#Growth Takes Time Stamp Set

[craftystampin]

Stampin Scoop Hello, Irresistible and More Online Exclusives Suite Episode 156

Stampin Scoop Hello, Irresistible and More Welcome back for part 2 of the Stampin’ Scoop show featuring the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives with lots of Hello, Irresistible Collection samples. Stampin’ Up’s just dropped a new line of “Online Exclusive” products. Tami and I shared a sampling of them in our pre-order haul last month but now we’re able to share them all! And in addition to the hot…

[1d1195]

Tulips Extra I

You can read Tulips here. I wouldn't read this if you're having a good day, lol. The original was therapeutic for myself so it's a little on the sad side for sure. It was good timing since I've not been feeling very positive lately.

Anyway, it's probably very angsty with a bit of fluff.

Thank you for reading my diary 😉

~4.7k words

Highly recommend listening to: Lung (Vines version) by Vines & Adrianne Munden-Dixon while reading.

“Shh,” he shook his head. “I got it,” he tilted his head at her. His voice was so sure. Like he was telling her the sun would come up tomorrow.

She supposed it would.

If she looked in the mirror, she would see a lot of growth. It had been six months since Harry moved in and she was more open, more communicative, and delegated more. Harry was perfect. Probably too perfect. It was almost unfair and if she thought about it too long, she worried a little too much about the ramifications of her own inadequacy.

Harry never let her feel that way. When she made dinner, he nearly threw a parade. If she was at Target and saw something she thought Harry would like and bought it, he thanked her for hours. It was a little overwhelming sometimes to be praised so highly. In previous relationships, she thought about the fanfare she would get from doing those kinds of things but after years of never getting it, she assumed it wasn’t in the cards for her.

But she hadn’t met Harry. He never let her feel that way. Everything she did was thanked with the utmost gratitude. It was unnerving sometimes that he adored her exactly how she imagined love was supposed to be. There were days, weeks, years, when she thought she wasn’t worthy of the love she dreamed about. Harry came along as if all that time feeling sad never existed. He praised her for things that didn’t need it, but it made her smile.

“M'a lucky guy, kitten,” he kissed her on the forehead while they watched TV. She had brought over a cup of hot water. Harry always had a cup in the middle of the afternoon. It was good for his throat, which was prone to colds and good for his vocal cords when he spent so much of his job talking to other people.

*

There were still hard days for her. Days when her mind ran wild and told her that she wasn’t good enough for Harry. That if she didn’t do everything perfectly or if she forgot something at the grocery story, she didn’t deserve to have Harry in her life any longer. Those years of not being good enough, or rather not feeling good enough, were hard to stamp out of her mind. Harry did a wonderful job getting most of it to disappear. But a bad day was a bad day; and it was hard to predict that. Hard to know when her mind would play a trick on her.

Work was okay except everyone was on edge close to the holiday. The end of the year was always a tricky time. Things needed to be wrapped up financially and socially. Honestly, she was probably the calmest one at work, but she was kind. Helping others with their workload because hers didn’t entail the same types of problems that everyone else was facing. But it did require a lot of her mental load. The satisfaction she felt from helping others was really good for her emotional well-being, but it came at a pretty significant cost: she had a really hard time saying no—especially when she needed to say no.

This led her to carrying several grocery bags into her apartment with Harry. She didn’t want to take two trips. Except she was struggling. Two trips would have been better. Or calling Harry when she got to the parking lot would have helped. He wouldn’t have minded either. He probably didn’t know she was grocery shopping after work, or he would have offered to go with her.

But unfortunately, they had gotten into a bit of a... disagreement the night before. Which only added to her stress emotionally. It was a well-based disagreement. Harry worried she was doing too much for her coworkers and thought (in the kindest way possible) that she should set some boundaries where she felt comfortable helping but still able to get her own stuff done.

In her head she did something wrong. Harry was so kind. Extremely understanding of all the boundaries that she failed to set in her work life and with her family. He knew it wasn’t easy for her. But it was hard for him to watch the person he loved struggle to feel okay with anxiety and stress plaguing most of her thoughts over things she didn’t necessarily need to worry about.

She was almost at the door. Her arm was sore from holding the bags up for so long. The circulation in her hand was disappearing from the bags that had slid down. Why she didn’t just set the bags down at the end of the hall will always make her wonder. But instead, of course, the bag ripped open. The one stupid paper bag she had to get from the store to fit everything. Of course, it had eggs in it. While trying catch it, she dropped the gallon of milk she had in her other hand that naturally exploded onto the floor with the eggs. She gasped and looked at the mess she created in the hall. Fortunately, her neighbors weren’t affected. She was so close to her own door the only one impacted would be herself or Harry.

“—her location says she should be home—oh,” Harry stuck his head out from the door. He heard a loud thud from inside the apartment. Paired with his missing girlfriend, he worried she had hurt herself or something coming up the stairs. Harry watched her for a moment, a frown settling onto his lips at the sight. Her shoulders shaking, her lip wobbling while tears filled her eyes. “Love, m’gonna have her call y’back. She jus’ got home. Think she had a tough day,” he murmured. “S’okay. I’ll take care of it. She’ll call y’back,” he promised. “Okay, bye,” he slid his phone into his pocket. Her gaze didn’t move from the mess on the floor, but she could sense Harry approaching her. Like an injured animal in the wild.

“Was that my sister?” She whispered.

He nodded, but she wasn’t looking. “S’nothing serious,” he promised.

“I think she needed help with her assignment or something. I was supposed to call her when I got home so I could read—”

“Love,” he stepped directly into the mixture of eggs and milk and put his hands on her shoulders. “S’not important right now,” his voice was so gentle. Almost too gentle. “Let’s go inside,” he tugged her gently toward the door. “M’gonna clean this up,” he offered easily.

She looked up at him, her eyes so blurred with tears that his expression was hard to make out. The only good thing her tears did was magnify her perception of Harry’s pretty eyes. They actually looked like emeralds and made her heart flutter despite how sad she was. “You don’t have to,” her voice cracked. “I dropped everything. I should clean it—” the tears fell from her eyes in slow motion. It was like she was watching one of those movies where the girl tries to keep working even though she just found out the love of her life died and she was basically ignoring it. She hated those scenes. They hurt so much. She swiped her hand across her face. “I just need to grab—”

“Kitten,” Harry stilled her movements as she tried to push away from him. “Angel,” he whispered softly. “Please stop.”

“No, I’m okay,” she promised, the saddest smile falling across her lips. Harry looked at her with so much worry and he shook his head.

“No, kitten. You’re not,” his voice was low and he cupped the side of her neck and held her in place. “What happened?”

“Nothing! It’s nothing,” but the words were choked and only half-uttered by the mixture of tears and her throat closing around the sound trying to force its way out of her vocal cords. “I’m fine.” It was like her body was trying to repel the words because she almost folded in half, she crouched and covered her eyes as she let the sobs take over for a second. She would be fine; she just needed a second to get some of the emotion out.

“Angel,” Harry crouched right beside her. “C’mon, kitten. S’not nothing,” he murmured.

She shook her head. No, things with Harry were fine. She wasn’t going to burden him with needless worries and all the anxiety that was coursing through her head. It was all in her head. Truly. It wasn’t something that he needed to—

Harry pulled her toward their door where milk and eggs hadn’t spread to yet. The remaining pile of groceries was mixed in the mess. She crouched by the door again, unable to stop the emotion long enough to make it past the entry way. Gently, Harry pulled her toward him and kissed the top of her head. He knelt beside her, hand cupping the back of her neck and the other gently rubbing up and down her arm. A neighbor peered into the hallway raised his eyebrows at the mess before turning to see Harry and the girl in their doorway. Harry shook his head so minutely he doubted she noticed. Fortunately, their neighbor saluted ever so slightly and retreated inside.

“I’m. Sorry,” she hiccupped.

He shook his head feeling so awful she was this distraught. This upset. He wished he had checked her location before her sister called to ask if she was ignoring her. Wish he had gone down to see where she was when he realized she was supposed to be home. “Shh,” he hushed. “S’nothing t’apologize for, kitten,” he promised quietly.

She continued sobbing and Harry wondered how on earth someone so beautiful, so kind, so utterly adoring could be so sad. It pained him to no end. Watching her breakdown like this felt like someone stabbed him right in the heart. He wanted to do whatever he had to do to make it stop. He knew she kept a lot of her emotions to herself. Years of bottling them up so as not to inconvenience others for simply existing.

“Kitten,” he whispered when her sobs subsided to sniffles. “Y’gotta talk t’me,” his voice was gentle but filled with worry. “M’sorry people let y’down. M’not one of them, though.”

“It’s hard,” her voice was so crackly and broken. Harry almost let it go because he wasn’t sure he could bear the weight of how sad she was.

“I know, baby, I know it is, but I love you so much. I want nothing but t’help you,” he hoped she heard how sincere he was. “I hate seeing y’like this. It hurts me, kitten,” he cupped her face and gazed into her eyes so hopefully she would understand how much he adored her and how much it hurt him. It wasn’t to minimize what she was feeling. It was to hopefully help her reach the conclusion that he was on her side, always. He would do whatever it took to make her smile.

“M’scared,” she whispered. “You’re just going to tell me that I’m being ridiculous—because I am, Harry. I am being ridiculous. I have you. You’re so perfect. You love me so much and you don’t care that I’m a little crazy and you don’t—”

“Kitten,” he frowned. “I would never tell y’that you’re being ridiculous. Please tell me y’don’t really believe that,” his heart felt even worse. How could she think that?

“Because,” she croaked. The seconds it took her to speak after felt like years. Harry waited so patiently, his heart pounding. “Because whenever I felt so overwhelmed,” she shook her head and looked down, despite Harry holding her face so she would have to look at him. She closed her eyes and sniffled.

“Tell me, angel.”

“I have never had someone,” she started again, squeezing her eyes tight. They felt red and swollen. She was certain she looked as terrible as she felt. “It was my own doing,” she whispered. “The reason I get so overwhelmed. When I complained even a little it was turned into something about how I did things wrong. I overwhelmed myself. It was just... in my head,” she whispered.

Harry wasn’t completely sure how he managed to stay upright. He swiped his thumbs below her red rimmed eyes. He thought she was beautiful even when she cried but it hurt him so much to see her like this. “S’not in your head, m’love,” it was hard to say the words without breaking out into cries himself. Seeing her hurt like this made him feel like the worst boyfriend in the world. “Love doesn't have t’be even, kitten. Being mad doesn't have t’be even. Being upset with something I do doesn't mean I have t’be upset with something you do. Y’can be annoyed with me, and I don't have t’bring up something m’annoyed by—which is nothing,” he assured her quickly because he could spot something he said creating a spiral easily. “But love, y’have t’tell me... talking has t’be done. I can't do this alone, kitten. I can't do this without you,” he explained as gently as he could.

“It’s not important,” she shook her head. Her voice cracked again.

Harry winced. “No, but it is, kitten. I can hear how important it is. I see it. I can feel it. Y’need t’tell me. I need you t’tell me everything y’feel. I can tell it hurts. All of it. I want t’fix it. I don’t want you t’hurt. M’not going anywhere. Ever.”

“But it’s… so bad to talk about... exes,” she whispered the last word like it was a curse—like she would be sent right to jail for it saying out loud.

Harry frowned. “Yeah, maybe if y’still in love with them. Do y’still love him?” It was rhetorical honestly. He knew she didn’t.

Her face paled immediately, her sad eyes filling with more tears. “Of course not!”

“I didn’t say it t’make y’mad, m’love,” His voice was gentle again. “I want you t’process this. I can’t have you all bottled up. I need t’know signs and feelings you’re having when y’don’t want t’share them. He messed with you so good,” he smiled without an ounce of humor behind it. It was the saddest smile she had ever seen on his face. He looked… so... disappointed. “M’usually good at figuring out what m’supposed t’do as a boyfriend. But y’stump me sometimes,” he admitted shyly. “It hurts me t’see you flustered and hurt without telling me why. I want t’be there for you. Always. In ways he never was because you—”

“He was always late,” she sobbed again. Harry pulled her to him immediately letting the tears pour out of her and he rocked her so gently. The words spilled out of her as fast as the tears did. “I swear he did it to piss me off and then he would say I was too controlling or neurotic. I was too planned out. He never got me flowers and my mom knew how much that bothered me. She knew he didn’t, even though I lied and said he did. I lied about flowers,” she felt so pathetic saying it out loud. “I lied about so many things he didn’t do because I was disappointed in myself. He didn’t see the point in romantic gestures. He didn’t think about how it kind of made me look like an idiot. I know that’s not the point of a romantic gesture, but I kept doing them for him and I—” the sobs choked her voice for a moment but Harry stayed silent. “I ignored all those red flags. All of them. Every single one of them. Why did I do that?” She cried; her voice sounded so tired. She looked so tired. Harry was quiet for a long time while more tears than he thought were possible fell across her cheeks.

“Because love is also red,” Harry whispered eventually. “Rose colored glasses are red… tulips, my sweet love,” he paused to kiss the top of her head, “are red.” It felt like hours she sobbed against him. The milk spread on the floor probably getting warm and souring the smell in the air and Harry just held her rocking ever so softly. “Thank you,” he said after way longer than anyone would have waited to speak. “For telling me that. I know that was hard. I promise I won’t be late. Ever,” he vowed. “Everything else between us? Might have t’be some compromises and more talking and we might argue. I might get mad, but it doesn’t mean it’s going t’end us, kitten. You have t’know that. M’here for the long haul... But late? On purpose? It won’t be me,” he promised easily. “Whether m’mad because I had a bad day at work or because of traffic, you’ll know the moment I know. M’not going t’miss a single time y’tell me. I will be there early.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head and kissed her temple, letting his lips drag along her skin for longer than he needed but it felt so soothing she nearly cried again. “S’nothing t’be sorry for,” he promised. “C’mon,” he stood, his knees aching from crouching for so long. He held his hand out to her and pulled her to stand beside him. He pushed her toward the sofa.

“What about—”

“Shh,” he promised. “S’fine,” he murmured pushing her to sit. Once seated, he pulled her shoes off, wrapped a blanket around her and kissed her forehead. He placed a book in her lap that she had started earlier in the week and hurried to the kitchen to bring her a bottle of water. “Stay here,” he kissed her forehead again, this time cupping her cheek at the same time and rubbing his thumb along her skin.

“But I—”

“Shh,” he shook his head. “I got it,” he tilted his head at her. His voice was so sure. Like he was telling her the sun would come up tomorrow.

She supposed it would.

*

As low as she got, she felt so much better, much quicker than she usually did. Harry was grateful for the change and was extremely mindful of things that caused her stress. He tried to read her mind as much as possible and was successful more often, which made him feel a lot better.

