#yes I dug up the interview and checked the date

[aseriesofunfortunatetexts]

incorrect ASOUE

[thotsforvillainrights]

-Straight From The Heart-

(The secret fanfic I’ve been writing behind everyone’s back was about Trumpet the whole time...)

~Chapter 1~

'Maybe option 4 or maybe just skip it and go back to 3? No no, I've already sent a follow-up email to option 3 a couple of days ago. I landed another interview but at what cost? I don't really want to work for that company at all. Wait a second! Yes, that's right, I can still apply to those others lined up.' 

Words buzzed around inside of your head as you used your GPS to find the cafe not too far from here. You've been here for a while but not in this city specifically. In fact, the entire place was new to you so it certainly helped to have a map of some sort on hand. It had been only about a week or two since you've moved here. A friend mentioned it to you one day over the phone. He spoke of how lovely the mountain area was and that the citizens there were known for their tight knit community. You had been job hunting for a month or two and needed the move anyway. It was cheaper to live here and your savings were slowly dwindling. "This is what I get for quitting without having another job lined up." You scolded yourself before rounding the corner and finally making it to your destination. As you entered the shop the smell of coffee and pastries bombarded your nose. You took in your surroundings and smiled at all of the people simply living around you. There was a small family happily chatting by the large window, the kids were munching on their chocolates while the mother chatted with her partner about upcoming festivals they should check out. On another end there was a young couple that seemed as though it was their first date. Lots of awkward exchanges and gentle touches with a giggle and blush thrown about here and there. At another table sat an elderly woman and her puppy nestled comfortably in her purse. A few baristas greeted you with a warm smile and you gave a quick wave and nod. It was your turn in line and you took a little extra minute to try and decide on what you wanted to have. The list was somewhat long and the drinks all looked so good. How on earth did people decide so quickly?

Suddenly you heard the sound of a man clearing his throat followed by a chuckle. You quickly turned to apologize for holding him up. "I'm sorry. I could've sworn there was no one behind me just now." He laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head. The man was a pretty good height with rather long lashes lining the bottom of his eyes, blocked by his purple tinted glasses. His hair was rather long and jet black, slicked back upon his head with a single thick black strand dangling in front of his face. He was dressed in a full suit adorned with a long grey scarf over his shoulders and he smelled of rather expensive cologne. He smiled at you. "No there really wasn't. I actually just came in a couple of seconds ago. No need to apologize. Actually I was going to suggest you get that one over there if you're indecisive. It's really good, trust me." He pointed at the sign the hung above your heads. You looked at the drink and nodded. "Yeah it does look pretty good..." You turned your attention to the cashier and ordered the drink along with a nice pastry to go with it. "That'll be 6.85" (translate that to Yen please) You dug around in your pocket and handed him the money. He frowned apologetically for a second before looking back to you. "I'm sorry but you're just 5 cents short of the total. I would pay it myself but our register is a little short and I don't carry cash with me. I'm sorry." He apologized again. "Oh haha, that's all good. I'll just come back later and-" Before you could even finish your sentence the man behind you reached out and passed a few bills over to the cashier. "I've got it, no worries. Keep the change." While he grabbed your food from the barista you were still rather shocked at the random act of kindness. "Here you go." He handed it to you with a warm smile. "Uh..t-thank you?" He laughed at your expression. "Was that a statement or a question?" He teased and you looked away sheepishly. "Sorry, I mean thank you. It's just so sudden since this is the first real time I've been out of my new apartment since moving to Deika. My friend told me about the friendly people here but I didn't really expect it to be at this extent."

"Haha, expect a little bit of that here and there. Everyone in Deika tends to act this way toward each other. We're less of a city and more of a giant family. Since you've moved here, you're now apart of that family." He explained it to you. "Ah, understandable. Thank you again for the help." He nodded with a smile. "No problem, and welcome to Deika." He turned to order his food and you took one last look back at him before leaving the shop. You ate on the pastry while walking to your apartment. It wasn't too long again before your head was swarmed by the thought of job hunting. 'If the people are really like that man said, then maybe it won't be too hard to find a position here after all.' You thought to yourself as you unlocked your apartment door. There was still so much unpacking to do and at this point you figured it would be okay if you took a break to finish your drink. You took a seat and flicked through various channels on the Tv until your phone vibrated on the table beside you. You stopped sipping your drink and answered it. "Y/N!!!!" Your friend answered with a shaky hold on the camera. "I miss you so much! How's the move going! Do you like it there so far? Didn't I say Deika would be better than the hustle and bustle of Tokyo? Tell me do you love it! I just wanna hear I'm right of course haha!" You rolled your eyes and nodded. "Ugh yes you're right, now try to calm down F/N (friend's name) will you? Anyway I haven't been able to see much of the city since I got here. I've been cooped up inside doing my job hunt and unpacking. On top of that, I've been cleaning non-stop. I visited a cafe earlier and that's the main place I've been since getting here." You admitted and your friend frowned. "Sounds like you need to get out and explore."

"Explore? I've got way too much to do right now. Exploring is for later on."

"Ugh, c'mon. You are gonna drive yourself crazy staring at the walls like that. Please at least go out and get a walk in will you? I promise it'll be good for you. Please? Promise me you'll do it. Promise me right now!"

"Okay okay! I promise. Now let me go because I've got some extra stuff to handle okay?"

"Okay! Bye!"

"Bye F/N." You hung up the phone and sighed as your eyes wandered to the view out the window. Really the day was just beginning. It was only just now 11:45 a.m. but you had just gotten back from that cafe trip so you decided to get a little more unpacking and cleaning done before leaving the house again. When you felt like you'd done a reasonable amount of work, you went ahead and closed up before heading downstairs and out along the sidewalk. 'Maybe F/N was right about the walk' you thought to yourself as you took in your surroundings. It was shaping up to be a beautifully sunny day. The birds were happily chattering, busy with their nest making in the tree's above that lined the sidewalk. People were out and about, some late to work and rushing across the road while gripping their paperwork with care, others out walking their dogs and babies in strollers. A woman stopped you on the walk and handed you a piece of paper. "Excuse me, but are you aware the elections are coming up here in Deika soon?" She asked you curiously. "Hmm? No I uh, I wasn't." You tilted your head a bit to the side. "Oh! Well then I implore you to consider voting for our favorite representative of the Hearts and Mind Party, Koku Hanabata! He's got some amazing policies both old and new. Plus he's been faithfully serving the city of Deika for 3 terms now! Please consider voting for Hanabata and have a lovely day!" Just like that she was passing out a paper to the next person behind you. You shrugged and continued walking a short piece before stopping and staring at the paper in your possession. "Ha...no way." On that paper was a picture of the very man you met this morning in the shop. There he was, same charming smile plastered on the paper that he graced you with earlier. "I wonder if he was just being nice or if he was fishing for votes." You laughed to yourself as you folded up the paper and put it in your back pocket. "Who knows."

Koku Hanabata

Koku Hanabata...Then name danced around your head a few more times until you got back home. Then you ended up staying up and searching up information about him on your laptop. He appeared to be nothing short of the perfect man. At least that's what you gathered from your research. It was almost eerily too perfect...It was like his public record was scrubbed 100% clean of any blemishes. In your experience you didn't know of many politicians (really any at all) that were this far from corruption. That being said, you still weren't sure you could vote for him. It's not like you needed to anyway. He would likely win with the way the city operated on a face basis with family values. He didn't need your vote. You chuckled lightly and rolled over to get some rest. Hopefully by tomorrow you would get a call back from one of the jobs you applied to.

[pennzance]

Ghostbusters: Port Huron (Episode 3)

Episode 3: The Tunnel

Date: August 3rd, 1998

Incident Report by Bryan

Our team responded to a panicked call from a mother who claimed her son had seen some sort of creature in the closed Port Huron Sarnia railway tunnel. The tunnel was closed in 1994 and ran underneath the St. Lawrence River to Sarnia, Canada. It was originally built in 1891 and was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1993. It was closed when its replacement was finished and opened by the CN Railway, Canada’s national rail service. The new tunnel is better designed for diesel locomotives while the original was built by hand in the days of steam. Progress marches on.

We did our due diligence. Eric and Amber went to interview the mother for more concrete details while Jeremy readied our equipment, and I took the time to research our destination. I’ve been buried in old record recently as a result of some of our recent jobs. Historical facts, the odd legend, folklore and even the various historical plaques around Port Huron can all provide insights into how we deal with spectral entities. I shall attach some further notes from my recent research to the end of this report, as it has bearing.

We regrouped and took the Ecto-908 to the Port Huron side of the tunnel entrance. Eric being an idiot (every team needs one, apparently), his half-remembered conversation with the witness consisted of ‘a big horse with bat wings.’ Amber’s recollection was not much better, but I cannot expect much from a former Air Force Materials Management airman. We loaded up and stepped carefully past the warning signs into the darkness.

The place was obviously a popular hangout for the terminally bored youth of Port Huron. All manner of obscenities were scrawled on the walls in a number of mediums. The deeper we went, the sparser they became. Obviously the youth were bored, not stupid. Jeremy cautioned us against going further, as the structural integrity of a hand-dug tunnel was obviously quite suspect, and indeed there was a thin layer of water on either side of the tracks that I noticed at this point. We began to turn to leave and reassess the situation when the PKE Meter spiked.

It hadn’t been there a moment ago, but suddenly there it was. And I hate that I cannot describe it better or more briefly than as a big horse with bat wings. It trampled past us toward the entrance toward an end I did not immediately understand until it banked into the air and turned. Jeremy and Amber fired their weapons and both landed solid hits, but they failed to slow the beast down as it charged back through us.

I was slower to my feet than the rest. I’m not sure Amber ever went down, focused as she was on lighting the creature up with her Proton Pack. Eric remembered he had the newer Proton Pack and, through what I am certain is sheer dumb luck, hit the monster in the wing, driving it to the ground with a splash and a very un-horse-like screech. My three co-workers laid into it again with their weapons and the creature discorporated.  As if it had never been there at all. The PKE Meter was silent.

Jeremy rigged up a sort of alarm sensor, using pieces of my last PKE Meter. Should another entity enter the tunnel, it would broadcast a radio signal he would check every day. The man is large and terrifying in his visage, but his technical acumen is commendable. We returned to the office to file our report.

ADDITIONAL: The creature we encountered in the tunnel bears a striking resemblance to an item that actually spiked the PKE Meter on an earlier job we went to in the Port Huron Ice Museum. Yes, Port Huron has an Ice Museum. The artifact in question was a talisman of some sort, on a leather strand bearing a visage that could, generously, be described as a horse with bat wings. I don’t believe in coincidence. Further research is absolutely necessary.

ADDITIONAL ADDITIONAL: I am bringing my own Proton Pack next time. I cannot leave it to imbeciles like Eric to do all of the heavy lifting when it comes to life threatening situations.

[storiesforallfandoms]

hate ~ g eazy

word count: 1612

request?: yes!

“Can you do a G-Eazy story that has complete and total hate sex like they don’t say that they have feelings for each other”

description: in which they have a love-hate relationship, but keep denying their true feelings for one another

pairing: g eazy x female!reader

warnings: swearing, smut, angst

masterlist

Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he roughly thrusted in her. Her nails dug into his back and she was sure that they would’ve been leaving marks if it wasn’t for the leather jacket he was wearing.

She had her head buried in his shoulder to muffle her whimpers and moans. The last thing either of them needed was for someone to hear and to leak to the press that G-Eazy was fucking some girl in the dressing room of a talk show.

A knock on the door startled both of them. Gerald covered her mouth as he continued to thrust into her, calling out, “Yeah?”

“You’re on in five, G!” came the voice of his manager.

“Yeah, give me a minute man!”

“Make it a quick minute.”

Gerald rolled his eyes as his thrusts became rougher, the sound of skin slapping against skin becoming louder. He pressed his hand against (Y/N)’s mouth to keep her growing moans silent. He bit his lip to hold back any noises he’d make as he felt himself hitting his climax. (Y/N)’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she rode out her own shortly after.

Gerald carefully put (Y/N) down before grabbing his pants and quickly pulling them up. (Y/N) grabbed her discarded pants and panties from the floor and pulled them on.

“Could’ve done it in a minute without being so fast and so rough,” she muttered as she checked her makeup in the vanity mirror.

“Fuck you,” Gerald muttered as he swung open the door.

She smirked over her shoulder. “You already did.”

Gerald rolled his eyes and continued to the talk show set. (Y/N) shook her head and used a nearby tissue to wipe off her already smudged lipstick.

She wasn’t quite sure why she and Gerald were this way. They had been friends once, or at least close to being friends. Then suddenly...they just weren’t. They had a complicated love-hate relationship - they didn’t exactly like one another, but they also didn’t want to stop being friends.

Then, just to make things more complicated, they started having sex. (Y/N) was also unsure when that happened, but she remembered roughly what had happened: they had a fight. Some harsh things were said, harsher than they had ever said before, and suddenly Gerald’s lips were on hers. The next thing she knew, she was collecting her clothes off of his bedroom floor.

It was supposed to be a one time thing, they had both agreed that it would never happen again. And then came another fight, and thus another hook up. Then they decided that this somewhat friends with benefits situation just might be a good thing for the both of them, even if they still despised one another.

Once her makeup was fixed, (Y/N) followed the rest of the crew towards the main stage of the talk show. They had already begun the interview when I arrived, so I tried to stay as quiet as possible.

“I’ve just had a lot of inspiration lately,” Gerald was saying. “Like, every waking minute I’ve been writing or recording, and before I knew it I had enough for an album. I have enough for almost two albums, but I’ll save the other songs for that.”

“Would one of your inspirations happen to be a girl?” the host asked.

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow at this. Inside, she felt the familiar pang of jealousy at the thought of Gerald with another woman, although she wasn’t sure why she felt so jealous. She didn’t have feelings for Gerald, she knew she didn’t...right?

Gerald laughed and shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve been single for a while now and I don’t have any intentions on dating.”

The interviewer gave him a look. “Are you sure about that? Cause a picture recently surfaced of you with an unknown lady at an after party.”

Gerald’s face went pale as the host put the picture up on the screen for the audience to see. (Y/N) covered her mouth as she felt her stomach lurch with shock and slight anger.

The picture was of the two of them leaving a club the night before. Both were super drunk and had been all over each other inside the club the whole night. Moments before the picture was taken, Gerald had been grinding against (Y/N) and whispering dirty thoughts in her ear. She had taken hold of his hand and dragged him out of the club. While they waited for a taxi, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing Gerald, right there out in the open.

Gerald was unsure what to say. He wasn’t prepared for this. How was he going to explain the situation between him and (Y/N)?

“That’s no one,” he blurted before he could stop himself. “Just some chick I met is all. We got a little hot and heavy and I took her back to my hotel room. Not exactly the type of shit I want to be made public, but I guess you can’t help it when you’re famous.”

Tears welled up in (Y/N)’s eyes at Gerald’s words. She wondered if that’s all he thought of her; not even as an enemy, but just as an easy fuck.

Before she could stop herself, (Y/N) turned and raced out of the studio. Luckily, no one had been paying her any mind anyways, so she didn’t cause too much of a fuss. She raced directly to the bathroom and shoved the door open. She didn’t have time to get to the privacy of a stall before she broke down into tears.

The truth was, (Y/N) did feel something for Gerald. She hadn’t realized it at first, she had only seen him as a friend. When he started being rude towards her, her opinion changed and they became somewhat frenemies, but she soon realized that her feelings had never been entirely friendly. She had felt something for Gerald, something he obviously didn’t feel back, and that just made her more frustrated with the way he treated her.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been there, but when she heard footsteps approaching (Y/N) quickly turned on the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She was wiping it with a paper towel when Gerald shoved the door open, a look of concern on his face.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” she pointed out, refusing to look at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, ignoring her comment.

“I’m fine,” she responded. “Get out before you get in trouble.”

Gerald took hold of her chin and forced her to look up at him. She batted his hand away and backed up. “Fuck off, G.”

“I’m serious, (Y/N), are you okay?” he asked.

“Why do you give a fuck? I’m no one, remember? Just an easy fuck you met at a club.”

Gerald rolled his eyes. “You know I didn’t mean that, (Y/N). I was just trying to get their attention away from us. The situation we’re in is not an easy one to describe, it’s just easier to lie.”

“How do I know you didn’t mean it?” (Y/N) asked, crossing her arms. “I mean, what the fuck are we doing Gerald? You hate me and yet we fuck like it’s no one’s business. What do you call that, cause it’s sure as hell not a relationship.”

“I don’t hate you,” Gerald insisted.

“You don’t? So, is that why you did a sudden 180 with the way you treated me? Is that why, suddenly, it felt like you couldn’t stand to be around me? You can’t deny that the dynamic between us changed a few years back, and it’s never really recovered.”

Gerald shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t hate you.”

“Then what? What did I do to make this happen?”

“You didn’t do anything! That’s the problem!” Gerald snapped. His sudden change in tone shocked (Y/N) and she even had to take a step back. “Fuck, you’re so fucking perfect, it’s always been hard to keep my hands off of you. But we were friends, only friends, and I knew you’d never want anything more. The best course of action was to try and push those feelings away, which, admittedly, came off as rude and cold I’m realizing now.”

She was shocked by Gerald’s words. Never once had (Y/N) ever believed that he had feelings for her, even before everything suddenly went downhill with them.

“I had no idea,” she admitted.

“I made sure you wouldn’t,” Gerald responded with a shrug. “I didn’t want to ruin things between us.”

“And then we just ended up having sex anyways,” (Y/N) pointed out, a slight joking tone in her voice.

Gerald couldn’t help but chuckle at this as well. “Yeah, we ended up having sex anyways. Just...hateful sex, and not the good kind.”

(Y/N) crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. “So, what happens now?”

Gerald copied her stance and shrugged. “I guess that’s just up to you. What do you want to happen?”

“I want to work back to where we used to be,” (Y/N) decided. “I want to get back to being friends, and then see where things can go from there.”

Gerald smiled and nodded. “Okay, I think I can do that.”

“You have no choice, cause if you pull this shit again I’ll fucking kill you.”

They laughed together, the first time they had truly laughed as friends in years.

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck Part 15/? - Body Snatchers Part 16/? - Out of the Frying Pan Part 17/? - A Miracle Part 18/? - A Matter of Circumstance Part 19/? - Nome Part 20/? - The Future Part 21/? - A Hero’s Welcome Part 22/? - Up to Speed Part 23/? - Expect Further Delays Part 24/? - The Welcome Wagon Part 25/? - Fugitives Part 26/? - A Reluctant Accomplice Part 27/? - Deja Vu Part 28/? - Interview with a Madwoman

Hey, check it out, I’m still alive.

-

Peggy knew she couldn’t spend all her time moaning over the romantic dilemma life had presented her with.  She let herself dwell on it for a moment, then forced her mind on to more practical matters.  By the time they returned to the farmhouse, she’d decided how she wanted to approach this interrogation.

“I think you should talk to her first,” she told Kay.  “While I’m out of sight.”

“You’re the one who knows her,” Kay protested.

“Yes, but she’s expecting me,” Peggy reminded her.  “If we start with you, it’ll catch her off guard.”  She did not want Dottie to think she was in a position to make demands.

Kay nodded slowly.  “All right, you go down by the hood.  I’ll open the back.”

The back boot opened with a creak.  Peggy could immediately smell ammonia.  At some point during the night, Dottie had needed to relieve herself and had been either unwilling or unable to hold it in.  Peggy probably ought to have felt sorry for her, but after all Dottie had put her through, it was hard.

There was a silence that was just a bit too long to be the moment in which Kay pulled the tape off Dottie’s mouth, and Peggy found it rather reassuring that the woman could still be taken by surprise.

