#most of my support network has been awfully busy

[onebookcharacter]

bad mental health ramble in the tags don't mind me

[goggles-mcgee]

Okay, So I need to Ask Um, Got any salt on Marinette's Parents? Because as much As I love them in the show, They are almost never around to do anything.

Oh yeah definitely.

The show shows them to be loving supportive parents and I think a lot of us like to latch onto that when writing but when you take a step back, you realize they are almost never around and why? Because of their business. They are neglectful. Now it very well could be they don't mean to be, but the fact of the matter is, they are and as a result of that Marinette is very mature and always feels pressure to do things on her own or to make things perfect. That's a lot to put on a child.

Anyways mini rant over! There are 3 ideas on my Dead Sea Salt List that include Tom and Sabine salt and I shall tell them to you and the ways they are salted!

Idea 3. Marinette, The Rolling Stone:

This one is obvious here as this whole story is about Jagged and Penny adopting Marinette. Tom and Sabine like to think they know their daughter but the truth is they aren't around a lot. They don't even notice that she doesn't hang out with the girls in class anymore and hasn't done so in months for crying out loud! They don't even notice that she hasn't gone out to hang out with her friends either.

But then Marinette's friends come in and start telling them that Marinette is bullying the new girl, they don't even recognize Lila from when she almost got Marinette expelled, and Lila herself creates a sob story and well Tom and Sabine notice then and there just how often Marinette has been at home by herself. They fall for the lies.

And well, this is a blessing in disguise for them, they were getting busier with the bakery and thinking of opening up another location and doing that while juggling a teenager would be so difficult, especially a problem child. They decide to kick Marinette out, but they aren't "malicious" or "cold-hearted" they decide to emancipate her. They purely do it because they think they are protecting their family members by not letting Marinette manipulate them into thinking she's the sweet person they thought she was, and they want to protect their image. They don't want their family members to think ill of them.

Then Jagged Stone pops up wanting to commission Marinette, but Tom and Sabine tell them they grounded Marinette from designing and took away her sewing machine. He's livid and demands the reason why, they tell him and he just looks at them like they lost their heads, even asks if they did, because he knows there's no way Marinette would bully someone. They insist she has and she's changed and she's this horrible little liar and manipulator and that's why they are getting rid of her. It takes a lot for him not to get akumatized then and there but Jagged firmly says he'll adopt Marinette.

They try their best to talk him out of it but he's set. So they let him, they just know hope he knows he can't return her when he finds out they were right.

Life is good for them after they get rid of Marinette, that is until the interview. Nadja gets an exclusive interview with Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling and their new adoptive daughter that they have been raving about on social media. Nadja does nothing to hold back her disgust when she recounts what Marinette and her new parents had told her about Tom and Sabine kicking her out all because of a liar. The interview is an hour special where they debunk each and every single one of Lila's lies. And Tom and Sabine watch and the pits in their stomachs grow the more they watch.

After all that. Paris erupts. Gabriel literally passes out from all the anger and sadness he feels from his Miraculous and has to take sleeping medication and just sleep the day away. Everyone who had ever met Marinette was furious, not only at her school and friends, but at her parents too. Regulars who used to come in stopped. Which is a kind of a big deal in France, you pick a bakery and basically stick to it. Despite their products being good, people are hesitant to go to Tom and Sabine's, because how can they go to a place and expect to be treated well when the owners treated their own daughter so awfully and for what? For lies?

They can't even get a second location anymore, the owner of the place they were going to buy from refused their offer. They wanted someone who treasured baking and family to buy their place and they can see that Tom and Sabine don't treasure those ideals. They still get business, but it's not as good as it had been. Some people come in and buy something small but they always have something to say about Marinette, like how it's a shame she's not there, or how her cupcakes were always decorated the best, or how her smile always made their day. Little jabs that just made Tom and Sabine hurt more.

They tried to get Marinette back but to no luck. They tried to say the adoption wasn't legal because of the lies but that got slammed down pretty fast. They tried to talk with her anyway they could think of till she changed her number and Jagged and Penny threatened to take legal action against them.

Everytime they went out, it felt like they were being judged. Like people didn't even want to look at them.

Gina and Roland basically disowned them

Idea 6. Wish Me Away

Not a lot of salt but Tom and Sabine were getting more and more distant with Marinette the closer the big battle got. She tried to pretend she didn't notice but she did, they seemed to only be around ling enough to give her good mornings, obligatory 'I love you's', even when they had dinner together it felt like when they asked her how her day was they were only doing it because it was what parents did, not because they were genuinely interested. Everyday that got closer to the fight she had wanted to be honest and just tell them that she was being crushed under all the weight of her responsibilities but she knew if she did she would be met with disappointment and fake sympathy.

She knew it wasn't healthy, she knew it wasn't right, but Marinette figured she was better off than most kids so she never complained. Then the battle happened and the wish happened and honestly, her parents didn't notice she didn't come home. They figured she was at a friend's house. The second night it was a Sunday so they just figured she was still at a friend's. The third day it was Monday, a school day and nothing, she never came home for lunch which she always did, they remembered that at least. So they called the school to ask if she had been in that day but the school told them, very politely, that no one by the name Marinette Dupain Cheng ever went to their school.

Of course they freak out and assume this must be the work of an Akuma. But days pass by and they really start to get worried and try to get Nadja to help them but even she looks at them like they're crazy and calmly tells them they don't have a daughter. That's when they finally go up to Marinette's room and see it's just a normal attic. Then Marinette's classmates come by and her teacher and they ask where she is and they nearly weep because somebody else remembers her and they tell them what has been going on. They too think it's an Akuma.

Then Adrien comes by with a woman they've never met and he looks like he'll but they refrain from saying anything, they still keep their business going because they figure if it is an Akuma then Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat it any day now and Marinette will come back. There are days when they forget that Marinette is missing and doesn't that just say something? But they have to tell Adrien that only a few people remember Marinette and they suspect it's an Akuma. They don't notice how pale the boy gets or the cold face his mother makes at the mention of an Akuma but they give them a couple discounted treats and send them on their way.

Then Ladybug makes an appearance on Nadja's network and says it's to give an announcement. She looks different, older, and her suit is also different but everyone is paying attention. She tells of the battle with Hawkmoth, Gabriel Agreste, that was the first big shock, she tells them that she was betrayed by Chat Noir, but she would not give out his name as he was already living out his punishments, she tells them that Hawkmoth made his wish and the world was paying for it, that Gabriel and Chat were paying for it, they lost someone dear to them, for Gabriel it was Nathalie, for Chat it was the previous Ladybug, Marinette Dupain Cheng...their existences had been erased from the universe but those who had wronged them or failed them would be punished with the memories of them.

Tomnand Sabine froze at that because it made sense, and at the same time didn't. How did they fail Marinette? They just couldn't understand it. Gina didn't remember having a granddaughter but she remembered Tom and Sabine calling and asking about a Marinette, and in a rare moment she had been in Paris during the announcement and had heard what Ladybug had said. She cried for the little girl she didn't know but she was angry at her son and his wife because they clearly remembered her so they were being punished, and she could imagine why. Their bakery was always their top priority, it was their baby, everything else came second. They never wanted a baby, they never said it out loud but she knew, so she could only imagine what this Marinette had to go through and she cried for the girl.

Roland remembered being helped by the heroes but he doesn't remember why but when he watched the announcement he thinks it may be because of the granddaughter he can't remember, he didn't want to see his son or wife, it had been that way for awhile, but he felt his heart wrench for the granddaughter he couldn't remember and would never get to know. Roland was even more disappointed in his son when he got a call asking if he remembered this Marinette, because it meant he had failed his own daughter and their protector. He knew he wasn't the best father but he felt outraged on behalf of the granddaughter he lost.

People found out that Tom and Sabine remembered and so they found out they were being punished, which made people a bit wary of them.

[The "new" Ladybug is literally just Tikki using Trixx's illusions, Tikki is hella petty in this fic, also okay that was more salt that I thought]

Idea 9. Ivy's Sapling:

This one definitely doesn't have a lot of salt towards them but there is some. They do care about Marinette and they see her as a niece more than a daughter. So they aren't really as involved in her life as maybe they should be but she understands that they didn't ask for her. When the problems with Lila start up they want to believe in her and they do at the beginning but they start to question of they could be true because of her background. From what her and Gina said, she was from the bad part of Gotham and so was her mother, they never told them she was Poison Ivy's kid, they just know that Marinette's mother goes by Pamela when she talks with Marinette on the phone.

So they don't fully turn on Marinette but they do start to be wary and more questioning, they don't trust her as much as they did before which does hurt her but they don't fully believe Lila and her classmates, or more like they don't want to believe.

[fics-not-tragedies]

White Christmas: Part One ❄

one - two - three - four

For @letoursilencebreaktonight​ who’s also obsessed with Mr Hiddleston, I love you, you’re my frien 💖

STORY SUMMARY: You, a well known and respected doctor, plan a Christmas Eve ball to raise money for the foundation you’re a part of. Few famous people attend it and Tom Hiddleston is among them.

Words:  4078; Warnings: none, unless you want a warning for drinking, then you have it; Summary: You’re anxious about every little thing even though the party started, but that quickly changes when you’re approached by no one else but Tom Hiddleston himself.

Hiddleston tag list:

@letoursilencebreaktonight​​; @kinghiddlestonanddixon​​; @penwieldingdreamer​;

Sparkling chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, the light reflecting in the polished gold of the embellished columns that lined the walls and accentuated the staircase majestically, the heavy drapes pulled up by the windows, illuminated and shimmering as the flames of the candles on each table danced, the ballroom had transformed into the perfect setting for the magical night you hoped no one wouldn’t forget so soon.

The room was slowly filling with more and more people as you felt the anticipation rise inside you, thrilled that the event looked out to become a success. You recognized quite a few important and famous faces instantly, and you knew they meant business, leaving you hopeful to raise a good sum tonight.

You, along with the other women at your foundation, had worked for weeks, months to make this event possible, planning, inviting, networking, raising money and now, the night was finally here. And even though everything seemed to be going according to plan, you couldn’t shake that anxiety, that fear that in at least one crucial moment, something would go wrong.

But there was only so much you could do now, nothing really but watch closely to be sure to notice issues before anyone else in order to prevent them in advance, keep an eye on everything and overlook the event and make sure you would really reach your goal tonight, would really make everyone see the vision you had in mind when planning this event.

It wasn’t just about raising money to support those who struggle daily due to their illnesses, who can’t have a normal life, who can’t raise their children themselves - you also wanted to show everyone that even though you’re a woman, you are capable of making a change somehow, capable of making greater things, even though people doubted your strength when you began your career.

Women in beautiful evening dresses, along with more businessmen in expensively tailored suits entered the warm space from the cold, faces flushed as they warmed up, their eyes wide, gleaming with wonder when they took in the extravagance of the ballroom dipped into a golden light. Some were already starting to sway gently to the music the live band was playing.

You had managed to get an extraordinary singer for tonight, knowing it would be one of the finest aspects of entertainment of the evening. Already though, the way the guests’ heads turned, they stopped to admire the setting, it filled you with joy and a sense of great pride because you managed to make the most of the resources you’d been given for tonight.

Soon, all the guests had found their tables and you went to sit at one in the front with the other women from your foundation, one of your friends to your right instantly taking your arm and leaning over to you, “You don’t look like you’re enjoying yourself. It’s looking so good.”

You smiled, shaking your head to ease her mind, “I am enjoying myself, I really am. And I’m aware it looks good, I’m delighted. But something might still go awfully wrong…”

“Oh, always the perfectionist, aren’t you? Everything is going to be fine, trust me” she said confidently, giving you a reassuring nod, “We’ve thought of everything, thought out everything that could possibly go wrong, and we set in motion all possible precautions. Please, my dear, you deserve to enjoy this night too.”

You breathed out shakily, trying to internalize her words because you knew she was right, you worked hard and you could still enjoy the evening even if you had to keep an eye on everything, making sure that it all was going smoothly.

Once everyone was seated, the music slowed, decreased in volume, then paused, as soon as the president of your foundation took the small stage that was decorated with artificial sparkling snow, situated at the far end of the large room, all the round tables facing it and the quiet conversation and laughter subsided. It never took much for her to have a full room’s undivided attention, especially now in her ruby red dress with golden embroidery on the fabric over her chest and a hint of golden satin material covering her shoulders, she drew everyone’s gaze effortlessly.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” she called, her voice rising in pitch as she stood at the center of the stage, “I would like to give a warm welcome to all our guests, everybody who has had a part in making our vision we had for this very special night become a reality, our friends, our families, friends we have yet to make tonight. We are going to be accepting donations throughout the whole evening, myself and the other wonderful ladies wearing the gold pin that stands for our foundation so do not be hesitant to approach us, we will be delighted to discuss the different ways the money raised tonight will be spent, most importantly to support the people in need and their families.”

She paused, gave one of those smiles that you knew had just won over half the businessmen that would potentially donate something and the room filled with clapping, spreading around the tables and she looked contently over the sea of people watching her, applauding her. She waited, cleared her throat in order to signal that she wanted to continue speaking after a moment and just as slowly and gradually, the clapping subsided respectfully once more.

“From me and my sisters, a merry Christmas, and a wonderful evening! Enjoy the entertainment and the dishes we’ve selected but most importantly, be kind to one another.”

And with those words, she exited the stage, her heels clicking on the floor for only a brief moment before the music picked up once more and the waiters began carrying the food inside, placing an entree in front of each guest. You had spent a week on tasting different foods with one of the other ladies, had selected each dish carefully, making sure to only serve the best. And no matter how anxious you were about the evening, you had also been looking forward to it, so happy that it had finally come and you would get to see what you worked so hard for unfold.

You discussed some of the charity work you would do, what you would put the money to while in the background, the highly anticipated singer took the stage in front of the band, a few heads turning, smiles appearing on people’s faces when her mellow voice echoed melodically through the room, lifting your heart at least a little from the depressing reality you were attempting to combat through charity tonight.

Once you finished dessert, the first people were already standing, switching seats to converse with people at different tables, some even spreading out as far as the other side of the room, close to the dancefloor. You volunteered to break the first ground if no one else would initiate it, although you secretly hoped it wouldn’t come to that because unlike most of the other women in your foundation, you came here alone.

Before you knew it though, several couples had taken to the dancefloor, spinning around to the now more upbeat music and the rich voice of the remarkable singer, dancing, swaying, turning the heads of anyone that heard her, walked by her purposely once she caught their eye.

You stood near the stage, sipping on a glass of champagne, overlooking the crowd watchfully to assess the atmosphere, when he caught your eye.

And for a brief moment, you couldn’t look away. Even from across the room, that pair of fair, blue eyes caused your heart to skip a beat, the connection lasting merely a few seconds until a waiter blocked your view and he picked up one of the glasses from the waiter’s tray, his eyes still locked on yours once they were visible to you once more and you found your face flush, flustered as he had the nerve to keep up his stare, making you shift nervously.

You found it in you finally to lower your gaze, the intensity of the stranger’s eyes having quite the effect and you attempted to compose yourself, taking another sip from your champagne, the pleasant tingles fizzing down your tongue and tickling your throat.

Once you had gathered up the strength to lift your gaze again, the same pair of eyes corrupted the steady rhythm of your heartbeat once again and this time he was closer, two more steps, then just one and he stood right in front of you, his large blue eyes having effortlessly increased their effect on you tenfold.

He was silent for a moment, brought his glass to his lips and took a sip, exhaling before the low tone of his voice hit you for the first time, “Good evening” the English charm of this man was beyond real borders and you gave him a slow nod, once you managed to tear your eyes from his in order to be able to form a coherent sentence, you noticed his gaze brushing over your features and the way he looked at you, you had never seen anyone regard you quite the same.

“Sir” you said respectfully, clearing your throat when you realized how dry your voice sounded.

The right corner of his mouth twitched upwards, just the hint of amusement on his hard features lightening up his face immensely, even before he toyed with the small smile around his lips. He was wearing one of the most impeccable suits you’ve ever seen with your own eyes, his dark hair neatly styled, brushed backwards, so they won’t fall onto his forehead.

