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ryozoro · 3 years

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Hades Playlist - i.

NOW PLAYING : I n t e r l u d e [J. Cole]

cw; name calling, blood, mentions of murder, major spoilers

“Fate is a very weighty word to throw around before breakfast.”

Despite the red-light district thriving through the night, it looked just as beautiful during the early morning. Yn was roaming the streets on her pedal bike for the first time since winter break as she plotted different ways to surprise her big brother at his newly opened bike shop. She had already purchased his favorite breakfast meal from the little café she worked at, and all that she was left to do was see the said man. Getting out of thoughts and returning to reality, she stopped at the side of the traffic light to press the ‘crossing’ button and to text Draken to make sure he was at work before she made the trip.

“hey there pretty girl, ya wanna come ride something more interesting than the little kiddie bike yer on right now?” some bleach blonde junior high kid called out to her, smirking as he man spread and took up most of the space on the park bench. “I know ya hear me pretty girl,” he leaned and rested his elbows onto his knees, “maybe ya want me to come over and beg for yer attention, huh? Want me to come and make ya listen to me?”

She scoffed and waited for the light to signal for her to cross, but its as if the gods wanted to punish her and traffic kept flowing out of her favor. Getting restless, she pocketed her phone and tapped on her bar handles in hopes of the cars to all be generous and let her through; of course, this did not happen and the young fuck boy in training had began to approach her alongside his friend who were hyping him up and recording the event.

“You might be older than me,” he walked up behind her and kicked her bike tire before circling around and leaning against the basket in the front, “but that doesn’t change the fact that I hit girls.” Yn had to refrain from spitting in his face because Draken always said ‘never start anything with others first, let them choose their fate.’ In other words, big bro just didn’t want her to put herself at risk due to minor inconveniences that were presented towards her.

Just as the light switched from a hand to a walking figure, yn politely smiled at the boy in hopes of him getting the hint that she did not wish to engage with him anymore, but – of course – that was just asking too much of him. He turned back and looked at the sign noticing it was their turn to cross, and he surprisingly moved out the way. Yn smiled realizing that her brother did know it best when he said that the ‘dumb young boys will leave you alone after they realize you’re not going to give them the time of day,’ and she moved to pedal across the cross walk with a large smile.

However, big bro’s words are not the golden rule amongst men and the boys did not leave her alone; in fact, they decided to run at her hit the back tire with a bat and caused her to lose control and fall in the middle of the walkway. The drivers were kind enough to wait for her to get up and cross the street with scraped knees and a dirty pull over. She turned back to glare at the boys, but their backs were already facing her as they leisurely walked away laughing. This wasn’t going to ruin her day, after all, she still gets to surprise her brother with her presence and might even have the chance to see his hot amazing friends whom you grew up around. After realizing that the former gang members might all be hanging around her brother’s workplace, she got up with a huge smile and skipped the rest of her way on the crosswalk. Once to the other side, yn hopped back on her bike without checking her bloodied shins and made her way on the quickest route to the shop.

Glancing up at the familiar billboards that danced in sky and looking down at the alleys being populated with street cats and new gen delinquents, she realized she was only a block down from seeing the man who has always put her first and raised her to strive to her fullest potential. Smiling as closed her eyes for just a second - she swears it – to bask in the excitement and next thing she knew, she was on the ground covered in coffee. She could hear faint voices but those were cancelled out by her skin screaming at her to get up and quickly remove any rubble and dirt that had entered. Moving to get up, she took note of blood staining the concrete and became slightly alarmed.

“Oi, you dumb bitch, you should watch where you’re going,” a man’s voice echoed through her head, “you got a drip of blood on my Milano’s.” Trying to get up, yn went to wipe her eyes, but as soon as she lifted her hands, she felt them share the similar sting that her knees and chin felt. “You deaf or something? Ha, lucky for you I’ll take the food in your basket and whatever is in your wallet as an exchange. Pin code for your card must be included, love.” Hearing as she was about to get stripped dry of her hard-earned cash, she shot a glare up at the well-dressed man’s body just to be sent in a more state of terror when she noticed the tattoo that decorated his temple; it was the infamous Bonten symbol.

“I say we just take her to the back alley and make her pretty throat match the rest of her bloody body,” she turned and seen a pinkette with long hair and two scars that sat on each corner of his ?beautiful? mouth. to be completely honest, he would have been very much at the top of her most attractive list if he weren’t just plotting to slice her neck right in front of her; she wondered if he ever heard of the Element of Surprise. “She hasn’t even apologized yet and it’s been at least 45 seconds, that is pretty rude don’t you think, Mochi-kun?”

“It is very rude,” the built man with slicked back blonde hair spoke up, “do you want me to take her in the alleyway?” He squatted down to meet yn at eye level and she didn’t know if it was the fact he was able to stare into her soul with lifeless eyes or the extremely structured shoulders that could break her bones if he had tackled her, but she genuinely felt that she was going to die. “You seem like a worthless kill if I am being honest, and I don’t like claiming meaningless prizes. So, if you want to live,” ‘Mochi-kun’ reached over and gripped her bloodied chin, “or are you going to be good dog and run your pockets?”

She couldn’t believe it; for all her life, death threats have never been directly shot at her as Draken and the others have always been there. Of course, she emptied her pockets as quick as she could and began wiping the man’s Milano’s with her cloth lens wipe.

“Good girl,” the man with the temple tattoo said mockingly, “but I’m gonna need you to put your pretty mouth to work since you don’t know – or rather – you act like you don’t know how to speak.” She felt her eyes began to fill with tears as she looked up from the ground; they mistook it for fear, but yn was just angry she was powerless to them. “Don’t worry, I like older women, so I won’t need your mouth for that,” he laughed loudly in her face, “lick the blood off.” Her glare returned and tears began to spill over her cheeks. “Be a good bitch, and lick my –“

“What are you idiots doing?” a man with a long pink and purple mullet-like hairstyle came from behind her. “Are you guys bullying young kids again? Oh, wait, you’re not a kid.” He stared at you through his multi-colored bangs and tilted his head, “Why are you all bloody like a sewer rat walking through the back alley of feral cats?” he pushed the girl’s forehead back, straining her neck to hold eye contact with him, “you’re not some whore, are you?” He craned his neck back to the man who has been treating her like a dog, giving yn a full view of his Bonten symbol tattooed across the middle of his pretty throat. “Neh, Koko, you do realize that if you want a girl’s attention you can’t just rough her up in hopes that she takes you to bed.” He turns back to yn before sighing, “You’re cute,” for some reason she felt herself swelling with pride, “but you’re not my type,” – well there goes her ego.

“Oh what-fucking-ever,” ‘Koko’ mumbled as he gently pushed her away, “I didn’t want some inexperienced princess anyway, so don’t get your hopes up.” He quickly bent down and took all the cash from her wallet and began to slide out the card, but a baton quickly swatted at his hands.

“Your obsession with money is crazy, but you can’t take hers if you still owe me 45,000 yen.” Yn turned to see a man with pushed back purple and pink hair holding the offending stick. Unlike the other members, his tattoo was in the same place as the mullet man – maybe they took over the organization after her other big brotherly figure, Mikey, left. She drank in his appearance, and although he was thinner than the other members, something about him just screamed ‘stay away;’ but for the first time in her life, yn didn’t want to listen to such obvious red flags. “Oh no, you’re bloodied up like a rat –“

“I have already said that nii-chan,” the mullet head said, “what do you say? Wanna jut get rid of her like Sanzu-san suggested?” The now known younger brother asks. She began to tremble but not out of fear, no, out of a weird feeling at the pits of her stomach that came about as soon as the stranger stumbled onto the scene. “Oi,” the younger brother flicked your chin, reminding your body that it is supposed to be in a state of stinging pain, “staring is rude. What are you – a deer in headlights?”

“Now, now, Ridou,” the man continued to meet yn’s gaze as he motioned for her to take his hand, “where’s the fun in hurting a good little lamb? Especially one who shows that she knows to yield to her Sheppard.” Against her better judgement, yn took his hand and allowed him to help her up. “Look at you go,” he smirked and scanned over her body through hooded lids, “such a strong little girl you are standing on wobbly legs after the big bad wolves tried to tear you down.”

She should feel offended, mocked, and appalled, but she couldn’t – not with the voids he called eyes staring at her. “T-thanks,” she weakly mumbled as she began to gather her bag back together and prop her bike back up, “I know you guys said you needed the pin number, but I can’t give it to you.” She hung her head and balled her fists; she was waiting for someone to hit her but that never came. Looking up she sees the ‘older brother’ standing in front of the brooding ‘Koko’ and the other members just staring around the streets.

“That’s fine, little one,” the older brother said, “we don’t need your card. Koko here will be fine with just the cash. But I will need payment of the sort since I did calm the bully over here, don’t you think?” He smiled at yn, quickly scanning her student ID and then turning back to her face, “You’re 18, yeah?” she nodded, and he smiled lazily, “Good, give me something of yours that is valuable. I want to talk to you again and if I take it, you are going to want to take it back, correct?”

“I – um,” she began to go through the bag and seen that the only things she deemed valuable were her phone and the spare keys to her room in the brothel, “all I have is my k-keys and phone.” She huffed out in hopes that he took mercy and just let her go already; if she kept in his presence any longer, she feared that every piece of knowledge on common sense would fly out of her brain.

“Well, no one wants a pedal bike here and your phone and keys wouldn’t be of use to me,” he spoke in a rather degrading tone, “how about, you give me that pretty little necklace that you’re wearing… hmm, ... oh! Give me your number as well. After all, how are you going to know when I want you to take back your precious gems without being able to plan a proper date?” His smile was too secretive to be comforting, but this was probably the best way to saving her own life.

“Okay,” she replied quickly, “just please, don’t break the necklace…” her hands shook as she unclasped it and placed it into the man’s hands. “That’s a gift from my brother, so I promise you I’ll come and get it whenever you ask.” Yn put her hands on her bar handles before straddling the bike.

“Thank you,” he smiled and put away the baton before fishing out his phone, “put your number in it and call to make sure you’re not fucking with me, yeah?” He tilted his head and softly hummed at the soft sound of her phone vibrating in her bag. “Thank you, yn-chan.”

“No, thank you,” she lightly coughed and waited for him to look back up at her after saving all her contact information. Once he finally looked up, she flinched but proceeded to stare him dead in his lovely irises, “May I have your name… if ya don’t mind that it.”

“Haitani Ran,” the older man laughed and shifted his weight onto his hip, “and I expect you to text me whenever you get the chance.” He turned around and the other members began to follow. For what felt like an eternity, yn finally let out a small breath, well at least until he had turned back around. “Oh!” Haitani-san smiled at her, “Leave it under ‘Ran-senpai’ so your brother and friends don’t get spooked. Don’t want the fun to end before it has barely even started.” With that, he turned back around and waved half-assed before disappearing into the distance.

Yn decided to just to walk the rest of the block because riding the bike has been nothing but bad luck so far. Once at the shop, she sighed and made her way to the back where she knew would be unlocked because no one dared walk up into her big brother’s place of work. Parking her bike, she quickly takes her phone back out with 3 texts from an unknown number.

Unknown: hey little lamb, its yer senpai <3

Unknown: yer probs with yer bro so ill call you later, mm around midnight so stay up

Unknown: text me back soon or I mite accidentally break your pretty necklace and youll have to owe me a big favor for ignoring me :)

“what the actual fuck,” yn whispered as she quickly began typing away. She didn’t know if she be upset with his back-to-back messages treating her like she was his property, or mad at herself for feeling this little need inside of her that wants to please him. Yes, all of the gang members were extremely hot and DANGEROUS, but something about ‘Ran Senpai’ gave her the cold chills; what made it worse was the urge that she possessed to go against all her morals for him.

Yn: hi! Im sorry,, I was just trying to get to my brother’s shop

Yn: wait,, do you know draken-nii?

She tilted her head and rocked lightly from side to side, waiting for a reply instead of going in and surprising her brother like she initially had planned to do. While she waited, she changed his name to ‘Tani Senpai <3’ with a small smile as she imagined Draken freaking out over the fact that a boy has caught her interest. Of course, she wasn’t romantically interested in the man, but his face isn’t one that she would mind seeing from time to time – at a safe distance that is.

Tani Senpai <3: mhm, some good and bad history

Yn: oh?

Tani Senpai <3: you do know curiosity killed the cat, right little lamb?

Yn: you flirt a lot

Yn: how old are you ?

Tani Senpai <3: 28 years young bb

Yn: youre ten whole years older than me?? You look so,, young.

Tani Senpai <3: I have aged, but trust me, I am rather youthful in different aspects.

Yn: do you by chance,, like memes?

Tani Senpai <3: ofc, especially hornee ones.

Yn: haha.. well I gotta go,

Tani Senpai <3: mhm go ahead baby, remember. Midnight <3

Yn: aye aye captain.

She felt another vibration as she placed her phone in her backpack, but she was finally able to see and surprise her brother and that is exactly what she planned to do. Quietly pulling the door open, she noted that the music blaring and Draken’s back was to her as he was fixing up what looked like Pah-chin’s old CBX 400F. It was a cute sight if she was being completely honest; her brother rebuilding his old friendships. She seen the other boys’ bikes lined up too: Draken’s Zephyr, Mitsuya’s little Impulse, Kazu-kun’s Rocket, Mikey’s CB250T, and even the late Baji’s Goki.

“Pah-san still has the old thing,” she decided to speak up instead of tackling her brother, “are you guys gonna give it to some younger kids?” right as she finished her sentence, draken whipped his head back and went to cradle yn to his chest. Suddenly, all of the stinging on her skin had vanished and she was giggling while circling her arms around her brother’s waist. “How are you ya wannabe greaser?”

“I’m doing fine you idiot, how are -,” draken lifted his head to get a good look at her, but all his excitement drained as he was met with a sight of dried blood and scraped skin. “Who the fuck did this to you? I’ll kill them right fucking now, what the hell happened yn?”

“DRAKEN,” he stopped and stared at you expecting an answer, “I tired riding my bike down the big hill by the park and this happened, okay? I’m okay.” She stared at him with a soft expression and relaxed once she noticed he slumped in his posture, “I know you said to stop riding down the hill because it’ll bite me in the ass one day, so I guess today was the day.” Yn laughed and draken tried to fight the small smile that was threatening to fall on his lips.

“Go sit on the counter and watch the store for a bit, I’m gonna get the first aid kit in the back and I guess I’ll patch ya up.” With that, he disappeared into the office hall and left yn to be lost in thought. She had never lied to Draken this heavy before. It might not seem like a big deal to others, but she just told her brother she fell down a hill instead of saying that some /Bonten/ men were just threatening her life 20 minutes ago and they treated her like a dog; well, she didn’t feel that bad anymore, considering that he would have gone and wasted his life against men that played dirty. “Get out of your head, I’m back.” Draken teased her before getting an alcohol wipe and wiping the dried blood, “don’t squirm too much, loser. iss’ gonna sting a bit tho, so try to not hit me.”

It went a lot more smooth than she had expected, yeah, the cleansing wipe and ointment burned, but now she was bandaged and able to not worry about even more blood staining her clothes til they go to the brothel.

“Here,” he handed her a spare shirt and some sweats, “I don’t like seeing you all beat up, makes me want to fight the side walk. You know where the bathroom is.” Draken slightly punched her shoulder before heading back to seat near the bike, “once you’re done, we can go meet the boys for breakfast. I bet yer hungry.”

“Yer the best, ya know that,” yn smiled before taking her bag and clothes to the bathroom. “It won’t be long,” she turned before entering the hall, “make sure the cute one is there!”

“Stop trying to fuck my friends,” Draken called out in an irritated tone as she walked away laughing. It was an ongoing joke yn had played on her brother, where she would pretend to have some crush on his friends and it’d just make him twenty times more protective around them; he never knew if she was serious or not so he had to be cautious.

Once in the bathroom, yn quickly changed into the clothes her brother had lent her and stared at herself in the mirror. She laughed when she realized she kind of looked like one of the main characters from her favorite psychological thrillers. Yn took out her phone and decided to message Mana, mitsuya’s younger sister and yn’s best friend from home, with a picture of her bandaged state and the caption, ‘take out my ankles next time, daddy <3.’ It honestly surprised her to get a reply that fast as Mana was always one to sleep until noon. She didn’t know what scared her more, the fact she sent it the wrong person, or the fact the person knew exactly what she was talking about.

Tani Senpai <3: you look hot like that

Tani Senpai <3: like being called daddy, but in this context arent I supposed to call you mommy or something LMAO

Tani Senpai <3: I can break your ankles with my baton

Tani Senpai <3: make you my little housewife and call you ‘Bum.’

Tani Senpai <3: don’t worry, I won’t turn into ashes ;) <3

“Yn,” Draken called out, “you okay in there?”

“Don’t worry about it nii-Chan,” she giggled in hopes of masking her terror, “just bumped into a wound. I’ll be out soon.”

“Okay,” draken slipped a pad and a tampon under the door, “don’t know if you might want these -,”

“LEAVE YOU IDIOT,” yn genuinely laughed and heard draken’s heavy chuckles through the door, “thank you though, I’ll be out soon.”

“I’ll be outside on the bike, bubs.”

After hearing draken’s foot steps vanish, she quickly began typing.

Yn: that wasn’t meant for you -

Tani Senpai <3: shame, I love killing stalking

Yn: wait,, really? 👀

Tani Senpai <3: mhm,, we’ll talk about it later tonite ‘bum ;)

Yn: .. deal :)

Despite every shitty thing that has happened to her since she got back, it felt as if they were supposed to meet; fate as one would call it. She was offering herself to one of the most dangerous men who rule the underworld, and she didn’t even find herself to minding.

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an: hi hello, hope yer all eating well :)

ryozoro©

#haitani ran x f!reader #f!reader #tokyo revengers haitani #tokyorev haitani ran #tokyo revengers haitani ran #tokyo revengers haitani ran x reader #haitani ran #ran haitani #haitani ran x reader #haitani brothers #tokyorev #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers

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emilycollins00 · 3 years

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tsuzuru with a fem s/o who is shy but is a great actor please! uwu i love you and your works!

Love you more sweetheart! 💕 I’m sorry this took this long, thank you so very much for your beautiful patience!! This boy and you deserve the best of the best I swear, sending you a big hug.

Hope you enjoy! 💕

Tsuzuru x Shy! Actor! Reader

Tsuzuru keeps malfunctioning because you literally exist, this could very well end here.

Born in a chaotic household and now living in such a lousy dorm, while he wouldn’t change it… having someone as caring and giving as you makes him feel too blessed, is it really okay? are you even real??

This boy doesn’t like to outwardly complain, but will go to you when he needs to cool off or feels stressed and even if you two don’t say much, just laying next to you makes him sigh with content.

He insists you don’t have to go to his performances, but if you do show up as a surprise, one shy wave from your seat will make his adrenaline go up. no citron, he’s okay it’s just sudenly hot.

You are both on the quiet side, so dates usually consist on calming walks through the park or some visits to bookshops.

I see Tsuzuru as the type of person who tries to respects boundaries, even more if you are shy, but at the same time is unconscious of his own PDA? Like before he knows he’s already leaning on you or grabbing your hand to lead you somewhere and then forgetting to let go.

Whenever he takes iniciative to kiss you though he becomes a flustered mess, so you both usually look like a pair of red headlights hiding your faces.

Absolutely loves reading scripts together and exchanging advice. It helps you both and he honestly can’t get enough of your insights.

Pretty much like Muku, you tried acting to become more confident. The way you direct your voice, how you pour your soul in your performance… Tsuzuru is definitely in awe of your acting skills and you usually have to stop his unaware compliments because you get too embarrassed.

Won’t say it outloud because he thinks it might be weird, but finds your shy downcast eyes rather endearing.

Understanding of your shyness and also kind of overprotective.

Tries to help you slowly step out of your comfort zone and be more vocal about what you want, though that part is something he’s also still learning himself.

All in all, Tsuzuru adores you and will work hard for you to be as happy and at ease as he is with you. He thinks of you as his escape from all the expectations people have of him, and hopes he can become a similar pilar to you, because you deserve it.

“Tsuzuru!”

You didn’t wait for your theatre’s main door to close, hurrying towards the tall boy. Recognizing your voice, he looked up and smiled, raising his hand for you to not worry and slow down the pace.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting”

“It’s fine. I guess rehearsal went better today?”

You nodded, still embarrassed how fast he could catch on every little detail. You both started walking away.

“I managed to talk to our director about adding a small scene before the finale and the transition went much better” you shivered a bit inside your jacket. It really was colder outside “Everyone agreed you must be a genius”

The scripwright laughed at the choice of words, shaking his head “I just gave my thoughts from what you told me. I’m sure your troupe would have thought of a similar solution sooner or later”

“Maybe, but your ideas are-”

A sudden phone call stopped the conversation, with Tsuzuru excusing himself “Omi-san?” after a few seconds in silence, he nodded “Sure, we are close to the shopping district anyway so…” he glanced at you for a second before concentrating again on the exchange “No, it’s okay, we’ll go now. Sure. See you”

“Everything okay?” you pondered, watching him place the phone back is his pocket “Isn’t Omi-san, um, a member of your theatre?”

“Yeah, he asked me if we could buy a few ingredients for tonight’s dinner before heading back to the dorm, is it okay?”

Your heart practically jumped at your boyfriend’s words. Right. That was the reason Tsuzuru had been waiting for you outside; Today was the day you were going to Mankai for the first time.

The nerves that caused your stomach to drop must have clearly shown on your face. You wanted to reply with a cool ‘yes, of course!’ but even when you felt his turquoise eyes glancing your way, nothing came out.

You pursed your lips ashamed as you both reached the shopping mall. While you also thought it was time to meet them, and probably could recognize everyone thank to your conversations with Tsuzuru... it still felt overwhelming.

Could you really introduce yourself in front of so many new people? Would they even like you? You, who had to repeat yourself because others didn’t often hear and even had to breath in and out before answering a phone call?

“Y/N”

Turning to him, you remembered how you had stumbled over your own words when you greeted him the first time. He showered you with an affectionate smile that made your chest leap.

“We can wait if you don’t feel comfortable yet. I’m sure no one will mind”

Feeling something warm, you looked down. His hand was already holding yours unconsciously to calm you. Your cheeks heated up at your childish behaviour and you shook your head to try to come out of your stupor “...I’m fine, sorry. I really want to meet everyone, it’s just- I wish it didn’t feel so nerve-wracking to prepare myself”

“You really don’t have to prepare yourself for anything”

“Still, I... want to make a good impression” you smiled with downcast eyes. Why was it this difficult to voice your thoughts? You played with the strip of the bag with your free hand “They are your precious second family, right? I don’t want it to be uncomfortable so I was thinking, um... ” your fidgeted, feeling the nerves oozing off you “Maybe I should bring a gift, like curry or something?”

You stared at him waiting for his opinion, people passing by your sides. Soon enough though, the spring troupe member had to turn away. You frowned confused when you noticed his trembling shoulders, making you gasp indignant and quickly punching his arm embarrassed.

“I-I’m sorry if it doesn’t make sense, okay! You are always talking about curry so I couldn’t help it, don’t laugh!” much to your dismay, he didn’t stop, making you even more flustered “Tsuzuru!”

It took a while for him to completely calm down. That really was the last thing he had expected you to say, seeing how overwhelmed you looked. On the other hand, he should have expected it, you might be timid but caring about those things was in your nature. He shook his head.

“I can’t promise you everyone’s exact reaction, but you really don’t need to bring anything. They are more excited to meet you than you imagine. I should know, after all hell I’ve been put through these days”

“Hell...?”

