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thevulcanbobdylan · 2 years

Note

Tropes ask meme: 25, 30, 70, 86😇

25. writers

30. enemies to lovers / lovers to enemies

70. rivalry

86. in a library

I'm legit sorry this just took over my brain all morning and turned into 1800 words of random AU fluff

***

It wasn't unusual to see the old library nearly empty. A skeleton crew of bored staff manned the front desk, fielding a paltry trickle of customers for the book sale. Far at the back of the open ground floor, a few students occupied the tables set at intervals between the stacks, and the smell of their coffee mingled faintly with the scent of paper and the tangy notes of musty old building.

The coffee had been brought from outside, of course - this place had never boasted anything so modern as a cafe. The old brutalist structure looked more like a parking garage than an institution of learning, an immense cube of concrete and narrow, black windows. Outside, the usual gaggle of homeless guys and skateboarders maintained their territory on the front steps. It made no difference to them that the old place was closing.

Bill had already toured the new building, a big inviting space, full of comfortable furniture and conference rooms, and glittering with the latest technology. It was, by every objective measure, ideal. He pressed a button for the shaky old elevator. Perfectly designed to facilitate bullshit. The new library had nothing on this one, deep and dim and vaguely threatening. He chuckled to himself as he stepped into the ancient lift, its fluorescent light buzzing and glitching. A library should be a challenge. "Come claim my magic, if you dare."

Bill didn't really want anything from the book sale. His home, not to mention his office at the university, was stacked and piled with all manner of volumes, from rare first editions to signed copies of the latest novels, the works of friends and former students. There was, however, something of interest up on the third floor, assuming it was still there. The elevator rumbled to a stop and for a second, Bill wasn't sure the doors would actually open. They did, and he emerged into one of his favorite sanctuaries - the top floor of the library, where the music collection was housed.

Music was all digital today - even the library could let out digital albums for temporary download on the device of the listener's choosing. Bill hadn't seen another living soul on this floor of the library since he was a kid. Maybe that's what made it his favorite haunt. That, and John Wesley Harding.

If he'd been a purist - if it had really been about the music at all - he would've bought the album on vinyl. He hadn't; in fact, he wasn't even sure he'd ever streamed the entire thing in digital form either. But the fact remained that the first time he'd heard All Along the Watchtower had been here, snapping the cassette into his walkman, hunched over a little table, puffy black headphones drowning out the world, age - damn, would he have been nineteen?

A die hard Dylan fan for life after that moment, he often found himself returning to the song at significant moments, though the years had brought him through an array of other favorites. Watchtower had awakened something in him, like a switch flipped. It was when he knew he was going to be a writer.

He rounded the corner and emerged into the big room with the chipped wooden rack of cassettes at its center. Two steps, and he stopped short, heart in his throat - what the frak is she doing here?

It was an utter affront to his sanctuary to find her in the middle of it, red waves cascading over her shoulders, her lithe figure all but hidden under a neat, stylish suit. He tried, and mostly failed, to refrain from looking her up and down. Surprise flashed across her face, the look of someone caught red-handed, but it was instantly smoothed over into her characteristic hauteur.

She was standing over the cassette rack, thumbing through the D's, seemingly casually. Bill stood frozen as she flipped past a few more tapes.

"Professor Adama," she said languidly. It was how she always addressed him when they were about to do battle.

"Miss Roslin," he replied coolly. "Never seen you up here before."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I've never actually been up here." She punctuated this with the tapping sound of flipping past a few more cassettes, only meeting his eyes for a second before returning to her search.

"Looking for anything in particular?" He didn't know why he felt they were already fencing - what the frak was she doing?

"Ah! Found it." Her eyes went absolutely devilish, and the black of her pupils against the flush of her cheeks lent her a sultriness that tempered Bill's irritation with something a shade warmer.

She was holding up a cassette between two fingers, and even at this distance Bill recognized John Wesley Harding.

He parried. "What's that? Favorite of yours?"

But she had him, and she knew it. "Oh, quite the opposite, I should think. Something new I was thinking about picking up."

He snorted. "On cassette? And heavily used, at that? What's the game here, Laura?"

He held his breath, a second too late. He'd given himself away entirely by using her first name, and an impish grin spread over her features.

"I knew it," she said softly. "You know, your debut novel is hard to find these days."

He groaned internally. It wasn't exactly intentional, but he was perfectly happy with letting that particular work fade into obscurity.

"But I'm nothing if not thorough," she went on. She was enjoying herself, and if it was anyone else so completely bested by her, he would've enjoyed the spectacle. As it was, he could only thank the gods no one was around to witness this.

"Of course, the novel only led me here. It took a fair amount more research to find my way to this." She waved the cassette. "The dedication of your masters thesis, wasn't it?"

He was losing patience. "What's your point?"

She shrugged. "I figured it was time I brushed up on your work, that's all. Especially with you heading up the dedication of the new library and all."

"Hey, you know I had nothing to do with that."

She shrugged again, but her playfulness seemed to waver just a fraction. "No hard feelings. It's not the first time I've been asked to step down from one thing or another, on the heels of some book controversy."

He softened. He was on her side, in this case - a rare convergence of their opinions, not that it helped anything. "Well when the work is as, uh, political as yours is -"

She gestured with the cassette to cut him off. "Like I said, no hard feelings." There was a sigh in her voice. No hard feelings, perhaps, but clearly there were feelings of some sort. He found himself watching the corner of her lips, turned down slightly. There was tension in her face, and resignation.

"So you figured out my favorite album and my childhood hideout," he admitted. "Are you done?" And then, because she was being uncharacteristically open with him, and because he needed the damn cassette - "Are you gonna let me have that?"

Her devilish smirk returned. "Maybe." She rounded the corner of the cassette rack and sauntered toward him with a sway in her hips that dared him to look.

Standing much too close, she tapped the plastic case against his chest. He reached up, but she snatched it away.

"We haven't always seen eye to eye," she mused, her gaze lingering somewhere a few inches below his eyes. "But I'm sure it's obvious to you, as it is to me, that you and I are - shall we say, intellectual equals?"

He made a noncommittal sound in response, somewhere between a grunt and a chuckle. "And?"

"Well, you won this round, Adama. I didn't want you to think you'd won the war."

She waved the cassette in front of his nose before brushing past him and making her way toward the elevator.

"What are you gonna do with that?" he half-pleaded to her retreating back.

She stopped and turned, standing directly under one of the old recessed lights, which illuminated her hair in a vibrant halo. If he didn't have an entire class practically dedicated to refuting her work, he might've enjoyed the sight of her - the sparkle of her eyes - the curve of her body.

"I thought I'd see how badly you really wanted it."

She shoved the cassette deep into the pocket of her blazer, and stepped through the open doors of the elevator.

He was on her in a heartbeat. It took a significant amount of muscle to keep the heavy doors from rumbling shut, but he put his back into it and shoved them open. The elevator car responded with a sickening lurch, and Roslin gave a breathless, almost hysterical giggle.

"Did you break it?"

When he said "I don't care," he spoke the words directly into her mouth, crushing her against the carpeted wall of the lift, one hand stealing up her ribs while the other plunged into her pocket.

She grabbed his wrist. "Not so fast." He could hear the smile in her voice, but couldn't see it, his face being buried in the soft, perfumed skin of her neck, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. No longer speaking at tomorrow's dedication - she wouldn't need to be overly presentable.

"I want that tape," he growled, abandoning her pocket to slide both hands under her blouse. The heat of her skin flipped a switch in him just as firmly as his favorite song did, and if her little gasp was any indication, she was having a similar awakening.

"Then earn it." She practically moaned the words, and he freed both of her breasts from the cups of her silky black bra and bent to take a dark, peaky nipple between his teeth.

"Get ready to be schooled, Miss Roslin," he mumbled around the sweet taste of her skin, and her thigh found its way between his legs, where she hummed in acknowledgement of his growing arousal.

The elevator lurched again, and the doors suddenly ground shut. They were moving. She gave a little shriek as they jumped apart, the color draining from her face as she struggled to right her bra and blouse, and he awkwardly adjusted his trousers.

When the doors creaked open, there was no sign of their moment of indelicate engagement. Heads bowed, they emerged to make room for a group of students entering the elevator on the ground floor. Side by side, they made their way across the big open room.

After walking a moment in silence, Bill reached over and slid his hand into her pocket. There he found the cassette. Her fingers brushed his around it.

Near the front desk, they paused and shared a glance, still joined by their hands clasped in her pocket.

Her lips parted and she took a breath, considering her words. Then she nodded toward the big front doors, and a little of her old devilishness stole across her face.

"There must be some kind of way out of here," she teased.

She didn't have to tell him twice. He was leading her to his car a heartbeat later, still holding the cassette, still holding her by the hand.

#roslin x adama #bsg fanfiction #writing prompts #au fanfiction #library au

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particularemu · 5 years

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68 & 86 with hyunjin pls 🥺

Prompts: 68 (He’s four years old!!) and 86 (Am I scaring you?)

Word Count: 2090

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for requesting. I had fun with this one :)

Send in a number!

----------

Hyunjin was having a bad day.

Not the kind of day that can be fixed with a cuddly movie night either. No — this was the kind of day that would probably leave him in a sour mood until he was ready to turn in for the night.

Despite the sour mood Hyunjin was in, he couldn’t help but be excited to go home to his family. You and his son Taemin were the light of his life, and he was positive seeing you two would lift his mood.

Hyunjin sighed when the elevator opened, leaving him in front of the door to your apartment. After entering the pin code, he stepped inside, smiling when he saw you and Taemin cooking in the kitchen.

You were chopping onions, holding an unlit matchstick between your teeth to keep the onions fumes from making your eyes tear up. It always made him laugh to see you chop onions with a matchstick between your lips.

Taemin was propped up on the counter, happily stirring — what he assumed to be noodles — in a large pot. Every once in a while he’d stir really fast and say, “Cook noodles cook!”

It took a minute for Taemin to notice that Hyunjin was home, but when he did, he frantically pointed towards the door saying “Daddy’s home! Mama, daddy’s home!”

Hearing his son be so excited to see him made Hyunjin’s heart swell. Being an idol with a family wasn’t easy, but times like these made it worth the trouble.

Your head snapped up, a bright smile taking over your features when you saw him. You spit out the matchstick before blowing him a kiss. “Hey baby.”

“Daddy! We’re making your favorite!” Taemin sat on the counter, stirring the noodles in the large pot with a ladle.

“Is that right?” Hyunjin ruffled his son’s hair before giving you a peck on the lips. “How’s the little chef doing?”

“He’s been stirring those noodles like a pro.” You chuckled, leaning forward to give Hyunjin a kiss on the cheek. “How was practice?”

Hyunjin threw his head back, a deep sigh escaping his chest as his head lolled to the side, a slight pout forming at his lips. “Not so good.”

You could see the day’s struggles in his body language. His eyes held the same sparkle they always did, but you could see a twinge of exhaustion and worry in those brown eyes. His nails were shorter, showing that he’d been chewing on them. It was a habit he picked up as a kid — something he did when he was stressed. You wanted nothing more than to take all his worries away, but sadly, there wasn’t much you could do.

“That bad?” You stopped chopping onions, setting the knife on the table so you could wrap your arms around your husbands waist — without the danger of stabbing him in the side.

Hyunjin leaned his head down into the crook of your neck, a soft “mmhmm” whispered into your shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You ran your fingers through his hair, pausing to scratch lightly at the base of his neck. You couldn’t help but smile when you felt the shivers travel up his spine. Hyunjin always loved it when you played with his hair.

“If you keep doing that I’ll tell you everything.” He chuckled, arms wrapping around your waist.

“Hold on. Let me get our child away from the burning stove.” You giggled, pulling away from your husband to set Taemin on the floor. “Go play bub. Your father and I are going to talk for a little bit.”

“Ok mommy.” He smiled and skipped off to the living room.

You couldn’t help but smile as Taemin grabbed a rope toy and started to play tug-of-war with Kkami and your pomeranian. The boy was tugging gently on the toy, before letting go to let the dogs win. His happy giggles echoed in the room as he played with the dogs.

“Now that our child is occupied, what’s up?” You pressed a kiss to his cheek, hoping the small act of affection could ease his worries.

“Jisung and I got into it pretty good today.” Hyunjin sighed, eyes drifting shut as guilt filled his brain. “I thought he was messing up the choreo to our new song, but —”

BAM!

