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robin-hood-for-freedom · 3 years ago

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I now present to you, my followers, the single worst article I have ever read.

TLDR: A supposed 'libertarian' is actually defending vaccine mandates.

This is actually so bad, I think its worth a full response:

If the vaccine causes no appreciable injury, can you still refuse to be injected, notwithstanding that you might be visiting significant risks on others?

For starters, thats a BIG 'if.' In fact, we know for a fact that there is a (yes very small, but not nonexistent) risk of serious harm from the vaccine in the short run, and we have no way of knowing if there will be harm 5 years from now.

But beyond that: The idea that not taking the COVID vaccine is 'visiting significant risks on others' is just...not true. Its pretty well accepted at this point that the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, it just reduces your chance of having serious problems from it.

And that to me, is why vaccine mandates are dead on arrival. Even if we knew the vaccine was 100% safe(which is isnt), and guaranteed you wouldnt get sick from COVID(which it doesnt), it only protects you, meaning theres no 'externality' to not taking it.

Occasionally, however, advocates of limited government will condone directives to engage in benign activities (even when not cost-free) if failure to do so might cause injury to innocent bystanders. Safety requirements for nuclear power plants would be one example

This is actually a very high-level libertarian question that I dont think I should unpack here(maybe another post). But Its also not really relevant, since not taking a vaccine even if it did reduce the spread of COVID(which again it doesnt) isnt nearly as potentially harmful, nor as clearly intentional as, say building an unshielded nuclear reactor in the middle of a crowded city.

Punishing aggressive acts that have already caused damage is a routine government function. But it’s more complicated when government compels conduct that might minimize or alleviate future harm. That’s an area of the law — endangerment — where rights theory is difficult to apply. How much increased risk do I have to endure before your potentially malign failure to act can be redressed? When rights theory doesn’t provide adequate guidance, defenders of liberty often look to utilitarian, cost-benefit tradeoffs

I'm not sure I actually agree with this. But even if I did, it would have to be in the most cartoonishly extreme cases. Abandoning rights theory in favor of utilitarian cost-benefit analysis in anything less can lead to justifying all kinds of horrific shit. And applied too broadly can justify almost anything.

And, no I dont think refusing to take a vaccine(that doesnt even prevent the spread of COVID) comes anywhere near that level. To quote Jules from Pulp Fiction it ain't the same fuckin' ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fuckin' sport

vaccine mandates are nothing new. Wyoming, an indisputably conservative state, requires vaccines for 12 diseases if a child wants to attend either public or private school or a care facility, or participate in school-sanctioned activities.

A lot to unpack here:

First I'm against every single aspect of this, not just the vaccine mandates, but all the way down to the very existence of public schools. So this probably isnt the best example.

But even if you want to set that aside: Do you seriously not see a difference between a kid needing a vaccine to go to public school, and an adult needing one to go to the grocery store?

Also, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that every single one of the diseases kids need to be vaccinated for are more dangerous to them than COVID-19.

Oh and obligatory mention that the COVID vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus.

More vaccinations would have slowed transmission and thereby afforded fewer opportunities for the virus to mutate.

The vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus. So this is just straight up bullshit.

And even if it were true: the delta variant originated in a country(India) that hadnt had access to vaccines due to fuckery by the US government and pharma companies. So maybe you should be going after them instead of people who are understandably skeptical of a new medical treatment that we cant know the long term effects of.

Significantly, based on data from 40 states, persons fully vaccinated accounted for as little as 0.2 to 6 percent of COVID deaths, and 0.1 to 5 percent of hospitalizations.

While this might be argument for getting vaccinated(assuming those numbers are accurate, which I kinda doubt), its not an argument for forcing the vaccine on people. Since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, you arent reducing the risk to anybody but yourself.

Third, can we be sure that a vaccine mandate will remedy the problem? Put differently, haven’t we seen numerous breakthrough cases in which vaccinated persons have nonetheless been infected? Yes, but the key reason breakthrough cases are a growing part of the total is that we’ve vaccinated a higher percentage of the population. Most important, as noted above, people who are fully vaccinated experience far fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

All of this is completely irrelevant since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID

Yes I'm getting tired of repeating myself, but this point cannot be emphasized enough: If you're argument for vaccine mandates is that not getting vaccinated poses a threat to others, then the fact that the vaccine dosnt prevent the spread kills your argument before it even begins.

Perhaps we should just wear masks and maintain social distancing. But the consensus is that the vaccine would still be necessary, and far more effective.

Funny thing, the CDC is saying masks and social distancing are necessary even with the vaccine because(say it with me now) the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps natural immunity from contracting the disease is stronger than vaccine-induced immunity. But most studies say otherwise.

I feel like I should point out here that I've seen a lot of arguments from people on both sides of this question. And I dont have enough knowldge of immunology to be able to judge which is the correct position.

Although it wouldnt really matter if the vaccine were more effective than natural immunity, since it doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps a vaccine mandate can be geographically or demographically constrained. That’s an obvious consideration, which suggests that local officials be given substantial discretion in establishing the scope of any mandate.

I suppose that would be better than a national mandate. But even that much would be unjustified since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Or perhaps vaccinations could remain optional, but with restricted access to selected activities by the unvaccinated. That notion — a vaccine “passport” — has the support of nearly 82 percent of Americans, according to a recent survey.

In other news: 82% of Americans are morons who dont realize the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

(okay but seriously, given that almost half of all Americans arent vaccinated, I have to question the methodology of this survey).

we are in the midst of a health emergency, which means that suitably modified, narrowly-tailored, time-limited rules may be justified.

This is a one-time thing because we are in the middle of an emergency is the justification for nearly every tyrannical act ever undertaken by governments. And to hear it coming from a supposed 'libertarian' is equal parts terrifying and nauseating.

Oh and the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

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rimmers-swimming-certificate · 5 years ago

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Red Dwarf fanfic - Comatose (12/19)

Rimmer carefully examined the two guitars, one leaning against the wall of their sleeping quarters and the other, right next to it, doing a reasonably convincing impression of the same thing.

“No,” he said. He shook his head. “No no no, Holly. It’s totally different. You need to make it look the same.”

They had been at this for over an hour and for some reason Holly still wasn’t getting it.

From the viewscreen, Holly appeared to look from one guitar to the other. In actual fact, Rimmer knew that she was looking from the microcameras positioned around the room, and around the whole ship. They were always on, always aware, giving the computer a 360 degree view of everything that happened on board. There were no secrets from Holly. Rimmer tried not to think about that too hard, because thinking about it reminded him that Holly knew exactly what he had used to get up to with Inflatable Ingrid when he had been alive, and he would rather not think about that, thank you very much.

She looked for a long time, eyes flicking from right to left as she appeared to switch her gaze from one guitar to the other. Finally she sighed in exasperation. “They’re the same, Arnold,” she told him.

Rimmer, crouching on the floor near the two instruments, shook his head. “No they’re not. They’re completely different.” He pointed to the first guitar, the original. “This one here, it’s black, yes, but it’s more of a charcoal black, whereas this one,” he pointed at the second instrument, “This one is very clearly onyx.”

“Clearly,” Holly said. Rimmer caught the sarcasm in her voice, and he didn’t care for it.

“And you see the damage on this one? The cigarette burn on the front there? On this other one, it’s about a millimetre too far to the left.”

Holly sighed. “It’s the same. I did a complete three dimensional scan of the thing. I can guarantee with 101 percent certainty that they are identical.”

“Er… 101?” Rimmer frowned. “You can’t have more than 100 percent certainty, Holly.”

She frowned. “Can too,” she said. “And I’m 106% certain of that.”

Rimmer placed his head in his hands and wondered, not for the first time, how the universe could have been so cruel as to sentence him to an eternity in deep space with these idiots. “I don’t care if you think it’s a million percent accurate, Holly, they’re not the same. Come on! You’re a supercomputer with a reported IQ of six thousand. I mean, granted you lost a couple of zeros from that figure over the years, and to be perfectly honest I was never convinced by that whole ‘six thousand’ boast in the first place, but despite all that, surely a computer should still have a better eye for detail than I do.”

Holly rolled her eyes theatrically. “Well yeah,” she said. “I do. That’s how come I can see they’re the same.” She sank into silence for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, look. You’re right, I should have a better eye for detail than you. So there’s only two possible explanations for why we disagree.”

“Go on then,” Rimmer told her.

“First one is, I can’t see any difference because there is no difference. They’re exactly the same and you’re the one that’s wrong.”

“No, that can’t be it,” Rimmer told her dismissively. “What’s the other possibility?”

Holly frowned. “I’ve forgotten,” she said. “Funny, I knew it a minute ago.”

Rimmer raised his eyes upward in a ‘give me strength’ gesture to a God that he didn’t believe in, and who, if he ever had existed in the first place, had almost certainly long since abandoned the remaining crew of a long-forgotten mining ship. “Great,” he said. “Fine. Let’s agree to disagree. Just move the cigarette burn one… no, one point five millimetres to the left, and adjust the colour.”

“If you say so,” Holly intoned. The cigarette burn shifted to the correct position. Rimmer looked at it again, and frowned. Actually, now it was too far to the right. Maybe Holly had been right after all.

Well, there was no way he was going to tell her that. He’d never hear the end of it.

“Great,” he said. “Just one thing to check.” He reached out with one hand and strummed his fingers across the strings of the holographic guitar. The sound was hideous; a discordant mess that made him cringe in discomfort and wish that he was deaf. “Perfect,” he said. “Where is Lister anyway?”

“About twenty metres away, heading in this direction,” Holly told him.

“What? I said warn me when he’s on his way.” Rimmer jumped backward, away from the door, and sat down on his bunk at the exact same moment Lister entered the room. Either Lister sprinted those twenty metres, or Holly had miscalculated again.

Lister looked around the room before settling a suspicious gaze on Rimmer. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Going on?” Rimmer said. “Nothing. What makes you think anything’s going on?”

Lister’s suspicion appeared to deepen. “Because when I walked in here, you leaped back like you’d been doing something you shouldn’t, and then sat down on the bunk trying to look nonchalant.”

Rimmer nodded. It was Holly’s fault of course. If he’d had just a few more seconds to prepare, he could have been much more convincing. Luckily, it wasn’t as though he was saving the gift for a special occasion. It was done, or as done as it was going to be.

He got to his feet. “Well, something was going on, as it happens,” he said.

Lister nodded. “I know. That’s what I said. So, what were you up to?”

RImmer folded his arms. “I resent that, actually,” he said. “I resent the fact that you just assume I’m ‘up to’ something, like I’ve always got some nefarious scheme on the go like some cartoon bad guy on one of those terrible TV shows you like to watch.”

Lister sighed. He sat down and shook his head. “Will you relax? It’s a figure of speech. When you say ‘What are you up to’? it means ‘what are you doing?’ It’s like when you bump into your mate unexpectedly and you go ‘Alright?’ it doesn’t mean you think there’s something wrong, it’s just a way of saying hello.”

Rimmer frowned. Was it? He wondered what the correct response was in that case. He suspected that maybe he shouldn’t have been saying “fine thanks’ all those years. “Yes, I know that. Obviously,” he said.

“So, what were you up to?”

Rimmer straightened up proudly. “I was making something, actually,” he said. Keeping his eye on Lister to see his reaction, he indicated the guitar with a wave of his hand.

Lister looked confused. He glanced around the room, then back to Rimmer “Okay. What were you making?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? The gui…” he stopped. The guitar had disappeared. “Er, Holly, where did it go?”

Holly appeared back on the screen. “Where did what go?” she asked.

One of these days, he was going to send one of the skutters into Holly’s inner wiring and have them perform a lobotomy. The result couldn’t possibly be any worse than what they had now. “You know what, you stupid computer. The thing that we just spent an hour making, and that you have now blinked out of existence. Put it back.”

“Oh, right,” Holly said. “Why didn’t you say?”

The holographic copy of the guitar reappeared next to Lister’s real one. Lister looked at it, then back to Rimmer, and then to the guitar again. “Is that…? He said. He took a step forward, toward the guitar, then hesitated. “Is it real?” he asked.

“Well, no,” Rimmer told him. “It’s a hologram.”

“No, I mean can I…” Lister reached out hesitantly, as though he expected for the guitar to disappear, or for his hand to pass through it as it would the genuine instrument. When his fingertips connected with the neck of the guitar. His eyes widened in surprise, and his hand closed around it.

“You did this?” he asked.

Rimer tried to look modest. “Well, Holly helped. A bit. But basically, yes.”

Lister plucked one of the strings with the well-chewed nail of his right index finger. It reverberated unpleasantly around the room, and Rimmer tried not to cringe. Lister plucked each string in turn, eyes closed and an expression of pure joy on his face. When he opened his eyes to look at Rimmer again, he was smiling in a way that Rimmer didn’t remember seeing in… well, since the accident.

“Why?” he asked.

Rimmer frowned. “What do you mean ‘why’?

Lister strummed the guitar, the fingers of his left hand pressing the strings to play a chord. Or they would have, if the guitar had been anything close to in tune. It occurred to Rimmer that perhaps he should have asked Holly for it to be slightly less true to life in that regard. “You hate my guitar. You’ve threatened to have the skutters smash it up more times than I can count. You said it was noise pollution, hazardous to health. You said it should have a warning sign on it.”

It was a fair point. He had said and done all of that. One one occasion, before he had died, he had come within inches of actually snapping the damn thing in two. Until Lister had jumped down from the bed in a panicked attempt to save it, and crushed Rimmer’s foot. He’d limped for a week after that.

He looked away, feeling awkward suddenly. The truth was, Lister had given him something, when he had placed his arms around him and allowed him to experience his first real hug in… well, he wasn’t sure, but it had been a hell of a lot longer than three million years. When he had kneaded the tension out of his neck and shoulders, when he had let Rimmer touch him and not recoiled in revulsion. Lister had given him something, and he had wanted to give him something back.

Not to mention, there was a chance that he might feel a teensy bit guilty for something he had thought a few days earlier. It wasn’t his fault, of course; it wasn’t like he could be held accountable for the thoughts that popped unbidden into his head, but after Lister’s seizure, he had, briefly, hoped for worse news. It wasn’t that he would exactly be happy if Lister needed to stay as a hologram, but he definitely wouldn’t have been unhappy about it either.

He shrugged. “I didn’t have anything better to do,” he said.

Lister gave him a look, and Rimmer was certain that he understood. He understood the first reason, anyway, though he was frustratingly perceptive and there was always a chance he had picked up on the second one too. “Thanks man,” he said. “Come ‘ere.” Still clutching the guitar to his chest, Lister wrapped his arms around Rimmer. For a moment, squashing the guitar between them.

Rimmer hesitated, before he put his own arms around Lister. It felt so good. He tried to remind himself that it was Lister that he was hugging. Slobby, revolting Lister whose dirty laundry set off the chemical waste alarm on two separate occasions. Lister, who he had once watched wake up, strain five cigarette butts out of a warm can of lager with a tea strainer and chug the drink for breakfast. He was disgusting, and right now, Rimmer didn’t care one bit.

“You don’t know what this means to me,” Lister added.

No, Rimmer supposed. He probably didn’t. He had never been musically gifted. Of course, neither was Lister -- in fact, if there was such a thing as the opposite of musically gifted, that was Lister -- but he enjoyed it. He could lose himself in it and forget his troubles. Rimmer had always envied him that ability, and he knew that being cut off from it, whether it was temporary or not, had been difficult for him.

Finally, Lister patted Rimmer on the back, the universal signal for ‘that’s enough hugging now’, and took a step back. Holding the guitar reverentially in his hands, he brushed his fingers over the smooth surface of its body and the rough damage of the cigarette burn.

“It takes a lot of power to generate,” Rimmer told him. “Keeping you and me going at the same time is taxing enough on power reserves as it is, so Holly tells me it’ll disappear when you’re not using it, so she can use the power for other things. You’ll need to ask for it when you want it back.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lister agreed, still stroking the guitar like it was some kind of pet.

“And don’t spend too long playing, or we might need to skimp on light or heating.”

No reply.

“Lister, did you hear me?”

Lister wasn’t listening anymore. He had sat down on Rimmer’s bunk and started to pluck the strings one by one, a faraway look on his face.

Rimmer nodded, satisfied. He backed away a couple of steps, then headed for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Lister asked him.

“Away,” Rimmer told him. “I’ve done my good deed for the day. Just because I gave you that thing doesn’t mean I should have to suffer though listening to you play it.”

