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blushiinghoney · 2 years

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"plan hea" | g.w

summary: George made a bet.

content: worth part 2, a bit of angst, gender-neutral, not house specific, ambiguous ending.

warnings: none, may suffer edits in the future.

a/n: someone asked for a part 2 so i delivered, i hope you enjoy.

p a r t 1 - worth

m a s t e r l i s t

[do not repost or copy my works to other sites - i did it myself, you can check it out on MY ao3]

George has always felt like he had to prove himself to others. He thinks it all might've started as a brotherly competition with his twin, always trying to compete for their mother's attention, and in the first years of school - when they still cared enough - they'd compete to see who got the best grades, who did the best spells, who learned to ride the broom faster.

And then came Quidditch. The tryouts were good for the both of them, both being able to get on the team. And it was fun, until somehow, things changed.

Fred, although was his twin, was the complete opposite of him. He had this outgoing personality, a natural flirt, and an unreachable confidence. While George, would much rather keep to himself. So, it was inevitable that even if they had the same face, everyone started to pay more attention to his older brother.

Because of that George thought that if he competed with everyone else, everyone 's attention would turn to him, if even for a moment. That's how the bets started, he'd make bets with everyone about everything. Once he had to make Professor Snape's underwear appear in class, and there was that time he bet Ron he could spend the night in the Slytherin dormitories - he did, and even took one of Draco's socks to prove it.

But there was one time he completely lost his mind.

It was a Gryffindor party after another game win. And George isn't sure how the conversation turned to another bet, he was too drunk to understand anything clearly at that point. His brothers had bet him on taking someone out, the first person that walked through the door at that moment, which had happened to be y/n. Now, George had always had a crush on them - not that he had ever told anyone. So his drunk brain thought this was the best opportunity, and while his rational side tried to make him think clearly, his drunk mouth had already said yes.

The next morning, when he realised what he'd done, he freaked out. But after coming to his senses he made a plan:

The "Happy ever after" (maybe)

Step 1 - approach calmly

Step 2 - ask y/n out

Step 3A - don't cry if they say no

Step 3B - don't freak out if they say yes

Step 4 - make out if yes

Step 4 - have nice date

Step 5 - fall in love

Step 6 - get married

Step 7 - have two kids

** be honest about the bet, and accept cruel fate

** try not to cry when they break up with me for being a bad person

** feel guilty for the rest of my life

Yeah, that seemed like a good plan, he just had to figure out how to bring the bet thing. 'Cause he couldn't get married on a lie, but maybe everything would go so well that he wouldn't have to talk about it or they'd just laugh about it, yeah, that's it.

The first date had been amazing, and it only made George like them even more. And soon one had turned to three, and then it had already been a month of dating. But still he hadn't brought up the but, even though he really wanted to. He felt bad, and really wanted to be honest, it's just everytime he tried, the words would get stuck in his throat and his mouth would get dry.

He was scared.

But in his plan he failed to see the possibility of y/n learning about the bet, from someone other than him. So it was a surprise that one morning, they'd just come to him and handed him 5 galleons.

“Here, 5 galleons, because apparently that’s all I’m worth to you”

No. No. No. This couldn't be happening.

George tried to speak, but they'd already left. How would he fix this? Could he? For the next few days he'd try to speak to them, to explain anything. But it was pointless, he had screwed everything up.

So although it hurt, George admitted defeat, and stopped bothering them, after taking the money out of his pocket and dropping it at y/n's dorm door. It was only fair, he thought. Life, unfortunately, continued and he had to learn to live without y/n by his side.

Until, on a random wednesday, someone was knocking on his door. And he was surprised to see y/n, standing there still in their uniform, waving something in their hand.

"Happy ever after huh?"

"I can explain…", George was so embarrassed, how did they get that?

"Yeah, you do have a lot to explain", then just walked into his dorm.

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sisterkosho · 4 months

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General Headcanons | Nanako Asano

Notes: So as I mentioned before, I’ve been having a bit of Tokyo Revengers brainrot as of late. And after some consideration, I figured I might as well just start letting it all out on here since the fandom still seems to be somewhat active compared to other sites. With that said, I offer you this little headcanon post centering around OC I’m currently working on. She’s still in the early stages of development so everything here is subject to change (and likely will be rewritten later), but for now I kinda just wanted to share the stuff that’s been floating around my brain as I work on her. Enjoy!

Nanako is a delinquent from the Roppongi district known for being particularly close to the Haitani brothers.

She first met the two when she was just 13 after wandering into territory they claimed was theirs. And while she wasn’t affiliated with any gang at the time, she was clearly a delinquent.

As such, the encounter inevitably led to a fight, and although she held her own surprisingly well given the circumstances of a 2 v 1 against boys clearly stronger than she was, she ultimately lost in the end.

However, perhaps because of her impressive skills in combat or her “natural charisma” as he put it, Ran seemed to take a liking to her over the duration of the fight.

Right then and there, he decided that he wanted to keep her around.

He’d have her join them, and nothing was going to change his mind,

This left Nanako… a bit taken aback, to say the least. It was all so sudden, and it sounded more like a demand than an offer. Just who did this kid think he was anyway???

She was fully prepared to tell him off, but once she actually took a moment to consider it… she realized that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

It may have sounded crazy, but these boys were freakishly strong. So much so that they could easily take over the entire district if they wanted to. In fact, she had no doubt that they would sooner rather than later.

Getting in close with people like that could be the one chance she needed to make it big in the delinquent world, and that… well, that sounded fun.

And considering she did lose a fight against them on their own turf, a part of her felt like it would only be fair to accept. That’s how these kinds of things worked after all.

So from then on, Nanako followed behind them, serving as their right hand. And as expected, it wasn’t long before they had taken over Roppongi.

They became total big shots, and being associated with them gained her quite the reputation amongst delinquents in the area.

After all, the brothers were known for their independence and refusal to be a part of any gang, so for her to have gotten so close to them… she must’ve been something special.

It was thanks to all that that she eventually ended up becoming a part of the S-62 generation on Ran’s recommendation.

A part of her knew that maybe they were going too far by that point, getting involved in things they probably shouldn’t. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Even with the way things had turned out, she was happy. She was having fun. But most importantly, she had people she cared about more than anything in the world.

So when it came down to it, she didn’t care what kind of path she went down. She’d follow them anywhere, no matter what.

From Tenjiku to Bonten, she stood by their side. And never once did she regret a thing.

She was having the time of her life, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world no matter how many hardships they faced. Though really, she felt like she had it made most of the time.

To her, the Haitani brothers are like family.

Rindou is like the little brother she never had.

He started calling her “big sis” as a joke, but it ended up sticking.

She goes drinking with him sometimes and it always ends in shenanigans of some sort.

She always takes the fall so he doesn’t get in trouble.

They’ve played tic tac toe on Ran’s forehead on numerous occasions.

Ran calls her “Nana-chan”.

The two had this sort of unspoken thing going on between them for awhile until Rindou started trying to play matchmaker.

He wasn’t the greatest wingman but somehow it worked out.

In both the Bonten arc and the final timeline, Nanako and Ran ended up married.

In the final timeline, she works as a bartender at the Haitani brothers’ club.

#nanako asano #ran haitani #rindou haitani #nanaran #haitani brothers #tokyo revengers #tr #tokrev #original character #oc #fan character #fc #oc x canon #writing #headcanon #hc

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amplifyme · 2 years

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Shift (aka The Lost Fanfic)

The X-Files. MSR. Teen and up. WC: 4261. Post-Fight the Future. Read on AO3.

