#She tried hard to pay for the school trip even with all her daily duties

[dermy-der-demp]

Damn,we (I) need more headcanons about Mera,she really has a good potential with dinamics and stuff

[atinytokki]

My Way

v. Social Graces 

It became clear very quickly that the problem was not Hongjoong’s stealth skill.

For some reason, he didn’t care to disguise himself from the Song family’s younger son. He seemed to be around his age, and selfishly Hongjoong crafted this fantasy, wishing they could be brothers, that he could become part of this new family and fit right back in to his old home, escaping the Hall and all its pressures.

And then one day the boy yelled at him and told him to leave.

Hongjoong’s objective shifted from investigating the imposters to rescuing Mother’s diary once he’d gone home and had a good cry.

If the boy hated him that much, he wouldn’t have to see him again. As soon as Hongjoong retrieved the book, he’d be out of the newcomer’s hair. 

It had been too much to hope for anyway.

It was technically Aunt Sohee’s fault that Hongjoong was caught in his old bedroom with the diary, mid-escape. She had forced him to practice for even longer than usual during the daily piano lesson, and he hadn’t been able to make off with the book before the boy returned from school.

During the chase that ensued, Hongjoong’s mind went blank. Again, he was conflicted about the stranger. Why was he chasing him all the way back into town? Why did he care enough to read the diary and try to reconcile things?

Hesitantly and against his better judgment, Hongjoong allowed the boy Mingi to befriend him while they sat and looked out at the ocean. There was a simple genuineness in the way he expressed his concern that didn’t annoy Hongjoong the way his cousins did. 

He seemed a little absorbed in his own thoughts, but at least he was unattached to this town and all the memories it trapped. He wouldn’t try to talk about Hongjoong’s parents or plan his future for him.

Spending time with Mingi after that first real conversation was always a chance to live in the moment. It was just them, the cliffs, and the beach. They could talk about whatever they wanted, they could be whatever they wanted.

It was more uncomfortable when Bosung joined them, neither certain how to proceed with their frayed friendship, but Mingi sensed it and stopped arranging picnics for three. 

Playing with Mingi was an escape.

But it was an escape Hongjoong rarely managed to indulge in thanks to the oppressive schedule of Jangwon Hall.

Mining, farming, even teaching the younger boys all while acting the part of a gentleman but never being treated as one behind closed doors.

Hongjoong was actually quite good at it, smiling graciously and showcasing all his charming talents, but it wasn’t anything he particularly enjoyed. His eyes were completely empty, and no one was the wiser.

Day after day, week after week, he cycled between his different selves. He blinked and somehow it was the day before his thirteenth birthday. He’d gone months without his parents, and he’d practically become a different person.

The Jangwon staff didn’t go easy on him. They saw their opportunity and took advantage of his situation, so instead of spending time with Mingi and enjoying the precious moments when he could just be himself, Hongjoong was fulfilling a litany of tasks, the last of which being a trip to the market, shopping for the cook.

The Song family’s stall used to be the fish stall where Hongjoong’s parents sold their catches, but they didn’t know about him and Hongjoong preferred to keep it that way, so he skipped over them quietly and went to a neighbouring food vendor to purchase what he needed.

At least the cook had given him money to buy the ingredients.

“Ah, the youngest son of the youngest son doing what he can to live up to his family name,” the shop owner chuckled on seeing him. “Working odd jobs for spare change?”

“No one pays me for my labour,” Hongjoong snorted as he added a bag of flour to his basket. “It seems it is my duty nonetheless.”

Hongjoong’s feelings toward his relatives were well known in Panhang. It seemed he was the gossip of the town, even after the onset of autumn.

“Well,” the man shrugged as he received and counted the money. “The Navy is offering quite the generous ransom for certain pirates nowadays. You could set yourself up nicely.”

He moved to pass out a flyer with the pirate’s drawing on it, but Hongjoong waved it away. “If mining was hard work, pirate-hunting must be suicide.”

“Very well then,” the owner laughed, handing him his change instead. “Have a relaxing evening.”

Hongjoong dropped his smile the moment he was out of the man’s sight. He still had to meet Cousin Seyong at the stables.

Field inspection was far from relaxing, but it was the final event on the agenda and at the very least Hongjoong could tune everything out and gaze across the land, getting lost in his head among the golden ginkgo trees and following flocks of birds as they journeyed south in pursuit of the warmer breezes.

“Hongjoong? What do you make of the chestnut harvest?”

Seyong was holding out a handful of chestnuts to him in a feeble attempt to include him in the conversation, so Hongjoong took them and popped one into his mouth.

Once he’d given the farmer an approving smile, the adults moved on to the farmhouse to deal with a pay dispute and Hongjoong dropped the rest of the nuts into the bucket.

He wasn’t hungry enough to scavenge someone else’s food today.

“We have a surprise for you tomorrow,” Cousin Seyong told him on the ride back home. Hongjoong looked up from where he played with a few strands of hay in the back of the cart and tried to read his guardian’s face.

“A birthday surprise?”

Seyong nodded and Hongjoong wondered if he should let himself feel excited. It was quite unexpected that any of his relatives at Jangwon would even remember his birthday, much less prepare a gift for the occasion.

“We’ll have a nice dinner with the family—” Regretfully, Hongjoong knew he meant the whole family. “— and we’ll give it to you before cake and tea. It’ll be quite the celebration.”

He was grinning back at him deviously, and Hongjoong was inclined to trust that rare smile, so he nodded and moved up to the front bench to sit next to his cousin.  

They watched the sun set ahead of them and urged on the pony to bring them home, while Hongjoong rested his head on Seyong’s shoulder. It was nice to feel appreciated once in awhile.

Mercifully, he was not required to cook his own birthday food and so Hongjoong carved out some time the next day just before supper and went to the beach, hoping to see Mingi. And indeed, the younger boy came and went, excited and nervous about the new girl at school, begging Hongjoong to teach him to sail.

When their time ran out, Hongjoong left with a gloomy cloud over him, but why should he expect anything else?

It wasn’t as if he’d told Mingi it was his birthday.

While all twenty currently present family members ate the dinner feast and chatted clamorously, Hongjoong pulled out his Mother’s diary and managed to skim the final pages before being tapped on the shoulder by Aunt Ajung and reprimanded for it.

“When you are in company, you must not begin reading to yourself. Don’t you remember your etiquette?” He winced and slipped the book back down into his lap before it was confiscated, and made a mental note to hide it somewhere in case any of his aunts suddenly decided to clean out his things.

“And what else?” She hissed as he began to slouch in his chair petulantly.

“Tidiness in dress and habits,” he sighed. So he had no choice but to sit through everyone else’s conversations for the rest of the hour.

They may be celebrating for him but they certainly weren’t celebrating with him.

Finally, Uncle Ryeowook tapped his spoon against his glass and gave Cousin Seyong the floor.

Hongjoong held his breath.

“It is with great excitement that Yujung and I can announce...” He cleared this throat dramatically and winked in Hongjoong’s direction. “We’re expecting a child!”

The table erupted in congratulations but Hongjoong was frozen to his chair.

After so much pressure to produce an heir, Yujung had finally given in. Hongjoong couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“Surprise!” Seyong tried again, tilting his head in confusion when Hongjoong didn’t seem to react favourably. “You’re getting a new cousin!”

“But...”

But he didn’t want another cousin. What would become of him now?

“Aw, look at him!” Aunt Sohee cooed, pinching his cheek even as he tried to flinch away. “He’s speechless!”

Seyong took it as his cue to say more about the whole ordeal and rested a gentle hand on the shoulder of his wife.

“Yujung dreamed the child was a boy, so we hope you’ll be like brothers to each other. And if her dream turns out to be false, I’m sure you’ll love your new sister nonetheless.”

The rest of the table laughed at his meagre jest and, having never seen Cousin Seyong this happy, Hongjoong was tempted to smile and give them what they clearly wanted— his approval— but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He already had Mingi, and Mingi was all he needed now.

Hongjoong hung his head for shame.

He would never have the guts to tell Mingi he was his whole world.

“Just the news we needed to ease the pain of poor Hohyun and Eunha’s passing,” Aunt Minkyung insisted and Hongjoong shut his ears.

He couldn’t listen to them talk about his parents again. He couldn’t sit here amidst all this sickening ostentation while every word was a poisoned arrow shot into his future before it could go anywhere.

Yujung could see his panic beginning. “Shall we retire for tea and cake?”

Like a blur, the festivities moved to the main parlour and Hongjoong thought he was off the hook for a moment but Aunt Sohee urged him to show off the new piece he was learning and to say no would be disrespectful.

For once, the room fell silent with everyone’s attention on him.

It was so quiet, he could easily pretend he was the only one there, so he let the world fade away and played the first tune that came to him on the piano. There was no need to showcase a practiced song when he could floor them with just one.

He effortlessly bent the keys to his will, and with the flowing cadence of the song, he knew he had every listener enraptured, trapped in the beautiful melody he was crafting.

It echoed around him when the song decrescendoed to a stop. And then the room erupted into awed clapping that grated on his ears.

A tear dripped onto the piano. Hongjoong scrubbed at it with his sleeve, several keys playing underneath his fist, a dissonant cord echoing through the parlour.

Aunt Sohee guided him away and into a chair while cake was served, taking him by the shoulders and embracing him excitedly.

“You must play it at the midwinter ball, Hongjoong, you must. The world will fall in love with you.”

And even though he’d rather not, he nodded along and finished his food, grateful to be excused early.

His mind was a cacophonous mess full of thoughts that rang in his ears.

Seyong and Yujung.

The stipulation was that they were to be his primary caretakers until they had children of their own.

Until.

And Hongjoong simply didn’t believe there was room for both of them. It was hard enough now, being passed off to someone else would be starting the process all over again.

He buried himself in his blankets and cried until the tears ran out and Yujung had come in to rub his back and mutter soothing words.

“I don’t want there to be a baby,” Hongjoong cried, nudging her away. “You said you’d love me and take care of me, and now I’ll have to go back to Uncle Ryeowook and Aunt Minkyung. Is it because I run off to the beach sometimes? Is that why you’re doing this to me?”

Yujung’s eyes lowered to the mug she clutched and she relinquished it to the bedside table. Other than a clock and his mother’s diary, it was empty. So was much of his room. It still didn’t really feel like his.

“You didn’t finish your tea.”

Hongjoong didn’t take the mug. He didn’t even meet her eyes. They were probably guilty and sad and he didn’t feel bad for her. He didn’t.

He wanted to be selfish just this once.

“You know we never wanted to replace your parents,” she finally explained softly. “And our child won’t replace you or your brother.”

Her eyes flitted over to Mother’s diary as she said it. She was referring to Hyunseok, who she must’ve known before he died.

But Hongjoong didn’t know him as anything other than a phantom that haunted his mother, and he didn’t know this new baby at all.

He felt caught in between them, invisible and unwanted and incapable of living up to either of them.

Why did he even want to? He had the beach, he had Mingi...

“Your mother loved you,” Yujung sighed, hesitantly running fingers through his hair as soon as he let her. “I know how much she loved you, we were good friends. I love you too, Hongjoong. And that will never change. I know it’s not what you hoped for, but this baby is not a replacement. Only an addition.”

Her words resounded through Hongjoong’s head with every pound of the pickaxe on stone the next day in the mines.

His mother loved him. She had been terrified for him, anxious he would one day leave her like Hyunseok had. And she and Father had drowned instead, so her horrible fear hadn’t come true.

Needing some air, Hongjoong checked that no one was looking and dropped his pickaxe.

There was a secret path he had made over his many mining days in the last few months, and when no one was looking Hongjoong rolled the rock out of the way and entered the cave.

It faced the sea, and it was so far south that none of the other children played in it. It was the perfect place to hide Mother’s diary, where his aunts couldn’t steal it and he wouldn’t be tempted to dwell on it.

And while he wandered through the next couple of weeks, it stayed at the back of his mind. He would check on it from time to time, and one day he decided to write his own entry in it, when playing the piano wasn’t enough to channel his emotions.

As he returned the book to its place that afternoon, something caught his eye. It looked like a gun hidden behind another rock a few feet away and Hongjoong couldn’t help but pick it up and inspect it.

The weapon was heavy but sleek and exciting, and even though he had no idea what he was doing, something sparked inside as he pretended to shoot the wall with it.

A startled yell came from the mouth of the cave and Hongjoong turned to see the stranger from before staring at him. He waved the gun in greeting.

“This yours?”

“Um— no,” the man scoffed. “But I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.”

“Why do you have a gun?” Hongjoong stood and began moving closer. It had been hidden here in the cave, clearly it belonged to the man.

“Why are you touching it?” The stranger shot back.

“Why are you hiding in a cave?” Hongjoong kept pushing, ignoring the man’s questions.

“Why did you come looking?”

“I didn’t come looking,” Hongjoong finally answered, rolling his eyes. “I told you, I grew up on this beach.” 

There was a brief pause before Hongjoong sighed and motioned to the diary with the hand holding the gun. “I hid something here a few weeks ago.”

“Stop— stop swinging that around, you’ll hurt yourself!”

“You sound like my Aunt Minkyung,” Hongjoong spat.

“I take it that’s not a good thing,” the man muttered under his breath.

Hongjoong continued to fiddle with the weapon, accidentally flicking off the safety and smirking at the way the man panicked.

“Hey! Hey, that’s enough,” the stranger snapped, growing in volume. “Listen, boy—”

“Hongjoong.”

“Listen, Hongjoong. I can see that you’ve got a rebellious streak, but I’m going to need you to hand it over.”

“Not until you tell me who you are.”

He wanted to know what business this man had wandering the coastline and fishing a bleeding boy out of the water.

Instead of launching into his life story, the tidal stranger pulled a paper out of his bag.

It was the wanted poster for a notorious pirate, and his face was illustrated on it.

The Dread Pirate Eden.

Hongjoong paled and the weapon slipped through his fingers. This was already more than he bargained for.

“You... You’re a-a—”

“A pirate,” Eden cut him off. “Yes, I am.”

He said it so nonchalantly.

Not only was he a pirate, he was a pirate that dragged Hongjoong out of the shallows and taken him to the lighthouse keeper.

“So why did you save me,” he asked in a near whisper. “That morning after the storm when I washed up with a head wound? You could’ve let me bleed to death.”

In fact, for awhile, Hongjoong had wished he did.

Eden sighed and turned to look up the beach where the incident had taken place. He didn’t seem very dreadful just now.

