#getting divorced one thing. getting toasted by reporters for getting divorced another…

[moonshynecybin]

did anyone try the chicken. i thought the chicken was lovely

[binniesthighs]

hellooo i have read your Han fic and it's so gooooooood you really know how to portray the one and only Han Jisung omgggg. can i ask for a seventeen smut? if it's okay with you. since I'm into Jeonghan these days i really want to know how will Jeonghan react if you two arw bffs since high school then one day things changed, both of you began being so touchy and flirty then he challenges you if you can resist him omgggg like he is so cocky and confident aaaaaah BYE-

aweee thank you so much! I love love love writing for the one and only Han Jisung!! thank you so much for your patience as well anon I’m soooo sorry that this took me an age to get out, but I hope that ya like the product hehe 💕

yjh was here | reader x jeonghan |

Pairing: self insert, gender neutral reader x yoon jeonghan

Genre: fluff n’ smut

Tags: friends to lovers, bit of a comfort fic, bestfriend!jeonghan, cockyandflirty!jeonghan as we love him, lowkey mutual pining, mingyu, wonwoo, soonyoung side characters, coworkers au, mentions of food and mild food dares, mentions of alcohol+getting drunk, mentions of divorce (past), marking, reach-around teasing (r receiving), fluffy unprotected sex, body praising, spicy truth or dare, cuddles

Word count: 4.4k

Yoon Jeonghan had a habit. It wasn’t the worst of habits, but it was the kind that would clutter up your life. Often, you would wonder why he would do it, and why he hadn’t stopped: not even after you had mentioned it so many times.

It had started in high school. High school, that eternity away now. Luckily, your past was riddled with memories of him, and all of the little things that you had shared together; lunches, late nights studying, throwing littler paper wads at eachother from across the room. He would pull at the tie around your neck that was a part of the school uniform just to get a rise out of you. Jeonghan would nap during class, and you would be the one to wake him up with the flick of your finger. On cold walks to school, he would lend you his scarf, and on hot summer nights you’d stay out searching for snacks until sleep drew your eyes down, and he’d let you lean on him the whole walk home.

yjh was here

He wrote it on the first exam you had ever failed in your whole life.

Conversely, he had gotten nearly a perfect score. He was annoyingly good at everything he did. That, or he was just really good at cheating his way through things. When you thought about it, it was likely the latter that was more accurate.

At first you thought it was a joke. It was as if he was taunting you for failing miserably at mathematics II. You were never good at math anyway.

The second time he wrote it was when you had fallen asleep in class. It wasn’t a common occurrence. He’d call you a baby for being scared to fall asleep during class for fear of being startled awake by the teacher. However, this was the week that had been the longest for you: the week that everything fell apart.

Even into your mid twenties, your mother still would never tell you why your father had left that week and you never saw it fit to prod more.

He had written it on a scrap piece of paper after getting you a strawberry milk and leaving it for you on your desk.

yjh was here

Since then, he had taken the opportunity to write it everywhere he could manage. Suddenly his little scribbles filled up the margins of your notebooks; on post-it notes--he’d even etch it onto the skin on your arm in soft blue pen ink. Later, when the two of you had gone on to college, he would sneak into your dorm to write it everywhere he could find. No matter how many times you would erase it from your little whiteboard by your desk, he’d always manage to write it over, noticing immediately that it was gone.

Today, you had noticed that he had slipped it into your legal folder, among other more boring and business-y things and you had no idea how it had gotten there. It must have been sometime the day before, as he had written it on a napkin from the catering company.

yjh was here.

In all the many years that he had followed you from place to place, you must have amassed hundreds of his little notes. You kept the ones that he would give you at work tucked away in a desk, often forgetting that they were kept there until you would stumble upon them, tugging a little smile at your face. The rest of them you kept at home in a little box in your closet, even deeper away, never really knowing why. The act of simply having them was satisfaction enough, in fact, you never really minded a little clutter.

☆彡

With eyes drooping, you scratched away on your yellow note pad, writing a string of nonsense words that sounded important from the presentation. The red setting setting sun reminded you that it was your least favorite time of day: the time where the last work hour of the day would appear to stretch into twenty. Under the table your scratchy cotton work-pants felt even more scratchy than usual. Somewhere above you, the penetrating white fluorescents buzzed like flies.

With a little tap on your shoulder, Yoon Jeonghan was sitting next to you as he always was. Compared to him, you felt as if you looked like an utter mess. Just as he was annoyingly good at everything, there was never a day that he came into work looking less than perfection. Today it was a tweed two piece with a pressed shirt underneath as well as a navy tie adorning his beautifully slender neck. Around his face befell his deeply dark strands of hair which pricked the edges of his rounded wire glasses.

“This is so boring.” He had mouthed to you, adding a pout to the end of his sentence.

You formed the sound on your lips, “Shhhhh”

“I’m just saying!”

“Pay attention.”

You turned your head back to pretend to care about what your boss had to say. Every fifteen seconds or so you would nod your head to make it appear as if you were diffusing the information he was giving out.

Another tap on your shoulder and Jeonghan displayed his pen to you to draw your attention to the margin of your quarterly report print out.

you look really beautiful today, he had written

“Stop it!” You accidentally hissed, garnering the attention of your nosy and equally bored coworker sitting across from you.

This time you mouthed out the words, “No I don’t.”

“~yessss~” Jeonghan curled out his words with his tiny creeping smile

Your knee bumped into his under the ginormous desk.

“Pay attention, ‘Han.”

“Is there something you would like to add L/n?” Your supervisor’s voice cracked in the silence of the room.

“N-no sir.” your head bowed in repentance.

He elder man tsked in a little sound with his teeth. “I know that we’re getting to the end of the day folks, but let’s just get through this all so we can get home...”

Jeonghan’s tweed pants made a little screeching sound against the fabric of yours when you bumped him again under the guise of the desk.

“Screw you.”

Your friend met your remark with a wink, biting the cap of his pen while his eyes wandered down to show you another little message:

yjh was here

and I’m excited for tonight

☆彡

Wednesdays were customary somaek nights where each of you and your coworkers would gather in your cruelly tiny apartment with their own separate dishes for all to share and forget about the troubles of the midweek. As the year was winding down, it was these nights that would get you through the week. With the bodies of the five of you in your tiny living room cramped around your low-set table, you had almost forgotten that the heating in there barely worked.

With each of your coworkers entrance, they would bring in the smell of autumn with them, and the chill of the air outside. On each of their long coats, bits of leaves would cling to the edges of the fabric. Each Wednesday there would be a royal mess to clean up after, but it was Jeonghan who would often stay after to help you. The two of you would end up in your cruelly tiny kitchen, throwing soap bubbles at each other’s faces drunkenly with socks sliding all over the wooden floors. Jeonghan would write another note to stick on your refrigerator, then he would take you by the hands to twirl you around to some unbearably cheesy sounding OST.  

Perhaps it was the way that your head would get fuzzy from the soju and beer, but you loved the way that he would twirl you; it was almost like a waking dream.

“Nobody worry! Nobody! Worry!” Soonyoung burst through your door, case of beer in hand. “I’m not late, I’m actually early! Don’t you know that it’s trendy to appear an hour into the party?” When Soonyoung spoke, he had a habit of speaking with his whole chest.

“Took you long enough,” Mingyu whined, popping in another strip of galbi.

“You don’t enjoy our presence, ‘Gyu?” Wonwoo’s mouth upturned into a teasing grin.

“N-no,” The biggest man babbled, “It’s just that...Wednesdays are somaek evenings.”

“--Then I am here to help you out my friend.” Soonyoung plopped himself right down on the floor with the poof of his blond hair popping from his beanie. “Ahhhh this all looks so delicious.”

“You better pay me back.” You griped while serving him a plate of the assortment.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love you, Y/n?”

“Nearly every time I do something for you? You still owe me from the last time we went to karaoke.

“--And for covering for your ass last week...some hangover that was, huh?” Jeonghan scooched over his leftover rice to you.

Soonyoung scoffed while twirling his bottle of soju in the air, the admiring the little tornado swirling inside. “-Was worth it though. We always have fun don’t we?” In his affection, he threw his arms around you and Wonwoo beside him.

“-Food’s gonna get cold.” Wonwoo poked his finger in the general direction.

With his full glass raised in the air after a minute of preparation, Soonyoung lead you all in a toast, cheeks already rosy. The second that your glasses collided, liquid came downpouring to the table, but none of you seemed to mind. Before you could bring your drink to your lips, you caught yourself having a moments pause, watching all of your friends before you. If you could have, you wished you could fold up little moments like these as well to put in your drawer to see when you would feel down.

Jeonghan caught your wistful sigh, sending you a wink. In many ways, you knew he must have known your thoughts.

Under the table, his hand brushed up to your crossed knee, letting his hand linger. He let his hand rest there for a moment, as if he was soaking up your essence in the moment. He had never done it before, but his thumb gently rubbed at your knee, and it felt like a waking dream.

☆彡

The night had ticked on, and you and grown more tired than you had expected by pass of the clock hand. As the night would normally progress, drinks would be had, then each of you would take turns updating the others on what you had been doing or working on. All of you would gather advice or support if needed. There had even been times when you would even provide a shoulder for one to cry on, although that didn’t happen most times.

Others, like today, the five of you would simply sit and enjoy each other’s presence with the window slightly cracked open to let the autumnal air cool your burning bodies. Jokes would be cracked every once and a while until yawns would escape your mouths. By then, another joke would be made about how you were all getting to old to be staying up that late.

Jeonghan played with your hair as you had leaned into him, swirling your final glass of soju in your wrist. While you were hot yourself, the heat from his body was still calming, and the way that his chest would rise and fall was a bit like a lullaby.

“I’m falling asleep, we should head out,” Mingyu clapped Wonwoo by the back.

“Another one for the books.” Soonyoung sighed, then rose up with a stretch of his arms, wrinkling up his white button up and loose tie.

“Sweet dreams everyone.” You shift off of your best friend, shuddering a little at the lack of contact, to close the door after them.

“I’m looking forward to next Wednesday!” Soonyoung beams with a little salute, then bows before shuffling away.

“What time is it?” You yawn out the words, rubbing your eyes.

“Too late. We still need to go in tomorrow, remember?”

Dirty dishes clink in your hands as you bring them to your sink. “We really should start doing this on Fridays.”

“I don’t wanna start cleaning just yet, can we stay here for a while?” Jeonghan spreads his arms out, beckoning you to fall back into him. You laugh a little at the motion.

“Why so touchy? We haven’t done this in so many years...I can’t remember the last time...”

You oblige him, nuzzling right up to his chest once more. He smells a bit of the somaek, but mostly of his usual scent: that cheap cologne that you had bought him about a year ago. You had mostly gotten it as a gag gift, but he had worn it every day since.

“Must have been in high school.” His words are long and breathy.

“How come we stopped?”

Jeonghan takes a minute to answer you, and you wonder if he’s fallen asleep. Instead, he raises a hand to rub at your arm lightly, just as he had done with your knee.

“Dunno. We got older?”

“What does getting older have to do with it?”

You watch in the silence as his thumb continues to rub over the fabric of your long-sleeved button down.

“--Do you want to play a game?” Jeonghan says at last.

“A game? What do you mean?”

“For fun. I’m trying to find something to do so we don’t have to do the dishes.”

“Okay,” You perk up slightly, still not removing yourself from his encircled arms. “What kind of game?”

“Truth or dare?”

“Psh what are we, back in high school?”

“Seeing what we are doing right now, wouldn’t you say so?” The words escape Jeonghan’s mouth with a growing grin.

You ruffled to top of his head, messing up his perfectly primped hair. “...Fineeee. You going first or me?”

“I’ll go. Truth.” Jeonghan pulled you back into him, settling your back flush with his chest.

“Okay, truth: did you really mean it when you said that you liked Minji’s power suit? I know you thought it looked tacky.”

Jeonghan’s breathy laugh miffed up your hair. “I’ll say anything if it keeps me in the supervisor’s good graces.”

“HA. I knew it.”

“Which do you pick?”

“Mmmm-truth.”

“Not dare? You’re no fun.”

“I said truth!!!”

“Fine, fine.” His slender arms squeezed at your body to situate you better in between his legs. “When was the last time that you brought someone over to your place?”

“Yo-you mean like “brought someone” over?”

“You know what I mean.” In his voice you could nearly see his mischievous smile.

“I’ve told you about all of them so I don’t know why you’re asking. It’s been about a year.”

“A year? Really?”

“--Nope! You don’t get to ask any more questions. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” Jeonghan said without a moment’s hesitation.

Your eyes wandered the room for his perfect punishment. “Ah! Take that soy sauce, the one with the wasabi bits in it...and drink it.”

Your friend sighed, but took the tiny cup in his fingers to down it all in one shot. He shivered a little and you could feel his face scrunch up, but he held his reactions back best he could.

“That was such a high school dare. You really haven’t changed.”

“I thought it was funny.”

“Truth or dare Y/n.”

“Truth.”

“Ughhh truth again?”

“ ‘Hannnn--”

“Just say dare! I promise that I’ll go easy on you.”

“Fine then. Dare.”

“I dare you...to take your shirt off.”

“What?!” Your head snapped back to send him your deathly glare. “Are you being serious right now?”

“What? It’s nothing that I haven’t seen? Are you forgetting that we’ve been friends for nearly our whole lives? That and college you were someone who would go to parties and take your shirt off. Remember that?”

“...yes.” You felt heat rise in your cheeks. “Fine then.” In one motion, you pulled your shirt over your head, jumping a little once you felt Jeonghan’s hands help tear it off your arms. You hesitated to lay back, but his arms made a decision before you could, and pulled you back into his chest. Now, it was the skin of his fingers on your bare arms that you were painfully aware of.

“T-truth or dare?” You squeaked out.

“Truth.”

“No fair, you made me do dare!”

“I already did a dare. Truth.”

From the other side of your room, your refrigerator clacked with the sound of ice cubes falling into their tray. On the door, dozens of multi-colored post-it-notes had been suck there with clear tape.

“...Why is it that you’re always writing me those notes? “yjh was here?”“

“Hmm.” He breathed out. “I had a feeling that you might ask me that one.”

“...And?”

“--Because I like to. And...”

Your anticipation hung tangibly in the air. You didn’t quite know it, but you had been waiting for his answer for so many years, you had lost count.

“...And I like seeing them around you. -Reminds me that I’m a part of your life. Kind of like how we exist together. They’re little reminders for you as well...to know that I’m around for you.”

“Jeonghan...” You wouldn’t have expected it, but tears singed the corners of your eyes.

“Truth or dare?” He cooed into your ear.

“D-dare.” Your voice shook, realizations flooding you like rain.

“I dare you to take off your pants. Can you do that?” His voice had dropped, low and gravely.

You nodded your answer, and took to unbuttoning your pants, shimmying them off where you sat on the floor. As soon as your bare legs were exposed, he had found a new place to rest his hands; you never would have guessed for them to be so beautiful-looking there.

“I choose dare.” He breathed onto your bare neck.

“I-I dare you take off our shirt too.” Your face felt furiously warm as you uttered the words and he did exactly as he was told. The sensation of your skin on his skin then sent your head spinning with just how close you had been in that moment, closer than ever before.

Jeonghan’s hands explored your bare legs with a touch as soft as butterfly wings. His light touches sent an aching pain to your sex as it had never felt so needy and neglected.

“Truth or dare my love?”

In an attempt to hide your frustration, you could only form the word, “T-truth?”

“Hmm...truth...” Jeonghan began to kneed into your legs, digging his nails in every so slightly. “Have you ever kept secrets from me?”

“Secrets? Why-why would I, I don’t-mmph-have any secrets to keep from you.”

“I think that’s a lie Y/n.”

Indeed it was a lie. You had kept secrets from him. Two secrets to be exact; one of them being near the precipice for the whole universe to see.

“I’ve kept secrets from you, you know.”

“What?”

“Do you dare me to show you?”

Your anxious breath caught in your lungs, full of confusion but even more excitement. Jeonghan’s hands crept slowly up to your hips.

He repeated, “Do you?”

“Ye-yes. I dare you to show me.” Your eyes had closed feeling his hands draw even farther up your body.

Your best friend surveyed your whole chest with his hands, swirling around as much skin as he could touch. He was careful not to tickle you, but rather give every ounce of your being his careful attention. For a moment, his fingers grazed over your nipples, but went to cradle your neck in his hands. He turned it to the side to expose the beating vein there, and placed the slowest and most tender kiss upon it. From the feeling of his fleeting lips, you whimpered at the sensation.

“Dare.” You managed with a dry mouth. “I dare you to touch me...anywhere you want...please...”

Jeonghan chuckled slightly into your neck. “I just had my turn, but...I’m listening.”

Your entire body keened under his fingertips, writhing messily between his legs. This time, he was careful in touching you nearly everywhere: your chest, your nipples--pinching them slightly--and down your legs, to your inner thighs where he traced up to your underwear, now wetting a little with your arousal.

“Tell me the truth.” He bit into your skin. “Am I one of your secrets?”

Your answer was given to him in the form of you forcefully tearing from his grip to push his legs together so that you could straddle them. The way that his shoulder blades flexed under your firm grip was dizzying. Your eyes fell to his lips: your secret.

“I dare you to kiss me,” You breathed onto them.

“I thought that you’d never ask.”

