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mimik-u · 6 years

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Flower Child (Chapter 3)

Title: Texts

Summary:

Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Greg, Yellow, and Blue—they've all lost someone. Lovers and daughters and friends and family, and that's not a wound you easily come back from.

If at all.

But this isn't an 'if at all' kind of story.

It's a story about a sickly, little kid named Steven and his ever-growing surrogate family.

It's a story about the kind of boy who'd extend a flower and a smile to a sad stranger he meets at a cemetery. Human AU.

AO3 Link

Sunday, 9:43 PM

Pearl: You’re really going to let him go see the Diamonds?

Pearl: After all they’ve done?

Pearl: After all WE’VE done to stand against them?

Greg: Its what he wants Pearl. who are we to deny him that?

Pearl: He didn’t want her to know about his condition.

Greg: That was different!

Pearl: Sure, Greg.

The three dots of impending doom jumped onto her screen within an instant, but Pearl didn’t wait for what was surely another half-assed justification from a man who seemed to half-ass anything that could be half-assed. (Which was neither fair nor right, but God, she was livid.) She shut her phone down, placed it on the nightstand, and rolled back onto her pillow with an aggressive thump.

Which, of course, did nothing to alleviate the headache that had been beating against the back of her skull all day.

Rose… Rose wouldn’t have wanted this, would she?

Her son fraternizing with the enemy.

With Yellow Diamond.

Even the mere thought of the woman was enough to conjure a clear image of the imposing CEO in Pearl’s mind-eye. She had golden eyes and a hard heart, and her practices—from her exploitation of workers to the conditions of her factories—were far from ethical. She was a tyrant, a monster, a despot.

And Steven was set to enter her lair.

(An extravagant penthouse suite that had reportedly cost over 200 million dollars.)

Her little boy, swallowed up by the yellow beast.

Rose… Rose wouldn’t have permitted this…

… Right?

Right?

It was a single instant of hesitation, but it was enough, and her mistrust and anger and irritation at Yellow, at Greg, at the world, soon gave away to another emotion, one that had been swelling up in Pearl’s chest all day. She rolled over to her side and plucked her phone up once more, clearing Greg’s response away with a furious swipe so she could type in her password.

It was 7673.

It was Rose.

She clicked the little photo icon and scrolled.

Scrolled past pictures of Steven as he slept during one of his dialysis treatments.

Past twenty Amethyst selfies that had been taken while Pearl wasn’t looking.

Past the family’s vacation to a cabin in the vast, snowy mountains.

And then she abruptly stopped, tapping once to expand the only image she wanted to see.

It was a picture of a picture, of a polaroid Garnet had taken approximately a year before Rose had met Greg, and everything had gone to—

Rose’s arm was wrapped around Pearl’s shoulders, and her pink lips were pressed against her cheek, and they were laughing.

Laughing!

And Pearl was in love.

Even in the blurry polaroid, she could see the faint blush that had traced itself across the bridge of her pointed nose like a messy pink scribble, could see the admiration that had made her eyes shine so bright once upon a time.

And she could feel the phantoms of warmth.

The warmth of Rose’s big, encompassing arms.

The warmth that had spread across Pearl’s entire body, that had electrified her veins.

A hot, itchy sensation climbed and climbed her throat until it welled up in her eyes. The phone went slack in her hand, tumbling to the bed.

Who was she kidding?

She didn’t know what Rose would have wanted.

After all, once upon a time, Pearl had thought that she wanted her.

She would have turned forty today had she not chosen… She bit her lip. She didn’t want to admit it, not even to herself.

It did not compute.

She would have turned forty, she tried again. The tears dripped down her beaky nose. And she would have been radiant.

Monday, 7:02 AM

Garnet: safe drive steven. <3

Steven: Thanks, boo. <3

Steven: And just so you know… I did think about what you told me last night.

Steven: And, like, I really thank you for being upfront with me about how you felt. Pearl just straight up told me that I shouldn’t go, and you took the time to tell me why I shouldn’t go, but this is just something I have to do Garnet.

Garnet: have to?

Steven: I guess I don’t have to, but I want to.

Steven: She’s really nice, and she’s really sad, and I want to be her friend.

Around her, the gym’s locker room was coming to life. Fellow trainers changing into exercise gear for appointments with clients. Early gym comers heading off to the showers for a rinse off. People talking and sipping coffee and slamming locker doors with aplomb. But Garnet was immobile on the bench, her entire world contained in the little screen sitting in the palm of her hand.

She was conflicted, and conflicted wasn’t exactly a feeling she experienced very often.

It was unpleasant to say the least.

Like a fist nurtured into her stomach over and over and over again.

On one hand—one of the fists churning her stomach in nauseating ways—the memories and the rage and the rage those memories roared into existence tore through her overwhelmed head like fire in a forest. She saw Rose Quartz standing on a box in front of the D.E. building, the force and passion in her words inspiring disgruntled workers to join her in protest. Saw her own hands wrapped around a sign that screamed for FAIR WAGES as her hoarse voice did the same. Garnet’s own mothers, Ruby and Sapphire, had worked in one of D.E.’s factories overseas before they’d come to America.

They were the reasons she had taken up Rose’s banner in the first place.