Your eyes widened as you glanced over the marble countertop. Taemin had started a game of keep away with the dogs. He was running left and right, giggling loudly as he held the ball over his head. Taemin climbed up the couch, hoping the height would give him an advantage, but the dogs hopped up onto the furniture. He let out a loud giggle and hopped off the couch, landing on his heels with a loud THUD!

This wouldn’t be a problem if you lived in a small house in the countryside. But no — you lived on the 5th floor of an apartment complex. Your apartment happened to be above a grumpy elderly couple who didn’t like kids. Hyunjin was particularly sensitive when Taemin was too loud because he hoped one day, you guys would get along.

You could see Hyunjin cringe when Taemin jumped once more. “Taemin. Be quiet baby. We have people living downstairs.” You called to him, hoping he’d listen as usual, but you knew he was just trying to get his father’s attention.

“Yes mommy.” Taemin replied, dropping the ball and opting for a game of tug-of-war with Kkami instead.

You rubbed Hyunjin’s arm, a soft smile tugging at your lips as you urged him to continue. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“I didn’t sleep well last night. I guess I was a little bit irritable.” Hyunjin sighed once more. “I told him he was doing it wrong and he immediately got pissed off.”

BAM!

Hyunjin closed his eyes, head leaning back as he tried to control his frustration. Your heart panged in your chest as you called out to your son once more. “Taemin. What did I say?”

Taemin was normally so well behaved, but he’s been acting out lately. At first you couldn’t place the reason why he’s been such a pill, but you started noticing it happened a lot more when Hyunjin was home.

Hyunjin being an idol means he’s constantly away, and you knew that. Hyunjin leaves for tours, he’s gone from 5 AM to 8 PM nearly every day, and he only has one day off to spend with his family each week. Over the years you dated, you got used to this lifestyle. Unfortunately you didn’t realize the impact this had on your son, until recently.

“I just tripped.” Taemin’s little voice shook you out of your thoughts. Guilt replacing your frustration immediately.

“Ok, just be more careful.” You called out.

“Ok mommy!”

You took Hyunjin’s hand in yours, rubbing your thumb along his knuckles. “Sorry. Go on.”

“Where was I?” Hyunjin’s brow creased as he attempted to remember where he was in his rant.

You chuckled a bit. “Jisung got pissed.”

“Oh yeah.” Hyunjin’s facial expression softened as he played with your hand while talking. “We got into a big argument. Chan had to break it up. Minho ended up telling me that I’ve been doing the choreo wrong the whole time.”

“Oh no.” You couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy. Hyunjin doesn’t like to fight with anyone, let alone his group members. He must feel so guilty.

“I was in my head the rest of practice. I couldn’t seem to get the choreo right.” Hyunjin let go of your hand to run his hand through his hair. “On top of that, I forgot the lyrics for a couple of our songs while we were recording.”

BAM!

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hyunjin mumbled before snapping, “Taemin, knock it off.”

Taemin immediately stopped what he was doing, tears gathering in his eyes as Hyunjins “scary voice” echoed in the room. That tone of voice almost never came out, but when it did Taemin was quick to listen to his father. The only times you’ve ever heard Hyunjin yell at your son was when his life was in danger.

“Hey, that’s not necessary.” Your mama bear side came out as you placed yourself between Hyunjin and Taemin. Not that you thought Hyunjin would ever hurt your son — no far from it — you just didn’t want Taemin to see his father in such a mood.

You could see pure rage in Hyunjin’s eyes as he turned to you. “You’ve told him 3 times to quit jumping. We have neighbors downstairs. He can’t be doing this.”

You couldn’t help but scoff, “Are you kidding me? Hyunjin he’s four years old!!” You crossed your arms over your chest. “He’s just playing with the dogs.”

“Our neighbors must love us.”

Hyunjin’s sarcastic tone made your blood boil. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Your brow creased. “I don’t let him make a ton of noise all day. If you were ever here, you’d know that.”

Ooooh that stung.

Hyunjin knew that being away was taking its toll on his family, but he didn’t realize you were so upset about it.

“You think I want to be gone all the time?” Hyunjin was beyond pissed. “I’m doing my JOB.”

“Daddy, please don’t hurt mommy.”

What?

Hyunjin paused, all previous anger melted away at the sound of his son’s voice. Pure guilt panged through his chest as he looked over to Taemin, who was huddled on the couch hugging Kkami as tight as he could without hurting the pup.

“Am I scaring you?” Hyunjin’s heart nearly shattered as Taemin buried his face in Kkami’s fur. Hyunjin slowly walked over to the couch and kneeled down to his son’s level to ruffle his hair, coaxing a small smile from the boy. “I would never hurt you or mommy.”

“Okay good. I know she can be… you know… but we should love her anyway.” Taemin threw his arms around Hyunjin, smiling when Hyunjin hugged him.

“What?” Your eyes widened. That was probably the cutest and most insulting thing you could ever hear from your boy. Well, at least you know your boy loves you.

Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh at your reaction — even more so when his son simply said, “You always say to be honest mommy.”

Hyunjin smiled as you wrapped your arms around both of them. “Sorry. I was just in a mood today.”

“Like when mommy doesn’t get her chocolate?” Taemin giggled.

“Ok!” You stood up. “Roasting mommy time is over! I’m going to keep cooking dinner.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. Normally Taemin was sweet and innocent and full of compliments. When did that little shit become such a jokester? He must have gotten that from you.

You shuffled off to the kitchen, hoping the little argument didn’t ruin dinner. Fortunately, the noodles were cooked perfectly. All you needed to do was add some more onions. You dumped the chopped onions into the pot and stirred, hoping they would cook through in record time.

Hyunjin’s arms snaking around your waist practically gave you a heart attack. “Oh my god Hyunjin I didn’t hear you come in.” You giggled.

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin whispered into your ear, resting his chin on your shoulder. “I know you’re raising him well.” He pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. “You’re the best mother anyone could ask for.”

The loving words nearly brought tears to your eyes. There have been several occasions where you’ve wondered if you’ve been a good enough mom to Taemin. After all, you don’t really know how you did until they’ve either become a serial killer or a doctor. You turned around in Hyunjin’s arms, resting your head against his. “Thanks.” You wrapped your arms around his torso. “I needed to hear that.”

Hyunjin hummed quietly as he pulled you closer. “I need to say it more.” He kissed your lips softly, “I love you. Thank you for sticking with me through this.”

“Ewww.” Taemin’s giggles brought the two of you back to reality.

You looked at Hyunjin and smiled. “What do you think?”

Hyunjin grinned and looked over at Taemin. “I say we get him.”

Taemin screamed as the two of you chased him, allowing him to dodge you a few times. Hyunjin lifted him up before plopping him on the couch, attacking his sides with tickles.

Earlier, you might have told Taemin to quiet down. But now?

Fuck the neighbors. They’re assholes anyway.

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teaandatale · 5 years

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Steggy and 'I Didn't Mean to Turn You On'

86. ‘I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On’

Ummm… You definitely meant to get a 2k+ fic out of this didn’t you? Omg. Anyway.

I’m not sure if you meant to pick a second AU or if this onewas good enough but if you’d like to send a follow up for another “I didn’tmean to turn you on” that you’d like to see paired with another AU feel free tohit me up again 😊

Here is what my brain jumped to and please please thank @dorrinverrakai1 for being a muse extraordinaire and making this become what it did. (There is quite a bit of backstory that goes to this that didnt make it into the ficlet fyi.)

I’m placing it under a cut because again… This grew legs from just being an answer to a tumblr meme…

Phillips’ annual Christmas party is a thing of legend aroundthe office. It’s always a grand affair, hosted at his mansion and everyoneknows that if you want to be someone in the company, if you show up, make agood impression, compliment the host and his wife’s hospitality, you have areal good shot at a corner office sooner or later.

For Steve, who was ambitious enough, but didn’t feel theneed to grease palms solely at a company party for his own selfish benefit, itwas an opportunity to spend some quality time out of the office with the girlof his dreams.

But the evening hadn’t gone on like he had planned, not afterthe flirtation between him and Peggy the day before back at the office. Whereshe had mentioned she had bought a spectacular new red dress just for the occasion,and then inquired about what he was going to wear. And how he promised her adrink. And that if there was dancing maybe a dance or two to go with that. And herlips had turned up and she said nothing for a moment as she regarded him.

“I will see you tomorrow night then Steve,” she said inpromise.

He’d never been so thrilled. He and Peggy had become goodfriends, and he was pretty sure their interactions would be considered flirtingon several occasions, but he’d never really had a good chance at pursuingsomething more.

But then he doesn’t spot Peggy at the party right away. Andwhen he finally does, she’s standing in a corridor whispering hurriedly with Phillips,and at her side holding her hand was a young girl of seven or eight years old. Thegirl teeters on her heels and leans her head against Peggy’s hip. He knows Peggywas close to Phillips and his family, he thinks that her parents were closefriends of his. The scene doesn’t seem like one he should interrupt soreluctantly he turns away and heads toward the catered food.

He doesn’t spot Peggy again for another half an hour, butshe’s over talking to several of their important German clients so he knows hecan’t interrupt that either. A bit disappointed, he decides to take a little tourof the place and heads up the stairs where one of the bar stations was set up,but heads towards the giant Christmas trees that flank a large bay window witha lookout. He’s passing the bar he overhears something that makes him stop inhis tracks.

“Can you believe she would bring her kid to an event likethis?” It’s Thompson, his least favorite guy in the office, talking with DanielSousa, both men holding generously filled glasses of whiskey.

He’s filled with rage at the dismissive and insulting tone ofthe comment.

“It’s a little embarrassing…” Sousa agrees, somewhat reluctantly.

“A little embarrassing? For fuck’s sake, you don’t bring yourkid to a company event period. And you definitely don’t saddle the fucking CEOof the company with your brat because you remembered you have to network with yourmost important clients.” He was ready to punch Thompson right then and thereeven before he hurled another blow that surprised Steve. “Classic Marge. She’s alwaysgetting a little too big for her britches. She should really learn about babysitters.”

He knows Thompson’s reputation for talking shit, so though thesurprise stuns him, he knows better than to believe gossip from his mouth.Still, he’d have felt the same way if it was Peggy’s child or not.

“That’s very wise advice from you Jack,” Steve says, “assomeone who doesn’t have kids, and given the way you talk may never findsomeone who would choose to have them with you.”

Thompson snorts derisively. “I don’t suffer from lack ofinterest unlike some people Rogers. Anyway I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Doesn’t matter who you were talking to when we can all hearyou badmouthing a coworker. Real classy. Definitely the way you’re going toearn brownie points in the office. And don’t pretend you know anything aboutchildcare or shame someone for doing the best they can to take care of theirchildren. Parenthood doesn’t just stop because you have to work. Do you knowhow many times I spent at the hospital when my mom was on shift because she hadno alternative? Parents do what they have to. I’m sure if there was a better orsafer option it would have been taken. And even if it wasn’t, it’s not ourbusiness. It’s not like anyone is asking you to babysit huh?”

“Fuck off Rogers.”

He rolls his eyes. “Original. Do me a favor and don’t let mehear you say shit like that again. I’m prefer not to ruin your night becauseyou can’t shut your mouth.”

He storms past not waiting for Jack’s response. It’s notuntil he’s right next to the ornate Christmas tree that he realizes the baywindow is occupied. On the wide cushioned seat, sits Phillips and at his sideis the little girl with a book. He doesn’t mean to interrupt but Phillips makeseye contact with him and it would be rude not to say hello to the host.

“Mr. Phillips,” he says, voice still a little surprised. “It’snice to see you.”

Phillips smiles at him. They’ve gotten along the few timesthey’ve interacted. “Steve. Are you enjoying the party?”

He nods. “You’ve got a beautiful house. It’s so warm andfestive.”

“I like all the Christmas trees,” the little girl saysproudly. “There are eight in the house this year because I’m eight years oldthis year,” she tells him.

“Wow! You must be very special to get as many Christmas treesas your age,” Steve tells the girl who grins at him. “Which one is yourfavorite?”

She stands up from the seat and bounces on her heels thenpoints below past the ledge that looks down at the first floor. There in themiddle of the large dining room is the largest Christmas tree in the place.

“The big, big one! How tall was it again Grandpa Phillips?”

The man chuckles. “Sixteen footer. The tallest we’ve everhad you my girl.”

She grins at him. And the sight is a wonder to Steve who hasnever quite witnessed Phillips act so soft. It’s sweet. “We’re reading aChristmas Carol. Do you know it?” The girl asks Steve.

“Oh yes! I know it well. My mom and I used to read it everyChristmas together.”

“Used to? You don’t like to read it anymore?”

