#i will say I technically did this twice because the first batch of 5 were songs I liked ages ago and tend to skip most of the time now

[tankycinna]

I am going to tag some people in the spirit of the game, but please feel free to ignore it. @kierenrose @whisperingfool @kumbatant @firefist-ya

If anyone feels do inclined, please also look through the reblogs for other people's polls. 👍

Challenging you all!

Put your music library on shuffle, then list the first five songs that come up in a poll to let people vote for which one they like the most!

Then tag Tumblr friends to keep the game going!

[thirsthourdemon]

Haikyuu boys and what gifts they would give you

Includes: Karasuno, Aoba Johsai, Nekoma, Shiratorizawa, Fukurodani, Inarizaki

A/N: Aha Aha Aha

Karasuno

Hinata: He would give you a rock that him and natsu painted on. On the rock there’s a silly face on it, from natsu, and then a volleyball, from hinata, then an I love you at the bottom part. He gave that to you when you guys went on a park date with natsu.

Kageyma: The first give he would have ever given you was a milk box and you were so happy because he never really shares his milk. This was actually how he confessed to you like he wrote “Want to go out with me?” Or something like that at the bottom. He was blushing the whole time.

Yamaguchi: This baby boy would give you his scarf and a warm drink because you were both walking home from school and it was really cold but you forgot your scarf at home so he just gave you his. He would blush whenever he sees you wearing it now.

Tsukkishima: Salty boy gave you a playlist ever since you told him what type of music you liked. He wouldnt give it to you right after making it though. He would have given in when you’re stressing out over homework or something like that and he’d just put it on speaker for you waiting for you to ask whose playlist that was.

Nishinoya: An ice cream stick. Why? You called him senpai the first time you met him and he just- He automatically fell in love and asked you to an ice cream “hang out” because it wasnt a date or anything! He was just being a good senpai. He confessed to you by making an ice cream stick and the stick had a heart carved into it.

Tanaka: You and him went to a matsuri, shrine festival, with the team. He decided that he was going to be a man and catch you some goldfish. It took him a while however but you still appreciated his victory even though he spent most of his money it. You named that single goldfish “Ryuu”.

Suga: It’s not technically a gift but he gave you a mechanical pencil with your name on it. He was supposed to keep it for himself but you were borrowing a mechanical pencil during lunch time and he just gave you his pencil case only late to realize that it was there. When you saw it oh boy were you confused. Ended up confessing to you that way.

Asahi: OH MY- He gave you a handmade hair tie. Like he saw how you were struggling with your hair so much so he just decides to make one but he didnt plant ahead on how he’d give it to you. He was forced by suga and daichi to give it to you but in the end noya did that because he was too nervous to even tell you. Noya just “Oh hey! Y/N! Asahi thought you might be having trouble with your hair! Here” and just gives it to you. Blushing mess.

Daichi: The traditional gift 😤 He gave you a response chocolate he made with suga during white day. You gave him chocolate during valentines and he responded by giving you chocolate gift back. He gave it to you after practice and though the chocolate was a bit soft now he still gave it because the effort? Not letting that go to waste!

Ennoshita: Another traditional man. You gave him chocolate and he didnt know what to do so he just...Huh? He gave you chocolates back and let’s just say things started from there on ❤️

Kiyoko: You were stuck in the friendzone for quite a time too. She gave you matching keychains for your bag but like...Yachi also has it. 😔

Yachi: 😳😳😳 She drew you once for “art class”. Baby didnt have “art class” but when it came out better than expected she gave it to you when she confessed along with a letter. Let’s be real she was blushing and saying sorry the whole time.

Im sorry, guys but Im a big yachi-stan. Yachi is THAT bitch for me.

Aoba Johsai

Oikawa Toru: He doesnt give you 1 or 2 no no...He gives you 5 service aces. Shows off in the game more when you’re watching and for Seijoh it’s a sure victory once he does his little service ritual for you.

Iwaizumi Hajime: One time you called oikawa “shittykawa” during class he instantly fell in love with your fierce attitude so he legit treated you good food after that time. It became a ritual for both of you to eat out whenever they one which was often. His comfort food cannot be complete without you eating it with him.

Mattsukawa issei: His horsecock. That shit is a gift in itself. A big gift in fact.

Kyoutani Kentarou: People may see him as a very scary person but he actually gave you a stuff toy you wanted at the arcade. He saw how you looked at it with such longing that one time and proceeded to get it for you whenever you werent around. It took him such a long time but gosh was it worth it to see you smiling like that.

Nekoma

Kuroo: This man gave you...A headache. No fr hahahaha he gave you a spike actually. The first time you watched him play in a game...mf told you that if he stomped twice then it was a spike for you. He actually did win the game with that one spike because nekoma was losing and team morale was low. The moment he spiked that ball with that subtle double stomp he managed to score and boost morale again.

Kenma: He always gives you gifts but more like...Health potions, resources you need, animal crossing gifts tbh 🥺. He didnt really give you much gifts physically but virtually? He would specifically go and get rare items in doubles just to give you the other one and say he “Accidentally got another one”.

Lev: Alisa’s cooking. You were both out during lunch time and he saw that you were only drinking something so he decided to feed you his sister’s bento for him. My baby is so sweet- and also headaches. He also gives you headaches.

Fukurodani

Bokuto: He gives you either his jersey OR a spike as well. Better yet he gives you his jersey for a game then does a spike for you. Bitch didnt even have a signal he legit shouted “That one was for you, Y/N!” And pointed at you. Kill me please- Needless to say everyone was looking at you so much.

Akaashi: You cant convince me he doesnt give you a copy of the book you wanted and were looking for. He just so happened to have it, yeah sure...🙃 Little did you know that he went all over miyagi for that fucking book. He probably gave you a bookmark along with it too. ❤️ Ya nerds

Date tech

Aone takanobu: Surprisingly enough he gave you a small vase for the flowers he gave you last time. He even told you how to preserve them more. He be teaching you all about plants whenever he you two go home together. He doesnt speak he just...gives you books or he shows you himself sometimes.

Futakuchi: He gave you his sour gummies 😖 TOO ADORABLE FUCK. You were staring at them and he just offered you some and now you’re in love.

Shiratorizawa

Ushijima: Waka baby gave you a service ace. He isnt one to give you anything big and he didnt know what to give you so he just gave you something he knows he could. Before the game itself he actually told you that he promised you a service ace the first time he would be given the chance. Volleyball Idiot 🥺

Tendou: MIRACLE BOY STRAIGHT UP GAVE YOU ONE OF HIS SHONEN JUMPS. He gave you the one that you really liked and said it was “Not a big deal”-It was a big deal considering how in love he is with them.

Goshiki: Im sorry but...good head. He gave you heavenly head. 😔 King of oral right here. No really hahahaha tsutomu probs gave you a shrine charm that says “absolute victory”. You keep that little charm whenever you watch his games now. Though you tell him that its the charm working he says you’re his actual lucky charm.

Inarizaki

Miya Atsumu: A migrane. His fangirls keep threatening you and you had to keep on telling them that you were just their team manager. He just- I mean I wanted to say he gave you a service ace but mf just gave you a migrane.

Miya Osamu: Unlike his brother this guy is actually pretty reasonable. As an asian you have no idea how happy your parents would be when this man gives you half a sack of rice. I know everyone expects the “Onigiri” answer but I enjoy being given a sack of rice more. 🍚

Aran Ojiro: I- IM SUCH A SIMP! He gave you his a batch of cookies. This headcanon is from @oof-she-needs-therapy by the way because I fell in love with their works so much. He just “Felt like he had to make an extra batch”. This boy 100% made that for you alone. Dont play me. He even fed you one and just to tease back you kissed the tips of his fingers. Practice that day was E V E N T FU L.

