#and that's for said telecommunications company's high end plan.

[pc-98s]

my stinky internet bill went up $40 without warning now i have to call them and go through being on hold for half an hour and getting harassed by a sales rep so i can cancel my account and switch to literally any other company

[weather-usa]

Hurricane Beryl to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica after striking the Windward Islands

As Hurricane Beryl approaches Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, millions are holding their breath, rushing to complete last-minute preparations, and praying for the hurricane to shift farther south, sparing the region from the full force of this historic storm.

Deadly Hurricane Beryl weakened slightly late Tuesday morning but remains a formidable Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph. The historic storm continues to churn across the Caribbean Sea, targeting Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

This follows Hurricane Beryl's landfall on Monday in Carriacou Island, Grenada, as a powerful high-end Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph.

At least three people were killed across the region, and government officials on several islands fear that number could rise as more information becomes available.

As Hurricane Beryl approaches Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, millions are holding their breath, rushing to complete last-minute preparations, and praying for the hurricane to shift farther south, sparing the region from the full force of this historic storm.

Jamaican Prime Minister Warns Residents of Impending Disaster

Regardless of whether Jamaica takes a direct hit, government officials say they are prepared to respond to the potential disaster.

On Monday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness held a news conference urging residents to maintain a high state of readiness as Hurricane Beryl advances east across the Caribbean.

"We have an impending disaster, and we must treat it with the seriousness it requires," Holness stated. "We will experience adverse weather impacts, whether it's a direct hit or a glancing blow. Therefore, everyone needs to be mentally prepared."

Holness also announced the activation of the Disaster Risk Management Act on Monday night, providing additional authority to coordinate and execute emergency response activities. On Tuesday, he declared that all government offices, except those providing essential services, would close in the afternoon in anticipation of Hurricane Beryl's impact.

"Citizens are encouraged to use this time to secure their property and gather necessary supplies to last up to three days or until the hurricane passes," officials posted on Facebook.

Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications, and Transport, confirmed that telecommunications companies have their emergency plans in place. He mentioned coordinating with Starlink for extra telecommunications coverage, and that airports in Jamaica have been communicating with airlines to remain open until it is no longer safe.

Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, Chief of Defense Staff for the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF), assured that her troops are ready to assist and respond if Hurricane Beryl directly impacts the country.

"The JDF has initiated its normal protocols for hurricane preparedness. Our bases and installations are secured, ensuring we are ready and available to serve the nation," Wemyss-Gorman said.

Cayman Islands Residents Told to "Prepare for the Worst"

A Hurricane Watch was issued for the Cayman Islands, a self-governing British Overseas Territory, on Tuesday morning as residents and visitors brace for the potential impact of Hurricane Beryl.

Cayman Islands Governor Jane Owen emphasized the British government's top priority: protecting life and property.

"I can truly see the resilience of the people of our islands, and I’m confident that together we will be prepared to face whatever the storm may bring," Owen said. "I can also assure you that the United Kingdom stands ready to assist and support us should the situation escalate."

The Cayman Islands government is urging residents to "prepare for the worst" as Hurricane Beryl approaches.

Forecasters expect powerful winds and significant rainfall, potentially causing flooding in low-lying areas and power outages.

Cayman Airways announced changes to its flight operations to ensure the safety of passengers, crew, and the Cayman Airways fleet, and to assist with the evacuation of visitors and residents.

Jamaica Under Hurricane Warning as Beryl Moves Closer

Jamaica is now under a Hurricane Warning, with impacts potentially starting as early as Tuesday night.

"There is a possibility that Jamaica takes a direct hit," said FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin. "We could see impacts as early as Tuesday night, with the biggest day being Wednesday."

Hurricane Beryl has weakened slightly according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), but it remains an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 millibars.

Hurricane Beryl: Latest Updates and Forecast Path

Climate and Average Weather Year Round in 01532 - Northborough MA

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Beryl is currently located about 555 miles east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, moving west-northwest at 22 mph.

The NHC forecasts that Beryl will continue its rapid west-northwest movement over the next few days, eventually turning westward by Thursday. On this track, Hurricane Beryl's center is expected to move swiftly across the southeastern and central Caribbean on Tuesday, pass near Jamaica on Wednesday, and approach the Cayman Islands on Thursday.

The projected path shows Beryl moving into the Yucatán Peninsula on Thursday night or Friday morning, then emerging into the Bay of Campeche and potentially the western Gulf of Mexico.

"What happens past Jamaica? Well, there are a lot of questions," said FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin. "We have this upper-level dip in the jet stream creating a weakness here. When it comes to the path of a hurricane, they prefer the path of least resistance."

A high-pressure ridge baking the southern Plains may weaken the protective atmospheric wall currently shielding the South from Beryl.

"If you live in South Texas or have family and friends in Mexico, you need to watch this forecast very closely," Merwin advised. "We may not have clear answers until Thursday once Beryl emerges from the Yucatán Peninsula. Does it emerge farther north, or does it dive deep into the Bay of Campeche? This will be crucial information for Mexico and possibly South Texas. While computer models currently suggest more of an impact for Mexico, South Texas is not out of the woods yet."

As of Tuesday morning, about 1.4 million people living in the southern tip of Texas, including the cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, and McAllen, are on the edge of Beryl’s forecast cone from the NHC.

At Least 3 Dead After Hurricane Beryl Slams Windward Islands

The devastation from Hurricane Beryl became apparent one day after it made landfall in the Windward Islands.

Weather Forecast For 37211-Nashville-TN:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/200104665/Weather-Forecast-For-37211-Nashville-TN

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves addressed the nation on Monday night, stating that Hurricane Beryl "devastated" Union Island, with 90% of homes severely damaged or destroyed. The airport also suffered major damage, with its roof torn off by the storm’s catastrophic winds. At least one person was killed, and Gonsalves warned that the death toll could rise as more information becomes available.

Grenada's Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell, reported extensive destruction, with buildings demolished and roads blocked by downed power lines. Officials from the nearby island of Carriacou reported at least two deaths, with Mitchell acknowledging the grim possibility of more fatalities.

In Barbados, the impact of Hurricane Beryl was also significant, but recovery efforts began almost immediately. Significant damage was reported to boats at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex due to storm surge flooding. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley toured the damage on Monday and pledged to support those affected. She announced that all government departments, except schools, would reopen on Tuesday.

See more:

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71731

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71740

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71742

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71743

https://weatherusa.app/zip-code/weather-71744

The Port of Bridgetown reopened for business on Tuesday morning, and flights resumed at Grantley Adams International Airport. The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) reported that production capacity reached 85% by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, despite minor damage to some equipment. Water tankers continue to deliver water to areas without service.

[ailtrahq]

Hong Kong authorities continue to investigate cryptocurrency exchange JPEX for alleged fraud and have received over 2,000 complaints from aggrieved investors. Eleven people have reportedly been taken into custody, including influencers who promoted the platform.  Hong Kong intensifies JPEX probe The police stated that investors, most of whom are inexperienced, invested in JPEX based on the company’s promise of high return on investments. As part of its efforts to push its services, JPEX not only tapped influencers but also put up adverts on Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) train system using large billboards.  Officials have so far arrested 11 people for questioning, up from six people previously arrested. One of the social media influencers taken into police custody, Joseph Lam Chok, claimed that he was no longer involved in any activity related to JPEX, according to the South China Morning Post.  Hong Kong’s Securities and Future Commission (SFC), issued a warning on Sept. 13, stating that JPEX was illegally servicing the Island’s residents without license from the regulator. The crypto exchange criticized the SFC’s actions, stating that the regulator was putting “undue pressure” on the platform.  There were also reports that JPEX’s office address in Hong Kong was occupied by a company called Coffee, whose staff said that they were unaware of the crypto exchange, adding that authorities already visited the address. Also, JPEX’s Taiwan office turned up empty.  DAO Stakeholders Dividend Plan Amid ongoing investigations and arrests, the Hong Kong regulator directed telecommunications service providers in the city to block JPEX’s official website and mobile application, as stated in a blog post by the crypto exchange. JPEX also said that the SFC’s actions caused its third-party market makers to “maliciously” freeze up funds.  The company, in response, introduced an initiative called the “DAO Stakeholders Dividend Plan”, that would allow users to convert their assets to DAO stakeholder dividends 1:1. As part of the scheme, the cryptocurrency exchange plans to distribute 49% of the DAO Stakeholder Dividends valued at 400 million USDT, to be used for subscription and conversion.  In addition, JPEX is offering users a repurchase option at 30% of the original conversion price one year after, precisely on Sept. 20, 2024, while the second repurchase offer increases to 100% after two years. The platform asked users to vote on the new scheme, which has seen a majority of voters in agreement at 70%, while 30% disagree with the plan, as of Sept. 23. Votes will end on Sept. 28, 2023.  Source

[beardedmrbean]

Finnish telecommunications firm Nokia has announced plans to cut its workforce in Finland by 155 employees following the conclusion of codetermination talks with staff representatives.

Workers based in Espoo will make up around two thirds of the planned redundancies, while the remainder will affect employees in Oulu or Tampere.

Nokia currently employs around 7,000 people across the three cities.

In May, the company stated that the restructuring plans could lead to the loss of a maximum of 208 jobs.

In a statement on Friday, Nokia said that those facing redundancy will be offered the opportunity to participate in a company support programme aimed at helping them find jobs either within Nokia, outside the company or as entrepreneurs.

The tech firm added that the redundancies are necessary as part of restructuring plans and cost-cutting measures.

Nokia's Mobile Networks Business Group President and Country Manager for Finland Tommi Uitto said in May that the job cuts were necessary because Nokia needs to react to the current economic environment as well as to changes in customers' purchasing behaviour.

Nokia announced a cost restructuring programme in March 2021 which at the time was expected to lead to between 5,000 and 10,000 job losses worldwide, depending on market developments.

The company expects the programme will reduce costs by up to 600 million euros globally by the end of this year.

Nokia issues profit warning

In a separate statement issued on Friday, Nokia also announced a reduced profit warning due to a "weaker demand outlook" for the second half of 2023.

"Nokia is lowering its full year net sales outlook to a range of EUR 23.2 billion to EUR 24.6 billion (previously EUR 24.6 billion to 26.2 billion) and narrowing its comparable operating margin range outlook to 11.5% to 13% (previously 11.5% to 14%)," the statement said.

The adjustments are related to the company's Network Infrastructure and Mobile Networks business groups, the press release added.

Based on preliminary figures, Nokia had net sales of around 5.7 billion euros in Q2 and the comparable operating profit margin was about 11 percent.

The company noted that the weaker outlook for Q3 and Q4 of 2023 is due to both the macroeconomic environment and customers’ inventory digestion.

"Customer spending plans are increasingly impacted by high inflation and rising interest rates along with some projects now slipping to 2024 – notably in North America," the statement said.

[bikerpoliticalreport]

Biden to Announce $42 Billion Broadband Plan

   President Joe Biden is expected to announce Monday his administration’s plans to distribute billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to deliver the internet to every household and small business in the United States.

   Likening the push for universal connectivity to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, when the federal government installed the electric utility lines that brought light to the countryside all across the U.S., White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said access to high-speed internet is as imperative to day-to-day life as electricity.

   “We all know how difficult life is when the electricity goes down after a storm or for other reasons,” Zients said on a Friday call with reporters to preview the announcement. “For millions of Americans in rural communities, in particular, the internet is down a lot. Sometimes there’s not even any access.”

   The amount each state, territory, and Washington, D.C., will receive from the $42.5 billion program depends primarily on the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction or those locations that lack access to internet speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload.

   Download speeds involve retrieving information from the internet, including streaming movies and TV. Upload speeds determine how fast information travels from a computer to the internet, like sending emails or publishing photos online.

   More than 7% of the country falls under the underserved category, according to maps recently completed by the Federal Communications Commission to set the course for the massive undertaking.

   Congress approved the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, or BEAD, along with several other internet expansion initiatives, through the infrastructure bill the Democratic president signed in 2021.

  Earlier this month, the Commerce Department announced winners of middle mile grants, which will fund projects that build the midsection of the infrastructure necessary to extend internet access to every corner of the country.

   States will have until the end of the year to submit initial proposals outlining how they plan to use the money, which won’t begin to be distributed until those plans are approved. Once the Commerce Department signs off on those plans, states can begin awarding grants to telecommunications companies, electric cooperatives, and other broadband providers to build infrastructure that links homes and small businesses to the Internet.

   Under the rules of the program, states must prioritize connecting predominantly unserved areas before bolstering service in underserved areas, or those without access to internet speeds of 100 Mbps/20 Mbps, and community anchor institutions, such as schools and libraries.

   Hinging the distribution of the nation’s largest-ever federal investment in FCC data has been somewhat controversial. Members of Congress pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about inaccuracies they said would negatively impact rural states’ allotments in particular, and state broadband officials were concerned about the short timeline to correct discrepancies in the first version of the map.

   The second version of the map, which was released at the end of May and used for allotments, reflects the net addition of 1 million locations, updated data from internet service providers, and the results of more than 3 million public challenges, Rosenworcel, who in the past has been a critic of how the FCC’s maps were developed, said in a May statement.

   Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

[qrtumb]

Global France Fiber To the Home (FTTH) Market COVID-19 Impact and Research Report

The France fiber optic cable market is expected to registering a CAGR of 14.5% throughout the period, 2021-2027.

A network that provides an optical fibre link from the operator or Internet service provider to the subscriber's home is called as A Fiber to The Home (FTTH). information is transmitted as pulses of light in fiber-optics.

 Get a Sample Copy of this Report@ https://qualiketresearch.com/request-sample/France-Fiber-To-the-Home-FTTH-Market/request-sample

Market Drivers

The increase in urbanization, along with rise in government funding on development of smart city projects are some major driving factors which are expected to boost the growth of France.

Fiber To the Home (FTTH) broadband connections allow customers to bundle their communication services, which include cable Tv, video door phone safety & security services, smart home applications, and other kinds of digital data stream can all be operated from home through a simple France Fiber to The Home (FTTH) connection.