“... I don’t know.”

So he didn’t deny it.

He had done a very human thing for one who was supposed to be a filthy reprobate.

Careful to keep his distance, Hongjoong handed over the gun. The shop vendor’s offer was far from his mind now that he knew a real pirate.

Of course, the man snatched it and turned to walk away, probably for the last time.

“You were holding it wrong anyway,” Eden threw over his shoulder, unable to resist the temptation.

That sounded like a challenge, and Hongjoong didn’t know why, but he felt the need to accept it.

He sprinted in front of the man on a whim and blocked his path, pointing at the weapon where it was holstered. “Teach me!”

Eden narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“I promise I won’t tell!” Hongjoong pleaded, suddenly looking younger than he had at the beginning of the conversation.

Eden scoffed and took a step back. “You have no use for a weapon.”

“That’s not true! What if there’s an emergency?” Hongjoong skipped alongside him while Eden resumed walking. “What if there’s a scarier pirate who shows up here one day?”

Appealing to his newly discovered humanity was the best trick Hongjoong had up his sleeve.

“What, you don’t think I’m scary?” Eden scoffed, trying to move on. He should honestly just stop talking to the boy, but again he couldn’t resist snapping back.

“No, not really.” Hongjoong laughed, but without any trace of a lie in his eyes.

That brought Eden to a stop.

“Well, I’ve killed people, so you ought to be frightened,” he said sternly, hoping to shake the child off.

“Please,” Hongjoong begged, grabbing his arm and pulling it. “Please teach me how to use it. I’ll be careful.”

Eden should have pushed the boy away and removed himself. He should have vowed never to see him again.

But he looked between Hongjoong and the gun and had to admit he was right. 

It may come in handy. And if he taught him all the proper safety measures...

“Are you sure you feel safe about all this?” Eden asked, not breaking face for even a moment.

“Of course!” Hongjoong insisted. “This is the safest I could possibly be, you’re teaching me self-defense.”

“I’ve blown up towns, what’s to stop me from killing you? I mean, are you really willing to trust me that easily?” Eden pulled away and crossed his arms. It was a question Hongjoong already seemed to have the answer for.

“You wouldn’t hurt me, you saved my life,” he reminded him calmly. “I can see it in your eyes and I’ve been told I’m a pretty good judge of character. Besides, think of it this way. I could reveal you as a pirate and get you executed. But I won’t. And you could kill me, an innocent bystander, for discovering your secret. But you won’t. So now we have leverage over each other, don’t we?”

Eden stared at him a moment longer. 

He was really being unravelled by a thirteen year old.

“You are one troublesome hothead, I hope you know that.”

A slow smile spread on the boy’s face. For all intents and purposes, that was a yes. He finally had something to look forward to. And— dare he say it— a new brother he could rely on.

“Same time and place tomorrow.”

... 

A/N: Just by way of reminder, from this point on the chapters go hand in hand with Mingi’s spinoff, The Windy Road, because they happen more or less simultaneously and act as a prequel to the entire series. You don’t need to read both to understand either of them, but it certainly helps. Drop likes and comments if you’d like and have a pleasant evening :)

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[tierneysinclair]

“Nobody’s ever been arrested for a murder; they have only ever been arrested for not planning it properly.” ― Terry Hayes, I Am Pilgrim

Basic Information

Full name: Tierney Sinclair Pronunciation: Tier-Knee Sin-Claire Nickname(s): Not if you like to live. Tierney doesn’t do nicknames. Tierney is the only name he’ll answer to. Birthdate:  September 8, 1979 Age: 40 Zodiac: Virgo Gender: Cis-Male Pronouns: he/him Romantic Orientation: Straight Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Nationality: American Ethnicity: White Current Location: Miami, Florida Living Conditions: Tierney lives in a small apartment above his new garage. It’s nothing fancy and that’s the way he likes it. Well worn couches, outdated kitchen appliances, wear worn towels. He doesn’t live in the slums but owning only new things has never been a part of Tierney’s lifestyle.

Background

Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada Hometown: N/A Social Class: Presents as lower-middle class but has enough money in the bank to be upper class if he really wanted to be. But he never will. Educational Achievements: None. Tierney never went to school. By the time he was released for the testing facility it was too late and too hard to get someone like him caught up. Sporadically home schooled by staff and other people Tierney isn’t the sort of person you want on your trivia team. He struggles with complex math, history, and all other assorted ‘average school knowledge’. Father: Unknown Mother: Unknown Sibling(s): Unknown Birth Order: N/A Pets: None Previous Relationships: Nothing lasts longer than a night. Do one night stands count? Arrests: A lot. By the time Tierney aged out of the foster program he’d been arrested more times than he had fingers and toes. Nothing major, minor mischief and petty theft. It wasn’t until he was picked up by the Syndicate that he started doing bigger crimes. And by then he had the support network to not get arrested. Prison Time: Surprisingly, not a lot. Accumulated, no more than a few months. It pays to have friends in low places.

Occupation & Income

Current Occupation: Hitman for the Blackburn Syndicate & Freelance Motorcycle Restorer Dream Occupation: None. Tierney has a limited view of both his life and the world. The idea of having a ‘dream’ anything is a foreign concept to him. Past Job(s): He was boy once at a greasy diner once. When they found out he’d lied about who he was a week later he was fired. Chicago wasn’t kind to kids with rap sheets and level five rankings. Falling in with the Syndicate has been the only ‘real’ job he’s ever had. Spending Habits: Tierney is a very frugal person. He buys almost everything second hand or used and very rarely spends it on anything new. The only expensive things he owns are his bikes and a flat screen TV. Tierney’s not ashamed to admit most of his money gets spent on bike parts anyways. Debt: Never. Credit cards mean government ability to track him. And being in debt t other people is a one way trip to being killed over it at a later date. Tierney repays any debts he can’t avoid as quickly as possible, but he tends to avoid accruing debts as much as possible. Most Valuable Possession: Some people might say it would be his bikes, and from a purely financial stand point it most definitely is, but according to Tierney it’s the Blackburn Syndicate, hands down.

Skills & Abilities

Physical Strength: Above Average | Average | Below Average

Tierney works out twice a day, every day, no exceptions. He needs to be in top physical condition for every job and now it’s just become a part of his daily habits. He’s supremely strong in his own right but mix his powers in with it and a supremely dedicated force of will he could probably lift a car above his head.

Speed: Above Average | Average | Below Average

Tierney isn’t the fastest hitman on the market but he’s perfectly capable of darting in and out of a situation with speed. It’s part of the job to act quickly and what he lacks in sheer speed he knows he more than makes up for elsewhere.

Intelligence: Above Average | Average | Below Average

Tierney never went to school. What schooling he did get the few years he had between testing and aging out was sporadic at best. He’s not ashamed of his faults but he doesn’t go around talking about them much either. Besides, being able to recite the presidents holds no bearing on his life choices so...what’s it matter? Tierney knows how to do his job exceptionally well. What Tierney doesn’t know ranges from complex math to the English Oxford Comma.

Accuracy: Above Average | Average | Below Average

Tierney’s powers require a certain degree of needed accuracy coupled with the fact he’s exceptionally talented with a range of deadly weapons. He prides himself in hitting exactly what he’s aiming at every time. Sure, he misses, but that usually because his target makes an unexpected move before he can account for it.

Agility: Above Average | Average | Below Average

He’s getting older, he won’t lie about that, and that’s starting to show. Tierney is less likely to look like a stunt double these days. No somersaults or daring roof top leaps happen these days. Besides, it’s more dramatic to sweep in like an avenging angel and sweep out just as quickly. Agility is good for running away. But you only run away when you get caught. And Tierney never gets caught.

Stamina: Above Average | Average | Below Average

Tierney’s powers are tied directly to his stamina. It’s taken him years and years of practice to build up the stamina he has now. He can use his powers for hours before he starts to feel winded and hours more before he gets tired. (Unless he goes for the super taxing activities like lifting buildings or psionic explosions.) It’s perhaps his greatest strength, his ability to keep going when others weaker than him might stop.

Teamwork: Ciara Sawyer is his go-to partner. Hell, most would call her his only partner. He doesn’t like working with other people and tries very hard not to do it. He will when he must but he’ll be begrudging about it the whole time. Talents/Hobbies: Motorcycles, Lockpicking, Murder Shortcomings: His sense of justice, the inability to kill someone who isn’t involved with what he’s doing. It’s a bonus he can erase minds when he wants to. Anyone who knows Tierney from work and outside of work knows he has a severe weak spot for his gang. Touch a hair on their heads and he tends to lose focus. Languages Spoken: English Drive?: Yes. A MV Agusta Brutale. Jump-Start a Car?: Yes Change a Flat Tire?: All the time. Ride a Bicycle?: No way. In hell. Swim?: Not because he likes to. Play an Instrument?: Nope Play Chess?: Yes Braid Hair?: No Tie a Tie?: Yes. Of course! Pick a Lock?: Oh hell yeah. With his mind. Cook?: Yes, but not well.

Physical Appearance & Characteristics

Faceclaim: Joel Kinnaman Eye Color: Brownish/Greenish Hair Color: Ashy Blonde Hair Type/Style/Length: Average/Well Kept/Short Glasses/Contacts?: None Dominant Hand: Right Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 187lbs Build: Athletic Exercise Habits: Two session, morning and evening. Every day, two hours. With intermittent practice in between with others. Skin tone: Fair Tattoos: Left shoulder reaching to just below his elbow, spiders out to cover some of his chest and back. Got it to cover up an old gunshot scar. A faded string of numbers on his right arm (080879-58-05). Piercings: None Marks/Scars: Tierney is covered in scars. From battle wounds to childhood scrapes, to remnants of his life as a test mutant. Most can be found on his chest and back but part of why he wears pants and sleeves is to hide the others. Don’t want his identifying marks to get out and doesn’t like explaining to others what happened to him in order to get that many scars. Clothing Style: Dark colors, long pants, long sleeves, deep pockets. Usually a coat when the weather allows. The more places to hide the things he needs to work the better. But he cleans up well, he has plenty of suits in his closet too. Usually second hand stuff, the only time he buys something fancy is when he’s on a job. Jewelry: A set of dog tags labeling him a level five mutant. Nothing more. Allergies: None Diet: Average. More fast food than probably healthy. Physical Ailments: Stiff knees. Jumped off a few too many building in his younger years. Spent too many hours kneeling behind walls after that. They don’t bother him much but anyone with eyes can see they’re stiff. His left shoulder is also stiff, he favors it. Perhaps on of his worst gun shot injuries to date. It haunts him. And aches when the weather changes.

Psychology

MBTI Type: ISTJ-A (The Logistician)

ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility. They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the ISTJ. As do other Introverted Thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. Effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without considerable energy loss. ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." They seem to perform at highest efficiency when employing a step-by-step approach.

Enneagram Type: Type 6 (The Skeptic)

The committed, security-oriented type. Sixes are reliable, hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy. Excellent "troubleshooters," they foresee problems and foster cooperation, but can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious—running on stress while complaining about it. They can be cautious and indecisive, but also reactive, defiant and rebellious. They typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion. At their Best: internally stable and self-reliant, courageously championing themselves and others.

Moral Alignment: Lawful Neutral

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

Temperament: Choleric

Cholerics are extroverted, quick-thinking, active, practical, strong-willed, and easily annoyed. They are self-confident, self-sufficient, and very independent minded. They are brief, direct, to the point, and firm when communicating with others.

Element: Earth & Fire Emotional Stability: Stable Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert Obsession(s): Motorcycles. Tierney doesn’t know a lot outside of how to kill someone and get away with it. But he knows practically everything there is to know about motorcycles. How they work, how the break, how to fix them. Everything. Some would call him obsessed but Tierney calls it laser focused. Compulsion(s): Protecting his family. It’s what’s on his mind in every situation. All of his actions are dictated by this fact. Even for decisions that aren’t going to impact the Syndicate are measured against this need. It’s never occurred to him that it might, in fact, be a problem. It’s just natural. Phobia(s): Mutant testing facilities. It’s irrational, especially now, to be afraid of getting taken back to the white walled hellscape he grew up in. But he is. He scrubs his name clean where ever he goes and actively avoids anyone in a lab coat who starts asking questions. He even takes down fliers asking for mutants to ‘willingly’ submit to testing. He doesn’t talk about those years for damn good reasons. Addiction(s): None Drug Use: None Alcohol Use: Often Prone to Violence?: Always Prone to Crying?: No Believe in Love at First Sight?: No

Mannerisms

Accent: Depends. A bit of a hodgepodge of Boston and Midwestern. Tends to adapt to the common accent after a while when staying in a place for a prolonged period of time. Speech Quirks: None Hobbies: Motorcycle Repair, Motorcycle Rebuilding Habits: Spinning things in the air when he’s concentrating. Leg bouncing. Ordering more food than he can eat so he has left overs in the fridge. Nervous Ticks: Rubbing his nose and spinning objects in the air at high rates of speed. Drives/Motivations: Protecting his family. Fears: Losing his family, someone dying on him, being taken back in for testing. Sense of Humour?: Dry. Like the desert. Do They Curse Often?: Like. All the time.

Favorites

Animal: Bear Beverage: Heineken Beer and/or Black Coffee Book: None. Tierney hates reading. Color: Deep Green Food: Ciara’s Flower: None Gem: Emeralds Mode of Transportation: Motorcycles Scent: Fresh brewed coffee, rain on the horizon, motorcycle oil, pizza grease on your fingers Sport: Football and Hockey Weather: Rain Vacation Destination: None

Attitudes

Greatest Dream: End mutant testing. Tierney sees nothing productive in the act and goes out of his way to end it whenever and wherever he can. Mutants are people. Not lab rats to be poked at or taken away from their families. Greatest Fear: Losing one of his family and being taken back for mutant testing. Most at Ease When: Elbow deep in one of his bikes with of his closest friends lounging on the couch across the way. Least as Ease When: He doesn’t know what’s going on around him. When his plans has fallen through and he’s no longer in control of what’s happening around him. Worst Possible Thing That Could Happen: Alma being murdered. Biggest Achievement: Taking out the president of the company that held him as a test subject when he was a child. Biggest Regret: He has exactly Eleven. Eleven deaths that weren’t supposed to happen but did.

[whatarubberchicken]

The Dress

@sinfulpapillon‘s lovely job on my commission gave me the inspiration I needed to finally finish this little piece that’s been floating around in my head.