Talking was so much better. She had never felt so free. Harry knew her every thought. He didn’t belittle her emotions or make her feel like an inconvenience. Right before they fell asleep, she was snuggled close, her eyes watching Harry breathe evenly. The only light coming from a streetlamp outside their window. It wasn’t too bright but illuminated the room enough for her to make out Harry’s shadow beside her. His hand skimmed up and down her arm making her drowsy. “I love you,” she sighed.

“I love you, too, angel,” he murmured.

When they were out with friends Harry was mindful of her well-being. If she wanted to leave, he could sense it before she wanted to go. In fact, he even said he wanted to leave before she mentioned it. Taking her out of the equation made her anxiety lessen profusely.

If there was a problem Harry had (and rarely did that happen because he truly believed she was an angel) he looked her dead in the eye every time and promised her that he wasn’t mad. “I am not mad,” he held her face in his hands like she was a fragile vase. He waited until she nodded, he could see the emotions scrolling through her eyes like an index searching for one to land on for a moment. Only when she nodded would he continue. “I don’t like when y’leave the remote in the couch. S’hard t’find,” he explained. “Can y’try t’leave it on the coffee table?” He asked. She nodded. “Are y’okay, kitten? M’not mad,” he said reassuringly.

She nodded again. “I know,” her voice was soft. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “S’okay,” he smiled encouragingly. “Do y’have anything y’want t’share with me that’s bothering you?” She shook her head. “You’re sure? Not even the whole pizza thing?” He eyed her suspiciously. Harry put the whole box of leftover pizza in the fridge, and he could see the distaste in her eyes when he did so.

“It just takes up a lot of room,” she admitted.

“Good,” he smiled excitedly that she was telling him the truth and he kissed her forehead. “I’ll go fix it now; can y’find the remote?” He found giving her a manageable task was a good distraction when she voiced her worry. He could see her eyes fill with tears despite the fact he wasn’t upset, but he knew it was because she was more than likely overwhelmed with how easy that was. She swiped her hand across her cheek and dug between the cushions to find the controller. When he returned, she handed him the remote to put on a movie. He pulled her toward him, her body half resting against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, so much, angel,” he promised.

“I love you,” Harry could hear how much that really meant to her in every syllable.

*

She was carrying her work bag, her lunch bag, and her clunky water bottle when her mom called. Most of the time her mom texted her. So, she assumed it was bad. She settled her things onto the counter as she answered.

“Do you know Harry texted me?” She asked.

“What?” Her heart leapt to her throat. Harry hadn’t ever texted her mother to his knowledge. She knew he periodically texted her siblings but never her mom.

“He shared a whole album with me. I had to have your sister help me open it because you know me with this contraption,” she laughed but she didn’t want to hear about her technological illiteracy. She wanted to know what the album was. “It’s just a bunch of bouquets of flowers. At least two dozen. Maybe closer to three. He said it’s every bouquet he’s ever bought you and the reason why. Birthday. Christmas. Valentine’s Day. Bad day at work. Being brave at the dentist,” she laughed again. She had a hand on her heart as she tried to quell all the emotions rapidly flowing through her in quick succession. “Sweetie,” she whispered, a smile in her voice. “He said he was going to add to it every time he got a new bouquet, but he wanted me to know that he got you flowers. Wanted me to have proof. Do you know what it’s about?”

She felt tears thicken her throat. “Yeah. Yeah I know,” she whispered. “It’s nothing you need to worry about,” she promised.

“I know you lied to me,” she said softly. It wasn’t accusing. It was exactly how a mom would react to such a statement. “You never lie about anything so it’s pretty obvious when you do. Especially about something so...little,” she felt horrible. But honestly, she didn’t feel like telling her mom that the flowers weren’t little. They were huge, in fact. It was a huge, glaring, obvious thing that she should have known was wrong. “I’m not too sure what’s going on with you and Harry lately, but I can see how much that man adores you and I know he would do anything to make you smile.”

She bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I know,” she responded. “I know why you did it.”

The tears rolled down her cheeks, but she doesn’t make a sound. “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she repeated.

“Okay, well... I’m glad you have that album,” she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got a couple of chores to do, Mom.”

“I know, that’s fine. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you, sweetie,” she could hear her mom’s encouraging smile in her voice. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Almost as soon as the call ended, she sniffled. Then just as quickly, Harry came through the door and found her wiping her eyes. “Oh, kitten,” he frowned. “S’matter?” She wanted to say ‘nothing.’ But he was holding another bouquet of flowers. Half the tulips were red, and the other half was white. So, she was unable to utter a word and began to cry again. “Angel,” he set the bouquet on the counter beside her stuff and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “M’sorry, love,” he murmured into her hair and squeezed her.

“Can we get married?” She asked through her tears.

Harry didn’t even care how ridiculous she sounded. He continued as if this was a normal conversation that he had every day with her. As if she wasn’t sobbing on a Thursday night for no reason. Or if he asked her if she wanted fish for dinner. “Of course we can, baby, but I have t’propose—”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t care. Right now. Please. I love you so much. So, so much. I can’t—” she hiccupped.

“Hey, hey,” he pulled away and looked at her. “Kitten,” he smiled gently. It was a sad smile, but a cute one. Like he didn’t want to set her off completely. “I love you, too,” he assured her. “I want t’propose the right way and make sure you’re—”

“Then give me the ring now,” she looked at him squarely in the eye. The smile melted off his face and other than her soft sniffle, there wasn’t a sound in the apartment. “Please,” she repeated.

“Kitten,” he sucked his cheek in a bit and looked at her nervously. Like this was a break in her tired mind that he wouldn’t be able to handle. “What happened? Please tell me, you’re worrying me.”

She wiped her eyes again. “You told my mom you got me flowers.”

His entire body deflated, and it was like he just knew. “Stay here,” he said simply.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, nodded, and watched as Harry walked through their apartment. She wondered if he was walking so slowly on purpose. By now, she was used to Harry’s footsteps, and she listened to the sound of them: light and quiet on their hardwood floors. From the kitchen she could hear his dresser drawers sliding open and closed. It was as if he took ten times as long to come back to the kitchen as he did to leave it.

“How did y’know?” He asked.

She shook her head. “I didn’t.”

He smirked and pulled the little box out of his pocket and set it on the counter beside the flowers, her bags and her water. “I was going to wait until Christmas, y’gonna have nothing t’open.”

“I don’t need anything,” she promised.

He chuckled. “Kitten,” he sighed. “What am I going t’do with you?”

“I don’t know. But you have a lifetime to figure it out,” she vowed.

He smiled, shook his head. “Will you—”

“Yes.”

“Can you let me do it the right way—”

“No.”

He sighed. “Kitten,” he chided with a chuckle.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” she wiped her cheeks again and shook her head.

Harry took a deep breath. “Angel, will you—”

“I can’t do it, I’m sorry. Please just kiss me,” she begged.

He laughed, shook his head, and pressed his lips to hers. He held her so firmly in his embrace, dipping her backwards in the middle of the kitchen like this was the most romantic place in the world. When he stood her upright, her cheeks were flushed, and she was silent. She no longer looked anxious as she had when he entered the apartment. He grabbed the ring box, pulled the ring out of the safety of its little cushion and slipped it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. It wouldn’t need to be resized or anything. “Will you marry me?” He managed to ask without her interrupting.

Her response was immediate, though, barely finished the word ‘me’. “Yes."

general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use @perfectywrong @foreverxholland @lovrave @st-ev-ie @pandeebearstyles @toosarcastic03 @luvonstyles @tenaciousperfectionunknown @classychalamet @love-letters-to-uranus @emmaawbr @crossyourpeter

[zayray030]

Used to it

Summary: Capitano is used to many being intimidated by his height. So safe to say it is a shock when an impudent little brat comes out of nowhere and demands they fight.

Capitano knew he towered over people. He was well over 8ft tall, as built as they came and spawned from the hellish abyss itself. He knew that his height and stature frightened both enemies and allies alike and that not many if any mortals could match his size. He knew that whilst this size could inspire envy, most of the time it inspired fear and distrust, a sense of discomfort at knowing someone that could almost pass off as mortal, had it not been for his height existed amongst the common people. 

He had gotten used to the idea that he would simply always be looking down on others and be used to their frightened expressions whenever they came face-to-face with his torso, only to look up and see a black void. He had gotten used to seeing the defeat in his opponents when they see him left large objects and tower over them with ease. Frankly, he had not cared much for it to change. Sure, the lack of a proper sparring partner made things irritating to train, however is reassured him that not many would be dumb enough to challenge him. 

He had gotten used to his bed mates not putting in any effort, simply refusing to take in the rest of him, bringing him only half the pleasure. Had simply gotten used to working his cock out of a half-conscious mortal, one who was barely able to handle him, in both size and girth and he had never allowed himself the hope that he would one day find someone who would take him or try to. 

Well, that was until he met one Tartaglia ‘Ajax’ ‘Childe, the 11th harbinger. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

When he had first met the boy, he had been a small thing barely up to his hips, however he looked determined and set with what he was about to say. 

“Fight me!” demanded the little fox, voice high pitched with the innocence of youth, still untouched by growth. The boy pointed at him with one arm, brandishing a sword, that looked simply far too large for a small stature. The boy, quite frankly, looked like a cherub, features far too soft and sweet for the fatui battle ground. 

He was a small thing, truly barely up to his hips and clad in a winter jacket, presumably to help with the freezing weather conditions. The hood was pulled up so only a few pale orange strands from the little one's fringe escaped. His cheeks were rosy pinks, still unable to escape the form the snows kiss and his skin was pale and unblemished, like one would except from a pampered little prince. 

He would have been a fully fleshed cherub as well, had it not been for those eyes. So dead and devoid of light one would question what horrors this child had to endure to lose all hope. However, contrary to his eyes his voice spoke of enthusiasm and hope to be able to battle one of the harbingers and excitement at such a prospect. 

Capitano looked around, certain he was being played by one of the other harbingers, Was it Arlecchino? Perhaps she was still furious at him for refusing to carry the children at the orphanage around. Perhaps it was Signora, bitter about a slight he may have caused against her? Perhaps it was even Pantalone, furious he had skipped out on a payment. 

“Childe! Get back here this instant!” dumbfounded, Capitano watched as ‘Childe’ was reprimanded by a heaving Pulcinella who looked like he had been wrung raged. “I’ve been looking for you all over, young man! What do you have to say for yourself!” the short man demanded, placing his hands on his hips. 

“...I just wanted to fight him! Everyone keeps saying he’s the strongest because he’s so tall and I wanna prove them wrong!” argued the child, stamping his foot in indignation when the man before him shook his head in disappointment. 

“You can’t just run off! Especially without telling anyone where you were going! Imagine what destruction you can have done without a set limit!” the Rooster threw his arms in the air, as if trying to emphasis his point, only for Childe to pout and cross his arms at the scolding. “Now, apologies to Capitano now young man.” the older ordered, looking expectantly at the redhead. 

Childe resisted for a few moments before catching the disappointed look in the short harbinger's eyes and huffing. Whilst glaring at the ground he mumbled out a barely audible apology. “I’m sorry for wanting to prove everyone wrong and show that they’re all pussies who are scared of your height to actually fight you properly.” Childe bit out, scuffing his boots on the ground. 

Oh wow. Now that just won’t do at all. 

Capitano, ignoring how his fellow harbingers how burst into furious scolding beside him, picked the runt up by the scuff off his neck and brought him to eye level. 

“Listen here, little one.” he darkened his voice, summoning in his abyssal side. “You would do well to remember that his stature has sent enemies of all kinds running in fear. You would do well to remember that these very hands have cracked skulls and smeared blood on the walls of their homes. This size before you has brought many to their knees and will continue to do so. Learn your place before you learn what it was truly like for those who fought me to lose a crushing defeat.” 

He then drops the small things and watches him tremble for a moment before he storms out of the training grounds, too fast to capture the words being exchanged by the two being left behind. Had he stayed, he would have relalised his words had had the opposite effects on the little one. 

No, instead of him shaking from fear, the little one is instead shaking from a discovery. And that discovery is the new found crush he has on the harbinger. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Predictably, he forgets about the boy. It isn’t his first time meeting a feisty and impudent bratty beginner and it wasn’t the last. However, he can always remember the faint curve of rose cheeks and a pretty orange colour that goes with it. 

He remembers who these features belong to when he sees the boy, now man, again at his harbinger welcome party. 

He had grown. Instead of being small child, barely up to his hip, eyes glaring and face blank of all emotion, he was instead tall (still shorter than capitano). He was a lean young man, with some muscle definition, although it was only clear if you weren’t closer to him. His hair hadn’t changed much, still the same orange colour, only this time more unruly and untamed. His cheeks had also changed. Still rosy and pink, bitten by the cold air, however his jaw had sharpened and he had lost a majority, it not all his baby chub.  

Instead of a glare or out on his face, there was a polite smile as he engaged in some small talk with a few of the other harbingers who were congratulating him on his advance in his career, and wishing him well. 

However, his eyes had stayed the same. Blank, with no light in them. Frankly, had it not been for the smile on his face others would think him cocky and that he was treating this event as a mere social gathering and not a promotion to be a harbinger. 

Those same eyes met his and immediately something akin to a sparkle set into them. Briskly, Tartaglia made his way to him, immediately abandoning Dottore who looked like he was explaining something either incredibly disturbing or annoying to the young one. 

“Capitano!” the boy called out, smile wider than he had seen it before. “It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other.” the boy let out a little laugh, smiling brilliantly at the man before him. 

“And yet you’re still an impudent brat.” he growled, attempting to instil some form of fear within the boy, however all this did is make the voice laugh in excitement. 

“And now a harbinger.” he said proudly, leaning up closer to Capitano, completely ignoring the whispering off everyone else. “And now, I'll able to fight you.” 

Somethings truly do not change. 

Capitano roughly grabbed the boy by his chin and leaned down to whisper into his ear. “No matter how many ranks you claim, how many monsters you slay and how many enemies you defeat, you will still be nothing in comparison to me, boy.” he heard Tartaglia take in a few deep breaths “Remember where you are in comparison to me.” were his final words before he let the redheads chin go and stormed out of the hall, leaving the boy shaking and thighs squeezing. 

He tried to ignore the way he stirred in excitement at the thought of someone so small and measly attempting to fight him. How someone who barely passed his chest was attempting to fight him, not frightened at fighting him, despite his size and stature. 

Had he actually stuck around he would have realised that Tartaglia was shaking out of a hormonal bout and he would have been able to witness Dottore get chocked out by said boy when the scientist had attempted to poke fun at him. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

They meet several other times, however not many moments stick out to him, simply due to the boy only ever requesting to fight him, and him either ignoring or growing at him, which only causes the boy to shake and for his thighs squeeze one another. Every time he meets the boy, he attempts to ignore how small he looks next to capitano and how narrow his frame is, despite being a harbinger. His attempts to ignore it has only led the situation to worsen, quite frankly. 