Moreover, the increase in demand for technologically advanced products like smart grid & smart home applications fire alarm and access control systems, safety &security services, and smart automation, owing to increasing disposable income is expected to boost growth of the global Fiber to The Home (FTTH) market over the forecast period.

Market Restraints

High initial cost for the deployment of fiber to the home (FTTH) network act as a major restraint which expected to hamper the growth of France Fiber to The Home (FTTH) market throughout the forecast period.

 Also, the increase in availability of substitute technologies may hamper the growth of Fiber To The Home (FTTH) market, while interoperability issues and operational difficulties associated with fiber optics will further challenge the fiber to the home (FTTH) market during the forecast period.

Market Segmentation

France Fiber To the Home (FTTH) Market sis segmented into major 3 categories. Based on Network Architecture, the market is segmented into Multi-mode, Single mode, Others. Based on End Use, the market is segmented into Residential, Commercial, Others. Based on Fiber Type, the market is segmented into Glass, Plastic.

Regional Analysis

As demand for fiber to the home (FTTH) is increased, approximately 25 million homes (80%), will be equipped with FTTH by 2022 in france. France is now Europe’s leading country for fibre with With a 20% increase in the number of premises.

Get Discount on this Report@ https://qualiketresearch.com/request-sample/France-Fiber-To-the-Home-FTTH-Market/ask-for-discount

Market Key Players

Some of the key players operating in France Fiber to The Home (FTTH) Market are Vodafone group plc, AT& T Inc., China telecommunication Corporation, China mobile, Deutsche Telekom AG, America Movil, Verizon Communication, Telefonica S.A.,

Industry development

In Oct 2020, Telefonica S.A. had partnered with Allianz Group to deploy Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) in Germany. Under this agreement both companies held 50 % in the joint venture company under a co-control governance model.

In Jan 2017, Verizon Communication had completed $1.8 billion purchase of XO Communications’ fiber-optic network business. Verizon Communication said that, this acquisition will help the company in its plans to densify its cellular network, and to deploy new 5G technologies.

In Dec 2016, China mobile had plan for implementing network functions virtualization in the access network. Under this plan, company had virtualized a network appliance called the broadband remote access server (B-RAS). The company is in a fiber to the home (FTTH) fervor, with plans to deploy fiber around 15 million homes per year, up from the original target of around 10 million per year.

Browse Full Report https://qualiketresearch.com/reports-details/France-Fiber-To-the-Home-FTTH-Market

[melbournenewsvine]

Indian IT spending to grow at reduced rate in 2022: IDC

Indian IT spending is set to grow by 13.8% year-on-year in 2022, the technology analyst firm IDC says, adding that this was down from 25.3% in 2021. In a statement, it said this included spending on hardware, software, and IT services but not spending on telecommunications, business services, and some emerging technologies, which are included in the ICT Spending taxonomy. The drop in growth of spending was due to reduced consumer technology spending, the company said, adding that enterprise technology spending remained stable as enterprises continued to protect their budgets and reallocated resources to needed items. “Based on the current forecast of a mild global recession, we expect IT spending of Indian enterprises to demonstrate resilience in the short term,” said Vinay Gupta, research director, IT Spending Guides, IDC Asia/Pacific. “Indian enterprises continue to focus on their digital innovation initiatives, business operations resiliency, and customer experience programs. However, enterprises are keeping a sharp eye on global events.” IDC said an ongoing survey of Indian enterprises indicated that, on average, six out of seven either planned to keep or increase their 2022 IT budgets to what was initially planned. “Despite the increasing cost, demand for IT infrastructure, software, and IT services is not slowing down,” the company said. “Digital transformation and IT modernisation are prioritised to increase or maintain the competitiveness and efficiency of business operations. “Spending on cloud, security, AI, and automation will grow as enterprises transform themselves to be future-ready. Spending on digital transformation is expected to grow by 19.6% in 2022 as per IDC’s Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide released in April 2022.” However, IDC said, consumer IT spending, which saw strong growth in 2021, was under pressure with sales of PCs, notebooks, hard-copy peripherals, and tablets expected to grow, albeit at a subdued pace due to less pent-up demand and the tail end of buying cycle, which started in 2021 due to the pandemic. “Mobile phone shipments declined for the third consecutive quarter in 2Q 2022. Mobile phones constitute almost 60-65% of consumer technology spending in India,” the analyst firm pointed out. “High prices due to rising inflation and unfavourable exchange rates will negatively affect the spending on mobile phones and, thus, the overall consumer technology spending growth. “Even after considering the festive period of heavy promotional discounts in 3Q and 4Q of 2022, overall market growth by shipment and value for mobile phones, PC, and notebooks will be lower than that of 2021 and reach pre-pandemic levels. Expectations are that introducing 5G services in urban areas will induce mobile device refresh, albeit at a higher price point.” IDC said post-pandemic recovery of the Indian economy in late 2021 and early 2022 was confronting multiple headwinds. “Inflation, global geopolitical tensions, devaluation of the rupee against the US dollar, a slowdown in global growth, and increasing interest rates are risks to economic growth,” it said. “They are increasingly interwoven and uniquely affect each Indian business. The risk of recession worldwide has continued to rise amid increasing inflation and the expectation of tightening monetary policy. “The Indian economy faces similar challenges and enterprises are turning cautious during these uncertain times. Expectations are that India’s GDP growth will be at risk in 2023 given the global headwinds, slowing down IT spending growth. “A lot will depend on RBI’s [the Reserve Bank of India’s] monetary policy going forward and the government’s public CAPEX [capital expenditure] push, industrial capacity utilisation, and improvement in the infrastructure sector.” Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

[templatepiner]

Aircall crm goldman sachs 1b tsebloomberg

#Aircall crm goldman sachs 1b tsebloomberg professional#

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“Since the beginning of Aircall, we've helped thousands of companies to enrich their customer experience through voice channels, with more empathy than ever in the past year. Aircall will also enhance infrastructure capacities by providing additional points of presence to support local usage, while continuing to deliver additional capacity at scale, and provide a global standard of high quality for voice. Improve technology with new AI capabilities, additional productivity features for call centers: transcription & speech analytics for greater depth of productivity features for sales and support.

#Aircall crm goldman sachs 1b tsebloomberg professional#

Partner with major telecommunications companies to bring its technology to every professional around the world, by leveraging local networks expertise.

Aircall plans to recruit more customer-facing teams to come closer to the customer needs, and to form strong partnerships, including with channels and resellers.

Expand globally, with new European offices in London and Berlin, and deeper investments in North America and APAC.

Enrich its app ecosystem, specifically with new integrations covering all use cases, from e-commerce to financial services, Sales, Support, etc.

With this new funding round, Aircall will invest in the following: With offices in New York, Paris, Sydney and Madrid, Aircall recently passed the 450 employee mark and plans to recruit more than 260 new employees by the end of the year. Aircall's development relies strongly on internationalization, with more than a third of revenue generated in the United States. The company saw more than 65 percent total customer growth year over year, and now has more than 8,500 customers worldwide. The company has tremendous momentum within a huge category and a differentiated product strategy that will sustain significant growth for many years to come.”ĭespite the challenges this past year has brought, Aircall achieved record-breaking growth across its business.

#Aircall crm goldman sachs 1b tsebloomberg series#

Kirk Lepke, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, added: “We have been following Aircall's journey for some time and are delighted to be partnering with Olivier and the Aircall team to lead the Series D. We are very excited to partner with Aircall, as the company looks to accelerate its growth and expand globally.” In a hybrid work environment, users are looking to Aircall to provide an easy to use experience that is highly integrated into their workflows, thereby making the most out of every customer interaction. Aircall was built to empower any professional to have richer conversations, and to allow the phone channel to be accessible, transparent, and collaborative.Ĭhristian Resch, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, said: “The past 12 months have been a catalyst for Aircall's cloud based SaaS communication solution. Ultimately, the solution allows personalized experiences for their customers. This allows businesses to streamline workflows, providing more efficiency for their teams with better visibility, data and insights into their customers' needs and their teams' performances. Aircall helps businesses meet those objectives by integrating its cloud-based solution into leading business softwares like Salesforce, Hubspot, Zendesk, Slack, Intercom and many others. Over the past year, remote workforces accelerated digital transformation for companies of all sizes and, at the same time, their customers increased their expectations around personalized and convenient service. In an increasingly virtual world, businesses were lacking an easy-to-use solution that could integrate with other critical business applications, and support the communications needs of a dispersed and flexible workforce. The Linkedin Influencer Marketing Bundle For Your Business But Under $100Īircall was founded in 2014 with the belief that traditional business phone systems were hard to manage, siloed, and required heavy implementation costs and time.

[goldenretriever-nicknelson]

Vacation Part 2 ~ Prague [P.P]

Series Masterlist || Main Masterlist

A/n: Chapter 2 is here! I'm still working on 3 and I'll hopefully have it done in time for next week. I'm so grateful for the response from this small series and I'm excited that you all like it! This chapter has more angst in it and yes I was slightly inspired by To all the boys I've loved before haha.

Thank you to @eeyore101247 for beta reading this chapter for me at the last minute! I love you Lolo!

WC: 5.8k

Warnings: Angst, mentions of slut-shaming and bullying, high school sucks, mentions of Tony and grief but also cute romantic fluff cause we love to see it.

The end of the class’ time in Italy arrived too soon in Peter’s opinion. He’d had so much fun with you, he’d almost forgotten entirely about his plan. Almost. There was still a part of him drawn to MJ and still felt jealous when she was with Brad which started to happen more often.

And yet he always felt himself drawn back to you.

Peter sighed as he finished packing his bags, his head reeling from everything until he heard a knock on the door. Mostly everyone had left the hotel in a hurry but Ned had stayed with Peter.

“You got a package.” He handed Peter the wrapped package and looked at him with a furrowed brow. “Do you think it’s a bomb or something?”

Peter looked at his best friend in bewilderment. “Well I do now!”

“I’m sure it’s not.” Ned shook his head, eying the package carefully. Peter cautiously looked at Ned and back at the parcel in his hands. He knew this vacation had been too good to be true. He carefully looked at the writing and noticed a shield logo in the corner.

“It’s from SHIELD.” Peter spoke carefully as he opened the wrapping, he was hoping maybe for a cool badge or something but instead there was only a glasses case. Ned and him exchanged a look before opening the case.

There inside of the wooden casing was a pair of glasses, they looked mostly ordinary with a blue shaded tint to the lenses like the kind Tony would wear. Peter felt a strange kind of feeling as he looked at them, it was a mix of grief and disappointment, are these old glasses really the only thing Tony had left for him?

“Awesome!” Ned looked over Peter’s shoulder at the glasses. “Try them on!”

Peter thought about it before quickly closing the case and putting it in his backpack, shaking his head. “We’ll be late for the flight.”

“Oh you didn’t hear?” Ned gave Peter a look who shrugged in return. “We’re going by coach now. Mr Harrington said we got an upgrade to Prague.”

“What about Paris?!” Peter exclaimed, looking at Ned with wide eyes.

“Well Mr Harrington and Mr Dell kind of got into an argument about whether it was Prague or Paris we were meant to be going to. Turns out Mr Harrington was supposed to book Paris but he booked Prague instead.” Ned explained, shaking his head.

Peter sighed and furrowed his brow, a coach didn’t sound much fun but at least Peter didn’t have to worry about flying. He wasn’t sure if there were any romantic spots in Prague but it was nothing a quick internet search couldn’t fix. It’s not like his plan was going according anyway.

He grabbed his bags and walked down to where the rest of the class were already boarding a large coach.

Everyone was already seated by the time Peter got on. MJ was with Brad, Ned was with Betty and you were with one of your friends. The only free seat was next to Flash and Peter preferred the option of sitting by himself at the back, he could do with the peace and quiet anyway.

You gave him a smile as he walked past and he returned it before taking his seat, almost falling into it as the driver started down the road. Peter rested his head against the window and took out his earphones, noticing the case next to them. He played his music as he took out the case and looked at the glasses again.

He picked them up and tried them on, waiting for something to happen but nothing did. He laughed dryly and shook his head, going to take them off before he noticed a Stark industries business card at the bottom of the case.

For the next Tony Stark, I trust you. Say EDITH.

Peter read the message aloud and jumped as the glasses flashed blue, a female voice talking to him much like the one he had in his suit. An interface loaded in front of him, showing a scan of his face.

“Retinal and biometric scan completed.”

“Hello?”

“Hello Peter. I am EDITH, Tony Stark’s augmented reality security and defence system.”

Peter adjusted the glasses and smiled, Tony had given him an AI with access to all of his protocols. He almost couldn’t believe that he had trusted him with that kind of access.

“EDITH stands for even dead I’m the hero. Tony loved his acronyms.”

“Yeah he did.” Peter smiled fondly, remembering the time he had tried to make up some of his own but had never quite hit the mark.

“I have access to the entire Stark global security network including multiple defence satellites and backdoors to all major telecommunication networks.”

Peter looked around as screens loaded before him of what his classmates and teachers were up to on their phones including Mr Dell researching the history of witchcraft. Ned and Betty were texting each other even though they were sat together.

“Woah.” Peter couldn’t get over how cool this was to have all of this access at his fingertips. He looked over at MJ wondering if she was texting before changing his mind, knowing it would be wrong. His eyes landed on where you sat and your texts showed before him. Ned wasn’t the only one Betty was texting.

Y/n: I really like him.

Betty: I know but I’m pretty sure he likes MJ :/

Peter could feel his heart racing. He wanted so badly to tell you Betty was wrong but the truth was he didn’t know anymore.

You looked over at MJ and Brad, biting your lip before glancing at Peter. He quickly looked away from you, his eyes looking over towards MJ on accident. He didn’t see the way your face fell but he did see the last text you sent to Betty.

Y/n: Yeah, you’re right.

Peter sighed and put his head in his hands, wanting to scream into oblivion.

“Pete, everything okay?”

He quickly looked up at the sound of your voice and nodded, worrying that somehow you knew he had been spying. He tried to quickly think of something to say as you sat next to him, looking worried and saddened.

A moment’s silence passed between the both of you, neither sure of what to say. The only sound came from the chatters of the bus and the passing scenery outside.