Ruby’s calloused hands testified to cruel work—the kind of stuff that may have broken a lesser person—and Sapphire’s strained silence about those years spoke volumes where she could not.

Whenever they saw Yellow Diamond on TV, they would immediately blanch and grasp hands, as though they were afraid that she would reach through the screen and wrench them apart.

On the other hand—Garnet gritted her teeth to make this concession—Yellow Diamond was her demon. Hers and her parents’ and Rose’s and Amethyst’s and Pearl’s.

Not Steven’s.

She wanted him to inherit so many things from her—some wondrous and some wise.

Love and light and patience and perseverance.

But not hate.

Never hate.

Garnet threw her towel around her neck and stood up with a sigh that reached into her bones and shook them for good measure.

Garnet: okay… i love you steven. <3

Steven: I love you too Garnet. <3

Monday, 9:12 AM

Amethyst:

Pearl: You’re not driving, correct?! If so, please put your phone down immediately!

Pearl: If not, very cute.

Amethyst: chillllllllax P

Amethyst: ste-man is getting a snack from the gas station. we’re about an hr out from empire city

Garnet: :)

Pearl: Excellent timing, Amethyst!

Pearl: Remember, his appointment starts at 12, so that should give you plenty enough time to check into the hotel and get situated there.

Pearl: I’ve put the reservations under your name.

Pearl: You have the debit card, right?

Pearl: Oh, goodness. I think I forgot to pack M.C. Bear Bear.

Garnet: i handled it.

Amethyst: haha - nice save G

Garnet: B)

Garnet: i’m psychic

One of the double doors leading out from the gas station was pushed open with a lethargic kind of energy, and Amethyst, who had been leaning against the hood of her car, looked up from her phone to see that the wimpy gesture belonged to none other than her little buddy, her Steven. He closed the door carefully with his weak hand, nurturing a bag of Chaps in the other, and then, without so much as glancing her way, trudged right past her to the passenger side of the car, pulled the door open, and barreled in.

The door didn’t slam to a close so much as it did feebly stutter to one.

Well, that was a huge yikes.

Not waiting to give him time to stew in his feelings, Amethyst pocketed her phone and proceeded to the driver’s side, pulling her seatbelt across her chest and cranking the ignition to her little Honda Civic in one, fluid motion.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Steven was looking at the bag of chips clenched in his hand, but there was something in his expression—something unfocused, something glazed—that told her that he wasn’t quite seeing what he was seeing.

She pulled out of the parking lot and tried to keep her voice as casual as possible. “You okay, little dude?”

He wasn’t. Obviously. But it didn’t hurt to ask.

She knew Steven well enough to know that he’d rather drown in the ocean ten times over rather than share his feelings.

But she also knew that once he started talking through them, like the ocean, they’d flow.

“Yeah… just got a little dizzy when I was standing in line for the register.” He laughed humorlessly, the bag in his hand crinkling in a way that told her that he’d squeezed it tightly. “But I guess that’s just a occupational hazard of this whole dying business.”

They were on the highway now, Jersey speeding past them in a blur of green and gray and black. Amethyst’s fingers choked the wheel.

“You’re not dying, Steven,” she gritted out, trying to see straight. The edges of her vision bursted with red, and all she wanted to do was pull over and slam the kid into a freaking hug. “Get that outta your head.”

“I know, I know.” He rested his elbow on the door’s control panel and leaned his head against the window. She couldn’t see his eyes, but their reflections were dark with trees. Perhaps they were just dark all over. “Just joking.”

Amethyst took one hand off the wheel and squeezed his free one. His skin was clammy and cold to touch.

“You’re not, but that was a good try, Ste-man.”

“What can I say?” He laughed again, and at least this one had a little more body to it. “I’m a virtuoso at using dark humor to cope with my crippling depression.”

And he meant it to be funny.

Meant it to be ironic.

But she wasn’t having it.

“You don’t have to be, though,” she told him, as serious as she could be. “Not with me anyway”

And he turned to look at her, his dark eyes widening in something that may have have just been awe.

She blushed furiously but blustered on anyway because dammit, this kid needed this talk, like, yesterday.

“I mean, I know you front with everyone else, but, like, you don’t have to do that when you’re around me, okay?” Amethyst’s grip tightened on his hand. “I get not wanting to talk about it. I get desperately needing to talk about it. I get you, Steven.”

Because they were alike, him and her.

They had issues, and they tried not to think about those issues and only ended up thinking about them all the more.

It was a cycle she knew well.

She wished Steven didn’t have to.

He didn’t answer immediately. Amethyst withdrew her hand and replaced it on the wheel, driving in silence for as long as the silence stretched thin between them.

She felt his gaze upon her.

Felt the intensity of it, the sadness.

“I just… I just feel so bad, Amethyst,” he whispered. “All the time.”

Amethyst wanted to melt into her seat. A lump rose to her throat.

“I know, buddy.”

“I’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel good.” His voice was fragile—not in the way glass was fragile, but in the way a dandelion was. One puff, and then it was gone.

“I know.”

She heard a sniffing sound.

A surreptitious swipe of the nose.

Amethyst knew better than to look his way.

