#brix rattles

[x-adoringvoid-x]

🎤

From this!

It was hard to think of something…but I settled on Hadri being in a goofy space themed band with their daughter. I remembered that I used to have Kid play guitar so I thought it’d be cute to have them perform together! But they’re not very good…like ‘My Pal Foot Foot’ level music. It’s more of a bonding thing for them. Hadri is also a regular flesh and blood person here but the setting is still something with non-human people cause it’s neat.

They’re good enough to play at public venues and have a small fanbase, which is how I met them! They play at a restaurant I’m eating at, and at first I think to myself “Oh my god who let these guys play?”. But after listening to them more and watching them have fun as a family I get emotional. Kid notices and she and Hadri come talk to me after the show to see if I’m alright. I’m so overwhelmed by the gesture that I wind up getting close to them and sort of working with them (handling appointments, setting up their equipment, stuff like that).

I don’t have much more planned past that but it was fun to think about! Thank you for the ask!

[aahsokaatano]

What do you think is Clone etiquette for accidently mistaking one Vod for another?

Like, even irl people ocassionally call each other by the wrong names. My dad has called me by my uncle's name. And his secretary's name. And my mom's name. So what happens when one clone accidently mixes up two others?

Is it less frowned upon if they've just met or are still at Kamino amd not allowed to start showing individualism yet?

Or what happens when it's the galactic equivalent of 3 a.m. in the cafeteria after a long day, and a clone who's known another for their whole lives calls the wrong name by accident?

Say, Echo without even looking up from his empty cup, telling Rex "Fives, pass the caff would you"

1. Exhausted - Torrent

"Fives, pass the caff, would you?"

It takes Rex a moment to realize that Echo is talking to him, and then only because the caff pot is directly in front of Rex's tray.

They were coming off a hard mission - Torrent's three ARCs had been gone for almost a month chasing down rumors of a new type of commando droid. They had only returned to the Resolute about an hour ago - Jesse had gone to find Kix immediately, Fives had wandered off towards the barracks already looking half-asleep, and Echo's growling stomach had led him to the mess.

Rex looked at Echo and found that his eyes were closed even as he pushed his mug vaguely in Rex's direction.

He would forgive the slip; Echo clearly was two seconds from falling into dreams.

"How about instead of caff, I show you to your rack?" Rex suggested, standing up and moving around the table to help Echo to his feet.

(If Echo remembered the mistake, or the way Rex half-carried him to the barracks, he didn't mention it the next day.)

2. Just Met - Wolfpack

“You must be Wolffe’s new shiny,” Sinker smiled broadly as he held out a hand. “Comet, right?”

“Er... I’m Nebula,” the trooper said awkwardly. “The other new shiny. Comet is my batchmate.”

“Oh,” Sinker grimaced at his own mistake. “Sorry about that, vod.”

Nebula shrugged. “It’s alright. You didn’t know. For future reference, though, Comet has blue hair.” “Noted!” Sinker said. “It’s nice to meet you, Nebula.”

He smiled. “You too, ah... Boost, is it?”

He laughed. “Suppose I deserved that - I’m Sinker. Boost’s over there.” He gestured vaguely towards where Boost and Wolffe were having a quiet discussion on the other side of the hanger.

Nebula shook his head and laughed. “Well, at least now we know.”

3. Honest Mistake - Lightning

“Ponds! There you are.” Ponds turned at the call, a little confused - he prided himself on his ability to tell apart his brothers just by voice, but that wasn’t any of the Shebse, or Edee, and he couldn’t really think of any other CCs who would call out to him with that sort of exasperated fondness.

Walking up behind him was a grinning vod in freshly-painted armor. He did a little spin as he got closer, showing off the design he had chosen. “What do you think?”

“Looks good, trooper,” Ponds said, amused as he finally caught on to what was happening. “Tell me, when your squaddies told you to go show Ponds your new armor, did they specifically say to find the bald one?”

The vod furrowed his brow, confused. “What do you - oh kark, I mean - Commander! Sir!” He snapped an extremely belated salute, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. 

Ponds laughed. “At ease, vod. No harm done. Lieutenant Ponds and I are frequently sent messages meant for the other. I like the paint - you have a good eye for details.”

“T-thank you, sir,” the trooper said, standing in a perfect parade rest. 

“Go on,” Ponds waved him off with a grin. “Your squad is waiting for a dressing-down, I imagine.”

“Too right they are, sir,” the trooper groaned, spinning around and hurrying back the way he had come. 

4. Messing with Nat-borns - Wave

“Commander, you want to have a little fun?”

Caleb gave Sergeant Soot a questioning look. “Fun how?”

The trooper grinned widely at the Jedi. “Just watch.”

Caleb looked in the direction Soot indicated, and saw that a nat-born officer was approaching the desk where Captain Styles and Sergeant Harp were talking quietly.

“Captain, a word?”

Without missing a beat, Harp looked up. “Yessir?”

The officer blinked, looking between the two clones in confusion. “Er... I need to speak with Captain Styles.”

“Yessir, I’m listening,” Harp said.

Styles gave the two a nod and stepped away.

Caleb bit the inside of his cheek to keep from giggling out loud and giving the game away.

Soot moved in as Styles stopped on Caleb’s other side.

“You needed me, sir?” Soot asked politely.

The nat-born officer looked even more confused. “Ah... I just need to ask Captain Styles a question.”

“Yessir,” Soot and Harp said in perfect unison. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder in parade rest, looking for all the world like whatever the officer had to say, it was the most interesting part of their day.

