#batchone

[haliging-dilag]

BATCH 1 ENTRIES

freshly-baked six-word stories off the oven

[victoryroadhq]

ISABELLE LYONS

AGE: Eighteen. BIRTHDAY: February 7th. HOMETOWN: Cyllage City, Kalos. OCCUPATION: Hiker. STARTER: Dwebble, male, Bashful. FACECLAIM: Paris Berelc. STATUS: Open.  

BEGINNINGS IN CYLLAGE CITY…

Growing up in Cyllage City, Isabelle was forced to be more competitive than an average kid in Kalos. To begin with, she had five older brothers - each of whom was an all-star athlete in their own domain. Her oldest brother was a BMX biker, her youngest was a state champion track star who got a full college scholarship for his sprinting. And then living in Cyllage, kids took their athletics seriously thanks to the hilly bike path that ran through town and the fact that Leader Grant had made their gym into a glorified rock-climbing wall. It seemed like even the children were made of stone, they would totally wipe out on their bikes and be bleeding from six different places and they still wouldn’t shed a single tear. Isabelle wasn’t quite as good as the rest that way, she was the baby of her family and was used to being fussed over so when she’d be out skating and take a spill, she’d do her best to bite back tears and usually end up running home to her mom to fix her up. When she came back out, her neighbors would mercilessly tease her for being a weakling or a crybaby and the words hurt worse than the actual cuts. More than anything Isabelle wanted to stop being soft. So when it came to find a sport to join and devote all her energy to like her brothers before her, Isabelle chose hockey.

 Her parents tried to talk her out of it and into a sport with a little less contact, like basketball or baseball but Isabelle held firm in her decision. She got all her padding on and headed out to the ice rink. She did well in the peewee hockey leagues, seeing as the emphasis was more on speed and strength of skating - both of which she was amazing at being smaller and faster than they boys who populated the league. As she got older though, the players had to be more and more willing to take a hit and Isabelle just couldn’t get through that mental block. When she failed to make the varsity hockey team her senior year, Isabelle decided to hand up her skates rather than face the shame of being on JV as an upperclassman. She began going down Route 8 to swim on a daily basis just to keep in shape, part of her thought that if she got in shape she might be able to make the swim team senior year. One day after pushing herself particularly hard she stepped on a rock on her walk back, immediately swearing and holding her foot. When she looked down though, she found that what she’d stepped on at all was not a rock but a rock-Pokemon, Dwebble. She got mad and kicked some sand at it, but it easily deflected it by Withdrawing into it’s shell. Isabelle watched it, wondering how she couldn’t take a hit but the Pokemon could. She immediately changed her tactics, pulling out some berries from her backpack and offering them to the bug until he climbed into her bag.

From them on Isabelle stopped swimming on Route 8 everyday and started training, she and Dwebble would work on his defense and then share a snack each afternoon when she got out of school. And when it came time to graduate high school, Isabelle became the first person in her family to forego the possibility of college athletics and although she was offered a partial academic scholarship she decided university just wasn’t for her. Instead she elected to go see Leader Grant at the Cyllage City Gym and ask him to take her on as a trainer. Grant put her through a series of battles with other trainers at his gym before challenging her himself. Isabelle was ready to show off but was alarmed when he defeated her with just two strikes from his Tyrunt. Her whole battle strategy was defense, she wasn’t sure how she’d gone so wrong. Worst of all when she lost Isabelle immediately started crying and she felt like just a weakling who scraped her knees again, in front of the gym leader of all people. Grant didn’t poke fun of her though, he sat her down on the edge of his rockwall and explained that there was more to training Pokemon then just offense and defense. He told her that he thought she had a lot of potential but she just needed a little more work. He fished a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her, she opened it up and saw an ad for Professor Oak’s Pokemon Challenge. Grant explained that he thought it would be a good fit for her. Isabelle had to work as a receptionist for the rest of the school year at Hotel Cyllage but she’d finally managed to save up or her flight but she was finally on her way.

