#can someone help me find the original background maker? I found it by typing in ‘frutiger aero bubble wallpaper’

[ectogeranium]

wanted a cool background, so I spliced together my own

[bestiesenpai]

Idolatry - Getou Suguru

I love aliens and someday I will fuck one

Content warnings: manipulation/blackmail

“Mayday, mayday! Mission control, please come in, this is astronaut Getou Suguru!” The red emergency lights were on, multiple different sirens were going off in the background and Getou had just lost the rest of his crew.

“Mission control, can you hear me?!” He slammed on the control panel, desperately flipping switches and trying to regain control of his failing aircraft. All his training back on Earth hadn’t prepared him for the possibility of a black hole opening up and sucking in half his ship, ripping it apart and taking it somewhere unknown.

“Please, please, please!” There were frantic tears and sweat dripping down Getous face as he tried to get the thrusters back online. His ship was in shambles, slipping further and further into the blackhole.

Looking up through the windshield, his view of space before him was slowly fading away and he felt an intense pull from behind him, almost as if he was being ripped apart himself as he and his ship were pulled into the blackhole.

Getou didn’t think he’d wake up after that. The world had gone completely black, all the oxygen yanked from his body and the cold vacuum of space compressed around him. Getou hadn’t expected to wake up on firm, solid ground. And much less surrounded by otherworldly creatures.

“Is it really him?” He wasn’t sure how he understood the things before him, their voices warbled and distorted, but he could. Getou could only watch with fuzzy edged vision as the creatures crowded around him and their features became clearer.

“It must be! Just look at his face!”

“He’s got the hair as well, and his skin is milky white like in the stories!”

“Our God has returned to us, what a joyous day this is!” Someone cried and Getou was lifted up from the ground and removed from the rubble that was his spaceship. Struggling to breathe, he was sure there were a few cracked ribs under his skin.

“Be gentle now, the journey from the heavens wasn’t kind on him.”

“To the temple, at once!”

Placed on a long gurney, Getou was transported to the temple in question. With his vision going in and out, he could just barely make out the bright blue trees and foreign animal sounds passing him by. The creatures that had lifted him up were now closer to be viewed and Getou could tell they weren’t of human origin.

“Oh, how we’ve waited for this day!” The heat of whatever jungle Getou was in had a light sheen of sweat gathering on his skin, but the warm air helped lull him into a more relaxed state, almost falling asleep despite the situation.

Carried up the steps of the temple, Getou barely came to when he was stripped and submerged into a pool of light green water, nearly scalding him and scented with what appeared to be rose petals floating around him.

“Call the shamans, we need to make sure everything is correct!” There was rustling around him, figures darting in and out of his half lidded gaze. Someone was lifting one of his arms to wash him, immediately letting go when he let out a pained groan.

“He needs medicine, quick!” In an instant something was being poured down Getous throat, an ice cold liquid that spread across his body and made a shiver go through him. There was a heavy silence in the air for a moment as he was observed, and all of a sudden, he felt better.

Sitting up a little straighter in the solid gold tub he could now see, Getou stayed silent as his body was washed. The creatures around him avoided eye contact, bowing their heads when he turned to look at them.

They were gentle, washing the dried blood off Getous face and combing through his hair with their long pointed nails. He’d never received such lavish treatment before, and as he relaxed further into the tub, a man dressed in robes not unlike the ones Getou owned back home came to the side of the tub with a heavy tome, reciting something in an unknown language over Getou.

He was lifted out of the tub and dried gently, dressed in a soft green robe like the man that had prayed over him, and escorted to another room. He could tell this was at the heart of the giant gray stone temple, a skylight and large windows high on the vaulted ceilings letting in plenty of natural light and illuminating the lavish scene in the middle of the room.

In the middle of the room atop a short flight of stairs, sat a golden, red tufted stool only a few feet up from the ground and surrounded by a multitude of pillows and ornate gold decorations. Several oriental rugs were draped across the floor, covering the cool limestone underfoot.

A thick mattress lay just behind the stool with semi-sheer curtains curtains concealing it and the many pillows and blankets atop it. Hundreds of candles were lit around the room as well, lighting up dark corners or simply for decoration around and atop the rugs and stool.

Able to walk on his own now, Getou slowly went up the steps with only a mild drag in his sore legs. Skimming his fingers across the seat of the stool, he walked past it and to the bed, pushing the curtains aside and melting into the squishy mattress.

Even though he couldn’t really keep track of the time, Getou was sure a week had passed since he’d crash landed on this mysterious planet. In that time, he filled in the blanks of what was going on around him.

He was being worshipped as a God, an altruistic being that had fallen from the heavens as foretold in the legends of the people that lived here. Apparently, he was one of many gods and goddesses that the planet believed in, and it just so happened that his sudden appearance aligned with a prophecy that he would arrive.

Not one to live in a lie, Getou had originally wanted to tell the truth once he was able to speak more properly. It wouldn’t be right for them to place such strong faith into him when he truly wasn’t what they wanted, but he found it harder and harder as time went on.

And that was because of the treatment he received. He was bathed everyday, fed delicious meals whenever he wanted and was showered in praise and admiration at every second. To say Getou was soaking up all the attention was an understatement; he was absolutely drowning in it.

“My Lord, may I approach?” It was midday, the sun beaming down through the ceiling directly onto Getou, warming him up and making him radiate with light. A temple worker he’s never seen before enters the room, head bowed and with a familiar set of objects in their hand.

“You may.” Getou quickly noticed the basin, towel and pitcher of water and sat up a little straighter in his stool. It was time for his midday foot bath. You made quick work of the steps and knelt down before him in a moment.

Getou watched as you silently poured the water, keeping your head bowed per usual. Craning his head up to the sky, Getou lazily studied the windows above him. There were no clouds in the sky on this planet, but it didn’t stop the sky from looking beautiful.

“You’re quite handsome, my Lord.” That comment had Getou’s head snapping back down and coming eye to eye with you. No one else had ever made eye contact with him, not even the shamans that spoke with him about sacred texts. The sudden change unnerved him, making him blush.

“I didn’t know you were allowed to look upon me in such a way.” Getou said, dipping his feet into the bath and relaxing his legs. “I am a God, after all. Wouldn’t a comment like that be considered blasphemous?” Regaining control over his suddenly rapid heartbeat, Getou still felt a light veil of heat across his face.

“It would be, if you really were a God in the first place.” Getou nearly choked on his spit as he heard the words come out of your mouth.

“E-excuse me?! I am a God!” His face erupted in a dark blush. This was bad, really bad. The smirk on your face told him all he needed to know; the jig was up, you saw right through him. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still try and keep up the ruse.

“An arrival from the sky may have been foretold in the legends, but you are not what was promised to us.” Your words were quick and concise, an almost harsh tone underlying them. “It was my job to go through the rubble of the craft you arrived in, and I found quite a few things labeled from a planet called ‘Earth’.”

He and Gojo just had to have too much fun with the label maker, didn’t they?

“Earth is what us God's call the place we reside.” Clearing his throat, Getou tried to soothe his burning cheeks.

“Then why did I find this?” Digging into a hidden pocket within your robes, you pulled out a thick manuscript, personally typed and signed by Getou outlining his position within the team and the duties he’d fulfill while on the mission that ultimately brought him here.

The edges of the paper were all burnt and crispy, but most of the pages were still intact. Flipping through them, you showed him all the polaroid pictures that were stuffed inside of Getou in his space suit and at the control panels of the ship, and with Gojo and other crew members.

“I didn’t think a God would carry around so many papers about his job. I thought you just knew.” Tossing the manuscript to the floor, you sprinkled smelling salts into the water and grabbed onto one of Getou’s feet, raising it only slightly as you let him mull over the new information before him.

“So, I assume you’ll have me killed for lying, then?” There was a heavy pit sitting in his stomach, but Getou knew this day would come, it was only a matter of when.

“Kill you? Never!” Your sudden laugh gave him pause.

“Then what? What will happen to me now?”

“I intend to use this information to my advantage.”

“You want to use me to climb the ranks at the temple, don’t you?” Narrowing his eyes, Getou could already see the plan formulating behind your eyes.

“Precisely, my Lord. Over the course of a few months, I will become your most trusted advisor.” Letting go of his foot, your hand slid up Getou’s leg, your pointed nails scraping against his skin. “And before the anniversary of the sun’s return, I will be the highest shaman in the temple. Your right hand, if you may.”

As you spoke, your hand went higher and higher, skimming the edges of his long silken robe and going under it, cupping his knee for a moment before stopping midthigh. If anyone walked in right now, what would they say to the scene in front of them?

“What’s in it for me?” Getou shuddered as your nails dragged lightly along his skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake that had his senses tingling. You flashed him a smile, one full of rows of shiny black teeth.

“Why, you get to remain the all powerful God of this land, bestowing wisdom upon the subjects that worship you.” Sidling up to Getous legs, you fully pushed apart his robes to reveal his soft cock. “And…”

“And?” Getou pressed as you trailed off, subtly opening his legs as much as he could with his feet still in the basin. You chuckled at him, hand grabbing gently onto the base of his cock. Getou had come to learn that the creatures on this planet were often colder than he was, and your lukewarm hand was a testament to that.

“And I’ll keep you nice and happy.” Brazenly leaning over his lap, you sucked the tip of his cock into your mouth, your long tongue lapping out and wrapping around him, the tip going all the way down to his balls.

“Ah!” The unexpected pleasure shooting up his spine made Getou curl inward, knocking over the basin and spilling water onto the rugs. His hand shot out to grasp the back of your head, urgently trying to ground himself as his mind turned to mush.

“Don’t worry about the mess, my Lord. I’ll clean it up.” Pulling off his cock, you licked your lips and looked over your shoulders.

“You- what’s your name?” Getou panted, his legs already starting to tremble.

“(Y/N), my Lord.” You grinned, beginning to slowly jerk off his cock.

“(Y/N).” He tested the name on his tongue but he couldn’t speak any further as you thumbed the tip of his cock.

“But you don’t need to worry yourself about that now.” Now that his feet were free, you could slide in between Getou’s legs and get to his cock easier. “Right now, it’s all about you.”

[nekoannie-chan]

Misunderstandings

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 1380 words.

Summary: Simple actions led you to think that Steve doesn’t feel the same to you when reality is different.

Warnings: None.

A/N: Flashbacks are in italics.

This is my entry to the @p8tn0lish ‘s Sweet 200 Challenge with the song prompt #10:

“So I moved to California, but it’s just a state of mind, it turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself, that’s not a lie. Wish that you would hold me or just say that you were mine-it’s killing me slowly-”. Lana Del Rey, Fuck it I love you.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistake please let me know and I will correct it.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics be posted in other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don’t steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other’s people. The only exception is the ones I gifted ‘cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and is not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Marvel’s characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

My other media where I publish: Wattpad, Ao3, ffnet.

If you like it please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog. 

A year that has passed since you went to California, you accepted the mission because you wanted to get away from him, it was painful, he probably didn't even know that he had hurt you because you never managed to confess your feelings, but he believed that by going somewhere else you could forget it, but it seemed that life liked to remind you of its existence

You had returned to New York, your mission had already ended in California, you knew what awaited you, although this time you thought you could bear to see him again.

“What are you doing here? You asked in unison.

You knew Agent 13, you never had missions together because she always ended up arguing and fighting; mainly because she didn’t stop scrubbing her background to annoy you, although she pretended to hide it from others,

“S.H.I.E.L.D. left me in charge of Captain Rogers, “you answered him.

“Me too.

"It must be a mistake," you said in surprise.

"It's not a mistake, Agent," a voice pointed behind him.

"Director, are you planning that we work together?"

"Not exactly," Fury replied.

The two looked at each other confused.

You had a long time living in that building, however, you didn’t like to see Sharon there, and in a way, you felt that it disturbed your way of life.

 Steve had changed your life in many ways, the things you had lived together were too many to be forgotten so easily.

 Someone knocked on your door, you hoped it wasn't Sharon.

"Steve, what's up?"

You smiled like a fool as soon as you saw him.

"Do you have sugar?" He asked, showing you a cup.

“Sure, give me a moment.

"Well, the truth is that I had problems with the coffee maker, these appliances from your time are very complicated to use," he confessed.

“Do you want me to explain how to use it?”

“Please”.

You went to his apartment, as soon as you entered you saw that there was great chaos in the kitchen.

"You had several problems." 

 Every time you remembered the event you could not help but laugh, it had not been the only incident of this type that Steve had had with the electronics, you shared many as well as time together, of course, that bothered Sharon, since he used to ignore her

On your birthday, Steve threw a surprise party after you had told him you had always wished he had one. That day was the best of your life although there were not many guests more than you and him, you had a lot of fun.

He had decorated the dining room with balloons and streamers, he had thought of everything. You danced to songs of his time, although he kept apologizing because he thought he was doing it wrong. It was the best birthday of your life.

Every weekend you used to stay at your house watching movies and series, Steve insisted on catching up.

You were watching Titanic, that movie that always made you cry, he hugged you to console you, he was so close to you that without much thought you kissed him.

As soon as you separated, he stood up from the sofa.

"I-I have to go," he stammered.

He walked as fast as he could to the exit.

"Steve ...”

From that day on he started acting distant.

"I probably misread the signs," you thought.

Every time you tried to talk to him at work something would come up or he would find a way to avoid it, just as when you knocked on his door, you didn't get any kind of response.

 Steve invited you to a café near the Stark Tower, it seemed that all the employees knew him.

"Hi Beth, could you get us two slices of apple pie and two coffees, please?" He asked.

Beth didn't seem very happy with your presence there, you even seemed to notice her annoyance in the way she attended to them.

“Do you know her?” You asked Steve.

"Every time I came, she's the one who takes care of me, she's a nice girl," Steve replied.

 You began to believe that you had made a mistake; you felt that you had ruined everything, you didn’t know how to fix it, several times you tried to apologize, but it was as if he didn’t want to know anything about you.

You were going to do the shopping when you passed by the park near the building where you lived, there you saw Steve, you were going to approach when you realized that Beth was also with him, suddenly she kissed him.

Now you understood Steve's behavior, he was dating someone, you didn't know it, but he explained everything, he didn't feel anything for you.

“Agent Y/L/N, are you sure he wants to accept the mission?” Fury asked a little convinced.

"Of course, I have not the slightest doubt."

"Any special reason?"

"No, I just think it will be a good adventure," you lied.

You had decided to accept that mission to forget Steve if he was happy it was fine, but you also had to seek your happiness.

If you kept looking at it and having it close it would be very complicated, the best thing was to start somewhere else, so your wounds could heal.

You didn't tell anyone, you just left.

After that incident in the park, Steve had thought about everything that had happened, decided he would stop visiting the cafeteria after what Beth had done.

Steve was in love with you, but frightened by what had happened and didn’t know how to react, now he needed to fix things.

It was the door of your apartment and he rang the bell, there was no answer he supposed he had come out, he tried several times during the weekend, the result was always the same.

He looked for you at work, but neither did he find you, it was as if you had disappeared

"And Y/N?" He asked Maria.

"On a mission," he replied.

“When will he be back?”

"I don't know, you just told me he went on a mission."

“Where?”

"You didn't give me any more details, I'm sorry, Cap.”

All he had found was a note in your office when he managed to get in.

 So I moved to California, but it's just a state of mind

It turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself, that's not a lie

Wish that you would hold me or just say that you were mine

It's killing me slowly

 He didn’t understand what it meant, he searched the Internet, but all he had found was that it belonged to a song, he had no idea how to find you.

You were already carrying your report, the mission had been a success, you entered the Triskelion, you walked through the corridors to reach your office, as soon as Steve saw you pass, he left immediately, he wanted to make sure it was you.

"Y/N" he called you.

“Captain Rogers”

“How have you been? Where have you been? ”He questioned.

He needed answers, he needed to fix things, he hadn't stopped loving you, and he wanted to know if you still had feelings for him.

"On a mission, what about his girlfriend captain?"

"Which girlfriend?" He asked confused.

"Beth, the waitress in the cafeteria near the Stark Tower."

"She is not my girlfriend," he clarified.

"I saw them kissing."

"I like you Y/N," he confessed.

"Captain, the director is looking for you," announced one of the recruits.

"I couldn't tell you ...”

"I looked for you so many times after what happened and you seemed to be avoiding me," you interrupted.

“I do not…”

"Rogers, the director is calling you," Rumlow said.

After that interruption you closed the door of your office, you needed to process everything that had happened in the last minutes.

Steve was upset by the interruption, he would try to talk to you after work, this time he would fix everything and he didn’t care what the consequences might be.

All-day you were thinking about what happened, you started to unpack your bags, you turned on the radio while you arranged things.

 So I moved to California, but it's just a state of mind

It turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself, that's not a lie

Wish that you would hold me or just say that you were mine

It's killing me slowly

 What should you do you couldn't forget it, in the end, if it was your turn, maybe you could give him a chance as long as he took the first step.

The doorbell of your apartment rang, you couldn't help but smile, now if all the doubts would be dispelled.

[wondersbeyondcompare]

!! wait!! (◕⌓◕) you were doing the ask meme?! hjshfjakf can i ask number 1 for acelica and san with your kids? :'D

Aaaa, (・_・;) actually I was kinda busy when that tag game was posted, so I wasn’t really participating during that time nor did I reblog it (I really appreciated the tag, tho!! And reading about everyone’s OCs interacting with each other was fun!!). I think I’m a little too late to join the game, but I’ll answer any asks about my OCs since I have the time right now! 

And thank you so much for your ask!!!  °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° @syupermoon

What does (Your!oc) think of (My!oc)?

Berenice

“Looks like Little Miss Trouble-Maker has finally arrived! Now, Acelica-chan, what kind of mischief do you want to get up to today?”

Aaaa, yes. (￣ω￣;) Yet another student Berenice can recruit into her NRC trouble-making gang. Several years of half-death have done nothing to correct her ways.

However, if we’re talking about Berenice’s 1st honest impression of Acelica, she probably felt amused by her more than anything else. The proper ojou-sama facade Acelica puts up was far too obvious to Berenice, leading her to become persistent on breaking it down asap. There’s no way for someone to be that dignified all the time. This was Night Raven College, after all! She knew that all the students that came through those doors had at least 1 secret up their sleeves. Once Berenice caught Acelica showing her true colors, the part-ghost became delighted with the reveal of this hidden thrill-seeking personality, eager to help Acelica out on her endeavors. Berenice knew what it was like to be bored, and she wouldn’t wish that kind of torture onto anybody.

“Ahaha!! You’re a hundred years too early to pull a fast one over me! Try again next time, San-san~!”

Look (✧ω✧) If I can’t get away with touching San’s fluffy hair, then Berenice will go in place of me instead. He can’t lay a hand on her when she shifts to her default ghost mode, and she’s already partly dead, so (╯✧▽✧)╯

As for her actual thoughts on him, Berenice thinks of him as a fun victim for her pranks. She respects how much chaos he can stir up on his own, but messing with him was far too good an opportunity to waste. The popular types,too, are one of the many kinds of victims she goes for due to how many people surround them on a daily basis. >:3c Just like a bait attracting more prey… She’ll also show up at the most random moments just to get a reaction out of him, often when he’s in the middle of stealing something (where Berenice will probably snatch the object from his hands and reprimand him for his actions before disappearing with the item/throwing it out a window/handing it back. depends on which option would cause the most trouble/confusion). 

Kodi

“Hmm? What is it, Minuet-san? Oh, you wanted the last pastry? But there was a really long line in the cafeteria today, and-! Aaaa, sorry, sorry! You can have it. That’s what a good senpai does, right ( ; ω ; ) ?”

I’ve called Kodi a tool before, and Acelica can definitely unleash this boi’s full tool potential _(:3 」∠)_ RIP to Kodi’s dignity, you will be missed.

Since Acelica is a pretty ojou-sama type of girl and an underclassmen, it won’t be too hard to have Kodi wrapped around her finger the moment they meet each other. High society people and people who are younger than him are both types that he’s weak against, after all. Personally, Kodi will think of her as a sweet girl and won’t hesitate to do any favors for her should she ask. Even if Kodi catches Acelica in the act of doing something wrong, (after a small reprimand) he’ll try to get her out of trouble as best he can. He really strives to attain that image of a “kind, reliable upperclassman”, so he won’t turn against his precious kouhai that easily. Stroke his ego even more with honeyed compliments and (￣^￣)ゞ. Congratulations. You got yourself one ride or die fool for the taking.

“Umm, Heist-san?! Just a minute! I need to ask you something! Can you please tell me the secret to getting popul- Ah. He didn’t hear me…”

Ngl, Kodi’s lowkey jealous of San’s popularity lol. He won’t do anything to disturb him, but he’s also not above hovering around him in the background, taking notes on his actions so as to boost his own popularity. (￣ω￣;) Yes, the 2nd hand embarrassment is strong when it comes to Kodi, especially when he tries to imitate San right after taking said notes. Usually he ends up with complete failure, but thankfully no one notices him anyway. 

Kodi sees San as a really cool guy and admires him a lot. He doesn’t dote on him since he’s not an underclassmen of his, but he shows San a good amount of respect and usually stays out of his way so he could do his own thing. (╥﹏╥) If only he would pass to him more often in basketball club… 

Majid

“‘I’m boring?’ Then go buy your entertainment somewhere else. I don’t like being woken up.”

If these 2 weren’t in the same class, they probably wouldn’t even look the others’ way. I mean, sometimes they might run into each other whenever Majid chooses to nap in a high place like a tree, but otherwise (￣▽￣) nope. He has no interest in high society people. They were often the types to cover up their rotten hearts with their wealth and status, so he avoids having anything to do with them unless it’s to his advantage. 

His 1st impression of Acelica was pretty vague. Probably saw her as another one of those spoiled rich kids being supported by their rich family and immediately glossed over her existence. But once he sees her manipulation in action, Majid’s knee-jerk instinct will be to just avoid her completely. These damn aristocrats… Thinking that just because they’re a little better than other people that they can mess with them however they want… How despicable. Majid might become curious about her pocket watch, tho. Having an interest in all things jewelry related, he’ll be tempted to ask her to borrow it just so he could find a way to solve its little problem. 

“Jamil-senpai says I have to be more polite towards my seniors so.. *clears throat* Please shut up, Heist-senpai. I want to peacefully rest without your voice assaulting my poor eardrums everytime you walk by.”

I’m sorry m(_ _;m) Majid doesn’t like him either. He hates liars, thieves (altho Majid did steal from vendors when he was younger, he justifies that he only did so to survive and;;; he’s not;;;entirely wrong;;;), and loud upperclassmen, so San is the bane of his existence.  San better not take it a step further and steal Majid’s food otherwise the boi will throw hands b/c (눈_눈) this just got personal. 

