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sapphireginger · 1 year

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Toxic: Chapter #36

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Summary:

So, I wanted my first date with Giana to be absolutely perfect. Lu and I were fast and intense. Addie and I were pretty fast as well, and she was the first girl I dated. Jayden was a whole separate set of circumstances and I’ll bear the scars, bear the trauma, for the rest of my life. I’m pretty sure that Jayden love bombed me at the start of everything. I ran through a list of ideas hating all of them. I kept crossing them out one right after the other as none of them seemed to fit. ZuZu walked by in time to see me throw another crumpled-up piece of paper towards my trash can. "Zorro? What is the reason behind you littering your room with paper?" I sunk further into my desk chair. "I'm trying to decide what to do with Giana on our first date." I should have expected the squeal of excitement and ZuZu got loud.

I was so nervous about my first date with Giana, and I hated how nervous I was, but I reminded myself over and over again that such a feeling was to be expected. I mean I got away from Jayden and was free at last. Now, I was once again putting myself out there and though I knew Giana was the furthest thing from Jayden, it didn’t stop my thoughts of what if. After all, I had dated three other people prior to Giana, and I often thought that dating wasn’t my forte. I mean two of my relationships were ended by the other person’s will (Lu and Addie) and one was ended by my will (Jayden). My relationship with Addie was the only one to end amicably.

I ran through a list of ideas hating all of them. I kept crossing them out one right after the other as none of them seemed to fit.

ZuZu walked by in time to see me throw another crumpled-up piece of paper towards my trash can. "Zorro? What is the reason behind you littering your room with paper?"

I sunk further into my desk chair. "I'm trying to decide what to do with Giana on our first date." I should have expected the squeal of excitement and ZuZu got loud.

She wrapped her arms around me from behind. "OMFG!!! Date!!! So, she said YES?!"

I smiled and nodded, relaxing into my sister's embrace. "Yes. She said yes."

ZuZu smacked a kiss on my cheek and giggled. "Girlfriend?!"

I was overwhelmed but I loved it. "Yes, ZuZu!" I said with a laugh.

She let go of me and I turned to face her, finding her grinning ear to ear. "I'm so excited for you."

I raised an eyebrow. "You are. Wow. I had no idea." My tone was deadpan, and I darted out of the way when she attempted to wage a tickle war. The two of us couldn't stop laughing, and continued to do so until my stomach hurt from laughing so hard and I had tears in my eyes. It had been a long time since I laughed that hard.

☣ ♡ ☣

After we recovered from laughing, she started brainstorming date ideas with me. "What about a simple dinner, Zorro?"

I looked at her, chewing on my lip and shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. I mean, isn't that cliché?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No. It's an iconic and classic. The perfect choice for a first date, especially when you're a nervous nelly."

My eyebrow quirked at the term. "A nervous nelly?"

ZuZu blushed lightly. "Shut up. So, what if I picked up some stuff from Grandma Hayes."

"I'm sure Benji loves it," I teased.

"As a matter of fact, he does. He thinks it's adorable. So there!"

I smiled, raised my hands in a gesture of surrender and pulled up the browser on my laptop. I started by searching for a restaurant and quickly found two I loved. I couldn't choose one though but thankfully, ZuZu helped me pick. After that, I had to decide what to wear and if I should bring flowers too.

"ZuZu why am I so nervous?" I asked, staring at my closet with a defeated slump to my shoulders.

She gently put a hand on my shoulder and got me to look at her. "When you dated before you never did it this way...slow and careful."

I looked down ashamed of just how true that statement was. "Yeah," I whispered.

Before I could spiral about what ifs, ZuZu softly said, "Which is how I know this is the most real relationship you've ever had. You don't want to mess it up and I know you won't."

I looked up at her, feeling hope begin to swell in my chest. I nodded and cleared my throat. "I mean I love Lu. Well, I loved him as in I used to, but we were never much more than sex."

ZuZu nodded and gestured for me to keep going.

"Then there was Addie. We kind of dated but slept together almost right away and then she came out to me as gay. I understood but felt used in a way. Then with..." I trailed off, my throat closing up, unable to say his name but I knew she knew who I meant.

She nodded, offering me a sad smile. "I know, Zorro. The most important thing is to be yourself."

"What if that's not who or what she wants?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? Zorro, she wouldn't be here if she didn't like you as you are. You've never been anyone but yourself. It's everyone else who has wanted you to change but Giana has never asked that of you. So just be the you that she said yes to. Okay?"

I smiled, feeling my confidence renewed and after submitting the reservations and ordering the flowers, I found myself hoping beyond hope that I indeed wouldn't fuck this up.

☣ ♡ ☣

A couple hours later, I stood in front of the mirror in my bedroom after having finally chosen an outfit. I texted Giana earlier in the week about the date and she was thrilled, her text still seared into my mind, bringing a smile to my face.

[Giana] Awe. Zach. That sounds perfect. I'm sure I have something that'll suffice.

I had tilted my head and responded to her.

[Zach] You could wear a potato sack and still be beautiful.

Her response was adorable.

[Giana] Cheeks = Red as Hair.

I chuckled, picturing such a thing and loved it. Giana's red hair was part of her, and one of my favorite parts of the woman I was falling for. It was like fire and paired with her sapphire blue eyes, I found myself breathless every time.

[Zach] See you soon.

It had me feeling all those butterflies that I had never expected to ever feel again and wasn't sure I had ever truly felt before. So, I felt like these were a brand new species of butterflies all together. I recognized the feeling but had never felt anything to this extent.

I settled on a red button up shirt that I buttoned all the way up, underwear of course, gray skinny dress pants, and black dress shoes with white soles. I had not dressed up for anything in so long I was unable to tear myself away from my mirror, too focused on analyzing everything about the outfit.

ZuZu finally walked in, her hands resting on her hips. "Zorro? What are you still doing here?"

I looked over, startled by her sudden presence. "I-I'm sorry. I just..."

She could see the uncertainty written clearly all over my face and came over to me. "You look amazing, little brother. You look absolutely perfect."

The weight on my shoulders seemed to vanish and my heart soared. "I-I do?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. There's just one small change I'm going to make. Alright?"

I nodded and then turned bright red when she undid the top three buttons of my shirt. "ZuZu!!"

She giggled and then smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, Zorro. This is better. You're gorgeous and you shouldn't hide it. Plus, we both know Giana likes you for more than your looks anyway." She quirked a brow. "Right?"

"Right." I knew that was true and the thought warmed me from head to toe.

"Good. Now go have fun and remember to be yourself." She gently helped style my hair and then kissed my cheek. Satisfied with my state, she then left my room. I took one last look at myself in the mirror and gave myself a mental pep talk. Once that was done, I grabbed the flowers and headed out to my car.

☣ ♡ ☣

When I pulled up to Lu's house, I was a nervous wreck, but I was also excited. It was an unsettling combination, but it made sense just the same. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Have fun and be myself. I can do that. I can do this," I whispered to myself. With a nod, I got out, went up to the house and with a shaking hand, I rang the doorbell. "I can do this. Have fun. Just be me." I heard footsteps and stood up straighter, a smile gracing my face as Giana opened the door.

She grinned at me. "Hey, Zach!"

My smile grew. "Hey, Giana." I took a moment to let my gaze trail over her. How was I this lucky? My breath caught as I took in her appearance, and I felt like I was going to faint. I always knew Giana was absolutely gorgeous and that night she was even more stunning which I hadn't thought was possible. She was wearing an off the shoulder dress with a skin tight black spandex material hugging her body while a sheer floral fabric flowed over her, and she finished off the look with a pair of black stilettos.

What had I done to deserve this woman, beautiful in both in heart and in looks? She was breathtaking and I was pretty sure I started drooling with how my brain seemed to have short circuited. When I didn't say anything more, I noticed her brow furrow slightly. "Zach? Is everything okay?"

The slight nervousness of her tone was all I needed to find my voice. I was incredibly embarrassed however at just how strained it sounded. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

Her cheeks reddened but she breathed out relieved. "Really? I couldn't decide and Lu said this was the one."

I made a mental note to thank Lu for offering his fashion advice as Giana looked perfect. "Well, he was right. Oh um...flowers?" I held them out to her.

With a smile she took them from me and brought them to her nose, inhaling their soft scent. "Oh, Zach. Thank you. They're beautiful."

I was grinning like an idiot, but I didn't care how it looked. I was simply overwhelmed with happiness.

It was then that Lu walked down the stairs. His eyes caught on the flowers, flicked to me and then to Giana. "I can put them in a vase if you'd like, Gigi."

She turned, the curls of her hair shifting to cover one shoulder and smiled. "That would be amazing. Thank you."

Lu smiled and took the flowers, giving me a reassuring look as he mouthed, 'I'm happy for you.' He turned away before I could give any response and took the flowers to the kitchen.

Giana looked back at me and tucked her hair behind her ear. "They really are beautiful."

"I'm so glad you like them."

The two of us stood there staring at each other for what felt like ages before I cleared my throat and gestured behind me. "So, um...shall we?"

She nodded and took my arm when I offered it. "Zach? You said I look gorgeous, and I just wanted to say that you look perfect."

"I do?" I asked, a bright pink blush coating my cheeks.

"Mhm. You look handsome with a capital H."

My cheeks turned from bright pink to a deep red. "Really?"

She nodded and kissed my cheek. "Yes. Really."

I kissed her cheek in return as we went and got in my car. I opened her door and then closed it when she got in. After taking a deep breath I went, around to the driver's side and got in the car, quickly starting it. I knew I could do this and so far, everything was going well. Right?

☣ ♡ ☣

The drive was filled with nervous energy but when I put my hand on the console, she instantly took it, and intertwined our fingers. Without much thought I raised her hand to my lips and gently kissed the back of it.

She sighed happily. "I'm glad to be spending more time with you, Zach."

I swear my heart skipped a beat and I glanced over, still being mindful of the road. "Me too. I just hope you have a good time."

She raised our entwined hands and kissed my hand which surprised me. Everything about this was new for me and no one had done that before. I loved it and hoped she would do it more often. "I already am. I am having a good time. I always have a good time when I'm with you."

Her words settled my nerves and I wanted so badly to kiss her for saying that, but I kept driving. Still despite it being dark out there was enough light in the car, allowing my reddened cheeks to reveal just how her words had affected me.

☣ ♡ ☣

About forty-five minutes later, we pulled up outside the restaurant and parked. Giana looked out the window at our destination and I felt my nerves renewing, afraid she'd hate it. So, I spoke quickly. "I-I figured maybe Italian because of your name."

She turned to look at me surprised but she was smiling. "I adore Italian food."

I grinned more, my shoulders untensing but my voice still came out soft. "Giana? I don't know what I believe, but I know that I truly feel that you absolutely are what your name means."

My statement seemed to both further surprise and intrigue her. "Y-You know what my name means?"

I nodded, feeling proud of myself. "Giana means...God is gracious. I believe you are a gift to this world and to me. I'm so very grateful for you and that you've graced my life with all that is you. You are a light in the darkness and have been a light to me from the moment I saw you."

When I gathered enough courage to look at her, she looked like she was about to cry and if not for the smile on her face, I'd have thought I had upset her. "Z-Zach. I-I—That's—You're—Thank hell I don't wear makeup because it would be running down my face."

It was true that she didn't, and I don't think I'd ever seen her wear makeup. I didn't mind as her natural looks were beautiful. Why would she cover up the natural beauty she was born with? It was then that I noticed a couple tears slipping down her cheeks. I gently cupped her face, using my thumbs to wipe the tears away. "I meant every word I said. Maybe I should've waited until after we ate but I just wanted—" I swallowed thickly. "I needed you to know."

She relaxed into my caress and nuzzled at my palms. Her sniffle was soft, and her smile was so sweet my tooth ached. "I don't mind. It was beautiful."

"Just like you."

☣ ♡ ☣

When we walked into the restaurant, I realized that I no longer felt nervous, at least nowhere near as much as I had that morning. The smile I was wearing wasn't one I'd worn in years and for once, there was no effort needed as with Giana, smiling was as easy as breathing.

A waiter looked up at us as we approached the host stand. "Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes."

"Name?"

"Anderson."

The waiter smiled and checked his list. "Perfect. I have you right here. Angie will be your waitress this evening."

A woman came over, taking two menus and smiled at us. "This way." She then led us to a table.

I quickly pulled out Giana's chair. "Let me."

She blushed as she sat down. "Thank you, Zach."

I helped push her chair in and then went over to the chair across from her, taking a seat.

"Here are your menus. I'm Angie and I will be you server this evening. Now, have you eaten here before?"

We shook our heads and Angie smiled. "That's alright. I'll give you some time to look over your menus. What can I get you to drink?"

I looked at Giana who was eyeing the menu. "I'll have Mountain Dew if you have it."

Giana smiled and looked up. "Do you have peach lemonade?"

Angie wrote our drinks down. "Yes. We have both. I will go get those for you." She then walked away.

I turned my attention back to Giana. "So, is peach your favorite flavor then?"

She looked at me, still holding the menu and nodded. "Absolutely. My grandmother used to say I was sweet like peaches and cream." She blushed lightly and averted her gaze, but I found it adorable. She really was sweet.

"Well, I have to agree. She's right. Very sweet."

Giana blushed harder and we both looked down at our menus with matching smiles on our faces. Yeah. So far so good...so great.

☣ ♡ ☣

About fifteen minutes later we were ready to order, and Angie had her notepad ready. "Alright. What'll it be?"

Giana went first. "May I have the chicken alfredo, a Caesar salad and butter dips please?"