The Dress

It started off as a joke. Messing around at Nino’s one day (his father had finally allowed him to hang out with his friends for once). He and Nino had been playing video games, while the girls gave each other makeovers in Nino’s bedroom. They’d come out, looking as hot as always, and Alya had laughingly suggested that the boys get a makeover too.

“C’mon, Adrien! You’re a model! You’re supposed to make everything look good!”

And so, laughing, he’d agreed. Laughing, he’d allowed Alya to do his hair and makeup while Marinette picked out his outfit. Laughing, he’d put it on, and let them fuss over the little details. All of them had howled with laughter when he’d strutted across the living room like a catwalk, because he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to OWN this. He even blew the girls a few kisses, (and one very special wink to Nino, who pretended to fan himself).

But he wasn’t laughing when he went back into the bedroom to change. When he finally got a good look at himself in the mirror.

He didn’t recognize himself.

In the mirror was a confident, carefree girl, gazing back at him with light and laughter still in her eyes.

The hair and the eyeliner… he could take. It was hardly the first time a makeup artist had gone to town on him, after all.

But the dress….

It was light and airy. Carefree, but still coy. Shy and sweet and fun—

He tore his eyes away from the mirror, forcing himself to remember how to breathe. Because, right now… he glanced back up at his reflection—right now, he didn’t look like his father’s son. That was no Agreste heir staring back at him. His father would have his head for even suggesting an outfit like this. That person wasn’t someone with duties, or responsibilities, or a thousand things written on a daily schedule that absolutely must be kept—

Adrien gave a short gasp and quickly covered his mouth before a whimper could escape.

Because, oh God, he wanted…. He wanted so desperately to be that person in the mirror.

He quickly took off the dress and changed back into his normal clothing. He didn’t dare look at the mirror again until after he’d washed his face. Twice.

Then, and only then, did he chance another glance. And then he felt both relief, and disappointment. Adrien Agreste was staring back at him in the mirror. Poised, and guarded, and two steps away from losing everything he cared about every freaking day and he knew it—and, damn, if it wasn’t hard keeping up appearances for so freaking long and—

Breathe, Adrien reminded himself, glancing down at the dress now laying haphazardly on his best friend’s bed.

He took another deep breath, trying to get his emotions back under control. Trying to distance himself, in a way, from that one, shining moment—

He shook his head and stood up straight, squaring his shoulders. He was an Agreste. Adrien Agreste. He had duties. Responsibilities. Dressing up had been fun for a few moments, but it could never happen again. He couldn’t allow it.

He spun around to go join his friends in the living room, not daring to look back at the dress.

……

A few days later, he was ready to rip his own hair out (despite all the objections that would cause). He couldn’t stop thinking about The Dress. He couldn’t stop thinking about his reflection in the mirror, and how badly he wanted to be that person again.

A few casual questions had revealed it was Marinette’s dress. But how to get her to let him borrow—NO! Adrien, no!! he scolded himself, shaking his head to clear it. That is not allowed! You have an image to maintain!!

“Adrien, did you not understand the homework??” he heard Miss Bustier call.

“Oh, uh, sorry, Miss Bustier,” he replied, flushing bright red, as he realized he’d shaken his head in the middle of her lecture. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”

He forced himself to pay attention as she repeated herself.

This was getting worse. He couldn’t even concentrate in class.

……

He still had mixed feelings when he approached Marinette the next day. What if she laughed at him?! What if she—God forbid—told other people about his deviant ideas?!?!

WHAT IF IT GOT BACK TO HIS FATHER?!?!?

He froze and very nearly turned around to run out of the school.

But, no. This was Marinette. She was sweet. She was kind. She’d never do anything to hurt him. He had to believe in her!

“Um, Marinette?” he asked shyly. To his surprise, she jumped almost a foot in the air, spun around and turned beet red. Oops. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Wha--?? Oh, Adrien!! Ha ha! You didn’t—you didn’t startle me!” Marinette stammered, laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of her neck. “You’re fine! So fine!—I mean, I’m fine!! I mean, what’s up??”

“Well, you know… um,” he cleared his throat nervously. “You know that dress I tried on before?”

“Yeah?”

Keep it cool, Adrien. Keep it harmless. A joke. A prank. Nothing major.

“Well, errr… I was wondering… if I could, maybe… try it on again?” he asked quietly. Marinette blinked at him in surprise and he quickly added, “I just, I thought I could try a few more poses with it, you know? For my modelling career! I’ve never worn anything like that before—and my father will probably never let me—but sometimes the photographers want odd poses, and I thought maybe—”

“Sure,” Marinette said.

Adrien froze, mid-tirade. “Really??” he asked. She wasn’t going to question him? Or ask for explanations??

“Why not?” she shrugged easily. “It’s just hanging there in my room. That shade of green turned out to not be my color at all; makes me look jaundiced. But it really brought out your eyes before! Do you want to go try it on after school?”

“Yes!” The exclamation burst out of him before Adrien could stop it. He coughed a bit to hide his excitement. “I mean, yeah, sure,” he agreed, trying to look casual. “That’ll work.”

“Ok! See you after school!”

Adrien waved goodbye (completely missing the fact that Marinette ran into a pole while she was walking away from him). He was excited. Giddy. He was going to put The Dress on again, right after school—

CRAP! Right after school?!

He dove for his phone and texted Nathalie, worried that he might have a photoshoot he’d forgotten about. To his relief, she assured him that he didn’t.

Then, the next few minutes were spent drowning in guilt as he made up a story about doing a group project with Marinette after school. Nathalie, completely oblivious, agreed easily.

It’s for a good cause, Adrien reminded himself, as he got ready for his next class. Once I get this out of my system, I’ll be fine. I’ll be able to concentrate again. I won’t have to think about The Dress ever again. It’ll be done.

After this, everything goes back to the way it was.

………

After school, Adrien stepped out of the building and felt his stomach drop when Marinette waved to him from where she was talking with Alya.

Oh noooo, he’d forgotten to ask her to keep it all a secret!! What if she told Alya?? What if Alya decided to post pics all over the Ladyblog?!?!

“Hey, Adrien,” Alya called slyly as he drew nearer. Adrien gulped, feeling a trickle of sweat run down the back of his neck. “Marinette says you two have a ‘special project’ you’re gonna work on together... ~Alone.~”

“Al-ya,” Marinette grumbled, pushing her bestie towards Nino. “Stop it! Don’t tease him about it! I’ll send you pics later!”

“Okay!” Alya sang happily, giving them a wink before taking Nino’s hand and practically skipping away. “I’ll see you later, kitty!!”

Adrien stared after them, confused.

“Sorry about that,” Marinette sighed beside him. “She saw us talking together, and I let it slip that you were coming over. So, now she thinks you’re going to be modelling some Chat Noir merchandise that I’ve made.”

Now I’m uncomfortable on a number of levels, he thought wildly, staring at her.

“Don’t worry!” she assured him. “It’s just a scarf and a hat and maybe the jacket—we’ll see if it fits. Then we can say you left immediately afterwards.” She gave him a wink.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief, and they headed for the bakery.

“So… you have… Chat Noir merchandise?” he couldn’t help asking.

Marinette giggled. “I have a lot of things I make in my spare time. But superhero stuff is the best way to get Alya sidetracked whenever she starts sniffing around, and you looked uncomfortable when you asked me earlier, so I assumed you didn’t want me to tell anyone else about what we’re really doing.”

The ball of tension in Adrien’s stomach uncoiled a bit. Marinette really was perceptive sometimes. “Thanks.”

She promptly tripped on her own feet. “No problem,” she laughed, grinning awkwardly.

……………

They got the pictures with the Chat Noir stuff done first. Both he and Marinette posed with different items, and Adrien could feel himself loosening up as they laughed together about some of their funnier poses. It was still a bit awkward, what with this being his alter-ego and all, but he had to admit, he felt a bit… touched.

Safer.

Marinette truly cared about him. Both in the mask and out of it. So, when she sent the last picture to Alya and brought out The Dress with a big smile on her face, he was relaxed enough to smile back.

Finally.

They both giggled a little as she shooed him into the changing area. Adrien took a deep, calming breath before he stepped out again. Marinette approached him, still smiling, and fixed a few last-minute draping issues. Then, she gestured behind him towards the mirror.

“It really does look good on you.”

Adrien turned, and this time, he couldn’t contain his squeal of glee when he saw his reflection. There she was! A bit less done-up than last time, but there was the girl he wanted to be!!

He froze as he fully-digested that last thought.

He wanted….

He wanted to be….

He looked away from the mirror, shame washing over him.

“Adrien?” he could hear Marinette ask. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said quietly.

“Are you sure?” she asked, sounding uneasy. “Do you want me to do your makeup and hair again?”

“No thanks.”

I…

I can’t.

I can’t be this person I want to be.

No matter how much I might want it.

It’s not allowed. I’m not allowed.

I have duties. Responsibilities. A life. And I might not want it, but it’s the one I’ve got.

No use in pretending.

No use in dreaming.

I’ll never truly be free.

“Adrien? Adrien, why are you crying? You’re beautiful!” Marinette’s voice broke through his thoughts. He felt her hand on his shoulder. Supportive. Caring.

“I just… I just…” He couldn’t stop the hot tears streaming down his face. God, he must look awful right now! And he was getting salt-water on her clothes!! Furiously, he wiped the tears away. “I can’t—I can’t! I want to… but I can’t!!”

“Can’t what?”

Poor Marinette. She sounded so confused. Here he was, having a mental breakdown in her room, and he could even tell her why!! God, get it together, Adrien!

“I CAN’T BE WHO I WANNA BE!!” he cried, before he could stop himself. He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. “I’m sorry,” he choked out, curling in on himself again. “I shouldn’t have—”

I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t have come here at all!

I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE HAVING THESE THOUGHTS!!

Most of all, I shouldn’t have burdened you with all this crap!

“I’m sorry,” was all he managed to say.

“Oh, Adrien, don’t be sorry,” Marinette said softly, drawing him into a hug. He froze, shocked at her tenderness. “You’re my friend. Of course I wanna help you!”

His body trembled. He wanted to trust her. He wanted to tell her all about these past few days. How hard it had been, suddenly so focused on how uncomfortable he was in his own skin, suddenly seeing girls in a new light—not just, ‘oh, she looks hot,’ but ‘oh man, I bet I would rock that outfit if I just changed this, this, and this…’

…and wondering what kind of person that made him.

He didn’t even know who he was anymore.

“Please don’t tell my father,” he mumbled.

“I promise,” Marinette giggled. “If I ever have a conversation with your dad, I’m going to talk his ear off about fashion, and fashion alone, until he runs away.”

That won’t take long, Adrien thought wryly.

“Now,” she said gently, touching his arm, “do you wanna talk about it?”

Sooo badly. But….

“I don’t know what to say,” he choked out. “I don’t know—I don’t know anything anymore. I’m so confused….”

“Okay, let’s take this one step at a time,” Marinette said patiently, leading him over to sit on her chaise lounge with her. “You said you couldn’t be who you wanted to be. So…,” she paused for a bit, fishing for the right words. “Do you want to change who you are completely? Or do you just want to wear dresses from time to time?”

“I don’t know,” Adrien whispered. “I don’t know.”

God, his head was spinning a hundred miles an hour. If he wasn’t himself… if he wasn’t Adrien Agreste: model, heir, dutiful son… who was he? Who could he be?

“All right then,” Marinette said, nodding. “Why don’t we take little steps? Just dresses for now. In secret. Or, did you want to go outside in it?”

I would love to go outside in it, Adrien thought, his imagination running wild. I would love to laugh and play with you guys, my friends, while feeling freer than I do as Chat Noir. Even Chat has a reputation he has to maintain. And duties to all of Paris. But, this new girl… who I want to become….

“It doesn’t… seem wrong to you?” he rasped, looking over at Marinette. “That I’m… I’m weird?”

“You’re not weird.”

“I’m a guy,” Adrien deadpanned. “Who wants to dress like a girl.” Marinette studied him silently. And, seeing himself in her eyes, Adrien finally spoke the words he’d been dreading.

“I’m a freak.”

“You’re not a freak,” Marinette said immediately.

“I am a freak!” he insisted. “Normal guys don’t want to dress up like girls!”

“Oh, what, so you’re going to be all macho now? ‘Grr, grr, I’m the man of the house, I demand meat and potatoes and I’m gonna grow my muscles out and be mean to everyone to prove how manly I am!!’” Marinette said, deepening her voice as she gave a very bad impersonation. Adrien chuckled a bit.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Different people like different things,” she shrugged in return. “And you and I both know how easily fashion can change. So, you like dresses. So what? It’s not like it’s hurting anybody.”

“My father will probably see it as a personal attack,” Adrien muttered.

“Your father’s self-importance issues aside, is anyone really getting hurt?” Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re still gonna be the you inside, right? Just, maybe, a little less closed-off on the outside?”

Adrien nodded weakly. “That’s what I want,” he said breathlessly.

“Well, then, baby steps,” Marinette decided, nodding and standing up. “We’ll start with dresses and work our way up as you feel more comfortable. Do you wanna tell Alya and Nino? Alya can do a killer smokey-eye.” She winked at him.

“Maybe,” he said, still feeling uneasy. “Maybe… later?”

“Sure. We’ll take this at your pace,” she agreed. She started pacing in front of him, already thinking up plans. “When we actually go out for the first time, you’re probably gonna want a wig, so we can be sure nobody notices you…but that’s not until later. Until then, would you like me to play with your hair?” she asked.

Adrien blushed at the thought of her brushing and fixing his hair. It sounded really nice.

“If… if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Oh, Adrien,” she sighed. He looked up to see her already holding a brush and giving him the biggest shit-eating grin ever. “I thought you’d never ask.”

End.

[ticcytx]

I love your Diakko headcannons they were so cute!!!! >.

dfghjkgj SOBS I do, of course I do, they are costantly in my brain

(I had to reread what I’ve written back then, too many ideas/timelines)

General headcanons:

- Diana of course keeps patroling the school during nights, it’s her duty and she takes it very seriously. And of course most of the times she finds Akko where she’s not supposed to be. Diana is always thorned between report her properly to the teachers (like she should do), or close an eye and let her slip, since they are friends now. At the end she opts to keep her role, threatening Akko to report her while brining her back to her room, but she never actually expose her breakings to the teachers. Sometimes, if Akko is struggling with something that is magic related during these nights, she ends helping her, just to be sure that 1: she won’t do some huge disaster; 2: to prevent some other patrol to catch her.

