#yes i drew each individual profile picture

[plope]

thunk

[sarebear1910]

Truth bomb Time!!

This is my daughter.

Her name is Breannan.

It was Breannan’s 21st Birthday a few days ago.

Instead of a day filled with happy memories and celebration, it was a day filled with deep conversations, actions and strenuous efforts in convincing Breannan that her life is worth living. Breannan was crying that she was still existing, rather than rejoicing that she was alive!

Pictures can be so deceiving, as the picture I share shows the complete opposite to what I witnessed and what her actual day involved. Breannan’s 21st Birthday was a tough one and Breannan wanted life gone more than she wanted it present.

There is so much more behind this picture and a story that is hard to explain. Breannan was not just sad on her birthday, she has been sad for over 100 days before that, but that is her story to share, not mine. But as her mother, and with the promise that I will always stand by and up for my children, I feel I owe it to her to try and share the basics to what has been going on.

My daughter hates herself more and more deeply every dam day. She is withdrawing more and more from the world each day. She has been convinced that she does not deserve a place on this planet. And this is so far from the truth!

Breannan’s feelings are a result of broken friendships and the casting of ill-informed opinions by others. A group of adults have sourced members and joined together to created and share one-sided and very creative versions about her and of her, posting things here on Tumblr, on discord, Instagram, twitter etc. This group have picked on her interests and used them against her (particularly her dark art- even though they too drew such things and created alongside her), they have labelled and criticised her personality, they have questioned her shared traumas and medical conditions, they have lied and twisted the narrative on everything. This group, filled with people she has meet over time, people she has trusted, stood up for, stood by and called her friends; they in return have dragged her across the coals and then thrown her back to burn!

The final straw to end it all, this group of individuals thought it would be a remarkable achievement on their end to create and spread ideas of who Breannan is and what she is about to whoever may stop and read. They created a ‘call out’ post on here. They labelled her a liar, a manipulator, a trauma thief, a narcissist and so much more. They made out that the post was a warning and an apology al l in one. To some (and I was one), a simple post may be easily dismissed, but to Breannan and the emotions and real experiences that were packed up to this point, this post was huge and the damage, I can tell you firsthand, unbelievable. The fact that the post appeared under the profile of someone she thought the world of, and only ever saw good in this person only concreted the impact of the post….mean!

I personally would like to let this group know that yes, they have successfully managed to socially humiliate, outcast and isolate Breannan from the only place she felt she belonged. You have made her walk away from a place where she felt she belonged and could find good friends. You have made her question everything about herself. And unfairly, she blames herself and her existence for everything.

To set the record straight, Breannan is not a bad person. She is not a person who means to harm or hurt anyone. She will lead life with her heart a lot of the time, and very rarely with her mind. Breannan is black and white, she is known to be brutally honest and can at times say many things you don’t really want to hear. She has less filters than a lot of us, and when she has an opinion or feedback, she will lay in on thick (definitely not thinly-but who does these days). Breannan takes everything literally, well most. She has the best intentions in mind most of the time. Breannan will not plot or plan hurtful or horrible things, she would not intentionally hurt someone. Breannan, she is a good person. Do not get me wrong, she has her flaws, her challengers and what person is suited to everyone. She can be defensive and offensive, she can be rude and critical, at times she is very selfish and one sided. She is likely to say and do things without thought at times under the sheer need to fit in and feel accepted (I wish this wasn’t the case).

Breannan can come across full on at times with some boundaries being hard to define and for her to respect, but she will adjust and work with these if time is given to clearly defined and set expectations. She is so much more than they will ever know!! And a far better person than they have shared.

So, on the night of Breannan’s birthday, rather than sharing a laugh or reminiscing over childhood stories with her, I had a 21 year old daughter who sat alone at home messaging me. Messaging me venting her frustration, sharing her lack of understanding and confusion, telling me how much she hated herself and sadly, how much she wishes she could just be normal. An in all her words, all I took from them, was deep pain that no one should be made to feel. For hours, she continued to go around and around in circles within her messages, reliving everything that lead up to this point of time and she begged me to just help her. She begged me to find someone to fix her autistic brain, she told me she was too scared to sleep, and she told me that she felt she had nothing more to live for… and in her final message that night before finally agreeing to rest she wrote, ‘maybe they are all right. Maybe I should be left to rot’.

When Breannan was born 21 years ago, this is not what I wished for her. My heart is so heavy knowing people would intentionally do this to someone 😔

I hope these people truly know the full effect of their ways. Enough must be enough! We can’t allow society to accept the fact that people; individual or groups can target and destroy people like this, particularly whilst hiding behind a keyboard or before they understand a person before casting judgement. Kindness is free people. Understanding and compassion, they are both essential in the world we live in. Just be kind, and if you can’t – walk away or be quiet.

Here is to a better Happy birthday next year Breannan. I promise I will stand tall and proud by your side always xoxo

[definitelynotkatesblog]

Illustrated Man l Spencer Reid Fic

Pairing: Reader x Spencer Reid 

Category: Fluff

Summary: Spencer comes home from a particularly difficult case, and begins to doubt himself. Reader helps him unwind and helps paint a picture of all the great things about him.

A/N: Helloooooooo friends! Yet again, I thought of a single line of dialogue I really wanted to make work so I spit a thousand words around it to bring it to life lol. Anyways! This fic is free of reader pronouns and gender identifiers, so anyone can read this and make the “I”‘a their own ☺️

P.S. I’ll see what I can do about not disappearing again for weeks on end, but I make no promises

Content warning: None! Except Spencer has his shirt off? But that’s it!

WC: 2.4k

The sound of the door clicking shut and Spencer vacating his lungs of all air drew my head up from my book.

“You’re home!” I cheered, closing my book and getting up to greet him.

He lifted his satchel over his head and gave me a small smile that didn’t touch his eyes. I nodded, mostly to myself, knowing that this meant the case was harder than most. On nights like this, Spencer was hard to reach. I padded my way across the living room and wrapped my arms around him like he might slip away if I didn’t hold him tight enough.

I pulled his head down to rest on my shoulder as his arms snaked around me, wrapping himself in me, too. We stayed like that a while until he stood up and cupped my cheeks in his hands, bringing my face up for a kiss.

‘Hi,” he said softly.

I smiled into his palms. “Hi.”

I took his hands in mine and kissed his knuckles, then led him to our bedroom to get him out of his work clothes. I helped him out of his cardigan and dress shirt, then left him to do the rest while I got him some water. When I returned, he was laying face down across the bed in a pair of sweatpants. His head rested on his crossed arms, and turned to face me when I laid next to him on the bed. I propped my head up one arm and gave him a half smile.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

He thought for a moment before giving me a recap of the case, leaving out the gruesome details. I listened and ran my fingers across his back, alternating scratches with swirling patterns on the soft skin. Sometimes my hand would find itself at the nape of his neck and work through the hair there.

As he spoke, his voice became more resolved and tired. He worked so hard, but the things he saw, the things this job had put him through weighed on him. He was strong and incredibly smart, but just because he carried it well didn’t mean the load wasn’t heavy.

I took a deep breath and spoke gently, not wanting to offend him. “Maybe you can take some time off?” I suggested.

He shook his head, his chin brushing his hands folded under his chin.

“The team needs me. These victims and their families need me.”

I bit my tongue. I needed him, too. But this was hardly the time to bring that up.

“But this job,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “It takes pieces of me I can’t get back, and I’m scared all I am is the parts I’ve managed to pick up off of the ground.”

I closed my eyes and wished away the tears forming in my eyes. I heard him take a deep breath but he didn’t say anything else.

“I have an idea. Stay there.”

His head lifted and his eyes followed me around the room to our closet where my painting supplied resided.

“I’m going to paint you.”

“Paint me?”

I turned around, a towel in one hand and my box of paints and brushes in the other. “Yes. You’re gonna lay here and talk to me about anything in the world and I’m going to paint you.”

His eyes scanned the contents of my hands. I could see the gears in his head turning for a moment before he shrugged and gave a small nod.

“Okay.”

I ran a hand through his hair and bent down to kiss his forehead before climbing on the bed and straddling his thighs, setting my supplies on the towel beside us. “Talk to me.”

His head cocked to the side as he contemplated his answer.

“Not about work,” I clarified.

I felt his laugh beneath me. “Okay then, what would you like me to tell you about?”

I tapped my bottom lip with the handle of my paintbrush. “Hmmm. Read any good books lately?”

I could feel his smile without seeing it. If there was one thing Spencer loved more than saving lives and doing crossword puzzles in pen, it was reading. “I revisited some Ray Bradbury on the plane home,” he said.

“Mmm, tell me about it.”

He took a deep breath beneath me and began. “I re-read The Illustrated Man. It’s a compilation of short stories told through interactions between an omniscient narrator and a man covered in tattoos that each tell tales of events that have not happened yet. The tattoos are magic, and they come alive to tell the stories they depict. The stories are mostly science fiction, but have elements of pretty universal truths that Bradbury is famous for addressing.

For example, in one story explores the deep seeded longing of one man to take a trip to outer space. Something that, in this story, is attaintanable. He works his whole life to be able to fulfill this yearning, but he is torn between going or staying with his family, whom he also loves. It begs the question of the existence of duality of desire and duty.

Then, in another, there’s this incessant rain. And this group of men are searching for cover and sunshine, but it’s wearing them down and breaking them. These small raindrops, just water, becomes torture. It’s interesting how something as small as raindrops can break both canyons and men.”

I listen as he tells me about each story behind the man’s tattoos, about how they’re all different but important and lend themselves to portraying the then-futuristic perception world around us. Sometimes, his voice gets sad at the implications of the stories, but other times he seems to appreciate the sentiment behind them.

I dip my brushes and admire the way they drag across his soft skin, leaving a wake of vibrant pigments behind. I hmm and ahhh at appropriate times, partially paying attention but mostly glad that he’s able to enjoy himself and is able to think of something other than the darkness in his world.

We stayed in our respective positions for the better part of an hour- him laying on the bed with his head on his hands while I straddled the back of his thighs, stroking brushes across the lines of his back.

When I’m finally finished, I roll my neck and place my hands on the small of his back, taking a moment to take it in. The idea of creating a universe compelled me; there was so much beauty and so much unknown in the expanse of space. The concept seemed fitting for what I hoped to help him understand. I’d mixed a navy blue paint for a base, and created swirls of light with yellows, creams, and whites to create a brighter contrast and background for the more intricate featured parts. One section had books, a coffee cup, a molecular model I’d hoped was an actual chemical, and a small red apple.

The next was a canyon, modeled after one of the scenic drives we’d taken the last time we visited Vegas to see his mom at her new care facility. We parked at a lookout spot and watched the sun set- gorgeous oranges, yellows, and pinks painted the sky over the rock. It was at that moment I’d never been more jealous of Spencer’s perfect memory.

Another section, closer to the bottom curve of his spine was a silhouette outline of the Christmas card the team had sent out two years ago. Spencer had a copy hanging by a CalTech magnet on the fridge, another on his desk, and a folded and fading copy in his wallet.

He loved that photo – the way it captured their joyous spirits and ability to be carefree despite the things that initially brought them together.

I took a deep breath and playfully patted his bottom. “All done!”

He threw a boyish grin over his shoulder and handed me his phone.

I snapped a few pictures, holding the phone up by my chin to capture the expanse of his back, then a bit closer to the individual parts. I passed the phone back over his shoulder and brought my clasped hands up under my chin. “Okay, so, if you don’t like it, that’s okay you can wash-” I rushed, but stopped short when I felt his breath hitch from underneath me.

He was silent for a moment, staring at the phone in his hand.

I took a deep breath. “Spencer, you contain multitudes. You’re a loving son, an amazing friend, a brilliant profiler, a great cat-sitter, an instant mashed potato extraordinaire, and my favorite boyfriend.”

I dusted an invisible speck of dust off his shoulder before continuing, giving my words a moment to sink in. I needed him to hear me, and to know these truths. “You are so much more than the things you don’t love about yourself. You are more than this job, you are more than the obstacles you’ve had to overcome. They’re a part of who you are, yeah, but they’re not all that you are.”

