#andrea portes

[authorunpublished]

Book Review: Creeping Beauty

Title: Creeping Beauty Author: Andrea Portes Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Re-Telling, Fairytale Rating: 1 Star (DNF) Description/Synopsis: Bitsy is no one’s ideal princess. She’s heard it all: that it’s a shame she’s so plain, so lacking in grace. That the best thing for her to do is simply wait (and wait some more), and hope some prince will grant her a happy ending. WARNING – SPOILERS MAY…

[indefinite-pitch]

Selected Works. Series 3

Tracklist

01 Rainsoft - Immersive

02 Artos Eleven - Visions

03 Aiôn Lazura - Fractal Conscientia

04 Ocram Orchestra - Toucheng

05 Conflation Port - Ahti

06 Beyond Humans - Ritualistic Light

07 Andrea Zapata - 777

08 Baal - Kanou

09 Federico Corrado - Field I

10 Garber - Las Guerras Mienten

11 Sub Accent - Nuit Silencieuse

12 Ronny Pinazza - Vista Con Delfino

13 Darris Hopper - Unlock

14 Sam Wilson & John Plaza - Potencial De Indiferencia

15 Kato De Vidts - Anthesis

16 Night Garden - Dance Of The Moon's Envoy (feat. Francis Moore)

17 Paul Rêve - Haiku

18 Ryefield Society - Another Escape

19 Alts Förgänglighet - Fleeting Bloom

20 X.Y.R. - Forest Dive

Credits

This digital release is cut from the 24bit Master Source. ‘Immersive’ produced by Yurou Yang aka Rainsoft

‘Visions’ produced by Arthur Bohl aka Artos Eleven

‘Fractal Conscientia' produced by Aiôn Lazura

‘Toucheng’ produced by Marco Wollenberg aka Ocram Orchestra

‘Ahti’ produced by Conflation Port

‘Ritualistic Light’ produced by Beyond Humans

‘777’ produced by Andrea Zapata

'Kanou’ produced by Baal

‘Field I’ produced by Federico Corrado

‘Las Guerras Mienten’ produced by Pablo Mauricio Garber aka Garber

‘Nuit Silencieuse’ produced by Johan Bonnefoy aka Sub Accent

‘Vista Con Delfino’ produced by Ronny Pinazza

‘Unlock’ produced by Darris Hopper

‘Potencial De Indiferencia’ produced by Samuel Wilson and John Plaza

‘Anthesis’ produced by Kato de Vidts

'Dance Of The Moon's Envoy (feat. Francis Moore)’ produced by James Laing aka Night Garden Shakuhachi by Francis Moore

‘Haiku’ produced by Paul Rêve

‘Another Escape’ produced by Fantin M. aka Ryefield Society

‘Fleeting Bloom’ produced by Alts Förgänglighet

‘Forest Dive’ produced by Vladimir Karpov aka X.Y.R.

Compiled by MRWG Mastered by J. David Lucio S. Artwork by Mark Wagner

Selected Works. Series 3 This is PITCHVA07.

[somanybookssolittletime1]

In My Mailbox (#71)

In My Mailbox (#71) -need to addd tehj books

~Purchases~ Lightlark by Alex Aster | Goodreads Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan | Goodreads Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan | Goodreads Blessed Monsters by Emily A. Duncan | Goodreads ~ARCs~ A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid | Goodreads Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes | Goodreads Magical Girl Incident, Vol. 1 by Zero Akabane | Goodreads Creeping Beauty by Andrea Portes | Goodreads ~~~ I…

[mariobadino]

Una cosa tira l'altra

Una cosa tira l’altra: ho pubblicato un articolo con la traduzione francese della mia poesia «Inizi» (da «Santificare le feste», END 2019) per mano di di Gabriel Grossi, che nel suo blog Littérature Portes Ouvertes ha anche parlato della Giornata mondiale della poesia badina dello scorso 5 marzo; ho pubblicato questo articolo – dicevo – e l’amico Andrea Murgia, che si trovava a Milano e stava…

[queen-blest]

[starrynightsxo]

ANNOUNCEMENT: I WILL BE BACK

hey guys so I'm gonna be on and off tumblr for the moment as I just wanna limit my social media time lol but nevertheless, I will be here to spew my nonesense!

LOVE ALL MY FOLLOWERS AND MUTUALS SO SO MUCH and I just know you all understand and I appreciate you guys so much! So don't go anywhere cos I'll be here often enough, ready to yap and giggle with you all <3

LOVE YOU ALL 💕

- alims ❤️

my side blog: @bookgirlfanatic <3

cr: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

cr: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

cr: The Hunger Games Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Books I've read this year 2024 (so far, in order):

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (reread)

Truth or Dare by Sophie McKenzie

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black (reread)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Reveal Me by Tahereh Mafi

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

Dead Poets Society by Nancy H Kleinbaum

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Hunger Games Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Reckless by Lauren Roberts

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Normal People by Sally Rooney

I have reviews to most of these if you check my tags somehow lol.

37/30 books this year. YAY! Happy Reading everyone!

A picrew of me <3

[raffaeleitlodeo]

Andrea ha 15 anni, la madre lava un paio di suoi pantaloni rossi ma stingono e diventano rosa. Andrea non ci fa caso, li indossa e torna a scuola. Inizia così a essere preso di mira. Vessazioni e umiliazioni di ogni tipo fino alla creazione di una pagina Facebook dal nome IL RAGAZZO DAI PANTALONI ROSA.