One moment, however, that he will always remember, and secretly cherish, is the time he had gone to Dottore. 

At the time he had managed to damage his arm, so he had gone to the doctor so he could offer him a solution, a sling or a potion would have done just fine as he wasn’t particularly bothered. 

However, when he had reached the man's office it was to find Dottore and Scaramouche behind a flipped over bed as Tartaglia threw any piece of equipment he could find at their directions whilst screaming at the top of his lungs. 

“You, absolute degenerate!” the boy screeched, face splotchy red instead of his normal pink glow. “You disgusting waste of space! I’ll kill you; you utter freak!” the boy continued ranting, advancing closer and closer to the cowering scientist. 

“I hate you.” hissed Scaramouche at the doctor, as he attempted to find ways of escaping. 

“How was I supposed to know he would react like that? It was a simple question than any man of science such as myself would ask.” defended Dottore, pouting and kicking his feet, only to pull them closer when a potion flew close to them, shattering close. The ground where it had fell dissolving and bubbling. 

“I think asking if he automatically gets wet around authority figures because he feels a primal need to mate is going a bit far.” Scaramouche sarcastically responded, ducking his head back down when another beaker sailed over his head. 

Capitano viewed the mess around him and contemplated just walking around with his injured arm before deciding that it was better to just get things over with instead of having to come back to an even worse situation. 

He made his way towards the 11th, making sure that the younger couldn’t see him, before he finally reached him and scooped him up with his uninjured arm, causing the ginger to let out a loud gasp. Immediately he took notice to the way the boy's body tensed, smaller stature attempting to escape Capitano, however even with one arm the boy was no match for him and his squirming amounted to nothing 

“Shhh.” he held the boy for a moment, enjoying how delicate he felt in his arms. “It’s okay. If you ever feel the need to act out again, come to me. I’m sure I’ll be able to calm you down, everywhere” he whispered.  

After that he dropped the boy again and went searching for a healing potion. After finding one in one of the shelves above he exited the room. Just as the door shut, he heard a loud crash behind him and Dottore screeching. 

“Scaramouche, restrain him! Or else he’ll try and go after the captain and the Tsaritsa would rather her youngest alive!” 

Capitano popped the lip off the potion and tried to not focus on the warmth in arm that he had used to hold Tartaglia and the way he can still hear the boys' gasps in his ear. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Capitano will always savour this moment. No matter what enemy he defeats what reward the Tsaritsa gave him and whatever gift from the universe he receives, nothing will exceed the euphoria off being able to eat Childe out. 

He enjoyed how those thighs, so soft and supple, yet with clear force and muscle beneath them, quivered and trembled, almost attempting to escae from him. 

He enjoyed sucking on pretty pink clit and making Childe scream for him every time he managed to make the boy squirt. He enjoyed thrusting his tongue into the boy's cunt, revelled in the way he was able to fuck the boy on his tongue. 

This is not the first time they had ended up in bed together. The smaller often acts out and after Capitano had found out it was due to both a desire to fight him and to have the older fuck him into oblivion, he thought he could fulfil at least one of his wishes. And by the Tsaritsa did it make him want to grant the other wish as well. 

Childe took cock like a champ, even his cock. Especially his cock. At first, he had doubted the boy could even manage to fit him quarter way, however colour him surprised when the boy had ordered him to lie down and had managed to ride him. Of course, some of his cock couldn’t make it into the boy's pussy, however, he could appreciate the effort the younger put in to be participate. 

And seeing Childe with tears streaming down his face, face red as he continued riding the captain, trying to ignore his overstimulated cunt made his particularly appreciative. 

“C-capitano, y-your cock.” the ginger drooled out, still shaking after Capitano had left a heavy slap on his cunt 

“Of course, you’d ask for that.” he shook his head in mock disappointment, chuckling when he heard the younger whine at his words. 

He lined his cock up with the hole, slapping it a few times with his cock simply so he could hear the younger boy whimper and see him spread his legs wider, and thrust in, delighting in the wail that the redhead let out. 

He stilled his hips for a moment, simply drinking in the sight of the harbinger beneath him. The 11ths hair was dishevelled and in disarray, there were tears in his eyes and more streaming down his face, the face had flushed down to his chest where his nipples had been nibbled and pinched on. He then appreciated where the boy's stomach bulge around the size of his cock. 

He brought a hand down and pressed at the bulge, chuckling mockingly at the panicked squeals the boy let out. 

“So small and yet so eager to take this cock,” he cooed, alternating between pressing and rubbing the boy's stomach. “Should ask her lady to transfer you from fighting into being personal cock sleave, it would be a shame to waste such talent.” 

Too bad the boy wasn’t capable off much thought when he was speared on a cock. He would have enjoyed listening to him argue, listening to him try and fight it, only for his to be thrust into and lose his train of thought. 

“Oh well, might as well enjoy you lie this.” He then began thrusting into the boy with vigour, delighting in the punched out little noises he was making. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Capitano was confused. 

Now, normally this didn’t happen. For as large as he was, that didn’t mean he was just a brainless power nitwit. He was intelligent and excelled in many academics. However, he’s not sure that even the most seasoned Sumeru scholar could explain what the phenomenon in front of him was. 

Now, he understood that he was a giant. That was one thing. He understood that Ajax, whilst shorter than him, was still taller than the average person. So, what the actual fuck was going on in his family to make everyone else almost a foot taller than Ajax??? 

“It was when he fell.” Ajax’s mother explained, a stern woman, however with very obvious smile wrinkles. Her and Capitano observed as Ajax was carried by his older brother and paraded around the house. “The local healers say that when he fell, the psychological shock stepped him from growing past a certain height. Frankly, I have no idea if that’s true or if something else happened.”  

He watched her carefully as she smiled at her family as they took turns passing Ajax around, him looking particularly small in his father's stocky arms. He watched as his boyfriend smiled and laughed, despite his never changing from their normal dullness. 

“If it helps, I don’t believe that he takes all of you being taller than him to heart.” Capitano attempted to comfort the woman only to receive a laugh. 

“Wish it would! Might make him stop fighting those beats in the forest and settle down.” the woman held no mirth in her laughter. 

Capitano stood silently as they watched Ajax carry his younger siblings, the only ones shorter than him. He took a moment before he spoke. 

“Your son has grown. When I had first met him, he barely reached my hips. And now look at him, taller than most people out there. Your son has an incredible spirit within, and I don’t believe anything, no fall to steep or mountain too high, could ever stop him from growing.” 

They stood silently again before the woman nodded. “You are indeed perfect for him.” she patted his arms and then went to join her family, so that she as well could pick up her son and twirl him around, making sure that she didn’t grim him too tight. 

Capitano stared at the family before, watched as his boyfriend got twirled and adored by his family and for once, allowed himself to relax in the face of his lover's smile. 

[lunar-years]

As for the RoyKeeley reunion part of my KJPR/Keeley arc discussion (here)...I've processed more and landed on the reason I didn't love it, and it's not because I don't believe Roy has done the work or fixed his side of many of the problems that contributed to the end of their relationship. Not because I don't think he's finally at a place to accept joy and happiness into his life. We've seen that growth in him throughout the season, in his relationship with Jamie especially, but also with him processing the end to his time at Chelsea, with Trent, the Rebecca scene last week, Isaac, the final epiphany moment this episode with the teacher...It's all been there, it's been gradual, and I believe in it without hesitation.

I didn't like that they threw RoyKeeley back together** because it doesn't make sense for Keeley. It doesn't help or allow her character to grow at all. I think a lot of the fandom is happy to believe the breakup was all Roy, and his self-confidence issues, and his unwillingness to allow himself to have good things' fault. For me, it's always been more than that. Keeley has a lot of self confidence issues herself that the show constantly sweeps under the rug; and having Roy tell her she's still Keeley fucking Jones is not the magical fix all to it, either. I know this absolutely isn't the show's intention, but it kind of does read to me like they're stamping a relationship with Roy back on her like a bandaid and calling her a healed case, and I hate that.

Let's not forget that just LAST EPISODE, Keeley was sending Jack a wall of desperate blue texts all but begging Jack to take her back! Not even that, just to talk to her! To acknowledge her at all!! She was begging this woman who treated her like crap, from a relationship that was detrimental to her mental health and wellbeing, to please accept her!!

The reality is, we have:

Keeley breaking up with Jamie in season one, regretting it the very next morning because as she herself proclaims, she always second-guesses her relationships ending, and then getting together with Roy not long after.

Roy breaking up with her, and her getting together with Jack not long after, notably right after proclaiming she isn't over Roy and is also reevaluating her prior breakup with her other ex, Jamie

Jack breaking up with her, Keeley trying to still fix it between them, then....getting back together with Roy not long after that

Like, no wonder the RoyKeeley reunion fell flat. Look, I haven't been in the "why won't the writers ever just let Keeley be single!" camp all season, but it's partly because I assumed they were trying to tell us a clear narrative about her. There is an undeniable pattern of behavior they've set up here that points to certain aspects of her character: Keeley struggles with abandonment issues, Keeley struggles with being alone, Keeley struggles with feeling good enough for people and leans on external validation, she has been known to act rashly when it comes to her relationships, etc. If the goal was just to get RoyKeeley back together as quickly as possible, well, they succeeded at the cost of throwing Keeley's character development out the window, because none of these problems have actually been addressed. And if they weren't going to address them, why were they not only introduced but also reiterated across multiple seasons?

**And yes, I say "throwing Roy and Keeley back together" without taking into account what they might do with the last two episodes. Was this a "getting back together" moment in the sense of now RoyKeeley is endgame, back in a committed relationship, their problems won't be addressed again or addressed only minimally, and they will now ride off into the sunset happily ever after? Or was it more like, there's still a ton of love there, Roy made a deeply important breakthrough with his apology, they had their long awaited and much needed post-breakup sex, and now Keeley is going to realize she's slipping back into familiar patterns and roll things back? And to be fair, we don't know yet!

What I want is something like Roy acting like things are now great and Keeley's obviously his girlfriend again, only for Keeley to stop him and be like "Wait, Roy, but this hasn't magically fixed everything." I do want Keeley to be single for a while and deal with her own stuff. I want them to work at it, together, perhaps with the expectation that yes they will probably get back together in future but not right now, not when they still have a ways to go with themselves as individuals. If the show goes in the second direction, it scraps this whole post for me, but with two episodes left of the series, this is coming from the part of me that is very concerned they're heading towards the former.

[tokenlauncher]

Solana vs. Ethereum: Why Solana Takes the Lead in 2024

The blockchain space has witnessed remarkable evolution over the past decade, and among the contenders for dominance in the realm of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), Ethereum and Solana have emerged as two prominent players. Both networks have carved out significant niches, but as we advance into 2024, Solana is increasingly making a case for itself as the leader in the blockchain ecosystem. In this blog, we’ll delve into the reasons why Solana is gaining traction over Ethereum, focusing on aspects such as scalability, transaction costs, and the burgeoning opportunities for token creation.

The Ethereum Legacy

Ethereum, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, has been a pioneer in the blockchain space, introducing the world to the concept of smart contracts and decentralized applications. Its pioneering spirit earned it the title of the leading platform for building dApps and issuing tokens. Ethereum’s native token, ETH, has become synonymous with blockchain innovation, and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has set a standard for interoperability and developer ease.

However, Ethereum’s growth has not been without its challenges. The network has faced issues related to scalability, high transaction fees, and slower transaction speeds, particularly during periods of high demand. These limitations have become increasingly apparent as the number of users and applications on the Ethereum network has surged.

The Rise of Solana

Solana, founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, has quickly emerged as a formidable competitor to Ethereum. Solana’s promise lies in its ability to address some of the critical issues that have plagued Ethereum, offering a unique approach to blockchain technology that emphasizes speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency.

1. Scalability and Speed

One of the most significant advantages that Solana offers is its impressive scalability. Solana’s unique consensus mechanism, Proof of History (PoH), works in conjunction with Proof of Stake (PoS) to achieve high throughput and low latency. This allows Solana to process thousands of transactions per second (TPS), a stark contrast to Ethereum’s current capacity, which handles around 30 TPS.

PoH is essentially a cryptographic time-stamping mechanism that orders transactions and ensures the network’s integrity without requiring extensive computational work. This results in faster block times and a more efficient network overall. For developers and users, this means significantly reduced transaction times and enhanced user experiences, making Solana an attractive platform for high-frequency trading and real-time applications.

2. Cost Efficiency

Transaction fees on Ethereum have been a notorious pain point for users. During periods of network congestion, fees can soar to exorbitant levels, which can be a significant barrier for both developers and end-users. In contrast, Solana has been designed to minimize transaction costs. With its high throughput and efficient consensus mechanisms, Solana can offer transactions at a fraction of the cost compared to Ethereum.

This cost efficiency is a game-changer for the broader adoption of blockchain technology. Lower transaction fees mean that small-scale transactions become viable, encouraging the growth of microtransactions and expanding the use cases for blockchain applications.

Token Creation on Solana vs. Ethereum

The ability to create and manage tokens is a crucial aspect of any blockchain platform, and both Ethereum and Solana offer robust frameworks for token creation.

Ethereum’s ERC-20 and ERC-721 Standards

Ethereum’s dominance in token creation is largely attributed to its ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards. The ERC-20 standard has become the go-to protocol for fungible tokens, while ERC-721 introduced the concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These standards have been widely adopted, and many successful projects have been built on Ethereum using these protocols.

However, Ethereum’s token creation process can sometimes be hindered by its scalability issues. High gas fees and slower transaction times can affect the efficiency of token issuance and management.

Solana’s SPL Tokens

Solana’s token creation ecosystem is streamlined through its SPL (Solana Program Library) token standard. SPL tokens offer a more efficient alternative to Ethereum’s ERC standards. They benefit from Solana’s high throughput and low transaction costs, making token creation and transactions more cost-effective and faster.

Additionally, Solana’s SPL token framework supports a wide range of functionalities, from simple fungible tokens to complex assets. This flexibility allows developers to leverage Solana’s capabilities to build innovative token-based applications without worrying about prohibitive fees or slow transaction times.

The Ecosystem and Developer Experience

A thriving ecosystem and developer support are critical for the success of any blockchain platform. Ethereum has established a robust ecosystem with numerous tools, libraries, and a strong developer community. However, as the Ethereum network has grown, so have its complexities, which can pose challenges for new developers.

Solana, on the other hand, has made significant strides in building a developer-friendly ecosystem. Its focus on speed and efficiency extends to its developer tools and resources. Solana provides comprehensive documentation, developer support, and a growing suite of tools designed to simplify the development process. This user-centric approach has fostered an enthusiastic community of developers and entrepreneurs eager to build on the Solana blockchain.

