#also colors changed when i sent this from my tablet to phone?

[boromirsayshi]

[lefluoritesys]

A breakdown of apps you can use to communicate with your alters as separate people and write down information about them online and offline with their pros, cons, and a personal rating because I really needed it when I was new to being a system:

Note: by "PC" I mean any computer/macbook/etc. By "all devices" I mean PC, mobile, tablet, iPad, etc.

I apologize for mistakes in advance.

1. Antar: An app created to chat with your "inner self," found in both Play Store and AppStore. One of the more popular ones among systems. It is an app where you get to create personas that would be chatting with each other in chats called "sessions." Those sessions can either be given a name or just left named after the date they were created on. Each persona is given a color that would become the color of their messages in sessions. Offline app.

Pros: Fiarly easy to use, no in-depth information needed to access it fully. Biometric lock; 4 languages (English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish) for the system, however any language can be used via text; no limit to the amount of personas added (as far as I'm aware). Messages sent by the wrong persona can be changed; the "quote" feature allows you to start a thread under a message; provides descriptions of each persona. You can also give your personas an avatar rather than just a color. Has a "replay" and "visualization" feature, though I'd say it's strictly just for funzies.

Cons: Not available on PC; has no backup, phone-related resets or deletion of the app results in all information lost. Session order constantly changes depending on which senssion you entered, which in my opinion (+OCD) is a nuisance; you can't delete the "me" character which I've been wanting to do for a while. Can't add hexcodes.

Personal rating: 6/10. If you need an app that you can lock from unwanted visitors, if you don't mind and even prefer something simple, and if you don't care that the conversations might disappear, this app is a good choice.

2. Discord's PluralKit: A more avdanced discord bot with tons of settings and commands that was created specifically for systems. Allows you to add almost any information about your system memebers, even such things as birthdays. The way it works is, it "proxies" your messages with a certain command somewhere in the "normal" message, sends a message identical to yours from a bot created with the name you chose, and deletes your original message. Basically replaces a message from your account with a message from a bot you created earlier. Proxies are small commands that give the both a green light to do that, and they can be whatever you want them to be. Online bot.

Pros: Feels like different people are talking; allows you to track your switches; available on all devices; one system can be linked to multiple accounts, although you can't create multiple systems under one account; allows you to group alters together; allows you to restrict access to certain information from all users; allows you to add as many alters as you want; has a number of ways you can access the information you put in which would all be sorted and organized for you; autoproxy allows you to not proxy every message you sent; since you can't delete messages of other people on servers that are not yours, and the bot messages are not, in fact, yours, PluralKit allows you to react to the message with an emoji that deletes the proxied message; while you can't use it in DMs, you can set up commands in DMs with the bot; every memeber has a unique code, and so does the system itself, and it records when the member was created; can be exported to SimplyPlural.

Cons: Commands are difficult and complex, and so is the dashboard; can only be used on servers; sometimes offline as all bots are, though rarely; you can't use it anywhere outside discord (a con for those who don't use discord); I had instances where I saw people use it for roleplay which is also allowed; proxies are a pain; you'd need a guide to tell you why certain things are needed in it; you cannot reply to messages with gifs when using a proxy; when being exported to SimplyPlural it exports everything, so if you had 10 members on SimplyPlural and 15 on PluralKit, it's best to add those 5 manually than delete 10 new exported alters (I did it with 100+ alters by accident and it was a pain).

Personal rating: 9/10. Complex, difficult to figure out, but once you get ahold of it and how it works, you'd be amazed. Also a pain that you can't use it in DMs, but it's to be expected from a bot. And you can always create a server with just you.

3. Discord's Tupperbox: A discord bot created mainly for roleplay, but actively used by systems who cannot get along with PluralKit. A simpler bot, easy to use and figure out, most things can be done via dashboard, doesn't have the opportunity to add a lot of inofrmation. Online bot.

Pros: Simple; allows grouping alters; allows different tags for different members and groups, sometimes individually; way simpler commands, and most things can be added via dashboard; looks and works almost the same as PluralKit when in a conversation; available on all devices.

Cons: Can't add avatars via dashboard, only using the commands; can't add two alters with the same name (which you can do with PluralKit); people reported it glitching out and deleting members; mainly used for roleplay; gives a weird list of members via commands that is unusable in my experience; doesn't work out of discord.

Personal rating: 7/10. Perfect for people who just want to talk and not write down information about them with the bot, but the threat of members being deleted, especially as a larger system, is concerning. We mainly use it for OSDD-1a subsystems. It was also not created for systems, as far as I'm aware. I see more cons than pros.

4. Simply Plural: Another more well-known tool used and created for systems. Simply Plural is an app that allows you to create profiles of your members and add any information you'd like about them via custom fields. It has a chat feature, allows you to track your front and switch history, add friends, and many more. Supports endogenic systems (which is being mentioned not for discorse purposes but as a fact. Whether you find it good or not is up to you) and allows singlets to create profiles as well, although I don't know a lot about that part. Both offline and online app.

Pros (and a bit about the app): Backup included; tracks your switches and front, allows you to change exact time for them, too (24-hour clock down to minutes included); the polls feature works like polls on same Tumblr and everywhere else but specifically for your system memebrs; analytics provide information about who fronts the most, during what time of day they usually front; you and your friends can see each other's profiles, which is why singlets can also create profiles, which allows you to acces info about each other's systems; "trusted people" feature allows you to pick whether you want everybody to see your alters or not, or if you want outsiders to see your profile at all; provides resources and guides to plurality (which I personally haven't checked, but still putting it in the pros, if somebody thinks I shouldn't, let me know); has an app reminders feature; you can add as much information as you want; front history shows up in a person's profile; alters can add notes; alter groups are available; available on all devices, however, only as a website on PC; colors of your alters can be used in the chat to highlight names; hexcodes are available; "custom front" is a status you set with fronting which can be hilarious sometimes; connects to PluralKit in a number of ways.

Cons: The chat feature is a bit difficult to use, and first time I did, I freaked out because I couldn't get out of it (the trick is to go to "channels" and press "navigation", there you'll see the dashboard); friends can't communicate with each other; copy-pasting is hard on both mobile and PC; something about the interface and navigation irks me and our visually impaired self; notes have same visibility as the profile itself, which is inconvenient if you want your profile to be seen but not your notes; avatars can't be added via website.

Personal rating: 6/10. I don't like how it looks and works (probably due to being visually impaired and other issues), but if you manage to get the information in it, it's pretty accessible and thoughtful of what systems might need. Could be used as a tool to start working with your system rather than do it long-term.

5. Twinote: An app that is your "personal Twitter." Pretty sure it was created for the purpose of having fun rather communicating with alters. Offline app.

Pros: Backup provided; allows "private accounts" that other "users" can't see; can create as many users as you want, as many posts as you want; can upload up to 4 images; works almost like Twitter; has a chat feature; comments, retweets, likes are present; "lists" feature allows you to group users and see only their messages which could be used for "things only protectors sent" and such; storage shows all pictures used in the app, so you won't lose anything; tagging and following people is still an option, and following private accounts give that user an opportunity to be the only one seeing their tweets.

Cons: Can't upload videos; can't do much with anything other than posts and profiles, so trends and other stuff there is off-limits (as far as I know); you have to constantly switch between profiles for the chat feature; share button only shares the contents of the message; very easy to accidentally press the wrong button and delete a tweet by dragging it left (which I almost did a few times).

Personal rating: 7,5/10. I know it's probably annoying that I didn't just type either 7 or 8, but the reaosn why is cause I have mixed feelings about it from a practical point of view. We use it strictly to communicate what we did during the day as a small journal and just joke with each other, and it's incredibly funny in itself, but it doesn't allow you to write down a lot of information about your alters and has a character limit in profiles. So it's strictly for communication.

6. Notion: An app created as a dashboard for literally everything you could ever dream of. You can personalize it however you want and use it for whatever you want. Those who saw the post we made a while ago probably know the reason I'm mentioning it is due to a template that I linked here. Online app.

Pros: Can be used for literally everything without limits; available on all devices; big and has enough storage for a lot of information, text, projects, etc; can be designed however you want; a lot of useful templates for all life instances (even taxes); can be shared with people who also use Notion in a variety of ways (either only comment, only see, etc); can add your own custom covers and icons via both gallery and links; looks neat and doesn't mess with visual impairment for us; can add a page in a page in a page which can be used for diaries; links to different pages on other pages are also available; endless possibilities, I could rant all day.

Cons: Glitches on the phone a lot; certain things are allowed on computer and not on mobile and vice versa; all templates available only on PC; you need to have an account in order to use it; glitches if it's offline; sometimes deletes a bunch of text because of glitches, usually the triggers for it are writing a lot in it directly or erasing previous text a bunch of times; can't invite someone in your space, it would take too much storage; some storage needs to be bought, although, I don't know the limit (but there's a lot. Like, a lot)

Personal rating: 9/10. With all its antics, I love this app dearly, it's incredibly useful, and you learn to deal with the cons. It's the best one I've used for communication and information storage so far.

7. Texting Stories app: As ridiculous as it sounds, it could be used as a tool to communicate with your alters, especially in secret. We are fighting for our safety here, so I ask you to take this suggestion seriously. Could be used when you don't want to let anyone know you're a system and have noisy family members/relatives/etc who like to snoop through you personal devices, by using it, you can say you've just been doing a story. Offline app.

Pros: I believe you can add as many people as you want; can add avatars; different stories can be different days of the week; easy to use; easy to brush off as "just making stories."

Cons: Can't change colors, you need to pay for most things.

Personal rating: 5/10. Can be used for emergencies and communication only, although we haven't used it much.

8. Notes: Just the same plain old notes app on your phone that everybody has installed as default. Offline app.

Pros: Easy to use; can be easily lost within your other notes for privacy; used for literally everything you desire, even drawing; automatic backup.

Cons: Doesn't give you the ability to really present as separate people; doesn't have as many options as Notion.

Personal rating: 5/10. used it at some point just for communication, was cool, somple, easy, but nothing too big.

I hope this helped to put these apps in perspective. I do apologize for it being a bit all over the place, but I did attempt to make it coherent enough (I am currently in a psychotic state, it's difficult for me to communicate). And remember, there are always options to use a written journal rather than a digital one. If anything, it's better to keep both in case one gets lost. Who knows, maybe our parents asking us what we would do if the internet disappeared is actually a warning. /j /nm

-host

[sadandpoutyandfrench]

Managed to get into Idol Land PriPara for a little bit before getting kicked off with an error code.

There's some initial set up with character creation. I decided to start with the best approximation of me and then work out where to go from there later. Skin color options were expectedly meh but this gets pretty close to what my light skinned Hispanic self looks like. I've never been good at picking skin tone in video games anyway. (thanks childhood racial trauma!)

After that Laala talks with you and you're sent to a performance of Go!Go! PriPara Life with your character, her, and Amari. Gotta admit I felt a lot of sensory overload happening. Part of it was the joy of playing PriPara for the first time but also there was a lot going on for the size of the phone. I can see it being way easier hitting buttons than tapping a touch device. I'll have to test with my tablet later and see if a bigger screen makes any difference.

Forgot to set the translator app up (got distracted by the PriPara rush) but most of the rhythm game part is self explanatory. Tap this when it hits the outline, hold when you need to. The only thing that confused me was the cyalume change I wasn't sure what if anything I was supposed to do at that moment.

It kicked me off in the middle of giving me a score. This is the best screenshot I was able to get before that happened.

I'm gonna give it a day or so to let it settle while the devs work out how to deal with everyone hitting the servers. I guess if you leave people waiting for two years don't be surprised when we all go feral trying to get in ha ha.

Minna tomodachi Minna aidoru

[robustcornhusk]

partner and i are both enthusiastic and lazy about home automation; we use home assistant.

