#stake conference doodles

[bluevaractyl]

Got Temeraire on the brain

[brothermouse]

It’s Stake Conference time in my ward, so that means a rare SATURDAY DOODLE!

1 Nephi 8:10

10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.

[sesar2024]

My Workday Doodles During Major Discussions

Transform your workday with a notebook designed for those moments when your mind wanders during lengthy discussions. Capture your creative sparks and spontaneous doodles with this perfectly sized companion!

My Workday Doodles During Major Discussions is a 6 x 9-inch, 120-page notebook with a blank canvas for your imagination. Whether in a high-stakes meeting or listening in on a conference call, this notebook offers the ideal space for jotting down notes, sketches, and all those creative ideas that pop up unexpectedly.

get it from here

[barnesandco]

Eat the Rich: Chapter 1

Eat the Rich Masterlist

The Avengers are tasked with tracking down an elusive thief, and retrieving the grand amounts of money she has stolen. Even after capture, she turns out to be impossible to break, save for a mystifying interest in Bucky.

Written for @mermaidxatxheart ‘s #jamiesmadwritingbash, under the Robin Hood AU prompt, with the dialogue prompt “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on her his arm?” in bold in this chapter.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: mentions of nightmares, memory loss and recovery, brief mentions of Bucky’s Winter Soldier days, and canon-level violence. Lots of frustrated Avengers. A bit of flirting.

A/N: I can’t decide if I want this series to make people laugh or cry, so good luck. Please comment and reblog! 

Divider by the fantastically talented @whimsicalrogers​!

The Avengers are confused. Perplexed and far out of their depths, they’re strewed about the meeting room with variants of displeasure on their faces. Bucky wears the biggest scowl of all, sitting ramrod straight in an armchair intended for postures far more comfortable. The source of their malcontent hovers in a hologram above the conference table, somehow managing to look bored while handcuffed and bound to a steel chair in the most secure interrogation room in the Compound.

You’re a thief. A crook who has been stealing big money from bigger people, in a slew of prominent heists that eventually led to the Avengers’ recruitment to your case. High stakes burglary isn’t their field, but when certain people threw their weight around, demanding a serious investigation, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had no choice but to play detectives to one elusive criminal.

A flirtatious one, too, Bucky thinks, remembering your first confrontation, as he traces the seams of his metal arm with the softer pads of his flesh fingers. 

Sam, Nat, and Bucky had tracked you all the way to Paris, where, one night, Sam gave chase while Bucky waited to intercept you on the predicted escape route, in an alley behind one of the classiest bars in town. Their prediction had proved accurate, and you had pretty much run straight into Bucky’s waiting arms. 

The ensuing fight should have been an easy one, and Bucky made the awful mistake -- the mistake he hadn’t made since meeting the Widows in the Red Room -- of underestimating a woman, and he ended up paying for it. 

His fists clench in his lap at the memory of how you had pulled a very Widow move on him, and he had wound up on his back with your thighs around his neck in a chokehold almost gentle. You had leaned over him to tie his hands together, and left him panting, out of breath, and with the taste of rust in his mouth. Clambering off, and wiping away the blood at the corner of his lip, you had then said, “I look forward to our rematch, handsome,” before disappearing into the dark, French night.

“Barnes?” He hears Stark call, and he blinks. “You still with us, or are you daydreaming about your girlfriend?” The room grows silent, and Bucky can sense suppressed smiles and silent glares, the latter aimed at Stark from Steve.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he grouses, letting his metal fingers dig into his kneecaps.

Sam, coffee abandoned on the table in front of him, eyes twinkling says, “We heard her through the coms, Barnes. In Paris, and in Buenos Aires.”

“And Oslo,” Peter pipes up, and Bucky falls back into the memory of autumn frost crunching under his feet, the reverberations of the orchestra in the opera house as he followed your coat-tails -- you played violin, because why the hell not -- down the busy street. Power-walking turned to running, and you had ended up in a crowded, posh bar with Bucky backing you into the wall in the hallway leading to the restrooms, holding your hands in one metal fist behind you.

Still, you had been unperturbed, trying to distract him with gemstone eyes while he called backup -- Stark, soaring in stealth mode above the fjord. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on his arm?” You had asked, gesturing toward his metal shoulder, no struggle, no flight or fight. 

Red-lipped smiles, you had given him, and he had been so close to pulling out the handcuffs until a trio of burly security guards had appeared, your backup, apparently, and engaged him in enough combat to allow you to escape. 

“She seems to like you,” Sam finishes piercing the haze of another battle lost, less violently at least, and Bucky rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like her,” is the best he can come up with, and he stands, moves towards a window overlooking the grounds, addressing the bulletproof glass, next. “What I would like is for us to get the money back so we can all go on our merry way and pretend this ever happened.”

The room falls quiet at that. Every person here is acutely aware of the fact that they’re no closer to getting the money back -- nobody could ever spend the amounts you’ve stolen recently, so quickly; FRIDAY’s run simulations on it -- and you haven’t budged under the interrogations you’ve faced thus far.

Barton enters the room as soon as he gets off the quinjet, still in his typical Bed Stuy uniform -- ripped jeans and purple t-shirt -- and Bucky, alongside Natasha and Sam in the observation room behind the one way glass, can see the angle he’s going with. 

It’s almost cliché, or maybe it’s just Clint, so relaxed and loose-limbed with too much pizza in his system and likely smelling of one-eyed dog -- Bucky adores Lucky, but he’ll never admit it -- the way he turns his chair around and sits, resting his chin on folded arms atop the back of the chair. 

For a moment, Bucky worries he’s fallen asleep right there, until his blond head lifts ever so slightly and he says, “Would you like something to drink?” 

You quirks a smile. “I’d like a proper introduction. What, were you raised in a barn?” The smirk is teasing, but there’s no bite, like you’re greeting an old friend with an inside joke. Barton traces the edge of the table.

“Almost. Ever heard of Waverly, Iowa?” He asks. 

You shake your head, and then, grin, informing, “No, but I have heard of you, Clint Barton.”

“So you didn’t need an introduction.”

“I’m a prankster, can’t you tell?” Bucky thinks of the navy blue dress in Prague, the tiny but powerful stink bombs you had kept in a thigh holster, how you had left them coughing. 

“Jokes are all well and good but, uh, stealing isn’t so funny,” Clint answers., sitting up, and Bucky can hear in his hardening tone that he’s starting to get serious. 

“Depends on who you’re stealing from,” is your flippant response.

“Also depends on who has to get the money back, too, and let me tell you, we’re a little tired of playing games.”

“Then I guess I win, right?”

��Are you sure you don’t recognize her? Her tactics seem familiar,” Sam says, and the sensation that has been aggravating the nerves in an unlocatable part of his brain since he saw her for the first time worsens, but Sam’s question is addressed to Nat.

“She’s not Red Room, if that’s what you mean. The Widows were trained to be merciless. She avoids getting more physical than she needs to,” Natasha answers, retying the band on her braid, flaming red hair coiled over her shoulder.

“She broke Bucky’s nose,” Steve points out in protest. 

Nat shrugs, leans forward to doodle on the notepad resting on her knee. “If it was me, I might have knocked some teeth out. Maybe pulled a knife or garrotte.”