Jeonghan was smiling as he pulled your lips into his, and he never quite seemed to stop. Every bit of your love for him spilled into his mouth where you found the comfort from him that you had craved for years. You had felt first kisses before, but nothing was quite like this one. With Jeonghan who you had known for so long, you were thrilled to get to know him in this new and different way, and you wanted to absorb every little bit of it: the way he would caress the sides of your face so gently, or the way that he would angle your neck to meet his lips. You would never have guessed to feel so complete with him like this, but it also made all the sense in the world. It was you that he wanted, and you that he wanted to stay next to through all those years. He had never let you go, and you had never let him either.

In between kisses, you found both of yourselves giggling hysterically.

“Are we really doing this right now? Are we...?” You bit a laugh into his lip.

“Yes. I think that we are.” He engulfed you in his grasp. “I’ve wanted to do this for years, Y/n.

Jeonghan scooped you up, moving both of your bodies to the couch where he clinked with his belt buckle to remove his pants. “You really do look beautiful. Everyday. I’m not just saying that.”

You practically clawed at him to lay his body on top of yours, then wrapped your legs around his waist to align him with your own. In your unadulterated intoxication of him, you hopelessly grinded up into him, seeking some kind of stimulation from the mashing of fabric together. After a little scoff, Jeonghan’s hand cascaded down your body to rub at your throbbing sex, marveling in the way that you had soaked though your underwear just a little.

“Wow. This is how you feel about me?”

“Do you want me to say sorry?”

“No--it’s just...I wish that I had known sooner.”

Your lust brought his lips back to yours as you kissed him over and over and over, trying to make up for all of the times that you wished you had done before. His touch on your sensitive skin sent you mewling onto his tongue.

“Can I make you mine now?”

As for your response, your widened legs told him exactly what he needed to know.

In one swift motion, he had tugged off his own briefs, letting free his deliciously hard cock, sparkling at the head with his pre-cum. Looking at him like this, all for you, was like a walking dream.

Jeonghan gathered spit from his tongue to glide over his dick, then teased your impatient entrance while he watched your face contort into the most beautiful shapes he thought he had ever seen. He entered you slowly, letting each of you take in the moment as if you could forget it the next. Once you were together, his brows twitched a little as his closed eyes focused only on you. He filled you up perfectly, as if you were made for him--which you had convinced yourself that you were. Jeonghan buried his face in your neck to suck into the skin, marking you as his.  

Your orgasm built much quicker than you had intended, and soon you were begging him to make you cum--which he gladly did. Your heels dug into his back upon your release which gathered more heat between your two bodies. Jeonghan didn’t skip a beat as he chased his own orgasm, fucking you into your own overstimulation and leaving you to melt under him.

“Jeong-han.” You gasped out his name through your teeth as your body quaked from the snap of his hips.

“oh god,” He uttered, tangling his fingers deep into your hair, then smashing his lips back into yours. “you’re so good for me my love...so good...”

Jeonghan let out little grunts as he came and filled you deeply with the warmth from his cum. As he throbbed within you, you knew it really was him you were made for. He lingered inside your walls as your bodies shook together with the aroma of sex fogging the air. After a while, it didn’t take long for both of you to be laughing contentedly into each other’s mouths once more.

Your best friend reached for your hand to bind all of your fingers to his. "No more secrets.”

☆彡

“Do you want the sweatpants from the top shelf or the rack?” Jeonghan called to you through your cruelly tiny apartment. “Wait...i-is this...?”

Once he had returned, in his hand he held the aged strawberry milk carton with the little cartoon fruit on the side and the scrap piece of paper wrapped around it. In the other was your little box of notes.

yjh was here

“I can’t believe that you’ve kept it this long. Why--”

“--I’ll tell you why...it’s my second secret.”

Your best friend cocked his head. “...Second?”

“Ever since that day, I’ve known, Yoon Jeonghan. I love you.”

☆彡

if you’ve got to this point, hehe hello I’m Ro, I write for skz and svt, and I’d love to write some more svt! If you’d like, you can send me your asks

[mcfiddlestan]

WinterFrost Single Dads AU

Hey, ya'll. Told ya I was working on this thing. I've got about six chapters done, but I'm not ready to post it to AO3 just yet. One big reason for that is I don't have a title yet. So I thought I'd post a couple of chapters, let ya'll get a feel for it, then take any suggestions you might have.

Just a small note: I tend to name fics after song titles that inspired the story or somehow fit with the plot.

Anyhoo...here's the first chapter. I *might* post the second tomorrow. We'll see how the response to this goes.

xoxo, La

Pairing: Loki x Bucky Barnes (there are others past and future, but I'm not giving them away just yet)

Rating: M

Word count: 1,775

Summary: Loki is living a great life as a Manhattan lawyer and constantly partying with Tony Stark, his best friend. Loki's life before he came to New York more than a decade ago is a mystery for those close to him. But it's all about to come to light when he gets a call from someone in his past.

Bucky is just trying to catch a break. A few hookups with a fellow soldier led to a quickie marriage and baby -- and two years later, a quick divorce. His daughter is now eight years old and the light of his life. But he can't seem to get his shit together. Struggling to find a job and keep a hold on his sobriety, it's a one-night stand that gives him the kick in the ass he needs to be the man his daughter believes he is.

Warnings: Mature language and situations, some drug use, and talk about addiction.

Chapter 1

The sound of his front door opening and closing pulled Loki from a deep sleep. So deep, it took him a moment to remember where he was and how he knew that was his front door. His eyes opened slowly, once, twice, and then again, to nothing but the darkness of what he was sure was his bedroom. Then he felt the pounding, incessant, pulsing around his entire head. Damn migraines. Loki let out a low groan, thought fuck it, and buried his face deeper into his pillow. Moments later, the door to his bedroom pushed open.

“Rise and shine,” a deep voice sang.

Loki grumbled at the familiar voice, and slowly, he turned his body, rolling onto his back. “Why are you always so chipper in the morning? Oh, for Norn’s sake!” He threw a pillow over his face as the curtains pulled open and let the blinding daylight flood the room. “Close them! I’ve got a damned migraine!”

“Ooh. So sorry, Mr. Friggasson. There’s a cup of tea on the nightstand. Would you like me to get you some water and a couple of ibuprofen?”

Another groan sounded through the room as Loki forced himself to sit up. “Yes, please,” he answered as he rubbed at his face before reaching for the two pillows to prop them up behind him. In his sleepy haze, he remembered to pull the bedsheet over his lap to keep his modesty. Loki reached out for the teacup first, cupping it in his large hand as he took a gentle sip. “Mmm, perfect. Thank you, Fandral. And, for the thousandth time, please stop calling me Mr. Friggasson.” He sipped again, ignoring Fandral’s giggle as he rummaged through Loki’s closet. “What time is it?”

“A quarter to eleven.”

Loki sputtered into his tea. “Quarter to eleven? Why did you let me sleep so late? I have meetings today.” Loki hurriedly set his drink down and started to rise, gathering the sheet to wrap around him. Fandral was suddenly there, nudging Loki back into the bed, “Relax, Loki. You’re fine. Your early meeting was canceled, the board meeting at the Tower was pushed to Thursday, and Mr. Stark canceled your lunch meeting.”

“Cancelled? Why?” Loki settled back in the bed, rubbing at his neck. “He didn’t say. But he left the message for me before three am, and there was a lot of noise in the background. So, take a guess.”

Loki snorted softly. “That’s your boss, Fanny. Don’t judge.”

“You’re my boss. Mr. Stark only signs the checks,” Fandral said through a smile as he laid out a pair of pants and a shirt on a chair in the corner for Loki to wear for the day. “Once the morning meeting was canceled, I thought I’d let you rest a little longer since you didn’t have to rush into the office.”

“Thanks,” Loki muttered from behind his cup.

Fandral gave him a nod and turned to head around the corner towards the master bathroom.

“Any other messages?” Loki called as he set the teacup back on the nightstand. He sat back, his face contorting in pain, willing the migraine to ease up. He made a mental note to see an optometrist already.

“Yes, a few. Natasha called. She got a lead on the security break from a couple of months ago, I guess? She said she’d have a report for you on the improvements she’s already made with F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Fandral stepped out with a small white bottle in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He handed the water to Loki before popping open the bottle and dropping two white tablets in Loki’s open palm. “Also, someone’s been trying to get a hold of you all morning. He’s called four times already. No real message, just ‘need to speak to Loki urgently.’ Someone named Thor.”

Loki went still. He swallowed down the pills and water in his mouth, watching Fandral’s retreating back. A million different questions ran through Loki’s mind, but he couldn’t decide on just one to ask, nor would Fandral be able to answer any of them, judging by what he’d just said. Fandral returned from the bathroom, and Loki hoped he didn’t look as panicked as he felt. “Someone named Thor, you say?”

Fandral, staring at his phone, made a noise of agreement. “Sounded foreign, but I couldn’t place the accent.”

“Norwegian.” Loki shook his head dismissively when Fandral looked at him with a quizzical look. “Did he say how to get a hold of him?”

“Yes. At least, I have the number for you.” Fandral lowered his phone, eyed Loki, who’d gone much paler in the last thirty seconds. “Are you all right?”

Not in the slightest. “Yes. Uh, Fandral, I’m going to take a shower.” Loki rose from the bed, his migraine still there but hardly forgotten. He held the bed sheet tight at his waist and walked around Fandral. “Listen, if he calls again, tell him I will call him back as soon as I’m free. If he doesn’t, when you hear the water stop, give me twenty minutes, then put the call through.”

Fandral frowned at Loki as he followed him with his eyes. “Sure, boss. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

“Fandral. I’m fine. Will you order some food? Get me a sandwich, please. Something toasted, turkey.” Distracted, Loki didn’t wait for Fandral to confirm. He walked into his bathroom and started the water in the shower, then moved to the sink. He stood before the mirror for a moment, thinking, fretting, irritated. Why would Thor be calling him after all this time? What could he possibly have to say to Loki? After more than ten years of no communication, Loki felt as if they were strangers.

The steam began to fill the room, fogging up the mirror, so Loki dropped the sheet and stepped under the spray. He let the hot water wash over him, easing the ache of his muscles. He took the showerhead in hand, adjusted the setting of the water, and held it over the back of his head to let the hot water pummel the skin of his neck and his scalp, hoping to make the migraine go away. Though with the newly added stress of a phone call with someone from his long-forgotten past, Loki wasn’t sure it would go away now.

Washing his body and hair quickly, after just fifteen minutes, Loki stepped out and went through the motions of grooming then getting dressed. When he stepped out into the living room, Fandral was just taking his food from its delivery packaging.

“Did he call?”

“No. Feel any better?”

Not at all. “Much. Fandral, could you give me some privacy?”

He froze with a wrapped sandwich half out of the bag. Only his eyes moved in Loki’s direction, “Um, sure? Do you want me to come back in, what, an hour?”

Loki shook his head. “No. In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” Fandral dropped the sandwich on the table and faced Loki fully, crossing his arms. “Don’t look at me like that. Nothing is wrong. I just don’t know how this conversation is going to go, and I’d rather not have an audience if you don’t mind.” He spotted a bag of chips and snatched it up, ripping it open to pop one into his mouth.

Fandral, still frowning, reached into the bag once again to split the napkins between the two of them. He repacked his meal, then lifted the bag from the table. “All right. Your phone is on the counter. I input the phone number since he called the office, not your cell phone. And – I’ll be available, just in case.”

“Thank you. Fandral.” Loki gave his back a quick pat as he paused beside him. “I mean it. Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, I think we both know that’s a mutual feeling.” He reached for Loki’s arm, giving his wrist a quick squeeze. “Call me later? So I know you’re all right?”

Loki nodded and didn’t move until he heard the door close behind Fandral. It was true; he didn’t know how he would function without Fandral. They were classmates in law school, and both started at equally prestigious firms upon graduation. They were good friends but fiercely competitive, too. Loki credited that manic drive to one-up each other for getting him to the top five percent of their graduating class. But after a few years, while Loki had been on the up-and-up, Fandral was drowning, barely keeping his head above water as a tax lawyer. Loki watched one of the first friends he’d made in New York crumble under pressure and struggled to help him find a way to deal. Eventually, Fandral walked away from the six-figure salary, the company car, and all the perks that came with it. Loki was impressed that Fandral

dared to do it. After a few months of getting help and finding a better mental space, Fandral moved off of Loki’s couch into a modest apartment that was a fraction the size of the loft he was in before and looked for a less-hectic job. Loki had snagged a cushy position as Stark Industries’ in-house counsel, thanks to his friendship with its C.E.O., and was still getting settled. Managing New York’s richest son’s money, company, and public image was turning out to be a full-time job. And Loki needed help. He’d already recruited Natasha Romanov, a former N.Y.P.D. Officer, he brought her on for her computer and investigative skills. So he offered Fandral a position as his assistant. Fandral took it and promised to be the best right-hand man. Loki expected he’d be bored within a month just answering phone calls and setting up meetings. But Fandral’s duties, mostly taken on of his own volition, had grown exponentially in the past five years. He acted as assistant, maid, valet, and social buffer for the notoriously introverted Loki.

Loki would be a mess without him.

Because he was starving, Loki wolfed down half his sandwich and chips, grateful that the shower, the food, and the medication had helped relieve the worst of his migraine. Taking a deep breath, Loki picked up his phone from where Fandral left it for him. His thumb hovered over the screen, over the unknown phone number. And with his heart in his throat, Loki tapped it. He listened. He waited. And, finally, after three rings, the line picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Thor.”

[jerseydeanne]

Nothing was ever good enough...Meghan left staff shaking with fear

The Times article.

https://archive.vn/2e8QQ

Tuesday March 02 2021, 10.00pm GMT, The Times    The Duchess of Sussex has always prided herself on being a good boss. When she was in the American TV series

Suits

, she would sometimes buy the crew pizza. At Kensington Palace there was the occasion, recounted in the pages of

People

magazine in February 2019, when she paid for an ice-cream stand for staff. “They were remarking how it was the ‘best day of work ever’,” a friend said.    Some of those who worked for Meghan after she joined the royal family have less fond memories. Staff were bullied, according to sources, and some reduced to tears. One said they were humiliated by her on a number of occasions. According to the complaint revealed by

The Times

today, two PAs were driven from the household. The duchess denies any allegations of bullying.    

My source said it was like walking on eggshells to be around Meghan.  

The first sign that anything might be amiss came when a story appeared in a diary column in a national newspaper saying that Meghan’s personal assistant had left six months after the royal wedding. 

A week later the assistant was named in another paper as Melissa Touabti. “Meghan put a lot of demands on her and it ended up with her in tears,” a source was reported as saying.Touabti was not the first member of staff to leave. 

Before her there was another PA, a young woman already employed by the palace. She did not stay long after Meghan arrived.      

Both PAs signed non-disclosure agreements. There is no suggestion that Meghan tried to prevent them from speaking. Lawyers for the duke and duchess stated that she had no knowledge of the agreements and that they believed staff to be comfortable and happy. 

      That's a lie, MM is crazy about NDAs and made Harry sign one after she dictated the statement over the phone in 2016. Everyone signs one who works for the firm. Harry is well aware of this. 

Record Scratch... Meghan Markle threw a cup of hot tea at an assistant in Aus.

   In late 2017, after Harry and Meghan’s engagement was announced, a senior aide spoke to the couple about the difficulties caused by their treatment of staff. People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to their standards, they were told. Meghan is said to have replied: “It’s not my job to coddle people.”     

Meghan is so fake and phony, if those people can't help her get to be an A-lister, they are toast.   

There is no doubt that Meghan could be a demanding boss. There were a number of people, allegedly including Harry himself, who suggested that those early problems were partly to do with cultural differences in management style. As Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand put it in their book about the couple,

Finding Freedom

: “Americans can be much more direct, and that often doesn’t sit well in the much more refined institution of the monarchy.”    

It's a turn-on to a narc to watch people squirm.

 However,

The Times

has spoken to insiders who have argued that it was about more than just American straight-talking. The duchess could be sharp with those she felt were letting her down, sources claim. One former staff member said: “I had unpleasant experiences with her. I would definitely say humiliated.”       Meghan is sadistic!   After Jason Knauf, the couple’s communications secretary, made his bullying complaint, another member of staff was worried about spending time with her the next day because she feared that Meghan was about to find out. “This is why I feel sick,” they said.    

Another time there was a row about whether Meghan had been told that the media would be present at an event. When she rang the aide, they rang back but she did not pick up. “I feel terrified,” the source said. “I can’t stop shaking.”    Meghan loves to play games.   Another source said: “There were a lot of broken people. Young women were broken by their behaviour.” The source described one member of staff as “completely destroyed”.      Even before the wedding, staff were feeling the strain. One told a colleague the couple were “outrageous bullies” and said they were considering resigning. The colleague replied: “That’s so dreadful. And they are bullies.”      

The  harsh treatment was not confined to junior staff. One source claimed that Samantha Cohen, the couple’s private secretary, had been bullied. Another said: “They treated her terribly. Nothing was ever good enough. It was, ‘She doesn’t understand, she’s failing.’” In fact, the source said, Cohen was “a saint” and the best organiser of royal tours they had known.     Lawyers for the duke and duchess said they remained close to Cohen and grateful for her support and dedication, acknowledging that she had come out of retirement to work closely with them at a busy time. They deny bullying her.     

The Sussexes’ autumn tour

in 2018, when they visited Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, was stressful for staff, sources say. A senior adviser did his best to reassure them, saying: “You are dealing with a very difficult lady.”The issue boils down to whether Meghan was a demanding boss with high standards, or a bully. Did her team fail her or did she ask the impossible?    Bully!  

In court papers for her successful privacy action against TheMail on Sunday

, her lawyers said that when she was distressed by the negative stories in the media about her, her friends felt frustrated by the instruction from the palace communications team that they should respond “no comment” to allegations. That left her friends “rightly concerned for her welfare, specifically as she was pregnant, unprotected by the institution and prohibited from defending herself”, they said.     

