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thehermitbear · 4 years

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I was tagged by @actualsunflower ❤❤❤

Name? ➔ “Gabriel Jimenez. My friends call me Gabe, Gabby, or General.”

Are you single? ➔ “Nah. Put a ring on Preston as soon as it felt right.”

Are you happy? ➔ “Very. I made the Commonwealth the safest region on the East coast. Turns out a little military training goes a long way.”

Are you angry? ➔ “Only if you’re trying to fuck over people who ain’t done nothing wrong.”

Are your parents still married? ➔ “They were until my padre got sick working on an oil rig off the Gulf Coast. Chemical leak. Mama never remarried.”

NINE FACTS

Birthplace? ➔ “Laredo, Texas.”

Hair color? ➔ “Black, but Preston likes to pretend he’s counting how many grays I’m getting. I love when he calls me ‘old man’.”

Eye color? ➔ “Brown.”

Birthday? ➔ “January 11th.”

Mood? ➔ “Generally, I try to stay laid back when it comes to things I can’t change. Always try to look on the bright side, y’know, but I can come off as a bit of a stiff in today’s crowd. Two hundred years and anyone would stick out like a sore thumb.”

Gender? ➔ “100% Grade ‘A’ man. Pure beef. Okay, I lied. I have a dangler, but to be honest, it doesn’t matter to me what I am. I feel good in both fatigues and a dress so neither I guess. I am beefy though.”

Summer or winter? ➔ “Winter. People resort to cuddling me for warmth because I’m a natural hot-rock. Win-win situation.”

Morning or afternoon? ➔ “Morning. I feel like my garden is more awake then and I like to encourage the flowers and crops when they’re not napping.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

Are you in love? ➔ “Honestly, Piper? I think I found my soul-mate. Don’t get me wrong, my late wife Nora was amazing. I still think about her. Preston reminds me of her sometimes, especially when he scrunches his face up when I do something dumb, but he’s also a completely different person entirely. Half of me didn’t seem to wanna move on at first out of respect for Nora’s memory, but the other half just clicked with him the moment I met him. I think she would’ve liked him. He means everything to me now.”

Do you believe in love at first sight? ➔ “Happened to me twice now.”

Who ended your last relationship? ➔ “The mother-fucker who’s gun in hanging over my mantle place and collecting dust, right now. He thought he knew how shit worked, just like every other rotten sonofabitch I ran out of Boston. Thought because the world dealt him a shitty hand, that justified him shooting my wife in cold-blood. I don’t fuckin care what life did to you, the moment you take it out on someone who did you no wrong to you, you just completed the cycle and became as bad as the villain in your own story. It was no wonder that his life ended at the barrel of the 10mm pistol I’d named after her. l put her away when I’d gotten my skin, buried with my whip-smart, beautiful Nora and that’s when I really accepted I’d never see her again.”

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? ➔ “I used to be quit the heart-throb in my day, before the war. My face was on posters, I did public talks, felt like Elvis, y’know? My Army days are a bit of blur now, but I do regret saying I maybe flirted with one too many naive hopefuls.”

Are you afraid of commitments? ➔ “Not in the slightest. I love risk. Y’know, Nora was actually a government agent sent to keep an eye on me? Y’know, cause of the prototype super soldier stuff. She flirted and I dove head first. I took my time with Preston, though. It still feels like he’s out of my league and I didn’t wanna bother him with my baggage an matching luggage.”

Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “Piper, please. We made the ‘cuddle puddle formation’ just last night when we were watching Loony Tunes in my house. I’m pretty sure I hugged: You, Preston, Dogmeat, Codwsorth for a little bit before he got squirrelly, Deacon, my second dad Longfellow, Nick, Joe, Cait, Strong, Ada, Curie, my five other dogs Gracie, Mishka, Duke, Sophie, and Screwball, and those Brotherhood boys came over too. Bruce and Danse, I think? X-6 was busy and Porter doesn’t really cuddle. I don’t know, there might of been more there. Point is I hug, a lot. (Out of character: Bruce is another OC. More on him later?)

Have you ever had a secret admirer? ➔ “I used to be famous. Had tons of those I’m sure. If only they knew.”

Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “Oh yea, but that comes with life. It’s like a term I heard from a fellow squaddie. She called it ‘Kintsugi’. Means when I break and repair the damage, and I come out with a unique design.”

SIX CHOICES

Love or lust? ➔ “My other head gets the better of me most of the time, twice now that has led be down the path to love, so I guess both?”

Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Iced tea. Living in Texas, even during the pandemic, you could roll up to any joint and get a gallon of un-sweet delight for just sixteen bucks. Pretty cheap if you ask me.”

Cats or dogs? ➔ “Dogs. Preston has a cat, “Endicott’, and I try to be friendly with the feral creature but I swear it’s up to something. It just stares at me, menacingly.”

A few best friends or many regular friends? ➔ “I seem to make friends anywhere I go. Deacon says it’s because I have ‘charisma’ but I think my seven foot tall stature just makes people wanna be on my good side. Who knows?”

Wild night out or romantic night in? ➔ “Both. I make sure to mix it up with my ‘rey amor mio’”

Day or night? ➔ “Oddly enough, night-time in this new world is so beautiful. The stars are out, no air pollution, I have plenty of time to finish up my paperwork for the Minutemen in fucking peace. It’s quiet.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

Been caught sneaking out? ➔ “I would never...Okay that can be fact checked. Don’t include this okay, but yea, I sneak out from the Castle all the time. Gotta get away from Ronnie sometimes.”

Fallen down/up the stairs? ➔ “Never. I have the reflexes of a weasel... I think.”

Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “Yup.”

Wanted to disappear? ➔ “...Yea...Don’t wanna talk about it though.”

FOUR PREFERENCES

Smile or eyes? ➔ “Jeez. Can’t pick. Preston has both in spades. If he smiled at me an looked at me with those eyes I’d jump off a cliff at his command.”

Shorter or taller? ➔ “Doesn’t matter. Although, I’m seven feet tall so everyone’s shorter than me.”

Intelligence or attraction? ➔ “What?”

Hook-up or relationship? ➔ “I’ve done both. Preston is my choice.”

FAMILY

Do you and your family get along? ➔ “The Minutemen are my family. I try to make sure anyone who signs up for our lifestyle is known and compensated. Only had a few men go AWOL in the first few months, but most came after watching our progress. My closest friends are even closer. I would do anything for them.”

Would you say you have a “messed up life”? ➔ “Oh, definitely. I’m considered pre-war. That in itself it a fucked up term. I watched my padre die, joined the Army at sixteen, agreed to horrible experiments out of desperation, got my leg blown off in Anchorage, watched my wife die and my baby-boy kidnapped, and now I have to live in a world two hundred years older than the world I left behind when a fucking greedy, sadistic corporation called ‘Vault-Tec’ froze me. I’m still trying to get used to everything and probably won’t be able to ever feel at home ever again. Preston had to teach me a lot. That’s not even the short of it.”

Have you ever ran away from home? ➔ “One time when my older sister was arguing with my parents I got mad that no one was paying attention to me so I packed up my toys and made it a block before I got lost and started crying. Mama found me and I never ran away again.”

Have you ever gotten kicked out? ➔ “Feel like I got kicked out of the Army. I was supposed to be there big ticket to Anchorage, and I did win it back, but when they saw their ‘Super Soldier’ got his leg blasted off, they dropped me like a hot sack of shit. Still stings.”

FRIENDS

Do you secretly hate one of your friends? ➔ “They just need more love.”

Do you consider all of your friends good friends? ➔ “I have somehow managed to turn the Brotherhood to the Minutemen’s side. Long story. I met an Institute Courser and helped him with his personal issues. He’s my buddy now. Met a raider in Nuka-World during the Nuka-Siege, he’s currently in the Castle giving us counter-intel on raider tactics. I consider even the most unlikely of people I’ve met to be important friends. Not because they help, but because I hope the path I’ve offered them all is a road to peace and recovery.”

Who is your best friend? ➔ “Uh...Preston, Dogmeat, Codsworth, Gracie, Mishka, Sophie, Duke, Deacon, Longfellow, Hancock, Joe, Piper, Curie, Ada, Strong, Cait, Danse and Bruce, I guess, oh I forgot about X-6 and my crack-head dog Screwball. I would probably tell all of these people my secrets. Maybe.”

Who knows everything about you? ➔ “Preston, and no Piper, he won’t tell you nothing about the secret stash either, either.”

I tag anyone who wants in on the fun.

#fallout #fallout 4 #oc #tag

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strekkingur · 5 years

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A COMPLETE INTERVIEW OF MY MUSE TAGGED: @onceuponatroll

TAGGING:

(I don’t know who’s done this already so I’m just tagging people I want to interact with and want to meet my muse/know more about theirs-)

@holgerdanske @generading @soanlut @velhovinho @ehrendame @lysinord

NAME?

[He takes a seat for the interview, leaning lightly back in the wooden chair, arms crossed over his chest and long legs extended in front him on the floor, ankles crossed.]

“Eiríkur Sævarsson. Just Eiríkur’s fine. Don’t you dare pull the ‘Mr’ shit on me.”

ARE YOU SINGLE?

“Yeah.”

ARE YOU HAPPY?

“Satisfied, at least.”

ARE YOU ANGRY?

[He looks a bit angry, frowning.]

“Listen, I hate it when people think I’m mad all the time, so stop that. I’m not. It’s just my fucking face.”

NINE FACTS –

BIRTHPLACE?

“I can’t remember. Probably somewhere around Ísafjörður.”

HAIR COLOR

“White.”

EYE COLOR?

“People keep saying violet but they’re actually light blue. It’s a trick of the light.”

BIRTHDAY?

“Can’t remember the original one except that it was in the winter. I celebrate June 17th now because it was the birthday of someone important to me.”

MOOD?

“Eh, why do you care? Yesterday was dramatic, today’s okay, I guess.”

GENDER?

[A massive eye roll.]

“Guy.”

SUMMER OR WINTER?

“I’m not opposed to either.”

MORNING OR AFTERNOON?

“Morning. You get nothing done if you sleep past noon.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE? –

ARE YOU IN LOVE?

“..........No.” [You’re a bad liar, Eiríkur.]

DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?

“I dunno. Maybe.”

WHO ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP?

[His posture stiffens and he suddenly gives a fierce glare.]

“No-one did. She died.”

[It is obviously a sore subject.]

HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART?

“Sometimes you gotta.”

ARE YOU AFRAID OF COMMITMENTS?

“Not really.”

[He thinks over the question a bit more.]

“...Depends on what kind of commitment we’re talking about though.”

HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK?

“Do pets count?”

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SECRET ADMIRER?

“I dunno why anyone would want to admire me.”

HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN YOUR OWN HEART?

“....”

SIX CHOICES –

LOVE OR LUST?

“Love.”

LEMONADE OR ICED TEA?

“Lemonade. I hate tea.”

CATS OR DOGS?

“Horses.”

A FEW BEST FRIENDS OR MANY REGULAR FRIENDS?

“Who needs friends in the first--”

[He seems to change his mind in the middle of the thought.]

“...Fewer friends are better if they’re good ones.”

A WILD NIGHT OUT OR ROMANTIC NIGHT IN?

“I’m not that huge on the whole parties and people deal.”

DAY OR NIGHT?

“Daytime.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS –

BEEN CAUGHT SNEAKING OUT?

“Yeah. Lots of times.”

FALLEN DOWN/UP THE STAIRS?

“How much of an idiot do you take me.”

WANTED SOMETHING/SOMEONE SO BADLY IT HURT?

[He answers reluctantly, his voice a bit quieter.]

“Sure.”

WANTED TO DISAPPEAR?

“...Sometimes, yeah. But more the opposite. I was sick a lot when I was younger and they thought I’d die a few times. Somehow I’m still here.”

FOUR PREFERENCES –

SMILE OR EYES?

[He thinks it over for a long while.]

“Smile, I think. I like people who smile a lot.”

SHORTER OR TALLER?

“Shorter. I hate people towering over me.”

INTELLIGENCE OR ATTRACTION?

“Intelligence.”

HOOK-UP OR RELATIONSHIP?

“Relationship.”

FAMILY –

DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET ALONG?

“I guess, yeah. Apart from the one bastard.”

WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A “MESSED UP LIFE”?

“Nah. It’s better than it used to be now. Peaceful.”