He hesitates. “Oh no I would. I do. Except, my mom… She uhpassed away a few years ago. I still think of her every time I read it though.”He hopes that’s not too heavy for an eight year old.

The girl’s eyes widen and she nods very seriously. Then she grinswidely at him again and jumps up from the bench. “Well then you can read itwith me! I’m a very good reader for my age.”

Phillips laughs. “Yes you are Maggie girl. But I’m sureSteve is interested in getting back to the party darling.”

He’s about to retort when Phillips’ wife rushes over. “Thereyou two are,” she starts. “Honey, I know you asked not to be bothered but Zimmermangroup has arrived and there’s the toast to be given.”

Phillips and his wife exchange a look while Maggie flipspages in her book.

“I’d be happy to keep Maggie company,” he finds himselfoffering. “She did promise me we could read a Christmas Carol together.”

“Oh that would be lovely! You’re Steve yes? Steve Rogers?”Phillips’ wife asks with a bright, relieved smile.

“Are you sure Steve?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be back in half an hour Maggie my girl, okay? Youthink you can entertain Steve here for that long?”

The girl nods and shoves the book into Steve’s hand. “Is yourname short for anything Steve?” she asks him once the Phillips’ are gone.

He laughs. He likes how bold the girl is. “It’s short forSteven, but no one really calls me that.”

“My name is short for Margaret. Margaret Jr. to be exact,” shetells him with a smile.

Steve freezes for a moment. Can she really be Peggy’s daughter?Had he really never known that Peggy was a mother? He panics as he tries to rememberif she had every told him that information before. But he doesn’t have muchtime to ponder it as the girl demands he help do the voices. So he findshimself crying out “Bah Humbug” at increasingly dramatic tones once he findsMaggie finds it hilarious. Her little sweet giggles are infectious. So theyread, and occasionally Maggie will stop to ask questions about a hard word, orwhat he thinks of Scrooge, or to tell him what she wants for Christmas. He losestrack of time.

It’s definitely more than a half hour that’s passed whenfootsteps approach them. It’s a wild-eyed Peggy and she seems at a loss forwords.

“There you are my darling!” Peggy calls out, and Maggierushes towards her in a massive hug.

“Steve and I were reading together,” she tells Peggy. He noticesPeggy is staring at him.

Before he can say anything or explain, a second womanapproaches.

“Mommy!” Maggie cries out and rushes for the other woman.

“Hiya Margaret my baby girl. Did you have fun at GrandpaPhillips’ party? Oh Peggy I can’t thank you enough again. Wait who is this?”

Peggy, who had still been staring peculiarly at Steve,clears her throat. “Sorry, Angie. This is Steve. Steve Rogers. Steve this is mybest friend Angie.”

“Ohhhh!” Angie grins and throws Peggy a wink. “Steve Rogershuh?”

Peggy ignores her. “Steve was very generous enough to sitwith Margaret.”

Little Margaret bounces on her toes excitedly. “Mommy! Hisname is short for Steven. Did you know that? Steven.” She repeats his full nameas if enjoying the sound of it. It makes him smile. “And he does really goodvoices. Almost as good as yours mommy.”

“Now that’s a high compliment from my baby girl,” Angietells him, this time winking at him.

“That big of a compliment huh? Well I’m honored,” he tellsMaggie.

“Baby tell Peggy and Steve goodnight, it’s way past your bedtimenow.”

She hugs Peggy first, but then Steve is surprised to findthe girl come rush over to hug him. “Thanks for being my friend Steve. Maybe wecan read together again next year.”

“You got it,” he swears, because how could he not?

He notices Angie shoot Peggy another look before the twodisappear. He then notices that Peggy is back to staring at him. And this timehe thinks he realizes what kind of a stare it is she’s giving him. He feels alittle warm in his suit all of a sudden. He needs a way to break the silence.

“I didn’t mean to turn you on,” he finds himself sayinghelplessly.

It’s the strangest, boldest statement coming from him. But onelook at Peggy’s face and he’s a helpless mess. Her stare is so pointed and fullof heat he’s pretty sure he’s blushing. Her interest is so open, and full of…he feels like a fool but he hopes he’s correct recognizing it as desire. Theway that she bites her lip, the way her pupils are dilated and how she keepstracking not only his face but lingering all over his body.

“I—“ he tries to backtrack but his mouth is so dry and hergaze only seems to grow darker, her tongue flicking out to wet her red lips andSteve is unable to breath. He swallows hard. Who is turning who on exactly?

He finally gets a chance to take a good long look at her,something he’s been dying to do all night. Her dress, a deep red that matchesher lipstick accentuates every curve in her body in a way that makes Steve’sbreaths a little quicker. He can’t stop looking her over. She is magnificent. Agoddess. And it makes him giddy, as her presence has always made him. He wantsto feel the fabric of her dress, wants to see if it’s soft or silky.

“Oh you weren’t, were you?” she asks, her voice laced with disbeliefand amusement. “You mean to tell me that you didn’t get dressed in that well-tailoredtux and choose a red tie and pocket square?”

He gulps at the way she looks him over once more. “Well youmentioned you were going to wear red… so…”

“So you took it upon yourself to remember that fact and considerit when getting dressed.”

She looks so pleased that he’s confused for a moment. Ofcourse he listened to her. And if she was going to wear red why wouldn’t hewant to match her?

“And then you didn’t just so gracefully offer to reprievePhillips and watch my beloved Goddaughter and have her so enjoy your companyshe now calls you her friend?”

He clears his throat. “She’s a great kid. I didn’t know shewas your Goddaughter.”

Peggy takes a step closer. “You do realize that only makes youeven more attractive?” Her voice is lower and deeper and she’s close enough nowthat he could count every one of her eyelashes.

He licks his lips. “I um… Well… For a while there I thought shewas your kid. And didn’t know if I had forgotten that you told me you had adaughter.”

She laughs, the sound still low that it leaves him longing anddesperately he wants to lean into her, breathe her in.

“That wouldn’t be because Thompson was gossiping huh?”

He freezes. “How did you know about that?”

“Jarvis overhead him at the bar. He told me you gave him atongue-lashing of spectacular proportions.” He can only shrug. “So you can’timagine that a well-dressed man that I was already fond of, not only deftly defendedmy honor without making it about me, but spent time at a company Christmasparty making Maggie giggle uncontrollably.”

She’s standing so close, as close as he had fantasized abouthappening at this party.

“I…” He bows his head. He wants to believe her, wants to believethat any of that would make him attractive in her eyes. But she’s Peggy and asuperstar in her own right, and she’s oh so pretty he could cry. “If you likethat sort of thing,” he mumbles.

“I do,” she murmurs, tilting her head, her left hand coming upto press against his jaw. He can feel her body against his. “Now kiss mealready.”

There’s no refuting that. He flicks his gaze down at her,the adoring smile, her wide pupils. He places both hands on the back of herneck and kisses her hard, hard enough to make her gasp. The hand at his jawwanders up and cards through his hair. And oh he has never kissed anyone quitelike this. Full of fireworks and wonder and longing for more and more and more.She presses herself closer and they don’t stop kissing. He never ever wants tostop.

Eventually they part, both gasping and catching theirbreaths.

“Well…” she starts, still steadying her breathing, handsstill tracing over his face and neck, “I really thought we were going to needmistletoe to get you to kiss me tonight.”

He grins and pulls her in for another kiss.

#ckerouac #steggy #my fic #omg i didn't expect this to be a thing #but tis my curse #but i hope you enjoy it??

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breakingjen · 5 years

Text

15 Questions and 15 People!

was tagged by my ever so wonderful friend @koortega <3

1. Are You Named After Anyone?

no, not a lot of people had my name here in -86 and mom heard/read it somewhere and liked it

2. When Was The Last Time You Cried?

can’t remember if it was today or yesterday (took a lot of naps today so things that could have been today could also have been yesterday and vice versa)

3. Do You Have Kids?

no thank you

4. Do You Use Sarcasm A Lot?

are you new here? sarcasm is my second language

5. What’s The First Thing You Notice About People?

eyes, usually. or hands.

6. What’s Your Eye Color?

they’re blue

7. Scary Movie or Happy Ending?

all the happy endings thank you very much. life is scary enough.

8. Any Special Talent?

no? i do wish i had one tho

9. What Country Were You Born In?

sweden

10. What Are Your Hobbies?

is daydreaming about tyler hoechlin a hobby? also reading fic/books (incl true crime) watching true crime docs on tv (what’s up, id), listening to podcasts (mostly true crime) and coloring in my coloring app while i do most of the above - gotta keep my brain occupied or bad thoughts will happen

11. Do You Have Any Pets?

unfortunately not

12. What Sports Do You Play/Have You Played?

i used to go to dance school as a child for about 1.5-2 years. other than that, nothing. i’ve never been a huge fan of sports (pe was hell).

13. How Tall Are You?

5 feet small

14. Favorite Subject/s In School?

english, social sciences (mostly history) and psychology

15. Dream Job?

well, since the job i’ve done for the past 2.5 years doesn’t exist anymore i have no idea. it wasn’t even my dream job but i loved it more than any other job i’ve ever had. this is to say, i don’t actually have a dream job. i just want a job i like with coworkers i’m mostly comfortable with and a workplace that isn’t too big (can’t deal with large places with lots of people due to my mental illness issues). oh and getting paid enough money so i can live somewhat comfortably, wouldn’t mind that.

i tag @tobeakingbesideyousomehow, @marvelouskatie, @lenbarries, @youareintroublenow, @beautyinfiction, @thompsonconnors, @sarahp85, @kittastic92, @eylittlered, @lvsander and anyone else that might wanna do this :)

#please do not feel obligated if you’re tagged #tag game #about #being jen

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draconida · 6 years

Text

Shance Fic Recs (Part three)

More Shance! With Kuro and Sven too.

82- Mysteries Become Reality by FullmetalDude1 [M/M/M/M, Sven and Kuro]

The world is full of mythical creatures that are slowly but surely being integrated and accepted into society, but a couple of hate crimes and BS still happens.

Lance is a human in this world, doing his best to help Mythics out even if he's got a bad history.

Then he meets 4 super hot Mythics in collage and he is gone, but he'll never admit that.

At least, not until he's been held for ransom by a gang of haters.

83- i don't have too much but i know enough by quiddative

Lance shot a panicked look at Keith but the asshole just laid there uselessly. “Don’t look at me like that,” he snorted. “They’re your kids, after all.”

What?

“What?” Lance and Allura yelled.

Allura turned to Kolivan with narrowed eyes. “Explain,” she demanded.

Kolivan looked very much like he wanted a drink. “The two of them appear to be the Red and Black Paladins’ children from the future.”

(Or: Lance and Shiro's children appear from the future and emotions ensue.)

85- Remember Me by boredomsMuse

Back before Kerberos, Lance and Shiro had been close. Boyfriends, type close. Boyfriends who'd meet each other's parents, all of them, type close.

Except, none of the Paladins know that. Not even Shiro.

86- Starlight Starshine by stirlingphoenix

'He’s beautiful', was the only thought Shiro’s mind could process as he watched Lance in person for the very first time. Those two little words repeated themselves on a loop over and over, making sure he’d never forget this moment. He’d always thought Lance to be exceedingly attractive, but seeing him in real life, as opposed to the TV screen or a movie poster nearly blew his mind.

Shiro had every intention of getting out of there before he ended up doing something embarrassing. Nevermind the fact that Lance wouldn’t know who he was, he still wasn’t too keen on potentially making a fool of himself. But just before he could make a beeline for the exit, the sound of his proper last name echoed throughout the air, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“Excuse me, Mr. Shirogane?” The nervousness that plagued his caller’s voice hit Shiro’s ears wrong, yet it was still oddly familiar to him, as if he’d heard that same tone over a hundred times before.

As it turned out, he had, just never like this. Turning around, he came face-to-face with the lead of the production, the one and only Lance McClain himself, standing before him with a curious, perhaps even anxious expression covering his face.

87- Hi by Nevermoree

"in a world where you have your soulmates’ first words tattooed in your skin, he, obviously, has… well, that."

88- Te prefiero a ti by Nevermoree [Explicit and only spanish]

Lance has been in love with Shiro since he can remember, so when he have the opportunity to spend the night with Shiro, he have decided not to waste it. It's supposed to be a one-night deal, but things do not always work out the way you plan.