It was a setup from the beginning.    

An alternative view, sources say, is that Meghan craved rejection from the moment she walked into Kensington Palace, and that nothing that anyone did would ever be good enough.     

True, she is mentally ill  

The palace knew that when Harry married a woman who was biracial, American and divorced, they had to go out of their way to make sure the marriage was a success: if it was not, the royal household and their supposedly hidebound ways would be blamed. 

“Everyone knew that the institution would be judged by her happiness,” a source said. “The mistake they made was thinking she wanted to be happy. She wanted to be rejected because she was obsessed with that narrative from day one.” 

     TRUE!   

Lawyers for the duchess said this was entirely wrong. The duchess wished to fit in and be accepted and had left her life in North America to commit herself to her new role.      

Liar, it was always going to be this way, she was never a sticker.  It's all about the money.   

More than one source has expressed their view about her wanting to be a victim. One claimed: “She wanted to be the victim because then she could convince Harry that it was an unbearable experience and they had no choice but to move to America.” 

Lawyers for the duke and duchess denied this was true. Supporters of the couple have argued that Harry and Meghan were frustrated in their attempts to live their life in a different way.     

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Meghan worked on Harry that the same thing was going to happen to her as his mother. They are after me Harry even though her PR is the one who set up the articles. 

Finding Freedom

quoted a source close to the prince saying that “nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the palace simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult”. In her legal case against

The Mail on Sunday

, the duchess’s lawyers denied that the couple collaborated with the book.       One source claimed that most of the tensions in the household at the time concerned the Sussexes’ relations with the media. “The way I see it, their view of not getting institutional support was that they were not getting permission to blow up the institution’s relationships with the media.” Again, lawyers for the duke and duchess deny this.      Their lawyers are denying a lot!   One conversation confirmed to

The Times

seems to reveal how much the palace was prepared to go out of its way to help Meghan. Before the wedding, the couple had a meeting with a senior aide who told them that the palace was doing everything it could to help and there was no need to think she had to take on her role in a particular way, a source said. If she was passionate about the acting world, they could help her to think about finding a role within the film industry.     

They made sure Meghan had anything she wanted. They rolled out the red carpet. I told them she is going to screw you!   

The source said: “The entire place, because of everything about her, and because of what Harry’s previous girlfriends had been through, was bending over backwards to make sure that every option was open.” They said Meghan thanked them, but said she had no wish to carry on acting. Instead she wanted to concentrate on her humanitarian and philanthropic work, and to support Harry as a member of the royal family.That might have been that, except of course it wasn’t. Part of the problem, according to the source, was that everyone in the palace was so genteel and civil; too genteel and civil: “When someone decides not to be civil, they have no idea what to do. They were run over by her, and then run over by Harry. They had no idea what to do.”      The duchess issued a detailed statement last night stating that the allegations were a smear campaign and an attack on her character.  

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home (Gavin Reed x Reader)

Chapter One

          I couldn’t believe I was back in Detroit. I honestly never planned on coming back after everything that had happened between me and my dad. I left Michigan to go get my PhD in Sociology from (dream school). However, my dissertation was over android and human sociological relationships and the moment I was approved, Wayne State University in Detroit recruited me and offered me an amazing deal for a brand-new professor. It made sense since Detroit was at the heart of the android revolution, which would make research even easier.

         I moved into a basic apartment in June and now it’s early July. I had been avoided seeing old friends and family, telling them I had to unpack and work on my new class, SOC 345: Android and Human Relationships. Which wasn’t a complete lie, but I have been watch an unhealthy amount of cute cat videos and eating a lot of peanut butter toast alone too.

         I told my dad I would meet him today, Monday, at the station so we could get lunch with his police partner, Connor. My dad had always hated androids, I still had a hard time believing he had basically taken Connor under his wing and from what Tina tells me, he treats him like a son.

         I took a deep breath and walked into the DPD. I couldn’t help but feel anxious. I hadn’t seen my dad in over 10 years. When him and my mother divorced, he tried to stay in touch, but after my half-brother, Cole, died he pretty much disappeared from my life.

         “Hey, dad!” I said, a little too enthusiastically as I walked towards his desk. Immediately the android in the desk across from him stood up and gave me a goofy smile.

         “You must be Lieutenant Anderson’s daughter! My name’s Connor.” He reached out his hand for a handshake which I accepted with a smile.

         “Hi Connor, I’m (y/n). It’s nice to finally meet you!” I looked over to my dad, who had awkwardly shuffled towards us.

         “Hey, (y/n). How’s Detroit been treating you?” I reached over and gave him a short hug.

         “It’s been good. Doing research is a lot easier here than back in (old state). Plus, WSU gave me a pretty nice office.” I rubbed my shoulder; my dad was about to ask another question when another voice interrupted.

         “Dr. (L/n). I’ve read some of your research and wanted to introduce myself. People here call me Nines, but I am an RK900 from cyberlife. If you ever have time, I would be interested in discussing some of your theories with you.” Nines kept his hands behind his back. He looked a lot like Connor, but taller and more serious.  

         “It’s nice to meet you Nines. I always have time to talk about my theories. Not many of my peers do similar research so any chance I get to talk about it I’ll take it.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man in a leather jacket with a hood, blue jeans, and what looked like a permanent scowl on his face.

         “Hey Tin Can! We have a case to solve!” Nines whipped around to look at him and I moved from behind him so I could glare at this rude stranger.

         “Excuse me? Who do you think you are? You don’t get to talk to people or androids like that.” I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t help myself. I hate bullies, especially people who bully androids. I marched over to the man with my arms crossed my chest. He’s about 6 inches taller than me with a scar running diagonally across his nose. He snorts and looks down at me.

         “And who are you pipsqueak?” He chuckled, for once I was glad, I looked younger than my age. Nothing beats giving your full title to assholes.

         “I’m Dr. (Y/n) (L/n), a professor at Wayne State University studying sociological relationships between humans and androids, and it seems you fall under the category of ‘asshole to everyone’.” Keeping my glare on him, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. He mumbled a ‘whatever’ under his breath and walked away. I smiled to myself and turned back towards Nines, Connor, and my father.

         “I apologize for my partner, Detective Reed. He sometimes forgets not everyone shares the same opinions as him.”

         “No worries, Nines. But you shouldn’t have to deal with that, I mean-“

         “(Y/n), Reed has a lot of problems, but is mainly just an asshole.” My dad interrupted me, “but we should really get to lunch.” I nodded.

         “Well it was nice to meet you, Nines. Please feel free to stop by my office anytime. I’m pretty much there every day until classes start.” Nines gave me a short nod and walked towards where Detective Reed had gone as I followed my dad and Connor out of the precinct.

          “Lieutenant Anderson said you like sandwiches, so I found a local restaurant that is highly rated.” Connor said as we all buckled up in my dad’s car. Connor had given me the passenger seat and he sat in the back.

         “I do like sandwiches.” I turned back to look at him, as my dad started driving. “So, Connor, how do you like working for the police department?”

         “I was made to assist law enforcement, although I do prefer working for the DPD over Cyberlife.”

         “That’s fair. What about you, dad? How do you like working with Connor?” My dad snickered at my question.

         “Well, he’s the only partner I’ve been able to stand. Although I wish he would stop putting evidence in his mouth, it’s disgusting- “

         “He has a forensics kit that can analyze samples in real time.” “I have a forensics kit that can analyze samples in real time.” Me and Connor said at the same time, causing my dad to groan and me to giggle.

         “Damnit now there’s two of you.” My dad said with a short laugh.

         “(Y/n), how do you know that?” Connor asked, I noticed in the rearview mirror he tilted his head.

         “Shortly after the android revolution I interviewed one of my old contacts who use to work at Cyberlife. Plus, you’re the one saving my dad’s butt out in the field I wanted to know what you were capable of.” My dad quickly glanced over at me. I could tell he was surprised that I knew that, or maybe he was surprised I kept tabs on him.

         “That makes sense.” Connor said shortly, his LED changed to yellow for a short second and then looked back at me through the rearview mirror. “Lieutenant Anderson forbade me from looking you up and learning more about you before meeting you. I didn’t know he allowed you to do research on me.”

         “Connor, two things, I’ve told you a million times you can call me Hank, especially when we’re outside the precinct. Second, (Y/n) looking you up for her research is different than you scanning a ton of databases and learning everything about her.” My dad said as he pulled into a parking spot.

         “That’s fair, Hank.” Connor said as we all got out of the car. The restaurant wasn’t very busy, and we got a table right away. Me and Connor sat on one side of the table and my dad sat on the other side. He kept nervously looking at me and the menu.

         “So, how do you like your new apartment, (Y/n)?” My dad asked me while staring intently at the menu.

         “It’s a little small, but it’s just me so it works. It’s only a ten-minute walk from the university which is really nice. You guys should come see it sometime. I’m pretty much fully unpacked.”

         “Do you have a dog?” Connor asked quickly, I couldn’t help but laugh.

         “No, I’m more of a cat person, but I have missed Sumo.”

         “Sumo’s going to go crazy when he sees you. He refuses to let anyone take one of the blankets you left still. He’s always hiding it around the house. He’s so much bigger now.”

         “I didn’t know that that blanket belonged to (Y/n).”

         “Yeah, Sumo and (Y/n) were really close.” My dad said softly. I felt an ache in my heart. For a moment I thought of telling my dad I wished I hadn’t left, but that wasn’t fully true. Luckily the waitress saved us from sitting in awkward silence. She cheerfully took me and my dad’s order and walked away. “I’m surprised Nines walked up and introduced himself and asked to talk sometime.”

         “He seems nice.” I said softly, somehow, I felt I’ve stepped over a boundary. Maybe I should’ve met them at the restaurant instead of going into the precinct. “I’m sorry for yelling at that man, it wasn’t my place to talk like that in a police department.” I stared down at my lap until I heard my dad burst out laughing.

         “You have to be kidding! I love seeing people put Gavin in his place. He’s an asshole,” my dad said. “Pointed a gun one time at Connor even.” I gasped.

         “What? Why? Connor are you okay?” I grabbed his arm and he jumped a little in surprise.

         “Of course, it was when I was first assigned to the DPD. I did knock him out later, which was…satisfying.” Connor said, I let go of his arm and felt myself blush. “(Y/n), may I ask a personal question?”

         “Sure.”

         “Why do you care so much about androids? Even before the first reports of deviancy you were publishing papers fighting for android rights.” I had expected Connor to ask me that at some point, but I thought it would take longer than this.

         “I don’t know I’ve just always felt that we were equal. Why does it matter that our blood is different colors? Androids have helped push society so much further than expected. I just…it never felt right to me. The way people treated androids.” I couldn’t help, but shiver thinking about some of the horrific stories I’ve read. I looked over at Connor who was staring at me intently. His LED was spinning yellow. “Can I ask you a personal question, Connor?”

         “Of course.”

         “Many androids have taken off their LEDs, why have you kept yours?” His hand raised up to his LED, which was still yellow.

         “There’s no reason I should be ashamed that I am an android instead of human, so why would I hide the fact?” My dad snorted and I quickly turned my head towards him, tilting my head slightly.

         “I’m not laughing at what he said. It took a month of me trying to convince Connor to stop wearing his Cyberlife uniform.” I couldn’t help but smile, looking back at Connor. A light blue blush spread across his cheeks.

         “It was comfortable.” He said, his LED finally turning back to blue.

         “That’s fair. In middle school I wore the same sweatshirt every day.” I said, as the waitress sat down our sandwiches. I took a bite, not realizing how hungry I was. “Mhmmm, Connor you picked a great restaurant, this is delicious!” He beamed a smile. I looked back at my dad, who was looking at both of us with so much happiness. “Dad, do you think you and Connor could stop by my office sometime this week? I really hate where they’ve put my desk and couch and I could use some help moving them.”

         “That’s fine with me, Connor?”

         “I would love to help, maybe after you can come over and visit with us and Sumo?” I looked at my dad who immediately looked worried, I could tell he wanted to take fixing our relationship at my pace.

         “That sounds really nice. Does Friday work for you guys?”

         “Yeah, that should be fine. Fowler’s been telling Connor he needs to take time off anyway.”

         “Which I don’t understand. I’m an android. I can work every day and be fine. Our cases have a high success rate.” I let out a laugh.

         “Connor, he isn’t asking you to take time off to punish you, he wants you to be able to enjoy the world outside work! Have you picked up any hobbies?” I asked him.

         “I like to take care of Sumo.” He answered quickly.

         “Okay, well how about one day me and you go to a local dog shelter and walk some of the rescues?” I offered.

         “Really?” He was practically jumping up and down.

         “Yes of course! It’s great volunteer work and those dogs need some love.”

         “Hank, would you come with us?”

         “That should be you and (Y/n)’s thing. We can do something altogether some other time.” I couldn’t help but notice his hesitant tone.

         “I think that would be really nice, Dad.” He didn’t look up from his sandwich, but I could see the small smile on his face.

Chapter 2

[tabloidtoc]

Globe, December 28

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Farewell to 93 legends we loved and lost in 2020 

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Steve Martin holds a green pepper on the NYC set of Only Murders in the Building, Derek Hough is light on his feet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards 

Page 3: Julia Roberts looks scary skinny during a solo stroll in Hawaii, Chris Pratt hoists a hoverboard during an L.A. workout 

Page 4: Troubled twosome Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are hoping to put their year from hell behind them by renewing their vows over the holidays in a desperate big to keep their love alive -- Ellen wants to prove her long-suffering wife comes first ahead of Ellen’s daytime talk show and her many celebrity friends and is going all out to show it -- penny-pincher Ellen opened her wallet as wide as her heart telling Portia she could spend whatever she wants on clothes, food, drinks, music and invite whoever she wants at the New Year’s vow ceremony on a Santa Barbara beach

Page 5: Obsessive Blake Shelton is so stressed over his upcoming wedding to Gwen Stefani he’s turning into the Groomzilla from hell -- he is sparing no expense and shelling out millions to redo his Oklahoma ranch to impress the couple’s Tinseltown friends but the mountain of stuff still to be done is driving him around the bend even though no one’s putting pressure on him but he’s obsessed with the wedding details and driving his staff crazy with his constant orders and revisions -- he’s building a chapel on the ranch and a lighted boat for a romantic wedding cruise on the lake and picking the style of the canopy for the banquet floor and re-landscaping the grounds and adding a color-themed garden

* Kenya Moore of Real Housewives of Atlanta reveals she went on a date with Kanye West but bolted when she caught him watching inappropriate flicks -- she described the outing with Kanye as a disaster date and they ended up going to his house where he left her alone, wandering around and when she followed the noises he was watching something on TV that he probably shouldn’t have been and that was her exit 

Page 6: Matthew Perry was such a slave to his addiction his former galpal Kayti Edwards says he’d send her to score drugs while she was pregnant and Matthew insisted she was the perfect drug mule because he believed cops wouldn’t stop a gal in her condition Kayti claims in a shocking tell-all about her 2011 romance with Matthew -- she says his ravenous cravings for cocaine and heroin were so out of control that he once superglued his hands to his legs and he took up to 80 Vicodin pills daily -- Kayti claims she was trying to protect Matthew because she feared he’d end up wandering around the streets and being nabbed by cops or snapped by photogs but she was also getting paid big bucks like $3000 to $4000 a day 

Page 7: Duchess Camilla’s taste for an early morning tipple has rubbed off on husband Prince Charles who is now so hooked on the sauce he starts the day guzzling a powerful gin martini with breakfast and now Charles’ alarmed staffers and pals are talking about an intervention to remind him not to go down the path that put his second wife in rehab -- Charles’ booze consumption has been off the charts for years but drinking first thing in the morning with his breakfast is a new low -- Charles laughs off suggestions he has a booze issue but one look at his bloodshot face tells the story 

* Now that a COVID-19 vaccine’s been approved in Britain Queen Elizabeth says she’s going to get the shot but wait her turn instead of pulling royal rank but she and husband Prince Philip won’t wait long because at their ages they’re in the second group to get the vaccine which is health care workers and people over 80 

Page 8: Helena Bonham Carter has a world-shakin’ suggestion for gals frustrated by the COVID-19 lockdown: get a vibrator -- she says women shouldn’t worry about snaring a beau during the pandemic but that’s easy for her to say because she’s currently cuddling with toyboy writer Rye Dag Holmboe 

* George Clooney confesses wife Amal Clooney had him shaking in his boots when he popped the question and she didn’t answer -- he asked her out of the blue but instead of squealing yes immediately the brainy lawyer just stood there -- George says he was on his knee for like 20 minutes and finally said he was going to throw his hip out -- Amal finally agreed and the couple have three-year-old twins 

* The nip/tuck freak daughter of Olivia Newton-John is being blasted as a hypocrite for coming out against the new COVID-19 vaccines -- Chloe Lattanzi claims she doesn’t trust doctors or the vaccine but critics note she had no problem shelling out an estimated $550,000 to plastic surgeons for nose jobs, super-sized boobs and ballooned lips 

Page 9: Since his life-threatening health scare game show icon Pat Sajak’s been testy and snapping at contestants and crew members leaving insiders fearing he’s heading for a breakdown -- the once-cheery Wheel of Fortune host is a different man since recovering from emergency surgery for a blocked intestine and is having difficulty coping with the workload -- he just can’t keep up with the pace and he’s pushed to the very limit and can’t seem to function doing this job and it’s all spilling over and manifesting into these ugly outbursts which are shocking viewers -- he even glares at long-time help-mate Vanna White when he gets frustrated or forgetful and she is really too nice to complain about it but she’s definitely been taken aback by his behavior 

