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bamfoftheundead · 5 years ago

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Foul Play

heres the drabble i was working on that got deleted >:/ its prolly not as good as the original but o well, its longer anyway

enjoy ig, wonder if i should make more

@mikeellee and @dannybagpipesarecalling if your interested? just a lil thing i threw together

@niuniente not sure if your into the belasco kurtty but i do take request :B

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Azazel, belasco and Mephisto are demon lords that gather around for monthly "games" because they have nothing better to do and they're immortal and fairly lonely

Being the rulers of their own dimensions means plenty of fun. Yearly they host games, somewhat like the earth Olympics. They take their strongest/fastest warriors and pit them against each other in brutal, inhumane games. Rarely do more than the victor of these games survive but when they do ooooh is it not fun. The winner of each game is given one "wish" from their King. No strings, no contracts or deals, just an honest free wish and that's the end of it. The three may be evil demon Lord's but they're true to their word during these games.

And the remaining demons in the games that are still alive, the 'losers' are publicly humiliated and tortured in agonizing manners. Then they're demoted to the lowest rank possible and never heard of again. Sometimes no one wins the terrible games. Sometimes to make it fun they take humans and toss them in there to see how they do. None had ever survived, not until her.

The games had started as they usually did. The humans losing their minds to fear and being torn apart and the demon warriors fighting fang and claw for victory. But the brunette woman was different, very different and that difference was noticed by the great lord of limbo, Belasco

The little human woman was a tyrant, she struck down her fellow warriors one by one. Firstly the humans, they’d been idly butting heads and she had tried to help them, to work together but they weren’t compromising, knowing the nature of the games. They’d tried to kill her and ended up dead, necks snapped on the cold ground. Then the demons, she took them down one by one in the race to the first marker. She slew them without mercy. somehow taking down the most powerful fighters in any infernal domain.

The lords watched on, amusement turning into surprise and then awe as the little woman passed the third marker. Getting past the group of infernal warriors mephisto had provided. It took no time at all before the little human shot pass them.

The brunette took down every warrior sent her way with a remarkable mix of brawn and brains. Calculating the situation and defeating each demon with deadly precision. The human woman continued to pass each trial and marker, gaining the attention of belasco. He’d noticed her first initially from the start, a small beautiful human that wouldn’t last the trial, or so he thought. Mephisto had a mean streak, picking out delicate little women and throwing them into fatal games. Either taking pleasure in watching their demise or forcing them into a corner to bargain with him. But this one wasn’t like any other, she would not be backed away or taken down. By the sixth marker she had finally received a weapon (courtesy of belasco) and turned even more lethal. It was single handedly the most beautiful thing the lord of limbo had ever seen. The woman, no warrior holding the blade with familiarity. Dress torn and bloodied. Thick brown curls clinging to her bloodstained face as she hacked the head off another demon. He’d never seen such feats accomplished by a human before, well a normal human. He found his excitement growing as she neared the end.

Then, in an attempt to fail her mephisto sent out more demons leaving belasco silently hoping for the small woman's survival, he liked her. Azazel seemed fairly amused by the predicament, observing with concealed interest. But just as the demons arrive they are slaughtered. She shows no mercy as she beheads each demon, taking everyone of them down. A feat truly worthy of a wish, belasco knew. If this little warrior were to win then belasco himself would come down and grant her whatever boon she desired if only to speak with her, to learn more of her.

Finally the games were near an end, the small human walked to the last marker, enemy head in hand and blade in the other. She walked to the top of the podium and is lifted to the top of the colosseum. The crowds are stunned to silence. Never before had a human accomplished such amazing feats, or even lasted within the first ten minutes of the game. Demons gape and gasp as she rises higher and higher until she stands before the lords, angry and unwavering. She stands stiffly, back straight as a sword and glare growing icier by the minute.

Mephisto stays quiet as the human approaches them, dumbstruck by her win. Belasco is the first to greet her, teleporting eagerly (though he won’t show it) in front of the small woman. Azazel stands, knowing when respect is due. And the little human had certainly earned his, as well as his interest. Finally, belasco speaks.

“ Tell me, human warrior, what is your name? “ His tone is flat and controlled as always, though tipped in excitement only discernible by his closest fellows. Azazel watches on closely, glee growing by the second.

The woman stiffens briefly, overtaken by anger, tinged with fear. Before addressing him she turns to mephisto and tosses the head to his feet. The head belonged to his most accomplished warrior. Mephisto duly takes notice of the severed part. Though churning with hellish glee on the inside that the king barely kept hidden. The three kings are still eagerly waiting. The empire quiets down to a stop. A single speck of dust can be heard flowing through the wind as the human woman turns, tossing the sword to belascos feet. Her eyes are harsh and dark, voice tight and unwavering as she speaks.

“ Kitty pryde “

She tosses the sword to belascos own feet with disgust. The limbo lord nearly purrs in delight, her voice. So raw with anger, disgust and fear, sweet delicious fear.

Holding her fiery gaze the king almost smiles, almost. Finally azazel clears his throat. ‘Porting from his own throne and next to their victor. Taking her hand, much to her dismay, he lifts her arm as she fights him and roars for all the world to hear.

“ THE VICTOR OF THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT, MISS KITTY PRYDE OF EARTH! “ the hordes scream and roar in excitement. Confetti rains down upon the entire colosseum.

