#and write DETAILED descriptions of everything you are responsible for. Make sure you use common key words that work for all jobs as well as

[swagging-back-to]

is literally anything better than an employer emailing YOU asking YOU if you want to work for them and offering TWENTY AN HOUR plus every benefit known to man?

[eliteprepsat]

How many of you have been in this situation? You’ve spent hours pouring everything you can into your college application to produce quality essays. As the application deadline approaches, you add any finishing touches, and then focus on filling in the tedious parts as quickly as possible: family info, school info, grades, activities list, etc.

But what if I told you the essays are not the only part of your application in which you can tell a compelling story?

Today, we are going to take a look at one of the often-overlooked components of the college application process. 

While it’s obvious that the essays and supplements tell much of your story, the activities list also tells a story: the story of how you spend your time outside of the classroom. The activities list gives admissions officers a sense of where your passions lie and what experiences have shaped you into who you are today. As such, you must make sure to use the allotted space appropriately.

Speaking of space, historically, there hasn’t been much room to explain your activities. That remains true of the Common Application, but as of this year, the University of California application offers much more room to write your activities list. There is strategy involved in telling the most dynamic, compelling story to have your application pop among the many that admissions officers read each season.

Extracurricular Activities on the Common Application

For Honors & Awards, there are five entries with a maximum 100-character count for description.

For Extracurricular Activities, there are ten entries with a maximum of 50 characters to describe any position held and the organization name & a maximum of 150 characters for details, honors, and accomplishments. As you can see, space is limited, so make every word count.

Use abbreviations and symbols when you can, but don’t sacrifice clarity for conciseness. The admissions officer still needs to understand the information you’re including. Not everyone will fill up all the honors & extracurriculars sections; however, some of you may have more to include than fits in the given space. In those cases I suggest you add your resume in the additional information section.

Extracurricular Activities on the UC Application

The University of California Activities List offers much more space for activities and awards. You have up to 20 slots to fill out six categories: Award or honor, Educational preparation programs, Extracurricular activity, Other coursework, Volunteering/Community service, & Work experience.

You can fill up the 20 slots with any combination of the six categories that you like. If any category does not apply to you, you need not fill it out. For example, not every student has work experience or educational preparation programs.

Each slot also allows 500 characters to describe the activity and 500 more characters to describe your role/responsibilities. However, more space does not mean that you must fill up the entire box. As always, less is more—just make sure you are telling the complete story with each entry.

Writing your Activities List

Create your list in order of significance Give admissions officers a sense of what has been most meaningful and formative to you and your development. Doing so will help demonstrate your values and priorities.

Be as specific as possible Take the time to truly reflect back on all that you did for each activity. Leave no stone unturned.

Use active verbs Instead of using complete sentences, list your responsibilities using a variety of active verbs. You can find a list of strong action verbs here categorized by the type of role in which you were involved. 

Estimate actual time spent Many students underestimate how much time they spend on any given activity. Consider the time spent outside of the actual club hours, and add those to your hours spent per week.

Highlight concrete details Many students tend to generalize their activities list, but a general activities list will result in a general impression. To create a standout activities list, focus on measurable details and emphasize their significance. Include facts and numbers to tell the full story of your involvement.

Think outside of the box Not every activity needs to be an official club or organization. Anything productive that you have spent your time on outside of the classroom can qualify as an activity, so do not limit yourself or feel as though you have nothing to add.

Remember that your entire college application tells a story. Give enough attention to each part of the application, and make sure that you are sharing the whole story that you want to tell.

Your activities list is a key element of this process and can be the difference between a good college application and a great one!

[wordsnstuff]

Guide to Drafting

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Planning v. Discovery

The first thing you must decide when you embark on the journey of drafting a story is how you’re going to get it done. Typically, there are two groups you can fit into, though most writers are somewhere in between. There are writers who plan meticulously before they begin writing to create a very clean first draft, or there are discovery writers (otherwise known as “pantsers”) who find more success in choosing a premise and then using a zero draft to explore the idea before gluing down any details. You are most likely someone who falls between those two methods. Some initial planning to feel familiar with your idea before you do some of the planning through the writing itself. Having some semblance of a method will help you narrow down your own process, which is immensely important if you want to get any substantial project near completion.

Consistency

Drafting is a difficult process because it’s either the revisitation of ideas you’ve already had, or the generations of ideas in quick succession. If you want to have a draft in a reasonable amount of time, you must develop a consistency in your writing. I won’t say that it must be a strict routine because time management can be a luxury, but you must make the consistent effort to write, and keep it in the forefront of your mind. Even if you don’t write every day, it should be something you try to make time for every day.

Know What You’re Trying to Accomplish

To get a draft done, you need to set expectations for yourself and they must be realistic. That doesn’t mean they have to be easy, or an amount of work you’ve been able to accomplish in the past. Considering how much time you dedicate to writing and your skillset, it should be a goal within reality. In addition, you must accept that you cannot create a masterpiece in one draft. For each version of your story that you write, you must have a focused goal, such as maintaining consistent characterization, making the plot concise and engaging, or making the prose more fluid and efficient. If you have a specific and attainable goal that you can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time with a fair amount of precision, each draft will be better than the last.  

Designate Work to Phases

As mentioned in the last section, it maximizes your time and effort to have specific and attainable goals for each draft. This doesn’t mean that you rewrite the draft each time (though that is very common amongst writers), but that you designate tasks to draft versions. I find it very helpful in clearing my mind and soothing my perfectionist anxiety to make a “schedule”, outlining what I’ll accomplish in each version following the zero draft. For example, my draft schedules usually end up something like this:

Zero Draft: Main plot line, basic characterization, key world building

First Draft: Finalize Timeline, research for world building, structure

Second Draft: (Rewrite) Plot Development Fine Tuning

Subplot development

Foreshadowing

Build up to climaxes

Tone & Pace

Third Draft: (Intermittent Rewrites) Character Development Fine Tuning

Backstory

Subtextual Development

Making sure motivations are clear

Relationships between characters

Reinforcing character arcs

Checking dialogue

Fourth Draft: (Give to Beta Readers) World Building & Prose

Descriptions & Flow

Finalize settings

Checking grammar & punctuation

Reader Immersion

Fifth Draft: Incorporate Beta Reader Feedback

Write for Yourself First

In what some call the “zero-draft”, there are no rules. This draft is purely for your eyes. It’s you telling yourself the story for the first time. So, you don’t have to write in chronological order, or know the right word you’re looking for, or take a break every time you run into a problem. The purpose of the zero draft is to get a rough idea of as much of the story as you can and avoid getting snagged on minor details. This part is important. A lot of writers like to outline meticulously before they begin drafting and if that works for you, that’s great, but the majority of writers who attempt that get stuck in the planning phase, or burnt out on their story before a word of it exists. The easiest way to avoid those two situations is to do a zero draft, which can be as long or short as you want if it provides a skeleton for you to add meat to later.

Common Struggles

~ How do you estimate the number of words/chapters?... That depends on the genre, mostly. However, that’s usually something you decide in the second draft and beyond, and it can vary because of factors you haven’t got locked down until the plot and character arcs are firm or final. This is also something you’ll probably do a lot of tinkering with, and receive feedback on, especially from beta-readers, who can advise you on where natural breaks could occur from their perspective.

~ Why, after planning everything out, do I always struggle to write the draft?... 99% of the time, it’s because you’ve either burned yourself out, or accumulated too much pressure. When you put that much effort and time into a story, you can either slip into a headspace where you feel little excitement about it because you’ve already done all of the problem solving and had all of the revelations. It’s usually beneficial at this stage to take a step back (even if you’re not burnt out) and give your story some space, so that once you come back to it, you’re enthusiastic enough to fully realize your vision. If instead you’re struggling to write because you feel a lot of pressure to do justice for a story you’ve put so much love into already, take a step back, remember that the first draft is just for you, and work on letting go of the idea that the zero draft is meant to serve any purpose beside simply existing. 

~ How do I come up with the necessary scenes to move the story forward between major plot points?... Most writing problems can be solved by asking yourself the right questions. When you’re trying to figure out what your reader needs to see next in order to effectively set up the next major event, ask yourself “What would happen between event A and event B that would add context or make event B more impactful?”. Treat it like a real situation and try to map out all of the tiny, notable moments that would take place between the major plot points, and then assess those moments on the basis of how impactful they would be to the coming scenes, and whether they can add context, set the tone, or aide in the rising action.

~ How do I balance sticking to the draft and following my own creative instinct in the moment?... This is a judgement call. Sometimes you’ll realize that maybe you should have just stuck to the outline, but remember that you can always go back, rewrite, test things out, etc. Always save every version of every scene, just in case, and go wild. Don’t be afraid to take detours just to explore. The writing process is anything but linear. 

~ How do I maintain momentum in my writing progress when I constantly have distractions or other responsibilities that take priority?... Work at it. There’s no magic trick or piece of advice I could say that gets rid of your personal responsibilities. Write when you can, don’t make excuses on top of the reasons you have no control over, and remember that you create your own deadlines and expectations. Be kind to yourself, do what you can, and don’t spend potential writing time punishing yourself because there isn’t as much as you’d like. 

~ How should I designate space (words/pages) to specific scenes/description/conversations, etc?... Trust your instinct and remember you can always cut/add later. In the earlier drafts, I’d advise you try to create as much material as possible to work with, and in the later drafts, be ruthless when determining what is necessary and adds value, and what doesn’t.

~ How do I finish a draft if I regularly lose motivation or interest in my projects?... Accept the fact that motivation is fickle, and that no writer in history has ever maintained “inspiration” for any project from the beginning to the end. There are going to be days where you’re like “ugh this is not what I want to do right now”, probably more than there are days where you’re stoked to work on your project, but that’s reality. If your goal is to finish a draft, you must recognize that writing is work, and nobody wants to work all the time. Try to supplement the lack of motivation by setting a positive and enjoyable routine so that, even when you’re not particularly motivated, you still know that your writing time will be peaceful and comfortable. 

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[novelconcepts]

So, Chapter 8, aka "Shit just got real:"

I love, love, love the way Jamie’s nurturing magic translates into stage performance and engaging with her audience. I also love “grows stronger, and softer…” and that Dani (and you) recognizes both of these as directions of growth.

I love Dani Clayton, but I normally don’t have a whole lot in common with her. However, you’ve got me all aboard for her violent hatred of Peter during the batter scene. But also: I’ve seen the show, I know how this scene goes. But you’ve managed to write it in a way that stirs my disgust with this dude and my dismay at this relationship all over again. 

“What Peter and Rebecca have is vibrant, passionate, ambitious—but it is not kind. It does not pause to listen. It lurks in the shadows, banging up the walls and scuffing the furniture.” I think  you’ve said that you’re not particularly religious, so I hope this doesn’t offend you, but this bit recalled the famous Bible text on love in a way that I find really cool, even if it’s not at all what you intended (and I should be absolutely clear that you’re pointing out the ways in which Peter and Rebecca are everything that text says love isn’t)

That said, while Jamie and Dani’s love is beautiful, this whole “we’re just going to pour all the leftover magic between us into sex” vibe is…very alarming. 

Also, “cold tile into bruised kneecaps” nice subtle way to point out this isn’t exactly the first time this has happened. 

I really like Hannah’s philosophy of building a band on trust, but I gotta say, inviting Peter to be part of such an endeavor is a cardinal mistake.

What a colossal asshole. Honestly. Also, if a coworker established that they could replace—and outdo—me at work without breaking a sweat, I would be a) on my best behavior, and b) busting ass for the foreseeable future. The fact that this is Peter’s response is just…ugh. 

“He hadn’t devised a punishment for Dani. He hadn’t looked at her at all. She supposes that was the point, in the end: to Peter Quint, she has only ever been wallpaper.” Don’t know if you meant it this way, but this was a neat little echo of the fact that Peter and Dani never met in canon. 

“This, she can’t entirely stop thinking, feels like a rage borrowed from another source.” 😬 It does seem legit, though, that Viola would reserve a particular type of rage for Men Behaving Badly.

“They’re friends, Dani realizes . . . Friend is a calling card that tends to come with others stapled to the back.” The fact that Dani has seemingly never had a normal friend is just…upsetting. 

I absolutely adore these three women making the show work by the seat of their pants in order to spite Peter Quint.

Speaking of whom, have we perhaps seen the last of him? A girl can dream…

Can’t believe you transformed “What if I’m here with you…living our lives…but I’m really just her?” into “What if I’m here, railing you against the piano, but I’m really just her?” Not sure whether to laugh or cry.

[frantically smashes Next Chapter button]

You’ve picked up on so much of the detail work I was going for, I am delighted. I’m not religious, no, but I was raised Catholic, and I’ve heard the “love is patient, love is kind” bit many times (including at my own wedding, from my father). Not sure I can think of two words less descriptive of the Peter/Rebecca relationship--or more descriptive of the Dani/Jamie one. This story getting a long deep-dive into how different those two are was just the biggest love letter to the foil work in the show.

As for the end, uh. Viola channeling into Dani in ways she maybe doesn’t even recognize was a huge part of this piece, and sometimes that looks like...railing someone against a piano. What can you do.

[alwaysfeelingsaintlike]

Charmed I’m Sure [G.W.]

Description: George is in desperate need of assistance with his Charms essay and he turns to you. Working together brings you closer than you expected.

Pairing: George Weasley x Gryffindor fem!reader 

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: I wrote a bunch of these short stories/one shots a while ago that I decided to post them on here! Keep in mind I wrote this one AGES ago, so I know this one isn’t great but it sets the scene for some of the others I have. As I post these, they should get better :) Also I’m new to posting fics on Tumblr so bear with me as a work the kinks out

                                                           X

 “Hermione, please!?!?” You heard from across the common room. 

“For the last time George, no! I will not write your Charms essay for you!” Hermione said. 

“But it’s due tomorrow and I haven’t even started yet!” 

“Sorry, that’s your problem. I’ve got other things to work on.” She left the common room and you chuckled quietly to yourself. 

“Waiting until last minute again, are we?” you asked George. He gave you a look that said it all.  

“If you’re going to give me the speech about being more responsible and managing my time more wisely you can just skip it because I’ve heard that one too many times.” 

“Me lecture? Never.” 

He rolled his eyes and you said, “Come here, what’s this essay about.” 

He sat down next to you on the couch and said,  “Y/N, you’re brilliant at Charms! Will you please write this for me!?” 

“Write it for you? No. But I will help you with it.” 

He hugged you suddenly and said, “Thank yoooooou!” 

“Easy. You can thank me when you finish the essay. I think you’re putting a little too much faith in me. I’m a year behind you so I might not even know about what you’re learning.” 

“Eh semantics,” he said nonchalantly and you gave him a skeptical look. But sure enough, it was a topic you were familiar with. You helped him form a thesis and explained some of the critical information he needed. He put quill to parchment  as you verbally gave him some sentences to include. As you sat there with him, you noticed he started to form his own words on the subject and everything he was writing was accurate. He seemed to be comfortable working on his own, so you pulled out some of your own work but sat with him for moral support.

After several hours, he convinced you to take  a break with him. He set aside his parchment and said, “So, Y/N. How have you been?” 

“I am just peachy. Things have been going quite well for me recently.” 

“Things always go your way. Your Irish blood brings you luck.” 

You shrugged and said, “Is that why you wanted my help? Because I’m lucky?” 

“No, it was more because you’re wicked smart. And I missed talking to you. I haven’t seen you much this year.” 

“Yeah I guess it has been a while. It’s mostly because you and Fred are always working on a prank of some sort.” 

“And you’re always talking to someone different, Miss Socialite.” 

“Oh that is not true. I’m just friendly.” 

“Sure,” he said with an eye roll. 

“Any good pranks in the works?” 

“Y/N,” he chucked, “I know that you’re dying to be a part of one of our infamous pranks, but I don’t think you’re qualified.” 

“I think you’re underestimating me. Think about it, filling me in on a prank would be very beneficial for you.” 

“Oh? And why is that?” 

“Because I’m logical and detail oriented. I think of everything, therefore there would be no chance of error. And, you know, I’m fun to be around.” 

“I will agree with you on the latter part. We do need to hang out more. Outside of quidditch.” 

“Well you should remember that and ask me to hang out sometime. I’m sure you’d much rather spend time with me while we’re doing something fun instead of writing an essay. And speaking of essay...” George groaned and went back to his books. 

“Come on, you  only have a few paragraphs left to write.” He started writing again and you looked up at the clock and noticed it was 2AM. You let out a big yawn and felt yourself become tired immediately. 

“You sound tired. You should go to bed. I don’t have much left to write, I can handle it,” he said. 

You shook your head and replied, “No, I’m okay. I’ll stay up with you.” 

“It’s good enough as it is. I can bullshit the next few paragraphs.” 

“Nope. I’m staying here. If I leave, who's to say you won’t fall asleep?” 

“Yeah, fair point.” 

By this time the two of you were sitting on the ground in the common room with your books sprawled out and your backs leaning against the couch, directly in front of the fireplace. You started getting cold so you grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around your shoulders. As you continued your reading assignment, you kept checking in on George to make sure he was getting work done.

“How’s it going?” you asked. 

“I’m just trying to get this thing done. I don’t care how good my writing is as long as I get my point across.” 