Page 10: Proof UFOs are real -- new photos taken by Navy jets reveal we are not alone 

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- WWE legend Ric Flair (picture), Real Housewives of Orange County’s Braunwyn Windham-Burke maintains she’s not attracted to men despite renewing her wedding vows with her husband of over two decades -- she says she is gay but she loves husband Sean Burke and they plan on staying married although they don’t sleep in the same bedroom and they are raising their kids together but he knows the girl she’s dating and he’s been given the thumbs-up to date too, Liam Payne believes he’s being haunted by spooks -- convinced spooky spirits were inhabiting his West London digs Liam moved but spooks popped up at the new pad and he thinks the new house is even more haunted than the old one, George Clooney handpicked an even better looking doppelganger to play his younger self in his new flick The Midnight Sky who is screen legend Gregory Peck’s grandson Ethan Peck -- George said it was tricky because people know what he looked like when he was 35 years old but he rejected the high-tech gizmos used to weirdly reverse Robert De Niro’s age in The Irishman but he did mix his voice with Ethan’s since his voice is pretty recognizable, Matthew McConaughey’s kids Levi and Vida used their phones to photograph him for his latest magazine covers because of quarantine they couldn’t do normal photoshoots so the kids became the photographers 

Page 13: Tom Arnold dines out in Rome (picture), Aubrey O’Day (picture), Brooke Burke in Mexico (picture), pregnant Meghan Trainor was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and she’s healthy and her baby boy is healthy but she has to really pay attention to everything she eats 

Page 14: Luke Evans denies hiding in the closet to advance his Hollywood career saying it was the last thing he had because everything else he’d given to the world and adding that he left home at 16 because he was gay and went into the world as a kid because he had to, Mindy Kaling managed to keep two pregnancies under cover and kept the kids’ middle names under wraps until now -- a fan wondered why Mindy who is of a Indian heritage gave her kids Caucasian names but their names are Katherine Swati and Spencer Avu 

* Fashion Verdict -- Blanca Suarez 3/10, Olivia Palermo 1/10, Nicky Hilton 9/10, Bella Heathcote 2/10, Catt Sadler 8/10 

Page 16: True Crime 

Page 17: Martha Stewart confesses her painful divorce in 1990 was a terrible thing and she hasn’t talked to ex-husband Andrew Stewart since but she bounced back from the pain and her infamous prison stint because she’s very strong and motivated to get on with life -- still Martha admits being dumped by her husband for another woman after 29 years of marriage nearly did her in -- Martha also reveals serving five months in West Virginia in 2004 on a federal insider stock trading rap was a struggle but she got through it by working on her arts and crafts 

Page 19: 10 Things You Don’t Know About Don Lemon 

* Dolly Parton pulled no punches when discussing her longtime romance with Carl Dean dishing she and her husband have been together for 57 years and married for 54 and she’s sick of him and she’s sure he’s sick of her -- the couple have rarely been seen in public together and she says their marriage succeeds because she stays gone and they’re not in each other’s faces all the time 

* Miley Cyrus says she’s mastered the art of staying safe during lockdown love and it’s by having online sex -- she said the safest sex in these COVID-crazy times is the virtual kind and that’s where Miley has been hooking up

Page 21: Cover Story -- Thanks for the Memories -- tribute to the stars we loved and lost in 2020 

Page 22: Alex Trebek 

Page 23: Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, Kelly Preston 

Page 24: Kirk Douglas, Sean Connery 

Page 25: Olivia de Havilland, Chadwick Boseman 

Page 26: Robert Conrad, Naya Rivera 

Page 27: Regis Philbin 

Page 28: Kenny Rogers, Roy Horn 

Page 29: Eddie Van Halen, Little Richard 

Page 36: Health Report -- eating bread can toast your brain 

Page 38: Ghostbusters icon Dan Aykroyd has turned into a ghoulish recluse who rarely leaves his $25 million Martha’s Vineyard estate where he’s now eerily planning his own funeral -- the bizarre 68-year-old appears perfectly healthy yet he spooks around in his bed clothes muttering about who he wants to officiate at his memorial service and the goodies the chef should serve at the wake -- the curious thing is he appears to be in no danger of dropping dead anytime soon and he’s sturdy as a horse which is surprising given the cigars and the vodka and the big meals he enjoys -- Dan’s wife of 37 years Donna Dixon has gotten used to her husband’s ghoulish monologues

* Bob Dylan sold his extensive back catalog of more than 600 songs including Blowin’ in the Wind and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door to Universal Music in a blockbuster deal topping $300 million 

Page 40: Patrick Stewart confesses he’s been furious all his life and he’s still seeing a shrink to control his rage -- he reveals he’s burned with rage inside since childhood when he witnessed his dad’s violence against his mom and he had to suppress all that anger -- at age 14 he feared he’d explode and kill his headmaster when he caned him and later he worried he’d hurt his two children with first wife Sheila Falconer in a fit of fury and now at age 80 it’s still there so he sees a therapist every week 

Page 44: Straight Talk -- The Weeknd has his nose out of joint because he wasn’t nominated for any Grammys this year and he claims he’s being snubbed because he’ll be starring on the February 7 Super Bowl halftime show a week after the Grammys 

Page 45: Jeffrey Epstein’s accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell is a paranoid mess losing her hair and wasting away in federal prison where she’s terrified shadowy forces have marked her for death -- the shrinking British socialite who denies recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein’s twisted lust is charged with sex trafficking minors as she rots in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting trial next year 

Page 47: Bizarre But True 

[a-trying-writer]

[[ The story needs it own post too. ]]

The price of eating a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich at the bodega may have eaten Jay's wallet more than she did, but it was always worth it. Especially today, since the streets are clogged, and the amount of packages she will have to deliver have grown compared to last week. At least the paycheck makes up for it.

Once she finished up her breakfast with a cup of orange juice, she gave Joshua – the store owner – a toothy grin. “Thanks, chef! I'll see you tomorrow!” she said, before securing her full face helmet on.

He gave her a firm nod before seeing her roller skate out of the store with a large bag strapped around her shoulder. That girl was going to get herself hurt again, but it never stops her from doing what she needs to do, no matter how many people beg her.

Skating from one road to another, between the honking cars with people screaming expletives out their window, Jay turned her bracelet on to see a map flash on her visor. Blinking red dots appeared on selected points of interest, along with lines on where the best shortcuts are from her personal experience. With a press of a button, the map revealed the address of her first stop: an apartment.

A few familiar faces greeted her as they watched her slip between narrow alleys, and as she passed by a man by jumping over a fence with the help of a ramp, he clicked on the stopwatch in his hand. He checked the time with a smirk, before pocketing the watch. “She finally slowed down for once,” he muttered to himself as he climbed into his truck.

Once she arrived at her destination, Jay lifted up her visor to see a middle aged woman sitting on the front porch. “Hey, Miyu,” she greeted her as she pulled out a tablet from her bag.

“Good to see you again, Jay,” she said as she picked up the stylus and signed her full name. “I see your bag is a little bit more stuffed than usual.”

Jay chuckled as she confirmed the delivery, and took out a box to give to Miyu. “It's no big deal,” she replied with a shrug. “Anyway, hope you and your kid are doing good.”

The woman gave her a warm smile. “We are, but Aya misses you a lot, child. You should come by for dinner sometime.”

“Ah, free food does sound tempting... and it's always fun to play with Aya. How about this Friday?”

“Very well, I'll give you a call before then, all right?”

Jay nodded her head with a smile in her eyes then closed her visor. “Okay. See you, Miyu.” She lifted her gaze to spot a young child peeking through a window and waved. The girl smiled as she returned the wave and watched her skate away.

It was not often that Jay stopped by the Okamura family, especially during deliveries, but they are one of the several people she feels comfortable talking to during her job. On her way to the next destination, she marked the day she will visit them before letting the image flicker out behind her visor.

The sun was almost over the horizon by the time Jay delivered her second to last package. She lifted up her helmet to take in the fresh air while gazing up at the orange tinted sky. It was difficult to see the sun at this time of day due to the large buildings around her, so she could only imagine how beautiful it must look.

Jay had lived in this city since her mother wanted to start a new life after the divorce with her father. It was difficult to adjust to the changes during her childhood, and she could never remember how the sun looked as it rose and fell. It wasn't until she turned thirteen that she had accepted it.

Things were difficult as the years went by. School became overwhelming for Jay, to the point that she dropped out at sixteen, and decided to study at home instead. While she had got her diploma, she didn't seek out a job until she was twenty-five, because her mother fell ill.

Her father wanted to get in touch with them, but her mother did not want anything to do with him. Why, Jay never knew. When she finally passed away, all contact outside the city was cut off, and Jay had to take care of herself with some of the inheritance that her mother passed down on to her.

Knowing that it was only going to be temporary, Jay searched for jobs to keep food on her table. It took several attempts, but she finally got one with the city's delivery service. Since then, her life has become stable.

Plus, she had a fun hobby to go along with it – roller skating.

Realizing she was smiling to herself, Jay slipped her helmet back on to deliver the last package for today. Her mother is probably proud of her, she thought.

The last stop made Jay question her GPS multiple times, but no matter what she did, it led her to a run down building sitting between apartments that are very much intact and livable. Well, there was no point in questioning it anymore. She carefully climbed up the stairs and pressed the single working button on the panel built into the side.

There was no response, but she did it again, this time yelling, “Pelican Packages delivery! Is there a Miss...” She paused to reread the name then tried to say it as slowly as possible, “Er-ee-na... Flo-reah?”

Silence.

“It's Doctor Irina Florea,” the person answered. “Please, leave the package at the door.”

A slight frowned formed on Jay's face. “You have to sign for it, Doctor,” she replied while mocking the person's title.

Another minute of silence.

“Fine,” they groaned. “I'll be there in a moment.”

Jay released the button with a huff. It's only natural to expect rude people in this line of work, but that doesn't mean she can't complain to her boss about it. Perhaps this person will be black listed, or assigned to some other delivery person, as much as she didn't want others to suffer the same way she is.

It took a moment for the person to approach the door and open it to reveal a haggard woman with red hair tied in a messy bun. She was dressed in a button up shirt and gray slacks and bunny slippers. Jay wasn't one to judge a person by their appearance, but this woman's attire just screams “workaholic”. She almost pitied her.

Like before, Jay gave the doctor a tablet to sign her signature with a brief hum.

“Is everything okay?” Jay asked.

“Hm?” She blinked at her a few times, before she rolled her head around with a yawn. “Your tablet is quite outdated... Is this really what your job assigned you with? A tacky tablet?”

Jay sucked in a deep breath as she tucked the tablet away. “I can't beg my boss to update our devices – that is up to the CEO of the company.”

There was a brief sparkle in the woman's eyes, until she blinked it away with a subtle disapproving look. “Can't be helped, I suppose.” She then stretched out her arms towards Jay. “Package, please.”

Jay took out a large, rectangular shaped box from her now empty bag to pass it towards her. There was a brief moment when Jay thought she felt something crawl on her skin, but when she pulled her arm back, whatever it was either fell off, or was just her imagination.

The doctor looked at her with a raised brow, but Jay quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head. “Enjoy your evening, Doctor,” she said, then turned away.

Irina only hummed in response before she shut the door behind her. That woman was quite short, the doctor thought as she made her way back to her room. Monitors and computers decorated it from the floor, to the walls, and even the ceiling. She maneuvered over the cables to reach one of her desktops and place the package on the table.

When she reached out for her scissors, only to realize that it was missing from her table, and let out a long, weary sigh. “Power on, Joy!” she yelled.

There was no response.

“Joy?” she repeated as she looked up at a sphere installed in the wall. “Hey, wake up!”

A bright blue light lit up from the sphere and turned towards Irina. “Pardon, Dr. Florea, I have just noticed an error in my system,” it replied.

“Show me the error!”

A screen flickered before Irina, showing Joy's entire body, from its shell to its cables within. Everything seemed to be in one piece, except for one part that was supposed to be installed just yesterday. The doctor huffed with a shake of her head. “I thought it was something far worse than that, Joy. I'll make you another one.”

“Very well, Doctor,” the drone spoke, before falling quiet.

On her way home, Jay stopped by the bodega again to pick up an order from Joshua for herself. A delicious toasted sandwich with turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and vinegar. She took off her roller skates to climb the stairs in her bare feet, and opened the door with a soft tired sigh.

After placing her bag aside in the living room, Jay stripped off her clothing to shower and put on a set of pajamas. She turned on the television to stream a movie, and report her work for today to her boss.

When she saw Irina's name on the list, she wondered if she should share her experience. Perhaps the woman was working too hard, which is why she acted the way she did. It was okay for the workers to share information about the clients so they could be safe, but Jay wanted to give this woman the benefit of doubt, and maybe keep her name clean for the time being.

So she put a special report under Irina's name. “I will be glad to take any packages for her.”

Once she pressed send, her work was actually done. All she has to do now, is rest and eat her sandwich while watching a B list horror movie.

She didn't notice the small sphere climbing out of her bag, and made its way up to the top of her couch to watch it alongside her.

[sagara-megumi]

SasuSaku Month 2019 - Day 2: Patterns || [Fanfic] Family Ties - Chapter 1

Hello! Here’s my contribution to the SasuSakuMonth this year. It’s going to be a multi-chaptered story this time too (the last time I participated I wrote one too). I won't be using all the prompts since I'm going to be taking this opportunity to finish a story I started a long, long time ago.

However, before you start reading, you have to know that this story has a PROLOGUE and some NOTES that I strongly advise you to read before starting this chapter. In that prologue, Sasuke and Sakura are only mentioned so that's why, after asking the mods for advice, I left it out of the Month.

So, here's the link to it: Family Ties: Prologue (there are a few notes there that are important for the story).

.

Title: Family Ties: Chapter 1

Rating: T/PG-13

Words: 2475

Notes: There's not much to say here this time :) The following chapter will have a few comments related to some things stated in this one that I don't want to spoil beforehand XD

English isn’t my first language so if you spot any mistakes, please tell me. I hope that you enjoy it, and thank you for the notes in the Prologue ^^

.

CHAPTER 1

Akihiko contemplated pensively his image reflected in the coffee that filled his cup, while his mind replayed once and again Mikoto's words, her serious and sincere look, the slight trembling of her hands, as she told him her secret, something extremely fantastic that seemed conceived by the most twisted imagination. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, which palpitated slightly from the tension and lack of sleep.

'The truth is that ... I haven't been sincere with you when I told you about me... It's true that I'm forty-one years old, that I work as a shop assistant in a department store, and that I'm divorced... But I'm not from the south of Japan... In fact, I belong to an old and extended family established here in Tokyo ... '

She had stopped for a moment, biting her lower lip as if unsure of how to continue, and the first thought that had crossed his mind was that she was referring to the yakuza. He had seen her swallow with difficulty, pressing the sheet against her chest, and take a deep breath, before continuing.

'We... are vampires...' she had looked at him in the eye, without hesitation, and he had felt a painful knot in his stomach, his heart suddenly empty, knowing that she was telling the truth. 'My ex-husband, my children ... and I ...'

“Are you okay, dad?”

He suddenly raised his head as his daughter put a plate with a few pieces of toast on the table. Already dressed in her school uniform, a dark grey checkered pleated skirt, a white shirt and a dark blue striped tie, and her hair tied in a high ponytail, Sakura was scrutinizing him with those intense green eyes inherited from her mother, showing clear concern. He sighed and shook his head with a small smile.

“It's nothing. I'm just a little tired.”

She smiled as she sat down in front of him and picked up a piece. She bit it and then took a sip of tea.

“And?” Akihiko looked at her somewhat confused for a moment, while spreading jam on his bread. “How did it go last night?”

“Well...” he had already thought about what to say in case that she addressed the subject. “I preferred to leave it for another time. Mikoto-san was somewhat distracted and she seemed tired. I didn't think it was a good occasion to bring up something so important.”

Sakura pressed her lips clearly disappointed. When she had come down, she had been expecting good news, but as soon as she had seen her father sitting at the table, thoughtful, she had known something had gone wrong. For a moment, she had feared that the answer to his proposal had been negative, but she had dismissed the idea immediately. She knew his character perfectly and that he had been meditating that decision until he was sure of everything, so much that she herself had had to give him a little push, openly asking whether she was going to have a new mother.

She half-closed her eyelids and swallowed. It was not something she was comfortable with yet. Although she had been orphaned since she was eight years old, the memories she had with her were strongly engraved in her mind, and she knew that it would take her a while to get used to seeing another woman standing and walking where she and her mum had laughed and played together, in the kitchen where she had taught her to prepare his father's favourite dishes or in the place she had occupied at the table and which had remained empty until then. But she understood that he should go on with his life, which had taken long to rebuild, after being completely dedicated to her upbringing and to supply an absence that, despite his efforts, Sakura had felt. And if he had found a good woman to be happy with, she would give him all her support.

“Okay, then” she smiled and leant forward, resting her arms on the table. “When are you going on another date?”

“Ah ... We aren't sure” he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and Sakura pursed her lips slightly, having the impression that something was wrong with him. “Mikoto-san is going to be very busy in the department store, being Christmas so close, you know, and we have to make all the end-of-year reports in the office. Probably, I'll have to work overtime... I was going to tell you that I'll be late many days...”

“Dad” the girl frowned and looked at him questioningly “You didn't have a fight, did you?”

Akihiko felt a small knot in his stomach. It was not a fight, but something that changed things between Mikoto and him entirely, and about which he had to think carefully because now, it was not only a matter of love. However, his daughter was sometimes too intuitive, another trait inherited from his first wife.

