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valentines-in-london · 5 years ago

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I Need Fire (Part 22)

Authors Note: Hello everyone. Oh my gosh I am so sorry for the delay! I haven’t been in a great place mentally and am finally starting to come out of it and get inspired again. I don’t even know if anyone will read this because I’ve been gone so long. And if that’s the case it’s on me and know I truly am so sorry! If this chapter does get any feedback I would greatly appreciate it, I’ve really missed you all<3 Word Count: 4,963 Warnings: smut Taglist: @freddiessmallnipples @triplehaitches @samanthadegaro @lauravic @oh-well1 @la-sorciere-fleur @anxious-diabetic @xdeath-soulx @fanofnightz @songbirdkisses kaitieskidmore1 If you’d like to be added please let me know!

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Chapter 22

Tommy walked into the studio the next day and was abruptly smacked in the chest with a magazine by Doc. "Did you fucking propose?"

"Doc, what?" Tommy asked confused looking down at the magazine in his hand.

IS THE MOTLEY CRUE DRUMMER SETTLING DOWN?

LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS MYSTERY WOMAN INSIDE!

Tommy's eyes went wide, "What the fuck?"

"Exactly, what the fuck. If you're going to do something like that you need to let me know first." Doc said sternly.

"Why should I let you know anything, you're not my fucking dad. I don’t need your permission to do anything outside the fucking band." Tommy spat back.

"I might not be your dad Tommy but I might as well be of this band. And like it or not you're on your way to super stardom, and if one of the pretty boys get engaged it impacts the bands image." Doc replied. Tommy could feel anger rushing through his veins. It was his life he didn't need to answer to fucking anyone about what he did.

"Fuck the bands image, or my image. I'm not a puppet for anyone to control. I'm engaged to Rayne and that's the end of it." Tommy shouted before throwing open the door to the studio.

Three members of the band were ready to record however they were waiting on a certain blonde to make his appearance. Tommy's legs bounced with nervous energy he was pissed at Doc for ambushing him as soon as he walked in and he was pissed at Vince for wasting his time. Tommy, Mick and Nikki had been waiting around for hours.

"Hey Tommy vacuum this mess up." Nikki said sliding a silver plate full of blow over to Tommy. Tommy looked at the plate, the powder tempting him like nothing else. While waiting for Vince to show of course Nikki filled that down time with drugs.

"Nah Sixx I'm okay." Tommy rubbed his sweaty hands along his blue jeans before getting up and standing over the piano. "Where the fuck is Vince? We've been here for almost two hours and we've accomplished jack shit."

"What's with you?" Nikki narrowed his eyes. Tommy went to speak when Vince walked through the door.

"It's about time." Tommy said under his breath.

"Alright I'm here let's get started." Vince said as if he were only minutes late.

"Here Vinny I got some lyrics for you." Nikki said undeterred.

"Home Sweet Home?" Vince asked.

"It's been too long buddy." Tommy could hear Nikki's lack of sincerity bleed through. He watched as Nikki pushed the plate of blow towards Vince. "Have a bump with me."

"I just got out of fuckin jail Nikki." Vince spoke in a biting tone before composing himself and taking the plate from Nikki. Vince snorted the white powder before he starting keeling over, coughing. "What the fuck was that?"

"That was smack." Nikki said non chalantly which made Tommy's neck snap to look at the two of them. He cursed himself at the chuckle that fell from his lips.

"Oh but I'm the fuckin problem?" Vince shouted leaning over the garbage can taking a look at the magazine cover inside. "You're fucking engaged?"

With one sentence everyone in the bands eyes were on Tommy. "Uh yeah. I did it over the holidays. What's the fuckin problem?"

"Well it affects the image of the band Tommy." Nikki said after snorting a line of smack.

"Who gives a fuck about our image dude? I thought it was supposed to be about music?". Tommy started to get pissed again.

"The bad boys of rock no more. And now you won't even do lines with me." Nikki mocked.

"Oh fuck off Nikki. I think the track marks on your arm will keep the image up just fine." Tommy was fuming at this point He was in a band with junkies and alcoholics, himself included, but him being in love was a problem. They could all fuck off as far as he was concerned. He could tell that his words struck a nerve with Nikki. Tommy knew that his friend had progressed onto heroin. Tommy had visited Nikki over the break to find the bass player hunched over in his closet with a lighter and a spoon.

"Hate to break it up boys but Tommy are you ready to start laying your tracks down?" The producer buzzed in.

"With fucking pleasure." Tommy shot up and walked into the booth where his drums were set up. “And for the record, I was ready fucking two hours ago. Maybe in the future we record separately.”

One thing was for sure if this was how the recording process was going to be, this record was going to be a total shit show.

One Month Later

Tommy's instinct was right, the recording of the next album which they were tentatively calling Entertainment or Death was an absolute disaster. The songs were mediocre at best and there was no passion behind it. If the band was a dictatorship and he was in charge he would've scrapped everything and started over. Mick was drinking multiple bottles of vodka a day. Vince was on the down low with his drinking and pill intake. Nikki it goes without saying was the most fucked up out of them all. Heroin was his main priority and the effects it had on him were frightening.

Tommy had kept his promise to Rayne until a few nights ago. He felt like a complete fuck up but he was back to not using. The urges were strong but he knew he couldn't fuck up again. He had decided not to tell Rayne because he knew she'd be crushed and he couldn't do that to her. On top of all that it was finally the night of Stanley's fashion show. Rayne had been a ball of stress the past week and a half, he didn't want to add to that stress. Tonight was all about supporting her, he kept repeating to himself.

Tommy walked into the room where the show would take place, he had never been to a fashion show before so he didn't know exactly what to expect. The room was buzzing with everyone from photographers to journalists to select celebrities. Tommy looked around the room before his eyes landed on a big waterfall of blond hair that belonged to Jo. He made his way over to her, taking the seat beside her.

"Hey Jo." Tommy said glancing down at the bouquet of flowers in her lap. “What are those for?”

"Hey Tommy." Jo smiled. "I wasn't sure you'd make it. I heard Tom was a slave driver in the studio. And they’re for Rayne, it’s such a big deal! It’s her first fashion show."

"Well he is. But regardless nothing was going to keep me from seeing my girls big debut." Tommy smiled wide. The level of pride he felt for Rayne was through the roof. Not only did she apparently inspire Stanley in the first place, she helped him with ideas and themes and helped put this whole thing together. He was blown away by the amount of work she put into it. As he looked around the room everything had Rayne's touch. From the gold and purple lighting to the rich velvet drapes hanging from the ceiling. He couldn’t help himself from beating himself up however by not bringing her a big bouquet of flowers. He had literally come straight from the studio, the band gave him shit for having to cut out for the night. To be honest every guy in the band should’ve been there as far as Tommy was concerned, Rayne had supported them endlessly through the years and she deserved the same.

Tommy watched as a number of photographers began to move toward and line the stage, to say he was happy to have the cameras pointed away from him tonight was an understatement.

Meanwhile backstage Rayne's nerves were coursing through her veins and it was showing through her shaking hands. She sat in a makeup chair while a makeup artist smudged black eyeshadow and liner across her eyelids. At the same time a hair stylist was piling and pinning curls on top of her head to create a dramatic shape, it was vintage but still had a modern touch to it. Once her makeup was done she got up and was quickly put into her first outfit, which the first bunch of the night were structured suits made from different materials such as leather, lace, suede, and pvc. Rayne’s was a lace suit that gave off a nude illusion with high shoulders, a tightly nipped waist and a skirt that flared out just after hugging her hips.

