#by the Editor in Cheif himself

[nckxstne]

Walking through the picturesque streets of Cardinal Hill, you find Nicholas Stone, the 38 year old Editor In Chief & Journalist at The Cardinal Chronicle originally from London, UK. Living alongside them in such a small town, you know that they're charming and blunt, but what you might not know is that they are a witch, and that they’re hiding something… ― Oliver Jackson Cohen, homosexual, man, he/him. (TW: Injury, Alcohol)

Stats

Name: Nicholas Edward Stone

Faceclaim: Oliver Jackson Cohen

Gender & Pronouns: Cismale, he/him.

Age: 35

Birthday: August 10th, 1955

Occupation: Editor-In-Cheif & Journalist @ The Cardinal Chronicle

Neighborhood: Lower Cardinal

Time in Cape May: Seven Years

Hometown: London, UK

Favorite Song:

Personality:

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Positive Traits: Intelligent, Creative, Charming.

Negative Traits: Reckless, Blunt, Moody.

Hobbies: Sleeping, Drinking, Sleeping more.

Likes: Late Nights, Vodka & Stormy Weather.

Dislikes: Early Mornings, Cheap Clothes & Classical Music.

Biography:

Nicholas was born into a publishing empire. His great great great grandfather started one of the biggest tabloids in England which meant Nicholas grew up not wanting for anything.

He was rich, but would never say he was spoilt. He'd call it comfortable, as if he didn't grow up with the latest toys, nicest clothes and family vacations some could only dream of.

The middle child of five Nick sometimes struggled for attention. He used to do all he could to stand out, which often meant getting himself into trouble in school, or causing havoc at home, but his parents failed to notice their sons outbursts, leaving it for the house staff to deal with.

His parents never kept their witchy lineage from their children, at the same time not telling them the whole truth either. They'd tell tall tales of how their great grandfather acquired his riches through a magic spell, or how their aunt used a love potion with every single one of her seven husbands, all ending in tragedy, but Nick found it hard to believe any of these stories.

That was until his twelfth birthday. During an extremely heated argument with his family's trusty and long serving butler Reginald over not letting the young Stone boy watch The Graduate, a film he deemed far too inappropriate for Nick, Reginald was flung across the room, breaking a leg and dislocating his shoulder.

Fortunately, all staff employed by the Stones were aware of the dangers. So before even calling for an ambulance, Reginald called Nick's father who explained to the boy that the family legends were a little more than just that.

Nick discovered that so far he was the the only Stone child to exhibit any ability, but was advised by his father to not hold this over his siblings too much, and Nick try his best not too, which became harder to do the older he got.

He was a bit of a wild child, feeling invincible thanks to his newfound abilities. He'd often get intro trouble, throw large parties whenever his parents were away, and show off his tricks and spells any chance he got, always managing to convince whoever he showed that it was basic street magic.

He used his abilities for all manner of things, and the more he used them the stronger they got. The only time they ever caused him any trouble, was when Nick got angry. Then it became a problem for the Stone family's legal team to try and cover up any damage to property or person he may have caused.

Nicholas' most destructive outburst happened when he was twenty five, and it came time for his father to retire and hand the reigns of the company down to one of his sons, Nick of course assuming it to be him. It was not.

He lost it. Shattering the windows of his father's office and causing the whole building to tremble. A level of power neither Nick, or his father knew he had.

He soon calmed down and settled for a high paying job writing for the paper, specialising in scandal and gossip, quickly becoming famous in his own right for the juicy and elicit articles he'd publish.

He continued to live a lavish lifestyle. Frequenting the most expensive and exclusive bars and clubs in London, always landing himself with a massive hangover and a story for his articles the next day.

His stories soon got him into some trouble, and unable to bippity-boppity-bullshit his way out of the mess he made, he left England and headed for the states. Travelling around for a little while until he blew into Cardinal Hill one day, ready to wake up this sleepy little town.

Mysteriously just as he was looking for a job, an opening came up in the local newspaper, a high position, not as well paying, but he convinced himself he didn't need such an insane pay check in this little town, he quickly got back into it, sticking to what he knew best: scandal and gossip, and in a quiet town like Cardina Hill, that was a little harder to find but he knew he'd find a way.

Extras:

Other Stuff(Head Canons):

His greatest strengths ability wise are in telekinesis, elemental control and object enhancement. He sucks at making potions so rarely tries, and has been trying to master divination for years with little in terms of results.

He hasn't been back to England since leaving almost seven years ago, still worried his past mistakes are there waiting for him to return.

Secret momma's boy; calls his mother once a week, she also sends him money and food regularly since he missed British snacks and despises most American foods.

Grew up quite well spoken(posh af) but as he got older he started to speak with more of a South London twang to his voice, much to the annoyance of his prim and proper parents.

He's an excellent liar. One of the few skills he has that doesn't require the use of his abilities. He can lie and make you believe it with ease and he's been known to lie about several aspects of his personal life to avoid talking about it, or revealing too much.

He's extremely protective over the few loved ones he does have, if you're close to him he'll do anything he can to protect you, though he'd never admit he cares.

Can come across charming and friendly and he is, but most people should be extremely careful when it comes to trusting Nick Stone.

He writes gossip. The things he writes aren't necessarily true, but he sees himself as the boss at the small little newspaper so doesn't care if what he writes is completely factual, which has landed him in hot water in the past.

Has probably written something about your muse in the past tbh.

tbc.

Wanted Connections

Enemy - Nick is a pretty dislikeable guy. Maybe he wrote an article on you, or an article you think was about you(he's smart like that, no names) or he was just an ass and theres some mutal beef there.

Ex whatever - He's an ass, but he's also a hopeless romantic, and secretely needy af. This could be someone he dated, went on a date with, met on tinder, met from tinder, met off of grindr, whatever.

Bestie - Someone who knows the real Nick(or at least most of him), maybe someone he has opened up to in the past, since he never talks about his life back home, but when he's drunk, it's hard to get him to shut up.

ANYTHING.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Doing good (Issue 34)

Moon Knight, Issue # 34: Primal Scream

Written by Tony Isabella and drawn by Bo Hampton. 

And Bonus short: The Vault of Knight

Written by Tony Isabella and drawn by Richard Howell.

Let's stop for a second. Take a little comic history lesson tour. 

This is not written by the usual Moon Knight team. 

Let's get into a little Moench history here and why he left. 

He did not really get along well with the then Marvel Chief editor James Shooter. Understandable. Here’s why: 

James Shooter got his start writing for DC then moved to Marvel. During the 70s and 80s, Marvel was experiencing a huge boom in content and new titles (like Moon Knight!) 

Further more, Stan Lee stepped away from monitoring comics to heading the animation works in LA right when Shooter became the cheif, leaving him fully in charge. 

Many felt that Shooter ran the place like a dictator, but there had been a huge influx of missed deadlines and Shooter put a stop to that. 

Despite keeping things running and overseeing a lot of new and important titles, he also alienated a LOT of long-time Marvel creators. 

Many of the long-time creators, like Moench, left Marvel to join with DC, who had a new editor. (He got to write for Batman!) 

NOTE: Shooter also enforced a policy forbidding the portrayal of Gay Characters in the Marvel Universe. In fact, the ONLY and first portrayal of a gay themed comic was of gay men attempting to rape Bruce Banner in the YMCA (which Shooter himself wrote), thus making Marvel to be widely considered Homophobic throughout Shooter's reign. (You should look into the history of LGBTQ+ in comics. It's a ride.)

I would like to point out that Moench's last issue during this time was about a reporter that was obsessed with making her deadlines and who wrote shitty pieces that were praised but awful and caused harm and eventual death in one character she wrote about. HMMMMM. 

When did he leave? Sources say the end of 1982, but those that understand the publishing timeline will note comic publish dates don't match the date they reach the shelves. 

So what is the official last Moon Knight Comic Moench worked on?

Let me put it this way... We aren't going to see Moench anymore for the 1980s run. 

He DOES come back for a bit later on, but it's short lived for a couple of limited run editions.