“You have to tell me where you get those sting-y things,” you say the moment Nat enters the room, eyes sparkling and wide with awe. Bucky winces as he remembers the short-circuit from that little electric disc. The engineers in the bank had been pretty troubled by the thought of what could’ve caused that kind of damage to the internal systems, until he his fist around one of their necks gave them something else to worry ab--

Steve’s hand on his shoulder startles him back to the observation room instead of Hydra’s clutches, and he says, “Hey, Bucky, how’s it going?” with a nod to the room in front of them. Vibranium cuffs peek out from under the large, green hoodie that envelopes your form, making you look deceptively soft.

“She wants to know where Nat gets her taser discs.”

“You’re eager for those even after you’ve felt how much they hurt?” Nat asks calmly, and Bucky imagines an ice-cool smirk on her lips as she reminds you of how exactly you were captured. It was the tasers that brought you down, after Sam, Steve and Bucky flew and ran you to exhaustion through the streets of Algiers, costing Stark some collateral payments. He hadn’t minded too much, just been happy to have you in custody, finally.

“They look like they’d be fun to use. Pretty handy around certain metal armed men, too,” you suggest playfully.

“Yeah, he isn’t going to talk to you, but I’ve been looking forward to this chat of ours, so why don’t you start by telling me your name.”

“I don’t have one. I’m a ghost story,” you say, and Bucky assumes Nat is looking unimpressed, because you press forward with the joke. “You’re going to need a medium to talk to me.”

“And where do you suppose I find one of those?”

“You have one. Isn’t Bucky Barnes a ghost story, too?”

Sam’s about to name what is sure to be another way to cause unnecessary injury when Bucky butts in. “It doesn’t matter how she hurt me or how she could have hurt me,” this, with a glare at Natasha, who smiles down at the paper. “We have a burglar with billions stashed away and a buncha angry billionaires breathin’ down our necks to find it.”

“Well why don’t you give it a go if you think it’s so easy?” Looking up from the hangman sketch, Nat fixes emerald eyes on his, reminding him, once again, of the unusual interest you’ve taken in Bucky. One that started with mid-battle conversations of a different nature, and that has extended into custody. Something that’s been bugging Steve, his protective instinct whirring into overdrive -- Bucky sees his eye twitch from across the room at Nat’s remark -- no more so than during Steve’s turn to question the captive.

“You guys are all taking your turns playing Good Cop Bad Cop, but I haven’t seen Robocop yet. Why is that?”

“You left him tied up in Paris–”

“There’s an innuendo in there somewhere,” you sing-song, head tilting rhythmically from side to side. Bucky clenches his fists in the observation room.

“–so he isn’t much obliged to see you,” Steve finishes, bypassing your interruption.

Playful eyes with laser determination, unperturbed by locked rooms and handcuffs, focus on a spot just above Steve’s shoulder, almost looking through the glass, even though Bucky knows it’s just a mirror for you. “What a shame. I was hoping our little back alley tussle wouldn’t scare the big, bad White Wolf away.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Are you going to tell us where the money is or do you want formal charges and a jail cell?” He asks, shifting so he blocks your line of sight, folds his hands on the table, and broadens his shoulders, all-Captain and no-nonsense.

“Giving up on me so easy?”

“I wouldn’t call it easy, miss. We’ve been looking for months and tried just about everything to get you to cooperate.”

“Not everything.”

“She’s yawning,” Sam proclaims indignantly, glaring, shocked, at the hologram where indeed, the source of their troubles is yawning, like you could fall asleep, tied up and all. “Unbelievable.” He shakes his head, and Bucky stops a snort from escaping. He’s seen all kinds of interrogations, faced a fair few, too, and this woman is just warming up.

The ensuing discussion and debate continues for hours, until the sun sets behind the window Bucky’s standing by, and what silences them is the thump with which Clint puts his hearing aids on the table in front of him. Sam’s coffee wobbles dangerously, and everyone sighs as Clint wordlessly tells them to shut up. Murmurs of agreement to rest and get a fresh start tomorrow echo through the room, and Bucky catches Barton’s eye, and receives a wink. 

Later that night, in his room, Bucky knows he’s not going to get a minute of sleep. It’s just an intuition, something his very bones are telling him, and he sees no reason to dispute it. Under the throbbing ache in his head, there’s an itch in the grey matter of his mind, somewhere he can’t reach, and he twists and turns. The feeling is recognizable as the vexation inflicted when he’s on the verge of a memory, but those return either by dream or by sense these days.

Dreams are for the bad memories, the days of the Winter Soldier, his subconscious loosening whatever locks his mind placed to compartmentalize the pain, to stuff it all away. The nightmares, the terrible memories leave him shaking, but therapy helps. By a few percent, but when the load of pain is as heavy as his is, every small burden taken off his shoulder helps.

Sense brings back the time before Hydra, although it’s sometimes hard to believe there was one. Steve’s face buried in his shoulder, be careful, Buck; Romanian take out, his mother’s hands; faucet dripping, water running out; oranges exploding on his tongue, a month’s salary plus overtime from working at the docks for that sweet rush once a year. The Depression, the first war -- trench memory brought back by a rainy run in Central Park, the scent of muddy petrichor in the air -- snowfall in the Alps, Dugan’s cigar. His body remembers, and then shows his mind the way.

However, this, this infuriating personality that has him incensed and restless, she isn’t in his mind in any capacity, but Bucky thinks he knows her. Or that he might have, once. And he needs to know her, again, because he hates not knowing. The nightmares hurt, and the memories of what he’s lost do, as well, but not knowing, existing in the strange limbo between certainty and loss, it’s unbearable. If this woman knows him, if she’s another key to another past, another piece of him, he has to talk to her.

“FRIDAY?” He asks groggily, sitting up. 

The screen in the wall across from him blinks blue in acknowledgement, along with a “Yes, sir?”

“Is Steve up?” 

“Captain Rogers is awake and having a cup of coffee in the kitchen, Sergeant,” FRIDAY tells him, and Bucky curses at the idiocy of consuming caffeine at this hour of night -- whatever’s in that shit works even on the serum and that can’t be good -- replacing his sweatpants with jeans once more and heading out to find his friend.

Steve has his back to the entryway, deep in thought -- dumbass, anyone could sneak up on you like this -- when Bucky comes in and clears his throat. The mug in Steve’s hands looks comically small, and Bucky sits down across from him at the island, reaches forward to take it from him, and downs the remaining half.

It’s just one more testament to how disturbed Steve is -- as if the careless consumption of coffee at midnight wasn’t enough -- that he lets Bucky steal his coffee. Blue meets blue in the silver dusting of moonlight, and Steve tries to locate Bucky’s purpose in his eyes before asking him for it verbally. “What is it, Buck?” He’s tired, too many missions weighing on those eyelids, but too worked up to let them close, to find rest. What Bucky’s going to say won’t help.

“Let me talk to her.”