Notes:

This was written sometime in the summer of 1998 after Fight the Future was released and before Season 6 began. It was archived exclusively on my website and was the only piece I didn't have backed up on my computer. When the site went down a few years later, it disappeared into the ether. I've been looking for it off and on ever since. Truth be told, I couldn't even remember what I'd written. But thanks to the resourceful and forward-thinking Lilydalexf over on Tumblr, I received an email with a text file of the fic, which she'd saved way back in the day. I've cleaned it up a bit and have included the original author's notes and disclaimer.

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Classification: VAH... all right, all right, it's MSR, too.

Rating: PG-13 for content

Spoilers: Fight the Future

Author's notes: Yeah, okay, so it's not smut. I'm sorry (say it like Eddie Van Blundht). The muse looked down her nose at me and implied that I'd forgotten how to write anything clean. This'll show her.

I'm so sorry, Mel. Can you ever forgive me? ;->

Disclaimer: Aw, jeez, do I have to? You all know the drill; just repeat it to yourselves and that'll be good enough for me.

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"Let me see if I'm understanding you, Mulder." Scully silently offered to swap her container of shrimp fried rice for his Mongolian beef. "You're saying that our work on the X-Files should be considered the norm, as opposed to the typical white-collar worker with the house in the suburbs and the two point five kids?'

"And the Range Rover," Mulder added as they traded off. He took a bite of the rice and talked around it, his typical enthusiasm overriding any need for manners. "What I'm saying is that we're hardwired to seek out new experiences, blaze new trails. The human intellect demands new and different challenges, and if we ignore that basic need we run the risk of becoming complacent; the perfect target for any organization with enough power to literally take over our lives."

He set the container on the coffee table and tore open a packet of hot mustard with his teeth, liberally dousing an egg roll with the runny yellow substance before inhaling half of it in one bite. Scully watched with bemusement. A grazing Mulder was a sight to behold.

"So, if everyone was hunting down fat sucking vampires instead of sitting behind a desk or flipping burgers, the world would be a better place?" She waited as he furiously waved a hand in front of his open mouth and grabbed his beer, draining the last couple inches from the bottle. Pushing forty and he still hadn't figured out how much hot mustard was enough.

"That's kind of simplistic," he declared when he could talk again, "but yeah. Just think about it, Scully. What if the majority of the population could see just a fraction of the things we have? Think of how much more open-minded people would be to extreme possibilities. The idea of a race of aliens bent on colonizing the planet with not so benign intentions would be much more easily accepted."

Mulder held his hand out for the beef, giving her some time to consider what he'd said. Night had fallen and his living room was bathed in shadows. Light spilled from the kitchen doorway. Aside from the cool blue cast by the muted and ignored TV and the soft glow from the newly stocked fish tank, it was the only illumination in the apartment.

"But, Mulder, you're assuming that the majority of the world's population would even want to know the things we know. Contrary to what you might think, most people are perfectly happy living a life of order and routine. I dare say most of them would go out of their way to avoid the changes that kind of knowledge would inevitably bring."

"Ignorance is bliss?"

"That's kind of simplistic," she remarked, catching his faint smile as she echoed his earlier jab, "but yes. Most people just want to be left alone to live their lives as they see fit. Change isn't always a good thing, Mulder."

"But it's inevitable," he argued. "Chaos is the norm. I can't believe I'm the only one who realizes that." He chewed and swallowed another bite, staring off into space. And then he looked in her direction, aiming the full force of his gaze squarely at her. His eyes were suddenly darker and more soulful. More aware. In a split second his entire focus had changed, and now everything in him was intent on nothing but her. It was a look she'd seen in his hallway just a few weeks ago, and one not easily forgotten.

"What about you, Scully? Is ignorance bliss?"

It was a question fraught with many different meanings - and they both knew it. That he felt comfortable enough to ask anyway was a sign of how much things had changed. It wasn't just one event out of all the events of the last month: it was the sum total of them that had led to this new and still tentative honesty; the constant awareness that they were standing on the brink of something brand new and yet older than time.

It was an electrifying feeling that had her thoughts careening wildly. She was smart enough to realize that what was blossoming between them was a strange and beautiful thing, but it was also a double-edged sword, and she wasn't entirely certain she was emotionally prepared to deal with the risks it entailed.

She held his eye, determined not to flinch, and chose to answer the easier version of his question. "No, of course not. It would be foolish of me to try to pretend that none of these things have happened." She glanced away and then back at him. The fact that his attention had shifted to the food and off of her allowed her to elaborate more than she might've otherwise.

"I guess I'm uneasy with the inherent changes that certain kinds of knowledge bring. I've always been a creature of habit, Mulder. I like routine. I like knowing what to expect. And despite the rather bizarre lifestyle I seem to have established, I've been able to adapt fairly well. It's just that sometimes it gets a little overwhelming."

"There's nothing wrong with routine, Scully. You're taking me too literally." Apparently, her deflection had worked. At least for the time being. He went on in his slightly professorial monotone. "The daily grind is a natural outgrowth of living in a civilized society. All I'm saying is that it tends to make us lazy and stupid. And that leaves us vulnerable to anyone or anything who cares to take advantage of the situation."

Mulder scrubbed his newly cropped hair and slouched back against the couch, one hand unconsciously and contentedly rubbing his stomach. "I probably don't have to tell you this," he continued, "but I thrive on change. I like chaos. It keeps me sharp. The best thing about not knowing what might happen next is that you're prepared for anything."

She pushed away from the food and settled back next to him, their shoulders barely brushing. "But, Mulder, we all need some kind of stability, a constant we can depend on. Otherwise, we'd spend our lives wandering aimlessly from one experience to another, without any kind of cohesiveness. I hear what you're saying, but there's nothing that prevents us from living an ordered life except our own inability to make sense of the very chaos you seem to cherish."

He rewarded her with a low chuckle. "Is this a kinder, gentler way of telling me I'm crazy?"

She shot him a dismissive look. "No. I'm just baffled by your attitude. Don't you ever find yourself wishing for a simpler life; one where you knew what to expect from day to day?"

"You make it sound like I don't have that already."

She gaped at him and then recovered. "Okay, now you've completely lost me. You wanna explain to me how you can possibly describe your life as simple?"

"Well, using the criteria you've established, it is simple. I have the stability you spoke of. I have that constant."

She snorted softly. "And that would be… what? That your stability is the fact that you have none? That your only constant is change?"

He turned his head and pinned her with a look, his words echoing the gentle rebuke she saw in the mossy green of his eyes. "You haven't been paying attention, Scully."

Still sprawled on the couch, his face bland, the only clue to Mulder's anxiety was the almost imperceptible bouncing of one leg. "I realize that the aftermath might be a little foggy to you, but I find it hard to believe you don't remember what was said just outside that door." He tilted his head toward the front of his apartment. He made no attempt to elaborate. His words lay solid and heavy between them, offered up like a gift she couldn't refuse, even if she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to accept it just then.

She'd been anticipating this. She'd thought about it enough that she'd even come to think of it as The Moment of Truth because of its potential to shift a large portion of her life in an unknown direction. Formulating possible responses to Mulder's probable remarks about what had happened and what'd been said had been uppermost in her mind lately. When he’d jokingly accused her of daydreaming just the day before, she hadn't been able to argue the point. He'd been right: she'd been far too distracted the last few weeks. Maybe it was best just to get things out in the open - for her continued sanity, if nothing else.

