#Virginia Water neighbourhoods | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

idolatrybarbie · 8 months

Text

pairing: marcus pike x fem!reader

word count & rating: 5.4k | explicit - 18+ minor free zone!

summary: it's not stalking if it's a casual curiosity. you would never do anything...you're just nosey. lonely, too, maybe. but that isn't your fault. yes—this is fine. only stalking if he notices. so what exactly happens when he does?

warnings: social isolation, touch starvation, marcus pike is a virgin (there is no virgin-shaming here - do not fear), alcohol, themes of alienation, allusions to failed relationships, everyone in this story is very normal, smut - kissing, loss of virginity, vaginal fingering, handjob, protected penetrative vaginal sex(!!!), premature ejaculation, body worship (with mouth), exhibitionism, implied male masturbation, vaginal fingering, very enthusiastic oral sex (f receiving), cum eating, cuddling.

notes: i was depressed and am sick (again) but yesterday was a really good day, so you get a fic. @wannab-urs wanted to see virgin marcus - here he is. this slowly and subtly became a little more kinky than i intended it to lol? my own cat makes an appearance and yes he is really that old. this is also my 400th post to this blog. woohoo, enjoy! :)

He’s your neighbour. Kind of cute. Okay, lie—very cute. You don’t have much on him otherwise. He moved in about three months ago, right at summer’s end. At first, you thought he was a student. You see him around the house and the neighbourhood during weekdays, so that rules out a college schedule.

He likes to read books in the park. Thick novels with colourful covers and lengthy titles. You would think that he’s showing off, peacocking with the way that he’s got a new book in his hands every week. But no, the reading isn’t for show. He moulds them to his liking, dogears the pages and folds over paperbacks; things someone doesn’t do when they’ve got a book in their hands as a lure, a line.

Surprisingly, he seems to be single. You aren’t exactly sure why. There’s no short supply of wealthy single moms in the area, and the man himself is truly gorgeous. Maybe he’s recently divorced, or gay. Maybe it’s his mom’s old house and she’s passed, and he’s only here to settle things up before skipping town again.

You find yourself watching his windows at night, never able to catch a glimpse of him. The house glows orange with the lights still on inside—a welcoming lighthouse in the cold and murky sea of suburbia. When you start thinking like that, watching his house for more than too long, you send yourself to bed. The very last thing you want to be is the obsessed stalker across the street.

A part of you can’t help it. Your other neighbours, despite barely knowing them, don’t seem to like you very much. You have a feeling a certain washing-your-car-in-a-bikini-top incident at the end of this year’s boiling hot August might have something to do with it. With no friends to speak of in this cookie cutter county, you find yourself lonely. When you don’t think about it too hard, that’s justification enough.

This morning, you wake up before the sun. Sparing your eyes the bright glare of house lights, you use a near-dead flashlight to see down the hall. The cat in your care this week lives on a strict schedule. At fourteen human years—eighty in feline—Bender has grown accustomed to routine: breakfast at six-thirty, talk television at eight. Later mornings to early afternoons are a little less structured, leaving him to wander the house or settle in for a nap. Then he eats again at four, followed up by water and a monitored trip to the litter box. After that, he usually sits on the cushioned back of your couch to watch movies with you.

His owner is away in Florida with her grand kids. She’s been leaving him with you for the past six months whenever she needs time away from Virginia to let loose and explore. Bender isn’t really my cat, she’d told you the first time, but her daughter is in New York for school and couldn’t take him this year. You secretly hope that she never does. He’s excellent company.

Professional pet-sitting hadn’t ever been a career that you’d really considered. You’re still not sure if this is a forever thing or a temporary gig to pay the bills. Really, you’d like to put your degree to use in some capacity. But after being laid off so abruptly…well, you aren’t itching to get back out into the workforce quite yet. Especially not when sweet older women pay you a hundred dollars a day to revel in the company of cuddly creatures.

They aren’t all easy like the old man. Charlie, the St. Bernard you sat last month, is clingier than any ex you’ve ever had. The Fogelmans’ Dalmatian is nice to have for a day or two, but thirty minute runs twice each morning go from exhausting to borderline impossible by day three. Animals are exhausting. When you aren’t sitting, you’re sleeping.

Peeling back the tin lid on a can of wet food, you can already hear the light tap of Bender’s small paws on the floor. He joins you in the kitchen, waiting as he watches you spoon half of the can’s contents onto a dessert plate. You soften it, making it easier to chew before you slide the food over to him. He always takes a comically big first bite.

“If only they could all be like you, huh?”

Bender doesn’t answer, of course. He’s a cat.

Good Morning America rambles away on your flat-screen. You’re waiting for Bender’s owner, his travel carrier already baited with treats. The unopened food cans and his toys are packed away in a grocery bag by the door. When Anne-Marie sends you a text that she’s in the neighbourhood, you gently lead the cat into the carrier. The grated door clinks shut behind him.

Poking a finger through the slats, Bender meets you with his paw.

“Come visit me soon, alright?” you ask. “Maybe your mom can take a long trip to Canada or something.”

Anne-Marie doesn’t have to knock for you to know she’s there, her short shadow visible through the frosted glass beside the door. You stand and turn to open it, greeting her with a smile. She asks after you and tells you about her flight in.

“I hope he’s been a good boy,” she says.

“An angel, as usual,” you reply.

“He’s a little bit of a grump sometimes.”

“Perfectly fine with me. Bender’s always welcome back here.”

Anne-Marie takes the bag of food and toys first, tossing it into the front passenger seat before returning for the carrier. Handing it over, you watch as she walks down the steps and loads him into the backseat of her SUV. She buckles Bender’s glorified plastic box securely in the back, getting in herself. Anne-Marie waves at you from behind the wheel. You wave back.

Watching the vehicle pull away with your furry friend in tow, you see your neighbour’s house for the first time today. The weather is cooling off as winter grows closer. You don’t see him out much anymore, except when he gets home from who-knows-where. Even then, it’s only a glimpse of his short walk to the front door. Today, he’s sitting on his porch. With a fleece sweater zipped to his chin and a vest hugging his torso, you watch as pulls on a pair of muddy boots.

Cold air breezes past you, the draft pulling you back to reality. Just as you’re about to close the door, he peers up. And looks…directly at you. Then your neighbour smiles in acknowledgment.

Making eye contact for a second too long, you shut the door quickly. Leaning against the surface, you replay the last thirty seconds in your head. The car pulled away, he was sat there…he pulled on his boots and saw—

Three sharp knocks land on the other side of your door. You’re too much of an optimist, hoping it’s Anne-Marie again. Glancing at the glass from here, you find the realistic answer. It’s him, up close and personal this time—for the first time. Suddenly, you’ve forgotten how to breathe.

He knocks once again, clearly waiting. There’s nowhere else for you to go. The man is standing at the only reasonable exit point. Caving, you take a breath and open the door.

The first thing you notice is his smell. Earthy-sweetness lingers with him as the familiar stranger smiles at you. Again.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hello,” you return. “…Can I help you?”

“I figured that I’ve lived across the street for a while but never introduced myself,” the man says. He holds out a hand and you take it, his broad palm warming yours. “I’m Marcus.”

You tell him your name, still shaking his hand. When you let go, the smile falters.

“So Marcus, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could borrow a cup of sugar,” he says.

You glance around the doorway, unsure how to respond. “Um—”

“I’m joking.”

“Oh,” you nod. Shifting your weight from right to left, the tiniest of squeaker toys lands under your foot.

“You've got a dog, right?”

“Sort of,” you say. “I pet-sit sometimes. They aren’t really mine.”

“I was going to ask if you wanted to bring ‘em out for a walk, but I guess—”

“I could still go for a walk,” you say, the words rushing out.

The smile returns to Marcus’ face, strong as ever as he nods. “Sure. Great.”

“Just give me one second.”

You backtrack into the front hall, pulling open your coat closet for a jacket and your shoes. It only takes a minute before you’re joining Marcus on your porch. He leads you down the steps, taking a right onto the sidewalk. This is the direction he drives in from.

“So, pet-sitting,” he says. “Passion or hobby?”

“Well, I get paid for it. Not really a hobby.”

“Monetized hobby,” Marcus corrects himself. “Or is this what you do professionally?”

“In that case, hobby. I lost my job a couple of months ago. Still sort of figuring it out,” you say. Marcus nods. Then you ask, “What about you?”

“Why don’t you guess?”

You hum, thinking back on what you know about him. The car he drives is new, a dark SUV with tinted windows. Whatever he does must pay pretty well. He lives alone, fairly solitary; no kids, no spouse. You’ve seen him bring in a maximum of three grocery bags at once, and yet he hasn’t starved, so he probably doesn’t cook a lot. Sometimes it’s like he’s never home, and others he’s ever-present. That’s a pretty erratic schedule for a business professional.

Giving up on a real answer, you say, “Male stripper.”

He laughs and rolls his eyes. “I wish.” You and him both.

“A cop?” you ask.

“Warmer,” Marcus says. “FBI agent.”

“You’re joking, right? Are you even allowed to tell normal people those things?”

“I mean, sure. You’re not a terrorist, are you?” he asks.

“No,” you say.

“Then we’re fine,” Marcus says. He formally introduces himself. SSA Marcus Pike.

“So, Marcus the FBI agent. What draws you to Fairfax County?”

“The commute. And the house is nice, too.”

“You don’t strike me as a white picket fence kind of guy.” Looking out at the neighbourhood, that’s all there is.

“You don’t seem the type either,” he says. Touché. “When I first started planning the move, it wasn’t supposed to be just me. But uh…some things changed, and I’d already bought the house. Can’t let it go to waste.”

There’s something raw there. It softens his voice a little, taking away that clutch of confidence that seemingly brought him to your door.

You say, “I guess it’s better here than another shit-box apartment.”

“Right? That was my whole life back in Texas,” Marcus says.

“Texas?”

“Not born nor bred,” he says. “I worked in the Art Theft department at the bureau there.”

“Working on crafts for the kiddos?” you ask.

“More like nabbing art thieves, stopping criminal smugglers. Stuff like that.”

You hate to admit that this man probably has more courage in his pinky finger than you possess in your entire being, but at least now you can justify the curiosity.

“So you’re good at catching the bad guys, then,” you say.

“More so good at noticing things,” Marcus explains.

The air changes slightly, goosebumps rising along your skin. You ignore any potential implication. “Like what? Human behaviour?”

“Sure,” Marcus says. “Small stuff. Like if someone’s lying…or if I’m being watched.”

When Marcus doesn’t say anything else, you pause. A finely manicured lawn as your backdrop, you stare at him, disbelieving. You can’t imagine what you look like—the pictured definition of mortification.

“Look, I’m really sorry if I creeped you out. I just—I don’t get out a lot without a job and all, and I don’t really have any friends here. You seemed interesting, but none of that’s an excuse and I should’ve come over and said h—”

He says your name, stopping your rambling. “It’s fine,” Marcus says. “A little odd but…flattering?”

With your heart racing in your chest, you scrub a hand over your face. “Oh my god,” you sigh. “I really am sorry, Marcus. My life isn’t very…normal anymore. It makes you do some weird things.”

You can’t remember the last time you were outside before today. Direct grocery delivery took away any need to get out to the store, and with it your last real connection to the outside world. Except the pets. They keep you from losing it entirely.

“We’ve all got our fair share,” Marcus says. Why is he being so cool about this? He should be calling the police, or in this case, himself.

So you ask, “Why are you trying to make me feel better?”

“Well, if I don’t then you might not want to come over for dinner later."

At seven o’clock, you make your way across the street to Marcus’ front door. You hesitate in knocking, checking the time on your phone again. He says it’s fine, but maybe this is a mistake. You’re not over the embarrassment from earlier. You really don’t know how to carry out social interactions anymore. Maybe it’s for the best if you turn around and quietly slip back into your house…

Before you get the chance, the door before you opens up. Marcus has changed. He’s wearing less layers this time, only a simple white Henley shirt and a dark pair of jeans. Cartoon sharks bite the ankles of his socked feet, and you find yourself smiling when you finally look at his face. God, this man is fucking gorgeous. It almost makes you mad.

“Hi,” you say.

“Hey, come on in.”

He stretches his arm to open the door wider, stepping aside to make room. You take your boots off at the door and note the details of his home. The walls are cherry red, different to the sage green of your place across the street. The wall space in the kitchen is filled with paintings where yours stay bare, all of them neatly hung—Frida Kahlo and Elmina Moisan are the artists you recognize.

Marcus tells you that his mother is Chilean, that he was born over here once his American father could get her stateside. They moved down to Mexico when he finished high school. He’s visited every summer since, and each time he brings back a painting. There are only four here.

"You're missing a few," you say.

"The rest are upstairs," Marcus says.

Maybe you'll see them later.

Tonight, he's making fried rice and soy sauce chicken.

"Or See Yao Gai, if you want to get fancy with it," he says, concentrating on the pan.

Watching Marcus work over the stove is mesmerizing. He knows what to do and exactly when to do it, never letting anything burn or sit too long. You feel more like you're watching a professional chef than a guy that cooks "on occasion.” Even the way he washes rice has technique.

Jesus Christ, get it together.

Before plating the food, Marcus offers you a drink. He pours himself a small glass of something red.

"I'll have what you're having," you nod.

He sits across from you at the table. You imagine yourselves as your respective houses, the cloth runner that sits in the middle of the table acting as the paved street. They say people look like their pets, but homes take on characteristics of the people who live in them. Everything here is warm, like his hand. Vibrant and pleasant. The place smells like him too, all sweet and saffron.