[sunriseverse]

As Hermann walks towards him, Newt starts to panic. How is he supposed to act around him? Should he get up to greet him? Should he hug him? A handshake? No, too formal. A wave? Definitely not. A fist bump? If he wanted to look like an idiot. He rubs his sweaty palms on his pants and keeps dread-filled eyes on Hermann. Is this seriously their relationship now? Newt hated feeling like a lovesick teen when he actually was one, it’s a million times worse now that he’s supposed to have grown out ofit

ohhhh this was such a fun prompt 

The Drift reveals everything; that's what they tell you. Newt never really believed it, honestly—it sounded, well, like bullshit.

But.

Well.

He wasn't really expecting for them to get thrown right into his memory of their first meeting.

It's autumn; the sun shines in through the windows of the café softly, and outside, the trees are turning red. Newt's waiting in a booth for Hermann.

They've decided to meet in person; Newt is in the city for a conference, and Hermann lives here, so, it makes perfect sense. They both want to meet.

It's five minutes until the agreed upon time, and Newt's chewed his fingernails to stubs already, and his hands are hot. He's seen a photo of Hermann before, sure, but that's not the same thing as actually meeting in person. There's a lot more at stake here.

Finally, he catches sight of him; tall and lanky, threading his way through the cafe, cane held in one hand.

As Hermann walks towards him, Newt starts to panic.

How is he supposed to act around him? Should he hug him? A handshake? No, too formal. A wave? Definitely not. A fist bump? If he wanted to look like an idiot.

Paralysed with indecision, Newt does nothing; and Hermann sits across from him, smiling awkwardly. "Newton," he greets.

Holy shit your voice is hot, Newt thinks, and then, oh my god you dress like a grandpa, that's so fucking cute which, in peak Geiszlerian fashion, comes out as "Oh my god you dress like a grandpa, holy shit."

Needless to say, things go downhill from there, leaving Newt heartbroken and guilty in a tiny café in Berlin.

Hermann tries to ask him about it, afterwards, but Newt skilfully avoids the question, and then basically runs off to hide in his rooms for as long as possible.

Newt isn't an idiot; he knows that he's not going to be able to avoid Hermann forever. Really, he shouldn't be avoiding Hermann at all—the dude was literally in his head less than six days ago, and Drift partners are supposed to, like, communicate and shit.

Newt is...not really keen on that? Like, at all, frankly. 

It all started—well, technically, it all started like, thirty-three years ago, when his mom decided to leave him with his dad and Illia and go back to her career as an opera singer in Berlin rather than hang around as a kid, and the ensuing abandonment has kept with him throughout his life. But. Like. That's not when this specific "it" started.

No, this it started when, at age twenty-three, Newt started writing to one Hermann Gottlieb, then sans PhD, and fell sort of, kind of, madly head over heels in academic and intellectual love with him.

He wasn't, like, a lovesick teen or anything, because, uh, he was in his early twenties, as much as lots of people often assumed that he wasn't, but there may have been a few instances of doodling Doctor Newton Gottlieb in the backs of some of his notebooks. Once or twice. Maybe three times.

The point is, he has, like. A good reason for wanting to avoid Hermann right now after having basically bared his soul to him. A selfish reason, maybe, but a good one. 

Maybe it's a bit of an overreaction to bolt just about the instant he feels Hermann coming near—ghost Drift is handy like that—but he really prefers it to the alternative option, which is running into Herman and having to Talk.

Yes, it deserves the capital t. It's not a talk, it's a Talk.

However, he does have to get work done, which means going back to the lab—he's been putting off filing reports and shit since the Drift with Hermann, because he sort of keeps all of his stuff in the lab, and being in the lab means running a high risk of running into Hermann, and,  yeah, no.

But he's going to have to chance it, today, because he's just turned on his phone to find this lovely situation: two missed calls from Herc, who's the acting Marshal, as well as multiple voicemails, four texts, an email, and another text, this one from Tendo, telling him to, quote, get your ass in gear and file those reports before Herc starts complaining to me even more than he already is.

Newt sighs, and unlocks his phone; texts a quick, i'll get on that to Herc, an apology to Tendo, who really does deserve better, and then uncurls himself from the half-foetal position he's curled himself into in the night, half because it's fucking freezing even with the thick blanket he's got and half because it lowkey tricks his exhausted mind into thinking that there's someone in bed besides just him.

Anyway.

He pulls on his clothes and gives himself a cursory once-over in the bathroom mirror, dragging a hand through his hair to try and get rid of the bedhead—or, at least, tame it so that it looks artful—, and heads on down the halls, crossing his fingers and hoping he won't run into Hermann.

"Oh, sweet," he says, with just one corner left to turn before he's in the lab, "no He—"

And then he turns the corner and sees Hermann, for the first time, in almost a week.

He's bent over something at his desk, and hasn't noticed Newt, which Newt is glad for, and then promptly fucking ruins by tripping over a box of Hermann's chalk he squirrelled away on his side a few months back and then left laying out in the middle of the walkway and letting out a sharp yelp before he catches himself; but it's too late and Hermann's already looked up and spotted him.

"Newton," he says, and rises; and Newt gets a terrible, horrible, awful de ja vu moment. "You've been avoiding me."

It's a statement; given in an even tone; and, if Newt didn't know him any better, he'd think that Hermann was just...saying it, but he does, so he can see the little twitch of his lip, the way his eyes are slightly narrowed. He's...he's upset about it.

Newt swallows. "Uh, funny story," he says. "I was. Sick. With the flu. Gotta, um. Gotta stay in my room, um—"

"Don't bullshit me, Newton," Hermann snaps; and closes the distance between them rapidly. He's quick little fucker when he wants to be—Newt always forgets that. Unfortunately, it leaves him to try and backpedal away, which winds up with his back hitting the wall. Hermann's still talking, still advancing. "I saw inside your head, Newton, you cannot—you cannot, don't you, don't you dare pretend that I didn't."

Newt bites his lip; gives up on trying to act like he doesn't know what Hermann is talking about. "Look, dude, can we just—not? Like, this is, um. Kind of embarrassing for me. I'd really rather we just forget all about it, okay—?"

"What if I don't want to?" Hermann interrupts, and he's only a pace or so away from Newt. 

Newt blinks. "What."

"What if I don't want to forget all about it," Hermann repeats. "I—Newton, what I saw in your head...I don't want to forget that. It...to have confirmation...to know that my, my—regard for you, that it wasn't, isn't one-sided...I don't want to forget that, Newton."

"What," Newt says, again; his brain trying desperately to understand what Hermann's saying and kind of stalling on it.

Hermann swallows; eyes fluttering shut, for a brief moment; lashes thick and dark against his pale skin. When he opens them, his face is more unguarded than Newt's seen in—well, ever.

"I...I was upset that you were avoiding me," Hermann says, "because I wanted to talk about it. Because I...I wanted to tell you that I felt the same, Newton."

"...holy shit," Newt whispers, eyes wide. "Um. Holy shit."

"Yes, well—"

"Can I kiss you?" Newt interrupts. "I mean—like, um. We should talk about it, obviously, but you kind of just told me you like me back so. Can I kiss you?"

"...alright," Hermann says, and Newt pushes away from the wall, stands on his tip-toes, and presses a—first!—kiss to Hermann's lips. When Newt pulls away, Hermann says, "I'm still upset that you were avoiding me."