He shrugged it off “What I mean is there’s no way you’ll make a bad impression. Rather than that, you- ” a series of scenarios suddenly flashed through his mind, to which he frowned “...Yeah, I’m definitely more worried about what you’ll think of everyone once you meet them. Please keep your expectative very” he paused, holding his pointing finger up seriously “very low”

That finally made you chuckle “Wait, what? Why?”

Tsuzuru’s eyes softened at the sound. If you two hadn’t been outside, he would have kissed you right there, so he opted to take again your hand and squeez it.

No matter what you said, it was you who had left a mark the first time he saw you act, and it was you who caught his dense attention with your subtle kindness, tender eyes and strong will. You, who so adorably told him to breath and relax, setting aside his usual daily pressure, reminding him there was still time and space to grow.

“Everyone will definitely like you, Y/N”

Because you were so much more than you gave yourself credit for. And while it might sound cringey, you really were his peace, his pride, and he couldn’t wait for everyone to finally learn about you.

_________________________________________________________

No shame in saying this was great content for me included, thanks again love!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! 💕

#A3! Actor Training Game #a3 act #a3! act! addict! actors!#a3!#a3 #tsuzuru x reader #tsuzuru minagi #a3! tsuzuru #a3 tsuzuru #tsuzuru

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kayparker20 · 3 years

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To Honor Sensei

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of an Ending

FFN | AO3

The Hidden Leaf Village had been attacked by the Nine Tailed Fox, escaping it’s jinchuriki while she had been weak while in labor. In the last efforts to save the village, the Fourth Hokage and his wife had sealed the beast in their newborn son, continuing the tradition of the Uzumaki carrying the Nine-Tails, in their last moments before dying, they tried to tell their son how much they loved him. The previous Hokage watched the scene before sadly, as he decided he would have to retake the seat of leader in their village.

It had been days as the villagers and shinobi alike worked on repairing the village. Sarutobi had agreed to watch over the infant for some time until they figured out how to handle the situation and how to have him cared for properly. A knock on the door sounded and the hokage called for the person to come in, surprised to find spiky silver hair.

Kakashi stood before the Sandaime, his mask hiding most of the tear stains that still wet his face. He was still dealing with the loss of his own sensei, the last member of his team. The last person that had come to mean something to him. Even his wife, who had become important to Kakashi by extension, was gone as well.

At first, he thought of going back to ANBU, even though Minato had suggested he take a break before the attack. He just wanted to escape, to throw himself into his duty as a ninja. He wasn’t supposed to let himself feel these emotions. But this was Minato-sensei… The person who had looked after him for years, and even acted almost like a father to him. He couldn’t just bury this one so easily.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had resumed as Hokage after the death of his successor. He watched the young boy in front of him, knowing he had been his student. That his whole team was gone now, and he could only be even more traumatized now than he already had been by the death of Rin. He waited for this child to speak, interested in what he could be here for. He glanced back down at the infant next to him in a crib, still wondering what he should do with the now orphaned child. He sighed inwardly, not seeing an easy nor ideal solution.

“Hokage-sama…” Kakashi began softly. “What will happen to Minato-sensei’s baby?” The young ninja inquired.

Hiruzen looked back up at him, surprised. He didn’t expect the young teen to approach him with anything regarding his now resting sensei, knowing he usually suffered alone with his feelings. Oftentimes sitting at the memorial like a stone himself.

“I have been trying to decide that myself. There are no other family members left from either Minato or Kushina’s family in the village.”

“I want to take care of him.” Kakashi blurted.

Hiruzen stared at Kakashi, clearly shocked by the admission. “Kakashi, you’re only 13…How could I expect you to take care of an infant?”

“Hokage-sama, he was my sensei’s baby! I was supposed to protect him and Kushina!” Kakashi pleaded. “It’s my duty to take care of him.” He voiced stubbornly, already determined to take on this task. Hiruzen could understand the sense of responsibility the boy felt, even if it wasn’t his fault. Kakashi had always been a loyal shinobi even if he was a bit cold and detached. “Kakashi, it is not your fault either of them died, child.You do not need to try and make up for anything.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I want to honor him by caring for his child, Hokage-sama. I’m the closest thing he has to family left.”

The ANBU captain had already decided this within himself. It was the whole reason for coming here. If Naruto had any kind of family, his father’s last living student was the closest thing left. He deserved to have some kind family and be raised by someone who cared, it was what his parents would have wished for. It was his responsibility to take care of him and protect him, it always would have been. It was his duty as the surviving member of his team.

Hiruzen let out a heavy breath. “You do know you cannot remain in ANBU, and care for Naruto, right? At least not until he is older or you find someone to look after him while you go on missions.”

“Minato-sensei had already been urging me to take a break… But I think he really wanted me to leave ANBU.” Kakashi nodded softly. “Where is he?”

Hiruzen smiled, already seeing the Will of Fire pass from Yondaime to his student. “Why, he is actually right here, but he’s asleep.” The returned Hokage bent down below his desk and carefully lifted the blanket swaddled child from a crib.

Kakashi stepped forward, looking at him once more in awe. “He looks just like Sensei…”

Hiruzen nodded. “Take good care of him, Kakashi.” He passed the infant over to the silver haired nin. “Know that you are not alone.” He ruffled the silver strands, much to Kakashi’s dislike as he frowned up at his superior.

“Minato-sensei told me that once…”

Hiruzen gave him a sad smile. “He was a good leader that cared deeply for his people as a Hokage should. But even with his absence, and for the absence of your team, you are never alone, Kakashi. I can see that the Will of Fire burns brightly within, passed on from him to you, and his son.” He pointed to Naruto. “You’ll always have Naruto, as well as the other ninja in the village.”

Kakashi nodded softly, not really believing he wanted to be close to anyone else again.

“One more thing, Kakashi.” His voice became more stern now. “He should not know he is the Fourth’s son, and this was his own request. No child should ever believe they are the reason for their parents’ death. He will find out when the time is right.”

“But…” Kakashi looked down at Naruto. “He should know all about Minato-sensei.” Kakashi countered.

Hiruzen smiled. “You can tell him about him as your past sensei and beloved Hokage. But he need not know that he was his father.”

Kakashi stared at him in disbelief, holding Naruto tightly.

“Also, be aware that the people of this village will not be fond of him, because it is known he holds the nine-tails within him and they fear it. Such is the life of many jinchuriki. He wanted Naruto to be known as a hero for saving the village, but after the destruction and everything people lost, I fear that it will not happen. I've tried to reason with some of them but they are grief stricken. It’s hard to tell if it will ever change...” The Sandaime said sadly.

Kakashi nodded softly. “I’ll do as you say even though I disagree with it, only because I trust you would do what is right as the past and now return Hokage…” He spoke solemnly.

The Sandaime watched the child a moment, thinking of his words. “I care for the people of this village just as much as you care for that baby in your arms, and I do my best to do right by them, Kakashi.”

“I understand, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi left the office as his superior nodded to him.

Naruto woke up as he descended the stairs and instantly began to cry, the wails echoing through the halls. Kakashi cradled him in his arms and tried to sway softly. “Naruto, it’s okay. You’re with me now, Kakashi.” Kakashi tried to console him.

He remembered Kushina telling him towards the end of the pregnancy that babies can hear voices. “Do you recognize my voice Naruto?” He wondered aloud softly. “I never did talk much, so probably not, huh?” He laughed nervously.

He made it to the bottom of the steps and walked through the village, beginning to think of what things he needed to gather to start raising a baby. “Perhaps I should have asked for the things Minato and Kushina had already had ready for Naruto…” He sighed.

“Kakashi!” A red eyed girl called from his left, Asuma and Guy trailing behind her. “Oh my gosh, is that Naruto?” She exclaimed and ran towards him faster.

Kakashi nodded softly. “Yes. I just brought him from the Hokage tower. I decided I should be the one to care for him, because I was Minato’s student, and therefore his last surviving family.”

“That’s so noble of you Kakashi! You’re going to be a Dad now!” Guy gushed.

“Do you even have baby stuff at home, Kakashi?” Kurenai asked.

Kakashi did an eye crinkle, trying to push his feelings of sadness down. “Uh, no. I was shopping for it at this moment actually…”

“Why didn’t Dad just give you the stuff the Yondaime had…?” Asuma asked, the distaste towards his father's lack of helpfulness clear.

Kurenai shook her head. “No matter, we can get some now!” She said trying to steer the conversation away from negativity. “Can I hold him?”

Kakashi hesitated. “I guess, but be careful! He’s so little…” He cautiously passed Naruto to the black haired girl just the same as the elder Sarutobi has passed the baby to himself.

Kurenai giggled and cooed at the infant now in her arms. “You probably don’t even know the first thing about caring for kids, do you Kakashi?”

“Let’s just get the things? I know I need a place for him to sleep and that weird powder stuff that Kushina had bought in the market one day while I was watching after her.”

Kurenai laughed. “You mean formula. You also need bottles and diapers silly.” She turned around and headed towards the domestic area of the market district. “Come on, this way.”

Kakashi followed her with a look of indifference, thinking he wasn’t very silly at all. He just wanted to do what was right. Taking care of a baby was definitely far from his ideal way of life, but he felt it was his duty to honor his now dead sensei by raising his child. He couldn’t protect Kushina like he was supposed to, but he would do his best to keep Naruto safe for the rest of his life. Not that he would ever voice that to his peers.

He did appreciate Kurenai automatically helping, as he really didn’t know the first thing about babies other than that they cried a lot which was annoying. He glanced at the rest of the group, noting they all had been along his side trying to protect the village from the fox, unbeknownst the truth behind the matter. He knew they cared about the village and that they would always be good to Naruto.

“The Hokage says he can’t know that Minato-sensei was his father…” Kakashi mumbled.

Kurenai nodded. “It’s better he grows up to be his own person, not wanting to fill those kinds of shoes. Plus, who wants to grow up blaming themselves for their parents’ death?” Kurenai mused as she motioned towards a crib that was cheap, making Asuma carry it as Kakashi paid for it.

Kakashi frowned, still not feeling entirely okay with the idea. “What am I supposed to tell him?”

“Tell him his parents died protecting this village as amazing and gallant shinobi! That they were amazing ninjas, and they loved him.” Guy cried out passionately, as if it were obvious.

They continued on, Kurenai making sure all the necessary items were bought as she carried Naruto through the market and they carried all the purchased items back to Kakashi’s place. The boys left, leaving Kurenai and Kakashi in his apartment.

“I think Minato wouldn’t have trusted anyone else to care for his son, Kakashi. I’m sure he'd be proud and grateful that you stepped up to take him in, especially at such a young age.” Kurenai smiled softly.

Kakashi nodded as he laid Naruto down on the couch. He began setting the things up throughout his house. Putting the highchair in the tiled part of his small space that was where the kitchen was and small dining table. He put the crib next to his bed. Kurenai folded up some of the clothes they bought and put them on top of his dresser. She also put away the formula and bottles he bought in the cupboards. “You know you’re going to have to get clothing with the Uzumaki clan symbol on it made for him when he’s a little older.”

Naruto was quiet now, his eyes following them from the couch as they moved about. He seemed curious as he gazed at them.

“How do I know when he’s hungry…?” Kakashi pondered.

“Babies normally cry when anything is wrong, or for no reason at all.” Kurenai shrugged. “You can try and feed him now, that shopping took a while so I’m sure it’s been some time since he was last fed at the Hokage tower.”

She walked Kakashi through how to make a bottle for him and Kakashi picked Naruto up and sat on the couch, beginning to feed the bottle to Naruto. He drank it eagerly and Kakashi smiled slightly as he stared down at him.

“I’ll leave now that you got everything set up. But if you need help, just let me know!”

Kakashi nodded, not looking up from Naruto as she left his apartment.

It has been weeks now since Kakashi had adopted Naruto. Right now, he lay with Naruto cradled in one arm as he held the book he was reading with another. Just as he began to get to the climax of his plot, Naruto began crying.

“Naruto! Hey, it’s okay. Shhhh, it's okay.” Kakashi put his book down instantly and took the baby into his arms fully. He checked his diaper, nothing. The silver haired nin sat perplexed, knowing he had just fed him twenty minutes ago. He cradled Naruto and tried to talk to him and calm him down.

It was no use. “You’re gonna make some ninja someday if you keep crying like this.” He huffed out.

He always wished he had seen someone's parents, even one person. He felt antsy, he hadn’t been on a single mission for over a month. Just how was he supposed to do this? He was really beginning to wonder if this was really the right decision after all.

“Minato and Kushina really love you, Naruto… I hope one day you know he was your father and just how much he did to save you…” Kakashi sighed and hugged him tight, remembering Kurenai saying something about babies wanting closeness. He rocked him gently and nuzzled his head with his nose. “I’ll never let anything bad happen to you, Naruto. You’re gonna be safe…” He laid down and held Naruto close, continuing to try and talk to him.

This was never what he thought he’d be doing in the sense of duty, but nothing worth doing was easy, right?

Naruto finally began to sniffle and hiccup, his cries stopping. Kakashi wiped his face with the end of his sleeve. “See? Everything is okay.” He gave the boy an eye crease, and Naruto giggled in response.

He thought a moment before he dressed Naruto in some warmer clothes. “Let’s go for a walk, Naruto.” He said softly as they left the apartment. He walked through the village and to the memorial site where all the graveyards were, finding one of his teammates headstones.

“Hey, Rin. I haven’t been by in awhile. I’m sorry for that. Some bad things happened again. Just my luck, right?” He sighed softly, cleaning her grave with his free hand, keeping Naruto cradled tightly in his other arm. “Our sensei died. It’s just me left from our team. Well, and Naruto now. I’m taking care of him now. Taking care of people has always been more your thing than mine…”

Kakashi glanced at Naruto. “It’s far from easy and sometimes it feels like it’s impossible.” He laughed. “He cries a lot and sometimes I can’t get him to stop…” He looked back at Rin’s grave, wishing he had stopped to get her flowers. “He’s jinchuriki just like you had been made into…” His eyes threatened to well with tears as his memories resurfaced. “He looks just like Sensei. Maybe one day he’ll be Hokage like him too, huh?” He stood back up now, chuckling at the thought. “Until next visit, Rin.”

“Kakashi..”

The silver haired nin turned to find the Hokage standing a little distance away from him, at the gravesite of the Hokages. He strided over to him quickly, looking to Minato’s grave momentarily, before looking back to Hiruzen.

“Yes, Hokage-sama?”

“I hear you’ve become quite the nurturer from my son.” The elder smiled.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I’ve been doing my best. Kurenai has given me some tips here and there.”

His leader nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. I recall telling you that you were not alone, did I not?”

Kakashi shrugged. “I guess so.” He stared at Naruto. “Was there something you needed from me, Hokage-sama?”

He watched the boy a moment, noticing he seemed to have a newfound purpose in life, other than just existing as a shinobi tool to the village. He wished Minato could have seen the change in his melancholy student. “Actually there was something I needed to tell you.”

Kakashi nodded, indicating he was listening.

“When the Fourth did the jutsu to seal the nine tails in Naruto, he sent the key to the seal out with one of his toad summons. Do you know who Jiraiya is, Kakashi?”

He nodded softly. “He was Minato-sensei’s sensei. And you were his sensei, right? And he also wrote the book that Naruto’s name comes from. I read it, the character reminded me a lot of Obito…”

“Yes, that is all true, my child. I received word that Jiraiya will be coming here in some time. When he comes, I will send him to you to see Naruto. Minato had used his toads to send him the key to the seal, and Jiraiya is his godfather. He may want to help you or just pop up every so often.”

Kakashi nodded. “Okay. I’ve met him before.”

“That was all, my child. You’re doing well taking care of him, he looks healthy.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

#kakashi and naruto #teen kakashi #baby naruto #naruto fanfiction #family #fanfiction #kayparkerwrites #to honor sensei

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nobody-nobody-nobody · 3 years

Text

Boy On Fire

This scene takes place during Chapter 24 of Mockingjay, after Katniss, Gale, Cressida, Pollux, and Peeta leave Tigris’ shop and make their way to Snow’s mansion.

Part 1 | Part 2

***

Everything around me is on fire. Prim. Katniss. And me. I am burning. I try desperately to put myself out, rolling frantically in the snow as I feel the flames lick at my face. The scarf. I rip it off and stomp it on the ground. Assess the damage to my body. A fireball caught the side of my uniform and singed the better part of it off. Underneath, the skin is hot and blistering red. My forehead aches where the flames leapt a little higher. I’m hurt but still able to walk. I search hopelessly for Katniss in the crowd of people trying desperately to put out the flames that consume them. The wails and smell of burning flesh pervade through the air. I take a step towards the barricade and realize it’s useless to go looking for survivors. The fire blazes on fiercely.

I can’t see Katniss, and it doesn’t matter anyway. I feel myself sinking into unconsciousness. I sink to my knees and let exhaustion overcome me. In the end, I couldn’t protect Katniss or her sister. What a lousy excuse for a partner.

***

When I come to, the first thing I’m aware of is someone sitting at my side. There’s only one person left on Earth who would come to my sickbed.

“Katniss!”

I sit up with a start and freeze when my eyes land on him. I guess there’s two people left in the world.

“Haymitch?”

“Hey kid,” he says. I take in the sight of him. He looks awful. Smells worse. Whatever attempt at sobriety he managed during his stay at District 13 has long since been abandoned. I can’t say I blame him.

“Katniss?” I ask. My voice comes out in a croak. I try to cough to clear my throat and end up coughing for several minutes. “Easy there,” Haymitch says, gently pushing me back down onto the bed. “You inhaled a good bit of smoke when you were passed out in the circle. Doctors say you’ll be fine but you have to take it easy for a while. Give your lungs time to heal.”

“Haymitch where’s Katniss?” He drops his eyes and my heart immediately sinks. I bury my face in my hands. For some reason I don’t want him to see the emotions playing out on my face. It’s confusing enough for me, trying to sort out how much of this is out of guilt for failing to keep the promise we made to each other, how much is the love for her that I wrote off but somehow still finds its way to the surface.

“She’s alive, Peeta. But barely. She was too close when it happened, and there was no one there to put her out. They’re doing all sorts of treatments for the burns but…she hasn’t spoken in weeks. We’re not sure what’s left of her sanity. If there’s anything left.” He takes a swig from the bottle of wine at his side and lets it hang there. Weeks? How long have I been out?

We sit in silence for a while until finally I manage, “Gale?”

“He’s alive. Took a bad beating to the head but he’ll be ok. Surprised you asked.”

“He’s half her family now. I need to know she won’t be alone.”

He doesn’t respond. I’m glad. I’d rather his silence than him try to say something stupid like, There’s still us! Or There’s still you. Or Don’t do anything you’ll regret.

Finally, he breaks the silence. “Coin needs us for a meeting in a few hours. I guess now that you’re awake you can make it. I’ll tell someone to come get you when it’s time.” Then he gets up and leaves.

I sit up again and this time there’s no urge to cough. There’s a simple outfit folded up on the bedside table, shoes beside my bed. I get up and get dressed then realize I have nothing to do but wait to be collected.

Exactly three hours later, I hear footsteps nearing my room. I stand up and ready myself to greet a stranger when I realize I know the person who’s come to collect me.

“Johanna,” I whisper.

“Hey partner. Almost feels like old times doesn’t it? Except this time, we’re on the other side of the cell. Ready to kill this bastard?”

For the first time in what feels like forever, I feel myself grin.

“I’ve never been more ready.”

***

The meeting seems to be composed of the remaining victors. It’s painful enough to be in a room with them. The last time we were all together, we were gunning for each other’s lives. So I thought.

Katniss sits across from me and I feel a stab of pain in my chest. Yes, the flames got her bad, but it’s the careful way she holds herself, and the dead look in her eyes that hurts the most. I try to catch her eye but find myself unable to hold her gaze. What has become of us, star-crossed lovers from District 12? Just another pair of broken children unable to protect each other from evils of the capitol.

Then Coin comes in and she’s laying out her plan for a final Hunger Games. It’s all I can do keep from shouting as I try to convince Haymitch of its futility, its cruelty. But he’s not even listening. He’s watching her. Like he always has.

“I vote yes...for Prim.”

“I’m with the Mockingjay.”

And then we’re swept out of the room as people swarm around Katniss, readying her for the execution.

Outside, Johanna and the rest of us victors are herded towards a special section near the spot where Katniss takes her place. She takes the single arrow out and strings the bow in one fluid motion, aiming straight for Snow’s heart. She pulls the arrow back and… hesitates.

“What is she doing?” Johanna hisses.

I turn to Haymitch and find him looking at her intently, with the same look in his eye he had in the meeting.

“No,” I whisper.

She raises her bow higher and lets the arrow fly. Straight into Coin’s heart.

Coin’s body plummets to the ground. There’s no need to check for a heartbeat. Already soldiers are swarming towards Katniss, who is tossing her bow to the side, turning her head to her shoulder. Aiming for the nightlock.

Suddenly, I hear her voice in my voice in my head as my hands clench and spasm beside me.

Stay with me.

I break out into a run. After all these months of confusion and terror, of not being sure of what I felt for the girl with the grey eyes and voice that made the birds stop to listen, I am sure of at least one thing. She asked me to stay with her. And I promised I would.

I clamp my hand over her sleeve just as she bites down hard enough to cause the blood to run immediately. She looks at me with wild eyes and snarls,

“Let me go!”

The soldiers are almost on her. There’s no telling what awaits her after this grave act of treason, what this new administration is capable of. But I am selfish enough to not care what happens. I need her to live.

“I can’t.”

Then the soldiers come and take her away.

#mockingjay #mockingjay fanfic #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark

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starlling-writes · 4 years

Text

Bewitching Monsters - Living Doll (Caera) Part 2

Series Rating: 18+ Chapter Contains: mild swearing, semi-public sexual scenes Pairing: f/nb BeMo Masterlist ☆ Writing Masterlist

The long wait was finally over. Caera’s doll was here and ready for her to try out. After I opened the crate, she shooed me away so she could try it on her own. So while she was getting used to her new body, I was sitting inside Honey Cup, chatting with Willow.

When a drow walked towards our table I wasn’t expecting to hear, “Hello Mistress.”

“Caera?” I looked her over more carefully. She was a bit taller than me and had the thicker build typical of her dwarf ancestry. Her messy, black, pixie cut suited her well. The loose overalls and shirt she wore, however, did not flatter her—I’ll give Thorald credit for being mindful enough to include some clothes, but whoever picked this outfit out needed some help. I smiled at her. “Do you like it?”

She beamed at me and nodded. “Yes. It’s wonderful.”

“Good. I’m glad you love it.” I got up and hugged her. “No boobs?”

She shook her head. “I prefer enjoying yours than having my own.”

My face heated. Not the kind of thing I really wanted her to announce in public. “We should get you a new wardrobe soon,” I changed the subject not too subtly.

“A shopping spree sounds fun,” Willow said and stood. “Shall we ladies?”

“I’m not sure how big of a spree I can afford, but I’m fine with it.”

“Don’t worry about that; it’ll be my treat.”

I stared at Willow. “You don’t need to do that.”

He lightly traced the back of his fingers along my jaw and smiled. “No, but I want to. Besides, it’ll be cute to see how much Aero pouts when he hears I treated you two.”

I snorted and shook my head. “Wow, how subtly sadistic of you.” I laughed again as I picked up and shouldered my satchel. “In that case—lead the way Sugar Daddy.” His eyes and smile blazed from my comment.

When Willow took us to the luxury district, guilt began bubbling inside me. He didn’t need to treat us this well. I tried to insist against it but he just reaffirmed that money wasn’t an issue. What the hell did he do to allow him to be so flippant with money?—and did I want to inquire about him becoming my actual Sugar Daddy? I’d think about that later; today was Caera’s day.

