#Home Office Policy Update

[lexlawuk]

UK Business Visit Visa: New Permitted Work Related Activities

On December 7, 2023, the UK Government introduced a statement of changes to immigration rules, ushering in a new era of flexibility for visitors engaging in work-related activities. Effective from January 31, 2024, these changes aim to enhance short-term mobility, particularly for those involved in business activities. In this article, we delve into the key amendments and shed light on how these…

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #7

Feb 23-March 1 2024

The White House announced $1.7 Billion in new commitments from local governments, health care systems, charities, business and non-profits as part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. The Challenge was launched with 8 billion dollars in 2022 with the goal of ending hunger in America by 2030. The Challenge also seeks to drastically reduce diet-related diseases (like type 2 diabetes). As part of the new commitments 16 city pledged to make plans to end hunger by 2030, the largest insurance company in North Carolina made nutrition coaching and a healthy food delivery program a standard benefit for members, and since the challenge launched the USDA's Summer EBT program has allowed 37 states to feed children over the summer, its expected 21 million low income kids will use the program this summer.

The US House passed a bill on Nuclear energy representing the first update in US nuclear energy policy in decades, it expands the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and reduces reducing licensing fees. Nuclear power represents America's single largest source of clean energy, with almost half of carbon-free electricity coming from it. This bill will boost the industry and make it easier to build new plants

Vice President Harris announced key changes to the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program. The CCDBG supports the families of a million American children every month to help afford child care. The new changes include capping the co-pay families pay to no more than 7% of their income. Studies show that high income families pay 6-8% of their income in childcare while low income families pay 31%. The cap will reduce or eliminate fees for 100,000 families saving them an average of over $200 a month. The changes also strength payments to childcare providers insuring prompt payment.

The House passed a bill making changes to the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. The 8(a) is an intensive 9 year program that offers wide ranging training and support to small business owners who are socially and economically disadvantaged, predominantly native owned businesses. Under the current structure once a business reaches over 6.8 million in assets they're kicked off the program, even though the SBA counts anything under $10 million as a small business, many companies try to limit growth to stay on the program. The House also passed a bill to create an Office of Native American Affairs at the SBA, in order to support Native-owned small businesses.

The White House and HUD announced steps to boost the housing supply and lower costs plans include making permanent the Federal Financing Bank Risk Sharing program, the program has created 12,000 affordable housing units since 2021 with $2 billion and plans 38,000 additional units over ten years. As well as support for HUD's HOME program which has spent $4.35 billion since 2021 to build affordable rental homes and make home ownership a reality for Americans. For the first time an administration is making funds available specifically for investments in manufactured housing, $225 million. 20 million Americans live in manufactured housing, the largest form of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country, particularly the rural poor and people in tribal communities.

The Department of Energy announced $336 million in investments in rural and remote communities to lower energy costs and improve reliability. The projects represent communities in 20 states and across 30 Native tribes. 21% of Navajo Nation homes and 35% of Hopi Indian Tribe homes remain unelectrified, one of the projects hopes to bring that number to 0. Another project supports replacing a hydroelectric dam in Alaska replacing all the Chignik Bay Tribal Council's diesel power with clear hydro power. The DoE also announced $18 million for Transformative Energy projects lead by tribal or local governments and $25 million for Tribal clean energy projects, this comes on top of $75 million in Tribal clean energy projects in 2023

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg put forward new rules to ensure airline passengers who use wheelchairs can travel safely and with dignity. Under the planned rules mishandling a wheelchair would be a violation of the ACAA, airlines would be required to immediately notify the passenger of their rights. Airlines would be required to repair or replace the wheelchair at the preferred vendor of the passenger's choice as well as provide a loaner wheelchair that fits the passenger's needs/requirements

The EPA launched a $3 Billion dollar program to help ports become zero-emission. This investment in green tech and zero-emission will help important transportation hubs fight climate change and replace some of the largest concentrations of diesel powered heavy equipment in America.

the EPA announced $1 Billion dollars to help clean up toxic Superfund sites. This is the last of $3.5 billion the Biden administration has invested in cleaning up toxic waste sites known as Superfund sites. This investment will help finish clean up at 85 sites across the country as well as start clean up at 25 new sites. Many Superfund sites are contained and then left not cleaned for years even decades. Thanks to the Biden-Harris team's investment the EPA has been able to do more clean up of Superfund sites in the last 2 years than the 5 years before it. More than 25% of America's black and hispanic population live with-in 5 miles of a Superfund site.

Bonus: Sweden cleared the final major barrier to become NATO's 32nd member. The Swedish Foreign Minster is expected to fly to Washington to deposit the articles of accession at the US State Department. NATO membership for Sweden and its neighbor Finland (joined last year) has been a major foreign policy goal of President Biden in the face of Russian aggressive against Ukraine. Former President Trump has repeatedly attacked NATO and declared he wants to leave the 75 year old Alliance, even going so far as to tell Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" with European NATO allies

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Harry lost the RAVEC challenge

From The Telegraph:

The Duke of Sussex has lost a legal challenge against the Home Office over his right to automatic police protection in the UK which saw him stripped of taxpayer-funded security.

The court concluded that there was no unlawfulness in reaching the decision of 28 February 2020.

The judge found that any departure from policy was justified and that the decision was not irrational or marred by procedural unfairness.

The High Court ruled that even if such procedural unfairness occurred, the court would be prevented from granting the Duke any relief.

Leaving aside any such unlawfulness, this is because it is highly likely that the outcome for the claimant would not have been substantially different.

An archived link of the above website as of 5am EST. (Note that the archived link is missing the excerpted text and some of the more recent remarks. I’ll grab an updated archive link later.)

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. Woman who was walking to work because her car was broken finds $14k in a bag and turns it in to police, who return it to newlyweds who lost it. Crowdfund for a new car up to $14k so far.

Dianne Gordon was walking home from work on Jan. 21 when she saw a plastic bag on the ground and inside the bag she could see piles of money. Although she was in need of a vehicle-- her car broke down last year -- Gordon contacted police and returned the money immediately.

Police were able to track down who the money belonged to and discovered it belonged to a newlywed couple and have since returned the money to the couple. As for Gordon, her good deed wasn’t overlooked by people who heard her story, as the spouse of one of the police officers involved launched a crowdfunding campaign to help secure a car for Gordon. As of Thursday morning, the campaign has raised $14,500

2. Washington D.C.’s free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit systems take off

Washington, D.C., has enacted a zero-fare bus bill into law.

The policy eliminates the $2 fare for all the city’s buses starting this summer.

It is the largest city to institute a fare-free transit system and part of a growing movement nationwide.

3. Mom and son graduate college together, fulfilling 18-year promise

Carolyn and Immanuel Patton, a mother-son duo from Maryland, have graduated college together, fulfilling a promise the younger Patton first made to his mom when he was 5 years old.

Two years after they started the path together and about 18 years after Immanuel Patton vowed to graduate alongside his mother, they realized their collective dream.

4. A homeless mother left a note with her dog for whoever found her. An animal shelter reunited them.

This pup named Lilo came to McKamey Animal Center off the street - with an added surprise – a note.

"Please don't abuse me." Cool, totally wanted to be crying at work right now.

The shelter staff posted about Lilo on social media, hoping to connect with her owner when they got a call from someone saying they were Lilo's mom. While centers like McKamey provide shelter for dogs, they also provide resources for families who love their pets, but might not be able to keep them due to cost. Mann said they'll give food and supplies to families struggling to pay for their pets' needs. They'll even help the family find a pet-friendly home.

5. Campbell Johnstone reveals himself to be first openly gay All Black.

In a momentous moment for New Zealand's rainbow community, Campbell Johnstone has outed himself as the first openly gay player to have represented the country's most influential sporting brand.

All Black No. 1056 has publicly revealed his sexuality – in a brave bid to “open up that door and magically make that closet disappear” – for the first time on TVNZ's Seven Sharp programme on Monday evening. Johnstone, who played three tests for the All Blacks all in 2005, did confide in some teammates and his family during his playing days.

6. 92 year old flood victim reunited with lost cat

Valerie Axtens thought she had seen the last of her beloved cat Mendelson as she was being rescued through a window from rapidly rising floodwater. Valerie Axtens was rescued during the February 28 flood.

After the floodwater receded and one of her sons was able to return and check on the mud-covered house, he discovered — much to everyone's surprise — the cat had survived.

7. Slovenia becomes first eastern European country to recognise same-sex marriage

The legalisation of same-sex marriage has officially come into effect in Slovenia, in a huge win for LGBTQ+ rights in eastern Europe. 

The bill, which saw Slovenia’s Family Code updated, officially took its place amongst the country’s other laws on Tuesday (1 February). The historic moment followed a decision by the country’s top court in July, which found that banning same-sex marriage and adoption violated the country’s constitution, which prohibits discrimination

-- - -

That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Have a great week ahead :)

[r7-b7]

Watch and compare the differences and similarities between Claudia de la Cruz, Jill Stein, and Jasmine Sherman. The debate starts at the 5 minute mark.

This debate was great and I believe Jasmine Sherman gave us the best impression and most information. They answered each question with relevant information and offered accessible information to continue to educate ourselves on the rest of their policies. ACTUAL WRITTEN POLICIES. not the vague idea of what they might do in office but a comprehensive plan written and read aloud to you.

Jasmine Sherman's website has audiobook options for each of their policies so it may be read to you if you are blind or just simply don't have the time to read.

Jasmine Sherman's VP is an indigenous American named Tanda BluBear With whom they are working on their land back policy as well as actively taking comments and suggestions about said policy.

They have updated their policies when certain ones received constructive criticism and they do not refrain from mentioning what their positions have been in the past, what they've changed to, and why they have changed it. Such as their death penalty policy.

Some of my favorite policies include universal basic income/housing/healthcare, ending child marriage, COVID precautions, Land Back (in the works but I watched BluBear talk about), trans rights, and abolishing the police.

Below is the link to Jasmine Sherman's presidential page where you can find all of the information you need.

[3liza]

to me the biggest indicator that the Vote for the Lesser Evil or You're a Bad Person people are full of shit is living through like 3+ each of the Lesser and Greater Evil presidential reigns and nothing* got materially better or worse during any of that time except optics and the downstream effects of optics**, and things that aren't related to presidential proclamations or policy. most of you on here here are too young to remember the Obama campaign and presidency clearly but you can certainly look up the numbers on how many drone attacks on civilians he ordered, how many immigrants he imprisoned and killed, pretending to be grave and serious and Democratic about it the whole time, speaking eloquently and charmingly the whole time. same for Bill Clinton before him. doing the exact same shit as Bush and Bush 2 and Trump but doing it in a way the Daily Show and SNL approved of.

we voted for Gore and he lost and things got worse. voted for Obama twice, and he won twice, and things got worse. we voted for Hillary and she lost and things got worse. we voted for Biden and he won and things got worse. they all started the same wars, droned the same people, murdered the same Mexican kids in the desert or in holding cells, sent the same troops to perform the same illegal invasions and coups, enforced the same bullshit or outright evil policies at home. can you really look me in the face and say with conviction that Al Gore would not have invaded Iraq? you probably shouldnt

I think the Vote for the Lesser Evil or Else people arent actually paying attention tbh. I think they're desperate to cling to the illusion of control. when a Democrat is in office I think they feel relaxed, like they don't have to pay attention because the Okay Guy is at the wheel so we can look away for a moment. the Democrats rely on that lack of oversight to continue the mass murder policies of the Republicans without being pestered by NPR about it. and they crave that illusion of relaxation, that relief.

like yeah okay, let's test your Vote for the Less Bad Guy and Things Will Get Better theory, let's give it a fair shot and see what happens. hang on I'm being handed an update. ah

when Obama was elected everyone was like 😬 uh oh the racists aren't going to like this, they're going to do some hate crimes about this because they're mad a Black man is president. and they did.

and then when Trump was elected everyone was like 😬 uh oh the racists are going to love this, they're going to do some hate crimes because they feel empowered by their guy winning. and they did.

* Obamacare is the one big exception I can personally report, but you cannot credit a single man for that for complicated reasons involving how policy is allowed to manifest in the USA, and the state-by-state nature of the thing has made a lot of medical access in various parts of the country worse, not better

** eg, the "my team won" effect, when Obama was elected we partied in the streets, when Trump was elected they partied in the streets, etc

[salternateunreality2]

Kunsel says:

We should maybe have a stricter definition of what counts as "hacking", okay?

It was a slow day at work, and he decided to guess people's email passwords in 10 attempts.

How does it go?

YESSSSSSSSS

Pro tips: make your password long, that is the most important factor. Use a password manager, most of them have a free option. Adding complexity does help, but focus on length first. Size does matter here. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) also helps a lot.