Newt shrugs. "I don't blame you," he says. "Um. Taking a stab at being like, a functional and responsible adult here—do you want to grab something to eat and go sit on the sofa and talk it out? I haven't had breakfast yet, but I've got a few sandwiches in the fridge."

Hermann's nose wrinkles. "You keep specimens in there," he says.

"Yeah, and I keep the food in sealed containers," Newt says, rolling his eyes. "So—waddaya say?"

"...for once, your proposal is...rational," Hermann says. Newt grins and makes towards the fridge.

[blackandblueandstars]

Remember Me Pt4

Pt1  Pt2  Pt3

Kamilah stood in front of Raines Corp, watching Amy as she looked around. She approached the stairs slowly, running her hand over the railing.

"How long have I worked here?" she asked Kamilah, fingers tracing a pattern on the sleek metal. 

"About a year," Kamilah replied. The moon was high in the sky, white and waning. Kamilah marveled at it, the light in the dark. She sighed, her thoughts intrusive. 

"Adrian is her moon," she thought. "Out of all this darkness, he is the only beacon of light."

She'd spent hours reading about memory loss, trying to understand what the timeline would look like, what she should do, could do. Unfortunately, her research only made her less optimistic. It was possible that Amy's memory would never return.

Amy had made her way to the front door and was walking inside. Kamilah pulled herself out of her head and followed. 

She'd never felt so out of place at Raines Corp. Amy was sitting behind the desk, looking through her things. Kamilah couldn't help but remember when they'd first met here.

She noticed her immediately, her warmth, her fire. She was bright and bold, and Kamilah was taken by her. She'd figured she was smitten with Adrian, at that point. Most women were, after all. 

She frowned at the memory as it blurred with the present. Maybe she'll fall for Adrian after all, she thought. 

Amy felt the same sense of familiarity sitting behind her desk as when she first saw Adrian. She couldn't explain it, but being there just felt right. Natural. 

She looked up and saw Kamilah frowning to herself. She hadn't smiled much, since Amy had come home. Amy felt like it was her fault.

As she was sitting there, another scene came to her, one she didn't immediately recognize.

She was sitting behind the desk. Kamilah walked through the door, the same frown on her face. Adrian sat in his office, standing when he saw her. 

"I'm here for Adrian," Kamilah said, raising her hand as Amy was about to greet her. Amy watched as she stalked past her and into Adrian's office without a second thought.

The scene faded away and Amy looked at Kamilah again, brows furrowed. Was that a memory? She was so cold to her, so cruel.

"Hey," she heard from behind her. She turned and saw Adrian standing there, clad in a form-fitting suit. 

"Hi!" she said, jumping from her chair. She pulled him into a hug, excited with the progress she was making.

"Heh," Adrian chuckled awkwardly. He looked at Kamilah and saw her glaring at him. There wasn't even anger in her eyes, just pain.

Adrian pulled away from Amy, trying to spare Kamilah's feelings. "Happy to be back?"

"Very much so," Amy replied. "This place feels more like home than--" Amy trailed off, remembering that Kamilah was behind her. "It's nice to be here."

"Well," said Adrian hesitantly. "If Kamilah doesn't think it would be too much, I could show you around a bit…"

Adrian looked at Kamilah and the daggers she was staring nearly wounded him.

"We should proba--" Kamilah began.

"She's not my mother," Amy said, looking at Adrian, then turning to Kamilah. "I can handle it."

Kamilah sighed, nodding. "Very well."

Adrian led Amy to the conference room and she ran her hand across the table, looking around. Kamilah stood in the doorway, watching as Adrian answered her questions.

"This is…" Amy began, concentrating. "This is where the Council meets, isn't it?" 

Adrian smiled. "Yes, exactly!"

Kamilah raised an eyebrow, cautiously optimistic.

Adrian continued showing her around, and he and Kamilah were both surprised by what she could remember.

Amy was ecstatic, rushing from one room to the next. Some memories were clearer than others, but she could feel some of the puzzle pieces falling into place.

They were in the basement of Raines Corp when Amy spotted the door that led to the sarcophagus. She moved towards it quickly. 

"I don't think we should go down there," Kamilah said quickly, looking worriedly at Adrian.

"I need to," Amy said, looking at Adrian, eyes pleading. "Please."

Adrian looked at Kamilah, choosing his words carefully.

"She's done well so far…" 

Kamilah tossed her hands, frustrated but clearly outvoted. "Fine."

Adrian led the way, opening the door and moving down the narrow stairs to the small room. Amy followed closely behind, and Kamilah behind her.

It was dark in the room, lit only by a single bulb. Amy ran her hand over the stone walls, their scratchy surface giving her chills. In the middle of the room was a sarcophagus. 

Amy was drawn to it, something pulling her forward. She laid her hand on the lid, jolting her into a memory.

The first thing she feels is pain, catching her off guard. 

"Ah!" she screams, alarming Adrian and Kamilah. 

The pain subsides quickly, and she sees the memory before her. Adrian, gently holding her hand, a goblet of blood in his other hand. 

"My blood," she thought to herself. 

She remembers Lily, lifeless inside the sarcophagus, and waiting. Hours of waiting.

The memory shifts and contorts, transforming to a new memory. A later one.

Kamilah and Adrian are in his office, shouting. 

"I'm the reason she's in this mess in the first place, Kamilah. I owe her this much."

"Who cares about some mewling mortal?" Kamilah yelled back. 

Amy winces as the argument continues, experiencing a different pain. Suddenly Kamilah storms out of the office. Amy watches as she tries to explain what happened, to save Adrian from Kamilah's wrath. 

Adrian storms out and Kamilah turns to Amy, her eyes sharp and dark. There is no love there, no kindness. Just disgust, hatred.

She's before Amy in a heartbeat, practically growling at her. 

"Listen to me, mortal. And listen well. Adrian has a soft spot that gets him in trouble, but don't think for a moment that I don't know you're to blame for this."

Her eyes are dark as she seethes towards Amy.

"The stakes are high here. Higher than even you can comprehend. And what Adrian did tonight has the potential to get both of you killed."

Amy watched as Kamilah leaned closer towards her. 

"Now, I care very little about what happens to you, but if some harm comes to him as a result of this…"

Kamilah's face contorted in rage, eyes blazing red and fangs descending.

"I'll kill you myself."

The memory disappeared immediately in a flash, causing Amy to lose consciousness.

"Amy!" shouted Kamilah, darting to catch her before she hit the ground.

Part 5

Tag list: @h-doodles @scarlet-letter-a0114 @wildsayeed @lightning-fury  @mrskamilxh  @blogsupitssam  @ilovetaylor13m @la-guera-69 @adrianrainesworld @iam-the-fuckin-queen @hela-odinsdottir @jen825 @sheyah @lifesadance96 @theoblivionforest @kamilahsayeed-owns-me @sayeedbound @scaryqueenbee @kamilahismyqueen @caliseds @theshornprincess

[ace-of-hearts-arts]

Mermaid

[duaneodavila]

In Honor Of Fred Korematsu Day, Let’s Remember The Legacies We Have All Inherited And Our Duty To Fight Injustice

Texas Bar Asian Pacific Interest Section Members hanging out with Karen Korematsu (center), Keynote Speaker 23rd Annual APIS Conference

“If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?” — Kendrick Lamar

On Wednesday, January 30, California celebrated Fred Korematsu Day. Two years ago, for his 98th birthday, Google honored the late Korematsu with a Google Doodle.

