#chucked it in storage and immediately forgot about it. until now

[starakex]

I've been cleaning my closet and just found this beautiful beast again

[sage-nebula]

Farm Beautification Efforts

As some of you may or may not know, I have become obsessed with Stardew Valley over the past month (having clocked 170+ hours into it), and during this time I’ve wanted to take steps and measures to beautify my farm, since I’ve seen some videos of people whose farms are truly gorgeous and it really makes me want to work on my own. Of course, there are a few problems with this. One, I’m not the best designer, and two, I’m playing on Switch, so I don’t have access to any mods, including cool ones like ones that allow you to put furniture on your porch or add cool items to the game. Nevertheless, I’ve been doing my best, and so I thought I’d share some screenshots of my efforts.

First up, the inside of my house! The top floor has the living room, along with the nursery which will be forever unused and unoccupied (save for two Junimo plushes) unless something is added that makes having the children actually worthwhile. I have a storage chest full of gifts blocking entry into that room for specifically that purpose. On the bottom floor we have the kitchen and dining area (complete with my in-game husband Sebastian), along with a little reading area over by the fireplace (which is on the bottom floor to help keep things warm in winter, because heat rises), and of course, the bedroom and Sebastian’s spouse room with his terrarium, computer, et cetera. The tea table in the bedroom is more for Sebastian than myself, since I learned recently that he loves jasmine tea, so I figured it’d be nice to set up a little tea area since I got a tea set as a gift from Pam. I also decorated with the idea that the house should represent both of us, although when Sebastian changed the wallpaper and flooring in the kitchen I immediately changed it back because his choices were hideous. Sorry, Seb.

Oh, and of course . . .

The basement is a starfruit wine cellar, too. ;)

Outside! Seb’s motorcycle is in the back, with Epona’s stable close by the house so I can have easy access to her. The crystal on the porch rings when you tap it; although no one ever uses it, I like to think of it as a doorbell. The decorations in front change every season.

The shed here is less a storage shed and more a production shed; I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but that’s where I have my kegs, five preserves jars, looms, mayonnaise makers, cheese makers, workbench, catalogues, furnaces, crystallariums, et cetera. At some point I might add another, but this works well enough for now. I also have the well there, and I suppose it’s useful, but since I have sprinklers set up everywhere I don’t need to water things as much, so that was mostly to fill space. I’m still trying to think of what to do around it.

The greenhouse, fruit tree grove, grandpa’s shrine, silos, and mill. I have some preserves jars right by the grove, as you can see, so I can easily chuck some fruits into them; even though standard fruit preserves don’t earn as much as starfruit preserves, it’s still worth it, I feel. The greenhouse exclusively makes starfruit, ancient fruit, and sweet gem fruit year-round. I would have taken a picture of the inside, but . . . I forgot again. :/ I decided to use wood pathways along the grove because I felt it better fit the nature feel of it. I do this in a few other places as well, such as . . .

The flower/beehive area. I learned recently that if you grow flowers near beehives, the honey is worth more, because it’s flower-flavored. So I set up a little area for that to happen. The lightning rod area is also there, but I’m thinking of moving that, or else possibly getting rid of it altogether since APPARENTLY lightning rods don’t guarantee that lightning won’t destroy shit. >( But we’ll see. It just looks so ugly compared to everything else . . .

Down here we have the lava eels in their pond of lava. The pond was actually a standard water pond at first, but the lava eels changed that soon enough . . . somehow. I’m not sure how. But then again I’m also not sure how a Dwarf Scroll III helps them be healthier, but that’s what they said would help them, so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The ways of the lava eel are mysterious indeed.

This is the piggos’ area, and as you can see, at the time I took this picture the truffle hunt was in FULL SWING (or kind of wrapping up, since they usually go in around 5/5:30). Truffles aren’t appetizing to look at at all, but they fetch a high price, especially since I have a skill perk that makes all of them Iridium Quality no matter what (for those who don’t play, Iridium Quality is the highest quality). Although I’m not much a fan of piggos, I have twelve of them for this reason. Their names are Waddles, Grumpig, Cello, Rukie, Chetso, Nokaboo, Zuburu, Rollo, Kotso, Wilbur, Spoink, and Pignite. You can probably tell which ones I named intentionally, and which ones I just randomized lol. Also, normally I’d provide grass for all the animals, but finding truffles in grass is difficult, so the piggos just have to live on hay in the barn. It’s fine, they’re all just as happy, it’s not as big a deal.

This is the non-piggo barn area, and . . .

These are the community barn animals. As you can see, I have six cows, three goats, and three sheep. Unfortunately I did not manage to get a picture of the cows smiling, which sucks because they have the cutest smiles. Their names are:

Brown cows: Hershey, Nestle, Ferrero, Ghiradelli

White cows: Kabelle, Brime

Sheep: Wooloo, Dubwool, Mareep

Goats: Faff, Tellono, Knockell

Again, you can probably tell which ones I purposefully named and which ones were randomized. Fun fact, Ferrero and Ghiradelli are Nestle’s daughters. Somehow. I have no idea how because there are no bulls in this game. My working theory is that Hershey and Nestle are wives and somehow gave lesbian birth to Ferrero and Ghiradelli. Until ConcernedApe himself tells me I’m wrong, I’m right. (Note: Either Kabelle or Brime could be the other mother as well. The only for-sure lesbian mom is Nestle.) Also, I named all the brown cows after chocolate brands because brown cows make me think of chocolate milk. I have no idea why, they just do.

This is the coop area, and . . .

These are the coop animals! As you can see, I have five chickens, four rabbits, and three ducks. Yes, the coop outside area is much smaller than the ones for the barn animals, but the coop animals are much smaller themselves so they don’t need as much space. Anyway, these lovely little animals are named . . .

Void Chicken: Ghost

Blue Chicken: Cojiro

Brown chickens: Hetta, Bamello

White chicken: Winona

Rabbits: Cinnamon, Jazz, Lucky, Melody

Ducks: Goose, Zillo, Psy

Again, probably obvious to tell which ones I named and which ones I randomized. Also, for anyone who is like, “Scrawlers, ‘Cojiro’ should be spelled with a k,’ no, you are wrong, I did not name her after that fool of a man in Team Rocket, I named her after the blue cucco in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, whose name is spelled Cojiro, with a C. So. Just so we’re clear on that.

Finally, my crop area. Top right is growing red cabbages at the moment, I think, while the bottom right is SUPPOSED to have wheat(/hay) through this season and the next, but I forgot to go buy more wheat seeds before Pierre closed up shop. (: The top row is all blueberries, while that huge patch in the middle is corn since corn grows in both summer and fall and continues to reproduce after first harvest, so I don’t have to worry about replanting in that huge area again until spring. And then over on the left I have hot peppers, which (like the corn and blueberries) continue to reproduce after first harvest, and reproduce like every four days, which is nice.

And lastly, to check in with some of my scarecrows, THIS guy is a champion and truly earns his title of “deluxe scarecrow,” given how many he has scared away. And on the other end of the scale . . .

We have this guy, who has never worked a day in his life.

The duality of scarecrows.

[shirtlesssammy]

9x02: Devil May Care

Then:

Ezekiel is totes on the up and up helping out the Brothers Winchester.

Now:

Dean fills Sam in on where Cas is (far away and human and without wings or money or ANYTHING and they’re not going to pick him up. GOD, do I love Supernatural post-season 11 SO MUCH.)