The first bite of dinner explodes with flavour in your mouth.

"This is fucking delicious," you mumble, still chewing.

"Thank you."

"Of course." After a sip of wine, you say, "I mostly sustain myself off of hot pockets and spinach wraps. This is like, gourmet."

"You don't cook at all?" Marcus asks.

"Eh," you shrug. "I used to. A lot, actually. But it's not the same when—"

When what? When there's no love in it? Something like that. There's no one to feed, no one to come home to. So who fucking cares?

"When you're only cooking for yourself."

"I understand." They should sound like empty words, but something in Marcus' eyes tells you he really does.

"It's just…hard, I guess." Oh no, where are you taking this? "To keep caring? I’m sort of—"

"Going through the motions?" he asks.

"Yeah. Exactly," you say.

Marcus scoops another forkful of rice off his plate, chewing before he swallows. He says, "Well you know, I'm right across the street. Maybe twenty feet away? So if you need to, you can always go through the motions over here."

You don’t know exactly what he means, but it sounds nice. Someone to talk to. "One day I might just take you up on that."

When you're both finished, you help Marcus with the dishes and re-organising the table. You're showing yourself to the door with him in tow. You open it and cross over the threshold, the cold hitting you all at once. The sky is much darker than it was only an hour ago. A streetlamp behind you highlights Marcus’ face just so.

"Thanks for dinner. For all of it," you say. "It's been a long time."

"You're always welcome," Marcus says. And then he kisses you. Your hand moves over his shoulders, wrenching him forward to pull his body closer. You both stumble back into his house, the door closing behind you.

His hands remain respectfully north of the equator until you grab them, pulling them down to your hips. You break away from the kiss to say, "I don't usually…um. But do you want to—"

"Yes," he whispers. That's all the confirmation you need.

The combined stumble up to his bedroom has you bumping into walls, almost tripping on the landing. Marcus’ hands are hurried across your body. He can’t seem to make up his mind, palming your ass before he slides his hands over your ribs, squeezing your breast. Right outside his bedroom, he stops you.

“I’ve never done this before,” he says.

“Sex on the first date?”

“Sex…period.” You watch the way he cringes at himself, instinctively holding him closer.

Carefully, you say, “We don’t have to.”

“I want to. I just—it’s good to know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“It’s fine,” you say, giving him a kiss. “And we can take it slow.”

Marcus nods.

Inside the room, he lets you take the lead. You begin with your clothes, shedding your top, socks, and pants. Marcus mirrors you, leaving him shirtless in blue underwear. He’s already on his way to being fully hard, a bulge visible beneath the fabric.

Standing in front of his bed, you wave him over with a light come here. He’s drawn to you, a snake to its charmer, strong arms encircling you in his hold. You revel in the warmth of him. Marcus’ closeness has you leaning into his body, skin-to-skin. It has been so long since you’ve had this. You can’t remember the last time you’ve even had a hand to hold, an arm to brush by accident—so you take it. You revel in it, only god knowing the next time the opportunity will present itself.

“Are you okay?” Marcus asks, breath warm against your ear.

“Yeah, uh… I’m sorry,” you say. “It’s been a long time since I’ve touched somebody.”

The admission makes your stomach twist, Marcus’ face relaxing into a softer shape. Instead of the usual look of pity, he keeps his expression open. When he kisses you again, it’s long and slow; languid passes of his tongue against yours as the pair of you fall to the middle of the duvet. Marcus settles against you, assuring that his weight doesn’t crush yours before he peppers pecks across your mouth and forehead.

You can feel him hard against your thigh, steadily rocking himself into your skin with every smooch. He asks, “Can I touch you?” and you breathe a yes.

His right hand moves from its place on your torso to glide down the side of your body, cupping your ass before Marcus slides two fingers into the band of your panties. He smooths the pads of his fingers over the skin below your stomach, dipping below your pelvis to feel you.

Marcus brushes against your clit. You tilt your hips higher, chasing after the sensation.

“Here?” he asks.

“Little to the left?” you whisper. Adjusting accordingly, your breath catches when he finds it. “Yeah, there.”

Marcus rubs at it with his fingers, drawing tight circles around your clit as you wedge your face in between his shoulder and jaw.

“Can I kiss your neck?”

“Sure.”

Slowly, mindlessly, you peck at Marcus’ skin to ground yourself. Closer to his ear, he smells powdery, like vanilla. You’d like to know if it’s cologne or all him. You gasp when his fingers move to collect some of your wetness, returning to your clit and doubling down on the light pressure. Tongue darting past your lips, you lick him. He groans.

“Does that feel good?”

Gathering your thoughts takes a moment. “Yes, Marcus—don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

He watches you now, eyes closed as you’re worked closer to the edge. With Marcus’ free hand, he slides the strap of your bra off your shoulder, pulling the fabric away from your breast.

“Use your mouth,” you instruct him.

Marcus doesn’t need to be told twice, ducking low to take your nipple into his mouth. His lips and fingers working in tandem as your body narrows in on the edge of pleasure. You keep a hand at the back of his head as he licks and sucks your nipple. When he takes the sensitive bud between his teeth, you cry out and tug at Marcus’ hair. You push his mouth closer, closer—you wish he would eat you.

It doesn’t take very long for you to cum. A few more tugs of his teeth at your nipple and a harsher pass over your clit has you seizing against him, lips parted as a harsh noise leaves your mouth. Marcus slows his fingers to an eventual stop. When you look at him again, he’s eyeing the stickiness left between them.

You hold his wrist, pulling it to your mouth and slipping his fingers onto your tongue. Marcus watches you clean them intently, like he’s committing the sight to memory. When your done, he holds your face and kisses your nose. You laugh.

“What else do you want to do?” he asks.

You slide a hand down his stomach, lightly prodding his belly button just to see him flinch. The smile he gives you makes you ache.

Hand hovering close to his clothed cock, you say, “I wanna touch you.”

He nods. “Please.” The single word comes out high and whiny, stoking that fire in your belly once again.

Slipping a hand into his briefs, you feel the wetness at the head of his cock as it smears against the elastic. You start there, taking the sticky tip into your palm to gather some of Marcus’ precum. When you work your hand over the rest of him, the glide is easier, his skin like slick velvet underneath you. It’s your turn to watch as his eyes flutter closed, mouth twisted into a pout as Marcus breathes hard through his nose.

“You can make noise, baby. Let me hear you,” you say.

Marcus gives you a quick nod, eyes opening again when you squeeze him at the base of his shaft. He moans, long and low, lips parted beautifully. You speed up, watching the effects of the faster pace as he curls further into your body. The slope of his nose drags against the skin of your shoulder as he breathes you in.

“Fuck,” Marcus whispers. His curses are said softly into your skin. Suddenly, his upper half draws away from you. “Fuck, wait, wait—”

You don’t realize he’s cumming until the first stripe of spend lands across your hip. Marcus groans, a reluctant purr from the back of his throat that mixes in with another low, “Fuuuuck.” Your hand frozen around him, you wait until he’s done to move.

Immediately, Marcus withdraws from you entirely. His eyes are glued to the cum on your skin, face twisted with something unreadable.

“Hey,” you say, touching your clean hand to his. He looks up at you. “It’s fine. You’re fine.”

“I’m really sorry,” Marcus mutters.

“Why?” you ask. With the shake of your head, you join him closer to the end of the bed. You slide your fingers through the mess of his spend, bringing them to your lips. Again, he watches as you clean it up. “Totally natural. Normal. You felt good, right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“That’s all that matters. I felt good too.”

“Do you still want to…” he trails off.

“If you want to do more, I have no objections,” you say. “And if not.” With a shrug, you quirk your lips up. There’s no pressure here. You’re grateful to have him at all tonight.

“I have an idea,” Marcus says. He shakes off the funk, shoulders rolling back again easily.

“I’d love to hear it.”

Noses close enough to touch, your hands never leave his skin as Marcus confides in you his thoughts. When you say yes, he positions himself below you. Starting at your ankles, he nuzzles his face against your skin, slowly moving upwards as he presses kisses to your calves. Eye-level with your left knee, he readjusts your leg. He lightly slides his tongue over the slot of skin behind the joint, pulling giggles from you as you squirm at the feeling.

From here, Marcus makes sure to take his time. He alternates between soft, wet kisses and flat licks up your thighs. He noses along the sensitive skin, rocking into the mattress every once in a while.

“This is probably bad timing…” he trails off. You wait for Marcus to continue, but he’s too preoccupied licking at the skin of your mid-thigh. Running your hand through his hair, you try to capture his focus again.

“Marcus?”

He looks up at you, those beautiful brown eyes melting your heart and sending it dripping down to your cunt. “I’ve known the whole time. That you were watching me.” Then Marcus returns between your legs, nose at the crux of skin between your thigh and where you need him most.

You can barely map out your words. The anticipation is killing you. “You—you did?”

“Mhm,” he hums. He’s so close now.

“You never said anything.” The bridge of his nose presses directly against you, your hips stuttering against his face. “I would’ve…god, I couldn’t stop,” you confess.

“I kind of liked it,” he whispers to your pussy—a secret between them.

You groan when his nose brushes your clit again, breaking into a light pant when Marcus licks a fat stripe across the lips of your cunt. His words short-circuit your brain. You squeeze your eyes shut, imagining Marcus in this very room, touching himself as you unknowingly watch him in the dark. All those nights with the lights left on. Is that what he was doing?

Marcus slides his tongue directly over your pussy, prodding with care. Forcing yourself to look, your gaze falls from the ceiling to his lowered form. He’s already watching you, drinking in every bite of your lip and crease in your forehead. With your attention on him again, Marcus doubles down on his efforts, making out with your cunt as you whine.

“Please, please, please. Marcus—inside, can you use your fingers?”

“Anything,” he says, slipping two inside of you carefully. “Anything you want.”

They move in tandem with his tongue. Finally having something to grip and clench around has the heat of your second orgasm growing to a full forest fire. Picturing yourself now, you wonder if any of your other neighbours have taken an interest in the new guy in town. If they’re watching now, catching a glimpse of you through his window. The thought has you moaning again, picturing inches of soft, revealed skin and Marcus’ hands on you through the eyes of a stranger.

Marcus fucking you in the dark SUV that occupies the driveway, taking you against the translucent accent window of your front hall. Privacy with that hint of exposure. The delicious subtlety of risk.

Maybe you kind of like it too.

Marcus sucks on your clit and the sensation consumes you, flames licking up your spine. You cum with a shudder and a curse. He slows his hand down, removing his index and middle from you to share another kiss.

“I’d like you inside me,” you whisper.

Teeth gnaw at your insides. You crave the closeness, his warmth. Leaning to the side of the mattress, Marcus pulls open his bedside drawer. He fishes a condom from its depths.

“You’re prepared,” you say with a smile.

Marcus shrugs as he carefully tears the wrapper. “I was a boy scout.”

You sit up to help him put it on, spitting in your palm before you wrap it around his length. “Of course you were.”

He watches your movements, rolling the plastic on at the head before you remove your hand. Marcus slides the condom down the rest of him, keeping the end pinched.

“I was expecting brownie points for that presentation,” he says.

You lean up to meet him on your knees, teasing him with the promise of another kiss. You just miss his lips with your own, planting a peck at the corner of his mouth.

“You don’t get a prize for watching your hot English teacher roll one onto a banana.”

Leveraging his shoulders, you have him seated and straddled in one swift move. Marcus sucks in a gasp as you hover your cunt over him, slicking his cock with your body. He holds himself, lining up to let you sink down easily. The stretch is slight, feeling a pinch as he splits you open. Grasping your shoulders, Marcus moans into the plate of your chest.

Grinding on him slowly, you pet his hair and hold the heat of his face to your skin. “There you go,” you sigh. “How’re you feeling?”

You squeeze around him right as Marcus opens his mouth to answer, words replaced by stuttering breaths. "Good, good. So good,” he says. “Feeling you…fuck. You’re beautiful.” Marcus rocks his hips up into you, taking over the pace as he grows a little frantic. The friction of short hair at the base of him keeps you sated, enjoying the feel as he follows his release.

“Think of you all the time,” he continues. “See you out and—god, ah—you’re always so beautiful. Shit… Always alone. I just—”

Marcus grinds into you a few more times before he spills into the condom, moaning into the kiss you give him. You stay together like that for a minute, reveling in the feeling of him. Then you slide off his lap, Marcus’ limp dick slipping from you. He stands to take the condom off and disappears into the en suite bathroom. When he returns, the two of you bundle up under the covers.

He lets you be little spoon, his hands swiping softly over your stomach. Marcus traces little shapes beside your belly button, lips meeting the top notch of your spine.

“How was that?” you ask, breaking the soft silence.

“An excellent first time,” he says. “More…more than I imagined it could be. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.” You bring your own hand to the arm that wraps around you, feeling him. “It’s kind of a two-way street. I haven’t—I’m not really accustomed to closeness anymore.” His grasp on you has your head abuzz, high on his touch. Then you ask, “You said you saw me?”

“Oh, right,” Marcus says, remembering. “Saw you around the neighbourhood. I was mostly impressed you were able to keep a handle on that Dalmatian without turning into the evil coat lady.” His corny joke still makes you laugh, one more for the night, even as you shake your head. “And…I don’t know. I never saw you with anyone. I kept wanting to come over and say hello. Say anything, really.”