HAVE YOU EVER RAN AWAY FROM HOME?

[He gives a short, amused huff.]

“Multiple times. I gave Danmörk some hell when I was a teenager.”

[You are still a teenager, Eiríkur.]

HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN KICKED OUT?

“No. I left on my own.”

FRIENDS –

DO YOU SECRETLY HATE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS?

[He looks honestly surprised someone would ask this.]

“No? ‘Course not.”

DO YOU CONSIDER ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS TO BE GOOD FRIENDS?

“If I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t hang out with them.”

WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND?

“Hmm. America or Liechtenstein.”

WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU?

“I don’t think anyone does. Most people don’t stick around for too long because I’m too difficult.”

[He acts like this doesn’t bother him at all. It does.]

“Are we done now? I need to go out.”

#inside me a storm reigns (ic)#many are difficult to see through (headcanons)#//I dunno how I should tag this

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alexandrawilbraham · 5 years

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Best of BBC First 2018 with a cheeky look at 2019

By Alexandra Wilbraham

First published in Dutch translation: https://www.bbcbenelux.com/blog/?article=bbc-first-benelux-best-of-18-19

Joy to the world and welcome to our round-up of BBC First’s best of 2018. Prepare to get festive as we celebrate a fantastic year of BBC series. Stick around to the end to find out what amazing new content you can look forward to in 2019.

So, pull on your Christmas jumper, the one you keep stashed away at the back of your wardrobe and pop on a Santa hat. Make yourself hot cocoa, go the whole hog and decorate your beverage with whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate shavings. Light some cinnamon candles and snuggle up on the sofa as we dive into the pile of presents this year had to give.

In the first month of 2018, the BBC gave to me! Well, it kind of works. January started with fireworks and a new series of Silent Witness. First broadcast in 1996, the series has seen many cast changes over the years. Series 21, however, saw the return of the amazing Emilia Fox as forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander. She and her dedicated team (Liz Carr, Richard Lintern, David Caves) work closely with the London police to solve a slew of mystifying murders. Sometimes the best witness is a dead one.

Travelling back in time, if I can remember where I parked the T.A.R.D.I.S., to London in the early 1960s, we were again joined by the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House convent. As they provide care to the expectant mothers of London’s East End, they find themselves tested both personally and professionally. Series 7 of Call the Midwife puts a bit of a downer on the festivities as we said goodbye to the beautiful Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie) whose grave, decorated with a red rose and toy carousel, we lingered on in the poignant final moments. However, with sadness comes joy and we saw both new and familiar faces appear at the convent. Leonie Elliot (Black Mirror) joined the cast as Caribbean midwife Lucille Anderson and a return of Nurse Trixie (Helen George) was heavily hinted at.

Guess what, we’re still in January! But we’re off on our first holiday of the year as we join Detective Jack Mooney (Ardal O'Hanlon) on the sun-soaked island of Saint-Marie. Peaceful isn’t it? Sadly not. Because, even in the beautiful Caribbean, crime will always spoil your day. Series 7 of Death in Paradise has Jack rise to the challenge in a bid to impress the commissioner and make his mark on the island. Luckily, he has his team to support him as he has some almost impossible mysteries to uncover.

Wake up! We’re back from our island vacation and straight into February. Before heading back to city life, we get to spend some time in the English countryside, rolling hills dotted with small villages, rural parish churches and large country houses. There is also a fair bit of murder.

Don’t worry though, as series 6 of Father Brown sees Mark Williams (Harry Potter) return as the charming local priest and amateur detective. Although he is at risk from old foe Katherine Corven, who looks for revenge on Father Brown when she is suddenly released from prison. I think we should move on to March and hopefully, we’ll find ourselves in a safer environment.

To sleep, perchance to dream as March arrives with a series completely new to the BBC – Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators. No, not William and Anne. Although this comedy-drama mystery is filmed in Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon. Two well-known TV faces, Jo Joyner and Mark Benton, star as chatty ex-hairdresser Luella ‘Lu’ Shakespeare and out-of-shape and short-of-money private inspector Frank Hathaway. The highly unlikely and hugely entertaining detecting duo quickly discover that all is not as peaceful as it seems in their picture-perfect theatre town.

Brace yourself. Our next March series drops us straight to the front line of series 3 of Our Girl. We do get to travel internationally, but this is no holiday. Series 3 takes female army medic Georgie (Michelle Keegan) and the tightknit unit of soldiers in 2 Section from a humanitarian mission in Nepal, across Afghanistan and to a Nigerian refugee camp. With the arrival of old flame Elvis (Luke Pasqualino) and new recruit Maisie (Shalom Brune-Franklin) tugging at her sleeve, Georgie must face the highs and lows of army life while also fighting her own personal battles. As the soldiers face kidnapping and assassination attempts, they have to confront the ultimate battle: head versus heart.

May the merriness be with you. Or rather the conflict, since this family is already in the divorce court before the relationships start crumbling. New family drama The Split follows Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker), a member of a family who all work as divorce lawyers in the same firm. Following a bitter argument, Hannah takes a new job at a rival firm where she reconnects with the only other man she ever imagined sharing her life with, and her estranged father returns after 30 years. It sounds exhausting but makes for a smashing series.

Ring the bells everyone! The month of June means we are halfway through our TV year. A perfect time for the first Agatha Christie story to be adapted for the BBC by screenwriter Sarah Phelps, who also penned the script for J.K. Rowlings’s A Casual Vacancy. A wealthy philanthropist is murdered and her son Jack dies in prison, accused of her murder. A year later, a mysterious stranger arrives to prove Jack’s innocence. If his story is true, the murderer is still in the family. In one of Christie’s most satisfying stories, the cast presents a host of well-known faces, including Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor. Murder, plot twists and a fantastic cast. Can it get any better?

It most definitely can! September brings with it the second instalment of Christie magic. Now, how well do you know the person next to you? It’s the question that made Agatha Christie the best-selling novelist of all time. And Then There Were None sports an all-star cast, including Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Aidan Turner (Poldark). Ten strangers, each accused of a terrible crime, are lured to an island mansion and quickly find themselves at the mercy of their unknown host. And Then There Were None has seen many adaptations, but this is the first screen version to include Agatha Christie’s original, less cheery, ending.

It’s time for the home stretch everyone! With October we welcome a third Agatha Christie series. In Sarah Phelps’s second Christie adaptation for the BBC, the cast is headed by Toby Jones and Kim Cattrall. Witness for the Prosecution is the perfect Film Noir for a 1920s London. It’s a thrilling two-part drama about the murder of the rich and glamorous Emily French. All evidence points towards her young lover Leonard, but how will the jury decide?

The cold days and Idris Elba go together like bread and butter, or an attractively greying beard and a warm woollen coat. In Series 4, Luther introduces himself very non-dramatically: ‘There are some things you might have heard about me that could be true.’ If that is how Luther introduces himself to his colleagues, you should take care not to become his enemy. After a leave of absence living a reclusive life on the English coast, Luther is back in London on the trail of a cannibalistic killer, while also attempting to uncover the truth behind Alice's apparent death. With trouble following him wherever he goes, the case is fast becoming a test that will push Luther closer to the edge than he’s ever been before.

There we are. 2018 is all wrapped up, but there are more presents under the tree. 2019 is just around the corner and there is so much BBC content to look forward to. Why don’t you have a peek?

In 2019, fans can look forward to Emilia Fox’s 14th outing as Dr Nikki Alexander. Cast members David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern are also confirmed to return. Although not much is known about the 22nd series, actor Richard Lintern has said the new series will focus on bringing in London more as a character than has been done before.

New year, new Call the Midwife. Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes, who will always be Professor Sprout to me, joins the cast for the Christmas special and the first episode of series 8. Fenella Woolgar (Victoria & Abdul) and Ella Bruccoleri (Genius: Picasso) move to Poplar as newcomers Hilda and Frances and (yeah!) Helen George returns as Nurse Trixie Franklin.

In series 8 of Death in Paradise, Shyko Amos joins the cast as officer Ruby Patterson. She has, what shall we say, a unique take on crime fighting. From a local radio DJ murdered while live on air to a zookeeper killed by a poisonous dart, Jack and his team definitely have their work cut out.

Welcome back to the beautiful English countryside. Let’s just take some deep breaths of fresh air and ignore Father Brown trapped outside on what is a dark and stormy night, with a murderer on the loose. Don’t bother yourself with the kidnap of Lady Felicia and Mrs McCarthy. I’m sure everything will be fine.

A new adaptation of Victor Hugo's 19th-century classic Les Misérables is packed full of big-name actors and this time none of them has to sing. A brave choice, considering the success of the long-running musical and Oscar-winning Hollywood film. Dominic West will lead the cast as Jean Valjean, with David Oyelowo as the obsessed and villainous policeman Javert. Olivia Colman takes on the role of the abusive Madame Thénardier, while Lily Collins will play Fantine. Adapted by Andrew Davies (War and Peace, House of Cards), the six-part drama will delve deeply into the story of love, revolution and survival, vividly bringing to life the vibrant and engaging characters.

When you manage to book Richard Geer (Chicago, Pretty Woman) in his first major television role for 30 years, you’d better have a story to match. MotherFatherSon is an eight-part original drama created and written by Tom Rob Smith (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story). The story revolves around the toxic relationships of a mother, a father and, err, I forget the last one. Anyway, Gere plays Max, the owner of one of the world’s most influential media empires. When his son Caden’s (Billy Howle) self-destructive lifestyle spirals out of control, he and his estranged wife Kathryn (Helen McCrory) have very different ideas about how best to support him.

And finally, he might not be sporting Hercule Poirot’s trademark moustache, but John Malkovich as the iconic detective is already heading the list of 2019 must-watch television. Malkovich is joined by a collage of well-known faces, including Ron Weasley, I mean Rupert Grint, as Inspector Crome. 2019 sees the adaptation of the ABC Murders by the incomparable Sarah Phelps.

Poirot faces a serial killer known only under the alias ABC. Using the British railway network, the killer strikes methodically, leaving behind nothing but a copy of the ABC railway guide. Poirot must find a way to match his nemesis and, in the process, everything about him will be called into question: his authority, his integrity, his past, his identity.

And finally, that’s 2018 dusted off and stored back in the attic. I hope you enjoyed our little excursion through the best of BBC First. With 2019 almost upon us there is so much more amazing BBC content to come. What were your favourite series and moments of 2018? Are you looking forward to a fabulous 2019 on BBC First? I definitely am.

From me and all of us at the BBC a very merry festive season and a happy new year!

Written for BBC First Benelux

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returntosomeday-blog · 6 years

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Meet The Muse

Rules: Don’t reblog, repost. Tagging: (shit. hasn’t everyone been tagged already. if you wanna do it go for it!)

⚡️ NINE BASIC FACTS!

► NAME ➭ ‘ Zidane Tribal. ’ ► BIRTHDAY ➭ ‘ Uhhhh. Sometime in September, I guess. That’s when the old man found me, anyway, and he can’t remember the exact date, soooooooo. . . ’ ► BIRTHPLACE ➭ ‘ A place called Bran Bal. Don’t bother looking for it, ‘cus it doesn’t exist anymore. ’ ► GENDER ➭ ‘ I know I’m pretty, but I promise I’m a guy. ’ ► SEXUALITY ➭ vague hand gestures ‘ Does it reeeaally matter, at the end of the day? ’ ► HAIR COLOUR ➭ ‘ Blond! ’ ► EYE COLOUR ➭ ‘ Blue. ’ ► ARE YOU SINGLE? ➭ ‘ Why, you interested? ’ wink and a grin he’s not sure, actually. ► WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT MOOD? ➭ ‘ Oh, y’know. Can’t complain, I guess! ’

⚡️ EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE!