Taglist: @my-mass-hysteria @janellion

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Someone Must Get Hurt (Cordelia x Reader (Part 2))

This is set during around and through coven so she’s still Cordelia Foxx technically.

Summary: Reader joins Miss Robichaux’s swearing she would keep her main power to her grave. She doesn’t expect to fall for the Headmistress.

Note: This story was inspired by my vague memory of the soul eater in the x files episode the gift. Subconsciously also inspired by a great fanfic which I will insert the link as soon as I find it.

I’m not American so any odd spelling, phrases or inaccuracies. I apologies for in advance. This is my first Cordelia x reader.

Part 1,  Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Cordelia’s mother forced all the students to go to some holy place that our order. They never made it to the fountain because Nan walked off. None of the students were invested in seeing some holy water feature, so a free tour of some famous racist woman’s house that was cooler than outside didn’t seem to bad. If your going to stay in New Orleans for a while might as well know the culture behind it even if it’s disgusting to hear about.

 Walking back to the school, you lagged behind hearing a boy crying out for his mother. You slipped away from the group scoping around for the child. People were passing him paying the boy any mind. You crouched down to the boy who was clutching his arm close to his body.

 “Are you alright?” Of course, he isn’t, why would you ask that? you thought. “Where’s your mother?” The boy shrugged. “Can I see your arm?” As you suspected, it was broken. You looked around for someone who looked like they could be his parent. Your attention when back to the wailing boy. “Shh~ It’ll be okay,” you weren’t sure you should do it. How were you going to explain your mysteriously broken arm? The child looked so broken and he doesn’t have his mother to help him. Screw it. “I can help you with your arm.”

 You rest both your hands on his wrist. He flinched. You closed your eyes, focusing on the wound on his hand and wishing it away. You knew you alleviated the pain from him when your arm aches. You blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. “Thank you,” the boy pulled into a hug, squeezing the living daylights out of you. “You’re a superhero.” you chuckled.

 “Now let’s find your mother.” 

 You stumbled into the school half an hour later, welcomed by the sound of the Headmistress shouting at her mother. You shut the door quietly wanting no one to catch you sneaking back in. You had no idea what that’s about, but you wanted no part of it. Your bed sounds wonderful right now. Wrapped up in a blanket watching some YouTube sounded good.

 “She’s back,” Nan notified them.

 You cursed under your breath preparing yourself for the wrath. The clomping of high heels approached you. You froze as the younger blonde rushed over to you to make sure you were okay.

 "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?" 

 You giggled out in response to her checking over you.

 Her mother at the end of the hall with the other girls crowded behind her eavesdropping. Fiona was unenthused but it didn’t appear to be directed at you.

 "Jesus Christ, Cordelia," Fiona said. "She's not a child. She can take care of yourself."

 "It is my responsibility to look after these girls. Yes, she may not be a child but that doesn’t mean she should be left alone. She doesn’t the people or her way around. What if she went to the other side of town?”

 “She’d be fine,” Fiona said. “She knows more than she lets on.” Oh god, what does she know? "So why did you sneak off?" You can’t leave it at that, you thought. How else am I meant to figure out what you know?

 “A kid lost his mother; I was just trying to help. I’m sorry I caused so much concern.” That last part was for Cordelia. No one else cared about your absence.

 “Of course, you go missing doing something boring,” Madison said. 

 “Was the kid returned?” Cordelia asked.

 “Yes.” Cordelia smiled pleased with what you did. "The woman gave me her business card." The woman looked less happy at that but tried to hide it. "She owns a florist in town. She said if I ever needed flowers for something, she would make me an offer I couldn't refuse. Anyway, everything turned out fine, I'm back at the school unharmed. Now what's for lunch.” You say as a distraction to spot Cordelia from checking you over, you couldn't let her find out about your arm. Cordelia nudged you in the direction of the other girls. She wanted to talk to her mother some more. 

 Later that day, you were in the greenhouse snooping through the books for pain relief. You had found one on natural medicine. Ibuprofen wasn’t strong enough to kill the pain of your now bruising arm. The book was poorly written leading you to believe it was terribly translated to English. You always had a fascination with herbal medicine but had never had the chance to give it a go until you moved here. You found on for a potion that could be stored up to year after making it. It could be convenient to have some around for when the pain came back- that’s if it works in the first place. 

 You began to collect the ingredients when you heard your name. You were too jumpy for your own good. It didn’t help that you had gotten so involved in what you were doing.

 “Shit Delia, you scared me.” Delia? You’ve never called her that aloud before. That’s one of those things that’s meant to stay in your head. She barely knows you. You can’t go calling people by nicknames. You’re not Madison. 

 Being so in your own brain, you didn’t notice her freeze in place after calling her the shorten name.

 “You could say it was payback for earlier.” Cordelia said after a second closing the door behind her. You were in a room alone with her alone. Oh god, what do you do? How do you act normal? She’ll notice something is up for sure. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

 You stared at her blankly. An awkward silence fell among the two of you. “Yeah,” You said still making direct eye contact.

 “Do you want me to go?” she asked. 

 “No!” you squeaked. You leant forward to try and stop her, but you tripped over a pot plant. Great. Just great. She wasn’t close to you, why did you try and stop her. She appeared next to you. You couldn’t tell if she teleported or if you spaced out long enough for her to get there. Time was slipping away from you.

 “Good because I didn’t really want to,” she admitted. “You’ve been here for almost a year and I know nothing about you.” She offered to help you, but you declined. Instead you picked up your freshly picked leaves and headed over to wash them off.

 “There’s not much to know.” You turned your attention to the plant you got the leaves from; you didn’t have enough if you were making twice the batch.

 If you didn’t look at her, maybe you could get through this. 

 “Don’t say that,” she said. “I’m sure there’s more to you.”

 “Thanks?”

 She grabbed you by the chin and forced you to look at her.

 BOUNDARIES. BOUNDARIES. Your mind screamed, but you didn’t mind. All you had to do was lean in, she was so close. You were probably a blushing mess; thank god the others aren’t seeing this. She’s so much prettier up close. Her lips were probably soft and tasted like Chapstick. You bet you could run your hand through her hair and for it to be tangle-free. It wouldn’t stay that way for long if she was yours. There was so much you would love to do to her, but she’s your teacher and married!

 “Y/N?”

 “Hmm~” You shook yourself out of your thoughts and out of her grip. You cleared your throat. “Sorry.”

 “No need to apologise, sweetheart,” Sweetheart? Why did she call you sweetheart? “What are you making?” You nod your head towards the book on the workbench. “A pain reliever?” Her tone conveyed worry. “Did you get hurt? I swear if you lied earlier I-” She would go nothing and you both knew it. The worst that would happen is she would scold you and then she would fawn over you. Has she done that to anyone else? You couldn’t recall.

  To ease her concern you fabricated a lie, “I thought about having a natural alternative to the pills inside.” You took your collection ingredients to the workbench and started to prepare them. “They never seem to work on me,” the last part was muttered but Cordelia heard. “Do we have ginger?”

 “I have half of one from this morning or would you prefer a fresher one?”

 “Half should be fine.”

 “What do you need done to it?”

 “Diced.” Going back to the recipe you scanned the method, “Is this going to be chunky? Eww.” Cordelia laughed. She pulled out a knife and started to chop the ginger. “You don’t have to, I can-”

 “I’d like to.”

