#hotness is programmed into the black family genes

[aithusarosekiller]

*in a life or death situation*

Dorcas: okay how the fuck do we get out of here?

Pandora: I'm working on a plan but it should take about four hours

Man: *points weapon at them*

Regulus: *survival instincts kick in and he manages to flirt his way out of the situation*

Everyone: ......

Regulus: ......

Barty: WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!

Regulus: I AM JUST AS CONFUSED AS YOU ARE

Evan: please go back to being quiet and offputting, that was fucking terrifying

Dorcas: Yeah, I agree. That was weirdly attractive and I'm literally a lesbian.

Pandora: *still trying to carry out her plan to see if it would've worked*

[virmillion]

tragically i have been consumed with more Story thoughts, everyone say hi to juniper

every day by david levithan but different

not every day, could spend a week in this body, or a year, or years, she never knows when she'll jump to another

not jumping exclusively over space, but also across time

one day she's a black 17yo girl in 2017, the next she wakes up a white 17yo guy in 1438

she doesn't know why, and she spends her story trying to figure it out

she assumes she'll eventually live the equivalent of a full single life (70-80 years), just dispersed

she can probably affect small things, but not necessarily major ones (eg jfk)

she likes to keep trinkets of her 'more meaningful' lives in certain spots, eg behind a specific tree in this specific park for times when she's in a body near that area

it varies what trinkets she keeps, she prefers clocks and stuff (bc of course she does, it's the only thing she Knows about herself) but often she'll try to take something of relative significance to the person but that won't be missed

think someone who collects a bunch of teas, maybe she takes a rarely-used strainer (that clearly has no personal importance wrt family heirlooms and such)

"i think my fifth life is where i really started living" bc that was the first body she was in for long enough to think of it as home, and also form concrete memories in

she had a best friend in that one (who she made on her own, not a built-in bestie that was already around when she landed) who she Told about all this body- and time-jumping

they were definitely younger than 13 so the friend either believed her or went along with The Bit, but didn't rat her out on it

she probably came up with a code word like "if i ever see you again, this specific phrase means Hey It's Me even if i'm not in this body", a secret handshake was probably also involved

critically. we never learn this friend's name. this will come back later

but they always used to meet up under a copse of juniper trees, so that's where juniper took her name from (bc she thought it would be weird to directly steal her bestie's name, and weirder to steal the name of the body she was borrowing, but she needed SOME way to refer to herself)

in the Juniper Life, as she calls it, she was amab, so she figured she was a boy, since that was the life that Felt Right, so she used he/him for a hot minute. realized over a few more jumps that the afab bodies Felt Better, and people using she/her Felt Better (even if they didn't know the implications of using pronouns on someone they think they know), so she eventually switched to internal she/her full-time

not to be religious but she thinks of every day as a gift, because she genuinely doesn't know if she'll wake up in the same body the next day, to say nothing of waking up in the same time period

always has to figure out allergies, medications, chronic illnesses, dangerous relationships, every single time she wakes up as someone else

which brings me to the layout of every chapter:

```

who: john smith, 23, white, barista taking a gap year from liberal arts college

what:

where: minnesota

when: 2019

why:

notes: just had a messy breakup, most of his friends are on the ex's side, allergic to latex, takes anti-anxiety meds

previous: maya clearly, 23, indian, deep into some sort of doctoral study program, lasted 2 weeks

follow-up: no noticeable impact on maya's life, didn't interact with many people, no life-altering experiences, but it WAS the first time we landed in someone without the cilantro soap gene, so that was fun

[line break]

directly into the pov of whoever is relevant to john smith in this time period

```

so each chapter opens with juniper taking notes to herself about where and when she's landed, how this might connect to what she's seen so far, persons of interest, that sort of thing

then the actual prose is some other person who WOULD be a side character, if this were any other story

something about "oh everyone is the main character of their own story, everyone has their own situations going on and *we're* all side characters in *their* story"

so juniper, who is dealing with This Crazy Shit, is a side character. all we hear from her is the opening chapter notes, and then any interactions she has with that chapter's POV

each chapter POV is someone who is relevant to The Person Juniper Is at that moment, be it a best friend or teacher or child or enemy or whatever. somehow, in the midst of everything else going on with them, they cross paths with juniper, and (knowingly or not) they influence Her Situation

think a combination of patrick ness' "the rest of us just live here" and the song "for good" from wicked

as yet unsure what happens to the person she lands in, whether they're watching her do everything and yelling at the parasite in their head

that feels too horror-esque, so i don't want to do that

probably more like they're nudged into a co-captain position, where juniper feels (/hears their voice in Their head that she's borrowing) what the owner of the body would do, and tries to act according to that as best she can

once she leaves, i think the person takes their body back over and treats the experience as a weird brain fog, as if they'd just had a really bad flu without any physical symptoms, and maybe they go to therapy about it

since they're at least able to influence her actions (while thinking it's their own actions), they probably aren't *incredibly* put off by the experience? like yeah it's Weird, but also she can't exactly walk up to someone and ask about a specific three-month stint of mental fuzziness from four years ago that they didn't tell anyone about

most likely, one of the chapters will be from the POV of someone juniper *has previously borrowed*, so we can get some discussion of how it feels for them

not only that, but i think that on some level they recognize juniper as being related to Their Incident, even though she's literally a different human now than the one they were dealing with

unsure if they piece it together or not, whether she tells them what the deal was, but they genuinely want to help her once they get the ball rolling

they probably somehow do Become Aware that it's a david levithan situation, and they can tell juniper is Genuinely Remorseful and wants to stop it, but she doesn't know how, and it isn't her fault, so they're down to assist and forgive

also juniper's jumps land her in people who are Around The Same Age, so she won't go from a 12-year-old to an 80-year-old, but she *could* go from a 20-year-old to an 18-year-old

so to that end, whoever it is that she Borrowed that we now get to see the POV of, has to be relatively close in age to Current Juniper, regardless of how old they were for The Incident, since she ages at a Relatively Normal Human Rate

i think nowadays she just waits until she gets bumped, which either happens randomly, OR when the body dies

...which. well, damn. cool, you get to hop to a new one and start over, but the person who used to live in that body is just *gone*, and they weren't even in control when it happened

so i think that's definitely crossed her mind before, of "ugh man i'm sick of This Current Body And Time, and there's no telling when i'll get to leave, short of One Specific Method" which is obviously super fucked up and she never did that

but

she's thought about it

more than once

hey look it's later!! i'd love if the very last chapter was from juniper's first bestie's pov, and they meet juniper again in a new body (but they're both adults now), and she does the code word and the handshake, and the bestie (and the reader) realize OH SHIT IT'S FULL CIRCLE

*very* cute if you end with the implication that juniper is hanging out in this body long term now and being with the bestie

...*less* cute when you think about whoever Used to be in that body tho :/

lab stop writing about girlbestfriends lost to time challenge

[zooterchet]

The NSA and the Witch (Jewish Choice)

The National Security Agency, is JFK Sr.’s dream, in Hitler’s plan, of an international Jewry, of a contracted organization, that will give any Jew a chance to serve NATO, a break from Georgia, and South Ossetia, the Caspians (O’Neills among us) and the Slavic Jews (Croats among us).

The problem is, the Jewry is stronger together, as Mossad, the loomer’s union, through schools, the journalists (led by Ottomans, the Laneys, Lodges, and Mauseys; comics, pamphlets, and children’s books).

SIGINT, has a manual, they prep HUMINT on, to break police profiles, and HUMINT, has a manual, their civics program, the SIGINT’s mission objective rank in the Freemasonic Temple.

The problem is, I’m a Witch.  Not a witch trial, an old Montague tactic, a warlock hunt, a Capulet call to hunt a false Montague, or a Wiccan, Jaim’s call to hunt a traitor in our families, a maelstrom, a new agent of MI-6.

An O’Neill, needs shrimp, or shellfish, in the womb, to raise the child, at least mudkips, the Caspian or Black Seas carnival, alternately Medici, “fladdocks”, shrimp and haddock fishing.  An Ismaeli, Hagar’s children, has the gallbladder, the drinking gene, unplanned to survive, the proper Arab; the Kurdi.

Combined with the Hapsburgs, the fermenter, and the Uruk, the distillery, you have a city that runs itself, on cult of deity, the drawing of rights, cuneiform; pork, the Canaanite of Lebanon, through the Noahim, our binding structure, Isaac’s children rejected, only thinking singularly, forward.

That’s where the NSA comes in, to shape the entire union, for Russia, out of Georgia, the Stalinists, through the Tong (mercenary banking, the place of operator), the Triads (those mimicking the Five Petals, cops), the Yakuza (high Komon, Japanese emperor, mixed with Petal), and U’Niall (the Sectarians, the O’Neill specialists, of Britain, loyal to King Jaim).

The Black Pope, governs the system, the Native chieftain, since before colony, blinded until slides shale, the sailboat across oceans, the defecation separate from meal; punishing all pedophiles, who view remotely, of bowel, those refusing Buddhism.

The Witch, of proper form, is one who has been raised on pork in belly of mother, shrimp in child of birth, egg in meal of infant, refusal of Nucky grout (baby food), with the witch’s teat (the Ra’s Eye) and bacon in childhood (the literacy of cuneiform, alphabets), with neo-natal (the book read to infant, adult’s copy, foreign language required), prenatal as medication devised by mother (the Bruce, Khanate, to destroy any child molester, at conversion to Islam, idiocy in envy for anyone stealing or cheating, the framed legs), enhanced by Ninjitsu (the Catholic Church, the genuflect, through cold water quaffed in hot sauna, at high price of living, the liver biosis refused).

In other words, a Shinobi, to defeat the ignorant, a homosexual.

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of Glen Campbell who Died: August 8, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee

Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television from 1969 until 1972. He released 64 albums in a career that spanned five decades, selling over 45 million records worldwide, including twelve gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.

Born in Billstown, Arkansas, Campbell began his professional career as a studio musician in Los Angeles, spending several years playing with the group of instrumentalists later known as "The Wrecking Crew". After becoming a solo artist, he placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, or Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Among Campbell's hits are "Universal Soldier", his first hit from 1965, along with "Gentle on My Mind" (1967), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (1967), "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" (1968), "Wichita Lineman" (1968), "Galveston" (1969), "Rhinestone Cowboy" (1975) and "Southern Nights" (1977).

In 1967, Campbell won four Grammys in the country and pop categories. For "Gentle on My Mind", he received two awards in country and western; "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owned trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA's top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. Campbell played a supporting role in the film True Grit (1969), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. He also sang the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Glen was born on April 22, 1936, in Billstown, a tiny community near Delight in Pike County, Arkansas, to John Wesley (a sharecropper) and Carrie Dell (Stone) Campbell. Campbell was of Scottish descent and was the seventh son of 12 children. As a child he almost died from drowning. His family went to Church of Christ, and Campbell's brother Lindell became a Church of Christ minister. In 2011 he claimed his mother was Irish, although this was not true. The family lived on a farm, where they barely managed, by growing cotton, corn, watermelons, and potatoes. "We had no electricity," he said, and money was scarce. "A dollar in those days looked as big as a saddle blanket." To supplement income the family picked cotton for other farmers. "I picked cotton for $1.25 a hundred pounds," said Campbell. "If you worked your tail off, you could pick 80 or 90 pounds a day."

Campbell started playing guitar at age four after his father gave him a Sears-bought five-dollar guitar as a gift, with his uncle Boo teaching him the basics of how to play. Most of his family was musical, he said. "Back home, everybody plays and sings." By the time he was six he was performing on local radio stations.

Campbell continued playing guitar in his youth, with no formal training, and practiced when he was not working in the cotton fields. He developed his talent by listening to radio and records and considered Django Reinhardt among his most admired guitarists, later calling him "the most awesome player I ever heard." He dropped out of school at 14 to work in Houston alongside his brothers, installing insulation and later working at a gas station.

Not satisfied with that kind of unskilled work, Campbell started playing music at fairs and church picnics and singing gospel hymns in the church choir. He was able to find spots performing on local radio stations, and after his parents moved to Houston, he made some appearances at a local nightclub.

In 1954, at age 17, Campbell moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to join his uncle's band, known as Dick Bills and the Sandia Mountain Boys. He quit high school in 10th grade. He also appeared there on his uncle's radio show and on K Circle B Time, the local children's program on KOB television. It was there that he met his first wife, whom he married when he was 17 and she was 16.

In 1958, Campbell formed his own band, the Western Wranglers. "We worked hard," he said. "Six, sometimes seven nights a week. I didn't have my eye set on any specific goals or big dreams."

In 1960, Campbell moved to Los Angeles to become a session musician. That October, he joined the Champs. By January 1961, Campbell had found a daytime job at publishing company American Music, writing songs and recording demos. Because of these demos Campbell soon was in demand as a session musician and became part of a group of studio musicians later known as the Wrecking Crew.

Campbell played on recordings by the Beach Boys, Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, the Monkees, Nancy Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Jan and Dean, Bing Crosby, Phil Spector, Sammy Davis Jr., Doris Day, Bobby Vee, The Everly Brothers, Shelley Fabares, The Cascades, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Wayne Newton, The First Edition, The Kingston Trio, Roger Miller, Gene Clark, Lou Rawls, Claude King, Lorne Greene, Ronnie Dove and Elvis Presley. He befriended Presley when he helped record the soundtrack for Viva Las Vegas in 1964. He later said, "Elvis and I were brought up the same humble way – picking cotton and looking at the south end of a north-bound mule."

In May 1961, he left the Champs and was subsequently signed by Crest Records, a subsidiary of American Music. His first solo release, "Turn Around, Look at Me", a moderate success, peaked at number 62 on the Hot 100 in 1961 but reached number 7 on the Hot 100 in a 1968 Vogues cover. Campbell also formed the Gee Cees with former bandmembers from the Champs, performing at the Crossbow Inn in Van Nuys. The Gee Cees, too, released a single on Crest, the instrumental "Buzz Saw", which did not chart.

In 1962, Campbell signed with Capitol Records. After minor initial success with "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry", his first single for the label, and "Kentucky Means Paradise", released by the Green River Boys featuring Glen Campbell, a string of unsuccessful singles and albums followed. By 1963 his playing and singing were heard on 586 recorded songs. He never learned to read music, but besides guitar, he could play the banjo, mandolin and bass.

From 1964 on, Campbell began to appear on television as a regular on Star Route, a syndicated series hosted by Rod Cameron, ABC's Shindig! and Hollywood Jamboree.

From December 1964 to early March 1965, Campbell was a touring member of the Beach Boys, filling in for Brian Wilson, playing bass guitar and singing falsetto harmonies. He was then replaced on the Beach Boys' tours by new member Bruce Johnston.

In 1965, he had his biggest solo hit yet, reaching number 45 on the Hot 100 with a version of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier". Asked about the pacifist message of the song, he said that "people who are advocating burning draft cards should be hung."

Campbell continued as a session musician, playing guitar on the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, among other recordings. In April of that year, he joined Rick Nelson on a tour through the Far East, again playing bass.

When follow-up singles did not do well, and Capitol was considering dropping Campbell from the label in 1966, he was teamed with producer Al De Lory. Together, they first collaborated on "Burning Bridges" which became a top 20 country hit in early 1967, and the album of the same name.

Campbell and De Lory collaborated again on 1967's "Gentle on My Mind", written by John Hartford, which was an overnight success. The song was followed by the bigger hit "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" later in 1967, and "I Wanna Live" and "Wichita Lineman" in 1968, remaining on Billboard's Top 100 charts for 15 weeks. He won four Grammy Awards for "Gentle on My Mind" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix".

In 1967, Campbell was also the uncredited lead vocalist on "My World Fell Down" by Sagittarius, a studio group. The song reached number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1968, Campbell released "Wichita Lineman", a song written by Jimmy Webb. It was recorded with backing from members of the Wrecking Crew and appeared on his 1968 album of the same name. It reached number 3 on the US pop chart, remaining in the Top 100 for 15 weeks. In addition, the song also topped the American country music chart for two weeks, and the adult contemporary chart for six weeks.

The 1969 song "True Grit" by composer Elmer Bernstein and lyricist Don Black, and sung by Campbell, who co-starred in the movie, received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Song and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

After he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for television's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour variety show, Campbell was given his own weekly variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, which ran from January 1969 through June 1972. The show's comedy writers included Steve Martin and Rob Reiner. At the height of his popularity, a 1970 biography by Freda Kramer, The Glen Campbell Story, was published.

With Campbell's session-work connections, he hosted major names in music on his show, including the Beatles (on film), David Gates, Bread, the Monkees, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, and Mel Tillis. Campbell helped launch the careers of Anne Murray and Jerry Reed, who were regulars on his Goodtime Hour program.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Campbell released a long series of singles and appeared in the movies True Grit (1969) with John Wayne and Kim Darby and Norwood (1970) with Kim Darby and Joe Namath.

After the cancellation of his CBS series in 1972, Campbell remained a regular on network television. He co-starred in a made-for-television movie, Strange Homecoming (1974), with Robert Culp and up-and-coming teen idol Leif Garrett. He hosted a number of television specials, including 1976's Down Home, Down Under with Olivia Newton-John. He co-hosted the American Music Awards from 1976 to 1978 and headlined the 1979 NBC special Glen Campbell: Back to Basics with guest-stars Seals and Crofts and Brenda Lee. He was a guest on many network talk and variety shows, including Donny & Marie and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where he performed "Rhinestone Cowboy". He also appeared on Cher, the Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, The Merv Griffin Show, The Midnight Special, DINAH!, Evening at Pops with Arthur Fiedler and The Mike Douglas Show.

In the mid-1970s, he had more hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Southern Nights" (both U.S. number one hits), "Sunflower" (U.S. number 39) (written by Neil Diamond), and "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)" (U.S. number 11).

"Rhinestone Cowboy" was Campbell's largest-selling single and one of his best-known recordings, initially with over 2 million copies sold. Campbell had heard songwriter Larry Weiss' version while on tour of Australia in 1974. Both songs were in the October 4, 1975, Hot 100 top 10. "Rhinestone Cowboy" continues to be used in TV shows and films, including Desperate Housewives, Daddy Day Care, and High School High. It was the inspiration for the 1984 Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone movie Rhinestone. The main phrase of Campbell's recording was included in Dickie Goodman's Jaws movie parody song "Mr. Jaws". Campbell also made a techno/pop version of the song in 2002 with UK artists Rikki & Daz and went to the top 10 in the UK with the dance version and related music video.

"Southern Nights", by Allen Toussaint, his other number one pop-rock-country crossover hit, was generated with the help of Jimmy Webb, and Jerry Reed, who inspired the famous guitar lick introduction to the song, which was the most-played jukebox number of 1977.

In 2005, Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was announced in April 2008 that Campbell was returning to his signature label, Capitol, to release his new album, Meet Glen Campbell. The album was released on August 19. With this album, he branched off in a different musical direction, covering tracks from artists such as Travis, U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jackson Browne, and Foo Fighters. It was Campbell's first release on Capitol in over 15 years. Musicians from Cheap Trick and Jellyfish contributed to the album as well. The first single, a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", was released to radio in July 2008.