Rayne wished she could truly take in the backstage experience, it was absolutely buzzing! Beautiful models running around everywhere, makeup artists, and hair stylists in tow. The diversity between the models was something Rayne was really proud of. She and Stanley worked tirelessly and really thought outside the box to book different models. Stanley was really passionate about the idea of incorporating drag queens into the show. Stanley had taken Rayne to a drag show one night when Tommy was away and she had an absolute blast. The girls were a total hoot and had curves that even made Rayne jealous, even though Stanley assured her that their curves were not natural. Rayne and Stanley had also booked some older women in their show, because the entire idea behind Stanley’s show was that curves were beautiful and should be embraced no matter someones age or gender. And boy did the clothes look amazing on everyone, she had heard from almost every model how incredible it was to feel good in clothes and not be trying to hide or cover their body shape.

After reminding herself to breathe for the umpteenth time she heard Stanley’s voice which snapped her out of her nervous bubble. “Bella you look stunning!”

“I just hope I don’t fall on stage.” Rayne chuckled looking down at Stanley as she shook the nerves from body.

“You’re going to be flawless, Bella. Remember show your personality and have fun! I love you.” Stanley gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.

“I love you too.” Rayne smiled. “Thank you for everything Stanley, this honestly feels like a dream.”

“You’re the reason I’m here Bella. You’ve inspired me, you breathed new life into this fashion house. Now go out and rock it.” Rayne nodded her head looking up as the show director called five minutes and for all models to get into position. Rayne walked toward the backstage runway curtain and the show director. She was the first one out so she stood at the front of the line. Her heart was pounding but as the minutes wound down she slowly became more confident. She heard as the music pounded through the room and the lights went down, there was a little introduction light show and before she knew it Rayne was told to go. She walked out on the runway hitting a pose before she turned to walk down it. Photographers were practically crawling on the sides of the runway, flashbulbs going off constantly. It was an unnatural experience but Rayne kept her head up and legs moving forward with confidence. When Rayne reached the end of the runway she again hit a pose before flashing a smile and shaking her hips causing the bottom of the skirt to flirtatiously shake. The crowd cheered and with a final wink Rayne began her walk back down the runway. Another model began to walk toward Rayne on the runway and she stuck her hand out and the two women high fived. When Rayne reached the backstage area she was quickly whisked away to change into another outfit and get her hair fixed.

The process repeated six more times through the night before they walked the runway as a group in their final looks. The last looks of the night were very dramatic. All the models wore long coats in various color shades with a slit up the center of the coat. Each coat was lined in faux fur that matched each models hair, or wig. Under the coat they wore sheer stockings showing off their legs and high heeled boots to match the color of their hair, wig, jacket and fur. It was a fun playful look. Rayne’s curls were teased and natural, her outfit a beautiful shade of rustic red. She and Stanley were the last ones to walk out on the runway and they did so hand in hand. Everyone in the room was on their feet and clapping for them. Rayne playfully bowed toward Stanley once they reached the end of the runway before Stanley took her hand and kissed it, then covering his heart with his hand and bowing to the packed room.

Rayne was so proud of Stanley and his vision and all of his hard work, it was a beautifully warm reception by his peers. As they walked back into the dressing room everyone began to “de-drag” as the wonderfully funny drag queens called it. And soon they were all back to their normal selves, it was like Superman turning back into Clark Kent. Saying goodbye to everyone Rayne walked out to see her best friend and fiance smiling like nobody's business. Jo handed Rayne a beautiful bouquet of flowers. “Congratulations foxy lady. That was amazing.”

Rayne hugged her best friend tightly before turning to a sheepish looking Tommy. “I didn’t have time to get you flowers.”

“No, thats okay.” Rayne chuckled before lifting onto her tippy toes to hug him and give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Did you guys really like it? I was so nervous it was all a blur!”

“It was so fun! The music was great, the outfits were unbelievable, you all looked incredible! Also did you have men in drag?” Jo asked.

“We did! It was Stanley’s idea. He said that no one is as body positive as a drag queen, and they were a blast to work with!” Rayne happily replied. “Plus some of them were prettier than I could ever hope to be!”

“Now I wouldn’t go that far.” Tommy said wrapping his arm around Rayne’s waist.

“You have to say that, you’re not sleeping with them.” Rayne chuckled giving Tommy a wink.

“Nope, only you get that privilege.”

“Oh christ, get a room you two.” Jo playfully chastised the couple.

The Next Day

Rayne sat at her desk when suddenly a stack of newspapers were thrown in front of her. Stanley stood above her smiling. “Look, Bella.”

Rayne’s jaw dropped to see herself on the pages of the newspaper with headlines like: FASHION’S NEW RED HEADED BOMBSHELL

POISON IVY FINDS ITS LEADING LADY

FASHION HOUSE BACK FROM THE DEAD WITH A UNIQUE POINT OF VIEW

SEX AND CURVES ON DISPLAY AT FASHION HOUSE COMEBACK

“Stanley, this is incredible! Look at all this coverage.” Rayne’s mouth was hanging open from sheer shock.

“And look at all these photos of you! I told you Bella, you are something!”

“Oh stop Stanley, there are photos of other models too.” Rayne waved him off.

“But none of them except one are in every single article. You might want to consider getting yourself an agent.” Stanley smiled while Rayne shook her head, surely she wouldn’t need an agent after one show.

Unfortunately for Rayne, she couldn’t have been more wrong, the phone was ringing off the hook all day with inquires about herself. And she would come to find out later on, the same thing happened for other models that had walked in the show as well. Their little fashion show had certainly sparked something in the fashion world, and her life would be changed forever.

Rayne walked into her home and tossed her keys down, Tommy was cooking dinner and immediately rushed over to Rayne lifting her slightly off the ground. “Baby have you seen the paper today? You’re in it!”

“Tommy the phone was ringing off the hook today at the studio, all of these people want to book me and I have no idea how to handle all of it, Stanley says I need to get an agent but I don’t know the first thing about finding an ag…”

“Hey, hey. Baby breathe.” Tommy placed his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out okay? But take a second to think about how huge this is!”

“I didn’t think it would be this big of a deal.” Rayne shook her head running her fingers through her hair.

“I did.” Tommy smiled. “You’re special baby, and you’re going to do great things. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Rayne let out a sigh that she had been holding in before lifting herself up to give Tommy a kiss. When she pulled away Rayne looked over to the kitchen. “You’re going to spoil me babe. I might not let you go on tour if you keep cooking for me.”

“Well it’s not ready yet. Sit down and relax. I mean what I said, we’ll figure everything out so don’t stress.” Tommy turned Rayne and gave her a gentle push toward the couch.

Later that night, after dinner Rayne straddled Tommy on the lounge chair outside next to the raging fire pit. Tommy’s hands made quick work to remove Rayne’s sweater leaving her in her bra, skirt, thigh highs and heels. She couldn’t help the moans that fell from her lips as his lips nipped and sucked at the sweet spot beneath her ear. “Fuck this is one way to unwind.”

Tommy smiled against her hot skin while pulling her red lace bra down exposing her pink nipples before wrapping his lips around one licking and sucking until Rayne was a writhing mess above him. She buried her hands in his thick mane of curls urging him on, and luckily for her, Tommy was all too happy to oblige. Rayne rocked her hips against Tommy’s jeans trying desperately to get any bit of friction against her clit. “A little eager tonight aren’t we?”