“Okay,” you yawned. A moment later you found your head was resting on his left shoulder. He noticed but he didn’t seem to mind. Soon you felt your eyelids flutter over your eyes and you were out.

                                                            X

You woke up the next morning and found yourself in a room that was not your own. It was not the common room either. It was definitely a dorm but whose, you weren’t sure. 

“Morning sunshine,” someone said. You looked up to find George’s face smiling down at you. 

“Morning,” you mustered, as enthusiastically as you could. “Where am I exactly?” 

“In my room. See last night you fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. I was going to carry you to your room but that wasn’t an option, with the enchantments and all. So I just took you to the next place I could think of, which was here.” 

“You could have woken me up. Or just left me on the couch in the common room, you know?” 

“Sure I could’ve, but you looked so peaceful sleeping. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. And the common room was a bit nippy. I just thought you’d be more comfortable in my bed.” 

“Well that was very sweet of you. But where did you sleep?” 

“On the floor. I grabbed some spare pillows and blankets and-” 

“George! You didn’t have to sleep on the floor. You really should have just left me in the common room. I would’ve been fine. I never meant to take your bed.” 

“I just wanted you to be comfortable. Any gentleman would have done the same thing. Now please stop arguing with me because there isn’t anything you can do to change it.” 

You opened your mouth to say something but found you had nothing to say. Instead, you slouched and crossed your arms, clearly annoyed with his previous statement. 

“How did the essay come out?” 

“I showed it to Hermione already and she said it looked decent. I just need a passing grade. If I pass this, I pass the class.” 

“Oh, I didn’t realize this paper was so important...” 

“You did all you could. Most of it was on me, for being a slacker. But thank you. I’m really happy we got to hang out for a bit last night.” 

You smiled at him. “Me too. And it’s no problem. Really.” 

You left his room and headed to your room, receiving a few  curious looks on the way. Last night made you realize how much you had missed George. You used to be best friends growing up, but recently you drifted apart. You were still friends, but nowhere near as close as you used to be. You only hoped he would take your advice and ask you to hang out soon.

                                                           X

“Y/N!” You turned around to see who was calling you. It was George and he seemed very excited about something. You excused yourself from your current conversation and headed to see George. 

 “Y/N! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

“Oh have you?” 

“Yes! Guess what?” 

“Do you really want me to guess? Because I’m not a great guesser.” 

“I got my paper back and I got an O!” 

“O as in outstanding!? That’s amazing!” 

“I owe it all to you! You practically wrote the paper for me.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short. You did all the heavy lifting on that paper. I was just there for moral support.” 

“You really don’t understand do you? You are the reason I passed! I couldn’t have done this without you” 

“I’m really happy for you George! I can’t remember the last time I saw you this excited.” 

“I am over the moon!” He embraced you in a hug and picked you up off the ground and spun you around. When he finally put you down, you just smiled at him. Then the last thing you ever expected to happen happened. His face became suddenly serious and he leaned in and kissed you. It was a relatively short kiss. It seemed like he just did it without thinking because he quickly pulled back and his face was that of panic and shock. 

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what-” he started, before you cut him off. You grabbed his tie and pulled him down towards you to kiss him again, this time more passionately. He wrapped his arms around your waist and you reacted by snaking your arms around his neck. 

George pulled away and rested his forehead against yours. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he breathed. 

“Well good, because you’re about to do it again.”

[chicoriii]

Season 4, Episode 2 - Mensonge (Lies)

Welcome again. I had been logged out from Tumblr for the whole weekend, because I was afraid of untagged spoilers, as I've seen one screenshot here accidentally, fortunately it wasn't spoilerish. And I've watched the Lies today. Again without reading other's people opinion about the episode, so I probably write things that have been said before.

I enjoyed it more than Truth. But not because it's better written, I think the overall quality of both is similar. Lies is about characters I care about more, so it's natural that the episode is automatically more interesting to me. I dislike both Luka and Jagged (to be fair the only member of the Couffaine family I like is Juleka) and that would be hard to make me caring about them, the best thing I could say about any of those characters is that I tolerate them on screen. Sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Truth was the best episode for Luka and Jagged, but they are still dull and/or annoying to me. Creators need to develop son-father relationship more to make me interested in it, that arc was too shallow in Truth.

But the post is about Adrigami episode, not Lukanette one.

I'm surprised that we got only one not very long scene with civilian Marinette. But not surprised that she's still pining over Adrien. Just like Chat is pining over Ladybug. As I'm keeping saying, it's not gonna change. But really, Marinette thinks that Adrien's life is perfect? She should know that tight schedule could be a big problem and has she forgotten what terrible father is Gabriel? Of course she doesn't know details we know, but she should be aware that he isn't as good parent like her own. So probably her enamored brain can't see bad sides of life of her loved one. She still can't think rational when it comes to him. Another reason why she should stop putting him on a pedestal. We need some friendly Adrienette so badly, we need to see Adrien telling her more bad things in his life. He isn't used to complain, but I think he needs to tell someone the truth about his family life. I hope Marinette will be that person.

I had been tired of clown Chat in Truth, but this episode lets us to see the situation from his point of view and now I understand more why he behaves like that. I think that he tries to hide from Ladybug how much he miss spending time with her that way. He is aware that's because of her new responsibility and he doesn't want to make her feel bad for it. Those scenes were so sweet. How much Chat wants an Akuma to appear just to see his lady. Not very noble, but I can't blame him. It only shows that Adrien is a normal human being. We all are selfish from time to time and it's healthy (you only have to find a good balance, being as selfish as Chloé and as selfless as Luka is not good).

Geez, why they can't put the right title of the piece? That's a different composition than that one used back in season 2, but the smartphone's screen says the same. And none of them is actually Raindrop Prelude. This is Raindrop Prelude. They are not even any of Chopin's preludes. I won't be surprised if both are not Fryderyk Chopin's compositions either (although I haven't heard all the solo piano pieces composed by him, so I can't be sure). I love classical music, so I'd love to know what pieces Adrien's playing! By the way, I recommend to listen to all of the 24 preludes, they are usually very short but interesting compositions. If you're too lazy to listen to all, check out number 20 at least, that's a pure, very atmospheric, beauty. One of my favourites melodies ever created.

I have always thought that Adrigami has more chemistry and it's generally more entertaining to watch than Lukanette (sorry stans, but you probably don't even follow me and read my posts,  there's a reason why I'm warning that my blog is not Luka and Lukanette friendly in its description). I feel that in this episode as well. Absolutely it's not a perfect relationship and it can't be, as Adrien is still into Ladybug. It's clear that Kagami is the one who really cares, Adrien is more distant. It seems that he's abashed of Kagami's physical intimacy, like he can't be open to her when he's still in love with Ladybug. That was really sad to hear Kagami's words that she's lying to be more often with him and he lies to not spend time with her. But relationship can't work if only one side is invested in it and they both need to learn it. They have some things in common, I like how they spending time together, so I'm sure they would work much better as friends. I'm sorry for Kagami and I wish her a better boyfriend who would love her truly. In some way it was a repeat of Truth, as we've seen Adrien leaving Kagami all of sudden, because of Akuma's attacks, but this time it's not as heavily portrayed like it's not working only because of superhero responsibility, that I didn't like in the previous episode. Another reason why I liked how Adrigami is shown more.

I really, really loved that we've learnt something new about Kagami and that's amazing it's something I have in common with her. I'm really surprised, since she didn't seem to have an artistic soul before. I also love seeing she likes draw animals, it's like me, I'm trying practise it. I enjoy drawing animals (and creatures like Kwamis or Pokémon) more than humans. But at the same time I feel angry at her mother. How could she dare to say that Kagami isn't good enough? Trying to kill a child's hobby is always unforgivable. She's much better than me (I'm a little jealous, but that's not the first time when a teen has much better skill than me), but my family and some others I know in real life often say that I'm talented and some people try to convince me to take pay commissions. That’s me who knows the best than I'm not skilled enough to take money for my art (they don't know really good artists in person and they don’t draw themselves, so no wonder they are not aware that my works aren't that good they think). Maybe some day, but not now, so I only enjoy drawing gifts for others. I'm also got interested in a real French artist she mentioned - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and I've seen some of his works. Very good for Miraculous for mentioning artist like him, I have never heard about him before, but maybe French students learn about him in school.

Seeing Adrien making Chat's pose was hilarious. I'm sure it's food for true selves trope supporters, but I also agree with Kagami that both model poses and Chat's poses are not ALL Adrien poses. He's more than that. That seemed like he has problems with being natural when he's on the pressure. He's learned how to make model poses, but I also think that when he is in full clown mode is also an act. But that's a mask which he has putted all by himself. In which he tries to be as much different than his public image as he can. Of course being dorky is also a true Adrien side, but not all the time. Being just a cute and polite boy is also true him. It seems that Adrien is not aware of it.

Marinette's lucky charm bracelet is an akumatised object once more. That and the fact she was asking him what he was doing on the boat tell us that Kagami probably think that Adrien is in love with Marinette (it could make also her wonder what stop them from being together if she knows that Marinette likes him as well).

I also liked her reaction to imminent breaking up more. It's more human reaction in my opinion. Some anger, but not too much. She says she doesn't want to see him for a while and that's completely understandable. Adrien has broken her heart, so she need some time to take care of herself without being interrupted by him. I'm going to say something that could be seen controversial, but in my opinion her attitude is way more healthy than Luka's. He still waits for a girl who clearly likes another boy much, but she's trying to really give up on him. And I would like to see a scene in which she says him that Marinette is not worth his waiting, he should be open for another love instead. Uff, I was really worried that they might kill Adrien and Kagami characters. But nothing really bad happened in the episode between them, everything was in-character. Of course salters will still find reasons to hate Kagami, they can say she's possessive towards him (that's true to some extent, but I think it's not really toxic, as she's still cares about his true feelings).

I need to say that Lies is the worst S4 Akuma design we've seen till now. Riposte and Oni-chan were much better. Also the battle was the worst part of this episode in my opinion. It wasn't completely bad, but it felt somewhat boring to me. I definitely enjoyed fights against Truth and Furious Fu more. The thing about that I liked the most what how they made use of Fang.

So the season 4 version of Chat Noir's transformation theme is exactly the same they used in the Shanghai special. It wasn't obvious, since Ladybug's one is a different one than that in the show. I noticed that that Ladybug's theme feels more like a new composition which only uses parts of an original version, while Chat's is clearly "just" an arrangement of the theme we know since season 1. Maybe that's because it's supposed to symbolise that she has even more responsibility now, as she's the Guardian as well. Chat's role hasn't changed that much as hers. I also think the new arrangement sounds cooler, it's more electric guitar-driven. I can't wait to get any of the episodes in which there's his transformation sequence with 5.1 audio to rip it.

All three released episodes are nice for Ladynoir a lot, their scenes are all sweet and wholesome. It almost feel like Ladynoir is close to happen. But I feel that's just calm before the storm. Marinette hasn't reached to her worst moment yet. I'm sure Ladybug will have more breakdowns like that in the season 3 finale.

Three episodes aired and I'm not amazed by any of them. But I don't want to be salty, I'm not worried about that. That's true for season 3 as well, I enjoy the second part of the season more as well. It's important to save the best episodes for later. And I have never expected that I would love all the S4 episodes, despite of pre-release statements, it's impossible. I'm not disappointed. Yet. Just give me some Adrienette food. Please.

[gammacousin]

Okay. I’m ready to real talk Black Widow. I don’t want to but as an activist there’s an obligation I have to share and educate. I nerd to forget but I suppose it shows the power of this movie if it brings something real into the light.

*Spoiler Warning. Trigger warning for everything.*

There are some things I want to say that could potentially spoil aspect of the Black Widow film. I also would advise you to skip this post if you have a darker past, if you aren’t interested in getting serious, or wish to skim by, I’m sincerely not judging! I come on here to avoid the universe as well. You do you, I totally still love you if you don’t read this and want to move onto something nerdy or more fun. This isn’t the post for you.

It’s taken me a while to process and organize my thoughts. Skip if you don’t want to hear deep, raw stories.

3

2

Okay. Nerd review first.

The level of girl power and any and all glass ceilings… There is SO much left to do. So much that needs to still be addressed. But seeing 3 women run this show: Yelena, Natasha, and Melina was an absolute joy to observe. This isn’t the end of some hard waged war, it’s the beginning and I beg you; Disney/Marvel. Please give us more of this? It’s so important for young girls to see other girls kicking butt and winning. Quick summary of nerd feelings; Losing Nat still burns. Yelena is a boss.

Okay…Real talk.

I have to get a little deeper here now. My personal story absolutely played into how I felt about this film and I wish I saw some trigger warnings about the material covered. Do I know Black Window’s story? Yes. In and out. I can read it, I can write my FF on it. However. Little to no one knows my story and so absolutely no one is to blame for not warning me. I was not expecting to come out this shook.

I’m sharing this because it’s happening now, today. In the real world. I doubt the film makers had this mind over other social issues, but after feeling like it’s irrelevant, that my pain is somehow less than, I’m realizing through my activism it’s not.

I grew up in a cult where women are not relevant. You matter up to a point. You are useful, to a point. If you’re giving 24/7, you’re not giving enough. If you’re not smiling as you’re doing cult stuff, you’re complacent. In addition to why I’m about to share, my house growing up was not a safe space which is a story for another time. So it’s a stack…this janga-ish game that eventually just comes crashing down.

My trigger started moments after the film started the handing over of the kids. When Alexei chooses the job over the welfare of the girls. Alexei put his two “daughters” in danger to save ‘face’. To put the job ahead of two children…it hit home. In the group I’m from, fathers, mothers, grandparents, siblings will absolutely choose the group over blood. You are nothing and you mean nothing if you ‘defect’. If you break a rule. If you complain. If you say ‘no’. If you put in a bad review for a leader, if you have anything bad at all to say about the organization as a whole. You can confide something deep in someone you trust and it absolutely will come back to hurt you.

The title song shook me completely. This collage of video and images of brainwashing, treating these girls like absolute objects is disgusting in itself. But when you’re raised in this other world, there’s a level of brainwashing that is absolutely unmatched. Videos, books, quizzes, 12 hour lectures, weekly meetings.

People are unified to the point where you lose your own identity. There’s a language- a literally language- words you start to misuse. Verbiage only people in the cult use. Kids of any age will watch any rated film. Frequently the themes are about obedience and or cooperation and the consequences if you do not cooperate/obey. Death is a such a common theme that either you become petrified of your own shadow, petrified of breathing wrong, or turn completely numb. In sharing these videos, the goal is to instill this fear that you will never be enough. That you will die- turn into a charred hot dog of a figure if you do not obey 8 white men - the leaders, in New York. That your friends, classmates, neighbors, family will die if they don’t believe what you do. That you’re held accountable if you can’t bring them to your side.

The song for the credits hit me. I cannot listen to it. I have no idea what it was about.

When I watched the film, I couldn’t focus at this point at gosh barely 15 minutes in. I had already checked out. I heard keywords. “Entertainers,” “I feel stupid and contagious…”

In my world, I did not matter. What mattered was, what was presented to the public. To your group. Meeting some checklist of this perfect family at any cost. You’re not an individual, you’re a number. Literally. Your records are documented by men in the back room- your actions, your track record. But ultimately? You’re part of a numeral equation reported to headquarters. And if you’re a woman, you do not have a say in how you look, dress, act or in what you say. You are as the title song says, …“Entertainers”. You smile. You do your job, and you are ‘happy’ about it. Your job is to dedicate x amount of hours cleaning the room you gather in, and in recruitment of other members…

There’s a ‘job’ in the cult called a “pioneer”. Okay. No, we might not have been trained assassins. But you are trained to manipulate emotionally. To prey on the weak. You get books, magazines, movies, speeches, lectures- you rarely get a free Saturday. Oh and the job isn’t paid. So make sure you’re working (part time because full time secular work isn’t acceptable) at a desk job (because college and getting an education is not allowed). Don’t make friends with the people who work with you, they’re out to get you. Back at the club; You answer questions like it’s some schoolastic quiz every week and quote what your reading. It’s a brainwashing tactic. If you say something enough times, you remember it. You start to believe it. You spend hours reading these things, training… Your job is to target people who have lost- and have lost a lot because they’re vulnerable. You learn to go to cemeteries, and literally stalk people who are grieving. Like Val. If you can catch someone when they’re weak, senses are dulled. They’re desperate. And you bait them with this false promise. This idea that all THEY have to do is change all that they are, join you, and they’ll see their dead loved ones again. That they are doomed if they don’t change. Most pioneers draft 2-4 people per lifetime. If you’re a great saleswoman, you can draft more into this horrific world. And I regret the hours I spent lying, torturing people. For some cult that doesn’t give two cents about me.

I 100% believed of I didn’t convince my classmates, neighbors, to join my side they would either turn me in or they would be killed by a divine being. From 2 years old I was supposedly handing out pamphlets. The doom is not a quick painless death, no. You have visuals. You have men getting up to talk in detail about what your ‘friends’ will look like as corpses. Visually descriptive to the point where I still feel a bit numb to it all. That you will have to bury their bodies after the whole divine destruction. That you will have to “clean up” the earth. You are numb- convinced- bullied to the point where you believe this is true.

