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chockfullofsecrets · 4 years

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RWBY: Dinner and a Smile

(Read on AO3)

Rating: Gen

Summary: Ironwood needs dinner and a break. And he'll get them, if Qrow has anything to say about it.

Wordcount: 2382

A/N: Hey, it’s been a while! I feel a little bad that this isn’t BNHA fic, but I was having so much trouble getting back into the swing of writing that I eventually decided to try a new fandom to shake things up. Thank you for all your patience and well wishes, and hopefully there’ll be more fic in the near future!

Also - there’s just not enough platonic RWBY tickle fic. So if you have any prompts, feel free to drop them in my ask box!

Sometimes, James wondered if there was a time when he would have considered filing paperwork at 10 in the evening a late night at the office - certainly not in the last year. Maybe not in the last five. There were no late nights anymore, only a dwindling amount of precious time before Mantle went critical, before Salem gained too much power, before she showed up again in his tech and in the cities he was supposed to be able to protect.

Brothers, it had been a long time since he’d ended the day without a headache and a gnawing sense of unease. And it seemed like the streak would continue, even with the influx of additions to his inner circle.

His office door chimed. James glanced over at the appropriate screen, then tapped the door open. “Ah, Qrow. Glad to see you got my message.’ He paused. ‘And responded in a fairly timely manner, even.”

Qrow smirked, his jewelry glinting even in the dim office lights as he propped himself lightly against the doorframe. “Aw, Jimmy, a compliment? I guess you really were happy to see me.”

“Of course I was.” James frowned. “I said so, didn’t I?”

“I’ve heard you say nicer things to all kinds of people,” Qrow said, shrugging himself upright and ambling towards the desk. “You military types are real good at buttering people up. Yes, sir. No, sir. Whatever it takes to get a promotion, sir.”

James was halfway to saying something that was probably going to end with broken windows when Qrow reached his desk and huffed out a laugh, looking almost apologetic. “I’m not trying to start a fight. It was hard to believe at first, after everything that’s happened, but you’ve been good to us. The kids are really enjoying their licenses.”

“Oh.” James cleared his throat, regaining equilibrium at the sudden loss of tension. “They’re certainly making good use of them. I’m glad it was something I could do.”

Qrow cocked his head, birdlike - as always, the unconscious action was at least a little funny. “Sure. Now, you said you needed me to verify a report?”

“Yes.” Another tap, another screen, this time facing Qrow. “This is your report from wall patrol three days ago - can you confirm this is the right sector? If it is, we’ll have to log another breach report.”

Qrow grimaced at the hologram, pulling out his scroll to reference. “Yeah, it’s right. Shit, that’s not good.”

“I’ll send Penny down tomorrow to estimate how much material repairs will take,” James sighed, minimizing the screen. “Alright, that was it. Go enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Qrow didn’t move, a dark smudge in the corner of his vision. “Hey, if you keep doing that you’re going to fracture your nose.”

“What?” Oh, he was pinching at the bridge of his nose again, this time with his prosthetic hand. Stupid headache. “It’s fine. Atlas prosthetics have the best pressure control in the world-”

“Don’t care,” Qrow interrupted. “What are you doing with the rest of your evening?”

James looked up, surprised - that wasn’t like Qrow at all. “I’ll - be here, I suppose.”

“Right.” Qrow slid his scroll back into his hip pocket, completely ignoring the compartment in his new vest that was meant for the thing. “Come on, the kids got dinner for tonight. Nora can spare an extra person’s worth of food for you.”

He thought back to some of the looks he’d gotten from said kids in recent history - distrust, something ranging from fear to outright anger. They were in his inner circle, but he certainly wasn’t in theirs. Even beyond that, the awkwardness of showing up unannounced - “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Better than yours, though.” Qrow was suddenly looming over his desk, making use of his lanky arms to reach for the power button. James swiped reflexively at the intruding hand - he set everything to save automatically, of course, but Qrow didn’t know that -

Qrow smirked insolently even as his wrist was caught, neatly reversing the hold and bracing his other hand on the desk as he heaved James upright.

James wavered a little on his feet, staring dumbly as his headache spiked. He reached for the bridge of his nose with his free hand, but Qrow caught that wrist too. They stood there, reaching to each other, the warmth of contact nothing short of intoxicating.

Qrow’s head was cocked again - okay, it was a lot less funny when Qrow was analyzing him - and his voice was almost unbearably gentle even through that low rasp it had. “Trust me, I get it, but food will help.”

Sure. Sure. He could spare a couple minutes. How bad could it be?

^^^

He was an optimist, apparently.

RWBY, JNR, and Oscar were holed up in a common area near their assigned dorms, and every single one of them fell silent as Qrow and James walked in. Normal enough on the occasions he showed up to deliver a speech, but he could take the hint.

“Um,” he said eloquently. “Hello. I’m just going to-”

Qrow grabbed his arm before he could back away. “The general needs some food, and I figure we have enough casseroles to spare thanks to Tall, Blonde, and Good with Children over there.”

The blond boy - Jaune’s - ensuing blush was enough to pinpoint the target of the comment. “Uh, congratulations?” James offered. “It sounds like you’re making quite an impact.”

Jaune’s red-haired teammate burst out laughing, a few of the others following. “He sure is!” she crowed, elbowing the poor boy in the side - James could almost see his aura take the hit. “Just make sure you don’t do any impacting on the job, huh?”

“Stop it, Nora!” Jaune yelped. “Uh, thank you, General Ironwood.”

That seemed to break the ice sufficiently, the kids restarting their conversation, and soon he and Qrow were sharing a couch next to a table strewn with takeout and casseroles.

Qrow sank into the cushions, eyeing his straight-backed posture disapprovingly. “What, does your spine not bend?” he sniped.

“I’m surprised you haven’t offered me something to take the edge off,” James sniped back, smiling a little. He’d barely finished the sentence when the shrill voice of Qrow’s youngest niece rang out.

Both their heads snapped around. “UNCLE QROW,” Ruby yelled, dashing to her uncle’s side with what looked like a rapidly destabilizing takeout box. Qrow’s attention turned fully to her, but James’ gaze stopped on a coldly glaring Yang Xiao Long.

She caught his eye, making a fist with thumb and pinky extended, then tipped the sign toward her lips. Drink. She then slashed a finger across her throat, eyes flaring red. Drink and die, then.

Come to think of it, Qrow hadn’t taken out his flask in all this time -

He’d quit?

It made sense - the improved behavior, his sudden concern about people taking care of themselves -

He’d quit, and here James was, baiting him -

Yang appeared to take his wide-eyed horror as understanding, nodding curtly and turning back to the Belladonna girl.

“James?” Qrow was looking back in his direction, takeout box apparently rescued. “What were you saying?”

“Nothing,” he said. It was too hasty - Qrow raised an eyebrow at him as he shoveled a forkful of casserole into his mouth.

He sat awkwardly, gaze locked on a gently steaming box of takeout. He didn’t know enough about them. He didn’t know enough about anything. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t -

He was a functional, competent adult who was in charge of massive amounts of people and weaponry, but the knowledge of just how much he was doing wrong was still enough to knock him right on his ass.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, embroiled in a morose staring contest with the gleaming white of the takeout box, when Qrow shifted closer and nudged at his left side firmly enough to make him jump.

“Relax,” he insisted, poking James again and making him jump even more. “Come on, do I have to feed it to you?”

“Qrow, I’m just not - Qrow!” The other man was looking more and more mischievous with every reaction to his poking, and James nearly groaned as he realized what was about to happen. One single night of drinking too much, a single ill-considered confession of this particular weakness, and he’d spent the better part of two decades paying for it as Qrow decided to exploit his knowledge whenever it suited him.

“Whoa, whoa! Careful, you were almost smiling there for a second. Better get it under control, or you’ll ruin your whole-” Qrow gestured vaguely, a lazy roll of his wrist, “image”.

Qrow pressed even closer, leaning in as James cringed away from the sensation of wiry fingers palpitating his side. His whole chest tensed in retaliation, but even that couldn’t stop his lips from curving traitorously up, or the strangled laugh pushed out of his thrumming lungs. He sucked in a breath. “Qrow, I will shoOT YOU-”

“Oh, you will? But you hugged me and everything...” Qrow withdrew a little bit and hmmed, seemingly considering. The glint in his eyes, the way Qrow was still very much in his personal space, told James that this consideration was a complete lie. “Well, at least it’ll be quick.”

Qrow pounced, knocking James back against the not-quite-soft arm of the couch. James’ spine (partially prosthetic, and it did bend, thank you very much) clicked a little as it tried to help him back up, but Qrow was already perched atop one of his legs, knee neatly pinning his right arm at the elbow and fingers reaching deftly under his coat to tickle at his hips. The prosthetics didn’t really translate ticklish well, but his left side was more than enough to trigger a wave of desperate laughter even as he flushed an embarrassed red at the surprised cries of the kids somewhere to the right.

James swung his left arm wildly, trying to jostle Qrow off. “Hey!” Qrow complained, still grinning like the imp he was as he rebalanced effortlessly and pinned the offending limb to the back of the couch. His free hand stilled briefly at James’ side before spidering ever-so-slightly upwards. “Hey, Jimmy, this still your worst spot?”

“Ngh - ha - get ohohoff! Ihi - Qrow, I mehehean it -” He was fighting to keep his voice stern, but it was so hard to be even remotely dignified when Qrow insisted on tweaking every single rib he had on the way up his torso.

Qrow massaged lightly at his highest rib, far too close to the sensitive hollow of his trapped arm, and any composure James had left dissolved as his protests lapsed into helpless giggling. Qrow smiled down at him, obviously pleased with this reaction, and James squeezed his eyes shut to escape his gaze. “Yep, looks like it’s still pretty bad,” Qrow teased. “And what about here?”

James tugged futilely at his arm as Qrow’s fingers strayed further north, still points of pressure at the very edge of his underarm. “Well? Got anything to say?”

Still giggling, it was all James could do to shake his head.

“Okay, then.” That strange softness again in Qrow’s voice. James opened his eyes just in time to slam them shut again as Qrow tickled mercilessly under his arm, fingers brushing over what seemed like every last nerve he had left. He was laughing so hard it hurt, wrenching at his trapped hands in a desperate attempt to get just an inch more of protection against the onslaught. He couldn’t think, couldn’t worry.

Not the worst feeling in the world, actually. An entirely different kind of helplessness from what he’d felt at Beacon. He’d have to ponder that later when he wasn’t busy fighting for breath.

After an endless minute, his left arm slipped free and he swatted Qrow with it, using the instant of relief as Qrow laughed at his pathetic attempts to yell Qrow’s name in protest.

Qrow finally let up, moving his knee off James’ right arm, and even before he caught his breath James reared up and punched Qrow in the shoulder hard enough to sting.

Qrow rocked back, still half-laughing, and all but pouted at him. “Ow! I didn’t punch you!”

James relaxed back against the couch arm, gulping in air until he could manage a full sentence. “Well you’re not ticklish, you ingrate, so what else am I -”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s not ticklish’?” Yang interrupted. They both froze, heads swiveling to face their spectators.

James’ heart rate was already rising as he scrambled for any way to regain control of the situation, but his panic abated somewhat upon seeing the children’s faces. They looked amused - happy, even. He’d thought that the Faunus girl - Blake’s - ears had a permanent pained twist to them, but there they were, poised comfortably as she smiled at the two of them.

Yang and Ruby were both examining their uncle, arms crossed. “Yeah, Uncle Qrow is super ticklish!” Ruby said, grinning. “Every time we’d have tickle fights at home, Dad would-”

“Hey!” Qrow snapped, clapping his hands over James’ ears. James swiped at him again, and this time Qrow’s knee slipped right off the couch and took the rest of him with it. He knocked his elbow on the table, and half the kids sprang up to protect the food before Qrow’s semblance could break something.

James sat up properly, and didn’t even feel a little bit bad about planting a boot atop Qrow’s back to keep him down. “Oh? Tell me everything.”

The group cringed a little - right, those secrets they were keeping - but Ruby perked right back up and launched into a description of Qrow’s most embarrassing defeat at the hands of his brother-in-law.

When she had finished, James let a considerably less arrogant Qrow up off the floor. “I won’t act on that tonight, I think we all deserve a quiet evening.” He fixed Qrow with a stern look. “But you should be… careful.”

Qrow rolled his eyes, completely unbothered, and grabbed a random container of food to shove at James. “Shut up and eat something.”

He accepted the food gratefully, noting with considerable surprise the distinct lack of headache.