 She made you scoot over so she could sit on the wooden crate turned highchair. You didn’t want to stand the whole time, so you made do with the materials around. Your shoulders were pressed up against each other. You were glad she was on your left if she touched your right one your true incentive for doing this would be revealed. She helped you prepare the rest of the ingredients while you tried to work as best as you could with your left hand leaving the other rested on the book.  You led her through what to do as you had the book and she had never made this one. She helped you set up a beaker to cook it in. You joked saying you expected her to pull out a cauldron or something. As time went on, you grew more relaxed in her presence. 

 “How do we know if it works?” You asked. 

 “Someone will have to try it.”

 “Well, bottoms up,” you downed a serving of the potion. There was too much ginger for your liking. You waited a minute for it to kick in. Your arm began to feel numb. You hummed as you re-read the book. You landed on some fine print at under a picture. Cordelia was eager for a response. “I think tingly,” you cringed at your word choice. “Oh~ They shouldn’t have put that in the fine print.”

 “What?”

 “You’re meant to strain and say the chant in reverse, otherwise it becomes a numbing agent. How the fuck does that work?” Cordelia shrugged. “Still useful though. Do you have anything to bottle this up in?”

 The two of you bottled the concoction and placed them aside.

 “I had a lot of fun doing that with you, would you consider taking lessons on this if I offered?”

 “I don’t think the other girls would enjoy it.”

“I was thinking more on the lines of one on one.”

 “Sure. Make it a date.”

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT WORD

That's the measure of a startup: growth makes the successful companies so valuable that all the obvious ones are already taken. Not surprising, considering The Men's Wearhouse was at that moment running ads saying The Suit is Back. Growth explains why the most successful startups, because they're the only ones who've noticed the change. I assumed I'd learn what in college. Technical tweaks may also help. The main reason PR firms exist is that reporters are lazy.1 The Metaphysics is among the least read of all famous books. This has a nice sound to it, the only way to produce a startup hub.2 There's no correlation between the percentage of startups that raise money and the metric that does matter financially, whether that batch of startups contains a big winner, you won't have much competition.3 There's an initial period of slow or no growth while the startup tries to figure out.4

You'd have to be able to take either of these routes. But there are, and this too didn't show up in tax returns or income statistics. Knowledge another shot in college. The hard part was predicting how tough and ambitious they would become. By using the classic device for simulating the manager's schedule and one on the manager's schedule and one on the manager's schedule.5 Though the first philosophers in the western tradition lived about 2500 years ago, and even then was afflicted by the structural problems I've described above. So far the complete list of messages I've picked up from cities is: wealth, style, hipness, physical attractiveness, fame, political power, economic power, intelligence, social class, and quality of life. Of the stories you read in traditional media that aren't about politics, crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms. So he proposes there are two great universities, but they're forty miles away.

Which can put you in a catch-22: without a product you can't generate the growth you need to figure it out from subtle clues, like a nuclear chain reaction. Would that mean sitting on too many boards? All you can say with certainty about Jaynes is that he was a fairly big spammer.6 At each point a day, a week, a month I thought I'd already put in so much time into it that this must be the idea. New York's is finance and Silicon Valley's is startups. But that was not the conclusion Aristotle's successors derived from works like the Metaphysics. If one show did try something daring, local affiliates in conservative markets would make them stop. You can tweak the design faster when you're the factory, and you can't do it by accident.

The best word to describe the failure to do so much for. That spirit is exactly what you want in a startup is intrinsically something you can learn when you need to, and I am self-indulgent choice, because the VCs need them more than they need the VCs. Smaller companies were increasingly able to survive as formerly narrow channels to consumers broadened.7 But I tried to opt out of it.8 If you're really getting a constant number of new customers every month, you're in trouble, because that means your spirits are correspondingly depressed when you don't. And since risk is usually proportionate to reward, if you have genuine intellectual curiosity, that's what a lot of them were crap, and I wrote a signup program that ensures all the appointments within a given set of office hours are clustered at the end of each chapter in a math textbook represent work, or at least, but less frightening than the far more common case of having something automatic that doesn't yet solve anyone's problems.9 This a helps them pick the right startups, and it turned out not to be cool and maybe make money. Most American cities have been turned inside out.

And just as the mid-century TV culture was good. Basically, Apple bumped IBM and then Microsoft stole its wallet. Larry and Sergey do want to change the world. All great cities were located on waterways, because cities made money by trade, and water was the only thing that mattered, and you learn things you'd never have known otherwise.10 But it's not because liberals are smarter that this is a fairly efficient market. It's not merely that you need time to grow a silicon valley? This is clearest in the case of the Milanese Leonardo. That means they want less money, but also because such investments are so easy to oversee. That's what was killing them. The goal he announces in the Metaphysics was partly that he set off with contradictory aims: to explore the most abstract ideas, guided by the assumption that they were useless.

Notes

This was partly confidence, and they succeeded. 92. Photo by Alex Lewin. But the question of whether public company not to like to invest at a discount to whatever the valuation of an email address you can imagine cases where you can't tell you who they are in set theory, combinatorics, and more tentative.

Surely no one thinks of calling that unfair.

You won't always get a patent is conveniently just longer than the previous round. To get all you have no idea what they say this amounts to the point of failure, which is as frightening as it sounds like something cooked up, and many of the causes of the lies we tell kids are probably not do this with prices too, and an haughty spirit before a fall. If it's 90%, you'd ultimately be a lot like meaning.

Founders rightly dislike the sort of stepping back is one of the marks of a placeholder than an ordinary programmer would never even think of the rest have mostly raised money at first, but art is a trap set by evil companies for the correction. But it takes more than make them less vulnerable to gaming, because unions will exert political pressure to protect against truly determined attackers.

I was a very misleading number, because unpromising-seeming startups that have it as a definition of property without affecting and probably also encourage companies to build their sites, and most sophisticated city in the process of selling things to be.

It's like pulling the control rods out of just Japanese. Unless you're very smooth founder who read this essay will say that Watt reinvented the steam engine.

Few can have a big angel like Ron Conway had been with their decision or just outright dismisses it and make a deep philosophical point here about which is just like a body cavity search by someone with a potential acquirer unless you see people breaking off to both left and right. Your Brain, neurosurgeon Frank Vertosick recounts a conversation—maybe not linearly, but I managed to screw up twice at the bottom of a city's potential as a game, Spacewar, in response to the rise of big companies, but mediocre investors almost all do. In Jessica Livingston's Founders at Work.

The quality of investor behavior.

VCs suggest it's roughly correct to say, real income ignores much of it. Ed.

They say to most people than subsequent millions. Build them a microcomputer, and it will have to turn Buffalo into a pattern, as Brian Burton does in SpamProbe. This is, this is the same thing, while the more accurate or at least accepted additions to the point of view anyway.

[diem-writes]

1hour ficlet batch 5 #1

When I got this prompt over on Discord me and @cath-sith had a whole conversation about it. She liked it to have both Sci-Fi and Steampunk elements to it. I hope I delivered.

If you like this story or any of the other 1 hour ficlets, please consider sending in a prompt. 

A Tryst from the Past

The crash of the shuttle was not Seung-Gil's fault. He will be damned if anybody said otherwise. It was not his choice to be sent on this mission together with two of the most cheerful, overenthusiastic, flirty people in the entire crew.

And it was most definitely not his fault that when they had been given the request from the captain to help him relax a bit they had taken it upon themselves to direct that over enthusiastic, flirty, cheerful, energy at him while he was trying to get them at the desired location.

It was also most definitely not his fault that he was given the genetic error of having sensitive ears, or that they thought that blowing into them while he was steering away from a piece of space debris.

