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nickelkeep · 6 years ago

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Every Little Thing

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When Charlie returned to the bunker after her LARP weekend, the last thing she expected was the chaos and disarray that greeted her. Boxes and books laid spread out in the War Room, rendering it claustrophobic and useless. She picked her way through the mess to the hallway that led to her room, determined to find someone, anyone, who could explain what the hell she missed.

After dropping off her duffle bag, she came across Sam in the library. Stacks of books surrounded him, and he looked as though he hadn’t slept in a few days. “Yo, Sasquatch. Fun weekend?”

Sam looked up briefly from the book in his hands and offered a small smile. “Hey, Charlie. Not as fun as yours, I’m sure.”

“What’s all this?” Charlie swirled her finger around, gesturing to the influx of books. “Huge yard sale?”

“Not exactly.” Sam huffed out a chuckle and closed the book in his hands. “Jack found a hunt. Witches, over in Kansas City. Easy enough to stop. They were just improving their luck, but it turned sour on them. They wanted out. The demon they were using to improve their luck? Didn’t like that they wanted to stop.”

Charlie nodded in understanding. “Ok, but that doesn’t explain the sudden increase in the bunker’s inventory.”

“Dean said, and I quote, ‘Find anything suspicious and grab it, we’ll inventory it at the bunker.’”

“Ok?”

“Jack was with us.”

“Say no more.” Charlie picked up the book nearest to her. “Blood Types and Their Uses. Quite the topic.”

Sam grabbed the book out of her hand. “I kind of have a system going. I’m sure Dean or Rowena could use your help. Dean’s got the objects and Rowena has the spell books.”

“Point me in Dean’s direction. I know Rowena is a master, but I don’t want to disrupt her casting any spells.”

“Follow the loud complaining and griping. You won’t miss him.”

“Right. I’ll go search in the storerooms. Have fun?”

While Sam had not been kidding about Dean’s complaining, he neglected to mention the sheer amount of frustration emanating from their older brother. Charlie knocked on the door frame, “What’s up trouble?”

Dean pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and groaned miserably. “This is all shit.”

“It does look like I walked into an episode of Hoarders.”

“Shut up. I said, ‘See if there’s anything worth taking.’ I wanted to make sure nothing dangerous could fall into the wrong hands. Jack thought everything was dangerous.” He threw a cassette tape at Charlie. “Look at that. The Police. It’s an abomination, yes, but it’s not something for us to lock up and keep out of the reach of the public.”

“You’re just upset that you weren’t clear with Jack. That is no one's fault but your own.” She looked at the tape in her hands. “Dude, this is Ghost in the Machine! Easily their best album.”

“Forgot you like that crap. Keep it.”

Charlie stuck her tongue out at him. “And here I was going to ask if you wanted help organizing this…” she pointed her fingers around the room as she thought of a word, “disaster. Guess I’ll go find Ro and hope she doesn’t accidentally change me into a frog.”

“Pretty sure Sam sent her to the Arsenal. That way she could blast the training mannequins down there if she came across anything interesting.” Dean looked up and smirked. “Won’t have to hear your lame attempts at flirting either.”

“Jerk!” Charlie flipped him off before turning and walking out of the storage room.

“Brat!”

Charlie walked nervously through the hallway, tapping the tape to an unknown beat in her head. It wasn’t that Charlie regretted telling Dean about her crush on the witch, but she regretted the moments when he could tease her about it. Going to see Rowena right after being teased was causing her heart to beat a mile a minute.

She turned the corner into the arsenal to see her fellow redhead pouring over an ancient tome. A cup of tea was perched next to her, not surprising Charlie in the least. Rowena looked up at the sound of Charlie entering the hall and flashed her a soft smile. “’Ello Dove, come to keep me company?”

Charlie tucked her hair behind her ear. “I came to see if you needed any help. But I can keep you company too.”

“Yer brothers think they’re clever.” Rowena chuckled as she patted the seat next to her. “Come on Dove. I’m glad for ye.”

“Quite the haul of books they grabbed, huh?” Charlie asked as she sat. “I know Sam was pulling his hair out.”

“I think he has the harder job. Those wannabes, they were such droll housewives. Lots of Harlequin romance novels and gossip rags.” Rowena pointed at the cassette in Charlie’s hands. “What ye got there Dove?”

“Oh, this? It’s just a tape that was found at the house.” Charlie shrugged. “Dean declared it trash because he doesn’t like the band and I do, so he gave it to me.”

Rowena laughed heartedly, sending a warm shiver down Charlie’s spine. “Does that boy like anything besides that stuff he calls music?”

“Some of his stuff is good too. He’s just stunted in his musical growth.”

“Well, shall we see how much better your taste is in music?” Rowena pointed to a tape deck on the other side of the room. “Castiel left that down here. He listens to some sort of tape that Dean made for him when he’s on maintenance duty.”

Charlie blushed. “You’ve heard of The Police, haven’t you?”

“Aye Dove, but ye seem to forget how old I am. Go put it on. It cannae be worse than Dean’s music.”

“Okay.” Charlie got up and walked to the tape deck, removing Cas’ tape and putting in hers. She pressed the rewind button to make sure that it was queued up at the beginning and turned to look at Rowena. The witch was already looking back in her book, but unlike before she was smiling. Charlie hoped that was because of her. The tape deck clicked, signifying that the tape finished rewinding, and Charlie hit the play button. She waited a few moments for the music to start, but no sound came out. “Huh. That’s strange.” She hit the fast-forward button.

“What’s the matter, Dove?” Rowena perked up and closed her spell book.

“It’s not playing. There must have been a magnet or something nearby to wipe it.”

Rowena stood and walked over next to Charlie. “Charlie. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, then I should stop it.”

“I dun think ye should touch it.”

Charlie reached in to press the stop button as Rowena grabbed her wrist to block her. As the tape came to a stop the lights in the bunker shut off. Shouts of surprise could be heard echoing throughout the hallways. Sam and Dean scrambled to get the lights back on. As the lights finally flickered back on, the brothers were shocked to find that the bunker was suddenly short two fiery redheads.

“Charlie?! Please wake up, Dove!” The younger redhead found herself gently rocking in a warm embrace. Fingers were running through her hair as someone whispered soft and sweet words over her.

“Five more minutes?” She snuggled into the embrace. “I’m comfy.”

“Charlie!” Rowena’s relief-filled voice was clear as a bell. “Ye scared me.”

Charlie shot out of Rowena’s grasp. “I’m sorry.” She looked around. “I don’t think we’re in the bunker anymore. Where are we, Ro?”

“I’m not sure. Where did the boys say the case was again?”

“Uh,” Charlie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, “Kansas City, I think? Yeah. Sam said that Jack found a coven of witches in Kansas City.”

“Dean dinnae do a very good job checking those items. That tape was cursed, Charlie.”

“Ok, then.” Charlie reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “We just call the boys, and have Dean come pick us up since this is on his ass anyway.” Charlie swiped on her phone before lifting it around and waving it in the air. “This is strange.”

“What’s the issue?”

“There’s no signal.” Charlie stood up and offered a hand down to Rowena, pulling her up to her feet. “Like none. I hacked my phone myself. I should be able to get a signal anywhere.”

“Did the spell damage yer phone?”

“I doubt it.” Charlie showed the screen to Rowena. “It’s doing everything else just fine.”

“Well, we should get moving Dove. We can ask to use a phone at a business or something.”

Charlie nodded then looked around. “Which way do we go?”

Rowena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Charlie watched as the witch spread her arms out slowly. She turned as her arms came together, pointing in a direction. “That way, Dove.”

“I love watching you do that.” Charlie internally kicked herself. “I mean like. I like watching you do that.”

Rowena started walking in the direction her spell pointed her. “Ye know I can teach ye. ‘Tis not a hard spell and would be easy for ye to pick up.”

“I’m not a witch Ro. We’ve been over this.” Charlie followed. “And before you start, yes, I know I can do the stuff with the ingredients and what not, but so can Sam and Dean. That’s like cooking with exotic ingredients.”

“I’ve told ye before. There’s magic running through yer bones.”

“And I’ve never been able to do anything Ro, ever. I don’t know why you can read magic in me. Maybe it’s residual from Oz.”

“Aye, I can feel that magic on ye Charlie. But there’s more to ye than that.” Rowena walked up next to a building and looked around the corner. “The bloody hell?” She stepped back and walked around the corner.

Charlie chased after the witch, running into her when she was distracted by the obnoxious neon nights of the night club, they were near. “Sorry, Ro.” She looked up at the sign. “Silver Compass? This place went of business when I was in elementary school.”

“Yer familiar?”

“Yeah. It was a night club that was popular in the late 80s, early 90s.” Charlie added extra emphasis on both instances of the word was in her sentence. “It got shut down hard. Several churches in the area teamed up against it, calling it Satanic. Then two young girls died back to back within a week of each other. It never recovered. Some people bought into the churches’ rhetoric while some people thought the churches set up the club.”

“What do ye think, Dove?”

“I think I was six when everything went down and don’t remember much.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought they tore down the building.”

“Charlie?” Rowena looked over in surprise at the other redhead. “What if that cassette didn’t just transport us to another place?”

Realization lit up in Charlie’s eyes. “No.” She shook her head. “You think we went back in time too?”

“It makes sense. Ye have no signal on yer phone.” Rowena ticked her fingers. “There are bright obnoxious neon colors everywhere. A club that has been shut down for near 30 years is open. A building that was torn down is standing again. We might be in Kansas, but it’s when we’re in Kansas.”

“How do we get back?”

“We find the witches who cursed the cassette.” Rowena pointed to the night club. “And ye’ve already told me where to start.” Rowena started walking to the door.

“What are you doing?!” Charlie gently grabbed Rowena’s arm. “I know you’re powerful, but I can’t protect myself. I have none of my stuff with me.”

“We’re just two girls going to the club, Dove.” Rowena placed her free hand over Charlie’s. “Show me a good time?”

The hunter looked at the witch, lost for words and nodded. She looked down at where she had grabbed Rowena’s arm and finished sliding her arm through, linking them together. Charlie looked into the smiling face of the other woman before letting Rowena lead her to the entrance of the club.

The line for admittance was short, and before long the two ladies were in the club, enveloped by strobing neon lights and the warm melodies of one-hit wonders from the 80s.

Rowena sighed annoyingly. “I honestly hoped I would never see this decade again.”

“Really? Remind me to get rid of your cans of Aqua Net when we get back to the bunker.” Charlie winked.

“Ye wouldna dare.” Rowena feigned offense. “How else am I going to keep my coils perfected?”

“Wait? You don’t use your magic for that?” The barely taller woman joked. “I thought the Aqua Net was Sam’s.”

“We share.”

Charlie let out a snort and covered her mouth as she giggled at Rowena’s quip. “Not that this is the ideal situation, but I’m glad that if I got stuck here with anyone, it’s with you, Ro.”

“Aye, Dove. ‘Tis always my pleasure to spend time with ye.” Rowena stopped suddenly. “Did ye feel that?”

“No?”

Rowena pulled Charlie over to an alcove “Dove, listen to me. I need ye to clear yer thoughts. Almost meditate.” Rowena looked around the club. “There’s some strong magic at work here. I need ye to see if ye can feel it out.”

“Ro, I’m not– “

“If the next words out of yer mouth Charlie are ‘I’m not a witch,’ I’ll turn you into a salamander myself.”

Charlie’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll try?” Rowena nodded in acceptance and kept a lookout while Charlie took in a deep breath through her nose. She closed her eyes slowly exhaled, trying to ignore the bass and beat around her. A tickle of energy traveled up her spine, but she didn’t know if the feeling was her nervousness, or if she could feel the magic. “Ro, this isn’t working.”

She felt Rowena grab one of her wrists. “Focus, Love. I know you can do this.” Charlie inhaled through her nose again, focusing on the warmth of the witch’s hand on her skin. She allowed the beat of the music to embrace her as she exhaled, grounding her as she tried to feel for anything unfamiliar to her. The shiver from before was stronger and pulled at her.

“Charlie?”

“Do I follow it?” Charlie opened her eyes and looked at Rowena, both frightened and exhilarated by the string tugging at her sternum.

“Yes. But stay at my side. I couldna take it if something happened to ye. There is powerful magic at play here.”

“Ro, may I?” She slowly slid her hand up into Rowena’s.

She felt a reassuring squeeze. “Aye, Dove. I much prefer this. Now, lead the way.”

Charlie inhaled deeply again and let the imaginary string pull at her chest. She started walking back towards the rear of the club when Rowena stopped her.

“Dove, yer positive that’s where we need to go?”

“That’s where it’s pulling me. Do you think I’m doing it wrong?”

“Nay, I think yer spot on. Look above the door.” Rowena nodded towards the door.

“Are those sigils?” Charlie squinted, trying to read them. “I can’t read them from here. Are they obscured, or is it just me?”

“Yer magic is taxing ye, Dove. I know what they are though. They block unfriendly magic. If we go through that door, we’re both without power.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We destroy the sigils over the door, get in, find the cassette here in this time, and destroy it. It won’t exist in our time, and we go back.”

“I don’t think it works that way, Ro. I think we’d be stuck here. And I don’t want to make a time paradox.”

Rowena sighed and squeezed Charlie’s hand again. “Then we find the spell we need, get the reagents we need, and we send ourselves back.”

“Sounds better to me. Now, how do we destroy the sigils?”

“I need ye to drop the tracking spell.”

Charlie exhaled and looked at Rowena. “How? I barely understand how I got it to work.”

“What does it feel like?”

“The spell? Like a string pulling me.”

“Good. Imagine scissors,” Rowena mimed a pair of scissors with her fingers, “and cut it.”

“Just like that?” Charlie closed her eyes after Rowena nodded and pictured a pair of scissors. The first time she tried imagining them cutting the string, she felt no different. The second time, she copied Rowena’s actions and mimed the scissors with her finger and cut the imaginary string at her sternum. The tension disappeared, and Charlie found herself breathing easily, not realizing the toll the connection had caused her.

“Good, Dove.” Rowena gently caressed then patted Charlie’s cheek. “Ye dunnae happen to have a knife on ye, do ye?”

After a quick pat of her pockets, the taller redhead nodded. “Yeah, I have one. Are you thinking, what I think you’re thinking?”

“I cause a distraction and ye mar the sigils?”

Charlie nodded. “Yep. That’s what I thought you would say.” She rubbed her free hand over her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose. “What are you going to do?”

Rowena laughed. “Yer picking up Dean’s habits. I’ll head to the bar, ask for a drink, and cause a commotion.”

