#f u only grams

[fadingwonderlandkryptonite]

I need to get a hit but my weed pen isn't charging auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh

[gagaewo]

BIG FLIRT | BIG JERK ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

Synopsis: 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒙𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒖 𝑮𝒐𝒋𝒐 ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

cw: AFAB in mind, crack, fluff fluff fluff, suggestiveness, teasing, pet names (babe, baby, cutie), he can be a jerk when he wants to be, drug use (Mary Jane only once), masturbation (m), virginity loss, p in the v (wrap it before u tap it), squirting mention, oral sex (f), aftercare always a must!

wc: 1.9k

a\n: I'm supposed to finish choso x bimbo!reader, but instead I got side track and decided to write this to boost my brain up ^^. I'm very rusty so I apologize if it's not good, I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY :D!

inspiration: big flirt by lil hero

MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI!

❀𝑺𝑭𝑾❀

Boyfriend!Satoru - is infatuated in everything about you; and when he means everything, he means everything! Heart-shaped eyes seeing you, however, state you're in. He's obsessed with the way you smell, look, feel, and taste. Makes sure you know you're the most beautiful thing his six-eyes laid on.

Boyfriend!Satoru - who enjoys seeing you become flustered when he gives you surprise kisses on your face. He'd grab you by your waist, shoulders, hands, neck (his favorite part to wrap his hands around), and give you a sweet 'smack'!The way you shy your face away afterward always boosts his ego just a little.

Boyfriend!Satoru - who's on top of you when you wake up most mornings. His body weight crushes you in, so you can't escape :P. Other times, he's behind you; muscular arms wrapped around your mid-section tightly, breath tickling your ear when he lets out soft snores. Snuggled in so nicely he never ever wants to leave, and gets whiny when you do try to leave his grasp.

Boyfriend!Satoru - Buys you an expensive gift anytime you accomplish a big goal! Got a raise at your current job? Congratulations he just bought you a fucking Lamborghini. Didn't like the model? Oh, it's okay he'll just buy you another Lambo, but the newest model (the one that's not even out yet), you quite literally can not deny such a gift either. It's not just cars he'll get you. No- it depends on the last thing you look at on shopping sites, and he'll immediately buy everything in your wishlist/cart. Why? Because you work so hard to accomplish your goals he just HAS to do something for you!

Boyfriend!Satoru - who accidentally got you high because Suguru brought him edible brownies. You also have a sweet tooth like Satoru - so you decided to try some! Which left you laying on the couch and staring at the ceiling for two hours. Satoru silently freaking out; giving you your third cup of water now. How many grams were in the brownies, you ask? 1000 MG. Safe to say you slept for a good 14 hours after that incident.

Boyfriend!Satoru - Play fights with you when you're in a low mood, hoping it will work to take your mind off the small stuff. With his great strength he can easily pick you up and gently slam you down into the ground, couch, or the bed; one thing he always does is place his large hand on the back of your head just incase he miscalculated, so you won't seriously get hurt ^^.

However, when you do get mad at him, he has a difficult time trying to understand your feelings. Sometimes, trying to be 'funny' when you're talking to him about something serious doesn't always work. So, Boyfriend!Satoru - who would do anything for you - buys you bouquets and bouquets of your favorite flowers (mixed with blue flowers that match his eyes), with the most adorable sad look in his eyes as he confronts you with a soft tone that he's sorry. Of course, you forgive him.

Boyfriend!Satoru - who really knows how to piss you off on purpose, even though he meant no harm; he just can't help but want to see the way you glare at him again. You know how he's a striking 6'3 "man? Of course, you're going to be shorter than him, and he takes advantage of it! Wondering where the cookie jar suddenly went? Oh, it's on top of the fridge. Pushed all the way in the corner back. Now you're going to need a stepping stool, or you're climbing onto the counters.

"Satoru! Stop messing with the cookies!"

"You know, it's getting pretty boring hearing you blame me for misplacing things~"

"You fucker you pushed it too far!"

"Did not!"

Sat on the couch comfortably, his eyes watched the way you stood on your tippy toes, your arm's reaching at the top of the white fridge- palm out trying to reach the cookies. He bit back a chuckle watching you struggle, but he admired the view anyway. The shirt you wore just slightly - your panties now in his view. Standing up swiftly, Satoru amble his way over with a growing smirk on his lips.

Letting out a huff, you cursed silently. You turn around to go find the stepping stool - only to be blocked by Satoru. His sweet cologne filled your senses. His hand - rather bigger hands than yours - gently placed onto your shoulder softly massages your muscle.

"Here baby, let me get it for you."

Brows furrowed, a smack echoed in the kitchen when you slap his hand away. "Why do this on purpose?"

Not bothered by the stinging sensation, His glossy lips pulled into a smirk. "Do you know why my sweetie?" He spoke in a sickly sweet tone.

His other hand, palmes your blood filled cheeks, caressing softly with the pad of his thumb. Face scrunched up, your cheeks hot, feeling more irritated. "Because you like pissing me off."

Hearing your grumbled response, he adjusted both of his hands, placing his palms on your cheeks, and then lightly mushed them. Letting out a deep sigh, his eyes dart everywhere on your face; observing the way your eyebrows still furrowed and your eyes glaring at his.

Grinning now, he leaned down, pressing a sloppy butterfly kiss on the bridge of your nose; earning a soft annoyed grunt from you.

"Forgive me for my little stunt, and I'll give you your cookies back."

You scoff, now avoiding eye contact with the blue eyed-sorcerer. You bring his hand closer to your lips, pressing a soft kiss to it. "I suddenly don't want my cookies anymore-"

Removing his hands from your grasp, he kneels down, wrapping his arms around your thighs before lifting you up. A shirek escaped your throat as your view of the kitchen looked higher. You were now leveled with the cookies. You didn't understand why he couldn't just grab it himself for you. But, alas, he loves showing off his strength to you.

"Get the cookies baby, I know you want them~"

♡︎𝑵𝑺𝑭𝑾♡︎

Boyfriend!Satoru -, who loves to grope you anytime he can. His large hands on your body, anytime of the day - just grabbing at your sides, breast, ass, and thighs. (Pouts anytime you'd pull away cause the mf pulls that shit in public, too :P)

"Dont reject my love! I just want to hold you, baby~"

"Satoru, please, we're in the middle of the store, and people are looking!"

"They can stare i dont care- OOH, can we get some mochi ice cream?"

Boyfriend!Satoru - who was your first, who took your virginity sweetly. Who made sure you were comfortable in his king-size bed, his hand in yours interlinked softy; slowly rolling his hips into yours. Kissing any tears away, he'd stay still for a moment waiting for your 'okay'. Your pleasure will always come first before his.

Boyfriend!Satoru - who gets sexually frustrated when he isn't inside you for a day. Ever since you guys took it to the next level, he's been HOOKED and swears he'll never get enough of you. You underneath him or on your knees plays in his mind 50% of the time, the other 50% is your eyes and smile.

Boyfriend!Satoru - fists his cock thinking about you, letting out sweet groans into the echoed bedroom just thinking about you. He never felt so starved from your touch before till now, when you're busy or at your own place - he figures his dirty thoughts to himself. But that doesn't stop him from sending you pictures, videos, or whimper audios if you so ask nicely.

Boyfriend!Satoru - whose favorite position with you is probone. Addicted to the way you feel beneath him, he seriously couldn't get enough. The way your pussy clutched against his pretty dick so tightly when he hit that sweet spot always made his eyes roll into his head.

"Mmhmfm~...f-uck Satoru~"

"Shhhh just take it baby, yeah don't even worry I got you-"

Your hands clutching his white bed sheets, knuckles turning white as you moaned out. Your mouth in a 'O', panting just slightly; his cock so deep in you you felt it all. You felt the way he glided in and out of you at a settle but fast pace. A sudden whimper left your mouth when he'd suddenly quicken his pace up. Letting go of the bed sheet with one hand, it went flying to your mouth, letting it muffle your pornographic whines. Face burning up, you felt so hot.

Oh but Satoru didn't like that. He loved hearing every sound coming from your mouth, he lived on it as it was his oxygen. Leaning onto one arm, his now free hand swiftly- snatching your hand from your mouth. He then pinned that arm against your back, grip tight as he tuts, "Nuh-uh, none of that baby I wanna hear you."

Boyfriend!Satoru - makes you squirt at least 2 times before penitrating. It was a rule he settled (in his head, at least), so it would help you take him in better. And it did work, arguably working a little too good, because after that, he gets to savor in your fucked-out face. You wouldn't shy away as much anymore and let everything out.

Boyfriend!Satoru - who has denied your orgasm 4 times in a hour, to be fair he thought you deserved it. You were pressing your breast all in Suguru's face, after all. This was the outcome every time you pulled petty shit.

"Please please please Toru, lemme cum please im sorry~!"

"You're so sorry? Hah, what if I get Suguru in here and watch you cum on my tongue like a bitch in heat huh? You like him don't you?"

Practically sobbing, you shake your head, trying not to fumble on your words. Mascara running down your face with your salty tears, "N-No no I like you~ nngh please lemme cum!"

Slurping up his own saliva on your pussy, he gives it a slight slap before pressing two fingers inside your walls immediately. "You wait till im done playing with you. Got it?"

Boyfriend!Satoru - after a good fuck session he always treats you well. Pampering you with kisses and praises, making sure you were alright and he didn't go too far.

A kiss there and another kiss there, he litters your face with his soft kisses. You laid there, sweaty, hot and sore. Your muscles ached, making you hiss when you tried to sit up. Satoru who immediately took notice of your discomfort, gently pressed you down back on the bed.

"I'm sorry cutie I should've went easy on you."

You shook your head, a small smile appeared on your features. "I'm okay toru." You inhaled a deep breath, letting it out shortly after. Your mind was at peace but feeling a little worn out, you really could use a nap.

Pressing another kiss to your cheek, he got up from the bed with a small grunt. Aiming towards the bathroom to grab a wash cloth, not wanting you to nap in your mixed cum.

Coming back a couple seconds later with a pep in his step, he climbed back on the bed. The warm wash cloth startling you a little, than slowly you relaxed in his touch.

"Just relax baby, let Satoru clean you up, then you can rest, yeah?" He let out a breathy chuckle, taking in your post-orgasm glow.

Subtly nodding you let out a hum in acknowledgment, feeling yourself slipping into unconsciousness you then spoke in a soft tone, "Love you."

The warm wash cloth smoothly glided over your skin, wiping the cum off your pussy with caution. A soft giggle erupt in the room that came from you. Smiling softly at your laughter he sighed heavily, tiredness and in admiration of you. "I love you too."

do not repost on any other sites/claim my work as yours.

Copyright @gagaewo !!

[uwukillmenowowo]

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥 [Tokyo Debunker X F!Reader]

[ 10 | A Ring?]『💍』

Key's for the story: Insert - Narrative - And then she stared at her reflection in the mirror [Insert] - Author speaking - [Eyyy there- wazzup readers] "Insert" - Talking - "Hey there!" [But can also be air quotes] 'Insert' - Thinking - 'Dame he's cute...' "Insert" - Whispering - "I- I messed up..." [But can also be an emphasis on a word/phrase, or flashback] (Insert) - Inner mind..? - (Deadass doesn't know how to explain it here) *Insert* - Action - *Sighs with their head down* [INSERT] - Magic - [OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!] or [IGGNAIM!]

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: [ 9 | Hera's Snakes] 『🐍』

━━━✦❘༻🔮༺❘✦━━━

[Book 0] The Academy of Ghouls

[Chapter 10] A Veil? A Ring? Congrats On Your Marriage~!

