#i just wanted to draw a different type of bloke Quick

[secret-rendezvous1d]

Ummm you HAVE to write the blurb of them fucking against the desk

I brought this upon myself, haha-

Read the first part here.

Thrilling.

A word that she never thought she would use when speaking about Spencer. It wasn’t that she was speaking ill of him or belittling him for living a life that was, by a margin, different to the rest of the team... it was simply because she never expected him to be as adventurous or as outgoing as he was being with her in that moment.

She was no stranger to sex; feeling the body of a man between her legs wasn’t a common occurrence in her life, and she didn’t actively go looking for a bloke to shag and send on his way to be forgotten about, but she couldn’t complain when she had a sex life to brag about... even if it wasn’t at a prime, right then and there. Her sex life was like an open book, she’d call it that herself, because she never had any limits to how and when and where it began. Car sex was on her list, sex in a plane bathroom was something she was willing to try out, sex at a time when it should have been forbidden was something she thought about a lot of the time. Maybe she was having a drought... maybe she was feeling a type of way... maybe it was newfound feelings that she probably should have thought about before she hopped up on the desk for him... whatever it was, she was glad that dry-spell was coming to an end.

YN just assumed that Spencer wasn’t necessarily the type to bring the moment to something so intimate, expecting nothing but vanilla sex and a quick orgasm, so she felt pleasantly surprised to see this side of him. A side that not everyone had the privilege of knowing but a side she wished he showed more of... the arrogant side, the side that wanted to be in constant control, the side that made him so much more dominant than was necessary but happened to be the a side that made him hotter. More attractive. Sexier, to say the least.

Their friendship could be put on hold because this was a long time coming.

“You’re so tight for me,” he grunts into her shoulder, his hot breath slipping into the cotton of her black blouse and heating up her already flushed skin, “so tight and warm.”

Her fingers found the ringlets of his hair, tugging roughly on the sensitive hairs that grew from the nape of his neck, tightening her fist and her grip with each and every thrust of his cock that he pushed into her. His balls slapping against the bare skin of her bum. A leg hooked around his waist and a heel digging into the base of his back, knickers and the denim of her jeans hanging from around her ankle, as she kept her other foot upon the ground to keep her stable. The desk rocking back and forth beneath her that matched the movements of his hips, the rattle of her pens barely being heard beneath their pants and their moans and groans, the squeak of the legs going missed and if it broke under their weight... then, well, it broke and there wasn’t much they could do about it.

“Fuck- Spencer,” she draws out his name in an elongated moan and rolls her head back on the ball of her neck, allowing his face to bury itself deep into the crook of her collarbone. Her head rolling to the left which allowed her cheek to press against the soft hairs sprouting from the top of his head, “harder.”

“Harder,” he whispers to himself to remind him not to get too carried away with what he wanted from her. He needed her and he didn’t want to be clouded by the narcism that could take over if he got too ignorant with his own needs and desires, “deeper.”

She didn’t think he could go any deeper and she could feel him where no other bloke had ever reached before, filling her up whole and making her feel full and satisfied yet not completely satisfied because she craved more from him. She needed more, she needed to feel him, she wanted to keep him where he laid because it was nothing like she’d felt before with anyone. 

“Fuck, I-” he croaks, his voice dribbling out to nothing and his mouth moves to what he wants to say but his voice just doesn’t cooperate, his forehead falling to her shoulder as he slows his thrusts and focuses on filling her whole, till she begs for him to stop, “tell me you love this. Tell me I’m better than anyone else you’ve had. Tell me I fuck you good.”

“So much better,” she pants, removing a fist from his hair so she could trail her palm down between their bodies, snaking her arm around his waist and pushing her fingers into the flesh of his bum. A bum that would be bare for anyone and everyone to see if they were to walk in on them. “So good, Spence. So big, so thick, fill me up so good. Better than anyone-”

She gasps when he gives her one particular rough thrust, his cock touching her somewhere she longed and craved to be touched, and she gulps thickly. Her head rolls back again, his head lifting from her shoulder so he could revel in the state of her, his stomach tingling with the excitement.

“So good, Spence. Better than anyone ever. You feel so good.”

She says it with a gravel tone, her voice scratchy and sore and he can tell she’s almost finished, her eyes dropping and matching the volume of her voice. And, truth be told, so was he. His balls ached for a release and, even though he did not want it to come to an end, he wanted to fill her up so she leaked his orgasm in a place that left a constant reminder for her to never forget. 

Her desk. 

The one that she sat at every morning to drink her cup of coffee and perched upon every night before she left to go home. The one that she spent more time at as she completed paperwork and case review. The one with the drawer that had small fidget toys to use as everyone waited for a case to come through. And, now, it was one that held a memory she couldn’t forget... a memory that would bring back thoughts and feelings that would make her long for him... a memory that he wouldn’t forget when he glanced over at her to sneak a look in.

“Gon’a cum,” he murmurs lowly, “let me fuck that baby into you.”

And just at the statement, she’s clenching rhythmically around the girth of him as he twitches and lets his thrusts become sloppy and spurts out the white strings of his orgasm into her. Letting their juices mix around him. His thighs tensing and shaking as he struggles to keep his position stable as her leg went rigid and tightened, bringing him closer to her so she could really enjoy every last moment of their time together, losing her footing with the foot that stayed upon the floor.

“So-”

“Wow-”

He laughs as she giggles, neither of them finishing their sentences, and she looks around the empty bullpen from over Spencer’s shoulder. Lights still on and shining brightly from above them, the hallway still empty and leaving no trace of anyone else, 

“That was incredible,” she tells him as he steps back from between her legs and brings his boxer shorts and his black trousers back up to sit around his waist, his belt undone and hanging by his hips. She situates herself before she stands up on wobbly legs, the floor feeling different as she tried to balance her clouded vision with the throb between her thighs, pulling her jeans back up and zipping up the flies beneath her button, “I didn’t know you had that in you.”

“I’m not as soft as you think I am.”

“Is that so?” She queries and he cocks an eyebrow and smirks at her, “I might have to try and find out some more about you, Reid.”

“And, I’m okay with that.” xx

[sagittariusboyfriend]

im gonna do a "how i see the signs" as well!!

traditionally masculine aries: a force of creativity. oftentimes politically correct. very friendly and easy to talk to, but will shift in temper and energy depending on whether or not he is in focus. musically inclined.

traditionally feminine aries: also a force of creativity. a kind of jittery energy that cant really be contained. might go up and down in volume a lot depending on social context but is always bursting to have a conversation. very awake and with fire in her eyes. openminded and wouldnt hurt a fly. artistically inclined.

trad. masc taurus: ugh horrible. forcefully straight forward, blunt in an unsensitive way, not that good at picking up on social cues because he is convinced of his reality. might be pompous and pretentious, even bitter. the flip side of venusian traits - pretty uncharming. snarky. way better at group/professional relationships than personal relationships. assertive in the workplace and is doing his job better than anyone else could.

trad. fem taurus: intelligent and an intellectual. sensual, assertive, has such a presence that people are in awe most of the time. might be pretentious but its actually genuine and doesnt come off as a negative trait. powerful.

trad. masc gemini: ahh gemini. witty, quick, reactive. genuine, but in short bursts. his intuition is based upon HOW he feels at any given moment, however he has no clue WHAT he feels. scared of emotions. might have a tendency to gaslight. obviously prone to communication and loves learning from history, but has a hard time seeing the bigger picture over the details. small things make or break him... for a week or so. then its forgotten, until something stirs it up 6 months later, and his emotions are all over the place; its like they get tossed up in the air and love might stick to the ceiling and pride to the wall and fear to that person over there and he has no idea where to start to assemble. charmingly childish, prone to grumpyness. social artisan regardless of controversial values or not. needs constant intellectual stimuli.

trad. fem gemini: does not need romantic relationships to feel like a complete person! prefers friendships over love relationships, and can usually pick and choose between lovers if on a romantic whim. not always even interested in shacking up with anyone, makes a happy independent single household. that "fun" friend. self-confident, quick, witty, might have a sharp tongue. absolutely excels in social situations and knows everyone in one way or another, and everyone knows of her in one way or another. prone to ghosting people for weeks because she simply forgets to respond. loses focus easily. probably works in sales. might come across as not so complex to other people.

trad. masc cancer: sweet, charming in a wholesome way. in tune with himself. intuitive and embraces and encourages talking about feelings. oftentimes very politically correct. might live somewhat of a fake life in the sense that he IS a family man, but cant help himself from wanting dirty, promiscuous sex for many hours with many random people. giving and generous - in every sense. probably does a lot of philantrophy or volonteers.

trad. fem cancer: reserved. exudes feminine energy, almost to a point that she is not comfortable with herself. very very sweet, just wants everyone to be okay. will disappear and reappear in social circles and no one will know where she has been, but theres an air of mystery to it and no one dares to ask. might be some kind of red preistess lol.

trad. masc leo: loyal, as long as he doesnt feel in the slightest that he has been made a fool of. very strong integrity, but an integrity that is based on image. easily approached, the nicest person in the room and will include and respect everyone. generous and genuinely loves anyone who does not come off as harmful, and will give you his last money if he feels you need it more. works hard to feel safe. creative in what he thinks is a funky way, but its actually pretty mainstream.

trad. fem leo: also honest, hard-working and loyal. integrity is also important. creative in traditionally artistic ways, like photography or drawing. has a natural authority but is the sweetest person and will NOT abuse it. very passionate about peoples equal value, doesnt really have a flare for drama at all, just wants to be stimulated. when she loves she loves with every fiber of her being and being affirmed by her partner is imperative to self-worth.

trad. masc virgo: retains information like a motherfucker! man, what a chattery bloke. an earth sign ruled by mercury makes the most, i think, well-rounded PR personality. gemini can frick off when it comes to arguments because trad. masc virgo WILL shut you down. he serves facts and will probably be a tad manipulative about it, but will also admit to it. doesnt really wait to run you over or quip back, and then just stares at you blankly as if he is waiting for a response. witty and warm like a sun to his closest, will make jabs and is cold like granite to people he doesnt like. might however have some ego issues.

trad. fem virgo: pretty much exactly like trad. masc virgo, only retains a certain jovial energy and a strong sense of nurturing and dicipline. very funny! authoritarian.

trad. masc libra: might come across as very calm and even meek at times. everyone likes him, no one dislikes him, but he isnt a big personality. nice and sweet and always positive. comfortable in the background as the glue that keeps groups together. not very verbally communicative, but ingenious when he channels his communication through music or art. wants to be appreciated and very much is. pretty private, but everyones friend.