“Your favorite wine not on the menu?”

“Too easy, Dove. Now, go get over by the door.”

“I can’t be that obvious.” Charlie listened for a second before pointing up to the ceiling. “Besides, this is a great song to dance to.” She started swaying her hips to the beat of China Girl. “I’ll make my way over. I promise.”

Rowena smiled and winked appreciatively before heading over to the bar. Charlie continued dancing, attempting to blend in with the rest of the club goers. She watched as her witch – could she call Rowena her witch? – ordered a drink then turned to watch her. There was a smile on the other woman’s face, and it set the butterflies in Charlie’s stomach to flight.

The bartender brought Rowena’s drink to her, and after she took a sip, she nodded to Charlie to start moving towards the door. Charlie nodded and started dancing towards the door. She forced herself to not look over towards the bar as she heard Rowena cry out and the commotion that followed.

As she made it to the door, she took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching her. She pulled her pocket knife out and flicked it open. She couldn’t reach the sigils just standing and reaching with her blade. She turned to look again, and upon confirming that no one noticed her, she jumped and swiped her blade across the five sigils over the door.

Each one flashed upon their break, and Charlie quickly pocketed her blade. She moved towards the bar, putting on a concerned face. “Ro? M'eudail?”

Rowena pushed through the crowd and collapsed dramatically into Charlie’s arms. “Ye wouldna believe what they’re tryna do, Dove!” She feigned hysterics and clung onto Charlie’s shirt.

“I’m sorry miss.” The bartender came over to the pair. “Let me help you get her into a booth.”

“What’s going on?”

“Charlie! It’s terrible!” Rowena’s sob was pitiful, and it took of all Charlie’s willpower to not laugh.

The bartender gently helped Charlie walk Rowena over to a booth. She slid in first, Rowena sliding in next to her, curling against her.

“Another patron made a move on your girlfriend.” The bartender explained apologetically. “The patron wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“And ye all did nothing to stop him!”

Charlie gently carded her fingers through Rowena’s hair before turning to the bartender. “Is that person still here?”

“No, he’s been escorted off the premises. The manager has advised me that any drinks you ladies want are on the house. Is there anything I can get you now?”

“We’ll be ok for now. I’ve got her.” Rowena faked another sob, causing Charlie to sigh. “Actually? Two waters, please.” The bartender nodded and walked away.

Rowena looked up at Charlie once they were alone. “Did ye break them, Dove?”

“Yep, all five.”

“Good. Now, when we get back home. Remind me that I have a serious question to ask ye.”

“Can’t you just ask it now?” The bartender returned with two glasses of water and set them in front of the ladies before leaving again. “I mean, no time like the present.”

“Aye, Dove. But we’re in the past.” Rowena sat up and took a sip of her water. “I want to have this conversation at home. Where I know we’ll be safe.”

Charlie nodded. “Ok. So, what’s the next step then?”

“We go in. Drink up.”

“Just like that?” Charlie played with the rim of her glass. “We don’t know what’s in there.”

“That’s the fun part.”

Charlie sighed and drank her water. “Let’s get this over with?”

“Aye.” Rowena slid out of the booth before leaning in and taking Charlie’s hand. “We can do this.”

The younger woman smiled and climbed out of the booth. She gently squeezed Rowena’s hand and followed her to the door. She had faced down evil witches and flying monkeys in Oz. She could do this with Rowena.

The two women paused in front of the door and Charlie checked over her shoulder. Rowena checked for any residual magic that would negate hers. “We’re good, but I think they’re expecting us. Stay behind me, Charlie. Please.” Rowena opened the door slowly.

A honeyed voice surprised both of them. “Do come in. We’re not going to hurt you. Yet.”

Rowena looked up to Charlie and nodded before swinging the door open confidently. She walked in with her head held high and her shoulders squared. “Good Evening.”

A blonde witch to their left spoke first. “Who are you, and why do you think you can destroy our protections?”

“My apologies, dearie,” Rowena spoke, her Scottish Brogue heavier than usual. “I dunnae like to go anywhere I cannae use my magic.”

“We can disable them from our end. You needed only ask.” A grey-haired witch to the right responded. “You’re far from home. In more ways than one.”

“A pair of witches far from their coven. Ha!” A male witch hidden within the shadows laughed.

The blonde witch moved forward and examined Charlie. “They’re not like us.” She leaned in and sniffed at Charlie’s neck. “They smell different. Here to judge us?”

The male witch stepped out of the shadows. “Here to kill us?”

“They want to go home.” The grey-haired witch spoke up. “Perhaps we can strike a deal.”

Charlie leaned forward and whispered in Rowena’s ear, “Is that the demon, Ro?”

Rowena let out the smallest of shrugs that only Charlie could see before addressing the grey-haired witch. “What do ye know of our home?”

“That it’s not a matter of where, but when.” The other witches in the room snapped their attention to the grey-haired witch. “Tell me. Which item brought you here?”

“Tell us how to get home.”

The grey-haired witch signaled to the blonde witch, who lunged at Charlie. Charlie, expecting an attack, stepped back and wrapped her hand in the witch’s long locks, snapping her head back and holding her in place. She reached down to her boot and pulled out her witch killing blade from Oz, causing the grey-haired witch to stare in awe.

“You’re a traitor to your own kind?” She turned her head to look at Rowena. “Did you know your lover owns that toothpick?”

“Of course. She is the one who killed the Wicked Witch of the West. Ye wouldna know that yet, cause it hasn’t happened yet. She helped free Oz of the tyranny of evil witches. Trash. Like. You.”

The male witch stepped forward, but Charlie spoke up. “Don’t come any closer, Romeo.” She held pressed the blade against the blond witch’s cheek. “She won’t be the first witch I’ve killed, and she won’t be the last.”

Rowena smiled at Charlie before turning to face the grey-haired witch. “Now. I’ll tell ye which item brought us here if ye tell us how to get home.”

“No.”

Charlie pressed the blade more firmly into the blonde witch’s cheek, causing her to whimper in pain. The male witch looked back and forth between his coven mates, helpless.

“You honestly think I believe that you killed the Wicked Witch?” The grey-haired witch stood up from her seat. “A pathetic runt like you?”

“Charlie– “

“I don’t care if you don’t believe if I did it or not. I doubt you’ll be alive in thirty-some years to find out. You keep coming closer though?” Charlie moved the blade to the blonde witch’s chest, the tip pointed at her heart. “At least I’m merciful.”

“Your lover will be so frightened of you if you kill my coven mate. You realize that, right? Don’t you feel the way she’s pleading for you to spare her?”

“Charlie.”

“I know, Ro.”

The grey-haired witch laughed. “See? Just let her go.” She walked up to Rowena. “You two are each other’s weakness, aren’t you?”

Rowena’s eyes flashed purple. “Now, Charlie!”

The grey-haired witch tried to move but found herself frozen in place as Charlie started chanting in Latin.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis con potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te! Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii. Omnis legio! Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica! Ergo, Draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te!"

Black smoke poured out of the witch’s body before burning out and scorching the floor. She collapsed to the floor, her body shaking and convulsing.

“Mother!” The blonde witch struggled against Charlie, who let her go. She ran to the grey-haired witch and pulled her into her arms. “What did you two do to her?”

The male witch spoke up. “Was she possessed?”

Rowena nodded somberly. “Dearie, I know ye dunnae know us or trust us. But let me see if I can at least get her breathing a little easier?”

The blonde witch nodded, while the male witch came over to Charlie. “Which object?”

“I’m sorry?”

“We each placed a spell on an object. Siobhan, our mother, placed a spell on a locket. Erin, on a snow globe.” He offered his hand. “I’m Sean. I placed it on a cassette tape.”

Charlie tentatively shook his hand. “You realize you were just about to attack us, right?”

“My mother was a demon. I never agreed to that. It’s like a fog has been lifted.” He looked over at his mother and sister. “Which item?”

“Yours. The cassette tape.”

“Damn, and here I thought I was clever that no one would figure out how it worked.”

“It was an accident?” Charlie offered. “We didn’t think it was cursed, and I’m a huge fan of The Police. And when I didn’t hear music, I pressed the fast-forward button while it was playing. Which is what triggered it, I assume?”

Sean nodded. “Yeah. The music shouldn’t be wiped though. What year are you two from?”

“2019.”

“That’s thirty-three years from now. While I’m glad to know the magic lasted, I’m flabbergasted.”

“Can you get us back?”

“Yeah. Let me go talk to Erin.” Sean walked over to his mother and sister and Rowena came and joined Charlie.

“Dove, we messed with time. Remember the story ye told me?”

“Yeah. I figured. Good news is Sean said we can get back. We can see how bad we screwed it up.”

Rowena softly cupped Charlie’s cheek. “I need to say something, just in case.”

“Hmm?”

“I promised myself I’d never love again. And on the chance, we get back, and things are completely different. I need ye to know, Charlie.” Rowena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before looking in Charlie’s eyes again. “I broke my promise for ye, Dove.”

Charlie smiled and rested her forehead against Rowena’s. “If somehow the world is that drastically different when we get back Rowena, I will find you. There’s no way that my heart can forget this.”

“Ladies?” Sean called over. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s now or never to get you back.”

Rowena took Charlie’s hand and squeezed it gently, leading her over to the three witches.

Siobhan spoke first. “I understand that I need to thank you, Charlie. I’d been trapped by the demon for so long, that I didn’t know how to fight anymore.”

“We can get you home,” Erin frowned, “but it comes at a price.”

“Each of us tied a piece of our soul to the object in question,” Sean explained. “When you triggered the spell, it brought you to the closest possible time and place to its casting.”

“Ye used soul magic?” Rowena scoffed. “Chuck Almighty, they’re as bad as yer brothers and the angel!”

“Angel?” Erin and Sean asked at the same time.

“Long story.” Charlie put her hands up to stop them from asking more questions. “So, you split pieces off your souls to put into your spells, to make cursed objects. I’m assuming we’re going to need pieces of our souls to go home?”

“No,” Siobhan spoke up again. “I have enough soul left to send you both back. My soul is destined for hell, so might as well use it up so they can’t have it.”

“We can’t leave you here soulless.” Charlie shook her head in defiance. “We’ve known too many people that way.”

Erin spoke silently. “She won’t survive the spell.”

“And it’s my choice, Erin.” Siobhan looked between Charlie and Rowena. “These two are going to shut down the club and lay low. They have promised to practice white magic strictly after this. And, if they’re still alive in your time, you can count on them as allies. They are bound.”

“We are bound.” Erin and Sean confirmed in unison.

“I have a lot to atone for, for what I did while under the demon’s control. I’m sorry to pass this burden onto you two.”

Erin looked away while Sean squeezed his mother’s hand. “We should have been more diligent and recognized what happened.”

“That wasn’t your job. Now, go prep the spell. I want to talk to these two briefly.” Siobhan waited until her children walked away. “I don’t know how your future will change, but I hope that you two are still together the way you are now.” Siobhan smiled. “Don’t think I didn’t see that little exchange between master and apprentice.

“For what it’s worth, I wasn’t aware that I was making a deal with a demon. I thought I was talking to an attractive man in a bar. Sean and Erin never made a deal. We’re pure born, like the both of you. I don’t know if they’ll find you, but I hope they do.”

Sean walked over and interrupted. “Sorry to interrupt. We have everything.”

“Time is of the essence.” Siobhan held her hand up to her son, who easily pulled her to her feet. “Once their incantation is done, you both will have only moments to go back to your time. Do you remember the date and location?”

“Aye,” Rowena responded, “but does the exact time matter? I’m not familiar with this kind of magic.”

“It doesn’t,” Sean explained, “two versions of your soul cannot be in the same place at the same time. It’s a paradox. So, the spell should put you back to a time after your soul came here.”

“I hate soul magic. No offense.”

“None taken.” Sean nodded at the two women. “When you two are ready, Erin and I will start the spell.”

“I need one second, I’m sorry.” Charlie slipped her hand out of Rowena’s and pulled a pen out of her pocket. She scribbled something on her hand before turning to Rowena. “Give me your hand, Ro.” She took the other woman’s hand and wrote something on the palm before closing it. “Open it when we get home.” She slid their hands back together. “We’re ready.”

Erin forced a smile. “Both of you need to think of the exact date and the location of where you two were.” She turned back to her mother. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, dearest. Be strong. For both you and Sean.” Siobhan turned to her son and smiled. “Watch out for your sister.”

Sean nodded. “Love you.”

The siblings began casting their spell, and a portal opened next to them. One of them yelled “Go!” loudly, signaling for Rowena and Charlie to make their move.

Charlie woke up in her bed in the bunker. While she didn’t feel completely different, she knew that life was different. She opened her hand to look at her palm.

Even though my life before was tragic

She smiled, knowing that she remembered writing those words and why. The question that plagued her was if Rowena still returned those feelings. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before looking around her room. While it was still very obviously hers, she noticed items in the room that didn’t belong to her. Her heart pounded in her chest, nervous to find out who those items belonged to.

She got out of bed and looked at the books on her desk. Her favorites were still there, but alongside them were several spell books that she found she could read. Charlie couldn’t read spell books. She needed Rowena to translate them for her.

Charlie wrapped herself in her robe and walked out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen. Dean and Cas were sitting at the table drinking their morning coffee. Dean looked up and smiled. “Hey there, Kiddo. How you feeling?”

“Little bit of a headache. Slightly confused.”

“Well, considering what Rowena explained, that makes perfect sense.” Cas offered. “She did want us to tell you she wanted you to come find her when you woke up. She said you were so peaceful this morning, she couldn’t do it herself.”

“She was in my room?”

“Uh, yeah Kiddo.”

“Dean. Remember what Rowena said?”

“Yep, better let the two lovebirds go figure it out.” Dean winked at Cas before looking at Charlie and smiling. “She’s in the library with Sam. He’s interrogating her, so your damsel probably needs a rescue.” Charlie heard a thud. “Ow! Dammit, Cas! That was right on the shin.”

“Right, the library. Thanks.”

Charlie exited the kitchen and made her way to the library. As Dean had said, Sam was tossing question after question at Rowena, asking about what had happened the day before.

“Samuel! Ye already asked that!” Rowena pinched the bridge of her nose. “I swear, if I dinnae need to know the changes in the timeline, I wouldna’ve told ye anything.”

Charlie cleared her throat, causing Sam to jump and Rowena to look up and smile. “Need a break, Ro?”

“Aye, but I’m not letting him at ye yet.” The smaller witch pointed at Sam. “Out. I need to talk to Charlie. Alone.”