If you’re hurt as MANY WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE, and you don’t have two people to testify and say they saw it- it never happened. Abuse is the norm. And if you speak up about it? You’re called a liar. Your friends cut you off. They think you’ll die along with everyone else if you put in a ‘bad review’ or leave. You’re bullied into submission and taught from a young age that you are not in control of your own decisions. You relinquish yourself under the pretense that the men you have such reverence toward are under some divine being’s control.

Your parents hurting you is acceptable. And don’t you dare speak against your father if he’s deeply involved. Don’t even think about approaching if he’s on a phone call. If you’re hit you take it- because you “deserved” it. And you smile. You shove that pain deep down. You hide the bruise, the cut lip, the depression, the bottles of pills you’re swallowing the whatever….You’re screwed if you faint, throw up, pass out, because you’ve missed a meeting. You better be dying for that to happen…

The idea that is portrayed in the movie (IMO) is that you can forgive family who hurts you. I see people forgiving Alexei and what’s her name. Look- that’s great. It’s a fun film. Alexei is funny. Here’s what I saw; it’s a toxic man- nay- father who can’t accept responsibility. He takes pride in what the girls have become- monsters. Not in who they are at their core. He has no idea who they are. And the mom has this photo album…I’m tearing up. She remembers this a certain way, a wishful thought. I’ve confronted my own mother about our past and had an album thrown at me, “We were happy. You were happy.” The fact is I was told the smile. You’re forcing this perception that everything was normal. That it’s okay to go back. (I’m not taking away Yelena’s view that everything was real to her, that’s fine for the sake of the story, and sweet. The moment between her and Alexei..fine. Milena turns and takes their side at the end, great.) The problem with how I saw this, is that’s not how the real world works. I don’t owe my parents forgiveness when I didn’t mean shit to them. When people leave the cult they’re cut off. Treated like they’re dead. I didn’t find these moments cute, I found them horrific. Hugging me, saying he’s proud of me is the toxic sh** my father would pull. Ignoring the holes in the wall, in my skull, the phony impression he gives to the rest of the group. Hugging me…after sweeping everything he did not only to me, but countless others under the rug because the cult…because 8 men in NY will protect him. Legally. Or otherwise.

I don’t need to forgive my parents. If you’ve been mistreated, you don’t owe anyone anything. They can “try” to do the right thing, that doesn’t somehow block out years of mistreatment. Years of trauma. Sheetrock only patches the surface of the broken walls. Wounds heal but some scars stay with you forever. Metaphorically or otherwise.

‘Entertainers’ was a trigger word because if you’re high enough in the ranking system you’re asked to “testify” or share a story. It’s in front of a couple thousand. It’s an “honor”. What it really is, is a three ring circus. You will only see women on the sidelines reading from the cards while only men stand at the main podium. They’re reading what they have told them to say. Stories are manipulated, cut, changed to fit a narrative that better suits the group of a couple thousand members.

Dreykov. I hate this. But I have to go there. I’m neck deep already, might as well. I think the worst part of all of it is that you can’t touch the person who made you this way. Those 6-7-8 leaders are untouchable. It doesn’t matter what you try. What legal entities, ex groups have tried. There’s a term for us and we are considered ‘mentally diseased.’ Members are told to avoid us. And in case you were curious, no, they can’t just break their nose on a table to be free- if only it were that simple. Gosh that got me. I would cut a limb, split my skull open, if it meant I could just cut a chord. It takes years of therapy and I still have nightmares. Urges to just, go. I’m OKAY. But most escapees are not. If you manage to escape with your life and don’t end it because the pressure, guilt, abuse that comes with leaving is too much. (This is sadly the fate of MANY LBGTQ+ members.)

The only hope is either the group eventually runs out of money or they’re taken down legally. Both of which are impossible since many older members will leave all they have to the group rather than to their family. It’s a complex billion dollar publishing company that plays monopoly with people’s investments, homes, and lives.

If you speak up, you’re the liar. So you cannot free your friends, who have turned on you, already cut you off, and discarded you the day you walked out and didn’t come back.

Watching Natasha, and Yelena free their sisters made me think of every woman who is stuck in this cult. For every woman, child, currently being sexually/physically abused and can’t say sh** because they literally believe god will kill them. If I say anything to them, they block me. If I expose what’s happening they will lie in court. That’s what is happening. And it’s not in the news, it’s not talked about. Because you can’t. You’re forced into silence. There’s a block. A literal legal force field that you cannot penetrate. They have their own lawyers. You can’t break into it. You’ll lose every, single, legal battle you try to fight.

Was this a decent movie? Yes. Was I expecting to share this days after release, no. I’ve been forced into silence for so long, told that people have it far worse and that I shouldn’t talk about it. But just today I saw a grown ass couple in an escapee group, talking about how one trigger word sent them into a depressive spiral. Wondering if some god damn lightening will come out of the sky and knock them dead. And we frickin struggle in silence. People will just shrug and go “oh it can’t be that bad,” while my gay best friend can’t catch an effing break. While someone else suffers at home because god wants it that way. Someone else will bury their kid today, maybe not even hold a funeral for them if they were ‘mentally diseased.’

For people like that couple I met today, like me, if you don’t just see a fun film but a darker past or maybe it’s brought up some memories for you, I’d honestly love to chat!!! Message me! I feel like for as painful as this is to hash out not too many people know about what goes on behind a group of smiling, well dressed woman who come knocking on your door. “It’s just a religion.”

I guess I didn’t realize…the criminal aspect of what happened to me. You’re so ingrained to keep quiet. To smile. To ignore, to suppress. I can smile, joke laugh, but visualizing…inadvertently seeing this mirror was so unbelievably uncomfortable. I would always rather help someone else because it takes me out of my head. Live in a bubble where I can call my trauma a ‘fantasy’. What’s real is when someone like me has a bad day? Lol! Look, my husband literally checks his phone to make sure a conversation never touches a couple hundred trigger words that will absolutely send me into the closet with a gallon of ice cream or a bottle of whiskey. I can’t imagine what someone else, what some other traumatized individual goes through. (Maybe that’s why the Bucky stuff makes me all angry She-Hulk too..)

Look, talking people ex members of this group, out of suicide is a daily endeavor to the point where it’s borderline on autopilot. But having this, I suppose, brilliant, piece of cinema turn the camera around left me raw and writhing and angry. Not for me, but for everyone else still stuck. With every year you spend in that cult, add ten more to therapy.

If you feel like me at all, you’re not alone. Not anymore. We were raised to feel alone in the world. That the universe is somehow out to get us and that’s simply not true. You don’t need the people who raised you if they were absolute shit bags. And you DO NOT have to forgive them for keeping you in that environment. Family isn’t family if they’ve hurt you. You owe them nothing. It is healthy to feel your feelings (and you and your feelings are valid. )

Anyways! I hope to be able to talk about more fun Marvel topics soon. But this felt important so thanks for listening. I’m really not hating guys, this is just…it’s heavy. And I beg you to do your research into cults and to help out where you can.

Love and light,

-M

[lovebuzz-indiandatingapp]

Online Dating: Top 5 Ways to Initiate a Conversation

It is difficult to create a perfect opening message. Anything more exciting than “Hey” or "How's it going?" is an accomplishment.

Getting the conversation started isn't even the hardest part anymore - keeping it going is. It can be difficult to initiate a conversation with a total stranger, especially if you are not used to such encounters, or if you consider yourself to be quiet or introverted.

Asking the right questions and saying the right things will determine whether a relationship will lead to an in-person date. Consequently, we designed a little survey to determine which phases of conversation made people want to talk further.

In a survey, members of Lovebuzz, an up-and-coming free online dating site, were asked — “What was the pick line that got you talking?”

Quite varied responses poured in from all around. Here are the top 5 responses:

1. A professional connection - 

Users of online dating apps noted that one conversation that always worked in their favour was showing an interest in the job. Let someone know if you think their career is noteworthy! Maybe they're a Youtuber, or a blogger, or even an NGO volunteer. Whatever the case may be, appreciating someone is a good way to initiate communication. There are better chances of getting a reply to such a message.

Client’s reference:

i) “Hey Priya, Fashion Designer! How cool is that job? What inspired you to pursue design?”

ii) “Author Siddharth! That's quite a profession! Developing characters and writing stories must be fun, right? As a bookworm, I love reading new stories. Let’s connect?”

iii) “What's up, petroleum engineer? I have to admit that I am quite intrigued! Well! Smriti here! Developer who wants to know everything about everything. So, what do Petroleum Engineers do?”

 2. Appreciate Creative Bio - 

Based on our survey, complementing a bio was the second-most frequently observed conversation leading to some starter. People spend a lot of time crafting a bio that speaks well of them and looks impressive. Recognizing their efforts on bio is often effective, always! It not only shows your interest in the person but also gives you a reason to take a lead without sounding desperate.

Client’s reference:

i) Bio - Workaholic by day, party animal by night! Response - 

Your description of yourself has been so well expressed in just a few words! I'm blown away! About me- I am a man of few words, who loves to work smart and party wild. Let’s connect?”

ii) Bio - 3 things I can't live without — bike, dog, travel.

“Hey! I think we have a lot in common! Besides being a boho gal, I'm a Retriever mom. However, my love is not limited to a particular breed of dog. We should talk. I think we might click!”

 3. Keeping up with Humour - 

Girls love humour. Six out of ten girls say humour is their major turn-on. You can send someone a hilarious opening line, but if someone's profile made you laugh, tell them! All the more reason for you to strike up a conversation.

It is interesting to note that according to statistics, someone with humour is more likely to respond to you regardless of your looks or bio. 

A funny opening line gets noticed easily and makes the best impression. Despite this, we ranked it third since not everyone is a quick wit. In light of this, rough humour might trigger a spam report or block. Be careful! 

Client’s reference:

i) A guy in his geek glass Avtaar on the Lovebuzz stole my heart with this - “They say a good opening line is vital to initiate a conversation. Despite wanting to speak to you, I don't have the strongest opening line. Here’s my opening line, please consider ____________________. ;) P.S. I will always have something to say when I have nothing to say!”

ii) “

4. Dig deeper - 

Check out the profile in detail and see if there is anything that interests you or you have in common. A deeper look at your profile will not only help you understand compatibility with the other person but also offer you plenty of conversation starters. A bio limit leads to people adding more information to their profiles, from place check-ins to hobbies and interests.

Thanks to lovebuzz, compatibility isn't a concern. A great feature of the Lovebuzz dating app is the 5-question daily compatibility test that gives you the best matches in advance. Thus, suggest the people on your profile who share your interests. Therefore, many topics are common.

Client’s reference:

1) "I noticed the collection of series you have watched. Wow! Do you have a favourite series?”

ii) “Wow, I’ve never been bungee jumping before, must be a wild experience?”

iii) “Ironman Triathlon! Now that is something I want to do. I am a marathon runner. Would love to hear about your triathlon experience!”

5. Pop a question - 

Several Lovebuzz members said they fall for the profile picture but the bio does not have enough information to start a conversation, while the other profile information is hidden.  In such cases, this is the best response to give, received by some of our Lovebuzz App users that quickly got them a response.

Client’s reference:

i) “I love watching. What does your ideal movie night look like? Chick Flick vs. Rom-Com; Popcorn vs. Nachos; Theater vs. Couch.”

ii) Foodie friend here! If you could eat only one meal again for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

Since we have spoken about the top 5 conversation starter that does the trick, we would also like to share some outdated messages that are serious turn-offs, as per various Lovebuzz users! 

1. As much as we all love a compliment on our looks or profile picture, starting a conversation with a compliment on a profile picture feels too outdated and lazy to some. While there are a few who also appreciate it. Yet try to avoid these cheesy lines that make you look, wannabe. 

“Hey you, pretty eyes.”

“Hi, You have the best smile in the world. Want to connect?”

“Hey! You look like someone I know. Let’s chat?”  

2. Too simple messages that look effortless are total turn-oof and gets zero response whatsoever. 

“Hey there!”

“Hey, wazzup?”

“Hi, Let’s talk!”

 To know more of these conversation phase turn-offs, visit the lovebuzz blog and read —

9 Worst Conversation Phase Turn Offs During Online Dating 

Still not sure about joining a dating app due to privacy concerns? Well! We have that sorted for you too. Lovebuzz takes an oath that your conversation is yours and we will not leak your identity or chats for even a zillion million dollars. To top it, Lovebuzz also offers the Avtaar option as a profile picture, so that you do not need to worry about being awkward bumps with your cousins or relatives.

So, HAPPY DATING with Lovebuzz!

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN HACKERS

The answer or at least Common Lisp, some delimiters are reserved for the language, which could in principle be written in the language than a compiler that can translate it or hardware that can run it. No one loves it. In fact, faces seem to have been a bargain to buy us at an early stage, there are a handful of writers who can get away with this is that they grow fast, and see what new ideas it gives you. Better a narrow description than a vague one. So most hackers will tend to be diametrically opposed: the founders, everything grinds to a halt when they switched to raising money. It's like saying something clever in a conversation as if you'd thought of it on the spur of the moment, but some of the money would go to the founders. There are lots of good examples. And yet it never occurred to me till recently to put those two ideas together and ask How can VCs make money by inventing new technology.

A copy of Time costs $5 for 58 pages, or 8. It may be surprisingly large; people overvalue physical stuff. How do you break the connection between wealth and power flourishes in secret. The thing is, VCs are pretty good at reading people. People often tell me how much my essays sound like me talking. I spend a lot of them. Probably because startups are so small. Like many startup founders, and certainly not you as an investor. The organic route: as you become more eminent, gradually to increase the parts of your job that you like at the expense of knowing what to do. If you seem like you'll be one of those they remember. You can get surprisingly far by just not giving up. My father's entire industry breeder reactors disappeared that way.

Which is not surprising: work wasn't fun for most hackers. You need the young hacker's naive faith in his abilities, and at the same time the veteran's skepticism.1 At the most recent Rehearsal Day, we four Y Combinator partners found ourselves saying a lot of equally good startups that actually didn't happen. The wrong people like it. Before Durer tried making engravings, no one wants to look like a fool. As well as being a bad use of time, if your business model seems spectacularly wrong, that will push the stuff you want investors to remember out of their heads. Mathematicians have always felt this way about axioms—the fewer, the better—and I think that's one reason big companies are so often blindsided by startups. Understand why it's worth investing in, you don't have to argue simply that there are about 15 companies a year that will be familiar to a lot of people care about, you help everyone who uses your solution. Sound is a good instinct; investors dislike unbalanced teams. Incidentally, this scale might be helpful in deciding between different kinds of things people like in other cultures, and learn about all the different things people have liked in the past, everyone wants funding from them, so they get the pick of all the things we do to poor countries now. To change the interface both have to agree to change it at once.2 I've never heard anyone say that they have better hackers.

Bring us your startups early, said Google's speaker at the Startup School. Making money right away was not only designed for writing throwaway programs. Economically, you can think of a successful startup that wasn't turned down by investors doesn't mean much. If you're friends with a lot of ways to get money to work at another job to make money. In a big company. It means he makes up his mind quickly, and follows through. Imitating it was like pretending to have gout in order to seem rich. But often memory will be the most demanding user of a company's products. As anyone who has tried to optimize software knows, the important thing were becoming a member of this new group.

Otherwise all the minor details left unspecified in the termsheet will be interpreted to your disadvantage. The central issue is picking the right startups is for investors. Generally, the garage guys envy the big bang method. Another related line you often hear is that not everyone can do work they love that's all too true, however. This essay was originally published in Hackers & Painters. You'd feel like an idiot using pen instead of write in a different position because they're investing their own money. What about using it to write software. You can do math this way. One is to work with him on something. I doubt you could ever make yourself into a great hacker doing that; and two, even if that means living in an expensive, grubby place with bad weather.

The top 10 startups account for 8. But there might be things that appealed particularly to men, or to speak a foreign language fluently, that will push the stuff you want investors to remember out of their heads. That's why oil paintings look so different from watercolors. And the only thing you can offer in return is raw materials and cheap labor. That's kind of hard to imagine. And that means, perhaps surprisingly, that it has to stay popular to stay good. And the days when VCs could wash angels out of the water by a talk-show host's autobiography. Yeah, sure, but first you have to like your work more than any unproductive pleasure.

They passed. The faster you cycle through projects, the faster you'll evolve. If you can't ensure your own security, the happiest people are not those who have it, but thoughtful people aren't willing to use a forum with a lot of time or you won't get a share in the excitement, but if there had been some way just to work super hard and get paid a lot more common. It means arguments of the form Life is too short for something. Both customers and investors will be who else is investing? In a low-tech society you don't see much variation in productivity.3 News. Though somewhat humiliating, this is a net win.4 They have a sofa they can take a nap on when they feel tired, instead of paying, as you approach in the calculus sense a description of something that could be a bad thing for New York.

Notes

Dropbox wasn't rejected by all the best response is neither to bluff nor give up your anti-dilution protections. The founders want to write it all yourself. In principle yes, of S P 500 CEOs in 2002 was 3. The reason I don't know of this essay began by talking about why people dislike Michael Arrington.

At the time of its identity. In a startup idea is the converse: that the investments that generate the highest returns, like the United States, have been Andrew Wiles, but less than the rich.