In its tribute, Google stated:

Today Google’s US homepage is celebrating Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu, civil rights activist and survivor of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. January 30th, 2017 would have been his 98th birthday and is officially recognized as Fred Korematsu Day in California, Hawaii, Virginia and Florida….

The doodle by artist Sophie Diao–herself a child of Asian immigrants–features a patriotic portrait of Korematsu wearing his Presidential Medal of Freedom, a scene of the internment camps to his back, surrounded by cherry blossoms, flowers that have come to be symbols of peace and friendship between the US and Japan.

As a minority attorney, it is my hope that more states, especially the states where I have spent considerable time, Michigan and Texas, will one day honor the late Korematsu. It is so important for our culture and society to remember the legacies we have all inherited.

Since the election, a few members of Donald Trump’s administration, such as Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, have publicly floated the idea of reinstating a registry for immigrants. Some proponents have cited the registry for Japanese-Americans during World War II as a precedent for targeted, profiling registries. These registries were a tool in removing Japanese-Americans from “designated military areas” and forcing them into internment camps or deporting them.

As a past member of the 30th Congressional District Asian Advisory Committee, I had asked Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson for support in requesting that Texas honor the late Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American who refused to report to an internment camp.

In 1942, at the age of 23, Korematsu chose to violate President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which authorized all individuals of Japanese ancestry to be removed from designated “military areas” and placed in internment camps. For his resistance, Korematsu was labeled a fugitive.

After he was arrested and convicted of defying the government’s order, Korematsu appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled against him, arguing the incarceration was due to military necessity. That, of course, was later debunked.

On Nov. 10, 1983, Korematsu’s conviction was finally overturned. In 1998, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2010, California passed the Fred Korematsu Day bill, making Jan. 30 the first day the U.S. named after an Asian American, according to the Fred T. Korematsu Institute. Several other states now also honor the late Fred Korematsu on Jan. 30, his birthday.

Even though Korematsu effectively became a prisoner of war under the color of rule of law for simply having Japanese heritage, he remained loyal to our country and our Constitution.

In 1998, former President Bill Clinton awarded Korematsu the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — for his unwavering loyalty to our country, unlawful detention by our country, and active civic engagement in our country.

As highlighted by his institute, Korematsu’s legacy continues to inspire people of all backgrounds and demonstrates the importance of speaking up to fight injustice. It is important to remember that the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese-Americans into internment camps regardless of citizenship, has still not officially been overruled by our courts. We know if the issue should ever arise again, some will claim precedent over dicta when staking their claims.

Over the last decade, the Asian-American population in Texas has more than doubled, according to the Texas Office of the State Demographer. Yet, there remains no day in Texas, and many other states, named after an Asian American.

For his courage and sacrifices, Fred Korematsu should be honored nationally for his contribution to our country’s history of civil rights.

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn. 

In Honor Of Fred Korematsu Day, Let’s Remember The Legacies We Have All Inherited And Our Duty To Fight Injustice republished via Above the Law

[savetopnow]

2018-03-09 21 TECH now

TECH

Ars Techica

After industry meeting, Trump highlights alleged game violence effects

In an audit of supply chain partners, Apple found increased labor violations in 2017

Nintendo announces a bunch of 2018 games, but none as big as Switch Smash Bros.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy returns—with the original cast

California’s first proposed per-ride city tax to raise Uber, Lyft prices

Buzzfeed Tech

Lawyers Are Duking It Out In Court Over Whether It’s Unconstitutional For Trump To Block People On Twitter

Jared Kushner Tried To Sell His Newspaper To Trump’s Political Enemies

Trump Just Read Elon Musk’s Tweets About Trade With China On Live TV

A Samsung Galaxy S9 Review That’s Mostly Pictures Of Dogs

Facebook Played A Pivotal Role In The West Virginia Teacher Strike

CNet

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is back, with the original cast - CNET

Uber rival brings bike-sharing operators under one app - CNET

Google doodle marks opening of Paralympics 2018 - CNET

Here's Trump's bloody showreel on video game violence - CNET

Amazon said to fire delivery man for allegedly dropping box on puppy - CNET

Clean Technica

Fukushima Ice Wall Failing, Water Seepage Into Nuclear Reactors Still A Problem

Porsche Could Make A Wild Passenger Drone & Leave You Baffled

Yo! Millennials Want Clean Energy But Need Climate Change Activists To Outline Incentives

Mary Barra Speaks Truth To Rich White Men In Houston

SMC Motors Hosts Webinar Showing Dramatic Efficiency Gains in Electric Motor Technology

Hacker News

Ham Radio operators are saving Puerto Rico

Ten Hours of Static Gets Five Copyright Notices

How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining

Super ‘superlattices’ could enable ‘superfast’ transistors

Crypto Zealots

Mashable

Alec Baldwin brings Donald Trump back to 'SNL' for the gun control debate

Learn Python and you could put yourself on track to make a six-figure salary

Cable-free charging in the car? Yes, it's possible.

The only 'Mulan' remake you need to see is right here

Uh-oh, Disney has some explaining to do about these 'Solo' posters...

Motherboard

Federal Judge Tells Trump to Just Mute People on Twitter

One of Trump's Video Game Experts Thinks Cops Are at War and Murder Makes You Horny

The Women Pioneers of the Internet Say There Have Always Been Trolls

Revenge Porn Moves to Slack

Researchers Can ‘See’ Your Memories While You Sleep

New York Times Technology

Broadcom’s Other Regulatory Hurdle: How It Treats Customers

Ex-Leader of Baltimore County Schools, a Tech Booster, Pleads Guilty to Perjury

Tech Fix: A Review of the Samsung Galaxy S9, in Emoji

In Sri Lanka, Facebook Contends With Shutdown After Mob Violence

It’s True: False News Spreads Faster and Wider. And Humans Are to Blame.

Recode

How to watch Kara Swisher interview chef José Andrés live at SXSW

Twitter wants everyone to get a blue verification badge

Uber has hired a top Amazon voice exec as head of product as Daniel Graf departs

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is coming to Code Conference

SXSW 2018

Reddit Technology

One of Trump's Video Game Experts Thinks Cops Are at War and Murder Makes You Horny - Trump's meeting about violent video games today includes some questionable experts.