“I like your glasses. Are they new?” You smiled, breaking the silence as you admired the new frames and the eyes underneath them. Peter slowly nodded and took them off.

“Y-yeah, they were a gift.” He gave you a small smile and put them back in the case. You noticed the Stark industries logo but didn’t say anything more on the topic. You knew how much Tony had meant to Peter.

After the blip when everyone returned to their old lives, you noticed Peter wasn’t the same person. He seemed sadder and lost, struggling to pay attention even in lessons he loved and sometimes he’d have to excuse himself quickly from the classroom. You had followed him once and found him on the floor, sobbing into his hands. He didn’t even register it was you that had hugged him until he looked up and mumbled an apology.

Seeing him that way broke your heart and the last thing you wanted to cause was more sadness for him when he was meant to be enjoying himself.

“I think they look good on you.”

Peter blushed and smiled, bowing his head shyly. “Thank you.”

You smiled back and nodded, deciding to listen to your music and handing Peter an earphone. He looked surprised at the gesture but took it anyway and listened to your music, a wide smile gracing his lips as you both shared the sweet moment together.

It stayed like that for the rest of the journey, both of you enjoying each other's company just as you had done in Venice. Peter couldn't get rid of the smile from his face until they stopped for a restroom break and he saw Brad and MJ holding hands as they got off the bus. His whole face fell which didn't go unnoticed by you.

Peter gave you a quick goodbye before going after Ned, in need of his best friend’s advice. You meekly said a goodbye before sighing and grabbing your things. Your eyes landed on a small journal on Peter’s seat that he must have left behind.

You know you shouldn’t have looked but the temptation was biting away at you. It was only just a peek, you told yourself. You smiled as you saw some doodles scribbled on the pages, chemical equations for something called web fluid (probably some cool science thing he was working on) and a section dedicated to The plan.

Intrigued of what the plan entailed you read ahead and with each written word the jealousy in your heart grew and the sadness broke your heart. Peter was planning to romance MJ with gifts and a whole speech he had written out in detail. Everything was planned and you were nothing more than a distraction. You even noticed that in one of Peter’s doodles he had written MJ or Y/n???

*~*~*~*

“I swear it was in here.” Peter sighed as he searched his bag for his journal, the one that held all his personal thoughts and feelings. Ned had tried to help him look but the mission was futile.

“It will turn up. Maybe you just left it on the bus.”

Peter nodded and sighed heavily, zipping his backpack up and throwing it back on his shoulders. He spotted a nice little souvenir for Morgan and paid for it before leaving the small store. He took a moment to look around where they had stopped since the rest of the group were taking their time and as he got closer to a small empty bathroom he could hear the sound of someone crying.

He gently knocked on the door to make sure that whoever it was was okay before being sharply told to go away. Peter felt even worse as he recognised your voice. He wondered what had happened since she’d been fine when he last saw her.

“y/n?”

“Peter just leave me alone, please.” Your voice cracked as you spoke, small sniffles escaping you as you sat on the edge of the closed toilet seat.

“You know I can’t do that.” He rested his head against the door and sighed softly, willing to wait for you until you came out.

“I’m trying to make things easier for you!”

Peter hummed in confusion before something slid out from underneath the door, his journal.

“Go be with MJ.”

“Y/n no..” He sighed and resisted the urge to bang his head against the door. “I-” He didn’t even know how to explain but he did know one thing. “It doesn’t matter what it says in there. I’ve had so much fun with you on this trip and I know now that you can’t plan everything, you can’t plan falling in love because it just happens.”

As Peter spoke he realised that his words were truer than they had ever been, he was falling for you and he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t want to stop. He didn’t care about his plan anymore and yes it still hurt when MJ was with Brad but it was nothing compared to the happiness he felt when he was with you.

The world felt silent around the both of you as Peter’s words processed. You felt even more confused than before but you could also feel something else, hope. Peter listened to your breathing and the small sniffles that still came from behind the door.

“I’m gonna head back onto the bus. I got cookies if you wanna share.”

You held back a giggle and rolled your eyes fondly before opening the bathroom door and wiping your eyes free of tears.

“They better be chocolate chip.”

“Is there any other kind?”

You and Peter both laughed as you got back on the bus, already heading to the back together to find your seats. Peter put his journal away out of sight and smiled at you, taking out the cookies he had brought and offering one to you. It did nothing to ease the ache still in your heart but it did fill your stomach and no matter what you still liked being in Peter’s company.

*~*~*~*

The hotel for Prague turned out to be a lot better than the one they had stayed in during their time in Venice. Mr Harrington said that an anonymous someone had given them an upgrade which made Peter’s Spidey senses tingle. Maybe he was just being paranoid but he also knew that things like this were usually too good to be true.

Everyone was shown to their room, all except for Peter who got held back at reception by the lady at the desk.

“He said to leave this here for you when you arrived Mr Parker.”

Peter looked at her with confusion as he took the envelope, a familiar handwriting scrawled on top. His heart suddenly felt heavy but he pushed the resurfacing feelings of grief aside and nodded, making his way up to his room.

He could hear through the door that Ned and Betty were already inside making cutesy talk while soft music played. Whilst Peter loved his friends, he wanted to go somewhere quiet and open the letter. His mind had already decided where to go as he made his way towards the room number he needed and knocked.

The door opened to reveal your beautiful smile which already made Peter feel a sense of calm. He looked around for your suit buddy and sighed in relief as the room was empty.

“Can I come in?”

You nodded without hesitation, seeing the slight pain on Peter’s face and brought him to sit down on one of the comfy twin beds. He held the letter in slightly shaky hands and kept his eyes on it. You spotted the familiar logo on the envelope, the same that was on Peter’s glasses case and realised.

“Is that from-?”

“Mhm.” Peter nodded, keeping his lips in a tight thin line as he contemplated opening it. His mind was running a mile a minute with so many thoughts. He’d gotten the glasses from Tony and that was enough for him even if the card had been a bit of a riddle. He wasn’t sure if he could handle a letter too.

“Can you open it?” Peter looked at you pleadingly as he handed you the letter, his hands still visibly shaking. You hesitated before nodding and carefully opened the envelope, reading the letter aloud.

Dear Peter,

I’m writing this in case all goes well and we manage to restore normality, at least what once was. I know you’re going to do great things and maybe you’ll make mistakes along the way but that’s part of being human kid. God knows I made more than I can count.

I wanted to make your senior year as awesome as it should be so if you’re reading this then you made it kid. I don’t remember much of my last year of high school but I wanted to make sure you did so make the most of it and don’t worry about any extracurriculars on your trip.

I know you’ll make me proud Peter cause you already do. Now go have fun and don’t do anything I would do or anything I wouldn’t do. Remember the little grey area is where you operate.

Anonymous someone.

Peter laughed and sniffled as you finished, wiping his eyes as tears had started to fall. You quickly put the letter down and wrapped your arms around him, hugging him close.

“It’s okay.”

He nodded against your shoulder as a few more tears fell, his fingers clinging onto your sweater. Peter wasn’t sure whether to smile or cry more at the words from his mentor so he did both. He reread the letter again and again that night, feeling the weight on his heart ease. Tony had upgraded his class trip for him probably through Happy to make sure Peter had a nice time and he had also said he was proud of him. That hit Peter the most and it was what he needed to hear in that moment.

You both stayed like that for a few minutes as Peter’s breathing calmed, his tears reducing to sniffles. You rubbed his back comfortingly and played with his curls which seemed to relax Peter more as he stayed in your arms.

When you both pulled away neither was sure of what to say. Peter focused on clearing his face of tears and running a hand through his messy curls whilst you played with the sleeves of your sweater. You wished you could ask Peter to stay the night, after all your roommate for the trip had gone home with food poisoning.

Little did you know Peter was thinking the same thoughts, knowing Ned and Betty would probably still be in his room or go to hers. Sometimes they spooned and stayed up till late hours of the night talking, he wasn’t sure he could deal with that right now and he liked being in your company.

“Do you want to-?”

“Can I-?”

You both laughed as you spoke over each other, exchanging a back and forth argument of who should speak first. Peter insisted you speak and gave you a small smile.

You nodded and took a deep breath before looking into those familiar warm, honey coloured eyes. “Do you want to stay here tonight? There’s two beds and I heard there’s a Star Wars Marathon on tv.”

Peter’s smile widened, his eyes crinkling with happiness as he nodded. “I’d love to.”

The night passed by in a blur as you and Peter stayed up to watch his favourite movies, even having ordered some food from room service which had apparently also been covered by Stark industries. Just like in Venice, you laughed and joked and enjoyed each other’s company, smiling as you saw Peter enjoying himself.

There was still a hurt from earlier knowing how much he had wanted to be with MJ and you knew they would work together as a couple, you’d seen them in decathlon together but MJ seemed to be enjoying time with Brad and Peter was here with you. A warm flutter of butterflies exploded in your stomach as you met his gaze, he offered his warm smile and offered you some of his popcorn to which you nodded.

Maybe your chance wasn’t so dead after all.

Just as you were about to wind down for the night, it being way past midnight, Peter looked at you with a hesitant smile.

“Hey Y/n?”

You looked up at him in response, picking up some popcorn from your competition to see who could throw and catch the most in their mouths (Peter had won).

“I- um would you-” Peter stuttered over his words as they got caught on his tongue. He cleared his throat and you bit back a smile at how utterly cute he was. “There’s this big carnival tomorrow and I was hoping maybe w-we could go together?”

His cheeks flushed pink as he finally asked the question he’d been dying to ask all night, his eyes too scared to look at your reaction.

“Peter,” You walked over and cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look at you. He relaxed at seeing the wide smile on your face. “I would love to go with you.”

His smile widened to match yours and a wave of relief washed over him. “That’s great.” He gave a chuckle and blushed as you delicately kissed his cheek before getting into your bed for the night.

“Just to make sure I meant like a date.” Peter clarified, worried about getting put into the friendzone.

You giggled and smiled at him from your bed. “I know Pete. It’s a date.” You winked at him before turning off the light and laying back, ready to fall asleep with a wide smile on your face.

Peter smiled wide as he laid in bed, the sheets and mattress softer than the last one he had slept on. Everything finally seemed to be falling into place, it wasn’t as Peter had imagined but it was far better.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning Peter woke up feeling more refreshed than he had felt in a long time. The sun was shining over Prague and even Peter felt brighter in himself. He looked over at your bed and smiled as he found you still asleep, snoring softly.

Peter’s whole heart leapt at the sight and he let out a happy sigh as he thought about last night. You had comforted him and held him and had even agreed to go on a date with him tonight. He felt like the luckiest human alive which made him want to do a little dance in his bed as he thought about it.

“What are you doing?”

Peter blushed and looked over to see that you were now awake and looking at him with an amused smile.

“Uh nothing.” He laughed and got out of bed, gathering the letter and his shoes. You giggled as you watched him accidentally grab your sneakers before switching them for his own. “I better get going. Don’t want Mr Harrington to call an emergency buddy meeting again.”

You laughed and agreed with a nod, remembering the last one at the airport when Mr Harrington had panicked the whole group when he thought Ned had gone missing only to see he was right behind him.

Peter smiled at you as he opened the door, “I’ll see you later?”

You nodded and smiled wide, “Don’t be late Parker.”

He shook his head and laughed as he left, an unwavering smile on his face as he headed back to his room. Peter didn’t notice Flash see him leave your room with a smile and his shoes in hand nor the phone recording him.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Peter took a deep breath as he stood in front of the mirror, brushing down his shirt as he bit his lip. “I’m not sure.”

Ned sighed and flopped back onto his bed. “Peter, this is the 7th shirt you’ve tried on! You look fine!” He knew as soon as he uttered the last word that Peter would rummage through his suitcase yet again for the perfect shirt.

10 minutes later, Peter was finally ready for his date, much to Ned’s relief. He watched as Peter gave himself a pep talk in the mirror, mumbling in the hopes Ned couldn’t hear him.

“Okay here’s the plan-”

Ned was just about to tell Peter enough with his plans before the door opened and MJ walked in.

“Hey losers.”

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” Ned looked at her and raised his brow. MJ shrugged in response and sat down on Peter’s vacant bed. She looked at him as he turned back to the mirror and tried to tame his messy curls.

“So you and Y/n huh?” MJ noted with a smirk, stealing some of the gummy worms that Peter had brought for the trip. He turned around so quickly, he almost got whiplash.

“What?! I-” Peter was at a loss for words, he knew news spread quickly at Midtown but how had anyone found out in one night. “We’re not really a thing yet.” He blushed and avoided his friends’ gazes.

“Oh really? Then why did Flash see you leave her room last night in the same clothes as yesterday.” MJ smirked again and threw a gummy worm at Peter who looked at her with wide eyes.

“I just- I stayed in her room last night.” He admitted, his cheeks burning red as Ned and MJ didn’t look convinced. “But nothing happened!”

Ned and MJ shared a sympathetic look as they saw Peter’s distress grow at the rumor. He picked up his phone and panicked as he saw the midtown gossip website showing a video of him leaving your room. Before he could panic anymore Peter quickly made his way to the other side of the hotel floor and banged on Flash’s door.

“Woah penis what-?”

“Take it down.” Peter didn’t disguise his anger as Flash opened the door.

“What?”

“The video you took last night Flash. Please take it down.” Peter lowered his voice and pleaded. He knew this would affect you as soon as you saw it and the last thing he wanted was for you to get hurt because of him. Not again.

“Why? Don’t want everyone to know you’re not a virgin anymore?” Flash smirked and laughed before noticing the anger grow once more on Peter’s face. “The video’s out of my control. Sorry dude.”

Flash closed the door, not sounding sorry at all. Peter sighed and leaned against the wall, resting his head back. Everywhere around him classmates were getting ready for the carnival, whispering behind his back and giving him looks, he wasn’t sure if they were impressed looks or disgusted ones but either way he didn’t like them.

Peter usually lied low so he could avoid things like this and stay out of the rumor mill. He hated rumors and he hated being a part of them even more. Just as he was contemplating messaging Happy to see if he could do something, he heard a door open and looked up.

You walked out of your room, looking as beautiful as ever and Peter swear his heart almost dropped out of his stomach at the sight as the butterflies ran rampant in his stomach. You looked around before catching his gaze and smiling.

