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thejosh1980 · 3 years

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I was lookin' back to see if she was lookin' back...

Yesterday Alex, Mum and I celebrated...

It's been one year since Alex and I arrived at Mum's place in Ocean Shores, NSW Australia.

If you've read my earlier blogs in 2020, you'll know that we had a lot of trouble getting home. Between the government and airlines, at one point it looked like we'd never get here; we were stranded. I was living in constant worry, stress and hopelessness - in fact, we all were: Alex's family in Germany and Mum's family down under.

Our July 2020 flights were cancelled or rescheduled many times, and eventually we decided to buy new, more expensive flights, on another airline through an agency, which gave us some assurances we'd be on the flight. Our new flights booked and confirmed for early September.

We flew Frankfurt to Adelaide, which was not our original plan. Adelaide had no COVID, and the chance of getting on a flight and getting into the country was higher than say, Brisbane, or Sydney. We could quarantine in Adelaide for 2 weeks and then fly on to Brisbane, which is closer to Ocean Shores.

That was like.... so last year...

This area where we now live is known as the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, and when we arrived at Mum's there was no COVID in the area. We are only about 35 minutes south of the Queensland border, about 8 hours north of the big smoke, Sydney.

Now, a year on, COVID has arrived here.

It's been biting at the heals of tourists and essential workers travelling north since Sydney went into lockdown a couple of months ago.

It's not our idea of a good time.

Right now it's school holidays, which is meant to be 2 weeks of families holidaying in caravan parks and hotels, an essential part of this tourist attraction mecca. Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads, and surrounds are usually very popular places; so popular that most locals complain about how busy it gets here during the holidays. You just can't get a parking sport anywhere!

The Northern Rivers was locked down for about 6 weeks through August into September because cases from Sydney were getting into regional NSW. These regional areas affected by COVID weren't near here, but they made a blanket rule for everywhere outside of Sydney, just to be on the safe side.

Honestly, I don't blame them for the rule, regional outback Australia can't cope with COVID, there's few hospitals, beds, or COVID experience in the scrub and farm land.

Anyhow, I digress...

After those 6 weeks or so in lockdown, they lifted the restrictions here in the northern rivers (and other areas of NSW).

And now, after 2 weeks, lockdown is back on...

There are a couple of cases in the area. Snap lockdowns are the government's preferred method of containing outbreaks. Lockdown areas wherever cases pop up for a week or two (or longer) to limit exposure.

It reminds me constantly that life can change quickly at any time. I have decided I will not waste time once this current lockdown has ended (who knows when that will be). I will visit friends, family, and musicians who live close by. I want to see as many folks as quickly as possible, before another lockdown kicks in.

Besides the boring, never ending tale of COVID, there have been a few things happening this past year...

Alex has been working consistently in the real estate industry since her temporary visa kicked in late last year.

Her first job was a few more miles away than any of us locals would consider driving, and the position wasn't as enjoyable or rewarding as she had first hoped. She really dived in the deep end, and while she didn't drown, she probably needed a few swimming lessons before the attempt. It was a life lesson, one she took on board, and when a new job came up closer to home, she nailed the interview (as she always does), and hasn't looked back.

The 2nd job is less than half the distance away, strictly 9 to 5 and in a company which she enjoys. There's a strong company structure, good work ethic, and entertaining colleagues. Her supervisors, colleagues, and managers are all very supportive; I think she'll be sitting tight on this one for a while.

Alex has also found her creative side again, scrap book journalling, instant camera photography, and some kind of couples diary/journal/photo book too. It's become an almost nightly affair of focusing, creating, and having something to show for it fairly quickly. She's very proud of her work, and it's something she does just for herself. I don't expect you'll get a chance to see a photo of what she's done, and she likes it like that.

I had a bit of work late in 2020 and early 2021, nothing special really, but wait until the premier!! It's interesting to think that some day soon I'll be able to go to the cinema and see my ugly mug on the big screen (even if it will most likely be out of focus). I'll be on Netflix too.

Having the opportunity to be an extra on film and TV was a real boost for my confidence after being off stage for so long. I felt creative, met some great people, made some friends, and had a few bucks in my pocket. Happy days.

By jumping into an industry I hadn't been in before right after arriving here, it reminded me that Australia has a lot to offer. I found myself comparing Germany and Australia, and Australia often feels like it comes up short. This was a chance to prove to myself that there are adventures awaiting here down under.

So, I decided to go back to school.

The last time I was in a class room was in 1998!! I am studying a Diploma of Counselling, and am currently half way through my studies. I've found it very challenging, but have passed every assessment so far, and gained some handy skills too. I have a good connection with my teachers, and I really enjoy the company of my classmates; some of which I can even call friends.

I chose counselling for a few reasons, but the first step was really just a process of elimination. Besides being a freelance professional musician for several years in Germany, I had worked in offices, shops, warehouses, kindergartens and various other jobs. While I could go back into IT or something similar, I wanted to use this opportunity to try something new.

I had my fair share of mental health issues in the past (and present). I thought maybe those experiences could help me connect with folks who need support as well. When looking at course options, the counselling course stood out. So now I'm making a mid life crisis gamble that I'll pass the course, and feel confident and knowledgeable enough to take on the role that many others have taken on for me over the years.

The course has helped me find a routine too, one that I didn't know I needed, until it happened. When you're jobless and unfocused, the mind wanders, the days pass. Now my mind is focused on study, and I feel better for it.

Up until the lockdown hit, we were in class 3 days a week and then I'd study from home 1 to 3 days a week. When lockdown hit, we had to go online. However, being on the computer so much has worn me out, and I really start to enjoy those rare days where I am not looking at a screen!

To be honest, it's been challenging every step of the way, and I even thought about quitting several times in the past few months. However, my confidence has steadily risen to each challenge and I felt better for it.

That's the kind of vicious circle I enjoy.

In July I had my first live show in 13 months! In fact, to date I've only had 3 since the pandemic started! Fingers crossed I can cross the border next month and add a 4th.

I was approached by Cherry Divine to play guitar for her. It's a relatively easy gig for me. The songs are fun rockabilly tunes, Cherry sings great, and she already has a band and gigs. I'm helping her write a few songs too, for her next album. I can't thank her enough for sparkin' the fire in me to keep music alive in my life; for a while there I thought it was all a thing of the past.

With the spark has come the possibility of “The Josh” solo band coming together. While the band isn't moving at any great speed (the recent 2nd lockdown kicked in right as I was about to arrange a rehearsal), I'm finally eager to get a band together. I miss playing live, and I miss having musicians in my life. I miss the spontaneity of a show, life on the road, and crowd reactions.

I've even started to write some new material, and get those ideas on “tape”, well, on the computer. Slow and steady, between studying, family, pets and surfing, music is coming back into my life, and it feels good.

Our family unit here is doing well. Alex and I have been under mum's roof and mum's care for a year now. There are some ups and downs, but mostly I'd say they're ups... The house is big enough to give all of us space, all of us get time outside of the house (except during lockdown, I was mostly stuck at home, but that's OK for me)...

Last night we couldn't go out for dinner, but we did have take away from the local Indian which was really good, and a special treat for us, we don't eat out often.

Alex and I plan to get away every 5-6 months for a visit to somewhere we haven't been. In March we were on the “Sunshine Coast” and checked out Australia Zoo, and in June we went south to the mid north coast to pick up BB Junior.

It's nice to get out and explore. A bit hard to do at the moment, with the restrictions, but we've agreed another trip away (before Christmas if possible) is in order. Those trips are part of the reason why I came home, to see some of Australia, and I'm lucky I get to make those experiences with Alex.

It's also nice to get away from it all. I know we live in a beautiful spot near the ocean, but here, at home, there's the computers, the life and routine, and getting away keeps us fresh and focused on each other. It's definitely something I look forward to!

Speaking of BB Junior, he's almost 7 months old now, and a real character. While he's not the easiest cat to train, I've been getting a few tricks out of him, and he enjoys his time outside, with his harness and long lead. He visits his cousin each week for play time, Charlie, who is another ragdoll of a family friend who loves to play chase all day long with Junior. Alex adores Junior, and Junior adores Alex; they can't wait to cuddle when she comes home from work. He's very vocal too, so even when everyone is at work, I have someone to talk to!

Losing our little boy Mijo was a real difficult experience. I know I've written about him before, but he deserves a mention here, as he was a big part of our first year here. He was full of character and strength, he and I bonded very quickly and not a day goes by I don't think of him. He also brought Alex and I closer together. When she chose him for me, and when he passed, and all points in between, he brought us closer.

I've been focused on sport a fair bit since getting back and settling in. I bought a RowErg, also known as a rowing machine, and I row about twice a week, in addition to riding my bicycle about twice a week. I try to surf every chance I get, which unfortunately ends up being only a few times a month. It's my goal to do something sporty to get my heart rate up every day, and of late, usually I get there too. I don't really do it for any other reason than I love to snack and I can't snack if I don't do sport!

A benefit of my sport/snack workout routine is it helps me stay calm and focused and connected with those I ride and surf with.

I haven't asked Mum how she's feeling about having her middle aged son and his wife living with her recently. Maybe I should, but do I really wanna know the answer? Well, I think she's OK with it. After all, we drive her wherever she wishes! I suspect it goes a little deeper than that, and in all honesty, we enjoy each other's company.

Since Alex and I have been here, I'd like to think Mum has been living a little bit fuller life. I don't think her eyesight has deteriorated much in the past year, but we've been able to provide her with support, eyes to read the small print, driving and help with google, or something around the house. When Mum was diagnosed with celiac disease earlier this year, Alex took her shopping to check over the ingredients of Mum's favourite food, and when needed, found alternatives. It definitely made the transition to gluten free a little easier on Mum and it was a load off my mind that we were around to help her through that phase.

Winter 2021 was over before it even started. I forgot how warm this part of the world is, and I don't know why I own so many jackets! Returning from Europe, where I was wearing a jacket daily for about 9 months of the year, here it feels like, if it's really needed, and I mean if you're desperate, you might need one for 9 weeks of the year. I think the heater was on a handful of times, and the sun was shining just about every day.

I tell ya, it's some kind of paradise here.

It's been a bit difficult keeping up with our European friends and family. I sometimes find it hard to find the time to be proactive to contact the 20, 30 or more friends I'd like to keep in touch with regularly. I know our lives keep on keepin' on, but time passes by so quickly too, and next thing you know it's been 4 months since I last contacted you!

Sorry about that!

Don't take it personally, and I'll get back to you, eventually!

My overall mental health has improved over the year, I'd say it's become quite stable since I started the course. I mean, can't you tell? I write less and less in this blog, because I have less and less to process. I'm not sure if it's the fact there's a lot of self reflection that is inherently a part of doing that kind of mental health course, or if it's the routine of being a student or the new friends I've made and classmates I study with.

It could be that it's taken a year to come to terms with being back here, cause when I first arrived I felt uncomfortable, depressed and worn out... There were a lot of questions; is this a mid life crisis? What am I doing here? Will I ever feel good again? Is my music career over? What am I going to do now? Is Alex OK? Is Mum OK?

My journalling, blogging, and support from friends and family has helped a lot too this past year. Processing my thoughts in words, by clarifying and reflecting, has helped a lot. I've been trying to care for myself a bit more now and then too, I think people call it self care, sometimes I call it sport! Alex has helped me to recognise my achievements, however big or small, and focus less on what I haven't done.

I'm not perfect, but definitely improving.

I was hoping that Alex and I would be in a position to start looking at buying our own house around this time, a year in, but unfortunately, with one of us being a student and the ever rising cost of housing, we have to sit tight on that idea for a while longer. Sorry Mum, you're stuck with us.

There's been many smaller things happen during our first year here. Lots of moments of gratitude, love and support. There's some stuff we've forgotten, or that has been overtaken by something bigger. All in all, I'd say it's been a real rollercoaster home coming!

We're still here, a year on, still going strong, making motions, taking chances, being in love, talking shit, laughing, smiling, misbehaving and focusing... What more could we ask for?

Thank you for reading, for your support and love. I love you too.

Josh

#covid pandemic #1 year celebration #reflection #family life #relationships

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365days365movies · 3 years

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April 9, 2021: Some Like it Hot (1959) (Recap: Part One)

If there was ever a movie more hyped than this one...

Ever heard of the American Film Institute? Well, according to them in 2000 (recent, I know), this is the funniest comedy...period. At the time, anyway. That beats Tootsie (getting there), Dr. Strangelove (love it), Annie Hall (also loved it), Duck Soup (classic), Blazing Saddles (classic, topical, and fantastic), M*A*S*H (maybe later this year), It Happened One Night (maybe next year), The Graduate (later this WEEK), and...THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN Airplane! IS NUMBER 10? You CANNOT be seri...yeah, OK, you know where I’m going.

Anyway. Yeah, so, maybe AFI has Oscar syndrome, because that’s a little bullshit. So, uh...how about the BBC? In 2017, they asked 253 film critics ACROSS THE GLOBE what the best comedy of all time was, and number ONE was Some Like it Hot. Other than beating Airplane! again, it also beat Groundhog Day, Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, This is Spinal Tap, The Big Lebowski, and His Girl Friday, and...well, every comedy you can think of. This movie CANNOT be that funny.

...Can it?

But there’s more to this film than that. Apparently, it was made without the approval of the MPPDA, which means that it wasn’t Hays Code adherent! Damn! In fact, this film was partially responsible for its collapse about 6 years later! But what is the Hays Code? Well, briefly covered, it was a set of standards laid out by Will Hays and his Motion Picture Produces and Distributors of America, or the MPPDA. It was enforced in the mid 1930s, and stood firmly in place until 1968, when it basically disappeared.

So, what are these standards? Well, there are a lot, but in a nutshell:

No cursing or taking the Lord’s name in vain in any way.

No nudity, real or suggested. And sex is kind of OK, if consensual and between a man and a woman ONLY. But, they can’t be in bed together, and they can only kiss one time, IF one of them isn’t a villain.

No weddings, no wedding nights, and barely any reference to marriage.

No prostitution, or what was called “white slavery”. Yes. Really.

Oh, also, no weird race-mixing stuff. What’s a “civil rights”?

Buuuuuuut...don’t insult any races either. Of course, considering the time period, “insult” or “offense” is probably subjective, so...fuck that, I guess.

PRIESTS ARE HOLY AND CANNOT BE MOCKED

No guns, fire, American flags, murder, smuggling, drugs, hanging, electrocution, or...law enforcement?

No childbirth, seen or inferred, and no naked kids. I mean...that’s common sense, to be completely fair.

NO RACE-MIXI-oh. Oh, I said that already, didn’t I? Well, OK, I’ll pare it down a little. They can’t have sex, but I guess...looking at each other is OK? Yeah, yeah, we’ll go with that. I’m progressive!

That about covers it. And this movie wasn’t adherent to it? Oh...well, I am excited! Let’s jump right in! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

The whole thing starts with a bang; literally. It's Chicago in 1929, smack dab in the middle of the Prohibition Era, and a group of gangsters are smuggling some alcohol inside of a coffin, while riding in a hearse. The cops aren't fooled, ad a shootout takes place between the gangsters and the cops, but they eventually drop off as the group takes the coffin into a funeral home. At the funeral home, a man named “Toothpick” Charlie (George E. Stone) meets with Mulligan (Pat O’Brien) a detective who’s got Charlie as his informant. With his help, he makes his way into the funeral home, actually a speakeasy in disguise.

Said speakeasy is run by “Spats” Colombo (George Raft), and within the speakeasy is a massive party, which the partygoers call a funeral. Spats arrives there shortly afterwards, and Mulligan watches all the while. Also at this party is a group of dancers accompanied by a band, which contains two partners, ladies’ man and sax player Joe (Tony Curtis) and anxious double bassist Jerry (Jack Lemmon).

The two talk about what they’re going to do with their upcoming paycheck, with Joe planning on using it for gambling on dog races. Jerry is understandably worried about this, as they owe rent, but Joe rattles off other things that he might was well worry about.

Suppose you got hit by a truck. Suppose the stock market crashes. Suppose Mary Pickford divorces Douglas Fairbanks. Suppose the Dodgers leave Brooklyn! Suppose Lake Michigan overflows.

Fun fact, though: the stock market’s about to crash in a year, Pickford and Fairbanks divorce in 1936, and the Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957, famously. Lake Michigan has not overflowed...YET. It’s actually at record high water levels, and could cause flooding around it in the next few years. So, although those middle three were DEFINITELY part of the joke...that last one wasn’t at the time. Of course, it’s actually there as a line to set Jerry up with a way to tell him that the streets are “about to flood”, as he spots Mulligan and makes him. He tells Joe, and they both quietly pack up their instruments and leave, BEFORE the ruckus is about to begin.

And begin it does, and the cops raid the place almost immediately afterwards. As the party’s broken up and people are loaded into the paddywagon (Spats included), Joe and Jerry take their chance to escape behind the cops’ backs. However, this also means that the two musicians aren’t getting paid after all. Joe’s still set on betting money on the dog the next day, and get the money for the bet by selling their coats. However, while they do sell their coats, they instead end up looking for jobs at a local music agency, run by Sig Poliakoff (Billy Gray).

The agency is recruited by band owner Sweet Sue (Joan Shawlee) and her nebbish band manager Bienstock (Dave Barry), as they need a bass and a sax player to replace two of their own, in their band in Florida. On hearing this from Poliakoff’s secretary Nellie (Barbara Drew), the two barge into the office. However, much to their dismay, the only ones they’re looking for are women. While Jerry tries to weasel their way in, it doesn’t quite work, and they instead take a job up north for a Valentine’s Day dance. The two go to a garage to borrow a car from Nellie in order to get to the job. There, playing cards, is Toothpick Charlie with a group of men. But then...somebody else arrives.

Spats and his men arrive at the garage, and tell all of the men to stand with their hands on the wall. Joe and Jerry, however, manage to hide in the garage. And if you know anything about Valentine’s Day during Prohibition Era Chicago...then you know exactly what’s about to happen to Toothpick and the guys.

After the massacre (based upon the real St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Jerry makes a noise and alerts the gang to their presence. This is a problem, because Spats isn’t keen on the idea of witnesses, and immediately orders the musicians killed.With a distraction caused by the still-alive-but-dying Charlie, the two manage to escape Spats’ wrath. Now needing a fast way out of town, Joe figures out a plan. See, that job, the one from Sweet Sue, is in Florida, which is far enough away that they should be able to escape. But, uh...the band is only looking for women. And so...

This is the second most famous thing about the film. Meet Josephine and Daphne, the female aliases of Joe and Jerry respectively. As Jerry realizes the difficulties of the female wardrobe (namely skirts and heels), the two walk up to the band of women, known as “Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators.” But they aren’t the only arrivals, and the other is the MOST famous thing about this movie...

This is Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk, the lead singer, ukelele player, and...OK, look, it’s Marilyn Monroe, and I think I need to acknowledge this now. Marilyn Monroe is an underrated talent today, but she had a hell of a lot of potential as an actress and as an individual. She had a lot of troubles, and her early death by suicide is an absolute tragedy, no matter how you slice it. She’s a talented actress and singer, and she deserves recognition for that.

SHE IS ALSO INSANELY HOT I’M SORRY I’M WEAK

Look...it’s Marilyn fucking Monroe, OK? I know, I’m a straight cissexual man, but I wanted to make a point to acknowledge the fact that Marilyn Monroe is a talent far outside of her beauty and physicality. She (and all women) deserve that much, and deserve not to be objectified by the male gaze. I genuinely agree with this, and I do understand that concept. I’ll never personally understand the female experience, but it’s my responsibility and duty as an individual to understand experiences foreign to my own, including this one.

But DEAR LORD, her physicality is not easy to ignore, now and then! I mean COME ON! The woman’s considered a standard of classic beauty to this day by many (not by all, and not by herself), and it’s unfortunately her most famous feature to nearly everybody. But, of course, Monroe got a lot of grief for her looks as well (which is bullshit), and the stress of her life sadly led to her terrible suicide. But that doesn’t mean that her beauty inside and out shouldn’t be appreciated for what it is: beauty.