(next)

(Thanks once again to @norwegianpornfaerie for betaing)

#red dwarf #red dwarf fanfic #my fic #dave lister #arnold rimmer #in which rimmer no only tries to be nice #but actually suceeds

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btsrmono · 5 years ago

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Trial & Error | chapter 1.

A/N: hey guys ik this is really random for my page but i got bored lol pls enjoy??

Main Pairing: (jimin): student/idol x (main): foreign student

Side Pairs: main x taehyung,, main x (nct) jaehyun

CHAPTER 1

"I still can't believe you're moving."

You sighed, leaning your head on your boyfriend's shoulder. "Don't remind me."

It had been a month since your parents had told you about the big move and school would be starting the next week, which is when you'd be moving.

Ryan lied his hand on your thigh as he squeezed it a bit. "I was thinking, you know," he started, "since you're moving and all... y/n, don't you think it'd be better if we--"

You already knew where this was going. "Break up?" you finished for him. He didn't say anything, causing you to chuckle a bit. "It's alright," you told him. "I've been thinking the same thing."

"You have?"

You took your head off of his shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "Yeah. I mean, it only makes sense, right? What would be the purpose of staying together?" You gave him a small smile of which he returned. You and Ryan had only been together for 5 months, not really making it a big deal.

"You know I care about you, right?"

"Yes," you confirmed. "Same goes here. Just because we're 'ending this', doesn't mean we're ending us. I'll still keep in contact with you and check up here and there."

Smiling at you, he stuck his pinky finger out. "Promise?"

You quickly interlocked your pinky with his. "Promise."

Turns out, saying your goodbyes to your friends wasn't the hard part. You already knew this was going to be a problem but you had been in Korea for over two hours and still had yet to find someone that spoke English. You guys began to settle in your apartment with the help of moving guys, and you had decided that you wanted to take a look around, maybe buy a snack.

Little to no avail, you couldn't find many American snacks like you were expecting to, and when you did, they surely didn't taste the same. Anyway, you was trying to make your way back to your new home when you realized you didn't know where you were going. Google Maps was acting up, and you were too afraid to attempt the Korean you actually did know with local natives. Therefore, you tried to ask, using as much broken English as you could to make it simple on them. However, they weren't very helpful but at least they all seemed nice. You thought maybe if you made one more attempt, you could have hit the jackpot. "Uh, excuse me sir."

The older man stopped in his tracks and stared at you. "Uh... Yes?" He asked, sounding quite nervous.

Right then and there, just from his tone, you knew he wasn't going to be much useful. You politely smiled. "Never mind." You bowed and he went on with his day. Ugh, why were you so scared to speak Korean. You were actually pretty good at it at some point due to your childhood best friend, Shi Ah. Practically her sister, you two were around each other all the time and you easily picked up the language. It was fun because you guys would always say things about people with them right there without them knowing what you two were speaking about.

But, unfortunately, Shi Ah had to move to China Freshman year due to a job opportunity for her journalist parents. The goodbye was extremely hard but you both eventually moved on, you becoming best friends with Mariana and Riley, her doing God knows what. You even fell out of touch so you had no idea what she’d been up to the past few years. It was sad but it quickly became your new normal.

Anyway, you knew, eventually you were going to have to get over your fear of speaking Korean but until then, you sighed and took in the scenery surrounding you to see if anything looked familiar, but nope. You stood there, deciding that maybe it was time to call a parent. As you went to dial your moms number, you suddenly become very distracted.

"Lost?" you heard a voice say.

You looked up from your phone to the girl that now stood in front of you. "You speak English?" you stupidly asked. The girl laughed. "I'm sorry," you apologized, realizing how rude you probably sounded.

"Don't be, it's understandable. What can I help you with though?" The girl was really pretty. She had perfect skin with long blonde hair and bangs that made her wide eyes stand out.

You let out a breath, looking down at your phone. "I need help getting back home."

She giggled. "Already? Come on." She then proceed to walk ahead of you as you, confusingly, followed.

"But wait, you haven't even asked where I live."

"Its alright, we're in the same neighborhood. I saw you earlier," she explained. It then made sense. However, you had not seen her. The girl was gorgeous, you must admit, so you would have remembered seeing her.

"So we're neighbors," you stated.

"Yup."

"What's your name?"

Still walking, she looked back at you and smiled. "Jinsoul. But my English speaking friends call me Zoè. Say which ever you'd like."

You nodded, repeating her name in your head a few times. A habit you picked up in order to remember people’s names.

"And you?" she asked.

"Y/n."

"That’s pretty," she complemented you. “It’ll be hard to forget.”

Only a short block later, you guys were back into the neighborhood. "Thank you so much," you said as you began to reach your doorstep. "I owe you."

After exchanging numbers, she informed you that she only lived a corner away from you and that if you ever needed anything, you could just ask.

______

The next day, you were starting school. You walked around the corner and saw your mom in the kitchen cooking breakfast. You knew that your Dad didn't leave the house until 9 am. "Morning, Mom," you greeted her.

She turned away from the pancakes she was in the middle of making and smiled at you. "Y/n! Morning baby, are you excited for school?"

You shrugged your shoulders while smirking as you placed your back pack on the kitchen island table. "I guess. I don't really know what to expect though."

"Well if there's any advice I can give you, it's : Don't stress. Seriously, it'll make everything go wrong."

Instead of a reply, you sighed, still feeling sleepy. "Why are you up so early?" you asked her.

She then proceeded back to making the pancakes. "For you."

"Oh no, you didn't need to do that, Mom. I'm about to leave out."

She looked at you with a confused expression on her face. "Well then what are you going to eat?"

"There's a store around the block, I was just gonna grab a quick snack and head to the school early."

"Early?" she wondered.

You shook your head. "Yup. Want to get my schedule 100 percent accurate and get a mini tour of the building before it gets too crowded." Your mom kind of smirked, looking at you from the side of her eyes. You giggled. "What?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing, it's just nice seeing you be responsible and positive on the first day. I know you didn't exactly picture your senior year to go this way but I just want you to make the best of it and I think you're off to a good start so far, sweetie."

You smiled. She was right, you guess. You did feel very out of place but not in a bad way exactly. You'd rather be home but you weren’t. You were in Seoul, South Korea and what would you be able to do about it? Nothing. So why not do what you can and make it a good experience rather than a negative?

She then turned the stove off and fully looked at you. "Get going. Have a nice day of school!"

As soon as you left the apartment building, you saw the girl from the day before walking in your direction. She beamed widely at your appearance. "Y/n!" she yelled.

You gave her a gentle smile, waiting for her to catch up with you. Once she did, you both continued walking together. "You look nice for your first day."

"Thanks, you look nice too!"

You started to think that she was also going to the store. So you both walked in silence for a little bit until you arrived there. The bell dinged on the door as she opened it. The older cashier man looked at you strangely. She noticed this. "Don't mind him," she said. "He does this to everyone."

You shook your head understandingly. "Okay."

She went over to the fridge section and grabbed banana milk, as did you, then a pack of peanuts and you went up to pay for your stuff while she was still looking. Once she was done, you two stepped back out into the hot heat. Only a few moments later, a group of three good looking guys showed up, talking amongst themselves as they headed to school as well in their uniforms. This made you believe you were getting closer to the bus stop.

On the side of you, you heard Jinsoul let out a slight laugh, making you turn to her. She was looking at the boys. Next thing you knew, they were looking back at her and walking over towards you guys. "A-are they coming over here?" you stuttered.

"Looks like it," she replied cooley, a small smirk glued to her face.

You quickly gave your hair a little fix as you both suddenly stopped walking, waiting for the boys to join.

"Yah, Jinsoul!", one of them said. He continued to speak in Korean as you zoned out, worried about if they would try to speak to you too. Sooner or later, you heard your name being said by Jinsoul and the boys all kind of glanced your way, throwing you off track.

They eventually turned their attention back to Jinsoul, continuing their conversation. All except the one boy, whom was the most adorable of them all. He blankly stared at you, his eyes even squinting a bit.

You shifted one foot to the other as you looked down at the pavement, slightly uncomfortable with this. You then heard him laugh and when you looked back up, he was smiling at you. You nervously smiled back before he finally went back to paying attention to Jinsoul. They spoke in some more Korean.

After a good minute or two passed, you heard them saying goodbye, the cutest one being the only one to wave at you. Once they were out of ear shot, you turned to Jinsoul. "Uh, Jinsoul?"

"Hm?" she wondered, nonchalantly.

"Who were they?"

She laughed loudly before covering her mouth quickly. "Really?" she asked. "You really don't know who they are?"

Of course you didn't know who they were, why was she expecting you to? You tilted your head slightly. "I mean, I'm not from here," you explained.

"True." She began to walk again, you following. "They're all idols."

"Idols?" you wondered. "As in?"

"As in 'famous', y/n."

You slightly hesitated, letting this new profound information soak into your brain. "Famous as in?"

"They sing. Dance. Rap. They're idols. K-pop idols."

You knew of K-pop, you looked it up upon arriving to Seoul but were no expert at it and of course the only people you ever even slightly heard of were Psy, Exo and Got7. Other than that, you were completely ignorant to the Korean pop industry. "Are they all in the same group?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Two of them are. The other one, aka, my friend, is still a trainee, which means he hasn't debuted yet but he's training to."

"Interesting." You walked a few more seconds in silence until you absolutely had to ask their names. Specifically for the one guy.

She deviously smiled, already knowing what was up your sleeve. "I see what you're doing," she stated. "But if you insist. My friend's name is Bae Joon Young. We call him Jacob. The other one is Kim Taehyung and the one that you seem interested in is Park Jimin."

"Jimin," you repeated. "But wait. If they're all famous, why were they in uniform to go to school?"

"Because they have to," she told you. "They all made an agreement that if they ever dropped out of school, they are eligible to be dropped from their company. Plus Taehyung and Jimin just debuted so they have to listen to their company right now. It's a pretty logical idea if I do say so myself."

You guys finally arrived at the bus stop and she explained to you what you would do after being released at the first stop. You both went to different schools. While you went to a Foreign school, she attended a performing arts school with a ton of other inspiring and/or famous people.

Of course you saw the boys again at the bus stop but they did not bother you guys this time, instead, they met up with their other friends that were also at the bus stop. The bus eventually pulled up around 7:30am and everyone got on board. Since both schools were basically right across from each other, all students got off at the same spot too. The only difference is that you and about two other students had to walk an extra block before actually getting to the International school. Once you finally arrived there, you took a deep breath and headed inside.

A/N: Bruh, I’m sorry this chapter was so BORING but it was the 1st. It should get a lil more interesting moving forward since we got most introductions out of the way. More Jimin to come next chapter!

ALSO: I’ll be putting a gif of a main character each chapter at the end! For this chapter, we have Jinsoul, the friendly neighbor and school bus buddy!

STAY TUNED

PART 2

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c-atm · 5 years ago

Text

Fighting Flirty: Special match (V-day)

Special Match

A Valentine Fighting Flirty

Connie Maheswaran yawned as she walked out of Little Homeworld R&D, pockets in her blue lab coat. Morning sunlight was breaking through and unsurprisingly, there were gems already up or who didn’t sleep, roaming around decorating the streets in red,white, and pink. With hearts, streamers and banners.

“So..It’s here again…Valentine’s day, maybe I can sleep through it.”

The twenty years old let loose a cynical smirk. She had a real distaste for Valentine’s day, always had. It just came off as a bit much and a bit too fake.

All the wanting to suddenly admit your ‘love’ to a person.

“Cause there’s a higher chance of getting a date and or get laid.”

All the expectation of giving or getting a gift or candy.

“Cause it’s what’s lover’s supposed to do, how else are they supposed to express their 24hr surge of romance?”

All the social convention and commercialization. “Cause being single and not spending money on Valentine day is pathetic.”

She shook her head with a chuckle. She didn’t care for the day, at all.

She stopped in front of Lars bakery, seeing it open with a display of chocolate in a circular black box in the window.

“The chocolate is good though, I’ll give it that.”

A few minutes later she was heading towards her LHW residence, box under her left shoulder. She took in the sights of the gem city and as much as she loathed the holiday, she did take a bit of pride in the fact that the gems were so eager to celebrate it.

She arrived at her residence and arched an eyebrow before a small glow came to her tired cheeks.

In front of her door was a bouquet of red and white Chrysanthemums, surrounding a small 'heart’ of bluebells.

“Mister."

it was a whisper that leaked appreciation. She expected him to give her a gift, even knowing her anti-valentine stance, he always does. She lifted the flowers up and carefully tucking them with the chocolate, before opening the door and finding it unlocked.

Again, not surprised; especially since the whole place had the smell of breakfast being made. Entering and closing the door behind her, she followed the smell to the kitchen and there he was.

Big limbed, big torso, lightly tan skin, curly hair, deep almond eyes, and slightly whiskered face. Wearing his black button-up, dark blue jeans with a star buckle belt, pink and blue sneakers. The pink apron was a new addition though.

She gently placed the chocolate down on the table and the flowers in the suspiciously new vase on her island…Which happened to be filled with water, before walking behind him and wrapping he arm around him, resting her hands on his chest as she snuggled her face into his back, smirking at his beach yet earthy smell.

"Heart Berry, burned the midnight oil I see.”

She groaned cutely, giving her Mister a kiss on the the small on his back, getting a chuckle from him.

“You know, it’s action like this that makes people think we’re more than friends.,”

That earned him a little nip, Making him falsely wince before chucking.

“Brat Berry.”

She looked at what he was making and turned her eyes towards him a bit of a childlike glow in her eyes. “You’re making _ Masala dosa?” _

“Why yes? Yes, I am. Very astute of you.”

Connie groaned suspiciously. “What are you up to?”

“Just doing something nice for you..”

“On February fourteenth…Valentine’s day.”

“Coincidence. ..I know you’re the’ antithesis of Valentines day’.” He laughed a bit at that. “I still can’t believe you called yourself that.”

“I stand by my claim. I’m happily unattached, I don’t expect nor do I give gifts-”

“Yet you accept gifts and you bought chocolate. ”

“First, I was raised with manners and feel it’s rude to reject.. Second… I have plans for those chocolate.”

He sure she did, especially with the slight dripping of seductiveness coming from voice.

“Continuing…I don’t ever date on valentine’s, nor do I take confessions seriously. They’re getting instantly shut down.”

“Ouch..So if I would say, I want to be with you, you’d shut me down. Hypothetically”

Connie looked up with an arched eyebrow. “Hypothetically, if you were to ask on February fourteenth…I’d tell you to ask again tomorrow.”

Steven laughed loudly at that, as he turned to give her a kiss on her crown. “Go sit Heart Berry. I’ll bring the food over.”

She nodded as she tipped-toe to kiss his whiskered cheek, before following his orders. She took off her lab coat, and hung it behind her chair before sitting down, and laying her top half on the table, stretching forward her arms forward and laying head down. Steven shook his head as he saw her, an adoring grin on his face.

“So..Manners, huh?”

“This is my place..I don’t need manners…Besides-” She turned to him tired but bedroom eyed. “You think I’m sexy without manners.”

He growled at her giving a playfully lustful look himself “Oh yeah, irresistible. Make my motor run.” He signaled her to sit up which she did with a back popping stretch, her chest pressing against her green apple sweater lifting enough to show her navel a little.

She caught the appreciative stare he was giving her, and smirked as she shifted in her chair. “So are you gonna eat with me..or just eat me.”

“You’d be happy either way.”

“Does that mean I can have both.”

Steven shook his head as he placed her food down in front of her, and his across from her. She took a bite of the crepe like food, moaning at the taste of the rice, potatoes coconut oil, spices and seasoning. She took a second bit and her eyes widen at the two other favors, she gave him an accusatory smile.

“Durian and lamb…”

“Two of your favorites, yes.”

“Hmm..Seems very Valentine-ish.”

“Well, I ‘Do’ Valentines day.”

Connie sighed. “I -I know, and I don’t.”

“I know.”

Connie was about to respond when Steven caught her off guard wiping her lip, before giving her a peck.

“You appreciate my gestures all the same, that’s fine by me.”

Connie turned away blushing trying to fight her smile. “Well..it’s you after all…” She took a bite of the food again savoring the taste.

“Exactly.”

She didn’t say anything as a smile enveloped on her lips. The silence was comfortable and serene almost like a newlywed breakfast. Once they finished the food, feeling more than satisfied, Conie went up stairs to freshen up, hiding a bit of guilt as she did. Going into her room to get her some sleepwear, a towel, and stripping bare before heading across from her room to the bathroom and into the shower. As the slightly hot water cascade over her; she gathered the chai and lilac body wash/shampoo she always wears and he loves so much on her, making it a foam and lathering it upon her. As she soaped and bathed herself, she sighed both in relaxation and remorse.