Rayne’s response was a simple nod of her head while pulling her bottom lip between her teeth in anticipation. “Mmmhmm.”

Tommy placed both his hands on Rayne’s hips to stop her bucking before he dipped his right hand down to tease her clit over her black lace panties. “So wet for me baby.” Tommy’s voice was husky and Rayne whined in response, whenever Tommy got that tone in his voice it made her shiver. “Tell me what you want.”

“I wanna fuck you.” Rayne, trying to keep her composure, locked eyes with him as he kept toying with her clit.

“You wanna use me baby? Wanna ride my cock?” Tommy smiled nipping at her bottom lip.

“Fuck yes.” Rayne smiled as soon as he let go of her bottom lip.

Like the cocky son of a bitch he could be sometimes, Tommy put his hands behind his head and leaned back on the chair. “Well then, have at it.”

He didn’t need to say anymore, Rayne quickly made work on the belt buckle on Tommy’s jeans before slipping the belt through the loops. Tommy wore a cocky smile on his face and his eyes for the moment were closed, so Rayne seized the opportunity to grab Tommy’s hands that were clasped together behind his head and wrap the belt around them tying it into place. “Babe what the…”

“I’ve been waiting to tie you up since you tied me up at the hotel last tour.” Rayne deviously smiled before she slid his jeans down Tommy’s hips and legs. She could feel the heat from the flames of their fire pit kiss her back, setting her skin on fire more than it already was.

“You liked it.” Tommy narrowed his eyes.

“Oh did I like it.” Rayne smiled running her hands up and down Tommy’s length. “And now it’s your turn.” As she eased herself down onto her knees she licked from the base of his dick to the tip, she wanted to tease him as he loved to tease her. She continued to kiss and lick the sensitive skin around her favorite toy, before she moved towards his balls. She was doing everything except suck him off, and by the fact that he was squirming underneath her. It was an interesting feeling, usually Rayne was the one squirming which she didn’t mind at all but it was nice to turn the tables. “Now who’s eager?”

“Fuck Rayne, I can’t take it.”

“It’s just a little taste of your own medicine baby.” Rayne smiled straddling his waist once more giving him a tender kiss on the lips. “But I can’t take it anymore either.”

Rayne reached for Tommy’s cock underneath her which was standing at full attention slowly she wrapped her fingers around him guiding his length to her pussy. Rayne slowly, painfully slowly, ran the head of Tommy’s dick up and down her wet slit. When she reached her clit she let an excited yelp fall from her lips. Continuing the movements Rayne leaned toward Tommy hovering her lips above his. “Tell me what you want.”

“I wanna feel that perfect pussy around my cock.” Tommy panted beneath her before capturing her lips.

“Like this?” Rayne asked before finally letting herself sink down onto him, taking his full length into her.

“Oh fuck yeah baby.” Tommy shouted once he was inside of her. Once he was inside her all teasing that Rayne had previously done was out the window and instinct took over. Rayne leaned forward slightly grinding her hips against Tommy’s, the sound of their skin slapping against each other mixing with the sound of the ocean waves crashing behind them. Soon both of them were on the brink of ecstacy. “Fuck baby, I’m gone cum.”

“Mmm,” was all Rayne could say as she began to buck her hips faster and feel her orgasm completely take over her. Rayne continued to move her hips until Tommy was pistoning his hips against hers and she felt him cum inside of her. The only word Rayne’s brain could send to her lips was a simple. “Fuck.”

“You could say that again.” Tommy smiled up at Rayne. “I think I have a new favorite view.”

“What?” Rayne asked confused, undoing the belt around his wrists.

“Watching you buck and grind on top of me and those perfect tits bouncing up and down. Fuck, I think I’m getting hard again.” Tommy winked before reaching up to grab Rayne’s tits, kneading the soft skin in his hands.

“Oh shut up, you are not.” Rayne giggled taking in a sharp breath at the sensation against her sensitive flesh.

“Not right now, but I think you still have a little stress that needs to be worked out, and I am ready to put the work in.” Tommy grinned.

“Okay, if you insist but lets go inside it’s windy out here.” Rayne said pushing herself off of him, grabbing their discarded clothing while Tommy put out the fire. Tommy turned toward Rayne and groaned.

“Fuck me, and you left the heels on.” Tommy shook his head looking at his future wife’s naked form clad in nothing but a pair of high heels.

“You like? If you try really hard, I might be able to be convinced to keep them on in bed too.” She teased.

“Oh I can be very convincing my love.” Tommy replied before rushing toward Rayne causing her to shout out and try her best to run away from him as she chased her into their bedroom.

Luckily Tommy was right, on many fronts, but by the end of the week Rayne had an agent and a modeling contract signed.

Three Months Later

Oh people, people Is the scar too deep You can't hold a man's soul By the color of his keys A tear of blood runs from my eye But somehow I can never Make you cry

Rayne sat on the couch of a recording studio as the last song on Theater of Pain faded out. She was speechless, and not in the best way. She hated to say it but she was not a fan of the album, it seemed all over the place, she could tell the band were not as much of a unit as they were on Shout at The Devil. The album had one hit, at best two. She looked up and saw all sets of eyes on her. Tommy spoke up first, “Well?”

“Well it’s,” she paused. “Different.”

“She hates it.” Vince stood up straight and turned on his heel.

“No, I don’t hate it. It’s just… I like Shout more. I wish I could say I loved it, but I can’t lie to you guys.” Rayne tried to soften her words.

“I fuckin told you guys, the album is shit!” Vince shouted taking Rayne by surprise.

“Guys, the album is great. Home Sweet Home and Smokin In The Boys room, they’ll be hits. And you’re already over budget and way over schedule. We have you booked to play Europe in a few months, the album is done.” Doc said sternly, which to Rayne seemed very strange. Most managers you would think would tell their band that they needed to put out the best album they possibly could, and reading between the lines it seemed like Doc thought this album could sustain them until the next one because of the two potential big songs.

“You booked us to play Europe before the album even comes out?” Nikki questioned, barely able to open his eyes.

“The album will come out when you’re overseas. We’ll shoot videos for the singles and all will be well.” Doc replied.

“And I’ll be the sober asshole that has to try to sell this piece of shit record every night.” Vince complained.

“Vince maybe if you would’ve shown up at the studio when you were supposed to the record would be better.”

“Oh fuck off Tommy, that’s not the only problem and you know it.” Vince spat at Tommy before turning and walking out of the studio slamming the door behind him.

Rayne’s eyes looked around the room before settling on Nikki. He could barely keep his eyes open, he was pale and gaunt. She leaned to Tommy and whispered in his ear, “Is Nikki okay?”

“He’s in a dark place right now.” Tommy quietly responded. Rayne frowned before getting up from the couch and walking over to where Nikki was, sitting next to him. His eyes were closed but he was talking to himself.

“Nikki? Hey Nikki.” Rayne softly said, placing her hand on Nikki’s shoulder. Nikki grabbed her wrist and began to squeeze it rather painfully which Rayne cried out from the unexpected pressure. Tommy shot up from his seat but as soon as Nikki realized it was Rayne he snapped out of whatever state of mind he was in and quickly let go of her wrist.

“Fuck, I’m sorry Rayne.” Nikki quickly apologized hiding himself behind his long black bangs.