“I would’ve liked that,” you say. “Would still like that. If you came and talked to me.” Talking, fucking, going through the motions.

“I think we’re a little past that,” he says.

“You know what I mean.”

“I’ll always come talk to you.” A beat of silence. “Just you and me, like two lonely people.”

#marcus pike #marcus pike fanfiction #the mentalist fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedrostories #fic: lover be sweet

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whatstruthgottodowithit · 1 year

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Can I request a fluffy Joe Mazzello × fem. reader long fic where reader is Joe's girlfriend and surprise visits him while he's staying at his mom's house and reader greets his mom at the door and Joe’s mom invites her in and they chat for a little bit and she tells reader where Joe is and when reader finds him, she finds him in his room sitting at his desk doing a live on his phone?

Good Interruptions

Fandom: RPF, American Actor,

Pairing: Joe Mazzello x Reader

Characters: Joe Mazzello, Virginia Mazzello, Reader

Word Count: 1201 // Rating: Gen

Summary: Joe's viewers get more than they bargain for.

Tags/ Warnings: Fluff, Christmas, New Year, Long Distance Relationship, Kissing, Established Relationship, Parents, Imagining Joe lives in queens no idea if thats right but we move, Live Videos, Vlogger, Requested Fic, Requests,

Notes: here you go @borhapgirlforlife19. 2nd one might take me a minute because I'm back to work tomorrow x

‘Just here is fine,’ I said as my uber driver pulled up to the kerb. I grabbed my bag and climbed out onto the sidewalk, watching as he drove off. I turned to look at the house. It was a midsize building, in a jam-packed neighbourhood, with houses close by on either side. Though the New Year had rolled in there were still Christmas lights hanging and a wreath on the door providing a bit of cheer to the otherwise drab January backdrop. I climbed the small steps to the front door and knocked awaiting a response. I could hear movement inside and I waited, trying not to shiver as the bitter cold started getting to my exposed hands and face.

Suddenly the door yanked open to reveal a slim woman. Her ashy blonde hair was hanging around her face, pushed back on top by a set of glasses that seemed to be out of use. Her face broke into a smile as she saw me.

‘Y/N! Hi!’ she said with a smile.

‘Hey,’ I said awkwardly as she leaned in to give me a hug. As she pulled back she shivered and gestured for me to follow her inside.

‘Come on let's get off the doorstep,’ she said as she led me into the house. The living room was conjoined with the kitchen which she walked to motioning for me to take a seat on the recliner. I dropped down into it as she pottered around the kitchen.

‘Do you want a drink? Coffee? Water? Soda?’ she said.

‘Waters fine,’ I said. She nodded and went to the fridge to grab me a bottle. As she did I took the chance to look around the room. It was very cosy. Books made up most of one wall but the others were all cluttered with pictures, mostly of her kids. Joe and his sibling's school photos made up a good chunk of another wall. I smiled at his young, cheeky face grinning back at me. I was pulled back to reality as she handed me a bottle of water and sat down on the couch opposite me.

‘You found the house okay then?’ she said. I nodded, ‘yeah, I just told the uber where to go. It was fine.’

‘Oh I hate that you had to even use an uber,’ she said, ‘getting here from the airport can be a nightmare, I wish you’d let Joe collect you.’

‘I don’t mind,’ I shrugged, ‘I wanted it to be a surprise so it’s not a big deal.’

‘He’s going to be so excited,’ she said with a smile, ‘he’s been such a grump with you apart for the holidays.’

‘Me too,’ I said glumly.

My holiday hadn’t been the best. We had planned to come to Joe’s mom's for Christmas and the New Year. Our tickets had been booked and everything. And then my boss threw a spanner in the works and wrecked our plans. I was stuck working for most of the holiday and even some of the new year. Joe had been heartbroken and offered to cancel his plans to go home. Knowing how much he loved Christmas and how tough his mother found the holidays I told him not to. After all, we’d barely see each other anyway it didn’t make sense for him to stay. That didn’t mean I hadn’t missed him though. So, as the new year rolled in I booked a spate of holidays and then a flight to New York with only his mother in the know.

‘Did you have a nice Christmas?’ she said. I nodded not wanting to let onto how it had been a quiet and if not boring day without her son.

‘We did too though Joey hasn’t stopped talking about you,’ she said with a fond smile.

‘I missed him too,’ I said.

‘I bet,’ she said before she looked at me with surprise and said, ‘gosh, listen to me rabbiting on when you probably just wanna see Joe.’

‘I don’t mind,’ I lied.

‘Oh sweetie don’t be silly!’ she said, ‘he’s in his room. Upstairs, last door on the left.’

I smiled and nodded climbing out of my chair. I didn’t want to appear rude but I also sort of wanted to run full pelt down that hallway and into Joe’s arms. I walked upstairs to the dimly lit hallway, to the door I was destined for. I smiled as I looked at the stickers on it that spelt out ‘Joe’s Room’ though they were somewhat faded, evidently having been there for some time. I didn’t knock. Instead, I unlatched the door and pushed it open.

Joe was sitting in his room, at a desk, his laptop and phone in front of him. His phone was on a stand and he was recording something. He seemed lost in whatever it was for a moment before his mind seemed to catch up and he noticed me standing in the corner of the room. He turned, forgetting the camera altogether as he leapt up and headed towards me pulling me into his so he could kiss me.

It was sweet and tender but I could feel the longing in it, the same longing I had been feeling. As I pulled back he was beaming at me.

‘What are you doing here?!’ he asked.

‘Surprise,’ I giggled, still in his arms.

‘When? How? I thought-’

‘I got some time off. And I realised I missed you so much and I didn't want to wait another few days before you come home so I messaged your mom and we arranged this,’ I said. He nodded and smiled though his face fell a little as he seemed to remember the camera rolling in the corner of the room.

‘Uh,’ he said turning back to the camera, ‘sorry about that.’

‘Why don’t you just pause it?’ I giggled.

‘Babe we’re live right now,’ he said laughing as my face went red.

‘So all of that?’

‘Yep,’ he said with a smug smile which he turned to the camera. He picked it up and threw his arm around my shoulders pulling me into him, ‘and all of my followers just heard you say how much you miss me.’

‘I didn’t say that,’ I cringed and buried my head in his chest trying to ignore the fact however many of his followers were watching. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and laughed.

‘No I believe your words were ‘I realised I missed you so much’,’ he said.

‘Okay okay,’ I said leaning up, ‘maybe I did.’

‘Good,’ he said, ‘cos I missed you too.’

We smiled at each other for a moment before I said, ‘now we’ve recapped that can we please turn the live off.’

‘I guess so,’ he said looking at the camera, ‘bye guys. I’ll be back again tomorrow.‘

‘With no interruptions this time!’ I said. Joe smiled and waved before he clicked the phone off and ended the video. Then he threw it on the bed and pulled me into him, looking at me with a smile. As he leaned for a kiss he whispered, ‘I’d say this is a pretty good one though.’

#my writing #good interruptions #joe mazzello #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello fic #actor fic #requests #requested fic #requested fics

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inwintersolitude · 5 months

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- February 1st 2024 -

Do people hang up flyers around your neighbourhood? Not often. I'll occasionally see a flyer for a lost dog/cat, but that's all.

What's an interesting museum or special exhibition you've been to? I'd say my two all-time favorites are the Udvar-Hazy Center at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and the Museum of London.

Have you ever been on a glass bottom boat? Nope but I've always thought that would be really neat, especially in tropical places where the water is super clear.

Do you ever sneak your own food and drinks into the cinema? Nope.

Would you know how to change a flat tyre? I learned how to do it years ago shortly after I got my license, but thankfully I've never had to change one.

Does it get really hot (over 40C/104F) where you live? No, the hottest I can remember it getting here is 101F, I remember that was in 2012 and I was working outdoors at the airport that day and thinking how insane it was that it got that hot! But usual summer temperatures here are not that bad, around 75-80F. Anything above 85F is really hot for here.

What do you usually eat for breakfast? Toast with butter/jam, eggs, cereal, muesli.

Do you have any mugs with cute or funny designs on them? Ahaha yes. Back when I got an Apple Pencil I was playing around with it on the iPad and I made super goofy drawings of my two birds. Then for Christmas later that year, my husband gave me a mug that he had custom made with the drawings on it.

Have you ever taken a Greyhound bus? Nope.

Do you stick to the rules or are you more of a rule-breaker? I'm mostly a rule-follower. With some exceptions, in certain circumstances.

Are you an aunt/uncle? Would you like to be? Yep. I have two nephews, ages 2 and 5.

Is there any alcohol you cannot stand? Is there a reason why you hate it so much? I am not a fan of rum. It tastes like some sort of nasty deadly chemical that you really should NOT be drinking, like how I'd imagine paint thinner or lighter fluid would taste lol.

Do you have raccoons where you live? Yep.

When did you first get a smartphone? I remember it was around the time I started my 3rd year of college. So that would have been late 2010?

Would you say you're easy to get along with? Yeah I'd say so. I take a little while to warm up to new people, though. Like I'm not the type of person who can instantly make friends.

Who was the last person who slept over at your place? We haven't had any overnight guests in this house now that we live near family again, but at our previous house in Virginia, the last people to stay over were my in-laws.

Do you ever keep fresh flowers in the house? Only occasionally.

Have you ever made graffiti? Nope.

Do you like off-colour, offensive humour? Sometimes. It depends.

Are you expecting much to happen in the next hour or so? Not much. I'll probably get a call from my husband once he lands in like 20 minutes, but maybe not because both his flights today are delayed for maintenance so he might not have time to call til the end of his workday.

#survey #surveys #random questions #personal blog

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ladybugmeat · 2 years

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3. PUB FRONT-CRAWL

Guy Debord within the Theory of the Dérive defines dérive as ‘a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances.’ John Cheever’s ‘The Swimmer’ presents the protagonist to employ a similar practice - the estranged husband traversing, at liberty, through the various microclimates of former neighbourhood homes and their swimming pools. The protagonist does not use a map but drifts through atmospheres, associations, and past connections.

To aid my practice of the dérive my partner drew up a map furnished with subjective Didsbury atmospheres: ‘The Known World’. Lover of plants, the map identifies a ‘Cherry Tree’ in an Aldi car park, a spot for ‘Oyster Mushrooms’, and a ‘Pretty Crying Spot’ along the River Mersey. However, at the map’s forefront is a stream of watering holes to follow: ‘Posh Pub’, ‘Grim Pub’, ‘Mediocre Pub’, and ‘Angry Old Man Pub’. My drifting naturally led me to our ‘Favourite Pub’, The Head of Steam.

Sat at the bar, I try to imbibe the scene. The commotion of the city’s social life is artfully written in Virginia Woolf’s ‘Street Haunting’. The digressions in her attention reflect the city’s incessant throng of movement and noise but also the labyrinth of internal lives beyond the doors and windows. Laura Marcus reiterates Woolf’s wandering consciousness as ‘an oyster-eye of perception in the crepuscular city’. Just as Debord entices one to drop all relations, work, and leisure activities to drift, Woolf’s self ‘leaves behind its shell - the house and habitat’ to become the passive, unfettered observer.

My phone lights up with a notification from the Dérive app. A task card asks that ‘I find a bright place.’ In the corner of the pub sits a blinkering fruit machine. Digging out a pound coin, I insert for a game of ‘JACKPOT JAWS’ - tempting a winning of £100.

Whilst eventually surrendering to the machine £5 poorer, I am for a while transfixed by the light dance of incentives, bonuses, and shapes. I decide I will let the order of flashing arrows (→↓←↓↓) determine my route to the next pub. This hijacking of a dead or defunct object to produce unfamiliar languages is defined by Debord as ‘Détournement d'objet'.

Light is an ephemeral thread throughout Woolf’s city text. Its volatility and varying presence works as a barometer for atmosphere. At once ‘there are points of brilliance burning like low stars--’, and moments later ‘the door shuts on us, all that vanishes.’ There is no map to Woolf’s musings, only a cascade of fast appearing, and disappearing, stimuli.

#theorists #creativewriting #creative writing #short poem #prose poem #prosepoem #prose #writing excercise #writing community #writer of tumblr #derive #flaneur

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onsitecarservicing-blog · 2 months

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Virginia Water: Where Property Dreams Become Reality with Barton Wyatt

Have you ever dreamt of escaping the hectic city life for a place steeped in serenity and charm? A place where unique properties meet vibrant village life, and where every twist in the road unveils a picture-perfect scene? Well, look no further than Virginia Water, a hidden gem amongst the lush greenery of Surrey, England.

Virginia Water isn't your average village. It's a place where history whispers from ancient woodlands, and Virginia Water Lake, a man-made masterpiece, glistens like a sapphire in the heart of it all. Imagine weekends spent strolling along the lake's edge, breathing in the crisp air, or indulging in a spot of boating – pure bliss, wouldn't you say?

Now, you might be thinking, "This sounds idyllic, but is Virginia Water the place for me?" Here's the beauty of Virginia Water – it caters to a delightful smorgasbord of lifestyles. Young families will find excellent schools and a thriving community spirit. Professionals seeking a tranquil escape from the city yet needing to maintain the London link will find themselves perfectly positioned, with excellent transport connections just a stone's throw away. And for those seeking a touch of luxury, well, let's just say Virginia Water houses for sale won't disappoint.