“This was a nice way to start the day. A very touching way to today. Flowers, food, and my favorite guy… I’m happy and I appreciate it…It’s just..This day…I wish I could enjoy it like he does.”

She grimaced as she rinsed the soap out of her body and hair, the thoughts getting more deprecating. “The flowery words, the extravagant gestures…I can do without it, but he loves It and deserves it…I want to give it to him.”

She held herself looking down, tears falling in heartbreaking shame, mixing with the shower water. “I don’t think I can give him that. Romance like that.”

Connie wiped her tears as she took a deep breath, turning off the shower as she did. Putting on her sleepwear; An old pink hoodie of his with some black spandex, she shook her head and went to her bedroom.

“Hey Heart Berry.”

She smirked at Steven, he was laying on her just made bed, shoes near hers. She realized her clothes were picked up and in the hamper. She wiped her eye again.

“Thanks for this Steven..I appreciate the gestures…Sorry about you having to pick up my underwear and such.”

“Well, that was more for me than you.”

“Right..”

Steven arched an eyebrow at her low and downtrodden voice. He opened his arms, beckoning her to lay with him.

She did with no real enthusiasm. She laid her head on his heart, loving the beat of it, the tenderness of his touch on her hips,back and hair. The security of being in his arms and the feeling of endearment when his lips touched her head. She couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around his torso and locking his leg between her thighs.

“What’s wrong, Connie?”

“Nothing."

She had her head down in his chest, refusing to look at him. "Just… Wish I could do more for you.”

“Huh?"

"In the romance department.”

Steven arched an eyebrow at that statement. “What do you mean?”

Connie growled in annoyance. “Romance…Valentines day..Everything you did so far…”

“Thought you enjoyed what I did?”

“I do.” She looked up at him, her eyes a bit wet. “I love that I got a bouquet of my birthday flowers and the flowers you named after me. Adore ,the fact that you made an authentic south asian breakfast for me with two of my favorite foods. Touched that you made up my bed and put my clothes away, so I could go straight to sleep. Probably even here, just cause you know I sleep better when you’re around.”

“Yes, but I like cuddling with you too..Definitely when you’re wearing that body wash.” He chuckled giving her temple a kiss, getting a sigh out of her.

“Even your playing around has an aura of romanticism.”

“It is Valentine’s day.. The day of romance.”

“Yeah and I suck at Valentine’s day…At the whole romance thing.”

“I mean romance isn’t really a-”

He stopped when he looked at her blank stare; The Maheswaran stare of indifference. She only uses that when he crossed the line on a serious matter. Steven looked at her stroking her cheek. ”No pretence?”

“100% percent real talk.”

Steven nodded. “ Fine…Connie.. First thing.. Yeah, you’re not a big romantic, that’s not you. That’s not what I expected from you when we started our ‘breathers’ .

Breathers…The original name of their ‘war game’, or more accurately what their game evolved from. Just a time they set for each other where they kissed, brushed and made the other feel relaxed though talking and admittedly amorous actions, it worked wondrously. Connie didn’t feel tense about her school work or LHW R&D. Steven didn’t feel stress over gem stuff and diamond duties. Those quite impersonal, very physical, breathers took the first step to their ‘ not-relationship ’when Connie shook him to his core for the first time.

Connie looked wide-eyed at the name, but didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t expect this..Bae-friendship to come from that.”

Connie looked down feeling embarrassed only to have him lift her chin up to him and give her a chaste kiss on the lips.

“But you set the catalyst for it. Not that I regret it.. “

Connie, blushed turning away. “No I didn’t, you flirted and teased me first.”

“The night before in the dome. Remember that.”

Steven smirked as Connie grew redder as she recalled the night.

He was having a particularly bad day. The gems were at each other necks over something at little home school, Jasper and Lapis got into it, nearly flooding half of little homeworld, and Spinel needed advice dealing with the diamonds (cause he has experience with that, apparently). He was able to do it, but he was pink and flaring a bit by day end, due to the stress.

He remembers sitting in the dome silently trying to relax enough to retract the flares and drop the pink when she came in. She gave him a gentle, sad smile before sitting by him, pulling his head into her lap. She looked down at him playing with his hair tenderly, before dipping close to him. What he was expecting was rain of kisses upon his cheek..What he got was heartfelt praise, gentle flirting and the “Bisky” title. It actually made him tear up a bit even more so when she disallowed any gem, including White, to see him until he was ready.

He would never forget the way she looked at him. The proud smile she gave him through moist, dazzling eyes. The look was something he didn’t think he ever got from anyone and it planted something deep in his heart. a desire to make her happy, to make her feel cherished and loved like no other..like she did him at that moment.

From there the teasing and flirting began and the rest is history.

“You remember the things you said to me”

Connie groaned as she threw the hood up covering her face, but nodding nonetheless Steven laughed as he pulled her in close. His lioness, his minx, his Heart Berry; was now a shy little cub something he hardly ever gets to see..

“It wasn’t out of romance or something..”

He snickered “Of course, it wasn’t.”

“Stop mocking me.”

“I’m not!”

The roughness in his voice stilled her. Furthermore, when he took off her hood and kissed her tear. “You’re not romantic. You’re passionate, heartfelt, prideful, valorous, flirtatious, impish, amorous, honest and a whole bunch of other stuff that really doesn’t come close to how amazing you are. You don’t mince words and you don’t do anything half-ass. Rather it’s missions, studying and school work, working at R&D or making me fall for you for the umptenth time. You don’t need to try to be romantic and like valentines day or whatever.”

Connie pouted, folding her arms “What about you though? You like the big gestures of romance and all the fanfare of valentines day. Wouldn’t you appreciate it if I joined in.. Do something extravagantly romantic for you?”

“You mean like the dressing and stripping game at empire, or the game tag throughout the Hattan streets, or not only the private dance in your room, but the performance on New year eve.”

Steven had to hold his chuckle in as Connie once again found her with her hood on.

"Those…Those were more flirtatious and playful than romantic.”

“Ah! You admit that they are romantic on some level.”

She shrugged. “I concede they could be seen as romantic..but romance wasn’t my attention.”

“I know, it was all part of our war game right?”

“No..I mean it was for fun…But"

Steven looked on at her, knowingly, as she grabbed his hand and massage the back of them.

"You’re my …Sunshine?”

Steven looked at her wide-eyed, before snorting.

“W-what?!”

“I’m not good at this valentine-romance thing ok!”

“That was an attempt at romanticism!?”

“Ugh! Yes, but I’m a cynic at romance and Valentine’s day. I wanted to do something romantic for you.”

“You sounded so strained, Nini.”

With a groan she let go of his hands. “See…You can say and do all this Valentine-ish stuff, no problem. I can’t even say a goddamn line.”

She leaned forward into him, placing his arms around her waist and midsection.

Steven looked down with a smirk at Connie who was looking up with a grimace.

“You hate this day, so why is this so important to you?”

Connie stared deeply and purposefully at Steven before breathing in.

“Because it’s you, Steven. I don’t care about the day or what it romance represents. I care about you and you like this stuff. That’s why it’s important. You deserve to know how much I adore you, care for you and love you. As my best-friend, my jam bud, My bae…As my Mister and my Man.”

“I’m not your sunshine. Sad.”

Connie snickered at his joke. “You’re more of a starlight than a sunshine.”

Steven poked her nose playfully. “Banned.”

“What?”

“That joke’s banned, no diamond or gem stuff while we’re in bed.”

Connie giggled as she held him tight. “I love you, Bisky.”

“I figured…I didn’t wanna assume though."

That got him a small nip on his chin. "You're a punk, Mister."

Steven smiled at the playful pout on Connie’s face, before giving her bottom a small pinch "Brat.”

“He-MMM~MMM”

Connie yelp was interrupted by Steven. His lips upon her, his tongue gently teasing her own. The feeling of him pulling her closer to him.

She was all but melted as she caressed his jaw with her left hand and ran her right hand through his hair; kissing him back with each second adding more fervor to the moment.

The two broke the kiss after a few minutes. Both a bit more light headed and lighthearted as they laid back down. Connie let out a purr-ish sound as Steven rubbed her back, causing the hybrid to laugh.

“You really are a lioness aren’t you."

She looked up before giving him a quick nibble on his bottom lip.

"Rawr!”

Steven smirked as he continued to rub her back, until he sighed a few moments; a deep sigh.

“Ni’.”

“Hmm..Is this fate of the world related…gem related or diamond related?”

“Nini.”

“If it’s not, then let’s bask in this happy moment, before my cynicism flares up again.”

“Connie. It’s important.”

Connie breathed deeply before signaling him to continue.

“You know, I love you and what we have right?”

“Had a hutch.”

“Come-

"You didn’t give me a straight answer, either.”

Steven chuckled outta breath as he shook his head. “Anyway, before I lose my train of thought.”

“I-”

“No, listen!”

Connie laughed against his chest, when she heard him grow deeply She looked up at his glare and chuckled a bit more before giving him a few kisses and nip on his chin and neck, making him chortle himself. She gave his windpipe a quick suckling before backing off..Not before getting a snarl from him.

“So what was you about to tell me?”

Steven kissed his teeth at her cheeky expression, nodding as he did.

“You see what you just did. That is exactly why you’re wrong.”

“About?”

“About you not being good at romance and valentines day.”

“What, that just now. That was just me playing…Me being coquettish…Trying to bring a smile to my Mister face. Nothing out of the ordinary”

“Exactly.”

Connie gave him a confused stare.

“You don’t need to force yourself to be romantic or extravagant on Valentine’s day to show me how you feel about me..and whatever we have.”

Steven kissed the top of her crown, smiling at the blush on her face. “365 days a year. Every chance you get, you show me. Through your actions, through our games, through our outings, through those very private times together… Times like this.”

Connie held him tight as he spoke. Snuggling her face into the crook of his neck, giving his temple a kiss.

“Connie…You’re loving, passionate, caring and tender. On the flipside you’re an impish, seductive, sexy and sensual little tease. That’s all year round.”

“Only for you, Bisky.” Connie giggled as she kissed his neck. “Not like you can talk, Punk."

"I’m not hiding that I’m a flirt..Besides you love it, Brat Berry.”

Steven chuckled that husky, teasing chuckle reserved for her as he rested his forehead on hers. The two gazed into each other eyes, love clearly in them.

“…You don’t have to celebrate valentine’s day, just because I do..”

“You say that but..I feel like a bad Jam-bae.”

“That’s a new one.”

Connie cheeks burned as she cleared her throat. “..If I didn’t do something. You made my morning something special. Isn’t wrong to want to do the same.

"What makes you think you didn’t? You held me when I cooked in a way you never did before. You were basically glowing when you ate my food.”

“The flowers are beautiful and the food was delicious. I appreciated what you did.”

“And that means everything to me. You could have just wrote it off as something I did for Valentine’s day and moved on, but you didn’t. You tired from whatever you were working on at LHW R&D, decided that eating and talking with me was more important than getting sleep.That means a lot. That made my Valentine’s.”

Connie let loose a tearful laugh. “Got such a schmaltzy man in my life.”

“You're a bit schmaltzy yourself, Sunshine..or would you like me to call you twilight. ”

“Oh, shut up…Those jokes are banned remember…and I’m not schmaltzy”

Steven arched an eyebrow in disbelief. “Sure.. What about the chocolates you brought.”

“The chocolate..Hehe..There’s nothing schmaltzy about what I got planned for those.

Steven fought the anxious grin on his face backing his head up.

"Oh really..What you have planned, Minx?”

“Just for us to share it together.”

The seductive sound of her voice, the little bite and lick of her lip.and that amorous look in her black orbs. She had something planned.. something big, something fun..Something private.

She gave him a quick peck before speaking . “Just need time to prepare.”

With a giggle,she got off his lap laid back onto her bed, finally feeling the night before upon her, yawning while stretching.

Steven stroked her head with a caring smile. “Finally tired, huh?”

Connie nodded, her eyelids drooping heavily. “Emotional based adrenaline gone. Very happy knowing how you feel. Now, I needs my sleep.”

“Fair..Want me to put you to sleep?”

Connie looked up suspiciously. “You wanna tuck me in?”

Steven gave her a very specific grin. “No.”

Connie giggled before smiling. “ Come under, Mister.”

Steven gave her a dangerous smile as he slipped under with her. Her eagerness for him fought off her previous fatigue and urged her to pull him over her, initiating a deep kiss that would lay him down upon her. His hips between her legs, hands longer upper and lover back, as her found his shoulders and chest..

they broke the kiss..after a few more chaste ones after resting their now sweaty heads against each other. They were far from done, but they took a few minutes to admire and adore the person they were with, peppering each other with butterfly kisses and getting light love filled laughter from each other.

It wasn’t soon those butterflies became bites deep kisses and sucklings, that laughter became loving whispers and gasp of each other’s name. Their holds,turning to gentle caresses, strokes and private movements.

It would be an hour before they relaxed. Bed a mess as were they themselves. Both bare top, with Connie disheveled head laying on Steven chest, sleeping peacefully, as Steven himself felt his eyelids getting heavy himself, allowing sleep to take him as she stroked Connie hair, his last thought was how this was the best Valentine day he ever had..and it was all thanks to his little Valen-cynic.

#flirty fighting #fighting flirty #connverse #connie maheswaran #connverse fanfic #connverse fanfiction #steven universe fanfiction #steven and connie #steven universe #steven quartz universe #older connie #older steven #Mister and heart berry #Black Writers #Black Fanfiction Writers #valentines

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kelleyoracist · 6 years ago

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This is 100 percent the most stressful thing i’ve ever done but I guess this is my final list: Zeus- Ashlyn, C*rli Poseidon- (Kelley, Tobin, Ashlyn) Hades- Naeher Aries- Tobin, McCall (Alex, C*rli) Athena- Alex, Becky (Naeher, Tierna) Hephaestus- Kelley, JJ Aphrodite- Christen, Ali, Allie Hermes- Sonnett, Mal (Kelley, Dahlkemper, Lindsey) Artemis- Tierna Apollo- Dahlkemper, Lindsey Demeter- Rose (Becky) Dionysus- Rapinoe, Crystal (Sonnett) () = Cabins they could also be in

God Alex have I ever mentioned I love you

Side note-I love CL in a weird way but I also love that you censored her anyway moving on

Another sidenote- I would’ve finished this a lot faster but we were discussing if Artemis’ hunters can be lesbians & the verdict is they cannot be but the amazons can be

Zeus:

Carli- wow absolutely 100% damn but lowkey I can DEF see her choosing to be a huntress & just rly dedicating herself to that

Ashlyn- I lowkey feel that too

Poseidon:

Kelley- moody hothead w a passion for the ocean? have to agree

Tobin - not lovin’ it but I could see it esp abt loyalty

Ashlyn - oh 100% wow

Hades:

Alyssa - I could totally see that esp w the whole lone wolf thing she kinda has going on

Ares:

Tobin - lowkey this is my 2nd choice for Tobin after Apollo bc she can be a total hot head “fight me” type of person but I feel like she’d be kinda of an anomaly bc she’s either a perfect example of an ares kid & the rest of the time everyone’s lil “lol ur kidding right”

McCall - god that’s so perfect I love McCall Zerboni w my whole heart & she is 100% an ares kid

Alex - yes I was lowkey thinking abt this earlier bc like…the intensity, the pride, the recklessness due to overconfidence…i can rly see it okay

Carli - yeah Carli is def Zeus or Ares how perfect

Athena:

Alex - smart & skillful, migrates towards ppl who are talented, incredibly proud w a wicked bad temper? yep, sounds accurate to me

Becky - this is so perfect that I have nothing to add

Alyssa - def could see this as well

Tierna - uhm duh, the seriousness when it comes to smth important? The absolute intelligence, both soccer and otherwise? 100%

Christen (yes I saw ur message where you said you forgot her) - I feel like cp is the cookie cutter example of a daughter of Athena, all the way down to doing yoga/meditation to help control her temper, but I do love the idea of her as a daughter of aphrodite so :/

Hephaestus:

Kelley - lowkey I could see it but she is wayyy too good w ppl & like I said (over text), I LOVE her as an apollo kid

JJ - this is so funny to me but I cannot pinpoint why also Butch Julie working hard in the forges makes me [redacted]

Aphrodite:

Christen - I love this concept esp when you factor in charmspeak plus cp is beautiful in a was where she is wholly and unabashedly herself, which is a true mark of an aphrodite kid

Ali - oh def, effortlessly beautiful? absolute faith that love will last? yes pls

Allie - lowkey feel like you put Allie here bc you didn’t know where to put her but I lowkey like her as hermes’ kid, always pulling pranks & dragging am along for stupid shit

Hermes:

Sonnett - do I need to say anything but yes?