“Nikki, what’s going on?” Rayne whispered utterly concerned with his behavior.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” Was the response she received causing her to internally sigh, but she couldn’t allow that to show through. “I gotta go.”

As Nikki pushed himself off the sofa he was on Rayne quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. “You are so thin Nikki. Why don’t you come over this week to our place for dinner?”

“No I don’t want to impose.” Nikki shook his head.

“You’re not. We want you there, right Tommy?” Rayne turned slightly toward Tommy.

“Yeah dude, come on over. Get out of the city, the ocean air is great for the soul.”

“Alright.” Nikki nodded slightly. “I’ll come over.”

“Thursday?”

“Sure.”

“I’m going to hold you to it Nikki.” Rayne playfully threatened.

“Yeah, yeah. See you later.”

As Nikki left the room leaving just Mick and Tommy. “How do you get him to open up to you?” Tommy asked.

“I honestly have no idea. But I’m glad he does.” Rayne shrugged her shoulders, looking over to where Nikki had just walked out of the room.

Later That Night…

Rayne and Tommy were surrounded by warm water and bubbles in their bathtub. Rayne loved the quiet moments like this. Rayne nudged her nose against Tommy’s. “Do you think Nikki is actually going to come on Thursday?”

“You’re actually asking me about Nikki while we’re naked?” Tommy cocked his eyebrow.

“I just can’t get that image of him out of my mind from today. I’m worried about him.” Rayne frowned.

“You’re too good Rayne, do you know that?” Tommy ran his hands up and down her arms.

“Why? Because I’m concerned about one of my friends?”

“No because you never give up on people.” Tommy smiled.

“Oh well I certainly could give up on people, but it takes a lot.”

“I can’t believe you have not brought up the more exciting piece of news today babe.” Tommy smiled up at her.

“What exciting piece of news?”

“That we’re going to tour Europe!”

“Oh. Yeah Tommy that’s amazing for you! You’re going to be taking over the world.” Rayne began to scrub Tommy’s scalp with shampoo.

“Not just me baby. You told me you always wanted to go to the UK, well now you finally will.” Tommy took the soap and washed Rayne’s skin.

“What? Are you serious? Tommy that’s…” Rayne started.

“See I made good on my promise. I told you early on in our relationship one day we’d see the world together. This is just the beginning.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too baby.” Tommy grinned and lifted his chin up to meet Rayne’s lips in a loving kiss.

---

I hope the update was worth it. I know I’m the worst and again I’m so sorry! I was so excited to write about Rayne’s first fashion show and some of the turmoil in the band. Any feedback is appreciated, always.

#I NEED FIRE #the dirt #the dirt fanfic #the dirt fandom #Tommy Lee #tommy lee imagine #tommy lee fanfic #fashion show #80s #my writing #original story #fanfic #fan fiction

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spaceorphan18 · 7 years ago

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MCU Rewatch: Iron Man

This is going to be a fascinating experiment, that’s for sure.

The interesting thing, to me, is that there are a couple of ways you can look at Iron Man. On one hand - it’s on the tail end of old school (god - am I really calling superhero films of the 00s old school?) comic book films. The X-Men and Spider-Man trio had wrapped up at this point. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight came out right at this time - and comic book films felt either super gritty or super tired. Looking at what’s around it - Iron Man feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s fun, funny, tense, heartwarming, action-packed, and just generally a good film. No, the villain isn’t that great - I couldn’t even tell you his name and I just watched it (though I can tell you Jeff Bridges was the actor). But Tony Stark is a complex character who does have a brilliant sense of charisma about him - and maybe that’s why I’ve always gravitated to Marvel films. Because it’s not about the dark complexity of its psychopathic villain (as compelling as that can be) but it’s about the growth of the character within the film.

It’s interesting to me that this is contemporaries with the Nolan Batman trio -- because Iron Man is, essentially, Marvel’s answer to Batman. And, yeah, I don’t really care that Batman will always be the more popular character. He’s too dark and brooding for me. Iron Man might be cut from the same cloth (super genius, billionaire, with parents who died early on) -- but man is he a romp. And there’s a great character arc within this movie, that feels much more human and flawed than the stoic and often cold Batman.

Anyway, on the other -- you have the beginning of this huge and layered universe. Of course - they didn’t fully know what it was going to be -- even with the (exciting) hints of SHIELD and Nick Fury popping up at the end, they must have had a vague plan if Iron Man did well at the box office, this is still very much a stand alone movie. That said -- and maybe this is hindsight speaking -- this film feels like the first chapter of something much bigger. And that’s the really cool thing about Marvel films -- they all build off each other, and this movie works fantastically as its foundation.

(Thinking a lot of the MCU in general this past week -- I’ve come to realize that MCU works more like a TV series than a movie franchise -- which I think is awesomely cool. And I kind of hope they are able to keep that feeling going.)

The original Iron Man feels simplistic, in a way, especially when looked at against the complex web that is Infinity War. And in many ways - it has more in common with its predecessors (the early X-Men and Spider-Man films respectively) than it does with the later Marvel movies. It’s an obligatory origin movie - its plot almost standard issue. But what makes it stand out is how it uses what we’ve come to expect about comic book movies and plays with it.

The strongest thing it has is a sense of humor, something the Marvel movies are really going to end up being known for. Snarky banter, great one-liners, unexpected beats of comedy that, yes, lighten the mood -- though I’ll argue that it doesn’t detract from the darker aspects of the story or the tension that is built throughout the film.

The other thing that stands out to me is how far we’ve come with special effects - and that it’s not necessarily a bad thing that we weren’t as advanced in 2008. Iron Man’s tech is gonna get extreme (and extremely CGI) in a few years, so it’s nice to have a film that has a ‘real’ feeling to it. Yeah, there was a lot of CGI here, too, but there were also some practical elements that grounded the movie, too. I’m not a huge action person (yeah, why am I watching these again?) but the thing I appreciate is that - yes, there are some great action sequences in this film -- but they never outshine the story. And the story is what matters at most.

So. Tony Stark. Robert Downy Jr, as everyone says for a reason, was born for this role. On paper, he could be incredibly unlikable -- but RDJ is able to masterfully pull off a sympathetic character without betraying the fact that this guy is, often times, a real asshole. And it’s funny - we’ve come so far with Iron Man (and yes, I’ve heard the criticisms that they keep playing the reset button) but I’ll argue that -- he has grown in a lot of ways over the years. Tony Stark is stumbling in every since of the world. And while he’s in his 40s in this movie, I’d say he was emotionally stunted keeping him mentally around a wild child of 22. And here (and of course over the years) he’s forced to grow into the godfather of the Marvel universe that he becomes.

I mean - at the end of the movie, he’s starting to figure things out. He and Pepper don’t have that grand sweeping kiss - but it’s slowly coming. He and Rhodey aren’t bffs /yet/. Tony Stark still has a long way to go before he can be apart of the Avengers - work with them and lead them, before he can have deep friendship with Steve Rogers that hurts when it’s broken, before he can mentor a young Peter Parker who will look up at him like a surrogate father. So yeah - there is a complete emotional arc here - but it’s just the beginning.