(And this is all new knowledge for me, who thought he originally finished the 1980s run and now I'm looking at an earlier review I did out of order because I'm an idiot and realize I've made a grave mistake.... Oh joy.) 

Farewell my sweet writer Doug Moench. Hats off to you. 

Now! That out of the way, let’s take a look at the first step we truly take away from Mr. Moench. 

For some reason, any time a guest writer sits in for early Moon Knight, they feel the need to over explain the character and introduce his past. Almost as if they were trying to explain who they are writing or getting a grasp on it for themselves. 

This is also a special double large edition. Another cause for writers to try to over explain characters as Marvel expects a bigger issue to draw in new fans. 

However, this is an odd story to push on the hopes of new fans. 

Let’s get into it! 

Yep. We open with a fast recap on who these characters are. 

It leaves me wondering what happened when Moench left. Did he have a script written out? Did he have to give notice and they knew he was leaving and this writer was already on the backburner? Or was this done in a hurry to get a planned comic deadline out on time? 

I would ALSO like to point out that when Bill left, he got a send off. Moench did not get a send off. He just disappears from the credits. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. 

"He was born Marc Spector and Spector wasn't a very nice man...Not so much evil as callous...A mercenary whose concern was reserved solely for himself and his Bankbook. 

That man could never have come to this deserted industrial wasteland on a mission made of equal parts mercy and vengeance." 

I disagree. Marc would be all over vengeance in a deserted wasteland. 

"Steven Grant could have. You've read about Grant... The committed millionaire about town...A pretty defendable guy as the upper crust goes. Still... 

Grant couldn't have found this place without Jake Lockley. Jake is the eyes and ears of Grant and Spector...A cabbie whose heart pulses to the beat of the city." 

Putting a bit on Steven, but he'd want to do good. But a gritty back alley is not really his style. 

"Ready for the kicker? Spector, Grant, and Lockley are all the same man...A man you know better as..." 

(A side note... We see Moon Knight running through a warehouse complaining it smells like a sewer. HE WOULD KNOW. And then he's startled by a cat. This is hilarious to me for so many reasons.) 

And that leads us to the title page where a young man is leaking off the crates above to tackle Moon Knight. 

"Frank? Hate to do this to a hopped-up kid, but the quicker I put him down...the less chance of his getting hurt! Though when I think of what he did to Gena..." 

He tosses Frank across the warehouse. 

Moon Knight again alludes to the damage this kid did to Gena's diner after getting high on some new 'junk'. 

Moon Knight is about to call in to Frenchie to get the medics out to take care of the hopped-up kid when the kid takes off. 

He isn't worried. The fight has been knocked out of him and the police shouldn't have an issue. 

Now we head back to the diner where we find Jake having a cuppa wihth Gena and Crawley. 

Crawley is talking about "The Raiders" which is a young men's social club (read 'Gang'). They are known to be brutal and even the police are afraid of them. 

Gena mentions about how she never raised her boys to run in gangs. Out back, we see Frank leading a group of gang members up to the back door of the diner. 

The gang busts in and attacks the patrons, demanding food. 

Jake isn't about to lay down and let it slide. 

He clocks one of the kids and worries about his friends. 

"Gotta get over to Crawley and Gena fast! They're not used to this kind of action!" 

Jake's heart is made of gold. 

One of the kids jumps Jake, growling and snarling. 

"A for effort, punko, but I've seen a real werewolf up close--And all you've got in common with him are lousy table manners!" And Jake flips the man off. 

Frank jumps on Genna while Jake is preoccupied. He cries out that he's hungry and he bites into her arm. 

Her cries distract Jake and someone bashes him on the back of the head, knocking him out. 

On waking up, Jake immediately asks how Gena is. He finds Gena loading up into an ambulance. 

"His name is Frank... So much for my perfect record. Find him before the police do, Jake." 

"I...Understand. I'll make sure the boy isn't harmed." 

"You don't understand! I want that ungrateful little maggot harmed! I want him harmed so badly he won't ever be able to walk upright again! I treated that boy like family! He treated me like today's hot lunch special! Get him for me, Jake! Bring me his stinkin' head on a platter!" 

Jake's pretty irked about Gena getting hurt, but... 

"But that's not what Moon Knight stands for, is it? I'm the agent of vengeance, not vengeance itself." 

That’s an interesting thought for Jake to have. Jake who so often slips out to let the others handle the Moon Knight mission. He trusts that they can handle things. But what is the difference between being an agent of vengeance and vengeance itself? Perhaps, looking to another comic is where we see that line and the difference between Moon Knight and the Punisher. 

He sets out to find Frank and his gang. He hopes having Frank brought in will help Gena. 

"Because I never want to look into the eyes of someone I care for and see so much hatred and despair there. I've seen it too many times before... Within myself." 

So this issue I’m just going to be crying over Jake the whole time. Okay. Good to know. 

Back at the diner, Gena is out of the hospital and facing her fears. 

Moon Knight is searching the hideout of the Raiders. He fllows the smell till he comes across a delirious woman with some sort of chemical burn blotches all over her. 

Looking around, he realizes, Steven Grant has been here before. An old factory he had been trying to save to create jobs has fallen into ruin. 

The factory is left to rot and all the chemicals inside are left there as well. 

He radios to Frenchie to make sure medical is on standby. These kids have been living in the toxic waste too long. 

He asks if the police got anything out of Frank when they grabbed him. 

Yeah... they didn't get him. He got away. 

And he's still looking for food from Gena. 

Back at the diner, we see Gena trying to clean up on her own. 

She is skittish as she cleans but tries to tell herself that no one's coming for her. 

"Besides, I'm not gonna let anybody or anything chase me away from what's mine!" 

And that's when Frank breaks back into Genas’.

Moon Knight finds one of the kids conscious enough to talk. Alcaide, their leader, didn't let them leave the hideout. He found drums full of a top secret toxic waste that drove people wild and crazy. 

Moon Knight recalls that Grant had learned that the factory used to work for the government. 

"Grant saw that in their public records. But the Spector part of me can't help but wonder if they didn't also do some more discreet research for the feds." 

Bingo bango. He finds the drums, filled with "Primal Project" chemicals. 

Oh! time for a Marc Spector flashback! 

"Spector was working for the feds at the time, escorting a man named Wenzel through a south American jungle..." 

They were heading to meet up with a professor in Manaus (that’s in Brazil!) to shut down the Primal Project. 

"It was supposed to slow a man's thinking process...Make him docile...Easy to handle. Something went wrong." Wenzel talks about the project. 

Marc stops them in their tracks. He hears something stalking them from the trees above. 

A creature leaps at them and Marc fires his gun. 

The beast is hit and lays dead. Deformed and animalistic. 

Marc asks if this is the work of the professor they're heading to see. 

"Spector...That IS the professor." 

They reach the campsite to find men dead across the site and more creatures running around. 

They are attacked adn have to fend off the beasts. They ended up blowing up the site to get rid of the beasts and the remaining chemicals. 

Apparently not all the chemical was destroyed. 

Now, Alcaide, the gang leader, approaches, fully a beast now. 

Back in the diner, Gena fights for her life. 

The cops have arrived at the factory and the paramedics are working on the gang. 

Moon Knight still battles the crazed beast and so does Gena. 

The next day, Jake stops in to see Gena. 

Most of the kids will make a recovery and their lawyers claim they were unter the influence of the Primal toxin. 

Gena is still shaken deeply. 

"I trusted Frank like he was one of my own, Jake...And every time I come in here all the pain comes back. Maybe it wasn't all his fault, but nobody forced him to join that gang. And is it right that I can't walk into my own diner without getting sick?" 

Jake tries to comfort her. Or perhaps, he reaches out to her in a way that he wishes he could with himself and with Marc. Because he knows that it does eat them up. It eats Marc up every day. He isn’t sure if it will ever stop eating them up.

"No. But you're too good a lady to let this eat you up forever." 

"Yeah... I'll work it out."

Poor Gena. 

She shoos them away. She needs to lock up for the night. 

This story is beautiful. This one time special guest writer, Tony Isabella and artist Bo Hampton really did a beautiful job here. 