ISABELLE LYONS IS CURRENTLY OPEN (NAME, AGE, PRONOUNS, TIMEZONE)

[jnroberts76-blog]

When you ask what to try and you are given this, you say thank you! @saintcloudbourbon batch one is incredible for a younger new bourbon. Sweet caramel and fruit hints on the nose. The palate is it peppery but finishes sweet. This was nice! #belletavern #memphiswhiskeybar #bourbon #saintcloudbourbon #kentuckybourbon #batchone #realwomendrinkwhiskeystraight #neatplease #bourbonwoman #certifiedbourbonsteward #abvnetworkchallengecoin #abvnetworkcrewclub @miss_mcnew @abvnetwork (at Belle Tavern) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3QelozgTya/?igshid=15014e8vgw3k4

[heartfluffy]

06-16-17 "Some souls just understand each other upon meeting" #unicorns #SU #batchOne

[debiangdakyut]

Top 3 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #SAPtraining #tdcgroup #batchone @jillricaaa (at Toyota Davao City, Inc. Official)

[whatsophiesipped]

Hippocampus barrel aged gin #batchone #westperth #gin #homegrown #metropolitandistillery #localdrinks #WA #australia #splendidonitsown (at Perth, Western Australia)

[discovercreate]

10 Ways to Turn a Bag of Fresh Green Beans into Dinner — Recipes from The Kitchn

Open Roundup

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Even though we can find fresh green beans at the grocery store year-round, they're currently hitting peak season right about now, so there is no better time to gobble them up. You'll find them piling up at farmers markets, where the prices are low and their flavor is bigger than ever. Crisp green beans are super versatile and there's no shortage of ways to cook them up. From a weeknight stir-fry to a lemony side dish, here are 10 delicious ways to bring fresh green beans to the table all summer.

READ MORE »

from Kitchn | Inspiring cooks, nourishing homes http://ift.tt/2taYcGZ

[victoryroadhq]

QUENTIN THOMAS

AGE: Twenty-six. BIRTHDAY: June 21st. HOMETOWN: Poni Coast, Alola. OCCUPATION: Pokemon Trainer. STARTER: Wingull, male, Gentle. FACECLAIM: Brenton Thwaites. STATUS: Open.  

BEGINNINGS IN PONI COAST…

Quentin Thomas helped his parents run a small bed and breakfast on the Poni Coast since he was small. He started off small, waddling around the dining room and offering to refill water glasses for it’s patrons or bringing them more bread. As he got older, he was upgraded to busing tables and scrubbing dishes in the back. It was grueling worth, but to young Quentin was happy to do it for a share of the tips. And his parents never made him work too long, so he always got outside early enough to head up to the Poni Gauntlet and watch the trainers there duke it out as they made their way to the battle tree. Quentin would do his best to remember which types had advantages over others or which berries people would use to heal burns or poison. He hoped someday that he would be able to use this information for his own means. As he became a teenager, trainers began to recognize him when they stopped in to his family’s B&B for a warm meal or a rest after being beaten. He tried his best to give them advice if he’d seen them lose so they might do better in the future. Pretty soon, he had cycles of visitors coming in to have him explain why exactly it was that using six bug-type Pokemon in a row would make it hard for them to win battles. His parents were annoyed by the distraction, but Quentin liked the feeling of being knowledgeable about Pokemon and helping other trainers.

The moment he turned eighteen, Quentin had planned on leaving the isolating Poni Coast for Hau’oli Outskirts where he’d hear Professor Kukui lived and offered new trainers a Litten, a Popplio, or a Rowlet. Not long before his eighteenth birthday though, Quentin made his way downstairs during a midnight Angry Pidgey game to get some snacks and overheard his parents talking about how their business had been struggling financially and worrying about how they’d pay for the extra benefits for whoever they hired to replace him. He ducked back upstairs and slowly came to the realization that he wouldn’t be able to leave - not if it meant that he’d bankrupt his parents. Slowly, he developed a new plan. Every morning, Quentin worked in the restaurant waiting tables and every night he’d head back to the hotel and man the hotel’s front desk. But during the afternoons, he’d venture out ot the Poni Gauntlet with some fresh baked cornbread and attempt to lure Pokemon to him with a trail of breadcrumbs. While Quentin had heard from plenty of trainers that they’d successfully lured bird-Pokemon in with food, he didn’t seem to be having much luck with it. One day when he was feeling particularly frustrated by his lack of progress he began throwing pieces of bread into the water only to have a Wingull soar down and begin collecting the crumbs. When Quentin stopped throwing bread in his surprise, the Wingull sent a Water Gun at him and soaked him completely. He quickly began tearing pieces off and feeding the bird more. When he ran out of food, he pulled at a Pokeball and Wingull happily nudged the button in the middle.