Sam threw his hands up in defense and chuckled but walked over to Charlie and gave her a bear hug before walking out of the library. Charlie walked over to where Rowena was sitting and sat in the chair next to hers. “So, the stuff in my room?”

“Aye, tis mine.”

“And us?”

“Per Samuel, we’ve been together since shortly after the issue with Amara.”

Charlie squeaked with excitement before composing herself. “Any other major changes?”

“Another witch lives here.”

“Did Erin or Sean find us?”

“Erin chose to break the bond her mother set. Sean came to warn us. While he does not live here, he is a very valuable ally that we trust. Jack is also very fond of him. Apparently, he brings the best sweets.”

“You sound like a jealous auntie.” Charlie laughed. “Seriously though. Who is the other witch?”

Rowena tapped Charlie on the nose. “Did ye not listen to anything me or the other witches said? Did ye forget what ye did when we were trapped back in time? I told ye. Ye had the power all along.” Rowena smiled. “According to Castiel, after the business with the Mark of Cain, I took ye on as my apprentice. Yer strength is in nature and healing magic.”

“Really?” Charlie stared at Rowena in awe. “I knew something felt different when I woke up, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

“Well, Samuel is more than happy to talk to ye about the past few years, the scholar and librarian that he is. But he does want to ask some questions as well.”

“That’s fine, I mean, it makes perfect sense. We tell them that this happened, we screwed with the timeline. They’re going to want to figure out if we really screwed the pooch on something.” Charlie giggled. “I’m rambling.”

“Aye, but I’m used to it. ‘Twas always endearing.” Rowena carded her fingers through Charlie’s hair. “’Tis probably a moot point now, but when we were in the club, you called me M'eudail. When did you learn that?”

Charlie turned bright red. “You heard that?” Rowena nodded. “I looked it up. I was trying to build up the courage to tell you how I felt. So, I thought if I knew terms of endearment, then perhaps I could call you one and it would get the point across.”

“Like how I call ye ‘Dove?’” Rowena smiled playfully.

“I’m sorry I’m oblivious. At least I’m not as bad as Dean, right?” Charlie asked with confidence, that abruptly shattered when Rowena laughed. “What? No. Please, Ro. Don’t tell me he’s less oblivious than me in this timeline.”

“I’ll let ye ask yer brothers that.” Rowena took Charlie’s hand and opened it so she could read it. She smiled warmly. “Charlie?”

“Yeah, Ro?”

Rowena opened her hand and showed her palm to Charlie.

Now I know my love for her goes on.

#spnsaffic #spnsafficchallenge #rowena x charlie #80s challenge #time travel #every little thing she does is magic #cursed objects #rowena macleod #charlie bradbury #tw: original character death #warning: background ship

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justkeepdancing-nemo · 3 years ago

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I posted 798 times in 2022

That's 467 more posts than 2021!

94 posts created (12%)

704 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ashlee-bonfamille-lyons

@robbie-ryeo

@a-merman-not-a-guppy

@moon-yeongtae

@jimimn

I tagged 798 of my posts in 2022

#just keep queuing - 307 posts

#gif chat - 190 posts

#para - 164 posts

#sharkbait oo ha ha - 97 posts

#namtae - 89 posts

#romo - 82 posts

#bffs - 82 posts

#tiny dancers - 74 posts

#dance - 58 posts

#about - 50 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i wasnt gonna keep this gif here it was literally a place holder but then was like actually that captures the cat energy so nemo ur special

My Top Posts in 2022:

Step by Step || Tiny Dancers

Nemo: ASHLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! LKFJALKFJKLj

Nemo: GUESS WAHT

@inperfection-ashlee

16 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

Q&A || Fast Car

Just when one assignment was over for his fellowship, there was another. And another and another, just a whole pile of stuff to do that was threatening to topple over and crush Nemo underneath it.

But this time-- he was determined not to wait until the last second like he’d done his first essay. He needed to get interviews with three magicks-- three! That was so many! At least part of this assignment seemed fun though, if only cuz he could pick whoever he wanted...

All it took was asking Cruz if famous Magick Grand Prix winner Lightning McQueen would be up for it, and bam: interview scheduled!

Nemo still had some interview jitters though as he walked into the dining room of the inn. Ah, this was the closest he’d ever gotten to a real celebrity! He gulped, then took a deep breath. Just keep it breezy!

“Um-- hi! Y-you’re Lightning McQueen? I’m Nemo Bae, from the uh, the Pride U magicks fellowship! Thanks so much for meeting me!”

@lightning-kachow

22 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

5, 6, 7... || Tiny Dancers

Thorns thorns thorns, he was late!

Nemo had been trying to study... again... but agh, he’d fallen asleep, face smushed up on his book! He’d woken with a start at the hornet-mad buzzing of his phone near his head and when he’d grabbed it, there was Ashlee-- sending texts, even calls, that he’d totally missed.

And so Nemo had scrambled up and gone running across campus to the dance studio. He burst in, lungs heaving--

“Sorry, sorry! I’m here! We-- we still got the space right?!” he said, running a hand through his hair.

@ashlee-bonfamille-lyons

24 notes - Posted October 19, 2022

Just Keep... || Tiny Dancers

Ugh, honestly, Nemo didn’t wanna be here right now.

‘Here’ meant on Pride U campus. ‘Here’ meant the beautiful dance studios in the performing department. He had already promised Ashlee that he’d come by for some warm-up and to watch some of her new piece, and then they’d chat about his audition in London but that had all been decided last week-- before.

Now it was after, and the humiliation cut fresh, Nemo feeling like he was bleeding out with every step he took on this campus. He got to the studio and punched in Ashlee’s ID number before she even got there, then sat against the mirror. He hadn’t bothered putting on any of his dance clothes today. He just didn’t feel like it.

When the door clicked open, Nemo glanced up. “Hey,” he said.

@inperfection-ashlee

24 notes - Posted March 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Let’s Blow This Frogsicle Stand || F.R.O.G. Squad

Humans were corrupt. Frog lives were in danger. And Nemo was fed up.

Those were the facts that Nemo walked away with after Dr. Drakken had told them the teachers weren’t going to vote or change the syllabus until NEXT YEAR. Next year, Nemo and Mim weren’t going to be at Swynlake Secondary! F.R.O.G. would fizzle and die, and with it, three million frogs. Maybe there was nothing he could do about that... but he could at least save the frogs that were coming this year, just like how he had in 2021.

So he held another official, emergency F.R.O.G. meeting at lunch the next day, calling his members (Mim) together.

“Okay, we just gotta plan for a jailbreak,” Nemo told Mim with a grim expression. “Last time, I did it with his kid named JJ. I floated them out with my pixie dust so that should work but we need a distraction and a way to break into the lab in the first place once they’re delivered. I could probably get Tae to help us... you think Ferb might too?”

@madmagicmim

25 notes - Posted February 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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killingmebtob · 7 years ago

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It’s You All Along // Im Hyunsik

Author: @killingmebtob // Gen

Title: It’s You All Along

Character: Hyunsik and Reader

Summary: Don’t go searching high and low, for the person you’ve been looking for could be just right next to you.

Author’s Note: Eeps another Hyunsik fluff done!

---

Your name: submit What is this?

---

I scrolled through my phone, trying to find a companion for the trip I decided to go for. As I hit the bottom for composing, Eden, my fellow composer friend, suggested to take a break somewhere far. Giving it a serious thought, I agreed. Finally a name appeared in my screen, which made me smile at the idea. I dialed the number and the line came alive after a few rings.

“Hello, Y/N speaking.” She said with a serious, business tone. I let out a laugh, not used to this side of her.

“Hello, Hyunsik speaking.” I replied, teasing her.

A moment of silent sat in, I could picture her taking the phone away from her ear to look at the caller ID. I heard her scoff after a while, “what do you want, Kermit?”

I winced at the nickname she gave me, for my love for the Kermit frog. I rolled my eyes before sitting up from my bed. “Are you free next week?”

“What? You’re treating me to dinner because I’m an awesome best friend?”

“I’m treating you to something better than dinner.”

“You’re lucky the project we were working on finished and my boss was willing to let me off for a week.” She commented as we queued to board the plane.

After much researches, Australia was decided to be my final destination. I heard the beach there is extraordinary, and it’s summer now among the other winter. I could use some heat in this freezing world of Seoul.

“Guess it’s fate,” I replied playfully, throwing a teasing wink at her, earning an eye roll from her.

We’ve knew each other for years now, since secondary school. She was always the smarter one and I stuck around initially to dig notes from her. But as time went by, we started to enjoy each other’s company and here we are, today.

The ten over hours flight went by really slow. My butt hurt from the long hours, and my arm was numb thanks to Y/N falling asleep on my shoulder. I wanted to teasingly push her away but the sight of her peacefully asleep stopped me. We never talked about romantic emotions between us, though many mutual friends assumed so. We are too close like family to take a step ahead. We know each other too well to be on a higher status than friends.

“So, you’ve not exactly explain why am I here with you on this trip?” She questioned when we settled down in our hotel suite. This hotel had really good reviews, from the scenery available outside the window to the service provided. And since it has been years since the both of us travelled together, I went for the best among the best.

“I needed inspiration for my music, Quoted by Eden, basically I need a break.”

“He’s right, you do.” She hummed while strolling back to her room, leaving me in the living room between our bedrooms.

We took naps after the long, torturous flight to power charge ourselves. As we arrived in the late afternoon, we woke up in time for dinner. Remembering that there was a restaurant just downstairs the hotel, I suggested it and she was fine with the plan.

The night ended with nothing special, we finished dinner, took a stroll outside to feel in the night breeze. We decided to head back after a while, feeling exhausted despite the nap we had.

The trip went on really well, we went hiking, strolling into the forests, surfing. Damn I didn’t know she had such a figure until she showed up in her bikini at the beach.

“Done eye-molesting me?” She teased after catching me staring.

We relaxed on the beach, admiring the beautiful painting the sunset left us with. I heard her sigh at it, as I grinned, agreeing with her silently.

“So, are your inspirations back?” She turned around to ask, as I was leaning backwards slightly with my hands at the back, supporting my weight, while she was hugging her knees, resting her chin on them.

“I guess so,” I did an one-shoulder shrug. “I do have some ideas now.” My eyes darted back to the orange sky. She turned back to continue admiring, silence sat among us.

“Hyunsik,” she called out. I arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. “Nevermind.”

I let out a laugh, leaning forward to sit up. “What is it?”

She shook her head while waving a dismissive hand. “Nothing, I just hate the thought of returning back to reality.” It was our last day of the vacation, and she had to resume work once she touched down back to Seoul.

“Speaking of that, no advancement from the guy who was courting you?” I nudged her with my elbow, earning a scoff from her. “Don’t remind me about that.”

“What happened?”

“Dude tried to surprise me with roses but didn’t know I’m allergic to them.” I wrapped my arms around my stomach, laughing so hard it hurts. Y/N had always been allergic to flowers, making it difficult for guys, for they can no longer just simply get a bunch of flowers to cheer her up. She would sneeze so hard her nose turned red.

“Stop laughing, I had to be excused from work because I couldn’t stop sneezing.” She slapped my hand, as I forced myself to stop.

“He should’ve come to me for some advice,” I added, earning a death glare from her.

“Don’t you dare,” she gritted her teeth. I rose two hands to surrender, “ok I get it.”

“I don’t get why is he so persistent, even after I told him I have someone in mind.” She let out a heavy sigh as she stared into the sky that was gradually turning in the the color black.

“You do?” I questioned, surprised at the new piece of information. Like I said, we had never talked romance, not even about our own. Just that once she was annoyed at her suitor she rang me up to rant.

“Just a dumb crush, I’ll get over.” She added.

And why did my heart squeezed at the thought of her being with someone else? It has been quite some time she broke up with her ex, who cheated on her. It broke me to see her getting drunk for that douche. After that, she was afraid to enter into another relationship. I leaned back again, my fingers dug into the sand to hold my weight. As I admired the starry night sky, my eyes couldn’t help but drifted towards her side profile. Her lips were slightly lifted, enjoying the stars that hung up in the sky. I sighed in content at this sight I found myself staring at.

Could it be…

Months later

“So, which one?” I stopped the music that was playing from my speakers as I eyed my members. We were all now squeezed in my studio as we met to choose our next title song. Everyone frowned into deep thoughts, I could see their wheels in their brain turning to figure what to say.

“Play the previous one,” Eunkwang instructed. I clicked it and played it again as their faces lighted up.

“This,” Ilhoon commented, and everyone seemed to agree.

I let out a laugh, realizing what inspired me to actually wrote this song. We then proceeded to submit this song and everything was approved, recordings took place and filming wrapped up our whole preparation along with jacket shooting.

“Hello, Hyunsik speaking,” I said as soon as the other side of the line came through. I heard her let out a sigh before chuckling. “You’ll never let me live, aren’t you?”

“Don’t even bet about it.” I found myself smiling as well.

“What do you want?”

“This is a reminder that our song is releasing in a few.” I could imagine her glancing at her desktop clock as I said.

“Right, ok I will.”

“You gotta message me right after.”

“Ok, dad, I get it.” Her annoyance could be heard through her voice.

“Anything else?” She questioned.

“Nope,” emphasizing the p harder. She let out a small laugh before bidding goodbye.

I sighed at the empty line, muttering to myself before putting the phone away from my ear, “I miss you.”

The clock hit 6pm, fans flooded us with tags and compliments, while I waited for just that one message. I constantly checked my phone, we gathered in the company to anticipate the reaction by fans as we celebrated the start of our come back period.

My phone vibrated as we were in the midst of talking. I grabbed it and unlocked, the name appeared brought a smile on my face.

From: Y/N Damn genius composer, another job well done. Who could’ve know nature had so much effect on you.

To: Y/N I’ll take it as you liked it. Did you read the lyrics?

From: Y/N Yup, so who’s that new girl eh? Why am I not informed?

To: Y/N Just like how you kept your crush as a secret

From: Y/N Because it’s more than a crush! Ah nevermind, forget I asked.

To: Y/N Come on, I’m kidding. Mind if I drop by your place tonight? Just wanna hang out

From: Y/N I’ve got something on, will be home a little later.

I was interrupted by the guys calling for me to eat the cake they divided. I smiled and nodded before picking the plastic plate up, deciding to ignore the question I had.

I was about to leave the building before someone called out my name. Frowning, I turned to face Y/N, in a black dress, looking stunning.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?”

“Answer me, Hyunsik. Was the song about me?”