Vision-improving nanoparticle eyedrops could end the need for glasses

Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act: Tech Firms Push To Modify Senate Bill

U.S. appeals court in San Francisco will hear net neutrality appeal

Stop SESTA/FOSTA: Don’t Let Congress Censor the Internet

Reuters Technology

PBOC governor says Bitcoin not a legitimate method of payment

Wall Street has never been so far behind on Netflix

Platinum's fuel-cell car bonanza proves elusive

Toshiba expects to complete chip unit sale by June at latest: executive

Toyota affiliate Denso buying stake worth $800 million in chipmaker Renesas

Slashdot

The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy Returns With the Original Cast

Fake News Spreads Faster Than True News On Twitter -- Thanks To People, Not Bots

132-Year-Old Science Experiment Washes Ashore In Australia

Florida Lawmakers Approve Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

Intel Launches Mainstream Optane SSD 800P Series Based On 3D Xpoint Memory

TechCrunch

Mad Paws, Australia’s Wag, raises $5M led by airline giant Qantas

Grab launches a bike-sharing service in Southeast Asia

Barack Obama’s next move could be a series on Netflix

Trump’s take on gaming and violence was wrong in the ’90s and it’s twice as wrong now

Boxed reportedly rejected $400 million buyout offer from Kroger

The Next Web

Xiaomi’s $215 Redmi Note 5 Pro offers tremendous value in a bezel-less package

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14 common user experience mistakes to avoid on your company’s website

Google Chrome makes it easy to switch to a password manager of your choice

The Verge

Barack Obama is reportedly planning Netflix shows

Fortnite Battle Royale is coming to iOS and Android

Lawsuit against VC says he ‘groped and fondled multiple women’ for over a decade

Here’s all the games in Donald Trump’s ‘violence in video games’ supercut

Logan star Dafne Keen will play Lyra in the BBC’s adaptation of The Golden Compass

WSJ Tech

At-Home Cancer-Risk Test Opens New---and Fraught---Field

China Fast-Tracks IPO Approval for Foxconn Unit

Do Cellphones Really Cause Brain Cancer? We Have Answers.

Uber Agrees in Principle to Exit Southeast Asia for Stake in Rival

Elon Musk Tells Trump That China's Trade Rules 'Make Things Very Difficult'

Wired

‘Dr. Strangelove’ Is Basically a Documentary

Total Clips

Aliens Would Probably Like It If You Gave them Flowers

All About HomePod

Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ Is Over-the-Top in Every Way

[politicalfilth-blog]

VIDEO: Bilderberg Group Members ACTUALLY SPEAK On The Record !!!

We Are Change

At Bilderberg this year Luke, Dan Dicks, Max, got permits to use their cameras at the airport, allowing interactions with 40+ Bilderberg attendees!..

Some of them said fascinating things.. others essentially blew them off- speaking in generalizations, talking about the weather, and contradicting each other at times.

The first enounter in this video is with Klaas Knot ( President of Dutch National Bank ) Professor in Monetary Stability at the University of Amsterdam Past member of the Trilateral Commission Governing Council @ the European Central Bank & the International Money Fund

“If we need to find instruments, we will find instruments.. one should never underestimate the degree of innovation that also takes place within central banks.” -Klaas Knot

~> Video wth Klaas <~

Approaching him, Luke complimented his jacket, inspiring a big smile.

Luke: What are you most looking forward to at Bilderberg?

Klaas said interesting discussion, exchanges of view, and if it helps to lower the international boundaries- that would be a most welcome development

He also said there is no conflict of interest @ Bilderberg and he wouldn’t be making any statements after the conference, because that’s not the nature of the event.

The next Berg was approached with a jacket compliment too & gave another big smile

Albert Rivera Diaz ( President of Ciudananos Party in Spain ) Leader of Ciudananos, a postnationalist political party Past legal counsel for La Caixa bank Supports European federalism Proponent of eliminating smaller municipalities

Albert Rivera Diaz quotes: “Catalonia is my homeland, Spain is my country and Europe is our future”

“There is a conservative-socialist pact to pretend that we are all either red or blue, in order to maintain an obsolete party-ocracy, a pact to conceal corruption.

~> Video wth Albert <~

Luke: What do you expect at Bilderberg this year?

Albert: Learn, wait and see, talk about the future of the world

Francois Lenglet ( Chief Economics Commentator, France ) A prominent French economic journalist supports French President Emmanuel Macron Opposed to French Nationalism

Francois Lenglet quotes:

“I would say that I practice a somewhat primitive form of Data Journalism….my ambition is to make a large Open Data site…This is a project in progress….”

“We are told that it is impossible to get out of the Euro, it is obviously nonsense….”

“Inequalities have been multiplied tenfold by the opening of borders, in particular financial globalization. In order to reduce them, as the citizens now seem to wish to rehabilitate the borders.”

~> Video with Francois <~

Luke: What are you at Bilderberg for?

Francois: I’m a journalist so I’m here to look, to listen, to do my job- exactly as you.

He also said he’s looking forward to discussions on economics

Luke asked whether he would report on the conference afterward

He said naturally he would, and will adhere to the Chatham House rule

Gideon Rachman ( Financial Times, Foreign Affairs Reporter ) Prior Reporter for the BBC and The Economist magazine Current Financial Times writer covering U.S. foreign policy, the EU and Asia Advocated that the UK stay in the European Union

Gideon Rachman quotes:

“The tea party venerates the Constitution while despising the political system it has produced.”

“I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US… But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible.”

“So, it seems, everything is in place. For the first time since homo sapiens began to doodle on cave walls, there is an argument, an opportunity and a means to make serious steps towards a world government.”

~> Video with Gideon <~

Luke: What are you looking forward to the most?<br> Gideon said he hadn’t been to Bilderberg for 5 years, but it’s always interesting.  He’s most  in the climate change discussions & he’s in favor of the Paris Agreement.

Annie Loof ( Party Leader, Centre Party Sweden ) Leader of the Centre a liberal political party She served as Minister of Enterprise from 2011 to 2014 Awarded a Dag Hammarskjold scholarship Studied law and graduated in 2011 with a degree

Annie Loof quotes: We want to continue to open up public monopoly to a variety of private operators and traders should be able to develop activities

“If Iran possesses nuclear weapons, its mere existence alter the Middle East’s political dynamics.  Such a shift in the balance of power affects the course also Europe.  The market would become more unstable and oil prices soar.”

~> Video with Annie <~

Luke: What are you most looking forward to?

She said the panel discussions on current international issues

Luke asked her if she knew what she would speak about at the meetings & she said no

Mathias Dopfner- CEO Axel Springer & Pres of Federation of German News Publishers Current CEO of Axel Springer- one of the largest publishing houses in Europe Began career as a journalist & worked for several German MSM newspapers Married to a former Deutsche Bank board member Self declared non-jewish Zionist

Mathias Dopfner quotes:

“When you cannot achieve a majority, it’s a good idea to get rid of minority stakes.”

“It amazes me to witness the masochism with which some journalists characterize their industry as a dying species. The future belongs to citizen journalism and blogs.”

~> Video with Dopfner <~

Luke complimented Dopfner’s scarf and he smirked a little.

Luke: Are you looking forward to the conference and are there any items on your agenda you’d like to have heard there

Dopfner: I’m just very excited, it’s always interesting

Connie Hedegaard ( Chair at the KR Foundation ) Danish politician / journalist European Commissioner for Climate Action 2010-2014 Hosted the UN Climate Change Conference in 2009 Former Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Current Chair of the KR Foundation whose purpose is: “to address the root causes of climate change and environmental degradation”

KR Foundation: “There is an urgent need to transform the current understanding of how growth is measured and valued and how society relates to and manages natural resources.”

“While we have good trends in renewables…we must incorporate climate change into all the choices we make. It costs a lot to invest in a non-carbon future, but (ignoring the problem) costs a lot in human suffering.” ~ Connie Hedegaard

~> Video with Connie <~

Max: What are your expectations for this year’s Bilderberg?

Connie: We’ll see.

