#ragtag-daily-prompt

[she-breathes-when-she-writes]

FRIENDS FOREVER

RDP BESTIE Best friends are those who have been there for you over the years Best friends are those who you just met Best friends are those who can laugh with you when you have brain fog Best friends are those who remind us that we are still best friends (forever-no matter what) Until Next Time, Heidi💜

[quietintrovertentrepreneur-blog]

Bamboozled by Blessings: God's Detours

Ever felt like life’s GPS took a wrong turn, leading you down a winding road you didn’t sign up for? Yep, that’s the “bamboozle.” But hold on, don’t throw in the towel just yet! In Bamboozled by Jesus, Yvonne Orji’s story is all about those unexpected detours that God throws our way. You know, those unexpected detours that make you question everything and wonder if you missed the memo. She’s…

[luvsmo]

Guys, do you imagine Ponmi throwing up because of nervous while grabbing Ragatha's hand? Like, in sp with Stan & Wendy.

Imagine she is too nervous while grabbing hands plus touching an pretty lady, that she throws up.

It's like:

Ragatha: P-ponmi..?...Dear, are you okay?

And Ponmi is just throwing up lol.

[randomlythings]

Distant church in the water

©Mia Salminen 2024 I went on a bike ride last week, and on my way home, I stopped at a bridge I’ve cycled over many times. The bridge goes over a river, and the water was so still that you could see a clear reflection of the church. The building is distant, but it’s the best way to see it.

[photosbyjez]

A Cold Walk -- RDP

A Cold Walk -- RDP

Hi all 😃 My post for Ragtag Daily Prompt Wednesday: Footprints. Footprints in the SnowFootprints in the snow

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Public Art

Daily writing promptHow are you feeling right now?View all responses I like wandering, and I love re-discovering old haunts and being surprised when I visit new places nearby that I’ve missed in my wandering. It keeps me feeling engaged, happy, and in tune with the world. I’ve spent some time this last year touring around New England and viewing the public artwork installed on the streets,…

[helpfromheaven]

Be the Unicorn in the Room Wherever You Go!

While others seek to fit in and be all alike, Take off the mask of sameness and be unique. Like the tree that stands strong in a blizzard, Hold on to the dreams and hopes you seek. Junk the inane need to go viral on social media. Seek to know the truth that doesn’t kill one’s soul. Learn to be a leader and not always a follower, For a unicorn is distinctive and unusually bold. Written for…

[mangus-khan-blog]

RDP Thursday - 12292024

Here is my response to the RDP prompt – The Day After Saturday Morning Blues

[islandgirl37]

RDP Sunday: Festival- Guanajuato's Festival Internacional Cervantino!

Guanajuato, Mexico celebrates the city’s artistic and literary heritage during its yearly International Cervantes Festival. Beginning in 1972, this year it will be held Fri, Oct 11, 2024 – Sun, Oct 27, 2024. Last year I showed up during the festival, unprepared. I had no idea it was going on. As I wandered around the winding cobblestone streets and passageways of the central area, I continually…

[redswrap]

Old + Woman = Need for Sharper Elbows

Daily writing promptWhat job would you do for free?View all responses It’s a double whammy. Being old – as in significantly old – and being a woman. You might as well have the word irrelevant tattooed across your forehead. Don’t pay any attention to me, your face says. I might have been smart as a whip at one time but now I’m thin and intellectually wispy, a doily of a person. I push against…

[momoetry-blog]

Ready to Rumble

The words came out They didn’t halt or stumble The thoughts bubbled up Out of my mouth they tumbled There is a storm a-brewing, And I am ready to rumble. -Nicole Smith, Momoetry Ragtag Daily Prompt: Rumble

[samw3000]

Viral

We prey on each other for attention Time. Affection. Validation I need you to #like and #follow me Without you, where would I be Mindlessly thumbing through content Numbing my mind into contentment Instead, you're looking at me By any means necessary Talent is not required Fame and money is all that's desired I monetize (victimize) me I am in control of who I be This persona is only…

[our-future-is-up-to-us-2]

I'll Think Of You

Fic number 3! And it's actually a Narcos fic @narcosfandomdiscord

Have fun with our favourite guy, aka "some guy", aka "my guy", aka "Walt Breslin" >:D

Prompt #25, Book Of Reciprocity: "Fine, I'll do it myself."

