We are just friends. He doesn’t see me that way at all.”

Kagami muttered something under her breath that Marinette didn’t catch. Probably cursing the fact that Marinette liked Adrien too. Every time Adrien got brought up, in even the tiniest of moments, things between Kagami and Marinette soured. An unspoken rivalry for the blonde’s affections tensing the air without saying a word.

Class started and Marinette went back to her seat. She risked a glance at Kagami and sighed. She really was a nice girl when you get past her hard outer shell. They even seemed to have quite a lot in common when they got right down to it. A little too much in one case. And that is what drove them apart every time.

Adrien.

A crush on a boy isn’t what should split what would otherwise be a pair of close friends, should it?

“Alright students,” Mr. Babineaux started handing out papers, “To finish out our study of Utopia, we are going to be doing a pairs project. You and your partner will create your own utopian island. You have complete creative control but there are a few points that everyone must hit. 1: Draw a map of your utopia. 2: List the laws and regulations of your utopia. Lastly, write a small essay on the values the indigenious people of your island hold and why, minimum two pages. If you want to add other things like culture, holidays, or what have you then that is more than welcome. You have the rest of class to find your partner and start your project. This will be due next Wednesday where you will present your utopia to the class. Have at it.”

Immediately everyone started pairing off. Marinette stretched her head to look at Nanette and Quinn but they were already huddled together making rough sketches of their island. Looking around the only available person seemed to be Kagami.

“So…” Marinette smiled at her, hoping to diffuse some of the tension, “Want to be partners?”

“That sounds nice.” Kagami stated matter of factly.

Oh boy.

They started by outlining the core laws their island would function under and then moved onto what the punishment for breaking the laws may entail. Kagami seemed to have a much harsher form of punishment then Marinette had in mind. Marinette was able to talk her down out of anything lethal. Although she may have let slide the liars have their tongues cut out rule for reasons…

The bell rang and everyone started packing up for their next class.

“I was thinking, I don’t know what your schedule is like but maybe we can figure out a day to get together and keep working on the project. I’m not too worried about the map but I think we would need more time than class allows to hash out the culture and values of our island.” Marinette explained as she and Kagami packed their things.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free. With tournament season coming up my mother has arranged for me to spend more time practicing my fencing.” Kagami said, “I’ll probably barely see anyone outside of Mr. D’Argencourt, mother, and Adrien.”

And there was the tension again.

“Right, you have my number so you just let me know. We’ll figure something out.” Marinette smiled through the awkwardness.

After school let out Marinette opened her phone and pulled up her contacts. She wanted to talk to someone about this whole Kagami and Adrien situation. Nanette and Quinn are great but they don’t have the whole story and Marinette was not in the mood to explain everything. She sure as heck couldn’t talk to Adrien about it. Aurore didn’t really know Kagami. Wayhem can’t keep a secret to save his life. Chloe was a hard no for many reasons and not just because she went AWOL.

She stared for a long minute at Alya’s name. She would understand what Marinette was going through. At the very least she’d be able to give her some advice.

Marinette put her phone away with a sigh. “Why such a long face?” Tikki whispered, popping her little head out of Marinette’s purse.

“I want to be friends with Kagami cause she’s really nice and we can get along but every time Adrien gets mentioned things go south. We don’t say anything but I can feel it. It’s like there is a string between Kagami and I that frays a little more when Adrien is mentioned. I want to say something but I feel like doing so would just make things worse. What if I say something wrong and we end up arguing? I don’t want to fight what could be a good friend over a love triangle.”

“I feel like not saying anything could do more harm then ignoring it altogether.”

“I know but what if--”

A loud crash from down the road halted Marinette’s reply. A dozen or so people were running away as more crashes crept closer to where she was. An akuma no doubt.

Marinette ducked into an alleyway. This Kagami situation would have to wait. “Tikki, transform me!”

Marinette lunged onto the roof of the nearest building and searched for the source of the destruction.

“BAH!” A giant baby waddled around the corner, “BAH!”

