#correct score lucky 15

[an-ocean-viewer]

I swear. Using tumblr on my phone is arduous work... You create a huge list one day and accidentally remove it from your recent apps and boom.. you need to rewrite everything.

Yet, a lot of good things happened in this long while so I musn't be lazy in documenting it.

Once again, these are in no particular order.

Things I liked about these days #23

1. I got first place in the nationals🥳🥳! I didn't expect to be the champion at all. I even got a minus 2 on my final score. What a lucky break

2. Adding to the first one, I have been given both a medal and a plaque. I'll need to give the plaque to my university though.. sadly. It's the first time I ever got first place in a competition. It was in a nationals no less! I didn't even get first place in the regionals. I was only able to enjoy this opportunity due to the one who got first place in the regionals backing out.

3. Extra emphasis on that minus 2 haha! It wasn't enough to stop me MUAHAHAHHAA!

4. MY FATHER IS FEELING WELL AGAIN! WOOHOO! EAT DIRT TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA!

5. My father recovered relatively quickly. That carbamezipine is really strong. I hope that whoever invented it gets like triple the applause that the greatest inventors got

6. My friends are friends again (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠). It's so nice being able to help my friends get together. Hehehe.

7. Our thesis concepts are coming along nicely. I'm such a smart thinker-thunker :3

8. Our zombie apocalypse has come to an end on it's 50th night. It was the most fun I've ever had in gaming that didn't feel like I just wasted 30 mins of my life watching another "teammate" run it down after a few games.

9. Now, I've created another Minecraft modpack – a fantasy adventure one with spells and classes. We're a few days in and it's setting itself up to be even better than the zombie apocalypse since there's no stress and it's mostly just us vibing.

10. Gaming with friends is nice. I just love how we're 3 idiots trying to figure out what in the flying megazord caused a zombie to get 13 thousand health. It's a blast to deal with these 'intentional' enemies (I am a very smart modpack maker that takes into account all situations possible).

11. I know for certain my friends are there for me. It feels warm. Everyone is trying to push the other up then reaching down to pull to another up. It's weird being in a healthy friend circle, but I like it!

12. I accidentally oneshot a friend of mine while playing the modpack. Turns out my dash deals a lot of damage. My friend also oneshot me... by jumping on my head.... This modpack is wild. Needs a lot of rebalancing tho. Stupid modpack maker can't even balance one class lmfao

13. Finished all 6 quizzes in two subjects in one sitting. EZ 😎

14. Turns out I still know how to do derivatives and slopes. Did not expect it since it was nearly 3 years ago. Then again, I'm having an easier time learning trigonometry in this last year so perhaps this is my luck pushing itself to the limits

15. The lessons thus far in our competency appraisal are easy to understand and brain digestible. Managed to discover a calculator technique for dividing matrices easier

16. I like the little things. For example, my friend usually tells me to correct my posture.

17. We reviewed in my friend's house and we got free fud

18. It feels nice to get along with everyone in a classroom setting. There hasn't been much face-to-face classes, sadly. But now that we have exams, all of us are meeting. I think I'm getting along with everyone (at least, I hope I am)

19. I suck at crimping wires. It's definitely fun to try it. I felt much, much better when my friend (who is good at crimping) had a hard time using my cables. It was like some wave of relief washed over me with the message "Not all skill issue" in the sea weeds

20. I got new shoes! Black shoes hehe. I luv them. Simple and stylish

21. It feels nice teaching my friends and classmates about electronics for the exam. Or maybe it's just an ego thing.

22. We watched the FNAF movieeeeee. To be completely honest, plot-wise, it sucks ass. However, for a fan of the series such as myself, it definitely is an enjoyable watch. It's true to the theme of being stupid but entertaining. The biggest shame in the world is that Markiplier was not in it. I am massively disappointed

That's all, umu. We have exam weeks now so it might be harder. Starting now, I'll probably be posting pics.

I hope everyone has a great year~

[wulfnerd]

Sterekdrabbles Challenges – May 2023

[Challenge Blog] [Tag] [AO3]

For 31 May (pin, continue, rose)

A Son's Wedding Day, sterek, g, 100w ◌ John helps his son prepare for his wedding.

Muddy Paws, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Camping with Derek has unforeseen consequences.

For 29 May (kind, carry, rescue)

fall into my life, sterek, g, 100w ◌ A lucky save brings color to Derek’s life.

Thanks for the Rescue, pre-sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles has a gift for Derek.

For 26 May (letter, furtive, follow)

Meet Me for Lunch, sterek, m, 100w ◌ Stiles and Derek meet in secret.

For 26 May (letter, furtive, follow; theme: Vengeance)

Songs of War, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Derek and Stiles establish an alibi.

For 24 May (jaded, voice, car)

Under Your Spell, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Stiles’ magic works too well.

For 24 May (jaded, voice, car; theme: Vengeance)

This Is War, sterek, t, 100w ◌ The hunters go too far. (As they do.)

For 22 May (wheel, cherry, correct)

Coming Home, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek enjoys coming home.

For 22 May (wheel, cherry, correct; theme: Vengeance)

Won the War, sterek, t, 100w ◌ A past score is settled.

For 19 May (page, thumb, knee)

So Much That I Wanna Do, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles takes a chance.

Some Things Never Change, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles needs more rest after a long night. 

For 17 May (pie, chase, dysfunctional)

Politics vs Cherry Pie, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles wants pie, but diplomacy gets in the way.

Missing You, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles receives news from home.

For 15 May (wet, handsome, stop)

Park Regrets, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek and Stiles go to the park. They regret it instantly.

Once Upon a Dream, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Stiles dreams of meeting Derek.

For 12 May (want, empty, fear)

No Kernels Dropped, sterek, g, 100w ◌ The pack gathers for movie night.

Wait for Me, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek thinks he’s missed his chance.

For 10 May (watch, snob, bump)

Silencing the Snob, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek spills his wine at a gala.

Spoiled Breakfast, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek protects Stiles, and the wolves should learn to use their senses.

For 08 May (zip, free, action)

Let Me Take You Away, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Derek helps Stiles escape.

Set You Free, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Stiles helps free Derek from a trap.

For 05 May (branch, friend, stake)

A Night of Surprises, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek stays a while longer. It’s a great birthday gift. 

One Less Lie, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Derek’s told of his drunken night.

For 03 May (drunk, adorable, stay)

Stumbling in the Dark, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Stiles returns home early.

A Lie of Omission, sterek, t, 100w ◌ Derek overindulges at the party.

For 01 May (lighten, bashful, birthday)

Birthday Surprise, pre-sterek, t, 100w ◌ Stiles gets a gift from a late-night visitor.

Little White Lie, sterek, g, 100w ◌ Derek faces the consequences of a lie.

[mycryptosuite]

Bet9ja Soccer Tips - 360 Livescore

Bet9ja Soccer Tips – 360 Livescore

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[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife

For the longest time, I and countless other fans and Ghost Heads alike, have been waiting for this moment. We have been waiting for a third film in the franchise that would live up to the legacy the 1984 original. I have been a massive fan of Ghostbusters my entire life and to this day I still use my favorite line from the second film in almost every situation. I grew up watching the films, The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters and even the unrelated 1987 Ghostbusters animated series. To me the third Ghostbusters film will always be the amazing video game that was released in 2009. Now after the atrocious attempt of a remake, this film comes along and I have to say my anticipation was Venkman level. I was so skeptic and scared of the film not capturing what made the original film so special. The first 2 films had the perfect blend of comedy, drama, spiritualism, horror and great characters. From the opening scene of this film, I was immediately put at ease. This film truly captures the magic of the original while establishing its own identity as a family film that's also about the legacy you leave behind. It has great mystery elements and an excellent balance between lighthearted and terrifying images. There is a hefty amount of fan service, but it is done in the correct way throughout the film. There are moments where it was pushing you hard past some character moments and a few suffered in their character development time.

The cast across the board was amazing and they all have their moments to shine. Carrie Coon was great as Callie Spengler. She was excellent as the skeptic mother even though she had a legacy to pass on that she only saw as a burden. Mckenna Grace plays her daughter Phoebe Spengler and she was fantastic. The relationship between them was strong and strained, but not stereotypical. I loved that she was straight up the carbon copy of Egon, but she had a great attitude and strong will. Finn Wolfhard was great as her brother Trevor Spengler and I liked that he didn't over take the film. He was the perfect amount of awkward as a 15 year old and I liked the chemistry he had with his sister. Celeste O'Connor was good as his love interest Lucky Domingo, but I felt she got the shortest end of the stick as far as character development goes. Logan Kim was outstanding as Podcast and my second favorite of the film. He was hilarious and I loved his genuine curiosity and fun as everything gets strange in the neighborhood. He is at his best when his is Phoebe and the 2 of them have the best chemistry of the film. Paul Rudd was as great as you'd expect him to be as Gary Grooberson. He is truly having fun in this film and as a scientist himself, he was stocked to find out the reasons behind the quakes in the town. Honestly, Phoebe, Podcast, Trevor and Lucky were basically the next generation of paranormal trappers and excellent parallels to the original cast. Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts all return as the Ray Stanz, Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddemore and Janine Melnitz. They were in the film for the perfect amount of time and did not overtake the story or take the spotlight from the new kids. They were exactly the way you remember them; charming, funny and heartwarming. There is truly a heartwarming and perfect tribute to Harold Ramis and Egon in the film that I won't spoil here, but you will cry and that's a FACT!

The score in this film was perfect! Composer Rob Simonsen captured the musical sound of the franchise by taking the same score that Elmer Bernstein created and evolving and elevating it to fit this new chapter. From minute one, it was like a warm blanket of sound wrapped around me that was familiar and new at the same time. Rob captured the emotional, fun and horrific tones of the film brilliantly throughtout and especially during the finale. The sound design was also important and I was so happy to hear all the sounds of the Ghostbusters return. From the seat rumbling vibration of the proton pack turning on and to the thunderous blast of a proton stream, I was in heaven. There are familiar story elements that are almost beat for beat from the original, but there's enough originality here that it doesn't feel like a complete rehash. As far as "fan service" goes, this was a film made by a fan, for the fans! It doesn't get in its own way and focuses on telling the coming of age/passing the torch tale this film was. Director Jason Reitman has taken up the reigns his father Ivan originally laid down and has successfully made a worthy sequel that fans will love and movie goers will have fun with. If this is the last film in the franchise then I'm perfectly content but if there's more, I’m game. This is officially Ghostbusters 3, but the 4th film to me after the game. Definitely stick around for 2 great, emotional and hilarious end credit scenes. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[syndianites]

A Queen Serve and Protects

Chapter Six

First Chapter –> Last Chapter –> Current –> Next Chapter TBA! Summary:

Post-Style Queen, Pre-Queen Wasp.

Chloe finds the Bee Miraculous, but instead of finding an obliging, subservient Kwami, she finds the Kwami of Order and Subjugation, and Pollen is not about to let herself be used like Nooroo was.

Granted, the only danger in a teenage girl is the damage she poses to herself. Can Pollen shape Chloe into a hero? Or will she stubbornly refuse to change and remain the bitter, harsh person the city has long since known?

[My take on how Chloe’s character could have developed] ——————————————————————————————

Pollen tapped the tablet pen on the table. School had ended and the duo was officially home.

“Chloe,” Pollen began. “It has come to my attention that you don’t do your own work.”

“So?” Chloe nonchalantly replied, crossing one leg over the other from where she sat on the chaise in front of Pollen.

Pollen tried not to roll her eyes. “So, I want you to learn how to be self-sufficient.”

Chloe scoffed. “I am plenty self-sufficient.”

“Really?” Pollen had a sweet smile on her face. “Then prove it.”