Monday, 11:31 AM

Amethyst: heyyyy greg. steven and i made it to e city. bout to drive to the hospital.

Greg: Thanks for the update!

Amethyst: yah. np.

Greg: uh, what does that mean ??

Amethyst: no problem

Greg: i didn’t thank you for anything?? ?

Monday, 4:38 PM

Amethyst: sorry for not answering ur calls. just got back to the hotel. steven’s asleep. gonna have to text.

Greg: He’s asleep? already?

Pearl: What did Dr. Maheswaran say?

Amethyst: yeah poor kid’s worn out

Amethyst: she’s not happy w/ his blood count. she says his hemoglobin is low. if it doesn’t get better by the end of the week she might do a blood transfusion

Amethyst: 4 days of dialysis this week instead of 3

Amethyst: steven’s not happy :/

Pearl: That’s it. We’re coming up there immediately.

Amethyst: no!

Amethyst: i mean, not that i don’t want you guys to be here, but u guys can’t afford to take any more time off work

Amethyst: and we’ve got bills ’n stuff to pay

Amethyst: not 2 mention the new iron pill dr. m prescribed

Amethyst: like - i’ve got this

Pearl: Garnet? Greg? What do you think?

Garnet: amethyst is right.

Greg: i mean yeah… I’m not happy about it, but she’s got a point.

Pearl: Okay… but if things get worse, we’re coming up there. Alright?

Amethyst: k

She’d drawn the curtains to make it darker in the room, but even still, a crack of blue light slipped in through the gap, illuminating Steven’s sleeping form. He was curled up under the blankets, which obscured most of his face.

His little button nose poked out.

His closed eyes fluttered restlessly.

Amethyst wondered if he was dreaming.

And if he was, she hoped that it was a good one.

Because frankly, reality sucked.

While Steven had been changing from the hospital gown to his regular clothes, Dr. Maheswaran had pulled her aside and given her a haughty once over that let Amethyst know at once that the doctor wished she were Pearl, who, out of Steven’s four parental figures had the best grasp of all the medical jargon.

“He’s needs a new kidney, and he needs it soon,” Dr. Maheswaran said. No sugarcoating. No bull. She didn’t have the best bedside manners per say, but the nephrologist would tell it to you straight, and that was what mattered most to Amethyst.

“Then find him one, Doc.”

“I’m trying,” she frowned, and the lines under her brown eyes became all the more pronounced. “But kidneys are a tall, damn order.”

Monday, 4:48 PM:

Greg: love ya champ

Greg: i’m so proud of you

Monday, 5:01 PM:

Pearl: Call me when you get up! Love you, Steven. <3

Monday, 5:09 PM:

Garnet: <3

Tuesday, 10:32 AM:

Amethyst: picked up steven’s prescription

Amethyst: we’re @ breakfast

Pearl: How much was the copay?

Amethyst: only like $10

Pearl: :) I’ll add that to my ledger.

Amethyst: neeeeeeerdddd alert

Pearl: This ‘nerd’ does your taxes for you every year.

Amethyst: and i appreciate tht but that doesn’t make u any less of a nerd

“Gosh, I was hungry,” Steven said around a mouthful of waffles. He already had his next bite queued up on his fork, and a trace of syrup dripped down the corner of his mouth.

Amethyst was hella relieved to see that his appetite had returned; last night, he’d stayed passed out until 3AM, and when he woke up, she could only get him to nibble on a couple of crackers.

“Bet,” she replied, chomping down hard on a piece of syrup covered bacon, savoring more than just its taste. The sweetness was good, but seeing Steven in a good mood made it even sweeter.

“Who were ya texting?”

“Pearl. She was being lame and trying to talk to me about math.”

Steven chuckled. “You should try being homeschooled by her.”

He squared his blocky shoulders and clasped his hands behind his back, two actions which resulted in an uncanny physical impression of their dear Pearl.

“Now Steven,” he mimicked in a high, lofty voice, “you can’t just move the x around like that. There’s a certain finesse to it. A technique. Here, let me do it.” He lowered his voice back to its normal pitch. “And then she starts talking about how my mom was great at solving division problems or something like that.”

Amethyst’s eyes were streaming. She banged her fists on the table, drawing a nasty look from a passing waitress.

“You’re a riot, Steven.”

“Thank ya!” He grinned.

When their meal came to a close—and it only did after they’d each slammed a couple of more waffles—Steven swirled the quarter of orange juice he had left in his glass, and Amethyst pulled out his ever-expanding pillbox from her bag.

Red pills.

Blue pills.

Iron pills.

Diuretics.

And by God, they were all big enough to be choking hazards.

“Ugh, Steven,” she muttered, her nose wrinkling in disgust. “I dunno how you do this everyday.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one,” he replied cheerfully, accepting her offering of his Tuesday pills. “I totally dissociate.”

“Solid, dude.”

Steven downed the pills one by one, chasing them with vigorous swills of juice.

“Tell me about it,” he gasped when he was done, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

They had another hour or so to kill before Steven had to return to the hospital for his treatment, so they took to walking down one of Empire City’s lesser known shopping districts. From time to time, they’d rest on a bench until Steven could catch his shortened breath.