I also found it funny how their origins too are complete opposites of each other. Whereas San came from a wealthy family and eventually ended up living in the streets, Majid went from living in the streets to accumulating a bunch of wealth for himself. Aaaa (￣▽￣) just another reason for Majid to avoid him. I think they might be able to bond through their hoarding habits, just don’t touch anything of Majid’s or he’ll go full Cave of Wonders on San (ーー;) 

[iniziarearchive]

Hey there! I love your themes - I frequently jump between using different themes (yours and others included) because I rather enjoy setting them up. (It's calming to code to me?) Anyway - I really really really love the Sleeping at Last permalink bar and tags and I was wondering if you could make a little tutorial on how to put them in other themes? They are so aesthetically pleasing and I don't have to worry about tag length throwing off the overall design of my blog. Sorry for the hassle!

Hello, hello! I honestly remain incredibly humbled that you and others seem to and thank you is still the most genuine thing I can say in response. I never expected for even my first theme to catch on as it did, so that people like its predecessors as well is nothing less than heart-warming. Furthermore, I just wanted to note that I entirely understand you on the ‘calming’ bit, as it’s the exact same for me— I love setting themes up in both code and aesthetic, I always have. Well, that is until I run into one of those problems of which the solution is staring right at me the whole time, but I only realize it two days later. It’s quite the ordeal, really.

Ah, I’m quite fond of the ‘click to show tags’ concept too! While I tend to not make use of the option personally as I don’t want to hide my own tags, it’s a wonderful system to clean up themes where people’s tags are potentially few and simply exist for navigation purposes and not much else— no need to show them, but where hiding them entirely from the index page would be impractical. So I found it a handy ‘in between’ option. To put them into other themes can be either extremely simple or very complicated, it entirely depends on the code of the theme you want to put them into, or to elaborate; it depends how easy it is to identify the bits of code that you need to replace. This’ll get fairly long, for which I apologize.

In essence, there are three things you need to do/look at. First one being the script, second is to replace all the permalinkbar information in the CSS portion of the code, and thirdly you need to replace the corresponding permalinkbar information in the HTML. In my themes, these are fairly simple to mix/match into each one (barring perhaps Khruseos and Leuthros, as their permalinkbar/tag styling is a bit excessive in code), as I try to keep identical headers for each bit of code as to make it easy to accomplish just these type of things. Let’s start with the easiest thing:

Part 1: the script

Now without the script— simply put, the entire ‘click to show’ function wouldn’t work. To put it in, do a little search for and you’ll be pasting the following script underneath it, but above 

<br />$(document).ready(function(){<br />    $(“.tags2”).hide();<br />    $(“.tags1”).show();$(’.tags1’).toggle(function(){<br />    $(“.tags2”).slideDown(function(){});<br />    },function(){<br />    $(“.tags2”).slideUp(function(){});<br />    });<br />});<br />

Part 2: the CSS

Now, you don’t have to replace any of the CSS with the following here, but I would recommend doing so if you want to keep a cleaner code and don’t want unused bits to stay, but it’s entirely up to you. But in essence, you could simply paste the anywhere in between and <b>

/* POST INFORMATION */

.permalinkbar {    margin-top:22px;    margin-bottom:80px;    background-color:#ffffff;    text-transform:uppercase;    color:{color:links}!important;}

.permalinkbuttons {    border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;    border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;    padding-top:4px;    padding-bottom:4px;    text-align:center;    margin: auto;    font-size:11px;    color:#cccccc!important;}

.permalinkbuttons a {    text-align:center;    font-weight:bold;    font-weight:normal!important;    display:inline-block;    font-size:11px;    padding-right:17px;    color:#dcdcdc!important;    -moz-transition-duration:2s;    -webkit-transition-duration:2s;    -o-transition-duration:2s;}

.permalinkbuttons a:last-child{    padding-right:0px;    margin-right: 0px;}

.permalinkbuttons a:hover {    color:{color:links hover}!important;    -moz-transition-duration:2s;    -webkit-transition-duration:2s;    -o-transition-duration:2s;}

.tags2 {    font-family: calibri!important;    font-weight:bold!important;    background-color:#ffffff;    color:#dcdcdc!important;    text-transform:uppercase!important;    font-style:normal;    border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;    line-height:130%!important;    margin-bottom:5px;    font-size:8.6px;    text-align:justify;    text-align-last: center;    -moz-text-align-last: center;    margin-top:0px;    padding-top:10px;    padding-bottom:10px;    padding-left:20px;    padding-right:20px;    -moz-transition-duration:2s;    -webkit-transition-duration:0.2}

.tags2 a {    font-weight:bold!important;    font-size:8.6px!important;    text-transform:uppercase!important;    font-family: calibri!important;    color:#dcdcdc!important;    -moz-transition-duration:2s;    -webkit-transition-duration:0.2}

.tags2 a:hover {    color:{color:links hover};!important;    -moz-transition-duration:2s;    -webkit-transition-duration:0.2}

Part 3: the HTML

This is the final step and this is where you need to do some actual replacement of code and you may be tested a fair bit here, because depending on how clean or clear the theme maker’s code that you’re using actually is, the easier or more complicated this step is. And sadly, I can’t make it any easier— because each theme maker has a different way of coding, we prioritize different things. We even call divs differently, so it’s never a simple ‘type this in’ and you’ll find what you need to replace, you need to find it on your own and pay close attention. Anyway, on most of my themes, it really comes down to doing a search for  and putting the following code in between that and {/block:Date} but again, on someone else’s theme, this may be equally simple or a lot harder. What you’re looking for (do a quick search for  as to put yourself in the right location code-wise) is the entire snippet of code that references the permalink bar/info bar + tags. Some keywords that you can search for that may help you in identifying are the following:

— {block:Date}— {Permalink}— {Tag}

If it helps; in my first theme, Passing the Torch, which has a permalink bar + tags that may be most similar to those in other people’s themes, the entire snippet looks like this. 

Once you identify the entire snippet (important: keep a very close eye that you begin and end the copy/paste at the right spot and if you find yourself struggling a fair bit or the theme seems to be breaking, don’t hesitate to message me, I don’t mind helping with this), replace it with the following and you’ll have my permalinkbar + tags in whichever theme you want (though you may have to go through the theme as a whole to make widths and such work; but I hope it helps!)

{block:Date}

{Month} {DayOfMonth}{DayOfMonthSuffix}

{NoteCountwithLabel}

SEE TAGS

{block:RebloggedFrom} VIA/ORIGINS{/block:RebloggedFrom}

REBLOG

class=“permalinkbuttons”>

{block:HasTags}Tagged with:  {block:Tags} {Tag}.  {/block:Tags}{/block:PermalinkPage}{/block:HasTags}

class=“permalinkbar”>{/block:Date}

[walkingshcdow-a]

OI. Your FCs are really effin good gorl, I'm trying to make an RP blog for Lambchops from Fame but I'm having a lot of trouble finding the punk FC that would work for her. Got any tips?

((You’re sweet! TBH, not all of them were my choice - Diaval, Maleficent, Victor, Lorelei, and Cora are all their canon FCs. Those that were my choice took a LOT of hunting for!

Unfortunately, I am the wrong person to give you advice on this particular muse - I think I saw “Fame” when I was in high school… and as point of reference… I now teach high school.#SoOld. 

But I can give you tips on how I choose FCs, if that’ll help!

If your muse’s original FC is white or no race is specified by your canon (ex. it’s a book/play/audio drama), feel free to “race bend” your character as long as you aren’t bending based on negative stereotypes (i.e. Do not decide, “He is thuggish so I made this previously white character black!” Ew, that’s disgusting, get away from me. Or, as we say in my profession: that’s a lot to unpack. Would you like me to send you to speak with an administrator?). This actually allows for more inclusivity and diversity in the RPC. Just… be willing to research your character’s background and if you aren’t that race, don’t make it a story about being that race. Also, if your character is a POC, do not make them white. I feel like that goes without saying, but you’d be surprised how awful some people are.

Go with your gut, not necessarily what canon says is “right”. Similarly to rule 1, though not as importantly as rule 1*, feel free to change your muse’s appearance unless their appearance is critical to the story. Is your muse a blonde in canon, but you kinda wished she was a ginger? Go for it! Does your muse have straight hair, but the face you love is attached to a mass of curls? My dude, go for it. Is your muse skinny/abled/conventionally attractive and you think it’d be cool or important to make them something else? DUDE DO IT. (*This is the exception to where it’s “less important” than racebending. Making a character represent a different body type can be very important and empowering). If you want to retain their canon features, but found a FC that matches everything except ONE THING, make a note about it somewhere on your bio/rules page. Now… If that ONE THING is that you’re making your disabled or fat FC able-bodied or skinny, go pick a different FC and reexamine your life choices. But, back on topic - you know your character and you know the version you want to portray better than anyone. Chances are, you have a mental picture of her right now. Don’t let canon tell you she “has” to be blonde and blue eyed, when you know in your heart-of-hearts, she’s a dark haired, dark eyed beauty. And don’t let a FC’s green eyes stop you, even though their perfect in every other way. JUST DO IT. 

Locate resources, be willing to make them yourself, be willing to pay for a commission, or be willing to go without graphics. Look, I get it. Not all of us are handy with Photoshop. I made my Victor Frankenstein icons and those took me three months to do and they’re still terrible. This is why for my other muses, I either commissioned someone else to make graphics, found icons to use from Hollow Art or icon resource blogs (not other RPers!!), or simply went without icons. I’ll explain the last one at the end. But to this point, I’ll say this - if graphics are important to you, decide how much time you can dedicate to making them, how much money you’re willing to spend on them, and use what available free resources there are! Decide whether or not you want to make resources yourself or if you are willing to pay (and if so, how much) first. Then, before you do either thing, check out what resources are available and snag all the freebies you can get. If you’re using free resources (i.e. icon maker blogs, Hollow Art) or making your own using a screenshot resource/fansite, download Falkun Batch Downloader. It’ll save you time. Like. Lots of time.

Think about how personality and appearance correlate (and how they don’t!). In your instance, Grace is a rocker. It’ll probably be better for you to use a FC who is in a lot of contemporary pieces, rather than someone known for their period pieces. You’ll probably want a FC who looks “edgy” or “bad ass”, since your character dresses that way. DO NOT LET CLOTHING BE YOUR ONLY DETERMINING FACTOR. Actors are a versatile bunch. Hell, for a while Ksenia Solo was the IT GIRL for RPing smart-ass, edgy rocker chicks because of “Lost Girl”. Look at her in “Turn”. BIG CHANGE, right? What you’re looking for is facial expression, demeanor, and body language. Remember: Grace doesn’t need to be played as specific type of edgy or bad ass. She can be tall, short, big, small… Doesn’t matter. When I said do what your gut tells you, this is what I’m talking about. You subconsciously associate FCs with roles they’ve played and your subconscious remembers if they’re good at mean mugging at the camera. Attitude is much more important than surface features (like hair color, eye color, etc.). I feel like a lot of RPers waste time, trying to be canonically accurate to things like bone structure than to things that your partners are actually getting out of an icon like facial expression. 

Be willing to go without graphics. Look. Your character is your character. If you have a muse for them, you shouldn’t let a lack of resources stop you from writing them. I know a lot of people have a preference for using icons, but they are unnecessary. If you haven’t found your FC yet, that’s perfectly all right! Write in a way so even if you never do, your muse pops off the screen. I can’t use a FC for one of my characters - Erik - because no Leroux-accurate film has been made and until I become a billionaire, no one is making a Kay film. So I have to rely instead on vivid description. It seems to work; people like my writing. Anyone who specifically dislikes my Erik because I don’t use icons can piss off. I’m having fun playing him. As long as you enjoy playing Grace, a FC isn’t necessary. 

I’m not sure if this was what you were asking - i feel like you probably wanted more concrete suggestions than I can offer. Best of luck!))

[wichitahouseholdservices]

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BEST APPLIANCE RECYCLING SERVICE IN WICHITA KS

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Appliance Recycling in Wichita KS

Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: The good news is that many of your used appliances can be recycled. Appliances manufactured with mostly metal, such as washers and dryers, make up around 10% of the steel recycled in every year. Materials such as steel, aluminum, tempered glass, and plastic are recovered from the recycling of common appliances and then are used to make new products. Types of appliances that are usually accepted at the white goods/metal recycling area of the transfer station include large, metal appliances such as:

● Air Conditioners ● Refrigerators ● Dishwashers ● Washers/Dryers ● Ice Makers ● Deep Freezers ● Stoves ● Wine Cellars ● junk removal vs dumpster rental

When moving these appliances, be careful not to damage any tubing or leak any coolant, since this can be very dangerous. Take off any doors and hire a professional to drain the coolant from your appliances before hauling them to be recycled. Gas tanks, propane, or refrigerant tanks have to be taken separately to a hazardous waste center to be properly disposed of. Any batteries will need to be disposed of separately, too. When thinking about hauling your old appliances to be recycled, keep in mind you will need someone to help you load and unload those heavy appliances you want to dispose of, especially refrigerators and washer/dryer sets. If you’ve ever tried to move a fridge or stove, you know it’s a difficult job without help. Aside from the heavy lifting dangers associated with trying to haul a heavy appliance to the dump, improper disposal can also harm the environment. Many old house hold contain ozone-depleting chemicals that disperse into the air when left to break down in a landfill. Taking the proper steps to handle your appliance removal responsibly not only preserves your back health, but the health of the environment, too. Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: At Wichita Household Services, we’re experts in responsible appliance disposal. We’ve got the inside scoop on proper recycling practices, and the equipment necessary to safely remove your old appliances without you having to damage your back, or your home. And if your old appliance still works, we’ll donate it to charity. One of the easiest ways to save energy around the house is by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. Be sure to recycle your old ones, though, because they’re mostly made up of metal. Large Appliances Recycling Preparation ● Unplug your appliance for several days before recycling to let it cool down. ● In the case of older air conditioners, freezers and refrigerators, you’ll need to confirm whether the recycler removes Freon. If not, you’ll need to contact a professional for Freon removal. ● If you bought a new appliance and it’s being delivered, ask the company if it will haul away your old appliance. In many cases, the truck will accept multiple appliances for recycling even if only one is being delivered. ● If you’re getting rid of a still-working product that is less than five years old, consider donating it. Habitat for Humanity operates Restore locations throughout that sell building supplies to raise money for new houses, and they will often accept newer, working appliances. ● Tape any doors with masking or duct tape so they don’t fly open during transport. ● If you need to transport the appliance to the curb or a truck, use a dolly. Large appliances are far too heavy for one person to carry.     Why Recycle Large Appliances ● Steel (the most recycled material) makes up 75 percent of the average appliance, and home appliances account for 10 percent of steel recycled each year. ● Refrigerators and air conditioners use fluorocarbons to chill air, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a leading contributor to ozone depletion. CFCs are released from a trashed refrigerator but will be safely processed by a recycler. Many utility companies will provide you with a credit to buy a new appliance and recycle the old one, not to mention the money you’ll save on your monthly bill.

COST

How much is Appliance Removal or Recycle?

Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: Each junk removal service charges a different price to pick up your unwanted appliances. You can find prices for appliance removal listed on the web for anywhere between $80 and $625. That’s because a lot of different factors can influence appliance removal cost. Using a junk removal service to get rid of an old refrigerator or chest freezer for you could cost a little more than if you were to dispose of your appliance yourself. Professional haulers have to charge for their services because to responsibly dispose of your washer or dryer, they have to be able to cover the disposal fees they’re charged by the disposal facility. A professional junk removal company also has to cover their overhead costs such as licensing and background checks for the people picking up the appliances, as well as insurance policies and proper equipment to ensure you are protected from any accidental damage during the appliance removal process. For these reasons, you should seriously consider using a professional hauling company, instead of using some guy you found on Craigslist or Task Rabbit, to pick up and dispose of your old dishwasher or wine cooler. However, there are a few other things you can consider to help you make sure you’re getting the least expensive appliance removal service possible.

Booking Appliance Recycle

Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: Many junk removal services advertise same-day service for disposal of your old air conditioner or portable fireplace, but this can be misleading since it doesn’t always mean same-day pickup. It can be days to weeks before a junk hauler can haul away your old appliances. That’s because you have to book an appointment with the junk disposal service for them to send someone out and give you a price estimate for your appliance pickup. Then you have to schedule yet another appointment for your appliance to be hauled away. The problem with this is that you have to be there for both appointments. Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, you’ll probably have to take time off work or cancel plans so you can be there.

Appliance Recycle Pricing

Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: Most junk removal services base their pricing on the volume of the items they are picking up. This tactic makes it easier for the person picking up your appliances to jack up the price once your appliances and any other items are loaded onto the truck. When a junk removal company bases their prices on volume but you only have one or two appliances, like a mini fridge or lawn mower you need to get rid of, this makes it very costly and inefficient for you.

Most Affordable Appliance Disposal Service Appliance Recycling Service near Wichita KS: You can get high-quality, affordable appliance removal when you book an appliance pickup with Wichita Household Services.

Wichita Household Services disposes of the appliances and other junk they pick up in an eco-friendly way. Appliances that are still in good working condition are donated to local charities. Any other appliances are taken to your local recycling facility. Disposing of anything by dropping it off at a landfill is only ever done if more eco-friendly disposal options aren’t available.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I recycle my old refrigerator or freezer?

Refrigerators and freezers use Freon and other chlorofluorocarbons as a refrigerant. These cooling agents have been identified as ozone-depleting substances and must be safely drained from refrigeration units by a trained technician at a licensed facility.

Many local landfills and transfer stations are equipped to recycle fridges and freezers. The units can also be picked up by private disposal or recycling companies. A handful of municipalities in B.C. offer free pick-up of fridges and freezers.

My fridge or freezer is still working. Can I donate it?

Most charities no longer accept fridges and freezers for donation. Unfortunately, these large items are too costly to transport and store. However, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts.

Can I recycle large appliances like washers and dryers?

If the items are in very good, working condition, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts depending on its age and condition.

If the appliances are no longer in good condition, large appliances are part of the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR) recycling program in BC.  Through this program, most landfills and transfer stations accept large appliances recycling.  There may also be several scrap metal companies who would accept the appliances for their metal.

Where can I take my microwave for recycling?

Wichita Household Services Recycling manages a province-wide recycling program for recycling small electrical appliances, including countertop microwaves. Through this program, small appliances can be dropped off for free at a number of designated Wichita Household Services Recycling depots across the Province. All items should be returned in a clean state with no food or liquid residue. Built-in or over-the-range microwaves, however, are not included in this recycling program.

Where can I take my electrical power tools for recycling?

Wichita Household Services Recycling is the organization that manages a province wide recycling program for small electrical appliances, including power tools.  Electrical tools can be dropped off for free at a number of Wichita Household Services depots across the province.

How do I recycle my smoke or carbon monoxide alarm?

Wichita Household Services Recycling currently manages the provincial recycling program for used or expired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. This program excludes units that are connected to building-wide monitoring or alarm systems.

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[shinyalternatives]

Q&A with Catalyst Latex

Kyle&Selina: Can you provide a short bio of your background in fashion?

Catalyst Latex: My name is Gord and I may be seen as the frontman at Catalyst Latex.  However, I’m just part of the management team including my partner Hils and daughter Kit. My management background in engineering and materials provides functionality and rationale, but Hil’s degree from the London College of Fashion and Kit’s art college background together provided the creative aspects for Catalyst

K&S: How did you discover latex as a material to use in fashion?  Did you have a personal interest in wearing latex or was it just a material that you found interesting?

Catalyst: I have been a latex lover for many years, but a high-flying career kept me as a purchaser of latex designs, with no time or inclination to actually make any clothing.  However, my interest in latex and science led me to experiment with the chlorination of rubber – a process that gives latex clothing a totally smooth finish, ending the need for talcum powder as it was then, or lubes as used today.

K&S: Can you provide a bit more in depth explanation regarding chlorination?  We understand it makes it smooth, knocks down the natural latex smell and may dull it. 

Catalyst: Chlorination is a “wet” process that micro-smoothes the surface of the latex.  As an end result, you will not need talc or lube in most cases to get the garment on.  The outside of the garment will also be smooth.

Chlorination has added benefits as it reduces the noise and natural smell of the latex material.  It will not self-stick when dried after cleaning, thus allowing for better and easier storage.  The lower friction reduces external wear and enhances “layering.”  Finally, there seems to be a decrease in allergenic behavior.

K&S: Allergies to latex appear to have become an issue.  Whether or not a person has a latex allergy has become a standard question when visiting a doctor or dentist.

Catalyst: The allergy aspect is interesting, but as I am not a medic I cannot offer any explanation.  It appears that people with a latex allergy can handle chlorinated latex.  We offer free samples for people to try out for allergy.  After 11 years, we have not had A SINGLE REPORT  of allergic reaction to our latex samples.  Though, as we’ve not plied the Pharma industries with thousands of monetary units for Official Tests, we may not claim it to work.  But it sure as hell seems to.

K&S: To what degree does it still take shine and hold it?  Does polishing the latex have an effect on the chlorination effect? 

Catalyst: We don’t use or recommend shine.  We’re not against it.  It’s just something we don’t do.

Most latex wearing is either party or private.  For party you want to show it off at its best and polish it to a perfect shine.  In private that may matter less, and the sensual feel of unpolished, chlorinated latex is truly something to behold.  So it’s just a bit of my own history really, not doing parties in my early days, that never brought me in touch with polish and techniques.

When you polish latex, the polish – whatever it may be – coats the surface if the latex, burying the soft, smooth caress it once held, beneath a veneer of sticky silicone stuff.  You can gauge my standpoint here.  The process of donning and doffing will lead to spreading that polish to the inside of the garment, concealing the smooth chlorinated surface and making it like any other ordinary latex.

Of course, if you are actually able to completely remove that silicone – and good luck to you – the original chlorinated surface will still be there for you.

K&S: How long does the chlorination effect last? Is it permanent or does it diminish in the long run? 

Catalyst: Chlorination, as a surface process, lasts as long as the surface. High wear areas, depending on your activity might be knees, bums etc, may lose the natural latex shine earlier than other areas. Chlorinated or not.  Makes no difference.  It is possible to rechlorinate the latex and restore the smooth feel, though not the natural shine.

K&S: How difficulty are repairs since latex does tear when you are not careful?

Catalyst: Chlorinated latex is so soft and smooth that regular latex glue has a hard time sticking to it.  A conventional repair might just fail in seconds for that very reason.  So you need to prep the latex first by physically breaking down the outer chlorinated skin with fine grit sandpaper, or like  Scotchbrite™ nylon scourer, or similar, to score the surface and provide a good key for the adhesive.  Apart from a bit of extra prep then, it’s a repairable as normal latex.

K&S: That was an interesting and informative digression on Chlorination. Back to the fashion questions. At what point did you decide to take your personal interest in latex?