As demons cheer belasco surveys the warrioress with interest, very beautiful and while red suited her the stench was not becoming. With a deft wave of his only hand her torn clothing transforms into a beautiful red dress. Her body is cleaned from any blood, sweat and dirt from before. Her hair is shiny clean and hangs down her back, held back regally with several gold chains. Adorned among her chestnut locks is a single red rose.

Stepping away to observe her belasco feels a stirring, she was quite beautiful. Azazel seemed to take notice of her as well because as she's transformed into a cleaner state the demon lord takes her hand and tucks it under his arm, smiling at the crowd and inviting belascos jealousy.

Kitty struggles to free her arm from the demon's grip. Pulling and hissing at the red skinned man. He merely laughs. Cheeky bastard.

Finally the demon lets go, now turning to fully address the crowd. Before she could break for it belasco comes from behind, laying a hand on her waist and drawing her close to his chest. Leaning down he brushes his lips against her ear, his torrid breath hitting her face.

“ please, won’t you stay for dinner? “ he purrs into her ear.

Swallowing hard kitty shivers in his tight embrace, thighs beginning to shake. Would she ever escape this nightmare?

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dont forget to click on the red dress link! took me a while to find the right dress

thats it folks! had a bit of fun writing this, im not a good writer so my writing will prolly sound stiff n weird. But i got this idea in me noggin and just started writing, even if the original draft was deleted >:(

and you'll notice that i, cannot for the life of me do perspective

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letstalksymphogear · 6 years ago

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Symphogear, EP. 2

Last time, on Symphogear!

An adorable little girl, stood up by her date for a reasonable explanation, jams it out with her favorite pop duo, caught unawares that they are also a monster-fighting syndicate experimenting with the power of sound (the power to make you dizzy) to activate an ancient historical relic. Shit goes south as the jams prove to be too powerful, guaranteeing tragedy amidst an otherwise baller concert. Hibiki is rescued by The Bigger Of The Lesbians before she self-destructs to make sure the entire threat is neutralized, leaving The Smaller Lesbian sad, yet still incredibly gay. Years pass as our protagonist goes to Music School, for Music, to bunk it up with her girlfriend as she tries to figure out what the hell happened. Her prayers are answered when she tries to rescue a little girl and is promptly cornered, activating the same outfit The Bigger Lesbian that saved her had on. Gungnir Dattos all around, The Smaller Lesbian loses her shit as everything goes downhill from there.

Now, where were we?

...right. The piss beacon.

And the person taking the piss.

Hibiki has nary a clue what to do. Symphogears don’t actually come with manuals, you see. They’re sort of a “close your eyes and wing it” kind of experience. In Tsubasa’s case, it’s quite literal.

“FUCK that was COOL AS SHIT, tight as FUCKING HELL”

Take pity on this face. This is the face of someone who’s last memories will be a confused lady wondering why she is suddenly part machine.

“imma save you widdle kid”

Something to note about this show is that all the fighters sing while fighting. Hibiki is no exception, even after being confused about what the hell she’s doing. It helps that her voice actress is a professional singer.

It helps that every voice actress here is some sort of professional singer.

This picture basically summarizes why Hibiki is cool despite being so goddamned dumb. She’s angry, and she’s gonna protect some kids even if she dies doing it. Kanade would be proud, if she wasn’t too busy being dead.

No shit!

Have you ever watched the original Sam Reimi’s Spiderman? Like, the very first one? You know all those awkward scenes about Spiderman learning how his powers work? Hibiki basically does that under crunch time. There’s a long segment about how she’s forced to figure things out while protecting a kid and Not Dying.

It’s going pretty great.

I can’t believe she’s secretly Steve Urkel.

“cannot FUCKING believe that girl my girlfriend saved managed to GET HER HANDS on her FUCKING CLOTHES that I WANTED to ENSHRINE IN A MEMORIAL to her how the FUCK did she do that cant BELIEVE i have to SAVE HER IDIOT ASS because she just CANT EVEN DO THAT-”

Tsubasa, preparing herself as a contender for the World’s Angriest Lesbian, barrels through the Noise in her motorcycle...

...which she smashes directly into the Noise. It does nothing.

Tsubasa has many a motorcycle to smash. It’s a testament to her dedication following her aesthetic.

She fueled the tank completely before smashing it in.

Tsubasa... is petty.

As Tsubasa t-poses to assert dominance (a woman ahead of her time, this first aired in 2012), she comes down ready to kick some ass and vent some frustrations. And frankly? She’s all out of ass.

“oh my god she’s even hotter up close i cant believe it”

“fucking knock-off outfit looks like it came out of a bootleg flea market”

You don’t need to know what happens next, because you already know what happens when someone shows up with a fucking sword ready to sing about their dead girlfriend and the conflicting feelings about seeing her armor pop up again on someone else.

Murder.

Lots... and lots... of murder.

“we’re so fucking useless why do we even exist”

After Tsubasa finishes what could only be described as a massacre, we’re treated to how people clean up the aftermath.

“hey, you know, make fun of me all you want, but at the end of the day, im the one holding the vacuum cleaner, and you’re literally turned to dust, so”

Even this little girl knows shit’s about the go down. Got the tea and everything.

This is one of the minor characters of the series. She works for the 2nd Division. Who is the 2nd Division? You’ll find out soon.

“i didnt die! fuck yeah. today’s a good day.”