━━━✦❘༻🔮༺❘✦━━━

{Your POV}

~~~~~

The three of us then made it to a staircase. "*Huff* *Huff* *Phew*... That guy's pretty slow, so we should be safe from him here..." Kaito explained. "*Huff* *Huff*... I'm really sorry.. This is all my fault." I admitted and looked down. "You didn't know the veil was an anomaly. That part of this situation was out of your control. Also, it doesn't seem intending to harm us for now. Let's take a moment to catch our breath and reevaluate."

"Eeek! I was so pissed at Luca I forgot, but that thing's an anomaly, isn't it..? Oh my god..." Kaito complained, taking a step back. "If we don't figure out how to remove it though, it could become violent again." Luca explained and looked down at the veil I was wearing. "Is it even safe now?! You sure it's not gonna randomly go snake mode again?!" I shook my head. "I'm not sure... It does seem calm at the moment..." 

 Thankfully the only person it attacked was Romeo... "What's the matter? are you hurt?" Luca asked me. "No... I'm okay. I was just thinking... the moment before the veil started attacking, Romeo grabbed my arm harshly... May it was just reacting to that?" Kaito then joined in, "H-Hold on. If that's true, then why didn't it attack us? I kind of... clung to you back there... Sorry about that..." Then Luca also added, "And i was quite rough with you when I was questioning your intentions, though I didn't mean to be..."

I hummed. "But I never thought at any point that either of you were trying to hurt me." Kaito smiled. "O-Of course not! I'm not like Romeo! My gram always told me to treat women with more care than you would a hangnail!" I giggled. "I think this veil might have understood that. I don't think it's attacking people. I think it might be trying to protect me from people with malicious intentions."

"E-Even if you're right, you can't take it off, right?" I groaned and nodded. "I think we should ask the academy for help..." I sighed. "You're ri-" "Just a moment." I looked over to Luca in confusion. "When I first met you two, I touched the veil." I blinked twice. "When we first met..?" I made an "Oh!" sound as I remembered Luca lifting up the veil. "Both Kaito and I moved the veil when we touch it, didn't we?"

"You're right! Because I tried to see your- U-Umm... nevermind..." Kaito stopped himself so Luca spoke next, "But you've been saying you can't take it off. Why is that?" I shrugged. "Maybe it's the type you can't remove yourself?" Kaito asked. "The type you can't remove yourself..? What do you mean?" I asked what he meant. "I swear I've head about it in class before... Hmmmmm..." "As a rule, anomalies that provide great power instantly come with a great cost."

"Yeah! Something like that!" Kaito snapped his fingers and nodded. "Nice work, Kaito. So you do pay attention in class." "I listen! I just can't remember it all!" I laughed because Kaito really did remind me of Ace.  then Luca approached me and lifted up the veil.

[HHHHHAAAAAAAAAA OMG BAE LIKE- DAMN I JUST WANNA- *MWAH*]

I felt my face getting even warmer as Luca and I made eye contact. I didn't even hear what Kaito was saying. Until he walked over to me. "Is that you..?" Kaito then pointed at a board and pinned in the center was my own face. "Wanted..? What?" "They said this anomaly escaped" Luca then furrowed his brows and glared at me. "Did you steal it?"

I waved my hands and shook my head. "I can explain! I just meant to borrow it, I didn't know it was an anomaly! I was hiding in the closet and I found it in there..." Kaito blinked and asked, "The closet? Where we first met?" I nodded but then Luca interrupted. "Then why are you wanted by the academy? Who are you?" There was hurt in their eyes as they both stared at me, awaiting my answer. I hung my head. "I...I'm not actually a student at Darkwick. I'm not a transfer student either..." I admitted, playing with the hem of my NRC uniform skirt.

"Then what are you doing here?" Luca asked, his glare a bit softer. "I don't really know all the detail, but the chancellor said I've been cursed..." Kaito then went from scared to panic. "Cursed?! Seriously?!" I nodded. "I was just trying to get home... I just got on a train... But I was attacked by an anomaly then brought here without a clue." Luca sighed. "I see... To break the curse, I assume." "Apparently" I said with a shrug.

"But... Then why are you trying to escape? If you stay here, they can help you, right?!" Kaito asked worriedly. "They said they don't know how to break it yet..." I admitted and looked off to the side. They both gasped so I continued, "And they told me I couldn't leave until it was broken..." "What...? But they just dragged you here out of the blue, didn't they?" Kaito asked, crossing his arms. "They can't just dump all that on you and expect you to do what they want..."

"That's how I felt... That's why I thought I'd just do home first, then decide what to do. I never thought all this would happen... I'm really sorry for not being honest with you." I apologized and looked down at my feet. "S-Stop, don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong!" Kaito  told me. "I understand the situation now. Please don't hang your head." Luca encouraged.

I slowly looked up, happy that they weren't mad at me. 'These two practically are the opposite of Ace and Deuce.' "Thank you... Both of you..." Having finally admitted the truth, I felt the clouds that had been gathering in my heart instantly dissipate. "You said you're not a student here, correct?" I hummed. "No, I'm not."

"Then please give me your contact details." I felt embarrassed at how sudden that was and said nothing. Kaito on the other hand, "What?! Who asks that at a time like this?! Read the room, dude!!" Luca just ignored Kaito and pulled out his phone. "Even if you're able to leave, you'll still be cursed. I'll serch for a way to break your curse. Please go back to your regular life, and wait for me to call." I bit my lip. 'He's so nice!' I thought and covered my mouth to not squeal.

"H-Hey... Are you sure that's okay? The sign says to report her..." I flinched at Kaito's words but Luca explained his reasonings, "She's a civilian, not a Darkwick student. We have a duty to protect her. We can make the report after we send her home." "Luca..." I awed. "R-Right! Yeah, let's do that! Just leave everything to us, [Y/n]." Kaito added, giving me a closed eye smile. "S-So, could you give me your number t-"

Before Kaito finished his sentenced the veil started glowing, which shocked and confused the three of us. The veil floated off my head. 'This glow. It's warm.' I thought as the veil shrunk and floated to my finger, making me gasp at how hot it was. But when the glow vanished I looked at my finger to see... A ring..?

"It... turned into a ring?" Luca asked. "What? Why? What is happening?" Kaito questioned. I just shrugged and then a gunshot rung out through the halls. "He- *Cough* HEY! Quit it with the smoke, you one trick pony!" When the smoke cleared a bit, I saw Romeo heading our way. "I only brought one type of bullet today! It's your fault for running away all the time! Just shut up and hand over Hera's-..... Huh? Hey! What did you do with Hera's Snakes!?" Romeo yelled, pointing at me.

"The anomaly you're looking for turned into a ring. It's on her finger." Luca told him. "What the fuck?! Quit blubbering half assed lies and tell me where you put it!" Romeo glared at us. "We really aren't lying this time." Kaito said firmly. "What..?" Romeo stated in confusion so I spoke up, "Sorry, but it's true" I held up my right hand to show him the ring, but that only seemed to make him angrier. "All right, fine! I'll have it with your finger still attached!"

Romeo pointed his rifle and me and I went to get my wand. "I'll handle him." Luca whispered to me and took my hand in his. "[Iggnaim]" Luca said.... But unlike last time where the bullet disappeared... A tentacle appeared and slapped the bullet away. 'Something's off' I thought and slowly turned around to see a big monster. My jaw dropped and the monster let out a scream.

"What..." 

I turned to Luca, who now had a look of horror on his face. 

"What did you just do..?" 

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: [ 11 | Ghouls]『👺』

[awoogayanderes]

CHAPTER SIX - METH HOUSE

➪ word count: 1,692 words

➪ summary: the three of you go interrogate benny wrights’ dealer. only to find out that your lead is now gone. zeke later on gets an idea on who could be involved.

"And this is where Benny gets his meth. You know what that is?" Zeke asked William as I stared at the building. "Is this a test?" William asked him unimpressed. "Do you know," I teased him. "Uh yeah, it's a meth house. You put money in the bucket, the meth comes down." He replied.

"Oh somebody watched The Wire. This is some New Jack City s*it. Goddamn," Zeke said getting out of the car. "Don't we need a warrant for this?" William asked as Zeke opened the trunk of his car. "It's a meth house, we'll be okay," I reassured him. "Y/N," William mumbled as Zeke got ready for his disguise.

William and I watched from a distance as Zeke tried to persuade the dealer. "What's he planning,” William asked me, looking a bit confused. "You'll see," I smiled at him. "Do you think we'll find a lead," he asked me. "Most likely, if Benny buys all of his meth from this guy, then he must know something," I said.

"Yeah, but what if they don't have a real relationship, they're just the stereotypical producer-consumer relationship," William made a good point. "That's true, but if you were in the dealer's shoes, wouldn't you want to have a good relationship with your loyal customers so that they'll buy more," I said. "You're right, I didn't think of that," he said with a thinking face.

Suddenly I saw Zeke running at us. "Zeke, what the f**k?" William and I ran after him. "It's got ten seconds, come on!" Zeke yelled. "Jesus Christ," I heard William mumble. We busted through the door pushing past people. "Move," Zeke pushed past a man with a white tank top. "Get out of the way," I exclaimed, pushing past people.

"Out of my way, put of my way! Police!" Zeke yelled. "Five-o! Everybody, five-o!" I heard someone yell. "Move, move, move! Come on! Go! Coming through!" We kept dashing up the stairs. Zeke was in front, I was in the middle, and William was in the back. As we went up another flight of stairs, we saw a big dog barking at us.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! S*it! Get your dog!" Zeke panicked. "F**k you man," the guy holding the dog's leash said. "Get your f**king dog! Now!" Zeke threatened. Slowly, the guy backed up with his still barking dog. "Hey nice doggy," I tried my best to be nice to the dog. "Hey, be nice," I heard William say more sternly.

Finally, we were arriving at the dealer's door. We walked towards it slowly. "Holy f**king s*it," William said. "You could say that again," I replied. "What the f**k's going on," a man came out of a room that had a red hue of light inside. "Back inside. Get back inside," William warned. The man immediately backed away.

As we’re in front of the door, Zeke kicks it down. Immediately, the dealer starts shooting at us with no aim whatsoever. I pulled back William so he wouldn’t get shot. Suddenly the dealer stopped shooting. “Come on! F**k, f**k!” I could hear him trying to reload and hitting the gun. The three of us connected eyes and nodded at each other.

We rushed in and Zeke pushed the dealer back into a glass table. The glass shattered and I realized that a bone was sticking out of the dealer’s leg. “My f**king leg!” He exclaimed in pain. “Come on man, why’d you make it so difficult? What if we really wanted to get high out of our minds,” I said rolling my eyes. “Motherf**kers,” the guy seethed.

“You got to make it easy for the customer skeeve!” Zeke said. “My f**king leg!” The guy kept saying with frustration. “That leg is f**ked up,” Zeke said taking a better look at the leg. “Yo, yo, yo, yo! Let me get a shot for the gram. Hold on for one second,” Zeke pulled out his phone. I looked at William and he just stared back at me. I then walked over to a passed-out girl on the couch.

“Cute girlfriend,” I taunted the dealer. He just kept whining in agony. William kicked the girl’s thigh to see if she woke up. She didn’t, she just kept sleeping, I would’ve thought she was dead if it weren’t for her chest to rise and drop. “What the f**k,” the dealer said as Zeke leaned back with his phone in his hand.

“Hold on, hold on, my man, here we go,” Zeke takes the picture. “You want me to tag you?” Zeke returned to his crouched position. “F**k…f**k you,” the man said now hyperventilating. “Can I tag you motherf**ker?” Zeke asked more aggressively. “F**k you…” the man mumbled out with discomfort on his face.

I then crouched down along with William. “You see this man before,” William pulled out the photo of Benny Wrights. “I ain’t telling you s*it!” The man spat at us. I sighed in frustration. “Why? Cause you worried about that bone sticking out of your leg? Why don’t you let me sterilize it?” Zeke grabbed a bottle of alcohol on the floor.

“No…no…no! F**k!” The dealer screamed in pain as Zeke poured the alcohol into the wound. My face contorted in disgust and William as well looked disgusted as the alcohol caused the wound to bleed even more. Zeke then broke the bottle with the bone sticking out. Finally, the man broke.

“It’s Benny! Stop, please! Everybody knows that motherf**ker Benny Wrights! He’s one of my best customers man,” his eyes were now glassy with tears. The three of us exchanged looks. “When was the last time you saw Benny,” I asked the teary man. “I ain’t seen that b**ch in two days. Word on the street is that motherf**ker OD’d,”

I balled up my hands in frustration, realizing that our lead was practically gone. What were we going to do now that the one suspect we thought was guilty was now rumored dead? “F**k this snitch,” William stood up. Zeke and I followed his lead and headed out. “F**k,” was the last thing I heard the dealer say before we left.

We sat in the restaurant Zeke recommended we should eat at. “Well that was a waste of time,” William sighed. “Well, we know Benny’s dead. Meth isn’t the type of thing you take a break from, besides you see that device? That was not designed by anybody with rotten teeth,” Zeke said. I nodded in agreement as I was almost finishing my food.

“What do you two think about this whole Jigsaw angle? You think it’s a, what-do-you-call-them, one of those disciples?” William asked us. “John Kramer didn’t target cops,” Zeke said. “Well maybe not Kramer, but he could’ve had an apprentice that also chose the victims, like Amanda Young,” Zeke nodded at me.

“There were some dead cops though, like Allison Kerry and Daniel Rigg, but I’m starting to think that this whole thing is something personal,” I said, still thinking about all the possibilities. “And they’re not following orders, especially the orders of a ghost,” Zeke added to my statement.

“Ghost or not, somebody’s out there pulling all the strings. You think this guy sent you guys the boxes because you’re both the lead detectives on the case, or because you’re you?” William asked us. “I don’t know,” Zeke said. I simply shrugged. “Well, you got any enemies? That aren’t cops,” I shook my head, but Zeke thought for a few seconds.

“I might have someone,” Zeke looked at both of us. “So let’s head there,” I said. “Yeah just let me go to the bathroom,” Zeke said standing up. As Zeke walked away William turned his gaze towards me. “You look disappointed,” he said. “I am, it seems like every time we have a lead, somebody’s dead,” I said running a hand through my hair.

He nodded in agreement. “How come you think this is something personal,” he asked me. “Well like Zeke said, the culprit won’t go follow the orders of a ghost and so far, it’s only targeted cops who’ve done something corrupt. Like Boz lying on the stand and Fitch killing an innocent kid,” I said slouching over a bit.

“If it wasn’t personal, then this jigsaw copycat would’ve target regular cops that haven’t done anything wrong,” I continued. “So there’s someone out there trying to get their what I can only assume revenge,” I said. “That’s a good reason to think it’s something personal,” William said. “You’re really smart,” he smiled.

I lightly laughed. “No, I’m just trying to pick this whole thing apart,” I smiled softly at him. “You need to give more credit to yourself, you’re one of the smartest people I’ve met so far at the station,” he said. “Thank you, William,” I smiled sincerely at his honesty.

“By the way, thanks for pulling me back, when we were in the meth house,” he said. “It’s no problem, I was just looking out for you,” I shrugged it off. “This is what I’m talking about when I say that you should give yourself more credit,” he said. “Whatever,” I jokingly said.

“Alright come on you two,” Zeke returned. We quickly paid for our food and headed out of the restaurant. “So where are we going Zeke,” I asked, getting into the back seat of his car. He turned around before starting the car. “To church,” he simply said. I looked at him puzzled but nonetheless, put on my seatbelt.

“Who are we meeting there, a priest?” I slightly joked. “An old friend that could be involved with this,” he said pulling out of the parking space. “So your suspect works in a church,” William asked him, as confused as I was. “You could say that,” Zeke replied. With that, we drove off to the nearby church.

Hopefully this time our suspect will know something or at least be useful to our investigation. From the back seat, my gaze turned to William. Why does he catch my attention so much? He just makes me feel warm, like an old friend. An old friend that I would like to meet once again.