:readmore:

Before Chloe could make any remark, Polle flew over to her school bag. It looked more like a purse, honestly, with how much makeup and accessories she had stashed away inside. Seriously, what did you need an extra pair of heels for?

Pollen shook off the thought and grabbed the binder Chloe used for class, as well as her homework folder. Brining both items back to the table, she flipped the folder open. She pulled out the first sheet of homework she saw- something math related- and waved a paw at it.

Chloe gave her a dumbfounded look. “You want me to do that? Sabrina normally does.”

Pollen raised an eyebrow.

“Ugh, fine, I get it.” Chloe grumbled. “What does doing my own work have to do with being self-sufficient anyway?”

“When was the last time you did your own school work.”

“Ughhhh!”

Letting out a little giggle, Pollen decided to make a compromise, “For every question you get correct, I’ll let you ask a question about the Bee miraculous and its powers. However!” Pollen held a paw up before Chloe could get too excited, “For each you get wrong, you have to listen to some history and background on the miraculous.”

“Ooo-kay? How is that a loss for me? I still get to know what I want to know,” Chloe replied.

If only the poor girl knew.

Pollen beamed. “I’m glad you asked! You know how much you love our ‘Bee Nice’ Sessions?”

Chloe groaned.

“Anything I tell you will come along with lessons. I will tell you tales that are important for a number of reasons. And you have to sit through all of them!”

Chloe’s eye twitched. That sounded excruciating. Buuuut, she did want to know more about what powers the Bee miraculous could give her. It was just a simple math worksheet. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. So Chloe took out a blank sheet of paper and began working.

She was wrong. So, so wrong. Chloe was by no means a bad student. She got solid B’s and pleased her daddy enough with her grades to get by. Did she need to have a study session with Sabrina before each test or quiz to get the contents down? Yes.

But that was all pish-posh. She figured if she could pick up enough for a test or quiz a day before it, she could do homework with no problem. Apparently, she hadn’t been giving Sabrina enough credit. That girl made it so much easier than this.

It didn’t help that her notes were a total disaster. Half-finished sentences, unclear instructions, and a clear lack of interest in each page. For a moment Chloe cursed her own apathy. She wanted to know more, damnit! 

By the time she finished she felt exhausted. Pollen, ever chipper, hummed as she looked through each question. She procured a pen and started making marks. That was a lot of red. Oh GOD, there was so much red.

Pollen tapped the pen to her chin in thought. Giving a nod, she wrote a score at the top of her sheet.

6/15. 

That was just under half! And that meant she would have failed had it been a test. Chloe resisted the urge to hit her head on the table. She could not afford to be forced into tutoring. Again.

Despite Chloe’s despair, Pollen was excited. This was better than she was expecting! Sure, she had been hoping for closer to a 75% or 80%, but Chloe at least had the idea down.

Plus this meant she could drill some more lessons into her charge.

Rubbing her paws together, she addressed Chloe. “Alright. Since it is almost an even split, let’s go back and forth with questions and history. I’ll start with a history lesson first, since you missed more than you got correct. But since I’m feeling nice, I’ll give you a choice here: Would you rather hear some history about my previous holders first, or about all the miraculous as a whole?”

“Your past wielders, of course! I need to know who would be so lucky to use the same miraculous as moi.” Chloe flipped her hair back to accentuate her point.

Pollen huffed. Nonetheless, she thought back to her past holders, humming all the while. Who would be the best to start with to help Chloe learn? 

She smiled as someone came to mind. “Now, before we start, I should say that we aren’t always deployed to battle some great evil. Sometimes, we are let out into the world to help inspire something. For me, I either inspire Order and Control. Or, when that gets to be too much, I inspire freedom from Order and Control.”

“Wait,” Chloe interrupted. “Why would you go against your whole Order thing?”

“I thought you wanted to talk about past wielders first,” Pollen brought a paw up to her lips to hide a smile. “To get into that would mean I would have to talk about all the miraculous.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Tell me the basics about all the miraculous first. But! You better tell me about your past users after!” Chloe conceded, pouting at the little god.

Pollen started again. “Like I said, we don’t always need a great evil to fight. At their core, each miraculous is meant to balance out their respective aspects. Tikki- Ladybug’s kwami- is the kwami of Light and Creation, for example. She is largely put out into the world to inspire new ideas and innovation.”

Chloe scrunched her nose in confusion. “Didn’t you say you also get put out to stop Order and Control? Why would you ever want to stop Light and Creation?”

“Well,” Pollen looked off to the side. “You can’t endlessly create. Tikki works on a more individual scale. She inspires Light and Creation in people as individuals. I, however, inspire Order and Subj- Control in a much larger scheme. After all, a bee’s focus is on the hive, isn’t it?”

“In any case, sometimes people burn themselves out when creating too much or spreading too much light. If you give and give and give, what is left for you? Nothing. And those left with nothing often crumble and fall apart- or worse. Tikki, when she is needed to, can either help her holder ease off themselves or help their holder teach others to let go of such demanding responsibility.”

Chloe nodded slowly. That… sort of made sense. “So it’s like when Adr- a friend of mine kept being happy and smiling even after his mother died to help others stop being sad. Because he wanted others to feel ‘lighter’” She made finger quotes, “Despite the tragedy that happened?”

“Yes, that could be a good example,” Pollen agreed. “If your friend gave away all his light and such to others, it could burn him out and leave him feeling empty and cold. Though, in this case I would lean more into the Peacock- he worked to give good emotion to others to cover their grief. But we’ll get there in a moment.”

“Plagg, Chat Noir’s kwami, is Tikki’s counterpart. He is the kwami of Dark and Destruction.” Pollen stopped as Chloe seemed to ponder that.

“If he is all about dark and destruction, wouldn’t that make him more likely to be evil?” Chloe mused.

Pollen, for her part, wasn’t bothered by the question. “If I am all about order and control, wouldn’t I be more likely to use and abuse people?”

Chloe bit her lip, but shook her head no.

“Exactly. Just because that is what we represent it does not mean we are prone to be good or evil. In the balance of all things, there IS no good and evil. Really, it just comes down to what a certain group likes or dislikes, or how a person’s morals are aligned.”

“Okay, no, Hawkmoth is totally evil. There is no doubt about that. How could taking control of others and using their emotions to turn them into monsters be seen as a good thing?” Chloe didn’t like the idea of Hawkmoth being in the ‘right’ at all. It went against everything he had done to Paris.

“Well,” Polled offered, “Does Hawkmoth see himself as evil?”

Chloe sat back in her seat. If movies were anything to go by, he probably didn’t. She sighed and motioned Pollen to continue

Pollen pushed on. “In any case, Plagg is often put into the world to ruin things. Surprising, isn’t it? But sometimes the best things are made in the ashes of destruction. Growing from losing things is important for many people. Like how your friend lost his mom- he likely felt sad and lost. But if he grew from that? He could learn to see that others will have his back and he can lean on them. Even in the hard times.”

Chloe looked away from Pollen. She was right, sort of. When Adrien’s mom died, Chloe had been there trying her best to cheer him up. Did it really work? No. But she helped him escape the house and run around the city with her, and watch stupid cartoons and shows, and sometimes, just sometimes, get him to smile.

“But losing your mom isn’t a good thing!” Chloe snapped back. “That devastated my friend and his family.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I painted it as such. Loss is a horrible thing to endure. But I wanted to make a connection to something you mentioned.” Pollen bowed her head. “Destruction is rarely a happy thing. But, a more positive example would be something more metaphorical- the destruction of insecurities, or breaking a bad relationship, or- or bashing down a wall so you can open up a room to have more space!”

Sighing, Pollen shook her head. “It is far too easy to see Dark and Destruction as a bad thing. Darkness can be used to hide when you don’t feel safe. Or it can be used to tone down how bright something is when you feel blinded. It can also be used as a complement and give things more depth.”

“Of course, Plagg has also been put out to tame destruction. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘fighting fire with fire’? It’s the idea that you fight destruction with destruction. But he can also help people see their bad habits, or the things that hurt them, and get them to reign them in and stop themselves before it’s too late.”

“Okay, sure, that makes sense. But didn’t you just describe Tikki and Plagg as opposites anyway? Light and Dark, Creation and Destruction? Why do they need to get people to go against their aspect when the other IS the opposite?” Chloe butt in.

Pollen brightened. “That’s technically later in this lesson, but I can touch on it now. You’ve likely noticed that Ladybug and Chat Noir came together as a pair, correct?” At Chloe’s nod, she continued. “That is because they are like Yin and Yang- opposites that complete each other. While other kwamis do have opposites, none quite work the same as Tikki and Plagg. They were once a single being- one that was the kwami of Balance.”

“Well,” Pollen rubbed her cheek, “They weren’t a kwami, per se. But that is too much to explain for right now. You recall how Hawkmoth’s goal is to get the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculous?”

“Of course, that’s all he ever talks about when he akumatizes someone!”

“Well, that’s because when you combine the two into one you can have any wish granted.”

“What!” Chloe slammed her hands down on the coffee table, startling Pollen. “That’s horrible! I mean, the power is cool, but if Hawkmoth got his grubby hands on that wish who knows what he would wish for!” 

“Exactly! But there’s a catch with that- whatever you wish for will have an equal and opposite consequence. If you wished for someone to come back to life? Someone else must die. If you want to have all the power in the world? Everyone else must become powerless. These may sound simple, but the gravity is just as dire as the wish would be grand.”

Chloe fell back. “So, if I- well, if I wished for my mom to love me..?”

“It depends,” Pollen shrugged. “Maybe everyone else around you would hate you. Maybe your father would stop loving you. Or, in a more subtle fashion, she wouldn’t love the real you, just a facsimile of you. Whoever she thinks you are. Sure, there are ways to make a wish that has a mostly positive outcome- for the one making the wish- but the consequence will always hurt someone. Even if it has to be a lot of someones.”

The two fell into silence after that declaration. It was a heavy thought. What could drive someone to want to change something so badly they would be willing to suffer or let others suffer for it? How cold hearted must you be? 

The whole thing baffled Chloe. She could just ring her father and have what she wanted with no consequence. Could she imagine doing something so drastic as to ruin someone’s life to make hers better?

Instead of voicing any of this, Chloe leaned forward. “So tell me about the other miraculous…”

[tomatomarrow]

d10 Ways You Come Back Not Quite Right

Posted for @stubbornessissues (hi!)

This was inspired by a similar table in the 3.5 book Heroes of Horror, which was written in The Year Of Our Edgelord 2005 and has some not great stuff on it.  The first four results on my table are intended to provoke some dramatic roleplaying moments, but could easily become frustrating if your players go hog wild with them; the time constraints I wrote are for a weekly group with players who might find sabotaging the party to better their own rolls a little too tempting. If your party can ensure everyone else is also having fun, feel free to change or eliminate those constraints.

You’re not sure how the Troubled Mechanist got his hands on this pocket dimension, but apparently, if you fall to the bottom of it, you get separated into your component periodic elements and teleported to storage.  If you’re lucky, his butler-constructs put you back together, but they’re not big on detail, and getting atomized & reconstructed that quickly tends to be taxing regardless.

Yeah, you were dead.  It's not that bad.  Once per real-world month, when you act rashly in the face of death, you gain inspiration.

You were dead once.  It was awful.  Once per real-world month, when you choose the coward's way in a critical moment, you gain inspiration.

You become very aware that you can't take anything with you.   Once per real-world month, when you give something away that you can't easily replace, you gain inspiration.

You have seen the afterlife and met its keepers.  Choose a religion (if you already had one, make a DC 15 Wisdom save or choose another).   Once per real-world month, when you perform an act of great or foolish devotion to your faith, you gain inspiration.

Your hair and fingernails become brittle and colorless, and your eyes are always bloodshot.  You gain darkvision 120 and can see invisible creatures, but you have sunlight sensitivity.