“Hey Pete.”

For a moment, Peter forgot how to form words, too focused on how beautiful you looked as you smiled. His throat felt dry and his hands felt clammy to the touch.

“H-hi.” He finally managed to say, his heart racing as you smiled wider and giggled.

“I was just coming to meet you. Are you ready to go?”

Peter thought back to the video circulating his classmates phones and he assumed you hadn’t seen it. He knew he should’ve told you there and then but he didn’t want to ruin your date or hurt you so he kept his lips sealed.

He nodded and gave you a small smile, heading out of the hotel with you. Your hands touched briefly as you walked and Peter almost took your hand in his before pulling away as he chickened out. You tried not to show your disappointment and offered Peter a smile.

The streets of Prague were full of life and celebration, everyone wearing bright colours and dancing along the streets as loud music played. Peter allowed himself to be distracted at the joy of the city before your hand slipped into his, catching him by surprise.

You gave his hand a squeeze and smiled, “So we don’t lose each other.” It was partially the truth but you mostly just wanted to hold his hand. Peter smiled and nodded but you could tell something was wrong.

It wasn’t just the rumour mill that was getting to Peter, the loud noises and brightness was causing his heightened senses to overload. He began to feel on edge and his palms grew even sweatier than before.

“Peter are you okay?”

He looked at you and bit his lip, shaking his head slowly. You squeezed his hand comfortingly and nodded, seemingly understanding what needed to be done as you led him over to the Ferris wheel.

Peter sighed in relief as you and him both got seated, your hands still interlinked as the door shut to the cart you were in.

“I hate crowds too.” You admitted with a soft blush and met his gaze. Peter smiled softly and squeezed your hand like you had done to his.

The wheel moved slowly allowing you both to enjoy the moment and the sights of the city. Peter knew that he didn’t need to fill the silence or try to talk, you were just there for each other as you had been last night and the whole trip.

Music from the streets filled the silence of the night as you and Peter looked out at the stars glittering in the night sky. It was right as you reached the peak of the wheel that Peter finally broke the silence.

“I really like you Y/n.”

You blushed and turned to Peter, noticing the redness of his cheeks and the staggered breaths escaping his lips. He looked straight ahead for a few moments before he felt your hand grip tighter onto his and saw your smile from the corner of his eye.

“I really like you too Peter.”

He smiled wide, mirroring yours before noticing your face fall just as fast.

“But I don’t want to be second best.”

Peter’s heart broke at her words, knowing she was thinking back to his journal. He shook his head and quickly cupped your cheeks in his hands, meeting your gaze lovingly.

“You’re not second best Y/n. You never were and you never will be. The truth is I’ve always liked you but I just- I never thought I would be lucky enough to have a chance with you.”

You smiled at the genuinity in Peter’s voice and his warm brown eyes that pulled you in ever closer until your lips were almost touching. “Always liked me huh?”

Peter nodded and smiled wide, the blush on his cheeks becoming brighter as he looked down at your lips.

“C-can I kiss you?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

You smiled as Peter’s lips finally met your own, after years of pining and wondering what if. Peter’s lips were soft and tasted like the cotton candy you had shared earlier. Your lips were sweeter than Peter had ever imagined, if that was possible.

Neither of you wanted the kiss to end but you could feel the need for air increasing in your lungs. You were the first one to pull back, catching your breath as you leaned your forehead against Peter’s. He chuckled softly and smiled so wide that his eyes crinkled.

“Woah.”

You nodded and pecked his lips once more with a giggle. The blush on your cheeks was rivalling Peter’s now as you noticed the ride was soon coming to an end. Peter looked disappointed before quickly paying for another ride.

“I hope you did that so you can kiss me again.” You smiled coyly and looped your arms around Peter’s neck.

“Maybe.” He shrugged and laughed before leaning in to kiss you again but this time he hesitated as he saw the looks from some of his classmates. The reminder hitting him like a train.

“Pete? What’s wrong?” Your fingers played with the curls at the nape of his neck as the wheel started to move again. Peter visibly gulped and his mood fell as he looked back at you.

“There’s something I have to tell you.”

You bit your lip in worry and nodded, having a feeling you knew what Peter was going to say.

“Pete I know.”

“You do?”

You giggled and nodded again, kissing his cheek and leaning in close. Peter blushed and looked guilty, his eyes avoiding yours.

“You being Spider-Man doesn’t bother me.”

Peter’s blood ran cold and he quickly shifted away, laughing in pretend disbelief. “I-What?! No. I-I’m not Spider-Man!”

You looked knowingly at him and rubbed his arm, taking his hand back in yours. “Peter it’s okay, i think it’s cool.” You smiled but Peter still sat in denial, shaking his head.

“I-” He gulped and sighed, biting his lip. “Is it that obvious?”

“No but I’ve had a crush on your for a while now and I’m not dumb Peter. The glasses and the letter from Iron Man. And then there was Washington. I just know you Peter.” You blushed and fidgeted with your hands, feeling embarrassed to admit your crush even though you had only kissed him 5 seconds ago.

Peter smiled, finding it endearing that you knew him and had paid attention to him all this time. He leaned back in close to you and rested his hand on yours.

“Oh my god!” You gasped, laughing as Peter was taken aback at your exclamation. “I’m dating a freaking superhero!” You giggled with Peter before kissing him again. The kiss was even more perfect than the last as your lips began to learn and memorise each other.

*~*~*~*~*

The carnival livened up even more as the night went on. The music became louder and the people got more drunk, something that might have made Peter annoyed but nothing could ruin his mood right now. He could still taste the sweetness of your lips on his and he just couldn’t get enough.

You giggled as Peter kissed your lips again after winning you a gigantic teddy bear. He smiled wide and giggled with you, the sound like music to your ears. You hugged the bear tight to your chest after choosing to name it Spidey which made Peter blush.

“This is so amazing.” You remarked as you took a moment to enjoy the scenery surrounding you. Peter sat with you on a nearby bench and nodded, hesitantly wrapping his arm around you. He smiled as you leaned into his side with a happy sigh. The moment was perfect and Peter was sure nothing could ruin it.

You jumped a little as your phone buzzed before pulling it from your pocket. Peter smiled to himself as he saw Spider-Man was the wallpaper on your phone. You blushed and tried to quickly hide it as you opened the message from Betty.

Peter turned his eyes towards the street to give you some privacy, the last thing he wanted you to think was that he was reading your texts (again).

He only looked back at you as you slowly pulled away from his arms, clutching your phone in your hands and only then did Peter notice that Betty had sent you the video of him leaving your room last night. You were scrolling through the comments and Peter saw that amongst the nice or gossiping comments that were hurtful ones calling you names.

“Y/n I-”

You shook your head and bit your lip, quickly locking your phone. You noticed a group of girls from your class staring at you and giggling, whispering in each other's ears.

“I have to go.” You sniffled as you grabbed your bag and quickly walked back to the hotel, ignoring Peter’s calls of your name. He sighed and tried to chase after you but within seconds he had lost you in the crowd and maybe for good this time.

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[tinyshe]

Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Lays Out Plan to Control the Global Internet: Leaked Documents                                                              

 By Nicole Hao and Cathy He

  May 2, 2021                            Updated: May 3, 2021                                                                            

Chinese leader Xi Jinping personally directed the communist regime to focus its efforts to control the global internet, displacing the influential role of the United States, according to internal government documents recently obtained by The Epoch Times.

In a January 2017 speech, Xi said the “power to control the internet” had become the “new focal point of [China’s] national strategic contest,” and singled out the United States as a “rival force” standing in the way of the regime’s ambitions.

The ultimate goal was for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to control all content on the global internet, so the regime could wield what Xi described as “discourse power” over communications and discussions on the world stage.

Xi articulated a vision of “using technology to rule the internet” to achieve total control over every part of the online ecosystem—over applications, content, quality, capital, and manpower.

His remarks were made at the fourth leadership meeting of the regime’s top internet regulator, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, in Beijing on Jan. 4, 2017, and detailed in internal documents issued by the Liaoning Provincial Government in China’s northeast.

The statements confirm efforts made by Beijing in the past few years to promote its own authoritarian version of the internet as a model for the world.

In another speech given in April 2016, detailed in an internal document by the Anshan City Government in Liaoning Province, Xi confidently proclaimed that in the “struggle” to control the internet, the CCP has transformed from playing “passive defense” to playing both “attack and defense” at the same time.

Having successfully built the world’s most sprawling and sophisticated online censorship and surveillance apparatus, known as the Great Firewall, the CCP under Xi is turning outwards, championing a Chinese internet whose values run counter to the open model advocated by the West. Rather than prioritizing the free flow of information, the CCP’s system centers on giving the state the ability to censor, spy on, and control internet data.

Countering the US

The Chinese leader acknowledged the regime lagged behind its rival the United States—the dominant player in this field—in key areas such as technology, investments, and talent.

To realize its ambitions, Xi emphasized the need to “manage internet relations with the United States,” while “making preparations for fighting a hard war” with the country in this area.

American companies should be used by the regime to reach its goal, Xi said, without elaborating on how this would be done.

He also directed the regime to increase its cooperation with Europe, developing countries, and member states of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative,” to form a “strategic counterbalance” against the United States.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a massive infrastructure investment project launched by Beijing to connect Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East through a network of rail, sea, and road linkages. The plan has been criticized by the United States and other Western countries as a conduit for Beijing to increase its political and commercial interests in member states while saddling developing countries with heavy debt burdens.

The BRI has also pushed countries to sign up to “digital silk road” projects—those involving information and communications technology infrastructure. At least 16 countries have signed memoranda of understanding with the regime to work in this area.

Three-pronged Strategy

Xi ordered the regime to focus on three “critical” areas in its pursuit of controlling the global internet.

First, Beijing needs to be able to “set the rules” governing the international system. Second, it should install CCP surrogates in important positions in global internet organizations. Third, the regime should gain control over the infrastructure that underlies the internet, such as root servers, Xi said.

Domain Name System (DNS) root servers are key to internet communications around the world. It directs users to websites they intend to visit. There are more than 1,300 root servers in the world, about 20 of which are located in China while the United States has about 10 times that, according to the website root-servers.org.

If the Chinese regime were to gain control over more root servers, they could then redirect traffic to wherever they want, Gary Miliefsky, cybersecurity expert and publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine, told The Epoch Times. For example, if a user wants to go to a news article about a topic deemed sensitive by Beijing, then the regime’s DNS server could route the user to a fake page saying the article is no longer online.

“The minute you control the root, you can spoof or fake anything,” he said. “You can control what people see, what people don’t see.”

In recent years, the regime has made headway in advancing Xi’s strategy.

In 2019, Chinese telecom giant Huawei first proposed the idea for an entirely new internet, called New IP (internet protocol), to replace the half-century-old infrastructure underpinning the web. New IP is touted to be faster, more efficient, flexible, and secure than the current internet, and will be built by the Chinese.

While New IP may indeed bring about an improved global network, Miliefsky said, “the price for that is freedom.”

“There’s going to be no free speech. And there’s going to be eavesdropping in real-time, all the time, on everyone,” he said. “Everyone who joins it is going to be eavesdropped by a single government.”

The proposal was made at a September 2019 meeting held at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a U.N. agency responsible for setting standards for computing and communications issues that is currently headed by Chinese national Zhao Houlin. New IP is set to be formally debated at the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly to be held in March 2022.

Miliefsky said the plan is unlikely to gain widespread support among countries, but may be adopted by like-minded authoritarian states such as North Korea, and later by countries that signed onto BRI and are struggling to repay its loans to China.

This would accelerate a bifurcation of the internet, what analysts such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt have dubbed the “splinternet,” Miliefsky said. “The communist net and the rest of the world.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Huawei for comment.

Importing Talent

According to the document, Xi ordered the CCP regime to set up “three ecosystems”—technology, industry, and policy—to develop core internet technologies.

Having skilled workers was key to this plan, with Xi directing that talent should be hired from around the globe. This would be done through Chinese companies, Xi prescribed.

He told Chinese firms to “proactively” invite foreign “high-end talents,” and to set up research centers overseas and hire leading ethnic Chinese and foreign specialists to work for them.

Meanwhile, Xi asked the regime to set up a professional training system in China, which can systematically develop a highly skilled workforce in the long run.

He also directed officials in each level of government to guide Chinese companies to develop their business plans to align with the regime’s strategic goals, and encourage capable enterprises to take the lead in developing innovations in core technologies.

Enterprises were to be educated in having “national awareness and safeguarding national interests,” Xi said. Only then should the regime support and encourage their expansion.

Because talent and critical technology are concentrated overseas, the Chinese leader also ordered authorities to support the development of a group of multinational internet companies that can have global influence.

Turning the Internet Red

Xi, in his 2016 speech, described all online content as falling into three categories: “red zone, black zone, and gray zone.”

“Red zone” content refers to discourse aligned with the CCP’s propaganda requirements, while “black zone” material falls foul of these rules. “Gray zone” content lies in the middle.

“We must consolidate and expand the red zone and expand its influence in society,” Xi said in a leaked speech in August 2013. “We must bravely enter into the black zone [and fight hard] to gradually get it to change its color. We must launch large-scale actions targeting the gray zone to accelerate its conversion to the red zone and prevent it from turning into the black zone.”

Inside China, the CCP has a stranglehold on online content and discussion through the Great Firewall, a massive internet censorship apparatus that blockades foreign websites and censors content deemed unacceptable to the party. It also hires a massive online troll army, dubbed the “50-cent army,” to manipulate online discussion. A recent report found that the CCP engages 2 million paid internet commentators and draws on a network of 20 million part-time volunteers to carry out online trolling.

Freedom House, in its 2020 annual internet freedom report, labeled China as the world’s worst abuser of online freedom for the sixth straight year. Chinese citizens have been arrested for using software to circumvent the Great Firewall and punished for posting comments online unfavorable to the Chinese regime. In a now-notorious incident during the early stages of the pandemic, whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang was reprimanded by police for “rumor-mongering” after warning colleagues in a social media chat group about a SARS-like virus in Wuhan City.