In March 2010, a then-farewell album titled Ghost on the Canvas was announced which served as a companion to Meet Glen Campbell (2008).

Following his late 2010 Alzheimer's diagnosis, Campbell embarked on a final "Goodbye Tour", with three of his children joining him in his backup band. He was too ill to travel to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2012. His final show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California. After the end of the tour, Campbell entered the studio in Nashville to record what would be his final album, Adiós, which would not be revealed until five years later. According to his wife, Kim Campbell, he wanted to preserve "what magic was left", in what would be his final recordings. In January 2013, Campbell recorded his final song, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You", during what would be his last recording sessions. The song, which is featured in the 2014 documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, was released on September 30, 2014, with the documentary following on October 24. On January 15, 2015, Campbell and fellow songwriter Julian Raymond were nominated for Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.

On August 30, 2016, during the 10th Annual ACM Honors, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and others performed a medley of Glen Campbell's songs in tribute to him. His wife Kim Campbell accepted the Career Achievement Award on his behalf. Alice Cooper described him as being one of the five best guitar players in the music industry.

Campbell's final album Adiós, featuring twelve songs from his final 2012–13 sessions, was announced in April 2017. It was released on June 9, 2017. Adiós was named by the UK's Official Charts Company as the best-selling country/Americana album of 2017 in Britain.

Campbell died in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 8, 2017, at the age of 81. He was buried in the Campbell family cemetery in Billstown, Arkansas.

[pricklerick]

Thanksgiving used to be Summer’s favorite holiday.

It meant spending two whole nights with Jerry’s parents and waking up early and going for a long walk in the snow, then peeling off wet clothes just in time to watch the dog show on TV while grandma baked pumpkin pie.

Things are different now, with Grandpa Rick and Morty gone. Dad, of course, had instantly accused Grandpa Rick of kidnapping Morty. Mom had screamed that her father would never do something like that to his family, to her (even know Summer knows that deep down, her mother was very afraid that Grandpa Rick had done exactly that).

The divorce was so ugly that Summer transferred to a school in Texas, losing a bunch of her class credits just to get away from them.

Texas is good. Well, it’s hot, and Summer’s skin hates that, but the people are nice and her classes are easy, and if she stays within a certain neighborhood, she can find whatever she wants without having to edge over to the east side of town.

She even has a finance. David plays football and his parents own a ranch in the Texas hill country. They have a little money and they like to flaunt it.

Years ago, before Grandpa Rick burst into Summer’s life and started taking her little brother on adventures, before portal guns and real guns and near death experiences became Summer’s adrenaline fix, she would have been thrilled to nail down a guy like David. David is kind, and sweet, and very attractive. He’s got a good future and he’s looking at being scouted as quarterback next year.

Summer’s ring is a gaudy thing, at least two carats, and it sits heavy on her finger. She only wears it when she knows she’ll be with David or the in-laws. It’s an heirloom ring, passed down through generations, and Summer hates it. She’s forever fiddling with it, or pulling her sleeve down to cover it, or hiding it in her back pocket when she’s out with girl friends.

She doesn’t go out as often anymore - they’re seniors now, and Summer has been told that the partying needs to slow down now that David’s future is getting serious. Summer is fine with this. There’s nothing on this earth that matches a party in space, anyway.

Sometimes, Summer looks up at the night sky and wonders how she could get her hands on some of Grandpa Rick’s K-Lax. That was good stuff.

It’s easy to justify spending Thanksgiving away from home because of travel expenses and final exams. Summer’s done it three years in a row now. She doesn't often think of Beth, or of Jerry, either. She’s deeply entrenched in a new family now, invested in a future mother-in -law who insists on being called “Mama June” or even just “Mama,” and an emotionally detached father-in-law who feels that talking to a woman who is not his wife is beneath him.

Summer is spending more and more time outside, looking at the stars, wishing, remembering.

But this week, the week before break, at 2:43 am, Summer’s phone screen lights up with a call from “Beth Smith.” And when Summer, groggy and maybe already a little hungover, answers with a hoarse, “Hello?” Beth is slobbering drunk.

“Honey, please,” Beth cries, slurring her words and hitching her breaths. “I need to see my baby, Summer. It’s Thanksgiving, next week. Summer, remember? Remember Thanksgiving? You... You’re all I have left.”

Yeesh.

Summer does not want to spend her break dealing with Beth and all of her sloppy-alcoholic coping mechanisms.That’s why she’d run away to Texas to begin with.  

Summer hasn’t been home since the night they lost Morty.

She doesn’t want to go back. So she shushes Beth over the phone, lets her cry it out and then they start it all again, the crying and the shushing, over and over until Beth is nearly asleep, slurring half-formed words into her pillow.

Summer disconnects the call and drops her face into her hands. “Fuck.”

“What, babe?”

Ugh, she’d forgotten that David had stayed over.

David wraps his greedy arms around Summer’s waist and pulls her in, his naked boner brushing hot against her thigh. It makes her sick. She pulls away from him, leaning against the headboard and fumbling for the lamp. Beside her, David blinks owlishly in the light.

“I’m going home for Thanksgiving,” she tells him. No sense dragging it out.

“Oh,” says David, reaching up to stroke Summer’s cheeks and twine his fingers in her hair. Summer tenses at this, but David is oblivious, still carding his big stupid paws though Summer’s shower-damp braids and looking at her with an intensity that is frankly... terrifying. “What about coming back to Pilot Point, babe?,” he reminds her and he leans forward in an effort to pepper Summer’s face with kisses. Summer dodges them, making a show of reaching for her phone, so David grabs her hand instead. “Remember talking about seeing my folks?”

Summer is suddenly disgusted with herself. She ran away from home straight into the arms of this Mama’s boy who can hardly keep it up for the four and a half minutes it takes him to blow his load in missionary position.

Summer is a Sanchez.

She’s wondered for a while, especially after that stunt Dad pulled during the divorce, if she should have her name legally changed. She shares a quarter of Grandpa Rick’s genes, and by her rights as a Sanchez, the universe owes her good sex.

At least.

“Sorry, David,” she says and she deftly rolls away from him to stand at the edge of their shared bed. “Plans have changed. Mom needs me.”

Now David is sitting up, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy, but there’s a hardness in his eyes that Summer doesn’t like. Oh well. In for a penny, she guesses.

“Listen, dude, this isn’t working anyway. I’m not the hot little wifey on your arm that your parents are hoping you’ll find here.” She snorts, pacing around the bedroom, ticking off points on her fingers. “I don’t even want kids. I’m Summer Sanchez. I’ve been to space. I’ve seen the stars and constellations and comets and asteroids.  I’ve met people you wouldn’t believe. I’ve met planets you wouldn’t believe - sentient planets, David! I’ve hit alien drugs that would blow your tiny mind.” She’s trembling now, all keyed up, but it feels good. There’s something cathartic about acknowledging the truth after so long.

She decides that Summer Sanchez has a nice ring to it.

She lifts her hands and twirls, landing in a heap at the foot of the bed. “The best sex I ever had was with a flying lamb on Oourivian Prime, for Chrissakes.”  Summer turns, flushed and grinning, and pokes David in the chest. “You better believe I’m not settling down on a silly horse farm in Pilot Point!”

David is looking at her wide-eyed and slack-jawed, like he’s seeing her for the first time. The thought makes Summer smile a real smile. In a fit of giddiness, she pecks him playfully on the lips, sliding his ridiculous ring from her finger and curling it into his palm. “Good luck with that, babe!”

Feeling freer than she has in years, she flutters around the room, grabbing a few outfits that she likes and stuffing them haphazardly into an old gym bag. The whole thing takes less than a minute.

“Oh, and don’t take it too hard,” she calls over her shoulder, “I don’t think we’re really all that sexually compatible, anyway.” She waves a hand toward the flagging erection that is peaking from David’s boxers. “I’m more of a tentacle kind of girl, if you know what I mean.”

And so, during the fall semester of her senior year, Summer Sanchez dropped out of Texas A&M’s pre-law program and flew home to see her mother for the first time in three years.

                                                            xxx

Morty enters through the front door because he’s not a stranger. He’s not exactly sure how long it’s been on Earth - time moves differently on Morty’s  waste planet - but somehow, he hadn’t expected it to be night. It makes him feel like a burglar, walking up the concrete steps to the front door with his big black cowl pulled low over his face, a deeply ingrained habit.

“You’ve only got one face, Mo-AAAUURRGG-rty. Don’t get caught with it.”

The key code to unlock the door is the same. Morty sighs, surprised at the stress that leaves his body with this revelation. He hadn’t wanted to break into his parents’ home. Now, he doesn’t have to.

He whirls around, taking one last look at the ship he’d parked on the garage pad. He’d avoided the streetlamps best he could, managed to land very quietly (thanks for that rad auto-landing feature, Rick)partially concealed behind some overgrown azaleas.

Morty sighs, tense again. Modifications aside, that is obviously Rick’s ship to anybody who knows it. Morty hopes he can get what he needs and get out. It would be wrong to disturb whatever peace his family had managed to regain in the years he’s been gone.

The front door is squeakier than Morty remembers. He slips into the kitchen as quickly, quiet as a ghost, and pulls the door slowly to behind him.

His first thought is that he’d forgotten that home has a smell. Carpet and lemon pledge and laundry detergent, and the lingering scent of last night’s dinner all converge on his senses like a physical blow to the gut.

How could Morty have forgotten that smell?

He glances around, eyes adjusting to the dim light of the street lamps. A few scattered dishes lie in the sink, an empty wine bottle sits abandoned on the counter. He’s standing on the same ugly linoleum floor with its worn green leaf patten, so subtle you’d miss it if you didn’t know where to look.

Time hasn’t touched the kitchen.

Morty stands in his childhood home and takes three deep breaths. He thought he’d been prepared for anything and everything - all the changes. He’d been ready.

But the house is exactly the same.

It’s Morty who has changed.

Morty’s breathing speeds, and he shakes off the shudder that tempts to run down his spine. If the kitchen affected him this deeply…. He swings his gaze to the garage door that beckons ominously to his left.

Don’t think about it, he reminds himself sharply. The plan is simple - break into the garage, grab the stuff, and get out. There will be time for memories later.

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about… him.

Morty shakes himself, setting his shoulders and pulling the heavy door handle toward him as he turns it to minimize noise. Unlike the kitchen, the swing of the garage door is silent.

The darkness deepens as Morty steps down the single step - there are no windows to let in the glow of the street lights here. The air is hotter and heavy, almost stale, and as Morty turns his back to the room to slowly pull the door to, he gets the strangest feeling. It’s almost the uneasiness he feels when he walks to the grave of the other Morty who is buried in the backyard.  It raises the hairs on his neck, and Morty wonders if anybody in the family have used this garage since...

Don’t think about it.

Door secured and locked, Morty lets his fingers drift along the walls, his opposite hand outstretched in search of obstacles. But it seems that the garage is exactly as Morty remembers, and he navigates the dark with increasing confidence. He snags the dangling string - right where it should be - and tugs. The bare bulb that hangs over Rick’s work table pops and hums as it slowly blinks on, and Morty bites back a smile at the irony of the inter-galactic space genius Rick Sanchez discovering his greatest scientific breakthroughs beneath this dirty fluorescent bulb.

A thousand memories assault him at once.

“A hair, Morty, I need one of your hairs!”

“Bring me the thing. The thing. The thing. The -- the -- it's got, like, buttons on it and lights on it. It -- it -- it beeps.”

“You little son of a bitch! Y-y- are you a simulation?! Huh?! Are you a simulation??”

“I’m the Rickest Rick there is. And you know, it would - UUUURRGGHH-  go without saying that the Rickest Rick… would have the Mortyest Morty.”

“Be better than I am.”

“Don’t… Don’t think about it.”

Morty sucks in a deep breath and grits his teeth hard. Time to get busy.

                                                           xxx

Three hours later, and Morty is almost done with the garage.

He glances at the digital clock that reads 3:33. By the time he gets this stuff loaded, it’ll be nearly daylight.

Damn, he’d really hoped to get everything in one trip. Fuel for a trip to Earth from his encampment is not cheap, and this was a long trip.

He picks up the first item, a strangely lightweight box labeled “Time Travel Stuff” and heads toward the kitchen. He dares not raise the garage door - that would make too much noise.

He opens the door and comes nose to nose with Summer.

“What. The fuck. Are you doing in my grandpa’s garage?” she says slowly, advancing on him with each word.

Morty’s first thought as he stumbles backward is, “Where did my sister get a pistol?”

He trips over the step in an effort to give her some space, sending the box flying. He finds himself sprawled on the floor, space bits everywhere, and his ass is killing him. “Ah, geez,” he breathes, repositioning slowly to take the pressure off of his coccyx. It’s probably broken.

Summer’s hands are trembling, and she lowers the gun. “Morty?”

Oh. His hood had fallen when he did. Morty looks up at her, a little sheepishly, suddenly very aware of the beard he’d decided to grow a while back. “Umm, yeah,” he says lamely, still wincing at the pain. “Hi!”

There’s a funny expression on Summer’s face, like she’s thinking a billion things at once, and her eyes are wider than Morty’s ever seen them. But then her gaze hardens. “And which one are you?” she demands, looking as if she’d like to bring the gun back to his head.

Morty raises his eyebrows. He wouldn’t have expected Summer to immediately question his dimension. Clever of her. He quirks a little smile. “C-137,” he answers her, trying and mostly failing to get back on his feet. “I’m your Morty. Well, your second Morty.”

Quick as a blink, Summer slings the gun away. It lands with a clatter and she launches herself at Morty, wrapping him in a rib-creaking hug. Morty’s body tenses - hugs are definitely not his typical physical interaction. But Summer is burying her face into the crook of his neck, and Morty is surprised to find how easily it fits there. When he’d left, they’d barely stood eye to eye.

Morty is stunned. Summer has never hugged him like this. Feebly, he reaches up and lays his hand across her back. She’s shuddering. So Morty pulls her closer, shifting his weight so that his knees are beneath him, and gathers her in. She allows this, never looking up at him, and slowly, Morty relaxes into it.

“Summer?” he asks softly after what feels like a long time. He’s never been good with his sister’s emotions.

Summer cranes her neck sideways to look at him, and she’s a mess of mascara and tears, red-faced and absolutely shaking with laughter. Morty huffs with her, still utterly bewildered by girls. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing’s funny, Morty,” she tells him, but she’s still laughing, so Morty laughs with her. “You’ve been gone for three years. You’ve been legally declared dead, you asshole!” She swats him on the shoulder, but he manages to doge the blow, which only makes her face fall. She comes closer, looking more tearful now than before, and settles beside him. “We had a fucking funeral for you, you complete sack of dicks!”

Morty doesn’t know what to say, so he grabs Summer’s hand and squeezes. “Sorry.”

And he is.

Summer rolls her eyes and snorts, but there’s something softer at the edge of her lips, and she lays her head on Morty’s shoulder and sighs. Morty assumes means he’s forgiven, at least on some level.

They only sit like that for a minute or so before Morty starts to fidget. His ass is absolutely killing him, and time’s a-ticking. He needs to get out of here soon. Summer seems to read the tension in his body, because she stands abruptly and offers her hand, pulling him to his feet with an exaggerated groan.

“Thanks,” he quirks her a little half-smile, the only thing he has to offer her.

But Summer isn’t looking at him. Her eyes are tracking around the garage, noting the boxes that have been drug out and packed up. Something tightens in her face, and when she speaks, it’s in that no-nonsense tone that always drove him up the wall when they were kids.

“What happened, Morty?” Summer finishes her sweep of the garage and pins her gaze on him.

Morty nearly stumbles back at the intensity of it.

“What happened to you? Where is Grandpa Rick?”

Authors Notes:

Based on Vapor Morty, who was originally developed in this hot mess of a text post. Rick’s been kidnapped and Morty has been scouring the universe trying to find him and doing a lot of learning and growing along the way.

Kidnapped Rick saw Morty “die” just before he was kidnapped and went crazy over it. Morty obviously wasn’t dead, was trying to get to Rick to say hey, I’m all good and these guys are after you so let’s get out of here.

Morty literally lives in an intergalactic dumpster and makes a living renovating and selling weapons and machinery. He found his way home to earth because he wants to find any of Rick’s stuff that he could possibly use to track him down, or maybe even build his own portal gun.

Basically, Morty is a little badass now.

I might write more of these little drabbles if people are interested in them. Also, just really hoping I got Summer’s voice right here. Feedback is always, always appreciated, friends! My messages and ask box are open!