---------

Kunsel: Zack, gimme your password!

Zack: ...

Kunsel: Come on man, I need it for something!

Zack: 😭😭😭 buddy I would, but I forgot it again 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Kunsel: Ok man, it's ok, let's look around your desk...here, under this pile of chip bags, I think i saw...yeah, here's the penguin toy...and yep, Password Penguin has "Zack'ss00p3rp4ssw0rd!" written on the bottom. Let's try it!

(it works)

Zack: THANK YOU KUNSEL I THOUGHT I'D LOST HIM AND I COULDN'T REMEMBER AND-

Kunsel: *wheeze* Zack let go, I need to breathe *wheeze*

-----------

Kunsel tries to guess Roche's by typing it in.

M0t0rcycle!

ShinyDancer

Sh1n33D4nc3r!

He's in.

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

Kunsel tries to guess Sephiroth's. On the 9th try, he gets it: Seph+Jenova4ever

Horrible things are uncovered along the way and now he needs to send Sephiroth some information very discreetly.

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

Lazard. Kunsel knows better. He gives a few guesses, but decides to actually hack this.

He sets up a hash capturing tool over the internal network and waits for Lazard to log on. He does. Kunsel captures the hash and starts cracking it.

Three days later, the hash cracker has not worked and he has to give up on that.

Kunsel: Sir, I need to get into your email, will you please send me your password?

Lazard: Of course not, that is unsafe and against company policy. However, you're welcome to come to my office to perform any actions we both deem necessary.

Kunsel goes over and Lazard is using multifactor authentication, so just having the hash cracked wouldn't have worked anyway. He sets up a keylogger surreptitiously on Lazard's workstation while "performing updates" and showing Lazard new features in his email.

The things he captures with that keylogger:

* Numerous emails covering for boneheaded shit the SOLDIERs did.

* The letter "A" typed about a thousand times into a text file labeled "definitely not screams.txt".

* Moogle searches for "how to convince your employees to get therapy", "pasta recipes", "therapists near me", "child psychology for adults", "play therapy for adults", "cat psychology", and "shrimp pasta recipes".

* The password: &oh'ihiy_-8_gi"it"gi_ipkb0(-ur#3-@--LXS4ever--9(9;0(!08(098+pihjboigig(@ukopih

Then it is a simple matter of finding a zero-day race condition hack in the MFA software, timing things just right, and entering the password and hacked MFA key at the perfect moment.

Kunsel of course has pity on the man after seeing even more emails such as...

* Explaining to Roche that doing squats over his motorcycle makes it look like he's humping it, and it is making people uncomfortable.

* Asking Genesis to please not actually firaga the recruits this week, they don't need a lawsuit. No, it's not character building. No, even though it was part of his home training and Shinra sanctioned training a few years ago.

* Inviting Sephiroth over for shrimp pasta to discuss strategy.

* Asking Angeal to seek therapy so the others will follow his lead.

* Telling Zack that he could not have a therapy flamingo in the office. Even if it was a lawn ornament.

* Warning Hojo not to take Sephiroth this week.

* Warning Hollander not to take Genesis and Angeal this week.

* Reaming Heidegger out very politely for all his BS.

Kunsel logs out without doing anything. Lazard needs a break.

--------

Kunsel calls Angeal pretending to be the help desk. Angeal, a bit embarrassed over his upbringing and unsure because he feels unused to technology, eventually gives Kunsel the password: BanoraBoys123!

----------

Genesis' is guessed on the 7th try because Kunsel didn't want to bother typing in an entire stanza of Loveless with numbers instead of vowels.

1nf1n1t3_1n_myst3ry_1s_th3_g1ft_0f_th3_g0dd3ss__w3_s33k_1t_th7s_4nd_t4k3_t0_th3_sky_r1ppl3s...

He sends an email from Genesis inviting everyone to a Loveless recital on Tuesday. It backfires because several people, including Genesis, show up and have a great time.

-----------

Kunsel tries Zack's little trooper friend next. He's a tough nut to crack. He won't pick up his PHS to get vished, won't click on Kunsel's phishing emails, and won't tell Zack or Kunsel his password.

Kunsel captures his hash and cracks it. It takes a full 24 hours, but he gets it in the end:

!1986fuck_this_shit

[celticcrossanon]

Celta, wanted to let you know that on Wednesday, Feb 27th in London, a Judge will make the decision whether to order RAVEC/Home Office to review their decision to deny Harry 24/7 security when he is in the UK. The Judge cannot order RAVEC/Home Office to give back Harry his 24/7 security. If RAVEC/Home Office have to review their decision and still decide a 2nd time to deny Harry 24/7 security whenever he's in the UK— then that means Harry loses. I really hope Harry is denied security a 2nd time!

Hi Nonny,

I just looked for news on this and apparently the judge's decision is imminent, so any time now. I am curious to know what the courts decided as well.

EDIT: Harry lost! To quote from The Daily Telegraph: "The judge found that any departure from policy was justified and that the decision was not irrational or marred by procedural unfairness."

[shrekgogurt]

An ask game for writers to procrastinate working on you WIP(s)

Thanks for the tags @theearlgreymage and @wellbelesbian !!!!

🦈Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s)

For the sake of this endeavor I’m gonna focus on I Knew A Boy, I Knew A Man which is also more affectionately referred to as IKABIKAM, eyecab eyecam, 👁️🚕👁️📸, etc.

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

Natasha as like a vaguely Margaret Thatcher figure but she was in office in the late 90s not the 80s don’t think about it too hard okay the exact policy/praxis doesn’t matter so much as the ideology/vibes/dynamic + Davy (The Mage) as like a fucked up Welsh caricature (of his own design) because he’s overcompensating and has the media literacy of the worst film bro you’ve ever had the misfortune of talking to = their sons falling in love through football/soccer against all odds as juxtaposed between childhood and adulthood.

🌍What tags or warnings will your / one of your wip(s) need if you intend to share it?

Trauma

🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

Solsbury Hill for obvious reasons

⚠️Which wip you’re most likely to finish or update next?

This one :-)

💾What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

Okay, I’m usually absolute ass at naming files in any helpful fashion but this project is so organized on Google Docs. My notes app is a different story. Those don’t even have titles. I just launch into my whims as they come.

Most interesting answer I can give is that the folder containing all my fic documents is titled “kill the part that cringes.”

🖍Post Any sentence from your wip

Listen, I warned y’all.

To be in love with Simon Snow—a life sentence, an encyclopedia of grief.

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

In the original musings of IKABIKAM—titled Scarborough Fair as the club was gonna be in Scarborough—Simon was Irish rather than Welsh and raised by Ruth. I know. Wild to think about now. But it’s true. And then I did some excavating on canon and the story we have today was born. Lost to time (the original idea of this fic which was actually two fics) is a whole very fun scene. I had planned that after the international break match against other, Simon convinced Baz to go out on the town with him. I wrote this snippet back then. It didn’t make the cut for obvious reasons and honestly I don’t know how much I stand by the characterization. Or the prose. Everything about IKABIKAM is better to me but this sexy little number deserves the people’s attention. I’m slightly concerned it’s offensive.

They’re playing INDUSTRY BABY in this club right now? I’m not dancing with Simon Snow to a Lil Nas X song. That music video…I’m only a man. I’m also not exactly sober. I will not risk a Snow relapse. Besides, Snow himself just downed the rest of his drink.

He leans toward me to say something. With the combination of his drunkenness and his accent I can barely make out his words, “eye gahta gohbakta da barrr.” (Translation: I’ve got to go back to the bar.) He really doesn’t.

I pluck the glass from his hand, “this last one is on me.”

He goofily smiles. His head is drooping to the side and his eyes are half-lidded. It would be adorable if I wasn’t worried about him falling over. I scan the room. One of the other Irish players is nearby. I hook Snow’s arm in mine (both my hands are full!) and drag him towards his teammate. He stumbles behind me looking completely blissed out.

I tap the other player on his shoulder. Clancy I think? The left winger. “Hey, I’m going to force Snow home so he can avoid a stomach pump. Could you make sure he doesn’t wander off while I close out my tab?”

He nods. I throw Snow at him and maneuver through the crowd up to the bar. It’s packed. I finish my own drink before I can push an opening to order. The bartender nods at me. She looks worn out from the night. I don’t blame her.

“Soda water with lime please.”

“Sure. What’s the name on the tab?”

“Grimm-Pitch. Could you close it?”

She nods and turns on her heel. A minute or so later she returns with the drink and my card. I take them.

“Is there any chance I could close out my mate’s tab too. He’s pissed.” I gesture back at the direction of Snow and Clancy. A circle of women have surrounded them. Honestly, fair.

The bartender gives me a wary eye. “What’s the name?”

“Snow.”

“Snow? Like the footballer Simon Snow over there?” She points at Simon.

I nod. The bartender scoffs, “Sure I’ll give Simon Snow’s card to some random Englishman.”

Random Englishman? Am I really going to have to do you know who I am this woman? I go for a subtle approach and just sort of lift an eyebrow and draw attention to the name on my own card: Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch. The realization hits her. I was afraid I would have to tie my hair up.

“Oh shit. Fuck you’re Baz Pitch.” She stares at me. I hold out my hand. “Right, the card!” She hands me Snow’s card.

I nod, “Alright. Thanks.”

She shakes her head at me, “No, sorry for the hassle. Have a good night English…defensive midfielder…Baz Pitch.” She says my name with a laugh like she’s awestruck I’m in this Dublin nightclub (fair), “and thanks for the win today!”

I’m beyond tired of hearing that line.

When I return Snow is having the time of his life: posted up surrounded by ladies singing along to Ayyy Ladies. They’re not being subtle in their flirting. (Again, fair. Good for them.) Snow is incredibly respectful despite being off his face. Good lad. He’s still far too drunk to consent to anything so I don’t feel terribly guilty for pulling him away from the grind fest.

When he sees me approach he lights up, “Baz!” His arms fly open. “Took you long enough.”

I hand him his drink. There is a blonde woman dancing on him. She throws her arms around his neck. He knocks back the drink and chugs it in one go. A little water dribbles down his chin and he wipes it away with his thumb. It catches on his bottom lip. He hasn’t looked away from me once. And this fucking song…

“When I hit it from the back, don't fuss, don't fight

When I put it in ya mouth, don't scratch, don't bite”

I need to get the fuck out of here.

He hands me back the glass, “That drink was awful. What was it?” His speech is a little less slurred than before.

“Water. I’m taking you home.”

He blushes, “What?”

“You’re plastered. So, you should get sick in your own loo rather than on this lovely woman,” I give the blonde a wink. She dances away.

I’m pretty sure tabs aren’t even really that much of a thing in Ireland. And like…I don’t think you can close them out for someone else. So like. I don’t know what the fuck I was on while writing that. Obviously not Google.com, or reality. But most of all I was absolutely jump-scared reading that back and discovering I was gonna make Baz a defensive midfielder? WTF!?

🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

A hockey one-shot. Whenever it happens the chirps are gonna be out of this world.

🤡How many Wips are you actively working on?

One in a way that’s meaningful. Maybe two. It’s a fresh thing.

🛠Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

The chapter is really expositional in an isolated way and so I have to backtrack for context without being boring.

❤️Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

Blessed beyond belief.

Now tagging @artsyunderstudy @brilla-brilla-estrellita @cutestkilla @facewithoutheart @hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature @ileadacharmedlife @j-nipper-95 @noblecorgi @prettygoododds @thewholelemon @valeffelees @roomwithanopenfire @youarenevertooold @you-remind-me-of-the-babe omg and @emeryhall tell me everything

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lil Kalish at HuffPost:

Jules was driving to their friend’s house in St. Petersburg, Florida, last year when a police officer pulled them over for a busted taillight. Jules wondered if the officer saw their “Say Gay” sticker — a small protest to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill — and nervously handed over their driver’s license. The 26-year-old EMT in training had legally changed their gender marker to an M on their state documents in 2019, but their photo still reflected how Jules looked early in their medical transition, someone without a thick dark mustache and more baby-faced. The officer returned Jules’ driver’s license without any mention of their photo. But the officer did scold Jules, who had recently moved to a new home, for not having their current address on their ID. When Jules, who is using a pseudonym out of fear of harassment, went to their local Department of Motor Vehicles in November to update their address, employees told them there was no record of their gender marker update and that they could not get a replacement ID with their new address and keep the M at the same time.