Meanwhile (and man does this movie benefit from not having a ton of cast members)... Pepper Potts. I still kinda wish we knew more about her - like, how did she get that job in the first place? But, and I can’t believe this is going to be written down - Gwyneth Paltrow does a really good job here. (Huh - maybe there was a time she could act.) And the banter between Pepper and Tony is incredibly engaging. I actually like the dynamic here - and really, I’m fine the little bits we get with her over the years since it’s never a central plot. But I also appreciate that it’s not about two hot people just finding each other attractive - but about two people who’ve essentially been together for a long time learning how to navigate real romantic feelings along with all the other ways they’ve bonded. It’s a neat twist on an otherwise cliche thing.

(And anyone else notice that Marvel, the longer it goes on, the more it kind of strays away from that normal romance narrative?)

Then there’s Rhodey. Hmm. I think, tbh, I’m just used to Don Cheadle and his interpretation. Terrance Howard’s Rhodey is a lot more of a straight man to RDJ’s Tony. And I’m not really sure that works for me. Are they friends? (I mean they learn to be) Does Rhodey feel like he’s just dealing with Tony and is sometimes amused? Howard feels slightly wooden here. (Oops, sorry, am I allowed to feel that?)

And then there’s Jarvis and all the tech pieces with personalities of their own. Kinda love this twist on the whole Alfred/Butler thing. Adds another layer of fun to it all.

As I stated above -- Jeff Bridges’s character (who I did go look up - Obadiah Zane?? Really?? Let’s just go with Iron Monger) is perhaps the weakest link. The fight stuff is cool, and god, can we talk about Tony having his own surrogate parent turn villain on him -- I mean, that puts a new spin on his relationship with Spidey -- but he’s kinda forgettable after this movie -- which is fine. It’s not about the villains anyway.

Some smaller notes:

Can we talk about the German doctor dying in Tony’s arms - and this is the first time he really understands human compassion?

I realize this stemmed from the 60s - but can we talk about Iron Man and the political commentary about weapons of mass destruction?

I’m not usually into this sort of thing - but I kind of liked the evolution of Tony’s suit throughout the film. The suit gets an arc, too!

The room where Tony and Pepper had their dance scene is the same room that will be used for Glee years (and years) later -- it’s used as the NYADA hall where they all sing their finals and where one Kurt Hummel will sing about Being Alive.

Final thoughts: This movie holds up for being ten years old! It’s not perfect by any means, and a bit formulaic, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Infinity Stones watch: Yeah - they’re not planting seeds of /that/ yet. But I do kind of want to see if I can keep track of them.

After the Credits: Nick Fury shows up and the fanboys lose their shit. It’s a good thing this movie did well. ;)

#mcu #s.o. reviews films #apparently I had a lot of feelings about iron man

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kytalyst · 5 years ago

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First Year Med Tips

What’s a more pleasing way to start again than posting something quite relevant to the community right? (hahaha)

Anyway, are you an incoming first year med student? or do you have any plans to enter med school soon? well, you might have stumbled on the right post (lol, not really, but humor me please? hahaha)

To start off, I wanted to post something like this because I know how much of a stress it is to start into something without any idea on what’s totally going on. And because I was once in your shoes, struggling to have any some sort of information on what med school really is and just plain tips or advice from someone.

Disclaimer: I may have passed my first year but it doesn’t mean that I’m in the top 10 of my batch. I’m just your regular struggling med student and in no way a genius (like some of my classmates) but I could offer you some advice or tips to cope up with med school here in the Philippines as an incoming first year student and to show you a glimpse on what to really expect.

First Year Subjects:

Basic Biomedical Sciences

Gross Anatomy

Bring your reference book for your dissection just so you wouldn’t get lost along the way. I highly recommend Netter’s as an amazing reference. Also, if you can, invest in a 100 pcs glove box for your group, as well as masks it would be less a hassle to buy one every session (trust me, saves you more time to work ahead at the laboratory). Label your materials (it will be used for the whole year, label them so that they would not get lost and for you not to buy another one when you lost your scalpel or etc.)

Histology

Read in advance your laboratory exercise, it will be helpful for you. It would also guide you on what slides you’ll take. Research ahead on what the slides look like so you’ll have an idea on what to label and draw ahead. Don’t forget to bring your coloring materials. Color pencils, highlighters, fine liners help a lot in making sure your drawings look good.

Basic Neurosciences

Be familiar with everything, during laboratory, make sure that you know where the gyrus and sulcus are. Don’t forget to take a photo of everything and label on them.

Phyisology

If you’re a visual and audio learner like me, it would be helpful for you to search up some videos in the internet after a lecture. NinjaNerd is a very helpful reference for your physio topics. (istg!! I owe 50% of my learnings from him)

Embryology

If you go to the same school as me, read on the chapter summary. It will help you have a general idea about it. Reading the whole chapter helps you familiarize but the summary is enough.

Basic Radiology

Review the powerpoint slides by your lecturers! Take some time to actually read and review them not just during your exams, this will help you a lot since they are mostly diagrams and scans.

Family and Community Medicine 1

- Go to class. Don’t take this for granted. The subject is really nice to keep you grounded on what are really the main issues in the community that are related to health. It will help you appreciate the work of a family and community physician. You will be mostly doing paper works in this so team up with classmates who are actually hardworking and that helps you in work load.

Patient-Doctor Relations 1

- This is actually super fun. You get to have your first hospital exposure but only at the out-patient department. You will be taught on how to take a patient’s history. And if you are a socially awkward person like me (whose premed is biology and have no background on this) try to observe your classmates (especially the nurses) and if possible ask help if you have any difficulty. It will only be difficult at the first try but once you get the hang of it then you’ll be able to ace it. It’s not always that you get to take a patient’s history tho, it would only be 2-4 times this year, but hey it’s still good practice right? Try to follow the format given by your professor and do not just rely on your classmate’s history taking, make it your own so you’ll know how to make one.

1. Don’t be absent. Attendance in college may not be a huge deal for some universities but in med school? it is HUGE. (at least in my school) Attendance is checked every activity and every lecture (trust me, I was the class beadle). The reason why I tell you this is that, it will help a lot on your image to your professors. It shows that you are serious enough to attend your classes. (Even if you think you’ve covered this topic in your undergrad, still attend your classes, you’ll never know what things will your lecturer emphasize and possibly where he/she get questions for your exams)

2. Take notes. Lectures in Med school usually span for 1.5-3 hours depending on what the topic is all about. To keep yourself awake, one tip would be to take down notes, (may it be in pen or paper / electronically with your ipad or laptop!) trust me, it will help you during finals or exams to know what were the things emphasized by your lecturer.

3. Participate and Perform in Laboratories. Most of the subjects under BBS have laboratories (except for embryology). Try to make sure that you know every exercise and that you would not waste your laboratory period. This is because this will help you during your OSCEs or your Objective Structured Clinical Examinations.

4. Make your Small Group Discussions interactive. Use visual aids, like powerpoints, flashcards, quiz bowls, etc. Some facilitators may not be the fun type but most of the facilitators would appreciate on you simplifying the topic for your groupmates (BUT please make sure not to skip on important details).

5. Plot your school activities and exams. Med School is very fast paced, you tend to have long quizzes every monday and sometimes it gets really draining.That’s why I highly suggest to take note and plot in your calendar when will your bimonthlies start, this would give you an idea on how many days there is left before you start reviewing for it.

6. Always take a photo and label! I’ve said this once, and I will say it again. Don’t be a lazy ass (like me, who only do this when I feel like it TT) This is applicable to your laboratories, especially in histology and anatomy. When you have your lab exercise, always make sure that you get the slide that your teacher emphasized, have a photo of every slide and label it on that night. trust me. this will help you in your practical exams. And don’t forget to ask for help especially to your professors and classmates.