Adoption and Real-World Use Cases

The real-world application of blockchain technology is a crucial factor in determining a platform’s long-term viability. Ethereum has seen extensive adoption across various industries, including finance, gaming, and art. Its established presence in the NFT space and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) sector speaks to its influence and reach.

Solana, while newer, has also made significant inroads into real-world applications. Its high performance and low costs have attracted a range of projects, from decentralized finance platforms to NFT marketplaces. Solana’s ability to handle high transaction volumes efficiently makes it an appealing choice for applications requiring rapid and cost-effective transaction processing.

Future Prospects

Also We done tons of research and found amazing platform, Solana Launcher, Here you can generate your own memecoins tokens on solana in just less than three seconds without any coding knowledge. Just visit that platform, If you have any daubt Feel Free to ask!!!

As we move further into 2024, Solana’s potential to lead the blockchain space continues to grow. Its innovative approach to scalability, cost efficiency, and token creation positions it as a compelling alternative to Ethereum. While Ethereum remains a powerful and influential platform, Solana’s advantages in transaction speed and costs, coupled with its developer-friendly ecosystem, make it a strong contender for the future of blockchain technology.

Both Ethereum and Solana are likely to continue evolving and influencing the blockchain landscape. However, Solana’s advancements and practical solutions to some of the inherent challenges faced by Ethereum give it a distinct edge as we look towards the future of decentralized applications and token creation.

In conclusion, Solana’s impressive scalability, cost efficiency, and developer-friendly environment have positioned it as a leading force in the blockchain space. For those looking to leverage blockchain technology in 2024 and beyond, Solana offers a promising alternative that addresses many of the limitations of its predecessors, paving the way for a new era of innovation and growth in the decentralized world.

[addressadvisors]

Why do all electric vehicle companies occupy Warehouse and Industrial space in Hosur?

With the electric buzz that has taken the nation by storm, the Government is planning to develop EV parks in the same line as SEZ and pharma parks across the country. The EV park aims to house majority original equipment manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and charging infrastructure developers at one place. With the vision to develop an entire ecosystem at one same place, the Government plans to offer plug-and-play business models to EV industries who will set up their units in these parks. One such park is located in north western districts of Tamil Nadu, just across the Karnataka border from Bengaluru, which houses a number of new-age EV companies, such as, Ather Energy, Ola Electronics, Simple Energy, among others.

The Rise of Hosur Several factors have helped the Hosur belt boom with several big-ticket projects and investments in the region. The cluster witnessed two substantially high profile investments in the last couple of years, with Tata electronics setting up a ₹5,000-crore mobile components plant at Udhanapalli, and Ola, a ₹2,500-crore electric vehicle (EV) plant at nearby Pochampally. These massive investments triggered the new EV boom in Hosur, with EV companies preferring Hosur for putting up their manufacturing units given a competent ancillary supplier network, proximity to Bengaluru where corporate offices of these companies are located, plus amicable and skilled labour force in two-wheeler, automotive, and electronics segment.

Well-oiled Supply-chain Network The region is equipped with a strong supply-chain ecosystem, making it easier for the companies to locally source components necessary for manufacturing and assembly. This, in turn, would help us in improving cost and time efficiency for the businesses. Moreover, companies are prompting tier-2 suppliers to move their base to Hosur area, to make smaller components in the close vicinity to further add to the efficiency.

Financial SOP and Easier Admittance EV companies in the Hosur area are upheld by EV policy contrived by Tamil Nadu Government. The policy is drafted to support EV companies with repayment of SGST for electric vehicle producing, capital appropriation for battery fabricating, business motivation as far as repayment of EPF for a time of one year, exclusion from instalment of Electricity Tax till 2025 and 100 percent stamp obligation exception.

Proximity to Bengaluru As most of the corporate offices are located in Bengaluru, the first preference of companies is to put up a plant within a comfortable driving distance from head office. As most of the senior employees and mid-level management sit at the head office, most of the companies want employees to be able to move between the office and the plant in an hour or so maximum. For instance, Ather Energy corporate office is located in Koramangala, which is 60 minutes away from the Ather Energy plant in Hosur. Moreover, the connection via Electronics city flyover helps cut through the traffic, which was initially the pain point of employees moving between Koramangala and Whitefield, where Ather Energy plant was located.

Availability of Land and Scalability Scope Given the area related bottleneck in Bengaluru, it is essential for EV companies or any other manufacturing units to look into areas nearby that can accommodate projected production capacity and growth plans. Given, land investments are not made again and again, it is always advisable for the companies to take up the area based on the most optimistic business projections. With the same thought, Ather Energy Hosur plant is spread across 300,000 Sq. Ft. with capacity to produce 1,10,000 scooters annually. Ather Energy envisions that the plant will serve as Ather Energy’s national manufacturing hub, catering to demand from across the country. Moreover, the plant is nearly 10 times the capacity of the Whitefield, Bengaluru, plant.

Hosur Historic Precedence Within the close proximity to Bengaluru, Hosur area has historically been a dominant space for two wheeler, automotive, and electronics business segments. Given that EV is primarily an amalgamation of these three segments, it is therefore a natural choice for EV companies to develop manufacturing units in the Hosur area. Moreover, with established and consistent access to power, land, and labour relevant to the industry, Hosur is the first choice of investment. Furthermore, a lot of fossil-fuelled automotive industries are also expanding into the EV segment. This has prompted an easy transition for existing automotive companies in the area. Also, as Tamil Nadu has over 800 engineering colleges, the state offers an intellectual and skilled labour pool ensuring steady stream for the workforce.

Amicable Labour and Supportive Workforce In the area, it is widely noted that the kind of labour unrest Bengaluru witnesses is not seen in the Tamil Nadu north western districts, which are barely an hour away from each other. The most plausible reason for this could be the existential automotive businesses in the Hosur area, unlike Bengaluru, where labourers are experiencing the automotive industry for the first time. In Hosur, both industry and labour have matured, and the companies have learnt that exploitative practices are rather counter-productive. Therefore, most of the EV companies find this a huge draw in making investment decisions in the Hosur area.

Hosur Meteoric rise and the way ahead Given the reasons above along with a network of highways facilitating logistics of movement and the welcoming policies set by the Tamil Nadu Government for automotive companies, Hosur belt is emerging as an industrial bowl for the electric vehicle manufacturers. Tata, Delta, Ola Mobility, Ather Energy, and Simple Energy are some of the big names in the electronics and electric vehicle (EV) sectors that have made Hosur and the surrounding districts their home in the past few years.

Along with growing awareness and spiralling petrol prices, the demand for EV is set to increase significantly in the coming years. As per the data, In January 2022, overall high-speed EV two-wheeler registrations rose to 27,563 units as compared to 24,725 units in December 2021. To match the rising demand, manufacturers have to up their capacity, for example Ather Energy recently commissioned its second facility in Hosur to increase its capacity from 1,20,000 units to 4,00,000 units. Ola Electric has set out to build the world’s largest EV facility with an initial annual capacity of two million units. Furthermore, TVS has also decided to invest over 1,100 crores in the area for the new EV plant. If the cards are played right, this belt could further emerge as a global player given the fast adoption of EVs, especially in the two-wheeler segment.

[raviolifabbrioli]

Accidentally In Love

It started out innocent. Then, like everything with Merlin and Arthur, it devolved. Arthur giving Merlin his old clothes became a habit out of necessity, seeing as when Merlin arrived in Camelot it was with very little, and as he was dirt poor, he had almost no clothes. Merlin apparently hadn’t thought that far ahead, which is just another thing about him that drives Arthur crazy. Then, over the years as the two grew closer, it became just a tradition. When Arthur grew tired of a certain shirt or pair of pants (i.e. when he outgrew them), he would give them to Merlin. Slowly over the years, their relationship had turned from a strained manservant/lord to best friends. After a particularly harrowing situation, Merlin was gifted Arthur’s mother’s sigil stamped into a small medallion that Merlin kept tied around his neck permanently, a great honour. It was after that moment that they became settled into their comfort with each other. Late nights were spent in Arthur’s private chambers, heads bent over various scrolls or maps, dishes of food left half finished and abandoned. It didn’t take long for Gaius and the other knights to notice the shift in the two. Whatever they personally thought, they kept amongst themselves, unsure what was happening and what would come of it. 

It was then that Merlin started being more liberal with his magic. He had picked up on things Arthur detested over the years of serving him; certain foods, the way some clothes felt on his skin, and how fast his hair grew due to the amount of time spent under the sun. So Merlin began to test out some old, and new, spells. Some food transmutation on days where the kitchen sent up something he knew Arthur would not eat and would only go to waste. Then he got bold, changing the texture of some articles of clothing. The biggest and most difficult spell, however, was keeping Arthur’s hair short. So far Merlin hadn’t been able to find out how to stop the growth of hair, since it was something that went directly against nature, but he had discovered a way to slow down the process, making the time between trims longer. It was beneficial to Merlin, really, all the changes he was making with his magic. It meant less work and headaches for him as Arthur’s manservant in the long run. 

At least, that’s how he justified it. 

Gaius took notice then, when Merlin made the change to Arthur’s hair. He was rightfully upset, stating that Merlin shouldn’t be using his magic on others, especially future kings, to start with, and that he shouldn’t be using his magic for such silly mundane things. It was the biggest fight Gaius and Merlin had ever had to date. Eventually, Merlin saw Gaius’s perspective, and undid the spell, instead taking up the role of cutting Arthur’s hair for him. Arthur claimed that Merlin cut his hair better than anyone, but Merlin was convinced this was just another task set to him as a punishment for his snarky comments. He had made some comments recently about the amount of clothes Arthur had been outgrowing recently, to which Arthur had put him into a headlock and ruffled his hair so furiously it had hurt his head. 

Merlin was thinking about all of this while standing off to the side during a meeting that Arthur was having with his father and some of the other lords of the country. Merlin had stepped foot into the council room and immediately tuned everything out. He was mostly only allowed to stand in on these meetings because he served Arthur directly, but also because he has proven his loyalty to the crown over the years he’s been in Camelot. Uther saw him as an idiot, but a loyal one, which is why he was so lax with Merlin and where he went around the castle. He knew that Merlin would sacrifice everything to save his son, something that was hard to come by for the royal family. Merlin happened to be the only servant in this meeting, which wasn’t unusual, but Uther sometimes had a servant with him too. Merlin paid it no mind, figuring Uther was in a pissy mood today. 

“King Alined, King Olaf, and their royal companies will be arriving within the fortnight, so be sure to prepare for an excess of nights, nobles and ladies-in-waiting,” Uther was saying. Merlin glanced over at the table, noticing the parchments had been rolled up and set aside, the men surrounding the table having apparently convened their meeting already. “Some others from neighbouring states and smaller provinces will be arriving too,” Uther seemed stressed, as if unsure how he would be able to host all these people. Merlin was unsure what the occasion was and wanted to ask, but knew that he was also only permitted during these meetings on the condition that he made no noise. 

Thankfully, Arthur seemed to be just as confused as Merlin. “What is the occasion for us hosting all these people again?” He was looking quizzically as his lord father, as if trying to remember what Uther had said in past meetings. 

Uther rolled his eyes, evidently fed up with his son. “Your wedding,” he said casually, as if it was the only obvious explanation. Merlin choked on his breath, drawing the attention of Uther and Arthur. The others from this meeting had slipped out at this point, making everything less formal. 

Uther just stared at Merlin like he had been personally offended by Merlin choking, until Merlin bowed his head, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty.” Merlin offered no explanation, knowing that had never helped him. Uther just turned his attention back to his son. 

“My wedding,” Arthur clarified. Uther nodded, gathering up some scrolls and beginning to walk towards the exit, done with the two boys. “Who am I marrying again, Father?” Arthur called after Uther. Merlin was a little surprised that Arthur didn’t even know this. 

“Merlin, you fool,” was all that Uther said, striding calmly from the room. The silence that filled the room after the door banged shut was deafening. Merlin and Arthur were to be wed within the fortnight? The two glanced at each other, before bursting out into laughter. So Uther had either gone insane, or finally gained a sense of humour. At the very least, life would be less monotonous in the castle. Merlin walked over to the table and gathered the scrolls to return to the library still smiling, and Arthur swung his arm around Merlin’s shoulder, still chuckling.

“Come along, dear husband. We have much to prepare.” 

Neither of them had any idea what was in store for the two. 

Over the next two weeks, Merlin started to notice things. Nothing too big, but big enough to notice. Some of the knights who were less familiar with him were nicer, more polite. They also tried to make small talk more than they did before. He also noticed more and more druids hanging just out of range when he went herb searching for Gaius in the woods. They didn’t press him, test their magic against his, but he could feel them hovering around the edge of his reach, just feeling; curious. The first time it happened Merlin almost jumped out of his skin ready to look around, but caught himself just in time because now he had two armed guards escort him on his chores for Gaius. That was new too. Merlin had asked Arthur about it late one night in the prince’s chambers, but it wasn’t him who assigned the guards. They both figured since the two guards kept silent the entire time that it was either Gaius’s or Uther’s doing. Merlin shook them off quite often, but they always turned up at some point or another, just accompanying him from chore to chore. 

Surprisingly, neither Merlin nor Arthur thought much about it. They figured because of how long Merlin had been working in close quarters to the royal family for so long, he had become a sort of protected servant, someone they didn’t want to lose, like Gwen. Someone they trusted and would hate to have to replace, which was a nice feeling for Merlin. Feeling like he was wanted, like it would suck without him. It was the same feeling he had gotten when Arthur had gifted him his mother’s sigil. Merlin reached up and rubbed it gently now, glancing to his sides at the guards walking with him. 

The weirdest thing, however, was how some of Merlin’s friends had started to treat him. Gwen teased him much more about Arthur, after Merlin had told her about the incident in the meeting room, referring to Arthur as “his husband”, or his “dear beloved”. At first Merlin had bristled at the terms, not liking it, but then he realised Gwen was just teasing him, and he started to join in. Sometimes the knights they passed in the halls would overhear and shoot odd looks at them, but Merlin hardly paid any attention to odd looks he got from knights anymore. 

Soon enough, all of the guests for the mysterious event had arrived, and Merlin was busy helping to prepare for their stay. The days passed in a blur of weird looks and chores, so many chores. Some nights Merlin found himself falling asleep in Arthur’s room at the table they spent so long at, and some mornings Merlin found himself waking up in his bed when he didn’t remember walking there. He paid it no mind, knowing that sometimes his magic looked after him, and carried on with preparations for the banquet that was to be held on the first night of the new moon. 

On the day of the banquet, the two guards that had been tailing Merlin the past two weeks arrived at Gaius’s door with summons from the king himself. Merlin’s brow had furrowed at the order, but he did what he was told, not wanting to end up being pelted with rotting food today of all days. Arthur would kill him if he showed up to dinner stinking again. When he arrived in the throne room, it was to see Arthur, Uther, and a man Merlin hadn’t expected to see: Geoffrey of Monmouth. 