“Don't worry, it's nothing like that. And now let's hurry or neither of us will arrive on time.”

Sakura gave a little cry when she saw the clock on the kitchen wall, and tried to finish her toast in two bites, drinking gulps of tea to try to swallow it as quickly as possible.

“I resemble Naruto more and more each day...” she muttered as she picked up her plates and left them in the sink.

His father laughed softly and took the last sip of his coffee before following her.

“If you don't get to the station in time, tell me and I'll drive you to school.

“Don't worry, dad, I'm fine. Go upstairs to shave.”

Akihiko patted her gently on the shoulder and went to the stairs while pulling his tie out of his shirt pocket, and the young woman began to wash the dishes quickly.

'There's no way I can miss that train!'

.

The train reached the platform one minute after Sakura arrived. She had walked to her usual place, carefully calculated so she would be near where the door of the third carriage would be when it stopped altogether. Like every day, she came in after three salary men, a lawyer who was always talking on her phone right behind her, and she turned to the left, feeling delighted when she saw that her usual seat was empty. As she approached it, she tried to change her expression to a neutral one; she occupied the space and took a studied, distracted look to the side and then to the front, and had to fight the smile that was struggling to draw on her lips. There he was, as always, with his headphones on, his right leg crossed over his left one and his satchel on them, his arms crossed and the bored expression that seemed permanently engraved on his features. And diligently, Sakura pulled a novel out of her school bag and opened it by the bookmarked page, keeping her eyes on the words.

She had been following that routine for almost seven months, since one day she had woken up early and had decided, while sitting at the kitchen table, that she was bored waiting there for the usual time. She had taken a train fifteen minutes earlier than the usual one and occupied one of the free seats before raising her head and finding two impenetrable dark eyes studying her. Sakura had never seen irises like those, so black that the pupil could not be distinguished from them. They had only set on her for a second before turning towards the window behind him but at that moment, she had felt that they had borne into her and read all her thoughts. She had not been able to avoid a hot blush and, embarrassed, she had retrieved the book that she was finishing from her satchel and tried to concentrate all her attention on it. However, it had been impossible. Several times, she had thought he was watching her, but when she had secretly looked up over the pages, he was lost in his own thoughts. Without knowing very well why, telling herself over and over that she only wanted to see what it was that she had felt the first day, she had started to take that train. After the summer holidays, during which he had invaded her mind on numerous occasions, she had realised that she liked someone she knew nothing about, not even his name. She called herself stupid and immature, but the next day she walked to the station, got on the same train and sat on the ‘her’ seat.

Every day, her best friend Ino had tried to convince he to confess, or at least to talk to him, but she had flatly refused. From what she had been able to see, he was not very sociable, and she was not willing to make a fool of herself in a crowded car just to receive a boring or an irritated gaze, and then being ignored, as it happened once to a girl who had tried to approach him by pretending to lose her balance. It had been the last time she had seen her there. She only had three more months to enjoy his company, and she did not intend to waste them.

She noticed that curiously, more people than usual boarded the train at each stop, and soon all the seats were occupied, and briefly, she wondered why. It was not a special holiday anywhere, nor did she know that there was a festival in the districts through which that line passed. She remembered what her father had said about his girlfriend, and she supposed that some people were probably doing their Christmas shopping ahead. She stole a quick glance in front of her. The boy was busy with the buttons of his smartphone, some strands of hair, as black as his eyes, falling over his features, and she swallowed hard before lowering her eyes and counting to three before turning the page. She could not pretend to be a convincing reader if she did not do it seriously.

'It should be forbidden to be so handsome.'

She could not help but feel like an idiot once again, but sometimes, she could not control her own thoughts.

'And also being a stupid fan at seventeen...'

The train slowed down once again and entered a new station. Two more stops and she would have to say goodbye to her platonic love until the next day.

An old woman stood near her, holding on to a stanchion, and after a quick glance to see if someone gave her their seat, Sakura sighed inwardly and closed her book. She would have to bid him farewell before that day.

“Sit here, please” she said as she got up, kindness showing on her face.

“Oh, no, don't worry...”

“I insist” her smile widened. “Anyway, I'm getting off soon.”

The woman smiled then and sat down while Sakura stretched to reach one of the grab handles that hung from the roof of the carriage, with her back to the young man, happy because the strict regulations of her high school did not allow wearing skirts above the knee, reason why she did not have to worry about the possibility of ending up showing her not-really-fashionable underwear with red polka dots to the people around her.

“Thank you.”

The girl shook her head with an affable expression and then, lifted her head to look through the window at the buildings that passed quickly before her eyes.

Suddenly, a slight tingle ran down her spine and the thin hair at the back of her neck stood on end, feeling someone staring at her from behind, and she breathed slowly, knowing exactly who was there. She closed her eyelids for a second and again, filled her lungs with air. It was most likely her imagination playing tricks on her because not once had he bothered to look up in her direction during the time she had boarded the train after that first moment she remembered so clearly, and she was sure that he was not going to do it at that instant.

Her stop was announced through the loudspeaker and she headed for the door while she felt her smartphone vibrate in the pocket of her uniform coat. It was Ino. For a moment, the fleeting thought of letting it ring or hang up crossed her mind, but then, she would have to hear her complaints at school. Moreover, she did not use to call her at that time, knowing they would see each other in a few minutes, so it could be important. She picked it up and pressed the device to her ear.

“Hello?”

<Did you see him today?>

She rolled her eyes. She should have imagined her reason for calling. Overcoming the powerful temptation of ending the call, she clenched her jaw before answering.

“... Yes...”

<And was he still so handsome?>

“Ino, please...”

“Oh, come on, tell me the details, and that at least he's noticed that you were looking at him.>

The uncomfortable sensation of being watched had disappeared but it had been replaced by one much worse, the possibility of the conversation being heard by him. After all, Ino did not have the softest voice in Japan.

“Eh, now I can't speak” she said in a lower tone.

<Don't tell me you're with him!>

“Yes...” the speed was much slower and the people gathered around her, as the train entered the big platform of the station. “I can't hear you well, the train is stopping. I'll see you in a few minutes and we'll talk, okay?”

<Spoilsp->

She ended the call feeling a slightly perverse satisfaction for cutting her friend off. She put her phone in her pocket again and a small smile drew across her lips.

Ino and she had the strangest relationship ever. They had been going to school together since they were little and their families had been acquainted for a long time. They shared secrets and trusted the other blindly. However, they also argued almost every day, using the names that they had thrown at each other in one of their first fights. They were rivals and best friends, and they hated and loved each other with the same intensity.

The doors opened and without even casting a sidelong glance over her shoulder to see him one last time, as she had forced herself to do since the beginning, she got off the train, not realising that for a few seconds, dark pupils, with a slight reddish glow glinting in them, followed her steps.

TO BE CONTINUED

[spamela-hamderson]

Robron doctors AU? 😘 or firefighters what you prefer :)

I hope it’s ok that it’s just one of them as a firefighter!

Also I know nothing about firefighters but I did watch Quarantine as a small child (mother, why?) and that firefighter episode of queer eye so this might read like the confused love child of those two things.

Aaron’s a reporter from a small local news station, and his boss wants him to do a story on the firefighters, what they do during a typical nightshift, what motivates them, etc. And Aaron’s like “can I do literally anything else though. mrs lee saw a teletubby on her toast, can I do a story on that?”. But his boss is like ‘no 😂’

See, the reason Aaron doesn’t want to meet the firefighters, is that he just broke up with one of them like 2 months ago and that shit is still raw, ok? They were in love, he knew they were. Doesn’t matter what Robert said about their 4 months together being “just some fun” or how he tried to convince Aaron that Chrissie was the only one that’d ever mattered to him. He knew that was bullshit. But serves him right for getting into a relationship with a married man, huh?

Anyway, the point is he’s finally starting to feel a little bit like himself again, finally starting to take Adam up on his invitations to go down to the pub for a pint, and he doesn’t need to see Robert with his dumb face and his stupid firefighting arms in his stupidly formfitting black shirt. That is the absolute last thing he needs right now.

So he emails the station manager to find out who’ll be on shift during filming and receives a list of names that blessedly does not include Robert’s

The day of the interview arrives. He’s relieved that Robert’s not gonna be there but he’s also secretly looking forward to being in a space that belongs to Robert, meeting the people he works with. And if he slips away for a couple of minutes to stare at the station notice board, scan it for a particular face, a name, then that’s his own damn business and no-one else’s.

But then of course, Robert waltzes in from somewhere in the back, and pretends not to know Aaron’s standing there glaring at him in outrage for all of 1 minute, before looking directly Aaron with the fakest ‘oh! what are you doing here?’ face Aaron has ever seen. Aaron sees through his bullshit immediately and tries to communicate ‘bitch did you trick me?!’ through scowls. (Robert had heard through Vic that Adam was gonna be the cameraman for the interview and he knew that meant Aaron was the reporter on duty. And ok, he might have bribed Jimmy with free doughnuts and promises to cover his next shift so he could take over his spot today)

Because he’s a sap, Robert’s eyes turn fond and he lets slip this sad little smile. He’s missed that death glare so much, damn it.

Aaron remembers late night conversations, soft touches, those eyes looking at him with the same fondness, and comes to the depressing realisation that he’s been lying to himself and hasn’t actually gotten over Robert. Not even a little. So of course he decides he’s gonna ignore him today. Robert keeps trying to get his attention, answers questions before anyone else can, leans on walls. And when none of that works (that’s what he think, bless), he starts taking “friendly” jabs at him, asking if all tv reporters frowned this much, etc, just to see if he can get a rise out of Aaron. Aaron is one too-smug smirk away from throwing the mic at his head.

But still no-one else suspects a thing cos they’re all heterosexuals.

At one point Robert’s like ‘yah I think. I think we should time Aaron getting into one of the uniforms. See if he can do it in under 4 minutes. It’ll be fun. Really um… really educational. For the viewers at home.’ Aaron is living his worst life.

And then also Aaron gets to slide down the firefighter pole thing? (I have done zero research) And he’s fine, he’s athletic, he has no issues sliding down that pole (👀). There’s really no reason for Robert to grab on to him like he’s lost his balance and bring their bodies so close together in such a familiar way. Aaron leans into it. He’s not in any hurry to move away, until he hears Adam cough behind the camera and remembers where they are.

Just so much more pining and angsty glances and not quite accidental touches, with a backdrop of oblivious side characters

They get a dispatch call to an apartment building, and suddenly there’s an urgency in the air, everyone’s moving on autopilot and Robert’s just called out for Aaron to stick close to him. Aaron follows immediately, though he’s annoyed at himself for responding so quickly to the command.

There’s some kind of commotion in one of the rooms but no one can get in, and they can smell smoke coming from inside. One of the firefighters manage to break open the door, and this old lady comes barreling out of the room, straight into the firefighter, and they both tumble over the railing and hit the ground with a sick, dull thud. They’re gone. Except no, the old lady gets back up, broken neck awkwardly hanging to the side, limp-runs to one of the bystanders, and tries to bite her head off.

Robron are clinging to each other in shock right now cos apparently zombies are a thing and they’re now in a horror movie

Some of the other firefighters call for backup and also contact public health england because there’s obviously been some kind of outbreak (Robert and Aaron are too busy making sure the other is alright)

And things kind of escalate really quickly after that. Suddenly there are zombies everywhere on the ground floor, and they’re starting to come up, and the Public Health people have locked the building from the outside and employed the army to shoot anyone who tries to leave it. So Aaron and Robert realise they’re gonna have to secretly exit the building without the government finding out. Except there’s a zombie chasing them and they get to they end up hiding from it on the roof, with the zombie angrily scratching against the door.

Omg where’s Adam

Ok no Adam’s with them, he can third wheel. Aaron will cry if Adam dies in a zombie apocalypse, and then he won’t be able to make out with Robert.

Anyway, now all three of them are trapped on the roof, and Robert mentions that they can’t stay on the roof for long cos there will be helicopters soon and then they’ll be found out. He starts to very subtly hint that one of them will have to act as a distraction for their zombie friend and keeps looking at Adam. Aaron, ever the martyr, is like ‘YOU’RE RIGHT, I’LL DO IT. I LOVE YOU, OK? I KNOW YOU’RE WITH CHRISSIE BUT I LOV YA :’’’’’’(’

Robert: *yells in his face about maybe not being a fucking idiot and how he loves him so much and how he’s in the process of getting a divorce and he’s so sorry for being a dumb moron but he’s ready now and Aaron has to be alive to give him another chance because he’s everything to him and then calls him an idiot one more time, for luck*

Aaron: oh 😍

Adam: nice one, lads.

Zombie: AUHFGREHFNA

They start kissing and Adam’s happy for his bff but also things are getting awkward really quickly for him so he laps around the roof and tries to block out the sounds coming from the corner.

And that’s how he finds the pipe that leads down to the fire escape thing and he very excitedly turns to tell them about this but sees that Robert is topless and screams

(Aaron might not have been able to put on the suit in under 4 mins but he definitely could get Robert out of it in that time)

The only reason Robert doesn’t kill Adam is because he did find a way out of this mess. That and he’s a bit distracted by the way Aaron is smiling at him

And then they go home and bang for 24 hours

Not Adam, he escapes them as soon as he can

Oh, and the zombies were all killed

Except for one. dun dun DUN

[deforrestdraper]

No title for this one yet

Exerpt: “Leonard was given a third blessing when the what are we question never came. (He hated that question—hated that the answers he had were not the ones anyone actually wanted to hear.) Jim Kirk was just content to exist in whatever shape he was, steady and yet mercurial. It was as if Jim was caught in his orbit somehow, coming over increasingly frequently, and yet drinking considerably less. As a doctor, that could only come as a plus, and Leonard dared to think that Jim was already emerging from his party phase.Leonard didn’t think to consider that he wasn’t the fixed point after all.”

Please take note that this fic will (eventually) contain mild drug use, sexual situations, sexuality/gender explorations, and age differences (including mentions of relations between a then-18-year-old and then-17-year-old).

Monday, February 14, 2253

Jim Kirk was already a mess when Leonard met him. Leonard McCoy wasn’t much better. They were both young, both angry at the day, both drunker than they should have been on a Monday afternoon, and Jim was a flirt even before he opened his mouth, sliding up to the bar with the grace of a cat, and practically draping himself on the counter. The ID that appeared on the screen when the bartender scanned his hand was Sam—Leonard hadn’t taken him as an insert guy, and Leonard himself preferred to keep his identification where he could remove it from his person thank-you-very-much, but that wasn’t his business—, but his mouth said Jim, and Leonard didn’t particularly mind one way or another.

Maybe it was because it was the first Valentine’s Day since the divorce, but Leonard took his time taking Jim apart. It was therapeutic, in a way, Leonard reflected as he fished in his nightstand drawer for a pre-roll.

“That was—wow.” Jim tried to find his words as Leonard lit the joint, inhaling, holding, inhaling again. “That was great. Amazing.”

“Thanks,” Leonard exhaled slowly and passed the joint to Kirk. “Not too bad yourself.”

Kirk dragged deep and held his breath a beat. “You should go to massage school.”

That got a chuckle out of Leonard. “Too late, I’m already a doctor.”

Jim shrugged flippantly. “Well, when you get out of medical school—” inhale “—sign me up as your first patient.”

McCoy waved a hand as if he was trying to fan away Jim’s response like stale smoke. “No, I’m already a doctor. I graduated last semester.”

“Already a—?” Jim started with a lurch in disbelief, sitting all the way up, staring at Leonard as if he’d sprouted an extra eye. “How old are you?”

“I’m 27,” Leonard eyed Jim suspiciously. “How old are you?”

“I’m 20,” Jim said as if it were obvious.

“Twenty!” Alarmed, Leonard put the joint out in the ash tray by the bed. The whole point of picking up strangers at a bar was to make sure he didn’t end up taking home someone too young. “Why are you twenty?”

“Why are you 27?” Jim retorted.

Leonard flew right past that smart-ass remark. “You ordered from the bar!”

Jim scoffed. “Yeah, with my brother’s ID.”

Leonard ran a hand down his face with a grumble, “My God, I’ve just slept with an infant.” If Jim took offense to that, it didn’t show on his face, and Leonard accepted the fact that there was no going back now. “How did you even get the RFID to accept you as your brother? Don’t tell me you’re identical twins born a few years apart.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jim said, pulling a pillow in his lap. “I just had to trick the chip into thinking my DNA was Sam’s.”

“Huh.” Leonard looked Jim up and down, really looked, impressed. Those chips were secured and tied into the global medical system. They had measures designed to protect and secure both the components and the data that went way beyond Leonard’s ability to understand. It was theoretically impossible to fool the things, or so he’d been told, and here this kid was, doing the impossible and admitting it to what was probably a one night stand. Leonard pulled a corner of the covers over himself and shuffled until he was lying fully down. “Not bad, kid.”

“Thanks,” Jim said lightly as he settled in for the night. “So, you’re really 27?”

Leonard shrugged. “I’ve got a young face.” He knew there were plenty of people younger than him who looked years older, and it was one thing to be careless with age at 18. 27 was a-whole-nother matter, which is why he chose to pick up from bars and not coffee houses. The whole point was to avoid accidentally tumbling into bed with someone underage.

“No kidding, you bag of bones.”

“Go to sleep, Jim.”

Leonard was fixing coffee the next morning when he finally asked: “Alright, so you reprogrammed the chip without setting off any alarms, but who did you get to insert it?”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked around a bite of toast.