The village boasts an impressive array of properties, from charming apartments to grand estates that wouldn't look out of place in a period drama. But with so much choice, finding the perfect property in Virginia Water can feel like navigating a maze. That's where Barton Wyatt comes in – your trusted guide through the exciting world of Virginia Water real estate.

Think of Barton Wyatt as your own personal real estate concierge in Virginia Water. They've been residents here for generations, meaning their knowledge of the area is second to none. They understand the intricacies of each neighbourhood, the hidden gems, and the properties that would tick all your boxes – even the ones you didn't know you had!

Here's what sets Barton Wyatt apart:

Local Legends: Their team has been selling houses in Virginia Water for decades. They've seen the market shift and evolve, and they know exactly where to find that hidden gem you've been yearning for. They also have one of the widest selection of properties to buy in Virginia Water.

Tailor-Made Service: Forget a one-size-fits-all approach. Barton Wyatt takes the time to understand your unique needs and desires. Whether you're a growing family or a downsizing couple, they'll find the property that perfectly complements your lifestyle.

Going the Extra Mile: Barton Wyatt isn't just about selling houses; it's about helping you find your dream home. They'll be there every step of the way, from the initial search to those all-important negotiations, ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience.

Let's face it, buying a house can be daunting. But with Barton Wyatt by your side, you can navigate the process with confidence. They'll help you decipher market trends, understand the legalities involved, and answer any questions you might have – no matter how big or small.

So, if you're ready to unlock the secrets of Virginia Water and turn your dream of owning property there into a reality, then look no further than Barton Wyatt. Get in touch with them today, and let them show you why Virginia Water could be the perfect place to call.

#properties to buy in Virginia Water #Virginia Water houses for sale #property in Virginia Water #houses in Virginia Water

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visualmerchandising-blog · 4 months

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Unveiling Virginia Water's Enchanting Homes: From Tranquil Estates to Modern Marvels

Virginia Water, a charming village nestled in the heart of Surrey, offers a unique blend of rural tranquillity and convenient proximity to London. Whether you're seeking a grand period estate, a characterful cottage, or a sleek modern dwelling, houses in Virginia Water cater to diverse tastes and lifestyles.

For those yearning for a slice of history, the village boasts an array of period properties. Elegant Victorian terraces grace tree-lined avenues, while grand Edwardian houses exude stately charm. Many retain their original architectural features, like stained glass windows, ornate fireplaces, and spacious rooms, transporting residents back in time. Some even hold stories of renowned past residents, adding a touch of intrigue to their allure.

If your dream home exudes contemporary flair, Virginia Water doesn't disappoint. Architects have embraced the leafy landscape, crafting stunning modern houses that seamlessly blend with their surroundings. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer panoramic views of the sprawling Wentworth Estate, while open-plan living spaces foster a sense of light and airiness. Sustainable features like energy-efficient heating and eco-friendly materials are increasingly common, attracting environmentally conscious buyers.

Beyond houses for sale in Virginia Water's, its neighbour, Englefield Green, beckons with an equally captivating selection of houses to buy. Family-friendly neighbourhoods offer an abundance of detached and semi-detached homes, ideal for raising a brood. Many boast private gardens, perfect for summer barbecues and children's playtime. For those seeking something truly special, exclusive gated communities provide an extra layer of security and privacy, often featuring impressive shared amenities like tennis courts and swimming pools.

Whether you're drawn to the timeless elegance of period houses in Virginia Water, the cutting-edge design of modern dwellings, or the family-oriented charm of houses to buy in Englefield Green, the area offers something for everyone. Here's a deeper dive into the factors influencing your choice:

Lifestyle: Virginia Water caters to diverse lifestyles. If you crave an active life, the proximity to Wentworth Golf Club and Virginia Water Lake provides ample opportunities for recreation. Families appreciate the excellent schools and community events, while commuters benefit from easy access to London via the M25 and train stations. Englefield Green, with its slower pace and strong sense of community, is ideal for those seeking a quieter haven.

Budget: Houses in Virginia Water range in price depending on size, location, and style. Period properties command a premium, while modern houses and those in Englefield Green offer a wider spectrum of affordability. Remember to factor in additional costs like renovation work, stamp duty, and ongoing maintenance when making your decision.

Accessibility: Both Virginia Water and Englefield Green enjoy excellent transport links. Trains from Egham and Virginia Water stations whisk you to London Waterloo in less than an hour, making them ideal for city commuters. The M25 motorway is easily accessible, offering convenient connections to other parts of the UK.

Choosing your dream home in Virginia Water or Englefield Green requires careful consideration. By understanding your needs, exploring the diverse housing options, and weighing the advantages of each location, you'll be well on your way to finding a haven that reflects your unique personality and lifestyle.

Remember, engaging with local estate agents and exploring online listings is invaluable for discovering the perfect house. With its captivating blend of history, modern convenience, and idyllic setting, Virginia Water and Englefield Green are sure to cast their spell on any discerning house hunter. So, embark on your property journey and unlock the door to your dream home in this captivating corner of Surrey.

#houses in Virginia Water #houses for sale in Virginia Water #houses to buy in Englefield Green

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esgagile · 7 months

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Advantages of LEED-Certified Structures

As an LEED Consultancy, "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" is an acronym that can be reduced to "LEED." The LEED certification program assesses how well-designed and built buildings are about the environment, considering things like making material selection, responsible land use, energy efficiency, water usage, air quality, and accessibility to public transit. These factors are considered in the process of evaluation. Currently, the most well-known example of its kind worldwide is the LEED certification program. Obtaining LEED certification is proof that environmentally responsible building practices have been used. This can have a significant positive impact on the reputation of the building owner and the contractor that creates LEED-certified buildings.

Being an LEED Consultant, Buildings with a track record of completing LEED-certified structures can help builders establish a name for themselves as leaders in the construction industry. LEED certification may offer considerable financial and other rewards besides its PR benefits. As per the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED-certified buildings have the advantage of having quicker lease-up rates and might be eligible for various perks, such as tax refunds and zoning exemptions. A rise in commercial construction enterprises operating in the industry is also encouraged by their continued maintenance of higher-than-average property values. Residential building businesses may benefit from LEED accreditation since it can increase the speed and price at which homes sell.

We are an LEED Consultancy, the builder of a house constructed in compliance with LEED criteria can be qualified for tax breaks. This is done so that the two kinds of residences in the same neighbourhood can be compared. Based on available data, a construction company can maintain profitability and productivity even during poor economic growth by using LEED. A LEED certification has advantages for the bottom line, the environment, and public health. These advantages include tax rebates, tenant recruitment, operating cost savings, lower energy use and carbon emissions, and achieving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. These benefits are shown in the following chart.

One of the financial advantages of earning LEED certification is that it entitles a building to specific tax credits. Several states, including Maryland, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia, have implemented LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) incentive programs to recognize and honour structures and communities that strive to live more sustainably. Find out more about the green incentives offered in your state by visiting the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Another financial advantage of being LEED-certified is the building's ability to attract new tenants. One of the main objectives is to design a building that offers a healthy environment for all individuals who work, reside in, or visit the facility to obtain LEED certification.

As an expert LEED Consultant, A LEED certification has several health benefits, including improved indoor air quality. Buildings with the LEED certification have more natural light, improved air quality, and no potentially harmful chemicals in some paints and finishes. An improvement in the indoor air quality of your building may be especially beneficial to those who often come and have health issues like stress, depression, respiratory allergies, or asthma. Installing energy-efficient lights and appliances, more efficient waste management systems, water-saving faucets and toilets, solar or wind energy systems, air scrubbers, and other parts that can help reduce your building's overall carbon footprint should be your first step. Once the required modifications are made, you can apply online to become a LEED-certified professional.

#Leedconsultant #Leedconsultancy

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1234-angelika · 3 years

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Teacher, Teacher

an: this is the final post of the week and the first installment in the Happily Ever After series for Matt. I'm excited to share with y'all, this has been in the works for a while. Hope you enjoy!

words:1.2 k warnings:Divorce, custody battle,

summary: "The best things in life are unexpected-because there were no expectations." -Eli Khamarov

masterpost|taglist|have an idea

At 18, you thought that you wanted to practice law. So, you went ahead and started on that journey.

You got your bachelor's degree in English with a minor in psychology. After that, you went on to write the LSAT and scored 170. With that impressive score, you applied to multiple programs and decided on the path of getting your J.D. at Columbia Law School in New York with a focus on family law. It took you three years, and then you moved to Virginia. You applied to a prep class before taking the bar, and that's where you met Kristy. Although you were taking different paths, you became fast friends, keeping in contact throughout the years. You passed the bar on your first try. It was a lot of work, but to you, it was worth it.

After a few years of working in family law, you saw a really rough case. It was a custody dispute. The case had started off pretty straightforward and then spiralled at an impeccable speed. After that case, you decided to take a break. You resigned and went back to school instead of getting your Certified Childcare Professional credential. And then you opened up a day-care in your neighbourhood where childcare was scarce. It didn't take long for business to pick up and for you to be busy all the time. You had two co-workers who were a tremendous help with the workload and genuinely good people.

Being a day-care teacher was such a rewarding job, shaping your minds to wonder and question everything, but man, was it exhausting.

To start your day, you slept in past your alarm. Way past, like 40 minutes, your busy week must have caught up to you. You had called your co-workers as soon as you woke up to apologize for being late and to tell them that they would have to start the day without you. You hopped in the shower and got ready for the day, not even grabbing a snack before rushing out the door. You headed to the nearest drive-through for a hot coffee and something to eat. The drive-through line was long, which didn't help your stress about the fact you were late. The only thing that made the lousy morning a little bit better was the fact it was Friday.

The sunshine provided the opportunity for a lot of outdoor exploration and independent play. We spent the morning doing math and science—which was really nature exploration—before going back in for a snack. After snack time, we went back outside for art which was drawing with chalk and water-colour painting. After lunch, we focused primarily on the idea of independent play.

For having such an abrupt start to your day, the rest of your workday seemed to pass quite slowly. By 4, almost all children had been picked up, your co-workers had left—all the children except the Simmons kids. From what you understood—from the small amount Kristy had told you—reminding you of your previous career. She and her husband were going through a divorce with an ugly custody battle happening. To add to that, apparently, their dad worked an insane job with unpredictable hours.

Today was the first day he was supposed to pick them up since the split. Kristy had warned you that he probably wouldn't be on time. So, you had prepared. You had snacks and drinks and a movie playing on the screen. You were working away at the paperwork, and the boys were playing on the carpet while Beauty and the Beast was streaming on the screen. By the time that movie had finished, you finished all the paperwork you had to do, and the boys became tired of playing on the floor, deciding to just focus on the movie instead.

Standing up, you said, "Alright, before we watch another movie, let's clean up our toys."

They were pretty quick in getting up and cleaning up their toys. When all the toys were put away, markers were cleaned up, and paper neatly stacked where it was supposed to be, you got ready for the next movie. Bean bag chairs were brought to the carpet while the boys grabbed some snacks and juice boxes.

"Get comfy!" You said with a smile as the boys ran to the bean bags. Each picking their favourite colour. "Now, what movie are we watching now?"

"Up!" David said, and you looked at Jake before putting it on. He nodded so, you went ahead with the movie.

About halfway into the movie, you heard a multitude of footsteps coming down the hallway, accompanied by voices. As quiet as possible so as not to disturb the boys, you got up from your bean bag and walked to the door to see what the noise was. If it was an intruder, you wanted to at least try and protect the kids. When you got to the door, you swung it open. There stood a tall, model-like man with his hand raised, ready to knock on the door. Beside him, two darling little girls who were absolutely adorable and very obviously twins.

"Hello, can I help you sir?" You asked the man, using your body to block the doorway as best you could.

"I'm Matthew Simmons—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the two boys ran into his legs shouting;

"Daddy!"

You nodded to yourself in understanding. Once each of the boys latched onto a leg, he continued, "—and I'm here to pick up my sons."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N Y/L/N, their school teacher."

You lead him into the room.

"So Y/N, is there anything I need to do before I can take the boys home?"

"Matthew—"

"Please call me Matt,"

"—Matt, I need you to sign the sheet on my desk and the book by the door and then you can go."

Matt went over to your desk, signed the paper and, walked back over to the door and signed the book. Then he walked into the cubby area, kids trailing behind. You walked over and helped him pack his sons' things, he packed Jake's bag, and you packed David's. After the boys had put on their coats and outside shoes, you handed David his backpack. He swung it on, and Jake did the same.

As they walked out, Matt stopped in the doorway. Turning to look at you, he said;

"Bye Miss Y/L/N. See you Monday." And with a wink, he turned and walked away.

You stared after him, and then, you understood why Kristy never introduced you to her soon-to-be ex-husband. That dazzling smile and flirtatious demeanour were heart-stopping.

#criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #matt simmons #matt simmons x reader #happilyeverafter #hea

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falcqns · 4 years

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an apostles redemption

Pairing: August Walker x OFC (Grace Walker)

Warnings: fluff, swearing, family angst, mention of nuclear weapons and firearms, facial injury, mention of anxiety disorder and anxiety attacks, implied smut

A/N: hope you enjoy!

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three |

Trust To Be Gained

A few hours later, as August was sleeping soundly in bed, Grace decided to give her family a call.

She hadn't spoken to her sister in two years, and she hadn't been to see her mom in a few months. She usually went and visited when August was on a mission, but she didn't go on his last one, at his request, which she understood why now. If she hadn't been home when she found out about Kashmir, she wouldn't have returned to Washington, which he wanted her to do.