trad. fem libra: full of the good venusian traits. loves love, loves good food, loves yoga, loves pampering herself and others. the best hostess you have ever met. has a hard time deciding on things and will make herself suffer through qualms and trials for days for something that, for anyone else, could have been decided within a couple of minutes. somewhat of a perfectionist. spiritual. gets along with everyone. very into female impowerment.

trad. masc scorpio: kind of rude, but smart. he doesnt know where it comes from, but his subconscious intuition oftentimes leads him to hidden truths, whether they are pleasant or not. might be the jealous type. can just trust his gut and will know exactly what is going on behind closed doors. intelligent in a very abstract way. might come across as always ready to strike just in case someone thinks they are better than him in any way.

trad. fem scorpio: does not show emotion easily. is very intelligent and knows how to lead a conversation where she wants it. inquisitive, literally opens her entire mind for you when you sit down one-on-one. not for anyone to enter, but for her to use ON you, and will analyze your behaviors to the core and dig around in there. make you see things from perspectives youve never even thought about. this could be used for bad, but usually its used for your own good because insight and truth, darkness into light is what she is after. intense. low key passionate. a great person to brainstorm with. excudes sultryness, but almost like a perfume, an illusion, mostly because people become so mesmerized with her psychological skill that they immediately figure she is coming on to them. powerful socially. doesnt want nor need drama, the quest for truth just gets ruthless sometimes. loyal if you dont mess with her integrity. unlike leo, her integrity is based on conscious and subconscious intuition. not into practical things in general. does not care for high morals.

trad. masc sagittarius: good at everything on the first try but gets bored easily, even depressed when forced into routine. diplomacy is important, so is personal freedom. a charismatic positive personality that shines bright and has an almost gravitational pull because of it. wants to be valued for his brain and generosity of free, non-traditional love and insight. learning is everything. the bigger picture is everything; abstract concepts that you can translate and cross-reference to different doctrines and schools and philosophies. on an eternal quest for knowledge in all situations, be it emotional or practical. "why do things work like this?" he asks and is genuinely excited to hear your and everyone elses reasoning. his goal in life is to get to know himself through others and to find firey partners to come along for the ride and share the fun. loathes drama, wants everyone to be accepting. optimistic. might be the guy many fall in love with but who is completely oblivious to it because he has his mind set on other things.

trad. fem sagittarius: very much like trad. masc sagittarius. also fierce, takes no shit, the life of the party, everyones instant friend and a BIG personality. equality is very important!

trad. masc capricorn: attractive, cold, sexual. on the grind, because everything works against him either way so he might as well work hard and overcome. dry humor and a smug smile, vicious eyes. but tender and fragile once you get to know him. so used to being the underdog in his own head that he hasnt realized everyone sees him as the leader. doesnt realize people follow him. doesnt care. is just and stern. is not afraid of delivering harsh truths, can shut you down with a look.

trad. fem capricorn: leads with silence. not because of shyness at all, its just a demeanor that comes naturally. although may have been shy when young, simply because of society. exudes power, unknowingly or knowlingly. intimidating and stylish as fuck. eloquent. uniformity is a keyword for everything. has learnt the hard way. hilarious dark humor. prefers respect to spectacle. is a force to be reckoned with and gains pretty much everyones respect.

trad. masc aquarius: might have a hard time deciding about personal freedom, what is and what isnt. contemplative, insightful, the least traditional of traditional men. high EQ, might prefer polyamorous relationships, almost lacks jealousy. tall and slender. very much capable of seeing through all points of view and will speak rationally. rarely gets heated in discussion because he just doesnt see the point in being reactive.

trad. fem aquarius: a higher being. high octave intuition; the person with the highest EQ youve ever met in your life. new insights with every breath. does NOT care for tradition, usually only indulges in the bare minimum of tradition to move about unnoticed in society as the penultimate alien being they are. she has an entirely different kind of mind that seems so complex and effortless at the same time, and her knowledge and ingenuity could change the world - if it was only ready for it. finds solutions to everything. altruistic. optimistic. so wise and so rebelliously young at the same time. manages to care for everyone and everything all the time. truly wondrous.

trad. masc pisces: an academic. a sensitive guy. highly philosophical, in its scholastic form. makes a good teacher of abstract concepts. always searching within himself first before speaking. interested in history and the human mind. constantly battles with feelings of not being good enough but always comes out as more and better than expected. probably very introvert.

trad. fem pisces: witchy. dreamy. some kind of seer. needs quite some time to process emotional impacts. has a tendency to mimick peoples traits and quirks without knowing it. very emotional, highly sensitive. very impressionable. open to and thirsty for new ways to make sense of all these emotional impacts, but might change ideologies and/or trim her sails to the current wind. conflicting subconscious emotional forces at play all the time which leads to a lot of self-doubt. not necessarily introvert, but introspective.

[chierafied]

Prompt: "Humans will pack bond with anything." I had wanted to give an ichiruki prompt, but this fits jily better. Good luck and thanks in advance!

This fic is like a year late but hey, I got it done in the end.

For the longest time I was drawing a total blank on the prompt but then my campus library made a post last summer on their instagram about their robot vacuum. And well, it all started to come together from there. :D

Hope you enjoy the fluff!

Life Outside of the Library

James Potter wasn’t typically the type to frequent a library. 

Sure, his mother had taken him to one sometimes when he’d been a kid. He had good memories from libraries and liked them in general. In James’ opinion, they were an important service to have and it was nice they existed. 

But sitting in a library wasn’t his preferred way to spend his spare time – not when there were football practices to go to, friends to see, video games to conquer and endless Youtube videos to laugh at.

And even if he did enjoy reading the occasional book, he didn’t feel a need to surround himself with them.

Now, though, in his twenties, James Potter had become a regular at his university’s library and had gained a whole new appreciation for them.

He loved his friends, and had a blast living with them – but sharing a flat with three other blokes did not offer the kind of environment to be productive in. And productive was what he desperately needed to be, now that he was working on his thesis.

Though to be fair, even had he lived alone, James still likely would’ve got more work done at the library: his home offered too many comforts and distractions for him to resist.

Besides, whenever he hit a snag with his writing or had trouble finding a good source to cite, he could go and ask one of the librarians for help. 

Like miracle workers, they tracked down the information he’d need or located a whole bunch of great sources for him.

He wasn’t quite sure how they did it, but he silently suspected that some sort of magic was involved.

James visited the library at least three times a week. Some days he only stayed close to an hour in the morning. On some rarer occasions, he came in as the doors opened and stayed in until closing.

Of course, James being James, he was also on a first-name basis with everyone working at the library.

Including the robot vacuum that silently whirred about the floors in the mornings, doing its thing. James called it Robert.

He swung in early one Monday morning, refreshed after the weekend and ready to get some more progress made on his thesis. 

He didn’t head straight for his usual spot in the quiet back corner but stopped at the information desk.

The librarian on duty smiled fondly at him.

“Here again, eh?”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be, Nora,” he replied, grinning. “How was your weekend? Does Thomas still have the flu?”

“The weekend went as well as could be expected,” Nora said. “Thomas is on the mend but he hasn’t gone back to school yet. He’s passed it off to his father though, so now I have another baby to nurse to health.”

James laughed. “Take care of yourself, too, and don’t get sick!”

“Thanks. Good luck with your thesis!”

James nodded his thanks and started toward his preferred spot.

In between the shelves, he came across Robert the robot vacuum, whirring about and keeping the carpets clean.

“Hullo, Robbie, mate,” James told it as he walked past.

He settled at his table and logged on to the desktop computer set there. Some students carried their laptops around, but James preferred not using his own laptop for the same reason he’d come to the library in the first place: to keep all distractions to a minimum.

It was working, though, since he had made a surprising amount of progress on his thesis.

Six weeks ago, he’d barely had an inkling of an idea. Now, he already had almost 15 pages written and his online survey was up and receiving responses. 

Today, he settled on refreshing his memory of the theory of his chosen research method. The theoretical and academic textbook wasn’t the most immersive book he’d ever read, but he lost the track of time nonetheless, scribbling down a couple of notes for himself on a scrap paper.

When his stomach started grumbling a few hours later, James typed up his notes, packed his things and left the library.

——————-

A week or two later, on a foggy Tuesday morning, James walked into the library. He hadn’t been at the library for over a week, as he’d gone home to visit his parents for the autumn break. 

He headed straight to the shelf holding reserved materials to pick up the books he’d requested.

He greeted the librarian – Susan – as he passed the information desk and started towards his back corner. 

Only something seemed off.

The library was oddly still.

He was nearly at his table when he realised what was different this morning – he hadn’t seen Robert anywhere.

He dropped his books on his regular table, then followed the soft thumps of books being handled. It was coming from the shelf over the next, where he found a young woman standing by a book cart and shelving books.

James didn’t recognise her, but she had a name tag pinned on and was obviously working, so she had to be staff.

Before James could speak up, she noticed him. She turned to him and met his eyes, flashing him a quick smile.

“Can I help you?”

“Uhhh,” James offered lamely because his breath was stuck somewhere in his throat and his brain had momentarily stalled. He’d forgotten why he’d sought her out in the first place. 

Then, it all came back to him in a rush. “Yeah. What’s up with Robbie?”

The librarian blinked.

“I’m sorry, who’s Robbie?”

“Robert. The robot vacuum,” James explained, feeling like a complete pillock.

Her green eyes sparked and the corner of her lips twitched suspiciously, but thankfully she didn’t laugh at him.  

“Ohh, sorry. I didn’t know the robot vacuum had a name,” she replied. “It’s out of commission for the time being, seems like there was some sort of a malfunction with the loading dock over the weekend but it’s being looked into.”

“Okay. Thanks. I was just wondering since I’m so used to seeing it around in the mornings.”

“You’re a regular, then?” she asked.

“Yeah, working on my thesis,” James said.

“All the best with that,” she said.

“Thanks. Well, I won’t keep you any longer,” James said, nodding at the book cart. “See you around.”

“Bye,” she replied, then returned to shelving.

James walked back to his table, his heart pounding in his chest and his face glowing with flustered warmth. 

He’d definitely made such a lame first impression with the new, fit librarian… but on the bright side, the only way from here was up.

——————-

The new, fit librarian’s name was Lily, and she wasn’t actually a librarian. Like James, she was a student at the university and in her final year. She was majoring in library and information science and was doing an internship at the campus library. 

They’d been chatting on and off whenever she managed to be on a shift when James showed up at the library.

Just little things; the kind of usual small-talk he had with any of the librarians working there. 

Except when he was chatting with Lily, his heart was always racing in his chest, and no matter how mundane the conversation he’d treasure every word and go over their discussions later in his mind, replaying them over and over again.

That certainly never happened with any of the other librarians.

Simply put, James was absolutely smitten.

He’d been a goner since the first time they’d met; when she’d stolen his breath with her bright smile. 