[hansolmates]

give me the night

banner done by the fabbbbulooouss emotional support bud @chwepen​

summary; minghao has long stopped clinging to the love you and him created years before. when he sees you however, new seeds are already sown.  paring; photographer!minghao x student!reader (f) genre/warnings; exes to lovers, hurt/comfort, fluff bc this couple is so shy n’sensitive, feelings of longing, pining, casual alcohol consumption w/c; 1.2k prompt; “i’ll meet you halfway.” a/n; for the cwc’s valentine’s gram event! this is for you yunn @starboywoo​ i hope u have a wonderful lovable weekend enjoy!! 🖤 🖤 🖤 

He’s a sensitive soul. Junhui makes a point to always poke and prod at Minghao’s soft heart, calling him gummy and doughy and full of love. 

Malta’s pretty. It’s muted, but delightfully charming. It doesn’t have the obvious romantic appeal that Paris or Rome has, but it’s still beautiful. It’s obvious due to Minghao’s constant clicks of his phone, his starry eyed expression when he sees the strung up lights at the pier, and the bounce in his soles when he stumbles upon road after narrow road of clunky cobblestone paths. 

“She goes to school here, right?” 

Junhui is walking backwards, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. He’s smirking at Minghao, knowing how testy he gets whenever you’re brought up. It’ll only take one push for Junhui to stumble, Minghao muses. Then, he can go back to the townhouse they’ve rented and sketch, or watch television, anything other than drinking. 

Mingyu has been waiting, pregaming and trying his luck with the pretty girls seated at the table opposite him. 

It’s then Minghao chokes on his saliva and realizes that you’re seated in the very middle, unbeknownst to Mingyu’s apparent ogling. 

Junhui immediately swivels Mingyu to his attention, forces Minghao and a seat, and orders a round for them in the matter of a minute. Junhui has a mission tonight, and it’s to not warble around and carry a broken heart (or two) home. 

The tiny table you’re pressed up against is cramped to the brim, and you’re surrounded by a hearty group of friends. Your jewelry sparkles against the little tea candles in the centerpiece, cheering with a shot glass to some random thing a boy is shouting. The liquid spills across your bracelet, but you still drink eagerly. You’re beautiful, more beautiful than what the social media and his memory could remind him. 

You left your home country for this prestigious study abroad program in the beginning of college, evidently ending your love story with your highschool sweetheart. Minghao’s over it, he really is. If anything that’s lingering in his heart, it’s the memories of having so much fun, so much love between each other. You two are far different now, and neither of you would be able to go back to that fleeting youth. 

Honestly, Malta is one stop out of many for his spring break. He thought his two days here would be over in a wink, and he could move onto the other niche destinations Mingyu and Junhui planned.

Minghao underestimated the fact that Malta’s tiny, and you’re at the heart of it. 

Just as fast as you’re there though, you’re getting ready to leave. The night is still young, yet you stumble to your feet like you’ve been out all evening. Your friends tell you to get a cab, saying it isn’t safe to walk home alone. 

“I’m not walking home alone, a friend is here,” Minghao hears you say, and he wonders if someone’s waiting outside for you. Someone tall, handsome, potentially his replacement. It makes Minghao sink into his beverage, swallowing away his unwarranted jealousy. 

Yet you come to his table with confidence, holding out a hand to him. 

“Take me home?” you pose this as a question, yet the flicker in your eyes betrays your need for his immediate acceptance. 

Everyone’s looking at him, he thinks absently. He can hear your friends whispering and giggling to themselves, while Mingyu is audibly drooling next to him. Junhui is reaching for you, clawing across his lap to invite you for one more round before you head off. 

“Come for breakfast, Junnie,” you placate, tugging Minghao by the sleeve of his hoodie before he can catch his breath, “we should leave now,” you say, waving politely at Mingyu. You have no clue who he is because Minghao befriended him later in college, but from Minghao’s peripheral vision your eyes are pointed in minor affliction. He knows that look too well, like you have the urge to close his jaw and put him in his place. 

“Sure,” Minghao follows you out of the tiny bar, and he subconsciously inhales at the sight of the full moon and the hint of fresh air.

His steps slow once he makes it outside, the heat feeling like honey as he trudges half a step behind you. His eyes linger from your casual spring dress, to the kitten heels that buckle at your ankles. The cobblestone is uneven, but you walk through it like a seasoned exchange student. He doesn’t know where you’re going exactly, but wherever you end up he’ll follow. 

“You didn’t come over to say hi to me,” you say shyly, your hands fisting in your marigold clutch. 

He can’t help but smile at your sudden meekness, knowing that confrontation, especially one where there’s only two parties, makes you nervous. Especially so, considering you made such a grand gesture of attention and now that you’ve gotten it, you're overwhelmed. 

"You looked too pretty, I was intimidated," Minghao replies honestly, and his heart perks up hopefully at the heated flush that spreads across your face. 

The two of you talk into the night, throwing back and forth each other's new lives. Your muses have changed, your happiness is dependent on your dreams, all as it should be. 

Minghao thought he would run out of things to say, as he is the one who stayed home all these years. Yet, you ask eagerly about his studies, the amazing places he’s seeing and the work he’s proud of. You ask about the concrete city you can’t help but miss. He then asks about the limestone that encapsulates your world. The new kind of love that you’ve been craving, a love for yourself and the investments you’ve made in your successes. 

It’s different. It isn’t quick or to the point like your relationship once was. This one grows, a seed buried in the night sky. This one is a new relationship waiting to be tended. 

The walk home went fast. Even though you two stopped for gelato and admired the passing ships, the journey felt too short to Minghao. You live in a boarding house with other foriegn exchange students, a nondescript townhouse that’s warm and soft and oh-so perfect for you. 

"Thanks for taking me home," you murmur, in fear of your neighbors overhearing you, "even though I kinda didn't give you any choice in the matter." 

"Always," Minghao shakes his head, unable to think of a scenario in which he'd ever say no to you, "I'll always meet you halfway." 

He can’t bear to look into your eyes anymore. They still glow like before, a sparkle that reminds him of city lights and now, the lit-path down a cobblestone road. 

Before he can second guess the signs he turns to leave, but your figure curls around him like a warm blanket on a Sunday morning. Your nails curl into the soft cotton of his heathered hoodie, clutching him like he'll evaporate on the spot. Your cheek nuzzles fondly into his back, and he instinctively relaxes into your touch. 

"Stay the night," you request, already pulling him back into your room. 

As always, he can never say no to you. 

[chaoticpete]

Arvin’s Song

Arvin Russell x Fem!Reader

Warnings: F L U F F with a bit of angst cause I can’t help myself sometimes

Authors note: So this is based off of Mary’s Song by Taylor Swift. It was originally supposed to be a Peter one but then Arvin entered my life and damn that boy. So yeah I’ll probably still write Peter’s though but for now...ENJOY!

"I was seven, and you were nine

I looked at you like the stars that shined

In the sky, the pretty lights."

Standing by the entrance of the school, you rock back and forth in your small Mary Jane shoes waiting for your best friend, well only friend, Lenora to show up.

Hearing a honk you look up to see her uncles old pickup pulling up. Waving at the truck you see Lenora and some boy climb out of the truck. Lenora running towards you and grabbing your hand. “Y/n! Guess what?” “What?” “I got a new brother!”

The boy finally reaches the two of you taking in his surroundings. You watch him carefully. He was tall. Skinny. Looks a bit older than you and Lenora though.

You will admit though, he was kind of cute. You feel your cheeks heat up a bit at the thought of actually thinking a boy was cute.

“Arvin, this is my best friend Y/n. Y/n this is my new big brother Arvin.” Lenora says before leaning closer to you to whisper. “He’s nine.”

The bell rings telling students it’s time to head inside. Taking one last look at Arvin, you feel your little heart beat increase a bit and that’s when you realized.

You had it bad at the age of seven.

As time passed, the three of you became very close. After the news of Arvin’s father made its way around town, then the findings of Lenora’s mother, you three became the three biggest outcasts. Well you were always an outcast a bit in town.

On a summer's day, the three of you are wandering through the backyard woods, climbing over fallen trees. “Arvin! Y/n, wait up!”

Looking around the tree you and Arvin were hiding behind, you suppress a giggle turning back to the brown eyed boy.

Getting a quick idea in your mind, you feel a evil little smile make its way up to your face. “So Arvin.” “Hmm?” “Have you ever kissed a girl before?” You asked him nonchalantly.

The young boy's eyes open wide at the sudden question. “What?” “Have you ever kissed a girl before?” “I- I kiss you and Lenora on the cheeks all the time. You’re both like little sisters to me.”

That made your happy music stop a bit. At nine years old the last thing a girl wants for the guy she’s been crushing for the past two years.

Before you can even say anything Lenora cuts the conversation short popping up begins Arvin. “There you guys are, ready to go by the lake?”

Well, I was sixteen when suddenly

I wasn't that little girl you used to see

But your eyes still shined, like pretty lights

After spending the summer with some family in the city, you came back to Knockemstiff, a new girl. Climbing out of the family car, you carry the apple pie your mom made. There was a new Rev in town and honestly he wasn’t the one you were looking for today.

Even years after Arvin called you his little sister , you had a bit of feelings for him. “Here ya go Mama. Is it okay if I can go look for Lenora before service?” “Don’t you wanna meet the new reverend?” “I’ll meet him after.” You call back heading in the opposite direction.

“Y/n!” You hear someone say your name, turning around to the source. Seeing that old pickup, Lenora climbing out of the backseat, Arvin following behind. Except this time he climbed out the driver's seat. You watch as he tosses his old baseball cap onto the seat, running his fingers through his hair.

Getting taken back to the first day you saw him, you feel your heart speed up again. You watch as he helps his grams out the car, holding her dish. Arvin was always such a sweetheart, especially to those who he loves and mentally vowed to protect. It’s one of the many reasons your little crush from all those years back turned into love.

Feeling Lenora’s arm warp around you, you smile missing your sister from another mister. “Lenora!” you say pulling her close to your frame.

“I have so much to tell you!” You tell her looking into her blue green eyes. “Y/n! How lovely to see you. Don’t you look beautiful.” Emma says patting your arm. “Hi Mrs. Russell, and thank you. That smells mighty tasty you got there.” “Why thank you. Let’s hope the Rev likes it. I’ll meet you kids inside.”

She walks away and you turn back to your two best friends. “Arvin, you’re awfully quiet today. Maybe I should go away more often if you missed me so much.” “No! I-I mean it’s good to have you back Y/n. Really missed you.” He says pulling you into a hug, a sort of long hug. Both of you pull back, looking into each other’s eyes. Lenora looks between her brother and best friend and lets the small smile appear on her lips.

She only seen that look on one other person before, it’s the look you give Arvin everytime you see him.

Standing by the truck, you both watch as Lenora tells her mom about her day and reads her a passage. “So, um Y/n.” You hear Arvin asks as a slight wind picks up. “Hm?” Turing to look at him, he takes one last drag of his cigarette before stomping it onto the ground. “There, uh showing a movie this weekend down in town. And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go and see it. You know, with me.” He says rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes still on Lenora.

Trying to contain the excitement, taking in a deep breathe and smile.

“Yes.”

Take me back to the creek beds we turned up

Two AM, ridin' in your truck

And all I need is you next to me

Take me back to the time we had our very first fight

Slammin' of doors 'stead of kissin' goodnight

You stayed outside till the morning light

Sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, you watch out the window. Not like you can see much anyway in the dark, but it was better than facing Arvin’s wrath right now.

Glancing over at him, his hand gripping the steering tight. If it was alive it would be long dead.

“Arv...you need to slow down before you get us killed. Or atleast calm down.” “I’m gonna kill that son a bitch that’s what I’m going to do.” He says but he still slows down a bit not wanting to scare you or put you in danger.

The ride home continues in silence. Pulling up to your small house, Arvin climbs out going to open your car door for you.

”Arvin just let it go. Please?” You plead as you make your way to the door. “No Y/n I won’t let it go!” He says slamming his truck door hard. You’re a bit surprised the old thing didn’t fall off.

“They disrespected you, Lor and my grams and uncle. They talked about my parents like they actually knew them! They don’t know shit!” “And that calls for you to wait to go beat them til near death?!” You say snapping around. “If it gets them to respect then yes.” “Arvin, that's not respect. That’s fear. And if you’re not careful one of those guys is gonna pop up a gun and shoot you. Then where will we be at?” You yell back, fighting the tears that’s trying to leak through your eyes.

This was your guys first real fight and after knowing you all these years he’s never seen you so angry.

“Marry me?”

“What?”

“You heard me. Marry me? Please? Y/n tonight made me realize I don’t wanna lose you. Like ever. You just make me so happy and you know how to calm me down like no other. So will you please make me the happiest man on this planet and become Mrs. Arvin Russell?”

The tears finally unleash from your eyes but for a different reason from when they started.

“Yes.”

Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle

Our whole town came, and our mamas cried

You said, "I do, " and I did too

Take me home where we met so many years before

We'll rock our babies on the very front porch

After all this time, you and I

Sitting on the porch, you watch with contentment as your two little girls play tag with each other, Bones the family dog chasing along.

Arvin comes out, staying his hands off with a rag after just fixing the truck. “I think it might be time to turn her in, honey. Old girl isn’t working as well as she used to.” He says standing behind your seat, wrapping his arms around your neck, giving your cheek a kiss. You pour him a glass of iced tea.

“Shame. I recall we had some pretty good times in the truck. One of them is running around over there.” You say giving him a flirty smile.

A laugh leaves his lips before he takes a sip of the tea. “Oh by the way Lenora called. Asked if we would like to go up to the city for the weekend. The kids can stay with my parents.” “Hmm, that would be nice. Been a while since we spent some quality time. Haven’t been able to have you to myself for a while, especially since Aj was born.” Right after saying that, the cries of your infant son can be heard as he wakes from his morning nap.

“Speak of the devil.” Arvin mumbles as you laugh getting up from the seat. “You sinner. But don’t worry soon we’ll have a weekend to ourselves.” You say pressing a sweet kiss on his lips. After being married all these years, his kisses was still the greatest thing you’ve ever tasted.

It was cut short though by the pair of ews from your little girls and the cries of your son. “Promise me we won’t come back with another one those though.” Arvin whispers a smirk playing on his lips. “Guess we’ll just have to pray

And I'll be eighty-seven, you'll be eighty-nine

I'll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky

Oh, my, my, my

Tags:: @underoosjae @sovereignparker @allegra-writes @andromedaaaaaaaaa @spider-parker04 @cunaeparker @lost-space-ranger @hey-its-grey @gwenvrse @marvel4geeks @kitkatd7 @spidey-boy-89 @buckys-other-punk @peterismymans @dreamofaprilsblog @parkerpeter24 @marvelousmrstark @peeterparkr @spidey-reids-2003 @starlight-starks @localpeter @chloe-geoghegan1 @spideysparklee

[deathonyourtongue]

Falling Again

Summary: Life is cruel, but the mind is crueler. Pairing: AU!Henry Cavill x OFC  Word Count: 5.2K Warnings: Angst. Loads of tears. I apologize in advance. A/N: @luna-aestas​ requested angst in the same vein as the Welcome Home series, along with some unrequited love. What’s worse than unrequited love? Assuming it’s unrequited. This will probably end up being another series. You’ve been warned. 