We were at our forth shop of the day. Even though this was supposed to be a trip to get Caera a wardrobe for her new body, they both insisted I get things too. We already had six full bags of stuff between the two of us—clothes and other things. And of course Willow insisted on paying for a courier to take them home for us, explaining he wanted to make Aero deliver them. Such a wicked dom.

“Uh, Witch? Can you help me? I’m kinda stuck in this dress.”

I stepped inside the dressing room and sure enough, Caera was trapped with a mile-long dress halfway over her head and her arms helplessly sticking out of the top. “On or off?”

“Off, please.”

“Alright. Hold still.” I grabbed the top of the dress and pulled it off. I fumbled to tame the dress onto the hanger. After I hung it up and turned back to Caera for more possible help, I was greeted by a surprise. This was my first full look of Caera’s new body. All I could do was stare at her new penis.

I hadn’t been expecting that addition.

“Do you like it, Mistress?” she murmured so no one else could hear. She stepped closer and leaned in to whisper, “It even vibrates. Would you like me to show you?”

And just like that, she was up to her wicked antics. I had to admit though—it was fucking hot. And it excited me to think of her fucking me in this small dressing room. “I don’t know if we can be quiet enough to get away with it.”

Her hand started drifting up my thigh and under my dress. “Thorald promised that it’s silent. So it’s really if you can keep quiet, Mistress. Shall we find out?” She hooked a finger under the band of my leggings and slowly ran it back and forth, teasing me, ready to pull them down as soon as I gave her permission. She kissed my neck. “Shall I fuck you right here while everyone in the shop has no idea?” She kissed me again. “Shall I make you come while Willow is waiting for us on the other side of the dressing room curtain?”

“You’re such a wicked ghost,” I hissed. She might call me Mistress and overall act subservient towards me, but Moon help me, she was a devilish top when she wanted to be.

“Is that a yes, Mistress?” She pressed her palm against my stomach, her fingers dancing under the waistband.

I sucked in a sharp breath and bit my lip. “Yes.”

Caera’s hand sunk deeper beneath my leggings. She started fingering me and I swear her fingers were faintly vibrating too. Or maybe I was turned on so much so fast because I was enjoying the risk.

She slid down my panties and legging as she guided me back against the wall. She hooked a hand behind one of my knees and pulled my leg up. She guided herself in then quickly moved her hand to muffle any whimpers that tried to escape me. After a couple thrusts, Caera turned on the vibrating feature.

As she said, it was silent. But that didn’t take away from its punch—though I had to wonder if she was holding back.

“Everything alright in there?” Willow asked when I hadn’t left after a few minutes.

Caera gave me a look then removed her hand from my mouth. Of course she expected me to answer while she still fucked me. “Um. Yeah,” I said as normally as I could. He probably wouldn’t judge us if he knew what we were doing; I knew he’s done far worse with Aero. Still. The thrill was in trying to keep it secret. “Just a… stuck zipper. Trying not to damage it—or the fabric.”

“Well then. Take your time.”

Don’t goad her to draw this out!

Instead of covering my mouth again, Caera grabbed my breast, kneading and squeezing it. She grinded against my clit with each thrust. Dug her fingers into my thigh. Whispered more teasings in my ear. She was fluent in pleasuring me.

When my legs finally stopped shaking, I adjusted my clothes then slipped out of the dressing room. Willow barely glanced up from the magazine he was flipping through as I sat down next to him.

“Convenient how dolls don’t leave you with dripping creampies to worry about,” Willow said too casually.

“Excuse me?” I turned towards him in horror. How did he know?

“You’re nearly as transparent as Aero.” He flashed me a look that left me hot with embarrassment. “Perhaps we’ll arrange that private dungeon scene for you sooner than I thought.”

“Dungeon?” Caera chimed in as she walked out. “Sounds fun.”

“By all the gods—now you’re getting in on this too?”

“The more the merrier,” Willow said.

I felt ganged up on by the two most devious tops I knew. Couple that with me still coming off my orgasm and I was too overwhelmed for this. “You two finish up here. I’ll meet you at the next shop.” I stood and swiftly walked towards the exit, their laughs fading into the store’s music.

— — —

BeMo Masterlist ☆ Writing Masterlist Story: Previous — Next Character Arc: Part 1 [Here]

#monster love #exophilia #writeblr #living doll #exophilia fiction #ghost #ghost x human #living doll x human #doll x human

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n0irrrr · 5 years

Text

Flower Curse | 5

[levi x male!reader x erwin] this work will have vomiting, heavy angst and death. the reader suffers from the hanakahi disease. summary: you loved him. he didn’t. everything goes downhill when suddenly, you cough a petal when you think of him.

f o u r

“And you say you have nothing important to do today?“ you asked, walking through the busy corridors beside Erwin.

“I didn't exactly say that,“ he replied, “yes, I have other matters, but you are more important than them.“

Blinking, you just nodded in acknowledge. The comment made you slightly surprised, but the feeling about how he worried about you made you warm.

“Did you say anything to Levi?”

“I just told him and Mike we were going to have some matters in Wall Sina,” he hold a smirk, “Levi actually looked taken aback for not bringing him, Mike just nodded.”

“Obviously. You two are always together, he knows something is up.”

“Indeed. He's irritated about how you ignore him,” he gave you a look, “you didn't see him all morning, right?”

The question made you scoff, “Of course not. Why would I want to see him if everything I do make the flowers arise? I just make my health worse by just looking at him.”

The reply only made Erwin humm, deep in thought.

Why would you see him? What good would be in that? He only hurted you— and he didn't even know. Every time he approached you, you just replied with short sentences and flew as fast as you could without looking at him. Even Hange and Moblit helped you out by calling your name or saying you were needed somewhere else, taking a nasty look from Levi every time. It was just little time about the ravenette's patience ran out.

A sudden memory from this morning came up to you.

////

You were currently walking in the corridor, with a mountain of paperwork between your hands. They needed to be finished soon— so you hurriedly walked to your office.

That would have been wonderful. But, lately, things going 'wonderfully' wasn't allowed in your life at any means,

"Oi. Where the fuck have you been?"

Wonderful.

"Levi! Nice to see you. Right now I don't have time, bye!" You tried to hurry the hell up and be as far as possible from him, but he is Levi. He doesn't let anyone escape from him.

"Hell with that. You have been avoiding me, why?" he demanded, harshly taking your arm and making you stop on your tracks. You almost fell if it wasn't for his strong grip — you believed there was going to have a bruise in a couple of minutes.

"Pff, avoiding you? Don't be ridiculous. I've been busy, now, if you excuse me..." Trying to get off from his grasp was impossible. He wasn't letting you walk off like other times, he was pissed.

His frown was more apparent than before, he was glaring straight at you. You could tell he was done playing games.

"Don't take me for an idiot, [Name]. It's been nearly one week and I've only seen you once. What's happening? Don't you dare fucking lie."

You frowned. You tried to play it off at first— but him wanting answers was getting on your nerves. Maybe you were acting selfish for not telling him anything — but you honestly didn't care for that. "I told you I've been busy. Don't you have nowhere to be?" You answered, gritting your teeth. He should be with his Petra right now, shouldn't he? Why was he looking for you?

Your answer only got him riled up, by the looks of his face. He took your collar with no care, making you drop some papers on the floor. Face to face, you could see how angry he was— his eyes were more than expressive, his mouth was pressed in a thin line and you knew he was holding back.

"What has gotten into you? You are not at the mess hall when I am, you don't train the cadets anymore and you certainly don't look for me. What's the goddamn reason? Answer me."

Before you could say anything, a certain couple came and interrupted your little 'fight'. Hange and her assistant, Moblit.

"[Name]!! I just was looking for you, lucky me!!" Noticing the state you were in, she placed an arm around Levi's shoulder and spook right on his ear, "Shorty!! Sorry for interrupting but little [Name] has to come with me~" She stated, smiling goofly.

Her actions made him snap at her and move his grip from your collar and arm, now placing them on the scientist's collar, sending her a murderous glare. "Listen here, shitty glasses— I'm not in the fucking mood right now so you better—"

As Levi spoke right in front of her face, Hange made a signal with her hand to make both of you leave while he was shortly distracted. Moblit helped you run the hell out of there, leading you to Hange's office, place you were stuck until Erwin came for you.

//////

Remembering the raven's iron grip on your arm made you touch it without thinking— suppressing a hiss when you felt pain. There was a bruise for sure, lucky for you. You barely were healed from your past injuries at the training grounds; with only yellowish bruises left on your skin. and ocassional pain when they were touched.

“Anyways,” you broke the silence, “how did you find Ziegler?”

“Some squads collected information from wall Maria, Rose and the underground. We eventually got something about him— he owns a bakery in Wall Sina, in Stohness District. He is also married.”

“Married, uh...” the thought about him carry on his life made you wonder of your own– would Levi do the same thing? Get married? “How old is he?”

“Sixty seven years old.”

“Damn, little Barry grew old. I wonder how his life has been after that..."

Before you could leave the place, one of your squad members called you with nervousness, making you turn around. Spotting a certain ginger girl with brown eyes shifting nervously, you blinked strangely.

“Uh? Trish, what's up?” you brightly asked, putting your usual façade instantly.

She saluted to the both of you, and then relaxed at Erwin's command. "The corporal has been asking for you! And he is more irritated than usual...” she looks around as if looking for him, “and is making all of us scared about what tasks are for us...” she sighed, “he even scolded Jaeger for just sneezing and made him do cleaning duty in all the castle by himself! He's terrifying today!”

You laughed, “Sadly, I can't go and see him right now. I have some urgent attends to attend to, so kindly say I don't time for him and to stop being an irritable piece of–” before you could finish your sentence, Erwin cleared his throat in a manner of ’hold yourself’, rolling your eyes you finished, “just say the first thing.”

“S–Squad Leader! He's going to have my head! I can't say that! Think about my life!” she desperately exclaimed, ignoring that her Commander was right there, thing that made you laugh more. Nevertheless, you hold your laugh as best as you could, “Trisha, I believe you are brave. Try to sugarcoat my words and I believe everything will be over. The sooner the better, right? Right. Bye–bye!” grabbing Erwin's arm, you practically ran out of there, ignoring the calls of help Trisha was yelling.

“B-but! Squad Leadeeeer!”

_________________

"We're here. Do we know where his house is at?" you asked, stretching your arms while looking around the District. It was pretty busy; people walking around, children playing... The usual within the walls.

"Yes. His bakery and house are close to each other, let's go." The blond said, already walking off. Hurriedly, you ran to his side, walking at his pace.

The walk was quiet— not that you complained. You were practically watching everything you could from this dristrict; afterall, it wasn't everyday you could go to Wall Sina as you pleased. Erwin was lucky to do that thanks to his rank as the commander.

It was easy to notice that Wall Sina was the most expensive and beautiful place between the walls. The ground's pattern looked pretty, the people here dressed very... eccentrically? And how they talked was 'sophisticated' in their little minds. They sounded ridiculous in your opinion.

You envied their ignorance for a second. How they could live as if people weren't scarifying their lives for theirs. And the mocky glares they sent to the both of you made your blood boil— before you could storm off right at their faces a hand grabbed your wrist, making you stop.

It was Erwin's. It was a strong hold, but not painful. He looked right into your eyes, and the pair of serene eyes that resembled the sky captivated you. Blinking, you just stared, waiting for a response.

"Calm yourself." Was the only thing he said.

Nodding, you closed your eyes and sighed, clearing your mind. Getting angry for things like this wasn't worth it— especially with what you were going trough. Opening your eyes you were met with his warmn gaze once again. This time no word left his mouth, he returned looking in front of him and began walking.

His hand never left yours.

_____\\\\______ "Here's the bakery, the house should be..." Erwin talked while you ignored him. Your attention was in the store in front of you— what seemed to be that man's bakery. Trought the glass you could see diverse pastries— cookies, pieces of a delicious chocolate cake and bread that looked freshly baked by its perfect looks. The scene made you practically droll— but some certain pink cookies caught your attention.

Pink cookies neatly placed on a small porcelain plate painted with small pink flowers you didn't recognize. It matched with the cookies themselves, because their surface was decorated with what resembled pink roses. The sudden image of flowers made you abruptly end your appetite, and out of curiosity you seeked the pastery's name.

Written so elegantly in white paper— the name was “Flowers of Darla”.

Gulping, your gaze traveled to the shop's name— as if you were going to see something you didn't want to, if that made sense.

“Darla's Pastries“

That was... unexpected and expected at the same time. Why would he name his store with her name? With what purpose?

The bell from the door alerted you of someone leaving the store— being that someone Erwin himself. You didn't even notice when he went into the bakery! "[Name], Ziegler's house is..." He stated, but before continuing talking he noticed your mouth suspiciously wet, making him raise one of his big eyebrows. "Your mouth is... wet. Here, let me..." He finished, holding your chin and taking from his jacket's pocket a handkerchief he carefully cleaned your mouth with, with a strangely soft gaze you never saw before.

Finishing cleaning your face like a mother would have done, you thanked him and both of you returned walking as nothing happened.

Nothing happened, right?

"Who was in the bakery?" You asked, looking at the blond's face.

"His son." He shortly answered, not leaving his gaze from the path ahead, making you wonder in your thoughts.

He had a family now. He didn't forgot about Darla— but he moved on. You didn't even know if Darla was dead or alive, but the ending chapter of the book surely pointed out that she was no longer in this world. You and everybody were sure that Darla was no longer than a memory— someone who just came and went.

The thought made you sad for her.

It looked like Erwin noticed your troubled expression; because he gently took your hand with caring and meet your eyes, that unlike his, yours were filled with anxiety and fear.

There weren't words needed, the warm touch was enough to calm you down and nod. He stared for a moment, before returning to walking. It was only a short walk now, because he stopped right in front of a house.

The house was like every other one of the district— white, looking impeccable and neat. The commander went to the door and knock it three times, with you nervously behind him. The door opened, revealing a chubby woman with brown hair tied up in a bun, leaving some revealing hairs on her sides and bun. Her gaze looked tired but gentle— hazel eyes sparking with life. She was dressed with a casual orange long dress, unlike some other you saw before.

"Hello, gentlemen. Can I help you?" She asked, smiling at both if you. You returned it with a smile that didn't reach your eyes.

Luckily, Erwin was a perfect example of how to talk with someone, because all of his demeanor changed into the "good charming guy".

"Good afternoon. We're looking for Barry Ziegler, is he home?" Erwin asked, returning the smile with one that looked very real. Better than yours, for sure.

"He is, what are you exactly looking him for, if I may ask?" The woman cautiously questioned, not that you blamed her. If two soldiers —and especially with one of them looking like shit— from the Survey Corps were looking for your husband who lived in Wall Sina, you would be weirded out for sure.

"We wanted to discuss something about his book— It's an important matter, so if you could notify him we would be grateful, ma'am."

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, before saying, "Alright, please come inside." She opened the door and made way for you two to come in. She closed the door once you were inside and said, "Have a sit, you can take some cookies if you want, Excuse me, I will talk to him." And with that went upstairs, disappearing from your sight.

The home looked... nice. The wall were painted in white with what seemed to be a roses pattern. At the center of the living room were two sofas, with a table on the middle. There was a plate with cookies on it— the same roses cookies you saw before, in the bakery.

There were some bookshelfs too, and a big window were you could see the pathway you were walking, but it was covered with curtains. There was another room that you guessed was the kitchen.

You sat down along with Erwin in one of the couches. Giving a look to the cookies made you hungry again, despite the fact of it's hidden meaning. Without thinking much you took one— hey, the woman gave you permission to eat, so why not? Taking a bite, your surprised gaze took the blond's attention, because your sudden change if demeanor made him raise an eyebrow.

"These cookies are..." you looked at him in awe, "very good." Blinking, you offered him your half eaten cookie, ignoring that there were others cookies he could take, "you have to try them, Erwin. This is the best thing I've ever eaten in my whole life." And you weren't lying— the pastry was something youi never tried before. Wall Sina was recognized by a lot of things, and one of them was it's pastries. But you never guessed it was that glorious, it was like... taking a bite of heaven.

Erwin couldn't stop letting out a chuckle. He took the cookie and ate it— you waited for any expressions he would make, but there was no change.

"It's good." He stated.

"Good?! It's fantastic! I want to eat hundreds of this!" You said, looking like a child in Erwin's eyes. You took more and more cookies, and some of it was left on the sides of your mouth, making a mess of yourself. Your expression was relaxed and smiley — you were in a bliss.

The sight of you made the blond stare at you. It was rare to see you relaxed lately— with all that was going on you couldn't catch a break and be yourself. Something that he... missed. He was always checking on you on all times, seeing if you were in pain or needed support, that you often did. He would held you when you would break; whispering things on your ear until you calmed down or fell asleep.

And watching you right now, like a child eating candy made his gaze softened. It was a moment he would treasure— forever, until his last day.

Looking at your joyful face made him spot the cookies' crombs on your cheeck and the sides of your mouth. And without taking his handkerchief, his hand approached your face, placing it on your cheeck and with his thumb cleaning your face. The action made you instantly look at him in confusion, but before both of you could do anything, the sound of someone coming downstairs made you two return to your serious faces and stand up from the couch.

Who came down was an old man— his hair was all grey, he had a beard and wore glasses. His wife was accompanying him.

The man looked at both of you with an expression you couldn't catch. "Hello, gentlemen. Please, sit down." You obeyed him, looking curiously at him.

"I will go to the bakery, I have to see how Thomas is doing," his wife said, smiling at both of you before leaving.

Both of you returned your attention to the man— who sat down on the other couch across yours. "I'm Barry, but I guess you already know my name."

"Yes. I'm Erwin Smith and he is [Name] [Last Name], pleased to meet you, Barry." Erwin said, looking directly at Barry. "We're are here to discuss some matters of your book."

"I've never had soldiers coming on my house to discuss on my works before. This is quite... surprising." The writer stated, raising an eye brow.

"Well, this is an important matter. But we don't want to discuss the book itself; we want to talk about something that was touched in your work."

"And wich of my works are you talking about? You have to be more specific."

"Hanahaki Curse, sir."

When Erwin said the title of the book, Barry's face changed from relaxed to one of surprise, and then, sadness.

"Aah... that one," he closed his eyes, "what do you want to discuss from it?"

"Was it... was it all real?" This time you asked, a little unsure.

He let out a sigh, and replied, "Why would you think that? All of my works are fictional."

You gulped, "Because I have the curse."

He instantly opened his eyes, widening them as if he was in disbelief. There was a minute of silence, and then the man talked again, cautious. "You... have it?"

Nodding, he sadly sighed. "I see." Rubbing his temples, he got up from his seat and went to the window, taking the curtains off. He stand there, looking at the outside. "What questions do you have for me?"

"Where is Darla?" you asked.

"Gone." He replied, "She never stood a chance. Nobody does, usually."

You winded at that; nobody lives.

"Aren't there no survivors from this?" Erwin questioned, "Then, how do you know for the flowers to cease, you have to be loved back?"

"That's because the only living proof I knew was Darla's mother." He placed his hand on his back, thoughtful. "She was the only person I knew. I've knew three people that had this; Darla's mother, Darla, and one of my close friends."

"Did he make it?" you asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, he didn't." He turned at you, "This illness is so rare. The last time I heard from it was thirty years ago. But now... here you are."

"Why doesn't every person who isn't reciprocated has this?"

"I don't have an answer for that."

You were getting desperate. "And doctors? What do they say? I'm sure they have investigated something, right?"

"I'm afraid not. This... topic is forbidden to talk about, the King itself doesn't want anyone aware of it."

"What? The King covers this? But with what reason?! If this was know, maybe the doctors could do something to fix it!"

"[Last Name], humanity right now needs more population. What would people do if they knew about this?"

What would they do...? Well, they would be more cautious to love someone else... and if they were more scared of love, then...

"People would fear falling in love with someone, and then nobody would..."

"Exactly. Nobody would want to be with someone if there is a chance to die like that. Even if the chances of having the illness are slim, the King doesn't want to take chances." He returned to his seat and proceed, "I almost got in trouble for writing it, actually. But, explaining my reasons and saying all was fictional, worked. The Military Police can be... like talking to animals. They don't want to hear you— the King's word is always final."

"That's... nuts! And— and there isn't anything I could do about it?! I have to wait until I die?!" you exclaimed, getting nervous and scared. "There's no cure?! Anything?!" Your hands turned into fists, turning them white by your force. Erwin tried to calm you down, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"I refuse to believe that," Erwin stated, looking at Barry, who eyes were saddened, "there has to be something else."

"You already heard the cure. The one you love has to reciprocate your feelings— no surgery has never been done before. That, is impossible."

"That... that can't be..." you murmured, covering your face with your hands.

"What about Darla's mother?"

"She's gone, too. Quickly after Darla passed, she did aswell." He looked in thought, and snapped his finger when he remembered. "Let me get something, I will be right back."

He left upstairs.

You suffered, trying to hold the tears that wanted to get out. Erwin only squished your shoulder in silence.

Barry returned with a book on his hand, and placed it on the table. "This was... Darla's journal." he passed his hand on it, with a soft gaze. "Martha, Darla's mother, gave it to me when Darla passed. She said to me that... I had to have it."

Signing, you tried to stay mentally strong and not to break. Erwin's warming touch was the only thing in this goddamn room helping you stay sane. Relaxing your hands, you looked at the older man, waiting for an explanation.

He approached the book at you, "And now I'm giving it to you." Hearing that, your eyes widened.

"Giving it to me? Why? Darla was no one to me— I... I don't have the right to have it."

A sad smile formed on his lips, looking at the journal with melancholia. "You have it now," he said, "you now understand what she went trough— This old man doesn't have to keep this no more, there is no use of it for me."

Unsure, you took the journal with caring. "How... how did you find out...?"

"That she died because of me?" You nodded, "her mother told me just when she passed away... I was wondering why she was avoiding me every day..." He slightly smiled, looking lost in thought, "when I found out I was devasted. I didn't even understand what Martha was explaining to me.

A girl throwing up flowers just because her love isn't reciprocated? Impossible — That's a thing you read in fairy tales. But, I guess the world has been more fascinating lately, right?" he let out a dry laugh, looking at the two of you. "I wish things would have been different."

"Would you have loved her back...?" you kindly asked.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and replied, "I'm afraid not. The one I fell in love with was my actual wife, Lily. If Darla would have told me she loved me, it would have been the same answer she knew all along."

You gulped, feeling cold all of sudden. There was no way out— no doctors, no cure, no love... you will die. You will.

"I... see..." was the only thing you could say. Thought of your final days were flashing through your mind; would it be peaceful? painful?

"We don't have more questions. We should leave, we are thankful of your time." Erwin said, helping you stand. The blond noticed how you were in a slight state of shock.

"No, my apologies for not giving you the answers you wanted." The old man took a small box; it was white and decorated with flowers. "Here," he gave it to Erwin, "I noticed your friend liked them– that's the only thing I can give."

Erwin took the box and thanked him. Barry opened the door but before you could leave, he stop you both. "Ah! Now that I remember... There is a doctor in Wall Rose— Timothy Eisenhower, an old friend of mine. He has been investigating this illness, but with no patients there's no way to know if a certain surgery will work." He explained, "here, let me write his direction..."

At least, hearing that a doctor was investigating this horrible thing made you slightly relieved. Nevertheless, knowing that if a surgery never done before was the only way, you knew that was as risky as being outside fighting titan in an expedition. Dangerous.

"If you go with him tell him that you know me. He has been cautious about this— with the King's word and all."

"Of course, thank you again, sir."

"Don't thank me. I hope everything goes well for you."

Hope wasn't helping you at all. _____________________ "What should we do now?"

"Return to the barracks. It's late, and with the expedition around the corner I have to get everything on time."

