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autisticwriterblog · 8 months ago

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Fandom 50 Post 8

My seventh piece of Alan Wake 2 meta. This one is about Return 3.

Return 3: Local Girl

What happened in this chapter?

Saga and Casey continue their interrogation of Alan, who seems to remember a bit more now. He tells them about the Dark Place and Scratch, and how Scratch has escaped and can take on Alan’s form. Casey seems bemused by the whole thing. Alan also tells them about the Clicker and how bad things will happen if Scratch gets his hands on it.

Suspecting that Alan isn’t telling them the whole truth, Saga profiles him, and learns that Alan is hiding a page from the agents. When she demands for him to hand it over, Saga reads the page, which places her in a trailer in Watery.

So, Saga leaves Alan in Casey’s care and drives to Watery, hoping she will find the Clicker there. Arriving in Watery, Saga begins her search for the trailer park. Outside Suomi Hall, she finds Vladimir Blum, who works at the Valhalla Nursing Home, and Saga is confused when Blum recognises her. She asks him where to find the trailer park, and he tells Saga to locate the owner, Ilmo Koskela.

Saga continues her walk through Watery, eventually locating Ilmo and his twin Jaakko beside a broken bridge. Just like Blum, the Koskela brothers recognise Saga, seeming convinced that she used to live at the trailer park. She profiles them, learning that they genuinely have memories of Saga’s life in Watery. Saga asks Ilmo for the key to ‘her’ trailer, but Ilmo doesn’t have it—the key is in the gift shop at Coffee World. The brothers phone ahead, asking someone to get the key out for Saga.

Thanks to the ruined bridge, Saga is forced to take a long, winding route to Coffee World, encountering several more Taken on the way. Eventually, she reaches the amusement park, finding the place deserted. Nobody unlocked the gift shop like they were instructed to, forcing Saga to find a screwdriver and bust the lock open. Of course, she must explore Coffee World to find the screwdriver, running into yet more Taken in the process. When she finally gets into the gift shop, Saga finds the safe locked. She must solve a puzzle to get the code, before finally getting her hands on the key.

After that, Saga leaves Coffee World and approaches the trailer park. Inside, she finds two elderly men drinking moonshine. Like the others, they recognise her, but Saga deduces that these men don’t seem affected by the fluctuating reality. The men introduce themselves as her grandfather (Tor) and great uncle (Odin), and Saga begins to wonder if they really are her relatives.

Entering her trailer, Saga finds Logan’s bedroom. She discovers a photo of the Anderson brothers with the cultists (and the Clicker), and Saga notices that the cultist seems to be part of the Kalevala Knights motorcycle club. She also finds a newspaper clipping about Logan allegedly drowning in 2019. Saga knows it isn’t true but she still panics, especially when she calls Logan but nobody picks up.

When she leaves the trailer, Saga spots Mulligan wearing a cultist mask and looking like one of the Taken. He leads her to the Kalevala Knights workshop, where Saga goes down into the basement. She finds the Clicker, but it vanishes before she can take it. Also in the basement, Saga discovers another page, which tells her about an Overlap and how she can find Mulligan and Thornton there, but first she needs to place some items on the parade float to open said Overlap.

After a trip through Coffee World collecting the items she needs, Saga places them all on the float and the Overlap opens in Huotari Well. Saga climbs down the well and once again finds herself in a looping environment. Also like before, she hears Logan crying for her, and sees visions of Alan. When Saga finds Mulligan and Thornton, they attack her, so she is forced to defeat them.

After the Taken deputies are dead, Saga finds herself communicating with Alan just like in the last Overlap. She wants to know if Alan wrote her family into the story, but Alan vanishes before she learns the answer. Saga then finds herself outside the well once more, the Clicker in her hand.

My Thoughts

Return 3 is an important chapter for me—on my first playthrough, I struggled to get into the game during the earlier Initiation chapters, but Return 3 is when I first fell in love with Alan Wake 2. So, replaying this chapter always makes me especially happy for that reason.

This chapter gives us another Koskela Brothers commercial, this time for Coffee World. It’s just as hilarious as their first commercial, featuring Jaakko’s wooden acting, their incredibly low budget props, and the pointed reminder not to feed their goats coffee, which suggests they’ve had major issues with it in the past. Related to this, I love the moment in this chapter when Ilmo sarcastically mentions how Jaakko comes alive in front of the camera, and Jaakko fondly tells him to fuck off and that he only does the commercials for the free beer.

Also, the commercial mentions the Huotari Well as being the sight of a murder, which is incredibly interesting with the later knowledge that Mulligan and Thornton dumped a body down the well decades after the Huotari incident.

I love the whole game, but Saga’s side has always been my favourite, because I love exploring the real world and meeting the fleshed-out characters and detailed environments. And Watery is one of my favourite places to explore. The game so perfectly depicts a run down, dying town whose economy was irreparably damaged by the lumber mill shutting down years earlier.

I also love interacting with the residents and staff of the Valhalla Nursing Home, who are in Watery for a day trip. Inside Suomi Hall, Ahti is on stage, performing a song called Nightless Night on the karaoke machine. In the AWE DLC of Control, Ahti sends Jesse a postcard from Watery, Washington, so it makes perfect sense that Ahti can be found there in Alan Wake 2. If Saga tries to talk to Mandy-May or Rose, she gets shushed because Ahti is singing. Saga can also find Norman outside the sauna, and I love chatting with him. He’s a very funny guy, and not just because he’s always half naked.

Coffee World is both fun and terrifying to explore, because it pulls off the creepy abandoned amusement park vibe perfectly. That Mr. Drippy cutout that laughs in the most ominous way possible (it must have been Ilmo who recorded the dialogue for that cutout, and I want to know why he made it sound like a murderer) still makes me jump no matter how many times I play this chapter.

Inside Saga’s trailer, a place she lived after Logan died in the alternate timeline, you can find a book of puns gifted to Saga by Ilmo Koskela because he knows she likes puns. This must have been an attempt to cheer Saga up, suggesting the Koskelas looked after her when she was grieving. Which is really sweet.

In general, this book timeline is so interesting to think about. What was Saga’s life in Watery like? There are so many things to think about, and I love that.

#alan wake 2 #alan wake 2 spoilers #meta #fandom 50

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wordpressvip · 1 year ago

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Meet our VIP: Enfys Book!

It's time for another round of Meet Our VIPs, where we introduce the amazing people who make up WordPress VIP!

Meet Enfys Book (they/them), Onboarding Technical Account Manager from Maryland, USA! They've been with Automattic and WordPress VIP since May 2019 (over 4 years!) Q: What is your role at WPVIP? I help our customers onboard to the platform and ensure their launches go smoothly. Q: What's your favorite thing about working for Automattic? Automattic is an amazing place to work because they truly value their employees. Our benefits are fantastic, and our approach to almost everything seems to be "trust people," "help each other," and "we're all on the same team." The people I work with are all committed to giving our customers a great experience and making our solution the best it can be. (Shameless plug: come work with us!)

Q: What's your favorite non-WPVIP brand at Automattic? I mean...Tumblr, obvs. Is this a trick question? Q: At Automattic, we have a LOT of "fun" Slack channels. What's your favorite? I run the VIP Music League, which is a themed playlist-building club with some light competition involved. Our Slack channel for the league is great for sharing new music and congratulating the winners of each round, and I love sharing music with folks I may not work with every day. It's a great way to get to know your colleagues. (You can start your own music league at musicleague.com) Q: What's your favorite word and why? "Oubliette" has such great mouthfeel, and it gets bonus points because I learned it from the movie "Labyrinth," which is one of my all-time favorite films.

Q: What's your favorite fandom? LoadingReadyRun. They're Canadian comedy streamers with an amazing online community. My favorite LRR things are these super-short sketches called Crapshots (CW for gun sound and imagery as part of the branding at the beginning and end of each sketch.) They've made hundreds of them, and once they had 512 of them a fan created a single-elimination tournament to find the best Crapshot (@thecrapshotbracket) I was extremely devoted to voting in every single round. They've also raised millions of dollars for Child's Play Charity through their annual multi-day streaming telethon called Desert Bus for Hope.

Q: What's your biggest claim to fame? I'm briefly visible in Britney Spears' "Behind the Music" episode, because I was helping with her autograph signing at the Mall of America in 1998.

Q: Who would win in a fight: giant pizza, aliens, or crabs? Why? Crabs, 100%. Carcinization comes for us all. Q: What are your hobbies outside of work? I'm in a weird band called the Misbehavin' Maidens (@misbehavinmaidens) that sings funny, filthy, feminist, fandom folk music. I'm also a published author in the "metaphysical nonfiction" space. I'm currently working on three more books to be published in the next couple of years.

Learn more about Enfys

Follow them on Tumblr: @fuckyeahhistoricalloveletters Connect on LinkedIn

#crabs #i like your shoelaces #tumblr #automattic #wordpress #work with us

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goodmorningbatterycity · 7 months ago

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Bomb Baby *broadcasting live to every TV in Battery City*: What's up y'all, it's Bomb Baby, here to remind you that a better-NO PUN INTENDED!!!-life is possible in the Zones ╰(*°▽°*)╯ Our cars are better, our fashion is better, our jobs are better, and oh yeah, our music is better too! We didn't want to blast your eardrums with punk and heavy metal (not yet anyway!!) so we thought we'd treat you to a little ACOUSTIC SESSION featuring songs we wrote RIGHT HERE IN THE ZONES (o゜▽゜)o☆

Tickled Pink: OMG whaaa, I didn't know about this, I'm so excited for real (*/ω＼*)

Bomb Baby: Me tooo! So here's a little track I wrote just for all you babes in Bat City, i hope it opens your eyes to a better world, a better tomorrow, a better.....LIFE UNCHAINED

LIFE UNCHAINED (C) BOMB BABY 2019

*Camera pans out to reveal Bomb baby on a stage sitting on a stool with a spotlight shining above her, the rest of the stage is dark, she has one guitar and she starts strumming it*

Bomb Baby *singing beautifully*:

Welcome to the Zones It's the world that we call home Most of us aren't straight I think that's pretty great

If Korse lived here with us He could get on the bus No more pretending he's that way We all know that he's gay

Toxic Sunshine *whispering backup vocals*: We all know that he's gay...

We give ourselves a name No more sad and shame Poison and Ghoul and the rest of the crew Bomb Baby, Tickled Pink, and oh yeah Violent Rays too

*another spotlight appears, revealing Violent Rays on a stool next to Bomb baby strumming an identical guitar, they start to harmonize*

Violent Rays *singing ethereally*:

The Zones are where it's at Pick up your baseball bat Get ready to smash some Dracs We're all here to do that

The sunlight casts a shade Reminding us to pray To the Phoenix Witch, who watches As we throw Drac skulls in boxes

*they harmonize and play guitar together with no lyrics for one minute, then they both lean forward and sing into the same mic*

Bomb Baby and Violent Rays *singing*:

We ride the desert sands Everyone has a plan Bat City is cold and gray But Killjoys are here to stay

All that lives must die Eat a doodoo pie Bat Shitty, your time's up It's time y'all backed up

*they harmonize and play guitar for five more minutes until the song ends, the entire crowd is silent until one man stands up and starts slow clapping and the rest of the crowd stands up and showers violent rays, bomb Baby and Toxic Sunshine with thunderous applause, Toxic Sunshine and Bomb Baby bow, Violent Rays gazes at the roof with the wisdom of a thousand Killjoys, Korse turns and walks off into the sunset*

wtf did I just read

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busyeahdesertbus · 5 years ago

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youtube

Untitled Bus Fundraiser, by Desert Bus For Hope.