► ARE YOU IN LOVE? ➭ ‘ Yeah! ... No? ... Maybe? Eeesh, that’s a toughie-- Next! ’ ► DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? ➭ ‘ Huh. I mean it’s a nice thought an’ all, but don’t you think it’s a little naive? ’ Zidane, didn’t you fall for Dagger at first sight?? ► WHO ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP? ➭ ‘ . . . Good question. Which one? ’ ► ARE YOU AFRAID OF COMMITMENT? ➭ ‘ Wh-?! Who, me? N-no way! ’ note the literal tail tucked between his legs. ► HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK? ➭ ‘ Oh, this one’s easy! Of course I have! Dagger, the guys -- heck, even Rusty gave me one after I got back. And nearly crushed my damn spine.......... ’ ► HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SECRET ADMIRER? ➭ ‘ If they’re a secret, how would I know? But yeah, probably~ I mean, have ya seen me? ’ ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART? ➭ ‘ Mmmmm. . . I’m not proud of it, but-- Yeah. No doubt. ’ ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN YOUR OWN HEART? ➭ ‘ How d’you break your own heart? ’ thinking back to his brief period of “soullessness”, his rejection of his own ideals, his betrayal of his friends ‘ On second thought... I-- Yeah. I guess I have. ’

⚡️SEVEN CHOICES!

► LOVE OR LUST ➭ ‘ Llllllllll.......ove? Love. ’ ► LEMONADE OR ICED TEA ➭ ‘ Lemonade! There’s cart in Lindblum that sells it fresh in the summertime. ’ ► CATS OR DOGS ➭ ‘ Cats, definitely cats. ’ he’s been chased by way too many guard dogs. ► A FEW BEST FRIENDS OR MANY REGULAR FRIENDS ➭ ‘ The more the merrier! Why restrict yourself to just a few? ’ ► WILD NIGHT OUT OR ROMANTIC NIGHT IN ➭ ‘ What, and a wild night out CAN’T be romantic? You need to broaden your horizons -- experiment a li’l! ’ ► DAY OR NIGHT ➭ ‘ Night. Kinda comes hand-in-hand with the profession. ’ ► SUMMER OR WINTER ➭ ‘ Summer! Winter in the hideout s u c k e d -- there was never enough blankets to go around and the Boss hogged them all anyway! ’ hogged, hahahaha.

⚡️ SIX HAVE YOU EVERS!

► BEEN CAUGHT SNEAKING OUT ➭ ‘ Oh yeah. Heaps of times. Boss’d thrash me black ‘n’ blue every time: “If I catch you sneakin’ out, yer not bein’ quiet enough, ya waste of space!”. ’ ► FALLEN DOWN/UP THE STAIRS ➭ ‘ I’d like to think I’m not THAT clumsy! But... well, if you’re getting chased and someone steps on your damn tail... ’ ► BEEN KICKED/BITTEN BY AN ANIMAL ➭ thinking about those dumb guard dogs again. HARD FROWN. ‘ Yeeeeaaaah... ’ ► WANTED SOMETHING/SOMEONE SO BADLY IT HURT ➭ ‘ Those are the things you know are worth chasing after. ’ ► BEEN IN A NATURAL DISASTER ➭ ‘ Natural? Not so much. UNnatural? Try on a daily basis! ’ ► WANTED TO DISAPPEAR ➭ ‘ Ha. Just once. I got over it, though. ’

⚡️FIVE PREFERENCES!

► SMILE OR EYES ➭ ‘ Smile! It’s always gonna be smile. ’ ► SHORTER OR TALLER ➭ ‘ Most people are taller than me, sooo... ’ ► INTELLIGENCE OR APPEARANCE ➭ ‘ Gotta be able to have a conversation with your partner, y’know? Otherwise you may as well just buy a pretty statue to look at or something. ’ ► INTROVERTED OR EXTROVERTED ➭ ‘ Not really bothered! I know I can be a bit of both, myself. ’ ► HOOK-UP OR RELATIONSHIP ➭ THIS PUTS HIM IN MIND OF THE “COMMITMENT” QUESTION. he begins to s w e a t. ‘ Well. . . Shit. I’d LIKE the latter, but it seems like I’ve only ever had the......... Forget it! ’

⚡️ FOUR FAMILY FACTS!

► DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET ALONG ➭ ‘ Family? You mean-- the Tantalus crew? Well, I mean -- we fight and we bicker and mess around with each other all the time, but that IS us getting along! If anyone ELSE messed with one of us, they’d probably regret it. ’ a pause, a sideways glance. ‘ Or... did you mean the other Genomes? ’ Kuja? Mikoto? ... Garland? ‘ I don’t know if we really consider each other “family”. ’ ► WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A “MESSED UP LIFE” ➭ ‘ Oooooft, loaded question. A bit of yes, a bit of no? The beginning was kinda messed up and there’s been other moments throughout, but-- On the whole? I wouldn’t want it any other way! ’ ► HAVE YOU EVER RAN AWAY FROM HOME ➭ ‘ Y u p. When I was thirteen. I mean, I said I was going, so I guess you couldn’t really call it “running away”-- Eh, no, I’m counting it. ’ ► HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN KICKED OUT ➭ ‘ I’m not allowed to rejoin Tantalus. I think that counts. ’ don’t cry, don’t c r y . . .

⚡️ THREE FRIEND FACTS!

► DO YOU CONSIDER ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS GOOD FRIENDS ➭ ‘ Y’know, I wanna say “yes”, but I have this feeling Amarant is still waiting for the perfect opportunity to dob me into the Treno authorities... So I’m gonna have to give it a solid maybe, instead. ’ ► WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND ➭ ‘ Psh, EASY, that’s gotta be-- ’ ‘ . . . ’ ‘ Wait. . . ’ confident expression shattered, gaze dropping as he appears to seriously consider the question. as a kid, the answer would ALWAYS have been ‘Blank!’ but ever since he left Tantalus that first time around... ‘ ... Can I get back to you on that one? ’ ► WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU ➭ ‘ Aw man, not even I know “everything” about myself! If there’s someone like that out there, let me know -- I’ve got a b u n c h of questions for them. ’

⚡️ TWO DEEP QUESTIONS!

► WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU’D CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF ➭ ‘ I dunno. I feel like you’re you because you’re all of you: a combination of good, bad, dumb... whatever. Change that and you’re not you anymore, right? ’ nose crinkling, an embarrassed laugh ‘ ... was that a bit too serious of an answer? Alrighty, how about... I’d like to be just a biiiiiit taller. ’ ► WOULD YOU EVER SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR SOMEONE ELSE ➭ ‘ Been there, done that! Gets easier after the third or fourth time. ’ all cocky confidence once again, but does the smile reach the eyes?

⚡️ ONE FINAL WORD!

► A QUOTE THAT SUMS YOU UP ➭ ‘ Just one?! But I have so many quotable quips-- Alright, alright, uhhh... “I just wanna protect the people I’m with. Doesn’t matter whether I can or not. It’s what I believe in.” ’

#✦↱ headcanons. ↲#[ if this one looks a little different to the other versions of this meme----- ]#[ that's because i rewrote a huge chunk of it ]#[ and added/changed around a couple of bits and pieces ]#[ SWEATS LOUDLY. ]#[ i normally don't like answering memes in a character's voice but this was actually a lot of fun. ]#[ and i feel like i solidified my boy a bit more??? ]

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chemicallycurious · 6 years

Text

Father’s Day Time Lapse

The phone rang forever, the buzzing reaching out into infinity. There was sun on the grass as he looked out the window on a still life, the breeze seeming to slow so that the leaves on the tree closest to their side of the flat shifted against the air in a motion too slowed to be lazy, the type of pause in the world that Ulysses had experienced several times in his life. They were never good moments. While the entire universe might jog in place for a second on a particular kiss, it didn’t stop the air in his lungs the way anxiety-ridden moments like this did, didn’t halt the entirety of life the way fear and bad break-ups did.

The second before his father picked up the phone hung frozen like the second before someone telling him they weren’t in love with him anymore.

“Hello?”

Words dried up and Ulysses stared at a leaf that caught the sun. The universe had to catch up now; he took a sharp breath as the leaf shook in the afternoon breeze on the other side of the glass.

“Hi, Dad.” His own pause. “It’s Ulysses.”

In the sudden quiet on the other end of the phone, he became aware of the sounds on his. The antique clock ticked patiently, reminding him that time passed and that, yes, he had remembered to wind it up before bed last night.

“Hello there, son. Everything alright in London?” His father’s voice wasn’t cold, but it was slightly awkward, as though he didn’t know what to ask his son, as though his gay son didn’t talk about life, work, or weather as much as anyone else did. Or maybe he was worried about the answers to every question reminding him of his son’s flaw, something that wouldn’t be a flaw had he been a character in an ancient poem.

“Yeah, yeah! Everything’s greened up and somewhat warm. Busy days...I...we went to a kebab place the other night, new place. Ate at a little table that was set up outside, even though it was evening.” Ulysses felt the babbling beginning and swallowed, reaching for the glass of water he’d set on the kitchen counter for just such a moment. A pacing mechanism.

“Well, you’re one for finding good food, that’s a fact.” Another awkward pause. Ulysses rushed to fill it, water glass unsipped in hand.

“Mum called me. This week. She said you’d both been wanting to meet Cas.” Now he stopped and left a little space. His father left it also, so he continued. “My son.”

“My grandson.” There was something that sounded like pride, or surprise, or confusion, and Ulysses guessed that it was probably all three. Bryns were not good at feeling one emotion at a time. “You...thinking of visiting Cardiff?”

Ulysses felt the uncomfortable wording, the way his father didn’t refer to his birthplace as ‘home.’ It wasn’t coming home, it was visiting. He was right.

“Yeah, Mum said that in a few weeks, it would be a good time for Cas and Nathan and I to come.” The words all rushed together, making their little family unit one word by linguistically smashing them into something that must be taken together or not at all.

“Yeah...yeah, I suppose it would be.” His father’s voice hadn’t really changed tone, and Ulysses wondered for a painful moment if Owen even knew who Nathan was, if that name rang up anything specific in his head or if he just assumed one of a long line of men his son had disappointed him with. “So we’ll expect you then. It’s been quite a long time since we’ve had a baby in the house.” Ulysses was an only child, and really, they’d likely despaired of grandchildren. Was this the trade? Ulysses had some worth since he’d managed to provide another Bryn? Was it enough of a trade to make Nathan accepted too? Two for one, such a heavy burden to lay on baby shoulders.

“Well, he’s moving around pretty quickly, so it’s a bit like having a puppy underfoot who babbles things at you that he expects you to understand.” Ulysses’ heard his own laughter in his ears, the nervousness in it. He didn’t expect to hear it echoed on the other end of the line. His father’s laughter seemed surprised by its own existence.

“Ah, you were like that too. Giving us lectures before you were properly even calling us ‘da’ and ‘ma,’” Owen said, as though he’d forgotten not to be fond of his only child. His chuckle died away quickly, but Ulysses’ smile lingered. “So it’s your first Father’s Day then. Congratulations.”

“Oh...yeah. Yeah, I was calling to wish a happy one to you.” Even if I’m a disappointment, even if you feel that I was a waste of a good name, his mind continued. “I’ll see you soon though, alright, Dad? I’ll ring up Mum with the dates and all.”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s better with all that.” The awkwardness had returned, even though that leaf outside trembled on the branch. Ulysses took a quick sip of water and waited for his own time to catch up. “We’ll be talking soon then. Take care. Say hello to that boyo for his grandad.”

“Will do. Bye, Dad.”

“Goodbye, son.”

The click, the disconnect, the silence. Ulysses exhaled as he set his phone down on the counter, watching the leaf seem to move with his breath. Had that gone well? Had it gone badly? No one had yelled, he hadn’t cried, the word ‘disappointment’ hadn’t even come up. That seemed...good.

In the front room, he heard the piercing squeal of Cas’ happy laughter, and instinct turned him toward the hallway. Nathan’s laughter followed and drew him away from the window, away from his phone, away from the glass of water meant to keep him in check.

There was nothing Cas could do that would disappoint him. There would never be a time Cas could only call him, or only call Nathan, to pass news like it was spy intel. Hands tucked into his back pockets, Ulysses walked in to Nathan sitting cross-legged on the floor with Cas in his lap, weaving cats’ cradle between his fingers with rainbow-dyed yarn while the baby plucked at the strings and laughed at Nathan’s animal noises.

Fatherhood meant second chances, or new beginnings, or whatever it was supposed to mean. Maybe it was just a weak sort of plaster over old wounds, and then drinking to make you forget about the pain. Ulysses leaned over to kiss the top of Nathan’s head, smiling at him when he looked up. Nathan’s expression was cautiously optimistic, though his fringe had grown in long enough to hide the exact tilt of his eyebrows. Ulysses pushed his dark hair off his forehead in a gesture that was practiced even upside down.