“Your Majesty?” Merlin questioned before he was able to bite his tongue. He was unsure what was about to happen, thinking maybe he and Arthur would be called away to fetch an ancient and rare scroll for the Royal Librarian, which would totally suck. 

Uther looked him up and down with a pinched look on his face, as if Merlin’s clothes were covered in horse dung, but waved him forward nonetheless. “Merlin, this is Geoffrey of Monmouth, aw I’m sure you’re well aware. He will be performing today’s ceremony.” Merlin’s feet had carried him over to stand next to Arthur, who seemed just as confused as he was, if the way his shoulders were tensed was anything to go off. Arthur didn’t like not knowing what was happening, it made him nervous, which made him sink back into his training. Hence the tense shoulders. 

“Merlin is here now, Father, so could you please tell me what’s going on now?” Arthur’s voice was tight, and Merlin wondered briefly how long the three of them had been waiting for him. And why Uther had decided to keep this from his son. 

“I thought I had made it abundantly clear, son.” Uther was starting to lose his patience, and as Merlin took a step back out of habit Arthur took a step in front of him, as if to shield Merlin from his father. Merlin wondered when Arthur had become so protective. “You will be marrying Merlin today, it’s been long enough since you two became engaged.” At this, the two paused to take in their king’s words. Merlin wanted to laugh in Uther’s face, but feared what his reaction might be so he bit it down. 

Arthur was apparently fearless because he huffed in amusement, thinking it another joke, but Uther’s face remained as unreadable as ever. “Engaged, Father?” Yes, because that was the first thing that needed to be said. Not ‘we’re not actually engaged, Father,’ because that’s less important of a thing to clear up. 

“You gave Merlin your mother’s sigil,” Uther seemed to be speaking through his teeth, as if addressing a child who just was not following. Which, Merlin was starting to feel a bit like. “Yes?” Arthur nodded, knowing not to interrupt his father now. “Then I don’t see what the issue is. I have already approved. Although it would have been nice for you to marry for an alliance, your engagement to Merlin seems to have brought enough peace throughout the land. Probably out of confusion,” Uther seemed to be muttering to himself now, “but alas, who am I to stop my only son from marrying the one he loves” Uther turned to face Geoffrey of Monmouth now. “Geoffrey, now, if you would please.” 

And so that’s how Merlin and Arthur ended up holding hands in front of the old librarian and King Uther Pendragon, being married. Merlin was in too much shock to really process what was happening, his mind picking out moments over the last two weeks to supply as evidence that he should have known that Uther doesn’t make jokes. Merlin was still in a stupor as Geoffrey of Monmouth came to and end of the ceremony, pronouncing them man and husband, commanding them to kiss. Merlin barely registered Arthur pressing their mouths together, barely felt himself be guided from the throne room and into a seat at the banquet, and heard a muffled roar of congratulations from guests followed by lively chatter and dishware clinking. 

Merlin only tuned back in when he and Arthur had been safely deposited back at Arthur’s bedchambers. Their bedchambers. Because they were married now. Merlin turned to look at Arthur, releasing that Arthur had already been looking at him with the same unreadable expression his father usually wore. 

“What,” Merlin stressed. Arthur’s face was still unreadable. Merlin wanted to scream. “The hell was that.” It was the one and only time Merlin had seriously given Arthur an order, which seemed to register with Arthur. He pulled Merlin over to the table, where they sat every night to eat dinner and pour over parchment, and stared at Merlin. They sat, Arthur gracefully and Merlin like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Merlin was still waiting for an answer. 

“Have you really no idea what’s been going on?” Merlin felt like he should take that as an insult, but he was so deeply confused that he couldn’t bring himself to feel angry. He shook his head. “Merlin,” Arthur said his name with a sigh, like he was almost disappointed. Merlin felt angry at that. 

“It’s not like I’ve had much time,” Merlin practically exploded. Everything that had happened recently just came to the top and flooded out. “I’ve been followed around by armed guards for the last two weeks, everyone’s been staring at me like I’ve grown a second head, which is a different type of the strange looks I get, Gwen won’t stop teasing me about you, and now we’re married! Which, by the way,” Merlin took in a deep breath, completely steamrolling whatever Arthur had been about to say. “You seem to be completely fine with, for some reason.”

In the silence that followed, all that could be heard was Merlin’s heavy breathing. Then, Arthur laughed. It wasn’t a malicious laugh, it was one of genuine joy, which did funny things to Merlin’s heart, much to his confusion. At Merlin’s stunned reaction Arthur started to sober up, realising he really had no idea. 

“Merlin, you idiot,” Arthur said in a strained voice. “I’ve been courting you. I just didn’t think Father would actually wed us,” he muttered, more to himself. 

Oh.

“Since when?” Merlin asked, almost indignantly. 

Arthur laughed. “Since I gave you that necklace you haven’t taken off.” Merlin’s hand instantly came up to rub at the medallion, the metal soft and smooth from how much he had rubbed it since it was tied around his neck. Arthur’s eyes traced his movement and Merlin realised a few things at once. 

One: Arthur had been courting him. The clothes and the sigil, the late nights in Arthur’s, their, room. The sudden increase in physical affection, although in the form of roughhousing. 

Two: That’s why he had been getting all the odd looks. Because he was the Crown Prince’s fiance, and had been going about as if he was still a servant. 

And three: He was completely, irrevocably, in love with this clotpole of a prince. 

Without giving himself much more time to think about it, he launched himself at Arthur and kissed him soundly, letting his full body weight fall into his prince’s arms, knowing he could take it. Arthur moaned slightly and wrapped his arms around Merlin, moving the magician’s legs to fall on either side of Arthur’s hips, so Merlin was straddling him. They sat there for a while, familiarising themselves with each other’s mouths, tracing hidden veins across necks and shoulders, leaving possessive marks on the other’s skin. 

Eventually they pulled away, grinning softly at each other. 

“Let’s go to bed, husband,” Arthur said softly, brushing a lock of hair from Merlin’s face. Merlin kissed Arthur softly. 

“Let’s,” Merlin smiled. “Husband.”

[fruit-salad-ship]

With the fae au I can just see peach trying to make sure plum doesn’t get herself killed by messing with the other local fae

little plum explores the woods, finding an old well overgrown and hidden, peering inside, the bottom seems endless, even dropping a rock in there, she heard no sign of the ground below. That rock however fell into a devious fae's domain, awaking it.

Peach is tending a patch of open plain, grasses and budding wildflower, giving it some energy to keep up with the springtime chills, hearing rushed footsteps, a deer bolts past her through the long grass, some rabbits past her feet, before she hears a human, panting, clearly fleeing something, not yet in view but coming in pretty fast. She sees the human break the tree line, recognising it as Plum, ragged as she stumbles a little. She falls but doesnt hit the ground, instead landing in a warm embrace, the sheer comfort of it enough to allow her to ignore the pain in her ankle for a moment.

She is picked up, one arm wrapping under her with ease, able to put her own little arms around the neck of this fae creature, bury her head in the smell of spring, of fresh woodland and gentle floral notes. She was so scared, but the presence of this imposing woman settles her nerves a little as she peers around to the trees where she was persued from, hardly daring to leave the skin contact of her protector, heart still pounding.

Peach is quietly furious, seeing the decay creeping in under her humans skin, greyish tones and purple bruising quickly setting into the girls leg, creeping up from the ankle where she was no doubt grabbed once, even just a gentle touch woudl cause this. It's tell tale effects are evidence of a very old creature she banished to the well many years ago. She should have killed it instead of showing mercy, kicks herself for that weakness seeing the tiny human huddled against her in a lot of pain and distress.

At the tree line she sees it, not daring to step out into the light even when she calls it by name, it has become obstinant over the years, a form of ooze and rot, not quite liquid, not quite solid, she can smell it a mile off, like sulfer and decaying meat. Her free arm extends, a staff of twisted wood rising from the ground as if produced from a portal of light beneath her open palm. She takes it, stamps it's familiar weight once into the earth, a shockwave of energy pushing whatever chased her companion back into the forests depths, for now, keeping it at bay. The radiating light accelerates the plant growth, brambles and wild roses becoming impossible hurdles to pass through, barbed and razor sharp, giving the pair a chance to retreat for now with gentle calm strides away. Over her shoulder Plum sees the other fae attempt to advance but its oozing arm is repelled by something otherworldly, bright bursts of light each time it so much as pricks itself on the thorns. It eyes her, one eye of many, dozens. She recoils, burrying her head into the neck of her protector, arms tight around her neck.

Peach takes plum to a healing pool hidden deep in her den, a place with a very calm energy, putting her in the waters. The rot is encroaching past the knee now, a comlpicated and volatile power, but not one she's never seen. Tending the damage takes a lot out of her, her foe has become stronger, all those years underground have cultivated a potent poison, the process takes a lot of her energy.

Grey returns from his mountain domain at the end of the day, seeing the low light filtering in on the slumped form of his beloved by the pools, rushing to her side, one of her arms submerged in the waters with the little human who'd wandered into their lives. Plum is in some sort of sleep state, be seems fine, but Grey knows how this process works, and looks over his partner, her body shivering, a cold sweat all over. He discovers one leg riddled with a vicious rot, something he's not seen for a long time. His hand is taken by hers alerting him to her being ok, refusing to remove her other arm from the pool, still filtering the fae damage form their little human. She doesnt have to say anything, he knows her old foe has returned once again, a dangerous creature for sure. His worry is unfathomable, but she assures him she'll be alright, she just needs some time.

Plum eventually is cleared of any issue, Grey removing her from the pool, placing her by a little fireplace, bundled up in furs and cottons. She comes around a few hours later, offered some odd tasting hot drink, but it does make her feel a lot better. They sit together in the warm glow, both unable to take their eyes off Peach, who's sunk herself into the same pool, and hasnt moved for a long time. If Plum didnt know any better she'd say the womans not even breathing, mostly submerged, just her closed eyes above the surface, unmoving. Grey assures her she'll be ok, Peach is tough, looks elegant sure but dont let that fool you.

There Peach stays for a couple days, recovering the energy spent healing the human, and also recovering from the damage she syphoned from her. Eventually, she stirrs, the perfectly still waters she stayed in shift, catching the humans attention. Plum has hardly left her side, both from fear of that creature she ran into, and worry for the woman who saved her. With Grey out in his mountain domain, she's the one to pass her some clothes, noticing the discoulouration on the womans leg, same place hers was hurt. Peach explains that fae energy cant be removed, it's like kinetic energy, it has to go somewhere, and eventually it'll either kill its host or die out. In this case, it died out. What poisons are in her, she's greatful for. This time dealing with them was also spent becoming immune to their effects, synthesising an antidote in her body. Adapting.

They sit and she explains that this fae who caused the issue is tricky, its effects linger, and now its touched Plum, it will hunt her. The little human crawls into peach's lap, dwarfed, leaning into her chest to hug her tightly. There were no words for a long while, she needed comfort, and was worrying over having to see that thing again, it was so fast and terrifying. The bigger woman held her close, a soothing lavender scent filling the space, trying to calm her company down, one large hand stoking her hair gently.

She takes that day off, Grey comes home to her sitting comfortably in her chair by the fire, some woodland creatures curled up around the space, Plum fast asleep in her lap as she consults some old tombs and ancient texts. He kisses her cheek, perching close. He had missed her so, and worried terribly for her, devoted and doting as ever. The pair catch up, he holds her hand as they talk in low tones so as to not disturb the human, devising a plan to combat the return of this ancient fey creature who thretens the woodland now. Even now, peach feels it spreading its poison through her forests.

The next day at sunrise the forest fae is free to wander back into her domain, recovered and ready. There is evidence all over of this awful beasts work, patches of ground where nothing will grow without her help. She spends a long time collecting samples, healing the damage, its tiring but at least healing plants and ground is easier than living creatures.

Plum stays with her, close by trying to help, though she's quite aware that it's more to keep her busy than to actually aid in any way. She didnt mean to wake this thing up, she had no idea what was down the well... her guilt is evident, the usual cocky attitude subdued as she potters around. Humans are curious things, so Peach cannot be angry about this, there was no way of knowing what was down there, she shoudl have told her. Its Peach's fault in her mind, she should have ended that pitiful creature instead of banish it. Now she's got to fight the thing once more, at least however, this human is like a light to a moth, it will return for her, and this time she'll be ready.

((that fight would be pretty epic...))

[theflashdriver]

A Collection of Mondays: Chapter 1 (A Silvaze Office AU Fanfic)

The growth of the Sol Shipping Company was proving to be a double edged sabre. While the success of the business could not be denied, with shareholder and customer satisfaction alike being the highest ever recorded, it had led to countless days spent as today's would be. Sat before a computer in her office, reading through an endless screed of commissions, rubber stamping order after order and signing file after file.

Blaze the cat, chief executive officer of the Sol Shipping Company, didn't feel she had any right to complain about her position. Despite being born in the prime position to inherit the centuries old corporation, she had insisted on starting from the bottom. As a teenager she'd overseen shipments directly, even joining cargo for the journey on occasion, before gradually transitioning to a client outreach role, and then taking on more legal responsibilities. Not only was she born to be here, she'd put herself here.

How long ago would that have been now, five years? From the day she'd taken the company's reigns, planning those first meetings with the board and key clientele, her whole life had changed. Early mornings like this, especially Mondays like today, were the few moments of calm she had. She arrived to the office early specifically for that reason, in order to have some peace to plan for herself before she was swept up in the inevitable organised chaos that was running the business.

All of her interactions were itemised and timetabled; every outing and visit ran according to schedule. Her life was not unlike the shipping of goods she oversaw, it was a parallel she'd mentioned in speeches perhaps once too often. Every act had it's allotted start and end, spontaneous delays (or occurrences period) were something to be avoided lest they create strife elsewhere, and she spent the vast majority of her time in the box that was her office.

A knock at the door broke her the overthinking this especially dull morning had brought to manifest. Her gaze darted to the small clock at the corner of her computer screen, confirming it only to be eighteen minutes to nine. Gardon, still stuck in the rut of formality, another of the predictable aspect of her current position. Yes, the older koala who was her personal assistant, a man who had known her since she could scarcely walk, still continued to knock on the door even in these early hours when surely there was nothing he could be interrupting. He'd enter on her call, make what stilted small talk he could manage, then back out like clockwork.

"The door's unlocked," She informed him, as she had countless times before, "Enter."

Blaze turned back to her screen, looking to busy herself in an email string regarding a precious archeological shipment bound for Spagonia University which had been stalled by a debate regarding true ownership. In truth, it wasn't a matter that concerned her beyond the delay but the gossip surrounding the occurrence was interesting to say the least. Both sides were threatening to go public, having seemingly forgotten that she had been linked in to all of their correspondence. She just had to remain aware of the situation in case-

"Sorry, you are Blaze, aren't you? I don't think I've ever been this high in the building before," An unfamiliar, rather close, voice asked.