Even Peter had made an off-hand comment on how cheerful James seemed coming home from the library. 

Despite his feelings, however, James wasn’t sure yet if he should pursue Lily or not. 

He didn’t know if she was at all interested in him or if she was simply being friendly. He hadn’t really tried flirting with her, either. 

Because as much as he treasured each interaction with her and even though they were both students at the university and therefore on an equal ground… James was painfully aware that during every chat they had at the library, she was a member of the staff. 

Not only was she working, but for her being friendly towards the patrons was part of the job description.

That’s why James felt he was on shaky ground and wasn’t sure how he might broach the topic of meeting Lily outside the library – or if, indeed, he should broach the topic at all.

Feeling torn and conflicted, he stepped into a coffee shop near the campus, accompanied by the chime of the bell at the door.

He joined the queue and had dug out his phone to check on his notifications when a flash of familiar dark red in the periphery of his vision caught his attention. 

Lily was preoccupying his thoughts so thoroughly that, at first, James believed his brain had conjured her up and that he was so far gone that everything now reminded him of her.

But even as he stared, the sight didn’t waver or change. Instead, Lily turned, drink in hand, and noticed him.

The surprise in her eyes mirrored his own and she offered him a hesitant wave. 

James couldn’t help the grin that rose to his lips. He waved back. His gaze followed her as she made her way to a table by the window.

Impatient, James queued up to the counter and made his order. 

As soon as he’d got his coffee, he made a beeline to Lily’s table. 

“Hi,” he said, a little breathless while a smile that was sure to be goofy tugged at his lips. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” she replied, flashing him a smile in return as she indicated at the empty seat across the table.

A bounce in his step, James circled the table, set his drink down and claimed the seat. 

Their gazes met, and the corner of Lily’s lips twitched upwards. 

“So…” James drawled, “looks like there’s life outside of the library.”

“Maybe,” Lily replied, “though given how much time you spend there the comment applies to you too.”

“That’s fair,” James said.

His fingers drummed against his coffee mug. 

While he was glad that she’d responded to his teasing comment in kind, just sitting across from her, here and now, had agitation thrumming through his body.

If he wanted to act on his infatuation, he couldn’t have been served a better chance than this. 

“Oh, Robert the robot vacuum has made full recovery,” Lily said.

“Really? That’s great. Will be good to see the little guy around again.” James ruffled his hair to stop himself from fidgeting. “Does that sound too weird?”

“Nah.” Lily shrugged. “Having seen Robbie for myself now I can understand the appeal. And at the end of the day, it isn’t any weirder than me talking to my cat.”

“Well, cheers, that makes me feel a little better,” James said, flashing her a smile. “I was sure I had made a terrible first impression as this huge dork that had named a vacuum cleaner.”

“You definitely did come off as a huge dork that had named a vacuum cleaner,” Lily agreed. “Doesn’t mean it was a terrible first impression though. It was kind of sweet, actually.”

James perked up. Faint and frail wings of hope fluttered in his chest. 

He sipped his coffee, gathering his nerve.

Then, he took the plunge.

“You know it’s funny we ran into each other here, like this.” He met her eyes, managed a small crooked grin. “I’ve been wanting to ask if you’d want to grab a coffee with me for a while now.”

Lily’s eyebrow arched, and the look in her eyes turned appraising.

“Really? What’s been stopping you?”

“Well,” James started, cheeks flushing, “I wasn’t sure it was all proper, what with you being staff and me being a patron. I’ve heard too many horror stories about customers’ unsolicited attempts at flirting or mistaking friendliness as a sign of interest and I really didn’t want to be like one of those arses.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Lily’s lips. “The fact that you’re aware that people like that are arses proves you’ve no need to worry about being one,” she told him. “Where have you heard all these horror stories, anyway?”

“My cousin Dorcas. She works at a pub so she sees all kinds.”

“I bet.” Lily took a good long sip of her drink, then leaned her cheek against the palm of her hand. “You know, that’s not really something we need to worry about at the library. Our patrons don’t really flirt with us.”

“I don’t know,” James said, his tone teasing. “I’ve seen how that blond girl with the purple backpack looks at you.”

Lily laughed.

“She’s cute enough,” Lily admitted. “But I think I prefer a different type.”

There was a gleam in her eye that had James'  throat growing dry and the pit of his stomach trembling. 

“What’s your preferred type?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

Lily looked at him, keeping him at the edge of his seat while she brought her mug to her lips and sipped.

“The sweet and dorky type that names a vacuum cleaner and worries so much about being an arse that they won’t even ask you out,” she replied at last, smiling.

“Well then,” James said, unable to keep the blinding bright smile from his face. “I happen to know someone who fits that description.”

“Maybe you could introduce him to me,” Lily said, grinning.

“I suppose I should,” James agreed.

He reached across the table and offered Lily his hand.

Playing along, she took it and gave it a warm, firm shake.

“Hi, I’m James Potter and I fancy you a lot.”

“Nice to meet you, James,” she replied, voice trembling from barely contained laughter. “I’m Lily Evans and I was wondering if you’d like to have a coffee with me sometime.”

“I’d love to,” James answered, still holding her hand in his as their gazes locked.

Her green eyes were alight with laughter and more beautiful than James had ever seen. Her palm was soft and warm against his. Her smile was wide and a little smug and it still completely stole his breath.

James’ heart soared and even though he still barely knew her, even though the two of them were only in the very beginning of their journey together, he was suddenly certain of one thing: this was the woman he’d marry.

[piratekane]

august 21, missing scene

Working under the assumption that, if Ross is catching a plane and Charity is at the hopsital with Sarah, clearly Vanessa is picking Moses up.

Johnny dutifully wiggles his fingers at Brenda as Vanessa ushers him into the cafe. She slips her phone into her pocket, easily spotting the man she’s looking for near the counter. Ross is sitting with Moses and Pete and Leo, all four of them huddled seriously around a table as Pete passes out markers one at a time. He slaps the top of Ross’s hand when Ross tries to reach into the small plastic bag for a second marker.

Johnny sees Ross first, pulling out his hand out of hers and toddling across the room. Vanessa hangs back for a moment, leaning her hip against one of the armchairs, just to watch.

Johnny comes to a stop just next to Ross, his chest as high as Ross’s leg. He leans forward, resting his elbows on Ross’s thigh and his chin in his hands, looking up at Ross with big eyes. Ross barely skips a beat in the conversation he’s having with Pete, dropping a hand to the back of Johnny’s head absently and rubbing at the soft hairs there. His hand works up and over the longer hair at the very top of Johnny’s head, reworking his styled hair back into a point.

“Hi,” Johnny whispers, his words for Ross’s ears only.

Ross looks down, giving Johnny a crooked smile. “Hiya, mate.”

Moses looks up, catching sight of Vanessa. She pushes off the armchair and meets him halfway, catching his small, hurtling body as he throws himself off of his chair at her, giggling and calling her name.

“Well, hello, my darling,” she says, smiling widely. She settles him on her hip for a moment, squeezing him round the middle. Leo looks up from his drawing, his eyes lighting up as he takes her in. Vanessa winks at him.

“You got my text, then,” Ross says, lifting Johnny up onto his knee. He jiggles his leg and Johnny’s eyes widen in delighted surprise, his hands gripping the collar of Ross’s jacket.

“Cafe. Moses. Pickup,” Vanessa recites. “Quite the wordsmith.”

“Isn’t words birds are interested in,” Ross says, shrugging.

Vanessa meets Pete’s eye and shakes her head, setting Moses back on the floor. She presses a soft kiss to the top of his head before he scurries back to his seat. Leo leans back, tipping his head so it rests against the back of the chair. Vanessa kisses him, too, smiling against his forehead when he giggles. She straightens up and Ross is there, tipping his chin up expectantly.

“Me next, if you please,” he says in a high voice.

Vanessa rolls her eyes, dropping a perfunctory kiss to his temple. She glances at Pete, the corners of her lips twitching. “You and all?”

“Oh, no,” Pete says quickly. His cheeks flush red. “I mean, you’re lovely, yeah? But no. Thank you. But-”

“We’ve got it, bro,” Ross says, shaking his head. “You’re all loved up, all moved in. No tempting you with another woman’s wiles.”

“Excuse me,” Vanessa starts.

Ross rolls his eyes. “And no tempting you either - yeah, yeah.” He bounces Johnny on his knee again. “What a couple of oldies your mummy and Peter are, eh?”

“Oi,” Vanessa says, swatting at Ross’s shoulder as she takes the seat Pete offers her. “Being in a committed relationship doesn’t make us old.”

“Committed is the word there, love,” Ross says. He tips his head in Pete’s direction. “Take this bloke. He’s one animal noise away from a trip to a padded cell.”

Vanessa looks at Pete, one eyebrow raised slowly. “You what?”

Pete’s cheeks are still red at the tops and he pushes his hands into his pockets, broadening his chest. “I’m trying to figure out what Leo is interested in.”

“It’s not you making a noise like a sheep going into labour,” Ross mutters.

Vanessa tips her head, staring at Pete curiously. Leo pushes his drawing paper in front of her, handing her a marker. She starts to draw, aimless shapes that aren’t much of anything as she continues to watch Pete. Something in him deflates as Leo perks up and grows animated; his shoulders curl inward and he kicks at the bottom of the table leg, refusing to meet her eyes. She finally looks away when her phone buzzes in her pocket; she gives Leo an easy smile and pulls it out, thumbing over the message notification from Charity.

Sarah wants to see the boys. Headed this way? it reads.

She types back a quick GETTING M. SEE YOU SOON XO and slides out of her seat, lifting Leo onto her lap and taking his seat instead.

“Our Leo is quite the lion, isn’t he?” she starts, her fingers tickling against his side. Leo giggles and squirms, his red marker making squiggly marks across the page. Vanessa spares a glance up at Pete. “A bit rough around the edges, what with this haircut,” she teases. “But quite the big gentle cat beneath that.”

Pete shrugs a shoulder. “I’m better with sheep, me.”

Vanessa waves a hand at him. “It’s no different, is it? Let the sheep come to you. Don’t startle it.” She smoothes her hand down over the unruly point of Leo’s hair. “Lions are a bit timid, yeah? But they say that once you’ve gained a lion’s trust, you’ve got a friend for life.”

“Yeah?” Pete asks slowly.

Vanessa smiles. “Yeah. Easy to tame and all.”

“She would know,” Ross interrupts. “Taming Charity.”

Vanessa feels her face burn. “I’ve not ‘tamed’ her.” She pauses. “She’s not meant to be tamed,” she says softly, her stomach turning in that way it does whenever she thinks of Charity, of what they’ve become.

Pete coughs out a laugh, clapping a large hand down on Ross’s shoulder. “Maybe that was your problem, mate. Trying to tame an untamable woman.”