From then on, Quentin and Wingull trekked out every afternoon between shifts to train with a firefighter and his Octillery out on the Coast. The man seemed to know so much about water-type Pokemon and Quentin hang onto his every word, using his advice to train Wingull and put him on a healthier less-bread heavy diet - much to the bird’s outrage. Over the next few years, Quentin was so obsessed with getting back outside to battle or listen to his firefighter friend that he didn’t even notice how much sparser the B&B’s dining room grew or that there were less guests every night trying to gain free toiletries while he was working the desk. When his parents sat down to explain to him that they were selling the business to a developer who wanted to knock it down and use the land to build condos, Quentin was shocked. He’d always assumed that his parents would be desolate to lose their home, but they were excited about moving to an apartment in the city where they’d manage a local hotel. It turned out they were sick of the isolating countryside too. With the weight of worrying about his parents lifted off his shoulders, Quentin finally came clean and told them he wanted to leave and become a Pokemon trainer. His mother immediately walked up and left, causing his heart to sink, but she returned a minute later with a flyer for Professor Oak’s Pokemon Challenge. Apparently they’d received a stack in the mail a few weeks ago to hand out to tourists, but his mom thought it sounded like a good place for a beginner trainer. After looking into it, Quentin agreed that it sounded like a good idea and when his parents loaded up their U-Haul for Heahea City, they dropped their son off at the airport along the way.

QUENTIN THOMAS IS CURRENTLY OPEN (NAME, AGE, PRONOUNS, TIMEZONE)

[debiangdakyut]

Oh la!!! four days down, one day to go... #SAPtraining #tdcgroup #batchone @jillricaaa (at Toyota Davao City, Inc. Official)

[discovercreate]

7 Quick and Easy Potato Sides to Serve with Dinner — Recipes from The Kitchn

Open Roundup

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Puffs\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e","image":{"id":"31e4e5f03145b62e0bb4a7543f33bcc7c8329c6c","width":2592,"height":3500,"format":"JPEG","created_by_id":30,"updated_by_id":30,"created_at":"2014-06-13T06:35:33.197-04:00","updated_at":"2016-08-17T17:06:45.137-04:00","credit_style":"author","credit_author_id":30,"credit_name":"","credit_url":"","credit_email":"","credit_custom":"","credit_license":"","credit_linked_post_id":null,"focus_x":null,"focus_y":null,"filename":"Mashed-Potato-Puffs-6323.jpg","alt_text":null,"exclude_from_color_search":false,"crop":null,"ancestor":"539ad3f4697ab00f51008dfe","focus_z":null}},{"image_id":"c16c092148456510078b8b3f260341e519d4c160","caption":"\u003ca href=\"http://ift.tt/1wBpRxz\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eGrilled Packet Potatoes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e","image":{"id":"c16c092148456510078b8b3f260341e519d4c160","width":2314,"height":3000,"format":"JPEG","created_by_id":30,"updated_by_id":null,"created_at":"2014-06-25T16:24:18.924-04:00","updated_at":"2016-08-17T17:06:45.137-04:00","credit_style":"author","credit_author_id":8,"credit_name":"","credit_url":"","credit_email":"","credit_custom":"","credit_license":"","credit_linked_post_id":null,"focus_x":null,"focus_y":null,"filename":"Potatoes-2.jpg","alt_text":null,"exclude_from_color_search":false,"crop":null,"ancestor":"53ab2ff0697ab04c0e003d6f","focus_z":null}}]};

Whatever the main course that's on the menu tonight, a side of potatoes is almost always a good idea. My favorite way to enjoy them is simply roasted, but that can take upwards of an hour and I usually don't have that time to spare on busy weeknights. Luckily, there are plenty of potato recipes that are just as tasty and take a fraction of the time to cook up. Here are seven we love.

READ MORE »

from Kitchn | Inspiring cooks, nourishing homes http://ift.tt/2p6cLtv

[victoryroadhq]

THOMAS BYUN

AGE: Twenty-six. BIRTHDAY: June 24th. HOMETOWN: Blackthorn City, Johto. OCCUPATION: Pokemon Trainer. STARTER: Dratini, male, Quiet. FACECLAIM: Ki Hong Lee. STATUS: Open.  

BEGINNINGS IN BLACKTHORN CITY…

As the byproduct of two trainers at the Blackthorn City Gym, Thomas Byun’s obsession with dragons was pretty much developed in the womb. As a toddler, he would wear a towel wrapped around his shoulders in tribute to his hero, Lance, as he reenacted scenes from fairy tales of fire-breathing Charizards. As he got older, he shifted to organizing immaculately planned games of Dungeons and Dragonites. He was always at his best leading his friends through backbreaking campaigns that tested their skills as rogues or warriors with their trusty (and fictional) Dragon Pokemon at their sides. Eventually it got to the point where even his parents became convinced he needed to take it down a notch, telling him there was more to life than training the world’s strongest Pokemon. Thomas balked at the idea, there was nothing more important than Dragon Pokemon!