“How may I help you, Sir?” You asked in a desperate attempt to not let the nervousness he evoked in you pop up onto the surface.

His face broke out into a smirk and he lifted his free hand. To your relief you noticed that there was no ring on it, “May I?”

A knot had formed in your throat and you didn’t know if you had it in you to speak now, accept him because there was no way you were denying his offer, but you were surprised nonetheless, and you had to win some time to calm yourself before you would be able to dance with this incredibly handsome stranger, be close enough for him to notice your heart racing, “You want to dance with me, Sir?” You asked, in hopes to stall him for just a few seconds.

“If you have nothing against it, Ma’am.”

As much as you were trying to appear unfazed, unaffected by the look in his eyes, the deep drawl of his dulcet voice, the rush of pink into your cheeks betrayed you. You didn’t know what it was that made it absolutely impossible for you to take your eyes off him, but there was something that had drawn you in quite abruptly. There was no doubting his attractiveness, but there was more to it, it were his ways of interaction, his cheek, how much he had expressed simply with his eyes and the minimal amount of words he uttered so far. And you wanted more.

He wiggled his fingers suggestively when you didn’t accept his hand right away and you could not suppress your laugh, drinking down the rest of champagne remaining in your glass before placing it down on a passing waiter’s tray.

He did the same, one large step to the side to reach, then he was back by your side, cocking an eyebrow up expectantly, “Would you like me to get you another drink first?”

To your own surprise, you caught yourself shaking your head eagerly, finally allowing yourself to take the enticing stranger’s hand, “Oh no” you said, holding your breath as his warm hand enveloped yours and he gently led you forward, approaching the dancefloor where a number of couples was already dancing, swaying, twirling.

“No?” He questioned, turning to place his hand on the middle of your back respectfully, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. When he drew you in and you managed to regulate your breathing, you were surrounded instantly by a pleasant cloud of something musky, with just a hint of cigarette smoke and you leaned closer, craving more as you moved with him, allowing him to lead you into a fast-paced waltz.

“Not to change your plans” you said quickly, licking your lips, attempting to gather your wit, “I just don’t want to be absolutely… wasted, in case something goes wrong” you explained.

He raised his eyebrows, then nodded understandingly as his eyes wandered down to the small pin secured to your dress to the side of your bust, “Oh, yes, right…” he said, “you’re one of the brains behind this whole thing, aren’t you?”

You smiled proudly, “Indeed I am. Are you enjoying yourself?” You asked hopefully.

“Oh, certainly” he assured you, “The food was absolutely fantastic, I don’t remember the last time I had a meal quite like that, never have before perhaps.”

His words filled you with joy, lifting your spirits tremendously, “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that” you told him softly.

A genuine smile spread across his face, no cheek, no smirk, “Oh, you’ve done a fantastic job, I can assure you. And I’m not the only one who thinks the same way.”

You sighed, biting your bottom lip, “Are you sure?”

“I swear, Ma’am” he said, letting his gaze wander across the room, and you almost missed it on you there, even though he only took his attention from you for just a brief moment, “Look around the room. It’s truly wonderful.”

Subconsciously, you leaned closer to him, intertwining your fingers with his, “Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all, Miss…?”

You looked back at him, telling him your name, your heart fluttering when he repeated it back to you in his deep voice, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards as he savored your name the way it rolled off his tongue.

“Beautiful.”

You blushed a dark flush of red, taking a breath, “What about you?” You asked.

“I’m Thomas” he said. “Hiddleston.”

You raised an eyebrow, your eyes piercing his face and with the sound of his name you were remained why his face seemed so familiar.

“Just Tom, if you will…” he added quickly.

“I think I will settle on that.”

He smirked, then suddenly stepping back, stretching out his arm as the song changed to a more upbeat one and he fell into a foxtrot step sequence. It took you a moment to snap out of it, snap out of pondering his words but then you were all there, twirled into him before dancing back and placing your hand on his shoulder again as he pulled you close, his body much closer to yours now, eyes locked, the intensity of that baby blue making your breath hitch in your throat once more.

The music had now increased in volume and the faster steps required more of your attention, more of your stamina so you settled for just focusing on your bodies moving together for now instead of words, trying to gather as much as you could from just observing him as your heart beats increased in unison, breaths heavier when the song switched to another and you slowly but surely started swirling around the room together, becoming more confident and trusting in each other.

You hadn’t danced like that in a long time, hadn’t quite found a partner that would switch and lead and fall into the rhythm of your every move quite as quick as you liked but right now, things were just falling into place, he picked up every hint, you followed where he led, and it was just easy, you barely had to think about it, your body moving on its own, complimentary with his, and your nervousness was slowly falling from you, the tension replaced with excitement. From one second to the next, you found yourself having more fun that you had in a very long time, especially on the dancefloor.

You lost count of the songs, of the amount of times you changed pace, adjusted your grip on his shoulder, his hand, but noticed specifically the way his hand kept finding its way to your lower back, the way he pulled you closer with every single song and soon, you ended up with your body pressed up against his after a particularly fast-paced tune.

He was panting, the muscles of his chest tense and so were his arms and you were breathing heavily as well, but he never allowed your eyes to disconnect and even though you should have gotten used to it by now, the way they looked like they were staring right into your soul had your knees weaker than ever before.

You were overwhelmed by how close you’d gotten to his stranger, this insanely attractive stranger, in such a short span of time, and you hoped he’d also had enough dancing for now, not because you weren’t having fun, but because you desperately wanted to hear him talk more, the way he’d spoken about his impressive ranks so modestly had you curious, captivated.

“Break time, darling?” He drawled and you found it in yourself to give a nod, breathing out with a shaky sigh, letting your hand slide from his shoulder and letting him lead you off the dancefloor, “Let me get you a proper drink. Don’t you move.”

And with those words, he’d disappeared in the sea of sparkly dresses and expensive suits to head to the open bar, leaving you to your anxious feeling about the event again. For a while, he’d made you forget, made you enjoy the ball like your colleague had instructed for you to.

You smiled when she headed for you as soon as you caught her eye when she passed by, “There you are, dear” she said, leaning closer to you than the average exchange required.

You raised your eyebrows at her expectantly, “What’s the matter?” You asked fearfully, worried that just now when you let your guard down, something had gone wrong.

“I saw you on the dancefloor…” she smirked, bumping your hip playfully with hers.

Despite your momentary confusion, you managed to breathe out with relief. She just wanted to gossip. She loved gossiping about men, “Yes, I’ve been dancing” you said, not giving her quite enough to work with.

“Tom Hiddleston” she said, smirking, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you out of all the women here would catch his eye.”

“What?” you asked, furrowing your brows and stretching out your tired arms, “Do you know him?”

“You don’t?” She asked, blinking in disbelief, “He’s the hottest among all of the actors that came to our event. Also I feel like you should get some time off, watch few of his movies instead of working so hard at the clinic.”

“Here we are, darling.”

You spun around when you heard his deep voice, your heart skipping a beat as your eyes landed on his once more and you absently took the glass he handed you, giving your friend a nod before placing his hand on your lower back and leading you away, only stopping when you resumed your previous observatory position from when he approached you.

He was even more fascinating to you now after that short exchange with your friend, which you wouldn’t have thought possible and you took a sip from the glass he handed you, grimacing as too much of it burned down your throat harshly, “Whiskey?”

“Whiskey” he confirmed with a chuckle, giving you a confident nod, “A good liquor.”

You smirked. You loved a man that could appreciate some good hard liquor, “Chin-chin, love” you said, raising your glass.

“Bless your heart, darling” he let your glass ring with his, taking a sip without breaking eye contact as he watched you over the edge of his glass, “Will you dance with me again, darling?”

“Oh, I’ll be absolutely wasted by then” you laughed.

“But you will still look beautiful out there” he said.

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head to cover for the blush in your cheeks, “You’re quite funny, aren’t you?” You teased, playing it off.

“Possibly, but I mean that, absolutely not a joke. Out of all the women at this ball … there’s not a single one that compares to you.”

“Oh, you’re making it up!” you couldn’t believe his shameless compliments, the way he stared. There was not a second for you to slip up, he would see it all, his full attention had been on you since he laid eyes on you for the first time. And you couldn’t deny that it was incredibly flattering and made you feel like you were the only woman worth looking at, simply because he was looking at you.

“I am not” he stated, shaking his head, the corner of his mouth tugging upward with amusement as he regarded you watchfully, “That’s quite stunning dress…”

You swallowed, nervously adjusting the pearly headdress you carefully secured in your hair as you looked down at your body, the emerald colored silky dress flowing down, complementing your figure, its material shimmery, intrinsically beaded, with flowy sleeves, “Thank you” you said quietly, your voice just a hint as you looked back up at him, “I got it just for tonight.”

“Immaculate choice” he remarked, taking another sip from his whisky, “So tell me, what are you doing except for planning such balls? Where could I find you then?”

You laughed, “Except for clinic… probably the local library” you confessed, “I love reading, quite too much I must admit.”

He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head and shifting. It wasn’t much, but his body was noticeably closer now, “Tell me then, darling, what are the best books you recently read?”

“I haven’t read too much that’s been recently been published” you admitted, “I like to scavenge for hidden treasures at the libraries, old poetry collections and novels by the remarkable women.”

“Old poetry you say… I debuted in plays, so those have a very special place in my heart.”

You tried to imagine him in the theater, playing for a whole room of people, not being afraid to do so, like you probably would and you zoned out for a moment, too focused on your thoughts.

“Darling, are you alright?” he asked, his eyes growing wide with concern, the smirk fading from his face. “Let me take you outside, okay?”

“N-No, I’m fine…” you said, not wanting to be an inconvenience.

Tom didn’t listen, already placing down both your drinks on the nearest table before returning to wrap his arm around you, “Is there anywhere we can go to get some fresh air, darling?”

You didn’t find the strength to protest and just navigated him out of the ballroom at the far end, down a short corridor that led to a set of double doors, a large balcony stretching out ahead and despite denying your need for fresh air, you felt instantly more calm as you set foot outside, your heels clicking on the shiny ground and his arm tightened around you, presumably having noticed the small layer of shimmery ice, too.

“Thank you” you said quietly, leaning closer to him almost automatically as you reached the railing at the far end. The balcony faced the impressive back gardens and you looked out in awe.

“Are you alright?” he asked again, fishing out a pack of cigarettes from his top pocket.

“I am” you said quickly, “I just … it’s quite overwhelming discussing literature with you when my patients…”

“Aren’t doing so well back in the clinic you work at?” he asked, trapping the cigarette between his lips and lighting it, “I know that you’re committed to your work, darling, but you need to take rest from time to time and enjoy yourself.”

A sigh of relief escaped your lips, you were glad he didn’t seem to think you’d been insensitive. It seemed he knew just what you meant, what you wanted to say without you finding the right words to express it, he just understood, “Really?”

He nodded, “Yes…” he said, offering you the pack of cigarettes, but you politely declined, “You really need to enjoy this evening at least, you planned it.”

“I enjoy your company, Tom.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #247

“i tried to choke my mom with my umbilical cord, the doctor was too busy amputating my horns.”