They manage to keep the usual Moon Knight pace and story feel. We have Jake trying to protect his people. We have Gena facing a kid she helped to raise up, despite him not being her own, joining a violent gang and hurting her, we have Governmental neglect to clean up their mess and doing experimental biochemical weapons on unsuspecting people (a thing that really did happen in ‘Nam), we have economic failure for the factory that lead to the failure to clean up the toxic chemicals, and then we go back to Gena who is now facing trauma. 

No one in this story won. No one goes home feeling good about the day. They just have to pick themselves up again and move on. And they shouldn’t have to. Yet here they are, facing it all alone. 

This moves us to the short story afterwards. "The Vault of Knight." 

This is a weird one. Stranger still is that the short is written by the same person who wrote the main line. That’s pretty rare. Usually the short is done as a commission to be filler or bonus issues. 

Weirder still is the way it’s presented. A commentary on the main storyline! I've seen it done before. It's sort of like the Watcher to the audience. 

We have a strange looking character that addresses the audience. He's dressed like a baseball catcher with a Cubs cap on. Fitting. 

He calls himself "The Score-Keeper". 

And this... Let me tell you....

"Aloha, Adventure-addicts! Was twenty-four pages of gratuitous Do-Gooding enough for you...Or does your Hero-Habit demand even more of (yawn) Moon Knight's exciting escapades? I'm your sinister statistician, The Score-Keeper, and what I wanna know is... 

What is this Turkey in his cowled skivvies accomplishing? Does he really make a difference? Let's add it up. You can't lie to a Scorecard!" 

Interesting. A common question that pops up in Moon Knight comics. 

"Take last story for example. Sure he put ONE gang of teen terrors out of commission, but what's he doing about the rest of the anti-social adolescents in this city?" 

We see Moon Knight on a stakeout, waiting where someone's been hitting the same place for a week. 

The someone is two punks that dress up like werewolves and rob the shops in the area. In fact, they've hit five places in the past week alone! 

They hit a store where an old man cowers in fear....Until Moon Knight swoops in and knocks the thugs out. 

"You...You're that Moon Mensch fella! And you came into MY shop to save me from those Gonifs." 

"It's sort of my job." Moon Knight pauses. 

"Nu? To you, it's maybe a job. To me, if my store gets robbed, maybe I don't eat that night. So I thank you a lot, you and your job." 

"Friend, it was a mechaieh." 

Oh boy oh boy oh boy you have no idea how happy I am to hear Moon Knight say THAT. 

Back to the score-keeper, he's not impressed. "Why can't these heroes ever save Bloomingdales?" 

And the score-keeper starts talking about Gena and the previous issue. 

"What about Gena? One of Moon Knight's own team and he couldn't prevent what happened to her in this issue's other story. I don't think she's over it yet." 

We see Gena's boys Ray and Ricky head into the diner. 

"What did you want to talk to us about?" 

"I...I was talkin' to your uncle Rollie today, the one with the big restaurant out in Houston and he...Well, he kinda offered...I mean..." 

Score-Keeper scoffs. 

"Way to go M.K. While you're brushin' up on your Yiddish, one of your closest friends is bookin' this urban paradise. Maybe we should ask the rest of your little outfit what they think of you..." 

And this cracks me up because we get Frenchie, Marlene, and Crawley. Each one speaks of a different altar. And Frenchie is just SO pissy about it and so protective of Marc... He calls him his friend. Marc could always count on Frenchie back in the day. 

I’m…Not going to get into the “Faces of Eve” thing. It’s… A lot. But it was the big DID story and eventual movie that came out around this time that somewhat inspired a loose input into the creation of Moon Knight having DID. 

"You ask me, you care more about these guys than you care about Moon Knight." 

A misnomer. These people are what makes Moon Knight and keeps him going. In his adventures, helping him, and even when he fails them, they stay with him. 

Score guy jabs at it, noting that Moon Knight hasn't protected any of them. 

Frenchie's girlfriend, Marlene's brother, Crawley's son... 

He moves on to Detective Flint. 

Flint waits for him in a back alley. 

"Something happened --Didn't want you to read about it in the papers first. That Alaide kid you brought in was found dead in his cell an hour ago." 

"Yeah, that would've ruined my Breakfast all right." 

(Honestly, Jake is the one that reads the morning paper and eats breakfast. Jake would have been upset.) 

"Wasn't anybody's fault, guy. You know how crazed the kid was --He strangled himself before anyone could get to him." 

"That supposed to make me feel better?" 

"No...This is. It's the room number of the officer that was injured that night." 

Moon Knight pays the officer a visit. The officer is surprised to see him, thinking that he might not come. 

"Flint tells me that storage drum busted three ribs. I'm sorry. Maybe if I'd moved a little faster..." 

"It's all part of the job. But I don't have to tell you that...

You know, I figure you're pretty much a regular guy under that mask. Weird clothes, but no special 'powers'. I'll be honest... This job scares me a lot, like all the time. I was shaking when I went into that warehouse." 

Sometimes he doesn't see the good he does. 

Sometimes all he can see is the pain he leaves behind. Blaming himself for the pain of his friends. 

Maybe he doesn't really understand why this Daniels is thankful for him. But maybe in this moment he thinks it might be worth it. It might be why he is still trying. 

Back to Score-Keeper. It's time to add up the score. 

"Is Moon Knight doing any good or is he just swinging against the wind?" 

He looks at the results and seems surprised. Ripping up the scorecard, he tells us to figure it out for ourselves and leaves. 

A weird story, but I'm not mad at it. It ties into the main story line, shows the aftermath of what happened, and still shows their friends standing by them. 

It also lets Moon Knight take a moment to feel appreciated. 

And it does ask a question that Moon Knight has asked time and time again. “Am I doing good?” 

Is he causing the harm or is he just shouldering the blame because of his past traumas? The question remains over the years as things become more and more broken for them, and the answer has always been there. It’s just that sometimes it’s hard for them to see it… or accept it. 

[novacomette]

You can also read it here: Fanfiction Press, AO3

Check the Masterlist

The plot centers on Nesta Archeron, an executive who learns that she may face deportation back to Canada from the U.S. because of her expired VISA. Determined to retain her position as editor-in-cheif of a publishing house, she convinces her assistant, Cassian Paxton, to temporarily act as her fiancé.

Previous: Chapter 1

Next: Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Someone's on Fire

Once inside the office, Balthazar is seen fixing some paperwork. “Ah! Our fearless leader and her liege. Please, do come in.” He glanced before redirecting his focus on the papers.

Nesta took in the place and noticed something was rather different. She looked at the breakfront that was sitting right in front of Jurian’s view. Something he may look at while he's sitting on his desk. “Beautiful breakfront.” she walked a few steps closer. “Is it new?”

“It is an English Regency Egyptian Revival, built in the 1800s but, yes, it is new to my office.” Balthazar said with a rather proud smile as he took a seat at his desk. Cassian just stood quiet while checking out the office’s windows.

“Witty.” Nesta slightly whispered before facing him. “Balthazar, I'm letting you go.” She said. Cassian turned his head in a quick motion at the news that it almost tore his neck muscle.

What the heck is she doing!? He thought.

“Pardon?” Balthazar furrowed his brows.

Nesta sighed, shooting her head in disapproval. “I asked you a dozen times to get Jurian to do Oprah, and you didn't do it.” She crossed her arms.

Nesta, for the love of… you can't be serious right now! Cassian tried to contain his composure and to not fiddle with his own hands behind his back. He slowly closed the door to prevent his workmates from listening to the conversation.

  “You're fired.” Nesta said again.

Balthazar stood up, cursing under his breath. “I have told you that is impossible. Jurian hasn't done an interview in 20 years.”

“That is interesting, because I just got off the phone with him, and he is in.” Nesta glared at him. Cassian knew shit was gonna happen.

“Excuse me?” Balthazar was truly speechless.

Nesta almost snapped. “You didn't even call him, did you?”

“But…”

“I know, I know. Jurian can be a little scary to deal with… For you.” Nesta got closer and pointed. “Now, I will give you two months to find another job. And then you can tell everyone you resigned, OK?” Nesta said, patting his cheek once. Twice. before leaving his office.