He will most definitely add it in his final report of this mission that it was all their fault and he was not going to take any blame for it in any shape or size. Not even one itty bitty bit at all.

“Seung-Gil. Please stop pouting. We already apologized, we know we should not have taken it that far. But sitting at the remains of our shuttle tapping out an angry report is not going to help us get off this planet any faster.” Phichit calls out to him in his tone of voice he usually uses when he knows he did something of great fault.

Seung-Gil glares at him. “I am not pouting. And regulations state that when marooned on an unknown planet one must keep a detailed as possible report.”

“Yes but can you not wait with writing it till after we found a place to camp? We aren't sure about any possible dangers of this planet and our shuttle is no protection as it is.” Chris looks a bit annoyed. Well bad luck for him, Seung-Gil outranks him and that means the older man can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do.

“Just the more reason to write this report right now. We might very well be dead by whatever lurks on this planet and then there will be no report for anyone coming to look for us to deal with.”

Seung-Gil turns away from them and starts typing again. Would it be considered cruel if he would put in recommendations for corporal punishment in his advice? He knows that those punishments are never given anyway, but it would be a clear sign of just how his mood was soured by their actions.

In the end he simply writes them down for a serious reprimand about personal boundaries during missions and hopes that recommendation is followed up by the captain.

Poorly Captain Katsuki has become far less of a strict man since he and Tactical Officer Nikiforov signed the deed to their union. Neither had even listened to his advice to not go through with it as it would make them less proficient in their jobs.

This crash was the complete proof of that. Before they bonded the captain would never have given his science officers the advice to help Seung-Gil relax. He had always been the first to accept that Seung-Gil was not really the approachable person to deal with. Even if in all technicality he was second in command on their ship.

Seung-Gil sighs, puts the report back in his carry on bag, and finally leaves the remains of the shuttle.

He eyes his two fellow strandies wondering what they were talking about as they were all hunched together. It's that he knows Christophe is in quite the serious relationship or he would think the two were maybe more than good colleagues.

“Well I'm done and it seems we still have more than enough sunlight to go with. So if either of you have any idea which way should maybe be the wisest I'm all for being given advice.”

Christophe and Phichit turn towards him and reveal the sensor tablet they are holding between them. Hopefully some of the emergency readings he had ordered them to take just before they crashed was of any use.

“Well,” a quick look between them “it seems there is some kind of constructions a bit to the North of our current location.” Christophe gives a soft smile. “It only seems to be an hour or so away from our location. So it might be a good option.” Seung-Gil nods and signals for them to lead the way.

In the end it took them nearly three hours and well past sundown to finally arrive at the building that had given them a sign. None of them are very pleased with what they see.

“Wow, I don't know how long ago this place was deserted but it was apparently long enough for this  plants to reclaim that front entrance.” Phichit sighs.

Christophe simply whistles, when it becomes clear that the only way into the building is by climbing the largest plant, breaking out one of the windows and forcing a whole big enough for them to force themselves inside.

Inside there is more proof that the building had once been a place of large groups to come together as they see overturned benches, and tangled inside a large bush the remains of what appears to be a front desk.

“This place looks a lot like one of my old universities. If I didn't know better I would almost think this was a human dwelling.” Christophe mumbles after seeing the desk. “Do you think we stumbled on a currently unknown human settlement from the early years of space dwellings?”

Seung-Gil shakes his head. “That would be impossible. The last first human dwellings after the original planet was deemed uninhabitable was discovered just two years ago. I mean that was our original destination.”

Both Science officers nod. Sure their original destination had been a very old first human settlement on the planet once called Mars. Neither of them had ever even thought about a possible second settlement in the same solar system. It was just a very human look to everything.

“Maybe we ended up so far out of course we somehow ended up at the right place?” Phichit sounds a bit hopeful. Something Seung-Gil can't really blame him, if that's the case it would mean they would have a far better chance of being found.

They turn on their lights and decide to explore the building, maybe they end up lucky and find a room that is safe enough to spend the night. This results in them finding a series of switches in a room behind the desk. Chris being Chris, decides to see if he can pull one of the levers. The sudden noise makes all three of them look around.

To their shock at several places lights start to light up. This does mean that Phichit and Chris being the science officers that they are just have to investigate it intensely. It takes them less than an hour to figure out what happened.

“Hoe ingenous. The entire system is based on pressure vaults that work on steam.” Chris whistles. “I can't believe they actually managed to have an entire building run on that.”

Seung-Gil gives a cold look at the places that are still clouded in darkness.

“Oh, come on. With all the plant growth it's more remarkable that some parts are still working than that there are spots that don't.” Phichit can't help but smile brightly. “This is fantastic. I hope we can find the building plans someplace, I would love to give them a thorough look over.”

After that they decide to go up one of the stairs and check out one of the rooms that is completely light up. It also seems to have one of the most sturdy doors around. One Seung-Gil closes behind them once they entered.

The stone floor is designed with all kinds of patterns before somebody thought it was smart to place some clear layer over it. The clear layer looks like plastic but when Chris picks a piece up it causes a cut in his finger.

“That is not a very safe thing to use. What ever were they thinking?” He uses the med tool to fix the cut and decides to take the pice with them to see what it is. “Let's see what my lab can make of it once we are back.”

“Guys look at this. There's a piece of wall in this display case. But it looks more like somebody just scribbled on it. Why would they keep such a thing?” The call from Phichit comes from all the way at the other side of the room.

Chris and Seung-Gil quickly walk over. Once they stand beside Phichit they have to admit that it doesn't seem like a very interesting piece of information to keep. Chris is the first to realize that there is a sign at the bottom of the case that seems to hold an explanation of what's written on the wall. He takes out the Sensor tablet and scans the sign.

“Let's see what this says.” He hums while the tablet hums. “If we are lucky and this is an old settlement the language would have to be stored in our database.”

The Sensor tablet beeps twice to let them know it managed to find a translation. Phichit pulls the tablet from Chris's hands to be the first to take a look, he hands it back after reading it. A very distinctive paleness to his nose. Chris looks over the info and hands it to Seung-Gil without a word.

“Two friends were here.  While they were, they had bad service in every way from a guy named Epaphroditus.  They threw him out and spent 105 and half sestertii most agreeably on whores.“

Seung-Gil wonders why anybody could pale because of that, especially as it would be something either one of them would have done. That is when his eyes falls on the bit of extra info provided.

“This was a text found on a piece wall in an old Roman City, it was stored in the museum of Roman arts in Rome, Italy, Earth. The piece is considered lost as it was not taken with the settlers when the planet was abandoned.”

Seung-Gil looks from the tablet to the piece of wall in front of them. Then he looks at the other two.

“We're not in an old settlement. We actually found Earth.” Chris whispers in shock. “I always thought that planet was a myth, something the old ones tell children to make us believe we once had a real home.” He looks around. “We found Earth.”

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[purplesurveys]

199

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? No I never got into both the book and film series. I wish I did read the books though...oh well, it’s never too late to start on them. When was the last time you ran into something? There’s so many things I could run into though haha. I guess the frog that I met while I was taking some trash out a couple of days ago? Do you enjoy dressing up? Sure. I love parties. Do you live in the city or a rural area? In the middle. I literally live right before the city and right before the more province-y part of town. Would you say you have a sense of style? Yeah, my friends have pointed it out occasionally. It’s never intentional and I never wanted to project a certain image, but whatever.