Leonard rolled his eyes. “I mean that no doctor I know of would have installed the thing without being 100% certain it hadn’t been tampered with in some way—by law, we’re not even supposed to open the pack if it’s been damaged. So who’s going around committing malpractice and helping you steal your brother’s identity so that you can go have a drink?”

“Oh, that was me,” Jim replied without care.

“That was you,” Leonard parroted without any inflection, coffee cup hanging in front of his face from when he thought he was going to take another sip of it.

“Yeah, all I had to do was stick it in.”

“Stick it in,” Leonard repeated, appalled. “You don’t just—Give me your hand.” Leonard snatched Jim’s left hand before he gave the kid a chance to react, and lo and behold, there it was: a tiny white scar in the meat of the palm of his new right-handed friend. He could feel his face heat up in anger. “Jim Kirk, how long have you had this in here like this?”

“Not long.” Leonard gave no reaction, and Jim pulled his hand back, continuing: “Two years.”

“Two years,” Leonard muttered in disbelief as he finally sat at the small table. “I’m surprised you don’t have more visible tissue damage. Have you experienced any tingling—” Jim shook his head no “—numbness—” another no “—any twitching or other signs of muscle damage?”

“No, alright? I get it—you’re a doctor,” Jim shot back in exasperation.

Leonard’s eyebrow ticked at that. “Damn right I’m a doctor, and I’d really like to get that thing out of your hand before you end up debilitating yourself.”

Jim Kirk was ever petulant. “I’m not going to debilitate myself.”

“I’d like to hear you try to say that when you’ve stretched your hand wrong and severed a nerve on the edge of that tag. See if you’re still so nonchalant when you’ve got a dead muscle in that hand of yours.”

“Alright,” Jim rolled his eyes. “I turn 21 in like a month an a half. I’ll find my real ID and have you take Sam’s out then.”

Leonard knew Jim was trying to blow him off, and the doctor part of him wasn’t having any of that. “Or I can take it out today, and if you really need to drink that bad, you can just come here and do it where I can keep an eye on your reckless ass.”

If nothing else, Leonard thought his idea would push their argument to the point that Jim would have stormed out of the apartment never to be seen again, but instead, Jim paused in thought. “You really mean that?”

Leonard had known Jim Kirk for less than 24 hours, and if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if he was really up to hosting a potential 20-year-old alcoholic in his home until April, but he’d said it, and Leonard McCoy did not like to make a liar of himself. “I said it, didn’t I?”

Jim mulled it over, and in that space of time, Leonard wondered what kind of life he led. What kind of man was Jim Kirk, who could fool a foolproof system so he could go to a bar, who could do amazing things in bed but be thrown for a loop by Leonard’s age, who could keep pace with Leonard in drinks but was seriously considering his offer. Didn’t he have any friends of age? “Alright, when do we do this?”

Leonard wasn’t sure what kind of a person Jim Kirk was, and Leonard had a feeling he wasn’t even beginning to scratch the surface of Jim Kirk just yet. “Finish your breakfast and I’ll take you to my office.”

It turned out that what was under the surface of Jim Kirk was an overactive immune system. It took less than a minute from when Leonard gave him a numbing shot—a local anesthetic so Leonard could make an incision and inspect for any damage with minimal fuss—to when Jim’s throat swelled shut. The hospital’s emergency sensors kicked in and the two of them were automatically transported to another wing of the hospital to get the reaction under control, and Jim stabilized.

Once Jim was most definitely not going to die, and his body was in a state that it could handle a little additional stress, Leonard settled in to take the tampered RFID out of Jim’s hand before the kid came back around.

Leonard dropped the chip into the tray with a little more force than was necessary, having not registered the footsteps behind him. “I have the results of the tests you requested, Doctor.”

“Thank you, Mr. Spock,” Leonard said as he inspected the tissue around where the chip had settled, and was relieved to see no signs of lasting damage. “Are there any items I should be immediately aware of?” he asked as he began to run the dermal regenerator over the incision.

Spock flipped open the folder as if he hadn’t committed the entire report to memory and Leonard rolled his eyes. “The patient is also allergic to a component in a saline solution in use at this hospital.”

“Saline?” Leonard balked in disbelief, turning to face Spock for the first time. “How on earth can someone be allergic to saline?”

“To say the patient is allergic to saline would be inaccurate—,” Spock began by way of explanation, but Leonard was not in a mood to hear the specifics.

“Give me that,” Leonard said, alarmed at just how thick the file looked. Spock handed it over, and Leonard skimmed over the items. By the looks of things, Jim was allergic to just about everything under the sun.

“It is remarkable,” Spock continued, unaffected, “That the patient would have such a reaction to Numbivol, as all tests ran by the Vulcan Science Academy indicated that an allergic reaction to the medication would be impossible with the human immune system.”

“Us humans are full of more surprises than you might think,” Leonard concluded, snapping the folder shut. “Thank you for the quick work, Mr. Spock.”

“Indeed,” said Spock’s voice; his ascending brow wondering at why the efficiency of his work had been in doubt in the first place. Considering Spock had been sent to the hospital on loan from the Vulcan Science Academy to help improve the efficiency of earth’s medical labs, Leonard wouldn’t have been surprised if Spock had taken outright offense at the idea. Spock’s eyes slipped to the tray at Leonard’s side. “Was the patient experiencing difficulty with the identity chip?”

“The patient was an idiot and thought he could put it in himself,” Leonard grumbled.

“The patient did put it in himself,” came Jim’s sleepy voice.

“And therein lies the problem!” Leonard said with a snit in his voice. “You’re lucky I work at a hospital and not a family practice, Jim.”

“Are you familiar with the patient, Dr. McCoy?”

Leonard’s no overpowered Jim’s yes. “But why are you still hanging around? Did you have something else to report?”

Spock’s eyes drifted past Jim briefly. “There seems to be a discrepancy in some of the medical records that warrants further investigation.”

Leonard sighed long and pinched at his eyes. Of course Spock would want to be meticulously thorough. “I’m aware, Mr. Spock. We’re correcting the problem now.”

Spock’s eyes flicked to the identity chip, to Jim, to Leonard, back to Jim and Leonard knew Spock had figured them out. “How did you manipulate the chip into accepting foreign DNA?”

Jim, exhausted and stuck full of tubes and wires, managed to look smug laying on a hospital bed. “I grew a skin sample from my brother’s DNA and affixed the chip to it. After that, I just had to manipulate it until it matched mine enough to pass. The chip accepted it as normal DNA damage.”

“Fascinating—” Spock certainly didn’t seem fascinated from Leonard’s point of view, but Vulcans did lack much of the emotional range he’d come to expect from his human counterparts “—Have the chips not been calibrated to detect abnormal deviations—?”

“No,” Leonard butted in swiftly, only to raise a finger when Jim also opened his mouth to speak. “No. Jim’s recovering from a severe allergic reaction, and he needs to rest. You can discuss the specifics of committing identity theft after he gets some shut-eye.”

Jim crossed his arms and settled back with a mutter. “You really are a grumpy old bag of bones.”

Leonard whirled around, temper rising. “What was that?”

“I believe his words were—”

Leonard reeled on Spock next. The two of them were going to give him an aneurysm. “Shut up, Spock, you’re not helping. Now you get back to work, and you—” Jim held his hands up in mock-surrender “—go to sleep.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Jim said with a smile as Spock ducked out without another word. “I think I like Mr. Spock.”

Leonard frowned in distaste. “You would.”

[bellarke-addict]

Bellamy’s Bad Weekend

Continuation of In the Bunker series.  Background Bellarke

Bellamy Blake was not having a good weekend.

Which was kind of what he had expected, considering it was the middle of the work week and he was only on this rare two-day vacation because he’d been overheard arguing about the training schedule.

With himself.

In his sleep.

He maintained that he had probably been making some sound arguments, but Miller had sold him out to Kane, who had ordered him to take forty-eight hours off.

It would have been longer but they couldn’t afford to spare him.

Then again, it wasn’t like he would be out of reach in the event of an emergency, there was nowhere for him to go in the bunker.

Still, he had grabbed the book he’d been trying to read for the last six months and headed to the Skai-kru meeting room, which had long since been repurposed into a bar. He’d thought he could grab the couch, sweet talk his friends into bringing him his meals and read his weekend away.

He had barely even got his ass on the seat when Niylah had come to find him because a fight had broken out between a few of the younger Ark kids, which he’d ended just by showing up and ordering them to cut it out, but by this point, people knew he was free and suddenly he was being presented with hundreds of tiny problems that he was usually too busy to be bothered with.

So, he’d handled it like a mature adult.

He’d faked a radio call from Clarke, grabbed his book and taken refuge in his sister’s office.

Which is where O, found him a few hours later, a well-placed kick to his shins preventing him from falling asleep in the arm chair.

“I’m awake.” he mumbled as she sat in her desk chair and rolled over to him, her legs ending up in his lap,

“Great,” Octavia deadpanned, “I’m sterile.”

For a moment, he glances down at her hands, not comprehending, before it clicks in his mind,

“O,” he breathes, reaching for her hands but she snatches them back, so he grips her ankles instead, “I’m so sorry.”

Octavia shrugs, not so much the commander in that moment as she was the eighteen-year-old girl,

“I spoke to Abby, I haven’t had my period in a long time, which I figured was stress, starvation, pretty much all the reasons us girls have had weird cycles since coming down here, but she examined me and told me…a bunch of medical jargon that means I can’t have kids.”

“I already knew this,” she adds, hastily, “The amount of times I’ve been laid out on the operating table while Clarke and Abby tried to get my internal organs back inside my body, I figured kids were off the table…”

“They don’t have to be,” Bellamy interrupted, “You could adopt, like Kane but on a much smaller scale, and with actual kids, not almost adults.”

Octavia managed a smirk, “That’s not the issue big brother, I’m not just a commander, remember? I’m a queen, of an absolute monarchy, even if Azgeda is now part of Wonkru, they’re expecting an heir.”

It had only been a year in the bunker, a year of Ogeda and Wonkru, so Bellamy understands that people were still getting used to the merging of their clans into one. He, too, still considered Skai-kru people as his people above everyone else in the bunker. It would probably take the next four years for Ogeda to become fixed reality, and until then, one of his sister’s perceived duties, was to carry on the Ice Nation’s royal line.

It has Bellamy gunning for revolution on her behalf and when Roan knocks on the door, opening it before either of them could say anything, Bellamy wants to shout at him to go float himself.

“Lunch?” he prompts, giving him a quick nod before looking to Octavia.

“I can’t have kids.” She announces, twisting her head to see him over the back of her chair.

Roan blinks, raising his eyebrows,

“Considering Echo stabbed you and threw you off a cliff, I’d be shocked if you could,” he answers mildly, “Should we eat here or in the mess hall?”

He responds so casually that Bellamy thinks the ramifications haven’t set in for him yet. Octavia seems to be operating on the same assumption.

“You get what this means, right?” Octavia asks, “I can’t have kids.”

He shrugs, “Would you like one of mine?”

What now?

Octavia’s eyes slowly meet her brother’s and the two of them share a glance before refocusing on the king, “How many children do you have?”

He tilts his head, visibly counting in his mind, “Six…I think.”

“This is an impressive head wound,” Abby remarks as she and Jackson try to staunch the bleeding, “How did this happen?”

Roan’s eyes are slightly unfocused but when Bellamy glares at him, he seems to get the message, “I…tripped.”

“Uh huh,” Abby leans back, holding her hand out for more bandages, “And I’m guessing you were caught by a Blake and…judging from the shape of the cut, I’d say…a desk?”

“Paperweight,” Bellamy corrects, before scratching behind his ear, “Hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically,” Jackson deadpans, “You’ll need to keep him awake, he may be concussed.”

Bellamy had planned to kill the guy but he could settle for sleep deprivation.

Roan groans, cradling his head as they make their way from the infirmary,

“I had forgot about your sister’s temper,” he mutters, “Do I need to sleep in a different bed tonight?”

“Try a different bunker,” Bellamy snapped, before wheeling on him, causing the king to take a step back.

“How the hell do you have six kids?!” Bellamy demands, his voice carrying down the hall and startling passers-by.

“Who the hell has three kids and thinks continuing to impregnate women is a good idea?!”

Further down the hall, a door opens and Kane sticks his head out, trying to assess the situation and see if intervention is necessary,

Roan leans back slightly, “Are you done?”

“Oh. I’m just getting started,” Bellamy shouts, “I want the names of the kids, the names of the women and then…”

“They are not my blood-children.” He interrupts, clicking his tongue and rolling his eyes. As if this were all just another Skai-kru eccentricity to be lived through.  

What?!

“In Azgeda,” he begins, seeing Bellamy’s unspoken demand for explanation,

“The children of our warriors are known as children of the ruling king or queen, so that if they are orphaned, it is my duty to see to their welfare.”

Oh.

“Okay,” Bellamy groans, pinching the bridge of his nose, 

“You probably should have led with that, and I should probably go explain it to O, before she puts a bounty on your head.”

“Please.” Roan requests, mumbling something derogatory about Skai-kru under his breath as he walks off,

“Go find Clarke!” Bellamy shouts after his brother-in-law, “Remember, you can’t fall asleep!”

Octavia had been in the middle of moving all of Roan’s possessions from their room to the hallway, with the final destination to be outside the bunker or in one of the prison cells, when Bellamy had arrived and clarified the situation for her.

“Why the hell didn’t he lead with that?!” she demanded,

“Hey!” she snapped at one of the guards, “Move his things back inside.”

Bellamy only shakes his head, “I don’t know, but are you good now? I’m not gonna wake up tomorrow and hear that you’re a widow?”

Octavia gives a stubborn shrug, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

He sighs but leaves anyway, trudging through the bunker aiming for his room,

“Bellamy?” Kane calls, coming out of Trikru’s quarters, “You’re supposed to be off-duty.”

“I am,” he protests, as they walk together, “I haven’t done a single patrol all day.”

“And have you been resting?” Kane asks, his tone filled with doubt.

“No,” he allows, “Because I’ve been busy trying to prevent a regicide and a war.”

Kane shakes his head and claps him on the shoulder, steering him into the bar and looking around at the crowd,

“Clarke!” he calls, “Bellamy was just looking for you.”

Clarke is leaning back against the bar, cup of moonshine in hand and doubt written across her face but she doesn’t say anything as Kane pulls up a stool and sits him down,

“Drink,” he orders, “Relax.”

Clarke looks down her nose as he puts his arms on the bar and drops his head, “How’s your day going?”

“Broke up a fight, prevented a divorce and an execution,” he reports, “Yours?”

“Prevented a mass-poisoning, treated four cases of the clap, and saw Miller naked,”

“For non-medical reasons.” She adds, holding her cup out behind her, not bothering to look as Monty refills it,

“Here’s to productivity,” he smirks, receiving his own cup and they toast each other before drinking deep.

Several hours later, they’re lying back on the couch, their heads at opposite ends and their legs tangled together, neither of them willing or able to walk to one of their beds. Bellamy is staring up at the ceiling and pretending it’s the night sky,

“Are you fertile?” he asks and Clarke snorts,

“Depends on why you’re asking.” She replies, her shoe tapping him in the thigh.

He rolls his eyes, “I have no idea if I can even have kids,” he says, 

“I never bothered finding out.”

“You probably are,” she tells him, “I’ve seen your medical files, you’re healthy in every other way.”

He hums, “What about you?” he asks, “Can you have kids?”

Clarke sighs, shifting slightly, “I had endometriosis and on the Ark, and was told that I would have a fifteen percent chance of being able to conceive and carry to term…after Mt Weather, my mom discovered that the girls implants were no longer working and ran tests on me, I now have a ninety-five percent chance of getting pregnant and carrying to term.”

Bellamy’s blood ran cold and he propped himself up on his elbows, staring at her in horror and she nods, “Yeah, that was the face Kane made when we explained why we’d need to be pulling the girls from the hundred off work and into the infirmary as soon as possible.”

Silence falls between them for ten or so minutes before Clarke’s speaks again,

“Thing is, I don’t even want to be pregnant,” she confides, “I mean, I like kids, but I’ve seen women giving birth, the blood, the filth, the tearing, and all the complications afterwards…especially down here…”

Yeah, remembering Octavia’s birth had always been good incentive for Bellamy to check that his partners were protected.

“Would you ever want kids?” he asks and she snorts,

“Honestly? I always just assumed that one day you’d find a kid somewhere, orphaned or abandoned and bring it back to camp and I’d be a mother.”

That does kind of sound like something he would do.

“You don’t think I’d come back and just foist a kid on you, do you?” he queries,

“Just hand it off and expect you to raise it?”

She rolls her eyes, “Obviously we would raise it together.”

“Obviously?” he questions and she sighs, “Yes, Bellamy.”

“How is that obvious?”

She’s pushed herself up into a sitting position and is staring at him, opening her mouth when they hear a resounding crash from outside, followed by steps pounding down the hall.

“John!” Emori’s voice reached their ears, “You get back here, right now!”

Bellamy sighed, “We should probably…”

“Yeah.”

[fayewonglibrary]

THE ICE QUEEN OF CANTO (2002)

Faye Wong was known for her scalding temper as much as her singing but now she’s cool, collected and very much in control. Don’t believe the hype, she tells Vivienne Chow.

“The truth doesn’t matter any more,” intones a calm and collected Faye Wong, when she is asked whether her relationship with Cantopop star Nicholas Tse Ting-fung is on the rocks. She leans purposefully back in her comfy chair, snaps a bite out of a square of French toast and summons her assistant for another packet of Mild Seven cigarettes. It isn’t so easy to rile Faye Wong any more.