Caleb covered his mouth with his hand as the officer gave up and started explaining his question to the two troopers who were most definitely not Captain Styles.

5. Stress - Nova

“Wolf, get down!”

Wolf experienced the very unique feeling of Marshal Commander Bacara bodily throwing himself onto Wolf’s person in the nanosecond between hearing the shout and comprehending the message. 

An explosion rattled their buckets, but it wasn’t as close as Wolf had thought it would be, after that panicked call.

There was some cursing and more shouting for Wolf over the comms and he didn’t really understand why, he was fine - would have been fine even if the Commander hadn’t tackled him -

“Kark,” Bacara grunted, hauling himself up and looking to the side, where smoke was rising. “Kark. That’s where Wolf and Keller were holed up - come on!”

There was a horrible swooping sensation in Wolf’s gut. Not him - the shouts were for the other Wolf, the armorer. 

The ARC scrambled to his feet and ran after Bacara, towards where hopefully, hopefully, their medic and their armorer weren’t suffering anything more severe than some busted comm units.

+1. On Purpose - Ghost  (direct lead-in to this drabble)

“Who’s got the best Cody impression?” Waxer called, leaning into the meeting room near Cody’s office that had been quickly surrendered to the Ghosts not long after all the Vode had come Home.

“Boil!” several people shouted back immediately.

“See?” Waxer said triumphantly, turning to give Boil a smug grin. “I told you you’re the best.”

Boil gave a long-suffering sigh. “But my mustache, Waxer!”

“It’ll grow back,” he assured him, before looking back at the room. “Oi, Paint! We need your skills!”

Paint leveraged himself up from the beanbag chair in the corner and sauntered over. “What’re we doing?” they asked curiously.

“We’re turning Boil into the Vod’alor,” Waxer grinned. “Because if Cody actually attends this meeting with this stupid Republic representative, he’s going to pop a blood vessel and Brix will kill us all.”

Paint grinned and eyed Boil speculatively. “So you need a fake scar to complete the picture.”

“Got it in one,” Waxer said, looking very pleased with himself.

Boil just looked resigned to his fate, but all the Ghosts knew that as soon as he looked the part, he would take to the role with gusto.

[iwouldlovetobreackitoyou]

Chapter Six: "A Dementor,"

A bone chilling shiver ran down my spine, which caused myself to cringe. Not from the storm outside, but it was a sign that something was going to go wrong. Something unnatural was soon to come.           I opened up the compartment door in a panicked frenzy and not to much of my surprise, several other curious heads poked their way through their compartment doors. My gaze turned to my left and landed on Harry Potter. He looked up at me and shrugged his shoulders and continued to peer down the corridor in confusion.

The train jolted to a stop causing several peoples trunks to fly to the floor. I heard Brix screech as her cage fell to the floor with an overwhelming clang that sent vibrations to shoot through my chest and pierced my ears with a painful ringing. I winced as I made quick work of turning back into the compartment and took hold of Brix's cage, cooing to her shortly before placing her on the plush seat again.           I looked back to Harry, but before he could catch my gaze again the lanterns extinguished, leaving the carriage in complete darkness. My breath hitched as someone grabbed my shoulder. I turned around in a swift motion and took a tight grip on that person's wrist and twisted it dangerously close to snapping it.           "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa! Azure, let go!" George exclaimed as he tried tugging his wrist away through my death grip. My eyes widened as I let George's wrist go and quickly retracted into myself. I didn't know that my eyes started to glow a harlequin green until Fred said something.           "Shit. Sorry, George."           "Azure, your eyes." Lee whisper-shouted as he pointed at me. I was quick to clamp my eyes shut and apologised again to George before I went and looked back out into the corridor again. I saw Neville Longbottom, a Third Year Gryffindor, stagger his way down the corridor in the direction of the compartment that Harry was in.           "Ouch!" I yelped as Neville stepped painfully onto my right foot.           "Sorry!" Neville squeaked as he continued on his way, clumsily down the corridor. A string of cries of pain were heard with several profuse apologies from Neville as he got closer and closer to Harry's compartment. A warm glowing light creeped out from Harry's compartment as everyone's silhouettes climbed up the doors and windows beside it. There were five silhouettes that danced on the door and windows; Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville... Remus?           "Stay where you are." Remus' gravely voice filled my hearing. Oh no.           "Azure, what's happening?"           "Shh!" I hushed Fred as I panicked. I turned back to the spectacle of a tall, black figure that was soon illuminated by the warm glow coming from Harry's compartment. I held my breath as I stared up at the figure. Remus only talked about them because of my father being in Azkaban. The door to Harry's compartment flew open and I could finally see Remus, his hand engulfed in flames, and I could finally see this deathly creature clearly.           The figure towered over Remus, from floor to ceiling, staring down at Remus. Then all I heard was something heavy hitting the floor as the creature drew in a deathly breath. My stomach dropped as the Dementor kept taking in its rattling breath.           "Harry! Harry! Are you all right?" I heard Hermione tremble. The Dementor that stood before Remus hovered off in a hurry, passing me in the doorway as another chill washed over me. It made me shiver uncontrollably, like a bad panic attack was taking over my body. I peered down at my hands to see that they were trembling, and the trembling and shuddering continued up past my arms, down my shoulders and continued down to my ankles. But I felt nothing; no panic, no happiness, no fear, no hatred. All I felt was the coldness of the air on my skin and my body juddering when the Dementor hovered up to the compartment. The Dementor lingered there for a moment, looking down at me as if it knew my secret. That it knew that I was Sirius Black's daughter. It leaned down to my eye level, and I felt my breath leave my lungs and God my hands were so cold. The Dementor then creeped backwards and continued to travel up the corridor and out through the door of the train car. The train then rumbled to life as the Hogwarts Express continued on her way to the school.           I dashed down the corridor despite Fred and George calling my name in an attempt to beckon me to come back to the compartment, but I paid no mind to them and I made my way to Harry's compartment.           By the time I got to his compartment, the scene

