#ON TOP OF the regularly scheduled Sunday Blues

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

once again BEGGING to know how anyone accomplishes Literally Any Writing With An Internet Connection Easily Accessible, please

[thedaveandkimmershow]

So she did it. Linzy got through what in high school would've been called Hell Week, the week before each year's musical performance that was rock solid dress rehearsals on top of ongoing schoolwork.

In Linzy's case, rehearsals for this passed week have been ongoing for about a month, cranking up with the Little Lies gig a week ago, Saturday. Followed by rehearsals on Sunday for both Midnight High and Annie J in preparation for Thursday's show at the Sunset Tavern.

It was a packed week of rehearsals and prep for two bands on top of her normal work schedule.

By the time Friday came around, she was good 'n exhausted and a bit in need of hiding away in a quiet, peaceful, secluded bubble of reality.

Introverts. Am I right?

We experienced our own subset of exhaustion... since we're no longer teens or twenty-somethings, being on our feet continuously for three-and-a-half hours at the Sunset Tavern really took it out of us. Especially since this was technically a school night and we both had regularly scheduled work first thing the next morning

Basically, we did an epic Friday night on a Thursday night and went back to work first thing the next morning after going to bed at 1AM.

So... great night. Absolutely tough morning.

As for the show, three bands took the stage. In order, they were Clambrain, Midnight High, and Annie J.

Clambrain kicked off the night with an upbeat, fun set, acting as Master of Ceremonies, sound mixer, and vocalist... with guitarist Martin Budde providing electric rhythms, melodies, and solos. Had the week not already been filled with rain and forty degree temps, I woulda had no problem buying into the exquisite summer vibe. 😁

Next up was Midnight High for their debut live performance on the same day the second single from their upcoming full-length album, "Swimming Lessons", dropped.

Midnight High is a six piece band that brings a amazing technical prowess, powerhouse musicianship, and lush vocal arrangements to bear on music that's definitely born of the eighties without being born in the eighties. It's pop. It's catchy. It's nostalgic. And the mix and color of instruments and voices is truly impressive.

Linzy plays one of the synths for this band as well as being one of two backing vocalists. She played keys for the following band, Annie J, as well.

The headlining band, Annie J, performed a very soulful and jazz and blues set in steep contrast to the eighties vibe of Midnight High, kicking off their set in a seemingly accidental but definitely intentional way as the drummer settled in and set about a sound check that seemed to last longer than usual. The bass player then wandered on stage, joining in as musicians do when they're noodling around. Eventually, the lead guitarist joins in their jam and, before you know it, the eponymous lead singer takes the stage because this is all, in fact, the band's first song.

In the end, we enjoyed the night across all three bands. We enjoyed their talent and passion, their musicianship and authenticity, the energy and personality with which each one engaged the audience.

And yeah.

The music was fantastic.

☺️

[ragingbookdragon]

My Brother's Best Friend Is The One For Me

Wally West x Batsis!Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 3.6K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: Got to rereading my Batsis fics and came across the "What A Flashy Romance" and wanted to do another one with Wally because I love him. Enjoy! -Thorne

Being the middle child and also the only girl in the Batfamily meant two things:

1. She had four brothers that treated her like a porcelain doll, despite the fact that she could throw a punch at 336 PSI.

And

2. She followed an unspoken rule that Dick and Jason’s friends were off limits when it came to dating.

In all, neither of those things were major problems. She’d learned at a young age how to avoid Dick and Jason’s overbearing-protective-brother-modes, and Tim and Damian were younger, so she didn’t have to worry about them. The second one was also avoidable—most of her older brothers’ friends were the same, and she wasn’t around most of them to develop any feelings.

Well, there was Wally, but it was just a crush. A stupid, little school-girl crush—that she’d never really grown out of—that didn’t matter in the slightest. Except whenever Dick brought him over to the house and she had to pretend that sitting next to him didn’t make her heart race like she’d run a mile.

And the most annoying thing about the whole crush is that she couldn’t tell if Wally was ever interested in her or not. Most of Dick’s friends, Garth, Kyle, Roy, they treated her like a little sister—hell, they even said “Love you lil sis!” to her regularly. And yet, Wally didn’t. Now, there was the occasional head pat, but even that was an affectionate gesture that siblings and SO’s did all the time. It was infuriating, and so was Wally—but she was going to sort it all out the next time he came over because the worst thing he could say was “No”, and either she needed to hear that…or “Yes”.

***

Normal Sundays for the Wayne household usually meant Ultimate Waffle Breakfast and sitting on your ass all day until patrol—it was the one day of the week where they could do anything and nothing and didn’t have to stick to schedules. Everyone loved Sundays, especially (Y/N), because it meant that all of her family was home, even Jason (who tried to deny that he enjoyed coming home to hang out, but if that mile long grin was any help, he was lying). And while everyone was home, that usually meant that everybody’s friends were coming over too.

***

She swiped the syrup out of Jason’s hand when he swung it back around, grinning at him when he glared at her.

“I was gonna use that, (Y/N),” he griped, and she shrugged, uncapping the bottle.

She tipped it over and watched the syrup lazily pour out of the container onto her waffles.

“You were taking too long.” Her eyes twinkled with humor. “I guess you were as…slow as molasses.”

While most of the table groaned at her terrible joke, Dick snorted into his milk, causing it to splatter on his plate and across the table.

“Nice one,” he coughed, wiping his face and the dark oak surface.

(Y/N) bowed dramatically. “Well, I did learn from the best.” When Dick’s face lit up, she turned to Alfred and smiled. “Alfie, thank you for teaching me your ways.”

The old butler merely tipped his head, a hidden smile crossing his lips at the way the eldest son’s jaw went slack. She turned her attention to Bruce who was quietly chewing, eyes following along the research paper she’d asked him to check out.

“Dad, what’s on your agenda for today?”

He swallowed and flicked a line out with a red pen, etching his own comment in the margin. “Lucius has a few ideas about some new gadgets he wanted to run by me.” Another line went out. “I’ll call him after breakfast.” Bruce looked at her. “You?”

(Y/N) nodded at the paper in his hands, then slapped Jason’s who was reaching over to take a piece of bacon from her plate. “Waiting for you to finish tearing me a new one so I can redo the paper.” She cut into the waffle with the side of her fork. “Once I salvage what little scientific dignity you’ve left me with, I’ll probably laze around.”

“You mean what you do normally?” Bruce quipped, grinning when she glowered at him; his eyes went back to her paper. “You’re doing well so far.”

She huffed. “Tell that to every red line you’ve marked out in that paragraph.”

He flashed the paper. “I’m writing in the margins how to change it. This isn’t a dissertation, sweetheart. You’re allowed to make mistakes. We all do.”

(Y/N) grumbled as her cheeks warmed and she went back to her plate as the conversation flowed around her.

Most of it was the discussion of what everyone was planning on doing, Damian was going to play video games, Tim was going to join him (which she knew was going to be fun while the moment lasted until the petty sibling rivalry got in the way and their gaming dwindled into a physical fight that she and probably Dick were going to have to break up), Jason was going to use the workbench in the cave to upgrade some gear, and Dick apparently,

“Wally and Garth are gonna come over later and hang out.”

She paused, mid-stab of her fork and looked at up. “Wally’s coming over?”

He nodded. “And Garth. We were gonna go to the mall and get some new clothes.”

Jason snorted, laying an arm over the backs of Tim and (Y/N)’s chairs. “Spending money with daddy’s credit card, Dickie?”

Dick smirked. “Just like you.” Jason merely matched his grin, and while the entire table was cracking up at Bruce’s frown, (Y/N) was silent, heart beating faster at the thought of seeing Wally.

“(Y/N)?” She startled and looked up at Dick.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were okay. You got quiet all of the sudden.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, just thought about all of the corrections I’m gonna have to do because somebody CAN’T STOP MARKING OUT MY PARAGRAPHS.” Bruce merely smiled and knocked out another line.

It was a lie. It was the biggest lie she’d told right next to the one she told when Bruce had asked her where she was on prom night her senior year a few years ago—she was totally not saving a different sector of the universe with Kyle Rayner, she was dancing with Sam Reilly all night—she strongly believed her dad knew the truth—Batman knew everything.

Bruce handed the paper back to her and she groaned as she scanned the red lines on every page. It was going to take her hours to go over this.

Jason leaned over and read the title, “Cellular Division and Mutation Under Extreme Elemental Circumstances…a composition by (Y/N) Wayne.” He cocked a dark brow. “Go big or go home, huh, baby girl?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Doctor Halberd wanted us to pick challenging topics for the research paper this term.” A crooked smile crossed her lips. “I’m nothing if not ambitious about proving I’m smarter than everyone else.”

“You need another source,” Bruce murmured, sipping the steaming black coffee. “One-fourteen is good, but I’d go for one-fifteen.”

She groaned and dropped her head. “Are you kidding me? I had enough trouble gathering that many.”

“Why don’t you use Barry?” Tim piped up, mouth full of whip cream and strawberries.

“Master Timothy, we do not talk with our mouth full,” Alfred admonished, and Tim blushed.

(Y/N)’s head shot up and she stared at her brother. “That’s actually a good idea. Speedsters would make for perfect references about cellular division.” An idea popped into her head and she glanced at Dick. “And since Wally is com—”

“Nope,” Dick interrupted, pointing at her. “Wally is coming over to hang out, not to be poked and prodded to finish a paper.”

She let out a whine and turned to Bruce. “Dad, tell Dick to let me at least talk to Wally about it.”

Bruce turned his attention onto Dick. “Let your sister talk to Wally about her paper.”

“Oh, come on,” he complained and (Y/N) stood from her seat, hurrying around the table to stand behind Dick’s seat.

She draped herself over his shoulders, tucking her chin in the crook of his neck. “I promise I won’t be annoying if you let me come with you. I’ll ask two questions every thirty minutes and I’ll go do shopping on my own, so I won’t be in the way.” (Y/N) craned her neck and pulled the most pitiful puppy eyes she could. “Please?”

Dick’s eyes darted to her face and then he looked away. Just one more push.

“Please frate?” she begged and when his eyes went wide from the usage of his native tongue, she knew she’d won him over.

He deflated and let out a sigh. “Fine,” he grumbled. “You can come with us.”

(Y/N) squealed and pressed a kiss to his cheekbone, as she grabbed the paper and hurried towards the door. She halted and spun around, looking at her father.

“What do I need to be most specific about?”

“Division under elemental circumstances.”

She glowered at him. “No shit Sherlock. Specifics.”

“Molecular division under terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.”

“That’ll work,” (Y/N) nodded and exited to room.

Jason looked out the door then back to his brothers. “She’s way to excited about science sometimes.” They merely laughed.

***

She raised the red lace, cold shoulder V-neck shirt to her chest before frowning, and switching it with the full lace blue shirt with mini golden lightning bolt charms hanging off the trim. After a moment, she pulled the blue one down and sighed.

“You know, if you want to impress him, I’d wear the red shirt.”

She jumped and barely managed to suppress the scream that was coming up in her throat as she swiveled around to face her door. Jason stood in the doorway, a knowing look on his face. She could play this one of two ways: she could be truthful, or she could lie—she chose the latter.

“What do you mean?” He snorted and walked into her room, taking a seat at her desk.

“I mean if you’re trying to impress Wally, wear the shirt that’s the color of his suit, (Y/N).” She looked away and into the mirror, but she couldn’t escape the eyes boring into her back.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked quietly, and he laughed.

“That you’re head over heels for Dick’s best friend? Oh yeah. Totally.”

She sighed and sat on her bed, pulling the red top over her torso. “It’s just a crush.”

“Seems like more than a crush to me, baby girl.”

(Y/N) pulled the fabric down and looked at him. “Are you gonna tell Dick?”

Jason scoffed. “Do I look like a narc to you?”

She cocked a brow and deadpanned, “Just the other night you told dad that Damian lifted Two-Face’s wallet when he was being put in a cruiser.”

“Well, that wasn’t something important,” he countered and nodded at her. “This is.” He paused and shrugged. “Nah, I’m not gonna tell Dickhead. Play this out however you see fit, baby girl.”

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment then averted her gaze and let out a sigh; Jason huffed.

“That sounds like a heavy sigh, (Y/N). What’s wrong?”

She shrugged. “I don’t even know if Wally would be interested in me. He’s him and I’m me.”

Jason stood and walked over, kneeling in front of her. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

(Y/N) met his eyes. “Anytime he’s had a girlfriend she’s always been super strong or really outspoken.”

“And you’re not?” he quipped, causing her to huff.

“You know what I mean, Jay.”

He nodded. “Okay, so you’re not an Amazon or shoving your head up someone’s ass for a story. But you’re you.”

“And that means?”

“You’re the only daughter of the World’s Greatest Detective who’s a wicked smart science major by day and a badass vigilante by night.” He cupped her cheeks. “You are intelligent, warmhearted, talented, and absolutely beautiful.” Jason smushed her cheeks together and grinned as she giggled. “And if Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time. You hear me, baby girl?”

She nodded. “I hear you.”

Jason gave her a firm nod and let go, standing to his feet. “Now come on let’s go do your makeup.”

(Y/N) blinked. “You can do makeup?”

“Baby girl, I can do a lot of things. Now hurry up. That razor sharp eye liner and golden eyeshadow isn’t going to do itself.”

***

She waited beside Dick with a pleasant smile on her face, and despite the fluttering heartbeat in her chest, Jason’s pep talk kept running through her head and with every passing moment, she felt her confidence rising. He was right, if she told Wally and he didn’t feel the same, then it was his loss and her gain to move on and find someone else.

A black sedan pulled up at the manor and the passenger window rolled down, revealing Wally at the wheel and Garth in the passenger’s seat. Dick waved at them.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. “How was the drive over?”

“Oh, you know, we saw three carjacking’s and one armed robbery,” Garth quipped. “I assume that’s normal for Gotham though.”

“It’s a bit below average actually,” (Y/N) piped up. “Hi Garth. Hi Wally.”

Wally smiled and Garth waved in return as the two siblings started getting in the car.

“You’re coming with us, (Y/N)?” Wally questioned and she nodded.

“Do you want me to lie to you or give you the truth?”

He chuckled. “I’m always open for a good story.”

“I wanted to buy out Victoria’s Secret and piss off any boyfriends who are in hot water with their girlfriends.” The guys laughed and she admitted, “Truth though, I need one last source for a research paper.”

“Gonna find that source shopping?” Garth asked and (Y/N) caught Wally’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.

“Actually, my last source is Wally.”

They fell silent and looked at her, though the speedster’s focus was on the road.

“What are you gonna source Wally on?” The Atlantean inquired.

“My paper is over cellular mutation under distress from elemental conditions.” She smiled at Wally. “Our speedster here, is a walking subject perfect for the paper. I can only hope that he agrees to be a willing participant.”

Wally chuckled. “I’d be willing to part with a few secrets for you. Of course, I’d have to—”

“Remain anonymous.” (Y/N) winked. “I’m sure my professor would be okay with me citing ‘The Flash’ so long as I had a picture with him to back it up.”

“I like pictures,” he murmured, pulling into the parking lot.

“That’s good to know,” she replied and when he put the car in park, she took her purse and added, “So I’ll leave you boys to do your shopping and Wally, I’ll text you any questions I have.”

“You’re not gonna hang around?” Garth asked and she shook her head.

“Nah, I don’t wanna be the annoying little sister who follows her older brother and his friends around.” She smiled at them. “Besides, Dick was kind enough to let me come along. Least I can do is stay out of your way.”

(Y/N) opened the door and waved at them. “Text me when you’re ready to leave and I’ll meet you back here.”

***

Despite the initial joke that she was going to buy out the lingerie store, there was actually some truth in the statement, and she drew her fingers over one of the lace baby dolls as she looked at her phone, grinning like a dope at Wally’s response.

Well, I wouldn’t say I’d grow a second skin from how fast my cells regenerate, but I can make my body heal instantaneously. -W

Can you regenerate limbs or major organs? –(Y/I)

Major organs or useful ones? -W

(Y/N) paused at his response and thought for a moment. It was risky. Sending the text, she was thinking about was risky, but it’d sure get her point across that she was into him. With her heart hammering in her chest, she pushed send and stuck her phone in her pocket.

Whichever ones are useful to you, Wally? ;) –(Y/N)

Her phone didn’t buzz for a good minute, and Wally took less than a second to reply, so he was doing one of two things: A.) Telling Dick that his younger sister sent a flirty text, or B.) Trying to figure out how to let her down easy. (Y/N) didn’t know which one was worse. Her hip buzzed and she inhaled shakily, pulling her phone out of her pocket with one eye cracked open to see how screwed she was.

Do you have a useful one in mind, beautiful? -W

She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from letting out the biggest gasp any human had ever made, and she nervously looked around her to make sure no one else was staring at her. She grinned as she replied to him.