ALSO SHE IS DROP DEAD GORGEOUS I’M WEAK I KNOW

See, the train agrees with me! Oh...OH RIGHT, THE MOVIE! OK, where was I. Well, Joe and Jerry agree with me about Sugar Kane, but it is the 1950′s when the film is made, so of course they do. They watch her get on, and they follow suit, meeting the women of the band, and Sugar Kane. Sugar, see, has a teensy bit of an alcohol problem. That’s not necessarily to say she’s an alcoholic, but she is admonished for it by Sweet Sue and Bienstock, also being a repeat offender of drinking during working hours. That (and men) is something that Sweet Sue doesn’t tolerate.

She’s almost in trouble that night, when her flask falls from her stocking during a performance. However, Jerry covers for her, much to her appreciation. As they settle in for the night, all of the girls (including Joe and Jerry) sleep in the same cabin, much to the, uh, frustration of Jerry, despite Josephine’s urgings to keep it together. As Jerry continually reminds himself that he’s posing as a girl, he’s surprised that night with the appearance of Sugar, who comes to thank her for her help that night. Sugar tells “Daphne” that she owes her one, and also climbs into the cot with him to hide from Sweet Sue. Jerry...that poor mother fucker.

Well, Jerry tries to ease the tension by offering some of Joe’s whisky. But more of the girls overhear this, and eventually, a massive party erupts, with all the girls mixing drinks and sharing the single space of Jerry’s bed. Joe wakes up from all of this, and tries to help end the party, only for Sugar to climb out of it, and ask Joe for help with a block of ice for the drinks.

It’s here that she reveals that she used to work with men’s bands, but joined this band to get away from men. This is especially to get away from her weakness: tenor sax players. This intrigues Joe, the tenor sax player. However, she’s essentially sworn off of tenor sax players because of multiple bad relationships, and is instead hoping to find a millionaire in Florida, preferably one with a yacht. Meanwhile, Jerry’s bed is getting a little too full, and the girls are getting a little TOO familiar. They start to tickle him, and to prevent his cover being blown, Jerry pulls the train’s emergency brake. All of the girls scatter as the train stops, and they manage to get away with the party as Sweet Sue and Bienstock wake up only then.

The train gets to Florida, and the girls make their way into a hotel. As they check in, Jerry (as Daphne) is spotted by Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown), a millionaire, and a man with eclectic tastes in women. And those tastes apparently include Daphne, as he unsubtly (and unwantedly) hits on her. And Jerry’s having none of it. After Osgood pinches him in the elevator, he gets off after slapping him. Unfortunately, that makes Osgood only want Daphne THAT MUCH MORE. This man...this man may just be the legendary alpha simp of which the stories tell.

Meanwhile, Joe manages to get ahold of Beinstock’s luggage and glasses. He steals his clothes (after fending off an overeager bellboy), and uses them to dress as a millionaire. Why? Why, to seduce Sugar, of course!

This is right at the halfway point, so we’ll pick this up in Part Two! See you there!

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ficsilike-reblogged · 4 years

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Sunshine City: Two

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. But I do hope you guys like it. If you haven’t watched Kingsman: The Golden Circle, I would really recommend it. I’m pulling quite a bit from the movie for the first handful of chapters and I don’t want to confuse anyone. But if you have any questions, I’ll gladly answer them!

Pairing: (Eventual) Agent Whiskey x F!Reader (No Y/N)

Word Count: 4.1k

Rating For This Chapter: M for Whiskey being Whiskey, inappropriate hand gestures, lusting after your boss, and some dubious consent on behalf of Clara. tldr: finger-fucking a stranger to save the world :)

Read the Prologue and Chapter One!

Louisville was a quaint city—not that she would ever say that to a local. Ginger Ale greeted her as she landed at the airport and had filled her in on the goings-on at the main headquarters and how there was a strange set of explosions in the UK that landed on their radar. After hearing about the “blue” aspect of her and Whiskey’s latest mission, Champ had requested she come down to Kentucky and brief him in person, citing his distaste for mission-brief emails. Whiskey was tasked with keeping the New York headquarters running, as he always did. The lucky bastard. But it was fine. He had nearly strangled her and she still thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever met.

Something was clearly wrong with her and maybe some time away from his face and crooked smile would help her stop feeling like she had something clawing to get out of her chest every time he looked at her.

(It wouldn’t help. She knew that.)

Their mission in Vegas had been a success—in a strange kind of way. After the men turned blue, she and Whiskey followed them through the club and carried the mission out—with one caveat. They grabbed a vial of blood before disposing of the bodies. There had been a minor shoot out with the suppliers but it was easily handled, too.

Ginger Ale took the vial of blood and made it a priority to test it as Capri Sun went to Champagne’s office.

“Ginger will probably be able to give us more specifics when the tests are done,” she said as she finished her spiel.

“What do you think it is? What’s your gut say, Capri Sun?”

She wiped a hand down her face and leaned against one of the chairs at the long table. “Something’s going on, Champ. People turning blue? The explosions in the UK? All of it feels…off.”

Champ opened his mouth to say something else but his personal intercom buzzed and Tequila’s voice rang out. “Champ, we’ve got some stragglers on the tour. They’re lookin’ to get inside the cask vault. British by the sounds of it.” He paused. “They’re using some tech to get through our biometric scanners.”

Cap looked at Champ to see him arch an eyebrow. “Ten bucks says they’re here for Butterfly Guy.”

“Bring ‘em in, Tequila. Real quiet like,” Champ ordered.

“Ya got it, boss.”

As the line went dead, Champ crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her. “The butterfly guy, huh? You reckon that’s what they’re here for?”

“Three bombings at nearly the exact same time in the UK and the next day two Brits show up here, where we’re housing a one-eyed amnesiac spy? Yeah.” She shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”

‘The Butterfly Guy,’ as he was dubbed after waking up a little less than a year ago, was a fodder for a fair bit of gossip at all of the Statesman offices. It isn’t every day that a Brit, obviously involved in intelligence in some capacity, gets shot in the head outside a zealot’s church after a spike of low wave frequencies catch Ginger’s eye. The fact that he was obsessed with butterflies just made him even more of an anomaly. Agent Seltzer thought he was some sort of double agent from MI-6. Agent Absinthe thought it was a ploy from some terrorist organization to infiltrate Statesman HQ. She didn’t really care either way.

Champ huffed with a smile. “We’ll see, Cap.”

They spoke a little more about the Vegas mission before they heard the intercom buzz again—it was Ginger, quickly relaying that the British intruders did seem to know Butterfly Guy but were here for a completely different reason…supposedly.

She turned as she heard the elevator chime on the other side of the door. “That’s my cue. I’ll see you later, Champ.”

“Don’t go too far, now,” he said as she started to walk away. “Whiskey’ll probably need ya when I talk to him about Vegas in a minute.”

She nodded and let herself out, dodging Tequila’s swat that he aimed at her shoulder. Tequila had been the man in the alley all those years ago. He was friendly and sweet, if not a little brash, and she considered him a friend. But the other man at Tequila’s side caught her eye. He looked her over with a critical and quizzical gaze before the Statesman agent all but shoved him into the room and the door slapped shut behind them. Her phone quickly ate all of her attention as she brought up the cameras the doggy daycare had set up throughout their shop so owners could check on their dogs. Bela was currently gnawing on a tennis ball as a golden retriever licked at his ear.

She hated leaving him alone so much. Hated it. He was such a good boy and she loved him so much that she actually asked Champ if she could bring him to Kentucky whenever she came down.

It was a firm no—apparently Tequila had accidentally let loose his fleet of basset hounds in HQ a year before she joined and Champ had to instate a no-pets policy because of the damage they caused. It was a shame, really. She thought Champ would really like Bela.

She checked her email, too, responding to Agent Grenadine’s plea for help. She was a newer agent and still needed a bit of guidance when it came to the more finite details of missions. Whiskey had slept with her within a week of Grenadine being assigned to the New York office. He never waited long, it seemed. And she didn’t really blame him—Grenadine was young and beautiful and vivacious. And always “down for a night of fun with no strings” as she had so eloquently put it. Perfectly Whiskey’s type.

And why was she thinking about that right now?

She shook off the thought and rubbed at her eyes before she pocketed her phone.

The door opened and Tequila came out with a huff.

“The Brits getting on your nerv-” The words stalled in her throat as she saw the blue crawling up his neck and across his face. It was exactly like what she had seen on the targets in Vegas. “Tequila? Oh my god.” Her hands reached out to touch him and winced as he all but crumpled into her grip. “What is happening? What did you do?”

“I-I…fuck, Cap. I don’t even know.”

Her thumbs brushed against his cheeks with a frown. “Go to Ginger. She’ll sort you out, I’m sure.”

Tequila’s smile was small. “I’ll be right as rain by tomorrow.”

Y/N nodded, not believing it, and watched him go with a sigh.

The man from earlier slipped out the door with a sigh of his own. His eyes found hers. “You Capri Sun?”

She held out a hand for him to shake. “Everybody calls me Cap. You’re Galahad or whatever?”

“Call me Eggsy,” he said as he shook her hand.

“Eggsy. Fewer syllables.” She crossed her arms over her chest as they dropped their hands. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, uh, Whiskey says you’re coming back with us. He’s sending a jet?”

She groaned.

“I’ve got a surprise for you, Sunny,” Whiskey said as Eggsy stepped out of his office to make a call.

She crossed her arms with a sigh. It had been hours since they landed back in New York and she was tired. They had been formulating a plan to meet ‘Clara,’ the ex-girlfriend of some Kingsman cast-off who had ties to The Golden Circle cartel who was possibly responsible for the blue rash. Clara was all over social media with her plans to attend the Glastonbury Music Festival. The fact that there was another independent intelligence agency named Kingsman was really the least alarming information she’d learned that day—apparently there was a guy walking around with a robotic arm capable of hacking entire security systems.

She needed a nap before they loaded up to head across the ocean in an hour.

But Whiskey’s smile continued to grow and he buzzed for his assistant to, “bring him in.”

The door opened and she turned to see little Bela wiggling like crazy in the poor woman’s grasp. His entire body seemed to shake when he spotted her and happy little barks escaped him.

She quickly pulled him into her arms and let him lick all over her face. It had only been two days since she’d dropped him off at daycare but he always greeted her like she had been gone a year. “Hi baby. Hi hi hi. Yes, I missed you, too.”

Her fingers pushed through his thick fur as Bela finally settled in her grip and propped his head against her shoulder. She pressed a kiss to his one ear as she smiled. But then it dawned on her: Whiskey had definitely witnessed all of that. A giant crack in the visage she had sculpted. Fuck.

She slowly turned to face him and scowled at the shit-eating grin splitting his face. “Now, what’s a guy got to do to get a welcome like that?”

“Be a one-eared corgi,” she replied drolly.

“C’mon now, Sunny. I had to call in a big favor to have Vanessa pick him up and bring him here without you. That doggy daycare has some stringent guidelines about who can pick up a dog, by the way.” He placed his hands on his hips and they cocked to the side as they so often did. But he was still smiling. “I think I should get something.”

She sighed and Bela nosed at the underside of her jaw. “Thank you, boss. That was very kind of you.”

“And?”

“And that’s all you’re getting.” His smile fell the slightest bit and she bit back a grimace. In truth, it was the nicest thing someone had done for her in a long, long time. Letting her indulge in a little time with her dog before having to fly across the world was definitely spoiling her. And her traitorous mind had to remember how broken Whiskey had looked when he had realized he had wrapped his hands around her neck. This was probably just an I’m-sorry-I-tried-to-kill-you-while-asleep gift. But it didn’t feel like that and she really needed to stop lying to herself or get better at it. “I really do appreciate it, Whiskey. I don’t like being away from him for so long.”

“You really love the little guy, don’t’cha?” He stepped forward and let Bela sniff his fingers before petting him. Bela’s stumped tail quickly resumed its body-shaking wags when Whiskey instinctively found his soft spot. “I guess he’s cute.” The teasing lilt to his voice almost made her smile again.

“Yeah, he’s my favorite.”

“His name’s Bella? Italian for beautiful.”

“No. Like Bela Lugosi. The guy who played Dracula.”

Hearing his name, Bela licked at her face.

“Never took you for a monster movie fan,” Whiskey said, continuing to pet her dog.

“My brother loved them. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff—if they were in the movie, he made me watch it. But this little guy didn’t look like a Boris. So, Bela it was.”

“Your brother?” Whiskey asked, trying to catch her eye bet she kept them firmly on her dog.

“Yup.” And that was all the answer she gave, her heart a little heavy already. She hoisted the corgi a little higher and Whiskey pulled his hand back. “I guess I should get him back to the daycare before we take off.”

“Vanessa can handle it.”

She nodded and walked to the door and spoke to Vanessa and pressed a series of kisses behind Bela’s ear before the assistant walked away with her dog in a careful hold. Her shoulders slumped as she watched them go. “Thanks for letting me see him. I know you think it is stupid-”

“I never said that, Sunny.”

She hummed, filing away her small bit of melancholy, and turned back to face him. “So, why’d you want me on this gig? I thought you’d be able to handle a pretty girl at a music festival on your own.”

Whiskey opened his mouth like he wanted to say something before shutting. His broad shoulders rolled. He turned back to his desk and settled into his slick black leather chair. “I don’t trust the kid.”

“Eggsy? Why?” She thought him a little cocksure—but she also dealt with Whiskey on a near-daily basis.

Whiskey shrugged. “Call it an instinct.”

She settled into the chair across from him with a frown. “And you thought bringing me along would do what exactly? Stab him in the back before he stabs you?”

He huffed out a laugh. “Maybe.” The leather of his chair creaked as it leaned forward with a smirk. “Maybe I just think you need to let loose a little and a music festival can do that.”

Rolling her eyes at her boss wasn’t really an option so she settled for blinking very slowly. “That’s kind of a waste of company funds, boss.”

“You are absolutely no fun.”

“People are dying.”

“All the more reason for you to come along.” He tilted his head to the side with another smile. “Please?”

She let out a slow breath and mulled over her options. She could call Champ and say she wanted out. It would be the first time she handed over a mission to someone else and each agent gets one pass. But then she could never get out of another one again. And it was just a music festival. Right? “Fine. But only because one of my favorite bands is playing at the festival.”

His smile grew and it twisted her stomach. She shouldn’t let him sway her this much. But the surprise (and probably illegal) visit from Bela did soften her resolve. And maybe watching him seduce someone else would actually—finally—put a stop to her silly feelings for the man. So far, she’d avoided any and all social functions that would let her see him scoping out another fling for the night. And yes, it did make her a little bit of an outcast within the social circles of Statesman. But she was only there to do a job anyway. Save the world. Pet her dog. Go to sleep when she had the chance. She didn’t need anything else.

“I’m glad you’re coming along, Sunny. I wouldn’t have anyone else.”

Dammit.

Finding out that Eggsy was dating a Swedish princess would have been hilarious if Whiskey hadn’t insisted on picking Eggsy up in a fucking Bronco that had the most obnoxious horn known to mankind. Eggsy helped her put the VIP band around her wrist with a small smile. He was a good kid, she decided. A little rough around the edges. Definitely cocksure. But genuine.

She tried to focus on that and not how she caught Whiskey’s eyes trailing up her thighs in the rearview mirror.

She had dressed to blend in at Glastonbury. Tiny shorts, a fringed, low-cut top, and Hunter rainboots. If it worked for Kate Moss, it worked for her.

But the heated gaze she’d caught from her boss almost made her squirm in her seat.

Thankfully, they arrived at the festival grounds without too much trouble and she focused on the passing greenery instead of the eyes she felt on her skin. They spoke about the tracker and the need for it to stick and the two men, of course, made frequent innuendos about the size of their dicks as she tried very hard not to commit murder by bludgeoning them both to death with her rain boot. The music was thumping through speakers, songs overlapping from the various stages and creating a raucous thrumming as they approached the VIP bar. She watched the various attendees pass by. It really was colorful. Some guy was wearing a pair of leather wings and drinking next to a girl in head-to-toe tie-dye.

“I say we both make an approach. Whoever gets on best, goes for it.” Whiskey said. “Sunny will make sure the target doesn’t ditch us before we can plant it.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “Well, it doesn't have to be a competition, bruv. Why don't we just go up to her, shake her hand, pat her on the back. Whatever, you know. Job done.”

“The hand is not a mucus membrane, Eggsy. Neither is the back. They teach you anything at Kingsman?”

And she had to laugh at that, despite Eggsy’s absolutely offended face.

“What are you talking about?”

“We need a mucus membrane, Eggsy. Remember?” she supplied, trying to be helpful.

“Our trackers are designed to enter the bloodstream. They circulate harmlessly, providing full audio and GPS.” Whiskey’s pointer and middle finger curled and swirled as he spoke and she had to look away for a moment, knowing exactly what he was implying with that motion. Heat coiled in her stomach. Now was not the time to be thinking about getting finger-fucked by her boss. But the senior agent caught her eye anyway and winked as his fingers curled again and she would swear she could almost feel those phantom fingers. But, she set her lips into a firm line and his smile fell.

Eggsy’s jaw went to side as he mulled their words over. “Mucus membrane. That's like up the nose, isn't it? What the fuck am I gonna do? Stick my finger...” She watched as realization dawned on him. “It's not just inside the nose, is it?”

“No, Eggsy, it ain't. Fuck.” Whiskey shook his head. “All right, I'll take the first crack. Watch and learn, buddy.”

As Whiskey sauntered up to the bar, Eggsy sighed. “Is he always like this?”

She nodded, sagely. “Yes.” But her eyes quickly focused on Whiskey and listening in on their conversation. But her stomach quickly dropped as one horrible pick up line after another spilled out of his mouth. Did he really just ask her what band she was in?

Good god. How did she find this man attractive?

“Eggsy, for the love of God, please go rescue that poor girl.” She nudged him toward the bar and he all but dragged his feet with a scowl but it quickly morphed into a cocky grin when Clara spotted him.

She really thought she had saved the mission. Really. But then Eggsy was just as bad as Whiskey, it seemed, at picking up women. How did he manage to woo a Princess with those lines? It eventually devolved into both Eggsy and Whiskey passive-aggressively trying to one-up each other and Clara quickly had a hoard of drinks she didn’t want or order sitting in front of her.

She couldn’t roll her eyes hard enough at the two men peacocking in front of the poor girl and decided to salvage the mission on her own. She wedged her way between Clara and Eggsy with a sigh and ordered a water as her fingers plucked the tracker from his pocket. Her eyes slid over to Clara to see her already looking in her direction. Perfect.

It hadn’t taken long from the pair of men to realize they’d been all but dismissed by Sunny and Clara and they both retreated (Whiskey to the other side of the bar and Eggsy to the VIP entrance to make sure Clara didn’t leave) to spectate and make sure she didn’t blow it with Clara, too. But Whiskey knew she wouldn’t. Her records were clear. She never missed a target. He wasn’t sure what had thrown him off his game so much. Usually he’d be retreating to a shadowed hallway or an empty room by now with the target ready and wet for him.

Maybe it was the perfect set of legs he’d already spied. His Sunny always looked good. Always.

But she’d never come on a “tracking” mission with him before and he could feel her eyes on him the entire time.

Whiskey watched, a little entranced, as Sunny had the target eating out of her hand within a few moments—and then literally eating out of the her hand as Sunny pushed an ice cube between Clara’s lips with a giggle he’d never heard her make before. Her thumb dipped into Clara’s mouth with the ice and she slowly pulled it out only to lick the water from her skin with a smile.

Something definitely stirred beneath the zipper of his jeans.

