#it's monday. which is disgusting. but also it's cool & gray out & it's supposed to be rainy... this is so exciting.

[intertexts-moving]

gm!!!

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 3

Chapter 1 || Previous || Next

“But…! But…!?” Mari shouted after the closing doors. She could hear a cheerful shout as the elevator left the level. 

 The girl placed the box on the desk and collapsed on her knees. She just numbly stared at the gray wall in front of her. She noticed that that the floor was actually a fluffy, dark blue rug. At least she could have her meltdown in a comfortable environment. 

“Sarah?” A voice called from the desk. For a moment, Mari thought someone was in the room the whole time, but she noticed a small device which was probably an intercom. “Sarah, are you there?”

She quickly got up and walked over to the device. There was a blinking red lamp over one of the buttons. She hesitantly pressed it. “Um… Excuse Moi?” 

“Who’s that?! What have you done with Sarah?”

“I… I… I was supposed to be the new intern, but she just… She… I… I think she just hired me and quit…”

“Ah. Okay.” She could almost hear the shrug in the voice. “I need you to bring me the LexCorp deal we are finalizing tomorrow.”

“But… But I have no idea about being a Personal Assitant! How can I be hired?” She shouted at the device.

“Probably something in your contract? I dunno. About that deal?” The boy asked. 

Mari wanted to argue, but a big folder with the LexCorp logo got her attention. She grabbed it and walked to the doors. After knocking twice she pushed it slightly. The girl expected to see some clean and ordered office of the CEO of a big company. Instead, to say it simply, the room was a mess!

The documents laid scattered everywhere. There was a strong smell of coffee permeating the air and she noted a smashed cup. In the corner, there was a table with what could only be called an altar on which a coffee machine with a golden frame stood proud surrounded by candles. The desk was ginormous, easily twice the size of her kitchen table. It was also full of papers tossed around and several boxes stacked on one another to the point where the whole structure risked falling apart. By the doors, there were two pots with some plants that were long dead. She wondered why the janitor didn’t water them, but then she took another look and wondered when any Janitor last saw this room.

Mari tried to walk without stepping on the papers, but it would require to either learn how to fly or walk on the ceiling. 

“Um… Sir? I think I got the folder you said you needed?” She more asked than stated. 

“Put them with the others!” A voice came from under the desk. Mari did as she was asked. She was about to leave when her tablet beeped. She looked at the notification and her eyes went wide.

“Sir?! You said the meeting was tomorrow?” The girl asked. 

“Yes, why?”

“What day is it?”

“Um… Sunday?” He deadpanned

“It’s Monday!” She shouted at him. 

“I would know if it was Monday… I think.” The faceless voice answered, but his voice wavered. 

“I just got the message that Lex Luthor is here to see you!” She panicked.

“Oh bat! Bat bat bat!” Was the response. 

“What am I supposed to do?” Mari kept on sinking. “The security is asking me?! I’m not qualified to make such decisions! That guy’s suit is probably worth more than both my houses!”

The CEO finally got his head out from under the table. Now the girl could see that he was around her age. What was with this company hiring teenagers!? Besides his age, he was dressed in a dark gray suit and white shirt that spotted several brown stains, probably coffee. He was rather handsome, with black hair and steely-blue eyes. “Stall him!” He shouted and started frantically gathering the papers. He then tripped over a toppled mug and fell face-first into the tower of boxes. Just like she predicted, it collapsed, spilling even more papers around. 

“Ugh! You stall him! I will sort this out!” She shouted, switching from ‘panic mode’ to ‘Ladybug mode’.

“What?” He looked at her confused. Instead of answering she looked around. A plan quickly formed in her head. She grabbed the folder that he previously asked for and pushed it into his hands. Then, she grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged the boy out of the room and into the elevator. Mari practically tossed him inside. Before the doors closed, she grinned at him and slid her hand over the control panel. Now the elevator would stop at every level. 

“Ups! Silly me! It’s my first day at this job…” She faked remorse with the same effectiveness Lila faked dating Damian Wayne. “Remember to read the folder one more time!” She shouted after the closing doors. When he was gone, she sighed. Now the hard part. 

Mari rushed into the room and let Tikki out from the inner pocket of her coat. “Tikki! How am I supposed to clean this all up?! It would take hours to even see the floor! I’m supposed to be an intern, learning things!”

“Calm down Marigold!” The Kwami tried to calm her chosen. “You just need to believe in yourself some more. And maybe get some help?” Tikki smiled suggestively and nodded toward the two near-dead plants. 

“I love you Tikki!” Mari exclaimed before turning toward the sad pots. She touched each of them gently so they would not be hurt and allowed her powers to flare. For a few seconds, her eyes turned vibrant green and her hair became dark-blue while her skin got a green tint. The brown receded as plants soaked the new energy in. It didn’t take long before both were back to their prime and then grew some more, forming vines that would let them walk and more, which would let them grab things. Mari directed them to gather the papers and stuff them into the closet while she got to cleaning more obvious things. 

Firstly, she got the boxes and used them to build around the coffee altar, hiding it from the view. She feared touching it in any way but also didn’t think monsieur Luthor would look favorably at it. Eight boxes were just enough to hide it. There were still several coffee stains on the rug that she had no idea how to clean. She tried to use a watered napkin, but it did little good. Finally, she pulled decided to move the desk slightly forward to cover them. 

Mari looked at the desk. She estimated it was at least ten to twenty times heavier than she was. The girl walked around and started pushing. Slowly, it moved forward. She could hear the elevator ping outside. Damn! She was too slow. Suddenly, the desk became much lighter and she quickly moved it. The plants helped her. She could hear them sing praise to her for reviving them. She promised to water them as often as they needed before ushering them to stand by the doors just as two people entered the room.