Have you ever had confetti pancakes? I don't believe so. Do you obsess over your appearance? To a degree, ex. in regards to weight. Are you responsible for stuffing someone’s stocking? No. What’s your favorite romantic comedy? Ah man, idk. I like romcoms, just none are coming to mind right now. Do you stock up on make-up palettes during November? ????? no????? Have you ever taken a class online? Yes. Do you have a Neopets account? Omg I have so many piled up, I'm sure, lol. Loved that shit and kept going back. Do you make your own smoothies or juices? No. Do you think time really does heal all? No. Are you more sensitive to heat or the cold? HEAT, FUCKING CHRIST. Has anyone searched your room for anything recently? Mom helped me search for one of my mood stabilizers that the cat got out of my basket... We never found it. A new bottle. Thank god my psychiatrist just gave me a sample pack til my prescription can be refilled. Is anything in your room purposely hidden? Yes. Do you get a cold around the holidays? I rarely get sick, regardless of the season. Does it snow where you live? Rarely. Have you ever been pranked via hidden camera? No. Is hair gel a turn off on guys? "Not necessarily, but too much can be." <<<< This. Do you think cursing makes people sound unintelligent? Lol fuck off. What’s something you can cook extremely well? The only thing I CAN cook is cheesy scrambled eggs but I mean they're exceptionally good lol. Have you ever been bitten by a snake? Nope. How about a spider? Possibly at some point. If you don't want kids, was there ever a time you did, and vice-versa? The only time I ever wanted kids was deep into Jason's and my relationship. It's funny because I wanted three and now I'm just all NOPE. I stopped wanting kids after him. What is your favorite color for bridesmaid dresses? Idc. Do you ever count sheep to help you fall asleep? No. Do you have a youtube channel? If so, when did you start it? Yeah. I was on YouTube real early... don't remember the actual year, though. Do you have a secret crush right now? No. When was the last time you called customer service? I haven't. Do you take birth control pills? Not currently for mood reasons, but with my incredible fear of being raped, I kinda wanna go back. Do you like chocolate cake? Yeah man. Do you know anyone who doesn’t want to have kids? Plenty of people, myself included. Do you regret letting a certain guy or girl slip away? Ugh idk. There's no telling how awfully or well that path would've gone. Have you ever fainted? Yes. Do you consider yourself a good artist? Decent, anyway. Do you ever play board games anymore? Not really, I don't enjoy board games. The only time I ever really do is if Girt's over cuz that's like our "thing." Who was your first celebrity crush? Whew, Jesse McCartney. Who in your family did you get your height from? Mom. Who did you get your smile from? your hair color? your eye color? Smile, idk. Hair, also unsure. Dad was born dirty blond like me, but his hair turned black. Meanwhile I think Mom has always had brown hair, but hers is very dark/almost black. My maternal grandpa had blue eyes like me. Do you have big or small hands? Idk, normal. What was the name of your first imaginary friend you remember having? I never really had one. Do you pray to God regularly? Considering I don't believe in Him, no. What is your favorite version of the Bible to read? Even growing up religious, I sure never spent time reading various versions of the Bible. Have you been baptized? If so, how and where were you baptized? I was as a baby in a Roman Catholic church. You know, the traditional baptism with being dipped in water. Do you eat meat? Sadly. What college did you go to? and what was your major? I'm not sharing what college I go to, but my major is Art & Design. Do you miss living with a roommate? I look back on living with Jason, Jacob, and Amanda fondly most of the time, but idk if I can say I miss it. I at least don't miss my mental health. Have you ever been abused in any way? I feel incredibly thankful that I haven't... It seems like most people I know have been in some way or form. Do you like unicorns? Yeah man, they're dope. How old were you when you found out Santa wasn’t real? Idk, some year in elementary school. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Ha ha no, I've got a cat for that. He insists on being cuddled most of the time. Name 3 things you are allergic to. Just pollen and silver. Oh, I do get headaches from artificial sweeteners, but "allergic" seems like the wrong word. Is there one book you have read over and over again because it’s so good? if so, which is it? The only two books I know I've read more than once are Because of Winn-Dixie and the Meerkat Manor book. Who was your favorite Rugrats character? Uhhh I think it was just regular ole Tommy. Which fairytale resembles your life the most? Uh idk. Do you play games on your phone a lot? No. What’s your favorite thing to do on your phone? Text Sara. Where do you buy most of your clothes? Wal-Mart or Hot Topic. Who is your favorite cousin? I don't have a favorite. Do you have family that lives in another state? Oh yeah, we're all the hell over the place. What states have you lived in? Only NC. Do you watch birth vlogs on youtube? bitch what the fuck What is your favorite type of cake? Red velvet. Favorite arcade game? I neeeeeed to find an arcade one day that actually has the Silent Hill game. It's so rare. I'm sure I'd love it. Have you ever found a roller coaster relaxing? Uh no, but I've never been on one, nor can I even imagine one ever being relaxing. Have you ever seen a spirit? I believe I have. Have you ever been kidnapped? Yikes no. Is there a running trail near your house? Not that I'm aware of. A game you cheated on in elementary school? None that I remember? Do you wear a retainer at night? I'm SUPPOSED to, but I haven't in so long that it doesn't even fit anymore. Where is the last place you had a kiss? The airport. When was the last time you cried out of physical pain? I think it hasn't been since that infected cyst was drained in like late '16. FUCK that. Have you ever done anything to Support the Troops? No. Do you donate blood? I did once, but now I'm too nervous to because I know I don't drink enough water and don't wanna faint. Have you ever owned the socks with toes on them? Ha, yeah, my sisters and I did. They were just a silly gift sometimes. What were you the last time you went trick or treating? WOW I couldn't even try to tell you, that's reaching far back. What was your favorite part about studying ancient Greeks and Romans? The badass names lmao. Where did your mom go to high school? Somewhere in NY. What’s a subject you would never major in? Mathematics. Is there someone who you can turn to for money and not be ashamed? No. I'm only EVER capable of doing so with Mom, but even then I don't like it. Have you ever swam in a river? Yeah, as a kiddo. I don't think I would now. What food do you love the smell of while it’s cooking? Cinnamon rolls omfggggg. What food do you hate the smell of uncooked? Fish, I guess? Has a bee ever stung you? Yes, once. Where did you last go camping? Never been. In what month do you start Christmas shopping? I can't Christmas shop considering I don't have an income. Have you ever slept in a bed with someone with bad BO? Yes. Do you have a favorite flavor at Baskin Robbins? No. Have you ever had a crush on a celebrity of the same sex? HUNNY Hannah Hart is a GODDESS godDAMN What kind of flowers would you plant in your garden? I'm too lazy for a garden. Do you believe that kids should be taught abstinence? I would definitely inform them of it being a completely valid and safest form of STD prevention, but I don't believe it should be what is "right." What's important is educating them on safe sex and to choose whom they're intimate with very carefully. I absolutely encourage them being taught what being "too young" means, too. Now what "too young" is can be argued, but let's be a late teen at least. When’s the last time you went to Chuck E. Cheese? Boy, I don't have a clue. What’s your favorite cheese or cheese flavored food? American. Cheese-flavored food is absolutely impossible to pick. Do you like black licorice? I hate licorice. Do you watch anything on the E! network? No. Have you ever tried out or thought of trying out for American Idol? Nope. Did you keep any momentos of high school dances? I had my... what's it called? The flower band on your wrist? Whatever, I had that for a long time. Do you still have clothes from your high school dances? I have both prom dresses. I'm probably gonna try to sell them this prom season though because I have absolutely no reason to keep them, and I'm poor lmao. Can you touch your nose with your tongue? No. Ever been to the original 13 colonies? I live in NC so like,,, Have you ever been to a concert that got out of control? Nope. Can you jump rope double dutch? I used to be able to as a kid. I loved jump rope. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know? Eek... idk. Actually, I might know. I want to know, but also don't, if whether or not how I treated Jason after the breakup was abusive or not. I've asked people in my life, old therapist included, if it was from what I told them (which was honest), and the unanimous answer has been no, that I was sick/actually insane and heartbroken beyond words, but yeah. I still wonder about it. Do you have a bucket list? If so, what are the top three things? Not really, but I mean of course there's things I wanna do, top two (idk about three) being to meet Mark and visit the KMP to photograph and pet the meerkats. Do you feel you had a happy childhood? For the most part, yeah. When did you last cry in front of another person? Last week when I was having a meltdown about school. How do you feel about tattoos and piercings? Explain. I LIVE!!!!!!!! FOR THEM!!!!!!!! As someone who never felt totally comfortable in her body, one thing that has always helped me has been new tats and piercings. It's like a more permanent form of make-up, you could say. All they've ever done is make me like a part of myself. Do you wear a lot of makeup? Why/why not? I almost never do unless I want to take a "pretty" picture. Talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way. JINKIES!!!!!!! UHHHHHHH man that's hard 'cuz there's a whole whoppin' load. I guess I can talk about some lyrics from Ozzy's "Life Won't Wait" that used to make me really emotional back in the dark days: "Every day that you wait, you're falling faster / no sleight of hand, no twist of fate, no ever after / when it's gone - it's gone, a fight to the bitter end." Just that whole song used to sting so much when I felt like I really was just entirely wasting my life being sad every day. Just like... a lot of Ozzy's lyrics have really resonated and stuck with me. I still have the hardest time believing the Parkinson's news. God, life's cruel. Poison a legendary singer's voice. I hope, so long he feels truly capable, this concert still happens so I can actually hear and see him one time and literally sob and okay I'm getting emotional basically I Love Ozzy Osbourne. List the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel. Ha, speaking of concerts. Only seen Alice Cooper, but it was aaaaaaamazing! Outside in a (mostly light) thunderstorm playing some classic good shit. It was a fun adventure, especially having my younger sis, a full-on redneck, come along just because she was bored and came for the ride. She was so, so, SO confused and creeped out and was NOT fucking happy when he brought his python on stage as he usually does. We were absolutely drenched when it was over; the ride home, we were freezing, and changing out of those soaked clothes was like a holy experience. Who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say? Jason telling me he forgives me and doesn't hate me. Do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organized/not organized? I don't, sadly. My bed is where I do like... everything, which I hate. I'd love to turn my sister's old room into like my "work" room, where I do homework, draw, etc., but I can't for a number of reasons. What is your night time routine? Go to the bathroom, take my meds, go to bed. Not very complicated. What’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know? Certain places I've "done things" oops. If you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why? I wanna dye my hair lilac currently. I wouldn't change the style. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high? N/A What’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars? Murder, to name just one. If you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? If you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair? My hair is short now. What is the most important thing to you in your life right now? My mental health.

[the-energon-hole]

The tfp bots and their s/o who they find curled up in dark room (either by accident or frantic searching) crying because theyve been very stressed and depressed lately and its taken a mental toll on them. I just really need some bot comfort my heads gone to shit and im confused in life. Sorry for blurting my feelings but i need bot love and thank you love the blog. ❤️

((A/N I am proud of how this one turned out, and I am sorry you feel so awfully about something- I get like that too every now and again, but I have a great network of support around me to hep perk me back up when I am feeling bad. You didn’t specify bots, and I kind of wanted this to be special and written well, so I just picked my top three from TFP if that was ok. The bots I am most comfortable writing for and the ones whose characters I know very well… I wanted to diversify emotions and situations each bot would find you in- I hope you feel better soon and I hope this is adequate enough for you to read))

Optimus Prime

-He was a rather busy bot- he did  a lot of work to make sure this whole Autobot/Decepticon conflict didn’t blow up the entire planet, and harm more people than it already has, it was a full time job. He sometimes felt bad because he did not have time to constantly spend with you, but it was what you agreed to when you decided to be together- as no offense to you, certain things have to come before you, like the welfare of your planet. Though, he has noticed that you have been rather distant lately- and that scared him a little bit, truthfully he tried very hard to distance himself from you, mostly to protect you, but you were always so open with him it almost felt wrong not to seek you out. He had the time to do so now, or at least time in the moment where the world wasn’t hanging in the balance by a small thread, so he sought you out in all of your normal get away acces. Places you told him about where you like to go when the weight of the world became to much for you- and you just needed somewhere to go to forget everyone and everything. He doesn’t want you to forget for to long the troubles you face, after all, the way you handle a situation is very important- and it is avery terrible thing to run and hide all of the time. He found you in one of the first places he looked, a small dark corner of the base that had been abandoned by everyone but you, and he could see you curled up and sobbing slightly- and he felt his spark tug  little in sadness, he should have been there for you more and he was very sorry for that.

-He learned long ago that it was just easier to allow someone to vent their feelings, rather than interrupt them and cause a conversation to happen to early- and the person not be fully tady to share their feelings. He approached you slowly, and took you into his servos as you continued to cry as if he wasn’t there- he had time now, so he just sat in the corner you once were hand held you while you sobbed, he would wait for you to be ready to share. It was only a few minutes more of your sobbing, before you sniffed a little and began to perk up to look at his sparkling energon blue optics, you noticed he was waiting patiently to hear what you had to say when you were ready, and it was always something you appreciate about him and his character- his patience and never ending love he seemed to hold for all kinds of people ad bots, it almost made you feel undeserving. You spilled your feelings to him- your fear of the future, your fear of the present, and even some fears about the unknown- and he just stared and nodded as you continued to rant and rave while tears fell heavily from your eyes. He didn’t respond right away, but sighed as he leaned in close and touched your face with one of his digits- “It is hard carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time, it is a difficult task to not only take care of yourself , but take care of those around you” he began “allow me to take some of that burden, allow me to bare some of your fears- if we are to be one, than your anxiety will be my anxiety, and I will do what I can to help quell all of thee fears you have.” You thanked him for his kind words and loving gestures, as you embraced his faceplate with your body in a tight embrace- he was the leader of the strongest Cybertronian force and was an icon to all who needed him to be, qnd right now he was all yours and was here to love and listen to you- you never in your life have felt so lucky to have him to yourself, even if you have to share him majority of the time. He was always there when you needed him to be your rock, nd in the end, that was all that really mattered.

Bumblebee

-A lot of people considered him to be a great comfort in times of need- mostly because he doesn’t have a real voice to respond to problems presented to him. In a way though, losing his voice has made him mush more of a sympathetic bot- he finds that he enjoys helping those who are just so frustrated and sad vent out their problems to the world and actually try to solve them. He thinks it’s always better to just let it all out rather than bottle it up inside and let it fester and grow into something ugly and resentful. He isn’t the best at comforting words or gestures, but if you find yourself in need of someone to talk and cry to- he was always the first in line to be that someone. You appreciated how kind hearted the gentle Bumblebee was, he thinks he isn’t much of a comfort and is only good for listening- but really he was the best bot to go to when you had problems. He loved hearing you talk and he loved hearing you complain, ironically, as you two had such similar thought patterns it was as if you were communicating for the both of you sometimes. He wouldn’t know what to do without you anymore, you were such a big and impactful part of his life now that everytime he thought about you it gave his spark little flurried of electric excitement to even be thinking about being in your presence. That’s why when you disappeared and hasn’t returned for awhile, he grew a little restless and worried. He knows sometimes you liked to run and pretend life didn’t exist, but you had been gone much too long for his comfort and he needed to seek you out and make sure for himself that you were ok- even if the others insisted that you were most likely unharmed. He didn’t care, they didn’t know you like he did- and he knows that you shouldn’t run and hide from your problems when you have a perfectly good bot to bring them to whenever you needed him to be there.

-He found you after a little bit of a frantic search, he wasn’t really thinking clearly through is worry and distraught, You were simply sitting alone, looking forlorn and sad as you hugged yourself a little while just staring into the empty void of space. He knew that look, he had seen it on you many times before when you were racked with worry over something you had little control over. He noticed that is what cause you most of your stress- worrying over the things you can’t seem to change because it is out of your scope of power to do, he can relate, as there is a lot of things he isn’t able to do or change in his life too. He can sometimes spiral downwards into a depression about it too, the only difference is he has a great support network to build him back up after he has been feeling down, before him you had almost no one- and that was a big travesty. You were such a nice and kind person, you deserved better than to be wracked with constant fear all the time, so he made it his life’s mission to be your network of support- he would be there for you even if you didn’t want to be there for yourself. He never felt like this about anyone before, so he took it upon himself to make sure you were always hapy and you always felt the same way he did- it was a big job, but e was down for the wok if it meant he could spend more and more happy moments with you. He just sat next to you, as you leaned into him for physical support, and you just sat and continued to stare off into space. He didn’t mind- sometimes just actually being there was enough to let you know that everything will be ok, he can be that ground you need to keep you on track and thinking clearly.It was another hour or so before you were ready to go somewhere to maybe get something to eat, or just change your dreary scenery so you would be more willing to talk and engage, and Bumblebee was always more than willing to be or personal car- it was nice always having a ride somewhere when you needed it. Little did you know though, that he would always be there when you need it- he might not be the best at words, but his attempts at comfort were always so sweet and caring.

Arcee

-When you look at a bot like Arcee, you are under the assumption that she is pretty hard core and isn’t exactly the nurturing and caring kind of femme. You would be right to assume that, but it’s not fair to just write her off like that because she isn’t very good with words or comforts. She is the definition of being a product of her upbringing- and war and fighting is all she really knows how to do, not to say she isn’t familiar with the physical aspect of relationships, she was just a little fuzzy when it came to comfort and love. Not to say she doesn’t enjoy cuddling and spending time with you doing all these mushy things, she is just a little more conservative when it comes to special times like that- she wants them to remain that way, special. She understand thought that you weren’t always the best of head spaces, she can relate to that one very well, so when you were feeling off about something or unsure about something else- she was always there to reassure you in her own special way. She was a little more harsh in her comforts than you would like, but you know that it is just her way of trying to perk you back up and make you feel stronger and wiser. She is a little funny when it comes to sharing her real feelings- as in you thought Bumblebee was bad with words, Arcee was probably the leader when it comes to cotton mouth syndrome where she swears her mouth dries up and she cannot speak properly. It was cute that she was so bad at what she was trying to do, and it was endearing that she tried so hard to please you with her words- even if majority of the time they absolutely fell flat and had no leverage whatsoever. It wasn’t her words as much as it was her attempts at making you feel better, she was much sweeter and kinder than she liked to let on, but that was ok since you were one of the rare few that got to see that much softer and squishier side of a bot who has gone through so much heartache and war- that thought was almost always enough for you to feel better, knowing you had the undivided love and adoration of such a wonderful femme- she was like the light at the end of your tunnel. Granted, she was a blistering light that shone a little too bright at times, but that’s ok, because you know that in the end she will always be there for you when you needed it most. WHich was why when she noticed you hasn’t turned up for quite awhile, she decided that it was time to seek you out, whether you wanted her to or not.

-She found in in an unusual spot, which was why it took her so long to find you, and she could tell right away that you had been crying recently. Your eyes were red and your cheeks a little puffy and stained from all the liquid that forced its way through even if you protested it. She felt her spark tug a little as she saw how much anguish and pain you seemed to be in- since you weren’t bonded she had no idea what was bothering you, she didn’t know exactly how to comfort you in this moment. She went with her instinct and gut feeling, and slowly approached you as she sat close enough to you to where you could lean to one side and she would be there- it was nice to feel sometingwarm like her frame, rather than the cold emptiness you felt inside during times like this where you just can’t control how your emotions come out. The weight of the world sometimes just felt so crushing, and knowing there was so much that you couldn’t fix or change, it was hard and ade your heart clench a little in sadness. You felt her use one of her digits run through the locks of you hair, and it was comforting and soothing to feel how gentle she can be when you needed it. She was somewhat a constant in this crazy life you live in- and even if sometimes you had to share her with the younger Jack, you knew that she had enough room in her spark for the two of you. Besides, she’s here with you right now and not with him, that certainly says a lot- as it was almost like she could sense when you were feeling bad and would come running to your rescue like this. You leaned into her touch and smiled a little through a new wave of tears that were falling, and you spilled a lot more than you wanted to in her direction when she asked was what was troubling you. In the end you felt like you might have overwhelmed her a little with your words, but she took it rather well and was just there to sit and listen-she didn’t offer any words of comfort or any kind of kind gesture of warmth. She was just there, and you were just there, and sometimes that’s enough to let you know that everything would be ok.

[papillonrecordhouse]

Mariposa x Haku: S-Support + Event 3

In collaboration with: @xianha

@fe-exire

[Event: Annus Novus]

Haku: *walks into Mariposa's office* Hey you busy today?

Mariposa: *leaning back in her chair, looks tired* No, it’s a festival day. *yawns* I need to get you a calendar I swear. Why? *turns to him*

Haku: Wait, it’s a festival again??? Which is it this time?

Mariposa: *looks at him dumbfounded then chuckles* Annus Novus Haku~ *stands up and walks over to him* You know, when people get to punish their masters and act a little more risque~ Kinda why there's a party downstairs at the HQ lobby. Or did you just think that was a HUGE birthday party?