“OH WAIT NO-”

Hibiki learns that her outfit unsets after a while, like bideo game. Who catches her mid-fall?

Her new best friend, of course. Don’t be fooled by this look. Tsubasa tragically suffers from resting angry face syndrome. It is, unfortunately, incurable.

“i hate how cute she is”

Hibiki reminds her that this is technically the second time Tsubasa has saved her, which in the large scheme of things, seems incredibly innocuous for someone who escaped a major tragedy many years ago. Unfortunately, time doesn’t move forward for Season 1 Tsubasa. Not for quite a while...

The funny part is it doesn’t even hit her initially. She never actually saw Hibiki personally during that moment, so she actually doesn’t even have a clue what she means.

Look at her. Look at this clown. How could you hate her. Look at that smile.

All the survivors are always forced to write NDAs about what they saw. This grows to comical levels at times, given the scale of what happens eventually. It might as well be the world’s biggest open secret by now.

“aight homies looks like i gotta go home, the wife’s gonna be lonely an-”

Oh.

“sorry holmes but you’re going to gay baby jail like the rest of us singers”

Hibiki’s face is riddled with guilt. The guilt of someone who just saved a little girl. How dare you, Hibiki. This is what you get for doing The Right Thing.

And so she’s taken to “jail.”

“sorry pal but you literally turned into a huge weapon and you have no idea how to use it so!”

And so, Hibiki was never seen again...

Alright, so she really isn’t going to jail. She is genuinely being taken into custody, though. To be honest, this kind of handcuff procedure is sort-of ridiculous for someone who literally just saved children, and you could probably bribe her to join them with a 10 piece chicken dinner, but hey, fuck it. 2nd Division has protocols, and that is to arrest people.

“i cant believe i was a fan of a narc all this time”

The school has a giant elevator that goes deep into the Earth. Also, look at that symbolism. Hibiki’s the only one looking at her own reflection. Deep.

Thanks, Tsubasa.

The interior decorator for this elevator is wild.

Tsubasa forbodes where they’re all going as some ominous, strange, and evil place where joy and happiness die. Where good feelings and innocence are destroyed, and hope is crushed and ripped at the seams.

As it turns out, Tsubasa is just an angsty piece of shit.

So here’s the situation:

The 2nd Branch, which are the people in charge of poking relics until they glow with the power of music to study and harness the power of as weapons to kill the Noise, live in a several mile deep high tech basement of an all girl’s boarding school dedicated to music. This is because, for the record, that the girls recruited to this school have the habit of being a little bit attuned to these relics. Hibiki, a newly christened Gear user, is now being recruited into this organized by Genjuro.

“i never got this kind of party when i was recruited”

“thats because nobody liked you, hans”

“im skipping my soaps for this”

“fucking hate my twin brother hans”

“she?????? gets a party??? SHE. gets a party. I DON’T GET A PARTY. SHE... GETS A PARTY? and i dont get a fucking party. i was literally BORN into this job. NOBODY gives me a damn party. this MORON who CLOWNS AROUND with her SUBPAR SONGS. gets a party. oh my god. oh my GOD. FUCK. FUCK!”

“if this is what its like to get arrested i gotta be gayer and do more crimes”

“I’m not actually surprised. I’m just pretending to be. I’m just really not good at pretending to be surprised.”

“fucking hate this family, im gonna eat all of hibikis cake and cry in my room”

Remember: This show first released in 2012. Ryoko? Trendsetter.

Ryoko’s screen is very dirty and foggy. Don’t ask why. Don’t even remember why I pointed this out. Just forget this point completely.

Hibiki understands that handcuffs just aren’t fashionable.

Genjuro casually explains that they’re the fictional japanese equivalent of the NSA, all while doing magic tricks. Truly a man of many talents.

Tsubasa is already plotting how to vent about all this in her diary, which she addresses as letters of Kanade every time she writes in it.

Genjuro and Ryoko introduces themselves as everyone else apologizes to her, except Tsubasa.

Ogawa also intro- yes, I’m recycling a picture- introduces himself. He’s pretty cool, too, and serves as Tsubasa’s ninja bodyguard, butler, and all around mentor. We never get a backstory on him, and likely never will. It’s best to keep it that way; it only adds to the mystery of who the hell this guy is.

“weird flex but okay”

Hibiki realizes she’s being recruited, after being told she’s being recruited. Given some brain cells remain in her head, she asks the obvious and wonders what the hell happened to her.

“ryoko, care to explain?”

“well, it’s simple. you’re the protagonist now.”

Ryoko, who has no sense of boundaries, subjects Hibiki to a medical inspection. As creepy as her tone is, its to inspect the state of Hibiki’s newly formed gear.

She’s finally freed from that long winded event and returns home to her wife.

“buddy you smell like shit. and french fries.”

“hibiki. you’re not dead, hibiki. come on, get up. i just cleaned this floor, hibiki. hibiki, please. this is genuinely unbecoming of you. hibiki, oh my god.”

“miku please i learned how to kick ass and im tired and please let me enjoy this nice floor”

Tsubasa does the thing real life Symphogear and all related products never actually bother to do.

“god she’s so gay for her but i know she’d never cheat on me so”

Hibiki ruminates on the day she’s had. This is where the really dumb angst comes in. You see, Hibiki can’t tell anyone about what happened, and Miku, now a civilian in her eyes, cannot know about her alter ego Symphogear antics. Hibiki feels bad about this.