89- How to get a hot, shape-shifting dragon-man to fall in love with you by charlotteXOyates [Explicit]

Discovering a new species is a dream every reptile expert can relate to, so Lance's excitement upon meeting Shiro, a man with scales and a dragon tail, is understandably through the roof. What's less understandable, however, is Lance's sudden desire to help the dragon-man with his rut…

90- Daycare, Toddlers, and a bit of Love by starryrosez

Lance falls in love with the father of a boy he looks after in daycare.

91- Claws by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and omegaverse] Lance had clawed his way through the Galra military ranks. This was the most important day of his entire existence. He was being assigned to a commander. One of the most ruthless commanders in the Empire. He had to make a good impression.

It would be just his luck that he'd be stricken with the beginnings of a ruthless heat. He knew the suppressants made him sick, but he took them anyway. Anything was better than a fucking stupid heat. He couldn't very well look strong with his heat boring down on his shoulders.

But puking at the feet of your new commander doesn't exactly make you look like a model Galra either… hindsight Lance supposes. 92- Lance's Guide on How to Embarrass Yourself in Front of Your Insurance Adjuster by Eilera

“This is for my mama, Hunk. She was so worried about this whole thing. They just finished renovating. I’m not gonna let her down. If my name isn’t Lance fucking Hernandez Martine-holy fuck he’s gorgeous.”

“Oh no. No. Lance do-“

Lance didn’t even hear him because there was a fucking gorgeous god walking up the path to the front door.

(In which Lance is helping his mama with an insurance claim and he was not prepared for the smoking hot insurance adjuster.)

93- designated drivers anonymous by kalakauuas

"It’s halfway through his sixth attempt at a puppy-filter pic that the bathroom door whooshes open wider than Lance’s mouth trying to prompt the puppy tongue onto the screen. Right when Lance screeches in surprised terror, he takes the picture.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was occupied,” says the person who threw the door open, his hands rushing to cover his eyes quicker than Lance would run from his mom’s chancla.

The good thing is, aside from vaguely humiliating selfie poses, there’s nothing to see here."

Lance and Shiro meet through a shared hobby, if you consider hiding in bathrooms during house parties a hobby.

94- Tris for Guys by quiddative

“Um, my name is Lance McClain-Reyes and I have a personal training session,” Lance said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement.

The girl hummed and typed something on the computer. “Ah, right on time,” she said. “Looks like you’ve been paired up with Shiro. If you’ll just take a seat, he should be out in a few minutes.”

Shiro?, Lance thought as all the gears in his brain suddenly screeched to a halt. I must have heard wrong. There’s no way—

“That’s okay, Pidge, I’m already here,” said a deep and familiar voice just behind Lance.

(Or: What do you do when the guy you've been crushing on turns out to be your personal trainer for the day?)

95- easier to lose by quiddative [Explicit]

Shiro is at the peak of his NHL career. Unfortunately, being famous has its downsides, particularly when it comes to dating. And that’s on top of the fact that he’s still in the closet. However, a chance meeting with college student Lance, who seems to be the only person in the entire city who doesn’t know who he is, gives him hope that maybe he won’t die alone after all. Just as long as he can keep his identity a secret.

96- A Halloween Tail by Cathwren

Lance just wanted to have a fun Halloween night, but when homophobic idiots give him trouble he makes a new friend in the dashing young knight that swoops in to save the day. Secrets are shared and Lance can easily say he got a night to remember...and maybe even a boyfriend.

97- 13 stories for Halloween by liddie [Explicit]

A collection of 13 Shance stories for the month of October featuring (but not limited to): vampires, kitsune, werewolves, demons, cursed scarecrows, ghosts, merpeople, oni and whatever else comes to mind!

98- Head Start by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

Werewolves. If there was one scent Lance knew above all else, it was Werewolves. Being born from a werewolf father and a human mother Lance knew werewolves. So when he got to the Galaxy Garrison and smelled werewolf in his class his first thought was to make peace with the other wolf.

Sure, Lance was only a half blood, and the closest to transformation he'd ever gotten was sharpened canines and claws during a full moon, but he was still wolf. As such, wolves should stick together. He left his family pack behind to come to the Garrison, maybe he'd be able to form a new pack here.

99- Forgotten Gods and Scales Like Jewels by keir [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

Lance has spent his entire career searching for the elusive and forgotten god of war and lust, a god made of part man, part snake. The pieces are there, and once Lance puts them together, he and his team discover the long forgotten temple dedicated to the naga god, but more lies in store for Lance than he could have ever dreamed of discovering.

100- Of God's and Fae's by MommaVanillaBear

A fae of the ocean, casted aside and alone made the dangerous trek to the festival of lights, and though the way back should have been easy, his steps become lost and the ocean he searches for is replaced by thick foliage and towering trees. Caught by a creature that claims to be an Earth fae, the one of the ocean must spend a month living in the forest or else the God who watches the forest will become aware of him. And there was no way the ocean fae could fight or hope to escape the wrath of a god.

101- Pornstar Lance by Ryuani [Explicit]

Lance used to work as a pornstar but space kinda stopped that.

102- Take a Chance by nuuuge [Fem!Shance]

Lance really just wants the hot Basketball prodigy to notice her.

103- Yearning Touch by CirqueBordello (CircusTalia) [Explicit and Sven]

Sven volunteers to be part of an experiment. But when that experiment makes a change in his body, Lance is there to support him but also realizes he likes the new Sven.

104- The Shirogane Triplets by MermaidLance [Explicit, Trans Lance and the title]

Three Boys

One Lance

He's in for an adventure.

105- Next Time, Pack Them Separately by Quiddity

“So, uh, you in Detroit on business?” Lance asks. The guy glances at him and for a second Lance thinks that he’s terribly misread his mood and he’s about to be snubbed in the worst way. Then he notices the dark circles under his eyes. The man’s totally exhausted. “No,” the man says, shuffling together his papers and securing them together with a wicked looking alligator clip. “I’m headed to New York.” Lance perks up. “Oh! Me too! I’m headed there to meet up with- uh…” Lance is cut off when his neighbor unbuckles himself, stands, and pushes into the line of passengers with a muttered apology. Lance sits there, dumbfounded as the man opens the overhead compartment and pulls down his- Nope. That’s Lance’s bag he’s strapping over his shoulder. That’s his palm tree name tag, that’s his laptop, that’s his senior film project he’s been working on for the past six months and his external hard drive with only back up of three hundred hours of work just shambling down the aisle and off the plane. Oh no.

106- The Knotty Omega by keir [Explicit, omegaverse and little All/Lance]

Lance never saw himself doing porn, but the opportunity fell in his lap with a wicked smile and the smooth talk of Lotor, a producer. The omega finds himself at the center of attention for many horny alphas as he does the most taboo and engages in heat sex for the camera.

107- Double Trouble by liddie [Explicit, Kuro and Shiro]

When Lance agreed to help out at his grandma's flower shop during summer break, he didn't know that it meant managing the shop singlehandedly for months while she went adventuring off to Europe.

Sure, he needs to practice his magic with living things...and yes, plants are a good way to do that without bodies stacking up if something went wrong. But Lance can't even keep a dandelion alive to save his life, so how the hell is he going to keep the entire stock of his grandma's enchanted flower shop alive and healthy for four months?

The answer is simple. He's going to summon himself some help using the dusty old spell book he found in the attic.

It's too bad Lance's handwriting looks like chicken scratch on a good day…

108- To Drown In You by Val_Creative [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Humans are a fearful race, unable to conjure anything other than simpler, volatile emotions, or so Shiro’s mer-clan has taught him. Lance’s compassion and his openhearted empathy deepens Shiro’s need for more. And he’s only know Lance for the turn of a moon.

109- How Deep is the Love We Think We Know by mizufallsfromkumo [omegaverse]

It had been a considerable while since Shiro nested.

So long in fact he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

Until he yanked one of the Castle’s lounge couch cushions out from behind Pidge. No regard for the fact that she was using it. He just knew he needed that one because it was the softest of all the other cushions. Pidge’s surprised squeak as she toppled to the side didn’t even register with him for a moment.

Or at least not till Keith called him out.

110- Repayment by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and omegaverse]

“I need you to do me a favor Coran.”

“Anything for you, son.”

Lance stepped forward, digging his wallet out of his pocket and slamming it down on the desk in front of him. “There is a man here, an alpha named Shiro. He lost his arm in a car accident.”

“Yes, Takashi Shirogane. It’s a shame what happened to him.” Coran looked away sadly.

“I want you to take this credit card and give him everything he needs. The best, top of the line products.” Coran looked down at the credit card pressed between Lance’s hand and his desk then back up at Lance. “Please?”

111- Dream a Little Dream by thinkpink [Explicit]

Shiro is an adult- he knows how feelings work. He definitely knows his own feelings. Right?

112- Telltale Blush by thinkpink [Explicit and Dubious Consent]

“So why don’t we just skip the part where you throw lines at me and I pretend not to be interested, and you can suck my dick instead.”

113- Dress to Impress by thinkpink

How did Shiro even get sweatpants in space? And why are they so god damn thin!

114- A Dragon by liddie [Explicit]

On the day of his wedding, Prince Lance is carried away by a fearsome creature of old. The remote island is a prison and the dragon his keeper, although Lance is not completely alone. A mysterious man named Shiro is also a prisoner of the dragon, but as Lance learns just who he is, he comes to realize there is more to Shiro than he first thought.

115- In Flagrante Delicto by gwendy1

in flagrante delicto (adverb)

Definition of in flagrante delicto: 1 : in the very act of committing a misdeed : red-handed 2 : in the midst of sexual activity

116- Black's Deal by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and little Klance]

I’ll give you what you need to get what you want, but you only get two quintent. Do you agree?

“Yes.”

Or the story of Shiro taking over Keith's body in the time of his disappearance between seasons 2 and 3.

117- The Beast Of Pirate's Bay by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit and Major character death, but don't scary you. Happy ending]

A loud shriek filled the air, causing him to fall back onto the damp metal of the ship floor. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered, covering his ears as the sound continued to ring out.

As instant as the sound came it quickly disappeared, leaving Lance to tentatively uncover his ears. “Please,” he begged, tears escaping his eyes as he looked over the side of the boat again. “I won’t even enter your territory if you just bring me a juniberry flower!”.

118- The Lion, The Witch, and the Cursed Ghost by SuccubustyKisses [Explicit]

When lance goes to Kogane forest in search of the cat he saw plastered all over the news he ends up with a lot more than he bargained for. But he's not complaining.

The ghost floated up, arms crossed as he looked over the trees. “I’ll make you a deal.” Lance’s eyes brightened, he knew his excitement was obvious. But, he didn’t care. “If you can find me in this forest before the sun sets, I’ll take you to see Shiro. If not, you will leave this forest without a fight.” He turned and lowered down to Lance’s level again, holding out his transparent hand. “Do we have a deal?”

Shiro must be the cat.

Lance reached out, taking the hand, surprised when he actually felt contact. “Deal.” Before he could even shake the hand properly it was gone, along with its owner, only the flutter of leaves in the air showing he had even been there. Snatching up one of the leaves, Lance grinned. This ghost vastly underestimated him.

119- That's not a phone by CrypticGabriel [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance had a part-time job at the movie theater. During his job, he liked ogling at a frequent flyer named Shiro. But he never expected to catch him doing the unthinkable while watching a movie. And no. It didn't involve a phone.

120- Let's Play A Game by liddie [Explicit]

About to leave for a little vacation time at his grandfather's seaside cottage, Shiro gets a text from Allura asking if he can drop her friend Lance off at the beach on his way. He agrees, but is entirely unprepared for everything that Lance is.

121- How Do I "Casual"? by The_Busy_Beee

Sometimes Lance loves living in the same building as his best friends.

Sometimes he hates it with a passion.

Usually only when Keith's involved, however.

Or:

Lance brings home a guy and isn't sure how to handle the "morning after" situation. Keith is exhausted and thinks Lance has murdered somebody.

122- Spilling Secrets by The_Busy_Beee

Everyone knows the past never stays in the past.

Or:

Shiro finally meets the Blue Lane crew, Lotor is a shit, and Lance really just wants today to go well.

123- Good Girl by strawberrylovely [Explicit and Fem!Lance]

Shiro hears Lance masturbating in the team bathroom. He’s not sure whether to help or run away, so Lance makes the decision for him.

124- Beautiful Breed by Blue_Queen662 [Fem!Lance]

Kept in captivity for years, Lance had not had any contact with others like herself in a long while.

Shiro had been gone from the sea for years. From being separated from his pod for a long time, he had forgotten how it feels to be loved by a mate.