I shook my head, though he couldn’t see it. The knowledge of the man beneath me not knowing he was deeply loved seemed so wrong.

“You are so incredibly loved, Spencer. The people in your life are so lucky to know you and to be loved by you. Each and every one of your friends is changed and is better for having known you, believe me.”

He was silent for a short while, pinching and zooming in on the screen to see the different parts of him illustrated in his skin. He cleared his throat a few times. Part of me was grateful I couldn’t see his face, and he couldn’t seem mine. Though, I didn’t need to see the way his mind was working to know he was trying to find a flaw in my logic.

The amount of love I had for the man beneath me threatened to spill over in the form of tears.

“Favorite boyfriend?” he asked finally, feigning insult.

I laughed. “So far, yeah.”

I knew that wasn’t the only thing he’d heard, but probably was the only thing he could bring himself to comment on.

I scrambled off of my perch unceremoniously, stretching for a moment before straightening up and offering my hand. He laid with his chin resting on his fists stacked, staring at me for a moment.

“What?” I asked with a small huff.

“Being loved by you is one of the greatest joys of my life.”

I felt my mouth pop open, a bit taken aback at such a bold admission. A sweet smile touched his lips while he watched me try to scoop my heart back into my chest. He climbed off the bed gingerly, careful not to rock the tray of paint and brushes with his long limbs.

His large hand wrapping around mine grounded me from cloud nine and I could feel the smile forming on my lips. I turned and started heading towards the bathroom.

“Come,” I said, pulling him along behind me.

When we arrived in the small room, I halted and spun him so the back of his thighs were resting against the porcelain countertop and I was flush against his front. My hands came to rest on the edges of the countertop, caging him between my arms. I looked up at him, squinting slightly.

“I’d like to take a picture, is that okay?”

I knew Spencer was wary of having his picture taken; most of our pictures together were candids I’d puppy eyed my way into him letting me keep.

He narrowed his eyes back at me. My lower lip made an appearance, coupled with a knitted brow and cautious look from under my lashes.

He laughed and shook his head. “Okay.”

Before he could change his mind, I grabbed my phone and rushed back to my place in front of him, pressing my front to his.

I snaked my arms around his torso so our chests were together while his back bearing my painting faced the mirror. My arms poking out from between his arm and torso space made him look like an alien, but placing one hand on his hip while the other held my phone gave the pose a more artistic feel.

I snapped a few pictures, messing with the lighting and exposure, playing with shadows from the vanity and positioning him every which way. Every once in a while, I’d pull my arms from him and show him a few shots I liked but they never felt like the one.

He smiled and nodded encouragingly, taking my direction to tilt this way or arch his shoulder that way. I started to feel for him, we’d been there for 15 minutes at least.

I pouted and let my head fall back dramatically. “I give up,” I whined.

He gave a small smile and leaned down to kiss me. I met his lips with a smile of my own before resting my head against his chest.

“Try one more time,” he encouraged.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around him again. I poked my head out so it was just visible behind his arm, resting my chin on his bicep as I focused my phone camera to capture the two of us and my work on his back.

“Smile,” I said before snapping a few shots. Spencer’s body shook with his laugh as he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of my head. My thumb grazed the shutter button, capturing the moment.

It was perfect.

His back was illuminated perfectly by the soft glow of the vanity mirror lighting, the muscles in his back tensed when he bent down, creating dips and curves that separated the focus points brilliantly. My hand wasn’t posed, just gently resting on his hip, a soft touch that lent itself perfectly to the lightness of the moment.

I pulled myself from around him and held the phone between us. His hand found the small of my back and he pulled me closer to him, sealing our lips together. Our lips were unhurried, enjoying the softness of the moment and the love between us. His free hand cupped my cheek as we broke apart. His eyes bore into mine, both pairs slightly glossy.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

I nodded and buried my head into his chest so he wouldn’t see the fresh tears springing in my eyes. His arms wrapped around me as he pressed more kisses to the top of my head.

——

Let’s talk about it!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #336

"get back, you’re never gonna leave him  /  get back, you’re always gonna please him”

What were your favorite things to draw when you were a lil kid? When I was a very little kid, idk. But once I got into meerkats... I drew them like crazy. Do you think there is something with or around you, like a spirit, angel, ghost or something else? How does this make you feel? No. Imagine you’re a stranger looking at yourself. What things would immediately catch your eye? Ugh, let's not. When did you feel the most confident in your life? Probably my senior year of high school. I was happy with Jason with plans for the future together, I was doing excellently in school... I thought I was really going to go somewhere. Do you think love is needed to have good sex? For some people, no. For me, loving one another is an absolute must. Do you think, or want to, die in the city you currently live in? Fuuuuuuuck no, I hate it here. What is the strangest thing you have ever encountered? Probably when I was otw home from my doctor appointment and we passed a random guy in drag walking on the side of the street... That guy is an icon. Favourite soft drink? It's really strawberry Sunkist, but I love it to a degree I don't even allow myself to drink it, because I will fucking destroy that shit so quick. So I tend to just say Mountain Dew Voltage is my fave. What do you like to put gravy on? I hate gravy, period. Have you ever gone canoeing/kayaking? No, but it sounds fun. What is one thing you know about your family history you’re proud of? Uhhhh idk. Who depends on you the most? My snake. Are you related to anyone famous or historical, if so who? Yes; William Clark and Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, idr which. Would you ever donate a kidney to anyone, and who? Mom. She only has one kidney, so, y'know. She kinda needs at least one. I wouldn't even hesitate. What is the main quality you think makes a great parent? Unconditional love. What three things do you think of most of each day? My weight is #1. Every second of every day, it, as well as Jason, are somewhere towards the front of my mind. The final is financial and job-oriented stuff. Does/did your high school have pop machines? It did. Do you know anyone who’s won the lottery? No. Have you ever slept in a water bed? Yeah. How often do you use Flickr? I pretty much abandoned my account; nowadays I only occasional check my friend's profile who works at the Kalahari Meerkat Project because she uploads wonderful pictures of the 'kats as well as gives interesting info about them! Who is the last child that you took a photo with? Mom took a picture of me holding my youngest niece Emerson because it surprised everyone; I NEVER hold babies. She crawled over to me and reached up though, so of course I was going to pick her up. How often do you wear hats? Never. Would you ever get a nature tattoo? Sure! Idk what, but I'm rather sure I'll get at leaast one. Is anyone in your family sick at the moment? No. Where do your siblings work, if anywhere? My older sister is a mammographer, and my younger sis is a social worker. Where is your favorite place to buy groceries? Wal-Mart, I guess. Who do you generally talk to the most? My mom. Is anyone saved in your phone under a nickname? Mom is "Mama Bear," and then my siblings are "Little Sister" and "Big Sister." Whose birthday is coming up? My lil sister has her birthday in April. Have you ever ordered from an informercial? No. When, where, and why did a needle last pierce your skin? I needed to get blood drawn for some testing. It was drawn from my inner elbow, obviously at the doctor. Have you been to an escape room? Was it a success? I never have, but it'd be fun. I enjoy puzzles. How many followers do you have on Instagram? I don't feel like checking. What’s the most recent music video you watched? Thoughts? "Mutter" by Rammstein. I picked a screenshot from it to draw, so I rewatched it to select one. It's a beautiful video, but also strange, which Rammstein is great at. Have you ever recorded a cover of a song? No. What makeup products are your go-tos? If I wear makeup, the bare minimum is black eyeliner. Are you going to school this year? No. I gave college as many shots as I could handle both sanity-wise and with finances in mind. I do NOT want to even ATTEMPT to imagine the debt I have after going to three different colleges and dropping out each time. What is your favorite water activity? I enjoy just kinda swimming around aimlessly, relaxing. What are your favorite video games? Okay, I talk about SH2 and SotC enough on questions like this, so I'll mention some others I really enjoy as well: the Silent Hill franchise in general, Spyro games, The Last Guardian, both The Evil Withins, The Last of Us, some Resident Evil games (the 4th in particular), etc. etc. I just love video games. Do you like jello? I enjoy the flavor, but the texture makes me squirm. When was the last time you gave someone "the finger?" Probably while riding in the car with Mom when a dumb motherfucker swerved into our lane. Or something like that, idr the exact occasion. Have you ever held a snake? Yesssss, I want to hold all the snakes. ;_; Most unique place you’ve ever been to? Uh. I guess maybe the Whirligig Park/"Acid Park" nearby us? It's just this large expanse of unique architecture that are mostly, as you guessed it, extravagant whirligigs. You've got to see it if you come to the town. I have some pictures on my deviantART if you wanna see a few pieces. If you were a superhero, what color would your cape be? NO CAPES! Have you ever slept out on your porch all night? Oh fuck no. I'd feel way, way too unsafe. Do you like horror movies? Yeah! What’s your favorite Coke product? Just normal Coke. Watergun or water-balloon war? Watergun. I don't like being hit with stuff. Do you know anyone that’s afraid of elevators? I kind of am. Is there anything in your room that belongs to a boyfriend, or a friend of the opposite sex? I have three plushies from Jason, Tyler, and Girt. My Marilyn Manson poster is also from Juan. Who’s your favorite Beatle? I don't know; I was never a big fan, so I don't know any of them as people well at all. Have you ever texted an ex whilst drunk? How’d that go? I've never been drunk, but no, I've never texted an ex because I was drinking. Do you have to stand on your tip-toes to kiss your boyfriend? I don't have one. The only instance where I had to do that was with Girt. Tall motherfucker. Have you ever been tackle-hugged? Yes. Those are the best. Have you ever rejected someone’s kiss before? Girt once tried to make out with me and I noped the fuck outta that situation. It was so fucking awkward. Is your mood or the overall tone of your day often affected by the dreams you had the night before? My nightmares definitely can. Do you think that there are any positive aspects or outcomes of suffering from a mental illness? If you have a mental illness, do you think it has changed you for the better in any way? I definitely believe my mental illnesses forced me to mature faster and also instilled a great sense of empathy in me. And don't forget emotional endurance. What is your opinion on celebrity culture and celebrity worship? Have you ever been guilty of putting a celebrity on a pedestal? Do you think it’s somehow more acceptable/understandable to obsess over certain types of celebrities (musicians over YouTubers, say) than others? At what point do you think an obsession like that crosses the line? It's dangerous and can be very blinding. An outsider could say I put Mark on a pedestal, but I've always been very aware that he's not perfect and really just another human, I just happen to love him a lot for the human he is, haha. As time's passed, my vision of him has become healthier though (not to say it ever reached the "unhealthy" threshold); it's gotten easier for me to judge him and stuff like that. I think an obsession crosses the line when you put on rose-tinted glasses to look upon someone and entirely ignore their flaws, or if you try to invade their personal lives, ex. being one of those creeps that loiter outside their houses and stuff. If you were to pursue a career in photography and had the opportunity and means to photograph whatever you wanted, what would most like to photograph? Ah, livin' the dream. If I had to choice and would be paid well regardless of focus, I would absolutely travel and photograph the local nature/wildlife. Is there a certain type of clothing (outerwear, activewear, loungewear, etc.) that you enjoy shopping for more than others? Shirts, 100%. Are you ever afraid to post your ideas, artwork, photography, etc. online for fear that they will get stolen or not credited? When it comes to OCs, yes, given that things have been stolen from me before. Photography doesn't worry me much because I don't think I'm good enough for someone to possibly want to steal it (and besides, I use a watermark), and I do the same for drawings. It's the unique characters I make I worry about being stolen if I share them. When is the last time you did something sexual? A few years back. Who is the last person you showered with, if anyone? I haven't showered with someone since I was a little kid and my younger sister and I would to conserve water. What do you think when you see roadkill on the side of the road? It really makes me genuinely sad, and I always wonder if it could have been avoided if the driver was more alert, slower, and thinking about more than the damage it could cause to their car... I enjoy photographing roadkill, brutal as it may be, out of respect for them and the desire to make their individual stories known and just kind of like, raise awareness of it. Too many people are just annoyed by hitting an animal versus more concerned. "Stupid deer," stuff like that. I sometimes worry that doing so can be interpreted as disrespect, to photograph and publish pictures of their corpses online, but I sure hope not. It's the least of my intentions. I just want people to see and care. Have you ever had an ex that just didn’t understand that it was over? Biiiitch I was that ex, 120%. But besides my situation with Jason, this was how Tyler was. I had to tell him about five thousand times to stop texting me. Are your fingernails currently short or long? They're always pretty short. Would you rather have big or small dogs? I like medium-sized dogs most. I'd have to pick large dogs between the two, though. What is your favorite sports drink? I'm not a fan of sports drinks. What was the last compliment you gave a guy? Yesterday, a guy in PHP shared two poems he wrote while hospitalized, and they were wonderful, so full of passion and emotion. I sure as hell told him they were amazing. He's going for his Master's for poetry, so he knows what he's doing for real. Does your jaw ever crack, pop, or lock? It's popped on very, very few occasions. Have you ever thought of how you would give your kids “the talk”? I don't want kids, so no, I've never thought of this. I certainly wouldn't wait for sex ed in school, though. I feel like it's a bit late. I feel children need to know what it's about at a younger age with how disgusting some people are... I want them to be informed on what consent and molestation are so they know to let Mama know so I can punch someone's face into a whole new galaxy if they're ever violated. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on something? Oh, always. Do you ever write/draw on windows that are fogged up? I did as a kid, sure. Not so much now. If you were married, and your spouse’s parents became ill, would you let them move into your home? If they were truly sick enough to need assistance but not actual hospitalization, yes. I'd want my spouse to do the same for me. Have you screamed in a pillow before? Yyyyep. What do you like more, acoustic or electric? Electric. Did you actually have a cookie jar? We have a Santa one, though I don't even know if we ever used it versus just having it as a decoration. What’s worse, having someone mad or disappointed in you? Disappointed. What do you bite on more, your tongue, lip, or nails? Bottom lip. Do you think that knowing when and how you’re going to die would ruin your life? "Ruin" it seems a bit extreme, but I definitely wouldn't like it. Do you have a favorite bromance? From TV or a movie. Not really, if we're only talking those two options. Do you find flea markets and thrift stores enjoyable? Yeah, you really can find the coolest shit for great prices. What color is your wallet? Mostly red and white; it's a Harley Quinn design. Have you ever been somebody's photography subject? No. Nicki Minaj fan? I believe she's a very talented rapper, but I don't enjoy her actual music. I just don't like rap. Have you ever seen the Niagara Falls? No, I wish tho.