-----------

Tim grumbled under his breath as he was tossed into the elevator. The girl then pressed every button and sent him on his way. He had to admit, the plan was brilliant. She said she was an intern? Wasn’t Sarah supposed to be the one helping him? Nah. It was probably nothing.

He opted to skim through the folder. The deal itself was rather straightforward, but he didn’t trust Luthor as far as he could throw him. His documents were already looked through by the Legal Department. It was now only the matter of familiarizing himself with them so he wouldn’t sprout some nonsense at Luthor. 

Once the elevator finally arrived at the ground level, he was met by a very irritated Lex and his personal assistant/bodyguard Mercy. The woman had her usual expressionless face on. 

“Exactly how much longer did you expect me to wait?” The businessman asked with a sneer.

“Yeah. Sorry. My new assistant accidentally pressed all the buttons. She didn’t yet get the hang of all the cybernetics.” Tim lied swiftly before welcoming them into the elevator. He did his best to hide the fact he was sweating heavily. He had no idea what state his office would be in, but he doubted that the girl could possibly make it presentable in such a short time. Even just the boxes he accidentally knocked over must have been heavier than her, so there was absolutely no way she would move them.

“You’re ‘sorry’?” Luthor asked with a raised eyebrow. The sneer never left his face. "So, I assume this new assistant of yours will have the time she has wasted removed from her paycheck, yes?" 

“What? No! Dude! It’s her first day.” Tim protested. “She needs time to get a grip on things. Cool a bit, would you?”

The elevator ride was in simple words awkward. Tim was looking over the deal in silence while Luthor was clearly pissed. Neither spoke to each other and if one looked at the other, it was with some degree of disgust. Suddenly, the younger man remembered why he disliked meeting with Lex so much. He felt dirty and had the urge to get a bath. If it was up to him, Wayne Enterprises would cease all cooperation with Lexcorp, but sadly that’s not how the market worked. Sometimes, you needed to work with a slimeball or people would lose their jobs.

When they finally arrived at the top floor and the doors opened, Tim saw that the desk where the assistant should be was empty beyond the box with her things.

“Maybe you should warn her not to unpack if she keeps the unprofessional behavior,” Luthor commented. 

“I’m sure…” Tim started when they were entering the office, but words died in his throat. All the papers were gone and she moved the boxes around his Holy Coffee Machine! He was sure there would at least be the coffee stains, but they seemed to have disappeared. Wait, wasn’t his desk a bit closer to the window? Nah. There was no way she moved it. How did she make the plants look so green? They were dead when he left. Did she switch them with Bruce’s office? Who cares! There was a steaming cup of coffee on his desk. It was red in black polka dots. Tim had trouble focusing on anything but the nectar on his table. The smell that reached him almost made him float toward it, but he stopped himself.

“Oh! Sorry. I was just leaving the coffee and the documents you asked me.” She said with a smile and handed him a folder with large ‘confidential’ on the front.

“Um… Thanks?” He looked at her flabbergasted. How did she do all that? And how can one make coffee so strong?! She needed to teach him!

“I will leave you to the meeting then.” She said quickly and left the office. 

-------------

Once outside, Mari collapsed into a chair by the desk. Her desk now…

“Tikki! What am I supposed to do?!” She moaned

“Don’t worry Marigold!” The small goddess comforted the girl. “I’m sure you will do great. You just need some help from time to time.”

“I can’t believe you summoned the coffee cup for him!”

“I felt bad I couldn’t contribute more.” Kwami giggled. “But seeing his expression I did well.”

Resigned, Mari started to browse through the box. The number of folders almost gave her a panic attack, but Tikki nuzzled into her neck, giving her some more confidence. Instead, the girl reached for her tablet and quickly called Chloe. She half-expected the girl not to answer, but to her relief, the Blonde’s face appeared. 

“What’s the problem?”

“Problem? No! No problem at all! Why would there be any problem?” Mari reacted on instinct, trying to hide behind a cheery mask. Seeing Chloe’s unamused expression, she relented. “I somehow got hired as the personal assistant and the previous one quit.” 

“What!?” The blonde shouted. “They can just do that?”

Chloe scrambled to look for her mentor. Interning in the Law Department had its merits. After a moment a woman in her early thirties appeared.

“Mari-bear, Meet Ethel. She is my caretaker. Like I needed one.” the girl complained.

“You accidentally made a hundred copies instead of ten,” Ethel said with some amusement

“So? Anyone can make a mistake.”

“You tried to pick them all up.”

Chloe wanted to argue some more, but Mari’s giggle on the other side reminded her why they were all there.

“We’ve got some problem. Apparently, my friend’s here mentor decided to hire her on the spot and then quit.” 

“Oh! Congratulation. You must have quite the CV then.” The woman clearly couldn’t see the problem.

“Expect I have no idea how to be a personal assistant.”

“Wait! You’re Sarah’s girl?” Ethel asked hesitantly. “Oh, you poor baby!” She cooed. “Honestly that woman! I know she was overworked but that was low even for her.”

“I… assume Sarah wasn’t liked too much?” Mari asked.

“It’s not that… She was quite well-liked actually. The problem is that she was too ambitious and went about it the wrong way. The rumors about her trying to seduce both Bruce and Tim circulated the company for some time now. She wanted to get to the top, by all means necessary, and it blew in her face. Sarah was trying to run away for quite some time, but the stipulation was she found someone for her place.” 

“Oh…” Mari honestly didn’t know what to think about it all. 

“Yeah yeah. As much as all the drama might seem interesting, I’m more curious about how did Mari-bear get hired?”