Three years ago, it would scarcely have been noteworthy had the pop diva launched herself at me across the table and jammed the toast into my eye. At a press conference at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in 1999, Wong lost her temper when an inquisitive journalist from Singapore submitted a question about her divorce from Beijing rock star Dou Wei. She screamed at the reporter, told her it was no one’s business but her own and stormed out in the kind of dramatic huff only stars seem able to carry off.

All I get is a cheerful, perhaps defiant smile and a puff of cigarette smoke. Wong appears only too happy to consider the question, despite the over-anxious butt-in from another assistant, who says: “Would you please cancel that question!” - intent on smothering the 32-year-old singer. Quite obviously, however, she can take care of herself.

“I’ve already answered it,” Wong cuts in. Well, actually, she hasn’t. What she has said is this: “The main function of the entertainment press is to get stories that are entertaining but sometimes the truth may not be as juicy as you imagine. Even if I answer the questions honestly, they still make up stories. They have their own ideas on how my private life should be. I have no desire to change that image so I choose not to answer. In this way they can continue to write whatever they want to.”

So she’s answered by questioning the question’s validity - that old celebrity trick - but at least that toast is staying on her side of the table. “Sometimes the entertainment news about me covers details I have never heard before,” she says. “I quite enjoy reading the stories myself. I’m just so fascinated by this. But I’m not keen to tell people who I am or explain to people what I have or haven’t done. Now I don’t really mind what has been written about me.”

That’s about as close an answer as anyone’s likely to get from Wong on the state of her relationship with Tse, who is 11 years her junior. Not that you can really blame her. Since the couple walked out of a private function, hand in hand, two years ago, they have been pursued relentlessly by the paparazzi.

And that’s hardly surprising, given Wong is the undisputed queen of Cantopop and Tse, a Cantopop star himself, is also the son of 1960s heart-throb actor Patrick Tse Yin and actress Deborah Lai. That was more than enough star quality to send even the most haggard entertainment hack into a frenzy when the couple’s romance was first revealed. Now there are rumours of a parting of ways, the gossip machine is again moving into overdrive.

But Wong has learned to be philosophical following the often fanatical media interest surrounding her marriage to Dou in 1996 and divorce three years later. “I’m more open-minded now,” she says. “At the beginning, I got upset quite often by the way I was portrayed in the newspapers and how people saw me. But since I can’t ask the entire world to change for me, I now look at these matters in a positive way.”

Until, that is, her five-year-old daughter by Dou, Ching-tung, is added to the mix. Ching-tung has been the subject of cut-throat press clamour since even before she was born. The battle to publish the first photograph of Wong pregnant resulted in a court case between rival newspapers Oriental Sunday and Apple Daily. The Oriental Sunday snapped the slightly swelling singer in the baggage lounge of Beijing Airport in October 1996 - the first confirmation that the star was expecting - and took Apple to court after it printed a spoiler story on the front page, including the picture, on the same day.

Since then, even the little girl has had to run the press gauntlet. On February 1, Chinese-language entertainment magazine Sudden Weekly published photographs of Ching-tung at the Hong Kong International School and ran an interview allegedly conducted with her on her way to the school in Repulse Bay. The interview claimed the youngster said Tse hadn’t visited her mother for some time. Wong was understandably furious. And for a moment, as she recounts the episode to me, the expression that darkens her face would, I know, have been terrifyingly familiar to the unfortunate reporter at the press conference three years ago. Wong leans forward. She’s more serious now. The interview never took place, she says. “I checked with my maid and spoke to my daughter. She has never done this kind of interview before. Sure, she might have said hello to someone but there couldn’t have been enough time for her to tell a reporter so many details.

"I understand people want to read about her and she cannot escape from being harassed because she is my daughter. It is not harmful if they make up stories about me but she is only a five-year-old child. Can’t the public sacrifice a little bit of their curiosity so the child can grow up in a healthy environment? Can’t they at least just wait till she’s older?”

Up close, it’s easy to see why Wong’s face graces so many magazine covers. She has beautiful, big round eyes. She says her tall and slender figure requires little maintenance, even after she gave birth to Ching-tung. And Wong is a trend-setter. What she wears will often become the hottest fahsion items of the season - even though she seems to be the only person able to carry off what are often quirky designs.

Born in 1969, Wong moved to Hong Kong with her family from Beijing at the end of 1987 when she was 18. Her enthusiasm for singing led her to the respected voice coach Tai Sze-chung and , at just 20, she was recommended by Tai to Cinepoly, with which she secured a record deal.

In 1989, Wong released her debut album, Shirley Wong Ching-man, a stage name she then used, which won her Commercial Radio’s Ultimate Female Newcomer(Bronze) award. In 1991, she left for the United States to study music. When she returned the next year, she released the album Coming Home, which became her first platinum record. She retrieved her real name, Wong Fei - Faye Wong - in 1994 and has so far made 22 studio albums.

In 1997, Wong announced she would make no more Cantonese albums when she left Cinepoly for global giant EMI. But she does sing the occcasional Cantonese song in addition to the records in Putonghua. “It is a marketing decision,” she says. “To sing well, one has to master the language in order to deliver the best sound. Putonghua is my native tongue so naturally I’m more confident with this language. But records are considered a commodity and we must take sales into account.”

Wong’s singing and songwriting talents, if widely recognised, are often tagged under the “alternative” label, although she has been voted best female singer on numerous occasions in Hong Kong, the mainland and Southeast Asia, and took the best alternative song composition trophy last year at the CASH Golden Sail Awards in the SAR with Han Wu Jie.

This kind of success usually brings a measure of satisfaction, so how does Wong still find herself singing songs she deosn’t particularly like? “I enjoy performing my own compositions but my taste in music is too off-mainstream and only a few people appreciate that,” says Wong, who has covered songs by Tori Amos and collaborated with Cocteau Twins. “I know what the masses like and I know they skip my compositions and listen to the commercial tracks. Hong Kong is not like Japan, where it accomodates various musical styles. I have too many business partners and I must consider their interests as well. I’m more mature now and I strike a balance between my personal interests and commercial value.”

Thus, she is promoting her new film. It is the Lunar New Year crowd-drawer Chinese Odyssey 2002, her fourth film, in which she plays opposite Tony Leung Chiu-wai. It is also a testament to her new, more-mellow attitude. When she last played opposite Leung in Chungking Express in 1994, Wong barely spoke to her co-star. This time, in a hectic two-month shoot over Christmas, she says the pair got on well. Leung told the South China Morning Post she “seemed like a different person this time. She is very cheerful and friendly.”

Wong plays the role of Princess Wu Shuang, who escapes from her palace for fun, often disguising herself as a man, only for both a man and a woman to fall for her. “Filming Chungking Express was painful for me because I had no idea what I was doing at all,” she says. “But Chinese Odyssey 2002 was an enjoyable experience - though I didn’t have time to sleep. The team spirit was fantastic.”

But it’s not just her character that changed between the two movies, she insists. Wong Kar-wai, the director of Chungking Express, and Jeff Lau Chun-wai, who wrote and directed Chinese Odyssey 2002, were two extremes. “As I am not confident and experienced with acting, I need demonstrations on how to act,” she says. “Jeff gave me very clear direction: he is willing to teach, whereas Wong Kar-wai did not want me to understand what was on his mind. I just had to perform what he told me to and some of the situations were quite embarrassing. Sometimes I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. It was good for me because there was no need for me to analyse the character. But now I want to know more about acting.”

In Wong’s 1994 song Exit, she describes herself as having a lack of patience. That’s one thing that has not changed. After 30 minutes, a clutch of cigarettes and a snack attack of toast, she gets up with an “Is that OK?” and has exited left before even her hovering assistants can pretend it was their idea.

------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

[justsimplylovely]

(Bloomberg) -- Five candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister clashed over Brexit in the first TV debate of the Conservative leadership election on Sunday. But the face of Brexit and clear front-runner in the race, Boris Johnson, was criticized after he refused to take part in the Channel 4 broadcast. The contest continues with the second round of voting on Tuesday.Must read: His Critics Say He Lies, But Tories Want to Trust Boris JohnsonKey DevelopmentsDominic Raab sparred with rivals over his threat to suspend Parliament in order to get Britain out of the EU with no dealRaab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid took part in the first television debate on Channel 4 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned Parliament will find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit, and rebel Tories could vote to topple the next PM YouGov/Sunday Times Poll put Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in lead on 24%, with Conservatives and Labour tied on 21%. Liberal Democrats were on 19%. Stewart Wins Applause, Offers to Engage Farage (7:15 p.m.)TV audiences are notoriously unreliable as indicators of broader political appeal, but Rory Stewart won more applause than other candidates in the debate. He has run a convention-defying campaign based on social media and a national tour with the hashtag RoryWalks.But he has his work cut out. Stewart is currently in last place in the MPs’ ballot and needs a major injection of support to avoid being knocked out of the race on Tuesday.In the debate, Stewart said he would be willing to work with Nigel Farage on delivering Brexit. Broadening the Tory party’s support is something to be "proud" of, he said. "I’m not ashamed of the fact that Lib Dem and Labour voters say that they would vote for me."Stewart insisted the "energy" in Britain is in the political center-ground and that compromise is vital. "I think we need to work to listen to each other and above all to bring this country together," he said. It was a popular message with the Channel 4 audience but may not persuade enough Tory MPs.Javid: Raab’s No-deal Plan Worthy of ‘Dictator’ (6:55 p.m.)Home Secretary Sajid Javid led the attacks on Dominic Raab over his suggestion that Parliament may need to be suspended in order to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. "We are not selecting a dictator of our country, we are selecting a prime minister," Javid said.Then Raab and Michael Gove traded blows over the same issue. Gove used to be Raab’s ally in the Ministry of Justice and the Vote Leave referendum campaign but he condemned his rival, saying suspending Parliament "would be a terrible thing."Raab insisted the option should not be ruled out and shot back at Gove: "You would buckle." But Gove countered: "You cannot take Britain out of the European Union against the will of Parliament."It was a passionate exchange, with the two men talking across each other as they tried to get their messages over. Rory Stewart accused his party colleagues of engaging in a macho showdown.Tory Rivals Begin Channel 4 TV Debate (6:30 p.m.)Channel 4 have left an empty lectern where Boris Johnson would have stood in the first televised debate. But his five rivals -- Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart -- all turned up.The first question focused on how to defeat Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party."We are all saying the same thing -- the only way to defeat the Brexit Party is to Brexit," said Hunt, who is in second place after the first round of voting in the election. It is vital to defeat Corbyn too, Hunt said, because the Labour leader is opposed to British values and is "against Britain".Rudd: Rebels Would Topple No-Deal Government (12 p.m.)Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would not vote to topple the government in a no-confidence vote but her colleagues would, if it were the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit.“There are number of colleagues who have gone public saying they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that," Rudd said in a BBC interview. "Any candidate needs to factor that in as well into their strategy for the next few months.”Asked if she believed the numbers of rebels were easily enough to defeat the government on a no-confidence motion, potentially triggering the collapse of the government, Rudd replied: “I believe they are, yes.”Hunt Would Serve Under PM Johnson (11 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would serve "loyally" in a Johnson government if the front-runner becomes prime minister. Hunt is Johnson’s nearest rival -- in a distant second place -- after the first round of voting in the leadership contest among Tory MPs.Despite his pledge, Hunt stepped up his attack on Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying his rival’s refusal to countenance another delay beyond the Oct. 31 deadline would push Britain into a no-deal breakup from the EU or a general election."What Boris is offering -- a hard stop at any cost on Oct. 31 -- means that he is effectively committing the country to no-deal" or an election, Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. These are not the best choices his party can offer the country, he said.Hunt said EU leaders would be open to re-negotiating the Brexit deal to remove the need for the contentious Irish border backstop plan. This could include rewriting the political declaration on the future U.K.-EU partnership to make it legally binding, he said.Stewart Rules Out Serving Under Johnson (10:30 a.m.)There have been conflicting messages about whether Rory Stewart, an outsider for the leadership who has run a vigorous social media campaign, would serve in a Johnson-led government. On Sunday he ruled it out. "I would not serve in a Boris cabinet," Stewart told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Stewart insisted he wanted to change the country and offered a clear alternative vision for Brexit to Johnson’s and predicted he will win. He challenged Johnson to show up at Sunday’s Channel 4 TV debate among the rival contenders so they can cross-examine his policies."Who do you trust?" Stewart said. "We want to know what he believes. We want him to sit in this debate tonight and tell us."Raab Praises Johnson’s ‘Huge Talents’ (10 a.m.)Dominic Raab, who came fourth in the first round of the leadership voting last week, said he’s not pitching for a job in a Johnson cabinet. But he praised the man he called the "front-runner" in the campaign and said he would not be "petulant" and rule out serving in his government."Boris has got huge talents, he’s a great charismatic character, fizzing with optimism," Raab said. "I just think that when it comes to not just vision but getting things done I will be in a better place."The contender refused to back down on his suggestion that Parliament might need to be suspended to get Brexit done.It’s important to keep the option open as a negotiating tactic as well as to deliver on the will of voters who backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, he said. Failure will force the Conservatives out of power, Raab told Sky News. "The Tory party will be toast unless we are out by the end of October."Rudd: Parliament Will Block No-Deal (9:39 a.m.)Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who is backing Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign, warned Johnson he won’t get away with forcing through a no-deal Brexit. Rudd told Sky News Parliament will find "a way" to stop the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreement, despite Johnson’s promises to complete the split by the Oct. 31 deadline, come what may. The Commons Speaker John Bercow is “an activist" and will ensure MPs have a say, she said.Rudd criticized Johnson and others who aren’t ruling out suspending Parliament in order to stop MPs blocking a no-deal divorce. That would be “ridiculous" and “outrageous," she said.Ellwood Backs Stewart, Says Johnson Fine (9:20 a.m.)Junior Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said he was supporting Matt Hancock in the election but is now backing Rory Stewart. While Johnson would make a fine prime minister, he should be tested in the heat of a national campaign, Ellwood said.Labour’s Benn Says He Will Try to Stop No-Deal (9:05 a.m)Hilary Benn, the Labour MP chairing Parliament’s Brexit select committee, said he would fight Johnson if he tried to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal. He said there are "one or two" options for the House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit and attacked Tory leadership contenders who are threatening to suspend Parliament to force one through."It would be scandalous to try and use that to in effect shut the doors of Parliament," Benn told Sky television’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I simply don’t think it’s going to happen."Earlier:McVey to Support Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid, Telegraph SaysTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, James Amott, V. RamakrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2WFF6aM

[myeclecticcollectorblazeus]