Haku: Probably...wait WHAT?

Mariposa: *laughs at his reaction* Honestly Haku! How can you be so oblivious sometimes? *leans on her side* So what did you come in for? Since it's obvious not to give me holiday wishes~

Haku: I don’t think a holiday like that existed.... Well I thought about what you said.

Mariposa: Oh! *stands up straight and smiles* So what's your answer?

Haku: I’ve decided to stay. For a while.

Mariposa: Oh?... *looks a little disappointed but accepts the answer* Well alright, but know that option is always open to you. *goes to her desk* What made you decide that though? *looks at him, expecting a good answer as she packs*

Haku: Because... I don’t think I’m done here. With you...or everyone else. There's a lot more I can learn here on the field than in any type of school can teach me. Plus, I don't want to be away from the people I care for.... and if I'm going to school, I rather earn my place there as I did here.

Mariposa: *dumbfounded* Haku... *can’t believe her ears, but chuckles* I swear, the things that come out of your mouth can amaze me sometimes. *covers her eyes, with a hand to her hip* I mean, most would jump at this chance and yet...- *uncovers her eyes* Is it weird to say that makes me happy?

Haku: Who knows? I just know, I don't really like to feel indebted to people. I want to earn my place here, even if it does mean scrapping by and getting my hands dirty.

Mariposa: Well I assure you- *walks up close to him* if you are getting anywhere in this network, it's because you earned it. *elbows him a little* You know Haku, for all I tease you for being soft, I actually really appreciate it. I know sometimes I can be... *teeters her hand* rough with targets that may not deserve it, so you being there makes for a good counter-balance. *blushes*

Mariposa: *scratching her cheek, embarrassed* And I just get happy seeing you every day. I mean... *looking up at him, as if judging whether or not to say something important*

Haku: Do you?... huh.... Never heard that one before. Although...most things people think about me, I try to ignore... or it goes over my head.

Mariposa: Well ignore what they say! *obviously getting mad again* And don't question what I say! Haku, if I say you make me happy it's because you do! And if I say you're amazing, it’s because you are! And damn it, even though you can be so thick-headed. I love you, and 50% of the time I’m not sure why! But I’m pretty sure part of it is just the fact your eyes are so pretty! And damnit, it’s not fair! *huffing from shouting so much, hasn't realized what she said*

Haku: Uhhhhhhhhhhhh............

Mariposa: What? You will get a fly in your mou- *realizes* .... *calculating the height of her window to the floor* ...

Haku: Are you gonna jump out that window?

Mariposa: ... I'm thinking about it. It's too tall. *dashes to her door but the lock is jammed* OF ALL THE DAYS!!!

Haku: If I were in your shoes I would do it... but don’t do it.

Mariposa: *frowns, too upset to think, and can't look at him* Is that... Is that all you're going to say? *covers her face* Look, can we just forget about this?... Please? *still fiddling with the door knob to unjam it*

Haku: Sure- *smiles* if that's what you want, I'll forget about it. Just for you. But it’s not something you should be ashamed of though.

Mariposa: *unjams the knob, then looks at him* I'm not ashamed. I just don't like rejection. *leaves*

Haku: .....rejection? ....HUH? DID I REJECT YOU? WHEN????!!!

[End of Event 3]

 Mariposa: *in a park, has been in a bad mood* Ugh.... Why can't I just forget about it? *munching on some cookies with coffee*

Haku: *calling over*- Heeeey!!! Mari!!!!! There you are!!!!

Mariposa: *nearly chokes on a cookie* !!! *patting her chest to help it pass* GAH! *looks at Haku* DONT SCARE ME LIKE THAT!

Haku: Oh!!! Sorry sorry!!! *bows* I was just running by and I saw you so I wanted to swing by here. Literally!

Mariposa: *sighs and looks at him, trying to look professional* You don’t need to bow, it's weird in this context.... or any really. *puts her meal down* So is this just greetings? *not looking him in the eye*

Haku: Yeah, I wanted to talk to you.

Mariposa: *thinking: Please don't be about the festival* ....Okay.

Haku: You’ve been awfully distant with me lately. ...Is something wrong?

Mariposa: No. *rubbing her ear, looking down* Just a product of business.

Haku: What do you mean? You weren’t always like this, heck you used to tease me to no end.

Mariposa: You didn't like being teased. *looks at his cape* And acting unprofessionally leads to issues... Besides, I thought I gave you a mission with Brandon? Did you finish? You should file your report then. *gets up*

Haku: Yeah I did, but now I wanted to talk to you. Come on, tell me what's wrong?? Did I do something wrong?

Mariposa: There's no- *sees his eyes and guilt rises* ... *bites her lip* Fine, but not here... Let's go somewhere... emptier.

Haku: ....Are you going to kill me when no one's watching?

Mariposa: *frowns and pulls his ear* I SWEAR YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE! *drags him to a quiet area in the park, letting go of his ear* How should I... *sighs* How do I even start?...

Haku: Ow Ow Ow!!!! ...... well.... how about what’s on your mind?

Mariposa: *looks at him and smiles* Well first off, this would have all been a lot simpler if you had agreed to the schooling. Then I could have confessed properly. Made it more final and clean cut. *sighs* After all, then you wouldn't have been my employee.

Haku: Wait? What do you mean? I don't want to go to school cause I want to stay here. Heck, maybe I'll work towards a higher position!!! Wouldn't that be sweet?

Mariposa: Haku, that wasn't the point of your schooling. At least not fully. Look, I wanted you to go to school, because after you got in I planned to confess to you, properly. Because like this, it's dangerous and awkward. I'm selfish Haku, and if you had rejected me. To my face... I wouldn't have taken it well.

Mariposa: *bites her lips* And I wouldn’t have been sure that if you did accept my confession, that you meant it. Because I'm your boss, and hold too much power over you. Not to mention, with me you'd always be in danger! And I wouldn't be able to handle knowing that I had assigned you to your death. *covers her face*

Haku: Oh... wow.... that's a lot. Hm, alright give me a minute to process things. You.... like me?... .as in... like like.... but you... don’t want me to work for you anymore.... because... you.... like like ...... me?...

Mariposa: Yes. Also say love, we aren't children. *feels like he isn't taking it seriously*

Haku: There’s a reason I’m saying like like you know...

Mariposa: *looks to the side* Well whatever... *arms crossed, feels uncomfortable* I don't get why you care anyways. I mean, does any of this really matter to you anymore? I figured, after assigning you to... *eyes getting watery* Brandon, you'd just forget any of this happened. And I could move on. After all, he's the one you want, so what does it matter what happens between us?

Haku: Well because I care about you too remember?

Mariposa: ... *blushes* Cause we're friends? *biting back the bitterness* Fine then, but I still need time away from you. To heal...

Mariposa: So don't worry about it. *wants to smile to reassure him but can't*

Haku: What's there to heal though... You didn't get rejected.

Mariposa: What? *looks hurt* Did you come here to make it official or something?!

Haku: No, of course not. I'm not rejecting you... I accept your feelings wholeheartedly!

Mariposa: ... *silent, processing* Wait what?! But! huuuhhh???? *bright red, eyes tearing up* IF THIS IS ANOTHER TEASE-!

Haku: WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS?

Mariposa: I DON'T KNOW? THEN I MUST BE DEAD! Beause this makes no sense! *confused, checking her pulse*

Haku: ....Am I really that bad?.....

Mariposa: !!! *suddenly feels guilty* Well... I just... I just never thought you'd look at me that way. I mean you said it before. You love Brandon... And you were pretty persistent on keeping it that way.

Haku: I... I know. Still maybe lately... my feelings and admiration towards him. Are...probably an illusion... I mean. I know in the end, he probably won’t care about me as much as I would for him... and maybe... I was just...deluding myself from the truth. So I wouldn’t be disappointed in the end. But with you it’s... different..

Mariposa: *suspicious* Different? Different how? *frowning*

Haku: I mean... You don’t treat me as less as a human being now than before. I remember when I first joined, I was like a lapdog to you too.

Mariposa: *shrugs* Well, that's cause I didn't know you. Back then, you were just Ivan's "replacement". You weren't part of the network... the family. Sorry about that.

Haku: From what I've heard Ivan wasn't that close to you guys either when he was working there... Most of the agents feared him and I've heard some questionable rumors about him... so I just assumed that me replacing him would make them cautious.

Mariposa: Well yeah... The guy was just so twisted... But that's beside the point! What does that have to do with me being different? If anything, I'm surprised you don’t resent me for how I treated you back then.

Haku: Better than most people really and you changed.

Mariposa: ... *looking away* So is that what it is?... I'm just the better "option"? *sighs* ...That's not love Haku...

Haku: Better? You're the best one!! ...Jeez, now you’re the one who's being thick-headed. I like you too, I think you're amazing and I'm glad that you treat me like a human being!! There's a reason why I'm only saying “like like” now... It’s cause I want to genuinely tell you that I "love" you for the first time.

Mariposa: *immediately turns bright red, turning back to him in shock* !!!* speechless, with a face that looks both unsure, but happy* ... *bites her lip before speaking* Prove it. *staring at his eyes longingly then at his lips*

Haku: .....Prove it? ........ oh! Ohhhhhh ....oh okay... *coughs* Ahh, all this is new to me so ....I probably don't know what I'm doing for my first time so ... bear with me okay?.. *softly gives her a small kiss*.... like that?

Mariposa: *feeling her lips gently, looks super happy* ... *looks up at him then pulls him into a hug* That's fine...  For now. *chuckles as she buries her head into his chest*

Haku: Ahaha, alright alright. You can teach me along the way... *pats*

Mariposa: *looks up at him with a smirk, her confidence back* If you like I can teach you right now~ *uses his shoulders to push herself up, and grips her thighs to his waist so they are closer to eye level* And a lot more when we get back home~ If that's alright with you. *winks*

Haku: *very confused* Are you going to break me with your legs?

Mariposa: *chuckles* Noo~ But soon enough you might be breaking mine though~ *kisses him again*

Haku: Ahh? Wait WHAT????

[End of Support S]

[adryrn]

Net neutrality isn’t enough

So. Net neutrality. I’ve been reblogging a lot of stuff about it ‘cause I think it’s important—but I haven’t seen much at all about how it’s basically a stop-gap measure and nowhere near sufficient to preserve the communication abilities we’ve all grown used to or grew up with.

As a lot of other people on here are reminding us, the fight isn’t over. The repeal has to get through Congress and the courts. Pester the fuck out of your congresspeople, etc. etc.

It may also be helpful to remind people that Title II net neutrality was a thing that happened in 2015. All the development of the internet into what we use today up to that point happened WITHOUT the net neutrality laws that were repealed. Even WITH those laws in place, ISPs were still pulling illegal shenanigans. The internet has survived a long time without net neutrality laws. It’ll keep doing that for a little while. (Because the ISPs want to lull us into a false sense of security, if nothing else.)

Ultimately, I think it’s also important to remember that development of the internet we use today was funded by the U.S. government—especially by the military. Awfully convenient how the internet now functions as the most invasive tool of mass surveillance in the history of ever, right? Especially considering we all semi-voluntarily use it.

It’s also important to remember that the servers that power all your favorite services and websites all consume lots of energy (and that’s not even getting into the mining process of the rare earth minerals necessary to build the devices. Or the factories they’re made in.) It’s probably not sustainable as is. If ISPs or the government don’t wreck it first, eventually sheer economic adversity/collapse will.

ALSO a lot of apps/social networks/websites we use were built with venture capitalist funding. They fund a bunch of things, expect to lose most of their money, and accept that loss as the cost of seeing what’s actually profitable—then ditch whatever doesn’t turn a profit. That’s going to be pretty much any platform that doesn’t generate massive ad revenue or user fees (or valuable private information they can sell to third parties =D) at this point. It’s why a lot of stuff we use is going away/putting up adblocker blockers/desperately begging us to disable our adblockers.

In short, the internet as we know it is basically doomed in the long term, with or without net neutrality.

(Doesn’t mean efforts to push the things that will kill it back a little further are worthless, though. It’s still a useful tool for as long as we can hang on to it, as long as we’re also careful to manage our use wisely. Keep fighting.)

In addition to pestering your lawmakers, here are some long-term strategies to replace the internet in your life: -BUILD ALTERNATIVES. Look into local mesh networks and be part of them if you can (see the end of this for more info. Whole thing is worth a read). The internet is essentially a shit ton of connected computers. Learn how to connect your computer to your local friends’ computers without going through an ISP. Build your own mini networks, if you have the time and ability and interested local friends. -Use the internet now to find analogue resources. Find local support/action groups. Network with people who you have stuff in common with who live near you but haven’t physically crossed your path yet. Discover local music, or just bands in general that you like and can find stuff by in local music stores (if you have those.) Find books—write a massive to-read list if you don’t already have one. Hoard PDFs and MP3s and video files and pleasing images like there’s no tomorrow (maybe you’ll be able to put them all on a mesh network for your friends 10-20 years down the road and they’ll all be super happy to see them again =D). If you like it, SAVE IT. (But… like… don’t repost it to the internet without crediting the originator? That would be super rude =/. )   -Look into how web dwellers did shit in the 90s and early 00s. Build e-mail networks and newsletters and shift your reliance to those rather than social networks; e-mail seems pretty firmly entrenched and if one company fucks up, you can make new address with a different one and import your contacts/sign up for your newsletters again. I know it’s hard and most of your family and friends won’t be into it, but do your best and be patient? (Also I suspect there are a lot of people out there who would grouch about lack of internet but more or less happily adapt to life without the kind of social networking we have now. Think how many people bothered to socialize online before social networks made it easy. If you can’t remember that far back—it wasn’t that many. Certainly not a majority.) -I know this is a challenge for a lot of you, but actually go out of your way to converse with your internet friends specifically/privately on a regular basis. If you like someone, don’t just passively consume their posts and reblogs. Build an actual relationship with them. -After doing the above (if you’re not already there), develop backup communication plans. Start sending each other postcards and letters, or get in the habit of calling them regularly on the phone (if you’re into that, I guess?) Make sure you can still reach them even if your preferred social network (or the web, or internet service in general) becomes inaccessible. -Back up your shit on hardware you actually own, not just on the cloud (someone else’s hardware sitting miles away from where you live, potentially in another country or on an entirely different continent o__o).

(I don’t actually do all of the above. I know some of them are kind of onerous, and we’re all already super stressed/busy anyway. But keep it in mind and look for opportunities to build these kinds of communication resources anyway, if you want to keep any of what you already get from the internet in the long term.)

(Also you’ll notice there are no sources here except for that Crimethinc link. I wrote most of this off the top of my head after being inspired by a couple articles and can’t be arsed to solidify/double-check shit, so do your own research if you don’t believe me. Maybe I’m wrong. This is a jumping-off point and is in no way intended to be a comprehensive resource. Also check this Rune Soup post out for some great insights.)

(And yeah, I know a lot of us use the internet the way other people use TV—effortless distraction to numb all the shit and stress in our lives. If you have to put much actual effort into it, that defeats the entire purpose. … good luck and sorry in advance for your loss? There are probably analogue coping mechanisms you could develop for your shit to replace the internet, too, but that is a subject for another post. Maybe you could write one if you’re feeling unusually energetic today?)

[welllpthisishappening]

Out of the Frying Pan (1/?)

Emma Swan is only doing this for one reason, well, make that two. To get her show's numbers back up and, maybe, impress her son. She doesn't like admitting to that second one though.

Killian Jones is doing this for absolutely, positively, just one reason. To expand his restaurant. And maybe get Regina off his back. So that's kind of two reasons.

Neither one of them is doing a year-long Food Network all-star competition because they're celebrity chefs and there's not really any other choice. Of course not. And neither one of them is enjoying it because they maybe, kind of, sort of enjoy each other. That would be insane.

AN: Oh hai, we’re back at it. This has been lingering in my drafts forever because I wrote it while I was posting YPBLAG. It is also impossibly long, but this time with different perspectives! And cooking! It also totally messed up my sponsored ads on Facebook for weeks because I kept googling so much Food Network information. And an enormous thank you to @laurnorder who is the best. Straight up.  