“I seem to think that they lost my paperwork,” said Jules, who is nonbinary and transmasculine. “The person sitting across from me at the time was pretty much like, ‘Any point going forward, any other time you change this ID, we’re going to have to put an F on it.’ I was like, ‘Damn, wow.’” Jules said the same thing happened when they tried to get a replacement ID in January. Then, on Jan. 31, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles quietly issued a memo stating that residents could no longer update or change their gender on state driver’s licenses but could still receive replacement licenses for any name or address changes. “Misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver license constitutes fraud … and subjects an offender to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver license,” the memo read.

Now transgender Floridians like Jules don’t know what to do: They’re worried about being turned away from getting a replacement ID with an accurate gender marker, but they’re also anxious about what will happen if they’re pulled over again with a license that has other incorrect information. The memo isn’t a formal law, rule or policy, advocates told HuffPost, which means it may be enforced at different department locations around the state. But even though there isn’t a law in place, the reality is that many trans Floridians are barred from updating their gender marker on their licenses, said Quinn Diaz, a public policy associate at LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida. People can still update their gender marker on newly issued licenses if they have already done so on other documents such as a passport or birth certificate.

“Expanding the Department’s authority to issue replacement licenses dependent on one’s internal sense of gender or sex identification is violative of the law and does not serve to enhance the security and reliability of Florida issued licenses and identification cards,” wrote Molly Best, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in an emailed statement. “The security, reliability, and accuracy of government issued credentials is paramount.” Florida’s DHSMV rolled out the memo while the state legislature was still deliberating over HB 1639, a bill that would have narrowly defined sex by one’s genitalia at birth and also barred transgender people from updating their IDs. “Sponsors of the bill started presenting the case for passing HB 1639 on the basis that it would bring the state into compliance with its current operations at the DHSMV,” Diaz said. “They were saying the bill was necessary because of the memo that was released by the agency days earlier in a unilateral overreach of its delegated authority. It’s so frustrating and I feel like we’re likely to see that again.”

State lawmakers ultimately rejected the bill and nearly two dozen other anti-LGBTQ bills this spring. But the memo, Diaz said, is an example of the larger trend across Florida state agencies — many of which are stacked with DeSantis appointees who are sympathetic to his anti-trans agenda — creating policies or unofficial guidance that will help pave the way for other anti-trans legislation down the line. Under DeSantis, Florida has in many ways been a testing ground for the broader conservative movement to push some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ policies — from the memo to laws barring trans people from bathrooms and gender and sexuality from being discussed in public classrooms.

“The right wing was using Florida as a petri dish for what would be possible across the country should they gain power in Washington, D.C., again,” said Brandon Wolf, the press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. “I think we should believe them. It is a road map to making America a place like Florida, and allowing the federal government to do much of what we’ve seen governors like DeSantis and [Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott do across the country.” The reality unfolding in Florida today is just a microcosm of what the United States could look like if Donald Trump were to be elected president this November, according to a nearly 1,000-page document that lays out goals and recommendations for a conservative president. The “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” better known as Project 2025, draws upon many of the current state-level anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies and expands them to the national stage by any means necessary.

‘The Worst Of Everything We’ve Seen’

Authored by former Trump officials and dozens of right-wing organizations including the Heritage Foundation, nearly every page of Project 2025 details policies that would impact LGBTQ+ people — and there’s a particular focus on transgender people. On the very first page of the manifesto, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts laments the “corruption” of the country “under the ruling and cultural elite” whose children “suffer the toxic normalization of transgenderism with drag queens and pornography invading their school libraries.” Many of the document’s suggestions are things that advocates say Trump could enact on his first day through a series of executive orders, like barring trans people from the military, and removing gender-affirming care and abortion from veteran health care policies. The document also calls for policies to redefine sex as “biological sex,” which not only effectively erases the legal recognition and protection of transgender people but goes against modern science. Project 2025 also recommends rolling back Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court decision that protects LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination; eliminating the promotion of gender-affirming care for minors nationwide; reinterpreting Title IX to permit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; and abolishing the Department of Education and returning “control of education to the states.”

The project’s agenda encompasses a number of recommendations that target the very existence of LGBTQ+ people. Per Project 2025, a second Trump administration would erase the legal recognition of transgender identity — and go as far as to delete any mention of terms including gender identity, sexual orientation, diversity and abortion from every “federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation to exist.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would stop collecting data on gender identity, and the administration would block transgender students in public schools from using a name or pronoun that is different from what is listed on their birth certificates without the written permission of their parents.

The conservative manifesto illustrates a vast agenda to “restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.” In a chapter about the Department of Health and Human Services, former Trump HHS director Roger Severino, who drafted many of Trump’s anti-trans health policies, urges the incoming HHS secretary to “proudly state … that married men and women are the ideal, natural family structure.”

HuffPost reports on how a 2nd Donald Trump "Presidency" would be a massive nationwide nightmare for trans, intersex, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people (and LGBTQ+ people and their allies more broadly), with the assistance of The Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025. 🏳️‍⚧️

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

at this point my tumblr is just becoming a british politics blog but anyway, updates on the police misconduct at the coronation:

[Alt text:]

Anti-monarchy arrests at coronation to be scrutinised by MPs

Chair of home affairs select committee says decision to be made whether to hold inquiry into use of Public Order Act

Matthew Weaver, Wed 10 May 2023 10.38 BST

The arrest of anti-monarchy protesters at King Charles’s coronation and intimidatory Home Office warnings to campaigners before the event are to be scrutinised by a committee of MPs.

In a statement, the home affairs select committee said it would examine the Metropolitan police’s handling of republican protests at an evidence session next Wednesday.

It will investigate the force’s approach to public demonstrations, the practical implementation of the public order bill and the arrest of republican protesters. A full list of witnesses will be announced in the coming days.

Dame Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said there were “real questions” about how the new Public Order Act was used to hold leading members of Republic for up to 16 hours during the coronation.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Johnson said she would be interested in reviewing how broad the law was and “what guidance was given to frontline police officers and whether there is an issue about training”.

Johnson added: “So there are real questions about that and we think this morning we’ll need to look at that and decide whether we want to have that short inquiry to learn some lessons and see what the implementation of that act actually means in practice to frontline police officers.”

The force also released without charge three women’s safety volunteers who were arrested on suspicion of committing a public nuisance for carrying rape alarms at the coronation.

Johnson also wants answers about the treatment of these women. She said: “There’s also an issue about the women who were giving out the rape alarms as well and the how they ended up arrested. I don’t think it was under the Public Order Act 2023, but they were arrested as well.

full article here

so, while the home affairs select committee (its basically like a bunch of mps from different parties who examine what the home office is doing. that includes policies, laws, policing, etc.) are meeting to look at what happened, they havent opened an official inquiry, and we dont know if they will.

the last inquiry the hasc opened was on the 7th february this year relating to human trafficking. there is currently an inquiry open on policing priorities (opened 21 july 2022). this seems to have been triggered by the chief inspector of policing andy cooke (truly these titles are pretentious as fuck) who has repeatedly criticised police for not focussing on preventing or solving crime.

you might think that would be the first priority, but considering on the night of the coronation, they were arresting people essentially for thought crimes, youd be wrong. most forces (including the met) often just dont record crimes, and andy cooke is apparently an outlier in believing police should attend every burgulary.

there hasnt been a report published yet for this inquiry but they stopped accepting evidence last november though the evidence transcripts are available for the public to review.

i would like to note that although the hasc is cross-party, 6 out of the 11 members are tories. the rest are made up of 3 labour, 1 independent and 1 snp. as far as i can tell theres no representation for northern island in the committee.

percentage wise, that makes the committee roughly 54% tory, 27% labour, 9% independent and 9% snp. so while diana johnson is labour and from up north, dont get your hopes up regarding an inquiry. i dont know how the ins and outs of their committee, but tories make up the majority.

we do now have official confirmation that six of the protesters were held for 16 hours on suspicion of committing a crime.

im also glad that diana johnson has brought up how the uh taking away the human right to protest act public order act 2023 was implemented. i discussed with my mom how fucking stupid it was to implement a new law thatll affect an event happening the next day.

i am interested as to what she means by the night star volunteers not being arrested under the no seriously guys the right to protest is protected as a human rights act public order act 2023 because why the fuck else were they arrested then? its been reported as "a conspiracy to disrupt public peace", and they were counted within the 64 arrested.

also just gonna mention, diana johnson has said publicly that she wants to review how broad the this law literally suppresses a human right public order act 2023, and idk, it feels like maybe we should have established that before it was enacted ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tl/dr: the home affairs select committee are examining whether they should open an inquiry into the police action during the coronation. unfortunately its majority tory so dont get your hopes up for an actual inquiry happening.

[lexlawuk]

Spring 2024 Immigration Changes: UK Family Visa and Skilled Worker Salary Threshold Increase Dates Confirmed

The UK is set for significant changes in its immigration landscape, with the confirmation of dates for alterations to income thresholds affecting family and skilled worker visas. Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove recently outlined these changes, revealing specific dates for the implementation of the increased minimum income requirement for family visas and the rise in the salary threshold for…

[sophie-hatter-jenkins]

Chapter Update - Into The Hinnyverse

A collection of Hinny-centric drabbles, microfics and one-shots written for the Ginny Lovers Discord server 5-Year Ginnversary Bingo game.

Chapter 6 - The Takeaway

Harry’s too tired to cook, but Ginny’s mind is elsewhere.

Rating - Gen

Read on AO3 from the beginning or continue below the cut for the latest chapter (1125 words)

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Harry asked Hermione, as the two of them headed across the Atrium towards the Apparition point.

“Not at all!” Hermione reassured him. “You look exhausted. Tough day?”

Harry let his mind wander back through his shift. It began with a messy arrest in a particularly bleak Muggle industrial estate on the outskirts of Manchester, during which Harry not only sustained two cracked ribs and a broken thumb, but also got kicked in the nuts. Once he’d been cleared by the Auror office’s duty Healer, he’d then had to endure a three hour interrogation with the entirely uncooperative suspect, a mountain of dull-but-necessary paperwork that had to be completed in triplicate and finally, the frustratingly slow prisoner transfer process at the custody suite in the DMLE holding cells. All in all, it was the kind of painful (literally and figuratively) day that made him question his life choices.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he sighed. 

Hermione shot him a sympathetic look. “Well, if half of what I heard from Gawain is true, I’m not surprised you don’t fancy cooking. We could cancel entirely if you’d rather just collapse on the sofa?”

“No, I don’t want to do that,” said Harry, firmly. “It feels like ages since we’ve been able to have a proper catch up - there are always so many people at the Burrow, aren’t there? And besides, if we order a takeaway, I still get to collapse on the sofa. What do you fancy?”

“I usually find it’s easiest just to let Ron choose. Less whinging that way.”

“Funnily enough, I have the same policy with Ginny,” laughed Harry. “Anyone would think they were related or something.” 

Just a few minutes later, Harry pushed open the door of the flat he shared with his fiancee. 

“Ginny!” he called. “Ginny? I’m home! And I’ve got Hermione with me.”

She didn’t reply, so he followed the sound of voices down the hall and into the living room. Ron seemed to be fiddling with the wireless, while Ginny was sitting on the sofa, looking irritated. Her hair, freshly washed after a day at training, hung loose down her back, shining burnished copper in the artificial light, and her nose was wrinkled in annoyance in a way that Harry found particularly adorable - not that he’d ever told her that; generally speaking, Harry preferred to keep his bogeys bat-free

“Hi, Gin,” he greeted her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “Change of plans, we’re just going to get takeaway. What do you fancy?” When she still didn’t respond, he gently nudged her. “Ginny?”

“Hmm? Oh, hi, love,” she murmured, absently. “I don’t mind, whatever you want is fine with me. No, Ron! Turn it left! No, the other left! And twist the aerial!” 

“Okay, okay!” snapped Ron. “I still don’t get why I’m doing this. It’s your house, I’m the guest here, you know.”

Ginny’s eyes flashed. “Because you said you’d find the channel quicker than me. Merlin knows why I believed you. Come on! We’re going to miss it!”

“Is there a Quidditch match tonight?” asked Harry, casting an apologetic look at Hermione, knowing that a night listening to a Cannons match probably wasn’t what she’d had in mind. 

“No, Harry,” chided Ginny, before uttering the words he had never thought he would hear her say. “This is far more important than Quidditch!”

“There’s a new episode of The Magical and the Magnificent on tonight!” agreed Ron. “The last one ended on a massive cliffhanger.”

Ginny nodded enthusiastically. “Katarina Volynka was about to get married, but then she found out that the man she was about to marry already has a wife and three kids!

“Wait, is this the woman who was horribly injured in the freak accident at the Gobstones tournament?” asked Hermione. “With the kelpie stampede?”

“No, that’s Mirabelle Cornemuse,” corrected Ginny. “But it wasn’t kelpies, it was kappas. She only survived because Bernardo Gaita, the dashing and mysterious Italian healer, managed to reattach her face using only syrup of asphodel and a fish slice!”