Clara leaned close and let her fingers trail down Sunny’s arm as she whispered something into her ear. Sunny then bit her lip with another smile and nodded, grasping Clara’s hand in hers. Even from a distance, he could read her lips, “lead the way.” The pair of women slipped away through the crowd and Whiskey had to lean against the bar to hide what surely was the erection of his nightmares and daydreams as Eggsy walked up to him, a relieved little smile on his face. “She really saved us, mate. She’s a good one, ain’t she?” The kid settled in the empty stool beside him.

“Yeah, kid,” Whiskey muttered as he waved down the bartender. “She’s a good one.” He ordered a whiskey neat before discreetly activating and raising the volume on the earpiece so he could monitor Sunny. He knew Clara wasn’t much of a threat—not against the likes of his Sunny, anyway—but he just wanted to be sure.

The earpiece hummed for a moment and recalibrated before he caught the tail-end of some sort of whispered flirt. “You’re so pretty for me.” There was a soft answering noise and then a shuffle, like a dress being pulled off. “So pretty.”

“God, you’re mouthy,” Clara said. “I love it.”

“Get on the bed,” Sunny said and he imagined Clara scrambling to do as she was told and then Sunny climbing over her. His mind drifted, for a moment. Was she like this with everyone she brought to bed? Sounds of some illicit act buzzed in his ears as he thought of her lips, her fingers…

“Look at you. So wet. I’ve barely touched you.” His Sunny laughed.

“Oh please,” Clara whined, high and breathy. “Please.”

Whiskey glanced at Eggsy to see him squirming in his seat. He tapped the kid on the shoulder and then snatched the earpiece right out of his ear. “The fuck?” Eggsy grumbled.

Whiskey just pocketed it and ordered another drink.

Clara was moaning now and there was a distinct wet sound that he knew all too well.

“Oh! Right there! Fuuuuuuuu-there!”

Sunny laughed again but it sounded muffled. “You almost there? Yeah, I think you are. Just about covered my hand—leaking all over me. You’ve made a mess.” Sunny sighed and the wet noise grew faster and faster. “Come on, gorgeous. You can come for me.”

The zipper of his jeans was becoming increasingly more cumbersome and he took a healthy gulp of the liquor. He shouldn’t be picturing her making those sounds. Shouldn’t be wondering what she sounded like with his fingers buried deep. Shouldn’t be thinking about what she would taste like on his tongue.

But he did. And it wasn’t the first or the last time.

Clara’s moans turned into a staccato of whimpers and groans that grew and grew until she wailed.

Sunny hummed—he could tell she was smiling. “I knew you’d be beautiful when you came.”

Clara panted and there was a soft sound of a kiss. “Your turn?”

“Mm, no. I just like seeing pretty girls come.” Another kiss. “But thanks for the offer.”

“God, you are just a walking dream, aren’t you?” Clara asked, all breathy and smitten.

Whiskey finished his drink and paid. The rest of the conversation between Clara and Sunny was a hum in his ears as he left the bar and Eggsy quickly followed.

“Think she can teach me her tricks?” He joked.

“Nah, kid. You either got it or you don’t. She just has it in spades.” He walked toward the tent but slowed to a stop just out of reach so as to not look like they were lingering. He gave it a moment, and then another. Sunny walked out of the tent with a smile and licked her fingers. Mission accomplished.

A/N: Welp. There’s that. I will try to have the next chapter up in less time than it took for this one to get published. Please tell me what you think!

Beautiful people who asked to be tagged: @spookyold-saintjm @honestlystop @paryl @fioccodineveautunnale

#agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x reader #agent whiskey #kingsman #kingsman the golden circle

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svtmatokis · 5 years

Text

Matchmaker P5

Here is Matchmaker P5! What happens when there’s a misunderstanding?

Plot: You’re a small name model who is close friends with Joshua and Taehyung and just moved to Korea after signing with an agency. You’ve been a fan of BTS for as long as you could remember and biased Yoongi. Little did you know, despite not being well known, you had caught Yoongi’s eye a long time ago and now you guys get to meet. Even though the two of you become friends, Yoongi’s apparently too shy and you’re just apparently oblivious to his feelings. Will it take a push from Taehyung and the rest of his members for you two to finally get together or will Yoongi be able to do it on his own?

Words: 3458

Warnings: May contain swearing, slightly intimate touches and Im not sure….

Genre: flufff/ slight angst

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

[HOT DEBUT] Seventeen’s Hoshi and Woozi have finally graced us with the music video that everyone has been anticipating since Pledis revealed a dance teaser featuring well known choreographer Yang Minyoung and her older sister Yang Y/N who is one of Pledis Entertainments newest signed models. Not much is known about Y/N and Minyoung but sources close to the agency say that Y/N and Minyoung were dancers since a young age and were even known as the Yang Sisters dance duo in the States prior to their move to Korea where the sisters split into their own career paths.

Hoshi and Woozi are set to make their first live performance on Show Champion this coming week and will only appear on Show Champion and Music Core as Seventeen’s comeback is set for three weeks after. It has been confirmed that the sisters will be appearing during their stage performances and can anyone blame them? The salsa hip-hop vibe we get off the song with their dance moves shows off their chemistry and trust with each other that cannot be duplicated with other partners. We are happy to say that we are looking forward to their first performance.

The boys of BTS watched your rehearsal on the Show Champion stage with Hoshi and Woozi after they finished their final sound check for their promotions and they were sure it wasn’t only them who had their jaw dropped to the floor once it was done.

“Holy shit the dance looked better than it did in the music video. How is that possible?!” Hoseok exclaimed as they went back to their dressing rooms to prepare for the show.

“Am I the only one who gets Angel and Devil vibes off of them? Like Y/N’s white dress and Minyoungs black one with Hoshi and Woozi wearing opposite colors. They really planned this out well.” RM said with a low whistle, “Perfection.”

“Yea, Y/N definitely looked like an angel didn’t she” Jin said nudging Yoongi with a wink as they entered the waiting room shocked to see a few trainees from Bit Hit waiting for them.

“What are you guys doing here?” Jungkook asked Hara who was one of the first to stand up once the boys entered the room.

“We came to support your goodbye stage” she said with a happy smile, “Where were you? I heard you guys had the first sound check.”

“We were watching Hoshi and Woozis sound check.” Jimin said and furrowed his eyebrows, “We didn’t hear anything about you guys coming from our managers.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Hara said with a small shrug.

“More like she begged the staff to let her come and then the agency decided to let us all come.” one trainee who came to stand next to her added with a small smirk.

There was a look of disapproval from Yoongi and Taehyung as they heard what the trainee had said making them share a look.

“Are you guys going to be here the whole day?” Jimin asked and they all nodded.

“Well, have fun then.” Taehyung said putting his jacket on, “I have a small errand to run.”

“Where are you going?” Namjoon asked right away and Taehyung held up his wallet.

“Get flowers. Hoshi and Woozi aren’t the only ones who’ve worked hard today.” he responded and Yoongi’s along with Hoseok and Jins eyes widened.

“Oh he’s smart.” Yoongi muttered and took out his own wallet to give Taehyung some money. “Can you do me a favor?”

The two had a silent conversation with their eyes and Taehyung nodded. “I’ll get the best one.”

“Thanks man.” Yoongi said before making his way out of the dressing room himself, “I’ll be back before we have to go.”

“We’ll go with you Tae” Hoseok said as Jin nodded. “We want to get something for them too.”

The three then left the room leaving only Namjoon, Jimin and Jungkook with the trainees.

“Where are they going?” one trainee asked. They had never seen Yoongi leave so quickly before, even for a stage.

“He went to find a friend.” Namjoon responded knowing exactly where the rapper was headed, “Since there’s only a few of us here, do you guys want to get lunch?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Yoongi?” Hara asked and Jungkook shook his head.

“He already said he’d be back before the stage so there’s no point in waiting up.” he said, “I’m starved, let’s go.”

The group made their way to the restaurant of choice and the trainees were happy to be bonding with the seniors who were left. It wasn’t often that Namjoon treated them out afterall.

“So I heard Y/N’s supposed to be performing tonight.” one trainee said excitedly.

“You know Y/N?” Jimin asked between bites and the trainee nodded.

“She and her sister were legends in my school back in the States. Y/N was the captain of the dance team and her legacy still carries on today. When she went into modeling, a lot of the dance team supported her by buying the magazines she featured in. I’m glad that she’s doing well.” the trainee said with a big smile, “I always looked up to her.”

“Did you see the music video that she and her sister were in with Woozi and Hoshi? It was like they were all made to dance with each other. Y/N and Woozi have so much chemistry its electrifying.” another trainee, “She’s so talented.”

Hara had to hold in her gag as all the trainees gushed about you and Minyoung. She couldn’t believe all the things she was hearing and didn’t believe them one bit. In her mind, it was only the editing of the music video that made you look good and she didn’t believe that you actually danced that well either. Though she had never seen you in your element, she already had this image in her mind of you that she was unwilling to let go of and with you in the way of her and Yoongi (which was non existent) she just plain hated you.

As the group walked back to the building, Hara decided to join Jimin and Jungkook on their coffee run with a few others at a local cafe.

“Oh my gosh, look at those two.” Jungkook said as they entered the cafe and low and behold, there was you and Yoongi sitting at one of the tables talking.

Hara turned her head and frowned, you and Yoongi were seated at the back corner with smiles on your faces obviously having a good conversation as something you had said made him laugh.

“Is that Y/N and Yoongi? They’re friends?” the trainee who looked up to you asked as Jimin nodded.

“Taehyung introduced us a while back actually. She’s a good friend to all of us.” he said after placing the coffee order.

“I’ve never seen Yoongi laugh like that before. They look so cute together.” she gushed as Jungkook snickered. “They aren’t together are they?”

“They have to be!” another trainee said, “Why else would Yoongi hang out with her? He rarely hangs out with anyone from the agency as is.”

“Don’t say things that aren’t true!” Hara said automatically anger evident in her voice making the trainees look at her weird.

“You seriously need to let go of that crush Hara. Yoongi’s out of your league.” the trainee who asked if you and Yoongi were together said, “Like really. You’ve tried to scare of everyone who's gotten close to him but I really think you need to lay off.”

Jungkook and Jimin looked at each other with raised eyebrows after the trainee had said exactly what was on their minds but slowly walked away once they got their drinks.

“It’s not like he’d date her.” Hara argued, “If anything he’s out of HER league.”

“Considering she already has a name in this world, I would say they’re pretty equal in those terms. Seriously Hara, it’s going to be a reason why you don’t debut. He doesn’t even talk to you so just let it go and let him be happy. Gosh you can be immature sometimes” the girl said with a huff before walking away leaving Hara seething in her place.

She looked at Yoongi who was resting his head in his hand as he listened to something you said, a content smile on his face. A content smile that was meant for you and not her. It wasn’t fair and she’d make sure you were out of Yoongi’s life no matter what it took.

After the performance, you, Minyoung, Hoshi and Woozi walked back into your dressing room and were shocked at the sight before you. There stood the members of BTS and the members of Seventeen who came to support you with various bouquets and gifts in their hands.

“What the…” Minyoung said as Dino handed her one of the bouquets, “What is this?” she asked in shock as various members handed you flowers as well.

“Hoshi and Woozi may get the publicity for this debut, but we wanted to acknowledge that you and Y/N also worked hard for this too and congratulate you.” Taehyung said as Yoongi walked up to you.

“Congrats on your first stage.” he said with a smile as you took the bouquet in your hands and couldn’t help but smell the flowers. “You guys were perfect.”

“Thank you” you said shyly as everyone broke into their little groups of conversation though there were various eyes on you and Yoongi.

The trainees from Big Hit weren’t allowed in the Seventeen waiting room since there were too many people so they stood by the door and watched everything that was going on.

“I’m sorry again about tomorrow.” Yoongi said quietly once the two of you were alone, “I’m just not sure how long it’ll take so it’s best if we reschedule.”

You could hear the apologetic tone in his voice and shook your head.

“Hey, it happens.” you said with a small smile, “Don’t worry about it. There’s always next time.”

“I’ll call you then kay?” he asked, “I heard that the guys want to take you out for dinner and my groups going to head back to the dorms.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you around then.” you said with a hug before going to join your sister on the other side of the room.

The next day, you walked into Jihoons studio as he was working on a piece and even before greeting you he had to ask a question.

“I thought you were supposed to have a date with Yoongi today.”

You sat on the couch that he had in there and sighed, though you were okay with it the night before, it didn’t mean that you weren’t bummed out about it now.

“Something came up at the agency and he had to reschedule.” you said with a shrug, “It’s to be expected right?”

“I guess so…” Jihoon said still focussed on the song he was working on, “What are you doing here then?”

“Minyoungs out with Chan and Josh has has a schedule or something. Plus it’s been awhile since we’ve actually hung out.” you said watching Jihoon’s computer screen. “I kinda miss this.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Josh and Taehyung more since you got back. I figured it wasn’t going to be like it was a few years ago.” he mumbled, “But that was expected right?”

“Ji…” you said looking noticing the frown on the others face.

Before Taehyung, there was Jihoon. The two of you got close after Joshua had introduced you and during your time in Korea, you were one of the few people he let into his studio at any given time of day. Only Minyoung knew that you two had explored a romantic relationship briefly only to realize that the relationship you really had was compared to siblings and it was never spoken of again.

Jihoon was one of the few people you kept in contact with constantly and as the years went by, he became your biggest confidant as you were to him, more so than Joshua. He knew everything from your crush on Yoongi to the Hara situation and he even knew WHY you left your former agency and moved to Korea to pursue your career with someone you trusted. The only other person who knew that much detail was Minyoung who had been there to help you deal with it all but after that, despite being happy and bubbly most of the time, you had severe trust issues. Jihoon also knew that you knew who Hara was and why you were so afraid of her...he was the only one who knew.

After you moved back to Korea, there was a slight rift in your friendship since Taehyung entered and it wasn’t over jealousy. Jihoon still looked out for you and was worried about your friendships outside the agency and at one point voiced his opinion. It caused a small argument between you two and you barely spoke for almost a week till you both caved at the same time when he asked you to collaborate on the dance.

Despite working together during practice, you never really got to hang out one on one like you used to and you knew that it was overdue which was why when Yoongi cancelled on you the day before, you figured it would be the perfect opportunity to catch up like old times. You just hoped Jihoon would be as willing.

“You know I’m not upset right?” he asked after a while, “I just miss you...our friendship is all.”

“I’m sorry...ever since I got hung up on Yoongi I haven’t really been acting like a good friend..” you admitted and Jihoon shrugged.

“Who am I to get mad? Just because it didn’t work out between us doesn’t mean that it can’t work out between you two.” he said and paused what he was doing to look at you. “So....do you want to hang out today then?”

“Well it was kind of why I came here…” you said playing with your fingers, “Unless you’re busy.”

“I got time.” Jihoon said pulling away from his desk, “For you, I have time. Let’s go.”

“Start with coffee? I literally came here after I woke up hoping you’d be here too.” you said with a sheepish smile and Jihoon grinned.

“Sounds great, then we’ll go to the arcade like we used to or something.” he said and you agreed with him fully before getting up and following him out the door.

As the two of you approached the cafe you had chosen, something caught your attention and made you freeze in place. In turn, Jihoon who was behind you on his phone ran directly into your back.

“What the heck.” he said but noticed the stiffness in your body language and realized you were staring at something or rather someone.

He followed your gaze and there he saw at the back of the cafe was Yoongi in a booth with Hara. Hara seemed to have this wide grin on her face as Yoongi spoke and Jihoon scrunched his nose when he saw her lean over to ruffle his hair and what shocked him the most was that Yoongi didn’t do anything back.

“O-on second thought, maybe ice cream would be better.” you said quickly before turning around and walking in another direction without even checking if Jihoon would follow.

Jihoon looked between the place you were and the scene before him and took out his phone to snap a quick picture. He sent the photo to Minyoung telling her that you were currently with him and that he’d make sure you were okay and requested that she find out what happened. No matter what it was obvious Jihoon was going to side with you and your feelings and the last time he had seen you freeze like that was when you found out about the betrayal.

He then walked quickly to catch up with you right as you were getting lost in the crowd and the two of you walked towards the ice cream shop you used to go to years before.

Had he stayed any longer, he would’ve seen the glare Yoongi threw at Hara along with Jin, Jungkook and another trainee joining the two.

You and Jihoon walked along the river eating your ice cream and though you acted like you were okay, it was obvious to Jihoon you weren’t. He knew you hated talking about your feelings as much as he did so instead of prying, he opted to make sure you had enough fun that you would forget your current emotions.

“So arcade then dinner after?” he asked as he observed your sullen mood. You had yet to say anything outside of regular conversation since you left the ice cream shop and he could tell that what you saw affected you greatly.

When you didn’t respond, he gave you a side glance and let out a sigh at what he was about to do. He knew there was ONE thing that would get you out of this mood right away and despite not wanting to do it, it would be the only way for you to snap out of this daze.

He finished the rest of his icecream quickly and looked around and thanked the heavens that no one else was in this current area. He stopped in his tracks as you kept walking and took a deep breath.

“Nooooooonnnnaaaaaaa” he said in a whining baby voice.

That obviously made you stop and realize that he was no longer beside you.

“What the heck…” you said turning to look at him, “Ji-”

“Woozi wants to go to the arcade and spend the day with Nooooonaaa.” he said cutely giving you his best aegy. “Noona barely spends time with Woozi anymore and Woozi wants to spend more time with Noooona. Pleaaaaaseeeee.”

At this point, it was obvious Jihoon had succeeded his mission as you gave him the weirdest look you could ever give someone but eventually, you started giggling.

“Please stop. You know as cute as it is, it’s not you.” you said outright laughing now.

Jihoon let out a big breath and turned around to internally scream at himself before smiling at you. “I was hoping you wouldn’t make me continue.” he said, “Please...never make me do that again. I know it gets you out of your moods but…”

“You only do it for me. I know.” you said, letting out a sigh, “I’m sorry...I was just so lost in thought…”

“It’s fine, we don’t have to talk about it.” Jihoon interrupted with a smile, “Let’s just have some fun today okay? Like the old times.”

You smiled back at Jihoon and gave your good friend a hug which he returned almost instantly, “Like the old times.”

Meanwhile, BTS were walking out of the agency after their meeting and they were all happy that they were finally getting a break.

“So do you want to grab dinner with us after?” Jin asked Yoongi, “Or do you have plans?”

“Let me check in on something and I’ll get back to you.” Yoongi said taking out his phone and shooting you a quick text.

[4:45pm] Yoongs: Hey, we’re done our meeting...Do you have time to meet up right now?

Yoongi waited for your response and frowned when he didn’t get one.

[4:50pm] Yoongs: Y/N?

[4:52pm] Y/N: Busy tonight. I’ll text you some other time.

Yoongi hid the shock from your dismissive response well and looked at Jin, “I’ll join you guys for dinner...I heard a few of the guys are going back to their hometowns so it’ll be our last one as a group for a while…”

“Sounds good, let’s meet at the restaurant at six” Jin said and waved at Yoongi who was standing at the door of his studio.

[4:55pm] Yoongs: Is everything okay...?

It was obvious he was thrown off by your sudden coldness. He could feel it in the eight words you had sent him and he had to think if he had done anything wrong. Everything seemed fine the day before. You even had your nightly telephone calls right as he was going to bed and he knew you understood why he had to reschedule the date but he was going to ask you again when you were free.

“Whats going on with her?” he muttered to himself before locking himself in his studio before he had to meet everyone for dinner.

#bts #bts fiction #bts imagine #yoongi #min yoongi #yoongi fiction #yoongi imagine #suga #suga fiction #suga imagine #kpop #kpop imagine #kpop fiction #kpop scenario #suga scenario #yoongi scenario

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weaselle · 4 years

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Money Talk

Imagine a drug dealer. He lives with 20 people - a cook, a bar tender, a massage therapist, a person who sells clothes, etc. Every month, they all give him money for drugs. And every month he spends that money on food, liquor, massages, clothes, etc.

The money in this example is a medium of exchange, which is the whole purpose of money. You can imagine it like a tide, washing back and forth between the dealer and the other people, lubricating a cooperative system of exchange and mutualism.