I mean, I guess the brothers have to worry about all the fallen angels out there (heaven forbid you include a FORMER ANGEL in on the mix!) They also have Crowley captured and as Dean so eloquently puts it, “He’s the junk in my truck.” (Lol, not until season 10, buddy!)

In an old, abandoned house, a demon performs a spell over a bathtub and out pops Abaddon!

Dean comes back to the bunker to a seriously freaked out Kevin. He’s been alone for too long. The bunker was acting weird when the brothers were gone. Dean fills him in on what’s happening. Dean is just a jerk here, wtf? I know he’s under some stress but let’s be nicer to the poor kid prophet, at least.

The brothers haul Crowley to the dungeon. They want demon names. He’s not going to cooperate. Torture isn’t going to work.

Kevin demands to know why Crowley is there. He killed his mom. Dean promises that if Crowley gives them what they want, they’ll let Kevin knife him in the end.

Abaddon starts to build her faction of demons. She finds Crowley’s level of leadership to be lacking. “The king is dead. Long live the queen.” And with that Abaddon is going to lead Hell.

Dean tells another hunter about the fallen angels and tells him to pass it on.

Meanwhile, Abaddon is fulfilling one of her first goals, getting better vessels for demons. Her first recruits possess some army dudes on a bus.

On the side of the road, a woman looks over the engine of her broken car. A man in a van pulls up and offers her a ride into town. She gladly accepts (BECAUSE THAT’S A SMART MOVE). Bonus on the gross predator man? He’s also a vampire. But the young woman is a hunter and dispatches him with ease. 

She’s captured by the army demons though. Wherps.

Dean and Sam arrive at the bus. They get a little pushback about investigating —it’s a military case, not a federal one. They have their supervisor, Kevin Solo, give the go ahead. Kevin does his own little investigation and the boys get their clearance.

Once inside the bus, they find the wounds on the dead bodies to be old. Demons. They also find surveillance video of Abaddon.

Abaddon has the other hunter in custody, and she wants answers about Sam and Dean. She gets Dean’s number and Kevin answers. She tells him that she has hunters in her clutches. She’s going to kill them if they don’t come for them.

Sam and Dean task Kevin on learning everything about Knights of Hell and they head to rescue the other hunters.

Crowley continues to sit in the dungeon, reflecting on his brush with being cured and human again. Kevin walks into the storage room by the dungeon. Crowley starts taunting him and Kevin opens the doors.

Sam and Dean find a ghost town. Quick! Somebody find Dean a long coat and a cowboy hat! 

They find the hunters trussed up in one of the abandoned shops. Tracy seems nice and would make a great Wayward Sister JUST SAYIN’. 

Crowley does what he does best and starts to twist Kevin around his finger. He implies heavily that Kevin’s mother isn’t actually dead. 

The Winchesters and their hunter buddies set up for Abaddon’s assault as the army-demons approach. The demons get tricked by the old phone-playing-a-recording trick, buying the hunters a little time to sneak out the back. We learn that Tracy is NOT looking to be BFFs with the Winchesters. Her parents were killed by demons throwing a party commemorating Sam’s release of Lucifer. Uh. Whoops? 

Crowley lays out his bargain: if Kevin frees him, he gets his mother back (she’s imprisoned, not dead). Kevin can’t help but listen to it all, including Crowley’s assertion that the Winchesters don’t care about Kevin beyond his usefulness. And honestly at this part of season 9 I gotta say that Crowley has a point.

The hunting parties split up. Dean defends his brother to Tracy. “You gotta know who the real monsters are in this world, kid.” Sam and Irv approach the demons. Irv confesses that he revealed the identities of a bunch of hunters to Abaddon one sad, drunk night. He’s looking to go out in a blaze of glory. His confession earns a shot through the heart from a demon sniper. 

Sam gets knocked down by demons and on the other side of the stakeout, Dean gets chucked to the ground by Abaddon. 

Tracy fires at the knight of Hell but Abaddon’s suited up with a bullet-proof vest to defend against devil’s trap bullets. Dean sends Tracy to his car for a resupply, then gets ready for a heart to heart with Abaddon, angel blade in hand. 

Sam continues to have a no good very bad day, up against the rest of the demons. (Don’t worry, he’s Sam Fucking Winchester, so we’re good.) Abaddon gets a good hold on Dean by the hair (BRB off to write some Abaddon/Dean fanfic!) and compliments him on being obedient AND “suicidally stupid.”

“Are we gonna fight or make out?” Dean asks, “‘Cause I'm getting some real mixed signals here.”

Abaddon wants Crowley on a plate and she’ll kill Dean quick. OR she’ll peel off Dean’s tattoo and possess his ass. She taunts him with all the horrors she’ll inflict on others while possessing him - and making sure he’s aware of every last bit. 

Sam’s doing poorly. Apparently he forgot his middle name at home that morning (the trials are still affecting him, poor lamb). But not to fear! Ezekiel pushes his way forward and Sam’s eyes flash blue. It’s time to smite some demons. (LOL remember when angels were super powerful creatures that everyone feared and nobody could kill? Those were good times.)

Abaddon witnesses the angelic explosion, chucks Dean through a shop window, and disappears. 

Back at the diner, Ezekiel surveys his demon-killing work and defends his smiting to Dean. He was only protecting Sam. Dean looks like a spooked cat talking to him. 

Ezekiel insists that Sam is fine and won’t remember anything. Dean feels regrets about...everything. (It is his number one personality trait.) Maybe they should have closed Hell - all the demons running around the world are his fault because he wanted to save his brother instead. Ezekiel (Dean: “I’m gonna call you Zeke.”) insists that Dean did it out of love. Dean stops looking like a scared cat and starts blustering instead. “I'm not really with the whole, uh, love, and... love.” DEAN BEAN. (Praise to season 14!)

A little bit later, Dean packs up weapons in the diner while Sam wakes up. He tells Sam that he killed all the demons and Sam’s shocked. “You killed three demons? Alone?” LOL season nine! Tracy pulls up with Baby and DAMN GIRL you got to drive her. She checks on Sam’s welfare in a reasonably friendly manner. Dean, you won her over with the power of FRIENDSHIP! (Shut up, I have not seen too much My Little Pony.) 

The Winchesters arrive at the bunker with some booze and a bucket of chicken. They call for Kevin immediately and when he doesn’t answer they race down to the dungeon. They find a very pissed off and somewhat bloody Crowley. Crowley immediately offers up names of demons and gives them a deal - they scratch his back, he scratches theirs. But the first demon names are because playing with Kevin was so much fun for him. “Wind him up, watch him go.” Dean races upstairs to find Kevin walking out of the bunker. To convince Kevin to stay, Dean delivers such compelling arguments as:

Crowley lies

If Kevin’s mom is alive, then she might as well be dead

It’s dangerous outside the bunker

They need him

Oooof Dean. Not a winning argument, there. Kevin jumps on the last point. 

Dean insists that they need Kevin because he’s family and they’d die for him. He successfully talks Kevin into staying and meets up with Sam. Sam’s reflecting on Tracy’s dislike of him. Dean tells Sam that he’s done more good than bad. “Here’s to now,” Dean says. The bold future! 

“The fallen angels?” Sam asks. “Abaddon? Cas losing his halo, Crowley in our basement?”

“Crap. We're living in a freaking sitcom,” Dean says. UH I would watch the HELL out of that show. 