In the 2017 remarks, Xi told the regime to develop a larger group of “red” online influencers to shape users’ perceptions of the CCP. He also called for an expansion of the 50 cent army to operate both inside and outside of China’s internet.

Since the pandemic, the CCP has sharply escalated its efforts to influence online opinion overseas. Using large networks of troll accounts on Twitter and Facebook, the regime has been able to propagate and amplify propaganda and disinformation on topics such as the pandemic, racial tensions in the United States, and the regime’s oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Follow Cathy on Twitter:

@CathyHe_ET

[fatehbaz]

Yaqui people blockaded infrastructure in Sonora for several weeks, obstructing the business of Ford Motors, and resulting in President Obrador personally visiting Yaqui communities 6 August 2020, when the president established the “Justice Plan/Commission of the Yaqui People” and promised that the Guaymas-El Oro gas pipeline will be rerouted to avoid Yaqui land, but many are skeptical of the federal government’s commitment.

Map from Intercontinental Cry:

--

--

Excerpt: The blockade has hit both the Mexicali-California and the Nogales-Arizona border crossings, and so far prevented the passage of 15 trains carrying about 150,000 tons of cargo, according to the Mexican railways association AMF. AMF President J0se Z0zaya estimated it has caused losses of more than 75 million of pesos ($3.4 million). Zozaya said demonstrators have been blocking the rail lines for 10 days now.

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From Explica reporter staff, 6 August 2020:

The Yaquis have survived attempts at extermination, such as that of the dictator Porfirio Díaz, who in 1900 tried to massacre the tribe in the Battle of Mazocoba. The modern history of the Yaqui tribe is marked by the permanent defense of their territorial rights and the fight for natural resources, some claims that will be presented this Thursday to the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Located between the municipalities of Cajeme and Guaymas, south of the state of Sonora, the Yaqui territory - also self-identified as yoeme - is crossed by public and private infrastructure priority for the development of the economy throughout the northwest of Mexico.

This Thursday [6 August 2020], López Obrador will arrive for the second time at the Traditional Guard to meet with the governors of the Eight Yaqui Peoples to establish the commitments of the Justice Plan for the Yaqui People, which the president summarized in two words: « land and water. »

According to the data of the last census, the tribe Yaqui is made up of 32,000 indigenous people [...].

The territory currently inhabited by the Yaqui tribe between the municipalities of Guaymas and Cajeme It is crossed in 90 kilometers by different facilities, the public ones are the Federal Highway Mexico 15 that connects the northwest of Mexico from the west to the west coast of the United States.

Also the high and low voltage lines of the Federal Electricity Commission, as well as the Petróleos Mexicanos Guaymas-Ciudad Obregón pipeline and the Río Yaqui-Guaymas, Empalme and San Carlos aqueduct, that supplies water to 200,000 inhabitants.

Among the facilities of private companies that cross the Eight Pueblos, the Sonora gas pipeline stands out, which runs from Arizona to Sinaloa; fiber optics for telecommunications from Telmex; and the railroad tracks of Ferromex, a subsidiary of Grupo México.

In its demonstrations, the Traditional Guard of the Yaqui Nation demands the cancellation of the Independencia Aqueduct that supplies water to 800,000 inhabitants of Hermosillo, capital of Sonora, and that It operates despite an order from the Supreme Court of Justice in the Nation that ordered the suspension of the extraction of the natural resource. [...]

The Yaquis have survived extermination attempts, such as that of the dictator Porfirio Díaz, who in 1900 tried to massacre the tribe at the Battle of Mazocoba. This confrontation was preceded by long years of a low intensity war that took the lives of 23,000 indigenous people between executions, hangings, taking of prisoners and a massive deportation to Yucatán, on the other side of the country, which had the purpose of putting an end to their culture, but they held on.

The mutiny of war has always been the fertile Yaqui Valley and abundant water from a watershed that has never finished drying up despite the fact that it currently supplies at least four of the most populated cities in Sonora: Hermosillo, Guaymas, Empalme and Ciudad Obregón.

López Obrador will be there on Thursday, August 6, together with the Vícam Traditional Guard, as well as governors and representatives of these peoples in order to seek a solution to these historical claims.

In addition, they demand that the construction of infrastructure for social development and public services of these eight towns is fulfilled, where hospitals, schools, paving and sports fields have been left unfinished.

The Yaquis reproach that while the water basin that runs through their territory supplies water for human consumption and productive activities in four cities with a population of 1.5 million, barely 30% of the inhabitants of the eight indigenous municipalities have access to drinking water.

Regarding the land, the Yaquis seek to recover 900,000 hectares of the valley, some of which are in the possession of community members and farmers, despite the fact that supposedly they had been reincorporated into the territory of the tribe in a presidential decree promulgated by General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (1934-1940).

López Obrador will be on Thursday, August 6, together with the Traditional Guard of Vícam, as well as governors and representatives of these peoples in order to seek a solution to these historical claims.

==

7 August 2020:

President Lopez Obrador announced on Thursday the creation of a justice commission for the Yaqui indigenous people which will be responsible for returning expropriated land to them, delivering basic services and rerouting a gas line. The president made the announcement during a meeting in Vícam, Sonora, with the leaders of eight Yaqui towns in the northern border state.

He also apologized to the Yaqui people for repression committed by previous governments, indicating that Mexico owes a large debt to the indigenous community. [...] The president also committed to delivering reliable water services to the eight Yaqui towns as well as improving drainage, healthcare, education, housing and public spaces.

Construction of the pipeline has been stalled since 2017 due to the opposition from residents of Bácum, one of the eight Yaqui towns. [...] At least one Yaqui leader who attended the meeting wasn’t convinced that the president would keep his word. Alfonso Valenzuela, Sonora leader of the National Union of Autonomous Regional Farmers Organizations, told the Reforma newspaper that López Obrador offered “a lot of words” but didn’t sign anything to back them up. He described the meeting with the president as “a lost opportunity.“

[prorevenge]

Found my girlfriend was cheating on me with a close friend, so I had him arrested and ghosted her.

TL:DR will be at the bottom but hold onto your hats, this is going to be a long one.

Backstory (incoming sadness)

My wife Rachel and I grew up in a largish town of close to 30,000 people. We knew each other at an early age (roughly 6 or 7, can’t specifically remember). We were practically inseparable. At 16, we started dating each other. When we turned 18, we moved away for work in a city just a few hours drive away. By 20, we were married and had bought our first house. At 22, we discovered that she was pregnant with a boy. It was then disaster struck.

About 5 weeks before she was due to go on maternity leave, a large shelving unit collapsed and crushed her. I was told that both her and our child were killed instantly. Two of her colleagues had also been injured in the accident, one left paralyzed, the other loosing his leg after it had to be amputated. The company she was working for, had in a cost cutting measure, decided to continue using old shelving that had been written off as unsafe instead of replacing it. I still haven’t quiet forgiven those executives and management personnel that made that decision, because they cut short the love of my life as well as killing our unborn child.

It wasn’t long after I was told I had a ‘choice’ on how to proceed with what her company called “compensation”, but I called it blood money. They wanted to settle out of court to avoid a lawsuit. I, on the other hand, was out for their blood. [Just to clarify here, this is not the revenge, this is still backstory]. Fortunately, due to the coverage that it got, and involving several politicians, the case was settled quickly in court (roughly 3 years) in which the payout for all parties was close to 10 times the amount that they had initially offered. A lot of fines were given to them for breaches on work, health and safety, executives were sacked, others were jailed, etc. [A story for another time maybe, when I feel comfortable sharing.]

In this time, I was still working my job in telecommunications. My mother, bless her soul, had moved in while all this was happening to help me. I think I would have fallen apart if she hadn’t been as involved as she was. It was around this time, I was offered a promotion, but it involved a lot of travel around the state. I made a request to have an office in my home towns branch, as I wanted to not only take care of businesses in the state, but in my home town also as there was no business representative located there to which they agreed. After a few months, we settled into a routine of one to two weeks in the city office, one week in my hometown and one to two weeks visiting the rest of the state. After a year, I decided to buy a house in my hometown, so I wasn’t having to stay at my parent’s place every week or so that I was home and that I could come and go as I pleased. This is important for later in the story.

It is about 4 years later that our story begins. (Sorry if the backstory was a bit long)

I had just returned from one of my trips on Friday, and was checking in some stuff at my office when Harry, the branch’s managing director, walked in. We had grown up together also, but had gone to different schools but since coming back had developed a very close friendship. He asked how things were, and then asked me if I wanted to come to a house party that he was having that evening. Short notice and all, but I said yes. I felt like a few drinks with friends were in order. It was there that Harry introduced me to Katherine. She was a new hire at the branch where my hometowns office was located and was getting to know everyone being new in town. We hit it off immediately. As much of a cliché as it sounds, it was almost as if Rachel was in front of me, instead of Katherine.

I won’t bore you too much with the details, but after 2 years of dating, we decided to take the next step and she moved into my hometowns house. Everything up to this point had been going really well. Katherine and my parent’s got along and Rachel’s parents also approved and were happy that someone could make me just as happy as Rachel had done. All was going well for close to a year when things began to change. Skype sessions were cut short suddenly, neighbours would tell me about how a car, described to me like it was Harry’s, was always seen parked in the back alley near my house whenever I was away, some clothes that weren’t mine were in my wardrobe. All signs pointed to her cheating, but she said that nothing was happening. She said that Harry would come over occasionally to discuss business, etc, but never stayed the night. I chalked it up to me being paranoid and continued on as if nothing was wrong, but there was always this feeling that something wasn’t right.

It was close to 6 months after that I discovered that she had been lying to me. I had just finished closing a rather large contract with a new company and negotiations had wrapped up earlier than I had anticipated. So instead of sticking around for the next few days, I decided to pay for an early flight home and surprise everyone. Fast forward a few hours and I drive into my hometown and down the alley behind my house so that I could get into the house without being seen and surprise Katherine. Some part of me was curious however as to whether this mystery car was there.

Sure enough, there was a car that was blocking the back entrance gate. I was confused for a moment wondering if it had just been a neglectful neighbor parking only to realize that it was indeed Harry’s car. If it hadn’t been for the high hedge line that I had put in a few years back for privacy, I may have well driven past my own place. Pulling up behind his car, I got out and thought it was strange that he was there so late. As she claimed that he always had left by now. As I approached the back of the house I saw something that stomach drop. In my kitchen, Katherine and Harry were going at it hammer and tong. I froze. Time stopped. There was my close friend, having sex on my kitchen bench with my girlfriend.

I didn’t know what to do. So many questions where running through my head. Was this real or was I dreaming? Why were they having sex in my house? Feeling defeated, I turned and left without them seeing me. I sat in my car for what felt like an eternity. I was crying. Hard. But the sadness quickly turned into anger. The same kind of anger I felt towards those that were responsible for Rachel’s death. I wanted to hurt them. Badly. As a pacifist, I don’t believe in violence. It was then I knew I was going to punish them and destroy their lives. And what better time to start than now.

I moved my car back up the alley, far enough away from my driveway that I could still see Harry’s car, and then walked back to the gate where I could see into the house, and called her phone. They were still going for it when it rang. They both looked at the Caller ID and did a double take when my name came up. I could see that she was considering answering it and they let it ring out. After a few moments they were back into it again and I dialed once again. This time she did answered. As she was answering I hung up and made my way back to my car. As soon as I did, she called me back. She asked why I was calling as late as I was, and I told her that I was about 10 minutes from home and didn’t want to scare her coming in. She, obviously, was shocked and acted happy that I was coming and the call ended very quickly after she said she was going to get up and get changed into something. I said bye and hung up.

A few moments later, Harry came peeling through the gate and still half naked, jumped into his car took off like a bat out of hell. I smiled a little, knowing the fear that both of them would be feeling from being so close to being caught. I waited a few moments before turning my car into the same place Harry had been moments earlier. The night was fairly uneventful afterwards and It wasn’t until after she was asleep, that I got up and went to my office down the hall. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to plan. And plan I did.

The Revenge

My mother always taught me to be a pacifist and to allow cosmic karma to take its course. But on this occasion, I decided that karma could use a helping hand. I decided to punish them separately but destroy both of them. I knew that Harry had a drug habit. Nothing major, but he kept it very private. I only knew about it accidently after seeing some coke and weed left out in his place but pretended I hadn’t seen it when he had made attempts to cover it up. I began calling some of my more unsavoury clientele and made a few discreet enquiries into obtaining some samples that they were willing to part with. A few days later, I had a decent enough stash for my plan to work. About a month later, I had friends, including Harry around for a barbeque night. After making sure that I sufficiently liquored up Harry, I told him to stay the night and sleep it off.

In the early hours of that morning, I took the drugs, and an assortment of my personal belongings, and placed them at various places around his car, with the biggest stash in his tyre well. Confident that he wouldn’t find them over the few months as the rest of my plan took affect, I locked the car up and went inside to sleep. I also placed some more drugs and personal items in his house after driving him home because he was still to drunk to drive. A few days later, I staged a break in, by smashing the back pane of my back door into my kitchen and leaving it open before heading back to the city for a flight. I had several messages the moment I landed. One from my clearly panicked mum, who had found the back door smashed open and had called the police, one from Katherine in tears, and one from the local police asking me to call. After returning all the calls, I informed the police I was away on business, and that I would be back the following week to talk with them.

While away, I got Katherine to stay with my parents until after I got back, and asked my Dad to organize one of the local security companies to install cameras and an alarm system after getting the go ahead from the police as to not ruin the scene of the crime. After getting home, I did the usual ‘my God I can’t believe this has happened’ and ‘why would anyone do this?’ routine. After doing a thorough check of everywhere, ‘finding’ that the items I had taken were ‘missing’ and filing a police report, I had the security companies rep talk Katherine and I through how the cameras and alarm system worked.

Then came the question I had been waiting for. The question of what happens if we are doing some business and don’t want it recorded. She acted a bit shy asking this question. But I knew exactly the reason she was asking. He assured us that this was a question he got asked a lot, and we were shown on the home computer, if we wanted to be doing things without it being recorded, how to stop the recording for certain camera’s, so that we could protect her modesty. As I was walking him out, I asked him if camera’s were turned off, could a notification be sent out, just as a security precaution. He came back in and helped me through how to set up email notifications and left shortly after. Fantastic. All I had to do was wait.