[i-choose-liam]

Stress Buster - King Liam x MC

A/N: I apologise for the length of this post for those who want to scroll past. I wrote this on the fly and I'm posting it from mobile, so I couldn't add the "Keep reading" line. Sorry! 💙

Hello! This is my first time posting a fic in quite a few months. So any feedback is appreciated. It's sort of a continuation (with a major leap in between) of my TRR Chapter Tie-Ins series. You don't have to read the previous parts to make sense of this story. For those who haven't read the previous parts, my MC in this series is Riley Spencer, a law school dropout and twin sister to Dani Spencer, the MC from Lovehacks. So this is actually a The Royal Romance and LoveHacks crossover.

This is for the anon who asked me to write a fanfic about Liam teasing a tired Riley. It's a bit different than what you asked for, but I hope you like it, anon! ☺️

***

It was the end of a long, tiresome week. Liam was holding himself back from grabbing Riley and jumping into bed together. He took deep, calming breaths as he sat on the ottoman and took his shoes off, watching his Queen fire away some rapid texts on her phone. He wondered how it was possible that she grew more and more beautiful with each passing day. There she stood by their bed, holding her phone up at eye level.

"Constantly looking down at the phone causes neck and spine problems, babe", she had told him once.

A small smile curved the corner of his lips, as he took in the sight of her. Those silken locks in ombre, which he had curled around his fingers nearly every night since their wedding. The graceful bearing with which she carried herself, even as she stood still. And that face - the one which had illuminated his life, like the moon did to a clouded night.

"Are you texting Madeleine?", Liam teased.

"Yes"

Normally, that name was enough to make Riley roll her eyes or crack some joke about the Countess. But she kept typing away, filling in Liam about some event she had to attend on Monday and how important it was for the apple export. It didn't sit well with Liam to see his lovely wife in her Queen mode when they had done with their duties for the day and were now alone in their bedroom. He shed his coat and unbuttoned his collar as he walked to her. The fading smell of her shower gel and deodorant, with just a smidgen of that womanly musk, was what greeted him first. Liam placed his chin on Riley's shoulder from behind, letting his arms wrap themselves around her. He closed his eyes as he kissed her cheek, gently rocking her sideways in his snug embrace.

"Honey, not right now. This is important stuff", she said, without looking back at him.

Liam didn't get upset or angry. He smiled in defeat as he recognised what was happening. He let go of her, but couldn't help putting his hands on her shoulders. He said,

"Do you realise what's going on?"

Riley said, still looking at her phone screen,

"What?"

"You're pulling a Riley"

That earned him a tired glare from over her shoulder. Liam grinned.

"I'm sorry but that's what this is. You have been doing so much these last few weeks. And unlike a normal person when overworked, you just jump deeper into the deep end"

She said, pouting a bit at her phone as she typed,

"This is not a "Riley". I'm just... just busy"

"Darling, you remember what happened the last time you got overburdened and wouldn't let anyone help you?", Liam reminded her, "You ended up eating all the cake at Maxwell's birthday, you called Drake a denim whore, then you wept while hugging both our corgis, and kept saying "It's a cool name, Mr. T! Mr. T's a cool name!*"

Riley's shoulders stiffened a bit under his hands. Liam smiled and massaged them.

"Do we want an encore of that?", he asked, trying to keep the smile out of his voice.

His wife was stubborn as she was beautiful. She said,

"There's not going to be an encore cause I'm not overworked. I've got everything under control. Totally"

She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and took her phone to the bathroom. Liam decided to let her have her privacy. But he was worried about her now. She had confided in him about her law school days, and how she had been put on "leave" by the school for reasons concerning her own mental and physical well being. That was when she had started working as a waitress and met him.

'Ah, fateful night', Liam thought.

How fearless and carefree she had seemed to him then. In a way, she was still all that. But her type A personality reared its head every now and then when the going got tough. If she kept throwing herself into work 24x7 like she had been doing lately, Liam was sure there would be repercussions for her health.

'If only there was someone who could...'

Liam smiled to himself. There was. There was someone who could pull Riley out of her workaholic spiral. The only person who could do it in fact.

Liam checked the time, and making sure it was still daytime in San Francisco, he called.

"Liamm, hii!", answered the voice from the other end.

Liam grinned at that enthusiastic tone and the thumping sound of music coming from somewhere behind his sister-in-law. He said,

"Hello, Dani"

***

Riley had back to back appearances scheduled before apple picking season. As a suitor for Liam's hand in marriage, she had hated the Cordonian obsession with apples. But as the Queen of her people, she had come to realise that the apples were a symbol of the Cordonian spirit. The Cordonian Ruby was one of their most valued exports and she knew its importance to the Cordonian morale and economy quite well.

"Riley, this is such a lovely dress. I didn't know you had something from Ana de Luca's summer '19 collection", Hana said.

Riley had to turn her head to look at Hana, who was sitting next to her in the car. At first glance, she saw a large apple in place of Hana's face.

'What?'

Overworked for the last few days, she had to shake her head to clearly see the winsome face of Lady Hana Lee.

"I haven't even seen Ana's summer collection this year, let alone buy something. What are you talking about?", Riley said.

Hana showed her the webpage on her phone, the picture just taken that morning... of Liam and Riley leaving the Parliament.

Her mind was so bungled with apples and all the bullet points on her schedule for the day that she had to take a minute to think. Hana pointed out,

"This was taken a few hours ago. But you've been with me since morning"

Riley asked, clearly confused,

"What?"

Hana looked concerned. She said,

"Riley, you were photographed with Liam outside the Parliament this morning. But that can't be you cause you have been with me all day. So who is this? And what happened to you? Are you okay?"

In a quick snatch, Riley had Hana's phone in her own hands. She speed-read through the article and slowly scrolled past the three pictures. Only her side profile was caught in the pictures, most of it hidden by a gigantic hat. Riley scowled, angered but not scared. She handed the phone back to Hana.

"That's my twin sister", Riley said, "And she and Liam have a lot to answer for when I get to them"

***

Come evening, Riley nearly stormed into the palace, followed by her assistant who frantically tried to keep in pace with her. She had confirmed with Liam's assistant that he was at home after the day's work. Dani she hadn't bothered calling because her head already felt like it would burst. If she had to argue with her reckless, impulsive sister for one...

"That's one big butt to carry on your neck, butthead"

Riley turned around at the call that had come from behind her. Dani stood laughing in the distance, in casual attire that made her stand out even more amidst the palace interior. She met Riley halfway, hugging her tight.

"Oh Riiless, it's been sooo long!"

Dani hugged her tight, shaking her a bit. Riley would have offered an even tighter hug which her family, the Spencers, were known for. But she remembered what had put her in a bad mood for the entirety of her day.

"The photos this morning", she said, without any emotion.

Dani drew back, still grinning,

"Your press secretary didn't tell you? I was on my way to surprise you here at the palace. She... what's her name... like that cookie Mom likes?"

"Madeleine?"

"Yeah, that one. So she saw me and she was like, "Ah the twin sister". I tried to be polite and all but she didn't seem to have time for that. She asked me if I'd be okay to stand in as you for a few pictures for the paparazzi. I thought what the hell, and did it"

Riley folded her arms and asked, raising her eyebrows,

"Oh really? You just conveniently happened to run into Countess Madeleine and she asked you, even though I was just a phone call away, to take pictures with Liam? And for whom, the paparazzi? Dani, I know this is some stupid prank of yours but you've really lost your touch. That is so absurd I can't even..."

"I'm not kidding, seriously", Dani explained, with an earnest expression, "I told her that someone might notice the slight differences in our features. You know, twins being mirror images and all. She said that your face was plain enough to not warrant such close scrutiny. Yikes"

Riley bit her lip. She said,

"Fine. That does sound like something Madeleine would say but it doesn't make any sense why she would want me and Liam to be photographed together by some paparazzo"

Dani explained,

"Right? I asked her the same thing. She said it was because rumours have been going about your marriage losing its spark cause you two are barely seen together in public anymore"

Ouch.

It took Riley a moment to counter that. She tried,

"But... it's not... it's just because we've both been busy with our individual duties. There's nothing wrong with our marriage. We love each other"

"I'm sure you do, Riles. Don't listen to what the haters say. They have nothing better to do", Dani assured her.

Riley couldn't stop thinking about it though. Had it really been so long since she and Liam had been seen together in public? She couldn't recall the last time they had had a private moment together let alone one in front of other people. She had thrown herself into the role of the best Queen she could be and yet...

"You okay?", Dani said, "If I had known it would bother you so much, I wouldn't have done it. That Madeleine said she would let you know and you'd be okay with it"

What hurt her - more than the speculation about her marriage - was the fact that Liam had gone along with this scheme. He had let himself be photographed with Dani as a substitute to his lawfully wedded wife.

Riley had to ask,

"What did Liam say? He must have felt pretty uncomfortable pretending you were me"

"I don't think he noticed it was me and not you. We didn't say anything to each other. We just walked side by side, not even holding hands. And that was it", Dani shrugged.

'No way. Not in a m...'

Riley shook her head, giving a little laugh of disbelief.

"Now that's taking it too far. Liam would have immediately known it was not me. Or Madeleine must have told him it was you. Yeah. That's why he..."

Really? She thought to herself. Did Liam really not care or notice that the woman next to him wasn't his wife?

It hurt. But Riley endured. She put on a smiling face for her sister and saw her to the guest chambers.

***

Riley dropped the impassive act when she walked into her own bedroom that she shared with Liam. He was sitting on the settee, reading a book. Like a child in want of attention, Riley walked over and stood right in front of him. Liam looked up at her from his book then, asking,

"When did you get in, my love?"

Oh the nerve.

She folded her arms across her chest, trying her best not to let her cheeks swell in anger like they always did. And which was enough to make Liam not take her seriously as he kept trying to "puncture" her cheeks instead.