- Akko is not really a romantic girl, she doesn’t daydream about her love life and she doesn’t sigh while looking at pictures of her love interest. But she is very... passionate and touchy if she gets into the mood. Of course at the beggining it’s all awkward and silly, but as soon as she gets used to it, she turns into a happy puppy heager of love, and kind of mischevious too. Diana, on the other hand, acts properly and tries her best to be a gentle milady, but akko’s enthusiasm is hard to control and she ends to be an embarassed mess in no time.

- Said so, in public Diana tend to be more cold and distant than she wants to be, and Akko is unsure if let her be, or try to break the unsaid rules of no public display of affection, even at the cost to embarass the heir a bit. After all “rules are made to be broken” is Akko’s way of life

- After Akko INSISTENT plea, they end sharing their whole Chariot cards collections: Find out that Diana had more cards hidden somewhere, but of course her collection wasn’t complete as Akko’s, And despite Diana’s complains, Akko requested a proper cards exchange, giving Diana her double cards and an official Chariot card collection book holder.Bonus ship: Akko gives her her most precious card too, in exchange of Diana’s promo card she gave her during ep 23. At response that this way Akko’s collection will not be completed, Akko replies “what’s the problem, it’s complete when we are together, right?”. And Diana can only blush, stutter a bit and nod in silent.

- they play the game too and Diana totally knocks Akko out.

And now for some grow up witches post school daily life:

- After Luna Nova, Diana transfers to London, where she can keep her magic and medical studies better. Daryl wanted to give her a nice manor in the city, due her status and all, but Diana refused, moving instead in a “small” (still fancy) apartment near the centre. After hours of fighting, Diana coulnd’t help but accept at LEAST a couple of servants to keep the house clean and cook for her. (She would send them home more than once, not wanting to be babysitted in everything like a spoiled rich girl). She starts also to volunteer in near hospitals, wanting to learn on the place and use her healing magic for something good. And sometimes Akko helps her too, not with healing or medical stuff, but improvise small shows for the kids in pediatrics.

- Akko instead would try her best to make it as a performer. She would keep in touch with Chariot, and her fame as “the girl who destroyed the missile” helps her a bit to start her career. Still wanting to shine like Chariot did in the past, she knows that spectacular flashy perfect magic is not her thing, so she focus more on what she is good at: make people laugh. Her mayor target are kids, but also adults appreciare her silly way to entertain. And since Akko starts to perform, even in small local theatres, Diana never misses a show.

- the house for them is a touchy topic: Diana is heathy enough to buy alone whatever house she wants to, but Akko is firmly convinced that if she cannot pay at least half of it, it’s not going to work. So even if Diana has her own apartment in London (not to mention Wedinburgh Cavendish Manor and who knows how many estates around), they still live in separate houses (but of course they always end spending the night with each other in one house or another). Akko’s incomings at the beginning give her only cheap options, and totally refuses to accept any financial help from her girlfriend. She is very stubborn about this and Diana got tired to fight all over the same topics.

- Akko takes as personal challange to make sure Diana eats new exotic food she never tried. And this includes also all the street food AND fast food. She loves to see Diana’s half disgusted/half curious expressions whenever she tries something unusual like fries with milkshake. And at the complains that all that trash food is not going to be healthy, Akko replies that they are gonna to run/workout to make up for it. And this earns some extra exasperated sighs from Diana.

- When they travel, Diana is always sure to add into their plannings some history of magic trip too: monuments, sacred places, old cities, important museums... Akko is not really enthusiatic at first, but she loves when Diana explain her things and facts, so she plays along, actually enjoying the “school trips”. And Diana really insists to do it not to show off her knowledge, but to help Akko to feel more integrated with the magical world, since she grew up far from all that.

- I feel like their marriage, if they decide to do it, is nothing big or full of guests and parties and all, but totally not planned and rushed a bit too. I don’t really have the whole scenary in my mind, but I can imagine Akko doing something totally unexpected and silly that leads to it, and Diana is just too incredulous and bewitched to do something to stop it. Then of course they will have to attend a proper cerimony to make it official for everyone else too, but the whole “secret marriage” between them is really tender and sweet.

- Diana totally does the “miss cavendish” kisses all over Akko when they married (even if they probably keep each other last name) and you can’t tell me otherwise. (see: Pride and Prejudice)

ok that’s a lot on the plate...!! I’m sorry for the broken english, I’m tired and I don’t want to call for help to fix this mess. I just hope you could understand.

About the grow up part, I’m bulding a bit of a story around it, but I can’t never decide to sit down and draw it once fo all... pray for my inspiration to kick in for good one of these days o(-

[ao3bronte]

if i had a wish (i’d wish for more of this)

Also on AO3

3 < 4 > 5 

For centuries, people have traveled from all over the world to visit the temples of the Oracle for their prophecy, an inside scoop into their future. Any question could be answered, any problem could be fixed unless…well, sometimes prophecies were simply too dangerous to share.

A Miraculous Ladybug Soulmate AU.

"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

Ayn Rand

le 17 juillet 2015

Nathalie wears many hats, one of which is that of a travel agent. For years, Monsieur has only trusted her to make his various travel arrangements, being the paranoid man that he is; he claims that he's had poor experiences with other travel professionals sharing his location with paparazzi and the like in the past but Nathalie is fairly sure he just uses that excuse so he doesn't have to pay another person for something she's perfectly capable of doing herself.

Evidently, this is how Nathalie finds herself painstakingly planning an itinerary for a two week trip to Tibet. She would have spat her coffee all over her tablet at the very concept had she not been in on the scheme from the very beginning; Monsieur deigning to visit a third world nation? Preposterous. Except the revelations that had occured since procuring the peacock brooch four years ago had been...

Well, miraculous.

Since that's what they were called of course. With Mme. Dubreil’s help, they had managed to track the peacock brooch across history as it passed from hand to hand and continent to continent time and time again. From Locusta to Marie Antoinette, it was both rumoured and proven that this seemingly magical brooch had been far more important to the history of the world than any of them could have imagined at the start.

Their research had inevitably led them to a second brooch, this one far more subtle in its design in comparison to the bright blues and greens of the first. Nathalie still remembers the day Monsieur had come home with it in his possession, his normally stoic facial expression wracked with an excitement she can hardly even remember seeing on the man before that day. He'd called her into his office immediately and shut the doors behind them as he recounted his exchange with an elderly Chinese woman with unusual animation. Nathalie had been in charge of the wire transfer from one of his hidden offshore accounts and although she had the bank account number, she never did get the woman’s name.

From there, Mme. Dubreil, Monsieur and herself had been meeting regularly to determine the history of the purple brooch, which proved to be far more difficult than the peacock one due it its sophisticated, if slightly plain appearance. However, once the connection between the brooch and the butterfly motif had been made (and finding that out had been an adventure all its own), tracing its history became far less impossible and equally as fascinating. They'd even managed to associate it with both François Leclerc du Tremblay and Machiavelli, a fact that Monsieur found particularly fascinating; he'd become so smitten with the purple brooch that he’d taken to wearing it with his cravat on a daily basis and had even used its design as a source of inspiration for his 2013 spring line.

Eventually one thing had led to another. Monsieur called her in on her day off in the middle of the night back in the summer of 2014 to reveal what he had discovered, which turned out to change just about everything they thought was possible. Coming upon a PDF scan of an ancient scroll, Monsieur had learned that there weren't just two magical brooches at stake, but several magical pieces of jewellery that ranged from hair combs to earrings. They never did figure out the exact amount, but that particular piece of the puzzle wasn't what interested him.

As it turned out, not only did the scroll confirm what Gabriel had already figured out but it also revealed an even more intriguing aspect of their ever growing puzzle. The scroll, written in Sumerian and richly illustrated with seven ancient Chinese symbols, revealed a plethora of new information on the subject, including what could happen if a person wore multiple Miraculous on their person at the same time. Unfortunately, the butterfly and the peacock weren't compatible as matching pairs as they were both brooches; the style of the jewellery had to be different in order for the bearer to yield the rewards of the match.

Gabriel revealed all of this to Nathalie that night, extolling the details of the scroll with fervour. It turned out one of the matching pairs could grant the bearer the ultimate wish, something that had turned his hobby interest into a full blown obsession. In the scroll, he'd learned that not only did these magical pieces of jewellery continue to exist to this day, but the whereabouts of the majority of them could be found in a temple in Tibet, the location of which was described on the scroll in great detail. In his spare time, Gabriel had carved out the location through satellite images and insisted that Nathalie begin to organise a trip to Tibet to locate the rest of the Miraculous jewels immediately.

Opening another tab on her browser, Nathalie confirms the appointment with their Tibetan guide and copies the appropriate booking number into the spreadsheet she’d been using to keep track of all of their reservations. It would take them roughly four days to reach the temple by foot and another four to return, so Nathalie had to plan hotel stays, car rentals and the like accordingly so as to make their trip as comfortable as possible. Once she’s triple checked everything, she forwards the itinerary to the French embassy so they can monitor his whereabouts at all times and make sure that his safety is of the utmost importance throughout the trip.

At some indeterminate point, Monsieur had brought his wife in on his plans. Madame seemed particularly keen with the idea of being granted the ultimate wish, the result of which would most certainly lead to the long awaited addition to their family. In all honesty, Nathalie hasn’t seen Madame so excited in years, her sallow cheeks and pale skin from spending so much time in her bedroom suddenly blushing pink with the resurgence of hope that throbbed between her and her husband.

Adrien, as usual, was left in the dark.

Not literally of course, but figuratively. His parents would be gone during his 12th birthday, something neither of them had considered when giving Nathalie the dates for their trip. More often than not, it was Nathalie who took the responsibility to remind Monsieur of Adrien’s birthday on his calendar, but even then he tended to miss it as celebrations and holidays were ranked lowest priority on the program’s software. For the past few years, Nathalie had personally taken Adrien to various patisseries around town to pick out his own birthday treats on the sly and he would happily snack on them in the back of the Mercedes before returning home. It was their little secret, one that wasn’t shared with anyone else save Adrien’s seemingly mute bodyguard who still hadn’t spoken a word to her since being hired shortly before Adrien’s birth.

Nathalie calls the first class bureau of Air China to confirm their seats and submit Monsieur’s tailored list of demands during the nearly twenty hour flight, all of which is taken into account after a few well placed comments in regards to the sheer magnitude of influence their travellers possess in the eastern hemisphere. Gabriel’s right hand design aide was stationed at their Shanghai headquarters and he hired many budding fashion students from Donghua and Fudan, two of China’s top fashion schools. In an odd twist of whimsy, Gabriel even had Adrien studying Mandarin in case his modelling duties ever took him outside the country, something that Nathalie foresaw happening should the Agreste’s actually find success in Tibet. After all, with a new baby in the family, Monsieur would have to keep Adrien occupied and out of his hair somehow.

It bothers Nathalie sometimes, the fact that Adrien is often considered an afterthought to his father and mother. She knows her place of course, but it still niggles at the back of her mind that something about this is so so wrong.

...if only she’d told Gabriel the truth about Adrien’s prophecy.

It’s been a weight on her shoulders for nearly twelve years now, her transgression. She’s laid in bed and stared up at her ceiling a million times and wondered how Monsieur would have treated him if she had told him what actually happened, that the Pythia had explained that he had a prophecy but it was simply too dangerous to share. Would Monsieur have treated him like a son? Was Monsieur even capable of acting like a father? She’d only ever seen him consider Adrien with disdain and occasionally mild interest and Adrien learned quickly that there was no pleasing his father, no matter how hard he’d tried. Goodness knows she’d spent countless hours consoling him over that particular life lesson.

She wonders vaguely if and when the inbalance she’s caused with her omission will come back to haunt her. She wonders if it already has and her punishment is to continue to be the pseudo-surrogate mother for a boy with a dubious future until whatever danger lies ahead of him ultimately consumes him.

Something tells her she’ll soon find out.

~

le 7 septembre 2015

Adrien is in the renowned Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie with a credit card and a list of his favourite sweets when Nathalie receives a phone call from the French Embassy in Tibet. Her hands shake as the man on the other line relays the news, relays that the backpacks of both Monsieur and Madame and their guide have been found abandoned on a riverbank high up in the mountains with their passports still inside. He assures her that they’ve sent a search party out to try and find them and that all available resources are being assigned to the mission. Nathalie demands that he keeps her updated, hangs up the phone, and waits for Adrien’s return.

“This place is awesome,” Adrien extols breathlessly, plopping onto the backseat with three boxes in his lap, “I bought a vanilla and a raspberry Saint-Honoré for me and I bought a chocolate millefeuille for Mme. Doré because I know she likes them and I bought these for you Nathalie! There’s orange blossom and raspberry and pistachio ones...Trip Advisor says they have the best macarons in all of Paris and I would know, I looked them up on the way here to see if they were better than the Ladurée ones because I know you like them the best but I thought maybe you would like these better and…”

Nathalie blinks a few times and takes the proffered pink box, setting it down across her knees. She listens as Adrien prattles on, oblivious to her inner turmoil as she opens the box and takes a vanilla macaron between her numb fingers, lifting it to her lips. It smells heavenly and tastes even more so, the delicate flavour and texture of the meringue melting on her tongue like snowflakes on a ski hill in the Alps and it hits her like a hurricane all at once, the significance of the past few minutes, her situation now.

“...and literally, they had the biggest ispahan I’ve ever seen on their counter and they don’t just raspberry ones either, they had…”

Nathalie hears the engine roar to life as their driver accelerates by the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, her Gothic silhouette casting a heavy shadow across the road they’re driving down. Vaguely, she feels the gentle breezes of the air conditioning brush against her cheeks and forehead, smells the sugar on her fingers and the t-shirt of a boy who spent a little too much time running about in the sunshine earlier that morning. She takes another bite and tries to pay attention, tries to focus on something, anything but the sudden rush of uncertainty in her gut, writhing and thrashing against the bitter panic that’s threatening to take over. She takes a few steadying breaths and stares down at the box of macarons instead, counting them over and over again like a mantra until the blood stops rushing in her ears.