Oh, I could think of one…or two or three…Why? Is there gonna be a pop quiz over this later? I’ll have you know I’m an excellent test taker. –(Y/N)

Is that so? Well, what happens if you were to fail this particular pop quiz, (Y/N)? -W

I guess you’d have to stay the night for a study session and help me make a better grade ;) –(Y/I)

As she waited for another response, someone’s hand touched the small of her back and she reacted, immediately stepping away from the offending touch to spin on them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Wally standing before her, a grin on his face, phone in his hand.

“I think an overnight study session is possible, (Y/N).”

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish until she finally got her brain to work and asked, “I thought you were shopping with Dick and Garth?”

He shrugged. “Told Dick you asked me an advanced question that’d be easier to answer in person than over text.” He wiggled his brows. “You know, advanced equations and scientific gibberish.”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and turned back around, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks as she picked up one of the teddies. And when she realized what it looked like, she only felt more flustered. Crimson with baby blue trimming and was practically a shoelace.

“Well, that’sa hint if there ever was one,” Wally quipped, and she pulled the lingerie out of his line of sight.

“It was just the first one I grabbed!” she exclaimed, snapping her mouth shut when people looked over at them. Her cheeks felt like they were wildfires, and she pressed her head against the cool metal of the rack, sighing with what little relief it provided.

“You know, (Y/N),” he started softly. “If you’re not comfortable, this doesn’t have to go anywhere. I can forget this ever happened if you want me to.” (Y/N) opened her eyes and peered at him, at the concern but also the kindness in his gaze.

“I just—” she murmured and trailed off before letting out a sigh. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“Okay,” Wally nodded. “My mouth might work faster than my brain sometimes but lay it on me.”

She cracked a smile and thought back on Jason’s words. If Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and looked at him, admitting, “Wally, I have…feelings for you.” His eyes widened and though she felt the sting of embarrassment, she pushed out her words. “It’s stupid, like one of those dumb childhood crushes that just sticks with you, you know?”

She averted her gaze and looked at her peep toe heels. “I just don’t wanna screw anything up because even if you don’t feel anything like I do, I don’t wanna lose you as a friend. Because I do value your friendship.” She sighed. “And Dick. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable about coming over to see him if there’s a chance you’ll have to see me too. I just—”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Wally interrupted gently, a smile growing on his face. “You’re thinking way big here, (Y/N). Bigger than you need to right now.”

She met his eyes. “Right now?” she repeated, and he reached out, taking her hand in his. His fingers felt tingly against her palm and he smiled.

“I like you, (Y/N).”

She blinked at him, practically dumbfounded. “You…you do?”

Wally nodded and confessed, “Have for a couple years, but I didn’t wanna make a move not knowing if you were interested.” His cheeks tinged pink, and he said, “But I’m glad you are. Like super glad.” (Y/N) giggled, suddenly feeling really foolish for all her worry and Wally let out a chuckle too.

She stared at him for a moment, relishing the coolness of his skin before pulling away, toying with the teddy in her other hand.

“So, about tonight…you staying over?”

Wally let out a groan and looked between her and the lingerie. “Probably, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away long enough to spend some time alone with you.”

(Y/N) let out a ‘pfft’ and winked. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Flash. You are the fastest man alive.”

“You’re into quickies? Good to know,” he grinned.

“Shut up,” she giggled.

[hb-writes]

You’ve Always Been Naive

Summary: It’s 1925 in the Little Lady Blinder universe. After an epic row, Tommy allows Clara to stay more regularly on Watery Lane with a few conditions, one of which is a mid-week meeting at the Midland Hotel to check in.

Characters: Tommy Shelby & Clara (Shelby!Sister)

Content Warnings: canon-typical content, angst, (underage) drug use (requested by anon)

--

Tommy glanced up from his whiskey sour as his sister stepped up to the table, her face a deliberately neutral façade as she set a ledger down in front of him, a week's worth of academic work stuffed inside the front cover.

"Lizzie said you'll need that for tomorrow," Clara offered as she extracted the papers, placing them on top and pushing the pile towards him. "And here are the assignments you've asked for. If that's all, I have plans, so…"

Tommy watched her determination waver a bit as he raised a brow, her confidence retreating the longer she stood planted in front of him, the first she'd been directly in his presence for a little over a week.

A meeting at the Midland Hotel had been Tommy's idea. Clara had accepted the summons, accepted the hotel as a sort of neutral territory though it was in no way impartial. The hotel was Tommy's home more days than it wasn't, filled with a staff as loyal to his payment as the staff of Arrow House, loyal like the staff of the company, but the Midland's staff didn't know Clara Shelby as well as the others. They didn't have their claws in her, couldn't appeal to her on Tommy's behalf like the others did, like little Charlie did, or Ada, so when Tommy requested the midweek meeting as a condition of his allowing her to stay on the lane far more often than she did under his roof, Clara felt she had little option but to agree.

Tommy barely glanced at the things she'd set on the table, more interested in the fact that Clara hadn't yet found her seat, still standing across from him bundled in all the cloth that had protected her from the stinging wind and chill on the walk over, almost as if she was convinced the coat and scarf and gloves would protect her from him too.

"Take a seat."

"I already said I—"

"You're going to make a scene?"

Both of Tommy's eyebrows rose with the question, the words almost a dare, or perhaps better likened to a threat, and Clara glanced about the room only to determine that the Midland wasn't the proper place for a shouting match with her brother. Scheduling the meeting there was meant to keep the two of them in check, but Clara knew Tommy would show no hesitation in raising his voice back should she choose to make a go of it, settling her firmly in the place where he thought she belonged with a mere line or two.

Clara's cheeks warmed at the mere thought.

"That's what I thought." Tommy shifted, sitting up straighter in his chair, eyeing its empty match across the table. "Take a seat."

Clara remained in her spot, pulling her eyes from him as she forced her finger into the opening between her coat sleeve and glove to expose the delicate watch set on her wrist.

Lizzie's handwriting in her diary had marked her down to be at the Midland with Tommy from 6:00 to 7:00, but she's made herself quarter of an hour late by a bit of purposeful dawdling at the office followed by a bit of nervous pacing out front of the hotel that had left her with chilled toes and wind-chapped cheeks.

"I really can't see why I need to. You've seen I'm alive and well—" Clara gestured to the book and papers. "—You have the ledger, have proof I've been doing as I've been told, and I'm certain you've already gotten reports off of—"

"Take a seat."

Tommy finished his drink, the ice clattering against the glass as he set it on the table, all of the force that wasn't there in his voice focused into the gesture before he pulled the papers closer, thumbing through her work though he cared little to see the grades or completeness. He had little concern that Clara wouldn't hold up that end of the deal, her motivations in that arena extending beyond any guidelines he could set for her.

And anyway, Tommy already knew she'd been towing the line. He didn’t need the completed packet of school assignments to know she was following his rules. He didn’t need this encounter to know she was alright either, his curiosity on the matter fulfilled well enough through reports from Lizzie and Ada and Frances and Michael, his confidence bolstered by the lack of contact from the school. Even Finn’s first words to him in every meeting over the last week and a half had been about their sister.

People usually told him things, always had, seemed to give him what he needed in that respect without him having to ask after it, but Tommy didn’t always trust the word of the world. There were some things he preferred to see for himself, some questions he needed to hear the answer to while seeing the reaction on her face before she got the chance to put her clever words in the way.

Something about the power of the impending fourth request to take a seat, and the knowledge that it wouldn’t be as much of a request as it was an order coming from Tommy’s lips, helped Clara to lower herself into the chair across from her brother. She kept quiet while Tommy thumbed through her work, slipping the gloves from her hands and settling them on the table though she allowed herself to shed nothing more as she sat on the edge of the seat, her back straight, every muscle in her feeling taut and strained while she waited. 

“You’ve been busy.”

Clara nodded. She had been busy, and she was quite certain her brother was at fault for that, accepting her being out from under his roof, but not out from under his thumb, ensuring she had more than enough to keep her busy, keeping her so occupied once she held up her end that all she wanted was her bed. 

The worst part was Clara knew it. She knew this wasn’t really the freedom she was after, the distance she’d said she needed, but she couldn’t help herself when it came to meeting expectations. Clara was losing either way, but the fact that she kept trying bothered her brother, that she knew. That she’d rather adhere to his rule and work herself to death than live under his roof and play that game unsettled him.

People listened to Thomas Shelby for many reasons—because of his influence or his threats, because they hadn’t a choice. He imagined his siblings fell into the last category, left without much of a choice, but he’d always imagined the girls were a bit different. His brothers filed in line like the soldiers they were, but the girls weren’t soldiers. The girls had always seemed to be tied to him and his words in some other way, some sort of different understanding falling between the three of them, but with Clara especially. The understanding didn't seem to be there any longer though, replaced with the same soldiering that he'd seen with his brothers.

“I’ve been doing as I was told,” Clara offered. 

“And what were you told?” 

Clara huffed, settling back in the chair, her shoulders slumping at his question, something about him making her repeat it for him doing the work that his tone alone couldn’t.

Clara fixed her gaze out the windows in the front as the waiter approached the table.

"Anything for the young lady, Mr. Shelby?"

"Tea," he said, not pulling his eyes from his sister, her annoyance at the order he placed on her behalf clear in the twitch of her face though she stayed quiet until the man stepped away.

"I'm not staying, Tommy. I told you I have plans."

He tilted his watch face to check the time. “Not until seven.” 

Clara seemed to accept that seeing as she didn’t fight him, settling a bit further into the chair, shifting her gaze out the window once again.

“So, back to doing as you’re told, then.”

Tommy raised his eyebrows, blinking at her long and slow though she’d met his gaze for only a short moment before turning her attention elsewhere, to watch people coming in through the front door. 

“School assignments, exams, the company, Sunday dinners. Your meetings...and all of it’s up to par, Tommy. I’m—”

“And what about this?” 

Clara stilled as he set the blue vial on the table, her pulse picking up as he left it there and sunk back into his own chair.

"Tommy!" she hissed, nearly reaching out her hand to knock it from the table, to remove it from such a clear view, but no one was watching them.

Tommy scoffed, leaning forward and closing the vial in his hand before pointing a finger at his sister. "I told you if there was any fucking nonsense, I'd bring you right back home."

"I am home," she answered. "Can't get more like home than Watery Lane."

Tommy's snort was so quiet Clara didn't even catch it and he nodded, leaning his chin on his hand as he sat back, his finger idly rubbing his jaw as he considered her. "You think you're clever."

"I am clever," Clara answered, unwinding the scarf from her neck, her eyes diverted as she focused on the meticulous folding of the fabric before she set the bundle on top of her gloves. "You've always said."

Tommy shook his head, the second snort almost leading to a smile before he cleared his throat, shifting his position again and rooting around for his cigarettes before he spoke.

"I'm not in the mood for it, Clara. You've been asking questions about things you have no business with and it stops now."

Tommy caught her eye roll as he lit the cigarette, couldn't miss it really, the way the gesture took over her whole expression, her whole body really, and he wondered whether she'd done it on purpose or if it was just a reflex.

Clara was inclined to do far more than roll her eyes at him, a whole queue of arguments settled at the leading edge of her tongue, every part of her except her lips prepared to fight him because everyone else was allowed a bit of snow for the simple fun of it, but Clara had a feeling voicing that argument wouldn't do well in the end. It would only serve to tell him what he somehow didn't yet know, that she hadn't simply asked her questions, that she'd also tried it for herself.

It had just been the one time, to quell some curiosity, a small indulgence, and even if it had helped her stay alert to get done what she'd needed to get done, Clara wasn't keen to try it again. Tommy had no need of knowing it, so she swallowed her arguments, swallowed her pride and distaste for the double standards that ruled her life.

"Fine, Thomas. I've heard you. You want me to stop asking questions. And Michael and Finn are loyal to you, not me. It's all understood, nothing for you to waste your precious time worrying over." She was sitting up straight in the chair once again, perched on the edge and eager to be out the door before the tea came. "Is there anything else?" she asked. "As I said, I do have other plans."

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing an exhale before tapping the ash at the end of his cigarette into the tray between them and holding her gaze. 

“You’ve never tried it, then?”

Clara opened her mouth and Tommy let out a hollow laugh before she could answer, the cigarette pointed in her direction once again. 

“And don’t you fucking lie to me, Clara.”

His gaze was unblinking and Clara held onto it as long as she could manage, not even allowing herself to breathe for several moments as she stared back at him, a familiar strain falling between the two of them.

Clara allowed herself a small intake of breath, attempted to take in a little air before she'd find herself gasping for it, attempted to extend the standoff a bit longer, but her resolve crumbled with the exhale, Tommy's attack coming before she'd even finished the breath. 

“You’re going back to Arrow—” 

“No, I'm not. It was just the one—”

Tommy's laugh cut her off, set a silence between them as he took a drag off the cigarette. “If you believe that, you’re just being naive, always have—”

“Excuse me?”

“You're clever, but you’ve always been naive,” Tommy said. “And all you’ve done this evening is show me that that is still the case.” He cleared some ash into the tray.  

“If the work’s too much, you cut out the fun with the boys. It’s something you kids don’t seem to understand.” He set his finger down into the pile, jabbing the folder of school assignments and the ledger with each word. “The business comes first.”

Clara scoffed, the force of it so gentle it was barely noticeable, and she glanced at her watch. “It’s five after,” she said, scooping her gloves and scarf into her arms as she stood, pushing her chair back in place.

Tommy nodded. “I want you at the house on Sunday…to see Charlie. We can finish this then."

"There’s nothing to finish," she answered, setting her gaze away from him as she wrapped the cloth around her neck and pulled her gloves from the table, fitting one hand inside. "See you Sunday."

Clara took a step away as she worked the other glove over her fingers and Tommy caught her elbow, his hold far more gentle than any of the words he'd tossed at her during their meeting, more gentle than his stares or the mock laughter.

A wetness grew in Clara's eyes and she stayed faced away from him for a moment as she tried to resolve the tears, swallowing hard, her arm going limp as Tommy's grip shifted, sliding down her arm to clasp her wrist.

Enough. That's what his hand on her wrist meant, a gesture Clara and Charlie used to ask for the end of any bit of play that had gone a bit too far, a signal that communicated when it was too much, a gesture Clara knew Tommy had been deliberate in choosing.

"Clara, I mean it. No more snow, alright? If something were to happen, I…"

His words sent a searing lump into her throat, that combined with the touch sending her mind down into a spiral of guilt and shame, and as much as Clara hated Tommy for his role in it, for having the power to do it, she hated herself just as well for succumbing to it, even more for ever stepping out of line to begin with, disappointed with herself and her choices even though everyone else did it.

Clara cursed her brother and his temperamental provision of care, the sparse deliverance of love, and his double standards, and then she’d cursed herself, cursed the expectations and rules she’d set on herself and everything about the relationship that existed between them. Clara pulled her hand loose, tugging her glove the rest of the way into place before she took a deep breath, her back still to her brother as she bid him farewell.

"I'll see you Sunday, Thomas."

--

500 Follower Celebration Masterlist

Little Lady Blinder (Peaky Blinders) Masterlist

[five-rivers]

Changeling Chapter 1

A DP Fae Au fic. I've been promising you this for so long XD. I can hardly believe I'm finally delivering, even if it's only one chapter for now.

.

Chapter 1: In the Beginning, There Was an Offer

.

They studied legends. According to those legends, today, Beltane, was a time of renewal, of birth, of fertility.

It was not supposed to be… this. Their dreams weren’t supposed to be crushed today. Not under this sun, not under these blue skies and among softly blooming flowers.

This kind of news should have come with rain. It should have come with storms.

Maddie wiped tears out of her eyes and Jack patted her on the back. The air smelled sweet and dusty at the same time. The bench was uncomfortable.

“We could try adoption,” said Jack. He sounded shocked, too. Drained. His voice was pulled taught over a great hollowness. “Lots of people adopt. We can- can do some good in the world, maybe.”

Maddie sniffed and cried harder. She’d wanted her own children, and Jack knew it. Adoption was all very well and good, but at this point the suggestion felt like some consolation prize, and she felt terrible for even thinking it was, because Jack was right, it could be a good thing, and…

She wanted children. Her own children.

“Excuse me, I believe I can help.”

There was something about how he said that, about how the voice wound and slipped through her ears that had Maddie’s head snapping up. The man who stood to the side of the bench wore a long coat with a deep hood. Symbols, symbols that Maddie had spent hours, days, weeks, researching were stitched into the fabric. His eyes glittered in the shadows. The fingers of his hands, clasped in front of him, were too long, their coloring faintly lavender, as if they had been dipped in ink and retained the stain even after they’d been washed clean.

This was not a human.

“How?” asked Maddie, feeling hope drip back into her limbs even as Jack tensed behind her. “How can you help?”

.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” said Jack as they drove home. “We really shouldn’t have done that. Maddie, they’re evil, there’s always a catch and it’ll always be looking for a way to push us into it.”