As Angie wrote Giana's order down, I decided to change what I was planning to order. "For you sir?"

I looked up. "I was going to order something else but after hearing her order that I think I'd love to try it."

Angie grinned. "Perfect. So, two orders of chicken alfredo, butter dips and two Caesar salads?" We both nodded and then Angie left to put the order in.

The more we talked, the more comfortable I became. It had never been this easy with anyone else, not Lu, not Addie and of course definitely not with Jayden. I knew why but with it being so new I was just glad we were getting to take our time.

"So, what are you studying?"

"Theater. Well, I'm studying it as a minor currently."

I tilted my head and hummed in acknowledgement. "Well, I think you definitely should do it as a major. You were perfect as Juliet."

She blushed, took a sip of her lemonade and shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe I will. What about you? Do you have a major?"

I looked down at that, a bit embarrassed. I couldn't help but think about what I wanted to do. Thinking about college was hard. I went from a full ride scholarship, captain of the cheer squad and straight As to—Giana's fingers lacing with mine pulled me out of the darkness.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey."

We were silent for a few minutes, and I was thankful that she didn't push. I had promised myself I wouldn't let Jayden take anything else from me and I hated how he was invading our first date, but I reminded myself that trauma wasn't an easy fix. I took several deep breaths, grounding myself with Giana's touch.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry I—"

Giana shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Take your time, okay?"

Once again, I fell for her a little more. "Okay." I took a deep breath and then smiled slightly. "I don't have a major yet. N-Not really but I had thought about one after I got home."

She took a drink and looked at me with a reassuring smile. "Zach, it's alright not to have one. You know that right? A lot of freshmen don't. I knew someone who didn't decide on their major until their junior year."

That surprised me and I looked up. "Really?"

"Really. So, what major did you think about after you got home?"

I took a drink, feeling my nerves rise up. I was a little scared to tell anyone and I hadn't told anyone yet, but Giana wasn't just anyone. "Well, I was thinking about going into the medical field."

Her eyes widened and then she beamed at me. "Zach, that's amazing. Your heart is so big, and I think you'd be amazing at helping people."

"Really? You mean that?"

Her smile softened, her expression understanding, and she nodded. "Yes. I really mean that."

Angie brought our food then and we both dug in. I could tell that we both absolutely loved the food. Definitely so far, so amazing.

☣ ♡ ☣

After we finished eating, Angie brought the check and I instinctively pulled my card out, having already pulled my wallet out when I saw her walking over with the check.

She smiled and took the card. "I'll be back with a receipt in just a moment, Hun."

I nodded and took a drink while I waited for her to return with my card and the receipt. I didn't notice Giana watching me at first. I had gone from relaxed and having a good time to a bit zoned out. It wasn't something that happened as often, but it happened much more than I wanted it to. Ever since Jayden got me in his clutches, zoning was a sort of escape and then when I got away, zoning ended up being a way for my mind to sort of go numb. It was like being triggered but instead of having a big outward panic attack, I basically shut down.

Angie came back to our table, startling me but thankfully it wasn't too bad, and I managed to slip back into the present. "Thanks," I said.

She nodded and handing me a receipt with my card. "Here you are, Hun."

I slipped my card back into my wallet and smiled. "Thank you. It was delicious."

"My pleasure. I'm glad to hear. You two have a good evening."

I stood up, pocketing my wallet after putting my card back into it and offered my arm to Giana, my smile returning ten fold when she took my arm. We then left the restaurant and walked to my car. "Here you go."

She smiled, gently kissing my cheek and got into the car. I closed the door, went around to the driver's side and got in. I sighed softly, tension slipping from my shoulders as I started the car. "That was amazing."

She looked at me and grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Wasn't it just? It was absolutely perfect."

My face mirrored her smile as we took each other's hands, and I started driving us home.

As I pulled onto the highway, she looked over at me. "Zach?"

I merged into the next lane over before responding. "Yes Giana?"

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

She breathed out and tilted her head back against the headrest. "When we were at the restaurant and Angie brought the check, you seemed to disappear somewhere in your mind, and I was wondering if you're alright?"

I tensed only slightly before replying, "I-I was um...I totally didn't think to ask if you wanted to split it. I swear I wasn't trying to be old fashioned. I mean I totally didn't..."

She kissed the back of my hand, her lips an anchor in the storm of emotions that had begun to rise up. "Zach? Has anyone paid for you? On a date or at all?"

In that moment, I felt my past like a cloud hanging over me and found myself pulling over to the shoulder. I knew I was tearing up and about to cry. "N-No. I-I always pay. Especially with...not just dates but everything." I couldn't look at her, the humiliation overwhelming and I was mortified but the next thing I know, her head is on my shoulder.

She shushes me softly and her nose nuzzles against my neck just like she had done at the swimming hole. "Shh. It's alright Zach. Just breathe."

At her closeness and warmth, my body began to relax. The soft touch of her nose to my neck made me shudder and then nearly go limp with serenity. "S-Sorry, Gi," I whispered. That was the first time I called her Gi, but it certainly wasn't the last.

She smiled at the nickname. "Don't be sorry. I'm glad you told me. Next time dinner is my treat. Ok?"

I smiled and allowed tears of relief to fall, and she kept her head on my shoulder the entire time.

☣ ♡ ☣

After I calmed down, we continued our drive home and because it was late when we got back to Lu's, I went inside with her. "So long as Lu doesn't mind."

She smiled at me. "Not at all. He and Toby went to meet Toby's mom. Lucas seemed nervous but Toby was so sweet and just kept encouraging him."

I smiled, happy that Lu had found someone as sweet as him. "Well then I suppose it can't hurt for me to stay a while."

As we went inside, she threw a smile over her shoulder at me and headed to the living room after taking her heels off. "There's just one thing I have to check. I hope you don't mind."

I kicked my shoes off at the door and then followed her. "No worries. What are you checking?"

She grinned, her excitement palpable in the air. "Well, I watched the game yesterday and we won. So, I wanted to check and see who we're playing. I mean we have won all our games this season."

I was confused at first, unsure what she was referring to, but then I quickly found myself grinning when I saw her pull up the sports channel. She was checking the scores. "You like baseball?"

She nodded and blushed. "Y-Yes. I adore it."

That was when I knew exactly what I'd be taking her on a date to do. After all, my sister's boyfriend played professional baseball. "That's awesome, Giana." I sat down on the couch, and she sat next to me. I found myself wanting to kiss her more than I had before. I was still being careful with the physical side of things. We hadn't done anything other than kiss and only once. That was okay with both of us and to be honest I was beyond grateful that she wasn't pushing me for more. I also didn't want to focus on that aspect so much. It sometimes made me sick with worry and fear and anxiety that she and I might never have that level of intimacy after Jayden. However, I would cross that bridge when we got to it. Kissing on the other hand wasn't so scary for me, especially not with Giana.

So, when she looked up at me, I softly asked, "Giana? May I um...kiss you?"

She blushed and nodded slowly, her voice very soft as she said, "Sure. I-I almost asked myself."

I cleared my throat to clear my nerves that slowly got replaced with excitement. I leaned down, and kissed her gently, smiling into the kiss when she immediately returned it. I couldn't help but think to myself, 'Best. First. Date. Ever.'

☣ ♡ ☣

Our second date was much more relaxed than our first one and we were both more than fine with that. Lu was still in Wisconsin with Toby and had assured Giana that we could spend time at the house. Apparently, he told her that it would surely be easier for Giana and I to spend time alone at his house than at mine and he wasn't wrong.

I was excited when we talked about it because she mentioned pizza to which I asked, "What kind?"

She giggled at my excitement. "Well, I always get deep dish pepperoni with extra cheese and extra pepperoni."

I jumped up and down, almost like a kid on Christmas morning. "Oh, heck yes!"

Giana started laughing. "You're adorable."

I looked at her with a shy smile, seeing her eyes widen as she blushed. "Sorry, Zach."

I shook my head and plopped on the couch next to her. "Don't be. No one has called me adorable before. You just took me by surprise."

She relaxed and kissed my cheek. "Well, that's a shame because you are so adorable."

I blushed and kissed her cheek. "Thank you and you are beautiful. Now do you want to order the pizza and I'll get snacks?"

Giana ordered the pizza while I went to town grabbing snacks and drinks. I brought them back to the house and she helped me take everything inside.

"Goodness, Zach. Next stop sugar rush central."

I laughed. It felt so good to laugh again. I treasured every moment with Giana especially the ones where she made me laugh. "Well, of course we won't eat or drink that all at once."

We carried things to the kitchen putting them away before heading to the living room to decide on a movie. I clicked through Netflix. "Why is it so hard to find the right movie?"

She smiled and held her hand out. "May I?"

I nodded and handed her the remote just as the doorbell rang.

"Go ahead." She gestured to the tv and kissed my cheek. "I'll take care of the movie."

With a nod, I got up and went to the door and pulled out my wallet to pay. However, when I opened the door, the guy handed me the pizza with a receipt that said paid online. I smiled cradling that pizza like it was a priceless jewel before closing the door and heading back to the living room with tears forming in my eyes.

Giana looked over at me. "I think I found one." She then noticed my face and got up, abandoning the tv. "Zach? What's wrong?"

I set the pizza on the coffee table and pulled her into a hug. "Y-Yo-You paid for the pizza."

She relaxed into my embrace and hugged me back, knowing without me having to tell her just why I was reacting the way I was.

☣ ♡ ☣

After we pulled from our hug, I kissed her cheek and gestured to the tv. "So which one did you find?"

She smiled blushing at the kiss. "Well, I know we both love theater and I know you love cheerleading. So, I have two ideas."

I perked up, excited and curious about what she was going to suggest. "Oh?"

"Yes. So, I was thinking either a Rogers and Hammerstein movie marathon or a Bring it On movie marathon."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. "Musicals or cheerleading? Oh, how can I possibly choose? Oh dear."

She giggled, her eyes bright as she watched me with a grin on her face. "Decisions. Decisions."

"Right?! See, if I say musicals then I am by default saying no to cheerleading but if I say cheerleading then I am by default saying no to musicals. It's a lose-lose situation."

"How about whichever one we don't watch this time we can watch next time?"

I grinned ear to ear, nodding my head like a bobble head. "Yes. Please."

She smiled bigger. "Of course. So which one?"

I thought for a moment and then said, "Rogers and Hammerstein. Oh, can we start with..." I didn't finish my question before she had in fact pulled up Oklahoma.

We both enthusiastically dug into our pizza. After a few minutes, I looked over and noticed that she had a little sauce on her cheek. "Giana?"

She looked over at me and quirked a brow. "Hmm?"

I reached over and gently used my thumb to wipe the sauce away. I then brought my thumb to my mouth and cleaned the sauce off of it. "You just had some sauce."

She blushed a deep red. "T-Thank you."

I grinned and kissed her cheek. "You're welcome."

We finished eating our pizza and quickly cleaned things up. She went to change into pajamas in the guest room while I went and changed in the bathroom. I had brought plain dark blue and black plaid pajama pants and a black t-shirt. I still wore a shirt to bed and really any time I was around her, but it was that way with everyone. It was hard to be alone without a shirt let alone be shirtless around other people. I sometimes would get sick when my shirt hem brushed against the tattoo. It didn't hurt anymore but the physiological response wasn't something I could help. I hated looking at it. At least for now I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing it, especially Giana. I wasn't ready to learn how she would react to that mark of ownership.

Shaking my head, I quickly changed and then put my dirty clothes in my duffel bag. I then made my way to the kitchen to make popcorn. Giana changed into dark blue silk pajama shorts with white stars on them and a matching dark blue silk pajama shirt with white stars on it. Then she let her hair down and was running her fingers through it as she walked into the kitchen.

"So do you like lots of butter or none at all?"

I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and sent her a smile. "Well, I think butter is a must. I always buy the movie theater popcorn from the store."

She grinned as I poured the popcorn into the bowl. "Perfect."

I turned holding the bowl and I'm glad I had a tight hold because otherwise I would have dropped it. "Y-You looked beautiful."

She blushed and averted her gaze. "I-I'm just in pajamas, Zach."

"Mhmm and you are absolutely beautiful."

She covered her face with her hands, and I chuckled softly at the action. I made my way over to her and kissed her cheek. "Let's go watch those movies."

Giana took my hand and laced our fingers together, her cheeks still bright red and let me lead her back to the living room.

"Speaking of the movies," I said. "Would you mind if I maybe hum along?"

She looked at me and shook her head. "I don't mind a bit. There's one song I love, and I'd like to sing along myself but only if you don't mind."

I grinned immediately thinking of the song, People Will Say We're In Love. It was the one that I saw her mouthing when we watched it with my family. "I don't mind at all."

We sat down on the couch side by side as we played Oklahoma and I found myself wanting to more than hum. So, when Gordon showed up as Curly, I began to sing along with him. At first, I sang very softly but then I got a bit louder the more confident I became.

"There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye. And it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh what a beautiful morning. Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feeling. Everything's going my way. All the cattle are standing like statues. All the cattle are standing like statues. They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by. But a little brown mav'rick is winking her eye. Oh what a beautiful morning. Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feeling. Everything's going my way. All the sounds of the earth are like music. All the sounds of the earth are like music. The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree. And an ol' Weepin' Willer is laughin' at me. Oh what a beautiful morning. Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feeling. Everything's going my way. Oh what a beautiful day."

Giana gasped softly, and I could feel her eyes on me, but she didn't say anything just content to listen to me. That was how most of the movie was and I loved it.

Then we got to People Will Say We're In Love. Giana softly asked, "Do you want to sing this together?"