“Shit..” Cassian said lowly and followed after her.

“What's his twenty?” Nesta asked Cassian in a low whisper. He kept his eyes on Balthazar, who was now pissed as hell.

“He's moving” Cassian replied to her and noticed the fury in his eyes. “He has crazy eyes.” He slightly joked but had no humor in himself. He was rather concerned.

“Don't do it, Balthazar. Don't do it.” Nesta said more to herself. Yet, she can't stop what will happen next.

“You poisonous bitch!” He blurted. Nesta stopped midway from her office as Cassian turned to face him.

Oh dear. Both Nesta and Cassian swore under their breaths.

“You can't fire me! You don't think I see what you're doing here? Sandbagging me on this Oprah thing so that you can look good on the board?” Baltazar said. Causing all the attention of the employees at their direction. Nesta only turned while Cassian just sat near Azriel’s cab office. “Because you are threatened by me! And you are a monster.”

“Better, stop.” Nesta almost sang. She wasn't the least bit threatened or thrilled.

“Just because you have no semblance of a life outside of this office, you think that you can treat all of us like your own personal slaves.” Balthazar kept talking.

Cassian was trying so hard not to smile. He slightly looked away to Azriel and gave him a paper with a note ‘Gave Gwyn your phone number. She sure seems eager to talk to you~’ and a phone number is below. Azriel snapped at him and elbowed his side.

“You know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you know what you're gonna have on your deathbed? Nothing and no one.” Balthazar smiled angrily at Nesta, who started walking to him dangerously close.

Oh God, this will get ugly. Cassian though as he watched her.

“Listen carefully, Balthazar.” Nesta said sharply. “I didn't fire you because I feel threatened. No. I fired you because you're lazy, entitled, incompetent and you spend more time playing Call of Duty than you do in your office.” She shot. Cassian slightly widened his eyes while pressing his lips and failing to contain a small smile. “And if you say another word, Cassian here is gonna have you thrown out, OK? Another word and you're going out of here with an armed escort.” Nesta pointed without parting her glare from Balthazar. "Cassian will film it with his camera phone and he'll put it on that Internet site. What was it?” Nesta looked at him. Cassian stiffened but didnt let her see it.

“YouTube?” He replied and looked at Azriel, who was willing to record as well just in case.

“Exactly” Nesta faced Balthazar again. “Is that what you want?” She asked him again. He only stood silent as Nesta huffed a laugh. “Didn't think so. I have work to do.” She said and headed back to her office. Cassian followed behind before fist-bumping with Azriel. “Have security take his breakfront and put it in my conference room.” Nesta said, which made Cassian lose his composure and snort.

“Sorry. Will do.” He said with a nod

“I need you this weekend to help review his files and his manuscript.” Nesta said while checking the book Cassian took from Balthazar’s office.

“Wait, this weekend?” Cassian asked as they stopped in front of her office.

“You have a problem with that, tough guy?” Nesta asked a bit mad.

“No. I… it's just my brother's 35th birthday, so I was gonna go home with Azriel and…” Cassian stopped when she rolled her eyes and entered her office.”Uh… It's fine. I'll cancel it. You're saving me from a weekend of misery, so it's... Good talk, yeah.” He rambled and headed to his office cab, shooting multiple curse words at his boss.

 "I know, I know." Cassian said on the phone. "Ok, tell Rhys I'm sorry. Ok? What…" He rubbed his temples, a bit irritated. I really don't want to do this. Balthazar wasn't joking that Nesta is a bitch. "Mor. What do you want me to tell you? She's making me work the weekend…. No, I'm not... no." He growled knowing how his family wanted him to quit his back-breaking job. "I've worked too hard for this promotion to throw it all away. I'm sure that Amren will be pissed, but we take all of our submissions around here seriously" Cassian glanced to his side and saw Nesta walking up to him. "We'll get back to you as soon as we can, ok?" He said and hung up with a sigh.

Nesta looked at him. "Was that your family?" She asked him. She couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of him and his strong relationship with his family.

"Yes. That was." Cassian replied while putting his attention to the computer in front of him.

"They tell you to quit?" Nesta couldn't help but asked out of pure curiosity.

"Every single day." Cassian shot back with slight disappointment before answering the phone. "Miss Archeron's office."

Well… that was unexpected. Nesta almost felt insulted.

"Yeah. OK. All right." Cassian nodded more to himself then hung up. "Graysen and Tomas want to see you upstairs."

Nesta swore under her breath. If she has to remember how her relationship with Tomas was in the past all over again, she's gonna kill someone. Not to mention how Graysen treated her middle sister, Elain, too. "Ok. Come get me in ten minutes. We've got a lot to do." Nesta said and walked away.

"Okey-doke Lady Death" Cassian said to try and lighten up her mood.

"Once again, don't call me that!" She shot at him without stopping.

Cassian only chuckled before spotting Azriel watching him. "What?"

"You got a thing for her, don't you?" Azriel grinned. Cassian almost stiffened but could feel his cheeks heating up.

"You got a thing for Gwyn, so why not talk about that, Az?" Cassian evaded the question and gave him his own grin. Granted, he won a strong flinch and red cheeks from Azriel.

"Shut the fuck up.." He mumbled and looked away before getting back to work. Cassian shook his head at how stubborn his brother can be.

[royalsimsofascania]

Consort kapono spotted out getting coffee with brother and ex girlfriend Palila!!

(One day before birthday soirée)

Media blog : SimladoniaNews

It appears that the duke of Ascania (imperial consort kapono)went out to get coffee and either met up or ran into the his ex girlfriend. About 5 years ago before the duke went exclusive with the empress he broke things off with his long term girlfriend of 3 years who didn’t take the break up well. She went on the daily show with penny pizzaz and talked about the royal family of sulani and stated how the sulani royals were full of scandal and that the duke himself was egotistical ..” (if you want to read more click to watch the interview)(Notreal!)after returning back to windslar from his 2 day solo trip to sulani where his ex girlfriend is currently living. Many suspects he may have went there to visit her . There’s also reports she in windslar for business.

The top reporter and cheif editor zinnia Quinn a strangerville native was in the cafe while on hiatus when she spotted the imperial consort and prince walk into the cafe attended with his ex and no security. She snapped some pictures then went live on simstagram.

(Change tweet to Ascania in your head )

[bellas-lemonade-cap]

Justice for Justin

On May 31st, 2020 an officer hit a 20 year old college student by the name of Justin Howell in the head with a "less lethal" round cracking his skull. This round was meant for another protester, and when others tried to create a human stretcher for Justin, the police shot the same non-lethal rounds at them too. The police chief himself stated that they shot the wrong person, and now Justin is in critical condition because of it. I know that there is an ongoing debate about how effective petitions are, but for right now this is the least that we can do. Please sign this petition* so police cheif Brian Manley will be investigated for encouraging violence against peaceful protesters:

http://chng.it/2TFBzr8m9t

There is also a gofundme page for Justin's medical bills. I know that many people are tight on money, but those who are not, please consider donating.

https://gf.me/u/x6w5dk

A little bit about Justin:

.Sadly as is the case for many victims of police brutality, not much is known about him at this time. From what I can find Justin is a political science major at Texas State University and works as an opinion editor for the student newspaper "The Battalion". His older brother has written an article about the situation and what kind of person his brother and family are. I will be linking it below. Please send any support toward the Howell family you can at this time.

http://www.thebatt.com/opinion/opinion-his-name-is-justin-howell/article_93a79c44-a5b6-11ea-aa54-ebc0da33cc35.html?fbclid=IwAR3BgoNdrVor33WHl4JSnh-_IViuWRoAFq34BXPe60U0vyjFSUhEAtFThoQ

[metballswift]

TAYLORS SHOOT WAS REALLY STYLED BY THE EDITOR IN CHEIF HIMSELF IM SOOO HAPPY RN GUYS

[lifeofswiftie89]

TAYLOR WAS STYLRD BY THE CHEIF EDITOR HIMSELF I STAN THE A TEAM THEMSELVES

[doodleddaisies]

Modern! High School AU Newsies Headcanons part 1?