7. Find an outlet. It would get really suffocating at times when you are bombed with all these school works. And so I suggest to find an outlet, go to the gym, watch a youtube video or two every once in a while. So that you wouldn’t feel too choked by all these academic stress.

8. Keep all your notes by Bimonthly. Trust me on this, buy a big envelope and place all your notes and transes once the bimonthlies are over. This would really help you for finals so that you wouln’t be looking for all your scattered notes and print them again. Save the environment.

9. You don’t need to buy all your books. If you know someone from the upperclassmen, ask for a pdf copy of your books. The books really cost around 3-5,000 pesos each and it would be a pain in your wallet or parent’s wallet. (Or if you can afford it then it’s also alright with me tho hehe) But for me, you don’t really need to buy all of them, if you don’t want to. Befriend an upper classmen or two then ask for a pdf.

10. You are not alone. (oooh scary jk but you get me right?) You are still at an adjusting phase. First year brings a shock to most people on how med school really works. And I guess a good advice that I could tell you is that you are not alone. Your classmates and friends are also going through this. Everyone is struggling in med school (I still am) and that’s ok. You’ll find your groove soon enough (hopefully me too). Don’t be in a rush and don’t pressure yourself too much, just take things one day at a time. One task at a time. There will be days that you feel so bad that you don’t want to do anything and that’s ok, find someone to talk to, vent out what your feeling, contact your mentor, go to the gym, bake a cake, then move on. Make your bad day into good.

I’m not sure if these are enough but if you do have any questions feel free to dm me. And don’t forget that you are still a work in progress. Things will get really rough and that is because you are growing to become a skilled and good physician. If you’re not struggling then maybe you’re not really learning? (lol what? hahahaha idk) but really, just trust the process. You can do it! I believe in you!

#tips for med student #philippines #medblr #study #studyblr

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mariannemaebe · 8 years ago

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Early this year, the law requiring for practicing professionals to pursue for their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD), to keep their licenses, has been implemented in the Philippines.

Registered and Licensed Architects (RLAs) are among who are affected by the mandate. Unfortunately, there was not a enough circulation of this Resolution No. 2016-990 series of 2016, nor was there enough time for Filipino architects like myself to sit down and absorb it all in.

For any professional to renew their licenses, a point system has been provided by which you can quantify your professional development. Most numbers are greatly generated by attending accredited and evaluated seminars, conventions and forums which, for the record, are not free most of the times.

Nevertheless, my fellow architects and peers are already doing a headstart.

Just recently, a local architectural and design firm organized a 3-day event where a series of talks can be credited for the said CPD points.

Luckily, I was gifted with free tickets from my friend, whose friend also just have it to her. Had I not been lucky enough to be a recepient, I would have to pay 700php – 1400php to get in, which I would probably have whined doing, but even so, I’d still think it was worth it.

One particular reason why I am taking my time to writing this article is for documentation purposes. Especially because though I was naturally an attentive listener, and student (*coughs*), with time, things I learned fade in the background.

The second reason, was probably to justify that CPD points are not totally in vain. Though I also agree that it is quite expensive, greatly for young professionals like I am, I would just like to make sure I get the most of it.

Anthology Fest

1. Commercial and Computational Design

The first speaker/s I chanced upon to listen to were Masaki and Jiyoon Park, who altogether discussed their commercial projects as basis of the current trends in the Commercial/Retail Design and Architecture.

Masaki projected some of his design concepts for a few mall projects which taught me that: (1) online shopping is one posing threat for physical mall owners and developers, which is why Masaki and his team creates various shopping experiences for its end users (inside mall, outer mall, flea shops are among others); (2) computational design, which is the unfamiliar name they call for designs which require customised fabrication of steels, fittings and other components, is actually a good tool to creating attractive designs and; (3) one of his major consideration in designing a commercial interior is the creation of various focals point which are useful invitations for consumers to create traffic on usually less travelled areas.

Jiyoon, on the other hand, though mainly introducing the company she works for, Semba, also actually shared useful information including: (1) the different forms of mall plans which answers specific points for flow and traffic (circular, U, and box) and that; (2) malls nowadays also already incorporate in their designs and concepts, landscape architecture.

2. Architecture of Artifacts

The introduction of the lecture by Arch. Eunice Seng was actually both misleading and interesting for the reason that she started with history. She provided the audience with an in-depth and organized re-introduction to the 7 artifacts we know as curtain walls, core, roof.

She carefully explained how the trends we know now came to be. She set out examples and mentioned the architects who greatly influenced these such as Louis Sullivan, Le Corbusier and Mies Van de Rohe.

Architecture is a cultural practice, even when education is globalised. We all know Le corbusier for example, but still the concepts behind and how we design things this way and that way, it’s all cultural. (Verbatim)

– Archt. Eunice Seng

What I particularly like about her presentation was how she was able to link historical, cultural, geographical and economical factors to her explanations. Being a historian probably was one reason how she was able to achieve these effective comparisons.

3. Architecture for Community

Alex Furunes, a foreign architect, and Sudarshah Khadka of a local famous and legendary architectural firm, discussed side by side how they were always able to achieve a cost-effective design which perfectly suits and functions for the community it serves. But besides the technical aspects of their presentation, I was more inspired with how dedicated they both are for the cause their architecture serves.

One striking example which gained a rich reaction from the audience was the community kindergarten in Tacloban, which as we all know had been greatly damaged by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Well, it actually just cut very deep when the video of the then real-time devastation played. As Alex had coined it, it was very ’emotional’ project for him.

By the end of their presentation, I was more inspired to do these kinds of architecture for a cause in the future, especially after realizing that a foreigner like Alex himself might have more concern for Filipino youths than most politicians in the country. Sadly so.

On the technical side, I took note of their design process which greatly involves the input of the local people. The mothers are front-liners for the development of the plans, the kids’ creativity reflected on their depictions of the doors and windows and the fathers basically made the structures stand. For a community structure, it is a very effective step to collate the ideas of he users themselves. And in this light, it is actually interesting to see how well it always turn out, considering that these are cost-conscious projects.

4. Space and Forms

On day 3 of the event, we were able complete Arch. Julien de Smedt’s presentation on space and forms. Like the previous presentations, his will also make you wonder what his talk is actually about, until it makes sense. His solutions started with micro-spaces, built primarily for nomadic people with which he believes he belongs with. These solutions were basically furnishings (Makers With Agenda) which are collapsible and compact, indeed perfect for a nomadic lifestyle and well, small space living. These includes the swing, T42, accordion, stilt, pull-pong.

In the later part of his presentation, he was already tackling solutions in the urban scale. It was not difficult to note how his designs encourage movement and interaction (kindergarten, park by the river), and how they are not limited to just architecture, in fact, more of them focuses in urban planning with considerations of open spaces, including hardscape elements (bench).

Also, I was very much entertained by his humor, especially because he chose a good tool, Photoshop.

“My secret project is to kill people *slowly raises a peace sign*,”

“My secret project is to kill people *slowly raises a peace sign*,” his answer to when he was asked if he actually consider say, building codes and guidelines in his designs (the kindergarten being the basis of the question).