“In your internship deal, there is a clause that allows your supervisor or mentor to hire you if they consider you fit for the job.”

“But… What about the guardian’s permission? Or my permission!?” Mari screamed. 

“You gave it by signing an internship deal,” Ethel commented. “Tell you what. I will look into it and meet you in the cafeteria at lunch.”

“Um… Okay? What am I supposed to be doing until then?”

“Try learning the basics of working at WE. You were supposed to get a guidebook. Lawyers advice: read it as soon as possible.” Ethel joked before handing the video to Chloe. 

“Look at the bright sides Mari-bear. You are at least getting paid.” The blonde joked before sending her best friend a virtual hug and ending the chat. Mari collapsed into the chair. It was a disaster. She did pull the aforementioned book and started reading the basic procedures. She was so focused she didn’t even notice when the doors behind her banged loudly and a very irate Lex Luthor walked over to her desk until he slammed his fist down the desk.

“I don’t have time for incompetent idiots.” He sneered.

“Oh! Please forgive me, sir. I’m still learning the ins and outs. It’s my first real job.” Mari answered honestly, but for some reason, it only served to increase Luthor’s frustration

“I wonder how would someone so inexperienced end up in such an important position, but I can see you are still more competent than Drake.”

“I will take that as a compliment.” The girl smiled, but there was a mocking note in her voice. She showed him that his opinion mattered little, which was the best way to piss the self-important CEO off.

“Whatever. I want a meeting set for next week at the same time as today.”

Now, Mari had little experience with being a personal assistant, but it didn’t mean she didn’t know how to deal with clients. And say what you want, Lex here was just a client. Incredibly wealthy and influential, but a client. He definitely wanted the deal more than Mr. Drake. 

“I’m not sure if there is an opening at that time. Could you please leave a contact number so we can set something up? You can also email me. I think I will get access to company mail tomorrow though, so that might not be very reliable.”

“Contact number? Email?” Lex looked like he was having a stroke. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Um… should I? I mean I was born in Gotham, but I spent the last decade in Paris, so I’m not exactly up to date. I can tell you are not Gabriel Agreste or Jagged Stone.” She bit her tongue. They have hair. 

“You stupid little…” He scolded her, but Mercy put a hand on his shoulder. Luthor straightened his back and fixed his tie. “Fine. Tell Drake I will be contacting him personally.”

“That is sweet of you to try and lower my workload, but he will probably have to run it by me anyway. Let’s cut the middle man, kay?” Marisass strikes again. 

“What?!” Lex screamed. “You… You…” 

The girl did not say anything to the stuttering businessman, but slowly pushed a sticky note and a pen toward him. Resigned, Lex muttered several curses under his breath and scribbled Mercy’s number. When she reached to collect it, he grabbed her wrist.

“In the future, I would be careful who do you antagonize, child.” He sneered. When he tried to tighten his grip she suddenly broke free and pulled his arm closer.

“Just because I spent some time in Paris doesn’t mean I don’t remember how to be a Gotham girl. Have a nice day Mr... Mercer?” She said after stealing a gaze at the piece of paper. Letting go of his arm, she gave him the disarming smile number four. 

Tess Mercer had to practically wrestle her boss to drag him away from the alteration. 

Mari relaxed in her chair and twirled the phone in her hand. This recording was priceless. Even if she couldn’t officially share it (according to the manual), it would definitely lift her spirit some. She was now back in Gotham and it was time to start acting like it. 

NEXT

[generalthirstclub]

I Don't Need Your Help (squip x reader; part 1 of ??)

yo yo yo hey so i finally gave into my desire to write a fic for the first time in fifteen million years and DAMN IT ALL TO HELL it’s about a FUCKING COMPUTER

kind of experimenting with 1st person a little?? idk if I feel like it’s a little choppy or something i might fix it later because im planning to have multiple parts to this so i have something to do while procrastinating on homework ew

also the reader’s gender isn’t mentioned in this part (i don’t think?? i kind of proofread this but it was at like 2 am so i don’t even trust myself) but im probably going to use female pronouns when I need to- i promise it’s not to offend anyone I just find it easier to write fics like this with a singular gender but i could try to change that if needed

last thing;; this fic kind of loosely follows the plot of BMC?? very very loosely,, like some dates might change or times or things, i don’t really know at this point but it might not even follow the story at all idk idk but still

here is an anon throwing their sin at the wall and hoping it sticks

have this you nasty computer fuckers

——————–

He had to be joking.

A pill? A pill that held a tiny computer- that attached itself to your brain for no other purpose than to ‘help you be cool’???. It sounded asinine. But maybe I could understand. Jeremy was desperate. I didn’t blame him. High school was a battlefield; intent on destroying all traces of individuality and creativity, burying unique personalities underneath avalanches of essays and book reports.

I voted against getting one, at first.

Jeremy had Michael, right? They’d known eachother for what seemed like ages, it didn’t make any sense for him to just- want something new. Michael and I both knew Christine was important to him, that he’d do anything to impress her or to get on her radar. We just…. didn’t expect something like this. Especially something as shady (and honestly terrifying) as a tiny computer that you literally swallowed and had it attach to your brain. It was ironic. Jeremy had told us he’d heard about it through Rich- the very bully that tormented him half the time.

Of course, I didn’t know Jeremy nearly as well as Michael did. I’d only met Jeremy freshman year- I’d known Michael since the beginning of middle school at least. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when I heard he’d went out and paid the ridiculous fee for one of the wintergreen tic tacs, but that didn’t make me any less worried.

I didn’t hear much of it the first few days. I didn’t have any classes with either of them, and the only times we’d see eachother were after school, and of course- Michael had work, and Jeremy had to get back home to finish homework most of the time. We didn’t see eachother too often, but we did have a commitment to meet up at the same coffee house every Monday morning.