#untitled goose game #desert bus 2019 #desert bus for hope #desert bus #db2019

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shinythingsbyorindrake · 5 years ago

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As always, much love and appreciation to all the folks who made this possible, and for sharing them with the crafters! It’s so lfgfdlhg SHINY and kfjglfdg HEAVY and ;fdglk VERY HARD TO PHOTOGRAPH but I think I got it. Mostly.

I am really going to have to break down and finally design a display for the coins and patches because it feels awful to just have them hidden away in a drawer.

#Desert Bus for Hope #2019 DBLOON #A+ quality nostalgia

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mcelfan · 5 years ago

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Travis why were you sitting in a Chili's parking lot. Why.

#travis mcelroy #griffin mcelroy #justin mcelroy #desert bus for hope #desert bus 2019

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beardedmrbean · 2 years ago

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At first, Mexican migrants Pablo Ortega and Julio Lopez enjoyed the smuggling equivalent of a first-class ticket to the United States: complimentary beers, safe houses with video games, even a week at a hunting ranch.

Both had borrowed thousands of dollars and paid extra to secure what smugglers promised would be a comfortable trip avoiding the worst dangers of illegal border crossings.

On June 27, their special treatment ended: crammed and gasping for air in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas with more than 60 other migrants.

Nearly all, including Ortega and Lopez, died in the suffocating heat. It was the deadliest U.S. smuggling incident of recent times.

Their journeys, reconstructed by Reuters via dozens of texts, photos and video messages with their families, provide a rare window into the world of human smuggling: a billion-dollar trade growing ever more deadly.

As tighter controls drive migrants to greater risks, experts say smugglers are increasingly selling more expensive routes they advertise as "secure," "special" or "VIP." Those options usually promise vehicle transportation rather than walking across the desert, as well as more comfortable stays.

Ortega agreed to pay $13,000 and Lopez $12,000, their families said. That is far above the average $2,000-$7,000 for Mexican migrants, according to Mexican government data from 2019.

Embarking separately on their quests for a better life, they were told they would travel alone or in small groups, their families said. At least one other victim, Jazmin Bueso, 37, from Honduras, also paid for the costlier trip, her brother told Reuters.

Ortega, a jocular 19-year-old sporting baseball caps over his dark hair, left in mid-May by bus from his home in Tlapacoyan - a hilly town in the southeast state of Veracruz ringed by banana plantations.

His girlfriend was newly pregnant, and Ortega was determined to make it to Florida, where his mother lived. There he could earn money to send home for the care of his soon-to-be first child and save to build a house.

'GUARANTEED, 100% SAFE'

Lopez set off on June 8 from Benito Juarez in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. A sawmill worker, 32, slim with sincere dark eyes, Lopez hoped to send money home for the autism care of his youngest of three children. That son's name - Tadeo - was tattooed on his left arm.

"You won't go through the desert ... there won't be any danger," Adriana Gonzalez recalled hearing the smuggler tell her husband over the phone before he left. "The trip you have is guaranteed, 100% safe."

Violence, poverty and COVID-19 have accelerated migration from Latin America to the United States. Crossings from Mexico hit a record 1.7 million so far this fiscal year through June, while deaths were the worst ever recorded at 728 last year and look set to keep pace if not surpass that in 2022.

Seeking to evade the ever-expanding U.S. border control infrastructure, smugglers are turning to riskier methods, including a boom in the use of 18-wheel big rigs.

Vehicle and transport-related border deaths grew more quickly than any other cause, between 2020 and 2021, according to U.N. data.

To pay the smuggling fee, Ortega's mother, Rafaela Alvarez, 37, sold a mobile home. But when he reached the border, the minders said they wanted another $2,000 to take him on a safer route avoiding the desert, crossing the Rio Grande river and riding in a truck sleeping compartment with three others to Houston.

Alvarez pawned gold jewelry to come up with the extra money. She remembers specifically warning her son not to get into a crowded trailer.

"The air will run out," she told him in a video call from the construction site where she worked and hoped he would too.

Over the next two weeks, Ortega sent photos and videos from a spacious, well-decorated home where he played video games and smugglers treated him to pizza and Tecate beer while they waited for border patrol presence to decrease.

Ortega finally crossed the Rio Grande on May 29, but a U.S. agent caught him past the riverbank and sent him back to Mexico.

Lopez did not make it across the first time either.

After flying into the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, smugglers drove him to the border town of Matamoros.

For four days, Lopez stayed in a small, hot concrete house with two other migrants. Then smugglers guided Lopez across the Rio Grande in a boat and into a car, just as he had been promised. But the next day, border officers stopped the car and returned Lopez to Mexico.

On or around June 14 - his family is not quite sure - Lopez crossed again, this time successfully. In Texas, he walked three hours through desert to a private hunting lodge near Laredo where he stayed about a week. A video Lopez sent to his wife shows a large wooden house, decorated with an American flag and the skulls of wild deer. "It's super cool," Lopez says in the video.

During this time, Ortega had been trying to cross. But the river's high waters made it difficult. At one point, he saw a migrant drown in the strong current.

On June 17, he donned a red life-vest, flashed a thumbs up in a selfie and climbed into a small inflatable boat for what would, finally, be a successful trip.

A day later he celebrated his 20th birthday with a mayonnaise sandwich in a Texas safe house. Though now on American soil, Ortega's journey wasn't over: the Border Patrol maintains checkpoints as far as 100 miles inside.

"There's only a little left (to go)," he wrote to his sister. Two days later she sent Ortega ultrasound images of his baby.

On June 21, Lopez made a final call to alert his family that the smugglers would soon confiscate his phone. They were about to take him to another ranch where he would wait a couple of days before being smuggled past an interior checkpoint on the way to San Antonio, Lopez told Gonzalez.

"Tell my children that I love them and if I am able to get through, everything will be different," Gonzalez remembered Lopez saying.

The next day, Ortega, still in his Texas safe house, told his mom he was starting to worry about the number of migrants arriving. "We're already a ton of people," he wrote.

Then communication ceased.

ABANDONED TRAILER

At 2:50 p.m. on June 27, an 18-wheeler cargo truck with a red 1995 Volvo cab rolled through a U.S. government checkpoint near Encinal, Texas, 40 miles north of Laredo.

A surveillance photograph obtained by Mexican authorities and published in a briefing report captures the driver, clad in a black striped shirt, leaning out of the window with a wide grin.

Just before 6 p.m., a worker in an industrial area in the outskirts of San Antonio, more than 100 miles further north, heard a cry for help, which he followed to a trailer abandoned beside a road, according to local officials.

First responders arrived minutes later. The trailer's partially opened doors revealed stacks of bodies hot to the touch, officials said. Other bodies were found splayed across the ground and in nearby brush, court documents show.

Temperatures in San Antonio had swelled to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) that afternoon, but responders found no water or air conditioning inside the trailer.

The death count eventually rose to 53, including 26 Mexicans, 21 Guatemalans and six Hondurans. Police found the suspected driver hiding near the victims, allegedly under the influence of methamphetamine.

A U.S. grand jury indicted four men on charges related to the incident, ranging from illegal firearm possessions to smuggling accusations that could be punishable by life in prison or the death sentence.

By nightfall, the horrific news had spread throughout Mexico and Central America.

For over a week, Lopez's smugglers fed his family's hopes he was still alive until Gonzalez identified her husband's body through photographs on July 5.

Since his death, Gonzalez said she is unable to afford care for their autistic son.

Alvarez, fearing the worst, called Ortega's smugglers more than 30 times to try and confirm her son was alive. They blocked her number.

When Alvarez traveled to San Antonio to identify Ortega's body, it was the first time seeing her son since 2014.

At the funeral in his hometown, a ballad played remembering migrants who suffocated in a Texas boxcar 35 years ago. Ortega's family tossed red roses on the grave as the lyrics echoed: "The air began to run out, and there was nothing they could do. No one heard those cries for help."

His baby is due on Dec. 31.

#nunyas news #smugglers lying to people in order to get more money #it's almost like they're criminals or something

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busyeahdesertbus · 5 years ago

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This went for an amazing $1,500! Thank you!

Kingdom Hearts 3 Box Art Cross-Stitch (for Desert Bus for Hope 2019)

I haven’t posted in a year….so let’s change that, shall we? For the third year in a row, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to submit a craft-along item to the Desert Bus for Hope fundraiser. This year, it’s the box art to Kingdom Hearts 3.

I spent somewhere on the order of 190-200 hours stitching this monstrosity this summer, and there are nearly 180 colors in this thing. I’m pleased that it’s got an opportunity to help raise money for a great cause.

If you aren’t familiar with Desert Bus for Hope, it’s a charity stream that raises money for toys and games which will be given to children’s hospitals. It’s a cause near and dear to my heart, as I have experienced children’s hospitals as a patient myself and as a parent of a patient.

Desert Bus for Hope starts on Nov. 8th and goes for nearly a week, so please consider supporting the cause, donating, and trying to win one of the many wonderful prizes!

#desert bus for hope #desert bus #db2019 #desert bus 2019 #kingdom hearts

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sunshineandcybertronians · 4 years ago

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Heart Attack - Knock Out x reader

Word count: 3,670 Warnings: None A/N: This was one of the first TFP fanfics I wrote. I finished it in June 2019. Hope you enjoy! Song: Heart Attack by Demi Lovato

You hummed a song on the couch while watching the older two teenagers play a video game. Not truly paying attention with a big grin and a far off look in your eyes, daydreaming. about your secret friend. Knockout. You met him through your association with the Autobots. He decided to capture you, not too long after you were introduced to them, a few months after the other three kids were. Before the Autobots rescued you, you talked with Knockout. It was enjoyable and you both like to conversing. Thus, you been secretly scheduling time to get together. You loved being with him and talking to him.

Currently, your mind was sitting on a mental picture of him his finish shiny and a beautiful shade of red. His face snow white and handsome. Your imagination switch to him in his flawless alt mode rolling down the road against the sunset. Sighing, your imagination supplied the sensation of sitting in him at that high speed. Your heart began throbbing with a strange feeling. Realizing what you were thinking, you shook your head. No, you couldn't think that. You were just friends with him, that's all.

You were drawn back into the real world by Miko's victory celebration.

"Yes, I won!" Miko jumped up at her car knocking Jack's off the road.

Jack groaned before reminding Miko, "Okay, it's Raf's turn now."

"Right. Here," she handed him the controller.

"Miko, you've made the controller all sweaty," Raf complained, holding it by only his fingertips.

"Sorry," she replied in her cheerful way. "Not my fault my hands decided to do that while I was crushing Jack." She mimicked holding a controller and mashing buttons with one foot up on the cushion.