“Dobroye utro,” said Kay.  That meant good morning.  “Olga Barynova.”

“Kto ty?” asked Dottie.  Who are you?  Her voice was level and measured, deliberately toneless.

“I’m you, but smarter,” Kay replied in English.  “You didn’t read the message.  You didn’t think you needed to, because you already know everything. Surprise!”

There was another silence, as Dottie re-assessed the situation.  Peggy wondered what was going on in her head.

“You won’t take me back,” Dottie said.  “You’ll have to kill me.”

“You didn’t read the message,” Kay repeated.  “Do you want to know what it said, or are you just going to lie there in a puddle of your own piss trying to pretend you know what you’re talking about?”

Peggy really did rather wish she could see the expression on Dottie’s face. It was probably well worth seeing.

“What did the message say?” asked Dottie.

“That I have no intention of turning you back over to them,” Kay reassured her. “I want you and I to go back together, and we’re gonna burn the place down.”

Dottie laughed.  “That’s exactly what you would say if you were here to drag me back, because it’s exactly what I would say to you if our positions were reversed.”

“You don’t trust me?” asked Kay.  “You sure do seem to trust Peggy Carter, and I’m pretty sure she wants to see you rot in jail for the rest of your life.”

“Peggy thinks she’s one of the good guys,” Dottie snorted.  “She keeps her promises even when they’re stupid.  If you’re anything like me, you don’t know what a promise is.”

Peggy decided that was her cue.  She came and stepped into Dottie’s field of view.  It had clearly been a rough night for Dottie in the trunk of the car. She’d evidently struggled quite a bit, trying to loosen the tape, and had not succeeded.  There were red marks on the visible skin of her arms and legs where it had dug into her flesh.  Her hair was in disarray.  She did look momentarily surprised when Peggy came into view, but hid it quickly.

“Peggy, Peggy, Peggy,” she said, clucking her tongue  “You of all people should know better than to partner up with one of us.  We’re bad news.”

“I decided I needed some expert advice,” Peggy replied.  “Despite what Chief Thompson thinks, I am not nearly deranged enough to think like you do.”

“I’m not deranged,” said Dottie.  “I know exactly what I’m doing.  You just can’t believe that because it doesn’t align with your goals.”

“You want revenge,” said Kay.  “You want to get back into the USSR un-noticed and destroy the people who made you. You don’t want another little girl to ever become what you are.”

“I’m not that altruistic,” Dottie replied.  “I was seven years old when they put me and my best friend in a ring together and told us that only one could leave.  I just want them to suffer.”  She smiled tranquilly.

“So do I,” Kay promised.

“I don’t believe you,” Dottie told her flatly.  “What’s in this for you, Peggy?  Or are you the altruistic one?”

Peggy decided on the truth.  “Kay has informed me that one of Captain America’s men is a prisoner in the USSR,” she said.  “I want to help rescue him.”

“Aw, you’re doing it for love,” said Dottie.  “That’s cute.  So what makes you think I have any idea where to find him?”

“Because the same place that made us is also working on him,” said Kay.  “He’s part of the Winter Soldier program.”

“And you don’t know where to find that?” Dottie asked suspiciously.

“My information is out of date,” Kay replied.

“I promise,” said Peggy.  “I will not return you to your masters.  I’m not sure what I am going to do with you, but I know to give you back to them would mean your death.”

“Oh, no,” Dottie shook her head.  “It would be way worse than that.”

“I will rescue Sergeant Barnes, and you two may do what you wish with this Red Room and the people in it,” Peggy said.  “But I promise that when I leave Russia again, I will take you with me.”

“What happens if I refuse?” asked Dottie.  “Are you going to send me back to jail to have you hanged for treason, Peggy? I know you’re not going to kill me… that’s not your style.”

“No, but it’s mine,” said Kay.  “And I doubt she’ll shed a single tear.”  She took out a pocket knife.  “I know you’re thinking of how you’re going to run away, or how you’re going to betray us both, but keep in mind.  I know all your moves.  I know all your hiding places.  There is nothing you can do, and nowhere you can go, that I cannot anticipate.  Do you understand?”

“Oh, yes,” Dottie said.  “I understand perfectly.”

“Do you agree, then?  You will help Peggy to find Sergeant Barnes, and in return I will help you to destroy the Red Room?”

“Absolutely,” said Dottie.

Peggy knew they couldn’t trust her, and realized she was counting on Kay to make sure they could keep Dottie under control.  Kay had asked Peggy to trust her, hadn’t she?  Now there was no choice.  Was there a chance this still might turn around?  That Kay might turn out to be the enemy after all?

It didn’t matter.  Peggy was already in this too deep.  Sunk Cost might have been a fallacy, but when the cost involved was one’s freedom and reputation, there wasn’t much to be done.

“It’s a deal, then,” said Kay, and started cutting the tape off Dottie.

“So,” said Dottie, entirely too casual.  “It’s Kay, is it?”

“It is,” said Kay.  “And what are you calling yourself these days, Olga?”

“Not Olga,” Dottie replied.  “Olga Barynova died years ago.  I like the name Peggy uses for me.  After all, I am quite dotty, and I tend to do things under the table.”  She looked at Peggy and smiled.

Peggy did not smile back.

“Then that’s what we’ll call you,” said Kay.  She finished cutting the tape, and began peeling it off.  “You’re hungry and dehydrated after being in that trunk all night.  Come inside and we’ll give you something to eat.”  They’d saved some of their own breakfast for her.  “And you can tell us everything you know about the Winter Soldiers.”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Dottie wagged a finger.  “I’m not stupid.  I’m not telling you anything until you’ve held up your end of the bargain. When we’re in Russia and haven’t been caught, then I’ll tell you where we’re going.”

Peggy would have protested, but Kay just shrugged.  “That sounds fair,” she said.

“And how are we supposed to know what part of Russia we’re going to?” asked Peggy.

“That I can tell you after breakfast,” Dottie said.  “Don’t worry about money, I’ve got some stashed away for the occasion.  Now where’s that food.  I’m starving.”

The two women sat and watched Dottie eat her breakfast, and Peggy’s misgivings only increased.  Talking to Dottie had reminded her rather sharply that Kay was a master manipulator… she’d manipulated Peggy when Kay had been the one in prison, and now she’d managed to play Dottie, too, something Peggy would have thought was next to impossible.  Now it was her, of all people, whom Peggy had to trust with her life, because the only alternatives were jail or Dottie.

Somewhere along the line she’d made a terrible mistake.  In fact, the longer this went on, the more Peggy was sure the whole thing had been a series of terrible mistakes, right back to…

… well, no.  Not staying in New York wasn’t a mistake, because if she’d done that, Steve would still be frozen in the arctic ice right now.  And anything she’d done after that… no, there was really no point at which she could have extracted herself from this and not gotten in trouble for it. Not unless she was willing to admit that getting Steve back at all was a mistake, and she couldn’t possibly say that. Or could she?  When Kay had told her outright that this wasn’t how history was ‘supposed’ to go, maybe it was a mistake.

It didn’t matter now, did it?  The future was already changed, and they couldn’t go back and fix it.

Dottie devoured the breakfast they’d set out for her without the slightest thought of table manners, stuffing so much in her mouth that Peggy was afraid she’d choke.  Once she’d satisfied her hunger, she asked for some twigs from the woods.  Peggy sat with her while Kay brought back an armful they’d already gathered up, intending to use them as kindling.  Dottie selected the ones she liked the shapes of, and arranged them into a map of the USSR.

“We won’t get in from the west,” she said.  “They watch that too closely.  To go from the east, we’d have to pass over Chinese airspace and that’s just as risky. From the south we’ve got the Himalayas blocking the way, and I don’t think any of us are crazy enough to try to go from the north.  Not even me.” Dottie glanced up at her companions and smiled as if this were a very funny joke.

Peggy did not smile back, but Kay chuckled a little.

“The way in,” Dottie went on, “is through Turkey.  The area is mountainous and difficult to patrol, but the locals know their way around I have some things prepared.  It’ll be a long hike, but we can take the train from Tbilisi to Stalingrad…”

“Volgograd,” said Kay under her breath.

“… and from there, I’ll tell you where we’re going next,” said Dottie.

“Mm-hm,” said Peggy.  It seemed straightforward enough, though Dottie was right – it would be a very long walk through some hostile terrain.  “You said we’ll need that money you mentioned… where have you got that squirreled away?”

“Nevada,” said Dottie.  “Joseph’s hanging on to it for me.”

The first Joseph Peggy thought of who might have anything to do with Dottie Underwood was Josef Stalin, but that could not possibly be right.  “Who is Joseph?”

“Joseph Strieber.”

It took a moment for Peggy to remember who that was, and then it seemed almost as unlikely as Stalin – perhaps more so.  “The Governor of Nevada?” she asked.  “He’s the one who wants you caught!  The mafia is breathing down his neck after you robbed the Toucan Hotel!”

“Plausible deniability,” said Dottie.  “If he’s the one shouting that I need to be in prison, the mob won’t realize that he’s the one who let me into the Toucan at their grand opening.  I was his date for the evening.”  She smiled.  “And now I can make him do anything I want.”

“So we’re going to Carson City,” said Kay.

Peggy thought she’d better make sure Governor Strieber didn’t get a look at her during this visit… she had enough problems right now without a desperate politician getting any leverage over her.  “Then we need to catch up with Steve,” she added.

“Steve?”  Dottie cocked her head and smiled.  “We’re taking Captain America with us?”

“It’s his friend we’re rescuing,” said Peggy.

“Well, if you’d told me that from the beginning, I might have agreed to help without all the threats!” said Dottie, delighted.  “He’s a dish, isn’t he?”

“So people say,” Peggy said.  People who’d never met Steve, and didn’t realize that he was so much more than that.  But she had another worry now, she realized… Dottie liked to know people’s weaknesses, and now she already knew what Peggy’s was.

[gear-project]

4Gamer Interview GUILTY GEAR STRIVE DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEW. "The Secret Story of the Development of the Trailer Movies, Opening Movie, and Story Mode."

Source: 4Gamer Translation: Yours Truly (Gear-Project)

Guilty Gear -Strive- (the fighting game) was released by ARC System Works on June 11th for PC/PS4/PS5/ARCADE. This is the latest work in the popular "Guilty Gear Series" of fighting games, which began with the original Guilty Gear in 1998.

Speaking of the Guilty Gear Series, it is a title that has been highly supported by Arcade Gamers for a long time as a fighting game where you can enjoy complex negotiation, but that is not the only degree of perfection by which a fighting game is evaluated. Video works with expressiveness that move in 3D graphics drawn in the style of 2D animation along with complex stories have been attracting a great deal of attention.

This time, 4Gamer asked the Production Staff including Mr. Daisuke Ishiwatari to tell the secret story of the development in the video portions such as the opening movie and story mode, aside from the "fighting game" parts of Guilty Gear -Strive-.

The Interview was divided in to two parts, the first concerning the opening movie with interviews from Art Directors Hidehiko Sakamura and Hiroshi Nagano, followed by the Story Mode itself with interview from Daisuke Ishiwatari and Hidehiko Sakamura.

In the Second Half, the Story Mode discussion tries to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but some discussion was included, so please be careful if you want to AVOID SPOILERS TO THE STORY MODE.

The Opening Featured in the Story as a Compilation of Works:

4Gamer [4G]: Thank you for your time today. In the first part, we will ask about the opening movie. It was released two days before the release date, but how was the response?

Hidehiko Sakamura [HS]: It was better than we imagined. Since the opening of the past series was only made according to the format of a fighting game, I think that the full animation like this time was fresh and more pleasing.

[4G]: The format of a fighting game is like introducing a full-body picture of a character and battle action. Why did you make it full animation this time?

[HS]: Nagano was particular about "I want to do full animation without including images of fighting games." I wanted to do the same thing myself, so I decided to adopt the full animation opening this time. All the videos are produced by Nagano alone.

Hiroshi "Ryo" Nagano [RN]: The story of the Guilty Gear Series is a popular title, and this time the story of Sol has come to an end, so the opening of the full animation featured the story as a culmination. I wanted to make it anyway.

[HS]: It's a big thing to break the story. I think I had a strong desire to take on the challenges that I had wanted to do but couldn't do, and to make a satisfactory break. Originally, all the staff like animation. It's true that there was something I longed for to make a video like this one, and I thought that the format of a fighting game (by itself) wouldn't look as good.

[4G]: It's an attempt you've never done before, but are there any parts that you were particular about in the overall composition of the opening?

[RN]: What I had in mind was the completeness of the story. I want to convey something like the connection between Sol and "That Man" from the Opening. I also think that Sol and Ky are the main characters in the series, so I was aware that the end of the video would emphasize Sol and Ky.

[HS]: As an Order from Ishiwatari, it doesn't have to be a fighting game, but there was an attractive cut for each character. After that, spoilers of the story were strictly prohibited, so I asked Nagano a lot of variations at the time of composition.

[RN]: There was also a point where I wanted you to make it closer to the image rather than making it a short movie that gathers the highlights of the story. Mr. Katano (Akira Katano), the Development Director, told me that there are a lot of non-playable characters involved (laughs).

[HS]: That was a difficult part (laughs). The fighting game part is the main part, but there are many characters that only appear in story mode.

[RN]: I really wanted to put out more, such as President Vernon (laughs). Also, in one particular part, the impression changes before and after watching Story Mode, I would like you to review the Opening after playing Story Mode!

[4G]: How long was the production schedule?

[RN]: It was about three months. Since I was left to myself, I couldn't do it, so I was very conscious of the parts I had to make in 3 months.

[4G]: Please tell us if you had any difficulties during production.

[RN]: I was always worried about whether I could make it within the period. I was so worried that I couldn't help until I could make about half of it.

[HS]: In a situation where I don't have time, I think it was quite reckless to leave it to one person to produce, but as for the animation part, quite a good number of things have come up from the beginning of production, so I myself was looking at it with a lot of peace of mind. I think Nagano had it hard.

[4G]: "Guilty Gear -Strive-" has been postponed once and changed from April 9th to June 11th. Which was the best time to make the opening movie?

[HS]: It was released in April. Composite* after video production. It also takes time, so we completed the video storyboard* at the beginning of the year and had it produced from January to March.

*Composite: Finishing multiple materials and clips in to one video.

*Video Storyboard: A moving storyboard. Script to check the flow of the entire video.

[4G]: Finally, please give a message to readers and players.

[Mr. Sakamura] Nagano has prepared the material in quite a few small parts, so I'd be happy if you could watch it while considering each cut.

[Mr. Nagano] As I mentioned earlier, the video has a different impression before and after watching the story mode, so I definitely want you to watch it again after playing. Actually, Ishiwatari's part also contains spoiler elements that are secret and difficult to understand, so please look for small spoilers after playing.

[The Reason for the Production of "GUILTY GEAR" was an encounter with "SFII".]

*Please note the following includes some spoilers in Story Mode.*

[4G]: Next is the part about Story Mode. From here, I would thank Mr. Ishiwatari and Mr. Sakamura. When I played all the way, I felt that there was a lot of volume. When did the development start?

Daisuke Ishiwatari [DI]: The first plot was published more than two years ago, so production started long ago. At that time, the content focused on more playable characters, but if it was left as it was, the content would be too bloated and the production would not be on time, so we decided to focus on the production.

[4G]: Were the playable characters decided when the first plot was released?

[DI]: It was almost solid, but some characters were fluid. The characters that were unofficially decided at that time may have been changed.

[4G]: Which production took longer, Story Mode or Fighting Game part?

[DI]: It takes time for each, but the fighting game part takes much more time. The story mode may be created by diverting the resources created for the fighting game.

Hidehiko Sakamura [HS]: I'm working on the back of the fighting game part little by little, but it's the end of the whole production that comes out. It feels like I'm working on a schedule at the very end.

[4G]: Is Mr. Ishiwatari in charge of the story part and the overall composition?

[DI]: Yes. First of all, I will put out a plot and check the volume and what material is needed by the staff. Not surprisingly, the plot stage is much larger than the retail version.

[HS]: As it is not the amount that can be produced as it is, it is the first job of the staff to ask Mr. Ishiwatari to cut it.

[4G]: Please tell us the story of the story part. What is the theme of the entire GUILTY GEAR Series?

[DI]: The Theme of "What is a Human being?" has remained unchanged since the time of the first GUILTY GEAR. From the GUILTY GEAR XRD Series, we are developing a story centered on Sol, but I was allowed to tell the outlook on life through the human eyes of Sol.

[4G]: The story of Sol is developed from GUILTY GEAR XRD, but in the GUILTY GEAR XX Series for Home use, a Story Mode was prepared for each character.

[DI]: Is it okay to say this? Actually, I haven't touched the GUILTY GEAR XX Series for home use at all. The company told me that they wanted to create a story mode when porting it to home use, but it was physically impossible to put the same story as what I had in mind, so I told them to stop.

[4G]: I didn't know that.

[DI]: However, the company asked me if I would like to have a port for home use... Then I told them that the story mode is good, but I'm not involved, so don't give a name.

[4G]: Then, was the story mode at that time lending only the (world) settings and letting them do the rest freely?

[DI]: No, I wasn't exposed to it at all. However, I dug it up (as reference) when developing the story from "GUILTY GEAR XRD". It's something that users play, and I thought it was dishonest to ignore the image and world view that got me here to continue as a continuation.

[4G]: The GUILTY GEAR XX Series was also a long-lived work, but wasn't there any talk about developing the story from Mr. Ishiwatari's thoughts at that time?

[DI] At that time, the main flow was to first develop an arcade version and then port it to home use, but behind the scenes of making home use, the development of the next arcade game is progressing. Was always the case. I didn't have enough time to develop the story.

[4G]: In this interview, I watch the story from "GUILTY GEAR XRD SIGN" to "GUILTY GEAR STRIVE" but I felt that the settings were well-crafted. When did the overall configuration and settings settle?

[DI]: The overall big flow hasn't changed since I first thought about it. However, the details are fluid, for example, it was decided that a character in the position of Ramlethal would appear, but it is different from saying that it was the current Ramlethal from the beginning.

[4G]: The whole "flow" was decided, and the rest was fleshed out.

[DI]: It was a little "too" fleshed out. Since the first generation, I had decided to make a trilogy, and at that time, Aliens were scheduled to appear at the End (laughs). As expected, it was outrageous, and the position of the "alien" changed to a character in the Backyard.

[4G]: That's an interesting change. In that case, wasn't there a Backyard Setting at that time?

[DI]: No, there was a Backyard setting itself. For the theorizing of Magic (as a concept). I needed to put out a character with a non-human perspective, and that was an "alien" at first.

[4G]: Are there any other major changes?

[DI]: Of course there are many things, but I can't talk about them. At least at the time of this work, the role and casting of each character has changed considerably. I have another (separate) character "do" what I tried to do with one character.

[4G]: For example, I think Axl is a very important character in the story, but was the role of Axl decided since the first generation?

[DI]: Axl Low hasn't changed since the very beginning. Also, in the early days, it was not decided that I-No would appear, but I was thinking of releasing a character with the same framework as Axl Low.

[4G]: Then when I-No first appeared in GUILTY GEAR XX, the settings had already been set.

[DI]: That's right.

[4G]: When I followed the story, I often found unexpected facts, and I wondered how far Mr. Ishiwatari was thinking from the beginning.

[DI]: There are quite a lot of retroactive settings, though. Especially the settings of the small parts have changed considerably. Jack-O' for example, wasn't initially supposed to be a "character."

[4G]: Jack-O'Valentine appeared in "GUILTY GEAR XRD REVELATOR" but when was the setting completed?

[DI]: I don't remember the detailed timing, but I think that the Backyard setting was fixed around when GUILTY GEAR 2 OVERTURE was produced.