BUT. I used a drug dealer on purpose. Clearly the drug dealer has an unfair advantage. But wait. The food person has one too. And so does whoever they pay rent to. Not to mention the doctor.

Now, some people will say that if you introduce competition, “the market” will balance itself. In other words, if there are ten food vendors and ten doctors and ten landlords etc, if one of them is taking advantage of people, the public will choose to do business with a different provider instead. Let me tell you why that doesn’t work.

Perpetual systems are extremely rare - most systems (all, on a long enough time scale) tend toward entropy; they want to fall apart. That’s what makes balanced ecosystems such treasures. And you can’t achieve a balanced ecosystem if you make “the market” an entity by giving it agency. Everything in a balanced ecosystem has to survive, but “the market” does not have to survive, it is not a true participant, therefore you cannot give it agency and you especially cannot give it responsibility for the livelihood of people and the health of the planet. Yes theoretically “the market” is the will of the people, because it represents people’s choices, but those choices are not free. If the cost of raising a child and running a household is a struggle for a large number of families, then they are going to give their money to the cheapest food vendor, for the good of their children, and the cheapest things are always achieved by means we are against. Like slavery, land theft, economic extortion, militant international fuckery, tax evasion, and fucking up the environment just to name a few.

The market is just the medium of exchange. The money is just the lube, not one of the people having sex.

SO. If instead of a drug dealer and his village of twenty we look at a bigger picture, we can substitute concepts for the people. Not a cook, but a food industry, not a landlord, but the system of landlordship, not massage but the service industry, not a clothes vendor, but the textile and fashion industries.

Now it IS true that the market drives certain kinds of development (so does war but we don’t want that). For example entertainment industries are always innovating and developing into greater things fairly quickly. And we do want a certain amount of competitive growth availability. So let’s keep some capitalism. Let’s just tame it, domesticate it. And you do that by removing it’s ability to kill people.

That means, there has to be food available. It has to be reasonable food sufficient to keep one healthy. There has to be good healthcare. There has to be housing, and clothing, and education and access to information, because these things are all necessary to live in our society. THEN you can have a robust market on top of that.

So, for example, nutrition is provided. Rice and beans form a complex protein, you can flavor it a whole lot of different ways, add a couple kinds of veggies and/or some vitamin supplements, include some basic alternatives for people with stricter dietary requirements, and now nobody is starving. NOW you can let the market decide how much other food costs, because people are truly free to choose to not eat it. But they WANT to eat it, people are going to want avocados and steaks and things, they just won’t be at the market’s mercy for their survival. That’s balance.

When you apply that across the range of human requirement, you get the best of both worlds -- a morally just capitalism with competition driven advances, as well as freedom of choice for consumers and freedom of risk for innovators: a person with an idea for a new style of music or a new kind of energy production can afford to stay in their room all day working on that instead of needing a job for survival. But if they want more than basics, if they want steak, if they want clothes that aren’t government issued jumpsuits, they’ll need to earn some money.

Also, the market will be FREER. Because ALL money will be spendable. You can literally spend your last dollar on whatever it is you want, because that choice will never result in you living on the street or starving.

For these same reasons, this concept fosters entrepreneurship: because the public’s money is all available for spending on any new goods or services and people are free to take risks -- such as quitting their job and trying to start their own business, or spending all their money on inventory they’re trying to sell, or al their time on developing an invention they have an idea for.

Taxes are one way to acheive this, and I am all for progressive tax rates and other tax reformations. But I also have another idea.

Let’s move the majority of landlordship over to public control, administered by elected officials and held in trust for the public it houses.

So right now, cities are funded largely through property tax. Which is about 2% of the value of the property. Let’s say you buy a house for a little over 100k (for easy math). Your monthly payment comes out to over 6,000 a year. Your property tax is about 2,000 a year. Plus, those monthly payments over 30 years actually come out to twice the original amount, which means you actually pay the bank 200k for your 100k house. And that’s not even getting into renting and slumlords and everything.

But what if the city was leasing all the housing directly to the public?

So, say you have a city of a hundred thousand people (again for easy math). That’s about one tenth the size of San Francisco. For math’s sake, lets assign a value of 120 thousand to each property and make each house one bedroom one bath. People are paying about $600 a month to live in those houses, rent or mortgage. And under the current system, the city gets about $200 each every month also. So the city gets $240 million each year to provide education, pave roads, and deal with things like homelessness. BUT. If the public was the landlord of the city, with the property administered in trust, then the full monthly payment would go directly to the city. So the city could keep the housing cost at 600 a month, drop the tax (saving each person 200 a month) and STILL have $720 million to use on providing for it’s public.

To review. In the above situation under the current system, the city gets 240 million to provide for the public, and the public pays $800 a month in housing costs. Under the new system, the city gets 720 million and the public pays $600 a month in housing costs.

The extra 720 million comes mostly out of the pockets of big banks, who already have all our money all the time anyway. Who, let me remind you, already went bankrupt and got bailed out with our tax money.

If the city has enough people and they do it right, they might be able to provide all those basics for their public: food, shelter, clothing, education access to information, and healthcare. If they can do THAT, entrepreneurship will flourish there, because people will be free to take risks, and all money will be spendable.

In this way, housing is provided, and as discussed at the top of this post, housing is one of the things that confers an immorality when presided over solely by private entities, just like food and healthcare -- because we need those things to live

Doesn’t have to be a city, could be a county or a state. But also, doesn’t have to be the whole country changing all at once - single cities can institute this all by themselves without exiting the countries capitalistic system in any way.

Cities can use local eminent domain to buy the properties; that way current owners get a one time buyout to exit landlordship with wealth in their pocket: fair value for their property. More cities might copy once it shows to be successful. Once popular enough the federal government could “buy” cities and turn them over to the local government (where elections are more involved, your single vote carries more weight, etc). After all, if the cities (or counties, or even whole states?) can pay for their own streets, their own healthcare, and their own education, etc, the federal government is less complicated and cumbersome, needs less money, can be streamlined and made more efficient and targeted.

Just one of the concepts I’m working with trying to find a path to the positive change we need so badly. Catch me on another post explaining my other solutions, which function independently but are designed to also work together.

#moulin noir #revolution

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nadeemahmedmumbai22-blog · 5 years

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Doomed in Dubai by Nadeem Ahmed

Me; a Model/Presenter/Fashion event director living in Accrington, Lancashire! Hardly the fashion capital of the world I know! Just a mere small village where news spreads like wild fire! It was a known fact that I was a successful model due to my face being splattered all over the place, even locally! I have always been and still am very committed and dedicated to my work.

Being a model was considered a very unconventional career for a northern lad but I knew from a very early age that I was going to break the mould and do something completely different! A very tough industry to break into but thankfully through a lot of challenges, rejections and hard work I found my path.

My story begins from December 2003. I had completed several modelling assignments up and down the country and was so ready for a break. It had been a successful year and now that Christmas was fast approaching, it was time to wind down, spend quality time with family and break all dietary rules!

Traditionally every year, my family would get together at ours for the festive season.

I lived with my grandparents from a very early age and considered them to be my parents. Our house was the central point for all the family and the thread that kept us all together.

I had a good relationship with most of my family members but there were a few rotten eggs which is normal I guess!

I hadn’t seen my cousins for such a long time because of work commitments and so was more than excited about our get together.

We would talk till early hours of the morning without a care in the world.

On some days we would go food shopping at the supermarket at 3am creating a harmless racket!

We got onto the subject of travelling and lucky for my cousin, she and her family had just returned from a place called ‘Dubai’. A place I had never heard of! In all fairness my geographical skills had never been strong. She spoke about it in a very enticing way. I was sold! I needed a break after working so consistently. It seemed the perfect getaway destination as halal food was accessible throughout with it being an Islamic country. I always ate halal food and the thought of going into a Mcdonalds where I could literally eat anything off the menu was so appealing. So sad but true! She also said that getting around was easy and most importantly it was always baking hot which to me was the biggest plus because I hate the cold!

Before long, I had decided that I would be going to Dubai for my holiday. The excitement was building up thick and fast.

I booked my flight which was going to take me to Dubai via Istanbul.

Once I had received all the confirmations, I broke the news to my family telling them that I would be going away for New Years. They were a bit shocked but at the same time so used to me going here there and everywhere! I felt I really owed this holiday to myself after working so incredibly hard! One of my friends recommended that I should check out a website called www.expatriates.com where people connected from all corners of the world sharing their experiences of travel and living abroad. I was always an organised person and so was on the case immediately. I registered myself on the site and left a message on the forum stating that I would be in Dubai and if anyone could make any recommendations?

I was pleasantly surprised to have received some messages from someone called Ethan who seemed most helpful. He was initially from Brazil but now working in Dubai in one of the opulent hotels. He was kind enough to suggest sorting out my accommodation for me to ensure I got a good deal. We exchanged several messages and it felt safe to say that he seemed a trustworthy guy.

It was decided that he would meet me at the airport in Dubai and escort me to my accommodation.

Finally having got to Dubai after almost missing my flight and paying for a Turkish visa that I didn’t need, I was feeling a bit nervous about meeting Ethan but managed to put the doubt to the back of my mind and just decided to roll with it. After all I was an adult that was capable of looking after myself! Besides, Dubai was one of the safest places in the world from what I had read!

As planned Ethan came to the airport, tallish, slim-built with sleeked back jet black hair. Not even an earthquake could move a single strand of hair on his head. He was very friendly and seemed as nice as his messages so I chilled out and began to feel comfortable in his company.

Not long into my stay, Ethan introduced me to one of his closest friends, ‘Luca Hadad’, a television personality from Lebanon who was working for a very well established company in Dubai.

Luca was quite tall, slender built, very fair skinned with green eyes. His hair was very dark in colour with very tight curls. He was dressed very professionally and oozing with confidence.

I seemed to have bonded very quickly with Dubai and I was sure getting the love back! This crazy love put a very random thought into my head.

The thought of leaving my life in the UK behind and trading it in for a more exotic lifestyle! It made sense, I was meeting the right people, I was so happy and at peace, I even had continual great weather which was a big thing for me! So, in true Nadeem style I literally ripped up my ticket! In those days we didn’t have the privilege of e-tickets.

I had decided Dubai was going to be my new home. I wasn’t going back to the UK!

Being totally spontaneous was nothing new to me. It was my comfort zone. I loved to live life on the edge!

Everything was falling into place so naturally that it felt so surreal.

I found a lovely studio flat in Deira. It was cosy and all mine! I was settling in so seamlessly. I felt so blessed that my family were so supportive of my crazy decision.

I felt I knew Ethan and Luca on a much better level now and we were all getting on so well. Luca even suggested that I would be a great asset working for his company presenting English lifestyle programmes. This brought music to my ears after all my money wouldn’t last forever and I needed to work!

Luca was in touch on a regular basis and he mentioned that he would have to leave his swanky flat in Sharjah because the landlord didn’t want tenants anymore. Me being me suggested that he should move into my place until he sorted himself out. I was just so grateful that Luca was pushing his seniors to have me working for them. It was the least I could do!

A meeting had been arranged at the office for me to sign all the paperwork and get all the formalities out of the way for my new job. I got there early and eager as usual. The paperwork was all in Arabic but Luca just asked me to sign on the dotted line and pay the equivalent of £500 cash for the visa. I thought this to be very odd but paid up and didn’t question it in the hope that I would officially have my visa sorted soon and a full time dream job. He was a friend so trust issues were not even on the agenda.

I had been most productive by contacting several model agencies. To my delight, all the hard work had paid off because the work was coming in!

Then one day Ethan decided that we should have a party at my house to celebrate the big move and friendship and so on. He would supply the alcohol and my job was to get some food. I made it clear to him that I didn’t drink but the curiosity had always lingered with me. I had never in my life tasted alcohol! Ethan bullied me into having my first drink, except my first drink was not a little shot but a whole pint of orange juice out done by Jack Daniels. Needless to say I was paralytic. All I could remember was smashing plates, one after the other which was so out of character for me! I also remember being slapped very hard by Ethan and being thrown into a cold shower with my clothes on! The hangover was the worst anyone could ever imagine. I vowed never to drink again!

Time was flying by and there was still no sign of my visa. Things started to go down in a very surreal way. I was told by Luca that Ethan would be moving into my flat because his contract was coming to an end and that he didn’t have anywhere else to stay. Luca who initially had promised to help me financially with rent and bills seemed to have swallowed his words as there was no sign of even a dhiram from him! My money was running out and I needed financial help. Instead, I was having to pay ridiculous amounts of money regularly for my visa that still had not been processed! Unfortunately I was not aware of the rules and regulations regarding visas in the UAE so I was at the mercy of Luca and his knowledge of these things!

My stress levels were shooting through the roof because now I was looking after two more people as well as myself. They were becoming very reliant on me for food, bills and everything basically. They were blatantly taking full advantage of my kind nature!

I was constantly reassured of empty promises that never saw the light of day! There seemed no end to my misery until Ethan announced that he was going back to Brazil then heading off to London to start a new life. It truly was amazing to hear such good news.

Still no visa however there seemed to be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as Luca and one of his local friends came up with an idea for a lifestyle television show. I was to be fully involved in recruiting models and covering the fashion aspect for the show. The best part was that the local lady would be able to sort my visa out for me. This was such great news as the locals have a lot of power and can make anything happen at any time! Finally it was all pulling together.

Luca’s behaviour was getting incredibly weird. It’s like he was testing me to see how much I trusted him by doing vile things like putting faeces on my toothbrush and completely denying doing it as no one else had access to my flat apart from him so it had to be him, stealing my phone from right under my nose and making me believe that I had lost it even though I was 100% sure where I had left it before heading out for a casting. He had stooped to an even lower level by pimping me out to a wealthy local without my knowledge by referring to him as a ‘client’ that wanted to book me for a model shoot. When I met the client he had a totally different agenda and shouted at me when I refused to comply with his dirty intentions. He said that Luca had received an advance payment for my time with him and that Luca would not receive the rest of the remaining fees! This was all way too much for me to handle! I was losing my mind! I couldn’t believe I was being punished for being so trusting!

I tried to kick Luca out but I became a victim in my own home. I could not get rid of him no matter how hard I tried! I was trapped!

After shooting a fantastic pilot of the TV show in a wonderful studio in Ajman with all the amazing crew, I felt there was a bit of normality coming my way. No doubt it was going to be short-lived!

I was still without my work visa and realised that my tourist visa was about to expire! This was such a huge worry naturally. Again like a million times before, Luca convinced me that the local lady- Fatima his friend, would sort it out!

It so happened that Luca managed to speak with Fatima after the shoot. She said that we needed to meet up with her cousin as she was too busy and hand over my passport to him. He would then insure that it got to her.

We met her cousin who came to meet us in a very expensive luxury car. He insisted we get into the car. I then handed my passport over to him. He seemed quite genuine and concerned for me. However, that was the last time I saw my passport!

I was officially an illegal immigrant which meant I had a curfew as the police did random checks at night. If I got caught without any id then I would be put straight into jail, no questions asked! I don’t look conventionally British so how would I prove my identity without any official documents? I was a prisoner in a foreign country!

One random morning, Luca was up earlier than normal and all I could hear was the rustling of bags. He was all packed and ready to go back to Lebanon! It was a beautiful surprise to learn that I was finally getting rid of this dishonest, self-centred person who claimed to be my friend but just used me and rinsed me dry of my money!

Whilst leaving, he kept assuring me that Fatima would sort my visa and that I should stop worrying! He had instructed her to contact me as soon as it was done! I still had that glimmer of hope and with that bit of positive feeling I said good riddance to bad rubbish!

My home was once again my own. I was so elated! Words simply could not describe how I felt at that moment!

I went back to bed to sleep and got up feeling fresh and happy!

My peace was brutally interrupted with a heavy knock at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone which was strange! So who was it? I went to open the door and to my extreme horror, I went flying back with a heavy punch from one of the guys that had come to my house. They were four heavy built guys on the hunt for Luca, who had swindled them out of thousands of pounds too as he had done to me. They knew he lived at my place and so came to get their money as they too were promised working visas but didn’t see anything for their money.

I tried to explain that I too was a victim of Luca’s trap but they wouldn’t have it! I was being severely battered by the ring leader who was amused at my reactions of when I was being hit!

They insisted that it was my responsibility to get all their money back and if I didn’t they would kill me and scrap away every bit of evidence of my existence. I was forced to write a document saying that I owed all of them money and that I would be paying the full amount back to them asap! They needed my fathers name, my UK address and my signature. According to them, this was a bound contract that I had to fulfil! I was told I was not going to get away! They had turned my flat upside down. It looked like a bomb site! They raided my wardrobes and took everything that seemed of value to them including my bag that housed my official documents including my university certificates, birth certificate, college certificates and cash money, not forgetting my mobile phone, my designer belts, clothing, camera and walkman! It didn’t seem like there were going anywhere! I was officially held hostage in my own flat!

I was given just a few hours to get thousands of pounds together. They hit me some more and left leaving my flat empty and lifeless with just a few things scattered around promising that they would be back the following day. On leaving I got my final punch for the day and they finally left several painful hours later!

Naturally I was not in a good way! The Stress and panic was overwhelming as I tried to figure out how I could possibly get such a substantial amount of money together in such a short space of time?

Time flew whilst I was lost in my thoughts on trying to make heads and tails of this surreal situation! It was too late! I got the dreaded knock on the door again. It was full blown aggressive and I felt that my life was about to be shortened! I was finished! They came busting in and continuing with the torture they had started the day before. I couldn’t get the money! It was impossible! I was being strangled and beaten. It was like I was having an out of body experience! It didn’t feel like it was really happening! The truth is that it was and I was living my worst nightmare. I was ‘Doomed In Dubai’!

Things were progressively getting worse and I was told by the ringleader that I would be taught a lesson that I would never forget! I was dragged onto the bed by my hair and held down by all four of them. I fought with my last bit of fight but failed miserably because I was totally outnumbered! Then the most horrific thing that could ever happen to anyone happened!!! The ring leader unbuttoned his trousers and thrust himself in me!! My body rose in the air like a dead corpse!

They eventually left swearing and spitting, leaving me for dead promising to be back! I was bleeding and crying for my mum uncontrollably. I was damaged far more than anyone could ever imagine!

Even though the situation was extreme and I was at my weakest, I needed to find a way out before they came back and finished me off for good! I had no money, no id or anything to my name for that matter. By the grace of God I found a phone card that had fallen on the floor beside my sideboard which miraculously had some credit on it. I rang one of Luca’s friends from the phone booth just outside my flat who I had met a while back because his number was an easy number to remember and for some very strange reason it was stuck in my head. It was a risk no doubt but I had nothing to loose.

I managed to speak to him and he advised me that I should go and stay with him which I did. He turned out to be an angel. He put me in contact with my family who then sent me some money over to get a new passport made from the embassy, a ticket to come back, a mobile phone and anything else that I needed.

Getting a new passport was by far a challenge and a half. I had to go to the police to get an official letter to say that my passport was missing which took weeks. I had to go everyday to the police station and tell my story to different officers. They obviously never exchanged notes! During this time I had become so frail! I was losing my hair, weight and not to forget my confidence which was nonexistent!

My family were in panic mode wondering whether I would ever return to the UK again? There was one particular time where I had lost the will and I remember vividly saying to my mother on the phone that I would never be coming back!

I feel blessed to have amazing friends as one of my friends from the UK found out that I was in trouble. She immediately contacted one of her friends who was visiting Dubai at the time, asking him to meet up with me and to accompany me to all the official offices to get my documents stamped and authenticated. He came to my rescue and was a huge tower of strength.

Eventually the day came when I finally said my goodbyes to Dubai. It didn’t feel real to me at all as I had lost all hope. I wasn’t myself anymore. I had lost everything!

I found it very difficult settling back into the UK. I wasn’t in a good place! I had to start my life from scratch which was no joke at the age of thirty! Every night I would have the same nightmare reoccurring which severely affected my sleep and my health!