Also living it up on Ao3 if that’s how you roll. 

“Mom!”

Emma groaned.

“Mom!"

The bed was shaking. Emma turned her head on the pillow, resisting the very real urge to push her face into the fabric underneath her, and cracked open one eye. The bed wasn’t shaking – it was being shaken.

She took a deep breath and bit back yet another groan, reaching up to push a piece of hair out of her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Time!”

“That’s not a number, kid.”

“Mom,” Henry sighed, drawing the three letters into one, incredibly long and vaguely impressive syllable. “It’s tiiime.”

He shook the bed again, pushing the edge mattress with his hand and Emma was momentarily surprised by the strength of her 12-year-old son. She shouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point, honestly. Henry was a whirlwind of, well, everything.

There weren’t enough adjectives in the entire world to describe everything Henry was to Emma.

He was the reason she got up – or would eventually get up – and the reason she was slated to stand under several dozen scalding hot lights that afternoon.

Emma Swan, celebrity chef wasn’t a phrase she’d ever particularly envisioned for herself, but, somehow, that was where they’d found themselves.

It was a far cry from the pregnant teenager who’d wound up in jail after taking the fall for her boyfriend’s crimes. Stolen watches. And Neal Cassidy was gone to Canada before Emma could even try to come up with some sort of alibi.

She’d found out she was pregnant two weeks into her eight-month prison stint.

And for awhile she’d considered giving him up. Henry deserved a chance and, at that point in her life, Emma was convinced she couldn’t give it to him.

But then they put him in her arms and her whole world had shifted on its axis and Emma promised herself she’d do anything to make sure this boy got everything she’d never had.

So, she’d get up and she’d stand under lights wearing approximately eighteen pounds of makeup and smile and teach the TV-watching public how to make the perfect chicken cacciatore.

No one made chicken cacciatore better than Emma did.

The mattress shook again – a very forceful reminder that she had a schedule to stick to – and Emma pulled herself up, brushing her fingers across Henry’s forehead and earning a very almost-teenager groan in the process.

“You need a haircut,” she muttered, pressing her fingers into her son’s hair. “I’m surprised I haven’t gotten a note from school telling me you’re breaking the dress code or something.”

“Mary Margaret would tell you first. And there may be a note in my backpack.”

“Henry!”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said quickly, taking a step back and, finally, letting go of the mattress. “You’re busy. I’ll get it cut at some point.”

“I am not too busy for notes from school,” she sighed, falling into mom-mode immediately. “You know the rules.”

“No secrets.”

“That’s right. We talk. We discuss. We figure out a day I’m not filming to take you to SuperCuts.”

“SuperCuts?”

He’d practically perfected the groan at this point and he sounded so much like David that Emma squeezed her eyes shut quickly, fighting off a wave of deja vu and emotion that simply didn’t belong at 7:30 in the morning.

“Mom?” Henry asked, not missing a single thing. “You ok?”

“Absolutely, kid,” she promised, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and nudging at his knee with her foot. “Come on. As you so thoughtfully pointed out, it’s time to get up. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Mary Margaret left bear claws in the kitchen last night.”

Emma’s shoulders dropped – she’d been at a signing the night before and Henry had been left in the care of her brother and sister-in-law. It was something that was beginning to happen far more than she liked.

But the line for autographs had been long and people seemed to care and want to know where she got her recipe for crème brûlée and she couldn’t turn people away when they’d spent most of their Thursday night waiting for a few minutes to talk to her.

Henry, of course, picked up on her internal dilemma immediately.

He was far more cognizant at 7:30 in the morning than she was – 12-year-olds, it seemed, did not require several cups of coffee to wake up.

“It’s ok, mom,” he said, sinking next to her on the bed. Emma’s arm wrapped around his shoulders instinctively and she hugged him close to her side like he wasn’t half grown up and they were still living in that shoebox apartment on 16th Street. “Was the line super long? Were there a ton of people?

“It’s only ok because Mary Margaret and David are the best. And yes. And yes to the second question too.”

“Then it’s definitely ok.”

“Any one tell you how awesome you are yet today?”

Henry looked up at her, smile plastered on his face. She asked him that every day – and every day his returning smile made Emma’s stomach flip with how much she loved this kid. “Not yet,” he said, repeating his line with ease. “But thanks for looking out.”

“Always.”

“You’re pretty awesome too,” he said softly, glancing back down at his hands in his lap. That wasn’t part of the scene.

Emma leaned over, kissing the top of his head and he squirmed underneath her. “Oh, stop,” she laughed, pulling him even closer to her until she was nearly falling over. “Consider it good luck for the great big, announcement we’re supposedly getting today.”

“It’s going to be good.”

“You’re awfully confident.”

“I believe in you, mom,” he said simply and Emma’s breath caught in her throat.

It was too early for this.

She also needed him to believe in her just a bit too because, despite the long line the night before, Emma knew her numbers were down. They’d been bumped up an hour earlier on Sunday morning and the once-a-week cooking show didn’t exactly fit in with the theme the network was running with anymore.

It wasn’t a reality show. It wasn’t a competition. It was straight cooking instruction, based entirely on Emma’s ability to appeal to the viewer.

And, for the last couple of years, it had worked.

It had been great – the line and the number of Facebook likes on her professional page were a testament to that. But a, now, nine o’clock timeslot on Sunday morning didn’t exactly draw in the crowds and while her producer, Ruby Lucas, had practically begged her to bring Henry on the show seemingly every other day, Emma had resolutely refused to allow her personal life to even start to seep onto the screen.

Emma Swan, celebrity chef was a completely different person than Emma Swan, teenage mom and former convict.

And she was going to keep it that way.

She’d play the role and she’d silently continue to dread whatever great, big announcement was waiting for her as soon as she made it uptown that morning.

“Save the bear claws for when you get home from school later,” Emma said, standing up and tugging on the collar of Henry’s t-shirt as she moved. He raised his eyes in question and Emma grinned at him. “What do you say to french toast this morning?”

His eyes lit up and he practically sprinted out of the bedroom, rushing towards the kitchen. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Emma laughed, pushing her feet into the pair of slippers next to her bed and walking out the door.

His alarm went off loudly, the sound seeping into his only-slightly conscious brain and Killian squeezed his eyes shut, desperate to spend at least a few more minutes in bed.

His head felt like it was going to snap in half.

God, what had they done last night?

Robin had come to the restaurant, going on about Regina and the show and the ridiculous schedule that was restocking the Iron Chef prep kitchen and Killian had played supportive friend for all of five minutes before grabbing a bottle of rum and pouring each of them a glass.

It was not the last glass either of them drank.

And now he was paying for it.

Badly.

He hoped Robin was too.

Fair’s only fair, after all.

Killian reached his right hand out, slamming his palm down on the alarm clock he absolutely refused to throw away. Robin and Eric made fun of him mercilessly for it. And he wouldn’t get rid of it.

He’d had the same alarm clock in every room he’d ever lived in from the time he was thirteen until that very morning. The stupid thing could snap in half and he’d probably bring it with him to the next apartment he’d live in.

Killian fell back on the pillow, fighting off the nostalgia and memories that were threatening on the edge of his memory. Liam had packed that alarm clock when they moved into the apartment on 87th Street – just a few weeks after their mom died.

They’d sold most of their stuff to pay the security deposit on the apartment - a whopping 350 square feet without an oven and a bathroom down the hallway – but Liam had insisted, for whatever reason, that the alarm clock had to come.

“How else will you know when to get up for school?” he asked, ruffling Killian’s hair as he kicked open the door to the brand-new apartment, smile plastered on his face in attempt to make everything seem normal.

He wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Killian, but he appreciated the effort.

And he appreciated the alarm clock.

So it had come with him everywhere.

Killian grabbed his phone off the nightstand next to him, swiping his thumb across the screen to find eighteen e-mails waiting for him already. At 7:30 in the morning. Jesus Christ.

He briefly considered just going back to bed, but one e-mail stuck out at him. Regina Mills had sent him a message with the subject: FORGET THE RUM FOR TWO SECONDS AND READ THIS.

Killian felt the smile tugging on the corners of his lips immediately, momentarily forgetting the pounding ache just behind his eyes. He fought off the dizziness that came with sitting up and pressed his back against the headboard to keep his bearings as he read the message.

K,

If the reason Robin isn’t answering his phone is because you’re plying him with rum over his meltdown about the prep kitchen, I’m going to personally punch you right in the face when you walk into the studio tomorrow morning.

Where, by the way, you need to be.

I told you this last week, but you’re you and you hate coming into the studio and I know that between the several days since I mentioned this and the absolutely exorbitant amount of rum you and my fiancé have presumably consumed tonight, I felt like I needed to remind you.

This is big, Killian. Really big. And, no, I can’t just tell you over the phone or e-mail or a quick text message, so don’t bother asking me. We’re playing by the rules on this one.

So get to midtown by 9:30.

I know, I know, midtown is the worst place in the world and it smells like garbage and you simply can’t stand the tourists. I don’t care. Be here or, as promised, I will punch you in the face and then several other body parts as well.

And make sure you drink some water too.

Regina

Killian tossed the phone on his bed, smile still on his face as he shook his head slowly. Regina Mills was, to put it lightly, a force of nature.

She and Robin Locksley had walked into his restaurant five years ago on their first date and somehow found a way to wiggle their way into his life when Killian wasn’t particularly certain he wanted anything in his life, let alone new friends who wanted to make sure he was happy or something else overly emotional.

They’d raved about his food and Regina had tactfully avoided looking at his hand – or lack thereof.

Robin, however, had not been quite as diplomatic.

He’d come back into the restaurant the next day, taken up a seat at the bar and looked directly at Killian when he asked, “what happened?”

Killian wasn’t sure he’d actually ever been that angry. Except when he actually lost the hand. Robin took it all in stride. He sat there in front of the bar and waited, eyebrows raised as if he was only passably interested.

And, for some reason, Killian had told him.

He stood behind his bar in his slightly-successful restaurant and told this near-stranger how he’d lost his hand and his brother and everything that had ever really mattered to him.

The restaurant was all he had left.

The food was all he had left.

And, then, quite suddenly, Killian had the restaurant and the food and Regina and Robin.

He kind of felt like he owed them something.

Killian grabbed his phone again, hit reply on the screen and typed back a quick message:

Bring me some water if you want to help. And give your fiancé a break about stocking the kitchen, there’s 800,000 ingredients that need to be in there.

I’ll be there at 9:25.

K

The room spun a bit again as he stood up and he pressed his eyes together tightly at the feeling. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d actually been hungover.

Years.

It had to be years.

It wasn’t a feeling he particularly enjoyed anymore. After all, it had been one he’d been particularly familiar with before.

He’d blame Robin when he saw him at the studio later that morning.

Killian heard his phone ding again as he walked towards his bedroom door – Regina was nothing if not efficient – and he glanced back at the sound, eyes falling on the prosthetic that was also sitting on the nightstand, some sort of glaring reminder of everything he’d been through and everything he’d lost.

And, maybe, if he was feeling particularly sentimental, everything he’d gained as well.

Killian shook his head, pushing that sentiment to the deepest corner of his brain and thinking only of the hot shower waiting for him down the hallway. He needed to get rid of this headache before the really big announcement.

Emma walked through the front doors of the Food Network offices on 6th Avenue, a bit out of breath after weaving through the rush hour traffic on the ‘D’ train.

She hated coming into midtown.

It was awful.

And congested. And it smelled like garbage all year long – that rumor about the smell just lingering through summer was a complete lie.

She nodded at the man sitting behind the security desk, reaching in her bag to grab her ID. “Oh, you don’t need that,” he said quickly, brushing his hands through the air. “I know who you are. You can go right up.”

“Oh,” Emma blinked several times, taken aback by the immediate foray into celebrity. She’d never get used to that. Ever. “Thanks.”

“Of course Ms. Swan.”

“Emma, please.”

His eyes widened slightly and he smiled genuinely at her, sitting up just a bit straighter. “Doc,” he said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

“It’s nice to meet you Doc.”

“You too, Emma. And good luck up there.”

Emma’s head tilted at the well-wish, curiosity shooting through her quickly. Doc just kept smiling and he looked so enthusiastic Emma couldn’t bring herself to ask any more questions. She was also running late – the near-constant buzzing of her phone a reminder from Ruby that she was five minutes behind schedule.

Emma jogged towards the elevator lobby, pressing the button in front of her several times as she bobbed up and down on her feet. Her phone vibrated again in her pocket.

The doors dinged open and Emma practically jumped in, impatiently hitting the floor for Ruby’s office. She made it there in twenty-three seconds. Not that she was counting or anything. She was just a bit anxious and a little bit worried as to why she’d need good luck to meet with the producer of her own show.

Emma didn’t stand on ceremony once she made it to the 17th floor, pushing open the door to Ruby’s office to find her sitting behind her desk, feet propped up on the imitation wood with a phone pressed up against her ear.

Ruby nodded in her direction, shooting a glare at Emma for good measure – she was several minutes late, after all – and continued to talk. “Yeah, yeah, she’s here now. Yeah, we’ll head up in two seconds. I know it’s big. I know. I told her. Of course I told her.” Ruby sighed dramatically and squeezed her eyes shut. “Don’t do that. No. I’m serious Z, don’t do that. I’ll get her to pick and we’ll get back to you.”

Ruby slammed down the phone receiver two seconds later, practically growling with frustration as she kicked her feet into the floor, heels making a noise that ricocheted off Emma’s brain when they landed.

“You’re late,” Ruby said, standing up and pressing out the lines of her pencil skirt, not meeting Emma’s eyes.

Emma felt guilty for a beat, scuffing her feet along the floor, half in Ruby’s office and half in the hallway. “Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “Trains were a mess. And it took awhile to get Henry to school.”

“French toast?” Ruby asked, knowingly, finally meeting Emma’s gaze and smiling softly. Emma nodded and Ruby let out a huff of air. She took a few steps towards Emma’s spot in the doorframe and squeezed her forearm. “Well, then I guess that’s ok.”

“You’re the best producer a girl could ask for.”

“Yeah, remember that feeling in two minutes.”

Emma widened her eyes at Ruby, following her and her bright-red highlights out into the hallway and back towards the elevator she just walked out of. “Wait,” Emma said quickly. “We’re not doing the great, big news announcement in your office?”

Ruby shook her head, pressing the elevator button. The doors opened almost immediately. Of course they did. “I wasn’t lying when I said this was big, Emma,” she said, stepping in and hitting the 27th floor. Emma’s eyes widened again. That was the network boss. She’d never actually been to that floor before.

Good luck up there, indeed.

“Tell me again why I had to get here at 9:25 if no one else was going to get here on time?” Killian asked, sounding like a petulant child as he spoke.

Regina threw him a glare, glancing up from her blood-red nails and the set of her shoulders practically screamed at him to stop talking.

The conference room was filled – except for two seats at the other end of the table. “We have to wait for everyone,” Zelena said, voice strained with the patience she was trying to convey. Killian smirked at her.

“And who exactly is it that we’re waiting for?”

He took stock of the rest of the room, the faces in front of him all vaguely familiar. He did, after all, own a TV. And Regina had been feeding him information as the table slowly, but surely filled up over the last ten minutes.

Graham Humbert, quiet, woodsy, builds his own fires to cook food on, sat across the table from Killian and Regina. He was his own producer too. Of course he was. Killian might have hated him a little bit already.

Belle French was on his right, flanked by her producer Anna Dellen. She hosted a dessert show that, per Regina, had something like 800 episodes and ran in syndication every night at 7 p.m. The new episodes aired on Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

She smiled at Killian, a warm look that probably could have cooked several batches of cookies or cupcakes or something equally as sweet and for a moment he actually felt bad that he’d fallen so easily into swaggering asshole mode because he had to wait a few minutes for the final chef.

He heard a pair of heels coming down the hallway, but there was another set of feet there as well and Killian strained to hear what it was. Sneakers. He could hear the squeak. And then the squeak was in the doorway and Killian couldn’t really breathe.