Ross pulls back and looks at Moses as if to say, look at that, would you. “Uh, I think I did just fine, thank you.” He digs his fingers into Johnny’s sides. “Didn’t I, little John?”

Vanessa wrinkles her nose, opening her mouth to tell him that he’s not called ‘John’ but Johnny beats her to it.

“It’s Johnnybobs,” he announces. “Char’ty said so.”

“And what Charity says is law, is it?” Ross asks Johnny in a loud, gruff voice, his smile giving him away.

Vanessa’s phone beeps again. Hurry, babe, it says. Faith is starting to sing, signed with the emjoi that has x’s for eyes.

Johnny is nodding seriously at Ross when Vanessa looks back up and Ross is rolling his eyes. Moses is standing in his seat, directing Leo on what color he should be using. Pete is steadying Moses’s chair, offering compliments to Leo on his choice of purple boxes over red circles. The cafe is bustling around them and something warm is pulsing just beneath Vanessa’s ribs. Happiness, she thinks. It’s happiness.

Not for the first time, Vanessa imagines how different Johnny’s life would have been if he had truly been a Barton. He’d have uncles and cousins and a grandmother to dote on him. Funny how he’s found his way to the Bartons all the same, she thinks. Moses is his best mate and he tags after him like a shadow. He thinks Ross hung the moon in the sky on clear nights and he once crawled into bed between her and Charity, whispering about how Pete is like the mighty oak tree outside of nursery, just taller.

“Right. Well,” Ross says loudly, hoisting Johnny up into the air. “I’ve got a plane to catch.”

“And I’ve got to get these two down to hospital,” Vanessa adds, beckoning Johnny closer.

Pete’s face softens. “How’s Sarah?”

“Hopeful,” Vanessa answers truthfully. She sets Leo down in his seat and kisses the top of his head.

“Tell her I’m thinking of her,” Pete asks.

Vanessa rests her hand on his arm, squeezing as far around his bicep as she can. “I will.”

“Me and all,” Ross adds quietly. He nods sharply at her and makes his way round the table, saying goodbye to each boy, spending a minute with each of them. Leo shies away from his fist bump, but lets Ross mess up his hair again.

Vanessa sways into Pete slightly, bumping her elbow into his side. “Give it time,” she tells him kindly. “Leo is a mate for life. He’ll come round.”

Pete sighs heavily. “I hope so. I plan on sticking around for a while.”

Vanessa grins. “Good.” Her smile turns down, her eyes narrowing. “Or I’ll have to hurt you.”

Pete laughs, the sound slowly dying as Vanessa keeps staring at him. “Right. Yeah. ‘Course,” he mumbles.

Vanessa smiles again. “Good,” she repeats. “He likes the stream,” she offers. “Keen on catching frogs. Might even has a net back at the house somewhere.” She claps her hands together, looking at Moses and Johnny. “Come on, my darlings. We need to go rescue Charity from Faith, don’t we? And we might get some ice cream along the way.”

The boys cheer and run for the door, their hands clasped together and swinging between them. She looks back over her shoulder as she moves through the doorway, grinning as Pete sits down next to Leo and silently offers him another marker.

Leo reaches out and takes it and Pete smiles.

[breitzbachbea]

(p1) okei, what i think I can gather about you from your art/writing,(bare in mind i haven't read your long fics/most drabbles yet tho). Your 200+ OC's of different nationalities show you want to live in a thousand cultures, have a thousand lives and live in every part of history, but as you cannot, you have 200 OCs which is almost like containing 1000 souls (very relatable tho).... But 200+ OCs and your longest AU's are massive, show yeah 👀👀 And you enjoy ships that bicker... cos....

(pt2) cos the intimacy needed for that is HUGE. You love the 'i love you, i hate you, but i cannot escape from you' -> bonus points if it's history, language or culture that ties your ship together. Additionally: -completed devoted to the one they love (and would suffer for them) is a dynamic that interests you -u think the italian language is hot af -i get the feeling that michele is either how u want to be loved (idyllic love), or michele is how you love, cos that's your comfort ship (sic/ire)

1. That's pretty accurate! I have this fear that I'll never have enough time on this earth to do what I want (but I've been working on getting rid of that fear. There's enough time). I'm so fascinated by the world that we're living in, what used to be and how it relates to what is. The endless multiplicities of identity that a group can contain or even an individual.

So indeed, I make OCs based on what I learn about the world and in turn the OCs give me a good way to interact safely with the knowledge I find. It's a perpetuum mobile of creativity and knowledge.

And history is just the entirety of human experience on this planet, so trying to breathe some more life into it via Historical AUs is one of my favourite ways to engage with it. I love writing term papers as much as trying to apply the scientific findings to actual people. (I think one of my favourite things may be Sexuality in the res publica AUs, the do's & don't's that aren't the same as they are now. I freed Michele & Lovino from their catholic guilt, only to immediately constrain them with the class & gender expectations of the Roman Republic lmao).

2. I never thought about it like that, but yes! I enjoy bickering because it's an admission of closeness! You can't have friendly bickering if you're not close! (Which is why Hugo & Alois Are Like That. I enjoy them constantly mocking each other greatly, but it's never friendly and it always ends in a mess).

My family had and has its shares of problems, but I know that we love each other. Immensely. We're also that kind of family to constantly poke fun at each others, so I think that's why I instinctively resort to this kind of dynamic, with any kind of close relationships. It's not the ONLY one, because that would be boring, there are so many more ways to express love and it naturally doesn't suit every kind of character.

(I just remembered when we were at the lunch table and my dad spotted a magpie on the stable roof.

Mom: " ... why are my curtains pulled back again?"

Dad: "So that I can watch magpies.")

Here are some more non-romantic examples from my work/with my characters:

AA(The last one was a response to a tiktok that was basically "Asking your nice friends for fashion advice vs asking your mean/honest friends for advice")

3. I DO love the "i love you, i hate you, but i cannot escape from you". Maybe also for personal reasons, we're not getting that private on here. It's one of the inherent tragic aspects of Hetalia that has fascinated me for a long time: They're human and they feel like humans, but they lack part of their free will. They somehow have to survive entire lifetimes, loving and hating and remembeand worse, they have to bear decisions they themselves don't necessarily make. The relationships they form with the only other people like them, whether it'd be bonds of platonic, familiar or romantic love, the only solace and stability might have, may be snatched away from them. It can turn to hate or grow cold or another nation can disappear afterall and there is nothing they as individual people could have done about it. It's a double-edged sword - You tie yourself to someone who could be your raft as well as sink you to the bottom of the ocean.

I inevitably ended up keeping this kind of relationship in my "Like Father Like Son" Universe. Now, quick disclaimer - I am not saying they are solely the victim of their circumstances. They're all criminals in my AU and I have zero patience for making excuses for the Organized Crime. I worry greatly about the problematic aspects of my work and am well aware of them. The last thing I ever want to do is actively romanticize the Mafia. I want to add for the following part, too, that I draw as much on the real world as possible, but the structures of the organized crime in LFLS are a little more reminiscent of Monarchy or Aristocrazy.

With that out of the way however, the worldbuilding in LFLS mirrors their existence in Hetalia. Escaping their position would come with great dangers, even though their existence as is will never allow them true happiness. They're different from the people around them and there is a special connection between the Hetalia characters as bosses here - All of them inherited this position. They all basically suffer under the same yoke, they all are faced with the same difficulties. And, like in Hetalia, some of their decisions are out of their control. Business overrides their private life. They have to look out for their own people and families, for their own survival, so they may hurt the ones they love. And yet, and yet, they cling to one another. Try to make it as functional as possible. Take the pain for the relief. It's not pretty, but it's fascinating as an onlooker and fictional tragedies are also a great outlet for one's own emotions.

4. That also kind of ties in with "completed devoted to the one they love (and would suffer for them) is a dynamic that interests you". Hells yeah it does, because two people losing themselves is beautiful. Yes, it can be toxic, yes one should take care of oneself and have boundaries. But unconditional love is something I believe we all yearn for and I hope I one day get to devote myself to someone else again, as much as is healthy.

Again, it's also not just perfect for lovers, but for siblings and guardian figures. Paddy would lay his life down for Harry, Charlie & Soph. ("There's no pain that I won't go through/Even if I have to die for you" - Starset; "I love my children more than anything in this life! I will chose their happiness over mine, every time!" - Slightly changed version of Congratulations from the Hamilton Mixtape).

Gilbert who's so eager to be here for Ludwig and to protect him; to take anything off his brothers shoulder that he can.

And on the romantic side, is there anything better than two people simping head over heels for each other??? Or when a character wants to kiss/fuck another one so bad that it makes him look stupid??? I also love more quiet, more serene relationships, but to appreciate their calm, you have to make a storm to compare them to. All storm or all calm only gets you bored and exhausted.

5. Hell yeah do I think the Italian language is hot af, who'd disagree with me? It also unlocks emotions that were previously unavailable when I listen to Italian music. (German does the same. There is just something to each language that it can express certain feelings in a way like no other). YOU tell me that you listen to Shimmy Shimmy by Takagi & Ketra and aren't hypnotized by Giusy's voice. No other soundtrack for my Sicilians, Greeks and Turks fooling around on a beach and being highly erotic with each other.

6. Hm, this may be tying in with 2 again. I think I'm more of a Harry, personally, to be honest! (Nerdy, got aggression problems, cheeky, hothead, can't really cook). I think SicIre is my comfort ship because it's the type of love my parents had. It's what I am most accustomed to and there's also just a beauty in not caring what the rest of the world has to say and doing your own thing. And Harry isn't the prettiest bloke on the block and will probably never think of himself as beautiful, but that is fine because Michele looks at him like a sky full of stars. And the entire world can tell him Michele's a bastard, Harry won't listen to them. From a hetalia standpoint, these two are islands who had to suffer a lot from foreign occupation and being regarded as backwards & weird. Sicily tries to keep the autonomy it has and makes sure that others know they aren't like the mainland and Ireland fought hard for its independence from the British empire. From a LFLS standpoint, Harry embraces Michele with all of his past baggage and jagged pieces. Harry is the first person Michele never fell out of love with, the only one, and he's here to reassure Harry that he is worth caring for every step of the way.

[notwithout-mymuse]

Fic: Misconceptions

Five times the Dingles expected the worst of Robert – and the one time none of them did.

All of these fit within canon, and a couple of parts will feature scenes or lines from actual episodes, but from a different perspective. Set at various points between Aaron’s abuse reveal and the Robron wedding. This got way longer than it was meant to be, oops.

Relationships: Robert & Aaron, Robert & various Dingles

Warnings: Implicit rape references (basically includes some Gordon/trial stuff), panic attacks, hints of self-harm, alcohol consumption, and discussion of sexual consent.