An evening well spent, then.

#tickling #rwby #ironqrow #james ironwood #qrow branwen #chocfic

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exobyharu · 5 years

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PCY - Ch2

Chapter 2: Sometimes, it works that way

(Part 1)...(Part 3)(Part 4)(Part 5)(Part 6)

Summary: Chanyeol vs the world and Chanyeol vs himself, featuring his well-planned attempts at damage-control. You don’t make it too easy for him.

⏰ 11:12 AM 🌏 Hotel (S), City of (L), but you transferred to the 38th floor now 🌤 Sunny, summer morning, and it’s almost as sunny as Chanyeol’s mood 👥 YN, Park Chanyeol, Kim Jongin (mentioned), Kim Junmyeon (mentioned), Chanyeol’s sister (mentioned)

Notes: This is part 2 of my PCY series. Hope some of you like it! He’s much nicer (to you) now, at least at the end (sort of). PCY may have dropped a couple of curse words here and there, but that’s all I have to warn you about. PCY says he’s sorry!

Words: ~1,900

💙💙💙

Chanyeol hated it, that his new composition was turned down yet again, by their over-qualified and impossible-to-please producers at SM Entertainment because, for probably the fourth time this month, it’s about time you stopped making your lack of experience show in your love songs, no matter how heartfelt you think your lyrics are.

He also hated it, that his sister borrowed his Mercedes Benz without permission, and only called to inform him that she had unintentionally defaced it once again by crashing it against a tree – and it’s even the same tree as last time.

Jongin also left a voice message earlier that evening to tell Chanyeol that he had misplaced the keys to the private studio. But it’s okay and there’s no need to panic because the interns and some staff members volunteered to help me look for it. Jongin apologised for always losing and breaking his senior’s belongings and promised that he won’t let anything like that happen again. Newsflash: Chanyeol hated his promises too.

When all of that happened in a span of three hours, along with Baekhyun’s persistent calling and mindless whining as the sweet cherry on top, it was only last night that Chanyeol finally discovered how things would blow up.

There’s a distinction between a bad mood and an ill temper, he would constantly remind himself. There is a limit to what behaviour is acceptable. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that he forgot to give himself the pep talk recently. This was why his adviser’s worst nightmare finally came true: Last night, on the balcony of this suite room, Chanyeol abandoned all caution, emptied himself of patience, and mindlessly acted on his frustrations as if the world owed him a proper outburst.

The rapper was weak on his knees when he remembered how he lost his shit and ended up taking it out on whom he thought was one of their group’s obsessive fans. What made it worse was that you apparently turned out to be an unsuspecting stranger who was not even up to anything remotely intrusive. Chanyeol was certain that whatever transpired from last night’s interaction with you was most probably typed out already, in some group chat or online page and it was only a matter of hours before his phone was ringing to a call from his enraged manager or worse, from Junmyeon, who always preferred to express his brotherly concern by packaging it as a mouthful of obscenities instead.

Much like last night, Chanyeol spent the early hours of the day, collapsed on the suite’s ridiculously oversized bed, pondering and unable to think of answers for his life’s profound existential questions.

How many ex-girlfriends did he need on his badge to write a love song that would pass SM’s extensive quality control? What kind of genius did Jongin have to be in his past life to be so remarkably scatter-brained now? Bench presses were bench presses. How was he going to teach Baekhyun how to cheat on his reps when he, himself, never did? Most importantly, why was his sister such a terrible driver?

The whole process was mostly a one-way conversation with the luxurious finish of his suite room’s coffered ceiling because much like the answers he could not produce for himself, he had to accept that some things in general were simply beyond his control.

He could try to cut down that stupid tree, though. The dumb task was two bumper repairs overdue.

With newfound resolve, he also made sure that he spent the next few hours after his morning shower rehearsing the, albeit extra kind, words that he would use when explaining to his manager, to Junmyeon, or even to the company’s CEO, if you had managed to blow the whole thing out of proportion. When he called for room service to have breakfast delivered, he even inquired about how to send a massive bouquet of flowers to the occupant of the suite room beside his, simply because fuck ups like last night were not allowed to be in Park Chanyeol’s record. Ever.

About a few minutes later, a delicious tray of espresso waffles and sides finally arrived at his doorstep, along with a message that the suite room right beside his had been emptied just last night. It was at this moment upon hearing the hotel staff’s message about the female occupant transferring to another room, that the rotting sensation at the center of his chest returned in an instant. He ended up not eating much of his breakfast and crushing his face against the silk on his pillow seemed to be the best course of action instead.

This is all your fault, so you fix, he thought incoherently, hoping that blaming himself again brought more clarity. He thought back to last night, trying to remember how much he had told you and if it were truly enough to rile you up, prompt you to file a report, and transfer to another room.

He could not even recall if he said a couple of bad words or not.

Pursing his lips as he walked the tightrope in between discouragement and desperation, it did not take long for him to decide to give it a go and call the front desk. Even though he was familiar with hotel policies, and even though it was another item on his endless list of things that he hated, not to mention too much against his principles, it looked like he was willing to overlook the misuse of his VIP status to have his way just this once. It was promising that his phone had not buzzed since he had woken up, but the fact remained that it was now, or later, when irreversible damage was done and Dispatch was already camping out at the hotel lobby downstairs.

So he did as he rehearsed, and it was almost nauseating how it took too little effort to get the details that he wanted. Something in his gut roiled when he had to emphasise his name as if his identity were a badge that can be used to proclaim himself qualified to make such a special request. Your full name, YN YLN, along with other personal details that he did not ask for, were disclosed to him without the need to impose or even lie.

Nevertheless, he got what he needed and Chanyeol hoped that it was worth the brief moment of shamelessness. Again, he comforted himself that damage-control in itself was a pain in the ass. And even though hating himself for resorting to this method was even more exhausting, it had to be done in order to move forward with his plans of setting things straight.

Press 0, and then after the beep, 3815.

He did not expect it, but it plunged his nerves into a state of panic when he started dialling your room number. Maybe he was afraid of you and what you had to say - more specifically, about how many of your friends already knew about last night’s exchange. Were you even going to speak to him? Did he even want to speak to you? The compromise was to put the phone down after five rings and send the damn flowers instead.

You answered exactly after four long rings. “Hello?”

“Yah!” he yelled, the couple of rehearsed lines he had prepared, instantly forgotten. “Why’d you move?!” His nerves pretty much took over and Chanyeol knew that he was not angry. It was beyond him if this distinction was not clear to you.

Still, your voice on the other end of the line remained impeccably calm. “Um, may I know who this is?”

“It’s Chanyeol.” In his years of performing in front of cameras and audiences, the rapper had never thought that introducing himself could elicit so much frustration.

You paused. “…I’m sorry?”

“You don’t remember last night?!” he yelled again. Immediately, the distant sound of his own voice made him cringe. It was an effort to ignore how it reverberated inside the room. He tried to clarify much more kindly now, but his attempt gloriously failed the moment he started. “It’s Chanyeol! Sexual Fantasies, Park Chanyeol!”

Your sigh that followed was a bit over-dramatic and it looked like he had done it again. “I know, okay?! I mean I know it’s you! You made last night pretty hard to forget, and I don’t mean it the way other girls in your head do. I was just unsure about apologising because you’re the one who explicitly told me to stay out of your way.” You were clearly getting worked up and it was too bad, because so was he.

“And you really thought I meant that?!”

“I still think that, seeing that you wouldn’t stop yelling at me! I only transferred to make the both of us happy, okay?”

“Do I sound happy to you?!” It was not a pleasant feeling to hear you sigh after every sentence because he realised that it was no longer just his reputation on the line. Chanyeol was not called the Happy Virus for nothing and he genuinely felt that he was putting down a lot of people by causing someone else’s distress. Ironically, this infuriated him even more. “You didn’t have to change your room and I’m not happy that you did!”

“Then that makes only me.” Your voice from the other end was dismissive and dripping with contempt. “Looks like your day will suck, Mr. Park, but please, let me enjoy mine.”

“Yah! Don’t put the phone down!”

“Seriously, Chanyeol, what do you want from me?!”

“Just stop hating!”

“I will if you leave me alone!”

“It doesn’t work that way!”

At this point, the conversation became all about talking over the other. It took a few more out of the both of you before Chanyeol realised what an idiot he had been for the past two minutes. Stress had really done a number on him lately.

Relax.

Catching his breath in the brief silence that ensued, he allowed his pride to crumble in the name of ending all this bullshit between the two of you. He was just tired, more than anything else. Releasing the tightness on his throat, he modulated his voice to suit the tone that he would effortlessly use when speaking to a fan – or his mother.

“Just… meet up with me, will you? There’s this café at the top floor.”

“No thanks. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“What stuff?”

“Stuff that’s none of your business, obviously.”

Your answer made him press a hand to his forehead. You mean stuff that’s non-existent, obviously, he thought with a roll of his eyes. What kind of idiot did you think he was? Though it did not look like much on paper, he decided that all the painful overthinking and planning had already gotten him this far and it was impossible for him to take no for an answer.

“Tonight then? I’ll be there by 7.”

“No, Chanyeol. I won’t be there.”

“That’s great! I’ll wait for you.”

And then he hung up the phone too soon, which was his underhanded way of making sure that you did not have the change to decline any further. What he did was almost rude, but Chanyeol promised to make up for his bad manners tonight instead. Even though he would not consider the conversation a step towards the redemption of his ruined first impression, if he got you to show up, he was sure to not waste his chance. Now, all he had to do was figure out what stunt he was going to pull off in order to make up for being a stupid shit last night.

💙💙💙 - to be continued -

#chanyeol #chanyeol scenarios #park chanyeol #exo scenarios #exo #park chanyeol scenarios #exo fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #kpop scenarios

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tothelasthoursofmylife · 4 years

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4th Anniversary Stuff

I had quite the long day yesterday and now I am a day late^^’

But, well, anyway... Watchdog of the Queen turned four yesterday! Yey!

I have been terrible again with updates in the last few months, so if you’re still here and waiting - thank you! Life and university kept me busy and exhausted lately (and I was, to my surprise, picked for a zine!), but I’m still working on the next chapter and have no intention of dropping this story anytime soon! Not when it is still keeping my brain busy.

I think I’m always getting so melodramatic and repetitive in these posts^^’ Sorry...

Well, last year, I put together some trivia and notes and I thought I would do the same this year! But that’s not everything...

When I started writing this fic, I created a file to collect little bits and pieces as I thought of them. So far, I have 258 snippets in that file^^’ Some are just a sentence long, others some pages. And I thought that, if someone’s interested, you can send me a number between 11 and 258 and I’ll post either the entire thing or part of it. However, if it’s just a sentence or a joke I have saved for later, I will reserve not to post it. (And it’s from 11 to 258 and from 1 to 258 because the first ten are just too old and irrelevant.)

Thank you so much for sticking with me for four years now! And let’s hope for many more^^

Story

The little “add-on” about Oscar and Cloudia on the intermission chapter was actually supposed to be much longer. It would have not just been about Cloudia returning to the townhouse and talking to Oscar there after she met Cedric for the first time, but it would have been an extended version of the entire first three chapters. It was supposed to start with the morning before Cloudia went to that party and end with her conversation with Oscar. It even had a proper name: “The Countess, Once Again.” But I thought it would be too long and too boring, so I just kept the last part of it. I did like the beginning part when Cloudia woke up; I was quite sad to cut it. (I wrote it in late 2017/early 2018… while it was snowing! *sigh*)

While finishing the general outline and concept of Arc 4, I thought about roughly basing it on a fairy-tale, and because it’s set in France, I thought about picking a French fairy-tale. (Also the term “fairy-tale” was actually introduced by Madame d’Aulnoy, a Frenchwoman, so it would have been perfect!) Unfortunately, it did not work out because the arc became too stuffed with other things.

Originally, they were supposed to go to Réchicourt-le-Château, not Nanteuil-la-Forêt, but I changed it to cut their travelling time shorter. They were also supposed to stay at the proper Château Dupont, rather than at an acquaintance’s place. I changed it because I thought it would be too silly to say that, of all places, Nicodemus Townsend was spotted/the Clockmaker is living so close to where Cloudia’s relatives live. I just couldn’t do that – not after reading Villette…

Very early on, Townsend was to appear from the start of Arc 4. He was still the one who stole Queen Victoria’s super-secret box, but it would not have been so blatant. Instead, Townsend would aide Cloudia and Cedric and try to divert the investigation from himself. Cloudia was actually supposed to start liking Townsend (for some reasons), much to Cedric’s chagrin, but this particular aspect was so silly, I scrapped it all and rearranged it.