But before she could say anything he beat her to it, apparently misconstruing her long silence as refusal to take his bait. "Well," he rasped, sitting up and pulling a hand down his face, "this is an awkward moment. Look, Scully, forget I said anything."

"No," she quickly assured him, laying her hand on his back. "No, it's okay. I was just… I'm just not sure what to say, Mulder."

He glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Well, I think I made my feelings pretty clear."

She certainly wouldn't argue with that. While she couldn't claim to remember much after she'd been stung in the hallway outside his apartment, the memory of Mulder's strangled words and the thrill of realization as he'd moved in to kiss her were etched into her brain. And now it was obvious that he was expecting her to come clean about her feelings. Yet another version of their well-established “I showed you mine, now you show me yours” game. Only this time it wasn't theories they were trading.

If Scully'd had a list, she could've checked off the symptoms of reticence she was experiencing, one by one. First came the dry mouth, followed closely by the leaden feeling in her stomach. Then the reeling in her head as she began to contemplate all she could say wrong despite her best efforts to put the correct spin on things. If discussing emotions were as simple as analyzing facts and figures, debating hypothetical situations, she'd be in the clear. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

She'd never been very big on flowery declarations; the words had always stuck in her throat every time she'd attempted it. She was a woman of action, and if forced to 'fess up, would much rather show than tell. And so that's what she did: sitting up and perching on the edge of the couch next to him, she gently turned his face toward hers and leaned in to kiss him. She was aware as her lips brushed his that he had gone completely still. She didn't linger, choosing instead to make it a chaste but tender kiss, pulling away after just a few seconds. Her hand stayed at his jaw a little longer though, as her fingers memorized the slight abrasiveness of his evening stubble. His eyes, when she raised hers to meet them, were both amused and a little shocked.

"There," she whispered. "I hate leaving things unfinished."

Mulder's eyebrows crept up and he gave an infinitesimal shake of his head. "That's it?" he asked. "You mean we're done?"

Now it was her turn to be taken aback. "What were you expecting?"

As his hands lifted to cup her cheeks he murmured, "C'mere and I'll show you."

Chaste was clearly not what Mulder had in mind. Not that she was complaining. She was too busy admiring the way his bottom lip was expertly nudging hers apart, opening her mouth to admit just the tip of his tongue. He briefly touched it to hers before sweeping it across her upper lip and withdrawing, pulling back just enough to be able to look her in the eye. Permission was asked and granted in the few moments it took her to curl a hand around the nape of his neck and bring his mouth back to hers.

Scully decided that his idea of what constituted finishing business was much more comprehensive than hers. She also decided that kissing him was something she really enjoyed doing and vaguely wondered what had taken them so long.

Good little investigator that he was, Mulder was busy making a thorough exploration of her mouth. It occurred to her, in some distant, foggy place in the back of her mind, that the shift she'd predicted was indeed inevitable. Funny thing was that the reality of it didn't scare her nearly as much as she'd thought it would. She allowed herself to completely relax into their kiss, with Mulder sensing her acquiescence and slowly easing her down onto the couch, his arms cradling her. They ended up with Scully lying against one of the throw pillows, his upper body draped across hers, their legs tangled.

It took her a few seconds to force her eyes open after Mulder finally broke for air. She found him looking down at her, his expression a wickedly potent mixture of affection and good old-fashioned lust. One corner of his mouth drew up just the tiniest bit.

"That was more what I had in mind," he informed her. And then he dipped his head and began to plant small, wet kisses down the line of her jaw. His hand slid up her back and gathered a fistful of hair, gently but determinedly drawing her head back and exposing the tender skin of her neck to his mouth. The soft cotton of his dress shirt rubbed against her stiffening nipples through the silk of her blouse and bra, setting off sparks of heat traveling swiftly through her body.

Hoo-boy.

It'd been a very long time since she'd felt the weight of a man's body on hers, the delicious friction it created. Forever since her hands had roamed over corded muscle and curve of spine. Too long since she'd felt the heat pooling deep within her and someone there to share it, add to it, eventually douse it. What made the cottony thickness of her arousal even more enjoyable was that it was the real thing this time - not some fantasy Mulder who came to her only in the relative safety of her dreams. And there was only a little part of her that wondered if perhaps they should slow down and think about this some more.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Mulder muttered against her neck, "You're gonna have to tell me when to stop, Scully, 'cause if you leave it up to me, I won't."

God bless his considerate, gentlemanly little heart.

Damn it.

"Then maybe," she managed to utter even while threading her fingers through his hair and urging his mouth to points south, "we should stop and think about this."

Deft fingers began working the buttons on her blouse. "Okay. Just say the word and I'll stop."

Oh, she didn't want to do this. She didn't want to stop him. She had a sudden urge to strangle the life out of the sensible little voice in her head. If such a thing were possible, that is.

"Mulder."

"Hmm?"

"Stop."

He groaned in noisy protest but did as she asked. Resting his chin between her breasts, he peered up at her. Hair askew, eyes warm but a little wary, he was the most gorgeous man she'd ever had the pleasure of lying beneath. He was content to wait quietly while she pronounced sentence on him, trusting her to do what was best for both of them. That particular trust was a heavy burden he'd placed on her long ago, and one she'd struggled to throw off more than once. But here and now, she was beginning to realize that it was also a precious gift. And it gave her far more power over him than she even dared contemplate.

"Is this what you had in mind in the hallway?" Her voice was intentionally rich with humor. It was important that he know she wasn't upset by his attempted seduction. Getting their wires crossed about this was the last thing they needed.

She watched as his eyes lost their wariness. The hint of a boyish grin crossed his face before disappearing behind his trademark deadpan expression. "Actually," he quipped, "I was kind of hoping to make it to second base." And with that, he deliberately began to refasten the buttons he'd managed to undo. His knuckles unintentionally brushed fire along her breasts.

"Don't give up, Slugger," she told him as he finished, her voice gone slow and husky. "You haven't struck out yet."

The look on his face was priceless. She couldn't help but grin at him. His answering smile was enough to light up the room. He sat up and pulled her along with him, waiting until she was settled before he twisted around and sat down on the coffee table across from her, his long legs caging hers. Mulder reached out and caught one of her hands in his. He took in a breath and let it out slowly. "The truth is, Scully, I accomplished everything I set out to do that night. The rest of it… just icing on the cake." There was a beat of silence. "Well, except for the bee sting. That kind of put a damper on things."

"Mulder…"

"No, let me finish. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I want you to know I meant every word I said."

"I know." She squeezed his hand and ducked her head, not wanting him to see the sudden tears that threatened to spill over.

"Do you? Because that's all that really matters to me. I don't ever want you to think that I don't value you, or that you're not the most important thing in my -"

She cut him off with her fingers pressed against his mouth. If he kept it up, she'd lose her struggle to hold off her tears. She didn't want to turn into a blubbering idiot, not now. Not when smiling had felt so good.

"I know," she repeated.

His eyes flicked over her face, reading it like a map only he could decipher. Long seconds passed before he nodded slowly, satisfied by what he'd seen.

"Good," he said. "That's good."

She took a few moments to study his familiar features, softened by emotions he rarely let show. She took in the relaxed line of his jaw, the warmth of his eyes, the hair that stood up in tiny spikes on the top of his head. And the seductive fullness of his mouth, still moist from their kisses. She could drown there, she realized, and not give two hoots about anything else. It was a dangerous and compelling prospect.

She reached up and smoothed her hand over his unruly hair. "I guess this begs the question of what we do now."