My heart skipped a beat at her request. I felt it race as I looked at her. "Can we sing and act?"

She grinned and nodded, taking my hand. "Yes. Please?"

That's how we ended up standing up and facing each other in our pajamas taking on our roles as Curly and Laurie.

Giana looked sideways at me. "Why do they think up stories that link my name with yours?"

I put my hands on my hips. "Why do the neighbors chatter all day, behind their doors?"

She put a hand up and smiled. "I know a way to prove what they say is quite untrue. Here is the gist, a practical list of donts for you."

She then started to walk away from me, and I followed as she began to sing. "Don't throw bouquets at me. Don't please my folks too much. Don't laugh at my jokes too much."

I looked at her and scoffed. "Who laughs at yer jokes?"

She looked like she would object but then continued singing. "People will say we're in love! Don't sigh and gaze at me. Your sighs are so like mine. Your eyes mustn't glow like mine. People will say we're in love! Don't start collecting things."

I tilted my head and quirked a brow, my lips twitching in amusement. "Like what?"

She gestured to her arm, "Give me my rose and my glove. Sweetheart they're suspecting things. People will say we're in love."

Time seemed to freeze as I nearly swooned when her voice so perfectly hit the high notes. I swooned even more when she called me sweetheart even though I knew it was just a word in the song. I was shocked at just how good she was, but I was also in awe as I realized it was my turn to sing.

"Don't praise my charm too much. Don't look so vain with me. Don't stand in the rain with me. People will say we're in love!" She watched me curiously as I sang, "Don't take my arm too much. Don't keep your hand in mine."

I held my arm out and then my hand and she reached for it, but I then pulled away before she could take it as I continued. "Your hand feels so grand in mine. People will say we're in love!"

Giana smiled and started walking away in an arc. I followed her and continue singing. "Don't dance all night with me. Till the stars fade from above. They'll see it's alright with me."

She paused, her eyes shining with affection. My eyes felt wet, but I was so happy as I put my arm around her and sang the last line. "People will say we're in love."

She laid her head on my shoulder, and we stood there as the movie continued before she looked up at me. Her cheeks were bright red, but she was grinning ear to ear. I looked down at her my cheeks also red, but I was also grinning ear to ear as I led her back to the couch. We plopped down, sitting much closer than before.

By the time we got to the song, All Er Nuthin, we were snuggled close, her nose nuzzling against my neck and my arm around her shoulders. We grabbed a blanket and cuddled close under it while the movie played. I started fiddling with her hair which she loved, and we both sighed contentedly. I loved the movie Oklahoma, but I loved it a thousand percent more because we were watching it together.

After Oklahoma was over we put in Sound of Music which was just as amazing, and we once again sang along with every song. That was the first time I'd felt the words to Something Good hit so close to home. I found myself tearing up as they sang.

'Perhaps I had a wicked childhood. Perhaps I had a miserable youth. But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past. There must have been a moment of truth. For here you are, standing there, loving me. Whether or not you should. So somewhere in my youth or childhood. I must have done something good. Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth or childhood. I must have done something good. For here you are standing there, loving me. Whether or not you should. So somewhere in my youth or childhood. I must have done something good. Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth. Or childhood. I must have done something. Something good.'

I allowed the tears to slide down my cheeks and sighed happily when Giana guided my head to her shoulder. Her shoulder had officially become my head's home...Well, apart from on top of my own shoulders. No matter what I was feeling or thinking about, when I put my head on her shoulder everything was alright again.

We continued our Rogers and Hammerstein movie marathon, both of us agreeing about halfway through South Pacific to skip that one. We moved onto State Fair and finally ended with Carousel. I looked at Giana and smiled when she looked up at me sleepily. "I'm glad we watched these movies together."

She blinked and grinned, slowly waking back up. "Me too. I like snuggles and movies."

I blushed and softly said, "So do I. I was actually thinking maybe we could continue snuggling?"

"Yes. I was hoping you'd say that."

I grinned, my heart soaring at her agreement. "We can clean up later."

Giana shook her head. "Let me tidy up a little. After all, it's not my house."

Wincing slightly, I nodded. I felt bad because I had just spaced on us not being at my house but that's what happened when I got lost in Giana. "Let me help."

☣ ♡ ☣

After we cleaned up, I laid down on the couch, situating the pillows and opened my arms. I could feel my stomach swirling with nerves. You're probably wondering why I was nervous considering I've slept on the couch with her before. Well, the last time that happened, we were both exhausted and had moved closer in our sleep. This was the first time we were wide enough awake to decide to sleep like this.

She smiled at me as she turned off the ceiling light, blushing lightly and laid down in my arms. She relaxed against me, her nose nuzzling against my neck. I blushed and let out a soft hum in response before planting a soft kiss on her forehead and pulling the blanket over us.

We snuggled close and I can't tell you how safe I felt in that moment. I also didn't just feel safe. Although I felt completely safe with Giana, I also felt loved. I hadn't had that feeling in a long time and when I thought about it more, I realized I had never felt that way with Lu, or Addie. I definitely had NEVER ever had that feeling with Jayden.

So, I pulled Giana closer, and it caused us to intertwine our legs. It was new but it felt right in more ways than one. I felt the tension that always seemed to be inside me, slowly slipping away. My heart began to beat faster and slower all at once. It was then that I realized ZuZu was right.

Before I allowed my eyes to flutter closed, I thought to myself, 'Did my heart love till now?'

If you didn't know this already, that quote was when Romeo realized that he could now distinguish between the artificiality of his love for Rosaline and the genuine feelings Juliet inspired. Romeo acknowledged his love was blind.

My love was blind before Giana, and it was that night that I realized my heart had never truly loved until that moment with her in my arms.

#toxic #original work #original characters #giana anderson (oc)#zach anderson (oc)#ziana #my original work #toxic: chapter 36 #chapter 36 #first dates #zach x giana #giana x zach #fluff

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ebooksreadernow · 2 years

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eBook (Download) Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) BY : Joey Lawrence

[Read] PDF/Book Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) By Joey Lawrence

Ebook PDF Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) | EBOOK ONLINE DOWNLOAD If you want to download free Ebook, you are in the right place to download Ebook. Ebook/PDF Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) DOWNLOAD in English is available for free here, Click on the download LINK below to download Ebook After You 2020 PDF Download in English by Jojo Moyes (Author).

Download Link : [Downlload Now] Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa)

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Description

A monolithic collection of images captured by photographer Joey L. over the course of thirteen years with the support of his dedicated Ethiopian crew."Joey L.?s Ethiopia book is a true love letter to my home country of Ethiopia, the land of milk and honey. His imagery does a beautiful job of capturing the diversity of the country and culture. The astonishing landscapes, beautiful people, and vibrant culture. It can all be found all here in this book. Looking at the images, I can't wait to go back to my motherland." - Marcus Samuelsson, Acclaimed chef, Author, and Restaurateur Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures & Traditions is a visual ode to every region of the country and a celebration of all the diverse peoples found within. This highly anticipated volume includes both the iconic landmarks and landscapes found exclusively within Ethiopia, and regions that are lesser known to tourists and travellers. From the cosmopolitan hub of Addis Ababa

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ebookcolections · 2 years

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eBook (Download) Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) BY : Joey Lawrence

[Read] PDF/Book Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa) By Joey Lawrence

Download Link : [Downlload Now] Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa)

Read More : [Read Now] Ethiopia: A Photographic Tribute to East Africa's Diverse Cultures Traditions (Art photography, Books About Africa)

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juststudio · 2 years

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Bounty train cheat engine not working

#BOUNTY TRAIN CHEAT ENGINE NOT WORKING INSTALL#

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I tried to use Cheat Engine on Nioh 2 PC but for some reason the cheat for infinite amrita and infinite gold is not working for me. The Assassin’s Creed Odyssey cheats are featured from. There are some efforts of Ubisoft to curb the usage of trainers in the game.

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(and you can still get it. This is to accommodate the latest patch for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Did you see the engine Well, that engine, the Dewitt Clinton, is one that the standard edition starts you off with. (Click on the more recent ones for better accuracy) Don't worry, I'll wait.

Some unofficial phone apps appear to be using GameFAQs as a back-end, but they do not behave like a real web browser does. I had already played Nioh 2 on console but i just dont want to do all that grinding again. Just go type 'bounty train' and see what you can find.

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junglevewor · 2 years

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Can i plug a usb hard drive into my linksys router for mac

#Can i plug a usb hard drive into my linksys router for mac how to

#Can i plug a usb hard drive into my linksys router for mac mac

I've tried the router and USB drive addys. I still couldnt access the files on the drive until I logged into the router, went to USB sharing, clicked on the icon to the right of the clock icon, then clicked on the share option. On the phone, using SMB or FTP with either fwd or back slashes one gives me a Google search listing - the other tells me I don't have permission to view "Butler14B150.N56N66OS". IrvSp I turned on SMB 1.0 and now the drive shows. I am NOT interested in sharing an internet connection via the router however, and would like to keep my wired ethernet connection as my primary. I've turned SMB and AFP on in Preferences on the Mac. Id like to use a USB-equipped wireless router to share the hard drive over a secure network-this will allow me to access the files without having to keep the drive plugged into my laptop 24/7. and now what? How can I use the Music app that came with the phone (or any other MP3 player) to access files on the USB?Īny addy I use in Safari (on the phone) I get an error msg and redirected back to the app. Many Linksys wireless router models come with at least one USB port you can use for attaching a USB drive, which you can then use as a. You will need to access the management utilities on the router to turn on its file sharing. It does show my WAN port is in use and my four LAN ports are unplugged. My stock firmware would lock up every few weeks, so I’m hoping this won’t or at least I can set it to reboot once a week like my router (E2000 with DD-WRT).

#Can i plug a usb hard drive into my linksys router for mac how to

I was planning on copying a bunch of music files to the USB drive, attaching it to the router. How to Map a Linksys Wireless Router Attached to a USB Drive. The most complex way is to use a network router that supports sharing of a USB-connected hard drive, such as Apples Airport Extreme Base Station or various Linksys routers. Worked perfectly with my E2500 V3 (Tomato Firmware MIPSR2-3.5-140 K26 USB Mega-VPN).

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My goal was to access music from my Mac via my iPhone. 8 hours ago &0183 &32 Click Apply Netgear Orbi Advanced AP 1 Connect the wired and wireless devices at the same time: You can connect the 4 devices through wired and another 4-5 devices wirelessly through 3 Orbi satellites communicate with the router, not with each other You cant use it to connect a USB hard drive or a USB printer that you 08. But I don't see any way to access the files with any phone app (Music, Pages, Adobe, etc - since there is no Finder per se). Using Finder, I can access the drive via my Mac - copy, paste, open files etc with the Linksys app on my iPhone I can see the router and that there is the usb drive. IMac, iPhone 6+, Linksys WRT1200AC router with a Seagate 1.0T USB drive. For Plex, should I use external hard drive plugged into pc, or router I have Plex installed on my computer and have it in my mobile, I want to use it with chromecast but am I better off leaving the external hard drive plugged into my computer usb3.0 or directly into my router usb2.

#Can i plug a usb hard drive into my linksys router for mac

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veworads · 2 years

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Moemon platinum r

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Continued abuse of our services will cause your IP address to be blocked indefinitely. Please fill out the CAPTCHA below and then click the button to indicate that you agree to these terms. If you wish to be unblocked, you must agree that you will take immediate steps to rectify this issue. If you do not understand what is causing this behavior, please contact us here. If you promise to stop (by clicking the Agree button below), we'll unblock your connection for now, but we will immediately re-block it if we detect additional bad behavior. Overusing our search engine with a very large number of searches in a very short amount of time.Using a badly configured (or badly written) browser add-on for blocking content.Running a "scraper" or "downloader" program that either does not identify itself or uses fake headers to elude detection.Using a script or add-on that scans GameFAQs for box and screen images (such as an emulator front-end), while overloading our search engine.There is no official GameFAQs app, and we do not support nor have any contact with the makers of these unofficial apps. Continued use of these apps may cause your IP to be blocked indefinitely. This triggers our anti-spambot measures, which are designed to stop automated systems from flooding the site with traffic. Some unofficial phone apps appear to be using GameFAQs as a back-end, but they do not behave like a real web browser does.Pokemon Emerald Version has 277 likes from 320 user ratings. This online game is part of the Adventure, RPG, GBA, and Pokemon gaming categories. Pokemon Emerald Version is a high quality game that works in all major modern web browsers.

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Using GameFAQs regularly with these browsers can cause temporary and even permanent IP blocks due to these additional requests. Play Pokemon Emerald Version game online in your browser free of charge on Arcade Spot. If you are using Maxthon or Brave as a browser, or have installed the Ghostery add-on, you should know that these programs send extra traffic to our servers for every page on the site that you browse.The most common causes of this issue are: Considering that there are more Pokemon, several have been added in some areas when you play Pokemon Renegade Platinum.Your IP address has been temporarily blocked due to a large number of HTTP requests. Speaking to TheGamer, Thomas shares why he’s. After just a year of working on the project, the pair already have numerous iconic locations to show off, as well as a battle system that’s been completely recreated in 3D. There are also changes to some of the NPCs and Pokemon spawn locations. Enter Thomas Durgetto and Sebastien Musetti Royer, Pokemon fans who are remaking the entirety of Pokemon Platinum in Unity. It isn’t harder up to a point where the game is terrible it is a bit more challenging, making it a bit more fun. When it comes to the special trainer battles and Gym Leaders, they have become a bit harder. When you progress thru the story, there are still key items that you can get from the same people, but others have been changed. The item placements in the game have also been altered, but not all. New items have also been added to the game that functions as evolution catalysts or just something you can use. You also don’t need to trade Pokemon to evolve them, which is always a welcome idea. Pokemon evolutions can be quickly done in the game as level requirements have been reduced. It also means that there are added moves and several TMs have been altered and updated. This means that those that recently got secondary types or the Fairy-type will have it in the game. All the Pokemon in Renegade Platinum have their types and stats updated until Generation VI. The Fairy-type is also included in the game. The Pokemon roster is more extensive, and the lineup includes those until Generation VI. It is a retelling of Pokemon Platinum but with a lot of newer features. There are some changes, and additions like any good ROM hack does. It utilizes a lot of the graphical and sound capabilities of the game. The only difference is that some characters and trainers have been altered, but the story remains the same. Pokemon Renegade Platinum is a ROM hack of Pokemon Platinum. There aren’t any changes in how the story flows. The game pretty much has the same story as Pokemon Platinum.