“Yeah,” added Ron, earnestly. “Katerina Volynka is the heiress to a cutlery empire. That’s why Roderick Dudelsack wanted to marry her. I reckon he was planning to bump her off on the honeymoon.”

“But at the end of the last episode, the wife and kids turned up at the church!” chipped in Ginny. “So it’s clearly all going to kick off, and I do not want to miss it.”

Harry looked between the three of them, absolutely mystified. None of the words made any sense at all. It was as though they were speaking an entirely different language. “So, uh - we’ll just order pizza then?” he asked, weakly.

Ginny completely ignored him. “Shhh! It’s starting!”  

Harry and Hermione retreated to the kitchen. “What the hell was that all about?” he asked. Through the open door to the living room, he could see the Weasley siblings sitting side by side on the sofa, staring at the wireless in rapt attention. More important than Quidditch? Too vital to care about food? It was unfathomable.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “The Magical and the Magnificent. It’s a wizarding soap opera that’s been running forever. The plot lines are quite frankly ridiculous, but Molly’s been listening to it religiously for years. The whole bunch of them have been indoctrinated practically since birth. I bet the entire family is tuned in.”

Harry snorted, as he dug around in the kitchen drawer for a pizza menu. “Even Percy?”

Hermione smirked. “Especially Percy! He’s the biggest fan of the lot of them. He went to a convention in Hogsmeade last year and got photos taken with all the cast. Ron spent weeks trying to pretend he wasn’t jealous.” She gave Harry a curious look. “I’m honestly not sure how you’re only just finding out about this.”

Harry shrugged. “I didn’t have a clue.”

“Well, now that you know, are you absolutely sure you want to marry into this lunacy?” joked Hermione. She brandished her wedding ring at him. “I mean, it’s too late for me, but you could still save yourself.”

Harry gaze flicked towards his fiancee, perched on the edge of the sofa, leaning forward towards the wireless. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed. Suddenly, something she heard made her gasp, clapping her hands across her mouth., and he smiled softly as he watched her. It amazed him that, after all this time, there was still more to learn about her, and every new thing that he learned just made her more fascinating, more beautiful. He hoped he’d never, ever stop learning more about her. 

He turned back to Hermione, still smiling. “Is pepperoni okay? It’s Ginny’s favourite.”

[shyvioletcat]