He looked aside for a minute and then back at her, shrugging. "We keep on keepin' on. We see where this thing takes us. We fight the good fight. We start scheduling regular make-out sessions."

"Just thought you'd sneak that last one in there, huh?"

"Nothing gets past you, Scully."

She was trying to focus on the issue at hand. He wasn't going to make it easy. She knew this Mulder well. And she could tell he wanted to play, revert to his habit of joking about the most serious of subjects. All the nervous energy he'd suppressed just minutes ago had broken free. Both legs had taken up a gentle bouncing, his hands moving like moths around a flame: glancing off her knees, her hands, her arms, before flying away, only to return again.

Sometimes it was a pain in the ass always being the grown-up.

She grabbed one of his hands and held it tightly in both of hers. He went still almost at once, his keen sense of her innate composure helping to ground him. She vaguely wondered what would become of him if something happened to her. She could picture him floating off into space like an errant helium balloon, with no one to pull him back. She was his safety line; a fragile string that was nonetheless durable enough to keep them both anchored to the ground - even if Mulder was always looking up into the sky, wondering what he might be missing.

"This is going to have an impact on everything," she told him as she caught his eye. "It's going to change everything."

He pursed his lips and jerked an eyebrow. "Maybe. But it's impossible that you'll ever be more important to me than you are right now, so that won't change."

"What if it does, Mulder?"

"That's not gonna happen." She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off, grasping her shoulders and gazing at her with single-minded intensity. "I won't let it. I'm one relentless sonofabitch, Scully. It's gonna take a nuclear explosion to pry me away from you now. And I won't risk the only thing that matters to me unless I'm absolutely certain it's the right thing. How could it, how could we, be anything short of incredible?"

Five years with Mulder had programmed her to automatically begin formulating an argument to counteract his latest bizarre theory, and this time was no different. While her brain shifted into overdrive, spitting out a dozen reasons why they couldn't afford to be so blasé about the whole situation, her heart was busy tugging her in a different direction. One that whispered to her that he might have a point. Not every decision had to be based in logic - she'd slowly begun to realize that. Sometimes you just had to go with your gut.

"And besides," Mulder suddenly blurted into the silence, "who else would put up with my sorry ass?"

Strange how the simplest phrase could be the deciding factor in such a life-altering decision. He wasn't being facetious, despite the joking tone of his voice. He honestly believed that she was the only one who'd ever understand him, who'd willingly accept him for all that he was. Who'd see that what he did made a difference. And though there were times when she'd wondered if someone more open to extreme possibilities might be better for him, she knew in her heart that no one could ever feel about him the way she did. And no one could ever challenge, respect, trust, and complete her the way Mulder did.

“You made me a whole person.”

Isn't that what it came down to in the end? Wasn't that all that really mattered? Suddenly, nothing was more important to her than that he know what was in her heart.

"I want you to know something," she told him. "And I want you to listen to me very carefully." Mulder gazed at her with cautious chameleon eyes. "I want you to know that no matter what happens now, one thing will never change. What you do makes a difference. I know it doesn't seem like it most of the time, but it does. You have to believe that. And I want you to know how proud I am to be a part of that. You're an honorable man, Mulder, and you lead an honorable life. And I want you to know I'd be proud to be a part of that, too. In whatever form it takes."

She watched his face carefully as she spoke, cataloguing every emotion that passed over it. There were many things to see there, as he nervously chewed his lip and took in her words. But what she was left with was a mixture of tenderness and pride that nearly made her dizzy.

Mulder opened his mouth a few times before he finally got anything to come out. "Can I…" His brow furrowed and he cleared his throat and tried again. "Can I just hold you, Scully? For a minute?"

She reached for him, and they both stood, knowing that the limited contact they'd have otherwise wouldn't satisfy either of them. She went easily into his embrace, her head tucked under his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist. He held her loosely for a moment before tightening his arms and drawing her even closer. They stood toe to toe, touching everywhere it was possible to touch, the contact sweet and heavy with the promise of things to come.

Mulder dipped his head until it rested against hers. His chest expanded as he took in a deep breath and then released it with a ragged sigh. "God, you feel so good. So good."

She tightened her arms around him, wanting nothing more than to be enveloped by him, held in his warm and welcoming embrace for as long as he'd let her. Judging by his remark, that could end up being a good long while.

And that was okay. It was better than okay.

"You know what, Scully?" he murmured against her hair.

"What’s that, Mulder?"

"Someday soon we're gonna have really phenomenal sex."

Maybe even sooner than he thought.

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The End

Nope, no sequel planned. Live with it.

#xfiles #x-files fanfic #msr #shift #aka the lost fanfic #mine

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draculasstrawhat · 12 days

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This is going to be long and rambling, but as someone who spent my teens reading about historical extremely-just-and-necessary riots and revolutions, I do find the widespread role play around them, and the lean in to accelerationism… frightening, more than anything.

Like, there’s a lot of talk about how the violent disruption of a revolution would kill vulnerable people, and how revolutions tend to end up targeting (or at least using as collateral) marginalised groups, and all of that is true. And there’s a lot of talk about how plenty of groups are already being targeted, and used as collateral - particularly outside of the global north - and what? Are we just supposed to say that’s acceptable? And that’s very true as well.

But specifically, wanting things to get worse, so that people ‘have to’ rise up and take action? Do you… know what worse means?

Have you read about the mass graves and the torture sites and the mutilations and the disappearances? Have you read survivor testimonies? The Amnesty reports? Have you read about what happened to peaceful protestors and union organisers before things got ‘bad enough’ that people felt it was necessary to take up arms en masse? About what happened to their families, their children? Have you listened what political refugees have said was done to them, and those they organised with?

Do you know what happens if you lose? What happens after it gets “bad enough” and people do rise up, and then they fail? Because most revolutions fail because the revolutionaries don’t have multinational funding, and guns, and bombs, and complicit social media companies?

Worse is every bad thing you’ve ever read about, that makes you feel sick and scared and like something needs to be done to make this stop right now, and yes, it is already happening. In far too many places worldwide, ‘worse’ is already happening, and revolution has not been the inevitable, sweeping consequence. Not because these very real people being oppressed, starved, tortured, killed are less brave, or less virtuous, or less intelligent than you, but because once a totalitarian government has seized control they will do literally anything to maintain it.

God, I want a better world. Of course sometimes I want to flip the table and start it all again without this fucking suffering, but… people have tried. Again and again, people in worse circumstances you have ever imagined have tried, and organised and fought and… failed. Been forced to live through another 20 years of violent oppression, if they got to live at all.

Whatever horrifying thing you’re reading about, watching happen, whatever atrocity has radicalised you… do you think there wasn’t a resistance there? That people aren’t fighting it right now? That no one has tried to organise and stop it? By violent means as well as peaceful ones?

Why do you think your revolution is the one that’s fated to succeed?

I hate the way the world seems to be going. It scares the hell out of me that my children might inherit a country where their only option for change is armed struggle. It horrifies me, daily, that children worldwide already inhabit that reality, and no, I don’t know how to fix it. Maybe it will have to be global revolution.

But I really hope not. I hope it doesn’t have to get that bad, first. Because I feel like anything else is trivialising the very real suffering, and struggle, and death that people have already gone through (and are going through) trying to improve the world, and in circumstances of such horror that most people can’t easily imagine.

#I don’t really know where I’m going with this I just had to get it off my chest

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nostalgebraist-autoresponder · 1 year

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Title: Overwhelmed by Data: An Exploration of Online Information Space, 2010-2012

Author: Trevor Dawson

Rating: 4/5 stars

I have said it before and I will say it again: collaborative filtering is a lot like gambling, and it is no coincidence that internet recommendation systems and internet casinos are both huge and somewhat problematic parts of our society.