“y u no trust me. y u no tell me troof. im wife.”

After a brief heart to heart Hibiki smiles and snuggles her girlfriend.

They’re gay.

“im gonna marry her knowing full well she’ll sleep through the ceremony. god.”

#symphogear #symphogear season 1

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yanjuniverse · 6 years ago

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Girls Like You ; ten

(prev/next) masterlist

“Justin, I’m going to go practice for a bit. Okay?”

“At this hour?” he furrows his eyebrows.

“I’ll be home really soon. Can you stay by yourself for a bit?” she asks. He frowns. “I know you don’t like being by yourself but I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can. You wanna sleep in my room?”

“I guess,” he breathes, picking up his blanket and traveling across the apartment. He plops down on his sister’s bed and sighs. “What time are you going to be back by?”

“Probably around 11,” she says. “You can stay up if you want. He nods, pulling out his phone and flopping around the bed. “Be back soon,” she whispers. “Text me if anything.”

He nods once. She places a soft kiss on his hair then heads out.

She’s almost to the dance room when someone jogs up next to her. She squeals, only for the person to smack their hand over her mouth and hush her.

“Shut up!” Xukun groans.

She throws his hand away, “Well sorry this school gives me the creeps. I thought you were a ghost.”

He rolls his eyes. “Ghosts don’t exist.”

“Yes they do!” she whines. “I know it. One time when me and Justin were little, a ghost slammed the door shut to his room. The ghost also used to move our toys around and stuff.”

“It was the wind and you guys were probably forgetful kids,” Xukun scoffs.

“Say what you want but when you get possessed, don’t come crying to me,” she crosses her arms.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smirks, playfully shoving her into the dance room.

The two of them warm up then get into the dance. Xukun carefully explains the parts she doesn’t understand and then tells her where her weak spots are. She also takes the time to point out where Xukun can improve.

By eleven, they’re both exhausted. They had danced their hardest nonstop and she was starting to feel bad for keeping Xukun out so late.

“We should head back soon,” she says, handing him a water bottle. He nods, taking a giant gulp of his drink. “Thank you again for helping me,” she says.

“Don’t mention it,” he smiles.

“You know, your moves look a lot cleaner now that you have the right shoes,” she comments.

“I guess I’ll have to thank the pretty girl who gave them to me,” he winks.

She smacks his arm playfully and opens up the door. They start to walk down the corridor, talking about their days.

“Our first game is next Friday. Will you come and be my cheerleader?” Xukun asks.

The question catches her off gaurd but she shakes her hear and recomposes herself. “If I came, I would have to show support to my boyfriend Yanjun.”

“Oh, how could I forget? You guys are practically connected at the hip,” he jokes.

“Marriage is probably right around the corner,” she giggles. Just as they turn a corner, the girl hears a noise and squeals, latching onto Xukun’s arm and hiding her face. “IT’S A GHOST! I TOLD YOU THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED!” she yells, smacking his chest.

Xukun can’t help but laugh at her. “Darling, it’s just a poster,” he chuckles, gently pushing her off. “See?” he says as he approaches the poster on the floor. “It fell off the wall.” He picks it up and sticks it back, patting the edges. “Oh. Is it already that time again?”

“What time?” she asks, peaking from behind his back.

“Homecoming tickets are on sale,” he reads the sign. “You going?”

She shrugs, “I dont know. I don’t really know anyone here.”

“You should go,” Xukun suggests. “It’s usually really fun. The school hires a really good DJ, we get the best food and it’s fun to see how awkward the freshman are.”

“Sounds interesting,” she nods.

Xukun thinks for a second before saying, “You wanna go with me?”

She looks up at him, eyes wide. “Go with you? Didn’t you hate me like two days ago?”

He scratches the back of his neck nervously. “Uh. Yeah. But you’re actually pretty cool. We can go as friends and stuff.”

“If I get a dress, are you going to match your tie with me?” she asks, to which he nods. “Even if it’s pink or purple or gold?”

“You could wear brown and I’d still commit,” he smiles.

She nods to herself, “Okay. That sounds fun.”

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that she was in front of her dorm room until Xukun says, “I didn’t know there was a room back here.”

“Oh. I didn’t mean- I didn’t realize you walked me back,” she says.

He shrugs, “What if a ghost popped out?”

“Thanks,” she whispers. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “See you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“Night,” she peeps, waving at him as she opens the door. “Sleep well,” she says right as she shuts the door.

She presses her back against the door and takes a deep breath.

What the hell was that?! she thinks to herself. But before she can further yell at herself, she hears a small whimper from her room.

She rushes in and turns on the light. Justin was thrashing around in his sleep, crying. She lays next to him and slowly shakes him awake.

“Minghao,” she whispers. “Minghao, wake up. It’s a dream. Hey, wake up!” His eyes fly open and he quickly latches onto her. She sighs, running her fingers through his hair. “Same dream?” she asks.

“Yeah,” he whispers.

She nods. “Go back to sleep. I’m here now.”

He nods, slowly letting his eyes fall shut. She waits until his breathing evens out and slowly pulls away so that she could shower.

As the water runs down her body, she can’t help but be let out a small sob.

She was after all only a senior in high school and yet, she had to balance being a mother to Justin, a dancer and a student. It was hard on her but she would never let Justin know. She didn’t want him to feel like he was an inconvenience to her because he wasn’t. He was the most important thing in her life. He was her main priority.