[rcinberry]

read about ori and the dark forest under the cut

STATS:

full name: orion neveah kanha. nickname(s): ori, ri, rion. age: 23. date of birth: January 1st 1997. hometown: newport, rhode island. gender: cis female. religion: athiest. sexuality: bisexual. hair colour: black (xx) eye colour: brown. height: 5'6. tattoos: a snake swirling from midforearm down to her wrist like so, (xx) piercings: ears, double piercing.  

blackmail

has 0 care for the elites or its establishment, thinks it’s a farce. they only joined to gain some clout for their gaming channel since that’s all they work for, but they’ll lie and say they love it while bashing the club to online players in secret.  

cheated in a giant game tournament that was worth up to $5,000. she needed that money to survive and pay rent - did anything to cheat, even if that meant hacking the other despite bragging about how humble and hard-working she is, she stooped so low, going back on her word.

in order to stay in her game design program, she had to sleep with her professor - her grades were dropping and was more focused on gaming than classes, would have done anything to stay in the program

family life

DRUGS TW. PRISON TW.

the kanha family, two parents - josiah & sage kanha and their only daughter, orion. orion was spoiled with not doubt, everything she wanted - she got. she never complained, never really asked for much but since she was the only daughter - her parents wanted nothing but the best for her. although, growing up with that wealth she never took it's luxuries. she went to a public school her entire life, she never really talked about her family's wealth, she didn't care much for it, her parents came from generations of hard workers and that's all she'll brag about - is their family business and name, she's proud of it - or was once.

orion and her parents were always happy little family, love and support from both sides.. well.. until......

the kanha family has been a generational wealthy family, old money, if you please, and were originally known for its pizza chain all across america and even pretty famous back in thailand. three generations worth of publicity for their amazing, tasting pizza - even new york would argue that their pizza is better than new york's pizza!

the business has been running since 1992 and failed in 2016, why's that? well miss orion has a big mouth and heart in the wrong place. which gets her in trouble later, but that's a later issue.

the kanha family has a shady side to their business as well, they also sell wads of cocaine under the belt to different members of the mafia / mob and have been since the 90's when the mafia would bury their evidence in old buildings but as times begin to change, so did the way of dealing.

the pizza store was always a cash only store which made it easier for banks to never track transactions and launder wads of cash from their coke deals.

until orion came across her dad and some mafia head leader making an exchange and she overheard them and immediately made the call to the police when she was 19, a year into her college degree, and told them of the exchange and then there was a whole year investigation into her fathers business and a lot of places were shut down and her family lost A  LOT of money and her lawyers and accountants have told them it'll take a while to generate that much wealth again - then again most of the wealth came from drug money.

her parents think the mafia tipped them off, thus causing cut in ties and her dad to go to prison for a while (20 years). she had to carry that guilt for years although, she doesn't feel all too bad because her dad was making money deals in the wrong way. her mom still cries about it, won't be able to see her husband for twenty years but it's okay, orion will make it big as a game designer one day .. aha..

fun facts / personality

orion is a.. hot head, she gets angry easily and that just came from a place of competition. she was a very active kid, she was involved in many different sports - soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, you name it - she was good at everything and she sure hecking loved to win. she also channeled a lot of her anger into boxing because that's what her mom told her to do. long story short, she loves winning

which then became a hobby, she fricken loves video games like .. a lot, she built a career her senior year of college by streaming and since then she garnered a lot of online popularity. already being known from the kanha drug money scandal helped a lot too and she makes a decent living off of it, getting paid between 5-6k a month on a video she makes. her favorite games are always first person shooters, like COD / PUBG, she will play those games in tournaments and even to the big leagues which offer a lot of money. she does like RPG games such as ori and the blind forest and gears of war but first person shooters are where it's at, and shes damn well good at aiming, and tactics.

she's a computer science major at first in her undergrad that helped her understand coding, hacking and all that - that comes with comp sci - how to build an app, what logistics go into it and such and minored in video game design. she then did her graduate in game design and science and is working on her own games as she speaks. she's really talented in what she does, and is always boastful about it.

orion, despite being a hot head, also literlaly -- hates drugs. she hates the idea of smoking and drinking and would rather remove herself whenever someone near her is smoking or drinking, she won't shun the person but her family's scandal was enough to put a distaste in her mouth. she thinks people who act silly from it are weak and should speak their minds when their sober.

that's another thing, she will speak her mind. she stands up for what she believes in, she's always humble and thankful for what she has but also will stand up in the face of injustice which is funny because she thinks she's so hardworking and then she's a hypocrite for sleeping with her professor and cheating in a game, guess the kanha family gene of being a liar runs through her veins huh?

she's a very loyal friend, like.. insanely loyal, she doesn't like being made to be a dumbass and will cut someone. like i said, these hands are rated e for everyone.

a lot of her high school life she kept to herself but she really blossomed in college the most.

she loves to draw!! sketching is what she mostly does, a lot of gaming character designs are up in her apartment, sometimes she likes to do pottery and make vases and paint. she's not good at it but she likes to

she's friendly to those that are friendly and a bitch when she can be, she matches energy.. uh that's it i think

favorite color is red <3 has a cat <3 likes sushi <3 that's about it muah

[renee-writer]

Guardians of the Stones Chapter 4 Past, Present, and Future

Back in 1946, Mother Ruth is working to get Frank out of Inverness. She knows from being in his room to get the supplies for Claire, that he had been offered a job in Oxford. She knows from a letter from another Sister, a Guardian of the Stones from the future, that he will meet his next wife there.

She was the Sister currently on assignment at the Stones. Keeping an eye on Frank was taking her away from her main job. He was bugging the local constables to find his wife, claiming a Highlander he saw looking up at her was involved. He wasn’t, not in her disappearance. Finally Ruth had enough. She has a friend, a mate from school how was the Mother Superior in St Aloysius. Mother Gene was happy to help, knowing the dean of the university that Frank was destined to serve at. She understood the situation and, a few phone calls later, Frank is off to Oxford where it is harder for him to try to find his wife.

Meanwhile in 1740, Jamie and Murtagh arrive at Lallybroch. They, especially Jamie, are greeted with enthusiastic hugs.

“It is happy we are to have you home Jamie. We wish you could stay longer. But, your Uncle Column needs you to help set up the horse breeding program. You will help him out for a few months and then return here. We need your help with the expansion of Lallybroch.” His da tells him after enthusiastic greetings from his mam and sister.

“Da, I pray this doesn’t mean marriage. I really wish to not have a lass thrust on me. I had enough of them throwing themselves at me in Paris.” Brain laughs.

“Nae son. We will have you choose your bride.”

At the Castle

Hamish becomes a shadow under his healer's feet. Where she is, you can usually find the young lad. He helps carry her supplies, accompanies her to the garden to collect herbs and other medicinal plants, even leaves his da's side to dine with her.

“I am sorry he is so attached to me.” She tells Column one day when she is massaging him to give him some relief from his leg and back pain.

“Dinna fash Mistress. Since the death of his mam,” The both cross themselves,” He has hungered for a lass to give his child's heart too. You are a good influence on him. I dinna mind.”

Lallybroch

The month passes quickly as Jamie catches up with his family. He is soon heading to Castle Leoch to serve his uncle. He will miss Lallybroch but at least he is still on Scottish soil.

First sight

His Uncle Column introduced them at the hall at dinner the first night he was there.

“Jamie lad, there is someone I would like you to meet. “ He stands and then almost falls back when he sees her. Her brown curls, as out of control as his own, frame a beautiful face with the most esquist eyes. “James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser meet Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, a widow from near York and London. She is the castle's healer. Claire, my nephew Jamie.”

He bows low before her. “Your servant ma'am.”

“Sir,” she curtsies.

“Miss Claire, come. Our dinner is getting cold.” Her escort stands and her arm. She is usually thankful for his presence. The Laird's son keep all but the most enthusiastic suitors away. But, there is something about this Jamie.

“Hamish, where are your manners. You aren't even going to say hello to your own cousin, Jamie, before you jerk Mistress Beauchamp’s arm off.” His da scolds him.

“Hello cousin Jamie. How was Paris?”

“Hello Hamish. It was good but I am glad to be home on Scottish soil. You have grown quite a lot in the last three years.”

“Aye. I am twelve now. May we speak later so I may escort Miss Claire to dinner?”

“Aye.” He bows again to her. “It was very nice to meet you Mistress.”

“You too.” As Hamish drags her away, he notices her arse. Ah Dhai!

“Uncle, is the widow Beauchamp being courted?” he asks his uncle over dinner,” By anyone other then your son.”

Column laughs. “ He does have a crush, eh. But, he will outgrow it when a lass closer to his own age catches his eye. As for Mistress Beauchamp, nae. Not for lack of the lads trying. I have had three men come and make serious offers for her hand. She has rejected them all. I haven’t made inquires to the state of her marriage when she became a widow. I fear her late husband wasn’t a good man and it will take the lass time to trust another.”

“Hmm. But, she is a good healer?”

“Oh aye. She saved Mrs. Fitz's nephew, Danny, from poisoning from a plant at the black kirk. Father Bane though him possessed. Was a relief to all when he ended up just sickened by the plant and she was able to bring him back to full health.”

Over the next week, he spend most of his time in the stables separating out the best horses, coos, and sheep, for the breeding program. He is joined by his wee cousin, as his da wishes him to learn the secrets of breeding.

“So Hamish, how is your arm?” he asks him one day when he sees the lad rubbing it.

“Oh it is better. Miss Claire gave me exercises to do to strengthen it.” It is the opening Jamie had been waiting on.

“You like Mistress Claire then?”

“Aye. She is nice to me and not just because I am the heir of Column. I wish her husband hadn't treated her so bad.”

“Bad how?”

“He hit her. When Father Mackenzie first brought her here, she had bruises. And there is a sadness in her eyes sometimes.” Jamie’s hands had fisted up. Men are not to hit women!”

“But he is dead, her husband?”

“Aye. But, she still rejects the lads who wish to court her. Da says it is because she doesn’t trust them. She trusts me though.” He says with some pride. Jamie grins at him. He canna blame the lad. He feels the same.

“What else do you ken about her?”

“She loves to take the horses out and gather strange flowers and herbs. She can heal with them.” His eyes get large in wonder,” she hums songs as she works but they are like no song I have ever heard. She bathes daily.”

“How do you ken that?”

“The maids whisper about bringing up water for her ever night.” He replies with a blush.

“You shouldn't ken that lad.” The blush on the lad's face deepens.

“She has knifes in her surgery.” He tells his cousin to change the subject.

“Does she now?” Before the lad can answer, Donas, one of the more ill tempered horses, runs in from the outside paddock. He heads straight for Hamish. Jamie jumps in front of him and places his hands up.

“Slaodadh sios balach tha a h-uile dad gu math. Chan eil duine airson do ghortachadh. {slow down lad all is well. No one wishes to hurt you.}” he tells the horse. It stops with a snort and then reaches out and bites Jamie's hand. “Iffrin! You wee bastard!” he calls out as blood runs down his arm.

“Cousin Jamie, we must take you to the healer.”

“I will be..” but he doesn’t finish as a wave of dizziness takes him over. Auld Alex and Willy, the other men in the stables also insist. Hamish gets his arm around his waist and helps him to Miss Claire.

“Miss Claire, my cousin has been bitten by a horse!” He calls out as he enters. Claire hurries over.

“Owe!” She helps Hamish lower him down onto her table.

“Tis' just a horse bite. I've had worse.” He says as he looks into her incredible honey whisky eyes.

“This one is bad. Will need stitches. Hamish, run down and fetch some hot water and whisky from Mrs. Fitz.”

“Aye Miss Claire.”

“The alcohol here is not for drinking.” She explains as she carefully presses a clean cloth over the wound to slow the flow of blood. He would ask her what her alcohol was for but, even pressing down hard on his wound, her hands feel so bonny on him, ti' all he can concentrate on.

Hamish brings the requested items back. She pours Jamie a good shot and then another. “Okay, this is going to sting. Quite a lot. I am sorry.” She pours a good bit of the hot water over the wound followed by some of the alcohol. It hurts like the devil and he bites his lip tight not to scream. “Sorry. I am trying to prevent it getting inflamed.” She gives him another shot of whisky. “I am going to close it now. Your hand will have to be in a sling for a bit as it heals.”

“Do as you need.” He is feeling pleasantly buzzed by the whisky and her presence. She tips the needle at thread in more alcohol and starts to sew. She does hum as she works and Jamie is distracted some from the pain by trying to place the song. It is like none his mam had sang to him, like none of the songs he had grown up hearing.

She coats it with honey, wraps a clean cloth around it, and places it in a sling. “Rest here a bit Mr. Fraser.”

“Jamie. I am Jamie.”

“Claire. Rest Jamie.” He closes his eyes and a few of his curls fall forward. She brushes them back and he smiles. She does too.

Fort William

Lt. John Grey enters Captain Randall's office. “You called for me sir?”

“Yes, you recall the lady we found in Inverness two months ago? The one found in just her shift. The one Father Mackenzie came to see?”

“Yes, she died in her cell.”

“So it would seem. But, when we went to bury our latest, they dug near where her body should be. We have only a few women buried here. She isn’t among them.”

“I escorted the grave diggers out myself sir. I saw her buried. Why she isn't there, I truly can not tell you.”

“Fine. You are dismissed.” The Lieutenant leaves with a bow and Black Jack returns to the letter from his wife. She wrote with news of her pregnancy. He wrote her back offering congratulations but reminding her she is to have a son.

It isn’t a love match between them. She had been married to his brother. He had died and, his family not wishing to loss her money, insisted that he marries her. He has the men here and about to play with. If she gives birth to a son, he wouldn’t debase himself to lay with her again. He would much rather lie with Lt. Grey. With a sigh, he returns his mind to the problem of the missing widow.

Lt. Grey has his own story. He had been serving Her Majesty’s army in Afghanistan in 2009. After being injured, he was sent home. He decides to explore around before deciding what he wishes to do. While hiking in Scotland, he ends up touching the same stone Claire had. He woke up close to three hundred years in the past. Thank God for Father Mackenzie and Sister Ruth. Father Mackenzie provided him with papers and a commission. He hurries to his room to write the good Father about Black Jack discovering that Claire's body is missing.

1946

Sister Mary Luke, is the newest Guardian. It is only her second time in this time and she is still a bit nervous if prepared. Frank comes in

“Sister, is the good Father about?”

“I am sorry sir, he isn't. May I help you?”

“I really need to see him. I have found love again, you see. With my first wife gone, I seek the church’s permission to remarry.”

“I see Mr. Randall. He will be back soon. Where can he find you?”

He tells her which B and B he is staying in and leaves. Sister Mary smiles. Twi months. Father Mackenzie will be pleased.

[mayansmcx]

Hell Hath No Fury - An Invitation (part 2)

The car ride starts off just like any other car ride between two people who don't know each other but now have to spend the next two hours together: quiet and awkward.

After a few minutes of tense silence, I decide to muster up the confidence I had right before we started our drive back. Luckily, charging head long into conversations in potentially uncomfortable situations is something I'm great at.

"So, how long have you known those guys?" I ask.

He looks at me quickly before shifting to lean against the door. His eyes are fixated out the window as he replies "Coco, man I don't even know how long. Feels like forever though. And EZ, I've known him since he was born."

"Brothers?" I inquire.

"Yeah but I got the better genes in the family 'cuz clearly I'm the sexier one" he says as he lays his hand on his chest in emphasis.

"Well I was just gonna say that, obviously. Poor EZ must have had such a hard time growing up with a GQ cover model as a brother," I laugh.

He seems more at ease too, "You say that like a joke, but we both know I'm fine."

I shake my head and chuckle and we return back to the previous state of silence.

"So..." he begins, apparently feeling like it's his turn to break the tension, "how long have you worked for Pena? I haven't seen you around much before."

"You make it a habit to know all of the Mayor's staff?" I start to joke. "But no, I've been here about six months now."

"What is it you do for her exactly?" He asks, his interest seemingly genuine.

"I basically oversee all her staff. Handle the day to day stuff, coordinate things for her, advise her on things. I'm pretty much her right hand." The answer never changes but the more I have to explain it, the more boring it sounds.

"So she says jump and you say..." he starts off before I jump in.

"I say 'how high? Through which hoop? Have you considered what me jumping through this hoop will do for re-election? Have you considered how jumping over skipping may impact our optics?'" I rattle on.

His eyes widen a second as he processes what I'm sure is my alarmingly unpolished personality. "How'd you get into working here?" he fires off another question.

"Well, in college I majored in Political Science. My dad got me into politics at a young age. I tried on a bunch of different majors: Nursing, English, hell, even Philosophy, but none of them kept my interest and I'd find myself debating constitutional rights and policy with the weird school protestors. After I graduated, I did a fellowship program up in Sacramento in the Capitol. From there I headed up the campaign for a Congressman and when he won election he brought me on as his Communications Director in DC. Shortly after that, he made me his Chief when his other one crashed and burned." I explain. 

"Is the money good?" He asks

"Growing up my dad always told me 'you can do anything for money but if you spend 40 years of your life doing something you hate, you will never be happy.' But that being said, no, the money doesn't suck for the most part. I took a huge pay cut coming from DC to here, but I'm happier. Or at least I think I am." I tell him

"So why aren't you in DC?" He prompts further.

"That's a long, complicated story. Anyways, what about you? Are bar fights your favorite hobby?" I ask, hoping he'll gloss over me trying to change the subject.

"Not always," he says, "but sometimes people piss me the fuck off".

"So you're a hot head" It's not a question, but a statement.

"I like to think I'm just a passionate guy." He jokes.

"Ok, hot head" I laugh.

The rest of the ride, the tension dissipates. The conversation remains light; I talk a little bit about college and some of the things I've seen and done in DC, and he tells me bits and pieces of his story in return, neither of us delving into anything serious or heavy.

We work our way back into Santo Padre and he starts to guide me to wherever it is I need to drop him off.

"So where is it that I'm taking you?" I ask.

"The scrapyard. Bish will probably want to see you again, you know, to say thanks and all that" he tells me.

"That's fine" I tell him.

We eventually pull up into the scrapyard, which based on the signs is called "Romero Brothers Scrap & Salvage". I park and Angel and I both exit the car.

"This way." He indicates as he sets off to the main doors.

We walk in and see everyone dispersed around the room. EZ is behind the bar that Coco is sitting at, while Bishop and Taza are casually talking to other members on the couch.

"Hey Prez, we're back." Angel interjects when their conversation seems to hit a lull.

Bishop looks up and sees us both, stands up, and walks over to us.

"Glad to see you in one piece, Angel" He slaps his hand down on Angel's back twice. "And Lennon, thanks again for doing this for us.' He says earnestly.

"It was no trouble at all, my pleasure really. It's not every day you get to be on the inside of Fight Club" I smile, hearing Angel suck his teeth and bite back a retort.

"Coco says you scared the piss out of the badges." Bishop says, sounding amused.

"They got under my skin. When people get under my skin, my mouth runs faster than my brain can filter. The results are always amusing for someone, not always amusing for me though" I smirk.

"Sounds like you and Angel have that in common" Bishop says, a smile on his face.

"Seems so. Only I have the common sense to use my mouth and not my fists." I wink at Angel.

"I bet you do." Angel catches the innuendo I inadvertently made.

Rolling my eyes, I look back at Bishop who is now flanked by Taza.

"ANYWAYS," I sarcastically emphasize, "it was a pleasure helping you guys out." I tell the two leading members.

"Thanks again" Bishop nods, he starts to turn away before quickly facing me again. "We're having a get together tonight. You should come so we can express our gratitude properly. There's booze, and we'll even have Angel fight tonight that way you can see what it is that you released back into society." He smirks.

"Yeah, that actually sounds great. I don't get out much since Toni... uh Mayor Pena... is the only person I ever really see. Work is never done, ya know?" I tell them.

"'Toni?' You and the Mayor are tight?" Coco suddenly jumps into the conversation; I was unaware he'd been listening.

"Yeah," I say, pissed at myself for letting that slip. "It's not something I like to broadcast. I'd rather people know I got here on my own merits than thinking I'm just my friends lapdog. I met her during my fellowship." I explain further.

"That one up in Sac, right?" Angel asks without missing a beat.

"That's the one" I smile.

"Angel finally pays attention for once" EZ jokes.

"Tch, shut up, EZ" Angel shoves him.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this interaction, feeling incredibly comfortable in the presence of men who are well documented to be on the other side of the law when I see a black Escalade pull into the scrapyard.

"Seems you guy have some company, let me get out of your hair. I'll see you guys tonight. What time?"  I ask the group.

"Eight O'Clock" EZ tells me.

"Alright, see you then" I smile brightly as I start to turn around. With all the smiling I've done today I thank god my parents invested in good orthodontia work when I was in high school.

"Shit!" I hear one of the men say as I press my hand on the door to swing it open.

As I make my way through the lot back to my car, I see the men start to exit the Escalade, but can really only make out the details of the two closest to me. The man coming from the back is well dressed in what is easily a designer suit. His hair is styled meticulously, and his face is well chiseled. The man next to him has two long braids and even from a distance looks intimidating. As I slide into my car, I make eye contact with them both. I start my car and begin to pull away. Looking in my sideview mirror I can see they are still watching me; it's almost as if they want to ensure I leave. A chill rushes down my spine briefly which causes me to laugh.

I've been in the room with serious power players before, two random men from a tiny city in the middle of nowhere are hardly any threat. I think.

[blackkudos]

Will Smith

Willard Carroll "Will" Smith Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, producer, rapper, comedian, and songwriter. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular NBC television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for six seasons until 1996. After the series ended, Smith transitioned from television to film, and has gone on to star in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally, and eight consecutive films in which he starred, open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally.