'actually doing shit' can be annoyingly expensive, but very nice when i pull it off. 'reminding me about shit' is generally very cheap, and still helpful.

actually doing shit:

the shades in my bedroom open up a few inches when i'm supposed to get up in the morning

the overhead fan turns off, too, so that i stop burrowing under the covers

when i walk into the kitchen, overhead lights turn on; if i start doing things with the coffee or sink, the counter lights turn on. the overhead lights turn off when it's bright, and all the lights turn off shortly after i leave the room.

the front door locks once the screen door is shut

music and lights all turn off when i leave home. the music restarts when i get back; the lights only come back on if it's dim.

when i open the windows, the hvac gets disabled so that i don't try to heat/cool the entire neighborhood.

a white noise machine turns on whenever my partner takes a call from their home office.

all the lights other than the bedroom turn off when we go to bed at night

all lights gradually dim & change to a warmer color in the evening

back porch lights turn on when the back door is open & it's after sunset

reminding/notifying me about shit

when i opened the front door for my run, the lights flashed to let me know I'd forgotten to get out the bagels

when the kettle turned on this morning, i got a notification on my phone telling me 1) i needed to take iron today and 2) my partner needed to leave for their train at X:YZ.

if i'm playing games and making tea at night, i always forget about the kettle; now i get a reminder on both my phone & the projector

when it's after 5pm and my partner's phone disconnects from their office's wifi for five minutes, i'll get told that it's probably a good time to start cooking dinner.

i get notifications when either of the cat's litterbox has been used 3 times, and the counter resets when i clean the boxes.

i have an old tablet i use solely for watching anime while running on a treadmill, and i kept letting the battery run out; now its battery alerts get sent to my other devices.

not only do the washer and dryer send me notifications, but the clothes drying rack does too, when it's been set up for 6+ hours. (no heat for the running clothes; too much elastic)

i get notifications if someone presses the doorbell when i'm out

water leak sensors.

there's also a lot of data recording that's just happening constantly, like the co2 levels, temperature/humidity, how bright it is, etc.

i was going to say "i should get notified if the aqi is bad and the windows are open" but before i finished typing the sentence, i went ahead and implemented it.

more unorganized thoughts

almost everything is local; i think the fucking washer & dryer are the only ones that require The Cloud. many of the 'smart' devices aren't; for example, we have a totally normal doorbell that's been wired up in a particular way, and our kettle is just a normal electric kettle on a smart plug.

there's a lot of zigbee and a few zwave items; most of the wifi stuff is either 1) there's no other option or 2) esphome devices, which are cheap and flexible. even the wifi devices are local-only, except for the washer/dryer.

some automations are harder to set up, from a design perspective. i'm still stuck on trying to figure out how to detect if i'm out on a run, because i'd like my bedroom blinds to go down when i get back.

being able to remote-control the lights &c is nice. we have a lot of Fashionable Lamps that have super inconvenient switches, so homeass was instantly more convenient even before any automations came into play. the a/v system we have is complicated, but playing games (=turning on the game system, receiver, & projector, turning down the lights in multiple rooms, pausing the music) is just one button. basically it takes "complicated setup" and squishes it back to "convenient setup".

re local voice control, my understanding is that a lot of people are using willow and wyoming lately, but i haven't looked into them in any detail yet; i think there's quite a bit of setup involved.

is there any real use for smart home stuff (apart from disabled people, i can see there's obviously a load of accessibility options stuff like controlling your lights from your phone etc). if you're basically able-bodied, is there any actual useful stuff that smart home technology gets you. because it all seems a bit shit imo. but many of my beloved mutuals and followers are Nerds so someone's got to have an Opinion about this right

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 8

Chapter 1 || Previous || Next

------

“I trust you to act responsibly. And as a Guardian, you probably should start learning magic anyway.”

“Let’s get started then. Please tell me I can curse Lie-la!”

“Mari!”

“Just kidding, alright?” She smiled innocently and Tikki shook her head. 

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

Somewhere into the evening, Chloe called her to inform her that she was on her way back and she shouldn’t worry. When the blonde entered the room… it was a mess, using the word loosely. The walls were in all colors of the rainbow sans their original one. The room seemed to be double its size and Chloe was pretty sure her bed just got a fourth dimension added to it. There was also that the plants seemed to have taken over one corner and created their own kingdom. She could even see them raising a flag with Marigold Design and creations logo on it. 

“Figures! I leave you for one afternoon…!” Chloe said with disdain while trying to step over what looked almost like a black hole. 

“Chlo? Is that you?” Mari’s voice came from two and a half directions at the same time. The blonde had no idea how was it even possible.

“Isley! Get your pretty ass here so I can properly scold you!”  

“Um… Kinda tied at the moment,” came an answer.

“I don’t want to hear it. I had a long day of scheming and I need my beauty sleep.” Chloe complained. “Get me my bed fixed at least.”

“Oh fine! Tikki! Spots on!” There was a pink light from two separate directions and suddenly Ladybug jumped out of the small hole in the ground. “Miraculous Ladybug!” 

After the wave of shining bugs settled and the room was back to normal Mari detransformed and smiled apologetically at Chloe. “Sorry. Got carried away with the new book.”

“Picasso’s guide to architecture and interior design?” Chloe deadpanned. 

“Nope,” The bluenette smiled and pulled a rather hefty tome from her bed to show it to her friend. “Someone dropped it inside our room when we were out. Tikki deemed it safe and taught me the basics.” 

“I think you will need remedial lessons, given how our room looked. What exactly was the purpose of making my bed four-dimensional?”

“I might have tried to expand the room a bit, but I miscalculated a tiny bit. There is a surprising amount of math in magic.”

“Whatever. I would tell you how my date went, but I’m utterly exhausted now.” Chloe teased her friend. She expected the girl to beg her for the details. Instead, Mari pointed her arm at the bed.

“Pea and feather go along. Make this bed out of stone.” Her iridescent green and blue eyes flashed for a moment… and nothing happened. Chloe smiled triumphantly and tried to jump onto her bed, only to hit the cover hard. While on the outside, the bed looked like nothing changed, in reality, it was hard as the floor. Funnily enough, she could easily slip under the cover, but it still felt like lying on the floor with sheets of paper sewn together as a blanket. 

“You’re mean!” She cried. “I’m now commandeering your bed.” Before Mari even understood what Chloe meant, the girl jumped under her covers and snuggled on one side. There was still enough space for Mari to join if she was brave enough. 

“Ugh! That’s my bed!” 

“Exactly. You can take mine if you like it enough to modify it.”

“Tikki!” Mari cried, hoping that at least the Kwami would support her.

“Nope. You’re the one that made the bed so now you must sleep in it.”

“Um…” Mari tried to look in the book for a counterspell, but in the end, she just pointed her hand on the bed. “Princes found her prince at last. Take the curse and…” she tried to quickly find some rhyme. “break the glass? Ups…”

The window suddenly exploded, but the bed glowed, and after checking it was okay she picked Chloe to move her over. Except it totally didn’t work and the blonde instead pulled her into the comfortable bed. The tired Mari was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to care. She just cuddled closer to her adopted sister for some comfort. And heat since there was now a hole instead of the window and it was February.

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

The next morning Mari and Chloe woke up in a similar mess to the day before. And once again they were clothed.

“Ugh… I should probably calm down on magic.” Mari stretched herself a bit to get ready. She quickly changed into the fresh version of her yesterday’s outfit and helped Chloe gather herself a new ‘something’ for the day’s work. Apparently, for the next step of her scheme, she needed to look like a perfect Parisian princess. Something about Media attention. Mari was too busy with her tablet to care. 

She received a mail at 6 am that there was a slight change in the time of the press conference so she needed to forward it to the conference center before she even got to work. While eating breakfast she checked over the summary reaction about the public statement and emotions that accompanied the fallout. Predictably, the pictures served as a nice distraction, but also rallied the citizens behind the company. They treated it as someone making fun of the suffering company and flamed the Lila girl, even though the company said that she was also a victim. Well, there was a footnote about it. 

“You know you don’t need to put so much work into it?” Chloe asked while eating her croissant.

“I do. But if I can’t manage it now, how am I supposed to one day make MDC as big of a brand as Gabriel?”

“By not working yourself into a coffin?”

“Well… Wait a moment.” Mari was interrupted when her phone ringed. She quickly picked the call and her smile was replaced with a frown. “I understand. I will be there soon. Please keep an eye on him and tell the security not to let any more paparazzi.” she hanged up.

“Trouble?” Chloe asked with a grin.

“I’m afraid to ask…” 

“Damian is doing an errand for me. He is such a good sidekick.” The blonde smiled. Mari did not answer but urged her best friend to move on faster.

Since they stayed in their room for breakfast, neither girl wanting to deal with their moronic class longer than needed, they got down just in time… to see the bus leaving them in front of the hotel.

“Are you kidding me?” Chloe raised her hand. “We are in Gotham. Does that… that… Has she got any idea how dangerous is it?!”

“Said the girl that taunted the Riddler.” Mari deadpanned.

“He wouldn’t hurt me.” The blonde answered confidently.

“Anyway… we could call a taxi.” Chloe sneered at the idea, so Mari offered something else. “I could also test that portal spell…” 

“Taxi!” The girl shouted. Mari just shook her head and pulled the mobile phone. After less than five minutes Chas Chandler rolled next to them in his cab.

“I was in the neighborhood.” He smiled.

“Nice seeing you sir.” Mari greeted him before pushing Chloe in the back seat and joining her.

“To the Wayne tower, please. I would appreciate it if you could get us there fast. I need to get my boss to do his work.” She hoped they would arrive before the class to see their faces.

Sadly, the cab got stuck in the traffic and it took them over an hour to arrive. When Mari entered the lobby, she was angry enough to turn into a ‘stern assistant’ mode. Not a nice place to be if you are on her way. She stormed past the security while flashing her badge. They didn’t dare to try to stop her. 

“Get McKinsley to HR. And by the time I arrive I want Lila Rossi and Alya Cessaire to be sitting there!” The second one was directed to the receptionist, who nodded. So far everyone loved Mari, even in her bad mood. It didn’t stop them from being terrified. 

Both she and Chloe got into the elevator. When the doors closed, the blonde grinned. 

“I love it when you finally show your Gothamite side.” 

She got no response from the angry Mari, but through the ride, her smirk did not disappear through the ride. Once they separated, the bluenette continued alone. Angry did not give her emotions justice. She was furious.

Once she finally got on the floor, she stormed through the corridors right to the head of the department’s office. Luckily for everyone, Lila and Alya were already there.

“Who do you think…” Alya started only to be silenced by a death stare from Mari. For the first time in her life, she realized that the bluenette was someone not to be trifled with. 

“Apparently, since this morning I’m your superior.” Mari deadpanned. “Funny thing. I would probably only learn about this from your bragging later on if you didn’t decide, in all your stupidity, to write yourself reference in my name.” It was clear that she did not find it funny. 

“Puh-lease. You bullied Lila since she came. I thought that it was only fair that you’ve repaid her somehow.” Alya babbled, already forgetting her earlier fear.

“So you take full responsibility for forging both your resume?” Mari asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to have it said out loud for the record. Especially since Madame McKinsley was standing in the entrance.

“Of course. It was totally unfair that such a bully got all the privileges while hard-working Lila had nothing.”

The Head of the Human Resources department sent Mari a tired look that seemed to mean ‘is she for real?’ She was a woman in her thirties with neatly cut black hair and skin in the color of dark chocolate by the name Mrs. Alicia Lynch

“Oh… In that case, you’re disciplinarily fired.”

“What?!” Alya screamed.

“And I will make sure this incident finds itself into your acts,” Alicia said with a frown. 

“You can’t…!” Alya was once more cut off, this time by madame McKinsley.

“They can. And you’re lucky that we are not pressing charges for attempted sabotage.” 

“The security will show you out. The teacher and your guardians will be informed. Since the hotel is paid by Wayne Enterprise for the members of the interns’ program, you will need to find alternative accommodations or simply return to Paris. I’ll leave this to the teacher and parents to resolve.”

“But… But…” Alya wanted to argue. All blood left her face and she seemed close to passing out. A man in a suit, carrying the security badge helped her out of the chair and led her outside.

“Now about you.” Mari turned her gaze toward Lila, who so far was busy checking on her nails.

“Oh! This is ridiculous! I had nothing to do with it. I’m a victim too!”

Marigold turned to McKinsley, who looked dejected.

“We can’t fire her. She was hired for the six months period.”

“Mutual agreement?” Mari asked. She’s been researching ways to dissolve her contract faster. Sadly, she already knew the answer.

“Two months waiting period. Standard to ensure she doesn’t use any of her knowledge against us.” For Mari, it was a year when she couldn’t work for any other company. Luckily, running her own business was still on the table, as long as she stuck to restrictions.

A different idea formed in Blunette’s head. She smirked slightly. “Well, Miss Rossi, looks like you’re in luck. Welcome to Wayne Enterprises. I hope you didn’t have any great ideas.”

Lila gulped. “Was that a threat?”

“No. If I threatened you, you would know. You and your little attack dog forgot that this is not Paris. This is Gotham. Here, we play by my rules.” With that she spun around and left, typing on her tablet. Just before the doors closed, she tossed another sentence that drove the nail deeper. “And this time, there is no minion to do it for you.”

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

Marigold didn’t calm down before reaching the top floor. Her emotions subsided a bit, but she was still on edge. 

“Ugh! How dare those stupid witches to try to use my name to sign their references! And that idiot who somehow believed them. He will definitely not get any bonus this month. Or next. At least they had enough common sense to call me. Except after the fact!” She was pacing in front of her desk. 