Originally, the last chapter (Mystery), the next chapter (Malady), and the one coming after it were one chapter. Please remind me to provide a word count for them when I have finished all three. What was I thinking…

Cloudia was lamenting about having apparently lost her family ring in the intermission chapter… Actually, I planned for Cedric to give her the ring in Faint and Low, wrote it into my outline, but I somehow forgot including it. Thankfully, I did not forget to make him return it to her in the intermission.

While working on the intermission, I thought about writing that Cedric and Milton met every now and then in the past year and became more acquainted with each other. Like, Cedric would come to Cloudia when she was extra busy, she would send him to town with Thomas, and they would run into Milton and Wentworth. But then, I finalised Milton’s story and decided that it would be better to say that he did not set foot into England since his villa was destroyed.

Milton and Cloudia met at a reception in 1846 because, years ago in English class, my teacher talked about how “receptions are little parties,” I jotted it down and thought “that might be a good place for their first meeting!” But, according to Wikipedia, “Formal receptions are parties that are designed to receive a large number of guests, often at prestigious venues [..]. The hosts and any guests of honor form a receiving line in order of precedence near the entrance. Each guest is announced to the host who greets each one in turn as he or she arrives. Each guest properly speaks little more than his name (if necessary) and a conventional greeting or congratulation to each person in the receiving line. In this way, the line of guests progresses steadily without unnecessary delay. After formally receiving each guest in this fashion, the hosts may mingle with the guests.” – which is not really what I had in mind back then. But I had already said that they met at a reception, so there was no going back.

There will be a total of three side stories for this arc. The Poker Game was the first. The second will come sometime in the middle after certain pieces of information were revealed. The last will come right after the arc wrapped up.

“The Earl, Reckless” and “The Siblings, Partners” are actually the first two pieces in a little series of five stories about Vincent and Francis. I hope to get out the third next year!

There will be a few more stories about them, but they won’t belong to that collection because they won’t be very readable as “standalone” fics. One of them is the pirate story which was mentioned in the second zucchini bonus chapter.

Names

Anaïs was always supposed to be a girl, but her name used to be Amable because it means “lovable” and I thought it’s such a cute name! Turned out it’s a boy’s name, so I changed it last-minute to Anaïs after the character from The Amazing World of Gumball.

Her aunt Sylviane was originally named Renée. I changed it because I remembered that “Renée” is the name of one of the musketeers in Barbie and The Three Musketeers, and I really dislike that movie.

Aurèle used to be named Gervais. But then, I named another character Gervais and forgot that I already had a character with the same name. Because I had worked more with the second Gervais in my head, I decided to rename the first one to Aurèle. At some point, I cut out the “final” Gervais (who was the original Clockmaker) though and replaced him with the current Clockmaker. So, there’s currently nobody with the name “Gervais” in the story…

I am actually quite lazy when it comes to picking names for any secondary characters. The names of the Dupont servants and most names of the inhabitants of Nanteuil-la-Forêt were generated with a random French name generator.

As I already said, I like naming characters after other fictional characters. I often base their personalities and stories on them as well. When I read a book or comic, or watched a movie or show which I did not like, I name and base characters who get killed, villain characters, annoying characters etc. after the characters from that book/comic/movie/show I did not like. For example, Maven, Manon, Axel, and Brenton were named and based on characters from Red Queen. Maven is, obviously, Maven. Manon is Mare, but her name is from Miraculous Ladybug because she was supposed to be the “puppeteer.” Axel Shade is named after Shade. (But his middle names are from The Infernal Devices which I do like.) Brenton is based on Cal. I chose the name “Von Brandt” because “Brand” means fire or blaze and Maven has fire powers in Red Queen. (-1/10 would not recommend that book.)

Nicer characters are, in turn, named after characters from media I liked. For example, Dahlia, Duke, Cas, the man Cas talked to in Duke’s tavern, and Lucas Renn are named/based after/on characters from A Darker Shade of Magic. Dahlia is Lila. Duke is Barron. Cas is Kell. The man he talked to is Ned. Lucas Renn is Alucard Emery (whose nickname is “Luc”).

Characters

Milton is my least favourite character to write because he has no humorous bone in his body. (Almost) everyone else is joking around, but I simply cannot picture him doing the same. At least, he can talk in waterfalls like most others – even if it’s in a different way. (This does not mean that I dislike Milton as a character! It just makes his dialogue a bit more challenging because he’s always very kind and never sarcastic. He’s the kind of person who, if you were to stab them, would calmly and softly tell you that it’s fine and that they have no ill-feelings for you even though they are literally dying and you are just a random thug.)

His rain-induced-heartache-memory-return is based on a similar thing a friend of my father’s has. When I was little – like six or seven – he and his family were visiting us. It was raining, and he explained that he had a heart operation many years ago on a rainy day and now, every time it rains, his heart phantom-pains. For some reason, it stuck with me, and I eventually decided to give Milton the same condition.

Townsend was a Frenchman (“Nicodème Etienne Bellamy”) for a very short time period because I thought “The arc is set in France, shouldn’t it have a French villain?” But then, I realised that it made no sense why a Frenchman should steal the Queen’s super-secret box and changed it back.

I wrote two stories for a Kuro Advent Calendar in 2017: Waiting and Warming. They were only replacement ideas though: Waiting was the replacement for a little game I wanted to put together but did not have the time for in the end. Warming was the replacement for a clockwork/clockmaker/machinery fic which I could not make work at that time. The Clockmaker Cloudia is searching for is something of a “remnant” from that fic idea.

Actually, Kamden was supposed to be the fidgety one before I gave that trait to Milton.

Misc.

While Milton is someone who does not really hate anything or anyone, I think he would very much dislike the song “Love is an Open Door” if the fic was set in modern times.

Because my sister once asked why “I draw Cloudia with short hair when she has long hair”: I do not draw her with short hair. I draw her with barley curls and a chignon, but the chignon is never visible.

Outtake – beginning of “The Countess, Once Again.”

The day Cloudia Phantomhive was to kill Ronan Parrish, she was tired – tired, bored, and wishing to be somewhere else.

She hadn’t slept well – she never slept well here – and her body both carved and dreaded more hours of sleep and rest. Cloudia had woken up far too early this morning and the dispute in her head had made her decide to stay awake and wait for the sun to rise – and in January, the sun was just as sleepy as she, but unlike her, it took its time to wake.

Not knowing what to do, Cloudia had taken the book she was reading from her bedside cabinet – The Chimes by Charles Dickens – but even though it was written by her favourite author, even though it was “just” a novella, she hadn’t been able to read more than a few pages. And so, until the sun rose and Lisa came, Cloudia spent her time staring into the darkness, the novella still in her hand. And when the sun had finally risen and Lisa had arrived, Cloudia nearly did not notice it; and when she was washing up and getting dressed, her head was still heavy and her body numb and she did not say a single word. Lisa did seem concerned, but Cloudia was thankful that she didn’t address it, that her concern was only shown in her gaze which Cloudia avoided.

Afterwards, Cloudia walked down the stairs to breakfast, the sun shining dimly through the ice-touched windows, and when she entered the parlour, Lisa in her wake and Newman opening the door for her, Oscar was already there.

Almost thirteen years ago, Cloudia’s father had died at the Phantomhive townhouse, and Cloudia herself had lost her memories. Since that day, Cloudia had never felt comfortable or safe or free inside the townhouse again – considering that she had ever felt like that here –, and because she was always sent back to that day whenever something triggered her – and this was even more likely at the townhouse – Eleanor and Barrington had decided that, even if she had Newman and Lisa with her, Cloudia was not to stay at the townhouse without another person. As both Barrington and Cecelia were busy and Oscar had helped her finding out about Parrish, although this “case” had been fairly clear from the very beginning, Oscar was staying with her.

“Good morning, Oscar,” Cloudia greeted him while sitting down, her own voice sounding odd to her.

“Good morning, Mylady,” he said, waiting for her to break her scone in half before he sunk his fork into his cake.

“Cake for breakfast again?” Cloudia remarked, but, instead of directly responding to her words, all Oscar said was, “Mylady, you should make sure to sleep more. Or, at all. It is not good for your health if you keep refraining from sleeping, even if it is the townhouse.”

Cloudia nodded absentmindedly and put cream on her scone. “I will when Parrish is dead and I can return to the manor,” she said, but Oscar did not reply and only ate in silence.

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writing-royza · 5 years

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Tainted Blood, Tainted Soul: Chapter Thirteen - Moving Forward

A/N: Happy Wednesday, everyone! Just doing a quick drop in this week; its been a busy week, and I ought to get to bed. I apologize for the extreme lateness; there have been some nasty issues with posting. The usual warnings apply. Enjoy!

I do not own FMA.

Chapter Thirteen - Moving Forward

27 WHEELER STREET, EAST CITY

0912 HOURS, APRIL 17

It caused her a brief moment of panic, to ease her eyes open and find his half of the bed empty. Riza sat bolt upright, feeling her stomach clench with sudden worry — no, call it what it is: fear — for him, then relaxed again as she caught sight of his pajama pants folded on a chair to one side of the room.

Jumping at shadows again, she chided herself gently. You spent six months doing that with Pride; don't start again now.

Slipping from underneath the sheets, she noted the absence of Hayate as she padded near-silently out of the room and down the hall toward the apartment's kitchen. Morning sun slanted into the living room ahead, looking warm and welcoming; much nicer than the low lamplight had last night.

She paused where the hallway ended in the open space of the connected living room and kitchen, taking a moment to study the figure slouched in a chair at the table, legs crossed at the knee. One hand rested in his lap, the other lay stretched on the table, toying idly with the handle of his coffee cup. A smile at his casual air started to spread across her lips… and hesitated when she caught his expression.

Roy's eyebrows were drawn low and close, his dark eyes staring at the mug in front of him without really seeing it. His only sign of movement was the slow motion of his lower lip as he worried it reflectively with his teeth. This was a deep thought pose. A deep, serious thought pose.

She took a cautious step forward, into line with his peripheral vision. "Good morning."

"Hey." He didn't look up. "How did you sleep?"

"Once I got to sleep? Just fine." Stopping beside his chair, she slid one hand across his shoulders, picking up on the tension in the muscles. "What about you?"

At last, he tilted his head back, so that she could see the faint dark circles under his eyes. His smile was rueful. "Can't say I slept at all, actually." The hand resting on the table lifted the mug. "That's what this is for."

Guiltily, she lifted her hand from his shoulder, moving it to brush his bangs from his eyes. "I'm sorry. If it weren't for that incident last night…." Bending, she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "If you want to try and get some sleep before going back to consulting on the case, then —"

"Ah… about that…." He turned his gaze back to the mug in his hand, but not before she saw the rueful smile tugging grimly at his lips. "There's… been a change of plans."

Her hand stopped in its slow raking through his hair, dark strands sticking up at odd angles through her fingers. Riza held perfectly still, taking time to study his turn of phrase from every angle possible. "…Did Hakuro find a way to remove us from the case?" she said at last, keeping her voice cool and controlled. "I don't think he was convinced we should be working it in the first place."

"He wasn't, but it wasn't him that pulled the plug," Roy murmured. "Before you got up, we had a phone call…."

CENTRAL MILITARY HEADQUARTERS

0817 HOURS, APRIL 17

Dawn had brought rain and fog to the city, covering the damaged garrison in both. Grumman had been amused to find a few stray tendrils of mist in the hallway — seeping in through gaps in the outside walls — on his way to the Presidential office, but his good humour hadn't lasted long. A message left on his desk had informed him of another attack by the serial killer in East City the morning before, as did the new copy of the Central Times.

Settling into his desk chair, he spread the newspaper in front of him and took a deep breath. Time to see what fear-mongering they're pushing today, he thought darkly.

It wasn't long in coming. The media reported both on the new crime scene and Riza's attack on the reporter in as much detail as they could muster. Irritation flared as the old man reached the last paragraph of the article.

While not officially dubbed so by investigators, the general public has taken to referring to the perpetrator as the East-Central Slayer, owing to the locations and extremely violent natures of the crimes.

Sitting back in the chair, Grumman slid a hand under his glasses to rub at his eyes. "Of all the names they could have come up with…. This is precisely what I had hoped to avoid."