But when Thomas finally began living his dream of training under Clair at Blackthorn City Gym, he began to understood their meaning. He’d dreamt his whole life having his very own Dratini, but Clair didn’t just hand them out to anyone who knocked on her door. First, Thomas had to train at the hand of the Master of the Dragon Clan where he learned to value Pokemon as something with humanity, to cherish the love and knowledge they brought to all humans. For the first time he understood that battling was not just about the crushing destruction of his opponents, but the way that a trainer could handle with dignity and grace both winning and losing so long as he had the unfailing affection and support of his Pokemon. Thomas had entered the Dragon’s Den a high strung boy with big dreams, but he emerged a man who possessed not only strength, but maturity as well. He quickly became one of the toughest trainers that Blackthorn Gym had ever seen. It was even rumored that he was the first choice to replace Leader Clair when she inevitably moved up to the Pokemon League. 

Before that day could come though, Thomas was approached out the blue by his own personal hero - and the Johto League’s Champion - Lance. The dragon master told him about an organization currently forming in Kanto called Team Rocket. Under the guise of creating a better life for their underprivileged members, Team Rocket was exploiting Pokemon and selling them for profit and their own glory. Thomas was outraged at the very thought of people hurting Pokemon and agreed without hesitation when Lance asked him to travel to Kanto to keep an eye on the situation. Lance directed him to Pallet Town, where his old friend, Professor Oak, ran a Pokemon Research Lab that would soon be giving away Pokedexes to young and hopeful trainers. Thomas packed up his life, moving to a new region for an adventure he’d always dreamed of, ready to play hero against the Team Rocket Grunts who would inevitably try to take advantage of these new, young trainers.

THOMAS BYUN IS CURRENTLY OPEN (NAME, AGE, PRONOUNS, TIMEZONE)

[joyaringo]

C3 team ❤ #BatchOne 🎬 (at ABS-CBN - ELJ Building)

[liezlmpanganiban]

We are dreamers, visionaries and believers. We all thrive on the hope of fulfilling the potential we’ve all been blessed by making a bold step at this very day to make things come true. Definitely, a moment beyond my wildest dream to be part of this big family of writers. ☺️💕 #batchone #pioneers #WriteThatRightNow #ProjectBeautifulWords #WorldNeedsYou (at Balay Kalinaw, UP Diliman Quezon City)

[victoryroadhq]

LAYLA OLIVEIRA

AGE: Twenty-two. BIRTHDAY: December 9th. HOMETOWN: Mistralton City, Unova. OCCUPATION: Pokemon Trainer. STARTER: Deerling, male, Mild. FACECLAIM: Camila Mendes. STATUS: Open.  

BEGINNINGS IN MISTRALTON CITY…

Lucas Oliveira was quite the playboy in his heyday, he was a young hotshot pilot who was too attractive for his own good and had a reputation as a womanizer among the Mistralton Airport’s female staff. That is, until he met an equally beautiful young flight attendant named Lara and eloped with her during a trip to Lentimas Town. Everyone was shocked when they didn’t immediately annul the marriage and even more surprised when they were still together ten years and six kids later. Layla Oliveira was their sixth and final baby, the only daughter that they’d tried so hard to conceive. Layla found it difficult to balance her mother’s long dreams of having a perfect, girly daughter to dress up and throw tea parties with while still appearing cool in the eyes of her five older brothers. She wanted to be out schlepping around in the mud with them or proving she was the best tree climber - this was an indisputable fact but they still tried to argue it whenever Layla was in a skirt and unable to climb. But instead, she often found herself dragged to the spa for mani-pedis or picking out lip gloss at the local pharmacy with her mother instead. She felt guilty for not being the model daughter that Lara had clearly always dreamed of, but she just wasn’t cut out for the heaps of pink, frilly fabric she tried to dress her in or playing with Barbies when she could be building with Legos. As much as her mom tried to forced their relationship, it was her father that Layla idolized. Her dad worked all the time, flying planes to far-off regions and training new pilots but he always brought her back the coolest gifts - among her favorites were Lava Cookies from Lavaridge Town, a Marrill doll from Slateport City, and the jade bracelet he bought in Konikoni City. When he was home, he’d take Layla off to pretend to fly planes at the airport or to play laser tag. More than anything she wanted to be just like him when she grew up, gliding along in the air and visiting cool places that everyone else only dreamed of. Layla had always assumed her parents had the perfect marriage despite the fact that her father traveled so much. Her parents were always kissing in front of them, with Layla and her brothers vehemently covering their eyes with their hands and protesting that it was gross. Her mom would tell them the story of their first meeting whenever she could squeeze it into conversation and she still got that glassy far-off look in her eyes that teenagers did when they talked about their boyfriends. 