Andrea si toglie la vita. È il 2012. Sarà il primo minore che in Italia si uccide a causa del bullismo e dell’omofobia.

Per sua madre Teresa si aprono le porte dell’inferno. Fino a che un pomeriggio scopre quella maledetta pagina Facebook e legge tutto il male riversato su suo figlio.

In mezzo al dolore più atroce trova la forza di battersi contro questo fenomeno di violenza sui social. Va nelle scuole, scrive un libro, incontra associazioni.

Il 10 ottobre al cinema uscirà il film Il ragazzo dai pantaloni rosa. Teresa ha trasformato il dolore in speranza. Che nessun altro genitore viva quello ha vissuto lei.

Amen

#Pride2024

Claudia Sarritzu, Facebook

[organ-market]

Unconventional Detective Games

Return of the Obra Dinn, 2018

The maritime mystery game Return of the Obra Dinn by Lucas Pope is almost entirely subversive for a detective game. Everything in the game from its core premise to  hyper stylized presentation, is all ambitious and experimental. Every person aboard the Obra Dinn has mysteriously died and you assume the role of an insurance investigator piecing together the horrific events using a magic watch that delivers to you a front seat viewing of a vignette of each person’s demise. Using these dioramas of death, you are charged with recording the manner of death of each and each crewmember and passenger aboard the ship.

Return of the Obra Dinn and its addictively satisfying detective puzzle gameplay left me hungry for more. Playing the game instilled in me a deep love for a good mystery and a desire to solve them. While I love games like Disco Elysium, which stars detectives as its protagonists, the investigation was never really the point. Moreover, a love for the unconventional detective was entrenched in my heart and as an interactive medium, video games are perfect for aspiring would-be detectives.

Overboard! , 2021

The year is 1935, aboard the S.S. Hook, Veronica Villensy throws her husband overboard under the foggy shade of night. In Inkle’s devilishly clever puzzle/visual novel, Overboard! you have eight hours before reaching the ports of New York and in that limited time you must relieve yourself from suspicion and guilt for your husband’s death at any cost. It’s a sort of anti-detective puzzle about getting away with murder which forces you to learn your fellow passenger’s schedules, plant evidence, and be consistently careful with your language lest your words betray you much later.

The DNA of time loop games such as Majora’s Mask and The Sexy Brutale is woven into the gameplay loop of Overboard! It’s a fairly short game taking around 2-3 hours to finish the story but at the benefit of allowing an immense amount of player agency. There is a wide variety of solutions to evading the mighty hand of justice, you are free to travel around the ship on a whim with no direction from the game itself. The only hint system is visiting the chapel and praying to God which is both cleverly diegetic and hilarious.

The nonlinearity of your objective incentivizes logical thinking and experimentation. The puzzle is rewarding much like learning each map and NPC routines in the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy is. At first you clumsily trip over your words when Major Singh interrogates you but eventually you can get away with murder in style along with netting some pocket money from the life insurance if you pull it all off just right!

The nonlinearity of each puzzle in Overboard! is incredibly refreshing, it just feels organic and natural. Going achievement hunting in this game is its own little puzzle and I still haven’t figured out some of the little secrets it hides from us. It’s a game I can’t put down and haven’t yet been able to stop thinking about and I really recommend giving it a shot since it’s only $15 and only $6 if you catch it on sale.

Pentiment, 2022

Obsidian Entertainment’s Pentiment was my favorite game of 2022 and enraptured me for long nights as I obsessed over its rich dialogue and gorgeous medieval illumination manuscript inspired art. So much love and research was put into the historical setting, it takes place in 16th Century Bavaria within the town of Tassing is filled with life and character. You play as Andreas Maler, an artist working in an abbey on a hill and whilst attempting to finish your masterpiece, your co-worker and friend, Brother Piero, is falsely accused of the murder of a wealthy Baron who was staying in town. You are sprung into action as you only have a limited amount of time to clear Brother Piero’s name.

You are given a limited amount of time to wander around town, attempting to conduct interviews, deduce motives, and eventually gather enough evidence to bring the culprit to justice. Because of the impending trial, time is ever so precious in Pentiment and you will never have enough time to do everything you want at your leisure. Every moment dwelling on conversation or recreation is time you could have spent digging for answers. In order to pin a suspect you must hone in on what you think is most beneficial for your case like a true detective.

Brother Piero’s freedom is always at the cost of another’s conviction, in Pentiment you must push the blame onto someone else. During your investigations, you find that Sister Matilda, a nun at the abbey, had been assaulted by the late Baron many years ago. This is one of the clearest motives in the game but most physical evidence points in other directions, all the while every nun in the abbey will assure you of her innocence.

Saint John's Eve Festival Bonfire

Convincing the archdeacon (the head of the trial) of Sister Matilda’s guilt is perhaps the easiest of all the suspects to accomplish and Pentiment will not tell you outwardly that Matilda didn’t do it but it doesn’t have to. In a clever subversion, the game never tells you if you caught the culprit in the end. Pentiment, brilliantly, left me to wonder if I made the right choices as the totality of the lethal consequences of my actions weighed on my mind. You can easily convince the archdeacon of someone’s guilt but are you able to convince yourself?