I knew something was up when Michael and I were the only two who showed up the Monday morning after Jeremy had bought the stupid pill.

Something had happened. I didn’t know what- we texted him nonstop and didn’t get anything. Not even an acknowledgement for our efforts. Whether or not I believed in the 'SQUIP’ at that point was debatable. It would be quite the coincidence if Jeremy had missed the bus that morning or overslept.

Both of us got rather worried.

Michael and I made a habit after that Monday of staying behind after school, purposefully lingering by the bus stop to see if we could catch a glimpse of our now oddly-distant friend. He must’ve been getting rides from an outside source, though- he never showed.

It was almost like he’d dropped off the face of the planet, and honestly? If I hadn’t known any better myself, I would’ve thought he had. But I had friends in some of his classes, and they said he showed up, but…..

It was like he had abandoned us.

I’m sure it didn’t hurt me nearly as much as it did Michael. But it still stung- it was evident that after the second missed Monday Coffee Meeting that it was intentional. It hurt me more to see the heartbreak in Michael’s eyes when he realized it for himself, and if anything? It made me angry. Angry that Jeremy would do that to Michael. I didn’t care if he had a stupid computer in his head, telling him what to do- it’s not like it was controlling him or anything. Him being friends with us had nothing to do with his popularity, or how 'cool’ or how 'chill’ he was. It had to be a conscious decision.

And that infuriated me.

I wanted to find him. Talk to him. But I had no idea where to go- he’d abandoned all the places he used to hang out, like the food court at the mall or the field behind the school. It was ridiculous. Like he knew we were upset, like he knew what he was doing to us and didn’t care enough to even talk to us anymore.

We’d lost our friend Jeremy.

It was funny how my thought process worked after my mind began to comprehend the fact that Jeremy had made the conscious decision to opt out of our friendship- of his friendship with Michael of all people, even. I was a naturally irritated person by nature, which was my own fault, but it wouldn’t have had to go to extremes if Jeremy had just stayed with us.

I wanted to get the pill.

Not because I wanted to be 'pretty’ or 'popular’. No, I wanted to prove to Jeremy that that tiny computer in his head didn’t do a thing to separate him from us. He was lying to himself, using the excuse of the SQUIP to tell people that he was the 'new Jeremy’, that he was 'better’ and 'stronger’ now. And I intended to put him in his place.

Maybe if he came to his senses, he’d realize what he’d done to us. To Michael, at least.

Michael was against my plan from the beginning, which was predictable enough in itself. It took me weeks to get the image of Michael’s terrifed face out of my mind, and even now it still haunts me sometimes. He was scared he’d lose another dear friend. He was scared he’d be all alone in this school of savages. In this war against the very same people who he grew up with, who now made fun of him, spat on him for being different.

It took me a while, but I was able to convince him.

I had no plan of abandoning Michael. No, if anything, I wanted to be closer to him while I tried to pull Jeremy back from that dark abyss called 'popularity’. And hell, if the pill made me go insane just like Jeremy, I’d rip it out of my skull with my own two hands.

It was two weeks after Jeremy got his SQUIP that I got mine.

It was pretty painful to hork up all the cash, seeing as the weird drug-dealer-ish guy at the register didn’t accept debit for 'the pill’. About two months’ worth of earnings slapped itself down on the desk as I quietly requested the same crazy contraption that had torn one of my closest friends away from people that he had used to consider family. It would’ve been the understatement of the year to say I was scared- but at the same time confident. Maybe the pill would help me out or something in convincing Jeremy to hang out with us again. Then again, maybe the pill was a sadistic killing machine that wanted to take over the world.

Haha. Just kidding.

Still, I had no idea what I was getting into, and the moment the man led me into the back room I felt chillbumps rise on my arms. So I was actually doing this. It was ludicrous. Absolutely ridiculous- but I knew I couldn’t turn back. My six hundred dollars were in the man’s back pocket, and in seconds, a tiny gray pill in a small plastic bag was placed in my hand and I was hurriedly shooed out the door.

I moved to the food court as my stomach churned in nervousness and anticipation, the sharpie on the bag instructing to take the pill with Mountain Dew. At least it wasn’t a bad soda, I reassured myself weakly as I slowly stumbled over to the drink machine and shoved a dirty dollar bill in the slot, punching in the code for the cold drink.

I felt dizzy walking back to my seat. My senses were heightened- the cold of the can numbed my fingers, shoving its way into my thoughts as I sat down. I waited a moment or two. It could be life-changing, my next decision. I hadn’t heard of any way to get rid of the SQUIP; or at least Jeremy hadn’t mentioned anything. I did suppose I could ask Rich, but it wasn’t exactly my favorite choice…..

It all began to move in slow motion the moment I decided.

I was in a rather empty part of the food court, as not many liked to linger when all the restaurants closed down after eight. I supposed that was good for me, seeing as I didn’t want to possibly be seen as a crazy person if anyone I knew suddenly saw me talking to myself or screaming at nothing. It was for the best, I said to myself.

A part of me wondered if Jeremy had hesitated too. Did he just take it the second he got it? Was he scared? Was he worried? Upset, even? Or maybe he was happy. Excited. Because he’d finally be away from us, he’d finally have the chance to snag the 'perfect girl’. The chance to be cool. The chance to make his life perfect.

Unfortunately, we did not fit into his perfect lifestyle.

I popped open the tab on the soda and took a deep breath, shaky hands fumbling with the opening to the plastic bag. Why was I so nervous? I had something to prove. I chose this of my own volition. If anything else happened I was sure to have a panic attack- maybe it was better to do this at home…

Then again, I already was waist deep in the water. It was best to just jump in while I was at it.