was chaotic. Harry was on the floor, he looked dazed and half dead as he looked around the compartment weakly, all colour drained from his already pale complexion. Ron and Hermione were gathered around Harry on the floor whereas Neville stood near the window and his face appeared to be the colour of bedsheet white with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as his body shook with anxiety. My gaze soon found that Ginny had made her way into the compartment as well, she appeared to be looking just as bad as Harry was. Remus was watching Hermione and Ron lift Harry's body onto a seat hurriedly. Ron and Hermione looked worriedly at Harry as he explained what had happened to him.           "Azurielle! What are you doing here?" Ron asked exasperatedly as he flinched at my presence. "Are you okay?" He asked.           "I should be asking you that!" I exclaimed as I gestured with my hands towards him. "I'm fine by the way," I added. Remus and I shared a sideways glance at each other. "Nice to see you again."           "Same to you. Did the Dementor get to you?" Asked Remus while he proceeded to place the back of his hand on my forehead.           "I'm fine," I said as I swatted his hand away. "You should be worrying over Harry." I said as I nodded in Harry's direction. A loud snap came from the sound of Remus breaking a particularly large slab of chocolate into pieces.           "Here," Remus said to Harry as he held out one of the bigger pieces of chocolate. "Eat it. It'll help." Harry took the chocolate but paid no real attention to it.           "What was that thing?" Harry asked Remus as he looked up at him wearily.           "A Dementor," Remus answered as he handed everyone else a piece of chocolate, which I took gladly. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban." Everybody that was in the compartment snapped their attention to Remus. All of their expressions appeared to be dumbfounded, whereas I glided my eyes down to the carpeted floor and continued to take small bites of my chocolate piece. Remus cut the silence as he stuffed the chocolate wrapper into his pants pocket and looked around at all of us quietly.           "Eat. It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..." Remus said calmly as he passed by me and strode down the hallway, and not soon after, everyone's eyes were on me.           "Azure, d'you know him?" Ron asked vigilantly. "Because he surely knows you." Ron commented as he looked me dead in the eyes as he tried to get the truth out of me.           "Um... he's kind of a family friend." I hesitated while Ron gave me an unconvinced look before turning back to Harry. As Harry started talking, I slipped out of the compartment after I gave Ginny and Neville a reassuring smile.           My thoughts were running wild; why were there Dementors from bloody Azkaban on the Hogwarts express? Were those monsters looking for Sirius? No, of course not! He wouldn't be anywhere near the tra-           "Azure," I was met with a firm chest to the face. I looked up with annoyance present on my face but I suddenly softened my expression at the sight of Fred's concerned face. "You just up and left!" Fred whined as he flared his arms around madly. "What were you thinking?" He continued to fret as he snaked one of his lanky arms around my shoulders and continued to guide us back to our compartment.           "Brix hasn't shut up since you left," Fred stated as a high-pitched screaming hit my ears painfully. I looked into the compartment and stifled a laugh at the sight before me; George had his ears covered by his hands and Lee covered his ears with his Gryffindor scarf as they screamed at Brix to 'Shut up' repeatedly. "And you won't believe who ran into our compartment." I looked up just in time to see a certain platinum blonde, third year Slytherin leave our compartment with a look of sheer terror on his face.           "He's not gonna listen if you scream at him." I said as I walked over to Brix's cage and talked and cooed softly to him.           "How on earth are you able to keep that bird quiet?" George asked in

disbelief as he rubbed his ears in irritation.           "Oh, I dunno," I started off cheekily. "Maybe, try not yelling at her? Just a thought..." I trailed off as my lips turned into a smirk. I glanced up at George as he crossed his arms over his chest childishly as a pout adorned his face.           "Nah," He started. "You're just able to talk to animals, bird brains!" He joked while I threw my Hufflepuff scarf at him playfully and let out a giggle.           "Well, at least I'm not a carrot top!" I fired back as I was hit in the face with my scarf and my laughs were soon muffled by the soft material. There was never a dull moment with these three idiots.           The last ten minutes of the train ride to Hogwarts was spent getting into our uniforms and checking if we had all of our belongings. I still couldn't take my mind off of the fact that a Dementor was in the train, and how I felt so cold, like I'd never be happy again.           As the Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade, the whole carriage broke out into a mad frenzy to get onto the platform. The amount of students, the mewing of Kneazles, the croaking of toads and hooting of owls became overwhelming, but then there was a hand holding mine. I knew from the scent that the hand gave off that it was Fred, but that made it even more difficult to hide my blush from him.           Once everyone made it off the train, I scrambled to pull my beanie over my ears as snow fell from the clouded sky. I started to shiver as we all crowded together on the platform and proceeded to pull my robes even tighter around myself in a poor attempt at getting warmer.           "Fifth 'ears this way!" I heard Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts call out over the mass of chattering students. This was going to be one hell of a year.

Word count: 1873

last edit: 14.11.2023

Chapter Seven

Masterlist

[basimaree]

whumptober 4 - caged

the main characters of a Top Secret Project are here! in cages! so that’s not very cool but also it is pretty cool! so enjoy!