The brutality of the executions should not be understated. You look on helplessly as someone you convicted meets an unwieldy end as they plead, cry, and eventually die. The executioner’s sword rises and falls as it lodges itself into the neck again and again until the head breaks free from the neck. Whether you like it or not, your choices matter in Pentiment and the consequences stare you down with a harsh disposition.

While playing Pentiment I was continually reminded of a line from Rian Johnson’s murder mystery film Knives Out. The titular detective Benoit Blanc (he’s so me by the way) notes that, “...the complexity and the gray lie not in the truth but what you do with the truth once you have it.” The complexity of truth is captured beautifully by Pentiment. In many regards it is a conventional mystery but by weaponizing the player’s need for clear answers it infected my mind for many hours after the credits rolled along with the minds of many others. There are fierce debates and chatter surrounding who really did the killing. Pentiment wasn’t as well talked about as it deserved, with all the games releasing it was overlooked by most. Well, it isn’t exactly for everyone but for the price of $20 it gave me a wealth of dialogue to mull over and wonder about.

Phasmophobia, 2022

A multiplayer ghost hunting spookfest is not exactly what you’d think of when discussing detective games but Kinetic Game’s Phasmophobia is deeply investigative by nature. Intense inspection is at the beating heart of the game with an important twist. Where ordinarily a detective chases after a suspect after the fact, here your suspect is reacting to your every move and can (and will) kill you on a whim. In the game you and up to three other friends venture into a haunted house and gather evidence and clues to determine which of the twenty four ghosts in the game is currently residing in your location. 

You and your team will wander out of the safety of your van and into cold, darkened rooms to find clues by checking thermometers, speaking into spirit boxes, and throwing salt all over the floor in hopes of getting the ghost to step in it. Not only can you gather evidence with your camera and UV lights but another layer in your investigation is the behavior of the ghost. Knowing how aggressive each ghost is or how fast it is, is a tremendous asset in your deductive arsenal. The more you know, the more you can whittle the possibilities down until you have your culprit.

But finding the ghost and gathering evidence is just one thing, surviving the ghost is another. Being in the dark and bearing witness to paranormal activity will deplete your sanity and eventually the ghost will target you for a hunt. The front door slamming shut marks the beginning of a hunt, the ghost will manifest physically and chase you down and kill you if you don’t hide in time.

Corpse of my friend, deceased. Moments before I run out of the house in terror.

Phasmophobia is a dangerous balancing act of facing your fears by delving into the darkness in order to find clues and trying desperately to find the ghost type as fast as you can so you can get the hell out of there. The reactivity of the ghost keeps you on edge as you wander the halls gathering data. Speaking into the spirit box may prompt a raspy whisper into your ear or the candle you just lit may be blown out moments after. More interestingly though, is the voice recognition AI that takes advantage of the communication players rely upon. Everything from saying you’re scared to a simple curse word can lead to the ghost favoring you as prey. Even players who stay in the van for too long get targeted by the ghost!

Within Phasmophobia is one of the most unique investigative experiences on the market and definitely a one of a kind multiplayer experience. The comfort of having a buddy to share your terrors with is stripped away when they stop responding to your radio! It’s truly unlike anything I’ve ever played and the developers are constantly updating it, two big thumbs up from the afterlife. 

The satisfaction from my first time getting away with murder in Overboard! and the despair when I find out I had the ghost type completely wrong in Phasmophobia are some of my most memorable experiences in gaming! And Pentiment proved to be one of the most well written games I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I sincerely hope you check them out if you haven’t already! They’re all pretty cheap anyway. And once again begging for recommendations in the comments/reblogs so if you know any good, and hopefully weird, detective games let me know! Thanks in advance everyone and I’ll catch you on the flip side :P

-Ghost Emoji 👻

[chicinsilk]

US Vogue July 1985

Renata Vackova wears a round-neck coat, in red Garigue wool, over a red cashmere sweater, a skirt in black satin-backed wool by Geoffrey Beene. Bracelet, Richard Minadeo, Aldo Zanette bag. Beauty Note: Estée Lauder's natural makeup: a hint of Sunlit Apricot on the lips. Hairdressing, John Sahag. makeup, Kevin Aucoin.

Tights, Flash Legs by Stilnovo, Walter Steiger pumps for Karl Lagerfeld.

Renata Vackova porte un manteau à col rond, en laine Garigue rouge, sur un pull en cachemire rouge, une jupe en laine envers satin noir de Geoffrey Beene. Bracelet, Richard Minadeo, sac Aldo Zanette. Note Beauté : Le maquillage naturel d'Estée Lauder : un soupçon de Sunlit Apricot sur les lèvres. Coiffure, John Sahag. maquillage, Kevyn Aucoin.

Collants, Flash Legs par Stilnovo, escarpins Walter Steiger pour Karl Lagerfeld.

Photo Andrea Blanch vogue archive

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Nintendo 3d rendering vs Sony disc size

The Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo Gamecube both had better 3D geometry than the Playstation and the Playstation 2, but the Playstations were able to have much more music and textures than the Nintendo consoles. They were also able to have more 3d objects in a space at one time. Infamously you could fit all the top 10 N64 games on a single Playstation disc, and then more.