Tikki peaked from the inner pocket of her jacket. “At least you could do something about it!” She cheered.

“True. I got rid of one trouble. Without her, I will have a chance for some peace…” She barely finished the sentence when there was a crash in the room next door. Immediately, she rushed inside to check. Turns out her boss for some reason decided to move the desk. He ended up knocking the computer over. 

“Ehm.” She faux-coughed to get his attention.

“Oh! Um… I was just…” Tim tried to find some excuse.

“Trying to open the secret stash of coffee?”

“How do you…” he started to ask flabbergasted, but she interrupted him once more.

“I studied the schematics. And Sarah left me a note about it.” A smirk ghosted her stern face.

“Damn! Now I will need another hiding place.” Tim gathered himself from the ground. “Wait! You moved the desk by yourself?”

“Do I look that strong to you?” She asked, her face unmoving. Just because she came to hate liars didn’t mean she didn’t know how to bend the truth a little. And technically, she just avoided answering altogether.

“Whatever. You must’ve ordered the repair crew to move it then. I want my coffee.” He said pouting.

“Sir. I’m supposed to help you manage your time better. I am not simply your secretary.” Marigold informed him firmly. She checked with both Chloe and Nathalie what her responsibilities included.

“But you made that divine brew on Monday!”

“That was a gift for my first day of work.” Plus I had no idea what I was doing.

“But…”

“Enough buts for today. You have a meeting with Mr. Fox about the Friday presentation in half-an-hour. Did you familiarize yourself with the content of the email he sent you?”

“Ah! Of course, I did. I totally didn’t spend my night…”

“Then I would appreciate it if you spent the next half-an-hour on doing so.”

“B…” He didn’t even finish when her glare stopped him. She could pull Batstare better than the original.

“If you act like a proper CEO, I might think about making you some of my ‘divine brew’ as a reward.” She suggested and closed the door, leaving him to his own device. She had several calls to make and set other meetings

---------

It was two hours later when angry Caline Bustier demanded a meeting with her. Mari didn’t even think before redirecting her to HR. The teacher was supposed to be the chaperone of the group and look after them after work. She was also directly responsible for all of their actions. She was very displeased that now she had to take care of Alya for eight hours a day that used to be free time for her. So of course, she blamed everything on Marinette. This time, it backfired. She had to quickly give up any accusations before she ended up in an even worse situation. 

Luckily, after that little incident, the day passed without any more surprises. She had half-a-mind to search the town for her mother in the evening. Since she was hired, she was now technically independent of the class. Chloe had a slip from her father that allowed her to basically ignore the teacher. The blonde convinced Mari that mindless wandering the city would only get her robbed. Or at least involved in attempted robbery since she could easily kick ass if she only wanted. Instead, Mari spent the afternoon shopping for materials and working on a new outfit for uncle Jagged that he ordered for his visit to Gotham in a month or so.

She also made a quick call to Paris to discuss things with her hire. The girl informed her that she would happily run the store a little longer. Mari promised to even consider to hire her permanently if she did well. 

Chloe had another date scheming meeting with Damian Wayne. At this point, it was unclear what their relationship was. Good thing: neither did the tabloids. Mari promised to the blonde to hold back on the search for her mom until Friday afternoon. She also promised to take both Adrien and Chloe with her when she visited a contact in the local club. They would celebrate her getting a job and the first week over.

All would be great. If she didn’t spot a vigilante on the rooftop next to her (now fixed) window. Even then, it was Gotham. The bats were rather common at this point. It wasn’t like when she left and they were only starting. Batman was still mostly a myth back then, even after six years of work. Except this vigilante was clearly staking her room specifically. he even had binoculars that she was sure had night vision in them. 

She opened the window and picked a pencil. With deadly precision she tossed it. The wooden tool sailed through the air until it hit the binoculars and broke one side of them. She huffed and closed the window before pulling the curtains closed. How rude.

---------

NEXT

[thadelightfulone]

All I Want... 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, Day 5

November 21st - Part 2

Erik’s tablet chimed as he finished up the dishes. He set aside the leftovers for later and went to see what DeeDee had to say.

He roared with laughter at how she ended the email. Why was she so stuck on finding out if he found the love he described? Her curiosity tickled him and now he had to decide how to navigate this conversation away from that kind of talk. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about the non-existent once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that he wanted. But how do you explain to someone how you never felt you deserved it, so you never went looking for it? And therefore, you don’t have it. 

Erik sighed and reached for something stronger than water to drink. 

He took the tablet, the bottle and glass into the living room. He took a seat on the couch and cracked his knuckles and began to write his response for the Curious DeeDee. Erik shook his head and laughed again. 

Erik hoped this would be enough to get DeeDee away from asking again, but something told him it wasn’t over.

---

DeeDee had devoured half of the pizza and the bottle of wine. She went to her room to  change out of her cleaning clothes into her favorite hoodie and a pair of yoga pants. 

Her laptop went off when she returned from the back, and DeeDee jumped onto her couch in excitement. She couldn’t wait to find out that he found his true life long love. 

If she couldn’t find it for herself, there was no reason for her to not want that for everyone else. Live vicariously through her new friend, Erik. Wait, could she consider him a friend? She scrunched her face at that rude thought and opened his email.

SUBJECT: RE: ‘MgYHeArTaNdSOULa’

Hi Dee Dee,

I know you know I meant science, but I will answer one of those questions to quell your curiosity. I, also, commend you for pursuing your doctorate, and in advanced chemistry, no less. 

So, it’s kind of a funny story, but I never meant to leave it in there. 

Fun fact about the note, it is much older than you think. I was a civil engineering major during undergrad, when I originally wrote that note and left it in the book. 

It happened when I was returning all my checked out books from the library. I was getting ready to move and needed to get them all in to avoid any replacement fees that would have prevented the conferral of my doctoral degree. So, I turned all of those books in without checking them. Which was definitely out of character for me. Especially since I lived by all my written notes for both class and research. 

I discovered it was missing when I went to look for it after the move. I knew exactly where it was, but I knew I wouldn’t be going back to get it. So, it was just out there. Besides, I knew what it said by heart, so it was fine.  

I will tell you I never expected to be discussing it years later though. It has been a very pleasant surprise.

Thank you,

E

“Of course, he would avoid the damn question.” She huffed out and poured another glass. It should not be that hard to answer, either he found it or is still in search of it. DeeDee’s hand stilled as she brought it to her lips. Nope, not going there tonight. She took a long drink of her wine.

She set the glass down, drew up her legs and crossed them before settling the computer on her lap. In a flurry, DeeDee’s fingers danced across her keyboard as she wrote her response. The alcohol heated her up to match her current mood. 

---

Erik was chilling, in a half-assed attempt to watch the movie playing on TV. He had turned the volume down because the woman’s high pitched tone was grating on his nerves. He set the whiskey down on his coffee table and leaned back with his feet propped up and closed his eyes. 

The easily recognizable email alert stirred him. Oh, she had time. It had only been about 20 minutes since he sent the last email. He sat up and opened up the email. 

SUBJECT: RE: ‘MgYHeArTaNdSOULa’

Mr. Erik, 

So, you really aren’t going to answer that other question? Ok, that’s fine. I’ll let it slide for now.

Thank you for that. I have always wanted to work in the science field and I found toxicology while I was working on my Bachelors. I enjoy it and definitely appreciate having Dr. O as my mentor. 

That is an interesting story. The one time you lost control and you left something like the note behind. Well, I guess it is just my luck that I found it and decided to look for you, huh? Oh, and you’re welcome. 

What do you do now? I know you aren’t working in a lab or researching much anymore.  

I read a little bit about you but I don’t know much about the work that the Wakandan Outreach Centers do. I would love to hear about it.

DeeDee 

“That’s right. Quis, did say she was one of his students.” Then why was he worried about the person being a stalker. Erik set the tablet down and reached for his cell to text him. 

Erik: Quis, why were you worried about DeeDee?

Quis: What? 

Erik: About stalker potential?

Quis: Man, I didn’t even know it was her until she came and showed me a picture.

Erik: What picture?

Quis: Our Grad Student of the Year picture from the front of the Southern Digest.

Erik nodded his head, “So, Miss DeeDee knows what I look like. Or what I looked like.”

Quis: Everything good, man. 

Erik: Yeah, yeah. Just wanted a little background, can’t be too sure of people asking for help these days.  

Quis: DeeDee could never stoop to Karina’s level. She’s safe. 

“The hell, she is.” Erik picked up his glass and took a sip. “This woman is becoming more dangerous, as we speak.”

Quis: So, I take it that you can be of use to her?

Erik: Uh yeah, she is very sharp. 

Quis: You have no idea.

Erik: Thanks again. Oh, and I got the email, so I’m making plans now. 

Quis: Great. Later, man.

“If Marquis vouched for her, then I have nothing to worry about.”

Erik dropped his phone back onto the couch and picked up the tablet. 

“Here goes nothing.”

--- 

DeeDee was on Spotify. She picked a list at random and let the music take her away. She was slowly bodyrolling to Rome Flynn’s ��Keep Me In Mind’ with a refreshed glass in hand, when her phone blinked. She walked over to it and saw that Erik had sent another email. She took a sip and picked up her phone to open his reply. 

SUBJECT: RE: ‘MgYHeArTaNdSOULa’

DeeDee,

How did I go from Erik to Mister? 

I guess if you get to know me better than maybe you would find out the answer to your question. 

But you are right. I tend to have a tight rein on things, it has always been that way. So, when I lost the note, I was irritated before I realized it wasn’t going to matter in the long run. But it appears to have landed in exceptional hands. *winks*

Well, I am in the family business. My family started the Wakandan Outreach Centers. The first one was opened up here in Oakland. I am the Director of Operations for it and all the Centers on the West Coast.

My first love will always be science. So, although, I may not be active in the field according to your definition. I still use everything I learned and conduct research with my cousins on a regular basis.

Since you know so much about me. Tell me something about DeeDee. Like how much longer do you have to complete your doctorate? 

Mr. Erik

“Does he think that wink is gonna work on me?” DeeDee hid her smile behind the glass. “Damnit.” 

She locked up the phone and walked back to her couch. DeeDee traded devices and picked up her laptop to reply to Erik. 

“You don’t get to wink at me and then wash over the topic again.” 

DeeDee pressed down hard on each key as she typed. She admired the fact that his family was close enough to work together on something as big as the successful operation of multiple Outreach Centers across the U.S. But she would not rest until he answered her. 

“You aren’t cute, Mr. Erik.” She glanced over to the notebook, where the newspaper clipping of him and Dr. O was folded up inside. She recalled some dimples and a bright smile. He definitely towered over her 5’4 frame. He stood at least 2-3 inches taller than Dr. O, and she had to look up at him all the time. “Yeah, you not that cute.”

She clapped her hands and hit the ‘send’ button. Her phone went off. She saw Beverly sent something in the group chat.

Bev: Dinner and the club, tonight?

Phyll: You know I’m down. 

DeeDee: No thanks. I’m covered for the rest of the year.

Bev: Come on, DeeDee. 

DeeDee: Phyll, don’t you have work?

Phyll: Don’t try to change the subject, Dee. 

Bev: You ain’t doing nothing important. It’s not like you have something to study for anymore.

DeeDee looked at her computer. “Come on, Erik. Give me a reason to stay home tonight.”

---

Erik just brought the glass to his lips when the tablet alerted him to another email. So, they were really doing this tonight? Back and forth emails in real time. He doesn’t even remember the last time, he looked forward to hearing from someone. It had been a while since someone had his attention like that. And after a few simple emails, he found that DeeDee squirmed her way into that space. 

���What’s up Miss DeeDee?” He opened the email, “Ready to share?”

SUBJECT: RE: ‘MgYHeArTaNdSOULa’

Mister Erik, 

*pouts* Fine. I don’t know why you can’t just answer the question now, but ok. 

That is wonderful. Sounds like the family business is treating you well. And you are enjoying what you do. That is all I want from my career. I want to do research and teach others. It’s a growing field so if we can get more men and women of color into STEM careers, I am here for it. 

Something about me -- I’m an only child and a legacy student. Both of my parents attended Southern. In fact, it’s where they met all those years ago. And I like to read...like I can read anything and get lost in someone else’s world for hours.

But this is hopefully my final semester, I am preparing to defend my dissertation next month. Wish me luck!  

DeeDee

“Her parents met at Southern?” Erik put the tablet down and walked over to his fireplace. He picked up the center picture from the mantle and closed his eyes briefly.  Two people were standing together in front of a large building. He rubbed his fingers over the top of the image of his parents. It read John B. Cade, it was the library at Southern University. Where his parents met and fell in love. 

Erik took a deep breath and put the picture back up. He stood there and looked at the tablet.