Mal - I like it, esp w sonnet & lindsey in the cabin w her? feels good, feels organic

Kelley - i’m feelin it but there’s so many good ones for her :/

Dahlkemper - I like it. I feel like dahl has a wild streak that hides behind that stunner of a smile

Lindsey - love ittt

Artemis:

she doesn’t have kids just the hunters who cannot be lesbians which we discussed at great length so gotta veto that

Apollo:

Dahlkemper - I could see it but I do like the idea of her hermes’ kid

Lindsey - same thing lol

Demeter:

Rose - warm & caring but absent minded? god that’s perfect

Sam (I can’t believe you FORGOT Sammy!!!!! but I texted you so we’re chill) - kind & loving & a lil mothering totally fits Sam but I feel like ppl think she’s a kid of Dionysus but then they see her being the mom in a friend group telling everyone to be healthy & work hard & they’re like oh okay i see it

Becky - I can def see it bc she’s totally the mom friends but she’s way more Athena to me

Dionysus:

Rapinoe - god of course

Crystal - it’s obviously true

Sonnett - solid contender but I’m torn b/w her & Hermes

#ok that was perfect #pjo au #pjo au characterization #asks #anonymous #thethirdmalpew

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fregemfoclasoyale-blog · 6 years ago

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apicturewithasmile · 6 years ago

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I am super fucking bored and want to procrastinate going grocery shopping so I decided to answer every fucking ask (that I liked) of that LGBT ladies ask list.

EDIT: I’m halfway through and I gotta say: If you wanna watch me lose my shit as the questions progress into more and more biphobic and misgynistic territory then you came to the right post on tumblr dot com.

1. How do you define your sexuality? ---- bisexual and queer 2. At what age did you first realize that you like girls? ---- pfff... 13? 5? 21? Who knows? 3. At what age did you first come out? ---- 13ish 4. Who was the first person you came out to? How did they take it? ---- I don’t know? Friends? I don’t think they reacted in any particular way because it was just an off-hand comment of mine and I hardly remember anything about it. 5. How out are you? ---- Very out. Could hardly be outer. 6. Has coming out lost you any friends? ---- Not sure about one friend who sorta stopped contacting me after I mentioned I’m bi. But we were growing apart anyway so maybe it’s a coincidence. 7. What is your current relationship status? ---- I have a boyfriend. 8. How many LGBT friends do you have? ---- Too many to count but still not enough. 9. Do you have any LGBT relatives? ---- Not to my knowledge but I don’t know many relatives of mine. 10. Have you ever cut your hair super short? ---- It is super short right now! (just had my pixie recut) 11. How often do you wear flannel? ---- Never. 12. How much do you like cats? ---- A LOT! 13. Do you wear skirts and dresses? If so, how often? ---- In summer I won’t be seen dead in pants! In winter I do wear pants more frequently but I consider dresses and skirts to be my natural form! 14. Do you wear high heels? If so, how often? ---- Rarely. Only for special occasions. 15. Do you have any tattoos? If so, what of and where? ---- Nope. 16. How accurate is your gaydar? ---- I think it’s okay. 17. Have you ever been to a gay bar or a gay club? ---- Yes. 18. How do you feel when platonic female friends refer to each other as girlfriends? ---- Let them do whatever they want. 19. Have you ever had a crush on a straight girl? ---- Unfortunately yes. 20. Ellen or Portia? ---- Neither. 21. Is your nose pierced? ---- No. 22. Would you ever want to get married, if not already? ---- Nopey nope! (unless it’s for financial/bureaucratic reasons) 23. Will you wear a dress for your wedding? 24. Would you ever want to give birth? ---- Meh. I like children and in a different timeline I definitly have some but... not in this one. 25. Have you ever watched The L Word? ---- No and I don’t plan to watch it since I’ve heard nothing but negative stuff (trans- and biphobia) from sources whose judgement I trust. 26. Have you ever dated a guy? ---- I am dating a guy right now. 27. How do you feel when someone uses the word gay to mean stupid, dumb, or boring? ---- it’s annoying and homophobic 28. How many rainbow items do you own? ---- Not that mayn actually but I do have some bi merch. 29. Have you ever been to a pride festival? ---- Yes, in Berlin and Brighton. 30. Have you ever celebrated National Coming Out Day (October 11)? ---- Not really celebrated but acknowledged its existence, I guess. 31. Have you ever participated in the National Day of Silence? ---- I have never heard of that. 32. Have you ever worn a woman’s suit? ---- I.... guess so? I don’t know. 33. Have you ever worn any men’s clothing? ---- Do my boyfriend’s shorts count? 34. Do you eat meat? ---- No. 35. Do you consider yourself a feminist? ---- Yes. 36. Who is your favorite LGBT celebrity? ---- Elton John 37. Are you religious at all? ---- No. 38. How often do you find yourself trying to sneak a peak or staring at a cute female woman? ---- probably more often than I even notice I do. 39. What is your ideal first date? ---- Coffee date! 40. Are you comfortable with terms such as lezzie, lesbo, dyke, or tranny? ---- I use neither of those for myself and also wouldn’t use them for anyone else unless they explicitly told me it was okay. 41. How outdoorsy are you? ---- Little. 42. In general, has being open about your sexuality affected your relationships with other females women (jesus fucking christ stop calling women “females”!!! we’re not cattle)? ---- I don’t know. Maybe it has intensified some friendships just because I started being more authentic. 43. How much makeup do you typically wear? ---- Usually none at all, sometimes lipstick and when I’m feeling very fancy some mascara and eye liner. 44. Have you ever attended a gay or lesbian wedding? ---- No. Well.... I was at a wedding of a bi women and a bi man but I know some fractions of the LGBTQIA+ community wouldn’t say this counts. 45. Are you more feminine or more masculine? ---- I’m... me? I guess others would say I’m more feminine. 46. How long is the longest relationship you’ve been in? Are you still with that person? ---- 1 1/2 years and counting :) 47. Have you and a girlfriend ever been mistaken for sisters? 48. Do you think it is possible for someone to truly be a 50/50 bisexual, or is the percentage always skewed in favor of one gender? ---- I think the person who wrote this question has a very wrong understanding of what bisexuality is; and the way this is phrased makes it really sound like “do you think bisexuality exists or is everyone really just gay or straight?” 49. Have you ever wished you were completely straight? ---- No. 50. Do you watch any LGBT YouTubers? ---- Alayna Fender, Ash Hardell, ContraPoints and Lindsey Ellis 51. Do you wear any combat boots, Doc Martins, or Timberlands? ---- I have a set of boots with floral print. 52. Have you ever been hit on by another female woman (djkbdnkmg)? ---- Yes. 53. How athletic are you? ---- Not at all. 54. What are your views on gender identity and bathroom use? ---- Let people be whatever gender they want to be and fucking let them pee!!! 55. What is your opinion of septum/bull nose piercings? ---- Not for me but looks good on some people. 56. What does equality mean to you? ---- It means equality. 57. If you are not a lesbian, about what percentage of the time do you find yourself attracted to other females women? ---- okay I’m starting to hate this list of questions more and more the further down I get. Has this person ever talked to a bisexual person before??? Has this person ever talked to another WOMAN before??? “If you’re not a 100% lesbian then.... how much percent lesbian are you?” 58. Have you ever shared clothes with a girlfriend? ---- Never had a girlfriend. 59. Have you ever liked or dated a girl with the same name as you? ---- No, but my name is rare in my country. 60. How flirty are you? ---- VERY! “Flirty” is my middle name. 61. Are you a virgin? ---- No but virginity is a shitty concept that should be abolished. 62. Do you listen to any LGBT musicians (i.e. Tegan & Sara, Melissa Ehteridge, Chely Wright, Elton John, Sam Smith, George Michael, Adam Lambert)? ---- ELTON JOHN!!!! Also Sia, David Bowie, Janelle Monáe... 63. Have you ever been told that you are too pretty to be gay? ---- No and I’m not gay anyway. 64. Have you ever been discriminated against because of your sexuality or gender identity? If so, please explain. ---- Not that I can remember but I did have to listen to some biphobic bullshit in my lifetime. 65. Have you ever driven an SUV, Jeep, or a pickup truck? ---- I can’t drive. 66. Are you or have you ever been a tomboy? ---- No. 67. Agree or disagree: Everyone is at least a little bit gay. ---- Again, I think the person who wrote this is forgetting the existence of bisexuality and pansexuality and any other m-spec variation. And also... straight people exist. 68. What personality trait are you most attracted to? ---- Know that tumlr post that’s like “name a non-sexual act that turns you on” and someone responded “when they reply to your sarcasm with something even more sarcastic” 69. Boobs or butts? ---- Both. 70. Beer or wine? ---- Wine. 71. Do you have a favorite lesbian movie? ---- Don’t really watch “lesbian movies”. 72. From 1-10, how attractive are muscular women? 73. From 1-10, how attractive are women who wear glasses? 74. From 1-10, how attractive are women who are covered with tattoos? 75. From 1-10, how attractive are curvy/plus-size women? 76. From 1-10, how attractive are women with short hair? 77. From 1-10, how attractive are masculine butch women? 78. From 1-10, how attractive are highly intelligent women? 79. From 1-10, how attractive are tall women (i.e. around 6 feet or taller)? ---- If you think I’m gonna rate women on a scale like some misogynistic fuckboy then you are wrong! 80. Have you ever been on your period the same time as a girlfriend? 81. Has a girl ever dumped you for a guy? Have you? ---- “Has a girl ever perpetuated a bisexual stereotype that I want to confirm so I can continue distrusting bisexuals?” 82. Do you carry a purse? ---- Usually I have a little backpack but I also have purses for spexial occassions. 83. Do you wear any hats such as snapbacks or beanies? ---- I wear a bowler hat in fall/winter 84. Have you ever pretended to be completely straight? ---- What is it with that “completely” straight? As if someone can be half straight. Newsflash: Bisexual people aren’t Gay Lite or Straight with a dash of Gay. 85. Would you ever date a trans girl? ---- Yes, of course I would. 86. How well do you think LGBT women are portrayed on television? ---- Usually not that accurately. 87. Have you ever had a crush on a woman who’s much older than you? ---- Hmmm... usually the women I fall for are closer to my age. Men on the other hand... I like them old! 88. Do you have any celebrity crushes? ---- Yep, lots. 89. Do you have any opinions on LGBT people in the military? ---- Potential murderers, just like anyone else in the military. 90. Do you believe in love at first sight? ---- No. But I believe in attraction at first sight. 91. Have you ever been told that you look gay (i.e. like a lesbian)? ---- No. 92. Where do you think is the best place to meet a potential lover? ---- In your friend circle. 93. Is there such a thing as “good” lesbian porn? ---- Yes. 94. Have you ever had a one night stand? ---- Yes. 95. How often do you wear a bra? ---- Most days but in summer I sometimes go without one depending on my outfit and the temperature. 96. Have you ever been part of a softball team? ---- No. 97. If you could live your life all over again, would you still be attracted to other women? ---- Yes. 98. What stereotype about LGBT women do you disagree with the most? ---- I disagree with all stereotypes because the function that stereotypes are supposed to fulfill is to give people permission to single out a group of people and judge them. Some people fit a stereotype - so what? Doesn’t mean all other people from that group do the same. 99. What advice would you give a girl who is struggling to figure out her sexuality? ---- Take your time, be kind to yourself, talk to other queer people. 100. What advice would you give a girl who is struggling to come out? ---- Put your own safety first. If someone doesn’t accept you then they don’t deserve being a part of your life.

#about me #ask thingy #oh the low-key biphobia in this one is too much for me to not be passive aggressive about it #((((:

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renee-writer · 6 years ago

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Chapter 90 A Beginning Learning to Love

Amy drives away from Grace and Daniel's house thinking.

"Should I see Willy before I leave? Let him know I understand?"

She has no idea where she lives but she can call him and have him meet her somewhere. Does she want to do that? She remembers encouraging Grace to do that with Daniel. And that had turned out well. So thinking, she finally pulls over a mile or so past Grace's house.

"Here goes nothing." She tells herself as she pulls out her phone, and before she can talk herself out of it, she enters Willy's number and pushes send.

"Hello," Willy answers after a ring.

"Hi, this is Amy. Daniel gave me your number."

"Hey Amy. I'm very glad you called."

" I wasn't sure whether to but Daniel told me about yall's conversation. I would like to see you if that's okay before I head home."

"We can do that. Where are you?" She tells him and they make plans for him to meet her and go someplace to talk.

"Did I do the right thing?" She thinks that she waits for him to come get her. He pulls up 5 minutes later.

"Hey Amy. Do you to follow me or ride with me?"

"Well if I'm not safe with you who can I be safe with?" She replies with smile and she climbs out of the car and locks it.

"You will be safe with me." He says to her as he gets out to open the car door.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome ma'am," he replies and his best Texas drawl as he shuts the door. " Are you hungry? I could take you out to eat."

"Thanks but I have a flight in two and a half hours. Don't really have time."

"And yet here you sit?"

"Yes. I just felt the need to see you."

" I'm glad you did." He starts the car and just starts to drive.

"" Yes-ah sorry about Shelby."

" Thanks. It's for the best. We both want two different things."

"Yes. Daniel explained that."

"I really like you Amy. I would like to keep in touch when you're back in Georgia."

"I really like you too. We can do that."

"I know you are buying a business down there. I know it is complicated. But I really want to see where this goes."

"Me too." She shyly admits.

"Good."

"Ah Willy. Where we going? I mean, where are you driving to?"

"Well, seeing as you don't have a lot of time I just thought I would drive around. Is there someplace you would like to go?"

"No. Maybe next month when I come back."

"You are coming back next month!"

"Yah. I am bringing Hannah and Luke up."

"Grace's mom and brother that's great. She will love that."

"Yes."

"How long will y'all be staying?"

"A week. Luke will be out of school for spring break and Hannah has vacation time."

"And you can take off because you're the boss."

"Almost." She says with a laugh. She is slowly relaxing. The hands that have been gripped on her lap open.

"A week. That's really good. Can I have some of that time?"

"Yes." She takes a deep breath and turn to look fully at him. He is quite a handsome man. His brown wavy hair falls to his collar. His brown eyes the color of taffy are just as warm. His face is classically handsome marred only by a 3-inch scar on his right cheek.

"I wonder how he got that." She thinks. He feels her glance and turns to face her.

"It it's from a knife. A fairly large one wielded by a Taliban fighter. Liam stitched me up but he is in a plastic surgeon just a medic. So I have a scar." He says as he pulls over.

"How did you know?"

"What you were thinking? I felt your stare. I assumed you were wondering. Was I wrong?"

"No. You felt my stare?"

"Yes Any. We have to be aware of our surroundings of being watched at all times."

"Yes, right, of course.."

"Are you alright Amy?"

"Yes. It just takes some getting used to. Can I ask you what you do?"

"I in the sniper."

"Wow."

"Yah, I can shoot a target accurately from two football fields away."

"Woo, remind me not to make you angry."

"I would never hurt you," he chuckles, " but I would never allow you to be hurt if I could stop it" he turns serious." Do you believe that Amy?"

"I do."

"And I mean more than physically. I wouldn't hurt you in anyway."

"I believe you." She reaches out to take his hand. He gently squeezes hers.

"Thank you. I know I have a reputation. A lot of it is deserved. But I really have been searching for someone to have a future with. I want that. Not too casual easy relationships of the past."

"I know. If I doubted that I wouldn't be here. But Willy I need you to understand a few things."

"Yes?"

"I don't share guys. I have broken up with others for cheating. I don't know where this is going but I needed to only be us."

He nods and says," I 100% percent agree. I will see no one else. I don't want to."

"And I don't see anyone else either. I also don't want to." He had taken her other hand and gently sits massaging them.

"I can't guarantee this will work out. My entire life is in Jessup."

"Hmmm, Nothing in life is guaranteed."

"True." His hands are so warm, gentle, and strong. Her hands in his feel like pulled Taffy as he works the tension out of them.

"You have magic hands. If you ever leave the military you can get a job as a masseuse."

"I have to be able to be completely dexterous with them," he explains what working up to her wrist," to do the job I do."

"So it isn't just point and shoot."

He laughs. "Not hardly. I will tell you sometime. But for now we need to get you to the airport."