(Bloomberg) -- Five candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister clashed over Brexit in the first TV debate of the Conservative leadership election on Sunday. But the face of Brexit and clear front-runner in the race, Boris Johnson, was criticized after he refused to take part in the Channel 4 broadcast. The contest continues with the second round of voting on Tuesday.Must read: His Critics Say He Lies, But Tories Want to Trust Boris JohnsonKey DevelopmentsDominic Raab sparred with rivals over his threat to suspend Parliament in order to get Britain out of the EU with no dealRaab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid took part in the first television debate on Channel 4 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned Parliament will find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit, and rebel Tories could vote to topple the next PM YouGov/Sunday Times Poll put Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in lead on 24%, with Conservatives and Labour tied on 21%. Liberal Democrats were on 19%. Stewart Wins Applause, Offers to Engage Farage (7:15 p.m.)TV audiences are notoriously unreliable as indicators of broader political appeal, but Rory Stewart won more applause than other candidates in the debate. He has run a convention-defying campaign based on social media and a national tour with the hashtag RoryWalks.But he has his work cut out. Stewart is currently in last place in the MPs’ ballot and needs a major injection of support to avoid being knocked out of the race on Tuesday.In the debate, Stewart said he would be willing to work with Nigel Farage on delivering Brexit. Broadening the Tory party’s support is something to be "proud" of, he said. "I’m not ashamed of the fact that Lib Dem and Labour voters say that they would vote for me."Stewart insisted the "energy" in Britain is in the political center-ground and that compromise is vital. "I think we need to work to listen to each other and above all to bring this country together," he said. It was a popular message with the Channel 4 audience but may not persuade enough Tory MPs.Javid: Raab’s No-deal Plan Worthy of ‘Dictator’ (6:55 p.m.)Home Secretary Sajid Javid led the attacks on Dominic Raab over his suggestion that Parliament may need to be suspended in order to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. "We are not selecting a dictator of our country, we are selecting a prime minister," Javid said.Then Raab and Michael Gove traded blows over the same issue. Gove used to be Raab’s ally in the Ministry of Justice and the Vote Leave referendum campaign but he condemned his rival, saying suspending Parliament "would be a terrible thing."Raab insisted the option should not be ruled out and shot back at Gove: "You would buckle." But Gove countered: "You cannot take Britain out of the European Union against the will of Parliament."It was a passionate exchange, with the two men talking across each other as they tried to get their messages over. Rory Stewart accused his party colleagues of engaging in a macho showdown.Tory Rivals Begin Channel 4 TV Debate (6:30 p.m.)Channel 4 have left an empty lectern where Boris Johnson would have stood in the first televised debate. But his five rivals -- Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart -- all turned up.The first question focused on how to defeat Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party."We are all saying the same thing -- the only way to defeat the Brexit Party is to Brexit," said Hunt, who is in second place after the first round of voting in the election. It is vital to defeat Corbyn too, Hunt said, because the Labour leader is opposed to British values and is "against Britain".Rudd: Rebels Would Topple No-Deal Government (12 p.m.)Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would not vote to topple the government in a no-confidence vote but her colleagues would, if it were the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit.“There are number of colleagues who have gone public saying they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that," Rudd said in a BBC interview. "Any candidate needs to factor that in as well into their strategy for the next few months.”Asked if she believed the numbers of rebels were easily enough to defeat the government on a no-confidence motion, potentially triggering the collapse of the government, Rudd replied: “I believe they are, yes.”Hunt Would Serve Under PM Johnson (11 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would serve "loyally" in a Johnson government if the front-runner becomes prime minister. Hunt is Johnson’s nearest rival -- in a distant second place -- after the first round of voting in the leadership contest among Tory MPs.Despite his pledge, Hunt stepped up his attack on Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying his rival’s refusal to countenance another delay beyond the Oct. 31 deadline would push Britain into a no-deal breakup from the EU or a general election."What Boris is offering -- a hard stop at any cost on Oct. 31 -- means that he is effectively committing the country to no-deal" or an election, Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. These are not the best choices his party can offer the country, he said.Hunt said EU leaders would be open to re-negotiating the Brexit deal to remove the need for the contentious Irish border backstop plan. This could include rewriting the political declaration on the future U.K.-EU partnership to make it legally binding, he said.Stewart Rules Out Serving Under Johnson (10:30 a.m.)There have been conflicting messages about whether Rory Stewart, an outsider for the leadership who has run a vigorous social media campaign, would serve in a Johnson-led government. On Sunday he ruled it out. "I would not serve in a Boris cabinet," Stewart told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Stewart insisted he wanted to change the country and offered a clear alternative vision for Brexit to Johnson’s and predicted he will win. He challenged Johnson to show up at Sunday’s Channel 4 TV debate among the rival contenders so they can cross-examine his policies."Who do you trust?" Stewart said. "We want to know what he believes. We want him to sit in this debate tonight and tell us."Raab Praises Johnson’s ‘Huge Talents’ (10 a.m.)Dominic Raab, who came fourth in the first round of the leadership voting last week, said he’s not pitching for a job in a Johnson cabinet. But he praised the man he called the "front-runner" in the campaign and said he would not be "petulant" and rule out serving in his government."Boris has got huge talents, he’s a great charismatic character, fizzing with optimism," Raab said. "I just think that when it comes to not just vision but getting things done I will be in a better place."The contender refused to back down on his suggestion that Parliament might need to be suspended to get Brexit done.It’s important to keep the option open as a negotiating tactic as well as to deliver on the will of voters who backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, he said. Failure will force the Conservatives out of power, Raab told Sky News. "The Tory party will be toast unless we are out by the end of October."Rudd: Parliament Will Block No-Deal (9:39 a.m.)Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who is backing Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign, warned Johnson he won’t get away with forcing through a no-deal Brexit. Rudd told Sky News Parliament will find "a way" to stop the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreement, despite Johnson’s promises to complete the split by the Oct. 31 deadline, come what may. The Commons Speaker John Bercow is “an activist" and will ensure MPs have a say, she said.Rudd criticized Johnson and others who aren’t ruling out suspending Parliament in order to stop MPs blocking a no-deal divorce. That would be “ridiculous" and “outrageous," she said.Ellwood Backs Stewart, Says Johnson Fine (9:20 a.m.)Junior Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said he was supporting Matt Hancock in the election but is now backing Rory Stewart. While Johnson would make a fine prime minister, he should be tested in the heat of a national campaign, Ellwood said.Labour’s Benn Says He Will Try to Stop No-Deal (9:05 a.m)Hilary Benn, the Labour MP chairing Parliament’s Brexit select committee, said he would fight Johnson if he tried to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal. He said there are "one or two" options for the House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit and attacked Tory leadership contenders who are threatening to suspend Parliament to force one through."It would be scandalous to try and use that to in effect shut the doors of Parliament," Benn told Sky television’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I simply don’t think it’s going to happen."Earlier:McVey to Support Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid, Telegraph SaysTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, James Amott, V. RamakrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2WFF6aM

[supertrendingnewsarticles]

(Bloomberg) -- Five candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister clashed over Brexit in the first TV debate of the Conservative leadership election on Sunday. But the face of Brexit and clear front-runner in the race, Boris Johnson, was criticized after he refused to take part in the Channel 4 broadcast. The contest continues with the second round of voting on Tuesday.Must read: His Critics Say He Lies, But Tories Want to Trust Boris JohnsonKey DevelopmentsDominic Raab sparred with rivals over his threat to suspend Parliament in order to get Britain out of the EU with no dealRaab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid took part in the first television debate on Channel 4 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned Parliament will find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit, and rebel Tories could vote to topple the next PM YouGov/Sunday Times Poll put Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in lead on 24%, with Conservatives and Labour tied on 21%. Liberal Democrats were on 19%. Stewart Wins Applause, Offers to Engage Farage (7:15 p.m.)TV audiences are notoriously unreliable as indicators of broader political appeal, but Rory Stewart won more applause than other candidates in the debate. He has run a convention-defying campaign based on social media and a national tour with the hashtag RoryWalks.But he has his work cut out. Stewart is currently in last place in the MPs’ ballot and needs a major injection of support to avoid being knocked out of the race on Tuesday.In the debate, Stewart said he would be willing to work with Nigel Farage on delivering Brexit. Broadening the Tory party’s support is something to be "proud" of, he said. "I’m not ashamed of the fact that Lib Dem and Labour voters say that they would vote for me."Stewart insisted the "energy" in Britain is in the political center-ground and that compromise is vital. "I think we need to work to listen to each other and above all to bring this country together," he said. It was a popular message with the Channel 4 audience but may not persuade enough Tory MPs.Javid: Raab’s No-deal Plan Worthy of ‘Dictator’ (6:55 p.m.)Home Secretary Sajid Javid led the attacks on Dominic Raab over his suggestion that Parliament may need to be suspended in order to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. "We are not selecting a dictator of our country, we are selecting a prime minister," Javid said.Then Raab and Michael Gove traded blows over the same issue. Gove used to be Raab’s ally in the Ministry of Justice and the Vote Leave referendum campaign but he condemned his rival, saying suspending Parliament "would be a terrible thing."Raab insisted the option should not be ruled out and shot back at Gove: "You would buckle." But Gove countered: "You cannot take Britain out of the European Union against the will of Parliament."It was a passionate exchange, with the two men talking across each other as they tried to get their messages over. Rory Stewart accused his party colleagues of engaging in a macho showdown.Tory Rivals Begin Channel 4 TV Debate (6:30 p.m.)Channel 4 have left an empty lectern where Boris Johnson would have stood in the first televised debate. But his five rivals -- Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart -- all turned up.The first question focused on how to defeat Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party."We are all saying the same thing -- the only way to defeat the Brexit Party is to Brexit," said Hunt, who is in second place after the first round of voting in the election. It is vital to defeat Corbyn too, Hunt said, because the Labour leader is opposed to British values and is "against Britain".Rudd: Rebels Would Topple No-Deal Government (12 p.m.)Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would not vote to topple the government in a no-confidence vote but her colleagues would, if it were the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit.“There are number of colleagues who have gone public saying they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that," Rudd said in a BBC interview. "Any candidate needs to factor that in as well into their strategy for the next few months.”Asked if she believed the numbers of rebels were easily enough to defeat the government on a no-confidence motion, potentially triggering the collapse of the government, Rudd replied: “I believe they are, yes.”Hunt Would Serve Under PM Johnson (11 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would serve "loyally" in a Johnson government if the front-runner becomes prime minister. Hunt is Johnson’s nearest rival -- in a distant second place -- after the first round of voting in the leadership contest among Tory MPs.Despite his pledge, Hunt stepped up his attack on Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying his rival’s refusal to countenance another delay beyond the Oct. 31 deadline would push Britain into a no-deal breakup from the EU or a general election."What Boris is offering -- a hard stop at any cost on Oct. 31 -- means that he is effectively committing the country to no-deal" or an election, Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. These are not the best choices his party can offer the country, he said.Hunt said EU leaders would be open to re-negotiating the Brexit deal to remove the need for the contentious Irish border backstop plan. This could include rewriting the political declaration on the future U.K.-EU partnership to make it legally binding, he said.Stewart Rules Out Serving Under Johnson (10:30 a.m.)There have been conflicting messages about whether Rory Stewart, an outsider for the leadership who has run a vigorous social media campaign, would serve in a Johnson-led government. On Sunday he ruled it out. "I would not serve in a Boris cabinet," Stewart told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Stewart insisted he wanted to change the country and offered a clear alternative vision for Brexit to Johnson’s and predicted he will win. He challenged Johnson to show up at Sunday’s Channel 4 TV debate among the rival contenders so they can cross-examine his policies."Who do you trust?" Stewart said. "We want to know what he believes. We want him to sit in this debate tonight and tell us."Raab Praises Johnson’s ‘Huge Talents’ (10 a.m.)Dominic Raab, who came fourth in the first round of the leadership voting last week, said he’s not pitching for a job in a Johnson cabinet. But he praised the man he called the "front-runner" in the campaign and said he would not be "petulant" and rule out serving in his government."Boris has got huge talents, he’s a great charismatic character, fizzing with optimism," Raab said. "I just think that when it comes to not just vision but getting things done I will be in a better place."The contender refused to back down on his suggestion that Parliament might need to be suspended to get Brexit done.It’s important to keep the option open as a negotiating tactic as well as to deliver on the will of voters who backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, he said. Failure will force the Conservatives out of power, Raab told Sky News. "The Tory party will be toast unless we are out by the end of October."Rudd: Parliament Will Block No-Deal (9:39 a.m.)Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who is backing Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign, warned Johnson he won’t get away with forcing through a no-deal Brexit. Rudd told Sky News Parliament will find "a way" to stop the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreement, despite Johnson’s promises to complete the split by the Oct. 31 deadline, come what may. The Commons Speaker John Bercow is “an activist" and will ensure MPs have a say, she said.Rudd criticized Johnson and others who aren’t ruling out suspending Parliament in order to stop MPs blocking a no-deal divorce. That would be “ridiculous" and “outrageous," she said.Ellwood Backs Stewart, Says Johnson Fine (9:20 a.m.)Junior Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said he was supporting Matt Hancock in the election but is now backing Rory Stewart. While Johnson would make a fine prime minister, he should be tested in the heat of a national campaign, Ellwood said.Labour’s Benn Says He Will Try to Stop No-Deal (9:05 a.m)Hilary Benn, the Labour MP chairing Parliament’s Brexit select committee, said he would fight Johnson if he tried to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal. He said there are "one or two" options for the House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit and attacked Tory leadership contenders who are threatening to suspend Parliament to force one through."It would be scandalous to try and use that to in effect shut the doors of Parliament," Benn told Sky television’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I simply don’t think it’s going to happen."Earlier:McVey to Support Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid, Telegraph SaysTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, James Amott, V. RamakrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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(Bloomberg) -- Five candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister clashed over Brexit in the first TV debate of the Conservative leadership election on Sunday. But the face of Brexit and clear front-runner in the race, Boris Johnson, was criticized after he refused to take part in the Channel 4 broadcast. The contest continues with the second round of voting on Tuesday.Must read: His Critics Say He Lies, But Tories Want to Trust Boris JohnsonKey DevelopmentsDominic Raab sparred with rivals over his threat to suspend Parliament in order to get Britain out of the EU with no dealRaab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid took part in the first television debate on Channel 4 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned Parliament will find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit, and rebel Tories could vote to topple the next PM YouGov/Sunday Times Poll put Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in lead on 24%, with Conservatives and Labour tied on 21%. Liberal Democrats were on 19%. Stewart Wins Applause, Offers to Engage Farage (7:15 p.m.)TV audiences are notoriously unreliable as indicators of broader political appeal, but Rory Stewart won more applause than other candidates in the debate. He has run a convention-defying campaign based on social media and a national tour with the hashtag RoryWalks.But he has his work cut out. Stewart is currently in last place in the MPs’ ballot and needs a major injection of support to avoid being knocked out of the race on Tuesday.In the debate, Stewart said he would be willing to work with Nigel Farage on delivering Brexit. Broadening the Tory party’s support is something to be "proud" of, he said. "I’m not ashamed of the fact that Lib Dem and Labour voters say that they would vote for me."Stewart insisted the "energy" in Britain is in the political center-ground and that compromise is vital. "I think we need to work to listen to each other and above all to bring this country together," he said. It was a popular message with the Channel 4 audience but may not persuade enough Tory MPs.Javid: Raab’s No-deal Plan Worthy of ‘Dictator’ (6:55 p.m.)Home Secretary Sajid Javid led the attacks on Dominic Raab over his suggestion that Parliament may need to be suspended in order to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. "We are not selecting a dictator of our country, we are selecting a prime minister," Javid said.Then Raab and Michael Gove traded blows over the same issue. Gove used to be Raab’s ally in the Ministry of Justice and the Vote Leave referendum campaign but he condemned his rival, saying suspending Parliament "would be a terrible thing."Raab insisted the option should not be ruled out and shot back at Gove: "You would buckle." But Gove countered: "You cannot take Britain out of the European Union against the will of Parliament."It was a passionate exchange, with the two men talking across each other as they tried to get their messages over. Rory Stewart accused his party colleagues of engaging in a macho showdown.Tory Rivals Begin Channel 4 TV Debate (6:30 p.m.)Channel 4 have left an empty lectern where Boris Johnson would have stood in the first televised debate. But his five rivals -- Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart -- all turned up.The first question focused on how to defeat Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party."We are all saying the same thing -- the only way to defeat the Brexit Party is to Brexit," said Hunt, who is in second place after the first round of voting in the election. It is vital to defeat Corbyn too, Hunt said, because the Labour leader is opposed to British values and is "against Britain".Rudd: Rebels Would Topple No-Deal Government (12 p.m.)Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would not vote to topple the government in a no-confidence vote but her colleagues would, if it were the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit.“There are number of colleagues who have gone public saying they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that," Rudd said in a BBC interview. "Any candidate needs to factor that in as well into their strategy for the next few months.”Asked if she believed the numbers of rebels were easily enough to defeat the government on a no-confidence motion, potentially triggering the collapse of the government, Rudd replied: “I believe they are, yes.”Hunt Would Serve Under PM Johnson (11 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would serve "loyally" in a Johnson government if the front-runner becomes prime minister. Hunt is Johnson’s nearest rival -- in a distant second place -- after the first round of voting in the leadership contest among Tory MPs.Despite his pledge, Hunt stepped up his attack on Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying his rival’s refusal to countenance another delay beyond the Oct. 31 deadline would push Britain into a no-deal breakup from the EU or a general election."What Boris is offering -- a hard stop at any cost on Oct. 31 -- means that he is effectively committing the country to no-deal" or an election, Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. These are not the best choices his party can offer the country, he said.Hunt said EU leaders would be open to re-negotiating the Brexit deal to remove the need for the contentious Irish border backstop plan. This could include rewriting the political declaration on the future U.K.-EU partnership to make it legally binding, he said.Stewart Rules Out Serving Under Johnson (10:30 a.m.)There have been conflicting messages about whether Rory Stewart, an outsider for the leadership who has run a vigorous social media campaign, would serve in a Johnson-led government. On Sunday he ruled it out. "I would not serve in a Boris cabinet," Stewart told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Stewart insisted he wanted to change the country and offered a clear alternative vision for Brexit to Johnson’s and predicted he will win. He challenged Johnson to show up at Sunday’s Channel 4 TV debate among the rival contenders so they can cross-examine his policies."Who do you trust?" Stewart said. "We want to know what he believes. We want him to sit in this debate tonight and tell us."Raab Praises Johnson’s ‘Huge Talents’ (10 a.m.)Dominic Raab, who came fourth in the first round of the leadership voting last week, said he’s not pitching for a job in a Johnson cabinet. But he praised the man he called the "front-runner" in the campaign and said he would not be "petulant" and rule out serving in his government."Boris has got huge talents, he’s a great charismatic character, fizzing with optimism," Raab said. "I just think that when it comes to not just vision but getting things done I will be in a better place."The contender refused to back down on his suggestion that Parliament might need to be suspended to get Brexit done.It’s important to keep the option open as a negotiating tactic as well as to deliver on the will of voters who backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, he said. Failure will force the Conservatives out of power, Raab told Sky News. "The Tory party will be toast unless we are out by the end of October."Rudd: Parliament Will Block No-Deal (9:39 a.m.)Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who is backing Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign, warned Johnson he won’t get away with forcing through a no-deal Brexit. Rudd told Sky News Parliament will find "a way" to stop the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreement, despite Johnson’s promises to complete the split by the Oct. 31 deadline, come what may. The Commons Speaker John Bercow is “an activist" and will ensure MPs have a say, she said.Rudd criticized Johnson and others who aren’t ruling out suspending Parliament in order to stop MPs blocking a no-deal divorce. That would be “ridiculous" and “outrageous," she said.Ellwood Backs Stewart, Says Johnson Fine (9:20 a.m.)Junior Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said he was supporting Matt Hancock in the election but is now backing Rory Stewart. While Johnson would make a fine prime minister, he should be tested in the heat of a national campaign, Ellwood said.Labour’s Benn Says He Will Try to Stop No-Deal (9:05 a.m)Hilary Benn, the Labour MP chairing Parliament’s Brexit select committee, said he would fight Johnson if he tried to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal. He said there are "one or two" options for the House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit and attacked Tory leadership contenders who are threatening to suspend Parliament to force one through."It would be scandalous to try and use that to in effect shut the doors of Parliament," Benn told Sky television’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I simply don’t think it’s going to happen."Earlier:McVey to Support Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid, Telegraph SaysTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at tross54@bloomberg.net;Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, James Amott, V. RamakrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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