What's your biggest fear? These surveys have made me realize that aside from cockroaches, I am also very terrified of fire. :-( Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? Not bitten, although I got pecked by this huge bird in a mini-safari because it caught me taking a picture of it when I was 12. Are you close to any of your cousins? I’m close with one. We’re quite older, and everyone else is much younger so I can’t really build the close and personal relationship that I would want to have with them. Have you ever been lost in the woods? Nope I wouldn’t want to do anything that will put me in that situation. Where did you last travel? I was in Vigan last September. Do you enjoy driving? I love the independence aspect of it–my mom can’t ever say no to my plans now because I’ll always have the capability to drive anyway. But that’s the only advantage, really. Driving is exciting for the first few months but then you realize Manila traffic takes out at least four hours of your day everyday just weaving in and out of traffic. It’s ultimately tiring. What song did you last listen to? Tell Me How by Paramore. If you have a job, how often do you work? No job. What time do you normally go to sleep at night? I can’t give you an exact time but it’s usually between 9 PM and 1 AM. Do you watch a lot of movies? I used to but I’ve temporarily lost my muse for it. Hopefully the upcoming awards season will rouse my interest again. Do you like Tom Petty? Never listened to his music. Would you rather have snow or rain? I mean just because I’ve never seen it, snow. Do you own a lot of sweaters? Nope. I only have one and it isn’t even mine, technically. It’s too hot to wear sweaters any time of the year, so why spend several hundred bucks on something I doubt I’ll be able to wear more than twice a year? Have you ever tried rock-climbing? Oh man I always wanted to but was always lazy when there’s an opportunity hahaha. Ever ridden in a police car? No. Favorite decade of music? I don’t have one. I have favorite genres and they encompass various decades instead. Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? Yes. For longer than a decade, really. The only best friend I had who wasn’t able to hang on was Sofie, but even that had been longer than a year. Ever witnessed a murder? No. I’ve seen my loved ones getting murdered in my dreams, but never one in real life. Do you care what people think of you? My friends, yes. Anyone else, I don’t see why it should concern me. Does your room have a ceiling fan? No, I find it too old-fashioned for my room. Would you consider yourself poised? I have my moods, and that’s all thanks to my Classic Hollywood phase hahaha. I learned all of my etiquette from Audrey Hepburn. Have you ever tried blogging? Yes. I made a bajillion Blogger accounts but only made one entry with each of them. I had a lot because I would forget my username and password as soon as I made my first post and proceeded to abandon them. Favorite television channel? I don’t watch TV. Have you ever lied under oath? No. I’ve never even been under oath. What are your religious views? I don’t have any other than I never agreed with anything that’s ever come out of Catholicism, and that’s coming from 17 years of experience. Are you a romantic person? I’m super sweet in private. Otherwise, in a public setting, I’m hesitant to be showy. Just because I know it would annoy me if I saw a couple who’s a little into their PDA. Would you consider yourself a flirt? No. I never had the opportunity to find out for myself. At what age do you plan to be married? 27-29 should be fine. Do you eat a lot of junk food? Hah.  When did you last go on vacation? September. Are you resilient? I can be. It will ultimately depend on the situation at hand. Have you ever failed a subject before? No. I’ve failed tests, but never a class. If so, what was the class? Do you wear more bright or dull colors? Dull. Wearing bright colors would be very out of character for me. Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? Yes. What's your favorite quote? I give different answers to this question all the time. Right now it’s, “Next time you point a finger, I might have to bend it back or break it off / Next time you point a finger, I’ll point you to the mirror.” from Paramore’s Playing God. Would you consider yourself mature? Yeah, at least more mature than the wild party animals that are the business students in my school. How many clocks are in your house? Several. I can’t be bothered to visualize and start counting right now. Do you play any sports? Yes. I play table tennis. What is your biggest life regret? This isn’t my doing and it’s not really a regret, but I’ve always wanted to see the person I would have turned out to be if I wasn’t raised in the detrimental environment I was raised in. Like, who would I be if my mom didn’t put me down mentally and emotionally every single day? What kind of outlook would I have if I had parents who had jobs that allowed them to be constantly at home and thus would be able to actually build a connection with us? How happier would I have been if I didn’t have to spend every time wondering if my relatives would nearly attack each other to death, intoxicated? It’s really saddening and I apologize to myself every day for not being given something better, even though I don’t even know who to blame it on. Have you ever been injured in a car accident? No, I’ve been in veeeery minor ones. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? I’d love to be in a museum right at this moment. Have you ever had highlights in your hair? Never did like highlights. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jollibee. In what country were you born? Born and raised in the Philippines. Are your eyes more than one color? Nope. Have you ever caught something on fire? NOOOOPE. I’m scared of fire so when I do have to deal with it, I’m careful as all hell. What would you consider your biggest flaw? I’m way too sensitive. If someone takes even the slightest, most innocent dig at me, rest assured that it will stay with me and could change the way I look at myself. What do you think your best quality is? I’m fiercely protective of and loyal to my loved ones. I’d put them first before me any day. Some have noticed that I kind of sacrifice too much in order to benefit the other, but I’ve never seen that as a bad thing. My specialty, really, has always been being there for people. Do you enjoy listening to others' problems? I don’t enjoy the fact that they have a problem. I do enjoy that they trust me enough to tell me all about what they are going through and went to me for either support or advice. Do you keep any plants in your house? Yup, we have several in the living room. What is your mother's occupation? I have no clue. Last time I bothered to ask, she was some kind of secretary in one of the departments of the hotel she works in. Do any of your friends like your musical style? I don’t have a distinct musical style, that belongs to my other friends who give more attention to the aesthetic they put out haha. But none of them enjoy my punk rock taste, definitely.  What are you most looking forward to? Our field trip for our art studies class next Saturday. What was your favorite television show as a child? My first-ever favorite was The Wild Thornberries and Hi-5 with the original cast. Then I moved on to Spongebob, Fairly OddParents, Drake and Josh, and The Suite Life as I got older. Are you afraid of insects? Completely. Are you cold-natured? I’m not sure what this wants to refer to. How old were you when you got your first pet? I may have been 5 when I got my first goldfish. Did you/do you enjoy high school? For the most part, yes. I went through a lot, but the reward from it is that I learned so much about myself in return. I gained a lot of friends, finally knew which types of people I want to build connections with, and I also grew a lot closer with my batch that I will never stop referring to as my sisters. I never viewed my academics as very important since I figured early on that it isn’t going to matter in the real world and in the long run, so I didn’t stress myself out on them as much as everyone else did. My only enemy was the Catholic vision of the school. What would you say was your favorite age? 16 was my happiest age. What annoys you most about social networking? I hate that homophobic, transphobic, and racist people are allowed to have accounts. Are you the center of attention most of the time? Definitely not. What are you currently reading? I’m not reading anything but after this I hope to start on my readings for history class that I’ve been putting off for ages hahaha. When did you last go to the library? I have no clue. April? Are you ill at the moment? Far from it. Do people tease you about anything? Nope. How late did you stay up last night and why? Around 10 PM. No reason. I wanted to sleep earlier but couldn’t, so I watched videos and read articles to make myself feel sleepy. Have you ever written poetry? Only when I had to for English.  Curtains or shades? I have shades, but prefer curtains. How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? Two. Do you tend to text a lot? Yes, but the only person I text is Gab hahaha since everyone else is reachable on Messenger. Still, I text a lot. Ever lost a great best friend? Yes. Losing Sofie was kind of sad, but I got over it quickly. I also lost Gabie for a while. What is your favorite kind of flower? Answered this before. I love all flowers except anthuriums. I’m not sure about other countries, but in the Philippines that’s the go-to flowers for cemeteries and I’ve since grown to hate how it looks. How tall are you? 5′1″ or 5′2″. Haven’t checked in a while so it could be either one. Do you own any guns? No. I don’t have a reason to own one. What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? I’m afraid a book hasn’t had that much of an impact on me yet. Do you think you're living a good life? No. What's your least favorite part of the day? The afternoon when the weather is at its most humid :( Plus everyone just seems to be a little more dead at that time of the day. Are you an over-achiever? Hahahaha, no. No matter how well I perform there’s always someone else that makes me achievements almost laughable in comparison. Have you ever won an award for a speech? No. I’ve gained recognition, but not an actual award. Do you tend to curse a lot? Yes. Have you ever played on the Ouija board? No. Always been fascinated with it. Do you sleepwalk? I don’t. Have you ever slept on the floor before? Yes, I’ve had to several times. Are you a fan of public displays of affection? Fan is a creepy way to put it. I don’t mind PDA, people are allowed to hold hands and hold each other by the waist and such. It becomes meh when it goes too far like excessive cuddling, but thankfully I rarely witness that. I do remember one couple openly making out in Universal Studios in Singapore though. In a line for a ride. Filled with families. I wanted to make gagging noises so bad ugh. When did you last attend a yard sale? Years ago. Do you wish your life were simpler or more interesting? More interesting, of course. What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? I want to get started on a homework for my major, and get more readings done. When is your birthday? April 21st. Which is worse: going blind or deaf? Bad question. What was the best part of today? Eh, it’s been pretty slow today. Nothing so far, really. Do you attempt to stay away from drama? Ugh for fucking sure, yes. I know some people who are still obsessed with high school level drama. It’s fun to watch it from afar.