1.       Belle

Belle had been determined to be here, no matter how unpleasant it might be. Aaron deserved to know that he had people on his side, and they were going to send a message to that piece of scum today.

Today being the day of Gordon’s plea hearing, which finds Belle sat up in the courtroom gallery, next to her mum, and behind Chas and Aaron. A show of solidarity, and an attempt at reassuring Aaron, who looked so pale and nervous that Belle was slightly surprised that he hadn’t thrown up already.

The door to their right swings open just before the hearing starts. Robert swans in and all heads spin in his direction.

“Room for one more?” He asks.

Belle had heard Chas ask after his whereabouts before they left the pub, when she had wondered aloud whether he might have changed his mind about coming, but Belle hadn’t thought much about it. She certainly hadn’t expected him to show up.

It’s perhaps because of her surprise that she can’t resist asking:

“You’re cutting it a bit fine, aren’t ya?”

“Oh well, you know me, always like to make an entrance.” He replied coolly, not even looking in her direction.

Belle is ready to tell him to leave his smart mouth at the door, because Aaron doesn’t need that right now. But then Aaron himself is speaking, for the first time since they left the pub.

“I thought I told you not to come?” Aaron mutters, tilting his head towards Robert slightly.

“And since when did I listen to anything you say?” Robert replies, watching Aaron intently.

There’s a beat where Belle thinks Aaron might tell him to piss off. But instead he takes a deep breath and a little bit of the rigid tension in his shoulders, that Belle can practically feel radiating off him, seems to melt away. She catches the slightest glimpse of a smile on Chas’ face, before the judge bangs on the desk and calls the court to order, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

Belle wasn’t wrong about it being unpleasant. Although it was just a plea hearing, with no evidence being presented, hearing the crimes being presented in that way, so coldly and clinically, Aaron repeatedly flinching, while Gordon rolled around play-acting at being ill, it made Belle want to punch something (or preferably, someone).

Belle distracts herself by looking down in front of her. It’s why she sees it when it happens. The way Aaron starts trying to tear at the skin of his hand with his blunt nails. The way that Robert, his eyes constantly flickering to Aaron, catches him, and nudges his arm. Robert’s eyes are softer and more concerned than Belle has ever seen them, and she’s even more surprised when Aaron lets go and stops, without even the hint of an argument.

Belle also notices the way Robert’s face screws up in utter disgust whenever Gordon speaks. She clocks the harsh venom in his voice when he hisses about Gordon being an “Evil little…”. An evil little what? She doesn’t get to find out, but she’s pretty sure she would agree.

When the judge gives Gordon bail, Belle can’t help jumping to her feet alongside Chas and her mum, her voice adding to the cacophony of Dingle protests.

“You can’t… what about what he did to the car?

“He is a liar!”

But as the court guard comes to clear them from the room, Belle sees the one person who hasn’t jumped up to scream in Aaron’s defence. Robert is still seated, and isn’t even looking at the rest of the room, he only has eyes for Aaron.

“Look at me… it’s going to be ok.” Robert tells him, his voice low and soothing, his arm around Aaron’s shoulders where he sits, frozen apart from the tears making tracks down his face.

Robert gets moved along by the guard, but Belle sees him wait by the door for Aaron. When Chas and Lisa stride off to give a mouthful to the guard, to DS Wise, and to anyone else who will listen, Belle is left with the two men as Aaron emerges at last, scrubbing roughly at his wet cheeks with the sleeve of his jacket, and looking completely lost.

Before Belle can even think of anything helpful to say, Robert is gently guiding Aaron down the hall to the nearest bench and is encouraging him to sit. Robert squats down in front of him, rubbing Aaron’s forearm and muttering a constant stream of reassurances. She follows them, but hangs back, feeling vaguely like she’s intruding. She listens to Robert comforting Aaron, telling him that it doesn’t matter, that he isn’t going to let Gordon anywhere near him, that Gordon’s acting-up in court because he’s desperate now, because he knows that Aaron is strong enough to beat him.

It’s ten minutes before Robert stops talking and moves to sit beside Aaron, before Aaron’s tears stop and his hands stop shaking. Belle can still hear Chas shrieking at someone down the hall. Aaron seems to notice to, as he shakes his head and rolls his eyes, giving both Robert and Belle a weak smile.

“Give me a minute to sort her out will ya?” Aaron asks, standing and heading in the direction of his mum’s voice.

Belle feels like a spare part, just standing in silence, so she sits down on the bench next to Robert.

“Do you really think it’ll be alright?” Belle asks, even though she isn’t sure why she’s asking, or why she’s asking Robert of all people.

His eyes hold her gaze for a second, like he’s actually considering his response instead of just feeding her some meaningless platitude.

“Yeah, I do. If anyone can do this it’s Aaron” he tells her, his voice earnest and in that moment, she believes him completely. She also decides that maybe Robert Sugden’s gob isn’t all bad.

2.       Marlon

It’s late when Marlon rings the bell behind the bar for last orders. He couldn’t be more glad that the night was nearly over as he feels dead on his feet. Chas and Charity had left him in charge of the pub all night, insisting that their girls’ night out was more important than, you know, running their business. Vic had shot off the second they’d closed the kitchen for the evening, leaving him with a huge pile of washing-up that he would have to finish once he had shut the pub up for the night.

At least it had been a quiet evening, Marlon supposes, gazing round at the pub’s remaining five occupants as he dries a load of pint glasses. Fortunately, two of them are Aaron and Robert, so at least he doesn’t have to worry about encouraging them to go home. Marlon had been watching them for a while now, for lack of anything else to do. They were sat on opposite sides of a table in one of the booths, two half-finished pints and a couple of crumpled crisp packets on the table beside them, playing some complicated card game that Marlon hadn’t been able to fathom the rules to, even after watching them for the best part of an hour.

Liv had been playing with them until about half an hour ago, after which she had disappeared upstairs to take a shower. The three of them had been chatting and laughing, and judging by the unimpressed look on Aaron’s face, Marlon had been pretty sure that Liv and Robert were ganging up on him so that he would lose. Robert and Aaron were quieter now, the game seemingly just something to keep their hands occupied while they chatted back and forth across the table, their feet tangled together underneath. They seemed quietly content and domestic in a way that Marlon still wasn’t used to seeing.

Marlon’s gaze flicked over to the bar’s other three remaining occupants. Three young lads that Marlon had never seen before, certainly not the Woolpack’s typical type of patron. They were apparently on some sort of rural bar crawl, judging by their increasingly loud conversation, which mostly seemed to comprise of what they termed “lad banter”.

It’s only when Marlon has returned to the bar, after fetching another crate of wine from the cellar, that he notices something has shifted in the atmosphere of the room. The three lads are louder than ever, and Robert and Aaron’s focus has shifted from their quiet little bubble, and they’re both now watching the other group. The look on Robert’s face is dark and thunderous, like he wants to go and punch the blokes, for reasons that Marlon cannot fathom. He’d only left for five minutes, what on Earth had happened in that time? Aaron seems to be trying to talk Robert out of his mood, the three guys completely unaware of the glares in their direction. Marlon is about to stomp over and chew Robert out for causing trouble with paying customers when he hears what’s got him worked up in the first place.

“I’m serious mate, that peado bloke used to live here, the one who got banged up for messing about with a little boy, then he topped himself didn’t he?” One of the lads crows, almost seemingly amused, and Marlon only just manages to hold in a groan. It wasn’t the first time he had heard random strangers gossiping about Gordon in the pub, in the few weeks since he had been sentenced, but it is the first time it has happened with Aaron present.

Aaron’s hand over Robert’s clenched fist seems to be the only thing stopping the latter from flying off the handle completely and battering them, so Marlon decides it’s time to intervene. He makes quick work of shepherding the men from the pub with a random excuse about needing to close early for a stock take, even letting them take their glasses of drink with them, just to get rid of them quicker. It takes nearly ten minutes in the end, herding them off with the number of the Barton’s taxi in hand, and locking the external doors.

When Marlon returns things have changed again. Robert is sitting on the same side of the table as Aaron now, muttering something to his boyfriend who is curled over slightly. At first Marlon thinks Aaron is crying, then he realises that it’s more than that, his hands are scrabbling at the table in front of him, harsh rattling breaths ripping out of his chest, he’s panicking. Robert shoves the table away so that Aaron has more space, taking his hand and places it on his own chest.

“It’s ok Aaron, you’re fine, it’ll pass ok? Just breathe with me alright? Deep breath, in…out, that’s it…”

Marlon feels useless, hovering a couple of metres away, unsure what to do as Robert continues his efforts to calm his boyfriend, trying to get Aaron to match his breathing with his own, his thumb rubbing over Aaron’s hand.

“Is…Is there anything I can do to help?” Marlon asks, alarmed.

Robert’s head tilts up, like he’s only just remembered that Marlon is in the room, and he pauses for a second.

“Could ya get him a glass of water?” Robert asks.

“Yeah… yeah of course” Marlon dashes off to get the water, pleased to have something helpful to do.

When he returns, Aaron seems a bit better. His breathing more even, now he mostly just looks tired where he is resting his head on Robert’s shoulder.

Robert thanks him while Aaron lifts his head, takes the glass and starts sipping from it.

“Are you ok? Do you want me to, I dunno, call Chas or something?” Marlon asks.

“Nah, I’m fine, really. I just…wasn’t expecting it, that’s all” Aaron says, he sounds stronger now, more together, though still a little shaky.

“Really, I’m ok Marlon. Just need a good night’s sleep.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him” Robert adds. Aaron still has the energy to roll his eyes at Robert, although he doesn’t stop his boyfriend from wrapping an arm around his shoulder when they stand and head towards the back room of the pub.

Marlon leaves the washing-up until the morning in the end. Sometimes mundane things just don’t seem so important.

3.       Sam

Despite what people might say, and he knows what people say, Sam isn’t dumb. Ok, so he might not be bookish like Belle, or shrewd like Cain, or have street-smarts like Charity, but he’s good with people. Lisa told him that once, “perceptive” she had called it, “you know how to read people Sam”.

It’s how he knows, within seconds of Lisa answering the phone, that something is wrong. It’s why he has car keys in his hand before she’s ended the call, clearly flustered and worried.

“… was Chas on the phone… Aaron’s in hospital… him and Robert… some sort of accident.”

Sam hustles her out of the door, and gets them to the hospital in record time. By the time they arrive in the relative’s room - hot on Charity and Cain’s heels, Marlon not far behind – Chas and Liv are surrounded by worried Dingle faces, all demanding answers.

Chas’ voice shakes as she fills them in on what happened. How Aaron was driving and had spun off the road to avoid a massive pile-up. How the boys had ended up in the quarry, Aaron injured and trapped as the water level rose. Chas’ voice tails off at that, clearly upset.