At this stage, I approached r/legaladvice for some help in relation to couples law in my country. I needed to make sure that my upcoming plan could legally be done and that I would not be forced to pay out any money or equity to Katherine as I didn’t know if we were classified as a De Facto couple or not. Being the sole benefactor of Rachel’s estate, I didn’t want to be left with any nasty surprises where Katherine could take any of the estate away from me. Shout out to those guys and gals there as they helped me get in contact with a great lawyer who assured me, due to the fact that although we had been dating for close to 4 years, we had not been living together long enough to be classified as De Facto, and because I was paying all the utilities on the property that she was living in and didn’t pay rent, showed that she had no legal standing to make a financial claim against me. Just to be sure though, he drew up what I felt was a pretty ironclad document just in case there was any legal trouble.

The following week, my work had approached me, and offered me a promotion to move back to the city and run the team that I was a part of, meaning I wouldn’t need to travel as often and be in the one location and due to the success of being located in my hometown, that they were considering having 3 to 5 representatives spend one to two weeks in the larger surrounding towns including my hometown as a part of my team. I said yes, and began the process of beginning my transfer, which would take about 6 weeks. Perfect. More than enough time to gather all my evidence.

Upon getting back to my hometown the following week, I began to start in motion the rest of my plan. I asked Harry to approve one weeks worth of vacation for Katherine for two weeks time. I wanted to send her and a friend or two away on a retreat before I made the biggest decision of my life for a second time. He jumped up and gave me a huge hug, congratulating me on being prepared to take the leap again. I hugged him back tight, but not the way I think he imagined it at the time. He agreed and blocked out the week for me. I asked him not to say anything to anyone, as I wanted to make it as big a surprise as I could. I knew, that it would spread like wildfire around the office regardless, but that was my plan.

That night, I told Katherine that I had booked her and two friends to go to a tropical spa resort, all expenses paid for a week. No questions asked, pick two friends, and come back to the biggest surprise of her life. She screamed like a kid who had just been told that all the candy in the shop was hers to have.

I then told her that the following week, I was going to spend it in the city, preparing for a large client who was one of my biggest accounts, and needed some people in my team to help before flying out the following week and I wouldn’t be home until the Monday that she was leaving, so I wouldn’t be able to see her, which seemed to disappoint her, but I told her it would be worth it when she returned. What I failed to tell her, was that I had decided to take 2 weeks vacation on the other side of the country, mentally preparing myself for the shit storm that was about to erupt the moment she stepped foot on the plane as well as enjoying my first stage of freedom.

On Sunday two weeks later, I flew back and began driving home. Once getting there I done a quick pass by my house and sure enough, Harry’s car was there. Like the first night I had caught them, I parked a little way’s back, and checked the cameras. Asleep, in my bed. No surprise honestly as I had recorded them constantly do this over the 2 weeks I had been away. I then made my first call to the police blocking my caller id. I told them that I was one of my neighbours and saw someone hanging around in their car in the alley behind my house and occasionally passing something through windows to passing cars while also looking into my yard and I was concerned that they were dealing drugs and or going to break into someone’s property. I gave them his license plate and description. They said they would have someone there in a few minutes so I thanked them and hung up.

I then called Katherine and told her I was about 10 minutes from home, and that I knew she was flying out tomorrow, but desperately wanted to surprise her. Looking back at the footage now, I laugh at the commotion that I am surprised I didn’t hear. In a few short seconds, Harry was half dressed and flying out the back door to his car. At that point, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect scene. As Harry was peeling away, one of the police cars rounded the corner behind me, saw Harry driving away fast, and gave chase.

After pulling in, greeting an excited Katherine, and doing all the couple things, she fell asleep again. I, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep a wink. The next day, her and her friends were bundled into a car. After they drove away, I had to wait a few hours, but I began to execute my plan. I called my friend who was a removalist, and apologized for the late notice but needed my place packed and moved on Friday. After agreeing on a time I told him that he would need to take certain boxes to a storage facility, which he said wasn’t and issue. Then I began packing Katherine’s belongings.

Later that day, I got a call from the police for me to come and identify some property that they had apprehended from a suspect the previous night that fit the description of property I had reported stolen. I grinned to myself, happy that my plan for Harry had grown to fruition and replied that I would be there shortly to collect it. Of course, when I got there, some of the items where still unaccounted for, due to the fact that they must have still been in his house and they hadn’t searched there yet. By this stage, the town was buzzing with news. Events in my hometown don’t stay secret for long. Harry was disgraced and promptly fired for his possession of drugs and stolen property, and our respective bosses on behalf of the company had extended a formal apology towards me during the week.

That night I went to my parents house and told both mine and Rachel’s parents what had happened, omitting certain details, and that I was moving back to the city after being promoted, but Katherine wouldn’t be a part of it. They were pretty upset initially that I hadn’t let them know what was going on, but were happy that I was handling everything maturely and hadn’t sunk to their level, thought they didn’t agree with ghosting Katherine. But after some drinks, laughs and tears, I went home.

On Friday afternoon, after a busy week of organizing cleaners for the following week, the real estate to put my house on the rental market, and various other tasks at my hometowns office, I packed some things into my car, and drove to my parents place and said goodbye before the drive. Before leaving, I went to Becky’s house. Becky had been one of Rachel’s closest friends growing up. She was the only other person who knew that knew what was happening, minus the details about Harry. Without her help, I wouldn’t have been able to organize everything as quickly as I had. I gave Becky a large manila folder with my gathered evidence of her cheating, as well as the letter and a few other legal documents from my attorney stating that she was ordered not to contact me, and the details of how to access her belongings located at the storage unit I had rented out. After a quick goodbye, I left and drove back to the city.

On Sunday, I woke up to several missed calls, voice messages and text messages. Turns out, Katherine had come home early after being alerted to something being afoot in town, only to find an empty house and a for rent sign out the front. Freaking out, she had gone to my parent’s, who closed the door on her the moment that they answered, forcing her to call everyone until she managed to somehow be contacted by Becky and told that she had a package for her. I was told that she didn’t take to well to that, as I fully well knew at that point from the numerous angry texts and voice messages from her accusing me of setting up Harry, of being deceitful, etc. I was worried that she might show up at my front door, but nothing ever happened.

Five weeks later after leaving and been promoted, I write this out for you dear reader. Granted its long, and it took a few rewrites to shorten it down from my initial 14 pages (double what this story is now), but I feel that most of what I said was important enough for the story.

TL:DR, After my pregnant wife was killed in a workplace accident, I moved to back to my hometown and connected with a woman who after moving in with me, cheated on me with a close friend. I set him up to take the fall for drug possession and after sending her away on a spa retreat, rented out my house and left town for a promotion while exposing her as a cheater.

(source) story by (/u/ceolsean)

[islanublar]

Investors: Masrani Global

PROFILE

Masrani is one of the world's most successful corporations, with portfolios in both the commercial and industrial sectors and services spanning telecommunications, oil production, biological engineering, and construction. Generating a total profit of over $800 million in the 2014 fiscal year, Masrani can credit vision and innovation in its successes over the last two decades with CEO Simon Masrani at the helm.

Since the Masrani Global Corporation's NASDAQ market debut in 2000, Masrani has witnessed growth to over 70,000 team members, 250,000 shareholders from all across the world, and a list of stakeholders growing every day. Masrani is a significant global employer and CEO Simon Masrani has led from the top through acts of philanthropy and community engagement.

Investors have much to gain with the Masrani Corporation. Being one of NASDAQ 100 and Fortune 500 companies, 2014 saw a share price index increase of 13.2% from Q1 to Q4. With the world's best market analysts driving the corporation’s financial sectors, you can be assured that you're investing in the future with Masrani.

STOCK

NASDAQ MSRN (YTD): The above graph represents the year-to-date share-price index for MSRN on the NASDAQ market since Janurary 1, 2015.

NASDAQ Share Price Index: $158.12* -3.36 ⇓ 2.08%

CEO'S MESSAGE

As one of the leading Fortune 500 companies, Masrani Global has continued to advance and excel in major markets around the world. America, Asia, Europe and Australasia, no region has been left untouched. Having overseen a magnificent year in our two leading fields - namely genetics and research & development - we have set our sights on improving on new horizons.

Since its inauguration in 2005, Jurassic World has captivated millions around the globe. By 2015 we are expecting our 10 millionth visitor to Isla Nublar. For investors, that spells success.

What does 2015 hold? We have a world-class genetics and research and development team who have some ideas that will take genetics to the next level. Using InGen technology, combined with Masrani innovation, the world is ours to make and enjoy. I wish all of you the best as we head into a new era.

Chief Executive Officer: Simon Masrani reflects on an encouraging start to the 2014-15 financial year.

FY2014 REPORT

The Masrani Global Corporation posted one the most successful years in its history during the 2014 financial year, thanks in large part to investments in more sustainable energy technologies early in Q2. Now the world's 12th richest company, Masrani Global entered the 2015 fiscal year valued at 562.15 billion dollars.

Despite Masrani Oil's L-12 hiccup in August, 2014 was a year for investors to largely celebrate. Starting off Q1 with a share price index of $159.12, Masrani Global (NASDAQ: MSRN) continued its steady rise ending the year on a high of $180.12 after a series of innovative technological approaches. For the eighth year in a row, Masrani Global showed why it is one of the world's safest investments - with a net profit of 822.38 million dollars and a positive share price index increase of 13.2% over FY2014.

Simon Masrani was optimistic on the future prospects of the workforce. "We recently set up the Masrani scholarship program, which has assisted top graduates find positions within our companies all over the world", he said from Masrani's recently renovated offices in Shanghai. "We encourage our interns to think with fresh and open minds. If someone has a good idea, it needs to be nurtured. Some of the world's most successful ventures have come from young talent who just hung onto one unique idea. This is where the true future investment of Masrani lays."

2014 saw the continued investment of assets within the industrial (Masrani Oil, Timack Construction) and technological (InGen, Tatsu Technology) fields. While the overall intention was to focus on new technologies, sharing of information across subsidiaries was the underlying philosophy.

"Last year was one of scientific advancement", said Mr. Richard Wiesner, COO of Masrani Global. "We witnessed various subsidiaries working with each other to bring about the most exciting innovations the world has yet to see. Mascom launched satellites carrying Tatsuo processors, Analysys provided data that helped Medixal drive innovative healthcare, and Axis Boulder helped Masrani Oil make advances in sustainability."

Dr. Henry Wu, Lead Geneticist of InGen Technologies, was also excited about the future prospects of Jurassic World. Speaking from a scientific convention in Chicago, he said, "Thanks to the changing nature of genetics and the limitless power of the human imagination, we can now push boundaries that were once considered to be decades away."

Wiesner credited Jurassic World's latest success to Simon Masrani's recent announcement of the new Indominus rex attraction. “Since opening we've seen online bookings skyrocket” he explained. “2015 is going to be a fantastic year for Jurassic World."

InGen Technologies temporarily closed down two of its mines in Argentina to focus on its Martel expedition in Siberia, a move that has so far yielded an abundance of highly preserved carcasses. Despite the exciting finds, Dr. Henry Wu has held back on speculating whether Jurassic World might be including recreated assets from the Cenozoic Era. "Right now we are focused on the construction of the world's most complete genomic library", Dr. Wu reiterated. "But if the world tells us that's what they want to see, we're more than prepared."

FY2013 Report

Masrani continued it's trend since 2008 to post billion dollar profits over the financial year. Now a $521.42 multi-billion corporation, Masrani Globlal is on the verge of being one of the world's top 10 companies by 2020 should current market predictions continue.

Showing no change in course for the last four years, Masrani Global (NASDAQ: MSRN) continued to set its high standards for 2013. Showing a steady incline, starting off the year in Q1 with a share price index of $138.52 and ending the year at Q4 on a high of $159.12 after rumors of further investment in InGen resources.

Hiring an additional 4,000 staff over the course of the year, Masrani looked to increase its workforce in the United Arab Emirates, with an upgraded oil refinary expecting to be completed in early 2014. With a workforce age of just under 32 years of age, Marani Global is one of the most proactive workforces in the world looking in every corner for fresh talent.

Thanks to a scholarship program with Masrani, young college students excelling in their studies can now take up internships in field offices around the globe. With inauguration set for December 2014, the Masrani scholarship program has so far seen over 80,000 applications in its first year alone.

In the last two years further investment of assets within the industrial (Masrani Oil, Timack Construction) and technological (InGen, Tatsu Technology) fields continued to be made, exciting investors with new technologies and greater profits.

"Scientific advancement is something that cannot be compromised on", said Simon Masrani. "In today's world the competition is great, and with much at stake, and with the power to deliver, we find ourselves in a unique position to deliver technical advancement capabilities that go beyond the imagination."

Despite scientific advancements, Jurassic World continued to spark debate. Within the last three years, despite visitor rates climbing, the peak in numbers continued to appear during the American school holiday season, where staff on Isla Nublar are operating at 100% capacity.

Masrani Corporation's Chief Operations Officer Mr. Richard Wiesner described the year's success as merely acceptable. "You can't expect the world's greatest theme park to merely rely on the same attractions. We need to be proactive, thinking of bigger and better things. Isla Nublar only peaks in attendance during the American holiday season. Why? Proximity. The world has seen what we have to offer, but they aren't in awe as they once used to be. We need to change that. We have a chance to over the upcoming few years."

Despite speculations in the media that Jurassic World might be seen as a slowing attraction, investors can enjoy last month's announcement of a further 300 hotel rooms to be built on the island. Some big plans are coming, so stay tuned in 2014.

Last 4 FY Profit: Masrani Corporation profit in millions of dollars.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

Following in the footsteps of my father to make his company into a global corporation has been a lifelong goal. I have nothing but the investors of this company to thank, for they have joined me in this vision.

Simon Masrani - Chief Executive Officer, Masrani

The success that this company has given back to its investors has been incredible. It is something that other companies strive to replicate, but often can't deliver. Masrani has set new investment standards.