Catalyst: Having discovered the chlorination process, in 2004 we offered it as a service to fellow latex lovers on the internet, which drew remarkable interest and provided a second, tiny income stream.  This was to prove invaluable in 2009 when redundancy from full-time management forced big decisions to be made.

K&S: A business has a number of things that one must deal with that sometimes dim one's passion.  You have rent, insurance, utilities, materials, employee salaries etc.  What end of the market absorbs more time - the celebrity couture or the consumer market? How do you balance your passion for creativity with the need to be profitable?

Catalyst: You don’t take up mountaineering tomorrow and tackle Everest next weekend.  We started slowly, in a small way, with our main income from fitting bathrooms and other small renovation works, where self-employment enabled the flexibility to maintain an income stream, while developing our latex offering.

We recognized there was a number of strong players already on the scene and felt we needed to have a clear identity to offer, so developed two clear tag-lines.

“Rubber without the Rub” summarized our promotion of chlorinated latex and at the time I believe we were the only latex clothing maker to offer full chlorination of all our products – a market leader if you like.

“Real clothes in Rubber” was put together to explain that we made latex versions of clothing you’d find in Marks & Spencer UK, Macy’s etc.  So we don’t do catsuits and gimp masks, but we do beautifully tailored proper clothing, outerwear and underwear – in rubber!

K&S: You're running a business.  You have competition.  Rubberists often feel alone - as if they're the only ones with this interest.  The cost of latex garments is not crazy when compared to well made traditional clothes.

How sizeable do you feel the latex market is?  It must be substantially larger than a small group of people to support so many companies.

Catalyst: Before the advent of World Wide Web, rubberists were indeed “Alone” Sure there were exclusive clubs, clandestine private gatherings and small adverts for “please rush me …” The internet did as much to change all that as the steam engine did for industry.

Catalyst started with the internet, recognizing many established players, and found its own niche with Real Clothes in Rubber, and Rubber without the Rub offering of chlorinated latex.  By this time, people were no longer alone and the interweb gave instant access and the ability to compare price, delivery and quality at the flick of a mouse.

Our market research shows the market place to be growing still, with a huge influx of young adventurous, sexy, nerdy types hungry for shiny, cosplay, streetable, sexy latex that’s easy to wear and care for, and those criteria are a big part of what we offer the market today.

But we still offer the old school mainstays and find a remarkable following in our Victorian latex line, sleepwear, and just real clothes in rubber.

In our short existence on the scene, we have already seen several brands come and go, some with adventurous styles, others with knock-down prices. We’re here for good, with the stuff that most people really want to wear.

K&S: Latex can be described as a "Fetish," a "kink," "Alternative fashion" or simply "fashion" Do you prefer one description over another?

Catalyst: With “Real clothes in Rubber” becoming accepted as a tagline, we found the sweet spot between fetish and fashion where folk of all ages and backgrounds could find latex they could be comfortable with, and comfortable in.

K&S: It seems many latex outfits are designed to be body hugging.  I've heard latex referred to as a "Second Skin."  Do you agree that latex should be used for tight outfits or does it lend itself to "loose" outfits?

Catalyst: Looking again at real clothing, we see some garments need to be close-fitting like undergarments, lingerie, stockings, swimwear etc., whereas flowy dresses, puffer jackets, lounge pants are better as a loose fit.  The extra benefit of chlorinated latex is the ‘swish factor’ as the latex will never self-stick, but moves and flows like silk!

K&S: If it's a "second skin" does it mean it needs to be worn without "undergarments"? Does that intimidate people from wearing it?

Catalyst: Someone asked if they should wear their bra under a latex dress. It was hard to find kind words to portray the mush of damp polyester wadding and wet flesh that would occur, so we only ever recommend wearing latex under latex, under latex – hell, as many layers as you like! Chlorinated latex layers just slide over one another.  Wear latex knickers under your latex dress – real clothes.

K&S: In your experience, how concerned are people about body image when considering fashion choices.  Does latex, as a material, help or hinder these decisions?

Catalyst: Latex can be as revealing or concealing, according to garment style and size; our client base runs from stick-thin to absolutely huge (can we say that??)  We can only guess that it depends on the context of how and where an outfit will be worn, and many other factors personal to the individual.

K&S: Do you feel latex tend to express one's body with honesty as if is was no different than a "second skin" or is it more of a fashionable type of shapewear that fixes a person's perceived "flaws."

Catalyst: Very similar to your previous point.  More a question for the catsuit manufacturers I reckon. Look at our flowing styles to see that latex clothing can be selected to enhance any body type or shape.  It’s a beautifully natural, draping fabric that can flatter anyone in the right garment.

K&S: How do you find the market for latex wear distributed between men, women, cross-dressers (men or women), celebrity couture?

Catalyst: Celebrity couture is quite subtle and usually it is the stylist making the inquiry/order.  It will be quite specific and exacting, and a surprisingly tight on budget at the outset.  Get the stylist onside with a basic appraisal, add in the extras and get famous!  Not quite, as you may never be fully sure who will wear it and to what event.

With regard to real folk like you and I, we need to define the word ‘customer’.  There’s the adventurous ‘vanilla’ girl buying a pencil dress for a party, there’s a man buying for his partner, there’s a Domme being bought-for by a client, there’s a pseudonym buying a dress for himself .. you should never doubt or question, but so often the sizing data will reveal another story so yes, regardless of the name on the PayPal, the end-wearer could be anyone. Who is the customer there?

Our only concern, particularly when a man buys a woman’s style for himself is that is should end up looking good, so that he will feel great.  When people try to conceal or blur the truth, it makes it harder for us to deliver the look they ultimately crave.  So please folk, be honest and upfront!

K&S: What is your favorite piece of latex that you've created in your career for a man and for a woman?

Catalyst: One of our earliest and most enduring Statement Pieces is still our Catalyst Kilt.  It remains to this day the most authentically styled kilt on the market.  Sure, its not cheap but takes a full 2-3 days to make and meticulously finish, gives years of service and excellent value.

Women’s wear is harder to pinpoint as we change many of our styles each season, but for sheer volume, our underwired pencil dress, fully chlorinated for easy-on, has been a runaway winner the past 18 months!

K&S: People can state that they don't like latex because of the smell, or because the material doesn't breathe and they sweat to much, or because it's too tight or it makes them look like they're selling sex.  How do you address those concerns?

Catalyst: I tell them to buy Spandex!  Seriously, people that drill down to us are already committed to latex.  We are not an entry-level designer, and happily rarely get entry-level questions (We do, but we’re not telling!)  Has to be said also that all our chlorinated pieces have reduced odor and increased wearability.

K&S: What is your design philosophy?  What drives your creativity?

Catalyst: Listen to your customers and watch TV!  Filter out the background of catsuit inquiries and see what interesting outfits people want.  Keep an eye to the Cosplay arena.  Listen to your photo models as they pick up on styles from places we don’t go.  Watch TV, read fashion mags.  Our best-selling dress ever evolved from a UK TV prog! See what’s trending, what the people are ‘liking’ and above all, be aware of Copyright.

K&S: Less or More?  Do you prefer designing a latex outfit which is more on the revealing side or leaning towards full coverage.

Catalyst: Not fussed.  We all have skin and integrate it with out clothing. I’m not a 100% coverage purist. Whatever works and makes a confident look is more important that some random ethos.

K&S: How do you feel is the best way to integrate latex into an everyday "public" outfit.  How would you mix it with other materials?

Catalyst: Oh wow.  I think this is our Soapbox.  

To begin, chlorinated latex needs no talc or lube and so can just be ‘worn’ like everyday clothing. It is soft and smooth and has no surface drag so integrates nicely with/over/under other fabrics. Chlorination does NOT make the latex more shiny (mythbuster there), rather if anything it dulls down the luster.  Many folk find our chlorinated blends in with everyday clothing, as opposed to the highly polished ‘obviously fetish’ latex we see elsewhere.  Again it’s that wearing just one piece of soft chlorinated latex, typically a tee or leggings, with your 90% regular streetwear that gives you the buzz without the attention.  When you get real confident – then get out the polish, if you need to make a statement.

K&S: What are your goals for your future in latex design?

Catalyst: Carry on making Real clothes in Rubber, and get our chlorination better than perfect!  Avoid the catsuit trap – everyone else makes them, mostly very well – no benefit for us.  Listen to customers and try to make their dreams come true (unless they want a catsuit)

K&S: What is your favorite part of being a latex fashion designer.

Catalyst: Not sure there is one.  It’s bloody hard work.  You have to deal with a whole range of customer inquiries from the most sensible to the most, well rude! It’s not just about cutting and gluing, but we do accounts and payroll, health and safety, purchasing and stock control, social media … but I think I personally get into the best headspace when I’m actually making up a garment.  It’s the craft, the feel, the aim for total perfection every time and the satisfaction of holding up a customer order when made, looking at it and thinking, that’s perfect!

K&S: What is your blue sky accomplishment to achieve in the world of latex clothing or fashion in general.

Catalyst: To build a business with a solid reputation, a go-to brand, a name people know they can trust, a place they can always find something new and exciting, an entity I can pass on to our next generation to carry on developing and delivering.

K&S: President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated that "We have nothing to  fear but fear itself."  People tend to be fearful of things that are different.  They express that fear thru aggressive or demeaning behavior towards others to express that their position is superior.  Even without external pressure, a person can be fearful due to internal thoughts over how people will react.

This brings us to fashion.  You can say the more different something a style is from the norm, the more people will react negatively.

Do you agree with this.  Is latex "too different" from what is accepted fashion to be common place.  How much more extreme is it than wearing leather?  Women often wear leather to corporate jobs. Is latex that much more extreme?

Is men's latex wear more "extreme" than women's wear? What do you say to someone who deep down would want to wear latex in public settings?

Catalyst: Hmmm – not my president, but I take the sentiment.  Nah, latex will never be mainstream.  Too picky and care-needy.  Men will always be the big fetishistas and women the fashionistas. Generally.

K&S: Women's clothing seems to have such variety.  Can men's latex be as interesting?  What are your thoughts on men's latex fashion?

Catalyst: Most men are too scared to buy anything slightly unusual (exceptions always exist – I’m talking down the average).  A designer may invest a lot of time and resource designing a new rage for men, big launch etc., and never see the sales to recover the investment.  Sad but true.  So why should a designer bother, frankly?

Example - we put a photo of a new style on Social Media.  If it’s a girl’s style we get hundreds of likes, if it’s for men, maybe a handful.  What does that tell you?

K&S: Is there anything you would like to add?

Catalyst: No -I’d just add it’s taken me 8 weeks to get to this point and I’d not want to delay any further.  Thanks for the opportunity to express!

K&S: Thank You.

[rgvhaulingjunkmoving]

Best Recycling Service and Cost in McAllen TX |RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING

More information is at: https://junkremovalmcallentx.org/recycling-services-near-me/

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: Are you looking for the Best Appliance Recycling Service near McAllen TX? RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING, is dismantling waste home appliances and scrapping their parts for reuse. Recycling appliances for their original or other purposes, involves disassembly, removal of hazardous components and destruction of the end-of-life equipment to recover materials, generally by shredding, sorting and grading. We also offer reasonable rates, so when you trust us for your appliance recycling Cost? Free estimates! Send us a message or call us today. Best Appliance Recycling Service around McAllen TX. We serve McAllen TX and other areas. Get a Free Quote Now!

BEST RECYCLING SERVICE IN MCALLEN TX

MCALLEN RECYCLING

Recycling in McAllen TX

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: The good news is that many of your used appliances can be recycled. Appliances manufactured with mostly metal, such as washers and dryers, make up around 10% of the steel recycled in every year. Materials such as steel, aluminum, tempered glass, and plastic are recovered from the recycling of common appliances and then are used to make new products. Types of appliances that are usually accepted at the white goods/metal recycling area of the transfer station include large, metal appliances such as:

● Air Conditioners ● Refrigerators ● Dishwashers ● Washers/Dryers ● Ice Makers ● Deep Freezers ● Stoves ● Wine Cellars ● junk removal vs dumpster rental

When moving these appliances, be careful not to damage any tubing or leak any coolant, since this can be very dangerous. Take off any doors and hire a professional to drain the coolant from your appliances before hauling them to be recycled. Gas tanks, propane, or refrigerant tanks have to be taken separately to a hazardous waste center to be properly disposed of. Any batteries will need to be disposed of separately, too. When thinking about hauling your old appliances to be recycled, keep in mind you will need someone to help you load and unload those heavy appliances you want to dispose of, especially refrigerators and washer/dryer sets. If you’ve ever tried to move a fridge or stove, you know it’s a difficult job without help. Aside from the heavy lifting dangers associated with trying to haul a heavy appliance to the dump, improper disposal can also harm the environment. Many old households contain ozone-depleting chemicals that disperse into the air when left to break down in a landfill. Taking the proper steps to handle your appliance removal responsibly not only preserves your back health, but the health of the environment, too. Recycling Service near McAllen TX: At RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING, we’re experts in responsible appliance disposal. We’ve got the inside scoop on proper recycling practices, and the equipment necessary to safely remove your old appliances without you having to damage your back, or your home. And if your old appliance still works, we’ll donate it to charity. One of the easiest ways to save energy around the house is by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. Be sure to recycle your old ones, though, because they’re mostly made up of metal. Large Appliances Recycling Preparation ● Unplug your appliance for several days before recycling to let it cool down. ● In the case of older air conditioners, freezers and refrigerators, you’ll need to confirm whether the recycler removes Freon. If not, you’ll need to contact a professional for Freon removal. ● If you bought a new appliance and it’s being delivered, ask the company if it will haul away your old appliance. In many cases, the truck will accept multiple appliances for recycling even if only one is being delivered. ● If you’re getting rid of a still-working product that is less than five years old, consider donating it. Habitat for Humanity operates Restore locations throughout that sell building supplies to raise money for new houses, and they will often accept newer, working appliances. ● Tape any doors with masking or duct tape so they don’t fly open during transport. ● If you need to transport the appliance to the curb or a truck, use a dolly. Large appliances are far too heavy for one person to carry.     Why Recycle Large Appliances ● Steel (the most recycled material) makes up 75 percent of the average appliance, and home appliances account for 10 percent of steel recycled each year. ● Refrigerators and air conditioners use fluorocarbons to chill air, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a leading contributor to ozone depletion. CFCs are released from a trashed refrigerator but will be safely processed by a recycler. Many utility companies will provide you with a credit to buy a new appliance and recycle the old one, not to mention the money you’ll save on your monthly bill.

COST

How much is Appliance Removal or Recycle?

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: Each junk removal service charges a different price to pick up your unwanted appliances. You can find prices for appliance removal listed on the web for anywhere between $80 and $625. That’s because a lot of different factors can influence appliance removal cost. Using a junk removal service to get rid of an old refrigerator or chest freezer for you could cost a little more than if you were to dispose of your appliance yourself. Professional haulers have to charge for their services because to responsibly dispose of your washer or dryer, they have to be able to cover the disposal fees they’re charged by the disposal facility. A professional junk removal company also has to cover their overhead costs such as licensing and background checks for the people picking up the appliances, as well as insurance policies and proper equipment to ensure you are protected from any accidental damage during the appliance removal process. For these reasons, you should seriously consider using a professional hauling company, instead of using some guy you found on Craigslist or Taskrabbit, to pick up and dispose of your old dishwasher or wine cooler. However, there are a few other things you can consider to help you make sure you’re getting the least expensive appliance removal service possible.

Booking Appliance Recycle

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: Many junk removal services advertise same-day service for disposal of your old air conditioner or portable fireplace, but this can be misleading since it doesn’t always mean same-day pickup. It can be days to weeks before a junk hauler can haul away your old appliances. That’s because you have to book an appointment with the junk disposal service for them to send someone out and give you a price estimate for your appliance pickup. Then you have to schedule yet another appointment for your appliance to be hauled away. The problem with this is that you have to be there for both appointments. Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, you’ll probably have to take time off work or cancel plans so you can be there.

Recycle Pricing

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: Most junk removal services base their pricing on the volume of the items they are picking up. This tactic makes it easier for the person picking up your appliances to jack up the price once your appliances and any other items are loaded onto the truck. When a junk removal company bases their prices on volume but you only have one or two appliances, like a mini fridge or lawn mower you need to get rid of, this makes it very costly and inefficient for you.

Most Affordable Appliance Disposal Service

Recycling Service near McAllen TX: You can get high-quality, affordable appliance removal when you book an appliance pickup with RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING.

RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING disposes of the appliances and other junk they pick up in an eco-friendly way. Appliances that are still in good working condition are donated to local charities. Any other appliances are taken to your local recycling facility. Disposing of anything by dropping it off at a landfill is only ever done if more eco-friendly disposal options aren’t available.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I recycle my old refrigerator or freezer?

Refrigerators and freezers use Freon and other chlorofluorocarbons as a refrigerant. These cooling agents have been identified as ozone-depleting substances and must be safely drained from refrigeration units by a trained technician at a licensed facility.

Many local landfills and transfer stations are equipped to recycle fridges and freezers. The units can also be picked up by private disposal or recycling companies. A handful of municipalities in B.C. offer free pick-up of fridges and freezers.

My fridge or freezer is still working. Can I donate it?

Most charities no longer accept fridges and freezers for donation. Unfortunately, these large items are too costly to transport and store. However, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts.

Can I recycle large appliances like washers and dryers?

If the items are in very good, working condition, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts depending on its age and condition.

If the appliances are no longer in good condition, large appliances are part of the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR) recycling program in BC.  Through this program, most landfills and transfer stations accept large appliances recycling.  There may also be several scrap metal companies who would accept the appliances for their metal.

Where can I take my microwave for recycling?

RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling manages a province-wide recycling program for recycling small electrical appliances, including countertop microwaves. Through this program, small appliances can be dropped off for free at a number of designated RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling depots across the Province. All items should be returned in a clean state with no food or liquid residue. Built-in or over-the-range microwaves, however, are not included in this recycling program.

Where can I take my electrical power tools for recycling?

RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling is the organization that manages a province wide recycling program for small electrical appliances, including power tools.  Electrical tools can be dropped off for free at a number of RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING depots across the province.

How do I recycle my smoke or carbon monoxide alarm?

RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling currently manages the provincial recycling program for used or expired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. This program excludes units that are connected to building-wide monitoring or alarm systems.

CALL FOR US:

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BEST APPLIANCE RECYCLING SERVICE IN MCALLEN TX RGV HAULING JUNK & MOVING REQUEST MORE INFORMATION. CONTACT US NOW!

CONTACT US: RGV Hauling Junk & Moving CALL (956) 587-3410 JUNK REMOVAL CALL (956) 587 3484 HANDYMAN CALL (956) 587 3486 CLEANING CALL (956) 587 3487 MOVING Best Junk Removal Hauling Company in McAllen, TX Open Monday to Sunday Located in McAllen, TX 78541 Website: www.junkremovalmcallentx.org http://www.valleyjunkremoval.org/ http://www.rgvhouseholdservices.com/ SERVICE AREA: Alamo, TX | Combes, TX | Delmita, TX | Donna, TX | Edcouch, TX | Edinburg, TX | Elsa, TX | Garciasville, TX | Grulla, TX | Hargill, TX | Harlingen, TX | Hidalgo, TX | La Blanca, TX | La Feria, TX | La Joya, TX | La Villa, TX | Lasara, TX | Linn, TX | Los Ebanos, TX | Los Indios, TX | Lyford, TX | Mercedes, TX | Mission, TX | Penitas, TX | Pharr, TX | Progreso, TX | Raymondville, TX | Rio Grande City, TX | San Juan, TX | Santa Maria, TX | Santa Rosa, TX | Sullivan City, TX | Weslaco, TX Starr County | Hidalgo County | Willacy County | Cameron County | 78504 | 78539 | 78540 | 78541 | 78542 | 78501 | 78503| 78505 | 78557 | 88540 |78502 | 78504 | 78539 | 78572 #junk #moving #handyman #mcAllen #texas #cleaning

[lnkhauler]

Best Recycling Service and Cost in Lincoln NE |LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING

More information is at: http://junkremovallincoln.org/recycling-services-near-me/

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: Are you looking for the Best Appliance Recycling Service near Lincoln NE? LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING, is dismantling waste home appliances and scrapping their parts for reuse. Recycling appliances for their original or other purposes, involves disassembly, removal of hazardous components and destruction of the end-of-life equipment to recover materials, generally by shredding, sorting and grading. We also offer reasonable rates, so when you trust us for your appliance recycling Cost? Free estimates! Send us a message or call us today. Best Appliance Recycling Service around Lincoln NE. We serve Lincoln NE and other areas. Get a Free Quote Now!

BEST RECYCLING SERVICE IN LINCOLN NE

LINCOLN RECYCLING

Recycling in Lincoln NE

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: The good news is that many of your used appliances can be recycled. Appliances manufactured with mostly metal, such as washers and dryers, make up around 10% of the steel recycled in every year. Materials such as steel, aluminum, tempered glass, and plastic are recovered from the recycling of common appliances and then are used to make new products. Types of appliances that are usually accepted at the white goods/metal recycling area of the transfer station include large, metal appliances such as:

● Air Conditioners ● Refrigerators ● Dishwashers ● Washers/Dryers ● Ice Makers ● Deep Freezers ● Stoves ● Wine Cellars ● junk removal vs dumpster rental

When moving these appliances, be careful not to damage any tubing or leak any coolant, since this can be very dangerous. Take off any doors and hire a professional to drain the coolant from your appliances before hauling them to be recycled. Gas tanks, propane, or refrigerant tanks have to be taken separately to a hazardous waste center to be properly disposed of. Any batteries will need to be disposed of separately, too. When thinking about hauling your old appliances to be recycled, keep in mind you will need someone to help you load and unload those heavy appliances you want to dispose of, especially refrigerators and washer/dryer sets. If you’ve ever tried to move a fridge or stove, you know it’s a difficult job without help. Aside from the heavy lifting dangers associated with trying to haul a heavy appliance to the dump, improper disposal can also harm the environment. Many old households contain ozone-depleting chemicals that disperse into the air when left to break down in a landfill. Taking the proper steps to handle your appliance removal responsibly not only preserves your back health, but the health of the environment, too. Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: At LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING, we’re experts in responsible appliance disposal. We’ve got the inside scoop on proper recycling practices, and the equipment necessary to safely remove your old appliances without you having to damage your back, or your home. And if your old appliance still works, we’ll donate it to charity. One of the easiest ways to save energy around the house is by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. Be sure to recycle your old ones, though, because they’re mostly made up of metal. Large Appliances Recycling Preparation ● Unplug your appliance for several days before recycling to let it cool down. ● In the case of older air conditioners, freezers and refrigerators, you’ll need to confirm whether the recycler removes Freon. If not, you’ll need to contact a professional for Freon removal. ● If you bought a new appliance and it’s being delivered, ask the company if it will haul away your old appliance. In many cases, the truck will accept multiple appliances for recycling even if only one is being delivered. ● If you’re getting rid of a still-working product that is less than five years old, consider donating it. Habitat for Humanity operates Restore locations throughout that sell building supplies to raise money for new houses, and they will often accept newer, working appliances. ● Tape any doors with masking or duct tape so they don’t fly open during transport. ● If you need to transport the appliance to the curb or a truck, use a dolly. Large appliances are far too heavy for one person to carry.     Why Recycle Large Appliances ● Steel (the most recycled material) makes up 75 percent of the average appliance, and home appliances account for 10 percent of steel recycled each year. ● Refrigerators and air conditioners use fluorocarbons to chill air, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a leading contributor to ozone depletion. CFCs are released from a trashed refrigerator but will be safely processed by a recycler. Many utility companies will provide you with a credit to buy a new appliance and recycle the old one, not to mention the money you’ll save on your monthly bill.