“The catch is in the open,” said Maddie, leaning back against the seat of the car and closing her eyes. “It isn’t as if it’s in the fine print and we’re going to stumble into it. We have one, and then I get my tubes tied, or you get snipped, and we go on with our lives.”

“What if we have twins? Triplets? Maddie, we should have talked about this.”

“There wasn’t any time,” Maddie said defensively. “I had to decide right away.”

“What are we going to do if we have twins, Maddie?”

Maddie bit her lip, her eyes opening without her full permission as she thought. “We know how to deal with things like him.”

The car jerked just a little to the right as Jack failed to suppress his flinch. “Do you remember our work on motivations? On why they take artists, musicians, children?” he asked. He forged on without waiting for an answer. “Creative sterility, we called it. For this one to be able to cure sterility, he has to be powerful. I don’t think nails in pockets and inside-out clothing is going to stop him.”

Such protections were hit and miss to begin with. One faerie might hate bread, another might love it. The sound of bells would drive off one, and another would wear them in their hair. Even cold iron was no guarantee against them.

“We’ll have to find something better, then,” she said, firmly.

.

Maddie laughed. Not a twin. A single child showed on the ultrasound monitor. A girl. A beautiful baby girl. Perfect.

On the other side of the bed, Jack sunk into a chair, obviously relieved. “She’s healthy?” he asked the OB/GYN.

“Completely,” she said. “This is quite the miracle the two of you put together here.” She shook her head. “We must have gotten something wrong during our examination. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am to have put you through all that, and I won’t blame you if you wanted to find a new doctor.”

“It’s fine,” said Maddie, patting the woman’s arm. “It happens.” Yes, being approached by a powerful fae just ‘happened.’ “The important thing now is to make sure there aren’t any complications.”

.

They made sure Jazz was born on a Sunday, with two middle names, one of which Maddie made sure to forget. They scheduled her baptism for as early a date as possible, even though both Jack and Maddie were as lapsed as it was possible to be.

Precautions.

Jack had his surgery only a month later.

They were safe. They had won.

The family of three snuggled together on the couch. Well, Jazz snuggled inasmuch as a newborn was able. They watched TV.

“Jack, dear,” said Maddie, roused to awareness by a news story about a rising young businessman. “Is that our Vlad?”

Jack blinked at the screen. “I think you’re right,” said Jack. “I haven’t seen him since college. I don’t think we’ve talked to him since college.” He frowned. “Did something happen? The three of us used to be so close… He was the only one in the whole folklore department that would put up with our theories, do you remember?”

“I don’t know,” said Maddie, trying to remember. “It was like he was there one day, gone the next.”

“Do you think he’ll mind us getting back in touch?”

“Only one way to find out.”

.

(As it turned out, Vlad did not particularly care to get back in touch.)

.

Jazz was not a normal child.

She saw too much. She understood too much. Her teeth grew in early. She learned how to get the milk out of the fridge at about the same time she learned how to walk. Her eyes were too large, even for her age. She didn’t start talking until she was almost two, and when she did, it was in complete sentences. She took to responsibility like a duck to water. No, she demanded responsibility, from waking up the family in the morning to answering the door. She loved rules and games, and the rules of games.

But they had never raised a child before. Perhaps this was simply how they were. Perhaps this was within the expected variety of humanity.

Most importantly, Jazz was theirs. Completely.

.

Maddie was not terribly concerned when her period missed a few days, or even when it was late by a week. But when it started pushing two…

She bought a test.

It came back positive.

.

Danny’s birth was different from Jazz’s in almost every particular. Instead of being infused with a sense of joy, proceedings were overshadowed by dread. Jazz had been born in a hospital. Danny would be born at home, behind every ward and protection Jack and Maddie could conceive of. The midwife they hired was more than used to odd belief systems and threw a few of her own traditions in as well.

It couldn’t hurt.

.

It didn’t help.

After the birth, Maddie held Danny in her arms. He’d been born in a caul, which had been slightly alarming, even though Maddie had known that it was a thing that happened regularly, and that, by most accounts, it was lucky.

He was such a tiny little thing. Smaller than Jazz. Which made sense, he was a little premature.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” she promised him, whispering into the silky, wispy curls on top of his head.

Someone knocked on the door. Maddie jerked her head up, even though the front door wasn’t at all visible from the basement. Jack flinched hard enough to drop the towels he was holding. The midwife froze.

“Hospitality,” croaked Maddie. Those rules were always humanity’s first defense against the uncanny. Don’t want something in your house? In your life? Don’t invite it in.

Although, she had arguably already invited in the fae they were worried about. Hence all the other contingencies.

The knock came again. And again, louder.

Jack let out a sigh of relief. “It can’t get in,” he murmured. Then he smiled, broad and bright. “We just have to wait it out.”

Maddie nodded, tears in her eyes. The knocking continued. This was far from ideal, obviously, but she’d been half expecting the fae to simply rip through the wards like tissue paper.

Perhaps the theory that more powerful fae were more bound by custom, more vulnerable to their weaknesses, held water? She and Jack had always dismissed it as fanciful, but they’d never been able to gather evidence before.

Then, a sound that made her heart stop.

“I’ll get it!” called Jazz, childish voice muffled by distance and the obstacle of the floors above. She’d been told not to answer the door when Danny was being born, to wait patiently in her room, but for all her unusual maturity, she was only three.

Faster than she’d ever seen him move, Jack bolted for the stairs, pushing aside several pieces of furniture and medical equipment in his haste. He took the stairs four at a time and nearly taking the door off the hinges.

He wasn’t fast enough.

“Who are you, mister?”

“Me?” said a voice Maddie had prayed against ever hearing again. “I am your uncle, my dear. Did your parents not tell you about me?”

.

Jazz tipped her head to one side and stared up at the man, making her eyes extra big. She knew it made a lot of people uncomfortable when she looked at them like that, so she treated it as a kind of test.

The man smiled, kind and patient. He was kind of funny looking, but in a good way.

“No,” she said finally. “Are you Mommy’s brother or Daddy’s brother?”

“Ah, you already know about uncles, then. I was worried I’d have to explain. May I come in? I would like to greet your little brother, as your parents promised I could. I have gifts for both of you.”

Jazz liked gifts. “Okay,” she said. “But I dunno if Danny’s been born yet. Mommy said it can take a while. And I dunno if he can have gifts, yet. He’s gonna be really little. That’s what all my books say, and also the internet.”

“Jazz! Don’t!”

Jazz turned to see her Daddy skid around the corner, just as her uncle stepped across the threshold.

“Not quite on time, I fear,” said uncle. “Young Jazz has already let me in.” He patted Jazz on the head. She ducked away and stuck her tongue out, like she always did when Daddy did that. “Having greeted my niece, I would like to see my nephew.”

.

The fae did walk past the rest of the wards as if they weren’t even there. It didn’t even break them, just ignored them. Some of them he even commented on, as if approving.

He gazed down at Danny with his otherworldly eyes. The midwife had retreated to the corner of the room, refusing to look at what was happening. Jack had attempted to attack the fae with his bare hands, only to be pushed away with something approaching gentleness by an invisible wall. Maddie didn’t know where Jazz was. Upstairs, somewhere, hopefully.

“So beautiful,” the fae said, brushing Danny’s forehead with his off-color fingers. Faster than Maddie could react, he had a pair of scissors in his hand and was cutting off a lock of hair. “A lovely child.” The lock of Danny’s hair disappeared into the fae’s coat.

If Maddie didn’t know better, she’d call the expression on the fae’s face love. But she did know better. Love was as incomprehensible to the fae as fae laws were to humans, so she’d call it by its true name: avarice.

She tightened her grip on Danny, as if she could keep the fae from plucking him from her arms.

“Not now,” said the fae, after another moment. “Soon, I should think.” It ran a hand over Danny’s head. “Soon.” The fae looked up, meeting Maddie’s eyes. “I will return,” he said, “in one year.”

“For what?” demanded Maddie, unwilling to get her hopes up.

The fae blinked slowly. “For his birthday.” He tilted his head. “To determine whether or not he is ready. Perhaps, also, to visit my niece.”

“You stay away from Jazz!” snarled Maddie. “You have no claim on her.”

The fae merely shrugged, then smiled, slyly. “She does, however, have a claim on me. I promised her gifts, before your husband whisked her away.”

“Gifts,” repeated Maddie, hoarsely.

“For the sister of my child, yes,” said the fae, voice and face as calm and even as ever. “Would you ask me to forswear myself?”

“Then,” said Maddie, “you can leave them here, with us.”

“You will give them to her?”

“Yes,” said Maddie, through her teeth. She did not say how long she would let Jazz be in the presence of these ‘gifts.’

“Very well, then,” said the fae, pulling a number of boxes out from beneath his coat. “One year. Be prepared.”

And, with that, the fae faded from view, as if he had been an illusion all along.

Danny was still with them. Their son was still with them. Still theirs.

“One year,” she said, breathless. “Only one year.”

“One whole year,” corrected Jack, rushing to her side. “You’ll see, Maddie. Next time, that fae won’t know what hit him!”

“One whole year,” echoed Maddie, weakly.

“One year to prepare,” said Jack. “Look what we did with half that time! We’re Fentons! We can do it!”

“We can do it,” breathed Maddie. “One year. We’ll be ready.”

Jack nodded, firmly. “We’ll be ready.”

[peteysgf]

𝗼𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮 | 𝗽.𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿

 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

↳ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 :  y/n is on a phone call and doesn't even realize that peters class is with him, and she does what she normally does with peter. (Couldn't come up with a better summary lmao)

↳ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : peter x Avenger/fem/gf reader

↳ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : y/n and peter are 17, profanity (watch your profanity)

↳ 𝐚/𝐧 : This came to me while I was drinking iced tea and reading field trip fanfics (They are seriously addicting).  So yea, hope you like it! I’m not quite fond of this one but whatever, hope you like it, feel free to critique and tell me what I can do better !

↳ 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : the "---" will be signaling the switching of Y/n and Peter's perspectives. (Does that make sense? It sounds like it doesn't.) 

↳ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 1k 

--Ok quick backstory, you were an avenger. You inherited your powers after you touched the power stone. So essentially, you basically are the power stone, but your not a stone because you are a human. You were one of the youngest avengers and were very popular among the teens. 1 because you were very powerful- like stronger than Wanda powerful- and 2 because you were really pretty. And when I mean pretty, I mean pretty. So naturally, Peter was very attracted to you. It was not even the fact that you were gorgeous but, it was the fact that your personality was incredible as well. All the avengers loved you, you were like their hot little sister. Although, Peter liked you more than the avengers did (winkity wonk). He asked you on a few dates and now you're boyfriend and girlfriend. Although no one knew.  Ned, MJ, and The Avengers being the only exception. They only found out because they caught you two kissing. They relentlessly and shamelessly teased the heck out of you two. Backstory over. Now on with your regularly scheduled programming :)-- 

It all started on Monday, when Peter told you that his class was having a field trip to the tower on friday. You were typing up a monthly report that you had to send to fury, so you weren't really paying attention.  

You just responded with, "really? that's cool or whatever." 

Peter gasped, "cool? that's COOL?!? It's not cool! everyone is going to embarrass the shit out of me!" 

You were multitasking so you only caught a bit of what he said. 

"No they're not, they have a quick 3 day mission to destroy that one hydra base that they found in the mountains or something like that."  

Peter let out a sigh of relief, "really?" 

"Mhm" you responded absentmindedly.

"Please don't embarrass me Y/n. I love you, and I know that it's kinda your job to embarrass me, but please." 

"Yea, sure, whatever you say Pete." Is all you responded with while typing away at your computer. But you being you, you forgot.

~Time skip to Friday~

Peter was on the bus and he wanted nothing more  than to disappear. The only thing that stopped him from jumping out a window was Flash.

Flash was saying things like, "I'm going to expose your fake internship Parker!" "Can't wait to meet your best friends the Avengers!" "We're finally going to meet your boss Tony Stark!"

If only Flash knew, that the Tony Stark was his father. Oh well, at least Flash would stop teasing him about the internship. Peter was hoping that he would be able to get through this field trip without having to reveal any secrets. Although, his parker luck had other plans... 

---

You were on a phone call with Shuri, when F.R.I.D.A.Y told you that peter had entered the building. You were curious as to why he was here at 12:02 on a Friday afternoon. Nonetheless you continued your phone call with Shuri and decided you would go check on him in half an hour.

---

Peter was relieved you helped him hack into F.R.I.D.A.Y's system and change his clearance level to one of a regular interns, and for it to say "Peter Parker" instead of "Peter Stark." He didn't want to explain to his class why he had access to the whole tower and was a Stark. Not yet at least. It had actually been a really good day so far. He texted his dad to find out that they were still on the mission, Flash stopped teasing him a bit after the majority of the interns and scientists recognized him, and he was relieved when F.R.I.D.A.Y had told him that you were on a phone call. Just when he thought that the rest of the day would go smoothly, he heard gasps from his classmates. He turned around only to find your beautiful self walk into the cafeteria they were at.

--- 

You were still on the phone call with Shuri when you saw that Peter had walked into the cafeteria. You looked to your left and saw his lunch sitting there on the table. You sighed before you smiled to yourself and got up to go get him food in the cafeteria. Mr. Stark had given you unlimited access to all the food there because you always ended up getting food for Peter. Unfortunately, Peter didn't believe in eating 3 meals a day. He just ate whenever he was about to pass out of hunger or when you brought him food.

You decided to get him McDonald's. 1 because it was the first thing you saw, and 2 because Brenda, the girl who worked there, already memorized your order.

"Hey Y/n, the usual?" She asked in a cheery voice.

"You know it!" You said with a smile.

"Huh? No not you Shuri, I'm getting Peter food."

Brenda just smiled and started your order. It consisted of 5 cheeseburgers, 3 large fries, a large coke, two 20 piece chicken nugget boxes, and 3 Big Macs. Damn peter, you eat too much, You thought to yourself. Yet you still manage to look so fucking hot all the time. (You can't tell me you weren't thinking that too.)

Shuri was coming to the compound on Sunday and you had planned to work on upgrading the Avengers weapons. You, Peter, and Shuri were going to do that and hopefully brainstorm ideas for new weapons. You and Shuri were currently thinking of what you were going to need material wise, when Brenda handed you the bags of food. 

"Thanks Brenda!" You said before walking towards Peters direction.

You were so focused on the materials you were going to need, that you didn't notice the room of teenagers that were looking at you with their mouths wide open. How? I don't know. But you didn't.

---

When you walked in, even Peter gasped. He had been dating you for 2 years, but he was still shocked by your beauty. He couldn't believe that you had actually taken interest in him, especially now. You were wearing a dark blue skirt with a black turtle neck and some black Vans slip-ons. He liked how you could turn a casual outfit into something really stunning. He looked around the room at all the shocked faces. Ned looked starstruck and even MJ had looked up from her book, which was a rare sight. He chuckled, before looking back at you. When he saw the food in your hands he smiled. He hadn't even realized he was that hungry.

He watched as you walked over, sat down next to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and gave him his food. You were still on the phone call with Shuri and he was listening in.

He heard Shuri on the other line, "Okay so give me the list of the material you don't have access to."

You tapped your Stark watch and read the materials from the hologram blueprints that you brought up. 

You turned to Peter to make sure you didn't forget anything, "Tell her to bring 11 gallons of molten vibranium." (Is that even possible? I searched it up, but all I got was how to measure a gallon 🤷🏽‍♀️)

"Oh of course! You heard that, right Shuri?" You asked.

"Yup, I think that's everything. Can't wait to see you on Sunday, bye!" and with that Shuri hung up.

"Damn, didn't even let me say goodbye" you said while turning to Peter.

"Hey hun" he said before kissing the top of your head.

The perks of him being 3 inches taller then you.

You stole a fry from him before saying, "Hi, so why are you here early babe? It's only 11:30 you should be at school."

"Oh my gosh I totally forgot about that." He then looked around while you looked confused. 

"Forgot about wha-" you stopped mid sentence as you finally saw what he was looking at. A class of 17 year olds was looking at the two of you with their mouths wide open.

Peter gulped, "looks like we'll have to tell them."

The initial shock of all the teenagers staring at you hadn't worn off yet so you just said, "oh sugar honey iced tea..."

[themostfatefulfindingofalltime]

week 7

After doubling down on Breen last week, this Sunday I decided to self-flagellate by watching the critically acclaimed two and a half hour long movie Sex and the City (2008) twice back to back (with TWIOAT director commentaries) before my regularly scheduled FF watch.

It really tickled me when Tim and Guy wondered what kind of masochistic idiots would listen to all of the dircoms, little did they know one of them would top off the Five Hour Energy Volume 2 with one of the worst movies on this planet.

I have to say the movies The Boyz choose for their adventures are way more suitable for the purpose. While SatC and SatC2 suffer from excruciatingly long runtimes, at least they have enough content to engage with week to week. Admittedly this would be true for any sort of big budget production, because at least you have background actors and different locations and settings. There's something else you can interface with other than the focus of the shot. But with FF, there's basically nothing there...