The N64 models looked solid despite their low polygon count. It had this weird double anti-aliaising effect which made images look blurry. However, textures were very, very limited, and the cartridge could not fit much music or fmvs.

The playstation had worse geometry and even had the "wobble" effect on most games, due to its Z-buffering hardware not being used. However, it was able to make up for its weaknesses.

It used textures to elevate the look of its 3d models, and replaced backgrounds with detailed 2d textures in games like Resident Evil and Final Fantasy 7.

It also used pre-rendered videos and lots of music, things missing from the N64 entirely.

Games that use pre-rendered videos on other platforms, like "Star Wars Episode 1: Racer," had them removed from their N64 ports.

This image seems to be taken from an emulator. I'm having a hard time finding images captured from the original devices. However, you can see that the ps1 has a "wobble" effect and the n64 has lower resolution textures.

These issues ended up carrying over into the PS2/Gamecube generation.

This is Mariokart Double Dash. It's a very good looking gamecube. Its geometry is simple and it only has 16 tracks, but it's more than playable today, and still looks good when upscaled on an emulator.

This is San Andreas. While the game is graphically impressive, you'll notice that the models for vehicles and even the UI look worse when compared to Gamecube games.

However, San Andreas was able to fit so much more information on the disc than any Gamecube game.

Instead of being limited to 16 race tracks and 16 racers like Double Dash, you have an entire open world to explore and dozens of cars to choose from. You have a hundred hours of things to do in this game. There is hours of music that you can listen to in the cars.

That's why San Andreas was never ported to Gamecube - the game requires 4.2gb of DVD space, whereas the Gamecube's DVD-R was never larger than 1.4gb.

To be honest, I have no idea what black magic Capcom used to port Resident Evil 4 to Gamecube.

When the Nintendo Wii came out, it retained the Gamecube's power for the most part, while offering DVD space of up to 8gb!!! Finally it could have things like music and voice acting.

However... the PS3 and Xbox 360 were already on their way, and the standard definition Wii was far from their ballcourt.

In the Wii's early days, the PS2 was also still in a lot of hands. So developers who wanted to make games for Wii ported them to PS2, and vice versa. Both consoles ended up having lots of "previous generation" versions of games, like The Force Unleashed, which ran better on Wii than the PS2 by a small margin and had different features like motion controls.

[starwarsgirl198]

PotC mer shark AU

^ Whitecap Bay mer sharks are the broadnose sevengill shark. Syrena and her sisters are this type of shark. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is another revision of the mermaids of PotC).

^Rumrunner's Isle mer sharks are sand tiger sharks. Imogen and Moira, and the former's sisters are this type of shark.

^ Port Royal mer sharks are whitetip reef sharks. Andrea and her sisters are this type of shark.

^ Pantano River mer sharks are bluntnose sixgill sharks. Amelia and her sisters are this type of shark.

^ Devil's Triangle mer sharks are leopard sharks. Raquel, her sisters and her daughter, Esperanza are this type of shark.

^ Tortuga mer sharks are tiger sharks. Sonya and her sisters are this type of shark.

^ Blood Island mer sharks are grey reef sharks, Margaret Smyth, her sisters and Carina Smyth, her daughter, are this type of shark.

^ Isle Cruces mer sharks are bull sharks. Cassandra is the only mer shark of this species as she was given the task to protect her brother's heart.

^ Singapore mer sharks are blacktip sharks. Dominique is this type of shark.

^ Isla de Muerte mer sharks are blacktip reef sharks. Selena and her sisters are this type of shark though she and her sisters move to Spain after it sinks back into the sea.

^ Shipwreck Cove mer sharks are shortfin Mako sharks. Veronica and her sister are this type of shark.

The mer sharks look like @BoissB_ mer sharks drawing:

Which is what inspired me to do this AU.

All mer sharks have the same ability as the bull shark, they are able to go into fresh water.

[dailymothanon]

Ngl one of my favorite hcs of California is that he has a scar down his back due to the San Andreas Fault and that he (and Alaska since they’re earthquake bear buddies) have stretch marks cuz of all their fault lines

my rants of Alaska’s and California’s history

Ok so Alaska was just starting to be felt out by outsiders throughout the 1700s but in the 1800s, Alaska—which was being directed largely by the Russian American Company (I disliked the RAC for various actions they did against Alaska Natives, but that’s for another time) Alaska branched out to start trading with California and Hawai’i, one of Alaska’s delivery’s to Hawai’i was around 500 tons of ice. Before California even separated from Mexico, Mexico had officially recognized Alaska as their own thing. I don’t remember if hawai’i did or not tho.