“Emma Swan,” Regina muttered, leaning closer to his ear.

Killian didn’t care.

Or maybe he cared about that more than anything in the history of anything.

“She hosts a show on Sunday morning,” Regina continued, filling Killian’s ear with information he absolutely wasn’t listening to. “They bumped her up an hour a couple of weeks ago, something about lower viewership, but her sales are really, really good and she’s got some kind of ridiculously devoted fandom.”

He didn’t care.

He was already her number one fan.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, eyes bright and so green he could even see them from across the conference room. Her hair fell softly over her shoulders, cheeks flushed – probably because she knew she was five minutes late too – and Killian wondered how he’d never seen her before, either on TV or in the building.

He knew the answer of course – he never watched TV and he avoided this building like it was the goddamn plague.

“What does she cook?” Killian asked, somehow finding his voice and hoping he actually wasn’t screaming. He had no idea. He couldn’t stop staring at her.

He knew Regina was looking at him, could feel her curious stare boring into his still aching head, but he refused to turn towards her. He kept staring at Emma, watching her cross the room and sink into one of the two empty chairs left at the table.

She must have realized he was staring – admittedly a bit like a creep – and her eyes snapped to his. Emma’s mouth opened slightly, lips parting in a silent gasp and Killian felt one side of his mouth tick up at the movement.

She didn’t smile back.

Instead, her eyebrows lowered and her eyes narrowed and her mouth closed quickly. Huh, usually the smirk worked.

“French,” Regina said. “Like fine French and so freaking delicious it’s not even funny. And stop that, Emma Swan is not going to fall for your smirk.”

Killian turned his head to look at Regina who seemed particularly pleaesd with her ability to read him so well. He didn’t get a chance to fire back any sort of witty retort before Zelena cleared her throat meaningfully and the entire table turned its attention towards the network head.

“Thanks for joining us Emma,” Zelena said pointedly and Killian thought he saw her slide down the back of her chair slightly. She sighed, tilting her head and twisting her mouth and mumbling something that sounded like an apology.

Goddamn, he was being charmed by her.

That wasn’t fair.

He was hungover. He wasn’t supposed to be charmed by anyone.

“Alright,” Zelena continued, falling into professional with ease, “the reason we’re all here is because we’ve got some big news to share with you.”

Killian glanced around the room again and wondered how he fit into this group exactly. It wasn’t like he had his own show. He had an occasional appearance on Iron Chef and a restaurant in Tribeca and a take-home line of barbeque sauce that made an absolute ridiculous amount of money.

Regina promised him this news was big and important to his position on the network, but he was a celebrity chef in the loosest sense of the term. He also hated the term. Killian didn’t want to be a celebrity.

He wanted to cook.

Because it was the only thing he’d ever actually had any control over. Or, in a completely depressing turn of events, had ever actually been any good at.

“Sit up straighter,” Regina muttered, kicking at his ankle underneath the table.

Killian glared at her, but did as instructed, more worried about the consequences of not listening than giving in to his producer. “Yes, mom,” he whispered sharply, not taking his eyes off Zelena.

“We’re going to be staging something new over the next twelve months,” Zelena said. “A network-wide competition with some of our biggest stars. We’re going to do four shows that are already popular on the network – Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped, Cupcake Wars and Grocery Games – then as a grand-finale of sorts, we’re going to do one final competition between the four of you. You’ll have to cook a five-course meal and be able to produce the recipes for our viewers. We’ll be selling the combined book once the series wraps next year.”

Killian bit back the groan that was threatening to work its way out of his chest.

He didn’t have time for this.

He hadn’t told Regina yet, but he and Robin had spent the last month talking about the possibility of expanding The Jolly Roger. The restaurant had been doing well – absurdly well – since Iron Chef and the pop-up shops they’d done during the holidays for the sauce were an overwhelming success. He didn’t even have to charge Robin and Regina a catering fee for their wedding – not that he would have anyway, but it was more fun to flaunt his success a little bit as a reason for letting them off easy.

Killian didn’t have time for some year-long competition that paraded him in front of cameras and made him compete against people he didn’t even know.

He chanced a glance at Emma Swan who definitely had slid down her chair at this point. She was glaring at her producer and her lips were moving so quickly it barely even looked like she was talking.

She didn’t like the idea either.

“I’m not doing this,” Killian said softly.

“Yes you are,” Regina said and the tone of her voice suggested there was nothing to argue about. Killian wasn’t ready to go down without a fight though.

He could argue over anything.

Liam would have said...Killian shook his head quickly, banishing those thoughts as quickly as they came. He was just hungover. That was the only explanation for the questionable number of times he’d thought about Liam in the last two hours.

He usually did his best to not think about his brother.

“As an added bonus,” Zelena said, seemingly oblivious to the disappointed mood the room had adopted in the last 30 seconds. “This whole thing is going to be for charity. So you’ll win money in every round and then the person with the most money and the most wins ahead of the five-course extravaganza will earn an extra $50,000 to the charity of their choice.”

Killian’s head snapped towards Regina, who had a smug smile on her face. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the chair. “Told you you’d do it.”

Emma all but stormed out of the conference room twenty minutes later, keeping a step ahead of Ruby so she wouldn’t actually have to talk about this.

This was not the great, big news she was hoping for.

She’d been hoping for better news about the timeslot or the viewership numbers or maybe another cookbook idea. A year-long charity competition against three other celebrity chefs was not something Emma was particularly interested in.

She simply wasn’t a competitive person.

She fought for what she wanted and who she loved and that was it – she didn’t want to battle anyone. She wanted to get a better timeslot.

And make Henry dinner more often.

“Emma,” Ruby sighed, grabbing her wrist and yanking her to a stop. Emma barely had a chance to appreciate that she wasn’t wearing five-inch heels as she managed to keep her balance. “Come on, give me two seconds to explain what’s going on here.”

Emma heaved a sigh and spun around, meeting Ruby’s slightly-apologetic look with full force. She sighed again, realizing quite suddenly, that her producer wasn’t actually trying to back her into a corner.

“Let me guess,” Emma said. “You didn’t have a choice.”

“I didn’t.”

“Of course.”

“Come on,” Ruby pleaded, hand still wrapped around Emma’s arm. “You know I’d fight for you if I thought I could get you out of this. But I can’t. And you should take it as a compliment anyway. You heard Zelena, this just means you’re one of the network’s most popular stars.”

“Who has to regularly ship her kid off on her brother and his wife so she can continue to be that popular.”

“Henry understands.”

“That’s the problem.”

“What’s the problem?”

Emma spun around at the voice, coming face-to-face with a man she only passably recognized. He was on one of the competition shows. At least she thought he was. She’d never actually seen him in the network offices before.

Which wasn’t entirely fair because Emma avoided the network offices as much as humanly possible.

“Nothing,” she said quickly.

He actually smirked at her. Who the hell was this guy?

He was, admittedly, ridiculously attractive – all dark hair and blue eyes and a simple sense of confidence that put Emma at ease much faster than she wanted .

She glanced back over her shoulder at Ruby who was determinedly staring at her phone, ignoring the entire situation entirely. Traitor.

He stuck his hand out into the space in front of them and Emma stared at it skeptically. “It won’t bite,” he said, voice tinged with laughter.

Emma glared at him. “I wouldn’t put it past it. Or you.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Precisely.”

“And yet I know you think there’s some sort of problem with this competition,” he said, hand still hanging in the air. He wiggled his fingers quickly and did something absolutely absurd with his eyebrows, making Emma’s stomach flip in a way that it hadn’t since she was a teenager. “Seems kind of lopsided doesn’t it? Only fair we remedy that situation, I think.”

Emma sighed and narrowed her eyes. He was still smirking at her. “What do you suggest?”

“Killian Jones,” he said simply, shaking his hand again meaningfully. “Nice to meet you.”

Emma wrapped her fingers around his, startled slightly at how warm his hand was and glanced up to meet his gaze straight on.

She felt a pull in her stomach as his fingers laced through hers and she knew Ruby was smiling at her from the other side of the lobby.

“And you are, love?” he prompted. Emma widened her eyebrows, head jerking back slightly at the endearment. She also got the distinct impression he already knew the answer to that question.

“Emma Swan,” she answered.

“Nice to meet you, Swan,” he said, squeezing her hand before dropping it back to his side.

“Not to be rude,” Emma said softly, noticing immediately the tension that practically flew to his shoulders. He took a step back and his left hand moved behind his back. She bit back the questions about that and focused on the first question she was trying to answer. “What show are you on exactly?”

The tension was gone as soon as it came and the smirk was back and Emma felt her defenses go back up immediately. “You, love, are in the presence of an Iron Chef.”

“Oh my God,” Emma laughed, the sound bubbling out of her before he could stop it. “Are you serious?”

“Why would I joke about something as serious as a food competition we stole from Japan?”

Emma stared at him, waiting for the rest of the joke or the next cocky comment. It never came. He kept his hand trained behind his back and continued to smirk and, God, his eyes were absolutely unfair.

“As mentioned, I don’t know anything about you,” Emma said.

He laughed softly under his breath. “You don’t watch your own network’s shows?”

Caught.

Emma bit her lip tightly, pulling it back behind her teeth and Killian laughed again as he ran his right hand through his hair. He stepped back towards her, crowding into her space and making her wonder if maybe she should watch her own network’s shows.

“I’ve got other things going on,” Emma brushed off, waving her hands quickly and trying to not actually come in contact with his ridiculously tight black t-shirt. It was the beginning of September and it was warm, but it wasn’t just-tshirt-weather-warm. Emma was upset about it – but that may have mostly been because it was absurdly attractive.

“Things would make this year-long competition for charity a problem?”

Emma gaped at him, eyes still wide and Killian grinned at her. “I don’t have a problem with charity,” she mumbled.

“Just competition?”

She pressed her lips together tightly and Emma knew the moment he realized he’d figured it out. “How could you possibly know that?”

“You’re something of an open book.”

“That so?” she asked, glancing nervously over her shoulder. Ruby was still staring at her phone. Emma was going to have a very serious conversation with her producer as soon as she figured out a way to get out of this lobby. “You’re a psychic and an Iron Chef? That’s impressive.”

He rolled his shoulders – hand still behind his back – and looked a little nervous all of a sudden, rocking back on his heels. It didn’t last long. Zelena and another woman walked out of the conference room and as soon as the sound of heels filled the lobby, something clicked on his face.

Killian shook his head quickly and did something ridiculous with his eyebrows again. “I’m nothing short of phenomenal, love,” he said softly and his voice seemed to shoot straight to Emma’s core.

He noticed that.

Of course he did.

“Killian,” the woman next to Zelena called. He snapped his heads towards her as she nodded at the elevator. “We’ve got to talk about the next IC appearance.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He spun back on Emma, eyes bright with something she couldn’t quite recognize – a voice in the back of her head threw the word interested at her, but she refused to even entertain the thought. The guy was a part-time chef who waltzed in and out of conversations with smirks and laughter and those ridiculously blue eyes.

She suddenly realized what she had to do – she didn’t just have to play in this competition, she had to win.

“It was nice to meet you Swan,” he muttered softly, eyes darting from hers down to her lips and back up again. “I look forward to watching you work.” He smirked at her again, widening his eyes meaningfully before glancing over her shoulder. “See you later, Ruby,” he added before turning away and meeting the two women in the elevator.

“See you Killian,” Ruby said softly, finally looking up from her phone and coming to stand next to Emma.

“You want to pick a charity?” she asked, fingers dancing over her phone screen as she glanced at Emma.

“Yeah,” Emma answered. “Let’s do this.”

[seven-winter-trees]

for some.. very long period of time, i’ve had a generally-relevant-only-to-myself oracular experience based on the song, line, word, sentence i wake up with stuck in my head.

yesterday was, “mama, this surely is a dream.”

today’s was, “funny how... time flies.”

when i F I N A L L Y got home and came in the door, the rest of that song (head over heels by tears for fears) just blasted in my head.

the problem with having your own oracular system is that there are no learned people who write long books of interpretations or who will carefully explain the arrangement of entrails to you. you’re just scraping through the strata of your brain trying to link things together to something relevant right now.

rambling about the fucken 8 hour day i put in trying to go to 2 doc/psych appointments and get some tests done:

also apparently i looked different enough that my therapist was going to ask me if i was dating someone if i hadn’t mentioned it on my own. christ. what do i look like? what did i look like? does it just - spill over, and everyone gets it? does it only happen if eule’s in the blend, or do we all look that way? what way do we look.

i didn’t think to ask; i was too busy trying to juggle names and figure out wtf to collectively call his bf in therapy, and eventually went with, uhhhhh, legal name, i guess in case of Bad Events, because he puts people’s full names and stuff in our chart in some section about partners, friends, support network, etc.

we didn’t bother thinking about any of this ahead of time because we thought we were going to spend the whole session unfucking our medical records, bc that’s how it had sounded on the phone.

my therp was Quite alarmed about me having a cyst in my brain even though the neuro handwaved it big time because most brain cysts are asymptomatic and it wouldn’t be causing my shit where it was. you do more harm than good trying to get them out, it seems.

my primary doc is out, and i don’t know why, and didn’t feel like it was my business to ask, so i got the new NP, today.

the NP is very new and is clearly trying (she’s not young - i’d say at least 50s), but she has clearly never been around trans people much before and this doc has a lot of queer patients because he’s gay and we all like flock to any kind of fam, but she flat out told me to correct her if she said anything wrong, which was nice. which i had to, but she took it well. i should’ve also pointed out that asking “how far” someone is in their transition is not a good question, but i am only 800 people one man who’d had no fucking sleep.

she said she thought i could probably heal from a hysto without help if they can take it out with one of the less invasive methods, so i need to call the doc for that on wednesday if they’re open. i’ll just have to stockpile plant milk, shake mix, rice, beans (ex-wife sent me a 10lb bag so i’m probably good there, christ), spices, and fill my freezer with veg and i’ll be good for a while.

i need to call my insurance about a neurologist, since mine’s made the wonderful decision to stop taking my insurance and my doctor’s office doesn’t want to find me a new one. that’s going to be exhausting. 

i need to look up a dentist. our gums aren’t bleeding anymore, so we’re not Too Ashamed of Having Depression to go to one.

our lunch earlier was $10 but that was an awfully good salad, the cantaloupe was at an excellent ripeness level, i liked the tea, and the chips were nice for when i was being painfully bored for two hours, later.

oh, heh. also. my fucking foot and calf fell asleep so i got up from my chair and they went, “nah,” about bearing weight so i just splatted all over the fucking floor in front of the second waiting room in the outpatient psych ward. 

so tomorrow when we’re going, “oh my GOD, why does all of this HURT,” that’s why. you fell all over the floor in front of a bunch of people. gg, team.

[nines-s]

Continued from [log].

-

By the time they’re finished searching ‘that area over there’–Which, as it turns out, is as empty as every other area they’ve been through today. What a shocker!–9S feels as if he’s almost gotten his emotions under control. They slow to a walk as they head back towards the desert’s entrance, and 9S stretches, catlike, hearing his circuitry pop the slightest bit. “All right.” He looks hopefully at 2B. “Now we can head home and have a bath, right?”

2B shakes her head at his question. “Firstly, the Resistance camp isn’t our home.” Her voice is all business–not the slightest bit indulging. “And secondly, we androids don’t need to take–”

“It’s about the feeling, 2B!” 9S interjects. “The feeling!”

She seems to twitch a little and sighs, exasperatedly. “Okay!” she concedes. “Fine! We can ask Anemone if they have equipment for some sort of… bath.”

9S grins and punches a fist in the air, childlike. “Yes!” He knows he’s not acting his age. Er… Well, even if they don’t technically have ages, he knows he’s not acting entirely appropriate, but he too excited by the prospect of a nice, warm bath to care. It’s almost enough to make him forget about the grainy feeling of sand caked in the creases of his joints. Skipping ahead a little bit, he turns to say something else to 2B, but that’s when it happens;

His HUD flashes an alarming shade of red and a shrill beeping fills the air. 9S only has about a second to process the data suddenly streaming through him before the sand under his feet explodes.