(it’s down below this handy page break thingy)

Lane woke up in darkness.

“Kol?” he managed. His voice was scratchy, broken. 

No response.

None from Kol, anyway. A light did flare some distance away; a flashlight, Lane realized, though that realization was immediately swamped by a much bigger one.

He was in a cage.

Holy crap, he was in a cage.

He was about to call for Kol again, but something about the person holding the flashlight gave him pause. They could see him, he was sure of that, and yet they were making no move to help him.

The cage was small. So small. He wouldn’t think about that, though. Of course he wouldn’t.

The flashlight began to bob closer, and Lane shrunk back instinctively. They gave off waves of malevolence, even though he couldn’t see their face--maybe it was because he couldn’t see their face--and now the bars of the cage pressed into the small of his back, oh how he hated this, and then--

The beam of the flashlight dropped, and Lane was face-to-face with his captor.

“...Brix?”

She smiled sweetly at him. “Hey, Lane.”

This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. Brix was vicious, but--but she wouldn’t--

“Enjoying your stay?” she asked.

Lane’s voice came out much more pitchy than he would have hoped, but at least it didn’t shake. “Where’s Kol?”

Brix grinned, and the flashlight panned over to Lane’s right. Another cage laid there; inside was a lump that Lane took a moment to identify as the crown prince.

“Holy--he’s--he’s still alive, right?” Lane managed.

Brix shrugged. “Probably. Haven’t checked in awhile.” She leaned forward. “Come on, don’t you want to know why you’re here?”

Lane did. Very much so. But he wasn’t going to give Brix the satisfaction of asking her. “Maybe you should just let me out instead,” he said, leaning back as best he could against the bars of his cage.

Brix’s hand was through the bars with lightning speed, grabbing his collar, pulling him forward. He didn’t have time to react, his face slamming into the cage. He hissed in pain as his cheek flared with fiery pain.

“You lied to me,” Brix whispered in his ear. “But I know your secret now.”

Lane shivered. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know enough,” she said. Leaning down, looking him in the eyes, her gaze like molten honey. “I know who you are, Lane.” 

His face was still pressed against the bars. It took more effort than it should have to smile at her. “You could know everything, for all I care. You’re still going to lose.”

Brix’s triumphant sneer twisted into something darker. She shoved him back into the cage--it was so small, he couldn’t stand it, he couldn’t do this--and stood. “We’ll just see about that.” Slowly, she stepped away. Away to the right. Away to Kol’s cage.

Lane lunged forward, the bars rattling under his hands. “Get away from him!”

Brix smiled.

“No,” she said, reaching through the bars. “I don’t think I will.”

[flxblog]

2019 International Film Festival Manhattan: Emotional WIn For “Rainbow Sunset”

“Rainbow Sunset’s” Executive Producer Harlene Bautista was emotional when she received the Best Ensemble Acting Award for the cast of the film during the Opening and Awards Night of the 9th Annual International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) last October 16, 2019 held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Consulate General NYC.

“’Rainbow Sunset” has received a lot af awards here and abroad, but this time it is special”..controlling her tears, she thanked the two lead actors of the film and dedicated the victory them. Actors Eddie Garcia and Tony Mabesa, recently passed away. “They were pillars of the industry and both of them dedicated their lives to the industry!”. The film, directed by Joel Lamangan was the Opening Film for this year;s festivities. Lamangan was given the “Lifetime Achievement Award.

It is also interesting to note that former Bb, Pilipinas 2003 2nd runner up and Queen of Tourism International during the same year, Noella Mae “ Ella” Evangelista (now Ella Mage, won theeBest Feature Documentary during the event. She directed “No Man Left Behind”a feature on the Marawi Siege.

This year’s list of winners:

1) Lifetime Achievement Award - DirectingJoel Lamangan

2) Lifetime Achievement Award - Acting / DirectingCesar Montano

3) Best Student Film "Elon's Way" (Philippines)Dir: Julienne Roasa 

4) Best Cinematography"We Need A Hero" (USA)DP: John Michael Lee

5) Best Music Video"A Dagger in Your Heart" Artist: Gail Banawis (USA)Dir: Ted Reyes

6) Best Music Video"Inside Out" Artist: Brix Shaumburg (Germany)Dir: Mabel Winkler / Wilhelm van de LOO

7) IFFM Most Popular"Inside Out" Video Promo of Brix Shaumburg (Germany)

8) Best Actor Short Film Cesar Montano"Heart For Victory" (Philippines)

9) Best Actor Short Film Amanda Troisi"Trovondola" (USA)

10) Best Short Film "Amor Falso" (Philippines)Dir: Mark Dela Cruz

11) Best Director Short Mauricio Zapata"Rattled"

12) Best Screenplay"Guerrero-"Writer: Carlo Ortega Cuevas

13) Best Actor-Ogie Alcasid"Kuya Wes"

14) Best Actress= Gloria Romero "Rainbow Sunset" (Philippines)

15) Best Ensemble Acting -Eddie Garcia, Tony Mabesa, Gloria Romero, Aiko Melendez, Tirso Cruz, Shido Roxas, Albie Casino, Ross Pesigan"Rainbow Sunset" (Philippines)

16) Best DirectorI gor Stephen Ragos "Nursery Rhyme of a Madman" (Canada)

17) Independent Achievement Award - Producing Vincent Veloso"Changelings Forlorn Lauren" (USA)

18) Best Feature Documentary "No Man Left Behind" (Philippines)Dir: Ella Mage

19) Best Feature Film USA "Bad Impulse" (USA)Dir/Prod: Michelle Danner

20) Best Feature Film Global "Rainbow Sunset" (Philippines)Producer: Harlene Bautista

21) IFFM Filmmaking Contest Best of the Best"Akap" (USA)Dir: Alain Davis

[biofunmy]

How to Tell if That Peach Is Ripe? Ask Southern California’s ‘Produce Hunter’

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Shopping at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, Karen Beverlin reached into a five-pound box of tart Belle Magnifique cherries, grabbed a couple and ate them.