“Seriously? Hawkmoth akumatized August again?” She sighed. At least she knew how to deal with this akuma already. Not as easy as taking down Mr. Pigeon but at least she didn’t have to worry about Chat’s allergies.

“I’m guessing someone’s pretty cranky about being woken up from their nap.”

Speak of the devil.

“Hey Chat Noir,” Marinette greeted her partner, “It’s been a while.”

“Too long, my lady,” he grinned back at her, “While I did enjoy the break from akumas I did miss our moments together.”

“Which ones? Where I throw you at akumas or when you leap into the line of fire yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s just get junior here pacified before dinner. I think giant babies would take a lot more than a bottle to keep them happy.”

“True.”

Marinette scanned over the akuma. What was his problem today? He wasn’t chewing on anything so it wasn’t teething. He was rubbing his eyes a lot. Maybe he really was grumpy from waking up or just too tired to realize that sleeping would rid him of his grumpy mood.

“We need to get him to fall asleep.” She told Chat Noir, “Help me lure him somewhere with room enough to lay down. I have an idea.”

“On it.” Chat Noir jumped closer, “Hey! Over here! Wanna play with a kitty? Gotta catch me first!”

The pair went running as a sleepy August waddled after them.

Marinette knew that she should focus on the akuma but her thoughts about Kagami wouldn’t leave her be. “Chat, can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he shrugged as they ran, “Finally gonna ask me on a date?”

“Not so lucky, minou,” she rolled her eyes, “You see, there’s this person I’ve started making friends with but she likes the same guy as me. I still want to be friends with her but the topic always brings up a cloud of awkwardness because of this boy. Any advice?”

“I have two options.”

“What’s the first one?”

“Talk to her. If the both of you want to be friends but this subject of a shared crush makes things uncomfortable then you need to address it. You don’t have to bow out of your crush so the other isn’t awkward but keep pursuing this mystery boy without letting it harm your friendship. If you truly are on good terms then a little rivalry is fine as long as you don’t delve into underhanded tactics like sabotage.”

“And what was option two?”

“Ditch mystery boy and go out to the movies with me?” he asked with a hopeful but joking smile.

“I think I’ll stick with option one. Thanks though.”

They got to the football field arena and circled around August. He wouldn’t cause anymore damage here.

“What’s the plan?” Chat Noir asked.

“We got him here, now we need to get him to sleep. Let me see what I got,” She thrust her yo-yo into the sky, “Lucky Charm!”

A CD dropped into her hands.

“A track of lullabies? Helpful.” Chat Noir shrugged.

“But not enough. No. We need back up.” Marinette sighed. “Someone who can cast a calming illusion.”

“Rena Rouge?”

“Yup,” Marinette grasped her yo-yo tighter, “I’ll be right back. You keep August entertained.”

She sped as fast as she could to Master Fu’s. He was unperturbed by her sudden appearance as was the case nowadays. “Marinette, in need of an ally today?”

“Yes, I need the Fox Miraculous.” She took the necklace out of the box.

“Is something the matter, Marinette?” Fu asked.

“Sorta, I know who I should give it to but I don’t want to. But I also could use someone who already know what to do.” she contemplated briefly giving the necklace to Chloe but with her under the radar dealings of late she wasn’t sure where to even find her. That really only left one option.

“Grudges are only a form of self-punishment. Remember that, Marinette.” Fu told her, “Do not let your emotions stand in the way of the common good.”

“You’re right.” She looked to Tikki to make sure she was recharged, “Let’s get going. I don’t know how much longer Chat can keep a giant toddler in one place.”

After transforming back into Ladybug, Marinette sped as fast as she could to Alya’s house. She hesitated at the window before shaking the contempt from her mind. Ladybug isn’t mad at Rena Rouge.

She knocked on the window startling Alya off her bed. Quickly she ran to the door and thrust it open. “Ladybug? What’s up?”

Marinette held out the box with necklace. “I need Rena Rouge for a quick mission.”