Blaze blinked, turning from her computer only to find a hedgehog stood before her rather than a Koala. A set of yellow eyes were peering down at her, much too bright for a morning like this. On top of a mop of overgrown white quills sat a blue cap, emblazoned with the phoenix that was the company logo. A short sleeved blue shirt hung unbuttoned over his shoulder; making the placement of a tie around his neck stand out against a blatant pillow of chest fur.

Her brows furrowed as her attention lowered to what she'd imagined was the trolly Gardon often brought tea in upon, only to find a plastic cart stuffed full of letters and packages. Though worn in a somewhat messy style, he was dressed in the outfit of their delivery workers... but his cart was just from the mail room. Didn't he know he could just wear a normal suit and tie? Or, at least, to tidy himself up before coming face to face with the head of the company?

It wasn't hard to make the cat feel overdressed, she felt she was garbed more like a parody of a titan of industry than a true one, but keeping up appearances was a necessity. When confronted with this postman's candour, despite his low station, her purple slit-cut dress, fine black undershirt and fluffy white boa felt like a bit much. That wasn't even mentioning the red gemstones that adorned the dress or the accessory fan with its flame design set on her desk.

"I," Blaze thought to the signs on both the door and her very desk, bearing her name, not to mention the fact that this was her company, "Am Blaze, yes?"

"Ah, great! Had to be a hundred percent certain, didn't want to give your post to the wrong person. I couldn't really figure out where your office was? Your mail is all just addressed to you to be sent to the building, there's no room number on it or anything," He poked a thumb over his shoulder, "The guy at the desk outside said I could just leave all this with him, but I decided it was safer to make sure it all gets to you."

Had he never seen her face? Blaze supposed the company was big enough that such a thing was possible? After all, it wasn't as though she recognised half of the people she encountered in the corridors... but she was the head of the company? It seemed a difficult thing to have missed.

"I... suppose that's true," Blaze felt like her brain was misfiring; those from the mail room always leave her deliveries with Gardon, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we have met?"

"Oh, yes, I'm Silver. I just started here just last week," He quickly introduced himself, "I work in the mail room, as you can maybe tell."

"I see," Blaze muttered.

That explained it, he was completely new. The mail staff had surely added her deliveries to his rota because it was the furtherest to travel with the most parcels. That thought in itself didn't help with the nagging truth that her presence intimidated those lower in the company. Perhaps that was why they'd always left her mail with Gardon? Did that make this Silver brave, or foolish?

"There are a few things you're meant to sign for? I guess that guy was going to give them to you later..." He explained, drawing a clipboard from the cart, "If you're busy I could come back for them-

Having been caught in her stupor, the CEO shook her head and waved him to proceed, "No, I'll deal with this now."

She took the board from him and began to tick and sign her way through the stack of papers. By the time she'd reached the third page however, a bizarre hum and flash of cyan light stole away her attention. Blaze looked out from behind the clipboard only to find the hedgehog's hands were glowing. As he rummaged through the great plastic bin various letters, contract-filled tubes and parcels had risen to hang in the air above him.

So very casually, he was riffling through to find the goods addressed to her before setting them in the air as casually as one might put them on a shelf. Those with powers existed throughout the company, but it was so very rare that they aided with a person's role so obviously. Her own pyrokinesis was more a hinderance and deterrent than-

"Oh, wow," Her view flickered down to the power's caster, only to find him looking beyond her, "You really have a great view up here, it's incredible..."

The hedgehog so casually stopped his searching to rise and wander through the hovering mail. Without so much as blinking, let alone asking her permission, he strode up to and past her chair to stare out the great glass window that was to its back. She tried to summon the will to chastise his lack of discretion, but somehow could not conjure the will to do so.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Blaze murmured, continuing to sign the documents he'd presented.

That was, until he again scattered her thoughts, "Why does your desk face away from it?"

The obvious answer was that her desk faced the door because that way she could greet those who joined her for meetings directly, that she would always see them coming. In reality though, with every interaction she'd had in the past five years being according to a set out schedule (well, every interaction except for the one she was having now), there was no reason she had to see who was entering to visit her. She always knew who was coming and when and exactly what they wanted from her. What was the point in having that window, if not to look through it? It let light in yes, but her own shadow blocked it while she wrote.

"The mail room is in the basement, it's like a totally different world up here," The comment pushed her to turn, not to the window but the hedgehog staring out of it, "It's just a shame these windows don't open, I guess it'd be too windy?"

Blaze knew it was still early, the whole room had been lightly tinted orange, but his white fur seemed to catch the sunrise in a manner her own never had. While his blue shirt and hat maintained its colour, the hedgehog's fur had been dyed by the morning sky. He was like a cloud, tinted by the warm hue of the morning light. Despite what he'd said, it was almost as if he belonged here more than she did. How had this intruding mailman caught her so completely off guard and slipped beneath her armour of professional stoicism?!

"It surely would be," Was all the pyrokinetic could manage to say.

A second knock at the door stole back Blaze's attention; this time the intrusion would be Gardon with the tea... wouldn't it?

"Enter," She called aloud as Silver scrambled back toward his trolly.

"Good morning Ma'am," Sure enough, Gardon and his tea trolly had arrived, "I do apologise, he was quite insistent that the post was for you."

"He's not incorrect," Was she defending his nonsense now too?! "Good morning Gardon, I'll have the usual. Just tea, no sugar."

As the koala went to pour, the cat attempted to once again busy herself with her emails only to catch a flash of bluish energy again out of the corner of her eye. While she scrolled, trying to focus on the emails preset today rolling into her inbox and pouring out of her outbox. No surprises, nothing she hadn't anticipated or calculated for. Unlike the hedgehog psychically arranging parcel Jenga on her desk, trying to take up as little space as possible despite the innumerable deliveries he'd plainly brought for her.

"I believe your first video conference is scheduled for nine fifteen," The arrival of a cup and saucer before her again stole the cat's attention, "Do you require anything else from me, Ma'am?"

"No Gardon, thank you," She responded, turning to type an email regarding heavy machinery transportation, "I have a slot for our weekly briefing at quarter to eleven, that should slot into your timetable for today."

"Very well, Ma'am," He gave a half bow, retaking the handles of his cart, "Have a pleasant day."

Calm lingered in the air following Gardon's exit, Blaze managed to finish the email and return to pushing through his clipboard without looking up to him again. Of course, by the time she did look up, a bulky great wall of brown and white cardboard that now obscured him. That was, until she heard a fresh buzzing whir. The hedgehog had opted to float over the stack of packages he'd created, rather than simply walk three steps left or right of it.

"Should I call you Ma'am too?" He asked from above, almost looming over.

"No," She'd said that much too quickly, "Just Blaze is fine," Why was her brow so hot all of a sudden? "If you'll excuse me, I have work to attend to."

"Oh, right, yes, I do too," He seemed to catch himself, taking the clipboard as she held it out to him, "Well, I'll probably see you again soon Blaze. I hope you have a good day!"

As he dropped down, the sound and light fading, the feline slumped deeper in her chair. Why had she permitted this? She should have had him leave the mail by the door to be sorted when a quiet moment arose, not allowed him to whittle away who knows how long not only searching her out but speaking with her so casually! If he truly was as new to the company as he claimed, then shouldn't he have been at his most attentive? Most professional?

Why didn't she mind? Any rational boss would at least be perturbed at the time waisted; if meetings dragged on and risked interrupting others she'd been know to warn once and then leave. Her time was precious. Had he truly caught her that off guard? Was she really so vulnerable to having her schedule disrupted? Surprises breaking her timetable were always truly frustrating, what made him an exception? The only aggravating thing about his barging in was that she didn't understand why it hadn't prompted her to cooly eject him. She had been reflecting on the constraining nature of her role just before he'd arrived; she wasn't foolish enough to take that as some sort of sign, but perhaps it explained why she'd been so accepting of his casual breaching of tact?

He'd said he'd come again; well of course he would, to deliver her mail. Would Gardon put his foot down now that the koala had spied the hedgehog lingering? Did she want him to block the psychic's entry?

She rose to lean out from behind the obstructing parcels, "I hope-

He was already gone. She was alone again. Quiet had once again claimed the room.

Blaze looked over the backrest of her chair, staring out at the city skyline tinted orange by the sunrise. Building after building, cast in the glowing orange on the horizon. Theirs was one of the tallest buildings in Southern City and so the sun was visible cresting over those that were shorter. The world was still in its awakening state, cars crawled like ants through the intersections bellow and some were beginning to move in the nearby office buildings. All was basking in that wondrous orange light of a late Autumn morning...

Just how many mornings had she sat with that glowing view behind her, not deeming it worth so much as a glance?

[agentsquirrelsgotrobots]

Part 2 of The Gods have found us (Megatron help us all.)

Repost, because I didn't know how Tumblr worked the first time I posted this.

Cody woke up and dug himself out of the towel, looking around at his new surroundings. He shrugged off his coat and pants, taking off the t-shirt and undershirt. He put the t-shirt back on, and found that his other clothes, along with some rags and the bag that he had been offered earlier, had been used to stuff the old datapad cover that made up the makeshift sleeping pad underneath him.

The tank was about the size of the tray, maybe a bit smaller. The toilet was in one corner, and there was a shade that reminded him of the little hides you can buy for some reptiles above his head, pushed flat against the wall with a little rounded knob that lowered it down, casting the area in shadow and making it dark enough that he could sleep even with the lights on. Cody heard Tarn chuckle, the sound making him giddy. He reached into the tank and pulled a little ring on the top of the shade, and Cody watched the knob rotate as the shade was pulled up.

"Oh, don't say you are sleepy yet? The last time you were out for twelve hours. That's no fun. How about you eat something? You haven't had much more than water and a swallow or two of the cleanser."

Cody heard a bell ring, and a packaged bar of… something came out of a dispenser. It was in a language he didn't understand. He opened the orange package, and the bell rang again. A packet with one clear side, showing that it was filled with a white paste with a symbol Cody recognized as a cybertronian medical emblem, was stamped on the corner. The bar looked like a blocky granola bar, with what looked like bits of cured meat and grain embedded into it. He opened the packet too, the sweet artificial medicine smell making him wrinkle his nose.

He looked up at Tarn, who was watching him intently. He knew that one way or another, he would end up eating both packages. Whether it was by force or not was up to him.

He popped the corner of the clear packet and stuck it in his mouth, expecting it to taste horrible. Surprisingly, it tasted a bit like cheap, too sugary frosting. He set the packet aside to finish with some water and bit into the bar. It tasted like beef jerky and cheap trail mix without the candy. Willing to try something, Cody spread a little bit of the paste on the bar. Yep, that was good. He knew it would get old quickly, but at least he wouldn't bechoking down the alien equivalent of dog kibble. He moved away from the dispensers and to the water spout, washing down the rest of the food with it.

Tarn directed him to throw the garbage into the waste disposal as if he had used it normally. Feeling tired, he turned the shade back over his bed and fell asleep to the sounds of Nickel and Tarn talking in a language he didn't understand.

Tarn had to hide his amusement as Cody discovered that Nickel had sweetened the mix of dietary supplements and growth blockers she had added to a flavorless edible paste. The individually wrapped treats, meant for much bigger omnivorous pets, were the perfect size and calorie content to be the base of Cody's diet. Just enough for his minimal activity level and daily needs while also keeping him pleasantly full.

"When did Swindle say he would be stopping by to make the deal?" Nickel said, rummaging through her storage closet. "We are getting low on some things, and if you are serious about keeping the little monkey in its organic state, we will need more than a couple weeks' worth of supplies. I am talking about buying multiple years' worth in advance if we are serious about it. Cyber formation of an organic organism is not an exact science, and I am not entirely sure about how reliant on energon he will be after it's complete.

"A few weeks, in earth rotations, of course. Worst case scenario, I make a vehicon use an online grocery shopping service, and you have to defrost a few meals in the heat scanner."

He left, and Nickel shut down the medbay for the night and curled up on one of the medical beds.

The next morning, Tarn woke up to a call from Megatron. He answered it, willing himself to act a lot more awake than he actually was.

"Tarn, I have wonderful news. We captured the helicopter and the female human alive, and the fire truck is on borrowed time, seen ranting and raving while shooting at anything that moves. Knockout tells me that the kid likely caused his parental coding to go haywire and caused him to lash out when he was suddenly taken away. The same could be said about the other human pets and their guardians. The helicopter is timid and very submissive, and the female is rowdy but is easily reasoned with. The plans have changed, and I don't intend on reuniting the two humans. Do with the kid as you will, but procure four vials of liquid cyber metal for me. The human's short lifespan is a weakness I can't afford, not until the helicopter has been fully indoctrinated. As soon as supplies are secured, I want your ship out of range of earth for as long as the human stays alive."

"Understood. Are their plans to capture and cyber form the human that learned cybex? I know Soundwave had an interest in him."

"Unfortunately, yes. My third in command is quite insistent on taking it with us."

"So four vials of cyber metal, along with space stable supplies for all of them? I assume you will be partially covering the cost?"

"Yes, but any materials sourced for the human in your possession is out of your funds. The drugs you use to arrest the human's natural aging process are expensive."

"Affirmative. I will amend the order with Swindle at the soonest convenience." Megatron ended the call, and Tarn called Swindle and increased the order, informing him that the Decepticons will be footing the bill for the cyber metal, so be generous with his pricing. Swindle agreed, hearing the threat in his voice. No price gouging or convenience fees would be tolerated this time.

As directed, Tarn had the ship duck behind Saturn to make the deal.

Swindle's ship docked with Tarn's, and he had his workers load up the decepticon purchased supplies while he haggled the price of the goods bought with Tesarus's funds. As much as he owed Tarn way more than the contents of his savings account, Tarn still didn't want to set a precedent.

"Yeah, you got a deal." Swindle said, barely tamping down the irritation in his voice as he was forced to sell four vials of cyber matter, two water tanks with filtering attachments, and two decades worth of organic pet treats for much lower margins than he would have liked. Well, time to see if he can upsell a little bit. "I also have a few options for if the organic you're buying these supplies for gets a bit too rowdy. Non addictive, fairly mild, and doesn't have the rather … smelly drawbacks of some of the more conventional products. Just keeps them nice and cuddly, with an entertaining high that wears off quickly and transitions to nice, drowsy, affectionate organic that will stay still for medical exams, stay calm around loud noises, and makes them all around easier to handle."

"Appreciate the offer, but he has warmed up beautifully to the ship. I have seen what high humans do, and I do not find it entertaining to see its intelligence drop to nothing but its bare instincts. Besides, it's too young. Mind altering substances can curb its remarkable brain function."

"Oh? Do tell? Do you think it might be an outlier of its own species?"