Most of the dialogue is shot with extreme close-up on the actors face, often with blue sky as a backdrop. Lot of the movie doesn't even feel like a movie, it's basically just a table read. And if there's some physical acting it's usually shot completely separate, and mostly consists of throwing stuff and making general mess of things.

You're pretty much just being told a story, and the "story" in question is the most basic, roughest draft of a plot that doesn't even make sense. And it doesn't help that it's interwoven with these pseudo-super-natural scenes, that are just confusing and do not contribute anything.

So yeah, I found it super hard to engage with the movie this week. And I'm starting to get really disturbingly familiar with it's contents. I caught myself quoting lines along with the characters. I can't believe I'm still in the single digits. 45 more watches is a terrifying prospect... at least the movie isn't 2.5 hours long... I don't think that much Breen is humanly survivable.

My Shining Light this week is this closeup of Breen's face:

Not because I like to see his face. Or that it's any different from all the other closeups of his face. It's because it signifies the end of the movie. The only redeeming thing about this piece of shit of a movie is that it does in fact end.

[amoveablejake]

Sunday Morning

A few words from our sponsors at The Velvet Underground

Don’t worry. Infact, don’t worry about anything ever but that’s more of a general reminder than what I’m writing about today. I put don’t worry up top there because I wanted to reassure you dear reader, that this is not a sell out piece to some big business, not that The Velvet Underground should be considered big business and if I did sell out to someone it could be worse. No, the above is a little joke, with myself really. Let me explain, this morning I have found myself back in the cabin in the woods and as I gaze out of my bedroom window I thought that it might be worth doing a Sunday morning piece. So what is a Sunday morning piece exactly, well, in a way it’s what this blog was born from. When I started A Moveable Jake it was in part inspired by columnists, particularly in small town America or in New York who write about their week and seemingly about nothing in particular. These pieces can often really resonate and contain such hidden beauty in the everyday despite their seemingly mundane subject matter. Tom Hanks is no stranger to this format as he used it in his rather marvellous work of fiction ‘Uncommon Type’. So, all of this is to say that I thought this Sunday morning, as I listen to Oscar Peterson and also the birds outside of my window I would talk about nothing in particular and see where we end up. I know, a big change from our regularly scheduled programming.

As we’re discussing nothing this week, it is fitting that ‘Seinfeld’ should make a triumphant debut (it may have been on it before but I haven’t fact checked myself and at this point won’t out of a matter of principle) on Netflix. I had seen a trailer a few weeks ago for ‘Seinfeld’ appearing on Netflix in the states and whilst this did seem like the tipping point to get me to move out West I held fire and well, now, George Costanza has come to me. As I’ve spoken about before the sitcom ‘Frasier’ is my absolute favourite, actually no calling it that is doing it a disservice because it has such a firm and absolute place in my heart and means the world to my Mum and I. ‘Seinfeld’ however, may be second. And admittedly, I’m sure that I’ll remember some other sitcom later as I’m driving back to the city and I’ll slap my forehead for forgetting it and then slide off over a cliff which come to think of it has only just appeared overnight in the forest and as I fall I’ll know it’s my penance for forgetting (insert great albeit forgotten sitcom title here). But we don’t need to worry about that impending doom quite yet, for now, let’s revel in the mastery that is ‘Seinfeld’. It’s not groundbreaking to say that ‘Seinfeld’ is a masterpiece but I’ll jump on that bandwagon happily as it really is such a joy to behold. It is a show about nothing and well, it’s perfect. The situations that the characters find themselves in are ones that have spiralled out of control and yet, are completely plausible. They’re the sort of situation where, oh I don’t know, one moment you’re walking along the street and you see an elderly lady smile at you the next you’re trying a taster menu for a leading supermarket chain trying to think of at least six ways to describe mushroom soup. Is that from the show or my life, whose to say. The point is sometimes those scenarios in Jerry’s life really do hit home and that feels reassuring to watch and other time, well, any scene with Kramer is worth your time.

A little disclaimer, I’ve picked this up back in my city apartment and I am now listening to Guaraldi as the rain falls on my window. But for once this piece isn’t about the rain or Guaraldi (well, not completely) no, the next thing I wanted to touch on was Ivy League style from the 1950s. My clothing choices for quite a while have tended to lean towards the 50s and recently I’ve realised that the leaning was towards the Ivy League looks of that time and now I am fully leaning into it. I’m not sure where I’ve picked this look up from, I think it’s one of those things that is deeply rooted in my mind from various films and books that I’ve read. I do know however, that this yearning for this look has been strengthened by some Japanese fashion magazines that I’ve been reading that do revolve around the 50s American look which is quite the meeting of two cultures and the coolest one at that. And a brief note on that, I am new to the world of Japanese fashion and lifestyle magazines and yes, I can’t read a single word in them but oh boy are they a cut above visually and stylistically. And the fact that the clothes they show the inside of my head helps aswell.

Usually when we reach Sunday my mind is firmly placed on the NFL and ofcourse the Green Bay Packers (how about that win against the 49ers) but this week, whilst I am undoubtedly sweating about coming up against the Steelers (mainly because it should be a straightforward win) there is another team of mine which has taken precedence today. Sunday is a day for the Green Bay Packers but today, really, it’s about my Seattle Mariners. A few weeks ago when I wrote about how I had fallen head over heels for the Mariners I honestly didn’t think we’d end up here. And by here, I mean one night of potential elation and heartbreak. This evening, the Mariners come up against the Los Angeles Angels (Ofcoure it had to be against my favourite player Ohtani) in a bid to secure a play off spot. Now, for the Mariners to get to this spot they will need some favours from the results for the Yankees, Red Sox and the Blue Jays but there is a chance that they will hit a 91-70 record and in doing so get a playoff spot. Look, am I optimistic, well ofcourse I am because you have to believe as is the teams current slogan. Am I pained that this is happening on the same night, at the same time as a Packers game, you bet. Am I completely aware that it will be the apple of my eye Shohei Ohtani who breaks the Mariners and crushes the dream. Without a doubt. But, it’s moments like these that sports fans wait for and well, no one ever wanted it to be easy anyway.

I started writing this Sunday column (let me live this columnist fantasy please) in the morning and now it’s being finished up in the afternoon. I hope that it has been somewhat interesting reading as you potter about on a rainy Sunday afternoon thinking about what you’re going to do next which may be not a great deal at all, well, obviously you’ll be keeping an eye on the Mariners score for me but that’s a given. For me, I’m going to set my pen down and listen to a little bit of the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead aren’t always on my roster, but they’ll float in today as it would have been my Dad’s birthday yesterday and ‘Touch of Grey’ is one of those songs that feels like somewhere out there in the universe we’re listening to it at the same time and that, that’s enough for now.

-Jake, a man ready to hop on to a plane to Seattle if they get to the World Series, 03/10/2021

[ranger-jedi-knight]

A New Hero Ch 10

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887313/chapters/55118368 Tag list: @vixen-uchiha

Ok, so here’s the next chap. So either this chap or the next will be the last chap for 15 yo Mari. I’ll say in the chap if Mari’s 16 or not. Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program!!

Mari squealed as she ran down the stairs to the bakery where Xander and her parents were working. “Mama! Papa! Xan!” she shouted as she entered the bakery and the three looked over at her curiously. Several customers were also curious as to why she shouted excitedly. “I won the Wayne Enterprises Class Internship Contest! My class is going to Gotham!” she yelled and Xander pulled Mari into a hug and spun her happily.

“No way!” he shouted, setting her down.

“Yes! I’ll be there when you reunite with your sisters!” Mari said smiling happily and Xander pulled her into a hug once more while everyone in the bakery clapped.

“How long will you be there?” Sabine asked and Mari smiled nervously.

“It would last a year. We’d be going to Gotham Academy and the Wayne’s will pay for our hotel,” Mari explained and her parents shared a look.

“It’s very dangerous in Gotham. Listen to anything our friends there say, ok?” Sabine said and Mari nodded.

“I will. Don’t forget I can protect myself, mama,” Mari pointed out and Sabine nodded. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I like seeing my little girl fight,” Sabine argued and Mari had to nod at that.

“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll be safe,” Mari assured and Sabine nodded once more.

“I know. When do you and your class leave?”

“After I tell them, we leave a week after our last day of school,” Mari answered and they nodded understanding.

“Want to tell Lila and the others early?” Xander asked and Mari smiled at that.

“Ooh! Yes! Come on!” Mari said excitedly grabbing Xander’s hand and pulled him up the stairs. Xander yelped in surprise as Mari pulled him.

“Slow down! We don’t need to risk tripping running up the stairs!” Xander shouted as they went and Mari finally slowed down with a sheepish look.

“My bad,” she said and they took the stairs at a slower pace. They soon reached their home and Mari pulled her phone out. “You call Lila, Kim, and Adrien. I’ll get Chloe and Nino here!”

“Should we get Max?” Xander asked and Mari nodded.

“That’d be great! I’ll call him,” Mari said and for the next few minutes, they called them together. “Nino’s busy at school. He’s discussing and filming a scene with Alix and a couple of others. So he’ll learn the good news in class tomorrow,” Mari said and Xander nodded understanding. Soon, the others arrived and were sat down on the couch and watched Mari as she vibrated in place. Xander was smiling next to her shaking his head.

“So? What’s the news, Mari?” Adrien asked leaning against the armrest, his bag which was suspiciously lumpy, rested next to his leg.

“What’s in the bag?” she counters and she feels Tikki laughing in her bag.

“Some clothes,” Adrien replied.

“Why do you have clothes with you?”

“For those days when we’ve studied too long and I don’t want to go home,” he replied easily and Mari nodded.

“Fine whatever. The others do it too already,” Mari replied shaking her head. She can’t count the number of times she’s come across an article of clothing that wasn’t hers or Xander’s in her, theirs really, room. Though from the look on Adrien’s face, she’s wary about what’s to come. “Anyways, I have some great news!” Mari said and the others smiled at that while Xan smirked.

“What is it?” Lila asked.

“Our class won the Wayne Enterprises Class Internship Contest!” Mari shouted happily and the others froze for a bit before shouting themselves.

“No way! Really!?” Lila asked and Mari nodded. “That’s amazing! When does it start?”

“We leave for it a week after the end of the school year,” Mari answered and that had the group nodded. “So I’m thinking that at the end of the year, the filming is done. Do you agree?”

“That sounds good. We could even be finished sooner if we wish. How would you want to end the film, Lila, Max?” Max said looking between everyone who nodded at his reasoning.

“Well, I think the best way would be me being exposed. But do you guys agree with that?” Lila offered. They shared a look and nodded agreement.

“Ya, that sounds like the best way it could end. Let me just text Nino,” Max said pulling his phone out and sending off the text. “He said it sounds good. We can do it tomorrow if we know how to go about it.”

“What would make sense? My character has already told them a few times and they didn’t believe me. Adrien’s said it once, for some reason, and they didn’t believe it either. What would get them to believe it?” Mari asked and the group shared a look.

“What if your ~boyfriend~ came and showed that it was wrong?” Chloe said teasingly and Mari started blushing.

“Damian isn’t my boyfriend!” Mari shouted flustered which had the two blondes laughing.

“But that could work,” Xander spoke and Mari slowly nodded agreement.

“Yes, it could work out. We’ll just need to wait a few days for him to get here,” Mari replied giving a small nod and the others smiled at her.

“Um, Mari. Can I quickly ask you something?” Xander asked and Mari nodded.

“What is it?�� she asked, her head tilted to the side.

“In private?”

“Oh, yes. Guys, can you go downstairs?” Mari asked and they nodded agreement, knowing this was important fo him. Once they were gone, she closed the hatch and placed her hand on his shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Is....is your Damian the same Damian from the League?” he asked and Mari’s eyes widened. She had told him bout her friends, not telling their names, but enough about them. Especially Jason and Damian since some days he needed more and what better than to tell him than them? Mari nodded.

“Yes. My Damian was apart of the League when he was a child. His older brother Jason was also in it. But he was taken like you were,” she explained and he nodded slowly.

“Talia had talked about him. Had talked about bringing him back. Said I’d do it,” Xander mumbled looking at his hands. “Since I was healed, she had me training. Training to fight Damian and bring him back in case he didn’t come willingly. I-I don’t-I don’t know how I’ll react when I see him,” he continued and Mari pulled him into a hug.

“It’s ok Xander. Damian will understand if you react badly. He knows how his mother works. He’ll definitely understand if you tell him. So don’t worry. You can wait to see him until we’re home so that nothing happens,” Mari said and Xander nodded into her shoulder and hugged her tightly. It was a bit awkward since he had to bend over. His 5’9” height was a disadvantage when she comforted him standing since she was only 5’1”.

“You think? He won’t be suspicious?”

“No. He was there when you died and taken. He knows you had no choice. Even if he’s suspicious I’ll slap some sense into him,” Mari said eliciting a laugh from Xander. He pulled back from the hug and smiled at Mari.

“Thanks, Mari,” he replied and she smiled at him.

“No problem! Why don’t we go celebrate with ice cream!” she said opening the hatch and walking down as she said ice cream. Her friends shouted their agreement.

“André’s?” he asked and they all nodded frantically. “Ok, let’s go find him then,” he said and it was redundant since Max already had his phone out looking with Kim looking over his shoulder.

“He was at the Eiffel Tower a few days ago when I took Max out,” Kim mumbled and everyone nodded at that. They all knew André’s rule of no place twice within a week.

“Got it! He’s at the Trocadéro!” Max called and the group ran out of Mari’s home and hoped they wouldn’t miss André. They soon reached the Trocadéro and looked around frantically hoping to find him. They cheered when they saw him and ran over. André smiled as he watched them run over to them.

“Ah, welcome back!” he said happily as they lined up for ice cream. He beamed at Mari as he took a cone out and started scooping. “Blackberry for his life in chaos. Matcha for his emerald eyes that make your heart stutter!” he held the cone out to her and she smiled.

“Thank you, André!” Mari said stepping aside as Chloe and Adrien stepped up.

“Ah, Chloe and Adrien! Blue Cotton Candy for his expressive sky blue eyes! Passion Fruit and Mango for his outgoing personality! May you see your missing love soon,” André said smiling to the couple who nodded agreement.

“So do we, André. Thank you!” Adrien said as they stepped aside and sat down next to Mari. The three were already eating their ice cream as they waited for the last four to get theirs.

“Ah, Max, Kim! A love so sweet between you. Top Shelf Sunday for your love and loyalty to each other! Peanut Butter Cup for a lasting bond between you!” the couple smiled as they took the cone nodding to him. Xander gestured for Lila to go first and the girl smiled and nodded, stepping closer to André. “Ah, Lila! I see love in your heart! While Lightning(dark choc with mint) for his hard past. Blueberry Cheesecake for his silver eyes that calm you! And Toffee Coffee for hair,” he sang out before handing Lila the cone. “I believe you’ll soon realize,” he continued and Lila blushed as she looked at the cone.

“Thank you, André,” Lila said shyly with a smile which he returned. Mari and Chloe were smirking at Lila while Adrien smiled. He didn’t know but his girlfriend would tell him in private.

“Oooh,” Mari whispered and Lila’s blush darkened. Xander shook his head at Mari’s reaction as he stepped up to André next.

“A newcomer! You must be Xander, Marinette’s brother,” he said and Xander nodded. “I see love in you. Chocolate for her hair. Mint Chip for her lovely peridot eyes! And Orange for her bright outlook!” he sang out happily and Xander smiled as he took the cone.

“Thank you, André,” Xander said and André smiled and waved.

“May love come your way and brighten your life,” he sang as the group walked to find somewhere to sit. Mari and Chloe turned their smirks to him and he blushed, looking away from them. They soon found a table to sit and the two couples sat across from each other leaning on one another. Xander sat down and Lila sat next to him while Mari sat across from them.

“Mint chip, huh?” Mari teased looking at Xander.

“Blueberry Cheesecake,” Chloe said looking at Lila. the two blushed and looked away from both the two teasings and from each other.

“Who could have those eye colors that we don’t know?” Kim asked as he took a bit of the ice cream while Max moved his glasses up.

“It could also be someone we know,” Max added and Kim nodded at that.

“Any crushes we should know about?” Chloe asked looking between the two.

“We don’t have to tell you that,” Lila said quickly.

“Why not? We could help you get a date with them,” Kim said and the two looked at each other before looking away once more blushing.

“Even if I did have a crush, which I don’t, I doubt they’d want to date me if they knew,” Xander said pretty quietly which had everyone looking at him sadly.

“Don’t say that Xan,” Mari said reaching a hand over and placing it over Xander’s.

“Why not? It’s true,” he replied. Lila frowned at that. She didn’t know his whole past, but she knew that anyone would be lucky to date him.

“No, it’s not. You’re a great guy, Xan. If someone can’t see that then they’re an idiot,” Lila said looking intently at Xander who looked shocked as well as having a faint blush on his cheeks.