Sam decides that he’s feeling good and life is good. I’m so glad to see Sam in such a healthy place! Thank goodness both Winchesters are in a good mental state. LOL, kidding, Dean drinks his feelings as the episode fades to black. 

______________________________

Everything’s Fine and Nothing Quotes:

Can't wait to see Sam in stilettos and a leather bustier, really putting the S A M into S & M

Then we all go out for ice cream and strippers

What's the matter, hellhound got your tongue?

I'm Kevin freaking Solo

I torture all my friends. It’s how I show love

______________________________

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[storagerental-blog1]

Storage Rental

Forget spring cleaning! New Year’s was the best time for me to clean up my life.

I remember when I realized that something in my life had to change.

I had woken up in my room surrounded by chocolate wrappers, an empty tub of ice cream, and a pile of tissues in the bin. My phone was on voicemail for the past two days, primarily because it was covered under a pile of my ex’s love letters and I didn’t feel like touching it.

The ice cream didn’t mix well with the wine I had last night, and I felt sick to my stomach. It was the second day I woke up like this this week. At 25, I didn’t see my life being this way. I thought my apartment would look like those in magazines, and that I’d have a hot guy by my side!

Despite my best efforts, I just had gotten dumped by my ex Cassius. It was a toxic relationship. My room was a mess and I looked like a totally depressed wreck of a girl. I had guzzled down way too much red wine while crying over him. My life needed an overhaul!

It was December 27th, shortly after Christmas. Though I’ve never done it before, I started to put together a New Year’s resolution to clean up my life and find a way to break through all the horrible energy of 2018.

Giving your life an overhaul sounds like a world of expenses and efforts, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, I only really needed good friends, an online therapist, and an on-demand storage service called Shed.

I realized what the root of many of my problems was pretty quickly.

At first, I didn’t really know what to do. Should I go to a therapist? Should I go to rehab? I took a look around my apartment. It was a mess, and I realized that a lot of the things that were becoming such a burden during my time living here all dealt with stuff.

My ex’s jacket was still on the floor. My kegerator was full of booze. My yoga mat had turned into a carpet. My calendar that once had my schedule planned to the minute was nothing more than a dusty piece of wall decor, crowded by a pile of CDs from Cassius.

My friends and I banded together to clean up my life in 13 different ways. Here are some ways you can do it, using my process as an example.

Toss out your ex’s stuff.

I called my friends Frank and Steve over. They know me as a tidy person, which is why they were totally stunned when they walked into my apartment. My relationship with Cassius left me (and my apartment) a wreck. They asked me if I needed help, and I quickly said yes.

We started to toss out his stuff. I chucked out his love notes, some of the CDs he bought, as well as some of the other goods that reminded me of him. Everything went well until we turned our attention to his crust punk vest.

Steve pointed out something: Cassius loved that vest, and he was probably going to come back from it eventually. It was priceless thanks to the limited edition signed patches on it. If we threw it out, he would be very likely to call the police over stolen property.

We didn’t want it in the apartment, but we didn’t know what to do. I then looked at Cassius’s Airpods, his designer boots, and the iPad he left behind. This was a serious issue!

Steve pointed out that he had a storage unit with Shed that we could use, and this ended up being our saving grace.

Shed has one of the coolest concepts I ever heard of. It’s on-demand storage facility that will pick up your items, catalogue them, store them, and also deliver them the very same day you need them for free. He owned a large garage-sized storage unit, and soon, we figured out what to do.

We used Steve’s Shed app to call them over. Within minutes, the crew catalogued all of Cassius’s goods and shipped them away to safety. Frank grabbed my phone then texted Cassius, telling him to claim his goods in 30 days or we’d throw them out.

I found a way to draw a line in the sand with Cassius. He couldn’t just store stuff with me anymore and there was no way to excuse him hanging around anymore.

Clear out all the useless junk in your home!

With my ex’s junk out of the way, I almost immediately felt my life getting a bit better. Not having to see his stuff everywhere kept the memories of us away, and in its own weird way, helped me feel better.

I then looked around my home once more. We started to work on another way to clean up my life: getting rid of all the things I didn’t use or enjoy.

We tossed out torn clothes, broken dishes, broken gaming consoles, and so much more. It was a haul! In total, we threw out around six trash bags of stuff. My studio apartment stopped looking cramped and started to look a lot better.

When I woke up, I realized I still had a lot of stuff that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I used these items a little bit, but not enough to have them constantly out and about. (Looking at you, Mr. Breadmaker.)

Though it was great to have Cassius’s things stored in Steve’s storage, I realized that it was time to get my own. Storage through Shed would give me a healthy amount of time and space to figure out what I should do with each item—and also clear room in my apartment.

Before my best friends showed up, I ordered some storage space from Shed and got them to pick up a bunch of my old DJ gear. My room immediately looked a lot better.

Put all your “vice” items away.

I know that my drinking is a byproduct of my relationship with Cassius, and that I typically won’t drink if I don’t see things around me that remind me of drinking. The best way to break the bad habit, I figured, would be to develop an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude.

When Shed’s people arrived, I asked them to pick up my kegerator, my bar kit, my bartending books, and the home bar I built for the parties Cassius wanted to throw at my place. As they left, I realized that drinking just became a lot harder.

Clear your mind with regular therapy.

Though cleaning my home took a lot of work and accomplished a lot, everything wasn’t alright. It still hurt. I was still grieving my breakup, craving beer the moment I woke up, and feeling pretty anxious. Cleaning up my life meant that I would have to get someone who could clean up my mind, too.

Knowing that, I booked an appointment with a therapist. We spent the day talking, and I’m currently getting my treatment for depression. It’s really helping me move on.

Take time to give your apartment a serious scrub-down.

Now that all the extra goods were gone, my place was remarkably easy to clean up. I called my friends over to help. Within a couple of hours, we were able to vacuum, sweep, dust, and organize all three rooms. My apartment looked good as new, and more importantly, also smelled great once again.

There is serious truth to the health benefits of keeping a clean home. Frank, who has pretty bad allergies, looked pretty relieved once this task was through. It was now a healthier environment for everyone.

Clean up your finances.

I’ll admit it: Cassius put a serious toll on my personal finances. Steve was the one who pointed out that I wasn’t able to pay for pizza delivery, and well, I ended up spilling the beans. Thankfully, Steve worked in finance and was able to help out.

We put together a plan to pay down debt, improve my credit score, and also avoid late fees. Oh, and we also got Cassius off my phone plan, because he really should learn to stop being a leech.

Believe it or not, having a clean home made it easier to focus on the financials. There were just fewer distractions along the way.

Pick up a side gig.

Even with all the sweeping changes that I was making, Cassius still was getting free rent in my mind. Everyone knew he was bad for me, but I didn’t want to fully let go quite yet. Eventually, it came to a head with my therapist who mentioned that it could be something to do with my schedule.

I started to take a look at getting gigs playing music at parties. I started to get extra work! Every time I’d have a gig, I’d ask Shed to bring my gear the day before. The day after, it’d go right back to Shed. It was a great system that helped me earn money without losing space.

Give your social media a scrub.

While browsing the world of Instagram, I came across Cassius posting something about us. Almost immediately, I unfollowed him. Then, I realized that I probably had 50 other people from his toxic crowd with access to my social media.