“Oh, right,” Alya took the box but didn’t open it.

“Problem?”

“No, I just…” She looked back at her bed where her laptop sat with what looked like fifteen or more tabs opened, “I was doing some research. But duty calls!”

She transformed into Rena and the pair went vaulting back across the rooftops to the arena. Chat unfortunately had been caught by August and was turning a sickly green shade from being waved around in the toddler’s hand.

“Cast an illusion of a giant mobile to help him fall asleep. I have some tunes to put on.” Marinette ran towards the commentator box and popped the CD into the arena stereo system. A minute later a giant mobile appeared over the field spinning plush ladybugs, black cats, foxes and turtles on strings.

August stopped playing with Chat Noir and focused on the mobile. Combined with the soothing music he was yawning and soon curled up on the grass for a nap. Chat wiggled his arm free and cataclysmed the bracelet where the akuma was. After that Marinette went out to catch it and thrust the CD into the sky to right all the damage August had caused this time.

The sleeping toddler was taken back to his mother by Chat while Marinette collected the necklace from Alya. “Thanks for letting me help out today.” she said.

“We needed you.”

“I’m sure you could have figured something out without me. Truth be told, I haven’t felt very heroic lately.” Alya twiddled her thumbs. The beeping of Marinette’s earrings told her she needed to get out of there fast.

“Wait!” Alya stopped her, “Can I ask you something?”

“I’m kinda in a hurry--”

“Are you friends with a girl named Lila Rossi?”

The question took her aback. “No. Outside of when she was akumatized and a less than flattering confrontation when she tried to use me as a pick-up line I have never interacted with her. Why?”

“Nothing...research...it’s not important. See you later, Ladybug.” Alya ran from the arena to return home.

Marinette’s transformation wore off and Tikki landed on her shoulder. “Are you okay? Seeing Alya again must have been strange.”

“Yeah, kinda,” Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out another cookie for her kwami. “Let’s head home after we return the Miraculous. I’m too emotionally worn out to contemplate further human interaction.”

The walk home Marinette checked her messages. She had a text from Kagami telling her what times she could work on their project. They set a meeting time for Friday after school to work. With Chat’s advice still ringing in her ears Marinette made a mental note to talk to Kagami so they could get on the same page about their feelings regarding Adrien. Not today though. The rest of today was going to be fruit tarts and video game therapy.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7)

[dyde21]

More percabeth marching AU! Also You should right like a quick one shot or smthn with pining Percy and oblivious Annabeth that’s fluff because I live for that

Marching Band AU will be coming pretty soon! I’m hoping to have the first chapter tomorrow, but we’ll see if get something else in my head. But in the mean time here is an honestly pretty cute story. Pining Percy is super fun to write honestly.

XxXxXxXxX

Shoving his backpack into the locker, he pulled out his math book. Reaching for an energy drink that was a few days old, he tried to psych himself up for his morning classes. He hadn’t slept well, but he didn’t want to deal with both his mother and Annabeth giving him hell for skipping another day of classes. 

Speaking of a certain blond, his eyes wandered over to the side of his locker where there was only a single picture on it amidst all the skateboarding and band stickers that littered the inside of it. It wasn’t that old, they had taken it this summer.

It was Annabeth and Percy, they had their arms around each other’s shoulders, their cheeks pressed together. They had spent the whole day at an amusement park, their parents had even sent them with extra money, so it really became a day to remember. They were both in the middle of laughing as Annabeth took a selfie, because his mother had asked for pictures in return. The picture brought a smile to Percy’s face, like it always did, and suddenly the morning felt a little brighter.

Closing the locker door, he jumped about a foot in the air when he saw aforementioned blonde leaning her head against the locker door on the other side of his, staring at him with an expectant smirk. 

“Shit, Annabeth. You scared the crap outta me.” Percy complained, putting a hand over his heart. 