"Did you seriously pose with Dani this morning and not know it wasn't me?", she asked.

Liam closed the book, his perfect eyebrows furrowing just a bit. He asked sweetly,

"Dani? Your sister?"

"You posed for paparazzi bait shots with her this morning. Did you really not know it wasn't me?"

Liam stood up and peered down into her face. He said sincerely,

"Riley, I really didn't think for a moment that it wasn't you. And Dani... when did she arrive? And why was she the one posing with me?"

Riley recapped for him what Dani had told her. He sighed, scratching the side of his brow.

"That's too much, even for Madeleine. I'll talk to her"

"I'm not jealous or something that you posed for a picture with my sister. It's not that", Riley said in small voice.

"What is it then?"

She could feel her stupid cheeks inflate as she spoke.

"It's just that... you couldn't even tell that it wasn't me. I know Dani and I are identical twins but I thought...", she mumbled, "I thought you would always be able to tell"

"Oh"

That's it? Oh? That was what he had to say in his defence?

Liam said, a bit sheepish,

"Well, to be honest with you, we didn't talk during the photos. She was wearing a very... interesting hat that hid nearly half her face from me. I supposed that you were busy and didn't want to talk, that's all. I didn't want to annoy you"

This wasn't something she had expected to hear from her Liam. Riley gripped his arms with her hands, saying,

"You don't think I'd ever be so mean and want to avoid you? Not you, Liam. You're the only reason I'm even here. You know that, right?"

He took her in his arms. But cautiously, she noted.

"I know. I'm sorry", he said, "It's... you have been so busy lately. I know how hard you try to give your best to everything you are called upon to do as the Queen of Cordonia. I just didn't want to annoy you when you have been working yourself to the bone lately"

That sure did it. Riley could feel the tears murking her vision. She had been so occupied with being a good queen lately that she had forgotten who she was doing it all for. The man who was holding her in his arms like she were made of fire and would burn him any instant.

She didn't want to know the answer to it but she asked anyway.

"Liam?"

"Yes, dear?"

"You're not scared of me, are you?"

He stroked her hair away from her forehead, smiling.

"Of course not, my love. I'm in awe of your strength and your courage every day. But you have never given me any reason to fear you"

Throwing herself into his embrace, Riley muffled her face against Liam's shirt. He seemed to panic.

"Hey. You okay? What's wrong?"

Riley mumbled,

"I pulled a Riley"

She could feel the laugh reverberating through Liam's chest. He kissed the top of her head, saying,

"There, there"

"I'm so sorry", she said, sniffing.

"Don't be. I appreciate how much effort you put into being a good ruler. You have no idea how grateful I am for that", Liam held her face so she was looking up at him, "But nothing's worth the anguish and damage to your health. You are the most important person in the world to me. And if anything were to happen to..."

Riley sniffed petulantly, interrupting him,

"Why am I like this?"

Liam kept reassuring her, kissing her tears away.

"There's nothing wrong with you, my love. I just wanted to remind you to take it easy"

She wiped another tear falling down her cheek. The exhaustion of the past few weeks was catching up with her. More than that, she was chiding herself for reverting back to her old workaholic ways. She didn't need all the stress when they were trying for a baby.

Liam looked at her like a sad, guilty puppy, which just added to her confusion. He suddenly pulled her closer.

"Oh my darling, I'm sorry. Don't cry. I'm so sorry", he said.

"Why?", she wondered.

"If I had known it would make you feel so bad, I never would have agreed to Dani's plan"

Hold up.

Riley looked up sharply through tearful eyes that were now blazing with a slow fury. She repeated,

"Dani's plan?"

Liam confessed,

"Yes. I asked her if she knew how I could stop you from overworking yourself to a burnout, and she said that she would fly to Cordonia and help. She didn't tell me much. She just said that I shouldn't speak a word to you or her today if we met in public, and that she would handle the rest. I knew it was not you with me this morning outside the Parliament, but since she had forbidden me from speaking to either of you, I didn't say anything"

Liam was startled when a woman's voice in an American accent called him "Tattle tits!". Both he and Riley turned to see Dani standing in the door to their bedroom, with her hands on her hips.

"For the record", Dani said to her sister, carefully taking a step backwards, "Lady Hana and Madeleine were in on this too. So you can't just punish me for the whole thing"

Riley gave her husband a sweet smile that spelled murder. She said,

"I'm going to deal with you tonight, right after I kill my sister"

She could tell from Liam's eyes that he was up for whatever sexual punishment she had hinted at. He said softly, so only she could hear,

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me"

She shook her head at him in horror, saying,

"Oh my god. You only spent like half a day with her... Jesus Christ. Dani!"

Liam couldn't help but grin as he stood there watching. Dani dashed out of their rooms with a laugh, followed by the Queen of Cordonia and her shoe.

"Oww!", he heard Dani yelp from somewhere outside, "That hurt, you jerk!"

The loud bickering he - and the guards - could hear outside reminded him of similar occasions from his own childhood.

Not wanting to get in Riley's way when she was in an avenging mood, Liam took his phone and dialled a number.

"Leo?", he smiled on hearing the voice, "Hello to your filthy self, brother"

He sat down to catch up with his own sibling while Riley punished her imp of a twin outside.

---

*That line's from a Key & Peele sketch. God I miss that show.

[a-corndog-named-schibbs]

Hidge Week Day 6 - AU

Happy Hidge Week, y’all!

I love writing Voltron aus so I was really excited for this day.  This fic is a supernatural au with Hunk as a ghost and Pidge as a witch.  It takes place in the same universe as the Fangs and Fur au, so Vampire Lance also makes an appearance.  It’s meant to be a prequel of sorts to those fics, so Keith’s not in this one.

Enjoy and have a happy Hidge Week!

Pidge’s family had been practicing witchcraft since the middle ages.  Her parents had always taught her to approach magic as a science, with precision, care, and discipline.  She figured she was equipped to handle any sort of supernatural situation.

Then again, she’d never dealt with a ghost before.

Her friend Lance, the local friendly neighborhood vampire, had been nearly frantic when he’d called her.  He’d just bought this lovely two-story Victorian house and had been dismayed to find that it showed abundant signs of paranormal activity, from doors slamming open and closed on their own (“At two in the afternoon, Pidge!  I need my beauty sleep!”), to the dining room chandelier swaying ominously (“It costs more than a car!  What am I supposed to do if it falls?”), to kitchen utensils picking themselves up randomly and being flung across the room in anger (“I know I don’t use that room often, but I’d still like to keep it nice!”).  Over the phone, Pidge had assured her friend that she could handle a simple poltergeist throwing a tantrum, but now she wasn’t so sure.

The moment Pidge stepped through the front door, she could tell something wasn’t right about the house.  There was a heaviness to the air, as though a hand was constantly on her shoulder, faintly but insistently pushing her down.  Why hadn’t Lance noticed when he first bought the house?

“Because it wasn’t as bad when I first bought it!” said Lance, “The incidents didn’t start until I’d been here a few weeks.”

“Huh,” said Pidge, “That late?”

Lance nodded, “So what do we do?”

“Well, most ghosts want something, so I think step one is to contact the ghost and find out what’s upsetting it.  Then we can see if there’s anything we can do to make it happier.”

“Makes sense.  So…how do we contact it?  Do we need like a ouija board or something?”

“Nah, I’ll just MacGyver it.  Do you have any Christmas lights?”

“Sure, there’s a few strands in the basement.  Why?”

“Ever seen Stranger Things?”

Twenty minutes later, the two had hung up the festive, multicolored lights along a bare wall of Lance’s parlor.  Pidge took some chalk from her bag and wrote out the letters of the alphabet beneath each individual light, after swearing to Lance that she would wipe it all off later.  She stepped back and admired her work.  Now all that was needed was to get the spirit on the line.

“Spirit,” said Pidge, projecting her voice so it carried through several rooms, “we’d like to talk to you.  Can you hear us?”

There was no sound.  Then again, Pidge wasn’t expecting any.

“If you can hear us,” she said, “make these lights blink once.”

There was a long, pregnant pause.  Then the Christmas lights on the wall briefly blinked on, then off.  Lance gasped and jumped a bit.

“Now can you make the lights blink twice?”

The lights blinked twice.

“Good, that’s good.  I’m going to ask you a few questions, spirit.  Blink the lights once if the answer is yes, two if it’s no.  Do you understand?”

The lights blinked once.

“Are you aware that you’re dead?”

A singular blink.

“Did you die here?”

Another singular blink.

“Oh, lord, don’t tell me the body’s still here somewhere.” Lance muttered.

“Did you die here recently?”

A long pause, then two blinks.

“Are you a woman?”

Two blinks.

“Are you a man?”

One blink.

“Okay, sir, now I’m going to need you to spell something out for me.  Do you see the letters on the wall?”

One blink, then, for good measure, the lights next to the letters Y-E-S lit up in succession.

“That’s good,” said Pidge, “What would you like me to call you?”

The lights blinked in rapid succession, spelling out the word H-U-N-K.

“Hunk?” said Pidge, “Is that a nickname or are you flirting with me?”

The spirit took a long while to answer and for a moment Pidge worried that she had offended him.  But then the lights spelled out N-I-C-K-N-A-M-E.

“Well, Hunk, it’s nice to meet you.”

Y-O-U-R  N-A-M-E

“You want to know my name?  It’s Pidge.”

N-I-C-K-N-A-M-E  O-R  B-I-R-D

Pidge chuckled, “It’s a nickname.”

P-R-E-T-T-Y  N-A-M-E

“You know, I think this ghost is lying,” Lance whispered, leaning in close to Pidge, “He’s totally flirting.”

Pidge waved him away, “Can you tell us how you died?”

The temperature of the room dropped several degrees.  The string of lights blinked twice.  Pidge gulped.

S-H-O-W  Y-O-U

“Nope, nope, nope, nopeity no,” said Lance, “I don’t trust this one bit.”

Pidge felt something brush her hand.  It was the barest touch but still there.  She felt cold, ghostly fingers slide against her own, barely more tangible than a breeze but still distinct.

The ghost took her hand and tugged it gently in the direction of the stairwell.

“What’s happening?” Lance whispered, “What’s the ghost doing?”

“He wants me to follow him,” Pidge pointed to the stairs, “Up there.”

Lance looked mere moments away from pulling his hair out, “Pidge, this is such a bad idea.  This is like horror movie levels of bad idea.”

“Listen, I think it’s gonna be okay.  He’s not acting aggressive right now and I’ve got salt and holy water on me if that changes.  I’ll be up and back as fast as possible.  If I’m not down in thirty minutes, call Matt, okay?”

“Yeah, but…” Lance sighed, “Okay.”

“Hear that, Hunk?” Pig said, a little louder, “You’ve got thirty minutes to show me whatever you’re going to show me.”

The phantom hand tugged hers toward the stairs, a bit more insistently now, and Pidge followed the ghostly presence up the stairs to the second story and then, to her surprise, led her to the hatch of the attic.  Pidge clambered up into the dim dusty space, surrounded by piles of trunks and boxes. The ghost let go of her hand.

“Okay, we’re here,” said Pidge, “What did you want to show me?”

Across the room, a small memento box flew open with a loud squeak.  Pidge jumped and tried not to yelp.

The ghost’s hand touched her arm again.  This time a feeling of calm and reassurance filled her, emanating from the ghost.  Taking a deep breath, Pidge walked over to the open box.

Inside were newspaper clippings, yellow and brittle with age.  Pidge gently lifted the one on the top to examine it.  The title of the article read, “Henry Garrett Becomes First Colored Man to Own a Restaurant in New Altea”.  The photograph beneath the title showed a sturdily built young man with a round belly, wearing an apron and beaming with pride.  Above him hung a sign that said “Hunk’s Diner”.

“Henry Garrett…” said Pidge, “Is that you?”

A ghostly finger tapped the back of her hand once.  Yes.

Pidge flipped through the rest of the articles.  Most of them were reviews of the restaurant, all praising the excellent quality of the food and the warm, inviting atmosphere of the diner.  What caught Pidge’s attention was the last article at the bottom of the box.