This is gonna be long but i thought it was better to have them together than to have them all in different asks. Tagging @vivilevone bc she needs inspiration for her newsies fics so here you go! :)

These mostly came from a javid fan fic that i was planning but am probably never going to write. So, enjoy!

Jack 

-bi 

-he’s a jock (varsity football, maybe baseball?, quarter back on the football team, maybe captain too)

-fave classes: art and his independent study (which is just newspaper and yearbook in the same hour) he’s a photographer for the school and uses his pictures for the newspaper and the yearbook (totally not just an excuse to have a class with Davey)

-same age as sarah but is in davy’s grade (he was held back in 1st grade)

-really likes it when Davey wears his varsity jacket, even before they’re dating

-dated sarah, kath, and race (the last one only lasted a week before they broke up because they are more like bros than bfs)

-foster kid (later adopted)

-started high school as a foster kid of a married lesbian couple who had adopted crutchie a few years before 

-he gets super close and super protective of crutchie

-the same couple adopted him during his junior year (he cries and so does crutchie, davey is there for support and its the best day of jack’s life)

-his legal name is then Jack Kelly-Morris (he wanted to keep a part of his past with him) but he goes by Jack Kelly at school because it’s easier and its a habit 

-realizes he likes davey first 

-not a bad student, just gets distracted easily and only likes to do work and study if the topic interests him

-that likable guy that everyone wants to hate but they can't bc he's so likeable

-too close with the teachers

-openly fights for funding of the arts and tries to get the school board to give them more funding (even if they have to take some away from sports)

-takes a lot of pics of davey 

-” its for drawing references, davey”

-”its for yearbook”

-”i’m testing the lighting”

-he keeps them all and prints his faves

-this is the longest he’s ever been in a house/ school

-he loves both of his moms and will get in fights if anyone talks shit

-starts a lgbtq+ / gsa at his school 

-all of the members are the newsies (and kath and sarah)

-his style is a mix between jock and (wanna be) punk rock (always with that red bandana - which davey loves)

Davey-

-gay 

-ace

-nerdy (always studying and gets straight As)

-lead reporter for the school paper

-really loves writing

-wears glasses (that jack loves)

-always has really dirty glasses and never cleans them so jack always does it for him

-bad anxiety :( mostly from school and overthinking about random things and about the future- college and jobs)

-gets really bad exam stress (he pushes himself too hard during exam week but he always gets As on them so he doesn’t see how its bad)

-doesn’t eat a lot or get enough sleep during exam week

-almost fell asleep during the ACT/SAT bc he was up late stressing and doing practice tests

-still gets one of the highest scores of his grade

-goes to all of Jack’s games and waits by his car for him to be done changing and showering so jack can drive him home (or he’ll just stay over at jack’s for the night)

-gets to be really good friends with crutchie through jack

-was jealous of kath and sarah when they both dated jack but wasn’t sure why

-knows he's gay but doesn’t realize that he has a crush on jack until later (aka oblivious davey even to his own feelings)

-best brother to les and sarah

-they are literal sibling goals

-has natural curly hair but he usually combs it down after a shower

- when he’s running late or when he’s stressed, he always wears sweatpants and t shirts and his hair is just a curly mess (jack is shook and almost dies bc damn boi)

-was kind of a loner until jack (he brought him out of his shell)

-has really bad anxiety attacks (his parents try to help but the only people that can actually help him are sarah and jack)

-cries when stressed but hates crying in public and at school

-has a vintage aesthetic (typewriters, records, the usual)

-mentions, interviews, and quotes jack too much in his articles for the paper

-takes all college prep and AP classes

-rambles when he's nervous

-that kid that everyone looks to when the teacher says that theres a group project

-really competitive in class review games

-seriously he almost got in a fight with spot over jeopardy!

-they aren’t allowed to play jeopardy! anymore

-also spot and davey are not allowed to be on opposing teams

-hates when he gets less than a 98 on a test which everyone hates but he has high expectations of himself and he pushes himself too hard to do better

Sarah-

-year older than davey

-bi? pan? not sure yet

-dated jack a year before but broke up after a few months bc it was awk for both of them

-on yearbook with jack

-once took a pic of davey during a game while he had on jack’s varsity jacket on and she gave it to jack and he died

-its his fave pic of dave

-#sarahknewfirst

-#sarahcalledit

-popular but not shitty

-likes music but doesn't have the money for an instrument and doesn't know how to play 

-kath volunteers to teach her piano (and thats how it all starts)

-likes to gossip to kath about jack when he is right next to them 

-”i do not kiss like a dog!” 

-she starts dating kath their senior year but don't tell anyone at first 

-they are too nervous to come out to everyone at the homecoming dance to sarah asks jack and kath asks davey and then sarah and kath break off halfway through the dance and come out to jack and dave after the dance when they all go to get food

-davey is supportive and accepting but feels bad that he didn't know and not noticing even though sarah says that it was okay and that he didn’t need to notice earlier because they kind of hid it anyways 

Kath-

-pan?

-dated jack after sarah did

-cheif editor of the paper and becomes close to davey

-can tell that he likes jack from reading his articles and edits them so its not as obvious (so the school doesn't find out about daveys feelings before davey does)

-shes the kid who doesn't study except for reading her notes 5 minutes before the tests but then only gets one wrong anyways

-davey hates her because of that

-takes really pretty notes even though she will literally never read them again

- student body president

-involved in literally everything at the school 

[thesffcorner]

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

I remembered what Charles had said about Alan, how he selfishly, needlessly, spoiled the pleasure of millions of people who had enjoyed the Atticus Pünd novels. He was rights The Magpie Murders is a whodunit, murder mystery written by Anthony Horowitz. It follow two stories: that of Atticus Pünd, detective extraordinaire, solving his last case in the novel Magpie Murders; and that of Susan Ryeland, the editor to Alan Connway, author of said novel. It's a complex book that deals with a lot of themes, such as the nature of murder, publishing, authorship, the relationship between the author and their work, work and audience and author and audience. The theme that gets explored most, and the one that drives the plot forward is that of author and work and I found that most compelling. I had never heard of Anthony Horowitz until I read this book, and then I found out that I actually knew this author; he has written not only the Alex Ryder series (and the screenplay for the movie) but also the Midsummer Murders series which is one of my all time favorite British crime series of all time. He even mentions in this book how the series is still ongoing despite writing only 7 books. So as someone who wrote two successful, long running series, I found it really interesting that Horowitz chose to make Alan both such a despicable character and someone who utterly hates his creation. There is a point in the book where Susan talks about how most famous mystery writers ended up hating their detectives (she uses Agatha Christie as an example) and I can't help but wonder how much of that is Horowitz himself talking; Alex Ryder is on it's 17th installment? Alan Connway the fictional author of the Atticus Pünd novels takes this to a whole new level. Not only does he make the 9 Atticus Pünd into a practical joke, but his very name is an anagram of a rather mean thing. He also decides to kill him off in a pretty cliche way and seems to loathe detective stories. He wants to be a 'serious writer', like David Mitchel or Salman Rushide (as if mystery and thriller authors aren't 'serious'). This really rubbed me the wrong way because multiple characters repeat this sentiment; that whodunits are base and pointless, and worthless and I really don't think that's true or right to say. I can understand why Alan would see it that way, but I hated that it seemed Horowitz agreed with him, especially because that makes me like his entire career as a prolific mystery author into a dark light, of having done it only because it's commercial or for the money. And the worst part? I really liked the Atticus Pünd part of this novel! The murder he solves was straight out of Midsummer Murders, down to it being set in a sleepy, insular village, with darkness under the pristine lawns and a very gruesome killing blow. I also really like Pünd; he's a great detective, an endearing German man who survived the Holocaust and brings a tenderness to his approach, even if he's not particularly humorous. I also hate how everyone constantly says that Francis and Cheif Inspector Chubb are stupid on purpose?? I absolutely didn't get that impression, they were making sound decisions and conclusions based on evidence and conjecture, and were agreeable when they were proven wrong. In addition, I really liked most of the supporting characters, from the love to hate it Lord Pye, to Joy, to the vicar Osborne. The only thing I didn't like was the resolution of the case; how exactly did he figure out the letter business purely based on the bloody piece of paper in the fireplace? How? I might have missed something, but it seemed to me that he just randomly concluded this. I only noticed this now too, since when I first read that bit, I was not even interested in the resolution to that case, after everything that happened with Susan. Speaking of, Susan's story follows her trying to figure out what happened to Alan, while also trying to find the missing pages of his book. When we first cut away to her, I was annoyed, but in the end when we returned to Pünd, I actually felt much like he did; I didn't really care. Susan wasn't my favorite character; there were many points where I didn't like or agree with her, and I hated how the most important choice she had to make was made for her (and it also went the way I didn't want it to go). I didn't care much about the supporting characters here, except for Alan's lover, but I guess I appreciated that Horowitz finally acknowledges that other races exist, even if the one black character is the worst police officer ever and the Greek chracter is a walking stereotype. This book is hard to talk about without spoilers; it would make the perfect book club book because there's so much to discuss. However, I will say that it itself disproves what Horowitz says in it; this is a complex whodunit, that deals with so many subjects and themes in a tasteful way and while I'm a bit bitter about some of it's messages it made me incredibly excited to read the Midsummer Murders novels, and his newest book The Word is Murder.