Her hands shook as she pressed the call button, and held the phone up to her ear. It rang a few times, before she heard her mom's voice.

"Gracie! Where've you been sweetie? You haven't answered us in a while," Her mom began.

Grace took a deep breath, but explained. "I was going to call yesterday morning, but I forgot. August is alive, and here with me." She began, before her mother cut her off.

"Alive? How? He took a metal hook to the head!" Her mom exclaimed.

"He was hit with the hook, but it bounced off his face. He has a big burn on the side of his face, but he's recovering. He's starting to look a lot better," She explained. Her eyes fell on 'What We Owe To Each Other,' which was on the kitchen counter, where August had left it. "He's also going to be working to be a better person, and gain everyones trust back, including our family's."

"Do you trust him?" Her mom asked in a serious tone.

Grace sighed, and felt her eyes watering. "It's getting there. He seems sorry, and has been very emotional the past few days, and has done everything I've asked him to. I mean, I love him, and I want to help him," She said, a stray tear falling down her right cheek.

Her mother heard the emotion in her youngest daughter's voice and reassured her. "That's exactly what he needs right now. Your love. We both know that he loves you with his whole being, and will do anything to make sure you are safe and happy. He's going to be okay, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I do." She whispered, more tears spilling.

"Why don't you two come and stay for a few days. Julia is here, and she misses you so so much. I'd like to see you again too, baby. I think it would be good for the two of you, to get out of Washington," Her mom mentioned.

"I agree. I'll let Sloane know and we'll head out tomorrow," She said.

"Okay, good. I can't wait to see you," Her mom whispered, emotion present in her voice as well.

"Me too. Don't tell Julia though, I want to surprise her." She said, and she heard her mom giggle.

"Okay, love. Have a good night, and let me know when you're on your way, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, goodnight," She said, before hanging up.

She made a quick call to Sloane who agreed that family time would be best right now, and gave her permission to take him out of state.

She placed her phone and made the journey back up the stairs. Just as she made it to the top, the door to the bedroom opened, and a black wall came at her face. She quickly realized it was August reaching out to hug her.

"Oh, thank god," He whispered in her ear. She felt a small tear land on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Auggie baby?" She said in a gentle tone.

"I woke up and you weren't in the bed or the bathroom and I got so scared. I thought you left or someone took you," He said, as his breathing slowed the longer he held her.

"No ones going to take me away from you baby, and I won't leave." she whispered in his ear, running her right hand up and down his spine, her other hand coming to rest on his hip. He nodded, and allowed Grace to lead him back to the bed. He laid down on his back, and pulled Grace into him, so her upper body was on his. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and smiled at her when she looked him in the eyes.

Grace reached her hand out and placed it on his jaw, rubbing her thumb along his stubble that disappeared into his scar.

"We're going to Virginia tomorrow," She whispered.

"Why? To see your mom?" He asked.

Grace nodded. "She misses me, and she misses you. She's not mad at you. Julia will be there too and she's not mad either." She reassured him.

August nodded, and pressed a kiss into her palm, before he wrapped his arms tighter around Grace, and they drifted off asleep.

The next morning, the couple woke up early, and packed for their trip. Grace packed her stuff, as well as Kal's, while August packed his, and emptied to fridge of anything that would go bad over the trip, and took it to the road. They both made coffee, and were on the road by 6:30 am, and headed to Virginia.

The trip was going to take 3 hours, and August wasn't planning on talking too much, instead allowing Grace to sleep. But as soon as they were out of their neighbourhood, Grace connected her phone to the car's speaker and began to play Babylon by 5SOS, which was one of August's favourite songs.

They continued to sing along to some of their favourite songs, and eventually put on a podcast when they hit the highway, so August didn't get too distracted. Grace eventually drifted off, as did Kal, who was spread out on the backseat of August's Tesla.

August continued to drive, until he felt his stomach rumble, and his car told him it needed a charge. He saw a sign for a charging station in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, and headed towards the exit. Grace was awoken by the sudden change in direction.

"Where are we going?" She asked, groggily. August smiled, and placed his right hand on her left thigh, his thumb rubbing the soft skin through her sweatpants.

"The car needs a charge, and I'm hungry, as I'm sure you are. The charging station is in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, so I'm thinking we go there for lunch." Grace smiled at him.

"I agree, wholeheartedly. I want some friggen biscuits." She said, which made August chuckle.

They pulled off into the parking lot, and got out. August turned the car into Pet Mode, and plugged it in. Kal was still sleeping, so he didn't even notice his mom and dad leaving.

They were quickly seated in the dining area, and began to look over the breakfast menu.

"I know what you'll be having, Auggie," She said. "Old Timer's Breakfast," Grace continued, and she descended into a fit of giggles. However, she didn't notice August throwing a balled up napkin at her head, which hit her square in the forehead.

"Hey! Rude!" She exclaimed with a huge smile on her face, while August had his head on the table, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

He lifted his head, which has a smile and a twinkle in his blue orbs. "You shouldn't have called me old then, love."

Grace shook her head, and continued to look at the menu.

Grace decided to have French Toast and biscuits on the side, while August decided to go with his wife's suggestion, The Old Timers Breakfast, with an extra order of biscuits, knowing Grace would probably eat his as well. Man, that girl loved biscuits.

Their food came shortly after, as they were one of the four couples in the restaurant. They didn't speak that much while they ate, August only looking up to glance at his wife, who was dancing slightly while she was eating, a tell tale sign that she was thoroughly enjoying her food.

They finished up, and headed back to the car, which was fully charged. Kal, who had not awoken the entire time, was startled when August opened the door, climbed in, and pressed the unlock button for Grace. Kal barked at his mom until she gave him some ear scratches, at which point he decided to crawl into the front seat to sit at Grace's feet.

"Kal! What are you doing buddy?" August said, leaning his head to the side to avoid contact with the dogs rear end. Grace, however, was laughing and helped the large Akita to where he wanted to go.

Once Kal was settled, August pulled the car out of the parking lot, and they continued to make their journey to Virginia. They still had an hour and a half to go, so Grace put on another podcast, but didn't drift off.

They had a conversation about how things were going to go in Virginia. Grace knew if she trusted August, so would her mom, so she didn't have to worry, but Julia (and most likely Erik) would be a different story. Julia would need time to warm up to him and trust him again, which both Grace and August understood, and were okay with.

Kal eventually drifted off once again, so August and Grace kept their voices down on order to not wake him.

Not that much longer passed, until August was pulling into Grace's childhood home. He had been here a few times before, when he was dating Grace, but hadn't been in a few months.

Grace noticed he was nervous, and reached out for his hand, which he gladly gave.

"It's gonna be okay, love." She whispered, and he nodded, before opening the door. He headed to the trunk to grab the bags, so Grace led Kal inside, and journeyed to the kitchen to find her mother, who was making lunch for everyone.

"Hi, mama," She said, and walked over to give her mom a hug.

"Hello angel,"Her mom said, hugging her daughter tight to her chest. "Where's August?" She asked, but her question was answered when August walked into the kitchen holding their bags. Her mom smiled, and they hugged as well.

"Wheres Julia?" Grace asked her mother.

"She's in her old room. Erik isn't here though, he went for a job interview." She said, and the three of them headed out of the kitchen. "Why don't you guys go get settled, I'm going to finish lunch, I just have to go and grab some stuff I forgot, okay?"

The couple nodded and headed up the first set of stairs, and into Graces room.

It wasn't overly large, about half the size of her and Augusts bedroom, but it was still a good size. Grace had a queen bed that was in the middle of the room, with white bedding, and light pink and grey pillows. The light pink and grey theme continued throughout her whole room. Her walls were a eggshell white, and the baseboards were grey. her desk sat in the corner of the room, with a large hutch sitting on top. She had minimal wall decor, only her high school diploma and a few awards she won during school, which she assumed her mom hung up after she moved out, 2 years prior.

"Why don't I unpack, and you can go see Julia?" August suggested, while he sat the bags down, and walked over to Grace to wrap his arms around her. She smiled up at him, and pressed a small kiss to his lips.

"Okay," She said, before heading out of the bedroom, and up another flight of stairs to Julia's room. She knocked on the door, and heard a faint "Come In!" from Julia. She took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Julia was facing away from her, putting some washing into her dresser. When she heard the door open, she started to turn around.

"I could have come down Mo-," She began, but stopped when she saw that it wasn't her mom, but Grace standing there. "Gracie?" She whispered, as her eyes started to tear up.

"Hi, Jules." Grace said back, her tears forming as well. Julia dropped her shirt that she had been folding on the ground and ran over to her little sister, wrapping her up in her arms.

"Oh my god. I've missed you so much baby." Julia whispered in her ear.

Grace sniffled before talking. "I missed you too. Thank you for the package."

Julia released her, and led her over to sit together on the bed.

"Did Ethan get the postcard okay?" she asked, and ran her fingers through Grace's hair. Grace nodded.

"He said that he hopes you're doing okay after what happened, and that you're safe," She said. Julia smiled, and wrapped her arms around her little sister again.

"Did Mom tell you what we talked about on the phone yesterday?" Grace asked. Julia nodded.

"All she said was that August was alive and at home with you. I was a little worried and almost drove to Washington to make sure you were okay and safe, but Mom convinced me not to, which I now understand why," Julia said, her hand never leaving Grace's hair. Grace smiled at her.

"He's doing better. His face is healing, and he's working on gaining trust back. He'll start working with Sloane and the IMF to redeem himself but Sloane agreed that some family time would be good for him right now. I'm hoping to convince him to talk to his mom and let her know he's okay, but I haven't asked yet." She said. Julia smiled at her.

"I'm glad he's getting better. He tried to convince me to go with him, but I didn't know why, so I didn't go. It sounds like it wouldn't have been good if I did. What exactly happened?"

Grace smiled. "Auggie was in one helicopter, and Ethan was in another. Ethan was trying to get his helicopter out of the sky, and they ended up colliding. They fell into a crevice in the mountains, Ethan's helicopter fell, and hit Auggie's a few times. On the second time, a tube came out of the helicopter and sprayed Auggie in the side of the face with helicopter fuel. Then the helicopters fell out of the crevice, and dropped them on a cliff. They fought a little, and both ended going over the side, but were saved by a hook which was attached to one of the helicopters. Eventually they both climbed off of it and Ethan tugged on it, which caused it to come off the mountain and the hook hit Auggie in the forehead. It bounced off, but the force of the impact caused Auggie to fall backwards and he went tumbling down the mountain. He then told me that he ended up by the river, so he cleaned his face. He hid in a cave for a while, until he remembered that the Apostles had a safe house a few miles away, so he made his way over there, and attempted to sew up his face. The Apostles got him back into the country and back to me. He has since cut off all contact with them." She finished, and Julia's eyes were wide.

"How did he do on the stitches?" Julia asked with a smile on her face.

Grace giggled. "They were bad. I replaced them, but I'm kind of hoping you can look at them, since you're the nurse," Grace said.

Julia nodded. "Of course I will. Is he in your room?" She asked, and Grace nodded, before she led her to where August was. They found August in Grace's bedroom, on the floor, wrestling with Kal.

He looked up when the sisters walked in the room, and smiled apprehensively at Julia, who gave him warm smile back. He stood up, and sat on the bed at Grace's instruction.

"Julia's just going to check your injuries." Grace said, and peeled the bandage off.

Julia moved to inspect them. "They look good, really good actually," Julia said, reaching her hand out to give Grace a high five. She moved to inspect his burn. "His burn is looking better, but its going to be a long healing process. He may need burn treatment at a hospital but I think he'll be find without it. You'll have a scar, but it will be barely noticeable. Does it hurt at all?"

August nodded. "usually only when water hits it, or I touch it too much." He said.

"I've been putting burn cream on it to help with his pain. It tends to look a little red and angry in the morning but is fine once the cream is on it." Grace interjected, and pulled the cream out of the half empty bag on the bed. Julia took it and inspected it.

"This will definitely help with the pain, but I'd take him to a doctor to get a prescription cream, just to be on the safe side," Julia said, and reapplied the bandage onto August's forehead.

August nodded. "Thank you," He said, giving Julia a warm smile. "I also want to apologize for everything that happened,' He said quietly, not meeting Julia's eyes.

Grace and Julia shared a look, and Grace knew she wanted to speak to him in peace, so Grace left them, and headed down stairs to wait for her mom.

Julia took a seat on the bed. "I forgive you for what happened August. I may not know everything about you, and maybe it was because I never got the chance to know you well, but I want to." August smiled, his eyes still fixed on his sock covered feet.

"I'm very protective of Grace. I was 24 when she was born, and even though she wasn't my child, she felt like it. Our mom worked very hard to raise her after our dad died, and Rick and I were the only ones still living at home, so we would take over the role of parenting when Mom was working long shifts. When I found out she was dating you, I became scared." Julia whispered, and August finally looked up from his feet to meet her gaze. "When Ethan and I were together, he had told me about who you were, and what you did. He told me that everyone called you 'The Hammer', and you didn't take crap from anyone. Obviously, he didn't know you well, so I only got one side of the story."