It was during one of these breaks when the little bugger finally breached the topic of conversation she’d been crossing her fingers to avoid.

“If I don’t end up having to get a transfusion,” he began thoughtfully, head angled backwards so he could stare up at all the high rises poking into the sky, “I think I wanna text Blue Diamond soon. Visit her while I’m here, maybe.”

“Maybe…” She hesitated, and Steven was quick to snap up on it.

“Amethyst, I love you, but if you give me the same, old spiel on why I shouldn’t visit Blue, I’m gonna walk away.” She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. His voice was playful, but his eyes were grim, and his mouth was pressed into a thin, determined line.

“You’re sure bent on doing this, huh?”

“Very bent,” he agreed succinctly, nodding with dramatic precision before adding, “Super bent.”

Because there was obviously a discernible difference between super bent and very bent.

Amethyst scratched her neck and sighed.

“If the doc gives you the go ahead, then text her,” she told him grudgingly. “I wasn’t a part of the team when all the big protests against Yellow D were going on, so I can’t tell you why you shouldn’t go.”

Pearl and Garnet seemed to have plenty of reasons, though.

“Thanks, Amethyst!”

“No big deal, dude.”

Their little bench was an island in the stream—solitary, stable, even with so many people flooding around it. Amethyst did as Steven was doing and tilted her head back to drink in the panorama from above, appreciative of the cool breeze that slid across her face and stirred her long hair. Her eyes closed against the bright, golden sun.

“I was doing some research,” Steven said, and he was very quiet. Melancholy.

Amethyst opened one eye to look at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His hands were clasped neatly on his lap, his solemn gaze still offered to the heavens.

“A couple of years back, there was an awful murder that took place outside of a bar somewhere in this city.” He paused. “The details were too… gruesome, I guess, for the article to talk about. She was only twenty-one.”

She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Dark stuff you’re reading there, kid.”

His shoulder rose and fell in a half-shrug.

“It was a dark thing that happened.”

Tuesday, 4:29 PM

Steven: Hey guys! Just got out of treatment.

Greg: how was it kiddo?

Steven: Better than yesterday. We’re heading to the hotel.

Pearl: I’m so glad, Steven!

Garnet: !!!

Steven: Thanks! Love you all.

Amethyst read the texts in the group chat while Steven was hung over the toilet, puking his little guts out.

Insistent that Amethyst stay out of the bathroom until he was done.

She rapped on the door anyway, unsure if he heard her over the sound of his own violent retching.

Dialysis naturally had the effect of making him nauseous, but nausea was also a side effect of the new iron pills he was taking, so really, the odds were just not in Steven’s favor today.

“You okay in there?”

“I feel like the answer to that question”—he paused to gag—“is very obvious.”

Asshole, she thought fondly and barged into the bathroom. Kid needed a Sprite, a cold rag to the forehead, and a nice, little trip to bed.

“Amethyst—“ He whined, lifting his head feebly from the commode. The traces of throw up were edged along the corner of his mouth.

“Shut up, Steven, and let me love you.”

She grabbed a washcloth from the counter and turned on the faucet, the loud hissing noise just not loud enough to mask what was surely another round of vomit.

Wednesday, 3:22 PM

Amethyst: STEEEEVEEENNNN’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND

Pearl: What?!?!

Garnet: nice.

Greg: way 2 go champ!

Amethyst: asgdshafl

Amethyst: so dr. m’s daughter came in today to read to patients and like she and steven rlly hit it off

Amethyst: her name is Connie

Amethyst: and i’m calling it now. their ship name is stevonnie

Pearl: I think I’m experiencing premature empty nest syndrome.

Amethyst: ya’ve got the nose for it

Pearl: Rude.

Amethyst: but anyway his treatment’s almost done and dr. m says his blood count’s looking better

Amethyst: no transfusion!

Pearl: Thank goodness.

Greg: ugh I agree

Garnet: Woo.

Amethyst: and he’s happy today

Amethyst glanced up from her phone to confirm what she was telling the others.

“Buuuuuuut Connnnnnnie, you can’t just leave it on a cliffhanger!” Steven was pleading, fingers mussed through his dark, curly hair in exasperation. “Like, Lisa is literally hanging from a cliff. I need to know what happens!”

“Okay, okay!” The dark-skinned girl pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up on the bridge of her nose. “One more paragraph… Mom’s about to unhook you from the machine, though.”

Dr. Maheswaran waved her off with a dismissive flick of the hand. “One more paragraph would be fine.”

“Yes ma’am!” She re-buried her nose into the thick book. “Lisa’s hand was slick with sweat as Archimedes…”

Steven leaned forward expectantly, hand tucked under his chin, M.C. Bear Bear clutched tightly to his chest right next to his dialysis catheter and all of the tubing involved.

And he was smiling like a fool.

Like a kid.

Amethyst: he’s rlly happy

Wednesday, 7:41 PM

Steven: Hi Blue… this is Steven.

Steven: That cute kid from the cemetery. :)

Blue: Hello, Steven. It’s so very nice to hear from you. How are you?

Steven: Could be better. Could be worse. You?

Blue: Ah, likewise.