"Yeah, the expedition..." Will you be able to be ready for the expedition? Nothing did matter anymore. If a titan or the flowers killed you, it would be the same. You will die anyways, right?

"Let's not forget Eisenhower. I will write a letter for him— maybe Hange and you can meet him tomorrow, if everything goes well."

"Well, I'm not getting my hopes up. A surgery never done can kill the patient too." Letting out a humorless laugh, you said, "but I dont have nothing to lose, right? I'm dying anyways."

"We don't know what will happen, let's get to every possible way to fix this, [Name]."

"Sure thing, Erwin..." ________________ Twilight. Were you really that late? How many hours you were outside? Time seemed too short, but maybe it was just you.

After returning to the castle, Erwin went to his office and you went directly to your office. Well, tried to. A certain grumpy short man was just waiting for you outside your office; arms crossed and looking pissed. Yahoo, what else could go wrong today?

"Hello, Levi." You greeted, trying to open the door but the ravenette was blocking your way with his entire body on the door. "Can I enter my office, please? I'm exhausted."

"You didn't give me a explanation before leaving. Now we are here, without any distractions— so tell me, what are you hiding?" He glared straight at you, no sign for moving. You were getting exasperated.

"Explanation for what? I already told you I have been busy, holy shit." You replied, "can you move already? You are in the goddamn way." Now it was your turn to glare at him; you were done playing nice.

"What the fuck has gotten into you? You look sick, you don't talk to me. You have been acting like a goddamn child; explain what the hell is happening." He harshly took you by the collar, getting close both of your faces, "Where did Erwin and you go? When I was looking for you, Trisha just told me you couldn't see me. But why exactly?"

Gritting your teeth, you replied, "that's none of your fucking business, Levi."

The reply only made him riled up, because he grabbed your collar and slammed you against the wall, making you grunt. Uh oh— the flowers were awaken once more, you could feel inside, wanting to get out.

"Hell with that — it is my fucking business, you piece of shit. You better watch—"

"Levi, in my office right now."

Hearing your savior, Erwin, made you sigh in relief. You didn't know how or why he appeared right in time— maybe because he was going to check on you? In any case, you silently thanked him.

Levi frowned, he was truly pissed about the two of you getting interrupted; he wanted answers but it seemed impossible. He glared at Erwin, still grabbing you by the collar. "No. No until [Name] explains—"

"What I said was an order." Erwin demanded, with an aura of intimidation that got you uncomfortable. Levi only grunted in irritation, and took you a last harsh glance before letting you go. He walked away, and before Erwin did too, he gave you a strange look you couldn't really decipher.

Without taking more time, you opened the door and closed it when you were inside; locking it. In an instant you were throwing up all of the flowers inside you— purple flowers.

Patting, you stayed kneeled on the floor, trying to catch your breath. Your only thought was "Why can't I stop loving him?"

Yeah, why you couldn't? You knew he didn't love you— so what was the reason for still being in love with him? Was it love stronger than your hatred? How so? You just wanted to get cured; free from this horrible illness. But that seemed impossible. Why was it that hard to stop loving? Why, why you love him so much...?

Why was this a punishment? Why you couldn't just... love him from afar? Why you were so unlucky that you got this curse? Why? What did you do?

You got up with the strength you had left— taking the journal from your pocket and placing it on the desk, you sat down, looking lost.

"I'm... tired." Was the only thing you say, before everything went black, and you dreamed about better things and a joyful life.

Without noticing, a tear escaped.

Petunia: The petunia symbolizes resentment and anger.

s i x

#shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #male reader #reader insert #levi x male! reader #erwin x male! reader #male!reader #hanahaki disease #vomiting #angst

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wikibious · 3 years

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Who is Abigail Elphick? Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Video, Instagram

Abigail Elphick Wiki - Abigail Elphick Biography

Abigail Elphick is the New Jersey woman nicknamed "Victoria's Secret Karen." Video of an incident involving her at the Short Hills Mall has gone viral. The 25-year-old woman was seen in a video charging a black woman, Ijeoma Ukenta, and later claiming to be the victim. Ukenta posted videos of the incident on TikTok and YouTube. On Twitter, some people criticized the Millburn Police Department and mall security for not doing more to protect Ukenta. “There were many egregious violations of her rights and general welfare by both the Millburn Police Department and Short Hills Mall security. Abigail Elphick should have been arrested {and still needs to be arrested} and at least charged with assault and intent. of theft, ”wrote one Twitter user. NJ.com reported that the incident began when Ukenta, 38, of Newark asked Elphick to move six feet away from her. At one point, Elphick appears to raise his hand towards Ukenta in the video. The police report says this caused Elphick "to have a panic attack, at which point she followed her to stop recording her," according to the news site. The police did not make any arrests. "Pending further review, the Millburn Police Department believes that our officers acted in a professional and competent manner to defuse the situation and restore calm and order," the police statement reads to NJ.com. “I was banned from Tik Tok, yet everyone else was able to tell my story. I'm traumatized, ”Ukenta wrote on Twitter. Victoria's Secret issued a statement saying that “the safety of associates and customers is our top priority and we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for all. The video taken at our store is disturbing and we have launched a full investigation. Our associate followed our protocols and immediately called our Emergency Operations Center, as well as mall security, to provide support during the altercation between our clients. We are dedicated to continuing this critical conversation and demonstrating our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through our actions and our words. "

Abigail Elphick Age

Abigail Elphick is 25 years old.

Elphick can be seen in uploading videos

The video series begins with Elpnick charging at Ukenta and trying to hit her and the camera. She backs off when Ukenta says, “My God. Oh, Lord. See this? Oh, Lord. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. She tried to run and hit. "Elphick then crouches down, holding her head in her crying hands, and says," No, I didn't. "She says," I don't want to be recorded. " Ukenta tells other customers and workers: “Did you see that? … Karen had a nervous breakdown. She tried to hit me. "Elphick again states that she did not try to hit Ukenta and says," I don't want to be recorded, "while crying. While Elphick continues to cry, Ukenta, holding a coupon in front of the camera, says:" I tried to come to get my free panties. "Elphick then yells," Why aren't you defending me? I just don't want to be recorded. " Elphick then yells and yells, "Don't record my mental breakdown, please. Please please please." The second video begins with Elphick lying on the ground, screaming and kicking. "She's recording me. Tell her to stop," she squeals. "You keep lying saying I'm threatening you, so I'm filming to protect myself," Ukenta replies. She doesn't seem to be very close to Elphick. The video shows Elphick yelling and running towards Ukenta, who was filming the scene. Ukenta kept repeating that she was concerned that the police would believe Elphick if she claimed that Ukenta attacked her when the video shows Elphick charging at Ukenta and Ukenta doing nothing more than recording the scene. "She's trying to attack me, no, no, no," Ukenta says at one point. "Once the law comes, who are they going to believe?" She says that she is concerned that the police will believe Elphick about Ukenta because Elphick is white and Ukenta is black. Elphick, who makes a phone call at one point, yells, “Stop her so she doesn't record. ... She is recording my mental breakdown. ... My heart races ". Ukenta narrates: "She's lying on the phone. I don't give a damn if she's sick. I'm worried about myself. This is real. This is really happening to me. She's on the phone with the police for me and she was chasing me around the damn thing. store ". At another point, Ukenta says, "I just came to get a free panty, that's all.… This lady chasing me. Now she's calling the police. I can't believe security isn't here. This is how black people die. Do you see what these people do? They call the police and they call in a panic and tell the police that you are doing something to them when clearly she was chasing me around the store. " She also says, "I don't want to turn my back on this white lady, sorry. She's crazy. Did you see her trying to accuse me again? That's the third time." The video does not show Ukenta attacking or making any moves towards Elphick. Read Also: Who is Angela Alberts? Wiki, Biography, Age, Trev Alberts’s Wife, Children, Instagram

GoFundMe campaign

Ukenta created a GoFundMe page that had raised over $ 38,000 as of July 13, 2021, a day after it was created. "I am a black Muslim Nigerian AM and I was treated like it was 1920 in Short Hills Mall. I was assaulted and harassed by a white woman and neither security nor police did anything," she wrote on the page. “I am looking to hire an excellent lawyer who can help me clear up this problem. All videos and updates on the situation are on my YouTube channel: Mama Africa Muslimah. They threw me a TikTok for posting what happened to me and they let someone else post and get millions and millions of views, however, they deleted 2 of my accounts. … One that I have for my garden that was my original account and another 1 that I created after my main account was deleted. I have been harmed by Abigail Elphick (Karen in my videos), Short Hills Mall security, the Millburn Police Department, and most of all, humanity. Please help!"

Elphick told officers that he wanted the video to be recorded

In a video, Ukenta read what he said was a police report: I spoke to the "crazy lady" and told her that she had spoken with the store clerk and that they replied that what Miss Ukenta had said had happened. Miss Elphick seemed to admit that she was wrong and she said she was worried about losing her job and her apartment if the video was posted online. She was having a panic attack from the video recording. I told you that Miss Ukenta has the right to videotape. I asked her several times if she was okay and if she needed an ambulance. And she repeatedly refused. She kept expressing her concern for her job and her apartment. She finally said that she was going home, I asked her if she could drive and she answered yes. At this time, Ms. Elphick voluntarily left the mall with mall security. Ukenta says in a video update: “I see everyone asking me for an update. I'm at the police station. I have the police report, which is somewhat true, but very, very long. I'm happy I recorded because even the officers said that I only showed him the video of her lying on the floor when I showed it to him. Of course, first, they took a statement because she, of course, she called the police. And she completely lied. She is trying to say that I started recording her, which triggered a panic attack, at which point she followed me to try to get me to stop recording. " She adds: So, I am filing a complaint against the two officers who responded. I did not feel protected. I am also filing a complaint against the mall security. Victoria's Secret, in my opinion ... what can we expect? Grab this woman? The manager even sent someone to walk to get security because they were taking too long. So, I really don't have a problem with them ... not at the moment. Now if they give us trouble getting the video, we'll talk about that. That will be another story. "The Internal Affairs Division is now investigating the matter to assess how the officers behaved," the police department said in a statement to NJ.com. "The second woman who was filming much of the incident asked officers to remove the first woman from the mall because she felt threatened," NJ.com said, as described in the police report. "The officers explained that they did not have the authority to do that because they had no indication that a crime had been committed or a crime that could be arrested." Heavy has contacted the Millburn police to get her response as well as police reports, both of which will be added to this story if received.

Elphick says she has worked as a teacher's aide

Elphick posted a short biography on a site that lists people who have a colostomy. In it, she said that she is a teacher's aide. "My name is Abby Elphick," she wrote. “I was diagnosed with chronic constipation and pelvic floor dysfunction. I am a 24-year-old woman who has a colostomy. I am a paraprofessional assistant/teacher who works with children. I love walking outside, shopping, eating out at restaurants! I want to feel comfortable with people who have an ostomy like me to know that I am not alone! " Online records show that she has ties to Cedar Grove and Newark, NJ. The Cedar Grove School District has denied that she is an employee there, writing in a note at the top of its home page: “The person involved in the Mall at Short Hills that took place on July 11, 2021, is missing and she has never been employed by the Cedar Grove Board of Education. " Elphick wrote on a Classmates.com profile: “I am 24 years old and I am going to school to become a Child Development Associate in teaching preschool-age students. I graduated in June 2014 from Cedar Grove High School when I was 18. " She stated on the profile, "I got good grades" and "wrote a book." The Verona-Cedar Grove Times mentioned Elphick in a 2013 article about her brother with a developmental disability and indicated that she had a colostomy. Elphick appears in a photo with her brother and her parents, Kim and Andrew Elphick. There is no state professional license for Elphick listed in the New Jersey state database.

Elphick is not related to a Secaucus

A police lieutenant created a Twitter account just to counter what she wrote were false accusations that Elphick is related to her. "Wrong. This is me and I have no kids. I also have no idea who Abigail is," she wrote in response to one such statement on Twitter. Police Lt. Kim Elphick added: “Additionally, this incident occurred at the Short Hills Mall, which is covered by the Millburn Police Department. Secaucus has no relevance to this case at all, other than the last name. " She added: “Because I am the officer that everyone says is my daughter. I don't have children and I have no idea who Abigail is. Coincidentally, I have the same name. " She concluded: “I received personal messages about what was being published. I created this account to fix it. It spread too fast to get ahead of me and tackle it. Feel free to call the agency tomorrow and I'll be more than happy to verify my identity. " FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK Read the full article

#AbigailElphick #AbigailElphickage #AbigailElphickbio #AbigailElphickbiography #AbigailElphickfacebook #AbigailElphickfacts #AbigailElphickfamily #AbigailElphickgofundme #AbigailElphickheight #AbigailElphickinvestigation #AbigailElphickmanymorefactsyouneedtoknow #AbigailElphickvideo #AbigailElphickwiki #AbigailElphickwikipedia

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saythename17scenarios · 7 years

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hi! can i request a street performer! au for seventeen like what they do and how they catch your attention and start talking to you and stuff and yeah whatever you want lol

S.Coups- interactive performance- takes requests from the crowd to “make them part of the performance too”- does anything from juggling, to 50 push-ups, to song covers and pretty much any doable suggestion- every day, you pass by the same district to see the same handsome boy doing the most random things- you didn’t pay attention at first but one day, you were like “i’ll go check it out, why not”- you manage to find a spot up front, and almost instantly….. you have eye contact with the boy- and almost instantly, he gets this grin on his face- he starts getting requests from the crowd, and sometimes it feels like he’s looking in your direction but you always think no….. it can’t be- you come by often to watch him perform, and you’re pretty sure everyone around you has requested something at least once, while you never did- one day, after his performance, he walks up to you and he laughs “hey!! no requests from you yet??”- you say “me??? oh no i can’t think of any for now”- and he says “how about we switch things around then? if i requested something from you?”- you ask “what do you have in mind?”- he grins “can i have your name? and maybe get a coffee with you later?”

Jeonghan- singing covers- you’re going around the city taking pictures with your new camera to test it out- your pictures are mostly of the sky and the busy streets, but you soon lose interest because you need more excitement, right??- you walk further into the city while looking through the pictures you took when you hear beautiful singing…..- you follow the singing to see this boy—no. this MODEL, this ANGEL singing into a microphone- he’s so beautiful….. you hold your camera up and take a picture of him- but then your camera flashes…. and you want to sink into the ground and DIE when everyone turns to you because HOW COULD YOU FORGET TO TURN FLASH OFF- when his performance ends, the boy gets a round of applause and you try to sneak off because the embarrassment still haunts you- but the boy blocks your path and says “so…. you’re the one who took my picture, aren’t you?” and you try to act dumb and say “me?? no what are you saying aaaaahahah”- he chuckles and says “next time…. don’t forget to turn flash off.”- you get super flustered and while he’s walking away, you say “hey!! you….!”- he turns to you and grins “it’s jeonghan. try to take a picture from over there next time—that’s my best angle.”

Joshua- acoustic covers- you’re walking around downtown lost because you went out the wrong exit, but while trying to find your way….. you suddenly hear this beautiful voice- you follow the voice to see a boy singing an acoustic version of a pop song while playing the guitar and you find yourself just standing there listening to him sing- a bunch of people pass by without looking in his direction, or some stay for a few seconds before leaving, but you stay there the entire time- when he finishes his song, you clap for him and he looks up to smile at you- you approach him and say “wow you sing so well, and you play the guitar so well too!!!”- while packing up his guitar, he says “thanks!! i’m glad you stopped by to listen. so….. which way are you going??”- you smile sheepishly and say “i…. don’t really know. i’m trying to find the train station but….”- he says “oh i’m headed there too!! we can walk there together….. if that’s okay with you??”- you say “i’m good with that. i’m (name), by the way”- he says “joshua. nice to meet you!!”- while walking in the direction of the station, you say “so that song you were singing…. you listen to them too?”

Jun- magician- you’re sitting on the bench, on your phone searching up the directions to get to your location to meet up with your friend when you hear a crowd of people clapping- you look up and in the distance, you see a little crowd all huddled together watching what looks like a street performance and cheering for “jun”- you walk over to see a handsome boy doing a bunch of magic tricks- they’re small things like card tricks and disappearing objects, but you can’t help but clap and grin after each trick- plus the magician’s really handsome too….- near the end of his performance, he walks over to you with a hat, and pulls a bouquet of flowers out of it and hands it to you- you look at him in confusion and he just grins “pretty flowers for a pretty person”- you’re like how cheesy LOL but you accept the flowers with a laugh- you hug the bouquet tightly in your arms for the rest of the afternoon, and when your friend asks about them, you say “let’s just say i met an interesting person”- the next day, you come back to see jun in the same place….. and he makes sure he puts on a great performance that day

Hoshi- comedy skits- you’re having a pretty bad day and you honestly just want to go home and die in your room- while walking towards your house, you suddenly hear a bunch of people laughing loudly near where you are- you turn to see a group of people watching a boy doing a bunch of body gags and you’re like what’s happening???- you decide to stop by for a quick second to see what’s going on, and…. that’s when you find yourself DYING of laughter because this boy’s so FUNNY (and he’s cute too!!)- he re-enacts a bunch of scenes that happened in his childhood or even events that happened days earlier- you find yourself forgetting all about your bad day, and whenever you’re feeling down, you come by to watch the boy’s performances- he eventually notices, and one day, after his skit, he walks up to you and says “hey!! did you enjoy the show??”- you nod “i always do!! you make me smile on my saddest days”- he then says “i’ve seen you frown sometimes you know….. you shouldn’t. you’re really cute when you smile.”- you feel your cheeks heat up, and the boy just says “i’ll see you around. keep smiling!!” and for the rest of your shift…… you just can’t wipe the smile off your face

Wonwoo- chalk art- everyone knows about the chalk artist named wonwoo who draws beautiful things on the streets- his art is so beautiful, so genuine…… they really capture things happening in people’s daily lives- you love his art, you always feel happy whenever you see them on your way to work- that same day, your shift ends later than usual and you’re so tired and to make things worse it’s raining and you didn’t bring your umbrella- so you take your hoodie off and hold it over your head while walking back home…… when you see wonwoo packing up his art supplies- his beautiful masterpiece from earlier is completely washed away by the rain…..- wonwoo’s getting drenched by the rain and when he sneezes, you walk up to him and hold your hoodie over both of your heads- when he looks up, you say “hey! uhh i hope i’m not being too weird or anything but it’s raining and….. you’re going to get sick”- wonwoo smiles upon hearing your words and he says “thank you…. that’s thoughtful of you”- he gets up on his feet after packing up all his supplies and he TOWERS over you, and that’s when he says “i’ll hold the hoodie you if you hold my chalk?? they’re not heavy at all, don’t worry”- you agree to it, and you walk him to the bus stop with your now soaking wet hoodie- he says “thank you for all this…..” and you say “it’s no problem!! you work hard to draw for people…. you don’t deserve to get sick you know….”- you say good night to each other and you think it’s sad because he might forget about all this by tomorrow- but when you pass by wonwoo’s usual spot….. you smile when you see a drawing of two people shielding themselves from the rain with a hoodie, surrounded by puddles of rainbow

Woozi- instrumental covers- there’s this boy who always plays instrumental covers of songs in the shopping district- he’s able to play so many instruments….. sometimes he plays the piano, other days the guitar, drums, clarinet, etc- he’s so talented and you really love his song arrangements because they always sound so lovely and calming- a piano’s been placed on the street one day, and you see the boy walk up to it- you decide to stop for a while to listen to what song he’s going to play next and when his fingers come in contact with the piano….. you fall in love- you’ve never heard of the song before but it’s so beautiful??? and you’re not the only one who thinks so, since a crowd quickly forms- when the boy finishes his song, everyone claps but you’re just left standing in absolute awe- you approach the boy when the crowd leaves, and you ask “hi!! i just wanted to know what song you were playing?? i don’t think i’ve heard it before, but i love it”- he looks at you in surprise before looking away and saying “….i made it.”- you say “what??? you made that song????” and he says “yes….”- you exclaim “that’s amazing, you’re so talented!! i’m really looking forward to your next song”- he thanks you and unknown to you….. you really helped him with his confidence and he wonders…… if he’ll be able to write a new piece on pretty you….

DK- stand-up comedy- it’s dark and cloudy outside…. and you can’t help but think it matches with how you’re feeling- you didn’t exactly have the most pleasant day at work….. and you just need something to cheer you up- you tried calling your friends, but they were all busy so you’re like ok i’m just going to have to make myself happy again- while walking down the street, this guy bumps into you and accidentally makes you fall over- you’re like great can this day get any worse….. but then you look up to see this boy looking down at you with a worried expression on his face- he accidentally screams “AH ARE YOU OKAY?? ARE YOU HURT?? I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T SEE YOU” and you get embarrassed by the attention and also accidentally scream “I’M FINE!!! DON’T WORRY”- he helps you get back up on your feet, but then he says “i’m kind of in a hurry!! sorry!!” and he runs off without another second to lose- ….but literally ten seconds later, he comes back and says “you know what?? come along with me!!” and you say “UM NO?? what makes you think i’d trust a stranger—”- he says “i’m not a creep i promise!! you can leave if it gets too weird for you!!” and you sigh like ok fine why not- you end up following him and it’s at the park that’s right around the corner- you ask “what’s this??” and he grins “you’ll see”- and when a crowd forms around you two…. you find out that he does stand-up comedy???- he introduces himself as dk to the crowd and he must be popular because you soon find yourself next to almost forty people- dk’s so funny….. you laugh the whole time and you even feel sad at the end of his performance- when you go up to him, you say “you’re so funny omg i’m so glad i decided to follow you”- and he says “yeah? i’m glad i was able to make you smile”

Mingyu- costumes- you know when you’re walking around the city and there’s a group of people going around wearing costumes so that people can take pictures with them??- well this particular mascot is reaaally popular and you have no idea why, so you decide why not figure this out while i’m here- his name is apparently mingyu (he accidentally said his real name instead of the character he was dressed as which is bong bong)- so you’re out to hunt him down and figure out why he’s so loved by everyone in comparison to the other mascots like hello guys um kakao talk friends are super cute what are you doing- you finally see the familiar mascot in the distance and while marching over to him, he suddenly takes his mask off and you…. stop walking because holy. crap.- he’s GORGEOUS now you understand why he’s always surrounded by people- you kind of just….. stare at him….. and his eyes suddenly land on you and you get so flustered because you just got caught staring GOOD JOB- you walk away and pretend you didn’t see anything….. but while walking around the area, you get stopped by bong bong who asks “would you like a picture??”- and you think “HE’S TEASING ME NOW” but you reply “oh no it’s fine!!”- he then takes off his mask and grins “you sure?? i’m pretty sure i caught you staring earlier….” and you’re like AAAAHH WHO ARE YOU STOP- in the end, you do end up with a picture with him…… and maybe you got his number too…..

The8- b-boy- you’re walking around the city late in the evening with a couple of friends, when one of them notices a breakdance battle going on in the distance- they drag you over to go take a look, and you see two people standing in the middle with the crowd forming a circle around them- the person in front of you leaves, letting you move forward to have a better view of the battle- immediately….. you notice the tall and thin boy watching his opponent dance- you think no way…. that boy looks too soft and cute to be doing breakdancing????- but does he surprise you because he starts off STRONG- the whole crowd is chanting “the8” while you just watch in silent awe- the8 suddenly starts doing a bunch of acrobatics like backflips, but he goes a little too far and almost kicks you- he quickly turns to you and asks “AH are you all right?? i’m so sorry!! did you get hurt??”- you laugh and shake your head “no no no i’m fine!! don’t worry about me, just focus on winning!!”- he shoots you a cute smile before heading back into the battle and KILLING IT- the8 clearly wins in the end and you find yourself cheering along with the crowd when he’s announced the winner- he walks up to you when it’s all over and your friends are like hehehe oooohhhh- he says “hey, i just wanted to make sure you’re all right???” and you laugh “i’m fine, really. you did great by the way, you dance so well”- the boy BLUSHES and says “thanks!! so…. will you be around here tomorrow again?? there’s another dance battle….. you know…..”- you turn to your friends and their eyes scream OHHH MY GOSH HE THINKS YOU’RE CUTE WE’RE COMING BACK TOMORROW OK- you turn to him again and say “i’ll be here. i’ll be looking forward to seeing you dance again”- he grins “i’ll be looking forward to seeing you again….!” his smile disappears after realizing what he said and he kind of speed walks away in embarrassment- but you just laugh because….. how could someone be so cute??