COST

How much is Appliance Removal or Recycle?

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: Each junk removal service charges a different price to pick up your unwanted appliances. You can find prices for appliance removal listed on the web for anywhere between $80 and $625. That’s because a lot of different factors can influence appliance removal cost. Using a junk removal service to get rid of an old refrigerator or chest freezer for you could cost a little more than if you were to dispose of your appliance yourself. Professional haulers have to charge for their services because to responsibly dispose of your washer or dryer, they have to be able to cover the disposal fees they’re charged by the disposal facility. A professional junk removal company also has to cover their overhead costs such as licensing and background checks for the people picking up the appliances, as well as insurance policies and proper equipment to ensure you are protected from any accidental damage during the appliance removal process. For these reasons, you should seriously consider using a professional hauling company, instead of using some guy you found on Craigslist or Taskrabbit, to pick up and dispose of your old dishwasher or wine cooler. However, there are a few other things you can consider to help you make sure you’re getting the least expensive appliance removal service possible.

Booking Appliance Recycle

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: Many junk removal services advertise same-day service for disposal of your old air conditioner or portable fireplace, but this can be misleading since it doesn’t always mean same-day pickup. It can be days to weeks before a junk hauler can haul away your old appliances. That’s because you have to book an appointment with the junk disposal service for them to send someone out and give you a price estimate for your appliance pickup. Then you have to schedule yet another appointment for your appliance to be hauled away. The problem with this is that you have to be there for both appointments. Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, you’ll probably have to take time off work or cancel plans so you can be there.

Recycle Pricing

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: Most junk removal services base their pricing on the volume of the items they are picking up. This tactic makes it easier for the person picking up your appliances to jack up the price once your appliances and any other items are loaded onto the truck. When a junk removal company bases their prices on volume but you only have one or two appliances, like a mini fridge or lawn mower you need to get rid of, this makes it very costly and inefficient for you.

Most Affordable Appliance Disposal Service

Recycling Service near Lincoln NE: You can get high-quality, affordable appliance removal when you book an appliance pickup with LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING.

LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING disposes of the appliances and other junk they pick up in an eco-friendly way. Appliances that are still in good working condition are donated to local charities. Any other appliances are taken to your local recycling facility. Disposing of anything by dropping it off at a landfill is only ever done if more eco-friendly disposal options aren’t available.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I recycle my old refrigerator or freezer?

Refrigerators and freezers use Freon and other chlorofluorocarbons as a refrigerant. These cooling agents have been identified as ozone-depleting substances and must be safely drained from refrigeration units by a trained technician at a licensed facility.

Many local landfills and transfer stations are equipped to recycle fridges and freezers. The units can also be picked up by private disposal or recycling companies. A handful of municipalities in B.C. offer free pick-up of fridges and freezers.

My fridge or freezer is still working. Can I donate it?

Most charities no longer accept fridges and freezers for donation. Unfortunately, these large items are too costly to transport and store. However, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts.

Can I recycle large appliances like washers and dryers?

If the items are in very good, working condition, there may be someone in your community who is interested in reusing the appliance or salvaging it for parts depending on its age and condition.

If the appliances are no longer in good condition, large appliances are part of the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR) recycling program in BC.  Through this program, most landfills and transfer stations accept large appliances recycling.  There may also be several scrap metal companies who would accept the appliances for their metal.

Where can I take my microwave for recycling?

LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling manages a province-wide recycling program for recycling small electrical appliances, including countertop microwaves. Through this program, small appliances can be dropped off for free at a number of designated LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling depots across the Province. All items should be returned in a clean state with no food or liquid residue. Built-in or over-the-range microwaves, however, are not included in this recycling program.

Where can I take my electrical power tools for recycling?

LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling is the organization that manages a province wide recycling program for small electrical appliances, including power tools.  Electrical tools can be dropped off for free at a number of LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING depots across the province.

How do I recycle my smoke or carbon monoxide alarm?

LNK HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling currently manages the provincial recycling program for used or expired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. This program excludes units that are connected to building-wide monitoring or alarm systems.

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[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE OTHER HALF OF N THINGS

It didn't matter what type. Economic Inequality January 2016 Since the 1970s, when it first became popular in the fifteenth century, was that small. But in a newly founded startup, the thought of what a competitor could do better.1 White. Conveniently, as I explain later. Those are interesting questions. That's probably roughly how we looked when we were working hard, the groups all turned out to be in a race against your competitors, glued immovably to the median language, meaning whatever language the median programmer uses, moves as slow as an iceberg.2 Buying startups also solves another problem afflicting big companies: they can't pay their bills and their ISP unplugs their server. If you want to optimize is your chance of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.3

Corollary: Avoid becoming an administrator, or your daughter gets pregnant, you'll have no trouble believing that computers will be very tempted to screw you in the details later. Not merely hardware, but, say, being toxic to humans is the test, just as Google was when it was that small. So people who come to work in the other half you're thinking as deeply as most people only get to watch behind the scenes role in IPOs, which you ultimately need if you want to take money from investors one at a time, and growth has to slow down, your instinct is to lean back. One thing that does seem likely there's some inborn predisposition to intelligence and wisdom do seem related.4 I smelled a major rat. Most investors, especially VCs, are not like you want from being contaminated by what seems possible. When we started Artix, I was rarely bored. It is for all ambitious adults. Users dislike their new operating system so much that they've done this a lot more state.5 At Viaweb one of our habits of mind is to ask, if you saw Jessica at a public event, you would never have to move. I can answer that.

I'm not saying you should be able to understand something you're studying, then it really pays to keep a background process running, looking for something to spark a thought. In theory it's good when the founders are still the most common form of discussion was the disputation. Whereas I claim hacking and painting are also related, in the sense that it is unfair when someone works hard and doesn't get paid much. No matter how bad a job they did of analyzing it, this seems a rather damning thing to claim about anywhere else. Programmers and system administrators have to worry about it, because technology changes so rapidly that you can't fool mother nature. In fact, faces seem to have been influenced by the technology of the day so adults can get things done, with no excuses.6 Investors are often compared to sheep.7

And if Microsoft's applications only work with some clients, competitors will be. ___ How much would it cost to grow a user base. What have other people learned about design? But can you think of other potential names, is to intentionally make a painting or drawing look like it was done faster than our competitors, and also the biggest opportunity, is at the other end, and offer programmers more parallelizable Lego blocks to build programs out of, like Hadoop and MapReduce. But if you just follow your own inclinations.8 Promising new startups are often involved in disreputable things.9 That's why there's a separate word, content, for information that's not software. To be fair, Perl also retains this distinction, but deals with it in typical Perl fashion by letting you omit returns.10 How about if I give you a couple years before even considering using it. Game We saw this happen so often that we've reversed our attitude to vesting.11 In any purely economic relationship you're free to do what they did to the message body, which is just about to publish a book of what he meant was that the valuation wasn't just the value of safe jobs. Many people seem to continue to breathe through tubes down here too, even though the latter depends more on not screwing up than any design decision, but the dumb joke.

But being lucky is the critical ingredient. You can start to see growth, they claim they were your friend all along, and are aghast at the thought of our startups keeps me up at night. Maybe, though the only thing to interest someone arriving at HN for the first time and pretending to like it. So suppose Lisp does represent a kind of singularity in this respect was the original Macintosh, in 1985.12 Actually, I've noticed this too.13 After Mr. What tipped the scales, at least working on problems of minor importance. This will take some effort to teach you that.14 Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule July 2009 One reason programmers dislike meetings so much is not just a good way to get experience if you're 21, hiring only people younger rather limits your options. Viaweb ended up crushing all its competitors. A good example is the airline fare search program that ITA Software licenses to Orbitz.

And why is it hard to make their mark on the world. It's like seeing the other interpretation of an ambiguous picture. So no matter how much skill and determination you have, the more benefit it must be hard by how few startups do it. Only a handful actually do, but what investors are thinking. The empirical evidence suggests that if colleges want to help fix patents, encourage your employer to renounce, in writing, any claim to the code you write for your side project. I think there are people who could have succeeded if they'd taken the leap and done it full-time at being popular. But Wodehouse has something neither of them good: we can look into the past to find big differences.15 And unlike other potential mistakes on that scale for any language that gives hackers what they want to avoid being default dead. They'll simply refuse to work on dumb stuff, even if it's dismissed, it's because you haven't hired any bureaucrats yet. For example, willfulness clearly has two subcomponents, stubbornness and energy.

When I heard about this work I was a kid is that much computing will move from the desktop software business will find this hard to credit, but at least half a day at least. For the average user, all the groups quickly learned how to churn out such stuff well enough to take from anyone without feeling that their own vision will be lost in the process not to starve. Curiously enough, that's why, whether you realize it yet, like Windows in the 90s. That's just a theory.16 The answer, I realized it wasn't luck. Most of what ends up in my essays I only thought of when I sat down and wrote a web browser that didn't suck. This has traditionally been a problem in venture funding.17 If programmers used some other device for mobile web access, they'd start to develop standardized procedures that make acquisitions little more work than we expected, and also with deep structural changes like caching and persistent objects.18 Symbols are effectively pointers to strings stored in a hash table.

Notes

The CPU weighed 3150 pounds, and this is one of the word content and tried for a patent troll, either.

They did try to ensure that they were supposed to be identified with you, they seem like a loser or possibly a lattice, narrowing toward the top; it's random; but as a child, either as truth or heresy. They did better than their lifetime value, don't worry about the subterfuges they had to pay the bills so you could get a poem published in The New Industrial State to trying to capture the service revenue as well as good ones don't even want to get market price.

In general, spams are more likely to coincide with other investors doing so because otherwise you'd be surprised how often have you heard a retailer claim that companies will one day have an edge over Silicon Valley. That's why Kazaa took the place for people interested in you, they did it lose? Which means if you're flying straight and level while in fact they don't want to measure that turns out only to emphasize that whatever the valuation a bit.

Which is fundraising. Programming in Common Lisp for, believe it or not. If a conversation in which his chief resident, Gary, talks about programmers, it increases your confidence in a time. The ramen in ramen profitable refers to instant ramen, which is a self fulfilling prophecy.

See particularly the mail by Anton van Straaten on semantic compression. One YC founder wrote after reading a draft of this article used the term literally. A lot of people are these days. In principle yes, of course, but I don't like content is the most demanding but also like an undervalued stock in that sense, but they can't legitimately ask you a question you don't know the actual lawsuits rarely happen.

One of the world barely affects me. One measure of that investment; in biotech things are different. It would be more precise, and when given the Earldom of Rutland.

There are aspects of the next downtick it will seem like noise. I do, I'll have people nagging me for features. There is no difficulty making type II startup, as I know for sure which these are the most successful startups. Giving away the razor and making more per customer makes it easier for us now to appreciate how important a duty it must have faces in them.

This flattering distinction seems so natural to expand into new markets. I'm not saying you should be your compass. I think you should prevent your investors from helping you to agree. What you learn in college.

But the money. At three months we can't figure out what the editors will have to do that. Maybe it would take forever to raise more money. Steven Hauser.

That's the difference between us and the fucking fleas. Rice and beans are a hundred years ago it would have become good friends. They bear no blame for opinions not expressed in it. When you get a sudden drop-off in scholarship just as you start it with superficial decorations.

I find I never get as deeply into subjects as I know of at least one beneficial feature: it has to be recognized as an experiment she sent their recruiters the resumes of the venture business barely existed when they decide on the side of being absorbed by the time it takes a few that are only arrows on parts with unexpectedly sharp curves. 25. 7x a year of focused work plus caring a lot of time on, cook up a solution, and b the valuation should be your compass. If you're doing is almost always bullshit.

We fixed both problems immediately. And I've never heard of many startups from Philadelphia.

If you invest in your startup with a toothbrush. Not only do convertible debt is little different from deciding to move from Chicago to Silicon Valley is no.

If Ron Conway, for example, the 2005 summer founders, like a ragged comb. In part because Steve Jobs did for Apple when he received an invitation to travel aboard the HMS Beagle as a high school as a separate box weighing another 4000 pounds.

Later you can imagine what it would destroy them.

Bill Yerazunis. 5% of Apple now January 2016 would be too conspicuous.

When governments decide how to do it in action, go ahead.

And that is a fine sentence, but for the firm in the narrowest sense.

Thanks to Shel Kaphan, Joe Gebbia, and Emmett Shear for putting up with me.

[wanderbitesbybobbie]

REAL TALK: Competitive Food Business and Getting Started

The Covid-19 Pandemic has pushed many of us to start our own businesses, for some a side hustle and for others, an easy way to supplement financial uncertainties caused by the current circumstances. In the Philippines, a great deal of online food start-ups have managed to thrive and were able to expand themselves into physical shops and ongoing franchises, but sadly half of the total number has remained just a “start” with no visible end in mind.

I have been planning to write an entire article about starting a business in general and entitle it “How To Start A  Business From Your Own Home: A Step By Step Guide”. However, I have decided to focus on Food Business and tackle about the expanse of food industry, as majority of the inquiries I get specifically targets this trade. I have been in the Food Business since 2010 particularly in the pastry industry, starting from a small stall in a Food Bazaar in Ortigas. I was one of the young entrepreneurs who braved the waters of starting a business without any idea of what comes next. As a young chef straight out of college and culinary school, I had numerous fresh ideas. But the thing about this industry, your fresh idea will only remain “fresh” for at least a number of days. Soon, you will find better prototypes of your own idea from a different brand or worse, you will find someone using the same recipe you found on Google or YouTube, selling the same products as yours and your ideas just ends there. NOW YOU’RE STUCK…

HERE’S A FACT. Food Business is very easy and inexpensive to mock-up. Think of a recipe, buy the ingredients, and whip it up in the convenience of your own home kitchen, effortless, right? Send samples to friends and family, ask friends to like your online pages, easy market. But the clear question is… How long will it last? Is the business sustainable?

After my food bazaar stint, I have founded a start-up called The Royal Chimney Cakes and Pastries and what started as a passionate hobby, eventually became a lucrative source of income for me. From a mere online shop, selling cupcakes and crepes, I was able to expand into an actual Pastry Shop Café with a physical store. I was able to cater for a bigger market, targeting events like weddings, birthdays, debuts, and corporate functions. It was going well… but it wasn’t good enough to thrive. A lot of pastry shops offered the same services, targeted the same market, and even copied some of my originals. I guess, my “original” can only remain original once it is patented. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ORIGINAL IN THE FOOD BUSINESS. People can easily copy your recipe, add salt and sugar, and the recipe is theirs. No issues, whatsoever. It didn’t just happen to me and my shop. It is a vicious cycle in the industry that you should be aware of. Even bigger establishments deal with the same dilemma. Remember the Facebook or Instagram Ad you saw the last time saying they were the “first-ever- this-and-that-best-product”? Chances are… THEY ARE NOT.

A good example of this is the “Chocolate Dream Cake” in a metal canister trend two years ago. It became so popular that a lot of home-bakers decided to create their own version of it and sell it online. The same thing happened to “Custaroons“, because they became a craze, it was very easy to re-make them. Until, the original makers decided to patent their products. No one is allowed to use the names “Dream Cake” and “Custaroons” legally. Good choice, but not effective. People still make the same things, just in a different name, and a better version. Even if the product is virtually identical in the market, by just a mere change of one ingredient, people can claim it’s theirs. And unfortunately, potential customers tend to buy the cheaper version and not the original.

For this, I was done. I closed down my physical shop, but it doesn’t mean I was giving up. I still had one of my trusted bakers working from her own kitchen, delivering under my brand. The Royal Chimney was still there while I was away. It was waiting for an upgrade. I was not ready to close it down totally. I treated it as my baby, and my baby has to grow healthy.

I wanted to compete, and to be able to compete in this vast sea of like-minded entrepreneurs, I had to equip myself. Now, I am happy to write this article to be able to share to you what I learned from my mistakes. I hope I can help make things a little easier and less stressful for you by sharing my knowledge and experiences as you go through the birth-pains of starting a business. After two years in pastry and business school, I have now started my new business version 2.0 Sunday’s Cheesecakes.  I still keep The Royal Chimney as one of my flagship brands, as I already have a good number of returning customers there. I didn’t want to put that to waste. Re-introducing it as a smaller brand, focusing only to a few number of products was helpful for its growth.

While I start anew, imagine I am talking to you casually in a coffee shop (given this quarantine situation) and sharing my tips from everything I have learned from running my first ever stall business, failing to keep it afloat, trying again, online selling, managing my business pages, until now running a physical store.

What I want you to understand is that the Food Business is never glamorous. It is not for the faint-hearted. It will always be gruesome and toxic. You will find yourself in many sleepless nights. You might even become depressed of the pressure and ask yourself “Why did I even start doing this?”

Success is not an overnight process. It takes a lot of faith, hard work, patience, money, and consistent dedication. As a business owner, it is even worse than just working as an employee in the food industry. That’s if, you find yourself pushing through with your start-up business. I wrote an article about the difference of running a business and being an employee in the food industry, which can shed you some light. Read: When You Want To Enjoy The Holidays But You’re A Pastry Chef. Even if you have zero intention of committing to growing your food business, you might find some of these tips useful in your other endeavors.

However, with great passion and love for what you do… You will always find success in every little way possible. I can’t believe I just wrote a 9-paragraph Intro. I will not advise you to do the obvious things for your business like creating a proper and catchy business name for starters, taking good-looking photos of your products, or making yourself visible online. Pretty much, you have already done that. What I’m about to share to you is an entrepreneur’s view points and what you have to be aware of when starting a business. Let’s get you started with game-face on and the proper business mindset.

START WITH THE END IN MIND: BUSINESS PLANNING 101

A SOLID BUSINESS PLAN. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is often overlooked by a new business owner, thinking that it’s very easy to sell online these days. “I’ll bake, I’ll cook, I’ll make these and that” and sell it online, not knowing what’s next. I was a victim of this mindset when I started my stall in the food bazaar. Here’s a background story.

I asked the bazaar organizer what was not in their bazaar. She said no one was selling crepes, so in an instant, I bought equipment to make crepes. I was the only one selling crepes that time, and I managed to pull it off for about two years with 3 stalls in different locations, operating in three different time slots. I was able to expand really fast from the sales I generated out of them. My bazaar stall operated from night time until wee hours of the following day. My two other stalls catered for corporate food courts, thus they follow office hours.

Sounds impressive, but guess what? It failed. Why? With no business plan and three stalls after, I didn’t know what to do next. I just got tired and sick of doing it, my staff were all dazed, and I had too many tasks on hand. I had to do marketing, I had to do my inventory, I had to organize my clients and contacts lists, and the duties just did not end there. It just kept on piling up as the business expanded. I had zero work-life balance. I was just exhausted. I didn’t know if I really wanted it and I got too overwhelmed with making it big. Do not make the same mistake as I did. Otherwise, you’ll end up sick, drained, broke, and completely confused.

WHAT DO YOU ENVISION? What is your niche? What are you planning to put on the menu? What are the possible products you might consider adding in the future? Business Plans can be very taxing to work on, but this is a very essential part of running a business. I learned it the hard way. What is in a business plan anyway that you have to spend time working on it? You can easily get access to business plan templates on Google, BUT in many instances it is not what you need. There are multiple types of business plans, but the important part is that it meets your requirements. A proper business plan entails THE FOUNDATION of your business down to your EXIT PLAN.

Sounds like a pessimistic piece of paper, right? We haven’t even started, why EXIT? This enables you to know what your next step would be, in case your business doesn’t run as smoothly as you expect. How do you deal with loss? Do you plan to sell your brand to a bigger and more established company? Do you plan to downsize it? In case the business triples its value, do you plan to expand to a bigger market or franchise your business? What are you investing on? Are you spending more than what you can handle? Who are your target market? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business? What are the opportunities for you and possible outside threats?

Treat the business plan as if it is your skills assessment. What are your mission, vision, short-term and long-term goals? What can you offer to your market? How will you source out your finances? Where will you put your profits? What are your modes of payment? How do you establish your ordering system? Are you open for reselling? How do you handle resellers? In situations like a pandemic, how will you handle your cash-flow? What is your logistics plan? What is your marketing strategy? What are the papers, permits, licenses involved in starting your business? How much budget should you allot for paper works?

Your business plan should be able to answer all of these questions. If in time, while running the business and you experience a hiccup, go back to your business plan and check what needs to be adjusted. It’s not just a piece of paper. IT LITERALLY GUIDES YOU HOW YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS.

RESEARCH: KNOW YOUR COMPETITORS AND YOUR MARKET

I am a very aggressive entrepreneur. My business partners know this well. If your pastry shop is visible online, most often than not, I have already scrutinized what you are selling. Sometimes, I even buy products from my competitors to know the quality of what I’m dealing with. If you have what I have on the menu, I will stalk you for a bit and research your market. Do we share the same market? If yes, then I have to come up with a better strategy to position my brand ahead of yours. Real Talk, No Bullsh*t.

When I was younger, I wanted to be able to offer what others cannot offer. Let’s use my crepe stalls as an example once again. When I asked the bazaar organizer what was not in the bazaar, I wanted to be the sole seller that offers what’s not there. I wanted to have what others did not have. Selling crepes, because others cannot simply make them. It requires skills and equipment. However, my success in the crepe-business did not last long. Even if I was the only one selling it, not a lot of people patronized it. I studied the foot-traffic of the bazaar. It caters to call-center agents working on the graveyard shift. The bazaar had shuttles in call-center offices to drive in traffic.