JDS Architecture Website: JDS Architects

“The series Anthology Talks in general strengthened my impression that though the practice of architecture is in fact targeting globalization, it is quite obvious that there are more factors which constrains the creativity of the local practice. Political and economical aspects top the list.”

Gaia Perspectives

On the same day of the second in Anthology, we had to wake up early to make sure we attended at least two for Anthology before we move to another venue for a different set of talks, organized by our chapter in UAP, Makati Greenbelt, though the location was in Davies Showroom in Quezon City.

These set of talks tackle on a different set of matters concerning the most abused being, the earth itself. And while most talks talk about design and architecture and how to make it as tools to answer different environmental issues, we do not really get the status of the environment, or at least, what we know are just ballpark figures.

in Gaia Perspectives, these statuses are not going to be laid out by architects but by different professionals who work more closely with the earth in the literal sense.

1. Ancient Trees

Landscape Architect Susan Ong, opened our eyes, the privileged people to attend the event, on the account of cultural landscape– how important it is to conserve, preserve and respect them for they may have been older than the structures already built around them.

Though there weren’t concrete architectural solutions presented on how this can be achieved, the importance is that as architects, we ought to think about these ourselves, reassess our designs to respect the trees.

“Ancient trees are a universe in itself.”

2. Responsible Mining

Architecture and Design usually don’t care about this, but apparently most of the resources we use for the construction such as steel are mined. And while we strongly go against mining, we must understand that mining is still needed to keep certain materials available.

Perhaps what we are just missing in this whole deal is there is also what miners call among themselves ‘responsible mining’. Mining does disturb our forests but with enough supervision, there is a good chance. In fact, I was also surprised to know that quarry and mining sites in different parts of the world are now serving other functions after the mining activities there are done.

Eden Project in UK (before image)

Eden Project in UK (after image)

3. Composite Materials in Construction

This topic was presented less technically because I suppose we wouldn’t really get much given that metallurgical Engineering and nanotechnology are already too technical for us to handle.

Either way, the explanation in simple, for most of the constructions materials available in the market, all of them are scientifically engineered to better serve its purpose, combining properties to answer to its supposed function.

4. Soil

The material where are structures sit upon are apparently more complicated than what we know of them. Even after the the speaker, Mr. Carating, from Bureau of Soils, explained how soils are classified, I still have a lot of questions, practically because he is mostly on the agricultural nature of the soil. Nevertheless, he was able to provide the audience relevant knowledge as to which soil is best suited for urban development, and which are not.

“The Gaia Perspectives stayed true to its intent to show its audience a different perspective based on the the takes of professionals other than architecture– both from the positive and ugly truths.”

Architecture | Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Architecture: start on the journey – Anthology Fest and Gaia Perspectives Early this year, the law requiring for practicing professionals to pursue for their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD), to keep their licenses, has been implemented in the Philippines.

#Anthology Fest #Architect Talks #Architects #Architecture #CPD Points #Environment #Gaia Perspectives #UAP Makati-Greenbelt #WTA Design Studio

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readbookywooks · 8 years ago

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“Tommy, are you even listening to me?”

Thomas snapped out of his daze and focused on Newt, who’d been talking for who knew how long; Thomas hadn’t heard a word of it. “Yeah, sorry. Couldn’t sleep last night.”

Newt attempted a pathetic smile. “Can’t blame ya there. Went through the buggin’ ringer, you did. Probably think I’m a slinthead shank for gettin’ you ready to work your butt off today after an episode the likes of that.”

Thomas shrugged. “Work’s probably the best thing I could do. Anything to get my mind off it.”

Newt nodded, and his smile became more genuine. “You’re as smart as you look, Tommy. That’s one of the reasons we run this place all nice and busylike. You get lazy, you get sad. Start givin’ up. Plain and simple.”

Thomas nodded, absently kicking a loose rock across the dusty, cracked stone floor of the Glade. “So what’s the latest on that girl from yesterday?” If anything had penetrated the haze of his long morning, it had been thoughts of her. He wanted to know more about her, understand the odd connection he felt to her.

“Still in a coma, sleepin’. Med-jacks are spoon-feeding her whatever soups Frypan can cook up, checking her vitals and such. She seems okay, just dead to the world for now.”

“That was just plain weird.” If it hadn’t been for the whole Ben-in-the-graveyard incident, Thomas was sure she would’ve been all he’d thought about last night. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to sleep for an entirely different reason. He wanted to know who she was and if he really did know her somehow.

“Yeah,” Newt said. “Weird’s as good a word as any, I ’spect.”

Thomas looked over Newt’s shoulder at the big faded-red barn, pushing thoughts of the girl aside. “So what’s first? Milk cows or slaughter some poor little pigs?”

Newt laughed, a sound Thomas realized he hadn’t heard much since he’d arrived. “We always make the Newbies start with the bloody Slicers. Don’t worry, cuttin’ up Frypan’s victuals ain’t but a part. Slicers do anything and everything dealin’ with the beasties.”

“Too bad I can’t remember my whole life. Maybe I love killing animals.” He was just joking, but Newt didn’t seem to get it.

Newt nodded toward the barn. “Oh, you’ll know good and well by the time sun sets tonight. Let’s go meet Winston—he’s the Keeper.”

Winston was an acne-covered kid, short but muscular, and it seemed to Thomas the Keeper liked his job way too much. Maybe he was sent here for being a serial killer, he thought.

Winston showed Thomas around for the first hour, pointing out which pens held which animals, where the chicken and turkey coops were, what went where in the barn. The dog, a pesky black Lab named Bark, took quickly to Thomas, hanging at his feet the entire tour. Wondering where the dog came from, Thomas asked Winston, who said Bark had just always been there. Luckily, he seemed to have gotten his name as a joke, because he was pretty quiet.

The second hour was spent actually working with the farm animals—feeding, cleaning, fixing a fence, scraping up klunk. Klunk. Thomas found himself using the Glader terms more and more.

The third hour was the hardest for Thomas. He had to watch as Winston slaughtered a hog and began preparing its many parts for future eating. Thomas swore two things to himself as he walked away for lunch break. First, his career would not be with the animals; second, he’d never again eat something that came out of a pig.

Winston had said for him to go on alone, that he’d hang around the Blood House, which was fine with Thomas. As he walked toward the East Door, he couldn’t stop picturing Winston in a dark corner of the barn, gnawing on raw pigs’ feet. The guy gave him the willies.

Thomas was just passing the Box when he was surprised to see someone enter the Glade from the Maze, through the West Door, to his left—an Asian kid with strong arms and short black hair, who looked a little older than Thomas. The Runner stopped three steps in, then bent over and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He looked like he’d just run twenty miles, face red, skin covered in sweat, clothes soaked.

Thomas stared, overcome with curiosity—he’d yet to see a Runner up close or talk to one. Plus, based on the last couple of days, the Runner was home hours early. Thomas stepped forward, eager to meet him and ask questions.

But before he could form a sentence, the boy collapsed to the ground.

CHAPTER 12

Thomas didn’t move for a few seconds. The boy lay in a crumpled heap, barely moving, but Thomas was frozen by indecision, afraid to get involved. What if something was seriously wrong with this guy? What if he’d been … stung? What if—

Thomas snapped out of it—the Runner obviously needed help.

“Alby!” he shouted. “Newt! Somebody get them!”

Thomas sprinted to the older boy and knelt down beside him. “Hey—you okay?” The Runner’s head rested on outstretched arms as he panted, his chest heaving. He was conscious, but Thomas had never seen someone so exhausted.