Everyone told him that the pain would pass with time. That with each day, the wound would scar over and the dull ache in his chest would go away, that things like work and social events would be less awkward, and that even alone time would normalize again. 

They were all wrong. 

The truth was that it had been five years, and he still felt the pain like a red-hot poker searing through his heart each time he woke to live another day. 

The knocking on the door was never loud enough to hide the sound of her sniffles, and though sleep always threatened to drag him back under, it was her soft voice that always made him sit up. 

“Papa? I had a nightmare.” Her voice, tear-filled and scared, always broke his heart, and though there were days when he needed an extra moment to hide his own tears, he never denied his daughter entrance.

“Come in, sweetie,” Henry called, barely getting the words out before he heard the knob turning. He watched as she padded in, taking extra care to close the door behind her. With her otter plushie tucked under her arm, she tiptoed to the bed, looking up at her father, fresh tears tracks painting her ruddy cheeks. 

“What did you dream about, pumpkin?” He asked, his voice as soft as his daughter’s as he picked her up and lifted her into what had--over time--become her spot. He was shocked when the mere question had her whimpering, her little arms finding his neck and holding on tight as she cried into his shoulder. His face broke into one of sympathy and pain, his heart breaking any time his daughter cried so earnestly.

"We were at the park and I got l-lost! I ran the wh-whole park and f-finally found you, but-but you were a-asleep and wou-wouldn't wake up! J-just like g-grams!" She keened, his shirt soaked with her tears as she shook like a leaf in his arms.

Cradling her head against his chest, Henry smoothed down her hair over and over, his own eyes filling with unshed tears as he realized, in that moment, how much his mother-in-law’s death had affected his little girl. His mother-in-law had been far too young to go, but had lived long enough to become attached at the hip with his daughter. Her death hadn't come as a surprise to either of them, but holding her now, he could tell that his daughter hadn't been given a fair shake at grieving.

He'd taken her to the funeral, not because he thought it was the right thing to do, but because he had no other choice. Babysitters were exorbitant luxuries in NYC, and everyone he knew was either going to be in attendance, or tied up with work. Technically, he couldn't even afford the day off for the funeral, but his boss was self-servingly magnanimous and had paid him time and a half, knowing full well it would put Henry in his pocket for another year. She'd been quiet as a mouse during the ceremony, the eulogies, and the procession to view the body (which he'd left her in her seat for). Even the ride home, he realized, had been a silent one, and for all the grieving he'd done when he thought she wasn't looking, Henry had never seen his daughter so much as throw a tantrum to try and express herself.

Now, holding her as she wailed softly, her grip on him a vice that wouldn't release until she slept, Henry realized that the nightmares she'd been having were her mind's way of processing what had happened, and that, like her father, she was afraid of losing everyone she loved.

Kissing her forehead, Henry tried to think of a way to make her understand that he wasn't going to die the way her grandmother, and her mother both had, but he knew his daughter well enough to know that promising he'd live to a ripe old age wouldn't cut it.

"That sounds like a scary dream, pumpkin, but papa's not going anywhere, okay? Grams was very sick, the kind of sick that only really happens to people that are much, much, older than Papa. Grams was sick for a long, long, time. Ever since you were a baby. Papa just went to the doctor and he said I was in perfect health. I don't want you to worry about Papa falling asleep and not waking up, okay? I’m going to be around for a long, long time. Might even be around when you've got white hair and wrinkles everywhere, okay? Papa works out and eats healthy every day so that I can be around as long as possible. So don't worry, alright? I’m not going anywhere."

Sophia sniffled and whimpered a little more, but finally nodded, understanding what he was saying, even if she didn't 100% believe it quite yet. "I love you, papa," she whispered, giving him a squeeze. He kissed her temple and nodded. "I love you too, sweetheart. More than you'll ever know."

"I won't worry about it unless you go bald like grams or mama," she whispered, the decision one that made her content and relaxed in his arms, Sophia never to know just how much the simple reasoning shattered her father's heart.

Henry waited until she was completely asleep to tip his head up to the ceiling, his own tears silent and desperate as he clung to what little family had left.

There was very little he paid attention to at work aside from work itself. He couldn’t afford distraction; medical bills, funerary costs, utilities, rent, and groceries all required money, and working an entry-level job was barely cutting it, even with mandatory overtime. Still, there was one distraction he couldn’t seem to shake, despite the guilt that came over him each time he realized it was happening again. 

His distraction had a name and a devastating smile much like his wife’s. In fact, there was a lot about Zoe that reminded him of his Izzy. At first glance it was hard to see, given the differences in eye color, nose and face shape, but there was something about her mannerisms, her energy, and her kindness that evoked the love of his life. Henry couldn’t help but watch her whenever she came to speak to one of their colleagues, and at lunch they exchanged polite conversation. That was the extent of it, though. Henry knew that a woman like Zoe, a woman who radiated such brightness and joy, would never be with a man like him, a hulled husk ready to be crumbled into dust at any given moment. 

There were days however, where even Zoe’s brand of sunshine couldn’t break the storm clouds that seemed to follow Henry wherever he went, days where the world crushed him just that little bit further. As Henry took a seat at his desk, he knew today would be one of those days, if his morning had been any indication.

He had cried himself to sleep, if the heaviness of his eyes was anything to go by, but as the sun crept through the crooked blinds of his bedroom, Henry remembered the events of the night before, and in peeking down, found Sophia pretending to be asleep.

"Rise and shine, pumpkin, it's time for school," he murmured, peppering her face with gentle kisses, Henry angling his head before blowing a small raspberry on the top of her arm.

"Papa, I don't feel good," she said as she swatted his face away, her eyes staying closed--Henry's first indication that she was faking it.

"You don't feel good? Well, let's see," he kept his tone soft and neutral, both of them knowing this game all too well, both intent on playing it anyway. The back of his hand pressed to her forehead before he scooted down to press his ear to her tummy. Coming back up, Henry gave her a half-shrug. "You don't have a fever, and your tummy’s not rumbling...Is it the kind of 'not feeling good' where you just want to stay home?" Fixing her with a soft, 'tell the truth' gaze, Henry waited for her answer.

"I don't wanna go to school. Wanna stay home with you."

"But papa's not staying home, I have to go to work, sweetheart," he tried to reason with her, Henry surprised when, for the second time in less than 24 hours, Sophia’s lower lip started to quiver.

"But I want you to stay home! You're always so tired and so sad, papa! Want you to stay home so we can nap and have tea, and so you can be happy!" 

Sophia's reasoning hit him like a truck at an intersection, Henry feeling his heart stop for a few beats while he tried to process what she'd just said. He'd thought he'd always been careful to smile and be upbeat around her, but obviously his little one had the gift of stealth and had caught him in private moments, when he thought she wasn't looking.

"What makes you think Papa's not happy?" he asked, trying to keep his face neutral and his eyes from watering.

"I hear you crying every day, papa! And when you talk to Uncle Dom, you always say about how you're worried about money, and about how bills are piling up. At night, you say mama’s name over and over, like you're having a bad dream."

Tears spilled over as he listened to his six year old be so observant, so astute, and so heartbreakingly no nonsense in her reasoning. Chin falling to his chest, he only managed to hold back his sobs, crying as quietly as he could, because, as seemed to be the case whenever she really watched something and made up her mind about it, Soph was right.

The shrill ring of his cell phone cut through the otherwise-quiet moment, and Henry answered it without looking, not realizing that it was his sister-in-law, Imogen on the other end.

"H-Hello?" he stammered, the grief clearly heard in his voice, even through the shortest word possible.

"Henry? Darling, is everything alright? Nevermind all that, I’ll be over in a jiff."

Wiping his eyes, Henry sighed heavily, getting up to unlock the door to his ramshackle apartment, knowing Gen would be there in less than five. Though it was nice having her and her husband, Dom so close, there were times when Henry wished they lived just a little further up town. Henry hadn't been expecting the hug, but the moment Gen was through the door and her arms were around him, it was all he could do to keep from sobbing. 

“Are you certain you’re okay to go into work like this?” Gen asked softly, feeling a sense of dejavu come over her. It was a conversation they’d had often enough, both before and after her sister’s death, and it had yet to end differently. Shoulders shaking, Henry nodded, the words that followed being the opposite of what anyone wanted to hear.

"I d-don't have a choice," he whispered, knowing full well that any slip-up would cost him his job, and that being without income, even for a few days, would spell disaster for his and Sophia's lives.

"Aunt Gen, make him stay home and sleep!" Soph said quietly with urgency in her voice, the little girl knowing how frayed her father was, even if he fought it tooth and nail.

"Soph, sweetheart, Papa has to go to work. It's not like school, I can't miss a day just because I don't feel like coming in," he did his best to explain it to her gently, Henry crouching down, arms outstretched for her.

Reluctantly, she came, and Henry wrapped her up tight, kissing her head over and over. "You're going to have the best time with Aunt Gen. You always do. You'll go shopping and have lunch at her place, or maybe even help her and Aunt Beth make a cake! Or you two could go to the pool, or maybe even go see Uncle Dom at the bookstore. You're going to have loads of fun and before you know it, papa will be there to pick you up."

Though he managed to keep his voice steady, Henry's free hand covered his eyes, the age-old shame he felt as a father who couldn't provide everything his daughter needed and wanted coming back the second he realized he couldn't even give her spending money for anything.

Wiping his eyes hard, he pulled back and fixed his daughter with a beaming smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I want you to tell me all about the fun you had today once we get home, okay? Now, go on, you're wasting time hanging around here with your old gaffer, when you could be having pancakes for breakfast with your favorite auntie."

He winked, Henry’s smile growing just a little more when Soph's eyes lit up. It was rare she got more than a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, as groceries tended to be kept to the cheapest items that provided the most nutritional value possible. If the military had taught him anything, it was how to stretch food, and he did it without even thinking sometimes; without taking into account that a treat here and there would be good for his little girl.

Standing, he went for his wallet, eyes on the floor, jaw clenched, and face burning red with shame as he handed Gen a five, giving up what he'd budgeted for lunch for the week, wanting his daughter to at least have something on her day out with her aunt.

Henry turned immediately so that Gen didn't have the chance to put it back in his hand, moving across the room to grab his phone and call in to Sophia's school, not wanting to get the call later at work, where he wouldn't be able to answer it.

"Hi, Mary, yes, this is Sophia’s father, Henry. Soph's not going to be coming in today. She's feeling rather poorly, so I'm going to keep her home. Okay, thank you. Have a great day," he spoke softly, making silly faces at Soph while talking, grateful to get a silent laugh from her, his daughter knowing better than to jeopardize her day off by giggling loud enough to be heard by the school secretary.

"All right, pumpkin, come ‘ere. You have fun and listen to your auntie okay? No running off, no being a silly monkey in a crowded place. I love you, have fun, and I'll see you tonight," Henry said softly as he hugged Sophia tight, holding on just a little longer than usual and wishing for all the world he could call in.

“You always have a choice,” Gen reminded him, her face holding sympathy for the man who’d single-handedly been responsible for her sister’s happiness, especially in the last few months of her life. “You should stay for dinner. Dom’s making his famous Kitchen Sink Pasta,” she added after a moment, noticing the sallowness of Henry’s skin, how the hollows of his cheeks were becoming more pronounced.

To Gen, Henry and Izzy would forever be soulmates, an insurmountably perfect couple, but her sister’s request that he find someone new after her passing weighed heavier and heavier on Gen’s mind with every passing year. If Heaven did exist, Imogen imagined her sister was tearing her hair out with impatience, or sobbing without end at seeing how life had panned out for her husband after her parting.

"Easy for you to say," Henry murmured, giving Gen a kind smile, not needing to remind her that her situation was far different than his, given her huge family, and the fact that she ran her own business. The more Gen looked at him with sympathy, the more shame he felt, and while he knew she was only trying to do right by him, it only made him feel worse about his circumstances.

"Don't count on me for dinner. Dom's been picking up Soph for a reason. I probably won’t make it out of there until at least nine," he spoke softly and between his teeth, wanting to make it as garbled as possible so that Sophia wouldn't be upset. One look in her eyes however, and Henry knew his daughter had understood every word.

"You two have fun. I'll see you ladies later," Henry smiled, seeing them to the door and watching until they'd disappeared down the stairs before closing and sliding down against the frame, his tears free to fall in privacy.

Connected to her father by an invisible thread that latched her heart to his, Sophia forced Gen to stop midway down the stairs, her ears perked, head tilted towards the general direction of her home.

"Papa's crying again," she stated plainly, her own chin falling to her chest, the softest, saddest little  sigh escaping her. "He hasn't been happy in a very, very long time. Wish I could fix him. Wish I could make him stay home, aunt Gen. The only reason I wanted to stay home was to stay with him."

Sniffling, she wiped her eyes, looking up at her aunt with questioning eyes. "Do you think it would be easier for papa if I gave him all the money in my piggy bank? Would he be able to stay home and sleep then? Is there a way that we can make the bills stop coming? Stop them from making papa so worried and sad?"

Gen did her best to keep her face neutral as bent down to hug Sophia tightly, feeling the waves of anguish roll off her. Her heart broke for her niece, knowing the little girl was as empathetic as her father, and that at her age, emotions were always felt more deeply.

“Tell you what, why don’t we go back in there and see if we can’t convince your father to stow away with us one more time? I think he could do with some pancakes as well, don’t you?” Knowing she was pushing her luck, but also knowing Sophia would spend the day withdrawn if she didn’t try, Gen opened the door, hoping once, just once, Henry would say yes.

“So Soph and I decided that you don’t have a choice. You’re coming with us today, for pancakes and books and cake, alright?”

He’d had just enough time to wipe his eyes and stand up by the time the door opened and Sophia ran to him full tilt, hugging him as tight as she could manage for such a little girl.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking up at Gen in concern before her words clicked everything into place. Though he kept a smile on for Sophia, he couldn’t stop from fixing Gen with a look.

"Girls, much as I'd like to join you, I have to go to work. Like I said, pumpkin, I can't just skip a day because I feel like it. Papa's has to go to work." Henry was tender with his daughter, never once wanting to be the one that made her upset, but also needing her to understand that his world didn't work as easily as her's did.

"Give papa just a second to have a word with Aunt Gen, alright? Then you two can get to those pancakes," he nodded, pressing a kiss to each cheek and giving Sophia a squeeze, before motioning for Gen to follow him into his bedroom.