“How did it go?” Nathan glanced down quickly when Cas grabbed a fistful of yarn, but it kept him occupied. He looked up again.

“Not too bad. I guess our trip to Wales is still on.” Ulysses took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss his boyfriend’s mouth. Upside down. Spider-man style. He didn’t mention that detail because it would have been lost on Nathan anyway. God, he loved this man. “Oh, happy Father’s Day to you too, Rachmaninoff.”

“To me? Oh, but I-”

“Hmm? You try reasoning it out with that little man; when he believes it, then you can come try to convince me.” Ulysses felt time melt when Nathan smiled at him; it didn’t even bother to pause. “I need to jump in the shower. Have you got him?”

“Yeah, yeah, I have.” Nathan was still smiling, so time was probably still melting, Ulysses thought. He grinned back. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be hell after all. This time, he wouldn’t be going alone. “Go on!”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Ulysses laughed as he headed back to their bedroom. Hopefully he wouldn’t be alone for a long time.

#diary

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kaidans-alenko · 3 years

Note

For the soft sentence prompts: “What are you doing up? Come to bed.” Happy writing!

Sorry this took so long, I had it all planned in my head but it was translating it to a google doc that I was struggling with lol

Mindoir 2070, 1 month before the raid

“You know it’s a school night right?” Aiden asked as he joined Lily on the roof of their prefab.

“I couldn’t sleep.” She said with a shrug, turning her attention back to the starry sky above them.

“Why not?” He asked, taking a seat next to her.

“Dunno, just couldn’t.”

“So it has absolutely nothing to do with the play you just auditioned for?” Aiden knew he hit the nail on the head by the way his usually very loud little sister suddenly went quiet.

“Maybe a little…”

Aiden patted her on the back “I wouldn’t be nervous, you’ve never not gotten a part.”

Lily shook her head “Oh trust me Ai, i’m aware i’m amazing, that’s not my problem though.”

He rolled his eyes, for someone as small as Lily was she sure did have a huge ego “Then what is the matter?”

“Do you think you’ll ever leave the colony?” Lily asked and she could tell Aiden was a bit thrown off if not even a little uncomfortable by the question.

“I don’t know, I mean...mom will probably need help with the farm still.” he rubbed the back of his neck “so I guess I don’t know…”

Lily nodded “Oh.”

One worded responses were particularly weird for her but also very telling, few people could read Lily like he could and now he knew for sure something was very wrong. “Do you want to leave?”

Lily frantically shook her head “No, like you said mom will need help, it wouldn’t be fair to just jump ship ya know?” she started fidgeting with the ends of her hair “so…”

Aiden leaned back on his hands with a sigh “Lil, there will be absolutely no guilt from me if you decide to hop on a shuttle and leave.”

“But what about mom?”

“Mom won’t stop you and honestly if anyone tries,” he nudges her with his foot “well, you already know my philosophy when it comes to you.”

Lily tried to suppress a smile as she rolled her eyes “I’d just feel bad ya know? Leaving you and mom here.” she looked over her shoulder at him “you have dreams too right?”

“Maybe,” he pushed himself up and schooched closer “but nothing as ambitious as yours, and hey, it’ll do the colony good if someone famous was born here.”

Lily rolled her eyes again, oftentimes she wished they’d just get stuck like that and save her the trouble, unfortunately for her that’s only a myth “I’ll have my own little plaque right at the landing pads.” she said sarcastically.

“Exactly! It’ll read ‘birthplace of the esteemed actress Lily Shepard.’ ” he wrapped his arms around her “the prefab too ‘childhood home of Lily Shepard.’ ”

“Might as well rename the whole colony after me!” she joked, leaning back against him.

Aiden laughed “Wouldn’t that be something? I mean I can start a petition if that’s what you really want.”

Lily giggled “Yes please do that.”

“Now what exactly are you two doing up there?” Hannah asked and the twins peaked their heads over the edge of the roof.

“Sorry mama, I couldn’t sleep.” Lily confessed sheepishly and her mother shook her head.

“I swear, you two haven’t changed from when you were kids.” she said with a smile “if one of you is up you’re both up.”

Aiden hopped down from the roof first and extended his arms to catch Lily “In all fairness, I only get up because Lil gets bored if she’s alone for too long.”

Hannah sighed as Lily hopped down and Aiden caught her “Yeah I suppose that’s true.”

“Now that’s not fair, I didn’t wake him up this time.” She protested as he set her down.

“We share a room Lils.” Aiden argured.

“Don’t blame me because you’re a light sleeper.” She argued back.

Hannah sighed as she followed them inside “Alright knock it off, you’re gonna wake up the whole colony.” she scolded.

“Yes ma’am!” They said in unison.

----------------

Earth 2185

Lily cursed as her lighter refused to light her cigarette, it could’ve been divine intervention, Kaidan wasn’t around to stop her from chain smoking so someone else had to, for all she knew it could’ve been Aiden’s ghost, wouldn’t surprise her. “Lil what are you doing? Come back to bed.” Kaidan said from behind her.

“Can’t sleep.” she said in frustration, half tempted to throw her lighter over the deck.

“So you thought smoking was the solution to that?” He asked as he walked over to her.

“Shut up, go back inside if you’re just going to judge me.”

“Lily…” Kaidan said with a frown.

“I’m sorry...I had a shitty dream and it woke me up,” she said, gesturing to the nearly full ashtray next to her.

Kaidan stopped next to her “What was it about?”

“My mom and Aiden,” she told him, setting the lighter and carton of cigarettes down “we were back on the colony, talking about…” she shook her head “something dumb.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No, I do, it’s just...like I said it’s stupid.”

“It’s not dumb if it’s bothering you.” He said, placing his hand over hers.

Lily sighed “I didn’t want to be a marine you know?”

“Really?” She’d never mentioned it before, from the way she acted on the battlefield she seemed to enjoy it.

Lily nodded “Yeah, honestly had the raid not happened I doubt I would’ve joined the Alliance.” She knew that meant she probably wouldn’t have met Kaidan, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

“What did you want to do instead?”

“I wanted to be an actress, I was quite good if I do say so myself.”

“I believe it, you certainly do have a flair for the dramatic.”

“One of the few endearing things about me.” She joked.

Kaidan chuckled “There’s plenty of endearing things about you Lil but continue.”

“After the raid I just kinda lost my passion for it I guess and Aiden was going to join the Alliance and leave me all alone so I followed him.”

“Do you regret it sometimes?”

“Hmmm.” Lily had never actually thought about it until now, she had some regrets but she never considered joining the Alliance one of those, it led her to meet Nathan and her best friends Ashley and Tali.

Lily watched Kaidan as he stared up at the sky, before she met him she didn’t know men could be beautiful, it wasn’t a word she’d have used to describe Nathan which is maybe why she hadn’t considered it but everything about Kaidan was beautiful. Not just physically but the way he viewed the rest of the galaxy as well, it was something she mocked him for at first, that romanticism, she couldn't understand how someone could still see the beauty in a galaxy that has been nothing but cruel.

It wasn't long before she realized it was just jealousy, he'd had a rough go of it too yet there was no bitterness in him, no hatred towards the people who caused this beautiful man so much pain. She wished she could be more like that, Kaidan made her want to be a better person, he hadn't tried to change her, he loved her for who she was and funnily enough that's why she wanted to change.

"You know what no."

Kaidan looked at her "Hm?"

"I don't regret joining the Alliance."

"Oh? And why's that?"

Lily smiled as she moved in closer "It brought us together and I'll never regret meeting you." She chewed on her bottom lip "I love you."

Kaidan blinked in surprise, it's not that she's never said it but she was better at expressing herself through actions than she was words and while he never doubted it, it was nice to hear regardless "I love you too."

They held each other’s gazes for a moment, slowly inching closer and closer until their lips were barely touching and they met in a gentle kiss.

#kaidan alenko #lilyshep #aidenshep #f!shenko

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butterscotcheye · 6 years

Text

i was tagged by @teddy-fluffnhugs! I have not done a tag in a bit. So i cannot remember if i have ever done this before.

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

Age: 37

Birthplace: I was born in Tucson AZ, but haven’t really been back since the 80′s ^ ^;; well, lies. i visited once really briefly when i was a tween but it was so weird cause i didn’t really recognize but a few extended family members. I’m not super familiar with them.

Current time: 8:06 PM

Drink you last had: just water

Easiest person to talk to: Teddy!

Favorite song: that keeps changing ^ ^; right now its alot of retrowave in general

Grossest memory: oh snap. probably when my brother shat so much the toilet overflowed but he didn’t bother to MENTION IT TO ANYONE so the entire second floor of the place we were living in at the time was soaked in shitty water. >< And i remember having no choice but to walk through that for days. uuughhh.

Hogwarts House: ?? i don’t know

In love:: no

Jealous of people: I wish i was smart like other people ^ ^; also like, normal looking. and tall. And good at learning new skills. I envy everyone who falls into those categories.

Love at first sight or should I walk by you again: What does this sentence mean, exactly? who am i walking by?

Number of siblings: two, both younger than me.

One wish: I WISH to just stop being afraid and go try the new things i’m afraid of.

Person you called last: uuuhh i think it was my mom because we got separated at awesome con, and she was carrying something me and my sister wanted to get signed and had to find her to get it back.

Question you are always asked: WEll, now its usually at work, stuff about insurance. -_- but i guess before that, yeaaars ago, if someone was being personal it was like ‘why are you so quiet?’ which the answer really just was because i didn’t enjoy socializing but i would just try to be diplomatic and say uh i don’tknow derp.

Reasons to smile: I don’t know, all the good stuff in life? that’s alot of things.

Song you sang last: UM. sang. hmmm. I can’t remember if it was Careless Whisper (george michael), something by radiohead (any number of songs) or possibly Tame Impala ‘s ‘the less I know the Better.’

Time you woke up: 6:50 AM which is typical on a workday. It’ll usually be between 6:30-6:50 something. But if i don’t have to go in, it can vary between as early as 7, 8, or be 9 and SOMETIMES as late as 10:00 AM. But i have too much to do on ‘free’ days to allow anything later ^ ^;;

Underwear color: Blue today.

Worst habit: forgetting stuff ><

X-rays: how many? i don’t know. They’re mostly dental. But there was also two ultrasounds and a CT scan, does that count? i probably should have had a foot x-ray cause i am prettttyyy sure i broke my foot (it still hurts btw) but who has time (or money??)for that?

Your favorite food: hmmm! alot! i love spagetti! and ice cream, Indian food (so much) sushi, tacos, pizza, seafood, squash, mushrooms, cake, insect-based food, chick peas, beets, and much more. :p

Zodiac sign: Libra (the most hated of signs)

I will tag @artist-of-troy, @taffing-garden-salsa, @showeredwithlullabies, @buccura, @oculeth, @amayanocturna, @armoured-escort aaand i guess i will hold off there? You don’t have to if you don’t wanna.