He goes flying. For a second, all he can see is white. There’s a ringing in his ears; his audio systems are scrambled by the explosion. Likewise, his visuals are a mess, glitching horribly for a moment before finally coming into some semblance of focus. Then all he can see is the tannish gray of the sand all around him, fuzzy and still twitching. He groans.

He’s lying on his side, his face pressed into the ground. The sand feels a lot harder than he thought it was, he thinks vaguely, and then groans again, because shit, he’s in a lot of pain. Why did the Council design them to have pain receptors, again? Why the hell? His left leg in particular feels like it’s on fire. From the scent of smoke in the air, maybe it is.

He doesn’t know, doesn’t want to look at it. But he has to get up. His audio system is still shot, but he can hear the muted noises of 2B fighting somewhere off to the side–the rattling of gunshots and something that might be her voice. There’s a rumbling, too–something low and dangerous.

He’s a Scanner unit assigned to support her, he thinks. He has to do his job. He has to get up, dammit!

Pod 153’s voice reaches him from somewhere closer. He can barely make out the words:

“Analysis: Unit 9S has sustained heavy combat damage from the attack of a Goliath-class enemy.

"Proposal: Self-hack to regain control of compromised system functions.”

Initiating self-hack!

It takes him far longer than it should to get his systems back online–almost a full minute. When he finally does regain full system functionality, the sounds of the battle raging nearby are deafening.

“9S!” 2B shouts. “9S, can you hear me!?”

Her voice is laced with raw panic. It’s rare to hear her so emotional, but 9S recalls wryly that she sounded the same back at the Abandoned Factory. I’m really making her worry, huh? Better fix that. He’s sure it isn’t the first time she’s called out to him, but it’s the first time he can respond. Coughing, he tries to sit up. His blindfold has fallen off and been no doubt blown away by the explosion. He catches a glimpse of his leg and has to quickly look away.

“I-I’m okay!” he calls. “I was… Nng. I was able to restore most of my system functionality, I…” He trails off as he finally sees what’s happening, eyes widening. “W-What the hell is that?!”

The machine that attacked them is huge–bigger than any of the Goliath-class enemies they’ve encountered so far in the desert. Rather than the towering, bipedal colossi they’ve been fighting up until now, it looks like some sort of massive mechanical snake. It moves like it, too–slithering, and coiling, and striking, segmented body rattling threateningly. 9S has never seen a cobra, but he’s read about them in archives and thinks that they must’ve looked something like this. The intimidation is there, at least.

Pod 042’s bullets bounce uselessly off of the Goliath’s armor. 9S notices, belatedly, that 2B is only dodging now, because she can’t seem to do any damage with either of her swords. Is this thing impenetrable?! 9S swears, loudly.

He gasps. The pain from his leg is nearly overwhelming, but he has to do something. “2B!” he shouts. “Keep it busy! I’ll hack in and find some sort of weak point!”

He has to do something. He has to do something!

All he can think about is how stupid he was acting earlier, but how happy he was at the same time. They’re soldiers, he reminds himself. This is the life they lead.

He reaches out one hand, his other arm shaking as he tries to keep himself upright, and probes at the machine’s system with his own consciousness. He meets a defense system almost immediately and makes a pained noise somewhere in the back of his throat. Eyes flashing with a bright white light, he withdraws from his body further and tries to focus. The desert fades away from his vision as he traverses the maze of the machine’s network.

I enjoy hacking games, he reminds himself. This is the same as any of those games. It’s just a game…

The snake-like machine is advanced. Its network is laced with defense programs, and it’s all 9S can do to keep himself from getting fried as he searches for some sort of weakness. Technical data, manufacturing date and origin… 9S discovers, somewhere deep inside the network, that the machine’s name is Aquinas. It’s not a name. Machines don’t have names. He grits his teeth, shoves the data aside, and moves on. Deeper and deeper into the network.

Finally, he finds the specifications he’s looking for. A weakness in one of the enemy’s joints, the one just behind its head. 9S dodges another attack by one of the machine’s defensive systems, blasts through another wall, and dives towards the programs that control that particular spot.

He sets the circuitry there to detonate, setting off a chain of explosions that makes the machine scream and collapse. 9S pulls out of the network as quickly as he can and gasps as he returns to his body. His visual system glitches dangerously.

“There, 2B! Aim for that spot!”

2B doesn’t have to be told twice. She cries out as she lunges forwards and sinks Virtuous Contract between the slats in the snake’s armor. The machine lets out another awful scream and writhes, throwing 2B off to land near 9S’s side. It doesn’t attack again, though–it can’t. Its core program has been fried and its control system destroyed. They watch with baited breath until it finally quiets and lies still, smoke curling up from its broken body like fingers reaching for the sky.

For a moment, neither of them dare move. 2B stays combat-ready, stance low, and 9S notices with a sort of dizzying warmth that she has placed herself between him and the machine. Standard protocol, of course. While equipped with an attack function, scanner models are much better suited to intelligence operations. It’s often necessary for combat units to protect scanners as they hack into enemy networks, it’s…

He coughs, roughly, and lurches sideways back into the sand.

“9S!” The panic is back full-force in 2B’s voice.

He wants to respond, but he’s finding it awfully hard to form words right now. His eyes travel downwards and he can see a remarkable amount of blood seeping out from his injured leg. No surprise there–the thing was pretty much blown clean off. Why do androids bleed, though? Just another question to ask the humans when the war is over, he supposes. Surely when they’ve achieved peace, the humans will agree to answer all his questions…

“Alert: Unit 9S’s vital signs are dangerously low. Immediate medical attention recommended.”

“9S! Come on, 9S, don’t you dare die on me…”

He feels 2B gather him gently into her arms. Ah, he thinks. There we go. There’s the touch he was craving so badly. His blue eyes flutter upwards to land hazily on 2B’s features. Unlike his, her blindfold is intact, but… Wow. He can still make out her distraught expression, the pain and worry painted clearly on her face. It… doesn’t suit her.

He’s seen that face before, he remembers. For that matter, his injuries were even more severe back at the factory, but for some reason, he can’t recall if they hurt this bad. Did they? They must have–he nearly went into system failure before he could repair himself, right? He remembers it all so clearly, despite what he told 2B. He…

2B is shouting instructions at both their pods now. Staunching gel and logic-virus vaccines.

He really wants to tell her not to make that sort of face, but…

“Alert: Unit 9S’s vital signs have dropped to unacceptable levels. Deactivating in order to conduct repairs.”

He shuts down.

[foxsoftware934]

Tesonet Nordvpn

Tesco Net Nordvpn Online

Tesco Net Nordvpn Account

NordVPN works on all major platforms, and all your favorite gadgets. The best VPN software for sharing. A single account lets you connect up to 6 devices at the same time.

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Article seems like an advertisement(edit)

An independent audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers has described the company's claims of not logging users' data as accurate. The audit refers to their service and server configurations as of November 1, 2018.

The company started its journey in 2012 inside the Tesonet accelerator, and it has rapidly grown ever since. Today, Nord Security is one of the largest tech-companies in Lithuania in its own right, with nearly 700 employees and 15 million users worldwide. The lawsuit was filed against Tesonet, a partner of NordVPN. The company that Tesonet allegedly stole from is none other than Hola, who made news in 2015 after it was shown that the formerly-popular free VPN provider had an insecure backdoor in their VPN client, among many other things. Firstly, NordVPN begin by explaining the nature of their relationship with Tesonet. They explain that Tesonet is a big tech player in Lithuania. While they acknowledge that Tesonet does offer a data mining service, they insist that this is just one of many services they provide and not one that NordVPN uses.

Tesco Net Nordvpn Online

This paragraph is missing citations as of Tuesday, October 22 GMT+8, and also sounds awfully like an advertisement. I'm going to mark it as citation needed, and mark the article as a potential advertisementWould (oldosfan) 11:15, 22 October 2019 (UTC)Edit: the PwC audit seems to be cited in a separate paragraph below (https://vpnpro.com/blog/why-pwc-audit-of-nordvpn-logging-policy-is-a-big-deal/), though in my opinion it's not a reliable secondary source, since VPN comparison sites are known to host promotional material from paid sponsors.Would (oldosfan) 11:20, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

I've added a new citation from a secondary source regarding the audit. Are there any remaining parts of the article that potentially sound like an advertisement and could be fixed? Minor stab 13:52, 13 November 2019 (UTC)

Hacker Noon is not a reliable source due to low editorial oversight. It was previously discussed in August, although you could start a new noticeboard discusson if you want to solicit other opinions. I've removed the Hacker Noon citation and restored the ((Citation needed)) tag. — Newslingertalk 08:17, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

I've added two reliable sources – PCMag UK and Wired UK(RSP entry) – then rewrote the No-log policy section to be based on the information in the sources. — Newslingertalk 10:33, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Actually, since TorrentFreak explicitly discloses that 'NordVPN is one of our sponsors' in 'NordVPN Shares Results of ‘No-Log’ Audit', I've removed their analysis per our guideline on sponsored content. — Newslingertalk 10:41, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Company nationality(edit)

It would be useful in my opinion to infer the nationality of the company and display it in the article...--Florofill (talk) 10:59, 14 July 2018 (UTC) I live in the Nordic countries, which 'ideals' this company follows and I have to pay 24% VAT when purchasing. This means the money ain't most likely going to a bank account in the Nordics, but somewhere else. EDIT: Found it, NordVPN is based in Panama(1)--Mattfolk (talk) 18:56, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

References

Advertisement?(edit)

I'm getting the feeling this article is not as neutral as can be. For example:

In 2017, NordVPN launched a number of obfuscated servers designed for using VPN under heavy Internet restrictions. These servers allow accessing the service in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and China. Although the Chinese government has been attempting to restrict encrypted communications for years, millions of people still rely on the technology to bypass China’s censorship system, known as the Great Firewall.

The Chinese government bit seems like it's selling the NordVPN feature, rather than providing information about the company or the app or the service (the page also does not really make a distinction between the two).

Not to point fingers, but the edit history also shows that there's been minor editor conflicts about the content of this page by people accusing each other of working for the companies.TheGuyOfDoom (talk) 20:29, 28 January 2019 (UTC)

agreed, also see article sounds like an advertisement above Would (oldosfan) 11:15, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Tesonet case(edit)

Please do not delete the Tesonet paragraph without first discussing it here. The court case and other documents referenced there contain information that is highly relevant to NordVPN and most importantly they confirm that NordVPN is Tesonet brand, which NordVPN denied or evaded answers before. It also confirms the fact that Tesonet runTesonet’s VPN service called NordVPN'. However, the provided complaint mentions NordVPN only once and specifies that the mention describes events 'prior to and separate from the technology at issue in this case.'

In addition, much of the paragraph seems to be designed to showcase the alleged connection between NordVPN and Tesonet rather than describe the case itself. The allegation of data mining directly contradicts the parts of the article that describe an independent PwC audit, which specifically confirmed no data mining.

I recommend changing the paragraph name for more accuracy, aligning the facts with the sources, and referring to the audit results for a more objective description. Minor stab (talk) 08:53, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

Thank you for constructive comments, I will definitely continue to work on improving this section. As for PwC audit - there's no contradiction. PwC was hired to audit NordVPN logging policy and, as with all audits, could confirm only this particular fact at that particular time. Tesonet business proxy services are generally based on injecting traffic through client software which is orthogonal to traffic logging. Cloud200 (talk) 17:41, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

Ok. However, the burden of proof lies on you. Please provide any data supporting your claims. NordVPN is one of the top VPN services, which means that network scans and app behavior analysis are done on daily basis by people from all over the world (https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/nord-vpn-botnet/). It would be relatively easy for you to support your claim by performing a network scan through Wireshark or any other similar application, or find sources that have already done that. Please provide some clear evidence instead of speculating. Minor stab (talk) 08:11, 2 August 2019 (UTC)

I've removed the Tesonet court case section, as it was not supported by a single reliablesecondary source. The court complaint is a primary source written from the perspective of the plaintiff, and the other sources (VPNscam.com and Restore Privacy) are unreliable self-published sources. — Newslingertalk 10:44, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

References(edit)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Djm-leighpark (talk • contribs) 16:19, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

Country-related claims(edit)

I've removed some of the country-related claims in the History section, as they failed the verifiability policy. The affected paragraph's original text was:

In 2017, NordVPN launched obfuscated servers for VPN access under heavy Internet restrictions.(citation needed) These servers allow accessing the service in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China.(1) Although the Chinese government has been attempting to restrict encrypted communications for years, millions of people still rely on various VPN services to bypass China's censorship system, known as the Great Firewall.(2)(3)(4) In October 2019, after the Government of Hong Kong enacted an anti-mask law in response to the mass demonstrations against China's increasing influence over city affairs, LIHKG, the online platform for the protesters, urged people to download VPNs for bypassing potential internet shutdowns.(5) On October 7, NordVPN reportedly became the fifth most downloaded mobile app in Hong Kong.(6)

References

^Marshall, Adam. 'The best VPN for China 2019'. TechRadar. Retrieved July 15, 2019.

^Arthur, Charles (December 14, 2012). 'China tightens 'Great Firewall' Internet control with new technology'. The Guardian. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

^Bloomberg News (July 10, 2017). 'China Tells Carriers to Block Access to Personal VPNs by February'. Bloomberg. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

^Haas, Benjamin (July 11, 2017). 'China moves to block Internet VPNs from 2018'. The Guardian. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

^Li, Jane (October 4, 2019). 'Hong Kong fears internet shutdown after emergency powers are used to ban face masks'. Quartz. Retrieved November 20, 2019.

^Hao, Nicole (October 7, 2019). 'Hong Kong Senior Official: Government Could Ban Internet in Efforts to Stop Protests'. The Epoch Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.

Sources #2–5 don't mention NordVPN at all, and The Epoch Times(RSP entry) is a deprecated source. I've relocated the paragraph to the Reception section, and reduced the content to:

Tesco Net Nordvpn Account

TechRadar recommended NordVPN for bypassing state-level Internet censorship, including the Great Firewall in China.(1)

References

^Marshall, Adam. 'The best VPN for China 2019'. TechRadar. Retrieved July 15, 2019.

— Newslingertalk 01:19, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

Inclusion of the 'Reception' section(edit)

The inclusion of a reception section in this article seems of dubious merit to me. Including a collection of (exclusively positive) reviews, regardless of whether the cited sources are reliable, does not seem germane to the goal of neutrally describing a business. HighPriestDuncan (talk) 02:35, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

The cited sources do appear to be reliable, with the exception of 'The company has since updated the Terms, explicitly mentioning Panama as its country of jurisdiction.(1)', which I have just now removed as original research. Feel free to add content to the section that reflects the less positive portions of the cited reviews, and feel free to cite reviews from reliable sources that are less positive in tone.​ — Newslingertalk 07:15, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

References

^NordVPN (May 31, 2018). 'Terms of Service'. Retrieved June 4, 2018.

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:NordVPN&oldid=1015572408'

[carasueachterberg]

It’s been a week.

Having no foster dog feels awfully strange, and I wondered if I would even post this week. This blog, though, has become habit. Plus, there is an extra dog here beyond Fanny and Gracie.

Beau is here until July 12; he’s a former-foster we’re babysitting. Since he arrived last week, we’ve said on more than one occasion—why didn’t we adopt him? He and Fanny are the perfect playmates. He’s proving what I’ve suspected for some time: Fanny could use an emotional support dog.

Fanny is a shy dog. Anyone who has ever adopted a shy dog knows that there are special considerations you have to make when you live with a shy dog. They aren’t easy to live with, but then again, I’m realizing that none of us is easy to live with in these strange days of previously launched children returning home.

Fanny barks at anyone not in her circle. It’s not a gentle or timid bark, it’s an aggressive bark that makes her forty-pound self seem more formidable. And Fanny’s circle of accepted friends is tiny and not easily expanded.