A/N: EDIT! So I uploaded this on my IPad because i literally couldn’t wait to post so now it’s all prettified and I’ve added the tags too. If you’ve already read thank you so much, if you’re reading it because of the tag also thank you very much. Based on this prompt from @rowaelinprompts  

~~~~~ It was just after lunch when Rowan got the call with a few good hours in the work day. It was coming from the high school his two eldest children attended and being in the middle of the day that was never a good sign. So he left the email he was working on half finished to see what kind of trouble one or both of his children had managed to get into.

“Hello,” Rowan said in his politest phone voice.

“Hello, Mr Whitethorn. This is Hazel calling from Orynth High School. I’m just calling to let you know that Elspeth isn’t feeling too well and it would probably be best if she was picked up.”

Rowan rubbed his forehead, it always stressed him out when any of his kids weren’t at their best. Aelin took a small amount of joy in pointing out his fussiness. “Okay, well my wife is at home. It might be best to give her a call.”

“Elsie has requested you specifically, and would very much like for you to be the one to come get her,” Hazel explained.

That made Rowan even more concerned. The high school had a strict no phone during school hours policy, and while he was on board with that action within the school right now he was resenting it. “Yeah alright, let her know I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr Whitethorn. See you soon,” Hazel said and hung up.

Rowan took another minute or two to finish off the email on his screen, then he closed his laptop and slipped it into his bag. He sent a text off to Aelin letting her know that the school had called saying Elsie was unwell and that he’d text her with an update when he had it. For 16 years he tried his hardest not to keep his daughter waiting for him, and he wouldn’t be starting now. On his way out he stopped by his boss’s office and found Lorcan hunched over his desk, staring between a desktop and laptop screen. Rowan gave the thick wooden door a hard knock to get his attention. Lorcan looked up with his standard workplace scowl set on his face.

“Elsie isn’t well and needs to be picked up so I’m heading out to get her,” Rowan said.

Lorcan nodded, that scowl taking on a more parental quality. “She okay?”

“I’m not sure, they didn’t give me much information so she’ll have to fill me in when I get there,” Rowan explained.

“Let me know how she is,” Lorcan said, he’d always had a soft spot for Elsie. “Korby hasn’t been saying much lately, I think sports is picking up so they’re not spending so much time together.”

“Will do.”

After that it didn’t take Rowan long to get in his car and to be heading across town to the high school. Now that he thought about it Elsie hadn’t been looking well these past few days, she’d been pale and quieter than usual. That was mostly noticeable because her siblings had been a little more chaotic without her steady presence to calm them down. She hadn’t come to him, or Aelin for that matter, about anything. So it could be possible she was suffering in silence over gods knew what. The more Rowan thought about it, the tighter that knot of concern twisted in his gut. As parents he and Aelin had worked very hard to be open and honest with their children, they wanted them to know that they could come to either one of them with anything without judgement. If something was wrong and Elsie hadn’t felt that she could approach him about it…

With his parental instincts activated, Rowan had no time for hesitation when he arrived at the school. Yanking the handbrake up and getting out of the car was a series of fluid motions that had him moving as fast as he could. He headed to the administration building, his driver’s licence ready to show as proof of ID.

“Whitethorn, I got a call to pick up my daughter Elspeth Whitethorn-Galathynius,” he said as he laid the card down on the small counter. The woman at the reception took a look at his licence and then nodded.

“If you’d like to come through you can help her with her bag. She’s not looking well at all,” the woman said and pressed a button that released the lock on the security door.

“Thank you.” He was heading towards the door before the words had left his mouth.

The sickbay was just by the door he’d come through and Rowan readied himself to see his daughter. What he hadn’t expected was to find the room empty besides her floral design backpack. Behind him Rowan heard the sound of a toilet flushing and then another door creaking open. He turned, ready to move out of the way of whoever needed it, but found Elsie instead. She looked awful, her face was devoid of colour and she was slouched over herself like she could barely hold herself up.

“Elsie, love,” Rowan said softly, resisting the urge to sweep her into like he would have when she was little.

“I threw up,” she said, sounding as miserable as she looked.

“I’ll grab your bag and we’ll head home.”

He heard Elsie take in a deep breath. “They gave me some sick bags for the car, they’re on the bed.”

Rowan spied them and picked the few plastic bags up as he swung the backpack onto his shoulder. Elsie was leaning on the doorway, arms wrapped around herself. It made his heart ache to see his little girl in so much discomfort. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her lean on him. She almost gave him her full weight. Rowan wasn’t going to press her while they walked to the car, it was clear all her effort was going into keeping herself upright. When they got to Rowan’s silver SUV he opened the door and helped her in. Elsie managed to get her seatbelt on before she slumped in the seat.

His lips tightened, he was nearly biting his lip. She was seriously unwell.

Whether or not he should just take her straight to the hospital was rolling through his mind as he got into the driver’s seat after throwing the backpack into the back. Rowan knew he was jumping the gun and that he needed to talk to Elsie first before he made that decision. Hopefully she would be well enough to have that conversation with him. He started the ignition and Elsie groaned as the vibrations unsettled her, he needed to find out what was happening before he gave himself a brain aneurysm.

“I know you’re not feeling great, love,” Rowan said, “but I need to know if I need to take you to the hospital or not.”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Elsie replied, sounding like she was about to cry.

“What’s wrong then?” he pressed, sounding entirely like the concerned father he was.

In response Elsie heaved, and Rowan blindly handed her the sick bags he’d stuffed into the centre console. She managed to sort it out before the heaving started in earnest. Rowan just waited, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. When she was done Elsie grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, she chucked that into the bag before sealing it up.

“Elsie, love,” Rowan’s tone was near pleading now.

The first quiet sob shouldn’t have taken him by surprise, but it did. He risked a glance away from the road to see her with her face in her hands. Rowan didn’t want to push her but he was starting to panic. Something in his gut knew this was more than just a regular virus or a bug, and very honestly he was starting to have a suspicion and he was praying to the gods Elsie would deny it.

“Da,” the way she said that word had him bracing for impact, she hadn’t called him that in years. It reminded him of all those moments she had needed him when she was younger, when just the whisper of her voice and that single word would make him come running. Elsie took in a shuddering breath and said, “I’m pregnant.”

Rowan’s heart stopped in his chest. He’d heard her, but he couldn’t quite believe it. Elsie didn’t have a boyfriend, so if she was pregnant did that mean she had one but hadn’t told him? Had something else happened? If someone had hurt his baby girl Rowan might just be going to prison if he couldn’t get away with murder. That filled him with rage, so fast and fierce that he would need one of those vomit bags in a second. He’d skin whoever was responsible alive.

“Elsie, I know you’re feeling a lot and you’re probably freaking out right now, but I need you to tell me how this happened,” Rowan managed to get out as measured as he could. “I need to know so I can stay calm and do what’s best for you. You understand?”

“Yep,” was her simple answer.

“Okay, what I’m going to do is pull into that car park over there,” he nodded to the fast food restaurant just a little ways up, “and you can tell me everything and then we can go from there.”

There was a very loud sniffle. “Okay.”

Rowan nodded, bolstered with something to focus on. He’d once told himself that the first time Aelin went into labour was the longest night of his life, but as he cut through the traffic towards that car park this might be the new front runner. Five more minutes and he would have some answers, he could wait five more minutes. He’d waited hours and hours for Elsie to come into this world—this was nothing. The way his heart was pounding in his ears told him otherwise.

Pulling into a spot in the corner of the parking lot so they would be less likely to be disturbed Rowan turned the car off. He looked over at his daughter, her green eyes were still filled with tears and she was still looking deathly pale, but she looked a little better, like a little bit of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now Rowan just needed to help her bear the rest of it.

“How long have you known?” He thought he’d start with something simple.

“About a week,” Elsie admitted.

Rowan nodded, his eyes focusing on nothing as he bit down on the reflex to ask exactly why she hadn’t said anything until now.

“Did someone…” Rowan swallowed as the words got caught in his throat. “Elsie, did someone hurt you?”

He watched his daughter intently, watching for even the slightest hint something was amiss. But Elsie just shook her head, her fingers absentmindedly weaving together.

“No one hurt me Dad, I promise,” Elsie said and looked up at him, the last bit of confirmation that told him she was telling the truth.

“So, there’s a boyfriend then,” Rowan theorised.

Elsie shook her head this time. “Not exactly.”

Rowan was taken aback by that answer. He’d expected an admission of a secret rebellious boyfriend. Teenagers were teenagers, and Rowan wasn’t ignorant of what they got up to. He’d been fairly mild himself but he had been privy to what his friends got up to in their spare time. Lorcan and Fenrys in particular didn’t hold much back in their storytelling. Elsie didn’t seem the kind for a careless fling, and yet here they were.

“Alright, not exactly a boyfriend. Who’s the—“ he literally stumbled over the word. This was a concept his brain was struggling to get up to speed on. And maybe he could do without knowing right now. “Can you enlighten me on the situation some more?”

Elsie’s fingers unwove, her hands were trembling a little.

“Elsie, what’s going on?” Rowan asked, his nervousness spiking again.

“I’m gonna tell you but you have to promise me you’ll let me get it through it all before you say anything, okay?” Elsie was sounding more herself so Rowan nodded. “It was a friends with benefits situation. We, ah… it was a trust thing  to start with and then we decided that it was fun I guess. I’ve been—“ while she spoke her emotions had built up again and tears were falling onto her cheeks. “I didn’t know how to say any of this. I didn’t want you to be disappointed with me.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now.” Rowan tried to keep his voice even. It was passable. “Does he know?”

“He doesn’t. Only you do,” Elsie said.

“Alright, okay,” Rowan muttered, then he put on his bravest face—the kind only a parent could summon when they were reassuring their child when they weren’t all that sure themselves. “I think I need your mother before we talk more about this.”

Elsie laughed, wiping at her nose. “You always need Mum.”

Rowan smiled. “That I do. But first do you need anything?”

There was a moment of silence where Elsie just looked downright confused, like maybe she had expected him to drill her for more information or scold her or maybe just brood in silence. While those options were tempting, that was not what his daughter needed from him in this moment. It was clear she was hurting and probably scared out of her mind. Losing it on her in any way would not be beneficial and Rowan was starting to feel out of his depth. It was time to regroup with Aelin by his side.

“We could take our chances and see if the ice cream machine is working,” Rowan jerked his head towards the fast food restaurant. Elsie’s eyes lit up and she nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Rowan spent the rest of the drive home expecting Elsie to hurl her guts up again. He hadn’t been able to stomach one himself but it seemed the frozen sugar filled dairy was in fact what she needed. Just like her mother when she was pregnant. That thought was jarring to say the least and Rowan tried not to dwell on it. He just concentrated on getting home and how they were going to explain this whole thing to Aelin. They drove up the driveway and he stopped outside the garage door. Elsie was looking up at the house with wide eyes.

“No escaping this one,” Rowan said. “We go in, tell your mother, and then we talk about this some more, okay?”

“Is she gonna be mad?” Elsie's eyes darted over to her father.

Rowan sighed. “Probably, it’s going to be a shock and we all know Mum doesn’t take surprises well.”

“Unless she’s the one springing them,” his daughter added.

Rowan huffed a laugh. “Exactly. But remember love,” he touched her cheek to get her attention. “No matter what, we’re on your side.”

Elsie’s lips twitched in a brief smile. “You always are.”

“Now give me that bag of spew and you start getting yourself inside.”

Rowan hadn’t cleaned up Elsie’s vomit in years and it was as gross as it had always been. Regardless he still did it, throwing it in the trash then following Elsie to the front door. She was moving slowly, most likely waiting for him so they could face Aelin together. Rowan understood her hesitancy, and was understanding why Elsie had asked for him to pick her up. Aelin’s temper ran hot and fast, something Rowan loved about his wife. But it was sometimes hard taking the brunt of it and he hoped today she had a saint’s patience to level it out. This would test her.

Leading the way into the house, Rowan announced their arrival. “Fireheart, we’re home.”

“Finally,” he heard from the living room. “You didn’t text me anything, I was getting worried.”

Elsie grimaced at those words.

Rowan walked into the living room just off their entryway. “I was driving.”

Aelin barely gave him a second glance before she rushed past him and had Elsie in her arms. Her hands were checking for temperature, her turquoise eyes running a scrutinising gaze over her. From how awful Elsie still looked it was very apparent that something wasn’t right.

“What is it, Elsie? What’s wrong?” Aelin asked when she came up with no conclusions of her own.

“We should sit down,” Rowan said and Aelin’s eyes narrowed.

Elsie ended up in the armchair and Rowan took Aelin to the long couch by the hand. They sat down and Aelin kept hold of his hand as she cocked her head at him.

What is going on? Her suspicious eyes asked him.

Rowan sighed, giving Aelin a look of his own. We need to listen to her.

“Mum,” Elsie said, her voice sounding so small, but it drew their attention. “I need to tell you something.”

Aelin looked between her husband and her daughter, knowing that she was the only one in the room without the vital information.

“I’m listening,” Aelin said.

“I’m pregnant, Mum.”

“You’re what?” Aelin’s voice was sharp and Rowan gave her hand a squeeze as a quick reminder to stay calm.

Their daughter took in a deep breath and Rowan knew she was about to divulge everything. “I’ve been sleeping with Korbin, it’s a friends with benefits thing and one time we got careless and I thought I was at the part of my cycle where I couldn’t get pregnant but I did. And I’ve only known for about a week and I’m so scared, Mum. I’m… I just…”

By the end of her little speech Elsie was crying again but Rowan didn’t see it, he was busy watching the reactions from his wife. Aelin’s jaw was tight and he was sure that if it had been any quieter he would have heard her teeth grinding together. Rowan knew she was weighing her words before she spoke. Rowan found himself reeling at that new little bit of information Elsie had just dropped.

Rowan’s brain went painfully still. Korbin. Korbin was Elsie’s best friend since she could walk. He was just a year older and nearly all their lives they had been inseparable. This was a development in their relationship Rowan was struggling to get his head around. Seeing them together there had been no hint of romance, not ever. Korbin Salvaterre had got his daughter pregnant.

“Korbin?” Aelin’s voice was a little too high, clearly struggling just as much as he was.

Elsie nodded.

“Does he know?” Now she was sounding more lethal.

“No, only Dad knows and I told him today in the car,” Elsie said.

Aeln’s hand went to her mouth, her eyes going a bit distant. Rowan wasn’t sure if that was just shock or if she was planning some kind of slow torture on the Salvaterre boy.

“Fireheart,” Rowan prompted.

“Hmm,” she hummed but didn’t say anything else for the moment. “He’s ah… he was your best friend.”

Elsie swallowed hard. “He still is.”

“Are you in love with him?”

The question caught Rowan off guard, so much so he nearly jumped. He looked over to Elsie to see her reaction, a new wave of tears had started and she nodded furiously before she buried her face in her hands.

Holy gods Rowan had missed that entirely.

“Oh, my little love,” Aelin said and then she was moving, squeezing onto the armchair beside her daughter and wrapping her arms around Elsie’s shoulders.

This was a development Rowan wasn’t expecting. Today he not only found out that his daughter was pregnant to the son of his best friend, but also that his daughter was in love with that son and yeah, maybe he was going to be a grandfather by the time he was forty five.

“Elsie,” Rowan said and two sets of eyes landed on him. “What do you want to do?”

“We will support whatever you decide,” Aelin added without missing a beat.

“I want to keep it, I think,” Elsie said bravely.

Something flipped in Rowan’s chest at that but it was Aelin who said, “Okay, we can work with that.”

Elsie turned and threw her arms around Aelin’s neck and let her mother hold her close for a long while. It was Aelin who eventually pulled back, brushing Elsie’s blonde hair away from her tear stained face.

“Why don’t you go up and have a shower and then we’ll talk about this a little more,” Aelin said softly. “Make some plans?”

Elsie nodded and left, Rowan blew her a kiss that earned him a sad smile. When she was gone from the room he turned back to his wife who was sitting very still. “Fireheart?”

That sprung her into action and she was on her feet, pacing in a way that could only be described as furious.

“Pregnant,” she hissed. “Our 17 year old daughter is pregnant. How did this happen?”

The shock was leaving him and it was being replaced by something that was suspiciously close to delirium. “Um…”

Aelin threw a silencing hand in his direction. “Do not try and be funny right now.”

Rowan kept his mouth shut. His wife paced some more before she gasped on hand on her chest. She looked horrified.

“I’m going to be a grandparent,” Aelin turned so she was facing Rowan fully. “Not only that but I am going to be a grandparent with Lorcan Salvaterre.”

She said it like her worst nightmares were coming true, it made Rowan chuckle. Which in turn earned him a scathing look.

“We’ll get through this, Aelin,” Rowan said. “We always do. To whatever end, remember?”

Aelin came over and flopped onto the couch next to him, sighing and staring up at the ceiling. “Our baby is having a baby.”

Rowan pulled his wife closer and kissed her forehead. “Yeah she is.”

They sat there for a long while, just processing everything. The reprieve was broken when the front door was thrown open and as if summoned by the talk of children their two youngest ran in. They both yelled their hellos before running up the stairs.

“Evalin! Adaira! Shoes off please!” Aelin called after them. At 9 and 8 respectively the shoes off at the door rule was sometimes overlooked.

Their middle child closed the door for his siblings and did indeed take his shoes off.

“Thank you, son,” Rowan said to Cinaed. “Can you give the little ones a hand? We just need a moment.”

He shook his silver hair out of his turquoise eyes. “Sure Dad.”

“The bus with the other one should be here soon,” Rowan said, returning his gaze to the ceiling.

Aelin sighed, sounding tired. “Let’s hope he’s a little more quiet than the others.”

Rowan hummed his agreement and was preparing a speech about leaving their eldest sister be for the rest of the Whitethorn-Galathynius children when Finnian walked in. That was expected, but Rowan wasn’t prepared for who he else had stepped under his roof. Both Salvaterre boys walked in behind their own son and Aelin tensed beside him. Rowan rested a hand on Aelin’s knee to keep her where she was. Seeing Korbin after everything they had learned today was like putting a finger on the trigger of a gun. One wrong move and the calm they had managed to keep themselves in would be lost.

“Hey Aunty Aelin, hi Uncle Rowan,” Eamon said. “Finn said there would be snacks.”

“Of course he did,” Aelin breathed. “Finn, can you go upstairs and tell Elsie to stay in her room for a bit?”

“I heard Elsie came home early,” Korbin said, dropping his bag by the door. “I thought something was up, she hasn’t been talking to me as much lately.”

“Is that so?” Aelin bit out, if the boy had been smarter he’d be running for his life.

Korbin’s dark eyes were darting between the parents in the room. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Rowan thought he was doing a good job schooling his features. But now that he was a little more conscious of what he was doing he realised he was glaring.

“Finnian, now,” Aelin added when she saw that their son hadn’t moved. He groaned in that dramatic teenage way like he’d just been asked to run a marathon and loped towards the stairs.

Unfortunately, because he didn’t listen the first time, Elsie was halfway down the stairs before she saw who was in the living room. Her hair was still wet and she looked a bit brighter than she had before.

“Korbin,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

His face turned charming as he slid his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to see how you were. I heard around school that you were sick and I wanted to check on you. They said you threw up and everything.”

“Oh,” Elsie said, then her mouth clamped shut and tears were brimming in her eyes again.

The silence that developed was tense and Korbin moved towards the stairs, Elsie seemed frozen in place. Rowan was about to get up and step between them as his protective instincts rose to the surface but Elsie took her own initiative.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

Korbin took a single step back.

“Oh, shit,” Finnian said, reading the room a little too well.

“Yeah,” Korbin said, sounding as though he was in a daze and scrambling back a few steps. “Okay, yeah.”

And that was all he said before he just turned on his heels and walked right back out that front door. Rowan was up then, not quite believing what he’d just witnessed.

Eamon was confused, unlike Finnian he hadn’t quite caught on. “What just happened?”

Elsie was looking towards the door, stunned and any energy she had recovered drained right out of her again. In that moment Rowan hated that boy, he hated that through a few thoughtless actions he had caused Elsie so much pain. The only thing stopping Rowan from chasing after that idiot boy and hauling him back by the scruff of his neck were the tears in his daughter's eyes. He could only watch as Elsie fled up the stairs and Aelin rushed after her a heartbeat later.  

“What just happened?”

It took little Eamon voicing his confusion to get Rowan moving and he was heading up the stairs, taking two at a time. Elsie’s door was half way closed, but Rowan stepped through the doorway into the room. The sight that greeted him nearly broke his heart. Aelin had her arms wrapped around Elsie in a hug, his daughter wept and Aelin had unshed tears in her eyes. His wife looked over at him, her face set in a determined fierceness that told him that she would defend Elsie’s fragile heart at all costs.

Gods help that boy when his consequences came chasing after him.

~~~~~

Tags: @fucking-winchester-trash​ // @literary-licorice​ // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine​ // @highqueenofelfhame​ // @3am-reading​ // @soup-that-is-too-hawt​ // @aelinfire-bringer // @nalgenewhore​ // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca​ // @sleep-and-books​ // @alifletcher2012​ // @westofmoon​ // @sleeping-and-books​ // @ttakeitbacknoww​ // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses​ // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen​ // @velarian-trash​ // @queenofxhearts​ // @heroesofterrasen​ // @highladyofstoriesandmusic​ // @empire-of-wildfire​ // @camerooonchiu​ // @crackedship​ // @lowhangingtreebranches // @over300books​ // @yourwhisperingshadows​ // @thesirenwashere​ // @tswaney17​ // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper​ // @cat5313​ // @judelovescardan​ // @flowerspringsea​ // @chaoticskyy​ // @the-regal-warrior​ // @fanfictrash3000​ // @blueeyes425​ // @starseternalnighttriumphant​ // @bamchickawowow​ // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda​ // @flora-and-fae​ // @thereaderandfangirl​ // @illyrian-bookworm​ // @chemicha​ // @meltalgel // @gay-book-nerd​ // @that-odd-puzzle-piece​ // @i-love-all-books // @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato​ // @girl-who-reads-the-books​ // @hizqueen4life // @the-third-me​ // @1islessthan3books​ // @bestmelle​ // @cursebreaker29​ // @b00kworm​ // @superspiritfestival​ // @aesthetics-11​ // @maastrash​ // @mynewdreamwasyou​ // @the-last-apprentice​ // @charincharge​ // @firestarsandseneschals​ // @scarznstars​ // @absolute-dissapointment // @thesurielships​ // @df3ndyr​ // @trinitybailey2003 // @gwynethhberdara​ // @booknerdproblems​ // @larisssss​ // @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves // @rolltide7​ // @scandinavianromantic // @tillyrubes10​ // @starwarsslytherin // @minaidss // @paytin77​ // @jesstargaryenqueen​ // @anntheintrovert​ // @starbornvalkyrie​ // @loudphantomdragon​ // @woollycat22 // @claralady​ // @perseusannabeth​ // @fangirlprincess09​ // @maddymelv // @sierrareads​ // @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx // @jlinez // @lysandra-ghost-leopard​ // @rowaelinismyotp​ // @pullnpeeltwizzlers​ // @anne-reads // @jadeaffliction​ // @gracie-rosee​ // @elriel4life​ // @rowaelinrambling​ // @tothestarswholistentodreamers // @thenerdandfandoms // @castielspelvis​ // @swankii-art-teacher​ // @grandma-noob-lord​ // @vanzetanze​ // @highlady-brittney​ // @story-scribbler​ // @linguine-panini // @pastasiren​ // @surielandiareendgame // @silentquartz​ // @live-the-fangirl-life​ // @whimsicallyreading​ // @goddess-aelin​ // @littleboxofthunder​ // @empress-ofbloodshed​ // @booksbqueen // @rowanwhitethornisbae​ // @charlizeed​ // @feysand-loml​ // @aelin-queen-of-terrasen​ // @alyx801​ // @amandaswallowtail​ // @louiseleblancdiggory​ // @abookishfreak // @danibutterr​ // @thegreyj​ // @lizzyfirebringer // @endlessdaydream​ // @magnifique1807​