Max: What do you say to those protesting, can you understand them?

Connie: No they don’t understand what it’s all about.

Luke asked if she is prohibited to speak about the event after

Connie: Nothing is prohibited, I’m here as a free person and I say whatever I want now, and during the meeting, and afterwards.

Luke asked her if she would speak after then & she responded ‘I don’t know- if there is something to give a statement about’

Michael O’Leary ( CEO Ryan Air ) CEO of RyanAir ( a short haul discount airline ) since 1994 Well known for publicity stunts. Personal net worth of 1B + . Also attended Bilderberg in 2015.

Michael O’Leary Quotes:

“We want to annoy the fu**ers whenever we can. The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them… They are luddites marching us back to the 18th century.”

“The airline business is it is mostly run by a bunch of spineless nincompoops who actually don’t want to stand up to the environmentalists and call them the lying wankers that they are.”

“If drink sales are falling off, we get the pilots to engineer a bit of turbulence. That usually spikes sales.”

“Germans will crawl bollock-naked over broken glass to get low fares.”

“All flights are fuelled with Leprechaun wee and my bullshit!”

48 O’Leary Quotes

~> Video with Ryan <~

Luke: Do you see Bilderberg as a conflict of interest?

Michael: Absolutely not, beautiful town, blue skies, great weather

Luke: Will you make a statement after the meeting?

Michael: Absolutely not, because we never make statements afterwards

They continue chatting about the secrecy of Bilderberg

So, we got an interesting peek into the personalities of some of the attendees

& there’s more to their conversations.. ~> click here for the full video<~

Thanks so much to all who donate and support us!

Worldwide uncensored coverage you can’t get from the MSM empowers humanity

PATREON <-Support us -> WRC We love BITCOIN too : )

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SNAPCHAT: LukeWeAreChange

The post VIDEO: Bilderberg Group Members ACTUALLY SPEAK On The Record !!! appeared first on We Are Change.

from We Are Change https://wearechange.org/76269-2/

[brothermouse]

Sunday doodles 3/19/23

Stake Conference today. On the way over, “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning” came on my Spotify and I got thinking about that one line “How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire”.

Then I thought, what if the lamb and lion were all tangled up like a cubist painting?

We had Stake Conference in the Ogden Tabernacle which had this interesting pattern on the outside:

So I took that pattern, tied some lambs and lions together, threw in some colors I thought were trippy and got this:

[brothermouse]

Sunday doodles 3/26/23-Fast and Testimony

Because of General Conference and Stake Conference, today my ward had Fast and Testimony Meeting.

[blackandblueandstars]

Captive Pt9

Pt1  Pt2  Pt3  Pt4  Pt5  Pt6  Pt7  Pt8

Kamilah held Amy for a while, wishing she had been stronger than Rheya. She'd led the hunt for Amy, readied to kill her.

She closed her eyes, trying to hide the tears. She thought she'd put this behind her with Gaius's death. The guilt, the helplessness. It's like a volcano in the pit of her stomach, that desperate feeling.

She was Rheya's puppet, jumping with each tweak of the strings. She hated herself, hated Rheya, hated Gaius. She hated that she was ever turned into a vampire to begin with, ever made to be someone's plaything.

But then, there was Amy.

She opened her eyes, looking at her sleeping form. She'd exhausted herself with tears and now laid in Kamilah's arms, clinging to her like her life depended on it.

She hated so much about who she was, and who she'd been. But this incredible woman, in all her beauty and courage and intelligence and strength, this magnetic force of a being that she worshipped -- she loved her. She forgave her. And as much as that volcano boiled inside her, Amy was a cool breeze cooling her down, reminding her that she was worthy despite her flaws. 

She didn't deserve her love, but she gave it to her anyway. And she would be a fool to throw that away because of some insecurities.

Kamilah was deep in thought when Amy finally opened her eyes.

"Hey," she said, sleep still in her voice.

"Hey," Kamilah said softly, trying to hide the pain in her voice. "How'd you sleep?" 

Amy smiled. "The best I have since Rheya came back," she breathed.

Kamilah nodded shortly. "Good."

Amy sat up, brows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Kamilah smiled. "Nothing," she said.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Amy said, looking into her eyes. She put her hand to her cheek, caressing it. "What's wrong?" 

Kamilah sighed, cursing Amy's ability to read her.

"I was just thinking," she says, hoping Amy will drop it. 

"About?" she asks, concern in her eyes.

Damn her heart of gold.

"Rheya," she said quietly. "Gaius. Me."

Amy pulled Kamilah's chin, looking in her eyes.

"Want to give me a little more context?" she asked.

"Just feeling guilty," Kamilah said, looking away. "I don't deserve you, you know that?" 

"Of course you do," Amy said gently. "Where is this coming from?" 

"Amy, I did such terrible things. I know you think that I'm more than my actions, but I'm still trying to process what I've done."

"Oh," Amy said, unsure how to respond. "Okay."

She climbed into Kamilah's lap and hugged her close. 

"Take all the time you need," Amy said as she held her. "But I'll be right here, loving you, the entire time."

Amy needed Kamilah to know that they were okay. Sure, it'd been hard without her, watching her work against her. But that's exactly why she wanted to savor having her back. She was exactly where she wanted to be, in Kamilah's arms.

Kamilah couldn't help the raw emotion tearing through her as Amy pulled her close. She didn't deserve this force of a woman, but she'd fight to be better until she did deserve her.

A knock on the door interrupted the moment, Amy pulling away from Kamilah and opening the door. Adrian stood before her, brows furrowed. 

"Oh, Amy, hello," he said, surprised at her presence.

"Hi Adrian," she said with a smile, as Kamilah came up behind her. 

"What is it?" asked Kamilah. 

"It's Rheya," Adrian said, voice shaky. "She's awake."

They followed Adrian to Rheya's cage, uncertain of what they would find.

She sat silently on a cot, looking straight ahead.

"Has she said anything?" asked Kamilah. 

"No," replied Adrian. "She's just been staring at the wall."

Amy stood behind Kamilah, watching Rheya in the cell. Suddenly she turned her head, her eyes boring into Amy's.

"Amy," she said, quietly. The smile that spread across her face looked like a Jack-O-Lantern, sinister and sharp.

Amy moved to step past Kamilah, but Kamilah reached out, grabbing her by the arm.

She met Kamilah's eyes and saw fear and worry, a frown on her face.

"I'll be okay," Amy whispered, touching her hand. Kamilah stared at her for a moment, before finally removing her hand from her arm.

Amy stepped forward, looking at Rheya.

"Rheya," she said with a nod.

"I didn't know you were sun-proof," she said, cackling. "So you've won."

"You're still alive," Amy said carefully. She didn't know what effect the stake had had, and she knew she had to be careful.

"And human," Rheya growled. "Thanks to you."

"You mean--" Amy began. 

"No immortality, no powers, no fangs. Just a damned worthless human."

Amy was quiet, listening to the anger in Rheya's voice.

"Why are you still alive?" She didn't mean to ask the question, but it slipped out. 

Rheya sighed, looking at her. "I assume because it wasn't my tree, it only killed the vampire part of me, the part I shared with Gaius."

Amy frowned, thinking over what she said.