Annabeth just laughed at him, turning to rest her back against the locker as she failed to keep her composure. If anyone else had done that to him, Percy might have punched them. But with Annabeth, seeing her laugh meant he could forgive her. He could never hit her. Except maybe gently with his lips on her face. 

Shaking his head, he turned away from her, pouting. “Rude.”

Annabeth managed to catch her breath and just sighed, a smile still plastered on her face. 

“Sorry, you were zoned out. I said Hi and everything and you didn’t notice. Here, as an apology.”

Looking down, Percy saw her holding out a cup of some kind. ‘

“Hot chocolate, extra whipped cream.” She informed, smiling as he took it. With her now free hand, she reached up and messed up his already disheveled hair. “Sorry, for real.” She said, a level of honesty in her voice that made Percy’s heart hurt. As if he could ever actually be mad at her. 

“It’s fine. I’ll get you back later.” He countered, taking a sip before he could say anything more flirty carelessly. 

Annabeth’s eyes widened. “I already apologized. You don’t need to get even.” She started to complain, looking mildly worried. Percy just snickered, knowing how easy Annabeth was to spook and how much she hated it. She had a habit of getting way too focused on things and would zone out the world. 

Percy just kept walking towards his class, unable to meet her eyes without giving away the fact he already forgave her and wouldn’t seek retaliation.

“Did you study for the test?” She asked suddenly, glancing up at him. 

Percy froze midstep. “You’re kidding…”

He saw Annabeth’s shoulders drop as she sighed. “He mentioned it twice last week. It’s over the fifth chapter.”

Dropping his head into his free hand, he turned and started walking back towards his locker. He’d just have to make up the test tomorrow. He barely made it a step before Annabeth’s hand reached out and caught his, keeping him in place.

“You’re not running this time. I promised Sally I wouldn’t let you skip any more classes.” She said a stern look in her eyes. 

She continued to say something about responsibility and how he should do better, but he was too distracted by the fact that Annabeth was holding his hand. His eyes were glued to where their hands met, and he was once again thinking about how perfectly her hand fit in his. That had to mean something right? Like that his massive crush on his best friend wasn’t just some cruel trick of nature but that they were meant to be together right? At least he sure hoped so.

“Are you even listening?” She said after a moment, eyes narrowing dangerously.

His attentioned snapped back to her. “Yeah. I screwed up and I’m about to fail another test.” He offered, trying to keep his tone light to hide the frustration he felt for himself. For as irresponsible as he was, he actually did feel bad about struggling in school. If not for himself, but for the fact that he knew it disappointed his mom and Annabeth. 

“Unfortunately, I care about you too much to let you suffer, even if I should. She said, pointedly giving him a glare before reaching into her folder and pulling out two pieces of paper stapled together. 

His eyes widened. “You didn’t…”

Sure enough they were perfect “Annabeth Notes.” As he liked to put it. They had studied together enough that Annabeth knew exactly how to get information across his thick head. They were organized, color coded, and simplified in a way that let him digest the information easily. 

Annabeth shrugged. “Unfortunately I did.” She said, grinning. “It won’t teach you everything, but if you review it you should have your bases covered. As long as you did pay attention in class.”

Percy grinned, holding the notes close. “I did.” He paused. “I told you guys I would try harder, so I have been. I just get distracted sometimes and I’m bad at remembering things. But I have been trying.” He explained, trying to get her to understand so she wouldn’t be too dissappointed in him. 

Annabeth smiled and reach up, putting her hand on his arm. “I know Perce, it’s okay. I’m sure you’ll do fine.” The understanding in her voice made his heart hurt with how much he cared about her.

“Now let’s go, we should get there early so you can study before the test.”

Percy nodded, and sure enough when the test was eventually handed out he recognized each question at least a little. It wouldn’t be a perfect score, but he was pretty sure his mom wouldn’t be disappointed to hear it. As he made his way to the lunch room he was already planning out how he could make it up to Annabeth for saving his butt, again.