Seungkwan- variety- your shift luckily ends early that day, so you grab a quick meal at a nearby store- but on your way home, you see a huge crowd of people cheering “BOO SEUNGKWAN” over and over- you walk over to see a boy smiling and shyly covering his flustered face, thanking the crowd over and over for their support- you get interested so you stay for a while to see what he does and this boy…. is a variety STAR- he did comedy by making a skit about people reacting to tsunamis in movies, he danced to popular girl group songs, and between breaks, he even tells everyone to get take a break and get something to eat so they don’t get too hungry while watching- as a final act, seungkwan decides to sing a song….. and you were NOT expecting such a beautiful voice- you look around as everyone sways from side to side, and at the end of his performance, he bows while everyone cheers loudly while chanting his name over and over- when the crowd disappears, you’re about to start walking back home, when you hear someone’s stomach growling….. and you think you know whose it is- you turn around to see seungkwan looking around with an embarrassed look on his face- you look down at the food in the plastic bag you’re holding and you walk up to him with a friendly smile on your face- you say “hi, i um… i watched your performance just now…. you really are meant to perform variety, you know?”- seungkwan grins “you think so?? that’s so nice to hear—”- his stomach suddenly growls again and he covers his face, muttering “sorry!! that was embarrassing…..”- you hold out the food you have in your hand and say “you tell everyone to eat well and take care of themselves, but you’re not following your own words. you must be hungry…. i hope you like what i bought….”- he accepts the food and thanks you nonstop, wondering if there’s any way he can repay you- you say “it’s fine!! just be well, okay?” and you leave for home- the next day, you come back to see seungkwan….. and his face lights up when he spots you in the crowd

Vernon- freestyle rap- when you’re walking around the city and see a bunch of street performers, most of them are singers, dancers, musicians and the usual- you’ve never heard of a freestyle rapper….. until you see him- he calls himself vernon, and you know this because he always mentions it somewhere in his raps- he sets up his stereo and plays an instrumental version of a song…. and then he freestyles to the melody and he’s so amazing at it???- you’re sitting on the bench closest to where he is and you listen to his rap while pretending to play on your phone- his raps are so calming to you…… it’s weird to say because it’s not like it’s soft singing or a piano playing….. but his voice is so nice to listen to- no one really claps for him during his performances which makes ZERO sense to you because??? HELLO this boy just made the most perfect rap ever with the backtrack of like a ballad how in the frICK do you ignore this??- when you see his defeated face at the end of his song because no one cared to clap, you get up on your feet and clap as loud as you can- vernon turns to you and his eyes sparkle as he says “thank you” to you- you walk up to him and say “hey!! don’t get discouraged!! your raps are beyond amazing”- and he says “o-oh, thank you for thinking so! you’re….. really helping me feel more confident”- you say “BE confident!! you have a gift.” and vernon just smiles at you because you’re so…. kind….- and he thinks if it would be too cheesy to write a rap about you??? LOL

Dino- freestyle dancing- you’re on your lunch break from work and you see a crowd of people clapping to the beat of a song and you’re like what’s going on there??- you go on your tippy-toes and take a peek and you see….. this cute boy dancing around with a group of kids and you’re like…… my heart- he makes sure that none of the kids feel left out, and you can tell he’s truly so excited to be playing around with them- while dancing, he looks up and locks eyes with you and he gets this huge grin on his face- he pushes past the crowd, grabs your hands and says “dance with me!!”- you say “i can’t dance???” but he drags you into the circle anyway and spins around with you as you laugh- when his performance is done, the boy says “and that’s all for today!! my name is dino, or lee chan if you prefer, please don’t forget me!!”- and when slipping your extra dollar into his hat….. you make sure to drop a piece of paper with your number in there too- later that day, after your shift, you check your phone to see a text message that says “hey, it’s chan! um, will you be free again tomorrow around the same time?”

thank you for your request!!

#seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen au #this ended up being longer than i had intended lol

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theinsatiables · 4 years

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WATCHING TOKYO THROUGH THE EYES OF OUTSIDERS

I grew up watching foreigners film Tokyo. Every morning, on my way to school, I met my friends in front of Shibuya Crossing, the city’s notoriously crowded intersection. Each time the lights changed and the car-clogged expanse cleared, Tokyo stretched ahead like a catwalk. We would strut forth, flanked by tourists, until people pummelled us from five directions. By the time we reached the far sidewalk, most of us looked shipwrecked. I liked seeing white men sprinting past us to film the scene. Some would hold cameras on their foreheads, following actors through the swarm of black hair. Others would plant a ladder in the middle of the intersection, as though our city was the moon. Once, I heard shouts and saw a ladder keel over with the slow, graceful arc of a monument toppling during a revolution.

The list of auteurs who have trekked to Tokyo is long: Wim Wenders, Chris Marker, Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax, Werner Herzog, Sofia Coppola, and Abbas Kiarostami, among others. During the past month, I saw much of their work at the Japan Society, which hosted a film series, “Tokyo Stories,” that studied the city’s place in the global imagination. Three modes seemed to emerge onscreen: the foreign filmmaker who goes to Japan as a tourist; the foreign filmmaker who resists being a tourist; and the foreign filmmaker who goes to Japan and doesn’t make a film about foreigners at all. After some of the films, a friend would elbow me, whispering, “Was that your Tokyo?” Sometimes Tokyo seemed to be made out of cardboard, such as in Max Ophüls’s “Yoshiwara,” from 1937, a “Madame Butterfly” homage shot in a Japanese garden in Paris. Despite the film’s yellowface, I couldn’t help but like its blunt honesty. In one scene, a group of Russian officers head out to visit the red-light district, and a short, hammy man asks his friend if he speaks Japanese. His friend laughs: “You think you need to speak to geishas?”

Speaking Japanese is not required in the Tokyo-tourist film, a genre that includes Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation,” Justin Lin’s “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” and wryer works such as Doris Dörrie’s “Cherry Blossoms” and Alain Corneau’s “Fear and Trembling.” These films act almost as brochures, and their narrative beats are as predictable as those in a romantic comedy. Their protagonists are usually white and, at some juncture in their lives, go to Tokyo. They are either positioned very low, down in the street, feeling swallowed by the city, or very high, on an expensive floor, staring at the urban forest. The Japanese people they meet are either sterile, or soapy and naked, or satirized as types: a bowing suit, a kimono clutching a designer handbag. This new Japan is chased with extracts of the old—Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, bonsai, ikebana. Finally, there’s a chance encounter with another foreigner, who is more seasoned, more cynical; together, they turn Tokyo into a playground and leave when the fantasy fades. When I talk to my friends from home about this kind of movie, we tend to return to “Lost in Translation,” which we both love and hate. Despite the film’s tropes, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson’s sense of loneliness is so finely drawn, the relief they find in each other so palpable, that we, too, long to see the city as they do.

If this first type of Tokyo film functions as a guidebook, reverential and rote, Chris Marker’s “Sans Soleil” embodies a second type, in which the filmmaker pursues something more than spectacle. Marker looks for Tokyo when it yawns, when no one else is looking. The narrator reads letters from a fictional cameraman visiting Japan. “One could get lost in the great orchestral masses and the accumulation of details,” she says. “But that yielded the cheapest image of Tokyo— overcrowded, megalomaniac, inhuman. He thought he saw more subtle cycles there.” For Marker, Tokyo is full of familiar places—he made several films about Japan—but he’s interested in how even the familiar can shift, revealing strange new patterns. He tracks the syntax of the city: the nods of a salesgirl, the sway of wrists on a train, boys bowing as they mourn at a memorial for a dead panda. “Sans Soleil” wouldn’t satisfy the often blunt metrics of representation: Japanese people don’t talk in the film. Yet this feels like a deliberate choice, one meant to acknowledge the limits of a foreigner’s gaze. Marker sticks to observing surfaces—the expressions on Japanese faces that are walking, browsing, or waiting for a light to change—because he doesn’t presume to speak for what lies beneath. He understands how easily love can become predatory.

And must every film about Tokyo be a love letter? Marker is also willing to confront the city’s darkness, its difference. Some of his first shots of Tokyo are of Koreans, whom the film marks as outcasts. Throughout “Sans Soleil,” Marker returns to footage of extreme right-wing nationalists spewing imperialist rhetoric on megaphones, their words drawing on Japan’s history of colonial and racial violence. Leos Carax, another French filmmaker, sharpens this critique in his short film “Merde,” which is a story of a green-suited, red-haired creature that emerges from the sewers to wreak havoc on pedestrians in Ginza. The creature slips down a manhole and finds, in the bowels of Tokyo, a tattered imperial flag, grenades from the Sino-Japanese War, and a sign supporting the imperial forces of Nanking. He climbs up into Shibuya’s bright night and hurls the grenades into hordes of unsuspecting—and un-remembering—Japanese faces. Both Marker and Carax depict a public that can walk unfazed through a legacy of injustice. They ask us to look at Tokyo and its people without thinking of them as the enchanted, the exceptional.

As these two Tokyos—one neon and innocent, the other shaded, more implicated—slipped before me, I fought a strange urge to claim a place in these films. What would it be like, I wondered, to let the Japanese speak in a foreign film about Tokyo? One answer came from “Like Someone in Love,” one of the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s last feature films. In an interview, Kiarostami said that he made a single promise to his producer—“My film won’t show that it’s been made by a foreigner or by an outsider in Japan.” To make good on his word, he hired an entirely Japanese cast. Other foreign directors have done this—Bong Joon-ho with hikikomori, or social recluses; Werner Herzog with Japan’s rent-a-family industry—but their films often turn Japanese characters into allegories for social issues. Kiarostami is interested in more intimate questions. His characters aren’t problems as people; they’re people with problems. The film follows a newcomer to the city, Akiko, a college student who is a sex worker on the side, and a lonely, retired professor who books her, not for sex but for conversation. Kiarostami, in other words, understood that not all outsiders in Tokyo look foreign.

Early in the film, Akiko gets into a taxi at night, planning to meet the professor. When she puts in her earbuds, there are seven messages on her phone. In the first, which was left in the early morning, we learn that her grandmother is visiting from their rural home town and trying to reach her. “Aki-chan, I’ll be leaving on the 11 p.m. train,” the grandmother says. “I’ll be sitting and waiting for you at the benches near the entrance. I hope I’ll get to see you today.” The rest of the messages follow, each left several hours apart, and through them we hear her grandmother’s experience of Tokyo: at first from a bench at the station, then from a soba shop, and then from a telephone booth with advertisements for call girls taped on the door. A girl in a photograph, she says, looks just like Akiko, but it can’t be, can it? Onscreen, Ginza and Shinjuku slip past, leaving slats of neon-blue light on Akiko’s face.

One sees a lot of Tokyo through taxis in these movies—foreigners like to take cabs, unlike the locals—but in Kiarostami’s hands the Tokyo we see isn’t Tokyo-as-style. This city is not a site of escape or irony; it is simply what a girl is concentrating on, what she needs to hold back her tears. When we hear the last message, Akiko’s grandmother is waiting in front of a bronze statue near the entrance of Tokyo Station. Akiko asks the driver if it’s on the way. It’s close, he says. A minute passes, and through Akiko’s window we see a little old woman, using a suitcase as a cane, eagerly checking the faces of the strangers walking by. Akiko must make a choice: to get out of the car and face her grandmother, or to slip away unseen. Kiarostami holds the shot on her face. The driver’s going too fast, and a van blocks her view of her grandmother. Here, finally, we hear a Japanese girl speak—not as type, not as allegory, but as herself: “I’m sorry, do you mind going around it once more?” Her voice is cracked, desperate. In it, we hear the tale of outsiders to Tokyo—those who can’t stop seeing, in the city, all the selves they thought they could be, and all that they have left behind.

-Moeko Fujii

#Film #Like Someone in Love #Abbas Kiarostami #Sofia Coppola #Tokyo #Lost In Translation

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shooktim-blog · 5 years

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It’s hard to believe, but the end of August is nigh and, with it, the de facto end of summer. For many folks summer has already effectively ended since kids in some parts of the country have gone back to school. The calendar says otherwise though, and it’s still a great time to plan one last summer getaway, even if it’s just a weekend away. To help plan that last minute trip, I’ve put together some of my favorite spots around the country to enjoy a few days of downtime and to revel in the spirit of summer one final time. This year I’m working with Allianz Travel Insurance to share my thoughts about travel, what makes me happy when I explore the world and why I even travel in the first place. This post is done in partnership with them and I’m excited for the opportunity to share some amazing places to visit one last time this summer. Remember though, no matter where you go travel insurance is always a good idea, as I discuss in this post.

Virginia

Even though I’m originally from Virginia and I live about 10 minutes from the state border, it’s not a place I often explore – until this year. Over the course of two different trips I became reacquainted with the Commonwealth and found myself falling back in love. There’s a lot, I mean a lot, to see and do all around the state from the beaches to the mountains and everything in between. On my first trip I traveled down to Virginia Beach where I found, yes, a great beach community but also a city that is about so much more than its shoreline. From art to amazing food, there’s a lot to see and do in Virginia’s largest city and I immediately wished I had spent more time exploring it. Richmond, the capital of Virginia, also makes for the perfect weekend getaway. Thanks to a lot of changes in recent years, the downtown is as vibrant and lively as ever and there’s a lot to love, from its restaurants and museums to waterside walking trails. For a more adventurous getaway, then Virginia’s Blue Ridge is for you. Using Roanoke as a home base, this is the state’s de facto outdoor adventure capital from biking and hiking to kayaking and tubing. There’s also a vibrant foodie scene, making it a delicious place to spend the weekend as well.

Boston

A few months ago I found myself back in Boston after an absence of more than a decade. Since it had been so long, I tackled the city as a first time tourist and I’m so glad that I did. What I discovered was a fun city but I especially loved experiencing it by walking the entirety of the Freedom Trail. Sixteen different locations dot the Freedom Trail, all of which are integral to the history of the United States. Organized in the 1950s, the Trail is a very easy to follow and manage pedestrian trail that not only shares the history of the country, but offers a look into modern Boston as well. My hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Boston, couldn’t have been better situated to take advantage of the Freedom Trail. Located next to Boston Common, as soon as I walked out the front door I had already and unwittingly began my exploration of the Trail. If you take advantage of the many museums and other spots of interest along the way, tackling the entirety of the Freedom Trail should ideally take the full day, giving visitors the opportunity to not be hurried and to appreciate the stories at each stop.

Denver

If you’ve never been to Denver before, absolutely spend some time visiting the well-known spots in and around the city. It’s a gorgeous place that’s popular for a reason. But then, try to delver a little deeper and get to know its neighborhoods as well. Denver has seen incredible population growth in recent years, thanks to the famously sunny weather, great natural escapes and a whole host of other factors. This means that the city I visited just a few years ago looks nothing like the Denver of today. Entirely new neighborhoods have popped up out of nowhere, reclaiming areas of town long neglected and forgotten. One of these in particular was a highlight of my visit, the River North Art District or RiNo. Driving around, the shops and cafes were quirky and eclectic; artisanal everything, record stores and taco trucks. It was hipster heaven, and the center of this reclamation is the market known simply as The Source. Housed in an iconic 1880s ironworks building, the goal of The Source was to create for residents of Denver what folks in Seattle or San Francisco enjoy; namely a world class food hall. One stop shopping for the best meats, cheeses, breads, coffees, beers and more was the idea, but the industrial RiNo location at first drew a lot of skepticism. No one knew if the concept would work, but visiting on a busy weekend afternoon I could tell immediately that not only was The Source succeeding, it was flourishing.

San Antonio

I’d long heard about San Antonio’s River Walk, but nothing quite prepared me for the actual experience of strolling alongside it. Created over time in what can only be called a brilliant act of urban planning, today it’s a 15-mile stretch of parks and walkways following the San Antonio River. Set a story below the rest of the city, as soon you as you climb the steps down to the River Walk, the change is immediate. Surrounded by blooming flowers, cooler temperatures and almost irrationally happy people, I soon found myself one of those oddly ebullient visitors, all mesmerized by the city almost instantly. It’s a great treasure for San Antonio, and I best enjoyed it while on a 35-minute cruise along it with the company Go Rio. With equally happy guides – I soon learned there’s no reason not to be happy in San Antonio – the cruise was informative but also relaxing, and a fun and easy way to see the best stretches of the River Walk. The city though is so much more than the river, and throughout my time in San Antonio I was constantly surprised by how laid back and easy everything was. It’s a large city, but downtown isn’t chaotic and thanks to a culture of preservation, the city has a lot more character than most. Art deco facades blend in seamlessly with newer buildings, creating a rich architectural tapestry that frankly is hard to find.

Detroit

In recent years, Detroit has become famous around the world as the city that went bankrupt. The city where entire neighborhoods were left in ruin, neglected and teeming with blight. That’s honestly all I knew about the Motor City before my first visit, and that’s part of the problem. Almost everything we see on the news, in magazines or even on travel blogs is obsessed with Detroit’s so-called ruin porn. Sharing the photos of these houses and city blocks that have been left to rot has been all the rage. Because of that, not many people know the real story of Detroit. That no, the city is not a burning pile of rubble. That Detroit is actually a great place to visit and I imagine to live, and that fact more than anything else surprised me the most. Great museums, delicious food and other fun diversions all come together to make Detroit a fun and, I think, an important city to visit.

Seattle

Sandwiched between lakes and mountains, Seattle’s climate is famously temperate. With a moderate temperature and a vibrant atmosphere, Seattle is one of the best places in the country to escape the summer heat. The city is full of fun things to do like visiting the iconic Space Needle, towering over the city, and exploring the massive Pike Place Market where visitors and locals alike indulge their taste buds with delicious foods and shop for odd gifts. For those who would rather take advantage of the cooler temperatures of Seattle to venture into the great outdoors, the city is a good home base. Washington State has some of the most gorgeous and untouched forests in the country and are perfect for some light day hikes.

Santa Fe

Spending extra time in the idyllic community of Santa Fe was one of the best decisions I made long Route 66, and my time there was just as incredible as I had hoped. Staying at the incomparable La Posada de Santa Fe, the luxury hotel’s service and location in the city made exploration easy and fun. With a history that goes back more than 400 years, Santa Fe is totally unlike any other city I’ve visited. Every building seems to be made out of adobe and there’s a certain international flair that shines just out of sight. It’s a famously artistic and liberal enclave in the state, most of which is rural and somewhat disconnected. Santa Fe though felt more like an expat community in Mexico or elsewhere, its Spanish heritage also embraced and on full display. Walking through the center of town, the weather was perfect and the crowds of people out and about reflected that. A small stage was set up in the town square, and scores of people were camped out with picnic baskets enjoying the afternoon. This ease of living is what I remember most about Santa Fe, and I immediately saw it as a place where I could spend a lot more time and even live.

Myrtle Beach

This is another beach destination that is about much more than the water. I was surprised by almost everything I discovered about the city, but nothing more so than its food scene. There are few things I enjoy more than great Southern soul food, which is one reason why it was my first stop in Myrtle Beach. Pulling up a chair at the locally famous institution Big Mike’s Soul Food, it was just the kind of low-key restaurant I love. I was quickly overwhelmed by choice though, finally deciding on a new-to-me plate of chicken bog. Made with rice, sausage, chicken and special seasonings, it was the perfect foodie introduction to the Low-Country. As I alluded to though, there are plenty of chefs flexing their culinary muscles whether it’s with a unique cocktail at The Chemist, or a meal you’ll never forget at Hook & Barrel, I haven’t eaten so well in a very long time.

Any National Park

America’s best idea, I don’t think anyone would disagree that our National Parks are perhaps our greatest societal asset. I’m also proud to say that America started the modern conservation movement in the 19th century when it created the first National Park. Since then we have added 60 more and many other national monuments and sites forming a vast web of areas so important, that we have deemed they must be forever protected. The so-called North American model of conservation is now the norm around the world, but to really appreciate its importance a visit to a few American parks is in order. From Yellowstone to Yosemite and Volcanoes National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains, we have a lot of options and no one should ever miss the opportunity to visit a few.

What else would you add to this list?

The post 9 Last-Minute Summer Getaways Around the US appeared first on LandLopers.

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sally-annesstories · 5 years

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Day 5 - Mexico City, Mexico

G Adventures part one of trip commences now.

1. This morning was a fairly early start as the plan was to go to the Anthropology Museum. On Sunday in CDMX, museums are free for locals so there was potentially a chance it could be super busy. At 8am we were in an Uber and on our way to the museum. Despite CDMX having pretty epic traffic the journey was all good. He did drop us with another 5 minute walk to go because in Sunday’s in Mexico City they shut one of the main drags. This is to allow runners / bikes to take over the city. It’s really cool to see them all doing down this straight road through the park in droves. Similar to Venice, Mexico City is actually sinking and you can see it all around. Throughout the historical district there are buildings at a different base because for years they’ve been putting piles underneath and so some areas are more raised than others in the historic district. This is because Mexico City was originally a lake area. Walking around the museum the signs are largely in Spanish rather than English (similar to everywhere, there are next no signs in English not people whom speak it) so I mainly looked at the artefacts - reading the signs I could. The colours in the clothes are amazing near the end of the walk as is the artwork and sculptures they created!

2. After the museum it was a walk to lunch. We wanted to head to the Roma and La Condesa area. Likening Mexico City to home I’d say it’s like the Ponsonby kind of area with heaps of amazing eats all around. The Anthropology museum was in Chapultepec Park so when we walked out of the museum it was the same experience as the other day of kids asking for help with homework. This time there were 5 kids with their mum and they interviewed Christophe and Kristin (both speak Spanish so mum explained homework and then kids asked questions in English). It was really cute. This time around the questions were slightly less intense with things like where are you from / what do you do / what do you like about Mexico City / what do you like about home etc. Was a cool experience and nice to know you’re helping them learn a second language. Aim is to get to Spanish school once I’m in Guatemala as would love to have more down than thank you / one ticket please / how are you and the other quick and easy ones I’m using a bit. We walked glacially through the park and via the long route to Roma area (seeing a few monuments on the way) before ultimately landing at a Mexican seafood restaurant (I know me...) but the avocado and beans/cheese tacos were delicious. Alongside the tacos 3 of us ordered Michelada which is tomato juice and beer a traditional Mexican drink. In someways maybe their version of a Bloody Mary (not that I typically drink them at home). Not entirely my jam but it has India beer and that was quite dark so perhaps I need to try with a lighter beer. A good experience none the less and the taco found continues!

3. We’d hit maybe 15000 steps for the day by the time we’d finished lunch and the plan was to head to the Historic District (Zócalo). We had two options - first - walk which google maps said it would take approximately an hour or Uber (maybe 40 minutes). The food had given us newfound energy and to be honest traffic in CDMX is comparable to Bangkok so we opted for the walk. It’s largely flat which is nice though there are cracks and pot holes in the pavement. By the time we were 3/4 of the way through we were the definition of team slow. It was about 30 degrees out and I looked at my phone which said 10 minutes walk to go. Well 10 minutes past and it still said we had 10 minutes. We must’ve been dragging our feet because I usually use google maps estimates as a challenge to beat but there was no way that was happening this day. At 3.30pm we finally made it! We headed to the area with the Aztecs to take a look at the blessing etc that they do. It’s not necessarily a tourist trap. While some tourists do participate there is also a huge number of locals lining up to be ridden of their bad juju. Then it was a final look inside the cathedral before headed back to where we were staying at 5pm.