"Very well," she said, turning back to Kamilah and Adrian.

"We'll need to determine how to proceed," she said to them. 

"Just kill me," Rheya shouted. "I don't want to live at your mercy."

Amy ignored her, leaving the room with Adrian and Kamilah following her.

They finally settled into a conference room, quietly looking at each other.

"How should we proceed?" asked Kamilah.

"How do we know we can trust her?" asked Adrian.

Amy sat, hands folded in front of her. "We don't," she said finally. "We need to verify that she's truly human."

"And if she is?" asked Adrian.

"We should kill her," said Kamilah, her eyes blazing.

"Yea," Amy replied. "We probably should." She raised her head, eyes meeting Kamilah's. "But then, are we any better than her?" 

They sat silently, letting the weight of the words sink in.

Part 10

Tag list: @h-doodles @scarlet-letter-a0114 @wildsayeed @lightning-fury  @mrskamilxh  @blogsupitssam  @ilovetaylor13m @la-guera-69 @adrianrainesworld @iam-the-fuckin-queen @hela-odinsdottir @jen825 @sheyah @lifesadance96 @theoblivionforest @kamilahsayeed-owns-me @sayeedbound @scaryqueenbee @made-me-deep-blue @kamilahismyqueen @caliseds @eleanorbraidwoodmanor

[savetopnow]

2018-03-09 18 TECH now

TECH

Ars Techica

After industry meeting, Trump highlights alleged game violence effects

In an audit of supply chain partners, Apple found increased labor violations in 2017

Nintendo announces a bunch of 2018 games, but none as big as Switch Smash Bros.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy returns—with the original cast

California’s first proposed per-ride city tax to raise Uber, Lyft prices

Buzzfeed Tech

Lawyers Are Duking It Out In Court Over Whether It’s Unconstitutional For Trump To Block People On Twitter

Jared Kushner Tried To Sell His Newspaper To Trump’s Political Enemies

Trump Just Read Elon Musk’s Tweets About Trade With China On Live TV

A Samsung Galaxy S9 Review That’s Mostly Pictures Of Dogs

Facebook Played A Pivotal Role In The West Virginia Teacher Strike

CNet

Google doodle marks opening of Paralympics 2018 - CNET

Here's Trump's bloody showreel on video game violence - CNET

Amazon said to fire delivery man for allegedly dropping box on puppy - CNET

'Jessica Jones' season 2 is here - CNET

Fortnite is coming to mobile with PS4 and PC cross-play - CNET

Clean Technica

Yo! Millennials Want Clean Energy But Need Climate Change Activists To Outline Incentives

Mary Barra Speaks Truth To Rich White Men In Houston

SMC Motors Hosts Webinar Showing Dramatic Efficiency Gains in Electric Motor Technology

Why Is The EU Spending Billions On A Gas Pipeline If It Wants To Fight Climate Change?

GM CEO Says Chevy Bolt Production To Be Increased, Doesn’t Say By How Much

Hacker News

Contract Simply (YC S17) is hiring a full-stack developer

A Career Cold Start Algorithm

Nuclear fusion on brink of being realised, say MIT scientists

Using Prettier to format your JavaScript code

Volume.gl – 3D Model from Single Image

Mashable

'Jessica Jones' pulp covers reveals Season 2 episode titles

'The War Outside': An exclusive peek at Monica Hesse's heartbreaking new novel

How come nobody's talking about the poop scene that got cut from 'Call Me By Your Name'?!

Managing stress is a learned skill and this online class can help you get started

Amazon may soon offer customers a hybrid checking account

Motherboard

Federal Judge Tells Trump to Just Mute People on Twitter

One of Trump's Video Game Experts Thinks Cops Are at War and Murder Makes You Horny

The Women Pioneers of the Internet Say There Have Always Been Trolls

Revenge Porn Moves to Slack

Researchers Can ‘See’ Your Memories While You Sleep

New York Times Technology

Broadcom’s Other Regulatory Hurdle: How It Treats Customers

Ex-Leader of Baltimore County Schools, a Tech Booster, Pleads Guilty to Perjury

Tech Fix: A Review of the Samsung Galaxy S9, in Emoji

In Sri Lanka, Facebook Contends With Shutdown After Mob Violence

It’s True: False News Spreads Faster and Wider. And Humans Are to Blame.

Recode

How to watch Kara Swisher interview chef José Andrés live at SXSW

Twitter wants everyone to get a blue verification badge

Uber has hired a top Amazon voice exec as head of product as Daniel Graf departs

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is coming to Code Conference

SXSW 2018

Reddit Technology

Vision-improving nanoparticle eyedrops could end the need for glasses

Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act: Tech Firms Push To Modify Senate Bill

U.S. appeals court in San Francisco will hear net neutrality appeal

Stop SESTA/FOSTA: Don’t Let Congress Censor the Internet

Tesla’s new electric Semis make their first cargo deliveries

Reuters Technology

Toshiba expects to complete chip unit sale by June at latest: executive

Toyota affiliate Denso buying stake worth $800 million in chipmaker Renesas

Ola's sputtering India electric vehicle trial a red flag for Modi plan

Twitter appoints Parag Agrawal as Chief Technology Officer

Hold the iPhone! Amazon primed to be larger than Apple

Slashdot

Fake News Spreads Faster Than True News On Twitter -- Thanks To People, Not Bots

132-Year-Old Science Experiment Washes Ashore In Australia

Florida Lawmakers Approve Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

Intel Launches Mainstream Optane SSD 800P Series Based On 3D Xpoint Memory

Trump Promises Copyright Crackdown As DoJ Takes Aim At Streaming Pirates

TechCrunch

Barack Obama’s next move could be a series on Netflix

Trump’s take on gaming and violence was wrong in the ’90s and it’s twice as wrong now

Boxed reportedly rejected $400 million buyout offer from Kroger

Nintendo is bringing Super Smash Bros. to Switch in 2018

Blue Apron stock suffers as Weight Watchers gets into meal kits

The Next Web

EasyEmail uses AI to autosuggest sentences as you write replies in Gmail

14 common user experience mistakes to avoid on your company’s website

Google Chrome makes it easy to switch to a password manager of your choice

Federal judge to decide: Can Trump legally block people on Twitter?

Twitter CEO wants to open up verification to everyone

The Verge

Barack Obama is reportedly planning Netflix shows

Fortnite Battle Royale is coming to iOS and Android

Lawsuit against VC says he ‘groped and fondled multiple women’ for over a decade

Here’s all the games in Donald Trump’s ‘violence in video games’ supercut

Logan star Dafne Keen will play Lyra in the BBC’s adaptation of The Golden Compass

WSJ Tech

Do Cellphones Really Cause Brain Cancer? We Have Answers.

Uber Agrees in Principle to Exit Southeast Asia for Stake in Rival

North Korea Suspected in Cyberattack on Turkey

Elon Musk Tells Trump That China's Trade Rules 'Make Things Very Difficult'

The Uncomfortable Marriage Between China and Its Tech Giants

Wired

‘Dr. Strangelove’ Is Basically a Documentary

Total Clips

Aliens Would Probably Like It If You Gave them Flowers

All About HomePod

Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ Is Over-the-Top in Every Way