"How long has it been since you guys cleaned those off?" You asked, suddenly curious and slightly disgusted since you never recalled them doing that.

"Um, we're supposed to clean them?" Miko asked, sitting down and putting a finger on her jaw as if she was thinking.

"I... don't think we ever have," Jack slowly admitted as the realization came over him.

"Then I'll go get some wet wipes from the storage room. I'll be right back." You got up, began to clop down the hard stairs, and entered the Cybertronian sized corridor. "I'll come with," Miko called out while hopping up and running down the stairs with no regard for her own safety.

"Carefully!" Ratchet immediately snapped when he glanced her way.

"Sorry," you apologized for her, sinking into your shoulders.

Miko caught up with you and you both began running done the hall. You wouldn't normally have run, but you unintentionally mimicked your energetic friend, as well as doing so to simply keep up with her. Being in the corridor without someone usually made you feel uneasy, as if you felt that you didn't belong there due to your small size. Miko being beside you helped ease your insecurity.

She kept talking about some random things, like how she defeated Jack, that they need a new video game, and the monster truck rally she and Bulk went to. Most of the time you just nodded while she did the talking. You accidentally tuned out about half of it. Once you reached the storage area, you grabbed the box of wet wipes, cradled it in your arms, and began pacing back.

"So, do you like anyone?" Miko asked you out of nowhere, leaning forward while looking to you expectantly.

"What?" Your pupils became large and you almost froze from surprise.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" she jumped out in front of you and walked backwards. "You've been acting more happy and daydreamy recently."

"I don't think 'daydreamy' is a word," you avoided the question.

"But who is it?"

"No one!"

She fell into step aside you again, pretending to examine her nails with a smug smile. "It's Knockout isn't it?"

That time you actually stopped in your tracks for a split second. "What?!" you said a lot louder than you meant to.

"Yeah! I saw the way you looked at him the other day when we had a run-in with the 'Cons. You were totally goo-goo eyed. If it were an anime your eyes would have had tons of sparkle and you would have been drooling."

"Quiet," you almost whispered.

"You were! Do you like him?" Miko was the most persistent girl you've ever known.

"No," you firmly answered louder than you meant to. You managed to stop yourself from shouting that you didn't know, feeling frustrated. "Look, I can't like him, he's a Decepticon. I barely know him. So stop asking," your voice had an unintentional edge. Miko even looked shocked and slightly scared for a millisecond.

In reality you didn't care that he was a Decepticon, you just didn't want to have to deal with a crush. They could be so annoying. Plus, it would be hard to do that considering you were on opposite sides, the Autobots might object, and he may not like you back. That last one could ruin your friendship which you valued so much.

"Okay," Miko shrugged and focused on the open room you were approaching. Although you could tell she wasn't convinced, even more so with her sudden calm and cool attitude. She was actually pretty good at acting when she wanted to, provided she's not lying, to the point only someone who truly knew her would be able to see through it.

"Here, think fast," you tossed the box to her as you ran into the wide area with most of the Autobots' presence.

Her pace quicken like yours and she rushed up the stairs. Your course, however, was aimed at the yellow Autobot scout. You slowed and stopped in front of him.

"Hey, Bee!" you called to him, "Can I get a ride back home? I think there's a report I left at home, so I'll just finish it there." With Miko being onto your secret- you mean, her thinking you liked Knockout, you had to get out of there as fast as you could before she told everyone her suspicion. Primus knows she can't keep a secret. You did NOT want to be around if she did so.

Bumblebee beeped in agreement and transformed into a yellow Urbana 500. The passenger door popped opened and you climbed inside.

"Thanks, Bee," you said as he clicked the seatbelt over you.

He buzzed, probably saying, "No problem," and drove through the tunnel and out into the Nevada desert. It was a quiet ride back, the light brown terrain blurred past you. You began thinking about Knockout again. They hadn't figured out that you were friends yet, in fact, all Miko suspected was that you liked him. This meant you were in the clear for now. Although if Miko told everyone, it would not only be embarrassing, they might keep a closer eye on you which would prevent you from being around Knockout.

Deciding you should tell him, you pulled your phone out and your fingers began flying across the digital keyboard.

Me: Wanna go for a drive? I'll be back home in a little bit, but don't go just yet. And be careful, the yellow Urbana's dropping me off.

You tapped send and leaned back in the seat. Normally you wouldn't have referred to Bumblebee like that, but it would make it easier for Knockout to know who you were talking about. Plus, it sounded like something Knockout would say and every now and then you found you were picking up his talking habits.

A buzzing against your skin made you look back at your phone and see the reply.

Knockout: Sure. I'll stick around, unseen, until you give the thumbs up.

You wanted to comment that it was almost impossible for him to be 'unseen' with his shiny, red paintjob and his gorgeous alt mode, but you knew what he meant. Blood rushed to your cheeks and you felt warm when you realized you just mentally called him gorgeous.

"Buzzz, chirp chirp, buzz?" Bee seemed to ask a question and pull you out of your thoughts.

"Huh." Being back in reality you suddenly realized you were only two or three minutes away from home.

Bumblebee repeated himself, but you still had no idea what he was trying to say. "I'm... sorry. I don't understand you."

The seatbelt moved on its own like it was alive. The part that was previously on your shoulder tapped your cheek, then stayed on your shoulder again like it never moved.

"Oh," you let out when you realized what he was asking. "It's just warm today, so that's why my face is turning red," you lied, although it was a warm day and you were grateful he cared enough to ask.

Before you could say thank you, the AC became cooler and the cool air felt pleasant on your skin.

"Thanks, Bee," you smiled.

He beeped another, "No problem," or "You're welcome." You didn't really need a translator to know that.

In no time, you were in front of your house. You waved and gave another thanks before running inside. Once inside, you secretly watched from the window and waited until Bumblebee was gone.

Pulling out your phone again, you typed:

Me: He's gone now. Just left.

You considered painting your nails red while waiting, to look better for him, but would it dry in time? Before you could decide, fifteen seconds after you clicked send, Knockout pulled up and you rushed as fast to him as you could, almost forgetting to close the door on your way out. The door opening, you promptly got in. It closed behind you and he began to drive.

"That was fast. You didn't even give me time to brush out my hair or anything," you joked while reaching for the seatbelt out of habit, but it automatically went over you and snapped into place.

"You still look just fine," he replied somewhat slowly in his suave voice.

"Thanks," you smiled and forced yourself to stop thinking about it before you could begin blushing.

"What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed you were slightly less happy than usual. You had been friends and spent enough time with each other that he could read you fairly well.

"Miko might be onto me."

"She's the girl that's Bulkhead's pet, right?"

"Partner, or charge, whatever you want to call it," you corrected. "But yes."

"She knows about us," there was a slight growl in his words. You could just be kidding yourself, but it might have been fear, in an angry way. Like he was scared of the possibility. "About us being friends and meeting each other, I mean," the red interior lights flashed as he spoke.

"Well not exactly, she..." you paused, looking for the right way to word it. You didn't want to tell him that Miko thought you had a crush on him, because you didn't, you mentally added. "She noticed how I... seemed happy when I saw you the other day. She may guess that I've been meeting up with you, or someone else will if she tells them."

"Would she tell them?"

"Oh yeah. That girl can't keep a secret. Except for the fact that cybertronians exist, maybe she's just bad at keeping secrets from her friends. Anyway," you regained your posture and decided to get back on topic, "even if they don't figure it out, they might think that I'll approach you and get captured or... join the Decepticons," you waved your arms out, careful not to hit Knockout, as you exaggerated. "The point is they can worry and keep a closer optic on me which would restrict me from seeing you." You leaned back with your arms crossed, staring down. "I could always text or call you. But I have no idea how long the house arrest would last. Plus they may wonder who I'm texting so much and see, and I would miss riding with you and seeing you in person."

Knockout stayed quiet as he processed it, wondering what he should say or how he should respond to all of that information. The only sound was the hum of his engine giving the necessary energy to glide across the concrete in the open desert while you waited for a reply.

"Hmm. Wouldn't want that to happen. If the 'Bots learn, Megatron might too. That would be painful. But the chances of him figuring out are slim, so I'd be more worried about you right now." He thought about it. "Maybe if that happens you could run away with me," he suggested.

You laughed, "As tempting as that is, I can't do that. That would be a little irresponsible and only make it worse. If they worry about me being captured or defecting, running away wouldn't ease them, it would make them more desperate. And they're my friends too. But thanks for the offer," you added.

"What should we do then?"

"I think we should just roll with the punches and hope for the best. There's no guarantee they'll find out. Although, we should be more careful." It scared you to think that you could lose Knockout, however you had to hope for the best. That was all you could do, so you hoped you wouldn't be prevented from being with him. The thought of being torn apart from him made your heart ach- you mean, it would be sad. No, you gave your head a small shake. You didn't love him, you convinced yourself.

"If you say so," he sounded a little unsure himself.

"Knockout!" a deep, scary voice burst through the speakers making you jump.

"Yes, Megatron," Knockout tried to mask the fear in his response, not wanting to be caught slacking off with a human.

"Knockout, where are you?" he demanded.

You froze and unintentionally held your breath. You didn't know if the Decepticon leader would hear you if you said anything, but you didn't want to find out.

"I was... just scouting for energon deposits."

"Well you're in luck," Megatron became strangely calm with a bite, like he was attempting to suppress his anger. "Because we have detected an energy signature near your location. Scout out the area and report your findings, IMMEDIATELY!"

"Y-yes, my liege." He turned off the comm. "Sorry, (Y/n), I have to go check it out," he said quietly, as if he was afraid the comm was still on.

You nodded. "It's alright. I understand."

None of you had to mention it to know that you were both terrified that Megatron would find out about your secret, despite only speaking through the comm channel. Your heart was still racing. By the way the engine rattled slightly, while driving off the road to scout the requested site, you could tell he was still shaken up.

Knockout stopped by a rock wall and opened the door for you to get out.

"It would probably be safer if you stayed here and wait for me. No telling if the site is going to be unstable or if Lord Megatron has already sent other Decepticons," he mentioned.

"Right," you hopped out, "I'll wait here." You watched him drive away, turning right and behind the orange-ish brown rock formation you were standing by.

Sighing, you wondered what you should do while waiting. Your feet kicked up some rocks and dirt out of boredom. Your mind wandered and you began to think about Knockout, then Miko's earlier claim. A warm feeling fluttered in your chest. You immediately forced yourself to stop thinking about it to remove the feeling and decided to distract yourself by putting in ear buds and listening to songs on your phone.

Several songs played that you danced or bobbed your head to. Then a song, that sounded strangely similar to your situation, began playing.

Puttin’ my defences up 'Cause I don’t wanna fall in love

Upon hearing that you knew it was "Heart attack" by Demi Levado.

If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack

Never put my love out on the line

You nodded, since you knew that you wanted to never to risk your heart getting broken or putting yourself in a bad situation when it came to love... want being keyword. You can want one thing, but another thing can happen.

Never said yes to the right guy Never had trouble getting what I want But when it comes to you, I’m never good enough

A laugh escaped your mouth, recollecting that you often never felt good enough for Knockout. He was gorgeous, how could you ever compete or be good enough for his standards? This time you forgot to notice you called him gorgeous and argue with yourself that you didn't think that as your thoughts moved on with the song.