“T-thanks, Lila,” Xander stuttered out looking at his ice cream. After that, they ate in silence. Mari and Chloe’s smirks grew thou at the display between the two.

Ok, so here’s the next chap!! I hope u enjoy it!! N i wanna know, can u guys guess the ice creams? Theyre on characters in the story! Anyways, i hope u had fun with the new update and see u next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

House Sets Impeachment Vote to Charge Trump With Incitement (NYT) House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday for his role in inflaming a mob that attacked the Capitol, scheduling a Wednesday vote to charge the president with “inciting violence against the government of the United States” if Vice President Mike Pence refused to strip him of power first. As the impeachment drive proceeded, federal law enforcement authorities accelerated efforts to fortify the Capitol ahead of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The authorities announced plans to deploy up to 15,000 National Guard troops and set up a multilayered buffer zone with checkpoints around the building by Wednesday, just as lawmakers are to debate and vote on impeaching Mr. Trump. Federal authorities also said they were bracing for a wave of armed protests in all 50 state capitals and Washington in the days leading up to the inauguration.

National Guard inauguration deployment (Military Times) The Defense Department has authorized as many as 15,000 troops to be deployed to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson said that there will initially be a deployment of 10,000 troops—an increase of about 4,000 from those in D.C. now. That figure is twice the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. The general declined to specify whether the guardsmen will be armed, stating that “we will work very closely with the federal agency, the FBI and law enforcement to determine if there is a need for that.” A D.C. National Guard spokesman told Military Times on Sunday that while some troops came to town with their weapons, carrying them on the streets had not yet been authorized.

Companies cutting off Trump and GOP (Yahoo Finance) Marriott and Blue Cross Blue Shield are just a few of the companies that are halting donations to GOP lawmakers who objected to certifying Joe Biden as president, while other businesses move to cut ties with President Trump directly. The actions come on the heels of Friday’s permanent suspension of Donald Trump’s Twitter account and Amazon’s move to cut off social media platform Parler’s servers. (NYT) The backlash is part of a broader shunning of Mr. Trump and his allies unfolding in the wake of the assault on the Capitol. Schools stripped the president of honorary degrees, some prominent Republicans threatened to leave the party and the New York State Bar Association announced it had begun investigating Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, which could lead to his removal from the group. And the P.G.A. of America announced it would strip Mr. Trump’s New Jersey golf club of a major tournament.

Virus deaths surging in California, now top 30,000 (AP) The coronavirus death toll in California reached 30,000 on Monday, another staggering milestone as the nation’s most populous state endures the worst surge of the nearly yearlong pandemic. Newly confirmed infections are rising at a dizzying rate of more than a quarter-million a week and during the weekend a record 1,163 deaths were reported. Los Angeles County is one of the epicenters and health officials there are telling residents to wear a mask even when at home if they go outside regularly and live with someone elderly or otherwise at high risk. California has deployed 88 refrigerated trailers to use as makeshift morgues mostly in hard-hit Southern California, where traditional storage space is dwindling.

A never-ending scandal (Bloomberg) Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35, the fighter jet already being flown by the U.S. and eight allies, remains marred by 871 software and hardware deficiencies that could undercut readiness, missions or maintenance, according to the Pentagon’s testing office. The Defense Department’s costliest weapons system “continues to carry a large number of deficiencies, many of which were identified prior to” the development and demonstration phase, which ended in April 2018 with 941 flaws, Robert Behler, the director of operational testing, said in a new assessment obtained by Bloomberg News in advance of its publication.

Pompeo Returns Cuba to Terrorism Sponsor List (NYT) The State Department designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism on Monday in a last-minute foreign policy stroke that will complicate the incoming Biden administration’s plans to restore friendlier relations with Havana. In a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited Cuba’s hosting of 10 Colombian rebel leaders, along with a handful of American fugitives wanted for crimes committed in the 1970s, and Cuba’s support for the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Mr. Pompeo said the action sent the message that “the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice.” The action, announced with just days remaining in the Trump administration, reverses a step taken in 2015 after President Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, calling its decades of political and economic isolation a relic of the Cold War.

Brexit sandwich problems (BBC) A Dutch TV network has filmed border officials confiscating ham sandwiches and other foods from drivers arriving in the Netherlands from the UK, under post-Brexit rules. Under EU rules, travellers from outside the bloc are banned from bringing in meat and dairy products. The rules appeared to bemuse one driver. “Since Brexit, you are no longer allowed to bring certain foods to Europe, like meat, fruit, vegetables, fish, that kind of stuff,” a Dutch border official told the driver in footage broadcast by TV network NPO 1. In one scene, a border official asked the driver whether several of his tin-foil wrapped sandwiches had meat in them. When the driver said they did, the border official said: “Okay, so we take them all.” Surprised, the driver then asked the officials if he could keep the bread, to which one replied: “No, everything will be confiscated—welcome to the Brexit, sir. I’m sorry.”

Merkel sees coronavirus lockdown until early April: Bild (Reuters) Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers in her conservative party that she expects a lockdown in Germany to curb the spread of the coronavirus to last until the start of April, top-selling Bild daily cited participants as the meeting as saying. “If we don’t manage to stop this British virus, then we will have 10 times the number of cases by Easter. We need eight to 10 more weeks of tough measures,” Bild quoted Merkel as saying.

‘A Stalin with double meat’ (Foreign Policy) A Moscow kebab shop named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin has closed after just 24 hours of opening after a string of complaints from angry residents. In its brief existence Stalin Doner served items like “Stalin with double meat” and “Beria with tkemali sauce”—a reference to Stalin’s notorious secret police chief. The shop’s owner, Stanislav Voltman, was interviewed by police for three hours following complaints. “They asked me if my head was screwed on straight,” Voltman told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “It’s not like I had Hitler as the face of my brand,” Voltman said. Despite public outcry about the kebabs, support for Stalin is on the rise in Russia. A Levada Center poll in 2019 found that 70 percent of Russians think Stalin played a completely or relatively positive role in the life of the country.

In Kashmir, Hopes Wither (NYT) Kashmir, the craggily beautiful region in the shadow of the Himalayas long caught between India and Pakistan, has fallen into a state of suspended animation. Schools are closed. Lockdowns have been imposed, lifted and then reimposed. Once a hub for both Western and Indian tourists, Kashmir has been reeling for more than a year. First, India brought in security forces to clamp down on the region. Then the coronavirus struck. The streets are full of soldiers. Military bunkers, removed years ago, are back, and at many places cleave the road. On highways, soldiers stop passenger vehicles and drag commuters out to check their identity cards. Conflict in Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority region, has festered for decades. And an armed uprising has long sought self-rule. Tens of thousands of rebels, civilians and security forces have died since 1990. India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over the territory, which is split between them but claimed by both in its entirety. Now, as India flexes its power over the region, to even call Kashmir a disputed region is a crime—sedition, according to Indian officials. Many say that the political paralysis is the worst it has ever been in Kashmir’s 30 years of conflict, and that people have been choked into submission.

India’s top court suspends implementation of new farm laws (AP) India’s top court on Tuesday temporarily put on hold the implementation of new agricultural laws and ordered the formation of an independent committee of experts to negotiate with farmers who have been protesting against the legislation. The Supreme Court’s ruling came a day after it heard petitions filed by the farmers challenging the controversial legislation. The court said that the laws were passed without enough consultation, and that it was disappointed with the way talks were proceeding between representatives of the government and farmer leaders. Tens of thousands of farmers protesting against the legislation have been blocking half a dozen major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than 45 days. Farmers say they won’t leave until the government repeals the laws. They say the legislation passed by Parliament in September will lead to the cartelization and commercialization of agriculture, make farmers vulnerable to corporate greed and devastate their earnings. The government insists the laws will benefit farmers and says they will enable farmers to market their produce and boost production through private investment.

First came political crimes. Now, a digital crackdown descends on Hong Kong. (Washington Post) HONG KONG—The police officers who came to take away Owen Chow on national security grounds last week left little to chance. Determined to find his phones, they had prepared a list of mobile numbers registered to his name, even one he used exclusively for banking, said the 23-year-old Hong Kong activist. Officers called each number in succession, the vibrations revealing the locations of three iPhones around his apartment. By the end of their operation, police had amassed more than 200 devices from Chow and 52 others held for alleged political crimes that day, according to those arrested, as well as laptops from spouses who are not politically active and were not detained. The digital sweep showed how Hong Kong authorities are wielding new powers under the national security law, introduced last summer, far more widely than the city’s leader promised. Since the Jan. 6 raids, authorities have blocked at least one website, according to the site’s owner and local media reports, raising concerns that Hong Kong is headed for broader digital surveillance and censorship akin to that in mainland China. Hong Kong police have begun sending devices seized from arrested people to mainland China, where authorities have sophisticated data-extraction technology, and are using the information gleaned from those devices to assist in investigations, according to two people familiar with the arrangement who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their safety.

26 missing, at least 13 dead in Indonesia landslides (AP) Rescuers are searching for 26 people still missing after two landslides hit a village in Indonesia’s West Java province over the weekend, officials said Tuesday. At least 13 people were killed and 29 others injured in the landslides that were triggered by heavy rain on Sunday in Cihanjuang, a village in West Java’s Sumedang district. Some of the victims were rescuers from the first landslide.

Leading human rights group calls Israel an ‘apartheid’ state (AP) A leading Israeli human rights group has begun describing both Israel and its control of the Palestinian territories as a single “apartheid” regime, using an explosive term that the country’s leaders and their supporters vehemently reject. In a report released Tuesday, B’Tselem says that while Palestinians live under different forms of Israeli control in the occupied West Bank, blockaded Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and within Israel itself, they have fewer rights than Jews in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. “One of the key points in our analysis is that this is a single geopolitical area ruled by one government,” said B’Tselem director Hagai El-Ad. “This is not democracy plus occupation. This is apartheid between the river and the sea.” That a respected Israeli organization is adopting a term long seen as taboo even by many critics of Israel points to a broader shift in the debate as its half-century occupation of war-won lands drags on and hopes for a two-state solution fade.

Uganda bans social media ahead of presidential election (Reuters) Uganda banned social media on Tuesday, two days ahead of a presidential election pitting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, against opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a popular singer. Internet monitor NetBlocks said its data showed that Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype, Snapchat, Viber and Google Play Store were among a lengthy list of sites unavailable via Uganda’s main cell network operators. Campaigning ahead of the vote has been marred by brutal crackdowns on opposition rallies, which the authorities say break COVID-19 curbs on large gatherings. Rights groups say the restrictions are a pretext for muzzling the opposition. At 38, Wine is half the age of President Yoweri Museveni and has attracted a large following among young people in a nation where 80% of the population are under 30, rattling the ruling National Resistance Movement party.

Coronavirus-spurred changes to global workforce to be permanent (Reuters) Sweeping changes to the global labour market caused by the coronavirus pandemic will likely be permanent, policy makers said on Tuesday, as some industries collapse, others flourish and workers stay home. The pandemic, which has so far infected at least 90.5 million people and killed around 1.9 worldwide, has up-ended industries and workers in almost every country in the world as tough lockdowns were imposed. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated that the impact of huge job losses worldwide is creating a fiscal gap that threatens to increase inequality between richer and poorer countries. The ILO estimated that global labour income declined by 10.7 per cent, or $3.5 trillion, in the first three quarters of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, excluding government income support. India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the pandemic had created an “accidental challenge” under which the government delivered food on a regular basis to 800 million people and provided sustained business funds. Philippines central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said it was clear some industries will not survive, others will not be as dynamic as before, and yet others will be boosted by the massive changes. The need for a more nimble and innovative approach to education will remain long after the pandemic ends, said Helen Fulson, Chief Product Officer at educational publisher Twinkl. “How many children today will be doing jobs that currently don’t exist?’ she said at Reuters Next on Monday. “We don’t know how to train for these jobs.”

[gamelpar]

It’s All About Fakes (100 sentence prompts fanfic)

Because I suck a writing even short stories or drabbles, I write 100 sentences prompts for the Fake AH Crew instead.

Some of them are inspired by moments in Let’s Play videos, headcanons, social media posts, or just comes straight out of the blue.

Feel free to take inspiration from the prompts or use them.

Prompts are written from a non-shippy perspective, but each prompt can be intercepted in whatever way pleases.

Also my first work, so let’s see how this goes.

Hey, why don’t you read it on AO3 instead?https://archiveofourown.org/works/24787825

1. How the Fake AH Crew got this far is a hell of story, and you can bet it’s one damn worth telling. (Fake it Til’ You Make it)

2. Ray was a sniper; he could spot bullshit a mile away, so how come he ended up in the Fake AH Crew? (On the Spot)

3. Sitting by the wheel of the red minivan Geoff sighed for the 67th time that day, still disbelieving the fact that they were not on their way to carry through a well-planned heist but rather enroute to the beach for some “splashing and slacking”, as Jack had called it. (Sunday Driving - To the Beach)

4. “The Vagabond says: it’s all gonna be murder.” (What the Vagabond Says)

5. Whether it was the Golden Boy or Gavin; Mogar or Michael; they wouldn’t leave each other behind. (Bois Forever)

6. Lindsay---being an absolute goddess as always---supports Jack in her telling for Fiona, and Jack couldn’t have been more grateful. (Women’s League)

7. Matt screws something up; Trevor is there to help him fix it; then Gavin and Alfredo is there to screw it up even more. (Nice Job Breaking It)

8. It’s Bake a Cake Day (according to Gavin) and it’s Gents vs. Lads (insisted by Gavin) and it will also be known as the day when Geoff’s kitchen met its undeniable demise (because of Gavin). (Bake a Cake Day)

9. Long story short: Michael breaks into an animal adoption center for a cat because Lindsay, and Gavin and Ray tags along because why the fuck not. (No Animal Came To Any Harm Except For Gavin)

10. A heavily tattooed man walks into a bar; later, a mad man and a lady in a Hawaii-shirt joins him. (It’s Not a Joke but the Punchline is Fluff)

11. Lindsay and Jeremy have dealt with shit going sideways longer than most people so they know how to make the best of it. (Failure is an Old Friend of Mine)

12. “I hereby announce that the official Prank Wars Week is in session!” (Oh No)

13. The Vagabond might be ready to die, but Ryan knows he’s not. (Ready as I’ll Ever Be)

14. The Lads---and Geoff---gets drunk as hell one night and starts a sock company. (Socks, There’s Socks Everywhere)

15. A boring Fake AH Crew means a dangerous Fake AH Crew and the residents of Los Santos better prepare for chaos. (Boredom Can be a Health Hazard)

16. Ryan gets hiccups and Ray thinks it’s funny until he gets hiccups, too, and soon everyone is stuck with hiccups and everyone blames Ray for some reason. (The Hiccup Disease)

17. When dawn arrives the Fake AH Crew will never be the same again. (Dawn After Battle)

18. Shopping weekends was nothing Lindsay used to do regularly, until Ryan one time decided to come along; then it became a thing. (Stuff We Do Together)

19. Even after leaving the crew, Ray would still have a home to return to. (Home is Wherever You Make it Be)

20. “No---we’re not twins, we’re not brothers, we’re not related in any way, so please for god’s sake, stop asking that.” (Stop the Questions Goddamnit)

21. Jeremy tried to apply more pressure to the wound but as the time on the bomb was running out, so did the blood. (A Mistake You Won’t Live to Learn From)

22. Someone knocks---no, pounds on the door to Ryan’s apartment at 3AM in the morning and Ryan’s still not that happy to being woken up in the middle of the night even if it is Meg waiting behind the door. (Late Night Visitor   or   Expect the Unexpected)

23. “Hey, guys, Fiona here---you’ll never believe this---but I’m stuck in jail and I need one of you to come and bail me out.” (Let’s Bail)

24. Matt is found alone sitting on top of the roof, watching the sunset, but what Geoff finds is someone who needs to talk and so he decides to be that other someone who listens. (Everyone Needs Someone Sometimes)

25. Gavin gets into trouble, which drags Michael and Jeremy into more trouble, and Geoff just wants to have a fucking drink. (Prepare for Trouble)

26. Gavin makes a statement, and Ryan feat. Alfredo makes it a hundred times worse. (Disturbance of Your Own Making)

27. Being welcomed by the sight of a bloodied and battered Gavin through the open door eliminates any tiredness and annoyance Geoff had worked up to having been woken up by a loud pounding on the door at 2AM. (Bloody Brit)

28. That was the way of the Battle Buddies; if one went down, the other had to keep on going, no matter what. (Broken Promise)

29. Nothing lasts forever, and Ray knows that better than anyone. (Never Say Forever)

30. The remaining Gents as well the rest of the Fakes would always be missing a part of themselves from now on. (Parts & Pieces   or   Next Step is to Move On)

31. The alphabet wasn’t enough to cover every brilliant plan the Fake AH Crew had in store, but they never settled for a single letter anyways. (Seven Ridiculous Plans and One That Actually Made Sense)