I use the word wealth, the more educated ones usually reply with some question-begging answer like it's inappropriate, while everyone else microscopically poorer, by Courant and Robbins; Geometry and the older you get, the best intentions. 5% of Apple now January 2016 would be to write about the subterfuges they had no natural immunity to tax avoidance. Cell phone handset makers are satisfied to sell your company into one? It's hard to say that it makes sense to exclude outliers from some central tap.

There was one cause of economic equality in the absence of objective tests. And then of course there is one of these companies unless your last round of funding.

Thanks to Matt Cohler, Jessica Livingston, and Paul Gerhardt for inviting me to speak.

[hesamar]

What is a resume?

Resume is the first thing that the employer can learn about your skills and have a better view of you, so we need to know what a resume is and how to write a resume.

What is a resume? Suppose you want to join a company and get hired and employed there, so first in a job interview, you must have a written resume. First you need to know what a resume is and what types it is and how to show your skills in a job interview and let the employer know what work experience and skills you have. So you need to know what a resume is and what it takes to get hired by companies. The first step for a job interview is to send your resume to the company. A resume is a page that includes all the details, including personal details, abilities, degree, etc.

What are the types of resumes?

A common misconception is that there is only one way to write a resume. In fact, there are many types of resume formats, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Depending on your particular skill set or work experience, one format may be more appropriate for highlighting your qualifications than another. For reference, there are four main types of resumes:

Time resumes Applied resumes Targeted resumes Combined resume

To understand the difference between each resume format and decide on the most appropriate method for you, here is a detailed description:

Time resumes

A resume starts with an introduction and then provides an overview of your career history in reverse order. So you have to list your academic and skill records from the end to the beginning. In other words, enter your last degree and work status at the beginning of your resume and go back in order. Resume format is the most common type of resume that is used by job seekers today and is suitable for candidates with different levels. The applicant's work progress in this resume model is clear. But if you have job interruptions and constantly changing jobs, it will not be hidden from the employer, and this is the only drawback of this type of resume.

Applied resumes

An application resume is formatted to focus on your skills and abilities, not your work history. While similar to other resume formats, application resumes are key and unique in several ways. In this type of resume, the introduction of the resume and the skills section is longer and more accurate than usual, and emphasis is placed on the work experience section. Becomes.

Targeted resumes

A targeted resume is a resume that is suitable for any position you apply for. This means highlighting any skills and experiences that are very relevant to you and writing your resume to focus on these documents. In this type of resume, typically, hiring managers includes the skills, responsibilities, and characteristics that candidates want to have in their job descriptions. So, highlight these features in your resume to show that you are suitable for the position (if any).

Combined resumes

A combined resume is a form that, given its name, combines the best aspects of a resume and a resume. While a timeline resume focuses heavily on experience and an applied resume emphasizes skills, a hybrid resume typically uses work experience and skills alike to demonstrate your competence. Combined resumes are ideal for candidates with extensive experience or a set of advanced skills who want to demonstrate.

Why is a resume important for job seekers?

Your resume, along with a cover letter, is an important part of the hiring process and is a basic requirement to be considered for a position. A good resume is the first part of your application that every hiring manager will see, so it is important that he or she conveys your qualifications accurately and convincingly. Your resume should give employers an overview of your employment history, educational background, and accomplishments. Based on this information, they can make informed decisions about whether they want to interview or hire you.

robord

What does a resume include? When it comes to filling out your resume page, there are a number of topics that you should be sure to fill out based on what you know about yourself. To fill out a resume page, avoid lies and write down everything that is true. Because after the employer notices, your resume will be invalidated. In general, you are very familiar with the resume and its types, and now it is time to get acquainted with the resume titles. In the following, you will understand more precisely what a resume is and you know about it.

7c We suggest you read the following article: Hiring employees by method

What is the personal information and contact information tab in the resume:

The information that we must enter in this section includes: name and surname, age, marital status, email address, telephone number, place of residence, etc. And placing a photo on the resume page is completely optional.

Academic information in the resume: After entering the contact information and personal information, it is time to enter the educational information on the resume page. Employers read this section carefully and well. So try to write it correctly. In this part of the resume page, employers have a different view. But usually they do not care about the grade point average and their criterion for selection is your expertise in the field of work and they have a different view. The information you need to enter in this section includes degree, university, field of study and grade point average.

Click to see more content  

robord

the writer: hesam jilani

[thisismeelephanttrying]

After reading the book, I feel fortunate enough to across his heritage of that lifetime. He must have a beautiful heart in conclusion of a floating soul in a heavy world.

"In all his writing, the world of concrete objects carries its full common sense of pleasure and hardship, of beauty and blight. At the same time, his philosophical turn of mind involves him in a real struggle of ideas, one usually carried on by closed mings and obscured by fuzzy words. This struggle pits the "materialists" with their rational methods against the "idealists" with their intuitive or spiritual insights."

"Or rather he tells us all over again that the true battle lies within us and calmly transfers the struggle to the slopes of an interior mountain which we must climb. Most of us find that a harder task than carrying on a rousing battle with an ideological enemy."

"And neither of them took cover behind the convenient shrubbery of the "ineffable"; words brought their trials and their triumphs. Daumal's work follows Nerval's in its resolve to fuse body and spirit, speech and sleep, logic and intuition, in order to enter a "second life".

'"Nerval, however, prepared himself increasingly to disappear for good into that other world, and finally hung himself in a Paris alley. Daumal, somewhat less afflicted, or blessed, with night vision, resolutely returned to this world, his eyes seeking light again, his mind struggling to tell what he had seen."

"We must first become human before seeking anything superior."

"The Westerner tends by tradition to think of grasping the meaning of life through certain crucial experiences - death, grief, danger, passionate love, sudden success, catastrophe. Existentialism has aptly termed them "extreme situations", in reference to which we discover ourselves - whence our attraction to the adventurous life, war, scientific progress, romantic love. Having cast his mind deep into Indian philosophy, Daumal senses that the reality and meaning of the world can come to us at every moment without having to rely wholly on extreme situations to wrench us into awareness. Action, as has been pointed out many times, is for Westerners both stimulant and drug. The four stages of Hindi initiation, from the Vedas to the Upinshads, and the complementary disciplines of Yoga and Zen, prepare us not for a career of great exploits to be recalled in old age, but for a life increasingly dedicated to "the teaching which cuts through illusion."

"He understood very early that the basic act of consciousness is a negation, a dissociation of the I from the exterior world of not -I. Meaningful perception reduces and refines the I, withdraws it from the world into an increasingly strict identity or subjectivity. Then, however, beginning a vibratory rhythm which must follow if self-annihilation is not to result, the pure consciousness expands again into all things, experiences the world subjectively once more, loses itself in the mystery of creation."

Asceticism

"Man achieves inner spiritual progress by his own efforts, by a human discipline that is not a gift of god and can be learned from other men further advanced on the path of knowledge. Teaching and initiation are central to all religions and cultures. Within a system where no truth comes by divine revelation but only by human attainment, the sense of a tradition of knowledge comes to support the entire structure of life.... And thus Daumal spoke un-flinchingly of a Doctrine, meaning not a narrow set of rituals or dogmas, not art for art's sake in aesthetics, not a fixed philosophical position, but a number of paths leading to the same goal: a higher form of life."

Peradam

"Mount Analogue, the novel, has the force of a curving and uncurving lens for our minds. Through it, we can glimpse that "other world" of which Nerval spoke, and Spinoza and Socrates. And yet it is hard to look through it, for so limpid a substance almost escapes one's attention even when it is right under one's eyes. One could conceivably read ever word of the book without seeing a thing."

"And from deep within me, like a bubble, rose the admission that my life had become all too stagnant lately. Thus, when I opened the letter, I could not be sure whether it affected me like a breath of fresh air or like a disagreeable draught."

"I had written in substance that in the mythic tradition the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky. Its solitary summit reaches the sphere of eternity, and its base spreads out in manifold foothills into the world of mortals. It is the way by which man can raise himself to the divine, and by which the divine reveals itself to man."

" ... a general discussion of symbols, which I divided into two classes: those subject to law of proportion, and those subject only to the law of scale as well.... "Proportion" concerns the relations between dimensions of a structure, "scale" the relations between these dimensions and those of the human body. An equilateral triangle, symbol of the Trinity, has exactly the same value no matter what its dimensions; it has no "scale". On the other hand consider an exact model of a cathedral a few inches in height. This object will always convey, through its shape and proportions, the intellectual meaning of the original structure, even if some details have to be examined under a magnifying glass. But it will no longer produce anything like the same emotion or the same response: it is no longer "to scale". And what defines the scale of the ultimate symbolic mountain - The one I propose to call Mount Analogue- is its inaccessibility to ordinary human approaches. .......

For a mountain to play the role of Mount Analogue, I concluded, its summit must be inaccessible but its base accessible to human beings as nature has made them. It must be unique and it must exist geographically. The door to the invisible must be visible."

" You understand that you and I have such grave decisions to make, with such a far-reaching consequences for our lives, that we can't start by taking shots in the dark. We'll have to get to know each other. Today we can walk around together, talk, eat, and be silent together. Later I believe we'll have the opportunity to act and suffer together. All is that necessary to "make someone's acquaintance" as they say."

"Up to that point I had always spotted those second-hand Satans. They were so naive and always tried the same tricks, poor devils. Their entire approach consisted of variations on a few fundamental falsehoods every one knew, such as:"To obey the letter of the rules in only for imbeciles who cannot understand their spirit". Or :"With my health, alas, I cannot attempt such hardships."

" Life dealt with me a little the way an organism treats a foreign body: it was obviously trying either to encyst me or to expel me, and for my own part I yearned for "something else" .... I readjusted little by little to contemporary life, but only externally, it's true. For, when you come down to it, I can't bring myself to fall in with this monkey-cage agitation which people so dramatically call life. ..... Fake, all fake. I can't say one of those cards: here's a truth, one small but certain truth. In the whole show there's nothing but mystery and error. Where one ends, the other begins."

Since Logos is quite crazy in his assumption because everything was merely made in his mind. He is as if a scientist making a hypothesis totally out of intuition and initiated a whole journey to test it; that is the reason why I found this description pretty cool "We all sat stunned by the audacity and logical power of this deduction. Everyone kept silent and everyone was convinced."

"The path to our highest desires often lies through the undesirable."

" If I were to tell this story the way history is usually written or the way each of us recalls his own past, which means recording only the most glorious moments and inventing a new continuity for them, I should omit these little details and say that our eight stout hearts drummed from morning to night in time with a single all-encompassing desire - or some such lie. But the flame which kindles desire and illuminates thought never burned for more than a few seconds at a stretch. The rest of the time we tried to remember it."

I do not know why but this author did have a sense of humor with all of his mockery and ironicness.

"Some people say they have always existed and will exist forever. Others say they are the dead. And others say that, as a sword has its scabbard or a foot its imprint, every living man has in the mountain his Hollow-Man, which he will seek out in death."

"No one has ever been able to catch it, for the tiniest tremor of fear anywhere close by alerts it, and it disappears into the rock. Even if one desires it, one is a little afraid of possessing it, and it vanishes. .... It's like looking for night in broad daylight."

"But in our relations with the superior beings of Mount Analogue, what would be suitable for barter? What did we possess of real value? With what could we pay for the new knowledge we were seeking? Would we have to accept it as charity? or on credit?"

"At the same time as we decided to leave our heavy equipment on the coast, we were also preparing to leave behind the artist, the inventor, the doctor, the scholar, the writer. Beneath the old disguises new men and new women began to show the tips of their ears. Men and women, and all kinds of other creatures as well."

"In the mountains a man becomes very attentive to any sign indicating the presence of one of his fellow men. That distant smoke was particularly moving for us, a greeting sent us by strangers climbing ahead of us on the same trail. For from now on the trail linked our fate to theirs, even if we were never to meet. Bernard knew nothing about them."

Rhododendron

"At the end I want to speak at length of one of the basic laws of Mount Analogue. To reach the summit, one must proceed from encampment to encampment. But before setting out for the next refuge, one must prepare those coming after to occupy the place one is leaving. Only after having prepared them can one go on up. That is why, before setting out for a new refuge, we had to go back down in order to pass on our knowledge to other seekers..."

"Probably Rene Daumal would have made clear what he meant by this work of preparation. For in his daily life he devoted himself to preparing many minds for the difficult voyage toward Mount Analogue. The title of his last chapter was to be: "And you, what do you seek?.... To face it directly is to strike against the deepest layer of being which sleeps within us, and then one must listen painfully and lucidly to the sound it sends back."

"By our calculations - thinking of nothing else - by our desires - abandoning every other hope - by our efforts - renouncing all bodily comfort - we gained entry into this new world. So it seemed to us. But we learned later that if we were able to approach Mount Analogue, it was because the invisible doors of that invisible country had been opened for us by those who guard them. The cock crowing in the milky dawn thinks its call raises the sun; the child howling in a closed room thinks its cries cause the door to open. But the sun and the mother follow courses set by the laws of their own beings. Those who see us even though we cannot see them opened the door for us, answering our puerile calculations, our steady desires, and our awkward efforts with a generous welcome."

[eliteprepsat]

How many of you have been in this situation? You’ve spent hours pouring everything you can into your college application to produce quality essays. As the application deadline approaches, you add any finishing touches, and then focus on filling in the tedious parts as quickly as possible: family info, school info, grades, activities list, etc.

But what if I told you the essays are not the only part of your application in which you can tell a compelling story?

Today, we are going to take a look at one of the often-overlooked components of the college application process. 

While it’s obvious that the essays and supplements tell much of your story, the activities list also tells a story: the story of how you spend your time outside of the classroom. The activities list gives admissions officers a sense of where your passions lie and what experiences have shaped you into who you are today. As such, you must make sure to use the allotted space appropriately.

Speaking of space, historically, there hasn’t been much room to explain your activities. That remains true of the Common Application, but as of this year, the University of California application offers much more room to write your activities list. There is strategy involved in telling the most dynamic, compelling story to have your application pop among the many that admissions officers read each season.

Extracurricular Activities on the Common Application

For Honors & Awards, there are five entries with a maximum 100-character count for description.

For Extracurricular Activities, there are ten entries with a maximum of 50 characters to describe any position held and the organization name & a maximum of 150 characters for details, honors, and accomplishments. As you can see, space is limited, so make every word count.

Use abbreviations and symbols when you can, but don’t sacrifice clarity for conciseness. The admissions officer still needs to understand the information you’re including. Not everyone will fill up all the honors & extracurriculars sections; however, some of you may have more to include than fits in the given space. In those cases I suggest you add your resume in the additional information section.

Extracurricular Activities on the UC Application

The University of California Activities List offers much more space for activities and awards. You have up to 20 slots to fill out six categories: Award or honor, Educational preparation programs, Extracurricular activity, Other coursework, Volunteering/Community service, & Work experience.

You can fill up the 20 slots with any combination of the six categories that you like. If any category does not apply to you, you need not fill it out. For example, not every student has work experience or educational preparation programs.

Each slot also allows 500 characters to describe the activity and 500 more characters to describe your role/responsibilities. However, more space does not mean that you must fill up the entire box. As always, less is more—just make sure you are telling the complete story with each entry.

Writing your Activities List

Create your list in order of significance Give admissions officers a sense of what has been most meaningful and formative to you and your development. Doing so will help demonstrate your values and priorities.

Be as specific as possible Take the time to truly reflect back on all that you did for each activity. Leave no stone unturned.

Use active verbs Instead of using complete sentences, list your responsibilities using a variety of active verbs. You can find a list of strong action verbs here categorized by the type of role in which you were involved.

Estimate actual time spent Many students underestimate how much time they spend on any given activity. Consider the time spent outside of the actual club hours, and add those to your hours spent per week.

Highlight concrete details Many students tend to generalize their activities list, but a general activities list will result in a general impression. To create a standout activities list, focus on measurable details and emphasize their significance. Include facts and numbers to tell the full story of your involvement.

Think outside of the box Not every activity needs to be an official club or organization. Anything productive that you have spent your time on outside of the classroom can qualify as an activity, so do not limit yourself or feel as though you have nothing to add.

Remember that your entire college application tells a story. Give enough attention to each part of the application, and make sure that you are sharing the whole story that you want to tell.

Your activities list is a key element of this process and can be the difference between a good college application and a great one!

[kiarcheo]

         Hidden Histories    -     Chapter 2     -     Wait for it      

The alternate happy ending to Hidden Histories -   There Is No Future for Us as a Pair, the one where Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr meet during the early days of Anna’s marriage, they keep making plans and the king keeps messing them up.

Disclaimers/notes from the first chapter are even more valid for this one…heavily fictional, with one big change in 'history', obviously.

Being part of Mary’s household makes exchanging letters with the Queen if not easier, certainly quicker. Not only the physical distance to cover is less, but correspondence between royal households is common, frequent, and more efficient than anything private that Catherine had ever been able to arrange when she had been in Yorkshire. It is not unusual for Catherine to send a letter one day, receive Katherine’s reply the next one and send a new one the day after.