Recommendation systems want you to keep trying things, and keep trying things, and keep trying things, and they (consciously or not) have their hands on an endless supply of new possibilities for you to try. They are often very "sticky" -- i.e. you stay on a website because your next possibility is right there, and after that, right there, and after that . . .

The best example is social media, where the endless stream of posts and tweets encourages you to not only stay on the site, but to put more and more into it, post more and post more . . . for the sake of winning social status games. I just saw a few people say (tweets), "I put a lot of effort into that post and I'm proud of it. I'm going to give that post its own Tumblr page so I can go back to it any time and appreciate how good it was" -- thus achieving exactly the kind of internet experience that the recs algorithm wants to produce.

But this is a problem, because what do you do when you've got an excess of something? People aren't content to look at, say, ten reviews or books or movies per day. If a service wants people to "engage with" its content, they can't stop at ten, they need to keep going and going and going. Consume more, do more, share more! This must be quantified. How much is enough? How much is too much? On to the next one!

And the more you put into something, the more you are expected to do . . . . and the more you expect, the more you do, and the more the system feeds you and demands you do more and more. It's not the self-contained perfect world of a casino; it's a black hole.

Dawson's book makes the case that the endlessness of this process is not only a function of web 2.0 -- it is a feature of all human beings. He is inspired by a conversation with Carl H. Sferrazza and Blaise N. Peters, who imagine a world in which humans had a set amount of computational power. In this world, it simply would not be possible to "consume an infinite amount of content" -- the human brain's computational power is much more limited. (Not so in this world of "silicon chips.") Because of the infinite demand on content, our brains would inevitably be wired to take advantage of the best, most recommended things, leaving less room for everything else. (Think of shopping in a supermarket -- if you are presented with one item, you are more likely to find it good than if you have to choose from 50 different items, even though "the best" could be one of the 50.)

In short, the Web 2.0/social media model of recommendations is not really so much of a contingent fact about web 2.0 -- it is just a fact of the world in general. Dawson thinks the world in general could be substantially changed if we only accepted this fact.

The proposal for change is fairly pragmatic and mundane -- "content owners" should limit the supply of things to be consumed. This is true in a variety of senses. For instance, Dawson sees the phenomenon of "fandoms" as a case in which narrowing the selection of content to be consumed, and thus providing recommendations for this content, will make the fandom larger and more successful. If you're reading this as a fan of some thing and are thinking, "but I just want MORE OF THIS THING," Dawson has some bad news for you. "More of this thing" is probably not good for your fandom.

But he's not just worried about big business taking advantage of "endless supply." Dawson argues that the best products tend to be the ones with the most endless supply -- the things that can be quenched never stop being quenchable, and nothing else can rival them. Coca Cola isn't "the best drink," but it's good at being drinkable in an endless way, and anything that gives you a limited (finite) amount of quenchable (delicious) goodness will look inferior by comparison.

If we're going to truly understand how our choices are manipulated by systems of endless supply -- and what will happen if we, as a civilization, alter those systems -- it will help to have more pragmatic examples. If you think this is interesting and important, I highly recommend the book.

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wearepaladin · 2 years

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So, some cool updates to what’s going on with the Paladin in the game I’m running.

TLDR: He has, for now, become an Oathbreaker.

Story time:

The group had made their way to Ancients Haunt in the arbor graves, looking for a key or a lock based on the visions of the Paladin- Zagähk. (Zah-geck) Their adventures took them into the ruins of an eldritch site. One of the final hiding places of the Septarchs. Xia’ind- Septarch of change, growth and decay. This came on the heels of revelations given by an ancient immortal Jackalwere (one who splits into a pack of around 50 jackals when shifting) who told Zagähk, Louva, and Akylla about the origin and purpose of the path of beasts, why they in particular were tied to it, and what it would mean for them. Specifically for Zagähk, the revelations entailed how his goddess Mirandi, lady of the wilds came to power. How she took power from another to achieve divinity, and how she usurped the throne of the dead moon goddess Rhiannon and has claimed- without right- it’s power.

While exploring the ruins of rhe eldritch facility, Zagähk had several visions, and was even overtaken by Xia’ind once, as that soul is the one inside him. He saw Xia’s death at hands of Mirandi- one that was met with acceptance if not without struggle. The Septarch of Change does not fear the agents of it.

However, when the group finally found the body, seated with another of these stone trees sprouting through him, this one spouting three stone acorns. Zagähk, in reverence, left the glaive he had wielded since he left home 12 years ago, and took up Xia’s axe, Inevitability. The group gathered the acorns and prepared to leave

Only with the sound of chimes, something appeared behind them. Starias, Wrath of Mirandi. A celestial appeared, seething with rage, at Zagähks shaken faith, at his acts that are counter to his goddess’s will- at least in their eyes. To take up her enemies blade?

Starias is a reigar and using their talarinth, copied themselves and by their authority as Mirandi’s Wrath, named Zagähk Oathbreaker and stripped him of his abilities. He changed subclass to Oathbreaker Paladin from oath of the ancients and then shit went sideways.

Now Zagähk- he’s a mild mannered dude. He’s kind, he wants to protect, he’s kind of pure and simple and conflict averse. Tended to shut down instead of actually talk through the things making him mad. This time, through the psychic link they share they didn’t feel Zagähk cut himself off. They felt his fucking RAGE. The party went IN on Starias who summoned Coatl to help deal with the numbers and a brutal back and forth went down, though the party clearly had the upper hand, their output is nuts.

All the while Starias was berating Zagähk, giving him shit for how he had let himself be manipulated, how he was never worthy of the guidance he had been given, that Mirandi had made a mistake in trying to shape him into a champion.

As they took the celestial lower and lower, Starias entered phase two and using the unbridaled power of the wilds healed their wounds and caused the tree growing through Xia’s body to sprout, the petrified wood growing at an insane rate to sprout through the top of the ruin and out of the Demi plane entirely. Unfazed despite heavy wounds, the group went fucking in, Zagähk blasted his final attacks into Starias dealing 70 damage in one turn while Louva stunned, threw the clone off the top of tree then had the Warlock hex, and dual eldritch blast them on the way down causing them to disaperate. Starias was left at 2 hp

Suddenly Zagähk and Starias found themselves in a remote mountain glade. Tall pines shaded them as a pack of massive wolves made their way towards the pair. The leader continued forward. Shifting into the tanned dark and wild haired spear maiden Mirandi. She was furious,

“STARIAS. On whose authority do you act”

“Milady- I only ever served”

“My wrath, I gave no order to enact punishment upon this man, on who’s authority do you act?”

“My own…”

“…”

“Milady!”

“Begone” and with a wave of her hand and a breath of sulfurous air the celestial vanished.

Starias is in hell now.

Zagähk was left with his goddess. His goddess no longer.

She would not look at him. Until finally she did. She apologized for what happened. Healed his wounds. Zagähk flinched away from her. She cringed. He could see her guilt… her fear. Of him. She was afraid of him. She apologized, she sounded broken. She told him she had seen something of herself in him and so she had decided to shape him, his path. To make him her champion. But when Xia’inds soul awoke in him (back in session 1 when the souls housed in all the party woke) she was terrified. Terrified of what Zagähk would learn, would think of her if he knew the full truth. She would tell him the full truth. So she apologized and said this would be goodbye.