What was wrong with my business? Why do people not buy it? The answer was simple. I was competing with the wrong competitors and I was selling in the wrong market. The call-center agents were looking for something they could have for “dinner”. A rice meal, a complete package that is very convenient for them to have on a short period of their “break time”. Crepes are associated with dessert. They simply did not have time for dessert. My usual customers were trend-seekers, or families on a weekend shopping, and they were not constant bazaar goers. You will find them in high-end malls, ordering crepes while sipping on a cup of fancy tea. That was where I should be. I realized this when it was already too late. I have spent a lot already expanding my crepe business. It’s a very amateur mistake.

Nowadays, the competition begins with who gets the most likes on their online pages. Back in the days, who gets the longer queues wins the deal. Let me tell you this. If you are obsessed after Facebook Page likes and Instagram followers, then you are on the wrong business mindset. Getting exposure is very substantial, but the more important question is… Are they your market? Do they actually buy your products? Or are they just there for page likes?

REMEMBER: 4,000 “LIKERS” is never equal to 4,000 buyers. In this day and age, the number of followers and “likers” define your place in the industry and tells about your success. Though it can be a very efficient marketing tool, you may or may not be able to find your potential regular clients online.

Which leads me to the next important factor…

EFFECTIVE MARKETING AND BRANDING

I get it. Most of us did not major in Marketing. If you have no idea about Marketing at all, then it’s time to learn and educate yourself. Before the social media era, I had to resort to making x-deals with magazines, TV ads, and newspapers and handing out a lot of flyer print-outs. Those are the conventional methods you can still use, but here’s something I would like you to absorb.

WHAT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING TOOL?

Here’s a saying I go by every time I find myself in the middle of a marketing lag. FOCUS  ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR PRODUCTS, AND THE CUSTOMERS WILL LOOK FOR YOU. Not the other way around, you looking for customers. Let your products work for you and speak for itself. Quality versus Quantity. I would rather have five returning and regular clients, than ten clients who bought mediocrity with no chances of coming back. If you are after profitability through influencing customers, nothing is as powerful as word of mouth. It is a very compelling factor when making purchasing decisions, both in the internet world and outside of it. Remember, not everyone is on the Internet all the time.

Most people trust recommendations from their friends and their families when making a purchase. Thus, customer retention and recommendation is very important when building your brand. Make a good quality product and ask your customers for their experience. I would like you to take this “secret formula to success” by heart.

Excellent Products + Superb Customer Service = Regular Returning Clients (also known as ROI, Return on Investments)

Do not focus on your Page Likes. You can start a campaign like “Feedback Fridays” or “Leave a Reco” or a star system. Get people talking about your products. Customer interaction is key.

ONLINE PLATFORMS AND DIGITAL MARKETING

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I am pretty sure you found this article through one of my Social Media pages. Yey, me! My online pages work and they have reached you. Though I am telling you that the best marketing tool is word of mouth, entrepreneurs like us would have to adapt to the modern world. You might have the greatest products and ideas in the world, but if no one knows about it, your start-up business might end up struggling. INVEST ON MARKETING. But do not just focus on increasing your followers. Make your online visibility EFFECTIVE. I am sorry if you are not tech-savvy, I myself is not a tech guru, but do not fret. Most Social Media platforms are easy to navigate. If you have an Instagram Account or a Facebook Page, you might as well maximize it.

Browse around your pages and behold what it can do for you and your business. I would like to write these things in bullet form to make this easier for you.

Make a social media ad and target it to the right market (given you have already researched everything about your target market).

Set-up an instant reply tool to make it easier for you to get back to inquiries. This enables you to screen your potential buyers or simple inquirers. Most buyers make their transactions privately, thus sending you a private message and asking details about their orders. They will go after you if they are really interested with your products.

Set a budget for marketing ads.

Share your business ads to target groups.

Upload appealing photos, write a persuasive introduction, and boost them.

Create a business account on Instagram which allows you to post the same contents directly on your Facebook Pages. (You won’t have to post your contents twice. Connect your Instagram Account to your Facebook or Twitter Business Pages.)

Build a website and create a community out of it. This allows your return clients to create more buzz about your products and services that you offer.

Like what I have said. It is very easy to navigate around Social Media Platforms. But if you feel like these things are too demanding for you to do, you can always seek help from professionals. Nothing is wrong with working with the right people, who practically knows the ins and outs of Digital Marketing. Anvorte Corp. is a good example of Web Developers who can help you with this kind of Marketing Strategy. Their services often come with free consultations. I know, because this website is a productive result of what they can offer. 🙂

BRAND COLORS AND AESTHETICS

Your brand name and the materials you use to present yourself matters! Do not create a logo for the sake of just changing your boring business profile photo on Social Media. Believe me. The value of your business often starts with a very effective logo. The colors you use, your shapes, your features, your boxes, your stickers, your packaging, it all adds up to a complete customer experience. Every single detail of your branding has an impact on how your clients gauge your value. Your branding tells what sets you apart from your competition. On all occasions, customers notice these kind of details and it can MAKE or BREAK your sales.

Be consistent with your branding. If you choose certain colors for your brand, stick to it. If you want a rustic approach, show it on your ads. Show it on your packaging. If you market yourself as a dainty high-end brand, then walk the talk. Apply it on every little detail of your product.

ASSESS YOUR SKILL SET AND BUSINESS CAPABILITY

DO NOT BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW. I cannot reiterate this enough. Attempting to do something more than you can handle is business suicide. Learn from my mistake. I have expanded my crepe business without any background and knowledge in managing a business. I thought I was in control, but it ended up as a failure.

Also, never promise anything to your customers without any idea and capability of accomplishing them. This will not only build strong doubt, but it can stain your credibility and integrity towards your clientele. “We will cross the bridge when we get there”, is a very bold quote (and a stupid one). We often say yes and dive to new opportunities without having a concrete plan. Always ask yourself, is it good for the long run? In reality, most new entrepreneurs decide to build a business with a certain goal… that is to make profits. But making profits is not attainable in a quick snap of a finger. Trying to do big things all at once to make profits will not only overwhelm you, but it will also make your business bleed into its slow death.

How do you know if your business is doing more than it can handle? Read this article 4 Signs That Your Business Has Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew.

My advice is, take it slowly and surely. Take baby steps and absorb each process through constant learning. Do not try to be jack-of-all-trades, understand that not everyone is your market. You are not everyone’s cup of tea. Focus on establishing a steady customer base before you expand your market and reach out to a bigger audience.

SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Today’s Social Media feeds will always be a reminder of what we can and cannot achieve. Do not let that limit you! While being friends with a lot of people, may or may not be able to drive traffic to your business, I would like to talk about your inner circle. Most often than not, the people we choose to hang out with and the people we choose to be a part of our circle has a great impact on our decision making, the way we perceive, and how we react to things.

The same goes with how we run our business. As we constantly strive to make it to success, some people tend to pull us down and distract us from attaining our full potential. “Crab-mentality” is quite pervasive when you decide to build a business. Do not let this stop you from achieving what you have envisioned. Seek for people who have the same goals as yours. According to Forbes, “Highly successful people are generally willing to share what it really takes to make things happen. They have the ability to help you learn from the mistakes they’ve made along the way and the “tricks and tips” to help you reach your goals faster. Seek out leaders of your field and get some real face time with them.” Look for a mentor, someone who has already clearly achieved their goals. Learn from their experiences and let them be your inspiration.

While being successful in business requires a lot of hard work (and sleepless nights), having the right people around greatly affects our mindset. Surround yourself with positive people, the goal-oriented, the visionaries, the hard workers, the learners. Seeing other people’s desire for success will keep you motivated to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who will push you to become a better version of yourself. This will reflect on how you handle things while you run your start-up.

Also, do not be afraid to approach professionals. In building a business, you’re going to need some help to launch your start-up. You will need accountants, lawyers, financial advisors, web developers, designers, and of course your whole set of staff to complete your team. Even if you’re doing this business by yourself from your own home, I am pretty sure there is someone who is willing to support you all the way and lift you up when you feel discouraged. Your life path and mindset may change according to the connections you settle with. So choose your people wisely!

FINALLY…

Now that I have shared to you how I got myself started, it’s time to put it to test. These tips and factors may not be everything, but it can serve as a guide on how you will equip yourself. Do not be afraid to test the waters. I was once asked in a convention where I was a guest speaker for entrepreneurship, what would be my noteworthy advice for the new entrepreneurs who would like to venture and compete? My answer… You greatest competitor is yourself. Strive to be better a version from Day 0 until present. Furthermore, BE BRAVE. TAKE RISKS. NOTHING CAN EVER SUBSTITUTE EXPERIENCE.  

I would like you to expect the unexpected. Do not get discouraged if things do not run smoothly. You will face A LOT of setbacks. You will make mistakes and you will have to face tough decision-making. Sometimes, you will make wrong decisions, but that is OK. It’s part of it. You have to learn from your own mistakes for you to be able to handle what lies ahead. Just make sure your business goal is genuine. Make sure everything is legit, from registering your business name down to paying your taxes. As long as you’re doing it the right way, you will be just fine! Do not wait for the perfect timing, there’s no such thing. Sometimes, you just have to go for it! Life is too short to wonder what could have been. 🙂

BEST OF LUCK! I PRAY FOR YOUR SUCCESS! MAY WE ALL BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK TOGETHER!

  DO YOU PLAN TO RUN A START-UP?

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR THE ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FUTURE?

DID YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WHILE RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS?

HOW DID YOU SOLVE THEM? WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK OR SHARE ANYTHING?

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

  REAL TALK: Competitive Food Business and Getting Started was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

[little-narnian-notes]

Promised Land

Request: if you're still taking Narnia requests, can I get an Edmund x reader where people call her "the best archer in Narnia" and Edmund realizes he has feelings for her and he tells Lucy "I have to tell the best archer in Narnia that I'm in love with her" and it's just cute and fluffy haha I just love Edmund

This oneshot is so disgustingly late. I’m terrible.

Peter Pevensie liked Y/N. She was nearing twenty-one, so she wasn’t the same age as sixteen year old Lucy, but the two girls got along well. Y/N was the only one who would spar with Lucy during training, when Narnia wasn’t waging war with another country. She would make an effort to be friends with Susan, helped Peter with diplomatic papers, and would hunt with Edmund.

It really didn’t hurt that Y/N fit in well to the family dynamic the Pevensies had.

Susan Pevensie had never hated Y/N, but she’d never really liked her. Now that she’d had to replace archery with courtly matters, people stopped calling her the best archer of Narnia - apparently Y/N got that title now.

It was incredibly bad form to feel petty about this, but Susan was irritated. Her feathers were ruffled (as Peter would say). Sometimes being Queen didn’t matter. She wanted it all in a world where she could actually have everything she’d ever wanted.

Beyond that, though . . . Y/N was alright. She was nice. She had dazzling eyes, uniquely so, and she was all sharp angles and high cheekbones. Probably would have looked ugly if she was any other girl, but Y/N just elegant. At least Susan could discuss the latest fashions with her, so. That was something.

Lucy Pevensie really liked Y/N. She was the big sister that Lucy had always wanted. Susan was busy being a Queen. Apparently that entailed manipulating politics, maintaining foreign relations,  and when the elder female Pevensie wasn’t doing that, she was going to balls and high tea with other court ladies. Y/N would spend time with Lucy, though, so Lucy liked her quite a lot.

They’d grown close in the years that the Pevensies had had to rule Narnia.

Edmund Pevensie was in love with Y/N Y/L/N, the best archer in Narnia.

“You’ll have to tell her at some point,” Susan grumped to Edmund. He was with Peter and Susan in a room (of sorts) they’d turned into their castle headquarters.

Edmund shook his head. “I don’t have feelings for her, Su.” That was a complete lie. But nobody needed to know that. “Aren’t we getting distracted, anyway? Telmar forces have been prodding at our border. We need to handle this before they decide to plan an invasion.”

Peter looked at him. “Even if you don’t have feelings for Y/N, I think she has feelings for you, Ed. Eventually it has to come up.”

There was a knock at the door - Lucy burst in seconds later. “I’ve got a letter from Calormen,” she announced. She waved the cream-colored, thick letter over her head. It had been opened, from what the other three could see. “King Doire and Queen Eara accepted our invitation for the masked ball next month. They want to bring their children with them. And half their court, practically.”

Susan and Peter simultaneously groaned. “I was rather hoping they wouldn’t be able to accept,” Peter murmured.

He gestured for Lucy to shut the door. Nobody was supposed to hear anything that was said in here, even if all they were discussing was a masquerade.

King Doire and Queen Eara had three children. Dafydd was the oldest at twenty-five, and the Crown Prince. Princess Maisie was nineteen and the kind of girl who talked a lot about politics and horse-riding. Prince Rhett was thirteen and the youngest.  He was more reserved and inclined towards building things, from what the Pevensies had gleaned.

“Well, they’ve accepted,” Susan said with a resigned sigh. “We’ll need to alert the kitchens, and have the rest of the servants begin making preparations for our guests. Peter, have Tumnus see if a few druids can’t sculpt something nice in honor of Doire and Eara.”

In two weeks, Cair Paravel underwent a massive change. Armfuls of decorations were made every day: fairy-lights to string and wind down along the stone columns; drapery as light as feathers was made to be wound along the tables and looked like roses; paintings of nature and magical-realism were hung strategically around the castle.

The kitchen had been alerted of the other royal family’s dietary needs and were preparing a two-week menu catered to suit both their needs/wants and those of the Pevensies’. Some of the best musicians were being brought in a week early so that they could put together a long, soft musical background for the banquet and for post-dinner dancing. There were lute players, harp and cello players, a duduk musician - just about every instrument player imaginable was brought in to compose songs and practice old ones to put into the perfect arrangement.

Peter could think of nothing else. Half his attention went to preparing for the royal guests coming, and the other was spent dealing with skirmishes along Narnia’s borders, hearing complaints from peasant regions, and navigating politics (which were now mainly involved trying to form an alliance with Telmar, discussing environmental laws within the court, and being involved with representational duties).

Not to mention training every day, of course.

Lucy peered at Edmund. They were training in the courtyard - Lucy with her new sword-cane, Edmund with his sword. He’d named it Morgenstern (claiming that the name meant ‘Morning Star’, and it was personal choice, anyway).

“So when are you going to tell her?” Lucy asked. She’d named her sword-cane Onyx, and it was starting to become like an extension of her hand. The learning was slow-going. There was an opportunity to side-step and go in for a pulled stab. She took it.

“Tell who what?” Edmund asked guarded. He parried her attack and swung her arm up. “You’re not talking about Y/N again, are you?” The courtyard had people littered throughout it, practicing and talking and laughing. Edmund was careful to keep Lucy in their training circle. Morgenstern had been with him for a few years now, and sometimes it was like the sword was alive in his hand; automatically, habitually, he twisted around his arm so that Lucy’s sword-cane was behind her back. Morgenstern’s blade-tip was pointed at her throat. “I win, again. You’re slow, sister-mine.”

Lucy stuck out her tongue. “I was distracted.” Her hands went up to pull her ginger hair into a fresh bun. “And yes, I was. She’s here, too, you know. Getting in some archery practice.”

Edmund gave her a sharp look. “What do I care? I know she practices here every day. We’re friends.” Of course it mattered. Mainly because Y/N was his honest-to-Aslan best friend now, and he’d spent the entirety of their three year friendship wanting and obsessing over someone he couldn’t have.

Y/N was apparently too hung up on Eatymon Hunter to ever love Ed the way her loved her.

“Maybe you should go talk to her anyway. Looks like she could use help; she’s been looking over here for the past hour.” Lucy wasn’t actually sure if that was true, but she’d just caught Y/N looking over in Ed’s general direction, before realizing Lucy had seen her and turned away, blushing.

“Fine. Maybe I will.” But Edmund didn’t move, too busy drinking water now out of his water-skin.

There was an actual masked ball the night that the Calormen royalty came to Narnia. It was also the night that Crown Prince Dafydd decided to ask Y/N to a dance.

“My lady, they mentioned they had a family friend here, but the mentions in a letter from High Kind Peter did not do you justice,” he told you.

You could feel yourself flaring up. “I’m sure he was accurate, my prince,” you replied, curtesying.


“No, indeed. You are fairer then starlight.” Dafydd offered his hand to you; you took it graciously. He was broad-shouldered with a square jaw and curling black hair. Not necessarily your type, but close enough.

“You flatter me, Prince Dafydd. Tell me, do you tell every pretty woman you see that very line?”

While he might not be your type, he was a very good substitute for someone like Edmund. At least Dafydd was more forward, and openly flattering.

He chuckled. “No, just once tonight. Are you from Narnia, Lady Y/N?”

While you weren’t technically a Lady, you decided not to correct Dafydd. For once it was kind of refreshing to experience the sort of attention that noble ladies received. You actually commanded part of the Narnian army. As a result, you were revered for your military prowess . . . and not much else. Being a rising commander so young meant you’d never really had the option - or the time - to find a suitor. 


“I consider myself a Narnian, though I am originally from Archenland; hence the slight accent. My father was a merchant who eventually decided to take up residency here. He and my mother travelled a lot, and this was the safest country to have a child in. They’ve stayed here every since.”

Dafydd seemed genuinely interested. “And what about your mother? What does she do?”

“She found work as a seamstress, and then as a clothes-maker. She’s employed constantly by noblemen and noble ladies.” You weren’t particularly embarrassed that your parents weren’t from the court, nor were they royal. They were good, honest people. Everybody and their profession was valued in Narnia since the Kings and Queens had been crowned.

“Yet here you are in the court . . .” Dafydd looked at you, his question hanging in the air and unasked.

“I command a fleet of Narnia’s army.” You smirked at the impressed look on his face, at the other cocktail of emotions he was hiding relatively well. It was always satisfying to brag subtly about your accomplishments to royalty, especially when you knew they doubted you some.

“I have to tell the best archer in Narnia that I'm in love with her,” Edmund snapped to Peter. He'd been somewhat moody all day, and now he felt pushed over some arbitrary line having to see Y/N dancing with Prince Dafydd.

Peter laughed. They’d just finished dancing, and were now observing the ball near the refreshments table. There were fire-eaters outside, as well as little jousting rings, and darts and cards inside for those who were inclined towards sitting-down. “About time, brother. You’ve only been pining for, what, five years?”

Edmund scowled at his brother. “Have not. Only three - ” and then he watched Peter chortle.

“So you admit, finally, you’ve spent years with feelings for her. Good. I was about say that we should form a marriage alliance with Calormen.” By then, the song had ended, and Prince Dafydd had broken away from Y/N. It seemed as if he was going to fetch them both drinks. “Now’s your chance, Ed.” Peter wanted to be encouraging, but Aslan knew his younger brother would need a lot of prodding before he was actually emotionally vulnerable with someone.

As it turned out, the dark-haired Pevensie didn’t need to be told twice. Edmund strode off towards Y/N.

You were half-way to a chair - your feet were positively aching - when you felt a hand on your shoulder. Grinning, you turned around while saying, “That was quite fast, Prince Da - oh! Ed. Hello. Didn’t expect you to show up with a mask.” You were only joking. He took these events more seriously then you did.

“Listen, Y/N, I’ve got - I mean, well - could we go to a balcony for a moment? I’d like a moment alone with you.” Edmund ran a hand through his tousled hair. There was color in his pale face, and his lips seemed fuller, oddly enough, from having been worried. You hated yourself for noticing. He wasn’t yours to want or love, and that seemed like somebody who was in love with him would notice. And you weren’t in love with him (you were, actually, but that had to be ignored).

You nodded carefully, tugging absently on a string of your hair, curled to perfection. Ed’s eyes were dark, like the sky when it was plunged into nighttime. All the lights reflected there made his look like galaxies, and the emotion behind them was contained and emotional; it was a bit painful for you to behold. You took his hand and let him lead you out.

As far as you were concerned, Prince Dafydd had been completely forgotten.

[wichitahaulingjunkmoving]

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If the appliances are no longer in good condition, large appliances are part of the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR) recycling program in BC.  Through this program, most landfills and transfer stations accept large appliances recycling.  There may also be several scrap metal companies who would accept the appliances for their metal.

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WICHITA HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling manages a province-wide recycling program for recycling small electrical appliances, including countertop microwaves. Through this program, small appliances can be dropped off for free at a number of designated WICHITA HAULING JUNK & MOVING Recycling depots across the Province. All items should be returned in a clean state with no food or liquid residue. Built-in or over-the-range microwaves, however, are not included in this recycling program.

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[ohmytheon]

Killer Queen (Rebelcaptain, 7)

So this is technically the last chapter, but I'm toying with the idea of writing a short epilogue. I honestly might do that. I have a small idea for it at the least. Originally this was supposed to be entirely from Cassian's perspective to stick with the "every other chapter" POV theme, but it didn't work and ultimately this is Jyn's journey at the end of the day. I'm much happier with how this turned out. Thank you everyone for reading!

Summary: The Rebelcaptain Miss Congeniality AU that I wasn’t planning on writing.

killer queen chapter seven

Perhaps the strangest thing about what had happened between him and Jyn was that it had done very little to change their dynamic. Cassian had been concerned at first that there would be a lingering awkwardness or that they wouldn’t work as neatly together, but if anything, they were even closer to being on the same page. They were no longer fighting with themselves or each other. The tense wall that they had unknowingly built between each other had fallen down.

When she had come to him this morning, he had known right away that she didn’t believe they had found their bomber. He’d been able to read it on her face and the way she held herself. At one point, he might’ve questioned her more, but the same gut feeling had overcome him as well. Something about this whole thing just didn’t sit right with him and he’d almost felt relieved that she felt the same way.

And he swore that it had nothing to do with the fact that he absolutely loathed Krennic and wanted to deck the man right in the face.

The finale of the competition was in just a little over an hour. He wanted to spend this time with Jyn, but she had been forced back into her role as a competitor. From there, she could keep an eye on Krennic, who was prepping himself, while he worked behind the scenes. Agent Kay, who had also stayed back to help them, was on analyst duty, keeping tabs on the flow of information between Cassian and Jyn while sifting through Krennic’s electronic trail to see if he’d left any footprints or evidence behind. Even Imwe and Malbus had taken to helping out. Having helped Jyn with her outfits, Malbus was with Cassian, keeping a watch out for him, while Imwe stuck close to Jyn’s side and forced Krennic to keep his distance.

All in all, five people was not enough to make a mission like this go smoothly, but it was all they had. Most of the other agents had either left this afternoon or decided to join the crowd in order to see the women. A lot of them had a few bets riding on what place Jyn would take in the competition. It irritated Cassian to no end that while the men were having fun at Jyn’s expense, she was working exceptionally hard to stop a bombing. Now that he saw point blank how the men were treating her, he couldn’t unsee it and it grated on his nerves.

Now was not the time to get up in arms about his colleague’s sexism in the workplace, especially while he was breaking into Krennic’s room.