Two trembling fingers placed the small pill on the back of my tongue, the strong peppermint taste making me recoil for a moment before I took a swig of the carbonated drink. I squeezed my eyes shut as the disgusting feeling of the oblong object sliding down my throat gave me chills, waiting for the sensation to end. Soon enough, the feeling faded-

And nothing changed. At all.

I blinked my eyes open. Okay. So……. wasn’t I supposed to start hearing things or something? I called out in my mind hesitantly, feeling like a fool. Nothing. Silence. I frowned deeply and stood. All that was left of the pill was a distorted minty aftertaste in my mouth and nothing more.

This had to be a joke.

Abandoning my soda on the table, I marched to the restrooms. Just to make sure- I wanted to know of every possible change, every possible thing that could’ve happened to me. But the nagging feeling in the back of my head grew…..

What if there was no such thing as the SQUIP?

What if Jeremy had forked over his cash and- instead of being disappointed at the lie- took the opportunity to just totally abandon us? Did he even believe the lie in the first place?

Had we done something wrong? Had we offended him? Hurt him in some way?

What could I do to fix this?

My worries rang clear in my ears as I stared at myself in the crusty bathroom mirror, hands gripping the sides of the dirty sink tightly as I tried to control my breathing. I looked awful. It wasn’t even because of the pill, I knew that- my stressing would make me look beyond my years once I graduated, I was sure.

But the thing that unsettled me the most?

The fear in my eyes.

And just like that, everything was spinning- I heard myself gasp as I collapsed to the ground. Pain shot up my spine. Someone screamed- or was that me? I couldn’t tell. I prayed the bathroom was empty.

'Target male inaccessible.’

My eyes widened. No. No. This couldn’t- it wasn’t real-

'Please excuse some mild discomfort.’

The voice rang out in my ears once more and I felt my body jolt as another wave of pain flooded my body, a weak cry the only noise escaping my lips. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t a real thing- the SQUIP didn’t exist- I had already determined-

'Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated.’

The world seemed to stop for a moment. Everything froze. The pain vanished abruptly, my thoughts froze, my heart stopped. I let out a shaky breath. My body trembled involuntarily.

'Discomfort level may increase.’

A shrill scream filled the air as blistering pain overtook my senses a second time, eyes squeezed shut as sobs wracked my body. Tears trickled down my cheeks freely. This was the worst thing I’d ever experienced. In that moment I wanted to end it all- I wanted everything to stop, the pain to stop, the problems to stop, the world to stop. I just needed to breathe. Just for a moment….

'Accessing neural memory. Accessing muscle memory. Access complete.’

A weak breath escaped my lips as my body went limp, all energy needed to sustain myself having evaporated. But I could still hear it. Could still hear him.

“___________________. Welcome to your Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor.”

I closed my eyes.

“Your SQUIP.”

The world fell silent as I went unconscious.

[whatifeelslikeforagirl-blog]

Fail Tale

At almost thirty-two, Sally is at a fairly good stage in her life. She likes her job as a teacher in a private school, she has a regular amount of friends she can trust and, she believes, know her. She gets along with her family and sees them more often than national holidays. She lives in a big city that she loves and she goes out for drinks, coffees, lunches and dinners at regular and irregular intervals, planned or improvised. She buys clothes, buys make-up, buys food, and buys jewels.  She goes to exhibitions, concerts, foreign film festivals, classic film festivals, and regular movie showings. She does all of this generally not by herself, but sometimes she does.

Overall, Sally is a pretty happy person. Of course it saddens her that it has not occurred. “Yet,” she says, when asked about her sentimental life. “Not yet.” It also saddens her that she has lost count of the number of boys she slept with. Sally is a helpless romantic, and every time she goes to bed with a boy, she opens a window of possibilities. Maybe he’ll fall in love, maybe he will call her back, maybe he’ll break up with his girlfriend, maybe he will want to take her to dinners, drinks, lunches, coffees, exhibitions, foreign film festivals. But for now, it just did not happen. 

She knows that thirty-two is not that old, but she can start to feel her body decaying. Actually, she does not really know if her body was once stable. For as long as she can remember, her body has been changing. Every day of her life, when undressing to take a shower, a bath, or to try on clothes, the shape and contours of her body seem different. Some clothes fit one day, and the next, for some hidden reason, the fabric is too tight or too loose. Hairs grow, pimples appears, skin gets dry, greasy, soft or rough in places that were even and undistinguishable from other parts  twelve hours before.  

Quite often, she makes the changes herself: scissors for the bangs, tweezers for a new brow shape, do-it-you-self hair coloring, - ‘Midnight Ruby’, ‘Chocolate Cherry’, ‘Cool Chestnut Brown’, Midnight Star’ or ‘Crushed Garnet’,  - her favorite hobby. It can also be a new diet, a new of cardio-training, a new perfume. The changes always bring the promise of something new, and for a few hours she truly believes that 'Blowout Burgundy' will break the pattern of her half fulfilling life. 

Sally decides to go out tonight, her and two of her friends are meeting in front of the club where a young and promising band is playing. Judy has to take picture for the webzine she works for, Cece is supposed to accidentally run into her ex. Sally plans on drinking colorful cocktails and feeling dizzy enough to eye languorously some guy she does not know yet. She will laugh about it with her girlfriends in the bathroom, as if they were still twenty seven. 

Things go as planned. The music is good and a little chaotic. The club smells like sweat, beer and leather, but Sally mainly smells her own hair. The scent of her new coloring -"French-Roast"- is not strong enough to cover the greasy, powerful odor of the Japanese Yakitori they all ate for dinner before coming in the club. It disgusted her, so she smoked a lot of cigarettes in the patio before the show started, in vain. 