Her question left me dumbfounded, was it too obvious? I visibly gulped, scratching the back of my head with my eyes on the ground. I heard her sigh, causing me to glance up at her.

“Darn it I should’ve just told you by getting drunk or something.” I arched an eyebrow at her statement, she continued before I could question. “The crush I mentioned was you.”

And that one sentence was enough to fly me to the moon. Before she could continue her blabbering, I pulled her into my embrace, hugging the air out of her. So silly of us to now realize that the person we had been looking for was just next to us the whole time.

“Yes, it is my unspoken words to you.” I whispered against her ear, she let out a chuckle and wrapped her arms around me.

Don’t go around looking for anyone else anymore For the person who loves you is just right next to you Why can’t you see

#hyunsik imagines #btob imagines #hyunsik scenarios #im hyunsik scenarios #btob scenarios #hyunsik #btob #born to beat #im hyunsik

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peace-anon · 7 years ago

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Bad Day // Racetrack Higgins

Warnings: mentions of abuse, maybe some swearing

Word Count: 1,417

Tags: @crystalball-anon @bomb-anon @robot-anon @unicorn-anon

Hope y’all like this! Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list and as always, send in some requests!

You were worried.

Race wasn’t home when you got home like he was supposed to be, and it had been hours since then. You had no idea how long Race had been gone, no idea where he was…

You were sitting on the couch, your leg bouncing, flipping through the channels but not really paying attention to what was on any of them.

Then you heard the door open.

You stood up and turned around all in one swift motion to see Race walk in, looking tired and haggard. There was a faint bruise and a few scratches on his left arm, peeking out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt. Your eyes traveled up to his face, where you saw the dried tear tracks on his cheeks.

You rushed forward, pulling Race into a hug. He slumped against you, resting his head on your shoulder.

“I-I went to visit Mom,” he said, his voice trembling.

You let out a hard breath and pulled Race tighter to you. He let out a dry sob against your shoulder.

“L-let’s sit down,” you said, trying to keep the shake out of your voice.

You led Race to the couch and sat down with him curled against your side. You were in a state of shock. You knew Race had a good relationship with his mother, you knew he visited her on a regular basis. You knew she helped send him to school. You knew.

You also knew that Race didn’t have the best relationship with his father. You knew that his dad was an asshole and didn’t want Race pursuing theater and dancing in college. You knew that his dad was verbally abusive and had even raised a hand to Race a few times.

Race took a deep breath and began to speak. “I was visiting Mom. It had been a while and D--he was on a business trip. He was supposed to be home tomorrow. I-I was about to leave when he showed up,” Race’s voice became strained. “He...he grabbed me...hard. I pulled myself away and that...that’s where this happened.” Here, he lifted his arm slightly, referring to the bruise and scratches.

“Race, you don’t have to continue,” you told him. “Just...I know enough of what happened. Don’t put yourself through telling me this.”

Race continued anyway, almost like he didn’t hear you. “He started yelling again. C-called me a f--a really rude name. I tried to be civil, but he just wouldn’t stop. Mom tried to calm him down but he was still so mad. He was still bitter that I had left and never come back. He called me a disappointment to the family.”

You hugged Race tighter to you, staring off into space.

“Lydia heard him,” Race choked out. “She-she couldn’t even look at me.”

You heard the pain in Race’s voice. Lydia was his favorite sister. She looked up to him for years and was heartbroken when he left. You knew how much it would crush Race if Lydia thought any less of him because she believed the terrible lies of their father.

“She was just afraid, Race,” you said softly. “She still loves you. A couple words can’t change that. I promise.”

“But me never seeing her again could,” Race responded shortly. “I--there’s no way I can go back, (Y/N). He was so mad. He insulted me, he insulted my choices, he even said a few things about you. That’s...that’s when I couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when I left. I didn’t even say goodbye to Mom or Lydia.”

“I’m sorry your dad is so terrible,” you told him. “But I’m glad you got out. I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you’re mine. And as for not saying goodbye, we can always call them later. Or meet somewhere that’s not your house. It’ll be fine.”

Race sighed. “Thanks (Y/N).”

You two sat in silence for a while, Race still resting on your shoulder. Unbeknownst to him, you were plotting ways you could make him feel better. Because if there was one thing you hated more than anything else, it was seeing Race sad.

Finally, you broke the silence. “Race, let’s go take a bath,” you said. He looked up at you, confused. “You love baths. We can sit and cuddle and it’ll be warm and we can even put bubbles in.”

Race shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “I go get the bath ready, you get us some music?”

You nodded and both of you stood up off the couch, Race heading to the bathroom and you heading to the bedroom. While you were separated from Race, you sent for take-out from your favorite place down the street and queued up your guys’ favorite Disney movies on Netflix. Ten minutes later, you were sitting in a bathtub full of warm water and bubbles with your back against Race’s chest listening to a playlist you two had made together.

“I love you a lot, you know,” you told him.

“I know,” he responded, nuzzling into your hair.

“Wow, cocky much?” You joked, feeling Race laugh behind you.

“You signed up for this when you accepted my date, darling, no fair teasing me about it now,” Race responded, lightly pinching your stomach.

You squirmed in his grip, water sloshing over the side of the tub. “Not cool, Race! If you pinch me again I won’t cuddle with you anymore!”

Just to test his luck, Race pinched you once more, then tightened his arms around you, pressing kisses to your neck and shoulder as you tried to wrestle yourself out of his arms. By the time you were done messing around, most of the water from the tub had sloshed out onto the floor and what was left in the tub was cold. Both you and Race got out and rinsed the bubbles off yourselves when you heard the doorbell ring.

“You drain the tub, I’ll catch the door?” You ask, tying a robe around your waist.

“Deal,” Race said, dropping a couple of towels onto the puddles of water on the floor.

You headed out to the main part of your apartment and opened the door, paying the delivery man and taking your bags of food from him.

A few minutes later, Race stepped out of the bedroom, wearing a large sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, his hair wet and tousled. “Do I smell french fries?” He asked, coming towards you to hand you another one of his sweatshirts.

“I got your favorite.” You smiled at him, looking away from your spread of food on the living room coffee table to grab the sweatshirt and put it on.

“You know me so well,” he said, flopping down onto the couch and grabbing a plate, starting to fill it with food.

“And,” you said, sitting next to him, “I have Disney movies ready. Mulan, then Moana, then Tangled, then The Princess and the Frog. All of our favorites to sing along to.”

For the next few hours, you and Race sat together on the couch, eating and obnoxiously singing and dancing along with the movies. Based on Race’s wide smile and the sparkle back in his eyes, he had all but forgotten about the fight he had with his father.

When the movies were finally over and you and Race had cleaned up the living room, you both decided it was time for bed. You pulled the covers over yourselves, Race pulling you to his chest from behind.

You listened to his even breathing, trying to match it to your own, when Race spoke.

“Thank you,” he mumbled into your neck.

“For what?” You asked.

“I know you did all of my favorite things to help me forget about the rest of my day. And it worked. Thank you.”

“I couldn’t have my favorite boy being upset, now could I?” You asked him, turning your head to meet your lips with his.

“It’s hard to be upset when I’m around you,” he responded, pressing another kiss to your forehead.

With that, you both fell silent again and closed your eyes. You pressed yourself back harder into Race, and he tightened his grip on you ever-so-slightly. You were so glad Race was yours, so glad he was always there to comfort you. You were so in love with this boy, and so happy that you could see him happy every day of your life. You wouldn’t want it any other way.

#racetrack higgins x reader #newsies x reader #racetrack higgins fanfiction #newsies fanfiction #peace writes #requested #tw abuse #racetrack higgins fluff

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trinuviel · 2 years ago

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This article is hilarious! I'm going to quote the hightlights:

"WHEN I HEARD that there was going to be a Coronation Concert at Windsor Palace to celebrate the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, my first thought was: “Wow, who would voluntarily perform at that?” Some international viewers might have expected the biggest stars the U.K. has to offer, like Adele or maybe even Elton John, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa or Ed Sheeran. But no, instead the baton seemed to fall primarily to people whose management didn’t get the memo that this was the most uncool gig ever: Americans!

Yup, it turns out that there is only one thing more undignified than British people who are completely obsessed with Monarchy: hardcore American royalists. People whose nation was supposedly founded on completely opposing principles but, somehow, have flown across the Atlantic to show fealty to our King anyway.

...

Sunday’s Coronation Concert did feature some British people, of course. Prince William took time out from the smear campaign against his brother and sister-in-law to do a heartfelt speech in support of his father, which was good of him, I suppose.

...

Elsewhere, there was an attempt to make the concert feel more high-art and distinctly British by including performances from pretty much everything with “royal” in the title, like the various ballet, Shakespeare, and opera societies the royals are patrons of. By contrast, it was the sketches and linking videos played in between the acts which felt most out of place: Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog joined host Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, who at times looked like he was being held hostage at the event. One of the videos shown on the big screen featured Tom Cruise in a jet, telling his Majesty the King that he can be his “wingman” any day, which made me question whether I’d accidentally taken a tab of acid.

...

These pre-recorded segments were where the royal propaganda — designed for the thoroughly King-pilled — was at its most intense. Saying it was “like North Korea” would be not only lazy but also inaccurate because, really, North Korea wishes it was at the U.K.’s level here. A key theme of these bizarre videos was “Did You Know?”, which manifested as a bunch of celebrities — all of whom were clearly desperate to lick the boot hard enough to be made Knights and Dames — queuing up to tell us various complimentary “facts” about the new King. The most undignified of these was probably award-winning artist Tracey Emin, who sat with one of King Charles’s watercolor paintings and tried to suggest it was some sort of artistic feat.

...

After this, we got to the heaviest musical hitters of the evening. Lionel Richie had even the stony-faced royals (minus Prince Andrew, who must have been enjoying a sweat-free evening elsewhere) on their feet dancing. Even Queen Camilla — who seemed bored and was checking her watch every time the camera panned to her — looked like she was briefly enjoying “All Night Long.”

...

As this bizarre and strangely entertaining concert came to a close, we were subjected to a three-song medley by the Final Boss of royal events: Take That. Again, for the unfamiliar: Take That were once a five-piece British boy band who rose to fame in the 1990s, before mounting a huge comeback in the mid-2000s. Now, they play concert tours to stadiums of screaming mothers and grandmothers, and are wheeled out for every royal event, where they look and sound progressively worse each time. Last night, there were only three of them, so by the time we get to Prince William’s coronation it’ll probably just be frontman Gary Barlow creaking and croaking around the stage.

Barlow — a supporter of the U.K. Conservative party — apologized in 2014 after trying to save millions in an “aggressive” tax avoidance scheme. I wonder whether that makes him the perfect performer to close a concert for a King whose vast wealth is partly upheld through exemptions from tax laws that only apply to his subjects. Perhaps it does, because this concert — like the Coronation and Monarchy itself — was a bewilderingly positive and expensive celebration of the belief that we are not all born equal."

#coronation

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luchia13 · 7 years ago

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for that question thingy, if youd do answers for ondy, andy, and kean: 4, 22, 29, 38, 48

oh shit i forgot i even queued that thing. saw an ask in my inbox, had my usual anxiety attack -- OH. RIGHT. whoops. here you go!

4: What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?

Ondelin: Wait patiently or just give up on that idea since he doesn’t actually need to eat

Andra (I’M ASSUMING, sorry if you wanted frog lady): “oh hey since you’re already in here do this for me too, great, bye”

Kean: pulls out a second kitchen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

22: Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?

Ondy: Makes a really terrible but heartfelt origami flower.

Andra: Paper airplane, then tries to hit the paper airplane mid-flight with the pencil.

Kean: This could be a trap. He touches nothing.

29: Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)

Ondelin: Gets everyone to safety, figure things out the second that’s done, FOCUSED AND ACTIVE.

Andra: Rushes in and attacks the problem immediately (unless told not to by A Trusted Source). If the house is on fire, she will grab a bucket of water, run in, and try to fix it.

Kean: If it’s actually his problem? Decides which of his 173 contingency plans fits best and enacts it. (If none of them fit? Panic.)

38: What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?

Ondelin: NATURE!!! hike into the forest, sit under a tree in the sunshine, and nap.

Andra: Depends on what drained her, tbh, but it’s usually ranging from buying things to alcohol to sex to ANYTHING that gets her some endorphins. Oops.

Kean: Also depends on what drained him. The answer is usually alone time, tho.

48: If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?

Ondy: Efficient hand-to-hand military combat training.

Andra: RUTHLESS AND DIRTY. Cheap shots, smashes a chair over you, scratches your eyes out while laughing maniacally.

Kean: If he didn’t start it - “ANDRA!!!!!! D:” If he DID start it, he’s probably drunk and gonna get knocked out in 6 seconds so I guess the answer’s “pathetic.”

#jalopeura

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oddree13 · 7 years ago

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Dec. 19 - Shitty’s Birthday - @omgcpwinterextravaganza (Read on AO3)

Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Birthmas was the worst. Not that Lardo knew first hand, but she could see how much it sucked from the way Shitty approached his birthday every year. By the time she had met him her freshman year, Shitty had resigned himself to going out for a cup of coffee with Jack during the last day of finals as a birthday celebration. After all, by the time his actual birthday came around he’d be back in Boston, stuck at some Knight family gala, his parents forgetting that their son had been around for another year. What few friends he still tolerated from Andover were mostly wrapped up in holiday parties of their own or family obligations.

So during Sophomore year, when Lardo was away in Kenya, she made sure to send Shitty a rather large care package. It was filled with art, photos of her adventures, and some trinkets. At the top of the pile was a card, wishing him happy birthday and stating that she owed him brunch when she returned to Samwell. Sure enough when she got back, Lardo took Shitty to Jerry’s and even told the server that it was Shitty’s birthday so he that he would get the special pancakes and the accompanying song. Years later Shitty would tell her that the brunch at Jerry’s was the first time he’d ever gotten “Happy Birthday” sung to him at a restaurant - his parents thought it was too crass when he was growing up.

During Shitty’s last year at Samwell Lardo made certain that Shitty got the proper birthday he deserved. It was convenient that his birthday landed on a Friday that year, but she knew she would have no trouble threatening the entire team into staying had it been necessary. With all of Shittty’s friends staying until Dec 20, Lardo got to work assigning everyone a task. Bitty was of course in charge of the cake and Jack was in charge of keeping Shitty out of the house for the day, taking him for his usual end of semester coffee. The frogs were in charge of decorations, while Ransom and Holster were stocking the fridge with booze and helping Lardo with mattress acquisition.