“I’m … fine,” he said between breaths, then looked up. “Who the klunk are you?”

“I’m new here.” It hit Thomas then that the Runners were out in the Maze during the day and hadn’t witnessed any of the recent events firsthand. Did this guy even know about the girl? Probably—surely someone had told him. “I’m Thomas—been here just a couple of days.”

The Runner pushed himself up into a sitting position, his black hair matted to his skull with sweat. “Oh, yeah, Thomas,” he huffed. “Newbie. You and the chick.”

Alby jogged up then, clearly upset. “What’re you doin’ back, Minho? What happened?”

“Calm your wad, Alby,” the Runner replied, seeming to gain strength by the second. “Make yourself useful and get me some water—I dropped my pack out there somewhere.”

But Alby didn’t move. He kicked Minho in the leg—too hard to be playful. “What happened?”

“I can barely talk, shuck-face!” Minho yelled, his voice raw. “Get me some water!”

Alby looked over at Thomas, who was shocked to see the slightest hint of a smile flash across his face before vanishing in a scowl. “Minho’s the only shank who can talk to me like that without getting his butt kicked off the Cliff.”

Then, surprising Thomas even more, Alby turned and ran off, presumably to get Minho some water.

Thomas turned toward Minho. “He lets you boss him around?”

Minho shrugged, then wiped fresh beads of sweat off his forehead. “You scared of that pip-squeak? Dude, you got a lot to learn. Freakin’ Newbies.”

The rebuke hurt Thomas far more than it should have, considering he’d known this guy all of three minutes. “Isn’t he the leader?”

“Leader?” Minho barked a grunt that was probably supposed to be a laugh. “Yeah, call him leader all you want. Maybe we should call him El Presidente. Nah, nah—Admiral Alby. There you go.” He rubbed his eyes, snickering as he did so.

Thomas didn’t know what to make of the conversation—it was hard to tell when Minho was joking. “So who is the leader if he isn’t?”

“Greenie, just shut it before you confuse yourself more.” Minho sighed as if bored, then muttered, almost to himself, “Why do you shanks always come in here asking stupid questions? It’s really annoying.”

“What do you expect us to do?” Thomas felt a flush of anger. Like you were any different when you first came, he wanted to say.

“Do what you’re told, keep your mouth shut. That’s what I expect.”

Minho had looked him square in the face for the first time with that last sentence, and Thomas scooted back a few inches before he could stop himself. He realized immediately he’d just made a mistake—he couldn’t let this guy think he could talk to him like that.

He pushed himself back up onto his knees so he was looking down at the older boy. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what you did as a Newbie.”

Minho looked at Thomas carefully. Then, again staring straight in his eyes, said, “I was one of the first Gladers, slinthead. Shut your hole till you know what you’re talking about.”

Thomas, now slightly scared of the guy but mostly fed up with his attitude, moved to get up. Minho’s hand snapped out and grabbed his arm.

“Dude, sit down. I’m just playin’ with your head. It’s too much fun—you’ll see when the next Newbie …” He trailed off, a perplexed look wrinkling his eyebrows. “Guess there won’t be another Newbie, huh?”

Thomas relaxed, returned to a sitting position, surprised at how easily he’d been put back at ease. He thought of the girl and the note saying she was the last one ever. “Guess not.”

Minho squinted slightly, as if he was studying Thomas. “You saw the chick, right? Everybody says you probably know her or something.”

Thomas felt himself grow defensive. “I saw her. Doesn’t really look familiar at all.” He felt immediately guilty for lying—even if it was just a little lie.

“She hot?”

Thomas paused, not having thought of her in that way since she’d freaked out and delivered the note and her one-liner—Everything is going to change. But he remembered how beautiful she was. “Yeah, I guess she’s hot.”

Minho leaned back until he lay flat, eyes closed. “Yeah, you guess. If you got a thing for chicks in comas, right?” He snickered again.

“Right.” Thomas was having the hardest time figuring out if he liked Minho or not—his personality seemed to change every minute. After a long pause, Thomas decided to take a chance. “So …,” he asked cautiously, “did you find anything today?”

Minho’s eyes opened wide; he focused on Thomas. “You know what, Greenie? That’s usually the dumbest shuck-faced thing you could ask a Runner.” He closed his eyes again. “But not today.”

“What do you mean?” Thomas dared to hope for information. An answer, he thought. Please just give me an answer!

“Just wait till the fancy admiral gets back. I don’t like saying stuff twice. Plus, he might not want you to hear it anyway.”

Thomas sighed. He wasn’t in the least bit surprised at the non-answer. “Well, at least tell me why you look so tired. Don’t you run out there every day?”

Minho groaned as he pulled himself up and crossed his legs under him. “Yeah, Greenie, I run out there every day. Let’s just say I got a little excited and ran extra fast to get my bee-hind back here.”

“Why?” Thomas desperately wanted to hear about what happened out in the Maze.

Minho threw his hands up. “Dude. I told you. Patience. Wait for General Alby.”

Something in his voice lessened the blow, and Thomas made his decision. He liked Minho. “Okay, I’ll shut up. Just make sure Alby lets me hear the news, too.”

Minho studied him for a second. “Okay, Greenie. You da boss.”

Alby walked up a moment later with a big plastic cup full of water and handed it to Minho, who gulped down the whole thing without stopping once for breath.

“Okay,” Alby said, “out with it. What happened?”

Minho raised his eyebrows and nodded toward Thomas.

“He’s fine,” Alby replied. “I don’t care what this shank hears. Just talk!”

Thomas sat quietly in anticipation as Minho struggled to stand up, wincing with every move, his whole demeanor just screaming exhaustion. The Runner balanced himself against the wall, gave both of them a cold look. “I found a dead one.”

“Huh?” Alby asked. “A dead what?”

Minho smiled. “A dead Griever.”

CHAPTER 13

Thomas was fascinated at the mention of a Griever. The nasty creature was terrifying to think about, but he wondered why finding a dead one was such a big deal. Had it never happened before?

Alby looked like someone had just told him he could grow wings and fly. “Ain’t a good time for jokes,” he said.

“Look,” Minho answered, “I wouldn’t believe me if I were you, either. But trust me, I did. Big fat nasty one.”

It’s definitely never happened before, Thomas thought.

“You found a dead Griever,” Alby repeated.

“Yes, Alby,” Minho said, his words laced with annoyance. “A couple of miles from here, out near the Cliff.”

Alby looked out at the Maze, then back at Minho. “Well … why didn’t you bring it back with you?”

Minho laughed again, a half-grunt, half-giggle. “You been drinkin’ Frypan’s saucy-sauce? Those things must weigh half a ton, dude. Plus, I wouldn’t touch one if you gave me a free trip out of this place.”

Alby persisted with the questions. “What did it look like? Were the metal spikes in or out of its body? Did it move at all—was its skin still moist?”

Thomas was bursting with questions—Metal spikes? Moist skin? What in the world?—but held his tongue, not wanting to remind them he was there. And that maybe they should talk in private.

“Slim it, man,” Minho said. “You gotta see it for yourself. It’s … weird.”

“Weird?” Alby looked confused.

“Dude, I’m exhausted, starving, and sun-sick. But if you wanna haul it right now, we could probably make it there and back before the walls shut.”

Alby looked at his watch. “Better wait till the wake-up tomorrow.”

#MazeRunner

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