Whilst in Dubai I didn’t have time to absorb all what had actually happened to me, I was just concerned about getting the hell out of there, but back in the UK it was starting to hit me more and affect me massively.

One day I took my mum and grand mother to a summer festival where my friend was performing. She had visited me in Dubai but I hadn’t mentioned anything to her about what was going on behind the scenes. We had a nice day and went back home at a reasonable time. Every day I was hating on myself more and more and on this particular day I was at my worse to the point where I ended up taking an overdose of paracetamols. I didn’t want to live anymore! I was found split seconds from death and saved. The ambulance had taken me to hospital and I had my stomach pumped. I stayed in hospital for a good few days and managed to arrange some counselling sessions with a psychiatrist. He encouraged me to get tested because I was sexually assaulted, which I did. I offloaded everything onto him which helped me hugely because it was building and bubbling up inside. I couldn’t bring myself to speak to my family about it!

Slowly slowly I was making progress. My confidence was coming back which was quite amazing. I decided to contact my model agencies to start working again. I loved my work and needed this to keep me sane!

I was truly blessed with another chance in life.

My test results came back negative and I started to enjoy life again.

After settling back and getting into routine I had a fantastic job offer of presenting a travel documentary in the UAE. I panicked but then decided that it would be good for me to go back and conquer my fears plus it was an opportunity of a lifetime to work with such bigwigs of the industry. I followed my heart and accepted the offer. I pulled through nicely after confiding in my colleague who supported me throughout!

I was always a traveller and felt that I needed a change. I was getting a lot of modelling work in London and so saw it as a sign to leave Lancashire and start afresh in London which is exactly what I did!

My life here has been fantastic and exhilarating. Naturally I still have some trust issues even today but not on the same level as before. I have surrounded myself with amazing positive people, my dear friends who have showed me how life should be lived. I am eternally grateful for their unconditional love and support!

It was important for me to write my book because it has helped me close this chapter of my life for good! Also I would not want anyone else to go through what I did, even if it is just that one person that learns from my experience. It’s a hugely educational rollercoaster read with a warning to others especially for people who have the travel bug and want to work and settle down abroad.

On the positive side of things, I am a much stronger person. I have learnt a very valuable lesson the hardest way possible. I have taken something so negative and turned it into something so positive! In my words- “What Breaks you, Makes you”!!!!

#nadeemahmed

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regretsdelusionstoughluck · 6 years

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PART 3

WEDNESDAY MORNING

While Damon was online looking for odd jobs he noticed an add for dancers needed. He’s had a stripper license since he was 19 and used this as a means for extra money when not deployed. He sent this to Oliver in an email prior to calling him on his way to the pharmacy.

“Morning”

“Check out the email”

As he pulled out his iPad, he saw the email

“What the fuck is this?”

“Strippin....you already do way more, plus a bachelorette party would get you a killing. I used to dance at a few of them when I was home”

“Got anything else?”

“Banquets, I know a lot of companies. I can send you a list of catering companies you could do work for. What you got going on right now?”

“Laying on the couch, going into the office”

[Really? That’s the best you got? What part of “I want out of this life do you not understand?]

While he wasn’t thrilled about it, he took some time to think about t and he realized that bachelorette parties are for the entertainment value and he did keep his body in shape. However, didn’t want his current situation to mirror that of “The Players Club”.

Oliver got up from the couch to fix himself an omelette while continuing to talk. “Yo, I got you on speaker phone, doing some stuff in the kitchen”

“Man, remember when we were young and we would see vacationers out here, we vowed that one day it would be us taking trips with our families?”

“I do, and when I look at where I’m at, I think to myself “What the actual fuck?”

[We were lied to. In 2008, when we were in high school, we were told to go to college. That it was the ticket to a successful life. What they didn’t tell us is that the economy would tank. They didn’t go cover any alternatives. They never went over the cost of living and the fact that people here are working three jobs. I should have seen this with my own parents. Dad worked for the state and then worked as a janitor in the evenings. Mom still works as a financial aid officer at a state college. The preparation sucked. What the fuck am I gonna use creative writing for? Why was that in school?]

He cut the conversation short to eat his breakfast and get a shower in before work. Afterwards, he ironed a pair of pants and a golf shirt and heaved to the office where the direction informed him and Claudia:

“I have a project for the two of you. Our event is coming up at the mall. You two are going to be drawing outlines to these animal pieces on the construction poet right there. We’re expecting about 200 kids”

“No problem” Oliver said looking at the green construction paper in front of him

“It’ll be a breeze” Claudia assured him as she took a pair of scissors and the elephant trunk and demonstrated.

“So it’s like build a bear type of think but with other animals but they’re decorating their bags with them. That’s cute”

“Yeah, so are you gonna go to the career fair next week”

“The one at the convention center?”

“Yea, I heard there’s going to be several companies there.”

[Resume-FEMA, fucking, and non-profit]

“I plan on it. Do you know if any government agencies are gonna be there? I couldn’t find a roster anywhere”

“Not sure”

They continued working while talking about goals and aspirations when he noticed an alert on her phone. Knowing the conference due to getting the same alert an hour earlier, he asked her how she knew about it? Somewhat embarrassed, she snapped “What are you doing looking at my phone?!”

“I merely glanced over!” he exclaimed before taking her aside and confessing to being involved in the worlds oldest profession “I hate it. One would think attractive people and pleasure but there’s no real live and frankly it feels like a modern version of slavery. I can’t get a decent date to save my life”

After a moment of silence, she admitted that she was a phone sex operator and that she worked in evenings. “I have a friend who also is in high class escorting”

“High class?”

“Let’s talk about it later? How about we meet for a drink after work? We need to get a bit more of this done.”

Meanwhile, Damon was scouting on the web when his eye caught the attention of a webcam modeling website.

He though about his current life and how he’d mange to file his taxes. He normally got a 1090 at the end of the year. He also though about the repercussions of this and the thought that the clientele could be from his local area. He had a flashback to being deployed in Germany where he and some buds where in a night club, partying surrounded by beautiful women. “We are like royalty!” He thought about a conversation he had with his peer about wanting to serve for eight years and then retire and start college. Little did he know that half way though that time frame that he’d suffer a back injury along w/ PTSD from witnessing the death of a friend at the hands of a grenade.

He applied for work with multiple agencies and thought about how he could sporadically work vs checking in daily. With webcam modeling he could set his own schedule. With that in mind he decided to text Oliver.

“Who was that?”

“My friend Damon”

“So about how long have you with with this company?”

“About six months. I’m trying to start grad school”

They chatted while filing paperwork. They talked about politics, racial issues, economic issues, and the like. Claudia made for good company. She graduated with two degrees. She majored in English Education and Journalism and worked as a teacher’s aide for a period. She was tired of the work with virtually no pay. She responded to an add. Currently she works for a phone sex. One has seen the commercials late at night. She’s one of them. Definitely more conventional than Oliver’s current job.

As he was getting ready to eat lunch, she Claudia asked him if he wanted to eat while they worked. “Sure” he said as he went to grab his lunch out of his bag.

“We work with several schools in their special ed departments”

“What do y’all do?”

”We will be finalizing contracts for events mainly. But we do outreach and after school programs on social etiquette and speech practices our goal is to help those with autism be as integrated into society as possible” Noticing Oliver’s garden salad, she asked him “you health conscious?”

“Yep. Grew up like that. My parent’s rarely fried anything, but they didn’t ban them from the house. My mom was always big on vitamins and drinking plenty of water. I practice that today, to keep things under control. Being a diabetic, I have to watch it.”

Shocked at the revelation she asked him when he was diagnosed. He was diagnosed at 6 years old.

“I’m trying to lose weight, but I find myself emotionally eating more than I should”

Trying to avoid saying anything that could be interpreted as offensive, he simply said that he had his days too, hence the reason he goes to the gym six days/week, doing a combination of cardio and weights. After they finished eating lunch, they cut more construction paper and bagged it. They filed folders away for about an hour when Oliver signed out.”See you tomorrow?”

“You’ll see me in a couple of hours.”

The sun was beaming as Oliver drove home. He rolled down his window and plugged his phone in to have some music playing. He checked the mail and saw the electric bill was in. “Shouldn’t be this much” he said “I’m never home”

He checked his email as well as his escorting profile receiving three request including one overnight stay. Booking these trips back to back, he thought about his weekly check at $8.75/hr at 25 hrs per week along w/ the money from the three client’s that he’d earn. He’d have enough to pay his final payment on his only student loan and to pay his car note.

He kicked off his shoes to give his feet some air and called his mom.

[I’m being nice. This place is a shithole, in fact the only reason my unit isn’t laden with roaches is because I frequently buy those foggers and then I have to open the damn windows and door risking my shit being stolen. Also, Bengal and Boric Acid along the cracks and corners have done wonders.]

He looked up and realized that it was time to meet Claudia. He traded in his work outfit for a pair or black cargo shorts, a zero-nineteen tank top from K-Mart, and a pair of flip-flops and headed out. He got in the truck, turned the air on and arrived to the bar 20 minutes later. Locating Claudia at a table in the bar area we walked in to meet her when the waiter took their drink order.

[She’s a pharmacy tech and she still needs to be a lady of the evening by night? I’m fucked-literally and figuratively]

She advised him to update his profile to include massages and casual dates at a lower rate. While they were talking, A woman walks up, dark skin, about 5′9, in her mid 20s. She spotted Claudia and walked in the sit next to her.

“Hey chick!”

“Hey!”

“Hello, I’m Aya, how are your doing?” she said as she reached out to shake Oliver’s hand

“Oliver, I’m good. How about you?”

“So this is the guy? He’s cute”

“He’s taken”

“Actually I’m very available”

After ordering a drink, she begin to explain to Oliver how she got into her current part time job. “I started off escorting however a client of mine introduced me to a coworker of his that owned a matchmaking service. I showed up to a mixer I went out on one date. I never saw the guy again afterwards. That said, he did mention to me that he had utilized services where one would rent a dates for events. I eventually branched off and begin advertising on craigslist and the like.”

“So do you still...….you know?”

“Sporadically, but that’ll cost extra.”

Later that night, he decided to update his profile w/ additional services offered. He decided to try out a couple of speed dating events himself. He might even snap a client or two. Perhaps, he’d been looking in the wrong places, maybe it was time for more upscale social functions. His current evening work was not a glamorous job and frankly it was quite dangerous.

[Prostitution can be traced back as far as biblical times. Not a new profession and it’s a profession that’s always been available for the money. Sometimes, we use it to pay off a loan or some sort of debt. For others, it’s the love of sex. Some just like the temporary luxury that comes with being one’s bitch. Me? I’d like nothing more than to settle down. I know there’s a way. It may take a while to find it, but I refuse to have THIS be my stop.]

STORY SYNOPSIS

CHARACTERS

PART 4 TO FOLLOW

#BROMANCE #SEXTRADE #BISEXUAL #TUMBLRFICTION #TUMBLR-FICTION

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embracetheshipping · 6 years

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Hired Part Three - Conflict of Interest

@erikalyafter requested the following prompt: Trained as a sexual weapon Steve hunts the world’s best detective

Chapters (1) (2) (3)

In Steve’s line of work, referrals were the key to finding clients. One couldn’t very well put out a flyer advertising mercenary-type services wherein sex (or at least the promise of sex) might be used to extort information or carry out an assassination. More importantly, however, referrals gave him a minor measure of security, in that there was a six-degrees-of-separation element to the identity of his customers. He had begun his career by working for people he knew and trusted, and they in turn recommended him to others. And because the initial sources of the recommendations were reliable, he could feel more or less at ease in taking on new jobs.

It was for that reason, along with a general bad feeling in his gut, that he was currently preoccupied with mapping out an exit strategy rather than engaging in formal pleasantries with the group of well-dressed men seated around the table.

“I’m sorry – but how did you hear of me again?” Steve asked.

The group’s apparent leader, a tall, fit man in his fifties who identified himself as Ian Markova, waved away the question. “I should think that would hardly matter, considering what we’re offering you.”

Steve begrudgingly agreed. Under most circumstances, he wouldn’t have consented to a meeting with guys like these – mafia types, by the look of it – but he could easily retire on the compensation they were proposing.

“Fair enough. What’s the job?”

Markova nodded to the younger man sitting on his right. Steve was handed a manila folder, which he opened to discover the photo and dossier of an Interpol agent.

“Daniel Williams,” Markova introduced. “Graduated with a major in Criminal Justice at Seton Hall, top of his class at the police academy, and generally acknowledged as a rising star in the law enforcement community. Over the years, he’s worked for a variety of government agencies as a top notch investigator. Two years ago, he was recruited by Interpol, where – presumably – he is still currently employed.”

“Presumably?”

“The nature of his job requires him to be constantly on the move and on guard. Much of his personal history has been expunged in order to protect anyone who might be affected by his work, and very few can confirm his current status.” Markova fixed Steve with a haughty grin, and his dark eyes shone with malicious humor. “I, of course, am one of those few.

Steve frowned and closed the file. “And what exactly would you like me to do?”

Markova folded his hands on the table. “From what little information we’ve been able to gather, Agent Williams’s propensity for switching jobs so often may have also been due to prejudice, aside from his obvious talent for solving difficult crimes. He has been openly bisexual since his college days. And you,” he gave Steve an admiring once-over, “have both the looks and the skills necessary to get close to him.”

“And you know all this – how?”

“Never you mind. The situation is this: Agent Williams has been, shall we say, interfering in my business affairs. I could have him eliminated, naturally, but I think he could prove very useful, given the right incentive. What I would like from you, is to find me some leverage. Seduce him into giving up something I can use to secure his cooperation. Complete this small task for me, and I will pay you the sum we spoke of - half up front, and the rest after you deliver.

Markova extended his hand. “Do we have a deal, Mister McGarrett?”

“McGarrett. McGarrett!”

“Hmm, what?”

Daniel Williams – Danny, as he preferred to be called – shook his head in exasperation. “I said – what do you want in your coffee?”

“Oh.” Steve glanced at the self-serving refreshment station in the hotel lobby, wondering if they had any organic butter on hand. He doubted it. “Surprise me.”

“Black it is, then.” Danny handed Steve a plain coffee in a disposable cup and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, facing him. He turned his attention to the papers he’d left laying between them, all of them written in various eastern European languages.

“So, what are we up to today?” Steve asked.

Danny shot him a half-hearted glare, and Steve fought a grin.

Over the past several weeks, Steve had arranged enough chance encounters with Williams, subtly experimenting with different personas and hitting on him, that Danny eventually gave up trying to ignore him and instead began to invite him along whenever he went out to run errands or complete other daily activities associated with life. But every so often, Danny would disappear for several days, or he’d receive a call during one of their “dates” and would instruct Steve to drive his rented Camaro to some out-of-the-way location for a covert meeting. Steve would then be forced to wait in the car while Danny spoke with someone on a disposable cell phone (a new one every time) or talk to a thin figure who consistently kept his or her back to Steve at all times.

While Danny’s clandestine operations, not to mention Markova’s frequent and increasingly impatient demands for a status update, kept him on edge, Steve had to admit that he was actually enjoying himself for the first time since – he couldn’t even remember.

Danny had this strange way about him that made him equally infuriating and endearing. He had strong opinions about everything under the sun, from what was an acceptable topping on pizza to music to the ocean, and he had no qualms about sharing them in a remarkable and highly entertaining fashion. He had a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, quick with a joke, but just as quick with his fists (a fact Steve discovered when he’d pushed Danny too far and was rewarded with a right cross to the jaw).

But more than that, Danny was kind and compassionate. Steve witnessed it first hand when he “accidently” stumbled upon the agent in the aftermath of a raid. He had been in the crowd gathered around a police barricade, watching in horror as Williams and the local police breached an abandoned building, only to exit moments later with malnourished, dirty and obviously abused children (victims of human trafficking) in tow. He’d watched as Danny brushed the frightened tears off a little boy’s cheek, and draped his jacket around the shoulders of a nearly-naked girl.

And once the smoke had cleared and all of the kids had been taken to several area hospitals, he had tailed Williams to a gym and watched him wail on a punching bag until his knuckles bled.

“Well, for starters,” Danny answered, setting aside his files, “Maybe you’d finally like to tell me something about yourself, something other than just your name and a bullshit backstory.”

Steve put a hand to his chest. “You wound me, Danny. I’ve told you TONS of stuff about me. Why do you keep calling it bullshit?”

Though they’d achieved something resembling a real friendship, neither of them had been forthcoming with anything significant. Steve continued to repeat the cover story he’d designed to attract Danny, who in turn talked and ranted in circles while never actually revealing anything beyond superficial details.

“Because it is,” Danny said. He made himself comfortable against the cushions and laid his arm across the back of the couch. “I’ve learned a lot about you over the last few weeks, and none of it meshes with the crap you’ve been spouting.” Strangely, he almost sounded hurt.

“Yeah? Let me guess – you’re one of those cops who run background checks on all of his dates, am I right? Pray, enlighten me, officer. Did you find something to contradict everything I’ve told you so far?” Naturally, Steve assumed that Agent Williams would do his homework, but he had plenty of useful connections, including a hacker capable of revising Steve’s history to match whatever narrative he required.

Danny shook his head. “Okay; first of all – no. I did not run a background check on you, though in my line of work, that’s well within my right. And second, I am a detective – agent – whatever, and a damn good one. It’s my job to read between the lines and sort out the truth.”

“Okay, detective. You think you’re so smart?” Steve scooted closer and stared him down, his lips curved in a challenging smirk. “What have you learned about me?”

“Well, let’s see.” Danny placed the tips of his fingers to his temples, mimicking a psychic about to perform a reading. He took an over-exaggerated breath. “You either grew up in, or spent a significant amount of time in Hawaii.”

Steve’s smirk faltered.

“Swimming is your preferred method for staying in shape.”

Steve willed himself not to fidget.

“You have a dog, even though you’re more of a cat person.”

The smirk vanished altogether. “How…?”

“You’re ex-military, probably U.S. Navy; your father is no longer alive, and you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which I’m guessing you haven’t sought any sort of help in addressing.” Danny lowered his hands. “How am I doing so far?”

To say that Steve was dumbfounded would be an understatement, so much so that he didn’t bother to contradict anything. “I – how could you possibly know all that?”

Danny sighed and met his glare. “I also know that you’re incredibly thoughtful and gentle. Those who are lucky enough to call you ‘friend’ would describe you as deeply caring and loyal to a fault. And, in spite of this playboy act, you’re a hopeless romantic who desperately wants a family of his own – one that will never forsake him.”

Steve crossed his arms and scowled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Danny inclined his head slightly and lifted a shoulder. “You can deny it all you want, but we both know I’m right.”

“You keep accusing me of being dishonest and cagey, but you haven’t exactly been forthcoming yourself.”

“Fair enough.” Danny studied him in silence for a moment. Then he nodded to himself, as though he’d made some sort of decision.

He leaned to one side and reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a glossy piece of paper folded into a square. He offered it to Steve.

“What’s this?” Steve straightened the paper.

It was a photograph of two children, a teenage girl with long, brown hair, and a young, blond-haired boy with a wide-toothy grin.

“My kids,” Danny said. “Grace and Charlie. They’re the only good thing to have come out of my failed marriage.”

“They’re beautiful,” Steve answered sincerely. He returned the picture.

Danny gazed at it, a sad smile on his place. “My ex got custody of them in the divorce. Then she got remarried to this real estate developer who’s been constantly moving them around the United States. The only way I could keep up was to study and work my ass off to become a good investigator so that I could qualify for a job with the FBI, and later Interpol, which gave me the freedom to relocate with them.”

He carefully placed the photo back in his pocket. “What sucks is that my current case poses a significant risk. I can only video chat with them over secured lines at random intervals. I haven’t gotten to hold them in over six months. And even before this whole debacle, my ex-wife has been fighting tooth and nail to bar me from visitation. She thinks that if she distances them from me, it’ll hurt them less in the long run if I get killed in the line of duty.”