Fort Ross is a well known port for example, that one is a link between the two states; and Alaska traded mostly otter furs with California — but Alaska traded with California more than Hawai’i to keep afloat

Then, when the Good Friday Earthquake hit Alaska in 1964, 131 died in all, 12 in California, and 5 in Oregon

Also, when Alaska had all those gold rushes and whatnot—most of the people there were from California! However Alaska is still plentiful with gold, here you can straight up just start gold panning, it’s an attraction to some places

(when I was younger I visited a small town for my dad to work a job, and a lean old man that dressed like a cowboy ngl— that was gold panning, taught me to gold pan! I didn’t get anything ofc but he gave me a small vial of gold he found himself, really nice guy :> i remember him well)

I’m sure there’s more but for some reason my brain just isn’t working

Oh I just remembered this one, Alaska before his mountains grew, used to have identical weather to California! I’m not sure if SoCal or Northern Cal tho

another thing I just remembered is that Alaska gained statehood cuz hawai’i was gonna so Alaskans were like yeah ok if they can we can

[dedeinthewild]

oliver bearman x reader, special encounters

-"she was so much better than a creamy croissant"

The drivers loved grabbing their bikes and pedaling toward Italy from Monaco, with the sea on their right and the endless blue sky stretching out like an infinite expanse of happiness.

Ollie had a thing for good training sessions with his friends, always thinking about a creamy croissant to end the morning and the weekend trip ahead, where he’d visit his family. Ever since his Formula One commitments had packed his schedule, he’d made it a habit to spend time with his dad. Saying he missed his mom and Thomas was an understatement. Still, he was proud his little brother had begun his own rise with a British F4 contract, and he knew his mom kept busy with work and her new passion for sourdough baking.

“Why can’t I get ice cream now?” Ollie asked, while Kimi pedaled a bit faster to catch up with him after a stretch of road where they’d had to ride single file.

“We’ve been awake just half an hour, Ollie,” the Italian laughed, reaching him and letting go of the handlebars to grab his water bottle for a sip.

The threatening clouds they’d seen hovering over the principality began to break up as they passed Menton, nearing the Italian border.

“Can we stop?” asked the Brit in Italian, spotting a sweets stand just as they entered Ventimiglia, where they’d planned a quick break before heading back to Monaco for an evening of PlayStation.

“Cut it out!” joked the younger of the two, earning an exaggerated glare from Ollie, who turned around with raised eyebrows and an Oscar-worthy pout.

“I’ll kill myself.”

Moments later, a small rock caught under his tire, and Ollie found himself sprawled on the pavement, sitting against a signpost, clutching his scratched leg.

“I didn’t think you meant literally,” Kimi quipped, crouching beside him, noticing the grimace on his face and hoping it wasn’t a broken leg—they’d be in serious trouble if it were.

“Shut up,” Ollie replied weakly, smiling at his friend’s joke while inspecting his calf to gauge the damage, turning it to look from different angles.

“I should call Andrea.”

“No!” Ollie quickly said, grabbing a handkerchief from his cycling jacket and wetting it with water from his bottle to clean the wound of asphalt dirt.

“You can’t stay there like roadkill!”

The Haas reserve driver shook his head, settling against the post and noticing that no one had stopped to help them.

“Maybe the emergency services?”

“Who the hell made me do this?” sighed the young Italian, unlocking his phone and leaning against one of the railings overlooking the port.

Before long, just enough time to argue over whether or not to inform Andrea—one of their managers and friends—about the fall, an ambulance arrived and parked nearby.

“What do we have here?” said one of the paramedics as he approached the drivers with a kind smile, noticing they were calm and the injured one seemed more embarrassed than anything.

“We were talking, and I didn’t see the rock,” Oliver explained, setting his helmet on the ground and fully revealing his flushed face, while behind the paramedic came another woman with a stretcher and one carrying a first-aid bag.

“You’re lucky you didn’t fall into a pothole,” the two women chuckled as the man prepared for transport, and they worked to assess the situation.

“This is definitely sprained, if not broken,” said one of them, making both drivers groan. If Ollie could have buried himself, he would have done so then and there, knowing this meant his trip to see his family was canceled, and Andrea wouldn’t be thrilled. His ankle looked terrible and was already starting to swell and bruise.

“Do you usually put much weight on it?” They likely needed to know how carefully to handle it for a smoother and quicker recovery.

“We’re racing drivers,” Oliver answered with a heavy British accent.

The two paramedics glanced at the third, who was preparing the stretcher and hadn’t initially noticed who they were sitting on the sidewalk. Now she recognized them but maintained her professionalism, waiting for the others to give the all-clear for transport.

“I feel so stupid,” the driver said, staring at his ankle as they moved toward the nearest hospital.

“This happens more often than you’d think,” she smiled, sitting beside him. “I’ve mastered immobilization thanks to reckless cyclists.”

The boy chuckled softly, despite his semi-reclined stretcher feeling so comfortable it tempted him to move—though he knew that would only make things worse. Kimi stayed in Ventimiglia, sitting glumly by the roadside with both bikes nearby, dreading calling Andrea, who would undoubtedly have words with René once he heard what had happened.

“At the hospital, they’ll give you something to ease the pain.”

“But I don’t feel any.”

“You will,” she replied, taking out a form.

“Are you allergic to anything?”

Ollie shook his head, grabbing his phone to check for notifications from his teammate while she filled out the hospital protocol form.

Soon they arrived at the hospital, and the three paramedics transported him to the ER. They handed him over to a doctor, who, before taking him beyond the doors to determine whether it was a fracture, noticed Ollie’s adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was kicking in. To help, they administered something, and they started walking toward the exit.

As the doctor injected the substance, Ollie felt a strange lightness and happiness, like he was in one of those cheesy teen movies that try to soften the blow of summer ending.