With the door closed and locked behind them, Henry ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a sigh. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. I really do. But I can't skip work, or I'll lose my job. Furthermore, Gen, if I miss a day, I literally can't make rent or groceries this month. I cannot skip today, especially when I’m being paid overtime. I'm sorry, I r-really am, and believe me, this is k-killing me, okay? But I c-can't. So please, don't get her h-hopes up like that. It's not fair--"

Turning his back to Gen, he curled in on himself until he was crouching down, hands covering his head as though it were a bomb drill. Using his forearms to muffle the whimpers, he stayed down there until he felt his composure return. Wiping his eyes with the same ferocity he always did whenever he knew someone had seen him crying, Henry stood up and gave her a gentle smile.

"Please make it a day she'll never forget, okay? Do that for me? Please?"

It wasn't lost on him, in that moment of vulnerability, that he'd yet been able to make it to any of his daughter's events during her first year in kindergarten. None of the little parties, show-and-tells, or anything of that nature had seen him in attendance, but instead, had been graciously covered--and recorded for later viewing--by Dom, who had been mistaken for Sophia's father more than once.

Wracked with guilt and shame over his failings as a parent, Henry looked down at the floor, destroyed through and through. There were a lot of things missing from his life that most took for granted; a couch, Netflix, sometimes electricity. But it was the intangible things that ate him up and made him feel like true scum. Missing Sophia’s events, not picking her up from school every day, and often being too tired to do more than what was absolutely necessary for her when he finally came home, were all things that caused him deep shame and often-sleepless nights.

He waited for Gen to give up, to say she understood, and to leave in order to hopefully give his beloved daughter a day she'd not soon forget, Henry knowing that today, no matter how easy the calls turned out to be, would be hell.

"You were supposed to be here by six, Cavill!!"

Henry's head snapped up when he heard his boss' voice booming down the hall.

"I'm scheduled to start at nine, sir," he replied, trying to maintain his cool as he fumbled with trying to pull his schedule from his desk drawers while putting himself in a code so that calls wouldn’t come in automatically. He was certain his schedule was right and that he hadn’t switched with anyone.

Even as he tore through his papers, a write up sheet was laid on his desk, Henry finding the printout before turning and looking up at Jerry, utterly confused and more than a little appalled.

"You were supposed to start at six, you showed up at nine. You're late, so I'm docking your pay." Henry's eyes hardened as he held up the sheet of paper, handing it to Jerry.

"I was scheduled for nine. I logged in at 8:58 am."

"I wanted you here for six, I told you on Friday. Sign the form and get back on the phones."

Henry tried to wrack his brains for any important conversations he'd had with his boss, anything that could help him defend himself, but nothing came. Friday had been as ordinary as any other day.

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, Henry signed the paper, knowing full well he was giving away half his paycheck and with it, any chance at getting rent paid on time.

Sick to his stomach, he looked at the clock, then at the picture of Sophia he kept tucked in the back of his cubicle. "I'm sorry, pumpkin. Should've just stayed home today," he murmured, wiping at his eyes to keep fresh tears at bay. 

By lunch time, Henry was beginning to feel light-headed with hunger. Knowing he’d given his lunch budget to Gen, he settled for a black coffee and took his usual seat, intent on shutting out the world, if only for a few minutes. 

“Uh oh, *someone’s had a rough morning,” Zoe grinned as she came in, setting her lunch bag down on the counter before putting the container inside into the microwave to heat. Moving over to where Henry sat slumped over, she rubbed his shoulders gently, surprised when she felt nothing but tension beneath her fingers. 

“Everything okay? I heard Jerry muttering in his office all morning about you being late, which I found unusual, given you were here on time.” 

“According to him, I should have been here at six. I think he has it out for me, or is planning on letting me go,” Henry answered, finally lifting up his head to look at Zoe. He wasn’t surprised when she gave him a double-take; he knew he looked like roadkill, her expression simply confirmed it. 

“Have you been sleeping alright? You look like you could use at least 24 hours’ worth,” She commented softly, Henry scrubbing a hand over his face before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“No rest for the wicked, isn’t that the saying? Soph hasn’t been sleeping all that well, so I wake whenever she has a nightmare.” Though it wasn’t the full truth, it wasn’t an outright lie. Henry simply omitted the parts he knew no one at work would care about.

Zoe grimaced in sympathy, getting up and fetching her food before sitting down across from him. Whatever was in the container smelled wonderful, and were it not for the coffee boring a hole in his gut, it would have been pure torture. 

“I bet she sleeps snug as a bug in a rug once she’s been comforted though, huh?” Zoe grinned, taking a bite of sauce-covered ravioli with impeccable manners. Like him, Imogen’s family, and Dom, Zoe was a British expat, having come to NYC to fulfill a career in fashion, but having had her dreams detoured instead. Unlike the rest of them, Henry had landed on his ass in the Big Apple, with all his prospects falling through within the first year of him being in the country. He managed to stay afloat until his paperwork was in place, but no matter how often he applied to jobs in his field, nothing ever came through. Then Izzy got sick and the downward spiral began for good. 

“That she does,” he agreed, rubbing his face and managing a smile for Zoe’s sake. Finishing his coffee, he allowed himself to daydream for a moment. He only ever allowed himself to think of what a date would be like with Zoe, and it was always the same thing. A bright blue sky, good food, and a trek through one of the city’s smaller and more interesting museums. Nothing more, nothing less. More than anything, he just wanted her company. 

“Earth to Henry!” Zoe’s sweet, musical voice brought him back to reality, and looking at her, he couldn’t help but blush. “You were on a different planet. Time to get back to it, sleepyhead,” she mused, tugging one of his curls playfully before letting it spring back up.

“Sorry. Just a zombie today, I s’pose,” Henry answered, looking at his watch and seeing he only had two minutes before he had to be back on the phone.

“I’ll see you later. No falling asleep at your desk, eh?” Zoe grinned, giving him a wink as she stood to wash out her container, her heels clicking on the floor in a way that had Henry momentarily entranced. 

Nine o'clock came as quickly as molasses. By the time he’d stamped out, Henry’s vision was blurred, and he was slightly dizzy. He was careful as he walked home, staying closer to the buildings than the car-lined roads, and waiting for the crosswalks to give him the right of way instead of jaywalking like he normally did.

By the time he hit Dom and Gen's block, he was swaying a little, beyond starving. He hoped the goodbyes wouldn't take too long and he and Sophia could be on their way. Dinner would be something quick, easy, and carb-loaded to hopefully keep his roiling stomach from protesting too much.

Taking the stairs slowly, Henry knocked on the door, leaning against the frame and dying to see his little girl.

“PAPA!!!!” Sophie called excitedly, rushing to Henry with the biggest smile on her face. Though she loved her extended family, it was clear that she’d missed him as much as he’d missed her.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet girl. Papa missed you a ton!" Henry grinned, dropping into a squat to hold her close, his body swaying a little at the sudden movement.

“We had so much fun today and I made you dinner and I made cake and Aunt Gen said you can eat here while it’s still hot and I missed you, papa!!” The second part came out in a single, muffled rush of air, a confirmation of the type of day Henry’d hoped she’d had. At hearing about dinner, he pulled back, fixing Soph with a playful, narrow-eyed smile before raising a knowing eyebrow up at Gen. 

"Did you now? Did you make it allll by yourself?" he asked, tickling Sophia’s sides, Henry tugging her close once more to press kiss after kiss to her face.

When his legs began to get pins and needles, Henry reluctantly let her go. Standing, he tripped over his own feet, Henry’s swaying combined with his clumsiness making it seem as though he were drunk.

"Everything alright, mate?" Dom asked as Henry finally came in through the door,  Dom hugging his brother-in-law a little tighter than normal, concern etched in his features.

"Yeah, yeah, just a very long day. Glad to be back with the munchkin and to apparently have dinner made for me…Gen," Henry spoke the last part with emphasis, shooting her a half-smile and a wink, not in the least mad at her for making him dinner. If anything, he was relieved he wouldn't have to wait until they were home.

He didn't even flinch as Soph crawled up onto his lap as his plate was set in front of him, Henry crooking his finger at Gen before she could leave, a warm kiss pressed to her cheek in thanks.

"Thank you for doing this today. I owe you big time," he murmured, cupping the back of her head for a moment, Henry wanting her to be certain that he meant every word.

“Just remember, you’re not alone in this,” Gen whispered back, her expression tight and filled with an emotion that was both intense and unreadable, a cross between anguish and worry.

“Hands off my wife, pal,” Dom joked to bring some levity to the room, his hands coming down on Henry’s shoulders with a friendly shake. Henry’s mind set out to hurt him, reminding him of the many daydreams of Zoe, of their lunchtime conversations, long enough to make him flinch in his seat, the thoughts feeling like blasphemy.  

There was once a time where he’d come back with a quip of his own, something quick-witted to keep the room laughing just a little longer. As it stood however, Dom’s words were just a painful reminder that there was only one married man in the room. Putting on a brave face, Henry managed to look the part, but his voice betrayed him, coming out soft and broken.

“You got a good one, mate, that’s for sure, but I got the angel.”

[asfaltics]

𝍡 𝍢𝍠𝍣 that imbroglio of mind merely

distraction distraint distrait from A New English Dictionary On Historical Principles (Vol 3, pt 1; 1897) : 530

as found at archive.org (Rashtrapati Bhavan Library copy) or access jpeg of page (1.5 MB) fully legible (clean scan) source at hathitrust (U Virginia copy) or access jpeg of page (1.6 MB)

some (and more and less than) of the above, transcribed/reformatted —

A severed or divided form, Dispersion, scattering. Obs   Grk Gram   The resolution of a long vowel into two vowels, identical or differing only in quantity   The drawing away (of the mind or thoughts) from one point or course to another ; diversion of the mind or attention My little affairs are in such distraction all Obs oft times, A distempered melancholy [     ] distraction of action, f. distrahere to pull asunder,   Distractious Abounding in or fraught with that imbroglio of [     ] mind [     ] with distracting tendency Whether the flag flapped soothingly or distractively what the French call a distraction An instance or occasion of Forms expressing the purpose confounded with merely intensive   Distrain fig To hold in its grasp, as disease, sickness, love, to distress, oppress, afflict Obs. To rend or tear asunder

—

wip abandoned; selections might have been quite otherwise.  

[mariacallous]

Savory Pumpernickel Caraway Hamantashen with Caramelized Olive and Dried Plum Filling from “King Solomon’s Table” by Joan Nathan

Purim, taken from the Akkadian word puru, meaning “lots,” is a very gold holiday celebrating the Jewish people’s deliverance from Haman’s proposed annihilation in the fifth century B.C.E. At Yale’s Sterling Library, I saw a clay tablet with a written stamp providing the only existing prototype for the lots cast by Haman - the chief minister of the biblical Persian king Ahasuerus and enemy of the Jews (Esther 3:7) - fixing a date for the impending destruction of the Jews.

During Purim, it is customary to read the Megillah (the book of Esther), dance, drink, and have fun to your heart’s content. The most popular treat during the celebration of Queen Esther’s saving the Jewish people from wicked Haman are hamantashen, triangular cookies filled with dried plums, poppy seeds, jam, or even chocolate chips. The word likely derives from the German Mohntaschen, meaning “poppy seed pastries,” though some say the word comes from a combination of Homen - the Yiddish name for Haman, and tash (pocket or bag), from the Middle High German tasche. Although in Israel these pocket pastries are called oznei Haman (Haman’s ears), elsewhere the cookie’s three corners are said to represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the three patriarchs whose merit saved the Jews. Hamantashen have also been said to represent the wicked minister Haman’s hat. In any case, eating these cookies has proven a tasty way to commemorate Esther’s cunning in saving the Jews.

For the past few years, thanks to magazines like Joy of Kosher, I have noticed many creative ways of celebrating Purim. Julia Brain, a chef and educator in Berkeley and a friend of my daughter Merissa, sent me this very modern recipe for a savory hamantashen. When I looked at it, I had my doubts, but I made it anyway. To my surprise, everybody loved the savory hamantashen and wanted the recipe. I have since tweaked it a bit. I now start and close my Purim dinner with hamantashen!

This caramel is a simple yet fancy palate teaser on its own - just sprinkle some Maldon salt on top, put the caramelized olives in a bowl with toothpicks, and serve.

Yield: about 2 dozen hamantashen.

Caramelized Olive and Dried Plum Filling -1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar -1/2 cup (100 grams) Kalamata olives, drained and pitted, or other good-quality salty olives, plus 2 tablespoons of the olive brine -1/2 cup (100 grams) dried plums, pitted

Dough -1 1/2 tablespoons sugar -2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter or 2 tablespoons (28 grams) coconut oil -2 large eggs, one left whole and the other separated into white and yolk -1 teaspoon instant coffee -1 tablespoon molasses -1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder -About 3/4 cup (100 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour -1/4 teaspoon salt -1 tablespoon ground caraway seeds -Maldon salt for dusting -Thyme, fennel, or caraway for seeds for garnish

To make the dough:  Cream the sugar and butter or coconut oil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the whole egg and one yolk, the coffee, and the molasses. Then gradually add the cocoa powder, four, salt, and ground caraway seeds, processing just until the dough forms into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

To make the filling: Stir the sugar and olive brine together in a small saucepan, making a paste. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the sugar darkens and caramelizes, about 5 minutes. Add the olives to the sugar and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the olives, reserving and setting aside the caramel. Transfer the olives and the dried plums to a food processor and process until chunky - you will want some texture. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 1 1/2 inch rounds and fill each with a heaping teaspoon of the olive-plum filling. Rub a little egg white around the rim of each circle. Fold up each round by pinching 3 points of the circle together to make a triangle. After the hamantashen are formed, add a dollop of caramel to each cookie. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling has set. Sprinkle a pinch of Maldon salt on each hamantashen and dust with a little thyme, fennel, or caraway.

[herpronuonsarefemslash]

Do Not Tap the Glass - TEASER

Enjoy an ABO Supergirl / Jurassic Park (barely) crossover where Alex is a scientist for the Luthor Institute studying a mysterious "creature" that was found in the arctic ice, her wife Maggie definitely thinks pregnant Alex is sexy Alex, they go to a sex club together, and Lex throws Lena in with the beast...that maybe isn't a beast at all. Chapters 1-5 are public and Chapter 6 is Patreon exclusive.

Chapter 1 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qpiYG0XLyuUU79_P2YTwG6IYR6GISse3/view?usp=sharing Chapter 2 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EJlb75hUbGXdNAkkwPzW691XFS9AXx-d/view?usp=sharing Chapter 3 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jE-f6E4McfFWKUXCX-ZhJWAg0XvHn1el/view?usp=sharing Chapter 4 -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HEcDBzNaB6qmZ2JkzInx46INWOyawfdC/view?usp=sharing Chapter 5 - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SQaoF7H2aG1kVyhA35zFfQ5ZfK86lU3Z/view?usp=sharing Chapter 6 - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54672610 Alex has a ritual when she starts a new job: ride the bike in for confidence. Sadly, the list of 'required tools' she was asked to bring would never have fit in a bike. It would never have fit in Maggie's beloved 'princess plug' either, that silver Subaru with a bedazzled back hatch and two surfboards eternally attached to the rack.