Smith has been ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes. As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. As of 2016, his films have grossed $7.5 billion at the global box office. For his performances as boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001) and stockbroker Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Smith received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Family and early life

Willard Carroll Smith Jr. was born on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Caroline (Bright), a Philadelphia school board administrator, and Willard Carroll Smith, Sr. (died 2016), a refrigeration engineer. He grew up in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood, and was raised Baptist. He has three siblings, sister Pamela, who is four years older, and twins Harry and Ellen, who are three years younger. Smith attended Our Lady of Lourdes, a private Catholic elementary school in Philadelphia. His parents separated when he was 13, but did not actually divorce until around 2000.

Smith attended Overbrook High School. Though widely reported, it is untrue that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to college because he "wanted to rap." Smith says he was admitted to a "pre-engineering [summer] program" at MIT for high school students, but he did not attend. According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."

Recording and acting career

1985–1992: The Fresh Prince

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer. Jeff Townes and Will Smith were introduced to each other by chance in 1985. One night, Townes was performing at a house party only a few doors down from Smith's residence, and he was missing his hype man. Smith decided to fill in. They both felt strong chemistry, and Townes was upset when his hype man finally made it to the party.

Soon after, the two decided to join forces. Smith enlisted a friend to join as the beatboxer of the group, Clarence Holmes (Ready Rock C), making them a trio. Philadelphia-based Word Up Records released their first single in late 1985 to 1986 when A&R man Paul Oakenfold introduced them to Word Up with their single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble," a tale of funny misadventures that landed Smith and his former DJ and rap partner Mark Forrest (Lord Supreme) in trouble. The song sampled the theme song of "I Dream of Jeannie." Smith became known for light-hearted story-telling raps and capable, though profanity-free, "battle" rhymes. The single became a hit a month before Smith graduated from high school.

Based on this success, the duo were brought to the attention of Jive Records and Russell Simmons. The duo's first album, Rock the House, which was first released on Word Up in 1986 debuted on Jive in March of 1987. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes are still friends and claim that they never split up, having made songs under Smith's solo performer credit.

Smith spent money freely around 1988 and 1989 and underpaid his income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income. Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and began his acting career. Will Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world", studying box office successes' common characteristics.

1993–2002: Solo music and film beginnings

Smith's first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) in which he starred opposite Martin Lawrence. The latter film was commercially successful, grossing $141,407,024 worldwide — $65,807,024 in North America and $75,600,000 overseas. However, critical reception was generally mixed. In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.

In the summer of 1997 he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. The film was released on July 2, 1997, by Columbia Pictures, and grossed over $589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, becoming the year's third highest-grossing film, with an estimated 54,616,700 tickets sold in the US. It received worldwide acclaim, with critics highly praising its witty, sophisticated humor, Jones and Smith's performances.

During the summer of 1997, Smith also began his solo career with the release of "Men in Black", the theme song for the film of the same name, which topped singles charts in several regions across the world, including the UK. "Men in Black" (and second single "Just Cruisin'") was later included on Smith's debut solo album Big Willie Style, which reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and was certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The third single from the album, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It", became Smith's first Billboard Hot 100 number one when it was released in 1998.

In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State. The following year he turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved, although in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."

Smith's second album was again supported by the release of a film theme song as the lead single: "Wild Wild West", featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album in question, Willennium, reached number five on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. "Will 2K", the second single from the album, reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Before the end of 1999, a video album was released featuring Smith's seven music videos released to date, which reached number 25 on the UK Music Video Chart. The same year, the rapper was also featured on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Tatyana Ali's single "Boy You Knock Me Out", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK R&B Singles Chart.

Smith portrayed heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in the 2001 biopic Ali. For his performance he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. In 2002, following a four year musical hiatus, Smith returned with his third album Born to Reign, which reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album's lead single was Men in Black II theme song "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. Later in the year, Smith's first compilation album Greatest Hits was released, featuring songs from his three solo albums as well as those produced with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith's latest album Lost and Found was released in 2005, peaking at number six on the Billboard200. Lead single "Switch" reached the top ten of both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.

Career successes and acting

2005 saw Smith return for Bad Boys II, the sequel to the 1995 film Bad Boys and the second installment in the Bad Boys series, the film follows detectives Burnett and Lowrey investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Despite receiving generally negative reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing $270 million worldwide. In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending three premieres in a 24-hour time span.

Smith and his son Jaden played father and son in two productions: the 2006 biographical drama The Pursuit of Happyness, and the science fiction film After Earth, which was released on May 31, 2013. In The Pursuit of Happyness, Smith portrayed Chris Gardner. Smith said he first became interested in making a film about Gardner after seeing him on 20/20 and connected with him during production. The film, along with Smith's performance, received praise.

On December 10, 2007, Smith was honored at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world-renowned theater in front of many fans. Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews, its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique". A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood." On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith was selected as one of America's top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.

In 2008 Smith was reported to be developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he would be starring as Taharqa. It was in 2008 that Smith starred in the superhero movie Hancock. Hancock has grossed $227,946,274 in the United States and Canada and $396,440,472 in other territories for a worldwide total of $624,386,746.

On August 19, 2011, it was announced that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to work on his fifth studio album.

Men in Black III opened on May 25, 2012 with Smith again reprising his role as Agent J. This was his first major starring role in four years. Smith worked with Barry Sonnenfeld during the film's helming who commented that Smith was an exception in being an actor who was successful not for the size of his head, but that his "ego" compensated for it. After the release of Men in Black III, Smith was content with ending his work with the franchise: "I think three is enough for me. Three of anything is enough for me. We'll look at it and we'll consider it, but it feels like that it might be time to let someone else do that." Men in Black 3 was released ten years after release of Men in Black II (2002), and grossed over $624 million worldwide. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing film in the series.

Recent work

Smith starred opposite Margot Robbie in the romance drama Focus. He played Nicky Spurgeon, a veteran con artist who takes a young, attractive woman under his wing. Focus was released on February 27, 2015. Smith was set to star in the sci-fi thriller Brilliance, an adaptation of Marcus Sakey's novel of the same name scripted by Jurassic Park writer David Koepp, but later left the project.

Smith played Dr. Bennet Omalu of the Brain Injury Research Institute in the sports-drama Concussion, who became the first person to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Smith's involvement was due to his departure from the science fiction film Brilliance. He had doubts about the film early in production, saying, "Some of my happiest memories are of watching my son catch and throw a football. I didn’t want to be the guy who did a movie saying football could be dangerous." These views subsided upon his meeting with Omalu, whose words about American ideals resonated with Smith.

In 2016, Smith played Deadshot in the supervillain team-up action film Suicide Squad. Smith's inclusion in Suicide Squad meant choosing it over Independence Day: Resurgence, which he turned down due to seeing his involvement in the sequel as "clinging and clawing backwards." Later that year, Smith starred in director David Frankel's drama Collateral Beauty, playing a New York advertising executive who succumbs to a deep depression after a personal tragedy. Weeks after signing Smith onto the film, his father was diagnosed with cancer, from which he died in 2016. As part of his role required him to read about religion and the afterlife, he was brought closer to the elder Smith, calling the experience "a beautiful way to prepare for a movie and an even more majestic way to say goodbye to my father."

Upcoming projects

Smith will portray The Genie (originally played by Robin Williams in the 1992 animated film) in a live-action film adaptation of Disney's Aladdin directed by Guy Ritchie which is scheduled to be released on May 24, 2019.

Personal life

Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had one son, Trey Smith, born on November 11, 1992, and divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us". He also acted in two episodes of the sitcom All of Us, and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and on the David Blaine: Real or Magic TV special.

Smith married actress Jada Koren Pinkett in 1997. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth, and Willow Camille Reign Smith (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Smith and his brother Harry own Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills-based company named after Trey. Smith and his family reside in Los Angeles, California.

Public image

Smith was raised in a Baptist household and went to a Catholic school, but he no longer identifies himself as religious. Though he is not a Scientologist and has denied rumors claiming him as a member of the Church of Scientology, he has spoken favorably about it, saying "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious."

Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and [.....] the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel." Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy. Federal tax filing showed that Will Smith donated $1.2 million to the school in 2010.

Smith donated $4,600 to the 2008 presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. On December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway to celebrate Obama's winning of the prize. In 2012, Smith stated he supports legalizing same-sex marriage.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=Will+Smith&lang=en

[yakumtsaki]

I only call you when it's half past five, the only time that I'll be by your side, I only love it when you touch me, not feel me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, when I'm fucked up, that's the real me, BABE ♪

Here we fucking go again, desperately trying to make the fuckboi wolf commit to a serious relationship. My plan to turn Komei into a werewolf crashed and burned last generation and Jojo has had the want locked for like 10 years and it just won’t fucking happen. I’ve never had a non-cheaty werewolf in this game, I don’t know how other people do it but I’m having a ridic hard time with it. Victor’s ghost is judging me and who can blame him.

Speaking of, Shajar’s makeover is this wolf shirt, and yes, full shade intended. I still can’t believe she rolled popularity, way to single out your weakest spot and make it your life’s purpose. I mean that would be like Wyatt rolling fam-  ..nevermind.

UGH. Will you pick a fucking attitude and stick with it you furry asshole??? 

What kind of defective cuck wolf even is this. He won’t befriend us but he won’t attack either, he just sits around with his plastic bone playing house. USELESS. I didn’t know it was possible to hate a digital animal this much..

..but here comes Maxx to defy all expectations. Happy birthday Maxx, you look so wholesome and Lassie-like, I’m sure life with you will be like a vacation!

LOL. Is antagonizing Sophie really how you want to start your adult life, Maxx?? Well I guess having eyes is overrated.

SOPHIE WTF. You beat Victor but can’t take on this flop? Where is your holy warrior spirit??

- I’m old af and starting to worry about my eternal soul, so I’m literally turning the other cheek.

Nice, thanks for nothing. God I miss Victor.

Man, Maxx has ISSUES. He doesn’t even have a mean personality or a bad relationship with the cats, why are you like this you freak??

NOOOO not the fucking pet fight club again omg MAXX YOU DICK

Great, amazing job, Goro! The real Goro is rolling in his grave. All this went down in literally under a minute after Maxx grew up, talk about determination. 

-HA, kneel before Zod!

That’s not even from Mortal Kombat, Maxx, god, can you not make this worse than it is?

-Yea like I give a shit, what am I, some kind of fatass nerd cat?? I’m a dog, bitch, I like running..

Omg.

-And playing outside..

OMG.

-And being affectionate to my owners!

STOP. Christ, what kind of monster have I brought into our lives???

-One day in and I’m already the alpha.. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? Oh yes, Maxx is.. The best boy. And soon this cat legacy.. will be history.. the Age of Dog.. is finally.. upon us. 

💔💔💔💔💔

Not that we needed further proof that Maxx was given to us straight out of Satan’s unholy womb, but guess who else loves him on top of Cyneswith?? Why, Wyatt, of course, chief of police married to a serial killer, truly the best judge of character the world has ever known. Show me your friends..

..and I’ll show you who you are. UGH DAGMAR

-As a mailwoman I’m programmed to hate your kind, but I feel such a connection between us.. It’s like the universe conspired-

GTFO. Don’t test me, istg I’ll marry you in..

..you actually don’t look half bad compared to what else is out there. Shajar brings Toadface McBooberson here home from school which. why does bigger cleavage clothing even exist for teens and why do I have it, I really need to stop downloading default replacements in the dark. Anyway, hope you’re all ready for the adventure called ‘What is Shajar’s sexual orientation/does she even have one’!

Ugh, this certainly feels familiar. Shajar please, PLEASE fight your Jojo genes, I mean everyone loves Cyneswith, this is shaping up to be Gunter/Jojo volume 2 AND I CAN’T DEAL WITH IT AGAIN

-So, Butterface, my ambition in life is to have my own music theme play whenever I enter a room, like Darth Vader or Mary Poppins-

-Isn’t the sound of people already in the room sighing enough of a theme for you?

-Well it looks like one little frog around here isn’t getting turned into a princess!

Yea, I really don’t know what I expected?? Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

Speaking of daddy dearest, let’s check in. How’s it going, Jo? Great? Thought so, ok bye-

-DON’T YOU DARE PAN AWAY AND LEAVE ME TO MY MISERY MY ASPIRATION IS SCARLET RED

I’m sorry Jo but I’m a hear no evil, see no evil, spend-legacy-time-on-no-evil type of bitch and your life just bums me out at this point. But if it’s any consolation, it’s all your fault!

-HOW THE HELL IS IT MY FAULT I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS BULLSHIT

Um, YEA YOU DID. This is generation 2, we’re barely middle class and being heir is quite literally a shit job. Of course you could have minimized the impact had you chosen someone else to marry, but you just HAD to have Wyatt Narcolepsy Monif so.. talk to you later?

-Wyatt I’m worried our ship is sinking and no amount of rotting birthday cake can ease the pain.

-Oui, my estomac hurts toό.. Nothing 14 heures of sleepé won’t remédit of coursé :)

-DIDN’T NEED SUCH A GRAPHIC REMINDER THAT LIFE IS GARBAGE

God, wtf more do you want, 15k and still whining-

-OH. Well this just has Wyatt written all over it, but omg he tried to do a household task, just got confused at the very end. Bravo, leaps and bounds!

Meanwhile Shajar is having a successful interaction with a family member!! It’s a toddler who can’t get away, but whatever, it counts. Looks like this is a game-changing night for everyone.

-YES IT REALLY IS.

Jojo how about you take a page out of Komei’s book and devote your leftover energy to cats or cooking contests or banging Marissa Bendett instead of this constant, obnoxious guilt-tripping?? Man I really didn’t appreciate Komei while I had him.

7 a.m., the usual morning lineup, start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean, polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up, sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15,  

and so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three, I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery, I'll play guitar and knit, and cook and basically-

-just wonder when will my life begin? ♪

And of course that’s Victor making his nightly appearance and helping put Jojo out of his misery. What a sweetheart!

With the addition of Wulf and his 10 active points generation 3 has officially evolved past sleep, we’re talking 10/10/9 (Shajar you lazy bum) and it’s seriously exhausting. You know how when sims are asleep you can check your phone or eat smth or w/e, yea that’s simply not happening anymore, I’m in constant vigilance all night long..

..and thank god because otherwise I would have missed Allegra and Victor’s ghosts playing??? WTF MAXIS. I’ve never seen this before and it’s the rare combo of sad and adorable. Right in the feels ❤️💔

THAT WASN’T AN INVITATION TO EXPRESS YOUR SADNESS FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME JOJO

Oh “ok” it’s a cockroaches related freak-out. I don’t see anyone else crying over them but that’s Jojo for you. Exterminator bro if you’re that grossed out by a pile of dead insects I have some bad news for you regarding your profession. And while we’re on the topic of professions and crying:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You may recall that Wyatt has been one promotion away from his LTW for about 150 years and all we’ve been doing since is trying to amass the 8 friends needed for it. Welp, we finally got them through our blood, sweat and tears, so what does Wyatt do the day he was supposed to get promoted?? Get fired of course, what else! 

Honestly I’m not even mad, this truly is like the culmination of everything we know Wyatt to be. I mean just cast your minds back to the final moments of this post. We knew what we were getting into. Rock on, Wyatt!

-Nό, there is no disgracéd police capitaine in this maison! Quelle?? I’m not even Français! Et toi shouldn’t be calling personnes at 5 p.m when everyόné is sound asleép!

Time for the black sheep to get the full Kylo Ren treatment. Looking good, Shaj! Now let’s put that hot makeover to use-

-NO.

Here we go, HUMAN contact. Toadface was a bust so let’s try a dude. Shajar do you mind talking about something other than your dead pets??

-But I don’t want to talk about anything else!

Yea and I don’t want to overstate things but I’m getting the distinct feeling finding you a partner is gonna make Daniel’s run at it look like Californication.

Well, the data we’ve gathered so far points to Shajar being a noogiesexual, I’m sure somewhere on tumblr there already exists a pride flag for it. 

That’s right, mop up the dog piss from that grass and think about the face you present to the world.

HOW IS YOUR ASPIRATION GONE TO SHIT AGAIN. WTF ARE YOU DOING WHEN I’M NOT LOOKING, GOING AROUND FACING YOUR FEARS?? JFC

-I have a perma fear of leading the miserable life I’m trapped in.

-Oh look, my kid is potty trainted and I get 5k points.. I’m soooo happy... Definitely don’t miss my serial killer days...

Ok I can’t take this anymore, either Wyatt will have to take up more household duties..

..or we can aim for something within the realm of reality and build a robot servant instead. And if you’re thinkering you’re not whining! Everyone wins.

In the dead of the night, a time when only 12 year old children are awake and watching god knows what-

-Game of Thrones! Team Stark!

Ugh, of course you are-

-Wulf grows up! 

-Woo happy birthday Wulf! Don’t even try to come for my golden child crown, I’m as perfect as my grades.

I don’t like what Game of Thrones is doing to you, Cyn.

First thing Wulf does after his pj makeover is head for the keyboard, which makes the choice for his general makeover clear as day:

Wulf...Wolf...WOLFGANG. I mean, some things are just written in the stars..

..AND SOME THINGS AREN’T, in this case Shajar’s dating life. We get another Butterface McBooberson (wtf is it with this dress in this town) but this one is also sporting terrible hair as a bonus. Score!

Great, we’ve moved from music themes to dead pets to world domination. At least we’re committing to the Kylo persona. Butter 2.0 is into it?? Get a grip girl.

-Um why do you think I have this last century hair? I’m very into monarchy.

This is not only going non-disastrously but dare I say, well?? I can’t tell if I want it to work or not though, on one hand I’ve made my feelings about this face template abundantly clear.. on the other hand this is the first human (except her 10 nice point sister) to like Shaj.. 

..thankfully it looks like there’s no need to solve that dilemma after all. Btw at the time of this writing I literally still don’t know if Shajar is into girls or dudes, or both. No reaction to anyone whatsoever. 

Meanwhile even after the noogie Butter is super receptive and doesn’t hate us? I was as shocked as you are, if we were rich I’d think she has some ulterior motive but nop, it’s just low standards. God bless them-

-cause we made our first friend!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank the fucking lord Shajar’s LTW isn’t friend related, take a wild guess what it is instead.. And of course, the answer is ‘become Mayor’. I can just see the banner now: ‘vote Shajar Union or face the deadly consequences’.

-Ahh my dear, finally, no screaming toddlers ruining my life while you pretend you can’t hear them.. Now I can slowly start un-resenting you.. Maybe there’s hope for this marriage after all..

Not if Cyneswith has anything to do with it! After spending her entire childhood cockblocking by sleeping in her parents’ bed, she literally grew up just as they were about to woohoo for the first time in 10 years. how in character. Wanna know what isn’t in character??? Hold on to your seats, everyone..

............

....................................

..............................................