Steven: I was texting to say that I’ll be in Empire City for the better part of the week, and I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer of coming to visit, maybe?

Blue: Of course—I would love that.

Blue: When would be the best day for you?

Steven: Friday would be great if that’s ok with you.

Blue: Friday would be perfect. 1:00? We could do tea and cakes.

Steven: Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Blue: Friday it is then. I can’t wait to see you again, Steven.

Steven: I can’t wait to see you too.

Blue set her phone down on the bathroom counter, and twenty sleeping pills slipped between her tall fingers and back into the bottle.

It’d been a bad day.

She wouldn’t have done it…

She hadn’t been going to…

She had just been thinking.

It had been a bad day, and then Steven had texted.

“Well, I’m home for the night.” Startled, Blue looked up in the mirror to see her wife leaning in the doorframe—arms crossed, a permanent frown carved into her striking face. “Stocks are down, and my investors are running for the hills. It’s a hellhole. I’m in literal hell.”

Yellow detached herself from the door and drew closer. The tips of their fingers brushed ever so slightly, ever so softly.

And that was about as physically affectionate as they got nowadays.

“How was your day?” Her voice sharpened at the end. “I see you’re still in your nightgown.”

“It was fine, Yellow.” It absolutely was not.

Blue gripped the edge of the sink to keep her hands from shaking, determined not to glance at the pill bottle she’d been holding just moments before.

“Are you sure? I could call the doctor right now. Check the dosage on your antidepressant, perhaps?”

“Oh, yes,” she muttered venomously, more to herself than Yellow, but she supposed she didn’t care enough if Yellow heard it, too, “because that’s exactly what I need. An upped dosage.”

That seemed to be Yellow’s only reliable solution when it came to fixing her.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing,” Blue bit out. “Nothing at all.”

And she pushed off from the sink, impelled by dull anger, her shoulder roughly knocking against Yellow’s as she went.

Her hand slammed against the light switch before she exited the doorway, and it did her a great deal of good to submerge Yellow Diamond into total darkness.

#steven universe #blue diamond #pearl #amethyst #garnet #yellow diamond #a little bit of #bellow diamond #flower child #s: steven universe #mimik-u #reginianwrites

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ireadwhatuwrite · 3 years

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(via Series Spotlight: Love will OUT by D.E. Haggerty)

Out this month is the latest book in the Love will OUT series by D.E. Haggerty. It is a romantic comedy series about a group of friends who work together at the PI firm “You Cheat, We Eat”. They have each been burned by love and fully intend to avoid it at all costs, but that doesn’t stop them from pushing romance on each other with often hilarious results. Central to the story is McGraw’s Pub and the group of irascible, but lovable former army buddies who have adopted the ladies and their men. They are quick with a dirty joke or to butt into private lives, yet they are also fiercely protective.

#romance romanticcomedy

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crypticallydreaming · 6 years

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Mirror image phantasms

(No I don’t edit when I’m not feeling super, tough shit.) Maize reached for her phone, hazel eyes scanning over the screen with that kind of blank-ness when she was in an emotional decline. Hitting randomize for the playlist, it began one of her newfound favorite songs, Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode. '̥̫̟̝͖̱͕Ỳ͈̭̜̣͔̣o̙̬̙̙̦̫̘u̲͔̠'r͏̙e̞̬̺̩̰͈ d͈͓͢ǫ̺͔̺̩͙͍͚in̸̞g̣̩ ͅi̮͖͓ṱ͖̯͎ ̢̥a̛͕̰͓̬̼g̙̻̼a̳̖̱i̸̗̪̹̱̮ͅn̟͈͈͖̼͘.͉͓̥͡ “Shut up.” '͙͈̟ͫ̃̔̽ͬ͝Ļ͍͔̘̬̠̩͋͊̉o̗̟ͧͅo̔͐̌̇́̋k̼̼̳̱͔̙̙ͦͣ̄́͋̈͡ ̟̮̼̥͐͛ͫ̆͂à͚͑̇ͬͨ͠t̤͚̪̪̜̻̦̀ͤ͗́ ̓҉̻̗̻̦y̪̦̠̮̼o̭̬̻͇̦̖̘͞u̬̝̘ͭ̄̍́,͇̜̬̆̄ͦͯͮ̓̃͟ ̑̄͑̏͆̌̉yo̷͍͉̝̻͙̬ͥ̀̔̋̚u'̭̙̰͓̘̀ͫ̌̃͡ͅr̗̘̻̟̅̿̏̓̒eͥ͜ ̧̯̽̾͒͊̏͗a͉͓ ̸̞̞͕̰̳̳̑̔w̵̤͇̖̫̬͗ŗ̭̖͈̭̋ͯ͗̂͊͗̚ec̦͖̖̗ḳ͉̝ͧ̊̆'̨͓͇̹ “I said shut up. Just having a rough night.” Maize blinked slowly, pushing the noise, the one thing trying to stop her from doing it again out of her mind. Standing from her bed, she went to her bathroom, leaning on the counter as baggy eyes scanned her reflection. Freckles, green milky glassy eyes, frostbitten nose and lips, snow in long brownish hair. The sight haunted her, the lack of color in the cheeks, the blue lips. It was her sister as she last saw her, the image that burned into her mind was refreshed with the fucked image in the mirror. Screaming when it registered she shoved herself away from the mirror, forcing herself to part with the image, and incidentally hitting the back wall. Head and back slamming into the peeling yellow wall as she fell to linoleum floors, heart fluttering and air catching in her throat. Scrambling to get to the door, she could still feel the nonexistent eyes staring into her. She needed to get away, to get out of that bathroom and away from that nightmarish image that had manifested as her reflection. crawling on her hands and knees in her panicked state, she reached for her bed, only looking up to be greeted by the same face, emaciated body clothed in filthy singed cotton nightgown. Screaming maize released the bed’s leg now turned icy ankle and threw herself away from the apparition of the child. “M̩͎̓̊̓̆͗̀͒a̸͕̯̝͇̫͚̥i̪͖̝̦̟͐̅͂ͬ̌̑̂͞z͔͚̦͇̪̼͓̀ë̜̩̼̗͙́̃̐̍͂ͨ.̯ͪ ...“ Her back hit the wall behind her, glancing to the open door to what was a snowy, cold, dark forest. There was shouting in the distance, the barking of dogs and the flashing of lights as vague forms moved within that forest. No longer was she in her bedroom, pressed against the wall, but inside that rotting log, the smell of fire and decomposition in her nose, looking down to the newfound, cold weight in her arms. Her sisters corpse, staring up blankly with halflidded, milky green eyes and stiff limbs. Finally the woman broke down, sobbing, screaming, howling apologies, begging for forgiveness. “No, no please stop it! I’m sorry I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t save you and I’m sorry!!! Just leave me alone Marilla! I didn’t ask for this I- I couldn’t save you and I’m sorry!!!” Squeezing her eyes shut, she collapsed back against the log, and woke in a cold sweat, tears running down her face, hiccuping and throat sore. Blinking she rolled over to grab the pillow at her side, holding onto it and sobbing into the fabric that had been stained with those same tears many times over. The sun hadn’t even come up, and the same song as in the dream had began to finish. The auburn haired girl sat there, holding that pillow and trembling, muttering ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘leave me alone’ over and over. Only until the realization that light was coming through the window did she finally let it go, weakly reaching over for her phone and typing out to one of her buddies. C.D.:: ‘Had another nightmare...’ D.E.:: ‘Was it the same one as last time?’