[HS]: When I first saw Jack-O's design, I never thought it would be a heroine position character (laughs).

[4G]: In the first place, when did Mr. Ishiwatari think about setting up a game called GUILTY GEAR?

[DI] It was when I was still a professional student that I came up with the specific settings. I decided to make a fighting game because of my encounter with "Street Fighter II", but I think that about half the settings I thought about at that time were incorporated in to the original GUILTY GEAR.

[4G]: The opportunity was your encounter with "SFII".

[DI]: "Street Fighter II" was a revolutionary game for me. Speaking of which, "Ishiwatari Version Strike II" ("Ishiwatari-ban Suto II" the provisional name) is "GUILTY GEAR". At the time, I liked fantasy manga comics such as "BASTARD!!", and under the influence of them, I incorporated a story-like world view into the fighting game.

[Being able to Draw a Story becomes One Property]

4Gamer [4G]: In this work, the production side has been changed considerably compared to the story mode of the GUILTY GEAR XRD Series. What are the points you would like us to pay particular attention to?

Daisuke Ishiwatari [DI] First of all, in the case of GUILTY GEAR XRD, the big concept was to create a 3D image that looks like a 2D animation. This time it changed to make a movie-like image.

Mr. Sakamura [HS]: This is very difficult, so what makes a movie? What is the movie-likeness that Ishiwatari is looking for? At the beginning of the production, everything was groping.

[DI]: I didn't show the staff what it was like to be a movie. Therefore, at first I thought that I was quite stray, but one day I suddenly found the answer, and Sakamura awakened. From there, it was finished in a movie-like image all at once.

[4G]: Were any of the staff involved in filmmaking in the past?

[HS]: It wasn't there at all. In the first place, even with GUILTY GEAR XRD, I made something that looks like a 2D animation with 3D images, but no one was from the animation industry. We always imitate the appearance and continue to produce with a spirt of familiarity rather than learning.

[4G]: Just listening to the story tells you how difficult it is. By the way, why did you decide to pursue a movie-like character this time?

[DI]: I thought that if we evolved from GUILTY GEAR XRD, it would be similar to "DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ" and "GRANBLUE FANTASY VERSUS". That may not give you a new surprise. Then it would be a movie.

[4G]: A Trailer that introduced a part of the story was released before the release, but at that time I heard a voice that it was like a movie.

[DI]: If you have been involved in production for a long time, you may not be able to judge for yourself whether you have something you want delivered to users, but I was relieved to hear such a voice. Also, I don't usually think so much, but this time when I completed and reviewed everything, I thought "I did my best", so I felt a response.

[4G]: Please tells us if you had any difficulties during production or small stories.

[DI]: I don't have a hard time talking (laughs).

[HS]: I think the hardest part was having to create a fighting game part and a story mode at the same time. Normally, I was able to focus on the fighting game part for arcade version first. Also, this time it was a culmination, so the latter half o the story was difficult with only action scenes.

[DI]: Certainly in GUILTY GEAR XRD (Sign), the focus was on conversational plays (talking heads dialogue), and at the end there was little action.

[4G]: This time it's set in the United States. Is there any reason for this?

[DI]: There is no deep reason, but first of all, Sol's birthplace is the United States. And sometimes I didn't want the stage to be the same every time. Also, it was decided at the time of the After Story of GUILTY GEAR XRD REV2 that the stage would be in the United States.

[4G]: It used to be a Western-style or Fantasy-Style world view, but I was surprised to see that it was suddenly become a modern American painting.

[DI]: At the beginning, there was an impressive scene in which the streets of the United States were drawn, but in reality, that scene was planned to draw a wider range. However, it was reduced because it was too heavy.

[4G]: Please tell us if you have any favorite scenes or productions.

[DI]: At the end, there is a scene where everyone fights with I-No. It's not a scene where I can cry, but when I first saw it, tears came out on their own. That's the one that left the most impression on me. I never felt like this when I'd been making games, but I've been trying my best to support everyone.

[HS]: I also have a great feeling for the last battle. In other scenes, there is a scene where Sol and Jack-O' run on a motorcycle at the beginning, but I think that Jack-O's cuteness at that time is considerable (laugh). It's also cute to sit in the sidecar.

[DI]: The only thing that left an impression on me was the action scene. I didn't know what kind of image it will be until it actually comes up, but I was surprised that the images that came up were beyond my imagination.

[HS]: We don't prepare storyboards* for production. I make it only with a script.

*Storyboards: A script for shooting movies and TV, instructions such as dialogue and actions are written for each cut.

[4G]: Conte has not been prepared since GUILTY GEAR XRD.

[HS]: In GUILTY GEAR XRD, we prepared only some cutscenes. I didn't prepare it at all after it became this work.

[DI]: We only get together and have meetings about important scenes.

[4G]: Do you have any favorite parts in terms of production?

[DI]: The goal was to make the conversation drama look like a movie as a whole. It feels like the conversation continues with a series of short words, rather than an explanation tone. I think I was able to create that kind of atmosphere overall in this work.

[4G]: This is the end of Sol's story. What kind of character is Sol for the production team?

[DI]: First of all, he's simply the main character. From the time I started making GUILTY GEAR, I decided to draw a humanity and outlook on life that can only be talked about by a free-spirited person named Sol. I feel that I am thankful for the time being because his thoughts have come to fruition in this work. Being able to face myself through the story was a very valuable experience.

[HS]: Sols' first image was a character that didn't reveal his emotions, but in the stories after GUILTY GEAR XRD, I think that humanity has come out very much, and I'm attached to it. He's a cute guy (laughs).

[4G]: Certainly, I feel that Sol's personality has changed considerably from the past.

[DI] It's not like a human being that the personality remains the same as the story and the times progress. As he interacts with various people, Sol also regains his humanity. I needed a background to answer the question, "What is a human being?"

[4G]: The story of GUILTY GEAR that started in 1998 has been completed. Finally, please tell us your current feelings.

[DI]: Anyway, I feel relieved for 20 years because I was able to draw the story to the end. Being able to finish what I started was very valuable to me and became a great asset. However, this time I focused too much on Sol. The challenge remained that we couldn't express what more users would have wanted to see.

[4G]: What are your thoughts on Future developments?

[DI]: Of course, I'm thinking about various things, but since I'm a good age, I may not be able to do it at the top of a project of the same scale in the future. Please look forward to the new style fo GUILTY GEAR and new IP.

4Gamer: Thank you for your time today.

[httpsfelicity]

“In a black dress, she's such an actress” - Harry Styles × Model Reader AU

Summary - Harry meets a model downtown and falls for her quickly, leading the public to think that it’s a pr stunt. Unsure of what to think, the reader plays along, not knowing that Harry is unaware of the rumours. 

For @cruizmanadu! Xx

A/N - Okay, this is my first official request type thing so please tell me if it’s good or not! Ignore any mistakes, thought I think I looked over it pretty well. Also, if you’d like a part 2 / have suggestions / ect, just send a DM or ask! Here you go babes, hope you like it x

“If I don’t get coffee right now, I’m going to pass out on this sidewalk, I swear,” moaned Ella. 

“We’re almost there, calm down,” you responded as you adjusted the shopping bags in your hands quickly. You and your best friend Ella had decided to go out in NYC for the day, which of course meant loads of shopping. Hell, half of the bags you were carrying weren’t even yours - Ella had a shoot the next day, and insisted that she couldn’t carry her bags out of fear that she’d mark up her hands. So you were carrying enough bags to “Mark up your hands”, according to Ella. Which, to be fair, was quite unfair, because that girl shops a lot.

“Hey, can you take some of these, just until we get there? I’m getting kinda-”

“Oh. My. Gosh.” She lowered her voice and leaned in towards you. “Don’t look yet, keep walking, but some guy is totally checking you out.”

You sighed. “How could the paps have found us? I thought we covered our tracks nicel-”

She cut you off once again. “No, no, not a pap. This guy, he’s, well - okay, look to your left riiiight... now.”

You quickly glanced over to see a guy in his 20′s wearing a multicoloured knit sweater with messy brown hair, looking in your general direction. He quickly looked away when he saw you. You looked away, which was unfortunate, because you would’ve seen him gathering up the courage to walk over to you two.

"He's pretty fit," you whispered back quickly. "Do you think he recognizes me?" It sounds very stuck up, but often times people tried to hit on you solely because you model for the big brands, so you had to be careful. Being in the industry had a lot of pros, but a lot of cons as well. Not knowing who your real friends are were one of the cons.

"I'm not sure," Ella replied.

Just then, you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned around and saw that you were face to face with the boy.

"Hello," he started nervously. He had a charming British accent, you noticed right away.

"Hi!" You replied, waiting for him to say something totally obnoxious or fan-like.

"This probably sounds weird, but I couldn't help but notice you."

"Oh, why thank you!" You laughed. "He doesn't seem too creepy or weird or stalker-ish," you thought to yourself.

"Yeah, so, um... This is weird as well, I'm sorry, but could I get your number?" He smiled weakly.

"No, absolutely not," said Ella, grabbing you by the arm and starting to drag you away. "C'mon."

She only walked a few feet until you broke away and went back over to him. "I'm sorry about that - of course you can."

His nervous expression eased away the tiniest bit. "Oh, that's great."

He handed you his phone, and you typed in you number."

***-****-****

"I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Styles."

"Oh! I'm y/n."

"Why does that sound familiar?"

"I work in the modeling industry. You might have heard of me from that?"

"I should've known you were a model - you've definitely got the looks. And I'm sure the personality as well."

You grinned.

"I'm a singer," he continued. "I used to be in a band - now I'm solo. So that's one thing we have in common, I guess. Well, not really. You know what I mean."

"You're right!" You laughed. "He's pretty easy to talk to," you thought. Even though you didn't want to, you could feel Ella staring at the back of your neck impatiently, so you decided to wrap up the conversation. "Well, I've got to go, but you'll message me later, yeah?"

"Of course," he nodded. "Well, goodbye for now, y/n."

"Goodbye, Harry Styles."

"What was that?!" Ella asked once he was out of earshot.

"What? He's polite and cute. Of course I have him my number!"

"He could be a creepy obsessive fan! Or a perv! Or a crackhead! He's just some random guy on the streets, for all we know!"

"Would you calm down? He's so nice - I just know he wouldn't do that. Plus, that sweater is awfully expensive. Almost 2k."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Okay, sure."

"Oh, and he's a singer."

Ella snapped her head to look at you, clearly very shocked by this statement. "He's what?"

"A singer, apparently."

"What's his name?"

"Harry Styles."

"Oh. My. God. My friend had a shoot with him once! He's popular, y/n. Really popular."

"God, you sound like a middle-schooler."

"I'm just sayin'! But now that I know this information, I've changed my opinion on him. GO FOR IT."

"I was already planning on it," you laugh, walking past a group of starstruck thirteen year olds quickly. "Although I'm not so sure. I didn't get his number - it's up to him to message me."

"He'd better," Ella replied as the two of you walked into a local café. You nodded in agreement, and you both walked up the the register to order.

The rest of the day was a blur - you went to a few more stores, and then eventually hailed a cab and went back to your apartment. You were so exhausted that you kicked off your shoes and flopped into your couch, too tired to even eat. As you lie there, you felt your phone vibrate in you pocket. Reluctantly, you pulled it out slowly, and clicked it on.

***-****-**** - Hello.

Your first though was, "It's Harry!" Your second thought was, "That's a very ominous introduction." Nonetheless, you typed up a response.

Y/n <3 - Who's this?

***-****-**** - Harry, from earlier hahah x

You let out a sigh of relief - he had messaged you back, and it hadn't been some rando. Things were working out nicely.

Y/n <3 - Well, hello!

While you were waiting for a response, you set his contact name up. You hadn't gotten a photo of him yet, so you decided one from Google would do. You typed up "Harry Styles", and the search results shocked you. Ella was right - he was popular. And cute (But you already knew that.) You got a notification from him, so you screenshotted the first photo to come up (Him in a very nice pink top), set it as his photo, and then went back onto messages.

Harry Styles - Hi! I'm sorry if the whole encounter earlier was creepy. Your friend seemed quite worked up over it.

Y/n <3 - She's had bad experiences like this in the past.

Harry Styles - I've had quite a few myself, honestly. Don't blame her. Anyways, how are you?

Y/n <3 - Exhausted. All that walking must've worn me out, hahaha

Harry Styles - Hahah, that's New York for ya.

Harry Styles - Would you happen to be free tomorrow?

Harry Styles - I'd love to get to know you.

You grinned at your phone screen. This could not be happening.

Y/n <3 - Nope! Free all day. I'd love to get to know you too!

Harry Styles - Does 1pm at the Beachwood Café work? :)

He sent a location along with it. It was the same café you and Ella had gone to earlier.

Y/n <3 - Sure!

Harry Styles - Alright, talk then?

Y/n <3 - Yes!

Harry Styles - Goodnight.

Y/n <3 - Goodnight!

Seen - 11:34pm.

The next day you woke up at 10 so you would have time to get ready. You got a quick shower, did you hair, makeup... By 12:30 you were dressed and ready to go. Casual, but not too casual was what you were going for. You were pretty sure you had the look down pat. You grabbed your stuff and made your way downtown, sunglasses on.

You arrived early, 12:48pm, but luckily Harry was already there, waiting at a table near the back with two menus. He waved once he saw you, and jumped up to pull out your chair.

"Hello," you smiled.

"Hi!"

"I adore your outfit," you said as you sat down. He was now wearing a white and blue striped shirt and tan jeans. Somehow he made it work.

"I love yours as well! The skirt brings out your eyes."

You tried hard not to blush. "Thank you!"

"So, I guess we should start getting to know eachother, then?" He grinned.

You nodded. "20 questions?"

"Sure. Full name?"

"Y/n."

"Harry Edward Styles."

"I like that middle name. Very sophisticated." He laughed at this. "Age?"

"26."

"23."

"Favourite movie?"

"Clueless."

"Back To The Future."

You continued asking questions until the waiter came over to your table.

"I'll have the chicken sub," he said politely.

"I'll have a medium lemonade."

"Is that it?" Harry asked.

You sighed. "And a blueberry muffin, I guess."

The waiter wrote it down and walked off.

"I'm on a diet," you explained.

"Still," Harry shrugged. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, I started modeling at about age 8, for this clothing bran-"

"No no no, I meant about you."

You gave him a confused look.

"Not about your job, you!"

"Okay, well, let's see... Uh..."

"I'm 26, but you already knew that. I live in New York, obviously. I used to work in a bakery, even though I just told you not to talk about your job. I like playing football, I write, and I enjoy baking bread. See? Easy."

You laughed. Why did he have to be so... Charming?

"I'm 23, but you already knew that. I've lived in New York my whole life. I read a lot, and I mean a lot. I have a ton of plants in my apartment, since I can't really have a garden here. I like Taylor Swift's music."

Harry nodded. "See? That wasn't so bad."

You laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Just then the waiter placed the food on the table, and you took a sip of your lemonade while Harry dug into his sub.

"I dated Taylor for a pr stunt once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She got a few songs, I got a new story to tell during interviews."

"Oh. Did you like her?"

"Nah."

You laughed again. "Oh, my."

"Yeah. I haven't had many actual relationships. 3."

"I haven't had any."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not many guys are interested. Or, well, interested in me, you know?"

"I find that hard to believe."

You tried not to blush once again as you took a sip of your lemonade.

"Well, it's true."

"Personally, I think you're great."

"You are too!"

The two of you continue eating. After two minutes, Harry speaks up.

"Want to go back to my apartment and watch a movie? In a non weird way, of course."

"Okay, that sounds good. Which movie?"

"Clueless?" He winked.

You grinned. "Of course."

You get up and walk out into the streets of New York, leaving your blueberry muffin on the table.

The walk to Harry's is very short. You two talk the whole way there, mainly small talk, but it isn’t awkward at all. You feel like you can be yourself around him - whatever that means. To put it into words, you feel comfortable around him. Which is weird, because you just met him a day ago, but it feels right for some reason.

Eventually you arrived at the door to his apartment. While he was busy digging his key out of his pocket, you took a glance up and down the hallway. This place was much fancier than you had expected. It made your apartment complex look cheap. Everything seemed so... posh. Harry pushed open the door, and you stepped inside. His apartment was decorated with art; albums of artists you’ve never even heard of were hung on the walls, and potted plants were everywhere. It was messy, but in an organized way.

“I just need to run to the washroom, make yourself at home,” he said as he kicked off his shoes. 

“Alright,” you replied. You put your coat on a coat rack (Obviously) and walked over to the couch. Unsure of what to do, you decided to check twitter. After a few seconds of contemplating if checking your phone right now was rude or not, you decided to turn on your data and do it, since he was in the bathroom and you were bored. You looked over you shoulder, then hit the trending page. Politics, Ariana Grande - she must be releasing a new album - #TGIF, and... Harry Styles? Without thinking twice, you click on it. Immediately, photos of you and him pop up from when you were walking back to his place. That was only a few minutes ago... how did these photos get out so soon?

“You ready?” Harry asked as he entered the room, holding up a DVD case with an excited look on his face.

“Yep,” you said, putting down your phone. A second later, you picked it back up. “Did you see twitter?”

“No, I don’t go on social media much,” he replied as he popped the disc into his bluray player.

“You’re trending.”

“Cool.”

“No, I mean... we got papped on the way back here. Look.” You turned the phone so he could see it. 

He took a glance at the screen, then grabbed a remote and flopped onto the couch next to you. “It doesn’t really bother me. Happens far too often. I mean, unless you have a problem with it. I can get them taken down, if you’d like.” Suddenly, his usual relaxed self has replaced with a worried one.

You shook your head. “No, no, I... just letting you know. I don’t care. Besides, I didn’t see many people talking about it, just sharing the photos.”

“Oh, well, if you change your mind, just let me know,” he concluded as he turned on the TV.

You nodded, and then focused on Cher Horowitz on the screen. You didn’t watch much of the movie, because you and Harry kept on cracking jokes and telling stories, but you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Eventually, it was time for you to leave, since it was nearly 5pm. 

“Do you want me to walk you back? Or, I could call you a cab,” Harry asked as you slipped on your shoes.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“No, no, I’ll walk you back,” he insisted as he grabbed his coat.

You weren’t about to argue with him, because, let’s face it, you secretly wanted him to walk you home. So you followed him out the door and to the elevator.

You talked the whole way there, but you were distracted just a tiny bit - you wanted to keep an eye out for paps. Eventually you decided that it was difficult and pointless, so you fully engaged yourself in Harry’s conversation on how to make a mean loaf of bread.

A few minutes later, you arrived at your place.

“Well, this is it,” you grinned sadly.

Harry nodded. “I’ll message you later?”

“Of course. We have to do this again, you know.”

Harry smiled wide. “Sure. I’d love that.”

“Well... goodbye, Harry.”

He leaned in and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek. “Goodbye, y/n.” 

You stared back at him, starstruck, but he turned and started walking down the hall before you could say anything. “Love ya!” You called out quickly before you shut the door behind you, unsure if he even heard you. Oh, well. He’d message you later, anyways.

You were quite hungry by this point, so you decided to order Chinese food off of Postmates. Once that call was made, you sat down and opened Twitter again. You noticed that you had way more notifications than usual, but you decided that could wait until after you checked the trending topics once more. “Harry Styles” was still trending, but even more surprisingly, “Y/n” was right underneath it. You decided to hit Harry’s topic first - MORE pap photos came up, this time from when you were walking home. Wow. 

“We do look like a proper couple.” You thought, though you quickly shook it. You’d just met - although you know what they say, “Love at first sight” and all that crap.But no. 

You decided to scroll down even further, past all of the photos and to the actual tweets.

@Harryscherry77: Is @ yn Harry’s new girlfriend? If so, she’s soooooo lucky.