I looked in my inbox, and was already getting some really intrusive questions from his friends. Unfollow, block, unfollow, block. Deleting my public trainwreck of a breakup post was a must, too. There was a lot of work to do.

After about an hour of unfollowing and scrubbing, my social media accounts had fewer followers—but it paid off by having less stress.

Clean up your health habits.

Cassius was not the healthiest person out there, and it wasn’t just his excessive drinking that made him awful. He ate poorly, his hobbies were toxic, and honestly, he didn’t really even respect my need for healthy habits.

I looked through my kitchen cupboards and threw out all the food he’d normally be trying to shove down my throat. I called my friends from my old weight loss group, and we all went out grocery shopping together. My kitchen was full of foods ready for clean eating, and no soda was visible in my home.

The moment I promised myself to stick to clean eating, I ordered my old food processor home from Shed. I forgot how much I love my sweet potato purees!

While you’re at it, clean out your subscriptions.

Cleaning has a wild way of gaining momentum. This even spread to my email, which I actually only recently remembered having. It’s true. My breakup so deeply affected me, I didn’t check my email for a week!

My inbox was flooded with stuff and reminders of all the little subscriptions I had. News updates I didn’t need, weird little ads for things I no longer wanted, and litter that got rid of my mind’s focus—it was just too much. I cleared out the subscriptions I no longer used.

While it was a little work, by the end of my cleaning binge, I saved about $50 on needless subscriptions that I no longer used. It was a nice chunk of change.

Give your social circle a trim, too.

Cassius called within two weeks, asking for his stuff back. Admittedly, I was tempted. I didn’t want him to stay gone. I still cared about him. I set up a time, called my friends, and then got Shed to drop off his goods.

When he came by, Frank and Steve wouldn’t leave my side. We handed him his stuff. He looked around the apartment, which now bore a striking resemblance to how it looked prior to us dating. He asked to come back, and I told him to get lost.

After that night, Frank and Steve helped me prune my address book. My life finally felt together again.

Reference : https://shedstorage.com/

[areasontobreathe]

Attacking the Messes, pt. 2

So, last time, I talked about what (I really hope) is everyone’s first step in decluttering and organization: Keep everything you have, just organize it neatly. I know I just gave a brief overview, and I’m trying to get some more in-depth ideas together as far as creative storage, so bear with me.  But, I cannot stress enough how I hope that one is everyone’s first step.  You honestly may not even realize you’ve taken it in the past, so if you try it again now and it doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything different, that’s okay.  It just means that one didn’t work, and you’re ready to move on to the next one:

Do you really need all of this?

To start off, this is a great method for closets, kitchens, people who are about to move into their first place, or when you just walk into a specific space and almost immediately feel a weight settle on you and want to turn right around and leave (sheds, attics, basements, etc).

There are a lot of different concepts around this one, as it has to be the most popular I’ve ever seen until Marie Kondo hit Netflix. “Swedish Death Cleaning” is the most common actual name I see for this, but I’ve also heard it referred to as “mock-moving”.  The basic principles behind it is going through all your ‘stuff’, and sorting into 2 categories:

I need this on a regular basis to live my life. This is the stuff you definitely keep.

I don’t need this regularly, and if I die/move across country on short notice:

Someone/I will throw it away

Someone will want it

Now, please keep in mind, these are the most basic principles.  There are fine-tuning questions around both of these. Let’s start with the first one: I need this on a regular basis to live my life. “Regular basis” doesn’t necessarily mean you need it daily. Instead, ask yourself the last time you used it or appreciated it.  If you can’t remember, it can either go in the second category, or you can hang on to it for a year, come back, and ask if you used it/appreciated it since the last time you decluttered.  If the answer is no, it should probably go into the second category.

Once you have your first category completed (I’m a firm believer in focusing on what you keep first), it’s time to start splitting up the second category. Ask yourself Is this something someone in my life would want/appreciate more? If so, call them up and ask if they want it. It can be something as simple as makeup you’ll never wear (my sister got nine from me), or on a larger scale it can be furniture that you really don’t have space for and need to rehome.

If no one you know will want it, would it be thrown away?  It’s hard to think about in terms of death, so I always frame it in terms of moving on short notice – If I had to move out of my house within a week, and move across country, would I just throw this out? The more you do this, the easier it becomes – and I apologize to anyone who does move frequently on short notice, because I’ve been there.  Moving 10 times in the same year sucked popsicles, but really sets your priorities on stuff. Usually, I end up with a ‘donate’ pile and a ‘trash’ pile.  

PSA: Please be super honest about what is trash. Stained, torn clothes, chipped knickknacks and plates, etc, are going to be throw away by places like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. This costs them more money than they will recoup from selling anything that they are able to keep out of your donations. Check everything over carefully, and if it isn’t good enough to give to your friends and family, don’t donate it.

This is the point where people usually start thinking “but I could sell it….” If you are actually going to have that yard sale, or take the time to list it online, by all means.  Personally, I lack the time and energy for a yard sale, so yeah, it’s donate or chuck it.

For anyone who feels they need to try this method, by all means, it can be very useful and enlightening as to how much stuff you actually have that you forgot you even owned.  I definitely advise going one area at a time on this one, because doing an entire house can be exhausting and frustrating.  However, I always want to advise of some pitfalls to this:

We all fall into the trap of “oh, I’ll use this more”, or “I can repurpose this”. That’s why I mentioned the 1-year waiting period earlier.  Some of us will actually use or repurpose it, some of us (me, I’m calling myself out here) are wishful thinkers.

This method requires absolute brutal honesty with yourself. Humans packbond, even to inanimate objects, and we get very sad when we find things that we forgot we owned and have carted to every residence we’ve ever had without looking at it in between.  We really want to keep it, we do!  This is literally where I always fall apart on this method, so if you do trip up, that’s okay.

You may need several attempts at this until you reach a point where you are satisfied. It can be very discouraging when we’ve been given the idea that just decluttering our space is the solution to all our problems.

Please remember, there is no shame in tripping up, giving up, or reverting back to clutter. I tried for fifteen years before I found something that works for me. My goal is that it doesn’t take anyone else that long, but there is no requirement for you to get this right the first time.

As always, inbox and asks are open, so please let me know what you would like to see on this blog, or ask any questions you may have around specifics!

[dis-easedfairy]

Impulsive Decision Pt.5

Male Path | Female Path

Chapter 5: Should’ve Walked Away

WARNINGS: SWEARING/STRONG LANGUAGE | KIDNAPPING | MENTIONS OF RAPE | DRUGGING

Genre: Poly!au, angst, fluff, eventual smut, yandere!au

Pairings: BTS x Male Reader/ Kim Taehyung x Male Reader / Kim Seokjin x Male Reader / Jung Hoseok x Male Reader / OC x Male Reader

Word Count: 4,157

Summary: M/n is the owner of a very wealthy and successful company, Barnanby Inc. M/n attends a BTS show, since they happen to be a fan. They make a very impulsive decision to show a loophole in BTS’s security and end up kidnapping BTS and 2 girls. In a fit of panic M/n stashes BTS and the girls in a very luxurious bunker for the time being, but M/n’s world slowly starts to crumble the longer the boys are out of the public’s eye,

A/N: I may or may not have added one of my fav childhood memories in here.

    I woke up on my back with someone pressed against my chest. Their arms wrapped around my waist, face in my chest. It felt nice, yes, but they had their legs intertwined with mine, locking me down. The zip-up hoodie I was wearing last night was opened for some reason.