Later, Judy is taking pictures backstage. Cece is kissing her ex-boyfriend. Sally is eyeing languorously a tall, dark haired man in his late thirties wearing a Joy Division t-shirt, black jeans, and Beatles-boots. He responds to her eyeing by buying her a drink. Soon enough, they are kissing. It’s blurry but efficient. Sally wants to go home with him, but as she exits the bathroom bragging tackily about her plans, Judy tells her that it's better to give him her number, and see him again in a few days. 

"But what if he doesn't call back?"

"Then he's not worth it, Sal." At this exact moment Sally knows she will never understand that game. She wants it now, he wants it now. Why not? Girls are supposed to act in mysterious ways she never gets.

She wants to answer Judy and say that she at least wants to have sex, but she knows how it will sound: like she's lying and what she longs for is what happens after sex. The lunches and the dinners and the exhibitions and the classic film festivals. So, she doesn't lie and is hoping to break the pattern.

Sally orders another drink, and loudly whispers in Mister Joy Divison's ear that she has to go home alone tonight. He asks for her number instantly, which Sally considers as a good sign. He immediately send her a text stating,  "Now you can call me, too," which Sally does not consider as such a good sign because now she will have to decide who's going to call first. 

The next morning, Sally quickly makes the math in her head: Monday she is leading the parent-teacher meeting, Wednesday she's supposed to have a drink with Cece. She's free Tuesday and Thursday and has a family weekend planned out of the city. In the meantime, she has to find a moment to go to get waxed down there, as a basic sign of respect, but mostly for confidence. This should be doable. He just has to call.

At about six on Saturday, Sally starts thinking that maybe she could call him on Monday, just to secure her schedule. She knows it would be better if he calls. She’ll feel better about it. But, if that's him who will take her to dinners, lunches, coffees, foreign film festivals, concerts and regular movie showings, will it really matter who called? 

Sunday night at about seven, Sally decides to text him. She thinks about proposing to meet over coffee, but dates over coffee never get her into bed. She always feels better when a little, or a lot of, alcohol is involved. She is careful to be casual and not to appear needy. At first she wants to say that she is not available on Monday and Wednesday, but she refrains. She'll sound stronger and more independent if he asks to meet her Wednesday and she can't. Or maybe she could cancel that drink with Cece? And also, does she really have to go to this family weekend? In the end, at half past eight, she sends: "What about meeting for drinks this week?"

At ten fifteen, the phone is still silent. Sally leaves the phone on her bed while she goes in the living room, and tries to concentrate on a documentary about the business of automatic shutters. 

During commercial break, and thinking that men like an honest woman, she texts him "BTW, I'm busy Monday and Wednesday, have plans this weekend but I’m flexible." As soon as she sees the green balloon appear on the screen, she feels very stupid, but it’s too late anyway. Maybe he'll think she's being cute. Even sexy.

When she finally goes to sleep, it is one thirty and the phone is still. 

The week starts and Sally takes care of her hair down there on Wednesday anyway. “It’s a matter of pride” she tells herself when she signs the thirty five dollars check. She also remembers all those times when being ready in the hair department had been mysteriously concomitant with a small, half satisfying affair. But the phone remains still. The green popping balloons on the screen keep on waiting for their gray counterparts. Even when she does not look at the screen for four hours in a row. 

When they are at a foreign film festival the following Friday, she declares to Judy and Cece "I should have at least” she exhale slowly the smoke of her Lucky Strike, “gone home with him." 

[circahollywood]

Ramblings From An Alpaca Farm In South Wiltshire: June 2017

Do you see my problem? They all look the bloody identical. I imply all of them have the identical father (Qjori) but actually! These two women for example, anyones guess. Willow and Umbria I feel however I may be wrong. You see out of the 6 feminine cria, four of them are black. Which everyone knows is the brand new brown! Here's three of them, but I can not inform you who's lacking! All I can say is that they're all beautiful! On a sadder word, we got here home on Monday to seek out that our lovely brown girl Spirit had given beginning while we have been out and the cria, a phenomenal brown male, was dead. He will need to have had one thing worng with him I suppose however we are each kicking ourselves for not being here. I buried him under a tree in the sector and cried buckets whilst doing it. Alpaca Knitwear alpaca clothing & wool (why not try these out) People who know us and browse this tripe will know that we'll combat and combat to maintain our alpacas alive however this time we just weren't here. I know we will not watch them on a regular basis however I can not shake off the feeling that I've let Spirit down. I'll damage for some time over this one, I'm welling up once more now, she deserved extra, we should always have been here.

I'd recommend trying both and determine what works out finest for you. You can buy rooster feed, pellets or mash, online or from agricultural merchants. In addition to both mash or pellets, chickens also can benefit by small nutritional additions to their feed. Sunflower seeds are a wonderful instance. The chickens love them and they are an important supply of omega6. However, as with anything, you don't want to go over the top with the sunflower seeds. Chickens aren't often too fussy about what you feed them but they actually do take pleasure in some greenery being added to their weight loss program. It is sweet to hold up a lettuce or some other vegetable for them to peck at now and again as it provides them some amusement. Feeding chickens kitchen scraps is mostly fantastic, as long as you might be selective. As a degree of curiosity, when we purchased our Marans we had been instructed by the farmer to not feed them any kitchen scraps in any respect and to follow hen feed. No such warning was given once we bought our Black Rocks, who've a repute for being bomb proof.