#Moemon platinum r

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glitterandgoldrush · 3 years

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someone asked for my live-blogging reaction to oouil tv, so i have put it under the cut with a more complete explanation of how i felt overall as well!

ep1:

okay so it’s definitely super different

sassy maeve, i love it

eggs instead of a car crash? i guess it’s bc they wrote out luis

addy finding jake on her own and cooper not helping 😭😭 why are we getting rid of all of cooper’s kind scenes

cooper and keely have a secret? and why does cooper seem so completely unaffected what

bronwyn and nate are so flirty right off the bat wow

bronwyn stole simon’s laptop?? what the fuck. this is so totally different

also no drinking scene with bron & nate :(

janae getting a Storyline and going after addy right away ?? why would she do that if she’s guilty her whole thing was wanting to stay away from them until addy basically forced herself into her life

totally weird side note: but not how i’ve been pronouncing nate’s last name this whole time

also just totally noticed that they skipped over everyone else also having fake phones?

OH and cooper is super new, moved here last year

COOPER’S SEALED RECORD IM SORRY WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHY WHY WHY WOULD COOPER HAVE A RECORD

ahh here’s the florence + the machine thing everyone was talking about

bronwyn’s a terrible liar oh my god 😭

“sucks for your dad” line literally made me lol

LUCAS AND NONNY YES THANK YOU

wait shut the fUCK UP LUCAS KNOWS THAT COOPER IS GAY I LOVE THIS 😭😭

SHUT UP KEELY KNOWS I LOVE THIS

“i won’t waste this arm on that shit” get em cooper lol

addy and tj ooooFT

addy taking anti anxiety medication is definitely something she should’ve been doing in the books lol i also love the fixation on her hair

maeve continuing to be Sassy as fuck and i love it

is nate’s aussie accent super obvious to anyone else ?

THATS HOW YOU PRONOUNCE SIMON’S LAST NAME??

janae’s speech lowkey iconic even though they’re both the worst

HER SINGING LILY ALLEN. I WONT LIE, I DID LAUGH 😭😭 so fucking weird

also “it’s not okay to be gay” but it is okay to our people :) man janae c’mon you’re not seeing any of the irony here?

this tribute is so much worse than the books like how disrespectful jesus. i know simon was the Worst but yiiiiikes this was hard to watch

OH MY GOD OHMYGOD OH MY GOD THE POST

kris 🥺🥺

the missing laptop? ruh roh shaggy

ep 2:

oh addy being insecure 🥺

lol what the fuck jake is so manipulative i hate that i find them cute in this scene 😭😭😭

run cooper run

KRIS 🥺🥺🥺 A SPEAKING ROLE

i had to stop this scene bc i was stressed that they’re gonna ruin their relationship

pls let me see one scene of him comforting coop. one scene and i will be content

ooft bronwyn is just as brutal in this as she is in the books

LMAO kris and cooper swapping briefs iconic

are these eps gonna be like specifically character based? this definitely feels like an addy episode

lmao cooper “wouldn’t be the first time police out evidence where they needed it to be” go off king

addy loves to make herself look guilty “saw it on the food network” love u baby

BRONWYN AND NATE HOLDING HANDS THANK U MAAM

bronwyn immediately throwing addy under the bus wHY

cooper “WhAt?” sir 😭 are we surprised

also the capsule idea is excellent to really heighten the tension of in the room right here right now

oh no not cooper and his dad being so good :(

addy’s mom is so invasive i hate her

simon being the mayor’s kid ooft

bronwyn stop accusing addy challenge

“and i’ll be a mom…but a good one” BREAKING MY HEART ADS

noooooooo cooper embarrassed as hell 😪

NOOOOO KRIS NOT KNOWING THAT COOPER IS IN HIGH SCHOOL WHAT WHAT WHAT

im actually so sad about this, in the books cooper never lies to kris he’s literally the only person that he’s honest with, and that’s kinda?? a huge point??? of his character???

simon’s mom being so disrespectful to his literal only friend AHAHAHA wtf

keep on lowkey forgetting that this is an adaption bc it’s so different like 100 plot twists that didn’t exist before

addy hiding under that bed gave me so much anxiety it made me feel sick omg

“his love of his friends” babe what friends

maeve and janae ooft interesting

“best food” LMAO MAEVE i love u

addy and cooper sniping at each other no pls my chaos twins 🥺🥺🥺

keely and cooper are so sweet 😭😭

OH NO KEELY KNOWS HE’S GAY BUT DOESNT KNOW HES HOOKING UP WITH KRIS THIS IS BAD

addy and jake are getting my heart POUNDING RN POUNDING I AM STRESSED I AM S T R E S S E D

jake’s cast perfectly. i am terrified of this man: absolutely flawless casting

cooper’s so sarcastic i love him

“…in the kitchen” iconic lmao

OOOFT addy admitting it 😭 this made me emotional

COOPER AND ADDY THANK YOU FINALLY 🥺🥺🥺🥺

coop and kris part two let’s goooooo

oh my god are they gonna make it look like it was maeve 😭

honestly,,, maeve is a really good suspect i never actually considered that before lol

ep3

“i’m gonna fix it” no ur not baby

they’re doing a very very good job at keeping the suspense of one of them doing it up, by this point in the book everyone kinda knew it wasn’t one of the four but here it’s much more ambiguous

the soda anecdote is my favourite 😭😭

tj is so sweet but i’m praying they don’t make them end up together pls let addy have her independence arc

OH SHIT THEM BEATING THE FUCK OUT OF EACH OTHER

him hurting coop wtf sir

oh no not this happening in front of everyone oh no oh NO

but also jake was way calmer in the books

vanessa SUUUUUUUCKS

OH MY GOD NATES SECRET IS SO MUCH MORE INTENSE

maeve lmaoooo i love u

“don’t u think nate could have done it” WHY WOULD NATE EXPOSE HIS OWN SECRET THIS PLOT HOLE ANNOYS ME SO MUCH as soon as their secret is exposed it basically excludes them from being the killer

LMAO NATE AND ADDY I LOVE IT

“i could literally kill” “another thing you should keep to yourself” PLEASE 😭😭

COOPER STOP YELLING PLEASE i don’t GET why they’ve made these choices

thank YOU ADDY EXACTLY my point about the secret

maeve’s nosebleed oh my god oh my god

lmao oh NO bronwyn knows about the laptop

bronwyn really turned on her sister like 0.2 seconds flat

COOPER YES THANK U

maeve was friends with simon?!! what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

oh no coopers secret fuck

also cooper hurting his shoulder NO

ugh i knew they would make kris buy from nate that’s so out of his character

seems weird that they wouldn’t have had this conversation earlier??? uhh tell me why they don’t know each other at all

maeve being a Good Sister

ooooh the phones make their first appearance

why is cooper so aggressive that’s so out of character did they forget he’s literally supposed to be sunshine boy

why would jake defend addy lol he’s supposed to egg on the drama

ahhh addy and janae bathroom scene iconicccc

“you suck like 20% less” lmao janae do not make me like you

WHY would maeve be friends with simon i do not get the direction we have taken here

WHY WOULD MAEVE BE IN LOVE WITH SIMON I DO NOT GET THE DIRECTION WE HAVE TAKEN HERE

????????????????????????? IM GENUINELY BAFFLED I AM LOST I AM CONFUSED

okay so?? addy & bronwyn are the only characters that are staying true to the books let’s be honest

oooft maeve call her out let’s go

oh my god cooper and nate friends?? it’s sweet.

wait coopers mom is dead in this

cooper and nate FRIENDS 🥺🥺🥺

KRIS KRIS KRIS KRIS

FUCK i am stressed for cooper rn oh my good god

kris wearing glasses oh cute

oh no poor baby is so hurt and stressed i’m 😭

DAMN STRAIGHT COOPER HE IS A SAD PATHETIC BULLY WHEN YOURE RIGHT YOURE RIGHT

GET EM BABY LETS GO POP OFF K I N G 91 MPH LETS GO

“i did it” oh shit

“i would fail and that just wasn’t an option” relatable tbh

her parents suck lol

cooper is so happy i’m stressed to my core he’s gonna get caught with pain killers i can’t be having it

OH NO OH NO KEELY AND KRIS IS THERE AND OH SHIT OH NO

NOT KRIS CRYING HOLD ON IM i gasped

“and your dad knows too” CAN U PLS GIVE HIM A FUCKING BREAK KRIS ITS LITERALLY A PLOT POINT IN THE BOOKS THAT KRIS NEVER PRESSURES HIM TO COME OUT I AM M A D

detective is gonna out cooper i will fight to the death this bitch

nate and bronwyn here we GO

OVERALL

look, it’s enjoyable. i think the actors are great, and theyre certainly really talented. i think addy and bronwyn are the best adapted, though even then they have some moments that make me think “wtf” like bronwyn stealing the laptop, and jake not being half as aggressive as he’s supposed to be

i like cooper’s storyline with his family & keely, although it’s obviously completely different from the books & takes away from how totally closeted he was there. i’m really torn, i like his character, but i like him as like, someone completely different from book!cooper, because i feel like apart from baseball, they barely have anything in common? cooper doesn’t lie to kris, he wouldn’t approach nate for drugs, he wouldn’t get aggressive with him either, and the closest he ever gets to accusing anyone is saying that peanut oil is a “weird kind of coincidence”. i knew it would be different but it’s very, very different. i guess i just have to get used to it? also kris is just not even close to being the same i mean he’s not a model, he’s not german, he doesn’t know about keely?? cooper says in the book that kris would “never force him to come out” or make him feel bad about it, but it’s like the first thing we see kris do. which is understandable in his situation, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just not at all what he’s like in the books

maeve’s storyline is,, a decision and i don’t understand why she would be friends with simon when her whole entire thing in the book is being grossed out by him

OKAY so concludingly, let me be clear, i do LIKE it. i think it’s fun and it’s interesting and the actors are great. obviously i’m being hypercritical in this bc i’m comparing it to the books. thats not to say there isn’t things i liked bc there definitely definitely is! but i’m also now looking at it as something completely separate from oouil bc apart from the primary plot points, there’s basically nothing in common

#oouil tv #oouil spoilers #one of us is lying #oouil #one of us is lying peacock #trying to tag anything people might have blacklisted if they don’t want spoilers

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adventuresindolls · 3 years

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May Photo Challenge!!

Our next photo challenge, #Daisies and Daffodolls, will begin on May 1st! It’s a creative, for fun, non-competitive daily challenge for you to share pictures of your doll(s). There will be a new prompt each day, listed below to give you a month to prepare, and you can participate in as many or as few days as you’re interested in. There is no judgement whatsoever, so please share regardless of how complex your props are, and don’t worry about posting a prompt late.

First of all, thank you so much to @desertdollranch for helping with the prompts, especially those surrounding AG birthdays and holidays, and for getting this whole photo challenge thing started back in September! And a huge thank you to @lesbianelizabethcole for designing all 5 banners!

The ground rules are the same as in October and December, but I’ll reiterate them for anyone that might be new. Tag all of your prompt posts with #daisies and daffodolls - all three words, complete with spaces. This will allow us to better find and share each other’s posts. You can organize your own posts however you want, but I recommend including the day’s prompt somewhere for context. Also feel free to post on other social medias if you want.

This is not a competition, and there are no prizes, but it should be a lot of fun. Feel free to use any size and brand of doll that you have! American Girl is very popular on doll tumblr, but all other types are welcome as well, including both established (historical or modern) characters and OCs. This could range from 18-inch dolls to Barbies to handmade dolls or porcelain dolls or even paper dolls.

I’ll reblog this post weekly until the beginning of May, and then begin each week of May with the prompt list for that week. Please find a list of all prompts below the cut.

5/1: The first day of each photo challenge is traditionally for seasonal fashion. Does your doll have a favorite spring outfit? Is it cool and light, or are they still bundled in a sweater for the chilly mornings?

5/2: Spring is all about new beginnings. Is your doll learning a new skill or trying a new activity this spring? Or maybe they just met a new person who became important in their life?

5/3: Today is National Textiles Day. Kirsten’s friends gave her a quilt they made after she missed school to help her family. Does your doll have any clothes or other items that are handmade? If not, do they make any textile items themselves? This could be something sewn, knitted, crocheted, or quilted.

5/4: May the 4th be with you! Does your doll like Star Wars? Who is their favorite character? What about other stories? Pick a hero from any movie, show, or book that your doll loves and have them act out a scene as that character.

5/5: Friends are forever. Who are your doll’s closest friends and what do they do together? Maybe they like to play board games or go to the mall or play pretend. Or maybe your doll is planning something special for their friend.

5/6: As the weather gets warmer, it’s the perfect time to head outside. Does your doll play sports, or do they prefer casual games with their friends? Maybe they like picnics or quiet hikes through the woods.