When I don’t care, I can play 'em like a Ken doll Won’t wash my hair, then make 'em bounce like a basketball

But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear high heels, yes you Make me so nervous, that I just can’t hold your hand

A hum vibrated in your throat as you began humming the song at the pre chorus. You remembered when you considered painting your nails for Knockout.

You make me glow, But I cover up, won’t let it show, So I’m puttin’ my defenses up 'Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack I think I’d have a heart attack I think I’d have a heart attack

Your heart seemed to have taken note of what feeling it produced when you usually thought about Knockout and replay it while listening to the song. This time you didn't fight it and let the nice feeling flood through you.

Never break a sweat for the other guys When you come around, I get paralyzed And every time I try to be myself It comes out wrong like a cry for help

You were so into the song and relating to it so much that at the last line that you began singing along while dancing more vigorously, knowing that no one would see.

It’s just not fair Pain’s more trouble than love is worth I gasp for air It feels so good, but you know it hurts

But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear perfume, for you, Make me so nervous, that I just can’t hold your hand

You recalled how you'd be so much more happier being with and thinking about Knockout, but you'd never let it show because you didn't want anyone else to figure out. Thinking about it now, you didn't want yourself to figure out. You thought that if you kept denying it, then you wouldn't fall for him.

Dummy, you heard a part of your brain or heart say, how could you not fall for him?

The feelings got lost in my lungs They’re burning, I’d rather be numb

It felt really weird suddenly admitting you liked him, that it had become too powerful to deny, like the song was giving it energy. The emotion overpowered you in a way you almost felt weak, yet it somehow had a pleasant sensation.

And there’s no one else to blame

Sighing, the song reminded you that there was no one else you could blame for making you feel like this except for yourself. You let this happen and decided to meet him all the time.

So scared I take off and I run I’m flying too close to the sun And I burst into flames

A spin was the next move you decided to perform. While doing so, you spotted an all too familiar red mech leaning against the rock and white face smirking. This startled you so much that you lost balance and fell down on your bottom, facing Knockout.

Oh I think I’d have a heart attack

Your cheeks heated up, feeling embarrassed that he heard you singing and what you were just thinking about. His arms were crossed, causing the sun to reflect off of his doors, and an optic ridge was raised that didn't help your blush.

I think I’d have a heart attack

You stopped the song as it ended and pulled out the ear buds. "I... didn't hear you. How... much did you hear?" you tentatively asked while getting up.

"Oh, just the beginning of, what I assumed is, the second chorus up until now." He stood up straight and walked closer to you.

You stood still and wondered what he was going to do. An awkward smile played on your mouth while you pretended everything was normal. Although you moved your legs closer together and held your arm, giving you the appearance of being someone shy.

"So, do you have a heart attack?" he asked.

Your heart started beating so fast you thought it would burst out of your chest and your brain stopped functioning. "Umm... Uh, ummm."

Your flustered reaction seemed to please him. He tenderly placed a digit over your mouth to stop you from talking. He leaned down so you were eye to optic. A smile graced his faceplate while you stared into his deep optics.

"I have a spark attack too."

#TFP #Knockout x reader #Knock Out x reader #Knockout #songfic #tfp x reader

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daniwoitkowski · 4 years ago

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A Closer Look at Milwaukee Zip Code 53206

After reading A Closer Look at Milwaukee Zip Code 53206, an article published in the Milwaukee Magazine in 2014, I’m ashamed of the city I currently call home.

Contained between I-43 to the east, 27th Street to the West and North Avenue and Capitol Drive to its south and north sides is one of the largest zip code areas in the city of Milwaukee. Zip code area of 53206 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is often written off as the poorest area in the largest city in the state.

An eyesore in Milwaukee, zip code 53206, is where a third of the city’s vacant lots reside. The greatest percentage, nearly 95% of its residents in zip code 53206 are African Americans. Surrounding counties implemented restrictive covenants preventing African American tenants' equal rights, which confined most African Americans to the northwestern portion of the city, or around the 53206 area. The Supreme Court ruled such covenants to be unconstitutional in 1948, they remained on the books until Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968. Milwaukee known for being one of the most segregated cities in the United States.

Warren’s Lounge on Hopkins Avenue, owned by 81-year-old Warren Harper, a “Cheers” like bar hides itself in the middle of the deserted condemned buildings. Warren and his wife, Shirley, have been married for over 59 years, with four children and multiple grandchildren. Warren and Shirley bought the lounge back in 1970. Back in the lounge’s heyday factory workers from around the area would stop in for lunch or beer relaxing after their shift. During the time when the Green Bay Packers played at county stadium, players could be regularly seen enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.

Life has changed and the lounge is not the same, feeling the pain of the abandoned factories. Even though, their children attempt to sway them into having hip-hop bands play into the addition to the jazz and blues bands that periodically play at the lounge. Life has been hard on them, however they will not close, “It’s their life.”

Wandering around 53206 tends to make people, especially white people, uneasy. Too many businesses are either closed or enclosed in metal bars and padlocks. Even with a gem like, Warren’s Lounge, can be intimidating to its visitors as you enter through the small, dark doorway hidden behind a locked heavy metal grate with a bell that must be rung for entry.

Opportunities seem to climb and decline rapidly for African Americans in Milwaukee. So, what happened?

One generation hopes and dreams becomes heavy burdens on the forgotten generations that follow. Looking past educational statures, joblessness and the crime in the areas of poverty, we need to begin looking into the history of the African American population of Milwaukee, Wisconsin at once was and why it became what it is today.

The African American population increased with the Great Migration north, which affected the African American communities in Milwaukee. Like most African American families, Warren and Shirley moved to Milwaukee in 1957 during the Great Migration in search of a better life.

The Great Migration was when millions of southern African American people migrated north for better opportunities between 1916 to 1970. Many came to Milwaukee for the ever-growing jobs with the industrial factories at the time. Families settled down bought homes in the area, new businesses opened and grew, times were good. By the 1980s, times were not so good. Factories started to close in the area and businesses started to move out of the once flourishing neighborhoods. Some people moved out to the suburbs, while the majority of the African American population stayed behind and survived.

Barbara Miner, the Milwaukee-area freelance writer, purpose in this article was to educate by showing a face to the neighborhood around the Milwaukee 53206 zip code. The article brought tears to my eyes as I read about the longevity of people who make up the community even through the absence of jobs, transportation, and sort of conveniences that those of us who live merely blocks away take for granted. Then there is the stealthy growing abandoned housing market. However, many families have still stuck around to support their community or stay for the affordable housing.

Through the article, Miner, is attempting to educate the audience on the poverty in our own city. We have created this blind spot within our own community, and we tend to forget the area’s history. We are left with the assumption that the people living in these areas have chosen their fate instead of understanding the truth behind our ignorance. It’s well known what happened in Detroit after the auto industries started closing, but it is not known how the same affects had and still affects so many in our own city.

Beauty exists, such as with Dr. Carter, a retired Pharmacist who continues to go back and visit his community passing along trusted remedies to his neighborhood residents. Dr. Carter broke down barriers back in 1968 after he founded one of first Milwaukee black owned pharmacies. Now after selling his pharmacy, Dr. Carter can still be found at the store as a consultant in natural remedies.

Yet the media has forgotten about this area as though it doesn’t exist except for the inquiries pertaining to shootings in the area. The problem, or exigence, here is with the ignorance surrounding this forgotten and disregarded area of our city. I begin to ask myself, why do we have such a blind eye with our own neighboring areas? I wonder how the decline to industry in the city of Milwaukee and the poverty relates to the poverty that was created with the auto crisis in Detroit. I would have liked to see more of the information we read from the A Closer Look at Milwaukee Zip Code 53206 article on the non-existence of corporate businesses and declining public transportation and after school programs ties into the jobless market that intertwine in the poverty rates in these areas.

Current circumstances in 53206 go deeper than the loss of factories and that the jobs in the area.

“There’s investment out there, and there are jobs. But they’re in New Berlin or Waukesha. There’s no bus, so how are people going to get there?” (2015, Jan 28)

Perceptions have also been made that the housing bubble was the issue that affected people in this area, and they were of the many that shouldn’t have bought a home in the first place. However, a lot of families that lost their homes in 53206 were long-time owners.

Miner goes on to talk with a group of students from North Division High School who are studying zip-code-53206. Miner gathered their thoughts on how they feel about the area and what they would want people to know about the area, some of which that were mentioned as follows:

“Notice that we are here, that, like you, we are human, and we deserve the same things you want.”

“The police, I can’t explain it, but they don’t like black people.”

“It ain’t got no future.”

“Nothing’s going to change, ’cause nobody cares.”

Unfortunately, conditions such as the few mentioned have contributed to demolish government help enabling people to believe such areas are beyond any genuine rehabilitation, deeming the area in the past too black and ghetto.

Poverty is so much more then people just making bad choices or the wrong decisions in life. The purpose of the rhetors with this medium explain how trauma that stems from poverty begin way before one can make their own choices in life.

Regardless, parents in 53206 want the same things as any other parent anywhere in the world wants. We want our children to be safe, happy and a better childhood than we had. Is there anything wrong with the hope that our children grow up without the worry of crime surrounding them or to be able to go through school without bullying? We all want hope for the future.

Whether we live in Milwaukee or not we can relate to the exigences mentioned in the life cycle of the Great Migration and African Americans in Milwaukee mentioned, you cannot deny the purpose. The effects of poverty have an impact with your entire life, from childhood on through your adult life and passed on through the next generations. We become our parents, our community, our surroundings. We are what we are familiar with whether it be hiding money for emergencies like those who lived through the Great Depression to as unknowingly as our dialect or accent we commonly use day to day. If raised in poverty the traumatic affects you would carry through life, even if you leave those surroundings, the effects remain.

For Milwaukee, the future needs to bring education on the history of the African American population. Milwaukee doesn’t give the same possibilities to the people in the now poverty areas affected by the industrial decline. Such possibilities as, public transportation to give access to jobs and convenience stores, such as Wal-Mart or even McDonalds. Overlooking the truth and ignorance of the past never helped humanity in the future.

Source Cites:

Barbara Miner, Milwaukee. (2015, Jan 28). A Closer Look at Milwaukee Zip Code 53206. 1/28/2015 https://www.milwaukeemag.com/milwaukee-zip-code-53206/

Reggie Jackson, Milwaukee Independent. (2019, Apr 19). REGGIE JACKSON: REMEMBERING A TIME WHEN 53206 WAS KNOWN AS A LOVING COMMUNITY TO GROW UP IN. 4/19/2019 http://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/featured/reggie-jackson-remembering-time-53206-known-loving-community-grow/

Dan Schneider, Dollars & Sense. (2015, Nov/Dec). The Worst Place in the US to Be Black Is... Wisconsin 11/2015 http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/1115schneider.html

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awed-frog · 4 years ago

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You should look at the twin project re: losing weight. If two people who are born genetically identical can be 2 vastly different weights while on the exact same diet and exercise regime surely that tells you something else is going on 🤔

I’m not exactly sure what study you are referring to, and I’m not an expert in this field anyway, but here is what I think.