C.D. Is Typing... C.D.:: ‘...I don’t want to talk about it, can we go to wafflehouse? I need to get out of here...’ D.E.:: ‘Yeah, let me get ready and I’ll meet you there.’

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getawayklaire · 7 years

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Hello Puddings 💜 Happy release day to @misterkristoff and @therealsjmaas for Godsgrave and Tower of Dawn. These are two of my most anticipated reads of September so today is a very good day! Aaaand tonight I start buddy reading Godsgrave with @_mauy ! Bring on the pain! 😍 🐾 #jayjaysconstantfaerytalesseptember Tower of Dawn - ToG Love #fanaticalbirdsept Sarah J Maas 🐾 📝#animalsandbooks by @honeydukesbooks @virgithebookdragon 🐨KOALA, book that makes you feel emotional and cuddly: Kings Rising by C.S Pacat 🐯 TIGER, book that is ferocious: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff 🐼 PANDA BEAR, book that is massive: A Dance of Dragons by George RR Martin 🐦 SPARROW, book that is light and cheery: The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night 🐺 WOLF, book series you loved: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas 🐴 HORSE, standalone book you loved: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 🐾 🐾 #jamestrevinorepost #bookstagram #instabook #bookphotography #bookaddict #bookreader #bibliophile #bookish #bookworm #acourtoffeatures #igreads #bookstagramfeature #bookishfeatures #bookstafeatures #bookfeatured #bookdragon #sarahjmaas #throneofglass #crownofmidnight #heiroffire #queenofshadows #empireofstorms #towerofdawn

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beyondforks · 7 years

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Tour: A Review & Excerpt of Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty

Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty Genre: Adult (Contemporary Romance) Date Published: May 1, 2017 Publisher: Self

I’m a total mess. My boyfriend dumped me – get this – because I diet too much. Not because I’m fat, mind you. Of course, this spurs me into the diet-fitness-revenge-plan of the century, which leads me to the gym and a scorching hot personal trainer. I even manage to make some cool new friends, including a millionaire if you can believe it. Things are looking up! Naturally, that’s the moment my ex decides he wants me back, the personal trainer asks me out, and my millionaire male buddy decides to throw his hat in the ring. But that’s not enough drama. No, not for me. Because I’ve also lost my job and decided to start my own business. Just call me Ms. Drama.

Warning: Bad language, bumpy roads, and embarrassing moments ahead. But there’s also more than a bit of romance and even, if we’re lucky, love. Fingers crossed.

Not endorsed by or affiliated with any brand of tequila.