"Perhaps. It caught Lord Megatron's attention by effortlessly charming and commanding bots many times its size without a single threat or controlling device." Tarn said, just a hit of his Voice leaking into his speech, threatening death if Swindle got any ideas on who owned Cody. Cody was Tarn's, in every way he wanted to own him, until he decided that he wasn't. He doubted he would get bored of such an interesting creature, especially once the cyber-forming process starts and he gets to watch Cody change.

He heard rumors about how cuddly and malleable the cyber forming process makes the affected organic. How pure and strong the spark bond is, how vulnerable it makes it as it dampens the victim's memories but keeps its personality and core traits whole and untouched.

Tarn had already made the arrangements with Nickel to open up the hold that was installed to secure Cody against the outer walls of his spark chamber during his retrieval. As it stood, the space was too small to be useful while out on the hunt, with no way for Cody to see outside. He would have to acclimatize Cody to the glory of the List and to worship Megatron slowly, in order to make sure he became a true believer, not just a scared pet.

The first step was to get a strong spark bond established after the cyber formation, in order for Tarn to use it to sooth and prime Cody to associate the noises of the hunts with good things, like attention and the gentle, warm embrace of a parent bond.

Swindle's men finished unloading the supplies and loaded themselves back onto the merchant ship, Swindle following behind them.

Tarn closed the cargo bay's inner door before Swindle's ship detached from the dock and flew off.

Tarn looked through the supplies that were dropped off, splitting up what was for Cody and what was going to the Nemesis. The two orders had been separated by the intended location as usual, but Tarn still liked to snoop sometimes. He set aside two boxes of a different flavor of the treats he had been feeding Cody, this one in a light pink box instead of an orange one, certain that he could introduce them to him as a reward for cooperating with Tarn.

He put an emergency bottle of oxygen in his subspace, knowing that even if Cody never needed it before he was cyber-formed, it would make a good makeshift grenade. He picked up the boxes and opened the door to leave, ordering Vos and Helex to put away the stuff meant for the Peaceful Tyranny as he walked to the medbay.

He set down the boxes of food and went over to the tank. Cody was laying under the sun lamp, enjoying the warmth on his skin, pretending that he was still on Griffin Rock. Nickel thought he looked pale, and Cody was curious about what the skinny light bulb mounted on a swivel join on one side of the tank was. She turned it on when he asked about it, setting a twenty minute timer so he didn't burn.

Those delusions were shattered when Tarn turned off the lamp, swore in cybex when he melted his paint off one finger on the hot bulb, then yelled at Nickel when she made him treat and cool his hand down before picking up Cody.

Cody scrambled to stand up, getting a drink of water before standing out in the open for when Tarn eventually picked him up. He heard a hiss and a grunt as Nickel cooled off Tarn's hand and a grinder as she removed the melted paint. He swore again when Nickel activated the berth restraints, pulling him flat against the table, and, by the sounds of it, started to do something painful to his chest.

Finally, after Nickel finished up and cooled his hand again, Tarn scooped up Cody and held him against his chest. Cody squirmed a bit but got into a more comfortable position on his back and stayed still, not knowing what Tarn intended to do.

Tarn opened the middle section of his chest plate, and the pocket expanded to be a rather cozy size. Cody guessed that was what Nickel was doing when she forced him onto the table.

He showed it to the human, pointing out the little vid screen he had installed on the inside of the space, wirelessly connected to multiple cameras and microphones he could stick in the gaps of his plating, along with access to some simple children's programming to decompress after a successful hunt.

After showing him how to turn the screen off and on and what each button did, he closed his chest back up and decided to get some cuddles in. What's the point of kidnapping an adorably soft organic if you aren't going to pet it?

Remembering the few times he had seen an organic with its young, he put Cody against his chest, making sure that his arms and legs weren't being squished by his body. He hummed happily as the youngling's instincts took over and curled up its body, his knees covering up his vulnerable organs while his hands reached up to be by his face. His delicate spine was just barely visible through his skin, and the big, oversized garment he had worn without fail for days sagged off his back. Tarn took a breath, increased the temperature of his hands a little above human room temperature, and tried something. He rubbed circles into Cody's upper back, encouraged by the way his muscles relaxed farther than he had ever before.

Tarn's treatment of Cody reminded himself of the rare times when his siblings and dad were out of the house or upstairs and Heatwave had gently plucked him from the couch or wherever he had sat down with a few toys or a game and held him in one of his hands, sometimes gently rubbing or tapping his back, as if he was a stubborn infant refusing a nap.

The first couple times, he had struggled, but it was one of those rare times that none of his family was in the house but him. Heatwave just did something to warm up his hands and held him until Cody hit that temperature where he felt sleepy and content, even despite the fact he hadn't taken regular afternoon naps since he was six and was very uncomfortable pressed against the hard glass of Heatwave's chest. He then set Cody back on the red couch, his parental coding satisfied.As time wore on and Chief got a bit more comfortable with having the bots babysit and touch Cody, Heatwave picked him up more often, sometimes shifting around a few panels in the back of his cab and letting Cody nap to the sound of his spark beat, careful to never let the light of his spark peak through. That wasn't his place, and he wasn't sure that humans could bond platonically anyway, being organic.

He was almost found out a few times, when Cody fell asleep in his cab after a mission, or relaxed a little too fast reflexively into his hands the few times he had picked him up to get him out of harm's way. The other bots covered for him that time, trusting that he would never do anything inappropriate to the little human.

Cody didn't say anything either, not knowing if his family would even believe him. He knew Heatwave had left a child behind on Cybertron, and Heatwave didn't hurt him or touch him anywhere he wasn't supposed to, so he just let the bot pick him up to get it over with.

Tarn was different, a little more detached with him, but seemed to care a little more about him each time Cody saw him. And boy, was he fighting the urge to stretch out and take a nap. Oh, what the heck, he would probably just put him down if he didn't like Cody moving.

Tarn reflexively tilted his arm to support the human, who had stretched his arms backwards, his joints and spine releasing a chorus of soft pops before it yawned and curled back up.

Nickel had a disgusted look on her face. "I could have gone my entire life without hearing the sound of that fleshy popping its spine." She said in cybex, examining the chrome cyber metal in its glass vial before locking it in storage. "You sure you want to wait on cyber forming it? It will throw off the order of the List."

"Hmm." Tarn replied, also in cybex. "The List does outweigh my own priorities, but I would like to have a bit more time to introduce Cody to the rest of the crew, and lay down some ground rules. He hasn't even been to the shrine yet, but I would rather he be introduced to that when his mind is fresh and open to suggestion. By the way, I, of course, will be acting as his Sire. It's only fair, he is most comfortable with me." Tarn removed a bulky plate from the door of his chest compartment, a purple tinted window showing the inside of his chest pocket.

He opened the door and slid Cody inside it, turning on the screen for him and putting the plate into his subspace. He smirked as he got a popup notification that Cody had picked a cutesy animated movie to watch as Tarn made sure he wouldn't go squish.

"All crew to the bridge." He barked into his comm link, sitting in his captain's chair. He could feel Cody's head pressed against the back wall of the pocket and felt glee at the idea that he was so close to his spark.

Soon.

Soon, he will have an apprentice, a backup vocalist to his kills to make the hunt that much sweeter.

All he needed to do was give him the tools to sing.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Going Bicoastal Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❝ Regardless of domination, I'd still be who I am—Jewish and bisexual and proud as hell of both. I had a bat mitzvah and I fast on Yom Kippur and I made out with Kira Horowitz at an LGBT Jew Youth Center's Purim party my sophomore year. I contain multitudes. ❞

❓ #QOTD What recent decision set your life on a new path? ❓ 🦇 There's more than one path to happily ever after. Natalya Fox, a proud bisexual Jew still trying to figure out her place in life, has a choice: stay home in New York City with her dad for the summer, or spend it with her estranged mom in LA interning at a digital marketing firm. When Natalya can't make her choice, the universe makes the decision for her: splitting her between alternating timelines. In LA, she spends the summer repairing her relationship with her mom while working alongside the boy who adds unexpected flair and flavor to her life. In New York, she crosses paths with The Redhead; the girl she's had a long-time crush on, but never had the courage to speak to. What happens when the summer reaches its inevitable end?

💜 First off, I never award a book with a five-star rating unless it WOWS me, so don't take those stars for granted. I teetered between four and five until the last two chapters, which brought this brilliant, well-executed concept to a beautiful, unexpected end. Everything about this book—from the representation (this is coming from a Muslim bisexual, by the way) to the amazing character growth—is stamped on my little, queer, ink-stained heart. Dahlia Adler gave us a real, raw main character and a story full of emotional depth. We learn about Natalya's customs through her family, her friends, and the food she shares during Shabbat dinners (whether in NY or LA). Seeing a bisexual in two relationships ("simultaneously" but not) demonstrated that love is love, regardless of gender, sexuality, or culture. Natalya's story is full of heart, quirky mishaps, romance, and self-discovery. I can't wait to see what Adler brings us next.

🦇 My only hangup was the size of the cast, which is understandable since Natalya has a friend group in both locations. It was a little difficult keeping everyone straight (no pun intended, giving the amazing number of queer characters) at first. However, Adler did a wonderful job of making each character unique, coast-to-coast. Each side of Natalya's story stands on its own, making this two-for-one queer rom-com a must-read!

🦇 This book is perfect for summer. Recommending to anyone who loves YA with loads of character growth. If anything, read it to see how the dual timeline concept plays out!

✨The Vibes✨ 🏳️‍🌈 Bisexual Representation ✡️ Jewish Representation 💙 YA Contemporary Romance 💜💖 📅 Dual Timeline

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[creativefya]

INDIGOTIC : Baby Blue

CEREMONY DESIGN : BIRTH & NEW BEGINNINGS

This event is a baby shower that takes place in North America, the U.S. The location is Charleston, SC. The event will occur during the day time around 3pm, in June. The venue is a historic beach home. The porch and outside areas for seating and activities will be used as well as the inside kitchen decorated and set-up as a serving area. The main color for this ceremony is indigo. There are shades of indigo with orange and natural colors. The theme is sankofa : meaning to go back and learn from the past in order to move forward. The activities will feature cotton onesies for guests to tie-dye with indigo blue dye and some adinkra stamps for a mudcloth. 

The mother is having a boy. Blue is a common color used for male gendered babies. This event will feature various shades of blue. Not just any blue Indigo blue. Not just any location but specifically in Charleston SC, where the Geeche Gullah people reside. Descendants of slaves, the Geeche Gullah of SC have a passion and deep root understanding for the color Indigo. 

SETTING

In the deep south, it is common to find this type of blue on porches and exterior decor of the homes. The blue is called haint blue.  Haint (haunt) blue. It is believed that the blue repels “haints'' or evil spirits, The bluish-green or light blue, sometimes even called Carolina blue, was often painted on the ceilings of porches to resemble the water. There is a strong belief that evil spirits can not cross water. The color indigo is mysterious and spiritual in meaning. It is the color of justice, creativity, and wisdom. Charleston SC, was a major slave port. Indigo and cotton, after rice were the major crops and work for Charleston slaves. The Indigo dye was such a demand that slaves with particular experience known as Indigo slaves, were often sought after when coming from West Africa. These slaves cultivated indigo from growth to transport.It was normal for some slaves to have blue hands from handling the dye.

This dye was also used to paint the porches, after being mixed to lighten it into haint blue. Another common thing to see In the deep south are haint blue bottles. These bottles are deeper in color but often seen on tree limbs (bottle trees) or hanging from the trees. It is believed that the spirits(haints) will get trapped in the bottles at night and die with the sunlight.

PROPS

Another option for the cotton material is to use stamps on pieces of cloth with a special dye made from mud. Adinkra is a form of symbolic language used by Africans and slaves that all have meaning. The baby shower guests have the option of choosing one they find meaningful to stamp on a piece of cotton cloth for the baby boy. The sankofa symbol is the theme.

The stamped pieces of cloth will be sewn into a special item called a mud cloth. The mud cloth is for the mother to wrap herself in after giving birth. It is believed that wearing it after childbirth will help relieve the new mother of stress and pain. The mud cloth representing earth and nature, the symbols being something with special meaning, is traditionally given by the mother to the daughter. This tradition also originated from West Africa and the secret symbols used by the slaves of Charleston SC, can be found to this day, on buildings and historic sites.

CEREMONY

The host will describe the history and meaning of each activity before guests say a prayer and eat. Guests will socialize and do the activities while enjoying the food and music. The food will include a wonderful rice and fish dish and some sweets with a blue (indigo) velvet cake. The ceremony for the baby shower will start with an introduction of the mother and a burning of sweetgrass.

The Sweetgrass was also something the slaves cultivated and made into baskets. Baskets will be used for serving food and decor. Sweet grass was an important aspect of everyday life for the Gullah Geechee, used to carry fresh foods, rice and even water. The sweetgrass is burned as a way to attract positive energies. It is used as a smudge to cleanse ceremonial areas, or cleanse a new home. It can also be worn as a protective amulet. Current sweetgrass basket makers create earrings and other forms of jewelry. The mother will wear a pair of gifted sweetgrass earrings to the baby shower. Sweetgrass basket makers still sell at the markets in Charleston, SC to this day.

REFERENCES

https://www.myrtlebeachtransplants.com/the-history-of-sweetgrass-baskets-and-the-gullah-people/

https://www.myrtlebeachtransplants.com/the-history-of-sweetgrass-baskets-and-the-gullah-people/

Andria Jones

Designing Weddings & Other Ceremonies

Birth & New Beginnings : Color Collage

Theatre 110  UNCG / Fall 2022

INDIGOTIC. of, relating to, or being of the color of indigo.

[legalassist-delhi]

RERA: A Game-Changer for Homebuyers and Builders Alike(Top Lawyers For Property Case in Delhi)

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority, or RERA for short, has shaken up the Indian property market in a big way. But what's all the fuss about? Let's break it down in simple terms and see how RERA is making life better for everyone involved in buying and selling homes.

Property Consultant Website | property registration in gurgaun | Top Lawyers For Property Case in Delhi

First off, what is RERA? It's a set of rules that the government created to make sure that when you buy a house or apartment, you get a fair deal. Before RERA, buying a home could be pretty risky. You might pay for a house that never got built, or end up with something totally different from what you were promised. RERA aims to fix these problems.

So, how does RERA help homebuyers? Well, That's like having a super-hero at your side. RERA makes sure that builders can't just take your money and run. They have to put a big chunk of the money you pay into a special account that can only be used for building your home. This means your dream house is more likely to become a reality.

lease deed registration in delhi | Best Delhi Lawyers for Wills / Trusts | Top Notary Services in Delhi

RERA also forces builders to be honest about what they're selling. They can't show you fancy plans and then deliver a matchbox. What you see is what you get, and if it's not, you can complain to RERA. It's like having a referee in a game – someone to make sure everyone plays by the rules.