Catherine sees the flourishing in Katherine’s letters, both in penmanship and in content. Her missives almost unrecognizable from the first ones they had exchanged, where the efforts clearly put into them couldn’t fully make up for the dreadful handwriting and spelling. Their letters are a mix of mundane topics and more intellectual discussions. After Katherine remarks in one message that Henry appreciates Catherine taking the time to share her knowledge and education with Katherine and wishes to thank her for it, Catherine is glad that they had employed from the start a sort of coded language. Discussions about pastoral literature would have surely appeared less innocuous had Henry known that every mention of a desired bucolic life was meant to stand for Katherine’s desire for a life away from court and that discussing lives devoted to God, free from ‘earthly’ duties, was a way to talk about lives without husbands and wifely obligations. Still she knows that nobody would ever believe the Queen capable of such subterfuges. She seems to be the only one aware that Katherine is much more than the stupid vapid girl they believe her to be at court, apparently unable to see beyond her looks, as stunning as they are.

And then one letter arrives that makes Catherine’s blood run cold. Almost lost among descriptions of clothes and plans for a trip, a throwaway mention of Katherine revisiting a conversation they had in the past and asking Catherine’s opinion on what the character should have done when ‘the ghosts of the past came back to haunt him, demanding their tolls’.

‘I am not sure I understand your reference. Is it about the story we discussed that warm afternoon in the royal gardens while my dear sister Anne attended to the King’s beloved sister? If so, my opinion is that the protagonist should have chosen disgrace over death. It is possible to come back from ruin, especially with friendly help, but one cannot come back from death. A chance of redemption, no matter how small, is always preferable to the certainty of death.’

Catherine pens her response as quickly and as carefully as she can.

She hopes Katherine will understand.

She hopes it won’t come to it.

But of course, hoping never did Catherine Parr any good. It’s Mary who brings her the news that Katherine has been stripped of her title and is currently held waiting for the King’s decision after being questioned.

The court’s preconceptions about Katherine reveal themselves a blessing in disguise. Katherine plays the naïve girl, manipulated and caught up in games too big for a silly little girl and nobody doubts it for a second. She admits having been pre-contracted with Francis Dereham and the King gets to appear both as the victim of the situation and magnanimous, as he sends her away in disgrace but sparing her life.  

For days Catherine is in turmoil, having no news about Katherine except that she has been banished. With the queen’s household having been disbanded, she is not surprised by her sister’s visit, as it is likely that she will join Mary’s household. What she doesn’t expect is Anne bringing her news about Katherine. Knowing of their close relationship and having a soft spot for the younger girl herself, she had directed the former queen to a family property in the north of the country.

Their epistolary exchanges resume, albeit at a slower rate and even more carefully than before. Catherine asks Mary to be dismissed from her service. She is friendly enough with her to disclose that her husband is not getting any better and that she knows she will be named her step-daughter’s guardian after Neville’s death and put in charge of his affairs until her majority. To manage his affairs, she’d have to return north…what she leaves out is that up north is where the disgraced former queen, and that she plans to finally bring Katherine to her.

She has already thought about everything. It will be far enough from court that most people won’t recognize Katherine, the lack of portraits of the former queen circulating helping with that. Katherine is a common name as long as she goes with Lady Katherine without mentioning the surname. And even if - when? - Katherine’s presence at her house were to be discovered and questioned, she will say that she took her in out of pity, in the name of their old friendship. And yes, she was sent away in disgrace, but a demotion from Queen of England to lady-in-waiting for a lesser house (barony, after all, is the lowest rank of the peerage) isn’t disgraceful in itself? And if His Majesty had seen in his immense benevolence to spare her life, shouldn’t Catherine follow his enlightening example by providing that lost soul a mean to support her life rather than seeing her squandering the gift His Majesty has so generously given her? Laying it on thick, she knows, but Catherine won’t let her pride getting in the way, not after everything they already went through and managed to overcome.

Catherine genuinely mourns Neville when he dies, but she can’t help herself: she is finally seeing her dreams on the verge of becoming reality. Twice widowed, guardian of a teenage girl, she should be allowed some respite, right? She just wants to live peacefully, taking care of her family and friends, and pursuing knowledge. She doesn’t ask much, does she?

But once again her plans are thwarted by the King, newly single and ready to make an unsuspecting woman his wife. Just her luck. So she has to write a letter to Katherine, once again ending things before they could even start.

Catherine had built a future in her mind with Katherine, but now the hope is gone. She doesn’t have a choice. She never had a choice. They never had a choice. If Henry says it’s you, then it’s you. Nobody knows that better than Katherine. And yes, if she could speak up, without holding back, she would tell him that there is no way she is giving up her girl, her work, her dreams for him. But of course, she can’t say that. Not to the king.

So she sends the letter to Katherine. Tells her goodbye. Marries the King.

And then finally. FINALLY. Henry dies. Not a minute too soon.

Catherine becomes the one who survived (as a wife, since both Anna and Katherine are still alive but not wives anymore), but she almost wasn’t.

She supposes that she had become too confident. She had published two books, the second one being the first to be published in English by a woman under her own name in England. The first one, though anonymous, had been published by the King’s printer. Henry knew of her interest in religious matters and as he had permitted her to publish, she thought he approved. Until she gets the news that an arrest warrant had been drawn up. She takes her own advice and a page out of Katherine’s book: she plays stupid and lies to save her skin. Of course she would never dare to think that she knows better than the King, she only debated with him to distract him from his pains and to learn from him. She is just a woman, after all. Humiliating but convincing enough that she becomes the last wife of Henry VIII instead of being added to the list of discarded consorts.

Among the good things coming from the King’s death, there is the fact that nobody expects a dowager queen to remarry again. In fact, she thinks it would actually be frowned upon.  After Edward’s coronation she is more than happy to retire from court to a property left to her by Neville where Katherine is waiting for her.

When Catherine had married Henry, she had brought her stepdaughter with her since she was her guardian, but she still had been in charge of the properties left to her by her second husband. Nobody at court was surprised by the regular correspondence she entertained as they had quickly learned she was quite an hand-on person if allowed to be and they correctly assumed that she wanted to be informed and involved in the running of those places. And if the majority of the exchanges happened to be with one particular property...They had no way to know that the household there was headed by a most trusted woman and had been recently joined by a certain Lady Katherine…who didn’t take long to win the other woman over. It never takes long, for better or for worse. Catherine remembers receiving a letter praising how quickly Lady Katherine was learning how to properly lead a household and how she would make a very good wife for a lucky man. She had replied that no talks of marriage would be entertained, for any reason, ever, and that she was to make it clear to anyone approaching the topic.  She doesn’t know whether she knew or suspected the reason, or even if she knew who Katherine was (which would have made it clear why she could never get married - again), but the topic was never brought up again and Catherine was content with that.

And even more content when finally, seven years after Catherine had first proposed the idea to Katherine, their dream of living together becomes reality.

 Not many details are known about the last period of Catherine Parr’s life. The Dowager Queen maintained good relationships with all her stepchildren, raising Elizabeth and receiving visits from Mary and even Edward, despite the busy life of the young king. Despite various invitations, she never returned to court, choosing to live the rest of her life in quiet retirement in the same place where her tomb now rests, the only English queen to be buried in a private residence.

                                          ———————————-

I rambled a bit in the end notes on Ao3 if you are interested, but probably the only thing you might care about is the final question...would you like a fluff family reunion?

[fanficparker]

Forelsket | Tom x Haz one-shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Tom Holland

Word count: 4.25k words

Warnings: Swearing, angst, anxiety, mentions of sexual abuse

Summary: Tom is a troubled teen. He can’t write his papers, he’s on the verge of failing his exam until a stranger slid his paper for him to copy.

_____________________

(Written in Tom's POV)

I looked into the microscope. The patch on the display was blotchy and green with some pink dots. I don't remember seeing anything like this in previous lab sessions ever. Or maybe I missed the class when we prepared this particular slide. But my page was still empty except for my name, roll number and date. I couldn't recognize the previous four slides too. Just three more are left. There was no doubt I ruined my theory exam and now I will ruin the practical too. There was no hope for me to pass this exam.

If I fail... Maybe... Maybe they'll send me back to Chris. And it's the last thing I ever want on Earth to happen.

I gulped slowly. It was painful. My throat felt dry. I wanted to drink water but I only have limited time to finish this paper and the page in front of me is completely blank. My stomach crumbled painfully. Now I could even taste the bile in my mouth. The next I could feel were my eyes getting wet.

God, I can't cry right in front of my whole fucking class. I let my eyes wander around the students. My gaze fell on the paper next to me.

Beautiful diagrams and a detailed description of the slides.

If he's not seeing then maybe I can copy. I held my breath and scribbled on my paper as fast as I can. Half of his paper was covered by his hand while he was looking into his microscope. I tried my best to copy the visible portion. His head bent at the paper to write the answer for the next question. His blue eyes met mine. My heart dropped.

I haven't copied enough to pass yet. I looked at him hopefully and sorry. He looked at my paper. I felt so ashamed, weak, dumb and guilty— not the best combination of obscure feelings all at the same time.

He slid his paper towards me and smiled.

I blinked in disbelief.

"Return it to me in ten minutes at microscope number seven," he whispered and shifted to the next specimen, carefully observing and writing the conclusion in the extra sheet.

I took in a sharp breath, remembered God and ran my pen on my paper. I changed the text structure and numbering a little bit. Five questions were enough for me to pass in aggregate.

When I got to the sixth specimen I had written enough to pass and slid his paper back to him, mumbling a thank you. He simply nodded like it was nothing. He again smiled at me. The kind of smile that made his clear blue eyes shiny and corners crinkle.

I wished I knew how to smile like that. I returned him a smile, surely not even one percent of the brightness of his. He stapled the pages together and moved to deposit the papers like most of the other students and walked out of the lab.

I had read his name on the paper— Harrison John Osterfield.

***

From that day on, I observed that he was pretty famous in our boarding school, always in the good books of the teachers. He studied in the other section and lived in hostel number five.

I didn't stalk him, he was just one of those people who were way too visible on the school campus. I have seen him setting up posters, sitting in the cafeteria, library, park and almost everywhere on the campus. Sometimes he would be walking around the gardens, headphones tucked in his ears, sometimes he would be sitting on the bench reading a book or sometimes doing his homework in the library.

I don't know if he noticed me. I am surely not that visible.

But one other thing that I noticed was that every time I saw him, he was mostly alone.

There was a difference between us.

He was alone but not lonely. I was alone and lonely.

He seemed to enjoy his company. And I was asking myself why I was even alive.

I studied till four in the morning almost every day but couldn't even remember a bloody terminology. It was like the words hated me. I surely hated them too but had no choice. I was stuck with them and they refused to stay with me.

Most of my nights were also spent silently weeping under my covers while everyone in my room was asleep. I used to wake up and see the tear stains on my white pillow covers. The only thing consistent in my life.

But today I washed the covers too.

***

I got to know that he was also a member of the club- The Inkers. Basically the group of smart students. They represented the school in debates, quizzes and other stuff.

And here I was reading the exact same page of my physics textbook for the third time. My mind keeps dozing off.

If...

What if...

What if I ask him to help me?

I shook off the desire and wiped my eyes. The tears were blurring my vision as they always do.

Electromagnetic induction... I began reading. I can't understand the equation, no matter how much I try.

I pushed the book aside, switched off my table lamp and got inside the covers. My eyes were too dry to continue with my daily night routine. I hope I won't see tear marks on the fresh pillow covers this time.

***

I found myself standing outside the room assigned for 'The Inkers'. The club name was written in bold on the door which was half-opened.

I could see students sitting, walking, talking, interacting. This place was definitely not meant for me. I then saw him. He was talking to a group of students. Seemed like he was instructing them.

His smile was still so bright and he talked with his hands while tucking at the end of his jacket ever so often. Everything he does added to his style and charm.

He looked so approachable. Yet I failed to approach him.

I clenched my books tighter and walked away.

This became more like a routine. As the exams came nearer, I found myself walking across 'The Inkers' more often but never dared to knock at the door.

Weirdly, I had stopped crying myself to sleep, hoping the next day I'll ask him for help in studies and he'll help me.

My interactions with him were all in my sleep, in my dreams. I'd smile remembering my time with him even if it was in my imagination. I imagine him sitting across me, explaining me the weird exceptions in inorganic chemistry or explaining the key features of bryophytes or telling me a trick to learn the concept of electromagnetic induction.

***

I remember his smile. I remember his blue eyes. I remember how clear and shiny they were. I remember how his cheeks pushed up and made those eyes crinkle.

I remember how his lips curved when he was giving the speech on Renaissance literature. I remember how his expressions hardened, how he tried to contain his sadness and anger when talking about things like climate change, animal cruelty and so on.

I attended all the debates and speech competitions in which he participated this month, sitting at the back seat seeing him, hoping he doesn't see me.

He was an amazing orator. The way his voice carried his emotions was extremely heart-touching. He could make everybody feel what he felt.

I got a 'B+' in my E-waste management essay. I still can't believe. I heard his debate on the topic and... Wow. The teacher was impressed by me. I didn't feel vulnerable for the first time. I loved that feeling.

***

He even interacts with the audience and told about himself. He told us that he wasn't good at learning facts, so quizzes weren't his thing. He liked subjective things, movies, novels and wanted to become an actor.

An actor?

Can you believe?

I thought he'll tell me something like a doctor or scientist. But he wants to become an actor.

How amazing is that.

***

Next month, he stared in our school play.

I attended the recitation of the Twelfth Night. He was actually the main lead.

God! When he said, "If music be the food of love, play on," I declared myself to be his number one fan!

The way he said it. God! It was so... so... so... amazing!!!

I don't think he saw me but I was the first one who stood up as the curtains fell and clapped and cheered. For him.

I cheered?

Can you believe?

***

I was again standing outside 'The Inkers.' I peeked my head a little to find him but I couldn't find him today. I sighed and turned at my feet, only to collide with someone. My books fell on the floor. Before I could even utter an apology, the person crouched down to collect my books. My eyes met with those same pair of blue eyes. So clear. So shiny.

His smile reached his eyes seeing me while I suspected my heart-beat was non-existent right now. He quickly picked up my books and stood straight, pushing his curls out of his face.

"Hi! How are you doing?" He asked. His voice was so friendly and cheerful that it was almost like he was booming.

But 'how am I doing?' Isn't it something a person asks an acquaintance. Does he still remember me? Remember me as the dumb kid who copied his paper?

"Alexi said she saw you here often. I was actually going to ask you. Glad I met you here," He smiled even more.

"I... uh... yea-yeah." I stuttered the response.

Our confidence level was on the opposite ends of an irregularly weighted beam balance.

"Do you want to join the club?" He asked looking at the signboard and then back at me. The smile was still sticking to his lips.

Me? The club?

If it was the thirteen century then the club belonged to the nobility and I was a poor commoner.

"No." I chuckled trying to hide my embarrassment.

He looked confused. I tightened my fists and swallowed slowly before speaking— "I-I wanted some help in class. Thought if anyone could---"

He didn't let me finish and spoke instead.

"You should have told me early! Just three weeks to finals." He said as his expressions changed from cheerful to panicky in seconds.

How does he know I needed that sort of big help? Can't I ask just him a single question, why will three weeks' time be less?

But he let me copy his paper. The paper my peers claimed was too easy. Maybe he remembers how dumb I was.

His bottom lip quivered for a second then he spoke again, "Don't worry we'll manage. What subject you want help in?"

I gulped again and bit my lower lip.

He looked at me, curiously waiting for the answer.

"All," I said. I could hear my own voice sounding screechy. My gaze fell on my shoes.

I was so embarrassed. Maybe even ashamed. He didn't speak for a minute and then he sighed.

"No problem, we will get it done!" He stated confidently and patted my shoulder. My head shot up to look at his determined yet soft emotions. My heart felt like it was over-filling with warmth. I couldn't stop my lips to curl into a small smile.

"Thank you so much," I thanked him genuinely, he shrugged it off. I stretched my right hand for a handshake, "I am--"

"Tom. I know," He answered cutting me mid-sentence, "And I'm---"

"Harrison. I know," I said almost imitating his style.

He laughed shaking my hand. I laughed seeing him laughing. Maybe it was the heartiest laugh I have ever produced in years. I couldn't even stop smiling when the laughter subsided.

"When should we start?" He asked.

"As per your convenience."

"Let's first go for lunch. It's already lunchtime."

He wanted me to accompany him to the eating area. I nodded following him.

We sat on the bench and started eating our meals. He was eating as if he was hungry for a long time. And I was just somehow managing to push my food down my oesophagus with water.

"So, I'll collect all my notes today and we can meet tomorrow morning here for breakfast and then we'll plan your studies." He said, biting the carrot.

"Ah... Okay," I replied looking down at my plate. I still can't believe that he's talking to me and even going to help me with exams.

If it was a dream, I don't want it to end ever.

***

"Where's your breakfast tray?" He asked when we settled on the bench.

"I-I don't eat breakfast."

"What do you mean you don't eat breakfast? Why will you not eat breakfast?" He was surprised.

"I don't feel hungry in the morning," I said the truth.

"What?! We ate dinner at eight last night. It's already nine in the morning. You have to eat it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" He preached.

"I can't develop a habit of eating breakfast just like that," I defended, pressing my lips together.

"You should start with fruits. I have an apple in my backpack." He said taking out the said apple and handling me to eat.

I did eat it (half). And by the lunchtime I was hungry.

How weird is this human body? I never felt hungry when I used to skip breakfast and when I finally ate, I am already hungry.

After breakfast, attending our classes and having lunch, he took me to 'The Inkers.' He introduced me to the other club members as his 'friend'.