Shiro has been chosen to be Lance’s mate. For his strangth, speed and intellect; it was decided amongst guests at a dinner party that the Champion will mate with Zarkon’s prize pet.

125- my boyfriend's back (and you're gonna be in trouble) by heavenlyrare

The Galra and the Alteans haven't been at each other's throats, thanks to Prince Lance's and Commander Shiro's relationship.

Unfortunately, the rest of the universe doesn't seem to know that.

126- Missing Pieces by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit]

Shiro comes back from two tours overseas a changed man. He has one less arm and a lot more nightmares. His best friend Keith convinces him Yoga is the perfect form of meditation to help with his PTSD and he's skeptical at best....that is until he sees the instructor and is instantly in love.

127- Full Moons and the Mornings After by Impetus

Lance really needs to stop letting stray wolves into his apartment.

128- My Best Friend's Brother? How Cliche by orphan_account

Lance has been pining after Shiro since he was 14, and the last time he saw him before Shiro left to go to veterinary school had been embarrassing as hell. But, things were different now. 3 years had passed, Shiro was back, and Lance was a new and improved version of himself. This time, Lance wasn't afraid to do what he wanted to.

OR that one where Lance hasn't seen Shiro in years but when he goes to drop some food off at Keith's house he walks in on Shiro working out.

129- How To Use a Long Rest by avoidingavoidance [Explicit]

In which the team's game of Monsters and Mana isn't actually a game, and Lance takes good care of Shiro. Several times.

130- Just Take That Breath in Your Lungs by mizufallsfromkumo [Omegaverse]

When Shiro was younger, and freshly presented as an Alpha, he use to think about how things would be when he claimed his mate for himself.

Ideally it would be their wedding night, but it wasn’t a necessity. Shiro was fine with whenever moment arose and felt right. And when his intended mate would find it, Shiro would turn on soft music. They’d maybe dance a little, or speak soft words of love. Then the night would progress in a slow, gentle, and loving path towards claiming.

Because yeah, Shiro was a hopeless romantic at times.

Sue him.

But that was the furthest thing that was happening, Shiro thought as he and Lance flopped into the nest both of them had constructed over two weeks ago.

131- Can You Find the Path that Leads Back to My Heart by mizufallsfromkumo

Lance was just left to sulk in the cockpit. And wonder just where his relationship stood with his mate, who had his soul transferred and fused into a clone's body. A clone Lance had just continued on courting like nothing ever happened, because he didn’t know his mate had even died in the first place.

Lance never thought going to space would be filled with so much drama.

Much less, drama that made his life sound like really bad telenovela plot line.

132- Some Good Shooting by AshesTheTerrible [Explicit and Trans Lance]

Lance and Shiro had been nothing but a hurricane of spats and frustration since the switching of lions. And then quite suddenly...they weren't anymore. Hunk couldn't figure out what had changed between the blue and black paladins but the rest of the team just seemed happy the two were working together. Maybe a little too well in fact.

Unbeknownst to the others, really all it took to change the two paladin's attitudes toward each other was one hard kiss in the hangar doors.

Parts 1 / 2 / 3

#shance #fic rec #vld #voltron #shiro/lance #vld sven #vld kuron #vld kuro #takashi shirogane #lance mcclain #svance #kurance #kuro/lance #sven/lance

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fuckress · 5 years

Note

I dare you to answer every single question in the "weird asks that say a lot" (tho you can decline the dare, or just answer one you really wanna answer)

me? declining a dare?? HELL NO! So buckle up, this is a long one!

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?–> coffee mugs

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?–> hmmmmm… chocolate bars.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?–> neither really… there aren’t many stores where I can buy cotton candy just like that. So I guess bubblegum.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?–> quiet, reserved, smart. I think that’s about it.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?–> actually cans. But I’ll settle for bottles if I can’t get cans

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?–> hm… a mix between tomboy, sportswear and formal.

7. earbuds or headphones?–> both. earbuds while on my phone and headphones while on my computer.

8. movies or tv shows?–> tv shows. Keeps me occupied for longer and I don’t have to pay attention too much.

9. favorite smell in the summer?–> that fresh breeze when at sea or ocean. Or, the smell before a thunder storm.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?–> dodgeball, along with basketball and volleyball. which doesn’t mean I’m any good at either, those were just the ones I didn’t suck as much lol

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?–> usually, I skip breakfast and have lunch. But if I want something, it’s usually a sandwich with either avocado, fish or something else.

12. name of your favorite playlist?–> uhh.. don’t really have one.

13. lanyard or key ring?–> both ^^ key ring to keep all keys i need together and a lanyard to lock them to my pants or something.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?–> popcorn. I’m not entirely sure tbh, I’m simply eating popcorn now so that’s why it came to my mind lol

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?–> ooh, good question. hm… catcher in the rye is up there… life of pie too… killing mr griffin…. hm. most books from my english classes it seems. the german ones sucked.

16. most comfortable position to sit in?–> sitting on one leg with the other angled. it’s kinda hard to explain, I guess.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?–> gray sneakers

18. ideal weather?–> sunshine, not too warm (maybe around 25°C), with a little breeze.

19. sleeping position?–> any position and every position

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?–> either computer or mobile phone

21. obsession from childhood?–> hm. I guess drawing might be one. Other than that, I don’t think I have an obsession from back then. Maybe anime and cartoons in general, but nothing specific.

22. role model?–> don’t have one

23. strange habits?–> can’t think of anything right now..

24. favorite crystal?–> opal

25. first song you remember hearing?–> I don’t know the song titles of those, sadly. I do remember the ketchup song

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?–> either taking a walk or sleeping in the sunshine. Not really much interested in activities.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?–> sleeping..

28. five songs to describe you?–> Alone in the room by asking alexandria, haze by tessa violet, choke by i don’t know how but they found me (the vibe of the song, not much of the lyrics), bones by emily finchum, dreamin by the score

29. best way to bond with you?–> oh, there are many ways tbh. either ask me about my obsessions and if they are similar to yours, let’s talk about those for hours. or just show up and talk bullshit, I’m always up for bullshit. or let’s rant about stuff that we both hate. just. yeah. I’m really not that hard to please, if you don’t treat me like shit, we’re good.

30. places that you find sacred?–> nothing comes to mind tbh. that doesn’t mean i don’t think places shouldn’t be treated without respect.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?–> jeans, sneakers, black tanktop and a blazer. or hoodie. things I’d usually wear as well. best to kick ass and take names while wearing what you like most, right?

32. top five favorite vines?–> “two bros, chilling in a hot tub, five feet apart cause they’re not gay.”“Say Colorado!” “I’M A GIRAFFE”“THIS BITCH EMPTY! YEET!”“Shit, duck!” “Oh, cause of the duck is it?” *gets hit by a flying duck*“Cabbage, cabbage, cabbage. LETTUCE, LETTUCE, LETTUCE!”

33. most used phrase in your phone?–> yaaaaaaf, yaaaaaaaas, rip, mood, aaaaaaaaaaargh, wtf, eyyyyyyyyyyyyy, oooh, fuck, ehehehehehehe (usually after a dirty joke), yay~, yehi wasn’t able to just pick one

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?–> none. thank goodness

35. average time you fall asleep?–> maybe.. 30min?

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?–> oooh boy, I don’t remember.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?–> suitcase. They’re easier to handle

38. lemonade or tea?–> tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?–> neither.. I don’t really like cakes or pies

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?–> there was a warning of a school shooting due to some internet posts. Nothing happened at our school, but people were scared. Other than that, constant firealarms due to bullshit reasons like cooking or dust. And being late for school due to flooding and casually walking in to class with zero fucks left to give.

41. last person you texted?–> a friend who sent me a cute pic.

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?–> BOTH AND BIG ENOUGH TO FIT MY PHONE IN PLEASE

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?–> Hoodie and leather jacket.

44. favorite scent for soap?–> something fresh like lemon grass or so. Or some herbs. Nothing too sweet and no nuts

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?–> I like a lot of superhero stuff, but fantasy is up there too.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?–> I’ll sleep in literally anything, depending on how tired and lazy I am to change.

47. favorite type of cheese?–> none

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?–> a pomegranate i think

49. what saying or quote do you live by?–> none really. More like a motto. Be the best you can be and enjoy yourself as much as possible.

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?–> pfft. tons of things. i can’t possibly pinpoint one

51. current stresses?–> New job starting soon where I’m not really sure how well I’ll be able to handle it, sleep scedule is fucked, being on my own entirely with no friends nearby.. ah well.

52. favorite font?–> don’t have one

53. what is the current state of your hands?–> slight lingering pain, a bit cold, no injuries

54. what did you learn from your first job?–> my first ever job was as a waitress/barkeeper at age 14 or something. What I learned there… some people expect too much of you without helping you. And it’s ok to go away from a bad envirenment. Your own well being is most important.

55. favorite fairy tale?–> It’s either the tale of Icarus or the tale of Kunegunda. Those are actually the first ones I ever heard.

56. favorite tradition?–> hm.. don’t have one

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?–> School, College, emotional breakdowns

58. four talents you’re proud of having?–> drawing, being able to view at problems rationally and finding solutions, reading people I know, my bullshit kind of humor

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?–> Let’s get this fucking party started!

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?–> slice of life. They’re the most wholesome with weird and funny friendship moments

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?–> The risk I took was calculated, but damn, am I bad at math.

62. seven characters you relate to?–> I’m too lazy to think of seven, so have one: Killua from Hunter x Hunter

63. five songs that would play in your club?–> see number 28.

64. favorite website from your childhood?–> YouTube. Well, not really childhood, but early teenage years.

65. any permanent scars?–> I have one on my forhead from an accident when I was a kid. Don’t know if other scars are permanent.

66. favorite flower(s)?–> forget-me-nots

67. good luck charms?–> a d20 dice

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?–> hm… I think I surpressed any bad memory like that. Can’t remember

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?–> brown eyes can be changed permanently blue due to some genes and pigments being linked together

70. left or right handed?–> I’m right handed

71. least favorite pattern?–> anything with huge contrasts and tons of messy lines. hurts my eyes and brain

72. worst subject?–> history. Never was good at remembering dates and years and that shit.

73. favorite weird flavor combo?–> I… don’t have any..

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?–> a 6, usually. Except if i need to do stuff or I’m trying to sleep. then a 4.

75. when did you lose your first tooth?–> I think, around the age of 9..

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?–> chips

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?–> a succulent always grew really well with me. Or cacti.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?–> Never had coffee at a gas station. I did have sushi from the grocery story, but they were never any good.

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?–> driver’s licence photo

80. earth tones or jewel tones?–> jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?–> wait… wat

82. pc or console?–> PC. Never had a console

83. writing or drawing?–> drawing

84. podcasts or talk radio?–> podcasts

84. barbie or polly pocket?–> I had both growing up. As a kid, barbie. later on, polly pocket.

85. fairy tales or mythology?–> why not both.

86. cookies or cupcakes?–> cookies

87. your greatest fear?–> complete darkness

88. your greatest wish?–> to manage well enough not to have to worry about anything

89. who would you put before everyone else?–> parents i guess

90. luckiest mistake?–> I bet there were so fucking many but I can’t remember right now

91. boxes or bags?–> depends. boxes for organizing stuff at home, bags for shopping and gathering things like bottles or clothes

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?–> lamps and overhead lights

93. nicknames?–> Chan

94. favorite season?–> fall

95. favorite app on your phone?–> telegram, messaging my friends and all

96. desktop background?–> a picture I made a while ago I called galaxy marbles

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?–> around 4 or so

98. favorite historical era?–> don’t have one, the all sucked

there. I did it. holy shit that was a lot.

#ask #ask game #long post

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colormusicdying · 6 years

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After This .16.

When you face mental cruelty every single day it changes the way you see things. At least, it had better. A worldview adjustment is probably necessary to survive those days.

All over this blog I've been alluding to how I get through the situation of a slowly dying wife. Some people ask me how I am doing it. It's true that the daily strain is enormous; and aside from the emotional strain, there are very many practical things I need to get done. So much of survival is seeing the beautiful part of life, while standing in the rain.

This will be a more direct blog post about just how I do survive. I admit I am afraid some people might find what I am about to say very strange or outright wrong. But this strategy has become like the three legs of a stable chair for me to sit on.

I am not hiding, and I'm actually proud of the fact, I have been seeing a very experienced psychologist for almost a year. It's a good place to pour out the crap in your head and see if an experienced person, who has worked with many many people, thinks you are going over the edge or if you are actually making sense. You need an external reference point, after being stuck in the house all day, for years.