Letting the newspaper flop flat onto the desk, he took a moment to huff out an irritated sigh before reaching for the telephone. It was the work of a moment to dial, waiting patiently until there was acknowledgement from the other end. "I'd say 'good morning,' but I suspect you know what's in this morning's paper."

"If you're referring to the attack on Plum Street yesterday, sir, then yes, I'm aware. And if you hadn't beaten me to it, I was going to call you."

"Hmm." Eyeing the tiny print of the article through his glasses, Grumman rested a hand on the polished wooden surface, his fingers drumming absently. "And are you also aware that there is a strong media opinion that my granddaughter may be charged with assault sometime in the next day or so?"

Roy at least had the good grace to sound shamefaced. "…Yes, sir. I'm… I was there. If it's any consolation, she was provoked."

"I didn't think she wouldn't be. Seeing as I suspect you two spent the night in each other's company, it shouldn't be too much trouble for you to put her on the phone, should it." He was trying hard for the tone of a firm, parental disciplinarian, but not having had that much luck with parenting in the past, he knew he sounded more like the deeply irritated officer he was.

"She's still asleep, sir." The barest hint of steel had entered the younger man's tone; standing up for his lady love when she wasn't awake to defend herself. "There was a… a bit of a security breach last night, and we were both up late. It's my opinion she could use the rest."

Quiet alarm bells had gone off in his head by the second sentence, and Grumman frowned deeply. "Explain."

There was the sound of a deep breath, and then an extremely tired-sounding, "Sir, I hope like hell you're sitting down."

Within minutes, Grumman was very glad he was. He listened in nearly slack-jawed amazement and horror as Roy detailed the strange man's inexplicable entry, the bizarre attack, and the fast exit. His stomach churned in sympathy as it was made clear that his granddaughter — my girl, my poor girl — had had some stranger's blood forced down her throat for some unknown and probably perverse reason, and had promptly vomited it back up.

Too shocked to feel angry, he ran a hand through his thinning hair as Roy finished, "I left her sleeping about an hour ago, and if she's still out by nine-thirty, I'll wake her."

"That's fine. Being consultants on the case, you're not compelled to be at Headquarters at any regular hour. You can come and go as you wish." He blew out a sigh. "Have you considered having her checked out medically? To make sure there's no ill effect from… from the incident last night?"

"I'll ask her about it, but I think she got rid of anything she swallowed." There was a pause. "In the meantime, sir, would it be too much to ask that you not tell General Hakuro what happened? He's already looking for an excuse to throw us out, and I'd rather not give him the leverage to do so."

He smiled grimly, reaching out to fold the newspaper closed. "Hakuro may talk a big game, but I've made it clear to him that his power in this is strictly supervisory. Hiring and firing, so to speak, is my jurisdiction, not his."

"Understood, sir." Another pause. "Was there anything else, sir? If not, I should call in to East City Headquarters and let them know we might be a while in getting there. I can say we're going over files here —"

"That won't be necessary." Grumman's eyes were on the article about the Angelini crime scene, specifically on the black and white photograph that showed both Colonel and Lieutenant. The dark-haired alchemist was on ground level, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses as he watched a sheet-covered gurney pass with its deadweight load. A man in a tweed blazer with a press pass tucked in his hat was approaching from behind, trying to look casual… but not escaping the sharp gaze of Hawkeye, who watched from the raised front steps of the house. Even in the grainy photograph, Grumman could see the shoulders raised in tension, the alertness in those brown eyes so like his daughter's…..

"…Say again, sir?"

"You won't need to let Eastern HQ know that you'll be away for a while," Grumman said firmly. "As I told you, I hold the veto power for who handles this case." He took a deep breath, folding the pages of newsprint closed over the photograph. "I believe you have other commitments to concern you; Major Armstrong and the remainder of your staff will continue the investigation."

"Sir, I—"

Grumman's voice dropped low, only for the ears of the man on the other end of the line. "Roy, this is not up for discussion. I'm making an executive decision here, and as a superior officer, the Führer-President, and a close friend, I expect it to be followed. Am I clear?"

A short silence, followed by an equally short sigh preceded the answer. "Yes… Your Excellency, sir." The use of the formal title was not lost on Grumman, but he chose to ignore it. "Would it be too much to ask, however, exactly —"

"Why?"

She had settled into a chair at the table as he told the story, her gaze intent on his face. Roy stared back, sympathetic and with the last vestiges of his own annoyance stamped in those dark eyes. His fingers, resting on the side of his coffee mug as he spoke, began drumming random, absent-minded patterns.

"He gave a few reasons," he said, shrugging fatalistically. "The first was to distance you from whatever media attention any assault charges are going to get you, if that reporter — what's his name, Collins? — decides to file. The second was that the killer obviously has an interest in possibly both of us and definitely you, so Grumman's hoping that we can slip out quietly, without drawing attention to ourselves, and he won't be able to trail us." He lifted the mug to his lips, saying before he took a sip, "And the third was that we're needed elsewhere."

Riza knew frustration was still furrowing her brow, and she made no attempt to hide it. Folding her hands on the table, she studied her fingernails a moment, trying to calm the flare of irritation and anger that had sprung up in her chest. "When you say elsewhere," she began at last, "you mean —"

He nodded. "Ishval."

She closed her right hand into a fist, feeling the slight dig of her nails against the skin of her palm. It didn't hurt, per se, it was more like… pressure. Straightening the fingers again, she contemplated the crescent-shaped indents in her skin. Calm… calm…. "And who is going to take over the investigation here?"

Roy was watching her, dark eyes taking in every small movement. "Grumman didn't assign anyone; he told me to choose two replacements that I thought could handle it. I thought maybe Rebecca would be able, but we've partnered her with Havoc in the past and he's obviously out of commission." He tilted his head to one side, regarding her with new interest. "I'd like your thoughts on it as well. Maybe there's someone I'm overlooking?"

"Rebecca's a good choice; she complained about having to deal with the case, but she'll take it seriously if she's at the forefront of the East City investigations." Pausing, Riza ran carefully through a list of their mutual contacts, trying to come up with a name that might be a promising candidate.

Finally, she looked up. "General Armstrong has already done us one favour, by lending you Major Miles to help with the Ishval reconstruction," she said. "What are the odds she'd give you back Falman as well? Again, on a temporary basis. Until this little fiasco is over."

He was already nodding slowly. "I'd considered that. I don't know if she'll agree to it, especially since it means helping me when she doesn't absolutely have to… but it's certainly worth a shot." Tilting his mug to look into the depths, he frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe if we arranged for the credit for an arrest to go to Briggs instead of East City…."

She watched him fall into contemplative silence, waiting a moment before speaking. "Either way… we're being benched again."

Roy's eyes flicked up to meet hers, clearly gauging her mood before he answered. "…Yeah. We are." Tossing back the last of his coffee, he got to his feet and started toward the apartment's small kitchen. "I still keep turning it over in my head, trying to find a way that we could stay, or that we could work our way back onto the case… but I'm not coming up with much."

"You said Grumman called here nearly an hour ago?" She watched as he nodded, refilling his mug and taking a clean one from a cupboard for her. "Then he'll already have called Hakuro and told him to expect another investigative team. And he'll be only too happy to avoid working with either you or I."

"Sometimes it's nice knowing a superior officer hates you and everything you stand for," Roy said mildly, starting back toward the table. "It makes every success feel that little bit better. Until things start working against you, and then it's just a nuisance." He set her cup in front of her. "I also briefly considered beginning a separate, private investigation on our own… but even with all our contacts and connections, I doubt we'd get very far."

She propped her chin in one hand, leaning over the cup to inhale the rich, savoury scent in appreciation. "That's assuming they would want to talk at all. Casella was nervous enough, thanks to what happened on the Promised Day; what's to say the others wouldn't be the same, especially if word has gotten out of what I did to Collins."

"It has." Roy grinned half-heartedly. "But your newspaper photo was very nearly as pretty as the real you."

Riza couldn't stifle a return smile, but she managed to quash the urge to laugh. "Flattery won't clear me at court-martial, sir," she said dryly, reaching for her cup. She sipped, the smile fading. "Which, I'll be honest, is one of the better reasons Grumman gave for taking us off the investigation."

He looked at her curiously. "You want to run for it? Get out of town before the lawyers begin circling?" His tone was joking, but his eyes were not.

She shook her head. "I didn't mean it that way. What I did was… I don't think it was exactly wrong, because I did perceive him to be a threat. But I definitely didn't handle it in a way that was… professional, for lack of a better term. I overreacted." Thoughtful, she gently swirled the coffee in her mug, watching the way it splashed up the sides. "Before we leave for Ishval, I think I should take you up on the suggestion you made, about calling a meeting with Collins and whatever lawyer he might have hired. See if he'd be willing to let things go if I apologized."

Leaning forward, folding his arms on the table, Roy nodded. "At the very least, he won't be able to claim you didn't demonstrate remorse for it, or whatever the legal jargon for it is. Though I think it would also be a good idea to have a backup plan for if he doesn't decide to forgive you."

Smiling over the rim of her cup, she shrugged one shoulder. "I thought that was what the Ishval trip was for?" Taking another sip, she set the mug back on the table, cradling the warm ceramic in both hands. "That being said… how exactly are we supposed to get out there? Trains haven't run out that far in, what, six? Seven years?"

"Not since the end of the war," Roy agreed. One hand rose, rubbing unconsciously at the light growth of stubble just starting to darken his jawline. "The way I figure it, we can either take a train from here to Resembool and find a car charter that'll take us the rest of the way to Ishval… or else we drive ourselves in the car we got from Eastern HQ."

Her gaze was steady on the table top, though introspective as she mulled it over. "It's a day and a half by train from Resembool to the outskirts of Ishval. That's three days by car," she reminded him. When she looked up, she was smiling again. "And I seem to remember you saying you hate camping almost as much as you hate going to the dentist."

He levelled a finger at her, matching her smile. "I hate military camps," he corrected, mock-severely. "But three days alone with you, sunshine during the day and stars at night?" Dropping his hand, he leaned forward. "I think I can handle that."

One blonde eyebrow quirked upward. "Is this a military expedition, or a romantic getaway?"

"Who's to say it can't be both?"

"Ah, efficiency. I like it." Leaning forward to meet him, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before getting up and making her way back down the hallway, coffee cup still in one hand. "There's a lot of supplies and equipment to line up, if that's the case, not to mention I'll need to make some apologetic overtures toward Mr. Collins. I think it's high time I got started."

Roy's eyes followed her across the room, watching the way his shirt hung on that lithe frame, how the hem stopped at the right length to give some decent modesty, while at the same time showing enough leg to be enticing. He got up to follow her, his own pace leisurely and mug still in hand.

"Since we're already off the case and don't have any official business that's absolutely pressing," he said, lifting his coffee for a too-casual-to-be-innocent sip, "then I think maybe I ought to reassure myself that you're as well as you seem to be."

He caught up to her in the bedroom doorway as she paused, looking back over her shoulder with a knowing smile. "I take it you mean a physical examination?" Her eyes wandered south along his body, then back to his face. "An… intensive one at that?"

Reaching out with his free hand, Roy tugged lightly on the open shirt collar, ignoring the red scar line and two small, round marks either side of it. "Strip, shirt thief."

CITY OF JADAD, GUNJA REGION, ISHVAL

1103 A.M., APRIL 17

He didn't like to think of how long it had been since he walked the packed-sand streets of an Ishvalan city, since he had smelled the warm, earthy scent of brick houses baking under the sun in the cloudless sky above. Things were beginning to come back to him: his feet instinctively gripping the soles of the sandals and adjusting in mid-step to any grit that shifted underneath, he carried one arm tucked neatly against his ribs to keep his robe from flapping open in the light breeze, and he held his head high, with the proper bearing of a full warrior.

The man with no name breathed deep, smelling the familiar scents of home, and for the first time in far too long… felt as close to at peace as he had ever been.

It wasn't possible to relax fully, of course. All around him were the remains of crumbled buildings, chunks of stone and mortar, shattered wooden beams, and splintered doors. What houses had had small gardens were left with dried and withered weeds, slowly disintegrating into dust.

He paused at the end of the street as it opened into a plaza, taking a moment to study his surroundings. It was rocky, desolate, covered in dust and rubble… but underneath it all, he felt a pulse. There was a faint thrumming in the earth below his feet, and that minute vibration meant life. Life that would be breathed back into the city, the region, and the provinces beyond.

Ishval would live again. "Inshbala'ah," he murmured to himself. "God willing."