It featured a picture of the house Pidge was currently standing in, but in much worse condition.  It looked like nearly half the building had collapsed, one whole side was black and charred, and smoke poured out into the sky.  The headline read, “Local Chef Dies in House Fire”.

Pidge set the clipping down, trying to keep her hands from shaking too much.

“I think I can help you now,” she said, “I’m going to try getting you to materialize in a summoning circle.  Is that all right?”

One tap to the hand.

Pidge quickly pulled out some chalk and candles from her bag.  She drew a simple summoning circle on the wooden floor and arranged and lit the candles.

“Henry Garrett,” she said in what she hoped was an authoritative voice, “I command you to reveal yourself within this circle.”

A bluish-gray haze began to appear and coalesce into a human shape within the circle.  Legs, arms, and finally a face became distinct.

In Pidge’s professional opinion, Hunk lived up to his name.  He had an open, friendly face with warm, expressive eyes and a square, masculine jaw.  He was quite bit taller than Pidge and nearly twice as wide, partially due to the round belly Pidge had noted earlier, but also due to some impressive muscle mass, particularly on his arms.  He wore a button up shirt and suspenders and kept his dark hair out of his face with a headband tied around his forehead.

“Hunk?” said Pidge softly, not wanting to spook him.

“Hi,” he said, voice low and croaky from disuse, “I guess we’ve officially met now.”

“So,” said Pidge, “I take it this used to be your house?”

Hunk nodded, “Decades and decades ago.  I guess they rebuilt it after I…after the fire.”

“Can you tell me about the fire?  How did it start?”

“You know how you’re supposed to smother grease fires?  I forgot that bit of advice,” Hunk turned his head so that his face was in profile and Pidge fought down a gasp.  Nearly half of Hunk’s face was burned away, singed almost beyond recognition.  He turned toward her again and his face returned to normal.

“I’m sorry,” said Pidge, “You didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“Can you help me at all?”

“I…I want to.  It might be tricky, though.  Usually with ghosts, in order to help them, you have to avenge their death.  But it sounds like your death was entirely an accident.”

“Oh.”

“That doesn’t mean there’s nothing I can do!” said Pidge quickly, “I don’t know if I can help you move on, but I can maybe help you find a sense of peace while you’re here.  Was there something you particularly enjoyed doing in life?  Something that gave you happiness?”

“Cooking,” said Hunk, “I was always happiest when I was cooking in my restaurant.  It felt good, you know?  Serving others, making their days just a little bit better…I lost that when I died.  I thought maybe it would be good to have someone living here again, making sure the kitchen at least gets put to good use, you know?  But it turns out he doesn’t even eat.”

“So that’s why you freaked out.”

“Yeah,” Hunk looked down, “Sorry about that.  Your friend’s name is Lance, right?  I didn’t mean to scare him so bad.  He seems like a nice guy.  I was just frustrated and didn’t know how to tell him what was wrong.”

Like a toddler, Pidge thought.  Out loud, she said, “I think I might have an idea of how to help you.”

“I’ll try anything.”

“If you had a place where you could cook again, where you could help make food for others, would that make you happier?”

Hunk nodded, “Yes.  Yes, that’d be fantastic!”

Pidge smiled, “Then I think I know where we can put you.  My family owns this shop, a sort of café-and-bookstore combo, and I’m sure my mom would love having your help doing the baking in the morning.”

“That sounds great!” said Hunk, beaming, “But…how do I get there?  I’ve tried leaving the house, but I never make it past the yard.”

“It would be a little tricky, transferring you from one building to another.  Luckily, you’ll have the help of the most talented witch in town.”

“And who’s that?”

“Me.” said Pidge, grinning.

“Pidge?” Lance’s voice floated up through the attic hatch, “You still alive up there?  You better not have hurt her, ghost, or I’ll kick the ectoplasm out of you!”

“I’m fine, Lance!” Pidge called, “And while you’re here, there’s someone I want you to meet.  We’ll definitely be seeing more of him in the future.”

She turned and gave Hunk a smile.  Hunk smiled back and took her hand again.  She could see right through his fingers, yet they felt as warm and as solid as life itself.

[literaryeagle]

What, another book review already?  Yes, because there were actually two new Yuri!!! on Ice books that came out this week!  This time, I'm reviewing Yuri!!! on ICE Koushiki Guidebook Yuri!!! on Life (Yuri!!! on ICE Official Guidebook Yuri!!! on Life), published by Fusosha.  This book focuses on the figure skating aspect of the show, and there's some stuff about real skaters as well.  So if you're a fan of the anime and also a skating enthusiast, this one's for you! (If you're looking for the other book instead, you can read my review of Yuri!!! on ICE Official Fanbook GO YURI GO!!! in my previous post.)

This book is not available in English or French, but there are plenty of pictures (mostly full color, and there are a few black-and-white sketches as well).  The dust jacket is also removable, and the alternate cover art hidden underneath is similar to the image on the jacket, except it's zoomed out and the three characters are spaced a bit farther apart so you can see their individual poses better.  As for skaters other than the three main characters, don't worry, they're in this book as well, so you can enjoy their style... JJ Style!  And Emil style, and Michele style, and so on:

Keep reading for the rest of the book review, plus a few more pictures! 

The book starts with a large double-sided poster.  It's a Yuri Katsuki poster on one side, and a Victor poster on the other side.  They're both doing their poses from the book cover.  Pretty cool, although there's an unfortunate consequence to Yuri and Victor being printed on opposite sides of the same paper... if you want to put this poster on your wall, you have to display only the Yuri side, or only the Victor side.  In other words, you can't hang up the Yuri and Victor posters next to each other.  Noooooooo! Granted, there are ways to display a double-sided poster so that both pictures are visible, such as hanging it from the ceiling or hanging it in a window, but you still wouldn't be able to have Yuri and Victor next to each other.  Anyway, here's the top half of the Yuri poster:

After the poster is the book's title page, then the table of contents (decorated with some images from the show's beautiful opening, "History Maker"), and then a two-page spread of Yuri, Victor, and Yurio doing their poses from the book cover yet again.

Next is the first major section of the book, Skaters File.  This part begins with a fun two-page spread showing all of the male skaters (the image of Michele, Emil, and JJ shown earlier in this review is a fragment of one of those pages).  This section has profiles for each of the male skaters, giving information such as birthday, age, height, and blood type.  However, the blood types for Victor, Otabek, Chris, and Georgi are described as "hikoukai" (private).  That kind of basic profile information was already in the other recent Yuri!!! on Ice book, though, so let's move on to something that's unique to this book... A "Skater's Parameter" measuring certain traits for each character is also provided!  What's being measured, you ask?  Well, "skating", "jump", "spin", and "step", are evaluated for all of them, along with two other characteristics that vary for each skater.  For example, the two additional traits measured for Victor are "surprise" and "kyouchousei" (cooperativeness).  Apparently he's extremely good at surprising people, but not very good at cooperativeness.  Yes, I'm sure Yakov would have a lot to say about Victor's lack of cooperativeness, ha ha!

Since this book specializes in the skating aspect of the show, the program elements for some of the skaters’ Short Programs and Free Skates are also provided, so if you're a figure skating enthusiast who knows how to calculate how many points all those jumps and spins are worth, you might have fun with that.  Unfortunately, I don't know how that stuff works, so I wouldn't be able to help with it.  Sorry about that.

As for the artwork in this section, each skater gets an illustration, and then there are a bunch of other pics as well but they're all screenshots from the anime.  And as you've probably guessed, the bulk of this section is devoted to the male skaters, however there are some pictures and little bits of info for some other characters, too.  Here's a piece of a page showing Milla and Yakov:

The next section, Memory of the Special Season, includes a beautiful illustration drawn especially for this book!  It shows Yuri and Yurio with their medals from the Grand Prix Final, and a winking Victor standing with them.  They all look so happy!  I love it! Check it out:

Some of you may recall that a preview version of the above image was released before the book came out, and a number of fans expressed concern or outright anger that Yuri’s ring appeared to be missing.  (Adding to the mystery, the artist who drew the picture said that she did in fact include the ring, but the publisher wanted it taken out. Huh?)  Well, I’m happy to report that, as you can see up there, the ring is back on Yuri's finger where it belongs!  Or if it’s too small for you to see, I’ll include a closer look here:

Yep, so the ring is definitely there, in all its round and golden glory.  Hooray!  As for why the ring was taken out in the first place, I really have no idea.  For all we know, it might be a totally innocent explanation, like the publisher didn't want to spoil the surprise for people who hadn't watched episode 10 of the show yet.  At any rate, regardless of whether the true reason is an innocent one or something... not so nice... keep in mind that this book is published by Fusosha, not the studio that made the anime, so please don't get angry at MAPPA for this.

Anyway, this section of the book has some stuff about skating competitions that were featured in the show, including a Season Calendar explaining when these competitions happened.

Figure skating fans will also be happy to know that the next part has a few pages devoted to some of the real life skaters who are fans of Yuri!!! on Ice, including Evgenia Medvedeva, Stéphane Lambiel and Deniss Vasiļjevs.  Cool!  There's also a bunch of other skating info, like explanations of various terms, and a recommended viewing list of real life skating performances, such as Johnny Weir's awesome skate set to "Poker Face".

Next, there are interviews with voice actors and other staff members who worked on the anime. Check out this photo... from left to right, it shows Koki Uchiyama (voice of Yurio), Toshiyuki Toyonaga (voice of Yuri), and Junichi Suwabe (voice of Victor):

There are staff interviews that include pictures and information on how the skating animation was done for the show, plus other elements like choreography, music, and of course costumes!  Check out these images for Leo's Short Program outfit, and Minami's Free Skate attire:

There are also interviews with some material about audiography, art, character design, and other stuff.  Oh, and there's a lengthy interview with director Sayo Yamamoto and writer Mitsurou Kubo, accompanied by lovely key animation sketches for Victor skating to "Stammi vicino, non te ne andare" and Yuri skating his Short Program.  Awesome!

The book comes to an end with staff credits (decorated with images from the show's ending theme, "You Only Live Once"), and the final scene from the show's last episode, promising to "See You NEXT LEVEL".  But wait, there's one more surprise... another large double-sided poster!  On one side of the poster is the image of Yuri and Yurio holding their GPF medals while Victor stands next to them (and yes, Yuri is wearing his ring on the poster), while the other side is Yurio doing his pose from the cover art.  Here's the top half of the medals side of the poster:

Overall, Yuri!!! on ICE Koushiki Guidebook Yuri!!! on Life seems like a nice book if you're a fan of the anime who also loves figure skating.  My knowledge of skating is mostly limited to what was explained in the show, though, so figure skating experts (particularly those who can read Japanese) might be better equipped to give a more informed opinion of this book.  Now, as previously mentioned, another book came out around the same time, called Yuri!!! on ICE Official Fanbook GO YURI GO!!!.  If you're wondering which one to get... well, if you're a big fan of the show you might want to get both!  But if budget is an issue so you prefer to just get one, I'd say Yuri!!! on Life is for those who want a skating guidebook, while GO YURI GO!!! is better for those who are interested in an art book about the show in general.  Personally, I enjoyed both books, but I liked GO YURI GO!!! more because of the beautiful art and its focus on story and characters.

Anyway, if Yuri!!! on Life looks interesting to you, then please support the artists by purchasing it if you can!  It's available on Amazon.co.jp

Thanks for reading, everyone.  I have other official Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise that I’ll be reviewing, so keep checking my blog for new stuff!

[rashaituckerunit]

Creative CV Evaluation

Does your cv reflect the skills needed to work in a creative job role.

In my opinion my cv does reflect the skills needed to work in a creative job role. Besides having a generic cv which just consists words and paragraphs I decided to add drawings, colour and pictures to make it stand out. I have a person holding up his arms and hands which have a percentage representing my strengths in different software. I drew this person myself and its not from the internet. I also implemented some of my projects onto my cv .This would show what they could expect if they hired me and wanted me to do something similar. For example my logo and my character design. But yes, my cv does reflect the skills needed to work in a creative jobe role. I stated my strengths in different software and general work necessities.