Hence, renting a small U-Haul that drives like a dead whale. Maybe the Luthor Institute isn't really hiring her for her mind, maybe they just want her and her mom's research and devices. Lex Luthor has a scary rep in the academic community. He's probably just going to have someone shoot her as soon as she's buzzed in the gate.

Still. It's an interesting job because the not-interesting jobs don't come with 200-page non-disclosure agreements she signed, being watched by lawyers so clenched a punch-press and a vat of KY couldn't help them. It's a lot of money. It's enough money to put aside a million for their daughter by the time she graduates college. Once she finishes developing a spine, organs, and nervous system, that is. Alex was too busy puking to nickname the fetus, so Maggie stepped in.

Regrettably. Cervix-Kicker is just not something Alex can tease her slowly-swelling belly with, at least in public. Maggie's turn, next time. She's pretty sure there will be a next time. Alex suspects that pregnancy sex makes the case for the pregnancy itself, in Maggie's view.

Her phone lights up and a bonobo's shrieking voice comes out. Eliza recorded it during the early days of her fieldwork. Alex taps answer.

"Hey, Mom."

"Morning, sweetie.  How's the new job?"

=====

Nia rolls her eyes with such exaggeration it makes her fairy-dusted eyeshadow sparkle a bit in the sun.

"Come on, new girl," Nia teases. "I'll show you around."

"She will. She's basically in charge of the pep squad here," Frank teases. "When I started, I gained five pounds from all of the bonding lunches Nia organized."

"Did you complain?" Nia demands.

"I did not. And I do not regret a moment of it, kid. Someone will come unload the truck, doc. Thanks for bringing all your gear."

Frank tips his ball cap at Alex and goes back to the main group by the door.

"My mom's designs too." Alex mumbles. One accidental touch and she's blubbering out self-deprecation to near-strangers.

"Right," Nia chuckles. "The infamous Doctors Danvers. So is your kid going to be a world-renowned psych researcher does the third generation end up a bunch of losers who like, found the next Google?"

"Um, not sure. I have to meet them first."

"Shut the front door!" Nia exclaims. Her smile just went up about fifty thousand watts. "I was just joking but you're actually preggers."

"How ca-"

Alex glances at Nia's nametag. In the lower right is an omega symbol with an F beside it. Curiously, it even has the sub-status there even though that's unnecessary in the case of female omegas given the extremely low variation rate. Alex has never heard of subtypes being used outside of therapy or a doctor's office. Using them at work is legal--probably--but it's also downright bizarre. As an omega, Nia can not only smell the tiny changes in Alex's scent indicating she's pregnant, she can probably tell Alex what soap Maggie uses, along with her age, ethnicity, and most recent rut.

"They categorize us by status?" Alex asks. "How 1890s."

Nia sighs.

"Well, it's actually not so bad. There was a dude in maintenance who I thought was taking notes on my heat cycle. I mentioned something and the next thing I know there was this absolute unit of a woman from HR sort of shadowing me. Eating lunch, printing stuff to the copier we use, so on. Being obvious about it to, making sure he knew she had her eye on him. So they do use the information for the right reasons."

Any competent HR department could handle all that. Nia must realize that too.

"The creature. The creature can sense human genera and reacts to them."

Nia makes finger guns.

"Bingo. Got a nose like a bloodhound, that one. Even with the enclosure being vacuum-sealed and using completely different air, the creature catches it somehow."

=====

She nods towards the ruined hard drive, which has been ground and punctured and shaved to produce the bearings.

"I'm afraid I never made a backup."

"Fuck," Lex snarls.

She got Lex to curse in front of his men. Victory enough for one lifetime.

"Take her."

She lets the goons cuff her.

"Oh, and I injected myself with an agent that reacts violently with truth serum drugs. Violently and fatally."

"Which ones?" Lex demands.

"All of them. And I put an implant in my teeth with 2 grams of high explosive. So electrocuting me is out. We'll have to make a deal the old-fashioned way, brother."

Lex's pained bellowing is so sweet. ===== Lena's gurney is tilted back vertical and she's wheeled down a long hallway. A pair of armored doors buzz open.

It's a goddamned zoo enclosure. Gorilla enclosure, from the look of it. It reeks of alpha. Almost human. Almost sweet, even. A scent she wouldn't mind nuzzling into at night if she didn't know it was a beast's. Lex himself unclips her and tilts the gurney forwards, spilling her onto wood chips.

"Quite the specimen, I hear. She's used up three omegas so far," he sighs. "Maybe you'll fare better. Maybe you'll live long enough to get a pup in you. When you are ready to talk, press the red button."

Classic good old boy alpha thinking. Like many a single omega, Lena has guiltily indulged in rut non-con fantasies. So that's not quite the threat he thinks it is. Loss of control over the body and second-guessing whether it was consent or just surrender to the heat is Female Omega 101. She could maybe power through that. Close her eyes. Remember boarding school. Andrea and her flashing blue eyes and her exquisitely shaped cock -- ladylike, somehow -- long enough to slam the breath from Lena's lungs and her long hands closed over Lena's neck. Her affected machismo. Taking Lena like she was a mafia boss and Lena was some worthless whore from the back streets. Fulfilling that and any other roleplay Lena wanted.

This is a goddamned gorilla though. That's beyond the realm of kink.

She's in a puddle of light but the rest of the enclosure is dark. Too dark to see anything past her ankles.

That's when she hears it. Huffing. Panting. Too loud and to big a noise to be human lungs. Squelching. Grunting. Moaning.

A face spills out of the dark into the light. Matted blonde curls. Blue eyes glazed over with orgasm, drugs, or maybe in shock. The grunting increases in pace.

"So good, so good..." the blonde mumbles, throwing her head back and forth.

"Hi, Lena."

"Eve Tessmacher? Fuck. I thought you got fired."

=====

"Hey, Nia?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you go to my desk..." Alex begins before shame clamps her jaw shut. She's going to have to say it. Say it to a friend who is her employee and she wonders if the fancy toilet can be reprogrammed to drown her.

"Go to your desk and?" Nia prompts.

"Target bag. Sweatshirt and pants," she huffs.

"Copy that."

Alex catches her breath, then spanks the toilet paper roll over and over. She starts cleaning up. Nia's a good kid. In both the psychological and physical sense had painful days herself--phantom ruts colliding with her desired heat cycle--and she and Alex worked out a system. With it, Alex could sneak her pot chocolate from the cooler in Nia's car, sign it in on her behalf at security, hit the vending machine, and meet her in the breakroom like it's nothing.

Their friendship started out the way a thousand five-minute friendships do in bars. Nia asked for an opinion and Alex assured her she looked cute and that her blind date would love it. The guy turned out to be a moron but the resulting debrief cemented their dynamic.

She's not sure how someone can go from acquaintance to best friend, to kid sister in less than a month. She only knows Nia did.

=====

The member lot is small and the gold member lot is smaller still. Perhaps thirty stalls and mostly full.

Maybe when you spend this much on VIP access to a sex club, it makes sense to spend every weeknight there. Eliza didn't volunteer a number for the membership she bought Alex and Maggie but both she and Alex assumed that down payment on a house would be Eliza and Jeremiah's contribution. She probably went with this out of fond memories of her own years studying at UC National City. If she and Jeremiah ever shared an omega playmate, it would've been somewhere like here. Somewhere deniable.

"Look, babe," Julia whispers, pointing at the engravings in the concrete of the marked stall that Maggie is gradually working their Prius into, sliding it between a Range Rover and a Suburban.

"AD and MS, sponsored by EG?" Alex mumbles.

"Founder sponsored," Julia adds, pointing out something in smaller print and filling the right half of Maggie's vision with creamy cleavage and her lungs with candy-sweet scent of a willing omega.

"I fucking knew it," Maggie chuckles. "Your mom was one of the people that started this place."

"No!" Alex squawks. "Absolutely fucking no!"

"You park," Julia chuckles. "I'll distract her from herself."

[kulnutrition]

The first step...

As an aspiring Dietitian, learning about how foods can help manage chronic illnesses, the w h o l e reason I was drawn to a career in Nutrition... I was being a hypocrite. Like a doctor who doesn’t follow prescription orders, or a nurse who doesn’t practice what they preach. How could I be a well intentioned Dietitian while I was struggling with my own eating habits?  

I started dieting when I hit puberty. I remember eating less than 1200 calories a day, literally living on romaine lettuce, one slice of deli turkey, and oil free balsamic dressing. I thought I found the key, I liked the way the dressing tasted, and the salad was practically no calories. Little did I know that it would start my path down the bumpy yellow brick road that would drag me down the path for the next decade as I at the mercy of diet-culture. 

Now in my mid-twenties...and at my highest weight. Embarking on my path to grad school. Nutrition and Dietetics was the missing puzzle piece I didn’t know I needed. I loved medicine, but it didn’t fit me perfectly. Nutrition gave me hope that I may find that key...that mysterious thing that kept me from ever losing weight. That would I would be able to answer my own questions. Yet...I still dieted. I started intermittent fasting again, determined to lose the pounds before I start grad school. There can’t be a f a t dietitian. It’s like having a fat gym coach. Who is going to take my advice? 

I was going 23 hours or more without food, silently willing my body to shed the excess pounds. Last time I looked I was 185 I was always 185. And now I am 220 and I can’t even get close to the 190s. What happened? What changed? Is is because now I am officially 25 and all of a sudden I can’t lose weight? 

After a month of omad I was starving. I had never had issues with fasting, it was easy, but I was finding I was so h u n g r y. Coffee usually kicked hunger away for a while, but I remember taking a big gulp and grimace of my black coffee. And my stomach was growling in disapproval. As if saying I am hungry! Why aren’t you listening? 

So I stopped fasting, something was wrong. I was never so starving that coffee and water didn’t tamper it down. I was so hungry I was getting nauseous. Why wasn’t fasting working like it had for years? Like the little nutritionist inside me whispering in the wind, I needed to eat. But food was the enemy right? 

I took a deep breath. I was loving learning about nutrition, about how to eat to be healthy, yet why am I falling into these traps of diet culture? I read the peer reviewed studies on intermittent fasting, why wasn’t it working? Did I damage my metabolism? My body literally is refusing to lose weight, yet I am 40 pounds heavier than I have ever been in my life. Losing weight seems like a never ending battle, before I only needed to lose 20 pounds, now it’s more than tripled. If I couldn’t do it then...what is different now?

Intuitive eating....as if I knew the answer all along. Could I really just trust my body? Could I not watch every gram of food, and lose weight? Is it possible? Only time will tell, but I feel like this is the first step towards finally not worrying about weight and food. And my hope it is the first step towards the last “diet” I ever have to learn. 

[ainawgsd]

The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos ssp.) is a large population of the brown bear inhabiting North America. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first described it as grisley, which could be interpreted as either "grizzly" (i.e., "grizzled"—that is, with golden and grey tips of the hair) or "grisly" ("fear-inspiring", now usually "gruesome"). The modern spelling supposes the former meaning; even so, naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 as U. horribilis, not for its hair, but for its character.

Brown bears originated in Eurasia and traveled to North America approximately 50,000 years ago, spreading into the contiguous United States about 13,000 years ago. In the 19th century, the grizzly was classified as 86 distinct species. However, by 1928 only seven grizzlies remained and by 1953 only one species remained globally. However, modern genetic testing reveals the grizzly to be a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos). Rausch found that North America has but one species of grizzly. Coastal grizzlies, often referred to by the popular but geographically redundant synonym of "brown bear" or "Alaskan brown bear" are larger and darker than inland grizzlies, which is why they, too, were considered a different species from grizzlies. Kodiak grizzly bears were also at one time considered distinct. Therefore, at one time there were five different "species" of brown bear, including three in North America.

Although variable in color from blond to nearly black, grizzly bear fur is typically brown with darker legs and commonly white or blond tipped fur on the flank and back. A pronounced hump appears on their shoulders; the hump is a good way to distinguish a grizzly bear from a black bear, as black bears do not have this hump. Aside from the distinguishing hump a grizzly bear can be identified by a "dished in" profile of their face with short, rounded ears, whereas a black bear has a straight face profile and longer ears. A grizzly bear can also be identified by its rump, which is lower than its shoulders, while a black bear's rump is higher. A grizzly bear's front claws measure about 2–4 inches in length and a black bear's measure about 1–2 inches in length.

Most adult female grizzlies weigh 290–400 lbs, while adult males weigh on average 400–790 lbs. Average total length is 6.50 f), with an average shoulder height of 3.35 ft. Newborn bears may weigh less than 500 grams (1.1 lb). One study found that the average weight for an inland male grizzly was around 600 lbs and the average weight for a coastal male was around 900 lbs. For a female, these average weights would be 300 lbs inland and 500 lbs coastal, respectively. On the other hand, an occasional huge male grizzly has been recorded which greatly exceeds ordinary size, with weights reported up to 1,500 lbs. A large coastal male of this size may stand up to 9.8 ft tall on its hind legs and be up to 4.9 ft at the shoulder.

In preparation for winter, bears can gain approximately 400 lbs, during a period of hyperphagia, before going into hibernation. Grizzly bears hibernate for 5–7 months each year except where the climate is warm, as the California grizzly [extinct] did not hibernate. During this time, female grizzly bears give birth to their offspring, who then consume milk from their mother and gain strength for the remainder of the hibernation period. To prepare for hibernation, grizzlies must prepare a den, and consume an immense amount of food as they do not eat during hibernation. Grizzly bears do not defecate or urinate throughout the entire hibernation period. The male grizzly bear's hibernation ends in early to mid-March, while females emerge in April or early May. 

In North America, grizzly bears previously ranged from Alaska down to Mexico and as far east as the western shores of Hudson Bay; the species is now found in Alaska, south through much of western Canada, and into portions of the northwestern United States (including Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming), extending as far south as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It is most commonly found in Canada.  

 There are currently about 55,000 wild grizzly bears total located throughout North America, most of which reside in Alaska. Only about 1,500 grizzlies are left in the lower 48 states of the US. Of these, about 800 live in Montana. About 600 more live in Wyoming, in the Yellowstone-Teton area. There are an estimated 70–100 grizzly bears living in northern and eastern Idaho. Its original range included much of the Great Plains and the southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas. Combining Canada and the United States, grizzly bears inhabit approximately half the area of their historical range.

The average lifespan for a male is estimated at 22 years, with that of a female being slightly longer at 26. Females live longer than males due to their less dangerous life; they do not engage in seasonal breeding fights as males do. The oldest wild inland grizzly was 34 years old in Alaska; the oldest coastal bear was 39, but most grizzlies die in their first few years of life from predation or hunting. Captive grizzlies have lived as long as 44 years.