Fat Girl Begone by D.E. Haggerty was a cute and funny story about a woman who has so many things going for her, but doesn't have the self esteem to back it up. Everly has allowed her long time boyfriend to let her feel worthless for far too long, but she doesn't even realize it yet. So, when he dumps her, she feels like the world has ended. Fortunately, she has kept her sense of humor through it all. I thought Everly was from England at first, because there were a few British slang words thrown, but the story seemed to take place in America, so I'm not sure where it actually took place. No biggie though. I think the words are fun, so I didn't mind. I enjoyed Everly's adventures and misadventures as she found herself with the help of friends and working out. My biggest gripe was, the dialog didn't always feel natural. The characters all had these words that they'd continuously use, and it got distracting. For example, one of Everly's friends addressed people as "Bitches" all the time. I mean ALL the time. Another, addressed people as "Chica" every time she spoke as well. There were more. It was like each character had their own word they used to address others, and they used it pretty much every time they spoke. This felt awkward, because people don't naturally talk like that in every single conversation. But, back to the story. It was definitely entertaining, and I enjoyed watching Everly's confidence in herself grow. She's quirky and fun, and I love that. It was also empowering, as she is a character that most woman can relate to in many ways.

Fat Girl Begone! by D.E. Haggerty was kindly provided to me by Reading Addiction Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

“You should totally jump that, chica.” It’s Monday, and I’ve just survived another Zumba class. I only hit Tara once. Okay, twice, but who’s counting? I’m still trying to catch my breath and stop my heart from jumping out of my ribcage. None of which stops me from panting after my personal trainer. Before I get a chance to respond to her comment or tear my eyes away from Gabe’s epic ass, the rest of the gang joins Tara and me. “What are you bitches yapping about?” Oh great, Charise didn’t just say that at maximum volume or anything. “Everly taking her personal trainer for a ride.” Oh my god. Please tell me no one else heard Tara announce that I’m lusting after Gabe. I hear giggles and murmurs of agreement from the other exercisers exiting the group exercise room. Of course, everyone heard. Charise, Tara, Naomi, and Jessie have one volume – embarrassingly loud. I ignore them and head to the locker rooms with my head down. Of course, I can’t help but sneak another glance at Gabe. He’s doing squats for God’s sake! I defy any woman – or man for that matter – to not look. I keep my eyes glued to those glutes as I walk in the opposite direction. My foot hits something and before I know it I’m going down. I end up sprawled on the floor of the gym. I look down at my outfit and sigh in relief. Good. No rolls of fat are showing. Thankfully, I had put a long sweatshirt on over the loose tank I was wearing during class. A hand appears in front of my face. “Let me help you up, babe.” I look up to see yet another example of male perfection. Does this gym have a portal to Mount Olympus for the Greek Gods to come and go as they please? Because damn. This is one fine specimen of manhood in front of me. “Babe?” His voice startles me out of my perusal of his perfection. I reach out and he grabs my hand to pull me up. Only he doesn’t stop there. He pulls me flush to his body and then leans down to whisper in my ear. “It’s okay, babe. Happens all the time when girls look at me.” And crash. There goes my adulation of the man. I knew there was a reason no one believes in the Greek Gods anymore. Vanity is not attractive. I pull on my hand until he releases me. “Thanks.” “You okay, sweetheart?” As if I couldn’t be embarrassed enough, now Gabe’s here. “I’m fine. Just wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see the former Greek God puff out his chest as if I had paid him a compliment. I can’t help it. My eyes narrow at him, and I attempt to engage my eye lasers. Just like the two gazillion other times I’ve tried to use those lasers, they malfunction. Gabe ignores the entire episode. “You here to do your exercise class?” “Nope.” I shake my head. “I just put on some workout clothes and then ducked my head under the faucet to get my face and hair wet.” My personal trainer laughs and grabs my shoulder to give it a squeeze. Why is he squeezing my shoulder? “You’re funny, sweetheart.” I wasn’t going for funny but whatever. Someone shouts ‘Gabe’ from the other side of the gym. I look over to see the blond bimbo he was training staring daggers at me. Gabe squeezes my shoulder again. “Sorry, sweetheart, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you Wednesday, right?” I nod, and he winks before walking off. “Looks like I’m not needed here.” I forgot Mr. Vanity was still standing here. I don’t bother responding to his obvious pout. I shake my head and walk to the locker rooms.

I grew-up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before deciding to follow the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book. Fat girl Begone! is my eleventh book. To learn more about D.E. Haggerty and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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#Fat Girl Begone!#d.e. haggerty #adult fiction #romance #contemporary romance #book review #excerpt #Teaser #book tour #Blog Tour

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daisyckinguk · 7 years

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17 People Making Way More Money After Leaving Finance for Start-Ups

These entrepreneurs are showing that occasionally Wall-Street may be the incorrect spot to create lender.

You receive employment on Wallstreet if you like to create a fortune. If you like to create much more cash, you may eliminate that Wall-Street work to begin with-up. It’snot a lifetime career route that calculates for everybody. However for instance, for the creators of Amazon and Wikipedia, ditching fund for technology was an option that is smart. — Alyson Shontell this short article initially appeared on Company Expert.

Kushner labored for Goldman Sachs and finished from Harvard. Following a brief stint there he quit to follow a lifetime career in investment capital. Prosper Money, their company, has committed to startups such as for example Makerbot, and NastyGal Instagram. He also lately collected $40-million to begin a brand new medical health insurance business, Oscar.