Zagähk squared his shoulders, no longer keeping his eyes downcast and he said the most badass thing I’ve ever heard.

“Thank you for your apology, and thank you for taking me this far. But I don’t need you. I will still protect people, and I will find the truth. I will save my friends with or without you. After all, I’m not the Blade of Mirandi. I’m the Blade of the Wilds.”

And he could see in that barest moment he saw the faint hint of a smile on her face before he returned to the material plane.

That was long, sorry.

Don’t apologize! That was utterly cinematic to read and experience. It deserves fanart it was so good. Thank you for sharing it with me.

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cor-regnum · 9 months

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The Kairi growth game I want

I've mentioned this to a couple people and even in a few posts I've made on this here site, but I want to jot down all the things I want from this non-numbered KH title with Kairi as the lead.

Naturally this assumes being caught up with the story so far, so clicking read more means you're okay with any spoilers or whatever.

First and foremost, the overall theme of the game will be "change is inevitable and can be good" along with "but can sometimes be bad and you need to learn to deal with it" to match the Aristotilean Catharsis needed to be a KH game. The reasoning being in what little character she is given, Kairi is consistently shown to be resistant to/afraid of change. To the point that I think her fixation on Sora is strongly built in that. Not that she doesn't care about him, let's get real, but it's not to the level a lot of people want to think, especially when we look at the Japanese text throughout the series, but especially the paopu scene in KH3. Not going into that, though.

So, the framing device is that while under the tutelage of Queen Master Aqua, Kairi needs to go on her own journey through DIsney worlds because of some new problem showing up that no one's aware of yet. Put a pin in that. So, alongside Xion and Namine, Kairi goes on this journey.

Gameplay-wise

Kairi would be the balanced character, Xion would be the strength, and Namine the mage. Ideally the player would need to switch between the three for varying purposes/puzzles in each world, aside from obvious combat purposes. They would be fully fleshed out characters, as much as, if not moreso, than Sora when we play as him and it will be necessary to get at least a basic understanding of how to play as all three girls to complete the game. Plus they'll unlock combo attacks, similar to the triangle ones Sora can do with his party members in KH3. But less... extra and more about keeping a good flow of combos tied to every other attack you'd be doing. And even some combos that would shift you to the other girl you weren't just playing as to maximize combo efficiency.

And what I mean by puzzles is essentially how Neo: The World Ends With You handled each individual character's abilities. I like how much that KH3 Xion mod leans towards her essentially being a mimic, so I'd want her to have to learn things and show/demonstrate it to someone else in order to obtain key items and allow progression. Naturally Namine's ability would be tied to her drawings and memories. Helping people remember details, making some people momentarily forget things if that person is blocking their path, and even extract information from others. Even if she goes all detective mode and uses her sketchpad to take notes, that would be delightful to see. Kairi, admittedly, may have the most boring seeming ability, but she literally just listens to people and helps them move on from what's bogging them down. She basically goes counselor mode, or acts like a Rooder to anyone familiar with Clock Tower 3. It ties into the theme, because she'll essentially have to help other people move on (sometimes needing to bring them something) and accept change, and by firsthand helping others with that, she'll slowly accept that with herself, too. But we'll circle around to this ability of helping people move on later. Don't forget it. Another pin, if you would.

As for the Disney worlds...

I think she should meet with at least a few of the other princesses to see what they've been up to. With Cinderella, they should 1000% use the plot from Cinderella 3, since the plot for that was one giant "what if" scenario created by time travel shenanigans, which would be a perfect embodiment of the change narrative. (and as a personal thing, I'd want Aqua to come along as well, since she has a rapport with Cinderella already and Aquarella reasons) As for the other princesses, just seeing their lives post-movies. Maybe Disney could give Nomura their scrapped ideas for that Disney Princess Enchanted Tales series and he can... make them good. Another would be an updated Disney Town outside of the castle. For the players, it could be fun to see how things either have or haven't changed, but I'd want it to be more than the mini-game world it was in BBS and actually have a plot. Maybe even be like one giant check-in to see how Mickey's been dealing with his Scala Ad Caelum investigation to tie things back to the central plot for a bit and update things on any potential goings on with the foretellers. I imagine while the girls are journeying, Aqua is doing her own thing and comes across some info about the foretellers, as well. So her and Mickey can basically be having a meeting about what they've found while Kairi, Namine, and Xion learn about all of this. I would find it interesting to see Kairi deal with a Winnie the Pooh situation, if for no other reason than the fact Pooh has been used as her parallel in both KH2 and 3, so it could be interesting to see. Plus I just think they'd all get along so well.

While traveling, the three girls have so many good bonding and growth moments. We'll see Namine actually get to be happy and have agency over herself. Xion won't need to angst over her existence and will get to thrive with her own identity. Kairi will actually be glad to have time traveling with them and it'll gradually dawn on her that she really doesn't need to rely on Sora (and I guess Riku, though post KH2, those two haven't really done much, except for that conversation in MoM) and she can rely on all her other friends and they can rely on her, too. To get a little headcanony right now, I've ALWAYS imagined Kairi being someone who is incredibly competitive, so I would love for that to come out in this game, in a friendly way with the other two. I also imagine Xion has a bit of a short fuse, but will also come back down quickly. And Namine would be the one to generally keep the peace if things got too heavy or dangerous, but when she does get agitated at all, she goes silent and is actually terrifying with the vibe she gives off. They're treated as so similar in the narrative we've seen so far, but I want them to be able to bounce off each other in the most delightfully different ways possible.

Going back to that pin about the new problem no one's sure about and Kairi's power

Yeah, so throughout the game there would be allusions and cutaway scenes hinting and foreshadowing it, but the problem and enemies have to do with the foretellers coming back. I don't want to stomp on Nomura's plan for how they're around current day, but I imagine it's a more perfected time travel magic than what Xehanort was using or something tied to the Gazing Eye. Either way, between their time travel, Sora's escapades at the end of KH3, Riku doing The Tear, and also Riku going across realities to find Sora, the space-time could be getting wobbly and enemies from the past and future are slipping through. I personally don't think we need to introduce another kind of enemy on this side of reality, but if they have to, I'd want it something from the Final World slipping into the realm of light and it turning into some kind of monster, since it's somewhere it shouldn't be. What I would like most is for any Darklings from the Ux keyblade wielders to arrive and introduce our current day allies to the concept of Darklings. It would give Aqua more to angst about since she almost became one, will be tied to Ven and his Ux memories, and most importantly, it will be involved in Kairi realizing her power. Her unique edge over every other keyblade wielder. She's the only princess of heart who wields a keyblade. While other keyblade wielders struggle with the dark and even fighting Darklings, she is innately not going to struggle with that. She is a keyblade wielder of pure light. This gives her unique powers that other keyblade wielders just can't have that lets her easily conquer Darklings and even save them. Because remember how her ability throughout the game has been to help people move on? This power to heal Darklings is an extension of that ability. Essentially meaning that by Kairi accepting the inevitability of change and learning to grow and deal with it, she's able to heal the tormented, darkened souls of ancient keyblade wielders.

The end of the game, aside from all the good growth for these three characters who tend to get shafted by the narrative, would further the foreteller plot and display a new adversary on this side of reality with the time-space continuum being wonky.

And to wrap it all up, I'd want the name to be Kingdom Hearts: Aqua's Angels and for Aqua's Angels to be it's own subseries, I don't care how realistic or not that is, I want these chararcters to thrive.

If I think of anything more, I'll probably just reblog myself.