goodreads

[emremuderris]

Peter Lindbergh's Manhattan Catwalk - NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

Peter Lindbergh’s tribute to the late Editor-in-Cheif of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani. The film came out of working on a 90-page shoot for Vogue Italia, titled ‘Walking’, that Lindbergh shot around the streets of Manhattan.

“We shot for three days—30 pages and seven models per day, 21 models altogether. The short film was shot at the same time by Thomas Lachambre, who is a very talented director of photography and filmmaker himself.” Read more on NOWNESS - http://bit.ly/2jbValJ

[novacomette]

You can also read it here: Fanfiction Press, AO3

Check the Masterlist

The plot centers on Nesta Archeron, an executive who learns that she may face deportation back to Canada from the U.S. because of her expired VISA. Determined to retain her position as editor-in-cheif of a publishing house, she convinces her assistant, Cassian Paxton, to temporarily act as her fiancé.

Next: Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Early Rush Hour

The sun peeks over the horizon. There's a stunning view of Central Park from this apartment, but whoever lives here isn't really watching.

As we wander through expensive furniture. Eventually, we can see Nesta Archeron running on a treadmill, watching the tv, all while reading a manuscript.

She sprints as the clock on her treadmill goes to zero, hitting the off button to stop the treadmill. Once done, she heads over to the shower to wash off the sweat off her body and get ready to head to work.

Since she moved out of her Father’s house after his passing, she managed to get a job as a chief editor at a major book publisher company in New York City. She barely ever contacted her two sisters during the time but they’re recently trying to reconnect and recover lost time. Once Nesta finished her shower, she checked herself on a mirror to straighten her eyebrows before heading to her closet.

She puts on a black dressing shirt with matching pants and heeled boots as she later ties her hair on a ponytail while heading to the kitchen to eat nothing more than a quick made cereal while re-reading the manuscript for the 3rd time.

In another department, Cassian wakes up on sheets and looks around to figure out where he is.

He takes a look at the clock on his desk, only for it to blink at 12 O’clock. Cassian checks his wrist watch and gets up quickly when he sees it is 8:16 AM. “Shit!”

He cursed under his breath while trying to get ready as fast as possible. He gets himself in a white dressing shirt with gray trousers, neglecting to wear the matching jacket since he’s quite too muscular to make it fit, a blue tie and black shoes. He ties his shoulder length hair to a man bun and takes his bag, rushing out of the apartment to the street and stopping in the cafeteria only to see the huge line waiting to get their orders. Cassian cursed once again under his breath and was about to do his line when-

"Cassian, hey!" Said the register with two lattes in hand. Cassian rushed to her. "Here you go. Your regular lattes" she gave him a knowing grin.

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver" He said in relief and took the lattes as he rushed straight to work before getting an earful from his boss. He entered the building, maneuvering over the people with the lattes in one hand and barely made it into the elevator. "We ok?" He asked as his workmates nodded. "Yeah, me too" and with that the doors closed.

On her way, Nesta was on her phone with her bag hanging from her forearm. "Hello Jurian! How's my favorite writer?" She said while walking down along the people.

Apparently she's been trying to convince this person for a while now. "Of course you've been thinking about our talk, bc you know I'm right" she stops and waits for the light to turn green before proceeding to walk. "People in this country are busy, broke or hate to read. They need someone to say Hey! Don't watch Indianapolis tonight! Read a book! Read Jurian's book! And that person is Oprah.” She said.

Once up on his floor he walks out and into his office.

"Cutting in close" Said the receptionist, which Cassian could recall was Gwyn, as he sighs yet a little hurried.

"One of those mornings. Thank you Captain Obvious" He said sarcastically before stumbling into Lucien, with a cart of documents, spilling one of his lattes, which had fallen onto him "SWEET... GOD!" He almost snapped.

"Sorry Cassian" Lucien replied, moving along, dragging the cart with him before he got in trouble. "Rub some dirt on it man" he said. Cassian growled under his breath, now he has to get a change of shirts.

Just as that happened, Nesta was on her way to the elevator. "Jurian, the truth is all A-plus novelists do publicity, I can name you all their names and…" she stopped in front of it. "Hey! Can I tell you what they all have in common? A publisher." She said,

Back with Cassian, he quickly ran to his brother, Azriel. "I need the shirt off your back. Literally" he blurted. Since Both Azriel and Him are about the same build, it's obvious that he's the only one who can help out.

"Are you serious?" Azriel looked at him up and down with his brows furrowed.

"Yankees, Boston, this Thursday, two company seats for the shirt. You have five seconds to decide. Five, Four, Three, Two, One.." he was getting rather impatient since the chief was about to enter at any second.

"I know-" One of the female editors gasped as her companion saw what shocked her. Nesta was here. She quickly typed in on the office's chat 'She's here!' and sent it to everyone. This caused them to get in position before they got caught wasting time.

Cassian was already changed out of shirts and into Azriel's red tie, which he only made the exception to keep the blue tie since, which is understandable since Azriel prefers blue. Just as he finished fixing himself, Nesta walked into her own office, quite plastered on her phone. "Morning Boss. You've a conference call in thirty minutes''

"Yes. About the marketing of the spring books. I know" Nesta replied lamely as she headed to her desk.

"Staff meeting at Nine" Cassian said again as he stood next to her.

"Did you call… Ugh, what's his name? The one with a shitty attitude." Nesta said, faking that she forgot about Tamlin's name since and and her sister Feyre broke up five months ago after he'd said something utterly unnecessary.

"Tamlin" Cassian mumbled under his breath, knowing all too well how he treated her sister, which both he and Feyre are really good friends whenever they're free to hang out a bit.

Nesta snapped her fingers at his answer "That's his name. Tell him that if he doesn't get his manuscript in on time-"

"You won't give him a release date. Why not just let him forget that and give him a hard time?" Cassian said with a smirk.

Nesta tried not to let her lips quirk up. "As much as I love to do that, I can't" She kept her composure.

"Right. Your immigration lawyer called. He said it's imperative-" Cassian checked his wrist's clock.

Nesta cursed internally and quickly interrupted him. "Cancel the call, push the meeting to tomorrow, keep the lawyer on the sheets." She said while he nodded.

"Also get a hold of PR, have them start drafting a press release. Jurian is doing Oprah." She said Cassian was actually impressed.

"Wow. Nicely done I must say" Cassian grinned before heading back to his office cabin.

Nesta mumbled. "If I want praise, I will ask for it" before she cleared her throat to get his attention.

Cassian stopped and turned to her as she showed him her latte with something written down with a phone number. 'Call Me~ (xxx)-xxx-xxxx'.

"Who is… Who is Jillian? And why does she want me to call her?" Nesta glared which Cassian constantly made fun of when she wasn't around. He pressed his lips and faced her.