Von Tobel started her career where the rates increased up to be always a broker. She quit to go to Harvard Business College, subsequently slipped out to discovered LearnVest. LearnVest has increased significantly more than $40-million to handle a problem that was important: there must be experts and economic coordinators readily available for the center course, particularly with this type of high-percentage of the populace with debt. Tobel appears nicely situated to wash up like a technology creator, although LearnVest may succeed stays to become observed.

Belsky has become an angel entrepreneur in businesses like Pinterest together with his own start up achievement. He offered a website to Adobe for $150 thousand, for developers, Behance this past year. For Goldman Sachs, Belsky labored just before Behance. He advised Company Expert about his choice to depart Wall-Street to begin with-up. “I thought I would simply turn into a middle supervisor residing an existence that was great, although not doing anything remarkable. I found genuinely believe that undertaking anything remarkable is never accomplished through means that was regular. I recall that second at Goldman where I thought I ought to depart and begin anything. That was discussed by me with acquaintances plus they believed I had been insane. I acquired assurance from being questioned.”

Bob Altcheck quit Goldman Sachs to discovered PolicyMic in 2011. He is removed onto increase significantly more than $1.5 thousand and his group of 1 dozen is pulling over 6 thousand monthly special visitors in. Delinquent allies who create logical tales about demanding problems, politics write mostly PolicyMic.

Yacobovsky labored for that same investment-bank, then and Jain attended Harvard Business College together. There, they came the way in which Sephora is for makeup with the concept to become an internet location for stunning, inexpensive jewelry, up. However it was not a simple choice to give fund for BaubleBar up. “We were only at that crossroad,” Yacobovsky informs Inc. “we’re able to consider this really safe street we’d prepared, or we’re able to become entrepreneurs and change this task right into a genuine company. We chose in to the start up globe to plunge.”

Marc Katz was a fiscal expert on Wallstreet before he started a web-based clothing store that creates significantly more than $70 thousand in yearly revenue, CustomInk. The company that is lucrative utilizes over 250 folks Virginia headquarters, from its McLean. Among the first traders of Katz was his dad, a-3-period businessman, who did not believe his boy had a good idea. “I told him I believed it had been a dreadful concept,” Steve Katz shows Forbes. “Promoting t shirts on the internet, I simply did not observe how you differentiate oneself, therefore it will be a competition towards the base when it comes to cost. … It is incredible that which you may do having an average concept very well performed.”

Capel had numerous gigs, including one like an advisor to Stanley before he began his customized e-mail Sailthru, and online information suggestion organization. 270% increased year that was last and almost $30 thousand has been elevated by it up to now.

After he graduated from Princeton Bezos worked like a computer researcher on Wall-Street. He then went to Lenders Trust wherever he turned its president, and to an organization named Fidel. Next, he turned SVP D.E, in a fund. Shaw Co. He dabbled just before Amazon in entrepreneurship. He almost produced a-by- for instance, company using the founding father of CNET. D.E. Before he produced a web-based guide store which kept the majority of its meetings Noble Shaw was Bezos stint in fund. Bezos is invested through Bezos Trips in Company Expert.

Pincus’ profession started like a fiscal expert for Freres Co. He was one for Money and then turned a VP of Asian Partners in Hongkong. Zynga was Pincus’ organization that is next. It had been started in 2007.

While operating being an investment bank, Craig Silbert got his concept for SecondMarket, a for assets. He informs Inc. about founding SecondMarket: “I had been an investment banker for around 5 ½ decades, focusing on troubled kind of circumstances like bankruptcies, such things as that, and I had been a bored investment bank. I would been carrying it out for some time and also the concept for to produce this market truly type of arrived of the large amount of the offers I was focusing on wherever I continued viewing circumstances where there is a fluid resources being kept by clients or customers that people had who required liquidity. It had been surprising in my experience that there is no body spot where you can visit, an eBay-like market, to market these belongings. Therefore I determined that I went to depart the large income to investment-banking and move the chop. I type of thought I start to become bank again and possibly could usually move back and I never looked.”

The inventor of Wikipedia, Wales, did not start his career but he was a monetary qualified. He began in choices investing company and a potential, Detroit Choices Affiliates. Listed here is how Wikipedia explains his move to entrepreneurship: “Impressed from the amazing preliminary community giving of Netscape in 1995, and having gathered money through ‘betting on interest rate and foreign currency imbalances,’ he chose to depart the world of monetary trading and turned an Internet businessman.” Their first enterprise was a ” search website” full Bomis, of feminine pictures. He utilized money to start the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Gold Lake Companions were worked for by John Leahy then Brothers Harriman. Merrill Lynch was labored for by their buddy Dan McKean. The set produced cafe discount person Town Vines, which lifted $4-million from traders like Salesforceis Paul Lazerow and joined up last year. It had been renamed in as well as Savored 2012 where McKean has become a broad director.

Vidisheva, boss of Shoptiques Dunn, boss of Bonobos Cromer, boss of AdCade Gardner, Founding Father Of Produce The Team; Soyoola and Andrew Pickens, creators of Jamplify.

The post 17 People Making Way More Money After Leaving Finance for Start-Ups appeared first on txt 4 coins.

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