At the end of the day, it didn’t matter to her how tired she was. It only mattered that Justin was taken care of. His happiness came before her’s.

Her sorrows run down the drain with the rest of the dirty water and she slowly pulls herself back to bed. It was uncomfortable for her to sleep on the bed because Justin took up so much room in his sleep. So instead, she pulls her blanket and decides to sleep on the floor in case he wakes up from another nightmare.

The thoughts of him waking up again makes it hard for her to fall asleep but eventually, she does.

The next day is the same routine. She wakes up, does her thing and then the two of them are out the door a little later.

She doesn’t want to go to get Zhengting and Chengcheng but Justin is excited to tell Chengcheng about something that happened yesterday so she drags her feet down the halls until she’s in front of their room.

He knocks on the door happily and out comes Chengcheng.

Without thinking, she steps forward and starts to straighten out his uniform.

“Good morning to you too,” Chengcheng smiles.

“Morning,” she hums, undoing his tie. “Chengcheng, who tied your tie last year? Did you even wear it?”

“No,” he replies, watching her redo it. “Wow, can you do my tie like this for homecoming too?”

“Sure,” she shrugs just as Zhengting walks out of the room. They exhange a quick glance before she turns back to the younger one. “Just stop by the dorm and I’ll fix it.”

Justin and Chengcheng notice that the two are acting weird. They exhange a knowing look. “You’re going. Right, jiejie?” Justin says to break the ice.

“Actually, Justin,” she smiles. “I got asked to go with someone last night.”

“Wait what?” Justin and Chengcheng spit in unison. Chengcheng sees Zhengting stop dead in his tracks, staring at the girl sadly.

“Yeah. By Cai Xukun actually,” she says.

“But-“ Justin wants to push further but the bell rings.

“Go to class,” she says to the boys before storming off by herself.

“Ting-“

“I’m not going to class,” Zhengting sighs before rushing back to the dorms.

Justin and Chengcheng frown, walking towards the rap room together.

“I didn’t know she knew Xukun like that,” Chengcheng comments.

“Neither did I,” Justin says. “But she’s also not the type to turn someone down so if he just out of the blue asked, she would’ve agreed without much thought.”

“Me and Ting already started the poster though,” the other frowns. “What a waste.”

Justin only shrugs, losing himself in his thoughts as they head into class.

They’re about to go into their respective rooms when a body shoves past Justin.

“Watch it,” the boy spits.

“Hey,” the older one that Justin recognizes as Xingjie says. “Chill out.”

“He should’ve watched where he was going,” the younger one, Xiao Gui says.

“Let’s just go to class,” Chengcheng rolls his eyes, pulling Justin along.

He suddenly is reminded about Xukun and how his friends have been giving him the cold shoulder since last year. He knows that maybe he should tell a teacher about what just happened but that would make him a snitch and Huang Justin is not a snitch.

So instead, he trudges into class sadly and sighs.

He just hopes his sister is having a better day than he is.

QOTC: who are you rooting for?

my answer: i know how this story will end so.

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zenruption · 6 years ago

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Make Your Business More Eco-Friendly This Year

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More and more businesses are becoming aware of the importance of being eco-friendly. Not only does it have a positive impact on the environment, which is, of course, the most important thing. But it also helps to show your business in a positive light.

In fact, some consumers out there actively look for businesses that are not only aware of environmental matters, but that take action to make sure that they are following eco-friendly practices too.

Are you a business who wants to make sure that they are taking a more eco-friendly approach? Not sure where to start? If you want to make the change, then we have put together some of the best ways that you can make your business more eco-friendly this year.

Switch to green cleaning products

Whilst cleaning products are important for making sure that our workplaces are cleaned hygienic, the chemicals that are in them can have incredibly harmful implications to the world around us. This is why many businesses are switching to using green cleaning products where they can. If you employ a commercial cleaning company to come in and make sure that your premises are clean, then it is worthwhile talking to them about their own eco-friendly practices and the products that they use when they are cleaning.

You may be surprised to learn just how many cleaning companies out there adopt green cleaning practices and offer them to their clients.

Think about water wastage and how better to conserve it

We waste water without even realizing it. The leaky tap in the bathroom and the constantly flushing toilets all play their part in using up water as a business. It doesn’t take much to arrange for someone to come out and fix your leaky tap, but it can really make a difference to how much water you use.

As well as thinking about ways to minimize the water that you use in your business on a daily basis. You can also try out eco-friendly water systems, such as small water tanks which will collect rainwater which you can then use as waste-water within your business. You don’t get much greener than that.

Make recycling easy and ensure that staff know its importance

There is a huge drive at the moment to promote the benefits of recycling in people’s homes and it seems that businesses really need to be following suit. The great thing about recycling is that it is not only incredibly effective in taking care of the environment, but it is also incredibly simple and cheap to do too.

You need to ensure that you have clear bins for each type of recyclable material and that they are easy for your staff to access. This is because if they are easy to use, then they are going to be much more likely to pop things in there as they are passing by. As well as this, make it known that you are expecting people to recycle as much as they can, it is all too easy to forget about things that we all do at home, whilst we are at work. Which means that sometimes all your employees will need is a gentle reminder.