Her horror is reflected in the faces of their surrounding family, Sam notices. For once they are all unable to speak. It’s so unlike his family, that Sam has to say something, unable to stand the awful silence and determined to find answers.

“Why didn’t the police and firemen look for him? And what was Robert doing when all this were happening ey? Saving ‘is own skin I bet.” Sam knows he’s clutching at straws, but he still doesn’t expect the sharp reply, cracking like an angry whip in the silence.

“It weren’t his fault, you idiot! Robert was the one that saved him.” It’s the first time Liv’s spoken since everyone else had arrived, but as she leans forward, silently daring him to contradict her, her eyes are as fiery as they are frightened.

Belle reaches an arm round Liv to try to pacify and comfort her, and when Sam’s gaze lands on Chas, she nods shakily, a confirmation.

“Where’s Robert now?” Charity asks.

“He’s with Aaron… wants to be there when he wakes up again.” Chas replies.

Chas continues to relay what had happened since she arrived, the feedback from the doctor on Aaron’s surgery, the scare he had given them when his heart stopped, the long wait for more information. They all lapse into silence again, broken only when Marlon leaves to retrieve coffee for everyone from the crappy vending machine at the end of the corridor.

Before he can return, Robert himself appears in the doorway, and everyone’s heads shoot up.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine, still sleeping. They just wanted me out of the way so they could run some tests.” Robert is quick to reassure them all, before slumping down in Marlon’s vacated chair.

Sam can’t help but notice how rough he looks. He’s all pale skin, rumpled clothes and red-rimmed eyes. He looks nothing at all like the strong, confident businessman Sam knows him as, and he feels a pang of guilt for jumping to conclusions before. Sam doesn’t need to be clever to know that the man in front of him is falling apart.

When the nurse comes in, about twenty minutes later, to tell them that they’ve finished Aaron’s tests and will let them all know when the results are back, Robert returns immediately to Aaron’s room, this time with Liv.

Chas watches Robert leave, with an odd look on her face.

“They’re getting married” Chas announces quietly to the family. “Him and Aaron” she clarifies, in response to the confused looks, nodding her head in the direction of the door that Robert had just exited.

Chas lets the initial wave of “what?”, “are you kidding?”, and “oh my god, really?” settle before she speaks again, explaining about Robert’s proposal gone wrong, about him showing her the ring, and Aaron’s response.

Sam stands up after a while, needing a walk to stretch his legs. He walks along the corridor, but finds himself hovering around the window to Aaron’s room, watching Robert and Liv sitting on chairs on either side of Aaron’s bed. Liv is resting her chin on her folded arms on the edge of the bed. Robert’s slumped forward, one hand smoothing Aaron’s bed sheet unnecessarily, his other hand curled around Aaron’s, the slightest glimpse of silver just visible in-between fingers and thumbs.

It’s only when Robert and Liv jump up, their faces breaking into huge smiles, that Sam realises Aaron has woken up. Liv steps back slightly to press the call button to alert the nurses, while Robert leans forward, meeting Aaron’s gaze, then placing the gentlest of kisses to Aaron’s forehead.

No, Sam might not be bookish, or shrewd, or street-smart, but he damn well knows love when he sees it, and right now it’s radiating from every single part of them.

4.       Cain

Cain swears to himself, that the next person to make any kind of noise is going to make friends with his fist. He’s had a long day at the garage, has a banging headache, and to top it all off he’d had another argument with Charity, which is why he’s found himself in his current predicament, tossing and turning on the sofa in the back room of the pub and getting increasingly pissed off.

First Noah had been banging around the room looking for his homework that’s due tomorrow, then Chas had started shouting up the stairs about Liv leaving her stuff for people to trip over. Cain had thought everyone was finally asleep in bed, when the back door had banged open noisily. Aaron and Robert’s muffled laughter drifting through the closed door, followed by a thump on the wall which only serves to annoy him more.

“Oops!”, Aaron giggles – honest to god giggles – seemingly the one to have bumped into the wall. Great, Cain thinks, he’s drunk.

“Careful” Robert warns him, laughter in his voice, but sounding much more in control than Aaron. “I told you that last round of shots was a bad idea!”

“Mmm fine. I’m not even… not even that drunk, just like tipsy, like a tiny little bit.” Aaron responds, slurring in a way that completely undermines his insistent words.

Cain is about to snort in denial, but Robert beats him to it.

“Yeah yeah mate, sure you are.”

“Well if I was drunk would I be able to do this?” Aaron retorts.

Cain isn’t sure what “this” is but the way Robert gasps and exclaims “Aaron!” gives him a few ideas and he cringes. There are some things a man just doesn’t need to know about his nephew.

“C’mon Robert. Let’s go upstairs… want you…want you to take me to bed, c’mon.”

Cain leaps off the sofa, his ear pressed to the door and hand on the door handle, ready to grab Robert by the scruff of the neck and chuck him out of the house because there’s no way he’s letting Robert take advantage of Aaron in his drunken state.

His anger, it turns out, is premature.

“Nope, no way, not happening! There’s no way I’m having sex with you tonight when you’re completely pissed.” Robert’s voice is still amused, but sterner now.

“Roooooob!” Aaron whines.

“No, I’m serious! The only thing you’re going upstairs for is to sleep this off.”

“Ok, I’m going….” Aaron’s voice is cut off by another, louder thump. This one followed by two pained groans.

This time, Cain does open the door and moves into the hall. He finds Robert and Aaron in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, Aaron still laughing, his arm wrapped around his Robert’s neck. It seemed like Robert had tried to help Aaron up the stairs, but the latter had lost his footing, bringing Robert crashing down with him.

“Oi, keep it down out here, some of us are tryin’ to sleep” Cain barks at them.

“Why you sleeping down ‘ere anyway, you in the dog house or summat?” Aaron shoots back grinning, clearly oblivious to the death glare on his uncle’s face.

“Aaand we’re going now” Robert says, steering Aaron upwards on the stairs again. “Sorry to disturb” Robert calls back to Cain over his shoulder, his hands on Aaron’s lower back to stop him falling again.

“Oi Sugden!” Cain calls at the last minute, causing Robert to look back over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Look after him yeah?”

“Yeah, always” Robert answers, before disappearing upstairs after Aaron.

And if the next morning Cain almost runs into Robert on the stairs as he heads down after his shower, the two of them sharing a knowing look over the tray that Robert is carrying upstairs, laden with a small mountain of buttered toast and two steaming mugs of tea – then no one else needs to know do they?

5.       Lisa

The winter air is biting when Lisa steps outside, the old door swinging shut behind her, trapping the warmth and merry laughter inside. But the freezing air is a welcome relief as the house had had far too many people crammed into such a small space, which combined with the heat from cooking Christmas lunch, has left Lisa with permanently red cheeks for hours. But she wouldn’t change it for anything, having the family round the table talking, laughing, joking and drinking far too much is what a Dingle Christmas is all about. It’s been a while since the family felt whole and complete – but Lisa tries not to think about that – it’s been such a good day and she doesn’t want to lose that warm feeling in her chest just yet.                                                                                                                    

Lisa had escaped from the house, leaving Belle and Chas to finish the drying up, with the excuse that the pigs needed putting away for the night. Which was true, but for a few minutes she is content to lean against the wall, watching a few flakes of settled snow slip from a tree branch as it shifts in the wind, listening to the distant shouts of an affectionate argument in the house behind her. The smell of woody smoke still lingers in the air, probably from where Zak and Sam had set up a fire inside a metal barrel round the side of the house, so that they could keep warm when they snuck outside for their traditional cigar while her back was turned.

It's not until she’s finished dealing with the pigs, and has rounded the house to check that the fire has settled enough to not be dangerous, that she sees them. Aaron and Robert. Lisa hadn’t realised they were still here, she had heard them leave the house about twenty minutes earlier, when she had been elbow-deep in turkey grease and fairy liquid. She had heard Chas shouting at them in her tipsy voice to mind the slippery pavements and had waved a soapy hand in the direction of the door without looking, assuming they would head straight home.

But evidently they didn’t as they’re both currently perched on the top of the waist high fence next to the barrel, backs to her, their faces half lit, half shadowed by the declining flames. They’re talking softly and neither of them seem to realise that she is there, the crackle of the wood logs louder than the crunch of her feet on the icy ground.

Of all the Dingle clan, Lisa was proud of the fact that she was probably the least judgemental of the lot when it came to who her family chose as their partners. Of course, she had heard plenty of stories about Robert over the years, had listened to many of Chas’ early rants about how he was no good for Aaron, about how he was trouble.

She had been quick to point out – to Chas and anyone else that would listen – that their family probably didn’t have much room to judge as they weren’t exactly a bunch of angels themselves. As far as Lisa was concerned, if Aaron was happy, it was fine by her. After the year Aaron had experience, no one deserved happiness more, in her opinion.

But still, Lisa had to admit that she had been surprised when Robert had turned up with Aaron and Liv shortly before lunch, the three of them in ridiculous festive jumpers and laden with presents. Aaron must have caught her surprise, because he’d pulled her aside shortly after, and asked her in an undertone if she minded having an extra person, to which she had patted him on the shoulder and reassured him that there was always plenty to go around.

It wasn’t that she was bothered, just surprised. Robert Sugden didn’t strike her as the sort of person to spend Christmas Day necking sickly-sweet snowballs in a silly paper-hat, and playing charades with his future in-laws. She had assumed that he would be too much of a, well... snob, for that. But that was exactly what Robert had done. He had thrown himself in wholeheartedly, had joined in with the games, returned the light-hearted banter, and even made a valiant attempt at keeping up with the Dingles’ Irish drinking habits.

So really it shouldn’t have come as a shock, the sight of Robert and Aaron huddled together in their winter coats and hats, their breaths rising simultaneously as clouds, twisting together in the cold air as they warmed their hands over the fire. But it still did. Lisa didn’t want to interrupt them, or make them think she was spying, but the truth was she was curious. She had never seen Aaron like this with anyone before. He seemed open, affectionate, and settled in a way that was brand new, and it suited him.

Lisa knew she wasn’t the only one who had been watching Robert throughout the day. She had seen the way Aaron’s eyes had lit up when he saw Robert laughing over a can of lager with Cain and Sam. She had seen his soft smile when Robert had kneeled down on the floor to help April construct her brand-new wooden train set. She’d noticed the way Aaron had drawn Robert back from the chaos for a little while, the two of them curled up on the sofa with Alfie, soft and completely lost in each other in a way that felt almost too intimate to watch.

Lisa is pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Aaron’s voice, clearer now the crackling noise was subsiding.

“…so, it was alright then?” he asks, unsure.