“...and the lady there was really nice and helped me choose all the flavours because I didn’t really know which ones to get you but she said that these ones are the most popular so I…”

Nathalie nods occasionally as Adrien continues to babble on about pastries and begins to make a mental checklist of all the things she’ll have to do when she gets back to the estate. She’ll have to call the lawyer to make sure Monsieur’s affairs are in order, after which she’ll have to remind him and his firm of the gag order in regards to their media involvement. Then she’ll have to call an emergency staff meeting and explain the situation, cut all forms of communication and boot up the wifi jammer so Adrien can’t access the internet. Nathalie figures she’ll have at least twenty four hours before the story leaks and shows up on social media so she’ll have to block his data as well, if only for a week or two. By that point, he’ll be wondering why his parents haven’t returned and Nathalie will be forced to explain…

...oh.

It dawns on Nathalie at that moment, the realisation hitting her skin like a dousing of freezing cold water. It’s the reason Monsieur had renounced his faith in the Oracle and refused to let his wife travel further than the border for modelling contracts except when he was with her…

Nathalie shoves another macaron in her mouth and opens the messaging app on her iPad, jabbing the ALL STAFF button with a manicured finger. The alert goes out immediately as the Mercedes pulls into the driveway and rolls to a stop by the door.

“Nathalie?”

His voice breaks her out of her reverie and she jerks her head around, staring wide eyed at the son of her potentially deceased boss, his lips and cheeks dusted with icing sugar.

“Yes Adrien?”

“Are you alright?” he asks, tipping his head to the left. He looks down at the half eaten box of macarons in her lap, “You haven’t said a word since you got back in the car...do you not like the pastries I got you?”

Nathalie shudders, if only slightly, “They’re delicious Adrien. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” he grins, his eyes lighting up immediately, “I’m going to go bring these to the kitchen staff to put in the fridge okay? Bye!”

He’s out of the car before she knows it, skipping up the stairs and through the front door of his lavish home with a wave and a smile at the staff member manning the front door and Nathalie can’t help but feel that crushing weight against her chest again, heavy and exhausting. How on earth is she going to be able manage all this? What would happen to her, her job, her life if Gabriel Agreste was gone?

Heaving a heavy sigh, Nathalie lets her head fall back against the headrest with a thunk.

~

“Mobile phones in the basket please,” Nathalie orders as the staff all file into the ballroom, settling themselves in a vague semi circle around Nathalie. Once all of the devices have been gathered up into the bread basket and set on the table in front of her, Nathalie laces her fingers together and begins.

“I received word from the French embassy in Tibet roughly an hour ago. Monsieur and Madame Agreste are missing.”

There’s a pregnant pause before a raucous hum of voices bubbles up from the twenty odd people standing in front of her, all showing different expressions of shock and concern. Nathalie gives them a few moments to react before raising her hand to regain their attention, “The Tibetan government has called in reinforcements and has sent out a large search party to look for them. The member I spoke to at the embassy assured me that it’s quite likely that Monsieur’s guide simply wandered off their initial path for weather related reasons.”

Nathalie waits for the information to sink in before continuing, “As you know, it is quite likely that this story will hit international media sooner rather than later. To prepare, I will be reinstalling the jammer on the estate’s Wifi and temporarily disengaging the televisions that are connected to the cable. You will need to sign into the hidden Wifi signal again in order to use your devices,” Nathalie squares her shoulders and faces the crowd, “It is imperative that Adrien does not hear anything about their temporary disappearance until their whereabouts are confirmed. Any questions?”

One of the maids raises her hand, “When will we know more?”

“The embassy will be calling me every four hours with updates,” Nathalie replies, “If I receive anything worth noting, I will call another staff meeting.”

“And what about Adrien?” Mme. Doré asks, the live-in tutor jittering nervously, “Surely he’ll get suspicious if we don’t let him go outside the estate for fencing practice.”

“We will need to come up with a list of excuses then,” Nathalie taps her fingernails against the side of her iPad, “I’ll leave it to you to draft a list so our stories all correspond if he decides to go looking for answers.”

“But Mme. Sancoeur...” Mme. Doré averts her eyes and wrings her hands together, “That’s lying.”

Nathalie takes a deep breath, “To protect Adrien. If we’re doing it for the right reasons, the balance will remain in our favour.”

There’s another heavy murmur from the crowd. Nathalie knows that her opinion isn’t exactly the most popular one but she knows her staff; if Adrien is involved, they’ll do whatever it takes to keep him as happy and sheltered as possible.

“We should have known this would happen…”

“...I knew the prophecy would come true!”

“That’s what Monsieur gets for rejecting the Oracle…”

“...don’t say such a thing, there are lives at stake!”

“And what about Madame? What will happen to Adrien if…”

“The Oracle did say that she would die, this is just the balance at work…”

“...and Adrien, he’ll be heartbroken! What will we…”

“ ENOUGH! ”

Nathalie pinches the bridge of her nose, “As a staff, we have a job to do and that hasn’t changed. Your directives are the same until you’re told otherwise. And as for all of you, keep your gossip to yourself in case Adrien can hear it. If he learns anything about what is happening in Tibet from any of you, you can guarantee that your position at the Agreste estate will be up for debate. Shielding him from the media will be challenging, but I expect you all to be up to the task. Do I make myself clear?”

Nathalie scans her audience with a shrewd expression before continuing, “Good. Now, remember your duties and get back to work.”

~

le 12 septembre 2015

Bzzz-bzzz-bzzz

Nathalie jerks awake and blindly rummages for the iPhone on her nightstand, wrenching the mobile free from its charger.

“Nathalie Sancoeur speaking.”

“We found him.”

[imagine-loki]

Taming the rage

TITLE: Taming the Rage

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 44 AUTHOR: lokilover9

Original Imagine: Imagine Odin tells Loki that he has to marry and it’s you. You’ve hated him for years. Every time he sees you in the palace he smirks knowing all the duties you’ll have to perform as his princess, making you cringe. He isn’t exactly fond of you either, but can’t help looking forward to the challenge.

RATING: Teen

The ladies quite enjoyed their first day together, but by the time Thor returned, Erika could see how tired Jane was. She’d also done her best to tire Junior out knowing of the night’s events, but had another question for Thor.

Jane was reading to Junior so Erika offered to help him in the kitchen. “You told me earlier of your plan to keep Jane asleep, but what about the baby?”

“He likes yams too.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, I researched it. I’ll need you to help her bathe and get Junior into bed. It will give me some time to situate Edgar. I should be back before she falls asleep.”

“Should be? What do I tell her if you’re not?”

“She never comes back downstairs after he goes to bed as she turns in right after. If you need to, tell her I went to vacuum the pool and she’ll never know any different.”

As it turned out, Thor didn’t make it back in time. However, all else went according to plan and once a very sleepy and apologetic Jane turned in, Erika was ready.

Few thought anything of Thor and Erika walking amidst the palace together and the moment they came to a certain door, Thor lead her through it. They made their way through long dark corridors with walls made of stone, lit only by a torch he’d obtained when entering.

“Where are we?”

“Some leftover servant entrances from long ago.” Said Thor. “Their old quarters no longer exist, but some of these corridors still do.”

“Lucky for them.” She commented.

They exited at an obscure part of the palace Erika had never seen before into almost complete darkness, once Thor blew out the torch.

Waiting outside, were two cloaks with hoods that they each put on, then Thor lead her by the hand for a short walk into the woods. After hopping on a horse and going for a brief ride, Erika saw a small coach up ahead.

“He’s waiting for you inside. I’ll remain here and watch for any possible passerbys.”

She nodded and went to the door. Upon knocking, Edgar opened and helped her in.

As she sat across from him, he smiled. “I’m so glad you’ve come and I thank you for doing so.”

She smiled back. “May I ask why you wish to speak with ‘me’ and why the secrecy?”

“Those are valid questions and as I’ve much to tell you, let me start with the secrecy first. You and Thor will understand more the reason for it in the future, but it’s you that must keep the most secret and for longer I’m afraid.”

“Edgar, I’m very confused.”

“I know and you still may be once you leave this carriage. However, Thor has informed me you have given him your word you will never reveal to any others that this meeting took place, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Good. He’s told me he trusts you completely Erika and I need to know I can too.”

“You can.”

“I don’t only mean about this meeting. You see, Thor knows I’ve asked to speak with you privately so even he won’t know what we’re discussing.”

Erika couldn’t have been more bewildered and stared at him. “Edgar, I said this to Thor earlier and now I must say it to you. You’re frightening me.”

He reached out and took her hands. “Oh child, please forgive me. I didn’t call you here to frighten you, only to inform you. However, some things are better left unsaid before others is all. Thor must return quickly, so allow me to begin.”

A short while later, Erika left the carriage wiping tears from her cheeks before re approaching Thor.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Yes, we should go before you chance either of them waking any longer and Edgar must be returned before he’s noticed missing.”

Thor walked her back to the regular palace corridor and she dismissed him. “I know my way from here. Hurry, go!” She made her way back to his chambers, relieved to find Jane and Junior still asleep.

Thor returned shortly after. “Why didn’t you go to bed?”

“I thought if Junior woke, I’d take care of him so Jane wouldn’t know you were gone.”

“Good thinking.”

A silence fell between them before she spoke again. “I am tired though, so goodnight.”

“Erika, I’d only like to ask you one thing if I may?”

She turned to him with saddened eyes.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“No Erika.” Thor replied. “Thank you.”

Once in bed, everything she’d learned was swirling around in her head and she couldn’t help but cry. Now she understood why Loki acted as he did when when they were young and it had saddened her to learn of it. She only hoped what she had learned, would someday help them both in the future.

Erika also needed to find the right time to approach Loki about Beatrice and hoped he would understand the reasoning behind her request. After all, despite the horrible crime she’d almost attempted, Erikas empathic abilities clearly revealed to her the shame, immense amount of remorse and grave sadness that ate at the girl on a daily basis.

Edgar politely reminded her that this was because Beatrice had been a victim of Ander too and was now truly alone in the world after being ostracized by her family. Maybe Erika could show the girl bit of compassion once her trial was done in return for Beatrice giving someone she loved a message? Especially considering the amount of sadness he himself felt emanating from her cell on a daily basis.

It also surprised Erika that throughout his centuries in Frigga’s service, he’d never revealed his biggest secret to the Queen, yet had to her. It’s how he was able to feel what Beatrice was experiencing from the other side of the dungeons because as it turns out, Edgar is Empath too. **************** Another day began for Loki and so far, his trip was going well.

“This is a nice spot. I can see why your Father favored it.” Said Jarles.

“It is. There’s mostly only small game to be caught nearby, but the fishing is amazing. Especially for such a shallow river.”

“How deep would you estimate it to be?” Asked Buldur.

“No more than ten meters in this area, but it runs deeper and wider further west. We always came to this spot as Father believed it safer for us boys to swim at.”

“Wise choice.” Said Jarles. “Very secluded too.”

“Yes.” Said Loki. “A good place for a King and his sons to stay well hidden while vacationing. Along with armed guards of course.”

Jarles chuckled. “He wouldn’t have settled for less.”

“Did you ever take Erika and her sisters camping?”

“Asta and I took the older girls once, but they were too young and didn’t enjoy it much. After she passed, I wasn’t about to willingly set myself up for disaster.”

Loki looked at him amused. “Disaster?”

“Son, I’ve seen less chaos in battles than what it took to get those four off to school every morning. I wasn’t about to take my chances with them alone in the woods.”

Loki burst into laughter.

“Laugh as you may, but look out if one of them pissed Erika off. All hell broke loose then!”

Now all three were laughing.

“I kid you not!” Said Jarles. “I’d be missing one and find them rolled up so snugly in their blanket, they couldn’t move a finger let alone a limb. She once flipped one of her older sister mattresses off their bed and pinned her behind it. It’s a damn good thing your Mother was such close friends with Asta, or I might have been fired years ago for being late so often had she not understood my plight.”

Still chuckling, Loki looked him in the eyes. “Are you trying to give me a heads up? I’m afraid I’ve experienced her wrath already.”

“I know.” Said Jarles. Then he placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “And don’t get me wrong because I love my daughter, but Valhalla help you if you create another like her.”

The expression on Loki’s face at the sudden thought of that, had both men laughing. “Yes.” He replied. “Valhalla help me indeed.”

**************

That same day back at the palace, Erika was enjoying playing with Junior, but Jane noticed she was unusually quiet. “Alright lady, spill it.”

“Hmm?”

“Erika, I know you’ve something weighing heavily on your mind. You’re way too quiet. Is something wrong?”

Erika stared at her. “Nothing really. I never sleep well in a strange bed so I’m a little tired and I’m just wondering how Loki and my father are getting on.”

“If that bed isn’t right for you, feel free to try the other guests rooms until you find one that suits you.”

Erika smiled. “No honest, it’s good. I’m sure I’ll sleep fine tonight.”

Jane hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re here and Auntie or not, you will be paid as I’ve mentioned before.”

“No Jane.”

“Yes Erika. It’s a lot of work caring for a child plus cooking and cleaning and the laundry is endless. If Ruby was still here, we’d be paying her.”

“I know. How are she and her son doing?”

“Very well. I’m hoping to be able to visit them soon once Thor relaxes more.”

“When do you think she’ll come back?”

“She isn’t sure exactly, but her son will be coming with her. I told her she shouldn’t bother to worry of having another mind him if she’s already a nanny. It made no sense to me and with you here too and a second baby of our own on the way, I’ll need a another nanny anyway. Now getting back to paying you…..”

Erika tried protesting again, but Jane wouldn’t have it. “I know you love us, but you need to think of this as a regular job. Wouldn’t it be nice to make your own money after how hard you studied in College? Besides, a psychology degree may come in handier than you think the older Junior gets.”

Erika laughed. “I swear if he wasn’t so blond, I’d honestly question if he might be Lokis.”

Jane gave her a look. “Excuse me? Don’t even go there girlfriend.”

[ahamortenusa2015]

                                                Take on This!

                                     ----A Journey Like No Other----

                 First off, welcome back!

I know it’s been forever and a day since I last did an installment of Take on This, and I apologize.  My life went into overdrive over the last year-ish—some really great things took an incredible amount of my time; some not-so-great-things threw a monkey wrench into daily life.  To the not-so-great things, I say: I dealt with you, conquered you, and came out a stronger person on the other end.  Also, I learned that I didn’t have time for drama in my life and acted accordingly. It was liberating.

But, enough about that, because…

…a-ha is FINALLY COMING TO THE UNITED STATES!  

I’ll just be over here for a moment while that sinks in.