"Oh man. I totally lost track of time."

"I will get you there. If you want we can stop by and get your luggage and I can drive you." He really doesn't want to let her go just yet.

"That works. But the car is a rental."

"We will get it back."

"Okay thanks."

He lifts Fmher hands one at a time and kisses them before releasing them and turning back to restart to car.

He gets her to the airport with time to spare and walks her in as far as he can.

"Thanks Willy. I really enjoyed myself."

"You are welcome. I did too."

"I will see you in a month or so."

"Yes. Will you call when you arrive no matter the time?"

"I will." Impulsively she drops her carry-on bag and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back.

"Amy," he whispers against her head.

"Willy, I got to go"

He reluctantly releases her. "A month?"

"Yes, and I will call I promise." She grabs her carry-on bag and quickly runs towards security before she admits in word or deed anything else. He watches until the plane leaves.

#my writing #my ocs #learning to love again #a beginning #new couple #new love

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xtruss · 3 years ago

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Why Even the Fastest Human Can’t Outrun Your House Cat

A new model explains the forces and body design features that limit maximum sprinting speed.

In a race against cheetahs and pronghorns, the fastest animals in the world, even an Olympian wouldn’t stand a chance. Photograph: David Madison/Getty Images

This weekend, the fastest sprinters on the planet came together at the Tokyo Olympics to compete for the gold in the 100-meter dash. Lamont Marcell Jacobs crossed the finish line in 9.80 seconds to bring Italy its first gold in the event. In the women’s race, Jamaica won the gold, silver, and bronze—a clean sweep led by Elaine Thompson-Herah, who smashed through a 33-year-old Olympic women's record with a time of 10.61 seconds.

But neither of them could touch the legacy of Jamaica’s eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, who retired in 2017 but still boasts the title of fastest human alive. Bolt ran the 100 meters in 9.58 seconds. Maxing out at about 27 miles per hour, that’s just under the top speed of a house cat. (Yes, a house cat.) In a race against cheetahs and pronghorns, the fastest animals in the world, Bolt wouldn’t stand a chance.

You might think how fast an animal can go depends on the size of its muscles: more strength, more speed. While that’s true to a certain extent, an elephant will never outrun a gazelle. So what really determines maximum speed?

Recently, a group of scientists led by biomechanist Michael Günther, then affiliated with the University of Stuttgart, set out to determine the laws of nature that govern maximum running speeds in the animal kingdom. In a new study published last week in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, they present a complex model factoring in size, leg length, muscle density, and more to discover which body design elements are the most important for optimizing speed.

This research provides insight into the biological evolution of legged animals and their corresponding gaits, and it could be used by ecologists to understand how speed constraints on animal movement inform population, habitat selection, and community dynamics in different species. For roboticists and biomedical engineers, learning about nature’s optimal body structures for speed could further improve the designs of bipedal walking machines and prosthetics.

“It’s about understanding the reasons for evolution, and why and how it shapes the body,” Günther says of the project’s goal. “If you ask this question mechanistically, then you can really add to the understanding of how body design is shaped by evolutionary requirements—for example, being fast.”

Previous work in this area, led by Myriam Hirt of the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, found that the key to speed had to do with an animal’s metabolism, the process by which the body converts nutrients into fuel, a finite amount of which is stored in the muscle fibers for use when sprinting. Hirt’s team found that larger animals run out of this fuel more quickly than smaller animals do, because it takes them more time to accelerate their heavier bodies. This is known as muscle fatigue. It explains why, theoretically, a human could have outrun a Tyrannosaurus rex.

But Günther and his colleagues were skeptical. “I thought we might be able to give another explanation,” he says, one that used only the principles of classical physics to explain speed constraints. So they built a biomechanical model consisting of over 40 different parameters relating to body design, the geometry of running, and the balance of competing forces acting on the body.

“The basic idea is that two things limit maximum speed,” says Robert Rockenfeller, a mathematician at the University of Koblenz-Landau who coauthored the study. The first is air resistance, or drag, the opposing force acting on each leg as it tries to push the body forward. Since the effects of drag don’t increase with mass, it’s the dominating factor capping speed in smaller animals. “If you were infinitely heavy, you would run infinitely fast, according to air drag,” Rockenfeller says.

The second property at play, which does increase with greater mass, is called inertia, the resistance of an object to accelerate from a state of rest. When running, Rockenfeller says, there is a time limit for an animal to accelerate its own mass: It’s the duration between midstance, when the foot is flat on the ground, to liftoff, when the foot leaves the ground. This is especially limiting for larger animals—with more mass to push forward, it's harder to overcome inertia. So smaller bodies have the advantage here.

According to the team’s results, the sweet spot for overcoming air drag and inertia lies at around 110 pounds. Not coincidentally, that’s the average weight of both cheetahs and pronghorns.

Günther’s team was also able to predict theoretical speed maximums for different body designs at 100 kilograms, or about 220 pounds. A house cat this size could run up to 46 miles per hour; a giant spider, if its legs could somehow sustain its weight, would top out at 35 miles per hour. Unsurprisingly, the average human body design comes in last place here: At 100 kilograms, we can only reach about 24 miles per hour.

But body size isn’t the only feature that comes into play when maximizing speed. In the model, leg length also mattered. Animals with longer legs are able to push their bodies farther forward before their foot must leave the ground, prolonging the time they have to accelerate between midstance and liftoff.

As for why four-legged animals can run faster than humans, Günther says this isn’t because we only have two legs, but because our torsos are positioned upright and feel the full force of gravity. Bipedal creatures have evolved with much more rigid spinal structures to prioritize balance and stability over speed. Animals whose trunks are parallel to the ground, however, evolved with more flexible spines that are optimized for prolonged foot contact with the earth.

But what about muscle fatigue? “It doesn’t play any role,” Günther says. One part of their analysis concluded that any animal can accelerate to at least 90 percent of its maximum speed before running out of fuel. (Hirt did not respond to an emailed interview request about this result.)

Carl Cloyed, an ecologist at Alabama’s Dauphin Island Sea Lab who studies animal locomotion, thinks that from an evolutionary viewpoint, a biomechanical explanation makes more sense than the muscle running out of fuel. “I would expect organisms to have adapted to overcome that,” he says, but he concedes that it’s going to require more experimental research to back up the new model.

Günther and Rockenfeller agree that experiments are needed to verify their conclusions, and they feel they have presented a comprehensive model for other researchers to test in the future. But all of the scientists note that doing so will be a challenge. Cloyed says it would require catching animals and observing them in a laboratory, or using high-quality videos of them sprinting, to analyze the biomechanics of their movements. The most accurate way to study running behavior in animals would be to implant mechanical sensors inside their muscles and track them as they move in their natural environment—but this raises obvious logistical challenges and ethical concerns, Günther says.

Cloyed also looks forward to seeing how this analysis will be expanded, particularly to other locomotive modes like flying and swimming. “If this explanation holds up, it should also be true in other environmental mediums,” he says.

So will anyone ever beat Usain Bolt’s record? Probably, but we won’t get much faster than that. The biomechanics of sprinting show that we are already approaching the limit of what is possible for human bodies. And when someone new becomes the fastest person on the planet, they’ll have to resign themselves to holding that title only among humans. In the animal kingdom, we’re nothing special.

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nikkithomas · 7 years ago

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Save The Butterfly

It’s been two years since my doctor told me that I needed to start keeping a journal of my daily diet and working out. I told him that I HAD been doing all of that for 6-8 months and seeing no real results. That’s when he stopped dead in his tracks and said “we’re checking your thyroid”. Sure enough...my thyroid appeared to be for ornamental purposes only.

I’d been through this before. Most doctors test your TSH and when the values look normal...they just let it go and tell you that you’re fine. Thank goodness this doctor looked even closer at what was going on and knew to test my T3 and T4 as well. It wasn’t until over a year later when I felt horrible even though I was taking medication (levothyroxine andl then later liothyronine) that I went back to another doctor (I had moved to a different state at that point and really hadn’t been in to see a doctor since moving) and it was discovered that my levels were way off. The second doctor tested my TPOab and they were way out of whack.

Doctor #2 took me off of the levothyroxine/liothyronine combo...and took it down to just the levothyroxine and upped the dosage. By spring, I felt like garbage again and sought out an endocrinologist with the help of my primary physician. It took MONTHS to get into her practice...but when that time rolled around...she sat me down...looked at my blood work and told me that she would have had me hospitalized if she had seen the blood work that my primary saw several months before. She diagnosed me with autoimmune thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s disease.

I started reading everything possible. Dr. Internet had a whole lot of nothing to say.

Fatigue? Yeah. Swollen face? You betcha. Weight gain? Damn right. And lots of it. Sleep problems? Uh...yeah. Big time. Anxiety? Yep. Muscle pain? OMG yes. Sometimes so bad that it brought me to tears. Hair loss? Lil’ bit. Brittle nails? Yeah Weird swelling? Mmhmm I even had problems with my tongue. WTH?! EXTREME Vitamin D deficiency? Oh yeah...that too. Weird low body temperature? I average around 97.3 degrees to the average persons normal of 98.6. I am truly...cold-blooded. I burn up all the time though. Odd.

It was so frustrating. It was as if everything that had gone haywire in my body was now readily explained with this diagnosis.

First off...I was worried and relieved all at the same time.It was like a light went on and everything fell into place. THIS is why I was so tired. I’d work 12-14 hours a day and go home and go straight to my couch or to bed. I still do. I’m not complaining because I love my job. BUT...I have to admit that it had become increasingly difficult to push through for all those hours. Even now with medication it’s tough but I do it. When I wake up at random hours in the night and can’t get back to sleep...I find things to work on. It’s how I’ve adjusted to the situation. This has been going on for YEARS.

Secondly...it was concerning because I wondered how much damage had been done and was now irreparable because it had gone untreated so long.

Third...even with an explanation about my weight...that didn’t really help me feel any better about it.

I started thinking back and it was overwhelming to process things like my erratic body temp issues...my face getting red in the past (and even now to some degree...) having TWO major surgeries for things that could have been controlled and treated with medication. The crazy weight gain. (I am basically the size of a small to medium size village at this point.)

What a ripoff.

How in the hell did this go on so long without being diagnosed!?!?!

The levothyroxine sucked. I had felt better with the mix of synthroid and cytomel. My friend Amy in Arizona had Hashimoto’s and had recommended Naturethroid. I begged my endocrinologist to switch me out and she did. It was awesome!! I felt so much better. Not great....but better. Not like a melted candle on a summer sidewalk...but more of a semi-melted ice cream cone on a spring day.

THEN...there was a national shortage?! No. Seriously. That happened.

Walgreen’s ran out of Naturethroid. Almost all pharmacies ran out. That’s when they put me on Armour. Garbage. Lame. I might as well have been licking chalk every day. I gained even MORE weight. Was super tired. Depressed. It was terrible.

Finally...I found a pharmacy that carried Naturethroid and even though it wasn’t an accurate dose...was able to break it into something that seemed to work.

One of the hardest things about this stupid thyroid disease...disorder...whatever you want to call it...is that it seems to take forever to get the dosage correct. I’m still not 100 percent. I’m still getting bloodwork done more often than I’d like. Just to function. Just to live. I keep reminding myself that there are so many others who have things that are so much more difficult to live with...and that puts it into perspective. It still sucks though.

I hate the memes about this disease. Annoying. Basically...there are two varieties: the “omg I’m so tired and you don’t understand” garbage...

Okay. Seriously?

Just STFU.

If you feel like you have to put that out there...the people around you suck. Stop talking to those losers and caring what those bitches think. Just...STOP. The whiny memes are not inspirational. They’re just...whiny. Yeah yeah. You’re sick...I’m sick...we’re all sick. We’re all trying to get by...blah blah blah.

Sorry sweetheart...but we’re all on a one horse open sleigh...straight to the grave. All of us. No one will make it. There will be no survivors. Suck it up. We’re all dying. There are people out there with cancer and a bajillion other things that are excruciatingly painful. Hypothyroidism sucks...and it isn’t easy...but come on. Try not to live in that head space. We all want to take a nap...under our desks...ten minutes after we get to work...but still...

Listen...if you feel like you have to explain yourself and your battle to people...maybe those people aren’t really worthy of being around you? Something to think about. Your pain is real...the fatigue and symptoms are real...people who genuinely love and care about you...will understand. Anyone that would try to make you feel bad about what’s going on with your health...probably isn’t worth your time and effort anyway.

(Thyroid Cancer...is pretty scary. I literally had one doctor tell me that if I ended up having thyroid cancer...that it was the “best kind”. For the people that have lived through that...you go ahead and you post the memes. You’ve earned that right.)

And then there are the dicks that make fat jokes. I don’t mind the fat slurs. I have to admit though...the acceptance of that form of discrimination makes me laugh. It’s totally fine to trash someone for being fat and treat them like they’re less than human...but a lot of those same people that discriminate against the “glandular challenged”...seem to get offended over other forms of discrimination. The hypocrisy...is awesome...not really.

Except for this quote...this one is actually my favorite...

Gets me every time. Fat or not...that’s just...funny.

They can make all the gravy jokes they want...deep down...I can’t wait until their glands fail them and they start to chub up later in life...or until their wives leave them because of their impotence issues. But...I digress...

If you’re living with this garbage...I’m sorry. If your “journey” (that’s my least favorite blog buzzword EVER...”journey”)...is anything like mine...I wish you the best of luck and hope that you find the right mix of medication for your condition. I’m still on the struggle bus trying to find mine. As you work your way towards a workable solution...and maybe start losing the weight and get some of your energy back...just remember the people who weren’t there for you or made you feel like less of a person...and make a note of it. That’s who they really are...deep down. Don’t you deserve better than that in your life?

I’m going to go grab 45 minutes of sleep and then go to work. Namaste’ people.

#thyroid disease #hashimotos #thyroid-hypothyroidism #stress #insomnia #i need sleep #thyroid #thyroid problems #weight #angry #frustrated

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chocoholicannanymous · 7 years ago

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Ember pt 3 (Teen Wolf)

This is the last part of this fic, that was commisioned by @rubylis through @fandomtrumpshate 2017. Better late than never, right?

Part 2 here, Part 1 here and Flare here

As always, I own nothing except an overactive imagination, way too many plotbunnies and a worn red hoodie.

Ember, part 3

Stiles faces the camera, features deceptively relaxed and calm, but eyes hard. He waits for the light to change, just as he's been told – just like he's rehearsed – and when it does he counts to three before starting to talk.

“My name is Mieczyslaw Stilinski. Two years ago my Mark flared, and I've been hiding from the Council ever since.”

O---o--o---O

It's not a bad life, this new one. Oh, it’s unfamiliar, but it’s not bad. Just...hard. Strange. Like it should be someone else’s.

When Stiles wakes up in an unfamiliar room - or rather, when Stiles wakes up nothing makes sense. He should be dead. He planned on being dead. And yet. His body feels strong, and capable, and absolutely in no way dying. It makes no sense, fits none of his memories, just as the room doesn’t.

And then he sees Derek.

After that it’s easy to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and by the time someone comes to give him information (say, two, maybe three minutes after he first wakes up) Stiles has a pretty accurate idea. Not with all the details, no, but enough that not much of what the woman - Marin, she introduces herself as - says comes as a surprise.

Weres don’t do well with losing their Matches. Someone like Derek, who’s already lost so much (and yes, even as emotionally compromised as he’d been it hadn’t taken that long for Stiles to connect “Derek” to Derek Hale of Beacon Hills’s biggest tragedy) would have done even less so. It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out that Derek had been just desperate enough to not think, and risk everything, to give his dying Match the bite.

Because when he focuses Stiles can tell he’s been changed - and interesting, he’s almost completely certain he’s a were, not a Kanima. That’s another lie exposed, another strike for the Council then.

One day, he promises. One day…

The rest of the puzzle unravels inside his overactive brain, and Marin’s information just fills in blank spots and provides nuance. Such as the room, and the cabin, they’re in being located in a warded community - Stiles had hoped, but it’s good to have it confirmed - and that he and Derek are welcome to stay as long as they wish.

There’s one thing Marin tells him that’s a complete surprise though. Derek has given up his Alpha power, for Stiles.

He thinks about that one for a long time. The idea of someone giving up that kind of power is...almost unfathomable. Power is addicting, for one, and since Derek inherited his power from his family, sentimentality also plays in. Plus, you know, a hundred more reasons. And it could have come in very handy, too, for Derek to be able to control Stiles in some way.

Except Derek just gave it up. To keep Stiles safe.