“Yeah, well I’ve eaten about a month’s worth of food in under 24 hours…” Robert replies, amusement colouring his voice, then suddenly more serious.

“…but yeah it was…really nice actually, a proper family Christmas and that. I don’t really get that anymore.” Robert shrugs as he says it, but can’t quite hide the emotion is his voice, not from Lisa, and certainly not from Aaron, who reaches for Robert, pulling him in so that Robert can rest his head on his shoulder.

“But we’re seeing Diane and Vic for Boxing Day lunch tomorrow, aren’t we?” Aaron asks.

“Yeah, ‘course… it’s just not really the same anymore you know? What with mum and dad gone and Andy… god knows where. It always just feels like there’s too much missing.”

Lisa wants to break her silence, to rush over and reassure Robert that he’ll always be welcome with them, because if there is one thing that Lisa cannot stand is anyone feeling cast-out or unwanted. But it seems that Aaron has the situation under control. He leans back slightly to press his lips to Robert’s cold-bitten cheek, before speaking again.

“I know it doesn’t make everything ok but… you’ll always have a place here with me, you know?” Aaron’s says, voice soft.

“I know.” Robert replies. Their eyes linger for a moment, like those words have some deeper meaning for them, before Aaron slips down from the fence.

“Come on, let’s go home.” He says, tugging Robert’s hand.

“Yeah, home.” Robert echoes, tangling their red-raw fingers together. The two starting the cold trek up the path towards the village, still oblivious to Lisa’s watchful gaze, before she turns towards home too.

Over the last year, after everything that had happened with Zak and Joanie, Lisa had felt herself becoming more and more disillusioned with the notion of true love, but as she turns back to watch Robert and Aaron disappear over the dark, snow-covered hill, their joined hands swinging in the space between them, she thinks maybe – just maybe – there is still something to believe in. If Aaron and Robert could find it again, then maybe she could too.

And she also thinks that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to add Robert to the list of people coming to their New Year’s fireworks party either.

+1

The room is stuffy, there’s cheap champagne and sandwich crusts littering the floor, the decorations are tacky. So basically, it’s a proper Dingle knees-up, and there isn’t an unhappy face in the room.

Charity’s yell of “They got wed!” is still echoing in everyone’s eardrums, party poppers flinging streamers among handfuls of confetti. Robert and Aaron are both grinning from ear to ear, and their happiness is infectious as they accept congratulations from their friends and family. Lisa is one of the first to wriggle through the crowd and congratulate them, pulling them both in for big hugs.

Zak hands Robert the welly, Cain and Marlon cheering in the background as Sam proudly announces to the whole pub that Robert is one of them now. Despite Robert’s protestations over the welly, there isn’t a single member of the Dingle family that believes he won’t do it. He’ll do it for Aaron, and they all know it.

When Chas tricks them into their first dance, Robert encourages Aaron to sway with him, not a hint of shame or embarrassment as he shows off his new husband for the world to see, at the wedding he had pulled together in under 24 hours. Their guests all beam with pride and love.

Belle doesn’t have as much luck getting Aaron to dance with her, he’s stubbornly content to prop up the bar with a beer in hand, surveying the scene in front of him. So instead she starts conferring with Sarah and Victoria about how many more wellies Robert would need to dance with them instead.

When Aaron finally ducks outside towards the end of the night, looking a bit overwhelmed, none of the Dingles make any moves to follow him. They let Robert follow instead, all of them confident that when it came to Aaron, Robert really was the best thing for him.

[id0l-atry]

Is International SEO Copywriting So Important To Marketing Marketing communications?

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Another way in order to do this is via social media marketing. This is more of the challenge because you will require to build a sizable pursuing on multiple social media stations; however, it has huge marketing and advertising benefits well beyond just SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. It is not clear just how much SEO juice you may receive from social networking though. Search engines has been shifting its importance to Google+, and now actually that is in flux. All of us left social media out associated with this SEO guide because we all believe it stands by alone and should not be utilized primarily being an SEO device. Now that you aren't creating valuable content, ensure that will it's discoverable on Google. Have a robust SEO strategy therefore that you feature in best search results. Also, obtain the Google Business Listing for your own hotel, and make maintain QUICK SLEEP (Name, Address, and Phone number) consistency across platforms like Yelp, Yahoo, Foursquare, and TripAdvisor. The post also records that even the Play Gaming console will require the support associated with new apps and updates in order to run without a 32-bit edition. It is important that every thing, including 32-bit, be supported along with 64-bit to obtain better results along with additional registers and instructions. September 2019 is by far, significance that Google has given the particular developers plenty of time in order to plug in on the 64-bit version. And the company offers also Blog9t told developers that additional announcements should control it.

Copywriters naturally acquire skills beyond easy writing, depending on the locations and media in which these people work. Online copywriters, for instance, usually benefit from having a few understanding of HTML (the vocabulary that web pages are composed in) as well as the particular most common techniques of on the internet marketing and advertising. SEO is usually a key consideration, and on the web copywriters have to discover ways to compose copy that appeals to individual readers while also signalling to look engines that a web web page is relevant to particular key phrases. In fact, the last several years have seen the introduction of specialist SEO copywriters, in whose sole focus is copywriting regarding web pages which are meant to rank highly in research engines. Reverse SEO pushes lower bad publicity within the lookup engine's organic listings. Many clients will research your business or item online before purchasing. What a person don't want them to discover is bad reviews or bad reports. Studies have shown that will the majority of searchers by no means go past the 1st web page when searching. And only the small fraction ever get in order to the 3rd page of the particular search results. Keep in brain that the more traffic these types of negative reports get the more difficult these are to push down the particular search results page, so the particular key is to suppress the particular negative pages quickly. Use page rank campaigns, blogs, and social network sites towards your name out there there. Get your happy clients to give you a recommendation, and display the testimonials upon your website and blog. Create for prominent article submissions websites like EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, GoArticles and so on.

[cars4starters]

What is it?

A very classy bit of kit.

Jaguar reminds us why the station wagon is far from dead, with a big cat that can do all the practical things an SUV can do — but one that retains head turning looks and sublime performance.

This one, the XF Sportbrake First Edition, comes with the lot and then some. The idea is that if you want one of these cars, now is the time to get it because the deal will never be as sweet.

That’s because the 1st Edition is offered for only the first 12 months of sales, or until stock as they say runs out.

Sportbrake by the way is what they call their wagons, a spin off of the historical term ‘shooting brake’ — look it up. And, get this, it’s exactly 1mm longer than the sedan.

  What’s it cost?

Prices for the XF wagon start from $90,400 for a 132kW 2.0-litre diesel.

The same model, with a 184kW 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, is priced from $91,400.

Then comes the top of the line S with a 3.0-litre twin turbo 221kW diesel at $123,450 and finally the 1st Edition with the same power plant but even more kit — priced from $137,300.

There’s leather and four-zone climate air, 19-inch alloys, plus:

S body kit including sports front bumper, Gloss Black side sills, rear valance and Gloss Black Roof Rails

Head-Up Display

Adaptive Dynamics

10-way electric Suede/Grained Leather S embossed sport seats

Power Tailgate/Boot Lid

Surround Camera & 360° Parking Aid

Adaptive LED Headlights with Signature DRL

Keyless Entry

The little extras that come with the 1st Edition include Farallon pearl back paint, power operated tailgate, humongous sun roof, with gesture-activated sun blind, 10-inch infotainment touchscreen and 12.3-inch configurable digital dashboard.

You also get the normally optional Activity wristband that you can take swimming without having to bury the keys in the sand.

It’s nice and safe too, with automatic emergency braking, but even at this price you don’t get the whole shooting match — blind spot alert is extra.

In fact there’s pages of extras.

What’s it go like?

The terms effortless and frugal spring to mind.

With 221kW of power and a seriously impressive 700Nm of torque, it’s got a lot of get up and go — that’s for sure.

The twin turbo V6 diesel is hooked up to an 8-speed auto, with paddle shifts, drive to the rear wheels and selectable drive modes.

The dash from 0-100km/h takes just 6.6 seconds (quick for a diesel) and it has an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h — 0.4 seconds slower than the sedan.

At the same time it uses hardly any fuel, ours did anyway. Rated at a miserly 5.9L/100km, we were getting 6.8 after close to 600km of easy travel.

The Sportbrake’s timing couldn’t have been better, in terms of our test drive. It arrived just in time for our big birthday bash in the NSW Southern Highlands.

You’ll find more Jags down here than the factory where they make them, sitting shiny and resplendent at the end of the crunchy, pebbled driveways, leading to the historic homes that line its leafy streets.

The cashed up old blokes that retire down here, sequestered behind their walled properties, just can’t get enough of the big cats — musicians, media types and company high flyers mostly.

Rolling down the main drag the satnav told us to look for Browley Street and the six-bedroom Manor House, built way back in 1848 before Moss Vale was even gazetted.

It was the main residence of the 270ha “Browley Estate” and was built by the Anglican Rector of Berrima.

The house and car were dare we say the perfect match.

Our guests were to surprised to see a Jag, let alone a wagon — I guess they’re not that common.

Sitting long and low the Sportbrake slides through the air with barely a ripple, the 8-speed auto anticipating changes nicely, negating the need for the paddles.

Driving the car is a relaxing experience, as it should be, but we had to make friends first because the throttle is a little touchy to start with. Too much pressure, too quickly and it leaps forward with a start, drawing a rebuke from she who must be obeyed.

Sitting at 120km/h on the motorway the tacho hovers around the 1300 rev mark, barely ticking over which makes for easy conversation between front and back.

Punt it hard however and it reacts with a growl like the athlete it is, with strong acceleration, precise well-weighted steering, impeccable corner manners and an impressive set of stoppers.

This is the big difference between driving a “car” and a high riding SUV.

The only downside is the lower ride height which lowers the centre of gravity but makes it more difficult to get in and out of than an SUV — a fact that will more than likely fall on deaf ears as far as the target market is concerned.

  What we like?

The badge

Looks expensive

Effortless performance

Uses hardly any fuel

  What we don’t like?

Difficult to get in and out of, especially on an incline

Heads up display difficult to make out with polarised sunglases

That’s about it

  The bottom line?

The XF Sportbrake is a fine example of what Jaguar does best. Classy, practical motoring with flair and character that makes every outing a unique experience.

    CHECKOUT: E Pace plays to a new order

CHECKOUT: Back from the dead: Jaguar D-type reborn

  Them's the brakes #cars4start #Jaguar #XF What is it? A very classy bit of kit. Jaguar reminds us why the station wagon is far from dead, with a big cat that can do all the practical things an SUV can do -- but one that retains head turning looks and sublime performance.

[metalifecoach]

If you do not have Higher Qualifications by 2030 – you will be unemployed.

Education can take us into a future that we cannot grasp, yet!