There is the Color and the Music, that make up the beauty, but there is also the Dying. If you are a dear friend or relative or most especially your loved one's caregiver, that Dying is rushing at you at a pace you do not know; no one knows. Doctors don't know. It's like driving a car at what feels like 100 miles an hour in a universe where everything is just white. You know there is a wall ahead of you, but it is white too, and you can't see where it is. Someday you will slam into that wall completely unexpectedly. You need to be ready.

Here are the three legs of my stable chair, really three time/places in which I live. I am no psychologist or expert in any way, but this strategy is in fact partly an outcome of talking to a psychologist every week. Maybe this won't work for anyone else, but it might, so I thought it would be worthwhile to describe it. How my dear Dying wife gets through every day I actually have no idea. I hope she feels she still has the love, found, so long ago. At least, that is what I'm trying to do for her.

The first time/place of this stable life occupies most of every day. Even with a caregiving service four afternoons a week for a few hours each day, mostly I am the one here taking care of anything that happens. That's four hours for a caregiver, and 20 hours for me every day. That is the part I call "with Pam".

The second time/place, which in my head I call, "next to Pam", is when the caregiver or a friend or a daughter or a neighbor is here with her. Thank everything that she is not sick or in pain, but someone always needs to be here for safety. That is my chance to go out and take care of obligations and also see and have good and even wonderful times with friends, while she is being taken care of by someone else. That is good but it doesn't really fix anything, you know? I of course never really forget that she is there. I'm never really "off". Being out and doing things besides taking care of Pam is what I call only "distraction", and I will be writing about that in a future post.

The third time/place is simultaneously the most mentally difficult and most mentally helpful. This is the part I am actually afraid people will not understand. This is thinking seriously about life "after Pam". Where will I live? How will I spend my time? How will I give my life to other people? And how do I hope other people will give their life to me. You must realize that the Death of your loved one is not your own Death. You will still be here. And, they want you to be.

Maybe the easiest part of "after Pam" is dealing with the mechanics. The house, my zillion interests, travel to see friends and family, on and on. But it feels to me that dealing with the emotional part of life is much more unknown.

A few years ago Pam's mother Died. At the luncheon after the burial, Pam was asking everyone if there was some nice lady at church, or at least, can we bring in a cleaning person? It quickly became apparent what she was trying to do. She was trying to get her 86-year-old father a girlfriend. That's who she is. That's what she believes in. Togetherness and support. The infinite kind of togetherness. The togetherness you would feel regardless of how far apart you are. If one of you were on the Earth, and the other on Mars, nothing would change.

One of Pam's dear friends said to me in the last year, "Pam would hate this for you." I hadn't thought about it, but that is correct. She would and does hate for me to be stuck in the house seeing no one, doing nothing. Until last year, when I broke down and started hiring part-time caregivers, we had been in the house, Pam in her wheelchair, with me doing all the care, for two years. For my health and sanity, this year I joined a gym, a health club. Often, in her timeless mind, one of the few things she might say to me these days is, maybe even in the middle of the night, "did you go to the club?" Sometimes she asks, "did you see any friends?"

One day I was helping her sit up in bed. She needed a drink. She can no longer sit up by herself in any way and I have learned how to block her in so she will not fall, and can manage to drink on her own with her good hand. Now the truth is, her capability and coherency are a little inconsistent. But on this day, she turned to me, and of course our noses were about 6 inches apart, and she very clearly said, "did you get a girlfriend?" In that moment I was shocked. But then later it occurred to me that she knows very well how she is declining. She has often said to me, "I'm so sorry I can't do anything. I'm sorry I am so handicapped." I think it is true that at least in that moment it occurred to her, with all that is going on, maybe I actually need the support of a girlfriend, which she can no longer be. That, folks, is caring in the spectacular.

If you think this is a crazy thing for married people to be talking about, If you think this is wrong somehow, keep reading this blog. You will hear a lot more about all we have been through. Imagine yourself doing all of this for 13 years and ask yourself in what mental state you would be. What would you be thinking as you climbed in to a wheelchair van on your way to the 67th brain MRI? Where they might say, it's all over, now you're going to Die. Ask yourself what you would think this whole ordeal has done to the life of your dear partner. I know we both think about that.

And remember what I wrote in the piece called Hell's Own Fire about Pam's first surgery, that when I brought her home we were two people in our middle 50s, and we had that conversation about what happens when one of us Dies. The answer was, you go on living, you don't mope, and if you are so lucky, you get a partner. This conversation is old news in our house.

A friend recently told me a story about a person in a life threatening situation. They thought their Death was imminent. This is how people care for each other after Death: They texted to their spouse, "Find love".

Someday we will hit that wall together, and different things will happen to us. Pam will Die. If the great unknowable universe allows it, I will go on. That's when after Pam will happen. But sometimes now, even when I am helping her sit up or eat or go to bed, or I am out with friends, my mind is considering life after Pam. I am actually in two places at the same time. And that is a good thing. It is what I am supposed to do. It is healthy. It helps keep me stable. It is what Pam wants for me, after this.

About our life together, no one can ever touch it, alter it, remove it, damage it, or replace it. It is immune to Death. But it is not the only love possible. Not the only wonderful love possible.

And that thought, a gift given birth by the consideration of Death, teaches the Color of heaven, the Music of comfort and the continued fulfillment of life.

The birds who wake just after the darkest part of night, into new light, who know the truth about life, were given these words to Sing to me:

It was Love Untouchable, forever locked in a vault. It was a stellar partnership indelible throughout the Universe. But not an obstacle, not a roadblock, not the last you may ever do.

************************************************************

Next post Thursday Sept 20: Then, A Wedding.

The story of triumph.

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inspirationimpulseblog · 5 years

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UNCHAINING YOURSELF FROM A WORN-OUT HABIT

All bad habits start slowly and gradually and before you know you have the habit, the habit has you. Zig Ziglar

Yes, we are far down the road into 2019 to be focusing an Inspiration Impulse Post on a theme that may occupy our attention for a few brief days in January each year.

But, how about allowing yourself the opportunity to shake your Life Tree in late October as this week’s message provides a bit of information and guidance about diminishing and destroying a worn-out habit with a new, revitalizing life-initiative.

It is interesting to note that there’s a ton of on-line writings about this subject. So, for me to pick one article is like dipping my toe into the ocean and saying I have immersed myself in all of the earth’s seas.

Let’s focus our attention on just one online article...that I found concise and consistent with others I reviewed...that you may enjoy exploring to stir your attention on how to evaluate and adjust an old, worn-out habit that you might like to free yourself from before the holiday season arrives.

The article is titled 5 Way To Change A Habit written by Charles Duhigg https://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-ways-to-change-a-habit/. It is an overview of his book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business.

Duhigg blends both behavioral and neural research in his article. So let’s take a snapshot glimpse at Duhigg’s 5 Ways and then you can explore further if the subject of 86-ing a worn-out habit seems to be warming up on the front burner of your life.

1. Identify your habit’s routine Duhigg states, There is a neurological loop with three parts...a cue, routine, and reward with any useful / unuseful habit.

2. Experiment with different rewards Clearly identify what tangible or intangible craving drives your current habit. Deeply, thoughtfully explore what new and productive reward you desire to experience as a result of freeing yourself from your outdated, unproductive self.

3.Isolate the cue Every habit has a cue: location, time, emotional state, other people, or an immediately preceding action. Duhigg explains, “If you are trying to figure out(diagnose) the cue, ask these questions: Where are you? What time is it? What’s your emotional state? Who else is around? What action preceded the urge?”

4. Have a plan “A habit is a formula our brain automatically follows. You can change to a better routine by planning for the cue and choosing a behavior that delivers a reward “ ...a new, alternative.

5. Focus on keystone (Life) habits “To focus, begin by asking a central question: What habits are most core to my self image? Keystone habits shape how we think about ourselves. ALL keystone habits can be changed once you know how to diagnose and influence the habit loop...specifically the habit you seek to relinquish.

Duhigg’s 5-part pathways to renewal may serve as a catalyst for you to pursue a meaningful look into something in your life you are getting ready to release to invite something excitingly new to become part of your daily awareness and actions.

So with a 5-Point strategy for renewal, what is your heart seeking? Why Renewal Now? Why take up the challenge/opportunity to relinquish The Old for The New?

Here’s a quote by Bryant McGill that emphatically addresses that question: “The secret to permanently breaking any bad habit is to love something greater than the habit.”

Best and blessings to you. Have a great week.

Russ Williams

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theharrystyleseffect · 7 years

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A long survey

Thanks @heart-attack-harry for tagging me, keeping my head a bit occupied. 😘

1 - Who was the last person you texted? Uhm. Think it was my mum.

2 - When is your birthday? 11 November.

3 - Who do you want to be with right now? Esmeralda.

4 - What sports do you play? Getting out of bed in the morning.

5 - Who is the first person in your contacts? A guy named Adam.

6 - What is your favorite song as of the moment? Meet Me In The Hallway.

7 - If you were stranded on an island, who do you wish to be with? Peter Pan cos he could fly me home.

8 - What do you feel right now? An ache in my back and a sorrow in my heart fdghj But I’m okay.

9 - What chocolate is your favorite? Ehm. I think... I dunno. Norwegian chocolate. Or Belgian.

10 - How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have? Okay, if we’re counting them childhood love, then 3.

11 - Why did you create a Tumblr account? This one I made specifically so I could geek over Harry’s incredible talent with other geeks.

12 - Who is your favorite blogger? I have a-many. @heart-attack-harry @linnsometimes @harryandgaga @styloffonpostlimit @harrysimpact @savage-styles @cantquitu @adorkablehazza @johnlennon-harrystyles @hazzwatch (CRY) but a lot of the others have changed their urls and I’m quickly losing track of them. Please, kids. I miss knowing who you are!

13 - Where do you want to be right now? In a very hot tub.

14 - What do you want to be in the future? A fucking rockstar.

15 - When was the last time you cried? All day yesterday.

16 - Are you happy? Happiness is a warm gun and do you see me sitting on one?

17 - Who do you miss? My childhood. Not necessarily what went on, just... I want a way to do it over again, but differently.

18 - If you were given a chance, would you like to have a different life? Oh hell yeah!

19 - What was the best thing you were given? My love for music.

20 - Who was the last person who called you? Mum. They’re currently in a caravan, on their way to visit me.

21 - What is your favorite dish? Potatoes. Anything chips, really.

22 - Who is your bestfriend? @adorkablehazza and @linnsometimes. Very lucky to have the two of them in my life online and outline.

23 - What is your biggest regret? Bukowski said, “regret is mostly caused by not having done anything,” and so I have a lot of them, too many to count.

24 - Have you ever cheated on your partner? No.

25 - Who do you spend crazy moments with? My pals, the triforce. A fucking nerdy bunch.

26 - Name someone pretty. Harry Styles’ nips.

27 - Who was the last person you hugged? My flattymate.

28 - What kind of music do you listen to? I...don’t know where my taste falls, I just know I don’t like whatever category Justin Bieber falls in. His music rubs me wrong.

29 - Are you over your past? I’m in therapy.

30 - Who is the last person in your contacts? A guy named Martin.

31 - What kind of person do you want to date? A musically gifted or musically nerdy guy with lots of humour, charm and intelligence. I like to learn stuff and I love deep and long conversations. I’m not asking too much.

32 - Do you have troubles sleeping at night? owh HELL yaz, I’m a professional insomniac. Today I fell asleep at 10 am (!).

33 - From whom was the last text message you received? Mum. She texts a lot when on the road.

34 - What do you prefer, jeans or skirt? Going naked. Or Jeans.

35 - How’s your heart? Missing dead stuff.

36 - Did you ever have a girlfriend/boyfriend whose name starts with a “J”? Janove. Where art thou. My heart is still wide open.

37 - Do you like someone as of the moment? Naeh.

38 - What would you want to say to your latest ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend? I’d give him a cheeky smile and say, “Remember me?”

39 - Do you have any phobias? Spiders!!!!!!!!!!!! Life in general.

40 - Did you try to change for a person? Oh no. Nothing in this world can ever make me change for someone else, I’m way too stubborn for that and always have been.

41 - What’s the nicest thing you haven given to someone? My heart.

42 - Would you go back to your previous relationship? No.

43 - Are you in a good or bad mood? I’m fine. Content.

44 - Name someone you can’t live without. Flattymate.

45 - Describe your dream date. Hm. If there’s a telescope involved then count me in. Music. Telescope. The night sky. Something nice to drink, and just a generally long fucking conversation about astrophysics, the philosophy of life, planet and stars. That, or full music geek out.