Word Count: 1.3K

Relationships: Mimi/Pablo Acosta, Walt Breslin & Pablo Acosta

Warnings: Mentioned character death, mentioned drug use (as per canon)

~ Read the fic under the cut ~

Fuck it . 

It’s a thought that Walt Breslin thinks on a daily basis. 

With Operation Leyenda well and truly over, Walt and his crew had to switch tactics, not without people like Ed Heath towering over them. 

Better yet, fucking asshole Calderoni lurks, with his helpful information at one point, and heavy insults at others. 

This team of theirs, a real ragtag bunch, can only do so much. 

Breslin inquires, one day, if his team has the strength to go on. He gives them all permission to leave: Some have better jobs than this to pursue, others are husbands, and fathers of little boys and girls. 

He gives them an exit route, a free pass outta town. 

Determination rouses inside him when none of them refuse. 

They’ll work, side by side, till the break of dawn, till the end of the day– If it means avenging Kiki Camarena, if it means bringing justice to his name! 

That’s all that matters. 

He’ll defy anyone that stands in his way. Well, as much as he can do so. 

And there comes a point where he’s the one making negotiations, compromises with a side that should be wrong. In all truth, the people he’s speaking to… They’re saner than he expected, especially for their profession. 

Before he leaves to meet them, he tells his team, “This one, I’m doing by myself.” 

He says it again, in a different way, when they don’t get the message. 

“Guys, look, I get it. I’m the leader here. But, damn that! I can only take you so far… You’re angry about it, yes, but let me go. I’ve got the information, the equipment, the leads– Now you’re angry at me. Got it. Fine, I’ll do it myself! You guys stick around, do what you can with what you know, and occupy the ground over here.” 

Because this mission is a suicide mission, basically. 

The rest of the special agents can know he’s out there, Walt Breslin’s on the case, he’s doing something , some solo mission. 

As he drives to Ojinaga, a heaviness settles in his gut. He is both free and chained, maddened and rational. 

His heart flutters when he spots a girl, tall, blonde and beautiful, standing around a house. She points upwards, and that’s when Walt is taken off-guard. 

Pablo Acosta, drug lord, cartel king, working on a roof. 

Fuck it , He thinks, once again, Whatever it takes to get him on-side. 

 

***

Pablo asks him to bring up a toolbox, and Walt Breslin can only oblige. 

They start talking about life, about change and simple things.  

There comes a point where Acosta pauses and cracks the toolbox open. He shuffles about, as though planning which tool to grab, when, in fact, there are no tools whatsoever. Just beer, bottles and bottles of it. 

It’s the American’s sign that he can relax, fortunately enough. 

“Do you drink?” He asks, a bottle outstretched in one hand. 

“Fuck, yeah, I do,” Walt replies, perhaps a little too enthusiastically, “As much as I can handle.” 

They clink bottles in acknowledgement and take long, slow sips. They relish the refreshing taste in the dry heat, the bitterness that sinks into their throats. 

“Hey, look, I can get you immunity, protection,” The DEA agent offers, “Whatever you need. As long as you cross that border with me, and tell me everything you know about Felix. Felix Gallardo. ” He clarifies, “I’m lookin’ to take him down.” 

“Why’s that? Who’s Felix to you?” 

Walt takes a swig of his beer and sighs, his eyes fixed on Acosta’s, “He killed a federal agent. Camarena, his name was. He was diligent, so I’ve heard, and he didn’t deserve what he got. So… This is to avenge him, I guess.” 

“So you’ve heard?” The other smiles, tilting his hat, “So you guess? Did you ever know him, Camarena, the agent that died?” 