When he walked into the cafe, he was surprised to see Annabeth sitting at one of the tables near the entrance, checking her phone. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled brightly and jumped up. “How’d it go?” 

“Incredible, thanks to you.”

Annabeth blushed slightly and played with her hair and Percy wondered if she watched like cheesy romance movies in order to be so unbearably cute to him, or if it was just another one of her many talents. Either way, he was thankful. 

“All I did was take some notes, you’re the one doing the work.” She dismissed, but he saw hints of her proud smile there. 

“Here.” He said, starting to pull out her notes.

She stopped him, shaking her head. “Keep them. They’re for you. Study them before the final.” She warned. He paused. “But what about you?”

Shrugging, she started walking towards the line. “I have my original notes. I made those for you.” She said as she got in line.

Percy just put the notes away, mentally adding that to the list of reasons why he was crushing so hard on her. It was up there with her smile, and the fact she existed.

“Didn’t you eat? You got out like thirty minutes early when you finished.”

Annabeth gave him a look like he was stupid for the first time that day. “I waited, otherwise I would have just had to wait while you eat.” She explained, as if that didn’t need explaining. 

“Oh.” Was all he said as she started to order her food.

Soon they were siting at their usual table while their friends started sitting around them. Percy started chatting with Piper about the concert she went to Jason with the night before. Annabeth was sitting next to him, facing away while she chatted with Jason about one of their AP classes. 

“... so I got one of their shirts. You should have seen Jason’s face while I talked my way past the bouncers to them to sign it. He was freaking out, but the guys were reasonable enough so I got to meet the band.”

“Damn, I’m jealous. You know how much I love them. If I didn’t have to take care of my sister I would have been there.”

Piper nodded. “I know. So for being a good brother…” She trailed off, before pulling something out of her bag and handing it to him. “Here. And as an early birthday present so I don’t  have to worry about it later.” She teased.

Percy unfolded the bundle of black cloth to see another band shirt, signed by all the band members.

“McClean! Are you kidding me?” He practically shouted, making the table turn to look at him. “You’re incredible!” 

Piper just grinned. “About time you realized it.” She teased, giving a peace sign to Jason who seemed thrilled to see Percy’s reaction to gift.

“Oh, that’s so sick.”

Annabeth’s voice said from right next to his ear, making a shiver go up his spine. He glanced over, and her leaning over his back, resting her chin on his shoulder as she stared at the shirt he was holding out in front of him. “Pipes, damn you. That’s going to be hard to beat for his birthday.” She complained, still grinning.

Percy’s eyes flickered from his blonde best friend that was wonderfully way to close over to Piper who was looking incredibly amused. He sometimes hated the fact that Piper could see through him so well and knew just how he felt about Annabeth. She found endless amusement and frustration from it. Percy kept looking at her to try and distract himself of the feeling of Annabeth leaning against him.

“Part of it was Jason’s idea. I can’t take all the credit.” She relented.

Annabeth leaned back, shifting back again so her back was to Percy as she started scolding Jason, saying it made her job as best friend much harder. 

Percy set the shirt down, hiding the blush in his cheeks while Piper just leaned her chin on her palm, giving him the most amused smile. “You still got it bad, huh?”

Percy glared at her, before glancing over his shoulder at Annabeth who was still distracted. “Shhh. Is it that obvious?”

Piper rolled her eyes. “To everyone but her. You two are like those hallmark movies except you don’t actually make any progress and everyone is stuck in the state of screaming ‘just kiss already’ eternally.”

He couldn’t really say anything to that. He had a feeling that Annabeth might have some feelings to him, thanks to Piper literally spelling it out to him multiple times. But he still wasn’t sure about actually acting on it. They had a good thing going, and being in a relationship was… different. Probably good, but it was different. He was terrified of disappointing her somehow if they ended up together. She deserved the world, and he wasn’t sure he would be enough.

Piper apparently could read his thoughts because she reached over, flicking his knee. 

“I’m serious. You’re the only one I trust to be with her. Just… think about it.”