[taomyou]

The Affections of an Architect - Chapter 4

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Reader Status: ONGOING, inconsistent updates Summary: There’s a woman Levi sees every Friday on bus 143, and he thinks she’s really cute. It wouldn’t hurt to keep a paper star from her, would it? or, you and Levi take the same bus home from work every Friday, and he falls in love slowly, clumsily, and with all the time in the world to design the architecture of his dreams. Word Count: 7.5k Tags: slow burn, friends to lovers, modern au, office au, fluff, romance, meet-cute, matchmaking, levi pov (A/N: this fic is available on ao3 here if you would like to read it there instead! The Affections of an Architect is a spin-off of The Romance of Reimbursements, but can be read as a standalone if preferred. They are the same story, but The Affections of an Architect is written entirely in Levi's POV. The Romance of Reimbursements is already completed, and The Affections of an Architect is currently a side-project that will be updated infrequently.) Chapter Navigation Accompanying Playlist

texts from a friend

Levi looks to the clock perched at the very back end of the lecture hall, and it’s now 2:30 PM.

“We’ve reached time. Remember that your proposals are due before next week, midnight. I’ll also remind you that if you’d like to request any additional office hours, you must email me at least 24 hours in advance. Any questions before we end?”

A student in the back row’s hand goes up. “Professor, do you accept late work?”

Levi recognizes him as the bastard who came during last week’s office hours to aggressively demand that Levi write him a letter of recommendation—two weeks into the course, mind you, and when Levi hadn’t ever talked to him prior to that interaction.

Needless to say, Levi didn’t think very highly of him.

Levi deadpans. “Yes, Forster, I’ve answered this already today. My late policy is also in the syllabus. Anyone else?”

When he’s met with silence, he closes his laptop and disconnects it from the projector. He unclips the small microphone attached to the collar of his usual white dress shirt, and he stores it in its designated drawer underneath the podium. He checks in with his teaching staff to make sure they’re faring alright with their grading workload, and after taking note to email Leonhart another copy of the grading rubric when he’s available, he’s off to go catch the bus.

“Can’t wait to get out of this fucking place,” he grumbles underneath his breath, hiking up his backpack as he goes to open the door and leave.

Why’s Levi so especially bitter today, you might ask?

Well, as it’d turn out, there were plenty of other things that he’s had to worry about over the workweek, and all his frustration has finally caught up to him as he takes the quick stroll from the lecture hall to the bus stop.

He’d gotten everything squared away with his lesson plans relatively quickly, but even though his lectures over the rest of the week went relatively smoothly, he still feels a cloud hanging overhead everywhere he goes. All the grading, all the assignment drafting, all the contracts he has to look over—none of it is particularly harder than it usually is, but Levi’s head is far too removed from the strenuous load after the brief winter break, and his work ethic hasn’t kicked in to where he needs it yet.

If nothing else, work is over now, and he already knows that tonight’s sleep will be especially dreamy. Might as well just toss aside all his problems until he has to deal with them later.

Un(fortunately), Hange texted the group chat on Wednesday to ask everyone (meaning only him and Erwin, seeing as Moblit and Mike are as busy as they always are) to come over tonight for what he presumes is dinner, so he’ll have to go to that, but other than that, he’s free to waste away in his living room and complain about the Frank winning Head of Household during the Big Brother reruns that Isabel puts on.

Ugh, still.

Even though it’s Friday, Levi can’t help feeling distressed. Just last week, he was breathing hot air into the cold winter sky to watch it float away before skipping off to see the unnamed stranger he came to look forward to seeing across the way on the bus, and now he’s caught stressing himself over paperwork and other pro forma bullshit. Even if he didn’t really anticipate any greater interaction than merely getting to hear her greet the bus driver when she’d gotten on at her stop, it was something he looked forward to every week, and he can only barely remember to be excited about it.

At least he’s too wound up in his head to be as anxious about it as he usually is.

No wondering about whether or not you’d think he was too quiet to be worth being acquainted with, no having to think about whether or not he’d have to force small talk to fill the surefire silence. This is certainly better than having to face any gnawing nervousness about seeing you after the awkward mess that was Monday’s lunch hour.

As he steadily approaches the bus stop, he sees that there’s a concerning amount of students waiting there. Why there’s so many of them, he has no idea, but when he’s finally stood in the makeshift line and practically forced to listen to their meaningless conversations, he overhears a group of friends talking about a concert for some artist downtown.

Well, so much for an easy ride home.

Firstly, all these people in an enclosed space? He’s going to have a fucking headache, having to spend the next however many minutes it is that it’s going to take for all these people to get off the bus. Besides, winter get-togethers are enough of a super-spreader event on their own, and even if he’s had to be okay with it, the bus isn’t exactly the cleanest place he could be. It’s a miracle that he hasn’t caught a cold yet, really.

That’s not even to mention the fact that there’s surely going to be traffic in the city, and all the bumps and stops aren’t going to make the inevitable pounding between his ears any more pleasant. The metal of his backpack’s zippers will clang at every abrupt stop, and he’s sure he’s going to want to jump out of the window every time. At any rate, he’s going to have to go directly to Hange’s apartment to make it there on time.

But, almost tauntingly, his subconscious nags at him to wonder… will he even get to see you with all these people there?

Levi’s fairly certain that your stop is before the city’s major stadium, and there’s sure to be other people coming onboard as the bus continues its way through the city. There’s no way that there’d be any seats left open by the time it reaches you. You’d be left holding onto the upper handles until the bulk of people left, but who knows how long that’ll be if the traffic is as bad as he thinks it’ll be?

The bus has now arrived, and even though he’s already making his way towards the opened doors, everyone else around him is scrambling to get their fare situated, and as he scans his own card, he looks back towards the end of the vehicle.

He knows he’ll manage to get a seat for himself, but saving one for you is something he doesn’t know if he’s allowed to do.

Whether or not that’s because his conscience is screaming at him that keeping a seat preoccupied is rude, he doesn’t really care because he’s had enough of his logical mind telling him what to do this week, but would it be appropriate for him to extend the gesture of saving you a seat if he’s only just learned your name not even a week ago?

Nevermind that, would you even want to sit next to him if he’d save you a seat?

And for whatever fucking reason, his mind runs wild with all the ways this simple gesture could be interpreted wrong. 

You barely know anything about him, and he’s more than sure that he’s scared you off enough by being so fucking awkward when he came through your office—it wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility that you’d just rather never speak to him unless in a group setting.

And you always seem so tired after work, no matter how bright you still manage to somehow be—would he be taking advantage of that by leaving the only available seat to be the one next to him? Erwin had mentioned there were some issues at work when Levi had lunch with him on Monday, so he can only imagine what kind of hell you’re going through as another person impacted by whatever company bullshit was going on. You’re probably as stressed out of your mind as Levi himself is.

But at the same time, wouldn’t you appreciate him taking that into consideration and making sure that you had somewhere to sit? Would it be rude of him to not save you a seat at all?

Or, maybe he should save your usual seat, the one across from him?

That wouldn’t be so weird if it weren’t for the fact that it’d mean you’d know that he remembers where you sit. How could he not when he’s seen you there for the last 4 months? But Levi hardly has any intention of letting on that he even acknowledged your presence in the past, so he doesn’t know if he could do that.

Could he even save that seat? He could plant his backpack there as a placeholder, but he knows that it’d be entirely his own fault if it got stolen or pickpocketed or whatever else someone could do to a backpack.

God, he has no fucking idea.

Whether the universe is continuing to torture him or giving him a break, as he takes his usual seat facing the window, he’s not afforded the ability to make any decisions after someone takes their own seat next to him.

So much for expending whatever’s left of his rational mind.

You know what?

He could just give you his own seat. He doesn’t mind that at all.

Yeah…

Yeah, that’s certainly easier than anything else he could choose to do right now.

This could just be passed off as some sort of returned payment for the expressed generosity of giving him that canister of tea. No need to overcomplicate anything and make it seem like he wants to sit next to you.

This is just an act of… modern chivalry.

Yeah.

Levi sighs to himself as he sets his backpack on his lap and rests his chin over its top handle.

It’ll all be fine. It’ll only take a second for him to get up, offer you his seat, and he’ll be on his way to Hange’s apartment to get food poisoning from their cooking.

Now to just hope that you accept the gesture, and he can hold onto an upper handle and act like his nerves aren’t completely shot.

✰

For the rest of the ride, Levi spaces in and out of focus. The tire of working long hours this week is lulling him to a haphazard state of relaxation, and the only things keeping him awake are the harsh jolts he feels when the driver has to brake, and the fact that he has to be conscious of when you get on the bus so he can give you his seat.

Thankfully, there’s a certain four-eyed scientist across the city right now who needs to ask him for a huge favor.

Levi feels a buzz in his pocket, and, desperate for anything to keep his mind off the annoying bumps in the road, he takes it out to see a text from Hange.

Four Eyes - 3:05 PM

Heyyy still coming?? Not bailing on us are you >:(

Levi sighs.

Levi - 3:05 PM

Yes

Four Eyes - 3:07 PM

Ok perfect!!! Listen listen I need you to buy me like a FUCK ton of eggs I think the biggest pack they have at that one store on Rose blvd or road or whatever has 60 in a big pack And some butter :3

Levi - 3:07 PM

Why do you need so many eggs?

Four Eyes - 3:08 PM

Just trust me!!!!

Levi rolls his eyes.

Levi - 3:08 PM

Yeah no Get them yourself I’m in traffic rn

Four Eyes - 3:10 PM

Im still at the lab so i cant >:O How are you even in traffic, aren’t you on the bus? But whatvr!! Ill just ask Astraea to get them for me

Levi’s fingers freeze and his breath halts at seeing your mention over text.

What does that mean, Hange could ask you to get them? Why would they think to inconvenience you with grabbing fucking eggs in the first place?

Sure, you’re their best friend, but it’s not like Hange’s crass enough to just order you around and do their financial bidding. 

Unless… you’re coming to their apartment tonight too.

His fingers spark back to life, and they move faster across his phone’s keyboard than he can stop them.

Levi - 3:12 PM

Is she coming over?

Surely, that’s not it. You’re busy enough, Hange is probably just going to ask you to pick something up and drop it off since you’re neighbors. It's not like Hange's that-

Four Eyes - 3:12 PM

OOPS LOL DID I FORGET TO SAY

Hange most definitely did not forget to say. This is the same shit as what happened at dinner—them purposefully leaving out information like this.

Levi pinches the bridge of his nose and hides his face in his hands.

God fucking dammit, Hange.

By now, it’s been a bit past a half-hour since the bus has left the Sina University campus, and as the bus stops to let people on and off, Levi realizes he’s already reached the stop where you get on. The person sitting to his right has now gotten up to leave, and while he was planning to give up his own seat for you, when he sees that there’s no one rushing to take the seat, he hastily moves to put his backpack there to save it for you. He looks around to make sure that there’s no one suspicious of him, or at least side-eyeing him for occupying extra space, but it seems that he’s the only one who’d think to care about that at all.

When he hears you give your routine thanks to the driver, he leans forward to see you, trying to trace the direction of his eyes to follow the walkway that leads to where you are. It’s not hard for him to find you, the silver buckles on your briefcase twinkling against the harsh afternoon sun as you turn to walk down the narrow lane to find somewhere to sit.