Turning down a street leading out of the plaza, he kept his head up, watching as signs of habitation began to appear. Here and there, a small house would be in a greater state of repair than its neighbours, or small children would be playing in a lot among the rocks and debris. They stopped to stare as he passed, and the unnamed man tugged the robe closer over his arms to hide the tattoos imprinted there.

He knew the children whispered after he was out of earshot. He didn't mind; he was a stranger, and a strange one at that. An Ishvalan that had chosen to mark his flesh with the symbols and sciences of Amestris and Xing was not precisely an outcast, but they were viewed with curiosity… and more than a little suspicion.

He reached the large city administration building soon after, entering the cool, shaded interior that echoed back the murmured conversations of two or three groups in the atrium-like entryway. Scar turned left down a corridor, knowing the eyes of a trip of elders followed him as he went.

The small office-style space that had been given to himself and Miles was down another, smaller corridor and behind a door of simple wooden planks. It was devoid of most Amestrian-style furniture, furnished instead with a pair of low writing desks, a tiny kitchen alcove barely big enough for one person, woven cloth mats on the baked clay floor, and an array of plush cushions arranged in a conversational circle.

Looking up from behind one desk as the door opened, Miles paused in whatever he was writing to nod in greeting. "Welcome back. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Scar nodded, settling cross-legged behind the other table. "There's an unoccupied house in the southern district that should suffice. The damage is light, and easily repaired. And we were considering an outpost office in that area anyway, so that residents wouldn't have to trek all the way over here."

Miles nodded again. "Good. We can file a claim for it this afternoon." He pointed with his pen to a small, open envelope on Scar's desk before going back to his writing. "But it looks like we'll need to scope a second house for what's coming."

Frowning in puzzlement, the scarred man removed a single-folded piece of paper from the envelope, briefly skimming the telegraphed message. Neat type spelled out: BY ORDER CENTRAL HQ: MUSTANG AND HAWKEYE INBOUND WILL ARRIVE IN THREE DAYS TO BEGIN WORK WITH RECONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY ADVISE ON ARRIVAL.

The frown didn't ease. "They're on their way already? Did they resolve their murder case so quickly?"

A quiet chuckle came from across the room. "Not so much. From the phone call that preceded that message — it's really just a formal notice, for our records — the investigation is being left to General Armstrong's younger brother and whatever staff of Mustang's isn't at Briggs or in a wheelchair. There was some kind of altercation, and both Colonel and Lieutenant were quietly ushered to the sidelines."

Scar looked up, his only other reaction a single raised eyebrow. "Altercation?" he repeated.

Miles smiled. "Apparently, the young lady punched a particularly aggressive reporter."

He gave no outward sign of surprise or other reaction, but Scar couldn't deny being impressed. He had known the Lieutenant was emotionally strong, certainly; her fortitude in talking Mustang down from the unreasoning rage he had harboured against Envy was proof enough of that. But she hadn't struck him as being particularly physically strong. Perhaps Amestrian hand-to-hand training wasn't quite as lax as he thought it to be.

"I suppose my next question ought to be how they think they'll be getting out here," he said at last. "We've talked about clearing the old train tracks, but there isn't a definitive plan."

"I imagine they're driving." Miles shrugged. "As for the tracks, the main problem is just getting them clear of sand once they leave the greener areas, and making sure they're still structurally sound. Once the military withdrew from Ishval following the conflict, they didn't spend too much effort to maintain them. It was no longer a priority."

He looked up at the warrior, red eyes flicking to the tattooing visible on the other man's arms. "There is, of course, an easier solution than manual labour. One that perhaps the rest of our people don't necessarily need to know about."

Scar was already shaking his head. "Our people are too proud and too traditional to allow it, or to accept the use of alchemy if it were done without consulting them. The general feeling around here is that we will rebuild from the ashes and rubble and take pride in the work… and that extends to reopening the railway."

Miles shrugged, going back to his documents. "It was a thought."

Searching briefly through several folded maps on the desk top, Scar selected the one he wanted and laid it flat on the weathered wooden surface. He took a thin charcoal stick, running one rough finger over the layout of the city until he found the building he was looking for. He marked it with an X, before locating the building's indicator number on a sheet filled with them and marking a second X next to it.

His eyes roved over the map again, over multiple black Xs marking inhabited locations or those slated for some purpose. Red ink slashed through even more former buildings, showing where there was simply too much structural damage for the building to be repaired.

The Ishvalan city wasn't laid out like an Amestrian one. Where those were laid out in an orderly fashion, with street names and numbers for each building, the desert city spread unevenly over the map page, its streets full of twists and turns, opening into plazas and culminating abruptly in dead ends. Wide avenues branched off into the narrower streets and thin alleys, like the web of some crazed spider… and yet there was order in the chaos.

The arid landscape held few rivers, but the streets of its cities functioned in the same way. Creeks fed into streams that fed into the river, and the river carried its flow — its people — to the major locations.

Scar marked a location less than a mile east from the city administration building, before noting the indicator number and getting back to his feet. "With the Colonel and Lieutenant on their way, they're going to need a place to stay once they get here," he said, straightening the robe. It had been so long since he'd worn one, his body had forgotten the practiced motions needed to keep the thing properly in place. "I think I know of one; I'm going to go check on it."

"I'll put the paperwork in motion, and fast track it through," Miles said, without looking up. He smiled wryly. "I've never done so much paperwork in my life, and I was the assistant to a General."

"Ishval was taken from us with fire and iron," Scar murmured, heading toward the door. "We're taking it back with paper."

Moments later, he stepped again from cool shade to warm sun, immediately feeling the baking heat settling over him. The loose folds of the robe helped to dissipate the warmth, but sweat still prickled on his back. It stung a little on his still-healing wounds, but he ignored the pain, letting it be a reminder of what he had faced and survived.

He had heard the tales, from his own people and from the female General's massively burly brother, of how Supreme Cleric Logue Lowe had faced Bradley man to man, similar to what he had done. But where the old priest had put forward the path of least resistance, Scar had presented as much as he possibly could, all in the name of saving the country that had committed genocide on his people. He supposed that of himself and Lowe, he had been the one to get off lucky in facing Bradley.

Convincing his people to help had been a monumental task. Had his old master not intervened on his behalf, Scar wasn't sure he would have convinced anyone at all. Actions had always spoken louder than words with him, especially after the war, because his mind would not marshal the words into a feasible argument. He was a fighter, not a politician, not a clan leader….

And yet, suddenly, he was something very close to that.

As he walked the streets of the half-ruined city, those he came across recognized him by the scar on his forehead. Men offered silent nods of acknowledgement, women smiled in greeting, children stared in wonder at the man of legend. The man who swore vengeance and forsook his name, who killed and then fought alongside alchemists and soldiers, who saved the country he had sworn to hate for eternity.

The attention left him uncomfortable, after so long spent in hiding.

He reached the house he had chosen for the two inbound soldiers, pausing before opening the door. Mustang and Hawkeye were a two-person team, to be sure, but he wondered if it were overstepping some boundary to put them up in the same house. Ishvalan warriors didn't separate themselves by gender, but the Amestrians were more prudish on the subject, no matter a person's skills.

He brushed away the thought; if there were a problem with them sharing accommodations, there were enough buildings in tolerable states of repair for Colonel and Lieutenant to have their space.

The interior of the house was relatively clean, the only signs of its long disuse being the layer of dust on every surface windswept sand on the dirt floors. Other than that, it appeared to be fully functional, if unfurnished. That was easily rectified; some of the first people to flock back to the city after the Battle of Central had been craftsmen and women skilled in the creation of household goods. They had been working ever since with the shipments Miles had arranged for from Amestris of fabric, cotton batting, wicker, wood, and tools.

Making a mental note to apply to the goods warehouse for at least the bare minimum in furnishings - seating, food preparation, a table, and two sleeping pallets - he turned his attention to examining the walls. A handful of pockmarks from bullets that would need to be plastered over, a couple cracks that needed the same treatment… but overall, they should find it at least liveable. The desert lifestyle didn't offer much in comfort, but made up for it in lack of complication. It would suit a more stoic outlook like Lieutenant Hawkeye, and he doubted the Colonel would have much trouble adjusting.

They were an interesting pair. Stark juxtaposition when standing next to each other — male and female, dark and fair-haired, tall and short, alchemist and non-alchemist, hot-headed and cool demeanour, vocal and quiet…. Yet even he, who had only dealt with them personally twice could see the almost effortless partnership. He had seen it when Hawkeye kicked her superior's feet out from under him to save him from Scar's attack, and again when Mustang stepped back from rage and vengeance, asking her forgiveness.

On his way out of the house, he paused in the doorway, looking around the small space. He had seen how the other side lived and worked. He had been in their cities, studied their infrastructure, watched their movements. He had been deep inside their world.

Now, they would come to his, not as enemies, but as allies. And Scar found himself looking forward to it.

#fma #fmab #Roy Mustang #Riza Hawkeye #royza #royai #fma fanfiction #royai fanfiction #tainted blood

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mastcomm · 4 years

Text

In a City Under Lockdown, Hope Arrives by Motorbike

The delivery driver did not want to go upstairs.

The driver, Zhang Sai, hovered outside an apartment building in Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak. He had been ordered not to bring food to customers’ doors in order to minimize the risk of infection.

But the woman on the phone was pleading. The food was for her mother, who couldn’t come down to meet him.

Mr. Zhang relented. He would drop off the order and sprint away. As he placed the bag on the floor, the door opened. Startled, he rushed away. Without thinking, he jabbed the elevator button with his finger, touching a surface he feared could transmit the virus.

That was how Mr. Zhang, 32, found himself speeding back to his delivery station with one finger held aloft, careful not to touch the rest of his hand — a quarantine in miniature.

“I was very scared,” Mr. Zhang recalled. “Because I ride a scooter, I felt the finger was like a flag.”

For many in China, delivery drivers like Mr. Zhang are the only connection to the outside world. Once a ubiquitous but invisible presence on the streets of nearly every Chinese city, the drivers are now being heralded as heroes.

Throughout China, at least 760 million people — almost a tenth of the world’s population — face some form of residential lockdown. The restrictions are particularly strict in Wuhan, where government efforts to contain the virus have barricaded most of the city’s 11 million residents in their homes.

Image

Zhang Sai, a delivery driver in Wuhan, said he never considered taking time off, even after the danger of the outbreak became clear.Credit…Zhang Sai

Each household can send someone out for necessities just once every three days. Many residents do not venture outside at all, for fear of infection. Of the more than 2,100 deaths and nearly 75,000 infections linked to the new virus, the majority have been in Wuhan.

But people still have to eat — which is why Mr. Zhang and legions of delivery drivers find themselves on the street each day. As Wuhan and the rest of the China hunkers down, they have become the country’s vital arteries, keeping fresh meat, vegetables and other supplies flowing to those who need them.

Updated Feb. 10, 2020

What is a Coronavirus? It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

How contagious is the virus? According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is possibly transmitted through the air. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures.

How worried should I be? While the virus is a serious public health concern, the risk to most people outside China remains very low, and seasonal flu is a more immediate threat.

Who is working to contain the virus? World Health Organization officials have praised China’s aggressive response to the virus by closing transportation, schools and markets. This week, a team of experts from the W.H.O. arrived in Beijing to offer assistance.

What if I’m traveling? The United States and Australia are temporarily denying entry to noncitizens who recently traveled to China and several airlines have canceled flights.

How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick.

It is grueling and dangerous work. Mr. Zhang, who works for Hema, a supermarket chain owned by the tech giant Alibaba, crisscrosses the city armed only with the face masks and hand sanitizer that his company supplies each morning.

His company uniform, bright blue with a hippo logo, tells the local authorities he is allowed to be on the road.

At night, he tries not to think about the epidemic. He listens to pop songs and looks for good news on TV.

The dozens of trips he makes each day are born not just of Wuhan’s necessity, but his own. His wife and 4-year-old twin boys, as well as his father, rely on him for financial support. He never considered taking time off, even after the danger of the outbreak became clear. When his family asked him to stop, he ignored them, too.

Mr. Zhang’s family lives outside Wuhan, and he cannot visit because of the outbreak, but he video chats with them daily.

If he goes fast and works long days, Mr. Zhang said he could make about 8,000 yuan a month, or just over $1,100 — more than he made in his previous job as a mail courier. The average monthly salary in Wuhan in 2017 was about 6,640 yuan, according to the data provider CEIC.