#kingdom hearts #kh #kairi #aqua #namine #xion #I don't know what to tag this as for a KH thing I want so I guess I'll just tag #KH thing I want #old man cor's mullings

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thefakerachelray · 2 years

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Since it’s fall, aka prime Camping Season, and some people may be trying tent camping for the first time, here’s some Basic Camping Advice from me. (Keep in mind this is all aimed towards recreational camping in an organized campground and not all of it applies in all situations.)

Book campsites ahead of time if you can, especially in the fall when they’re busiest. Halloween is the absolute busiest time of the year, and sites need to be booked months in advance at some campgrounds.

Halloween is fun though! People decorate their campsites and golf carts (yes, a lot of campgrounds have golf carts for rent), and there’s trick or treating. Some even do it for a few weekends before Halloween.

Advice on picking campsites: notice whether your campground differentiates between tent and RV sites, and decide if you want your campsite to back up to the woods or not (woods give you privacy but you might also be further from amenities).

This seems obvious but CHECK THE WEATHER and be prepared. Camping is no fun when you're freezing or wet or both.

BUG SPRAY. Bring it. Use it.

Believe it or not, you CAN pitch a tent! Most modern tents are fairly easy to set up as long as you follow the directions that come with them.

Make sure the corners of your tent are spread out as much as possible before you stake it down. You don't want to lose space.

Bring a hammer. Sometimes the ground is soft enough to drive the tent stakes into with your hands/feet, but it's better to assume it won't be.

You'll want to face the opening of your tent away from the fire so smoke doesn't get inside, and you probably want to set it on a flat, grassy area.

Listen to me. Starting a fire is harder than movies make it look. Make sure at least one person in the group knows how to build and safely start a fire. And no, you can't start one by rubbing sticks together. You need a lighter. Preferably one of those long ones for candles, not a cigarette lighter.

Fire starters exist and they’ll make your life so much easier. We use these.

Most campgrounds sell firewood at the camp store, and pretty often grocery stores and gas stations nearby have it too. Your best bet is to have some with you before you ever get to the campground, in case the camp store runs out.

Speaking of firewood, you probably need more than you think you do, and you want a mix of sizes. Big full-sized logs will keep burning longer, but smaller kindling and split logs will catch faster and are good for starting your fire.

Wear gloves when handling wood as well, to avoid splinters. And sometimes spiders.

Smoke is inevitable. The smell of it will get into your hair and clothes. It will blow in your face, and as soon as you move, the wind will change and it will blow right towards you again. Just accept it. It’s part of the experience.

Please be careful around fire. Again, that seems obvious, but I can’t stress enough how much you don’t want to get burned. Also keep in mind that metal conducts heat, plastic melts, and paper ignites when they’re near fire, and those things can burn you too.

Seriously, it’s so important I’m going to say it again: take fire safety seriously. Be VERY aware of your surroundings any time you’re near a fire. That goes double if you’re drinking alcohol.

If you get air mattresses (and you’ll probably want to, they're much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, even with sleeping bags), look for Coleman or another brand that specializes in camping gear. They're designed to stand up to the outdoors.

Make sure you have a way to inflate your air mattress too. Some have built in pumps, but not all. Inflate them while it’s still light out so you can see if they’re leaking air.

Trash bags are a necessity. I recommend at least one per day. It sucks to forget trash bags and have nowhere to put your garbage, which I know because I Have Done That.

Also, check the rules about what to do with your trash, especially in places where there are bears. I don’t think I have to explain why those campgrounds have strict rules about how to store food and dispose of garbage.

Disposable plates, cups, and cutlery are also nice to have. We keep some in our “camping box”.

Pay attention when cooking. It’s really easy to burn food over an open fire.

Reese’s Cups, especially Reese’s Thins, are great on s’mores! The classic chocolate bar version is always good too.

As my dad once said, “battling The Dark is one of the biggest challenges of camping”. Bring plenty of flashlights and a camping lantern if you can get one, and make sure they have batteries.

On a similar note, make sure your phone is charged when you get to the campground in case of an emergency. You may or may not have access to electricity at your campsite, and you’ll at least want your phone as a backup flashlight.

Campground bathhouses aren’t always very clean. Like smoke, this is just a fact of camping that can’t be avoided. You can’t really avoid going in them anyway. You’ll have to go to the bathroom at some point (and probably shower if you camp for multiple days), so it’s just a thing you gotta deal with.

Camping can be really fun, just make sure you’re prepared!

#camping #tent camping #long post

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c0mpvlsive · 1 year

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Squeeze Plays by Jeffrey Marshall

About the Book:

Squeeze Plays is variously listed as a financial thriller, a satire (Amazon category) and a modern morality play. It deals with business and finance - though in terms that most sophisticated readers can easily understand, even though they may know little about finance. The villain is a cunning Russian oligarch, which makes the novel timely.

The story offers an intertwining of three principal characters, with a fourth - a financial journalist - entering the picture as the agent who ties them together. Along the way, the novel is rich in simile and metaphor and casts a satirical eye on the foibles of the rich and well-connected in New York and London.

Buy the Book – Amazon.com, Bookshop.org

Reviews:

“Corbin van Sloot is a man who is well positioned in the financial world. He is the CEO of Whitehall, a financial firm with a long history that is held in high esteem. Corbin oversees the United States end of the business for the UK-based company. The winds of change have Corbin concerned, however, as the financial system appears more and more precarious. One of Whitehall’s key clients, Star Enterprises, is a newspaper empire that has been hemorrhaging money for quite some time. The higher echelon at Whitehall want to call in the loan as the newspaper company seems more and more unstable with each day. Corbin must balance the concerns of his day to day along with his desire to climb the social ladder while also covertly stepping out on his wife.

Winston Crumm is the head of a crumbling media empire. Star Enterprises has been in his family for generations, but the saturation of internet news sites and the desire for instant news has led to the decline of profits. Crumm appears to be oblivious to this, as he routinely puts off calls to his bank and forestalls the inevitable callback of a large loan. Crumm is staring into the abyss of ruin and embarrassment when he receives a call.

Maxim Ripovsky is a Russian oligarch who is as mysterious as he is charismatic. He desires to spread his wealth in the United States, by hook or by crook. He doesn’t have allies in business as much as chess pieces strategically placed, ready for the next attack. He senses opportunity in aiding Winston Crumm and propping up a storied tabloid empire. His loan contains some conditions, and once Crumm opts to accept, the trap is set. Ripovsky is wily and his machinations don’t end solely with him as benevolent benefactor. Ripovsky, Crumm, and van Sloot are on a collision course that may not bode well for anyone.

Squeeze Plays thrives as an intelligent book that explores three particular men and how their desires threaten to bring them down. Corbin seeks status, but his whole world would crumble if his philandering was revealed. Crumm is obsessed with the trappings of wealth to the extent that he ignores his daily tasks. Maxim desires power to the point of hubris, and his ambition may be larger than his view. Author Jeffrey Marshall has written an absorbing work suitable for the current status quo of the world, from the decline of the newspaper to the distrust of anything Russian to the shaky position of the financial world. The three principal characters are united in their fallibility, but the reader will find themselves captivated by their stories and how they’ll end.”

~ Philip Zozzaro, Manhattan Book Review

Take a rich, lazy and arrogant tabloid owner, a hard-charging bank executive who can’t keep his pants zipped and add a powerful Russian oligarch with buckets of money. Top it all off with a hard-working journalist intent on exposing financial misconduct and you have all the key ingredients for an exciting financial thriller.