Except for females with cubs, grizzlies are normally solitary, active animals, but in coastal areas, grizzlies gather around streams, lakes, rivers, and ponds during the salmon spawn. Every other year, females produce one to four young (usually two) that are small and weigh only about 450 grams (1 lb) at birth. Cubs are always born in the mother's winter den while she is in hibernation. Female grizzlies are fiercely protective of their cubs, being able to fend off predators as large as male bears bigger than they are in defence of the cubs. Cubs feed entirely on their mother's milk until summer comes, after which they still drink milk but begin to eat solid foods. The mother cares for the cubs for up to two years, during which the mother will not mate.

Grizzlies are considered more aggressive compared to black bears when defending themselves and their offspring. Grizzly bears are especially dangerous because of the force of their bite, which has been measured at over 8 megapascals (1160 psi). It has been estimated that a bite from a grizzly could even crush a bowling ball. Unlike the smaller black bears, adult grizzlies do not climb trees well and respond to danger by standing their ground and warding off their attackers. Grizzly bears normally avoid contact with people. In spite of their obvious physical advantage they rarely actively hunt humans. Most grizzly bear attacks result from a bear that has been surprised at very close range, especially if it has a supply of food to protect, or female grizzlies protecting their offspring. Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, and are responsible for 70% of humans killed by grizzlies. Exacerbating this is the fact that intensive human use of grizzly habitat coincides with the seasonal movement of grizzly bears.

[harddrivedestruction-blog]

Elaborate In The Future For Electronics Recycling?

Electronics lets recycle in the U. Ersus. is growing as the particular sector consolidates and develops. The ongoing future of electronics recycling instructions a minimum of in the Circumstance. S i9000., and perhaps globally instructions will be powered by electronics technology, precious metals, and even industry structure, particularly. Despite the fact that there are other things that could influence the industry - like purchaser electronics collections, legislation and even regulations and export concerns - I believe that these three or more factors can have a more profound impact on the prospect of electronics trying to recycle. The most recent data upon the field - coming from a new study conducted by simply the International Records Corporation (IDC) and provided by means of the Institute of Small bit Recycling Industries (ISRI) instructions found that the sector (in 2010) handled around 3 or more. Hard drive destruction 5 million loads of electronics with income of $5 billion and immediately applied 30, 500 people - and that will this has been rising with about 20% annually for the past decade. Nonetheless can this growth go on? Consumer electronics Technology Exclusive computer devices has took over quantities managed by the particular electronics recycling industry. Typically the IDC study noted of which over 60% by means of pounds of industry input volumes of prints was "computer equipment" (including Computers and monitors). Nevertheless recent reports by IDC and Gartner show that will shipments of desktop together with notebook computer computers have dropped by more than 10% and the shipments of smartphones in addition to tablets now every single exceed that of PCs. About just one billion smart phones will be sent in 2013 - as well as for the first time go over the amounts of conventional cell phones. And shipments of ultra-light notebook computers plus laptop-tablet hybrids happen to be increasing rapidly. So, we live entering the "Post-PC Era". Inside add-on, CRT Televisions plus monitors have been a considerable portion of typically the suggestions volumes (by weight) inside the recycling stream rapid around 75% of this "consumer electronics" stream. Plus the demise on the CRT means that fewer CRT TVs and monitors will probably be entering the recycling steady stream - replaced by smaller/lighter flat screens. So, what do these technology trends signify to the electronics these recycling sector? Do these innovations throughout technology, which prospect to sized reduction, result in a "smaller materials footprint" and less full volume level (by weight)? Considering mobile devices (e. gary., clever phones, tablets) currently symbolize larger amounts than Computers - plus probably convert over faster rapid they will will probably rule the future volumes entering the recycling stream. And they usually are not only much smaller, nonetheless generally cost less as compared to Computer systems. And, traditional laptops are being replaced by simply ultra-books as well while tablets - so that typically the laptop equivalent is significantly small and weighs fewer. Consequently, even with continually growing levels of electronics, the volume entering the lets recycle stream may begin lowering. Standard desktop computer cpus weigh 15 lbs. Regular laptop computers weigh 5-7 lbs. But the brand-new "ultra-books" weigh 3-4 lbs .. So, if "computers" (including monitors) have comprised about 60% of the total industry input volume simply by weight and TVs have composed a large piece of the volume regarding "consumer electronics" (about 15% of the industry input volume) - then way up to 75% of typically the input volume might be subject to the weight reduction of new solutions - perhaps around a 50% decrease. In addition to, similar technology change together with size reduction can be occurring consist of markets -- e. grams., telecoms, commercial, medical, and so forth

Business Name: San Diego E-Waste.

Business Address:

1-            9364 Jamacha Rd. Bldg F. Spring Valley Ca 91977

2-            2131 Las Palmas Dr. Ste. F Carlsbad Ca 92011

Business Email: sdewaste@gmail.com

Business Phone Number: 619-341-1720

Business Category: Electronics recycling

Business Website:  sdewaste.org

Opening Hours:  Open Monday - Friday, 8-4

[techprolonged]

Huawei launched two models of its camera centric P-series this year – Huawei P30 and P30 Pro. However along with these two, the Chinese smartphone maker also launched a cheaper model in the line-up, Huawei P30 Lite in Pakistan and other regions except China.

Like usually Huawei launches a smartphone in China and then launches the same phone globally with a different name. Sometimes the same phone is placed in a certain line-up or series to fill the pricing gap. The latter is what we can assume as a situation with Huawei P30 lite replacing the China specific Nova 4e in global markets.

Nevertheless the identical design and hardware, the P30 Lite features some extra network bands than Nova 4e, to support in global markets. But launching the phone in P-series to reach more consumers with low budget, might be an ideal decision for the company to have more sales.

Huawei launched its camera power house – Huawei P30 Pro for PKR 1,75,000 in Pakistan. The company also launched the standard model of P30 for PKR 1,25,000. These are exactly around the European price tag and really the higher ones – thanks to Pakistani Rupee value.

So with those higher-priced flagship models, Huawei P30 Lite becomes really favorite among the lower-budget customers. The P30 Lite costs only PKR 48,000 but also lacks almost everything that the flagship counterparts have. It’s just another mid-range smartphone that you would see a lot in this price range. The question is, is P30 Lite worth the price of it and is it really competitive among its price range? We will evaluate that right in this review, so continue reading.

We did a separate unboxing session with Huawei P30 Lite earlier with our first impressions. You can check that out as well.

Huawei P30 Lite Unboxing/First Impressions [Urdu]

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Our first impressions were pretty fine with Huawei P30 Lite. However P30 Lite felt premium like any previous P-series phones but as we have recently with Nova series phones. They are as good as P-series. Means to say that the build quality and design of P30 lite is extremely similar to those, recently introduced with Nova 3 series.

Here is the full list of items you will get in the Huawei P30 Lite retail box.

Huawei P30 Lite – The device itself of course.

Travel Charger: 5V/2A + 9V/2A Quick Charge

USB Type-C connectivity cable

Stereo Earphones

SIM tray eject tool

Quick Start Guide

Silicon back cover

Screen protective film (factory-applied)

Let’s have quick look at the specifications and features of the Huawei P30 Lite.

Quick Features and Specifications

Huawei P30 Lite SoC Chip: Kirin 710 CPU: 4x Cortex-A73 2.2GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 1.7GHz GPU: Mali G51 MP4 Memory 4GB RAM + 125GB Storage microSD card dedicated slot (up to 512GB) OS / Software Android 9 Oreo / EMUI 9.0 Display 6.15-inch IPS LCD 2312×1080 FHD+ resolution, 19.3:9, Pixel density: 415 ppi Screen-to-body ratio: ~84% Rear Camera 24MP Main PDAF Sensor, f/1.8 lens aperture 8MP Ultra wide-angle 2MP depth sensor 720p/1080p video recording at 30fps Front Camera 32MP sensor, f/2.0 lens aperture Battery 3340 mAh 5V/2A (10-watt) 9V/2A (18-watt) fast charging Size/Weight 152.9 x 72.7 x 7.4 mm / 159 grams Sensors Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient light, E-Compass, Gyroscope Connectivity WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Dual Band: 2.4GHz / 5GHz WiFi Tethering, Hotspot Bluetooth: 4.2, USB 2.0, Type-C GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BeiDou Color Options Peacock Blue, Midnight Black

Build and Design

Huawei P30 lite has a unibody design with a 3D curved glass on the back. The design follows the last year’s P20 Pro which was later adapted by some other brands too including Honor. In fact Huawei shipped its mid-range Nova 3 series and Y9 2019 in the similar design. Now that the Chinese phone maker has not moved on to another unique design for its P30 flagship phones, it keeps it alike on the P30 Lite as well.

The other blue variant, which is called Peacock Blue has some eye-catchy gradient color. But the black variant is totally plain and decent.

Thanks to the not-so-big size of the phone, that the handling is easy as well as one-handed use is also quite possible.

You can see the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor along with the triple-camera setup arrayed vertically on the upper-left corner.

Components and Ports

Huawei P30 Lite sports a USB Type-C port along with the loud speaker and 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom. There is also a mouthpiece (primary mic). The power button is on the right side of the phone along side the volume rocker.

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There is a SIM slot on the top of the phone, which is a hybrid slot. It can serve for one SIM and one microSD card or two SIM cards at once. You cannot use two SIM cards and a memory card simultaneously though.

Front and Display

Huawei P30 lite features a U-shaped dewdrop notch on the front that houses the front-facing camera. Bezels around the screen are now similar to most bezel-less designs we have seen. They are all thin around the left, right and top, whereas the bottom chin takes some space due to the components and ports.

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Huawei P30 Lite features a 6.15-inch screen with aspect ratio of 19.3:9. It comes with full HD+ display resolution of 2312 x 1080 pixels serves with the pixel density of around 415 ppi. According to Huawei the it’s a 90% screen-to-body ratio which does not include the the frame outside the glass. But when we include the full front profile to calculate the display area ratio, it comes out as around 84.2%.

The phone comes with an LTPS IPS LCD panel and its outdoor visibility is quite impressive. Full HD resolution is also something attractive but it’s always prone to consume more battery. So you might want to consider your preference here – whether you want long runner or a sharp and crisp display.

During our trial, the display wasn’t quite aggressive with battery drain. So you shouldn’t be worry about that either.

Software and User Interface

Huawei P30 lite runs Android 9.0 Pie operating system out-of-the-box. On top of it, the phone layers with the proprietary EMUI 9. Huawei has changed a lot in the new version, specially the placement of some built-in apps and features within settings.

The native camera app once again gets some feature shifts. The aperture mode is no more available on the main viewfinder slides but portrait mode is. But you can access the aperture mode from “More” screen. Just like that there are some unneeded changes I believe.

Apart from those little changes, the basic interface and user experience remains the same as we have seen previously in EMUI 8.2. The home screen still comes with two modes – standard and drawer mode. Notification panel remains intact with white theme.

Lock, Unlock and Home Screen

The lock screen keeps its Magazine style by default as always. You can change the categories to load wallpapers from, in this specific style. Just in case if you didn’t know, this style loads a new wallpaper every time you press power button to wake up the phone. Some quick options are also present on the lock screen.

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The home screen can be configured as always to have different layout of icons. Folders and context menu is there that you can initiate by tap and holding an icon – you can still drag the icon that way by ignoring the menu and continue with dragging.

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Even though the EMUI 9 has some features/options shift from here and there, the home screen settings are still not in one place. The home screen configuration options still don’t offer to change the style – standard or drawer mode.

App Drawer

Default home screen style is just old without the app drawer but you can turn it on by going through Phone settings > Home screen & wallpaper > Home screen style > Drawer.

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Huawei should really move this option to the home screen settings which are available right from the home screen.

Software based Notch Handler

The software based top-bezel illusion that camouflage the notch as it was never there, continues with P30 lite. Though the notches made it possible for displays to expand further around to edges, there are people who don’t like those cut-outs. This software based bezel is really for them as it aligns with the notch’s size by darkening the top status bar.

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Then it turns out to be much similar in size of the bottom physical chin. However the top bar still keeps the information intact, so it doesn’t loose the space either. All those icons and notifications appear along side the front-camera.

Variety of Navigation Styles

In addition to common three-key navigation that you have seen in above screenshots – recent apps, home, and back keys, P30 lite also has a few more navigation options. Single-key navigation, and navigation dock.

[navigation styles screens]

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Navigation Dock. When enabled, a dock is appeared floating on the screen which you can simply tap, tap & hold, hold & stretch and drag to respectively navigate to back, home, recent tasks view or move the dock itself.

Security & Privacy

Fingerprint and Face Unlock are the two basic security features in Huawei P30 Lite. There is indeed no objection over fingerprint scanner as it’s as fast as always Huawei has made it. Face Unlock, on the other hand, only uses the front camera. Hence it’s not that fast and secure as fingerprint sensor will be.

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PrivateSpace

In addition to various security and privacy features like App Lock, user profiles, Huawei has added a new PrivateSpace which I guess is more useful than user profiles. Unlike user profiles you don’t need to choose the user first to switch to. Instead, you can just turn it on with your main profile and set a different PIN code to unlock into this space right from your own main profile’s lock screen. In fact you can set a different finger to go into this space without any other input on the lock screen.

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It’s a perfect option to apply on a case when you need to give out your phone temporarily to anyone for a while, you can put your finger (that you have set for PrivateSpace) on the scanner and it will be unlocked into that space. You can even share that PIN code with them as it’s totally a separate space and won’t show anything from your main profile.

Phone Manager

The phone manager is still there and it’s an important part of Huawei smartphones, I appreciate that as most of the things it would handle from management of memory to the privacy features. Phone manager app include everything from permissions, mobile data control, memory cleaner and management, Avast virus scanner is built-in, app locker and then a shortcut to battery options.

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Smart Screen Resolution

Huawei P30 lite has a native resolution of 2312 x 1080 pixels but you can set the resolution down to 1734 x 810 pixels which will consume low power. However, by default, the Smart resolution option is turned on which will automatically adjust the screen resolution when needed to conserve the battery power.