By the time that Shitty got back to the Haus in the early evening, the living room had been transformed into into one giant bed. All of his friends were in pajamas, and his favorite films had been queued up on the TV.

Lardo knew from one night in the reading room that Shitty had wanted a sleepover for his birthday a long time ago, and his parents made him cancel it last minute so they could host a holiday party. So here it was at last, his perfect birthday sleepover.

Shitty cried, which was to be expected, as was the mandatory cuddle with every person that stayed the night. But once the booze had been drank, the food had been consumed, the movies had been watched, Shitty’s clothes removed, and the team was sprawled all over the giant bed, Shitty curled around Lardo and thanked her for the best birthday he’s ever had.

#omgcpwinterextravaganza #shitty/lardo #shitty knight #lardo duan #omgcp #myfics #advent calendar

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grapsandclaps · 6 years ago

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GRAPS AND CLAPS REVIEWS - FUTURESHOCK UPROAR 105

Hello and welcome everyone to this edition of substitute Graps and Claps, Andrew Gibney here filling in for The Man with the Massive Clap, Andy Ogden, as FutureShock Wrestling moves down from the Guild Hall to Stockport Town Hall for Uproar 105.

In true Graps and Claps fashion, and not like the last time when I was off the beer, we had to kick the day off with a visit to one of Manchester’s many excellent bars in the Northern Quarter. I picked Northern Monk, fast becoming one of my favourites, a pop-up takeover by Honest Burger sweetened the deal.

Quick bus down from north Manchester and within 30 minutes I was sat with a glass of 6% Premiere IPA by Interboro. I’m on a personal mission to log 1000 unique beers on the Untapped app before my 40th birthday. This was no.387 - I need to average around 5 a week to make it. It’s going to be tough, but fun to try and do it.

A fruity sour called Farewell Tangerina (5.7%) by Northern Monk followed the delicious burger and then it was time to head to Manchester Piccadilly.

On the way to the train Ipicked up a can of Meantime IPA from the Co-op, just to keep me hydrated on the way to Stockport.On the train I meet fellow Manc graps fan Tom and his mate Callihan and convinced them to join me at the Petersgate Tap - a bar frequented by the Ogden’s, but I’d never manage to make it myself, so I was happy to find a quick 30 minutes to pop in. I picked the Runaway Bourbon and Gingerbread Stout. A solid 7.2%. It was boozy with hints of gingerbread, although not the best of the day - that went to the Tangerina - it did exactly what it said on the tin.

Then it was up to the Town Hall, and it was clear the weather reports were correct.There was a Hurricane coming through. Moved down from the smaller Guild Hall, this was FutureShock’s first show at the Town Hall since the Uproar 100 back in May 2018 and it felt like there was already a bigger crowd in attendance for the arrival of a former WWE superstar.

Soner Dursun, the man who took PAC close in FS’s last show, kicked things off against local boy turned bad, JJ Webb, with these two meeting for the first time.Webb had been a fan-favourite until his recent turn at Tapped III and the more experienced Turkish Wolf was here to teach him a lesson.

A back-and-forth match took a while to get going, which is expected when there’s no real reason for a feud, but it picked up when the Stockport resident dodged Dursun’s frog splash and smartly turned it into a single-leg Boston crab.

JJ had the upper-hand, also hitting his spinning clothesline after catapulting himself off the ropes, but it would quickly turned when Dursun intercepted JJ on the top rope and hit a Canadian Destroyer before finishing the match with his trademark frog splash for the pin.

Outraged, JJ didn’t go back through the curtain, but took his position behind the merch tables, murmuring to himself, visibly annoyed by the outcome.

Current title contender Henry T. Grodd finished another backshift at Kevin Webster’s garage to take on Tyson T-Bone in a classic big lads wrestling match. It went back and forth, lots of heavy-hitting and suplexes and clotheslines.

Safe to say there was never going to be much finesse to this encounter and it came to a head when Grodd threw T-Bone shoulder first into the ring post and then met him full on with a spear for the victory.

Everyone had hoped Grodd could be someone with a good chance of taking the title belt off Cyanid… sorry, ITV’s The Monster Crater, so this was a welcome win, if not the most pleasing on the eye.

Since the departure of the Queen Bees from the FutureShock landscape, we have been waiting for a challenger to step up and give Lana Austin a proper fight.

Alexis Falcon and Taonga made their presence felt during the recent Tapped show, attacking Lana and her friend Hollie and then a singles match in Prestwick saw Falcon get involved as Hollie was beaten by her partner-in-crime. Now Lana would have a chance to get her hands on Alexis, putting her belt on the line to sweeten the deal.

The Champ had control for most of the match, with the newly red-headed Falcon struggling to get control of Austin. Only when Taonga interfered was she able to get theupper-hand. Eventually Hollie had enough and took the fight to Taonga, this spilled out to the back, leaving the title match a fair one-on-one… or so we thought.

At this time, JJ Webb, who still hadn’t left, started moving closer to the ring, it was clear, he wasn��t just here to admire the wrestling. Moving ringside, first Webb grabbed Alexis’ feet, placing on to the ropes to break up a pin. No one was quite sure what was going on, then for a second time he got involved, grabbing Lana’s legs, distracting the champ, then as she turned around, Falcon hit her flush in the temple with a kick to the head and swooped down to pin the champ for the 1-2-3.

JJ Webb jumped into the ring, holding the hand up of the new champion. They walked up the steps to the back. Seemingly FutureShock has the making of a new power couple.To end the first half, we had an exciting six-man tag match between Big Joe and Deadly Damon Leigh (Big & Brave), with the enforcer Thomas Wolfe against The Young Guns - Ethan Allen and Luke Jacobs with former WWE Cruiserweight champion, The Hurricane.

Just like most matches with Big Joe or DDL, the crowd chants take over the initial few minutes, with Gregory Helms encouraging the crowd to keep the ‘Chicken Little’ song going, leading to one of DDL’s best lines and why he’s one of the best character wrestlers in the UK.

“It’s almost like that chant is a direct contradiction of our tag team.”

It was madness and brilliance in equal measure. The Young Guns showing why they are one of the hottest tag teams in the UK - doing in front of Progress owner, Jim Smallman too - but there was only one way this was going to end.At the third attempt he hit the Hurri-choke slam on Big Joe and the capacity crowd cheered massively as the referee counted to three. Handing Big & Brave their first defeat of the year.

With the opportunity to have your picture taken with Helms, the interval was the longest we’ve seen in FutureShock for some time. Scores of people queuing up for their moment.

Eventually, we get to the second half and it starts with a cracker. CJ Banks v Joey Hayes for the Adrenaline championship.

This was the fourth match of the series between the two and this time we would get a finish. The first ended in a draw when a very technical affair breached the 15-minute time-limit at Uproar 104.Then at Tapped III, another great match finished without a victor as both men pinned each other at the same time.

Last month at Underground 31, Chris Ridgeway was thrown into the mix, given a title shot, but it was the ‘hard as fuck’ man from Cumbria who tapped out to Hayes, not Banks, so now we had a two out of three falls match in Stockport to decide who was the better man.

It was the champ who picked up the first fall after about 10 minutes, hitting the Hayes cutter for the pin. At this point I predicted there would be a quick fall to tie it up and like a broken clock which is correct twice a day, I was right.

With referee James Greenwood squeezed into the corner, Hayes jumped up into the turnbuckle to protect the ref, but with his back to his opponent, Banks kicked the champ in the unmentionables - family friendly show folks - then hit Hayes with a running knee to pick up the pinfall. 1-1

Everything to play for, the pressure rammped up and there was a feeling we might get a second new champ of the night, especially when Banks hit a second flying knee square on Hayes jaw, but just as the challenger attempted the pin, ‘That Man’ rolled Banks over and locked in his version of the crossface, this time, with nowhere left to go, Banks taps.

This was a quick build since Banks debut in January, but through four shows it was a

good story built purely in the ring between two excellent wrestlers. Hopefully it’s not the end of these two together in the ring down the road. Although it does feel a bit wasted not having Banks handed the belt, so we could extend it with Hayes chasing the heel.

Teased back in January, now was the time to see FutureShockTag Champions Chris Egan and Danny Hope take on the NXT UK Tag Champions, the Grizzled Young Veterans, Zack Gibson and James Drake.

A really good tag match this. Back and forward, both teams had the moments of gaining upper-hand, showcasing the local champs could hang with the WWE pair.

GYV were in control for the majority and it looked like it was over when Drake hit the 450 splash, but Egan kicked out. Then when Gibson had both men in a double Shankley Gates, again it looked over, but once again, the unlikely duo managed to escape. Then Hope hit Drake with a suplex off the top rope, as Egan lands an diving elbow from the opposite corner, but as Pete the ref is about to hit the three count, Gibson pulls him out of the ring.

Outraged and confused, the GYV use this to their advantage and hit Ticket to Ride to pick up the victory.

Speaking to Taff after the show, he made a very good point about Drake and how the Blackpool native is probably one of the smoothest in-ring UK talents around right now.

Everything he tries, he hits and hits seamlessly, there are no obvious weaknesses to what he does and he’s the perfect partner and foil to Gibson. Although I’m not sure how much he got paid to say this so I’d include it. It would be good to see both guys work some shows as single competitors again.

Hopefully something for the future.

Now, for the main event, and the FutureShock championship match. The Monster Crater, our champion, against the winner of the legacy tournament and hometown favourite, John McGregor.

After beating Ashton Smith at Tapped it was the former champions who claimed ‘Just John’ didn’t have what it takes to beat Crater and the champ would hurt him. For the first 10 (felt like 30) minutes of the match the NXT UK wrestler was right.

A massive powerbomb, and various huge clotheslines across John’s chest, like he was trying to tenderise meat with his massive shovel hands, softened John up.

After another devastating side back-breaker followed by 3/4 clotheslines, it felt like it was over, but with Crater playing to the crowd, gesturing “is this all you’ve got”, ironically the same question we’ve been asking the champ since he beat Smith for the belt, we knew a turn was coming.

John mounted a comeback and after getting the monster down to one-knee he hit a Famouser and a glimmer of hope entered the town hall.

Without Joey Hayes to protect him this time, referee James was squashed in the corner, but the distraction helped John hit a running spike DDT, but with no one to count, the chance of victory was gone.

Crater got back to his feet and hit a chokeslam, but with the referee still down Grodd appeared from the back to race into the ring and hit the champ with a spear.

This was his chance, and with James’ eyes open, McGregor covered, but Crater kicked out at 2 and 3/4s.It looked like his chance was gone. WoS monster hit another chokeslam, followed this time by a gargantuan bodyslam, 1….2…. NO. John somehow kicked out and the whole building was shocked.

With one last push, John got up, launched himself off the second turnbuckle and planted Crater with another swinging spike DDT…

1…..2…..3

AND NEW….

Friends and family rushed into the ring to congratulate the new champion, as did wrestlers from the back.

Finally the curse of cyanide has been lifted and the FutureShock Faithful left the Town Hall with a huge sense of relief.

As the people were leaving the venue with broad smiles, two matches were announced for Uproar 106 in May, the first would be Grod v Crater, IN A STEEL CAGE.

And while you have the cage and the massive room to hold it, you may as well take full advantage, so due to Gibson’s actions in the tag man, Grizzled Young Veterans will face Egan and Hope, also in the cage.

And with that the night was over and time to head home.

I hope you enjoyed my coverage of FutureShock Uproar 105, it will be available on demand later in the week and you can follow me on Twitter @gibney_a

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deathtouch · 8 years ago

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⋆ femfeb day 17 // my femfeb masterpost ⋆ xposted to ao3 ⋆ d.va/pharah // 3k // gen ⋆ canon compliant, concerts, cute, fun, established relationship ⋆ hana and fareeha go see lucio live in concert

12 Hours

12:07 PM

“When do the doors open, again?” Fareeha asked, squinting through the lenses of her dark Ray Bans sunglasses at the line. There were quite a few people already queued up ahead of them, all wearing neon green or frog emblems on their clothes. Someone even had one of those ridiculous frog helmets only it wasn’t quite as nice as Lucio’s.

“Six thirty.” Hana told her, settling down on the pavement with her legs crossed. She started turning up the edges of the foil lid on her Chipotle to-go bowl. Brown rice, black beans, chicken, corn salsa and pico de gallo. Yeah, she payed extra for the guac too. She was ready to dig in. She usually ate lunch earlier than this.

“Six thirty?” Fareeha repeated in shock. “What are we doing here so early for?”

“We want a spot on the barricade, duh!” Hana explained, mixing up the burrito bowl with her plastic fork.

“We don’t have seats?” Fareeha asked. “Don’t our tickets say like… barricade or something?”

Hana lifted up her head and laughed. “Oh, oh my god. No. We have standing room tickets. We’re garunteed a spot on the floor but if we want a spot on the barricade we’ve gotta get here early and fight for it.” She cocked her head back and squinted up at her girlfriend. The sun was high overhead and it made Fareeha look like a dark shadow. “You’re ready to fight for my honor, right?”

“Huh?” Fareeha looked down at her, a perfectly confused expression on her face. “Of course, babe. But, uh, what was wrong with those VIP tickets Luc gave us?”

“Ugh, VIP boxes? Are you kidding?” Hana stuffed a forkful of food in her mouth and chewed for a moment. “If I wanted to sit that far away I’d have bought a twenty dollar ticket all the way up on the third mezzanine in the back of the arena. I want to be front row center!”

“Oh, sure.” Fareeha agreed, going along with what Hana was saying even though it was clear she didn’t quite understand what she was getting herself into here.

12:49 PM

“Birdy…” Hana sang in a sweet little tone, addressing her girlfriend.

Fareeha finished off the last of her burrito bowl, scraping up a few final grains of rice from the container with her fork. “Mm?” she mumbled, stuffing the final bite in her mouth.

“Will you throw our trash away? Pretty please? I’ll hold our spot in line.” Hana offered up her most adorable smile.

“Sure,” Fareeha laughed. She would have done it anyway.

1:13 PM

“Hey, smile.” Hana said, holding up her phone to take a selfie.

“No,” Fareeha put her hand up to hide her face. “Your fans hate me.”

“They don’t hate you.” Hana insisted.

Unfortunately, some of them were a little jealous. There were also plenty of people who were entirely too critical of the age difference between the two of them. If they had an idea how well Hana and Fareeha worked together as a couple they would shut their mouths though. A lot of fans were actually encouraging in regards to Hana’s newest relationship. Mostly her followers just didn’t care either way and they were excited to see new pics, snaps, instagram photos or tweets from Hana whether her girlfriend was mentioned or not.