#tag meme

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aracaryn · 6 years

Text

A-Z MEME

Thanks to @syccamine for tagging me! I haven’t done something like that in quite a while but I’m bored and I don’t wanna study nor sleep so eh

I tag @roseewine @scrollingplayers @amnesiacmemoire @donnattartt @itsasongaboutwantingyoudead @hiding-in-clouds @notstatistical @ophaeliia @astraera and @the-ashes-fell-like-snow

a - age: 18

b - birthplace: Hamburg, Germany

c - current time: 22:16 (or 10:16 pm whatever you prefer)

d - drink you last had: Some tart cherry juice with sparkling water

e - easiest person to talk to: hard to limit it down to one particular person!

f - *current* favourite song: I discovered Toes by Glass Animal today and am obsessed with it. Look Down by Oi Va Voi, Gold by Chet Faker and Crossfire by Stephen are big current faves too

g - grossest memory: Hm good question. I think I’ll go with a humiliating sorta food fight that was an annual school tradition during my exchange year in Finland. The grade above us spilled beans, mustard, eggs and other fun stuff about us and I still can’t see fishes without thinking of that day. The way home in the bus covered in all of that shit was fun though!

h - horror yes or horror no: Big yes on that! Love the thrill. I prefer the psychological horror over blant gore or jumpscares but it makes for good fun too

i - in love?: deeply

j - jealous of people?: Sometimes, yeah. I try to remind myself then that success and so on is not measurable, not everything is apparent and comparing yourself won’t do any good

l - love at first sight or should i walk by again?: Definitely walk by again and strike up a conversation. Otherwise it’s maybe an infatuation but love requires more then that

m - middle name: Hehe I’ll keep that one a secret

n - number of siblings: One older halfbrother if that counts

o - one wish: Get into the university I dream of (but that requires some more wishes concerning financial stuff and so on)

p - person you called last: A friend to grab a coffee with

q - question you are always (often) asked: What do you wanna do in your future? (Because I’m graduating this year) Oh and: Is that your natural hair colour? (spoiler alert: yes)

r - reason to smile: sunbeams on your face, tulips, coffee with just the right amount of milk, pictures with friends, art (may it be movies, poetry, music or visual art), seeing the person you love and the sound of rain on your window

s - song you sang last: we don’t care by Borns

t - time you woke up: A bit before 10 am I guess

u - underwear colour: dark as my soul

v - vacation destination: Oh there are so many. I’ll travel to Mailand with some friends in two months but I’d also visit to go to Brussels, Barlecona, Rome and Vienna. I’ve never been on another continent if I’d manage to gather the money for that I’d go to India or Sri Lanka!

w - worst habit: Guilty of cracking my joints, sorry not sorry. Don’t even remember when I picked it up but it’s been bothering people around me ever since

x - x-rays: Necessary but no big deal

y - your favourite food: My opinion on that changes like every other minute but I love me some pumpkin risotto

z - zodiac sign: sun sign? I’m a libra

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theclaravoyant · 7 years

Photo

All I can think about is kissing you.

"Simmons had girlfriends” - inspired by the deleted scene ‘Simmons had boyfriends’ from 1x12 (aka the Academy episode) but with more kissing: on their visit to the Academy, Skye gets curious about Jemma’s old makeout spot.

- for #SkimmonsWeek2017 Day 1. I’ve always been more of a fic than an edit person though, so see below the cut (~2000wd, Rated T) or here on AO3.

“Simmons had girlfriends”

Low light, throbbing bass music, the smell of beer and chips.

It was strange how familiar it all was. How the faux-chemistry installation on the wall full of dyed water circulating like a lava lamp still brought a smile to her face. As everyone did who walked in here, Skye remarked upon it, intrigued by the water appearing to flow uphill, and Jemma laughed a little. She wondered what it would have been like if they’d met earlier. Here. Would they have kept to their separate circles, or would she still feel this flutter in her chest? The nerd with a crush on the jock. The teacher’s pet with a crush on the punk. It was as trite as anything she could think of, and yet, it made her weak at the knees.

“Buy you a drink?” Skye offered, pointing at the bar to get her point across over the crowd. Jemma swallowed her words and nodded instead, knowing she didn’t mean it like that and tried to pull her mind back from her sixteen-year-old self and onto the mission at hand. She cast her eyes over the milling crowd; at first seeking out distraction, and soon casing the place, as her field-trained spy instincts were wont to do. For the most part, the buzzing bar patrons ignored her, although the occasional whisper of a few gossip fanatics who knew who she was – or could at least take a guess - cut off in a hurry when she crossed them.

“This is so weird,” Skye muttered, shaking her head incredulously as she returned with two beers and caught two young girls with excited voices duck their heads down and furiously hush each other. “I never picked you for a popular kid. And look at Fitz over there. Lapping it up. It’s a whole new… weird, nerdy world in here.”

Jemma shrugged and turned to face her, and accept her drink.

“It’s no so different really,” she disagreed. “Fitz likes being appreciated, and he’s a very good teacher. He may be a bit of a grump but he doesn’t have enough room under his wings for this lot.”

Skye snorted, amused by the image, and raised an eyebrow. “And what about you?”

“Well,” Jemma scoffed. “I was a child prodigy with a beloved foreign accent and an above average fashion sense. I may have been a bit of a teacher’s pet, I’ll grant you, but I got attention from the rest of the class as well.”

As if to punctuate her point, she smiled at a tall well-muscled blonde who offered her a nod. Skye’s jaw slackened a little and she stumbled forward into the question.

“All – all the class?” she checked, trying not to make it to obvious.

“Well, I mean of course I wasn’t everyone’s type,” Jemma clarified. “But if you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about then – yes, absolutely. I learnt a lot about myself here, I suppose you could say.”

Enjoying the dumbfounded expression on Skye’s face, Jemma savoured her next sip. Skye shook her head.

“I have… so many questions,” she spluttered. “Did Jemma Simmons lose her virginity here? Did you pick up people in bars or did they just fall all over you? Did you have a crush on your teacher? Ooh, did you have a make-out spot?”

“Uh…” Jemma smiled, drawing it out. “Yes. Mostly the second one. Not really, they were too old for me, and, um… Yes, actually.”

A blush touched her cheeks, and Skye lit up.

“This is so juicy, oh my god. I changed my mind, I want my tour now. Before someone shoots up the place or something, knowing our luck.”

“I don’t think we should separate-“

“I don’t think we should come to the birthplace of Doctor Jemma Anne Simmons and not get the full VIP experience. Come on!”

Skye slapped a few dollars on the counter and stood, offering a hand to Jemma, with such a broad grin and such a sparkle in her eye that Jemma didn’t bother to point out that this was not technically her birthplace, nor the birthplace of her doctorates. Skye seemed to be under the impression that the Academy had been her college era, and with way that her heart seemed to be beating in her throat at this very moment, Jemma wasn’t about to object.

“Okay,” she agreed at last, and the two of them slipped out and away from Ward, Coulson and the others. Breathless with their vaguely illicit escape, they ran down the corridor a ways, and bundled each other out the door, and Jemma started semi-breathlessly spouting facts about herself.

“I had my first drink in that bar, when I was sixteen. It tasted like piss and I felt so awful about breaking the law that I didn’t touch another beer until I was twenty-three. I wore a corsage to my first sundowner because I thought it was like a dance. I’ve never seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

“I used to sneak chocolate into church,” Skye returned, letting Jemma push and pull and lead and follow her across the courtyard and behind one of the buildings to another garden. “I’ve been drinking piss beer since I was sixteen and it’s never bothered me. I basically live Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Well, except my car was never that great, but I’m working on Coulson.”

Skye beamed deviously, and Jemma hushed her, and pulled her to the side. Her arm brushed against what appeared to be a palm frond, and she started, puzzled by what seemed to be a semi-tropical secret garden of some sort: succulents and wide-fronded plants, out of place in the otherwise deciduous early-fall environment. A stream bumbled past them. For a moment, Skye forgot it was Jemma holding her hand, until she spoke.

“Technically, this was a botched experiment,” Jemma explained. “Terragenesis. It was supposed to appear and disappear but this one got stuck. It sort of works, though, doesn’t it?”

Skye gazed around the garden; through some trees there was an ampitheatre, covered in mosses and lichens, and above that, Roman-style columns that were far too new to actually be ancient, but that seemed to fit in somehow.

“We call it Bone Garden,” Jemma continued. “Ostensibly because of those, but – well, you know. It was everyone’s… make out place. Wink.”

Skye laughed. She swung her hand, and all of a sudden it felt very significant that Jemma’s pinky had curled around hers, refusing to let go. In Bone Garden.

Then Jemma jumped back, and dropped Skye’s hand, in a rush to look over her shoulder at a sound Skye hadn’t even heard. Her confidence plummeted and she frowned deeply, forehead furrowing anxiously until Skye nudged her out of it.

“Come on, Jem, we are grown-ass adults,” she pointed out. “Teach isn’t going to catch us.”

“No, it’s not that,” Jemma corrected her, eyes searching the grass and dirt at their feet as her cheeks felt hotter and hotter. “It’s just - I’ve made a mistake, that’s all. Bringing you here.”

Skye’s smirk faded, and she frowned a little at Jemma’s persisting stress. Had she misread something?

“Why?”

“We shouldn’t have separated from the team.”

“We have phones, they can call us if they want us.”

“I know, but all I can think about is – “

“Is what?”

And honestly, Skye didn’t mean her voice to crack like that. She didn’t mean for it to make Jemma look up; not like that, with all her secrets and torn emotions betrayed by those desire-blown pupils. Jemma worried at her lip with her teeth, and Skye’s heart seized. A vision imprinted itself behind her eyelids, of kissing those lips with impugnity; of making out with Jemma as if they were those college teens after all; of pulling hair and pressing skin and breathlessness. And all this really wasn’t helped by Jemma’s quiet confession –

“All I can think about is kissing you.”

Skye inhaled, but it was more than just the unseasonably warm air that filled her lungs. It was more than just the high of sneaking out; more than standing in this place surrounded by the ghosts of a thousand kisses gone before; more than all their little touches and strange, half-meaningful glances that had never quite seemed to meet up.

It was an opportunity, and those words were an open door, and if Jemma wasn’t going to walk through it, then Skye was.

The breath was crushed out of the air between them, fleeing Jemma’s lips in an audible sigh that sent tingles through Skye’s body. She was doing most of the work, pressing them together until every inch seemed to be touching, but when Jemma’s mind caught up at last, she moved. She climbed her fingers above Skye’s waistband and under her shirt, teasing at her hips with an electricity that must have been building up all day - all year - maybe even since before they’d met. Even when their lips parted, it crackled in the air between them.

They took a moment of spinning silence, catching up with themselves. Though she knew it was irrational, part of Jemma wondered whether the static she felt would mess up her hair. Skye simply smiled, a little more meekly this time, almost tempted to run a finger over her lips to test what had really just happened. She bit her tongue instead.

“I… Skye,” Jemma started eventually, a little distracted as she noticed some force apparently keeping her fingers glued to Skye’s hips. It was a little mortifying, but Skye didn’t seem to mind, which was even more mortifying and yet, made it all worth it. She took a deep breath.

“First of all, I’m glad you did that,” she explained. “I’m not very good at – at pushing boundaries, and while I feel I’ve gotten better of late… well, we might still have been here for a thousand years, if not exactly forever. So, thank you. But I have to be honest, I don’t know much about you, and I’m not sure…”

“…If you can trust me?” Skye suggested hesitantly, wondering if she should have seen it coming. She had lied a lot at first, after all. But Jemma shook her head.

“I’m not sure what I want.”

“Your hands seem to be pretty sure.”

Still glued to Skye’s hips. Jemma smiled down at them awkwardly, and blushed.

“Yes. Quite,” she blustered. “But…”

“What happened to Oh, I was a child prodigy with a fancy accent and sexy cardigans?” Skye teased. “You liiiiike me.”

“I do,” Jemma admitted, but since she was turning the colour of a nearby hibiscus, Skye decided to tone down the teasing. With a soft and genuine smile, she stepped forward and took Jemma’s hands in her own, letting their foreheads drift closer together.

“I like you too,” she promised. “Not just because of crazy college hormones; I really think you’re great. And super smart. And super attractive. And I’m willing to slow this down if – if you think we could be something.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Jemma looked up at Skye then, and as with any good makeout spot, it felt a little like there was noone else in the world but them. She bit her lip, and smirked, and Skye narrowed her eyes.

“You’re doing that on purpose now, aren’t you?”

“Mm, yes I am.”

Her cover blown, Jemma saw no reason for delaying any longer. She stood up on her toes and put her arms around Skye’s neck and kissed her again, soft and sweet and lingering – until a sharp and sudden vibration in her pocket made her jump. Skye squeaked, nursing a bitten lip, as Jemma scrambled for her phone and tried to answer Coulson with some semblance of decorum. At last, she hung up and turned to Skye with a strained smile on her face.

“Coulson’s signed up Fitz and I for a presentation to the entire cadet class in five minutes,” she explained with a laugh. “Isn’t that wizard?”

Skye pouted in sympathy.

“Look on the bright side,” she said. “At least we didn’t wreck your hair?”

#skimmonsweek2017 #skimmons #skimmonsfic #aosfemslash #bioquake #aosficnet2 #clara's fic tag

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cyberianlife · 4 years

Text

Fish Night

It was a bleached-bone afternoon with a cloudless sky and a monstrous sun. The air trembled like a mass of gelatinous ectoplasm. No wind blew.

Through the swelter came a worn, black Plymouth, coughing and belching white smoke from beneath its hood. It wheezed twice, backfired loudly, died by the side of the road.