When constructing a rooster coop, run room is important. Chickens are like any other animal. To stay healthy and glad, they need room to maneuver around and be chickens. Any good coop will give the rooster places to roost, locations to scratch, and plenty of room for particular person area. Crowding too many chickens into a small area will improve the stress level on them. This leads to pecking and obvious signs of dominance display. This results in injuries on the chickens and solely provides to the stress levels. For those who want a wholesome contented flock, it's essential to plan the run as you do the nesting areas. A superb rooster coop run must have solar gentle. Chickens lay more eggs when they get common exposure to the sun. Solar also retains the ground drier and helps break down hen droppings sooner. This retains the run healthier for the chickens and their owner as effectively. She does not belong to us, her owner now lives in Australia. Judy has been with us for almost three years and has been a constant bother to deal with. She is petrified of human contact and can do just about anything to get away from me particularly. This is not good as I clearly must inject, drench, clip, shear and customarily look after her. She doesn't make it easy. A couple of months ago she covered me in spit for daring to try to inject her. I literally had to manhandle her away in order that I may get on with the remainder of the herd. I was not a cheerful bunny. Since then I have been working very laborious to keep her calm by appearing very calmly round her. I all the time have her penned with half a dozen other women in order that I can type of sneak in and jab by stealth. It seemed to be working and I used to be happy that we were making progress.

Wentworth chose to have Suri alpacas, that are native to the Andes, as a result of they are “cool” and “different.” She retired and needed one thing fun to do together with her time. Alpacas, every with their very own distinct personalities, require hours of attention every day. Their fiber can be utilized for making warm clothes and rugs. At her farm, Wentworth currently has 11 alpacas, six feminine and five male. They each have a name and respond to her calling for them. Marilyn Wentworth feeds her alpacas at Phoenix Hill Farm in Athens on Monday. Rocko is the boss, and Nero offers him a hard time sometimes, however they agree that Rocko is the boss,” Wentworth said, laughing. The other two males typically “act like teenagers,” Wentworth said. They often fight and spit at one another. Some days, she stated, their necks shall be lined in each other’s spit. Wentworth playfully yells at them and performs mediator when the two are combating. Publisher: Bill Boren If you first develop your chicken coop plan, providing for proper housing and related options is totally needed to maintain your chickens in wonderful bodily form, contented and happy. You'll do finest in your efforts in case your chickens are as "contented as a cow," so to talk. Publisher: Bob B Hayes Hen house choices are fairly straight forward constructions which are made use of because the coop location for rooster. Hen Houses perform an important function in rendering safeness on your hen chickens in addition to holding it glad and even properly-balanced. Affordable Hen Coops That Keep Your Chickens Joyful! Writer: C. Brendan Reasonably priced hen coops are a giant assist in getting you started on raising chickens and eggs. Happily, there are a number of methods to maintain the prices down and nonetheless keep the chickens joyful. Let's take a look! Writer: Dean James What you want to take into consideration earlier than you start development of a small rooster coop in your yard. Contains data on in style kinds of smaller-sized coops and the deserves of every design.

However, they comprise arsenic, a human carcinogen and runoff from farm factories can contaminate meat and floor water. What does this inform us? Nature has a built in instinct that causes animals to avoid foods derived from unnatural sources, an ingenious characteristic. Nonetheless, we people seem to lack this genetic trait as we have been consuming just about every little thing we have been creating in regards to meals production, medication, chemicals and now GE and GM foods. Furthermore, this crucial inform-tale sign is being ignored and these poor animals are being pressured fed via tubes to ingest GE and GM food. How can this not disrupt the legal guidelines of nature when it is already turning into apparent? Because of this of those pressured fed strategies, animals already have turn into diseased or have died. Now let's add GE feed to this disgusting listing of the above elements regulation permits into feed already. They are stuffing these animals with absolutely anything and the whole lot that may be scooped up mulched and recycled into the most horrifying edible meals invention identified. They are often misunderstood creatures, that have a long history with humans that's antagonistic at best. Grey wolves were all but wiped out within the lower forty eight United States, though in recent times, breeding applications and strict laws concerning looking has helped gray wolf populations bounce again. Sadly, gray wolves didn't survive in Europe, but they will nonetheless be found in Alaska, Canada, and Asia - there are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 wolves living in Canada alone. In 1980, wild purple wolves in the United Acknowledged became extinct. With a small variety of captured pink wolves, scientists were in a position to ascertain breeding programs after which efficiently reintroduced the animals in North Carolina. Today, purple wolves are dwelling within the southeastern U.S. Wolves dwell in households called packs that encompass a male, a female, and their pups which have been born several years earlier. Wolf plush could further curiosity a toddler after they be taught about the wolves social construction; they may be able to relate wolves back to their own family (father, mom, siblings).

[chuicide]

Ramblings From An Alpaca Farm In South Wiltshire: June 2017

Do you see my downside? They all look the bloody identical. I imply they all have the identical father (Qjori) but actually! These two girls for instance, anyones guess. Willow and Umbria I believe but I could also be fallacious. You see out of the 6 female cria, four of them are black. Which we all know is the new brown! This is three of them, but I am unable to tell you who is lacking! All I can say is that they are all stunning! On a sadder word, we came dwelling on Monday to find that our lovely brown girl Spirit had given beginning whereas we had been out and the cria, a phenomenal brown male, was lifeless. He should have had one thing worng with him I suppose however we are each kicking ourselves for not being right here. I buried him beneath a tree in the sector and cried buckets while doing it. Alpaca Knitwear alpaca clothing & wool (why not try these out) People who know us and browse this tripe will know that we will fight and combat to keep our alpacas alive but this time we just weren't right here. I do know we will not watch them on a regular basis however I can't shake off the feeling that I have let Spirit down. I'll hurt for a while over this one, I'm welling up once more now, she deserved extra, we must always have been right here.