Mr. Zhang and his colleagues offer one another a constantly updating stream of advice. It was one of Mr. Zhang’s colleagues who told him to use a key to press elevator buttons. Another afternoon, someone said in the company group text that a suspected coronavirus patient had died in Neighborhood 125. Don’t enter that area of Wuhan anymore, the message said.

“So damn unlucky,” a colleague said. “Those orders were assigned to me.”

So far, none of Mr. Zhang’s co-workers have fallen sick, he said.

The epidemic has brought some unexpected bright spots. Before, Mr. Zhang said, he sometimes ran red lights during rush hour in order to meet his delivery goals for the day. Now, the streets are empty. He has no problem getting around.

People are nicer, too. Some customers barely opened the door or avoided eye contact. After the outbreak erupted, everyone said thank you.

“There’s a saying: ‘A man’s words are kind when death is close,’” Mr. Zhang said. “Everybody is very tired. Everybody has been suffering for so long.”

Those interactions are rarer now. This week, the Wuhan authorities ordered neighborhoods to establish “contactless delivery” points. When Mr. Zhang has a delivery, he brings it to a designated checkpoint in the customer’s neighborhood and leaves.

By far the best change, though, has been to Mr. Zhang’s after-work routine. Usually, he’d watch a movie or spend time with friends. Now, every night, he writes in a journal. Then he sends the entries to various online publications that — much to his delight — have begun sharing them.

His first post was published Jan. 30, in the online magazine Single Read. It was called “Self-narration of a Wuhan takeout worker.” Since then, he has published five more.

He writes of calling a friend to ask him to support his sons if he gets sick; of watching two older men play chess outdoors without masks; of taking in a crisp Wuhan day, with few around to share it.

“Normally, you would see more people sunbathing, playing chess, grocery shopping, doing nothing,” he wrote in that entry, dated Jan. 30. “Usually, I think they’re too noisy. Only now do I discover a city without people yelling is boring.”

Mr. Zhang said he had always harbored literary aspirations. He has written novels, poems and fairy tales, but none of those earlier writings were published.

He has only a middle school education, and thought that would put off editors. But they have published his entries after making only some grammatical changes, he said.

He reads every comment left on his posts. Many people say they cannot believe a delivery driver wrote them.

“I think people like me because I’m just one of them,” he said.

Mr. Zhang plans to keep writing after the outbreak ends. He has already started taking fewer deliveries, to have more time to write.

If outlets stop publishing his work, he’ll keep making deliveries to earn money. But he will not stop writing.

“The epidemic has made many people close their mouths. It has made many of the unlucky among us close their mouths forever,” Mr. Zhang wrote in one post. “I want to talk now.”

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#Business

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qualiteadnd · 5 years

Text

Law & Order: Waterdeep

— A WATERDEEP IRREGULARS ADVENTURE

After being framed for the assassinations of Waterdeep nobility by Z, Lord Arboreus Sultlue’s best hope for freedom is the party that first accused him.

After Lord Sultlue’s arrest and the unfortunate incident regarding the Wooden Man and his employer, Lord Blackwood requested that Keros, Grumbar, and Bonu remain in Waterdeep for the time being. After reminding them that they owed her their freedom, the group readily agreed, even though Greyson and his dogs were long gone.

Though they occasionally received missives from the Blackwoods at the Roaring Lamb, where they decided to stay now that the family wasn’t footing their bill, they didn’t see much of them. Instead, they spent their days catching up on some of the highlights of Waterdeep that they had previously missed out on. Keros caught up on news at the Selune temple, Bonu made his acquaintance with just about everyone he met, and Grumbar continued to ignore his clerical duties and tour the city pubs between some quick for hire jobs the three of them took up.

Days later, they were summoned back to Blackwood Manor. This time, Lady Westra was no where to be seen, but Lady Mara was waiting outside with a carriage.

“The trial is today,” she said after polite greetings were exchanged, “for Lord Arboreus. I know he’s not the sweetest man, but he is innocent. I would like it if you accompanied me. It’s formality, really, the evidence I presented the Watch with is enough to clear him, but… You’ve seen how the people of the city feel about nobles of late. It’s best we go through with the trial as normal.”

With some reluctance ( because he was not a sweet man and the party still thought he was creepy enough to not be trusted ), they agreed to it and joined Mara down to the Piergeiron’s Palace. A grand white stone structure at the foot of Mount Waterdeep, the palace was where the courts were held and where the Masked Lords, among others, would assemble to oversee the affairs of the city.

They followed Lady Mara inside and, alongside Captain Kraag who had arrived ahead of them, were directed by clerks within to the massive court chamber.

With striking statues and cathedral architecture, the room was vast and echoing. At a raised bench in the back of the chamber sat a woman who, at a distance, seemed younger than her long silver hair could lead some to believe. Open Lord Laeral Silverhand sat over the court with a number of masked individuals flanking her.

With a simple bow to the Open Lord and no acknowledgement to the other figures, Mara took a seat in one of the empty rows of seat. Being unfamiliar with the political etiquette of the city, Keros, Grumbar, and Bonu simply followed suit with Kraag at their heels.

Sitting alone in the center of the chamber was Lord Arboreus Sultlue. There was something of an audible, echoing groan from him when they entered.

“You think he’d be nicer to us considering,” Grumbar muttered under his breath.

Mara shook her head. “Grumbar…”

Despite the Lords overseeing the court, it was called to order by the two figures who entered the chamber and took their places below the bench. Blackrobes Kylynne and Claudius were orchestrating the trial. Blackrobe Kylynne, a tiefling, seemed interested in why the party would now speak on behalf of the man they had accused in the first place. Her partner, a human, seemed to be less interested and encouraged them to hurry up their case.

One at a time, they each presented their piece. Explaining how the evidence did, at first, lead to Sultlue — the wights, the snakes, the attempts on his house that seemed to fail — but that this was just part of something bigger.

They presented both Blackwood amulets and the dagger Keros had first taken from the Wooden Man along with the letter. The evidence didn’t point so cleanly back towards Arboreus with the rest of the puzzle pieces lined up.

“We assumed the Wooden Man was dead,” Grumbar explained, attempting to guide their ill-prepared testimony.

Bonu nodded. “We sorta last saw him in piec—” Grumbar elbowed him a bit and Bonu quickly corrected, “dead. We saw him very dead. No reason to think he might still be around. Or a suspect.”

“But since he tried to kill us — again — clearly we were wrong,” Keros added.

Mara backed their statements and Blackrobe Kylynne turned to focus on the accused for the first time. “Lord Sultlue, what do you have to say?”

He tore his attention away from the seated Lords and faced the Blackrobes with his chin high. “I have professed innocence from the beginning. There is nothing more to say on a crime I was victim to.”

“The Watch acted with the information we had in the effort to protect the city,” Kraag said, standing from his spot beside Bonu. “We stand with the actions taken and would do so again, however we are glad to see our actions were only precaution. We have already begun to look for the the Wooden Man and his alleged employer.”

The Blackrobes thanked them all and then began to converse between themselves as Kraag sat down. There was some minor eye rolling from them both at each other and when they turned back to the witnesses, Claudius was more annoyed than before.

“The charges against Lord Arboreus Sultlue of crimes against the nobility of Waterdeep will be dropped in light of the evidence brought before the court. Do the Lords disagree?” Kylynne did not look behind her and, for a moment, was met only with silence.

“The Lords are in agreement,” said the Open Lord, standing at her bench.

With the motion made to drop the charges, the court was dismissed and Lord Arboreus wasted no time in exiting the chamber.

As they filed outside, chatting a bit with Kraag about what was being done about Z ( or Zymun, as they guessed ), they were surprised to see Arboreus waiting for them. Perhaps expecting a small bit of gratitude from the man, they were somehow more surprised by his warning to stay away from him in the future.

“You think he’d be grateful,” Bonu said as Arboreus stormed off.

“You did sneak into his home and get him accused in the fist place,” Kraag pointed out.

Keros just gestured after him. “But still. Manners.”

Mara coughed slightly to grab their attention and smiled softly. “This was mostly formality, as I said, but thank you for coming. Mother is attending some business in the city, but if you could return to the manor sometime this evening, we have a proposition for you.”

Curious, they agreed and parted ways with Mara. Kraag also excused himself on account of “business” when Bonu offered to buy the man a drink if he joined them at the inn. With that plan shot down, Bonu quickly had another idea and looked up at the mountain that backed the palace. “Let’s go for a hike.”

Grumbar started towards what, he assumed, would be a path, but Bonu had other plans and quickly started to climb the rock face. “You have got to be kidding me…” he muttered to no one, as Keros was quick to follow the barbarian’s lead. He stood where he was for a long minute before giving in.

After a long day of more climbing than hiking, they reached the peak of Mount Waterdeep, the sun already beginning to dip. The three sat down heavily, some more out of breath than others, and looked out over the city. Waterdeep was beginning to light up with the coming dusk, but there were no torches or mobs in its streets tonight. The City of Splendors was just that, in part — a little — because of them.

“It’s beautiful,” said Bonu.

Keros nodded, looking out towards the coast. “It is.”

“We’re taking the fucking path down,” Gumbar grumbled.

Catching their breaths, they soon got back to their feet and followed Grumbar’s lead to the gently winding path down the mountain. The chatter was friendly and light with some well meant grumbling about bullheadedness along the way. They might not have meant to stay together as long as they had so far, but they worked surprisingly well as a team all the same.

On arriving at Blackwood Manor, they were brought to a grand study they’d not seen before where Lady Westra sat with her daughter at her side. She looked over the three of them coolly and then folded her hands on the desk. “Are you familiar with the Lord’s Alliance?”

Having only the vaguest idea of it, they said no.

“Waterdeep, Neverwinter, the major cities in these parts, we do not always agree with each other, but we can agree on a desire for peace from outside threats. There is an alliance among certain houses that look to uphold that peace and who employ certain agents to see it done. My daughter,” she said, looking at Mara, “believes you three can be… shaped into proper representatives of both House Blackwood and Waterdeep.”

“You do not have to agree,” Mara said, speaking up, “but in doing so you would be formally employed by our family. If you do not, we ask you keep this to yourselves. These are not offers made lightly or commonly.”

The three looked between each other before Keros raised a hand. “What does it entail?” He made a gesture to the tabards worn by the house guards. “Are we just guards?”

“When necessary,” Westra said. “Without divulging more, you would be our agents beyond Waterdeep when such representation or force is required. And you would answer to Mara.”

Keros, at least, seemed sold on that plan. He glanced at the others and back to the Blackwoods, then put his hand to his chest and bowed his head. “I accept.”

Bonu followed suit. Waterdeep ( and Kraag ), he said, seemed like it could use their help.

Grumbar was the only one hesitant on the matter with both the Blackwoods and his companions looking on expectantly. A pact, as formal as this one, was not something he’d made in awhile, he muttered under his breath. “But if we’re doing this… I also accept.”

Looking only a little bit like he’d been struck by something, Grumbar, alongside Keros and Bonu, watched Mara smile.

Lady Westra stood to make her exit. “Try to keep them in line.”

As Westra left, Mara picked up a key from the desk. “There is a house on the property that hasn’t been used in some time. It’s been recently aired and it’s yours, should you like it.” As they thanked her and took the key, Mara smiled. “Good. This will be something of a learning process for us all, but we’ll discuss the details tomorrow. I wish you all a good night.”

As they left the manor, Keros twirled the key in his hand, brows raised. “We have a house.”

Bonu snatched the key from him and marched them towards the assumed direction of their new home with Grumbar lagging behind. “Boys, we are redecorating!”

#qdnd #swords coast #waterdeep irregulars #bonu #grumbar #keros

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awesome-legendarystudentcho-blog · 6 years

Text

Home insurance? Which is true?

"Home insurance? Which is true?

A.If you fail to keep up home insurance the mortgage company will get it for you (sometimes at triple the cost) and make you pay for it or they can foreclose. B. When a flood is declared a National Disaster flood insurance for everyone in the flood zone based on the national ""Flood Plain"" maps gets their damage paid for automatically. C. All fire insurance policies all pay to rebuild your home the way is was before the fire""

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I'm listed as the third driver on my insurance plan and I recently turned right on a red light and apparently didn't stop before as long as i should have. Needless to say I got 3 points and a 300 dollar fine. I'm with td insurance currently. How much can I expect the rates to go up?

Really pissed with car insurances?

when you have a accident and it is you fault and you only have basic insurance but STILL you have to pay the damage of the vehicle you hit so why do we pay for car insurance if we still have to pay more? is like if i'm paying to fix the other car and still paying the regular price to my insurance. are they stealing? or why the government let them do that?