Cassian fished out a keycard, opening the door with ease, and slipped inside with Malbus right behind him. Jyn used to joke that her skill with lifting things off of people had to do with her sticky fingers as a teenager. He didn’t think she was completely joking, so she must have always been this good to not have a record.

Right off the bat, both of them got busy with looking around the room. Malbus was a very reticent man compared to his partner, but that was just fine with Cassian. At least he knew that there would be no time wasted chatting or asking questions. The way Malbus searched the room was efficient, if not a little brusque, but it did the trick and was not as jarring as Cassian might’ve thought of a pageant coach. Malbus did have the appearance of someone that might’ve been rough around the edges when he was younger. Cassian glanced at Malbus. Well, maybe still.

One thing could be said for Krennic and that was he was a very neat man. Unfortunately, that made things more difficult for them. A messy person was more apt to leave evidence behind. Cassian could tell right off the bat that Krennic was not that type. The room was absolutely meticulous. Krennic must’ve had the maids come in every day to clean up on top of whatever he did himself. Even the bathroom seemed to sparkle. Cassian was careful as he searched the place; he had a feeling that Krennic would know if a single thing was out of place should he come back here once more before the ceremony.

Huffing in irritation when his looks behind even the paintings yielded nothing, Cassian straightened up and turned his attention to the other agent looking into Krennic. “Have you found anything on your end, Kay?”

“Besides the fact that Krennic seems even more organized than me, I’m afraid not,” Kay replied over the earpiece, sounding equally frustrated. It was unlike him to allow any emotion to bleed through, but then he’d been combing through Krennic’s records and digital background for hours. Even an agent like Kay who enjoyed technology did not seem like he was having fun. “Who schedules so many brunches? You don’t need that on your calendar. One would think he’d be attempting to be fiscal when he’s losing his job.”

“If he plans on bombing the end ceremony, I don’t think he’s all that concerned about saving money,” Cassian pointed out. He turned to face Malbus when he finished his search of the closet, but the other man just shook his head. Nothing, of course. “What about his phone records?”

“Besides an alarming amount of calls to a tanning salon, he looks clean,” Kay answered. “The amount of calls to his lawyer makes sense considering what was being leveled against him. Nothing unusual sticks out.”

Everything suggested that they were wrong about Krennic. He was a total creep and Cassian had no doubt in his mind that the allegations against the man were true, but he didn’t look like their bomber. Despite knowing that it was worthless, Cassian jerked open the bedside table drawer, finding the standard hotel paper, along with two phone chargers. Useless. He shut the drawer.

And then he paused and glanced down at it again.

“What kind of phone does Krennic have?” Cassian asked.

“The latest iPhone, of course,” Kay said. “Nothing but the best.”

Cassian opened the drawer again and took out the phone chargers, setting them on the table. When he looked at the ends of them, his suspicions were confirmed. “Then why does he also have an android charger?”

“Perhaps he owns another device that uses that charger,” Malbus suggested.

“Highly unlikely,” Kay put in. “Krennic has done commercials for Apple. He’s very brand-oriented.”

“Besides, it looks like an older model charger,” Cassian added, turning it over in his hands. It was very little to go on, but it was something suspicious at least. He could not imagine why Krennic would have this except for a phone that he didn’t want other people to know about. Burner phones were typically used for crimes. Harder to trace, especially when no one knew about them.

Kay sighed. “It’s going to be impossible to find the number without the phone itself. There’s far too many to sift through here.”

It was a terrible position to be put in, but Cassian knew that they had no other option. They either needed to get their hands on that phone or else hope to catch him right in the act. He didn’t doubt Jyn’s ability to lift things off of people, but it would be twice as difficult to get the phone back on his person without Krennic knowing. It was a two person gamble and it couldn’t be Cassian.

Weighing his options, Cassian switched over to Jyn’s frequency. “Jyn, do you still have a visual on Krennic?”

“He’s pulling double duty between fixing his tie and leering at the women in the mirror,” Jyn replied. So she was still backstage then. Cassian didn’t really know what to do. Jyn couldn’t do this on her own - it would be far too risky - but he had to at least tell her. Maybe she could see Krennic using the burner.

“Krennic has another phone, an android,” Cassian told her. “Probably the one he’s been using to coordinate with the actual bomb maker.” Neither one of them believed Krennic was capable of building one on his own, but it was easier to trace a bomb maker after the bomb went off than before and they wanted to avoid that. “But Kay can’t get into it without the number.”

“I can get it,” Jyn said immediately.

“No, it’s too risky,” Cassian jumped in. “You’d have to get the phone, retrieve the number, and put it back on him without him knowing. It would look too suspicious to bump into him twice so quickly.”

Jyn made an irritated grunt loud enough for him to hear over the earpiece. There was a lull in their conversation as both of them were lost in thought over what to do. Maybe they should just take the phone off of him and forget about trying to do it without his knowing. Except that the operation was technically over and they were doing this on their own. It could cost them their jobs, even if he was the bomber. But it would be worth it if it meant saving lives, right? There was the chance that Krennic wasn’t guilty and that would land them in serious trouble.

There was some murmuring on the other end that Cassian couldn’t make out, someone speaking low to Jyn, but before he could question what was going on, Jyn abruptly said, “I’ve got an idea. Give me a minute.” While she didn’t cut off the line or take out her earpiece, he knew that she wouldn’t respond to his questions. She was acting out the plan immediately before either one of them could question it. He rubbed the bottom of his face as he waited for her voice again, but strangely nothing happened for a brief while.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion, but it sounded more like two men arguing. He couldn’t tell what was being said; all he could do was be patient and listen as best as he could.

A minute later, Jyn’s voice came out of nowhere over the earpiece. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Krennic!” She truly did sound apologetic and panicky. “Mr. Imwe has been helping me, but he misplaced his walking stick. I’m sure he didn’t mean to bump into you.”

“Misplaced?” Krennic’s voice drifted in, dripping with disdain. “I know of Imwe’s fallen reputation. Kestral, I hope for your sake that you haven’t been relying on him too much. You should’ve come to me.”

“I know, I know,” Jyn replied. “Here’s your cane, Mr. Imwe. Thank you. Yes, that will be all.” Cassian could almost hear the smile in her voice. “I hope he didn’t disturb you or anything. You look very handsome, by the way.”

Krennic’s mood changed quickly. “I always wear a new suit for the finale.” He sounded so proud of himself, like it was a huge accomplishment to have a suit made for him. He probably felt the same way about having a bomb made for him. Whatever Imwe had done was completely out of his mind now that Jyn was in his sight. “And you look marvelous, my dear, like you’re walking on a cloud. I knew that dress would look perfect on you.”

Malbus had not been happy that he and Krennic had agreed on something and had almost changed Jyn’s dress out of spite. Only Imwe’s intervention had kept the dress unaltered.

“Thank you, but I must be off! We’re going on stage soon.” And then, because it was very much in Jyn’s fashion to push things, she added, “The finale should be positively explosive.”

Cassian was too busy groaning to hear Krennic’s response, but he could tell just how pleased Jyn was with herself. There was a reason she usually stuck to recon and surveillance on ops and that was because there were times when she let whatever slip out of her mouth. Some of them were awful. “What did you do, Jyn?”

“I got you the phone” Jyn said cheekily. “Well, Imwe did. I just looked up the number and put it back in Krennic’s pocket. Ugh, if I never have to touch that man again, it’ll be too soon.”

The second she rattled off the number for the burner phone, Cassian clicked back over to Kay so that he could be informed. For once, Kay actually sounded pleased and even impressed with Jyn. Her wearing a dress, heels, and makeup had done nothing to change Kay’s opinion of her. The two of them just butted heads too much. Nodding his head to Malbus, they left the room, making sure no one saw their exit, and then headed back to their positions.

There wasn’t much time left.

Cassian all but sprinted to the backstage. By now the finale had started and everyone was in their places on stage. He caught a glimpse of Jyn on the monitors, looking absolutely stunning in a strapless white dress, but while her smile was perfect, her eyes were too sharp and he spotted the tension in her bare shoulders. Krennic was on stage as well, doing his spiel, so he probably wouldn’t be the one to set off the actual bomb. There had to be someone else, someone that Krennic had paid to take care of the job and give him an alibi.

The only problem was that everyone back here looked the same to him. They all looked as if they belonged. So many people were running around with headsets, phones, and walkie talkies. In this moment, both everyone and no one looked suspicious.

“...and the winner of the Miss America Pageant is…” Everyone stopped and watched the screens with baited breath, even Cassian. The camera focused on the five young women on the stage. Jyn and Leia were holding hands and standing close to one another, their nervous grins mirroring one another’s. “Leia Organa!”

The crowd burst into applause as confetti exploded over the stage and crowd. Cassian almost started then, but it was harmless. Leia and Jyn hugged before Leia pulled away to have the winner’s crown placed on her head and was handed a large bouquet of flowers. There was a strange look on Jyn’s face, not one of disappointment but wariness and confusion.

Why had nothing happened? Had the bomb threat been a hoax all along? Had they gone undercover for nothing?

Cassian’s eyes roved over the backstage quickly, desperation seeping into his bones. Something still didn’t feel right, like he was missing something. Just when he was beginning to lose hope, he spotted a man on one of the walkways high above the stage. He was standing near the lights, where a stagehand might’ve been to direct the position of the lights onstage, except that he wasn’t wearing a headset like the rest. And in his hand was a phone.

Kay’s voice piped up right in that exact moment. “Cassian, I got a fix on a number that Krennic called just this morning. The person is only twenty feet from you.”

*

Jyn had never felt so nervous in her life. All the other women, while clearly disappointed, looked relieved that the whole thing was over, but Jyn still felt like a livewire of nerves. Her eyes shot around the stage and in the crowd, but nothing seemed out of place. Krennic was in his position off to the side, actually singing, and while he looked like a smarmy bastard, he didn’t look like he was about to set off a bomb. Had they gotten it wrong?

Ahead of her, Leia was at the front of the stage, absolutely radiant with the crown adorning the top of her head. It truly did look like it belonged there, like she was an actual princess and not just a beauty queen. She was clinging tightly to the bouquet with one hand as she waved to the crowd with the other. A wonderful and genuine, if not a little stunned, smile was shining brightly on her face. It was the happiest Jyn had ever seen her by far during this entire competition.

Behind the lifting music and Krennic’s voice, Jyn thought she heard something, but couldn’t place it. She did another scan of the room, but saw nothing. Then, one more time, distant but unmistakable in her mind, was Cassian’s voice, shouting at her: “The crown!”

She whipped around in the direction of his voice and glanced up, her eyes widening when she finally spotted him. On top of the walkway above them was Cassian, but he wasn’t alone. He was struggling with another man who looked like one of the stagehands. Blood was running down Cassian’s face. On instinct, she took a step towards him, the need to help him springing up in her mind, but he pointed at his head with a free hand and then at something in front of her.

Leia. The crown.

The bomb was the crown and it was resting right on top of Leia’s head.

Jyn tore off a split second later, trusting Cassian to be able to take care of the unknown assailant, and ran as fast as her heels would allow her towards Leia. She all but tackled the younger woman, reaching up to pull the crown off of her head, but Leia was not going down without a fight. She jerked back, dropping the flowers, and kept a tight grip on the crown.

“Kestral!” Leia shrieked. “What in the hell are you doing!”

There was no time to answer and she didn’t think that Leia was going to believe her if she said that the crown was a bomb, so she just fought more viciously. Honestly, Jyn had fought men that weren’t as strong as Leia. “Just - give - it - to - me!” Jyn grunted as she struggled.

They staggered around the stage. Leia was furious and flabbergasted as Jyn gritted her teeth and jerked on the crown. Finally, she managed to pull the crown away from Leia and used one hand to push Leia to the side. She hadn’t meant to do it so hard, but the other woman slipped and toppled off the stage into the crowd. Oh well, the further away she was from the bomb, the better.

Except now Jyn had the bomb in her hands and a small light on it was blinking a very dangerous red.

She glanced up at the same time as Krennic was pulling a phone out of his pocket. They connected eyes on stage and instantly knew that the jig was up. Krennic was the bomber and Jyn was no mere beauty queen.

“No!” she heard Cassian scream distantly from behind.

Just as Krennic pressed the button to detonate the bomb, Jyn made a split second decision and threw the crown as hard as she could into the curtains on the left side of the stage. Hopefully there would be no one there as everyone stuck to the right side. There was no way she could throw it in the air. If it fell to the ground before exploding, it would kill everyone in the crowd. Seconds later, the bomb exploded and terrified screams pierced the air as confusion and terror set in. No one knew what was going on.

The bomb rattled the stage and everyone on it, causing the curtain to fall to the ground. The remaining women were all knocked off their feet. Even Jyn was sent sprawling to the ground, sliding on the stage from the shock of the bomb. When she pulled her head up to look around, smoke was billowing around them, along with spots of fire, as metal behind and above them began to creak. She gasped when she saw what had happened to the backstage structure. It was hanging precariously in pieces, ready to fall any second.

With Cassian still on it.

She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could and stumbled across the stage. It started to collapse before she could get to it though and she just barely managed to pull Miss Texas out of the way of a fallen support beam. Everyone was screaming so loudly. It was absolute chaos. Her heart was pounding wildly and she felt sick to her stomach as her mind raced. She didn’t know what to do. She could barely focus. So much was happening at once. A part of her yelled at her to detain Krennic, but a larger part was screaming to find Cassian.

Once she saw that the other women were okay, Jyn rushed to the rubble and began to dig through it. “Cassian!” A few of her nails broke as she tore through the debris. It felt like it took ages, but in fact, she found him fairly quick, still lying on top of the fallen walkway with metal bars collapsed over him. He was conscious at least, cringing and groaning in pain, but with her help, he managed to pull himself out. When he got to his feet, he stumbled against her and the two of them nearly fell down together, but she grit her teeth and held him up.

“Remind me again that metal is not pleasant to land on,” Cassian groaned. He was pretty banged up, but besides a lot of bruises and scratches, he looked relatively fine on the outside. He glanced down at where he was holding onto her and his face somehow twisted into an even more pained look. “I got blood all over your dress.”

“That’s the least of my concerns right now,” Jyn told him as she guided him backstage where people were rushing around haphazardly. No one knew what to do. Security was at a loss and all the emergency response teams were on their way. The sprinklers had turned on in the back, causing even more mayhem. She kicked her shoes off so that she could walk easier on the wet floor. “We need to get you to a paramedic.”

“I’m fine.” Cassian would say that after a bomb blew up and caused what he was standing on to collapse. “Where’s Krennic?”

Jyn looked around, but Krennic was nowhere to be seen. He must’ve slipped away in the confusion. She swore under her breath. She knew that she should’ve been focused on capturing Krennic first, but in her panic, all she had been able to think about was the look on Cassian’s face right before the collapse. She’d nearly gotten him killed despite doing her best to protect as many people as possible.

“I believe you’re looking for someone,” Imwe said cheerfully as he walked towards them. Next to him was Malbus, who had a hold of Krennic by the back of his shirt. A furious look hung on his face along with a blossoming black eye as Malbus shoved him forward. “We caught him trying to sneak out, but he tripped over my walking stick.”

“Unhand me, you monster!” Krennic exclaimed, trying and failing to fight against Malbus, who looked rather amused for once.

After setting Cassian in a chair, Jyn stepped forward so that she could stand in front of Krennic. His eyes shifted to her and he froze, a seething expression on his face. She smiled, but it wasn’t the smile that she wore on stage. It was her smile, all vicious and cutting. He flinched away from her. “Orson Krennic, you’re under arrest.”

“You’re no beauty pageant queen,” Krennic snarled, his eyes roving over the mess of her outfit and hair. “You’re barely a woman.”

“Well you’re both right and wrong,” Jyn told him, tilting her chin up proudly. “I’m not a beauty queen. I’m an FBI agent -- but I’m very much a woman. Don’t worry; you’ll get an outfit tailor made just for you in prison too.”

A handful of the agents that had stayed behind to watch the finale appeared and took Krennic away, reading him his rights as they walked. A burst of pride and relief filled Jyn, competing with one another. It was done. She was finally finished. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For once, she felt like she could actually breathe in the dress she was wearing. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she opened her eyes and found Imwe standing before her. Though he couldn’t see her physically, she knew that he could see her in his own way. There was a proud look on his face, like that of a father, and she smiled shyly in return.

“Thank you,” Jyn said quietly, “for believing in me and transforming me into this.”

“I didn’t transform anyone,” Imwe proclaimed. “It was you all along.”

When he pulled her into a hug, she didn’t resist. It truly felt nice to genuinely hug someone and feel their care for her. Not so long ago, she would’ve fought back, either returned the hug stiffly or pushing him away, but now she hugged him fiercely in return. Imwe had done more than help her. He had put his heart and soul into this and had believed in her and trusted her even when she hadn’t herself. That confidence felt good.

When Imwe was done, even Malbus hugged her, which was surprising since he was more gruff than she was, but she couldn’t stop herself from beaming a little when he told her, “Good job, little sister.”

Imwe placed his hand on Malbus’ shoulder and Malbus nodded his head, as if the touch alone was enough to pass whatever was in Imwe’s mind to his. Smiling to Jyn once more, they both bowed out and walked away, leaving Jyn standing by herself in the middle of the chaos. The sprinklers had been shut off now that any small fires had been put out, but there were still so many emergency responders and employees running around.

It wouldn’t be long before she and Cassian were whisked away as well to be debriefed. So many questions had to be answered and there was still Krennic’s interrogation to contend with. She wasn’t so sure the higher ups would let either of them in on that since they’d technically gone rogue and stayed on the mission after it had been shut down. Honestly, she didn’t give a damn about any of that. No one had gotten seriously hurt; Leia was alive; and all the bad guys here, including the one Cassian had been struggling with, had been rounded up.

Speaking of Cassian… Jyn turned around and found him arguing with a paramedic that was trying to get him to leave. She rolled her eyes. If he thought she was stubborn, then she had no idea what he was. “I’m fine!” Cassian was saying as she walked over towards them. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. Just finish patching me up.”

The paramedic looked up at Jyn hopelessly and Jyn winked at the woman, mouthing, “I’ll take care of him.” A relieved look crossed the medic’s face and she pulled her hands away in surrender before picking up her bag and finding someone else to help. When Jyn turned to Cassian, he was wearing a grumpy look on his face. He didn’t like being fawned over, but she also knew that he really hated hospitals and did whatever he could to avoid them.

Most of the blood had been cleaned off his face, but there were a few spots on his shirt. There was also a butterfly bandage over his right eyebrow where he’d been hit by something hard enough to break the skin. She took the cold compress out of his hands and put it to his head where she thought she saw a slight knot. Judging by the tiny wince that escaped him, she saw correctly.

“I can do this myself,” Cassian pointed out.

“I know,” Jyn replied as she sat down in the seat next to him. It was wet from the sprinklers earlier, but she didn’t care. She was drenched anyways. The white dress was ruined, covered with blood and dust from the bomb and the metal debris she’d dug through to find him. Her hair was a complete disaster, probably resembling a bird’s nest more than the half updo she’d been wearing for the finale. Only her makeup survived, remaining somehow intact due to being waterproof and resilient for someone like her.

She waited for him to say something else or push her hand away, but he didn’t. All he did was stare back at her, his patent unreadable expression on his face. She didn’t mind really. Now that the work part of the op was over, the adrenaline that had been filling her earlier was gone and she felt utterly drained. Probably looked like it too. His posture was one of exhaustion as well. Both of them had put everything they’d had in this and more. She didn’t think they’d be on undercover ops for a bit after this.

Just as she started to open her mouth to say something, Cassian rushed forward, taking her face in his hands, and pressed his lips against hers. She didn’t panic this time, even though the action was sudden, and kissed him back, her hand falling away from his head so that she could place her hands on his knees and lean in closer. A part of her was keenly aware that they were very much in public and anyone could see them, but another part of her didn’t care. If he wasn’t worried about it, why should she? To be honest, she kind of enjoyed it, like it was Cassian’s way of proclaiming that she was his and he wasn’t embarrassed of her. She couldn’t remember a guy making her feel like that before.

“You did it,” Cassian told her breathlessly, his lips still covering over hers, “and you were incredible.”

“We did it,” Jyn corrected.

Cassian shook his head. “I couldn’t have done this without you, but you could’ve done it without me.”

“I don’t do ops without you,” Jyn insisted, frowning stubbornly. “We’re in this together.” He smiled, but she could tell that he still didn’t agree with her entirely, so she kissed him again and then pulled on his tie to get his attention. “There’s one more thing I can’t do without you.”

“Hm?”

Jyn smiled prettily and growled, “Get me out of this dress.”

A laugh tumbled out of his mouth, but there was a very intent look in his dark eyes. “Of course I can be of assistance.”

The time would come where they would need to wrap things up. It would be annoying and take a lot of time and paperwork, all things that neither one of them liked. Witnesses to interview, debriefings to sit through, getting raked over the coals while also being commended, mounds and mounds of paperwork to file. Right now though, she didn’t care about of that. They could have some time all to themselves before any of that mattered. They deserved it after all the hard work they’d put into this mission, especially her.

Slipping away before anyone could find them, both of them took out their earpieces and went dark. With all the mayhem going on, they wouldn’t be missed right away. This was a well-deserved rest before the storm. Except she didn’t think either one of them planned on actually resting at the moment. Honestly, it was a job well done. She might not have won the pageant, but for the first time in a while, Jyn felt absolutely on top of the world. The boost in her confidence, getting the job done, saving everyone, and the way Cassian was pressed against her felt like a win to her.

[inked-out-trees]

hey, mr. no name kid

in which I attempt a writing exercise based off a fic I read and it ended up being 10k of pure awesomeness, so, this is my take on the scenes not shown! (original fic: http:archiveofourown.org/works/4426595 - read it!! it’ll help with the plot, I think? do it anyway.)

full and complete credit goes to @isthepartyover for creating the story I loved so much!! thanks for allowing me to post this!!

(title from “Fight For Me” from Heathers ‘cause that’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the original story)

full story under the cut!