So what if the possibility exists for you to get higher qualifications that is relevant, and can formulate your personal interests into a career you would love to do? What if you can study without paying the high prices of formal university training, and get bogged down by the limitations of state controlled traditional education. Will you study further? After reading this letter, you will most definitely not make the mistake thousands has made before. Don’t be left behind and find yourself jobless, and with no income to sustain your future.

I heard a great story recently, of a little girl who was attending a drawing lesson. She was six and sitting in the back of the drawing room. The teacher noticed this little girl, lost in her own endeavour, never paid attention. The teacher was fascinated by her vigorous activity, putting innovation, and creativity on paper with colourful display. Looking at her creation, the teacher asked her what she was drawing. And the girl said, “I am drawing a picture of God”. And the teacher said, “But no-body knows what God looks like”. And the girl said, “They will in a minute” ….

Many seek quick gold, we want to be rich fast without effort, and we want to have many things. Yet what is often lacking is the knowledge about gold, the mining process, and establishment of the business needed to translate gold into a sustainable system that would profit all. In the same way the internet, for example, is overloaded with fast-information, the good, the bad and the ugly deceitful, and yet it neither makes anybody streetwise, other than being a cheap magazine for advice that attempt to replace professional expertise. The reliable proof remains in the pudding, and if these free-floating Facebook comments, or blogs from John Bloke really make us wise – why are we not all millionaires yet. The point is that being internet savvy does not make you an educated specialist, and if the internet of things makes you rich, why are the world stuck in poverty. The secret answer, the gift of gold, lies somewhere in this article – keep reading.

Experts that monitor the corporate sector has indicated that big companies tend to scale down on unproductive staff, justified by favouritism towards new technologies, and computerized systems to replace human resources that do not possess higher qualifications. There are many reasons why it is absolutely essential for young and old to complement their work experience with applicable, relevant, and contextual education, or they will find themselves unemployable soon. You will benefit from further studies. Different approaches towards studies can be highlighted, but many choose to ignore alternative, cost-effective, and accelerated solutions, for they afraid to depart from conditioned routines that emphasizes the ideal comfort of a big house and smart cars. But if this is true, then why are so many graduates, especially in South Africa, finding themselves unemployed? The reason being that it is integrative learning that transforms lives, and not just mere knowledge about Reading History, Science, and Maths. In the words of Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. But in context, the acronym, “knowledge is power”, is often miss-used with reference to leaders in influential positions, instead of individual independent thinkers that create their own solutions for life. But, exactly why will a different approach to education, and what type of knowledge power will help you to move ahead in life? Is Education not often spoken about as out-dated, costly, difficult, and take soooo long?  You will find solutions to these problems below.

Here are the facts …

With the turn of the decade, we will see the population statistics in Africa alone, double to 2.1 Billion[1]. According to the Economist, 75% of Africa’s population by 2030 will be under the median age of 25 years [2] . To make matters worse, we stand on the brink of a technological and digital revolution that will fundamentally change the way we think in terms of work, and education. In its scale, scope, and complexity, Schwab (World Economic Forum. 2017), claims that the transformation of businesses and the way society operates will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. It simply means that we cannot expect the youth to apply and prosper from the same old principles used for business strategies that led to the disarray of world economics, war, and despair. The facts also indicate that current trends in businesses for especially the next three years is to scale down even further, feeling the pinch of bad politics, and financial pressures to survive. In SA, the unemployed stand currently at 36.4% and in total 56%, age 15-64, are not economically active [3]. So if unemployment are rapidly increasing due to the reduction of job opportunities, hence the urgent need for the current workforce (which 45% are under the age of 25), to acquire greater expertise that will enable them to build a self-sustainable future, for there will not be jobs available in the future.

Recently a Professor told me this story, the reason she never found gold, was because she entertained herself with television soapies, and social media feeds that encourage fear, discrimination and a belief in conspiracies, to such an extent that she believed that a self-earning income is not possible, and not working for a corporate company to take care of your family, being against “God’s” will. It is only when she started studying that she realized how much disadvantage beliefs were self-induced. We came to believe that the ideal portrait of a 9-5 job, nice salary, medical fund, retirement at age 60/65, car and house allowance, and the ultimate dream home to be the in thing. Yet, soon workforce across all race, gender, and age boundaries will need to realize that the future of work means you will have to be self-employed and produce your own income, without these luxuries attached. The day she took responsibility for creating her own employment, she found her passion and purpose in life.

Simply stated – we cannot expect skills development at matric level (NQF 4, or NQF 5 Occupational Certificates through e.g. SETA accredited internships), to provide means to obtain employment, and neither will your portfolio of MOOC’s count much to provide food for the table. Rather, old and young will need to find ways to integrate expertise gained through relevant, up to date, and contextual learning, obtained through a reflective and transformative learning approach, to generate new ways to work and create employment opportunities for the next decade. With 10 to 12 million digitally connected youths entering the job market in Africa every year, the International Monetary Fund estimates that the continent will need to produce an average of 18 million new high productivity jobs every year until 2035. Sadly speaking, with a disempowered and uneducated prior generation, the expertise to make this feasible is desperately in need and if the millenniums do not endeavour to empower themselves, the economy will collapse, and neither will there be an older generation of businesses left, to feed the poor. This is mainly because internship programmes become a cheap employment strategy used by companies without ensuring future employment for the interns, and traditional business incubators only provide infrastructure to profit from those participating. Integrated learning must guide the learner to move beyond studies, into independent living and being, a transformative experience that builds confidence and self-sustainable know-how leaders that influence and empower their communities.

Much can be said about work integrated learning to apply critical thinking, innovation, creative analysis and independent decision making. Yet, employer surveys indicated that, apart from specialist skills and knowledge directly related to career fields, the importance of transferable and cross-cutting proficiencies is imperative for survival and success in the competitive world of work. These competencies (knowledge, skills, and applied abilities) include, among others, Leadership Development, Social Entrepreneurship, Business and Project Management, Networking and Relationship building, Holistic Consciousness and Personal Integrity. The good news is that there is opportunity for all to excel in their academic proficiency through a flexible, accelerated (not time bound), and progressive approach (building new knowledge on top of existing to improve effectiveness and expand experience). According to a new survey done by the Arizona State-Georgetown University [4], we must not make the mistake to equate the need for further studies with traditional university training. The decade ahead for higher education is one of radical change in teaching methods, approach to course materials, and philosophy of education.   

Incubation for Higher Learning – A New Way to Empower and Educate.  

The word incubation, refer to hatching of birds eggs, nurturing, and cultivating the growth and development until the chicks are ready to leave the nest. The Meta-Life Change-Agent Incubation Initiative, refers to the cultivation of competencies needed to foster entrepreneurial leaders and holistic change makers in society. The Academic Incubation – format as approach to Higher Education (as opposed to a traditional business incubator), is a structured community of learning and think-tank, with the primary task to assist the critical assessment, research exploration of fundamental ideas, and advanced knowledge needed for social and economic development. Focusing on Entrepreneurship and Social Transformation, the Incubation process accelerates the competencies, knowledge, and skills needed for participants to initiate, and manage new ventures that would expand business possibilities and job creation. Moving away from formally established Institutionalized approach to education towards knowledge based communities of learning, as Virtual University and Micro-centre of learning, it can provide digital and globally accessible solutions through online blended learning, while providing local contact support to guide the implementation of studies.

The Meta-Life Institute has initiated this response to the world economic crisis to bridge the gap experienced in human capacity building in scarce skills, or critical knowledge requirements for a sustainable future. As academic mentors, we host blended learning support that facilitates Internationally Accredited Educational Programmes in Leadership Development focusing on Entrepreneurship and Social Transformation, as well as a Social Sciences Programmes focusing on Holistic Spiritual Ministry and Consciousness, or Metaphysical Studies. Built on the relevant foundation of educational incubation programmes, it simply means you can develop the practical know-how of venture creation and business management, or holistic ministry services under the guidance of experts, while earning recognition by our partner Universities.

For citizens of a developing country, access to International studies is limited and can be very expensive. Research from the Erasmus impact study also demonstrated that students who take part in an Academic Incubation programme with International cross-border links, have higher employment rates after five years, faster career progression, greater professional responsibility, earn more than their non-mobile peers and demonstrate a higher rate of entrepreneurialism. The Deloitte, Fifth Global Millennial Survey, agrees that this kind of Coaching and Mentoring needs to be embedded in Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Consciousness Incubation Programmes, to answer the challenges faced in developing societies to secure a sustainable future (Buckley et al 5, 2016: 17). Although, the MLi Academic Mentoring process is not part of the local education system, it opens a path to be accredited with internationally recognized qualifications that reflect the student’s personal career interests in a flexible, accessible, and affordable manner.

The role of a Transformational Coaching and Academic Mentoring approach to Education, encourages collaborative innovation through team work, challenging thinking and perspectives, supports change initiatives, and cultivate the appropriate competencies needed for success. Transformative Learning, according to Mezirow6 (1998: 197), occurs when e.g. business leaders, engages in activities that causes, or allows them to gain understanding of a different worldview than their own, and by integrating the implications of alternative perspectives into their own thoughts, allowing it to transform their lives, and business strategies. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds experience the largest uplift, flowing from collaborative participation under guidance of an incubation mentor. This kind of approach to education aim to promote personal growth, social transformation, and inclusive economic expansion.  

If you have read thus far – well done. You are now eligible for the gift of gold at the bottom of the rainbow. Why many never find the gold, reflects on their inability to do critical reflection, unwillingness to read through an article, and then they try be business advisors. And for those who are seriously seeking opportunities to obtain relevant, flexible, and personalized interdisciplinary educational qualifications – this is the key that can open your future. Our intake is limited, quote this reference, “Dual_2017/IN6” to reserve your seat, and receive an additional special dual degree offer. For more information, contact us on info@metalifecoaching.co.za.

References.

[1] Mills, G; Obasanjo, O; Herbst, J; and Davis, D. 2017. Making Africa Work: A Handbook for Economic Success. Cape Town: Tafelberg.

[2] The Economist, 16 April 2016. [Online]. Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21696792-commodity-boom-may-be-over-and-barriers-doing-business-are-everywhere-africas. (Accessed, 28 June 2017).

[3] Stats SA, Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 1, June 2017.

[4] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/decade-ahead-promises-great-change-higher-education-jeff-selingo

[5] Buckley, P; Viechnicki, P; and Baruahttp, A. 2016. The 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey: Winning over the next generation of leaders. A New Understanding of Millennials: Generational Differences Re-examined. Available at: www.deloitte.com/MillennialSurvey. (Accessed, 07 May 2016).

[6] Mezirow, J. 1998. On critical reflection. Adult Learning Quarterly, 48(3), pp.185-198.