She said her voice dropping as she was sincere. “You deserve her as much as she deserves you.”

Jason apparently said something funny because Annabeth suddenly burst out laughing a moment later, leaning back against Percy, resting on his back as she just laughed. 

Freezing in place, percy just let her laugh, his own face breaking into a smile at that sound. 

Piper flicked his knee again. “But also because if I have to watch you two keep going in circles around each other, I’m going to lose it.”

Percy rolled his eyes, but just brushed some of Annabeth’s hair that fell over his shoulder. Eventually Annabeth sat back up and looked back at him. “Thanks.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye as she still snickered and Percy kinda forgot how to speak. Turning back to Piper he just sighed. “Maybe…”

Eventually school was over and Annabeth was at his side as they walked over to his car, explaining how she had finally the perfect idea for her math project, and her teacher said she was aloud to build a miniature house model for some bonus credit too. 

“Want to get Sonic?” He asked once she was done with the topic. 

Annabeth looked up at him, grinning. “You know I will never say no to that.”

“That’s why I asked.” Percy countered, grinning as he got in the car. Sonic wasn’t exactly the closest burger place to school, but if the longer drive meant just a little more time with Annabeth, he wasn’t going to complain.

Outside the car, Annabeth grinned as she pulled out her phone. She quickly sent a message to Piper. “Studying is going to be a little late today. Percy’s taking me to Sonic.” She added a heart emoji for good measure and sent the message, before going back to her home screen. She paused, the picture of the two of them grinning, cheek to cheek was still her backdrop and he bit her lip to keep her smile suppressed. She loved that photo still.

As she climbed in the car he was cranking up the music, singing slightly off key to a song that Annabeth was pretty sure she heard every time she was in her car. 

“Ready?” He asked her, before pulling out into the street and starting the long trek to Sonic. 

Sonic wasn’t exactly her favorite place, but if it meant a mini road trip with Percy, it would always be her first choice.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! :D I hope it was okay for the request and please look forward to the Marchinband!AU and more art from me!

[sweetswesf]

90. Week 4

Despite being sad about Kobe, I wore the only Kobe shirt I had.  I thought I would be among a sea of purple and gold, but forgot many people are not from LA or are foreign and did not have an intimate relationship with Kobe’s picture on screen.  A few people stopped me.  I did not want to be the obnoxious one, but that was how I wanted to put on for Kobe.  I even added him to the Black History Month deck I put together to be displayed on the wallboards at my company’s SF, SEA, NYC and Nashville offices.  

Speaking of the deck, I got the design draft back from Internal Comms at my company. Of course there were name typos.  Of course there were grammatical errors.  All they had to do was copy and paste the content I gave them.  The response: “Feel free to make the edits.”  W/E. Some battles are not worth fighting.  I know the impact of this was going to be huge. Of course the cover was embarrassing. 

This is some Chinese New Year looking crap.  The background looks Aztec!  Those are Siberian tigers that only exist in India.  #DOITFORTHECULTUR?!  She think this a joke.  I told the editor straight up, the world has a history of likening Black people to apes and uncivilization.  We will not have any associations to animals.  The print does not represent modern Black History Month.  I think something more simple with the Black liberation colors of red, green, and black will fit.

She got it together (although I agree with my Indian friend, it looks like the South African flag, but I did not feel like spending any more un-paid energy on it), but I had to get her together first.  This is the problem with having culturally clueless people in orgs.  They do not care about you, your history, the implicit biases.  They are just trying to do their 9-5.  Their culturally clueless bosses will rarely check them on this either...

To get in the right mindset for Black History month, I set the BENG Kickoff (Black Engineers) at my job to this week.  I was not sure who was going to show up.  I thought about the Black Female Engineering channel I got kicked out of by the woman who I had to report to HR for approaching me aggressively at a colleague’s going away happy hour and at my desk.  When I screen shotted and posted in the channel that she kicked me out (after they all responded with confusion as to why they received notifications of the group name change), expecting to get support, no one reached out.  I had to put that aside to still smile in their faces at work, at the BENG kickoff, and in work meetings, and invite them to this meeting.  