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App Assistant (formerly Game Suite)

Previously Huawei has shipped its phones with a built-in Game Suite app. It would allow users to add certain games in a list that will provide the users with uninterrupted gaming experience. In addition the system will optimize the settings for better performance in selected games. This may also consume more power and you may experience heat up. But the Game Suite was replaced by the “App Assistant” in the latest EMUI 9.

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I didn’t find any significant difference but it was really hard finding the App Assistant in the phone. Unlike the Game Suite that was right among the apps, the App Assistant is hidden into settings. You need to go through Settings > Apps > AppAssistant.

System Performance

As we have already noted above, the Huawei P30 lite features Kirin 710. It is company’s latest mid-range system-on-chip which was released last year with Nova 3i. Sooner after that, the chip was also featured on Huawei’s mid-range Y9 2019.

Nevertheless the Kirin 710 is a good processor and competed really well with Snapdragon 660 and Helio P60 at the time of launch. But now that we have seen upgraded versions from both Qualcomm and MediaTek, I believe Huawei could have brought some upgraded processor too with P30 Lite.

PUBG Mobile should be enough to tell about the gaming performance; right? Well, it automatically configured on the second level of graphics “balanced” and frame rate at “medium”. This default configuration gave me the wonderfully lagless experience. You can also go further 1-level up in graphics to have some doomed experience.

So it’s not gonna take any bump in performance compared to previous devices with Kirin 710. In fact, the P30 lite’s benchmark scores were far less than Nova 3i and Huawei Y9 2019 carrying the identical processor. But the culprit is the default settings which prefer to facilitate with better power management. The system allows you to turn on “Performance Mode” in battery settings. That brings back the true performance of the phone which is nearly identical to what we have experienced with Nova 3i and Y9 2019.

Benchmark Scores with Performance Mode (ENABLED):

AnTuTu v7.2: 140331

Geekbench v4:

Single-core: 1565

Multi-core: 5456

3D Mark – Sling Shot Extreme

Open GL ES 3.1: 986

Vulkan: 1369

Benchmark Scores with Performance Mode (DISABLED):

AnTuTu v7.2: 118234

Geekbench v4:

Single-core: 1535

Multi-core: 5173

3D Mark – Sling Shot Extreme

Open GL ES 3.1: 936

Vulkan: N/A

Battery Performance

Battery wise, the Kirin 710 has helped the P30 lite just how it did with Nova 3i. The 3340mAh battery in Huawei P30 lite is good for all kind tasks for the whole day.

Can’t compare with Y9’s large 4000 mAh battery, but still P30 Lite didn’t let me down with its power management. With all day to day tasks including phone calls, text, social interaction, streaming video and music, etc, it should be fine for P30 lite to stay up until you may need to put it on charge when you go to sleep.

Like Nova 3i, excessive camera usage may take more battery in P30 lite. Graphically heavy gaming will take most of the battery juice as well as GPS navigation. With that in mind, you may need to charge the phone mid-day.

Camera – Photos and Videos

Huawei P30 lite features triple camera setup on the back. The main 24MP sensor is supported by a large f/1.8 aperture lens. Along side an 8MP camera sports ultra wide-angle lens. A third 2MP depth sensor is hosted for bokeh effect in portrait and aperture mode.

The camera user interface follows most of the features as we already know, however it has also shifted some from one place to another. AR Lens is also present with 3D QMoji for front camera and other visual effects for both front and rear cameras. Unlike Nova 3i, the AR backgrounds and 3D objects are not available in P30 lite.

The camera features a pro-mode like always, but a so-called “Night” mode is also present that takes shots in dark environment with longer exposures and lower-ISO sensitivity. Unlike in pro-mode, the long exposure in night mode works with AI powered stability that can work impressively hand-held. It takes a 3 sec exposure at lowest possible ISO sensitivity according to the scene. You can choose your own exposure time and ISO as well in this mode, but the longer you go, the more blurry photos you may get.

Huawei P30 lite features company’s AI algorithm can “recognize 22 categories” of scenes and provides optimized settings instantly. The “AI” option is provided right above the live viewfinder that you can turn on/off.

Camera Performance

The Huawei P30 lite camera worked nicely to capture pleasing photos in most of the environments. The camera reproduces true colors but a bit vibrant as well. Image detail is also fine along with right amount of sharpness in bright light or outdoor. The camera also managed to provide better dynamic range in most overly back-lit situations.

In addition to enhancing sharpness, producing better colors and image detail, the noise handling was also impressive by P30 lite.

When shooting in dark and low-light situations, P30 lite impressed with capturing nice image detail. The noise handling was also controlled well. Sometime the over exposed light glows were the problem. But when the the special night mode is in action, you are gonna witness really a pleasant night-time photograph with vibrant but accurate colors.

As far as portrait/aperture mode is concerned, image detail mostly remains fine but sometimes it gets softer on subject. Taking portrait shots in bright light is easy for the phone, but like most smartphones even including the high-end ones, it struggles to take usable portrait shots in low-light.

The ultra wide-angle camera helps in scenarios where you need to cover more area in your frame. But currently like any other smartphone with ultra wide angle-lens, P30 lite also comes with a fixed-focus camera. The images look good when viewing in full but when you look look at it 1:1 scale, you will notice that the detail is not as fine as you would have with the primary camera.

The 32MP front camera is just new entrant in mid-range segment. The P30 lite makes use of it very well. This large resolution selfie shots come very sharp out of the camera. The image detail impressive in bright light. However the one in low-light is also not that bad.

Just keep an eye on our portal or our social pages to get notified as soon as we publish a dedicated camera review for Huawei P30 lite. Here you can see some sample shots anyway.

Sample Photos

[slickr-flickr search=”sets” set=”72157678225652217″]

Video Recording

The Huawei P30 lite supports up to 1080p video recording that too 30fps and 60fps. Though the electronic image stabilization (EIS) is only supported with 30fps recording. The phone does not support 4K video recording but indeed has a Slow-mo support with 120fps or 480fps.

We’ll inform you as soon as the dedicated camera review is up for Huawei P30 lite. For that, you have subscribe to our portal and social channels.

Conclusion

Huawei P30 lite comes at right price range with all its features but we still believe that the phone must feature an upgraded processor. However Kirin 710 is still comparable with MediaTek’s Helio P70 in Vivo V15 and OPPO F11 Pro. The default settings of P30 lite focus on power management which is indeed a good thing. But in this default mode the performance of the phone will be much restricted. That’s why with default settings the benchmark tools performed far less than others. However, turning on the performance mode, brings back the phone to perform equally with others.

USB Type-C has finally been added to mid-range segment with P30 lite, which is a welcome thing. Fast charging on the other hand is also a good thing on P30 lite.

But with the price tag of PKR 48,000/- P30 lite is gonna have tough time competing Vivo V15 and OPPO F11 Pro. However it’s worth mentioning that Vivo’s V15 and OPPO’s F11 Pro cost a couple of more thousands and come with some appealing features such as pop-up selfie camera and truly bezel-less screen.

P30 lite can still be considered on the positive side as the phone comes with the glass build and also supports USB Type-C. It’s rather more compact. On the other hand, the Vivo and OPPO’s counterparts are built with plastic. So it’s much easier for you to decide – what stands better according to your preference.

Huawei P30 lite in Gallery

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Huawei P30 Lite Full Review – Upper Mid-Range or Something Premium? Huawei launched two models of its camera centric P-series this year – Huawei P30 and P30 Pro.

[fanfictionlive]

The Real Cheetah of the Savannah

"Bring me my Cheetos!" Chester called from a top his orange velvet settee. It had been a long day. He'd just returned from a very exhausting private fitting on Rodeo Drive. But on the bright side, Donatella's design for his boundary-breaking pants-less pant suit was nearly complete. The paparazzi would have a field day when they saw it. Who knows, maybe they'd even start calling the catwalk, the Cheetah walk. And just in time for Milan! Talk about goals.

Just as he was imagining all of the press his latest selfie on the 'gram would get, Beverly arrived with his bag of Puffs. Literally still in the bag. Such poor presentation. Chester couldn't believe her audacity.

"Beverly, since when did we stop serving Puffs on a silver platter? Respect the #snack, next time. K thanks."

"My apologies, Chester."

"You may go now. Leave me to munch in peace."

And with that, Beverly left. He was alone F-I-N-A-L-L-Y.

Without a moment of hesitation, Chester pulled out his phone. He just had to call the other Cheetahs. He was in the possession of some pipin' hot tea and was literally dying to spill it. His bestie picked up on the first ring.

"Whaddup Ches."

"So today I was at Donatella's, you know for my pant-less pantsuit and all of sudden she like starts opening up. Saying how I've inspired her new line and given her work purpose again yaddy yaddy yaddah. And then she was like I want to make you a star. Let's record an album together. Every Real Cheetah has to drop an album."

"Omg, and with a voice like yours an album is only natural!"

Chester smiled and ate a Puff. His bestie always knew just what to say. Shamelessly, he agreed, "I know, right? Like I've been wanting to do this for so long. I'm not just passionate about snacks. I want to show people the real me and I think music is the way to do that."

"Omg! What are going to call your first single?"

"Hmm, probably Flamin' Hot or Welcome to Cheetah Town. Something subtle but still fire."

"I'm into it, Ches!"

"There's more."

"I'm getting my fur done."

"NO WAY?"

"Yes way. It's something I've been wanting for a long time. And the album is like a perfect excuse."

"I'm coming over and then we're going out to celebrate! Flavor Shots on me all night!"

"Purrrrfect."

​

And with that, Chester hung up and stretched out dramatically. He'd get in a little Cheetah nap before his bestie arrived.

"BEVERLY!" He yelled as his eyes were beginning to close, "We're going to need more Cheetos!"

​

submitted by /u/thatwhittygirl8 [link] [comments] from FanFiction: Where Magical Ponies battle Imperial Titans https://ift.tt/2SNLYRk

[veryphilosopheranchor]

Top 6 Best Light Meters For Photography in 2022

There is something else to photography besides getting a camera and snapping a photograph. Photographers should think about lighting, separating, and object position before they can even ponder taking a photo. Photographic artists must also have the right equipment to catch the ideal picture. This incorporates a light estimating gadget known as a light meter. Light meters are important to photography; anybody associated with photography should know what they are and their significance in the field.

What is a light meter?

Basically, a light meter is a gadget that actions light. There are two various types of light meters-incident and reflection. An incident light meter estimates all the light falling onto a subject. Incident light meters assist a camera with zeroing in regarding a matter paying little heed to how light or dull the encompassing background is. Reflective light meters do the inverse they measure the light reflected by or bobbing off a subject.

Role light meters play in photography

Light meters are very valuable tools in photography. Basically, light meters assist picture takers with catching the ideal picture tone. These light estimating devices assist photographic artists with knowing whether a piece of a picture is overexposed or underexposed. There are explicit kinds of photography where light meters can be especially valuable, including landscape and portrait photography. So, here are some best light meters for photography for a perfect snapshot.

Let’s talk about each in-depth.

1) Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478DR-U Light Meter With Exclusive USA Radio Frequency

My top pick for the best photography light meter of 2021 has to be the Sekonic LiteMaster Pro. Thanks to the large 2.7-inch touchscreen you have plenty of control over the unit. At ISO 100, this unit can operate between -2 to 22.9 EV range and it also pairs with video cameras thanks to the Cine and HD Cine modes. These allow shutter angles of 1 to 358 degrees as well as a frame rate of up to 1000 fps.

Built into the unit is a radio antenna and module that allows both flash control as well as light metering up to 30 meters away. And you can buy with confidence thanks to the 3-year warranty included with each purchase.

2) Dr.Meter 1330B-V Digital Illuminance/Light Meter, 0–200,000 Lux Luxmeter

For budget-minded shoppers, the Dr. Meter is hard to beat. At only $40.99 it provides excellent functionality at only 1/10th the cost of high-end designs. Four range settings; 0–200, 2,000, 20,000, and 200,000 allow you to customize the sensitivity and accuracy of your readout.

Depending on the sensitivity chosen, you have ±3% accuracy from 0–20,000 lux and ±5% once you are over 20,000 Lux of intensity. Each unit also includes a 1-year warranty.

3) Sekonic L-308S Flashmate Digital Incident, Reflected & Flash Light Meter

Weighing in at a svelte 96 grams and using a single AA battery, this is one of the lightest professional light meters available. And certainly the smallest Sekonic Light Meter available!

Light is sampled on a non-retractable lumisphere that, when open, measures reflected light, and when closed, samples incident (ambient) lighting. A flat top llumidisk also allows you to measure incident lighting on flat surfaces. Exposure readings are displayed in full, half, or 1/3rd stop increments and the unit is accurate to within 0.1 EV.

The ISO range is from 3 to 8,000 and it can read an f/stop range of f/0.7-f/90, as well as shutter speeds of 1/8000ths-60 seconds. At ISO 100, this unit can operate between 0 to 19.9 EV range. The only real disadvantage is the plastic construction, which feels cheap, but helps make the unit both light and affordable.

4) Sekonic L-398A Light Meter Studio Deluxe III

With its analog display meter needle and dial that displays the full range of exposure settings, the Sekonic L-398A is a compact, easy-to-use unit that’s stylish as well as effective. You have the option of using a lumidisk for measuring light intensity in a given area or switching to a lumigrid for reflected light readings, similar to how an in-camera light meter measures incoming illumination.

Another of the main draws of this unit is that it uses no batteries whatsoever! Instead, it relies on the light it measures for power, using a photoelectric cell to provide continual energy. The ISO values range from 6 to 12,000 in 1/3rd step increments and the shutter speeds range from 1/8000ths-60 seconds. Lastly, aperture values can be read from f/0.7 to f/128 and cine frame rates of 8 to 128 fps.

5) Gossen GO 4033–2 Digipro Light Meter F2

The Gossen GO is the perfect beginner’s light meter thanks to its simple, intuitive interface! The directional arrows on the front of the unit allow for both left and right-handed operation, with a central M button for light metering.

Capable of reading both reflected and incident lighting, the Gossen GO has an aperture range of f/1 to f/90, shutter speed sync range of 1/1000ths-1 second, and an ISO range of 3.2–8000. For videography, select the shutter speed function and set it beyond 1/8000ths of a second.

Unfortunately, the build quality isn’t quite what we’d expect for the price as the Gossen GO favors plastic over metal. But in terms of straightforward functionality, intuitiveness, and size, it’s hard to beat this model!

6) Sekonic Speedmaster L-858D-U Light Meter

What makes the Speedmaster L-858D-U special is that it can meter accurately in light conditions as low as 0.1 Lux. Being as sensitive as it is, it has extended ISO values (up to ISO 13,107,200) and shutter speed ranges, making this the low light meter of choice for cinematography.

It also can measure the duration of your flash as well as high-speed sync strobes, which is extremely useful for freezing the action in high-speed photography. With a maximum shutter speed of 1/16,000ths of a second, this unit is ideal for a variety of flash scenarios!

Along with Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, the Speedmaster L-858D-U also includes ISO priority, giving you full flexibility for metering. While pricier than the rest, this is my top pick for the best light meter for photography!