I looked down at the mess of dark hair and knew who it was almost instantly. I looked around the room and we were the only ones there.

“Uh, Tae? Can I go pee?” I chucked.

Tae shook his head sleepily. Since I seemed to have no choice I began to run my hands through his hair. I swear I thought Tae was too pure for this world sometimes.

The double door opened, revealing Hobi, he saw me and smiled.

“Jin wanted me to wake you two up.” He explained.

I pointed to Tae, “I’m awake at least.” I giggled.

Hobi walked over to the bed.

“Hold onto the headboard.” I did as told.

Hobi grabbed onto Tae’s feet and pulled. Tae groaned and held onto me tighter.

“Taehyung, it’s time to let the poor boy go!” Hobi grunted as he pulled more.

“Come back later!” Tae complained, not letting his grip on me loosen.

“It’s 8AM you woke up with us at 6! It is later!”

“5 more minutes!”

“We gave you two hours to hog Y/n, now you can’t be selfish!”

“He was asleep it doesn’t count!”

“You cuddled him all night!”

I started laughing at their ridiculous argument. All the noise made Jin and RM come into the room.

“YAH! You’re going to rip M/n in half!” Jin tried yelling at them but was drowned out by their continuous arguing.

I was starting to laugh so hard I was almost crying. Hobi and Tae were not stopping the harmless bickering, Jin was trying to yell at them, RM was facepalming at the door and I could see the others approaching. What a start to the day.

“Jesus, you guys.” Jungkook was fighting a smile.

Jin got onto the bed and tried to pry Tae off of me as Hobi continued to pull, the yelling never stopping.

“YAH! LET HIM GO! HE’S NOT A STUFFED ANIMAL, TAEHYUNG!”

“STOP BEING GREEDY HE’S OUR FRIEND TOO!”

“HE WAS MY FRIEND FIRST, I HAVE A PLUSH TO PROVE IT!”

“WE’RE HIS FRIENDS BECAUSE HE SAID SO!”

“WHY DID YOU ONLY GET A PLUSHIE!?”

“BECAUSE I ASKED FOR ONE!”

“WE DON’T NEED PLUSHIES TO VALIDATE OUR FRIENDSHIP!”

“LALALALALALALALA! I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER MY PLUSHIE VALIDATED FRIENDSHIP!”

I was so close to peeing myself. I let go of the headboard because I was laughing too hard, making Tae and I get dragged off the bed by Hobi. My back was against the cold concrete, Tae was still holding on for dear life.

“I ALMOST PEED!” I cried in laughter covering my face.

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN LET HIM USE THE RESTROOM WHEN HE WOKE UP!?” This wasn’t stopping.

I sat up so my back was pressed against the bed. My eyes blinded with tears. Tae sat beside me and pulled me into his lap as everyone kept arguing.

“WHY ARE YOU SO HANDSY WITH M/N ANYWAY!? HE’S NOT YOURS!”

“Why is this an argument?” I heard Jimin.

“I just wanted to use the restroom!” I managed.

“No! You’re staying with me!” Tae commanded, tightening his hold on me.

“I’ll pee on your lap!” I threatened.

Tae immediately let go and I ran to the bathroom.

I typed up a proposal on the office computer. I stood and began to pace the room, reciting the speech, editing as I saw fit.

“I believe Barnaby Inc. is ready for this….Amazing? No that’s too predictable. Wonderful? Nah that will just make them think of our melon drink. Spectacular? Why am I overthinking this?” I plopped into my office chair.

I heard a knock at the door.

“Come in!” I hollered, moving to edit my speech.

“Lunch time!” I sighed as Jin came in with a tray.

It had two glasses of lemonade, two bottles of water, two bags of chips, two sandwiches and two small bowls of mixed berries.

“Jin, I really need to-”

“Nope! Lunch, then work. How much water have you drank today?”

“Uh, a bottle this morning and a bottle when I came in here.” I began typing.

“Aish, you need to take better care of yourself, M/n.” Jin sat down at the front of my desk.

“I know, it’s just when I get into the flow of things, I don’t stop until I’m satisfied. ” I defended myself, getting a berry.

“You’ve been working a lot lately. The drawing, the games, visiting the company almost every day now. Are you usually this busy?”

I nodded, “Especially now with the partnership. I’ve been trying to get this for months. My father tried for years. After gaming, we move to snacks and beverages and from there we find something else if we’re not content. ”

“You said you had siblings, a family? Who’s in it?” Jin asked as I bit into my sandwich.

“My older brother and sister are twins, they’re 26 or so. My older sister has two boys, one is 4 the other is a few months now. My older brother has no children, but a wife. I have a younger sister who is 16, When she turns 18, we should have expanded to snacks then and she’ll run that side of the business. My mother is a retired animator, but she still goes into the company every once and a while to help out our current animators, they love her so we let her. I think that’s everyone.”

“No aunts, uncles?”

“I do, but I rarely talk to them. My mom calls my aunt from my father’s side every once in a while but they usually stay away because they think we let money, fame and work control us. They think we’re snobby assholes to be precise.”

“Why would they think that?”

“My father was doubted by everyone, so he told them once he made his empire, no one got rights to it but him. his wife and his children. They didn’t listen until my father hit big and they wanted cuts. When my father denied them, they started talkin’ shit.” I munched on a chip.

“Your father was very…”

“Spiteful? Proud?”

“Smart.” I smirked.

“I guess so. He was a workaholic like me. ”

“Is that why he gave you the company and not your older siblings?”

“My brother is really great. He’s smart, he’s a smooth talker, He can change your opinion on something if you’re left alone with him for longer than 4 minutes. He’s well educated when he argues with someone, he makes sure he knows what he’s talking about. I felt like my brother earned it, but my father said he saw more of himself in me.”

“Because you're caring?”

“Because I take risks no one should. Hence the little problem I’m in now. Because I throw myself into whatever I can to just forget the world around me. I used to be bold. Charming, but now I’m an interesting as a smudge on your cell phone.” I popped a berry in my mouth.

“That’s not true! How many people can say they kidnapped idols!?”

“Jin, that’s not something to be proud of.”

“I bet you are twice as interesting as all of us.”

“I’m really not, but I’m not going to ruin your hopes and dreams. Just have low expectations of me is all  I ask.”

“No-”

“So when I exceed those expectations, you’ll be happier.”I added quickly.

Jin smiled, seeming satisfied as he bit into his sandwich. I opened his chips for him and got my bottle of water.

“Do I gwet a purush?” Usually, I’d be a little annoyed at someone talking to me with their mouths full, but Jin made it seem so adorable.

I smiled, “Wanna run that by me again, Jinnie?”

I saw his cheeks turn a little red. He swallowed.

“D-do I get a plush?” He repeated.

“Oh! I totally forgot! Sure you can! They should be in the entrance room, in the big storage closet.” I picked up the glass of lemonade.

“Thank you for making me lunch, Jin. I really appreciate it. I just wished the other boys saw me the way you, Tae and Hobi do.”

“Just be yourself. I’m sure they’ll come around.”

I slid into the bathroom, grabbed a towel and climbed on top of the couch. I tied the towel around my neck as a cape.

“I AM ON MY WAY!” I sang obnoxiously as I jumped onto the chair.

“I CAN GO THE DISTANCE!” I belted.

“I DON’T CARE HOW FA-OH FUCK!” The chair fell to the side, a higher power deciding I was unworthy of balance and gravity.