Richard Wiesner - Chief Operations Officer, Masrani

The pleasure it gives me to see that with every building we construct is another addition to help the global economy is greatly satisfying. With 8,000 workers, we all look forward to building the future.

Anthony Leigh - Director of Operations, Timack Construction

With Masrani Energy in Abu Dhabi, our workers come from diverse backgrounds with diverse skills, all towards one common goal - to build on the success of the Masrani corporation.

Jennifer Oliver - HR Manager, Masrani Energy

[forgenotes-archived]

part two of my meta meltdown begins NOW!

part one can be found here! 

last time, i talked about ronnie’s canon interactions with her parents, and how that points to a childhood of neglect. NOW, i’m gonna extrapolate on that data and fill out her experiences growing up; how her parents’ ideals imprinted on her, and how they essentially doomed her to never have an easy time being in a non-toxic relationship. 

tw for child abuse through neglect under the cut ! be safe .

THE PARENTS .

henry sawyer owns a telecommunications company; he didn’t start as a ceo, and in all reality, shouldn’t have ever become the chief executive officer. he quietly climbed the ladder by stepping on his colleagues, not making a huge scene of anything until he was close to being next in line for the job, when the sitting ceo was planning on retiring. henry couldn’t fathom the thought of defeat; he physically couldn’t think of not becoming the most powerful singular man in the company. 

he then decided that blackmail was the best way to tie up his opponents; he wasn’t even third in line to be considered, but he was close enough that if he could get the other candidates out of the way, he would be promoted. the knew enough around the office to know who was having an affair, who was insider trading, who was double crossing who. a couple of carefully placed emails, and fragile egos crumbled and resigned; citing “pressures of the changing industry” as the reasoning. thus, henry sawyer was promoted, and has remained the ceo ever since (now fifteen years of service, specifically due to his quiet manipulation of the board above him). 

barbara sawyer was the assistant to a big city architect; half secretary, half errand girl, always there to cater to his every need (yes, every need), before she retired. however, she had her own fair share of malicious takedowns, perhaps even more brutal than henry’s, because her adversaries often hadn’t done anything wrong to weaponize against them. 

a young graduate threatened barbara’s position; barbara couldn’t let that happen. during the day, while the office was cleared out for a meeting, she’d slipped important plans for a highly expensive project into the bag of the woman who had threatened her position. later during the day, there was a search- the plans were found, and the poor, innocent, framed woman was fired on the spot. 

henry and barbara sawyer grew up in circumstances as upper-society children to always expect the best- of the world, and of themselves. this perspective translated into how they’d raised their daughter as well; veronica was expected to excel even further than they had. 

THE CHILD .

as a child, veronica mostly absorbed the attributes of her parents from afar; they were so often working, leaving her with a babysitter that would change often, that she rarely had any time to spend with them specifically. but being a child, she wanted to be like her parents- and as she grew older, recognizing that she was being ignored, she realized she had a fork in the road. either she could act out to get their attention (bad is better than nothing), or she could try to be just like them so they would finally like her enough to spend free time with her. 

she decided to take the second route, mostly because she’d heard the fights that henry and barbara would have after coming home from work cocktail parties (one of them would be making eyes at a younger victim) and she definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of those shouting matches. veronica was lucky that she was born with a natural aptitude to excel in her studies, but even constantly being at the top of her class in every subject in every year didn’t seem to rouse them to pay much attention to her. 

once barbara retired, though, the dynamic shifted slightly- she began asking about veronica’s school more often, about her friends, and veronica believed she had finally grabbed the attention of her mother. however, she soon discovered that the questions were hollow; as barbara never absorbed any of the information she was told (a particularly perturbed ronnie once told her mother that she’d clawed out the principal’s eyes and the police were after her, granting nothing more than a “that’s nice, dear, now finish your homework”). the elation started to collapse, suffocating her, and turning her to grow into cynicism. 

in grade 6, she was analyzed and determined to be gifted by an exceptional margin- an iq of 162. of course, she didn’t know what this meant, but she hoped it was a high enough number to impress her parents- and briefly, it did. but the councillors who had administered the test suggested that they move her up to high school immediately, skipping two grades, maybe a third; it would be essentially useless to keep her in seventh and eighth grades, since she already firmly grasped concepts above the ones taught in those years. 

her parents became... uncomfortable with the idea. they said it was because they were worried about her socializing with people her own age, but even young veronica knew there was a secondary reason. a few years later, she would learn that they didn’t want to put in the effort to help her through such a huge change- “she’s fine working on her own like this, and it’ll be easy for her. if we move her up, she’s going to need a lot more help. are you prepared to take time off work to deal with all that? i didn’t think so, henry.” 

CONCLUSION .

with a history of her interactions established, veronica’s unhealthy traits absorbed by the little interaction she’s had with her parents can be summed up to:

1. an obsession with success, climbing the ladder, being the best at whatever it is she’s told to do. that success is the only thing that gives her value as a person; she believes her worth to be a collection of her talents and achievements, not her own personality and character. this causes her to get easily used for said credits, and removes her ability to create a sense of self. 

2. a lack of ability to show affection. due to not having contact with her parents in any deep, meaningful way (if at all), she did not learn at a young age how to care or be cared for in a healthy way that did not rely on her worth, as mentioned above. veronica is closed off, guarded, and cold at the exterior; she isn’t cruel, but she doesn’t know how to express emotions in a safe manner. 

3. a suspicion of anybody who can do either of the above, be it care for her in any manner, or befriend her without wanting something from her. 

these three inherited traits compound on top of her own, leaving her to become much more cynical and bitter as she grows older- and the worst decision she ever made in terms of solidifying these negative traits was ditching betty finn to befriend the heathers, but that will be in part three, god help me, i don’t know if ANY of this made any sense!! 

[love-kona-blog]

Huawei purchased 13 trillion won of parts from Korea this year...Expanding into next year

Huawei, China largest telecommunication equipment maker, has increased its purchase of parts from South Korea from last year, a report showed Tuesday. Huawei said it will expand its investment and purchases in South Korea next year, stressing that there is no disruption in production despite the U.S. sanctions.Carl Song, president of global external cooperation and communications, and Meng Xiaoyin, president of the Korea Huawei branch, held a year-end press conference at the Plaza Hotel in central Seoul on Tuesday and unveiled this year’s major achievements and plans for cooperation in the Korean market. “While Huawei actively participated in commercialization of 5G, we expect that amount of purchase from South Korea will surpass $13 trillion this year.” said Governor Meng Xiaowin.The figure is up from last year’s $10.6 billion (12 trillion won) purchase of parts from South Korea by Huawei. Huawei has been continuously doing business with major South Korean semiconductor and parts companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and LG Display and small and medium-sized companies.”The U.S. tends to be more closed, and it is an opportunity for many countries, including Korea,” said CEO Carl Song. “We will expand our purchasing plans in Korea, and we will make efforts to develop Korean digital technology.”We have signed 60 commercial contracts related to 5G and delivered more than 400,000 base stations,” he said. “In Korea, we have supplied 18,000 base stations through LG Uplus so that LG Uplus can play a leading role in 5G.”Huawei is planning to try to get a choice from South Korean telecommunication businesses including LG Uplus in 5G 28GHz band and SA (Single-Dock Mode) equipment next year. It, however, did not elaborate on the progress of its operations.”Because South Korean customers have high standards for technologies that they require, they are trying to give faith in quality of products,” said Meng Xiaowin, head of the company branch office. “It is possible to supply 28GHz bandwidth equipment and SA equipment at any time.Huawei decided that the Korean market 먹튀검증사이트, which is set to commercialize the 28GHz band next year, is taking a major position in the global supply chain, and plans to step up efforts to improve its domestic perception. To that end, the company is also continuing to review the establishment of a domestic R&D center. “Since May, Huawei has never stopped shipping or delivering its products even after being included in the list of trading restrictions,” he said. “If Huawei is chosen for the U.S. sanctions issue, it will show that much value.” Huawei also announced plans to supply more than 600,000 5G base stations by the end of the year and 1.5 million by next year.Regarding the cause of the U.S. sanctions on Huawei, Carl Song replied, “It reflects the anxiety that the U.S. might lose its technology supremacy.” “We are pressing for national security, but this has nothing to do with national security,” he said. “We need to resolve it through technical methods.”

[jaxsteamblog]

One Bed

The snow started to fall just as Zuko stepped out of the taxi. He shut the door, pulling on his gloves and looking up at the slate sky as the taxi driver took out his luggage. As Zuko adjusted his muffler, the taxi driver stood next to him and also looked up, rubbing his eye from a fallen snowflake.

“They haven’t cancelled your flight?” The man asked. Zuko sighed and looked at his smart watch.

“Not as of yet.” He said. The taxi driver nodded and the two men shook hands.

“Have a safe flight your Highness.” The driver said. Zuko shook his head but smiled.

“Thanks.” He replied. Disowned and disgraced, Zuko hadn’t been much of a prince since he was fourteen. That was, as the cliche went, a lifetime ago and Zuko was headed toward better things. Clicking the handlebar into place, Zuko turned and walked toward the automatic doors of the receiving terminal.

He had gotten through security and was heading toward the VIP lounge when he heard someone call his name. Turning, Zuko scanned the sparse crowd till he saw the figure rushing toward him.

“Kat?” He asked in shock. Katara came bustling up, dragging a tattered suitcase behind her, smiling broadly.

“What are you doing in Omashu?” She asked as she slowed, getting closer to him.

“I had business here. What are you doing here?” Zuko asked.

“My internship is here actually.” Katara said, fidgeting now with her chunky knitted scarf. “Are you taking the two-thirty to Kyoshi?”

“I am.” Zuko replied and they lapsed into an awkward silence. “Are you, uh, travelling alone?” Katara stared at him blankly for a minute, blinking rapidly. Then a thought dawned on her and she smiled again before laughing lightly.

“Oh right, yeah. I broke off the engagement months ago.” She said.

“What?” He balked.

“Did Sokka not tell you?”

“No!”

“Weird, he told me about-” Katara stopped herself, rolling her lips inward and looking embarrassed. Zuko sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.

“About Mai and me.” He finished for her.

“Sorry.” Katara murmured.

“No, no it’s fine.” Zuko turned and looked at the lounge. “Would you like to get a drink with me? I saw on the board that our flight is delayed.”

“Am I allowed in there?” Katara asked.

“For how much I pay and how often I fly, the least they can do is let me bring a friend.” Zuko replied, looking over his shoulder to smile at her. Katara softened and smiled back.

“Then sure. I hate flying so maybe this will help me sleep through it.”  She said. Zuko gestured for her to go ahead and the two of them walked to the small kiosk at the entrance of the lounge. A woman in a crisp blue suit and bold red lipstick greeted them. She took in the cut of Zuko’s peacoat and Katara’s large parka, but her expression never changed. Whether it was out of a lack of judgement or the ability to mask it, Zuko didn’t know.

“Member card?” She asked and Zuko pulled out his wallet. He slid the heavy black card out and handed it to her, grinned reassuringly at Katara.

“She is here as my guest.” Zuko said, turning back to the woman as she scanned his card.

“Welcome Mr. Nakamura.” The woman greeted as she handed back his card. Her eyes slid over to Katara. “And guest.” Zuko cleared his throat as he replaced the card and offered Katara his arm.

“Shall we?” He asked. Katara tossed her hair over her shoulder, ignoring the woman at the kiosk, and took his arm.

“Thank you.”

For whatever reason, no matter the time, the VIP lounge was always dim. Perhaps it was to perpetuate a forever nightscape to keep travellers trapped in the liminal state. A man in a crumpled suit laid draped over a table with crumpled straw wrappers and a sweating tumbler of amber liquid. For him it was more like one in the morning than one in the afternoon. Zuko ushered Katara to the raised bar and they both took a moment to shed the outer layers of their winter wear.

“Have you eaten?” Zuko asked as they both hung coats and scarves over the back of their long legged chairs.

“Breakfast yeah, but not lunch yet.” Katara replied as she stowed her luggage under the bar and perched on the table. As if summoned, another woman wearing a matching blue suit to the one at the kiosk, appeared and handed them navy blue folders. Zuko took his as he sat and watched her place a plank of a menu between them; the drink list.

“Water?” He asked.

“Please.” Katara said primly as she opened her menu. As her face disappeared behind the blue screen, Zuko slid the woman his black card.

“Two waters to start please.” He said. The woman whisked the card away and walked off as Zuko flipped his menu open on the bar.

“Sushi?” Katara asked idly.

“This place is good, but that would still be airport sushi.” Zuko countered and Katara chuckled.

After they had ordered and the water had been delivered, Zuko and Katara sat still mostly isolated. The low tone of some smooth jazz album was barely audible and Zuko tuned it out. Katara slumped forward against the bar, casually using her bending to stir her straw through her glass of water.

“You know, I’m actually offended you didn’t know I was in Omashu.” She said suddenly. Zuko sat back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh?” He replied, raising his brow in question.

“I told you that was why I couldn’t make it to Sokka’s bachelor party.” Katara said. Zuko raised a finger as he pulled his cellphone out of his coat pocket.

“APPA, search Katara’s emails for keyword ‘Omashu’ please.” He said into the flat black screen. The rim of the screen glowed a blueish white line before it fully illuminated.

“Keyword not found.” The artificial voice said. Katara sat up, ready to argue, but Zuko pushed out his hand toward her.

“APPA, please read the email tagged Katara’s excuse.” He said. The outline glowed again before the screen.

“There are sixteen emails tagged ‘Katara’s excuse.’ Would you like me to read them all?” The phone said.

“Newest please.” Zuko said.

“Okay, I get it.” Katara said with a laugh and Zuko just set the phone down on the bar.

“Reading newest email tagged ‘Katara’s excuse,’ received last month: ‘Hey! Sorry I can’t make it out there for the party, my internship is getting crazy. Hopefully we can meet up before the wedding!’ End of email.” The phone screen darkened and Zuko turned to Katara, who used her fingers to flick water into his face.

“I love that you named your phone assistant after Appa.” She remarked.

“That’s entirely Sokka’s fault. Watch how you can open the GPS.” Zuko said and leaned over his phone. “APPA, yip yip.” The phone turned on and the GPS app opened.