5/7: Happy birthday, Maryellen! Maryellen often feels overlooked in her large family, and she works hard to stand out and show her unique personality. What makes your doll special and unique?

5/8: It’s career day! What does your doll want to do when they grow up? Show them dressed up for and/or acting out their dream job.

5/9: Happy Mother’s Day! Addy and her mother escaped to freedom together, Caroline’s mother ran a shipyard, and Kirsten’s mother encouraged her not to lose heart. Does your doll have a special bond with their mother? How do they celebrate Mother’s Day? If they don’t have a mother or don’t have a good relationship with her, consider today a free space to show us something you really want to but that isn’t included in these prompts.

5/10: Bugs are everywhere! We might avoid some of them, but others are welcomed. Lightning bugs, ladybugs, bumble bees, and dragonflies are a few happy spring bugs. Show your doll doing something bug-themed. They might take a net out to catch bugs or draw a picture of a bug or hold a ladybug they found. Be creative!

5/11: Parties are always fun! Is your doll going to any birthday parties or sleepovers this spring? Maybe they’re attending a wedding or some other celebration? What are their favorite party activities?

5/12: Spring weather can be a relief after the cold and darkness of winter. What is the weather like where your doll is? Foggy? Rainy? Bright and sunny? Show your doll interacting with their local spring weather.

5/13: Everyone needs mentors and heroes. Who does your doll look up to? What have they learned from them or how do they honor them?

5/14: It’s the last day of the school year. What’s your doll’s favorite extracurricular activity or aspect of school that they’ll miss until next fall?

5/15: Happy birthday, Luciana! Luciana loves learning about space and wants to be an astronaut and go to Mars one day. Getting to space involves studying many different things, particularly various fields of science. Show your doll doing something related to space or science.

5/16: Today is National Do Something Nice for your Neighbor Day. What does your doll do that helps others or makes the world a better place?

5/17: Let’s try something different today! If your (OC or non-AG) doll had their own American Girl-style book series, what would be the central theme? What sort of things would happen to them? Show us at least one scene from this hypothetical series.

5/18: Beaches and swimming are iconic activities as the weather gets warmer and people have more free time. Rebecca and her family went to Coney Island for a picnic. Does your doll enjoy picnics, sunbathing, or sandcastles on the beach? Maybe they like to swim for exercise or hang out at the pool with friends? (I do not recommend putting your doll in a public chlorine pool)

5/19: Happy Birthday, Kit! Growing up seeing the effects of the Great Depression on people around her, Kit is determined to report on important things happening to real people. How does your doll relate to current events? Are they involved in activism or spreading awareness? Is there an important social issue that affects them personally or that they feel is very important? Or is there something good happening in the world that they like to think about?

5/20: Spring is a great time for tea parties. What’s in your doll’s teacup? Maybe they’re drinking a fancy tea, or maybe they prefer a refreshing glass of juice.

5/21: Spring is full of baby animals. Show your doll interacting with some sort of baby animal. (Safely! Please don’t grab a real squirrel or bunny!)

5/22: In December we celebrated Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day. I’d like to reprise that, but with a twist: this time, we’re headed into the future! The amount of time and what your doll finds in the future is completely up to you. What do they do while there?

5/23: Cakes and pies and ice cream, oh my! What is your doll’s favorite dessert?

5/24: There may be fewer holidays in spring than in December, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to celebrate! Does your doll celebrate Passover or Easter? Or maybe they prefer a more obscure spring holiday to liven things up? Show them participating in whatever celebration you like.

5/25: Yellow is the color of flowers and sunny days and ducklings. Show your doll wearing or using something yellow.

5/26: Happy birthday, Samantha! After her birthday party, Samantha hears Aunt Cornelia speak at a suffragette meeting in New York City. What is a cause that is important to your doll? Show them with a sign supporting or protesting something close to their heart. As an added challenge, use a cause unrelated to the current events prompt.

5/27: It’s summer vacation! What are some of your doll’s favorite activities now that they’re free from school? Alternatively, what are some of their favorite hobbies to do anytime?

5/28: Happy birthday, Cecile! For her birthday, Cecile’s brother Armand gave her a beautiful porcelain doll that looked like her. Does your doll have a favorite doll or toy?

5/29: Late spring and early summer is a great time to go on a road trip or vacation. Where is your doll traveling to, and what are they doing there? Or maybe their family chose a staycation this year - what new fun new things are they discovering close to home?

5/30: Today is National Water a Flower Day. Show your doll interacting with flowers or other plants.

5/31: What is your doll planning for this fall? What are they looking forward to when school starts again? Is a big change approaching as the seasons and leaves turn? What does the future hold for them?

#Daisies and Daffodolls #American Girl Dolls #Our Generation #dollblr

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ariel-seagull-wings · 3 years

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TOP 12 WICKED QUEEN PORTRAYALS

@sunlit-music @mademoiselle-princesse @princesssarisa @superkingofpriderock @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @astrangechoiceoffavourites @giuliettaluce

Alongside the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella’s Stepmother, The Giant from Jack and The Beanstalk, The Witch from Hansel and Gretel and Bluebeard, The Wicked Queen from Snow White is one of the most iconic fairy tale villains of all time. A lot of people come to consider her the real protagonist of the fairy tale, since is her desire to be considered the Fairest of All and her actions to keep that title what puts the narrative in motion. And today, i will rank my favorite portrayals of this fascinatingly nasty foe.

12º Miranda Richardson as Queen Elspeth in Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001)

Talk about being typecast: before that turn as Snow White’s Evil Queen, Richardson had portrayed an Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller (’The Three Ravens’ episode) and she was a wicked Sorceress Stepmother in Tim Burton’s Sleep Hollow. So it was neat for her to be called for the role of the most famous Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in this Hallmark TV Movie. Elspeth is the sister of a strange, mysteryous creature known as the Granter of Wishes. Having been recently released from his freezing prison, the Granter of Wishes makes a spell to make her look beautifull for human standards, and marries her to the newly crowned and widowed King John. At first she looks content with the prospect, but as time passes, she grows more and more unsatisfied. Her source of joy is the Magic Mirror that praises her beauty, and casting spells to turn gnomes into garden statues. But when the Magic Mirror says that Snow White’s beauty surpasses hers, the unsatisfaction gets mixed with paranoia, and Elspeth slowly abuses her power in constantly harming other people, until there is no magic enough...

11º Herta Kravina in Schneewitchen (1971)

This german TV Movie is the most faithfull adaptation of the Grimm’s tale original edition, not only keeping the three murder attempts by ribbon/lace/corset, hair comb and apple, but also being the only one to show the Queen dancing to death with hot iron shoes in Snow White’s wedding. This is enough to make it worth a checkout. The other reason i find this version interesting is how the Queen comunicates with the Magic Mirror: they sing to each other. And Kravina has a really good voice (no wonder she was a voice actress for Peggy Lee in the first german/dutch dub of Disney’s Lady and The Tramp). Sometimes that is enough to get a spot in a ranking.

10º Mari Yokoo/Caterina Rochiara/Regina Reagan/Carol Jacobanis as Queen Crystal in The Legend of Snow White (1994)

From the outside, Queen Chrystal appears to be calm, regal, and sophisticated, but in reality, this collected and stately facade hides an extremely sadistic, hateful, cold and sinister person. She is ruthless, jealous and obsessive and wants nothing more than to be the fairest in the land. She also has an extreme vanity that made her utterly intolerant of rivals. Being solely focused on the idea of becoming the fairest of all, Queen Chrystal does not appear to be significantly involved in governing her husband's kingdom, though the skeletal remains of prisoners in her dungeon point to her being a villainous ruler. In the end, her mad vanity and jealousy of her stepdaughter Snow White drove her to murderous insanity. Later is revealed that Queen Chrystal is not unredeamably evil as everyone thins, but an actually kind and gentle person who is possessed by an Evil Spirit.

09º Diana Rigg as the Queen in Canon Movie Tales: Snow White (1987)

This lady is the personification of paranoia multiplied by the double. Why? Because the Magic Mirror didn’t needed to say that the little child Snow White was the fairest, this queen just feared so much that the princess’s beauty would outgrow hers that she ordered the huntsman to kill her. Basically: run, she is bad news.

08º Jeri Arredondo as Sly Fox in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child (1995)

Sly Fox... What a cunning diva. People try to counsel to not use alone a Magic Mirror that is a portal to the spirit world, but who says she listens? She is just there to hear the singing of her praises, and will try to eliminate anyone who gets on her way. She even goes so far as taking the appearance of the kind hearted nurse Sage Flower to lure her stepdaughter White Snow to eat the poisoned appled. What is not to love about that bastard?

07º Kazue Komiya/Arlene Banas as the Queen in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

Interestingly this encarnation starts naturally cold, calm and collected, ocasionally at the princess Snow White to see if she can ever grow more beautifull than her, and dismissing the girl with contempt. It is years later that she lets go of acting calm and collected, because after hearing some gossips in the palace, she asks Snow White if she thinks of herself as more beautifull than the Queen, and her stepdaughter reacts by exclaiming that the Queen is vain and cruel, and to her eyes that makes her ugly. So besides the desire of being considered the most beautifull, you get the feeling that this Queen pursues Snow White as a way to shut a person that dares to rebell against her, wich ads new interesting dimentions to their antagonism.

06º Dorothy Cumming as Queen Brangomar in Snow White (1916)

Brangomar was once a lady in waiting of the palace. But one day, she met the powerfull Witch Rex, who offered to give Brangomar anything she wanted. And what Brangomar wanted was to become a beautifull Queen. Wich was achieved by a faustian deal where Witch Rex would cast a spell that killed Imogene, the previous Queen, while in return Brangomar would have to find a way of getting Snow White’s heart for the Witch. Years have passed, and now Brangomar must kill the princess to pay her debt, or else everything she got will be lost. Hey, here is a way of making a villain tragic, almost simpathetic and complex while keeping clear that she is still a villain!

05º Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen in Faerie Tale Theatre (1984)

The most loud and bombastic portrayal of the Wicked Queen ever put on screen. Bringing to television her sperience from stage, that allows some more over the top emotional reactions, Redgrave had the time of her life in that role, indulging in twirling, preening and screening as much as she could, and his Queen is all the most fun for it.

04º Gudrun Landgrebe as the Queen in Schneewittchen (1992)

What i live about Landgrebe’s Queen is her range: at first she acts all humble, discreet, cold and mysteryous. Then her husband leaves to fight in a Crusade, and she trows the white veil and gray clothing of humility to show a diva red hair and orange dress, as to say “Hey, the King leaved, i have all the power here now and you must do as i say”. Later, a knight comes, offering a magical crystal ball that connected to a mirror says all the truth, and the Queen takes posession of it to ask about her beauty. When Mirror says that the most beautifull woman in the kingdom is Snow White, she gets infuriated, than goes to carefully plan ways to eliminate the princess once and for all. The highlight is when she takes the disguise of a russian male doctor to offer the apple (where she injects poison into with her ring) to Snow White.

03º Maria Antonieta de Las Nieves in El Chapulin Colorado: Blancanieves y los Siete Churín Churín Fun Flais (1978)

This three part episode of the mexican comedy superheroe show is a loving parody of the Disney version, that stands out as an enjoyable retelling of the classic fairy tale in its own right. Interestingly, while most of the comedy in the episode is delivered in the form of over the top slapistick, de Las Nieves’s delivers a straight faced, contained performance. Wich makes her answers to the absurd situations in the story all the more funny.

02º Patricia Medina as the Queen in Snow White And The Three Stooges (1961)

This lady was a hell of a foe: she not only antagonizes Snow White for the title of the Most Beautifull, going so far as to lock the princess in a dungeon for no crime at all, but also, alongside her partner in crime Count Oga, ordered a murder attempt aggainst Prince Charming when he was a child, to prevent him from marrying Snow White, and this way she could become ruller of the kingdoms of Fortunia and Bravuria. Troughout the film, you think that she could win, since she has powerfull magic, spy and a mighty army at her comand, wich makes the viewer get all the more excited on the seat, that is how enjoyable Medina’s Queen is.

And my Number One Portrayal of the Wicked Queen is...

01º Lucille La Verne as the Queen in Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The first encarnation of the character that i ever saw in my childhood, and the one that still sends chills/shivers to my spine. As a young Queen, she rarely smiles, acting cold and calculating, intidimidating who is subordinate to her with the expression of her eyes and highbrows. And as a Crone, she lowdly indulges in her cruelty, offering the poisoned apple to her pet raven to scare him, and mocking the dead skeleton of a prisoner inside the castle’s dungeons. That balance between cold calculism and loud cruelty, where both are equally unsetling and scary, is something very hard to achieve, but i think this encarnation did a very good job in achieving that balance, that every other portrayal that camed tried to draw influence from it ever since. And that’s why Disney’s Wicked Queen is my Number One portrayal.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Addi Adamets in Schneewittchen (1955), Marianne Christina Schiling in Schneewittchen (1961) and Sonja Kirchberger in Sechs Auf Einen Streich (2009)

#snow white #snow white and the seven dwarfs #fairy tales #disney #brothers grimm #rankings #moodboards #grimm's fairy tale classics #anime #the legend of snow white #fantasy #mithology #folklore #pop culture

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rapeculturerealities · 3 years

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Mona Lisa lay on a hospital bed in Mekelle, the main city in war-torn northern Ethiopia, her body devastated but her defiance on display.

Named for the iconic painting, the 18-year-old Ethiopian high school graduate had survived an attempted rape that left her with seven gunshot wounds and an amputated arm. She wanted it to be known that she had resisted.