@Y/nsclouds: Why is y/n being papped with Harry Styles? She can do much better. His music isn’t even that good.

@Lightsuplouisx: I ship it, tbh {Insert photo here}

@TaylorxxxTea: Oh cute, another pr stunt :/ #HarryStyles IsOverParty

@GalacticY/N26: Ugh, Harry? Really? I’m seriously gonna unstan Y/n, I’ve been considering it but this is just the last straw for me.

@HarryIsUpAllNight: Did you guys know the girl Harry was papped with is a model? She’s absolutely gorgeous, I wouldn’t doubt it.

@Stylesfangirl49: Y/n is honestly so ugly. #RunHarryRun 

@SummertimeNewsOfficial: Has Harry Styles been spotted with yet another woman, months after his breakup with Camille? {Insert Link Here}

@Larry2020xxx: Another beard LMAOOO c’mon. PR STUNTTTT.

@Lola33smith: They haven’t even been confirmed dating yet, calm downnnnn.

“Wow,” you thought as you continued scrolling. “This is not what I was expecting.”

It seemed like the whole internet had something to say about a few lousy pictures of you and H. There was good and bad, though it felt like the bad outweighed the good. An alarming amount of people seemed to think it was a pr stunt. Wow. Your notifications weren’t much better - loads of people had followed you, dm’ed you, called you worthless, called you amazing. It was a lot to handle. Just then the doorbell rang - your Postmates. How long had you been looking through all of that? It didn’t matter now. You went to get your food, then sat back down and began to text Harry. Suddenly, you stopped. If he got so worried about the first set of photos, not to mention you walking home by yourself, how would he react to this? He had said he doesn’t go on social media much, so you figured that as long as you didn’t tell him, it would all blow over quick enough and he wouldn’t have to worry about it. You didn’t want to stress him out. Instead, to take your mind off of this chaotic day you turned on The Office and tried to regain a sense of normalcy. 

Although the more you thought about it, the less and less you wanted Harry to message you. 

“PR stunt.”

EDIT: CHAPTER TWO IS NOW OUT! CLICK HERE

[chappedandfadedvds]

Nov 15th, Sunday 20:56

„I missed you.“

Lucas said what had been on the tip of his tounge the whole day, as the younger boy stepped in, escaping the cold turning night outside. He looked like he was freezing, it worried Jens a little.

„You need something warmer?“ Jens asked, watching the boy stripping out of his jacket and shoes. 

„It’s okay, I just need someone to cuddle me.“

„Oh, I think Lotte is in her room.“ Lucas snorted at his joke, loosing no time to step up to meet Jens in the doorway to the livingroom. He wrapped his arms around his middle, his cold fingers slipping under the white shirt.

„Ah, fuck you.“ Goosebumps present all over his body Jens tensed and shivered under the touch. Firstly because it was cold, but also because he had longed to be close to Lucas again. So he cupped the pretty face infront of him, his thumb brushing along the jaw, before he leaned in to kiss his boy.

It felt so good.

Perhaps they stood like this for a minute, maybe for half an enternity, as curious fingertips explored his back, digging into his skin, when they deepened the kiss and Jens’s left hand moved to the back of Lucas’s neck, grapping his short hair, pulling it lightly.

Lucas moan was all that Jens needed to remind him that they haven’t even really made it into the house. They had a whole night ahead of them. First things first. He didn’t actually back out of their embrace, but his chin went to rest on Lucas’s shoulder, trying to get his pulse to calm down again.

„I gonna heat up some dinner for you, so better remember where we left off later.“ Jens whispered in a promise, and then kissed the spot below the ear, the one that Jens had discovered always made Lucas tremble, teeth lightly scraping, his tounge tasting skin. He really needed to stop right now.

„Okay, food!“ Jens declared stepping away, proudly watching the messed up boy come back slowly to reality. God how much he loved this. He didn’t mind the little censorious glance Lucas threw him, before he collected his bag from the floor and took Jens’s hand to followed him in.

„I may have missed your food even a little more.“ Lucas said grinning, while he took his seat at the dinning table, his eyes following Jens by the stove, who turned the heat back on, stirring the left over pasta.

„I only have cooked like three times for you.“ 

„Yes and all three times, it was delicious.“

„Not hard to surpass expectations, if one lives of frozen pizza.“ Jens challenged, knowing exactly that it was true. Lucas couldn’t cook if his life depended on it. At least that’s what he had been told by the same boy. So maybe this was a all just a ruse, to let Jens do all the work. Not that he kinda had found himself enjoying cooking more and more as he got better.

„Eh, that’s why I said I should move in. Otherwise I may starve.“ Lucas explained his immaculate future plan, leaving Jens to turn around and face him, a smirk tugging at his lips.

„So as I said before, you should take your boy out on a date first. I’m not handing out keys to every dutch boy I meet and kiss.“ 

„Well it wasn’t me who had stood up the dutch boy.“

Right, there had been something he had forgotten about. Sometimes he hated his bad memory. 

Very fortunately Lucas only seemed to have teased him, cracking a smile, not actually getting mad at Jens again, as the older boy had feared for a moment.

Turning off the stove, he pilled up the pasta onto a plate and walked over, a clean fork in his other hand. He placed both infront of the boy, taking the seat beside him, pulling his chair a bit closer, until their shoulders touched and his knee rested against Lucas’s. 

It reminded him of his first lunch break, the first day that Lucas had joined his group. And his side.

How was this only three weeks ago? It felt like a year had passed.

„Thank you.“ Lucas turned his head pecking a couple kisses onto Jens’s lips, before he dug into his food. Perhaps he hadn’t been lying when he had told Jens, he was starving.

He propped up his elbow on the table, resting his head on the palm of his hand silently watching Lucas munching happily away. Til there was the sound of light feet rushing down the stairs.

„Lucas!“ His little sister announced her presence, running off towards the dutch boy, hugging him awkwardly as he tried to gulp down the food left on his plate.

„Hey, everything’s good?“  He asked inbetween bites, almost finished.

„Yes, are you staying over again?“Lotte asked smiling as she took the seat across the table, looking at him expectantly, even a little pleading.

„That’s the idea.“ Lucas replied, pushing the plate away, the fork placed on it with a metallic sound, before he took Jens’s free hand and pulled it onto his thigh. No complaints here. Lotte saw them, but wasn’t interested at all. Thank god she was a child. Jens also was pretty sure that she knew they weren’t just friends. She had made some comments here and there over the last week. Nothing specific though.

„Cool. Until when?“

„Only tomorrow, I have someone come around to check on the heating at my flat.“ Lucas said apologetic and immidiately went on to save a bit of her excitment. „But I may be able to be back by wednesday or thursday if your brother wants me too.“

„Of course he does.“ Lotte declared for Jens, obviously not wrong about that, so he nodded agreeing with his little sister completely. And as Jens had presumed the moment Lotte had joined them, there was a goal to her short interview.. „Are you good at math?“

„Yes, why?“ Wrong answer. Poor boy, Jens thought squeezing Lucas’s hand slightly in sympathy.

„Awesome, I’ll get my homework.“ Lotte was gone from one second to the next, leaving no moment for Lucas to reject her, as she sprinted up to her room. Jens hadn’t moved much, listening amused to their conversation. Shrugging at the overwhelmed dutch boy looking over. He would never be able to get rid of Lotte asking for help now. He almost felt a little bad. Almost. It meant Jens was freed.

„So you are good at math, huh?“ He asked, eyebrow raised in amusement. Obviously a third-graders math problems weren’t the hardest, still Lucas had been so confident. His self-esteem still growing, by the total lack of belief on Jens’s end it seemed like.

„I’ll have you know, that I am an excellent student, Mr. Stoffels. How dare you?“

„Right.“ Jens remarked rolling his eyes. He tilted his head a little, waiting for Lucas to come clean. The dutch boy never did.

„No I mean it. I usually have grades between...“ Lucas stopped in order convert grades between their systems, for a moment lost in thought. „...between 16 and 20, never worse, more towards 19ish. Why else would the schools have allowed me to move mid semester?“

„Seriously?“ Jens couldn’t help but gape at Lucas in shock. „Fuck, I’m dating a genius.“

„I wouldn’t call myself a genius, I’m just good at memorising things, unlike a certain someone.“ Lucas chuckled, his finger pressing into Jens’s temple, pushing his head a bit further away. Jens had to admit that he hadn’t questioned Lucas arriving a month into the school year. He also never focused on how well Lucas performed in classes. He was much busier being distracted by his pretty face. And hands if they attended online classes together nowadays.

„Okay, Mr Van der Heijden, you go and earn money, and I’ll cook for you until you die of old age. Moving in, inclusive. How about that for a future plan?“

The proposal hanging between them, Lotte was back, notebook and pens in hand, spreading them across the table, before she pulled her chair around to sit next to Lucas on his other free side. Exploiting the fact that Jens haden’t yet reminded her of her bedtime.

Not noticing the two boys engrossed in themselves, looking at each other, smiling brightly from ear to ear. __ __ __

tagged: @odi-et-amo85, @tayspots

[notquitecanon]

Clean Break // Marvel/Criminal Minds Crossover (reader insert)

yeah, no one asked for this, it’s entirely self-service bc I’m trash

______________

Early 2010

You slammed your go-bag down in your car, taking a deep breath to compose yourself. Logically, you knew it had been a bad call- physically confronting the unsub by yourself when he had a hostage. Bad Idea. Not to mention some other risky calls you had made lately... 

But you pulled it off, getting the kid-safe and subduing the bad guy. Hotch didn’t see it the same way, not only had he pulled you away to scold you in private- but there had also been a yelling matching in front of part of the team. 

As soon as the jet had landed, Hotch ordered you on two weeks suspension. You had arguments on the tip of your tongue, but the warning look Derek was sending you from behind Aaron told you to just accept it.  This team was like a family, and sometimes families fought. 

As you slid into your driver's seat you could still vividly feel the white-hot embarrassment of the entire team staring at you while you collected your things. The awkward “I’m sympathetic but you lowkey deserve it” smile from Spencer. JJ and Garcia promised to get lunch with you soon, and Prentiss offered to meet for drinks as well, which you politely smiled and nodded too knowing they’d be too busy with cases. Rossi had stopped you on your way out and told you to, “Get your head on straight.”

Your knuckles turned white as you gripped the steering wheel with one hand and roughly turned the key to start the engine. My head is on straight, they’re just not willing to take risks. You bitterly thought as you drove out of the parking garage. As you merged into the street, you finally got radio signal- the speakers flickering to life with an all too familiar, “I am ironman”  before merging to another later interview with the billionaire turned superhero, Tony Stark. 

You flipped to the next station, flinching at the terrible techno beats before flipping it again, this station flooding your car with drawling, “he-done-me-wrong” country music. You flipped it back, another irritated sigh, “Iron man it is.”

“I can’t trust the military with my tech, obviously, but it has too much opportunity to just shove in a box. So the responsibility falls to me to use Ironman to save people.” Tony Stark explained you could here the self-righteousness in his voice. The profiler is you couldn’t help but scoff. 

“Classic Narcissist with savior complex tendencies.” You remarked as you drove. You turned down the volume as you continued your drive, the suburb of Quantico slowly turning into bigger city D.C. 

Finally, you slid into a parallel parking spot across from your apartment building. The drive made the red-hot anger turn into defeated resignment, you knew you made mistakes and Hotch called you on it- he wasn’t singling you out, even if he was a little harsh, in your opinion. You recognized you arguing hadn’t helped your situation, I dug this grave, now I have to lie in it. But I can lie in it with the nice bottle of wine Rossi got me for my birthday. 

Resignedly, you started making plans for your two weeks as you rode the elevator up to your floor- you juggled thoughts of visiting your family back home, maybe visiting some old friends, briefly, you thought of starting an online dating profile and going on some dates. I should call and apologize to Hotch, he might have been harsh, but I definitely provoked him. You thought as you unlocked your apartment, quickly turning off your alarm before taking off your gun.  

You looked around your apartment, all the lights were off, deathly silent, almost empty. Two weeks of this, I’m going to go crazy. 

Four days later, you had officially run of out things to do. You had cleaned, cooked, tried new restaurants, shopped, rented movies, even read books that Spencer’s suggested list. You were going stir crazy- the Team was already on a new case according to Penelope, your old friends were all working, and your family was weirdly busy. 

On the fourth day, you went to the movies, returning to your apartment at 9:30. Immediately, you knew something was wrong- as soon as you stepped into the apartment, you noticed the lights, all were off (which you knew you didn’t do) except one light in the living room. I know I unplugged that lamp. 

You grabbed your gun off the entryway table, a million possibilities going through your head as you flicked the safety off and began stalking towards the living room. As you rounded the corner, your eyes landed on your intruder. 

“That won’t be necessary, Agent.” 

His voice was deep, confident. Your intruder was a tall, dark-skinned man, a black eye-patch matched the near floor-length black leather coat. He was wearing a black turtle neck, black slacks, and (shocker) black shoes- and was sitting in your favorite chair, only partially lit by the lamp beside him. Your trained eyes easily picked out the three guns he had hidden on him. 

“Who the hell are you and why the hell are you in my house?” You growled, still not lowering your gun. 

“My name is Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, and I’m here to offer you a job.” 

____________

“So you want me to profile a billionaire, a former Russian spy, a SHIELD agent, and Modern-day Jekyll/Hyde?” You asked sarcastically after Director Fury explained his proposition.  

“Possibly more. And then I want you to tell me if my initiative will work.” He nodded, you quirked an eyebrow. 

“And will my opinion matter if I tell you something you don’t want to hear?” You inquired, carefully watching him for an answer. 

“It will influence my decision, yes.” He nodded. He was a good liar, but you still noticed the subtle ticks. You ignored them. 

“Why me? I have a whole team of talented profilers-” You started, thinking of Hotch and Rossi’s experience, Reid’s brilliant mind, Derek’s determination, JJ and Prentiss’s unique methods of profiling... 

“No, your team’s first loyalty is to the Bureau, Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi will never leave the FBI, we tried to recruit Dr. Reid out of college he turned us down, Jennifer Jareau gets too caught up by her family, Prentiss was a good candidate but not while her mother is still working, political agenda gets very dangerous. Derek Morgan is too headstrong, especially when it becomes to .” He paused, before nodding to you, “Additionally, you’ve got a good bit of experience with the BAU but haven’t been there long enough to be considered a security risk to SHIELD, also with the recent sanction, we’ve determined that you’re willing to take risks that the FBI won’t let you take. That what makes you attractive to SHIELD. The sanction also gives a convenient break to recruit you to SHIELD.”

It was like a combination of Hotch and Spence talking to at you, slightly completely overwhelming. “You don’t have to decide now, but here’s my card.”

And then Director Nick Fury was gone as quickly as he came. And you had some thinking to do. 

______

“Hey, Hotch, I know I’m still suspended, but I’m just calling to update you- because well... well you’ll understand soon. I’ve made some personal decisions, and some things are going to happen soon, and I just wanted to let you know that it’s not because of my suspension. I just wanted to let you know that I’m not angry, and this isn’t a spiteful or rash decision.” You explained to the voicemail, almost relieved Hotch didn’t actually pick up. He’d ask questions that you couldn’t answer, but you couldn’t stress enough that you weren’t mad at him or anyone on the team. 

Director Fury had officially stopped dealing with you directly, instead sending another supposedly high ranking SHIELD official. Agent Coulson had decided it was best if you didn’t tell your team about your transfer, that he’d handle everything (re: go above Hotch’s head and handle everything at a political level). While most FBI agents knew about SHIELD,   Phil had stepped out for a moment allowing you to quickly leave the voicemail, which made you feel better about leaving your team.  

“So, uh, yeah, tell the team to be careful. I can’t say anything more, but, uh yeah. Bye, Hotch.”

You clicked off the call, shoving the cell in your pocket. Phil stepped back in, as always followed by three agents. “Well, you are officially an Agent of SHIELD. I’ve sent Agents to your desk to pack it up. Agents will also pack up your apartment, Fury wants you working ASAP.”

You simply nodded, zipping up your go-bag. Ain’t no rest for the wicked.

_______

Meanwhile at the BAU:

Dr. Reid glanced up at Aaron Hotchner’s office. He’d been on the phone for an hour, pacing his office back and forth. “What do you think is going on?” 

“No idea, but with that look, it can’t be good.” Prentiss thought aloud, glancing at the young doctor before watching Hotch through the blinds. Derek came up beside her, sipping at his coffee. 

“Think it has anything to do with (Y/N)?” He asked, leaning against the desk. JJ, on her way back to her office, stopped by. 

“We’ve been fielding so many calls from higher-ups. So I don’t think so, Strauss was pretty indifferent about (Y/N)’s suspension.” She said, lowly. Suddenly, Aaron came out of his office causing everyone to hurriedly go about their business- trying (and failing) to be inconspicuous as they stared after their supervisor who rushed out of the BAU. 

“What was that all about?” Prentiss asked, staring after him. 

“Uhh, guys?” Garcia called, approaching the other agents as quickly as the ridiculously tall orange heels she was wearing that day would let her. 

Derek Morgan quirked an eyebrow, quickly concerned after noting the shock on Garcia’s face. “What is it baby girl?” 

“So I was just checking on our absent friend, trying to see what she was up to and whatnot, and when I checked her facebook, (Y/N)’s page was deleted. And I know you’re asking, Garcia, why does this matter? I’ll tell you, because then I checked every other social media page she has- and they’re all gone. Her home phone is cut off and her lease was broken today. So either she’s Gone Girling us, or someone is trying very hard to make sure she doesn’t exist anymore.” Penelope listed off, words flying out of her mouth at a rate that was dizzying. She paused to take a breath, but Rossi had emerged from his office, standing against the railing that separated him from the rest of the bullpen. 

“My bets are on them.” He announced motioning to the entrance. The rest of the team snapped their heads that way, all eyes widening at the posse entering. Four agents, two men and two women, were trailing behind a woman who appeared to be in charge. Hotch was hot on the head-woman’s heels lowly hissing something at her with an angry look plastered on his brow. 

The entire team jumped up when the four henchmen (for lack of a better word) began rooting apart your old desk while Hotch was still arguing with the woman in charge. “Hey, Hey, you can’t just tear her desk apart, man!” 

Derek was the first to argue, but they just ignored him, throwing books, personal items, and office supplies into boxes. Morgan flicked his eyes to Hotch, “What’s going on?” 

Hotch didn’t answer Morgan, instead, using his size to try and intimidate the agent, “You can’t barge into my bullpen, and start packing up her desk.” 

Spencer watched the tense interaction, but approached the other most experienced person in the room instead, “Who are these guys, Rossi?”

“SHIELD, I’ve dealt with them once or twice- but it never turns out good.”Rossi divulged, his eyes never leaving the SHIELD agents. While almost every FBI agent knew about SHIELD, not many knew that much. Everything about SHIELD was a rumor at best and classified at worst. The doctor’s eyebrows crinkled, remembering the recruiting agent that approached him at his first college graduation as he watched Hotch.

 “You can’t pack up her desk and then ask us to pretend like she never existed! That’s one of my agents and this team deserves to know the terms of this transfer!” Hotch demanded, his voice loud and scarily determined. That was the voice that sent killers shaking, but this SHIELD supervisor didn’t waiver.

“She’s not your agent anymore, and contact has been severed at the orders of someone far above both of our heads Agent Hotchner.” She paused, watching her goons put lids on the three boxes they’d packed, “Now, we will be leaving. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.

”It only took them five minutes to erase every shred of evidence that (Y/N) (Y/L/N) had ever stepped foot in the BAU. The only proof they had was memories.

 Chatter immediately broke out amongst the bullpen, but Hotch stopped it with a simple sentence, “Meet in the briefing room.”