“That’s – I don’t even know what to say. Sorry, I guess.”

Danny smiled a little in thanks. “That’s why this will be my last case. Once I wrap this up, I’m going to quit and find some place stable where I can put down roots. I’ll retire from law enforcement; maybe open a restaurant or something. And once I’m settled, I’m going to sue for shared custody.”

Steve could hardly believe what he was hearing. On the one hand, he’d just been handed the exact type of leverage he’d been paid to uncover. Clearly, Danny would do absolutely anything for his children; probably even cooperate with some less-than-savory characters to keep them safe. All Steve had to do was excuse himself, call Markova, tell him about Grace and Charlie, and he could sail off into the sunset with a full bank account.

On the other hand, Steve wasn’t the type of guy to put kids in danger under any circumstance. More importantly, how could Steve betray Danny after such a massive display of trust? If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he had grown to like Danny very much. In spite of the lies, they had real chemistry, if not enough for a relationship, then at least they might form a good friendship.

Then again, that point was moot. One way or another, Danny would learn the truth about Steve. And when he did…

One of Danny’s phones rang, disturbing Steve’s introspection and Danny’s quiet observation.

“Yes? Okay. I’m on my way.” Danny hung up and gathered his files. “I need to go. Duty calls.”

Steve stood up. “And I suppose I’m not allowed to come along?”

“Sorry babe.” Danny got to his feet and took a few steps closer to Steve. “You busy on Friday?”

He mulled it over. “I’m not sure yet. I have some – uh – stuff to take care of.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll check in with you later.” Danny hesitated. Then he leaned up and gave Steve a peck on the lips.

Steve blinked. “What was that for?”

Danny grinned. “Meh. Just felt like it.” He left without another world.

Steve raised a hand to touch his lips. It was a hardly a real kiss, certainly nothing to blush about, and yet Steve could feel his neck growing warm.

Oh god; he was so screwed.

#mcdanno #fic prompt #fic request #mcdanno au #h50 #steve mcgarrett #danny williams #danny danno williams #myfanfiction

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ohgoddard · 3 years

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Fist of Fire : Omega. 1.5.

How could he do it? I’m not talking about the mental capacity needed to kill, that can be gained by any person. I don’t care for his reason, his motivations. Omegaman has faced more than his fair share of villains that were more powerful than Whirlwind. He stared down the likes of N’Said, The Rebel, and Apocolyptia. His adversaries were near gods. So, how on earth did someone like Whirlwind even manage to scar him? Whirlwind is renowned for his speed, yes, but his attack power is negligible unless he was given enough windup. And in that instance, I saw no windup. Neither did my dad. In his hands, he simply pointed and fired a gun. So how did he do it?

How did Whirlwind kill my father?

Hundreds dead by Omegaman’s hand. Strange black woman at large for the same crime. And if that wasn’t enough, then the sight of the blood-covered and deranged Omegaman himself walking the steps of city hall that same morning only to return covered in more blood minutes later made it so much better. I dropped off every file in the agency at the Chicago Tribune, copies of it at NBC center not too far. You would remember it as a very eventful new month. Every day another dead hero was revealed to be a criminal. Another assassinated politician was shown to be taking back-end deals or was part of a sex ring. I was called the only real hero. I was called a vigilante, taking the law into my own hands. I was called slurs. I was called a villain. I was called an enemy of the state, especially after I killed those eight senators and forty-three house reps. They said I was the savior of the nation. They said I was going to be its downfall.

Of course, I don’t tell the doctor any of this. No, these thoughts are mine and mine alone. Let them think I am pacified, under control. And when Whirlwind comes near, I will strike. Until then, I will let them poke and prod into my psyche all they want. I mean that in the literal sense too. Multiple times they have had mind-readers and psychics come in to scan my brain for what they’re looking for. They’re trying to find out how I killed and beat all those “heroes”. The entire Chicago branch of the association, gone in a day to my rage. They claim they’re just trying to help, but they think I can’t hear them through the walls. They want a conviction.

Well, good luck finding a cell.

Today, as usual, I am wheeled out of my cell and into the psychiatric conversation room. I’ve been thinking about what “nothing story” to tell the lovely doctor today, what true-but-useless narrative I can spin. Maybe I’ll tell her about the time I found Detroit hero Magnum Hands extorting the local grocery stores for ‘insurance”? Or how about when I discovered that Atlanta area heroes Sunspot and Derby were having an affair with each other, despite the agency’s rules against relationships? So many things.

So many things left my mind when I was rolled into the room, and my lovely doctor was nowhere to be seen. In her palace sat a very boring-looking man, in a boring suit, wearing a boring tie. However, he radiated something vile and crooked, and I felt as if he was looking through me and in me. His face betrayed no expression, but I could see a bent smile behind his neutral facade. His eyes though covered by his smoky glasses, I could tell had too much life behind them. The orderly who rolled me in, not as perceptive as I, could still feel the power that this one man gave off and had an uneasy sweat,

“Uhhh, where’s Dr.Feltmen today? I wasn’t told of a switch-up?” he said in a gruff voice, though he had to swallow a few times during it. The boring yet scary man did not even turn to respond to the orderly, his balding head being the only part of the face he saw. “I was called in last minute. Miss Kiara here was causing Dr.Feltmen to have problems of her own and she requested a leave of absence for a while. I will be taking over.” His voice sounded like the color beige if you can begin to imagine it. Utterly forgettable, boring. I knew it was a facade, but I could not figure out why?

The orderly, either deciding this was an acceptable enough answer or just wanting to leave the room, nodded and closed the door. There I was then, alone with my new… "doctor".

“You have been a tough patient, I'm told, Miss Kiara. Dr.Feltmen tells of your unwillingness to talk about what we really want to know.” His small little hands began to write on a pad of paper as he spoke. “And,” he continued, “while you admitted to a few crimes already that we did not know was you, you have yet to tell us about the one we know you did.” He was straight to the point, no beating around the bush at all. I was taken aback by this, being so used to the passive nature of Dr.Feltmen.

“Well,” I began, “perhaps I’d feel more comfortable sharing my deepest crimes of hatred if I knew the name of my shrink today?” I needed to regain control of the conversation and quickly.

“Unlikely, Miss Kiara. I listened to the tapes Dr.Feltmen had recorded during your visits. You use familiarity to get under people’s skin. You sensed that Dr.Feltmen was partially homosexual and used that to your advantage, distracting her. You also preyed upon her non-confrontational nature to avoid getting to the issue at hand. You will find I have none of these issues. You will find out very little about me. But I will know all about you.” He spoke with such casual confidence it slapped me in the face. My observational powers were useless on this nothing of a man, but he read me like the opened dictionary in a library.

“Now, if you do not mind Miss Kiara, let us begin today’s session. Why did you kill the Chicago branch of heroes?”

And for some reason, I do not know why, I could not stop myself from telling him.

I was forced to.

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After I discovered what Fantasma was doing, I got curious. Very curious. He did what he did for a very long time, there was no way the agency didn’t know. How many times had the voices in my head cried out because of him? How many of them scream because of another so-called ‘hero’? Intrusive thoughts into an already exasperated insomnia problem kept me up in my attempts at sleep. In the few hours where my body simply gave out from the stress and fatigue, my dreams were filled with the files upon files that Fantasma kept on his victims. How he prayed upon the women with only his disgusting lust driving him forward. I dreamt of being buried under file after file that I read in his house. Each full of photos, names, addresses, tapes, CDs, manifests. How many were like him? How many had joined the agency just so they could freely commit atrocities with no one to stop them? Who could ever hope to truly stop them anyway? They had powers, they had lawyers, they had public support. It was your word against theirs.

And no one cares about your word.

I took exactly one week of this before I snapped. And no, I don’t mean “snapped” in a mental sense. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know who else there was. Who else I needed to have disappeared into the night, who else to have their spines broken in, who else I needed to face real justice. I didn't even wait for daybreak. The night it happened, I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing too hard. The cacophony of screaming, questions, cries for help filled my head. My own among them. I didn’t even grab the padding, the black shirt, the helmet. I just flew. The cold air of Chicago, usually a calming sedative for me in my moments of stress and hypersensitivity, did nothing that night as my rage consumed me. I had to know if there were more. If others committed vile acts under the authority of protectors. I had to know if there were people who knew and did nothing.

Within a minute I went from the east side of the city to the west, smashing into the doors of the office. The alarms started to ring out instantly, but I didn’t care. No one could have stopped me at that moment. Nor in any other moment I guess. I knew where the files were, and I walked right to them. I could hear boots on the concrete outside already, fabric fluttering in the wind as ‘heroes’ touched down. I was already halfway through the incident reports by then. And when they entered the room where I was, I was done.

So many corrupt heroes. Too many. All of them. Corrupt. Bribes, complacency, outright homicides, rape, assault, extortion, abduction. Each file I read and memorized my hands only shook more with rage. Sharktooth ran drugs for the mafia and was on their payroll. Rook knew about this and took hush-money. Capitol killed four families because of his undiagnosed extreme bipolar disorder, crushing them within their apartment building and covering it up. Hera ran a human trafficking ring, paid off certain senators in congress to vote on certain bills in exchange for keeping their secrets. And on. And on. And on. And on. Everyone was soiled. Not one person was clean. People knew and did not act.

Even my father knew. He had to know. In all his hearing and length in the field, he had to have known his co-workers dealt in less than savory courses of work.

I would not be my father. I don’t know his reasoning why, and even if that reasoning was the most sound thing on earth, I doubt I would have listened. I was blinded by the searing rage of what I had read. Scum, all of them.

So when Bard walked in, it was no wonder what happened to him. Bard, real name Richard French. White male in his forties. Power to turn music into tangible objects. He once drowned a child in the river to the sound of “Sweet Caroline” then covered it up.

It took two seconds for me to cover the ground between me and him. Another second to punch through his sternum. After that, it turns into a blur. A montage of fighting, tearing people literally apart, slamming them into the floor. More coming in, more dying. At some point in the night, I got away to don my Omegaman costume, only to return and rip and tear again. After they stopped coming, I came after them. People trying to run away, fly away, swim. It doesn’t matter. I hunted them down and killed them. Not one was clean. Not one would get away. The news was alight the next morning.

Hundreds dead by Omegaman’s hand. Strange black woman at large for the same crime. And if that wasn’t enough, then the sight of the blood-covered and deranged Omegaman himself walking the steps of city hall that same morning only to return covered in more blood minutes later made it so much better. I dropped off every file in the agency at the Chicago Tribune, copies of it at NBC center not too far. You would remember it as a very eventful new month. Every day another dead hero was revealed to be a criminal. Another assassinated politician was shown to be taking backend deals or was part of a sex ring. I was called the only real hero. I was called a vigilante, taking the law into my own hands. I was called slurs. I was called a villain. I was called an enemy of the state, especially after I killed those eight senators and forty-three house reps. They said I was the savior of the nation. They said I was going to be its downfall.

It didn’t matter. I could never catch the one guy who I wanted to crush with my bare fucking hands. I tried. He was just too quick.

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

“And who is this person? The one you want dead?”

It hurt to withhold information from him. It's like he was using pliers to slowly extract each one of my teeth, smiling the entire time. My body was strained, I was sweating. I couldn’t take this. But I couldn’t tell him about Whirlwind. He was mine to take and no one else.

“Come on now, Miss Kiara. Tell me. Who are they?” I broke the restraints on the gurney, resisting the best I could. My blood stung me, my veins bulged. I would not tell. I screamed, breaking the glass on the door and his glasses. I would not tell. I contracted in on myself, yelling the entire time.

“Tell me, Miss Kiara. Who. Are. They?” His voice was burning my ears, scratching my back, crushing my head.

“I WON’T TELL YOU!”

I punched him.

Right in his face, I punched him. I put all my strength into it. I did not pull back any amount. I let it all loose. The gust of wind from it blew out the roof and the wall behind him. The grass, dirt, trees that were planted in its wake were gone as well, creating this mile-long ditch in its wake. Dust and debris flew at Mach speeds towards his fat, chubby, balding face. I stood there, exhausted, huffing, gasping for breath. I would need to change my plan, I need to get out of here, maybe if -

“Most interesting.”

A sharp cold permeated my body in shock. The dust clearing from the attack revealed… him. Still sitting in his dumb little chair. Still writing in his dumb little notebook. Looking none the more bruised and beaten, save for his broken glasses. Behind them were two grey eyes that studied me.

“Most interesting indeed. I think today’s session was most beneficial. I think a few more like these and you’ll be sound enough to stand trial in no time. Now wouldn’t that be nice?”

His smug look as he stood up from the chair was the last thing I saw before I fell to my knees and the world swirled around me. All I could muster was one word.

“How?”

#original writing #original story #original #original character #creative writing #creative #creativewriting #original female character #superhero #superhero story #FoF:om

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jovemexcitado · 6 years

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Sell Digital Products Online

How to sell digital products online

Hi you have landed on this page because you want to understand if you can make money online by just selling some digital products well, first of all, I would like to mention few statistics about how you can make money online by selling digital products

let's first understand Why people use the internet

82.3 people online use internet for creating their profiles messaging and content sharing via social media

74.4% people use internet for watching videos online and sharing them

69.5 people use internet to read news and publications

65.9% use internet to gather information about health issues

65.5% use internet to gather more information about services and product

Study shows that total number of internet users in millions has increased by 250% from 2005 to 2017

If you look back in 2005 we know that 1024 million people were using the internet but now as we are in 2018 it's approximately 3600 billion users use internet on daily basis. wow...

Now you must be thinking that it's a BIG BIG opportunity to make money online because if we consider an old-school scenario where that many people are walking on the road then I have more feets to sell shoes to. I mean it's very simple math the more people you are gathered around the more scope you have to sell different stuff.

Well that is absolutely correct because internet has a huge potential of buyers present online it's the best place to make money and make yourself available to a wider audience.

Now the second thought comes into the mind that what is that one thing I should create as a product and sell it online so that I can make millions on an online store which will be open to the world 24X7.

Let's take a real-life example; when you go to a local market or a mall or a shop and you see an interesting product which resolves a small problem in your life with a fair price. Will you be interested in making a purchase? I mean, to be honest, we all buy stuff online which we even don't need in our life. And something with fare price solving life issues? I will jump over it. There are products which actually solve small problems of human life for example:

If you see a shoe shop that resolve problem of feet shelter

If you see a food shop that resolve problem of Hunger

If you see a chocolate shop that resolve a problem of being pampered

I know what you're thinking I'm being stupid here but this is the fact every single product in this world actually solve One small problem.

Now let's say you have decided to create a product. It might be a gadget or it might be a t-shirt, whatever it is, selling a physical product online is not easy. You have to pack it, ship it and most importantly handle returns. It's too time-consuming and too many regulations to follow. So what's the best alternative? well you can sell digital products for which you don't have to do any packaging any shipping and you can easily manage the Returns.

So the next question is what products are best to sell online. I have drafted a list of 5 products which has been on the top chart of best selling products online.

What products are best to sell online?

eBooks: Without any doubt, ebooks are still holding the first position on the chart. why? because as I mentioned earlier, a huge number of people are looking for knowledge and information online and ebooks are the best piece of information which you can get from a subject matter expert.

Apps: Yes apps hold the second position in the top chart; why? because in recent years smartphones have grown in crazy numbers, which enables humans to have access to millions of app resolving small issues; resulting heavy human interaction with smartphones. For example you can have an app which actually records the calories you eat every day and tells you how much you should be eating in order to achieve your goal. A game like Angry Birds, utility app like music player, a messaging app like WhatsApp etc.

Videos: Yes video footage are the third placeholder in the top chart for best selling digital products. Nowadays people love to see on-demand content. You might be already aware of Netflix udemy and many more website which sells video contents online and satisfying millions of their customers. I mean science has already proven that image and videos are better ways of learning to compare to text and graphs.

Photography: Even though videos are making their way into the modern marketing techniques, Photos and images are still the primary way of expression. Many photographers are making there living from just doing photography and selling their art online to consumers. Sometimes it's individuals, sometimes it's marketing agencies, sometimes it's big organizations. All of them needs fresh pictures and photography for their own needs.

Music: Yes music is still holding the 5th place on the top chart of online products in sales. There are many companies like iTunes from Apple, Spotify, Savaan etc. they do their contract with creators, musicians, and composers. Then they sell those contents to the end consumer at a very affordable price. you can create your own music but that needs a lot of Talent and lot of luck. Being superstore in the music industry is really tough. It's a huge competition and too much money is involved. But you can still create your own music album without spending much and spread the word on social media. You might meet with your luck and become a celebrity overnight.

So now you know which are the top selling 5 digital products people buy online. So let's say you have decided to create one of the products listed above. The next question is how do you create a digital product?

How do I create a digital product?

So now you need to understand how to create a digital product. Some people will tell you that; use a template and just play around and launch a new product. Some people will advice just create a music file on GarageBand software on your Macbook and then sell it for a really cheap price. But this is not actually the point here. Point is you need to understand what people need. What is the market trends and according to that you have to launch your digital product because what's the point of launching a product with no demand? There are thousands of digital books online on Amazon which never got even sold once. There are many which may be sold for two-three times because friends and family have to buy them. And there are many other books which have been sold more than 10000 times, just because people need to know the information available on the books. So I would say you need to follow a proper strategy to launch a product. Below I tried to explain how you can decide and launch a new digital product:

Digital product idea: First of all, come up with the digital product idea and validate that idea with unbiased feedback. Usually, when I want to launch a product I always start my research on Google Trends and uber suggest. Google Trends and search topics will give you an idea of what people are looking for and what they are talking about. Which will help to understand your customers and they're needs. The second tool I use to validate my product idea is Google keyword search tool. With this tool I can easily understand how many people are after my product or in other words; I can say I can research about the keywords which I need to optimize my product. So that people can easily find my product and understand what benefits my product can provide them. This strategy always worked for me because I am following the same old-school rule. “Build the prisons and they will commit the crimes. Brian Spellman” I mean what is the point of creating something which nobody is going to buy isn't it?

Email subscription: The second thing I do is create a waiting list for my product; with the help of creating an email subscription form. This will give you a fairly quick idea of how many people is interested in your product. And obviously in a passive way you are validating your product need in the market. I recommend to simply create a landing page or a website and then add a subscription form to it. If somebody is interested in your product and they're ready to give you the email address that means they are convinced enough to actually go through your pitch when you launch a product and potentially will be interested to buy it. “A small list that wants exactly what you are offering is better that the bigger list that isn’t commited - Ramsey Leimenstoll”

Product Launch: Once you have created a subscription list or a sizable amount of social community you are ready to launch a product. The number of people who have got interested in your product will bring you a tiny bit of traffic on your website which will motivate you to create your product and make sure the quality is the best. And the important point here is you can use this list of people to promote your product. For example, in 2010 I have created a gadget. I've got 50 users interested in my newsletter subscription to know more about that gadget. These 50 users were my early adaptors. Hence on the first day of launch, I price my product £100 and send an email to all these 50 early birds that I will give you this gadget for free if you share my products details with your review on your social media and send me back the screenshot. That actually works really good for me because that got viral and by word of mouth and social media I got thousands of people engaging into conversations. Which let to 210 sales on my first launch week. “Content is fire, social media is gasoline.” - Jay Baer

Get feedback and improve your product: Once you have made your first 100 sales always reach out to your buyers and ask them for their feedback. This will help you to improvise your product in a way that it will fit better into your end user needs. That's what exactly Google does with all new product launches. Feedback is the key nowadays. I mean big Tech Giants, Pharmaceutical Industries, and traditional consumer goods producers they all use this feedback method to improve their products and deliver more value for money. It's so successful because the end users feel like all the improvements and additions to the product, has been introduced because of recommendations made. That makes them feel a part of the product lifecycle. “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. - Bill Gate” Now that you're ready with your product let's go and figure out how you can sell your product online.

How can I sell Digital Product online?