How does your design show this visually and through written communication

By creating  two drafts for my creative CV, I came up with an idea as to how exactly I wanted my creative CV to look like.  At the top right it would have my profile Picture with my contact details underneath. To the left of my profile picture it would state a summary about myself an my skills. Underneath that it would talk about my work experience. Underneath that it would talk about my education.  On the top left corner of the page, I would put in my logo that I had designed for myself in Liams class. This would show one of my projects that I have created. It also represents what I like to do and my strength. Moving on forward, underneath the text of where I would be talking about education, I would have my character design project to show. I would show the before and after. This would show the viewers what they could expect if they wanted me to do something similar. Completing the CV, it would consist of a person who has three arms on each side of his body besides two. He would be holding up a percentage that shows my strengths in different software, Socialization skills, Communication skills and time management. With the colour choices, fonts used, images and layout my cv is able to reflect what type of person I am, what im interested in, my strengths, skills and what I am trying to portray as an individual.

What skills do you think are needed to work in the creative industries.

I think the main skills needed to work in the creative industries are communication skills and time management. I say communication skills because if you are dealing with a client, it is very important that both of you are on the same page and understand what needs to be done and what they want exactly. Time management is another skill needed because you need to know how to use time wisely when creating something for the client. If your working on a project for a client or even for yourself and it needs to be done by a certain time, you need to know how to balance out your everyday things you do in life as well. In my opinion that's something everyone needs when it comes to any job in life. Both of these skills I think are needed to work in the creative industries.

[bountyofbeads]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-mysterious-intelligence-firm-now-in-muellers-sights

This is a must read regarding the Indictment today from Mueller. The foreign influence campaign is much bigger then we could have imagined with tentacles that go wide and deep. #MichaelFlynn #Trump #mueller #TheResistance

HUSH HUSH

Inside the Mysterious Intelligence Firm Now in Mueller’s Sights

Ken Klippenstein | Daily Beast | 06.04.18 7:55 PM ET Posted December 17, 2018

In the fall of 2016, Donald Trump Jr. and other key aides to the future president reportedly met in Trump Tower with Joel Zamel, the founder of a company called Wikistrat.

Wikistrat bills itself as a “crowdsourced” geopolitical analysis firm based in Washington, D.C. But interviews with current and former employees and documents reviewed by The Daily Beast tell a different story: that the vast majority of Wikistrat’s clients were foreign governments; that Wikistrat is, for all intents and purposes, an Israeli firm; and that the company’s work was not just limited to analysis. It also engaged in intelligence collection.

Robert Mueller’s office is investigating Wikistrat and Zamel, according to The Wall Street Journal, as the special counsel’s probe expands into Middle Eastern governments’ attempts to influence American politics.

Publicly, Wikistrat touts its crowdsourcing interface it has described as “Wikipedia meets Facebook” to develop reports for clients. The documents also highlight Wikistrat’s heavy reliance on “gamification”—applying game design features to encourage user engagement—to solicit information from sources. Former Wikistrat employees say its founder viewed himself as the Mark Zuckerberg of the national-security world.

But despite the firm’s purported commitment to “transparent, open-source methodologies,” the documents provided to The Daily Beast show something different: that the company exploits “in country… informants” as sources.

Wikistrat’s “About” page includes mention of “on-the-ground collection.”

And according to internal Wikistrat documents marked “highly confidential and sensitive material,” 74 percent of the firm’s revenue came from clients that were foreign governments.

Although Wikistrat’s clients were overwhelmingly foreign governments, the company boasted incredible access to top U.S. military and intelligence officials. The firm’s advisory councillists former CIA and National Security Agency director Michael Hayden, former national security adviser James L. Jones, former deputy director of the National Security Council Elliott Abrams, and former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency David Shedd, among others.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the company’s website is adorned with the insignias of U.S. military agencies and that it claims D.C. as its headquarters.

But exactly how much of a connection these advisers have with the company isn’t totally clear. “I have always been informal… but I support the concept of their work (as my quote [on Wikistrat’s website] points out),” Hayden told The Daily Beast in an email. “There is no paperwork between us and I have never been to a board meeting.”

A former senior analyst for Wikistrat, James Kadtke, described his experience with the company to The Daily Beast. A physicist by training, Kadtke worked as a defense and technology adviser to Sen. John Warner from 2002-05 and as a senior fellow at the National Defense University before joining Wikistrat in 2016.

When Kadtke first interviewed with a couple of Wikistrat executives to discuss working for them, he said it became obvious to him that there was more to this company than meets the eye.

“It was clear to me that both of these guys had intelligence backgrounds, intelligence professionals, not academics or analysts,” Kadtke told The Daily Beast. “They were using their experts for tacit information going on in various parts of the world. I got the impression they were doing things outside of Wikistrat. It seemed mysterious.”

Working for Wikistrat didn’t seem to clear up Kadtke’s questions. Kadtke said that, in retrospect, Wikistrat appeared to be more about intelligence collection than anything else.

Elad Schaffer, the Wikistrat CEO who succeeded Zamel this year, did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Kadtke’s remarks about intelligence collection, one former high-ranking employee said, “Could he [Wikistrat’s founder] have done this? Yes, by all means,” adding that Wikistrat’s work “was not limited to geopolitics.”

HUSH HUSH

The documents provide rare insight into a company that Wikistrat employees repeatedly described as extraordinarily secretive.

“Joel ran a very compartmentalized organization,” one former high-ranking staffer said.

“I felt like I had no real visibility into what the company was really doing,” another former senior employee said.

“He was very secretive, everything was highly compartmentalized… It was clear that he kept the entire company in the dark. Even [company executives] didn’t have the whole picture,” a former employee said, adding that if someone took a photo at a company gathering, Zamel would leave the room.

“He never allowed anyone to get near his phone, his laptop, stuff like that.”

Even in the internal company documents, which include a page about the company’s leadership, photos of each of the executives are included—except Zamel’s.

“I suspected he was involved in other stuff simply because a man without secrets doesn’t need to be secretive. If he had nothing to hide, he would’ve been much more open. I thought he was involved in other operations.”

THE ISRAEL CONNECTION

If Wikistrat was engaged in intelligence collection, an obvious question arises: For whom?

Much of the reporting so far has focused on Wikistrat’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates. For instance, The New York Times recently reported a secretive Trump Tower meeting three months before the 2016 presidential election, between Donald Trump Jr., Zamel, and George Nader, an emissary for the UAE. The meeting drew comparison to the infamous Trump Tower meeting between Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin.

Zamel is reported to have pitched Trump Jr. on a social-media manipulation strategy to help his father win the election. After Trump was elected, Nader is said to have paid Zamel a large sum of money—as much as $2 million.

In light of the scrutiny of Zamel’s ties to the UAE, it’s natural that news coverage would focus on that country. But Wikistrat may, in fact, have stronger ties to Israel.

Zamel is a citizen of Israel and master’s graduate of IDC Herzliya—a small, elite college that’s often compared to U.S. Ivy League schools—where he studied government, diplomacy, and strategy, specializing in counterterrorism and homeland security.

(The internal documents reviewed by The Daily Beast confirm that Zamel also owned the lion’s share—86 percent—of Wikistrat, with the next biggest shareholder possessing less than 6 percent of the company.)

Though Wikistrat’s website lists its location as Washington, Kadtke said the company was run out of Israel the entire time he worked there.

A former Wikistrat employee confirmed the company was run out of Tel Aviv, with the D.C. office only handling sales and business development, he said.

“He knew a whole lot of people there [in Israel]. One of his connections was the former head of the [Israeli] intelligence directorate, Amos Yadlin.”

In fact, each of Wikistrat’s principals listed Tel Aviv as their address in a 2015 copy of Wikistrat’s Virginia business license.

Former employees say that at the core of Wikistrat’s leadership were three Israelis: Daniel Green, the CTO, Elad Schaffer, formerly the COO and now the CEO, and Zamel, the founder and, until this year, its CEO.

“Those people were very close, and it wasn’t just professional,” one former employee said.

That former employee added, “I had an initial conversation with Joel where I said, ‘One of the issues you’re going to run into, if you want to be focused on [U.S.] government work, you’re going to run into problems every day because of the Israeli connection.’ He said, ‘Well, why is that? They’re amazing allies?’”

“There were many conversations internally [about this]... Israel is one of the top counterintelligence concerns for the U.S.”

One of the internal documents reviewed by The Daily Beast lists a former “major in [an] elite Israeli intelligence-analysis unit,” Shay Hershkovitz, as its chief security officer and director of analytic community. That document also describes Schaffer as a former “counterterrorism officer for Israeli intelligence.”

“Elad was involved in a very elite, select group of individuals performing a very important mission… dealing with the height of the global war on terrorism,” one former employee said. “He did some collaborative work with U.S. special-operations counterparts who were working in the Middle East to deal with threats coming from al Qaeda.”

“Elad kept a very low profile.”

Schaffer did not respond to a request for comment.

FLYNN TOOK A REAL SHINING TO JOEL’

Zamel apparently wanted former national security adviser Michael Flynn to be a member of the firm’s advisory board; Zamel spoke with him about it on multiple occasions around the time Flynn was forming his ill-fated Flynn Intel Group, a former high-ranking Wikistrat employee told The Daily Beast.

[brandenvsi908-blog]

Online Dating For Men - 5 Steps several Debonair Profile Picture

If you join the best introduction agency you won't have to partake in out trying to find women you get a regular supply but you will have to allow time at least twice 7 days to meet women.

It may be beneficial to treat your problem naturally as well as aren't running the probability of making matters worse. Some topical treatments administered for you by a doctor might actually end up making epidermis worse. Ought to something you want to avoid. You want to make your skin better and clearer you would Hate to spend all types money on a treatment that was only gonna be back fire in experience. A "wink" is no more than that do. It's a notification that pops up telling those of your interest with them. It really doesn't tell them one thing about most people. If you are tight on time may don't have the chance to craft an email, this particular a quick method to suggest your appeal to. One note of caution, in most cases these can be ignored. Pictures of impossibly perfect models (male and female) are forced into our vision each and every opportunity. Television and movies give us images of 'perfect' relationships, 'perfect' couples, and 'perfect families', YES, even true Love stories can not be true. Everywhere, marketing is subtly implying that as we were only richer, smarter, more beautiful, or had this or that, continually be rather more likely to find our perfect match, a lot of our true love story. "I suppose he's far enough bye bye. We can tell the town he fell over cliff and met his doom." Other people nodded, as well as they all, nevertheless the main guard, began riding away. Developed off his helmet, and wiped the sweat associated with his your forehead. The guard decided to take a rest. Hopping off of his transportation, he leaned against the tree. Darwin began breathing harder. A sweat drop gathered using a tip of his pointy elven nasal area. Darwin tried to wipe it off, without chances. It fell. Twirled downward. Down, down, and off. Until meeting its spot on the ground. The guard caught notice, with quick eyes he peered up. In order to get Darwin's boot within his face. Darwin drew his sword and held it at the guards throat. The others heard the commotion and rode back quickly. As we living inside of this computerized earth, searching for that date world wide web is straightforward and simple these the days. There are thousands and thousands of single gentlemen searching for gals on top of the Online on any free dating tips (similar web-site) providers. Vice versa, there are thousands and thousands of single adult females trying to obtain guys world-wide-web. There's in no way one for you to answer this lingering interrogation. A lot of people are on those sites for one thing; sheer sex, no hassle. No judgment on those people, but an individual looking for love may tend to get frustrated after repeatedly getting asked "looking" or "can you host"? I bet most folks simply don't respond to such desperation, but an individual ignore someone in individual who asked you an identical question? No, you'd probably look them in the interest rate and tell them to piss off. The social etiquette in the real world is completely unparalleled into the behaviors displayed on social Dating apps. I went online to find reusable produce bag retailers and manufacturers, preferably from Canada and more so from British Mexico. I hit the jackpot. Kootsac is from the Kootenays in BC (hence the name) who makes tight-weave bags specifically bulk foods even as fine as flour. I ordered a number of of each size, horrifying than can't wait for them to arrive.

[houzzblog]

Houzzer Profile: Minwen Ji, Software Engineer

As a member of the Houzz backend team, Minwen works on infrastructure and platform products to improve the Houzz community experience by making the website faster and more reliable. When she’s not working, Minwen enjoys traveling with her family to places they’ve never been before. Their last stop was Iceland.