Your sweat stinks of the grave.  Corporeal undead with Intelligence scores of 7 or below are not hostile to you unless you specifically attack them or they're under another's command.  Unless you mask your scent by bathing thoroughly or applying perfume each long rest, you have disadvantage on most Persuasion checks.

You're convinced that you're being hunted by a revenant.  You may or may not be correct (GM’s choice).

You now crave warm flesh.  Once per short rest, when you consume at least a pound of raw meat killed within the last minute, you regain 1 hit point (or more, for a higher-level group, but more hit points require more flesh).

You're not quite the same.  Swap one of the spells you know and one of your languages for different ones (feel free to apply this to fighting styles or other class options).

Dying and coming back has really taken it out of you.  Reduce your Constitution score by 2 and increase a different ability score by 2.  If you roll a 10 on this table again, you don't get the increase.

edit: more of my tables & stuff on my ttrpg tag; still more of it here.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #166

Bonjour and Bienvenue boys and belles to another bit on the BB Channel! For today we’re building the boisterous baroness of bacchanalia as one bit Berserk Bewitchment Bloodline, one bit Battery Builder, all for badass beatdowns! All this brouhaha is to say we’re building and buffing the beauteous brat known as BB.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet here!

Next up: Hacking the planet? I think you misheard.

Race and Background

The evil AI from the moon BB is about as Custom a Lineage as they come, giving you +1 Dexterity and Intelligence. She also comes packed with Darkvision to dunk on those foolish human eyes and the Lucky feat to tip the scales in your favor by re-rolling attacks, checks, or saves that directly involve you three times per long rest. Games aren’t fun if they’re fair, silly!

Again, Evil AI from The Moon isn’t going to be a background you can find in most games of D&D. That being said, she certainly likes to put on shows of life and death, so once you get past their obsession with fire I’d bet she’d find a lot of common ground with Rakdos Cultists. This gives her proficiency with Acrobatics and Performance so you too can twirl around on stage and put a little flair into your attacks.

This background also gives you an additional bunch of spells to tack onto your spell lists. When you unlock spellcasting in the first place, you get Fire Bolt, Vicious Mockery, Burning Hands, Dissonant Whispers, and Hellish Rebuke. Your free second level spells are Crown of Madness, Enthrall, and Flaming Sphere. Third level is Fear and Haste, fourth is Confusion and Wall of Fire, and your free fifth level spell is Dominate Person. Don’t look at me like that, how else are you going to keep your daughters in line? BB doesn’t rely on fire that much -yet- but the other spells are absolutely in her wheelhouse. And giving a computer virus a fire wall is just plain funny.

Ability Scores

As a hyper-advanced AI from the future, it’d be a little weird if your Intelligence wasn’t your highest ability score. Your smarts are almost as obvious as how great a kouhai you are, so make your Charisma the next highest. Your Dexterity is pretty good too- that outfit probably isn’t armor, at least not in the practical sense. Your Constitution isn’t too bad either. The saying goes, “if it bleeds, you can kill it,” but you’re made out of data so you don’t bleed at all. Your Strength isn’t anything to write home about, but you can warp reality, so why would you need to lift? Dump Wisdom. You’re not exactly the most stable person in Chaldea.

Class Levels

1. Artificer 1: First level artificers get Magical Tinkering, so now you can put minor magical effects into tiny objects. Most of them probably aren’t that practical, but every event shop needs some junk.

You can also cast Spells this level, using your Intelligence to prepare and cast them. On top of your rakdos spells, you can use Lightning Lure and Mage Hand to mess with people. You can also prepare first level spells, like Identify to scan enemies for their status effects, Tasha’s Caustic Brew to re-enact your extra attack card, and Cure Wounds for a bit of maintenance on your spirit origin. It takes work to look this good, y’know!

Finally, you get proficiency with Constitution and Intelligence saves, as well as Arcana and Medicine. You were built to look after humans, and you obviously know a lot about tech.

2. Artificer 2: Second level artificers can Infuse Items to turn dumb ol’ mundane objects into magical objects! You learn four infusions right now, but you can only keep two of them available at a time, and you can swap them out between long rests. Really lean into it, make the rest of the party fight for the affection of their kouhai.

As far as your actual infusions go, Mind Sharpener is a great one for spellcasters, letting them force their concentration to stick even if they fail a save as a reaction. You can also use an Enhanced Arcane Focus to make your spells even stronger. For magic items, the classic Bag of Holding is always in fashion, and Sending Stones will help bring party communication into the 21st century.

3. Sorcerer 1: Being smart is nice, but it’s time to make things a bit more.. interesting. As a sorcerer, you get another Spell list that uses your Charisma to cast. You also get your own home game version of BB slots thanks to your Wild Magic Surge. When you cast a sorcerer spell that uses a spell slot, your DM can make you roll a d20. On a one, you then have to roll on the wild magic surge table.

If that’s not wacky enough for you, the Tides of Chaos can speed things up. Once per long rest, you gain advantage on one attack, check, or save of your choice. Your DM can also force you to roll on the WMS table when you’d normally get a WMS to recharge it.

You get cantrips like Friends, to make friends with Senpai; Message, to send calls to Senpai; Light, to help with Senpai’s dumb human eyes; and Minor Illusion, for some cheap holograms. For first level spells, Mage Armor makes that outfit less of a tactical issue, and Tasha’s Caustic Brew frees up some prep slots for artificer spells.

4. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers are Fonts of Magic, giving you sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level each long rest. Right now they can be used to refill spell slots, or you can empty spell slots to get more points.

You can also cast Magic Missile for some caster balls. I know you’re not a caster, but you do run around with a magic wand, it’s not that wild a concept.

5. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get second level spells, as well as Metamagic to make them a little bit more you flavored. Distant Spell doubles the range of a spell (or gives it a range of 30′ if it’s touch), while Subtle Spell lets you cast a spell without all that vocal or somatic component nonsense. Why waste time chanting when you could spend it narrating?

You can also cast Enhance Ability to alter your data in favor of one kind of skill checks, gaining advantage on them for the duration. You also double your carrying capacity for strength checks, avoid small falling damage with dexterity checks, or gain temporary HP with constitution checks.

6. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma to make Senpai notice you. And also to make your sorcerer spells harder to avoid.

You can also cast Prestidigitation to make more small magical effects, or Alter Self to further improve your being. When you cast it, you pick one of three modes. Mode 1 gives you a swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater. Mode 2 lets you change appearance as an action for the duration, and Mode 3 lets you grow Natural Weapons that are magical against resistances. Honestly Mode 3′s a bad matchup for you, but you’re an independent AI who don’t need no humanity, I’ll let you make your own decisions.

7. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get Magical Guidance, letting you spend 1 sorcery point to re-roll a failed skill check. You can also cast third level spells like Dispel Magic to bonk Kiara back into horny jail. Probably. We haven’t built her yet, still not entirely sure how that’s going to work.

8. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level wild mages can Bend Luck, using their reaction and 2 sorcery points to add or subtract 1d4 to another creature’s attack, check, or save. You love playing games, but more in the ‘dungeon master’ sense.

You can also cast Clairvoyance to set up your very own BB channel studio wherever you’ve been before.

9. Artificer 3: Third level artificers can always find the Right Tool for the Job, creating whatever tools you might need over the course of a short rest. Thanks to being an Artillerist, you can also bring one of those weird geometric enemies from the CCC event to the battlefield in the form of an Eldritch Cannon, creating a freestanding small cannon or a handheld tiny one. They’re pretty customizable, but they all come in one of three flavors. Flamethrowers deal AoE fire damage, Force Ballistas deal single-target force damage and throw people around, and Protectors give out temporary HP.

You also get the freebie spells Shield and Thunderwave. 

10. Artificer 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Intelligence for better artificer spells.

11. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, like Ego Whip! If your target fails an intelligence save, they get disadvantage on all attacks, checks, and saves, and it can’t cast spells. At the end of each turn it can try to make another intelligence save (still at disadvantage), but tbh most creatures aren’t that bright compared to you.

12. Sorcerer 8: Another ASI already? Bump up your Charisma to make it even harder to break out of your ego whip, and also grab Banishment so you can deal with that giant pain in your behind, Kingprotea (note: this level description does not contain the opinions of fateandphantasms. fateandphantasms does not condone any kind of Kingprotea hating.)

13. Sorcerer 9: Fifth level spell time! Grab Creation so you can warp reality and make pretty much whatever you might need out of thin air!

14. Artificer 5: Fifth level artillerists can make Arcane Firearms this level, adding 1d8 to artificer spell damage cast from a specific focus. This also means that your artificer spells and sorcerer spells can finally come out of the same wand, though I doubt most DMs would care to correct you before now.

You can also cast the freebie spells Scorching Ray and Shatter now, since you can learn 2nd level artificer spells. Use Heat Metal if you’re feeling sadistic, Invisibility or Spider Climb for some hacks, or grab Lesser Restoration for some cursed cupid cleansing.

15. Artificer 6: Your Tool Expertise doubles the proficiency of all tool-based checks, but you also get two more infusions, and one more concurrent infusion to boot! A Spell-Refueling Ring will give you more energy to deal with your many, many, problem children, while a Radiant Weapon will just make your wand shinier. Not that it’s a bad reason to grab it.

16. Artificer 7: At seventh level, you can speed up your processors to have Flashes of Genius, using your reaction to add your intelligence modifier to an ability check or saving throw nearby. You can use this Intelligence Modifier times per long rest.

17. Sorcerer 10: Your newest metamagic option lets you twin spells, turning a one-target spell into a two target spell. Now you can keep both your daughters under control at once with one casting of Dominate Person!

You also get the Mending cantrip, because let’s be real your outfit probably doesn’t look as good as it did 17 levels ago. Finally, you get the spell Far Step to bip and bop all over the place as you see fit. Remember, if you teleport off camera it’s not cheating!

18. Sorcerer 11: Eleventh level sorcerers get sixth level spells, like Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise! If you’re going to wear a nurse outfit, it might as well come with superpowers. You get immunities to certain damages and conditions, you can fly, your AC goes up, and your weapon attacks use your spellcasting modifier, are magical, and you can attack twice per action. Ramming a giant needle into somebody never felt so right!

19. Sorcerer 12: For your last ASI, grab the Tough feat. All these sorcerer levels have not done your HP total any favors.

20. Sorcerer 13: Your capstone level nets you a seventh level spell, so grab Plane Shift so you can finally escape the Mooncell and show Senpai all the hard work you’ve done!

Pros:

You have a ton of ways to cheat at dice, manipulating the world to always work in your favor. Re-roll dice with magical guidance and lucky, or just stick a finger on the scale with bend luck and flash of genius. Either way, your party will be thankful to have you.

You also make a decent variety caster thanks to the variety of technological goodies at your disposal. Support team communication with sending stones, spy on people with clairvoyance, create whatever the party might need with creation, or just blow people up with thunderwave and your eldritch cannon. You come packing a little bit of everything.

You’re particularly good at shutting down one or two opponents, with Ego Whip destroying their ability to do much of anything, Enthrall and Fear keeping you their main focus, or Banishment shoving them out of existence entirely.

Cons:

Those wild magic surges can bite you in the ass just as much as they help you, so try to make sure you don’t spin a bankrupt on the BB slots. Seriously though they can straight up kill your entire party at level 1. Don’t be unlucky.

Having a bit of everything means you aren’t focused on any one thing. Builds like Ishtar and -god help me- Mephistopheles?? beat you in magic damage, Scheherazade and Kogil beat you for utility, and Medea Lily and Irisviel beat you for healing. It must be nice to have so many senpais though!

Trying to keep on top of all those checks and saves means you’ll burn through your sorcery points really fast, so just... don’t push yourself too hard, you might not like what happens when you run out of power.