4. Originally I hadn’t planned to go to the Lucha Libre; watching fighting isn’t my scene and I struggle with seeing people in physical pain (worse so when it’s intentional! Or even if on the TV- I am that person that hasn’t watched GoT at all). So I just couldn’t see my happiness levels being super high in that environment. Anyway after chatting around others that are interested or had been, in the end I did go. So glad I did. Hopefully not being too cynical but I suppose it was obvious from the outset that a lot of it was acted (eg pretending to stop someone when actually jumping so your other food takes load/makes sound). Because of that it made it easier for me to watch. Anyway the whole order going in was a bizarre experience in itself. We got to the match, they didn’t let us in (something about practicing), then they let us in still talking about practicing (but no one was when we went inside). Then this man talks over a speaker for quite a while (both English and Spanish) before were told to put our heads/hands in our lap (imagine like on aeroplane instructions) before ultimately an alarm went off and the whole stadium was kicked out. All the practice they were talking about was a fire alarm practice !! So now there’s a few 1,000 people standing on a random road after the evacuation. 10 minutes later the whole shebang of entering commences with 10 ticket scanners this time and many queues as they scan out tickets and let us inside. All in all like a 30 minute ordeal (and to be honest given all the walking we’d done already - I was looking forward to sitting ! So then it was the time for the LL. We saw 3 fights. First one on one and then 2x three on three matches. With the third match having a midget show up for a celebrity shot and then disappearing. Slightly random but got the crowd excited! It’s actually quite impressive what the guys do. While the idea of fighting isn’t my cup of tea, like I said you can tell it’s all a bit premeditated with them (‘secretly’) helping one another get into position. From a gymnastic point of view it’s really well done. So in my mind it’s like aggressive gymnastics and with that mindset it’s great. Kind of like some sort of dancing competition with the good guys and bad guys. The baddies make sneaky moves jumping out of the ring. The good guys might lose the first round or appear to be struggling along the way but then they ultimately take the win! Overall glad I went and would recommend.

5. The Lucha Libre went till circa 7.30pm and then it was time for our planned taco night. Originally a taco crawl we ended up at one spot eating lots of tacos before crawling our way to Churros. Honestly the place we went for tacos you wouldn’t turn your head at twice (looking like a random side stall) however if you’re in the know you go up there crickity metal stairs and there’s 3 levels of seating filled with locals! I ordered this dish (I forget what it’s called) but ultimately lots of veges and cheese and so many taco sheets to make to your hearts content. Anywhere you go it’s up to you to determine the spice level you’re after with at least 4 options on the cards. I’ve gotten v confident in my chilly / salsa consumption and always give them all a shot! But there’s a few that have a really yum flavour so typically I stick to them for the majority. After we were taco’d out we headed to a shop for churros. These were way better than the ones the other day. The first churros I had were quite crisp (so I assumed that was how they were in CDMX). But these were still golden but fluffy in the middle with slightly less sugar. I had both as is and with caramel and chocolate sauce (plain or caramel sauce was my favourite!). So yum but completely chocka by the end. Then back home for the night. I think from all the food and walking I had gone past being tired and was wide awake. A few others were feeling the same so we ended up heading to the bar (before being kicked out) and then to one of our rooms just yarning away about nothing. Finally tiredness kicked in around midnight so back to our room we went for a decent sleep for the early morning tomorrow!

Tally:

Steps walked: 38,608

Tacos eaten: 7

Litres of water: 4-5

Giraffe at the zoo (wandered through in Chapultepec Park) / classic tourist at the CDMX sign / lunch food and drinks / Cathedral / Lucha Libre

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thechasefiles · 5 years

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 1/24/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 24th January 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

SPEAK UP – Do more to stop all these guns coming into Barbados! That was the call from President of the Senate, Sir Richard Cheltenham, as he reacted to the rising incidence of gun violence. So far for the year, there have been 13 reported shooting incidents, four of which resulted in deaths. Declaring there must be “a conversation” on guns coming in, he asked: “Where are these guns coming from?” He added that no-one seemed prepared “to speak with candour and frankness”. Speaking to THE NATION in Parliament Yard before the Senate sitting began, the Queen’s Counsel suggested that not enough was being done by the agencies charged with responsibility for investigating the origin of the many guns on the island. “Those who have responsibility for guarding the country – Coast Guard, the police, the airwing – all of them know about it, but nobody seems to say where are these guns coming from and how they are getting in here. That is the disturbing thing,” he said˚. “Nobody is saying a word about them, nor are they saying anything for themselves . . . . They don’t drop from the heavens like manna!” (DN)

DLP CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION – The Democratic Labour party is calling on Government to present a plan to tackle the worrisome gun violence now plaguing the country. Following the latest gun crime in Baxter’s Road St Michael on Wednesday night, the DLP issued a statement on its Facebook page calling for immediate action. “We are witnessing a spate of killings unprecedented in the history of Barbados. The Democratic Labour Party now calls on the Government to come to the people with its plan to fight crime in this country,” the statement said. It called for the Mottley led administration to move beyond public relations ‘grins’ and ‘handshakes’ saying, “ The current crime spree will take more than a photo opportunity in the form of a walk through citizens are afraid, they are nervous and uncertain.” (DN)

SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT – Josephine Hughes and Leroy London are desperately seeking answers about their son’s disappearance on Sunday. It was around 8:30 p.m. when police received a report that Lindy London, 15, was missing after he got into difficulty in strong currents at the “Hot Pot” area at Brighton Beach, St Michael. He has not been seen since. However, his parents were dissatisfied with the reports given to police, and instead are claiming that he was “lured to the beach”. “I am so devastated,” said Hughes. “I had trouble sleeping. I usually know everywhere he goes and I never heard him telling me about the beach. In fact, when he came out of the Government Industrial School, I told him the beach is one place I don’t feel comfortable with him going.” On December 13, he returned to his Bridge Cot, St George home after spending four and a half years at the Government Industrial School. His parents said they saw a change in the behaviour of the former St George Secondary School student after he returned home. They said he wanted to further his education and had participated in baptism classes at the People’s Cathedral. (DN)

UPDATE : POLICE IDENTIFY BODY FOUND IN ST THOMAS - Police have released the name of the man whose body was found lying along the roadside at Edgehill, St Thomas last night. He is 35-year-old Barry Delonor Taylor of Shop Hill in the same parish. According to a media release, he had a laceration at the back of his neck. (DN)

MOTHER GRIEVES OVER SLAIN SON – The mother of the young man who was found bleeding at the side of the road at Cane Garden, St Thomas, where he eventually died, wants her son’s killer(s) found before he goes to his grave. A devastated Joan Benn who last saw her 35-year-old son Barry Taylor at their Shop Hill, St Thomas home just over an hour before his bloody and lifeless body was discovered with stab wounds around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday said she just wants justice for her child. She said she last saw Taylor around 5 p.m. that same day when he told her ‘good evening mummy’, to which she replied ‘good evening Barry’. He then told her he was leaving. “I want them hold before the week done. Before Barry get in he grave I want them hold,” the sobbing mother told Barbados TODAY. “I just feel empty. It is unbelievable. I ain’t supposed to bury he; he is supposed to bury me. Everybody trying to hold up. Everybody trying to cope with it because it is not easy,” she added. Benn said she received the tragic news about the death of the first of her three children from a co-worker who was passing the area on her way home. “She saw him, recognized he was my son and she came and told me. I could not believe it. A gentleman who lives not too far from there saw him take his last breath. He said he was stumbling and then he dropped down,” she said, as the tears rolled down her cheeks. As she wiped the tears away with a blue washcloth, the mother said she has been struggling to understand why somebody would have carried out such an act on Taylor whom she described as someone who did not “get into anything”. “He would be in and out. He would be in Shop Hill and Jackson and sometimes he would go in town and come home quick. He would be in and out, but in the area,” she said. The Shop Hill community was quiet when Barbados TODAY visited the area this morning. Most of Taylor’s family members were locked away in their houses, which are all situated close to each other. His aunt Betty Springer said she knew her nephew to be one to run away from crowds. She said most of Tuesday he was at home listening to music. “I can’t believe it. I helped to raise him. Barry doesn’t trouble you. Up to yesterday Barry was home playing his music. Barry doesn’t trouble you so I don’t know how this happen. This thing got everybody shocked. I went to the scene but I could not go close to the body. I could not look at my nephew that way,” the aunt said. Benn said Taylor was a former St Leonard’s Boys student who loved playing football and had represented Shop Hill in that sport. A resident who lives close to the scene told Barbados TODAY the image of Taylor’s mother sitting in a chair crying as she watched her son’s body waiting to be removed from the scene, was a sad sight that he believed would stay with him for a long. “That ain’t nothing no mother should have to go through. I don’t understand why all of this killing and violence,” the concerned resident said. (BT)

UPDATE: MAN DIES IN BAXTER’S ROAD SHOOTING – Police have confirmed that the man shot in Baxter’s Road St Michael has succumbed to his injuries. It’s now the fourth murder by gun for the year and the 13th reported shooting incident. Police have not yet released the name of the victim. (DN)

GUILTY PLEA – At 27, Jeff Confield Washington has been deemed medically unfit and is therefore unable to work. As a result, he has an unpaid fine of $555 which carries with it an alternative of 55 days in jail which was ordered by Magistrate Graveney Bannister in January last year. When Washington, of Lewis Gap, Green Hill, St Michael, appeared before acting Magistrate Anika Jackson today in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife, Shauntelle Waithe, occasioning her actual bodily harm on November 16, 2018. According to Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips, on the day of the incident, the couple was in the Cheapside Terminal and during a struggle, Washington struck his wife in her belly. She was seven months pregnant. She said she felt light-headed and then started to vomit. The prosecutor said she was taken to the Branford Taitt Polyclinic, Black Rock, St Michael, where she was treated and discharged and the matter reported to the police. According to the prosecutor, on January 22, 2019, Washington was taken to the police station where he was charged. Washington however told the court that when he heard the police wanted him, he went to the police station. It was at this point the accused informed the court that he had not taken his medication and the acting Magistrate allowed him to sit. She then looked at the antecedents on his card noting that he had committed similar offences and had even threatened a member of the judiciary. Washington admitted that it was the magistrate who had ordered the fine which remained unpaid. He said he had a head injury which caused him to be hospitalized. He explained to the court that he is supported by his brother and wife and he could not ask his brother to pay the fine. The acting magistrate said she was bound by that sentence of 55 days and sentenced him to three months in jail for the incident with his wife to run concurrent with the 55 days for not paying the earlier fine. (BT)

COMPLAINANT NO LONGER INTERESTED – It’s time to revert to the situation where a complainant should be asked to pay costs after coming to court and saying he or she was no longer going through with the matter. Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson presiding in the District ‘A Magistrates’ Court made the comment today after complainant Shaquille Smith said she was no longer going through with the case involving Kadeem Rashad Scantlebury. Pointing out that she was not casting aspersions at those in the matter before her, she added “I feel we should go back to those times, because it’s not only wasting the police time and the court’s time, but also it’s costing taxpayers money,” the acting Magistrate noted. She then dismissed the matter. (BT)

SMALL DRUG FIND LANDS BIG FINE – “Ma’am I feel responsible. It will never happen again. I am very sorry it happened.” These were the words of 28-year-old Andre Xavier Leacock, of Combermere Street, St. Michael, who pleaded guilty to having $15 worth of cannabis on January 20, 2019. Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court that the police were along Dalkeith Road and stopped the car which Leacock was driving and found the drug under the floor on the driver’s side. Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson noted his early guilty plea and fined him $750 in a day or one month in jail. (BT)

CORRUPTION PUTS SOCIETY AT RISK – Opposition Senator Crystal Drakes wants the level of corruption in Barbados to be identified. Then, she wants those persons identified to have engaged in the illegal practices brought to justice. Those were her suggestions as she spoke during debate on the Public Finance Management Bill 2019 in the Senate this afternoon. “What I’m asking us to do as we move forward is to identify the level of corruption that we have, because if we sit here and say there is possibly corruption, or there maybe is corruption, it is to deny that we are unaware of any of these wrongdoings. “It’s only when we acknowledge it…you can then only start to solve it. In acknowledging we have to then start to report it,” Drakes said. The senator also partly blamed the country’s current economic situation on those persons who engaged in corrupt practices. “So when we here in Barbados have these cases where we hear either outright in public or in whispers of unscrupulous deals being made and large unexplainable contracts being given to persons, that is what has contributed to us coming to this point in time. “I want to say that anyone who has ever benefited from such deals, or fat contracts as people would call them, you have in your small or large way contributed to why Barbados is now at the place it is at,” Haynes said. “Yes we have issues with our economic structures, as far as the drivers are concerned, but when you compound low growth with elements of wastage and mismanagement, you make the situation even more dire.” She said the actions of those corrupt individuals had left Government’s hands tied and meant tough measures now had to be implemented. “What you do as an individual then leaves the Government to have to cut expenditure, you leave a Government to now have to send home workers, you leave a Government to raise taxes to the point where it feels almost burdensome to the others in society. “Sometimes we talk about these things as if they are abstract concepts. It is corruption by persons, by individuals. You are the ones who are placing your society at risk, this is where it leads us. So when there is poor mismanagement and a disregard for integrity you lead a country to the brink of economic turmoil where no one is left untouched by harsh measures,” Haynes said. (BT)

‘GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE LIABLE TOO’, SAYS SENATOR - Independent Senator Monique Taitt is suggesting that Government incurs a penalty for failing to pay for services or pay income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Corporation tax refunds within a stipulated time. Taitt, who was addressing the Upper House today as she contributed to debate on the Public Finance Management Bill, said it would only be fair for the government to be penalized just as individuals and companies were if they failed to meet their obligations to Government. “What are the penalties for the government failing to repay or remit if they don’t take on the suggestion of interest and penalties? Are you calling upon individuals to have to go to court, which is an additional cost, or at the end of the day is it just lip service where you got to wait anyway because it is Government? I am just asking these questions because to me public finance is not only revenue generation it is also for the people. It is also ensuring that people are not crippled, because an asset rich cash poor company is a recipe for disaster,” said Taitt. She said it was about time the government addressed the issue of income tax, VAT and corporation tax refunds, adding that the new Bill should make provision for Government to be held responsible. She insisted that while Government seemed to have an “air-tight, organized and structured piece of legislation in place to deal with the ills of public finance management” it should also ensure that “the people for whom this Bill has been devised” also benefit. “I have a client who told me they are owed over $60,000 in VAT returns, $30,000 of which is over a year old. So I am just querying and hoping that with this new Public Finance Management Bill that the proper system of accounts of all money received and paid by the government will speak to things like income tax returns, VAT returns, when you do a job for the Government,” she said. “I am hoping that with the advent of this Bill that those things will be properly managed and if they are not, just as how if you don’t pay your land tax on time or income tax on time there are interest and penalties, will the government by virtue of having all of this going on, by allowing persons to whom they owe either remittances or refunds, allow those persons to benefit from interest and penalties as well?” she asked. Saying she hoped it would not take up to a year for the government to pay what it owed, Taitt also questioned what mechanisms would be put in place to ensure that the proposed legislation was effective. “It cannot be for example, that when you go on the BRA (Barbados Revenue Authority) website they are telling you that TAMIS is down and they apologize for any inconvenience caused and they are trying to get their technical people to deal with it. So, there are VAT returns that as far as I am aware, are yet to be filed because they can’t get on to TAMIS or whatever system deals with VAT. If you are the agency to collect, you should be running effectively. So I am hoping that all the bells and whistles in this piece of legislation will also deal with the necessary infrastructure to allow it to work, if not this is all just rhetoric,” she explained. Taitt also questioned why the government did not allow for the settling of its debt by setting off what it owed individuals and businesses against what it owed by them. “That has always been a puzzle to me why set-offs are not happening at BRA,” said Taitt, “so that is another query I have as it relates to the public finance management of the country and the common sense of it all. You pay to get back instead of set-off?” she said. (BT)

RIGHT MOVE – Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn has welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Mia Mottley to remove some of the duties of Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson, but said it was only done “half way”. In fact, Franklyn said he believed all Hinkson’s ministerial duties should have been taken away, though he did not say why. Franklyn, who was contributing to debate on the Public Finance Management Bill in the Senate on Wednesday, said he was ready to “support” the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) administration once it was “doing the right thing”. “I see the other day the Prime Minister took away some of their duties and I support it. If there is any fault that I could find with her in that regard is that she did not take away all. But when you do the right thing I will say so,” he quipped. “I am very serious she did the right thing this time, it is just that she did the half right thing because she should have carried away all. But be that as it may, I need you, this country needs you to do the right thing,” he urged Government. Last week Mottley relieved Hinkson of his duties related to the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) with immediate effect and reassigned them to Attorney General Dale Marshall. Hinkson was also relieved of responsibility for the Forensic Services Centre, the Criminal Justice Research Unit and the Police Complaints Authority. Hinkson has so far said he was in “total agreement” with the Prime Minister’s decision, indicating that he could now better manage his remaining duties. Turning his attention to the Bill, Franklyn urged Government to weed out corruption and bring people guilty of wrongdoing to justice. “I don’t feel that politicians or anybody should betray the public’s trust and get away with it. This is not a witch hunt, you are hunting thieves. So please go after these people. That last group did not carry away the pie, they carried away the whole pie and the pie pan and somebody needs to account for it,” he said, Pointing out that the legislation “goes a long way” to ensure that people would think twice before doing wrong, Franklyn said he did not believe it would stop people from “transgressing”, but would cause them to want to be more “innovative”. “Now that you are at the wheel you’ve got to stay the course and deal with these people,” insisted Franklyn. While lauding the BLP administration for “starting on this transparency thing”, Franklyn cried shame on the administration for not disclosing its intention of accepting $13.5 million for land at Coverley before it did. In making the announcement of the transaction, Mottley had revealed that the $13.5 million was three times the worth of the lands sold. However, insisting that he was not aware of the worth of the land, Franklyn said the fact that the deal was done before being made public “looks bad”. “When you have these private treaty arrangements it always leaves room for doubt. But if you brought it before Parliament and explained yourself, then it comes up here and we vote on it and we say yes, nobody can fault you. That is all I am saying,” he said. Franklyn, who previously called for members of the DLP found guilty of wrongdoing while in office to be brought to justice, said he was “hurting” and was eager to see them pay. He said it was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that had caused the current administration to put certain measures in place to ensure transparency, but insisted that he wanted to see action in relation to weeding out corruption. “I want this administration to implement what it campaigned on, one that rules out corruption,” he said. The Public Finance Management Bill, among other things, outlines the roles and responsibilities of key government officials including ministers, permanent secretaries, chief executive officers and accounting officers. (BT)

STAY CLEAN – Members of the local business community are being warned to avoid corrupt business practices at all costs, following the indictment of two former senior insurance executives, in a US case centered on former minister of commerce, Donville Inniss. Last Friday, former Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) chief executive officer, Ingrid Innes, and former ICBL senior vice-president, Alex Tasker, were named as defendants in the money laundering case involving Inniss, a former Barbados government minister. In a Barbados TODAY interview, Inniss’ successor in office, Dwight Sutherland, indicated that while none of the parties had been convicted of wrongdoing in the high profile matter, the developments were still of concern. These developments prompted an appeal from Sutherland, who is also responsible for small business development, for members of the local business community to ensure they act in accordance with the regulations governing business while maintaining a high level of integrity. “I believe once you operate along those guidelines then we won’t have challenges in this country. It’s just to adhere to the guidelines and remove all the shortcuts. Try to follow the correct path as it relates to business practices,” he urged. With that advice, Sutherland gave the assurance that government would be placing more pressure on local business people. “I often look at the financial management legislation and the integrity legislation. These are some of the things that will allow businesses to operate with high ethical standards. Good governance structures will be put in place and it will augur well for Barbados. “These are the laws that will transform how we do business and help us to punch above our weight and move forward as a country with good regulation and good laws, where people will want to do business,” he said, while adding that in light of the country’s struggling economy, “you will get one or two challenges in terms of deviant behavior and a bit of corruption, but once we revive this economy, I am positive that many of these negatives and irregularities will be stamped out.” Meanwhile, the minister stressed that the news of Donville Inniss’ alleged involvement in the matter should not be a point of celebration by members of the current government. “We shouldn’t be celebrating any ill or damage being sustained to the colleagues on the other side . . . and I say colleague because we all are supposed to be working toward the good of this country. Indeed it is sad,” he said. However, he said the development has been a wake-up call and has motivated him to do all in his power to avoid a situation similar to his predecessor’s. “Politicians need to bring ethical standards and a sense of responsibility and a sense of purpose where people can trust us and feel empowered. I am looking forward to a country where people can begin to look at us [politicians] through one lens instead of with skepticism. “We will do justice to this country in terms of facilitating high business practices and make sure that everything we do is above board and can withstand any form of scrutiny or regulations and I think that is how all politicians ought to operate,” he said, while adding that government had its work cut out to regain the confidence of citizens. “We have to bring back a level of respectability to how people see us. We should be seen as role models for young people and indeed that is my mission and my mandate,” he promised. (BT)

‘GOVERNMENT DRAGGING ITS FEET’, SAYS GEORGE – The head of this island’s renewable energy sector is warning Government to pick up the pace on key infrastructural and policy changes, otherwise, the goal of making Barbados 100 per cent dependent on renewable energy by 2030, will amount to nothing more than just fancy talk. This is the view of president of the Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA), Jerry George, who explained that among other critical issues to be addressed, Government must immediately extend Barbados Light and Power’s (BL&P) licence to provide electricity to the island. He explained that it was unreasonable to expect BL&P to make substantial investments in renewable energy infrastructure without assurances after their licence expires in 11 years. Speaking to reporters this morning at BREA’s 7th annual general meeting at the 3W’s Oval pavilion, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, George made it clear that without the investments from BL&P, Government’s goal was simply out of reach. “The utility company’s involvement is critical. We cannot do this without the involvement of the utility company and currently their licence expires in 11 years. This might sound like a long time to some people, but I can assure that it is not. They (BL&P) will need to start to make investments to support this transition and they are going to be hesitant to do that if they don’t know if they even going to be existing in the next 11 years. So, we strongly believe that the utility’s licence needs to get addressed now so that they can be part of this process in developing the detailed strategy on how we move forward to 100 per cent renewable energy,” explained George. In addition to the licence, George also expressed concern about the length of time that it is still taking investors to get the requisite permissions for renewable energy projects. “This cannot continue going forward. We have scenarios where projects have been under development for over two or three years and if we are to achieve this target then we cannot be taking this long to make a decision. There must be ministerial synchronization with the policy. It is not just about the Ministry of Energy alone. All departments that play a role must be on the same page,” said George. The renewable energy advocate emphasised, “This is a national target, and everybody must be aligned so that when an application is being made for a solar farm all of the various Government agencies must have their processes in place so that the decision can be made quickly and that developer can know if he is going ahead or not.” The BREA president noted that the eight-month-old Mia Mottley administration has been brought up to speed on the issue of the licence. However, he is concerned that with only a short time remaining for such an ambitious enterprise of switching fully to renewable energy, there is not enough urgency being shown. “The Government is well aware of this and a number of other issues. We raised it with them when the new administration came in. We are aware that there have already been a number of policies and regulatory amendments made as well as new documents developed. We are hoping that we will hear about some of these decisions early in this year,” he stressed. (BT)