Why did you want to become a software engineer? I’ve always liked building things, but didn’t start coding until I was in college. When I was a teenager, computer science was just getting started in China. In high school, the top four students from each province were sent to a national physics competition where we met professors from the country’s top universities. I met with one professor who offered me the opportunity to attend Tsinghua University and study computer science. All I knew of computer science was that it was an exciting new technology, but I said yes right away. It’s pretty incredible that a decision made by a high school student, far from home, with no input from my parents, could drive my lifetime career.

Why did you decide to join Houzz? A few of my friends worked for Houzz and told me about the supportive community culture they experienced, which is what drew me to apply. My interview confirmed what I had heard from my friends and I couldn’t wait to get started!

What is the best part about working at Houzz? From an engineering perspective, I appreciate the Houzz code review process. It promotes quality and productivity, allowing you to focus on the big picture to improve the overall experience of the Houzz platform for our community.

From a workplace perspective, I was so pleased to find that my friends were right about the culture at Houzz. My particular focus on the Redis database allows me to interact with different teams within engineering, and I can see that teamwork and collaboration are valued and encouraged on all projects.

What Houzz project are you most proud of? When I joined Houzz last year, we realized that as Houzz continues to scale, we’d need to identify and implement solutions to handle the growing amount of data required to run the platform. Houzz historically used Redis as our main de facto data storage cache. In the past, as the company scaled up and we outgrew the storage capacity in one Redis server, we’d open a new server and manually move a subset of data from existing sources to that server. That move wasn’t transparent to the applications in Houzz that access data from these servers, so we’d have to go back and modify code for those applications. It was a very manual process.

In order to automate the applications we use on a daily basis and create transparency between those applications, we decided to migrate all of our data from individual Redis servers to a Redis Cluster, which allows us to continue adding storage in a more transparent manner. I’m proud to be a part of Houzz’s growth. You can read more about the migration to Redis Cluster at this link.

What is something that has surprised you about working for Houzz? I’ve worked on a number of large-scale tech company campuses, so when I started working at Houzz, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working in downtown Palo Alto. It was an unexpected feeling of freedom and I love to pop outside for a cup of tea or walk down University Avenue in the friendly crowds.

Is there anything that you’ve learned that you’d like to impart on others? Always keep learning! Stay open minded and keep an eye out for new technologies on the horizon.

How do you use Houzz in your personal life? My husband and I are in the process of building a new home and we use Houzz a lot! Before hiring our designer, we looked at her profile on Houzz to make sure she had experience with the city and the styles we will be incorporating. Now we are using Houzz to collaborate with her on the project. I just save a photo to our ideabook and send her the link, so she knows exactly what I have in mind!

[wosaegeansea]

Responses To Jury

inchresting

Seamus

Dan Hi Dan, my favorite color is red!

Daisy Hey Daisy, your vote off was more just about path of least resistance while also creating the best chance of someone winning a challenge against Drew. The path of least resistance part is because my goal final 5 after the Dani vote was Aqua/Jaze/Lexi/You/Myself because I felt I had the most control over what would have happened while having a strong shot at immunity. When Drew won immunity I truly believed taking you out would help ensure at some point Drew would lose immunity which he did the next round.

Your second part of your question was about me saying it "saved" you and several others. This is simply me not being able to explain things if I'm being honest. I should have said "forced drew to work with us, which would strengthen our alliance and help protect Steven and Lexi and Dani and Daisy." I cannot type or write to save my life, so again I'm sorry.

Now for compliments! (I'll do this in jury order) 1. Adrian: I truly admire your confidence in yourself and your ability to speak your mind regardless of where you are in the game. I usually try and refrain myself in tribe chats unless I am being spoken to or about and I think it's nice to see something different. 2. Dan: You seem very smart and dedicated to your studies. I have always struggled with school and every time someone has good attendance and always is studying is something I try to be more like. 3. Bodhi: You seem super energetic and like someone who is always willing to have a conversation/someone to go to IHOP with at 2:30 in the morning. 4. Karen: You are one of the few people in this community that has the respect of everyone and always seem to remain calm and try to treat others well (somethin you need to teach me to improve) 5. Steven: You are one of the nicest people I have met in this community and someone I'm proud to call a friend of mine. I really value our friendship here and irl. 6. Dani: You are one of the wildest people I've ever met and are beyond entertaining even if you keep calling me bobo the clown > : ( 7. Daisy: You are someone I truly didn't have much interaction with before this game and didn't know what to expect. I think you are extremely nice and funny, it seemed you always chiped in at the right moment in a conversation or had something smart to add/clarify 8. Drew: you are truly like the godfather of this community, no one dislikes you, you do amazing in games, and you somehow put up with all my shit. I'm sorry I can't spell or type or act like a normal human being but somehow you are smart enough (or maybe just have enough restraint) to deal with me and it does mean a lot to me. 9. Lexi: Lexi aka the Empress of India, coming into the game you were someone I was actually frightened to be on a tribe with after watching how well you did. You are a vary caring and genuine person, I felt whenever we would talk you were always straight up with me and that is very uncommon in games.

Dani Oh hello. I may be bobo the clown but I somehow still clowned ur ass honk honk! You should vote for me because I believe even though I didn't play a "honest/kind game" I still believe I played a strong game. I used alliances to further myself, which is the point of an alliance. Every non game related conversation I had was genuine. I played this game to win and I spoke to people to make friends. I don't see why they have to be mutually exclusive.

Adrian Hey Adrian! Well first I am going to apologize to you. I am sorry for voting you out and betraying you. I always try and separate personal relationships from games, which is something most don't accept/understand. I play games to have fun and sometime the odds aren’t in someone's favor and sometimes they aren’t in mine. I stook my neck out for you during the Lexi vote not because i thought it would necessarily help my game, but because you were my friend and hopefully still are. I voted Karen because i didn’t want to vote for either you or bodhi that round because i liked both of you. During the revote i voted you out because i needed to ensure trust in an alliance. If i played this game based on who I liked the most this would not be who I would be sitting next to at the end because I’m closer to others in this game. I hope for your vote, not because im your friend, but as a competitor and because of the game I played. Between the 2 others, i truly believe i played the best game.

Bodhi Okay so i didn't answer the other one’s as a rhyme because i just did them as they were sent so to make it up Imma write you a rhyme about Kansas!

Hey I live in Kansas, i hope this isn’t too corny Hopefully you like this, more than you love your porn(y) Hopefully voting for me, isn’t too thorny If you vote for me, I’ll make you some forni

Continents= 6

MEAN THINGS: 1. ADRIAN= GIRL YOU BLEW UP AFTER THE FIRST VOTE POP A XANAX PLEASE 2. DAN: For the love of god please change your profile picture, everytime someone says ur name this grinch baby troll thing pops up into my head!!!! 3. BODHI BITCH U SANK FASTER THEN THE TITANIC 4. KANEN JUST MARRY KENDALL ALREADY LIKE WE GET IT UR LEBANESE U SWING THAT WAY 5. STEVEN: EVERYTIME I THINK OF YOU I THINK STEVEN SNAIL AND IT MIGHT BE BC UR SLIMY 6. DANI: IF I HAD TO PICK 1 PERSON I THOUGHT WAS FROM WESTERN KANSAS BASED ON HOW THEY ACT GIRL IT WOULD BE U 7. DAISY: YOU NEED TO CHANGE UR NAME BC IM A WARLOCK AND CAN SENSE AURAS AND A DAISY SHOULD BE WHITE AND PURE NOT BLACK AND READY TO DO SHOTS AT 7:45 IN THE MORNING!!!! 8. DREW: SPEAK NORMAL PERSON ENGLISH! BIG WORDS= NO THANK YOU LIKE WE GET IT UR SMART U DONT NEED TO RUB UR BIG WORDS IN OUR FACES ALL THE DAMN TIME! 9. LEXI: QUEEN OF INACTIVITY, QUEEN OF KILLING CATFISH, BUT ALSO QUEEN OF SETTING THE RECORD FOR MOST TIMES VOTED OUT IN THIS GAME! OOOOOOOOOOH! Seamus

lexi Hi Lexi, so I will just start off with an apology again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for flipping on you when you were loyal and betraying your trust. I hadn't planned on it until the moment I told you. All day I was thinking about what to do and I made my decision and I know it upset you and again I'm sorry.

Now for you question, I think the point of an alliance is for the betterment of each individual member of said alliance. But just because you have a majority alliance doesn't necessarily mean you are in the best spot in the game. I play these games to have fun, meet new people, and to try and win. And if I don't like my position in a game I will try and change my position by any means necessary. I won't sit here and spew how I played a noble and honorable game and that I never told a lie because that isn't the truth. I played this game hard from the moment it started and played it as best as I could. That's what should earn me your jury vote. I tried in every challenge, I spoke to everyone and tried to work with everyone, and I made moves that others didn't or wouldn't. I burned some bridges along the way yes, but hopefully a internet game won't be the final nail in a coffin of a genuine friendship.

Steven HI STEVEN AND THANK YOU! MY BIRTHDAY WAS AMAZING AND I MET SOME OF MY FAVORITE SINGERS AND IT WAS GREAT! https://media3.giphy.com/media/4xzOsxb7eJjsk/giphy.gif

Drew I'm going to explain by using kangaroo gifs. https://68.media.tumblr.com/33290ec73267c0563fea6ce612345b5d/tumblr_nunu8xYBxC1ues38qo1_500.gif this is you in this game. Everyone likes you and wants to pet you. https://68.media.tumblr.com/332560eb43a673806ba9f5a767d684ac/tumblr_oksptqkgJs1tfmrz4o1_400.gif that is our relationship. https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7qE5866bLg4VKabe/giphy.gif I kept trying to find a time to take you out before we finally aligned but I simply couldn't catch you https://68.media.tumblr.com/8098664402692064cf1535c093c60103/tumblr_onqfgkWwbI1v1iw1co1_400.gif https://68.media.tumblr.com/6665f4c8202b214671d3003937caa700/tumblr_odyvk8k9qL1v1frjoo1_250.gif and then we became allies. https://68.media.tumblr.com/88c452e8492eda108d743cae730f10e4/tumblr_no280p5GBY1rz1st5o1_500.gif We were the head hanchos but it was clear I was the Jackie because everyone dislikes me but like you https://media.tenor.com/images/7d8f2524a4c9e30e1b93bb9723e30b55/tenor.gif So I had to lie in wait for the opportunity to strike https://media.tenor.com/images/b8393cced8739e24459414e897579497/tenor.gif And finally found it at final 5.

Karen Hi Karen so this will a rather long answer but I truly hope you read it all. So I will just start off with the aspect of my nonexistent social game. I am not a "hello, how are you?" kind of person. In real life or on here. It's simply not who I am. If someone wants to tell me about their day I am all ears but I simply don't ask because I just assume if they want to talk about it then they will. And this isn't the case with everyone but that is me irl and here. If I am going to talk to you on here about nongame things then that is me trying my best to get to know someone. That's why I know about where people live and the schools they go to and the jobs they have and if they like their state and ect. I don't think, and never will claim, to have a strong social game, but I try my best.

I said this in my answer for another jury question; but I don't believe our jury responses have been released yet, My desired final 3 was Steven, Dani, and myself. Steven and Dani I get along with both socially and game wise and are people I felt comfortable going to the end with knowing they both were playing good games. When Dani got Steven voted out I realized I needed a new game plan and when I assessed the people left I saw several goats, and that's when I decided to try and bring 2 goats to the end. I don't believe I could have beaten drew or a few others at the end, so it was my best shot.

I agree with you that my gameplay wasn't amazing, it wasn't clean cut, and it wasn't very nice to my friends. I truly believe Drew played the best game this season and had he made it to the end he would deserve to win over everyone including myself. I think I played the best between the three, but I wont claim I played the best game this season no.

To you, and everyone else on the jury that I have hurt I am truly sorry. There isn't much more I can say other then I am deeply sorry for hurting you all, most of which I consider to be my friends. I didn't intend to upset/hurt y'all, and I hope for anyone that is upset that you will accept my apology.