[defensefilms]

Giannis And The Bucks Outlast Nets In A Classic Series

The 2021 NBA post season has been marred by injuries and covid protocols and precautions. Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard’s absence from the early part of the Western Conference finals is the absolute worst case scenario.

When you look at it like that, you can definitely see how the NBA needed this Bucks-Nets series and it delivered drama on spades.

The Brooklyn Nets were on the ropes and searching for answers after the Bucks tied the series in game 4. Kyrie Irving’s injury hurt the quality of basketball for sure but it also added to the drama and Durant’s performances kind of showed why NBA fans miss the days of a single all-star caliber player leading a team.

They responded in game 5, a visibly slower James Harden returned to help the Nets get a 114-108 victory.

Stephen A Smith’s prediction proved to be correct when he guaranteed that the Bucks would win game 6 on their own court and the Bucks did winning by a score of 104-89.

The stage was set then. 

Game 7 in the Barclays Arena started out as nervously as it could. There were several times I walked away from my screen in a fit of emotion because it really felt like the refs were trying to screw the Milwaukee Bucks. At one point I was convinced that big market bias was going to sway this series and the NBA were trying to pull a Tim Donaghy.

To add to that Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday were absolutely struggling to make shots in the first half. Brook Lopez and PJ Tucker’s shooting helped the Bucks not get swallowed up completely.

The 2nd quarter was the most nervous for me because the Nets lead the whole quarter and they took their biggest lead in the final 2 minute of the quarter and the Bucks will have felt very lucky to have cut that to a 7 point lead going in to halftime. 

Milwaukee’s shooters managed to shoot 41.1% from beyond the arc in this game it proved to be important because Brooklyn only managed 30.8%  but the other facet they killed Brooklyn in, was on the glass. They finished this game with 18 offensive rebounds. 

The 3rd quarter was still a close run affair but again the Nets looked like they were closing out the quarter stronger and had it not been for Middleton’s steal on Durant and a Giannis’ dunk to give the Bucks a 1 point lead going in to the 4th.

The 4th was when Milwaukee’s depth finally starter to matter. Khris Middleton made some big time contested jumpers and Jrue Holiday with a pair of pull-up jumpers with under 3 minutes to play. Durant was being Durant though and when the Bucks failed to score with just 5.2 second left in the quarter and up by 109-107, the Nets would in bound the ball to Durant who appeared to have shot the game winner over PJ Tucker. The replay showed Durant had his foot on the line and the made shot was worth just 2 points and not 3. 

Overtime.

The Nets open the scoring after Bruce Brown makes a lay-up.

That was Brooklyn’s only mad bucket in 5 minutes of over time.

Giannis was absolutely Kareem Abdul Jabbar-like when he made a post hook over Kevin Durant. Durant’s attempt at a response was blocked by Brook Lopez. 

Then Khris Middleton made a turnaround jumper over Bruce Brown for the lead.

Durant was poised to try again and would have been happy to see Jrue Holiday guarding him on the final possession but he airballed his shot and Milwuakee had knocked out the Brooklyn Nets.

Kevin Durant may be the media’s pick as far as the player to watch in this series and he may have been. He was big time. Averaging 35.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the series. That’s no small feat. You have to remember that the Nets had a 2-0 lead at one point in this series and were still up 2-1 when Kyrie went down.

If you ask me this game and this series was a showcase of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Dude literally faced every type of adversity throughout this series.

Blake Griffin was as smart and as savvy of a Giannis-stopper as they could have asked for. They’ll probably regret not playing Deandre Jordan at all but Blake and the Nets defense tested Giannis throughout.

That crowd count-down in game 7 could have easily turned in to a meme and Giannis is not a guy that get credited with the fabled “clutch gene” but he was 8-14 from the line in game 7. 

There was also that 3-pointer he made in the 3rd quarter and he trash talked the Nets on his way back up the court for leaving him open. Was not phased at all by the stage he was on.

All told Giannis averaged 31.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the series. He was incredible despite what the media may try to tell you.

His game 7 output was 40 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists on 15-24 shooting from the field. He was every bit the star they needed.

[midhavencryptids]

Rebecca Chapter 1 Test And Results

Based on Dr. Jekyll's Work becomes a very different Hyde, with an unexpected transgendered results.

The very start of Mr Edward Fletcher’s unwittingly transformative journey, where some bloods had been requested of him....

Note to readers all stories connecting with Midhaven (Mid-haven) are set in 1994. All the characters are purely fictional, and no way portray any real people or institutes of any kind.

MIDHAVEN:

Rebecca

By Maddie Jane Rann

1 Tests and Results

31st March 1994

Edward Fletcher sat anxiously in the empty waiting room of his local surgery for his appointment which was supposedly meant for 10:30am. He himself, was a gaunt and lanky looking 35 year old dressed in a slightly crumpled grey office suit. He had four inch long auburn hair which was styled into a centre parted undercut and also wore thin framed rectangular glasses. Restless with nerves knowing a blood test had been required of him by his new GP, Dr Elliot. He had only met the doctor once before, for some completely unrelated matter since he transferred from Bournemouth and taken over his previous doctor’s practice. Nevertheless, it was something that Edward really could of done without, plus the blood nurse was running late which only put him more on edge. Looking for some form of distraction he glanced to the low coffee table of magazines about three feet ahead of him. He rose slightly out of his chair, the red coloured tie dangled out of his jacket as he leaned forward. Shakily he rummaged through the assortment of ‘Glenda’ fashion magazines until clumsily knocking a couple of issues to the floor. In a panic he picked them up and placed them neatly in a tidy pile on the table before collapsing back into his chair with a sigh of embarrassment.

“You tit.” He uttered

He gave up the clock that was hanging on the far end wall an impatient glance, it was now 10:43.

“It's cutting it a bit fine.” He muttered to himself, he had an important meeting at 11:15 which he must attend the weekly briefing of the Lindenbay shopping district on the Harbour which he was appointed as a senior architect, then he was expected on site thereafter. As this was a fasting test he was just hoping there might have been chance of breakfast before his work begun.

Moments later he caught from the corner of his left eye, an elderly couple being led carefully out of the phlebotomy room and then the nurse as she watched them creep past the reception and out the main entrance. Then she turned and looked down towards him with her hands on hips.

“Edward Fletcher!” She called sternly yet with a playful tone. To him the calling was like the tolling of the iron bell, but the aged female voice was familiar and somewhat soothing to his recollection. He turned nervously to meet his calling only to smile with some relief that it was his Mother’s friend June who was on duty today.

“Oh....um, June, hello.” He greeted standing to his full height of 6ft1.

“April Fools by chance? No? Not today?”

“Hello Eddy, come this way.” The 60-year-old Nurse beckoned him with a smirk and led him into the poky room that housed a singular black leather treatment chair which was bolted to the floor. There was a tall fan blowing in the corner that made June’s blue disposable apron flitter dramatically in its breeze.

“If you could remove your jacket and roll up both sleeves before taking a seat, I do like to have my pick of veins.”

“Oh yes OK.” Edward did as he was bided.

“You seem a little tense Eddie? Anything the matter?” She asked whilst checking over his notes.

“Ah well you know…. It’s a blood test and…..” He began as he sat in the treatment chair gazing around at the four blind walls and quickly objecting.

"There are no windows in here?”

“Yes, you would think us phlebotomists were all vampires or something, you should know by now I don’t bite, just prick a little.” She smiled.

“Ah ha yes, that’s what I’m actually afraid of…...” He added with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, I see….. You fall under Dr. Elliot, lucky you, with your infamously well-known fear of needles and all. I don’t know. He’s always requesting bloods for one thing or another, usually something mundane coupled with genomic testing. Usually, I thought it was something reserved as a premium treatment, never known a doctor to request this as much. Seems to be his style, I guess, prefers the full ins and outs of his patients’ right down to their DNA. Anyhow he keeps me busy.”

“Terrific, lucky me indeed.” Edward squirmed as he tried to get comfortable on the leather seat.

“Liver function…. right.” She started to look for the colour coded phials through the equipment draws.

“I think Dr Elliot had been concerned with my history of drinking.” Edward mentioned shamefully

“Uh huh.” June sighed knowing all too well.

“And how’s that been going?”

“Very well, though I have had a few dips late. But only on occasions.”

June pouted with disbelief.

“Really?”

“Ahh, look, to be honest, it’s this shopping centre development it’s been really getting to me of late.”

“Oh really? You’re doing that now? It looks very exciting what they’ve been planning for the harbour.” Said June.

“Uh huh yeah, well you know when they had to halt construction during the discovery of the 14th century burial pit, it was all over the Midhaven Messenger for weeks on end. Well by the time the archaeologists had finished the architectural firm that had been employed for the project had gone bust leaving our firm to immediately take over. They left so many flaws it was unbelievable, never mind the parts that were left unfinished. A complete and utter mess, to be fair, that shouldn’t have gone as far as planning yet alone construction! You know they left 18 shop spaces, completely blocked off with no access!”

In meantime of Edwards complaining she had found the correct phial and took another look at his notes….

“Ah…. I thought so, bang on style, genomics too, right where did I leave those tubes. OK just sit back Eddy I won’t take long at all. Talk about drinking have you diluted yourself with plenty of water?”

“Oh yes Aunty June……. and have been fasting since 10 past last night.” As he saw it was on the tip of her tongue.

“Very good….. Just for security reasons could you confirm your address and date of birth please? Just so I know it’s you.”

“But you already know….” He stopped with June’s glaring, over the top of her glasses.

“Ohhh…. 15th of the 4th 1958 and 13 A Mitchell Avenue, Midhaven, MD1 JH3.” He sighed.

“Very good Eddy.” She confirmed then gave her hands a singular clap before scooting away from her desk in her wheeled desk chair to Edwards left side.

“Now just relax and I promise I won’t take too much.”

He gulped as the needle of doom was now inevitable, yet knew he was in safe hands. His eyes wondered from his Mum’s old friend preparing his arm for the surgical procedure to staring at the collection of photos stuck to the wall ahead of him. These pictures were an odd assortment of carnival masks and cocker spaniels, he figured it was probably something that either June or another blood nurse had put together for the patients to focus on rather than the blood being taken.

7thof April 1994

A few days later as Dr Elliot came to work he was handed several letters from the front desk that had arrived the day before. His brow rose with intrigue noticing that they all came from the Phlebotomy labs in the city. He thanked the receptionist with a smile of gratitude before taking the envelopes and his briefcase to his office. Without another moment he sat at his desk and was readily opening the envelopes with great enthusiasm. Dr Elliot who was an average looking man in his late middle years with silver hair that swept across his head. He also bore thick black eyebrows that were currently furrowed behind large paned glasses. These letters were indeed the latest round of test blood results that he requested, though he was more interested in his patient’s genomics, seemingly at first to disregard the other. He speedily went through two lots scouring them closely only to not finding what he was looking for. It wasn’t until his third envelope and opening it with a sigh to only expecting the same humdrum when something caught his eye that instantly gave him a chills, something exciting as he ran through the latest sets of numbers. A look of long lost cheer came to his grey middle aged face as he quickly drew a red pen from the desk tidy and roughly circled the odd allele scores that brought him to such frenzy. Once finished he slapped his left hand down on the edge of the desk then opened a draw just underneath, lifting the corners of a couple of folders that concealed a small flat key. He took hold of it before springing out of his chair, and almost skipped to the grey metallic filing cabinet that stood beside the window only 6ft to his left. Pushing the key into the lock of the bottom draw then turned it and pulled the handle. In seconds he was leafing through the murky green coloured folders until he found the one he was searching. Taking away the whole folder he returned to his desk and sat down before spreading out a few pages of his interest, one was another set of genetics like the one he marked. He ran his finger through the results.