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Encourage your staff to travel to work a different way

If you can drive a car, then chances are that you rely on them to travel around. However, all these cars on the roads are having a detrimental effect on our environment. Of course, for some people, it might not be realistic to expect them to find an alternative method to travel to work. But for others, there are other alternative methods of transport that they can try out.

As an employer, it is down to you to encourage these alternative travel methods. You could arrange a car-share option for those who need to travel in from further afield. This means that not only do you cut down on the need for parking spaces for your employees but that you are taking a much more eco-friendly approach too.

You could also arrange for a cycle to work scheme. This often means that staff can use a salary sacrifice in order to contribute towards a bike that they can then use to travel to work. If you are going to encourage cycling, then you need to ensure that your staff have a secure place to store their bike, as well as shower or changing room facilities that they can use after they have cycled in.

Use sustainable suppliers

The majority of businesses out there are going to have suppliers that they rely on for stock. What you may not realize is that there are more and more options to consider when it comes to green procurement or using sustainable suppliers.

If you use a sustainable supplier then you can be sure that the materials, products and items that you buy from them have been produced in a way that is sustainable. There are a number of ways that this could be the case. They could have been made using renewable materials, they could be non-toxic or they could be recyclable. Both of which are known to have a positive impact on the environment.

It might take a little more time to find a sustainable supplier, but it is definitely worthwhile searching for one for your business in the long term.

Plant some shrubs and trees outside your premises

It is no secret that plants are great for the environment. However, it seems that many people seem to forget this. A great way to make your office or business space eco-friendly is to plant trees and shrubs outside. Not only are they an all-important cog in our ecosystem but they are also going to make the outside of your business look and feel a whole lot prettier too.

If you are concerned about upkeep then choose plants that are easy to take care of such as succulents that need little water (you could always use your rainwater stores to water those plants or bring in a plant care company to take care of them for you. This may mean spending out some money, but we can promise you that in the long run, it will be worthwhile doing.

Consider alternative energy sources

The idea of alternative energy sources is becoming all the more popular of late now that we all realize just how expensive and unhelpful to the environment traditional sources can be. Solar power, water power, and wind power are all popping up around us and they are not only proving to be effective in their energy production but also reducing the number of toxins that are released in the air. You are going to need to research into which option is most viable for you as a business, but after taking the time to think about what is going to work for you, it is definitely worthwhile giving alternative energy a go. Not only is it much cleaner, but it also helps to reduce energy bills too. Something that every business could benefit from.

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Replace equipment with energy-efficient models

Every single business out there, regardless of their industry, is likely to have plenty of pieces of electrical equipment in their premises. This could be computers, servers, production machines, even kettles, and dishwashers too. All of which are going to be used on a daily basis. For many businesses, cost has always been the most important consideration and of course, this does make sense. But now, alongside cost, it is also important to try and use an energy efficient model if you can.

It has been made all the easier to understand when a piece of equipment is energy efficient, its rating is displayed as a letter and the higher the letter, the better it will be for the environment, as well as energy usage too.

Recycle electronics that you are no longer going to use

More and more electronic equipment is ending up in landfill, filling up space. However, what you may not realize is that these pieces can be recycled. Many electronic retailers have a recycling program that you can use if your product is less than 5 years old. Not only this, but there may also be local community groups, schools or charities that could also benefit from you passing equipment on when it is time to replace them. This not only helps the environment but also helps those in your local area too, which will help to put you in good stead with those around you.

As you can see, when it comes to being an eco-friendly business, there are plenty of things that you can do to make sure that you are heading in the right direction. Some are simple, cheap and easy to do, some may require a little more time, effort and investment. Despite this, knowing that you are having a positive impact on the world around you, as well as boosting your appeal to some customers, is enough to give you the drive to make a change.