//whistles while she waits//

Let’s get in the time machine, shall we?  Our story begins in 2014, with two ladies meeting each other over a mutual love of Morten Harket and his music.  Becoming fast friends, they soon found themselves planning a trip to Norway to see him in concert—a dream come true.  Those two gals were none other than Debbie and Clara.  One incredible chance-of-a-lifetime meeting later, they had expressed their desire—right to the man himself—to see him on American shores. Upon returning home, they decided to take it one step further: why not try and get Morten *and* a-ha over here? Now, they knew a-ha had gracefully left us in 2010, but there was always hope in the back of their minds, just as we all had hope.  So, they set up a Facebook page (this very one!) and started a petition (the one we have almost 1,500 names on now!), and decided to see where it took them.

People began to take notice.  Visitors from the page signed the petition and shared with friends.  People enjoyed the photos of a-ha and Morten they posted on Facebook.  One of those people was me, LA.  What started as me probably making a sassy comment about Morten’s choice of pants in that one photo we all know and love turned into something much more.

In March 2015, I got a message from Clara telling me that she and Debbie had talked and they both had a “gut feeling” that I was a pretty cool gal.  (They’re right, BTW //tooting my own horn//). They asked me to join the fold and maybe write some blog pieces for fun, and I immediately took the reins on our social media front.  We set up Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and updated the Facebook page, and started the Take on This! blog, all with one purpose: get attention to our petition (and entertain you all in the process!)

And guess what?  People noticed even more.  The number of signatures began to rise.  More guests liked our Facebook page, and began following us on the other platforms. So, we set up a website, and lo and behold, people visited there, too!  By the end of March 2015, Cast in Steel had been announced, and we wanted nothing more than to have them come to our shores and play for all their adorning fans here that couldn’t make it to Europe for shows.  Tour dates were announced…and they didn’t include us.  So guess what?  We threw ourselves into “work our asses off” mode.  Late nights, early mornings, neglecting of family duties—all on our own time, no pay from anyone, mind you—to get our (and your) voices heard.  Facing adversity from certain sources only made us a stronger team, and more determined bring attention to our campaign.  Because when it’s all said and done, all a-ha fans deserve the opportunity to see the guys in concert, no matter what certain people think.

And on we pressed.  We contacted the Original MTV VJ’s on Twitter: Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Nina Blackwood.  All were eager to help our grass-roots effort get some attention, as they remembered those Norwegian angels and how much influence they had on pop culture.  Mark and Nina both gave us ON AIR shout outs on Sirius XM, and all four tweeted about us on their own accounts.  Nina in particular has been an incredible help, as she is always willing to post our links, talk about us and Debbie on-air and give a-ha a little love during her airtime.  

And guess what?  The petition numbers kept rising.  

By this time it was June 2015, and we weren’t even close to being done.  We were sitting on the precipice of 500 signatures, no small feat.  But we wanted more.   We wanted a-ha and their management to know that the fans here in the USA wanted them back. Time was ticking by, and we knew the USA was running out of time to secure tour dates.  So we worked our tails off even more, sometimes resorting to asking random people if they liked a-ha, all in order to reach that magic number. (I may or may not have been guilty of asking the service technician at my car dealership to sign during an oil change. He signed—and I regret nothing.)

June 16, 2015.  “500 Day.”

The number glared at us, we screeched and cried happy tears, then…

…immediately started planning on how we were going to get to 1,000.

We did giveaways for certain number milestones, we circulated flyers around our hometowns, we contacted radio stations nationwide, deejays and anyone we could think of in the entertainment business who might listen.  To quote a previous entry of Take on This: Perfect strangers?  No problem, A-ha is great icebreaker.  Family vacation?  Pssshhh.  Hawaii loves A-ha too, right? Local restaurants?  State Fairs?  Kid’s music lessons?  Check, check and double check.

And guess what?  THE NUMBERS KEPT RISING.  We imposed a deadline on ourselves to get to that next magic number—August 31st. Before we knew it, August was upon us. And August 9th brought 1,000 names.  In just over five months, we had gone from 300-ish signatures to over a thousand.  Within a day, hundreds of dollars our own money went towards postage for sending hard copies of the petition to Norway.  We knew it needed to be there RIGHT NOW if the USA were to have any chance of getting tour dates.  We ensured it was in the right hands, no matter how hard or expensive it was.  How’s that for working our butts off day and night?

And still we pressed on.  1,000 wasn’t enough.  Time was of the essence, because we knew the window to achieve gigs for the USA was quickly closing.  So again, we kicked into overdrive.  Working through the autumn, we blasted the information about our petition far and wide, hoping against hope that it would garner even more attention.  

December 8, 2015.

The day our hearts collectively broke.  I remember I woke up like any other day, wrangled my son out of bed on a below-zero morning to get to school on time, and checked my phone while making oatmeal. The message I never wanted to see greeted me.  

They weren’t coming.  All tour dates had been announced.

I’ll admit, I cried.  Hard.  I tried to keep my composure and got my dude into school like a trooper.  When I returned to my car, I called Debbie and sobbed—and swore.  Profusely.  (Poor Debbie, did she get an earful from that parking lot…) Everything we had worked for. Everything we had HOPED for.  For nothing.

We took a week or so to wallow in our misery, and also decide what to do next. Yes, they weren’t coming—THIS TIME. You see, that hope, that drive, that made us strive to succeed the first time, was still there.  Maybe even burning hotter than before.

Debbie and Clara at least had Norwegian concerts to look forward to, and I vicariously lived through them during their whirlwind tour of that beautiful Scandinavian country to see a-ha for the very first time in May 2016.  And all the while, even though the end of the tour had arrived by then and there was no concrete evidence that a-ha would come back again, we kept on.  Armed with flyers, cards and a few more hard copies of our petition, they put feet to the ground in Norway and got back to business in-between shows.

Because we’re nothing if not persistent.

The petition made it into the hands of an executive from Norsk Hydro who knew the band, and promised to share it with them.  She was thrilled to hear that there was such a fan base in the USA and was eager to tell the guys.  When the gals were fortunate enough to talk to each of the lads, they always made sure to tell them how much they were wanted here, and that all our hard work was for the fans that have never had the chance to see them on our shores.  We crossed our collective fingers.  Debbie and Clara returned to the United States with a renewed love of Norway and a smattering of cautious optimism that our efforts would somehow still not be in vain.

We kept on updating our little corner of a-ha land, all the while working for the Norwegian band KELNER doing promo in the USA.  We were busy, that’s for sure.  But all the while, we always had that glimmer of hope that a-ha would return yet again.  We kept the petition open and continued to get support, with the numbers continuing to rise.  

2017 brought new hope—and renewed vigor in us—in the form of the acoustic tour announcement.  Once again, we flew into action, blasted our petition with louder voices than we had ever had before.  Nina Blackwood, once again, supported us by talking about our campaign on-air and posting our links on her Facebook page.  She even gave a shout-out to Debbie before she left for the acoustic shows last month.  

This time, we would not be left out.  The sting of disappointment was still raw from last time, the wound still aching. And then again, when all the acoustic gigs were announced—the USA was not part of the deal.

Dammit.

But, we persisted.  Because we could just feel it.  Maybe it was the way the guys seemed to have so much fun during the Cast in Steel tour, or the announcement of the acoustic album and DVD for autumn.  We knew there had to be something more.

The MTV Unplugged concerts at Giske were a success.  There had been a huge contingent of American fans there, and it had to have been noticed.  Debbie and Clara screamed it from the rooftops again, to anyone who would listen, that we desperately wanted to be included in another tour—if it ever came to fruition.  They came home, and we waited.  Again.

July 7, 2017

One article, posted on a very reputable site, said the words we were all waiting to hear for so very, very long.

A-ha was finally coming back to the USA.

A world tour announcement, including America.

I cried again.  But this time, it was most definitely happy tears.

All our work, all our sacrifices—had finally paid off.  Sacrifices, you ask?  Yes.  Our families sometimes got the shaft when we were hard at work making the collective voice of the USA fans be heard.  We spent a lot, and I mean A LOT, of our time campaigning for everyone to get their fair change.  No one paid us.  We did what we did because, for every a-ha fan that has seen them in concert, there are ten who haven’t.  Those of us who live in the USA have had a mere sliver of the opportunities others have been given to see them over the past thirty-plus years.  We worked so very hard—and we did it for the fans.

So, here’s to the upcoming Summer 2018 World Tour.

We finally did it guys, we're so thankful that everyone appreciated our hard work, and here's to seeing a-ha on our shores!

Team AHaMortenUSA thanks each and every one of you for your support and encouragement over these last three years.  And don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere just because there are finally tour announcements!  We’re here to stay!

 Keep up with us on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahaUSA2015/

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/AHaMortenUS2015

Tumblr: https://ahamortenusa2015.tumblr.com/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/scoundrel_days/

Website: https://www.ahamortenharketusa.com/

Petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/134/144/390/a-ha-morten-harket-usa-2015/

[jumunkrp-blog]

RESIDENCY DIRECTORY UPDATING...

LOADING RESIDENT INFORMATION:  ❝ — [ YOO JINSEOK ], also known as [ WANG-JA ] is currently 22 YEARS OLD, a YOO and PUREBLOOD, and currently is a CONSULTANT TO THE YOO BUSINESS GROUP. Please click here for more information on this resident.

ACCESSING DATA...

—  LOADED PERSONALITY:

his eyes are always rimmed with dark circles.

it’s thesis season, he says, but the way his hands are covered with the scars of tell-tale wand rebellion (gumiho cores are incredibly stubborn) would suggest otherwise. this is why his hands are always kept in his pockets, one set of his lean and long fingers fiddling with a golden galleon he once took home from his family’s short trip to London. fiddling, because he is struggling hard to focus on the conversation, an impossibility as his brain wanders instead to his slowly delaying schedule, the looming threat of unbalanced balance sheets and mismatched inventory lists gaining volume in his conscious.

yoo jinseok. open a lifestyle magazine on a page discussing siblings in power and his name will be plastered in bold. he’ll give a bashful smile if asked about it, but only to hide the heavy bitterness that seeps from never getting what he thinks is rightfully his. on good days, he’d probably slip in a half-hearted comment about how his brother, his dear eldest brother, inspires him to achieve more in his life, but the glint in his eyes motions that admiration is not the cause of this drive. he does the same when the days are bad—the glimmer in his hues just turn a bit more sinister.

he’s been described as many things by many words that almost always fail to encapsulate the whole of his manners. he’s been tagged as an heir, an elite, a socialite, a genius—a rising star of his own generation with the privilege, the power, the looks, and the smarts needed to conquer. to public eyes and the press’ lenses, he is calm and collected—the closest thing a person (ha!) could ever get to achieving the dictionary definition of perfect.

but he isn’t. far from it. he’s aware but he’ll deny it to his grave. hubris.

the pages do not write how hot-headed or abrasive  he can be. only a few can bear witness to his obsessive need for more and more power, and even fewer can read his strikingly utilitarian way of dealing with people. for him, there are only business associates and family members. it takes one hand to count the number of people he genuinely cares for and his most genuine smile can only be seen in the presence of magical creatures.

yoo jinseok. the press calls him the perfect millennial heir, almost unlikely for his generation. mothers all wish their sons would grow up to be like him. his best friend, however, thinks he’s nothing but an asshole with a heart.

—  LOADED BACKGROUND:

i.

he is born in the middle of a solar eclipse.

his mother screams and writhes in the posh delivery room, and the moon occults the sun the moment he exits the womb. his father thinks this is a good omen, a sign of a near future where his youngest son will conquer. his brother, then twelve years old, waits outside the delivery room, his expression unreadable at the news of a baby brother. it is unease, perhaps, that clouds his usually bright hues, but it could also just be the gloom from the missing sun.

they name him jinseok—a precious stone to be set in the crown of family glory.

he is barely hours old when the heavy burden of being an elite is passed onto his conscious. “he will show us great things,” his father murmurs, out of ear shot from his eldest son poring over ancient books. his gaze is steely, yet brimming with immense expectation. his mother’s lips form a solemn line as he is cradled upon her bosom—it is unclear if she approves of her husband’s sinister tone. “he is a boy born to vanquish.”

ii.

a fallen cherry stem grows into full bloom the moment he takes it into his little hands. he is two and he is overflowing with magic, and everything he touches springs into life. they call him a genius—a pureblooded wizard with abilities too advanced, too powerful for his age. his father notes this with much approval, and jinseok grins whenever the man gives his hair an affectionate pat and endearing ruffle after he sings of his achievements.

he is young and his heart is yet to be hardened.

the little boy longs for nothing more than to make his family proud.  

he is four when he finds a dancing partner with the water, the rippling tides and the congealed droplets swirling around his tiny form as his little feet splish and splash on the shallow end of the pond. he is six when the lights from their banquet’s overhead chandelier goes out once he sneezes, only to return to its majestic illumination when he bursts into an airy giggle. he is nine when he befriends a wild phoenix, injured from a hasty trip from the markets, and he finds solace in the downy softness of her glorious feathers when she allows him to nap with her on the field.

his father never fails to remind him of the omen that heralds his birth, and the boy grows confident to where his fate is placed. like the moon that covered the sun as he came wailing into the open, the man expects the darling boy to overtake a looming empire that has been in power for too long. jinseok nods, taking in every praise, every syllable.

he has yet to know of the murk that swims beneath all the glitter.

iii.

he is twelve and he is tall for his age, all long limbs and modelesque proportions that have earned him the cover of many teens’ magazines for the young and the rich and the famous. his brown locks match the deep pools of his sleepy hues, his eyes bordered with lashes so long it could make any girl jealous. he is twelve and his magic still overflows, but it is far more controlled upon receipt of his wand during his last birthday. his hands are covered with scars he has charmed into disappearing (ah, the gumiho, ever stubborn), but he hides the pair in the pockets of his oversized cardigan, as he stands, ever-attentive, in front of the family’s stern patriarch.

“honor is to be earned,” his father tells him. the room is dark save for the grandiose chandelier that hangs overhead, the same one that he once  made glow with a simple giggle. but that was ages ago, and simple tricks do not anymore entertain the man. “our family has worked and toiled for century upon century just to get us to where we stand.”

jinseok nods without question. he knows that this is the truth he has been born to.

the elder continues on with his litany, prattling about duty and the moral pillars the yoo family is built upon. hard work trumps all. privilege falls second to true talent. determination is the true essence of success. anything can be achieved with enough ambition. there is no tradition that cannot be overthrown by a turn of the tables.

he takes it all in with zero disbelief, every syllable tightly ingrained into his conscious. he recites it back with utmost sincerity, and his father beams with much pride. it is then that he is asked to come forward, and his father takes his slim hands in his. cold, he thinks. rough. but he doesn’t mind. not even for a second.