“Ha!” He barked and scribbled circles around similar results in the same red pen. He beamed with joy as he held them studying them side by side, his mind now racing with possibilities. This was the opportunity that he and his associate had been waiting for, for quite some time with now just the thought that they might finally reach their goal in the next couple of days, if they planned it right. After a moment of pause for consideration he put down the paper and picked up the handset on the cream coloured desk telephone. He held it to his left ear and keyed in the number. While he waited for his recipient to pick up the phone he took time to find the name of the patient whom the results belonged to.

“Mr Edward Fletcher? What a lucky man you are.”

He smiled heartily when the other end of the line was picked up and proceeded to speak in bright and theatrical manner.

“Ah, good morning my dear May! It’s Elliot here….. Yes!…. Yes!….. I’m quite aware how early it is for you, but if you must be up all night skulking around until the early hours…. My point?” He was taken back by his recipient’s seeming impertinence.

“Now if you give me a little time and patience, I can inform you of some very good news that came by post this morning.” He picked up the results.

“Yes…. it’s some genomes if you care, from one of my patients, they came back from…. Yes, he has all the right faults that I have been looking for, in all the right places for the formula to work. This is it, my dearest May, this is it.” He listened to the receivers reply though by the sinking look on his face it was probably a reply of a dreary lack of enthusiasm.

“All right…. I shall tell you what…. “He breathed rubbing his temple in frustration.

“We shall reconvene this matter when I come off duty…. About half 6…. you say you’ll meet me. Of course, the usual place, the old sail factory, we can set up the equipment at once. Then we can decide how to safely capture our specimen. Until then I’ll let you have your sleep… oh.” May hung up cutting the call abruptly.

“You may even wake up a little less insolent too.” He said to himself glumly and still holding the phone to his ear, in a delayed moment later returned it to the base.

“But that of course would be asking too much of you my dear.” He sighed

Dr Elliot looked at his clock it was 8:30, then hurriedly gathered the test results and associated papers in the folder just before the receptionist knocked on the door.

“Coffee Dr Elliot?” She called.

“That would be lovely Miss Tibbs, please come in.” He replied with a big arm gesture, the young lady entered with a mug of filtered coffee in one hand and a printed A4 sheet of booked appointments in the other which placed on top of his desk next to the folder.

“There you go Doctor, milk and no sugar and your appointments for today.”

“Ahhh….Thank you so kindly.” He said and then began studying the list as she backed out the office. He nodded when he understood the workload ahead and took a sip of his coffee, then picked up his folder and placed it in his desk draw before dutifully calling for his first patient by pressing the button of the intercom device that was sat next to his telephone.

“Mr Utterson to see Dr Elliot, come to room 2 please, I am quite ready to see you now.”

next chapter

https://midhavencryptids.tumblr.com/post/629310030007713792/rebecca-chapter-2-edwards-day

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

undefined

rafaelcasal | ARTISTS: About 7 years ago, after just moving to LA from Oakland, we couldn’t leave our houses or do anything fun because we were broke artists. In fact, I’ve spent about 15 years as an incredibly broke artist/person, most of that with no healthcare, tons of stress about when we might make some money, scraping cash together for rent, and everyone around me in the same boat of uncertainty and stress. And the odd jobs were endless - retail, busser, barback, night shift editor assistant, PA, truck PA, (and so..SO many other jobs) until I could finally start showing that I was a good graphic designer, film editor, producer - enough to show people I was worth hiring for my skills.

To do that, I practiced those skills every free chance I got with my friends. We would write and shoot things, find any excuse to make something of our own to flex. We recorded tons of music, shot shorts, and one year we made some Doritos commercials for the Doritos super bowl contest. The first one here got pretty far in the contest! Against people and crews who seemed to have so much more money and resources. It may seem silly to look back on, but I wrote, edited, scored, color corrected, produced and starred in that first spot. The second was shot in Diggs and my apartment in East LA, the other at @justinchucary’s apartment, who had already been in LA for 5 years telling us to get down there.

Now, all of these people are on major tv shows. Justin is on @blacksummer_official, @sheaunmckinney is on #theneighborhood, @bechirsylvain is on @clawstnt and diggs and I are doin our thing. And everyone is writing work of their own. Now, everyone reading this has a 4K camera phone with editing apps. So if you are a filmmaker, storyteller, etc. now is the time to PRACTICE and IMPROVE. All the seemingly silly things you do will pay off. (And feel no pressure to put it out. It doesn’t have to be a public stunt.) And that’s not just for those waiting at the gate, all you professionals too - MAKE something, with no budget. Raw. Then those of us lucky enough to be alive are better for it, and have a new or improved skill that increases your value in the arts business. Enjoy these terrible ads lol

[mycryptosuite]

Live Score Prediction Tips - Correct Score Odds

Live Score Prediction Tips – Correct Score Odds

Live Score Prediction Tips – Correct Score Odds Live score prediction tips for today bets is going to be best tips ever predicted on Abc Naija Lotto – Correct score predictions for today’s football matches can be found here. (more…)

[imagine-a-fangirl]

Celebration Challenge

Character: David Rossi Prompt: “It’s soccer, not football.” 

Today was the day, your country was facing off against Italy, y/c was doing well lately so you couldn’t wait for the match. It was scheduled for the afternoon and both you and Rossi had permission from Hotch for a extended lunch break to watch the game as long as  there wasn’t a case. “Who is ready to get their ass kicked?” You announced once you spotted Rossi talking to Morgan. “I believe only you can answer that question.” Rossi grinned “Not a chance, we might have had our lows these last years but we’re coming back strong and more than ready to kick some Italian butts.” Derek looked at you as if you had both lost your mind but Reid informed him about the upcoming match. “We will see if you still speak so highly once they fail to reach the European Championship once again.” “Our women’s team beat you during the last world cup and our men will do the exact same thing during these qualifications. Only this time we get to do it twice, which is very refreshing.” When you joined the team you and Rossi had quickly bonded over the fact that you were both European descent and the fact that you loved soccer. This was the first time your teams were up to each other since that day, making the match that more interesting. “I never expected the two of you to be so excited about an upcoming football match.” “It’s soccer not football.” Rossi corrected him “And we’re European, what did you expect?” “To be somewhat adjusted to the American way of football?” “Soccer!” Both of you corrected him once more before Spencer started to lecture him about the difference and the origin of both. You got to your desk to start on a stack of paperwork from the last case you worked on, causing the time to fly. “Ready?” You asked Rossi when it was almost time to leave. He looked up from his paperwork and saw your jersey. “What a dedication for a team that is going to lose.” “Don’t worry, I got one for you too.” You tossed the blue Jersey from behind your back on his desk. “I’m waiting for you at the elevator.”

The bar you went too served both Italian dishes as dishes from your country which was a good sign to start with. Before the game started you talked a bit about the last case but that was over the moment the game started. The first half wasn’t to interesting, Italy scored in the first 10 minutes but your team got back within 5 minutes. The second half was when it really got interesting, Rossi almost jumped from his chair when Italy scored again. “Promise you don’t get to sad when they lose Bella?” He joked “It’s not over yet, we have gotten back from far worse scores.” And you were right, before you knew it they were tied once again. And in the 70th minute Bonucci made foul tackle within the 16meter. “Red ref!” You called to the screen “He barely touched him!” Rossi protested You gave Rossi a look when the replayed the tackle “Barely touched him huh?” “Alright, alright, maybe it’s a penalty.” He admitted. The captain from y/c kicked it flawlessly behind the goalkeeper and you were ecstatic “That’s how you do it!” Your excitement was interrupted by Rossi’s phone ringing, which gave you an unpleasant feeling. Rossi showed you the caller ID on his phone “No you can’t be serious, it’s only 15 more minutes.”   “What is it Hotch?” Rossi picked up “alright…. Yes… I understand…. We’ll meet you guys in the jet.” “And?”  You were almost afraid to ask. “Wheels up in 30.” You took a look at the clock of the match and at your watch “If they don’t get to much extra time we can make it.” “That’s almost to close of a call y/n.” “We’ll make it, I’m sure of it.” The last bit of the game was so exciting the both of you almost forgot you had to make it in time for the Jet. After the 6 minutes of extra time you and Rossi jumped up to get to your car and you broke every speed limit there was on your way. “5 minutes.” Rossi told you when you were standing for the last light “Get ready for a sprint then.” You parked the car as close to the jet as you possibly could and urged Rossi to start running as you still had to grab your bag from the trunk and knew you were faster than him. You took a sprint with your bag of on your back and saw Hotch standing at the jet entry looking at his watch. His stern look made place for a grin when he saw Rossi and you running towards the jet. “Made it!” You said triumphally to Hotch, while Rossi was still catching his breath from all the running. “Barely.” Hotch corrected you as he followed you inside the jet. “But we made it and that’s what counts.” “I thought you we’re going to watch the game, not play it?” Derek laughed, Rossi let himself fall on one of the chairs. “I’m getting to old for this.” “For that shirt you mean?” Hotch laughed at the Italy jersey he was wearing. “Ahh give him a break Hotch, he already had to run and he lost the match.” You grinned “Be glad he is still breathing.” “You were lucky this time, we’ll get you next time.” “It was 4-2 Rossi, that’s not luck we are just better.”

[ahiddenpath]

hey hidden. I hope this question isn't weird but your job is very cool to me, so I was wondering: what exactly did you need for education to get into it, and what's it like for you?

Are-  Are you-  Are you asking me to nerd out?

THE NERDING WILL COMMENCE BELOW THE CUT!

EDIT:  Trigger warning for discussion of cancer treatments/research.

SO I am a molecular biologist.  I am currently researching immunotherapies for a biotech company.  

One thing I should emphasize is that this stuff takes an enormous team working together for years.  I don’t want anyone to think that I’m, like...  Personally producing cancer medicines.  I’m part of a team of about 400 people, working together with 20 ish years of data produced by our company and the companies we partner with.  And my boss tells me what I’m going to work on!  I design the experiment, run the experiment, and consider the data from there, but I’m not the “mastermind” for anything.  It’s usually the upper level career scientists with pHDs doing that.

Another disclaimer is that, sadly, we as humans aren’t at the “defeat cancer forever” stage.  Like, it’s not... near.  The best defense continues to be frequent screening so it can be caught and treated early (which is bad news in the states, where people can’t afford the screening because we don’t have universal health care, or they can afford it but don’t go because they have three part time jobs, none of which give benefits-  But I digress).

Oh!  And one more thing I want to tell all future science dorks, something I was super lucky to learn at age 19: follow the money.

When I was 19, I was culturing and chemically processing algae, then assessing the data.  My company at the time wanted to create biodiesel from algae, and my whole world was rocked when they told me: WE ALREADY CAN MAKE VIABLE FUEL FROM ALGAE.  The problem is that it costs about $4.50 per gallon, so it can’t compete with normal diesel (at the time, this was like 12 years ago).  

So what they wanted was algae that had the correct chemical profile for use in biodiesel, that could also be grown at tropical temperatures.  Why?  Because the algae was to be grown in sugar cane processing centers, where it’s tropical, and most of the production costs came from cooling the incubators and instruments that would grow the algae.  So they needed algae that could make diesel, but also grow in hot weather, which apparently isn’t common.

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY!  It’s often not even about “can we do it,” but “can we do it at x cost, considering conditions hundreds of miles away.”  Crazy!

Ah, but you asked how to get into biotech!  It’s not that hard, thankfully!  I have a BS in biology.  I made sure to get good grades and all of that, and if you’re serious about biotech, you want to take classes in things like immunology, virology, any science class that can return to human health and biotech.  I will say that, while I’ve always naturally excelled at biology, I had to take more chemistry than bio!  Plus, you need math and physics...  