August smiled small. "I love her with all my heart. I have since the moment I met her. I don't know what it was, but, when I saw her walk into the same elevator as me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. All I could think of was how beautiful she was, and how much I wanted to get to know her. I knew in that moment that I was so in love with her, and I barely knew her. I knew from our first date that she was going to be the one I marry, which is why I proposed so quick, and why we got married so quick. I wanted to protect her, and love her." He said, his voice breaking at the end, a stray tear falling from his eye. "I don't deserve her. She deserves so much more than me, but I thank God everyday that she loves me. When I came home from Kashmir and asked her to help me, she did without a second thought. She's held me every time I've woken up crying, every time I have an anxiety attack, and she's helping me to be better. I love her so much, and I want you to know I would never do anything to hurt her, I promise." He finished, looking up at Julia, who wrapped her arms around him.

"I see that now. I saw the way your eyes lit up with love when you saw her walk into the room, and how you kept looking at her for reassurance. Mom has told me stories of how her mental health wasn't the greatest a few months ago, so you dropped everything and took her to Disney World. She told me how you bring her little gifts from everywhere you go, and you gave her a burner phone so she can contact you on missions. I see it now, and I'm sorry that I didn't see that before. I hate that I missed out on so much of her marriage. I missed out on her engagement party, I missed the wedding, I missed everything. All because of my view of you." Julia said.

August smiled. "I plan on proposing again, so she can have the proper wedding she's always wanted, I just don't know when."

Julia immediately wrapped her arms around him. "I may not fully trust you yet, but I trust you with her. I trust that you won't hurt her." August smiled, and hugged her back, before Grace was calling them down for lunch. Julia immediately left the room, August following not far behind.

"Hey baby," Grace said, and pulled his face down for a kiss. August smiled.

"Hey angel," He responded, pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. Grace's arms went from his shoulders to his waist, and her mouth deepened the kiss. August's right hand came up to caress her face while the left settled on her waist, pulled her flush against him, and let out a breathless moan at the feeling of his wife pressed into him.

"Hey! When y'all are done eating each others faces, come and get lunch!" They heard a male voice shout. They immediately separated, and laughed when they saw that it was Rick, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, that faced the hallway.

"Hey Rick," August said, before following his wife into the kitchen.

"Hey, August! I thought you were dead, bro - HEY!" He exclaimed at Grace's fist coming into contact rather hard with his stomach.

#august walker #mission impossible #henry cavill smut #henry cavill #tom cruise

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Sunday, July 11, 2021

Crushing heat wave in Pacific Northwest and Canada cooked shellfish (Washington Post) Amid the crushing summer heat wave that has slammed the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada, Alyssa Gehman, a marine ecologist who lives by the sea in Vancouver, B.C., walked down to the shore to go for a swim. As expected, the beach was packed with others looking to beat the heat. She made her way to the edge of the water. It smelled like putrid shellfish—cooking. All around her, beds of mussels had popped open, dead. The heat beating down on the rocks had killed them, and she could see dead tissue between their shells. A dead crab floated in the water, she said. Gehman studies marine community ecology, but this was the first time she had seen anything of this “magnitude of mortality.” An estimated 1 billion small sea creatures—including mussels, clams and snails—died during the heat wave in the Salish Sea, off more than 4,000 miles of linear shore, according to marine biologist Chris Harley.

School boards become battle zones (AP) Local school boards around the country are increasingly becoming cauldrons of anger and political division, boiling with disputes over such issues as COVID-19 mask rules, the treatment of transgender students and how to teach the history of racism and slavery in America. Meetings that were once orderly, even boring, have turned ugly. School board elections that were once uncontested have drawn slates of candidates galvanized by one issue or another. A June school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, that dealt with transgender students and the teaching of “critical race theory” became so unruly that one person was arrested for disorderly conduct and another was cited for trespassing. In Rapid City, South Dakota, and Kalispell, Montana, nonpartisan school board races devolved into political warfare as conservative candidates, angered over requirements to wear masks in schools, sought to seize control. “We’re in a culture war,” said Jeff Holbrook, head of Rapid City’s Pennington County GOP.

Heat, wind spur California fire; evacuation hits Nevada area (AP) A California wildfire that closed nearly 200 square miles of forest forced evacuations across state lines into Nevada on Friday as winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through trees and brush. The Beckwourth Complex—which began as two lightning-caused fires in Plumas National Forest—showed “extreme behavior,” fire information officer Lisa Cox said Friday evening. Hot rising air formed a gigantic, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet high and created its own lightning, Cox said. Spot fires caused by embers leapt up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) ahead of the northeastern flank—too far for firefighters to safely battle, Cox said. Winds up to about 20 mph (32 kph) on ridgetops were funneling flames up draws and canyons full of dry fuel, where “it can actually pick up speed,” Cox said.

‘We need help’: Haiti’s interim leader requests US troops (AP) Haiti’s interim government said it asked the U.S. to deploy troops to protect key infrastructure as it tries to stabilize the country and prepare the way for elections in the aftermath of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination. The stunning request for U.S. military support recalled the tumult following Haiti’s last presidential assassination, in 1915, when an angry mob dragged President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam out of the French Embassy and beat him to death. In response, President Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines into Haiti, justifying the American military occupation—which lasted nearly two decades—as a way to avert anarchy. But the Biden administration has so far given no indication it will provide military assistance. For now, it only plans to send FBI officials to assist with the ongoing investigation into a crime that has plunged Haiti, a country already wracked by gaping poverty and gang violence, into a destabilizing battle for power and constitutional standoff.

Venezuela: Battles rage between police and gangs in Caracas (BBC) Street battles have been raging between security forces and armed gangs in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. No official death toll has been given but local media reports say more than 10 people have been killed since the fighting began on Wednesday. Hundreds of officers have been deployed to seize weapons and search for gang leaders, who have been seeking to expand their territory. One local resident said the recent violence was “like a war”. Images shared on social media showed bullet castings littering the ground in the Cota 905 neighbourhood on Friday. One officer told AFP news agency that authorities were now in control, but said “there may still be a few snipers”. The operation marks the first time in years that authorities have launched a major offensive against the gangs, AFP reports.

Queen Elizabeth II opens her lawn to picnics for the first time (Washington Post) For the first time in her nearly 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II is allowing the people to picnic on her lawn. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, courtiers say. And the grass? It really is a little greener on the other side. “The boss,” as staff members call the monarch, thinks the people need this bit of fresh air after a wretched year. And so, starting Friday and for the rest of the summer, the paying public may sprawl upon the main lawn behind the high walls of Buckingham Palace.

Biden presses Putin to act on ransomware attacks, hints at retaliation (NYT) President Biden warned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday that time was running out for him to rein in the ransomware groups striking the United States, telegraphing that this could be Mr. Putin’s final chance to take action on Russia’s harboring of cybercriminals before the United States moved to dismantle the threat. In Mr. Biden’s starkest warning yet, he conveyed in a phone call to Mr. Putin that the attacks would no longer be treated only as criminal acts, but as national security threats—and thus may provoke a far more severe response, administration officials said. It is a rationale that has echoes of the legal justification used by the United States and other nations when they cross inside another country’s borders to rout terrorist groups or drug cartels. Asked if it might attack the servers Russian cybercriminals have used to hijack American networks—meaning knock them offline—Mr. Biden responded, “Yes,” according to a pool report.

Taliban Enter Kandahar City and Seize Border Posts (NYT) Taliban forces on Friday penetrated Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, in a new phase of a sweeping insurgent offensive that has captured territory across the country since May 1, when U.S. forces began withdrawing. The insurgents had been encroaching on Kandahar city, the capital of the province of the same name, for several weeks, capturing surrounding districts, before entering the city for the first time Friday. Taliban fighters entered Kandahar’s Seventh Police District Friday, seizing houses and engaging with security forces in the area, said Bahir Ahmadi, the spokesman for the Kandahar governor. Commandos and other special forces units were battling the insurgents well into the evening. Afghan security forces have struggled to defend themselves against the Taliban, who in the span of just over two months have managed to seize at least 150 of Afghanistan’s roughly 400 districts.

Russia votes to keep crucial Syrian border crossing open to humanitarian aid (CNN) The Biden administration scored a key diplomatic victory Friday after Russia agreed to keep a crucial border crossing open in Syria for another year, allowing the United Nations to continue delivering crucial humanitarian aid to millions of Syrians who have been displaced by the decade-long civil war. Friday’s vote at the U.N. Security Council took some US officials by surprise given Russia’s longtime opposition to the humanitarian corridor that has been used by the United Nations to deliver aid to millions of Syrians every month. Officials said it was evidence that the possibility of future US-Russia cooperation is better than was expected. “Syria is the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today,” said Mark Cutts, the U.N. deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis. “The people in these camps are mostly women, children, and the elderly. They are totally dependent on the aid that has been coming across the border from Turkey. That aid corridor has proven to be the only safe and reliable way of getting aid to these people. This is one of the most vulnerable populations in the world.” He called Friday’s vote “very encouraging.”

Lockdowns in Asia as some nations see 1st major virus surges (AP) Several countries around Asia and the Pacific that are experiencing their first major surges of the coronavirus rushed to impose tough restrictions, a year and a half into a pandemic that many initially weathered well. Faced with rapidly rising numbers of infections in recent months, authorities in such countries as Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam announced or imposed measures Friday that they hope can slow the spread before health care systems are overwhelmed. It’s a rhythm familiar in much of the world, where repeated surges deluged hospitals and led to high numbers of deaths. But many Asian countries avoided that cycle by imposing stiff travel restrictions combined with tough measures at home.

52 dead in Bangladesh factory fire as workers locked inside (AP) A fire engulfed a food and beverage factory outside Bangladesh’s capital, killing at least 52 people, many of whom were trapped inside by an illegally locked door, fire officials said Friday. The blaze began Thursday night at the five-story Hashem Foods Ltd. factory in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka, sending huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky. Police initially gave a toll of three dead, but then discovered piles of bodies on Friday afternoon after the fire was extinguished. So far 52 bodies have been recovered, but the top two floors of the factory have yet to be searched, said Debasish Bardhan, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense. He said the main exit of the factory was locked from the inside and many of those who died were trapped.

Violence erupts over jailing of South Africa’s ex-president (AP) Supporters of former South African president Jacob Zuma are protesting his imprisonment, burning trucks, commercial property, and blocking major roads in KwaZulu-Natal province. They are demanding that he be released from prison. Zuma started serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court earlier this week. His bid to be released from the Estcourt Correctional Center was rejected by a regional court on Friday and he is set to make another attempt with the country’s apex court on Monday. His supporters in KwaZulu-Natal, his home area, have been blocking roads, setting trucks alight and damaging and looting shops in various spots in the province. At Mooi River, near Pietermaritzburg, about 20 trucks were stopped and set on fire early Saturday, according to witnesses.

#headlines #news

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optimiist · 4 years

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𝚒’𝚍 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 ; that there is APRIL RIGGS , notorious for being ( deceitful ) and ( superficial ) , but there are times when she can be ( charismatic ) and ( strategic ) . i've heard that she could pass as a MEGAN FOX doppelganger , but i don't see it . the ( thirty-five ) year - old cis woman has been in town for ( two weeks / majority of her life ) and they are a ( socialite ) by day and murder suspect by night . they tend to spark images of swarovski crystal champagne flutes raised in the air , a 14 carat diamond ring left on the bedside table , a singed undergrad diploma , a stranger in the mirror , a stadium full of empty applause , the lethal combination of a stepford wife and stifler’s mom . you’ll know when they walk by because they always seem to be blasting feeling good by NINA SIMONE . it truly explains why they're known as THE TROPHY .

to know:

UPDATE: her full bio is here. gives more important insight into the relationship she has/had with her mother.

triggers: neglect, brief mention of statutory rape

i got very ‘poetic’ in the ‘a little further’ portion of the app and described her as a trophy in my first bullet point… so there you have it! you see, no matter what she did, she was always only praised for her appearance. just a trophy!!

she was born (in taunwick) to a very successful politician and her trophy husband. therefore, she spent much of her time alone as her mother was busy campaigning or throwing galas while her father, her mother’s trophy husband, went along for the ride.

there were very few times they spent any ‘quality time’ together – picture what i think was the first scene (one of!) in mommie dearest where joan crawford is turning her daughter’s birthday into a photo op. that was pretty much their definition of quality family time. it could be successfully argued that april’s mother figures all came in the form of nannies.

it could also be successfully argued that, unlike lionel, april is part of the daddy issues™ club. as will be very evident afhdliuwdsjn

probably also part of the mommy issues™ club aflhskd

mother riggs probs would go off about wire hangers but... u kno... not to the mommie dearest point...

what should be taken away rn is that she was literally raised to be shallow fhlakjds

she began an entitlement act rather young - there were only two people who saw through it, one of which will be sent in as a wc and the other… being harley!! bc gotta get april connected to the murders somehow!! gotta give her a reason to stay in taunwick too but!! that’s a problem for a future bullet.

there are those annoying kids who refuse to share their toys and all. and they usually grow out of it. but april… did not. elementary? demon child. junior high? demon preteen. high-school? demon teenager.

now!! on the topic of high-school!! if her age is any indication, she is not part of the class of 2000 - if i have my math right (possibly don’t, i once legit studied for a math exam and wound up still only getting a 34), she was part of the class of 2003. that being said, one year of hers did overlap with everyone else’s - she knew chastity as an acquaintance at best, although she still recognized harley as a friend!! good for her!!