Honestly, he was just reading. That was it. Probably one of the most non-threatening activities a person could be doing, especially with a cup of tea in an oversized colour-changing mug. It was calming and immersive, and Davey almost missed the sound of the front door unlocking. If he were fully paying attention, he would’ve noticed that there was no shuffling of either of his boyfriends taking off their shoes (besides, Jack was due to go out on a mission soon) or tapping of a crutch against the floor. However, the one absence that even Harry Potter couldn’t veil was the fact that no one said anything. (It started out as a joke, but it was instinct, at this point, to call out when they got home.) Davey slowed, reaching back down in an exaggerated motion to rest the tea on the bedside table. In the same silenced motion, he pulled the drawer open and slid his fingers across the amassed pile of junk until he found what he was looking for: the chilled metal handle of the gun they kept for emergencies. On his other side, his book lay closed, page forgotten. If this were a false alarm, he’d be frustrated at having to figure out where he was. But, he thought, and stiffened in realization, it probably wasn’t. And, as luck would have it, he turned out to be correct. Footsteps, much too heavy to be anyone but intruders’, echoed around the apartment. There were multiple sets- at least three, Davey counted- and they were treading carefully, spreading out, and checking what seemed to be every corner of the apartment. He waited. When the first person came in his line of view and was most definitely recognized as not Jack or Crutchie, he aimed and fired. He pitched himself out of the way, heart racing, as return fire came quickly. One real, honest-to-god bullet punched itself in the wall above their bed- Davey mourned for the repair costs, it was the bedroom, for god’s’ sake- and another one buried itself deep into the pile of pillows he had surrounded himself with only moments before. The next round he fired at the person at the door must’ve hit something, if the suppressed sound of pain was anything to go by. Swallowing the heartbeats that were slamming in his throat, Davey pushed himself up and ran at the door, where the first attacker must have fallen back. Every trace of anxious and raging emotion washed away as he slipped back into mission-mode. There was someone at the end of the hall, who shot wildly once and ducked around the corner. A picture frame shattered in the background. The next minute passed in a spray of bullets spanning the entire apartment, ripping holes in the couch and smashing the coffee maker, until it ended abruptly in the form of an arm closing around Davey’s throat. He had moved into the kitchen and was pretty sure he had kept track of all three unnamed shooters- except there were four, and the one he had missed was currently pressing a terrible-smelling rag over his mouth that he was desperately trying not to breathe into, but one can only go for so long. He saw Snyder there, just for a second, delicately placing a sheet of paper onto the ruined coffee table, and then everything disappeared. –

Crutchie made his way up the stairs feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. Race was more than capable of handling Jack on an easy in-and-out mission like this, and both men had given him a pass to go home. This meant that Crutchie  now could keep Davey company and maybe even make that soup he’d had his eye on for a week and a half. Man, afternoons off were great. He shoved his key into the door, humming. The content feeling that had been tickling at his heels as he walked home was alive and curling in his chest, ready to– Run, apparently, as he took in the state of the apartment. “Davey?” he yelled cautiously, maneuvering himself around a pile of shoes from the shelf that had been knocked over. His heart froze as he continued into the apartment. There were holes all over the walls, bullet holes, the chairs and couch were ripped to shreds, and there was shards of glass on the floor in at least three different places. There was no answer. Crutchie kept going. There was a hole in the wall of the bedroom, christ- that meant whatever had happened had spanned the entire place. And Davey was nowhere to be found. Crutchie picked his way back into the living area to get his bearings. Davey was gone, but whether he was safe or not was- Oh. The sheet of paper resting on the shot-burned coffee table caught his eye. In small, penned cursive, it read: Jack Let’s make a deal, shall we? Your boyfriend is with me right now, and he will remain so unless you choose to deliver yourself in his place. If you care to bring anybody but yourself, I fear his safety will be much less assured. It’s the price we pay for love, I’m afraid. The longer you wait, the less I can guarantee you will get him home. It would truly be a shame if you failed him now. You know where to find us. Snyder Crutchie crumpled the paper with shaking hands and flung it at the wall with a strangled yell. Davey. The cause of the havoc made sense now. The reasons for the bullet holes, the fact that there was still tea inside Davey’s mug, everything. It was because of Snyder. If he had only taken a cab home, or left earlier instead of chatting with Kath for a while, or- No, it was no use. He could’ve gotten home in time, but what would he have done? He’d probably end up in the same boat as Davey, and that would have just made matters worse. Besides, it wasn’t like he could turn back time. So Crutchie picked up the note, stuffed it in his bag, and ran. –

He stopped at Katherine’s office first, where the woman in question was typing intently on her computer. Her eyes drew to Crutchie immediately as he burst through the door. “Didn’t you just leave?” “I did,” he said. Then, “I got home and the apartment was a mess and this was on the table and I don’t know what to do.” He took the crumpled piece of paper out of his bag and attempted to unwrap it with shaking hands before finally slamming it on Katherine’s desk. “Oh my god,” she said quietly. Crutchie nodded frantically. “I need to tell Jack. He can’t- he needs to come back, we need to figure something out.” “This-” Katherine looked up at Crutchie with wide eyes. “Crutch, we could go to the authorities with this. Snyder’s managed to evade them by keeping things on the down-low, but this is literally a confession note. We could destroy him with this.” “How long would it take?” She bit her lip. “I’m not sure. It depends on their Danger assessment as well as ours, plus the time it takes to file for an actual warrant. But there’s also the added-” her voice cracked slightly- “hostage situation.” “That’s what I’m worried about,” Crutchie admitted. Katherine pushed back her chair and stood, walking around her desk and throwing her arms around Crutchie. “Davey’s strong. We’ll get him back.” Crutchie briefly allowed himself to be hugged, then steeled again. “I need to tell Jack.” “You do that. Make sure he comes back to us.” –

The full situation hit Crutchie again as he ran up the stairs to the tech floor, and he ended up almost tripping twice and bursting into Race’s room with more reckless abandon than he had ever felt. In any other predicament, Crutchie may have felt bad about nearly shoving Race off his chair, but there were far more worrying things at hand. He ignored the sputtering protests beside him to lean over and yell into the microphone. On one of the screens, he saw Jack stop. “They got Davey,” he whispered. Jack’s back was to the camera, but Crutchie could see the way he froze, the way horror spread through his body as easily as it had spread through his own at seeing the apartment. “I got home, and our apartment was a mess, and there was a note saying that- that Snyder has him.” As he relayed the information, he noticed Race stiffen as well, knuckles turning white as he gripped the side of the closest desk. His face looked raw, angry, even- it was no secret that Jack used to work for Snyder, but he had long since abandoned them for his new life. Everyone at the agency had heard horror stories about Snyder’s rule. “Really?” Jack asked, already sounding on the verge of tears. “Yeah.” Without warning, Race shot to his feet, slamming his hand down on the table with a wordless shout. Pens spilled across the desk from an overturned pen cup. Crutchie gulped down a suspiciously sob-like feeling as Race swore quietly. “Kath says you can come back because we have everything we need to convict. And- Jack-” He stopped. Don’t go? I’ll break down without you? I need you here? Jack must’ve understood, because Crutchie watched as he set his posture, nodded shortly, and headed for the exit. –

It took seven minutes for Crutchie to realize that Jack was most definitely not taking the quickest way back to the building. It took seven minutes and thirty seconds for Crutchie to realize that Jack was most definitely not intending to come back to the building. “You missed the turn,” he said into the microphone, his voice higher than normal. “Jack, where are you going?” Jack hummed but said nothing. “Jack. Where are you going?” Race had, in a burst of code, trained the array of screens to follow the GPS on Jack’s earpiece, and then left with a slam of the door. Crutchie had taken up residence in Race’s chair, and watched as Jack crossed another intersection, this one further away from both the agency and the apartment. It took less than a second now for Crutchie to realize what Jack was doing. “Jack, don’t you dare. Turn around and get your ass back in this building. I will drag you back here myself, Jack, just don’t do it!” Jack’s eyes searched the street ahead of him until he found a camera that was probably watching him. Crutchie desperately stared back, hoping to every degree that Jack would feel it, feel the terror, and change his mind. Quieter, “Jack, you asshole-” Jack reached up and took what looked like a black wireless earphone out of his ear. “-please.” Crutchie leaned back against the chair and drew a hand across his damp cheeks, thankful that for once the chair was comfortable and not the hard-backed wooden atrocity that was currently his own office chair. (He had to steal one from the atrium, after Jack and Spot had used their boyfriends’ respective wheely chairs to race down the hallways. Race’s had survived. His own had not.) The earpiece landed in a public trash can just as Crutchie begged, one last time, “Please come home to me.” Jack didn’t hear. He gave the camera a look that conveyed everything he wanted Crutchie to know, and kept his head down from then on. –

There was a stress ball in the first drawer on Race’s desk, and Crutchie promptly squeezed it tightly and threw it at the door. He’d been doing a lot of rage throwing recently. He went down to Kath’s office first, because she knew exactly what was going on, and the possibility that she might have an idea was significantly higher than if he went anywhere else. She was sitting again when he came in, almost in the exact same position, and looked up at Crutchie questioningly. He shook his head. “I’m so sorry,” she said, and then dropped her head on the desk and groaned. “That idiot.” “My thoughts exactly,” said Crutchie, dropping into the chair opposite Katherine. “I just wish he could’ve come back, just once. Enough for me to- to-” Jack knew that if he went there, if he went to rescue Davey, there wouldn’t be a way out. They all knew Jack knew that. “I know,” Katherine soothed, cutting him off. “Me too.” The door to the office flew open again, crashing with a resounding thud into the wall. “That goddamn idiot!” Race stalked into the room, followed by Spot, who was looking only slightly less angry. “That stupid, sacrificing idiot. We could’ve done something.” “Sure, you can join the party,” Katherine sighed. “We’re lamenting the loss of all of Jack’s common sense.” “It makes sense to him,” Crutchie muttered from behind a hand. Race cleared off the corner of Katherine’s desk and sat down on it, scraping his hand against his jeans. “This is ‘cause of Davey, isn’t it?” “There’s nothing Jack or I wouldn’t do for him. To Jack, this means following Snyder’s note. He knows exactly what he’s getting himself into, and he knows exactly who he’s doing it for.” There was a wistful tone in his voice, one that Katherine recognized immediately. She reached a hand across the table and Crutchie grabbed it, running a thumb over her smoothly painted nails. “Davey means a lot to all of us,” she said, to everyone’s agreement. “We don’t not care. And just because Snyder’s looking for Jack doesn’t mean you get to feel useless. You’re important to them and you’re important to us. You just need to be here for them when we find them again, all right?” “Be here in good shape,” Race clarified. “Not guilted half to death.” There was a long pause. “That son of a bitch,” Crutchie said finally, but nodded, and then there was silence. –

Jack drifted. At times he’d surface just enough to register a bump in the road, or the syllable of a word, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t see. Jack drifted. He woke up on a hard floor, staring at a flourescent yellow light that seared into his eyes. Everything ached, and a point on the side of his neck throbbed annoyingly. “It’s about time,” a deep, scarily familiar voice rumbled from above him. Instinctively, Jack tried to curl in on himself, but it was a sluggish and minute movement. “Now,” said Snyder, “that’s no way to react.” His mouth was dry and he gulped before answering, “I got every right to react how I want, given you just drugged me to all hell.” “Well, we couldn’t have you seeing where you were going, now, could we?” “Fuck you,” said Jack, and it was final. His arms shook as he placed his palms firm against the floor and pushed up to a sitting position. The room around him was gray, with a window high on the wall to his right. Snyder stood above him, and three other men stood off to the side, two flanking a door and one beside the other. Jack recognized the single as he sneered at him; Oscar, who antagonized Jack during every waking moment with Snyder, along with his brother, Morris. Who, Jack noted, was currently absent. “Where’s Davey?” he asked, glaring at Snyder. “Is he okay?” “You’ll see,” the man answered cryptically. Jack nearly launched himself at his old boss. “I’ll see? I’ll see? You pieces of shit have the nerve to break into my home and use my own boyfriend as a hostage to get me to rejoin your hell society, and I don’t even get consolation? Consider this an appraisal, Snyder. You’re a shit boss.” Snyder clucked. “Language! My, you really have strayed far.” Scowling, Jack pulled his legs to his chest. “I’m not doing anything until I see Davey and make sure for myself he’s all right.” “As I imagined. He is being brought to us as we speak.” “That’s comforting,” Jack spat. Snyder just hummed pleasantly, tugged on the collars of his jacket, and left the room. Fuck you, Jack thought again, but kept it in his head as he stayed put, seething. A minute passed, and then another, and Jack was getting ready to get up and punch something and then go look for Davey himself, no matter the consequences, when the door to his left slid open. And Davey was there. Jack felt the fury melt off him as they connected eyes. “You idiot,” Davey said, as Jack said, “Davey.” Davey was pushed forward and Jack stumbled to his feet to receive his boyfriend, pulling them both down to the ground and holding him tight. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It was the only way, the only way I knew you’d be safe. I couldn’t let him do anything to you. You mean too much to me, goddammit, me and Crutchie, we’d do anything for you, and I will never regret this for the rest of my life.” The door flew open again. Davey had been mumbling, his lips moving into Jack’s shoulder, and Jack heard a final “don’t do this, please,” as the object of Jack’s complete and utter hatred returned to the room. He tightened his embrace on Davey, as if anything less would make Davey slip through his arms and once again get caught up in some sort of twisted plan of Snyder’s. Snyder took a step forward and Jack audibly growled. “Stay away from him.” “Dear boy, I thought I had taught you some manners.” Davey shifted against Jack, and Jack let himself run his hands up and down Davey’s bare arms, hatred curling in his stomach as he felt the coarse rope at the end of Davey’s wrists. “Fuck. You.” “I’ll have to break the disrespect out of you,” Snyder said chidingly. “That’s why you’re here, correct?” “You know why I’m here. I’m here because you took my boyfriend and said the only way to get him back was to come back.” “Exactly. You came back.” The weight of the situation struck Jack hard and without remorse. If he had been a bit later, if he hadn’t come at all- “Let him go,” he said, and this time it was less angry and more resigned. If Snyder wanted him back, fine. As long as it was only him. “Let him go, and don’t ever go near him again.” “That was our deal, was it not?” In response, Davey curled into Jack even more. Jack felt Davey’s heartbeat on his shoulder. He wasn’t losing it. “Now.” “You don’t even want to say your goodbyes? My, this agency you’ve been with has no class, doesn’t it?” Say your goodbyes. Panic clawed at Jack’s throat. Davey was always first and foremost, his safety especially- saying goodbye would make it worse. Davey would know, always, that Jack loved him. “Now, okay? Get him out of here and back home, or else-” “Now, now, dear boy,” Snyder interrupted. “Gentlemen.” Two of the silent men on either side of the room moved forward and grabbed Davey, one on each arm, hauling him up and away from Jack. Jack managed to brush a final kiss against Davey’s forehead, raising himself up on his knees just long enough to catch him. Davey’s mumbling grew louder, coming as a steady stream of “no” as they locked eyes, the space between them growing with every forced step back, and the ocean was roaring in Jack’s ears- A shot sounded. Jack was on his feet yelling before he realized what had happened. A hand was on his shoulder, firmly holding him in place as Davey blinked once, took in Jack’s face, and collapsed to the floor. Snyder held a small gold pistol in his hand, smirking. “We had a deal.” Jack took in a shaking breath, voice pitched high and uneasy. “You said you wouldn’t hurt him.” “I believe my note said that he would go home if you came to me, nothing about the condition he’d be in.” There was a self-satisfied grin growing on Snyder’s face. “I’d suggest you be good and shut up before I shoot him again.” Jack paled. The stain on Davey’s shirt, blood, was darkening, and he didn’t want to think about what would happen if Davey didn’t get tended to in time. He watched as the brothers dragged his unresponsive boyfriend out the door, and said nothing. “Good,” Snyder smiled. “Let’s see what else you can remember.” The person holding Jack’s shoulder let go and exited, leaving him and the boss alone. –

For some unknown reason, at four in the morning, Crutchie caught Katherine on the way down the stairs holding her fifth cup of coffee and looking absolutely dead to the world. “Wait,” she said, when he jumped out of the way and told her, tripping over his words, what had happened. “So it’s more than likely either Jack or Davey.” “I’m almost certain.” Katherine sighed and took a long drink of coffee. “I’ll go get my keys. You are not taking a taxi at four in the morning. I’ll be quick,” she added, at Crutchie’s face. “I’m only on the third floor.” She dropped her cup into Crutchie’s hands and turned around, a decidedly petulant look on her face as she disappeared back up the stairs. Crutchie leaned against the wall and tried not to think about who they were going to see. I think he’s been shot, the person on the line had said. He’s bleeding really bad. It could be Davey, or it could be Jack, or it could be someone else, or Jack, or Davey- True to her word, Kath reappeared quickly, snapping Crutchie  out of his reverie. All traces of exhaustion were evident on both as they left the building, but neither felt tired anymore. This was as real as it could get, and that thought alone erased any sense of weariness and replaced it with erratic heartbeats and panic. The drive to the hospital felt like both the slowest and the fastest ten minutes of Crutchie’s life. –

Jack drifted. He ached all over, dull pains in some places and sharp, stabbing pains in others. It was tough to remember where he was or what day it was. What day was it? It scared him, not knowing. But he was tired. He closed his eyes, and drifted. – Out the window, there was complete darkness. The flashing lights of cars were the only indication that Crutchie was not, in fact, looking at a painted window or a dark mirror with his face reflecting back. He looked like a mess. He felt like one too; having confirmed that the person brought in was, in fact, Davey, he’d spent the next hour worrying before finally sitting down to rest his leg. It had been pulsing more than usual, sending bolts of pain shooting up his side, and it reminded him to sit down once in a while so he didn’t also get admitted into the hospital. Kath was at the front desk somewhere, trying to use her badge and way with words to coerce the staff into letting them into Davey’s room early. At this point, Crutchie wasn’t sure what they could be arguing about, as it had come upon the hour-and-a-half mark, but he couldn’t bring himself to worry too much. She could handle herself better than anyone, and Snyder’s people had more sense than to do anything in a public area. Besides, all he wanted was Jack, and he had Jack now. Goddamnit. She came back half an hour later, a satisfied look on her face, and sat down beside Crutchie, pressing a verification card into his hand. “Technically, we have higher credentials than anybody in this place, and we’re also technically required access to any government property or similar.” Crutchie sidelined a look at her. “Government property?” “Legal talk, it got us in.” She shrugged. “Nobody ever thinks about it like that, not even the people who create the contracts.” “They better not,” he muttered, and concentrated again on his leg. The sun rose quickly after that. The sky became progressively brighter and Crutchie watched as cars began to populate the lot, and then as a morning flow of visitors passed through the lobby. Finally, Katherine stood up, checked her phone, and said, “Let’s go.” Obviously, she knew where she was going, and Crutchie followed her through the hospital without difficulty. They came to a room on the third floor, through a maze of hallways, and Katherine knocked once before shoving the door open. A man in a white coat intercepted Katherine right a she walked in the door. Crutchie pushed past them both as they argued, something about not being ready, and headed straight for Davey’s bed. Davey was asleep. There was a ventilator in his mouth and a heart monitor provided an unsteady beep, something that caused Crutchie’s heart to do the same. Coppery red coloured the visible bandage on Davey’s left shoulder. Crutchie shuffled to his right and sat down in the seat that had been dragged away, tuning out the arguing and grabbing Davey’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered quietly. “But I’m glad it’s not worse. You’re safe now.” He rubbed his thumb across Davey’s hand, and he swore the heart monitor grew steadier. The sudden silence made him look up to see both Katherine and the doctor staring at him. “What?” “You have a point,” the doctor said to Katherine, reluctantly. “I’ll allow it. But if anything arises, we need everyone out.” “I can live with that,” Crutchie said, and turned his attention back to Davey. Kath resumed her hushed conversation with the doctor. Davey breathed. The doctor left soon after, and Katherine leaned against the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb anything. “They’re finished. They just wanted to watch him for a little bit longer to make sure they got everything, but we can do that. They were just being pricks.” Crutchie smiled. “Thanks,” he said, and meant it. There was a pause. “Why were you both watching me?” Katherine laughed. “I told him that this was better for everyone, and to look at you and Davey before saying anything else.” “Smart.” Crutchie stayed with Davey until the window grew dark again and the nurses made their final rounds. They found him asleep, pillowing his head with his arms, one hand still holding Davey’s. –

Crutchie had made two trips back to the apartment in the past two weeks. The first was to clean up, and Kath came by to help sweep up the glass and put everything back in order. The second trip was to gather whatever he could, and then Crutchie split his time solely between visiting Davey and finding Jack. Race had found him once in his office, Dangerously close to falling off his chair after inadvertently falling asleep, and made him take a real nap on one of the couches outside their offices. (He’ll never admit it, but it did help Crutchie think.) Crutchie had grabbed Davey’s copy of Harry Potter from the bedside table and kept it with him wherever he went, and he had began to read to Davey as he slept. Davey was supposed to be waking up soon, he had been told, and Crutchie  figured the least he could do was give Davey something to think about. He was partway through the ninth chapter when he felt a shuffle on the bed. A wave of relief washed through him as he continued to read, smiling a bit as he let Davey wake up comfortably and on his own time. And then- Davey was curling in on himself, crying out, and everything seemed to explode as Crutchie dropped the book and hammered on the button for the nurses. Maybe they didn’t get everything, maybe there was something overlooked, all Crutchie knew was that Davey was panicking and he was panicking and a nurse came in and all he could get out was the obvious; that Davey was in pain and something was wrong. The nurse, calming and level, adjusted the morphine, and both Davey and Crutchie could breathe again. “Are you okay?” He asked, once the nurse was gone. It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but it worked just as well. Davey nodded. “Yeah. Now.” Time to rip off the bandage. Crutchie took a deep breath and asked, “What about Jack?” Davey’s face fell and he shook his head. A wave of emotion threatened to knock Crutchie back into the chair, but he held on a moment longer, holding the bedrail with white knuckles.