“Hey, yo!” he yelled, spotting a guy leaning against a column, holding a pink jacket, likely waiting for a relative.

“My paramedic’s hella cute, yo!”

The paramedics turned, eyebrows raised and amused, toward the source of the outburst.

“It’s the driver,” chuckled one of them, nodding toward the young man wildly gesturing from his stretcher as the doctor looked on, baffled at such a reaction to something far from anesthesia.

The two women smiled, and the one who had sat with him during the ride blushed slightly, knowing her colleagues would tease her endlessly about this.

Ollie was on cloud nine, smiling sweetly with dilated pupils, fist-bumping the bystander, who had put down his phone and jacket to chat with him freely. Normally, Ollie was shy, reserved, and polite, but now? He was entirely different.

“She’s hella cute! You should’ve seen her,” he said, flopping back onto the stretcher and resting his arms behind his head, gazing at the fluorescent ceiling lights.

“Hey, what’s your name?” he asked the stranger.

“I’m Andrea,” came the reply in Italian.

“My best friend’s called Andrea! He’s so funny; you’d definitely get along,” he said confidently, shaking his head as if making an unshakable proclamation worthy of a bet.

Meanwhile, the paramedic girl was amused, much like the doctor who, half-annoyed, wanted to kick Ollie out for disrupting the whole ER. The young Brit, with his Ferrari cycling jersey and dirt-smeared shorts, had his brown hair disheveled and his fair skin slightly flushed with its distinctive freckles and moles. He was a sight.

“I’m Ollie,” he fist-bumped like they were lifelong friends.

“You know, that jacket’s smooth. Give me the name of the shop.”

The stranger burst into laughter, turning away slightly not to laugh directly in his face.

“She was so much better than a creamy croissant,” Ollie added, sprawled out in contented delirium.

The paramedics shook their heads, patting the blushing girl on the back before leaving the ER for their next call.

Ollie disappeared with the doctors and nurses, while the ambulance crew resumed their morning shift.

Back in Ventimiglia, Kimi had finally called Andrea and René, taking the scolding meant for both him and Ollie. Still, with the next Formula 2 race in Qatar nearly two months away, Ollie had time to recover and get back in shape. Kimi stored their bikes at a café he knew, asking for a favor, then took a taxi to the hospital.

Walking into the ER still in his cycling shoes, he asked for Oliver, noting the nurse at the desk chuckled upon hearing the name but didn’t question it. He made his way to the casting room, where they had taken Ollie after confirming via X-ray that the bone was indeed broken.

“How are you?” he asked, sitting beside him.

“Good. Did you bring me the croissant?” Ollie replied with a grin.

“We gave him a painkiller, but he’s out of his mind,” the doctor laughed, raising Kimi’s eyebrows.

Rarely had Kimi seen his teammate act so unhinged—so unlike the reserved Brit he knew. He hadn’t seen this side of him since their laughing-filled night in Singapore when Ollie’s Italian had nearly become fluent.

A week later, as they sat in the apartment Prema provided them in Monaco, Ollie showed Kimi a video.

“This is a prank,” Kimi declared.

“I swear, I wanna kill myself after this,” Ollie groaned, utterly embarrassed.

“Should I remind you what happened the last time you said that?” Kimi teased, glancing at Ollie’s casted leg propped on the coffee table. The past two days had been an adjustment—navigating the apartment, dealing with itchiness, and Ollie’s outbursts as Kimi laughed at his struggles on one leg.

“Do me a favor,” the Haas reserve driver asked, watching as Kimi prepared lunch.

Kimi sighed, crossing his arms. “What is it?”

“Go to the paramedics and apologize for me.”

“I hate you,” the Italian grumbled, plating the omelet he’d just made. They ate together before Kimi reluctantly set off for the Italian Red Cross station where the ambulance that had picked them up was based.

Once there, he asked to see the three paramedics from that day. Only one was on duty.

“Ollie wanted me to apologize for the other day,” Kimi explained. “He couldn’t really control himself.”

“Don’t worry. He actually brightened up our day,” she replied with a smile, leaning against the wall. “Wait here a second.”

Kimi watched her disappear through a door behind her. He glanced around the station until she returned holding a paper bag.

“Maybe I’m being silly, but he kept going on about a cornetto alla crema, so I wanted to give him one.”

“But you didn’t know where we were,” Kimi said, amused.

“Exactly,” she replied with a small laugh.

The driver smiled, thanking her, knowing Ollie would definitely appreciate the gesture. And maybe Ollie had been right—under the influence of painkillers, he’d called her cute. With her soft features, honey-colored eyes, and hair tied back in a braid, Kimi could see what he meant.

“You met her?” The British driver was in shock as his teammate hung his jacket on the apartment’s coat rack. “I’m gonna kill you.”

Kimi laughed, tossing the paper bag with the cornetto inside to him.

If he could have, Oliver would’ve broken the other ankle just for a chance to see her again.

Meanwhile, at the paramedics’ station, she was sitting on a stool, preparing cookies for that evening’s meeting, a soft smile on her face and the image of the driver etched in her mind.