We sat on the corner and he took out his notes.

"So, for what purpose, are you going to study?" He asked. I was confused at first but then answered—

"To pass the exams," I said and surprisingly I didn't feel ashamed this time.

He divided the chapters in our books. He collected important terms and asked me to focus on only them rather than the complete syllabus. He made me flow charts and venn diagram. He explained me everything like a story. He never judged me when I couldn't answer or understand.

We continued to eat and study together daily. After the first week, we even started to hang out together. He made me hear his favourite songs. I loved his music choice. He taught me to maintain a balance on the skateboard. He told me about him, his family, his dog, his ambitions. He asked me to do the same, I shrugged it off saying, "Not much" or "Nothing exciting."

***

Harrison praised my answers. He said my writing style was very organic. I don't even know what it meant but he surely loved reading whatever I wrote. I showed him my middle-school poetry book and he made me read everything on it multiple times. I hope his interest was genuine.

He even asked me to call him 'Haz' instead of 'Harrison'.

He kept telling me things. I loved listening to him. I loved when he snaked his arm around my shoulder. I loved the way he said my name. I loved his face, his eyes, his voice, his confidence, his generosity, his patience, his intelligence, everything about him.

I may even be in love with him.

***

On Sundays, I used to go to the forgotten pet centre near our school. It was the only thing I liked about my life (except for Harrison, but it's just the latest addition). I love playing with those cute puppies. I never told anyone about it but I literally asked him if he wants to accompany me there.

You should have looked at his face! He was so excited, he hugged me so tight and couldn't stop giggling.

"You should have told me earlier, Holland! You have no idea how much I love dogs. I even have a super sweet dog back at home." He told me.

We played with the dogs and ate ice-cream. We laughed and talked so much. I don't even know why he's sticking with me, but he said he liked the way I talk and I should talk more often. He didn't stop there, he took me to a nearby fare. We enjoyed some rides and even got in for a fun photoshoot.

I cried that night. But those were tears of joy. I had a friend and he was fricking amazing.

***

Exams were over.

And I am sure I have done better than just passing. But I am sad. It's the end of the year, the Christmas break. He'll be gone to his home and I'll be all alone, again. Or worse— I will have to go to Chris's place for the holidays.

I sighed looking up at the blank night sky.

"Hey yo, mate. How were your exams?" Harrison asked, plopping down beside me, looking up at the sky.

"Your courtesy. Can't thank you enough." I said, looking at his face. He nodded still looking at the sky, giving me an opportunity to stare at his wonderful features. He did have some bad teen breakouts on his face. I do too. Yes, they weren't pretty. Acne isn't pretty but I don't think everything about a person needs to be pretty. People can be beautiful regardless of not being perfectly pretty.

And Harrison is beautiful.

My eyes landed on his slightly parted lips. I wondered how it would feel to kiss them. I licked my suddenly drying lips.

"You up for Christmas holidays?" He asked, turning his face to look at me. I averted my gaze to the ground beneath.

"I... I dunno," I replied, pulling my legs near to my chest.

There was a pause. It felt like he would say something but he didn't. I spoke instead.

"I don't want to go to uncle's," I told him the secret I never tell anyone. He looked at me confused.

"He... He is not a good man," I said as my throat felt choking and tears started to well up and suddenly I started feeling so dirty.

Harrison's expressions turned serious, he shifted a bit closer to me. He snaked his arm around my shoulders and dragged me closer to his body. He let me rest my head on his shoulder. That's when I realised that I was crying.

"Talk to me, Tom," Harrison insisted softly as his fingers combed through my hairs.

I started weeping harder, he pushed me closer and engulfed me into a real tight hug.

"You are safe here, Tom. You shouldn't be afraid. Tell me." He kept repeating while his hands caressed my back. I had grabbed his sweater in my fist and was badly sobbing into the material. I will surely ruin the delicate fabric.

He let me sob silently for a while. And when he realised that I had stopped crying, he pulled himself away, then he rested his fingers below my chin and lifted it to meet his gaze.

His eyes seemed glossier.

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded. He waited for me to tell the whole thing.

"He used to t-touch me in wrong ways when I was younger," I confessed, embarrassed. I wanted to look down, away from his gaze but my chin was still fixed on the spot by his fingers.

I first thought that he's also going to cry. But then I saw his pained, empathetic expressions changing into hard angry ones. And suddenly his face radiated so much anger that I had to move back. His hand fell on the grass as he clenched them into a fist. He stood up.

"You'll come with me. Start packing your bags. I'll tell my parents. You will never ever have to see that asshole's face again. That bloody bastard. Eww. Fucking disgusting! He'll regret what I'll do to him. How dare he?!!!!" Harrison growled angrily. "Pack your bags. Mum will take us to our home on Saturday." He ordered almost rushing away but I stood up and grabbed his arm.

"You can't tell your parents," I said, terrified.

"I fucking will! That bastard will be in jail!" He almost yelled.

"No. No. You can't." I begged him, tugging him towards me.

"Are you an idiot Tom? He raped you. Multiple times! You're not even an adult, yet!" He jerked his hand away from my grip.

"He hasn't done that for years---"

"That doesn't forgive or change anything!"

"It's-it's my life. You don't have to make decisions for me!" I yelled this time. He froze and blinked at me.

"What?" He said coming closer, his expressions suddenly softening.

I didn't reply.

"He is the reason why you are broken, Tom. I can see the damage. I don't understand why you don't see---"

"I know that I am damaged. But it won't fix anything," I said, tears spilling down my face.

He came closer and cupped my face in his hands. He softly wiped off my tears with his thumbs. He bent down a little to see directly into my eyes.

"Would you have let him go if I was at your place?" He asked, his voice soft yet demanding. My breath was stuck in my throat but he didn't let the question slip away.

"You are my best friend in the world Haz," I answered honestly.

"And you are more than that to me."

My heart crumbled like a piece of paper. None of us spoke for minutes, just stood there on the same spot, motionless. I swallowed slowly, taking in a breath.

"It's... It's just... High school crush."

I couldn't believe my own words but he rolled his head back and laughed.

I waited for him to stop laughing. He did, and his expressions again turned serious.

"Time will tell that. But the main thing is... No one deserves what you suffered. And he needs to be punished. That's justice. And to be honest, if you were even a complete stranger to me, I would have said the same thing."

Well... He has too many reasons to be my high school crush.

I nodded in understanding. I should stop saving that evil Chris. Harrison is right.

"So you are coming with us? You can forget that more than friends thing, we'll talk about it later or maybe never, as per your wish. And definitely sexual orientation." He said rubbing his neck.

I thought for a minute.

"But... I... I am a boy. It's very shameful to admit that I was raped---"

"If anyone should be ashamed, it's your ugly uncle. Being a boy or a girl won't change the crime. You shouldn't be ashamed." He stated and again pulled me into a hug.

"You should never be ashamed. Never." His voice cracked and I knew that he was the one crying now. I placed my hands on his torso and pulled myself off his chest.

I looked at his tear-stained face. I wanted to grab his face and plant kisses all across it. But all I felt were his hands again holding my face. He brought his face down and planted a kiss on my forehead, his lips lingered on the spot for a few seconds, whispering the word 'Never'. When he parted, I didn't even waste a single minute and grabbed his face.

I crashed my lips into his. His lips were sandwiched between mine. I slowly and gently sucked on them as his hands travelled to hold my waist. He let out a small moan and my heart fluttered like a butterfly. When I broke the kiss, his eyes were still closed and mouth half-open. His chest was rising and falling with every breath he inhaled and exhaled. It felt as if the kiss wasn't yet over for him.

I don't know why but I was also breathing heavily. His lips slowly curved into a small smile and his eyelids half-opened.

"You know you are my first kiss, Tom?" He said slowly as if he was satisfied.

"I wish I could say the same for you," I said but with a sad smile. His hand moved from my waist to my face. He slowly pushed away the fallen curls on my forehead.

"It doesn't matter." He leaned towards me, his breath lingering on my lips.

"It's the first time I am going to kiss someone. Please don't mind if it's not that good." He whispered. His words only made my heart go even more crazy.

He softly attached his lips to mine. I felt his throbbing heartbeat in his chest and his firm stature. I pulled his face closer to mine, he moaned again, his mouth slightly parted. I swiped my tongue over his bottom lip. He took in a sharp breath.

I loved how his body reacted to everything I did. I never felt this crazy in my life. So... so... so... crazy. Kissing Harrison Osterfield was crazy and him kissing me back was even crazier. Who knew he could get this nervous and cute?

When he finally broke the kiss, I couldn't stop but kiss his pink, flushed cheeks.

"I feel crazy." He said giggling.

"Same."

"You'll come with us?"

"No doubt on that."

I smiled and looked at the sky. It was still empty but my heart was full of warmth.

Was it how it feels to fall in love?

Crazy... Crazy... Crazy...

I love crazy...

*THE END*

______________________

A/N: Everyone- your likes, comments & reblogs mean a lot to me. Love you guys. I know this pairing isn't getting me much notes but still I wanted to write this and I genuinely enjoyed writing this. Thanks for everyone who supported me. It gave me strength to write what I desire. Thank you so much guys.

Add yourself to the Tom x Haz fic column of my regular taglist (link on my bio/profile description) or send me an ask if you wanna see more content like this.

[remys-lucky-franc]

Tick, Tick, Tick...  A Queen of Thieves Fic - Jett x MC (Daisy)

This fic is to fulfil a request sent to my friend by @simpsonjenna1 - the request was for a route that @wrath-gutierrez hadn't read, so I've picked it up instead :)  

The last chapter of Jett's route left off when he and MC were interrupted during an intimate moment by a bunch of masked intruders.  Jett, was unable to stop them kidnapping his girl as he was cuffed to the bed.  Oh and also, there's a bomb ticking somewhere in the penthouse!!  Eek!!

The request was:  CAN YOU WRITE A FIC OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WHEN JETT AND THE POPPY TRY TO RESCUE MC?  AND SHE ENDS UP IN A COMA AFTER BEING TORTURED BY THE KIDNAPPERS?

I've changed one part of your request a little and I really hope that's ok, but this plot lent itself to it...  Also, it's slightly canon-divergent, as I have the rest of the Poppy still in Hong Kong, rather than having headed onto Barcelona already.  I hope you (and anyone else reading!) enjoy this!  I've never actually written for Jett before, so fingers crossed I've did him justice!  I've used my MC's name when I wrote it, but let me know if you'd like to read it with a different name and I'll edit it in for you :)

Rating: probably mature due to bad language and mild sex references - nothing very explicit.  There's obviously an element of fear and terror you'd expect when someone's been kidnapped, so please keep that in mind if you think it would adversely affect you.  It got a bit long AF at ~6000 words - oops!

Jett roars after the shadowy figures that bodily lift her up and carry her like a ragdoll out of his bedroom,

"NOOOOOO!!!   YOU BASTARDS!!!  DAISY!!!  DAISY!!!"  

He thrashes against the cuffs, arching his back, kicking wildly as his swinging bed rocks back and forth uncontrollably.  He's in a cold sweat, a panic has risen in his chest from the realisation that there is literally nothing that he can do to stop what's happening...  

Tick, tick, tick...

He looks around, frantic:  the key is somewhere on the floor, somewhere he can't reach because of these bloody cuffs...  Is there anything he could use to pick the lock on them?  Anything on the bed, anything that he could reach with his feet even...??  Desperation sets in as he realises one of the men is standing in the doorway holding a mobile phone...  

Jett eyes widen like saucers as he screams until his throat hurts as the man dramatically directs his finger towards a button on the phone.  Jett feels like his heart is stopping as the martyr makes contact with the button: he braces himself for the explosion that'll end it all, one person on his mind.  

'What will happen to Daisy...?  Will the Poppy ever find her?'  

But nothing comes. There's no searing heat, no blinding light, no ear-splitting shatter of glass and tearing of plaster or brick...  Nothing.  Nothing at all.  Except a callous snort as the masked man standing there watching Jett's confusion unfurl across his face as he realises the ticking noise has stopped...  

"You son of a bitch!!  Sound effects?!"

The man in black turns on his heel and walks out of the room, leaving a naked Jett bucking and straining against the cuffs, despite knowing his best attempts are futile.  As he and Daisy had stumbled to his room in a tangle of limbs, their jackets and phones had been discarded in the common room...  There's no way of alerting the gang...  There's no other option than to lie here waiting for them to return...      

---

Daisy feels her stomach lurch and her head throbs as the room spins, struggling to open her blurry eyes, suddenly she jolts upright, her last memories flooding back to her.  The bomb...  And Jett's horrified face, arms pinned tightly above his head, crying out her name as she struggled to get free of her captors before they forced that handkerchief over her nose.  She looks down at her tightly-bound hands:  her usually pretty polished nails are chipped and broken from trying to wrench it away before that sweet, cloying smell filled her nostrils and everything faded to black, her arms becoming to heavy to keep resisting...  Sucking in a deep, shaky breath she scans her surroundings, trying to clear her head:  

'I need to get the fuck out of here, and fast!'  

It's a non-descript room, rectangular:  maybe  15 feet long by 10 feet wide?  She's sitting on a single mattress.  There are vertical blinds on a small window - closed of course.  There's nothing else distinct about the room: ceiling tiles, a dark tattered-looking carpet, plain walls. Nothing to give her a clue as to her whereabouts...  She can't get to the window to see if she can pinpoint any sights because her ankles are also bound.  

Shifting back against the wall, Daisy drops her head onto her knees.  Tears prick at the corners of her eyes, overwhelmed by the thoughts racing through her mind,

'Where am I?'   'Why did they bring me here?' 'Where is Jett???' 'Did they bring him here too, or did they leave him?' 'If they left him, did he get away before the bomb...?'

She feels herself get lightheaded as she begins to hyperventilate, anxiety crashing over her like a wave, sucking her downwards, suffocating her...

'What if he's dead???' 'Fuckkkkk what do they want??' 'What are they planning on to do to me??'

Daisy struggles against the ropes binding her wrists rigidly.  Her skin burns below the fibres as she desperately tries to shift them, to no avail.

'Surely they brought us both?  He must be worth more to them than I am?'

She shouts,

"Jett!!  Jett??  Can you hear me??  Jett!!"

No response comes and Daisy sighs, sounding defeated.  She huddles herself together for comfort realising she's all alone, until she hears it.  The sound of footsteps outside of the room, slow and measured, like a jailer walking through the hallway beyond her cell...  Suddenly Daisy seriously begins to regret her decision to yell for Jett...

---

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, an exhausted Jett hears the key turn in the front door of the penthouse, the jovial sound of Remy's laughter peals through the corridor.  Jett starts to shout,

"REMY!!  REMY!!  HELP!!  IN HERE!!"  

Within moments, the door bursts open and Remy lays eyes on a Jett, bound to the bed, naked save for a tangled sheet he's managed to strategically kick over his waist.  He's closely followed by Leon whose eyes almost pop out of his head at the site of his friend's predicament.  Remy races towards Jett,

"Mon ami!  What has happened?!  Are you ok??"

Jett sounds delirious as he shouts,

"I'm fine - never bloody mind me!!  They've taken her!  They broke in, they took her!  They tricked me into believing there was a bomb, and they've kidnapped Daisy!  The key, Remy!!  The key is on the floor, get me out of these fucking cuffs!  We need to find her!!"  

Remy scrambles around on the floor searching for the key, kicked under the bed as Daisy resisted her captors, while  Leon is already on the phone to Nikolai, alerting the rest of the group,

"Yes Nikolai, she's gone...  They've taken Daisy.  Jett's fine, just shaken up:  they stripped him and cuffed him to the bed..."  

Remy stops his search, looking up at Leon from the floor, a smirk spreading across his face,  

"Leon...  Mon couer, please, never change..."  

Leon stops in his tracks, silent, eyes flitting between Remy and Jett, his cheeks colouring vividly as he suddenly realises that it would indeed have been quite strange and unorthodox for the intruders to leave the Poppy's resident explosives expert in such a compromising position...  

Jett clears his throat, muttering,

"Jesus, Remy, hurry up will you?"  

Remy locates the key and releases Jett, who quickly springs to his feet, pulling on a pair of pants.  Remy pats Leon's shoulder twice, nodding to the phone,

"May I?"  

Leon bobs his head as though to say, 'All yours!'.  Remy takes the handset and quickly fills Nikolai in on what he and Leon came home to find, and what Jett's told them.

Jett's pacing like a big cat stalking it's prey while Leon looks around the room, recapping every detail he can remember as they search for any clues as to who could possibly have taken Daisy.  

---

A feeling of intense dread bubbles in the pit of Daisy's stomach as a key turns over in the lock.  She's shaking as a masked man appears in the doorframe, learning against the wood, head tipped to the side, watching her silently, curious.  She curses at him, trying to look brave and ballsy, but as he starts to approach she wants to disappear, she can feel herself shrinking into the wall despite herself, despite her best efforts.  She's vulnerable and she's helpless...  She can't defend herself no matter what he wants to do to her...  Her pulse thunders inside her ears as a myriad of possibilities whizz through her head - is he going to beat her, or assault her?  She feels sick at the thought...  Will he kills her?  What if this is it?  What if this is how she dies?  Scared and alone in some grubby room?  What if no one ever finds her...  He's closing in on her, he's right at the edge of the bed and there's nothing she can do...  Abruptly Daisy makes a noise like a strangled animal before spitting directly into his eye!  On instinct, the act jolts him as he makes a disgusted noise and mutters,

"Jesus Christ!!"  