32. To the Lads, brighter days ahead is just an illusion they can only dream of in the aftermath of a heist gone wrong which claimed the lives of the Gents. (Miserable Lads)

33. It’s a story from being refused of coffee, to wanting to commit suicide briefly, to Trevor having made room for tea-parties with Jeremy, Gavin and Lindsay in his schedule every now and then. (Shut Up and Have Some Tea)

34. Really, it all started when Ray wouldn’t leave Geoff’s house one night. (A Place for Everyone)

35. Usually things doesn’t escalate this far by playing a simple Xbox-game but having ended up in jail, Michael and Matt doesn’t have much of a say about it and Geoff’s pissed. (Hate the Players)

36. Waking up in a dark room tied to a chair with no slightest idea of what the hell’s going on tends to lead to some anxiety-ridden experiences, especially when it is Gavin who finds himself in that situation. (Blackout)

37. No one wants to be the only sober one left to take care of a drunk crew, but with Ray gone Ryan just has to accept that this is his life now. (Trust   or   Sober One)

38. To think it all started that day when Jack saved a drunk man from being robbed in a dark alley. (Mind Your Manners)

39. Neither Lindsay or Michael would force Gavin to put on a brave face after a nightmare; everyone had fears and it was okay to be scared sometimes. (Sharing is Caring)

40. Matt’s life was just another pile of broken pieces until he met Jeremy, and suddenly he had some glue to put the pieces back together. (Glue   or   Glue My Life Back Together)

41. In the temporary apartment Ray was living in at the moment there was a vase by the kitchen window, always holding five red roses. (A Vase Full of Roses)

42. Geoff’s mood could easily be improved a 100 times better with some nice and warm socks. (Can Never Have Enough of Socks)

43. The crew quickly learned that pairing up Ryan and Trevor together would leave a traumatic amount of battered bodies and large pools of blood behind. (Madness In Me)

44. Michael’s life was like a puzzle; bits and pieces all over the place, some fitting, some not, some missing or broken, some didn’t even belong---and Jack standing there in the middle of it all being the only one who seemed to sense some kind of pattern. (Puzzles)

45. The Fake AH Crew weren’t good guys---they never would be---but that didn’t mean they were incapable of doing good, and they were by far the most decent team of criminals that had ever set foot in Los Santos. (Bad Guys Do Good)

46. Tears kept falling, slowly soaking the photo Jack held in her hand of her and the crew---not wanting to forget, yet not wanting to remember. (Remember to Forget)

47. The pink sniper rifle that hung on the wall would always serve as a reminder for the members of the Fake AH Crew that they were not immortal after all. (We Could Be Immortals)

48. Ryan’s an evil mastermind and that frightens Gavin a little, but the Golden Boy reckon it’s time to beat the Vagabond at his own game. (The Reckoning)

49. Kerry Shawcross crosses paths with the infamous Fake AH Crew completely by accident, and all hell breaks loose. (Welcome to Fake Hell)

50. The blood on his hands belonged to someone he knew---someone he cared about---and Ryan had never been more afraid of himself. (There’s Someone There But it’s Not Me)

51. It’s Pride Month and Jeremy really takes it up a notch when coloring his hair this time. (Rainbows)

52. Watching them Lindsay realized that while each of them all had lost so much, they had found even more. (Less is More)

53. Trevor would be better than Geoff ever’d been at scheduling heists and leading the crew, but he still gets to handle all the complaining from the crew so he isn’t as satisfied as he would like to be. (Point of No Return)

54. When the realization strikes him that he’s the only one left remaining, Jeremy falls to his knees in defeat and can’t stop screaming. (What Remains)

55. Fiona can never seem to stop messing with Gavin in any way possible. (A Step Too Far)

56. “Yeah, they’re all idiots---but they’re my idiots, so don’t you fucking dare lay your hand on them.” (A Bunch of Savage Animal Idiots)

57. Times have never been darker for the Gents as each of them struggles to cope with the deaths of the Lads in the aftermath of an coordinated attack. (Falling Inside the Black)

58. The day he met the Wildcard, Michael’s whole world finally started to make some sense. (Wild World)

59. Geoff’s constant drinking worried Gavin sometimes. (Drunk Concern)

60. Matt didn’t believe anyone would care enough for him to consider him family, nor did he believe he would end up in becoming a part of one. (Lost and Found)

61. Alfredo always wondered who Trevor really was underneath his iron suit of armor. (Armor)

62. Even when stuck in a seemingly never-ending coma, Geoff was never alone. (Not Alone)

63. Alfredo joins the Fake AH Crew with more blood on his hands than most people---including himself---would’ve expected. (Red Sea)

64. There’s a perfectly valid reason why Lindsay, despite not being his roommate anymore, is the only one who has a key to Ryan’s apartment. (Key to the Door)

65. Four times Jeremy and Trevor talked their way out of jail and one time they didn’t. (Another Approach to the Problem)

66. Lindsay tried, and that’s why she was still alive, even though everyone else that mattered to her weren’t anymore. (The Fake Among the True)

67. Fiona was her own knight in shining armor and no tower could ever hold her captive for long. (Green Knight)

68. There were days when Jeremy saw a way out, yet the light would always fade at the end of the tunnel, leaving him in the dark. (No Way In, No Way Out)

69. The others would never come back, and Gavin, walking in the wake of that horrifying truth, felt like an empty shell with nothing left to give. (Empty)

70. Trevor would give his life for the crew just like Geoff and Lindsay had. (Third Time Counts)

71. One time for when each of the Fake AH Crew members showed strength and one time when they didn’t. (No Shame)

72. Jack and Geoff shared a special responsibility for every member of the crew, and Michael was no exception. (Nightmare Terrors)

73. ‘Who’s the creepiest motherfucker?’ is a question rather avoided and unanswered. (Creep Contest)

74. All Michael felt now was a burning anger that refused to flicker and fade, and thirst for revenge than could never be quenched. (Road Rage)

75. The last time they all saw each other the city was burning, wounds were bleeding---figuratively and literally---and they never expected to see each other again. (One Last Time)

76. Jack liked to be up in the early, quiet mornings while everyone was still asleep, but she was seriously going to tackle Ryan into bed if she found out he was still awake at 5AM again. (Go the Fuck to Sleep)

77. He’d said he was going to visit, but Ray always pushed the promise further to its limits every time. (Liar Liar)

78. Five times a heist went to hell and one time when it actually didn’t. (Heisting Hell)

79. Not every backstory of the Fake AH Crew’s members is full of shattered dreams and points of no return. (Wanted)

80. Gavin missed home sometimes, but the Golden Boy didn’t. (Two Sides of a Coin)

81. Jeremy’s admiration of monster trucks stretches way back to when he was only a child, walking past a toy store. (Monster Car)

82. “You can leave if you want”, Geoff said, “No one’s going to stop you.” (Freedom)

83. The Vagabond was almost always in control after the Fall of the Fakes, mostly because Ryan let him. (Dead by Daylight)

84. Perhaps the next mishap won’t be so embarrassing for Alfredo, but life didn’t seem to like him much at all. (It’s Life, What Can You Do About It)

85. Four times Geoff said no to either Gavin, Ryan or Lindsay bringing an animal home, and one time he actually said yes. (Animal Addition)

86. So the members of the Fake AH Crew decides to steal their boss’ yacht again and Geoff’s as usual late to the party. (Yacht Party)

87. The crew goes to get some tattoos, and Lindsay is very sure of which one she wants to get. (Tattoos)

88. When Jack falls sick and can’t make her awesome lunch for the whole crew, the crew makes one for her instead (and Jack appreciates it even if it’s a little burned). (Faking the Chef)

89. The day Fiona joined the Fake AH Crew is a day Gavin will very well remember. (Bully)

90. The B-Team is usually there to clean up the messes, except for this time. (Don’t Leave Your Messes Here)

91. The whiskey burned his throat when he guzzled it, and Geoff wished that the liquor could burn away the pain and memories the same. (Burning Bridges)

92. The Fake AH Crew may look like they’re having the time of their lives, but the outside is designed to hide the struggles and issues that lingers underneath. (Inside Out)

93. With the Gents missing, the Lads stuck in a burning building, and the B-team cornered in a firefight, things does not look good. (Already Over)

94. The Fake AH Crew never failed to be impressed by Michael’s colorful vocabulary of swear words. (Words of Color)

95. Jeremy tries to cover up some traces of his past life from the rest of the crew; it does not go the way he wants. (Known to the World)

96. The Ring had been like home, but he wasn’t earning any money being beaten up every round in familiar surroundings, so Michael left---and ended up in Los Santos. (Ring of Fire)

97. The different paths that every member of the crew took for themselves led each of them to end up somewhere they never intended to be, but somewhere they were meant to be. (Pathfinders)

98. It was safe to say that every member of the Fake AH Crew had at least one weird obsession; some had way too many, and some obsessions were just what the fuck. (Obsessions)

99. The Fake AH Crew heists in style, or they do not heist at all. (Do it with Style)

100. The Fake AH Crew is made up of a selected (un)worthy and unique individuals---each one with their own story of whens, ifs, whats, whos, and hows. (Now That We’ve Come So Far)

[peter-parkers-passport]

Flower Child (Peter Parker x ofc)

Chapter 6: Lila and Ted’s Excellent Friday Night

warnings: mentions of death and grief, poorly translated French

Lila Landry hated few things. She hated intolerance, and saw no point of those who couldn’t accept differences between people. She hated ignorance, and people who let intolerance and injustice prosper simply because it didn’t affect them personally. She positively loathed big pharma and fossil fuel industries, but that was just the political stance she was raised on. She also dreaded the idea of being surrounded by massive crowds of her peers, which was exactly what her school had planned for Friday afternoon. 

Midtown kicked off their homecoming week with an assembly the Friday before, just to get the students hyped for the week of events soon to follow. There was a themed week, something Lila personally didn’t partake in (especially when the theme was a return to the 1980s), a ton of after school activities, something Lila didn’t care for, and finally, a dance. The only reason Lila knew so much about it was because Liz Allan was head of the homecoming committee, and spent her free time in decathlon going over planning. Lila noticed that it stressed Liz out quite a bit, but she took great measures to keep that to herself. Some kind of leadership trait, Lila figured, although didn’t necessarily agree with.

What stressed Lila out was that the thought of sitting in a completely full auditorium where multiple things happened all at once, and she was sandwiched between people she didn’t really know on all sides. It made her stomach turn thinking of all the things she had to do before she got home to her dad, and sitting still for an hour and a half was not going to make it any better. So instead, Lila talked to the home economics teacher, Mr. Crayne, who had agreed to let Lila use the kitchen that was his classroom. 

So while everyone gathered for the homecoming assembly, Lila entered the home economics classroom with a slip of paper permitting her to be there during the assembly in one hand, a bag full of baking necessities in the other, and flicked on the lights. Setting down the bag and note, Lila pulled out her phone, selected a song from a playlist inspired by her mother (the particular song was by Tears for Fears), and made her way to the sink to wash her hands. Once that was finished, and the groceries were emptied onto the countertops, Lila’s body slipped into autopilot, and the baking commenced.

Baking was second nature to her, as well as cooking. She was an expert at it, but that was likely due to the fact that she’d been doing it long before she’d even learned to write. Lila liked to think that it was just because her mother was a natural, and passed that skill down to her, but she knew that it was because cooking was Mommy-and-Lila time. Ted Landry wasn’t allowed near the kitchen on days when they were cooking, not even if he needed a glass of water. The record player was always blaring some classic or another, and the food meant to be prepared was scattered around the countertops. It was these memories that put a smile on Lila’s face as she sifted the flour.

When the flour was appropriately measured and placed in the correct bowl, Lila turned her attention to the fruit she had gone out of her way to purchase that morning. There was a stall at the Forest Hills farmers market that Angelina Landry used to take Lila to that she claimed sold the best fresh fruit in New York. It was at that tiny booth that she met Isaac Evans, a man of eighty, who sold the Landrys their best fruit. Now that her mother wasn’t there to keep the tradition of buying the fruit with her, Lila always made sure to stop by and check in on the man herself. Only now, she made sure to bring a bright bouquet of whatever was newest and (in her opinion) most beautiful. Isaac always sold her the fruit at a ridiculously discounted rate, so she made sure to return the favor, and catch up with him and Mrs. Evans if she was there.

Soon, the smell of citrus overwhelmed her, and Lila’s fingertips had splotches of blue on them as she completed the batter. Whisking furiously until it was at the appropriate consistency, she poured the batter into the two bread tins she’d brought along with her. Sliding both of the tins into the oven, Lila set a timer, and hastily cleaned up her workspace. She had roughly forty-five minutes before she needed to prepare the icing that went along with the recipe, and she figured she’d better finish her homework in the meantime. 

Since her trip to D.C. was tomorrow, Lila had spent all of her free time finishing up her school work, so as to be completely free of any outside responsibilities, per recommendation of Liz. Not to mention, she’d had a very busy evening planned out, hence the baking at two in the afternoon. The baking was for May Parker, who couldn’t get enough of Lila’s desserts, and was in need of a thank-you from the Landrys for being so accommodating of their need to switch around their volunteer schedule. At the nearest homeless shelter in Queens to the Landrys, Ted and Lila made their regular appearance helping out wherever they could on Sundays. Be it making repairs, helping in the kitchen, or just keeping the homeless company, they were there every Sunday morning. May Parker happened to head the location they volunteered at, and became fast friends with the family that visited regularly since the Battle of New York.

She was a busy woman, rebuilding a community after the disaster in Manhattan, and helping the people who needed it most. Lila figured it was a good thing, hardly being able to switch volunteer schedules around due to the sheer enormity of the volunteer list. But May managed to, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the Landrys. So Ted got her a bouquet, and Lila was left to bake one of her favorites: lemon and blueberry bread. And while the sweet smell filled the kitchen around her, Lila tried to focus on her chemistry homework. She didn’t want to be left with homework after volunteering, for she also had plans to spend with her dad that evening. He’d managed to take the night off, and they were both looking forward to spending it together.

At long last, Lila finished her homework, and hastily shoved it in her backpack before getting started on the icing to complete her bread. She finished just in time, taking the bread out, removing them from the tins, and placing them on a rack to cool a bit. Speeding up the process just a bit by fanning the bread with a spare baking sheet, Lila waited five minutes before drizzling the homemade icing over the top of both loaves. The smell was intoxicating as always, and Lila smiled proudly at what she’d made. Cutting into it, she made neat slices and decorated them intricately around a plate she’d brought from home. After wrapping up the bread in cling wrap, Lila cleaned her station one last time, and left the classroom.

A quick glance at the nearest clock told Lila that school was almost over. Students were still being held in the gym for the remainder of the assembly, and Lila figured that it might be alright to text her dad to pick her up a little earlier than anticipated. A quick reply informed her that Ted was on his way, and excitement settled in Lila’s stomach. As she shoved her phone in her back pocket, she rounded the corner, nearly dropping the bread she’d worked so hard to bake after running into two men clearly looking to leave the school as quickly as possible. One of the men was short, with long hair and a baseball cap perched firmly on is head. His beard had patches of black and white, and he looked absolutely terrified to be running into a teenage girl in the middle of a high school. The other man was taller, and a little more at ease, looking at Lila in surprise, but also disregarding her as soon as she was assessed. He placed a hand under the plate that Lila was fumbling with, and another on her shoulder to quickly steady her. 

“Oh, my gosh, I am s-so sorry,” Lila apologized, heart skipping a beat. The man quickly removed his hands as soon as she was steady once again. He didn’t seem completely threatening, but a bad feeling panged in Lila’s gut regardless.

“No problem,” He grumbled, and the pair walked away. She turned to look at them, and noticed the shorter man look over at the taller one as they both assessed a piece of technology that had a resemblance to a scanner Lila wasn’t able to place.

She furrowed her eyebrows when she heard the shorter man whisper harshly, “I told you high schools creep me out. Teenagers, they’re everywhere.” Another detail caught her eye, something bulging on each of their hips. Lila’s eyes widened, and silently hoped they were carrying outdated pagers-

Suddenly Lila was nearly knocked down once again; and once again, she was steadied. A hand went to the bread, and another hand went to her arm. A small gasp of surprise left her lips before her head whipped back around to see Peter Parker staring at her equally in shock, Ned Leeds not far behind him. “P-Peter,” She whispered, more so a reaction than anything else. He let go of her once she got her bearings once again, and took a step back. Lila looked from him to his friend. “Ned, hi.”

He waved and smiled warmly at her, like he always did. “Hi, Lila.”

She glanced back behind her, and the two men she’d previously run into were nowhere in sight. Lila frowned in confusion before turning back to Peter and Ned. They were both looking over her shoulder as well, like the two men she’d encountered had also run into the pair of them. “What are you - what are you doing out of the assembly?”