But here’s my best advice for biotech-interested young people:

-If you’re looking at universities while in high school, PLEASE check out what AP classes will get you out of undergrad labs.  The WORST PART about being a science kid is the labs.  For example, every bio and chem class has a lab.  The class itself usually consists of three 50 minute lectures (150 min/week), and you get 3 credits.  The lab is 170 min per week, and you only get 1 credit.  If you don’t place out of some classes with labs attached with AP credit, YOUR ASS WILL BE SITTING IN LABS FOR AT LEAST 340 MINUTES A WEEK!  AND YOU ONLY GET 2 CREDITS FOR THAT!!!!  It’s utter bullshit.

So, if you’re in high school and really serious about pursuing a science degree, check out which AP scores get you out of labs at your favorite universities, and really commit to getting 5s in those.

I was able to place out of 3 labs this way, and it played an enormous role in maintaining my sanity.

-Everyone in biotech knows EVERYONE in biotech.  It’s absolutely astounding.  But it’s a small field, centered around a few hot spots, and lots of these people have been at it for 40+ years.

Here are some of the hot spots in America (you might have to live in one of these areas to find biotech jobs, so be sure you’re down for that).

Anyway, like I said, I worked as an undergrad at a biotech.  I was so fortunate, because they paid me, I was already doing actual-factual research, and I got to know people.  And when I graduated, people went, “Oh you worked for Bob?  Let me give him a call.”  And then they did.  And then Bob said, “Oh yeah, she’s a hard worker, hire her.”

SO you need to make connections ASAP, and strive to show people your hard-working, curious, problem-solving, good-attitude-having self.  Sadly, there’s an element of luck there, for sure.  But you need to be ready to try to work in professional labs in college, which means juggling your difficult courses and school labs with work.  Hooray!

...Did I say this wasn’t hard?  I’m full of shit, aren’t I.  Looking back, all I can see is how lucky I was, and how I “only” needed a 4 year degree, but...  It really takes a lot to get here.

As for what it’s like...

I love it, it’s great, but like any job, it...  Well, it’s rough.

Here’s what I think you need to thrive in biotech, assuming you’re not put off by the stuff I’ve already covered:

-Organization, time management, and focus.  Honestly, being a lab researcher isn’t about being smart, it’s about juggling a lot of things simultaneously.  Lots of folks describe the job as “hurry up and wait,” because you rush to mix the experimental ingredients together so they can incubate for two hours before you do the next step.  And while that’s incubating, you do x, which has a few 15 minute incubations.  In those 15 minutes, you generate graphs with yesterday’s data, make records for you lab notebook, order items for next week’s experiment, print labels, or...  Any number of things.  There are ALWAYS tons of balls in the air, so organization and time management are 90% of the job.

And you need to focus, because most of the time it looks like you’re adding a single droplet of water to other droplets of water.  Almost everything you work with is a clear liquid, so you can’t go spacing out and forgetting what you’ve already added to the mix.

A typical day is to arrive at work, sit down for a while to plan out how to best use the incubation times to do other things, head into the lab, hope for incubation periods for toilet/water/food breaks, and scramble to get data processing in there somewhere.  Deadlines are usually tight, because it’s always a race to patent a medicine before one of the other 5,000 companies trying to do it can.  We all work from the shared published scientific knowledge, so there’s no...  Developing something in secret.

I’d say my job is challenging, but rewarding, especially as we come closer to generating medicines for what we call “patients with unmet needs.”  Remember how I said “follow the money?”  Sadly, often, um...  Okay I’m gonna do a really quick and loose explanation.  People have different versions of the same genes, right?  And sometimes, there are “cancer” genes- this is a really sloppy explanation, sorry.  So medicines get created for the most common mutated cancer gene first.  So say 70% of cancer patients have this mutated gene, 20% have that mutated gene, and 10% have a third mutated gene.  Guess who gets medicine made for them first?

If you guessed the largest group, you’re right!  The trouble is that big companies will then move on to the largest group for another cancer/gene group, leaving people with more rare genetic issues without treatment options beyond chemo, which many elderly or immunocompromised patients simply can’t tolerate.

My company specifically aims to help these people with no help in sight.  On the one hand, follow the money- we are doing it because we will have a market, and we can’t compete with big companies yet.  On the other, we are helping people who have no options.  I’m so grateful to use my gifts (organization, planning, focus, problem solving, and natural curiosity) to play a small, small role in hopefully helping people.  It means something to me.

On the other hand, it can be a grind, no lie.  And any high-pressure job will have colleagues who are also under pressure, and might lash out or try to throw other people under the bus when problems arise.  A certain level of emotional maturity and strength is required, and frankly, I needed therapy to get there.

Also, if you’re a female-presenting human, some people will give you shit in biotech.  Luckily, I’ve only ever had one coworker be blatantly sexist and ask me (multiple times) if I was sure I belonged here.  Unfortunately, you’re more likely to see more discrete sexism, like folks asking you to organize parties for pregnant or engaged coworkers because “you seem like you’d be good at it,” ie “you’re female and I am throwing social tasks at you so I can focus on my science, which you also have to do.”  I’ve had a lot of coworkers try so hard to corner me into doing emotional work for them.  But...  Honestly, most of this is just existing as a woman, and isn’t specific to biotech.

So yeah!  You’re gonna have to work hard, but if you have an interest in science, great organization skills, and want to play a little role in helping people who are suffering in a way that doesn’t involve direct social interaction with the hurting people...  It’s great!

Sorry for the absolute wall of text, I hope this helps!  I’m always happy to talk about this, so please ask away if you’d like.  Thanks for the ask!

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “Ghost” Part 2

Bane’s wife is a mystery to everyone, including her husband. Ghost also happens to be The Joker’s little obsession, not that she ever pays attention to him. Maybe that’s why The King of Gotham should stop messing around: when you push too much, you might get more than you bargained for.

The Joker and his girlfriend left about 15 minutes ago; Kara was in a bad shape and you offered to drive her car back tomorrow. You have no idea how she made it to your house after the events at the club. You could tell J was fuming and for once he seemed to care about what happened to his woman: maybe it was a little wakeup call The King of Gotham needed. Hard to tell when it comes to these matters due to his spectacular personality.

One thing’s for sure though: after his arrival Kara couldn’t stop crying and Ghost knew why. The Joker’s girlfriend merely escaped assault and him giving a damn about the ordeal made her overemotional: it was the first time he showed some real interest outside the bedroom; he held her hand all the way to the car and didn’t even mind a kiss before she got in.

“You’re awfully quiet,” your husband points out. “You’ve been staring out the windows at the empty parking lot since they left. Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah…I’m fine,” you turn only to see him signal for you.

Bane is not stupid; he can tell you’re distracted and he can guess the reason. As soon as you straddle his lap he rests his forehead on yours, choosing to dig a bit dipper without sugar coating his objective.

“Are you thinking about that day?”

You take such a strenuous breath there’s no need for a verbal confirmation.

“Wanna talk about it?”

You are aware of the meaning:  your spouse is not asking for details, he’s just bringing it up in case you want to share your feelings regarding Kara’s unfortunate experience.

You caress his bald head and sigh, prepared to describe the facts.

Bane never mentioned anything about the first time you’ve met simply because he always assumed he understood what he saw five years ago. The truth is he didn’t.

“When…when you found me…” you gulp and he distinguishes the struggle.

“Hey,” your husband whispers. “That’s not why I brought it up. You don’t have to re-live the past; I was trying to hint that if you want to discuss…”

He twists a strand of your white hair around his finger while you interrupt:

“When you found me behind the truck, that guy wasn’t trying to rape me; he was trying to kill me.”

Bane’s not wearing his mask and you can read the conflicting emotions written all over his face.

“Vee was my ex,” you continue and pause in order to gather your thoughts. “When I learned he was involved in human trafficking, I urged him to quit. The money was great and he refused so I planned to disappear and help some girls flee in the process. I was very careful yet he still perceived my intentions and when you bumped into us… he was trying to finish me so I won’t be any trouble for his boss and their line of business.”

“Shit…” HB mumbles, hating that his Ghost looks upset.

“I wasn’t defending myself from a rapist, I was fighting for my life. What do you think about that, hm?” you throw the question at him and his reply doesn’t fail:

“That whatever- his-name-was-your-ex had it coming. You can’t kill a Goddess! A man is lucky enough to encounter one and if he fucks up, then he signs up for the bitter consequences.”

A few moments of complete silence, then Bane hears his favorite words:

“I love you,” Y/N pecks the thin scars across his nose and decides to turn the gloomy night into a more accommodating situation. “We were having lots of fun when the unexpected guest barged in; we should stick to the original schedule and reprise our activity.”

“Agree,” Bane squeezes you in his strong arms tighter. “A tiny Ghost might be already in here,” he softly rubs your tummy.

“Or a handsome little brute,” you giggle and he has to underline:

“However, it doesn’t hurt to keep practicing.”

“U-hum,” you wink and he likes the smile forming on your lips, infinitely better than having his wife distressed about an incident that almost ended her existence.

*************

5 Years Ago

Bane was done loading the supplies he wanted in his truck, lingering at the spot chosen for that evening’s transaction. It was consistently a random place where everyone that wanted to buy or sell could get together and exchange merchandise; under the radar of course, since the negotiations were less than legal and the individuals present could have easily be enlisted on FBI’s most wanted list.

A lot of turmoil and movement at the campsite, but he still detected a woman’s scream; he carefully listened when it happened again. Bane circled his truck and walked between the vehicles stationed there until his heavy steps abruptly halted: there was a lady trying to get from under a limp body collapsed on top of hers, still holding the rock she used in order to defend herself.  

You crawled from under Vee and froze when you noticed Bane glaring at you. Y/N recognized the masked man: he was starting to gain a certain reputation, not that it was his purpose; he only stuck to his agenda and didn’t give a damn about anything else.

Your future spouse believed that one of the imbeciles tried to sample the merchandise and got more than he could chew; he also knew they didn’t like the girls to rebel and the price paid if they did.

That feral look in your eyes reminded him of the same fire that fueled his veins every time he attempted to get out of the accursed Pit; made him take a decision he never regretted: instead of alerting the others and score a nice bonus for cooperation, Bane gave you a choice.

“If you want to survive, come with me.”

You hesitated: was he toying with you before sounding the alarm?! The pile of muscles indifferently distanced from the scene and you got on your feet, stumbling from the aftermath of almost being assassinated by your former boyfriend. Vee was out cold and you dropped the rock by his feet, not bothering to check if he was dead.

You followed Bane to his truck and he gestured for you to hop in the back; it was difficult to fit in between the boxes yet you managed anyway. He covered everything with the tarp and advised while sealing the way out:

“Stay put!”

It was a nerve wracking couple of hours: Bane drove away immediately and you had no clue about what will occur next. Where was he taking you anyway?

**********  

He pried the door and Y/N strolled inside when she realized he was keeping it opened for her. “This is a gated, private property; we’re right outside Gotham, north of Willow Creek. You should lay low: by know they must have identified the guy and they might be searching for the responsible party.”

He was thinking you were “one of the girls” and you didn’t correct him.

“I had no clue I’ll find myself in this mess,” you skeptically brought it up. “I should go to my apartment and pack suitcases.”

“Bad idea,” the distorted voice huffed. “You should disappear, it’s safer. Those are not the type of people you want to cross!”

You nervously played with the hem of your torn dress and Bane added:

“There are clean clothes in the bedroom; you can use one of my t-shirts. I’ll bring some items your size tomorrow.”

“You’re not staying?!” you inquired, perplexed.

“Nope, I’m busy. Give yourself a tour; I’m positive you can cope with my absence.”

He saw the doubt and muttered:

“You’re not a prisoner; you can leave. Close the gates if you do. If I were you, I would linger on the premises.”