Tart cherries are tricky to size up at a glance: Flavors can range from gently tangy to very sour, and just looking at them offers no reliable clues. All Ms. Beverlin had to go on was her palate. She ate a few more, and smiled.

She motioned to Tristan Aitchison, the chef de cuisine at Providence restaurant in Los Angeles. He hadn’t intended to buy cherries, but after seeing the look on her face — and tasting the cherry she held out to him — he decided he had to have five pounds. The stand, Andy’s Orchard, was already sold out, but Ms. Beverlin let him buy one of the boxes she had ordered.

“She’s the godmother of the market,” said Mr. Aitchison, who relies on her advice about what to buy as he plans his menus. Within a week, the roast duck entree at Providence sported a grilled cherry sauce.

Ms. Beverlin, who calls herself the Produce Hunter, tests, tastes and talks fruit and vegetables for a living: As the vice president of specialty sales for FreshPoint Produce, one of the nation’s largest produce distributors, she supplies schools, hospitals, restaurant chains and cruise lines.

Her job also includes forging relationships between small farmers and demanding chefs like Mr. Aitchison — “the ones,” she said, “who are known for their commitment to quality local produce.” They rely on her deep knowledge of the rhythms and quirks of Southern California’s bounty: what will be ready in days or weeks, and who will have the most flavorful crop.

On her Instagram, @fpproducehunter, she alerts followers to whatever is best in a given week — mixed summer squash, baby corn — as well as the dishes her client chefs make with them, like a salad of Little Gem lettuce and Cara Cara oranges at Tartine Bianco in Los Angeles.

Three times a week, Ms. Beverlin prowls farmers’ markets in Santa Monica and Hollywood, collecting intelligence and working with a handful of growers she has come to favor over time, while FreshPoint drivers load large orders onto two trucks parked at the market’s edge.

The Wednesday market in Santa Monica, the city’s biggest, runs one block by two blocks. Ms. Beverlin needs six hours to walk it.

At 59, after more than 30 years in the business, she is a market celebrity, interrupted every 50 feet by a young cook seeking advice or a veteran farmer eager to ply her with a sample. A tall, commanding presence with a rollicking laugh, she is easy to find: If a knot of people has gathered around a tomato or a plum, she is likely at the center of it, expounding.

Her first bit of advice, no matter where you shop: Don’t fall for a pretty face, because most produce has a different sort of “tell,” a visual giveaway that it’s ready to eat.

Tart cherries keep their secrets, but the best sweet cherries advertise with “tiny little pittings, in a cluster,” she said, and a matte finish rather than a patent-leather sheen. A great nectarine has “sugar spots, a bunch of little white freckles,” not a consistent hue.

As for peaches, she dismisses the red blush that may draw customers. The only color that matters, she said, is at the stem end, which should be yellow without a hint of green.

“Red exterior color was bred into peaches and nectarines,” she said, “because unripe fruit that’s red looks more attractive than unripe fruit that’s pale.”

Many people pinch fruit to gauge its ripeness, much to the horror of farmers. The standard five-fingertip squeeze bruises peaches, nectarines, apricots and avocados. Instead, Ms. Beverlin places a peach in her open palm, wraps her hand around it and barely flexes. If it gives just a bit, “firm, but not hard,” it’s ready.

On a recent Wednesday, she spent almost an hour at Andy’s Orchard — too much time, by her own admission — tasting and testing stone fruit with a portable Brix refractometer, which measures sugar levels in a few drops of juice. It’s the only objective measurement she relies on.

“It helps to communicate what I’m tasting,” she said. “All the chefs understand the Brix numbers, so it provides a baseline.”

She wasn’t looking for what most people think of as peak ripeness. She wanted fruit just shy of that point, when sugar levels are higher and it has the most flavor.

“It took me years before I realized what I was seeing: Tree-ripe fruit that’s firm tastes better than what is traditionally identified as ripe, when fruit is soft,” she said. “I think some consumers give up flavor to get juice running down their arms. But they don’t know what they are missing.” (She buys fruit that’s fairly firm, then lets it sit on the counter at home until it starts to yield. At that point it goes into the refrigerator so it won’t get soft.)

Ms. Beverlin headed down the street to visit her preferred group of stands — one for the best Burgundy plum, another for green beans, though none so far this season for “machos,” which is what farmers called male zucchini blossoms.

All the while, she kept up a running commentary: If the green cap at the stem end of an eggplant was starting to turn brown, it was getting dehydrated. If an artichoke wears a red heirloom sticker, which happens only in the spring and fall, “grab it,” she said, because it will outshine other varieties.

The farmers and chefs Ms. Beverlin works with consider her essential to their success, not only for her recommendations but also for logistical help.

Robin Koda, a farmer in South Dos Palos, northwest of Fresno, brings her rice to the market, but her truck is too small to handle 2,000-pound pallets for larger sales. So Ms. Beverlin arranged to send a FreshPoint truck once a month to pick up one or two pallets of rice and rice flour, increasing and stabilizing Ms. Koda’s business.