OK THEN. Much like Wolfgang there is but one appropriate look for the above:

Did anyone think fucking Lolita Cyneswith was remotely possible, let alone probable?? ROMANCE?? And into the elderly???? I thought that combo was bad enough, I mean then you bring in the tinkering factor on top of it and it’s like, Waylon Fairchild and college profs won’t know what hit them.. How naive I was. Things can always, always get worse, and in this family, they usually do. You can probably tell where I’m going with this.. Fast forward a few days and the LTW shows up..

..........................................yup. You know it’s been months and you’d think I’d have articulated a response by now that isn’t just screaming or miscellaneous incoherent sounds, and yet! what can I say, sometimes emotions are so powerful that words fail us. In lieu of a written reaction please listen to this song after the specified time stamp. It’s 3 minutes long and the only lyric is ‘oh no’.

[deedles-sims]

Devin’s “Try  It All” Legacy Challenge for The Sims 4

Hi there! This is a legacy challenge I created to do/see/complete everything The Sims 4 has to offer at least once. It incorporates all traits at least once, most aspirations and careers, and all skills and collections. I apologize if the transitions aren’t all that (I randomized the generations and strung them together the best that I could), but I think this is a really neat idea and wanted to share it. However, please don’t post this elsewhere without giving credit. I spent many hours putting this together. I hope you enjoy! I’d love any feedback you have! If you’d like to post about your journey, you can use the #Try It All Legacy Challenge

Rules:

Don’t cheat. It’s no fun if you cheat your way to victory. The aim of the game is to do and complete everything the game offers at least once. If you cheat, you can’t boast about completing such a feat.

Traits, Aspirations, and Careers are chosen for you. Unless specifically stated, you can decide which branch of the career you’d like to do.

All Aspirations, Skills, and Collections listed must be completed before you move on to the next generation. Failure to complete one of the listed requirements (unless due to some game mechanic or something outside of your control) results in the loss of the challenge.

Obviously each generation needs to have at least once child (If you don’t then the legacy can’t continue!). It’s up to you whether you adopt or birth the heirs, and how the heir is chosen unless specifically stated (i.e., the heir can be whoever you want, unless as in Gen 21 when the heir needs to be a vampire).

Berry Sims aren’t a required part of the challenge, but I’ve added in colors that I think pertain to each generation nicely if you’d like to incorporate that as well.

Since there are so many generations, you can also make it an Alphabetacy!

What to Do:

Create your founder with the given Aspiration, and Traits (and Berry color if you’d like to incorporate that into the game).

DON’T CREATE ANY CHILDREN OR SPOUSES.

Choose a large lot to grow your family on. There aren’t any restrictions on staying on the same lot, but I personally think it’s neat to see the lot change over the course of the challenge.

Play through the challenge!

The Generations:

1. Super Parent (Light Blue)

You’ve always wanted to have a large, beautiful, and successful family. As the matriarch/patriarch, you want to see your children grow up well, and are determined to be a big part of that.

Traits: Family-Oriented, Ambitious, Neat

Job: Start Up Entrepreneur (Tech Guru)

Get married

Master Parenting Skill

Have one child gain all positive character traits (from the Parenthood Pack)

Host one of each of the following: Birthday Party, Weenie Roast, and Toddler Play Date.

2. Freelance Botanist (Forest Green)

You were your parents’ pride and joy. They want to see you become the best of the best, but you want to go a different route. Since you were young, you’ve had a special bond with plants. So special, in fact, that you prefer them over Sims! You long to have the biggest garden around.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Gloomy

Job: Being a Botanist

Master Gardening Skill

Complete Gardening collection

3. Master Mixologist (Grey)

As a teen, you had a fascination with nectar, but not in a bad way! You thought it was interesting how there were so many combinations that produced such delicious drinks, kind of like a chemist! You have made it your life’s goal to learn all of those combinations.

Traits: Foodie, Outgoing, Insider

Job: Mixologist

Master Mixology Skill

Throw a party to show off your skills

4. Angling Ace (Salmon)

While the rest of your family was busy fussing over food and parties, you were outside enjoying the great world around you. Among your favorite parts were the fish, which you’re determined to catch all of and have a private collection.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Glutton, Hot-Headed

Job: Food Critic

Master Fishing Skill

Complete Fish collection

Showcase at least 5 fish that you’ve caught.

5. Soulmate (Rose Pink)

One of your life’s dreams has always been to have a nice spouse and kids. But until that day, you’re dedicated to your office job. However, during a typical day at work, you stumble upon that special someone. It’s a regular old office romance! Let’s just hope you don’t let your jealousy get the best of you...

Traits: Romantic, Jealous, Family Oriented

Job: Public Relations

Have an office romance

Host a Wedding

Get Married

6. Musical Genius (Lavender)

Most of your childhood was spent perfecting your music, and as such, you are eager to be a famous musician. You intend to make all of your dreams come true, and spend many a day practicing.

Traits: Creative, Music Lover, Perfectionist

Job: Musician

Master Guitar Skill

Master Guitar Skill

Master Violin Skill

Master Pipe Organ Skill

Master Singing Skill

7. Outdoor Enthusiast (Mint)

Your childhood was filled with loud music as your parent practiced their instruments for hours on end. To get away from it all, you spent a lot of time outside, enjoying the great outdoors. Your biggest goal is to start a bug collection.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Vegetarian, Clumsy

Job: Politician with a Save the Trees platform

Master Herbalism Skill

Complete Insects Collection

8. Archaeology Scholar (Light Yellow)

Instead of chasing insects, you focused on the objects you found on your family outings. Once, even, you found treasure worth 1,000 simoleons! That sparked your interest so much that you’ve decided to dedicate your life to being a treasure hunter, both at work and outside. You’d love to have your own private collection someday!

Traits: Active, Ambitious, Cheerful

Job: Investor

Master Archaeology Skill

Master Selvedoradian Culture Skill

Complete Jungle Adventures collections

9. Party Animal (Plum)

You always hated the family treasure hunts your parents made you go on, but what could you do? Well, at least when you visited Selvedorada you could dance with the locals! You adored those times, especially the parties! You want to spend every waking moment living life it’s 1999!

Traits: Dance Machine, Bro, Insider

Job: Internet Personality

Master DJ Skill

Master Dancing Skill

Throw an Incognito Costume Party, a Spooky Party, a House Party, and a Dance Party.

(Bonus points if you have a child that gains all negative character traits from the Parenthood Pack. If you do, this should be your heir!)

10. Public Enemy (Scarlet)

Your parent was too caught up in their partying to raise you well, so you raised yourself (quite unsuccessfully, you might add). You never truly learned to share, or not to take what isn’t yours. If we’re being honest, you’re the kind of Sim that just wants to watch the world burn. And if it does, then you’d probably just laugh! (*insert evil laugh here*)

Traits: Evil, Kleptomaniac, Insane

Job: Criminal

Have 5 enemies

Have a collection of stolen items

11. Computer Whiz (White)

You always thought your mother/father was insane, and it turns out you were right! Because of your not-so-great upbringing, you’re a bit of a loner. However, you were the brightest student in your school, and you long to be the brightest computer genius in the entire world.

Traits: Geek, Genius, Loner

Job: eSports Gamer

Master Programming Skill

Master Video Gaming Skill

Complete MySims Collection

12. Bodybuilder (Gold)

As a child, your parents were very occupied with their technology. You, on the other hand, spent most of your time on the jungle gym. Now, as an adult, you’re dedicated to your health and wellness. If only you would just clean up after yourself!

Traits: Active, Slob, Self-Assured

Job: Pro Athlete

Master Fitness Skill

Master Wellness Skill

Adopt a cat or dog as part of a self-help kick

13. Friend of the Animals (Purple)

One of the best decisions your mother/father ever made (next to having you of course) was getting your 4-legged friend. The two of you were best friends since the day you were born, and because of the special bond you had, you’ve decided to open a vet clinic.

Traits: Cat or Dog Lover (Based on your choice in the last generation), Good, Bookworm

Job: Running a Vet Clinic

Master Pet Training Skill

Master Veterinarian Skill

Complete Feathers collection

Have at least 1 cat and 1 dog

14. The Curator (Ruby Red)

Your parent’s vet clinic didn’t leave them much time for parenting, but you didn’t mind. You were too busy collecting the many things around you. You got so busy, in fact, that you long to start a museum!

Traits: Snob, Art Lover, Unflirty

Job: Art Critic

Complete Crystals, Elements, Fossils, Metals, and Microscope Prints collections

15. Painter Extraordinaire (Sky Blue)

Spending time in your museum of a house wasn’t very entertaining, but you made it work. All you had to do was break out a canvas and some paints and you were set for hours! Of course, not all of it was a waste. You did learn some very handy photography techniques to help you as an adult.

Traits: Creative, Art Lover, Snob

Job: Painter

Master Painting Skill

Master Photography Skill

Host Black and White Bash to showcase your art

16. Nerd Brain (Steel)

You’re not one for art (the gene seems to have skipped a generation with you), but you are a whiz with a wrench! You’ll do anything to leave this world, including build your own rocket ship out of here! Sixam, here you come!

Traits: Geek, Ambitious, Perfectionist

Job: Astronaut

Master Handiness Skill

Master Rocket Science Skill

Complete Aliens collection

Complete Space Rocks collection

Befriend an alien

17. Master Chef (Apricot)

Outer space was never really your thing, but it did give you some wonderful recipes! You’re perfectly fine spending the rest of your life on planet Earth, so long as you learn every recipe there is!

Traits: Foodie, Genius, Vegetarian

Job: Master Chef

Master Cooking Skill

Master Baking Skill

Master Gourmet Cooking Skill

Throw a dinner party

18. Chief of Mischief (Crimson)

Instead of helping your parent in the kitchen or licking the spoon, you preferred to break it. Your parent gave up on changing your ways rather quickly, so you became the mean-spirited Sim you are now. Rather than being a silly chef, you want to change the world in a bad way: by being the best super villain!

Traits: Mean, Lazy, Childish

Job: Villain

Master Mischief Skill

Win 5 fights

19. Renaissance Sim (Orange)

Your parent’s evil ways have rubbed off on you, at least somewhat. Instead of being an evildoer, though, you just want to be a mad scientist! You use frogs as your test subjects (but not for things that would hurt them! You’re not that bad), and occasionally enjoy a game of bowling.

Traits: Squeamish, Geek, Materialistic

Job: Scientist

Master Bowling Skill

Master Logic Skill

Complete Frog Collection

Complete Space Prints Collection

Reach at least level 5 of 2 other skills, but never commit enough to master them

20. Serial Romantic (Hot Pink)

You’ve never been one for committing, a trait taught to you by your mother/father. However, instead of not committing to a career or hobby, you can’t seem to commit to a single Sim! You spend much of your life bouncing from one Sim to another to sometimes several at once!! It doesn’t even matter if they’re fully human or not, either! At least you’re successful in your career...

Traits: Noncommittal, Romantic, Hates Children

Job: Doctor

Have 3 significant others at once

Never marry

Have only 1 child (must be with a vampire!!!)

21. Master Vampire (Blood Red)

Your parent was always too busy fooling around to spend time with you, so you’re quite the loner. It doesn’t help that you’re a vampire and they also didn’t know how to raise you. You figured the whole “drinking blood instead of food” thing out on your own, though. Of course, being immortal is depressing, so you don’t talk to many people, and you’re sad pretty often.

Traits: Loner, Gloomy, Snob

Job: Management

Master Vampire Lore Skill

Become a Master Vampire

Marry a human

22. Joke Star (Navy Blue)

When you were younger, you were very much the goofball in school, and you quickly decided you wanted to make it your life’s goal to make every Sim laugh. You are determined to be the most famous comedian in the world!

Traits: Goofball, Outgoing, Cheerful

Job: Comedian

Master Comedy Skill

Master Charisma Skill

23. Bestselling Author (Sepia)

As a class assignment one day, you researched your family tree and discovered all of your wacky ancestors and their antics. Using this as your inspiration, you’ve decided to be an author and write an entire book series about your family.

Traits: Creative, Bookworm, Self-Assured

Job: Author

Write 23 books (one for each heir), and a final autobiography.

Complete Postcards collection

[orbemnews]

John D. Pomfret, Key Figure in Revamping The Times, Dies at 93 John D. Pomfret, who as a New York Times executive was instrumental in a watershed effort in the mid-1970s to modernize the newspaper’s format, boost its advertising revenue and improve its productivity with the introduction of computer technology, died on Feb. 24 at his home in Seattle. He was 93. The cause was pneumonia, his son, John E. Pomfret II, said. Mr. Pomfret was among the half-dozen editors and business executives who, under Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, the publisher at the time, revived the company at a financially precarious time by creating a raft of stand-alone weekly sections — on food, home design, science and weekend entertainment — that proved popular with readers and advertisers alike. The Times also introduced Sunday regional sections that expanded the paper’s appeal to suburbanites in the New York metropolitan area. Until then the paper had consisted of just two sections, of many pages each. Mr. Pomfret was the last surviving member of the management team that spearheaded the transformation, beginning with Weekend on Fridays, which made its debut in April 1976. The others included Walter E. Mattson, the general manager; Louis Silverstein, the corporate art director; and the editors A.M. Rosenthal, Arthur Gelb and Seymour Topping. “Our penetration of the segment of the market we consider our target audience is thin in the city and worse in the suburbs,” Mr. Pomfret had advised Mr. Sulzberger, according to “The Paper’s Papers,” Richard F. Shepard’s 1996 book about The Times. He first suggested creating the Weekend section and made tentative suggestions for the themes of four other weekday sections, each to appear weekly. “Working as a team,” Mr. Topping, who died in November, wrote in a memoir, “we transformed the daily Times into a four-section paper.” Mr. Pomfret, who as the advertising director of his college newspaper had learned to set type by hand, presided during The Times’s labor-saving shift from typewriters and hot-lead Linotype machines to computerized word processing and electronic typesetting. The move resulted from a groundbreaking 11-year union contract that guaranteed continued employment for 800 printers until they retired and their jobs disappeared through attrition. Mr. Pomfret had taken an unorthodox route in joining the business side of The Times: He got there by way of the newsroom. He had been a reporter in The Times’s Washington bureau, variously covering the White House, the Supreme Court, civil rights and labor, beginning in 1962. During the prolonged strike against New York’s newspapers in 1965, he happened to be talking with Mr. Sulzberger, who was familiarly known as Punch, when Mr. Pomfret commented that, in his view, the Times Company’s labor relations policies were counterproductive. As Mr. Pomfret recalled in an unpublished memoir: “About a year after the strike ended, Punch Sulzberger telephoned me. ‘Pomfret,’ he said. ‘I want you to come up to New York and straighten them out.’ When the top man asked you to do something, you either did it or quit. I wasn’t ready to quit, so the family moved to New York.” He joined The Times as assistant to the director of industrial relations in 1966. He was later director of industrial relations, assistant to the publisher, coordinator of planning and assistant general manager before being promoted to corporate vice president in 1971, senior vice president in 1973, general manager of The Times in 1979 and executive vice president of the newspaper in 1981. He retired as general manager and executive vice president in 1988. Mr. Pomfret in 1986. He had been a reporter in The Times’s Washington bureau before joining the executive ranks on the business side of the paper. Credit…Gene Maggio/The New York Tmes John Dana Pomfret was born on Jan. 30, 1928, in Princeton, N.J., to John E. and Sara (Wise) Pomfret. His father became president of the College of William & Mary in Virginia and later director of the Huntington Library and Art Museum in California; his mother was a homemaker. Mr. Pomfret attended Princeton University, where his father had taught history, and joined the campus newspaper as its advertising director. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1949, then earned a master’s in business administration at Harvard. After serving in the Army, he met Mr. Sulzberger while both were working as a young reporters for The Milwaukee Journal. Mr. Pomfret had gotten that job because the company’s chairman was a friend of his father’s. “Today there is a lot of opposition to equal opportunity programs for women and Blacks,” Mr. Pomfret wrote in his memoir. “I am not among the opponents because I profited from an equal opportunity program in place back then and still in place for young white males.” He joined The Times not long after returning to The Journal from a Nieman fellowship at Harvard. His wife, Margaret Elizabeth (Haas) Pomfret, died in 2016. In addition to his son, a journalist and author, he is survived by their daughter, Dana Katherine Pomfret, and three grandchildren. Source link Orbem News #Dies #figure #John #Key #Pomfret #Revamping #Times

[rhetoricandlogic]

AUTONOMOUS BY ANNALEE NEWITZ

BY: NIALL HARRISON ISSUE: 11 DECEMBER 2017

1.

Medicine, medical research, and healthcare systems have always felt to me a little under-explored by SF. Every so often there's a small-press anthology, or some think tank-y futurism—such as this year's Writing the Future competition, organised by Kaleidoscope Health & Care—and on screen no starship is complete without its sickbay and doctor. But when it comes to more substantial SF, and in particular novels, the pickings seem slim. The two recent-ish examples that come to mind are Project Itoh's Harmony (2008, trans. Alexander O. Smith 2010), and Juli Zeh's The Method (2009, trans. Sally-Ann Spencer 2012): both are classically dystopian narratives that dramatise the totalitarian potential of excessive care. Beyond that, you have to look for more generally biotech-oriented stories that incorporate elements of healthcare politics, such as Stephanie Saulter's (r)egeneration series (2013-2015), or mainstream-published work that shades into the speculative, such as Jillian Weise's The Colony (2010) or Hanya Yanagihara's The People in the Trees (2013). The gap seems especially glaring when it comes to American genre SF, given the political prominence and immanently-dystopian quality of the American healthcare system, and its knock-on effects for global healthcare: to paraphrase William Gibson, the drugs are here, they're just not evenly distributed.

So Annalee Newitz's first novel, Autonomous, is welcome for building its narrative around the practicalities and morality of access to effective drugs, even if some of its choices are a little more confusing than you might hope. But we'll come to that. Setup first: towards the end of the present century, the global Collapse that looms in most of today's near futures leads to a realignment of the international order, away from nation-states and towards “economic coalitions”—of which the big players seem to be the Free Trade Zone that covers most of North America, the Asian Union, the African Federation, and the Eurozone—that represent near-total capitalist capture of governmental and public services. As a result, patent terms for new medicines have been extended to longer than a normal human lifespan; regulatory oversight of the clinical development process has been weakened nearly out of existence; drugs that enhance health and cognition are common and required for many jobs; and the pay-for-treatment US insurance model appears to have been extended to basically the entire world, leading to cascading generational inequality:

Only people with money could benefit from new medicine. Therefore, only the haves could remain physically healthy, while the have-nots couldn’t keep their minds sharp enough to work the good jobs, and didn’t generally live beyond a hundred. Plus, the cycle was passed down unfairly through families. The people who couldn’t afford patented meds were likely to have sickly, short-lived children who became indentured  and never got out. (p. 55)

Enter Jack Chen, patent pirate. From a family of farmers, she moved into synthetic biology research, and then into open medicine activism, first as part of a group known as The Bilious Pills, then later and for decades as a solo artist. In July of 2144, we find her in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, charging up the batteries of her submarine and worrying over news stories about a bad batch of black-market pharma that might be her fault. In an attempt to raise funds to subsidise her “real work” making medically urgent antiviral and gene therapies freely available, Jack reverse-engineered and sold Zacuity, the hot new “productivity pill” made by Zaxy, which was “didn't just boost your concentration [but] made you enjoy work” (p. 14). Now there are stories in her feed about people with obsessive task addiction, starting with a student whose “brain showed a perfect addiction pattern [...] like she'd been addicted to homework for years” (p. 11). Before too long, Jack is on the run, attempting to find a cure for the people she's inadvertently hurt, while being pursued (in alternating chapters) by agents of the International Property Coalition.