That’s humbling.

It’s also another sign that maybe he and Derek truly are well Matched - the two of them, not just their Marks.

Stiles remembers thinking that if he could have Derek and his soul both he’d never give either up. Well. Looks like he’s getting his wish.

It’s not quite that easy, of course. As much as Stiles and Derek both would love to just lose themselves in each other the truth is they can’t. Not even having freed themselves from the council make them completely free. Because second chances never come for free, and the price for Stiles’s is everything else - including his humanity.

Teaching him to live with the change and find control has to come first.

It sucks.

Stiles expects focus to be as hard as always, control to be difficult, and finding an anchor easy as breathing - with Derek next to him, how can it be anything else?

Only it’s not. It’s worse than he could ever have imagined, and it’s a fight for every inch. His first full moon is, well, a disaster. Not even Derek can keep him from trying to run back to Beacon Hills. Regardless of the danger Beacon Hills is where his dad is, and caught up in instinct that’s all Stiles knows - his dad’s been his everything for years, and now he’s not here.

In the end the community’s magic users has to step in. Stiles wakes up the next day with an impressive headache, chained to the floor of a room he’s never seen before. Apparently they knocked him out after he tried to literally claw his way out - through Derek.

The shame over that lingers for months, which makes control even harder to find. Derek helps him through it all without reproach, and by the time Stiles has found enough of a balance for them to be able to focus on each other too that steady support has endeared the man even more to Stiles.

(Finding out that one of Derek’s reasons for giving up his Alpha power was so Stiles wouldn’t ever feel like Derek could control him has already made Stiles very close to falling in love.)

It takes the better part of a year for Stiles to get his werewolfiness in check - to be able to run free during the full moon, and to even think of doing anything but keeping himself under ironclad control. A year before his desire to run back to Beacon Hills and snatch his father away isn’t a danger to all of them. Before he can be trusted to keep his claws where they belong even when his emotions are running high. Before he’s safe to even consider dating. (Stiles is a teenager, okay, and one with a more than healthy libido. He’s learned the hard way why getting his hands on his gorgeous Match isn’t a good idea yet.)

The upside to that is that once it is safe Stiles and Derek have gotten to know each other enough that they can safely say that getting together is about the two of them, not about being Matched.

Not to say being Derek’s Match isn’t amazing. It is. Maybe it’s because Stiles is a were now, and that he and Derek are connected through the bite, through pack. Maybe it’s the magic of the Marks. Either way they can feel each other, and having that is, it’s everything. Stiles loves his dad, okay, he 100 percent does, and he knows it’s mutual. It’s just that the loss of Claudia Stilinski had left them both feeling adrift and unstable, and having Derek there as a constant and solid presence gives Stiles solid ground under his feet for the first time since. And the same, Stiles knows, is true in reverse.

They’ve both lost just about everything. They’re both giving each other exactly that. Everything.

If this is what Matches and Marks are truly about, Stiles thinks, it’s no wonder there are poets whose works deal solely with the subject.

Knowing makes him hate the Council even more for twisting it.

Still, here and now life is good. And then some Council-connected asshole tries to kill Scott.

It goes like this, he’s told once he’s no longer a frothing ball of fangs, fur and rage. Some Council flunky calls the Beacon Hills sheriff’s station, requesting assistance regarding Scott McCall. The thing is, the Beacon Hills sheriff's station? Is John Stilinski’s station. That means he’s the one who answers the call.

As he’s fond of saying, John didn’t get his job through his looks. He’s smart, intuitive, and a good detective. He also apparently has a much better idea of what his late wife was up to than anyone - she included - has ever realized. Add the bitterness of having lost his son because of the Council and the result is a man determined to not have others suffer the same.

He saves at least three lives that day simply by thinking faster than the other party.

As soon as the name Scott McCall is uttered John talks over the flunky, firing off questions too fast for the other man to actually answer them, ending with a oh-so-casual mention that Scott should be safely with his pack for the full moon. That stops the Council flunky dead, just as intended.

It’s Scott’s first full moon after getting the bite - a bite more of less brought on by medical emergency after his latest asthma attack nearly killed him - and well, records can be real slow to update. With Scott being a relative no one, having his status as a were out there before anything else can be said could be the only thing saving him from the very fate Stiles once feared enough to take poison.

John’s not about to let that happen on his watch.

Something about how the flunky reacts makes John nervous enough to set up a watch at the McCall residence that night, leaving him in a position to stop an assassination attempt - there can be no other description, he insists, for an attack using mountain ash, wolf’s-bane grenades and wolf’s-bane bullets. Not to mention the attackers doesn’t seem to care too much about the fact that there are two people living in the house.

And that’s before John realizes someone’d broken into his house while he was at the McCalls, most likely to get him too out of the way.

The cherry on top of that shit-sundae is that Scott is Marked and the Council doesn’t have his Match in custody. Nor do they seem very eager to rectify that, or even share information about who the elusive Match is. Leaving John and Melissa with Scott, a newly changed were, who is almost guaranteed to not be in control is Marked and a missing Match.

It’s a good thing Stiles only finds out afterwards.

A really good thing.

A week after that clusterfuck Marin passes on the information that his dad and the McCalls are safe, hidden in another of the secretive warded communities. She won’t tell Stiles where it is, or let him pass messages back - it’s still too dangerous to let anyone know he’s alive, especially with Scott being so volatile, and likely to set out on a hunt for his Match. She does promise, however, that once it’s safe they’ll find a way to transfer John Stilinski to their community.

It’s good, but it’s nowhere enough. Having just had the fact that no one is truly safe shoved in his face makes Stiles angry, angrier than he’s ever been. It’s not the kind of red hot fury that causes him to pop claws and want to kill people. It’s an icy-white one, cold and calculating, every part of brilliance from his human genius stoked by the wolf’s desire to protect his pack. The Council might have gotten away with killing his mom, but not this. Going after the only people Stiles had left in him to love (preDerek, obviously) just because Scott taking the bite to save his own damned life stops them from twisting his Mark to suit their own purposes is passing the point of no return.

Stiles might not have been willing to fight for himself, but he sure as hell will for the people he loves.

At first he wanted to find those faceless people trying to steal one of Stiles’s two friends and hurt them. Wanted to rip, and claw, and bite, and tear. their. throats. out. With his teeth. Now that he’s calmed down some he knows that’s not enough. Stiles wants to destroy them like they wanted to destroy Scott.

So he starts plotting. Living where he does Stiles isn’t without resources. First of all, the warded communities contain a lot of people who are just like him, in that they are in danger from the Council, and want to see it torn down. That’s good - he’ll need people like that.

Also, he’s got access to a lot of information he’s never known before, information the Council would prefer if no one knew, but it’s not enough. He needs more. Lots and lots more.

It’s time, Stiles decides, to play his hidden ace.

That ace consists of two sets of numbers that his mom made him memorize not long before she died. The first is a phone number, and the second an ID code of some sort that he leaves on the answering machine along with a number he can be reached on.

Then all he can do is wait.

That wait is why he didn’t make the call when his Mark flared, why he chose poison instead. Getting an answer will take up to 48 hours, time he hadn’t had back then. And no matter how much his mom believed that whoever answers could help, Stiles has limited trust in what they can do.

48 hours would have seen him locked up in a sub-training facility (provided he’d survived that long) and yeah. Locating someone in a sub-training facility, breaking in and freeing them is beyond a tall order, it’s pretty much impossible.

He’s got time now though.

The man that meets him looks like a librarian, meek and mild mannered - if you look at the surface. Stiles doesn’t do that. First of all because his dad taught him that appearances can be deceiving, second because going to school with Lydia Martin brought that lesson home big time, and third because he doesn’t have to.

Being a were has its drawbacks, true, but the heightened senses mean Stiles rarely has to guess about somethings. Like the fact that this man is lethal. It’s a thousand little things that a regular person wouldn’t notice, and that maybe one by one mean nothing, but put together it’s obvious.

He moves in a way that only a true predator does. He’s not a were (even if he could mask it from Stiles’s senses there’s no fooling the talisman Stiles brought) but he’s just as dangerous as if he were. Dangerous enough that Stiles isn’t 100% sure he could take the man in a fight, and that’s...chilling. Even more so as he’s also not sure he’ll be allowed to walk away without one if he fails to answer the man’s questions to satisfaction.

The interrogation - because that’s what it turns out to be - starts out with Stiles having to explain how he’d gotten the phone number and code he’d used. It continues to why, and how he can’t really be who he claims to be. It takes a lot more than Stiles had hoped to satisfy the still unnamed man, but at the same time that’s somewhat calming. Someone that careful about speaking to the right person for the right reasons should be safe to trust - at least a little.

In the end the man nods, and tells Stiles to call him Christian. It’s fake, obviously, but it’s better than “the man”, especially for someone with a parent in law enforcement.

“Did your mom ever tell you why she had that number?”

“She said it was for someone who owed her a favor, and who could help me if I had no other way out. ‘A hidden ace in the sleeve’ she said.”

Christian nods, clearly agreeing.

“And why did you wait until now?” All things considered hangs in the air.

“Wasn’t until now I felt I could. Considered it, back when… But mom told me you’d need time to respond, and yeah, I didn’t have that. Had another option that didn’t need time though. I wasn’t exactly wanting to gamble on you being able to get me out of their claws, should I land in them.

“But now? Now I’ve got time, and a use for that favor that doesn’t depend on you being crazy enough to take on the Council to repay it.”

Christian looks at him strangely, and seems to be thinking hard. Stiles can tell that whatever’s running through the other man’s head is important, so he clamps down on his impatience and waits. He’s gotten better at that, thankfully.

When Christian finally makes up his mind Stiles has run through his contingency exit plans five times, in a different order every time, and he’s close to going for one of them.

“You know why I owe your mom a favor? No? It’s not a pretty story. A few years back my old military commander called in a favor. A huge one, meaning I had to disappear from the face of the earth for a bit.”

Christian smiles, a twisted mockery of humor that tells Stiles there’s a story there that he wants to hear but won’t.

“I’d been gone for five days, had another three left when my Mark flared. I made enough of a stink that they opened communications for me. When I got through one of my partners informed me he’d experienced the flare too, at the same time. And so had our third. Their Marks lined up, and from what we could tell, mine did as well.

“I know, a triple Match? Unheard of, but. It felt right. Felt like everything I never thought I deserved, but would give everything to have.

“Except our third, she was missing.”

Stiles thinks about going through that, about having Derek missing, and can barely breathe from how horrible even the thought makes him feel. Across from him Christian is nodding grimly.

“She’d just gone out for a quick errand, some important call, and got pulled into a wan. Everything pointed to her having been picked up for sub training, only it made no sense. Neither of us are the submissive type, but her the least. Out of the three of us, if I’d had to make the call, I’d have said Ha-Harry.

“But what really made the alarms go off was the fact that neither me nor H-Harry had been informed of a Match. That breaks all the rules, and it was worrying enough that I was pulled out and allowed to go back. We thought maybe it was because I was where I was. Except I got home, and there was still no contact, and when my old CO went snooping through records he couldn’t find anything about her.”

It sounds, Stiles thinks, like what would have happened to Scott had he not been bitten, and had someone other than John Stilinski answered the call. Both the disappearance, and the missing records - they’ve got access to topclass hackers, and no one’s managed to find even the slightest shred of information on his Match. All they have is Scott’s insistence that they’re out there, somewhere, and a sense of direction.

“Your mom was the one to help us. She got us the location of three sub-training facilities, and ranked them in order of most likely, and with that we were able to make a plan.”

Apparently, Stiles muses as the tale unveils, it isn’t impossible to break into a sub-training facility. Also, he’s clearly underestimated Christian. The man is insane enough to launch an attack on a Council facility, and brilliant enough to pull it off. Good to know. He also gets every single suspicion regarding what happens in sub-training confirmed, not that he needed it.

“Once we located her… She was unconscious, strapped to a bed, and showed obvious defensive wounds. It made no sense. She’s not a fighter, even if she can defend herself if needed. The way she works, she’d have either waited for us to come for her or for them to relax and then break out. For her to have fought…”

Not good.

“Yeah. Except whatever you’re thinking, it was probably worse. I checked her over, to see if she could be moved without extra caution, and let me tell you, I’ve seen women treated better in war zones - hell, I’ve seen war criminals treated better. In the end we counted six broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured wrist and several burn marks. I’m not even going to touch on what else they did. Suffice to say we sure as fuck didn’t need to run a rapekit.

“She wasn’t alone there - they had four others in various conditions. Two had been given the same treatment as our girl, only it must have been for a longer time. One was physically unharmed, but completely broken. The last one… She was braindead. They kept her on life support though, apparently as a warm body for when they wanted a fuck but weren’t up for the fight with the others.”

That...that’s Stiles’s worst nightmare right there, confirmed. He fights back the urge to throw up, and renews his promise to never let them take him alive.

“I can help you get away. You’ll never have to worry about the Council again, I promise you, but you’ll have to give up everything.”

Stiles starts to interrupt, but Christian raises his hand and continues.

“I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is. You can bring a bag, and if your dad’s willing, him too. Just, you can’t ever return, and you can’t keep in touch with anyone here.”

“Yeah, no. I’m not saying I wouldn’t give up a lot to be safe, but that’s not what I’m looking for here. I already did that, okay, I allowed my dad to think I was dead and left him behind to avoid the council. And I think I’ve done fine, staying under their radar. So thanks, but no thanks.

“But just for the record? If I’d agreed, there’s no way I would have gone without Derek. My Match,” he clarifies as Christian raises a questioning eyebrow.

For the first time Stiles sees the man react, apparently shocked by the fact that Stiles is with his Match, and that they’re close enough that staying together isn’t optional.

“So what is it you want then?”

“Information. Mom said you had ways to get it, on just about anything. Well, that’s what I need. As much as you can get me. The Council’s taken too much from me already, and from so many others, and I’m done letting them. It’s time they’re taken down. But I need information to do that.”

Once again Stiles gets to watch as shock travels across Christian’s face, followed by a longer silence.

“And you think you can do that?”

“I’m not seeing anyone else stepping up. Are you?” The double entendre hangs in the air between them, vibrating like the challenge it is.

“So, can you do it? Can you get me what I need?”

Christian hesitates, and Stiles is preparing to push when he hears a low murmur coming from somewhere close to the other man. Judging from the way Christian cocks his head slightly and from the way his face tightens - just minutely, only visible to someone like Stiles - he’s listening to something. Someone? A communications device of some kind, probably.

This...could turn nasty. He starts running through exit strategies again, but before he can make a decision Christian swears in a low, almost inaudible voice.

“Dammit, Ha-...”

Then he takes a deep breath and says, reluctance clinging to his voice, “you’ll get your information”.

As it turns out, back when they’d broken into the Council facility to get their girl the invisible “Harry” (and if that’s his actual name, then Stiles’s is Mike, which… yeah) had not only gone through the computers to steal as much information as possible, but also left a data mining program behind. Which is good for Stiles, but (understandably) makes Christian furious.

There are a quite few more muttered curses, as well as a very pointed remark about people who have no concept of safety, and who don’t understand that Christian can’t protect them if they keep fucking secrets. Stiles sensibly chooses to not even touch that with a ten foot pole. He’d react the same way if it was Derek being reckless - and he knows Derek will be even worse once he finds out just what it is Stiles is up to now.

Stiles won’t apologize for it though, not even though he knows he’s put not only himself but everyone in danger. Just as he won’t be anything but happy that “Harry” did something equally dangerous. It’s selfish, sure, but if getting this information gets him even one step closer to taking down the Council it’s worth it.

It’s another hour before Stiles can leave, the portable hard drive that supposedly holds the keys to the kingdom hidden on his body. Christian’s twitchy, and it’s obvious why. He wants to help, but at the same time he wants nothing to do with any of it.

“Look, I..:”

“No. You feel like you should offer to help out, right? Well, I’m not going to lie, I could use the help. But I’m not going to take it. You have your Matches to take care of, to protect. Your girl? She needs you to stay the hell away from the Council, and I’m running full speed ahead in their direction.

“Sure, you or your… ‘Harry’ find out anything, and send it my way, I’d be very grateful. But this is my fight, my choice. I’m not risking anyone else.”

That, of course, isn’t exactly 100 percent true. He’ll try not to, but something tells Stiles that in the end he’ll have no option but to risk others. He just won’t do it unless it’s completely unavoidable, and honestly? He’ll probably try and only risk people who deserve it. People whose deaths wouldn’t be that big of a loss.

But not these three. Not after what they’ve already suffered.