Still waiting to hear from car insurance if car is a write off?

its been a week since this guy hit me from behind. he was 100% at fault. how long do i have to wait to find out if my car was a write off? the car is fixable and i need to know how much to fix? want my car back!!!!!

Will a 30kph ticket skyrocket my insurance?

Alright, so I got pulled over going 90 in a 60. I know I shouldn't be speeding but I was late for work, I never got a ticket before... I'm a 18 yrs old male, and I don't have much money to afford expensive insurance... I'm currently paying 150$ a month (before the ticket) so will my insurance skyrocket? It's considered a major infraction where I live.. *also, the police officer told me that he can apply a bigger charge if I decide to fight the ticket... Are they aloud to do that??""

Can student loans cover health insurance?

I am attending University and I do not agree with the Health Insurance my University provides. The semester expense is $1875 and it is applied to my tuition costs. Those costs are being covered by a mixture of scholarship and student loans. If I opt to purchase my own student health insurance through a different provider - can I pay for it with Student Loans?

How many of you own a Life Insurance Policy and for what amount.?

Are young ppl thinking about life insurance?

""Moved out of state, Can I still be on my parent's car insurance?""

I just graduated college and moved to California. I bought a new car in Iowa before I left and my parents cosigned the loan. We registered the car in Iowa, saying my name first or my father. Since then, they have brought the car out here. Am I able to stay on my parents insurance (Farm Bureau) even though I am no longer a resident of Iowa or their house? Also, am I required to register the vehicle in California even though he is on the loan and the current provider of insurance?""

How much will a small tooth chip cost without insurance?

I live in Southern California just so you can get an idea... Okay, last night I was watching a movie with my boyfriend and laying down in front of him. As he was going to take a drink from his glass I stretched and accidentally elbowed his drink and heard CLANK! and he got up to spit some stuff out of his mouth. The chip isn't big at all and it's on the front, left tooth on the outer corner. It's very small (almost unnoticeable if you're more than 2-3 feet away and he's smiling big) and it LOOKS as if it would be an easy fix. I have assured him that I will pay for it as he owns a barber shop and his presence is important to him and I feel very badly. How much do you think this fix (looks easy!) would cost me without insurance AND do dentists take payments? I am getting dental/medical from my work in a couple of weeks but I don't think it would cover him. Please let me know and sorry this is long!""

Why has the affordable health care act accelerated the rise in health insurance rates?

When does the affordable part start?

How can I get health insurance?

Me and my family are moving to Arizona in August, we are now living in Illinois and are receiving medicaid, but we are forced to move out of state for some personal reasons we make about $2,100 per month but that is because my Dad is on Social Security Disability cause of a back injury when he was working, our rent will be around $1,000 and that take about 1/2 of our money and there is no way we could afford health insurance as well as getting everything else""

Will my car insurance go up if i buy a new car?

i am currently driving a used 99 honda civic. suppose if i buy an all new 2012 toyota camry. Will my car insurance go up? i am currently 18, and my car insurance cost me 800usd for 6 month. and should college students like me buy an all new car?""

Cheap motorcycle insurance in Kansas for a 21 year old male?

cheapest i have found is AIG for about 115$ a month for full coverage, and they will also let me knock that down to liability during the winter time when i am not driving the bike. geico and progressive both wanted upwards of 210$. my question is, are there any places that i should try that you think might be able to beat AIG's 115 a month for full coverage. i am 21 years old and have 1 ticket on my record of 14 mph over about a year ago. the bike is a 2006 kawasaki zx6r. thanks""

How can I take out life insurance on another person?

My father owes me money and I owe alot of money because of him. I'd like to be able to take out life insurance on him incase he dies before he pays me back. How would I go about doing this? I'm trying to figure out how to take the insurance out on him (since he owes me). Not have him get life insurance and then make me the benifactor himself.

What is the cheapest car insurance company right now!!!?

Car insurance question?

My step dad bought me a car in june '08.He was going through a divorce with my mom and he told me that he would pay my car insurance for the first 6 months. after i got the car he didnt really talk to me much anymore and i didnt see him at all. after 6 months passed in around december i didnt get anything in the mail to my house (he lived at another hosue not wth me anymore) about ym insurance so i assumed he was still paying for it. i had never gotten pulled over or in an accident since i got the car. in february of this yr someone smashed into my cars front hood and the bumper is smashed as well as the girll and headlights, they hit me and then ran so i got no information. when i got into the accident i called the insurance place witch i had no idea which i had i got the info from the papers in my glove compartment and they told me since i got the car in june no insurance had been ever paid. my car was not registered. no basically for 8 months i was driving around an uninsured car. i still havent done nething about it bc im scared idk what is gonna happen. i havent fixed my crash car or drove it . how much money am i gonna ghave to pay to get insurance again. he basically lied to me and he refuses to talk to me about it.""

Obamacare health insurance rebates?

My school requires a mandatory student health insurance plan and i had this for the last 3 years. With the Affordable Care Act, the Govt. requires health insurance companies to pay back some of the premium it if less than 80% is used on medical care or more than 20% is used on administrative costs. I did not use my health insurance at all during the last 3 years. Will i get get a rebate of some kind? Should i call my school and ask for a health insurance rebate for last year?""

Question about car insurance?

I'm wondering something about car insurance. I am a 17 year old male, (turning 18 in 1 month) and have been driving a 2001 Hyundai accent since October. I am insured with esurance, and have liability only. I have a clean driving record. My monthly insurance is $197. I am on my parents policy. When I first called to get a quote, (cheapest company for me) it was around 120 a month, but then they got the VIN number and of course it went up because it knew exactly what car it was. Of course car insurance is very expensive for a male my age. My question is that I'm trying to save money to buy a jeep wrangler this summer. Will probably be a year 1997-2003. I want to know about how much it would cost to insure the jeep. I hear mixed responses about the cost to insure a wrangler, iv heard it's expensive because of the high theft rate and roll over chances. I know of course I don't know how much it will be exactly, considering I don't have a VIN number for the jeep wrangler. I get extremely expensive quotes when I search online, and the are all completely off. My parents policy has probably 4 or 5 cars on it and I am excluded off everyone's car. My sister has been in 2 wrecks and 2 speeding tickets, which I heard makes my insurance increase also. Anyone who has a general idea about cost for me to insure a jeep wrangler, thank you.""

Should i get a '94-'2000 toyota camry for my first car?

I'm trying to be reasonable, i know i need an older car so my insurance is cheap (i cant be on my parents). and i know toyotas are good cars, i like the look of the camry 4-door. and ive seen alot for under 7,000.. any other ideas for good cars that are cheap?""

I have cancelled my car insurance?

I have cancelled my car insurance for my old car , because I have bought a new car . . . Now I am waiting to sell it , but I don't know where I should keep it . . Is there any problems if I'll leave in front of my house in the car park without a insurance ? Thank You""

I don't have insurance ?

I don't have any insurance. Any cheap one? Please any suggestion ?

Car insurance for a G37?

I am under my parents car insurance, i havent been in an accident and have no point on my record. I also have all a's and b's. I currently have AAA and have been driving for 2.5 years.""

Where can I find super cheap auto insurance?

I just want something to cover me legally. I don't need any advice on why I should not get crap insurance, I literally would just like to know where to get great rates. I found ...show more""

Slough car insurance at age 17?

I want to get: volkswagen golf 1.6 volkswagen golf 1.8 volkswagen golf 1.9 I dont mind any just want to know can i get insured on all of them and im only buying one not all three all im going to use the car for is to go college and back no where else and no intentions of driving fast, just need transport for college and also i dont want any idea's that leads to fraud i want my own policy and not any multi car insurance as it causes alot of hassle and no one in my familys drives so im all good. Everything i will do is legal not any lie or anything so how should i choose my insurance. I will be only taking the car to college I wont be taking the car out at night so college starts at nine and finish at 6 going to use it 4 days a week only""

What is the best car insurance company? out there?

I'm with all state but is there any insurance company better than all state?

Home insurance? Which is true?

Insurance Cost on Muscle Car?

Sooo I know that insurance costs vary from state to state, and also on your carrier... but I was just curious as to if anyone could give me something to go off of. I'm 16, and I'm seriously thinking about buying a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am. (Yes, I know it's got a V8, and no, Mommy and Daddy aren't helping me with a penny, so please no trolling on that subject) I planned on going through my Mom or Dads' insurance. They both have multiple cars on their plans, and are carried through State Farm. Does anyone have any idea on how much it woud cost to be put on one of their plans? Or is there any tips or tricks out there to get a lower payment for me? Just curious.... lemme know what you got please! :)""

Does anyone know exactly what Car Insurance Quote is?

I just can't find the right answer on Google. Please help me if u know...This is really urgent...Thanks a lot.

Which company can provide me good student international insurance?

student international insurance

Definition of Fully Comprehensive car insurance (UK)?

Does this mean i am insure to drive other peoples cars (with permission from them) ?? And also, my insurance on my last policy expried in July 2011, and i never renewed it, Does this mean i lose my 2 years no claims, or can i say that i still have 2 years no claims ? Is it still valid if i had no insurance for a month ?""

How long after someone dies to get life insurance benefits?

my grandmother died about 2 weeks ago and i was wondering when her life insurance policy would go through so we can receive the money from it to manage her estate, we heard that probate takes about 16 months, but we cant wait that long for the insurance so how long does it usually take?""

My car insurance rate went down?

after i got a dwi! haha, no question i just wanted to share this epic win! don't worry i won't press my luck and try to lower it a second time.""

Whats the CHEAPEST car insurance for a teenage girl to get?

I'm a 17 year old girl, junior in high school, and I'm trying to find out whats the cheapest car insurance I get get on my car.""

In ALABAMA do i need full coverage?

I want a new car...and I was gonna go to a buy here pay here lot, but I was wondering if I need to have full coverage on the vehicle...""

I was in a car accident and didnt have car insurance..?

the other car is totaled... what do i do ?? can i get insuranse somewhere now who will cover a past wreck???

New to US and getting car insurance in CA?

I am arriving on a working visa to California. I will need to buy a car and get insurance. I have a UK drivering license. Can I get insurance with a UK license or will I have to get a CA license first?

Do you pay for car insurance before you use it?

i want to switch car insurance but i just paid it for the month. do i get that back?

""What, in your opinion, is the cheapest auto insurance for a full coverage sports car?""

Hey guys, I need some serious help! I bought a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible last year and have always been on my familys insurance but I was dropped and I need insurance ASAP. What can I expect to pay monthly? I want to put it in my name, but I have tickets and a DWI (still havent gone to court for, so idk if it makes a difference, yet...) and a suspended license so I bet my insurance would be ridiculous! My fiancee also has too many tickets to be a candidate. I'm thinking about using my 63 year old Godmother who's the original signer on the car because she doesn't have any tickets or accidents so I figured the full coverage would be cheap in her name. She's the one who signed for my car anyway. I'm the cosigner, but she's totally cool with putting the insurance in her name if it saves me money. So, four questions... 1) How much would insurance cost for me? 2) How much would insurance cost for my Godmother? 3) What's the cheapest insurance carrier? 4) What's the average for a full coverage sports car? So yeah, I'm FULL of questions :D Feedback is appreciated, merci! BQ) Who do you have insurance with? BQ2) What kind of vehicule do you have? <3""

""Florida Auto Insurance Quotes Online, are they really safe?

Florida residents do you really think entering all your valuable personal information online for an auto insurance quote is really the safe way to obtain auto insurance? A local personalized auto insurance agent who you can pick up the phone and call or stop by their office sounds so much safer and personal.

Can I be reimbursed auto insurance for the days my car was undrivable due to accident caused by someone else?

So there was a car accident and it was determined to be the other person's fault. My car was a mess (I wish they just totaled the thing) and is still in the shop, it's been 2.5 weeks. They're saying they can't reimburse the auto insurance because if something happened to the car during this time it's covered. But is that a bluff (I know they try to get out of stuff). if something happened to my car at a repair shop, and it's only there because of the accident that was determined to be the other party's fault, if something happened to my car, isn't the other insurance company liable? It never would've been there if it weren't for the accident. And if so, who do I go to? It obviously wasn't the guy I just talked to. I don't think this is unreasonable. It's not like I'm asking for the auto loan daily rate. Obviously I would still have to pay for that since it's toward ownership of the car. But the insurance makes sense to me - no?""

Does my grandmother need car insurance if she doesnt drive...?