I hit the floor with a thud. Just staring up at the ceiling. Basking in my shame. I heard giggling and I looked over to see Jimin standing by the dining room table, as red as apple he was holding. Like he was trying not to laugh.

“Annnnd reputation ruined.” I sighed, looking up at the ceiling, I tried to sit up but a sharp pain shot up my tailbone.

I whined and did the first thing I can think of.

“JIN! I THINK I BROKE MY ASS! I REQUEST DEMI-GOD ASSISTANCE!” I cried out, causing Jimin to finally break.

I’ve only seen him laugh that hard in videos, but to see it in real life was drastically different, it lit up the whole room and I didn’t want it to stop.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Jin yelled back, from the gaming room I assumed.

“I FAILED TO GO THE DISTANCE! I HAVE A CAPE, YOU CAN’T DENY ME! HOBI I’M DYING!” I heard footsteps come down the hall and Jin stopped in the doorway when he saw Jimin.

Jimin was borderline crying, doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“WHY IS MY BOYFRIEND DYING FROM A BROKEN ASS??” I heard Tae shout from the bedrooms.

“THE CAPE BETRAYED ME, BABE! YOU ONLY LIKED ME FOR MY ASS ANYWAY!” I called back.

Jimin fell to the floor.

“I ACCIDENTALLY KILLED JIMIN AS WELL! ” I added.

Tae and Hobi walked in and saw Jimin on the floor.

“This is all your fault!” I pointed at Jin.

“You just had to pull me away from my work!” I joked.

“How was I supposed to know a sandwich would make you break your ass!?” He countered.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, when did you make him a sandwich!?” Tae demanded.

“For lunch, he was in his office all morning, he wouldn’t have eaten otherwise.”

“Who said you can give our boyfriend sandwiches!?” Hobi called Jin out.

“OUR boyfriend!? Since when am I sharing!?” Tae turned on Hobi.

“No one’s sharing anything if my ass is destroyed.” I grumbled.

“Jimin, are you alive?” Jin laughed.

Jimin shook his head, still laughing/crying.

“Hobi, can you help me up?” I looked down at my lap to hide my embarrassment.

“Sure thing N/n.” Hobi chuckled, picking me up and I hissed in pain.

“Want me to rub your ass later?” Tae laughed.

“Oh hell yes.” I joked, trying to stand straight.

Hobi kneeled down suddenly and threw me over his shoulder causing me to let out a small squeak, making V and Jin laugh.

“HOBI! What the fuck!? Warning next time!”

  I sat lounged the couch, typing on my laptop. My feet were on Hobi’s lap, Jin was in the chair beside me and Tae was sitting in front of the couch. Seongmi, RM, and Jimin were on the couch by Jin, their backs facing the kitchen and Suga, Jungkook and Linza were on the couch with their backs facing the dining room.

The coffee table was full of cards from a very long round of Uno that never seemed to end. Every time someone would get close, the person beside the would get a +4 wildcard and you’d hear screams of heartbreak and anguish. Hobi began to rub my leg, I assumed he didn’t realize he was going it, so I tried to focus on my speech, hoping I’d zone out. An alarm went off on my laptop, it read ‘Call Seth’. I sighed, closing the laptop.

“I have to make a call, I’ll be right back.” I smiled and left to make a call in between the dial door and vault door.

Once Seth didn’t pick up I’d figure I’d call later. I went back through the dial door and was on my way to the living room when I saw something out of my peripheral vision.

Linza was sitting on the large bed, just waiting. I just stuck my phone in my hoodie and kept walking, I didn’t need the drama.

“Hey, M/n.” She called as I opened the door.

Luckily Jin heard her, stopping the game to look at the door. I sighed.

“Yes, Linza?”

She smiled. She lied back propped on her elbows.

“Are you really into girls or is that just speculation?”

“Seriously, I’d rather be working on my speech than talking about my sexual orientation, no offense.” I began to leave but was stopped by her voice again.

“Come here, I want to tell you a secret.”

“No thanks. I’m sure that if I get near you, you’ll try something.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Why the fuck would I?”

She frowned like she was trying to be cute.

“Aww c’mon, N/n, we can be friends ya know.” She got up from the bed, grabbed my wrist and started to pull me to the bed.

“Don’t call me N/n. I don’t want your friendship.” I tried to pull away.

“If you do me this small thing I’ll get you in Jimin’s good graces.”

“No. I don’t care if I’m liked or not. Stop touching me and stop whatever you’re planning.” She ignored me, sitting on the bed.

I used my other hand to try to pry away her grip on my wrist, she thought ahead and grabbed my other hand and yanked me on the bed.

“What the fuck are you do-!?” She pinned me down a smirked.

My eyes widened as she began to lean more towards my face.

“Hey! What the fuck?” I moved my face.

“Aw, M/n don’t be like that, it’s only a kiss.”

“Get the fuck off me, Ducktape Girl!” I growled.

She went to grab for the zipper on my hoodie. I smacked her hand away and tried moving more towards the headboard. Where the fuck was Jin!? She grabbed a fist full of my hair and I raised my hands to pull hers away by instinct. This gave her an opening to attack my mouth. I pressed my lips together as fast as I could. When she pulled away slightly I snapped.

“Get the fuck off me!” I almost shouted, shoving her away, making her land on the floor.

She yelped as I wiped my mouth, disgusted that it was wet with spit. The boys came rushing in. Seongmi immediately climbed on the bed to check on me.

“What happened?” RM asked.

“Ducktape Girl just tried to makeout with me.” I was still disgusted to my core.

“Yeah, right.” Jungkook scoffed.

“Jungkook, look at him! His lips are swollen, his hair is a mess. He’s on the bed. We heard him tell her to not touch him! We thought she’d stop! Why are you defending her!?” Seongmi snapped, surprising me.

Jimin let out a loud sigh, running his hand through his hair.

“No! He kissed me! I was just trying to talk to him!” Linza cried.

“Tae, Jin, Hobi, Seongmi?…Can we just go to sleep or to the studio?” I asked in a small voice.

“No! We can’t let this slide, M/n! She get’s away with too much because she just bats her eyes and pretends to cry! She’s not nice! She’s hardly a victim! I get M/n made a very bad decision, but he gives us anything we want, he helps feed us, he provides entertainment, we use almost every room in this bunker! All he asks is for personal space! Ducktape her!” Seongmi ranted.

“Seon-” She cut me off.

“You don’t deserve the doubt! You’ve been nothing but kind and understanding! It’s always her that spreads the seeds of doubt!” I could tell Seongmi wasn’t calming down anytime soon.

“Seongmi, calm down.” I soothed her.

“She’s just going to get away with this, M/n! Don’t let yourself take all these hits because you feel guilty for driving away in the limo and hiding us here!” Seongmi pleaded with tears in her eyes.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close. She buried her face in my chest.

“Shh, it’s okay, none of these ‘hits’ affect me.” I lied, petting her hair.

“She’s just afraid and angry at me. I would be too if I was kidnapped the way you all were.” She shook her head rapidly.

I looked over at Tae. He only nodded and got on the bed, hugging Seongmi too. I tried to pull away but she held on tighter.

“Seongmi, I still have to talk to everyone else about this.” I smiled sadly.

“There’s nothing to talk about. They’ll just believe her no matter what you say. ” She whimpered.