That’s all he said and left a very confused Y/N in the middle of the living room. You wished to ask why he was aiding a total stranger, but you figured it was dumb to do so: Bane seemed like the type of man that didn’t do things unless he felt like it. Period.

You curiously inspected the house, marveled that it was neat and organized: four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, the spacious living room, another bathroom and the kitchen downstairs. The dust settled on the counters indicated the hideout wasn’t used very often; the decorations were minimal, mostly functional, basic furniture.

You were grateful when you opened the fridge and found some food that was still eatable: the precooked kind but you weren’t picky at that point. After warming up a container in the microwave, Y/N took a sit at the table; with the crazy events that spiraled out of control she didn’t have time to reflect about her current predicament.

It hit as you were munching on your ravioli: how the hell did you end up there?! A sudden, unbearable sense of isolation washed all over you, the numbness that protected you from the initial shock gradually dissipating in thin air.

You had no plan. None whatsoever.

Was it better to go with the flow until you could outline a strategy aimed to get you out of the deep whole you accidentally sunk in? Maybe…

So you did.

**************

Next morning, Bane popped at the residence as promised; at 10:12 am he discovered a hyper Y/N tidying up the kitchen: after a sleepless night and six cups of coffee, she was pretty much invincible. You were wearing one of his military print t-shirts: it was big and he was somehow amused to see you swim in the garment.

“I brought you clothes, shoes and food,” Bane grumbled and arranged boxes on the chair closer to you. “I estimated on the size.”

“Thank you,” the sincerity in your voice proved you meant it. “Thank you for helping me.”

“U-hum,” he intensely gazed at you and maybe because you weren’t in your best shape you misinterpreted his demeanor: was your savior expecting some sort of reward? Since you didn’t have much to offer at that time, Bane probably wanted sex as compensation for his services. If he would have taken what he wanted by force, you reckoned it wouldn’t have been pleasant, not with a man his size; not putting up a fight could have made it at least bearable.  

Your logic was way off though: as soon as you took your t-shirt off he came near, picked it from the floor and dressed you back himself.

“You don’t have to do that,” he emphasized and saw how embarrassed you were. “Do you know how to load guns?” Bane switched the dialogue without making it awkward.

“Not really…”

“I’ll show you; I have a project coming up and you can assist.”

“OK,” you were fast to accept as it was an easy way to repay him.

“Besides cracking someone’s skull with a rock, do you know how to defend yourself?” the interrogation continued.

”If I have to.”

“Comes in handy,” he muffled the words beyond the mask and promptly took it off so he can enjoy the coffee too.

It was the first time you saw Bane minus the breathing device; definitely not what you imagined: he was good-looking. HB had a few thin scars across his nose and a thicker one above the upper lip that added a certain flair to his wholesomeness. 

He caught you staring and misjudged:

“What?” he growled, pouring hot liquid in a mug. “Is the view not up to your standards?”

Y/N has always been a direct person, that’s why she described exactly what was in her mind:

“I was actually thinking that you’re handsome.”

One of Bane’s eyebrows went high and he huffed at the candid remark:

“Hm… … I’ve been called worse.”

You bit on your cheek and waited for him to finish his coffee in silence, but he had more to say.

“You should change your appearance; it’s safer if they’re searching around for the runaway girl that dared retaliate.”

You nodded a yes, wondering how you could accomplish such task. He wasn’t wrong: it would have evidently aided if they were indeed hunting for you.

“I know somebody,” Bane insinuated the path of action. “I can bring Zorina here and she can work her magic; the woman’s a pro.”

“Sure,” you welcomed his proposal and instantly blurred out: “I have money stashed at my apartment; it’s a hefty sum, all cash. I’ll have to retrieve it then I will be able to reimburse you for everything you’re doing for me.”

He snorted, entertained at your passionate tirade:

“Reimbursed!” Bane repeated and slammed the cup on the counter, preparing to bail. “Don’t worry about that; they might have the condo under surveillance or maybe they already raided the rooms and took your money.”

“I hope not…” you frowned, swiftly tense at his warning.

“Wait for Zorina,” the suggestion alleviated your anxiety a bit. “I’ll text her and she can be here in one hour. I am going out of town in the morning; I will return on the 27th,” he grabbed his mask from the table. “If you have an emergency, call the number I uploaded as an emergency contact,” Bane handed you a brand new cell phone.

“Will you be the one answering?” Y/N asked.

“Yes,” he confirmed and noticed how relieved you seemed at his affirmation.

Bane came back after 10 days, on the 27th as scheduled. You were outside on the porch and he stopped in his tracks when you emerged from behind the wood pillars.

“How do I look like?” you presented the new Y/N to the stunned man instead of a conventional greeting: your hair was completely white, shaved on the left side and the fresh skull tattoo inked on the exposed skin completed the ensemble quite beautifully. The dark red eyeshadow and black leather suit scored extra points with your future husband.

Bane was a straightforward person and didn’t utter words unless he meant them, yet the unpredicted reply still made you smile:

“Like a Goddess.”

*************

For the next six months you helped with whatever was necessary: it kept you busy and while you understood everything was a test, you were able to form your own opinions too.

Bane wasn’t a mindless brute: he was intelligent, outspoken and articulate; the crew didn’t question his decisions not necessarily due to his physical appearance that indicated he could level anyone to the ground with one punch, but because they respected him.

You blindly plunged into an unfamiliar environment: in the great scheme of things, your ex Vee has invariably been a pawn struggling to find his way up to the top. Weren’t you the same now? Another small piece of the puzzle trying to figure out where it belongs?  

You weren’t positive so you kept your distance from the team members and never really talk to them; Y/N only did what she was told and stayed away from social interactions. After your disappointing past experiences, one could have said you didn’t like people. Why bother?

Even Bane was probably going to send you on your way soon: he kept on coming to the house more often and your best speculation was that he was getting ready to tell you to vacate the property. Which was fair; you couldn’t rely on his hospitality forever. And for some reason it made you sad.

It was true that Bane dropped by more often: from barely visiting the hideout once a month before your arrival, he multiplied his visits to 3-4 times a week. Under the pretext of checking up on his protégé and give her assignments, of course. It had nothing to do with how much he liked seeing your face light up every time he was around.

One night you fell asleep in front of the fireplace: it was cozy to pile up blankets and watch the longs burn until they turned into ashes. You woke up around 2 in the morning and stretched, surprised to see Bane passed out on the couch a couple of feet away. You didn’t hear him sneak in and assumed he had a motive for being there: to finally tell you he wanted the residence evacuated.

You rolled over and got on your knees, carefully placing two more logs on top of the dying fire.

“Add more,” the deep tone made you jump. “It’s getting chilly.”

“Hi,” you tilted your head to look at him. “I didn’t mean to awake you,” you apologized and did as requested.

“You didn’t,” Bane rubbed his eyes, totally used with short power naps instead of dozing off for hours.

You delayed more conversation, but it had to be addressed although you dreaded the subject; maybe he was expecting you to get the hint so you gathered the courage to speak up:  

“I was debating… I should…e-hem…” you fakely coughed, “… find a new establishment…”

“Don’t you wanna stay?” he cut you off.

“I do,” you admitted, “but it’s not fair to take advantage of…”

Bane’s laughter at the statement made you halt your small presentation; it was his strategy of disguising how discouraged he was at your arbitrary idea.

“I doubt I’m the type that can be taken advantage of,” he got on his elbow and you abandoned the warmth of the fireplace in order to sit down by him on the sofa. “You don’t have to go anywhere…unless you wish to,” he gave you choices once more.

You glared at each other for a few seconds and then you demanded:

“Can you please take your mask off?”

“Why?”

“I want to kiss you.”

Bane unsnapped the leather straps without a second invitation: God knows he seldom dreamed about it without paying attention to what it truly meant.

Your lips touched and the intimacy made him slowly pull you in his arms; it seemed natural that the woman he was in love with belonged there.

“My name is Y/N,” you suddenly moaned in between kisses and Bane paused, eager to mention:

“For your own safety I suggest to never disclose it to another living soul. It’s better if you don’t exist; a ghost doesn’t have a past or present thus can never be seized.”

“I like the notion of being a Ghost,” you intertwined your fingers with his. “And you have to call me something; the rest of the world also.”

“Sounds like you got yourself a deal,” Bane grinned and instantly cautioned: “I also have to bring up to your attention that I’ve never slept with a Goddess before.”

Your mouth got close to his ear and you whispered:

“I’ve never slept with a Handsome Brute but I believe we’ll manage.”

************

Today, 1:13 am

Your cell phone keeps on vibrating on the nightstand; attempting to ignore the insufferable noise might wake up Bane: you exhausted your husband last night and he has to recharge. You’ll probably need his services by morning time so… might as well make an effort for his sake.

Great, it’s The Joker.

“Hello?” you keep your voice down.

“I was thinking,” the insomniac King of Gotham gets straight to the core of the issue without apologizing for the late call. “Next time Bane’s out of town and you don’t accompany him, I should take you out to dinner; then we can get some stuff out of our system.”

Is he for reals?!

“I have a better proposal!” you hiss, irritated. “Next time Bane’s out of town without me, you’ll take your girlfriend out to dinner and then you can get whatever you want out of your system with her!! I’ll wait for my husband and then when he comes home he’ll know how to take care of my system!! GOT IT??!!” you hang up and J is displeased at your behavior:

“How fucking rude!” he puffs, cuddling next to Kara; she’s snoozing after her misfortune. 

“Who’s that?” your spouse groans.

“Uggghh,” you snuggle to his chest, aggravated by J’s crap.

“Idiot…” HB wraps both naked bodies tighter in the fluffy cover since he guessed the name; your reaction is enough clue.

Ghost pecks his shoulder and gradually relaxes, 100% convinced of the only truth in her life: if she ends up with nothing again, as long as he’s there she will still have everything.

Part 1: diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/187322128171/the-joker-x-reader-ghost-part-1

Also read: MASTERLIST

diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

You can also follow me on AO3 and Wattpad under the same blog name: DiYunho.

[fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan]

Protective - Mat Barzal

Request: Hey there! I love you’re writing style!! I was wondering if you could write a fic about Mat Barzal? There’s literally none on him and he’s my favvvv. I was thinking like maybe something bad happened you and Mat gets super protective over you (kinda soft but honestly the whole thing is up to your interpretation and I wanna see where you go with it!!) thanks love

Warning: mentions of street mugging

My phone buzzed several times as soon as I turned off airplane mode, some app notifications and one voicemail. I wasn’t super worried until I saw it was from Kelsey, my girlfriend. She usually just messaged me when she knew I was on the plane. I ignored all of my teammates as I pulled up the voicemail. “Hey Matt. So, don’t panic but I need you to pick me up from the hospital. They won’t let me leave without someone to drive me and apparently an Uber doesn’t count. I actually have a nurse watching make this call right now so that is why you are getting a phone call and not a message. Don’t worry I am fine, just a small cut that needed stitches. I will explain everything when you get here. Love you.” She also told me what hospital she was at before once again saying she was fine.

I quick shot her a text telling her that we landed and I would be there as soon as possible. I was the first one off the plane, I could hear some of the guys chirping me as I ran but I didn’t stop to correct any of them. As soon as my car started up I had the gps set for the hospital. I got there in less time then the gps told me it would take and I hurried inside, frantically looking around until a nurse came up to me. “Can I help you?”

“My girlfriend called me and said that she is here and that she can’t be discharged without a ride home. Her name is Kelsey, she’s like half a foot shorter than me and has blonde hair.”

“And your name? I need to make sure you are on the list of people allowed back.”

“Mat Barzal.” I followed the nurse up to the desk, watching as she looked up something on the computer while I was trying to not pace in front of her.

“Follow me, I can take you back to her. She was cleared for discharge about an hour ago but we have a policy that does not allow discharged patients to leave without them having someone to take them home.” I nodded as I followed the nurse back, I wanted to ask her what happened to Kelsey but she stopped outside a room before I could ask. “Right in here, have a good day.”