1) There is no such thing as ‘exact same diet and exercise’. People are notoriously bad at estimating, or even counting, their calories - studies show that people who’re asked to keep a food diary underreport their daily calories by as much as 45% (and overestimate their physical activity by 51%!). Plus, exercise levels are difficult to measure: sure, you may go to a spin class with your friends, but the level of effort (as measured by your heart rate) could be different, and what you do in the other 23 hours of your day counts much, much more. Unless you’re a pro athelete, exercise burns off a negligible part of what you’re eating.

2) As for twins: one study I couldn’t access was from 1986; another one, that considered hundreds of twins (half of which had grown up in different households) is from 1990. That’s more or less prehistory scientifically speaking. Plus, the second one was about children who’d been forcibly removed from their parents and separated from their twin because their families were poor. I hope they accounted for trauma, because that seems horrific.

As for more recent stuff:

3) Quote from one Finnish study from 2012: “Based on interviews of these twins, there is an indication that both the conscious efforts to prevent weight gain in the lean and the more unhealthy lifestyle in the obese co-twins explains the weight disparities, which appeared at 18 years of age, at a time when environmental influences may also start to diverge as the young adults move out of their parental home and establish more individualistic life styles. The twins themselves pointed out environmental factors in young adulthood such as living alone, irregularity of student life, sedentary work, getting a driver's license (at age 18 in Finland), and marital and societal relationships as provocateurs of weight gain as compared with more regular eating and physical activity habits in childhood.”

4) Quote from a Danish study from 2010: “The evidence for genetic influence on anthropometry has previously been established and has been estimated to be 60-70% based on twin studies. These inter-individual differences can, however, not explain the increase in obesity prevalence during the past 70 years. Environmental factors must therefore play an important role in the obesity epidemic.”

5) Furthermore, we do know from twin studies on cancer - a different disease, but a very aggressive one - that the rate of cancer in adopted children si aligned with their adoptive - not their biological - parents’. This is not surprinsing, considering we now know up to 70% of cancers are actually caused by lifestyle and behaviour, not genetics. In the case of cancer, all of us get ‘faulty’ cells all the time, but very often they can be ‘silenced’ by our bodies if we adopt the right reflexes.

(And please note I am NOT victim-blaming here: one big problem in our society is that many people are forced into an unhealthy lifestyle, such as dangerous pesticides or additive in foods, dangerous working conditions, food deserts, limited availability of fresh fruits and veggies, stress and overwork, access to a kitchen, little to no preventative healthcare - the list goes on.)

6) One strong indication that genetics is not that relevant when it comes to obesity are the rates of obesity in Japan (2% to 3%) and among 3rd generation Japanese-Americans (23%). As one recent study puts it, “Research has shown that compared to their native-born cohorts, newly arrived immigrants have better health, but their health declines the longer they remain in the U.S. and become more acculturated [...] The obesity rate seems to increase the longer Asian immigrants remain in the U.S.”

7) Finally, a study from last year shows that the BMI of dogs is correlated to the BMI of their owners: obese people are more likely to have obese dogs, and this is clearly not genetic.

So look - it’s always dangerous to say black and white things when it comes to science, because a) the matters involved are generally beyond complicated and b) we’re finding out new stuff at breakneck speed, but I don’t understand why so many people seem hellbent in complicating this issue. Obesity - as in, too much fat on your body - is always caused by caloric imbalance. In rare cases, people have health problems or take medication which causes them to be constantly hungry and/or store fat badly, and that complicates the issue, but for the vast majority of us, that’s not the case. We simply eat a lot more than we should, and we mostly eat crap. I don’t know how old you are, but I saw the change very clearly. Back when I was a child

nobody snacked (children would get a bread roll, a small chocolate bar, a yogurt or a piece of fruit around 4pm, but adults usually didn’t)

nobody drank soft drinks (my local shop only stored Coke, which we used to beg for but was only allowed in special occasions)

dessert and big meals were also more of a weekend habit

fast food wasn’t a thing (the first kebab place opened in my town when I was 17; the first McDonald’s, when I was 25)

if you forgot your packed lunch your only options were a restaurant, a chocolate bar from a kiosk or a bread roll with ham from the butcher’s

walking and biking places was pretty much the norm for a lot of people, as the bus system was inefficient and families tended to have one car (I have vivid memories of biking home 3 miles at 10pm under the rain after basketball practice, it was hellish but normal)

meals were 90% cooked at home using fresh ingredients (non-food available in the shops was limited to one type of crisps, frozen chips, chicken nuggets and a variety of weird-looking candy)

shopping malls didn’t exist (the first one in my region opened when I was 14), so people spent a lot more time outdoor during the weekend - going to the pool, the beach or the mountains, or playing football, tennis and basketball in the local fields and playgrounds.

Compare this to what’s going on now? You go out, and most people are eating or drinking something - whatever the time of day. Children, in particular, are constant snackers, and they snack on horrific things. Supermarkets are 90% non-food - my local shop has 25 different types of soft drinks, and 2 types of greens. We all work longer hours, with longer commutes, for less money, so there’s less time to cook (and less know-how anyway). Fast food outlets are everywhere and open around the clock (want a kebab with double fries at 9 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon? in the 90s, you would have been fucked - just munch on your brown banana and wait for dinner!). And worst of all, you’re constantly, relentlessly drowning in reminders you should eat more more more, while being surrounded by endless advice on how to drop 20 pounds in 20 days ‘without dieting or exercising!’. It’s a catastrophic social experiment, and the result are obvious - and very profitable.

Because everyone is making money here. The fast food market size was valued at $647.7 billion in 2019 and is estimated to reach $931.7 billion by 2027. The weight loss market is projected to grow from $175.94 billion in 2017 to $245.51 billion by 2022. The profits of drugs to treat diabetes almost tripled in 10 years, going from $27 billion to $78 billion. Investors are rushing towards potential new drugs, snake oil of all kinds and bariatric equipment companies (as one investment website helpfully puts it, “The increasing rate of obesity among children provides significant opportunities for growth of this market.”).

So the bottom line is, sure - some people have always been fatter than others, and that is probably genetics (some of us get hungrier; we react to stress by comfort eating; we like food more). But the reason why obesity rates are skyrocketing has nothing to do with personal preference or genetic inclinations - it is rooted in merciless capitalism and worsening inequalities. We should stop finding excuses or - God forbid - celebrating fatness and demand better policies and better healthcare before it’s too late.

#ask #obesity epidemic #obesity #anti-fa #anti-haes #healthcare #inequality #racism #classism #pet peeve #also weight gain is NOT a moral failure #just in case it needs saying #oh and i forgot to mention eds #but we all know about those anyway :(

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busyeahdesertbus · 5 years ago

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Live auction scheduled for around 7pm PST, 13 Nov.

I just finished my submission piece for this year’s Desert Bus for Hope (starting in November), and I’m real proud of it. The tarrasque is painted up in Desert Bus-y colors, and all the ‘Shift Heroes’ are painted like the different shift banners denoting the 4 different times of day during the week-long event. The headlights, taillights, and tarrasque eyes all light up!

We’ll see how much it (presumably) auctions for this year! Now, off to ship it to Victoria, BC!

#desert bus for hope #desert bus 2019 #db2019 #desert bus #reaper miniatures

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nutty1005 · 5 years ago

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Xiao Zhan: Extraordinary Journey, Starting from This

Translator’s Note: This article comes from Harper’s Bazaar Oct 2019 Side Issue.

To Xiao Zhan, the Summer of 2019 was destined to belong to “The Untamed”. The drama’s popularity and high viewership garnered Xiao Zhan, who was the lead role in “The Untamed” as “Wei Wuxian”, the most attention of this summer. Our extraordinary journey shall stop its time in the summer. The Abu Dhabi Emirates Palace Hotel glistens under the brilliant sunlight. This grand palace, costing 3 billion USD, carries with it the lovely dreams of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with hopes that it will become a local landmark building. Whereas for us, this is where we will start our extraordinary journey.

This summer was very hot, and there was not a single shower that was memorable.

We strolled on the Sir Bani Yas Island, the “Noah’s Ark” of Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, measuring 5,963km away from Beijing, with ground temperatures at 45°C.

If there were really a “Noah’s Ark”, it probably looked like Sir Bani Yas Island. It carried the hopes of the founding father of UAE – in its history, the clan family of UAE used their enormous wealth on this desert island and created the biggest wild animal reserve; they grew more than 3.5m fruit trees on this arid land and carefully cultivated them everyday; they brought in more than 30 different endangered species onto this island for release.

Xiao Zhan was just 20 meters away from a 4 day old giraffe calf. The young calf stumbled ahead, learning its steps. This was the first time Xiao Zhan was up close to a wild giraffe. Everyone was bending low and looking down, moving carefully and silently, so that we would not provoke the alert mother giraffe. The guide informed us that these seemingly gentle animals actually have a irritable temper, and an angry giraffe could easily kill a grown lion with their kicks. As our jeep got closer to them, the hidden giraffes became clearer, and we saw 5 to 6 adult giraffes surrounding the trees, quietly eating the leaves. Under the sunlight, Xiao Zhan slowly moved closer, until he was standing next to them, quietly observing them, and enjoying the rare peace and serenity of this summer.

“Packing my bags for an unknown journey”

The Summer of 2019 was destined to belong to “The Untamed”. This web drama, adapted from “The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation”, became one of the hottest topic online after a few days of broadcast. Xiao Zhan, who starred as “Wei Wuxian” in the drama, also became one of the hottest names of this summer.

The first time Xiao Zhan performed on stage was on X-Fire, a talent search show, as an amateur contestant. Thereafter, the first real big performance was when he was part of the performance for Zhejiang New Year Eve broadcast. After multiple rehearsals, as he stood onstage and the spotlights came on with a “pa” sound. Instantly, his mind went blank, and he said that his movements were entirely based on survival instincts.

“I remembered I was especially nervous, and when I was backstage, I was so nervous that I was shaking nonstop, I could not say a word. When the spotlights came onto us, there was one or two seconds of memory loss, as in my mind went blank. After that I had no choice, I saw that my teammates got into their positions, so I quickly walked to mine.”

To the amateur Xiao Zhan then, the entertainment business was all glitz and glory – an interesting world filled with the unknown. Only after he really entered the business, he realized that everyone had to put in a lot of effort in order to gain a little bit of attention. After entering an idol group, Xiao Zhan spent a great deal of effort practicing singing and dancing, wanting to use hard work to catch up with the others’ professional training – once he practiced until his toe nail came off, but even then, he never stopped. His character is warm but tenacious, when he encounters difficulties he rarely speaks of them, instead he will learn to cope, he always says “it will be fine after a night’s rest”, and continue to fight the next day. In 2017, he joined the production of two dramas consecutively, “Battle Through the Heavens” 《斗破苍穹》 and “The Wolf” 《狼殿下》. These two dramas opened the doors to an actor’s world to him. From the first scene until the last, from the winters of Shangri-La to the hot summers of the Elephant Mountains, his exhausted body could not contain his itching desire to become an actor. He was deeply fascinated by the roles and lives of the people in the scripts.