Mr. Aitchison said Ms. Beverlin is the main reason he and his boss, the Providence co-owner and chef Michael Cimarusti, order from FreshPoint. The restaurant buys all its organic dairy products from the company, as well as staples like garlic, fresh ginger, chives and shallots.

While Mr. Aitchison likes to shop the farmers’ markets himself, Ms. Beverlin occasionally adds special produce to his order — “an incredible advantage,” he said, for a chef who might not otherwise know that there were only two boxes of a particularly delicious nectarine.

When told of all the praise, Ms. Beverlin shrugged.

“These people,” she said, “are my family.”

She did not plan to end up here. At 18, she enrolled at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, intending to become a large-animal veterinarian, only to find, she said, that “I didn’t like the science and wasn’t good at it.”

During her senior year, she landed an internship at the nonprofit Fresh Produce Council (now the Fresh Produce & Floral Council), which led to 20 years on the shipping side of the business and 10 years at her current job. At first, it worked well for a single mother: Buying produce is an early-morning business, so Ms. Beverlin was able to be home when her young daughter returned from school.

That daughter, Amy Beverlin, grew up to be a lawyer. Last year, she gave her mother a birthday present: a two-tiered wheeled market cart, complete with cup holder and bell.

As Ms. Beverlin worked the market, she got an urgent text from Hector Salas, a FreshPoint driver, saying that someone had dropped a zero from an order for 100 pounds of lemon cucumbers. The farmer had set aside only 10 pounds. What should he do?

She dispatched Mr. Salas in one direction and lit off in the other, rattled. When he reported that he had found 80 pounds from another farmer, she asked him what color they were.

“A good lemon cucumber should be a lemon-chiffon color, a light yellow,” she said. “Then the yellow turns darker, like the highlighter on my computer. The skin gets thicker. They’re overmature.”

If the cucumbers were a dark yellow, she told him, “I’d rather not fill an order.”

The cucumbers were light in color, Mr. Salas said. They had saved the day.

Ms. Beverlin’s last stop of the afternoon was the Munak Ranch stand, which in her opinion grows the best tomatoes at the market. Tomatoes, like tart cherries, can be inscrutable, but Ms. Beverlin knows what to ask farmers and is happy to tutor anyone — a young chef or the overwhelmed customer standing next to her.

The first thing to figure out about tomatoes, she said, is your personal preference.

“You have to learn what you like. If you like a low-acid Japanese tomato, you’re not going to like a high-acid Sungold or Pineapple,” she said, because the flavors are so different. She prefers the assertive flavor combination of high-acid, high-sugar tomatoes and fruit, “the holy grail, the ones that make your jaw tingle,” but allows that others might prefer a more subtle taste.

“The point is to try different varieties,” she said, “so you can walk up to a farmer and say, ‘What do you have that’s low- or high-acid?’”

Geography and farm practices matter, too. The ideal climate for tomatoes is hot days and cool nights, which describes Paso Robles, where Munak Ranch is located. To enrich the soil, Munak plants cover crops for three months every year, a formula the farm foreman, Hugo Gomez, keeps secret even from Ms. Beverlin, though she believes it involves peas and vetch. The process loosens the soil, provides better drainage, yields stronger plants and produces more flavorful tomatoes.

She checked in with Mr. Gomez about the Celebrity tomato crop, which was supposed to arrive in two weeks. When he told her they might be ready sooner, she flipped into acquisition mode on behalf of her chefs: Could she have them in a week? Could he bring some to the weekend markets?

She could; he would.

“Bye, Pumpkin,” said Ms. Beverlin, who reserves that nickname for a select few.

“Mamacita,” said Mr. Gomez, who has been farming longer than Ms. Beverlin has been placing orders.

Only one thing gnawed at her as she headed for the parking lot. Two farmers had asked, incredulous, if she was about to retire. They had heard a rumor she might, though neither remembered the source. Maybe it came from a competing distributor, she said — who else would have floated such a ludicrous idea?

“I’m going to die at this market,” said Ms. Beverlin, with a defiant smile and that laugh. “They’re going to call my daughter and say: ‘Hey, Amy, your mom just went down. Can you come by to pick her up?’”

Sahred From Source link Business

from WordPress http://bit.ly/30E5nsW via IFTTT

[x-adoringvoid-x]

🧛‍♀️ - Vampire AU

I had a lot of thoughts for this! It took awhile to figure out exactly what I wanted. I have some more ideas but I think I’ll just add them on to this later when/if I decide to. Also, someone asked for a Romantic Comedy AU…I have no idea what to do for that. I’m so sorry, my brain just isn’t wired like that! I’ll think more about it but I apologize in advance if I don’t have a response to it

Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll ever be happy with how I draw myself. The skeleton face thing was inspired by Hone Onna from Hell Girl! I thought it would be a cool way of keeping the skeleton trait in this universe. It’s ghostly! It’s not a very useful vampire ability though.

I thought about making Hadri a bug at first but it’s hard to deny the appeal of a classic bat vampire. Wings are hard to draw…but they’re fluffy and cute! They can still shapeshift too, since that’s a cool vampire trait.

In this universe, Hadri is sort of that trope of the First Vampire. I don’t have the specifics planned out but they’re an ancient creature that can transfer abilities to others through blood. They’ve turned a lot of other people but they didn’t get the community they were hoping for. One of them stays with them and works as their Tailor but they aren’t really close. Just associates. Hadri lives with him in a big abandoned castle. Every now and then, Hadri leaves to go get more blood.