She was right, but it would be wrong to not explain my side at all. I bent down slowly and gave her a faint kiss on the top of her head.

“That’s okay, because I know the truth, and my friends believe me.”

“Ducktape pillar!” Jin suddenly shouted, making us all jump.

Slowly began to pull away from Seongmi and got off the bed. I let out a deep breath,

“I didn’t kiss her, she tried to kiss me after she got me close enough to the bed to pin me down. After her attempted kiss I shoved her off. I’m sorry, I should’ve just kept walking.” I walked past them all and went to the fridge.

There was no booze. I let out a deep sigh.

“I’m going on a beer run.”

  I walked from the 7-Eleven, beers in the bags. I should’ve just gone home. I should’ve just…kept walking. I saw a guy sitting in the alleyway alone. I was pretty close to a popular club in Seoul, so I assumed he must have stumbled out. I couldn’t leave him alone, right?

I put the bag down and crouched down beside him, he was barely awake. I pulled out my phone and dialed the police. If I took him, I’d be kidnapping…again. I wanted him to be safe, not alone and vulnerable. Music was muffled and poured out the club as the phone rang.

“Yes, this isn’t much of an emergency, but a guy is alone and passed out in an alley, I don’t want to just leave him here…Should I take him to the station, or?” I was told to take him to the main street and a patrol car would be there shortly.

“Hello, I’m M/n L/n. I’m going to get you to the police okay? It’s dangerous for you to be out here alone.” I smiled softly.

He returned a smile.

“You’re cute.” He slurred, making my face heat up.

I cleared my throat.

“Let’s get you to the road, okay? Hongdae in full swing, it really isn’t safe.” I put his arm around my shoulders and lifted him up.

Hongdae was a district and Seoul that I shouldn't even have gone to. I was just clearing my head, driving. I ended up downtown and I should’ve stayed at the top of Seoul.

I got him on the main road, I was surprised he even got that far. He leaned on me as we waited. He almost puked a few times. He was giggly and kept calling me ‘cutie’, but I wrote it off as him being drunk. He talked about the ‘pretty lights’ and I kept asking him to describe them to keep him busy. Once the patrol car was close they flashed the lights. I helped him in the back seat and sent him on his way.

I’d figure I’d go to that club for a drink since I forgot my beers when I picked up that guy. I should’ve walked away. I should’ve gone back to the bunker that night.

I pulled up Jason’s number in my phone as my back was pressed against the cold tile wall. Luckily, the bathroom was empty, but you could hear the loud music muffled.  I groaned loudly once ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’ began to play.  The phone began to ring,

“M/n? Why are you calling me so late? It’s nearly 2am. Shouldn’t you be with, your, uh, guests?”

“I just wanted ONE drink, but some guys offered me shots, and their friends who are girls even bought me drinks, Everyone was so nice. I think I found us a friend group!”

“Are you drunk, M/n? You stick in the mud! Why didn’t you invite me!?” He laughed.

I smiled, “I didn’t plan any of th-” The bathroom door opened and a guy from earlier came in, handing me a glass.

“What’s that?” I ask him.

“Just drink it, you’ll like it!” He promised, sounding oddly sober.

“Okay, I get I’m a foreigner, but like, you still need to explain what you give me.”

“This doesn’t have a different name anywhere else though!” He whined, making me sigh and hold out my hand.

He beamed, handing the glass to me, his smile getting bigger once I slammed it down in one go. It tasted like whiskey, which made me a bit disappointed.

“Thank you! I’ll be out in a bit.” I sang.

“Who are you talking to?” He frowned.

“My best friend, he’s sad that I didn’t invite him.”

“Just don’t take too long, okay?”

“Will do!” He left the bathroom.

“Where are you?” Jason asked, sudden seriousness in his voice.

“Are you joining us!?” I asked excitedly.

“Just tell me where you are, M/n, now.” I heard a glass door, he was coming from the office.

I didn’t like his tone. I began to pull myself up, using the sink and praying I didn't snap the sink off the wall. I gave him the name of the nightclub. I thought maybe something happened to him and he needed me. I walked across the bathroom and opened the door, music flooding in.

“Stay in the area, M/n. I’ll be there as soon as I can!” I heard his car door close before he hung up.

I frowned and made my way through the crowd. The people buying me drinks spotted me. 2 guys, 3 girls.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Guy #1 asked.

“My friend needs me tonight, sorry! Give me your names and I’ll take care of your tabs.” Guy #2 shook his head.

“Stay with us! You’ll have fun we promise!” Girl #3 yelled over the music.

I shook my head, “My best friend comes first! I’ve known him since I was 8. He needs me!”

“He’ll understand if you stay in the club though, right? If you go out there alone, it will be dangerous!” Girl #1 warned.

“Yeah! Just stay here, stick with us!” Girl #2 smiled.

Why were they so hell bent on me staying with them? They didn’t even know me. I shook my head.

“I’ll catch you all later.” I said began to walk away.

Guy #2 grabbed my wrist.

“Just stay, please!” He called over the music.

Now I was a little put-off. I should’ve walked away from them regardless.

“Listen, it was fun. I’ll pay for your tabs and everything, but I just need to leave!”

“We’ll come with you! We shouldn’t leave you alone.” I agreed to the terms Guy #1 set up.

I just needed to leave. Each step I took seemed lighter and lighter. Guy #2 held onto my arm as we walked out. Once the cold air from outside hit me, I felt dizzy and my vision blurred slightly. Guy #2 kept walking, somehow holding up my weight.

“I’m not accepting hard liquor from you guys anymore. That last drink was too strong.” I complained, moving away from Guy #2.

Even though I was starting to get nauseated, a little dizzy, and my vision was seeming to blur at random, I was still in an amazing mood, giggling and laughing as Girl #3 would attempt to joke. After a while, I was willingly walking around with them. I even took out my phone to take pictures because the store signs and lights seemed so much more bright and colorful.

After that was a blur. I don’t remember anything, but I recorded several things on my phone. Somethings that were now evidence. Somethings that I didn’t even record.

If I had to choose between ‘Remember Everything’ or ‘Remember Nothing’ I would rather not know.

I should’ve walked away. Three times that night.

( Previous Chapter ) - ( Next Chapter )

[fabulousfabbieola-blog]

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

PART 2

#10- Describe your favorite part. Make a prediction about what will happen next.

       All parts of this novel are my favorites but if I have to pick one, it will be the "Thomas' First Big Day of Runner Training" part. It opened the door for Thomas to be a runner, the one that he ever wanted to be. This part started when Minho woke Thomas before dawn, he easily shook off his morning grogginess, he was excited to begin his training. Until they reached the back corner of the Homestead where Minho opened up a shabby door leading to a small storage closet. It has ropes, chains and a box full of running shoes. Thomas took shoes with a size eleven which made Minho shocked. Minho also gave Thomas a plastic wristwatch, it was black and very simple, that's only showing only a digital display of the time. Minho gave him a backpack, water bottles, lunch pack, some shorts and T-shirts, other stuffs and what they call Runnie-undies- tightly cut underwear. They also went into the small room which underneath lay a small trapdoor then Minho lifted it to reveal a set of wooden stairs leading to a larger room. Shelves lined the walls, and there were several blocky wooden tables. Wooden poles, metal spikes, large pieces of mesh, rolls of barbed wire, saws, knives and swords were in there. One entire wall was dedicated to archery. Thomas selected a short silvery dagger with a rubber grip, then one with a long black blade. After getting weapons, Minho lead Thomas to the Map Room. It had concrete walls and there are piles of paper and pencils that were neatly stacked. Minho also showed Thomas how to draw a map and told him all about it.  Once they’re done and ready, Minho immediately called for a run that’s all Thomas been waiting for.