When Layla was ten-years-old though, her parents sat her and her brothers down and told them that they were getting a divorce. Layla was shocked, plenty of her friends had parents who had split up but her parents were so happy. They never, ever had raised their voices at each other in front of her and they still went on date nights ever Wednesday night if her dad was home. She ran up to her room and cried, refusing to unlock the door despite her mother’s pleas. When Layla went back to school the next week, everyone was talking about her family. The school bully cruelly told Layla that her dad had different mistresses in cities all over the globe and that he even had a second family out in Kalos. Layla didn’t even think about it, she just ran up and punched him in the face. Even though the other school kids applauded Layla’s actions, her mother wasn’t so happy when she picked her up from the principal’s office. She cried as she drove her daughter home, telling her that she’d been put on suspension from school for the next week. Layla didn’t have the heart to tell her mother what the bully had said and make things worse, she’d never seen her mom so sad. But she knew what would cheer her up, she gave her brother money to go get supplies at the store and the next morning she woke up early to surprise her mother with pink M&M pancakes in bed - complete with a pink carnation in a vase. And then she made their living room into a little spa, putting a weird sticky mask on her face and painting her toes a glittery purple shade. Her mother was so happy with the gesture that Layla started letting her do more things she knew would make her happy, like taking her shopping for a pink glittery dress for the Spring Fling dance and reading the stupid Our Bodies book she gave her for Christmas instead of the Mario Super Sluggers game she wanted. For the next decade or so, Layla found herself being the perfect daughter her mother had always wanted. She didn’t mean to, it was just that when her mom got sad because her dad showed up two hours late to pick them up on the weekend or didn’t pay as much child support as he was supposed to, she knew that letting her mom do her hair or take her to buy new clothes would make her feel better.

And when she got to high school, it seemed like being on the cheerleading squad and dating the nice boy on the baseball team also made her mom smile really genuinely. And it wasn’t like Layla hated the dance part of cheer, just the politics and the way the other girls talked about each other. And her boyfriend was sweet, even if she didn’t really feel the same way about him that her friends felt about boys they had crushes on. Layla still did want that big love, she still believed it was out there even if her parents hadn’t worked out. She just figured when she went away to college she’d get a chance at it and a chance to do extra curriculars she cared about. She applied to all the schools far and wide in Unova, hoping to go somewhere cool like Nimbasa City or to get a loft apartment in Nacrene City. But just about the same time she had to send in her deposit for school, her dad announced he was getting remarried - to a flight attendant about ten years younger than her mother. Her mother tried her best to pretend it was fine, but Layla overheard her talking on the phone to her aunts and knew she was really devastated. Layla was the only one still living at home and she knew she couldn’t leave her mom now, so she sent her deposit in for Mistralton State. The next four years sucked, she continued to dress the way her mom wanted and she even let her mom talk her out of a Botany major and into the Psych program - thank God the Botany department let her keep her beloved Deerling. When she graduated, her mom immediately tried to get her a job at the local hospital as a social worker. Layla was beyond relieved when they didn’t accept her application, citing her lack of experience. She knew she had to act fast or her mother would find another suitable job for her nearby. She Googled work abroad opportunities, considering digging in the Ruins of Alph until an ad popped up in her sidebar for Professor Oak’s Pokemon Challenge in Kanto. She clicked on it, reading through about an opportunity for young trainers to work together. Layla almost passed it by but something in her decided to fill out the form, submitting it and sealing her fate before she could talk herself out of it. She’d never considered Pokemon training before, but it sounded way better than working at the hospital ever had. And if she was in a whole separate region, she wouldn’t have to feel guilty for her not doing everything her mom wanted her to. She did feel slightly guilty about taking an opportunity that would possibly yield no money and no future experience though, so she lied and told her mother she’d accepted a Human Resources position with the Celadon Department Store.

LAYLA OLIVEIRA IS CURRENTLY OPEN (NAME, AGE, PRONOUNS, TIMEZONE)