Christian looks him over, nods and reaches out to take Stiles’s hand. His voice is dead serious once he speaks.

“Alright. Once you launch whatever attach you’re planning though? You let me know. You hear me? And if you don’t let me know you’re okay after, I’ll come for you. They get you, I’ll get you out. Your Match too. No matter what, I’ll get you out and somewhere they can’t touch you.

“And not because of what I owe your mom. Because what you’re doing? It’s something I should have done - that I would do if it didn’t mean risking the others. And for that, man, I owe you.”

Once he’s back home, and has had his eardrums practically shattered from a dozen lectures, as well as almost getting frostburns from the cold shoulder Derek shows him, Stiles starts going through the material he’s been given. (Well, once he’s had one of the resident computer witches - or “techno pagans”, apparently - check that the drive’s safe.) It’s a lot. It’s a fricking mountain of information, is what it is, and Stiles is going to find what he needs in it even if it means not sleeping for a year.

He’s a were, he’ll survive.

Probably.

Three days in Derek tranqs him, forcing him to sleep through the night, and when he starts up again it’s with Derek next to him. That works much better. Well, “better” as in that together they cover more ground and sometimes Derek picks up on things Stiles misses due to different knowledge bases. “Not better” as in now Derek is involved. Stiles would prefer if he wasn’t, but considering Derek feels the same way about him there’s really not much he can do about it without looking like a big, fat hypocrite.

In the end they find what they need to know - and of course, Stiles thinks, it’s magic - and he makes a plan. It’s a good plan, in terms of achieving their goals, but he’s fairly sure no one else will agree.

“Are you insane?” Marin isn’t screaming, unlike everyone else in the room, but that doesn’t make her any calmer or less angry.

“No. Look, this is the only way to go. Worst case scenario-”

“We all die.”

“No. Okay, yes, but that’s the worst case scenario for every single day even doing nothing, as long as the Council exists. So we’re ignoring that. The worst case scenario is we break the magic that allows the Council to track the flare, and find Matches, but everything else stays the same. Best case? We ruin them. We free everyone, for the rest of time. I’m good with possibly dying being the worst case scenario if we can win that.”

Stiles isn’t suicidal, regardless of others might think. He wants to live a long life, with Derek next to him, and the year and a half they’ve had together is nowhere enough. (He’s not sure any amount of time will really be enough.) Just… The way they’re living, hiding and in fear, it’s not good. For now they’re safe, sure, but only if they shrink their lives, if they cut themselves off from everything outside the wards. And it really is for now. Sooner or later the Council will find them. The world has changed so much that not even the strongest wards will keep them completely hidden much longer. Once the Council starts truly searching - and they will - nowhere and no one will be safe any longer.

He wants a life where he can run free under the full moon with Derek by his side. He wants a life where Scott can find his Match and be happy. He wants a world where that is possible, and he’s willing to risk his life for it.

It’s as easy as that.

He gets a solid team of five. Derek - who won’t stay away, no matter how many times Stiles begs him. Jana the techno pagan. Another witch, a white haired old man who calls himself Raven. A bounty hunter slash bodyguard by the name of Braeden.

And then he gets Jennifer.

Under any other circumstance Stiles would rather cut his arm off than work with her. For one, she’s batshit crazy. He’s not making fun, or light, of the mental health issues she’s clearly got, no. When he calls her that he’s referring to the fact that she’s killed seven people (that he knows of) in some power-raising ritual.

She’s living in the community only because she can’t be allowed to walk free - either she’d continue to kill people, or the Council would capture her and use her - and the team sent to stop her wouldn’t dirty their hands or their ethics by killing her.

Stiles would have done the deed himself if not for the cold facts: if Jennifer could be made into a weapon by the Council she can also be one against them. That had been a possibility he hadn’t been willing to throw away. After all, there was always the option of killing her later should she turn out useless - unkilling someone however…

There are three things Stiles knows to be undeniably true about Jennifer: She hates the Council just as much as he does. She hates her Match who betrayed her to them even more. She cannot be trusted.

And now he’s going to have to do exactly that.

O---o--o---O

Stiles gives himself a mental shake, forces himself out of the memories, and refocuses on the camera. He's only got so long, and it’s important he do this right. His job is drawing attention. From the regular people watching his broadcast, the ones about to have the Council’s crimes thrown in their faces in full technicolor glory thanks to “Harry” and his data mining. But also from the Council, and their goons. He’s bait, plain and simple, to make them focus on him and hopefully miss as Jennifer and Raven smash two hundred years of oppressive magic to impotent little pieces.

“I've been hiding from the Council, because I know their secrets. I know what they are. I know what they do - what they would do to me given even half a chance. I know what they’ve done to others, and that the ones they killed are the lucky ones.”

He talks about Scott, and the girl that’s his missing Match. He talks about the Hales, about the people his mom tried to help, about people that only exist as notes and pictures in stolen files.

When he’s done, eyes aching and voice hoarse, he gives the camera as hard a look as he can.

“I'm done. No more hiding. No more living in fear. No more allowing them to break and twist and murder people.

“It's time for them to fear me.”

~The End ~

#teen wolf #fanfiction #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #au #chocoholic fics #marks and matches #ember

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gertrudejnieves · 5 years ago

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Dropshiply Review – A New Dropshipping Software & Training In 2020

Dropshiply Review – Product Overview

Product Name Dropshiply Product Creator Cindy Donovan Launch Date & Time [2020-Jul-08] @ 11:00 EDT Price $37 OTO/Upsells Yes, Best OTO(s) Available Refund Period 30-Days Official Site https://dropshiply.co/ Product Type Ecom Software Skill All Levels Recommended Highly Recommended

Dropshiply Review – The Problems With Dropshipping

Most people struggle to make any money with dropshipping. This is because there are plenty of pains they face…

Researching hot niches

Inventory Management

Running profitableFB Ads

Finding low margin products

Designing beautiful product pages

Shipping

Great reliable suppliers

Automating a LOT of processes

Auto Fulfillment

Monthly Fees

And the list goes on and on!

This stuff is very complex, time consuming and can cost you up to $5K per month. I ‘m sure that you don’t spend that sort of cash. And that’s why you’re totally trapped. That’s why I consider the mad Dropshiply software platform.

What Is Called Dropshiply?

Dropshiply is a 7-step method that reveals how to easily build your store, discover a hot niche, get immediate access to superb dropship products at up to 90 percent below retail rates and profit unbelievably right from day 1. It is the most efficient, most advanced automated system for easily & quickly developing a 6-figure dropshipping business while you do absolutely nothing.

It is the same program and the very same techniques that students used in their ecom stores to make $2.6 million! You will have instant access to a groundbreaking ‘never before’ app which can click on a few buttons and effortlessly duplicate the success of 6-figure students! This is so much money and is now priced at a shockingly low amount.

How Does Dropshiply Work?

Dropshiply Review – A Complete Walkthrough Video

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Features & Benefits

Dropshiply is loaded with features that make it easy to make money fast.

[+] WP Connect: Automated integration with your current WP stores Dropshiply

[+] Store Stats: See and manage your stores’ data right inside your dashboard immediately

[+] SEO Stats: Receive complete stats of SEO .. Domain authority, page authority, page rank, seo ranking, Alexa rank, nation rank & more.

[+] Instant Domain Search: Your shop doesn’t have a domain? No problem! No problem! In seconds, our immediate domain generator selects a domain for you.

[+] Niche Intelligence Technology: Before building your store, know which niches are going to GENERATE MONEY!

[+] Ali Express Spy Tool: The entire AliExpress platform is deeply integrated into Dropshipy so that you can find THEY ONLY products without hours of painstaking research that are impossible even to find!

[+] Walmart Product Finder: Uncover unlimited Walmart products that can be sold in your store immediately.

[+] Alexa Spy: Explore millions of websites traffic data and global rankings and target unexploited markets

[+] FB Interest Explorer: Uncover thousands of valuable phrases for your FB advertising campaigns

[+] 1-Click Product Importer: Import hundreds of products to your store within minutes in one click.

[+] Built In-App Editor: Don’t like a particular element? No problem! Instantly edit product descriptions, title, price, tags, category, images, variants and more.

[+] Store Manager: Manage all your products, orders and customers in one click.

[+] Manage Orders: View, edit, delete orders here! See all details.. product name, sku, quantity, price, billing and shipping info and more.

[+] Manage Products: Our “Server Side Processing” technology lets you manage all your products at once.

[+] Manage Customers: All customers are monitored and displayed in Dropshiply instantly. Every new order will also update here automatically.

[+] Manage Multiple Listings: Publish, manage several listings, or delete all current listings instantly. Sync Orders: All orders are synced to Dropshiply in real time in your stores.

[+] Auto Order Technology: Dropshiply places the order and fills out the address with one-click.

[+] Product Watchdog: Watch for all the price changes and automatically update them.

[+] Inventory Watchdog: Take a look at inventory changes and restore products automatically. Your seller never ran out of anything.

[+] Price Monitor: Monitor every price changes and automatically update it.

[+] Inbuilt Pricing Margins: Create pricing rules so you can have consistent margins for all the products you sell.

[+] Product Reports: Get full reports on how many products have been sold on your stores.

[+] WooCommerce Integration: Dropshiply integrates fully with WooCommerce so that all the products in your dashboard are displayed.

[+] Inbuilt App Store: Dropshiply has an app store that provides free and paid online business software that can be downloaded to extend your business and boost your sales, marketing and sales.

[+] Premium Themes: Our Theme Store contains more than 100 free and professional e-commerce themes that can be used for your own shop.

[+] 20+ Api Integration: Dropshiply easily integrates with 20+ apis to make your life and work easier and faster!

[+] Autoresponder and Email Integration: We have direct integrations with Aweber, GetResponse, Mailchimp and Sendy autoresponders. You can also integrate with any third party apps with the custom integrations.

10 Reasons Why I Like Dropshiply More Than Others

SUPERB INVENTORY MANAGEMENT: Everything is shipped immediately. Until you earn first, you’ll never need to pay for an item.

SECRET DROPSHIPPING SOURCES: Connect dropshiply with hundreds of the most reliable dropshippers on the planet for thousands of products so that you can fulfillorders fast.

ZERO COMPETITION: As we choose items out of a selection of 5 million products, we have no competition. So it is extremely unlikely that we will sell the same product than anybody else, inversely to most business models where everyone tries to push the same thing.

FLAWLESS CUSTOMER SERVICE: Dropshiply absolutely removes all customer service concerns and all your and dropshipper communication problems.

TARGET PERFECT FB AUDIENCES: Built-in FB ad targeting tool allows you to buy hungry gladly products from TARGET instantly.

COMPLETE AUTOMATION: Drops the whole business instantly and earns passive profits. Your only job: travel around the world as your business evolves your bank account.

TEAM OF EXPERTS: Our entire team of experts at your disposal will show you how to create, run and scale your dropshipping business to multiple 6 figures.

RAPIDLY SCALABLE BUSINESS: You can easily reach $100k a month for the right product or ad and with the formula you can find these products inside Dropshiply.

RAPID RESULTS: When you fill your shop with lucrative products that are highly conversionable within minutes, you can check goods to see whether they are available for a span of 24 hours or less.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT: We have specialized marketing experts to help to get quick results.

Good Things & Bad Things About Dropshiply

Goodness

This Technology Builds Dropshipping Empires Without Shopify

Get 10,000+ High In Demand Ecom Products, With Pre-chosen Suppliers

No Skills, No Experience, No Staff Required!

Just 5 Mins A Day – 1 Click Import Into Your Stores

Zero Learning Curve – 100% Newbie-friendly – Start Earning Now

Join 1,407 Marketers Who Already Use Dropshiply

Badness

No Badness Until Today

Is This Dropshiply System Proven & Tested?

These were beta-testers who were taken under the wing by the developer. All the secrets and detailed systems were provided by the developer and shorts. And the results were truly impressive, even for those students, some of whom had zero experience. For the first 2 weeks, some students have had tests.

You will do the same thing with you now. You can take Me and my whole team by your side and show you exactly what we are doing and all our important practices, resources and incredibly successful strategies for the first time ever. Remember that we’re doing this for a whole time. 6 figures of dropship lifestyle are now possible with …

NO shopify

NO experience

NO need to spend t,ime scaling your business

NO inventory

NO uploading products

NO need to do worry abt suppliers

NO product research

NO spending a TON of money on ads

NO need to do complicated integrations

NO need to do worry abt suppliers

NO need to do complicated integrations

Your only job is to copy, paste and let our breakthrough app do all the selling for you.

Dropshiply OTO Details

Who Can Benefit Using Dropshiply Software?

Anyone can use this complete system to make money online. This is a best suitable product for “Work From Home”people. However, Dropshiply recommended to

♦ eCom Store Holders ♦ Dropshippers ♦ Physical Product Sellers ♦ Small/Medium Business Owners ♦ Any Local Business Owners ♦ FB Marketers ♦ Digital Agencies ♦ Newbies ♦ All Entrepreneurs

Dropshiply Review – My Final Thoughts

There is only one thing that matters when it comes to running a crazily profitable dropshipping business. How hard you work, how long you put in or how much money you spend, doesn’t matter.

What you want to succeed doesn’t matter. If you don’t understand any secret, you will miserably fail as 98 percent of other ecom marketers!

The problem is that most people spend hours and hours per day on facebook ads that do not work, which waste their time and money.

You typically deal for bad shippers, lousy products, which no one wants, if you’re anything like millions. You are probably unhappy with the pathetic margins that you receive even if you can sell these products.

But what if you had exposure instantly at your disposal to thousands of the world’s most accurate dropshippers? Imagine how crazy you would feel if you had access to the best Facebook sales items at up to 90% off prices.

But what if these goods come from many reputable shippers so that the inventory is never reached and you can never pay for a product until the customer has paid you full?

Imagine how amazing you would be if you knew exactly how to use our 100 percent automated program to attract perfect buyers for these items on facebook! Now don’t expect anything else because the best automated ecommerce dropship program will be launched on the market today.

From today, you won’t ever waste a cent on the wrong dude goods, faulty dropshippers and failing fb ads-never again.

In fact, you won’t target any way, just as you did previously. My lovely buddy and an Ecom star You didn’t see anything like this before, his flagship product and believe me.

Conclusion

All you need is a successful, extremely cheap business. Dropshiply. You need it to protect your chance of a successful 6-person ecom business.

It won’t last long this low tentative ‘early bird’ price. This exclusive offer ends with the ticking and time of the clock. After the launch week is over, Dropshiply will never be offered once again for this small investment.

It’s up to $197 – still a great deal, because it’s going to make money back thousands of times for the investment if you’re willing to use my simple step by step instructions, but why wait.

9 Relevant Bonuses For Dropshiply

SPECIAL BONUS 1: THE SECRET FB GROUP ($2,997) – You’ll get instant access to our secret VIP FB group with additional tactics, formulas and strategies.

SPECIAL BONUS 2: INSTA CLICKSHOP ($199 VALUE) – Turn images into pace with business links for your Instagram. Boost your sales via the immediate shopping, incorporation into your shop of Instagram’s shopped feed, WordPress plug and play, simple to use and setup just 3 minutes.

SPECIAL BONUS 3: FACEZON STORE BUILDER ($247) – On the fan list, this program opens a new tab for your shop items! Amazon shop! Here are the incredible features Into FaceZon:

Complies with all Facebook terms and conditions 100% responsive and works on every mobile devices Supports multi languages Custom headers can be added with store Grab a huge # of products from your amazon store Display list of categories on your Application, used for filter products. Search your ebay store items on the base of keywords. Filter with respect to item types. Facebook comments, share, pinit, like are part of it. It is not necessary to be logged on to Facebook in order to access the Admin Control Panel Full support for the following browsers: IE8, IE9, IE10, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Firefox

SPECIAL BONUS 4 LARAMBY ($197 VALUE) – LaramBy is a basic blogging program, where Amazon and eBay product keyword can easily be applied to blog posts. A lot of Amazon and eBay affiliate products can then be promoted for massive profit. LaramBy is developed with Laravel, no programming skills are required to bring this script live. In the Admin Screen, you can handle anything.

SPECIAL BONUS 5 VIRAL SUIT($197 VALUE) – ViralSuite enables you to build in minutes a platform for viral content sharing. It supports news, lists, images, sound, videos, playlists, galleries, embedded social media, polls and questionnaires. For Viral Suite, viral lists, tests and polls can be easily and quickly generated for everyone from first use. Create your own WordPress Buzzfeed as a website!