“C’mon, please? I won’t use the dog filter, I know you hate it. It’ll be just a cute pic of us.” Hana reasoned with her.

It took a long moment but Fareeha eventually lowered her hand. She leaned in but didn’t smile, because she was too cool for that. Hana offered up a bright grin and a peace sign that just barely peaked into the corner of the picture. “Aw, that’s a good one! You look so tough!” She said excitedly, drawing her phone into her lap to add a caption and a few important emoji stickers.

Bunny and Birdy, #LucioInConcert

3:32 PM

“Hana, seriously, what are we supposed to do for the next three hours.” Fareeha was sprawled on her back in the middle of the sidewalk. She had taken off her sunglasses in order to shield her eyes with her arm. She certainly looked comfortable but laying on her back on the concrete probably wasn’t much fun.

Hana was getting pretty sick of sitting on the ground herself. The hard sidewalk wasn’t doing much for her tailbone. The doors would be open soon, and they’d get a perfect spot in the front, and all this sitting and waiting would be worth it.

“Help me finish this Omega Ruby nuzlocke run.” She suggested, pressing through the prompts of a pokemon battle on her 3DS. It was a purple one that she had adorned with glittery stickers.

“Pfft.”

They both knew it wasn’t a realistic answer. Fareeha was fine at video games, and she was fun to play Call of Duty with, but there was really only room for one gamer in the relationship.

Hana relaxed back on the sidewalk stretching out her cramped legs. Her hair pooled around her on the ground. “Keep working on your tan?” she suggested, holding her 3DS up in the air in order to see the screen.

That was a more realistic option. Fareeha would have unfortunate tanlines from the basketball jersey she was wearing, but those would be better than the tanlines she usually got from wearing racerbacks everywhere.

5: 22 PM

“Why are we standing?” Fareeha asked, stretching her arms over her head a little.

“They’re gonna open the doors soon.” Hana explained.

Everyone who had been camped out in line for the past few hours had suddenly decided to get up and form a real line. The people who had been sitting or sprawled out on the pavement were up on their feet instead. It certainly closed some of the gaps in space and brought them closer to the door.

“Yeah, in like, an hour.” Fareeha pointed out after checking her phone.

“We gotta be ready!” Hana told her, squaring up for a fight. Fareeha held up both her hands, palms facing out. They made perfect boxing targets. Hana threw a few light punches, hitting her marks without any force. “Have you seriously never been to a concert before or something?”

Fareeha shrugged. “My battalion in the army had a band. They played a concert of Bruce Springsteen cover songs to boost morale once. It was held in the common area at base though, it wasn’t like an arena.”

“Oh my god.” Hana’s will to punch left her. She dropped her hands, dejected. “Bruce Springsteen? That’s so tragic, birdy. You’re so old.”

Fareeha reacted at once, reaching out to snatch an arm around Hana’s neck. They wrestled like five year olds, Hana laughing and trying to get out of the headlock to no avail.

"Don’t disrespect The Boss!” Fareeha told her, threatening a noogie.

6:21 PM

“I’m running straight for the barricade, okay?” Hana said pointedly. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Okay.” Fareeha nodded.

The event staff had apparently decided to open the doors to the venue a little early. The line was slowly moving as tickets were scanned and bags were checked. There were only about fifty or so people ahead of them in line, fans who had come much earlier than noon to get a good spot for the show.

“I’ll leave you in the dust, I mean it.”

Fareeha laughed. She didn’t doubt it.

6:41 PM

The Arena was huge. It seemed huge from the outside but being in there, seeing all of the seats, the open pit, and the massive stage really put things into perspective.

Unfortunately Hana didn't quite make the barricade. There were two full rows of people separating her from the from the four foot tall metal rail.

"There's space around the sides." Fareeha pointed out, literally pointing with with her finger. On the outer edges of the barricade there were less people clumped up.

"I want to be in the center." Hana said, huddling in close to the concert goer in front of her.

"Okay." Fareeha wrapped her arms around Hana's slender waist, holding her from behind.

"Just don't let anyone in front of me!"

"I won't." Fareeha promised.

She looked up at the stage. Someone's equipment was up there, a microphone and some sound cabinets and other a few other things. She didn't see Lucio's DJ equipment anywhere.

"Is there an opening act?" Fareeha asked, feeling it as ranks of fans closed in behind her. The seats were filling up in the arena on all sides. The noise of people filled the space.

"Yeah, two I think." Hana told her.

"What time do they start?" Fareeha asked, nuzzling Hana's soft brown hair.

Hana shrugged her shoulders. "Seven thirty or eight."

"What?" Fareeha face planted in the back of Hana's head. "This is too much waiting. Concerts are torture."

She could feel Hana's body shake with a giggle but the sound was lost in the crowd.

8:34 PM

"Is everybody excited to see LUCIO!?"

The opening act was a Jewish rapper who wore his hair in curls and had a yarmulke on his head. His music was fasr past, frantic, and full of hope. He was whipping the entire arena in a frenzy.

Hana tipped back her head and screamed. Her voice got lost with the thousands of others screaming with her. Everyone was excited to see Lucio.

9:02 PM

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Fareeha shouted over the impossibly loud music the PA was blasting between acts. She was crushed up against Hana's body.

There was still two full rows of people between them and the barricade but they were closer to the stage than ever. All the gaps between the people in the standing room only section had disappeared. Every single body on the floor was smothered up against the other. It had gotten plenty warm. Hana and Fareeha both were starting to sweat.

Hana pulled the pink scrunchy from her wrist. She gathered up her long brown hair and pulled it into a bun.

"You're fine." She shouted when she was done, turning her head so that Fareeha could hear her. "This is part of the fun of being this close!" She insisted.

She was facing the stage so she could see Fareeha roll her eyes and smile.

9:17 PM

"LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!"

The crowd had stared chanting spontaneously. Hana had her hands raised over her head, clapping along with the chant. Fareeha was chanting too. Goosebumps had prickled up all over her skin.

"LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!" "LU-CI-O!"

9:30 PM

The lights in the entire arena changed. It went dark everywhere except for the stage. A green glow began to emanate from from seemingly nowhere. Curls of atmospheric fog started to billow out.

The crowd collectively lost their minds. Screams and frantic cries made a deafening roar. Fareeha was being pushed and shoved from all sides. She tried to cage her arms around Hana to keep her safe.

Lucio's equipment rose up from the center of the stage, up and up and up. The rising podium stretched nearly ten feet tall. He was standing in the center of it all, smiling proudly from behind his turntables.

It made Hana smile to see him.

The Jumbotrons on either side of the stage showed him at five times his normal size. Behind him an intricate LED light display lit up in curious patterns of green. Music erupted from the speakers as he began to play.

Everyone seemed to recognize the song from the first note alone. As if the crowd wasn't wild enough they went even crazier. Fareeha found herself smiling. Being on the ground floor in the chaos was such a unique experience. Staring up at Lucio's bright smile was like looking at a thing of beauty.

10:12 PM

Neon green and yellow glow sticks lit up the crowd. Some were wearing them as crowns and necklaces while others were waving sticks. Fareeha couldn't tell if they had been thrown out from the stage or if fans had brought their own. Maybe both. Hana had a few of her own.

She turned, squirming between the bodies around her. "Will you put me up on your shoulders?" She shouted, pointing as she spoke.

They hadn't talked about this beforehand but Fareeha certainly didn't mind. She nodded eagerly. They had played chicken with their Overwatch teammates on the shores of Ilios a few times so the two of them were plenty familiar with this position.

Fareeha got down on one knee, dropping as low as she could go. She ducked her head down. She could see a hundred different pairs of shoes from down there, the crowd thick on all sides. It was oddly quieter down there while still being so loud.

Hana mounted Fareeha's shoulders with ease and grace. She squeezed her thighs tight, steadying herself as Fareeha rose to stand up. It was a quick fluid motion where they both found their balance.

Hana bent in half, leaning down to kiss the top of her girlfriend's head. "I love you!" She called out.

Fareeha couldn't hear her over the music.

10:56 PM

Fareeha's back was aching. Her shoulders and the back of her neck were hot and damp with sweat. She had her hands wrapped tight around Hana's shins keeping her locked into place.

She wouldn't dream of putting her down though. Not with the entire crowd screaming for an encore. The lights had just kicked in again, brilliant green lasers that combed the stadium.

Lucio came happily skating out from a side of the stage. He left a trail of green light behind him as he went. He stood at the edge of the stage, taking it all in. Hana caught eyes with him and he grinned.

He played another song.

11:05 PM

Hana stood on the tips of her toes and stretched her legs as Fareeha reached her arms above her head and rolled her shoulders. Concert goers passed by them like moving water around a rock.

They stood staring into each other's eyes. They were both sweaty and messy. They were both sore and aching in different places. They were both grinning.

"Am I shouting?" Hana asked, definitely shouting. "I can't even hear myself, oh my god!"

"That was amazing." Fareeha shouted back. She leaned in for a kiss, capturing Hana's pink lips in her own. The five hour wait in line, the rush to get a good spot, the cramped crowding in the pit; it had all been worth it. "Thank you for taking me." She said as she pulled back.

"Thanks for coming with me." Hana grabbed Fareeha's hand and squeezed it.

11:43 PM

Thank God for twenty four hour fast food.

Fareeha leaned back in the booth she was sitting in, stretching an arm across the back of it. She had packed away a double cheeseburger, six chicken nuggets and an entire carton of fries all by herself.

Hana was still happily chowing down in her burger, and dipping her fries into her milkshake like the little gremlin she was.

"Disgusting." Fareeha shook her head as she watched.

"Noo, delicious." Hana corrected her. She reached across the table with a frosted fry in hand going for Fareeha's mouth.

"Don't you dare accost me with that food combination abomination." Fareeha warned before breaking into a fit of laughter and pushing Hana's hand away.

Both of their voices were raspy from all the shouting and screaming. Their ears were still ringing. They were probably talking a little too loud for how quiet it was in the restaurant.

"I'm glad we went." Fareeha said after a beat. "It was cool to see Lucio in his element, the whole thing was incredible. The stage, the set up, the songs; all of it."

Hana nodded in agreement, eating a few more fries. "Thanks for letting me sit on your shoulders." She said happily. "You know that's totally like true love right?"

Fareeha raised up and eyebrow. She was incredulous but still smiling. "Hn?"

"The fact that you let me sit on your shoulders for a full hour? C'mon. I know I look small but I'm pretty heavy. You have to really love me to do that."

"Please," Fareeha waved her off. "You know how much I like spending hours with your thighs wrapped around my head."

"Fareeha!" Hana squawked, face lighting up with an embarrassed blush. She tossed a fry at her in offense, laughing brightly. "I'm trying to be romantic here!"

Fareeha winked at her and grinned.

12:20 AM

Hana unhooked her bra through the cloth of her shirt. She pulled the straps down her arms and yanked it out through the arm holes of her tank top. The pink push up fell carelessly to the floor. She crawled gingerly into bed, clearly tired from their long night out.

"I texted Lucio and told him how amazing the show was." She said. Her pink cased phone was sitting on the bedside table, plugged in.

Fareeha's eyes were closed. She only hummed in reply, too tired to do more than that.

Hana crawled up next to her and cuddled into her side. "He's gonna be in London next. We should totally go see him there."

Fareeha let her arm come to rest comfortably around Hana's back. She hummed again, an affirmative sort of sound to show she agreed. They could go to London, that wasn't out of the question for either of them. They could even invite Lena and Emily to come with.

"Would you want to do it again?" Hana asked her. "Even with getting their early and waiting and the crowds and stuff."

"Sure," Fareeha agreed with her eyes still closed. Her voice cracked a little as she spoke, still recovering from the shouting. "I'll let you sit on my shoulder for the whole show next time, even during the opener."

"Are you being naughty right now or romantic?" Hana asked.

Fareeha cracked a smile. "Romantic." She clarified.

Hana stretched, and tipped up her chin to kiss her girlfriend on the jaw. "Oh good. In that case, I love you too."

#overwatch #overwatch femslash #fanfic #pharah #d.va #i know i'm a day behind i'm sorry #and i keep doing stupit things w the structure #i'm a monster #i'm doin my best lmao

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rebeccahpedersen · 6 years ago

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Another Bright Idea?

TorontoRealtyBlog

“They’re going to do it, just watch,” I told my colleague as he shook his head and said, “They can’t.”

But I’m more cynical than my colleague.

More experienced too, but I think the cynicism is more important in this regard.

Where some people might look to see logic, reasoning, and some semblance of normalcy, I’ve been trained to anticipate poor judgment, fantasy, and whatever other descriptions you can conjure up to explain something that just won’t work.

“Insanity” is defined as doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

And those of you who have been reading TRB for years, will probably think you’ve read this blog post before. But I assure you, it’s a different story. Just with the same theme.

If you read my “More MLS Musings” posts, you know that I have my “favourites.” My favourite example of real estate agents doing terrible jobs, which frustrates me beyond belief, but which makes me laugh, nevertheless. The agents who capture themselves in the mirror when taking photos (when a professional photographer should have been hired), the photos of inanimate objects, or close-ups of faucet running, and how about photos of the home-owners sitting on the couch? I have one of those queued up for the next edition…

So when it comes to the topic of “awful listing strategies,” you shouldn’t be surprised to know that I have a favourite there as well.

I love the agents who list the same property, over and over, with different “strategies” regarding the price, when all the while, they’re merely grasping at straws, as they price up, and down, up and down.

Know what I mean?

For those agents who list at, say, $999,900 with an “offer date,” hoping to end up with multiple offers, and a sale price of $1,200,000, who are not successful on offer night, then terminating that listing at $999,900, and subsequently re-listing the next day at $1,199,900 with “offers any time” is a reasonable course of action.

You can admit that your “strategy” of under-listing and holding-back offers (if you can call it a “strategy”…) didn’t work, and thus you have no choice but to list at a higher price, one which, presumably, is some combination of fair market value and that which the seller desires.

I have done this exactly once in my career, and it was in May of 2017 right after the market dropped. I’m pleased to say that pricing games are not my favourite past-time.

But what do you make of a situation when the property comes out at a low price, then the price is raised, then it’s dropped again, then it’s raised, and so on?

It’s brutal.

And nothing short of moronic.

I would speculate that in almost all of these cases, it’s not the fault of the market, or the time of year, or the buyer pool, or even the listing agent for not doing his or her job. It’s simply that the seller wants too much money.

Age-old story, right?