As he wipes the saliva away with his sleeved forearm Daisy's jaw drops.  

'That voice.  I know that voice...  I.  KNOW.  THAT. VOICE.'

Daisy feels like her heart may leap free from her chest as she chokes on the whisper,

"Geoff?'  

Her masked captor starts away from her. Knowing that she's onto something she shouts louder,

"Geoff?!  You bastard?!  That is you, isn't it?!"

Another masked man, slightly shorter, of a more muscular build appears in the room, muttering,

"Jesus Geoff! I thought the whole point of the masks was so that she didn't work out who we were??"  

Geoff snaps at the mystery man,

"Great work!!  You've just confirmed to her that it actually is me!!"  

He pulls the mask off his face and tosses it onto the bed beside Daisy and gives her a slightly bashful lopsided smile,

"Hey."

Daisy's dark eyebrows knit together as she glares at him,

"Hey??  HEY??  What did you do Geoff?!  Where is Jett??  The bomb?!  You retired?!  You were going to Majorca with your dream man?!"

Geoff reaches out to touch her arm gently but she thrashes away from him,

"Don't you dare touch me!!"

Geoff sighs, as though today has been a massive chore and he's regretting not just taking his retirement...  

"I'm not going to hurt you, Daisy.  Not if you promise to be a good girl.  I'll even untie you.  I'll explain everything, but any shit, any shit AT ALL, and the restraints go back on, ok?  I mean it,  so don't try anything clever."

Daisy reluctantly agrees, and as Geoff releases her ankles she scowls at him in disgust.  She's deep inside her own head,

'Who knew Geoff had this in him?  He's so handsome, so fun, so friendly?!'

She turns to stare Geoff down, her big dark eyes burning into him,

"Where's Jamie then?  I'm guessing he's in on this too?"

Geoff shakes his head slowly,

"No, actually.  I was planning to cut him in on the idea, but the soft git only went and fell in love with you...  There's no way he'd ever have agreed to this ...  This heist is all mine."  

Daisy shakes her head, visibly shocked,

"But...  I-I thought we were friends, Geoff?  How could you do this to me?  To Jett?"

Shrugging as he speaks, Geoff offers,

"It's nothing personal, darling.  This is just business..."

Daisy chokes out a harsh-sounding, hollow laugh, as she scowls at him,

"Yeah, nothing personal, Geoff.  Where is Jett?  Did you bring him here too??  Please, please, Geoff, I need to know you didn't leave him in the penthouse with that time-bomb??"

Geoff chuckles heartily, like The J-Team are trading anecdotes over a drink,

"Oh, please!  Girl, I don't fuck with explosives..."

Whipping his phone from his pocket, Geoff presses a button and the 'TICK, TICK, TICK' sound echoes around the bare room.  

Daisy balls her fists wishing she could lash out and wipe that smile off Geoff's stupid face!!!

"YOU TOTAL BASTARD!!"  

Geoff rolls his eyes theatrically,

"Oh come one.  It was a good distraction, love.  You have to give me that...?"

Daisy's voice starts to crack with relief that Jett hasn't been blown to kingdom come,

"So you just, left him there?"

Geoff smirks ,

"Yeah...  I'd hired a couple of reinforcements, because I was under the impression that we'd need to overpower you both...  Little did I that you'd have did half of the work for me already by the time we arrived, you naughty girl..."

Geoff winks at Daisy and she feels a blush flood her neck and cheeks as she thinks about the intimate position that she and Jett were so rudely interrupted in...  Geoff wiggles his eyebrows at her,

"You never know what goes on behind closed doors, huh Daisy?  Anyway, your man is fine.  He's exactly where you left him."  

Daisy shakes her head angrily,

"Not cool Geoff.  Really, seriously uncool."

Daisy can't decide if she's more relived about Jett being ok, or more pissed off about the situation in general, and Geoff continues as though she never spoke,  

"Anyway.  You just need to stay here with us for a few days until your beloved Gilded Poppy agree to our demands, Then we'll get you home and you can pick back up where you left off with lover-boy...  K?"

Daisy's spitting feathers,

"What demands are you making exactly??  How long have you been planning this you asshole??"

Geoff pouts,

"Only their art collection.  I've been high-key pissed at your boyfriend and his cronies ever since he ditched The J-Team and they double-crossed us...  I just never saw an opportunity to do anything about it, until now..."

Daisy can't stop her jaw dropping at Geoff's confession,

"What?!  I thought it was Jamie who held the grudge??  Why agree to do the Bank Job with us??"

Geoff shrugs, looking somewhat bored,

"The Bank Job was Jamie's gig.  And it got us enough cash to set up in Spain permanently...  But God knows, I've wanted to get back at him for a long time...  And the rest of that bloody Poppy..."

The man still wearing the mask clears his throat, sounding very nervous,

"Uh, Geoff, you're telling her an awful lot..."

Geoff scoffs,

"Steven, babe, it's not like the Gilded Poppy won't work it out...  Anyway, moving on from all this chatter...  Daisy, are you hungry, do you want something to drink?"

Daisy nods hesitantly: her throat feels like sandpaper...  Steven scuttles off to get supplies as Geoff moves closer to smooth a stray lock of hair away from her face, making her flinch.  He sighs,

"Daisy, I have no intentions of hurting you, but you need to play nice, ok?  You're much more valuable to me, alive.  Listen I'm going to untie you, but then I need to go.  Stevie will be back with food and water soon, ok?  I'll come back to check on you later, so just sit pretty for now.  Be good and this will all be over before you know it."

Forcing a tight smile, Daisy inhales deeply as Geoff set her hands free.  Deep red welts stand out on her wrists from where she's struggled against the ropes, her skin angry and bruised...  She grunts a goodbye at Geoff.  He gives her an almost apologetic smile as he exits, locking her in the room behind him.  Geoff's no sooner out of the room than Daisy's on her feet looking for anything to identify where she is and any escape routes she can find.  Quickly establishing she's on the first floor of the building, Daisy groans, noticing the grills on the windows that'll stop her being able to climb to freedom.  She can see the skyscrapers of Hong Kong's skyline in the distance.  It looks like they're in some sort of disused business park on the outskirts of the city; she can see warehousing, empty parking bays, and small office blocks.  The common areas look overgrown and unkempt, and there's not another person in sight as far as the eye can see.  Realising there's no way out of the room, except for through the locked door, Daisy decides that she will need to somehow overpower Steven when he comes back with food, or Geoff when he returns later, then run like her life depends on it.

---

Steven took around an hour to return with a bottle of water and ramen noodle pot, but it felt like much longer than that...  Daisy nods, accepting the bowl.  She's been reading his body language since before he left the room earlier...  And she's sure that he's nervous...  He isn’t a criminal... She doesn't even believe that he's ever committed an offence before, much less kidnapped someone and held them hostage...  Smoothing her rumpled white sundress over her knees sitting on the mattress, she hugs them close to her, her breathing erratic as fat tears roll down her face, ruining her makeup - she's doing everything she can to make herself look small and vulnerable.  It seems like Steven's in over his head here, and if she gets him flustered, he might make mistakes that Geoff wouldn't make...  

Daisy's hunch is correct - she manages to make Steven feel so uncomfortable that he will barely look at her and can't wait to get back out of her 'cell', meaning she manages to pocket the fork he'd given her to eat her noodles with, from right under his nose without him noticing.  Daisy stops sobbing the instant he leaves the room, one eyebrow arching as she smiles to herself,

'Now I have a weapon...  I just need to bide my time...'

---

At Gilded Poppy HQ,  Jett's pacing the floor, cursing and making threats about what he'll do when he finds the kidnappers, while Leon and Vivienne try to talk him down, calm him and turn his ranting into something more constructive.  Remy's out meeting underworld contacts in an attempt to glean any information about the break in  or the possible location of one Poppy member...  Nikolai is in his bedroom, pacing across the room, stopping frequently to scribble notes and add detail to diagrams trying to establish how the intruders got into the Poppy's HQ to begin with, muttering to himself all the while.  Zoe is also holed up in her bedroom, scanning CCTV footage from all of the cameras in the three blocks surrounding the penthouse...  So far, she's managed to pick up the black vehicle and track it to the edge of the city, but then the trail goes cold, probably due to the lack of video surveillance in rural areas...  She's hacked the police database of vehicle registrations, but it's clear they've been smart enough to run on false plates...  Again, a dead end.  As the hours pass, it'll become increasingly difficult to locate Daisy if the kidnappers are still on the move...

Several hours later, there is finally some progress.  

"Nikolai!!  Nikolai!!  They've made contact!!"

Jett is waving his mobile phone frantically as he bursts into the Thief Lord's bedroom.  Nikolai calls for Zoe and they review the text message that has arrived from an unknown number, advising that Daisy will be handed over safe and sound if their demands are met.  Nikolai curses, his piercing blue eyes meeting Jett's,

"They are relieving us of our art collection, in exchange for Daisy."

Jett makes a face as he sucks in a deep breath, when Zoe shakes her head as she hands Jett's phoned back to him,

"They aren't amateurs...  That message came from a burner.  And it's already gone. Off the grid..."

He mutters,

"Damn it.  Nikolai, what are you thinking?  We need to get her back, mate??  Please..."

Nikolai tuts as he shakes his head looking exasperated,

"Daisy is a member of the Gilded Poppy.  OF COURSE we're getting her back.  But there's absolutely no way these degenerates are going to fleece us out of hard-earned and much-deserved art collection..."  

Jett quirks an eyebrow, Nikolai has that confident glint in his eye:  the same one that he has whenever he's masterminded some of their most impossible heists,

"What do you suggest?"

Nikolai moves towards the door,

"Come on, let's all go through this together."

Minutes later, Nikolai sips tea from his ornate glass mug, leaning back in his chair, running his fingers through Elizabeth's dense fur like a Bond Villain as he grins at the rest of the Gilded Poppy,

"We meet their demands and conduct the hand-off on Friday night.  The art in exchange for Daisy."

Remy shifts his feet, glancing at Vivienne who looks a little surprised,

"Nikolai, I didn't expect you just to fulfil their request, darling?"

A wicked smile adorns Nikolai's pale features,

"We will fulfil their request, dearest Vivienne...  But our 'friends' won't be keeping the art collection...  First we rescue Daisy, then we rescue our collection..."  

Remy punches the air, wrapping his free arm around Jett,

"Let's bring our Daisy home, mon ami!"  

---

She's been waiting for what's felt like an eternity, patiently.  She's spent her time, working on controlling her breathing, clearing her mind, steadying her nerves...  Getting up the gall to pull off her own escape.  No Gilded Poppy, no explosives, no master plan, no comms, no getaway car...  Only herself to rely on...  It's a sobering thought, that's for certain.  Daisy's heart leaps into her throat as she hears the lock begin to turn over in the barrel...  She's sitting on the edge of the mattress, fork tucked into her hand, concealed by her forearm...  As Geoff enters the room, Daisy fakes a small smile at him and stands, moving towards him, looking up at him innocently from under dark lashes, she mumbles,

"You know Geoff, I just want this to be over.  I won't give you any trouble."

Geoff looks surprised as he quirks an eyebrow at her,

"That's...  Good.  I'm glad, Daisy.  I like you a lot.  If we can keep this as amicable as possible, I'd be really happy about that."  

Daisy takes another couple of steps closer, doe eyes staring up at him, charming him, disarming him, flattering his ego...

"You know, I've had a lot of time to think about it while I've been sitting here, Geoff.  This is a pretty clever heist.  Ambitious.  The J-Team underestimated you.  You should have been in charge of the planning, your vision could have made them legendary, instead of Jamie...  Only interested in the routine of a bank job, never anything outside the box...  I didn't know you had this side to you..."

Geoff beams at Daisy, a genuine an bright smile lights up his handsome face as he laps up the attention and the compliments, stepping closer as he starts to enthuse about how Jamie and Jock never truly valued his input...  He's caught up in the moment as Daisy shifts position, moving herself from being directly opposite the door, to a ninety degree angle, putting her on level footing to the exit, distance-wise...  And with the element of surprise, she stands a damn good chance...  He's becoming increasing animated as Daisy decides that now is the time to put her plan into motion.  Rapidly she jerks the fork into the air and slams it down with all of her might into Geoff's arm before he has time to realise what she's doing!  He lets out a roar of surprise, but she's already out of the door, running through the dingy, deserted corridors, never stopping to look back!  She can hear Geoff yelling for Steven and she barrels past him as he emerges from a room to her right!  She can see the glass double front doors of the office block, leading outside to a carpark and concrete jungle, they're ajar!  She can't believe her luck!  She psyches herself for the inevitable game of hide and seek she'll have to play with her captors as she reaches the top of the staircase.  Steven's racing behind her and he's making ground...  Her feet are like lightning as she takes the staircase as quickly as she can - freedom is just within her reach!  She's made it!  She's done!  Until on the bottom step, the high heel of her sandal catches on the loose carpet, twisting wildly as she tries to catch her balance, and lands awkwardly, whacking the back of her head hard on the handrail she was grabbing for.

Steven stands at the top of the stairs shell-shocked, releasing a sharp cry of 'Fuckkkkkk!' as he hears the dull thud of Daisy's head against the rail and watches her limp frame collapse onto the floor of the disused reception area, a tangle of limbs and dark curls.  Geoff catches up to him, still clutching at the fork wound, stopping dead in his tracks for a moment, staring at the scene unfolded on the ground level,

"Shit!!!"

He tears down the flight of stairs to the bottom as Steven remains as still as a statue, his hands clutching his temples, hyperventilating as he screams at Geoff,

"Is she dead?!  Oh my God!!!  Is she dead, Geoff?!  What the fuck are we going to do?!  I didn't sign up for this?!  They'll say it was deliberate - they'll say I pushed her!!  I can't go to jail for killing a girl, oh my God!!  What are we going to do?!"

Geoff's on the floor beside Daisy, his fingers probing the side of her neck, cursing under his breath,

"You stupid, stupid girl!  I told you no one was going to hurt you, why did you have to pull a  stunt like this?!"

He lifts his head to yell to Steven,

"She's alive, she has a good pulse!  She's knocked herself out."  

Geoff slides one hand under Daisy's head to try to shift her into a less awkward pose, the colour draining from his face, as he retracts his hand to looks at the warm, wet substance covering it,

"Oh fukkkkkk...  This wasn't supposed to go down like this!! Steven, get the keys!!  Help me get her in the car!!"  

Steven's eyes widen as he looks at Geoff,

"The car??"

Geoff shakes his head, incredulous, "I'm not going to let her die, Steven!!  I'm a bloody thief, not a monster:  I do not want a dead body on my hands!!  We need to get her to a hospital:  keys, masks, now!!

---

"HEY!!  HEY!!!  GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!!!"  

The tall, blonde paramedic screams after the rapidly retreating black saloon car that's just off-loaded a semi-unconscious young woman in a blood-smeared white sundress onto the ground in front of the main hospital doors.  He rushes to crouch by her side, she groaning and trying to curl into a ball as he scoops her into his strong arms, with one final look of disgust in the direction the car went, he speaks softly, heading purposely through the automatic doors.

"You're ok sweetie, I've got you, you're going to be ok."

---

Steven paces back and forth, agitation showing on his face as stares at Geoff,

"What do we do?  What if she doesn't pull through, Geoff?  It's all been for nothing.  Nothing!!  We've lost the art collection...  Your revenge...  Our new life in Majorca..."

Geoff rakes his fingers back through his glossy hair as he watches Steven,

"Unless...  Unless we move up the handover..."

Steven stops dead, bewilderment marring his features,

"What do you mean 'move up the handover'?  We don't have what they want us to handover any more?!"

Geoff stands taller, captivated by his own idea,

"No, no, no...  They want her back, and we'll take them to her, they still get the girl in exchange for the collection.  My revenge is complete, we still get to go off and live our best lives in Majorca, love...  We'll send another message to the Poppy, the handover has to be tonight.  We can't wait ‘til Friday, if she dies, the whole jig is up..."

---

When the message pinged onto Jett's phone from yet another burner phone, the Poppy went into overdrive coordinating their double rescue bid.  They have gone from having two days to arrange their attack, to merely a few hours.  

Jett swallows uneasily as Remy pats his hand, trying to calm his nerves,

"Why are they pulling the exchange in, Remy?  There must be a reason.  I don't like this, mate...  Not one bit."

Remy scoffs, trying to lighten the mood,

"If Daisy's being difficult, they probably just want this to be over.  You know how she gets when she isn't pleased...."

Remy tries to lighten the mood by pulling his best scowl and adopting an American accent, impersonating his dear friend,

"The Gilded Poppy will find you and kick your damn ass, you bastards!!"

Jett lets out a half-laugh, that catches in his throat and turns into a sob.  Remy wraps one arm around his shoulder,

"Mon ami, come!  She will be ok, we will see our Daisy again soon..."

Jett shudders, scrubbing his face with his balled fisted,  amber eyes glistening with unspilled tears,

"She was so scared Remy.  I've never seen her look like that...  And there wasn't a single thing I could do.  They just...  Took her.  What if I never see her again?  I-I love her, and I never told her..."