When he first received the script for “The Untamed”, Xiao Zhan felt that he was totally different from “Wei Wuxian”. Xiao Zhan is not a talkative person, instead, he is a very quiet person. When they were script reading for the first time, the producer was there as well, and Xiao Zhan had to continuously remind himself that “I am Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian is me, I am WeiWuxian, I am now a very lively talkative person, I have to make everyone adore me”. After establishing this belief, he blended into his character, and allowed the character’s emotions and his merge into one. After the broadcast of the drama, he himself would read reviews online – “It seemed like his smiles are different every time, possibly even his cries are different as well, did he design it as such?”

However, it is precisely that Xiao Zhan does not know all these techniques, but instead he blended into the role, and allowed the story to direct the character’s emotions, and used that character’s status and feelings in his acting.

Xiao Zhan said “The role is really very big, and the span is really long. Because when we shoot dramas, it is according to scenes, for example, the final scenes were shot like 2 days into the start of the shoot, and I needed to quickly get into the situation. And then the next day could be another different scene, switching back and forth, I would get into a confused state. I remembered the most anxious period was in Heng Dian, I would be drowsily doing my make up in the morning, after which I got pushed onto the bus by my assistant, dragged to the studio, start shooting, after that was done my assistant would say ‘We are OK with this side, let’s go to B group’. At that moment made me feel like ‘Am I alright? Is it alright performing this way?’, it was a very concerning period for me.”

But when it was time to shoot, another actor told Xiao Zhan that no matter what happened behind the scenes, as long as the director shouted “Action”, you need to adjust yourself to your best status, you need to give your greatest passion, because the audience will only see what is done after “Action”. Even if you are in low spirits that day, you might be going through the darkest days of your life, but once you are at the studio, standing in front of a camera, the director yelled to start shooting, from that moment on you are no longer yourself.

Xiao Zhan smiled as he said, “That’s cruel, but that’s an actor’s job.”

“I am not a brave person, but I need to become a brave person”

In the winds, a herd of antelopes and deer ran past us, Xiao Zhan grasped the dagger that signified strength and bravery, as he stood on the red rocks on the side of the cliff. The scenery before us are a rarity – it took billions of years of tectonic movements to create this miraculous sight. On an island in the Gulf of Arab, there actually exists such an alien sight. In order to get to this cliff, you need professional guides and you need to climb up and down for half an hour or so. The usually quiet Xiao Zhan also exclaimed “So beautiful!” in spite of himself. We could use an unknown adventure to describe life – the more mysterious it is, the more you want to explore.

Xiao Zhan said that he is not a brave person, but it is life required him to become braver – only the brave can face all of the unknown and mysteries in an unknown adventure. Previously, he had to face the transition from an amateur to an artist, the adjustment from a commoner’s life to a life under the bright spotlights of the stage; now he faced the tight scrutiny of his life under the spotlight.

After the end of shooting of “The Untamed”, many felt that Xiao Zhan became more lively than before, and he spoke more often. In the past, he was always uncomfortable facing strangers, but now he will use a very active attitude to communicate with others, in hopes of receiving more information from that. The role not only gave him more attention, it also gave him strength and growth.

For his future planning, he laughed as he said that he had not decided. He was just passionate about acting and hoped that he could move ahead in the path of becoming a good actor, one problem at a time, and become braver and stronger. He felt that this is not just about himself, many of his friends and young people are the same – undaunted by the difficulties in life, and become stronger as a result. This is like the antelopes who are almost being baked under the intense heat of the desert, unafraid of the sun, sprinting ahead, never looking back.

“No one will like you for no reason”

Xiao Zhan’s father once said this “No one will like you for no reason, if someone likes you, you have to cherish that person’s feelings.” Xiao Zhan truly believes in this.

In his youth, Xiao Zhan liked Stefanie Sun, and went to her concerts and album sales events. He hoped that he could catch a glimpse of her from afar, watch her shine onstage, immerse himself in her voice, and learn from her, become a better person, become a star who could shine for another person. He said that that was how the youth of his era fan an idol. The idol is a truly an idol, the motivation to encourage himself forward. Now, he cherishes all of his fans’ love for him, and he does not reject the term “traffic” – this is a term that many would avoid. (TN: Traffic is a term that is used in China to describe idols with a lot of fan following.)

“You might feel that traffic is not good, right? Feel that traffic is another derogatory term? Actually I feel that traffic is quite fine, of course the term to me means that a lot of people know you, like you, I feel that’s a good thing. At least I feel that no one can be high traffic forever, what’s most important is how you handle it, how you face the traffic, and let this traffic become a motivation to move forward, I think this is very important.”

He hopes that he can translate the love from his fans to become his motivation to move forward. An actor could depend on a popular drama to quickly accumulate fame and attention, but the art of performance requires professional training and experience accumulation. Xiao Zhan’s favorite actress is Zhou Xun. When he spoke of her, his tone utterly reveals him as a fanboy, “I don’t know how she evolved to this.” Our answer was simple, time and talent, both of which you cannot do without. Talent will help your potential in the domain of acting, and if fate ordinates, help you grasp the opportunities that knock on your door. Whereas time is the sharpening stone, every minute and second spent on the acting career will show itself in the performances thereafter.

“There are no small roles, only small actors.” Staying true to his original intentions and initial thoughts, doing his best in his own profession, seriously working hard in the acting domain, he will eventually find his own place.

Xiao Zhan said, “In this era where traffic comes and goes, staying true to myself, staying real, I feel this is the eventual goal. But it is so difficult to do this.”

Wish him well.

Q&A

Q: Before you came to Abu Dhabi, what you did imagine it to be? A: The image I had was that, endless deserts and wilderness, soaring majestic buildings.

Q: When you knew that our journey is somewhat similar to an adventure, being with animals, what did you imagine it to be? A: I thought about it. Something like African savanna, sort of like animal migration, herds of animals moving past you, especially spectacular. However, the animals on the African savanna are wilder, over here, the wild animals are mostly the gentler antelopes, giraffes.

Q: In your personal life, are you a person who also likes adventures? A: Yes, I can be considered as such.

Q: When there are many things that the results are unknown, does that excite you? A: If there are many things in my life that I already know the results, my interest in the new and unknown will wane. I prefer not knowing the results, there are many paths to take, and the destinations could all be different, this makes me feel more excited.

Q: So in your imagination, Abu Dhabi suits your sense of unknown? A: Yes. It is just very mysterious, a feeling of an unknown land, to be explored, and full of endless treasures.

Q: There are so many animals on the island of Sir Bani Yas, which do you want to contact or wish to take a picture with? A: The giraffes. To be able to take a picture with them, to get up close with them, I just feel this is very exciting. I have never had the opportunity, I used to only go to the zoo. Being able to contact animals in the wild is very rare.

Q: This time you were able to look into a giraffe in the eye, how did you felt? A: Just that I am able to look at it in the eye.

Q: Aren’t you afraid of giraffes? A: I am not afraid, I feel that giraffes are quite cute, why do I need to be afraid of it?

Q: They are quite strong. A: The giraffes?

Q: Did you know that in the culture of Abu Dhabi, daggers signify strength. In the ancient times, the Emirates used them as a self-defense accessory. Their founding father, Sheikh Zayed, almost wore one for half his lifetime, and daggers are found in many of his portraits. Even now, the young Emirates frequently wore them in public. A: The sign of bravery and strength. Actually, when I saw this dagger, I felt that it gave me bravery and strength, the start of an adventurous journey.

Q: Holding the dagger and walking along the cliffs, how did it feel like? A: Wow, every inch of this land is mine, I felt that I could jump down that cliff, there was nothing to fear. Especially when the wind came and blew open my windbreaker, it was especially refreshing.

Q: What did is the biggest feeling this journey gave you? A: Actually, not many people understood Abu Dhabi, after I came here, I was surprised to find that there were many beautiful scenery and interesting cultural traditions, and the underlying adventurous spirit within. It is like a pair of eyes, showing us new discoveries. Actually, the interesting discoveries that we don’t usually find in our daily lives, and this journey is tinted with the colors of adventure and mystery, makes me feel very excited. This city, it has its own cultural background, the collision with new things, is a very wondrous feeling.

Q: If your friend wants to go to Abu Dhabi for an adventure, what recommendations do you have? A: Actually there are plenty. I feel that if the friends around me were to come to Abu Dhabi, they have to experience the unique Arabic culture, the buildings here and their totems, I feel that these have special meanings. Those of my friends who loves art can go to Abu Dhabi Louvre. And there’s one more thing that cannot be missed, that is the adventurous journey to get in touch with nature, I feel this is especially great. Abu Dhabi’s deserts and islands, will really satisfy your adventurous desires to explore the world, you can look up and see the flying saker falcons, then look down to see the running antelopes and cheetahs, and turn around to see the giraffes standing behind you.

#xiao zhan #sean xiao #xiaozhan #肖战

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viking-raider · 5 years ago

Text

A Year Late - Chapter One

Summary: The world has over. Months later, 9 people are traveling the U.S, Canada and Mexico just trying to survive the eaters...zombies, the people effected by the disease that ended the world. But, the important question is: Can they survive?

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Word Count: 5,087

Rating: PG-13 - Apocalypse AU, Zombies, Language, Violence, Blood, Gore, Survival, Weapons, Death, Angst, Pain and more

Inspiration: I don’t know. I’ve never watched anything like the Walking Dead or anything, I have seen I am Legend, though. But, it just sorta came to me, once upon a time, and here it is. This is also a third revision of the story, so if you find it elsewhere, that’s me, being weird and recycling some of my stories for new muses. lmao

Author’s Note: Tell me what you think!

Tag List: @jennylovelyheart, @peakygroupie, @jessevans, @rosie-loves-things, @ohjules, @mary-ann84, @omgkatinka, @the-freak-cassie-131, @heelsamizayn, @agniavateira, @cap-barnes, @romyr4, @michelehansel, @katiebriggs004-blog, @badassbaker, @mrsaugustwalker, @authentic-bish-face, @rizeandvibe, @severuined, @supernaturalvikingwhore, @bellastellaluna, @wondersofdreaming, @thisisntmyrightera, @laurenmw815, @winchwm, @royallylazy, @sofiebstar, @worldicreate, @agniavateira, @fantasygirlsuniverse, @witches-of-discovery-a, @xuxszx, @ayamenimthiriel, @keiva1000, @klaine-92, @itsreigns, @constip8merm8, @scorpionchild81, @seb-owns-these-tatas, @mylifefallingupthestairs, @onlyhenrys, @luclittlepond

'The world as you know it is over.' There was a long deafening pause. 'A catastrophic catastrophe as swept over the nation, no ladies and gentlemen, the world. The end of the world is here and it has claimed the human race. This is Ron Sidwald signing off for the last time...ever, for Channel 12 news, November 5, 2019. God be with you all.'

Static and hissing is all that's left from the 6 month old news cast that still ran in random intervals all over the now nothing but dust, rust and abandoned desert that was once the flourishing United States of America. The world population of 7 billion as been reduced drastically to an unknown number ranging in the possible 3,000s. But, that was just a wishful thought of the ones that were still alive and unaffected by the disease that claimed their people and perfect life they had, though, they didn't know how perfect it was.