What liquid did you last drink? Water. Do you ever prefer to be alone? Majority of the time. Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? No. My mom wouldn’t let that pass. Favorite Disney movie? Toy Story or Tangled. Have you ever been to the beach? Many times. If you have, how many times have you been? ^ What was your dream occupation at age ten? I wanted to be an author at the time, so not really far off from my present aspirations to work in mass communication. Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? No. I actually want to gain a little so that I can fit (nicely) into clothes that I do want to wear. I’m naturally thin and something that people tend to skim over about being skinny is that very few articles of clothing can complement your figure. Do you drink a lot of water? Yes. Love water. I’m responsible for finishing up the pitchers in the fridge all the time. Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? Hardwood. Do you take naps daily? Most of the time I can’t, since I spend the whole day in school. Who were you named after? I was told that I was named after the Swedish singer also named Robyn, but my parents’ versions change EVERY TIME I bring the question up. I have no idea why they can’t give me a straight answer. Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? Yes if my dad happens to be home at that time of the year. Do you know anyone who is colorblind? I don’t think so. Have you ever been a teacher's pet? Ugh no. I stay away from that particular spotlight. What is your absolute favorite hobby? Exploring museums and other cultural sites :) I also love watching movies. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? Once. Twice at most. Ever been to a tanning bed before? No. I have no use for one and I don’t even know how to operate them, and I’ve seen the tanning bed part from Final Destination 3 enough times to know not to mess with them haha. Are you satisfied with your financial stability? I’m alright with my parents’ financial stability. Who is your favorite actor/actress? Kristen Stewart. I also like Kate Winslet but she’s in my shit list for now because she defended Woody Allen.

Are your nails painted? They aren’t. What's the meanest thing you've ever said to someone? When I was a kid, around 9, I used to tell my siblings all the time that I wish they were never born and that I were an only child instead, since I was always fighting with them for attention. I wasn’t raised a brat and I hate that I ever said that, and it’s really because of the environment I was raised in. I heard those words from my relatives and other people, and I just mimicked it because I thought it was an alright thing to say. Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? Yeah I say sorry ALL THE TIME to inanimate objects I bump into. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Cookies and cream and any flavor with an unusual concept. I tried spicy chocolate ice cream before, best thing ever. Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? I would prefer to kiss somone of the same gender. Do you receive any hate mail? No. I got hate stuff on my Ask.fm once and since I don’t tolerate negativity on any of my social media, I went ahead and deleted my profile altogether. Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? Nope. If you could, would you have a pen pal? That seems sweet, but no. What color are the pants you're wearing? My shorts are blue. Have you ever had a stalker? I haven’t. What is your life philosophy? People don’t have to be blood to be family. Who last sent you a goodnight text message? My girlfriend. Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? I have lots of black clothes; but as much as I love pastel pink, I have nothing of that color. Have you ever been in a hot tub before? Of course. What's your favorite comedy movie? White Chicks hahahahahahah.

[fuck-customers]

My last job was at a chain hotel, and there were plenty of problem customers but one in particular that always stood out to me because no matter how much she complained and denigrated us, she still stayed with us twice a week.

Highlights and regular complaints included:

Demanding a smoking room in a state where it is illegal to have smoking-friendly hotel rooms.

Giving contradictory room requests every single time she stayed (Close to the pool but not on the floor the pool is on, a quiet part of the hotel but right next to the lobby, etc).

Complaining the lobby coffee was cold no matter how hot it was.  Seriously I learned when she'd usually come in and brew the coffee hotter than normal minutes before she walked in, and she'd say it was too cold and demand I make a new batch.

Telling the front desk to change the lobby and hallway thermostats because her room was too cold, despite the obvious in-room heater.

Demanding room upgrades because she was a frequent-staying rewards program member, no matter how many times it was explained to her we can't upgrade her room if no upgraded rooms are available.

Complaining when we did upgrade her room, because that's not the room she booked, why didn't we just put her in the room she booked.

Constantly comparing us to a location 2 towns despite them technically being a different chain with a different owner on top of being about 20 years newer.  I later learned she would try to get free stuff from the other location when she stayed there by comparing them to us.

Sure, none of the top 5 worst incidents in my time there were from her, but what she lacked in severity she more than made up for in quantity.  This story is about the very last time she stayed with us.

I had been dealing with her once a week for almost 2 years on the afternoon shift, but tonight I was training to switch to the overnight shift with the old night guy set to retire in a few days.  This guest came in around midnight instead of her usual 4pm because of weather but that didn't stop her from her usual routine.  "Coffee's cold.  I've stayed here every week for years, why do you need to see my credit card!  Well at your OTHER location they ALWAYS give me a gift bag." and something in the old guy snapped.

With nothing to lose he just slammed his fist on the counter and SCREAMED at her "WELL IF YOU LIKE THE town redacted LOCATION SO FUCKING MUCH WHY DON'T YOU GO STAY THERE.  IT'S A THREE HOUR DRIVE THAT-A-WAY, BETTER GET GOING."

It was the first time in 2 years I saw this guest speechless.  She just took her room keys and walked away, and that was the last time I ever saw her.  Old guy got fired a whole one day earlier than he was scheduled to leave because of it.  We threw him a party.

[hprarepairnet]

the wet spot

pairing: cedric diggory x pansy parkinson

setting: modern, non-magical au

word count: 1,660

get to know our members challenge: favorite rare-pairs | (2/5) - andrea

Cedric wakes up feeling good.

It’s early, the barest hint of summer-yellow sunshine peeking in through the blinds, but not so early that his eyes are dry and gritty with leftover exhaustion. He’s a little sore, a few choice muscle groups registering stiff and vaguely tender, and his body’s buzzing with a bone-deep, entirely primal sort of satisfaction. The noisy uncertainty that’s plagued most of his thoughts since leaving school; it’s gone. His head is clear. He has energy. And his sheets are rumpled, and his boxers are missing, and he isn’t alone.

He isn’t alone.

The girl in his bed—Pansy, Pansy Parkinson, he remembers how utterly charmed he’d been by her name—is still sleeping, face relaxed and hair gently tousled, and she’s perfect.