“This is ethnic cleansing,” she said. “Soldiers are targeting Tigrayan women to stop them giving birth to more Tigrayans.”

Her account is one of hundreds detailing abuses in Tigray, the mountainous region in northern Ethiopia where a grinding civil war has been accompanied by a parallel wave of atrocities including widespread sexual assault targeting women.

A senior United Nations official told the Security Council last week that more than 500 Ethiopian women had formally reported sexual violence in Tigray, although the actual toll is likely far higher, she added. In the city of Mekelle, health workers say new cases emerge every day.

The assaults have become a focus of growing international outrage about a conflict where the fighting is largely happening out of sight, in the mountains and the countryside. But evidence of atrocities against civilians — mass shootings, looting, sexual assault — is everywhere.

In early December, Ms. Mona said, an Ethiopian soldier burst into the house she shares with her grandfather in Abiy Addi, a town in central Tigray, and ordered them to have sex.

“Please,” she recalled her grandfather, an Orthodox Christian, telling the soldier. “This is abnormal and against our religious beliefs.”

When her grandfather refused, the soldier shot him in the leg and locked him into the kitchen. Then he pinned Ms. Mona to a sofa and tried to rape her. She fought back, kicking the man in the crotch and briefly grabbing his gun, she said.

But he quickly overpowered her and, after shooting her in the hand and firing warning shots into the floor, issued another ultimatum. “He said he would count to three and if I did not take off my clothes he would kill me,” she said.

The soldier fired a volley of bullets that cut through Ms. Mona’s right arm and right leg. By the time she got transportation to the Mekelle General Hospital a day later, doctors were forced to amputate the arm.

She is still in the hospital, the bones in one leg still shattered. An uncle at her bedside corroborated her account of the assault on Dec. 4. Ms. Mona, who consented to be identified, called it a calculated act of war.

“My case is not unique,” she said. “I fought the soldier off. But there are so many women all over this region who were actually raped.”

After months of increasingly desperate pleas for international action on Ethiopia, led by senior United Nations and European Union officials, the pressure appears to be producing results. President Biden recently sent an envoy, Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, to Ethiopia for talks with Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, that lasted five hours.

On Tuesday, addressing Ethiopia’s Parliament, Mr. Abiy publicly acknowledged that sexual assault had become an integral part of a war that he once promised would be swift and bloodless.

“Anyone who raped our Tigrayan sisters, anybody who is involved in looting, will be held accountable in a court of law,” Mr. Abiy told lawmakers, appearing to implicate his own soldiers. “We sent them to destroy the junta, not our people.”

The “junta” is a reference to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, known as the T.P.L.F., which governed Tigray and now fights under the banner of a new group, the Tigray Defense Forces. The majority of sexual violence accusations in Tigray have been leveled against Ethiopian and allied Eritrean soldiers. But Tigrayan forces may also be guilty of war crimes, the top U.N. human rights official, Michelle Bachelet, said this month.

The war started in November after Mr. Abiy accused the T.P.L.F. of attacking a major military base in a bid to overthrow his government. The T.P.L.F. ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades until Mr. Abiy came to power in 2018, then retreated to its stronghold in Tigray, where it began to openly defy the new prime minister’s authority.

In some ways, the bitter fight is driven by deeply rooted forces — longstanding land disputes, opposing visions over the future shape of Ethiopia, and a rivalry with Eritrea going back decades. But civilians, and particularly women, are bearing the brunt of the most disturbing violence.

Rocks, nails and other objects have been forced inside the bodies of women — and some men — during sexual assaults, according to health workers. Men have been forced to rape their own family members under threat of violence, Pramila Patten, the top U.N. official on sexual violence in conflict, said in January.

“Rape is being used as a weapon of war,” said Letay Tesfay of the Tigray Women’s Association, which runs a safe house for women in Mekelle. “What’s happening is unimaginable.”

The epidemic of sexual assault is exacerbated by a collapsing health system. Many victims have contracted sexually transmitted diseases, including H.I.V., doctors say. Demand for abortions and emergency contraceptives has risen.

But outside the main towns of Tigray, most health clinics are shut — some destroyed in fighting, others plundered by soldiers as part of what Doctors Without Borders recently called a concerted effort to destroy the region’s health care system. In his meeting with Mr. Abiy in March, Senator Coons said they discussed “directly and forcefully” the reports of widespread human rights violations including rape.

Whether Mr. Abiy delivers on his promise of bringing the perpetrators to justice, he added, “is going to be critical to any successful resolution of this conflict.”

The anguish of victims resonates quietly through the wards of the Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle, the region’s biggest medical facility.

A doctor specialized in sexual assault said he had received at least three new patients every day since Ethiopian troops marched into Mekelle on Nov. 28. Some said they had been raped by soldiers in the camps for displaced people on the edge of the city; others were abducted from their homes in rural areas and held for days as soldiers repeatedly raped them.

The doctor, who like several other medics spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the authorities, produced a list of 18 registered sexual violence patients at the hospital. The youngest was 14. Most said their attackers were soldiers, he said.

In one bed, a 29-year old woman who asked to be identified only by her first name, Helen, trembled as she recounted how Eritrean and Ethiopian troops had tied her to a tree near her home in Agula, 15 miles north of Mekelle, and assaulted her repeatedly over a 10-day period in late November.

“I lost count,” she said. “They took photos of me, poured alcohol on me and laughed.” Some of her assailants also shot dead her 12-year-old son, she added.

Selam Assefe, a police investigator working on rape cases at the Ayder Referral Hospital, corroborated Ms. Helen’s account.

Most sexual assault cases in Tigray, however, may not be recorded anywhere. Health workers said that officials are reluctant to register such violence, fearing that the military could target them for documenting the crime. Patients often remain anonymous for the same reason.

Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed, Ethiopia’s minister of women, children and youth, insisted that the federal government was taking seriously the reports of sexual violence in Tigray, and had sent a task force including social workers, police officers and prosecutors to investigate.

While her own mandate was limited to providing victims with psychological support, Ms. Filsan said she had pressured Ethiopia’s attorney general to deliver justice. But it is a difficult process, she insisted.

“I cannot 100 percent confirm whom this is being committed by,” Ms. Filsan said, referring to the perpetrators.

The sexual attacks are so common that even some Ethiopian soldiers have spoken out. At a public meeting in Mekelle in January, a man in military uniform made an outburst that was broadcast on state television.

“I was angry yesterday,” he said. “Why does a woman get raped in Mekelle city?” The soldier, who was not identified, questioned why the police weren’t stopping them. “It wouldn’t be shocking if it happened during fighting,” he said. “But women were raped yesterday and today when the local police and federal police are around.”

Haben, a waitress in Mekelle, was raped with two other women at the cafe where they work in December, she said. Her body is still covered in bruises from the assault.

“They told us not to resist,” she recalled. “‘Lie down. Don’t shout.’”

But even if they had shouted, she added, “there was nobody to listen.”

#politics and government #Ethiopia #rape as a tool of war #voices #survivors

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veethewriter · 2 years

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the world we live in. it's so... wonderous. mysterious. even magical. no... no no no.. not that world. i meant this one. the smartphone. each system and program app is it's own little planet of perfect. technology. all providing services so necessary, so crucial, so unbelievably profound. look who just sent me a text! addie mccallister? it must be a mistake. or a joke. or a scam! don't send her your social security number. she's right there! that's our user, alex. and, like every freshman in high school, his whole life, everything, revolves around his phone. and, because the pace of life gets, faster and faster... phones down in five. and attention spans get shorter and shorter... and... you're probably not even listening to me right now. who has the time to type out actual words? and that's where we come in. the most important invention in the history of communication! emo gees. that's my home! textopolis. here, each of us does one thing, and we have to nail it every time. christmas tree just has to stand there, all festive. merry christmas! it's still september, tim! and princesses... i am so pretty. they just gotta wear their crowns and keep their hair comb. we are so pretty. devil, poop, thumbs up, they just show up and they're good to go. but for the faces, the pressure is on. cryer always has to cry, even if he just won the lottery. hurray, i'm a millionaire! laugher's always laughing, even if he's just broken his arm. ahh!! ah! i can see the bone!! ah ah ah ah ah... and me, i'm a meh. so i gotta totally be over it all the time, you know? like meh, who cares. which is not as easy as it sounds. i gotta be mehhhhhhhhh i GOTTA! be! mehhhhhhhhh morning misses D, i see you have the little minis with ya! oh, they're so... cute! NYAH, SO ADORABLE, I CAN'T TAKE IT! I WILL NEVER GET THEM TO SLEEP! STICK TO YOUR ONE FACE, WEIRDO. OLE! OLE! OH NO! OH NO! it's hard to only act blasé. when, living in textopolis is.... just so exciting! hah low good simeans! those ah some shalp attach shays! yes, well we have business to attend to. whot kind off business? monkey business. ha ha ha ha, i sounded british. meh... Oh, that was really good.. meh ? meh ... meh ha ha... what the freak ya doing there, mate? practicing. today is my first day on the phone. oh, droit. i'm gonna be so.. meh. what are you going to do? blah! me and the boys are gonna throw ourselves on the barbie! woo! puh-zow! gooday, mate! hey, koh knee chee wah! sorry emote icons!! oh, I hate knocking over the elderly.. let me help, let me help... oh, my colon!!! ducks... hey, is that the time? HEY, my eyes are up here, pal! woo ooh hoo! woo hoo! right on time! and last week, Alex sent me next to THIS text! huh? huh? HA HA HA THAT ELEPHANT PISSED HIMSELF HA HA HA AH HAH HA HAH HAH UH HUH HUH why are YOU laughing, freak? ho ho ha ha ha! now, unlike me, my parents are total pros. gene, please tell me you weren't laughing just now. gene so help me i swear oh, he was, I remember. let's go see if you can get it right. i have some bad news, gene, and i'm afraid that you'll have the wrong reaction. ok, what's the wrong reaction? anything other than meh. come on! i don't want to be late! i'm not letting you go to work today. wait, WHAT? you're just not ready, son. come on!! working in a cube is an Emoji's whole purpose in life! everybody my age is working on the phone except for me! oh sweetie, that's not true. ow! YEAH! i'm going to work on the phone and I'm only ten! that's because I believe in you! should we wash our hands? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! we're number two! we're number two! see? i, i know i'm different, ok? but, i need to... i can be meh... i just... want to be a working emoji, you know, like... everybody else... and then... i would finally fit in, you know? ah, you fit in, honey. no I don't, mom. I never have. but I could change all that if you just let me! just give me a chance! but what if you get sent out on the phone, making the wrong face? no dad, i'll make the right face! look! maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah? you're so handsome when you make that

face. i think he's ready, mel. meh. come on, dad. let me prove it to you. if you really think you're ready... YES! yes i am! i promise i won't let you down! wow! Congratulations, everyone! What an exciting day for all of you! oh, it's really her! oh, pizza! first day on the job, hi, hi! don't be nervous! i won't bite! hi, i'm smiler! ho ho ho ho ho... DON'T TOUCH ME! Hi! i mean.. hey.. as you know, i'm smiler, i'm the system supervisor here, because I was the original emoji. here's how it works. it's nothing fancy! wait a minute... it's really fancy! you each have your own cube on the emoji bar! if alex chooses you, should you be so lucky, your cube will light up! it's showtime! the scanner will scan you, and that scan will get sent right up to alex's text box. and let me tell you guys, there is nothing like getting scanned for the first time. a har, you're gonna love it. now over here is the favorites section, where you'll find all the most popular emo gees. and of course, you'll find my cube here. whoo. you are smooth. just doing my duty. ha ha ha! what did i say? come on, tell me you aren't just a little bit tempted? steven, for the last time, i don't want to buy a timeshare. come on, man, it's high five! you know me! i'm a favorite! Alex hasn't picked you in weeks. when he stops picking you, you're no longer a favorite. there's gotta be some sort of mistake, i mean, look at me, i'm an attractive, hand-giving high five! oh! fistbump! come on in! hey, ladies! FISTBUMP? he's a knucklehead! literally! look at him, I can look like that! ugh, ow, cramp.. big mistake.. oh... help me.. help up a hand.. oh... here you go... thanks mate... hey, little man, how about you create a distraction, and i'll just slip under the rope! uh, oh, is someone lost? smiler, hiya, just leaving. yeah, you know, just killing time before i go back to my cube in the far corner where Alex can't even See Me ANYMORE! you may not be a favorite anymore, but you will always have a place, in a cube! yeah, in the nosebleeds... uh, i'm standing right here? words hurt. the most important thing I can tell you is to just be yourself... basically, happy itself... i am always smiling... places, please! emo gees to your cubes! attention, we've got incoming! gotta be meh, gotta be meh. oh my gosh, my own cube! i can't believe it... oh, i could put a plant over here, and over here could go an inspirational calendar, okay, gotta be meh... look at our son get on there, i'm beaming... with pride! you don't think he'll actually get picked, do you? heiroglyphics. heiroglyphics was an ancient language of picture forms. does that remind anyone of anything. hello. a language of pictures... anyone? early heiroglyphics back in ancient... i gotta reply to addie's text! what should i write? nothing! nothing? words aren't cool. ok, be cool, be cool... alright, alex is not sure how he wants to play this... oh! i would really love it to be me! beam me up! beam me up! i need thumbs up on standby! oh yeah! thumbs up is going in! wait! alex is changing his mind! he's moving! ok, looks like it's gonna be meh... i'm so nervous, i could almost shrug. we are go for meh! initiating scan! okay, you can do this. ah! i can't do this! i can't do it! stop the scan! i can't, it's too late! oh! what's he doing? he's making the wrong face! good for him, little... wait, what? ugh. abort, abort! oh, shi... shut it down, shut it down! ah! what is that emoji? all the emo gees present, evacuate the cube! evacuate the cube! i gotta get out of here! i'm trying! oh, jeez. sorry, everybody. that is not what i meant to do! i kinda.. i kinda panicked.. are you even a meh at all? uh, who, me? like you are, is a malfunction! a malfunction? no, i can be meh, just give me one more chance? you know what would be really fun? a board meeting, where we can find out what to do with you! i just wanted to be useful, you know, fit in! now everybody's calling me a malfunction. i am a malfunction. even if you are a malfunction, gene, your mom and dad still love ya. i knew you weren't ready. let's get you out of here