I’m a normal woman living in town but I don’t really get along with my family so I leave home. I’m not able to take much with me and I realize that I’m woefully unprepared for the path I’m taking. I keep walking, getting more lost, running out of supplies. Eventually I can’t do anything but rest and enjoy the quiet forest. It’s a nice moment. And then I die!

Hadri finds me awhile later. They’re curious why someone would be all the way out here. They scoop me up and take me back to the castle because it’s a perfect opportunity to try something they’ve been experimenting with: raising the dead. And it works! Unfortunately I didn’t get any cool vampire powers but I am alive, so that’s something. Hadri is surprised to see I’m so calm about the vampire stuff and even more that I’m grateful and want to help them. I can’t do much since I’m so weak so the only thing they can think to do is to offer me a role as a maid.

Our relationship is pretty close. Hadri thinks I’m so interesting since they don’t really get a look into human life often. They also think my appetite for blood is funny (I like my steak pretty rare, combined with new vampire cravings I don’t think blood would bother me much). I’m a little scared of them at first but they don’t give me a reason to stay afraid of them so I’m fairly open with them. Honestly…I think they’d fall in love first. I just don’t think this version of me would even be thinking about having a relationship. Hadri would probably not bring it up either for a variety of reasons. I don’t have a clear idea of how we would get together here but it would probably be a ‘feelings accidentally revealed’ - ‘oh hey that would actually be really cool’ kind of situation.

Anyway, I don’t know how I will do things with this but I want to! This is being microwaved in my mind somewhere. I think it’s kind of interesting because my oc universe is usually very Soul based and this is like a Blood based version of that! Except I am also there and involved more. (I have no idea how I’d work myself into the normal canon lol)

Oh also, I just want to mention that I love the DS Castlevanias. I used to just explore randomly on my brother’s completed files. Soma Cruz is really cool! Such pretty art and cool monster designs. I don’t remember much about Castlevania these days though :p

Thanks for the ask! I hope this was interesting to read!

[x-adoringvoid-x]

hi cool person. I like your f/o's design. They look very cool. They kind of remind me of an oc I've had for a long time.

I don't really have anything else to say pther than I think your pretty awesome. Sorry if this is kind of awkward. Bye.

Hi, thank you so much! I'm not sure if they're similar in terms of design or personality but I like both so that's cool! If you feel like sharing I wouldn't mind seeing them.

Also thank you for messaging me despite feeling awkward ^^

[x-adoringvoid-x]

Our anniversary is on the 7th :3

I haven't started working on anything special for it, things get hectic, you know how it is.

Anyway, I usually just redraw the first ship drawing I made with Hadri but I kinda want to do something different...

If you have any ideas, let me know!

I've considered trying to animate something small but I'm not too experienced with it yet so I don't know if I'd finish in time (But if you give me ideas for that, I could save it for later!)

[x-adoringvoid-x]

This is a bit I cut out from the comic I'm working on!

I saved this cause I really liked their faces...but it just didn't work well. So it's a snack for the blog now.

It feels weird actually putting this together! It will be nice to communicate the things I think about them finally -u-

[x-adoringvoid-x]

Hi again. I'm the anon who sent the ask saying that Hadri kind of reminded me of one of my old ocs.

The oc's name was Kieran (he/him, but any other pronouns work). He was originally some sort of shadow creature that ruled over some dark land and he was constantly trying to manipulate the main character into doing his bidding but they never really fell for his plans because some other mysterious force got its hands on them first. Currently the story he's in is being workshopped, so the summary probably won't be as accurate.

Also, sorry if this is too long.

That is pretty similar!

Hadri used to be a lot less empathetic. They were really interested in people but not very kind about it? In the original story, they were sort of a side antagonist that gave the main antagonist his abilities (Ampere, he's the god of electricity)

Hadri went against him though, sealed Ampere away and made Kid into a hero that could beat him. They couldn't meet Kid in person but they started talking to her through her dreams. Hadri was just checking in on her though, seeing what she was up to, how she was doing. But she was basically just a fun project for them...it took a bit for Hadri to get emotionally attached to her.

Also! Funny thing that is like your story, Ampere used to be the one who made Kid and Hadri just swooped in to befriend her! Kind of like a reverse of that I guess?

I like the name Kieran too! Thanks for sharing more, I hope this was interesting for you too ^^

[x-adoringvoid-x]

Hello! ^u^)/

My name is Brix, or Em if you'd prefer. This is sort of a self-ship account! [She/Her 2000s]

The skeleton character is my persona, which is basically just me. The other character is my f/o Hadri! They go by they/them and they are also an oc of mine. Originally, Hadri was an semi-antagonist in a comic I was working on. Through working on the story I felt closer to them.

And now I'm here! They're my lovely little patch of Void.

I also have a daughter through this: her name is Kid. She was the hero in that story but she's retired now. She's Hadri's daughter. I never really thought about having a daughter but they're kind of a package deal...so I'm a step-mother I guess?

Some warnings:

I'm not really good at talking. I've been isolated for a long time. It's likely that I'll sound pretty rigid (or overly peppy if I'm feeling floaty). I try to manage that but I apologize it's uncomfortable. Also, I tend to take a while to respond while I try to think of the right words (or I'm just busy. Mostly I'm mentioning this because I don't want to worry anyone)

I don't reblog much. I'm worried about being buried. I have trouble with my personal boundries. I had a Tumblr blog before this, and this reblog mechanic made me really anxious. It's just hard for me to interact with it in a healthy way. I know it sounds selfish, but I use this blog to kinda work out my feelings. If this bothers you, please do not interact with me. I'll do what I can in terms of likes and general interaction. But mostly, I just want a corner that people can visit sometimes.