“your potential with magic is astounding.” the patriarch sings with much praise, rubbing circles onto the back of his scarred hands. jinseok tries his hardest not to wince .”you will only grow more powerful, more grand—like fine wine once aged.” his smile drips with mystery, but the young boy is much too focused on his father’s words to notice that something was amiss  “our family would be safe in these hands when you come of age.”

iv.

it is tradition, they answer, every time he poses to ask. still, he fails to understand the novelty behind attending a school infested with muggles, when he has been doing so well with the tutors at home. they tell him it’s to prepare him for his life outside of the protective barriers of their manor, to set him up for even greater challenges, but hubris makes him think that he can handle himself well enough without the influence of the lower class.

he has no choice, though. he’s already been enrolled.

he finds it hard to fit in with the kids who’ve known each other for far longer, but he has no plans of ever blending in with their crowd. he is raised to think that muggles are of a lower stature than wizard-kind, and it pains him so that he has to breathe the same air that they do on an almost daily basis. but he’s an heir and it is because of this that he has to maintain his airs, so he keeps his vile thoughts to himself and focuses, instead, on graduating quick.

his classmates hear news of his being an elite and do their very best to earn his favor. the girls giggle and blush when he walks past them in the hallways, and he scoffs at their whispered praises towards his looks. they all want to sit with him, to be with him, to talk to him, possibly thinking that forging friendships with an heir will transfer blessings to their baskets. perhaps it would’ve worked on others, but it only all it did was piss-off the haughty boy.

yosul is no different. they all awe and sing praises at his prowess, but he could feel the empty  flattery beneath their tones. these are children of parents who owe his family debts, children of fathers who are in need of a pay raise. they want to be called his friend for the benefits, and jinseok refuses to allow them the privilege.

(one succeeds in gaining his friendship, though. and they remain close to this day.)

in the morning he is hounded by pink-cheeked girls aiming to earn a million-dollar smile from the stoic ice prince, chased by sweaty guys who want to pull him into their muggle sports teams. in the afternoon he is surrounded by overeager wizard kids  asking him how he does his tricks in the most exaggerated of ways. at night he comes home to shower thrice and rid his skin of the filth it has touched, and he slips in one more scrub as a precaution.

just a few more years, jinseok, he thinks to himself as his forehead rests upon the shower’s wet tile, a mantra to keep himself sane amidst his unfortunate circumstance. it will all be over once you’re head of the family.

v.

his hopes and dreams collapse  a few hours after graduation.

he is told to go home for a sort of celebration, and jinseok wholeheartedly thinks that it is to congratulate him for his stellar performance at the school. he arrives to the manor to see a banquet laid out, and his arrogance leads him to believe that the festivities are all done in his name. their entire clan is in attendance and he greets all of them with a sweet grin, barely wondering why only a few offer their congratulations, too engrossed in his own hubris.

it is only until the heirloom is revealed and handed to his brother that he realizes that the ceremony isn’t for him.  

he moves on instinct and runs, out of the compound and into the busy streets of gangnam. he is met with a torrent of rain and he curses the sky for its heavy need for dramatics. he feels crushed, humiliated, betrayed by the words-the promise!— of the father he so trusted. the tears in his eyes mix with the droplets of rain that hit his handsome face, crumpled by the weight of a dream that slipped out of his hands  before he could even achieve it.

“that should’ve been mine,” he coughs out in between choked sobs, dragging his aching legs to the hongdae station, his wand feeling like fire against his tightly clenched fist. “that heirloom was promised to me.”

he enters the arena after six in the evening and exits at dawn with an unparalleled win streak.

he disappears for two days to collect his thoughts, his wizard guards unable to track him down, their spells blocked by a protection charm he cast for the sole purpose of solitude. he returns to the manor with dark-rimmed hues, his brown eyes clouded with a need to reclaim what he thinks is rightfully his. he announces that he will move out in the morning  to the sound of his younger sister’s shock, and he declares war to his brother for the family head’s most prized seat.

his brother only laughs at his challenge. jinseok vows to make him regret every second of glee.

vi.

he’s in his second year at university when the government commends him for his undergraduate thesis. it’s a masterpiece, reporters quip, quite intrigued by the innovations the twenty-one year old’s ideas  would bring to seoul’s underground transportation system. he answers every question with studied ease, his smile soft and his voice gentle as he smoothly explains his work in layman’s terms to the eager presses.

“did you brother have a hand in your thesis?” a newsman carelessly motions.

jinseok feels the muscles in his jaw clench for a second, but he is quick to school his expression to a more appreciative front. “aside from giving me inspiration,” he begins, his tone sounding most sincere despite his syllables being nothing but mere lies, “my brother has never touched my work. everything i wrote was from my own research.”

the magazine headlines read “brotherly love and friendly competition.” the young man smirks and scoffs at the irony. with a flick of his finger and a wordless spell, the flammable bunch bursts into flames and crumbles into ashes.

vii.

there is a blanket of fog that always envelopes the black market’s premises.

it is especially strong around the dueling arena, the view from inside the cross-hatched cage obscured by a thick layer of smoke, the only visible thing being the sparks of magic that hint at an ongoing battle. the screams from the audience grow louder with each strike, and they get to their feet when a victor emerges. the duel for the championship trophy is over, and the fog lifts to reveal an empty stage, devoid of any more of the noisy onlookers.

there are footsteps on pavement that echo lightly in the enchanted chamber. the new champion is led to one of the inner rooms, expectant of a lavish banquet to be held in his glory. the room is dark when he enters, abysmal when the doors close. his frightened snigger bounces upon the hollow walls.

“this is not fu—“

“incendio!”

the silence breaks with the incantation, and the new victor barely moves in time to avoid the incoming inferno. he grabs his wand from his pocket and aims at the blackness, blinking his eyes to will them to adjust to the dark. they do not. not before another spell is called and it hits him right above his chest, effectively knocking out the air from his lungs which leads him to crash to the ground in a pathetic heap of former glory.

from the darkness emerges a tall man with brown hair, half of his face concealed with a hard golden mask. his hand, tight against his darkwood wand, is etched with remnants of scars, a tell-tale sign of a most stubborn core. he heaves a tired sigh at the sight of the fallen victor, his head shaking in what looks like utter disappointment.

“master yoo,” the man behind the masked one begins, but he is cut-off with his male’s  raised hand.

“get him out of my sight,” the masked one commands with venomous spite, removing his elaborate headgear  to reveal the youngest male heir of the revered yoo clan. “there is no place for the weak in the yoo undergrounds.”

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Uber CEO Plans to Take Leave as Management Board Asserts Control

Following months of internal strife, Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick told staff he plans to take a leave of absence. He has not disclosed a return date. Bloomberg

Skift Take: As Uber shambles on following the departure of numerous top executives, one has to wonder who exactly will be tabbed to fill the company's leadership vacuum. Will the company be able to continue its rapid growth without Kalanick's aggressive presence at the helm?

— Andrew Sheivachman

Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Travis Kalanick told staff he plans to take a leave of absence, without disclosing a return date. The company will be run by a management committee as it tries to navigate a wave of scandals.

Upon Kalanick’s return, Uber will strip him of some duties and appoint an independent chair to limit his influence, according to an advance copy of a report prepared for the board.

At a staff meeting Tuesday, the company conveyed the results of a probe conducted by Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general who Uber hired to look into allegations of harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. The 47 recommendations include creating a board oversight committee, rewriting Uber’s cultural values, reducing alcohol use at work events, and prohibiting intimate relationships between employees and their bosses.

Uber’s board met Sunday to review a detailed version of the report and voted unanimously to approve the recommendations. Afterward, the San Francisco-based company ousted Emil Michael, Uber’s head of business.

The board will move to diminish Kalanick’s role once he comes back by giving some of the CEO’s job responsibilities to a chief operating officer — a position Uber has been actively recruiting for but has yet to fill. This person would “act as a full partner with the CEO but focus on day-to-day operations, culture and institutions within Uber,” the report said.

“The ultimate responsibility, for where we’ve gotten and how we’ve gotten here, rests on my shoulders,” Kalanick wrote in an email to employees. “For Uber 2.0 to succeed, there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team. But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve.”

Uber lost or removed much of its management team in recent months as scandal after scandal emerged. The 14,000-plus workforce lacks a clear No. 2 who could run things in Kalanick’s stead. Uber has started taking steps to fill out the executive bench. Last week, it hired Harvard Business School’s Frances Frei as senior vice president of leadership and strategy, and will add Nestle SA’s Wan Ling Martello as an independent director.

Despite recent turmoil, Uber’s business is growing. Revenue increased to $3.4 billion in the first quarter, while losses narrowed — though they remain substantial at $708 million. But Lyft Inc. has stolen some market share in the U.S., and Uber’s internal strife could open opportunities for competitors globally to lure partners, raise funds or poach talent.

Executives at Uber had looked to the Holder report as a likely turning point in their efforts to put the company’s past indiscretions behind them and provide a road map for the future. Holder, an attorney at law firm Covington & Burling LLP, interviewed employees as part of a 14-week probe he conducted with his colleague Tammy Albarran. A separate examination by Perkins Coie LLP is reviewing 215 HR claims. More than 20 people have been fired as a result of that inquiry.

“The process was longer than we thought and more painful than we thought, but this chapter comes to an end today,” Arianna Huffington, an Uber board member, said in a statement prepared for the staff meeting Tuesday. “Our task now is to learn, rebuild and move forward together to write Uber’s next chapter.”

Claims of Sexism

The crisis was sparked by a Feb. 19 blog post by former Uber software engineer Susan Fowler. She alleged that her former manager had propositioned her for sex and that Uber’s HR department told her it wouldn’t punish him because he was a top performer. In addition to her sexual harassment allegation, Fowler’s nearly 3,000-word post chronicled day-to-day indignities women faced at the startup. In one instance, female employees were told they would need to pay for their own leather jackets even though men were getting them for free; a manager explained to her that there weren’t enough women to justify buying them in bulk, she wrote.

Fowler’s accusations ignited an uproar inside the company and throughout the tech industry. Many women shared their own horror stories, and the controversy prompted companies throughout Silicon Valley to reexamine their diversity practices. At Uber, Bloomberg reported that at least a half-dozen members of the recruiting team left after their attempts to prioritize diversity hiring initiatives faced resistance from Kalanick.

While the public report doesn’t address Fowler’s individual claims, the board-approved changes offer a path to make Uber a more hospitable workplace for women and minorities. The company intends to raise the profile of the head of diversity, adjust executive compensation to incentivize good behavior, institute mandatory leadership training and establish an employee diversity advisory board. Uber published workforce demographics for the first time March, which show that only 15 percent of tech workers at Uber are women.

Holder’s interviews with current and former Uber employees eventually became far broader than Fowler’s initial complaints, including a look at a trip to a Korean karaoke bar in 2014 that was the subject of an HR complaint, the use of software called Greyball to help drivers avoid government officials and the mishandling of a 2014 India rape case.

However, anyone hoping that the report would name names or call out problematic incidents at the company will be disappointed. The report offers no such details. No new dismissals are expected Tuesday, but the other probe by Perkins Coie is ongoing.

Several of Uber’s planned changes are symbolic. For example, a conference room known as the War Room will be renamed the Peace Room. The company also plans to scrap many of its cultural values, notably “Let Builders Build, Always Be Hustlin’, Meritocracy and Toe-Stepping, and Principled Confrontation,” which the Holder report described as being “used to justify poor behavior.”

“Many of Uber’s 14 cultural values, while well-intended, had been allowed to be weaponized,” Huffington said in her statement. “That’s completely unacceptable.”

Focus on HR

Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey, who joined Uber in January, said the company will reform. Uber is looking to improve its HR practices and daily life for employees, including flexible hours, clearer guidelines for attaining promotions, a revised performance review process and earlier on-site dinners so that the “benefit can be utilized by a broader group of employees, including employees who have spouses or families waiting for them at home,” according to the report.

Uber will also create stricter guidelines for what’s acceptable in the office. Several rules outlined in the report deal with alcohol, controlled substances and sexual relationships. “Uber should consider limiting the budget available to managers for alcohol purchases,” according to one recommendation in the report.

The company hopes to “ensure the mistakes of the past will not be repeated,” Hornsey said in a statement. “While change does not happen overnight, we’re committed to rebuilding trust with our employees, riders and drivers.”

Kalanick decided to take a leave while also coping with the death of his mother, whose funeral he attended last week. “Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team,” he wrote to employees. “It’s hard to put a timeline on this — it may be shorter or longer than we might expect.”

Uber has a long road ahead. The CEO is tied to some of the company’s biggest scandals. The company’s president and the heads of autonomous vehicles, growth, mapping, policy and software engineering all left this year, and Kalanick isn’t filling holes in his leadership fast enough. No one is more central to the company’s culture. As co-founder, Kalanick rapidly built a global workforce and molded the place in his image. He also helped craft the values that the company now plans to excise.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was written by Eric Newcomer from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

[touristguidebuzz]

Uber CEO Plans to Take Leave as Management Board Asserts Control

Following months of internal strife, Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick told staff he plans to take a leave of absence. He has not disclosed a return date. Bloomberg

Skift Take: As Uber shambles on following the departure of numerous top executives, one has to wonder who exactly will be tabbed to fill the company's leadership vacuum. Will the company be able to continue its rapid growth without Kalanick's aggressive presence at the helm?

— Andrew Sheivachman

Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Travis Kalanick told staff he plans to take a leave of absence, without disclosing a return date. The company will be run by a management committee as it tries to navigate a wave of scandals.

Upon Kalanick’s return, Uber will strip him of some duties and appoint an independent chair to limit his influence, according to an advance copy of a report prepared for the board.

At a staff meeting Tuesday, the company conveyed the results of a probe conducted by Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general who Uber hired to look into allegations of harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. The 47 recommendations include creating a board oversight committee, rewriting Uber’s cultural values, reducing alcohol use at work events, and prohibiting intimate relationships between employees and their bosses.

Uber’s board met Sunday to review a detailed version of the report and voted unanimously to approve the recommendations. Afterward, the San Francisco-based company ousted Emil Michael, Uber’s head of business.