The driver got out and went around to the hood. He was a man in the hard winter years of life, with dead, brown hair and a heavy belly riding his hips. His shirt was open to the navel, the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. The hair on his chest and arms was gray.

A younger man climbed out on the passenger side, went around front too.

Yellow sweat‑explosions stained the pits of his white shirt. An unfastened, striped tie was draped over his neck like a pet snake that had died in its sleep.

“Well?” the younger man asked.

The old man said nothing. He opened the hood. A calliope note of steam blew out from the radiator in a white puff, rose to the sky, turned clear.

“Damn,” the old man said, and he kicked the bumper of the Plymouth as if he were kicking a foe in the teeth. He got little satisfaction out of the action, just a nasty scuff on his brown wingtip and a jar to his ankle that hurt like hell.

“Well?” the young man repeated.

“Well what? What do you think? Dead as the can-opener trade this week. Deader. The radiator’s chickenpocked with holes.”

“Maybe someone will come by and give us a hand.”

“Sure.”

“A ride anyway.”

“Keep thinking that, college boy.”

“Someone is bound to come along,” the young man said.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who else takes these cutoffs? The main highway, that’s where everyone is. Not this little no-account shortcut.” He finished by glaring at the young man.

“I didn’t make you take it,” the young man snapped. “It was on the map. I told you about it, that’s all. You chose it. You’re the one that decided to take it. It’s not my fault. Besides, who’d have expected the car to die?”

“I did tell you to check the water in the radiator, didn’t I? Wasn’t that back as far as El Paso?”

“I checked. It had water then. I tell you, it’s not my fault. You’re the one that’s done all the Arizona driving.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the old man said, as if this were something he didn’t want to hear. He turned to look up the highway.

No cars. No trucks. Just heat waves and miles of empty concrete in sight.

They seated themselves on the hot ground with their backs to the car. That way it provided some shade — but not much. They sipped on a jug of lukewarm water from the Plymouth and spoke little until the sun fell down. By then they had both mellowed a bit. The heat had vacated the sands and the desert chill had settled in. Where the warmth had made the pair snappy, the cold drew them together.

The old man buttoned his shirt and rolled down his sleeves while the young man rummaged a sweater out of the back seat. He put the sweater on, sat back down. “I’m sorry about this,” he said suddenly.

“Wasn’t your fault. Wasn’t anyone’s fault. I just get to yelling sometime, taking out the can‑opener trade on everything but the can openers and myself. The days of the door‑to‑door salesman are gone, son.”

“And I thought I was going to have an easy summer job,” the young man said.

The old man laughed. “Bet you did. They talk a good line, don’t they?”

“I’ll say!”

“Make it sound like found money, but there ain’t no found money, boy. Ain’t nothing simple in this world. The company is the only one ever makes any money. We just get tireder and older with more holes in our shoes. If I had any sense I’d have quit years ago. All you got to make is this summer —”

“Maybe not that long.”

“Well, this is all I know. Just town after town, motel after motel, house after house, looking at people through screen wire while they shake their heads No. Even the cockroaches at the sleazy motels begin to look like little fellows you’ve seen before, like maybe they’re door‑to‑door peddlers that have to rent rooms too.”

The young man chuckled. “You might have something there.”

They sat quietly for a moment, welded in silence. Night had full grip on the desert now. A mammoth gold moon and billions of stars cast a whitish glow from eons away.

The wind picked up. The sand shifted, found new places to lie down. The undulations of it, slow and easy, were reminiscent of the midnight sea. The young man, who had crossed the Atlantic by ship once, said as much.

“The sea?” the old man replied. “Yes, yes, exactly like that. I was thinking the same. That’s part of the reason it bothers me. Part of why I was stirred up this afternoon. Wasn’t just the heat doing it. There are memories of mine out here,” he nodded at the desert, “and they’re visiting me again.”

The young man made a face. “I don’t understand.”

“You wouldn’t. You shouldn’t. You’d think I’m crazy.”

“I already think you’re crazy. So tell me.”

The old man smiled. “All right, but don’t you laugh.”

“I won’t.”

A moment of silence moved in between them. Finally the old man said, “It’s fish night, boy. Tonight’s the full moon and this is the right part of the desert if memory serves me, and the feel is right — I mean, doesn’t the night feel like it’s made up of some soft fabric, that it’s different from other nights, that it’s like being inside a big, dark bag, the sides sprinkled with glitter, a spotlight at the top, at the open mouth, to serve as a moon?”

“You lost me.”

The old man sighed. “But it feels different. Right? You can feel it too, can’t you?”

“I suppose. Sort of thought it was just the desert air. I’ve never camped out in the desert before, and I guess it is different.”

“Different, all right. You see, this is the road I got stranded on twenty years back. I didn’t know it at first, least not consciously. But down deep in my gut I must have known all along I was taking this road, tempting fate, offering it, as the football people say, an instant replay.”

“I still don’t understand about fish night. What do you mean, you were here before?”

“Not this exact spot, somewhere along in here. This was even less of a road back then than it is now. The Navajos were about the only ones who traveled it. My car conked out, like this one today, and I started walking instead of waiting. As I walked the fish came out. Swimming along in the starlight pretty as you please. Lots of them. All the colors of the rainbow. Small ones, big ones, thick ones, thin ones. Swam right up to me…right through me! Fish just as far as you could see. High up and low down to the ground.

“Hold on, boy. Don’t start looking at me like that. Listen: You’re a college boy, you know something about these things. I mean, about what was here before we were, before we crawled out of the sea and changed enough to call ourselves men. Weren’t we once just slimy things, brothers to the things that swim?”

“I guess, but —”

“Millions and millions of years ago this desert was a sea bottom. Maybe even the birthplace of man. Who knows? I read that in some science books. And I got to thinking this: If the ghosts of people who have lived can haunt houses, why can’t the ghosts of creatures long dead haunt where they once lived, float about in a ghostly sea?”

“Fish with a soul?”

“Don’t go small-mind on me, boy. Look here: Some of the Indians I’ve talked to up north tell me about a thing they call the manitou. That’s a spirit. They believe everything has one. Rocks, trees, you name it. Even if the rock wears to dust or the tree gets cut to lumber, the manitou of it is still around.”

“Then why can’t you see these fish all the time?”

“Why can’t we see ghosts all the time? Why do some of us never see them? Time’s not right, that’s why. It’s a precious situation, and I figure it’s like some fancy time lock — like the banks use. The lock clicks open at the bank, and there’s the money. Here it ticks open and we get the fish of a world long gone.”

“Well, it’s something to think about,” the young man managed.

The old man grinned at him. “I don’t blame you for thinking what you’re thinking. But this happened to me twenty years ago and I’ve never forgotten it. I saw those fish for a good hour before they disappeared. A Navajo came along in an old pickup right after and I bummed a ride into town with him. I told him what I’d seen. He just looked at me and grunted. But I could tell he knew what I was talking about. He’d seen it too, and probably not for the first time.

“I’ve heard that Navajos don’t eat fish for some reason or another, and I bet it’s the fish in the desert that keep them from it. Maybe they hold them sacred. And why not? It was like being in the presence of the Creator; like crawling back inside your mother and being unborn again, just kicking around in the liquids with no cares in the world.”

“I don’t know. That sounds sort of…”

“Fishy?” The old man laughed. “It does, it does. So this Navajo drove me to town. Next day I got my car fixed and went on. I’ve never taken that cutoff again — until today, and I think that was more than accident. My subconscious was driving me. That night scared me, boy, and I don’t mind admitting it. But it was wonderful too, and I’ve never been able to get it out of my mind.”

The young man didn’t know what to say.

The old man looked at him and smiled. “I don’t blame you,” he said. “Not even a little bit. Maybe I am crazy.”

They sat awhile longer with the desert night, and the old man took his false teeth out and poured some of the warm water on them to clean them of coffee and cigarette residue.

“I hope we don’t need that water,” the young man said.

“You’re right. Stupid of me! We’ll sleep awhile, start walking before daylight. It’s not too far to the next town. Ten miles at best.” He put his teeth back in.

“We’ll be just fine.”

The young man nodded.

No fish came. They did not discuss it. They crawled inside the car, the young man in the front seat, the old man in the back. They used their spare clothes to bundle under, to pad out the cold fingers of the night.

Near midnight the old man came awake suddenly and lay with his hands behind his head and looked up and out the window opposite him, studied the crisp desert sky.

And a fish swam by.

Long and lean and speckled with all the colors of the world, flicking its tail as if in goodbye. Then it was gone.

The old man sat up. Outside, all about, were the fish — all sizes, colors, and shapes.

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“Hey, boy, wake up!”

The younger man moaned.

“Wake up!”

The young man, who had been resting face down on his arms, rolled over. “What’s the matter? Time to go?”

“The fish.”

“Not again.”

“Look!”

The young man sat up. His mouth fell open. His eyes bloated. Around and around the car, faster and faster in whirls of dark color, swam all manner of fish.

“Well, I’ll be… How?”

“I told you, I told you.”

The old man reached for the door handle, but before he could pull it a fish swam lazily through the back window glass, swirled about the car, once, twice, passed through the old man’s chest, whipped up and went out through the roof.

The old man cackled, jerked open the door. He bounced around beside the road. Leaped up to swat his hands through the spectral fish. “Like soap bubbles,” he said. “No. Like smoke!”

The young man, his mouth still agape, opened his door and got out. Even high up he could see the fish. Strange fish, like nothing he’d ever seen pictures of or imagined. They flitted and skirted about like flashes of light.

As he looked up, he saw, nearing the moon, a big dark cloud. The only cloud in the sky. That cloud tied him to reality suddenly, and he thanked the heavens for it. Normal things still happened. The whole world had not gone insane.

After a moment the old man quit hopping among the fish and came out to lean on the car and hold his hand to his fluttering chest.

“Feel it, boy? Feel the presence of the sea? Doesn’t it feel like the beating of your own mother’s heart while you float inside the womb?”

And the younger man had to admit that he felt it, that inner rolling rhythm that is the tide of life and the pulsating heart of the sea.

“How?” the young man said. “Why?”

“The time lock, boy. The locks clicked open and the fish are free. Fish from a time before man was man. Before civilization started weighing us down. I know it’s true. The truth’s been in me all the time. It’s in us all.”

“It’s like time travel,” the young man said. “From the past to the future, they’ve come all that way.”

“Yes, yes, that’s it… Why, if they can come to our world, why can’t we go to theirs? Release that spirit inside of us, tune into their time?”

“Now, wait a minute…”

“My God, that’s it! They’re pure, boy, pure. Clean and free of civilization’s trappings. That must be it! They’re pure and we’re not. We’re weighted down with technology. These clothes. That car.”

The old man started removing his clothes.

“Hey!” the young man said. “You’ll freeze.”

“If you’re pure, if you’re completely pure,” the old man mumbled, “that’s it…yeah, that’s the key.”

“You’ve gone crazy.”

“I won’t look at the car,” the old man yelled, running across the sand, trailing the last of his clothes behind him. He bounced about the desert like a jackrabbit.

“God, God, nothing is happening, nothing,” he moaned. “This isn’t my world. I’m of that world. I want to float free in the belly of the sea, away from can openers and cars and —”

The young man called the old man’s name. The old man did not seem to hear.

“I want to leave here!” the old man yelled. Suddenly he was springing about again. “The teeth!” he yelled. “It’s the teeth. Dentist, science, foo!” He punched a hand into his mouth, plucked the teeth free, tossed them over his shoulder.

Even as the teeth fell the old man rose. He began to stroke. To swim up and up and up, moving like a pale, pink seal among the fish.

In the light of the moon the young man could see the pooched jaws of the old man, holding the last of the future’s air. Up went the old man, up, up, up, swimming strong in the long‑lost waters of a time gone by.

The young man began to strip off his own clothes. Maybe he could nab him, pull him down, put the clothes on him. Something… God, something… But, what if he couldn’t come back? And there were the fillings in his teeth, the metal rod in his back from a motorcycle accident. No, unlike the old man, this was his world and he was tied to it. There was nothing he could do.

A great shadow weaved in front of the moon, made a wriggling slat of darkness that caused the young man to let go of his shirt buttons and look up.

A black rocket of a shape moved through the invisible sea: a shark, the granddaddy of all sharks, the seed for all of man’s fears of the deeps.