Until it was gone.

A rock sailed through the air, disappeared in the glare of the unforgiving sun and clinked into a rusty old Folgers coffee can that tipped and rolled around on its round rim bottom, then righted itself and settled back onto the dusty ground. "Woo!" A shout was hollered from the top of a modified, faded yellow, school bus. "Rock in one. Beat that, Tank!" "Oh, fuck you, Toombs. That was just a lucky shot." Tank grumbled, jumping off the top of the bus and picking up the rocks he and Toombs had been tossing into the coffee can to pass the time. "Hey yo, Link! When does Sy, Zero and Trix get back from wherever the hell they're going too?"

The beefy, over tanned Hispanic shrugged his shoulders as he cleaned his AK-47; his two Glock 18C extended clip, automatics were already cleaned and reloaded in his shoulder holsters. Link never said much, but he was good shit when it came to using his guns and getting the job done. Those qualities were the reason Sy and Zero valued him so much in these times. "Where'd they go?" Toombs asked, sitting back in the fold up lawn chair on the top of the bus, pulling on his sun goggles. "To that city we saw on the map on the way here." Link answered, pushing bullets into a new clip for the AK. "Are you fucking serious?" Tank boomed. "That shit was like seven miles from here and its almost sun down!"

Link shrugged again, putting the clip into the gun. Throwing the rocks down to the ground, Tank shoved his way into the bus, took the radio off the dashboard and held down the button on it so hard the hot, black plastic around it, cracked. "Sexy 'n' Sleek to Fuck You, over." he called and released the button to wait for Trix's response. There was a bit of static, before it came in. "This is Fuck You, come in, Sexy 'n' Sleek." static. "Over." "What the hell are you guys doing, going to a city seven miles out of zone!" Tank chewed Trix out. "We need to get supplies and we can't.." static. "..so Sy and Zero decided to come. We'll be back in no time. We just got here, over." Trix answered. "Let me talk to Sy." Tank growled. There was no answer. "Fucking over!" he barked. "Sy, isn't in range at the moment, here's Zero. Over." Trix replied. Tank leaned over, rested his hand against the hot dashboard and hung his head. "I don't want to talk to Zero." he sighed to himself, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the side of his arm. "Zero here, over." Zero's annoyed voice came in. "What's up, Tanker?" "Why the hell didn't you and Sy tell us you were going into the city for supplies, this fucking close to sun down?" Tank asked, his anger controlled. Pissing Zero off wouldn't get anyone, anywhere. "We told Link and that's what matters." Zero answered. "He has his orders, now stay off the fucking line. Over and out." Throwing the radio receiver, Tank rattled back off the bus and climbed back up into the roof. "What's up, T?" Toombs asked as Tank dropped down into a plastic deck chair next to him. "Nothing." Tank growled. "They'll be back in a bit. Link's left in charge till then." "Okay." Toombs shrugged, indifferent by it all.

Sy thumbed the smooth wood of her English longbow, other than the five guys she rode with, it was her best friend, just like the 50 thin bobtail arrows in the quiver she made and had strapped to her back. In case she ran out of arrows, she had two EAA Witness Match Semi Automatic Pistols, one in a left shoulder holster and one in her back waistband, along with a 5'' Gerber paraframe II knife in her right combat boot. She looked over at Zero, who was walking on the other side of the street from her, she looked him over. Dirty and torn cameos. Military FAMAS strapped in front of him, index finger at the ready above it, his two extended clip and automatic Tarurus PT92s in their holsters and bumping against his thighs in the rhythm of his walk, and his long knife in its holder across his back. Zero was Sy's brother, he was 2 years older than her and the only one she hadn't lost at the end of the world. Sighing heavily, she shifted her gaze from Zero to Trix, or the little twerp as she called him. Wasn't more than 18, about 6 foot and a buck forty. Skittish as hell, slow in the head and annoying like a horse fly. But, he was good with technical things like the engine to the bus, the radios and other things like that. He didn't look right, right now with a S2 sub-machine gun in a shoulder strap around his neck, hand gripping the handle like life and love needed it, 12in hunting knife poking out of his timberland and the 2 LD Jungle knives she let him use held to his scrawny right thigh. The only thing that looked right on him was the military radio backpack slung over his shoulders, so they could stay in contact with Link, Toombs and Tank at the bus, in base camp. Made Sy sad to see someone Trix's age having to do shit like this just to fucking survive. "I don't think we're going to make it back by dark." Zero's voice called, bringing Sy out of her daze, just to sigh heavy again and pull off her Tan colored Military goggles from around her head. "Should find shelter then." She said, popping out the black lenses of the goggles and replace them with clear ones, then put them back around her head and over her eyes. She looked up at the sun, "Only got about 2 hours til we're in the dark." Zero nodded agreeing with her, rubbing his dirty, sweaty and gritty face. He kicked a rock in front of him down the street and looked at Sy with a raised eyebrow. "Trix." Sy called to the kid. "Take a seat, watch the street, and remember what your mother did, and didn't, teach you." she told him, pulling the bow between her back and quiver, then pulled out the pistol from her shoulder holster. "Look all ways when near a street, yell when someone comes, and shoot when you need too." Trix recited it to her like a bible verse, in a sense it had become one for them all. "Good boy." Zero smiled, patting Trix on the head as he sat down on curb. Zero quickly made his way over to Sy, they stood close to each other and talked about their possible options for a safe shelter to use for the night. "Could go back two blocks and use the store." Sy suggested. "We already cleared it." "Yeah, the first two levels. Not the basement, cellar and attic." Zero shook his head. Sy nodded, exhaling a stressed breath. "Okay, down a half block around the corner and see what pops up." she held her fist out to him. Zero touched his fist to hers in agreement with the plan and they headed down. "Behave, twerp." Sy threw over her shoulder as she and Zero went down the street.

Trix waved her away and popped a stick of gum in his mouth, looking down the street the way they came, then around the corner of the wall on the other side of him and down at Sy and Zero as they disappeared. "Hate being alone." he mumbled to himself, fingering his gun.

In nervousness, Trix started to whistle low and rock back and forth, side to side. Timing his movement and whistling with how he looked down the three sections of road. The streets were dimming and gray, it was getting cold and Trix was starting to loose his nerve. Zero and Sy hadn't returned yet, but he didn't hear any gunfire either. So, they were probably still scoping out wherever they were scoping out and not getting eaten by anything that lurked in the abandoned buildings. He hoped anyway. Whipping his head to the the left, Trix saw three figures moving down the road where he, Sy and Zero had come from. It couldn't have been the others because Link had orders that if they didn't return by morning, he was to take Toombs and Tank to the next planned area and if any of them survived would make their way there to meet them. Getting up and hiding behind the corner of the building, his gun pointed at the moving figures, his heart pounding. "It's too early yet for Eaters." he whispered to himself, trying to calm himself. He looked up the road where Sy and Zero went. He knew that he couldn't run up that way without them seeing him and he couldn't yell for them either because he was sure they'd hear him before Zero and Sy would, and get to him before the three tore him apart. Trix looked back to the three figures, they were closer now. So, backing up down the wall a good length, he turned and ran to an ally, ran down that ally and as he passed through the other side, he collided with Zero. "Trix, get the fuck off me." Zero growled, shoving the teen off him and getting up. "What are you runnin' from, twerp?" Sy asked, helping him up. "There's three figures coming up the road. It's not the T's or Link and it's too early for the Eaters." Trix panted. "It's never to early for the Eaters." Sy said, pulling night vision goggles out of Zero's pack and replacing her goggles with them and switching them on. "Come on." she whispered going up to the edge of the street and peeking around the corner at the three figures. "It's okay, Trix. You're right. It's not dark enough for the eaters to come out yet. Not unless you woke them up." Zero assured him. "I was whistling." Trix shook. Zero shook his head, coming up behind Sy and pressed his finger to his lips. Trix nodded and zipped his lips. Sy scoped out the three figures coming up the street towards them. They're movements were unsure, like they were lost. One tall, one close to that and one an inch or two shorter. "Wish I had Tank's sniper scope." she whispered to Zero. "At least then I could see their faces...wait. They've stopped, there's activity behind them." "What is it?" Zero demanded quietly. "Those three aren't Eaters, Z." she said, pulling the Night Vision up away from her eyes and looking back at her brother. "How do you know?" "Because the 6 things behind them are." she told him, pulling out her bow. "We have to help them."

Zero nodded, pulling his FAMAS against his shoulder and looked back at Trix and nodded at him. Trix nodded at Zero and readied himself. "Go, Sy." Zero whispered, patting Sy on the back. Sy ran out from the corner to the middle of the street and down a few step, where she stopped. Pulling a thin bobtail arrow out of her quiver, placing it in the bow and pulling the sting on the bow back, aiming carefully between the two tallest figures, who she could now see were three guys. A smirk pulled on her lips seeing their scared faces, then let go of the arrow. The arrow whizzed through the air, creating a breeze in the longish hair of the second tallest as it went between them and struck one of the Eaters through the right eye, shattering the back of its skull and dropping it completely dead to the ground. When that Eater dropped, Zero and Trix came out as Sy ran to the three guys being tracked by the Eaters. "You need to move, now!" she snapped at them, pulling back another arrow as a second Eater got closer. "Go!" she yelled at them, taking out the Eater. The three guys ran to where Zero and Trix were and hid behind them. "Sy, get back here!" Zero yelled at his sister, shooting down two Eaters. Sy shot another Eater, than turned and ran back to the group. As she slid to a stop next to them, Trix let loose with his sub-machine gun. "Take them back to the building." he yelled over the gunfire. "Come on." Sy said, pushing the three guys back to the building that she and Zero cleared. She pushed them inside. Putting her bow away and pulling out her shoulder gun again, she held the door with one hand and the gun with the other, watching the door for Trix, Zero and anything else that wanted in. "It's fucking dark in here." one of the guys complained. "Here." Sy shrugged her pack off, never looking away from the door. "There's heavy duty glow sticks in there. Only break open two, that's all you need to see." she instructed them. The sound of them rummaging through her pack, then ripping open the foil packaging of the glow sticks and the creaks and pops of the sticks filled the sheet rock walled room. A neon green glow came to life in the room, then the shuffling sounds of the men sitting down with heavy and uneasy sighs. Zero and Trix came charging in, slamming the door shut and pushing everything they could in front of it. When they felt it was safe, Sy, Zero and Trix pointed their guns at the three men sitting on the floor in front of them. The three struggled up, their hands up and palms out and backing up. "Whoa, chill." The tallest spoke. "Yeah." A second tallest of the men added in.