The board will move to diminish Kalanick’s role once he comes back by giving some of the CEO’s job responsibilities to a chief operating officer — a position Uber has been actively recruiting for but has yet to fill. This person would “act as a full partner with the CEO but focus on day-to-day operations, culture and institutions within Uber,” the report said.

“The ultimate responsibility, for where we’ve gotten and how we’ve gotten here, rests on my shoulders,” Kalanick wrote in an email to employees. “For Uber 2.0 to succeed, there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team. But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve.”

Uber lost or removed much of its management team in recent months as scandal after scandal emerged. The 14,000-plus workforce lacks a clear No. 2 who could run things in Kalanick’s stead. Uber has started taking steps to fill out the executive bench. Last week, it hired Harvard Business School’s Frances Frei as senior vice president of leadership and strategy, and will add Nestle SA’s Wan Ling Martello as an independent director.

Despite recent turmoil, Uber’s business is growing. Revenue increased to $3.4 billion in the first quarter, while losses narrowed — though they remain substantial at $708 million. But Lyft Inc. has stolen some market share in the U.S., and Uber’s internal strife could open opportunities for competitors globally to lure partners, raise funds or poach talent.

Executives at Uber had looked to the Holder report as a likely turning point in their efforts to put the company’s past indiscretions behind them and provide a road map for the future. Holder, an attorney at law firm Covington & Burling LLP, interviewed employees as part of a 14-week probe he conducted with his colleague Tammy Albarran. A separate examination by Perkins Coie LLP is reviewing 215 HR claims. More than 20 people have been fired as a result of that inquiry.

“The process was longer than we thought and more painful than we thought, but this chapter comes to an end today,” Arianna Huffington, an Uber board member, said in a statement prepared for the staff meeting Tuesday. “Our task now is to learn, rebuild and move forward together to write Uber’s next chapter.”

Claims of Sexism

The crisis was sparked by a Feb. 19 blog post by former Uber software engineer Susan Fowler. She alleged that her former manager had propositioned her for sex and that Uber’s HR department told her it wouldn’t punish him because he was a top performer. In addition to her sexual harassment allegation, Fowler’s nearly 3,000-word post chronicled day-to-day indignities women faced at the startup. In one instance, female employees were told they would need to pay for their own leather jackets even though men were getting them for free; a manager explained to her that there weren’t enough women to justify buying them in bulk, she wrote.

Fowler’s accusations ignited an uproar inside the company and throughout the tech industry. Many women shared their own horror stories, and the controversy prompted companies throughout Silicon Valley to reexamine their diversity practices. At Uber, Bloomberg reported that at least a half-dozen members of the recruiting team left after their attempts to prioritize diversity hiring initiatives faced resistance from Kalanick.

While the public report doesn’t address Fowler’s individual claims, the board-approved changes offer a path to make Uber a more hospitable workplace for women and minorities. The company intends to raise the profile of the head of diversity, adjust executive compensation to incentivize good behavior, institute mandatory leadership training and establish an employee diversity advisory board. Uber published workforce demographics for the first time March, which show that only 15 percent of tech workers at Uber are women.

Holder’s interviews with current and former Uber employees eventually became far broader than Fowler’s initial complaints, including a look at a trip to a Korean karaoke bar in 2014 that was the subject of an HR complaint, the use of software called Greyball to help drivers avoid government officials and the mishandling of a 2014 India rape case.

However, anyone hoping that the report would name names or call out problematic incidents at the company will be disappointed. The report offers no such details. No new dismissals are expected Tuesday, but the other probe by Perkins Coie is ongoing.

Several of Uber’s planned changes are symbolic. For example, a conference room known as the War Room will be renamed the Peace Room. The company also plans to scrap many of its cultural values, notably “Let Builders Build, Always Be Hustlin’, Meritocracy and Toe-Stepping, and Principled Confrontation,” which the Holder report described as being “used to justify poor behavior.”

“Many of Uber’s 14 cultural values, while well-intended, had been allowed to be weaponized,” Huffington said in her statement. “That’s completely unacceptable.”

Focus on HR

Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey, who joined Uber in January, said the company will reform. Uber is looking to improve its HR practices and daily life for employees, including flexible hours, clearer guidelines for attaining promotions, a revised performance review process and earlier on-site dinners so that the “benefit can be utilized by a broader group of employees, including employees who have spouses or families waiting for them at home,” according to the report.

Uber will also create stricter guidelines for what’s acceptable in the office. Several rules outlined in the report deal with alcohol, controlled substances and sexual relationships. “Uber should consider limiting the budget available to managers for alcohol purchases,” according to one recommendation in the report.

The company hopes to “ensure the mistakes of the past will not be repeated,” Hornsey said in a statement. “While change does not happen overnight, we’re committed to rebuilding trust with our employees, riders and drivers.”

Kalanick decided to take a leave while also coping with the death of his mother, whose funeral he attended last week. “Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team,” he wrote to employees. “It’s hard to put a timeline on this — it may be shorter or longer than we might expect.”

Uber has a long road ahead. The CEO is tied to some of the company’s biggest scandals. The company’s president and the heads of autonomous vehicles, growth, mapping, policy and software engineering all left this year, and Kalanick isn’t filling holes in his leadership fast enough. No one is more central to the company’s culture. As co-founder, Kalanick rapidly built a global workforce and molded the place in his image. He also helped craft the values that the company now plans to excise.

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

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[promanity]

A day in the bush

by Kim Langemak

Original: https://kimsafrikablog.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/a-day-in-the-bush/

In the first week in Tanzania, our friend Jesse asked us what the craziest thing was we ever did. Neither Jenny nor I could think of any good response. Of course, we travel a lot and have been on many adventures. But we didn’t consider any of it as crazy.

Little did we know that only one week later, we had the perfect response to that question.

Our daytrip to the Hazabe Bushmen On the weekend of January 7th until January 8th, Jenny, Jesse and me had the unique possibility to visit our friend Saingas Family from the Datoga tribe and also the Hadzabe tribe (the bushmen with the Click-language!!) by Lake Eyasi Sea in the South of the Serengeti.

We didn’t know much about the Hadzabe tribe, except that they are one of the oldest remaining tribes of gatherers and hunters in the world and of course we heard of their famous “Click-language”. Approx. 1.500 people of the Hadzabe tribe live in Tanzania. The Hadzabe do not have any properties or farming animals like other tribes in Tanzania. They only live from gathering and hunting and don’t stay long in any place.  They are also the only once in Tanzania who do not have to pay taxes and who are still allowed to hunt wild animals – only for their own use of course, not for selling! Before our trip, I read a lot in National Geographic about the tribe and it said everywhere, that when you visit them, they enjoy presents like salt or flour. (See page) We asked Sainga about it, who only laughed and told us the one thing they are truly happy about is weed and tobacco – of course, this is no information you would find in National Geographic

We started on Saturday early in the morning with two motorbikes and headed out of Arusha into the direction of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti. Our first stop was a viewing place in the mountains by Lake Manyara, where we had an amazing view over the National Park.

Afterwards, we went another hour on the street until we reached the last big town with a supermarket where we stocked up our water supplies and then went off the main road on a dirt road towards Lake Eyasi. After a while, Jesses and Jennys bike broke down and it was one of many many times that day that we (Ok, mainly Sainga) had to push them to get it started again.

The Datoga tribe: Our next stop was at the Datoga tribe, where we met Saingas family. His Mum Udabunda was so sweet and she and the other women took us into their hut and we “talked”, with Sainga as translator and with our hand and feet. The common greeting there is “seyu” and it’s the only word I remember in the Datogas language. We felt very comfortable and welcome at the Datoga tribe and the women seemed genuinely interested in us and we could ask anything we wanted.

This tribe lives in the Lake Eyasi area which the share with the tribe of the Hadzabe. The Datoga people keep cows, goats, donkeys and chickens, but cows are by far the most important domestic animal for them. The Datoga tribe is practicing polygamy and men are allowed to marry several women, however a man has to give cows to the women and family he wants to marry. Therefore, the more cows a man has the richer he is and the more women he can marry.

Saingas father was a very rich man and has 9 wifes and 40 children (who already have children…).  Saingas Mum has 5 children in total and he is the second born. Since the Datoga tribe does not count age, he is not sure how old he is but believes he was born around 1992. His mother and the other women of his father get along well. This is not always the case and in other tribes the women strongly dislike each other. In the Datoga tribe they are happy to have another woman in the family, which can help with the daily duties. The women in the tribe are not allowed to drink or smoke weed, so we asked what they do instead. They took out a little box of tobacco, which they offered all of us to sniff and which apparently makes them more awake. We chatted some more with the women and they draw their tribe tattoo in our faces and explained their jewelry to us before we took off towards the Hadzabe.

Sainga is one of the few people who knows the Hadzabe very well. As a kid, he was always taking care of his families goats and cows and when he walked with them to find the best grazing spot he would play with the kids from the Hadzabe tribe – and that’s how he learned the Click language/sound of the Hadzabe.

Later on, he was the first child in his tribe who was send to school. Usually the Datoga people do not send their children to school, however in the 1990’s a women from the US (Amy Nadell) stayed for one year with Saingas Mum to study the tribe and their way of life. When she left she insisted on sponsoring the school for Sainga. His father had no understanding for it at that point but his mother worked very hard to make it possible and for Sainga she is a real hero. When he was send to boarding school all the other tribes around them thought that his mother had sold him to the American women and they were really surprised when he came back one day and told all of them that he has been in school. His school was located in the middle of the Lake Manyara National Park and he admitted that he often tried to sneak away to see his family but failed, because of the wild animals like lions etc. around the school.

Because he had the possibility to go to school, he became one of the few people in the world who don’t only know his tribes language and Kiswahili, but also the click language and English. Nowadays, Sainga is studying for his Bachelor degree in Economics and Finance in Arusha and is also working as a guide in Lake Eyasi Region. Because of his education other people in the tribe look up to him and he is trying to make a change by convincing the elders in the tribe to send their children to school. Up to now 11 of his younger siblings already went to school, learn and get the same opportunities like him – even the girls! But he also has bigger plans and his dream is to provide all Datoga children with free quality education. With his innovative ideas, I am sure he will be more than successful in providing his family with education, empower young women and find a way for his tribe to develop forward and get jobs – as they are all very eager to learn and work.

Lake Eyasi The next stop was Lake Eyasi – even though because of the drought there was not much left of the lake. It was more like a big puddle, where we found lots of young children swimming while taking care of their family’s cattle. Sainga also went for a swim, and as foolish as I am I wanted to wash my hands in the lake .. and stepped right into the deep deep mud surrounding it – the kids all cracked up laughing so hard. I am only glad I didn’t fall in completely. We took a rest here and enjoyed the beautiful view around us.

Since Jesses bike kept breaking down we went back from the Lake to the “main street” nearby to find a fundi (Kiswahili for handyman). It was already after 5pm and our plan was to get our tents and camping material before the dark (6pm) and then quickly move on to the Hadzabe. Of course, it didn’t work out as planned. They took the whole motor apart and at the end we were all standing around with our phones to give the fundi some light while he was working. We still had a lot of fun and danced around to the music of a nearby restaurant.

Once the bike was fixed we quickly went to Saingas uncle to get all our camping material and then went to get Chips-ma-yay (fried potatoes with egg – my favorite street food in Tanzania) at the road and rested a little bit.

The Hadzabe tribe Then it was finally time to head out into the bush to the Hadzabe. I have probably never felt this free and have never been this full of adrenalin. (And I have also never been this dirty, covered in dust and mudd from my little accident at Lake Eyasi).

We went off the dirt road onto some paths – which none of us except Sainga would ever have found. Suddenly, we stopped and my first thought was that now our bike also broke down and we got stranded in the middle of the bush. But Sainga told me to get off because we were “there”. In front of us was just a small mountain and around us it was completely dark – I was happy that the stars were shining so bright and we got all our flashlights with us – still I looked around and didn’t see anything.

Sainga started talking and suddenly lots of people started to appear behind the trees with their bows and arrows and speers ready in their hands… It was the craziest thing I have ever seen! They heard the motorcycles coming and thought that it would be the government, thus they decided to hide in the bush. When they heard Saingas voice they were relieved and came out of their hiding spots. Everyone came to say hello to us and to shake our hands. Then they helped us carry our things into the cave to their fire. It were mainly men sitting with us at the fire, the women stayed in the background and we only saw one carrying a baby. As Sainga predicted the first thing they asked us for was something to smoke. Jenny handed them one of her cigarettes and her lighter – and they didn’t know how to use it. They are still making fire with stones and wood. I felt like I was back in Stone Age or in the Flintstone show which I used to watch as a kid. We sat with them for another hour at the fire. Sainga told us more about their lives and the different types of arrows they were using for hunting wild animals and a man played music on his bow (like on a guitar). One of the men put his “cap” on me, which later turned out to be made of baboon.

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to camp in the area as planned. Someone had seen us going into the park and it is forbidden for white people to camp near the Hadzabe so they called the regional government and we had to leave.

Since I am home, everyone asked me if I was scared in this moment, with all the strange men in the bush and I can honestly say that we weren’t scared at all – we were simply amazed and in awe of this wild and freely living tribe.

When we finally got back to Saingas uncle it was already after midnight. We put up the tents outside his house and were all happy to finally get some rest. We left early on the next morning as we had to be at Pippis house at 2pm for the Christmas celebrations. On the way back we got to see some Baboons (this time alive and in one piece J ) and I also saw a Zebra.  Of course, Jesses bike kept breaking down in the heat and we were all very exhausted when we finally made it back after 5 hours of driving (even though I was just sitting in the back).

One funny side note for all Germans: Most of you probably know the show “The strictest parents of the world”/”Die strengsten Eltern der Welt” which is produced by Kabel1 and Sat1. I have never really watched it and was always sure it is fake. Turns out its not. Sainga got a job from the tv show producers for the episode that plays in Tanzania. The two children were actually send off to live with the Datoga tribe for two weeks. The TV staff always left them alone at night and Sainga had to stay with them and make sure they stay alive. The sad part is that these are not even the strictest parents in the world. They just live a completely different live and children start helping their parents at a very young age. Saingas family and the others of the tribe were so kind to us and the children all looked happy and healthy. It’s just a different life style but not a life full of punishment for the children. The punishments the German kids had to go through were e.g. getting water – which is simply a necessity for staying alive. You can watch the full episode here

With that in mind: stay curious my friends – there are so much adventures out there, you just have to go and take the risk ❤

Kim