that being said, chastity’s murder….. didn’t have much of an effect on her…. ya it’s v tragic….. but it’s been a week guys :\

her alibi: she was in the woods with someone…….. when pressured to say with who bc animals and trees can’t confirm that…… she was ashamed to say it was someone on the lacrosse team. she usually aimed higher :\

anyway, they all graduated and it was HER TIME TO SHINE!! it was HER TIME to USURP THE THRONE and become THAT BITCH of the school!! probably had .3 real friends, what with the exception of the one wc i plan to send in!! that... was inspired by “jenny” by studio killers… we can’t wait to send it.

did everything she perceived as the it girl stuff, what from joining those cool teams to being crowned her own prom queen to……………. sleeping with teachers. 1) alexa play “daddy issues” by the neighbourhood, 2) fire them.

fun fact tho!! she got into a hella good school. as in the ivy that is columbia. by what was….. partially her own merit…… partially her mother giving a very generous donation. have to make the family look PERFECT!!

she received an art history degree on what was….. partially her own merit…… partially sleeping with professors (see two bullets above.)but... graduation came… and what do you do with an art history degree from an ivy…

you marry rich!!!!!!!

in the perfect parallel that she did not even recognize as a parallel because she’s big dumb, she found a marginally older politician (....it’s gonna be a wc so it’s gonna depend on the player but it’s gonna be 50+ hfdlsjak wld make it older but there j aren’t enough resources!!) and was like *martha (...virginia woolf?) vc* “yes, yes. [he] will do.” *end vc*

in spite of having become marginally more introspective than she was in high-school… she still doesn’t recognize her daddy issues :\

they got married. in spite of it being beautiful and expensive and gaudy, she really didn’t feel anything?? was lowkey GLAD her parents weren’t there (and not in the angsty ‘they never show up to anything anyway :\’ way, in the ‘this is literally wasting everyone’s time’ way). their marriage started and continued as a very unfulfilling one. he, in perfect politician style, began having affairs exactly as she, in perfect april style, began having affairs. while they never directly spoke of them, they knew the other was involved with other people.

why april didn’t divorce him is an excellent question. is it out of a certain selflessness, not wanting to do any damage to his career?? is it out of selfishness, not wanting to lose that sugar daddy?? a little bit of both. probably more the latter tho!!

anyway!! her father finally divorced her mother and she was like “i’m…. gonna say i’m gonna go be a good daughter…. go comfort my mother in this trying time….. but jk i j wanna get away from my husband lmao”

again, barely knows her mother. learned various different languages so she could have fair conversations with the foreign nannies.

but….. he has a reputation to keep up!! and his wife straight-up disappearing and leaving him would be 100x worse than a divorce…. so here he comes!! to save the day!! and his reputation!!

as you can imagine, between her husband figuring out her real motive + her…. barely liking her mother, she would be inclined to return to nyc… but that’s where harley’s murder will come in!! the perfect crime!! literally!!

TL;DR:

a former It Girl™ with daddy issues, mommy issues, and a fear of commitment.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

**open to any gender unless otherwise specified

her husband (m): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

that connection based off of “jenny” (f/nb): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

various affairs: gotta have those if she’s resigned to a new life… still with her husband :\

‘friends’ from the class of 2002-2005: i think that’s the right range for when she would’ve been THAT BITCH in the high-school?? but ya!! ppl chillin w her for the clout and she was like “this is validating”

enemies from the class of 2002-2005: again, i THINK that’s the right range?? but wow. ppl she didn’t even TRY to be nice to. or ppl who j straight-up hated her. there were plenty of reasons!!

hookups / ‘dates’ from the class of 2002-2005: again with the math?? But ya!! more inclined to ‘date’ those cool folks, but apparently didn’t discriminate with her hookups if her alibi is any clue.

neighbors: up in the hills chillin right next to a very watered down political joan crawford, her trophy husband who yeet’d out of existence, and eventually her very shallow daughter and said shallow daughter’s husband who’s probs closer in age to said very watered down political joan crawford. what could go wrong!!

acquaintances of any sort from the class of 2000: gotta get them skels!!

more to come!!

FURTHER:

for a bit of a better idea:

pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/idkimnewwastaken/april/

playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1416e2ijuY3viSnzi6HjPz?si=sQmXEc5DQlSKbT2t7XZYeQ

musing tag: https://optimiist.tumblr.com/tagged/april-%7C-musings.

mini stats (to be later extended): optimiist.tumblr.com/as (also again with the font) (and notice the irony i have in my url when combining april and lionel!!)

#april !#april | intro.#taun.intro #UPDATE: same things lionel's intro tags say fhalaiedjskn

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best-of-b-photography · 5 years

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Liza Waters Reports: Feral Ghouls

Today’s show is going to be a bit of a downer. I saw something earlier in the week, and it really bummed me out. But, I feel like it’s something I have to make others aware of. So, today on Liza Waters Reports: Ghouls. First off, I want everybody to know that I don’t agree with the name Ghouls. Ghouls are something you saw in old horror movies; with bad green makeup, and the absence of a nose . What we have in Appalachia are just...people. People who weren’t fortunate enough to get to safety. But, that’s too much of a mouthful, so we’re stuck with the label ghouls.

Anyway, you’re probably wondering what it was that bummed me out. Well, as many of you know, I grew up in West Virginia. Lived there my entire life, and only left the state a couple times in order to follow the War Path. As you can guess, that means I met a lot of people. You can probably tell where this is going. I grew up near Grafton, but not really quite in the town; and I just happened to be passing through my childhood neighbourhood the other day. A lot of you probably went straight back home to see the damage done, see if your loved ones survived, but I just...knew. I knew there’d be nothing there, so I just never went back. I never planned on coming back, but I had heard whispers on the state of Grafton, and wanted to go document how much it had changed.

So, I’m walking down the street, trying not to roll my ankle in one of the giant potholes on the road when I hear the awful slapping noise. If you haven’t been around Ghouls, their feet make a really distinct slapping noise on the surfaces they walk. It’s really easy to tell when they’re nearby. And then I see her. She was coming out of the house, ambling along without a destination in mind, wearing a tattered green dress that cut off just above her knees. That house was the one of my highschool girlfriend. Now, you’re probably saying: ‘Liza. It’s a ghoul, how could you possibly tell who it is?’. And, I guess I didn’t. I didn’t know for sure, but once the thought sped across in my mind I just couldn’t shake the idea. It really hit me then, after dozens of hours wandering around Appalachia, how many people we lost to the War. How many people died a slow, and painful death through radiation. How many people didn’t have the opportunity to hide away in a Vault underground, just because they weren’t deemed worthy enough. It...it’s so fucked up. And what do you do when you find someone you cared about mutated by radiation, and beyond hope? You put a bullet through their fucking eyes.

#fallout #fallout 76 #liza waters

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architectnews · 3 years

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"Everything changed in architecture" after 9/11 attacks says Daniel Libeskind

The terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center helped the public understand the importance of architecture, says the architect who masterplanned the rebuilding at Ground Zero as part of our 9/11 anniversary series.

Speaking to Dezeen in an exclusive interview, Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind said that "everything changed in architecture" after the tragedy.

Prior to the attacks, he said, urban planning was largely done without public input. However, the attack on the Twin Towers revealed that big architectural projects "belong to citizens".

The Ground Zero site (above) was masterplanned by Daniel Libeskind (top). This photo is by Hufton + Crow

"I think that the impact [of 9/11] was on the whole world," he told Dezeen. "Everything changed in architecture after that. People were no longer willing to do it as before."

"It had an impact in the sense that people understood that big projects are not only for private development, they belong to citizens," he explained. "I think it gave people a sense that architecture is important."

On 11 September 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft. Two were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, claiming 2,753 lives.

Another plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The overall death toll of the four coordinated attacks was 2,996.

One World Trade Center by SOM was erected as part of the rebuilding. The photo is by Hufton + Crow

Two years after the attack, Libeskind won a competition to masterplan the 16-acre World Trade Center site.

His framework included a memorial and a museum to the tragedy, a transport hub plus a cluster of towers including a central "Freedom Tower" with the symbolic height of 1,776 feet, representing the year of America's independence.

However, Libeskind's Freedom Tower design was never built and instead One World Trade Center by SOM rose in its place.

Public participation became "much more important"

Libeskind attributes the fact that there was a design competition at all was due to public demand.

"There was no original competition at all for Ground Zero," he explained. "It was a port authority call for good ideas that they could use," he said, referring to the body that owns the World Trade Center site.

"It was the public that demanded what they saw, and luckily, [my idea] was the one that was in the eye of the public," he continued.

"The public said 'we want this project'...so the port authority was, in a way, forced by the public to implement something that originally was not part of their agenda."

Libeskind's original masterplan created a semi-circle of towers around a memorial

Libeskind said that this "showed the power of the public in determining the future of their cities".

"Planning is not a private business," he added. "It should be determined by a democratic voice of all the different interests, which includes developers and agents, the people, you know, all sorts of different constituencies."

"New York is about tall buildings"

Following the attacks, Libeskind said that some people thought that tall buildings would no longer be built in the city and that Lower Manhattan would fall into a state of decline.

"The mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, just wanted low buildings," recalled Libeskind.

"People said nobody will ever come back to downtown, companies will move to New Jersey, they'll move to Connecticut," he continued, "people don't want to be there anymore."

However, Libeskind felt differently, saying that "New York is about tall buildings" and "always has been".

He compared the aftermath of 9/11 to the coronavirus pandemic, which some people predict will lead to the demise of dense cities and office working.

"Today with a pandemic, people say the same thing," Libeskind said. "People will not work with offices anymore." But he believes that "people will always come" back to cities.

Site "belongs to all of us"

Reflecting on his work on the Ground Zero masterplan, Libeskind likened its challenges to designing a whole American city.

While reintroducing office skyscrapers and adding valuable real estate to the site, he decided to dedicate half of the land to public space to create a neighbourhood accessible to everyone, rather than to just office workers.

"My main goal in the masterplan was, first of all, to create a civic space, not to just be concerned with private investment, but to create a significant memorial, which brings people going to the site in an open social way," he said.

"This was a commercial site where every square inch is worth a lot of money," he explained. "But I felt that somehow it's not a piece of real estate anymore."

"It's something that belongs to all of us," he said.

A visual of 5 World Trade Center at Ground Zero, courtesy of KPF

The Ground Zero masterplan is yet to reach completion, with KPF's 5 World Trade Center next in line to break ground. However, Libeskind believes it has already achieved his aims.

Recalling the day that Ground Zero reopened to families of victims, he said: "I still remember the words people said to me: 'Thank you, you delivered what you promised'".

"After 20 years, it's not finished," he continued, "but it's pretty much what was intended to be and how lucky to have been part of this process."

Read on for an edited transcript of the interview.

Lizzie Crook: Could you reflect on your experience of working on the Ground Zero masterplan and tell me a little bit about how you approached the project?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, it was a very intense process, you know, which had so many participants. The city, the agency, the developers, the general public. It was an all-consuming process. And the only way one could do it was through a democratic process. It was not always difficult, it wasn't always easy.

It had its ups and downs, but it was always meaningful, and always... I had to be really passionate to stick to it, because the challenges were immense. Challenges were complex. So what can I say? Humbled to think of the scale of the project, but it was to pursue the work and try to work in the spirit of openness and that's what I did.

Lizzie Crook: So what were your main goals for the masterplan?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, my main goal in the masterplan was, first of all, to create a civic space, not to just be concerned with private investment, but to create a significant memorial, which brings people going to the site in an open social way. And to create as much public space as possible, which would then permit people to see the memorial as something that is crucial to the memory of the city.

But also to balance the needs of the development of over 10 million square feet of office density, with culture, and with pedestrian pleasures, and to balance memory, and the future in a very unique way.

So that was really the goal. And of course, to meet that incredible programme, which is almost like building a downtown or a whole American city, within 16 acres. But remember that, out of that 16-acre site, there are eight acres of public space, which is what my goal was. To create that sense that this is for New York, this is for people, and not only for people lucky enough to work with those offices.

Lizzie Crook: How did you prevent the site from becoming a sad space and instead make a vibrant neighbourhood?

Daniel Libeskind: It's a balance. You don't want to make New York into a sad city. You don't want to create something that is just mostly shadows and darkness. What you want to do is to create a public and social space, which speaks about the event but in a positive way.

And of course, to do that I went all the way down to the bedrock, the slurry wall, which supports the site and created a sense that this is not a two-dimensional space, that this is really a fully three-dimensional space where you can reach the place of tragedy, but also the place where you can see the rising of the foundations of New York, which still really support that site with the slurry wall.

And of course, to balance the streets, the big buildings that have hundreds of thousands of people working. There is no retail fronting the memorial. You have more quiet streets. And then of course on the other side, you have the noisy shopping streets of New York. So again on many different levels to create a composition, which stays true to what the spirit of New York is, which is a spirit of resilience, and the spirit of joy. That is, we are now in different life of this really spectacular new developmental memorial site.

Lizzie Crook: Do you think the Ground Zero masterplan has achieved its aims?

Daniel Libeskind: It definitely has achieved its aims because life has returned. After six o'clock, Wall Street was just a dark area, there was no retail there, no people living there. It was dead at night. The plaza of the Twin Towers was closed because it was too windy to walk through it.

So I created a sense of a neighbourhood by creating this composition of buildings, which are also symbolic elements, you know, the 1776-feet-tall tower number one, the fact that the buildings stood in a sort of stood in a spiral movement within the grid of New York that echos the torch of Liberty.