As a DEA agent, he feels like he should’ve, but they weren’t in the same place, the same sector. Kiki was working for longer hours, harder than he ever could’ve… But he didn’t know the man. Not personally. He never got the time, had the connections, to find out who he really was, if he had a family, what he liked in the world… 

Pablo Acosta seems to appreciate the simple things. And if Pablo Acosta had met Kiki Camarena, maybe, pushing all the drugs and crime aside, they would have got along splendidly.

All Walt can do is shake his head, rather sadly. 

“You didn’t even know him…” Acosta tuts, as though to place blame on Walt. “And I get it, comrades, partners… You trust people who work the same way as you. I can’t do that anymore. All I can trust is Mimi,” He gestures to the girl with fondness, “Or, maybe you.” 

“You should trust me,” The DEA agent huffs, crossing his arms, “I’m trying to help you, here… As long as you help me back.” 

“I don’t know where I fit in anymore,” He segues, “There’s… A different feeling here, with the drug now, cocaine, the Colombians, fucking politicians… Everything is crazy. So, I might just settle down.” 

“Settle down across the border.” He pleads, “Help me out here.” 

Acosta stands up, drinks some beer, wanders around the roof aimlessly. Even while Breslin is angry, a part of him worries about the guy crashing and falling. 

He exhales and turns back to face the American, glad to occupy the higher ground. “I can’t help you out without knowing who you are. Don’t start… Listing bullshit things. What are you really doing here? That agent is long gone.” 

Fuck. Walt thinks, cracking his knuckles just to hear the sound. 

The thought is not fuck it , as it should normally be, but instead, total despair. A rock bottom. A weird type of guilt and defeat and admission that he absolutely hates! 

And to share it with a former drug lord? Dear god, did things really have to come to this? 

I could lie. He muses, staring at the surface below him, pondering, I could lie and cheat and steal to get him to trust me. It’s not beyond the cartels, and it’s not beyond me, is it?  

‘Don’t start listing bullshit things.’ 

Acosta seems like the type of guy to have a lie detector built into his body. 

So, Walt looks at him, squints, thanks to the sunlight, and goes for broke. 

“Three years ago, I was at home,” He begins, gripping the neck of his beer bottle, “And I was working a shift, everything’s cruisy. That’s when I get a call, for a one-eighteen, a gang-related shooting. But if it was located in the town over, why should I be called?!” 

Acosta just shrugs: A simple signal. He doesn’t know the story, so Breslin must tell it. 

“If I was called, I had to go… And I knew from that point forward that something was wrong. My brother was involved. Not just that,” A wobble emerges in his voice, “ My brother had died. Three shots to the chest, with an eight-ball of cocaine by his side.” 

Walt wipes a hand at his face. He’s vulnerable, he’s scared, and he’s not about to start crying in front of Pablo Acosta. 

He finishes his tale with his voice at a mere whisper, “So… Yeah. That’s why I’m here. ” 

When the drug lord sits down and lets out a slow exhale, he knows. The story, the truth, the emotions… They’ve all hit in just the right places. 

And Walt Breslin can be proud of that. Proud for telling the truth, proud for negotiating in a way that doesn’t involve trickery… 

Because Pablo Acosta reveals, just minutes before the DEA agent climbs down to the ground, that his brother was a junkie too. 

[randomlythings]

This is rock

©Mia Salminen When I studied visual expression from 2009 to 2011, the class spent the night in a cabin in the first year. I found this rock on the ground and put it on a stump. There weren’t many big rocks at the place, which makes this rock special. And that rocks.

[photosbyjez]

Good Traction -- RDP

Hi all 😃 My post for Ragtag Daily Prompt Thursday: Grip. Grip on hiking boots

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Dirty Little Secrets

It’s not a secret that many of us are ageing in place. Nor is it a secret in my family that the house we’ve occupied for the last twenty or so years has a steep and narrow staircase. Built in 1900, no codes in our neck of the woods obliged gentler ascents or broader steps. A few years ago I talked to a builder about remediation. He asked me how interested I’d be in gutting most of the house…