Some of the engineers started trickling in.  The first one was a woman from NYC.  She was already standoffish, even on Hangouts with my less than 20/20 distance vision, despite us never meeting before.  Then more began to pile in.  I saw the woman I mentioned I reported to HR pass by.  It had been some time since I reported her, so I was actually hoping that she would show up.  Although I do not trust her, I am by no means trying to cut her off from participating in this group I put together that has not existed before.  We do not have to be friends for us to win.  I am sure her hearing me speak and be respected may get to her too.  It will be a constant reminder of what she did wrong.  I felt sorry for her, because she really tried me and jeopardized her money and peace of mind in the meantime.  

She avoided eye contact with me most of the meeting.  I peppered her as I did everyone else with questions, just to show her, we were good.  I was going to be better to her than she was to me and not blow her spot.  Revenge is not mine.  I can’t hold on to that.  I still feel sad that she thought I was in her way of getting to her money and success when she’s been coding, according to her new YouTube channel I snooped on, for 9 years more than I have.

Anyway, the conversation was great.  I shared why I wanted us to get together, and was surprised people were as gracious as they were that I got this group together.  I had us fill out our “Prouds”, “Not Prouds”, “Props”, birthdays and anniversaries.  I want to foster a space that we can come to to help each other out, much like the Black Engineering group I got into outside of work I highlighted during my first week.  We don’t need saviours, and we know corporations will continue to lie, but we can make some grassroots progress by simply acknowledging one another in the hallways.  Capitalism and racism have conditioned us to think that there can only be one and that is simply not true.

My vision for this group is for it to encourage a culture where all the Black PEOPLE, not just engineers, acknowledge one another genuinely.  I hope we help each other out instead of weirdly diverting eye-contact, in fear that massa’ will see us congregating.  I hope we even have a weird pound or handshake that makes non-Black people go, “WTF are they planning?...”.  Too often we are left out of promotions and raises.  I would like us to share information amongst each other so we each know what to do when it comes time to negotiate, help each other with performance and code reviews, share salaries to see where we should be, give us a place to vent instead of educating the culturally clueless, and maybe even meet up outside of work and be a part of each other’s lives.  Yes, we are only colleagues, but we’re Black folks, and Black engineers are an even smaller group.  We are the group that has the most potential to affect positive change in the Black community as there are so many networks and places for us to meet to come together and share the wealth.  We are NOT in a post-racial society, and when my company has hiring break-downs by RACE and sets the targets for Blacks at 5%, women at 28% and latinx at 8.5%, and misses the Black target and comes in at only 3.5%, with no follow up explanation as to how they got to that number, we can’t say it’s not about race or that this number doesn’t have cascading effects on the biases people are already having against their Black reports, colleagues, and managers.  According to one Black manager, his direct reports are always trying to trip him up or step out of line to go against his word, essentially try him disrespectfully, so it’s great to know I’ll get it above and below me when I become manager, if that’s God’s plan...

Anyway, for those that are saying I shouldn’t focus on race, I will, because Black people still experience racism around the world for who they are.  People think that just because we are not slaves anymore that we have transcended racism and that we shouldn’t complain, when they are neglecting the fact that the Black experience in America has always been a combination of anti-literacy laws, redlining, hate groups like the KKK, segregation, crack-planting in Black neighborhoods by the government in the 80s, racist and unconstitutional police intimidation like “Stop and Frisk, mass-incarceration, and many other things.  I have even had colleagues my age say LGBTQIA struggles should be prioritized over Black.  Obama in the White House is not a marker that the country has overcome its race issues.  There are 41M Black Americans.  Most of which experience overt and implicit racism and are dealing with building legacies they were not able to build because of years of racism.  Of course I care about other people, but it’s hard to focus on others when our problems include erasing the hurt that is still felt from 400 years ago.  If I don’t go hard for my people in this space, who will?  I am not waiting for someone more senior.  I am led by God.