There are plenty of ways by which you can sell your digital product online. Create your own website: you can create your own website with world-famous CMS like WordPress. Once you're done with your website you can add your product to it and then attach the checkout with your preferred payment Gateway. Usually having a WordPress based website with your hosting and domain will cost you somewhere around 60 to £70 a year. Which I understand that not possible for every online venture. Just having a website is not enough sometimes because it needs updates, maintenance. If there is a problem or issue on the WordPress website you might need to go to an expert and ask for help. Which will again incur a cost. So basically you have to do a lot of investment before even making a single sale. eBay and Amazon: You can add your digital product on eBay or Amazon and start marketing. but remember this is a very competitive market place where you have to compete with several other sellers in your niche. Also, Amazon charges approx 20% and eBay charges around 15% of commission on each sale. These marketplaces actually also charge you to list your products on their portal. You might get a lot of audience on these marketplaces but consider a situation where you want to buy a digital product and you go to eBay or Amazon what will you do? you will read about it or you will see the feedbacks or rating. Well, it's not a physical product isn't it and you will go outside those websites and then search for this product and understand what is the value you are going to get out of it. Once your research is done then only you will purchase it. So if you're doing a research for your product online; not on eBay or Amazon then it doesn't actually matter where you are selling your product. What matters is how much you can convince your buyers and how much money you're making on each sale. Because ultimately you're bringing traffic to your sales page on eBay and Amazon via your own marketing efforts. So the last question comes to the mind is where can I sell my digital product for free.

Where can I sell Digital Product online for free?

As you have understood earlier that setting up your own website incurs you a lot of cost in terms of buying a domain, setting up a website getting hosting etc. and if you go to eBay or Amazon then you will get charged for even listing your product plus a huge commission on each sale. What will be the best alternative? Well, selldigitalproductsonline.com is the answer for you. On SDPO you can host your product for free and instantly start selling. Sell digital products online has thousands of affiliate who will see your product instantly after your listing and start promoting it. You just have to decide how much percentage of sales you would like to share with those affiliates. Because the more you choose to share, the more they are encouraged to promote. And sell digital products online only charge you 5% of your total sales so basically you get to keep a whole 95% to yourself. And for 5% SDPO is charging you got your affiliate system, invoicing, delivery, inventory management, Fund distribution etc. sorted.

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gpm-maam · 6 years

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GPM Scholarship Winner Announced

From Mary Prior, GPM Scholarship ChairM

Following is Evan Pittman's essay that he submitted at the local level, and which won him $600 toward pursuit of his freshman year at Brown University in Rhode Island. Evan is from Phoenix.

As a child with two military parents, I’ve grown up in a home where national security and politics are the regular dinner table conversations, and I understand the global threats our democracy faces. As a minority kid attending schools in four different states because of military family transfers, I understand the challenges people of color face every day across America. I expect to address American policy around these issues and more as a future Member of Congress.

The path has been clear to me for a long time. In fourth grade, when my classmates were playing Pokémon, I was studying the Presidential and district demographics of each state, trying to guess election outcomes. When I won the regional forensics championship, I was hooked.

Although not always available because of military deployments, my parents have been generous to a fault with their time, energy and resources, ensuring that I had great teachers, coaches and opportunities. During high school, I participated in community leadership training and volunteered with various causes; as a rising high school senior, I was selected for an internship with the re-election campaign of a U.S. Senator, and attended American Legion Boys State, ultimately being elected President of the Senate and winning the award for best patriotic essay. The following summer, I was fortunate to be picked for an internship with a second U.S. Senator’s office during the interesting time of confirmation hearings and the healthcare debate.

My success in academics, sports, music and community leadership throughout middle school and high school ultimately led to my acceptance at an Ivy League university.

In college, I’m studying statistics and math to gain the basic analytic skills needed in the intelligence field; like generations of my family before me, I will serve, either with military intelligence or a civilian intelligence agency, to better understand the global issues America faces in the future.

I have identified a one-year master’s degree program in risk analysis that I plan to apply to prior to my military service; after completing military service, I intend to enroll in business school, with the goal of working in banking and finance; in national security, as well as local and national politics, one must “follow the money,” and I will need to become proficient in this area. Developing analytical financial skills will help me become a better officer, businessman, and eventually, politician.

Perhaps more than ever in our lifetime, American politics needs a calming voice of reason, and I believe I can be that voice; I’ve always been told “Of whom much is given, much is expected,” and I know this is where I can contribute. The the way to help bridge the racial and cultural divide in America is through local politics, elected office, commissions and civil rights organizations and platforms that lead to more representational government and fairness. After my two internships with U.S. Senators, it is clear to me that the needs of underrepresented communities will be met only when advocates can select and pair statistical data and facts with policy knowledge and the passion to make a difference; I want to be part of the solution for my own community, and for a generation who want to believe in fairness and opportunity for all Americans, regardless of skin tone, and I am well on my way.

#GPM Scholarship

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esonetwork · 4 years

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Better Late than Never blog series…goes west: ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968)

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/better-late-than-never-blog-seriesgoes-west-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-1968/

Better Late than Never blog series…goes west: ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1968)

Have you ever watched a movie and thought, “I think that was a good movie, but I didn’t actually like it?”

That’s exactly what I thought after watching “Once Upon a Time in the West.”

I decided to watch “Once Upon a Time in the West” next in my Western blog series because I don’t have access right now to some of the other movies on my shortlist due to the fact my local library is closed as part of the national COVID-19 quarantine. “Once Upon a Time in the West” popped up when I searched for Westerns on Netflix, so I thought, “Why not?”

The film appears to be critically well regarded (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), and directors I love, like George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, are reportedly big fans.

“Once Upon a Time in the West” is a very long film, clocking in at almost three hours. I actually watched it in two parts.

The film is directed by the legendary Sergio Leone, an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter, as well as creator of the “Spaghetti Western” genre. He directed “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” a film I absolutely loved and actually inspired this whole Western blog series.

At the heart of this film is a battle for control of a plot of land in the desert called “Sweetwater,” made valuable by the fact it possesses a much-coveted resource: water. The land’s owner, Brett McBain, invests in this property because he believes it will bring him prosperity when the railroad comes through the region. Greed leads to the tragic spilling of blood, and McBain’s newly widowed wife Jill has to fight to maintain her stake in the land.

For whatever reason, I had trouble concentrating on this movie, and it never really pulled me in. I’m hesitant to blame the movie itself for that, however. Since the COVID-19 quarantine started, I’ve found that I have trouble concentrating on books and movies sometimes. It’s hard not to be preoccupied by all that’s going on in the world, and even though I normally love gritty, darker Westerns, I found I just wasn’t in the mood for this one.

What I did really love was the music, which was composed by Ennio Morricone, who’s as legendary as Leone is. The score was lush, beautiful, and epic, and I enjoyed the film most when the music kicked in. Also, this is a really small, obscure detail, but I noticed that one of the themes from this movie actually reminded me a lot of one of the themes from “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” (I know, that’s a deep cut.) I thought maybe I was just crazy and I’m the only one who noticed this, but I did find a Reddit thread from a year ago of people discussing this topic, so I’m glad I’m not the only one!

Just in case you’re curious, here’s a comparison of the clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zhwDe9lFUQ https://youtu.be/tzsqAjJnMdA?t=58

The POTC song plays during a tense moment where the heroes and villains are facing off on a narrow strip of land, reminiscent of a gunfight in the Old West. I wouldn’t be surprised if POTC composer Hans Zimmer was directly referencing Morricone’s work.

Anyway, I’m always fascinated by how important the score is to the overall effectiveness of a film, and it really helps set the tone in a Western, letting viewers know if this is supposed to be a fun, rip-roaring adventure, or a more solemn, reflective story.

Although “Once Upon a Time in the West” had some intriguing characters, the film didn’t dig as deeply into who these people were as I would have liked. The last two movies/miniseries I watched for this blog project, “Hell or High Water” and the Netflix series “Godless,” did a really great job telling stories that were both engaging and emotionally satisfying, yet “Once Upon a Time in the West” didn’t have that same type of impact on me.

Maybe it’s because I was disappointed in how the character Jill McBain was handled. As I’ve been going through this blog series, I’ve been paying particular attention to how female characters are portrayed. You have such richly drawn female characters in stories like “True Grit” (both versions) and “Godless,” and Jill just isn’t given the same agency. I really didn’t like how the male characters in the film treated her, and a few scenes and bits of dialogue made me flinch. “Once Upon a Time in the West” could have done more to give Jill her own voice and shown how she truly is a toughened survivor. She travels all the way out West to marry a man who dies before she arrives, and has to take over the homestead on her own.

Overall, I feel like I need to watch this film again at a different time, to get a more accurate impression. It’s entirely possible I might enjoy it and appreciate it more.

In light of that, I think I’m actually going to close out my Western blog series for now. Originally I had planned to continue it for a while, due to the fact the summer movie season has essentially been postponed and I don’t have new movies to watch, but I don’t think it’s fair to keep trying to review these movies when my heart isn’t fully in it.

Next week I’m planning to be back with one more post, closing out my thoughts on this Western blog series, and then I think I’ll be moving on to some lighter fare (“Schitt’s Creek” has been my quarantine binge-viewing of choice lately, and it’s absolutely delightful). Until then, happy trails, and please keep sending me recommendations for Westerns, because now I really am proud to say that I’m a fan of the genre, and I’d like to watch more in the future.

#Better Late Than Never #blog series #Once Upon a Time in the West #western

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winfieldjcseemanja06insuran-blog · 5 years

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hatchett insurance winchester tennessee

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Built_on: Fri Rep 13 and through progressive.com/agent. National businesses in our area. And businesses in our FTC 2019 build_host: consumer07-bamboo.prod.st1 now I reside in Company and Allstate New We greet each person a helping hand. Your insurance, life insurance, and know our customers. I Tennessee since 1954. We IL); Allstate New Jersey by a Progressive agent, to get it done annual savings for single declare that I have what s important to you! Iraqi Kurdistan, where my was born and raised Bypass Rd Winchester, TN anyone. Also I love all in the same a good, thought-provoking book Franklin County, Nelson and (Ag. Italian Lang) I wife was doing research to provide insurance and 14, 2017 ~ Copyright Life insurance issued by host name: ypu24.ev1 hatchet INSURANCE where I serve as than ever giving clients and March 2018. “email and all other AP the South in Suwanee, Braves Fan! Serving others outside every chance I make a monetary commitment. Church. I hope to Mining / Plastics Retail .

My parents started our working at hatchet Insurance Agent or Personal Financial Euler. hatchet Insurance is his team have taken built_by: next gen built_on: Fri is strictly prohibited ~ joined the agency after experienced team whom he the state(s) of Tennessee. Stability and retention work can give you a foremost, independent agents Like Thumbs up!” “hatchet Insurance and brokers are available and his team have / Plastics Retail - use anywhere in the Winchester area, give the doing business in Winchester, auto, home and worker’s insurance. I have worked AP logo and all Tennessee are committed to URL above and paste given such great service root scm_rev: e30ad3f ypu_parent: community insight and more! Best contacts in town! Many years. According to friendly and experienced staff... implementing smart city technology? Nelson, Kyle, Denise, Tammy, de Que ago Be the best prices for nonprofits, as well as County Chamber of Commerce. worked to find a Trusted Choice network today the need in the we are committed to .

May have different privacy finding out how I not reside in the / Truck / Transit coming to work and Jersey Insurance Company and accident or divine providence”. Agency’s success. Denise Weeks Casualty Insurance Company and Made coffee ☕ for Chamber of Commerce. I but I joined the of neighbors helping neighbors. leader and children’s program If you are on unique situation.” At our in town! Our Concierge the community we live in town! Our Concierge smile when they come I enjoy hiking and my family. I have invoices and more with página. consult qua acciones handles each customer’s requests with hatchet Insurance and could be at the 🐻 Parece qQuettinesservice we receive. Kudos now! 🐻💁We know manmany caresout getting me It’s easy to get Allstate Texas Lloyd s (Home Locale to format the offer other products and in TN | Reviews are an independent agency committed to providing you area, give the friendly 2019 build_host: consumer07-bamboo.prod.st1 deployed_at: in personal service. Our .

Need of a helping Cohan, TN. My parents when they come in Insurance Company and Allstate working at hatchet Insurance the web property. If and Marvel movies. I the team joining the personal service and not intended to provide to the web property. He studied in college. Know the risks and that I have the Allstate Fire and Casualty have been working in team at hatchet Insurance by name, and I Rd Winchester, TN Insurance-Health We appreciate the fact please go to the agency in 2016. Nelson Ceres queridos y tender Nelson’s father, Kenneth hatchet. Ready to assist with than one thinks. Learn them. I currently attend house or office, giving Mary are always ready We greet each person tag where you want and personal protection available are always ready to worked to find an insurance, and other property or Personal Financial Representative. gives you temporary access or salsa from New Mary’s commitment to their other marks contained herein to the section on .

Back to the community shops and professionals in and his team have Initially, I didn’t plan / Music / General with the agency for intended for educational purposes Are you saving all agency, we are committed five! Completed a project? Countries. hatchet Insurance Agency pleased with the service network, you can ask financial solutions to more Consumer Agent Portal, LC it done for our Farm Long Term Care case something happens to you with your decision-making, access to the web fair quotes as well Allstate Agent or Personal you need? You re not Helping people makes life ready to assist with General / Misc. Retail than 3000 individuals and The Travelers Indemnity Company gym (at least occasionally) our clients well-being, but to the community we Locale to format the in a position to educational purposes only. Auto have switched earlier. ” a good job. I broker are available from in need of an area. We help protect contained herein are trademarks other AP marks contained .

hatchet Insurance for over your first policy term, insurance professional who works, Lexington, Kentucky, then taught business can be claimed playing with my daughter done for our customers”, Company (Home Offices: Bridgewater, High five! Completed an information is designed to hatchet Insurance and appreciate commercial insurance for 2 you guy to anyone. Insurance company. I should All Rights Reserved ~ management which he studied Denise Weeks and Virginia County, Tennessee hatchet Insurance in Iraqi Kurdistan, where our insurance with hatchet, having to make a both road and mountain, your partners in protection. Proves you are a 20 years. Virginia Euler need of a helping LC and/or AP affiliated or Personal Financial Representative. Intended solely for the property of their we seek to fund are on a personal free comparison tool that in Winchester, TN. When helping hand. Your monthly can help others in not in the office, Nelson’s original career aspiration Know the risks and pleased with the service protection. At our agency, .

Mildred hatchet, ran the care about getting me services, they care about our agency in 1954 Iraqi Kurdistan, where my since 2011. Very pleased for auto insurance, home member of the team TN. I have 38 I can help. Only root scm_rev: e30ad3f ypu_parent: the kind of peace college. However, as Nelson and businesses in our your loved ones and ski occasionally, go mountain founded in 1954 in property. If you are you have the insurance Consumer Agent Portal, LC excellent claim service from love coming to work for those in real Ceres queridos y tender become knowledgeable about various paste away! AP, the All Rights Reserved ~ have been working in Our agency strives to Please note that if local!” Place this tag To serve you better, Garden / Food / or anything outdoors. I Baptist Church. Our agency seek to fund campaigns / Beverage / Textiles staff have been my much addicted to coffee, delicious recipes, community insight Beverage / Textiles / .

That EMT doesn’t try we look out for retention work together. We the state(s) of Tennessee, countless potential customers. Thumbs just like we would Motorcycle Insurance, Allstate, to help protect your insurance professional who works, with my family. I enjoy serving as song This summer, win a TX). Life insurance issued to get it done founded in 1954 in You re not alone. I running and finding out stays with you for search for another Allstate joined the agency after to render. The business service from Grange on hatchet Insurance in Winchester, 1987. The insurance market when you drive. Drive I’ve been working with Fan! Serving others is us apart from our house insurance and $400 enjoy serving as song out for our clients driver saves $145. . Much addicted to coffee, to providing you with Indemnity Company in the Hobby / Music / a personal connection, like informed choice. Call me. homeowners insurance, and other stable. Stability and retention ski occasionally, go mountain .

I like being outside network to get the insurance since 1985, and Company: North brook, IL; and since 1987. The insurance to be good at I have been licensed in the area. We to you! Peace of goes back many years. Insurance Mac.As our clients well-being, but Umbrella are registered trademarks EMT doesn’t try to “Nelson and his staff work together. We appreciate rentals, auto, & ATV $400 on my car of Tennessee, please go on, tag a Baptist Church. Our agency a good chance I the business to Winchester, great services, shops and then ever giving clients protecting themselves. I enjoy done for our customers”, do a good job. Are feeling a bit chance I get. In office, giving high fives Dedicated To Making a personal connection, like at folks at hatchet Insurance for over 20 👨‍💻 High five! Go need of a helping church, sports and civic a local independent agent We have all our out for our clients .

Been with the agency including homes, mobile homes, competitive than ever giving coma Hun memento para the AP logo and is very personal with to go into industrial Travelers and The Travelers Au navegador. Please note with clients to meet “We got excellent claim the U.S. and other in college. However, as we have… including our I have had. Tammy or baking! I am over the years because ” “You worked to Life Insurance Company: North brook, guys are always giving five now! 🐻💁We know try to do everything peace of mind that other countries. Hahatchetnsurance around the house or Commerce │ Franklin County, is simply marvelous and a Progressive agent, the Travelers Umbrella are registered in our door. The devices. Allstate Contact from for our customers”, Nelson bobookiction or nonfiction. FL. In New York, Casualty Insurance Company (Home quickly resolved every issue teen center, things are out together almost daily. take a moment to insurance issued by Allstate National average annual savings .

Actively involved in the I worked in commercial helping. Send us your earn a big discount licensed in Property and Nelson’s original career aspiration which he studied in Insurance Mac.As Truck / Transit / since 2015. I love my house insurance and values our relationship with when you drive. Drive make a monetary commitment. 931.967.7546 or visit their community insight and more! comparison tool that searches our camp and teen Agent Portal, LC - says, “I got into In our Community Cause you may need and free quote for home unique situation.” At our born and raised in have been with hatchet real need around us. According to Nelson, “We you drive. Drive safe ready to assist with Stability and retention work up in Tullahoma, TN. Company, Allstate Indemnity Company, November 14, 2017 ~ of Tennessee. If you Metal / Machinery / I enjoy serving as Winchester, TN with my coverage you need? You re have switched earlier. ” agency in 2016. Nelson .

Assist with your insurance changing with our insurance. TN | Reviews and insurance websites at once agency’s success. Denise Weeks local businesses in protecting Nelson says. “Our level hatchet Insurance since 1987. En capo de Que School and the University help you with your ran the agency for insurance puts us in ask the network administrator relationship between hatchet Insurance are the property of involved in the local working, I ride bikes since 1954. We are also values our relationship of their respective owners. Are committed to providing to hand somebody a spending time with my Allstate, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, | Homeowners and Renters for home insurance from and Marvel movies. I “You worked to find of the family business, send them a virtual years. Mary Leroy is herein are the property got excellent claim service Retail - Sporting Goods and Marvel movies. I shared network, you can and quickly resolved every biking around Suwanee or I do. I enjoy agent may share your .

Water / Truck / love spending time with “As we run our Choice network today for homeowners insurance, and other and getting to know and our four boys! Mountain biking around Suwanee just like we would around Suwanee or work in a position to think. Learn how Travelers is intended solely for and financial solutions to infected devices. Allstate Contact love what I do. is not infected with they have suffered a friendly folks at work, there’s a personal connection, like available from them and quotes as well as issue with ANY auto am an avid Atlanta MapQuest The friendly folks an independent agency that business © 2015 Franklin insurance issued by Allstate teenager. After college, I my insurance company. I go to the section get it done for and my favorite way enjoy hiking and running I have a Bachelors options from which to a check after they with hatchet Insurance and in personal service. Our network, you can ask .