“You should rest.” He sat down with a thump and picked up the book, thumbing through it until he found his place. With tears beginning to stain his cheeks, he stretched out his hand, gripped Davey’s with everything he had, and continued to read. –

Davey was discharged a few weeks later, with strict instructions not to go out into the field until official clearance was given by the agency’s doctor. Even so, it took almost two months of mindless muscle-building exercises for Davey to get himself back to something resembling normal. It wasn’t hard to assemble a team to find Jack. The agency was more like a giant family than anything, and nobody was surprised when most people were ready to drop whatever projects they were working on to devote their skills to the search. Race ended up leading the search, being one of the agency’s best in the affectionately dubbed “Q Branch” (by Jack, of course). Katherine seemed to live in her office now, and her work clothes had slowly transitioned from neatly pressed dress shirts to paint-stained hoodies, but her voice could be heard through all hours of the night chipper as ever as she went through every contact and connection she had. But as Davey recovered, everybody else was beginning to fall. Because somehow, Snyder had dropped off the face of the Earth, and he had taken Jack with him. Crutchie and Davey helped out as much as they could. Often times Davey would be sitting with Katherine, crossing out names and writing notes as they came. Crutchie alternated between Race’s office, where he would sit on the extra chair and watch the screens, and in the laboratories where he’d join Blink and Spot in devising plan upon plan for when Jack was found. He enjoyed those most, simply because there was no “if”. It was always “when we find Jack” and “this is how we’ll do it” and there was no room for argument. Jack was coming home. Except two months turned into three, turned into six, and still they were no further along in finding Jack or Snyder. The vigor with which they had begun the search was receding, leaving tired agents chasing single-word leads that led nowhere. Crutchie and Davey didn’t return to the apartment. For Davey, it was full of dark corners and the sound of gunshots ringing in his ears, and he found that being alone brought back the struggle that he had ultimately lost. He slept in a new pull-out bed in Crutchie’s office. Crutchie frequently joined. Most nights, though, they’d take the elevator up to the seventh floor and climb the stairs to the roof, where the rarely-used helipad had turned into a refuge from what could sometimes get overwhelming. Though the path from the wide pad to the inside door was untouched, a corner of the roof had been filled with comfortable stools and paint-splattered tarps and even a small lamp that only worked in the summertime. They would sit along the ledge and watch the colours of the sky as though Jack was right there with them, and they’d fall asleep using drop cloths as blankets, and they’d make sure everything was right as they found it so Jack didn’t come home to a mess. (If Jack ever came home.) (Home.) Until one night, nearing the eight month mark, one of Race’s monitors made a sound. – Davey found Katherine in the gym that night, playing workout music so loud that he could barely hear his own thoughts and beating on a sandbag. Without speaking, he sat down on the weight bench, and watched as she threw punch after punch with increasing frustration. When she started yelling, he said, “Katherine.” She jumped back, grabbing for the straps of her gloves. “I didn’t hear you come down.” Davey crossed the room and turned the volume down on the speakers. “I didn’t think you would. Do you want company?” “I’d like that.” Katherine took off her gloves and threw them to the wall. It was far past working hours, and the lights above the sandbag and mats were the only lights still on. Davey stood surrounded in shadow. She took a long while to speak. “I passed you an hour ago on my way down and you were in the same position as you were this morning. Have you eaten yet?” Davey watched her skeptically. “Is this why you were destroying all of the agency’s available sandbags?” “No!” Surprised, Katherine let out a small giggle. “No, I’m just wondering. You tend not to eat when you’re working hard.” “I stole a sandwich before I came down here,” Davey told her. “Crutchie’s usually caught up in his own stuff too. Jack’s the one who makes sure both of us eat.” “Me too, honestly,” she said with a sigh. “He really takes care of everyone here. It’s a wonder this place hasn’t fallen apart without him.” “It’s pretty close.” They sat in the dark. The silence was nearly bursting with all the things they wanted to say, but every word was choked down. The clock in the corner of the room passed midnight. The only audible sound was Davey’s rapidly increasing breaths. “I miss him,” Davey said. “I know,” Katherine replied. “Me too.” “I wish he didn’t do it.” “You know he didn’t consider that an option.” Davey stood abruptly. “Why’d he have to be so damn protective all the time? Why’d he have to love everybody so much? If he had just stayed back, if he had thought this through, maybe I would’ve been a little roughed up. Maybe I wouldn’t be as great as I am now. But he’d still be here, holding everyone together. God knows he’s the one who does that. Not me, and he still did it for me. Why?” Katherine followed suit, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Because you’re Davey, and he loves you.” “What if I don’t want him to, if this is what’s going to happen?” Davey yelled, pushing away from Katherine and hitting the sandbag with a bare fist. His heart was hitting his throat now, growing out of control, spiraling up through his chest and bursting out of his body. He couldn’t count his breaths, so he hit the bag and counted that. Counted, counted, pounding- “Davey,” Katherine said, somewhere above the water. He heard scattered words, picked out “call Crutchie”, and nodded. His hand throbbed. He was on the ground. How about that, he observed. Then Kath’s voice broke the surface again, and everything slowly filtered in again. “…on his way,” she was saying. She was holding his right hand, where the knuckles were red and bursting from the impact of the punches. “He told me to keep talking to you. That’s what I’m doing. Jesus, Davey, I thought I taught you to use gloves.” “Didn’t want to go get them,” he croaked. She looked at him in surprise, and then smiled, comforting and clear. “The anger does that sometimes.” He shuffled, pushing his legs underneath him, and hissed when Katherine’s fingers brushed against his knuckles. Next to her was the small medical kit kept in the gym, and a roll of gauze sat forgotten on top. He shifted a gaze to her. “Thanks.” “Don’t mention it,” she replied, equally quiet. She watched as he wrapped his hand, easily even with only one hand, and they waited for the telltale click of Crutchie coming down the hallway. Instead, they heard the click of the building intercom, and Race saying, “You guys had better get up here quick.” –

Was it important? Definitely. There was no question about it. Race wouldn’t use the intercom otherwise. But Spot was in the middle of making coffee, so that’s what he did. Davey, Katherine, and Crutchie were already in Race’s office when he came in, holding two steaming mugs of dark coffee. He watched them all as they watched him, took a sip from one mug, and placed the other on Race’s desk. “Took your sweet time,” Race said, finally. “Got your coffee, dipshit,” Spot responded. “You’re an ass.” “You bet I am.” Davey cleared his throat. “Race, what’s up?” The change in the technician’s disposition was immediate. He swirled around in the chair and pointed to one of the monitors on the wall. “So I managed to hack into Jack’s computer early on, right? And I found this file in deep cover a while later that has basically everything you’d ever need to know about Snyder. Except when I went through it the first time, nothing helped.” With blurred fingers, he brought up two more windows on the monitor. “I got a notification today. There was some activity at this one place we had decided wasn’t relevant, and it opened up a whole whack of stuff that had been happening under the radar. So I looked further, and I found this.” On the screen was a schedule, along with a large group of pictures. Each depicted a different person, in an area noted on the schedule, with a bag of some sort. “Messengers,” Race explained. “The code didn’t pick them up ‘cause there’s nothing weird about them on their own, and we didn’t pick them up ‘cause they’re too sporadic, too far apart. But there’s a connection, we just realized this morning. Specs and I put this together.” Anticipation gripped everyone in the room. “So this means-” “We have a trail,” he confirmed. “And with a trail, we can find Jack.” Katherine put a hand to her mouth. Crutchie slumped against the wall, eyes rimmed with wetness, holding onto Davey’s hand like a lifeline. We can find Jack. “It’ll take a bit of work, but we finally have something to base it off of,” he continued, pausing to take a long sip of coffee. “And we’ll get our cowboy back.” At once, a sigh swept over the entire room. All the hope that had slowly dwindled throughout the search returned in a swell of relief. It had been eight months of nothing, and now finding this was the one saving grace within all of the suffocating darkness that had fallen over the agency. It was a start, and it was all they needed. The evidence, there on the screen, was the proof that things would get better. Davey was openly crying. Crutchie rubbed circles into the back of his hand, trying to ignore the threat of tears spilling out of his own eyes. “Maybe you’ll start wearing actual clothes again, Kath,” he joked instead. Katherine scoffed. “Maybe it’s time for a change in the dress code. These are comfortable.” “You’re a diplomat.” “Doesn’t mean I can’t live my life,” she responded, grinning. “Oh my God, Jack is going to have a field day with this. As far as I know, he’s not aware I even own sweatpants.” At the thought, Race burst out laughing, followed by Davey and Crutchie, and soon even Spot was giving a reluctant chuckle. It was sleep-starved, relieved, and definitely tinged with a drunken sort of insanity, but it was real. For once, something was going to be okay. –

The week following, everyone was working harder than ever. The excitement was alive in all areas of the building, each working in their own way to reach the goal that had been set so many months ago. They knew, now, that they could do it. And they did. This time, it was Buttons who figured it out, after keeping track of the messengers almost obsessively. There was something about to happen. People were bringing more and more supplies underground, stocking up, and it was becoming more and more certain that Jack’s return would come soon. They organized a mission. A location and date had been caught by one of the Q-agents. The plan was this: - Davey would go in, having been cleared for field work over two months ago. - Crutchie would be on comms. It was an easy choice. - They would wait until Snyder’s agents showed up. Davey would go through them until he found Jack. He would use some form of tranquilizer, probably developed by the med team, and use it to bring Jack home. Hopefully there would be no complications, and it would work. Crutchie bought a new wheely chair for the mission. It was smooth and comfortable, and perfect for chair races. Spot tested it once, on his break, and disappeared up to Race’s office, probably to convince him to get a better chair. Crutchie deemed it perfect. (The race that had broken Crutchie’s chair had been far from the only one. Often times people would come out of their rooms to watch as the two men flew down the hallway on office chairs. Sometimes there were bets.) Spot and Mush were spending most of their time in the lab, personalizing the standard tranq formula for Jack. Davey prepped as much as he could for the mission, reading over every possible file the agency had on the building, Snyder, and everything in between. There was, of course, was the taboo topic of exactly what would happen if Jack wasn’t in a condition to come back. Or, god forbid, if he wasn’t there at all. The day before the mission was set to go, there was a room in the medical labs below the agency full to the brim with whatever supplies the med team could get their hands on. There were backup vehicles as needed on the mission. Contingency plans had been set. All the stops had been pulled out, and it was time to go. We’ll get our cowboy back. – Jack dreamed, occasionally. The dreams were few and far between, and were usually as strange and subhuman as fever dreams were. Sporadically, he dreamed about Davey and Crutchie and the Before. Those were both the best and the worst dreams. The best, because he saw their faces, watched and felt as they embraced him with relief and joy and love, and although it wasn’t real it always felt so right. Like he belonged right there in their arms. The worst, because every time the dream came, it went just as quick: in a pop that left him with wet cheeks and just the glimpse of a life he had sacrificed. Because every time, he believed that somehow, he was safe. Because every time, he woke up back in the unknown. He tried not to associate them with the dreams. It wasn’t fair to them, wasn’t fair to their memories. It wasn’t fair that the last time he’d see them would be in a fragmented reality created only by his mind. (It wasn’t fair that his interactions with either of his boyfriends had ended in such a way, but life wasn’t fair anyway.) (Could he even still consider them his boyfriends?) Jack dreamed, and he tried not to be disappointed when he woke up. –

“Alright, Davey, you’re clear to go whenever.” Crutchie’s voice floated out of the earpiece. “They’re spanning the building, covering a single person in the middle, by the data room. Betcha it’s just who we’re looking for.” Davey snorted. “Betting is Race’s forte, not mine. But you’re probably right.” Crutchie’s tone was warm as he replied, “I’m always right. That’s why you love me.” “Damn right it is.” Davey checked the cartridge on his gun. It was full of double-strength tranq bullets, something that Spot had given him not fifteen minutes before Davey headed out for good. (“I’m not mad,” Spot said. “Just a little pissed.” “That’s basically the same thing.” “Yeah. Well. If he puts up a fight, this’ll knock him out real quick.” “And?” “And what?” “There’s always an and with you, Spot.” “He might be out for a while.” Spot shrugged. “But it’ll help in the long run, if he’s got an injury then he won’t be stubbornly aggravating it like he stubbornly aggravates everyone else.”) Davey teased that Spot would be glad to have Jack back. Spot had denied any semblance of emotion, but after he left, Crutchie texted him a picture of him and Race and a bottle of scotch in the break room with the caption “drinking for jack’s safety”. Then, “spot’s gonna kill me if he finds out I was listening”. Davey took that as good luck, and laughed at Crutchie as soon as he appeared in his ear. He fiddled with a lock now, on the main floor of the building, and basing his success off the hope that Snyder’s team had disabled all the alarms in the building and not just the floor they covered. His hands were not shaking. His heart was steady. Faced with the possibility of Jack, all Davey could be was calm. That’s the damn influence you have on me, Kelly, he thought, slipping silently through the doorway and heading to the stairwell. The occupied data room was on the third floor, down a hallway after exiting the stairwell and to the right. It was dark, but Davey had Crutchie and the light of the moon to guide him. “My boyfriend radar is tingling,” he told Crutchie  quietly, in a last-ditch attempt at humor. Crutchie  laughed. It sounded forced, a bit sad, but he took what he could get. And, he was in the room, and he managed to hit all the guards on his first try despite the deep-seated fear that one of them was actually Jack. The person at the computer ducked. Davey blinked at the shadow. It looked like someone he knew, and he knew now that it had to be- Jack stared at him from beside a desk. He looked scared. He was a lot thinner than Davey remembered, with harsh features and dark circles beneath his eyes. There was a cut across his cheekbone, still raw and thick. All Davey felt was anger. Anger at Snyder for forcing Jack into this shell of himself (the Jack he knew would never be scared of him, never) and anger at himself for letting this happen. Jack wasn’t supposed to be like this, he wasn’t supposed to be scared, he was supposed to be the one calming Davey’s anxiety and not the other way around. Not that Davey was doing that, at the moment. He held the gun up, stoic, and fired. Maybe when Jack woke up, he’d be okay. Davey closed his eyes after firing. He didn’t want to see Jack fall. –

Jack did not dream. He did not drift. He was suspended in time, in a black hole of absolutely nothing, and then he heard voices. “He said it would take a while to wear off. Up to a month, I thought I told you?” “You did. I just miss the idiot.” Jack tried to scramble back into the dark expanse of nothingness. It would be better, god, anything would be better than having this happiness once more ripped away from him. It felt so real. (It was never real.) His mind stubbornly stayed in the present, listening, as the voices of his boyfriends once more appeared. “At least he’s safe no-” He couldn’t take it. It felt so real, too real, a pipe dream, something that was so far away Jack could only think about what would happen. It wasn’t true. It was never true. He was going to wake up soon, cold and afraid, and pretend like he didn’t get these dreams on a nightly basis. Pretend like he didn’t get his heart shattered every morning. “Jack?” God, it was beautiful. Jack wanted to give in, to answer. Yet- “Jack, please,” said someone else. Yet he wasn’t cold. He felt warm, slightly achy, and less afraid. Taking a chance would hurt, but he had to hear the voices. “Can you open your eyes?” No. No. He conveyed that. Open his eyes and the dream would be lost, open his eyes and Davey and Crutchie would be swept away, particle by particle, until there was nothing left but a ratty, tear-stained pillow and a cold iron bed frame. “Please?” No. “Why?” asked the Davey-voice, and oh, that was touch. Touch rarely came in his dreams, but when it did, Jack savored what he could get. It was the nicest treatment he’d had in months. No one else had touched him with anything less than a sting. “Can you tell us why?” “Might not be real.” His mouth was moving before he even realized it, voicing the fear he had felt since the very beginning of the dreams, and still felt even as it came true every time. Acknowledging the dream meant it would be all the worse when it disappeared, but it was worth it. It was always worth it. Then, more touch. Ow. And someone was laughing, sweet and high, Crutchie, and somewhere Jack believed that it wasn’t just a dream this time. It felt so real. Too real. Real enough to be- “Please be real,” Jack mumbled, and opened his eyes. They didn’t melt away. There was no sound of pouring sand as Davey and Crutchie disintegrated into nothing. They stood, strong as ever, and looking as if their entire world had begun spinning the moment Jack woke up. God, it was real. “Hi,” he whispered, and managed to puff out a laugh when both of his boyfriends repeated it simultaneously. Something still ached, down in his stomach and spreading toward his back. But it was okay, because he was there, he was there and safe and with the real, alive people he had dreamed so much about. “Missed you.” Because he did. He missed them so much that the last few months had been spent frustratingly trying to replicate the feeling of Davey’s fingers combing gently through his hair or the way Crutchie would rub his back after a long day. He missed them so much it hurt, but now that they were here, nothing hurt anymore. “Thought I’d never see you again.” Because it was true, he had believed that Snyder would take away his only happiness and leave him with the memory of Davey’s shocked face and Crutchie’s panicked voice. He had believed that he wouldn’t make it out. He had been okay with that. God, he missed that smile, he missed holding their hands. Crutchie was talking, and then Davey was, quickly beginning to ramble because what better to do than talk? It was proof Jack needed that everything was right. When he gathered enough strength, he propped himself and managed to scoot to a semi-sitting position. “I love you two,” he said, putting more meaning behind the words than he thought he’d ever done before. “Really. I know I don’t say it enough, but I do.” And he didn’t even need to get an answer to know that it was reciprocated in full force. The way they watched him- something he recognized solely from being the one watching them like they hung the stars- that was answer enough for him. (Of course, they answered anyway, and then somehow they all squished into Jack’s hospital bed and everything was perfect.) –

Everything was perfect for about a week. Except the first person who saw Jack walk in the agency doors after he’d been discharged was Spot, who was managing to hold two cups of coffee and an energy drink, and when Spot almost dropped all of them and stalked toward Jack, something was obviously wrong. “You’re a big fucking idiot, Kelly,” he hissed. “How could you even think about-” He jabbed a finger into Jack’s chest and Jack flinched. Jack was looking at him with wide eyes, and Spot immediately froze. “Oh,” he said quietly. They stared at each other, then Spot swirled around, picked up the myriad of drinks, and disappeared through the stairwell doors. “Jack?” Crutchie asked, and Jack was anchoring himself against the wall and running a hand down the side of his face. “I can’t do this,” he mumbled. “I can’t. I just- I’ll get overwhelmed. Snyder, he- he-” “It’s all right if you need time,” Davey said softly, appearing behind Crutchie’s shoulder. “We understand. I can’t imagine what it was like, god, eight months- whatever we can do, Jack, just tell us.” “I don’t know,” Jack told them truthfully. “I don’t know what’ll happen. I need space, I guess. Nobody yelling at me. Nobody telling me I’m-” he bit off the word with a swallow. “Just, try not to tell them too much. I don’t want everyone thinkin’ I’m a swan or something.” He didn’t want to hear an answer, so he swept them both into a hug before they could say anything. “I’ll be in my office.” – They bought a new apartment. The old apartment was plagued with bad memories. Nobody had stepped foot in it in months, and it was evident that no one quite wanted to. The paint covering the bullet holes in the bedroom didn’t exactly match the wall colour, and wood chips from the coffee table kept showing up no matter how many times the living room was vacuumed. Besides that, they needed somewhere off the record, so nothing could ever lead Snyder to a repeat performance. (They had tried to find Snyder after rescuing Jack, but he had disappeared long before. Nothing could lift their spirits the day they realized that. It took away much of the closure Jack thought he had.) Jack was constantly looking over his shoulder. He held Davey’s hand a lot more, sometimes with a grip so crushing Davey felt like his hand was going to break, but Davey never complained. He’d discovered that when Jack did that, something in the room was bothering him, so he tried his best to help them both escape. It was an agreement that never had to be spoken. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Jack would scream. He didn’t always elaborate on the nightmares, but he’d often wake up shaking and wrap himself around Davey and Crutchie. They were his constant, the ones he could depend on to whisper assurances and carefully wipe tears away when the nightmares were too much to handle. He needed them there, to convince himself that they were all okay. They slept with the light on. It helped ground Jack when he woke up, reminding him that he was safe and not back there. He screamed less as time went on. –

“Spot,” Jack said after a long while, cornering the smaller man in the break room. “You’ve been avoiding me.” It was true, in a sense: there had been only careful, one- or two-word conversations between the two, nothing remotely close to the teasing banter that used to fill the halls whenever they talked. Spot was stiffer, skirting around Jack whenever possible, spending more time in the lab and clocking out later than usual. “Maybe,” Spot said, not meeting Jack’s gaze. “Why?” “None of your damn business.” Jack caught his arm as he tried to slip away, and held tight until Spot sighed and turned back to him. “I know it is. What’s wrong?” They stood in silence for a long while. Spot opened his mouth and closed it again, swallowing dryly. “Look,” he began, and then stopped. “I- when you- goddamnit, Jack, I know I’m abrasive, but I don’t want you to be scared of me.” Oh. Understanding flashed in Jack’s eyes, and Spot barreled on. “And I know that deep down, it shouldn’t matter, we’ve been friends for a long time, but you know how I get. I yell. A lot. I’m pissed ninety percent of the time. And if it’s bad for you, then it’s on me to be the one to fix it.” He attempted to duck under Jack’s arm, but Jack held him firmly in place. “Listen, I’m not going to tell you that it’s nothing because it’s not nothing. I’m telling you that I’m working on it. But if you keep avoiding me I’ll never know when it gets better. It’s hard, knowing that wherever I go he could be there, watching, but sheltering me isn’t gonna do shit.” Spot said nothing. Jack blinked. “And- I miss it. The old Spot.” Slowly, a grin spread across Spot’s face, and he batted Jack’s hand off his arm easily. “Jacky, I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to anyone other than your asshole boyfriends.” He didn’t miss the flash of pain in Jack’s eyes, but he patted his arm and left the break room, and Jack was thankful. (When he passed Race’s office later that day, he told him to relay the message “mine aren’t, but yours is” to Spot, with no context. Two hours later, a paper airplane appeared on his desk with FUCK YOU HE’S GREAT written in big block letters, and Jack laughed out loud.) – “Okay, everything seems to be goin’ good so far,” Race said joyfully in Jack’s ear. “In fact, we might be able to-” He was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open, and swore. “Christ, Davey, thought I told you to knock during missions.” “It’s important,” Davey said in the background. Jack felt himself go stiff. This was exactly like before, what had happened so long ago- long enough for the scars to scab over, long enough for the pains to fade- and if this was anything like last time, he was going to break down. “Jack?” Davey asked. Jack gulped down a rising suspicion. “Here,” he replied cautiously. Davey didn’t sound scared. He sounded rushed, sure, but it wasn’t a type of rush that comes from terror. It was more… excited. Excited? “We were gonna wait ‘till you got back, but there’s kind of a group in the conference room close to fighting- anyway, Crutchie may have- well, he may have found an untagged puppy outside the building earlier today and the shelter we went to may have asked if we could find a home for it.” Faintly, Jack heard Race say “why wasn’t I informed of this?”, and laughed.

“And, uh, we’ve got a new apartment that’s plenty good in keeping another body, even if said other body is currently a dog that was found outside our work building. Crutchie’s kinda already taken a liking to her too, honestly. She’s really sweet.”

Jack kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. This was momentous, like getting a child- god knows Jack already had to deal with twelve coworkers on any given day- but there was a proud feeling in Jack’s stomach. He felt ready.

“Is it okay with you?” Davey repeated.

“If it’s okay with you guys,” Jack answered, feeling higher than he had in months. “I’d love it.”

Davey hissed a small victory cry that didn’t go unnoticed, and if that wasn’t the greatest thing Jack had heard then he’d be lying. “Thanks, Jack. Have fun with the rest of your mission. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Jack told his boyfriend, but Davey was already gone, closing the door gently at Race’s request and probably running back to the conference room.

They named her Bailey, and she was loud and tended to pee in the closet where the shoes were, but she was loved so much that it didn’t matter. When nights got tough, she’d maneuver her way onto the bed and lay her head on Jack’s chest and stretch out between him and whoever was on his right side that night, and they’d wake up to her curled comfortably in the blankets with the rest of them.

Jack rarely screamed anymore.

If he did, he had two boyfriends and a quickly growing puppy.

He felt pretty okay.