"Well… that was originally my coffee," Cassian tried to say.

"And I'm drinking your coffee because?" Nesta slightly sang in that last sentence. This made Cassian gulp.

"Because your coffee spilled," He said, trying not to let her get to him.

Nesta took a sip. "So you drink unsweetened cinnamon light soy lattes?" She quirked up one of her straight brows as she said that. She honestly didn't think her assistant would drink something like that.

"I actually do. It's like Christmas in a cup" Cassian said with a rising smirk, which only caused Nesta to snort.

"Coincidence, am I right?" She replies with a small yet devious grin.

“Incredibly it is. But I wouldn't drink the same coffee that you drink just in case yours spilled. That would be… pathetic” Cassian said, trying to cover up before answering a nearby desk phone. “Morning. Miss Archeron’s Office. Hey Balthazar…” he glances at her, which she says makes a pointing expression to who was calling. “Actually, we’re heading to your office right now… Yeah.” He finished and hung up. “Why are we heading to Balthazar’s office?” he asked to which Nesta only shrugged. “Tsk '' he clicked his tongue at her response.

As he walked out of her office, he quickly typed on the chat ‘THE WITCH IS IN HER BROOM’ and sent it. Alarming all his workmates back into position. Once done, he proceeded to walk next to Nesta as she left her office. “Have you finished the manuscript I gave you?” He asked under his breath.

“I read a few pages. I wasn't that impressed.” Nesta said bored.

“Uhh, can I say something?” Cassian asked her, trying to to give away his annoyance knowing what her answer will be.

“No.” She said, which earned a small eye roll from him.

“Hey, I've read thousands of manuscripts, this is the only one I've given you. There's an incredible novel in there. The kind of novel you used to publish.” Cassian shot back, trying to convince her, only for her to glance at Azriel and his "supposing" coffee stained shirt with blue tie.

“Wrong. And I do think you order the same coffee as I do just in case you spill, which is, in fact, pathetic.” Nesta gave him a knowing smirk. Yep, he’s been caught.

“Or rather impressive, Nes.” Cassian smirked back in defiance.

“I'd be impressed if you didn't spill in the first place, and don't call me Nes.” She hissed when he shortened her name. She found it rather annoying. She then said when nearing the office. "Remember, you're a prop."

“Wont say a word” Cassian mumbled and opened Balthazar’s office door for. She cleared her throat and got in while Cassian fallowed.

[novacomette]

You can also read it here Fanfiction Press, AO3

Check the Masterlist

The plot centers on Nesta Archeron, an executive who learns that she may face deportation back to Canada from the U.S. because of her expired VISA. Determined to retain her position as editor-in-cheif of a publishing house, she convinces her assistant, Cassian Paxton, to temporarily act as her fiancé.

Previous: Chapter 4

Next: Chapter 6

Chapter 5: Questions and Sarcasm.

Cassian was practically on a hangover after he, Azriel and Lucien went to the bar last night and he had to deal with all the questions they shot at him. Even so, one thing led to another and the two had to agree on going to Sitka with him on a later date. Cassian had to keep himself from actually put together a series of questions and answers for Nesta to memorize.

Once the plane took off, he cleared his voice to start. “So, these are the questions that INS is gonna ask us, I took the liberty to search it up.” Cassian opened his portfolio. “Now, the good news is, that I know everything about you, but the bad news is that you have four days to learn all this about me.” He said, to which Nesta gave him an incredulous look. “So, you should…” Before Cassian can finish his sentence, she snatched the portfolio from his hands. “Probably get studying.” he mumbled.

Nesta looked through the pages before asking. “You know all the answers to these questions about me?”

Cassian shot her a smirk. “Scary, isn't it?” How insufrible, Nesta had thought, almost shooting it verbally.

“A little bit.” She replied instead and asked. “What am I allergic to?”

“Pine nuts.” Cassian shot without looking at her. “And the full spectrum of human emotion.” He added with sarcasm.

“Oh, that's... that was funny.” Nesta huffed a laugh before asking her next question. "Here's a good one. Do I have any scars?” She smirked, thinking that he’ll never get this one right. To her surprise, he chuckled in a very devious way.

“I'm pretty sure that you have a tattoo.” He glanced at her, smirk still plastered on his face.

“Oh” Nesta backed up her question to not let him win. “You're pretty sure?”

“Oh, I'm pretty sure.” Cassian said while crossing his arms. “Two years ago, your dermatologist called and asked about a Q-switched laser. I Googled a Q-switched laser and found that they, in fact, do remove tattoos.” He said before closing in with a grin on his lips, almost sharing a breath. “But you canceled your appointment.”

Nesta couldnt stop the heat on her cheeks. Not only that, but that damned expression of defiance on his face made her gut heat up more than her own face.

Cassian pulled away, laying back on his seat and continued. “So what is it? Tribal ink? Japanese calligraphy? Barbed wire?” He whispered that last question almost dramatically.

“You know, it's exciting for me to experience you like this.” Nesta gave him a sarcastic smile before resuming on reading the questions.

Cassian just smiled stubbornly. “Thank you. You're gonna have to tell me where it is, tho.~”

Nesta mumbled. “I'm not.”

“They're gonna ask.” Cassian kept insisting.

“We're done with that question.” Nesta flipped pages. “We're done with that question.” She repeated. Cassian just shook his head and looked out the window. Nesta couldn't help but glance at him, noticing all his features. The light softly makes his dark skin glow in various shades of gold and brings out more details on his neck, to which she noticed multiple dark blue stripes coming from underneath his shirt. She figured it was a tattoo of his own but she wasnt gonna dig deeper so she quickly looked for another question. “Ahem! On to another question. Let me see, let me see.” She found a very interesting one. “Oh! Here's one. Whose place do we stay at, yours or mine?” She gave him a smirk. “That 's easy. Mine.”

Cassian's voice dropped an octave as he asked. “And why wouldn't we stay at mine?” He shifted on his seat to face her. It took all of her will to keep the heat from puddling on her core.

“Because I live in Central Park West. And you probably live in some squalid little studio apartment with stacks of yellowed Penguin Classics.” Nesta said and smirked at his astonished expression. How did she know? He didn't want to even ask her.

There was a small Bing heard all along the plane as the pilot spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts. We are beginning our descent into Juneau.”

Nesta frowned and snapped her neck to look at him. “Juneau? I thought we were going to Sitka.”

Cassian nodded and replied simply. “We are.”

Nesta dared to ask again. “How are we getting to Sitka?” By the long silence, the clench of his jaw and the look of annoyance, she felt a bit confused. It wasn't until half an hour later that she understood why he was so annoyed. They had to take another plane, which was constantly shaking and moving. The two barely had a grip on their seat. On the other hand, whenever the plane didn't shake, Cassian could see the beautiful black peaks covered in snow, almost like it was covered in a soft white blanket.

Once the airplane landed, Cassian saw three familiar females, two of them waving at him, through the window. One had golden blonde hair, wearing a red coat and black pants with matching boots, the other had dark skin with hair that almost resembled coal, she was wearing a similar jacket, only that it was autumn colored, black pants and brown fur boots. The last woman was shorter, black hair cut into a bob, she was wearing a white fluffy fur coat, balck winter leggings and fur boots, Two of them were holding cardboards that welcomed him, which he smiled warmly. “All right. Here we go.” He said to Nesta with a smirk, to which she snorted.

“Where? Oh, there he is!” The blonde female smiled and pointed at Cassian coming down the plane with ease. Nesta, on the other hand, was struggling against the steps and the cold.

“Cassian!” The other female waved as the three gathered into a tight hug. “It's so good to see you!”

“Hey, Mor. Hi Emerie.” Cassian smiled cheerfully before smirking at the shorter woman. “Good to see you too Angry Snowball”

“You watch your mouth boy. Even though you've just got here, I won't hesitate to give you a hard time” She replied.

Cassian chuckled and looked around. “Where’s Rhys?”

Emerie chuckled. “Oh, you know your brother. He's busy when it comes to his birthday.”

Mor slightly punched Cassian’s shoulder. “Never mind about him!” She gave him a knowing grin. “Where's your girl?”