SPECIAL BONUS 6 ECOMMERCE WD SHOPPING CART ($997) – Ecommerce WD is a user-friendly WP plugin which is highly functional, ideal to develop stores for every level. It contains advanced filtration, sorting and comparison functions that make the user experience easy and smooth in the store. Depending on the value of the parameter you can define different product parameters, set product value and change prices. For all pages, there are several pre-built templates.

SPECIAL BONUS 7 SECRET SUPPLIER DATABASE ($397) – Instantly Access Our Secret Database of 1570+ Trustworthy Suppliers with 30+ MILLION Dropship Products at the Lowest Wholesale Prices!

SPECIAL BONUS 8 TOP 70 DROPSHIPPING SOURCES ($297) – Rake every day in thousands of dollars using the hidden fully protected sources, that you don’t want the 7/8-star e-commerce gurus to know about! The amount of extremely low-cost products you will find in this list will flourish you.

SPECIAL BONUS 9 9,730 PHYSICAL PRODUCT NICHE MARKETS ($197) – Here is my hidden list of 9730 GREAT niche markets now, many of which sell tens of thousands of dollars eachday in these markets!! Categories include home improvement, cell phones & accessories, beauty, games, auto, health & personal care, kitchen and dinner, children, electronics, etc …. Categories are different.

Dropshiply FAQs

WHAT IS DROPSHIPLY?

Dropshiply is a complete dropshipping platform with no money, no inventory, no experience, or any of your products, which will help you create and run a complete dropship store in a few minutes each day.

WHY CHEAP?

We wish everyone to experience this wonderful opportunity to truly have a successful dropshipping business. Only a huge catch is there! It’s a temporary deal. Dropshiply will be taken off the market for good very soon and later. Make the most of it as long as you can.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MULTI AND LITE VERSION?

You can only connect to the store and do not access all the great functions, pre-created themes, applications and special bonuses. The Lite-version is very limited.

There are no restrictions on the multi version and you have access to everything. There are an infinite number of stores, you can use every app and any theme you want. Using our spy tools and FB ads to target an explorer to import unlimited items. All premium bonuses and updates are available in future.

ANY OTO OR UPSELLS?

Yes! This is entirely optional and only if you want a whole new level of automation and big results faster and quicker. This is up to you! It is up to you.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO SEE RESULTS?

This is the beauty. You can see the results of the same day. Connect your store or build it, import hot products, traffic, and start sales in minutes! This really is amazing.

IS THERE A GUARANTEE?

YES! They offer a 100% 30 day money back guarantee.

from SPS Reviews https://spsreviews.com/dropshiply-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dropshiply-review from SPS Reviews https://spsreviews.tumblr.com/post/623223553228177408

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cryptoquicknews-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published here https://is.gd/xtDSAD

Brock Pierce, Mark Karpeles and the War of Words Over Mt Gox’s Future

This post was originally published here

Brock Pierce wants Mt. Gox creditors to receive 100 percent of whatever they’re owed – or so he says, anyway.

Weeks after announcing Gox Rising – his ambitious effort to unite the long-defunct exchange’s creditors, submit a civil rehabilitation plan and relaunch the Mt Gox exchange itself – Pierce, a prominent crypto-entrepreneur, is walking back just how concrete these plans are.

He’s also fought with former Mt Gox CEO and majority shareholder Mark Karpelès on Twitter about the feasibility of his plan and whether it’s even legal.

Gox Rising was launched as an alternative to Mt Gox bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi’s civil rehabilitation effort. Billed as a way to ensure creditors receive as much of their money as possible, the organization has published a proposed plan on its website, alongside a list of goals.

Two points, in particular, stand out: under the Gox Rising plan, no further bitcoins from Mt Gox’s estate would be sold, and “equity [holders] will make no claim on any of the cash held by the trustee,” according to the proposal (more on both later).

Gox Rising comes after years of bankruptcy proceedings for the Mt Gox exchange, which collapsed in 2014 after the theft or disappearance of nearly a million bitcoins (though some 200,000 were later recovered).

Before its fall, Mt Gox was the world’s first – and at one point, its largest – bitcoin exchange, conducting some 70 percent of all crypto transactions at its peak. When it first announced the loss of customer funds, the price of bitcoin tanked from $850 to $681, a nearly 20 percent drop at the time.

The exchange’s shutdown did not help what was turning into a bear market, which saw bitcoin’s price fall well below $400 over the next year, not beginning to recover until 2015.

Following Mt Gox’s collapse, Japanese prosecutors indicted Karpelès in 2017 on charges of fabricating information about the exchange and embezzling $3 million in customer funds to his own account at the end of 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, with a verdict expected sometime next month. If convicted, he could face as much as a decade in prison.

Last year, the exchange shifted to civil rehabilitation proceedings rather than outright bankruptcy, meaning creditors will receive bitcoins distributed directly on a pro-rata basis, instead of a cash equivalent based on bitcoin’s price at the time of the collapse.

Road to reopening

The crux of Gox Rising’s plan is to create a central store of information for Mt Gox creditors, ensuring that they receive accurate information about its civil rehabilitation as proceedings progress, said Pierce.

“Gox Rising is an initiative or movement to ensure creditors get what we believe is rightfully theirs. It’s an organization that’s selecting all of the information related to Mt Gox’s bankruptcy proceedings, aggregate that information so people know what’s going on,” he explained in an interview.

He told CoinDesk that the plan begins with an effort to acquire the Mt Gox brand. Gox Rising has yet to submit any bids to do so, but Pierce claims his organization has been working with the Japanese bankruptcy court overseeing the exchange.

He initially intends to buy Mt Gox’s “intangible assets,” meaning its domain and brand, pending court approval.

After that, Pierce has a three-part plan. The first part is to take stock of how much remains in terms of fiat and bitcoin holdings and share that information with creditors, as well as distribute funds as quickly as possible. Part two involves relaunching the exchange itself, giving creditors some level of ownership.

It’s the final part that is by far the most ambitious: an effort to try and recover somewhere between 650,000 and 850,000 BTC that remain missing.

“The question is can any of those coins be recovered. Maybe? We certainly have better tools today than we previously had to track down those coins,” Pierce said, though he did not go into detail when asked if his team has had any success in tracking the missing bitcoin thus far.

Who’s the boss?

However, questions remain over who actually owns the Mt Gox platform and its assets.

As of the beginning of 2014, the exchange’s two shareholders were Karpelès, who owned 88 percent of the company, and Jed McCaleb (who would go on to co-found Ripple and then Stellar), who held the remaining 12 percent. Pierce claims he bought them both out, but Karpelès insists neither purchase was legally finalized.

In the case of McCaleb’s shares, Karpeles argues the sale required approval from Japan’s bankruptcy courts. Pierce denies this.

“Jed McCaleb is of the opinion that we own the 12 percent, that is his current position as of this week. That has not changed over the past five years, there is no dispute,” Pierce said, adding:

“The sale was done prior to the courts so the courts may just have bad info. If Jed McCaleb is saying ‘yes, I haven’t owned these shares in five years and yes, I sold them to Brock,’ the courts can say whatever they want. We just haven’t bothered to go file anything.”

McCaleb did not respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk by press time.

While Karpelès did sign a letter of intent outlining terms for a possible sale of his Mt Gox shares to Pierce, he later sent a second letter rescinding the first, citing the fact that the Tokyo District Court did not approve any sale. Pierce did not sign the second letter.

Still, on Twitter earlier this week, Pierce said Karpelès “knows” he sold his 88 percent of Mt Gox to Pierce (Karpelès disputed this assessment).

However, Pierce was less certain when speaking to CoinDesk, explaining that while his U.S. counsel was confident that Pierce owned Karpelès’ shares in the exchange, he was waiting for his Japanese counsel to confirm.

For his part, Karpelès told CoinDesk via email that “the trustee confirmed to me [Mt Gox’s ownership] hasn’t changed and [is] still the same,” meaning Tibanne, Karpelès’ company, owns 88 percent of Mt Gox shares and Jed McCaleb owns the other 12 percent.

Kobayashi did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Despite his insistence that he is the sole owner of Mt Gox, Pierce emphasized repeatedly that “we don’t care who owns the equity of Mt Gox,” but only “that the creditors get 100 percent” of their funds back.

Surplus funds

Part of the fight stems from a potential surplus of funds which may benefit shareholders. This surplus was created by selling bitcoins at their market value during the 2017 bull run, well above what they were worth when Gox was still in business. (The trustee ceased these sales after Gox entered civil rehabilitation.)

As a result, Pierce told CoinDesk, Karpelès might receive $700 million through the Tibanne bankruptcy, as it’s the bankruptcy trustee’s job to “get that money.” He’s repeated this claim online as well.

“We want to make sure Mark Karpelès doesn’t get any of it,” he added.

Karpelès, on the other hand, said he does not anticipate getting any funds paid through the Tibanne bankruptcy.

“Expecting money from a bankruptcy as a shareholder is typically nonsense, and the possibility only appeared because of the very unique circumstances the Mt Gox bankruptcy was in,” he said. Given that Mt Gox is now in civil rehabilitation, rather than pursuing bankruptcy proceedings, “there is definitely no chance” of shareholders receiving any funds.

Pierce did acknowledge that the change in status might affect whether Karpelès receives any funds, saying that “the bankruptcy trustee publicly stated that the owner of Mt Gox would be entitled to whatever the surplus was … now that it’s in civil rehabilitation, that may not be the case.”

He further added, however, that Karpelès is the “only person who cares about who owns” Mt Gox, saying:

“From our perspective it’s irrelevant … Karpelès is the one bringing it up and he cares a great deal because you know, he might be going to prison for 10 years, his sentencing is in March, and I imagine he’d be much more comfortable in prison with $700 million to his name than nothing.”

Goxcoin?

Still, if Pierce is granted control of the Mt Gox brand and domain, he hopes to relaunch the platform with creditors’ buy-in.

In the interview with CoinDesk, Pierce outlined how creditors would sign up and share in profits from the exchange.

“It would start out as a contract and it would most likely end up as a security token,” he said, noting his previous work with the asset type. “I started the first-ever security token at [Blockchain Capital] and I used to run a top 10 syndicate on AngelList … I know quite a bit about security tokens.”

He likened the prospective token to one issued by Bitfinex after that exchange was hacked in 2016. At the time, Bitfinex issued customers debt tokens representing their losses, which it bought back over the next year.

Further down the line, the token’s structure may change (to something more similar to Binance’s BNB token), though details are still to be determined, Pierce said. Despite his plans, however, he said he does not know when he might file a bid, though he hopes to have a clearer timeline in the coming days.

The delay stems from the fact that he has counsel in the U.S. and Japan trying to coordinate, he said. The vastly different time zones are effectively slowing down proceedings, though Pierce hopes to file his bid for the Mt Gox domain “soon.”

As for the ongoing civil rehabilitation efforts, “hopefully [the current plan under the bankruptcy trustee] will cover all the things that matter,” he said, adding:

“So unless we have a reason to believe that plan is not going to provide creditors with with they should have, there’s no reason for us to file a CR plan. The only reason is if there’s a problem with the CR plan.”

Karpelès was less confident about Pierce’s motivations, saying he “doubt[s]” that Pierce does not also see a benefit for himself.

In particular, Pierce’s belief that there is “some sort of surplus payout” for shareholders makes Karpelès think that Pierce is keeping something behind, and “that it’s probably not going to be good for creditors.”

“Creditors have done an extraordinary job of putting Mt Gox in civil rehabilitation and are still fighting for their rights by proposing changes to the trustee’s rehabilitation plan, and I do not believe they need someone to step in now and claim all the credit while trying to profit from the situation,” he said.

–AltcoinToday.com

Photo via Shutterstock.

Source: Coindesk

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#crypto #cryptocurrency #btc #xrp #litecoin #altcoin #money #currency #finance #news #alts #hodl #coindesk #cointelegraph #dollar #bitcoin View the website

New Post has been published here https://is.gd/xtDSAD

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lifealert1blog-blog · 6 years ago

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Just a Few More Minutes…

Do you ever feel like the days just go by so fast? Don’t you wish you had just a few more hours or even just a few more minutes sometimes? Well, if you agree, keep reading because some time saving tips to help you make the most of your day are shared below!

We all know the saying, your life can change in an instant. It can take just a minute for an accident to turn into a disaster, especially if you’re living alone. Conversely, it can take just a minute to get help fast, 24/7, with Life Alert medical alert system. If you want better personal protection for yourself from the dangerous unknowns, and want to feel better knowing your safety is covered 24/7, let Life Alert Protection help you. With over 25 years in the medical alert industry and with thousands of satisfied customers, you can trust that their personal protection services can help you to achieve your safety goals. Take their emergency pendant for example, simply slip the lightweight, waterproof pendant around your neck or wrist and summon an emergency medical response fast with just one touch of a button. Plus, with 24/7 service, there is truly no better company to trust your safety with. So take a minute out of your day and get Life Alert Protection today!

Getting help fast during an emergency can minimized permanent damage/disability and may even prevent death. With Life Alert, you can possibly extend your life -- not just with minutes, but with years -- by getting help fast.

Turn the clock back with the time-saving tips below from Entrepreneur.com[1]. What will you do with a few extra minutes?

1. Schedule “You” time. Set aside a block of time to get your personal stuff out of the way. Things such as paying bills and attending to personal emails can take away from your work.

2. Disconnect when you need 100 percent focus. Preparing for an important meeting or a pitch? Turn off your mobile phone, close your email and route your office calls to voicemail. You will be more productive without the distractions.

3. Maintain a “to-do” list. Keep an accurate list and cross tasks off as you complete them. Create your list at the end of each day for the next day -- this allows you to attack the tasks as soon as you start your day.

4. Don’t be scared of technology. Embrace technology. I’ve seen people at their desk waiting on hold, holding the phone to their ear. Throw a Bluetooth headset into the situation and you can answer emails or attack your to-do list while you wait.

5. Say no. You may hate to disappoint people, but for your own productivity, learn how to say "no" to people. It isn’t always the greatest feeling, but it is impossible to appease everyone. If you said "yes" to everyone and every request you would have no time to do what you need to accomplish.

6. Be ultra responsive. We all have iPhones and smartphones, so use them. If you are out of the office and receive an email that you can easily address on the spot, do so! The other day I received this email:

"I’ll email you when I get back to the office.

Sent from my iPhone"

The response didn’t require this person to be in the office. It was a simple "yes" or "no" response that would have taken less time to type out than the response they sent. If you can reply while out of the office it eliminates wasted time when you get back.

7. Eliminate negative energy. Nothing can drain your energy or ruin your day faster than individuals with negative energy. Dating someone who is negative about everything? Have a friend that dumps his or her sob story on you daily? Cut ties. Don’t let negative individuals take time out of your day.

8. Don’t put off the non-glamorous tasks. When your “to-do” list has some unattractive tasks, they will consume your thoughts until they are completed. Knock them out first so you can have a clear head to plow through the rest of your tasks.

9. Address problems or issues immediately. In that same vein, waiting to fix a problem can be the difference between a 15-minute quick solution and a complete mess that takes you days to clean up.

10. Get physical. Get 30-minutes of physical activity in every morning before you start your day. You will have more energy throughout the day and you won't feel sluggish. Feeling tired or lazy sucks up valuable time. When I hit the gym each morning it gives me the energy to focus on my brand the entire day.

11. Delegate. If you have a team or staff at your disposal, utilize them. Many entrepreneurs are so stubborn and think they can do it all. Delegating appropriate tasks will free up your time.

12. Write everything down. Use the "notes" app on your smartphone or use a traditional notepad and pen -- and make sure it is always next to you. Have you ever sat down and tried to remember something from earlier as the clock ticks away? Precious time wasted!

13. Keep a schedule. If you have tasks that require your attention each week, stick to a schedule. Things such as accounting, payroll and reporting can typically be done at the same time each week. Rather than scrambling to find time to get it done, establish a designated time and stick to it.

Time is a valuable commodity; make the most of every day and stay safe while you do so with Life Alert Protection by your side. Wear their emergency pendant around your neck or wrist and immediately harness the power to 24/7 personal protection. No matter what life threatening emergency you may face, Life Alert’s dispatch team can send you an emergency medical response fast with just one touch of a button. Don’t waste another minute living without the at-home safety you deserve; pick up the phone now and get Life Alert Protection today! Call 1-800-513-2934 for a free Life Alert brochure.

Works Cited:

1. Long, Jonathan. “Since You Can't Manipulate Time, Try These 13 Time-Saving Tips.” Entreprenuer.com. 11 August 2014. <https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/stress/time-saving-strategies >.

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