And it caught the old man in its mouth, began swimming upward toward the golden light of the moon. The old man dangled from the creature’s mouth like a ragged rat from a house cat’s jaws. Blood blossomed out of him, coiled darkly in the invisible sea.

The young man trembled. “Oh God,” he said once.

Then along came that thick dark cloud, rolling across the face of the moon. Momentary darkness.

And when the cloud passed there was light once again, and an empty sky.

No fish.

No shark.

And no old man.

Just the night, the moon, and the stars.

Written by one of my favorite authors, Joe R. Lansdale, a Texas American writer and martial arts instructor.

This copy was electronically retrieved from The Horrorzine May 2011 Issue on 22 July 2020 although I first read this in 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories, edited by Al Sarrantonio.

Fish Night was recently adapted into an animated short as part of LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, a 2019 adult animation web anthology by streaming service, Netflix.

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#love death robots #love death and robots #netflix #fish night #joe r lansdale #joe lansdale #horror stories #short horror stories #short stories #animated shorts #animated #adult cartoons #reading #read online

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themadcapmathematician · 7 years

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Cross stitch

(From this ask: http://themadcapmathematician.tumblr.com/post/166211824448/reblog-and-tag-with-your-ocs-names)

Full Name: To the Stress Ball Squad they’re Cross-Stitch of Dead End, though that’s not their real name.

Gender and Sexuality: Cross doesn’t bother defining xyr gender or sexuality all that exacting. As a human, they’d probably just call themself Queer and Genderqueer. The closest I can describe it is that he’s genderfluid/multigendered and mspec.

Pronouns: rolling pronouns; they/she/he/xe.

Ethnicity/Species: in the tf verse theyre part Cybertronian, and part one or two other cybernetic species (junkion possibly being one of them). As a human (or as a holoform) xyr a whitepassing person of mixed race.

Birthplace and Birthdate: ???? They’re the oldest of the Stress Ball Squad and have served in at least one war before THE war. Again, a lot of Cross’ past is a mystery, even to people she cares for.

Guilty Pleasures: cheesy soaps and romance novels. Stron wasted a whole bunch of time trying to get a naysaying Cross to try As the Kitchen Sinks only to find out years into their friendship that he owns all 32 current available seasons on HD with bonus content imported directly from Junk (except season 27 but fuck season 27).

Phobias: cant stand the smell of molten metal. Gags the whole way through soldering and welding procedures. (Human equivalent is burning flesh I guess but the molten metal is still A Thing.)

What They Would Be Famous For: She’s pretty infamous for her work in Dead End. Shes got her fingers in a lot of illegal but profitable pies, lets just say. They don’t call them The Butcher of Dead End for nothing (though that’s at least half a jab about their fading surgical abilities).

What They Would Get Arrested For: honestly whatever the government can pin on him at this point, they just want him off the streets.

OC You Ship Them With: um, I dont have many tf ocs and xe’s pretty much incompatible with all of the ones I do have. @spookyscarystrawberry’s oc Gale and him have had a…thing at least once however. As far as my other ocs go crackshipping them with Chloe or ‘Blade has its appeal.

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Rote has a hankering from time to time, but he’ll have to get in line lmfao

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: loves pulpy romance, erotica, and mystery novels, esp gothic and queer ones (tho I guess all tf media in universe is queer lmfao). Harboiled detective novels too. Watches a lot of garbage telly, but only casually. Stron’s tried to get her into pretty much any form of other media, particularly offworld stuff, but it just doesnt hold Cross’ interest much. They do, however, think its fun to learn spoilers of tv shows they know Stron and Rote are watching and blackmail them with such knowledge.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: can’t fucking stand romcoms (specifically human romcoms) where one of them’s supposed to be charming and is really just a jackass. They get really heated about this, like they’re watching sports. “FUCKING DUMP! HIM!” gets shouted at the screen a lot. She also hates government propaganda, really fucking stupid inaccuracies about organics (most organic-produced media is really tough to get ahold of on pre-war Cybertron [not like on Junk, where its practically its own religion lmfao] so most Cybertronians just fucking…guess), sparkbonding being used as deus ex machina to fix plot holes and character development failings, medical inaccuracies…

Talents and/or Powers: contrary to popular belief, still almost a decent doctor, not an awful teacher. An extremely prolific black marketeer. Has a million underworld connections. May be a disabled elderly person but still has some combat prowess left. Good at gaming the system and getting what they want.

Why Someone Might Love Them: They’re cunning, clever, snarky, more caring and altruistic than they first appear, they’ve got an impeccable fashion sense. They all but adopted Stron and is the primary reason they’re alive and well right now. He’s also looked out for Gale and Rote, not that he’d advertise it. In her mind, the right connections trump principles, even principles of self-preservation. Xe wont let anyone control xem or the people xe cares about though.

Why Someone Might Hate Them: I mean…they’re a career criminal who primarily deals in body parts and theyre a jackass on top of that…so…

How They Change: well clearly letting Stron into thier life has done them some good, softened them a bit. Rote forced her to confront herself and her actions, that was important too. And Gale and Cross have had a complicated relationship that was painful for them both but helped them both heal.

I don’t think Cross was ever going to be a good person per se, and I also don’t think xe was ever uncaring and entirely selfish either. Maybe xyr priorities shifted around a bit, some of xyr failings grew too big to be ignored. Like I sorta mentioned, healings a big deal for pm the whole gang’s character arcs and storylines, alongside forgiveness and atonement.

Why You Love Them: They’re my favorite angry fallen glam goth bird. Im not always sure if I’m writing the right kinds of characters but Cross reminds me that I can at least have fun with flawed and multifaceted characters. I also like designing their mods and clothes and shit and I love thier relationships to the rest of The Stress Ball Squad.

#ask #ocs #my ocs #cross #cross stitch #tf ocs #theredheadeddevil #madcap rants #madcap replies #oc stuff #tumblr games #ask memes

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okidenshi · 7 years

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Andrea!!

Full Name: Andrea (As of now no canon last name because she’s kinda sorta adopted)Gender and Sexuality: Female, and ? honestly i have no idea her sexuality. She doesn’t have a love interest- i wouldn’t say she’s asexual but i’m not sure her attraction. I’ll have to think about it!Pronouns: she/herEthnicity/Species: Native American/whatever the wizzy equivalent to that would be :’DBirthplace and Birthdate: She doesn’t know, and neither do I c:Guilty Pleasures: Snacking in bed/late night snacks (she’s a bit of an insomniac due to anxiety)Phobias: Being abandoned or forgotten. What They Would Be Famous For: Saving the SpiralWhat They Would Get Arrested For: Practicing shadow magicOC You Ship Them With: Like i said she doesn’t exactly have a love interest- however I like her & Daniel’s relationship. They’re not really anything more than good friends but their personalities mix very nicely. OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Taylor (oh the angst taylor and andrea put each other through is my favorite thing tbh)Favorite Movie/Book Genre: She just loves books in general- her favorite are either storybooks or history books. Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: N/ATalents and/or Powers: She’s an extremely skilled thaumaturgeWhy Someone Might Love Them: She’s very good at protecting her friends, and I think most people would admire her selflessness in that respect. Also, cool wise ice wizard with white hair?? what’s not to love????Why Someone Might Hate Them: Andrea thinks very lowly of herself- that’s why she throws herself in front of anyone to protect them- I think some people (her friends, especially taylor) can sometimes grow annoyed with her behavior and how she treas herself- they want her to take care of herself because they love her, but of course with her anxiety and depression that obviously is hard for her to do. They try their best too accommodate and understand, but with her constantly having ups & downs, it creates a lot of drama- in a good way tho :’DHow They Change: Andrea goes through a lot of ups & downs like i said- once she thinks she learns something, something else comes up to make her second guess herself. The first arc deals a lot with her learning how to accept her powers and that she was meant to do something more than stay in wizard city, work in her mother’s shop and read books all day. However in the second arc she begins to question more about who she is- she knows her mother isn’t actually her biological mother, as wonderful as a mom as she is. It then bothered her that her parents might have not wanted her- what was wrong with her? why didn’t they want me? Do others want me around? And so on. It’s a wild roller coaster with her and I love it. Why You Love Them: See above :’D I enjoy her complexity and ability to grow but have low points that not only challenge her, but the group as well. Her choices and actions effect the feelings of her friends, and vice versa, and it impacts each and every one of them and!!! I just love it.

Thanks for the ask anon!! I love my wizzy babies so much :’3

#ask #anon

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crystalsoul16 · 7 years

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This is the “32 Things About Myself” game

Tagged by: @yk-shooting-star tysm for the tag~!! :D

Also, I know @dragonpigeons and @sander-sonia tagged me for a different tag thing, but all but one of the questions asked are on this one too. Soooo I hope y’all don’t mind that I’m just doing both at once here ^^; otherwise I’m just copying and pasting answers. As one of my professors liked to say, “Think smarter, not harder!”

To make it easier, I italicized the questions that are on both lists

Also to all three of ya, sorry it took me a bit to get to these ^^;;;;

1. Name: Kaitlyn 2. Nickname(s): K, K-chan, Katie, Kait, Kai, Crys, KK (feel free to give me more if you had another in mind! I love nicknames :D) 3. Zodiac sign: Cancer 4. Height: 5′2″/157cm 5. Ethnicity: Caucasian 6. Birthplace: Greensboro, North Carolina 7. Sexual orientation: Pansexual 8. Favourite fruit(s): Melons, mangoes, and cherries 9. Favourite season(s): Autumn 10. Favourite song(s): This always changes, but at the moment it’s Stronger Than Ever by Raleigh Ritchie 11. Favourite flower(s): Hydrangeas and gardenias 12. Favourite book(s): Confession: I haven’t done a whole lot of reading since I got out of high school. However, I do recall really loving the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series! My bro and I read the shit outta those! I kinda wanna go back and read them again now lol 13. Favourite animal(s): I love animals in general, but I have a weakness for wolves and griffins (yes I know the latter are fictional but I just fucking love griffins) 14. Favourite beverage(s): Dr Pepper, coffee coco, and honey vanilla chamomile tea 15. Favourite fictional character(s): Yoosung from Mystic Messenger (obvious), Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, Link from The Legend of Zelda (Time and Twilight are my favorite incarnations so far), N Harmonia from Pokemon, and Zevran from Dragon Age just to list a few 16. Dream trip: honestly, all I want right now is to go on vacation with some of my friends, idgaf where we go I just wanna have fun with them ;A; 17. Killed people: I had a dream once where I stabbed someone to death with a kitchen knife out of self defense >->;;;;; but otherwise no, never killed anyone and I have no plans to do so! 18. Siblings: younger brother, and older half-brother 19. Horror films?: I tend to avoid the genre, but I can handle suspense films pretty well, as long as they don’t do a lot of jumpscares. I’m too weak 20. Reason to smile: When I make someone else happy~ 21. Questions you are always asked: nothing comes to mind right now ^^; 22. Favourite food(s): pasta. Just pasta in general. I fucking love pasta 23. A gift you currently want to receive: I want a lot of things tbh lol (mostly games), but I’m bad about asking for things cuz I always have a sense of guilt about it! So just money gifts work so I can buy things I want myself or save up for them for later! 24. OTP: I have a weakness for YooSeven 25. One thing that changed about you: I guess I’m more confident with who I am as a person. I mean I still have a low self-esteem, but at least I can accept it instead of just hating myself for it lol 26. Your first ship: hmm… I don’t recall what my first actual ship was… but I think the first ship I actually looked up stuff for was PreciousMetalShipping? 27. NOTP: nothing comes to mind really 28. Fear that you want to conquer: my fear of bugs that aren’t pokemon my fear of starting conversations (not sure if fear or just very strong discomfort tbh but still) cuz I’d be so much better at keeping in touch with my friends that way and be able to reach out to potential friends >~29. Favourite fanfiction(s): funny enough, I haven’t read many fanfics lately! I really need to look into some soon 30. Favourite sport(s): do Wii sports count? no K of course not honestly I don’t really watch or bother with sports at all. Seriously, the most hyped I got at watching “sports” was from watching a Street Fighter tournament on eSports on TV one night 31. Birth of your blog: July 11th, 2011. I’ve been here a long time. And apparently share a birthday with my blog. How do I keep forgetting this? 32. Followers: currently at 385! I am one follower away from having the Hoenn dex completed :D cuz I like to compare my follower count to pokedex entries lol

Bonus! Number of Blankets You Sleep With: right now, just one throw blanket. Two if it’s chilly enough.