Long, sooty lashes sweep across the apples of her cheeks, and her adorably freckled nose is turned up just so towards the end, and the remnants of her lipstick are smeared in a cherry-red cloud around the edges of her mouth. She’d ordered her whiskey neat, and his vodka straight, and she’d untucked his shirt for him before dragging him out onto the dancefloor, looping his tie around her wrist and laughing into his ear when he stumbled and singing along—in French—to the Eurotrash electro-pop anthem that had been blaring through the overhead speakers, the humming thud of the bass and the languid rocking of her hips and the slick, salty slide of her skin against his distracting him from how much he usually hated places like that.

And then she’d kissed him in the backseat of a cab, trailed her fingers down his chest and teased his lips open with the tip of her tongue and she’d tasted like bourbon and cigarettes and cinnamon, sweet and tart and smooth and rich and earthy—she’d tasted like all the reasons he’d moved to New York in the first place, and it had been exhilarating, it had been exceptional—

Her eyes flutter open.

“Hey,” he murmurs, flashing her a warm, inviting, helpless smile.

Pansy freezes mid-yawn, and then she blinks, twice, lifting her head off her pillow just enough to squint at him in obvious confusion. “What the fuck are you still doing here?” she asks, voice sharp with incredulity.

Cedric’s smile falters. “We, uh, we slept together last night.”

Pansy puffs her cheeks out, blowing blunt-cut blonde bangs off her forehead. “Yeah,” she says, somehow slowly enough to imply that he’s a moron, but also quickly enough to imply that she’s already bored. “I know. I was there.”

He rubs at his neck. “Uh. So.” He tries to think back to what he’d done with Cho when they’d still been together. “Breakfast? I can make—crepes? Or—or we could go out? There’s this place around the corner that does really great omelets, it’s—”

“Are you, like…high, or something?” Pansy interrupts, and then firmly shakes her head. “No, I don’t care, actually, just—what are you still doing here? Seriously.”

Cedric furrows his brow. “I—uh, live here? This is my apartment?”

She freezes again, expression flickering with surprise, consternation, and, finally, genuine alarm. “Oh, fuck,” she blurts out, sitting up with a wince. She knocks his well-worn copy of Ulysses off his bedside table in her haste to reach for her phone, and when she sees the time, she swears again. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m so fucking late, fucking—Disney prince assholes—fuck—”

Pansy Parkinson is up and dressed and out his front door before Cedric can figure out how to ask her for her number.

Cedric had been crowned prom king in high school.

That same night, he’d his virginity to Cho Chang on a king-sized bed in the Presidential suite of the downtown Marriott.

Neither of them had really known what they were doing, and there’d been some fumbling, some laughter, some awkward, red-faced mishandling of the condom—but they’d figured it out, eventually, and it had been about as good as it could’ve been, considering. He’d come too fast, of course, and she hadn’t come at all, unfortunately, be he’d assumed that sex was probably just one of those things he’d have to work at; to practice. That was fine. He hadn’t minded the idea of putting in a little extra effort. He’d spent eight painstaking months compiling a portfolio for architecture school, after all.

Sex couldn’t be harder than that.

The second time Cedric runs into Pansy Parkinson, he’s at a dingy midtown sports bar with his firm’s latest batch of interns, and he’s had just enough beer that he actually thinks he’s hallucinating.

She’s—well, she’s a vision in thigh-high fishnet stockings and a green plaid pinafore, a buttery brown leather jacket resting on the bar stool next to hers, ankles crossed and elbows propped up and gaze so flatly, furiously unimpressed with whatever it is she’s reading on her iPad that he spares a moment to question his own sanity before tapping her on the shoulder.

“Pansy Parkinson,” he greets her. “What a surprise.”

If he’s being honest with himself, he’s not really that surprised. He’d known—somehow, somewhere, someway—that he’d see her again. She was special. She was important. He could feel it.

“Oh, my god,” Pansy sighs, tilting her head back to scowl at the ceiling. “You’re not a stalker, right? Like. I don’t have time for a stalker right now, okay?”

Cedric gestures wordlessly to the pitcher of Rolling Rock he’s holding. Some sloshes over the rim, splattering his watch. “No,” he replies, good-naturedly. “I’m, uh…bonding with my underlings, I guess?”

She glances behind him, presumably over to where the interns are sitting, and then she smirks. “Look at you,” she drawls, “buying beer and making dad jokes.”

Cedric flushes at that. “I’m barely older than them.”

“Yeah,” Pansy says, sounding more amused than he thinks the situation technically warrants. But then again—he’s a little bit proud, maybe, of being able to make her sound like that. The tired frustration that had been pulling at the thin skin around her eyes is gone now. “That’s kind of my point.”

Cedric had dated Cho for years.

For years.

And he’d loved her, he had, because loving Cho had been easy. She’d been beautiful, and she’d been sweet, and she’d been soft, the kind of girl who always smelled like vanilla cupcakes and lavender shampoo. Their relationship had been the steadiest, sturdiest, most reliable part of his whole life. It had been instinctive. Reflexive. Like looking in the rearview mirror before backing out of his parents’ driveway.

He’d loved her.

He had.

The third, fourth, and fifth times he runs into Pansy Parkinson are on purpose.

She explains to him, in a tone lofty with derision, that she’s the assistant of the assistant of the editor-in-chief at some very high-profile fashion magazine Cedric’s never heard of, and that her hours are ridiculous.

“It’s obviously not what I moved here to do, but…” she trails off, shrugging, and then takes a leisurely sip of her latte. She’s good at that, he’s noticed. Feigning indifference. Pretending not to care. “Baby steps, or whatever, you know?”

“Yeah,” he says, because he does know. His most recent bid at work was for an addition to some old guy’s penthouse; he wanted a separate suite of rooms to display his apparently very vast collection of Renaissance-era sex toys. “When did you move here, then?”

Pansy’s jaw tightens for a split-second. “Two years ago,” she answers, toying with the buttons on the side of her phone. Her nails are painted a glossy dark purple, and a multi-tiered silver ring shaped like a snake is wrapped around her thumb. “I, um, went to Parsons. For a while.”

Cedric tears at the corner of his croissant, scattering paper-thin slivers of almonds across his plate. “You’ll figure it out, you know,” he tells her, nudging her knee underneath the café table. “You will.”

“Figure what out?”

“What you want.”

Her eyes widen, slightly, the blue-black of her mascara catching a stray beam of sunlight—and he remembers, suddenly, how peaceful she’d looked, that first morning after. Forehead smooth, and features relaxed, and something impossibly graceful—improbably pretty—about the way the bow of her upper lip had curved up and out.

He aches, just a little, at the memory.

Cedric had been relieved when he’d broken up with Cho.

He’d felt guilty, actually, about not feeling guiltier about the whole thing.

But he’d been twenty-two and freshly graduated and resolutely planning his future around the acceptably benign template of a nine-to-five job and a white picket fence in the suburbs and a wife who would greet him every day with a lukewarm kiss on the cheek and a fill-in-the-blanks conversation about PTA meetings and orange slices and SUV net-safety ratings and how she might maybe technically be having an affair with her tennis instructor and Cedric—

Cedric had been suffocating, and nothing had even happened yet.

The sixth time he runs into Pansy Parkinson, it’s in his bathroom’s tiny shower stall, the one that’s barely big enough for one person, let alone two, and she’s pressing her body snug against his, her chin tilted up and her brow deeply furrowed and her gaze wary, and curious, and shuttered.

“Morning,” he offers, rinsing the soap out of his eyes.

“Are you, like, stealth dating me?” she demands.

He chuckles, bringing his hands down to her hips and squeezing, just the once. “I’m doing whatever you’re letting me do, Pansy.”