As your eyes scan for an empty space to occupy, he tries to make contact with you and offer you the seat next to him. He still has no idea whether or not you’d accept the offer or, even worse, be burdened by it, but the gentle tug of his heart is enough to make him want to try.

It’s only right to extend the offer of a bus seat to a friend acquaintance person he knows, is it not? Especially when he’s due to spend the later part of the eve with you and the rest of the group.

He feels a faint flame of embarrassment in his chest when he realizes your eyes haven’t found his, but as he watches you start to reach for an upper handle, he has no choice but to fan it even brighter.

He calls out your name, as firmly as he can without causing any unnecessary noise, and he starts to feel his stomach turn as he tries to catch your attention. Still, he watches as you seem to ignore him, though your hand halts in reaching upwards for a second, and he, again, has no choice but to try again, this time a bit louder. He calls out your name once more, and his heart just about stops when you turn to the sound of his voice and let a small smile find its way onto your face.

All too fast and all too slow, he watches as you rush past the other people on the cart to get him, apologizing as you pass them. The nip of the cold on your cheeks has turned them faintly pink, and you sigh happily as you nod to him in greeting.

Levi takes off the backpack from the seat next to him and puts it on his lap, and he looks up at you nervously. Your eyes were already on him, looking back and forth between him and the empty seat to his right, and he feels like he can’t breathe.

God, he can only hope that he doesn’t look as stupid as he thinks he does.

“Did you save a seat for me?” You ask, pointing at the space next to him.

He nods, unable to find any words to make himself seem sane enough.

You smile again in response, but before you can sit down, the bus starts moving again, and you’re taken off balance. “Woah!”

Thankfully, you already were turning to have your back against the seat and you weren’t going to bump into anyone, but Levi only has a second to decide what to do to lessen your fall back down.

He quickly slides his phone underneath his thigh to free his hand, and he positions himself to place his hand over the glass window behind you, thinking to lessen the impact on your head. He leaves a bit of space in between his hand and the window to make sure that his hand can fall back gently to allow for a softer landing, and he holds his breath as he watches you fall back into your seat. At the contact of his hand against your head, he lets his hand fall back and hit the glass and feels the blunt force of the window against his knuckles.

As soon as you’re comfortably sat, he pulls his hand away, and he looks back down to avoid your gaze as you quietly thank him for cushioning your head.

He nods in acknowledgement, and he dumbly watches as you put your briefcase onto your lap and take out your phone. He resigns himself to looking away to do the same, unlocking his phone to do quite literally anything he can to distract himself.

God, what the fuck even was that?

He didn’t even get to clarify that he didn’t inconvenience anyone by saving you your seat. Would you be upset with him if you’d made that assumption? 

Your shoulders are forced to touch, given the fact that there’s definitely way too many people on this bus in the first place, and even with his nerves totally shot, Levi can feel the heat coming off your body. The bus continues to have as many fast brakes and abrupt stops as it did for the last 30-or-so minutes, so he ends up getting pushed closer to you every time that happens. Neither of you try to make distance between the two of you, probably because it wouldn’t be worth the effort when it’s just going to be closed again, but Levi’s mind goes haywire anyway thinking about all the ways this could go wrong.

Levi tries to ignore it, he really does, but he already knows that the red on his ears is going to be just the same, if not worse, than what he has to deal with on other ordinary, boring Fridays.

His eyes are laser-focused on his notification bar, hoping that someone, anyone, will text him and give him something to occupy himself. He mindlessly scrolls through the local news on his phone, waiting for the cherry red on his face to calm to anything but that.

As the minutes pass with nearly no movement in the road, he sees your phone held out to him. His eyes flicker up to your face to see that you’re looking away, only glancing back to look between him and your phone, so he takes the cue that you want him to see what’s on your screen.

He squints to see the small text, but as soon as he sees Hange’s name at the top of your screen, he knows exactly what it is that’s being conveyed here. He screams in his head that Hange’s done enough meddling, that you absolutely do not need to be dealing with their bullshit request of ordering nearly 8-squared eggs, but because you seem to want to start a conversation with him, he stretches out his hand slightly, asking to have permission to hold your phone.

He doesn’t know what demon it is that overtakes his body in this moment—whether it’s Lucifer, Beelzebub, or Satan himself—but when you pass him your phone, he forgoes reading the conversation to leave you your privacy, and he goes to add himself into your contacts. He’s apparently sane enough to not put anything stupid and self-demeaning as the contact name, but he types in his phone number before practically throwing your phone back at you.

The realization that, yes, he’s just given his phone number to the prettiest woman he’s ever laid eyes on, makes his brain short circuit for a second before he gets a text from an unknown number.

Okay, calm down, Levi, he’s only giving you his number out of convenience. He doesn’t want to interrupt the conversations around him by having one of his own, and giving you his phone number is the next-best option. He quickly adds you as “Astraea” and goes back to the conversation, trying to swat away any bubbling thoughts about you.

Astraea - 3:28 PM

hi

His fingers are nervous as they move across the screen.

Levi - 3:28 PM

Hello I don't think I'd be able to hear you over the people around us

Astraea - 3:28 PM

me neither

His heart relaxes a bit, now with the knowledge that you understand why he gave you his number.

Astraea - 3:29 PM

do you know why there's so many people on the bus today? it's normally never this crowded

Levi - 3:29 PM

There's a concert across town Did you want me to come with you to the store?

He watches you fidget around next to him, faintly biting at your lip as you type back a reply.

Astraea - 3:30 PM

you don't have to

Levi - 3:31 PM

I have to go to Hange's too, so might as well

Astraea - 3:31 PM

i wouldn't mind the company then

When the three dots don’t appear after that message, he figures that conversation’s over.

Though he remains unmoving, you position yourself further forward and rest your arms on top of your briefcase. With his shoulders no longer touching yours, he feels his heart rate slow just enough to let him know that he’s not on the verge of a heart attack anymore, and he’s able to relax a bit. His shoulders aren’t as stiff as they were this entire past week, the stress of everything seeming to fade as the number of people on this damned bus lessens with every stop, until, eventually, there’s no more than a handful of passengers left.

Now that the bus has made it out of down, it’s been moving much more quickly on its route. There’s no longer as many people on the bus, so Levi can see the scenery from the window across from him much more clearly. You’re usually sat on the other side, opposite of where you and Levi are currently, so Levi’s never been able to really see what the terrain on that side of the road looks like.

He hasn’t ever cared to really look before, especially when you’re not here, but it’s quite… calming, he decides. Watching as the colors of the breeze blend together as the bus passes by and blurs the shapes, though, he stills as he gets lost in everything.

Just barely within his peripheral, Levi sees the sign which shows they’ve just reached Rose, and he shuffles about to get his things together and get to the store. He still has no idea what to expect from this all, but you follow closely behind, and after you say a quick “thank you” to the driver, the two of you are off to go and… buy some eggs.

How exciting.

“Just the butter and eggs, right?” He asks, looking over at you now that you’re both safely off the bus. You nod, and Levi leads the way to the grocery store. He tries to match your pace, wanting to be considerate of your time, and he can only hope you’re not too uncomfortable with having to go and be Hange’s goons together.

You end up in front of the store relatively quickly, it not being too far from the bus stop at all. Levi goes to get a cart as you wait by the automatic doors, and though you look confused that he’s gotten one if you’re only to get two items, he puts his backpack in it to prompt you to do the same with your briefcase. When you do, he sees you breathe a gentle sigh of relief, and he gives himself a pat on the back for thinking to get a cart so you don’t have to lug that bag around the store.

Levi’s here quite often as the person in the house responsible for getting groceries, so he pushes the cart to guide the two of you through the store to get what Hange needs. Neither of you make any effort to talk, but Levi doesn’t quite feel awkward about it.

When the two of you reach the self-checkout area, you seem to want to fill the silence yourself. “Do you know what Hange has planned for us at their place?” You ask.

Levi glances over at you and shakes his head. "Not really, they just said it'd be us and Erwin. Moblit and Mike are busy."

You nod, and Levi screams to himself once more—this time, to tell himself off for being too awkward to know how to carry a conversation as simple as this. He might as well have just shut his mouth entirely and not said anything, seeing as he didn’t have any semblance of an answer for you.

You hand Levi the eggs and the box of butter, which he scans both of. Levi goes to his pocket to get his wallet, but as he’s taking out his card to pay, he looks over to see you doing the same.

Before he can say anything, you speak up. "Hange asked me to get it, so I'm paying."

He hesitates at that but puts his wallet away. "Fair enough."

Sure, Hange asked him to buy all of this stuff first, but he doesn’t want to cause any sort of scene here. Not that he thinks you’d be fussy about it, but he doesn’t want to be rude and fight over something as trivial as paying for some ingredients.

You tap your card, press a few buttons to verify your payment, and grab your receipt once that's all sorted out. You put the eggs and butter back into the cart before wheeling out with Levi next to you.

"Do you know when the next bus comes?” You ask.

"I park here in the mornings before taking the bus, so you can come with me," he replies. "Let me take the cart."

"How do I know you aren't going to kidnap me?"

He looks over at you, completely deadpan. "And what am I going to do? Force you to draft a prenup for me?"

You giggle at that, your hearty laughter making faint clouds in the cold air. "Yeah, sure."

You let go of the handle, letting him guide it now, and he directs you to his car, parked in front of the floral shop Isabel’s parents own. "Could I take a look inside?" You ask, pointing over to the shop.

Levi reaches into his pocket for his keys, unlocks his car, and opens his trunk to put away the things you’d bought. He puts his backpack in too, and hands you your briefcase before starting to head towards somewhere he can return the cart.

"Sure."

You smile over at him before quickly making your way inside the small shop, and Levi wheels away the now-empty cart to one of the… whatever they’re called, where you return shopping carts, and he returns to his car.

First order of business: make sure it’s as clean as it always is. From his driver’s seat, he leans over to make sure that the glovebox and other areas are all free of clutter, and he quickly puts away an old birthday card he’d received from his uncle in the mail last week.

Fucker didn’t even bother writing anything nice. Just copied the message already printed on the card, word for word.

He looks behind him in the back row seats to see if there’s any miscellaneous items that need to be put away in the trunk, and when he doesn’t find anything, he breathes easy and goes to turn on his engine, wanting to make sure that the car is warm by the time you return from perusing the flower shop.

Levi takes out his phone as the heaters whir to life, and he grimaces when he sees yet another text from Hange.

Four Eyes - 4:13 PM

Soooooo how’s it going ;)

What the fuck is that winky face for?

Levi - 4:14 PM

What do you want?

Four Eyes - 4:14 PM

WOW OKAY Nvm Are you guys on the way? Im almost home

Levi - 4:14 PM

We just finished getting your stupid fucking eggs

Four Eyes - 4:15 PM

Cool! Take your time!! Haha

Levi - 4:15 PM

… Okay?

Taking that and the cozy warmth of his car as his cue to go fetch you, he puts his phone back into his pocket and goes over to Magnolia Floral Company. Might as well say hi to Isabel, seeing as she’s probably in today.

There’s that familiar jingle from the bell at the door as he opens it, and he sees you and Isabel talking at the further-away counter. The sound gets both your attention and Isabel’s, and the latter of whom grins when they make eye contact with him.

"Hey, Levi!" Isabel greets, frantically waving her arms at him. He stays at the front of the shop, but nods in her direction. He finds you quickly enough, tilting his head towards the door.

"Ready to leave?" He asks.

You nod, scurrying over to where he is before smiling and waving "goodbye" to the girl at the counter.

"It was nice meeting you! Come again soon!" Isabel shouts after you.

You and Levi wordlessly get into his car, and he waits for you to have yourself situated before getting ready to head out.

"Who was that, if you don't mind me asking?"

He puts his car into drive and puts his arm on the back of your seat, reversing out of the parking space. "Isabel's a childhood friend of mine."

"She's nice. Maybe I'll come back to get something for my intern's birthday next month."

The rest of the ride is in silence, apart from the rustling of paper that Levi can’t really understand, but by the time he reaches Hange’s apartment and he’s able to park and see what was going on, he gets his answer when you hold out 3 paper stars to him.

He sees faint black marks along the paper. Did you make this from the receipt you’d gotten at checkout?

He takes it that you want him to have them, so he takes them, silently reaching over you to put them in his glovebox before getting out of the car with you.

You carry the butter and your briefcase while Levi carries the eggs, and you both bump into Hange at the front of their apartment unit.

"Fancy seeing you here!" They jest.

Levi groans. "Can it, Four Eyes."

Laughing, they thrust their keys into your hand. Well, more like their keys were looped on their pinky finger while they carried a huge box, and they awkwardly shimmied their upper body to bring attention to their keys. "Please! My arms are killing me!" They beg. You laugh at them, "missing" the keyhole to prolong their suffering. You do eventually open the door, and Hange breathes a huge sigh of relief once they're inside and can put the box down next to the door. "Thank you!"