46 - Describe your dream wedding. In space.

47 - How many roses did you receive last Valentine’s? I’ve never received anything on valentines day.

48 - Have you ever been kissed? Deep, hot and rowdy.

49 - How long is your longest relationship? 1 years.

50 - Do you regret your past? Do I have to quote Bukowski again.

51 - Can you do something stupid for someone else? I always do. Majority of my time goes away to doing stupid things.

52 - Have you ever cried over someone? Yeh.

53 - Do you have a grudge against anyone? Just my dad.

54 - Are you a crybaby? No, my childhood hardened me. But I’ve gotten a lot more sensitive in recent years.

55 - Do people praise you for your looks? They used to when I had a pinup fringe. Strangers could stop me on the street to compliment me. It was very sweet of them.

56 - Did you fall for someone you shouldn’t? He was married. Is. Still is married.

57 - Have you ever done something bad but you don’t regret? (Insert Bukowski quote)

58 - Do you like getting hurt? In what way?

59 - Does anyone hate you? If so it’s because of my incredible brains and nothing else.

60 - Did you slap anyone whose name starts with an “R”? Sure, why not.

61 - What hair color do you prefer? Black on myself. Red is second in line.

62 - If you can change anything about yourself, what is it? Appearance and mental health.

63 - Do you love someone as of the moment? I really don’t know what love is, but I do love my people and my cat.

64 - Have you ever thought of killing yourself? I have.

65 - Do you have issues with somebody in your school? My old classmates *grits teeth* and the old teachers who are probably dead by now *huffs like a horse* and the headmaster! All shitty people.

66 - Can you live without internet? Harry Styles is a part of the internet so no.

67 - What’s the song that remind you of your special someone? A song called Under Månen.

68 - Are you good at holding back your tears? It used to be my specialty. I cracked a few years ago, though. Lost my no-tears diploma and everything.

69 - Are you a crybaby? Only Johnny Depp can answer this question.

70 - Have you ever experienced being hysterical? MhM.

71 - Are you a KPOP fan? No, but I KNOW OF BTS cos my best friend is head over her heelz for them, so I know a few songs and I can point out Suga’s face in a crowd cos he’s fucking cute.

72 - Do you study hard? I’m not studying at the moment, but if I have to study something closer like, in a magnifying glass then sure. I go hard.

73 - Have you ever sacrificed something important to you for someone you love? No, cos I am my own island.

74 - Did you ever had a kiss under the moonlight? With a brit! It was sexy.

75 - Have you ever ridden a boat? Countless of times.

76 - Did you have an accident last year? Dude, I have an accident every day. It’s called sleeping past noon.

77 - What kind of person are you? Someone very curious and very weird, and also incredibly kind with a lot of love for the littlest things. Except from fucking spiders, they can all die.

78 - Have you ever thought of killing someone? Read question number 77.

79 - Have you ever been jealous? Probably.

80 - How can you prove your love to someone? By forcing them in a hug.

81 - What are you thinking right now? That I’m looking forward to holding my parents’ dog on Monday.

82 - Who is the 6th person in your contacts? Old classmate from high school.

83 - Do you have any memories you want to erase? A fucking lot of them but they’re a part of making me me, so I guess none unless someone can give me a brand new life.

84 - Have you been hurt so bad that you can’t find words to explain how you feel? Yes.

85 - Did you ever badmouth someone? Tons.

86 - Have you ever had an argument with someone? I’m a fucking stubborn person, so it’s inevitable.

87 - Do you have trust issues? YeEes. Thanks dad! 😘

88 - Are you broken-hearted? From listening to Harry Styles’ debut album I was.

89 - Who’s the person who first comes to your mind when someone mentions “love”? Music.

90 - Do you think all the pain is worth it? I actually don’t. I think this world is vicious and for what?

91 - Do you believe in the phrase “If it’s meant to be, it will be”? I do. I believe you have to work for it if you really want it, but when working and if it happens, it’s meant to happen, y’know? So it’s a bit doubled edged.

92 - Who do you want to marry? Myself. Or, y’know, I could marry Harry and take his last name. I’d like that.

93 - Do you believe in destiny? I believe in cause and effect.

94 - Have you ever thought “I already found my soulmate”? I sometimes wonder if my flattymate is that soulmate. She’s like a twin soul to me.

95 - How do you look right now? Like I’ve been inside a tumble dryer. My hair’s full of knots.

96 - Do you believe that first true love never dies? I think the saying means your first love will never be forgotten, which I believe to be true cos first experiences have a habit of sticking to your memory.

97 - Have you found your true love? In music.

98 - What should you be doing right now? Probably something productive.

99 - Name one of your ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends. Can it be Damon Albarn? Please?

100 - Did you ever feel like you’re not good enough? Yeah.

Right! Bedways is rightways now, so best we go homeways. I’m gonna be cheeky like Courtney who tagged me, and tag the ones I have mentioned so far. Enjoy the 100 years old questionnaire! I think I come off a bit pessimistic so, sorry in advance.

#things I've been tagged in

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rantsandaves · 8 years

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Joshua Tree & Le Conte's Thrashers

The fumes from the Salton Sea were getting to me, so I departed north east towards the deserts in Joshua Tree National Park. I wasn't expecting to see much in the way of birds, but I decided that I would take a personal detour to a place I'd heard much of but never visited. And it was amazing. I arrived in the late afternoon. Right outside the park's south entrance, there's plenty of room to boondock, or camp for free. I watched the sun set next to an ocotillo while I listened the gentle hums of generators from nearby RVs.

The next morning, I drove up to Cottonwood Springs inside the park and spent the morning birding the trails. I saw a ton of Phainopeplas, Verdin and a lifer Black-throated Sparrow. Two Common Ravens were working on a nest, which reminded me it was indeed springtime; the 86 degree weather almost had me convinced it was summer. All my time in Northern California had turned me into a delicate little pansy that forgot how to handle the heat.

In the afternoon, I drove from the south end of the park to the north. The amazing thing about Joshua Tree National Park is that it spans two deserts with vastly different ecosystems: the Colorado in the southeastern section and the Mojave Desert in the northwest. As you drive from one end of the other, you can see the change from low to high desert. The Colorado Desert is primarily creosote bush and crumbly rocks, while the Mojave Desert is what you imagine when you think of Joshua Tree: big ol' hunkin boulders and Joshua Trees.

I drove up to the Oasis of Mara Visitor Center to do some birding. A Le Conte's Thrasher had been reported there not that long ago, and I needed it on my list. As I entered, I noticed a sign that said "Take lots of pictures but... Please Do Not Feed or Approach the Roadrunner." I thought that maybe they were trying to combat general wildlife-feeding by choosing a charismatic species as a representative. Or something. It can't just be one singular roadrunner, right? "The Roadrunner?"

I sat down on a bench to try to see or hear the reported Le Conte's Thrasher, when I heard a weird bark from the bushes. That's when I saw him. They actually did mean one single roadrunner. We glanced at each other, then he ran in a zig-zag, stopping at every turn to give me the eyeball. He ran and stopped about a foot away from me. He made a series of noises like, "HEY PAL YOU GOT SOMETHING FOR ME?" I did not have anything for him. But I did as the sign said and took lots of pictures.

I left the visitor's center without the Le Conte's Thrasher. I did see and hear a Sage Thrasher, however, so that mostly made up for it.

As I ended the day back at the boondocking spot I occupied the night before, I heard the faint calling of what I thought was a Le Conte's Thrasher: a series of slurred notes that sound very thrasher-like but with a bit of a hoarseness to it. I went to investigate, but as I walked towards the sound, the singing stopped. I waited for a while, but it never started back up again. Was I imagining things? I had wanted to see a Le Conte's Thrasher all day, so maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. Maybe it was another species of thrasher and this was my brain's way of trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole. I just couldn't know for sure, so I didn't add it to the list. I opened my computer and pulled up the Macaulay Library of bird songs. I fell asleep to the sounds of thrashers.

#joshua tree #national parks #birding #bird list

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jainthorr-blog · 5 years

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tortuga-aak · 7 years

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Bad conditions in New York City are exposing thousands of children to lead poisoning

While poisoning has nearly been eliminated in many neighborhoods, at least 10 percent of small children, from 2005 to 2015, in 69 New York City census tracts had elevated lead levels.

A city spokeswoman said the comparison between New York and Flint, Michigan, is "alarmist and inaccurate," but New York City children in the 69 observed census tracts have twice the rate of lead poisoning.

Coney Island, Queens, and Brooklyn are particularly affected.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In public health circles, New York City is known for its long war on lead poisoning.

The city outlawed residential lead paint in 1960, 18 years before a national ban. A 2004 housing law targeted “elimination” of childhood lead poisoning within six years. The city offers free lead testing in housing, vows to fix hazards and bill landlords when necessary, and has seen childhood exposure rates decline year after year.

Yet inspectors didn’t visit the Brooklyn apartment where Barbara Ellis lived until after her twin daughters tested high for lead three years in a row, she said. They found peeling lead paint on doors and windows. The girls required speech and occupational therapy for their developmental delays, common among lead-exposed children.

“Their words and speech are still a little slurred,” Ellis, a subway conductor, said of daughters Kaitlyn and Chasity, now 6. Tired of feuding with their landlord, they found new lodging in Harlem.

The family’s plight is not uncommon.

Areas of high lead exposure risk remain throughout America’s largest and richest city, a Reuters exploration of blood testing data found. In the first examination of its kind, reporters obtained New York childhood blood testing data down to the census tract level – neighborhood areas with some 4,000 residents apiece. In densely populated New York, a tract often covers several square blocks.

While poisoning has nearly been eliminated in many neighborhoods, Reuters identified 69 New York City census tracts where at least 10 percent of small children screened over an 11-year period, from 2005 to 2015, had elevated lead levels.

That is twice the rate found across Flint, Michigan, during the peak of its notorious water contamination crisis in 2014 and 2015, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 5 percent of children’s tests were high.

The risk areas spanned New York neighborhoods and demographic groups. Peeling old paint is a conspicuous hazard, but reporters tracked other perils hiding in plain sight, from leaded soil and water, to dangerous toys, cosmetics and health supplements.

In 2015, 5,400 city children tested with an elevated blood lead level, 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher, New York’s most recent annual report on lead poisoning showed. More than 800 had levels at least twice that high.

Previously undisclosed data explored by Reuters offers a hyper-local look at neighborhood areas where the city has fallen short of its eradication goal.

“New York’s prevention program is renowned, so the fact it still has pockets like these shows how challenging this issue is on a national scale,” said Patrick MacRoy, a former director of Chicago’s lead poisoning prevention program.

Reuters found:

• A 2004 housing law co-sponsored by Bill de Blasio, now the mayor, targeted scofflaw landlords. But the city isn’t policing two key provisions that require landlords to find and fix hazards, sometimes waiting until children get poisoned before taking action.

• The areas where the most children tested high are in Brooklyn, including neighborhoods with historic brownstones and surging real estate values, where construction and renovation can unleash the toxin. The worst spot – with recent rates nearly triple Flint’s – was in a Hasidic Jewish area with the city’s highest concentration of small children.

• An affluent area near Riverside Park in Manhattan’s Upper West Side has had rates comparable to Flint’s.

• Reporters were able to buy dangerous leaded products in city shops, including children’s jewelry. One item, a cosmetic marketed for use around children’s eyes, tested with levels 4,700 times the U.S. safety standard. It was labeled lead-free.

• Reuters purchased other items subject to New York lead warnings through online giants Amazon and EBay, which later pulled the items from their websites.

• Soil testing in Brooklyn backyards and a park detected lead levels comparable to some sites designated under the federal Superfund toxic-cleanup program.

While exposure rates have dropped citywide – by up to 86 percent since 2005 – the number of children meeting New York’s criteria for lead poisoning, twice the CDC’s elevated threshold, barely budged between 2012 and 2015.

“Unfortunately, nationally and locally, we are beginning to see signs there is a leveling off in what was once a steep downward trend,” said Rebecca Morley, a housing expert who co-authored a recent report calling for more aggressive national lead abatement policies.

In a statement, City Hall spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie said comparisons between New York and Flint are “alarmist and inaccurate,” given the city’s sharp declines in lead poisoning and aggressive prevention efforts.

But Morley, while crediting the city’s progress, said the data show “extreme pockets of poisoning remain.”

New York is just one of hundreds of American communities struggling with poisoning. In a two-year investigation, Reuters has now documented 3,810 census tracts or zip code areas across 34 U.S. states where recent high childhood lead test rates have been double those found in Flint.