“Where would you like to go?” The phone asked before Zuko reached down to turn it off. Katara covered her face as she laughed. She calmed as the attendant came with their plates.

“When do you release it?” Katara asked while Zuko unwrapped his chopsticks. He tapped them against the bar and then dipped them into the plate of noodles.

“We have a limited release in the next few months. I’m moving away from phones though, since we made the decision as a company to protest planned obsolescence.” He said.

“What’s next for Nakamura Telecommunications?” Katara questioned, cutting into her steak.

“Much of the same.” Zuko picked up a thick noodle and dipped it into the small bowl of liquid in his plate. “I’ve created a non-profit to start manufacturing transportable medical equipment.”

“That’s different.” Katara said.

“It is. But anyway, how did your last tournament go? Sokka told me you won but not much else.” Zuko said. Katara snorted and paused to chew.

“Well, I didn’t win because that’s not how my school does things. It was an exhibition, and I kicked ass.” She said.

Zuko’s smart watch beeped and he tapped it to see the notification.

“Looks like we’re delayed again.” He said.

“Time for a beer?” Katara asked.

“Abso-fucking-lutely.” Zuko replied.

After five drinks in, their flight was finally cancelled due to weather. Katara swore as Zuko signed the bill and replaced his wallet.

“They’re gonna give me a voucher for a shitty motel.” She muttered as she jammed her arm through her jacket sleeve.

“Come on, let’s go check at the counter.” Zuko said evenly as he folded his jacket over his arm and pulled up the handle for his suitcase. Katara just continued to mutter as she followed him out of the lounge. Zuko smiled pleasantly at the woman at the kiosk, though now he was unsure if she was the same woman from earlier. He wondered, briefly, if that was a statement about him or the company who hired these women.

They walked through the terminal to the ticket counter, where a young man stood behind a computer; the only person behind the long counter with empty terminals. It was oddly quiet and the large tinted windows of the airport had been further darkened by the winter sunset and constant snow.

“Hello, we were set to board the two-thirty to Kyoshi.” Zuko said as they stepped up. “Do you know when the next flight will be?”

The young man, wearing a name tag with “HUA” typed in bronze letters, typed something into his computer.

“The next flight is a ten forty-five tomorrow morning.” Hua replied.

“Excellent. Do you have vouchers for accommodations for tonight?” Zuko asked.

“Unfortunately, the hotel we use is booked already.” Hua answered. Katara stomped off, swearing loudly now, and Zuko sighed.

“I’m a VIP member, can you check to see if there’s someplace I can use my points?” He asked as he slid his card over the counter. Hua took in and resumed typing.

“There’s a suite at the Blue Oasis hotel. Would you like me to book it?” Hua inquired.

“Please. And call a car, if you wouldn’t mind.”  Zuko said.

After everything had been booked and printed, Zuko went off and collected Katara.

“Come on, I got us a room.” He said, craning over Katara’s slumped form. Her head was buried in her crossed arms as she sat on the floor with her back against a pillar. Katara popped her head up and looked at him suspiciously.

“How?” She asked.

“I’m very wealthy Katara.” He replied and Katara snorted.

“I guess it does help when you’re the nephew of the Fire Lord.” She said.

“It’s more like I’m the head of a multi-billion company but sure, let’s go with the easy one.” Zuko quipped. He held out a hand and helped Katara to her feet. She tottered for a second, slightly off her step. Zuko continued to hold her hand as she leaned down to pick up the various cuts of cloth that had fallen off of her. He noted, for one odd moment, that he hadn’t actually held hands with someone in a long time. Katara’s hands were warm and she held him with the same indifference that she would hold onto a stair railing. But the touch of her skin made Zuko’s heart flutter.

“Okay, let’s go.” She said, still holding his hand. Unsure of if it would be ruder to let go or continue holding on, Zuko panicked and just kept hold of her as he walked to the exit. Katara easily fell in step with him and they were quiet, so Zuko could only hear the rolling wheels of their luggage and that subdued smooth jazz that was piped through the whole airport.

Heat seemed to build between their hands and Zuko wondered if as a Firebender he could spontaneously combust. It wasn’t something they had ever discussed in his lessons growing up.

The automatic doors opened and an air current blew warm air down on them. It wasn’t until the doors shut that they were hit by the gust of cold air. Zuko immediately began to cycle his breath, sending warmth to his limbs and extremities, but Katara didn’t seem fazed.

“You are so warm.” She said before leaning into Zuko, turning her hand so that their fingers interlaced. Zuko, in spite of the warmth that now was searing inside of him, froze and his shoulders pulled up.

“Still a Firebender Katara.” He said gently and she chuckled.

“Very useful.” She said. Zuko let out a cloud of breath and looked up at the black sky. He couldn’t see any stars, for all the lights of the airport or from high flying clouds, but the snow was still coming down in soft petals. It was only about five in the evening, but the sun set so quickly in the winter, and it felt so much later.

“Katara, are you drunk?” Zuko asked.

“A little.” Katara answered in a small voice. Zuko lowered his head with a smile. His smart watch buzzed and he rolled his wrist over, as his hand was still tied up in Katara’s fingers, and the screen illuminated.

“The car is here.” He said just as a sleek black town car drove into the taxi lane. The driver popped out and held up an umbrella, but Katara shook Zuko loose and used a hand to pull together a shield of snowflakes over their heads. The driver tucked the umbrella under his arm and came around to open their doors and take their luggage.

“So useful.” Zuko stated as Katara slid into the car, while he leaned against it, his arm on the roof. Katara paused and looked up at him, flicking her hands toward him. The cover of snowflakes dissipated and fell on Zuko’s head. She was laughing as Zuko got in, shaking his head to spray her with water. Sitting back, he started steaming the rest of it away.

The driver didn’t comment as he closed their door before getting into the front seat.

The hotel was close to the airport, but due to the weather the driver proceeded slowly over poorly salted roads. Zuko settled in and let Katara continue to rest against him.

“So I guess you’re not still mad that I’m Sokka’s best man?” He asked and Katara blew a raspberry.

“I mean, I get it. And I’m glad you guys are good friends, but it still stung.” She admitted.

“If you get married, is he going to be your maid of honor?” Zuko inquired.

“Of course. But could you imagine if we got married?” Katara said and Zuko choked.

“What?”

“He couldn’t be in both of our parties.”  Katara explained. Zuko slowed his breathing.

“Good thing we’re not getting married then.” He said evenly.

“You’d have to buy me a drink first.” Katara joked and Zuko laughed.

“I did that already.” He pointed out.

“Well are you proposing then?” Katara asked.

“I think there’s supposed to be a few more steps before that.” Zuko countered. He was warm, so warm, but he was suddenly trembling. He fought against the spasms of his muscles, trying to hide his obvious anxiety from Katara. She sat up and looked at him.

“Alright Mister Businessman, what are the steps to get to marriage?” She asked.

Gods above, Zuko didn’t know if she was flirting. He looked at her, unable to swallow or breathe, and tried to figure it out in the split second before he could respond. They hadn’t drunk much, she was just as touchy as her brother, they hadn’t seen each other in months. Was she just being overly friendly, or was she flirting?

He needed to know because he knew how he wanted to answer. He knew exactly how he wanted to answer.

“It’s like the old song, first comes love?” He said and Katara just looked at him for a moment. Either disappointed or unimpressed, she just leaned against him again.

“I tried that. It didn’t work out.” She muttered and Zuko sighed.

“Same. But I’ll let you know if I figure anything out.” He replied.

“Thanks Zuko.”

When they pulled up to hotel, they found the drive up blocked by two large industrial vans. One was an HVAC and the other was a local plumbing service.

They should have been as obvious as corvids, as they were a pair of ill omens.

The driver pulled up as far under the covered drive as he could and opened their doors before unloading their things from the trunk. Zuko took a few bills from his wallet and handed them to the driver as Katara took her suitcase and started for the front of the hotel. This level of expectation in regards to his wallet was fascinating to see. Where Mai had always been obvious about it, his friends had moved into a blithe acceptance; only Toph had funds that rivalled his and no one else could afford to move in this manner. Mai presumed, while Katara knew that any protest or offer would be feeble. She, much like her brother, just kept moving.

Katara waited for him in the lobby, and was patient as he took the time to remove his gloves and stick them in his coat pocket. Then they wordlessly walked to the check in desk.

“Good evening, my name is Zuko Nakamura and I have a room reserved.” Zuko said, producing a different but equally heavy onyx card. The concierge paled.

“Ah, forgive me Mr. Nakamura, but there is an issue with your room.” He said.

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked.

“We’ve been doing renovations, and a pipe burst on the eleventh floor. All of the rooms have been moved.” The concierge explained.

“Where is my new room?”

“We’ve placed you in room 618, but it isn’t a suite.”

“And that means?”

“There’s only one bed.”

Zuko and Katara stood at the foot of the bed and they both sighed.

“It’s really not a problem.” Katara stated.

“It’s inappropriate.” Zuko said.

“Why? Do you think we’ll be sleeping in the nude or something?”

“What? No, I-”

“Zuko, we can just sleep in the bed together.”

“But you’re…”

“What? A girl? Because I know you’ve bunked with Sokka before.”

“It’s not that.”

“So you’re worried for my dignity or something? I didn’t think you were a chauvinist Zuko.”

“I am very much not! Katara, please, it’s-”

“You’re worried Sokka will be upset? It’s one night.”

“Katara will you please let me finish a thought!”

Katara snapped her mouth shut and looked at him as Zuko ran his hands through his hair. He sat down hard on the edge of the bed, keeping his head cradled in his hands.

“I don’t want to share the bed because I very much would like to touch you and it will be very difficult for me to sleep next to you.” He said.

“Touch me how?” She asked.

Touch me, how? Would be simple confusion. Touch me? How? Would be incomprehension.

Touch me how? Is asking for examples.

Zuko looked up and found Katara standing directly in front of him. Was she flirting or angry? The clarity and intensity of her gaze didn’t give him an answer but thrilled him all the same.

At this point, he could only give her honesty. Being coy would gain him nothing.

“I don’t know. It’s not like I have any sort of tangible thought in my head. I saw you and for the first time we’re both single and I just want to touch you.” He answered.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Zuko stood in a fluid movement, standing easily a head taller than her. His intensity covered the return of his trembling and now Katara wavered in her stance. Looking up at him, her lips slightly parted, and Zuko cupped her face with one hand. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip and he watched the movement, before flicking his eyes back up to hers.

“I just want to feel you Katara. You can tell me how you want to be touched.” He said. Her eyes widened in shock and it broke a bit of the mood. He wondered how others had gone about laying hands on her and Zuko bristled.

“I would like you to kiss me.” She said. Zuko hesitated. It wasn’t Sokka that he worried about. It was that in three days, they would all be back in Kyoshi. The wedding would bring romance and alcohol, and Aang. Tonight was just one night.

He dipped toward her, moving his hand to the back of her head as he kissed her. Gently, softly. She was smiling before they parted.

“Buy me dinner?” She asked, now so obviously coy and flirtatious.

“To spend the night together? How textbook.” He retorted. Katara laughed and Zuko grinned at her amusement.

“If we order room service we can kill two birds with one stone.”

“Do you know how expensive room service is?”

“Oh is Mister Multi-Billion Conglomerate not liquid?”

“I seem to be for how easily you’re manipulating me.”

Katara burst into raucous laughter and Zuko couldn’t help but join in.

“That was an awful pun.” She said.

“You seemed to enjoy it.”

“I always enjoy you Zuko.”

Zuko had channeled lightning that left him less charged.

Katara playfully shoved him over as she leapt onto the bed and crawled over to the head. She clicked on the lampp on the nightstand and propped herself up against the headboard as she examined the menu.

“The prices are ludicrous.” She conceded. Zuko took off his outerwear and started picking Katara’s clothes off the floor.

“Since you challenged my financial security, feel free to order to your heart’s content.” He remarked as he set about hanging things up.

“Would you have sex with me?” Katara asked suddenly.

“What?” Zuko exclaimed and whirled to look at her. Katara idly looked up from the menu, blinked at him, then looked back down.

“Would you?” She repeated.

“No.” He said firmly.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because I’m not ready for that.” Zuko blurted quickly. Katara nodded and flipped through the heavy laminated pages.

“That’s why I like you Zuko. It’s not you hedging your bets and making it seem like it’d be up to me, or because you’re worried about Sokka.” She said.

“That’s. Katara that is really disturbing when you think about the implications.” Zuko replied. He paused and then shut the closet door.

“Have you been testing me?” He asked suddenly, keeping his focus on the closet door.

“No.” Katara answered and Zuko relaxed under the wave of relief. “I mean, not until that last question anyway.”

Zuko went back to the bed and sat at the foot while he removed his shoes. He turned and began prying off Katara’s boots while she held up her leg, still looking for food. Again, this servitude was more akin to comfort than the prostate nature he had taken with Mai. There had been days after training where he had fallen at Katara’s feet and whined piteously until she started to massage his aching muscles. It was simply what they did for each other.

He wondered why this fearful reaction to his attraction had even occured really as he tossed her boots to the floor and pulled on her legs. Katara shrieked in glee as he pulled her down the bed and moved over her, watching as she slid the menu down her face to peek at him.

“You’re mean.” He said. Katara tilted her head back and lowered the menu a bit more so the rest of her face was exposed.

“You encourage it.” She countered.

“You should be nicer to me. I took a lightning bolt to the chest for you.” He said.

“Sure, but what have you done for me lately?” Katara quipped. Zuko snatched the menu away and flung it to the side. Katara laughed again and covered her face with her hands.

“You are a ridiculous creature.” He said. Katara opened her hands to make blinders on the sides of her face.

“But you love me.” She said jovilly. A joke.

“I do.” He replied softly. Seriously. Her hands, slightly shaking, reached up. He lowered himself as her arms went around his neck. He gently pressed his weight against her as they kissed again. He kept his eyes closed, unable to look at her face.

“A drink and love.” Katara whispered in his ear. “Are you proposing Zuko?”

Zuko kissed the soft, warm skin of her neck.

“Not yet.” He murmured. “Not tonight.”