A look of poorly concealed panic settled into Peter’s features, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before being able to make words come out. Lila’s suspicion, which wasn’t there in the first place, began to form as Peter struggled to answer a seemingly simple question. And it wasn’t even Peter who answered it.

“Oh, you know,” Ned said, though Lila didn’t know, “Peter hates large crowds, and I wanted to show him my new Lego Death Star set.” A tint of pink splashed across Peter’s cheeks at the mention of the Legos, and Lila saw him send Ned a warning glare. Ned’s answer felt very much like a lie, but for the simple reason that Lila couldn’t prove otherwise, she let it slide.

“That’s r-really cool. How many pieces?” It was merely her being polite, but the surprised expressions on both of their faces made up for it entirely. Peter was still fidgeting, looking over her shoulder and down the hallway the two men disappeared. She tried her best to ignore it, but when it came to Peter, he was always difficult for her to ignore.

“Three thousand, eight hundred, and three,” Ned said impressively, and Lila’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“Wow, that’s amazing-”

“Is that lemon blueberry bread?” Peter interrupted. Lila looked over at him in surprise, and followed his gaze down to the plate of warm dessert she still held in her hand. The abrupt change in topic didn’t slip by Lila as Peter seemed to hope it would.

But once again, Lila had to let it slide. “O-Oh.” She replied, a blush matching Peter’s finding its way to her cheeks. “I totally forgot that M-May always saves you a piece. Yeah, it - it is.”

Peter still seemed flabbergasted. “I had no idea it was you that made them.”

“‘I find your lack of faith disturbing,’” Lila quoted boldly, cracking a large smile at the shocked looks they wore. “I’m perfectly capable of - of making delicious desserts.”

“Oh no,” Peter said, suddenly trying to backtrack, “That wasn’t what I meant at all-”

“I’m messing with you, Peter,” Lila said, still screaming on the inside that she was even capable of such an easygoing conversation with Peter. “Do you guys w-want to try some?” She’d lifted the cling wrap off of the plate just enough for the boys to each grab a piece and dig in. A warm feeling of satisfaction sat with her as they wolfed down their pieces, complimenting her baking the entire time. A buzz in her back pocket brought her back down from the blissful cloud she was on (being able to talk to the boy she’d been obsessing over so normally had her on a high she wasn’t sure she could replicate), and she remembered her dad saying he was going to meet her at her school.

“Well, I-I have to get going, my d-dad’s coming to get me.” The boys offered their thanks for sharing the dessert, said goodbye, and skirted around her, heading down the hallway quickly. Lila, still acting strangely out of character, called after Peter. He turned back to face her, and she smiled sadly. “I’m sorry Tony St-Stark is keeping you from going with us tomorrow.”

Peter, for the briefest moment, looked confused, before remembering what exactly tomorrow was. He smiled tightly, and nodded. “Thanks, Lila.”

He raced down the remainder of the hallway, seemingly chasing after the two guys who ran into her previously. As Lila walked in the opposite direction, a strange feeling grew in her gut, thinking back on Peter’s behavior. Maybe her initial impression of the strangers she’d encountered wasn’t at all incorrect, and maybe Peter felt the same way about them that she did.

                                 *****

“Comment ça va, Tulip?” Was the first thing Lila heard after getting in the car. Looking over at her father, who was perched in front of the steering wheel, her smile almost fell. He wasn’t okay. His complexion was pale, and he didn’t trim his beard that morning like he usually did, instead letting it stay a little scraggly, something he typically hated. The bags that rest under his eyes were a little darker than normal, and there was a crease in between his eyebrows. The smile on his face, and the dim light that was in his eyes told Lila that he was trying to put on a brave face for her.

But she wouldn’t have even had to look over at Ted to realize something was wrong. He was speaking French, something he had learned from Angelina while they were together. She spoke it all the time in their household when Lila was growing up, and it was as easy to speak and comprehend as breathing. She loved the language itself, it was gorgeous and romantic, much like her parents. But now, with her mother gone, there was always a touch of nostalgia that came along with speaking it. Lila and Ted fell into a rhythm of only speaking it at times where they really needed Angelina, when they missed her the most. 

Being as their grief occurred at any point in time, the pair decided never to question the other when it happened. Speaking in French was a brief respite from the weight of her not being with them anymore, and was also a means of supporting each other in her absence. So Lila gripped the platter of goodies fractionally tighter, and smiled reassuringly. It made her feel better seeing Ted’s shoulders relax ever so slightly at her expression. “Ça va bien.” She skipped over asking him how he was doing, as the answer was obvious. “J’ai fet ça pour May,” Lila gestured to the platter of food that Peter and Ned had previously gotten into, and smiled proudly down at the bread. She glanced up to see her father’s reaction, happy to take his mind off of whatever was troubling him. He commented on it, saying how they looked positively delicious, and that May was going to be thrilled. Simultaneously, Ted pulled out of the school parking lot, and headed over to the homeless shelter that they were due to volunteer at. 

They spoke about everything that happened in their days, and managed to have a completely normal conversation, just in French. It was difficult for Lila, seeing her dad hold himself together so that he wouldn’t collapse in front of her. Not that he hadn’t before, the two were very open with their emotions due to years of therapy the pair attended, but it was still hard on her that it was hard on him. She hoped to whatever higher being was out there (more than likely the Asgardians) that when it was Lila’s turn for love, she wouldn’t end up like her dad. Loving someone so wholeheartedly and completely, only to have them ripped out of her grasp forever. She also prayed that her dad would someday find it in himself to recognize that he deserved to be happy with someone new.

The traffic through Queens wasn’t as awful as it could’ve been, and Ted and Lila arrived five minutes early to the shelter. They spoke for a few minutes more in the car, before deciding to head inside. Ted opened the back door of the car and pulled out a beautiful assortment of vibrant yellow sunflowers with purple asters scattered in between. She smiled, complimenting him on his choice, and Lila then turned to face the door. Only, she was stopped when Ted placed a hand on her shoulder. Looking back around at him, he smiled warmly, blinking quickly to stop the tears that looked to escape. “Ta mère serait si fière, Lila.”

Your mother would be proud, Lila.

She swallowed the growing lump in her throat, not expecting the comment at all. Looking up at her dad, in his warm, brown eyes, she could tell he meant it more than he meant anything. She wanted to take it, she wanted to accept that compliment, but truthfully? She couldn’t. What had Lila done besides get good grades and help her dad around his business? Sure, she was kind, and treated everyone with respect, but was that enough? Was that really enough for her mother to be proud of her? All Lila was able to manage was a shaky smile (which felt more like a grimace, in her opinion) and squeak out, “Really?”

“She’d be so proud, Lila,” Ted repeated. “With you branching out, making new friends, and this whole decathlon thing? She’d be over the moon for you, just like I am.” Lila wasn’t sure how to take that, and she was lucky her dad understood that. Instead of waiting for a reply that was unlikely to come, he threw his arm over her shoulders and brought her in close. With a gentle kiss on the forehead, he rubbed her arms reassuringly and guided her inside.

                               *****

It was all Lila could do to not burst into tears after her dad talked about her mom the way he did, but fortunately, the shelter was so busy that it didn’t even seem to matter. They were immediately greeted by the staff of the shelter, including May Parker, who looked busy and tired. Any creases due to worry melted off of her face after seeing the Landrys walk inside, and lit up exponentially at seeing that they didn’t come empty-handed. There were volunteers bustling around, spending time with a few kids here or there, talking to some of the people in need of a place to stay, and some were leading activities. The familiarity of the place calmed Lila down a bit, and she smiled warmly as May walked over to greet them.

“Ted, Lila, so glad you could make it!” She weaved in between a few tables and stopped right in front of them, eyes darting in between the two. “What’s all this?” Her gaze flickered down to the flowers and lemon bread, expression brightening just a bit more. 

Lila smiled. “It’s the least we could do. We know how b-busy you are, and switching around our schedules means more than you know.” Together, Lila and Ted handed her the flowers and treats, and watched with satisfaction as she took them appreciatively.

“You guys… you didn’t have to go through all that trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Ted commented. She sent him a grateful smile before quickly digging into a slice of lemon blueberry bread, and guiding them to the back so she could assign them to their stations. Lila smiled as Ted and May caught each other up on their weeks as they walked, occasionally stopping to greet people they recognized.

Lila loved her dad’s relationship with May. She was the person who helped show Lila and Ted the ropes when they decided to start volunteering at the shelter, and was incredibly sympathetic towards their reasons for joining. For the last eight years, she bonded with Ted over their kids, over their interests, and over what had happened when aliens invaded New York. Volunteering was something that Lila and Ted were able to look forward to, and feel like they were giving back to the community that helped them rebuild after Angelina died, and the biggest favor of all came the previous January, when Ben Parker was shot and killed.

Lila had been lucky enough to meet Ben Parker, and develop a good relationship with him. He came in on the occasional Sunday, helping out where he could and talking to Lila in the process. She always got the impression that he liked her, and he often pulled her aside to tell her funny stories, especially on the days where she couldn’t help but miss her mom. Ben always laughed at her corny jokes and listened intently whenever she would speak. His patience was unending, and Lila felt her world grow a little darker when she had heard of his death.

There was no question: the Landrys supplied the best flowers they possibly could when Ben was put to rest. And Ted and Lila were constantly at the ready to help May (and by extension help Peter) grieve and process. That was really how Ted and May grew to be such good friends, was by helping each other through the loss of their spouses. It wasn’t a simple matter, dealing with that type of pain, but knowing that someone like May Parker was in Lila’s corner helped ease some of the burden of no longer having a mother, and Ted not having a wife.

May put them to work with food, and caught up with them a little bit before returning to her office. She asked Lila how school was, to which she replied that she was doing well, and that she was terrified for the decathlon. May had even been so kind as to ask her about how she was healing, knowing full well what had happened at Delmar’s a few nights ago. 

“I’m on the mend,” Lila admitted, washing her hands before putting on some gloves, turning to face May, who had given Lila her complete attention. Thinking about the past few days walking around with her injury brought memories to the surface that made her cheeks tint pink. “I really c-couldn’t have made it through this week without Michelle o-or Peter.”

“Peter?” May’s eyebrows raised a little bit, but were accompanied with a smile. “My Peter?”

“Y-Yeah,” Lila tucked her hair behind her ear, trying her best not to blush too much, or smile too wide. “Ever since it h-happened, he’s - he’s gone out of his w-way to make sure I was okay.”

Apparently, Lila said just the right thing, for May’s smiled a genuine smile at her comment. “Good, I’m so glad to hear that. Honestly, I’ve been a little worried he’s been neglecting his friends, lately.”

Lila tilted her head in confusion, “Why would you think that?”

“Well, he’s been so busy, you know? With the Stark Internship, he… he’s so focused on that internship that sometimes I worry he’s letting everything else go.” She let out a sound that was a blend of a scoff and a laugh. “I don’t know, maybe I worry too much.”

“H-He’s too smart to let things go, May,” Lila answered truthfully. Peter Parker was the smartest person she knew. Well, besides Michelle. “I’m sure it’s just overwhelming to him at the moment. Working with Tony Stark, they’re lofty e-expectations. If anyone could navigate it, it’s him.”

May looked over at Lila, regarding the small girl as she threw an apron on over her head. Smiling, she nodded, “Yeah. He’s a pretty bright kid.”

                      *****

“You’re wrong, you’re dead wrong.”

“Yeah, okay, Tulip.”

“No, listen, I’m just saying - Dad, stop, for a second. I’m just saying, Sokka’s character development is some of the best in any television show ever.”

“Over Zuko, Lila? Zuko? He literally overcame evil and helped Aang overthrow his own father for the sake of good. No way is Sokka’s better.” 

Ted and Lila were busy pointing their chopsticks at each other to actually eat the food perched in their laps. Their heated discussion came from their binge-watching of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Over the past few weeks, they’d been re-watching the show for the fun of it, and repeatedly arrived at the intense debate of whose character arc was better. Obviously, Lila thought it was Sokka, who ended up with a fresh respect for how capable women, particularly the women of the show, actually were. Ted, however, was convinced it was Zuko, having shifted sides from being evil just to win favor of a father who didn’t really love him, over to the side of good, because it was right.

He was completely incorrect, of course. And even if he was right, what a cliché. 

Lila had a pretty great night with her dad. After preparing meals for the homeless throughout the afternoon, Ted treated her to their own dinner. Consisting of Lila’s favorite, they shared sesame chicken and dumplings as well as many laughs over the children’s cartoon Ted bought her as a gift. They’d talked over the show about everything and nothing, mostly just enjoying each other’s company. It started as a trading of stories, mainly concerning the shop and the customers fitting in it. Then it became a casual commentary of the show, ending with the furious debate between whose arc was better.

Lila took another bite of chicken, rather half-heartedly at that. “Dad?” She asked, and her father hummed in response, staring at the chicken he was still digging into. “Do you think this weekend’s gonna be okay?”

Ted looked straight up at her, “What makes you think it won’t?”

“I don’t know,” She shrugged, setting her food down. “With Peter quitting the team, I just-” Huffing, she brushed a loose strand of hair to the side. “- I know there’s a possibility that I might have to be on the panel, and I don’t want to mess it up for anybody. What if I mess it up? Like, royally screw the pooch, how can I-?”

“Tulip,” Ted said sternly, taking Lila off guard. “This competition doesn’t matter if you don’t stop digging that hole you’ve made for yourself. You are thinking little: Little of yourself, little of your capabilities. You need to remember that you are Lila Landry, you’re smart, beautiful, and you can do absolutely anything because that’s who you are. Don’t let this competition consume you, it’s not everything.” 

He paused and looked at her as Lila looked back down at her lap. Blinking furiously, she tried her best not to cry. Good tears, thankful tears, but that was the last thing she needed. In the end, her dad was right, Lila was ready for Washington, and the academic decathlon wasn’t ready for her. If she had to, she was going to kick major ass, and protest in front of an embassy (Michelle’s idea) in the meantime. Ted then nudged her leg gently, and she looked up at him. “You wanna open your fortune cookie, now?”

Lila chuckled, nodding. Reaching for the cookies that sat on the table, she tossed one to her dad before opening the packaging around her own. Watching as Ted did the same, she waited until his was off, too. They counted to three, and each opened their fortunes. As per usual, Lila read hers first. “‘Soon life will become more interesting. “Hmm,” she hummed happily, glancing up and laughing at her dad’s confused expression. “What’s yours?”

“‘You cannot direct the wind. Or a cat.’” 

They shared a look and cackled at the silly fortune. But when she looked back on it, Lila really should’ve paid more attention to her own fortune. For in two days’ time, her life would be changed forever.

[pollylynn]

“I’m gonna need your full attention.” —Kate Beckett, The Squab and the Quail (5 x 21)

Title: A Knight on the Rim Rating: T WC: 850

A/N: In the US, the ABC network swapped out “Still” for this episode because of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. This episode ran after “The Fast and the Furriest,” and then “Still” ran after this one. That’s how I originally saw them, and that’s also the order on the DVDs/digital versions of Season 5. Thus, even though “Still” was intended to be 5 x 21, this has always been 5 x 21 for me, and honestly, I cannot make sense of this episode if it followed “Still,” so please forgive me for sticking to this ordering.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he’s pretty sure he has things figured out. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, he is sure he’s screwing everything up. Sundays are devoted to Outlook Hazy, Ask Again Later and other Magic Eight Ball–level prognostications.

But Eric Vaughn is Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday as far as the eye can see. Eric Vaughn disrupts the schedule—the balance—entirely.

Except Eric Vaughn isn’t the problem, really. For all that the smooth-talking, clout-packing, kiss-attempting bastard is a flash point, he’s not the one responsible for this interruption to our regularly scheduled programming. He’s off the LSL, for sure, but that’s about the fact that up close, the guy is kind of like the wormy pick-up artists from a few years ago, only with Venture Capital behind him.

As far as the disruption goes, it’s hard to say who is responsible. Not difficult to determine, unfortunately, just . . . hard to admit. But staring at the ceiling—because he’s tired of staring at the back of his eyelids—with the scent of rose petals still rising up from the sheets, he lands on the fact that he has himself to blame. Mostly.

The mostly isn’t him being defensive. In fact, he’d give up the mostly in a heartbeat, because it’s the mostly that scares him.

He knows he screws up. That’s what Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are for: Recalibration. They are for self-examination and course correction, because there is no one on the planet who appreciates the kind of balancing act he is trying to pull off.

He is head over heels, world without end in love with her. He has been. He will be. And he has assumed from the beginning that the greatest danger he poses to their relationship is being . . . too much.

He’s been sure from the start that he’ll be the one to tip their secret to the outside world, because he is so obviously crazy about her. He’s been sure that a look, a touch, a gesture, a stolen kiss when he just can’t stand not kissing her for one more second will be what outs them to Gates, although on Monday, Wednesday, Friday he is reasonably certain that they are the ten-year-olds trying to squeeze out one more I Believe in Santa year, and Gates is the increasingly skeptical parent.