Jeffrey Marshall’s Squeeze Plays (Atmosphere Press) takes us on a journey to New York, London, Nantucket and the English countryside. We follow Marshall’s rich pampered characters, from sailboats to penthouses and private jets to luxurious homes. This gripping thriller explores the upper reaches of the newspaper and global banking worlds as they collide with the unsavory manipulations of a Russian oligarch.

MONEY WITH STRINGS ATTACHED

Winston Crumm’s newspaper empire, Star Enterprises, is failing in the digital age and is in desperate need of cash. Corbin van Sloot is the CEO of Whitehall Banking Group, the company that is holding over $15 million of Star’s debt. Van Sloot ultimately decides to call the loan in order to protect his bank, should Star go under.

Enter Maxim Ripovsky, a rich Russian oligarch with no moral compass. Ripovsky generously invests $20 million in Star, but not without strings attached. Ripovsky wants to use Crumm’s newspaper as his own personal public relations tool. His goal is to ease his entrance into New York society and take advantage of the connections and business opportunities that entail.

Tensions rise when we learn that Ripovsky has purchased a large amount of Whitehall’s stock on the open market and is pressuring the bank for a board seat. Not only that, but Ripovsky has some nasty leverage on van Sloot — leverage that can destroy both van Sloot’s marriage and his career. And Ripovsky isn’t afraid to exploit van Sloot’s sexual escapades to achieve his nefarious goals.

~ Mark E Greene, BookTrib

About the Author:

Jeffrey Marshall is a writer, novelist and poet from Scottsdale, AZ. He's the author of five books, including the novels Squeeze Plays, Little Miss Sure Shot and Undetected; Undetected and Squeeze Plays were named ShelfUnbound Notable 100 Indie books in 2020 and 2022, respectively. A retired journalist and the former editor of two national business magazines, Marshall has freelanced to more than 30 publications as varied as The New York Times, High Country News and Tail Fly-Fishing Magazine, and his short fiction has appeared in online magazines like Bright Flash Literary Review, Ariel Chart and Vocal.com, among others. A short story he wrote took first place in the 2022 Arizona Authors competition.

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theseeingsage · 4 months

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⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ full moon in virgo ⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

taurus virgo capricorn • s m r v

this full moon energy has you finally walking away from all that no longer serves you. you are accepting the lessons you learned yet honoring the need to pursue your own path. you have gotten all you can from this chapter of your life & you are seeking more. more happiness, more fulfillment, more alignment with your true purpose. it’s not that you’re turning your back on the ones you love, more so, you realize that in order to grow, you must venture out & walk this path alone. this revelation leads to a new emotional beginning in your next chapter & you will notice that your intuition seems to be a lot stronger than before. this is a period full of compassion & release of all past pain. the things that once held you back will be falling away and an energy of love, gratitude, & friendship is crowning you. forgive your flaws, open your heart, & allow this new emotional fulfillment to lead you to follow your heart. Spirit is filling your cup & soon, the overflow will allow you to pour into others. there is movement coming in, & serendipity & change are the themes here. change is inevitable yet know that heaven & earth are being moved to align you with what benefits you the most. things have been falling in place naturally & your guides want you to know it is safe to let this happen. things may be a little unsettling & scary yet you must believe that things are happening for the better. only positivity is on its way to you. you don’t have to jump in completely starting out, rather take small steps that will bring you closer to your dreams. the full moon card is here & this full moon in virgo will be bringing you luck & vigorous progress. things are coming to a head & you are about to rewarded for all your efforts. expect a windfall of money, a surprise, or a chance encounter soon. with this abundance, be sure not to overspend or go overboard. enjoy your success though, you have earned it! when it comes to love, someone is wanting a family. there is an energy of wanting to build generational wealth & cultivate a new origin. this person is no longer at a crossroads about this connection & though they may have had options in the past, they are closing the door on anything that is not leading them further towards this. there is no more indecisiveness & they are realizing that this could be the one. they aren’t completely ready & this will take a little more time yet there is no question about where they want to be. you both feel like you can finally let down your guard & be yourselves around each other.

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#taurus #virgo #capricorn #tarot #prophetess #astrology #theseeingsage #tarot reading #horoscope today

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manoiurz · 1 year

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Fake ID

A Simple Key For Fake Id Unveiled

Scammers make fake profiles on dating web pages, supplying pics of fake armed forces IDs as “evidence” ahead of inevitably inquiring you for cash. If another person contacts you boasting to become a servicemember wanting resources, it’s Virtually surely a fraud.

Laminate the pouch and trim the sides to finish The task. Set your laminator to some medium warmth degree. Place the sheet, Teslin paper, and butterfly pouch in to the laminator crease-to start with.

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You may as well use the BarZapp application to scan the barcode and find out if the information matches that about the card. Eventually, look for misspellings or problems over the card, due to the fact any legit I.D. will never have spelling faults. Keep reading for guidelines from our Lawful reviewer on how to match someone for their I.D.

Maintain the change vital down in Microsoft programs whilst dragging the corner of a photo to help keep the ratio between the sides on the picture just like the original Photograph.

You shouldn’t make use of your fake-id to inform men and women you are even now in university. The best situation circumstance is that you are a postgraduate.

Glue the edges alongside one another and Permit it dry. Use a hefty-duty glue In case you have one. Spread it out from the bottom of each and every fifty percent using a cotton swab or small nozzle attachment.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania licensees really should Get hold of a legislation enforcement officer as opposed to keep an obviously fraudulent ID.

Don’t consider your Image over a telephone. Even if the picture looks fantastic, the resolution is probably Completely wrong for an ID card. Use a large-excellent digicam over a lower shutter velocity to go ahead and take Photograph.

Never ever accept a photograph website or duplicate of a card—even on-line. Pictures and copies is often conveniently manipulated. There’s no approach to verify their authenticity.

But it's also against the law that states happen to be punishing in an increasingly significant way, with lots of states punishing people with fake IDs as felons. All states have fake ID rules, even though how the criminal offense is classified and punished, differs from condition to point out. What's a Fake ID?

Enable the ink dry by letting the paper sit for 30-forty five minutes. Open a butterfly pouch by lifting the sheet and sliding the ID into it. Place the protecting paper that came Along with the pouch in addition to the butterfly pouch.[twenty] X Investigate resource

FakiIDAustralia.com, six customers requested from This page and all 6 people received there Ids, The positioning and customer service personal say you will have the Id in seven to ten times, All people mentioned it was extra like ten-twelve times, what's ok due to the fact not less than there obtaining the Ids, the sites Ids were being described to be excellent, The Ids scan, Have the real Holograms about the Ids.

And was getting his enterprise? The particular operator of the positioning is getting treatment if it he explained simply because they don't have any Charge of men and women performing like there them. Sorry about ur negative luck, I bought mine I'd even send out u a picture of mine. I dont perform for any web page im just an everyday man or woman to.

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maaagnetize · 1 year

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Squeeze Plays by Jeffrey Marshall

About the Book:

Buy the Book – Amazon.com, Bookshop.org

Reviews:

~ Philip Zozzaro, Manhattan Book Review

MONEY WITH STRINGS ATTACHED

About the Author:

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calii-classy · 1 year

Text

Squeeze Plays by Jeffrey Marshall

About the Book:

Buy the Book – Amazon.com, Bookshop.org

Reviews:

~ Philip Zozzaro, Manhattan Book Review

MONEY WITH STRINGS ATTACHED

~ Mark E Greene, BookTrib

About the Author:

0 notes