Newitz's future, while perhaps not quite matching the likes of Lauren Beukes or Ian McDonald for sentence-level stylistic verve, is rich, varied, and consistently interesting; it's fun to roam from the Arctic to Casablanca to Vegas and on. But every now and then something doesn't quite ring true. The mildest of my eyebrow-raises were down to inconsistencies or ambiguities in terminology. If you tell me a drug is in “beta” (p. 29), I will assume a move-fast-and-break-things culture has replaced more rigorous medical research, unless and until you later start talking about phase 1 clinical trials: those two linguistic paradigms don't fit neatly together. If you refer to “cloned Zacuity” (p. 13), I will assume it is produced by a process in which cloning could plausibly be relevant; so it's probably a biologic, perhaps a cell therapy of some kind; but if you then talk about “isolat[ing] each part of the drug” and “narrow[ing] the questionable parts down to four molecules” (pp. 28-9) I will get thoroughly confused, since not only does that not sound like a cell therapy or biologic, it doesn't even sound like Zacuity is a single drug, but rather a combination of small-molecule treatments.

Above this, however, sit some practical and conceptual concerns. I can accept that the novel's characters believe that subversion of intellectual property law is the most practical solution to their crisis because they are living under total capitalism; but it is odd that nobody even laments the impossibility of a system that would centralise and pool healthcare costs. Socialism seems to have been thoroughly erased in the present, in memory, and in possibility. And I can accept that “Zaxy didn't make data from their clinical trials available”, but the corollary, “so there was no way to find out about possible side effects” (p. 14) seems a little dubious in what is evidently still a networked world easily capable of crowdsourcing that information. Then there's the underlying business model itself. It seems that the have-nots massively outnumber the haves, and while pharmaceutical companies are not perfectly rational economic agents, and have been known to push the limits of appropriate pricing for access to treatment, at a certain point charging x to a market of y patients becomes less profitable than charging a fraction of x to a multiple of y. Everything we learn about the world of Autonomous suggests that Zaxy and its competitors deliberately keep themselves on the wrong side of that equation. It's only Jack and her friends attempting to fill the market hole, and it's not clear why.

Why does such pedantry matter? Perhaps it doesn't. But Zacuity is presented to us as symptomatic of a system, a synecdoche for lost autonomy, the reduction of human lives to biological machinery. It's everything Jack has dedicated her life to fighting against. And for that fight to really matter, the symptom and the system need to feel crushingly inescapable; and they don't always.

2.

Or is there another way in? Autonomous explores its core theme on more than one front. It is a novel about seeking freedom in an owned world, and although the owners in the background don't always quite feel solid, their property is memorably thorny. Two pairings stand out in particular. Travelling with Jack is Threezed (3-Z, two syllables), a young indentured man she inadvertently rescues from his owner; pursuing them are two IPC agents, an enfranchised man named Eliasz, and an indentured artificial intelligence, Paladin.

Indenture is, for the avoidance of doubt, slavery, but a version grown from the worst of contemporary employment practices and a perversion of the concept of equality. It took root, we are told, in the mid-twenty-first century, with the arrival of the first true artificial intelligences: “companies could offset the cost of building robots by retaining ownership for up to ten years” (p. 224). (The parallel to non-sentient innovations such as pharmaceuticals is hard to miss.)

But when bots were granted human rights, that didn't come with their immediate freedom; instead, a new human right was enshrined, namely the “right” of indenture. “After all, if human-equivalent beings could be indentured, why not humans themselves?” (p. 224). This global endorsement of slavery as the ultimate choice of a good capitalist subject means that in 2144 it has expanded from what we know and become an order of magnitude more extensive than at any previous point human history. Its supposed limits are fig-leaves: even if birth-indenture of humans remains technically outlawed in most of the economic coalitions, many turn a blind eye, and in any case, child indenture is fine. Such was the fate of Threezed, as Jack sees it:

Families with nothing would sometimes sell their toddlers to indenture schools, where managers trained them to be submissive just like they were programming a bot. At least bots could earn their way out of ownership after a while, be upgraded, and go fully autonomous. Humans might earn their way out, but there was no autonomy key that could undo a childhood like that. (p. 31)

The other characters—and for most of the novel Threezed is seen only through the eyes of others—know this story intellectually, but for various reasons have a hard time internalising what it means. After Jack rescues him, Threezed, “his eyes wide with feigned innocence” (p. 52), offers to “repay” her; Jack wonders whether he is “trying to manipulate her” or whether “his indenture had trained him in this specific form of gratitude” (p. 52). She asks him if he is sure. “He bowed his head in an ambiguous gesture of obedience and consent” (p. 53): a haunting reaction. Their 'relationship' continues for some time, and Jack—an ostensibly pragmatic woman, for whom romance is “like any other biological process [...] the product of chemical and electrical signaling in her brain” (p. 57)—starts to convince herself Threezed's compliance is perhaps more than his programming. “She leaned over to kiss Threezed hard on the mouth. His reaction was not artful. It felt sloppy and real” (p. 88). That “real” lands hard, I think, imbued with a desperate desire for a simple story to be true, for Jack not to be exploiting vulnerability. But of course the power imbalance has distorted Jack's perceptions, as power imbalances inevitably will. Late in the novel we discover that Threezed keeps a blog of his experiences. It is a “prickly, grotesquely truthful story” (p. 243), and his take on Jack is simply that, “Every master loves to fuck a slave” (p. 253). What he doesn't add is the horror we have already seen: a master who wants to believe the slave loves to fuck them back.

While all this is happening, Paladin and Eliasz are becoming similarly entangled, but this time it's the master's view that is withheld. Paladin—newly activated and thus something of an innocent, albeit one equipped with alarmingly lethal military hardware, and with appropriate software installed to ensure an uncomplaining 20 years of indentured service—has an unexpectedly intimate moment with Eliasz fairly early on in the novel:

The bot stood at full height, and Eliasz rested his hands on the guns that jutted from Paladin's chest. Eliasz' right hand began to move slowly, getting to know the whole barrel by feel.

[...]

Shoot the entire roof off that house. Eliasz' lips were pressed into Paladin's carapace, moving slightly as he gave the vague order.

[...]

Paladin categorized the physiological changes in Eliasz' body and reloaded his guns. The bot decided to continue his human social communication test by not communicating. It didn't make sense to remind Eliasz that every single movement of his body, every rush of blood or spark of electricity, was completely transparent to Paladin. He would allow Eliasz to believe that he sensed nothing. (pp. 75-76)

This is entertaining—and a later scene in which Paladin allocates 20% of his processing power to run internet searches for confusing sexual terms while reserving the remaining 80% to concentrate on blowing shit up is outright funny—but it's also tragic. Every one of Paladin's actions is oriented towards meeting Eliasz' needs, even “his” acceptance of a particular pronoun. Bots, we are told more than once, do not have a sense of gender, and as a result it takes Paladin a while to understand how profoundly gender shapes the world for humans. When it becomes clear that Eliasz would be more comfortable with their relationship if he could think of Paladin as a woman, Paladin accommodates by accepting “she” instead of “he”, even recognising the potential impact of the change, even knowing that the choice may not be free: “Bug would no doubt say that there are no choices in slavery, nor true love in a mind running apps like gdoggie and masterluv. But they were all that Paladin had” (p. 236). More completely programmed than Threezed, Paladin's chosen truth shies away from the grotesque—even after she achieves autonomy.

Fortunately for Paladin, Eliasz treats her better than Jack treats Threezed—he asks permission, for one thing—and his feelings, when we are eventually given access to them, do appear to be—that word again—real. In contrast to Jack's mechanistic view of love, for Eliasz it is an unexamined but powerfully felt emotion, and when at a moment of crisis he has to choose between achieving a goal and saving Paladin, he thinks: “He had a choice. Or maybe he didn't” (p. 285). And like that we are reminded that the novel's logic for “human indenture” is particularly malevolent because it extrapolates from an underlying truth: that even when nominally free citizens, humans are never perfectly autonomous and that that is in fact a good and necessary fact; that in a thousand different interactions we give up some of our freedom, for the sake of each other, for the sake of society. Is that grounds for a faint flicker of hope? In Newitz's dystopia it may be supremely difficult to define when and where “real” occurs, but if at least some voluntary abstentions of autonomy remain possible, some of the time, then neither humans nor bots have been reduced to perfect commodities yet. So the fight does still matter. I think that, in the end, is what I choose to take from this unsettling, uneven novel.

@booksandghosts This reviewer is brilliant and the emphasis above (I bold/italicked the paragraph which matters to me) explains eloquently what I called “misgivings” while I read this book. I thought you would like to know. The review is -of course- somewhat spoilery, though not overly.

[sid-the-super-tramp]

Shih Tzu Everything you need to know

The Shih Tzu is quite the dynamic toy dog.The actual name Shih Tzu translates to ‘little lion’ which most likely derives from the fact that they have ‘manes’ around their face. Extremely popular one due to its adorable good looks and extremely good nature. In many ways, this dog is an ideal family companion, but it does require a lot of care to maintain its luxurious coat.

Highlights

Dog Breed Group  - Companion Dogs Weight  Female: 4kg / 8lbs – 7.2kg / 16lbs (Adult), Male: 4kg / 8lbs – 7.2kg / 16lbs (Adult), Height Female: 20cm/ 8 inches – 28 cm / 11inches (Adult, At the Shoulder) Male: 20cm/ 8 inches – 28 cm / 11inches (Adult, At the Shoulder) Life Span - 10 to 16 years Know Are Shih Tzu good for first-time owners?

Shih Tzu Temperament

Companion -  He is happiest when he is with his family, giving and receiving attention. Shih Tzus are not just lap dogs. They accompany you everywhere, even if you are in the kitchen cutting vegetables or sitting on a couch watching TV. Shih Tzu dogs are always more active indoors than outside. Most will get a burst of energy where they joyfully race around the room for a short period of time.Traning Needs a lot of time - Training requires a gentle approach and plenty of rewards, though the rewards do not always involve food treats. Many Shih Tzu is satisfied with a favorite toy as a reward, or even a hug and affectionate pat. Crate training can help speed the process, but some owners prefer the breeder housebreak the dog before bringing him home.Intolerance for Heat - Shih Tzu dogs tolerate the cold far better than the heat. They love snow and could stay out of it for extended periods of time as long as you are out there too. The Shih Tzu is sensitive to heat. He should remain indoors in an air-conditioned room (or one with fans) on hot days so he doesn't suffer from heat exhaustion.Picky eaters - Don’t let your Shih Tzu get away with it. GIve him time to adapt to what he is supposed to eatStubborn - Can be stubborn and won't do anything unless they know what's in it for them. Training should begin early, sessions should be kept short, and activities should be varied in order to keep the dog interested in what is going on. Lots of excited praise and treats can help motivate a Shih Tzu to learn new behavior.lots of barking: If the dogs are not socialized a lot or purchased from backyard breeders and pet shops probably won't possess a quiet demeanor because they were carelessly bred for profit.Friendliness - Most Shih Tzu dogs are friendly, but some are more reserved. Those that are more reserved are likely to be cautious around strangers, but never mean or aggressive. All Shih Tzu dogs are friendly around the people they know and completely devoted to their owners.Adaptability Shih Tzus are highly adaptable. He is as well suited to apartments in the city as to live on a country farm. They generally settle in quickly to a new surrounding or with a new owner.Good with Children and Small Pets - Shih Tzu dogs are generally great with kids and other pets. They have little to no prey drive, so they are usually safe near smaller pets. Very young children will need to be supervised closely as most of the dogs in this breed are relatively small and can be hurt quickly, so handling them with care most is essential.

Health

Coprophagy (aka stool eating) is more than just a disgusting behavior in Shih Tzus and other breeds. It could put your dog's health is at risk. If another animal's stool is loaded with parasites, your dog could become infected with roundworms, which cause weight loss or whipworms, which may result in anemia, among other parasites. So clean the poop quite often.Heat stroke - When temperatures start to rise, Shih Tzus are at risk of overheating. That's because their flat faces and short snouts restrict airflow through the upper respiratory tract, so they can't cool themselves down as effectively through panting. Weakness, heavy panting, and frothing at the mouth are a few of the signs that a dog is too hot.Periodontal disease - Shih Tzus are prone to developing the painful periodontal disease because their teeth (all 42 of them!) are crowded inside those tiny mouths. Consequently, plaque accumulates faster on their teeth around the gums, and if not removed it hardens into tartar, a brownish calcified material.Renal dysplasia, an inherited condition in which the dog’s kidneys don't develop normally. This is something a puppy inherits from his parents, so buy puppies only from breeders who test all their dogs for renal dysplasia.Shih Tzu is prone to several inherited eye diseases, including cataracts and progressive retinal atrophy. Shih Tzus are also prone to dry eye, or keratoconjunctivitis sicca -- a condition in which inadequate tear production leads to corneal dryness, pain, corneal ulcers, and other complications.Dogs with bulging eyes, such as the Shih Tzu, are more likely to have an injury to the eyeball that causes the eyeball to bulge out of the orbit, called proptosis. When proptosis occurs, blood flow is cut off, and the lack of oxygen can result in blindness. It is a medical emergency.Shih Tzus can have underbites (or "undershot jaw") in which the lower jaw extends past the upper jaw, resulting in trauma to the gums and malocclusion of the teeth. They are also prone to periodontal disease and should have their teeth brushed daily. Know What is Teacup Shih Tzu or Imperial Shih Tzu

How much should a Shih Tzu eat

It is very important to keep a check on how much and how often you are feeding to your dog as these dogs are prone to obesity. After six months, two meals per day will work best. A healthy and normal Shih Tzu dog weighs anywhere between 10 to 16 pounds. 35 calories per pound of body weight are sufficient for an average adult Shih Tzu dog while 30 calories per pound of body weight are sufficient for senior dogs. Too much carbohydrate in their diet is not suggested. Like all other dogs, these dogs also require a good amount of protein for healthy growth. Chicken, turkey, and eggs are the major sources of lean protein for a Tzu. Also, add veggies to supplement minerals and vitamins. Shih Tzu puppy, based on age 2 to 3 months: 1/2 to 3/4 cups per day 4 to 8 months: 1/2 to 1 cup per day 9 to 12 months: 3/4 to 1 and 1/4 cups per day Shih Tzu adult, based on the weight 9 to 12 lbs. = 3/4 to 1 cup 13 to 16+ lbs. = 1 to 1 and 1/4 cup

Shih Tzu Grooming

Grooming is a sure way to make sure you’re keeping tabs on the health of your canine. Grooming doesn’t just include taking care of their coats. It also is the upkeep of their hygiene. Their ears can harbor bacteria quite easily, and they’re prone to ear infections. Not only their ears should be examined, but their entire body too. Check their coats, nose, ears, eyes, mouths, and paws for anything suspicious. This means inflammation, redness, rashes, parasites, infections, and anything that seems at all abnormal. By grooming your dog consistently, you keep them cleaner and less prone to infection, and you remain aware of their physical state, meaning you can catch something early if it comes.

Hair color

Black - Solid black Shih Tzu are rare, however, full black coloring does exist. For most, black will exist within a bi such as the lovely black and white, or tri-color coat. Because liver colored dogs lack all black pigmentation, you will not see a true black dog with a liver colored nose.White - While you see it every now and then, white Shih Tzu without a secondary color is rare. Most are white with one or two more of the accepted colors.Liver - A Shih Tzu is liver based on skin pigmentation. The coat may be any color at all. The dog has brown pigmentation on the nose, paws and eye rims.Blue - Blue is a color given due to skin pigmentation. Only if the nose is blue, will this be the official color? Blue may also be on the eye rims and paw pads.Brindle - This is a combination actually, of a base coat with streakingGold - A tan - yellow, found commonly among Labrador RetrieversRed - A very deep and dark orangeSilver - Gray/white but with a deep shine

Shih Tzu history

Will knowing the history of Shih Tzu makes a better owner, well certainly not. But it's better to know about your little lion. The Shih Tzu is considered one of the most ancient dog breeds. In fact, many members of ancient Chinese royalty kept the breed as pets. Today, they are also kept as companion animals. The lamas presented the dogs as a tribute to Chinese rulers, and it was at the Chinese imperial court that they received the name, Shih Tzu, meaning “little lion” or “lion dog.” The Chinese also gave the Shih Tzu another name — chrysanthemum dog — because the hair on the face grows in all directions like the petals of the flower. Empress T'zu Hsi had a great love for animals and carried out extensive breeding programs under the direct care of palace eunuchs. During Empress Tzu Hsi's reign, the Dalai Lama gave her a pair of magnificent Shih Tzus, reportedly the source of the imperial palace's little lion dogs. After her death in 1908, the kennels were dispersed and palace breeding became haphazard. Some breeding was still practiced by private individuals and specimens were exhibited, but the dogs were almost impossible to acquire. So far as is known, the breed became extinct in China after the Communist revolution. In 1928, the first Shih Tzus, a male and female pair, were brought to England from Peking by Lady Brownrigg, the wife of the quartermaster general of the north China command. In 1933, a Mrs. Hutchins brought a Shih Tzu from China to Ireland; this dog was eventually bred to Lady Brownrigg's. These three dogs formed the foundation of Lady Brownrigg's kennel. The gene pool of all existing Shih Tzu is from fourteen Shih Tzu dogs in England in 1952. Returning military personnel brought some of the first Shih Tzu into the United States during the late 1940s and 1950s and began breeding programs. From the first day of formal AKC recognition (Sept. 1, 1969), the Shih Tzu moved suddenly from a relatively unknown breed to one of the most glamorous and popular of all canine companions. Read the full article

[goddessvicky]

Here and Where You Are

Chapter 2 : Slip 

Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), MCU, Captain America (Movies), Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Explicit

Characters: James “Bucky” Barnes, Steve Rogers, Darcy Lewis, Tony Stark, Jane Foster, Thor (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Pepper Potts, Erik Selvig

Relationships: James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers, Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, James “Bucky” Barnes/Darcy Lewis, James “Bucky” Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Tags: WinterShieldShock, UST, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, Darcy Has Powers, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Polyamory, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Smut, All the swears, Slow Burn, framily, Non Stop Pop Culture References, OT3, Found Family, all the Avengers need therapy

                                                  “What’s the matter?                         You don’t have enough rain to make up your storm?                                         Oooh whatcha look so sad for?                                         Where’s the light I used to know?                                    Oh it’s gonna slip, slip, slip through your                                        Slip, slip, slip through your hands.”                                                – Slip, Elliot Moss

When Bruce Banner had said he was going to run tests, Darcy had expected normal things. X-Rays. MRIs. CT scans. Lots of other medical buzzwords she’d heard while watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy. Somehow she hadn’t realized how many tests there were out there. She’d been poked, and prodded, and shoved in boxes that made banging noises, and then more blood had been taken.