“Is it possible that she could be?” He shook his head before he went down that road. The image of the last woman he thought could be his one and only flashed across his mind. He groaned out. Erik walked over to the couch and grabbed the tablet. “Only one way to find out.”

Taglist: @teakturn​​ @ghostfacekill-monger​​ @shaekingshitup​​ @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​​ @woahitslucyylu​​ @ladymac82​​ @bugngiz​​ @eyeknowmywrites​​ @ajspencer1892​​ @arafatih​​ @issimplyaamazinggg​​ @tchallasbabymama​​

[justkurotingz]

“you’re under arrest” (aaron hotchner x reader)

i just rewatched the last seasons of the show, and i was just really, really inspired(aka i sobbed a lot) by “the storm” so i wanted to write this. in this oneshot HEAVILY based on the episode, you are about 6-7 weeks pregnant, and your belly has just started to show 🥺🥺🥺🥺 

word count: 1.5K

“jack did you pack your comics?” you smiled at your young son, who was shoveling down breakfast as fast as he can. “you’re going to choke.” you sighed, refilling his water. “come on jack, it’s almost time to go.” aaron chuckled, unlocking the safe so he could get his gun.

he had just holstered it when the door flew open with a bang, startling all three of you. aaron had just whipped his gun around when he realized it was SWAT. you quickly covered jack’s eyes, your own eyes wide. ‘i’m on the job.” aaron said calmly, but the man at the front was persistent.

“drop your weapon.” he demanded. “i’m aaron hotchner with the fbi.” aaron spoke up, still training his gun at captain grant howard. “we know who you are, lower your gun.” howard demanded. instead of lowering his gun, aaron frowned. “who sent you?” he asked.

“aaron.” you warned him quietly, and he faltered, glancing at you in defeat. “this is mistake.” he pressed, lowering his gun. “daddy what’s going on?” jack asked, tearing his eyes away from your hand. aaron barely had time to reassure jack before the men demanded he kneel. “on your knees, hands behind your back.”  

“is this really necessary?” hotch asked calmly, but the men were not playing. “now.” he commanded and hotch sighed, kneeling slowly. “daddy!” jack cried and you started to tear up, afraid what was going to happen. “it’s ok jack, it’s a big mistake and everything’s going to be alright.” aaron looked at his son before his eyes trailed to you. “i love you.” he said softly and you nodded. the men handcuffed aaron and led him out the door. “dad!” jack cried but they slammed the door shut. you peered out the window where hotch was escorted into a car and they drove off.

“mommy. mommy what’s happening?” jack’s eyes grew wide after seeing the tears stream down my face. “it’s ok baby, we’re not going to school today. let’s go hang out with uncle spencer and everyone else, ok?” jack nodded, picking up his backpack and you carried him to the car, strapping him in.

“spence, listen carefully.” you called your best friend, voice thick with worry and tears. “jack’s here so i’m not going to share everything, but aaron was just arrested by MPD.” “what?” spence apparently got up in shock and you nodded, although he couldn’t see. “just tell the others, i’ll be right there. tell garcia to check 911 phone calls, he must have been framed.”

spence hung up, rushing to the rest of the team. “oh my god.” jj said, and penelope looked shocked. “on it, i’m checking the calls now.” her fingers shook as they flew across the keyboard. moments later, you arrived with jack in tow. “i didn’t want him away from me. i figured this would be the safest place. hey baby, want to go play with auntie jj?” jack shook his head. “i want to go to daddy’s office.” jj nodded, talking to jack quietly, trying to cheer him up on the way.

“hey calm down. y/n, calm down.” the pregnancy was affecting your emotions and you burst into tears, sitting down heavily. “i don’t know why i’m such a mess. but seeing aaron there, kneeling in front of them... jack saw most of it. he saw his superhero being arrested.” you were sobbing and spence gently sat next to you, comforting you. “hey, you’re ok. it was a mistake and we’re going to figure out where he is. hotch isn’t going down with a fight, we’re all here.” you nodded, wiping your tears and dave sat down next to you.

“he’s downtown. we’re going to get him home y/n. don’t worry.” he kissed your forehead and got up. “i’m going to head downtown to see who’s holding him.” spence nodded from next to you. “call us.” “of course.” dave exited, rushing to the elevator. “i found the call.” garcia played the recording of the 911 call.

“today will change everything.” hotch warned. “oh my god.” you clapped a hand to your mouth and spence frowned. “that’s spliced together. hotch definitely said parts of that in conferences. do you see how the inflection is different?” tara nodded, eye solemn. “so hotch was framed for a... bomb threat?” “it’s definitely spliced and spoofed. something else is going on.” spence mused. just then, rossi called. “the doj has him. i tried to talk to him but they wouldn’t let me.”

at aaron’s interrogation room, they played the same 911 call. “voice recognition says it’s yours.” “oh come on, i’ve said parts of that sentence in my press conferences. do you seriously believe i’d blow up my team?” “there’s also this.” a video of mr. scratch warning the world against aaron played on the tablet in front of him.

“would you really believe anything a convicted serial killer says?” aaron questioned, face barely masking his suppressed frustration. “we didn’t at first, but there’s more. we have your credit card statements that show you’ve recently purchased materials needed in building a bomb. you also failed to mention in your report that you had been exposed to a dissociative drug that led to psychotic breaks. you left that out.” aaron sighed, shaking his head.

“furthermore, you’ve made bad judgement calls regarding agnet rossi and former agent greenaway. after your ex-wife was murdered, your judgement has been clouded.” “why would i be stupid enough to call in my supposed threat? these are my agents, my team. my wife who is 6 weeks pregnant with our child works under my team. my wife. i would never hurt her.” aaron leaned forward, eyes dark with anger and the man sighed.

“i want to believe you, i really do. but the evidence we have against you is undeniable. you’ve got to accept that.” back at the BAU, spence was pondering a thought. “antonia slade warned hotch that a storm was coming. we need to talk to her right now.” jj nodded, and rushed down to talk to her. after it was revealed that it wasn’t her, but her son, spence discovers that while asher douglas did splice the 911 call, he’s autistic, and not responsible for the “storm.”

“come on.” you whispered, getting up to pace, making jack glance at you. “mommy are you ok?” “just worried about daddy sweetie.” you answered, murmuring under your breath. the team had just figured out it was rawdon before they got the call from SWAT about a prison break.

“hey, where do you think you’re going?” you paused, looking at dave. “to help?” “y/n, this is a sensitive case. and you’re pregnant.” “oh come on.” spence looked at you and chimed in. “hey, we’ll be fine. just stay and take care of yourself. and jack.” you sighed, sitting back down and waved to them as they went down the elevator. “come on jack, let’s go wait in daddy’s office.” 

hours later, you got the frantic call from spence, telling you what had went down. there was a major prison break and a shootout. rawdon had hid the bomb in the ivory tower, but before the anarchists could escape with the bomb, the helicopter was shot and the bomb detonated in air, bringing down the anarchists and the bomb.

“wow.” you said, trying to process it quickly. “hotch is on his way, he left before us. talk later, bye.” he ended the call and you sighed, watching jack draw. it hadn’t even been five minutes since spence called when hotch burst into his office. 

“thank god.” he whispered, dropping everything and rushing to you. “y/n i am so so sorry. i am so sorry baby. reid told me the state you were this morning.” he kissed your forehead, wrapping you in a hug, one arm tangled in your hair. you hugged him back, tears streaming down your face. “oh baby, i know, i know you were so worried.” aaron kissed them away, gently placing a hand on your slightly bigger stomach. “we’re ok. we’re ok.” you reassured him and aaron pressed another kiss to your forehead. “i’m so sorry for scaring you.”

“hey jack.” jack didn’t respond, he just kept on coloring. “hey.” aaron said louder, but jack just opened his backpack and put the drawing in. “hi. are you ok?” he said absently and aaron sighed, squatting to his son’s level. “yeah, i’m alright. how are you?” “fine.” “jack, come on buddy. talk to me.” jack looked up at his father with sad eyes. “daddy you made mommy cry. you told me that men who hurt women are cowards.” “oh buddy.” aaron lifted jack in his arms. “daddy made a lot of mistakes today. but that’s ok, because i love mommy and you. i apologized to mommy. and now i’ll apologize to you. i’m sorry you had to see what happened in the morning. is daddy still your superhero?”

“yeah.” jack smiled, throwing his arms around his dad’s neck, making you smile. “let’s go home.” for once, you couldn’t be more glad to get out of the office. 

[lovemesomesurveys]

How are you doing today? It’s only 1:56AM, but so far I’ve just ate a bowl of ramen and watched a couple YouTube videos. What was the best thing that happened to you today? My ramen was quite delicious, ha. Which cell phone network are you on? Verizon. Do you like the smell of cinnamon? Yesss. What was the last book you've read? I just finished, “The Secret She Kept” by Elle Gray and I’ve started, “Autumn’s Strike” by Mary Stone.

Are you hungry right now? No, I just finished eating. What was the last thing you've had to drink? Water. How often do you visit this website? I’m on Tumblr all the time. Do you like frogs? No. Are you afraid of dying? Yes. Do you like bananas? I love bananas.    Do you like the show American Dad? Meh. It has its moments, but overall I’ll pass. I don’t ever watch it by my own choosing, I just catch it here and there because my family watches it.  What TV show do you miss the most that's no longer on TV? Gilmore Girls, Degrassi, and True Blood come to mind first. Are you currently fighting with someone right now? No. Is your life full of drama? No. I have other stressful things I’m dealing with, but not of the drama variety. How long can you hold your breath underwater *shrug* Where's the last place you've been to out of state? When I went to Arizona to visit my grandparents about 6 years ago. Have you ever been kissed in the rain? No. What letter does your last name start with. -- What are you listening to right now? I’m watching Gilmore Girls. Have you ever had a pet that died? Yes. Would you rather use a trackpad or a mouse? Trackpad. Do you consider yourself politically intelligent? No, not at all. Have you ever done any volunteer work? Yeah, I’ve done a lot with Girl Scouts, school clubs, and class assignments. Do you like the Beatles? I like some songs. Is it night time where you're at right now? Yeah, it’s 2:08AM. Do you like steak? Nope. Do you eat healthy? No, I definitely don’t. How often do you work out? I don’t. What was the best gift you've ever received? I couldn’t possibly choose. Have you ever participated in a spelling bee? Nope. If you could have one wish right now, what would it be? Good health. Do you owe anyone an apology right now? I kind of do. Are you the jealous type of person? I can be, but it’s not something I feel much. Or at least haven’t felt in a long time. I feel envy more. Have you ever tried doing yoga? Nah. Do you like getting massages? I’ve never gotten one. Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Cold. Are you good at telling jokes? No, I’m pretty much the worst. I don’t tell many jokes. When was the last time you've attended a sleepover? Several years ago. Tell me one of your pet peeves. Eating sounds. Do you wear glasses? I do. Do you like to keep your nails painted? I haven’t painted my nails for the past few years. Have you ever had a pedicure? Nope.  What is your favorite smell? I have several favorites. Do you like the TV show Full House? I do. Would you rather listen to country music or rap music? I like both. Are you a Duck Dynasty fan? Nope. Have you graduated high school yet? Uh, yeah, back in 2008.  What kind of person were you in middle school? Quiet, shy, awkward. Nothing has changed. Do you have any major regrets in your life? I have a few. :/ Do you like pixie sticks? Eh. I did as a kid, but I don’t have much interest in them the older I get. Do you like French toast? Mmm, yes. Are you a fast typer? I am. Are you good at doing math in your head? Nope. Or at all. Have you ever played with Silly Putty? Yeah. Do you take in a lot of caffeine daily? I do. I love my caffeine. Do you like watching Football? Nope. Or an sport. What language do you wish you could speak? Spanish. Do you know a lot about history? No, I wouldn’t say that. If we could travel back in time, where would you travel to? Can I travel back to childhood? Would you ever consider joining the military? No. I couldn’t anyway, I’m physically disabled. Are you a cigarette smoker? No. Have you ever done something you didn't want to just to look cool? That’s kind of how it was when I used to drink and smoke. I wasn’t a big drinker or smoker, only did so socially, but still. I also did so on my own accord, I’m not blaming anyone, and I’m not going to say I hated all of it because I did have good times, but there was a big part of me that did so because I felt I had to. My friends liked to do it and I wanted to partake with them and not sit out on the sidelines by myself. It’s just that truth be told I think I would have rarely drank at all if it weren’t for that and likely would have never smoked. It had its fun moments, but I didn’t feel the need to partake all the time like they did. Do you like zombie movies? Nah. Have you seen The Hunger Games? Yep, all of ‘em. Do you have a favorite piece of clothing? All my graphic tees, t-shirt dresses, leggings, and lounge shorts. All my comfy clothes, basically. Do you own any Uggs? Nope. Are you wearing any rings on your fingers? No. Name a TV show that you absolutely can't stand. Most sitcoms today. Do you have any unusual talents? No. Or any kind of talent. Do you look like your age? *shrug* I’ve been told I look younger. Do you feel confident in a bathing suit? Nooo. Do you do a lot of online shopping? I do. Do you like the Harry Potter films? Yeah. Do you judge people based on their sexual orientation? No. I care about who a person is, their personality, and whether we vibe. Have you ever been told you had an accent? No. Have you ever ridden an elephant? Nope. Are you allergic to pollen? I do have seasonal allergies. Have you ever eaten sushi? Ew, yes. Not a fan. If so, do you like it? Nope. Are you a fan of anime? No. Would you rather play Xbox or Playstation? Playstation. Are you a big fan of seafood? I don’t like seafood at all. What kind of food are you craving right now? I’m good right now. Are you currently in a relationship? No. If not, are you happy being single? Yeah, it’s for the best. Do you like to go fishing? No. Are you a fast runner? I used to be. I don’t have the energy or strength anymore for that.