There’s one house I’ve been watching on the east side for quite some time now, and while I don’t take pleasure in the shortcomings of others, I will say that “I was right” from the start. I knew this house wouldn’t sell, but more than that – I knew it would be re-listed over and over.

How can you tell?

Well there are a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: the listing agent is out-of-area (and while I know some people think their cousin from Hamilton is just as capable of successfully listing and selling a house in Davisville Village for top dollar, but they’re not), the house was over-priced to begin with, the renovation is not what buyers in this demographic are looking for (meaning the owner/renovator didn’t do any homework), the choice in features/finishes is odd, and the best part – the agent had no problem blatantly lying on the listing. I don’t know in what area this flies:

Front parking pad eh?

Guess what?

Anybody can look up legal front parking pads through the city of Toronto through this link:

https://www.toronto.ca/data/transportation/residential_locations/residential_locations.pdf

The fact that the parking isn’t legal is an issue, since the owner is factoring in $75,000 for a spot, when the buyer pool isn’t, but my bigger concern is that neither the agent or the seller thought it was an issue to detail this on the listing. It shows they don’t know their buyer pool, and they’re taking liberties.

This house came onto the market in mid-December for $1,499,000, and again, I can’t say that listing in mid-December, in this area, was a good decision.

But nevertheless, the price was the issue! Price and strategy.

First and foremost, this house was never going to be worth $1.5M. It was probably worth $1.3M, maybe a bit more. It was on the worst street in the area, backing onto a major road that’s home to commercial buildings.

But secondly, and most importantly, there was an “offer date.”

My inner cynical old man was going nuts.

“Wait, so you’re priced at $1.5M and you have a hold-back on offers? Oh, and you’ve got ‘Seller Reserves The Right To Review Pre-Emptive Offers’ written on the listing? How presumptuous! Oh please, oh please let me submit a pre-emptive offer! Will you review it? You will? Oh goodie!”

Oh puke!

Talk about misreading the market!

If this was listed at $1,199,900, with a holdback on offers, then okay. I understand the strategy.

But the high price and the holdback on offers is like asking your Dad to borrow the car, but telling him you want to down a 6-pack first.

Surprise of all surprises, this property did not sell on offer night. I mean, it also didn’t sell with a pre-emptive offer, but frogs have also never rained from the sky (that we know of��).

The listing was terminated just before Christmas (because that’s such a great time to be on the market…), and clearly the buyer pool lamented their opportunity to “bid” on this wonderful offering.

But, buyers rejoice!

The house reappeared in early-January at a new price: $1,099,900.

Huzzah! The same house that didn’t sell last year, now $400,000 cheaper?

Yes, it’s true. Except it’s not really available at $1,099,900, you see, the seller and the agent have devised this brilliant strategy of under-listing the home, and then holding back offers. I know, I know – it’s such a novel concept that it’s tough to comprehend, but this is the genius behind the $400,000 price drop, even if they have already signaled to the market that they actually want $1.5 Million.

But wait…..

…..do they want $1.5 Million?

Would they “settle” for a mere $1.5 Million, I meant to ask?

But of course not!

The first time they were on the market, they listed at $1.5 Million, held back offers with the expectations of getting more, and then upon receiving zero interest, they terminated the listing. So suffice it to say, they would not “settle” for a paltry mill-and-a-half.

This became even more apparent one week later when, surprise, surprise, the $1,099,900 listing was terminated, and the house was re-listed at….

$1,549,000!

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

That’s how the saying goes, but I think the way the saying was intended had the assumption that you would not try the exact same method fruitlessly, when you yourself were not in control of the outcome.

These sellers can wish and dream all they want, but eventually they have to come back to reality. No?

This house is simply not worth what they are asking. Not even close.

And the funny thing is – there’s nothing for sale in this area. Buyers are starving for listings, so if there was ever a time and a set of circumstances when this would work, it would be now.

But it won’t.

I mean, it didn’t.

Because the house was on the market for $1,549,000 for exactly one month, and then the listing was terminated.

But……and there’s always a but….

…..guess whaaaaaaaat?

The seller and the agent have a new strategy!

After listing “low” at $1.5 Million and holding back offers, unsuccessfully, they re-listed even lower at $1.1 Million, again, holding back offers unsuccessfully, then raised the price to $1.55 Million.

So what’s the new strategy you ask?

How about going right back to the well for another delicious wooden-cup full of well-water?

Yup, they’re now on the market for $1,299,900, with an offer night.

Because using the same failed strategy only four weeks after you had previously used it, and failed, is a great way to succeed.

I believe the kids say, “Double-yoo-tee-eff?”

I don’t understand it.

I mean, I understand the greed, but I don’t understand the stupidity.

The other day, I was playing hide-and-go-seek with my daughter, which was really cute, and really fun.

She hid in the hall closet, and even though I knew she was in there, I did what a Dad is supposed to do, and walked around asking aloud, “Has anyone seen Maya?” And even though I could hear her giggling in the closet from twenty feet away, I continued to look around until she couldn’t take it anymore, and stuck her head out to say, “I’m in here, DaDa!”

We played a subsequent round with me hiding (they never find you behind the curtains, but you have to turn your feet parallel to the baseboards), and eventually my wife helped Maya find me, and we had a laugh.

Then Maya said, “My turn now, DaDa,” and I closed my eyes, and waited for her to hide.

I’ll give you one guess where she hid.

Those of you with kids already know.

She hid in the closet, again.

She went right back to where she hid before; same strategy, even though she knew that I had seen her implement this strategy before.

It wouldn’t make any sense, except for the fact that my daughter is 2-years-old. So she thinks I’m of the exact same mental capacity as she is.

That’s exactly what’s going on with the sellers of this house described above, except they are, more than likely, not 2-years-old.

They seem to think that even though they showed their hand at $1.5M last December, then again at $1.55M last month, they can re-list “low” with an offer date, for the second time, and yet some way, some how, the buyer pool won’t expect to find them hiding in the closet yet again…

The post Another Bright Idea? appeared first on Toronto Realty Blog.

Originated from https://ift.tt/2CcjR99

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newsnigeria · 7 years ago

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Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/politics/legendary-nigerian-general/

The Legendary 'No-smiling' General Every Young Nigerian should know

It does not require clear thinking for one to see how shameful and revolting things have become in our country. Saudi wahhabi lead goverment has been used for ages as proxy to supress the future of Nigeria and if integrity was a man, they would have called him Idiagbon.

The world, especially Nigeria, is what it is today because of our inability to live a life of integrity. The pillars of our guiding principles are no longer standing on the foundation of value. Instead of dignity and morality to be the watchful directors of our course, we decided to let vanity and impunity to rule over us.

Regardless of any other opinion, it was this senseless decision of ours that Gen. Idiagbon tried to dethrone from our mind.

But in vain he tried.

Born on the 14 September 1943, in Ilorin, Kwara state, Babatunde Abdulbaki Idiagbon received his secondary education at the Nigerian Military School, Zaria between 1958 and 1962.

He would join the Nigerian Army by enrolling in the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1962: NMTC was renamed the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in February 1964.

In April 1965, Idiagbon was commissioned second lieutenant upon his arrival from Pakistan Military Academy where he had obtained a BSc in economics.

From 1966 to 1967, he served as an intelligence officer, 4th Battalion and General Staff Officer, 3rd Intelligence, 1st Sector.

It was during this time that he got promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and also to the rank of captain two years later.

At the age of twenty-five, Idiagbon had already become the commanding officer, 125 Battalion.

Owing to his intelligence, qualification, and personal ability, his promotion kept coming until he rose to become Brigadier General in 1983.

For his uncompromising stance against indiscipline, incorrigible fight against corruption and dying at a relatively young age under a most mysterious circumstance, Major General BABATUNDE ABDULBAKI ‘Tunde’ IDIAGBON has become a legend of sorts and some will say, a martyr and true hero. But who was this stern-looking,Ilorin-born General many said never smiled? Was it true he never smiled? No. He did smile.

Nigeria before 1983 had already taken side with lawlessness. In addition, the nation’s resources were handled with recklessness.

The depth of corruption among public officials had succeeded in dragging the country into a state of economic shambles and the government in charge at the time seemed to be very okay with the situation.

The Shehu Shagari’s government succeeded in creating a group of dark kleptocratic thieves whose heartless goal would not be reached until the nation is plunged into a well of hopelessness.

As a matter of fact, record has it that in the space of four years, between 1979 and 1983, Shehu Shagari administration had mismanaged Nigeria into debt.

In fact, Nigeria was at the time counted among the most indebted countries in Africa.

Owing a colossal sum of about fifty billion dollars, inflation found a fertile soil to sprout. The result could only lead one end, hardship.

And of course, where there’s hardship, insecurity is always present.

At the time, a radical Islamic insurgent called “Maitatsine” operating from present-day Gombe state was inflicting all sorts of atrocities.

The Shehu Shagari government could not contain this vicious and dangerous Islamic fundamentalist. The nation was in a state of disarray.

It was during this time of national disorganization that the military ousted the Shehu Shagari administration in a coup d’etat.

Thus, Gen. Buhari became the Head of States and made Idiagbon chief of staff at Supreme Headquarters (de facto vice president).

Spearheading the control of all visible instruments of national, political, governmental and administrative powers, Idiagbon made use of power the way power should be used.

With ruthless zeal and determination, he introduced and implemented policies like War Against Indiscipline, which comprises of five phases:

Phase One – Queuing (launched on 20 March 1984)

Phase Two – Work Ethics (launched on 1 May 1984)

Phase Three – Nationalism and Patriotism, launched on 21 August 1984

Phase Four – Anti-Corruption and Economic Sabotage, launched on 14 May 1985

Phase Five – Environmental Sanitation, launched on 29 July 1985

Gen. Buhari

To enumerate, the first phase was forcefully introduced to encourage customers and citizens to always line up to board buses.

And to always do the same whenever they find themselves vying for services with high demand. Anyone who deemed himself too important to comply was met with the military’s wrath.

The purpose for which this phase was implemented was to bring social order back to society.

In like manner, the second phase was launched to encourage hard work: Civil servants must be punctual, arriving work at the strike of the clock.

Frog jumps and sometimes kobokos from soldiers were the lots of those who usually arrive late.

Interestingly, the war was also extended to the classroom; making cheating during examination a very serious crime.

The third phase was launched to foster nationalism and patriotism. And this was supported by the implementation of import substitution industrialization policy; based on the use of local materials.

Thus, importation was tightened. The sole aim of the policy was to ensure the growth of local industries.

And it was further supported by the implementation of the Go Back to Land Programme which was part of the government’s farming policy that encouraged massive agricultural food production.

In a bid to implement the fourth phase, which was to counter corruption and economic sabotage, Idiagbon announced the introduction of a new currency for Nigeria.

He said the new currency would keep the same name, but the colors of bills would be different.

It was reported that some former politicians including ministers, governors and local government chairmen were holding large amount or sum of stolen monies in their houses.

The move was to render those monies useless.

Notice was given to the public, a time frame to withdraw their old naira notes from the bank and re-change it to the new ones.

Idiagbon had already announced that the exchange limit was 5000 naira; exchanging in excess of the limit had to explain where the money came from with government clearance.

He had affirmed that the deliberate sabotage of the Nigerian currency through large-scale illegal trafficking was the major cause of the nation’s economic problems.

So ruthless was the implementation that when Fela was caught at the airport with more foreign cash than was stipulated by law, not even the truth that he was known for could set him free from paying the prize.

Even a huge consignment of Abiola’s imported newsprint, which was on the government contraband list was seized.

Without conformance to bias nor sentiment, the no-nonsense general blasted corrupt politicians on a radio programme known as Military in Action; promising to smoke them out of their holes to face justice.

Shehu Shagari

It might interest you to know that it was during this administration that late Alhaji Barkin Zuwo, a former senator and Governor of Kano state, was slammed for corruption with an imprisonment sentence of two hundred and fifty years.

Like the Great Thomas Sankara, Idiagbon believed that Nigeria was strong enough to develop from within; that should Nigeria be focused, she could become a creditor nation.

ALSO READ: Africa’s greatest leader that never was

In fact, it was with this conviction that he blasted the International Monetary Fund when he said: “International Monetary Fund (IMF) cures no sick state, in most cases, they worsen the ailment.”

Idiagbon’s ruthlessness wasn’t born out of foolishness; he was intelligent and prudent enough to know what he was doing.

In April 1985, he was heavily criticized for executing a drug trafficker. In replying his critics, he said, “a uniquely Nigeria solution is necessary to curtail the get-rich-quick mania that encourages serious crime.”

Also, when he was blasted by some senseless critics, for jailing corrupt Second Republic politicians, Idiagbon blasted back: “All these criminal racketeering and swindling went on while the salaries of local government employees and teachers were left unpaid for months.”

But how could he have smiled with a country like Nigeria? A country whose thought alone calls depression to the thinker’s mind.

Nigeria has always been an organization of disarrangement. A nation where sentiment and bias ride upon the horses on its Coat of Arms. A state where religion and tribalism make mockery of patriotism.

It does not require clear thinking for one to see how shameful and revolting things have become in our country.

A country where the people’s representatives pocket in a year, what an average citizen won’t earn in three earth lives if we are to go by the minimum wage.

However, one major highlight of Buhari/Idiagbon’s regime was the Umaru Dikko saga.

Umaru Dikko was a special adviser to Shehu Shagari and also the minister of transportation. He exiled himself from Nigeria and took refuge in the UK when he sensed that danger was coming for him

Accused of looting a whopping sum of $1billion, he was declared Nigeria’s most wanted.

With an intent to bring him back home alive, Umaru Dikko was kidnapped, injected into a state of unconsciousness and packaged inside a specially made crate.

Luckily for him, the move was somehow double-crossed by a British customs officer known as Charles David Morrow.

Though the Nigerian government denied involvement, Idiagbon was, however, angry that the British government foiled the plan.

He was clear in his assertion that Nigeria was not going to ask for restoring relations with Britain, and that if anyone was to ask for forgiveness, it should be Britain.

Umaru Dikko

As expected, the Nigerian Airways plane that was sent to bring Dikko, with its crew, was detained by the British government.

The no-nonsense general would retaliate by detaining a British Airways passenger plane at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

It was not long before it became clear that his style of leadership had earned him a long chain of elite enemies.

In August 1985, while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, news reached Idiagbon that Buhari had been overthrown and detained in a coup led by Ibrahim Babangida.

He was cautioned to stay away from the country or he will be dealt with.