@charlieblacks-world and I had this idea, and we really hope you like our drugged Ollie!

not proofread, there might be a few errors :)

[olympusgenius]

I don't know if you've heard the name ss Andrea Doria she was an ocean liner for the italian line and she was beautifully designed that she was considered a floating art museum. However on the night of july 26 1956 she collided with another ship the ss Stockholm the Stockholm's icebreaker bow punctured through the Doria's starboard side 54 people died from the impact but luckily one of the Doria's fuel tanks was only 1/3rd of the way empty meaning she would take longer to sink but rescue came the ss ile de france arrived to help the survivors still awaiting on the Andrea Doria by the morning at 10:00am the Andrea Doria slowly capsized on to her starboard side and was gone her unusable life boats on her port side floating freely.

all of this happened due to human error because both misread their radar but also radar was still new on ships so it was probably bound to happen also it was thick with fog so visibility was poor.

The Andrea Doria took 10 hours to sink.

"Ok?... just one question...why are you telling me this about shipwrecks and stuff? Sorry if I get offensive but, are you...inside the autistic spectrum or something like that? No offense, but I find a little strange you're casually talking about ships and accidents just like that..."

[cbk1000]

I'm back on my the-ocean-terrifies-me-so-naturally-I'm-gonna-read-about-maritime-disasters bullshit, and I have decided to rate some of the shipwrecks I have read about by how personally terrifying they are to me. Note these are not rated in terms of loss of life/objectively worst, these ratings are simply based on how much they scare the shit out of me. I'm going to use a scale of 1-5, with 1 being, 'I guess if I absolutely had to be on a shipwreck this would be maybe the less terrible of absolutely horrific options' and 5 being, 'Absolutely the fuck not.' Putting under a cut for length and for any people who are normal and don't want to read about horrible maritime disasters.

Titanic 2/5: Let’s start with the most famous. I'm not going to add a summary for this one because literally everyone knows at least the basics. Why does it only get a 2/5 when there was such a huge death toll and not enough lifeboats? Because the ship took hours to sink, I'm middle-class and a woman, and therefore probably would have been a second class passenger, and of the 95 second class female passengers, 83 survived. I like those odds. The ship also went down on an even keel and didn't list much till the end, which, as you'll see later on, is not a courtesy the ocean affords many of these disasters. However, it was pitch black and in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and even if you were one of the lucky ones who got a lifeboat, you were in a tiny little boat on the vast black early morning expanse of the Atlantic, with no idea of when or if rescue would come, and that sure is a lot of nope.

Empress of Ireland 5/5: The Empress of Ireland is not nearly as well-known internationally, but it is often referred to as Canada's Titanic. She was an ocean liner that sank in 1914 near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River after colliding with a Norwegian collier in thick fog. Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 died. Why does this get a 5/5? Because it sank in only 14 minutes, all the lights went out only a few minutes after the collision, and, to top it off, it happened early in the morning when pretty much all the passengers were sleeping, and on the first night of the voyage, before safety drills, so most of the passengers were unfamiliar with the layout of the ship. The list was also so severe, so quickly, that the port lifeboats couldn't be launched. If you were on a lower deck, you probably drowned almost immediately. If you were on an upper deck, you had minutes to navigate a pitch black ship whose layout you were unfamiliar with to get to the top, where you might not even get a lifeboat because half of them were out of commission. A salvage operation was commenced shortly after the sinking, and salvage divers found that many desperate passengers had tried to escape through their potholes and got stuck, and their bodies were seen hanging out the portholes. No. No. NO. I would have told the company to get their own fucking safe and booked it the fuck out of there.

Andrea Doria 4/5: The Andrea Doria was a luxury transatlantic ocean liner that sank in 1956 after colliding with the passenger liner Stockholm in fog off the coast of Nantucket. Only 51 people died, 46 from Doria, and 5 on Stockholm. The ship began to list severely immediately, rendering many of the lifeboats useless. However, the ship took 11 hours to sink, giving rescuers plenty of time to evacuate passengers. Almost all those who died did so as a result of the initial collision and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So why is this rated so highly? Because hundreds of passengers were left clinging to the decks of a severely listing ships for hours, wondering if the ship would roll over at any moment. I read accounts of people lying flat and taking off their shoes so they could grip the deck with their toes as well. I don't want to be cock teased with whether or not I'm going to die, Atlantic Ocean, either kill me or don't.

MS Estonia 4/5: There are some conspiracy theories for this one regarding what really caused the sinking, so I'm just going to recount what official investigations found. The MS Estonia was a ferry that sank in stormy weather, in 1994 in the Baltic Sea enroute to Stockholm, Sweden, due to poor cargo distribution which cause the ship to list, and a faulty bow door that separated from the ship and pulled the ramp askew. This caused water to flood in and rapidly worsened the list that was already present. 852 of 989 onboard died. It sank in the middle of the night, and many passengers were trapped in the ship, and even some of those who made it to the lifeboats died of hypothermia. Survivors reported hearing multiple bangs on the ship (hence the conspiracy theories about explosions or a collision really causing the sinking). So, you're on a ship in the middle of stormy seas, you're hearing bangs, and either you're trapped and fucked, or you get to go out on a lifeboat (i.e. bath toy) in the middle of the night in a storm in the Baltic Sea. It's a no from me.