I said thank you before lightly knocking on the door before opening it. Kelsey was sitting on the bed, nose in a book and she must not of heard me knock or the door open because she didn’t look up. “Kelsey.” She jumped a bit, not realizing I was here. When she gave me a smile, I rushed to her side and hugged her while pressing my lips into her hair. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine, I promise. The paramedics and police insisted that I come get stitches in my arm and get checked for a concussion since I fell.”

“What happened?”

“I was walking home from work and some guy came up behind me and tried to steal my backpack. He had a knife and when he was tugging on the strap of my backpack I started to fall and the knife hit my arm. I got lucky that there just happened to be a police car coming down the street and saw everything happening. They arrested the guy but since I was bleeding they had to call an ambulance. And that is basically everything.” She shrugged as she finished her story and I felt like my knees were going to give out, so I sat down next to her on the hospital bed.

My panic was interrupted by a knock on the door and a nurse coming in. “Now that you have someone to take you home we can discharge you.” I just sat there as Kelsey filled out the necessary paperwork, while nothing super bad happened this time my mind kept going to all of the possible bad things that could have happened.

Kelsey’s pov

I honestly pushed the whole thing out of my mind right away, it had been scary in the moment but I knew I couldn’t worry about it forever. I also thought that Mat had moved on from it too, that was until a few days later when I went back to work. When I was leaving the office at the end of the day Mat was waiting in the lobby, standing up when he saw me. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Missed you, and I figured it was a nice day out so we could stop for some dinner on our way home.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” As we walked to one of our favorite restaurants that was halfway between our apartment and my office where I worked as a party planner, I noticed that Mat kept looking around. “What are you looking for?”

“Nothing.” He seemed more attentive after that, listening to me complain about a corporate client that was dragging their feet on making decisions for the promotional event I was planning. We went home after dinner and enjoyed a calm night in.

I honestly thought nothing of Mat showing up at work until it happened again the next day. “Mat, what is going on?”

“I just want to spend more time with you.” I knew he wasn’t telling me something but I figured that the lobby of my office building wasn’t the best place to figure it out. Mat wouldn’t answer any of my questions about why he showed up to walk me home two days in a row even once we were home.

The next day I knew Mat wouldn't be there to walk with me since had a game tonight out on Long Island. So when I got a call from the security desk in the lobby I was incredibly confused. I gathered up my work, sticking it all in my backpack with my work laptop before heading down to see what was going on, I figured I could head home and finish working there while I watched the game. The security guard pointed me towards a woman in white button down and black dress pants. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Kelsey?" I nodded confused even more. "I'm you driver tonight, I am to drive you to this address." She showed me a piece of paper with the address of my apartment on it.

"I don't understand, I didn't order a car."

"All I know is I am supposed to drive you here." I nod and follow her out to where a black car was waiting at the curb. Luckily she seemed to realize I wasn't in a chatty mood so she just let the radio fill the silence of the ride, pulling up outside of my building 15 minutes later.

"Thank you." I handed her a tip before heading inside and getting settled on the couch with my work and some dinner, just in time for puck drop. It was a good game for Mat, he had a goal and three assists so I knew he would be in a good mood when he got home. I had wrapped up my work during the second intermission and had changed into pajamas so when Mat got home I was curled up with a blanket on the couch, ready to ask some questions.

“Hey babe, you’re up late.”

“Did you get a car service to drive me home today?”

“Yeah, I thought you might like not walking home.” He seemed nervous with his answer, so I patted the couch next to me so he would come it down. I watched as he pulled off his tie and suit jacket, tossing them aside before coming to sit next to me.

“Why can I no longer walk home from work by myself? Is this because of the attempted backpack theft?”

“Yes! I don’t understand how you can move on from that so fast. You were attacked with a knife! You had to go to the hospital! And if that police car didn’t come around when it did, I get scared just thinking about what could have happened. I could have lost you and I wouldn’t have even know because I was on a flight home.”

“Oh Mat, I didn’t realize this was bothering you so much. I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t get how you are worried every time you step out of the office at the end of the day, what if someone hadn’t been there?”

“Then I would have given the guy my backpack and then gone to call for help. Yeah, it was scary in the moment but I can’t spend every moment worried about what could be hiding around the corner. If I did that I would never leave the house, I wouldn’t be me. But I don’t need you to get me a car home every night and I don’t need you to walk me home, however I do love spending extra time with you. Can I tell you something?” He nodded, not looking away from my eyes. “When we first started seriously dating, I couldn’t watch you play hockey. I was always so concerned that every hit or check was going to send you flying across the ice and end your career.”

“But you came to almost every home game, you sat with all the other families.”

“Yeah, I did. But I couldn’t look down at the ice, I played with the kids or would look at something on my phone. I was so certain that if I saw you on the ice I would witness a horrific injury.”

“Do you watch now?”

“I do, during a random mid season game Grace came over to chat with me. She asked why I came to games but wouldn’t watch you.” I smiled, remembering the conversation I had with Anders Lee’s wife fondly. “She told me that worrying about something bad happening would just blind me from every amazing thing that was right in front of me. That if I focused on the potential bad I would miss all of the actual good. And she was right, while I wasn’t seeing a guy on the other team hit you into the boards I was also missing your face light up after scoring a goal.”

“Okay, I can try that.”

“And I will be more careful, I’ll carry pepper spray that my dad got be back in college and if it is dark or late I will get an uber.”

“I’ll stop being a worrier.”

“I love you, and I love that you are protective of me but this was a bit too much.”

“Love you too.” Kissing, I knew we could move past this. I knew we were stronger because of it and would grow closer because of it.

Request are open!!!!!

[mai-fanblog]

The 10 best moments of Ducktales in the first season

Here only one scene per chapter will be emphasized, plus the critical score of the good of the chapter, that is memorable and that left a certain continuity.

10° "Lena's Nightmare" (T1 Ep 19 “The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!")

 This would have been higher, if it weren't for the subplot that led to nothing (Gavy is hated more by Mark); however, that doesn't take away from the importance in Lena's development, where it shows her biggest nightmare graphically incredible and giving more depth where she feels imprisoned both physically and psychologically, because she doesn't want to lose the first friend who really loved her and have her captor hurt her.

Lena from that moment was crowned as the best secondary and original character of the reboot, but that would be the tip of the iceberg

(This part hurts)

9° "Call me Uncle Scrooge" (S1 Ep 17 "From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22!")

A tender moment in the series no doubt, Webby always had that admiration for Scrooge as the great adventurer he is and wants to be like him, when Mrs. Beakley is captured by an agent F.O.W.L and Scrooge and Webby (sneaking in) come to the rescue, there is a good development between them and a pair of interesting flashbacks, the best part is the end where Scrooge tells her to call Webby "Uncle Scrooge" and she hugs him, it is an important part, their relationship becomes stronger until a certain moment that later almost destroys it. This moment must be recognized.

:’)

8° "Scrodie in the best" (S1 Ep 15 "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!")

Scrooge and Goldie as a couple is interesting to me, it doesn't drive you crazy like other couples from other series, but I recognize that it has certain tips that there might be something; the specific part of their confrontation while dancing in the golden pond is memorable, adding that Flintheart has good gags when he tries to separate them, and the part where Goldie saves Scrooge from the liquid gold that would kill him gives a good closing, referring to the fact that Goldie can show off on her own, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that their relationship with Scrooge, although complicated there are feelings, that is, Goldie's happiness doesn’t depend on Scrooge because of their very opposite views of life, but that they both know each other so well that they know what they are like and find out things they didn’t know.

7u7

7° "We are almost at the top" (S1 Ep 9 "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!")

This chapter is very much underrated, but it leaves something important; Scrooge was about to reach the top of the mountain, which has portals leading to a random spot, and Huey dictates that they should leave it that way for the good of all, and Scrooge listens to him at the end; even his descent down the mountain during the avalanche is epic when he reaches the beginning. Apart from that, Scrooge gives Huey the confidence to keep going until he knows how much to stop. It's a good lesson from an underrated chapter.

6° "The race of the lucky and fighting man of life" (S1 Ep  6 "The House of the Lucky Gander!")

Of the best chapters with a relative of Donald with the most imbecilely charming cousin, the parts of Gladstone and Donald are well represented, especially near the end where Gladstone and Donald must make a race to the death to be free or imprisoned by a lucky frog demon, obviously Donald gets the punches and wounds, while Gladstone is still intact and almost wins, when Donald was about to surrender, Louie yells at him encouraging him to keep going even if it is difficult, at that moment the first gesture of recognition that Donald has in the series and there he wins (and a 20 dollars that seemed for convenience). One of the best moments Donald and showing the contrast that exists with the character who was born with luck and the character who struggles to overcome their own obstacles.

(Donald is the best of the best)

5° "The ransom in car against B.U.D.D.Y" (S1 Ep 11  "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!")

Pure action in this scene and also in one of the best chapters, the roles of Launchpad and Fenton shine more than ever in this scene. As Launchpad demonstrates that a full-fledged driver while trying to save his boss and the others is great, Fenton's participation with the suit was a very good debut; both fulfilled their goals in this chapter and the end of the scene where they almost fall to the cliff and Fenton saves them and saying Woo-Hoo while Launchpad comments on Fenton's first car is a good closing to that scene.

This episode is very good and gives another good introduction to an important secondary character for the series, besides leaving a good demonstration to the audience.

EPIC

4° "Behind the Dime" (S1 Ep 23 "The Shadow War!")

One of the best plot twists in the series and the correct introduction of a final villain; when the moment of truth arrives for Magica De Spell both Scrooge and the fans (at that time) were amazed and all his physical introduction is memorable so far. Showing the awesomeness of her presence when she uses magic against her enemy.

This is how it introduces itself to a final boss, not that alien son of a b**ch with a Napoleon complex.

Magica is majestic in that presentation

3° "The lesson of independence that turned out very well" (S1 Ep 21 "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!")

This scene exemplifies all that Scrooge represents with his number one dime and its meaning, when he discusses again with his father that he never helped him and that he alone had to make his independence, revealing that indeed his father helps more than Scrooge thought, giving an American dime to a worker so that Scrooge learns to get what he wants with effort is spectacular; after this revelation Scrooge and his father strengthen their bond again, and Scrooge sees his father with different eyes.

This gives a nice message of how a father can support a son no matter what, unlike the comics it is sadder because he cannot forgive his father who has passed away; in the reboot Scrooge takes advantage of that moment to reconcile the man who helped him indirectly as he is now.

:,)  :,)

2° "Mom?" (S1 Ep 1 "Woo-oo!")

This scene is short but powerful, showing that less is more, where Dewey sees in the painting at the beginning of the series Della in the painting saying: Mom?

It was a tremendous shock and the most important initial part of the plot at that time.

This was a good closing for the first episode and that we were interested in that mystery that we didn't know before.

1° "The breaking of the family in The Sun Chaser !" (S1 Ep 22 "The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!")

The most distressing scene in the series deserves this first place; the truth of Della's disappearance and the consequent reactions while they were on the plane is majestic and painful, the children blaming Scrooge (although he knows that Della was more responsible), Scrooge breaks down wanting to be left alone and the most painful part is when Scrooge shouts at Webby "You are not of my family" was a severe blow to the girl who admired him. Surely this moment must be at the top. It left most of them hurt, crying and distressed as a truth that was hidden for so long destroyed them in an instant, here Frank gave us one of the best moments of the show and played with our feelings.

(Still in the air Scrooge's apologies to Webby, she deserves an apology)

(This hurts three times)  :,(

This list is my opinion

Here ends this list, later I will do it of the second season.

If you have other scenes that are good, you can share them without any problem.