She’d tried to draw the line at giving a stool and urine sample, but after some heavy glares from Jane, she’d acquiesced.

After three days of sitting around, punctuated by the occasional nap and yet another vial of her blood being taken, she was sitting on the horrible uncomfortable cot, feet swinging, as people filed into the room. Darcy recognized them all, even if she hadn’t actually talked to any of them.

Bruce Banner aka ‘I get angry and turn green and smash things for fun’ guy.

Tony Stark, a sarcastic asshole who was slowly growing on her.

Steve Rogers, Mr. Apple Pie himself.

Bucky Barnes, (previous?) assassin and the Captain’s best friend.

Jane and Thor were standing nearby, though they’d been careful to keep their distance. In fact, through the whole battery of tests that had been done on her, she’d not come in physical contact with anyone. It’s not like she was normally getting felt up by people all day long, but now that she’d realized it, she realized how horrible she felt about it. Was this how it was going to be all the time? Had Jane really been the last person she’d ever touch?

Fuck, that’s pretty fucking pathetic.

Darcy tried not to react when she cast glances around the room at everyone. Bruce and Tony looked like they were here for the science, as was Jane. Thor was smiling at her softly, but that seemed pretty normal. While others had ‘Resting Bitch Face’, the Norse god had ‘I’m Really Handsome and People Like Me’ face.

Steve had taken a seat at the small table, gaze flicking up to look at the screens as Tony and Bruce arranged them so everyone could see. She supposed it should feel weird, knowing that that was her brain and body up on the screens, but she was doing a nice job of detaching herself, just enough so she didn’t start freaking out. Darcy wasn’t sure what to expect, wondering if they’d called everyone in on purpose, or if everyone had just wanted to hear it and piled into the room with morbid fascination.

Of all the people in the room, the only one that really put her on edge was the man behind Steve. Something about his grey eyes seemed tense, like he was waiting for something to happen. Was something going to happen? She had no fucking clue.

Bruce turned and gave a twitch of a smile. He started without preamble. “We’ve run every test we could think of, and as far as her body is concerned, Ms. Lewis is a healthy 29-year-old. Her blood pressure is normal, every scan came back negative for any abnormal bodily fluctuation, she runs a steady 98.3 degrees and does not appear to have any latent health anomalies.”

“Except for this,” Tony said, gesturing toward one of the screens. He swiped his hand in the air and brought the image so it was sitting in the middle of the group. Darcy leaned forward, squinting at it. All she could see was a bunch of blue swiggles. Tony pointed and a part of the swiggle lit up orange.

“We’ve gone further and done an experimental gene map -”

“You have access to a program that can map the human genome in three days?” Darcy rolled her eyes as Jane’s ears perked and she looked toward Bruce and Tony with interest.

“It’s experimental,” Bruce reiterated.

“But yes,” Tony said, a satisfied smile on his face. “And that little bit, right there? That bit shouldn’t be there.”

Jane took another step toward the tech, eyes pouring over the image. “You’re suggesting she has another gene?”

“Yes. Something extra. Something else.” Tony closed the triangle, leaving him, Bruce and Jane with their backs to the rest of the room. Darcy needed to get friends who weren’t huge science nerds, as not understanding what they were talking about was pretty annoying.

“It’s fascinating. Not only is it a genetic anomaly, it appears that it was passed down on her maternal side.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, the eyes in the room turning toward him, “maybe I’m misunderstanding, but are you saying that her DNA is different than ours?” He watched Bruce’s chin dip slightly. “Or different than most of ours?”

Bruce nodded. “There is a marked difference between our genes and Ms. Lewis’ genes.”

Darcy’s eyebrows rose toward her hairline and her feet stopped swinging, their conversation finally making all the connections in her brain. “Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down. Pump the breaks. You’re saying I have alien DNA? That’s so fucking messed up!”

Tony pointed in her direction. “Nobody said alien.”

She cocked her head to the side as her eyes narrowed slightly at Tony. “Somebody said alien.”

“Nobody said alien.”

Darcy held her slightly glowing hands in front of her, eyes wide and innocent as she looked at him. “Fine, jeez, no one said alien. But no one said human either.” She turned to Bruce, who was still looking at whatever part of her body was currently displayed in the projection hovering in the air. “So what’s the what, doc? Give it to me straight.”

“As I’ve said, Ms. Lewis -”

She gave him a look. He’d been sticking needles in her for days now, and she’d reminded him over and over that he could use her first name. “Call me Darcy, please. Ms. Lewis was an egg donor who apparently birthed an alien!”

She smirked to herself when Tony threw up his hands and turned his back in frustration. She saw Jane roll her eyes in her peripheral vision; Darcy’d always been good at pushing people’s buttons, it wasn’t her fault that Tony Stark had so many. She could see him start bleeding colors, but shook her head. Not now, synthesizer colors, or whatever it was Jane called you!

Steve’s eyes flicked down toward the floor, doing his best to hide his smile behind his hand. He’d been known to get under Tony’s skin from time to time, but he’d done his best not to outright bait the man. It seemed like Darcy hadn’t learned that lesson yet. Or, she was enjoying it and doing it on purpose. Either way, he was amused.

Bruce cleared his throat and Darcy’s hazel eyes swung back to him. “Your DNA is different than a full human’s, yes, but the term ‘alien’ means something not of this earth and you are of this earth. You’re just not fully human. And it seems that’s why you were able to absorb the gem.”

Darcy blinked at Bruce, uncertain what he meant. “So I’m… what? Some sorta freak of nature?”

“A mutant,” Jane said, a bit too happily. Darcy glared at her friend and Jane had the grace to give her a guilty smile, “but a nice one?”

Darcy frowned at the astrophysicist. As if she needed another reason to feel self-conscious. “No one likes being called a mutant.”

“There are worse things to be called.”

Bucky hadn’t meant to comment out loud, and he bristled when the eyes in the room turned toward him. He pushed off the wall, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. Steve gave him a small smile, but Bucky turned his attention to the subject in question. She was staring at him with an odd look on her face, like she was looking through him.

Once again the man with the metal arm, with all his dark swirling colors, became the focus of the attention in the room, and Darcy watched everyone light up as they looked at him. Almost everyone was filtered a light brown and, somehow, she knew that that meant. They were inquisitive, or questioning. Tony Stark was bathed in a sea of black as he regarded the other man (interesting). Steve Rogers, who had been sitting quietly in front of  Barnes and looking unnecessarily hot (in her opinion), continued with his brilliant gold glow, a heavy line of cobalt connecting the two men.

Darcy tried to digest what Bruce had said about her: she had some kind of mutation in her DNA (not alien) and that’s why she hadn’t turned crispy after grabbing the stone. It didn’t really explain why she was seeing colors, or if she could expect any other surprise powers down the road. And really, the only man who would know anything was standing to her right. She shook her head, the colors bleeding from her vision until she was looking up at Thor.

“Thor, Big Guy, help me out.” Darcy turned to the Norse god, her eyes imploring him for some good news. “What’s the what? This gem? What’s it do?”

“It’s the Soul gem,” he offered, giving her a tight smile, “arguably the most powerful of the infinity stones. The ability to see souls, to steal them, to trap them.” Thor frowned, looking like he didn’t want to explain further. At Darcy’s look, he continued. “To have the soul gem is to control souls. Or, depending upon the wielder, destroy them.”

Darcy looked up at Thor, into his blue golden retriever eyes, and was struck dumb. She tried repeating his words over, letting them roll around in her head, trying to make them make sense. But it was impossible.

Control souls? Trap souls? Destroy souls!? No. Fuck. No. No no no! That’s not... It wasn’t possible… she couldn’t…

Bucky could see it as it happened. He watched her eyes widen, her pupils dilate. Her skin flushed, and her full lips parted as her breath sped up. He pushed off the wall, tensing. He knew what came next.

Her heart started to thunder in her ears and she felt her skin break into a cold sweat. The room was spinning and her tongue was suddenly too big for her mouth, she couldn’t swallow around it. Darcy couldn’t catch her breath, her hands convulsing into fists in the thin medical-grade blanket beneath her as she reeled and cartwheeled closer to the edge.

This is too much, this is all too much. I just wanted to save everyone. I can’t handle this. I don’t want this.  “Fuck, I’m gonna be sick.”

Bucky watched her swallow hard, voice sounding dry. His grey eyes flicked from face to face. The scientist that was attached to the woman’s side reached for her, but Thor pulled her back. No one appeared to have any plan on how to actually help her, but he waited, watching her face, watching her eyes begin to roll back into her head.

“We should -”

“No! Don’t touch her! We don’t know -”

“We can’t just let her -”

Still, nobody moved toward her. Bucky took a deep breath, his muscles tensing. She was going to pass out, possibly hurt herself, and they were all just standing there, arguing what to do. Steve glanced over at him, almost as if he knew what he was about to do.

“Hey. Hey! Don’t -”

Bucky pushed past Thor and knelt in front of the raven-haired woman. She was looking at him but he knew she didn’t see her. The fingers of his prosthetic flexed in the air before he pressed his palm against the center of her chest. It almost spanned the width from clavicle to clavicle and he pushed, hard enough for it to pull her out of the tailspin.

Darcy blinked, her vision in dizzying colored streamers that seemed to bleed and tumble together. Black spots danced at the edge of her vision, growing bigger and bigger. She was going to get lost in all that inky blackness, and part of her knew it would be bad, losing and giving in to the darkness, but she didn’t know how to fight it.

Then, through everything, she felt a firm hand press against her sternum. “I’m gonna pass out,” she groaned, head swaying slightly.

Bucky pressed harder. He hadn’t been turned to ash like Thanos by touching her, so that was something. Nobody was yelling at him anymore, either. Her eyes had gone amber, and he stared into their glow. “No, you’re having a panic attack.”

A panic attack. She could pull and destroy souls at will. That deserved a little panic. A lot of panic. It deserved all the panic. “‘s a bad one.”

“Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Do it. In through your nose.”

Darcy shook her head, swallowing hard, eyes closed. “Can’t. Too much, ‘s too much. I’m not -”

Bucky pressed again, more weight, more pressure. “Doesn’t matter what you are, matters what you do. And right now you need to take a breath in through your nose and push it out your mouth.”

It took her another moment before she could comply, but finally Darcy was able to suck a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth, lips shaking with the effort. Tears had started to leak at the corners of her eyes and she felt them slide free, hot and itchy on her skin. The hand that was pressed to her chest moved so it was gripping her shoulder.

Strong.

Safe.

An anchor.

Bucky felt her chest rising and falling under his hand, her shoulders shaking, chin trembling. “Do it again. In. Out. Again.” He stayed there, kneeling in front of her, hand on her shoulder, able to see the amber still glowing behind her eyelids when they closed.

As she sat there, eyes screwed shut, focusing on her breathing and following the man’s commands, Darcy was certain she’d never done anything this monumentally stupid. She knew she could be a bit impulsive but this was on a whole new level. If she’d have known what would happen when she touched that stone, would she have?

Maybe. Probably. Yes. Fuck, yes, I would. Damn it.

Not knowing how much time had passed while she’d made an embarrassment of herself, Darcy opened her eyes, only seeing colors but knowing who was there before she saw his face. Eventually the swirl of hues faded and she was left looking into Barnes’ blue-grey eyes. His face was only inches away, just an arm's length between them. Maybe Jane wouldn’t be the last person that’d ever touch her. Goody. “You probably shouldn't touch me, soldier.”

Bucky watched as she refilled her eyes, the sarcastic tone and attitude he’d pegged as her ‘normal’ mode returning. He pulled his hand from her shoulder, flexing the metal fingers where she could see them. “Figured I was pretty safe, all things considered.”

The laugh that broke free from her chest was breathless, and Darcy was happy she hadn’t embarrassed herself any further by vomiting or fainting. She tore her gaze from Barnes’ face (his eyes gave Steve’s a run for the money) and looked over his shoulder. Steve Rogers, the man whose blue eyes she’d just been comparing Barnes’ to, was standing just behind him, worry and concern in his eyes. Not for her, she realized, but for the man who’d touched her.

And yet, Barnes’d touched her. Even when everyone had warned him not to.

Smiling softly, Darcy let out a shaky breath, gaze flicking to Barnes’ face once more. “You thinking of signing up for Team Stupid? We have a few openings.”

Steve let out the breath he’d be holding. He knew now that Bucky hadn’t been in any real danger, only touching Darcy with his prosthetic, but when Bucky had darted forward, Steve’s heart had stopped in his chest. He’d been less than three seconds from jumping forward himself, but watching Bucky get there first and not knowing if it was safe had been terrifying.

“Are you kidding?” Steve said, reaching out to squeeze Bucky’s shoulder. “The jerk’s been training his whole life for that unit.”

Darcy looked up at Steve’s words, watching as he squeezed Barnes’ shoulder with familiarity and warmth, the worry softening in his eyes, his lips turning up in an amused grin. She got it, now, the cobalt that ran between Barnes and Steve. She smiled as she watched them interact with each other.

Bucky stood when he was sure her pulse had slowed and her breathing had returned to normal. He looked over at Steve, able to watch the last bit of tension drain from the blond’s eyes. “After you, punk.”

Darcy watched their interplay with curiosity, their colors swirling and mixing. Finally, when she was just about to get dizzy again, she smiled and waved her hand at both of them. “Alright, alright. Stop fighting over me. You’ve both made the team.”

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw the tiniest hint of a grin ghost onto Bucky’s lips. She knew there were better ways to put it, but as she looked up at the both of them, light and dark, crimson and gold, the only phrase that came to mind was ‘stupid hot’.

“Hey, your hands aren’t glowing anymore.”

Darcy blinked, her attention pulled from the men in front of her, directing her eyes toward Jane. “Huh?” She held her hands in front of her. Gone was the orange glow just beneath her pale skin. “Well, will you look at that.”

Bruce cleared his throat, nodding toward Darcy as Bucky and Steve took a step back. “Maybe you get some rest and we start again tomorrow?”

She could already feel the exhaustion setting into her bones, her eyelids feeling like hundred-pound weights. Passing out sounded like a great plan. She held up a hand and pointed in Bruce’s direction. “Yes. That.”

Technically they were already in her bedroom, and she didn’t really have the energy to stay vertical until they all left. Darcy laid back on the cot, still an uncomfortable little bitch of furniture, but being exactly what she needed.

Jane and Thor crossed the room and stood next to Bruce, the three of them having a hushed conversation. Bucky turned and left the room, feeling Steve at his back. There was a third set of footsteps behind them, though, and Bucky knew who it was before he’d opened his mouth.

“What the hell was that?”

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he turned around to see a very angry Tony Stark stalking toward them. “Tony -”

“We don’t know what she can do yet! Less than a week ago she killed what was supposedly the most evil creature in the galaxy and you just grab her without thinking?”

Bucky’s face was a mask, not raising his voice to match Tony’s. “I did think. She was going to pass out. Someone had to do something.”

“She was in the med ward. If we’d needed to, we’d have sedated her.”

“I helped her,” Bucky said, a bit more forcefully.

“And she could have killed you!”

Steve listened as Tony’s shout echoed up and down the hallway. He waited for Tony to speak again, but it appeared that he’d surprised even himself.

“Isn’t that what you want?” Bucky could feel when Steve’s eyes flicked to look at him. Bucky was being careful, keeping any emotion out of his face, out of his voice. He watched a wave of emotions flow behind Tony’s eyes, the man opening his mouth several times only to close it, a war of ideas battling in his head.

“Barnes, If you’re jonesing to play chicken when the grim reaper, be my guest, but don’t put your death on her,” Tony spat, hand gesturing at the door to the medical ward. “If she’d have killed you, how do you think that’d make her feel? ‘Not peachy’ is my guess. Maybe next time you keep your metal hand to yourself.”

He left them in the hallway. The silence felt heavy, and Steve could practically hear Bucky’s mind whirling with thoughts. “Buck -”

“Steve…” Bucky sighed, shaking his head. “Just leave it.”

“Leave it?” Steve sped up until he was walking side by side with Bucky, not sure where they were headed, but not willing to just drop it. “Tony’s right. She could have killed you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“And you don’t know she couldn’t. Why? Why risk it?” He lowered his voice as they passed a few people milling in the halls. They looked up at the two of them and suddenly had somewhere to be, all but scurrying out of sight.

Bucky didn’t want to do this here. There were too many people looking in their direction and there was already enough talk about the two of them among the staff and soldiers. Steve didn’t seem to want to let it go, though, so Bucky lowered his voice, knowing the blond’s hearing was sharp enough to make out the words.

“We work with a lot of people who could hurt someone. Banner. Vision. Wanda. Just because they could doesn’t mean they will.”

“Yes, but most of them have a handle on their abilities. She’s new. We have no idea what to expect.”

They rounded a corner, almost running into a man holding a stack of paper. Bucky stopped him with a hand on his arm, and he watched at the man’s eyes widened in surprise, and the tiniest bit in fear.  “Oh, Jesus, I’m sorry. I’ll just…”

Bucky stepped around him with a frown, heading toward the elevators. He pressed the button and crossed his arms over his chest. Steve stood next to him, silent for a moment. The ‘ding’ of the elevator was pleasant and Bucky was glad that the car was empty. As the door hushed closed, he counted in his head. One. Two. Thr- He smiled softly when Steve started speaking again, just like he knew he would.

“What Thor said, about the stone’s power... we really don’t know enough. I just don’t like the idea of you getting hurt.” When Bucky’s eyes swung over to look at him, Steve could see the disbelief in his eyes. “I know. Come on, Bucky, you know what I mean.”

The elevator doors opened and it only took a few steps to reach their room. Bucky lifted his right hand and pressed his thumb to the lock. He heard it turn over with a metallic click, pushing inside. The room was neat, modern, but the few personal touches made it feel more like a home. A threadbare quilt thrown over the bed. A still life Steve had drawn hung on a wall. A picture of the two of them before the war, obviously taken out of a history book, next to a compass with a picture of Peggy Carter displayed inside.

Bucky crossed to the large armoire and opened it, display racks carefully arranged inside. He slowly started removing the weapons that were covering his body.

Steve watched him remove knife after knife from his person, treating each one carefully, almost lovingly. It was sweet, and he’d have told Bucky as much but he didn’t feel like being glared at anymore than he already was. “I’m just saying we need to take it slow. For her sake, too. I don’t want to push her too much too quick.”

“All I did was make it so she didn’t pass out,” Bucky finally said, resignation in his voice as he turned toward Steve. “I would have done it for anyone.” At Steve’s look, a smirk climbed onto Bucky’s lips. “Almost anyone.”

Steve rolled his eyes, sitting on the edge of their bed, his hand running over the patchwork of the quilt. “Would you have? If it was someone else?” He didn’t look up at Bucky right away, not sure he wanted to show what was running through his head. He’d known, growing up, what kind of woman Bucky preferred. Steve himself shared most of the same preferences. Curvy, dark hair, full lips. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Darcy Lewis ticked a lot of the boxes they both found mutually attractive.