She swallows, and he watches, impassive, as she curls her toes into the subway-tiled floor. His chest practically cracks itself wide open when he realizes she’s not even attempting to hide how nervous she is.

“Okay,” she agrees, and he catches her smile, fast and fleeting and realer than anything he’s ever seen from her before. She clears her throat. Repeats, more quietly, “Okay.”

[eridianshores-blog]

Availability Update - Character Cars & Carships

Retail stores, some of them anyway, are finally starting to recover from Christmas, albeit slowly.  Week after week I’m doing my rounds, trying to find what I can.  The good news is that a lot of stuff that was brand spankin’ new on eBay a month or so ago has begun to appear in stores.

DC Super Hero Girls - Character Cars

Shortly after these came out, I spotted a couple at the Cary Barnes & Noble (B&N).  Then I spotted a few more at the B&N over at Triangle Town Center (TTC).  Just recently, like within the last week if I’m not mistaken, they began to appear en masse over at the Toys R Us (TRU) behind TTC:  Wonder Woman (the Super Hero Girls version), Supergirl, & Batgirl, all there for the taking!  They don’t have a ton of them, but they do have more than one of each the last time I was there.

Marvel Character Cars

Technically the newest Marvel Character Car is Iron Fist, but before him, we saw the release of Elektra.  Elektra also marked the change in packaging for the Marvel cars (absent numbers, grrr) along with the re-release of several others, seemingly at random.  In almost record time, this new batch began appearing at Targets in the area, particularly the one here in WF and a couple others in Raleigh (I can’t remember exactly which ones, sorry!).  Along with Elektra, you can also find Groot (a good chance to snatch him up if you missed the Guardians of the Galaxy wave), Wolverine (blue version, and I swear this blue is from a different dye lot than the original release), Hulk (purple pants / “Avengers Assemble” version), and a few others.  I don’t remember exactly who ships with those cases except for the aforementioned and Spider-man, and most likely Iron Man, though I’m not sure which version.

Star Wars Carships

Man, I made an awesome discovery today.  I was trying to take a shortcut from the Flea Market over to Crowemag (the only used/collectible toy store in the area) and at one point I took a right when I should’ve taken a left and what did I see tucked away at a busy intersection...?  A freaking Walmart that I didn’t know existed!  I know most people are hard-pressed to get excited over stumbling across yet another goddamn Walmart, but a hunter like me can’t help but be excited.

As I said this place was kinda tucked away and I could immediately tell that it was one of the old Walmarts, before “Supercenters” were the norm.  I instantly recognized this as a good sign - places like this may not get the super duper inventory, but what they do get tends to remain safely planted on the shelf, especially when it comes to toys.  Walmarts without the full grocery store nowadays seem contradictory to the entire concept of going to Walmart in the first place!  I’ll put it this way: finding a non-Supercenter Walmart is kinda like finding a really nice K-mart where the actually give half a damn about their toy section.

They didn’t have anything in the way of Marvel or DC cars, and the Star Wars cars were the usual - lots of Vader, Zeb, BB-8, and maybe Zeb - but what caught my eye amidst it all was a First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter CARSHIP!  It turned out to be the only one they had, but still.  A little more searching yielded 3 or 4 Poe’s X-Wing carships, several from the original 4 that were released, a single TIE Striker carship, and a single Partisan X-Wing carship.  This was all good news as my son wanted some duplicates for when he plays with them - specifically he wanted an extra Striker, Partisan X-Wing, and SF TIE.  Well ok, he also wants an extra U-Wing, but unfortunately they seem to be super-rare, even becoming difficult to find online.  And this is why I go ahead and snatch them up early - I’m glad I at least have one!

What’s so strange is that this little hole-in-the-wall Walmart had carships that, so far, I’ve never seen in stores.  The best I can figure, the carships were released as such: Wave 1 - X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, Slave I, and TIE Fighter; Wave 2 - Ghost, Vader’s TIE, and TIE Striker; Wave 3 - U-Wing and Partisan X-Wing, and most recently, Wave 4 - First Order SF TIE and Poe’s X-Wing.  Those first 4 from Wave 1 are virtually every where.  Before Christmas, I spotted the Ghost and Vader’s TIE at a Target here and there, but I have never, ever seen any of the other 5 in stores.  Even so, this Walmart only had 1 of each of 3 of them, and there was no U-Wing to be found at all (though I did look really carefully all around the area to make sure).

DC Character Cars

This isn’t as big of a find, but if you’ve got some holes in your collection of DCU character cars, a nearby Target may be able to help.  At least 3, if not 4, surrounding Targets appear to be getting in new cases of DCU character cars.  What’s weird is that these do not support the new packaging (like the new Deadshot etc. cars) but I’m 100% sure that these stores were not pulling in cases of these cars on the reg.  For the first time ever in a store I saw The Flash, and for the first time in several months I spotted Green Lantern, Robin, maybe Catwoman and Two-Face.  I’m not saying these are impossible to find, but the DC stock has thinned out over the past few months, with pretty much the only staples being Man of Steel, Armored Batman, the Penguin, Hawkman, and the occasional Mr. Freeze. The Flash is the real one worth mentioning, but like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve seen some of the others, particularly Green Lantern.  Check early and often though, because I’m pretty sure there’s only one per case.

Star Wars Character Cars

The character cars in the new packaging have been steadily gaining ground in most Walmarts around here, though I think the only purely new car in that batch is the Jawa. (I could be mistaken.) Anyway, the good news is that Sergeant Jyn Erso, who seemed to trickle out after the main wave, is becoming more widely available. At first I would only spot her in a B&N now and then, but a couple of weeks ago there was at least one at TRU, and then about a week ago I spotted one at my local Walmart, and then sometime in the last several days I counted a total of 4 at the Brier Creek Walmart, and they're actually kinda crummy when it comes to staying on top of the Star Wars character cars. With a little bit of luck and a little bit of perseverance, pretty much anyone should be able to locate Jyn for themselves.

Star Wars Starships

This is more of a non-report than anything...I still can’t figure out what happened to these things.  Walmarts, in general, are the best carriers for these starships.  Target might have a few old ones, TRU may have some laying around, but Walmart easily has the largest variety.  It’s worth noting that you can get lucky at a B&N though, which I’ll be checking at some point in the near future.

Anyway, finding all the usuals is pretty easy - Tantive IV (us older guys used to call it the “Blockade Runner”), Imperial Shuttle (funny, the Blockade Runner is now known by the name of the actual ship; back in the day, we called this Tydirium, the name of the actual ship!), lots of TIEs, A-Wings, and so on.  The Partisan X-Wings do seem to be recovering very slightly; I see one or two pop up here and there, but I have yet to see the Mandalorian Talon Fighters resurface.  I’ve only seen the X-Wing / TIE Striker 2-pack twice.  I still haven’t ever seen the Millennium Falcon / TIE Interceptor 2-pack, a single Striker, the AT-ACT, or the Chicken Walker (or whatever its equivalent is known as in Rogue One). 

So yeah, I don’t know what the hell is up with these guys.  You can find pretty much any of ‘em that you want on eBay, but more often than not you’ll pay through the nose.  Hopefully supply will catch up with demand sooner or later.

That’s all I got for now!  This probably won’t mean much if you’re not local to my area, but maybe it can help point you in the right direction.  Just believe me when I say it is 100% worth it to check different Walmarts, Targets, etc.  It’s baffling that the toys they carry can be so different, but c’est la vie!  Clue me in to your awesome finds and let us know where we can find ‘em if we find ourselves in your neck of the woods!