Have you ever worked at a fast food place? Nope. What's on your mind right now? Now I’m thinking about food cause of some of the previous questions. Are you texting anyone as you're taking this survey? No. Have you ever had a nasty rumor spread about you? No. Have you ever sent someone sexual pictures of yourself? No. Do you like who you are on the inside or the outside more? Neither. :/ Are you good at drawing? No, I have no artistic abilities. Do you know how to dance? Nope. What's your favorite reality TV show? Catfish, Teen Mom OG, Teen Mom 2, The Voice... Do you think Kim Kardashian deserves to be famous? I don’t care. Are you excited for Christmas this year? I’m always excited for Christmas. Do you celebrate Halloween? I mean, I put up some decor, watch scary movies, and partake in treats. I stopped dressing up and carving pumpkins a few years ago. Have you ever had a concussion? No. Do you pretend to be someone you're not? No. I certainly wouldn’t pretend to be... *gestures vaguely* this. Do you listen to heavy metal music? No. Were you sad when Michael Jackson died? I was just surprised. Do you have more upper or lower body strength? I barely have any strength anymore it feels like, but I used to have really great upper body strength. Have you ever been in a tanning bed? No, and never want to be. Do you like hot tubs? No. Do you know anyone who is battling cancer? No. Have you ever donated money to a charity? Yes. Do you get bored easily? More so nowadays. I didn’t used to. Have you ever peed your pants in public? Maybe as a little kid. Are you afraid of roller coasters? Yes, except for the Cars and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coasters at Disneyland. Are you good at doing tongue twisters? Not really. What was the last movie you've seen in theatres? Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Yeah, a few times but it’s been a long time. I’ve been wanting to go to one, though. Are you good at doing fractions? Meh. I’m alright. Me and math don’t get along, but I could do some things somewhat. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Halloween. Do you prefer Apple or Android? Apple. Would you rather have a tablet or a computer? Computer. Do you like things that are touch screen? Yeah. What age did you have your first kiss at? 16. Do you regret losing your virginity to whoever you lost it to? I’m still a virgin. Do you have a good relationship with your mother? Yes. Do you like the color lime green? Sure. What are your plans for tomorrow? I don’t have any. Would you rather wear jeans or yoga pants? Yoga pants. Do you like your clothes to be baggy and comfortable or tight and revealing Baggy and comfy. Do you wish you could change something about your hair? Yeah, it’s really not a good look right now. I pretty much chopped it off a couple months ago for reasons and it’s in that awkward phase as it grows out. I want it to be longer and dyed red again because currently it’s all natural and I don’t like it. Have you ever gotten a makeover? Yeah. Do you get mad easily? No. but I get frustrated and irritable easily. Have you ever punched someone in the face? No. Do you think the minions from Despicable Me are cute? Ehh. Did you have a Gameboy as a child? I did. Would you rather have chocolate or gummy worms? Chocolate. I’m not a gummy fan. What are your favorite pizza toppings? Extra cheese, garlic, green onions, spinach, cilantro, crushed meatballs, and pesto. Have you ever auditioned for a talent competition? No. I don’t have any talent. Do you make good sandwiches? I think theyr’e better from a deli or when my mom makes them haha but sure. Would you rather get high or get drunk? High. Have you ever failed a drug test? Nope. Do you like the Silent Hill movies? I actually haven’t seen them. What is one thing you need to work on to make yourself a better person? I have a few things I need to work on.

[loveistherootofhappiness]

A little late, but still good (As you can see, turning in assignments on time just isn’t my thing 🤦🏾‍♀️)

Ship: Madney Rating: T Word Count: 1923

Summary: This was purely a coincidence. Just because a handsome stranger just so happened to be sitting next to her, wearing her so-called lucky colors, it didn’t mean anything.

Day 6: “Do you believe in love at first sight?” + meet cute

Can also be read here

Maddie heaved heavily, struggling to catch her breath. Her lungs protested the full on sprint she’d just done to make sure she didn’t miss the bus. The bus driver, uncaring of her plight, looked between her and the meter, silently willing her to pay her fare so he could move on to the next spot. She took a couple of calming deep breaths, grabbed the change, from her bag, and turned to find her a seat.

She found one of the last seats available on the already crowded bus. Such was the bane of L.A. public transit. Sitting her bag next to her, she put in her earbuds to listened to one of her favorite podcasts as she waited to arrive for her hospital shift.

She’d gotten lost in the story she’d been listening to when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Slightly started, she quickly removed one of her earbuds and looked up, locking eyes with the handsome stranger in front of her. She felt, what could only be described, as an electric current flow through her as she held his gaze. She could have sworn she spotted a flash of something in his eyes before he broke their contact.

“I’m sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if the seat next to you was taken?”

Maddie found herself instantly charmed by the kindness in his voice and the lopsided grin he’d sported. She took in the rest of him. The light of the morning sun highlighted his bronzed skin and dark brown eyes. His salt and pepper beard gave him a distinguished look. He was beautiful.

But the most noticeable thing about him was his bomber jacket. It looked as if an abstract painting had been taken and plastered on to the material, with all the differing colors splattered all over it. It definitely reminded her of something straight out of the 90s.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes then,” his voice broke through her train of thought. Confused for a second, she quickly realized she’d gotten so lost in her thoughts that she failed to answer his question. She must look insane.

“Oh, no,” she moved her bag out of the way. “It’s all yours,” feeling the blush forming on her cheeks, she chuckled nervously as he sat down, “sorry about that, I think I got distracted by your jacket.” Not a total lie.

He snorted, admiring the sleeves. “Wish I could take credit for it. It’s my brother’s. Couldn’t find mine, so I stole his.”

“Your brother has unique taste, it’s nice.” She returned his grin with a shy smile, finding herself instantly charmed. As she looked, she was able to take in the colors a little more, it definitely had al the basic colors accounted for, but the colors she saw the most of were green, purple, and orange.

Your lucky colors for today are orange, purple, and green. Her roommate, Josh’s, voice floated into my mind as she remembered what he’d said that morning. Josh been reading the L.A. Times and insisted on reading their horoscopes, which included a part about lucky colors.

Maddie shelved that thought process immediately. Nope. She wasn’t going down that road. This was purely a coincidence. Just because a handsome stranger just so happened to be sitting next to her, wearing her so-called lucky colors, it didn’t mean anything.

When she heard the familiar ding, she saw that her stop had been reached. Gathering her things, he gave her a wave before she exited the bus and walked the short distance to the hospital entrance. She pushed thoughts of horoscopes, colors, and handsome strangers away to prepare for whatever insanity this city provided the ER today.

Easier said than done.

Maddie flopped down in her chair, completely exhausted as her shift was nearing it’s end. It seemed that pushing those thoughts out of her mind just wasn’t what her brain wanted to do. It wasn’t to the point of distraction, but she’d caught herself thinking about a certain handsome stranger multiple times. His eyes, his voice, his smile. It had been a long time since he felt that connection with someone. It was crazy, she’d barely spoken two sentences to the guy, but there was something there she couldn’t describe.

And she didn’t even get his name. Some luck, huh.

Maddie sighed, as she used her badge to unlock the computer. Checking the incoming patients chart, she saw that a patient had been placed in one of her assigned rooms. She signed up for him and read through his chart. Possible broken wrist. Sounded simple enough.

Grabbing the appropriate tablet, she headed to his room. She did the obligatory knock before entering. “Okay, Mr. Han, I” she was stopped short by the sight of him. Sitting on the bed, holding a bag of melted ice to his wrist, with a bruised cheek, was the guy from the bus this morning.

“Well, hi.” He said as he smiled at her.

“Hi.” She stepped further into the room and closed the door, doing a quick survey of him to catalogue all his visible injuries. “It looks like you’ve had an eventful day, Mr. Han.”

“Please, call me Chimney,” she mustn’t’ve kept her face as straight as she thought, as he followed up with, “long story.”

Part of her wanted to wanted probe further so she could hear it, but knew this wasn’t the time or place. “Maddie.” She introduced. “Okay, Chimney, mind telling me how your face and wrist ended like this in,” she made a show of looking at her watch, “12 hours?”

“It looks worse than it feels,” he flinched as he tried to flex his injured wrist. She started checking his vitals as he explained, “I was trying to break up a bar fight. Drunk guy wanting to take his anger out on other people. He got my cheek as I got between him and another guy. He popped my wrist as I was tossing him out.”

She grabbed his wrist from him, gently examining it. Black, blue, swollen, and out of place in several places. “I admire the heroism.”

“Wouldn’t really call it heroism, it’s kinda my job,” he looked from his wrist to her eyes, “I’m a bouncer... slash D.J. slash manager.”

“That sounds... busy,” she laughed as she gently let go of his wrist.

“It can be, but it’s a living.”

In that moment, the doctor walked in the room. She left the room, giving them some privacy to talk. Sitting down at the computer she was still in a state of disbelief. She didn’t know if it would be wise to call this luck, given the state he was in and she still had no idea where she stood in her belief in it, but she didn’t think she could call this a coincidence anymore.

Maddie gathered the things she would need to wrap his wrist and bandage his cheek. As soon as the doctor came out, the x-rays came back and confirmed what she already knew: his wrist was dislocated. She waited  for the doctor to put in the orders and do the obligatory explanations with Chimney before heading back to the room.

“Chimney, let’s get that wrist wrapped and get you out of here.”

She slid the stool in front him, gave him an initial dose of pain medicine, and went to work on getting him patched up. There was a comfortable silence between them as she bandaged his bruised cheek.

“You know of all the ways I thought about seeing you again, gotta say, this wasn’t on the list,” he told her as she moved on to his wrist.

She actions faltered a bit, but she quickly recovered and fell back into her rhythm. Looking up into those kind, brown eyes, she saw the sincerity there. “You thought about seeing me again?”

He smiled shyly, “well, I’d hoped,” she was well aware that her cheeks were a fresh shade of crimson, “now I’m trying to figure out the ethics of asking your nurse for her phone number.”

Maddie knew she had the biggest grin on her face. Ignoring her heartbeat, she slid on the brace and wrapped the sling around his neck and wrist. Reaching for the discharge paperwork she’d brought with her, she held out the clipboard and a pen. “Sign here please.” She kept the smile on her face as he looked between her and the pen, grabbing and signing his name as best he could.

“Listen, if I overstepped-”

“You didn’t,” writing on the paperwork before she handed him his part of it, “and it looks like I’m officially not your nurse anymore.”

He caught on quickly as she pointed to her name and personal number at the bottom. Taking out his cellphone right then, he sent her a text message. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Just making sure you know it’s me.” She chuckled and saved his number.

They pocketed their phones, he grabbed his things, which included the jacket, and they both walked out of the room. “Well, Mr. Han, it has been a pleasure, you know besides the reason that you’re actually here.”

“Gotta say, the pleasure has been all mine.”

“Stay out of trouble,” she told him as he turned and walked towards the exit.

“No promises,” he threw over his shoulder before walking out the door.

Making her way back to the nurse’s station, she put his paperwork on the rack to be filed, made sure all her charts were completed, and logged out for the day. When she walked into the nurse’s lounge she found two of her coworkers having a conversation as she walked in.

“Ask Maddie and see what she thinks.” Jasmine said.

“Ask Maddie what?” She asked as she got her things from her locker.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

The question gave her pause and she turned to face the two women. “Um, I don’t know.” A certain charming man came to mind as she thought about it, throwing her completely off guard. She was certainly charmed by him, definitely infatuated and instantly attracted, but love. That was a stretch, right? Though, she had to admit, she’d never felt that strong a connection with someone before. “Maybe. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility.”

“See, Maddie agrees with me.”