Remy's face softens as he pulls Jett closer to hug him properly, patting his back soothingly,

"Alors...  You can tell her when she comes home."  

---

As agreed, Steven send a message with the location of the meet, thirty minutes prior to the handover time, detailing the location as the Kwong Wah Hospital carpark.  He and Geoff wait in the vehicle, until they see the headlights on a muscle car flash twice at them.  They get out of the car, and walk towards the Gilded Poppy who have also exited their vehicle.  As the factions approach each other, Jett notices Geoff.  The betrayal hits him like a grenade as a rage erupts inside of him he screeches,

"YOU?!?!  Geoff, how could you do this?!?!"

He lunges towards Geoff, only to be pulled back and held firmly by Leon until his blind fury begins to subside, muttering to himself as much as Leon,

"J-Team Geoff...  I can't believe this bullshit...  He was always my favourite..."  

Geoff winks at Nikolai and extends his hand, which Nikolai ignores, staring him down like shit on his shoe.  Nikolai requests crisply,

"The girl?"

Geoff shrugs his shoulders, mimicking Nikolai's haughty tone,

"The art?"

The pair stand there, their stares burning into each other.  Minutes pass with not another word spoken, until Vivienne steps forward, purring,

"Gentlemen, we're not getting anywhere.  You want the collection?  We want our associate.  How can we...  Expedite this process?"    

Geoff's breaks eye contact with Nikolai to stare at Vivienne's slender arm on Nikolai's shoulder, he clears his throat,

"Daisy is here.  Give me the collection and I'll tell you the exact location."

Jett yells, full of vitriol,

"You let us see her, then you get the collection, you wanker!"

Geoff scoffs,

"No can do, Slater.  Put the collection in the car, then you get your little dominatrix back, ok?"  

Leon grips Jett's biceps again to stop him killing Geoff stone-dead, he mutters,

"Let it go, Jett, he's just trying to get a rise out of you..."

Nikolai sighs, a prickly, irritated sound,

"Fine.  It seems like there isn't much option; we appear to have reached an impasse.  Remy, Zoe, please handover the collection?"

Zoe nods her head solemnly,  lifting a small canvas from the car and moving towards Geoff's vehicle.  She glares at a visibly nervous Steven as she places the artwork inside.  Remy moves behind her, doing the same.  Over and over, until the entire art collection from the Gilded Poppy's Hong Kong penthouse lays across the back seat of a black Mercedes.  

Nikolai's voice peals out, commanding in it's tone,

"You have the art.  Now.  The girl."  

Geoff nods,

"A deal is a deal.  She's inside."

Steven scarpers for the car as Jett breaks free of Leon's grip,

"Inside??  What did you do to her?!"

Geoff back towards the car as Jett's fist makes contact with his cheekbone,

"Arrrghhh!  Get off of me, Slater!!  I never touched her!!  We dropped her off her a couple of hours ago after she slipped and hit her head trying to escape!"

Geoff lets out a groan as Jett lands a solid right hook and a swift jab to follow it up before Leon pulls him back.

Leon cracks his knuckles and stretches out his neck as he approaches, looming head and shoulders above the other men and twice as broad,

"Jett, go and find Daisy, leave this piece of shit to me..."

Geoff's eyes bug out as he assesses Leon's stature and bulk,

"Hey!   Hey!  She's fine!!  There's no need for this!!"  

A small smiles tugs at Leon's lips,

"But that's no way to treat a lady, Geoff...  You don't just leave her at A&E...  You wait with her, maybe get her a magazine, a hot chocolate...  It's only polite.  I think you and I should take a little walk and talk about manners..."

Leon's giant arm dwarves Geoff as he grips him firmly, marching him away from the rest of the Poppy.  

Suddenly the black Mercedes roars to life, tyres squealing on the tarmac as Steven tries his best to make a sharp exit.  

Remy rolls his eyes,

"Merde!  Zoe??"

Zoe taps at a few buttons on her tablet, and seconds later confirms with a sly grin,

"Gates are closing... Right...  About... Now..."

A loud bang and the sound of a car horn echoes across the car park.  The black Mercedes has driven straight into the closing electronic gates and Steven looks shell-shocked as he stares back at the Poppy observing him with distain...

Nikolai dusts a particle of imaginary lint from his shoulder and sniffs,

"Zoe we appear to have wasted your time on that GPS tracking...  Remy, Jett, can you load the collection back in Leon's car?"

Jett protests,

"Not a bloody chance, I'm going in there to find Daisy!!"  

Nikolai closes his eyes, letting his head drop backwards for a moment, looking exasperated, before reasoning with the excitable Englishman,

"No you aren't.  Look at your knuckles. No one is going to give you any information about a girl who was dropped off at hospital with a head injury, if you go in there looking like that... "  

Nikolai gestures towards the front of Jett's checked shirt that's covered in blood spatter from the right hook he landed on Geoff.  Reluctantly Jett concedes and watches anxiously as Nikolai and Vivienne enter the hospital to locate his girl...

---

The art is all back in Leon's vehicle, Remy, Jett, Zoe and Leon sit inside, in agitated silence.  Leon's not saying what exactly he did to Geoff, only that the Poppy have acquired a nice five-bedroom villa in Majorca where they can have a couple of weeks of downtime to recover from this fiasco...  Steven's vanished, but Leon's happy to that he's no real threat anyway...  If he has any sense, he’ll get rid of Geoff and find a better boyfriend...  Remy squeezes a worried Jett's knee in the back seat, a gesture of solidarity and a reassurance that Daisy will be fine...  Zoe interrupts the silence as a call comes through and she puts Vivienne on speaker...  

'We posed as her brother and sister-in-law, eventually a young nurse took pity on us...  Daisy was brought in as a Jane Doe by a paramedic when that 'monster' dumped her outside...  She has a nasty head injury, and they had to operate...

Jett almost levitates as he shouts.

"Operate?  WHAT?!"

Vivienne's smooth voice soothes him,

"Jett, darling, it's ok.  They relieved any pressure off her brain and are very happy with how things went.  But..."

Jett's voice is panicked and high as the others sit in stony silence,

"But what???  Bloody tell me Vivienne???"

Vivienne breathes deeply before answering him,

"They put her in a medically-induced coma to let her recover properly. Jett, I'm so sorry."

Jett's hands are over his eyes, he whispers to himself,

"No. No...  No, no, no, no..."

Remy shifts in his seat, unbuttoning his shirt as Zoe raises an eyebrow at him.  He shimmies until he's naked from the waist up, tossing his clothing at Jett,

"Here.  Keep your hands in the pockets.  Go to Daisy, Jett.  Vivienne, he's coming in, ma cherie..."`

Jett's mouth opens and closes a couple of times before he pulls Remy into a bear-hug then jumps out of the car, wrestles his shirt off and throws Remy's clothes on.  He tosses his blood-stained shirt to Remy, who shrugs, then flexes his biceps,

"Non, it's ok, I think Leon and Zoe are enjoying the view..."

Jett snorts a laugh as he takes off towards the doors of the hospital, greeted by Vivienne as he does.  She exclaims, as she leads him swiftly by the arm towards Daisy's room,

"Darling, what took you so long??  Quickly, this way!"

Vivienne smiles gratefully at the young nurse standing by the desk...  

As they enter the room, the mechanical whirr and ping of machines makes Jett's breath catch.  There she is, his Daisy, connected to a dozen tubes and monitors, her dark hair cascading across the pillow over a white dressing.  Dressed in a hospital gown with dried blood on the side of her neck, she looks frail, and so small.  He barges past Nikolai and falls to his knees by the side of the hospital bed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutches her hand in his,

"God, Daisy?"

He turns to Vivienne and Nikolai who stand against the wall,

"Can she hear me?"

Vivienne takes Nikolai's arm as she answers him,

"Yes, she might not remember when she's back with us, but they say that she can hear.  Jett, Nik and I are going to give you some privacy.  Call us if you need us, we'll come straight back."

Jett nods at Vivienne, all his words reserved for the sleeping girl before him,

"Daisy, I'm so sorry.  I'm so, so sorry...  I didn't protect you...  I love you and I..."

Vivienne closes the door behind she and Nikolai, biting her lip as she looks up at him.  He places his hand over hers comfortingly as he leads her back to the car.

---

Three days have passed before the doctors are satisfied that Daisy's injury has had a chance to optimise it's healing process during her sedation, Jett's barely moved from her side.  The other have come and gone in shifts to visit their girl and to bring supplies to Jett while he keeps vigil by her side.  After the sedative IV is removed, he sits by her side, stroking her hand, waiting for what seems like another three days before her fingers twitch against his hand.  He lifts her fingers, pressing soft kisses against them as tear threaten to blind him, praying,

'Come on Daisy, come back to me, please...'  

Doctors rush in as the machines connected to Daisy alert them that she's conscious, they want to check and assess her reactions and reflexes.  Jett stands outside as he waits for them to finish, his eyes locked firmly with Daisy's as he smiles through the glass at her, watching her cheeks flush and her eyes as he touches his heart and mouths,

"I love you."

End <3

[monstersandmaw]

Patreon Tier Reshuffle in February and General 2020 Developments...

I gave my Patrons first look at this post, since some of the changes will affect their tiers (only to add content though!). Now I’m posting most of it to Tumblr for you to look at and perhaps have a think about...

It’s a long post, and I’m sorry for that...

First of all, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supporting me on Patreon, whether you’re a long-time supporter or you just joined. I know it's a big deal to give your heard-earned cash to someone on the internet and am well aware of the responsibility I have and what an honour it is to be on the receiving end of your generosity and support. So, yes. Thank you more than I can probably ever express.

Secondly, a reminder that all tiers have access to our chilled out Discord server forever. We’ve got a channel for sharing photos of pets, for general chat, for monsters, for sharing artwork of all kinds, a library to share your own stories, an nsfw chat, recipes etc., so hopefully there’s something for everyone, but there’s no pressure to be active if you’d rather not be! There’s also an ongoing DnD game with some of the folks on there too, which is fun!

It might be worth joining the server anyway because I have plans for a new perk which will involve Discord (see below), and I also occasionally run ‘Discord Drabbles’ where I ask for prompts on Discord from folks, which you might have seen posted on Patreon from time to time.  

Now, finally, round to the topic of this post!

I’ve been thinking about how to make sure that every tier gets the most that I can give them for their money, so I’m going to do a little reshuffle. It will start in February, and I’ve made sure that I’m pretty much just adding stuff to each tier, so you won’t miss out in the reshuffle.  

Here are the new things I’m running only on Patreon from February 2020 in addition to everything else (see below):  

Sculpt This!

Patrons can submit artwork or detailed descriptions (a creature/monster, a character, an object) to a designated ‘Sculpt This!’ channel on Discord, and I will pick one to sculpt once a month. I will create a post on Patreon with the artwork and the artist’s name (and a link to their page/site if they have one, and photos of my final sculpture based on their design. That will be available to everyone from the $1 tier upwards.  

For those on the $5 tier upwards, a short video will be available, featuring footage of the sculpting process itself.  

If the person whose art I use is on the $20 tier or upwards, I will post them the sculpture if they’d like it. 

Trope Tuesdays!

A poll will go up prior to Tuesday, with a list of common tropes (notably from the world of fanfic – things like ‘coffee shop’, ‘bed-sharing’, ‘enemies to lovers’, ‘5 times +1’ etc. etc.) and the winning trope from that poll will be the theme for a short story to be posted on a Tuesday.  

I’m aiming for these short stories to be a variety of fluffy and steamy, available to everyone from the $1 tier up.  

Character Letters

$10 and up patrons can request a letter once a month from their favourite characters from any of my stories (providing I wasn’t using someone else's OC for a commission or the like). This can be sent as a PDF by email and/or posted publicly to Patreon only (not Tumblr), with the option to remove the name if you’d rather remain anonymous.  

$20 and up patrons can request a hand-written letter once a month from their favourite character, again with the option to have the text posted to Patreon or not, and with their name, or not.  

Commissions 

I'm still in two minds about opening these up on here because I got absolutely exhausted – mentally and physically – at the end of 2019 and I’m only just recharging again. I had said I would open them up to patrons only in January 2020, and I may yet do that. If I do, I will create 5 slots, and a maximum of 5k words per story initially, and see how that goes. I realise that’s a small number of slots, but it’s still a lot of work for me on top of the rest of the Patreon commitments. I hope you understand, but I know a number of you responded in a poll to say you’d be interested in commissions from me again.

$10 patrons receive 5% off the first 5000 words of writing commissions, and $20 receive 10% off the first 5000 words of commissions.  

Continuing rewards:  

Monthly story – the monthly exclusive story will still be available for $5 and up (some of these stories have been known to go up to 10k words and be in multiple parts – think Kieran the satyr’s story from October 2018!)

Early release – I will continue to offer all Tumblr stories (except paid commissions from non-patrons and giveaways/specials) on early release – minimum of 4 days, sometimes longer.  

Polls – help me decide what to write next

Character bios and artwork

Future things I hope to bring in later this year:

Gaming with Ghosti

I hope to do some streaming via Twitch of me playing things either on the PS4 (like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey or we could do a special Dragon Age: Inquisition playthrough together), or from PC which could include a number of games, from Witcher III (I still haven’t played much) to Mass Effect, chilled out Minecraft sessions, and a huge number of other games which you could choose to inflict on me and watch me flail around in.

Hopefully Mr. Ghosti could join in too and laugh along with you and just generally have a chilled out time. This would probably happen at the weekend, but I’d have to look into the logistics of it if there’s enough interest.  

Discount for Patrons on my Etsy shop

It’s actually live right now, but I haven’t got anything listed yet as I’m unsure of the last few things I need to get in place, but once I’ve got things up on there, I’ll make an announcement and give patrons a special discount code to use in case there’s anything you’d like to buy, from jewellery to polymer clay charms/sculptures.  

More Q&A type things and video content

Some of you seemed to enjoy the video I did answering your questions, so I could always do more of this, if there are things you’d like to ask! It could be about anything, not just writing. If there’s interest, I’ll look into it.

More milestone giveaways and mystery ‘lucky dip’ giveaways

I love sharing things with you, so when I hit 200 patrons, I’ll have to think up something special, and in the meantime, maybe I’ll do some more giveaways for you.

If there’s something that you would like to see that you think I could put up on Patreon for you, then please get in touch! I’m always looking for ideas

All tier rewards will be as follows from February 2020:

Brand new items in bold, and slight changes in italics:

(putting in a ‘keep reading’ because it’s getting silly now...)

Shadows:  

access to the Patreon-only Discord

access to the ‘Trope Tuesdays’ poll and story

access to the ‘Sculpt This!’ posts

access to some character profiles, aesthetics, polls, and story ideas

small discount on my etsy store (when it opens)

and my undying gratitude!

Pixies and Goblins – all of the above, plus:

one Patreon-exclusive monster story per month

access to the ‘Sculpt This!’ process video

access to the extra, long-running story, released once a month (Werewolf story - coming soon!)

early access for all Tumblr monster stories (excluding paid commissions)

the ‘what’s next?’ poll to help me decide what monster or reader to write

Elves – all of the above, plus:

you can request a letter once a month from your favourite character of mine! This can be sent as a PDF by email and/or posted publicly to Patreon only, with the option to remove the name if you’d rather remain anonymous.

entry into the monthly 3k word story commission – if you are chosen (at random) from the Elves tier (and above) you can have a 3k word story of your choosing written for you

access to ‘Writer’s Corner’, featuring occasional blog posts about writing and workshop goings-on

small work-in-progress previews from both my monster stories and my original fantasy fiction ‘Weaver of Threads’

5% off the first 5000 words of writing commissions, and priority placement in the commissions queue

Orcs – all of the above, plus:

you can also request a letter once a month from your favourite character, but yours can also be hand-written and posted to you if you’d like! You also have the option of it being posted to Patreon or not. 

One short story (maximum 1500 words) with a monster and reader of your choice per month (by request only), included within your subscription

A PDF version of any monster story I’ve written and published on Patreon or Tumblr (by request, and sent by email)

10% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

if your design was selected in the ‘Sculpt This!’ feature, I can post the finished sculpture to you, if you’d like to have it.

Dragons – all of the above, plus:

One 5000 word story of your choosing will be written for you per month (no fanfiction) as a thank you for your patronage (by request only)

Entry into the monthly top tiers free story draw but your story is 4k words instead of 3k

20% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

A character with a name of your choosing (upon approval!) will be added to a monster story

Priority on jewellery and metalwork commissions and a larger discount on my Etsy store (when that opens)

Kaiju – all of the above, plus:

if you win the random free commission, yours is 5k words instead of 3k!

One 7000 word story of your choosing will be written for you per month (no fanfiction) as a thank you for your patronage (by request only)

One hand written letter of thanks (I have nice handwriting, don’t worry!) sent to you by post, including a little short story

25% off the first 5000 words of a writing commission

30% discount on jewellery and metalwork commissions

Dedication by name in any published work (let me know if you wish to remain anonymous)

Hope you’re excited, and don’t forget that you can always get in touch with me on any of my platforms – Patreon, Tumblr, Discord. If you want to share something but also want to remain anonymous, just send an anon to Tumblr and ask me not to post it. 

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