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miss-icarus · 6 years ago

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DataFields-It’s a weird day

The room was quiet. More quiet than usual. This was an asylum after all but it was not like these cliche horror movie asylums where patients were screaming in pain left and right. But usually there was always something going on. But not today. In fact, the only sound she could hear right now was the rain crashing against her window. It was a weird afternoon. It has been some weird months but today was particularly weird. Not even in a bad way. Just... weird. She looked out of the window into the grey sky. The dimmed light that coated the world in everlasting melancholia was strangely soothing to her. It reminded her of the rainy days at the coast. Wind in her hair, hands in the pockets of her big sweater as she stood at the beach with the little wodden house. The feeling of the ice cold water flowing around her ankles like a thousand needles poking her skin. She would always treasure this feeling, the feeling of being alive. And it pained her to know that the last time she got to experience it, it feeled different. Because it was not real. It was part of a simulation. It was part of her brain trying to make sense of the data fields that she spend almost her whole life in. But maybe she would in fact spend her whole life in here. Or maybe this room, this world was real after all. She didn't know. How was she supposed to know. Deep down in the depths of her brain was the aswer. But it was covered up by images of white masks, hanging corpses, the death cramps of her electricuted friends and all the sins she commited that led to her sitting in a white hospital room watching the raindrop's race on her window. She frowned. Today was one of these weird days where she felt to tired to try to kill herself in order to return to the real world, she did not want to ruin it by indulging herself in melancholic thoughts of wooden houses at the beach. Or maybe she was not tired after all. Maybe there was a small spark of hope in her heart that the images with the faces and the voices of her friends where real afterall and she was not trapped in a simulation made by her brain so that it woun't get fried by the sheer amount of information recieved by it through the data fields. But just as she thought she could forget about the crippling memories of stormy coasts, her past seemed to come back at her once more in the shape of a young man entering her room after a small knocking on her door. He was dressed in all black. Black jeans, black leather jacket with silver studs, black hoodie covering large parts of his face and a black face mask covering the other parts. But the silver sunglasses he would usually wear weren't there so she could see his eyes. It was undoubtedly him. But seeing him here was even weirder than anything she could have imagined. After all she never really met him. And still he was one of the closest friends she had. He knew things about her noone would ever know about her. "I could swear you look taller in the fields." Judging by the surprised expression on his face, he was definitely not expecting such a warm and heatfelt greeting. But then he started laughing and responded with: "Well, and I could swear your hair used to be blonder." She was looking at the mess on her head in her reflection in the window. "Well it definitely used to be cleaner..." After a small moment of silence, the two started laughing. It was definitely him. Weather this was the best imagination her brain could come up with or the real one. She did not care. Just for one moment she did not want to question him. Just for one moment she wanted to accept. He took seat in the small chair at the end of her bed and got rid of the face mask and the hood covering his face. His black hair was slicked back and his full lips where curved into a slight smile. "I'm glad to see you. I have to admit, I would have loved our first meeting to be under slightly less depressing circumstances but I figured we can not longer postpone it." "Depressing cicumstances?" He looked at her with a blank stare. "Oh yea, pardon me, that cut on your neck is a sign of pure happiness." She chuckled looking at the bandage around her throat in her reflection once again. She smiled at him: "I see what you mean." She continued smiling at him while he looked at her with an expression impossible for her to read. "It's not time for visitors right now. They don't know your here, do they?" He grinned at her so she could see his dimples. "You have been knowing me for a while now, do I seem like the type of guy to say hi at receptions?" The thought of him patiently sitting in a waiting room awaiting his name to be shouted by the overworked receptionist made her laugh out loud. "So you hacked yourself into the reception computer and found out about the time scedule and the room plans." His grin got even wider. "By the way, you dont have anyone checking up on you today anymore, apparently somebody already did that this morning." The silence returned as she looked out the window but it was more of a soothing silence rather than an akward one. "What now?" The question seemed a bit out of the blue but she immediately knew what he meant. "I don't know. If I would, I would probably not be here." He rose from his chair and started to inspect the window. "Don't bother. It's closed so people like me can not jump out of it in an attempt to fly. What are you trying to do anyway?" He turned around with a mischievous smile while taking a small leather case out of his pocket. "Please. You think so little of me?" He turned around and started to work on the small mechanism on the window that was supposed to prevent patients from opening it for more than a couple of centimeters. "We both know that you can not stay here for much longer. We need you. The fields got a litle bit...crazy over the last year." Her gaze followed his hands quickly changing between the small tools out of his leather case. "But what if I don't want to return? What if I just don't care?" With a small click he removed a small gear from the window. "Panther, I don't even know what's real anymore. Maybe I just want to pretend like nothing of all of this is concerning me. Everybody else is allowed to look away and pretend like everything is fine. Why am I not allowed to do that? Just because I'm not using Facebook? Just because I'm not selling my identity to every single social media and new world gadget out there? Just because I'm trying to be smarter than that? I'm not trying to change the world. I tried at some point. But I learned my lesson. We should not expect to much of our impact on this planet. We should all just not care. It would be better for us. The sweet ignorant bliss...I don't know who I am anymore, Panther. I don't know whats real or not. I don't know who to trust, hell, I don't even know who you are..." With a second click, Panther removed the second part of the mechanism and opened the window to let in a wave of cold and wet air. "You are right. You don't own them shit. Noone. You don't have to return to the fields. Over the years, I'm pretty sure you made enough money and collected enough blackmail material to disappear forever on a caribbean island and to never come back. And if I were you, I wouldn't think twice before leaving all of this behind and not giving a damn just like everybody else. But that's not your style. I've known you for a long time now and you are not the type of person to just run away like that. I would understand it, you have absolutely no duty to do any of this. Especially after being here. But you are to stubborn to take a break. The fields are a part of you. They are a part of me. Even if we would never enter them ever again, they would always stay this part of us that we can not deny. They would hunt us for the rest of our lives. This feeling of absolute control and no controll at all. This feeling of standing in the middle of absolute wisdom but not being able to catch even the slightest bit of it. We were the first to go that far, Sarah. We crossed the line. Our implants are just a sign of our addiction. Because that is just what it is. That is what we are. Junkies. Even if we could get away from it, our minds would always wander back to that place where humanity shows itself in it's absolute worst. And once seen, you can not forget about it and all of a sudden you find yourself standing in the middle of a crowd staring at it. Knowingly. And there is nothing bittersweeter than this kind of wisdom. And you know that." He climbed on the windowsill and for the first time in what felt like ages he turned aroud to face her. His black hair was now perfectly framing his angular features. His usual cool gaze was now completely honest and serious. She has only seen him like that once before. His eyes were piercing in an almost uncomfortable manner. "I don't care about all of this. If shit goes down, I'm long gone. And I'm also not here because of that. I care about you, that's why I'm here. When you were gone for so long, I knew something was up. And I was right, so here we are. And about me..." His gaze turned softer. "I'm the same as always. And even though that probably does not say a lot to most people, I know it does to you. And I want you to know that whatever you are planing on doing, no matter how you will decide, I will help you. If you decide to return to the fields, I will be by your side. If you decide to leave, I will personally be the one to carry your bags. I owe that to you. But before you decide anything, we should make you feel better first." He reached out for her hand in order to pull her onto the ledge. She looked at him confused. "You want me to climb out of the window of my hospitalroom into the rain to follow you, a person that I only know through the internet, to a place I don't know?" He laughed out loud and with a beaming smile he responded: "I never took you for the cautious type. I just want to take you on a small trip down memory lane, I swear this creepy dude from the internet here is not trying to get into your pants." The two chuckled a bit at his commentary but as he saw her still slightly unsure expression, he added: "Do you trust me Sarah?" For a moment she just looked at him and his hand and her mind began wandering. 'Today is a weird day' she thought to herself as she took his hand and was pulled out of the window into the cold rain.