There’s no safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Exposure is linked to brain damage, lower IQ, behavioral disorders, and lifelong health impacts.

A question of enforcement

Capture Light/Shutterstock.comSeventy percent of New York’s housing stock was built in the 1950s or earlier, when lead was still common in paint. A toddler can be poisoned by swallowing a dime-sized flake of lead paint, or by ingesting paint dust.

“Housing is a main way that young kids get poisoned,” said Deborah Nagin, director of the city’s lead poisoning prevention program. “It’s very important that lead paint hazards, when we identify them, don’t sit around.”

Nagin’s health department division works closely with New York’s Housing and Preservation Department, HPD, whose 400 inspectors are trained to detect lead perils.

A 2004 housing code, Local Law 1, championed by then City Council member de Blasio, gave HPD broad authority to cite landlords for paint hazards and get them fixed quickly. Since then HPD has issued more than 230,000 lead paint violations to landlords.

But its inspectors aren’t able to visit all older housing in a city with more than 2 million tenant-occupied units. And the law’s explicit goal – elimination of poisoning – remains elusive seven years past its 2010 target date.

Among the reasons: There is little or no city enforcement of two provisions of the law, designed to make private landlords responsible for preventing poisoning.

One requires landlords to conduct annual lead paint inspections in pre-1960 housing units where small children live, fix hazards and keep records. The other requires them to “permanently seal or remove” lead paint from spots like windows and door-frames – so-called friction surfaces, where paint often breaks down – before new tenants move in.

Reporters reviewed the past 12 years of HPD violation records and found the agency hasn’t cited a single landlord for failure to conduct the annual inspections. Only one was cited for failure to remediate friction surfaces between tenants, in 2010.

“If the city’s not going to nail a few people for failing to do this, then no one is going to pay attention to these requirements,” said Matthew Chachere, a lawyer with anti-poverty group Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, who helped draft the 2004 law.

Mayor de Blasio declined comment.

Rafael Cestero, a former HPD commissioner under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said the measures would be hard to enforce. “There has to be some realism in what we expect a government agency to actually do,” Cestero said. The department focuses on paint violations its own inspectors find, he said, often in response to tenant complaints.

Coney Island kids

Joshua Lott/ReutersIn a statement, City Hall called its complaint-based enforcement system “highly effective” at reducing poisoning.

Yet it doesn’t always work, leaving some families to fend for themselves until a child gets poisoned, Reuters found.

In a 116-year-old building in Coney Island, Brooklyn, unit 2R’s grimy walls are marked with “LEAD PAINT” stamps next to two children’s beds, where inspectors recently found the toxin.

HPD records show the cramped apartment has 163 outstanding housing code violations.

During a reporter’s recent visit, the power was out and the building’s common areas were scattered with rodent droppings. In an apartment, a gas kitchen oven was jerry-rigged to provide heat.

Back in 2015, when Natalia Rollins moved here from a homeless shelter, the mother of two felt lucky. A city-sponsored voucher program, CITYFEPS, helped place her in a $1,515-a-month apartment and covered much of the rent.

Rollins, 25, soon grew scared for her baby boys. There was peeling old paint, a ceiling cave-in, roach, rodent and bee infestations, buckling floorboards, a broken window.

“I hated living in shelters, but nobody should have to live like this either,” said Rollins, a daycare worker. “The landlord would just ignore my calls. When you’re on a voucher you’re treated differently.”

Rollins says she reported housing concerns through the city’s 311 hotline dozens of times. Inspectors visited, but didn’t initially test for lead.

Two months ago her son Noah, 2, was diagnosed with lead poisoning. After receiving his test result, the city Health Department quickly swooped in and found the apartment rife with paint hazards.

Noah’s language is developing, but Natalia worries about his acute sensitivity to noises and his pica behavior, a tendency to eat non-food items. Natalia, Noah and older brother Randy, who is autistic, are now staying in a Bronx safe house for lead poisoning victims operated by Montefiore Hospital.

Ervin Johnson, Rollins’ Coney Island landlord, said the apartment was in “excellent condition” when she moved in. “If her kid got exposed to lead, it probably came from somewhere else,” he said.

But the city says most poisoned children are exposed at home, and records show Johnson’s building has been on the citywide list of the 200 “most distressed” multi-unit dwellings since 2007. “This landlord has repeatedly failed their duty to safeguard our youngest New Yorkers,” the city said.

Lapeyrolerie said the city is now pressing Johnson to “immediately” address the building’s violations and working to find Rollins another apartment.

Lapses in public housing have also come to light. For years, the city’s public housing authority, NYCHA, failed to conduct required annual lead inspections in older public housing, an ongoing federal investigation found.

“We can and must do better,” NYCHA spokeswoman Ilana Maier said.

Citywide, the rate of screened children showing a high blood test in 2015 was 1.7 percent, below the CDC’s estimated national average of 2.5 percent.

Yet rates can vary wildly. A tract on the well-to-do Upper West Side of Manhattan – adjacent to Riverside Park between 105th and 109th Streets – had rates similar to Flint’s even in recent years. The area features grand old buildings and multi-million dollar apartments, where renovations could put children at risk if lead safety practices aren’t followed.

Williamsburg woes

Flickr/matthileoDecades ago, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was a low-rent and largely industrial area. Today, its spacious lofts and privileged perch across from downtown Manhattan attract the well-heeled.

Working-class residents remain, too, including thousands of Hasidic Jews from the Satmar sect, who have settled in the neighborhood’s southern zone since World War II. With their distinctive dress and traditions, the Hasidim’s orthodox lifestyle strikes a contrast to the hipster glitz encroaching nearby.

Hasidic Williamsburg suffers alarming rates of childhood lead poisoning, ranking as the riskiest spot Reuters found citywide.

Across three southern Williamsburg census tracts, as many as 2,400 children tested at or above the CDC’s current elevated lead threshold between 2005 and 2015. In one, 21 percent of children tested during this period had high lead levels. Rates in the most recent years were lower, but still above Flint’s.

On Lee Avenue, boys wearing black hats and coats stream out of yeshivas, while women shop in kosher markets and kibitz in Yiddish in front of old brownstones, many built around 1900.

“When I saw the numbers I freaked out,” said Rabbi David Niederman, head of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg. “The concentration of old housing and the number of children in them are big factors.”

In Hasidic Williamsburg, around 25 percent of the population is age five or younger, compared to about 6 percent citywide.

In recent years, city health workers homed in on the poisoning cluster. UJO and other groups helped health officials conduct outreach, distributing lead awareness pamphlets in Yiddish, urging clinics to boost screening, and holding meetings for residents and landlords.

As recently as 2015, one area tract had a rate of 13 percent, the highest in the city. It’s too early to tell whether rates have since dropped.

Dangers on store shelves

Brett Carlsen/GettyNewly mobile toddlers are the most common lead victims, but school-aged kids and adults are also vulnerable.

Recent testing at the city’s public schools showed more than 80 percent had at least one water outlet with lead levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of 15 parts per billion. New York public radio station WNYC mapped those results. Faucets that test high are shut off pending repairs, but leaded water lines remain common in New York buildings.

Consumer products are another concern. This year, lead safety advocate Tamara Rubin documented several varieties of the wildly popular fidget spinner toy that contained lead.

And in New York��s popular bodegas, other dangerously leaded products can be found on shelves.

Reporters bought several products that can be used by children or pregnant women from area shops, ordered others from online vendors, and sent 13 items for testing at an accredited laboratory. Six had lead levels exceeding consumer product safety standards.

In Jackson Heights, Queens, a vibrant cauldron of the city’s diverse immigrant populations, scores of small shops sell toy jewelry.

Two items Reuters had tested, a butterfly hairpiece and a glittery earring and beret set, each had lead content above the 100 parts per million U.S. safety standard for toys. Both were Chinese imports. One was labeled “lead-safe.”

The city health department sometimes conducts sweeps, seizing dangerous products or ordering shops to destroy them. It recently found Mexican lead-glazed pottery and issued a public advisory.

But some shopkeepers aren’t aware of the warnings, or ignore them.

In the southern section of Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park area, more than 500 children tested high for lead from 2005 through 2015. Many families in the area emigrated from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

In New York, children of South Asian descent are found to have especially high blood lead levels more often than other children. Sometimes, the poisoning can be linked to imported products.

A string of bright blue, red and gold tubes containing eyeliner – known as ‘surma,’ ‘kajal’ or ‘kohl’ – can be found in many Ditmas Park shops. The cosmetic is sometimes applied to children and touted to improve eye health.

Two varieties reporters bought, both marked lead-free, had unsafe lead levels.

The label for Hashmi Surmi Special liquid, made in Pakistan, says it contains “0.00 percent” lead. Lab testing showed 4.7 percent lead, or 4,700 times the Food and Drug Administration safety standard for cosmetics.

The Hashmi brand website says its surma eyeliner should be used by little ones “right from their childhood to prevent stress on sight.”

Manufacturer A.Q. & Co acknowledged the product contains a lead compound, but said it’s safe when “used externally.”

Health departments disagree. Across the United States, several have linked use of surma to childhood poisoning cases.

New York City has warned against using or selling these products, and FDA guidance says they are illegal to import.

When reporters returned to the Bisillah Grocery Store where they bought the Hashmi eyeliner, a shopkeeper said he’d stopped sales months ago, after a customer had an “allergic reaction.” Reminded of a far more recent sale to a reporter, he said, “You must have bought one of the last bottles.”

The Hashmi eyeliner was still available in several other shops nearby.

Other products U.S. health departments have warned about were easy to find online for delivery to New York City doorsteps.

Reuters purchased leaded Indian Ayurvedic medicines from vendors on Ebay and Amazon.

One of them, Ovarin, is touted to improve women’s reproductive health. It was shipped from a vendor in India via Amazon.com Marketplace. “A Boon to the Womanhood,” its online marketing said. Lab testing showed it contains enough lead to potentially harm mother and unborn child when taken at the suggested dosage.

Its maker, Ban Lab, didn’t respond to interview requests.

Amazon.com removed the product from its website after hearing from Reuters that it was subject to health warnings.

Another product, Zandu brand Maha Yograj Guggul, indicated for joint pain and other ailments, was purchased from a vendor in New Jersey via Ebay.com and tested high for lead.

Manufacturer Emami Group acknowledged the product contains lead, as required by Indian regulations for certain Ayurvedic formulas. The product should only be taken under a doctor’s supervision, its packaging says.

Ebay said it would prohibit sale of the item. Amazon and Ebay said they continually monitor products for safety concerns.

Overhead, underfoot

Brett Carlsen/GettyIn Queens, the city subway’s Number 7 train rumbles overhead on an elevated track.

Last year, a painters trade union said it discovered that lead paint has been raining down on bustling Queens neighborhoods from the subway’s century-old structures. A Brooklyn federal judge set a hearing for this December to consider whether to declare a public health emergency.

Poisoning risks also lurk underfoot in some city areas, where past industrial or vehicle emissions, trash incineration, and runoff from buildings with old paint have tainted the soil.

On a late summer evening, reporters conducted soil testing with help from researchers along a path in McCarren Park, a popular family destination in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Columbia University Environmental Sciences graduate student Franziska Landes has been testing soil around the former industrial neighborhood for months. Among the scores of backyards Landes has tested, most have had at least one reading above the EPA’s 400 parts per million lead safety threshold for areas where children play.

Aiming a futuristic-looking XRF analyzer gun into the soil, Landes quickly found one spot, along a jogging path, whose reading was five times that level.

“Wow, that’s a high one,” Landes said. Several other readings on the same path were lower, but still above the EPA threshold.

Nagin, director of New York’s lead-poisoning program, said her department hasn’t usually prioritized soil risks in an urban environment where children’s access to yards is limited. She recently met with Columbia researchers and is taking a deeper look.

Soil researcher Joshua Cheng, a professor at Brooklyn College, said more vigilance is needed. Residents in affected areas should avoid tracking dirt into homes, wash children’s hands often, and place clean topsoil in spots testing high, he said.

“The lead levels found in Brooklyn backyards are often similar to areas where there has been past lead smelting activity,” Cheng said. “They’re comparable to Superfund sites.”

Sarah DuFord, a mother of two, was among the Greenpoint residents who invited reporters into her backyard to test.

One reading was below the EPA threshold, but others were around four times that level.

“This confirms my fears,” she said. Her next step: screening her 2-year-old for lead.

Then and Now - Childhood lead poisoning in New York: http://tmsnrt.rs/2mojaEm

(Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar. Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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