______

“....some things are going to happen soon, and I just wanted you to hear it from me first so I could tell you I didn’t do it because I was mad at you or my suspension... I just wanted to let you know that I’m not angry, and this isn’t a spiteful or rash decision.” 

There was a pause in your voice, before you resumed, “So, uh, yeah, tell the team to be careful. Go out, save some people, and put some sickos away for me… I can’t say anything more, but, uh yeah. Bye, guys.”

With that, the voicemail clicked off. The team sat in silence, each person quietly processing the voicemail, every verbal tic, every pause, every quiet chuckle. 

Hotch cleared his throat, “I got that voicemail as I walked into the BAU today, immediately thereafter I received calls from both FBI and SHIELD superior officers telling me the (Y/L/N) was being transferred to SHIELD. She has been ordered to maintain zero contact, and, as far as we know, will not be returning to the BAU.”

“Sadly, we don’t have time to argue with the higherups, because we have a case and it’s time-sensitive…”

So with heavy hearts, the BAU kept moving and tried to ignore the empty seat at the round table.  

_______

yeah no one asked for this but Imma keep writing it until I’m tired of it

[saltandburnsis]

wendigo, pt. 1

Characters: Reader, Dean, Sam, Ranger

Age: 20

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,506

Summary: With nothing to show from their week’s stay in Stanford after Jessica’s death, the Winchesters move on to Black Water Ridge in search of their father.

A/N: y’all the fact that they changed the name of the town from Blackbottle Ridge to Black Water Ridge has been so frustrating. The “‘Blackwater?’ “No, Blackbottle” dialogue I put in the last part of the pilot was a joke for myself because I could not keep the name straight and now they’re just going to change it on me?? Insane. Also, as always, all dialogue taken from the show will be in italics.

~ ~ ~ ~

Sam woke up with a start, bolting upright in the passenger seat. Dean looked to him a few times, watching his movements as Sam tried to shake off whatever had scared him so.

“You okay?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam replied, brow furrowed as he played off his sudden waking. You looked to him from your spot in the back.

“Was it another nightmare?” you asked. Sam cleared his throat but, unsurprisingly, didn’t answer. They’d been happening so frequently since that night, but Sam refused to talk about them.

“Wanna drive for a while?” Dean looked to his younger brother. Sam chuckled in response, shocked.

“Dean, in your whole life, you’ve never once asked me that.”

“Yeah, me neither,” you agreed, leaning forward and resting your arms on the seat in front of you.

“Just thought you might want to. Never mind,” Dean replied to Sam. “And, Y/N, you’re never driving Baby again after what happened.”

“God, you crash a car into a house one time,” you replied, sitting back in your seat. This seemed to lighten the mood enough to take Sam out of his head.

“Look, guys, you’re worried about me. I get it and thank you, but I’m perfectly okay.” Dean only hummed in response. Quick to change the subject, Sam spoke again, grabbing the map as he did: “Alright, where are we?”

“We are just outside of Grand Junction,” Dean replied. Sam looked over the map for a few minutes before taking a deep breath.

“You know what? Maybe we shouldn’t have left Stanford so soon,” he mused. Dean shut his eyes for a moment, and you leaned forward again to look at Sam.

“Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you want to find the thing that killed Jessica-”

“Gotta find Dad first,” he interrupted, finishing your thought.

“Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years? It’s no coincidence. Dad’ll have answers. He’ll know what to do,” Dean reminded Sam. The same words he’d used to convince Sam to leave Stanford in the first place. Sam tried to change the subject again.

“It’s weird, man. These coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge…” Sam trailed off, looking at the map again.

“What about it?” Dean asked, glancing over at the map.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just woods.” Sam lowered the map and looked out the windshield, confusion clear on his face. “Why’s he sending us to the middle of nowhere?”

——————-

You looked around the ranger station with Dean while the three of you waited for the ranger. Sam was at the terrain model of the woods, looking at the entirety of the area.

“So, Black Water Ridge is pretty remote. It’s cut off by these canyons here—rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place,” he explained to you and Dean. His words fell on deaf ears, however, as you and Dean were too preoccupied with looking at the pictures on the wall.

“Dude, check out the size of this friggin’ bear,” Dean called the two of you over. You walked over with Sam and shrugged when you saw the bear.

“…and a dozen or more grizzlies in the area,” Sam concluded his summary of the area.

“I’ve seen bigger than that. I fought a werewolf twice that size a few months ago before I met back up with you and Dad in Des Moines. I could take that thing on no problem,” you scoffed. Dean smiled proudly, but Sam furrowed his brow. He knew how invested you were in this life, how much you’d always been, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit overprotective of his kid sister. You’d been out facing monstrous werewolves three times your size without any help during his absence?

“It’s no nature hike, that’s for sure,” he said, shaking his head. The three of you were interrupted by the ranger’s entrance.

“You three aren’t planning to go out near Black Water Ridge, by any chance?” he asked. The three of you turned to face him.

“Oh, no, sir. We’re environmental-study majors from U.C. Boulder. Just working on a paper,” Sam answered. Dean fist-bumped the air.

“Recycle, man,” he added.

“Bull. You’re friends with that Hailey girl, right?” The Ranger moved to stand behind his desk. You stepped out from behind Sam and Dean, nodding.

“Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger…Wilkinson,” you answered, leaning in slightly to make out the name on his badge. He set his coffee mug down.

“Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn’t be back from Black Water until the 24th. So, it’s not exactly a missing persons now, is it?” Dean shook his head. “Tell that girl to quit worrying. I’m sure her brother’s just fine,” Ranger Wilkinson finished, stepping away from his desk again.

“We will,” Dean stated with a nod. “Well, that Hailey girl’s quite a pistol, huh?” He chuckled.

“That is putting it lightly,” the ranger replied with a shake of his head.

“Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother’s return date,” Dean suggested. Ranger Wilkinson looked down for a moment then nodded.

——-

“Yeah!” Dean laughed victoriously as he led you and Sam to the back of the car.

“What? Are you cruising to hookup or something?” you asked. Dean looked to you.

“What do you mean?”

“The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge. So, what are we waiting for?”

“She’s right, Dean,” Sam agreed. “Let’s just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into it,” Dean shot back defensively. He looked between you and Sam and shook his head.

“What?” Sam asked, clearly annoyed at this point.

“Since when are you two all ‘shoot first, ask questions later?’ anyway?”

“Since now,” Sam quipped, getting into the car with a slam of the door. Dean turned to you before you could follow suit.

“You know, you’re the one who said we were friends with this girl. Now you’re mad it got us some information?”

“Yeah, the wrong information. How was I supposed to know that girl wasn’t a victim going in?” you sighed. “If Dad’s here in those woods, he could fill us in on what we need to know. Making all these other stops, interviewing people Dad probably already got to…it’s just more time spent not looking for him.” With that, you slid into the backseat before Dean could answer.

———-

You opted out of going to the girl’s house, choosing instead to stay back and do some more research of your own. If you weren’t going right into the woods, you might as well look further into all this while you could. Besides, Hailey didn’t need two strangers at her door during all this, let alone three. However, this left you up to analyzing the video Dean and Sam collected while at her house. You met back up with Dean and Sam at a local dive-bar to share your findings.

“So, Black Water Ridge doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Local campers mostly, but, still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found,” you recanted, searching through the papers on the table before you.

“Any before that?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” You finally found the old newspaper you’d printed and laid it on the table in front of your brothers. While they read, you got the laptop from the bag and turned it on. “In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And, again, in 1959, and before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork.

“Okay, watch this. Here’s the cincher. I downloaded the video Sam sent over. Watch this.” You spun the laptop to face them. “Here’s the clincher.  I downloaded the video Sam sent me. Watch this.” You pressed a key, playing a few frames of the footage. Sam and Dean leaned in closer to the laptop.

“Do it again,” Dean said. You complied, rewinding the tape then playing those three frames again.

“That’s three frames. It’s a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move.” Sam’s eyes stayed locked on the screen as he spoke, reaching forward to play the clips once more. Dean hit Sam’s arm triumphantly.

“I told you something weird was going on here,” he said. You shook your head, shutting the laptop.

“Yeah, I got one more thing. In’59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid—barely crawled out of the woods alive.” You passed your last paper across the table for them to look over. Dean grabbed it first, and Sam looked on over his shoulder.

“Is there a name?” Dean asked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims

forever taglist: @griff1ndor @gothsatanicrapunzel @choosemyname @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @not-astounding @sassy-specter @vicmc624 @idksupernatural

[onepdumpsterfire]

Summary: Usopp moves to the city after a year since his mom died in a way to feel closer to her. There he looks for a roommate and finds none other than Zoro himself. what fate has in store for them is left for a later date lol

Roommates

Usopp . Zoro

It’s been almost a year since my mom died. She’s been sick for a long time, so I knew this was coming for some time now.

Even so, knowing didn’t stop it from hurting just as much.

Since her funeral, all I’ve done is coop myself up in our house. I’d probably turn into a hermit if it weren’t for my neighbor, Kaya. She came around whenever she had the chance.

That was nice of her considering what she has been going through…

But the more she worried about me, the guiltier I felt.

I know that she can't help but take care of people. Hell, It's why she’s been studying pharmaceutics, but I also know she can do so much more with her life. She could be some big-city doctor or researching to cure cancer!

Wouldn’t that be so much cooler than being stuck in a no-name city, too small to even afford more than the one clinic it has?

In any event, that’s only one of the reasons why I’ve decided to move away for a while. I think some time out of this house would do me some good.

The city that I’m moving to isn’t all that big and a bit further than I’d like it to be, but that’s the point of moving, right?

One way or another, I chose this city because my mom fell in love with it. She used to tell me about how, when she was young, she used to travel all over! She’d seen it all. Every tourist attraction and big-name city, but there was something about this city that just took her breath away. She told me that this place managed to calm her need to be constantly moving. This is also where she got pregnant with me then later she moved back to where she was raised and had me.

As much as she loved it there, she wanted me to go out on my own and find a place that would ‘sate my most wild urges and fuel my deepest desires,’ as cheese-ly as she put it.

At first, I thought she was joking.

I thought that she only liked that place because it’s where she met dad… It’s also why I hated this city.

My father was a coward that ran away as soon as my mom got sick. Though, she never blamed him for it. I never got to as her why, though. Years later, I did ask her if I was right. That she only romanticized this place because she fell in love there. However, she told me that he was only part of the reason why she loved this city so much, and that if I didn’t believe her then I should go find the depth of this city for myself.

I debated with myself for the longest time. Whether this was the right choice, or if I was ready to set foot in the place I used to loath so much. But being here now, I feel so much smaller than I thought I was. I’m nowhere near the heart of the city, but the sheer enormity for this place makes it feel like it’s trying to swallow me whole.

Sure, back home we had a lot of open fields and the horizon was always noticeable, but here the buildings towered over everything. It felt like a tsunami that threatened impact but never collided. The horizon was replaced by millions of stars that fell from the sky and sat just out of reach so that if you got too close thy’d turn into someone else’s day. Someone’s life.

There are so many people here that It almost made it feel lonely. Being surrounded by so many lives yet being so far from them. A mirage in a desert, one could call it. It promises life, but the closer you get the more you realize you could never get close enough.

I guess I was too much of a coward to be as alone as I felt when I first stepped foot here, though, I’ll keep telling myself it’s because the apartments here are too pricey and I only managed to land a job as a gas station attendant. Nevertheless now I’m sitting on the first floor of a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment checking a roommate wanted ad I posted earlier this week.

So far there have been only two people who wanted to move around this area, but one ghosted me after a few messages and the other ended up creeping me out so much that I had to report his account! I just hope the last person that answered my ad isn’t as much of a weirdo as the previous two.

They seem to be a bit curt, but I shouldn’t get too picky. Rent for next month is gonna be due soon, and there is barely anyone who wants to live near this area as is!

I’m sure that they’re nicer in person! I shouldn’t worry. It’s just two days.

Two days.

-2 days later. Thursday 2:30 pm -

When I arrive at the coffee shop, I walk straight to the back of the line. It isn’t that long and I’ve got here thirty minutes early, so I should have time for a drink before they get here.

Should I get something for them too? No, that’d be weird, and it would probably get cold by the time they get here.

The person in front of the line leaves and we all step forward.

Shit.

Someone arrives and lines up behind me.

I didn’t ask for their name! I don’t even know if they’re a boy or a girl!

The next person leaves and we take another step forward.

Is it too late to ask? Would it be weird if I did?

Another step forward

What if they’re a girl? Would they feel uncomfortable living with a guy?

“-ir?”

I did put on the ad I was a dude though…

“-cuse me, sir?”

“Huh?” The barista’s voice brings me back to earth. “Oh, sorry!”

“It’s okay!” her chipper voice rung out, “could you repeat your order? I didn’t quite catch it.”

“O-oh, sorry. Sorry. I didn’t mean to talk out loud. I was lost in thought, I guess... haha ...” I looked up to their hanging menu, more so to look away from her than to figure out what I wanted.

After putting in my order I take a seat at the very back.

Ten minutes later my drink was ready and my anxiety was rising again.

What if they don’t come?

Five minutes later and I sent them a message to let them know I’m here.

Maybe I could’ve phrased it better?

That sounded weird…?

God, is that a typo?

five minutes later

They haven’t answered, but that’s okay! It’s only been five minutes. Can’t expect them to be by their phone 24/7 right?

I’ll play some games on my phone to distract myself. Yeah, that’ll be fine. It’s fine.

I take a big gulp from my drink

I downloaded that new game. My hopes aren’t high for it, though. I found it via a random Facebook ad. Hopefully, it’s not one of those scams that say 90% of people can’t pass level five, but it’s only ‘cus no one lasts long enough to get to level five.

Hmmm… it seems plays well. A bit of a lag but the graphics are awesome! The old-style, pixelated art and bright, neon, solid colors give it a very retro vibe. The ads between levels kind of ruin the experience, though.

Guess they gotta make money somehow, right?

I wonder if they’ll go away if I turn off my data and Wi-Fi.

I shouldn’t just in case the person I’m meeting tries to reach me.

Could be fine for a round or two, though, I’d anxiously suffer through all of it.

I shouldn’t just in-

A sudden scraping sound from the chair opposite of me jolts me from my hypnotic state. “Hey,” a green-haired man in front of me mutteres before taking the seat he pulled out.

Taking in his form as he makes himself comfortable, my mind begins to race. Green dyed hair with roots of black hair showing. Fitted, sleeveless Nike shirt and black basketball shorts paired with a white pair of sneakers.

Oh, god. What’s with the green hair? He looks super buffed. Am I about to be mugged? No, that’s stupid. He wouldn’t have sat- in a cafe, really?

I quickly glance down at my phone for the time.

Exactly 3. Is he super punctual? More than likely a fluke, but impressive nonetheless. What if he’s a perfectionist?

My thoughts continue to swarm around my head, buzzing in an insatiable mob until a humming silence washes over me. Like one of those box televisions from back in the day. Not broadcasting anything in particular, stuck on a blue screen, droning on in silence.

The sudden stillness in my thoughts came so abruptly that it almost gave me whiplash. That aside, I need to focus now and answer him.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t ask for your name-” I left my statement open so that he could fill in the blank“-Zoro”

“R-right, Zoro. My name’s Usopp,” I waved my hands like the gesticulation would somehow help my words form into a coherent sentence, “but you probably already knew that from my ad... Hah..” I gave a quick huff before pushing through my awkward inexperience with ‘interviews’. “I was thinking we could talk and get to know each other before I take you to see the apartment.”

“That’s fine by me,” Zoro relaxed further in his seat. “What do you wanna know?”

Right at home, ain’t he.

~Do you smoke? “No”

~Are you a messy person? “I don't have a lot of things other than clothes.”

Doesn't quite answer the question but ill take it.

~Do you have friends over often? “No”

~What do you do for a living? “I’m a bouncer at a bar near here.”

Explains the muscle.

~Can you pay rent on time? “Yes, actually I brought the first month’s with me. Your ad said that split cost between the both of us plus the utilities would be $487 right?” Zoro dug around his pocket before pulling out a folded wad of cash and handing it to me.

“U-uh yeah,” tentatively I reach over to take the money. “Yeah...” I doubt I can find someone else by the end of the month. Zoro’s my safest bet at getting a roommate before next rent's due. He doesn’t seem so bad, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.

...I guess this means there’s only one more question to ask.

“Do you wanna see the apartment?”

[uricl]

JAN 16TH 2019 7:36 PM

“Because that would be too easy playbwoy” The OG said shaking his head. “You’ll make a move when I tell you too. You can’t be stupid like you were with Nia and Yes I know about Nia.” He spoke giving Uriel a sympathetic look.

Uriel shrugged and looked at him, “I called it a sacrifice, and it’s dealt with.” The OG looked at his mentee with disbelief. “YOU CAN’T DO THAT, You can’t just do that. Atleast you didn’t allow to many people into that.” He said in relief. “Why would I do that? I know who to trust and I know who to keep at arms length.” Uriel raised his brow shocked his OG didn’t know how he moved by now. 

Uriel walked outside to his backyard thinking back on this past conversation as he walked towards the spot his mother child was buried in on his property. Every other couple months he’d walk out to the hard dirt area to check on her remains. Everything in his life was going great, he didn’t need for her to be randomly dug up. As he looked down at her grave he thought about the actions that took place that led to her death. Its been three years and he still thinks about the first police interview he had about her vanishing 

JAN 24TH 2019 1:23 PM

“Bruh how many times you gonna ask me the same question?” Uriel was brought in for questioning at 8am this morning, and it now being 1pm he was still there. “Ya really think I had something to do with her vanishing?” With a long eye-roll and scoff Uriel picked up one his crab ragoons and took a bite after dipping it in the sauce. The detective studied Uriel’s body language and tosses a folder towards him.

“Her cell phone signal was picked up at a tower by your house and the second visit she was there for awhile.’ The officer spoke confidently with bass in his voice. Uriel looked at the papers and showed no emotion on his face, “I mean she came back to drop off an overnight bag for Ro and hung out with her for a bit, after that she left. Where she went I don’t know man.” Uriel sighed and kept looking at the papers. “Uriel we know about the legal troubles you both were having -” The detective began to talk before Uriel cut him off with a look of disgust plastered all over his face, “Wow so because she was constantly taking me to court over money you think I’m capable of doing something to her? Look Nia wouldn’t leave her daughter, I’m sure she’ll turn up. She loves Ro and she wouldn’t do that to her.” Uriel lied through his teeth, he was an actor and he knew his role. “We never dated but I still got love and respect for her, instead of questioning me ya should be out there looking for her.” Uriel spoke with so much emotion he almost convinced himself what he was saying was true.

“You can go.” The detective says in a defeatist tone.

“Only if she knew how to play her role.” Uriel mumbled under his breath before hearing a small voice call out to him. “Daddy why are you out there! Is your friend out there again?” Ro yells out him from behind the fence. A smile creeps on his face and he smirks, “Yeah, I was just checking on her. Why don’t you go inside I’ll be right there!” He shouted back and watched his daughter go back in the house. The pleasant smile that was once on his face turn cold and dark, as he slowly looked back down to the ground. “You can’t take her from me now, huh?” He laughs making his way back to his home.

[orangetail-works]

A Phoenix and a Raven: Partner

Chapter: Partner

 A.N: This one came from the Boss/Assistant prompt, with the combination of the prompt: One meets the other when the other runs into a street sign.  I thought that for a Modern AU, it would work.  I hope you enjoy!  Sorry about the time lapse.  It took me a little longer to write than I thought.

Mondays were considered the worst day of the week by most. The beginning of the workweek, the school week and the usual starting point of long work projects. For Maleficent DaFey, head attorney of the Moors Criminal Defense Center, it meant the continued interviews and search for her new personal assistant and paralegal.