She doesn't have a license and hasn't had one in decades. Her children drive her to and from church, grocery stores, etc. in her car bc she has trouble getting in and out of their cars. So, does she HAVE to have inurance? I would imagine if her children have insurance, then she wouldn't need it. Anyone know the rules on this?""

Car Insurance in the UK?

When your car insurance expires are you no longer covered or do insurance companies keep the policy going until you cancel the cover?

How can I get lower car insurance for my old car?

I have a 1999 Hyundai Tiburon and it has 150,000 miles. It's paid for now and I'm paying about $700 6 months full coverage. Is there certain things I should lower the coverage cost?""

How much is Liability insurance on a 16 year old's car?

How much would it be if i wanted to get Liability insurance on a car?

Whose insurance company I should contact for the car accident?

I am involved a car accident 5 months ago. There are four cars hit from rear one by one. I am the second car and have no fault in this accident. However, I did not have a collision insurance, so I should look for reimbursement by myself. I asked the insurance company of the car hit me, they said their insured driver has no fault(indicated in accident report), so they cannot pay for me. And they asked me to contact the company of the fourth car. Is this illegal? Cause in our country, no matter in what reason, the car hit you from rear should pay for you directly. And if their insured driver has no fault, they can ask payment from the insurance company of the car hit them. Anyone could help me? I will very appreciate.""

What car is quite cheap to buy and is also cheap on insurance for a first time driver?

my parents are gettin me a car but im payin insurance .. any ideas?

""How much can the owner of a commercial Insurance Agency expect to make? (in Year 1, Year 5, Year 10?)?""

Hi all, I live in Florida and am currently in my second year of law school. I am looking to get into the insurance business after I graduate to build some form of residual income. ...show more""

Why does my car insurance come up so high even when im 21 years old?

hi the car insurance has been destorying my life. I cannot figure out why car insurance in UK is so high, im 21 and i want to insure a 1.6 mazda 3 which is i think group 6 insurance. I HAVE CLEAN LICENCE!! no claims or any other other conviction and still the cheapest quote i get is 6000 hahahaha. thats ridiculous!!! like 2 years ago i use to get cheap quotes for same size cars at around 1000 now for some reason same thing costs me more!!!!!!!!!!!! i have tried everything but cannot figure out why this happening. PLZZ HELP ANY ADVICE WILL HELP SO MUCH. i have 0 years no claim discount but thats because i have been on my dad's policy but even then dont you thing 6000 quote is mad, even when i try insuring a littlle 1.0 ltr car quote comes out at 5000 lool""

What is the normal procedure for a car accident without insurance?

3 weeks ago I hit a womans car in Sydney with my friends 4WD. I did not have any insurance on my side and now the woman's insurance wants me to pay for the damage. They gave me a call saying the damage was AU$ 5760 but if I would pay AU$ 2900 in the next 4 weeks that would be it for me. Now Insurance companies are not known to be humanitarian organisations so why would they let me get away with less money? I also talked to an Australian friend today who said the woman's insurance would have to give me three quotes on how much the repair of the car would be before they start doing anythin. Being a traveller I feel like the Insurance company tries to take advantage of my minimum knowledge of Insurance issues. So could someone please explain me the usual procedure for something like this?

Auto Insurance Is Prohibitively Expensive. What To Do?

I'm 23 years old. I rent a flat and have held a steady management job for 4 years. I don't drink or smoke. I am looking to purchase a 1993 Nissan Altima and I was looking for insurance. I was blown away when I got the quotes. Mind you, I live in Detroit and I understand that insurance is expensive, but this is ridiculous. Every quote I got was for at least $400 a month, liability only. Esurance was the most expensive at $582 a month. Allstate was the lowest at $396 a month. Any advice? I really need this car, but there is no way I can afford those insane rates.""

What's the best individual health/dental insurance that i can purchase?

Home insurance? Which is true?

Do You Have to Get Car Insurance....?

Do you have to get car insurance when you get you temporary permit at the age of 15.5. I am fifteen and I am getting my permit soon and i was wonderin if i had to get insurance. Just Wondering. Thanks Alot:>

""I am international student , i need to apply health insurance(Texas)?""

where should i go?(houston, Texas) what stuff should i prepare or anything i should biring""

How long of a grace period do you have after buying a car to get insurance???

i just bought a car and i just so hppen to get pulled over....i just bought the car the day before....so i give the cop all the information i had on the car and told him i bought it the day before, but he still gave me a ticket for no insurance and no plates, because the car had paper plates. i was told that i get a 10 day grace period but i don't know if thats true.""

Does having back up sensor's help your insurance cost?

Does having back up sensor's help your insurance cost? I am wanting to have some put on my car, but didn't know if it would help with insurance!""

Do I need gap insurance?

I have an 05 nissan 350z with 30000 miles on it. kept in very good condition. KBB quotes my vehicle trade in value at $18,337. I paid $19,???. I put $5,000 down. so now i have to pay with interest $18,???. I have full coverage insurance, but no gap insurance. If i totaled my car would I be screwed?""

How to handle a partial month of health insurance?

I currently am paying for a family health insurance plan with Oxford. The premium is $800 a month, due on the first of the month for that month's coverage, with a grace period of about 30 days. I am switching from a contracting position (where I pay my own insurance) to an employment position (with a very nice health plan) on 9/7/10. What I want to avoid is paying $800 to my current insurance company when I only need 7 days worth of coverage. I also want to avoid a lapse in coverage. Do I not pay anything until the 7th, when my new insurance plan kicks in, and them call them and tell them I am cancelling and only want to pay from the 1st through 7th? Or do I pay the full $800 and hope I will get a pro-rated refund? Thanks in advance!""

Would it be cheaper for me to go on my parents insurance or get my own insurance plan?

I am 16 and go for my license on the 19th of Nov, im paying for it myself. My parents have geico, i called Allstate today to get a quotes and they said about 210, please help!(:""

""If you have your learner's permit, do you need car insurance?""

If you have your learner's permit, do you need car insurance?""

Cheap car insurance for a 21 year old?

Okay, i am 21 and in August it will be 3 years since i got my New York State drivers license, Will insurance be chaper for me after the i have been licnesed for 3 years?""

How much does speeding ticket cost in California?

I got pulled over going 92 on a 55 mph because I went by to pass a slow car in front of me. I switched to the passing lane and sped up to pass. I was just wondering how much the ticket cost me. Does age matter? I am 18, and I'm wondering if that adds up the cost too.""

How much people can be on someone's auto insurance?

is there a limit to how many people/vehicles can be insured under one person's name? lets say, can a person insure his car and himself, as well as his 2 sons cars and his 2 ...show more""

Can Anyone please tell me where to get cheap car insurance for my 17 year old son who has just passed his test

He Has A ford fiesta and the best third party only quote was 2898.00 .

Question about Car insurance (UK)?

Does anyone know if / how mileage for year is calculated for insurance purposes. What do the insurers check for these details? I have a private policy for my second car (my non work runaround) and it is limited to 3000miles per year. Perfect for trips to the dump, bulky or messy trips to the shops etc. I lend the car to my partners foreign parents who use their own insurance policy (cheaper for them) to drive it during their vacations to the UK 2-3 times a year adding quite a bit of mileage to the vehicle. If we both have insurance to be driving my car, am I at fault for claiming low mileage allowance for cheaper insurance for the car?""

18 in TX and need health insurance?

I live with my dad but he just qualified for his own insurance for seniors or something im not sure. Ignore this fact, but long story short I am a full time community college freshman and make around 700 a month at my job. I am very healthy and workout at the gym routinely and I notice i am having wisdom teeth probs. what health care can I buy thats affordable for me? I turn 19 in 3 months.""

Can someone drive my car if they have insurance but are not on my insurance?

I drive a car that is under my mom's name, and I am on my mom's insurance. My boyfriend has his own car and insurance under his name for his car. Could he still drive mine even though hes not on my mom's insurance (or listed as a driver)? I thought you could drive anyones car as long as you were under your own insurance?""

""Is a motorcycle cheaper than a car in terms of maintenance, fuel and insurance?""

No matter what I get, my budget most likely will be $5000. But i'm talking about other costs like maintenance, fuel and insurance. I know fuel obviously is much less than a car for motorcycles, but how about maintenance and insurance? Basically i'm a highschool student, I'll be going to college next year, its a 50 km ride one way. Public transit would take me 2 hours...so If possible, i'd like to get a car or motorcycle. I already passed my first road test, but I don't have a motorcycle licence, but I'd like to. Infact the college i'm planning on attending does motorcycle courses and licencing. I'm thinking that If I do get a bike, i'd ride it for september- early november, store it for the winter, then spring till the end of the school year. Obviously I'd ride it during the summer too! I dunno, what do you experts think? You think its a good game plan or am I just in over my head? Which should I get?""

My job offers awful health insurance?

Our company got bought out & our new employer is doing open enrollment for health insurance next year. I currently have roughly a $75 monthly premium with a $500 deductible, then the employer pays 80%. The insurance I'm being offered has a $60 monthly premium, $100 deductible, then the insurer pays 80%, but only pays a max of $750 for the year. As it was explained to me, it is like partial health insurance-but I think this won't be enough to cover what I need. I had major surgery last month & even after meeting my deductible, the out of pocket expenses were a struggle. So should I get a HSA or apply for supplemental health insurance? The other employees at my company are in the same position as I am & I feel awful having to look elsewhere for better coverage. No spam please, I beg you!""

Health insurance ?

Whats a good and affordable health insurance in nashville tennessee

Hyundai tiburon insurance?

I am looking for this car to be my first car. I live in Washington and I have a 3.5 GPA (my insurance company told me this would help), and I'm a female. How much would it cost to get car insurance, per month. Is it a sports car? I was thinking of getting the 4 cylinder, 2.0 engine, if that makes a difference. I also have State Farm if that helps.. Thanks!""

Lying on car insurance...?

what are/or could be any consequences of me lying about my car insurance renewal when i do 26,000miles per year and if i put that i only did 10,000miles my insurance would be alot cheaper it would go from 240p/m to 180p/m!?!?!?!?!? how would the insurers know how many miles i did per year?""

What insurance rates do u all pay?

Just wondered what u all pay as i pay alot so does anyone else. Age -20 Sex -Male Car -Focus 2.0litre No mods Convictions-16 Month ban 3 years ago 1500 Anually

What types of insurance are required in Minnesota?

I have a permit test in about an hour and I forgot what kinds of insurance are required in the state of Minnesota? There are 2 of them I think it's liability and no fault? Help please?

""Car Insurance, and car choices for a new driver?""

I am 27 and just recently got my license. I know my insurance is going to be high regardless but I am looking into cars and was wondering what type of car would be cheaper for me to have insurance on? Should it be a 4 cylinder? Antilock brakes? A certain color? Alarm system? Are some cars higher than others? I would like to get either a honda civic or mitsubishi eclipse (my dream car). I'm just worried that the insurance is going to be through the roof. If those cars are going to be high, what kind of car would you reccommend?""

Why Are We Not Reducing Health Care Costs?

The U.S. currently spends 50% more per capita on health care than the next western nation (Norway). On average we spend twice as much as France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Canada, and Switzerland. Our costs are increasing faster than these nations. According to the Congressional Budget Office the cost of Obamacare is an additionsl $1.76 trillion over ten years. For those who want to actually solve the universal health care problem, how about adopting one of the European plans noted above and cut our costs by 50%. Why the blind devotion to a bureauratic morass that will bankrupt the country? http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/oecd042111.cfm""

Why did my lawyer tell the car insurance company to pay PIP directly to me when I asked to have my bill paid?

I spoke to my auto insurance company because my lawyer took two months to file my personal injury protection claim. Once, I took action into my own hands then I was assured that the woman handling my case from my car insurance company would see that my PIP paid for my medical expenses because I don't have health insurance. However, another month has passed and I have heard nothing from my lawyer about my case even though I call his office every week. So, today I received a letter in the mail from my lawyer office to my claim insurance person. It has her name on it but my address so I am not sure if it was intentionally sent that way or not. Yet, I read over it and it tells my insurance claim to pay the PIP directly to me and not to the medical company. What do I do about this? Has anyone gone through something similar and can you give me some helpful advice? I don't know if my lawyer is trying to add my PIP with the rest of the money that I will get so he can get a bigger chunk or if he is trying to get my PIP to me instead? I do know that I would like to pay for my medical bills as I am a college student in debt and don't want anymore hassle.""

Home insurance? Which is true?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/savage-maryland-cheap-car-insurance-quotes-zip-20763-ben-rakowski/"

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