Cassian held back a wince and forced a smile. “She's... right there.” He pointed. “There she is.”

Nesta walked to him, careful with her steps. She mentally cursed that she had to wear heels to this trip.

Enerie winced before commenting. “I guess the word girl is inappropriate.”

Nesta forced a smile once she got close enough. “Hi!”

“Hello.” The two females greeted cheerfully and hugged her, to which she slightly returned the gesture.

“Nesta, this is my brother’s cousin.” Cassian pointed to Mor.

“Hi. I'm Morrigan but everyone just calls me Mor. I must say, you look stunning!” Mor held her hands, smiling from ear to ear.

Nesta was a bit awkward by her honest gesture. “Yeah, great.” She said.

Cassian then pointed to Emerie. “This is her other half, Emerie.”

Emerie just shook her hand with a smile. “Pleasure.”

“Well, hello there.” Nesta greeted but then the shorter woman got a bit closer to her than intended.

Cassian cleared his voice, as in hiding a laugh. “And the Angry Snowball in Amren.”

“Now, do you prefer being called Margaret or Satan's Mistress?” Amren squinted her bright silver eyes. Nesta’s eyes shot wide to her question. She was not gonna let her intimidate her so she shot back.

“I've heard it both ways.” Nesta held her chin up.

“Actually we've heard it lots of ways.” Amren said before pointing with a small smirk. “I like you.”

Cassian threw an arm over Nesta’s shoulders. “Congrats! You won the approval of the little ant!”

“Zip it!” Amren hissed at him with a glare. Cassian only let out a heavy laugh, to which Nesta could feel it resonating through her ribcage.

She cleared her voice and said, “Thank you so much for... allowing me to be a part of this weekend.” She said, stumbling a little on her words.

“Oh, you're welcome.” Mor clapped her hands with a smile.

Emerie nodded “We're thrilled to have you."

“Let's get you two back to the fort.” Mor said cheerfully and hugged Cassian’s arm.

Nesta forced a smile to hide a growing concern. “Ok.” She said as she watched him, Mor and Amren walked ahead.

Emerie, on the other hand, looped her arm with hers. “I hope you don't mind, but you look quite worried. Is someone else coming to Sitka?” She asked her.

Nesta hesitated before answering. “Well… My sisters and my best friend are coming soon and my best friend is coming on a later date. I was just worried about their ride here”

Emerie nodded. “Don't worry, I'm sure they’ll make it here safe.” She smiled. Nesta couldn't help but smile back.

After they took a ride through the town, Nesta realized something. Most of the shops had the last name of Paxton written on every banner: Sitka’s Souvenir: The Paxton Collection, Paxton Pharmacy, Paxton Parcel and Post, Paxton General Store, Paxton, Paxton, Paxton.

Nesta looked at Cassian, who looked a bit distracted with the opening of a new gym, before looking at his back with a name tag on it: C. Paxton. She then shot her gaze at him. “Cassian…” Nesta whispered but he didn't listen. “Cassian!” She whispered a bit loudly but he didn't listen. She made an annoyed expression before punching his shoulder… HARD.

“Ow!” Cassian held it with a wince before glaring at her. “Please, don't do that! You punch like a triple W Wrestler!” He said with an unamused tone and Nesta didn't know if she should consider it a compliment or an insult.

Nesta glared at him instead and said sarcastically. “You didn't tell me about all the family businesses, honey.” She gave a sarcastic grin to which he only stared blankly in annoyance.

Amren was the first to comment. “He was probably just being modest, lady.” She didn't even look as she was plastered on her phone. Mor and Emerie chuckled.

“Oh.” Nesta forced a smile.

Once they made it to a few docks nearby, Emerie parked the truck. Nesta got down to look around in slight confusion as Cassian went to the back to get her luggage. Nesta then asked him.”What are we doing? Shouldn't we check into our hotel right now?”

Mor answered her instead. “Oh, we canceled your reservation.” She said with a smile. “Family doesn't stay at a hotel.”

Amren then said. “You're gonna stay in our home.”

Nesta was taken aback and now she didn't know what to do. So to hide her frustration, she said with fake joy. “Oh, great! Great.”

Cassian noticed the fakeness in her voice so he decided to annoy her. He slightly made the impression of struggling with her luggage, which wasn't even heavy for him, and dropped it. “God.” He said and gave her a smirk. “You're gonna wanna use your legs to lift that one.” He said and walked to the girls. Nesta held back the urge to make a vulgar gesture at him as she grabbed her things.

Emerie looked at her, then at Cassian. “Cassian! Help her with those.” She said to him. Cassian only clicked his tongue.

“I'd love to, but she won't let me do anything.” Cassian lied. He just wanted to see her struggle. “She insists on doing it all herself. She's one of those... she's a feminist.” He shrugged. The four of them saw her kick her luggage into its wheels as she began to drag it behind her. The three women on Cassian’s side looked at each other in silence before resuming to walk to where their boat was. “Come on, sweetie.~” Cassian said, knowing it annoyed her more while she struggled to pull her luggage through the rocks and gravel.

“You see the shoes she’s wearing?” Amren mumbled the comment to Mor, to which she nodded.

Later, Mor and Emerie were sorting the bags in place while Amren waited on the driver’s seat. Apparently Emerie was more into pickup trucks, Mor into cars and Amren was a master expert in boats. “This is the last of 'em.” Cassian threw one of Nesta’s back to Mor.

“Hey!” Nesta tried to stop him but she was forced to watch how her expensive bag fell and floated on the water.

“Oh… Five second rule.” Cassian only said with no concern for her bag at all.

“Got it! Got it.” Mor said, yanking the bag on time before giving it to Emirie.

“That will dry right off.” Cassian said out loud, smirking at Nesta before climbing down. Nesta was pissed at this point and decided not to follow suit.

“I'm not getting on that boat.” She said in defiance.

“You don't have to.” Cassian said simply before grinning at her. “See you in a few days.”

Nesta opened her mouth but had to swallow to try again. “You know I can't swim long distances!”

“Hence… the boat.~” Cassain said and stood on the wooden platform, waiting for her to come down. “Come on.” He held out his hand for her. Nesta just looked around and sighed. Come on. Here we go.” He said again. Nesta carefully lowered herself on the latter and climbed down. Cassian was just looking at her, taking advantage of the situation to look at her ass, marked by her leather pants. "Looking good, boss. Take your time, though.~” He said, to which she only hissed and threw him her handbag.

Mor and Emerie tilted their heads to see how slowly and insecure she was climbing down that ladder. Only Amren commented. “She comes with a lot of baggage.”

Cassian placed his hand on her ass so she wouldn't fall. “Just gonna give you a little hand here.” He said and couldn't help but squeeze a little. Nesta growled.

“Hand off ass! Off ass!” She snapped as he obliged.

“There you go. You're there.” Cassian said as Nesta managed to put a foot on the platform. When she made the attempt to turn around, she stumbled onto his chest. Cassian held her elbows with quick reflex to prevent her from falling. She somehow felt a bit calmer after feeling his strong hold on her arms, she even wondered how many women he had prevented from falling. Wait, why was she thinking that? Why was she even wondering about his own life!? She snapped out of her thoughts when Cassian cleared his voice and commented with a smirk. “Congratulations. I'm a hundred years old now.”

Nesta scoffed and pulled away from him. “You wish.” She dusted herself.

“You could’ve wore something more comfortable but you chose to let me see your ass. Hell, quite squishy too.~” Cassian purred as she felt her whole face heat up.

“Geez! You’re insufrible!” Nesta snapped in embarrassment and got on the boat, to which Mor, Emeria and even Amren were chuckling.

Cassian gasped dramatically and held his heart. “Sweetheart, you’re gonna break your daddy’s heart!~” he smirked. Nesta’s eyes shot wide open as Mor gave her a smirk.

“So you do have fun before marriage.~” She commented. Nesta covered her red face in embarrassment. But her comment did make her wonder slightly. How good was he on- She shot that thought out before she delved deeper. Control yourself, damn it! She thought to herself as they were now off, gliding through the waters at full speed.