For the past five years, she never needed one. Her small law firm was headed up by herself and then she brought in a partner a year after liftoff as she needed more help. Although he was not a partner in a legal sense, he was her equal in the fact that she ran everything by him before taking the next step in cases. Stefan Barnhand did have a cooler head out of the two of them and he did most of the face to face interactions with other firms and hiring. He didn't have the spine to stand in the middle of the courtroom and grill the witnesses like she did, but she didn't mind. He had told her that they were meant to be, that they had 'true love'. She was so in love that she was sure that the dinner that had occurred last month would have had ended in a proposal.

It did end in just that, but not for marriage.

Stefan told her that he was going to leave Moors for Perceforest Law Offices headed up by Henry King. He had been headhunted and he wanted the chance to be a partner in a large and well-known office one day. Henry was offering him all he wanted and the chance to date his young daughter if he gave him something worthwhile. Stefan took the biggest case that they were working on with him. It was one of the largest and well-known cases in the area and would have skyrocketed her small law office into the arena with the big dogs. Now, she would have to wait for another chance. He was an idiot in hindsight, she was sure. She started the law firm from nothing and she got far before his interference. She would soar once again.

“DaFey,” the barista called from the counter and placed the hot cup at the edge.

Maleficent broke out of her thoughts, grabbed the cup and tipped the team before she walked out the door. Her dark roast blend, scalding hot with three pumps of hazelnut sweetener and a touch of blueberry juice was not the weirdest thing that the baristas at the Rowen Tree had made, but they surely knew to make it a certain way for the powerful woman who came in every morning- and occasional afternoons. The taste was worth the strange looks she received from the baristas. What wasn't worth it, was the wait she had to go through when a new trainee was behind the coffee maker.

There were three blocks to her office from the favored coffee spot. She told Robin to go ahead with the car, it was coming to Fall season and she wanted to enjoy the season's colors on her walk. For the rest of the day, she would be surrounded by the white walls of her office as she screened multiple new people for the position. If today was to be like anything like her interviews from the week before, it was going to be a very long, exhausting day with not much room for breaks to go outside. All applicants so far shivered in their chair in front of her and failed to impress. Yes, she wanted a healthy amount of fear, but she was to see this assistant every day. Could they at least stand the sight of her without shaking in their boots?

“There must be someone out there that is suitable,” she huffed and sipped at her coffee.

She stopped at an intersection and waited for the cross signal. Taking small sips from her coffee, she thought over the preferred competencies she had initially chosen and those that she refused to relinquish on.

She looked up to check on the light to see a young man walked briskly along the side of the building opposite. Not much younger than she was, but definitely seemed a bit more naive if she judged him correctly.

He checked his watch and frowned down at his wrist. Right after his frown, he looked up just in time to hit face-first into the sign for Farmer Ave.

“Oh dear,” Maleficent said nonchalantly and looked both ways before she crossed the street. Farmer Ave was known to have had inconsiderate and even dangerous drivers rush down the street. It wouldn't do to have him stay sprawled out half in the roadway. She stepped directly to him and stood over him, “Are you injured?”

He held his head from where it hit the pavement and squeezed his eyes before he opened them, “Yeah, I mean- no. I'm in one piece. That's all anyone could ask for, right?”

“I suppose so,” Maleficent raised a brow.

“Thank you for checking. I-” he looked up at her and his voice seemed to fail him.

“You sure you are quite all right?” she asked and knelt down next to him. She sat her cup of coffee in the roadway at their side as she checked on him.

He definitely wasn't bad to look at. Lithe frame, a bit pale in complexion, but she had to admit she was as well. His dark hair swept back from dark eyes that were almost inhuman at how dark they were. He reminded her of a raven, dark and light at the same time. She noticed his hair was even soft like feathers as she checked his head and despite the large bump at the back of it and what would soon turn into an impressive bruise on his cheek, he seemed to be fine.

She leaned back on her heels to tell him of what injures she did see when a large truck came around the corner with no hint of slowing. She gripped at his jacket and pushed them both to the sidewalk as the truck barreled over were they just were. She groaned in annoyance and looked at where the truck turned and then looked back at the man she had saved, “Did you catch their plates? I swear I would slap him with every kind of case I could think of.”

“Sorry, didn't quite get it,” he said in a small voice before he coughed and rubbed at his head. He looked back at where they were and noticed that the coffee was hit and now flowed over the blacktop, “It looks like your coffee was the only casualty.”

“Shame,” she huffed, “I only had half of it and I will need more than that to make it through today.”

“Thank you again,” he stood up and held a hand down to her. He pulled her up as her hand landed in his, “I will be sure to get my head examined.”

“As you should. Not many people run into street signs,” she raised her brows to evaluate him. She pulled at her shoulder bag and nodded to him, “Be careful. There are quite of few of them along the walkway.”

“I will try,” he nodded, “Is there anything I can do for you? I mean, you possibly just saved my life.”

“Possibly?” her mouth quirked up in a slight half smile, “Would you rather I had let him hit you?”

“No, I'm grateful for what had occurred,” he shook his head, “Have a good day. I hope it doesn't end up as bad as you think it will.”

“That is my hope as well,” she nodded and then promptly turned to continue her walk. She looked over her shoulder halfway up the block and saw him still in the same place she left him. He waved at her once more and then dug out his phone to see something on the screen and then he turned back the way he had come. She shook her head to dismiss it and continued to her office.

Diaval turned from the corner as he scanned the ground for the front cover of his cell phone case. There, next to his savior's crushed cup was his equally crushed phone case cover.

“Well, make that two causalities,” he huffed and picked at his cover. He picked up the cup that she had sacrificed for him and turned it over, “The Rowen Tree. Huh.”

He stood up and looked down the block he was just on and saw a large sign not too far from him for the same coffee spot, “Well, if I am to face more shoddy interviews, might as well get some fuel.”

  Maleficent sat at her desk as the morning interviews wrapped up. The last one was the worst by far. A bubbly blonde who didn't even have enough brainpower to understand that Maleficent was degrading her through most of the interview. By the end of it, Maleficent was sure that the poor idiot thought she had bagged the position.

“I really should stop using sarcasm,” she muttered to herself and took a deep breath. She looked at the clock at her sidewall and it was going on two in the afternoon. Of course, it was the afternoon slump, made that much worse when she didn't get to finish her morning coffee. She needed her caffeine. Maybe she would be able to finish out the last of those waiting at the front of the office and go home just a bit early. She steadied herself and walked to her office door. She peeked out and saw no one left.

“Where is everyone else?” she asked at the desk closest to her.

Balthazar looked up at her with a stern smile on his face, “The last one told them that they may as well leave because she was offered the position.”

“Fat chance,” Maleficent frowned, “Make sure that she never comes back into this office. I fear that her idiocy may spread.”

“Consider it done.”

“Excuse me, I am looking for DaFey?” a voice called from the front of the open office space.

Maleficent walked out from her office completely to the front where the man she had saved earlier in the day stood at the front of the office with a coffee cup in each hand.

He smiled as he caught her eyes, “Ah! Miss DaFey, I assume?”

“What are you doing here?” she asked and walked to him.

“To pay you back. It's not as much as it should be, but I should at least replace your coffee,” he offered and pushed the cup in his left hand toward her.

She looked at the cup, gave the blend a sniff and then took a sip. Her eyes widened as it was perfect. She looked from the cup back to him, “How did you know?”

“You left your cup, remember? Seems like you are a regular at the Rowen Tree?” he asked as he took a sip of his own coffee, “They seem to remember you well.”

“I won't ask in what light,” she muttered and paused, “Thank you. The coffee is much appreciated. You're very clever to figure it out. Not many people know of my particularities.”

“That's true,” Robin said as he shuffled files behind her. It earned him a small glare which he refused to acknowledge.

“Well, that's me, clever,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“What is it you do, Mister...?” she asked and hesitated as she didn't know his name.

“Call me Diaval,” he offered with a tip of his head, “I am actually looking for a position at the moment. Have experience in paralegal work, but apparently not enough to impress.”

“There are more things to impress with other than experience,” she said and bit at the inside of her cheek in thought, “Follow me.”

He stood a little shocked as she quickly turned on her heel and headed back toward her office. He looked at her and then at his own shoes.

“She isn't the type you keep waiting,” Robin said from his desk.

Diaval nodded and walked briskly after the woman.

“Please take a seat,” Maleficent offered as she rounded her small desk.

“You are hiring?”

“Conveniently, it would seem,” she nodded and looked at him, “You hesitated when we first met. Cut yourself short when you first saw me.”

“Oh that?” he chuckled and rubbed at the back of his head at the small lump that formed, “Yeah, was not really expecting to hit face-first into a street sign in front of a beautiful lady.”

“Flattery does nothing for me.”

“Obviously, but I'm a bit of a charmer. Follows my cleverness. Can't do anything for it,” he let out a breath as if it were a burden and pulled at his bag to produce his paperwork. He handed her the resume and everything else that other law offices had asked of him.

“So... you aren't afraid of me?” she asked and glanced over his paperwork.

“Terrified if I ever were on the opposing team in the courtroom. You've torn through the toughest cases with ease. I had watched quite a few of them,” he offered and waited until she looked back at him, “But personally and professionally?”

She only nodded.

“I can't very well fear someone who would come to help a perfect stranger from their own idiocy and a truck. You're more than many people take you for. I respect you, but I don't know if I can come to fear you.”

“As I said, would you have rather that I had left you in the roadway?”

“Others may have. I know Stefan Barnhand would have.”

She sat straighter, “What do you know of Stefan?”

“Poor presence in the courts, but has an eye for large or profitable cases,” Diaval nodded at his short assessment, “Also has an eye for hiring to a point. I didn't make the cut for a paralegal in the offices, but I am sure that I dodged a bullet. If he makes partner, I feel like the offices may be a bit done for. He has offered me work here and there if he needs a runner on cases, but I know my worth and it is more than that.”

“Indeed you are,” she nodded and leaned back in her chair as she looked him over again, “You're hired.”

“For what exactly did I sign myself up for?” he asked as he shook her hand.

“Paralegal if needed, but my personal assistant on cases prep, or anything that I may need,” she offered.

“You saved my life,” he smirked and leaned back to sit into his chair again, “I am here for whatever you may need.”

  Months went by like clockwork. In a short amount of time, it seemed like the two of them had worked side by side for years. Maleficent would wake up, head to the coffee shop, where Diaval would already be waiting with both their coffees in hand. Hers would always still be pipping hot no matter if she was running early, late or right on time. She didn't know how he did it, but she let it lay.

He was the best paralegal she had ever had. He was able to dive into details never sought out before and tear through the law books to find what was needed in their favor. His tenacity was almost as equal as her own and she was thankful for it. He also pushed her views further than before. Where others would let her do what she wanted, he actually made her question herself. In many ways it was exasperating, but it did make her better at her job. She needed it as it was never provided before, she was never challenged in such a way. Not even by Stefan. It became refreshing. There she realized that it wasn't that she wanted to be feared, she wanted to be respected and built up instead of constantly torn down.

Cases that did not run smoothly made her a little more than irritable and others knew to stay out of her way. She would have scared off any other assistant by the numerous tantrums that she threw, but he stayed by her side despite her tirades. When she offered to toss him through her window one day after a particularly bad day in court, he offered to do it himself with a smile.

“That... won't be necessary,” she muttered and cooled down by the time they left the office that night.

“As you command, Mistress.”

“Mistress? Really?” she frowned at the nickname, but it was too late. It stuck.

“I feel like it fits you quite well,” he offered.

“I'm sorry for my temper. I can't lose you,” she said softer than she meant to. She saw his face soften just slightly and she turned from him, “Who else would be able to pull your workload and keep that vexing positive attitude?”

“Don't pretend you don't like it. I'm the highlight of your day. Admit it.”

“Only because you bring me my coffee.”

“I will take it!” he smiled with a cheer.

  A year into Diaval's involvement, a high profile case was dropped into their lap. A low wage worker at a top box store was injured along with a few half a dozen others because of their boss and company's low standards of safety. Maleficent almost waved the case away, until Diaval pointed out that the court system isn't just about criminals. It's about the innocents too. Maleficent, though reluctantly, took the case.

She readied her materials and Diaval carried along beside her on the way to the courthouse. They would be with their clients and face the accused for the first time. Maleficent looked at the news trucks at the side of the building. Another first for her. The case would be televised.

“You better be right about this,” she warned him.

“I know you better than you know yourself now. You can handle this and I will be right there with you,” he reminded her and bumped her shoulder with his own to remind her of his proximity, “Always will be.”

They walked into the courtroom, their clients already set in their place. Maleficent then turned to the other team and nearly doubled over. None other than Perceforest Law were at the table and their new partner at the front.

Diaval caught her arm discretely and pulled her up next to him as if she had tripped, “Don't let them see you waiver, remember?”

She took a breath and with a subtle nod she walked to her table to talk over the primary notes on the case before they began. Before everyone was settled none other than Stefan walked to the table and smiled down at Maleficent.

“I see that you've been making strides, Mal,” he offered and leaned on her table.

“I saw that you got partner, congratulations,” she answered back and looked up at him with a calm mask, “It only took a year, a marriage and a stolen case to do so.”

“Don't be angry that I outmaneuvered you,” he smirked even though she knew she hit a soft spot by the twitch of his right eye. A tell that he never fully got rid of.

“No Stefan, you slipped it out from under me during the same time you said you loved me,” she said evenly. Diaval looked from her to their counter council and then back again, things shifted into place. She always had told him that she had a past with Stefan, but would never elaborate and he knew better not to ask. Now as he saw them face to face for the first time, he knew more than she could have ever told him. She cleared her throat and shook her head, “The past is the past. Let's not make this personal. I am here for my clients who are injured and in need of reparations. You are our counter council. That is the extent of our relationship, Mr. Barnhand. Let's leave it at that, please.”

Stefan gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening. He had hoped to spook her somehow. It didn't work and he knew it. He pushed back from the table and looked at Diaval, “And who is this?”

“I can speak for myself, thank you,” Diaval stood from his chair and blocked Stefan from Maleficent, “I am the paralegal and assistant on this case. I would have introduced myself earlier, but you were too focused on trying to intimidate my boss. You will have to try better than that. She's stronger than you think.”

Stefan scoffed at him, took a slight look at Maleficent and then turned to his desk, “Let's see about that.”

The case was a tough one to fight. The big box company had a lot of ground covered, had a few tricks that Maleficent and Diaval didn't see coming. It beat them down, but they weren't out yet. With the case almost lost, they hit a breakthrough at the end of the third day. Maleficent turned on her desk lamp and yawned before she ran through the case log again. She knew it would be a long night if she were to pull this off.

She looked up at Diaval for a fleeting moment and sighed, “You may go home, Diaval. I am sure I can finish it from here in time for court tomorrow.”

He looked at her for a long moment before he shuffled on his jacket and headed toward the door. A part of her chest constricted as she heard the door close at the front. It wasn't like him to just walk away from a challenge like the current one, but it looked like even he had enough of her. She wasn't to her best with Stefan at the other desk. The last time that they were in a courtroom together, they were at the same table. It shook her more than what she wanted to admit. Diaval probably saw it more than anyone and was tired of it. With a shake of her head, she focused on the files underhand. She had to finish this case strong.

Fifteen minutes later the door opened again with Diaval and two large cups of coffee. He put one by her hand and the other he immediately sipped from. Without another word, he plopped down into the chair next to her, put his cup down and grabbed the file under the one she had at hand. She stared at him for a moment or two more before she took a deep breath.

“I thought that you went home.”

“And miss the fun?” he asked and flipped open to the page he needed, “I'll stay.”

“You know I am not at my best,” she stared at him long and hard, “Haven't been this whole case.”

“Which is why you have me,” he countered as he flicked his eyes up to hers, “For whatever you may need.”

Her lips quirked up into a hint of a smile before she took her first sip of coffee, “As you wish.”

“Can I ask you something that may cross a line?”

“When has that stopped you before?” she asked with a sigh and put down her coffee. She turned to him and nodded, “Go ahead.”

“What about him makes you so shaky?” he asked and leaned toward her just slightly.

“History mostly,” she looked down at her hands and she thought over her relationship failure, “He was bright, a people person- of which I am not- and he didn't fear me. I seem to overwhelm people when they first meet me.”

“Only those who are too weak-willed,” Diaval waved off her negative comments.

“He didn't seem like others. He charmed me and the way that he could handle prep work and people, and me- I thought we were a match. And he let me believe it. Then he took what he wanted from our case files and left after five years for the best opportunity he could. He told me that it was love,” she paused and looked back to the files as if to end the conversation, “If that is what love is, it is only for fools.”

“It wasn't.”

She looked back at him to find him staring straight at her. His eyes unwavering and willing her to hear him, “What?”

“That wasn't love,” Diaval said in a certain tone.

“And you would know how?”

“I may be a charmer and a bit of a flirt when it comes to the opposite sex, but I know something as serious as love,” he explained and tilted his head in thought of how to approach it, “Love is something grand and amazing. It can overwhelm you into not seeing things that are there and for seeing things that aren't. It's something that can skew your thoughts and feelings. It's also something that can clear your mind and see a person for who they truly are and not for what they paint themselves to be. Beauty that is missed by all others can be spotted by those in love. It opens yourself to hurt, yeah, but it also opens yourself to be loved and accepted for who you are.”

Maleficent took a moment for his words to encompass her and then she breathed out a small laugh, “She's very lucky.”

“Who?” Diaval leaned back a little.

“The one you love,” she said with a small smile, “Does she know?”

“Not a clue,” he huffed out a chuckle and turned from her back to the files, “Not to worry, doesn't interfere with work. I don't think it ever will.”

“It may. Not all women want to share their partners,” Maleficent took her coffee to sip at the hot substance to warm the sudden cold feeling in her chest.

“She doesn't see me as such, so it's a moot point.”

“Then she is the fool.”

“A beautiful one at that,” he nodded as he took a look at her for a moment longer than he should have. She felt her cheeks begin to flush as he turned away once more to the file in his hand. He took a deep breath, “So, how are we going to serve defeat to the braggart that is Stefan Barnhand?”

“With that which he doesn't wield well... the truth.”

 The next evening was spent at the local bar with the rest of the team from Moors. The case was finally won, with nothing but a statement that was falsified and documented. They had found it and presented it in a way that made it perfectly clear that not only was the company liable, they were also found to be at fault for multiple other reckless acts.

“To a flawless win!” Robin cheered and lifted his bottle with the rest of the group.

“I would not say it was flawless,” Maleficent admitted, but still tapped her glass with the others. She smiled genuinely at the table and at Diaval who sat right next to her. He had his arm over the back of her chair as he laughed and cheered with the rest of them, “But very well deserved.”

“Deserved is not the word I would choose,” a voice said from behind her.

The whole table went silent as she turned to find Stefan behind her, a small shot of whiskey in hand.

“Then you weren't watching the same case,” Robin chimed in, “They beat you.”

“Just wait for my appeal.”

“On what grounds?” Diaval was the one to answer that time.

“Diaval, don't mind him,” Maleficent sighed and pulled at his jacket, “He isn't worth it.”

“Be that as it may, I have had enough,” Diaval stood from his chair to be eye to eye with the man, “I am not a violent individual, but your capacity to feel like you are deserved a victory just on the grounds of being you astounds me to the point of wanting to be.”

“What, you are her guard dog now?”

“She doesn't need one,” he shook his head, “She can do that all on her own. I wouldn't dare step in on that. This is for me and what I think. You lost your case, you lost fairly. She beat you. Everyone who worked on the case did. And I think what is really bothering you is not so much the defeat in court, but she defeated you personally. She thrived on her own when you needed to lean on the marriage to the other partner's daughter. You needed to resort to trickery to grab a case that she originally caught, where she worked diligently and hard to be who she is in the courtroom- of which you cannot compare. She is her own strong, honest, beautiful person. You, on the other hand, will always look for the easy way to your goals- no matter how underhanded that may be.”