Mutation Of Property In Delhi Ncr | Best Delhi Lawyers For Succession Certificate | Best Delhi Lawyers For Wills / Trusts

But it's not just buyers who benefit. Builders get some perks too. With RERA, they get a clearer path to follow. They know exactly what they need to do to stay on the right side of the law. This means fewer headaches and less chance of getting into trouble.

Stamp Duty In Delhi | Best Delhi Lawyers For Wills / Trusts | Sale Deed Registration Delhi

RERA also helps weed out the bad apples in the real estate world. Builders who play fair and square get a chance to shine, while those who used to cut corners are forced to shape up or ship out. This creates a healthier market for everyone.

Top Recovery Agents in Delhi | online property registration delhi | Property document verification Lawyer in Delhi

Banks and lenders are happier too. With RERA keeping an eye on things, they can be more confident about giving loans for home purchases. This means it might be easier for you to get a loan to buy your dream home.

Best Delhi Lawyers for Civil Case | Power of attorney to sell property in delhi | online property registration delhi

Even the government benefits from RERA. A well-regulated real estate market means more trust, more transactions, and ultimately, more growth for the economy. It's a win-win situation all around.

In the end, RERA is like a friendly neighborhood watchdog. It's there to make sure that buying a home, which is often the biggest purchase of your life, is as safe and fair as possible. Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, a seasoned investor, or a builder trying to make an honest living, RERA is working to make the real estate world a better place for everyone.

property consultant in Noida | surviving member certificate delhi | probate of will in delhi

[hztghfzdgn]

Discover Your Dream Home: Houses for Sale in Melbourne

The Appeal of Melbourne

Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city and is often regarded as the cultural capital of the country. It boasts world-class restaurants, shopping, and entertainment options, along with a strong focus on education and innovation. The city is also home to numerous parks, gardens, and outdoor spaces, making it a perfect blend of urban living and natural beauty. These factors, combined with a diverse population and a strong economy, make Melbourne a highly desirable place to live.

Diverse Neighborhoods to Explore

One of the most attractive aspects of Melbourne is its diverse neighborhoods, each with its own unique character and charm. From the trendy inner-city suburbs to the peaceful outer regions, there’s a perfect spot for everyone.

Inner-City Suburbs: If you crave the hustle and bustle of city life, houses for sale in melbourne consider neighborhoods like South Yarra, Carlton, and Fitzroy. These areas offer proximity to the CBD, vibrant nightlife, and excellent public transport. The houses here are often stylish, with a mix of historic Victorian terraces and modern apartments.

Family-Friendly Suburbs: For those looking to raise a family, Melbourne’s outer suburbs like Glen Waverley, Doncaster, and Berwick offer larger homes, great schools, and safe communities. These areas are known for their spacious properties, parks, and recreational facilities.

Coastal Living: If you dream of living by the beach, suburbs like Brighton, St Kilda, and Port Melbourne are ideal. These areas combine the charm of coastal living with easy access to the city. Expect to find beautiful homes with stunning ocean views, modern amenities, and a relaxed lifestyle.

Up-and-Coming Areas: Melbourne’s property market is always evolving, and suburbs like Footscray, Preston, and Coburg are gaining popularity. These areas offer more affordable housing options, vibrant communities, and significant growth potential.

The Current Market

Melbourne’s housing market is dynamic, land for sale melbourne with property prices reflecting the city’s popularity and economic strength. While inner-city properties tend to be on the pricier side, there are still plenty of affordable options available, particularly in the outer suburbs and up-and-coming areas. The market has remained resilient even through economic fluctuations, making it a stable investment option for buyers.

Tips for Homebuyers

Research: Take the time to explore different neighborhoods and understand what each one offers. Consider factors like proximity to work, schools, and public transport.

Budget: Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Remember to factor in additional costs like stamp duty, legal fees, and home inspections.

Get Pre-Approved: Obtain pre-approval for a mortgage to give you a clear idea of what you can afford and to strengthen your position when making an offer.

Work with a Local Real Estate Agent: A local agent can provide invaluable insights into the Melbourne market and help you find the right property faster.

[cleekleequlee]

On a sunny summer day I decided to dive into the puzzles of Barad's spacetimemattering. Here are the two articles:

Barad, K. (2013). Ma(r)king Time: Material Entanglements and Re-memberings: Cutting Together-Apart. How Matter Matters: Objects, Artifacts, and Materiality in Organization Studies. P. R. Carlile, D. Nicolini, A. Langley and H. Tsoukas, Oxford University Press: 16–31.

Barad, K. (2018). Troubling Time/s and Ecologies of Nothingness: Re-turning, Re-membering, and Facing the Incalculable, Fordham University Press: 206.

It is not too difficult to understand matter - materialization as sediment of time as the "growth" of sedimental rocks:

"Memory - the pattern of sedimented enfoldings of iterative intra-activity-is written into the fabric of the world. The wolrd "holds" the memory of all traces; or rather, the world is its memory (its enfolded materialization)." (Barad, 2013, p.29)

"Matter doesn't move in time. Matter doesn't evolve in time. Matter does time. Matter materializes and enfolds different temporalities." (Barad, 2013, p. 17)

However the "iterative" needs a bit explanation. How can memory and matter be iteratively entangled?

The quantum-eraser experiment is crucial to Barad's theorization of temporality. In a time-stamp manner the experiment can be understood (by a non-physicist) as such:

t0: the photon sets off t1: the photon passes the slit(s) with the which-slit detector, the slit of passing gets recorded t2: the eraser erases the information detected by which-slit detector tn: a different pattern captured by the graph, which indicates a different ontological existence (wave/particle) on the photo when set off. In her explanation of the different pattern in t2, the erasure (t2) travels back to the "past" (t0) and changed the ontological being of the photon and consequently its behavior when passing slit (t2).

There is a sentiment that the past is never finished and done, taking a fixed form, but both continues into the future in its materialisation (consequence) and (more importantly) waiting for future reconfiguring that alters the present. This alternation, according to Barad, is not epistemological (our understanding of the present) but ontological (what present is):

"Heisenberg understands measurements as disturbances that place a limit on knowability - that is, measurements entail epistemic uncertainties. Whereas, for Bohr, measurement is about the conditions for possibility of semantic and ontic determination - that is, ontological indeterminacy." (Barad, 2013, p. 26, highlight added)

Barad uses Derrida's term "hauntology" for the materialization.

There is also hope, future possibilities opened by the reconfiguring of the entangled past:

"Hayashi's narrator bodily traces these entanglements of colonialist histories, violent erasures, and avoid-ances as an integral part of a sacred practice of re-membering - which is not a going back to what was, but rather a material reconfiguring of spacetimemattering in ways that attempt to do justice to account for the devastation wrought and to produce openings, new possible histories, reconfigurings of spacetimemattering through which time-beings might find a way to endure." (Barad, 2013, p. 230)

The 2018 article becomes obscure when it goes into the discussion of void, vacuum (fluctuations), tension of the void and virtual articles. At times it seems to have been inspired by Bergson/Deleuze's virtual and actual:

"The vacuum is far from empty; rather, it is flush with yearning, with innumerable possibilities/imagining of what was, could be, might yet have been, all coexisting. Don't for a minute think that there are no material effects of yearning and imagining. Virtual particles are experimenting with the im/possibilities of non/being, but that doesn't mean they aren't real; on the contrary." (Barad, 2018, p. 232)

She even offered a very swift speculative design of a scentific article, making virtual particles the actual essence of an atom.

The Bergsonian influence becomes more prominent in the discussion of electron as multiplicity - aggregation of all histories of intra-action with the others:

"Hence, according to QFT, even the smallest bits of matter are an enormous multitude! Each "individual" is made up of all possible histories of virtual intra-actions with all others; or rather, according to QFT, there is no such thing as a discrete individual with its own roster of properties. In fact, the "other" - the constitutively excluded - is always already within: the very notion of the "self is a troubling of the interior / exterior distinction.... all "selves" are not themselves but rather the iterative intra-activity of all matter of time-beings."

Again, (the entangling of) time wins over the "vulgar" space.

After some winding narratives tracing the travel hopping, Barad comes back to the question of self, and what this re-membering - visiting and reconfiguring the past - means:

"The pilgrimage of Hayashi's unnamed protagonist is a work of mourning, a concerted ongoing labor, never finished or complete; where mourning is not about making memories, but rather about ontologically reconfiguring a past that never was on behalf of possibilities for a better future, not as performed by a willful liberal humanist subject, but in the tracings of entanglements of multiple time-beings through which the unnamed protagonist is herself constituted."

Self is not pre-fixed, but constitutued by assembling a different narrative, tracing of entanglements of the past. Self is not history, but our act of returning and open to countless future returnings.

[growprospectsweb]

Concrete Contractor Columbus OH - Unveiling the Art of Solid Foundations

Concrete is more than just a mix of cement, water, and aggregate. It's the backbone of Columbus, a city that stands tall and proud in the heart of Ohio. As a concrete contractor in Columbus, OH, every project is a testament to the city's resilience and growth. Each slab poured, every foundation laid, is a commitment to the community. A concrete contractor's work is not merely about construction; it's about crafting a legacy that withstands the test of time. It's about being a part of the city's history, one concrete pour at a time. Columbus, OH's concrete contractors are more than builders. They are artists, each project a canvas, each pour a brushstroke. They are the unsung heroes, laying the groundwork for the city's future. Welcome to the world of concrete contractors in Columbus, OH - where every project is a masterpiece in the making.

Residential Concrete Installation Columbus OH

When it comes to residential concrete installation, Columbus OH is home to a plethora of seasoned professionals. These skilled craftsmen are well-versed in the art of transforming homes with the robust, timeless appeal of concrete. Whether it's a driveway, patio, or a walkway, the right concrete contractor can make all the difference. A well-executed concrete installation is more than just a home improvement project. It's an investment that adds value to your property. It's a testament to the beauty of concrete and the skill of the contractor. The best concrete contractors in Columbus OH understand this. They treat each project with the respect it deserves, ensuring high-quality results every time. Experience and expertise are crucial in this field. The intricacies involved in concrete installation require a deep understanding of the material and the process. Every home is unique, and so are the requirements for each concrete installation project. A good contractor will take the time to understand these needs and tailor their services accordingly. Some of the key services offered by concrete contractors in Columbus OH include:

Concrete Driveway Installation

Concrete Patio Installation

Stamped Concrete Services

Concrete Repair and Maintenance

Choosing the right contractor can be a daunting task. It's not just about finding someone who can do the job. It's about finding a partner who will work with you to bring your vision to life. A good contractor will listen to your ideas, offer valuable insights, and deliver results that exceed your expectations. In Columbus OH, homeowners have come to expect nothing but the best when it comes to concrete installation. The high standards set by local contractors are a testament to the city's commitment to quality and excellence. It's a competitive field, but the best always stand out. Whether you're looking to install a new driveway, upgrade your patio, or repair existing concrete, the right contractor can make all the difference. So, when it comes to residential concrete installation, Columbus OH is the place to be. It's a city where concrete dreams come true. Remember, a well-executed concrete installation is a long-term investment. It's not just about the here and now. It's about creating something that will stand the test of time, adding value to your home for years to come. That's the kind of commitment you can expect from the best concrete contractors in Columbus OH.

Commercial Concrete Repair Columbus OH

In the heart of Ohio, Columbus is a bustling city where commercial concrete repair is not just a service, but a necessity. The city's thriving commercial sector demands the expertise of professional concrete contractors to maintain the integrity and aesthetic appeal of their structures. With the city's ever-changing weather conditions, concrete structures often suffer from cracks, chipping, and other forms of damage. This is where the expertise of a Columbus-based concrete contractor comes into play. They are adept at identifying the root cause of the issue and providing a solution that not only rectifies the problem but also prevents future occurrences. Concrete repair in Columbus, OH, is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It requires a keen understanding of the local climate and the specific needs of the commercial property. Whether it's a retail store, a restaurant, or an office building, each structure has its unique repair needs. One of the most common issues faced by commercial properties is concrete spalling. This is characterized by the flaking or peeling of the concrete surface, often caused by exposure to moisture and freeze-thaw cycles. A skilled concrete contractor in Columbus, OH, will not only repair the spalled concrete but also implement measures to mitigate the risk of future spalling. Moreover, Columbus concrete contractors understand the importance of minimizing disruption during the repair process. They strive to provide swift and efficient services, ensuring that your business operations are not unduly affected. In Columbus, OH, commercial concrete repair is not just about fixing the problem at hand. It's about providing a solution that enhances the longevity and durability of the structure, ensuring that the city's commercial sector continues to thrive.

Stamped Concrete Services Columbus OH

In the heart of Columbus, OH, a revolution in concrete design is taking place. Stamped concrete services are transforming the way we think about dull, gray slabs of concrete. This innovative technique breathes life into driveways, patios, and walkways, with a plethora of patterns and colors to choose from. The process begins with pouring fresh concrete. While it's still wet, contractors press a pattern into the surface, creating a textured look that can mimic brick, stone, tile, or even wood. The design possibilities are endless, allowing you to create a personalized look that complements your home's exterior. Here are some of the top benefits of stamped concrete services in Columbus, OH: • Durability: Stamped concrete is incredibly resilient, able to withstand harsh weather conditions and heavy foot traffic. • Low Maintenance: Unlike traditional pavers or natural stone, stamped concrete requires minimal upkeep. • Aesthetic Appeal: The wide range of designs and colors available means you can create a unique and eye-catching addition to your property. The importance of hiring a professional concrete contractor in Columbus, OH, cannot be overstated. They possess the skills and expertise needed to ensure the job is done right. A well-executed stamped concrete project can enhance your property's curb appeal and increase its value. Remember, the quality of the stamped concrete largely depends on the proficiency of the contractor you hire. Therefore, it's crucial to select a contractor with a proven track record in delivering high-quality stamped concrete services. This way, you can be confident in the longevity and aesthetic appeal of your new concrete surface.

A Snapshot of Columbus, OH: The Concrete Capital

In the heart of Ohio, Columbus stands as a vibrant city with a population of approximately 900,000 residents. Known for its rich history, diverse culture, and bustling economy, Columbus is a city that never ceases to impress. It's famous for its world-class attractions such as the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, the COSI science center, and the historic German Village. Columbus is also renowned for its high-quality concrete services, with a focus on residential concrete installation, commercial concrete repair, and stamped concrete services. These services play a vital role in maintaining the city's infrastructure and enhancing its aesthetic appeal. In conclusion, Columbus, OH is not just a city; it's a hub of quality and excellence, especially in the field of concrete services. The city’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction sets it apart, making it a preferred destination for individuals and businesses seeking top-notch concrete solutions.

https://concreteprostoday.com/concrete-contractor-columbus-oh/