Her circle consists of me, my husband Nick, my youngest son Ian, his girlfriend AJ, and most recently added – my daughter Addie who is living at home again and working at Starbucks and making it seem like circa 2016 in this house.

It took Nick and Ian almost three months for Fanny to accept them. Until then, she barked every time she saw them. It didn’t stop there; unless I put a leash or a calm hand on her, she would follow them around the room continuing her verbal assault. If they turned toward her, she backed away—still barking, though.

Fanny is pretty much in love with Ian’s girlfriend, AJ. She sees Ian pull in the drive with AJ in the car and she begins whining and racing around my office. AJ won her over by playing tug and fetch endlessly, but mostly tug. Fanny is not a fun dog to play tug with. She never quits, she’s strong, and she will shake your arm until the bones rattle. AJ is undeterred and humors her with a game of tug more than anyone else.

The latest edition to her circle, is my daughter Addie, but she still gives an initial half-hearted alarm bark when she sees her each morning. If Addie pays attention to Gracie or Beau, Fanny will approach and lick her hand tentatively, almost an apology.

There are a few people who are more or less in her circle (meaning she might half-heartedly bark at them or shy away, but she wags her tail and eventually interacts with them).

Nancy was traveling with me when we brought Fanny north from Tennessee, so I’m pretty sure that was her initial in, but Nancy doesn’t hesitate to crouch down and play with Fanny, plus she is almost always in the company of Edith Wharton, Fanny’s bestie.

My friend, Gina walks with me and Fanny most Wednesdays. When I have a foster dog who is still working on leash manners, I hand Fanny’s leash to Gina for our walks. Fanny has learned that many times Gina will have treats in her pocket.

Having a shy dog is stressful. I wish she would joyously welcome visitors to our house instead of terrifying them with her big bark. I wish that I could take her places with me. Even the petstore is tough, it takes inordinate amounts of coaxing and waiting and trying again, to get her in the door. I wish I didn’t have to plan travel around who in her circle can take care of her while I’m away (or how I can bring her along)

Thankfully, Fanny has never shown aggression towards anyone. She is barking, but she is backing away and wagging her tail at the same time.

Having my adult children move home has been hard for her and for them. She still erupts at my older son Brady and his friends when she sees them. Which means multiple times a day, I have to calm her, leash her, take her to my office or bedroom. And I feel badly.

I can’t fix her. I can’t make her friendly and relaxed with people she doesn’t know well. That’s not who she is, at least not now. I see glimmers of it sometimes and dream about years from now when maybe she will finally feel safe enough to be the silly dog she is with her inner circle. Sometimes she relaxes, even with people she hardly knows, but then a sudden movement from them or their re-entry into a room will cause her to erupt again.

I also wonder what happened to her to make her this frightened of people. Is it who she is or who she was made to be? I still don’t know.

She does like other dogs, though, and is enjoying Beau’s company.

Beau is maybe a little timid, but certainly not shy. He will take a moment to assess the new person, but then he’s all in, demanding your attention and following you like a shadow. This example has been excellent for Fanny. She hangs back and watches Beau interact, but then jealousy wins and she comes closer looking for the attention and treats that he is getting.

I hosted a small gathering of my book club on Saturday evening on our porch. I thought for sure I would have to put Fanny in my bedroom or we would have endless explosive barking all evening. Instead, she surprised me. She was almost friendly most of the night and when everyone sat down later to talk about the book, she was actually climbing on the sofas to insist on attention. Who was that dog?

I think it was the presence of Beau. His example helped her feel safe. Fanny loves other dogs and trusts them much more than people. So maybe what she needs is an emotional support dog. It’s something to consider. But then what if that dog needs a dog? Getting Fanny her own emotional support dog seems like it could be a gateway dog and soon we would have ten or fifteen or 27 like that crazy author with all the golden retrievers.

For now, we will stick with fostering. We’re taking a little hiatus until we are needed again. I’m busy with the launch of my new book (one week from today!), finishing the renovations to our tiny cabin (who is looking for a great dog-friendly rental in the Shenandoah Valley available beginning in August?), and learning to live with my children again.

I hope you are holding up well. Staying safe and looking for ways to appreciate this odd time.

Thanks for reading!

Cara

If you’d like regular updates of all my foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips from OPH training, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com. You can find even more information on my new book, One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One  Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues, (Pegasus Books, July 2020) on the book’s very own Facebook page and Instagram account.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org.

Our family fosters through the all-breed rescue, Operation Paws for Homes, a network of foster homes in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and south-central PA.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs . It’s available anywhere books are sold.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

Many of the pictures on my blog are taken by photographer Nancy Slattery. If you’d like to connect with Nancy to take gorgeous pictures of your pup (or your family), contact: nancyslat@gmail.com.

  Living With a Shy Dog isn't always easy #shydog #rescuedog It’s been a week. Having no foster dog feels awfully strange, and I wondered if I would even post this week.

[robertbryantblog]

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[templified]

Responsive Portfolio WordPress Themes | Templified

New Post has been published on https://templified.com/responsive-portfolio-wordpress-themes/

Responsive Portfolio WordPress Themes

These days, more and more people are surfing the internet on mobile devices. Whether it’s a smart phone or tablet, it’s important that you consider the user experience for all of your visitors. That’s never been more important than when you’re putting together your online portfolio. It’s critical to display your images, your video, posts and pages the right way, so everything looks just like you want it to look.

Considering how prevalent mobile devices are these days, it’s incredibly important to have a WordPress theme that’s completely mobile friendly, responsive and filled with all the features that a modern portfolio needs to have.

This is a collection of the best WordPress Mobile Portfolio themes, great for showing off your portfolio on any kind of device. No matter which one you select, you’re going to get a beautiful and professional theme that frames your creativity in a really positive way.

Airtifact

The Airtifact WordPress theme is a creative portfolio theme for WordPress and it’s got a really cool, simple and modern style.  Airtifact, that’s actually sort of hard to type for me. I’m not really sure why, I guess I just keep wanting to type artifact. But that’s not the name of this template, that’s a video game available on Steam. I’ve got to get my act together and make sure that I don’t have any more typos. My boss told me that if I get one more typo, I’m fired. And I work for myself, so that’s really troubling concept. Anyway, Airtifact is a great-looking, minimal style creative portfolio theme that I think will make your visitors turn somersaults with joy. I don’t think I’m going to stay in that, this theme is said to have caused hundreds of people recently to run through the streets naked, shouting for joy.

Honestly, it’s true.  I swear.

Careful don’t end up running around like an idiot, jumping up and down on one foot, running into traffic, acting like you are completely insane just because you took a look at the front page of this template. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

In all seriousness, this theme is one of the better looking than most portfolio themes I’ve seen in 2018, it’s going to Creative Design with masonry grid layout optional, it’s a minimal and original looking WordPress theme that also offer is Parallax scrolling. Great for photography portfolios, video & blogs alike, this unique and simple WordPress theme is a high-performance option if you want a modern end minimal portfolio, a journal or magazine template to help reach new audiences and a vibrant and readable experience for everyone. This is one of the better WordPress themes come out in September of 2018 and I think that the early sales are really represent that fact, it’s sold 26 times in just two days on the market, which isn’t a record, but it is awfully impressive. So, I think that this is certainly a theme that you should consider if you need a minimalist portfolio template to Showcase your creative works of art.

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Elegant

Minimalist themes don’t have to be plain and boring. Look at Elegant here, it’s a very stylish but minimal theme from Themify, who are one of my favorite theme developers anywhere.  Elegant is a simple, corporate influenced theme.  It’s a blog, a portfolio and an eCommerce theme with a simple minimalist style that’s great for any sort of website.  Minimalist themes do e fine job of letting you create any kind of content, since minimalist themes are so adaptable, they form fit themselves to your content, not the other way around.  There are no fancy animations, no graphic effects that call attention away from the content.  Elegant focuses the attention on your posts and you images, right where the attention should be focused.  I love the attention to the smallest details with Elegant, the typography is amazing too.  The responsive design of this theme makes it so it looks great on all devices.  You’ve got a bonus with the portfolio and team post types too, an image filter, masonry and grid layouts and a ton more.  And Themify is known for great support, so you’ll never run into problems using this theme.

Elegant is a theme from Themify.me, it’s a clean and multipurpose theme that has relatively few extra embellishments, the typography and clean layout is what really strikes you first. There’s a portfolio and a team post type, so I think this theme works well for creative companies who want to showcase a portfolio and promote whatever creative work you do. Themify works very hard on their themes so they’re as reliable as possible and Elegant is no exception. This theme is well supported, it’s well documented and it’s great for SEO, since it loads fast and it’s perfectly optimized for display on all types of devices.

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Incanto

This WordPress premium portfolio theme is called Incanto.  It’s clean, it’s modern and it’s packed with creative features, highly modifiable, very easy to use, reliable and gorgeous, it’s versatile, perfectly coded and responsive, amazing for online marketing companies, freelancers, design companies, advertising companies or photographers. You can create a wonderful first impression with a powerful, well-made WordPress portfolio theme.  With parallax style, video backgrounds from sites like YouTube, one page and multi page versions and more, this theme has a lot to offer just about any type of business.

If you need to work with a robust plugin to make a lovely site, you must consider the adaptable, simple to use drag and drop page builder plugin, Visual Composer.  Visual Composer works perfectly with the leading third party plugins like Contact Form 7, Essential Grid, popular forms plugins like Gravity Forms or Ninja Forms, Layer or Revolution Sliders and WooCommerce. That helps make this beautiful WordPress theme incredibly functional.  What people really love is the low cost, that it’s compatible with everything, the incredible powerful features, that it’s very user friendly and the adaptability to produce any variety of site.  Visual Composer offers the massive template library, incredible support, dozens of content elements, popular front end editor and responsive, professional design, and tons more.

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Reveal

A responsive WordPress portfolio theme, Reveal is intended to make your content look great regardless of the screen size or device it is viewed on. With its clean and minimal styling, coupled with project viewing powered by Ajax, the theme is designed to put your best work on display.

Reveal comes with myriads of features. It is optimized for search engines that gives you a decided edge over your competitors. It is likewise bundled with a number of exclusive widgets that you can use to display adverts, display contents in the sidebar, and connect to your social network accounts.

The theme has clean coding that is easy to edit because the codes are organized and uncompressed. It complies with the best WordPress practices. Your audience can easily communicate with you because of the built-in contact form. All you have to do is enter your email and it is ready to go. Even better is the localization feature that allows you to translate the theme to the language that best suits your target visitors.

You can easily customize the theme with Reveal’s wide-ranging options. Everything you need is easily accessible. Likewise, you can easily display and sell your products online with WooCommerce. No installation or editing required.

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Hero

If you need a WordPress portfolio theme that is responsive but at the same time minimal, and will allow you to highlight the services you offer by showcasing your best work, then Hero is the theme for you. With the theme’s parallax home page banner combined with your creativity, you can display your primary message in a manner that will engage your viewers.

The shortcodes plugin that comes free with Hero can be used for creating engrossing slideshows and adding toggles, buttons, columns, and tabs. You can likewise add your logo, custom CSS, colors, and numerous other options that will help make your website unique.  Use the theme’s localization support to translate the theme into your preferred language. Hero is likewise built with a responsive layout design that will make your site look amazing on any device, regardless of the screen size.

Easily insert videos from your favorite sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and others via Hero’s video support feature. Smooth filtering and hover effects are available to create an amazing look for your project.  To create your contact form, use the highly functional Contact Form 7 that is fully compatible with Hero. You also have control over the typography of your content with the availability of numerous Google fonts.

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Create

Create, from ThemeTrust, is a really solid choice for developing a successful one page theme for WordPress.  This drag and drop page builder allows you to set up one page navigation to automatically scroll to each section of the page, even highlighting the navigation as you scroll down the page.  Create is works seamlessly with WooCommerce and can have you up and running with a new online shop in a few clicks.  Create comes bundled with Revolution slider and it supports unlimited widget areas, pricing tables and gives the option for a full width or boxed layout.  Your portfolio pages will look fantastic too with filtering animations, hover effects and Ajax loading that give off a truly premium look and feel.  We love this one as a one pager theme, but if you do want to use it as a multi page website template, Create allows you to customize each page with posts, pages and projects each having a slightly different look, like custom menus, headers, footers and more.

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CoupShop

For folks looking for a minimalistic eCommerce shop, CoupShop could do the trick.  Built with speed and style in equal measure, Coup Shop is a full featured WordPress eCommerce theme with a simple, modern look and a ton of great features to make it easy to run your online business.  Built by Themes Kingdom, Coup Shop is a great theme for promoting all kinds of products with a simple and straightforward presentation that makes whatever it is you’re selling look amazing.  The minimalist design is so flexible, it works for everything.  With support for Easy Digital Downloads as well as WooCommerce, you can even sell downloadable goods, if that’s what you’re into.  But don’t look for a lot of extra details, this theme is made to be simple, clean, fast loading and SEO friendly.  It’s also responsive, which should go without saying, but there are still some themes out there that aren’t responsive, so it’s worth noting.  CoupShop is from Themes Kingdom and it’s the eCommerce version of their popular Coup blogging theme. Both are simple and highly efficient WordPress themes, with bold and clean layouts, plenty of features and a focus on content. Responsive, compatible with all browsers and easy to customize, CoupShop is a great way to promote any sort of product you could imagine. One really nice thing about ThemesKingdom, you can get a 10% coupon if you sign up for their newsletter. Totally worth it.

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Weston

Weston is a premium, minimalist eCommerce theme with cool layouts, a simple design and a ton of features.  With Weston, you get a simple, elegant design with highly modern features that make it one of the best themes to come along in the last few years.  In terms of minimalist design, it’s right up there with the very best.  Minimalism doesn’t mean that it lacks features, this theme is powered by Visual Composer and that comes with a ton of pre-made functionality.  The basic, essential features include WooCommerce, beautiful portfolios, a delightful blog layout and more.  With Visual Composer, it’s a smooth and straightforward process to produce a site that has all the visual appeal that a contemporary and stylish website should have, with every tool you could possibly want to run your business.  With Visual Composer, it’s possible to create any sort of new and novel site for any type of business.  Weston is a Visual Composer based theme that’s clean and highly functional without the code bloat that you sometimes see with VC based themes. Weston has all the fundamental flexibility and functionality you need to build a really great website. Video backgrounds, portfolios, Google fonts and plenty more ensure that Weston can be adapted for any need. ThemeTrust offers a year of free support and updates to all of it’s themes, there are plenty of other great reasons to pick this theme, so take a look at more information below.

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Beatrix

Beatrix is a handmade WordPress theme for selling handmade products. Cool!  Selling handmade goods online is a great way to pursue your passion and earn some passive income. Designed especially for creative individuals who want to start a craft store business online, Beatrix is great for clothing stores, jewelry stores, and more. This trendy shopping theme enables you to display high quality images of your masterpieces in the Shop page. There, you can add detailed and effective product descriptions to convince clients to purchase your stuff. Additionally, previous customers can add their ratings and reviews. This is useful considering the effect of peer feedback on people’s buying decisions. Being WooCommerce-integrated, Beatrix allows your would-be clients to register and create their own accounts. From their individual account dashboards, they can easily manage their purchases and their shipping info. This way, they are provided with a hassle-free shopping experience. This, in turn, helps boosts your sales. Additionally, you get to manage everything from orders to shipping without leaving your WordPress Admin.

This theme includes free 1 hour customization so you end up with a unique online store that fits the theme of your business. In addition, you get the advantage of free theme updates. You can choose among multiple home page designs and unlimited colors. This theme is also compatible with most popular browsers, and its responsive design and load speed optimization provide a pleasant window-shopping and purchasing experience to customers even while they’re mobile. Beatrix lets you categorize your products according to type. The filterable portfolio lets shoppers view the items according to price, ratings, and newness. To further increase your sales, virtual shoppers will be shown a list of related products based on recently viewed items. Show your potential buyers how good they’ll look when they buy your products. You can use the Blog section of this theme to post articles and photos of fashion inspirations.

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You also may be interested in our original collection of portfolio themes for WordPress.  Great place to find some amazing stuff.

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