The fact that I brought water to the site, you know, the waterfalls, in order to really bring nature in to screen the busy streets and noise of downtown New York. Of course, exposing the slurry wall, which is no small achievement, to make people understand where they are, that this is the bedrock, this is where we are stood and where it stands still. Those are all the kind of elements.

The only anecdote that I can tell you is that when I came to the site, with all the finalist architects, many great architects, and we were on top of one of the skyscrapers next door, and somebody said, does anybody want to go to the site? I said, yes. I was the only one because we could see the site much better from a high rise office building. But I walked down there with my partner and wife Nina.

And really, my life changed as I walked down that route, 75 feet below the streets of New York. And when I touched the slurry wall, I realised really what the site was about, it wasn't about just nice buildings and traffic and all those important planning ideas, it was about deep memory.

I actually called my office, which was still in Berlin at the time, and I said, forget everything we've done, just put it in the garbage. Already a lot of models, drawings, simulations, and animations, you know, working with many experts on this project, I said, forget it.

Throw it out. It's not about that. It's about not building where the Twin Towers stood. Making it all really part of the public space of New York. And I'm really impressed how in a democratic process, this came to fruition. You know, nobody declared the site a sacred site. This was a commercial site where every square inch is worth a lot of money. But I felt that somehow it's not a piece of real estate anymore.

It's something that belongs to all of us. I was to work in a democracy, as fraught as it was, it was very fraught with many battles to fight, but I am really a great advocate and believer in democracy. I don't buy projects that are just from the top down but involve all sorts of interests. And I think it just shows that democracy does work.

Lizzie Crook: Reflecting on the event of 9/11 itself, how would you describe its impact on architecture in the US?

Daniel Libeskind: It had a huge impact in many ways. Number one, it had an impact in the sense that people understood that big projects are not only for private development, they belong to citizens. You know, I don't know what you know, the story, but the original, there was no original competition at all for Ground Zero.

It was a port authority call for good ideas that they could use, right. But it was the public that demanded what they saw, and luckily [my idea] was the one that was in the eye of the public. The public said 'we want this project' that's what we want. We don't want a typical port authority collage of ideas.

We want a project that has all these elements, symbolic elements, the great social public space, the grand memorial, the underground and so on. And so the port authority was, in a way, forced by the public to implement something that originally was not part of their agenda. So first of all, the competition showed the power of the public in determining the future of their cities. It also meant that subsequently, people in New York, were far more sensitive to what they could build, and how high should it be, and how can it respond to the context where people are living. So public participation became, I think, much, much more important than before.

Remember that Twin Towers were built without any public input, they were just sort of there. It was another era. So and also, I think it gave people a sense that architecture is important, that it is not business as usual. But architecture should have some ambition. Public space should have an ambition, it should not be just left to your technocrats and bureaucrats to determine the shape of the city.

By the way, I think the impact was on the whole world. Everything changed in architecture after that. People were no longer willing to do it as before. And I think that was sort of one of the focal points that this competition gave to the world that that architecture is important. Planning is not a private business, it should be determined by a democratic voice of all the different interests, which includes developers and agents, the people, you know, all sorts of different constituencies.

Of course, I started with their families by beginning with those who perished. I didn't start with the building, I started by speaking to people, the fathers and mothers, husbands and brothers, you know, that's what moved me. It was about people. And I think that's changed the idea that memories are important, that memory is not just an add on. But memory is a critical space in a city that must be preserved. Because without memory we would be built to a kind of amnesia.

Lizzie Crook: What was it like to speak to the families?

Daniel Libeskind: Oh my God. That was really very sad. As I said, I didn't start by going and measuring, you know, how many subway lines are necessary to go through the site, although that was part of my project, how to bring them together, and the train terminal and what to do with traffic, and how to bring the streets back.

I started with people and I spoke to them and I became friends with a number of people who lost loved ones. And I understood that this pain and this suffering is also part of the site because it happened on this ground in New York, in Manhattan. And I thought that the most important thing would be to bring the space back to focus in a positive sense, in terms of doing something that means something not just in terms of quantities or profits, but in terms of how people would feel.

And I'll never forget, a couple of people came over to me, he lost a son who was a fireman, one of the firefighters, and she lost her daughter who was a flight attendant on one of the aeroplanes. And they showed me a drawing that they had. I'll never forget the drawing, they unfolded a drawing, and I did not know what it was, it just had 1000s of little dots on it. Really, I didn't know what it was. And it was where body parts were on the site, literally hundreds of thousands.

From that time on, I realised I'm not going to treat the site... this is a site that in my mind is a spiritual sacred site, it cannot be just treated like any other site. And you cannot just build the buildings where they used to be. But I understood that. And I followed many of the families, and I was in contact with them throughout the process. And yeah, that really changed my part of it because it could have been any one of us. Who would have been in that building, either working there or delivering something or cleaning the floors or whatever. One could have been one of those 3000 people or so.

Lizzie Crook: Was there ever a feeling that 9/11 could have been the end of tall buildings?

Daniel Libeskind: Oh, yes. You know, the mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, just wanted low buildings. Forget it, you know, New York is a city of towers, it always has been, you know. People said after that attack, I remember, because our offices are right there, right, at the site. People said nobody will ever come back to downtown, companies will move to New Jersey, they'll move to Connecticut.

People don't want to be there anymore. It's that place. But no, it's New York, it's the spirit of New York, New York is about tall buildings. And by the way, New York has the luxury to build tall buildings. Because you know, it's a high-density city with transportation that brings people to work and to play, you know, all around.

By the way, today with a pandemic, people say the same thing. People will not work with offices anymore. Everybody will be home, it'd be remote working. But no, there's no doubt in my mind that New York, like all great cities, has its own traditions. And, you know, it's a kind of capital of the imagination and creativity and that's where people will always come and will do work and be there. Yeah, not for me, that's, you know, the suburban house with a lawn is going to replace the great powers of New York.

Lizzie Crook: How would you say 9/11 impacted skyscraper design?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, you know, one of my responsibilities [for the masterplan] was to write some new parameters for high rise buildings, to make them ecological, to introduce green technology to make sure that they minimise the carbon footprint. So it's not just the aesthetics of buildings, but really the sustainability of buildings, that is part of the buildings at Ground Zero.

And of course, that's a really huge step in a city like New York, to realise that these buildings can no longer be built, like in the old times, you know, wasteful of energy, they have to be smart buildings, they have to really be responsive to the crisis of ecology that we're going through. And we cannot afford to build buildings, like before. So that's a really, very, very much a part of it.

And by the way, you know, just as an added bonus, my parents were basically factory workers, and my father was a printer, right next to the site. And I always thought to myself, what could my parents get from this rebuilding? They never would be in those office towers. You know, they'd be on the subways, they'd be on the streets trying to work and feed their kids.

And I said, what can I give them? I can give them a sense of New York is beautiful, there is an open space or trees, there's water, there are beautiful vistas of the Hudson and the city. Council facilities, a cultural centre being built, there's a beautiful station to go to. So yes, even the symbolic elements. And of course, the northern corner has not yet been built, because it's tower number two. But I thought it would be simple to resonate with people like my parents who were just regular New Yorkers. That was part of how I thought about the site.

Lizzie Crook: Why do you think it is that people still want to build and live and work in skyscrapers?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, first of all, you know, if you don't want to consume more and more land, and keep building, out and out and out and reinforcing cars, you know, fossil fuels and so on, you have to build densely. That's why cities originated. Cities originated because people want to be together.

Everybody wants to be there to share, and improve themselves, get a better job, or learn something new. That's why people flock to cities, it's creativity. Cities have been carved, not by coincidence. The cities are probably the greatest inventions of humanity because people realise that being together, gives you something that you can never get by being, you know, in a monastery alone, somewhere far away.

So, because of that, and because of sustainability, we cannot consume land by building low buildings and eating up what's leftover of the nature we already managed to destroy. It's such a clear way. So it's a necessity. But also there's a magic to tall buildings, beyond the necessity, there is a sort of primordial sense of joy of being able to dominate the city or from a higher perspective.

Le Corbusier thought that the best floor to live on, buildings should not be really higher than the seventh floor because, you know, you're supposed to live on the streets. You're not in the sky. By the way, I live on the seventh floor! But the truth is that when you're in a high rise in a skyscraper, it's just so liberating in many ways. You're so... again, the mythology of being high, and the necessity of building high density, which means tall buildings. It's not about to disappear. We're not about to go backwards and you know live in three-storey houses, two-storey houses.

Lizzie Crook: What do you think architecture's role is in providing closure for victims and the families of victims of such tragic events such as 9/11?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, I think there's no doubt that architecture has a healing role. To build a beautiful space, a place where you can come to, which is a spiritual place, even in just a regular, you know, piece of the city.

But it's a spiritual space when you enter that space, you hear the waterfalls, you see that the buildings, that the great office towers really are far away from you, so that you're in the light, and not in the shadow of the towers, the towers are really of the periphery and form a horizon through which you can also the beauty of New York.

I think that provides a sense of place that, you know, you might not feel the sadness for people who lost loved ones, or the sadness of the attack that killed almost 3000 people, but you feel that there is a sense of integrity, a sense of reality, in the space, and the sense that the space speaks with its own voice.

And by the way, I don't know whether you noticed when Pope Francis came to New York, some years ago, to give his address to all religions, he chose the slurry wall, underground of the museum, to give his ecumenical message. He could have chosen Times Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral or Central Park. But I think the pope understood that this wall speaks through a world about threats, and also about liberties, about freedoms. And I think that was a very moving, moving moment when I was there.

Lizzie Crook: Are you still in touch at all with the families of the victims, or have you ever heard how they have received the site and what it means to them?

Daniel Libeskind: I can tell you that when Ground Zero first opened, when it was completed, it was completed, tower number one and so on. They invited only the families, not the public, and I was there. And so many people came to me, you know, I was anonymous, I was just walking, because they knew me from you know, pictures or they knew who I was, to thank me.

And I still remember the words people said to me: 'thank you, you delivered what you promised. What you said actually happened'. And so of course, you know, I'm a New Yorker, I live and work right next to the site like many people from that era. And I'm glad you know, before the pandemic, this is one of the most visited sites, over 20 million people come through here.

So it's one of the most visited sites, even by New Yorkers. Many people that I met said to me, you know, I live in Brooklyn, or I live uptown, and they never wanted to come back to the site, because it's such a terrible memory. And now that I came to it, it's so great. I feel so much better when I came back to it. So even sometimes New Yorkers were traumatised not to come back to the site. But people have flocked back.

And it's really, I think, a space that is attractive, that has a lot of segments of the city and of memory and also the future, because before we got set, there is all the construction, we are now building tower number five, a residential building, which is fantastic because I always thought that the programme did not contain housing.

But I always thought that that's the kind of site would be that people would live there. And so now, the fifth tower is a beautiful tower that will be also affordable, much of it will be affordable housing, which is so important. So, yeah, this is, of course, it's a site that is evolving, it's not yet finished. After 20 years, it's not finished, but it's pretty much what was intended to be and how lucky to have been part of this process.

Lizzie Crook: What does the success of the site say about the resilience of New York and New Yorkers?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, I think this place, prior to the catastrophe and prior to rebuilding, you know, lower Manhattan was not exactly a cool place to be in. It was, you know, dark skyscrapers after six.

And now, it's really one of the most exciting neighbourhoods, you know, a lot of new housing has been built. Hotels, a lot of retail, schools, a lot of people have moved to the site, a lot of great office buildings have been transformed to residential towers. So it's really, you know, it's now in a new neighbourhood, lower Manhattan is like, one of the coolest, if not the coolest neighbourhood in all of New York, for the next 30 years. So it's really, more than building skyscrapers and more than just building facilities, it's creating a space that could act as a magnet for people to live there. And, of course, by coincidence that people want to live there because there is a sense of a centre of social space that will only increase the time. I'm so lucky to live there.

Lizzie Crook: What were your main lessons or final reflections from working on this project?

Daniel Libeskind: Well, in my view, I always thought there were so many cynics and sceptics about this project. You know, they said, oh, it's gonna be all compromise, and it's all this and it's all that.

But in the end, you know, I am not impressed by the mega projects made by totalitarians. I'm impressed by what a democracy can accomplish with its kind of intense discussion, its disagreements, its strong opinions. And of course, there's no city that has stronger opinions than New York, you know these rough sort of voices. And yet in the end, the fact that this project is so much... the project that I drew the beginning, my first drawing, my intent, that the fact it was to navigate through these complex waters of a democracy shows that first of all democracy is not easy.

But it shows that democracy is the only system worth working in. And that's really my reflection because it's real, you know, what is built in the democratic spirit becomes real. The Twin Towers were never that real because they were a Robert Moses kind of planning, where nobody really participated.

The highways that were built around New York by Robert Moses, but this is something that sort of reinforced my belief that, however difficult the process was, and it was, and however many, you know, conflicts that were at the end, you know, it delivered something, which I'm very proud of, and I think the developers are proud of it.

People who are working there are proud of it, the people who suffered, the loss of their families are proud of it. People who just come by it, who are now living there, you know, it's become a part of the city. I mean, that's really, the greatest indication of working certainly could become part of a true reality and not sort of something artificial.

9/11 anniversary

This article is part of Dezeen's 9/11 anniversary series marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The portrait of Libeskind is by Stefan Ruiz.

The post "Everything changed in architecture" after 9/11 attacks says Daniel Libeskind appeared first on Dezeen.

#Architecture – Dezeen

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