MV Doña Paz 5/5: The MV Doña Paz was a ferry that sank in 1987 on its way to Manila after a collision with an oil tanker. It was extremely overcrowded, with an estimated extra 2,000 passengers who were not on the manifest. An estimated 4,385 people died, with only 26 survivors. The oil tanker caught on fire, which then spread to the Doña Paz. Survivors reported that the lights went out just minutes after the collision, there were no life vests to be found, and the crew were running about in a panic. The fire rapidly spread onboard, prompting many people to dive into the oily water...which was also on fire. Oh, and it was shark-infested. And filled with the charred bodies of their fellow passengers. Most of the survivors sustained burns. So, here were your options: burn to death; drown; burn and then drown; burn, but get pulled out of the water by rescuers, along with only two dozen other people out of the thousands who were aboard. -1000000/10 do not recommend this maritime disaster holy Jesus.

[c1garettesduringsex]

"PLEADING FOR MY LIFE" 𝗢𝗡𝗘

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴇʀᴀ: ᴛʜᴇ Qᴜᴀʀʀʏ ᴘʀᴏɴᴏᴜɴꜱ: ꜱʜᴇ/ʜᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ᴅʀᴜɢꜱ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ, ᴡɪᴛʜᴅʀᴀᴡᴀʟ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ,, ᴛᴡᴅ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇꜱ. ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ, ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ɪꜱꜱᴜᴇꜱ. ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴛᴏᴘ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ.

The first time you remember going to church is when you were ten. your mother tried to hold the reputation of being a normal family in Seattle, although tales of your fathers blind rage and your mothers affairs threaded through out the small town you lived in quickly.

when you were ten, church was different than when you grew up…it used to be pure, normal, innocent. although as you grew older and deeper into addiction it felt sinful to even stand in the door of one. as if you’d burst into flames in a matter of seconds.

Port Had-falls, Seattle. 2003

you didn’t know exactly how it started, but it felt beautiful…calming. as if you couldn’t feel the pain your body was in before. but even standing in the middle of that walkway, watching the statue of Jesus that was a few steps away.

thinking, maybe he’d save you? let you fade away into darkness to finally be free. “what are you doing in here?” the voice wasn’t startling at all, in fact. you hardly even noticed it until she appeared next to you.

“just…y’know, visiting my lord and savior?” you joked, feeling your legs about to give out. you slowly sat down, looking up at the woman. Danielle, one of the only sober people you actually knew. she basically kept you out of trouble in the world.

“you don’t believe in god?” Dani whispered, leaning against a few chairs.

“God would never let…this happen to me, whatever this even is”

Outside Atlanta city, 2010.

Days had been getting better, or maybe worse? better for everyone else but you. Lori’s husband made a miraculous return. and Merle Dixon was probably dead. at least there was one problem gone. then Rick grimes had planned a mission to rescue him? yeah no way..

“Y/N, would you like to help us with some laundry?” Carol asked, placing her hand upon our shoulder.

perhaps, you should probably get into talking to people, now that your brain isn’t so fogged. “sure, be there in a few” and that's how you ended up here, talking about things you missed in the world before now.

“I do miss my Maytag” Carol said first, scrubbing some clothes that belonged to one of the men in the group. “I miss my Benz, my sat nav” Andrea…you didn’t have any opinions on her, no reason to like or hate her really. “i miss my coffee maker, with my duel drip filter. and built in grinder, honey” Jacqui, you really liked Jacqui. “my computer…texting” Amy, Andrea’s younger sister sighed.

“what about you, Y/N?” you missed many things, it was hard to pick just one. “i guess, i miss…my novels the most?” you groan, scrubbing a pear of boxers in the water.

“I miss my vibrator” all the girls around giggled. and before you even thought, you responded with a “same” causing even louder laughter. the next few seconds were a small blur, but at some point. ed showed up,

Ed reminded you of your father…a disgusting man, so when you saw the way he was treating Andrea, his wife and his daughter.

and the second he slapped Carol it was like your mind switched, suddenly you weren’t as weak. or maybe it was the Adrenalin but you punched him..hard. but just like your father, he was stronger. very quickly over-powering you, punching you in the face and causing you to drop to the floor.

your mind was blank, and fogged again until you woke up to screaming, gunshots and shouts of peoples names…walkers had invaded camp, and you couldn’t help. no, you could barely even stand properly without falling onto the cold floor. your consciousness fading in and out. in the morning, you’d managed to sit down on one of the steps of the RV. it was a start.

“what in gods name happened to you.” T-dog winced at the state of your face, causing the attention of countless others.

“Wild possum” you responded, “sum’ wild possum” Daryl grunted in a ‘yeah fucking right’ look, you only gave a stern look in his direction. asshole.

as you looked around you took note of a few things, carrying bodies to piles…and Amy dead, with a sad Andrea crouched over her. poor girl.

“can you stand?” Glenn was probably the person you were closest with, “No, not really. possum really did a number on me” he placed his hand out for you to take, which you do. his warm one in your clammy hot one. “i am just gonna help you sit in a beach chair, outside” his sweet.

“Thanks Glenn” you smile, wincing slightly as he lowered you into the chair. arms wrapping around each other, “aren’t ya’ hot?” Daryl questions, signaling to the long sleeve shirt you never took off

“nope, I am great” fake smiling so bright you swear he actually cringed, but it took him off your back “whatever ya’ say”

in that moment, you left yourself pleading for your life back.