He’s been sure that he’ll buy her something or take her somewhere or do something that’s so grand a gesture—so that Page-Six Guy with the mansion and arrangements in the Hamptons—that she’ll hate it. But that’s not where the real danger lies. The real danger—the thing he’s been terrified of from the start—is that he’ll overwhelm her with how he feels about her.

Because he knows she has a balancing act of her own going on. He will never, for an instant, regret the fact that they are finally together, but he knows the circumstances of that finally are far from ideal. He knows that she’s been working her way beyond the person she became in an instant when she was nineteen years old. He knows she doesn’t trust or open herself or accept care from anyone easily.

He knows there are ways—important ways—in which they sit at oblique angles to one another, at least for now, and he’s been trying. He’s been trying so hard not to be too much, and now in the rose-petal aftermath of Eric Vaughn, he thinks he’s been not enough.

He’s worked so hard to give her space that he’s somehow missed the fact that she hasn’t been asking for it so much—that she wants it less. He reviews the evidence, and he can’t imagine how he’s missed the fact that she’s here most nights. She’s silly and over-the-top sexy in one of his French blue shirts, or stretched out and schlubby on the couch. She’s here even when she’s exasperated with him, and he feels like an idiot for not seeing it.  

But feeling like an idiot—being an idiot—isn’t the whole of the problem. He circles back to the the mostly that scares him. He can stop being an idiot. He can stop being an idiot so often, anyway, but there are pitfalls that have more to do with how damnably sidelong she is about everything than they do with his penchant for being too much.

He stares at the back of his eyelids—because he’s tired of staring at the ceiling—and gets lost in the fading scent of rose petals. He reaches out for her, rigidly confined to her side of the bed tonight, and hooks his pinky around hers.

He thinks about waking her to tell her he loves the fact that she’s here most nights, to tell her that she practically lives here, so she might as well all-the-way live here. He thinks about waking her to tell her he loves her, he has loved her, he will love her, always.

Be he’s too much, and she’s damnably sidelong about everything.

images via homeofthenutty

[kineticallyanywhere]

Gasp! Do you play DnD? If you don’t mind answering, what’s your current character and his/her personality?

how about

Y E S

I’m technically in two games right now, one of which I’m the GM and we’ve only had one session so far cause scheduling is a nightmare but I hope to post about my players the more we get into that. 

Then there’s the game I play regularly (Sunday Nights), it’s 4e and I play Bump Bump! He’s a blue dragon born that breathes ice (and now fire and also its acid). He is, BIG, he is Not Smart, he has -200% impulse control, and he has optimism coming out of his ears

He’s a barbarian check out his stats

We’re level 15, so I’ve actually boosted his intelligence (and gained wings) since we started. Now he’s learning how to read! He’s my original designs scribbles for him ([posted here])

he is maybe inspired by someone has a TON of sisters, most of which are adopted (he may be adopted himself, it’s a gray area), and left home on a quest to get sugar from the store. He... may have gotten lost, but life is an adventure! He’ll make it back eventually!In the mean time, he went through a portal, outside of which a man was on the ground shaking and crying about how he didn’t want to go back. So Bump Bump was like “It’s okay! I’ll cancel your appointment!” and he went through the portal and now he’s claimed by an eldritch horror. It says mean things to him all the time, and Bump Bump is pretty sure it’s just a mean bug living in his head (the cleric just found out about it, it is n o t a bug) that gave him shiny gold bracelets that only he can see. Here’s a look at one of their recent interactions

Eldritch horror: You are the stupidest thing in existence. Bump Bump: Well that’s a relief! Now we know what to expect. I deal with me all the time and I do okayEldritch horror: >:C

I just remembered I have a slightly more recent picture! not wings recent, tho

that shoulder pauldron is the skull of his dead ice wolf Sonic, who he almost got the entire party killed trying to save, but now he has his skull and the skull can summon Sonic’s ghost in combat. (He almost gets the party killed A Lot. But he’s almost died the most so it balances out I figure)

I love this party. We have a chaotic evil (they’re leaning neutral i can feel it) deva cleric of a god of lawyers who’s always trying to make contracts, and a 17 year old pretty boy former pirate with a giant sword and long flowing blond hair who’s trying to save the universe, and a guy who’s basically a fusion of Captain Morgan and Aquaman (half water elf), and an assassin (who lied to the party about being an assassin but then they all found out :c) who’s also a not-vampire (I forget what it’s called), and a (spoilers) ONION SPIRIT WITH A TOP HAT AND A MONOCLE POSSESSING A BODY, and gnome druid we don’t know much about that

thank you for you time have a hug

[this is the post for the animation]

[dansnaturepictures]

9/6/19-Fantastic Fritham in the New Forest 

Today I made what was my first trip to the open New Forest since Good Friday at Milkham, with only nature reserves Blashford Lakes and Keyhaven since due to congestion in the schedule throughout May and other things. Like that day, it turned into a classic New Forest afternoon with so much amazing wildlife seen. Fritham was not one of my favourite New Forest places instantly when I first went in summer 2015 with a few quiet opening visits but it has really grown me on me since with so much brilliant wildlife seen there. Today built on my last visit in September where Spotted Flycatchers were the main star perfectly in that like that day there was just so much I saw and it was a standout day of my year. Fritham has got to be among my top New Forest locations now. I took the first and second pictures in this photoset landscapes early on in the visit. 

Just before we drove into here we saw a Cuckoo flying from the car. Soon after arriving we looked on the nice pool shown in the first picture and spotted my first dragonfly I could identify this year one of my favourites the Broad-bodied Chaser, we saw a male and female with female appearing to be egg laying which was really nice to see. 

As we walked around in the trees near to the car park we spotted a bird flying and I flippantly said “it looked Woodlark”. It settled and to our delight we could make out I was right, it was a Woodlark. It quickly flew away but it was an amazing bird to see as my 163rd of the year, only my second ever after one I saw in 2013. To people who read my posts regularly if me saying that sounds familiar I’m not surprised as it’s the third bird on my year list consecutively that is only the second I’ve seen after yesterday’s Lesser Whitethroat and Red-necked Phalarope last week.

I have now seen eight bird species this year for only the second time which levels how many I saw last year. Interestingly with us going away to Northumberland next Saturday due to a potential detail of the trip which I will reveal in time I said before we left today if we didn’t get a year tick today it could mean I had three in a row that were only the second ever I’ve seen. But I did get a year tick today and it ensured that anyway which made me so happy. 

As we walked around to near Cadmans Pool and back I saw a Green Hairstreak butterfly shown in the third picture in this photoset, took the fourth and fifth of landscapes the fifth showing lovely New Forest ponies it was great to be seeing on a walk again and also and a Fallow Deer under a tree. 

When out deep on the heath the sun was really out and it got really hot. We were overjoyed again to spot some little blue butterflies and see they were New Forest specialities Silver-studded Blue. This is a butterfly I adore so much and one I was so happy to see. I got some brilliant views of these in the sun, taking the sixth picture in this photoset of one.

This was a relief in two ways too as this year I have a habit of sneaking seasonal butterflies in on appropriate days before wet weather is forecast. And also after our holiday we would have wanted to do a specific forest trip somewhere to try and see these. We may well still do that should we have a spare day but seeing them today as a huge bonus and my 28th butterfly of the year meant it frees up a day to go somewhere else or chase another specie/s later on. As we walked round I took the seventh and eighth picture in this photoset of two more typical New Forest sights at this time of year foxgloves and then a lovely Redstart. 

Just as we were nearly back we got another stunning view, this time of a Cuckoo. It flew around a bit on trees and on the ground and we got quite close, we stood in aw as it wowed us once again this year seeing what an exceptional bird it is. This is arguably my best ever Cuckoo season with hearing, seeing and photographing them well perhaps better than I ever have for the latter. I took the ninth and tenth pictures in this photoset of it. I was honoured to have this moment and especially in the New Forest a star place for Cuckoos. 

What a way to end a phenomenal and packed trip and another really enjoyable weekend to proceed my next trip staying away after a week at work. I am so excited. This might be the last chance to say online its the usual with being on a wildlife watching holiday I will take my laptop and aim to process images whilst there, Wi-fi is in the cottage but whether it will allow any photos and blogs to be uploaded remains to be seen. If not I shall most likely upload throughout next Sunday but dependent on picture volume I may have to extend this to the evenings of the following weeknights. I may also look to give my Tumblr posts exclusive reveals to share their primary upload between here and Twitter, or not post them all but do a screenshot showing the pictures in my Facebook album as thumbnails so volume may demand more selectiveness in uploading 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Woodlark, Silver-studded Blue and Broad-bodied Chaser of the year, four of my favourite birds the Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Buzzard, Swallow, House Martin, Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Robin, Redstart, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Mistle Thrush, Starling, Mallard, Green Hairstreak, Meadow Brown, Common Blue Damselfly, Fallow Deer and many bees and moths.

[an-ephemeral-blog]

What’s standing in the way of women’s soccer?

When chants of ‘equal pay!’ ring through soccer stadiums, men jump on Twitter to explain why, despite performing better internationally than the men’s team, women soccer players don’t deserve equal pay because they don’t earn as much revenue.

Over the past two months I’ve become a big NWSL fan.  It’s very different from being an MLB fan, my only previous experience of passionate sports fandom.  There are a lot of things I take for granted that a professional sports team has, which NWSL teams do not have.  These things absolutely affect revenue, either directly, or by lowering the quality of play or the experience of watching games.  Here’s a list.

1.  NWSL stadiums are less accessible than MLS and other stadiums.

My local team, the Washington Spirit, plays at the Maryland SoccerPlex.  To get to the Plex, if you don’t have a car, requires an hour-plus train ride to the end of the metro and then either a 25+ minute car ride or a 45+ bus ride.  I have multiple friends who’ve expressed interested in going to a game but balked when they found out how long it would take to get there.  Another friend had to cancel because she was working late and couldn’t finish by 5:30pm, which was the time she’d have to leave to make it to a 7:30pm game.

As a trial run, the Spirit are playing a game tomorrow at Audi Field, home field of the MLS team DC United.  Audi Field is about 30 minutes away from downtown and is easily accessible via Metro.  Correspondingly, the Spirit is on track to more than triple their season record at the Plex.  They may even sell out Audi Field.  Surely if they can sell out Audi Field, they deserve to play in it?

Which brings me to the next item on the list...

2.  NWSL stadiums are smaller than MLS stadiums.

The Spirit’s plex sells out at around 5,500 tickets.  For tomorrow’s Audi Field game, they’ve currently sold over 16,000 tickets.

Sky Blue’s regular park also holds about 5,000 fans.  When they played a game last weekend at Red Bull Arena, aka the stadium of their local MLS team, they nearly doubled attendance at 9,000+ tickets sold.

I don’t know the breakdown for every team in the league.  I do know that Orlando Pride, despite having access to a great stadium, tends to draw fewer fans do to their lower quality of play.  (They’re second to last in the league.)  On the other hand, the Portland Thorns already share a stadium with their MLS neighbor team, the Timbers, and also boast the biggest and loudest fanbase in the NWSL.  Portland recently set a league record with 25,000+ tickets sold to a game.

Items #1 and #2 combine to make clear that to grow as a league, NWSL teams need to play in larger stadiums that are easier to access.  (This doesn’t even take into account how stadium facilities might impact quality of play.  Some NWSL teams don’t even have showers in their locker rooms!)  Owners and league managers need to invest in securing these spaces for teams, even if they might not be profitable at first. The experience of Sky Blue and Spirit suggests that managers won’t have to wait to reap the benefits.  

3.  NWSL games are often scheduled simultaneously, decreasing viewership.

With only nine teams in the NWSL, there are four to six NWSL games each week.  Given this small number, you’d think they’d all be on at different times, right?

Nope.  Every week, there’s at least one pair of games scheduled against each other.  Often there’s two.  If you don’t have the ability to tape games, you’re forced to miss at least one game every week.  As I have taken to tweeting despairingly at the NWSL each time this happens: whyyyyyyyy.

Schedule creation is complicated, and there are more factors that go into it than I know of.  But one key element is when teams even have their field available.  Most teams don’t own their own fields, and have to work within a restricted subset of dates and times.  To the extent that this contributed to overlapping games, it’s yet another way that issues securing good stadiums get in the way of fans supporting their teams.

4.  NWSL teams have a lower quality of commentating.

Complaining about the announcers/commentators on NWSL matches is a sport of its own.  Announcers regularly mispronounce players’ names and sometimes misidentify them.  They repeat facts and stories, and use the same turns of phrase over and over until you can’t help but twitch every time you hear them say “she sprays the ball out wide” or “the ball found it’s way to...” The last Spirit game I attended, I sat in front of a woman who, after Elise Kellond-Knight left with a pulled hamstring, briefly explained to her friends why women were more likely than men to have hamstring injuries.  (It has something to do with women having more developed quad muscles, which puts the opposing muscles, the hamstrings, at greater risk.  This also leads to increased ACL injuries among women.)  This random stranger had more interesting commentary than any of the people I’d heard on TV. But why are these announcers so bad?  The answer’s easy: NWSL announcers are barely paid.  They make $300-$400 a game, with no travel or lodging expenses paid, which means unless you live in Fort Lauderdale where the announcing is recorded, you have to pay to announce.   I don’t know how much MLS announcers make, but I bet it’s better than that.

5.  NWSL teams have a lower quality of refereeing.

Oh boy.  Okay.  There have been some issues with NWSL refereeing lately.  As national team star Ali Krieger put it:

We’re putting a good product out on the field and every year we’re getting better and the referees seem like they are not.  So, I beg the NWSL — just the standard needs to be higher. It’s just unfortunate that you feel like the referee is ruining the game. They are taking the fun out of the game because they are not good enough.

How could we raise the standards of referees?  Well, they could stop treating the NWSL like a training ground for MLS:

There are five tiers in the U.S. Soccer refereeing program. The top-level, called “FIFA,” is the highest tier. These referees can officiate in FIFA-sanctioned matches. 

”The second tier is “P.R.O.” These referees can officiate MLS matches and are selected by the Professional Referee Organization.

The next tier down is called “National,” and these officials are certified by U.S. Soccer. These referees can officiate USL Championship and NWSL matches. And therein lies the problem.

The NWSL will never have officiating as good as the MLS as long as this remains US Soccer’s official policy.  It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

6.  NWSL games are not marketed as well as they could be.

I won’t pretend to understand marketing, but I know that it’s hard for people to go to games they don’t even know about: 

[Portland Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg ] couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when she saw Fox discuss the U.S. Men’s National Team’s run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup during halftime of the Women’s World Cup final Sunday, rather than preview the upcoming games in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

“I love Fox. I think they did a great job. They gave the Women’s World Cup the attention that it deserves, but I wish we mentioned the NWSL more. [...] We need that to be put into the consciousness of the general public. We need ESPN to talk about the NWSL year-round. We need beat reporters in every single city that has an NWSL team. We need investment in advertising and marketing, in ground support, in make sure that people know that there’s a freaking team in their area.”  [source]

It seems that marketing is another area in which US Soccer is underinvesting in women:

[Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer] handles deals for MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation but not the NWSL, even though U.S. Soccer runs the NWSL. This fact has long been lamented by the women’s soccer community.

The NWSL marketing team needs the resources to at least let people know that their teams exist and their games are happening.  But beyond that... the NWSL is full of charismatic stars, both current and potential.  Let’s give them the spotlight.

7.  NWSL salaries are, for all but the biggest stars, below average income.

No one goes into women’s soccer for the money, even if a few of the game’s biggest stars have managed to get some lucrative sponsorships.  The league guarantees a minimum salary of $16,538, barely above the poverty line, and caps max salary at $46,200, a bit belong the mean American income.

Talented young women who are making decisions about where to go to college and what to do after college need to take this into account.  If they have dependents, family members with health issues, or significant debt, they simply may not be able to afford to play soccer professionally.  

This impacts the number of women available to play professionally as well as their ability to nurture their own talent by investing in themselves via special camps and training.  For every Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan or Crystal Dunn who has made it to the NWSL there’s someone equally talented who stopped playing in high school or college because law school or medical school or learning to code seemed like a more financially viable career path.  

In other words, for all the strides women’s soccer has made over the last twenty to thirty years, the NWSL still selecting from only a fraction of the potential talent pool.

*

I’ve been an NWSL fan for less than two months, so I’m surely missing other ways that women’s soccer has been under-invested in.  But the seven issues outlined above should be enough to convince you there’s a problem.  

Saying that people just don’t want to watch women’s soccer isn’t merely an oversimplification - it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.  The whole point of investment is you take a risk now to reap a payoff later.  The NWSL needs US Soccer and the wider sports community to invest in them, and given time, everyone will benefit.

You know what keeps ringing in my ears?  Research that shows that men are judged on their potential, while women are only judged on their performance.  The NWSL has the potential to be a thriving league with the revenues and fan enthusiasm of the MLS.  The question is whether women’s soccer will be given the support they need to deliver on that potential.