“How dare you!” Stefan poked him in the chest as his whiskey sloshed in his glass, “What are you a glorified messenger boy!?”

“No, that is what you wanted him to be,” Maleficent said calmly as she stood from her chair and next to Diaval. She didn't raise her voice, didn't start one of her famous tantrums. She only stood next to Diaval and faced Stefan together with him, “I know you don't remember him. He came to you for a job over a year ago. A job that he fulfilled at my office in spectacular fashion. He is the real reason that you lost, for I could not have done it without him.”

“Maleficent-”

“It's true, you opened so many doors and avenues I would not have suspected. Thank you.”

“So you have replaced me,” Stefan toss back his whiskey and put the glass on the nearest table, “Tell me, how many times did you have to say that you loved her?”

“Not a one,” Maleficent said strongly fighting back the urge to punch the man, “He has earned my trust without flattery or deception.”

“Well, I wouldn't say I haven't said it,” Diaval let out a breath and took her hand in his, “I may have been holding something back. Remember the one we talked about last night over the case files?”

“I remember,” Maleficent narrowed her eyes in thought.

“It was you,” Diaval shrugged a bit helpless at that point, “It was always you from the moment that you peeled me off the pavement that morning. I have said that I loved you in every way that I could since then.”

“The coffee?” she asked as a guess.

“Every morning and sometimes afternoons,” he nodded.

“The overnights working on cases where you wouldn't leave my side?”

“You may have been an incentive to stay.”

She finally smiled and looked down in embarrassment, “The time you offered to toss yourself out the window so I wouldn't toss you myself?”

He chuckled at her smile and squeezed her hand to get her to look at him, “I knew you would regret it in the morning.”

She looked up at him, her smile still on her face. She looked deep into his dark, black eyes and without knowing at what point she had fallen, she simply realized that she had. With a huff of resignation, she bit her lip and said, “It's not as much of a moot point as you may think. What a fool I am.”

“So you have replaced me,” Stefan said again.

“No, what we had was never love, Stefan. I can see that now. And I can see you for what you were and what you are,” Maleficent paused as she looked at her past, “I haven't replaced you. I just fell in love. File your appeal. We will be waiting.”

Stefan looked back and forth between her and Diaval for a moment before he finally turned and left the bar. As he left, their small table erupted with cheer and laughter once more.

“So, what's next then? Do I hear wedding bells?” Robin asked and nudged at Balthazar who rolled his eyes as he drank his drink.

“I don't know, I haven't asked yet,” Diaval smiled and looked at Maleficent who had yet to drop his hand. He pulled her closer to him by the hand and wrapped her in a close embrace around her waist, “Let me say it this time. I love you.”

She smiled brightly and pushed some of his hair from his face, “Let me mean it this time. I love you, too.”

[spideythot]

Criminal Au Part 1

This is something I’ve been working on in the background. It’s Superior Iron Man and Theif Peter (w/o powers). More to come! Hope you enjoy.

Warnings: General crime, theft, drugging and kidnapping

———

Peter was in the lobby, making his escape, when a hand came down on his shoulder. A heavy set man gave it a squeeze as Peter whipped his head around. “Not so fast, kid,” he grumbled.

Peter stood dumbfounded for a moment as the man spoke into his earpiece. He recognized him as Stark’s driver, and he was speaking to someone named Rhodes. Peter shrugged out the man’s grip and bolted through the doors, bumping a few shoulders on his way out. He wasn’t waiting around for reinforcements - he could outrun the driver. The man shouted after him but Peter kept running.

He managed to disappear into the subway with the crowd. Peter shoved his hands in his pockets, fingers running over his various prizes. The big score was the watch he’d lifted from one of the other party guests. Peter would pawn them later or sell them in an online auction. He took the long way home, just in case anyone had attempted to follow him. He slipped in to the apartment from the fire escape and quickly checked it for intruders.

Safe at last, Peter hid his prizes in the crawl space of his closet. He made himself a quick dinner and reset the traps on his window. He checked the locks on the front door and the trap there as well. Then he settled in to bed. It was the first peaceful night he had in long time - his rent was as good as paid and he had managed to get away.

Peter woke up late but feeling refreshed. He slowly dragged himself to the kitchenette and froze in place. There was a man on his sofa.

“Mr. Parker,” he said as Peter shuffled back against the wall. “I have to commend you. Those are quite elaborate burglar alarms.”

Well, they obviously hadn’t worked. The man stood, fully clad in silvery armor. Holy shit. Peter felt his heart stop. Tony Stark. Iron Man. He’d robbed Iron Man. Peter tried to slink back into his room. He could escape out of the window if he made it. But Tony turned toward him, piercing blue eyes pinning Peter down.

“Cute for a thief,” Tony mused.

“Ohmygod,” Peter gasped, his voice finally returning.

“That’s the usual response.” Tony walked around the couch and approached Peter. His instincts finally kicked in and he dashed back to his room. But Iron Man’s heavy footsteps followed. Peter grabbed his emergency pack and bolted for the window. He made it to the window sill before a metal hand grabbed him by the pants and hauled him back. Peter shouted and kicked out, but Tony had him by the waist and was dragging him back out to the main part of his tiny apartment.

“Now, now,” Tony tsked, “We can speak like adults.”

He threw Peter down on the couch and stood over him. Peter brought his knees up, trying to curl into the furniture. “Mr. Stark, I am so sorry! I didn’t know if was your watch - I shouldn’t - I didn’t - oh, fuck...” Peter babbled, “...please don’t kill me...”

“I didn’t come all the way down here just to kill you,” Tony said. “I have a better proposition.”

The liquid metal of the Iron Man armor began to disappear off the man, returning the high tech housing on his chest. Tony plopped down next to Peter, who scooted back against the arm of the sofa. “Return to me what you took last night,” Tony said, “And I won’t make your life a living nightmare.”

Peter swallowed and let out the breath he’d been holding. “I sold it,” he lied.

Tony laughed, genuine but ominous. “You can’t lie to me,” he simply replied.

Peter shrugged. Worth a shot. “So, give back the watch and I’m free?” He clarified.

Tony gave him a curt nod.

“No catch?” Peter added.

It was Tony’s turn to shrug. He’d never really be free. He’d stolen from Iron Man and was now under the man’s radar. Peter’s eyes darted around the room. A little voice whispered to him to escape again, but that would be pointless. If Tony could break into his apartment without any trouble, it would be no problem for the man to track him to any safe-house.

“I want you to have dinner with me,” Tony finally said.

“That’s the catch?” Peter scoffed. Tony stared at him, eye brow raised and he regretted sounding so offended. Peter added a little more meekly, “You want to have dinner.”

“A date, essentially,” Tony confirmed. “Where we will be discussing your future enterprises at Stark Industries.”

Peter stared at the man, his gaze narrowing. Dinner with Tony Stark and a job interview. A date implied intimacy too - like a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night. In Stark’s case, the night likely ended with sex. Peter knew the rumors; Stark’s sex tapes, the Tower orgies, and the supposed fetish dungeon. If Peter could get away with a one night stand, he’d take it. It’s not like Stark was unattractive - he was just a psycho.

“Just dinner?” He emphasized.

Tony simply chuckled. He stared Peter down, blue eyes almost glowing. Peter really had no choice... he sighed and went back to his room to get the watch. Peter dug through his crawlspace for his stash and pulled the box out. Tony was leaning against the doorframe when he turned back.

Peter took the watch out from the other pieces he’d stolen and handed it back. “I’ll do it,” he said.

“Of course, you will,” Tony answered. He placed the accessory back on his wrist. “I’ll be sending you something to wear,” he said as he began to walk back through Peter’s apartment. “I’ll pick you up Thursday at six. Don’t run away!”

Peter shivered and retreated to his bed after Stark left. He wrapped himself in the thin blankets and took a deep breath. It could be worse, he supposed. Some people would kill to spend a night with Stark. Dinner and a job was better than a prison sentence.

Friday came much too quickly and Peter couldn’t think of a good way to escape. Even with the pawn money from his other prizes, he didn’t have enough to go anywhere. His suit had been delivered Thursday evening along with a text from an unknown number that read: Show me how it looks.

Peter figured it was Stark. But he replied with: Patience is a virtue. And didn’t take a picture of himself in the suit.

It was a navy blue, with subtle pinstripes and a light gray button down, and it fit Peter incredibly well. Stark had either guessed his measurements exactly or scanned Peter’s body while they’d been together last week. Peter slicked back his hair and stared at himself in the mirror. Just dinner, he reminded himself, dinner and a job proposition.

Tony was waiting for him when he opened the door to his apartment. Peter nearly jumped out of his skin. “Shit! Stark!” He shouted.

“You look nice for once,” Tony replied, completely unfazed.

Peter inhaled sharply. He grit his teeth and followed Tony out of the apartment. He didn’t need to dig himself a bigger hole by snapping out some snide remark. If he could keep it together for dinner, he’d be home free. Tony opened the door to his ridiculously flashy car for Peter to slide in. Peter buckled himself in and tried not to think about the confined space he was sharing with Iron Man. Sure, the man was incredibly attractive - and maybe Peter had a poster of him in his room at one time, but that was packed away in a box of secrets - but he was a psycho masquerading as a hero.

Tony drove them through the city, humming softly to himself, probably to drive Peter crazy. He was wearing the watch Peter had stolen from him, and the boy found himself glaring at it. He kept his arms crossed over his chest in a huff until they reached the restaurant. Tony escorted Peter inside and to a private room for their meal. This place was expensive - candlelit, diamond encrusted table settings, crystal glasses and actual silver tableware. One pinched set of forks and he’d be set for a month - but no, he had to keep the kleptomania in check. Peter sank into the plush booth at the table, menu in hand, and pretended to know what language it was in. He was guessing French. Stark ordered for them when a waiter came in to open their wine.

Peter sipped at his drink while the two sat in silence after their order had been placed. Peter gripped his trousers with tight fingers. Stark was just staring at him with those icy blue eyes - and Peter was sure they were glowing this time. He poorly hid a shiver and cleared his throat.

“S-so... you said you had a proposition?” He asked.

Tony grinned at him. “I was hoping to save business for after dinner,” he said with a sigh, “But since you insist, I have an opening at Stark Industries I’ve been looking to fill.”

“I don’t know if you know this, but my skill set isn’t really meant for an office,” Peter replied.

“I’ll be keeping a close eye on my property, rest assured,” Tony said, “But your skill set and that innocent face of yours will be suited for corporate espionage.”

Peter said nothing, but gulped down more of his wine. He was too sober for this shit. “Think about it kid,” Tony added, “With a steady paycheck you can afford food, a nicer apartment, and loose the risk of incarceration. Full benefits, jailbait.”

“That... does sound nice,” Peter grumbled. It didn’t feel like he was being backed into a corner, but Stark was charming so of course it sounded good. Peter could use money... stop stealing, live a better life. It wasn’t like he’d be working under Stark directly. Peter glanced up at Tony, the edges of his vision blurring slightly. Maybe he shouldn’t have chugged that wine...

“I’ll do it,” he said.

“Excellent,” Tony purred.

Peter slumped in his seat, his head suddenly felt to heavy. The small room was spinning - there was no way this was from the alcohol. His eyes darted across the table, where Stark was still gazing at him.

“Y-you... you drugged...” Peter stammered.

“Yes, I did,” Tony replied. He slid around the half-circle booth and cupped Peter’s face. Peter tried to push him away, but his hands wouldn’t respond. His eyes focused to Tony’s icy blue ones as his body fell limp. “I figured you’d say yes,” Tony whispered, “To the job at least. You’re official title is Personal Assistant. And that comes with... special duties.” His lips locked on to Peter’s throat and he bit down. Peter whimpered and attempt to shake his head - he did not want to end up in Stark’s fetish dungeon. But he was succumbing to whatever Tony had slipped him. His mind clouded, his eyelids were so heavy and each blink was longer and longer. “That’s it,” Stark murmured, large hand resting on Peter’s hip. “Close your eyes, and let your body relax. I’ll take good care of you.” The boy dropped into his arms with the last little push. He mumbled words of protest against Tony’s chest and the man admired his new little toy’s willpower.

[kateemmerson]

#LocationFree - How are global nomads coping with their wanderlust lifestyle?

No one has been left unscathed, have we? We have all had to adjust, re-jig, process life, handle loss, and take stock …every single one of us? Same storm, different ship, right?

Amidst all the “stuff” going on globally, I recently listened to my heart and launched my 5th book, titled “10 Lessons for Living #LocationFree.” Originally planning to launch it much earlier, I waited until the time felt right and until I had the right energy to tackle it. I honestly feel that now, more than ever, we need to keep our dreams, ideals and possibilities ALIVE and top of mind.

Even if we are a bit stuck now, our thinking and feeling do NOT have to be stuck.

In the process of writing this book, I wanted to offer readers some varied perspectives and thus set about interviewing 16 awesome folks to get their views on living this lifestyle. When the book was released just 2 weeks ago, I really wanted to check back in and get their updates on living “LocationFree.” We are all between 40 and 60 years old, living our own version of this lifestyle all around the world. Essentially I wanted to see how the year had shaped up for them since our initial interview –  to see if they were more hellbent on continuing this vagabond lifestyle, to understand if something fundamental had shifted for them, or if perhaps world events have made them reconsider lifestyle choices related to all things #LocationFree?

#LocationFree is my preferred term, but it is often referred to as Global Nomad, Digital Nomad, Location Independent, Portable Pro, etc. The name is less important than what we live day-to-day.

I wanted to update myself, too. I have honestly had a profoundly ‘interesting’ year. I’m definitely NOT saying it was easy and straightforward, but that I dug deep and found ways to try and accept and lean into what was going on rather than resist it all. The latter option felt futile and counter-productive in every form. I contracted and tested positive for the covid lurgy back in March 2020 after hurriedly exit-ing South Africa. I was out there to launch my 4th book, “Write your Book in 100 Days,” with my business partner. We had multiple book launches and events, live interviews from some major PR rolling out. It was our chance to inspire and reconnect with all the wonderful South African writers in our community. Plus, all my annual medical appointments were booked for what might have been my last regular visit to South Africa.

As I tuned in and reacted to what was unfolding, I knew I needed to get on a plane fast, to the UK. I was due to travel via Dubai to visit a friend stationed there but decided to hotfoot it directly to the UK, just a couple of days before lockdown kicked in. After all, South Africa was officially no longer any form of “base” for me after the break up with my partner, so I didn’t fancy getting “stuck” there.

I knew I wanted to get to my mum in time for the first proposed lockdown so she wouldn’t be on her own. Well, for sanity, company, and a bit of TLC more than needing to “look after” her – she’s a super strong woman! But before being able to get to her, after testing positive for covid (I only ever experienced mild symptoms, thank goodness), I had to isolate myself for a month before it was deemed safe for me to stay with mum in her presidential home. We then ‘enjoyed’ three months of strict lockdown together. Lucky we had too much TV, laughter, wine, great food, daily walks, and I also celebrated my birthday with her. Zoom Style with friends around the world.

One of the hardest business challenges was letting go of our international Writing Retreats that were booked. It often takes folk at least a  year to decide, book, and pay for one of our retreats. Writers from all over the world were joining Sarah and me in Greece, Italy, and Spain for a total of four retreats and residencies. We had to face cancellations, field the uncertainty with massive deposits we had paid across to secure hotels, and handle the non-refundable deposit challenge. We initially postponed and shuffled dates later in 2020 in the eternal hope that we could still host them later in the year, and had clients ready to hop on planes… and then finally releasing them all in favour of 2021 dates. We “lost” some clients who couldn’t move to the new dates, and have not yet been able to start filling those spaces for 2021. That was my main income revenue down the sink. I know the entire world understands all the drastic financial challenges of the year and I am not alone in that. 

The moment it was “safe” enough to travel, and the world eased open a bit in the UK, I travelled to a wee Scottish island, Iona, for an overdue, personal and significant retreat. I had been wanting to reconnect with Iona to organise a writing retreat, so I was fulfilling two objectives. It is a very sacred isle that offers deep healing and was just what I needed. Mum was happy  (and I guess sad) to finally wave goodbye after three intense months together. The year has allowed me to live what I call a “revised version” of living location free – with restrictions and other things factored in, like everyone. I was planning on spending 2020 starting to look for my next Northern bases, so that has obviously been postponed. My heart is being pulled by the idea of setting up some version of flexible homes in both Scotland and the Mediterranean – but that will need to wait until I can travel abroad to explore that option more fully.

I am just not a ONE HOME type of gal. Any future partner I have in life needs to know that a deep love for travel and adventure is wired into my cells. But I am starting to consider a couple of bases to move between, with loads of side- travel too!

So I relished a much quieter work year. I was already planning on taking time off from running regular online writing mentorships as I needed a break from that intense type of work, and then all our summer writing retreats retreated into the distance. So I took most of the year off to be in the GAP. I stayed in quieter retreat –type mode with myself.

I embarked on an intense, personal retreat process on Iona to recalibrate again. I went offline for 3 weeks and 80% offline for a further 5 weeks. The poor wifi signal helped that switching off process. But this was not about covid. To be honest, it was more related to where I am in my life and business cycle. I needed to do a mammoth, triple-angled closing out process. One was the ending of my relationship after five years, and another was leaving South Africa, and the third closing out a few aspects of what used to make up my business. But all that was happening despite covid’s impact. You can read more about that journey here.

On Iona I also fell headlong into a fantastic new heart-based hobby with the actual “making” of books, learning the art and skill of “Book Binding” or BookArt. I am smitten and have a bag of tools, paper, ink, and waxed linen thread to lug around now. If ever you come on a retreat with me, you will be sure to make your own book from now on!

Uhmmm, yes, the irony is that my motto is #LIVELIGHTELIVELARGE, so excess clothes can get turfed out of the suitcase but my new bookmaking tools will have to stay put for this #LocationFree gal.

I am still 100% pursuing my own version of living #LocationFree, just with the added goal of looking for a couple of places to call a “base” in 2021. Love Kate x

***Here is what some OTHER global Nomads say about how this year impacted their gallivanting lifestyle around the world. All of these amazing folk below have contributed to my latest book to offer their take on being #LocationFree.

* My global nomadship is NOT over yet! Dee Before COVID-19 stopped us all in our tracks, I had been already considering my global footprint and thinking about how I could still travel and work as a nomad, but with more and more respect for the environment by reducing my use of fossil fuels.

Since being “stuck” at my daughter’s house since March 1st, I have had more time to contemplate my next move, and I think I will be much more mindful about the “gigs” I say yes to in terms of length. Instead of jumping from plane to plane and delivering multiple workshops or events in one week, I will spaciously alter my availability and only offer one city a week for short jobs. In addition, I’m considering “putting myself out to hire” to communities for 3-6 month, longer-term projects.

As for this crazy year, I have still felt like a “nomad” because most of my international work has continued online, but I’ve been receiving some “snail mail” at my daughter’s address where I’m staying, and I don’t like it. My daughter and friends tease me, saying, “ooh, look, you have mail!” which I vehemently deny! Haha!

I did join a gym in my daughter’s town but, I made sure it was one of the franchise-type ones that proliferate Australia so that when I’m back on the road, I can still make use of the membership.

I still live out of my suitcase. It’s on a shelf, in the cupboard, in my daughter’s spare room, and I have deliberately done very little extra shopping this year and still buy my suitcase-sized “top-ups.” All my purchases have still been with the thought that I will eventually be back on the road.