The third stayed quiet, but frightened looking. "Who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing out here? and are you infected?" Zero interrogated them. "I'm-I'm.." The second tallest stuttered. "Henry, from London. We got trapped here, when all the shit hit and as far as any of us know, we're not infected." "And you two are?" Zero asked, pointing his AK at them. "I'm Joey, I'm also from England." The quiet one answered. "And I'm Armie, I'm from here in the U.S." The other answered. "He's bleeding." Trix said, pointing to Henry. "On his side." Sy walked up to him, pulled open his tattered black plaid button down and looked over the gash on his side. She looked back at Zero and shook her head. "It's not anything to worry about Eater wise. Just a wound." she said, stepping away from him. "What the fuck is an 'Eater'?" Joey frowned. "Those things that were going to attack you, before we came in." Zero told them, putting the safety on his AK and sitting back against the pile in front the door. He checked the clip and a bunch of other stuff, Trix did the same as Henry, Joey and Armie sat back down. Sy dug in her pack and pulled out some items. She stood up and went over to Henry and motioned for him to follow her. "You want him to follow you?" Joey protested. "Yeah, unless he wants that wound on his side to get anymore infected, if it isn't already, and if the blood isn't covered up and controlled the Eaters will sniff it out." Sy snapped at him. “No doubt, why they found you.” "I don't trust you." Joey snapped back. Sy growled, dropping her head back. She set the medical supplies aside and unloaded all her weapons, her bow, quiver, clips and guns. "There." she showed him, arms out and turning. "Knife, in you boot." Trix added. "I might need it." she glared at him. "I'm not Cat Woman." Joey, Armie and Henry exchanged looks with each other. "Fine, bleed and/or get sick and die, for all I care. What's one more to add to the loss." Sy rolled her eyes going past him. Henry stopped her, grabbing her by the arm. "I trust you." he whispered. Sy sighed softly, grabbed the medical supplies again and led him to a little kitchen, away from all the others in the place. She laid the supplies down on a counter island and pointed to a chair for Henry to sit in. "Take your shirt off too, please." she told him, pulling a chair up in front of him. Henry nodded and hung the shirt up on the back of the chair. He watched Sy lean close to him and look over his wound, touching it carefully. "So, how long you guys been out here?" he asked, trying to break the silence. "Me, my brother Zero and Trix, the kid, along with our other three guys Toombs, Tank and Link have been here since before it happened. All of us, but Link were born in the US. Link was born in Mexico." she told him, leaning back and grabbing a closed bottle of water and a pad of gauze. Popping open the water and wetting the pad, she wiped and pressed it to his wound making him hiss and bite his bottom lip.

"Sorry." "It's okay." Henry groaned. "This wound is sorta old. Its hardened over some and its got puss inside of it." She told him, dropping the wet pad to the floor. "I have to open and drain it." Henry's eyes went wide as she told him she'd have to cut his wound. "If there was another way, I'd do it. But there's not. If the puss sits there any longer, the more it'll enter your blood stream and make you really sick." She tried to explain it to him as lightly as possible. Henry gulped and nodded his head slowly, "Okay." he whispered. "What do I do?" "I need you to lay down." she told him, getting up, pushing the chair back as she did. Henry rubbed his face, looking at the floor. "Here, wait." Sy stopped him as he started to lay down. She left the kitchen and came back with a brown blanket. She laid it out, took off her black and red hoodie, folded it up and laid it down on the blanket too as a pillow. "There, make it a little more comfy." she smiled at him. Henry smiled at her and laid down on his back, his head supported by her rolled up hoodie. Sy brought the medical supplies down to floor level as she sat cross legged beside him, she pulled her knife from her boot and flipped it open, she poured iodine on the black blade and laid it on fresh gauze. "Go you have any painkillers?" Henry asked, meeting her eyes. Sy pressed her lips together and shook her head at him. "No, sorry." she apologized, pouring more iodine on another piece of gauze and wiping around the wound, but she paused. "But, you know what." she said, her eyes far off. "Trix! Come here and bring your bag." she called out to the kid. Trix came rushing in, gripping his bag by a strap. "Yeah, Sy. Got it right here." He tripped over himself to give it to her and watched like a caught sheep as she dug through it and pulled out a 12oz bottle of Tennessee whiskey. "Here, down some of this." she opened the bottle and held it to Henry's lips, letting him gulp down a fourth of it. "Okay. I'll let you have the rest when I'm done." she told him, putting the cap back on the bottle and setting it aside. "Thanks you, Trix. You can get lost now." Trix nodded, taking his bag back to the front room. "Thanks." Henry replied, when Trix was gone. "Anytime." Sy answered, picking up her knife. "You want something to bite or you good?" she asked him. "Is it gunna hurt?" Henry asked looking her in the eyes. His blue orbs looked worried and scared beyond belief. "I was just throwing it out there." Sy answered, trying to be encouraging and soothing. Henry squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head back to her hoodie. "Just go." he told her. "Okay." she nodded, then pressed the tip of the knife to the wound.

Henry growled deep in his throat, his hand shooting out and gripping Sy's knee and squeezing his eyes shut tighter as she cut open the length of his wound. Sy dropped the knife as thick white puss oozed out of the cut, she picked up a package of iodine and ripped it open with her teeth. "Big pain." she warned him and squeezed the stinging brown liquid out of the package to his oozing wound. Henry howled in agony as the iodine soaked into the cut. Joey, Trix, Armie and Zero leaned in the doorway of the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about. Sy ignored them, wiping away the puss and pressing it out as much as she could and letting Henry squeeze her leg as much as he need too. "Is he gunna be okay?" Armie asked, concerned. "Yeah, I'm sure of it." Sy answered, still pushing puss out of the wound and pouring more iodine on it. "I need to keep an eye on it to make sure it heals right." "That means they have to stay with us." Trix whined. "Yeah, just like you had too, when we found your dumb ass." Sy mocked back. "Go radio Link and tell them the situation." she barked out the order. "And the rest of you, beat it or your next." she threatened. Not needing farther threats the group at the door was gone to find something else to do. "I don't want to be a burden." Henry panted. "Shut up and breathe." Sy ordered, opening the wound a bit deeper. Henry groaned as the knife cut deeper into his side and gripping her knee even tighter, but Sy never registered it. "There. I'm gunna let it ooze a bit longer, then I'll bandage it up. I don't want you moving. So just lay there, you need something let me know, got it?" "Got it." Henry answered, still panting. "But, tell me something." "Anything." "Okay then, two somethings." Sy smiled at him, cleaning off her knife. "What is it?" "One, what's your name and two, how do you know what you're doing?" "One, My name is Sy and two, I'm a medic." A frown washed over her face. "Well, I was before the whole end of the world thing. I was 3 months shy of becoming a doctor." "Sy. What's that short for?" he asked, looking at her. "Nothing. It's my full name. My parents weren't very clear minded, when they had me." she laughed. Henry chuckled and Sy patted Henry on the shoulder, packed away the medical supplies, then sat back against the counter island facing Henry and closed her eyes. It was going to be another long night, the Eaters or the people that had been affected by the disease that swept over the world, turning many into flesh eating, night walking maniacs, where coming out in stronger and bigger numbers every night. But luckily they seemed to be spread out from each other, though God only knows how long that'll last. It only took three days, three days, for the world to end and tip upside down. The brown, cloudless and sunny sky was utterly unforgiving in the day time. It was so hot in the day you could fry an egg the sidewalk and so cold at night, you couldn't wet your lips without running the chance of them freezing together. Chapstick, sun block and sun glasses were your best amigo in the day and a thick blanket, more Chapstick and another human body were your partner at night. Yeah, Sy, Zero, Trix, Link, Toombs and Tank had it all down to a pretty good and fine science. They had their faults, nothing out of the usual though. Only being some of the last surviving people on the planet over run with Zombies, supplies were few and in between, like toilet paper, a bar of soap or even a washer machine. But things could be improvised for that. They always sold out the ammo stores and aisles when they could, got what good food they could use, water was a hard thing to get right, but thanks to Trix, they had a system of making damn sure it was clean enough to drink and cook with. They raided hospitals for medical supplies when needed, clothing stores for new shoes and whatever else they needed to cover themselves. It was by no means a simple life, or an easy one. But, they all knew that it could be worse, and as long as they had each other, they'd be able to get through it virtually unhurt. Sy jerked awake, hearing a startled gasp from in front of her. Sitting up, putting a hand on her shoulder gun and reaching into the side pouch of her cameo pants, she pulled out a glow stick and broke it, illuminating the kitchen in a blue glow as she shook it for extra strength. It was Henry, sitting up on his elbows, sweating heavily and staring, frightened, at the small kitchen window behind her. Glancing at her watch, it was 3.03am. She set the glow stick between them and rested her hand on his tense shoulder. She could hear the Eaters now, running and screeching passed the window and around the building. It was a sound that kept her awake many of the first nights, haunted her dreams for weeks after, and finally, just recently, she got use to it. But, obviously Henry hadn't gotten to that point yet. "It's okay." she whispered to him, wiping sweat from his temple. "They can't get in." "You sure?" Henry asked, never tearing his eyes from the window. "Yeah, the window is too small, the door is blocked and Zero's watching it. The windows on the third floor are too high for them to reach." Sy assured him. She ran her fingers through his short curly brown hair, smiling as it spiked slightly from him sweating. "Just lay back down, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Henry laid back, breathing slowly in and out through his mouth. He stared at the ceiling, his stomach rumbled angrily. Sy frowned hearing it and watching him press his hand to his stomach, closing his eyes. She shifted to get up and he grabbed her by the wrist, looking at her from the corners of his eyes. "I'm just going to get my bag, okay. I won't be more than like twelve feet from you." she told him, tenderly. Henry's hand slowly let go of her waist and Sy stood up, edged around him and went into the other room where the others where at. "Everything okay?" Zero asked. He was sitting on turned over paint bucket in front of the door, his FAMAS loaded and ready to go if anything happened, across his lap. "Yeah, just need my bag. Got a growling tummy in there and by the sound of how pissed it is, he hasn't eaten in a bit." Sy replied, picking up her bag, where she dropped it last. "Yeah, Trix gave those two some food and water, he was gunna give some to you two, but you were already asleep and I told him to leave you." Zero answered, watching the shadows outside zoom by. Sy sighed, standing next to Zero, facing away from the shadows. There was an uneasy pause and silence between them, words for their thoughts didn't have to be said out loud anymore, because they'd been said so many times before. "Go and get some food in that boy's belly, Sy." Zero said softly, looking down at his safety. "We'll talk about it later." Nodding and patting him on the shoulder, she took her pack back into the kitchen and sat back down in her spot beside Henry, who looked at her with a gulp. Sy smiled at him, digging in her bag and pulling out a medium sized brown package and a dark green spoon and handed it to him. "What is this?" Henry frowned taking the items. "Um, I think, that's chili and beans. I got...uh, meatloaf with gravy and Pork Chow Mein, if ya wanna switch." she told him, holding up two other medium sized packages. "Okay, but, what the hell is this?" he asked, shaking the package at her. "Oh! They're MREs." Sy answered, grabbing another spoon for herself. "Meals Ready to Eat. It's U.S military food. They have a shelf life of 25 years, so they're good stuff for us." Henry grimaced at the MRE and spoon in his hand, but his stomach was telling him to rip that shit open and devour it. Setting the spoon down and ripping open the package, he looked in at the gooey mess in it and looked up at Sy still a bit grossed out. Sy offered him a smile, as she ate the Chow Mein with her fingers. Shrugging, Henry picked his spoon back up and dug into the food. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, he was actually sorta impressed by it.

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