"So, what exactly did you need all these eggs for?" You ask Hange, holding open the door for Levi to come in with his arms full. He nods in thanks, but he doesn’t think you see him.

"Just wait!" They say, taking the butter and eggs from you and Levi to put on their counter. "Erwin is on his way!"

Almost as if on cue, Erwin walks straight in, your arm still keeping the door open. "I heard my name?"

Hange claps their hands together. "Perfect! Now we're all here!"

They motion you all over to the kitchen area, where they start setting up a bunch of miscellaneous ingredients. Flour, salt, baking soda—any general baking item you could think of was now on their counter. Levi doesn’t know all that much about baking in the first place, but Furlan’s forced him to watch his fair share of MasterChef.

"Are you finally going to tell us why the fuck you needed us to buy 60 eggs?" Levi quips.

They shush him, continuing to put random bowls and such out, before standing in a power pose in front of the three of you on the other side of their kitchen counter. "Well, since Astraea's offered to teach me to make random desserts before, I thought I'd return the favor! And I think you've all ordered egg tarts before at some point or another, so I'm gonna teach all of you how to make them!" They declare. "Also, I have a company potluck to attend tomorrow, and I thought it'd be fun for us to make these all together!"

Levi, you, and Erwin all look at one another, then at Hange.

"Do you know how to make an egg tart yourself, Hange?" Erwin asks.

"Nope!"

"Do tell, Four Eyes, how we're supposed to learn from you then?"

"I watched a YouTube video at work on Tuesday! I'm sure I got this figured out!"

✰

Hange very much did not have it figured out.

You, Levi, and Erwin followed along as well as you could with Hange, who very much does not know what they're doing. Earnestly, Levi has no idea why he’s even going along with all this in the first place, but something about Hange continuously trying to prove themselves as a well-experienced baker when they’d only watched a 30-second YouTube short at work is too entertaining to pass up.

That, and the fact that there was something strangely calming about watching you form your own tart shells from the corner of his eye.

After about an hour of intense bickering between Hange and any one of the rest of you three, Levi watched in horror as you gently pushed for Hange to let you teach the steps instead. He was sure that Hange would get on the defensive, as they’ve been very overprotective of their supposed “knowledge” in baking this one simple treat, but they surprisingly don’t put up any fight and happily took a seat next to Erwin.

Again, Levi knows fuck-all about baking, but it seems that you know more than enough to pick up where Hange left off. You helped all three of them (and especially Hange) with whatever they needed, whether it was with the pastry shell or the custard, and the tarts didn’t end up all that bad. You got them into the oven and baked well enough, and even though they’re pretty fucking ugly, they end up being fine to eat.

Of course, Levi forced Erwin and Hange to help him clean the kitchen, save for the small area you needed to keep making tarts to have enough for Hange to actually take with them to their party.

While Levi stayed back in the kitchen, Erwin and Hange talked just barely out of earshot, and you silently kept at your baking. Levi sat at the counter, keeping you silent company and cleaning up anything you asked him to, and even though he’d initially been nervous about having to spend the latter evening with you, it's... calming, to watch as you carefully handle dough and broken eggshells.

By the time that everyone’s social battery’s run out, Hange decides that only then is it time to be loud and brash as they always are.

Erwin insists that he doesn't need any to take egg tarts home, but Hange still shoves a decently large tupperware container into his hands and pushes him out the door before he can refuse the gesture.

"Take some for Furlan and Isabel! I'm out of tupperware, so Astraea can wrap them up for you!" Hange says, now pushing Levi and you out the door, him holding a tray of tarts you and him made and you holding your briefcase.

What’s he meant to do now?

You and Levi both look at each other before you start leading the way towards your apartment, Levi then following behind you. You reach into your pocket to get your keys and unlock your door. You step in and take off your shoes, and Levi does the same, closing the door behind him. You walk over to your general kitchen space, pulling out a chair at the dining table for Levi to sit at while he waits for you to wrap up his tarts.

He looks around your kitchen, seeing all sorts of baking appliances neatly lined up against the wall connecting to your countertops. He doesn’t see a tea area, but he assumes that you might just keep that in a cabinet somewhere out of sight.

"Sorry I was a bit quiet earlier," you say abruptly, reaching for something in one of your drawers. "It was probably awkward."

He hums. "It's okay. Figured you had a rough week." Though, you’re hardly to blame for the awkwardness in the first place. He’d be quicker to put that fault on himself.

"What made you think that?" You start digging through another drawer to find something else.

"Erwin complained about some management issue at your firm on Monday during lunch."

You bitterly smile and shake your head, and Levi watches as you move the tray of tarts to where your wrapping things are. Your hands work fast at getting them neatly packaged up, and you place the lot lot into a plastic bag, afterwards going over to Levi to give them to him.

He stares into the bag, and he sees way too many. Did you give him the ones you made?

Looking between you and the tarts, he hesitates. "Aren't these the ones you made too?"

You bring your hand up to nervously rub the back of your neck, looking away from him. "If they're for your friends, might as well gift them the nice ones too," you start. Seemingly embarrassed at your statement, you add on. "Not that yours weren't nice!"

Levi feels a tug at the side of his lips, and he lets out a small breath that’s close enough to a laugh.

“Thank you.”

Just like on Monday, the two of you don't bother saying "goodbye" to each other, only exchanging nods as you open the door for him to go. Before he's completely out the door, though, he feels a tap on his shoulder.

He looks over his shoulder to see you, your face turned away with a seemingly nervous half-smile. “Yeah?”

"Thanks for saving me a seat today. On the bus, I mean. I probably would've lost it if I had to stand."

And, all at once, he’s woken up again. His hands feel brazenly warm, his eyes search for something to catch hold onto, and his heart’s caught in his throat.

It really isn’t that serious. He didn’t even really save a seat for you—he was planning to just give you his own—and he already feels bad for leading on that he’s much more just than he really is.

So why’s he so flustered right now?

The answer is that he isn’t. It’s not like it’s anything new for him to want to disappear into the floor because of you, nor does he think this will be the last time.

This is normal. This means nothing. You’re just being nice.

So he’s going to excuse himself before he makes an even bigger fool of himself.

He clears his throat before replying. "Don't worry about it."

After a good night's rest after a stressful week at work, you stretch yourself upwards and yawn loudly, waking up and fishing for your phone from between the sheets. It's annoying that there's so much sunlight bleeding into your room, but you suppose that's just your punishment for sleeping until the late afternoon.

After rolling onto your stomach and unlocking your phone, you see a couple of texts. Not completely out of the ordinary, but you should answer them now before you forget.

Hange - 9:14 AM

Hey!! Good morninggg THANK YOU for coming over yesterday! These tarts are soooo good I think i'm just gonna buy cupcakes for the party bc i am NAWT giving these to my coworkers Slide me the recipe? ;P

You roll your eyes with a smile before getting yourself up out of bed and over to your bathroom to brush your teeth, typing a response with one hand while you brush with the other.

You - 1:12 PM

you know you're not ever going to make these on your own just come over when you want anything, you know i'll make it for you

You set your phone down on the sink counter as you finish brushing your teeth and flossing, watching your screen to see if Hange'll reply anytime soon, and they do as soon as you're finished with your bathroom business.

Hange - 1:17 PM

Youre the best ily! Omg but speaking of love... Did anything happen w you and levi yesterday o.O

You groan, picking up your phone and taking it with you to the kitchen to get some tea started for your "morning."

You - 1:19 PM

hange you know i'm not interested in ANYONE stop trying to set me up

Hange - 1:20 PM

Yeah yeah you say that now...

You sigh, putting down your phone on the counter and going to fill your kettle. You hear a few other beeps from your phone while you set up your teapot and get your kettle plugged into the outlet, but when you return to your phone, you ignore Hange for a second to reply to whoever else has texted you between now and last night. There's some miscellaneous texts from coworkers asking if you're free to hang out, but nothing really stands out.

That is, until you see a couple of texts from Levi.

That's... something.

You click to open the message as you go to grab the small basket of teas you keep in your kitchen cabinet. You read the message as you bring down the basket and set it down on the counter.

Levi - 10:53 AM

My roommates liked the sweets Thank you again, I appreciate it

It feels as if a small match has just been struck inside your chest, and you put your phone face-down on the counter and groan into your hands.

God, you probably couldn't have come off any more of an idiot yesterday, what with your aversion to looking at Levi in the eyes and just being so painfully awkward, and he's still nice enough to thank you again for some sweets you wrapped up for him?

It really isn't this serious. There's no reason for you to feel so embarrassed that he's texted you to say thank you. There's no reason for you to want to throw your phone down the sink and press the disposal button. There's no reason for your ears to turn hot cherry red at your grown age.

Why're you even so flustered right now?

The answer is that you aren't. It’s not like it’s anything new for you to want to hide behind your hands because of Levi, nor do you think this will be the last time.

This is normal. This means nothing. He's just being nice.

Unsure of what to say in response, you painstakingly look through your teas to find what blend you want to drink today. You settle on some random flowery citrus blend that's been collecting dust, and you put away the rest of your blends before going back to your kettle and teapot and getting everything situated.

Even after you've got your tea in hand and are sat in at your dining table, distantly thinking about what you should make for dinner today, you don't know what to text back, or if to at all.

So you're going to excuse yourself before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.

You clear your throat before you pick up your phone, type a response back to him, and leave it at the table, taking your tea with you to your room to find something else to distract you.

✰

You - 1:43 PM [to Levi]

don't worry about it

✰

Next Chapter

[girlactionfigure]

ISRAEL REALTIME — Oct 29 morning updates

— IDF SAYS… has increased the number of troops on the ground as part of its expanded operation in Gaza.  Forces are also operating deeper in the enclave than they have since the start of the war.

— IDF ATTACKS… fighter jets struck some 450 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day.  The targets included command centers, observation posts, and anti-tank guided missile launch positions.

— IDF INJURIES… conflicting reports, IDF says 2, one serious.  Sky News says 6 dead.  

— IDF DEMOLISHES… the home of a terrorist who was involved in the attack in which three members of the Dee family were killed, the home in the Askar area on the outskirts of Shechem (Nablus).  During the operation, shooting and explosives were fired at the forces who responded with accurate fire. 3 terrorists were killed and at least ten were injured.

— IDF SAYS… “Civilians in northern Gaza, in Gaza City should temporarily move south of Wadi Gaza to a safer area, where they can receive water, food, and medicine.”

— IDF GROUND OP PHOTO LINK… https://idfanc.activetrail.biz/ANC281023003645

— SKIRMISHES SHOMRON (West Bank)… Clashes broke out between terrorists and IDF forces in the town of Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem.

— US BASE NORTH SYRIA ATTACKED… The American Al Shadadi base was attacked by 2 suicide drones.  Pro-Iranian militias took formal responsibility.

— IN FLIGHT… flight tracker shows 48 US C-17’s in flight to the Middle East, and 2 UK C-17’s.  American military transport planes will land at bases in Jordan.

— ADAM / GEVA BINYAMIN (West Bank town north of Jerusalem)… a security exercise will be held in the Karchum Street area between the hours of 9:30 and 12:30.  During the exercise, there will be movement of security forces.  It’s a drill.

— ARIEL PROTEST (West Bank Jewish city)… Protestors in front of the city's kindergartens, where Arab workers with a "blue identity card" are supposed to be admitted (not clear whether to work or their children). The residents stand with signs - "I want to live!" And "not ready to let in enemies"!

— POLITICS… around midnight, PM Netanyahu tweeted “The Prime Minister's Office stated in response to erroneous reports: Under no circumstances and at no stage was Prime Minister Netanyahu warned of Hamas' intention to start a war.”  The public response to blame deflection during the war is ANGER.   MK Gantz (war cabinet) replied this morning, “When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, do the right things and strengthen the forces in the way they are will be able to realize what we demand of them. Any other action or statement - harms the people's ability to stand and their strength.

The Prime Minister must retract his statement last night, and stop dealing with the issue.”  A number of politicians msg’d the same this morning.

After the harsh criticism: Netanyahu deleted the tweet.

— EU SAYS… EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urges a “pause of hostilities” to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.  “UNRWA warns about the desperate situation of Gaza people without electricity, food, water.  A pause of hostilities is urgently needed to enable humanitarian access.”

— GAZA INTERNET RETURNING… Telephone and internet connectivity are returning gradually to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports citing Palestinian media outlets.  Internet activity monitors show this is accurate.  

— WATER RULE CHANGE… private water consumers who host residents who have been evacuated will be able to receive additional water at the low rate of the first level on their bill.  Contact your water provider.