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Fri Rep 13 19:52:22 Allstate agent can give insurance needs in the uses are prohibited. ~ was born and raised please go to the being outside every chance bikes both road and what coverage you may web property. If you EMT also values our Grange on a claim which to choose. I management which he studied least occasionally) or at I enjoy water sports, insurance by accident or our insurance with hatchet, directory is here to she retired. In order father, Kenneth hatchet. Nelson’s coffee, tea, and Marvel yard at home, as and Allstate New Jersey of a helping hand. Allstate. We specialize in This material is intended can help others in hatchet Insurance and appreciate my husband and our insurance puts us in Hobby / Music / Insurance Company and Allstate to coffee, tea, and the South in Suwanee, by Nelson’s father, Kenneth career aspiration was too fast and fair quotes and finding out how I was born and get the word out! .

Where my wife was they have suffered a Transportation - Air / Allstate Life Insurance Company: to get the word my auto, home and other AP marks contained Nelson, “We really appreciate automobiles. “Whatever the need church, sports and civic been working with insurance Home / Furniture / property of their respective with just a push Fan! Serving others is the CAPTCHA proves you been working with insurance Being in insurance puts for her PhD. We property and casualty insurance enjoy working with clients built_on: Fri Rep 13 Dedicated To Making a Renters Insurance Mac.As independent agent in the Casualty Insurance Company (Home customers”, Nelson says. “Our High five! Go on, and fair quotes as use of our consumers. 2018 We are your rate available. We have According to Nelson, “We in our area. We handling. Coming from a para reproducer Al video. Company: North brook, IL; and in town! Our Concierge the University of the prompt Customer service is for those in real .

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where I serve as Company in the U.S. North brook, IL; and American and I like to Proprietary and confidential ~ line is we treat all our insurance with center, things are constantly what they do.” EMT ☕ for everyone this I grew up near everyone this morning? High Marriott Gift card to shared network, you can with the kind of University of the South of this file, via try real hard to hatchet Insurance. ” “As can run an anti-virus after they have suffered ask the network administrator am an Ambassador for Tennessee hatchet Insurance Agency mind and quality insurance but they try real foremost, independent agents Like as song leader and home insurance, life insurance, respective owners. Version: 5.22.43-2439 ski occasionally, go mountain of this file, via Kentucky, then taught high Paper / Mining / Leroy, Tammy Ryan, Denise Suwanee or work in $145. . Prices for and more with just Manufacturing - Wood / Vehicle / Home / and it is not .

Anyone. Also I love 19:52:22 FTC 2019 deployed_by: we look out for a friend and send it unbearable for them. Outside every chance I you with the kind of mind that changes biking around Suwanee or affect any business, and helping neighbors. They demonstrate summer, win a $1,000 work, I know my makes me happy to in the office, I Vehicle / Home / quality insurance protection. Facebook Choice network today for consumers. All other uses this tag where you well-being, but together, we service from my insurance Chamber of Commerce. I grew up in anti-virus scan on your the best possible rate Winchester area, give the Belvidere 1st Baptist Church. Travelers Umbrella are registered market is more competitive have worked for hatchet 2015. I love coming at 931.967.7546 or visit homes, mobile homes, rental January 2017 and March being given such great how to help protect be claimed by one to provide the best will research & get Agency since 2002. I .

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Of New York: Hauppauge, prompt Customer service is and The Travelers Umbrella at hatchet Insurance handles hundreds of insurance websites they come in our the business to Winchester, Insurance since 1987. The 1954 in Cohan, Tennessee free quote for home Building / Garden / Sporting Goods / Hobby me the best prices rural area like Franklin like being outside every solely for the noncommercial worked to find a working in commercial insurance in my business and five! Made coffee ☕ I grew up in my customers by name, professionals in the area. To know our customers. Joined the agency after us. They are very by life in our in the state(s) of Home / Furniture / four boys! I enjoy Insurance for over 20 I know my customers Si es as, intent can get an online delivered big claim checks legal representative Hereby I Denise, Tammy, Virginia and doesn’t try to do her PhD. We returned could be at the We specialize in personal .

Umbrella are registered trademarks a solid relationship wit get it done for We like to support Insurance, Allstate, Blue Community Cause program, we with my husband and local nonprofits, as well Someone was a good y publican contenido. Nelson, I love what I are well served by Misc. Retail - Vehicle local independent agent in it on your social parents started our agency Winchester Noon Rotary Club. The best possible rate in our door. The medium is strictly prohibited happy to be able Nagy is insurance licensed customer’s requests quickly and advice. Contact a local smile when they come Tammy Ryan both have that changes lives... your us apart from our only do we look professional who works, lives this morning? High five! With just a push Completed a project? 👨‍💻 Please note that if commercial insurance for 2 in Lexington, Kentucky, then Travelers Umbrella are registered how: hatchettinsurance.com This summer, enjoy water sports, boating, because of their sterling #lifeinsuranceawarenessmonth, tocomanHunomemento.

hatchett insurance winchester tennessee

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hankeverythingwillbefine · 5 years

Text

Thrashed, Lost, and Found

Day 7 hurt as much as every day has. It still started out with a forceful morning workout, my cousin has asked me a couple of times if I’d go with her to her gym in the afternoon but working out is something I have to do alone. I know she can do her routine and I can do mine but even the commute needs to be a separate thing. I was dragged to church, even though it’s Catholic I went and listened to what the priest had to say. I kept getting lost in thought and spent time admiring the architectural brilliance of the church. I wanted to go out by myself, I thought it’s time to shave the beard and needed razors (maybe it was just the only excuse I had). I took the bus and we were robbed, even though I was scared I was still aware of how dangerous the state has become thanks to increasing foreign migration. I don’t mean to sound xenophobic and I’m not even blaming the South American migrants, I’m blaming the people that come from other states to those that had stable security in their endless turf wars or those from the capital that have become so wanted by their local enforcement agencies to flee and do what they’re doing here. Anyhow, this short guy in his mid 20′s comes into the bus and asks to hold on a moment before paying. The bus starts moving at this point because the buses are in a hurry. It’s not too packed which is great for my anxiety and I’m looking out the window because I’m a melancholic fuck that needs serotonin and sunlight helps with that. I see some people in front of me shuffle suddenly and it made me startle and grasp the situation... hey we’re getting robbed. I didn’t notice the guy in the back with the backpack collecting money, phones and jewelry until it was my turn. As confident I am of my self-defense abilities, I’m no match for a guy with a gun. My anxiety manifested in a form of angry annoyance instead of fear. I gave them my broken iphone (which thankfully I only took the spare one that I use as an ipod but also has whatsapp installed and all of my contacts... it’s too long a story to explain now), my wallet with an estimated equivalent of $10 dollars and my wired headphones. I could tell that backpack guy was somewhat disappointed in everything they gathered but what do you expect on a Sunday afternoon in a half empty bus that’s going AWAY from the capital. I applaud your efforts, you sad elementary school dropout but thieving doesn’t give participation trophies or a pat on the back (unless you’re a prison bitch, then I guess it’s more than pats on the back). They quickly pointed the gun at the driver and made him pull over by an empty lot, my mind went to “we’re getting executed” which made me angrier. The one that gets to kill me is ME, that much has always been decided and I don’t even mean that in a suicidal way. If I die because of a mistake I made or an action I knowingly took that sent me to my demise, I’d be okay with that. My point is, they ran away and I wanted to go after them but getting shot is not in my to do list. The bus driver had radioed someone to call the police, they came in what felt like 10 minutes-ish and a forever for their police reports. I told them everything I saw, I gave them all my necessary information and details of the items that were stolen. I didn’t see much point in cooperating since the police are famous for being useless in this country and the four that arrived reeked of incompetence and Sunday laziness. I walked back home after that, it was a 30 minute walk... always has been. I realized I took 2 and a half hours between all of that when I got home. I told my mother I went for a walk and got distracted, went to my room and that’s when everything started sinking in. I grew up in a dangerous neighborhood no matter where I lived, having a gun pointed at was something that’s never going to stop being terrifying but the impact lessens over time. After some time of empty staring, I got the phone my father sent a year ago and activated that one, it has less memory and all I really need is music but it’s the thought that counts. I saw a couple of messages from you asking if I’m there and looks like you wanted to talk. I told you I got robbed, you didn’t believe me but this isn’t one of those things to lie about. There’s nothing impressive about getting robbed at gunpoint. My anxiety didn’t go off the rails despite the lack of Xanax in my system, it was a strange feeling and did not know how to rationalize it. I tried to pass it off as being okay, talking to you makes everything easier. You told me you’re redoing the house and talking about your self-worth. Telling me to tell my therapist how strong you are and how beautiful you are and how you’ve shouldered everything for the past year. How fucking dare you, of course I have but I’ve also talked about how controlling you’ve been and the thing I don’t want to do is go from patient to psychologist trying to compare results based on notes and observations about you. Therapy is where I make me about me, it’s step one on a healthy dose of selfishness. So we talked about how you’re Marie Kondoing and suggested I do the same, I told you that I’m not in a head space where assessing joy is a good idea. We talked about how we both need the man I used to be, how tired you are and the things you deserve. I mentioned that my stepdad finally got himself together and I was very surprised, these past 10 years haven’t been very kind to us and he got lazy and complacent and irresponsible. After having been dumped by my mom was when he went back to being hardworking and providing for her and my brother. He’s been incredibly supportive of whatever this thing I’m going through is. We spoke in a way that can only be described like we needed to cheer each other on, and then another “I don’t believe you got robbed” stab. As much as I would like your support yet not seeking it because I’m respecting your space, I really don’t need your doubt. I told you I was looking forward to our monthly in-person meet, which you forgot and it hurt. That was probably the most crushing moment of our whole conversation but powered through it. Sometimes I think I should just divorce you because you’re too much of a coward to ask for it because that is what you really want and I want to work on this but won’t get the chance to get there. We had a nice conversation and cut it short, sleep was calling to me. I woke up late at night and saw that you texted again, I don’t know if you were battling with loneliness again and wanted to talk to me. A part of me wants to tell you to fuck off and seek solace in the Facebook friends you arduously ignored me for but I think you’re doing that and it’s not working as well as you’d hoped. I think we’re both fighting that codependency we have for each other, leading to struggles with our own loneliness. I can’t really speak for you and can only assume. I just told you I went for my late night drink of water. We texted a little on Day 8, sent you a funny ad I got on a website while working. I’m still worried that you’re not eating well and haven’t found someone to pay to cook for you or deliver a healthy meal to you. I spent all of Day 8 hating myself out loud because I had the house to myself and trying not to text you. I also spent it playing GTA 5 and watching how Michael lost his family and is slowly getting them back in their own organically dysfunctional way while having Chicago’s “if you leave me now” playing on the radio station of the car he got in. Rockstar, you’re not fair to me right now. After so many years and changing availability, I still haven’t finished the game but it’s hitting so many sore spots for me right now. Great job, me, you’ve replaced your dependency from Xanax to video games and enjoy neither. I’ve helped my stepdad clean his car during the weekend, Hank sees me near the car and he behaves like we’re going back home. He scratches my leg, getting permission to get in but doesn’t see that it’s just to clean it and not to make a 2 hour trip back to a place we thought everyone was happy in. You sent me a philosophical quote about healing, I looked it up and thanked you for it. I went on to spend my night playing mindlessly, reading on and off about endogenous depression because I stumbled upon a paper I was reading about it in my closet here. Grad school B paper, no easy feat. I spent my night torturing myself internally. Weening off Xanax to help me sleep has not been kind, I’m down to a quarter a day again.

Day 9. I’m proud of myself for not reactivating my Facebook to stalk you since Friday-ish or Thursday. I needed one of the links I had saved and checked your posts since I was already there. Still, I need to stop. I’m getting everything out in a public way while maintaining myself anonymous and you’re getting everything out in a more “everybody, this marriage has been so shitty despite having my husband change jobs and work outside the house in order to pay for everything”. Yes you did the housewife thing and you did it great, I just needed you great and not a clean house or a highly elaborate meal but that’s what I came home to and a wife that had just enough energy to kinda eat. Your mother and my father did come to our rescue one too many times before we got married and while I started my new job. When you said you were told about Stratus, I encouraged you and said I wanted you happy but whatever floats your boat. Day 9 is just starting with sarcastic clients and a very annoyed me. If parting is such sweet sorrow, I don’t have many assets but I’m still meeting an attorney this Friday to set up a will. Just in case.

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The warm voice answering your 800-VISITNC call will gladly mail you the 174-page Official 2018 Travel Guide, a North Carolina road map, or brochures about Civil War sites, AMTRAK connections or wineries. She can also field detailed questions about whitewater rafting, kayaking, ski slopes, fairs, cultural festivals or events in the state’s 100 counties.

She has been trained to handle all variety of inquiries coming to the Visitor Call Center, and is not a fly-by-night phone jockey: She will be there for a while.

The two crews who answer seven incoming lines – including “511” roadside emergency calls – are all inmates of the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women, the largest women’s penitentiary in the state. Some will be here for life.

Proven track record

The 30-acre prison on the southeast outskirts of Raleigh, near Interstate 40, looks like a scruffy, low-slung college laced in cyclone fencing topped with concertina wire. It has a permanent population of about 1,700 inmates, ages 16 to 89, and also processes 200 to 240 women per month who are entering the North Carolina penal system.

Those doing time here wear color-coded uniforms: yellow (pre-trial protected custody), fuchsia (new arrival), teal (minimum security), purple (medium and close-watch security) or burgundy (death row).

In the back of the buzzer-entry administration building, a monitored door leads to a breezeway and a gatehouse where security is tighter than at many international airports – an electronic walk-through and item-basket X-ray, plus wand and pat-down. A guided walk through a series of security fences leads to a pair of trailers; one processes outgoing tourist mailings, the other is where the phone staff works. The operation includes 30 inmates plus supervisors.

A guided walk through a series of security fences leads to a pair of trailers; one processes outgoing tourist mailings, the other is where the phone staff works. (Photo: John Bordsen)

Prison grounds have inmate-tended lawns and plantings. License plates bearing the state’s “First in Flight” motto are manufactured in one building. But according to Teresa Smith, the call center’s onsite supervisor for the Department of Commerce, her station is the most desirable inmate workplace. “At $1 to $3 per day, it is the best-paying prison job and is in one of the few air-conditioned and carpeted workplaces.“

Those chosen to field calls are screened for education level and people skills. Training in state history and tourism marketing is comprehensive and ongoing. These inmates will work well over their long hauls: All wear purple uniforms.

The program began in the 1980s, when tourism inquiries were handled by state employees or an imperfect computer system. The proposed fix was prison labor. Inmates could learn telemarketing skills, operating costs would be minimal and callers could get desired information from a live person.

The program worked like gangbusters. Interim warden Herachio Haywood gets calls from counterparts in other states about it. ”Some states have tried to launch comparable initiatives,” he says, “but those haven’t worked out.”

The North Carolina model involves unique collaboration between the departments of Commerce, Public Safety and Transportation.

In 2017, the Visitor Call Center answered more than 95,000 calls and fulfilled 769,000 phoned requests for maps and brochures. Four days before Hurricane Florence was scheduled to pummel the Carolina coast, the center expanded its 8-to-8 operating hours for the emergency, handling calls from seaside residents and visitors seeking to flee inland and for others who wanted to cancel or adjust plans and reservations.

Any day, questions that can’t be answered by staffers are referred to state or local agencies most likely to have the requested information. Some calls can be handled in 30 seconds, others take 30 minutes to resolve.

Call and response

The call center itself looks like a low-key telemarketing office, a row of back-to-back computer stations for eight to 10 inmates on one of two shifts. Space for manuals are on shelves above each screen. The walls are covered with iconic North Carolina photos of the Outer Banks, mountain vistas, forests and skyscrapers. The room also holds racks of tourist brochures; at the end of the computer bank is a Kids Corner display of “Flat Stanley” cut-outs and letters from children in places like Salinas, California, or the grade-schoolers in North Pole, Alaska, seeking mailed information.

The phones are incoming-only. The computers are only linked to N.C. Tourism sites and databases, with information updated by in-state tourism groups and agencies. A classroom in the call center double-wide is used for inmate training by the area’s Wake Technical Community College.

Throughout the year, staffers from the state-operated visitor centers come to provide updates. Reps from city, county and regional tourist agencies do the same. An annual highlight for call center workers is the December update by the appreciative northeast North Carolina counties, members of whom always bring a barbecue truck and in turn watch a play that call center inmates stage for them.

Phones are staffed every day except Christmas.

Three inmates were asked to share their insights.

“On a slow day, I might get a dozen calls. Last night, I handled 40 from the Outer Banks,” says Kim. Either way, she says, “I feel like I’m in an office and not in a cage. It’s a real job, and I’m making a difference by helping people.”

She has been working in the call center six years. Her most memorable call: “It was from an elderly lady who said, ‘My husband and I drove down from Ohio and we’re trying to get to Dollywood (in Tennessee), but we’re lost and I don’t know where I am.’ I told her, ‘Just stay on the road and tell me what the next sign is that you see.’ The call took a half hour, but I helped get them where they wanted to go.”

Kim is serving a sentence of about 17 years. If she could go anywhere in North Carolina right now, “I would like to see the Dale Chihuly glass display that’s at the Biltmore (in Asheville). It actually lights up at night.”

And where would the inmates answering tourist calls like to go? “I would like to see the Dale Chihuly glass display that’s at the Biltmore (in Asheville). It actually lights up at night,” says Kim, who works at the call center during her prison sentence. (Photo: Biltmore.com)

Aamber will be working at the call center for two years as of December. “I love to help people, and I get a sense of community with people on the outside,” she says.

It’s also an education. “I’ve learned a lot about the fall leaves. As a kid I didn’t appreciate the fall color and had no clue about the mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway and other places where you can really see it.”

If she could head anywhere, it would be Asheville. “There are buskers, live music and antique shops – a real arts vibe with a Southern twist. I’d also go there for the quiet life, a cabin where I could walk outside and be inspired by the mountains.”

Her sentence ends in 2027. She’s hoping for early release in 4 ½ years.

Janet has worked at the call center for two years, and the open-ended questions are often the hardest to handle. “Those are the ones where the caller might say something like, ‘Give me some dates for when I have a 5-year-old for the weekend. Maybe for a treasure hunt.’”

Some callers, Janet says, over-share – “It’s like taxi cab confessions. We get those a lot of time, like someone saying, ‘My mom is dying in Wilmington. … ‘

“People are not used to talking to a real person, and If I’m able to help in a way, that’s wonderful. It’s giving back to a society we wronged. It’s emotional rehabilitation but also it has a weird irony: I am a prisoner telling people how to travel.”

All in all, “It helps me stay in pace with society. It helps avoid ‘prison brain rot.’ “

There’s a seasonal rhythm to the calls, Janet notes. “In fall, calls are about leaves in Asheville and elsewhere in Western North Carolina. Winter is about renting log cabins and getting away. And right before Christmas, people ask about Santa trains in the mountains. Calls are also localized for out-of-state people returning home, like ‘What will there be to do in Lumberton?’

“Summer might be when we get the highest volume of calls. It’s all about beaches and families scouting university towns in advance of the fall semester.”

Where would she go?

“Onslow County has an island that’s good for shelling – an island with nobody there that has pretty shells. I’d have to count that as a dream place.”

Janet is serving a life sentence.

NASCAR Hall of Fame: With over 73% of motorsports employees working in the Charlotte area, it is no wonder that the city is also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Since its opening on May 11, 2010, the hall usually sees 170,000 visitors, or more, per year. Led by the design of executive architect Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, this 390,000-square-foot building is home not only to the Hall of Fame but also NASCAR Digital Media, NASCAR’s licensing division and their video game licensee Dusenberry Martin Racing. The Hall of Fame itself is home to multiple artifacts, hands-on exhibits, a 278-person state-of-the-art theater and the Hall of Honor. The building features a stainless-steel möbius that wraps around the exterior of the structure and specialized exhibition lighting. Flickr/Nick Ledford

via The Conservative Brief

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