Jaze

Daisy: Why would you ask a question when you know very well, no matter how I answer, you will not change your mind? Also, you were good at getting bad scores in tribal stage and not leaving.

Dani: Hey love. If I'm going to be honest, which I will since I keep it real, no. I can't. I was a fucking leech. Other people's power was my power. If one person dropped, I moved to another. I was a leech.

Adrian: Of course it faltered, especially when I caught ear of him wanting me out over Aqua. I figured that he would be gunning for my tiny alliance of three, and after the tribal council where Dani and I used the conjoined vote, I knew I should've suggested Seamus. Maybe then I would've had an actual move. I wanted to go back in time and tell Dani "Can we flip on Seamuck?". I proceeded to vote him at the Dani elimination. I had to trust him at final four, since he was my only chance of getting here. In short, yes, my loyalty to Seamus faltered for a small time near the end.

Bohdi: idk how to rhyme im bad at rapping and also there are either as many continents as you want due to the definition, large landmasses separated from each other by water, being very vague, so technically, if you think its large, it can be a continent to you

Lexi: I never spoke to you since I never thought you would be useful to my game. Plain and simple. In this game, I didn't find you valuable. I'm sure you are a lovely person irl though.

Dan: I am not one for initiating conversation, since I feel like a burden often. Also, EVERY time you initiated a conversation with me, AKA: twice, I responded and had a brief conversation with you. So don't go around libeling my name, when I made effort. Zero effort would be me not responding to you at all.

Steven: Vanilla. I also really like Wedding Cake and Orange Sorbet.

Drew: ,

Karen: Hey! Nice to see you too! Aren't you a bundle of joy? Sorry you feel that way, but I'm not sorry because I can't sympathize with irrelevant people! Have fun, sweaty!

Aqua

Bodhi

Per request I will answer all of my questions in rhymes This will be worse than the most violent of crimes

I got asked how many continents there are by a man in heaven So I responded with “There are seven”

Lexi

Dani is someone I was close with in this game Her elimination was a shame We were friends since the first day Now she is in the jury to my dismay I am friends with a man named Drew We made up from last season and our friendship grew He won a lot of challenges in the merge Therefore he fell victim to the purge

I cared about this game a lot Even though most of the times I remained quiet in thought I hope my rhymes can show that I cared Because I would hate for my effort to go unshared

Dan

I’m sorry that I never spoke to you I didn’t want it to look like I avoided you like the flu You weren’t someone who looked like I could trust At the end of the day, our relationship in game was unfortunately a bust If you don’t want to vote me that's fine I already know the win isn’t mine

Daisy

I wanted to keep him for a vote on my side When we spoke to each other we never lied I was very scared when people wanted me gone So I needed a potential vote I could call on Many members on the jury say that he is a liar So now those votes I may acquire

Adrian I’m glad that I got to meet you in this game, you are 100% the opposite of lame Bodhi I think that you’re really funny guy, your Karen vote made me cry. Daisy You were someone who I had a great time talking to, you never made me feel blue Dan I never really got to meet you, but it would be cool to chill out with you at a barbecue Dani You’re a really amazing friend, you will always be someone on which I can Depend Drew You were by far the best player on this season, not voting you to win would have been like treason Karen One thing I like about you is that you’re always real. Your cat cookie is sweet like Cinnamon Oatmeal Lexi You rejoined the game after leaving early, however you definitely proved yourself of being worthy. Steven I never got to know you very well, but from when we did talk you seemed swell.

Steven

One thing that I did that had a lasting impact Was when I voted out Karen to counteract All of the supposed votes that were against me However those votes never came to be

Adrian

For this question I cannot Rhyme I’m sorry Bodhi, don’t treat it like a crime

Now, From the time that you left, there were a few things that I did. I never really had a role in anything until the Karen vote. The Karen vote was good for my game for two reasons. 1, It took out an ally of someone who was bringing my name up, and 2, it decreased the target on my back and put it on Seamus as most people saw him as the person controlling it. When my votes didn’t appear, it looked like he was a liar, etc. Bur anyways, First Dani told me I was getting votes from Drew. Immediately I knew that Karen, Steven, Daisy, and Lexi would all have majority if Drew got them on board. So Seamus and Dani both said that we could use our Double votes to counteract it.

[7/10/2017 6:58:13 PM] Aqua Orcal: Do you want to vote off Karen? [7/10/2017 7:10:28 PM] jaze (PBB3[J]/Aegean Sea[M]): Yes

[7/10/2017 6:52:12 PM] Host Charlotte: Drew wants to vote you off [7/10/2017 6:52:44 PM] Aqua Orcal: So that's why I haven't heard jack [7/10/2017 6:53:53 PM] Host Charlotte: It's okay [7/10/2017 6:53:58 PM] Host Charlotte: We're gonna use our double votes [7/10/2017 6:54:18 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yeah [7/10/2017 6:54:28 PM] Aqua Orcal: Seamus and I are using ours [7/10/2017 6:54:37 PM] Host Charlotte: Who are you guys voting off [7/10/2017 6:54:58 PM] Aqua Orcal: Seamus said Karen [7/10/2017 6:55:03 PM] Host Charlotte: Perfect [7/10/2017 6:55:05 PM] Aqua Orcal: At this point it's better than me [7/10/2017 6:55:37 PM] Host Charlotte: Talk to jaze [7/10/2017 7:05:05 PM] Host Charlotte: You might need to use your advantage to stay [7/10/2017 7:05:22 PM] Host Charlotte: Just make sure to talk to Jaze [7/10/2017 7:05:30 PM] Aqua Orcal: How so [7/10/2017 7:05:39 PM] Aqua Orcal: I can only use it against rewards [7/10/2017 7:05:47 PM] Host Charlotte: Cuz if they use their double vote [7/10/2017 7:06:13 PM] Aqua Orcal: Who still has it? [7/10/2017 7:06:19 PM] Host Charlotte: I'm not sure [7/10/2017 7:09:23 PM] Aqua Orcal: You need to talk to jaze in your pair chat and make sure that you both vote Karen [7/10/2017 7:10:01 PM] Aqua Orcal: Drew and Lexi still have their vote [7/10/2017 7:14:58 PM] Aqua Orcal: Jaze told me he would [7/10/2017 7:21:03 PM] Host Charlotte: Drew is voting for u [7/10/2017 7:21:58 PM] Aqua Orcal: So I'm assuming that he has Daisy Karen and Lexi [7/10/2017 7:22:22 PM] Aqua Orcal: And Possibly Steven [7/10/2017 7:22:58 PM] Host Charlotte: No it's official [7/10/2017 7:23:01 PM] Host Charlotte: We have the votes [7/10/2017 7:23:23 PM] Aqua Orcal: Who else is voting with us? [7/10/2017 7:24:02 PM] Host Charlotte: It's gonna be 6-5 [7/10/2017 7:24:04 PM] Host Charlotte: We're good [7/10/2017 7:25:36 PM] Aqua Orcal: So everyone else is voting against me? [7/10/2017 7:26:30 PM] Host Charlotte: Probably

[7/10/2017 12:51:07 AM] Aqua Orcal: Hey [7/10/2017 12:51:21 AM] Seamus: HEY! [7/10/2017 12:51:29 AM] Aqua Orcal: What do you want to do with the votes this round? [7/10/2017 12:54:24 AM] Seamus: I am not sure yet, why did u have an idea in mind? [7/10/2017 12:55:02 AM] Aqua Orcal: I was asking you because I don't know what to do either [7/10/2017 12:57:10 AM] Seamus: let me ask around and see the general vibeeee [7/10/2017 4:01:26 PM] Seamus: I'm kinda nervous bc no one is talking to me [7/10/2017 4:01:32 PM] Seamus: if u hear my name please let me know [7/10/2017 5:23:03 PM] Aqua Orcal: No one is talking to me either [7/10/2017 5:42:48 PM] Seamus: do u care who goes home this vote? [7/10/2017 6:53:22 PM] Aqua Orcal: Well Drew wants to vote me out [7/10/2017 6:53:39 PM] Seamus: correct, would u be down to blindside Karen? [7/10/2017 6:53:55 PM] Seamus: u me dani jaze, plus 2 double votes [7/10/2017 6:54:04 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yeah I'm cool with that [7/10/2017 6:54:50 PM] Seamus: what score did u submit for the challenge [7/10/2017 6:55:22 PM] Aqua Orcal: 17,000 ish [7/10/2017 6:55:35 PM] Aqua Orcal: Ik Karen is being randomized because she didn't do it [7/10/2017 6:55:52 PM] Seamus: oh Karen didn't do it? neither did daisy phew [7/10/2017 6:56:14 PM] Aqua Orcal: Oh good [7/10/2017 6:59:53 PM] Seamus: (chuckle) this is what drew gets for gunning for us [7/10/2017 7:00:01 PM] Seamus: too bad its not him tonight hehe [7/10/2017 7:00:33 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yup c: [7/10/2017 7:00:49 PM] Seamus: but if one of us beats him next time then :D [7/10/2017 7:06:23 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yup [7/10/2017 7:06:49 PM] Aqua Orcal: Are you/me/dani/jaze the only people using double votes? [7/10/2017 7:06:58 PM] Aqua Orcal: Or who can [7/10/2017 7:07:33 PM] Seamus: lexi and drew have one but they wont know this is coming hehe [7/10/2017 7:07:55 PM] Aqua Orcal: If they use theirs against me I'l flip [7/10/2017 7:08:02 PM] Seamus: isdnfnsdif [7/10/2017 7:08:16 PM] Seamus: the only person we need to worry about ratting our plan out is jaze [7/10/2017 7:08:25 PM] Seamus: like if we get him to vote Karen we r good [7/10/2017 10:26:11 PM] Seamus: We did it!!! [7/10/2017 10:26:27 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yesss! [7/10/2017 10:26:41 PM] Aqua Orcal: Tbh it was kinda underwhelming because they are messy af [7/10/2017 10:27:03 PM] Aqua Orcal: But at least we have enough communication skills to execute a plan [7/10/2017 10:29:06 PM] Seamus: ^^^^

I also secured myself and Jaze a spot in the final two by securing seamus’ vote for Lexi [7/25/2017 12:03:40 AM] jaze (PBB3[J]/Aegean Sea[M]): we need to vote lexi... [7/25/2017 12:17:53 AM] Aqua Orcal: Yeah I'm down with that [7/25/2017 12:18:01 AM] Aqua Orcal: I'm trying to get seamus to do the same [7/25/2017 12:18:10 AM] jaze (PBB3[J]/Aegean Sea[M]): alrighty

[7/24/2017 11:03:50 PM] Aqua Orcal: You won [7/24/2017 11:03:55 PM] Aqua Orcal: Congrats [7/24/2017 11:04:27 PM] Seamus: :d <3 thanks! [7/24/2017 11:05:41 PM] Aqua Orcal: You got first in everything and I got second in everything lol [7/24/2017 11:21:44 PM] Seamus: icons only do well in challenges :D [7/24/2017 11:22:30 PM] Aqua Orcal: Yup! [7/24/2017 11:49:28 PM] Seamus: so what do u think for le vote [7/24/2017 11:54:42 PM] Aqua Orcal: I'd say Lexi [7/24/2017 11:54:54 PM] Aqua Orcal: I think she has more connections than Jaze [7/25/2017 12:22:51 AM] Aqua Orcal: I talked to Jaze and he is voting for Lexi [7/25/2017 10:04:04 PM] Seamus: I voted Lexi [7/25/2017 10:04:17 PM] Aqua Orcal: Alright [7/25/2017 10:04:24 PM] Aqua Orcal: Lexi should have 3 votes then

Karen

I know that Drew was the one who brought my name up You were only a victim of my blowup Since you were someone who was close with drew Drew could not be voted out so I had to settle with you

Seamus was a close ally of mine But our relationship wasn’t my only lifeline Dani and Jaze were two people who I was close to We voted together so our games would not go askew I made friends from back when we were on Tribes So going into merge I hoped to had positive vibes With those I could at least scope out a majority That way I would not leave, which would have been a pity (For me at least)

Drew and Dani did not ask me questions The only word that rhymes with that is suggestions

Now the jury, please send in your votes!