As of December 2020, bookings for work in early 2021 have started rolling in, and I’m feeling the pullback towards the actual road (not flights) that will most likely be my future for at least the next 12 months until our international borders and flights are safe again. My global nomadship is not over yet!Yours in Community, Dee

Dee Brooks is a mum of four adults and is a passionate community development practitioner and trainer with over 20 years of experience. She has been an Intentional Nomad since 2015 and has travelled and worked in over 20 countries, creating impact through capacity building and knowledge sharing. http://jeder.com.au

*What is COVID offering US in terms of new perspectives? Martin When Covid struck, all my jobs and activities came to quite an abrupt halt. But organically, other things suddenly needed to be done. My life in a nutshell… Go with the flow, take things as they come, and run with it as best you can.

Pre-Covid, I was housesitting, hiking, travel guiding, and occasionally giving sushi workshops. When all that stopped, for my dad, who lives alone, all his support and social engagements/contacts were terminated as well. So I kind of organically transitioned into being his only daily visitor and part-time caregiver. A foundation I occasionally volunteer at was seeing a huge dip in the (mostly 55+ aged) volunteer availability, so my “whenever I can, I’ll let you know” volunteering turned into a fixed few days a week. With the rest of the time, I worked on my campervan conversion, which I was not really getting around to before Covid. So you could say that just as in life, Covid took but replaced other things in its place for me to make a difference… And no less important, it also gave me space to remember what I was passionate about and the time to work on it as well.

Looking forward, my future perspective has not changed much with Covid. I will keep living as a nomad, primarily housesitting going from place to place, alternated with some hiking travel guiding and volunteering here and there, and being a self-supporting van-lifer the rest of the time. What Covid did do, however, is make me realize how positive and stable this self-supportive lifestyle made me, as when mass-hysteria struck, I accepted it as it came and just took it in my stride.

To me, the best way to approach the whole Covid-situation is to look at what it is offering in terms of new perspectives, rethinking priorities and time away from work, commuting, and stress in favor of me-time. It is pretty much nailed on the head by this little quote by Karen Salmansohn:

You gotta look for the good in the bad, the happy in the sad, the gain in your pain, what makes you grateful, not hateful. And if there is no good in the bad, or happy in the sad, then you are put in that spot right there, right then, to help create it for yourself and the people around you… May you be happy and well, Martin Martin Van Den Berg is a full-time professional housesitter, capable with all animals but specialising in big or “difficult” dogs and packs. Willing to travel. dutch.mountainman@gmail.com       https://www.facebook.com/martinvdberg73


* Will we resume nomadic life? Nancy It was sheer coincidence that we moved into a long-term rental the day that Spain went into lockdown! A day later and we would have needed approval from the police to move, to drive elsewhere other than to the supermarket for essential supplies. My unexpected pulmonary embolism in April 2019 had stopped our travels and, due to ongoing medical treatment, necessitated us staying in Oliva for a while. As we liked it here, at the end of that year, totally unrelated to the pandemic, we decided to stay in the area longer and, in January 2020, found a new home near the sea.

Even if we had booked another Air B&B, ready to travel again, it’s unlikely we’d have been able to. As a new tenant hadn’t been secured for the townhouse we’d been renting, we would have had to stay there longer. This would have been so frustrating! I was always excited when moving-on and to have no choice but to stay would have been very hard. Instead, we could look forward to our new home close to the beach!

My online work continued despite the pandemic, and my weekdays didn’t really alter as I sat at the computer in my home-office as usual. The virus situation has definitely changed our nomadic mindset, though, and now I’m not even sure if we’ll resume our journey!

The pandemic in Europe and ever-changing border restrictions make it difficult to travel, so for now, we’ve accepted it’s necessary to stay-put. Instead of looking forward to exploring new places, we appreciate the opportunity and extra time available to visit our own area, which is very varied and beautiful. We’ve also made some friends here and, in a time when we cannot easily see family in the UK, these relationships are all the more important.

As we’ve not had to pack-up the car to move-on in a single journey, we’ve also gradually acquired more possessions and are making our current rental a ‘home.’ The more we become settled, putting down roots, it’s so much harder to consider moving away. Maybe one day we’ll revise our wanderlust, maybe not. Perhaps we’ll take holidays again instead. We’re just not dwelling on that.

Although we’ve always had a flexible attitude, this year has taught-us that absolutely anything unexpected can happen! We’re OK, and we have each other, our health, an income, and a home, so do appreciate this as never before. Kind regards, Nancy Nancy Benn is a versatile virtual assistant with more than ten years’ experience providing efficient support to clients. Working remotely from her home office, Nancy helps entrepreneurs achieve more time and headspace to develop their business by supporting and encouraging their endeavours by providing outstanding, skilled admin and secretarial support. www.directpaservices.co.uk         
www.nancybenn.com


*Coincidence doesn’t exist. I always believed that! Jan What happened to this digital nomad during the Covid pandemic? I guess the same as with all the others: being stuck in one place and not moving anymore. In my case, I’m stuck in Budapest in Hungary. Coincidentally, as a Dutch citizen, I already had a house in Hungary, and I am a resident in this country. Something that, after the fact, turns out to be a good thing. I will explain, and this explanation shows once more, that coincidence doesn’t exist. It was for a reason that I got stuck here.

In February 2019, I left the Netherlands and started my digital nomad existence. South America, Spain, and South Africa. In April 2020, I ended up in a very strict lockdown in South Africa, and after three tough weeks, I was finally able to return to the Netherlands on a repatriation flight. From The Netherlands, I flew immediately to my home in eastern Hungary. It was a safe haven in these bizarre times. It was also far removed from covid, with only 2 cases known out of the 3 000 inhabitants in the village.

After a few weeks of being in Hungary, a letter fell on the mat from the Dutch authorities. They stated that with retroactive effect to February 2019 (!) I was no longer officially living in the Netherlands, that I was not allowed to continue my business there and that I was no longer insured for medical expenses.

Pay attention! With more than one year retroactive effect!

Panic! What’s next? At that time, there was only one option: I would have to live 100% as a resident in Hungary and build a new company structure with two limited companies: one in the Netherlands containing all the customers and one in Hungary where I am an employee. Subsequently, I was accepted into the Hungarian health insurance system (which is cheap, but not the world’s best) and a perfect private health insurance top-up that will enable me to be anywhere in the world and still have good insurance!

All of this turned out to be a golden solution for me as a nomad. The taxes in Hungary are the lowest in Europe, and even after my retirement in some years, the 0% income tax is Europe’s best! I am currently renting an apartment in the heart of downtown Budapest, and at the weekends I visit my house in the countryside to relax. This is truly the ideal “snob-life’ of all the Budapest-inhabitants!

Coincidence doesn’t exist. I never believed in that. But all these puzzle pieces came together so precisely into one nice new picture. So with all that happened to me, I have to admit: coincidences might just exist!

While I am stuck in Hungary for now, I spend ALL my time preparing for the future! Jan

Jan Van Kuijk has been living partly in the Netherlands and partly in Hungary for more than 10 years. The two countries finally became too small for him, and in 2018, after 15 years of preparation, he decided to travel the world as a Digital Nomad. With his work on WordPress and Joomla websites, he is generating sufficient income to live his dream. https://digitalnomadlifestyle.nl      https://janvankuijk.nl


*Cruising (or not) with Covid – Debbie Well, it’s been an interesting couple of months – thank you, 2020!

From being aboard ‘that ship’ which was disallowed docking in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico, to finally disembarking our guests in San Diego, after 29 days onboard! Our guests got an additional 15 days cruising on the house, and of course, courtesy of corona!

Then, many of us got ill and had to deal with “isolationship,” which in itself added a new dimension to both cruise life, as well and levels of sanity and productivity! Getting the South African crew repatriated back to our own country was another covid challenge, but we finally made it to home soil in June, three months after the break-out onboard our floating home. At this stage, a total of 60 days of “isolationship” had been achieved, and it is no small feat to spending that amount of time on your own in a room that is hard to pace 10 steps without having to stop dead!

Since then, the waiting to return to what we love has taken its toll in various forms, forcing many to find alternative employment sources. I have kept myself busy by doing some ‘self-reflection and tweaking,’ a vital step to recalibrating and accessing what makes it out of the covid crisis with you and what needs to be resolved and rested!

I have decided to study a diploma in HR to be better equipped in my line of work and where I see myself adding relevance; making memories with my family, and building a legacy in my gorgeous granddaughter’s life while watching the world continue to be crazed about vaccines and searching for new normals!

Living life #LocationFree post-covid will have its own set of challenges, but I am hopeful that we will be traveling and impacting more lives in the near future! Remember at this time, to be kind – to those who don’t understand or think the way you do, and it’s OK to be different – after all, that’s what it takes to live #LocationFree. Love Debbie

Debbie Botha courageously leapt at the chance to travel and showcase her training development, coaching, negotiation, and change- management skills within the world of cruising. She now wears officer stripes on her shoulders and a smile on her face as she explores international waters is studying HR, dabbles in Bitcoin, and revels in being a nurturing Nana. linkedin.com/in/debbiebothaglobal        Instagram: @debbiebothaofficial


*Life Has Shifted A Little – Chris and Jillian We had moved places in Morocco a few times. We had decided that we needed our own space after two and a half months in the hostel we were painting in, and we moved into an apartment in Tinghir. Shortly after we moved into our new place, the lockdown was lifted. And even though we were some of the only foreigners around, we weren’t being hassled too much to come and buy things.

We moved out to Rissani after two weeks, which was located at the edge of the Sahara. The roads were now just starting to open up for people to move between towns and cities. After a few weeks there, we read a news headline saying that all foreigners had to leave Morocco by August 10th. We then decided that we wanted to spend some time on the coast, so off we went to Essaouira.

We ended up renting an Airbnb for a really good discounted price inside the medina. There were still very few tourists around, and we were getting hassled by more people to come and buy things. We had booked a flight to leave on the 8th, and a few days before the day, the flight was canceled. We then read more information about needing to leave and found out that it was fake news and didn’t need to go.

We rented the place for two more months, and it was nice to have our own space and work on our own projects. The owner of the Airbnb had upgraded the wifi to accommodate our needs, and we accomplished a lot of much needed online work. The locals’ mood had dropped, and eventually, we had started to see drunk people in the day fist fighting at random times. This was not normal, so we felt that it was time to go.

We booked a direct flight to Turkey, and we travelled to Casablanca to exit the country. There were not many people in the airport, which made the experience one of the easiest times we’ve had travelling. We were told that we would expect to get tested for Covid when we arrived at the airport, this didn’t happen. We were also told that we would expect to get tested when we arrived in Turkey, this didn’t happen either. Turkey was open, and everything was business as usual. In the last two weeks here, the Turkish government has started implementing some restrictions. Restaurants are closed except for takeout, a weeknight curfew of 8:00, and everything except grocery stores are closed over the weekends.

We have no doubt in our minds that this is the only way we can live our lives. Travel has probably changed forever due to Covid, but we will deal with it. We won’t be returning to conventional life, and we find too much happiness in this way of life

Chris de Cap I’ve been an artist my whole life, more than half of which as a tattoo artist. I spent the bulk of my adult life being nomadic, however, mostly in Canada. Now I’ve taken my nomadic habits out into the world. http://www.artisticvoyages.com/        www.instagram.com/artisticvoyages

*Clearing the decks and learning what it means to be resilient I feel like 2020 is the year that we were all forced to stop, take a deep breath, and look at how we are living. The word that kept coming up for me this year was resilience.

Here in Spain, we experienced one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe and in a city like Malaga where we are used to being active and social life quickly started to feel a little surreal. I remember saying to friends that it felt like I was living in a Netflix movie. Deserted streets, no noise or energy.

There is a thriving community of entrepreneurs and freelancers in the city and I organise a co-working meet-up. I remember our last in-person event just before the lockdown happened. I don’t think anyone realised just what was coming! After that, we took the meet-ups online like many events and it proved a great way to stay connected and motivated when we weren’t able to meet up in person. I launched my first retreat in October at an amazing venue called Vega House. This was one of my big goals for 2020 and after nearly a year of putting things on hold, I was determined to make it happen.

I have experienced lots of personal and professional shifts this year and it feels like it has been a bit of a baptism of fire. I know I have learned to be more present in how I live. I have become much more conscious of time and not wasting it this year. This has affected my relationships, friendships and priorities as a whole.

I had planned to do more international travel this year and instead found that there was so much more on my doorstep than I had realised to explore and appreciate. Slowing down and living with restrictions has helped me and I am sure others to find joy in unexpected places. I think I am going into 2021 with a renewed sense of optimism around what is possible for me. I am focusing on staying grounded and appreciating the here and now.

Victoria Jane Watson is a business and media mentor working with female entrepreneurs leading the way in the health and wellness industry. She gets to the heart of what makes her clients unique, showing them how to leverage their story and expertise effectively so they can build a personal brand that supports their business goals. www.victoriajanewatson.com   Instagram: @victoriajanewatson

“10 Lessons for Living #LocationFree” is available on all Amazon stores

Search under the title or by using:

Print ISBN: 978-0-620-90868-9

Digital ASIN: B08P7FQ94G

IN SOUTH AFRICA YOU CAN  ALSO GRAB A PAPERBACK ON TAKEALOT.COM

https://www.takealot.com/10-lessons-for-living-locationfree/PLID71293449

  #LocationFree – How are global nomads coping with their wanderlust lifestyle? was originally published on Kate Emmerson - The Quick Shift Deva

[allie1804-fan]

At Last Part 2 She’s My Girl

Part 1

6 Months Later:

Karen looked herself up and down in the mirror, smoothing down the dress and checking every last detail of her appearance even though the stylist had only just that minute left the room. Keanu came in then and stood behind her, putting his arms around her and looking at her reflection in the mirror

“You look beautiful … perfect” he said, kissing her cheek

 “You ready?”

 “As I’ll ever be!” she laughed nervously.

 “You know you can pull out if you want to, I’ll understand”

”We agreed, no more sneaking around. I’m your girl right?!

“Yes” he said emphatically, you’re my girl”. He smiled hugging her tight. “And I want to show you off”

They were on their way to the premiere of the “Street Kings”. They’d been dating 6 months now and managed to avoid all but one paparazzi photo. Since Keanu had often been photographed out and about with various women, this particular photo didn’t spark any big stories about Keanu’s “new girl”.  He’d wanted to protect her from all that so when they’d gone to the theatre or out to eat, they’d always arrived separately. The same went for parties with friends and when visiting each other’s homes, they’d tried to avoid daylight hours for their comings and goings.

The night that he had asked her to accompany him to the premiere was etched on her mind forever. They had enjoyed cooking a meal together at his house then made love in his big bed. As they lay together enjoying the afterglow, he’d softly traced patterns on her breasts and let out a contented sigh.

“You know, the sex is so much better ……….”

“Than what?!” Karen had asked somewhat indignantly wondering what he was going to compare their experience together with!

“Than when you’re not in love with a person”

Karen bit her lip and leaned towards him, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You know I love you too right? So very much.”

They fell to kissing again and as he pulled her onto him, she felt his arousal already growing again. Their love making had been so tender that night, she thought she might burst from the joy of it. And afterwards they’d talked about the future, of moving in together finally after months of camping out at each other’s places, about his next filming obligations and his commitments to promoting the new film, He’d said that while he’d understand if she wanted to try to carry on being secretive with the press, he couldn’t protect her forever and he felt ready to show her off to the world as he’d already done with friends and family.

His people could help with all the practical side of a premiere – a dress, jewellery, make up – all she needed was the courage to face the cameras popping and the attention that going public would bring, at least in the short term. She had felt scared and excited in equal measure and now here she was, ready to get into the limo.

 “No turning back now” she said firmly.

 “Well OK then” he answered, smiling, “Let’s go! The limo’s here now”

The premiere was being held at Mann’s Chinese theatre and as they rounded the last corner Karen could see the small crowd gathered there waiting.  Waiting just for him it occurred to her since he was the leading man in the film.

Her palms felt sweaty and she gripped his hand as the car slowed now to stop right outside.

He stepped out first and she could see the flash of the camera bulbs popping away, then he turned to help her out putting his arms around her waist immediately.

“Smile!” he said! ” Don’t look so worried!”

She laughed then, relaxing just a little.

“I’m smiling, I’m your girl” she whispered.

They walked up the red carpet slowly with him doing his signature wave to the people calling his name. They came to the first camera crew and Keanu talked about the film a little with the reporter. Karen tried to edge back a little as he talked, conscious that the news people only wanted to have his face in the picture but he held her close to him, arm around her shoulders, willing the crew to ask him who she was.

To Karen’s great relief, they didn’t but she was aware that another crew eagerly waited just a few yards ahead.

Keanu let go of her to shake hands with a few fans across the barrier and to accept a gift from one, then returned to her side to press ahead up the carpet.

Keanu greeted the next reporter, warmly. She was clearly one of his preferred media people. Again he politely answered questions about the film, reprising his role as a cop and so on.

“So Keanu, I see you haven’t come tonight with your usual family entourage”

“No that’s right” he smiled one of those beautiful mega-watt smiles and looked at Karen who was by now already blushing, praying her make-up might offer some cover.

“Tonight I decided to show off my girl Karen”

Karen giggled, still looking down but sharing in his obvious enjoyment of the situation.

“Pleased to meet you” the reporter said extending her hand and forcing Karen to look up and face the full glare of popping flash-bulbs.

“You too” she managed before to her relief the reporter turned back to camera.

“That’s one lucky lady, he’s usually so tight lipped, perhaps she’s ‘the one’

As they walked onwards, Keanu hugged Karen to him

“Yes she most certainly is!”

That day had been the start of a rollercoaster ride for them both. Having managed to lead quite a low key life with the press in the previous couple of years, Keanu was taken aback by the interest the ‘vultures’ as he liked to call them, showed in them.  It was easy enough for them personally to ignore what was written or said and Keanu’s family and friends were used it but it seemed like anyone Karen had ever known phoned her at some point to ask whether this or that was true.  Articles that dug deep into Keanu’s past and even hers, searching for some dirt, made them worry for her, doubting that he was as good for her as she claimed.

He half wished he’d waited, waited till the PR for the film had died down - this way he’d fanned the flames.  Every interview he did, they asked about her – but even though he wasn’t used to it and worried it would detract from the work, sometimes it was just wonderful to wax lyrical about being in love. On the Leno show, for once it wasn’t just talk of bikes that made him laugh and smile, he’d been able to just say:

“Ahh yes, right right, yup, I’m in love!”

“So, do we hear wedding bells for you at long last?”

Keanu had laughed that shy laugh, putting his hand over his mouth, closing his eyes.

“Don’t you think I‘d better ask her that first before I tell you!” he’d said.

He knew she’d be watching at home. The minute he got there, he rushed to her, kissing her full on the lips, feeling like every romantic hero he’d ever played all rolled into one.

“You will marry me won’t you ?” he’d practically shouted, giddy with the moment. Talking as if there’d been no gap between talking about it on the show and asking her now.

“Yes, yes of course I’ll marry you, you idiot! She laughed punching him in the chest “but you do know it’s going to be one hell of a job to do it in private now don’t you?”

“So you’d already been thinking about it had you” he smiled a sly smile now.

“Oh maybe Reeves, maybe!” she’d said, laughing before he’d whisked her off to bed.

Thanks to hard work by his people and the collaboration of friends and family, they had managed to have a wonderful wedding day. They’d taken a leaf out of Sandy Bullock’s book and hired a ranch way out of LA (to at least make it harder for the ‘paps’ to get to) and kept the identity of the happy couple secret from all the firms involved right up to the hour of the ceremony. It had worked and in return for being left alone, they’d released just a few snaps of the day to a magazine in return for a donation of the fee to the ‘Make a Wish Foundation’

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Part 3  Part 4