“Steve…” Bucky watched as Steve sighed then finally flicked those blue eyes toward him. He didn’t like the uncertainty in his lover’s gaze. He crossed the floor and stood in front of Steve, resting both of his hands on the blond’s shoulders. “She reminds me of you, alright? Sarcastic. Witty. More than happy to do something stupid if she thinks it’s the right thing to do. A little punk, just like you.”

Lifting his hands, Steve pulled Bucky closer by his hips, looking up at Bucky through his lashes. “It was brave, what you did.”

Bucky smirked down at him, shaking his head. He knocked against Steve’s chin with his finger, angling his mouth until their lips pressed together, soft and sweet. His voice was a whisper against Steve’s mouth. “If you think I didn’t see your muscles tensing to do the exact same thing, think again.” Bucky took a step back, giving Steve a knowing smirk.

Steve was left on the bed, looking at Bucky, trying his best not to look too guilty. “I wasn’t sure if I was -”

“Yes, you were.”

Sighing, Steve couldn’t help the rueful smile that he shot toward Bucky. “Yeah, I was.”

“See? What did I say? Willing to do stupid things.” Bucky grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head.

He watched as Steve’s eyes focused on him, his face losing the humor and filling with heat. He took his time, moving slow, feeling Steve’s eyes on his body as he slowly removed the rest of his weapons and holsters, until he was left standing there in only red boxer briefs.

“I’m going to take a shower. If you’re ready to do something smart, you could join me.”

Steve stood, lips slanting as he looked at his lover, the long lines of his body, the planes of his stomach, knowing the dips and curves intimately. “Not sure if I know how to be smart.”

Bucky lost the boxers in one motion, smirking as Steve’s pupils dilated and his lips parted. He took a step forward, reaching out to tug Steve toward him. “I can teach you.”

“Wake up, Buttercup.”

Darcy groaned, shoving her face further into the pillow. “Nnghhgg.” When the cot started rocking back and forth, she reached out blindly with her arm toward the person who was disrupting her sleep.

“Fine, if you don’t want someone delivering you breakfast in bed...”

At the mention of food, Darcy’s stomach growled angrily, reminding her that she hadn’t really eaten anything in the last few days because of the tests they’d been running and the whole can destroy souls thing stealing what appetite she’d had. Apparently she’d gotten her taste for food back, though, and she pushed her curls back from her head as she squinted at Tony and the tray he held. “Don’t you have robots that could do that?”

“Oh, them?” Tony glanced over his shoulder at the robots in question. Dum-E and U were looking in their direction and made sounds of alertness. “Don’t let them fool you. They’re pretty useless.”

Darcy frowned as she sat up. “Then why do you keep them?”

“Because they’re my…” Darcy watched him pause, trying to come up with an adjective that described them. She’d almost thought he was about to say ‘friends’ but she couldn’t be sure. “They’re mine, and I made them, and they’ve earned it. Forget about them. Eat.”

She grabbed the tray when he held it out, setting it in her lap as he grabbed a stool and wheeled himself beside the bed. “PB&J?”

Tony shrugged, “figured if you had a nut allergy we’d have seen it pop up during the tests. You saying it’s not good? Don’t eat it then.”

Darcy growled and held onto it tightly when he feigned like he was going to take it back. “Hey! It’s fine. Just asking.” She bit into the sandwich, surprised to find he’d use peach preserves instead of the traditional grape, but she was more than happy she had food of any kind. “Mohrr tesths?” Tony wheeled back with a frown, grabbing a glass of milk he’d left on the table and holding it out to her.

“Maybe this time with less peanut butter?”

Rolling her eyes, Darcy washed down the bite, tongue clicking after she’d swallowed. “I asked if you still have some more tests to run.”

“Yeah. We just want to cover all our bases. Literally. This is our base of operations and we’d appreciated you not destroying it, if possible.”

“It’s not on my to-do list at this moment.”

Tony leaned forward, stealing a potato chip from her plate and popping it in his mouth, ignoring her glare. “Pretty sure your plans are shot to shit, kiddo, unless you meant to break down yesterday.”

“You liked that?” Darcy asked sarcastically around her sandwich.

“Mmm, not really. But I get it. Dealing with heavy stuff. Sometimes it’s too much.”

Darcy chewed as she looked at him. She didn’t know him all that well, but he looked tired. There were dark bags under Tony’s eyes, but she supposed that was to be expected. Less than a week ago there was a high probability that the entire planet was going to be destroyed. Seemed like a pretty legit reason to lose a few hours of sleep.

She watched from the corner of her vision as the colors began to bleed in all around her. Her normal eyesight narrowed until it was nothing but a pinprick of light, the synthesizer (she really needed to ask Jane what she’d called it again) taking over. Darcy cocked her head to the side. It was off, looking at Tony. Out of all the people she’d seen with this ability, his was the most chaotic. There were parts of him that were black, a jet ebony that almost shined a bit blue or purple. Like an oil slick. And mixed in all that oil was a current of silver. Metal. Fitting, seeing what he called himself.

Everything started to tumble together the longer she stared at him, the sandwich in her hand forgotten. She closed her eyes and focused her breathing. She’d spent too long there, where the colors lived, and it started to make her dizzy.

“Hey, Lewis. Take a deep breath.”

He was closer to her, she could tell in the nearness of his voice, but she was too afraid to open her eyes.

“Lewis, what’s going on? Talk to me. Tell me what you see.”

“Colors.”

“Yeah, I get that. What colors? Be specific.”

“Lotta black.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s good. Very descriptive. Tell me something else.”

“You’re like oil.”

Darcy felt warmth on both sides of her face. Nothing was touching her skin, but she could tell something was there, hovering. It seemed to help, the heat, and she focused on it instead of the colors floating in front of her.

“Are we talking, like, ‘baby oil wrestling’ oil? Or something more industrial?”

The laugh in her chest made her swallow hard. “I really didn’t need to picture you covered in baby oil, Stark.”

“Too bad, it’s in there now. So I’m black like oil. Got it. Anything else?”

“What are you doing to my face?”

“Open your eyes and take a look.”

Darcy didn’t want to open her eyes, didn’t want to be assaulted by the invasion of jewel tones that only seemed to make her nauseous. She heard the huff of air from Tony when she didn’t comply immediately. “You’re an ass, you know that?”

“It might have come up in conversations once or twice, yeah.”

She let out a sigh and squinted one eye open. Darcy’s eyes both flew open when she saw Tony right there, his hands hovering less than an inch from her cheeks. “Ummm…” Darcy watched as he pulled his hands back, rubbed them together vigorously, then placed them on either side of her head. She felt the heat from them, even though they weren’t actually touching her.

“When my anxiety got really bad, I had to ground myself. Or, that’s what the therapist told me. Over and over. Until I finally listened. Eventually. Hopefully it’ll take you less time than it took me.” She watched as he repeated the motion, more heat transferring from his hands to her cheeks. “Human contact was something I did without for a long time. I was more comfortable around machines, things I could take apart and put back together.”

“Like your useless robots?”

“Hey,” Tony took his hands back, glaring softly at her, “I’m the only one that gets to call them useless.”

Darcy grinned at him, watching as he rolled his eyes and put his hands back.

“I’m not one to admit my faults.” Darcy’s eyes widened dramatically in faux shock at his words. “Shut up and listen. I waited too long to ask for help when I needed it, but once we get you squared away, and we will, you should see somebody. We have several people on staff now.”

Darcy sighed, her eyes falling closed, focusing on the warmth he was giving her. “And the thing you're doing with your hands? What's that supposed to do?”

“Figured it's the closest you’ll get to actual human contact until we know for sure you’re not going to bamf someone into ash.”

Opening hers, she looked into his brown eyes, and Darcy couldn't help but wonder what made him so brash, especially when it looked like he had some sort of chewy center hidden under all that bravado and ego. Hidden way deep, like Mines of Moria deep, like fish are see through and attract food by bioluminescence deep.

Daddy issues, probably. Me too, Buddy. Me too. “Not sure there’s a lot of people out there that have shared experiences like mine.”

“You think you’re the only person who’s done something ridiculously stupid? Think again, cupcake. ‘Stupid’ kind of comes with the job description.”

She watched him rub his hands together again, then smiled when he held them over the front of her face, hiding her from sight. “I feel... bigger than normal.”

“Nonsense. You’ve barely eaten anything for days.” At her glare he blinked. “Oh. Right. The whole ‘souls’ thing. Feel like something is inside you? Kinda scares you?” She paused, but eventually nodded. “You do realize you know a person who literally has something inside him, right? Bruce’s spent a lot of time learning to quiet the feelings inside of him. You might want to give him a listen.”

Darcy hummed, thinking about Tony’s suggestion. She hadn’t found Bruce Banner to be very talkative, he was kind of anti talkative, really. She’d wear him down, though. Just like she’d worn down Jane. And Selvig. Give her a few days and she’d weasel her way in. “So what comes next?”

“Are you asking for desert?”

She was getting used to giving him The Face. Was it his goal to exasperate everyone around him? And why did it seem so familiar? Because you do the exact same fucking thing, Darcy thought with a sigh.

“It’s not that I don’t love this uncomfortable ass cot, or the steady whiring noises that come from the machines, but I’d love to get out of the med ward at some point. Then you wouldn’t have to bring me breakfast in bed.”

Tony hummed. “I’ll take that under advisement. Now finish your food and we’ll get these next tests underway.”

[torontotravelblog]

Things to do this week in Toronto

What's happening in Toronto April 22-26, 2019

MONDAY, APRIL 22 (EASTER MONDAY)

Spring into Easter at the Toronto Zoo: Join for special on-site animal encounters, daily Meet the Keeper Talks, the chance of catching a glimpse of our Veterinarians at work in the Wildlife Health Centre.

Easter Lunch at Miku Toronto: Celebrate Easter with a special menu only available for Monday.

Easter Day at MARBL: Celebrate this Easter weekend with family and friends. We'll be offering Easter exclusive menu items, as well as perfecting your dinner with a bottle of wine, hand picked by our sommelier.

The Best of The Second City: The Second City’s Touring Company comes home to Toronto for an unforgettable night of classic and original sketch comedy, along with hilarious unscripted improvisation.

Queer and Present Danger Collective: Spring Queening: Hosted by Bethany Daniels featuring Sam Sferrazza, Amethyst Barron and Jade Niles Craig. Headlined by Al Val.

Cher at Scotiabank Arena: Cher performs in Toronto with special guests Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Humber Valley Art Exhibition: This guild from Neilson Park Creative Centre presents an exciting juried art exhibition with a mix of subjects, styles, and media by their highly talented member artists.

The Wow: Fax My Life: The Wow returns for April for an office themed comedy spectacular. Toronto's all-star sketch comedy collective gives you a uniquely themed full-blown spectacle every single month..

TUESDAY, APRIL 23

Gene Domagala's Toronto Places, People and Buildings, Including the Beach: Local historian Gene Domagala reviews Toronto places, people and buildings of interest, including those in the Beach.

The Bourbon Excursion at Jump: Kick off the evening with a welcome cocktail before tucking in to a four-course dinner paired with J.B.’s finest bourbons. Featuring homestyle fare such as Mortadella Lasagna, Tamarack Farm Lamb Shoulder, and Peanut Butter Baked Alaska.

#PitchItYork at Seneca College Newnham Campus: Showcasing York Regions brightest entrepreneurs, Open People Network has partnered with Seneca HELIX for #PitchItYORK! Pitchit is an interactive and fun pitch event to help entrepreneurs showcase their company to potential clients and angel investors.

RSI Leadership Dinner & Dialogue Series: To explore how trusted AI can advance and sustain the competitive advantage of your business and the markets you serve, join our AI-focused dinner and dialogue for C-suite executives.

Caméra Stylo Launch Party! The Cinema Studies Student Union's Undergraduate Journal Caméra Stylo is having their annual launch party.

Kelvin Wetherell at Cafe Mirage: Cafe Mirage Grill and Lounge presents Kelvin Wetherell on Nov 6. The performance runs between 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm in the evenings with a 15 minutes break in between. Cafe Mirage is one of the leading restaurants in Scarborough.

101: Cannabis: Canna-Curious? Learn your CBD’s from your THC’s and join us for a conversation on all things cannabis. Our panelists will be able to answer all of your burning questions: from wellness to entrepreneurship, to education and responsible use.

Hot Breath Karaoke at The Handlebar: Ridiculous game show style karaoke, with prizes.

Westway Christian Church Food Bank: The Westway Christian Church Community Food Bank is open for clients to receive food on Tuesday evenings from 5-7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24

Fashion Art Toronto at Daniels Spectrum

Fashion Art Toronto is a showcase of contemporary and experimental fashion and arts The five-day multi-arts experience will inspire and intrigue guests through runway shows, photography exhibits, art installations, live performances and short films.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY

Once Upon a Refugee: Chapter II - The Unrehearsed Plan: Once Upon a Refugee is a community education event celebrating the experience and contributions of refugees, hosted by North York Community House. The evening will have music, storytelling, food, and theatre.

Etobicoke Voters: Claim Your Right To A Vote That Counts! Fair Vote Toronto presents an information session on voting reform and Proportional Representation.

City of Toronto information session on aerial spray program for Gypsy Moth: The City of Toronto will implement an aerial spray program this spring in seven Toronto wards to protect the tree canopy and vulnerable trees from European Gypsy Moth infestation.

Blockchain Revolution Global: The first truly worldwide conference for blockchain in enterprise. Speakers include Imogen Heap, music maker & founder of Mycelia, who will also perform live at the EBA gala.

An Evening of Poetry Readings with Toronto's New Poet Laureate: Join Toronto's new Poet Laureate for a thought-provoking night of spoken word. In the first public appearance of his laureateship, Toronto's literary ambassador A.F. Moritz will be reading alongside three young poets at The Poet Presentation Centre.

Showtime! Disney Edition at The Drink: A live music showcase featuring performances by Aaron Bell, Michala Todd and Charlotte Ferrarei. This time they'll be serving you live Disney music.

Who run the world? QTBIPOC: A free drop-in workshop series on relationships for youth. Learn skills and connect with other 2SLGBTQ Black, Indigenous and youth of colour (16-29) at this Beyonce-themed workshop series on relationships-- with pals, family, partners and yourself.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

In Her Voice: Amy Spurway Crow Launch

Please join Amy Spurway in conversation with author Emily Saso at Ben McNally Books as part of the 'In Her Voice' event series. They will be discussing Amy’s debut book Crow, followed by a signing. Books will be available for sale.

ALSO ON THURSDAY

Digifest 2019: Digifest is a three-day design and tech festival as well as a startup event, organized annually by the Digital Media and Gaming Incubator at George Brown College.

Leadership & Social Entrepreneur Knowledge Cafe 2019: Seminar of interest to entrepreneurs, professionals, activists and mentors for the next generation of leaders.

16th Albert Lahmer Memorial Lecture: Andrew Larsen: Join Toronto children's writer Andrew Larsen, author of The Man Who Loved Libraries: the Story of Andrew Carnegie, for the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books' 16th Albert Lahmer Memorial Lecture.

Art-Bound at Camp Tech: Have you heard about art journaling? Come and find out what the fuss is all about. The Art-Bound workshop is an introduction and exploration of art journaling.

Coco & Cowe presents Coco Con: Media: The second event of the Coco Con series. Catriona Smart and Halla Rafati will be joined by Vanessa Craft, Editor-In-Chief for Elle Canada.

Moonstruck at Bad Dog Comedy Theatre: By way of inspiration, its cast will take the details of one audience member’s dream to create a hilarious and magical show. Completely made up on the spot and never to be repeated, this show is sorta like a dream (no, better).

Cozy Fun Comedy Show at 120 Diner: Featuring: Velvet Wells, Sarah Ashby, Luba Magnus, Jesse Singh, Honey Bennett, Freddie Rivas, Desirée Walsh

RuPaul's Drag Race Viewing Parties: Fans of the hit reality television series can watch new episodes every Thursday at several spots around the city, including Apt 200, The Gladstone Hotel, The Beaver and Striker.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

András Keller conducts the Royal Conservatory Orchestra at Koerner Hall

Hungarian violinist, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and founder of the Keller Quartet András Keller leads The Glenn Gould School’s Royal Conservatory Orchestra.

ALSO ON FRIDAY

Metric with July Talk at Scotiabank Arena: Toronto-based rock bands Metric and July Talk perform in Toronto.

Fairlawn Avenue United Church's 58th Annual Book Sale: Shop for gently used books, DVDs, CDs, and LPs.

David Newland CD Release: Newland's CD release party will take place at Hugh's Room Live.

Toronto Lit Up: Mike Barnes: Join Biblioasis and the Toronto International Festival of Authors in celebrating the release of Mike Barnes’ Braille Rainbow: Poems through Toronto Lit Up!

Dinner for Vegetarians in High Park: Join us to check out the all-vegan restaurant The Goods. Everyone welcome. RSVP via email.

Acid x Untitled presents Justin Cudmore at Black Eagle: Brooklyn's rising star of the Queer techno scene Justin Cudmore joins Aeryn Pfaff and Ceremonial at The Black Eagle. Hosted by Miss Moço. All genders welcome. No room for discrimination.

Flashback Friday: A Time Travel Cabaret: Come witness the past, present and future like you've never seen them before through some of the cities best burlesque, drag and gender performers.

Redwood Comedy Cafe: A weekly comedy showcase featuring Canada's top comedians at the intimate Redwood Cafe in Little India.

ONGOING

Jude Ifesieh presents: 'Beauty in Lines' at Visions Gallery: Jude Ifesieh has developed a unique style, building complex images from a myriad of simple, colourful strokes and dots. His resulting works express the innate beauty of life and nature, bursting with healing energy, fertility and fresh possibilities. Runs until May 12.

Art Show & Sale by Marley Berot at Starving Artist Restaurant: Trini-Ja Canadian Marley Berot is opening her first show at the Starving Artist Restaurant and Gallery at 467 Danforth Avenue. Her acrylic paintings will stay on the walls until May 18.

VideoCabaret: Too Good To Be True: A dark comedy by the marvelous playwright Cliff Cardinal, who recently won Double-Doras, and an Edinburgh festival award for writing and performing Huff. Runs until May 19.

Next to Normal at CAA Theatre: Winner of three Tony Awards, Next to Normal explores a suburban household affected by mental illness. With a gripping story and a surging contemporary rock score, Next to Normal is a raw depiction of a family in crisis trying to overcome the past. In production until May 19.

PRECIOUS: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art and Jewellery: By creating precious artwork and art jewellery from everyday and discarded items, Micah Adams, Christine Dwane and Lawrence Woodford remind us that our world is shaped by the decisions we make. Whether disposable or sustainable, beauty is everywhere. On display through May 23.

Being Japanese Canadian: Reflections on a Broken World at the ROM: Explore the original exhibition through the eyes of curators Bryce Kanbara and Katherine Yamashita. Runs until May 25.

The post “  Things to do this week in Toronto “ was originally seen on toronto.com by Whatson

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