Upon hearing this, the late King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud called Idiagbon and made an offer. The Saudi king told Idiagbon that he would get him a magnificent mansion to stay for his retirement for life and forget about the idea of returning to Nigeria.

Idiagbon politely declined the offer. He was too rugged and brave to hide behind closed doors.

A few days later, he was unwelcomed by soldiers armed with all sort of weapons. And for forty horrible months, he was placed under house arrest in Benin and Bauchi state.

His reign as vice president lasted for only twenty months.

With no millions of dollars to his name, Idiagbon took to farming and detached himself from public activities.

Nigeria had chosen not to be better, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Still remembered for his simple and humble lifestyle, Major-general Idiagbon passed away on May 24, 1999; leaving Nigeria to the darkness she preferred over the light.

#Tunde Idiagbon

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readbookywooks · 8 years ago

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The Unforgivable Curses

The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads. "You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?" said Ron to Harry as they watched Hermione teaching Neville a Scouring Charm to remove the frog guts from under his fingernails. "Yeah," said Harry. "Moody." It was common knowledge that Snape really wanted the Dark Arts job, and he had now failed to get it for the fourth year running. Snape had disliked all of their previous Dark Arts teachers, and shown it - but he seemed strangely wary of displaying overt animosity to Mad-Eye Moody. Indeed, whenever Harry saw the two of them together - at mealtimes, or when they passed in the corridors - he had the distinct impression that Snape was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal. "I reckon Snape's a bit scared of him, you know," Harry said thoughtfully. "Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad," said Ron, his eyes misting over, "and bounced him all around his dungeon..." The Gryffindor fourth years were looking forward to Moody's first lesson so much that they arrived early on Thursday lunchtime and queued up outside his classroom before the bell had even rung. The only person missing was Hermione, who turned up just in time for the lesson. "Been in the -" "Library." Harry finished her sentence for her. "C'mon, quick, or we won't get decent seats." They hurried into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk, took out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes. "You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them." They returned the books to their bags, Ron looking excited. Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered. "Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?" There was a general murmur of assent. "But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -" "What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out. Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled - the first time Harry had seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. Ron looked deeply relieved. "You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago....Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledor....One year, and then back to my quiet retirement." He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together. "So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking." Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head. "So...do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender. "Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one....Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?" "Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse." Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him - Ron hated spiders. Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!" The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance. Everyone was laughing - everyone except Moody. "Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" The laughter died away almost instantly. "Total control," said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..." Ron gave an involuntary shudder. "Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody, and Harry knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. "The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and everyone jumped. Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar. "Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?" Hermione's hand flew into the air again and so, to Harry's slight surprise, did Neville's. The only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology which was easily his best subject. Neville looked surprised at his own daring. "Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville. "There's one - the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice. Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes. "Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again. Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move. "The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!" The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible. Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "Crucio!" At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently - "Stop it!" Hermione said shrilly." Harry looked around at her. She was looking, not at the spider, but at Neville, and Harry, following her gaze, saw that Neville's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch. "Reducio," Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar. "Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse....That one was very popular once too. "Right...anyone know any others?" Harry looked around. From the looks on everyone's faces, he guessed they were all wondering what was going to happen to the last spider. Hermione's hand shook slightly as, for the third time, she raised it into the air. "Yes?" said Moody, looking at her. "Avada Kedavra," Hermione whispered. Several people looked uneasily around at her, including Ron. "Ah," said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. "Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra....the Killing Curse." He put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop. It started to scuttle frantically across the wooden surface. Moody raised his wand, and Harry felt a sudden thrill of foreboding. "Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared. There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries; Ron had thrown himself backward and almost toppled off his seat as the spider skidded toward him. Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor. "Not nice," he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me." Harry felt his face redden as Moody's eyes (both of them) looked into his own. He could feel everyone else looking around at him too. Harry stared at the blank blackboard as though fascinated by it, but not really seeing it at all.... So that was how his parents had died...exactly like that spider. Had they been unblemished and unmarked too? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies? Harry had been picturing his parents' deaths over and over again for three years now, ever since he'd found out they had been murdered, ever since he'd found out what had happened that night: Wormtail had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run...Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry...how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son...and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on Harry.... Harry knew these details because he had heard his parents' voices when he had fought the dementors last year - for that was the terrible power of the dementors: to force their victims to relive the worst memories of their lives, and drown, powerless, in their own despair.... Moody was speaking again, from a great distance, it seemed to Harry. With a massive effort, he pulled himself back to the present and listened to what Moody was saying. "Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it - you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. "Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and the whole class jumped again. "Now...those three curses - Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus - are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills...copy this down...." They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang - but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices - "Did you see it twitch?" "- and when he killed it - just like that!" They were talking about the lesson, Harry thought, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but he hadn't found it very entertaining - and nor, it seemed, had Hermione. "Hurry up," she said tensely to Harry and Ron. "Not the ruddy library again?" said Ron. "No," said Hermione curtly, pointing up a side passage. "Neville." Neville was standing alone, halfway up the passage, staring at the stone wall opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he had worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus Curse. "Neville?" Hermione said gently. Neville looked around. "Oh hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm - I'm starving, aren't you?" "Neville, are you all right?" said Hermione. "Oh yes, I'm fine," Neville gabbled in the same unnaturally high voice. "Very interesting dinner - I mean lesson - what's for eating?" Ron gave Harry a startled look. "Neville, what -?" But an odd clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody limping toward them. All four of them fell silent, watching him apprehensively, but when he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than they had yet heard. "It's all right, sonny," he said to Neville. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on...we can have a cup of tea...." Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Harry. "You all right, are you, Potter?" "Yes," said Harry, almost defiantly. Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry. Then he said, "You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you've got to know. No point pretending...well...come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you." Neville looked pleadingly at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they didn't say anything, so Neville had no choice but to allow himself to be steered away, one of Moody's gnarled hands on his shoulder. "What was that about?" said Ron, watching Neville and Moody turn the corner. "I don't know," said Hermione, looking pensive. "Some lesson, though, eh?" said Ron to Harry as they set off for the Great Hall. "Fred and George were right, weren't they? He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did Avada Kedavra, the way that spider just died, just snuffed it right -" But Ron fell suddenly silent at the look on Harry's face and didn't speak again until they reached the Great Hall, when he said he supposed they had better make a start on Professor Trelawney's predictions tonight, since they would take hours. Hermione did not join in with Harry and Ron's conversation during dinner, but ate furiously fast, and then left for the library again. Harry and Ron walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry, who had been thinking of nothing else all through dinner, now raised the subject of the Unforgivable Curses himself. "Wouldn't Moody and Dumbledore be in trouble with the Ministry if they knew we'd seen the curses?" Harry asked as they approached the Fat Lady. "Yeah, probably," said Ron. "But Dumbledore's always done things his way, hasn't he, and Moody's been getting in trouble for years, I reckon. Attacks first and asks questions later - look at his dustbins. Balderdash." The Fat Lady swung forward to reveal the entrance hole, and they climbed into the Gryffindor common room, which was crowded and noisy. "Shall we get our Divination stuff, then?" said Harry. "I s'pose," Ron groaned. They went up to the dormitory to fetch their books and charts, to find Neville there alone, sitting on his bed, reading. He looked a good deal calmer than at the end of Moody's lesson, though still not entirely normal. His eyes were rather red. "You all right, Neville?" Harry asked him. "Oh yes," said Neville, "I'm fine, thanks. Just reading this book Professor Moody lent me..." He held up the book: Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. "Apparently, Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I'm really good at Herbology," Neville said. There was a faint note of pride in his voice that Harry had rarely heard there before. "He thought I'd like this." Telling Neville what Professor Sprout had said, Harry thought, had been a very tactful way of cheering Neville up, for Neville very rarely heard that he was good at anything. It was the sort of thing Professor Lupin would have done. Harry and Ron took their copies of Unfogging the Future back down to the common room, found a table, and set to work on their predictions for the coming month. An hour later, they had made very little progress, though their table was littered with bits of parchment bearing sums and symbols, and Harry's brain was as fogged as though it had been filled with the fumes from Professor Trelawney's fire. "I haven't got a clue what this lot's supposed to mean," he said, staring down at a long list of calculations. "You know," said Ron, whose hair was on end because of all the times he had run his fingers through it in frustration, "I think it's back to the old Divination standby." "What - make it up?" "Yeah," said Ron, sweeping the jumble of scrawled notes off the table, dipping his pen into some ink, and starting to write. "Next Monday," he said as he scribbled, "I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlucky conjunction of Mars and Jupiter." He looked up at Harry. "You know her - just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up." "Right," said Harry, crumpling up his first attempt and lobbing it over the heads of a group of chattering first years into the fire. "Okay...on Monday, I will be in danger of - er - burns." "Yeah, you will be," said Ron darkly, "we're seeing the skrewts again on Monday. Okay, Tuesday, I'll...erm..." "Lose a treasured possession," said Harry, who was flicking through Unfogging the Future for ideas. "Good one," said Ron, copying it down. "Because of...erm...Mercury. Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend?" "Yeah...cool..." said Harry, scribbling it down, "because...Venus is in the twelfth house." "And on Wednesday, I think I'll come off worst in a fight." "Aaah, I was going to have a fight. Okay, I'll lose a bet." "Yeah, you'll be betting I'll win my fight...." They continued to make up predictions (which grew steadily more tragic) for another hour, while the common room around them slowly emptied as people went up to bed. Crookshanks wandered over to them, leapt lightly into an empty chair, and stared inscrutably at Harry, rather as Hermione might look if she knew they weren't doing their homework properly. Staring around the room, trying to think of a kind of misfortune he hadn't yet used, Harry saw Fred and George sitting together against the opposite wall, heads together, quills out, poring over a single piece of parchment. It was most unusual to see Fred and George hidden away in a corner and working silently; they usually liked to be in the thick of things and the noisy center of attention. There was something secretive about the way they were working on the piece of parchment, and Harry was reminded of how they had sat together writing something back at the Burrow. He had thought then that it was another order form for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but it didn't look like that this time; if it had been, they would surely have let Lee Jordan in on the joke. He wondered whether it had anything to do with entering the Triwizard Tournament. As Harry watched, George shook his head at Fred, scratched out something with his quill, and said, in a very quiet voice that nevertheless carried across the almost deserted room, "No - that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful..." Then George looked over and saw Harry watching him. Harry grinned and quickly returned to his predictions - he didn't want George to think he was eavesdropping. Shortly after that, the twins rolled up their parchment, said good night, and went off to bed. Fred and George had been gone ten minutes or so when the portrait hole opened and Hermione climbed into the common room carrying a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a box whose contents rattled as she walked in the other. Crookshanks arched his back, purring. "Hello," she said, "I've just finished!" "So have I!" said Ron triumphantly, throwing down his quill. Hermione sat down, laid the things she was carrying in an empty armchair, and pulled Ron's predictions toward her. "Not going to have a very good month, are you?" she said sardonically as Crookshanks curled up in her lap. "Ah well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron yawned. "You seem to be drowning twice," said Hermione. "Oh am I?" said Ron, peering down at his predictions. "I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff." "Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" said Hermione. "How dare you!" said Ron, in mock outrage. "We've been working like house-elves here!" Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's just an expression," said Ron hastily. Harry laid down his quill too, having just finished predicting his own death by decapitation. "What's in the box?" he asked, pointing at it. "Funny you should ask," said Hermione, with a nasty look at Ron. She took off the lid and showed them the contents. Inside were about fifty badges, all of different colors, but all bearing the same letters: S. P. E .W. "Spew?" said Harry, picking up a badge and looking at it. "What's this about?" "Not spew," said Hermione impatiently. "It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." "Never heard of it," said Ron. "Well, of course you haven't," said Hermione briskly, "I've only just started it." "Yeah?" said Ron in mild surprise. "How many members have you got?" "Well - if you two join - three," said Hermione. "And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?" said Ron. "S-P-E-W!" said Hermione hotly. "I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status - but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto." She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them. "I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now." "Hermione - open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!" "Our short-term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented." "And how do we do all this?" Harry asked. "We start by recruiting members," said Hermione happily. "I thought two Sickles to join - that buys a badge - and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron - I've got you a collecting tin upstairs - and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting." There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at the pair of them, and Harry sat, torn between exasperation at Hermione and amusement at the look on Ron's face. The silence was broken, not by Ron, who in any case looked as though he was temporarily dumbstruck, but by a soft tap, tap on the window. Harry looked across the now empty common room and saw, illuminated by the moonlight, a snowy owl perched on the windowsill. "Hedwig!" he shouted, and he launched himself out of his chair and across the room to pull open the window. Hedwig flew inside, soared across the room, and landed on the table on top of Harry's predictions. "About time!" said Harry, hurrying after her. "She's got an answer!" said Ron excitedly, pointing at the grubby piece of parchment tied to Hedwig's leg. Harry hastily untied it and sat down to read, whereupon Hedwig fluttered onto his knee, hooting softly. "What does it say?" Hermione asked breathlessly. The letter was very short, and looked as though it had been scrawled in a great hurry. Harry read it aloud: Harry - I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore - they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron and Hermione. Keep your eyes open, Harry. Sirius Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, who stared back at him. "He's flying north?" Hermione whispered. "He's coming back?" "Dumbledore's reading what signs?" said Ron, looking perplexed. "Harry - what's up?" For Harry had just hit himself in the forehead with his fist, jolting Hedwig out of his lap. "I shouldn't've told him!" Harry said furiously. "What are you on about?" said Ron in surprise. "It's made him think he's got to come back!" said Harry, now slamming his fist on the table so that Hedwig landed on the back of Ron's chair, hooting indignantly. "Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me! And I haven't got anything for you," Harry snapped at Hedwig, who was clicking her beak expectantly, "you'll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food." Hedwig gave him an extremely offended look and took off for the open window, cuffing him around the head with her outstretched wing as she went. "Harry," Hermione began, in a pacifying sort of voice. "I'm going to bed," said Harry shortly. "See you in the morning." Upstairs in the dormitory he pulled on his pajamas and got into his four-poster, but he didn't feel remotely tired. If Sirius came back and got caught, it would be his, Harry's, fault. Why hadn't he kept his mouth shut? A few seconds' pain and he'd had to blab....If he'd just had the sense to keep it to himself.... He heard Ron come up into the dormitory a short while later, but did not speak to him. For a long time, Harry lay staring up at the dark canopy of his bed. The dormitory was completely silent, and, had he been less preoccupied, Harry would have realized that the absence of Neville's usual snores meant that he was not the only one lying awake.

#GobletofFire #HarryPotter

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