“I just don’t think it can happen,” Malika chimed in, “there definitely attraction at first sight, infatuation at first sight, most definitely lust at first sight, but love? Absolutely not, how the heck can you love someone you don’t know?” She did have a point.

“You’re just a cynic.”

“Just another way of saying realist, Jas.”

Leaving the two women to their conversation, as all the implications were starting to give her a headache, she said her goodbyes and left. As she walked across the parking garage, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She pulled out her phone and read the text on the screen.

Chimney Han I just realized, you probably know my entire medical history and I know nothing about you. How about we change that over dinner?

Maddie found herself staring at the message. All the implications and possibilities of whatever this thing was between them aside, she knew she liked him, at the very least. She felt excited at the thought of exploring the connection and see where it led.

She typed a quick, “I’d love to,” in response. ---

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

[mikaa-mina]

At Garden’s Edge- ch8: A Day in the Life of a Newt(on Pulsifer)

The lights are too bright, and Newt can’t quite hear what the lady in front of him is saying over the cacophony of beeps. His head also feels quite.... strange. He’s pretty sure that it’s not supposed to feel like it’s floating half a foot above his neck while also feeling like it’s stuffed full of cotton.

Some of the beeping suddenly stops, making it so much quieter in the ER, and Newt can finally understand what the nurse is asking. He tells her he thinks he’s fine, only he managed to hit something in the middle of the road with his bike and that sent him sailing towards the curb, which his bike tire hit at the wrong angle, and that quite firmly ejected him from his seat. And actually, he’s not at all quite sure how he got here, or why he’s here.

The nurse comes closer before he realizes she’s holding a tablet to enter his information in. By the time he realizes, it’s too late.

There’s a sound much like a mosquito hitting a trap lamp with a bright Bzzt! and then tablet goes dark in her hands. Newt grimaces.

It snowballs from there.

She shushes his apologies and uses the flip hospital phone that they use now instead of chargers/beepers to call the nurse station and request a backup one. It, accordingly, powers off halfway through her phone call. She shakes it with a frown and grumbles about the board of offices being cheap with their equipment, turns a sunny smile on him, and brightly says “well, I’ll just take down the basics and get your vitals while we wait. Do you have records here?”

“Uh. Maybe?” probably, “Which hospital is this?”

“The Brugmansia Hospital.”

“Oh! Yeah. I was born here. Uh. I changed my name though. Still Pulsifer for the last name though, figure there’s probably not too many of them around,” he laughs nervously, overly conscious of how awkward he is and how unable he is to do anything about it.

She still smiles, ever professional, and jots down his information. “First name?”

“Oh! Right. Sorry. It’s Newton now. Newton Pulsifer.”

“Thank you Newton, now I’m just going to take your vitals now.”

“Oh- I, uh, don’t really think-”

It’s too late, she’s come up to take his temperature with their new wireless, laser thermometer and it promptly errors out. It continues to error out no matter how many times she restarts it. The heavy seed of dread in Newt’s stomach grows larger. This is exactly why he tries not to go to places like this.

“I’m sorry. Uh, do you happen to have something maybe not, uh, electrical?”

She gives him a funny look for that and he shrinks back.

“Well. Let me get your blood pressure and o2 readings.”

Newt looks dubiously at the machine setup she wheels over to him. Miraculously, it goes okay when she wraps the cuff around his upper arm, and even when it starts. Everything avalanches when she puts the wireless o2 reader on him. Immediately everything in his room fritzes out, the lights even flickering before coming back, but all of the machines are still down or in the emergency boot up system restart.

“Oh bugger,” he sighs under his breath, quietly enough that the nurse fretting over all the technology can’t hear how resigned and unsurprised he is.

The avalanche continues when a nearby nurse ducks in and his tablet powers itself off. The smartwatch he’s wearing starts having three different alarms go off on it, and then there’s some shouts of alarm from outside Newt’s room that he’s really not sure that he wants to know what they’re about.

There are four people in his room now, in varying states of bewilderment and frustration, trying to figure out why everything’s malfunctioning in his room while also trying to get it back up and working. No one’s listening to Newt when he tries to explain that if he could just leave, it’d get better, but then, he’s mostly used to being ignored at this point.

More and more people trickle into the room, Newt spots the tech support guy he wished to be, frowning and scratching his head as he looks at everything. And then he looks at Newt.

A quick mumble about using the loo and Newt escapes out of the room, IV still attached to the weird metal stand and his arm but at least they’re not electronically powered. Just good engineering and reliable gravity.

He figures if he can put enough distance between him, and the rest of all that technology crammed into one small spot, that everything will boot back up just fine. And if not, Newt could write out exactly how to fix it.

So he heads to the loo, because now that he’s made the excuse, he figures he might as well try and also he’s betting on there being a whole lot less fancy technology in there. If only he could actually find said loo. Or any loo, really.

He’s waylaid by a small girl about ten minutes into his wandering of the halls.

“Oh. Hullo there.”

The girl is missing three teeth, has brown hair, and is looking at Newt as if he’s the newest attraction in the city zoo. Under her stare, Newt almost feels like one.

“Wut’er you doing?”

“Er... looking for the loo.”

She looks at him, looks in the direction he was heading in, looks back at him and matter-of-fact-ly says, “you’re going the wrong way.”

He blinks at her, which she takes as permission for her to reach up and grab his hand and start pulling him in the other direction. Bewildered, he followed.

And thus began a brand new game called “Lead the Newt” which had a revolving cast of characters, all under the age of twelve, each insisting they knew where the loo was, and each hiding him from sight any time an adult employee came near.

This scavenger hunt of a game ended at, not a loo (which made Newt extremely grateful he didn’t actually need one), but at a recreational sort of room. There was an old tv in one corner, an open treasure chest filled with costumes and toys, and a few bookshelves. The floor was spongy beneath Newt’s feat and looking down left him staring at brightly colored interlocking foam mat puzzle pieces.

For some reason, all of the co-conspirators find him funny, and really the only tech he might fry in here is a rather old tv that looks like it’s been outdated so many times it can’t recall if it’s outdated or retro at this point, so all in all... This is probably the safest room for Newt to be in. And certainly more interesting than the loo.

And that’s how he finds himself, an hour later, dressed in a paper hat of some kind (its supposed to be a jester’s hat) leaning against his iv pole, making elaborate gestures with his free hand, and telling terrible terrible jokes to a kid in a paper crown and to the amusement of the other kids around him. It’s most certainly a bizarre scene, but no one has commented on it as of yet and due entirely for the fact that the secondary game they’re all playing is ‘Hide the Newt’ any time an adult wanders by. Closets, corners, and blankets have all been heavily featured by now in this game.

So Newt can hardly be blamed for jumping near out of his skin when, after telling a particularly bad punny joke, he hears an adult’s laughter. So he jumps, jerks, and tries to turn to face the voice all in one motion and ends up somehow practically hogtieing himself in his iv cord and going down.

He ended up in a heap of limbs, metal pole, and iv cord wrapped all around him, and his glasses hanging half off his face. “Oh bugger...”

There was a snickering above him from the adult voice and the children alternating between giggles at his fall and joyful cries of “Crow Crow!”, “Mister Crow!”, and “Miss Crow!”. As Newt struggled to untangle himself, with the help of a few kids who both made things worse and better in turns, the other children began pleading with the Crow? Crow?? to pleeeeease let them keep Newt.

The stranger is crouching down to the kid’s level by the time Newt gets mostly upright, and they look a lot like they’re trying very hard not to laugh. “Now. However did you magpies manage to steal a whole person?”

Laughter sounds and they’re throwing themselves at the redhead and the two bags they set down. As the majority are immediately distracted by the prospect of sweets and the passing out of them, the stranger turns to Newt and raises an eyebrow high above dark sunglasses and says, “well? How’d they manage to kidnap you?”

Before Newt can respond the kids answer with excuses that pile over one another ranging from “he just wandered in!” to the actually mostly truthful “he was lost so we were showing him around!”.

“Oh really now?” they seem to be biting back laughter as they continue, “he was lost so you decided to help him by keeping him here?”

Some of the kids looked abashed while others look outright proud of themselves and to Newt’s surprise the stranger threw back their head with a short bark of a laugh before grinning as if proud of them.

Just in case he was reading the situation wrong, he’d done that with people more than a few times, Newt tried pushing through his embarrassment and awkwardness with an “It’s, uh, alright. Really. It’s been kind of fun, actually.”

“Ah. Yeah, they really grow on you.” The Crow glanced at the kids with a mischievous look, “like a fungus.”

Groans and laughter sounded before all of a sudden a shushing and pointing as an adult was seen wandering their way. Before Newt could blink they had him hidden out of sight shoved in a closet between some coats, puppets, and something slightly sticky that he had no intention of exploring further.

He could hear the somewhat muffled conversation of the kids pleading with The Crow to keep their secret before a new adult voice joined the conversation. The voices dropped away a bit, except for the nervous kids right in front of the closet attempting to whisper between each other, before he can’t make anything out at all. He waits, nervousness beginning to creep in because just how long was he supposed to stay in the closet? Actually, about that, he’d really had enough of closets and hiding in them. Terribly stifling and awful and much better really to be out of them.

Eventually there’s the sound of foot falls coming closer and closer to the closet and for a moment Newt’s heart picks up, certain that he’s about to be found and get in trouble. Then the doors are opened and it’s the red headed stranger who jokes, “ready to come out of the closet?”

And Newt’s still full of nervousness and it expresses itself by making him immediately blurt out “already did that once really. Was sort of hoping to not have to do it again.”

There’s a pause where the red head stares at him and the realization that he’s said that out loud crashes over Newt who flushes hotly. “Oh gods, I said that out loud...” and then The Crow tilts their head back and laughs.

“Been there, done that!” They agree with a grin and reach in to pull Newt out. “C’mon, ‘parently they’ve been running a missing patient code for half an hour looking for you.”

Newt relaxed fractionally, “you figured all that out from the nurse in five minutes?”

“Nah. Heard about it when I snuck in through one of the back windows. ‘s right beside one of the break rooms.”

“Oh, okay, that makes- wait. Did you say window?”

But they were already talking to the kids, “Alright you mischievous little magpies, you had your fun but we need to get him back now.” A chorus of “awwwws” and “but!!but!!”s sounded off but The Crow continued on, “if he’s here, he probably needs some help to get better, and I’m sure once he’s feeling better he’ll come say hi again.” Here they glanced over at at Newt expectantly, so Newt nodded since it seemed expected, and then they continued, “alright, so say bye to...”

“Newt.”

The Crow stilled, tilted their head to the side and asked disbelievingly, “really?” as if they didn’t also have the name of an animal.

“Yeah.”

“Alright magpies, tell Newt bye.”

There’s goodbyes and promises to come back and right as they’re leaving the first girl that had caught Newt comes up to The Crow and, in a whisper so very loud she might as well be talking, says “you hafta be nice to him!”

“Oh do I now?”

She nodded furiously, “he doesn’t ree-lize his jokes are reeeeally bad!”

The Crow seemed to choke on something before spluttering into a laughter the kid shushed them for.

“Sorry, sorry,” they managed, fighting back their grin and not looking sorry in the least as they chanced a quick glance at Newt.

The girl frowned, “you’re not sorry at all!”

“I am, I am!”

She looked unimpressed but when bribed with an extra pastry she let it, and them, go.

They’re on their way back to the nurse’s station (Newt didn’t even know what room they put him in) when he breaks the silence to ask, “is your name really Crow?”

“To the kids, yes. You can call me Crowley.”

“Oh. Nice to meet you Crowley. Did you really come in through a window?”

Crowley grinned at him, “trade secret.”

[one-shot-plus-size]

From Sons of Anarchy to Mayans MC

Jax's sister must hide from the revenge of SAMCRO enemies, goes to Mayans MC Santo Padre. And he catches the eye of a la presidente.

Chapters 6/20

Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language. They will accept any attention and criticism :)

Part 5 

Pov Bishop

I sat in Templo alone until late, wondering what might go wrong. And in what swamp we got into, I did not come home. I preferred to stay here, especially since Olivia was spending her first night here. I installed myself in my dorm, woke up as usual before 7 am. I took a quick shower and went to the club kitchen for coffee. My attention was drawn to the noise outside, I looked at the watch hanging above the door. 7:23 a.m. showed the clues, theoretically no one should be here. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went outside, stood on the porch and looked around the terrace. And then I saw her, she was hiding in the corner of the square. She was wearing tracksuit pants rolled up to her knees and a hooded sweatshirt. Only now I could see that her left leg was also covered with ink. I smiled gently, she had headphones in her ears and jumped steadily. Sweat was flowing from her forehead, I wonder how long she had been on her feet for. Only after a while I noticed that her hands were wrapped with tapes. I looked at the prospectus that came out of her trailer. He came up to me and sat down on the couch next door.