If we are not in these companies, we will be forgotten about and will miss out on the tech wealth.  We are already missing out on the billion dollar Cannabis industry that so many of us were incarcerated for due to racist laws and public judicial figures.

I went to dinner with my mentor.  He invited me because networking is challenging for him, and thankfully I have overcome the fear after having that fear so long in college and exposing myself over and over because I knew it was what I had to get over to be successful.  Kudos to him for trying, regardless of his age.  Some of our other colleagues and we were were being treated by a company whose software we use often.  I did not know anyone but Bami and one of our colleagues who I reached out to for my 1st project.  It was a fancy restaurant, one that I spotted early on when I learned what a Michelin star was in my first year out of college and became determined to experience more of them.

Please don’t follow me in this.  I can’t believe I used to pay $300 for a single mean.  Out of my own pocket.  I’ve done that 5 times in the past 5 years.  That’s $1,500.  These were also accompanied by last minute trips across the country.  In the grand scheme of things, those experiences were awesome and showed me what a fresh pea is really supposed to taste like, what a dessert wine should taste like, what the restaurant voted #1 in the world was like, but I am glad I got that out of my system.  Time to focus on saving this mula, paying off these loans, and starting a wealth legacy for whoever comes after me.

Our other colleague I did not know was obnoxious.  He only directed his gaze to one male at the table, until he started talking about diversity in the workplace.  Maybe because he was looking at three Black people all sitting next to each other, across from him.  He began proclaiming that Black people should not attend the diversity events because companies only support these because they know minorities will take lower salaries.  He believes supporting minority resource groups, like the ones I was heavily involved in, are a way to widen the application pool and thus lower salaries.  I was offended, but I almost believed him.  I did not disagree.  I said, “Hmm. I could see that.  Especially if they know that there are not that many of us in these spaces.  We will have no one to go to when it comes to negotiating salary.”  This is my narrative.  It was why I dropped my Computer Science major in the first place.  I didn’t know anyone Black who had successfully done it.  When I got to my company, almost 4 years ago, I didn’t negotiate my salary because it was higher than the number I had in my head.  Dumb.  I didn’t consult anyone, then I was stuck with that salary for almost 2 years, despite my responsibilities morphing to gargantuan heights.  I just did not think I was capable of getting more and didn’t ask.  With groups like this Black engineering group I started, I want to prevent that.  And I want them to teach their kids, and take this to whatever company they go to.  Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated.  So many people would love to get recognized by white people over Black people for the sole fact that they are white.  Conditioning has convinced many people that white ice is somehow colder...

I am looking forward to telling the group what he said to encourage them to continue with the group, if they were considering leaving it alone.

The week besides that was fine.  I FINALLY finished my second ticket, and although it took much longer than the first, and much longer than I wanted it to, I got it done.  

I fight myself about working with Black groups because it can be distracting, but this is very special and important to me.  The internship is important yes, but I am willing to risk sleep, because I believe I am at a time where I have to execute on this fast. I will sow my seeds plentiful early so I can focus on some other things as I let them grow, and reap from them later.

I shared my old coding bootcamp project to one of the engineers my mentor recommended I reach out to for internship advice.  He LOVED it just where it was!  That meant a lot coming from him, a full stack software engineer with a lot of years of experience and a great reputation at my company.  I know I have a great idea with it, I just don’t feel good about sharing the derogatory music (that I still listen to).  I don’t see this as what I want to promote.  I love it, and it was fun, but I kind of shame myself for listening to music that degrades me and has made other people feel they can do the same to me and others that look like me.  I want to win another way.  Still it got me thinking about what it would be like to amass a lot of wealth from it...

My weeks be packed, huh?  I had not worked out all week (although I wore my workout clothes under my clothes in hopes that I would have the energy to go after work), I was dehydrated and my sleep schedule was ALL screwed up.  At least, for once this week, I got to work before 10 AM.