and take you home. one day, all of this will blow over, and everyone will almost forget about what you did. until then, you should probably stay locked up in the apartment. wait, you're gonna hide me away? you're embarrased of me. it's for your own safety. we're trying to protect you, son. gene, where are you going? i'm not going to run away from this. i'm an emoji, and, even though i'm not exactly sure which one... i've gotta have some sort of purpose here, i know it. gene, no! sweetie, please! so, how'd it go, gavel? hey, lightbulb, tell me what's going on in there. what... poop... what is it? tell me turd, tell me truth. what happened? i know it was an accident. we all have accidents you're so soft, poop. not too soft, i hope. i came up here to defend myself, but, uh, you seem pretty happy. so, good news? i'm always happy. oh, right, yeah, truth. but the only thing that could ever make me unhappy, is if one of our emo gees has made a mistake. which would cause alex to lose faith in the phone... and then, our whole gets wiped out! smiler, i devil pinky swear promise to you that i will never, ever make a mistake in the cube again. oh, we know you won't, gene. we know you won't! ha ha, you know, the first time you said it it sounded genuine, but then you repeated it, and, and then, now it's weird. we're setting you up! with our best anti virus bots! so they'll, like, uh, they'll just, they're gonna fix me? actually, delete you. but yes! wait, what? if you get deleted, you don't have to worry about department heads, or the future, or lying about being a malfunction! because you're deleted, right? right! good job! bots! no! stop, he's escaped! party time! oh, wait a minute... the air is better here! beer, tea... i'm coffee! sorry... ish... so ish e. my old cube! ugh, pinkeye. mike! my name's not mike... ah! there's AV bots coming! what, me? just because i'm in the wrong section? holy toledo! what do we do? quick! this way! let's go! don't tell anyone you're about to see this. they'll never find us down here. where are we? the basement? nope. welcome to the loser lounge, where the emo gees who never get used, hang out. go fish! fishcake with swirls sweep so you won't cry. sweep so you won't cry. sweep so you won't cry. i almost got deleted! me! high five! hey, what's up high five? they weren't trying to delete you, they were trying to delete me. you? what's so important about you that they'd send out an entire team of bots? they say... i'm a malfunction. gasp oh, you bringing malfunctions in here now, high five? for crying out loud, abandoned luggage, that had better not be my leftover chinese food... uh... what chinese food? huh ha! do you have any idea what it's like to be living large? hashtag blessed? the favorite of the favorites, and then demoted to this pit of despair? here, will you hit my callouses for me? at least you're a working emoji, that's all i ever wanted. well, if that's all it will take you to be satisfied, then just find a hacker and get reprogrammed. it's not that complicated. where would i find a hacker? in the piracy app, duh. ugh. and who took my clear nail polish? piracy app? to get there, i mean, i have to leave textopolis. so? i've done it. would you be a brother. one of the princess emo gees left the phone altogether, now she lives on the cloud... mmm... ooh, that is good. i'm sure the hacker that helped her do that could easily reprogram you. The name's jailbreak. jailbreak? that's great? reprogrammed. i just need to get reprogrammed, and then i can finally be the meh i was meh to be! help me find that hacker high five, will you? please? maybe this hacker can help you, too? like, rewrite some code? get you into the favorites sections? wait a minute! ow. i've been trying to use my charisma and sensitive entitlement to get me back on top when all I need is a hacker! today's your lucky day! let's roll! hey, can i come too? talk to the hand, bretheren. i thought i was... bye, felicia. ciao, fishcake with swirls. daddy's headed back to the VIPs where he belongs! wait, what about the bots? good

point, good point. ow, ow ow, ow... hey... i shouldn't have picked the cactus. i shouldn't have picked it. you didn't even try to get the tree, it's baffling. let's go. high five? hello? high five! where are you? i'm right here! here we are! end of the text aisle. no way. come on, gene, it's perfectly safe! ah! gene, help me! high five! oh no, this is all my fault, high five, I... i'm just messing with you! it's just one of those rubber finger monster puppets from the eighties, i collected the whole set! alright, you coming? uh, what do i do? what do you mean? just take a step through the other side. this, is it. the next time i come back here, i'll be a real meh. high five? woah! are you finished? where, where are we? welcome... to the wallpaper! wow. this place is incredible! each app is a whole new world. ow, that's my face, get off my face, thank you. what is this place? WeChat! it's like a whole other world! oh, it is. what are they? they're bubble pups, they might be cute, but man, are they clean. bubble pups? they're stickers, gene, try to get with the program? this is so cool! wait, what's in that one! everybody's talking about themselves! how does he know so many people? none of these people know him, but they like him, and that's what matters in this life, popularity. uh, i, i think i'd rather just have a real friend. a real friend? how's that going to get you anywhere? what you need are fans! they give you complete and unrelenting support! as long as you're on top. poor gene, i blame myself. i blame you, too. i just wanted to be supported. you just wanted a vacation. you take that back, mel. bots, they haven't found gene by now. he must have skipped town. you mean the wallpaper? our boy's on the run. how about we find him ourselves? yeah, sure. tell those bots to follow those mehs. i'm sure they'll know about all those freaky deaky apps Gene would hide out in. i'm really good at making plans, you guys, right? here we are, the piracy app! this is where we'll find jailbreak. um, but this is, the dictionary app. that's just what alex wants his parents to think. this is called a skin. really? what could a teenage boy possibly want to hide from his parents? just try to keep up, this place can get a little rough. ahoy mateys, look who's back! high five! i'm a bit of a celebrity here, always welcome. ow! loser! come on, follow me. oh, great, emo gees! i thought the conversation just got dumber. ugh, internet trolls, just ignore them. eventually, they'll get a job, or a girlfriend, or some sort of purpose in life, and then they'll stop. virus, we'll just, we'll just walk over this way... hi! it's so great to see you again! do i know you? it's spam! just sign here and i can get you special discounts on vitamins and coupon offers that can save you up to 25 percent! 25 percent? nonono no no, don't get sucked in! back off, spam! it's the only way to do it. back off! thank you very much! you can illegally download our CD right here! hey, trojan horse, how are you? yeah, what'll it be had? i'll have a bottle of... hack, daniels, hmm? maybe with a plate of... cheese, and hackers, kapeesh? you try to buy a hacker, you can just ask, you know. oh, sorry, um, yes. we're looking for a hacker named jailbreak. oh, i know a guy who could hook you up. right over there. oh, yes. patable. no, not him. her! wait, he's a she? hey! jailbreak! mind if we join in? yes. that's the thing about the internet, is that you never know if someone's being ironic or sincere. i sincerely, unironically want you to go away. ha ha ha ha, so good... so here's the thing, my friend gene here has a little problem. well, see, i'm supposed to be a meh, but i don't really feel... yeah, yeah, and we thought that you could help... the princess, you know, off the phone... woah, hold up, that's not a meh face. bots, they're after me! how are you doing that? look, it's just something that i can do, can you help us? follow me. bots, delete my history! i need to wipe my entire hard drive! i made the most delicious cinnamon buns! maybe if there was something to uh,

jog my memory? come on! move! hey trolls, wipe our mailbox wearing a tuxedo! hi, it's so great to see you again! this tunnel will get us out of here! move! get us out of here! move! did that cloud taste sweet to you? ow. ow. ow. help me. help, i'm stuck! sweet motherboard! where am i? candy crush! get me out of here! hey, cornface! try getting him out the top! already on it! hold tight, gene! woah! woah! this feels very off.. and smells. i mean, it smells delicious, but, i still don't like it! the game obviously thinks you're a candy, even though you're, weirdly misshapen, you know? what do i do? stay very still! don't worry, we've got your back! right, high five? hey, fingers! you wanna focus? for your information, i happen to have a sugar addiction, and it's a very, serious... hey, finger head, we have to get Gene out of the game without blowing him up! i don't want to blow up! we have to match up the candies so that Gene will drop to the bottom. and we can't match him with any yellows, or else... oh! don't do that, please don't do that. watch. got it? knock 3 in a row, don't blow gene up, got it. and, we have to be careful. yeah yeah yeah. careful! woo hoo! candy! yo! no no no! don't do yellow! do NOT do the yellow! i said careful! hey, addie! i... i was just wondering, if, you are... tasty. what? um... delicious. excuse me? sweet. hey addie! uh... hi nikki. see you later, alex sugar crush. ah! i'm so over this. Wireless Repair Service, how may I help you? i'd like to make an appointment. it's like this phone is playing games with me! woah! hey, what does this do? get me out of here! ooh... suck it in... stop it... stop it... ow ow ow... it's not working! well, there's one option left. we line you up with the yellows. but you said not to do that! special candies get transported to that jar. the game might think that you're a special candy. and... what if it doesn't think i'm a special candy? well... ah! jailbreak, hello? hello, jailbreak? uh, sorry. what if it doesn't think i'm a special candy? oh, i'm not too worried about it. alright, just do it. gene, gene! you're alive! you were trying to see if i had somehow turned into candy, weren't you? yes i was. and you have not! hey, looks like something popped up on alex's calender. ah, i'm sure it's nothing. uh, alex made an appointment at the phone store? calm down, everyone, calm down. don't worry, everything is fine. maybe alex just wants to buy some accessories. uh, his appointment is with techinical support. well, i'm sure we'll have plenty of time to figure this out. uh, his appointment is for tomorrow. then maybe it's just for some routine maintenance? uh, actually, it's to erase the phone. listen, gene, i'm about to become your knight in shining armor. you are? oh yeah. but first, we need to get uploaded to the cloud. that's where we'll find the source code to reprogram you. the... cloud? isn't that off the phone? ding dingding ding! you got it! mmhm, yeah, the cloud! off the phone! uh! we're in candy crush, oz, i know a shortcut to just dance, which is right next to dropbox, where we can get uploaded to the cloud. mmhm, of course, just go dive into the dropbox and vroom! hold up, here's the stinker. before they let us into the cloud, we have to get past this... firewall. the firewall uses face identification. it's really annoying, because i've already tried to get through. guessed wrong once, and now i'm locked out for life. locked out for life? you're thinking, because i can make different faces, the firewall will think i'm different emo gees! yeah, i wanted to say it, because it was my idea. you know, women are always coming up with stuff that men are taking credit for. you know what, well, let's hit the road. high five, you coming? i'm coming! why do i always think i'm going to come around on black licorice? ah! oh! my precious... move it! sudden death, here we come! let's try this one... you tube? wow, what an original treat, and i don't even need a remote. that guy is so expressive. he reminds me of gene. yes, something's really wrong here. our son is a

malfunction, and you should have never let him go into that cube. don't blame me for that now, i am hopping mad at you. see? mary, i think we're being followed, but don't overreact. uh oh. i told you not to overreact. what are you doing now? i could be in there for hours. hey, where are you going. i think we should go our seperate ways, mel. i thought i knew the meh that i married, but maybe i don't. but, mary? this tunnel will help us avoid the bots. thanks for helping us. it's really, really nice of you. NPD, dude. you're helping me! move along, move it, why so slow? high five, stop, why are you getting so close? back off. i can't stop now, i'm having a sugar rush! i'm going to go around you. if i stop moving, my heart's going to explode! coming through, jailbreak! watch out! hey! watch it, knuckle butt! i can't feel my face! ha ha! jailbreak, you said back there that i'm... helping you. i've been trying to get past that firewall for months! ha ha ha ha ha, come on, come on, the faster we go, the faster I can become a favorite! ah ha ha ha ha ha! woo hoo! look at me i just want to bounce out of here, get off the phone, and live on the cloud! hee hee! ow! what just happened! you know, you don't like it here? there are so many rules here! what is up with that? the cloud's supposed to be amazing, it's full of dreams too... oh, sugar crash. i can't hold on anymore. catch me, gene, catch me! and you can be whoever you want! thanks. we're free! come on! oh, oh my gosh, my hands are sweating. you know what, come to think of it, i don't really remember there ever being a hacker emoji. oh, um, you know, you're taking too much of my brain space, let's try to keep the chit chat to a minimum. ooh, someone likes you. what are you talking about? this just like when peace sign gave me just one finger, i knew she was in love with me. let's go! ugh, i'm never eating another piece of candy ever again... high-five, don't do it! don't you do it! it's already been in there once. don't do it. wow. move it! are my fingers getting fat? i'll tell you what, this bandage wasn't so tight before. okay, we get through this app, and dropbox is right on the other side. we just need to keep it super DL in here. and no matter what, we can't, turn it, on. OMG this turned it on! what? i'm a hand, it's a big red button! woah. no no no no! what's happening! welcome to just dance! follow my moves and you get to move forward! do the wrong moves and you get an X! three strikes and you're out! out? what does she mean by out? digital death. thanks to you, fingers, now we're going to have to dance our way out. which is alright with me, because I can shake it like michael. or michael's glove, anyway. Are you ready to daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnccccccee? this is bad, gene, i can't dance, i got no groove! come on, everybody can dance! not me, okay? i'm really stiff... see? you don't... understand? okay, no no. stop, stop. you have to stop. i see now what you are saying? just follow her moves. ready to dance in three! this i can't do! two! dude! just shut up and... dance! i'm just doing it! hee hee! shamon! jailbreak! i got you! look, just do the music, express yourself! dance? yeah, you got it! now throw some sauce on that dance burrito! woo hoo! i'm doing it! i'm finally nailing this dance! you got it! hee hee! oh ho ho! great job! now you're moving on to free dance! impress us with your moves to move forward! more dancing? you're killing it, gene! nice! take it gene! you can break it! wait a minute! i've never seen that dance before! what's it called? the emoji... bob? i love it! you do! everybody! do the emojiiiiiiiiiii bob! ha ha ha! woo! oh! princess! woah! you're the princess emoji! you never got off the phone! new player! who? oh no! we gotta go! no worry, they're robots, they can't dance! downloading thought protocol... can't dance, he says. heh. hey alex, you gonna dance for us? alex, that's extra homework for you. yeah, alex's getting wicked, ha ha ha... alex must be deleting the app! watch out! we gotta get out of here!