BLP’S OPENNESS LAUDED – The Public Finance Management Bill 2019 has been described by Minister of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology Kay McConney as “show and tell at the very highest level of financial management”. And according to her, the bill has brought about such a high level of transparency that Government is now “practically naked” when it comes to the management of public finances. “This bill is a bold next step in prudent financial management and fiscal governance for Barbados. This bill represents a higher standard of responsible government to meet the expectations of our citizens, the expectations of our local investors and the expectations of our international investors and partners,” McConney said during debate in the Senate this morning. “With this bill, the present government is standing up for the public interest. We are committing first ourselves to an unprecedented level of openness about how government manages public finances and by so doing, we are setting this country on a path to sustainability.” McConney said among other things the bill would bring discipline to the practice of financial management in all of Government, enable transparency in the public’s interest, mandate accountability for all persons who serve as public officials with responsibilities for handling public monies, as well as to introduce proactive risk management into the culture of financial management in Barbados. “We have had a situation in Barbados where state-owned entities especially, although not exclusively, operated under separate Acts, held themselves to standards and rules of financial management that were loose and this looseness led to incidences of mismanagement and wastage and possibly corruption that put this country’s economy in danger,” McConney said. “It filled the pockets of an unscrupulous few and it left the people of Barbados vex. This bill proposes to tighten up on this looseness . . .” The minister said she was pleased that the bill was not “empty” and carried sanctions of up to a $200 000 fine and five years in prison or both for those persons found guilty. McConney said the current administration has shown its willingness to take steps to weed out all forms of corruption. “This current Barbados Labour Party administration has come to the point of bringing this bill before this Honourable House as a government that has long been committed to raising the standards and practices of prudent financial management to a higher level in Barbados. “We cannot ‘unring’ the bells of financial mismanagement, of seeming negligence and possible corruption that are still ringing in our ears at home and abroad from the decisions and actions of the last government administration,” McConney said. “We cannot rewind the damage done to Barbados’ reputation internationally, but we can do better. We can hold ourselves to a higher standard going forward.” (BT)

PELOSI: NO STATE OF THE UNION IN THE HOUSE UNTIL SHUTDOWN ENDS – President Donald Trump declared his yearly State of the Union address "canceled" on Wednesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not allow him to deliver the speech in the House chamber while the government is shut down. "She doesn't want to hear the truth. She doesn't want the American public to hear what's going on," Trump said from the Cabinet Room after Pelosi made her intentions known in a letter. Trump bemoaned the decision, calling it a "great blotch on the incredible country we love." "It's a great, great, horrible mark," Trump said. Trump had insisted earlier in a letter that he was planning on presenting his annual address from the chamber of the US House next week as planned, essentially daring the body's top Democrat to formally disinvite him from delivering the yearly message. Hours later, Pelosi appeared to take the dare, saying she would refuse to bring up for a vote a measure that would allow Trump to speak. "I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President's State of the Union address in the House Chamber until the government has opened," Pelosi wrote. Speaking from the White House Roosevelt Room as Pelosi's letter became public, the President vowed to formally respond soon. "I'm not surprised," Trump said. "It's really a shame what's happening with the Democrats. They've become radicalized. They don't want to see crime stopped." Asked about a new venue, Trump said only: "We'll see." The back-and-forth escalated one of the rancorous subplots of the extended standoff over border security that has shuttered government agencies and left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay. Even as the two leaders wrote each other in letters dripping with barely veiled disgust, they did not plan to meet face-to-face and haven't spoken directly in weeks. Trump's letter, written with characteristic flourish, dismissed concerns raised by Pelosi about security during a partial government shutdown. The Democratic speaker controls the chamber's proceedings and must allow for a vote on his speech. "I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union," Trump wrote in his letter. He said he'd consulted with Secret Service and Homeland Security officials, who told him of "absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event." And he declared the speech would occur on Tuesday from the House chamber. "It would be so very sad for our country, if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!" he wrote. As speaker, it is Pelosi's prerogative to invite the President to deliver the annual address. Both the House and the Senate would need to pass resolutions convening a Joint Session of Congress before the President's appearance. The letter was the latest in a round of squabbling over the yearly speech, which is a constitutional requirement that has been caught up in the back-and-forth over border security and reopening shuttered government agencies. Pelosi initially wrote Trump last week to inform him the speech should be delayed, or delivered in writing, since the law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting the Capitol during the event are affected by the shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security later cast those concerns aside, saying its agents and officers had been preparing for months to protect the venue, and would be ready shutdown or not. (DN)

DIRE SITUATION – A group of Venezuelans living in Barbados is accusing local dignitaries of deliberately spreading propaganda on behalf of the Venezuelan government by returning with fake news reports on the country’s situation after government-sponsored trips to the country. Upset Venezuelans told Barbados TODAY that the “propaganda” was intended to give the impression that “everything is fine and dandy” in the country, which is widely reported as being in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, fuelled by a dictator. The local group came together near Accra Beach to protest the tenure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – joining thousands of their countrymen living in 70 countries around the world, who are demanding that he be removed from office. Political activists, including Barbados’ ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), David Commissiong and General Secretary of the Friends of Venezuela Solidarity Committee, David Denny, have on numerous occasions defended the Maduro-led government of Venezuela amid continued criticism. However, some Venezuelans living in Barbados say their families are suffering in Venezuela and have dismissed the accounts of local activists. “A lot of local dignitaries say Venezuela is fantastic, but I invite them and I have invited them on social media, to go to Venezuela and live with a Venezuelan family. Take your wife with you and when your wife is going through that time of the month that every lady goes through, take her to a supermarket to find sanitary napkins. Take your child with you and when he gets a headache, try to get aspirin for the child; you won’t find it,” said Jose Zerba, who has been living in Barbados for over 30 years since migrating from Venezuela. Instead, Zerba accused the local dignitaries of doing a disservice with their accounts of the situation in the country. “The government of Venezuela will invite you to Venezuela for a week, so that you can come back and talk about Venezuela. You’re going to fly first class if you don’t go on a private aircraft. You’re going to stay as a guest of the government. You’re going to get all three of your meals and if you want champagne with breakfast, you can have that along with a private car to pick you up and take you where you want to go,” he said. Earlier this month, a number of Barbadians travelled to Venezuela to attend the January 10th Presidential Inauguration of Nicolas Maduro and reported that the election process was fair, despite reports from countless international media that the election was rigged. Maria Gloumeau, another Venezuelan protester, however, told Barbados TODAY that their families were “dying and crying” and when they go against the government are being killed and imprisoned. “We are supporting our Venezuelan people to take out Mr. Nicolas Maduro who has taken presidency as a dictator because he was not elected by the people. “The news that comes from Barbadians who go to Venezuela is usually from people who are taken there by the government. They see a different country to what exists. There’s no medicine, there’s no food, there’s a lot of insecurity, there’s nothing,” she said in despair. Last May, Head of the Department of Government, Sociology and Social Work at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Tennyson Joseph declared that Venezuela was “more democratic than Barbados,” following criticism of the Maduro government’s handling of the situation in Venezuela. Joseph more recently has also called on regional governments to respect Venezuela’s right to self-determination. However, Venezuelans living in Barbados have described last May’s election in Venezuela as fraudulent. Instead, they say that many around the world were asking for help to create a transition toward a new government and new elections. “Venezuela today sits on the world’s largest confirmed oil reserves. Venezuela has bauxite, diamonds and gold, but at the same time, Venezuela is the poorest country after Haiti in the hemisphere,” argued Zerba. Much to the delight of the protestors, Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido, today declared himself the country’s interim president before thousands of demonstrators in Caracas as the latest step to end the Maduro’s reign as President. (BT)

80MILLION BONUS – Barbados is really getting its money’s worth in cricket. The economic impact of this England tour may be even greater than first thought, as Cricket West Indies (CWI) estimates that the country will gain more than US$40 million (BDS$80 million) in foreign exchange. CWI chief executive officer Johnny Grave made the assessment yesterday after 7 000 travelling Brits stormed Kensington Oval for the opening day of the first Test match. “We commissioned an independent report a few years ago that said the economic impact of an England tour was approximately US$5 million a day. I think there are more England fans here than the previous tour [because] we’re up to 7 000 at least here just for the cricket,” said Grave. “And I think [more] people probably would have been here in the masses if it wasn’t the hotel accommodation and flight availability. Most of the hotel rooms are full and overflowing, which is fantastic. “With this game and the two one day internationals (ODIs) to come, we’re looking at probably almost conservatively US$30 million, US$40 million worth of economic impact, which is brilliant and not just for Barbados but also the millions of people back in the United Kingdom watching the cricket who have never come here on holiday or think they need to get back here on holiday,” he added. (DN)

WINDIES CRUMBLE IN LAST SESSION – Test cricket is about sustaining solid starts into substantial scores and not flattering with 40s and 50s. The West Indies’ specialist batsmen should have learnt that lesson at the close of an engrossing opening day of the first Wisden Trophy cricket Test at Kensington Oval, on Wednesday, after England gained the ascendancy. Much to the delight of close to 7 000 English visitors in the stands, veteran seamer James Anderson and all-rounder Ben Stokes transformed promising positions of 126 for one and 240 for four into an unsatisfactory 264 for eight in 89.2 overs at stumps. Anderson snared three late scalps with the second new ball to finish with the excellent figures of four for 33 in 24 probing overs, while Stokes supported with three for 47 off 19.2 overs. The West Indies definitely enjoyed the early proceedings but lost four wickets for just 34 runs in the last 9.2 overs after England took the second new ball at 230-4. Shai Hope and Roston Chase fell after making 50s while openers Kraigg Brathwaite and debutantJohn Campbell perished in the 40s. Exciting rookie left-handed stroke-maker Shimron Hetmyer was not out on a typically attacking 56, which was adorned with five fours and two sixes off just 60 balls. Unfortunately, only fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel are left to bat for the Windies to get close to the 300-mark. (DN)

GREEN MACHINES KEEP TITLE – The Green Machines pulled out all their stops when they retained the title at Luther Thorne’s Inter-house Athletics Championships at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex, on Wednesday. Their total of 661 points was just enough to leave the Yellow Tigers in their shadow once more after they gained 647 points following a tough fight. The Blue Blazers were third with 551 and the Red Lions fourth with 524. Leading the charge for Green was Nitara Clarke of the Under-13 division with 50 points. The speedy queen of the track won the 100, 200, 400 and 600 metres Open Girls events, as well as the long jump. Yellow’s Creston Hinds of the Under-9 division won the victor ludorum title. (DN)

CENTENARIAN LIVES BY ‘A TOUCH OF BRANDY – Coral Osaline Agard started her day with a session of prayer thanking God for helping her to reach 100 years old. Then she got busy in her kitchen preparing her lunch, which included frying pot fish. Relatives who gathered at her Appleby Gardens, St James home to celebrate the big day which also included a visit from Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, told members of the media that Agard does not only cook for herself and keep her surroundings clean and tidy, but she also takes pride in catching the bus to go wherever she wants to. Agard who is lovingly referred to as “the road runner” acts as though her walking stick is just a prop, as she is still able to walk upright on her own. Relatives recalled that just two years ago, the old lady was still going to the supermarket to do her own grocery shopping. “I am feeling fine. I am not complaining,” declared the centenarian who said that she embraced the tough and happy times she has encountered throughout life’s journey. A seemingly quiet Agard, who has one daughter, four grands, five great-grands and four great-great grands, did not have much to say other than she was feeling grateful. However, her granddaughter, Olivet Hinds, said her grandmother worked heading cane at Porters factory and then worked as a cleaner in the tourism industry. “She is in good health. She is always on the road. She likes to go places. It is only in the last year that we have stopped her being independent. She is now here living with mummy and my brother. But all like now she still cooks. “She doesn’t go out alone anymore. But wherever she wants to go, she has her attendant there and on the bus they go wherever driving. And you always have to tell her granny the stick goes on the ground not under your arm. She has a stick just to pose with,” Hinds said. She said her grandmother also believes that the “touch” of brandy she has been drinking every Saturday night for many years, is what gets you to the 100 mark. The granddaughter said the kind and gentle matriarch would give her last to a stranger. “Anybody would tell you that. I use to work on Broad Street and I would be at lunch going down Broad Street and I would pass granny. I would ask her, ‘granny where you going?’ and she would say ‘I going to the hospital to look for somebody. Who in the hospital? I don’t know. “She going to look for the sick and take stuff for the people at the hospital. She would give the last of whatever it is she has to a stranger. She does not even have to know you. As long as you look like you are in need, she would take her shoes off and walk on the hot road,” Hinds said. Governor General Dame Sandra Mason commended Agard for the role she has played in shaping the lives of future generations. The centenarian who was busy enjoying the company of the youngest member of her family, 10-month-old Lux Corbin who came in from Canada to share the special day with her, told Barbados TODAY that she intended to spend the rest of her birthday quietly. (BT)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 341 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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winchester-with-wings · 7 years

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Shattered Beginnings, Part 1 / (Second Chances series)

A Bruce Wayne x child!Reader fic by my sister, @faithtrustandpixiedust95 !

*I did not write this* My awesome sister did!

Summary: Bruce Wayne faces the Joker when the mayhem he’s caused on a bridge involves your 6 year-old self.

Word Count: 2975

Warnings: trauma, car accidents, Joker threatens a child (typical! lol)

A/N: My sister emailed this to me in the middle of the night with this message:

Will you read this and let me know what you think? I wrote it all by myself based off of a dream I had. Be nice, I don't know how to write like you. Love you sissy! Sammy

I’m so freaking psyched for this fanfic and we’re breaking it into two parts! Her first ever fanfic was more than 6k words! That’s awesome! So keep in mind that she wrote this and I did not. There’s no guarantee that she’ll continue writing fanfiction but she’s really happy with this one, which is why I’m posting it for her (with her permission). Your reactions to this story will definitely reach her though!

Additional Author’s Note: This is written in both the Reader’s and Bruce Wayne’s POV. Bruce’s pov uses the “you” perspective as well.

*I couldn’t resist using this gif lol*

Reader’s POV:

Staring out into the night, you’re remembering. Remembering the things you didn’t want to, the things you did want, and the things you had no control over remembering. All you could think of is how much and how fast your life had changed in the blink of an eye, for the worse and for the better, although who was the judge of that? You didn’t know.

Looking up at the stars, you close your eyes, but instead of seeing black, a blurry glimpse of the past appears instead. Suddenly you’re 6 years old again and you’re slowly opening your eyes in the backseat of your parent’s car after being jolted forward by the result of a crash. You’re not quite sure how to react, all you know is that your ears are ringing, your heart is racing, and you’re scared.

Everything seems to be moving in slow motion, your reaction time is delayed and you don’t quite have control of your body; you don’t know what is going on. You look out of the shattered window and you see several other cars had slammed into the semi-truck that had jackknifed on one of the several suspension bridges that littered Gotham’s transportation network. The semi had wrecked in a way that it was blocking all lanes of traffic and had knocked out and snapped several cables that were part of the bridge’s structure. The cab of the truck was slightly dangling over the edge of the bridge; looking as if it could slip into the water far below if someone nudged it.

As the ringing in your ears begins to die down, you start hearing car horns blaring and several people screaming out in pain. None of the cars had had time to react to the semi jackknifing in the middle of traffic; as a result some were completely demolished from the high-speed impact. You look around and see smoke slowly rising from the heat of the cars that had crumpled, at one point you noticed that a sedan had been turned into a convertible when the canopy of the car got sheered away from the body after coming into contact with the trailer of the semi.

While you heard screams in the distance, you didn’t see any people to put the voices to. All you noticed was that the screams were all far away, which made you realize something was very wrong. Your parents hadn’t turned around from the front seat to check if you were all right. In fact, your parents hadn’t moved at all since you had come to. A surge of panic rushed over your small frame and suddenly you became very tense.

“Mama….Daddy? Are you ok?” you asked, a small whimper accompanying the weak question. You look at the driver’s and passenger seat and you see your parents aren’t moving. You scream their names, suddenly crying very aggressively. You start thrashing in the back seat of the car, trying to move to get to your parents, but you stop when a sharp pain radiates up your left arm.

Bruce’s POV:

Of all days to be driving the Aston Martin! You were on your way into the office crossing Sails Bridge into Gotham’s downtown district when you saw a semi, two or so cars ahead of you lose control and taillights breaking in front of you. Even with reflexes like yours, you weren’t able to stop in time. You had, rather unforgivingly, slammed into the back of the car in front of you. The airbags had been triggered and you were slowly sitting up and reaching your hand up to the bridge of your nose where you felt blood dripping down. A raging headache soon followed once you started to get your bearings.

You observed the scene in front of you. It was a pretty grim sight; the semi had caused a lot of damage to the bridge and to the dozens of cars that had been in the path of the rogue vehicle. You slowly got out of your sports car and slightly stumbled when you decided to try and take a step. You leaned against the hood of your car to regain your composure.

You walked to the car behind yours that hadn’t had quite as rough of an impact. When you got to the driver’s side window, you saw a teenager sitting with a look of shock on his face. It didn’t look like he believed quite what he was seeing. He kept rubbing his eyes and slapping his cheek to try and knock some sense into himself. It wasn’t until you spoke up that he jumped out of his daze.

“Are you okay?” Was all you could ask the young man.

“Yeah, I think so. Sorry about your car, dude.”

You were Bruce Wayne, you weren’t used to being addressed as dude, but you ignored it.

“It’s okay, I’ve got 3 more at home,” you half-joked, trying to ease the young man’s obvious panic and tension that was starting to set in, “You should dial 9-1-1. I’m going to go around to the other cars and check on people. Tell the police what happened and that there’s a lot of people involved.”

All the boy could do was nod, looking up at you from his seat. You started to walk to the other cars in the wreckage to see if you could help anyone as you heard the boy start to talk on the phone.

You had visited 2 other cars and you were in the middle of coaching a woman on how to help her husband’s injuries until the ambulances came when you heard it.

That shuddering laugh, the one with little humor or mercy in it; you looked towards the semi and through the smoke from the cars you saw a lanky man in a purple suit with what looked like green hair. You’d known as soon as you saw him that the laugh belonged to him. He was waltzing around in between all the cars laughing, looking for someone to further terrorize. The air he had about him as he walked around such a grizzly scene disturbed you, he acted as if all this was a game.

It took all your self-restraint to not go into “Batman-mode”. You were in public as Bruce Wayne in the middle of the day. You couldn’t do anything, but try to be a good-Samaritan and help out the victims of the crash. You refocused your attention on the couple you were helping and you told them to try and get out of the car and retreat further away from the crash. You knew if anything more was going to happen, it wasn’t going to be good.

You crouched near the car and silently watched the Joker as he was looking for a play-toy. You didn’t take your eyes off of him while you dialed Alfred on your phone, putting an earpiece into your left ear.

You kept your voice low, “Alfred, there’s been an accident on the Sails Bridge. I have a feeling the Joker might be to blame for it.”

“Why is that Master Bruce?” he asked with an intrigued curiosity in his voice.

“Because I’m watching him walk around the wreckage like he’s shopping for his next suit. He’s admiring his work so far.”

“Do you think he is trying to draw the Batman out?” Alfred asked.

“Possibly. Whatever his plan is, it’s not good. The police aren’t going to make it here in time to deal with him with all the traffic the wreck has caused. Not to mention the time it’s going to take the ambulances to get to all the people involved. If he escalates the situation, things could go south real quick.” You were still crouched, hiding behind a car trying to figure out what you could do to save these people without revealing your identity. That’s when it clicked.

“Alfred, can you autopilot the Batplane to the bridge from the cave?”

Alfred had picked up on your idea once you said it, “Yes, sir I can. I will notify Arkham on their new guest.”

You smirked at Alfred’s remark when you heard the screaming of a little girl. The Joker had picked up on the shrill noise and started to saunter over to the source.

You moved to the cover of another car that was closer to him, still crouching you tried to get a better view of what he was doing.

He was jimmying the backdoor of a car that had taken a lot of damage from the accident.

It was the car in front of yours. You cursed yourself for not going to check on those people, before talking to the boy in the car behind him. The people in front of you had obviously been hurt from the looks of their car; it was mangled at the front and the back where your car had severely rear-ended them.

The screaming of the little girl got quieter and once the door had been open, the screaming stopped altogether.

Your felt waves of anger rush over you when you saw the Joker’s hand pull on the arm of a little girl, dragging her from the car.

Your POV:

Time had finally caught up and was now moving at a much faster pace. Once the pain in your arm made itself known, it was all you could focus on. Your arm was pinned between the side of the car and the driver’s seat. It must’ve gotten pinned at the height of the impact. You unbuckled your seatbelt, still crying and screaming a little bit, you were now on the floor of the car trying to unpin your arm.

It was painful; you had stopped screaming in concern for you parents and were now screaming in pain trying to free your arm. You had just gotten it free when you saw a silhouette of someone coming up to your car door. Sitting on the floor of the car, cradling your arm, all you could see out of the window was green hair until a face came into sight.

Accompanying the hair was a white face with soulless brown eyes, cherry-red lips and yellow teeth in the scariest grin you’ve ever seen. It was the clown you had seen on the news. Your parents hadn’t fully explained the dangers of Gotham to you because they thought you were too young. All you knew was that he was a scary clown that didn’t belong at the circus with the elephants. You knew from the news that he meant bad news.

Your crying turned from painful sobs to whimpers of fear now. You saw the crazed look in his eye as he wiggled the door open. You tried to climb over to the other side of the car but the clown’s hand had already grabbed hold of your injured arm and had started yanking you out of the car.

You were overwhelmed with fear and pain at the same time; you didn’t know what to do. Your 6-year-old strength was nothing compared to his. Any kind of fight you tried to put up was comical to him and he just giggled in the most haunting way.

“Why so serious?!” he shrieked in a frightening snarl.

Bruce’s POV:

He was pulling the little girl around the crash sight, screaming the phrase over and over while she was crying and trying to scramble away with all her might.

“Why so serious?!” Each time he said it, his voice raised and his tone pitched in a way that only a psychopath’s could.

He finally stopped and yanked the girl hard and leaned down close to her face, “Why are you crying, little one? Don’t you want to have fun?”

The little girl just sniveled. “You know, I have a plan for you, little one. I’m waiting for a friend to show up and I think you might help me get his attention,” he started mumbling to himself as he continued to drag the little girl around.

Other people in the wreck had heard and seen the Joker and what he was doing, if they were able to, they were running away from the wreckage to put as much space between them and the monster who had caused the accident. Everyone was running past you, but you held your ground. In fact, you had crept closer to the crazy clown’s position. How were you going to save this poor child?

At this point, the police and ambulance sirens weren’t too far off and 2 different news helicopters were now flying above the bridge covering the scene. The Joker was getting exactly what he wanted…well, not exactly.

He wasn’t going to get the satisfaction of interacting with Batman. Instead, he was going to interact with you, Bruce Wayne: billionaire, playboy philanthropist.

The Joker had made his way closer to the edge of the bridge where the cables had snapped and there was an opening to the water below. He still had the girl in a tight grip when he started yelling at the helicopters and their news cameras.

“Good evening Gotham! I have a special show for you today. As you can see, you missed the first act,” he gestured to the wreck that had left the bridge a mess, “If you had gotten here sooner, you would’ve been able to see the carnage that my lovely truck produced.”

You could see the Joker puffing his chest out in pride as he addressed the cameras. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. You had just about had enough.

“You see, Gotham, I’m trying to get my bestie’s attention! But the old Bat has yet to show,” he exaggerates the pout on his face playing to the cameras all the while the girl is still in his grasp. “So this little one,” he nearly lifts her off the ground by her arm and the girl screams in obvious pain, “Shut it, you little brat! This little one is going to help me draw out Batsy. If he doesn’t show up soon, bad things are going to happen.”