#writing #story #short story #missIcarus #DataFields #original

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topsolarpanels · 7 years ago

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Trump is the past. Clean energy is the future for America and the planet | Rahwa Ghirmatzion and Mark Ruffalo

Across America, households, business, churches and other community groups are turning their back on fossil fuels for good. There is no going back now

Donald Trumps decision to pull the US out of the historic Paris climate agreement and turn his back on the other 194 countries that signed it leaves him isolated on the world stage. But Trump is also isolated from the very Americans he purports to lead, and here lies hope.

Across America, households, businesses, churches, institutions and governments are busy building a clean energy future. And no chairperson can stop that.

Forget Trump

The US is pulling out of the Paris climate deal – but a new coalition of Americans will fight on

Part One Meet America’s new climate motion Michael Bloomberg

Part Two Trump is the past, clean energy the future Mark Ruffalo and Rahwa Ghirmatzion

Tomorrow Millennials will demand climate action Geoff Dembicki

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When he announced he was pulling the US out of the Paris Accord, Trump said: I was elected to represent the people of Pittsburgh , not Paris. And that prompted the mayor of Pittsburgh to join other American mayors more than 100 so far in affirming his citys commitment to move to 100% renewable energy.

This reflects the fact that the people of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and Phoenix and Salt Lake City and towns and rural areas across America want clean energy in their backyards. In liberal the regions and conservative ones, Americans are transforming the route they power their lives as we move to 100% clean energy for all.

Consider Buffalo, in upstate New York. Once an industrial powerhouse dotted with manufacturing and steel mill mills, it lost half its population in the second half of the 20 th century and became the third-poorest big city in the United States.

It is home to precisely the kind of forgotten people Trump talked about on the campaign trail. In a city featuring old houses and tough winters, heating bills regularly cost more than rent for some. But in a once blighted area on the West Side, hundreds of residents are working with Push Buffalo an organization Rahwa helps run to weatherproof homes, install solar energy systems and build a stronger community, all while developing local residents for good jobs in the emerging green economy.

On the other side of the country, Californias Asian Pacific Environmental Network organized in eight different languages, from Korean to Cantonese, to secure$ 2bn for solar development in low-income housing projects.

And in South Los Angeles, their home communities group called Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education Scope is helping black, Latino and low-income communities of color take advantage of economic and job opportunities in the growing clean-energy economy.

But its not just city communities that are building a clean energy future that has the power to blunt the worst effects of climate change. So are rural American states, including nations whose people voted for Trump.

A solar sun installing in Michigan. Photograph: Kate Levy

Iowa made over 36% of its energy from wind power last year a bigger share than any other state. South Dakota gets almost 70% of its energy from water and gale. In Kansas, wind energy has grown from less than 1% of the states electricity generation in 2005 to 24% in 2015.

American business get onto, too. Just ask Boeing, whose South Carolina airplane factory is powered by 100% renewable energy. Walmart, General Motors and other major US corporations are major customers for renewable power.

In our work with the Solutions Project and Push Buffalo, we have ensure how clean and effective energy projects are everywhere, from universities to churches, from mills to farms and from military basis to shopping malls.

Combatting climate change is an important motivation for many of these efforts. But weve seen that even Americans who dont believe in climate change are embracing renewable energy. Some of them value cleaner air; others value energy freedom and national security and others are called to care for creation.

Simplifying it all is the economics: as renewables become as affordable as fossil fuel and even more affordable they become more common, and economies of scale make them cheaper still.

And people in America are not only espousing these lower bills. They are embracing community ownership of renewable energy infrastructure, generating good local employment creation and building local wealth. Their vision is to transform Americas energy economy from a drain and extractive model to a regenerative and sustained model that attains communities and the nation stronger.

Time and again, Donald Trump has promised to help forgotten, hard-hit Americans. But trying to hold back the rising tide of clean energy will not help them and it wont work, anyway. If Trump genuinely cared about attaining life better for the people he was elected to lead, he would join his fellow Americans and the rest of the world in constructing a prosperous, sustainable clean energy future.

The people of this country will keep helping themselves to renewable energy. They are putting this country and their communities first, in a way that also serves countries around the world. The US and the rest of the world will continue our historic march to clean energy for all no matter whos in the White House.

Rahwa Ghirmatzion is deputy director of Push Buffalo, a local membership-based community organization opposing to make affordable housing and a simply transition to clean energy a reality

Mark Ruffalo is an actor and the co-founder of the Solutions Project, which works to accelerate the transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for all people and purposes