come on! hoo! this song is my jam! high five! come on! let's go! hurry! gene! i got you! gene! gene... hey, wait a minute, where's high five? alex trashed the app.. and high five right along with it. wait, what? wait, trashed? high five is in the trash? he wanted to dance... but, i knew it was a bad idea... i'm so sorry... we gotta get him out of there. gene, dropbox is right here, we have to get to the cloud! and the trash is on the other side of the phone! we don't know how many other bots are out there! i'm sorry! no, wait! i can't go without high five. i don't care how far away it is. gene... that's my friend down there. i'm not going to just let him get deleted. what, what is it? i've always just thought, you've got to look out for number one... but what good is it to be number one, if there aren't any other numbers? wow, okay. i'm sorry, this is, this is my malfunction, i just, i can't be meh about anything, this is why i'm going to be reprogrammed. well, actually, it's kinda cool. wait, really? no, i think i know a shortcut. we can take the music streams in spotify. let's go give that big hand a hand. come on! now it's trashed the just dance app, and our bots are offline, and it's giving me a real headache... i am so angry! i really need to stay happy. can we please lighten the mood? no one can resist la fiesta! ole! not that happy. ow! we've only got four hours before alex's phone appointment. if they find a malfunction on the phone, we are all going to be wiped! she said wiped! aim higher, steven. i didn't want to have to do this, but it is fun to press buttons. the illegal upgrade! now that makes me happy! ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! i just want to dance.. dance... argh! quiet, you saucy gypsy. ugh, where am i? hi! it's so great to see you again! you're in the trash, fingers for brains! get away from me, troll! hi! it's so great to see you again! i've got to get out of here. you can't! and at the end of the day, the trash gets emptied, and we're all going to die! oh no, no, no! this is the last face you will ever see! this is spotify? yep, every one of those streams is a different song. is it safe? are you sure that this is a good idea? that's the point of the wave, dude! can we at least pick a... a colorless stream? okay buzzkill... alex, a bunch of people are hitting the promenade, and i think addie might be there, too... that's perfect! i have an appointment down there, anyway! i've got to get this phone fixed! hey, bubble butt! yeah. ah, much better. so, i gotta ask, is it true that when a princess whistles, birds fly down from the skies.. hello, stereotype, that is a complete and total myth! i'm sorry. did you realize that in the first emoji set, a woman can either be a princess, or a bride? that's why I need to get to the cloud, where you can be whatever you want to be! get ready! whale song coming! wait, wait, whale what? whale song! from alex's biology DVD! woah! wow! woah! ha ha ha ha. you're not going to see that sitting around in a cube. funny, you went out of the cube, and I went in. gene, that means you can't be yourself. what's the point? you know, i think you're pretty cool just the way you are. we're, we're going to need this. nobody knows, the touchscreen dramascene. nobody knows my screenshot... trash? me? i used to be somebody. here i am, in an old email Alex never sent. addie, blah blah blah blah blergh... and then there's me! high five! right there! doing my job! FYI, nobody cares about you. just leave me, troll, and let me die! in this dump alone! let me look for the world's smallest violin in here, so that you can play it! is that the hand angel of mercy? has she finally come for me? give me your hand! i mean, give me yourself! take my hand, angel! i'm ready to take my place amongst the other great hands of the past. it's me, gene! gene? the one and only. gene! i got him! take me with you! high five! let go of me! you'd leave me down here? you were wrong, troll, people do care about me! and i'm not upset, troll! do you see how not upset I am? gene! you came back for me! you saved me...

it wasn't just me, jailbreak helped, too. she's a hugger. give her a squeeze. oh, nonono no. not really, nothing great. i'm not feeling your feelings, relieve me! you filthy trolls, I inhaled your stench, and I was once one of you, so I feel your pain. so now, go. be free! smooth sailing from here. huh ha ha! ugh. gene! gene... gene? are you insta gramming? oh, where is my gene... oh, mary, you've really done it this time. no, you haven't. mel? what are you doing in alex's trip to france album? i was looking for you. none of this is your fault, mary. it's mine. what do you mean? is that a tear on your cheek? it's my fault gene is the way he is. i have other expressions, too. i think they've just been buried away. but with gene going missing, and thinking i might have lost you, too... oh, mel, why didn't you tell me? i didn't know myself. right now, i'm so overwhelmed with passionate feelings for you. mary, my love for you burns with the intensity of a red hot flame. oh, i like it. let's go find our son. together. we'll always have paris, mary. so you're a princess. so you have a little tiara, very fancy. is it true when a princess whistles, birds fly that's what i said! no, guys, that's a stupid myth! what awkward virgin haven are you living in? go read an e-book! educate yourself! uh, jailbreak? what the? what is that? smiley must have upgraded her bots! let's get out of here before it... hi, do you remember me, it's smiler! i'm coming to you live from the amphitheater, why don't you come back to textopolis and we can talk through our differences, okay? my friend here will escort you, alright, i'm gonna see you soon, buddy, bye now! we're actually going to delete them in front of everyone. psst, it's still on. it's still on? oh! jiminy, attack the frauds! seperate! take a look! jailbreak! gene! this way! it's still onto me! over here! let's go! we have to make it to dropbox! yes! no! go low! woah! don't worry, it can't get in. it's illegal malware, and this app is secure. come on. welcome to dropbox! you are about to leave the phone. remain seated, please! permanecer sentados por favor! might want to hang on! why do they call it dropbox, anyway? oh, this is why! i see why now! i'd better not see that candy corn again! we made it! you guys, chill. we still have to get past... that. oh... shaw. welcome to the firewall, how may I help you? alright, here goes! what should I do? sit in the corner, and don't say a word. keep those soft fingers to yourself. yes, your majesty, princess of nightmares! now gene, step onto the password icon, and i'll feed you the passwords. okay. okay. ten, eleven, two thousand and two. ten, eleven, two thousand and two. ow. cough. access denied. okay, try a different expression. is it going to blast me every time i messed up? yeah, kind of. what do you mean kind of? ready? welcome to the firewall. his favorite food. chimichangas! chimichangas? ow. access denied. huh. this might take a while. oh boy. krav maga! krav maga. major lazer! major lazer. what did i do now? ow. skate, or die! access denied. denied. denied. denied. i don't get it! we've tried all of the important things in alex's life! his favorite pet, his sport, his favorite grandma... i'm sorry, gene. i let us all down. now, if I had to come up with a password, I'd probably use the name of a girl I like. i've been all over the phone! he's never mentioned a girl. yes he has! hi. when I was in the trash, I read a very interesting email, but, i'm just a dunce, in the corner, forbidden to speak... what email? sorry, what? what email? uh, took it out, at school, he was declaring his feelings of love for her, i guess instead of sending it he tossed it in the trash. high five, this is very important. what is her name? her name, yes! excellent question. it... was... tina. karen. marge. lint, lindsay. ack, allison. sarah, or, lupita. i want to say lupita, but that doesn't feel right, now i'm saying it out loud. ugh.. gotta find that email, i think i can access the trash. i got it! addie! yes! yes, that's it, addie! i knew i'd get there! dear

addie, you and I, we are like diamonds in the sky. you're a shooting star I see. a vision, ecstacy. shining bright like a diamond. he used a high-five, see? guess now we know why he trashed it. ooh, shade. guys, should we try this? addie! access granted. oh snap. this place, is, amazing. wow, i can't believe it. woah. one little emoji could sure get lost in a place like this. i... i guess we should, make you, a meh before that bot comes back home. oh, oh, so we're gonna do that now. we had a deal, right? yeah, okay. right. i, uh, guess i'll start hacking. ha! we did it, gene! all our dreams are coming true! i'll be alex's favorite again, and you'll be a real meh! ha ha, yeah! do the hand dance. do the hand dance. and pinky. pop it with the pinky. pop it with the pinky. yeah, but this all seems kinda super fast now, doesn't it? i didn't expect to be having these feelings right now. well, maybe you should go and express them while you still can. so, uh, i've been thinking, um, ever since we. jailbreak, you're the coolest, most interesting emoji i've ever met. and, after all the adventures that we've had, i'm just not sure that i want all of that to go away. because, my feelings, right now, are, like, huge. i just think that they could be enough for me to want to stay the way that I am. if it means that i could stay here, with you, like, forever. forever and ever. and ever. maybe longer than that, even? like in the fairy tales. uh... wait, wuh, what is that? gene, if this is about you deciding not to be meh, then, i am all about that. i like you just the way you are, but i had a plan. right. i'm not just some princess, gene, waiting for my prince. i mean, uh, what you said was beautiful, but, gene... ha ha ha! you're all... meh! the source code worked! turns out I didn't need it. for the first time in life, meh is all I feel. oh! gene! i have an appointment. i'm a little early. no prob. i can take you right now. jailbreak! ah! don't do that! that freaking huge bot has got gene back inside the phone! what? he left being more meh than the meh-est meh face i've seen! what did you say to him? it's what I didn't say. we gotta go get him. how are we going to get there in time before he gets deleted? ugh.. i can't believe i'm doing this. you tell anyone you saw this and I'll crack more than those knuckles. woah. birds do like princesses! it's not a myth! it's not a myth at all! what happened with becoming a favorite? because i'd rather have one real friend. let's go get him. i can't wait to see that emoji's face! look at that expression! is that for realizing that you've put all of textopolis at risk? causing Alex to question our reliability? hmm? hey, now that's going too far, even for me! if we could delete this malfunction, before he gets dissapointed, Alex will realize there's nothing wrong with the phone. and any last words? meh. well, it's too late for that. delete him! wait! you delete gene, you'll have to delete me, too. what? i have the same malfunction gene has. dad? oh gosh, i don't know what to do! yes i do! BOTS! sorry misses meh. wow. i did not see that one coming. smiler, I think you might be making too much stink out of all this. oh really? how about you're next? i was wrong, gene. i should have believed in you all along. oh, what a touching daddy son reunion moment! it reminds me of the time I deleted you both! oh wait! that's this time! delete the two malfunctions! How's that for an entroof gasp oh, great. I can't reach! oh no! what did you do to my beautiful monst Ow my tooth! hand, button! jailbreak? oh, gene... you really are a meh... what happened to looking out for number one? being number one doesn't matter if there aren't any other numbers. alex's appointment! he's deleting the phone! nononono no no no no! show me alex. are you sure you want to delete everything? do it! red alert! alex, no! game over. fellas, i'm afraid this is the last call. dude, addie's here. you should go over. every time I try, i screwed up! i don't even know how to tell her how I feel! if we help alex connect to addie, maybe he

won't delete us. i might be able to bypass the wipe and get a text through to him. but we'll only have time to send one. maybe I should go! he has love in his eyes. send me! alex looks nervous, too! he's more shy than nervous! stop! it's gene. he's all of those things! emo gees should only be one thing! oh, really? gasp the princess! linda? not now, mom! gene, you got this. that's not me anymore. but I have to try. it's starting! no! it's ending! almost in? working on it! mom? dad? no.. i'm in! last time I was in this cube I screwed everything up. gene, why do you think I came back? it's because of you. me. it's all inside of you, gene. just try to bring it back. and do you. high five! i don't want to wave goodbye! it's now or never, gene! jailbreak, now! woah! she got this emoji! no way! hey, i got your text! that's one super cool emoji! i know, right? a lot of feelings in one! i get it! i like that you're one of those guys who actually expresses feelings! yeah, that's me! so, do you think you cou yes, i'd love to go to the dance with you. we made it! oh, i could have lost you, peter pinky finger... oh, you wretchy ring finger, even you, tiberius thumb... change your mind? yeah, maybe it's weird, but i'm going to hold onto it. gene, you did it! you saved us all! oh, mel... gee hee eene! gee hee hee heene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! gene! and us! and high five! and high five! and high five! and high five! hey, what happened, gene? slap me some skin! and a little orange for the pinky! hey high five! save a little hand for later! unless you know the hamburger! back on top of the hand pile! you're not on the list! wait, what? what's going on? ha! from now on, everyone is welcome! wait, what is all this? it's for you, gene! everybody! the emoji bob! this is so jazzy... go eggplant! go eggplant! go eggplant! we are out of Alex's pocket, emo gees! this is not a butt dial! to your cubes! are we up and running? roger that. good, because we got incoming! looks like it's gonna be gene. hey gene, ready to try out your new cube? in 3, 2...

I'm very confused rn, is these supposed to be a reference to something I don't know about?? Like it sounds cool but I don't know what it means...

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