- I have been watching her for over an hour - he smiled - and I already feel sorry for my brother.

- Why? - I wrinkled my eyebrows.

- It was trained by someone who has an idea about fighting. Angel can only have the advantage over her that he is higher. Even his strength won't help him.

- It can be a big harm to his ego - I laughed.

- Yes - he smiled broadly - pressure will you eat breakfast?

- How will you do - I looked at him.

- Sure -  he nodded his head.

I came back looking at her, she was walking towards the building.

- Good morning - I smiled at her.

- Good morning - she rolled up the headphones on her hand.

- Training ?

- Just a morning routine - she moved her arms.

- The prospectus is making breakfast - I picked up and followed her - come down in 20 minutes.

- I do not feel like it - she twisted her head.

- Prospect makes good breakfasts - I smiled wide.

- Good - she nodded her head - can we talk calmly afterwards?

- And about what? - I followed her into the club.

- About some rules and duties - she didn't even look at me.

- After breakfast, right ? - I went up to the bar.

- Sure - she nodded her head and went to the apartment.

- Something feels that it can be fun with her - Ezekiel stuck his head in the kitchen.

- My bones say the same thing and they are rarely wrong - I took a breath.

As soon as the food plates touched the bar she came down to us. She slipped on the stool next to me and overtook long colored hair.

- How did you sleep? - I took a look at her.

- I wasn't sleeping much - she purrred under my nose.

- It will get better every day - the prospectus said.

- Save those lovely speeches," she grew wild, "they kicked me out of my own family because my brother had such a vision. Anyway, he decided I must listen.

She was angry, angry with her brother that he sent her away. She was angry that he wanted to protect her when she wanted to fight, to fight for her family. I am not surprised at her, but in time she will understand his actions. She ate breakfast, looked at me and then at the prospectus.

- Thank you, let me know when you have a moment and we will talk.

- Sure - I nodded my head.

When she disappeared in the corridor, the boys entered the club.

- Who has the first shift today? - I looked at them.

- I - Angel spoke to them.

- And I - cried Coco.

- Okay, I nodded my head.

I put the fork on the plates, got up and improved my wick. Everyone was watching me with curiosity, I twisted my head and went to the apartment.

- And the present was worried about me trying to get into her bed - Angel yelled behind me.

The boys roared laughing, I turned to him in front and showed him my middle finger.

- We'll talk about it again, Reyes.

I saw a sudden change on his face, from amusement into fear. He may have been younger, taller and stronger than me, but he was still afraid of me. I moved through the corridor to the stairs and then upstairs, the door was ajar. I knocked quietly and slid my head inside. I looked around the room, sat at a desk with my legs rolled up and headphones in my ears. I smiled at myself, went inside. I approached her and looked over her shoulder. She leaned over the tablet and drew something, only after a while I recognized the drawing. It was the SAMCRO logo, a gloomy reaper. I put my hand on her shoulder, pinned her body and turned her head towards me. She needed a few seconds to relax and pull the headphones out of her ears.

- Fucking-- she murmured.

- I'm sorry - I took one step back - in my defence, I said I was knocking.

Pov Olivia

Only now have I had a real opportunity to look at President Mayans. Numerous wrinkles adorned his face, and a few scars on his cheek and neck were also visible. The mustache was a perfect match for the beard. Slightly gray but still dark, it looked good on him. Dark brown eyes could pierce the human soul. The wide and full lips encouraged to kiss them and every now and then the tongue showing up did not facilitate anything. I twisted my head and returned to the real world.

- What did you want to talk about? - He sat down in the chair and smiled.

I sat down on the chair and leaned my arms against the backrest.

- About the rules of this place - I looked at him - I think that these rules are not much different from those of the Sons, but I prefer to have this clarified.

- Everything that happens in this place is connected with the club stays in this place. You can see a lot of things that you are not allowed to take out of this place. You are a beautiful adult woman, a beautiful adult woman.

I will cut my hand off that by saying these words he blushed. I smiled under my nose and watched him as he continued.

- Some of the young people will certainly want to get into your bed - he breathed - I wouldn't want to...

- You wouldn't want this to happen and cause problems for the club - I interrupted him - don't worry about it. The second time I won't make the same mistake, only what they can get from me is in the mouth.

He laughed and relaxed.

- Feisty like Jackson, something feels like you're gonna put some of my guys up.

- Is that a challenge? - I've been moving my eyebrows a lot.

- I'd love to see how you handle them. - He lit a cigarette - but I'd prefer you and Angel not to go into the ring.

- Why ? - I frowned my eyebrows.

- He is a man, he is bigger, he is stronger and I bet he is agile. I wouldn't want Jackson to twist my head for hurting his sister.

I twisted my head and smiled from ear to ear.

- You really don't believe in my abilities, do you?

- You're a woman," he breathed, "even as Jackson's sister, I don't believe you can fight.

- The challenge accepted will show you all that you don't mess with me. - I laughed - since I'm staying here, I want to repay you somehow. I have seen your kitchen, there is nothing. I can cook for you if you do not have a person who makes breakfasts and other meals for you. I mean, I know how much the club can have classes and how little time to eat, but it's not a good idea to keep eating out.

- Sounds good - he nodded his head - and that's the new phone.

He took the device out of his pocket and put it on the table.

- If you need something, my number is 1, Tazy number 2, prospectus number 3.

- Okay - I nodded my head - I saw the condition of your fridge today, the shopping would be useful.

- Sure, take the brochure and go shopping, I'll give you the money.

- I have my own, no need to - I nodded my head - I just want to help if I'm stuck here anyway.

- I think that Tazie will need help at the junkyard, in the sense that neither of us likes paperwork.

- Sure, at home I kept the whole accounting of the club and a few businesses. I'll be happy to help, I'm not going to sit 24 hours a day in this room because it will go crazy. I'm sorry in advance but I'm sometimes explosive.

- Marcus has already warned me, all right - he nodded his head - until you kill someone.

I smiled, I didn't mean to kill anyone, but it is different.

- I will try.

- Is it even something - he nodded his head - are you drawing?

- Yes - I have risen - it is my passion but also a source of income.

- It is good to combine passion and income.

- Yes, I'm just working on a new inscription for the Sons' sweatshirt.

- I saw - he lifted up - unintentionally, but I saw when you are ready, just come down to us. I will tell the prospectus that you will go shopping.

- Obispo - I spoke to him when he stood in the door.

- Yes ? - He looked at me.

- Thank you for accepting me, I really appreciate it - I smiled.

- There is no need to thank you for that, we will give you a smoke - he laughed - feel at home.

- I appreciate it anyway, I am a stranger.

- Now you are a family, we will take care of you.

I smiled, returned the smile and went out closing the door behind me. I bit my lower lip and fell down on the couch. I dressed up in shorts, a shirt on my shoulders and tied a blue checked shirt through my waist. I made sure the scars on my back were not visible. I was fixing my hair and went to the guys. At the bar, as always, the prospectus was spinning.

- Ezekiel? - I wrinkled my eyebrows - remember well?

- Just Ez - he smiled wide.

- Can we go ? - I slipped the phone in my pocket.

- Sure - he nodded his head - I hope you won't drag me through the unknown how many stores.

- I'm not that kind of woman, I don't like shopping - we went outside.

- Bish we are going shopping, you need something ?

- When you're going, buy a beer, it's on the finish line and something for the fire. Tonight we will make a small sit-down. Take the meat from your father too.

- Sure.

I was looking at the square in front of the club, on the left side under the roof were motorcycles. They were lined up, different than the Sons had, but from a distance they looked quite good. They had a lot of chrome and I had the impression that they were made to attract attention.

Pov Bishop

I got up from the couch and looked at the bus leaving the square. I looked in the direction of the office, Angel stood in the door and smoked a cigarette.

- And you are paid to do nothing ? - I yawned at him.

- Calmly present, a moment of cigarette break.

Part 7

[suckitsurveys]

What battery percentage is your phone on right now? It’s at 75%. Do any medical afflictions run in your family? Yeah. Who did you last talk to in person and what did you say? My husband. We said goodnight to each other last night. What’s your favourite Mexican dish? I know it’s basic but ya bitch loves a good taco. Tostadas are also yummy but they don’t travel well so I haven’t had one in a while. OH and guacamole and salsa! Have you ever been to a professional sports game? Yes, several Cubs games, a few Blackhawks games, and a couple Bulls games.

How far do you live from New York City? About 800 miles west. How often do you talk to your parents? At least 4-5 times a week. What was the weather like in your town today? It’s 66 F right now. Are there any phrases or words that you say a lot? Of course.

How many boyfriends or girlfriends have you ever had? A few. They’re all irrelevant now except for my husband. Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? Yes. What’s the name of your first real boyfriend or girlfriend? Irrelevant. Do you clean your ears daily? Not daily. What accent do you have? Chicago/Midwest. What scent of air freshener do you keep in your bathroom? We have a coconut one right now. Have you ever dated a model? Lol. What’s the best job you’ve ever had? This one.  How about the worst? Party City. Do you have naturally straight hair? It’s gotten a little wavy over the past year actually. What is your ultimate goal in life? To get my health better managed and to be the best Auntie to my nieces. Have you ever visited someone in prison? No. What months were you and your siblings born in? I was born in September and my sister was born in July. Do you write down your passwords in a physical place to prevent losing them? No. What are your three favourite vegetables? Zucchini, Asparagus, Potatoes. How many times a day do you check Facebook or any other social network? A few times. When was the last time you had a blocked nose? A couple weeks ago. Who is your favourite comedian? John Mulaney and Stella. What colour are the socks you’re wearing today? I’m not. What did you have for dinner last night? Pizza and fried zuchini. What was the last concert you went to? Vampire Weekend in October 2019 in SLC. Are you an ugly crier? Idk, probably? Are any of us cute when we cry? What scent is the soap or body wash you use in the shower? Right now we have an ocean breeze scented one. Have you ever had sex in/on a vehicle? Yes. Who do you live with? My husband and our three cats. What letter does your street name begin with? W Do you do anything to groom your eyebrows? I tweeze them. When was the last time you ate at McDonald’s? Yesterday. I was craving fries and a root beer and grabbed some. What’s your favourite Popsicle flavour? Cherry or watermelon. Who was the last person you sent a Facebook message to and what did you say? I sent Mark a meme. Do you have any injuries at the moment? Not really. Have you ever been to an ophthalmologist? I don’t think so. Do you own any animal print clothes? Yeah. Are you tall, short or average? Would you change this? I’m short and no. When was the last time you went to a drug store/pharmacy? There’s a pharmacy inside my grocery store. I was there yesterday. As for a stand-alone one, that was back in April when I got my second dose of the Covid shot. Do you ever binge-watch TV shows? Yeah. Have you ever mustered up the courage to tell someone how you feel only to be rejected? No. Do you keep your files and documents organised in one place? Eh, yes and no. What’s your favourite sweet treat to bake? Box brownies, lol. Though last Thanksgiving I made a pumpkin pie that turned out amazing. That was fun. Are you good at flirting and letting people know you’re interested? No. What did you have for breakfast today? I haven’t had breakfast. It’s almost lunch time so I’m just gunna hold out. Do you prefer sweet or savoury breakfasts? Either. I don’t often do big breakfasts, so.  Do you like chick-flicks? Sure. Have you ever taken an acting class? Not really. I was in an improve group in grade school after school for a bit. And in one play in high school. When was the last time you watched one of your favourite movies? It’s been a while. How often do you use Youtube? Everyday. I watch a lot of YouTube. What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever dressed up as for Halloween? I dressed up as Nyan Cat one year and that was amazing. And my Princess Carolyn (from BoJack) costume is one of my favorites as well. And last year was LSP from Adventure time and that turned out really cool too. I made all of them from scratch.  Are you ignoring anyone right now? Nah. How do you usually style your hair? It’s either down or in a bun, for the most part. Do you have any tattoos? Tell me about them. I have 9 and I don’t feel like explaining them all.  Have you ever worked in a store while someone shoplifted there? Sure. When was the last time you used a stove? The other day. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? Veal. Are you sitting, standing or laying (or something else) right now? I’m sitting. How many hours per week do you typically work? 40. What was the last pill or tablet you took? An Alieve the other day. How far away from your house is the closest grocery store? Less than two minutes. Have you ever lived in university/college campus housing? Nope. Who was the last person you complimented? My friend Sarah. Are you the type of person to take naps, even if you’ve slept plenty? Lol “slept plenty.” Do you have a crush on anyone at the moment? My husband. And Will Arnett.  The age old question: dogs or cats? CATS. When was the last time you saw your best friend? I can see my husband right now. I saw Sarah in January of 2020, Ellen in October of 2019, and Randal sometime in March or April, I can’t remember.  Have you ever been fired from a job? Why? No. Are you tired right now? Always. Do you like spring rolls? Sure. What do you live on in terms of a street, road, crescent, place, court etc? Avenue. How many purses or handbags do you own? Several. Do you get along with all your aunts and uncles? I have no living aunts or uncles. I have a couple great-aunts but they are elderly and we rarely talk. Have you ever eavesdropped and heard something you didn’t want to hear? Sure. When was the last time you used a pen, pencil or marker? A little bit ago. I have this coloring book I keep near me while I’m working and I just randomly fill in little shapes while I’m waiting for something to load.  What’s your favourite type of curry? Massaman curry, which is a coconut based curry. Do you often go to do or say something and then just forget? Ugh, I hate that. Have you ever had casual sex? Uh huh. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? My nails. What’s the last letter of your middle name? A. If your phone rang right now from a number you don’t know, would you answer? Nope. How long is your hair? A little past my shoulders. What was your first pet’s name and how did you pick that? We had two blue parakeets that were my 2nd grade class pets. My teacher asked my mom to take them for the summer and then asked us if we wanted to keep them because the school didn’t allow class pets anymore. Anyway, our class voted and named them Featherbrain and Lucky. Do you drink diet or regular soda? If I am gunna drink soda, I’m drinking regular. Have you ever been to Europe? No. Do you worry about your own health? Sure.  Who did you last make plans with, and what plans did you make? Randal and I were talking about going to the zoo or aquarium soon. Nothing set in stone yet.  Can you smell anything right now? Not really. How old were you when you got your first cell phone? I was 15. When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes? It’s been a bit. Mark and I are planning on getting some slides soon. Do you like fruit and vegetable combo juices? Yeah. Have you ever been on a spring break trip? Sure. Would you rather be warmer or colder right now? I’m fine at the moment.  How tall are your highest heels? I don’t wear heels. What’s your favourite flavour of frosting? Cream cheese. When did you wake up today? Around 7. Do you change your appearance often? No. What colour are the street signs in your town/suburb? Green. How many people do you work with? 10. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza. Do you have any plans for three hours in the future? Still be working. Has anyone ever made a comment about your weight that offended or upset you? Uh huh.