I might recommend attempting both and determine what works out best for you. You should purchase hen feed, pellets or mash, online or from agricultural merchants. In addition to either mash or pellets, chickens can even benefit by small nutritional additions to their feed. Sunflower seeds are a superb instance. The chickens love them and they are an incredible source of omega6. Nonetheless, as with anything, you don't wish to go over the top with the sunflower seeds. Chickens aren't often too fussy about what you feed them however they actually do get pleasure from some greenery being added to their weight loss program. It is good to grasp up a lettuce or some other vegetable for them to peck at occasionally because it provides them some amusement. Feeding chickens kitchen scraps is mostly high-quality, so long as you might be selective. As a degree of curiosity, once we bought our Marans we were advised by the farmer to not feed them any kitchen scraps in any respect and to stick with rooster feed. No such warning was given when we bought our Black Rocks, who've a popularity for being bomb proof.

When constructing a hen coop, run room is necessary. Chickens are like another animal. To stay wholesome and comfortable, they want room to maneuver round and be chickens. Any good coop will give the chicken locations to roost, locations to scratch, and loads of room for particular person space. Crowding too many chickens right into a small space will enhance the stress degree on them. This results in pecking and apparent signs of dominance display. This results in injuries on the chickens and solely adds to the stress levels. Should you need a wholesome contented flock, you'll want to plan the run as you do the nesting areas. A superb rooster coop run needs to have solar light. Chickens lay extra eggs once they get regular exposure to the sun. Sun additionally retains the bottom drier and helps break down hen droppings sooner. This retains the run healthier for the chickens and their proprietor as nicely. She would not belong to us, her owner now lives in Australia. Judy has been with us for nearly three years and has been a relentless bother to deal with. She is petrified of human contact and can do just about something to get away from me in particular. This isn't good as I obviously need to inject, drench, clip, shear and generally look after her. She doesn't make it simple. A few months in the past she coated me in spit for daring to attempt to inject her. I literally needed to manhandle her away in order that I may get on with the rest of the herd. I used to be not a happy bunny. Since then I have been working very hard to keep her calm by acting very calmly around her. I all the time have her penned with half a dozen different women so that I can kind of sneak in and jab by stealth. It appeared to be working and I used to be joyful that we have been making progress.

Wentworth selected to have Suri alpacas, that are native to the Andes, because they are “cool” and “different.” She retired and wished something enjoyable to do together with her time. Alpacas, every with their very own distinct personalities, require hours of consideration each day. Their fiber can be used for making heat clothes and rugs. At her farm, Wentworth currently has 11 alpacas, six feminine and five male. They each have a name and reply to her calling for them. Marilyn Wentworth feeds her alpacas at Phoenix Hill Farm in Athens on Monday. Rocko is the boss, and Nero offers him a hard time occasionally, however they agree that Rocko is the boss,” Wentworth said, laughing. The opposite two males often “act like teenagers,” Wentworth said. They usually battle and spit at one another. Some days, she stated, their necks shall be lined in every other’s spit. Wentworth playfully yells at them and plays mediator when the two are preventing. Publisher: Bill Boren Whenever you first develop your chicken coop plan, offering for proper housing and related features is absolutely obligatory to keep your chickens in wonderful physical form, contented and completely satisfied. You will do best in your efforts in case your chickens are as "contented as a cow," so to speak. Publisher: Bob B Hayes Hen home choices are fairly straight forward structures that are made use of because the coop location for rooster. Hen Homes carry out a significant position in rendering safeness in your hen chickens along with holding it pleased and even well-balanced. Reasonably priced Chicken Coops That Keep Your Chickens Completely happy! Writer: C. Brendan Reasonably priced rooster coops are a giant help in getting you began on elevating chickens and eggs. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep the prices down and nonetheless keep the chickens pleased. Let's take a look! Publisher: Dean James What you have to take into consideration earlier than you begin building of a small hen coop in your backyard. Consists of information on fashionable kinds of smaller-sized coops and the deserves of every design.

Nevertheless, they comprise arsenic, a human carcinogen and runoff from farm factories can contaminate meat and floor water. What does this tell us? Nature has a inbuilt intuition that causes animals to keep away from foods derived from unnatural sources, an ingenious characteristic. Nonetheless, we humans appear to lack this genetic trait as we have been consuming just about every thing we've been creating with reference to meals manufacturing, medicine, chemicals and now GE and GM foods. Furthermore, this essential tell-tale sign is being ignored and these poor animals are being forced fed through tubes to ingest GE and GM meals. How can this not disrupt the legal guidelines of nature when it's already changing into apparent? As a result of those compelled fed strategies, animals already have turn into diseased or have died. Now let's add GE feed to this disgusting listing of the above elements regulation allows into feed already. They're stuffing these animals with just about anything and every part that can be scooped up mulched and recycled into the most horrifying edible meals invention identified. They are sometimes misunderstood creatures, which have an extended historical past with people that's antagonistic at finest. Gray wolves had been all however wiped out in the decrease 48 United States, although in recent years, breeding programs and strict legal guidelines regarding hunting has helped grey wolf populations bounce again. Sadly, grey wolves didn't survive in Europe, but they can nonetheless be present in Alaska, Canada, and Asia - there are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 wolves living in Canada alone. In 1980, wild pink wolves in the United Said became extinct. With a small number of captured crimson wolves, scientists had been ready to establish breeding packages after which efficiently reintroduced the animals in North Carolina. At this time, purple wolves are residing in the southeastern U.S. Wolves stay in families called packs that encompass a male, a female, and their pups which have been born several years earlier. Wolf plush might further curiosity a child when they study concerning the wolves social construction; they can relate wolves again to their very own household (father, mom, siblings).