Tag time!! @greywardentheronmahariel @ultyso @robot707 @novacorgi @blushingjojo @akabane-chan

Either do the numbered ones or the italics + bonus, only if you want to of course! No pressure ^^

#k got tagged #hope it's okay that i combined them!#now i must sleep cuz work in the morning #and then vacation!

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royxart · 7 years

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What does the Tag say-

Tagged simultaneously (I’m not kidding) by @artpills-blog and @york-in ! woah... are you telepathic? °-° anyway thank you! x3

Even though I already answered some questions in this other tag I find it nice to answer again, especially to other fellow artists! *<* (I’m gonna mix up a bit, due to minimal differences in the questionnaires!)

Ok, here I go! Rules: Answer 20 questions and tag 20 followers you would like to get to know better

Name: Rosy Nickname: Royxhe haha Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius Height: 150 cm Ethnicity: Italian Orientation: Straight demisexual Favorite Fruit: Watermelon, green grapes (I’ll add Peaches in syrup in this one xD) Favorite Season: Autumn for the colors *w* Favorite Book: There can’t be ONE fav book XD I’m in the urban-fantasy hell Favorite Flower: Sunflowers because of the meaning! (I like to follow the sun too xD) Favorite color: orange and cobalt blue <3 Favorite Animals: Hamsters, Foxes and Wolves... also Dragons lol Favorite Beverage: Choko milkshake *ç* Hours of Sleep: 3 or 9/10, there’s no between Favorite Fictional Characters: Link (TLOZ) for some reasons <3 Number of Blankets You Sleep with: 1 (light or heavy, it depends by the season) but always 2 pillows xD Dream Trip: I want to change this... I want to visit every amusement parks in the world! x’D Blog Created: September 2012 (thanks, archive) Number of Followers: 401! lol (always full of bots gh)

aaand - Rules: tag 20 blogs and answer questions in a new post A- age: 22 (and me too-> “I’m a total child and look like I’m 15 or something ._. my appearance is always misleading people, hehe”) - Also they sent me away when I had to vote for the first time............. B- birthplace: Italy C- current time: 22:12 pm D- drink you last drank: simply water XD E- easiest person to talk to: my family and a few friends xD (but I hate to talk on the phone) F- favorite song: ...I’m a horrible at this because if I like a song, I’ll listen it 100 times relentlessly then I’ll leave it apart for years xD (but specially I obsess over videogames OST and italian cartoons/anime openings... Giorgio Vanni the hero) G- grossest memory: When I can’t find out what I want to do in life, like a job... or simply thinking when I’ll have to live without my family... I think about this a lot; (said so, I’m an optimist, did you know? ^^’’’) H- horror yes or no? NO- NOPE- NEVER or I can’t sleep for days and I start to fear every dark corner. I- in love? actually... no, maybe platonic? (also me-> “I don’t think I’ve been?”) so, not really, I guess - I make so many mental trips about how I might really fall in love but... it never happens sigh x’D *romantic demisexual struggles* J- jealous of people? Not really. Maybe a bit when it’s art only because I would like to reach their level one day xD K- killed someone? Not even mentally. Oh wait! actually yes... in videogames. (oh and I’ve killed so many mosquitos... ugh) L- love at first sight or should i walk past again? I’m demisexual not for nothing XD I need to know more the person and a deeper ‘soul’ contact to say it’s really love. M- middle name: space.... ‘cause I don’t have one... *bad puns I will lose followers for* N- number of siblings: none... yay! sigh... yay! ...sigh... yay! sigh... O- one wish? To never forget the most important things... P- person you last called? I hate talking on the phone so I don’t remember well xD I think my grandma! Q- question you’re always asked: how old are you? . . . R- reason to smile: Dad and Mom; my crazy dreams; my future dog XD S- song you last sang: The circle of life... from the lion king. T- time you woke up: 11:15 am today lol U- underwear color: white with purple stars all over it V- vacation: Sicily, all the years- to visit my grandma and uncles. W- worst habit: talking loud and too much...; not eating most of healthy vegetables; not drinking enough water per day. X- x-rays: ...? I have to upload a photo of my skeleton? do you want also the blood type? Y- your favourite food: Sweets; Milkshake, Chocolate; Chips... and so on Z- zodiac sign: Sagittarius... again (I think an Aries would be my soulmate lol)

End! this took me hours x’D Just kidding, Idk who to tag >___< I don’t want to bother anyone! 5 is enough to me xD @noshuriken @n4k1ki @icechiild @thenuclearchaos @serpentis413

By the way If you want to do this... do it! (°v°)9

#tag #ask

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kristinejrosario · 7 years

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Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

This is a guest contribution from Sam Warren of Rankpay

I’ve got good news and bad news.

The bad news is this: that boring content you’re probably peddling? It’s not worth it anymore. It has its place, but it’s not going to take you to that next level.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not your fault for going about content marketing like this. We all do. We’ve been taught to.

But therein lies the problem doesn’t it? If we’ve all been taught to do something, and we all “follow the rules”, it stands to reason that it’d be hard to stand out. And boy, is it ever.

Don’t get discouraged though, as promised I have some good news as well.

While it may be difficult, it’s far from impossible to get noticed. You’re just going to have to think outside the box and that’s why I’m here.

I’m going to show you how to make a difference.

From time to time, we all need to brush up on our creative problem solving skills and remind ourselves that it’s OK to be disruptive and take risks.

But before we get there, let’s take a closer look at why we need to think this way in the first place.

Content Marketing Has Grown Into a Monster

It used to be hard to find good writers on the internet. Those that knew how to write an engaging and actionable article made waves quickly and efficiently.

Nowadays, good writers are a dime a dozen. In fact, there are far too many of us.

Back in 2012 Domo presented research claiming WordPress users alone create 347 articles every minute.

The signal to noise ratio is getting worse by the day, and in many cases writers have altogether forgotten why they started down this road in the first place.

Was it

More shares?

Improved search visibility?

Building brand awareness?

Getting email subscribers for remarketing?

Oh well, you probably don’t have time to consider such things. Better write another 500 word article to hit that deadline.

There, there, it’s all right. You’re not alone.

Further, this type of “bulk” content you’ve been taught to produce can still be marginally effective if you’re in a small and uncompetitive niche.

But for those of us fixing to make headway in existing markets, traditional advice just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

What Doesn’t Necessarily Work in Competitive Markets?

Don’t worry, I know you’re curious about what does work. We’ll get there.

But let’s first take a closer look at a few things you’ve probably been taught over the years. I’d challenge you to take a good hard look at each of them, and try to determine what measurable impact they’ve had for you.

Skyscraper Technique

This was popularized by Brian Dean a number of years ago, and it’s still a pretty awesome concept. I don’t want to devalue this opportunity for you, but it behooves us to be cautious and realistic.

Image courtesy: Backlinko

The problem is, after this technique started to make the rounds, many content marketers began investing serious time putting it to good use. As a result of this, unless you’re blogging in an up-and-coming niche, the return on investment often won’t usually be in your favor.

There are any number of cornerstone and evergreen content pieces out there that you’re simply not going to best without putting in an unacceptable amount of time and energy.

This is an “extreme” example, but say you run an SEO service, and you want to rank for the term “How to do keyword research.” Well, Moz is currently ranking #1 for that term. Spoiler alert: their post already has over 5000 links built to it.

The amount of time you’d need to invest in creating a resource that’s actually more useful than a well-established magnum opus with 1k+ referring quality domains, is staggering.

It may occasionally border on impossible depending upon your link-building abilities and social capital.

Tons of boring “recycled” content

Just take a look on Upwork and you’ll see a huge number of gigs looking for “writers” able to produce tons of 500 words articles focused on a small number of keyword variations.

If you’re working in a space that has no recognizable competition, this could get your site on the map. No doubt. But even under those circumstances, you’d still be missing out on so much of what content marketing has to offer.

Guess what? Readers aren’t going to click your article if it’s the same damn thing they’ve read a thousand times already. Recycling and spinning content will simply turn readers off.

Alienating your existing or potential audience is a surefire way to drive your traffic into the ground.

That horrid template you use for outreach emails

Getting published at notable outlets is a big deal for any marketer. It’s also a critical component to making sure you’re get the most out of your content marketing efforts.

But getting a publisher’s ear can be easier said than done. Case in point: the blog I edit at RankPay is a relatively low-key affair, but nevertheless I bet you’d be surprised by the sheer volume of pitches I get from writers looking to get published.

First and foremost, don’t be an idiot when you write these emails. Do us all a favor and avoid the common pitfalls.

Don’t misspell names

Don’t address the wrong publication

Don’t pitch junk just to earn a link

Don’t plagiarize

But there’s more to it than just that.

Chances are you’ve read that personalizing is the way to go. It is. But everyone recommends you say something like “I’ve been a long-time reader and I loved your article XYZ”.

While it’s nice that this shows you took the time to copy paste a title as opposed to just bulk-emailing, it still doesn’t win you any points these days. Every publisher knows what you’re doing, and it just makes you seem washed up and disingenuous.

What Does Work Nowadays?

Put simply, thinking outside of the box works.

Tell a story and be creative. Write about something that nobody else has bothered to yet.

Do you know why so many readers are happy subscribers to Seth Godin’s blog? It’s because they’ll never see anything he writes, anywhere else. It’s truly original and, even more importantly, it’s from the heart.

That last part is the key. The internet has made us all a bit more skeptical and increased our awareness of when we’re being “sold” or manipulated. Being genuine and honest is the best way to avoid having this problem yourself.

Develop a unique and authentic voice

Writing in a stiff or unnatural voice is a surefire way to alienate your readers.

Let your freak flag fly! Well, to a degree. Let’s not get carried away.

But the point I’m going to stress here, is that getting noticed demands personality, creativity, and authenticity. With so many talented writers producing quality content, you’re going to need to be different.

There’s often a level of candor that I still “feel” is missing from many popular writers. Perhaps once they reach a certain popularity point they feel they need to button up and follow the rules to be careful not to misstep.

I’m not popular enough to be burdened with high-brow concerns. But that being said, time and time again, being original and authentic gets folks to pay attention.

We all just want to relate to one another and to be heard, whether we’re creating or consuming content.

Actually be creative

While everyone shouts this from the mountaintops, very few seem to practice it.

I don’t just mean “don’t plagiarize”. Honestly that should go without saying. I mean tell a story that your audience hasn’t heard before. Screw the rules! Be creative! Be different!

Image courtesy: Derek Halpern

If you’re in IT, write a cute screenplay about how to better provide tech support. Write a limerick about common troubleshooting solutions. Being original (and often weird) is usually how content goes viral.

“If you’ve ever seen my YouTube channel, one of the first things you might notice is that I look ridiculous in half of my thumbnail pictures. Why would I publish these truly unfortunate freeze frames when I have much better pictures I could be using? The answer is simple: What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets forgotten.” – Derek Halpern

People want to be entertained and educated. If you can accomplish both at once in an innovative way, you’re truly on to something.

Honest outreach emails

Instead of sounding like just another writer looking to grab a link, try being genuine for a change.

I’ve legitimately landed multiple publication opportunities by opening my cold emails with some variation of the following.

If you don’t know the publication, try being honest that you don’t. Make yourself vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” ― Brené Brown

It seems risky, but the people on the receiving end of your emails are human beings. In my experience, people respect and appreciate honesty above all else. Trust me, candor is a refreshing treat when you work in marketing and/or publishing.

Putting Disruptive Ideas to Paper

Imagine yourself as a blogging entrepreneur! You’re going to have to take some risks. It’s scary to put yourself out there like this.

But the reality is, you won’t get far unless you “dare greatly”. That’s more wisdom from Brené Brown right there. Seriously, go watch her Ted Talks if you’ve somehow missed them.

It’s all too easy to just phone it in and write the same dribble you’ve been writing for the past few months or years. But let’s make 2017 different. Let’s make a difference this year.

Remember:

Be creative with the content you create

Be authentic with your voice and tone

Be different than your competitors

Be honest with your outreach efforts

You’ll be amazed by the opportunities you earn when you begin to bring these goals in focus.

Sam Warren is the marketing manager and editor at RankPay, a top rated performance-based SEO service, and the proud father of a 10lb chihuahua mutt.

The post Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed appeared first on ProBlogger.

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