        I think that Thomas will be going to be a great runner with Minho’s assistance. Wherever and whenever challenges and even Grievers will attack him, he can drag them down because he’s brave, that’s why they made him a runner. Maybe they could find patterns and make a way out of the Maze.

#16- Pretend you are a newspaper reporte whose job is to interview one of the characters. Write your interview. Make sure the questions you ask may allow the character to give a sentence or two long answer.

Fab: Hi! Do you like Messi?

Minho: What?

Fab: Um. Never mind. So are you from the Glade, right?

Minho: Yeah, obviously.

Fab: What's your name by the way? Where are you originally came from?

Minho: All I know was my name and I can't remember anything else.

Fab: I forgot. You've been sent to the Glade. What was your name?

Minho: It's Minho.

Fab: Oh, my name's Fab, a Newspaper Reporter from The New York Times.  Nice to meet you.

Minho: Your name sounds like a Griever to me.

Fab: What?

Minho: Never mind. Just go on and ask.

Fab: Okay. Your name sounds like you came somewhere in Asia. Is there any chance that you're Chinese or Korean? You basically look like them.

Minho: I repeat, I don't remember anything. I don't remember where I came from before they sent me to Glade. I don't remember who my parents are, if I have, I don't remember my life outside the Glade and the Maze.

Fab: Oh shoot! My apologies. By the way, are you familiar with WICKED?

Minho: Very familiar. They are all behind all of this. The World Catastrophe:  Killzone Experiment Department. I'll kill them, those shuck faces !

Fab: Okay enough with that. Let's take it easy from the start. You are the Keeper of the Runners, right? How's it going?

Minho: Yeah. Honestly, it's so dangerous outside the Glade, when you enter the Maze, you could feel you're already dead. We kept running everyday in the Maze just to find patterns. It isn't easy to chase the time before the door closes.

Fab: What will happen if you'll be left out in the Maze?

Minho: You're dead! It's dead end when you are in there besides of an ever-changing maze, the Griever's will stung you until you suffer to death.

Fab: Geeezz. Sounds awful. By the way, what does a Griever looks like?

Minho: You wouldn't want to hear about them. They are the ugliest thing I've ever seen and dangerous, of course.

Fab: Yeah. Your disgusted face says it all. Let's go on, so who's this Thomas guy?

Minho: Oh him. I was out in the Maze when he arrived but when I came back, I already know he was Greenie.

Fab: Greenie? Why call him that when he has a name?

Minho: That's what we call for a Newbie.

Fab: Oh, I see. What do you think of him?

Minho: He's cool, curious, smart and...brave. In his first day in the Glade, he always kept on asking many questions. But his curiosity made him brave. He undoubtedly entered the Maze before the door closes without knowing what's waiting for him outside and saved Alby from the Grievers. He even killed some of them. It's the first time happened that we've survived overnight in the Maze. That's why I made him a runner.

Fab: That's awesome! What do you mean he saved Alby? I thought you were together, how come he only saved Alby himself?

Minho: Um. It's hard to admit but my cowardness attacked that time and I go run for myself.

Fab: Ah. I see. You've survived the maze?

Minho: You see I'm here right now, so yeah.

Fab: I love the way that you're sarcastic.

Minho: That makes me lovable.

Fab: Oh yeah, Mr. Lovable. Let's continue, so there's this girl who is 'The Last One Ever'. Who's she?

Minho: Teresa. I even thought she and Thomas are having a relationship because it's only Thomas she can recognize. Day after Thomas came out of the box, Teresa arrived, it's odd because we only have one Greenie every month. The thing is...when these two arrived, everything changed.

Fab: What do you mean by that?

Minho: When they arrived, the sky turned into gray for the first time, the doors of the Glade never closed and in that way, the Griever's entered and took one of us each night.

Fab: That's creepy ! I've talked to Gally earlier and he Said Thomas and Teresa are one of the Creators. What does he mean by that?

Minho: That sissy shucked-face shuck! I'll kill him using the sharp needles of the Griever's when I see him! Anyway, yeah. Thomas admitted it after he had been through the Changing. It is when you get stung by the Griever and you'll remember anything about your life.

Fab: So you're saying that Thomas got stung?

Minho: Yeah. Cause that shuck face did it on purpose. Get stung by a Griever to take his memories back. To see the way how we get out of the Maze. It was all his plan. Wise man, isn't he?

Fab: Really? How adorable of him.

Minho: Of course, he should be. He's the main character, you know.

Fab: Yeah, yeah. I know Mr. Envy.

Minho: What did---

Fab: So, did you got out of the Maze?

Minho: No, you're just talking to a ghost. I'm here right now, handsomely talking to you so yeah.

Fab: Duhhh. How?

Minho: Through the Cliff that lead us to the Griever Hole.

Fab: Woah! Is there iron doors or did you get out that easily?

Minho: They didn't make the Maze to let us out that easily, Miss. Of course there's a code.

Fab: What code?

Minho: FLOAT, CATCH, BLEED, DEATH, STIFF and PUSH

Fab: How did you figure that out?

Minho: We're runners. We make maps and found out that the Maze has those patterns. It's funny because they think they enter the wrong words because those dirty square of glass won't let them type the last word.

Fab: The PUSH ?

Minho: Yeah, because they typed it instead of doing it.

Fab: Huh?

Minho: They must PUSH the button. Luckily, Chuck figured it out. Geezz the Grievers almost killed me.

Fab: Woah. Good thing Chuck was there.

Minho: Yeah but he wasn't here anymore.

Fab: I'm sorry about what happened to Chuck. I heard about it, Gally shot him with a dagger. Let's change the topic before it gets worse. So how do you feel that you're out in the Maze?

Minho: I feel like...the life that has taken away from me is gradually coming back. I know other Gladers feel the same way.

Fab: I'm so happy for all of you. No offense but how many of you survived?

Minho: We thought we're 21 but Chuck was gone, so we're only 20. We're happy that we survived but sad at the same time for those 21 Gladers who didn't make it.

Fab: I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure they're happy wherever they are right now.

Minho: I hope so.

Fab: Before we finish this interview, I wanna ask you what are the best memories you had in the Glade or in the Maze that you will never forget?

Minho: All the memories in the Glade and in the Maze are the only memories I had so I could say it's all the best for now that I'll never forget. All the bad and good happenings out there, I'll cherish and keep it. My life as a runner, as a Glader, I'm glad I met those 39 boys and Teresa. Despite the fact that it's dangerous there, we didn't lose our teamwork as a family and I love it. We had that one goal- it is to get out of the Maze. It happened...but for others, it didn't. No matter what happen, we promise, we're not gonna waste the sacrifices they've made.

Fab: Awe, that's a catch! Final question, the Creators already made the Stage 2 of your trials. It will be implemented tommorow. Are you ready?

Minho: What did you just say?

Fab: ( Oh crap! I forgot. They didn't know about it yet. ) Um, okay. It's time to end this interview. Thank you for answering my questions, Minho. See you soon.

Minho: Wait! What Stage 2 are you talking about?

Fab: Goodbye. Thank you