Thank you

[x-adoringvoid-x]

Selfship content...in my TF2? 😳

closer look at the decals if you want to see:

[x-adoringvoid-x]

I remembered I wanted to mention this!

I feel like people see my persona and think "ah, Sans fan"

That's true, love a good Sans, and the slime-skeleton idea was inspired by old Undertale ocs...

But may I offer:

My skeleton roots

[x-adoringvoid-x]

I am bouncing between various wips but I feel possessed to share some music because...I really like sharing music ;u;

So! Here are some songs that give me fluffy feelings. They're not really specific to Hadri and I but if I have something to say, I'll mention it.

X BS - Still Woozy

X I Want You - Marian Hill

X Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

X honey thighs - strongboi

X Lemon Eyes - Meg Myers

X Emmylou - First Aid Kit

X Will Do - TV On The Radio

X Frequency - Sylvan Esso

X Thank you, my twilight (Fool on cool version) - the pillows

X Talk to You - Ricky Montgomery(Saw another self-ship person mention this one! I won't mention them specifically but if you know you know and if you are reading this I love the vibe with you two and this song, it's very sweet)

X Be Still My Heart - The Postal Service

X 1mm - showmore (The singing in this one is so pretty! So much emotion! Down right longing!)

X Till the End Of Time - DeVotchKa

X Loverboy - A-wall (Kind of a more negative song, but the chorus is cute. Also a bop.)

X Jitterbug (MEIKO and Hatsune Miku) - 栗山夕璃 / Van de Shop (Love this one! Also one that's I suppose more specific? Some of the lyrics make me think of Hadri like 'who cares! ignore those idiots!' and 'your one and only scorching laser light' [cause of their bright eyes] Generally though, has a fun 'us against the world vibe'.)

X Take Me Dancing - Will Joseph Cook

X Meet Me At Out Spot - THE ANXIETY, WILLOW & Tyler Cole

X Feelin' So Matryoshka - The Scary Jokes

X Weekend - Last Dinosaurs

X Renai Circulation - Monogatari Series

X For Real - Mallrat (Reccomend this one 100%, impecable vibes! Maybe a little sad? I'm not sure. Feels nostalgic)

X Northern Star - Dom Fera (Recently found this and it's been playing on repeat in my head, lovely! The lyrics, the sentiment...!)

X Combat Baby - Metic

X Be Sweet - Japanese Breakfast

X Window - Still Woozy

X Funky at Heart - Studio Killers

X Take On Me - A-ha(A classic and also, I do think of Hadri heavily when I hear this. I would do anything to hear them sing some of this. I wouldn't make them hit the high notes but! I wish I could hear them say things in general...I one time got so desperate that I looked for "listener x" with their vocal headcanon but I found nothing. Anyway, I get very flustered when I hear this out of the blue.)

Well, thank you if you read this. Or if you checked any of these out. I hope it was something! Art soon[tm] hopefully. Bye!

[x-adoringvoid-x]

Ok!

This might seem like a really random post, but I was just thinking about this and felt like writing it out so...take some void thoughts!

I don't think Hadri would like TV. They don't have TV where they're from, there was some development on a sort of radio but the mortals haven't quite figured that out yet. This place where I put myself when I think of us interacting does have TV! They'd try watching with me but I think they'd have trouble getting invested?

I'm not sure exactly how to word it, but Hadri would have trouble connecting with the characters. They didn't grow up hearing stories so they sort of miss the hook, I suppose. Hadri would be very bored. Maybe a show/movie that had some interesting plot elements would catch their attention a bit more but it would still be a hard sell.

If I really wanted to watch something, they'd still hang out with me but they'd mostly be cuddling or spacing out.

Hadri would prefer video games! It would be a very different experience, slightly out of character, but the problem solving and hand movements would keep them engaged. Exploring a game world would be fun too! Probably wouldn't have tried it if I didn't offer the opportunity but yeah! Casual gamer too, not a hardcore enthusiast. But they would have an easier time starting a game than I do (more energy, enthusiasm?).

It would be funny to watch them play something I have before. Not because they'd be bad at it but I imagine they'd have interesting reactions to games I like. (tf2 is one of my favorites and I have no idea how they would feel about that ;u;)

I also want to talk about Kid!

I know I only mentioned her briefly earlier, but I was thinking of her too. I think I'm warming up to the idea of her being a familial f/o. I've never really wanted to have a daughter or thought of myself as motherly material but it feels right. I can't rightly be in a relationship with Hadri and ignore their daughter. Also, she's sort of based on my struggles and things I felt when I was younger so helping her would be therapeutic I guess?

For now, Daughter :)

Like I said though, I never really thought about Kid like that so I don't have a lot of ideas to draw/talk about. I'll try to include her though!

I will mention this in line with the above: Kid would love TV. She's the protagonist of the story, so seeing other protags deal with their problems would be good for her. And she would just really like the stories. Complete opposite of Hadri, absolutely invested! If she watched something and connected with it, it would stay with her for a long time.

Games would be a little more difficult. She'd be more drawn to action-y games, but I feel like certain scenarios would mess her up. Kid had been fighting people for the majority of her life and she has sort of unhealthy relationship with that. She likes to fight but she went through some awful stuff because of it. It's still a sore spot so having to battle and kill characters in a game would set her off. I suppose a show/movie would as well, but it's less direct.

Some work would have to be done before she could comfortably enjoy a video game.