A wicked grin crosses his face as he pulls the little girl and whips her around to the other side of him so that she is just about to dangle over the edge of the bridge.

You stand up, catching the Joker off-guard; he didn’t know anyone else was near him. The Joker makes eye contact with you and all you can say is, “Don’t!”

The Joker just stares at you for a second with a look of confusion and then it turns into one of recognition. “Bruce Wayne,” he yells, “Since when did Gotham’s Playboy care about kids?”

You take step closer to the two, “Since when is torturing children part of your charade?” you goad him.

You’re stalling. You know Alfred has the Batplane close, he’s been keeping you updated on the status, but it’s not close enough.

“Let the girl go, Joker. I’m sure Batman is on his way.”

“Oh yeah, Pretty Boy? And what makes you so sure?”

“Well, look at the mess you’ve made,” gesturing towards the wreck, you look at the helicopters above you, they’re getting everything, “He could be stuck in traffic!”

The Joker laughs at this, he has his full attention on you.

“Plus you’ve got the news covering this live right now, I’m sure he is tuned in, making sure you don’t do anything stupid. The girl just makes it look like you’re desperate. She doesn’t need to be involved in this.”

The Joker takes offense to that, “Brucey…I know what you’re doing…”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“You’re trying to make yourself look better than me! ‘Gotham’s Playboy, Bruce Wayne, outshines the Batman, saving little girl from the Joker.’ You’re trying to steal my show,” he mocks, that same psychotic grin on his face as if he is truly enjoying the playful banter.

You take another step or two closer, “Now why would I want that? I don’t even have to try to get a headline in the news. I’m Bruce Wayne, headlines come with the name! Just let her go, Joker, let her go back to her parents.”

Alfred talks into your earpiece, “The Batplane is five minutes out, sir.”

Your brow furrows slightly knowing you won’t be able to keep the Joker’s attention that long before he does something to the girl. You’re trying to think.

The Joker’s voice goes from light-hearted banter to a fearsome snarl, “Bruce, this little girl means nothing. I want the Batman! Plus, the girl’s parents are dead! They died in the crash! Just what Gotham needs, another orphan, just like you!”

You see the little girl's expression falter. She’s no longer scared; she just looks like she is purely in shock. The Joker’s words settle in and you know the face she makes, it’s the same one you made when your parents died; a look of disbelief.

Joker pulls her, and you, out of this trance as he violently jerks her arm, causing her pain. You can see him go back to his ‘light-hearted’ persona.

"Bruce, I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna throw this little girl off the bridge and I just know what’s going to happen after that!” There’s a hint of sarcasm in his voice almost like he’s bored, “The Batman, being who he is, won’t let this little girl fall to her death. He’ll save her and fly up onto the bridge out of nowhere surprising us all!” He says it all so matter-of-factly, like it’s something he’s seen happen time and again.

You’re taking small steps closer to the girl when the Joker notices your movement. A wide grin crosses his face as he throws the little girl over the edge.

PART TWO

Tagging: @readerlucy @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics @wonderlandforthemisfits @autoblocked @talesoftheimpala @mrsbarry-allen-1031 @gryffindorable713 @therealcap @team-barry @lilyoflothlorien @littlemiss-annoying @whoopxd @shadowpriestess6 @overlyobsethed @so-get-this-i-need-pie @castihelloboys @cheering-you-on @beautiful-and-strange @gracehappyfeet @havingfunenjoyinglife @xo-raven-xo @odr-dc @sleepingalong @faithtrustandpixiedust95 @thedoctor-and-her-fallenangles @thecacklingtauren

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dearophelia · 7 years

Text

four quarians who never made it back to the fleet (and one who did)

Holiday Harbinger gift for @carastian-candies. Happy belated holidays, and happy 2017! I hope you enjoy.

rated pg, warning for minor character death; also on ao3

lia’vael nar ulnay

This is it, she thinks as the volus accuses her, this is how my pilgrimage ends. She doesn’t even have enough money to eat anything more than the protein paste handed out by a turian charity, she certainly doesn’t have enough to hire someone to help her out of a C-Sec cell.

She doesn’t steal. Stealing money, especially from a bosh’tet like this volus, probably doesn’t count as harming another, but she wouldn’t do it anyway. Her mother taught her better than that. No matter how she begs, no matter how much she tries, she cannot make the volus or the C-Sec officer believe her.

Lia’s on the verge of tears when the human steps in, with a quarian and a turian behind her. The switch from despair to relief is too rapid, too sudden, and she’s left completely speechless as the human Spectre dresses down the officer. She’s even more stunned when the quarian speaks up and practically throws the missing credit chit at the volus.

“You left it in a shop,” the quarian says, disdain and barely-contained fury dripping from her voice.

The officer and the volus leave, both chastised, and Lia takes a breath.

She thanks her saviors repeatedly, explains that she’s been eating paste and dreaming of ships, and they all wish her luck and go on their way.

The quarian finds her in the shelter that night, as she stares at her half-eaten bowl of dextro protein paste and the straw sticking out of it. She sits beside Lia and passes her a credit chit. Lia scans it, and her eyes widen: it’s three times as much as the one the volus accused her of stealing.

“I can’t accept this,” Lia says, though she desperately wants to. It’s enough to get her a decent bed and food for a few months, or be a good down payment on the ship she wants. But the quarian must need it, too.

“Yes, you can,” she says, and closes Lia’s hand around it. “Do good with it,” she says, and then stands up. “Keelah’selai, Lia’Vael nar Ulnay.”

She looks up. “Keelah’selai…” she realizes she doesn’t know the quarian’s name.

“Tali’Zorah vas Neema,” she says. And then, with a slight nod, she leaves.

Lia blinks long after Tali has disappeared from her view. That was Tali’Zorah.

She doesn’t buy the ship. She looks all day, but with a full stomach – full for the first time since she was stranded on the Citadel – she goes back to the shelter that evening, and asks what she can do to help.

vali’gorel nar qwib qwib

Illium is beautiful.

That’s an understatement. Illium is gorgeous. It’s shining and shimmering, it’s glittering and dangerous, everything the Fleet is not.

It’s not that she doesn’t love her family or her people, she does. But Val’s always wanted more. More than life in space, more than trying to keep aging ships running, more than the life she grew up with.

And Illium is perfect. Nos Astra is perfect.

She’s had no shortage of work, either. Quarians aren’t noticed as much on Illium as they are elsewhere in the galaxy, and so she doesn’t stand out. She can go almost everywhere and melt into the crowd and shadows. She spent all last week in the diamond district, taking small black bags from back doors and delivering them around Nos Astra on a stolen skybike.

It’s shady work, she has no delusions of that. The people who hire her are the very people she was warned about, but they pay well enough that she has an apartment a few streets into a decent neighborhood. She doesn’t even need roommates to help with the rent.

It’s shady work for shady people, but it’s fun work. Val’s never felt so alive, so light and free, as she does when she’s boosting a skycar or carrying two million credits’ worth of jewels to a drop point.

The only downside is having to pretend to be interested in other people for the sake of a job. She’s a thief and a courier, not a grifter. There’s no thrill in it for her; the thrill is in the steal, the thrill is in the rush of maybe getting caught. The thrill is not in talking to the people she’s going to steal from. She has a tactical cloak for a reason.

But this particular job is a matter of timing, and she’s afraid to tell her employer no for fear that he’ll stop calling, and so she’s here, in Eternity, on a date with the most boring turian she’s ever met. Five minutes into the date and he’s already falling for her, but she can’t even remember his name. He works security for the mark, and she needs his garage access codes.

Val decides to string him along, see how long she can play him and what else she can draw out of him. He’s bound to have more than just access codes. She pretends like she isn’t interested – not much of an act – and gives him just enough that he doesn’t give up and call an end to the date.

She leaves the bar with access codes, guard rotations, and schematics for the target safe.

She walks into Nos Astra’s muted, glittery late night air, and sends a message to her employer that she struck gold. The turian calls out after her, and she politely and gently lets him down. Dejectedly, he nods and walks away.

Her omnitool beeps. Instructions – a time and place to meet for the job. The job she wasn’t originally allowed on, but the job she’s now running. She smiles. She’ll never leave this.

kenn’rala nar tonbay

He hates Omega. It’s dirty and sleazy, and his environmental seals have been working overtime since he stepped on board the station. He shouldn’t have even stopped here, and he certainly hadn’t planned on it, but he’s always been bad with money and unexpectedly found himself dangerously low on credits in a dangerous area of space. He’s bad with money, but good with salvage, and Omega’s a decent place for salvage.

Kenn barely has the lease settled on his kiosk when a pair of vorcha slink down the stairs, hovering in the shadows. He hasn’t even hacked into the electrical grid yet to power his kiosk.

“What?” he snaps after trying to ignore the lurking vorcha for a full five minutes. He prides himself on always being polite, but lurking vorcha can’t be a good sign, and he’s been fighting an irrepressible wave of desperation ever since the lease – the cheapest one he could find – was more than what he wanted to pay.

One of the vorcha hisses, wet breath rattling in the back of his throat. “Harrot’s territory,” he growls.

There are other merchant districts, but he’s stuck in this lease for six months. He can’t move, not without breaking his lease and digging himself even deeper. The batarian who rented him the stall looked like the kind who wouldn’t wait around for money, but who would just go straight for a gun to the head.

So Kenn agrees to Harrot’s terms. He doesn’t have a choice.

The vorcha aren’t even out of sight before he feels failure creep up his spine to join the desperation. He’ll never make enough to get off the station.

Weeks later, a human comes by. He tries not to sound too disappointed, too resigned to his fate when she asks about it: she looks like she might buy something, and no one buys from sad vendors. She even gets Harrot to drop his clutches, allowing him to charge a reasonable price.

He smiles, for the first time since he stepped aboard Omega. A spark of hope lights up inside of him, trying to beat back the crushing failure. He might actually make enough to leave, might actually make enough to get somewhere he can find something for his pilgrimage.

But Cerberus invades, and he’s just another casualty. A dead body at the bottom of the stairs, his kiosk picked over by scavengers.

maya’leen nar idenna

“Cut,” the director calls. “Let’s take lunch.”

Maya drops character and walks away from the set. These lines are ridiculous. As free as dust on the solar wind. She rolls her eyes, glad – not for the first time – that she has a mask, and wonders – also not for the first time – who wrote this shit.

“Don’t speak to me unless it’s as Bellicus,” she warns her costar, holding up a hand to stop him from coming any closer and inevitably asking her to sit with him at lunch where he’ll say something borderline offensive. She steps around him and keeps walking toward her trailer.

The director steps in front of her. “Maya, I’m just looking for more,” he gestures to his face. “You have to act through the mask. We don’t have your face, so it’s up to your body and voice to tell us what Shalei is thinking.”

Shalei is thinking that she would never say half the things in this mess of a script. “Okay,” she says cheerily. “I’ll work on that after lunch.”

She miraculously makes it the rest of the way to her trailer without encountering any other cast or crew. With a sigh, she locks the door behind her and drops onto the couch. The work is nice, and the money is even nicer, but the script is awful, her costar keeps hitting on her, and with the way that they’re already plastering ads all over the Citadel when filming hasn’t even finished yet – she’s never going to escape this character. Ever.

Maya makes herself a smoothie and sits in the quiet of her trailer for a bit. Shalei is her first role of any decent size, the first time she’s been pulled out of crowd scenes and background extras. She wishes there’d been something in the middle – something just on the edge of the spotlight, instead of being thrust straight into it. Then she’d have something else to rely on, something to point to when casting agents inevitably ask her about Shalei.

The set bell rings – two-minute warning – and she sighs. She slurps the rest of her smoothie, takes three deep breaths, and opens the door. If she’s going to be Shalei for the rest of her life, she might as well be good at it. She’ll take her mask off, she’ll sing, she’ll deliver the most ridiculously absurd lines.

Even if it means never getting another role in her life, convincingly selling Shalei means she’ll never have to worry about money. Which means she can stay on the Citadel. She won’t have to go back to the Fleet, where she’s nobody - just another quarian.

“Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd action!”

She gazes up at him – seeing only Bellicus, and not the turian who’s been mildly annoying her since filming started – and tries to feel, with her entire body, that she loves this man. Her shoulders relax and she leans a little bit toward him, just enough that their fingers brush against each other.

“Tonight, I’m as free as the dust on the solar wind,” she whispers, letting her gaze linger on him.

“Yes, perfect!” the director yells. “Cut and print that. Maya, that was beautiful, keep it up through the rest of the scene.”

She turns and looks over her shoulder. “Of course.”

tali’zorah vas normandy

Bosh’tets, all of them.

She helped save the galaxy, brought back information that would help them fight the geth, went to Haestrom and nearly burned up for research they wouldn’t even listen to, and the Admiralty Board decided to put her on trial for treason.

They accepted her back, even made her an admiral, and yet they didn’t listen to her – they decided to go to war with the geth instead. They made her an admiral because of the geth, and then didn’t listen to her about the geth. Bosh’tet isn’t a strong enough word.

Tali listens to Admiral Gerrel and Admiral Raan argue, and watches Admiral Xen stare at Legion like it’s one of her soulless experiments, and wonders why she even tries. Wonders why she even bothers to come back to the Fleet when all she’s ever gotten out of it is heartache and frustration. She loves her people, but it’s hard to see the rest of the Fleet through the stupidity of the admirals.

And then Shepard pings her omnitool with a departure time, and Tali swallows.

This is why she keeps returning.

She can hardly believe it, not even when they shuttle lands. Rannoch.

By the homeworld you may see some day…by the homeworld she’s lucky enough to see right now. The homeworld she is standing on. She’s breathing Rannoch’s air, tasting Rannoch’s dust through her filtration seals, feeling Rannoch’s rocks underneath her feet. Rannoch’s sun warms her through her suit, and she tilts her face up to the sky.

Shepard gives her a rock, a small round orange pebble, and Tali closes her hand around it. She smiles at Shepard, and slips the pebble into her pocket. It’s only a tiny bit of the homeworld to take with her, but it’s more than many will ever get.

A small lizard runs across the rocky sand in front of her.

“When you’re ready,” Shepard says, and heads back to the shuttle.

Tali takes a moment, lagging a little behind. All purples and pinks and oranges, she wants to remember Rannoch’s sky, and the way the scraggly trees cling to the rocks with so much life, and the quiet lap of the ocean below the cliffs. The water sparkles in the sun, and even the shadows are warm and welcoming. Beachfront property, indeed.

She smiles. With a deep breath, she turns back to the shuttle, to Shepard and Legion, to giving the Migrant Fleet their homeworld again, and a place to put down roots.

#carastian candies #masseffectholidaycheer #s:words #s:me #s:2017 #ao3 has been a hot mess of lag lately when it comes to posting new stuff and i'm kind of over it

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shirlleycoyle · 4 years

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The 2030 Last-Minute Christmas Gift Guide

Buying Christmas gifts for you friends, family, and loved ones is always hard—and after yet another turbulent year it looked like maybe it was finally time to just cancel the holidays! But things are finally looking up, and we can’t think of a better reason to celebrate.

With the ceasefires still holding in Texas and Idaho, clean(ish) water restored to almost half of Los Angeles, and—most importantly—Amazon confirming that yes, they will be restarting deliveries to Evac-Bill registered US citizens in most major FEMA Relocation Camps, there’s never been a better time to get in the festive spirit with a little retail therapy!

Whether you’re a Tier 1 high flier with a bonus to blow or an Unranked trying to make that final Freedom Dividends payment last ‘till January, we’ve got gift ideas to match all wallets and payday loan repayment strategies!

Tier 1 Zone Day Pass From $199/day – restrictions apply, see below

Want to see how the other half lives? Well, I guess more accurately it’s the other 0.1%, but why get hung up on numbers? Grab a Tier 1 Day Pass from Darklake Security for a family member—and maybe one for yourself—and get a chance to explore parts of the city you’re never usually allowed to see! Want to hit the shops in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards? Have brunch under the Park Slope Climate Dome in Brooklyn? Take a stroll and check out the view from Pacific Heights in SF? With a Tier 1 Pass you can walk straight in to dozens of exclusive, restricted neighborhoods in cities around the world, no questions asked!*

Rub shoulders with the brilliant, beautiful, and financially solvent—who knows who you might bump into! And with the special Connect package deal, for just an extra 30 bucks, you can enjoy a whole day of Tier 1 internet access and surf like an influencer—stable connection, fast download speeds, nazi-free social media, data anonymity, and no pop-ups. Come and get a taste for the Tier 1 life—you’ll never look at your credit score again in the same way!

*Restrictions apply: Tier 1 Day Passes are available only to Evac-Bill registered US citizens. No exceptions. Security checks and infection tests must be completed before admittance to Tier 1 neighborhoods. All visitors must consent to wearing a tracking and monitoring device for the entire duration of their visit. Removal of the device, or breaking of any other laws or restrictions, will result in immediate imprisonment under the 2027 Emergency National Cohesion Act as it applies to Private Enforcement Contractors. Darklake Security Industries reserves the right to refuse or cancel entry at any time, without explanation.

B. W. Trump – Only The Hague Can Judge Me $29.99 from Amazon on vinyl/CD, streaming available only in Tier 1 Certified Access Zones

It’s been a tough couple of years for Lil BazE: abuse and kidnapping allegations, paternity cases, alleged connections to the Jacksonville Separatist Army, and the reports that his father was refusing to let him visit him in prison—but the triple Grammy-winning rapper is back with the long awaited follow up to 2028’s Air Fucks One. And it does not disappoint.

From the drive-by swagger of "Spray It Don't Say It" through the hot under the collar bump n’ grind of "Shorty Put The Ride In Auto" to the emo soul baring of "Alone On The Gulfstream" every track on Only The Hague Can Judge Me is on point. This is the work of an artist at the top of his career, and one whose talents only shine more as the haters try to step up. With the breakout single"Cancel Culture" currently topping the charts on both sides of the 40th Parallel DMZ, it looks like B-dub has already delivered another hip-hop classic.

The Unlimited Dream Company Bespoke Crisis Zone Tours Packages starting at $1399 per person

Want to get out and see some more of the world in 2031, but know there’s no way you’ll ever be able to afford international air travel again? Well, there’s still a lot of America to see and explore! It’s fair to say our great country has seen some challenging times over the last decade, including shifts in both our political and geographical landscapes, but as a nation we’ve stood up to and embraced the challenges—and what better way to celebrate this new era than going out and experiencing it yourself?

Want to take a low flying helicopter ride over the Texas Refinery District Toxic Exclusion Zone? Try urban scuba deep under what was once the Miami waterfront? Or maybe you want to take a leaf out of your favorite influencer’s book, and get your photo taken on the rim of the crater that was once the Space X test facility? The Unlimited Dream Company can make it happen, with its range of exclusive, customizable tourist trips. You’ll be given full safety training and orientation—including an entry level handgun course for trips in disputed states—and will be accompanied by medical staff*, Darklake certified security agents, and tour guides with unmatched local knowledge.

Prices are not cheap though, so this is definitely a gift idea for those of you firmly ranked as Solvent A-7 and above. Still, UDC also sells a full range of merchandise in its online store—from FEMA approved radiation-detecting temporary tattoos to "My sister visited the Baltimore Dirty Bomb Clean Up Zone and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" shirts. They make for perfect low cost stocking fillers.

*Medical expenses not included in package prices. Participants are expected to have their own health insurance.

Where’s Elon? – Mindfield Games Ltd $8.99 in the App Store/Google Play

Where did he go? Did he really make it to Mars? Is he hiding out on the dark side of the Moon? Has he really accepted Chinese citizenship? Or is he just chilling in his luxury bunker in New Zealand? Nobody knows for sure, but with this new mobile game from superstar designers Mindfield you can help track down America's greatest traitor! Based on the classic children’s book, Where’s Elon? challenges you to spot the world’s greatest entrepreneur-turned-environmental-criminal across a dozen beautifully illustrated, scrolling crowd scenes. When you see him point him out quick—and be rewarded with the satisfaction of watching a beautifully rendered drone strike! Fun for the whole family.

The InfoWars Flat Earth Atlas $25.99 from Amazon

Less an informative text and more an exquisite curio, the official InfoWars Flat Earth Atlas, 8th Edition is the perfect gift for that coffee table book enthusiast in your life. Learn about how everything you thought you knew about physics is a lie, and why nobody has ever been permitted to sail to The Edges, through a series of exquisitely painted and painstakingly annotated maps, charts, and illustrations. And with the addition, new to this edition, of QRcodes on every page that auto post content to Facebook with just a single scan, this is the perfect gift for that uncle that always sparks the most interesting family discussions. You might not be a believer, but can you ever really be sure? About anything? Take some time to shrug off the chains of reason and logic this holiday season and experience the buzz of free thinking—before they try and ration that too!

Marvel vs Star Wars VI – The Final Conflict $39.99 from Amazon/Disney on uBlu-Ray, streaming available only in Tier 1 Certified Access Zones

If the thought of Tony Stark wearing C3-PO’s face as a temporary face mask or the sight of The Hulk behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon doesn't get you excited, can you really even call yourself a movie fan anymore? This holiday sees the release of the final installment of the saga to end all sagas! For real this time! Will our heroes get over their personal differences in time to band together to save the galaxy from the cross dimensional threat of the Thanos-Palpatine Axis? Will Thor, now struck down as a mere mortal, pass his Padawan training and become a Jedi master worthy of the memory of Baby Yoda, tragically slain in the last movie? All these questions will be answered, plus a bunch that never will, in what is definitely, completely certainly, the last chapter in the series.

Plus as a bonus feature for Blu-Ray owners, make use of the exclusive Auteur Algorithms mode. Disney made a machine learning AI watch hours and hours of movies by classic directors whose IP they own—Kubrick, Kurosawa, Scorsese, DuVernay, and Hitchcock to name just a few—so that it can re-edit and re-frame the movie in their unique personal styles, in realtime. With every watch it will look unique! The long-awaited future of cinema is finally here.

Balenciaga Bug Out Bag $799, Nordstrom exclusive

If the last ten years have taught us anything, it’s that we all need to be ready to move out at just a minutes notice. We’ve all got—or should have—a bug out bag ready to go, and while being constantly prepared can cause considerable stress and anxiety, there’s no reason that you can’t look stylish! The Balenciaga Bug Out Bag might be expensive, but it’s guaranteed to make you stand out in any crowd, whether you’re trying to get out of the state or into one of the hastily designated public shelters. Packed full of goodies like San Pellegrino-branded water purification tablets and an exclusive Burberry designed insulation blanket, it’s got all the essentials you need to survive the next evacuation call while still looking tight. Got a keen teenage social justice warrior in the family? Then the special Pro Protest edition is perfect for them—with extras such as a Nike branded breathing mask (tear gas rated), an Anker mil-grade laser pointer, and a limited-edition facial recognition fooling make up kit from Sephora. Now you can send that adorable little protester out for the night knowing not only will they be safe but they’ll also be the envy of all their friends as they fight against the oil and tech companies, police brutality, the forced relocation of a local community, or whatever it is the kids get all worked up about these days.

FEMA gift vouchers $5 – $200, from Amazon and fema.gov

Still don’t know what to get that friend or loved one that’s been relocated to one of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s temporary residential camps? Then let them pick how they want to treat themselves with a FEMA gift voucher. Not only is it redeemable against certain product lines on Amazon, it can be used in-camp to make their stay a little easier by paying for extra food and water rations, extended shower times, and even little luxuries such as chocolate, fruit juice, and soap. Know somebody staying in one of the Amazon or Walmart co-administered camps? Then get them one of the new Duvet Day passes for just $75, that gets them out of all work camp duties for a full 24 hours!

The 2030 Last-Minute Christmas Gift Guide syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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