[crimsonbluemoon]

8, 4, 21 minicar (holy SHIT there’s so many good dialogue options I wanted to pick like eight)

And yes I realize I mistyped minicat SHUSH I just woke up and autocorrect hates me

Okay, so just so everyone knows, I don’t know shit about airdropping or w/e so I just did what I wanted. >.> Im not gonna apologize. 

Also slight warning; a little risky, but like nothing more than some mentioned drunk sexting. No actual sexual stuff. 

AU: CollegeTrope: Meet messyPrompt: “for the last time, please stop trying to airdrop me.”Pairing: Minicat

Tyler was going to kill someone. 

He wanted to say who, specifically, but he had no fucking idea who ‘Miniladd’ was, or why he continued to try and send him things. His tablet hadn’t stopped going off for two hours. If Tyler hadn’t needed his tablet for his art project (due the next day), he probably wouldn’t have been as annoyed as he currently was. But since he did need his tablet and he kept getting notifications about if he wanted to ‘accept’ whatever this idiot was trying to send him, Tyler was close to ripping his hair out. 

“Oh my god.” Tyler’s fingers slammed into the screen hard enough that he was sure he was going to shatter the glass, even with the protector on. “For the last time, please stop trying to airdrop me.”

A second of silence passed before the familiar ‘ping’ of an airdrop notification made Tyler scream. 

“Fuck!” 

“What’s up, buddy?” Nogla popped his head into the apartment they shared, waddling through the living room with bags of groceries. 

“Some prick named Miniladd won’t stop trying to send me shit to my tablet. I don’t even know how he got my ipad’s information,” Tyler snarked out, rejecting another message. How much stuff did this weirdo have to send? 

“Oh, Craig?” Nogla’s casual reply made Tyler’s attention snap away from the screen, hands nearly dropping the ipad from shock. 

“You know this kid?” 

“Uh, he’s our new neighbor? He lives right across the hall. You met him last weekend at Marcel’s party. You know, the one you and Panda took all them shots during beer- hey, where are ye going?” Tyler ignored Nogla’s shout when he pushed off the couch, storming out of the apartment. His hand was heavy when he slammed it three times against his neighbor’s door, the other still holding the ipad that pinged with another notification. So distracted by the frustrating noise, Tyler’s mouth snapped into motion the second he’d heard the door open. 

“What the hell-” The words quickly died in his throat when taking in the appearance of the neighbor. He was shorter, but not by much, and his dyed hair almost distracted from the attractiveness of the face below. An eyebrow peeked up over stylish glasses, which framed a cute nose and bright eyes. Sweatpants weren’t normally Tyler’s first choice to wear when trying to emphasize his better physical traits. But the smooth way the cotton clung to the thighs and hips of the neighbor was working for him in a way that made Tyler’s blood warm. He glanced back up to the man’s face, scowling at the smirk curling his lips. 

“Hey, Tyler. What brings you around? You ready to make good on your promise?” The causal way he said Tyler’s name brought him back to his senses. Though he wanted to ask what the hell the guy was implying, Tyler glared and waved his ipad next to his head.

“You ready to stop being a pain in my ass and spamming my tablet?” 

“What?” The cockiness from before vanished quickly, though Tyler rolled his eyes at the feigned innocence. 

“You’re Miniladd, right? Cause you’ve been airdropping me pointless shit for two hours.” 

“I haven’t even been on my ipad. I let my nephew use it for-” Then Craig stopped, his cheeks turning pink when something clicked in his head. Tyler tried not to notice how the flushed coloring looked good on the other’s face when Craig turned his head back into the apartment. “LUI! Are you fucking with my files again?!” 

“He won’t accept my memes!” The squeaky voice that came from somewhere in the apartment sounded young, far too young to be in a college dorm. Maybe Tyler’s face showed his thought process, as Craig gave a sheepish smile and a shrug.

“I watch him once a week for my brother. He probably got your info from our conversation thread last week and just thought we were friends.” 

“Wait, we talked?” Tyler scowled when Craig nodded, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, we did. Alot. But you were drunk, so I didn’t really expect you to remember-and now you’re looking at the messages in front of me. Fantastic.” Tyler ignored Craig’s nervous laughter when he yanked his phone out of his pocket. He didn’t remember said night, because most people wouldn’t be able to retain information after downing six shots in an hour (he was proving a point damnit, and it was worth it to see Brian eat his words the next morning). He’d given Craig his number? And what kind of conversation did they-

Oh. Oh. 

“Fuck.” Letting out a slow groan, Tyler tried to ignore his own hot cheeks and jammed the phone back into his pocket. He refused to avoid eye contact when looking back up at Craig, who looked like he was the one that’d texted that he was going to to ‘fuck him against every wall’ in Craig’s apartment. There were other comments sent, too, but they all revolved around the same concept. Craig never seemed against the ideas Tyler had offered, but he also made it clear he wouldn’t engage in said acts until Tyler spoke to him sober. Which Tyler hadn’t, because he’d been drunk and forgot all about the convo. 

Until right now, that is. 

Tyler searched for something to say over his embarrassment, but his brain was blank. “Fuck me.” 

“You know, you keep teasing me with a good time and I’m going to change your name in my phone to ‘Blue balls’.” Craig’s casual reply while he leaned against the doorway and grinned made Tyler scoff.

“Tell your brat to stop messaging me so I can finish my project,” Tyler snarked out and turned around, making it into his own doorway before he huffed and looked back to Craig. “And text me when he’s gone. I probably should buy you a beer or something for…that.”

“You owe me a lot more than a beer. Good thing my apartment has lots of walls.” The wink was stupid, and Tyler wanted to ram Craig’s face into the door to get rid of his stupid grin.

But when he was reminded how good sweatpants fit Craig while he turned back into his apartment, Tyler realized he wasn’t opposed to the offer either. 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Documentation Gathering, Sanitization, and Storage: an excerpt from "A Public Service"

[Yesterday, we published my review of Tim Schwartz's new guide for whistleblowers, A Public Service: Whistleblowing, Disclosure and Anonymity; today, I'm delighted to include this generous excerpt from Schwartz's book. Schwartz is an activist whom I've had the pleasure of working with and I'm delighted to help him get this book into the hands of the people who need to read it. -Cory]

Collection

As you collect documents and bring new information to light, be aware that you are in an escalating digital arms race. There will always be new ways that data forensics can identify you, or uncover information based on data that you inadvertently leave in your files, or data that is retained in logs noting who has accessed what files on what network. Recently it was discovered that noise from electrical grids can be used to quite accurately pinpoint when, and potentially where, an audio recording was made. The best way to win this war—or at least to avoid becoming collateral damage—is to work outside the standard methods and find partners who have experience.

Of course, the actual collection of documents has changed dramatically over the years. In 1969, Daniel Ellsberg systematically removed documents, including the Pentagon Papers, from the RAND Corporation in his briefcase, taking them to an advertising agency where he (sometimes with the help of his 13-year-old son) photocopied them, one page at a time. Though this took enormous courage and psychological stamina—and in 1969 all that copying was certainly time-consuming and undoubtedly tiresome—it was also technologically straightforward and relatively safe. As long as the guards didn’t stop and check his briefcase, and as long as no one saw him remove and return the reports, Ellsberg could duplicate the papers undetected.

If Ellsberg was trying to do the same thing in 2019 with physical documents, he would have to be sure there weren’t cameras looking over his shoulder. He would have to make sure that the documents themselves didn’t have watermarks that would lead back to him. And he would have to make sure that the copying method didn’t log his activity. If Ellsberg’s 21st-century counterpart were to take digital documents, there would be many more potential technological risks and traps to avoid along the way.

Take Notes

Before you start collecting documents or even trying to tell anyone about the wrongs you want to expose, start documenting what you see. Jesselyn Radack, who heads the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program at ExposeFacts and has worked with Thomas Drake and Edward Snowden, says the first step is to “just keep your own little record at home in a little notebook.” This should be a notebook where you methodically record everything pertinent to the wrongs you want to expose: everything that you see, everything that you hear, and everything that you say. Do this as often as you can, the same day that incidents occur. Note the time and date of each occurrence. Above all, your notes should always include any complaints you raise and to whom, as well as any retaliation against you for doing so.

This approach to notetaking played a critical role in the big Russian sports doping scandal in 2016. Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistleblower and former doctor of the Russian Olympic team, took incredibly detailed contemporaneous notes that became compelling evidence. The notes included Rodchenkov’s interactions with Russian coaches, officials, and athletes, such as how and when he provided performance-enhancing drugs to athletes, and how the doping was hidden from Olympic observers and their drug tests. Aside from all of these incriminating notes, as the New York Times reported, Rodchenkov also noted his daily activities details such as “6:30, I took a shower, had a smoke, got ready, had hot cereal and farmer’s cheese at breakfast.” These seemingly trivial details helped convince the judges to allow the journal to be considered credible evidence in the court case.

The technology you use to take notes can either help or hinder those who might seek to access and/or destroy any information you have, depending upon your situation. You can use a physical notebook, good old pen and paper, or notes on an anonymous laptop or tablet. But be sure to stay away from making entries at work or on your personal computer unless you are highly technically confident of your computer’s security.

“Documentation is very important,” says Debra Katz, founding partner of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP and the lawyer who represented Christine Blasey Ford when she was called to testify during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. “We increasingly have people who show up with videotapes of harassment. I’ve had clients who’ve had their iPhone rolling as their employer, predictably, would come in and do back massages or make sexual remarks.” Logs of text messages on phones or even recordings of interactions can be crucial to demonstrating that harassment is taking place. Save logs of all of your conversations and interactions, because you never know how they might prove useful later on.

The text messages sent by Mike Isabella and partners to Chloe Caras (who was also represented by Debra Katz) were used as evidence in the lawsuit that eventually took down Mike Isabella Concepts restaurants for sexual harassment. If you are going to attempt to record interactions as evidence, be sure that you are aware of the relevant recording laws. In some states and countries, you must inform the other party that you are recording and you must obtain their consent to be recorded. These laws are collectively known as two-party consent laws. Do more research into your context before you start shooting video or recording audio as documentation. You don’t want your evidence thrown out of court. You don’t want to be sued for releasing the recording. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is a good place to learn more about two-party consent laws in the United States.

Recommended Collection Approach

In New York City in 1953, a newspaper boy was finishing his day, jingling his coins around, when he noticed that one nickel felt lighter than the rest. When he dropped the coin on the floor, it split open, revealing a tiny photograph with numbers. This turned out to be microfilm that was destined for Soviet spy Reino Hayhanen. In 1957, Hayhanen defected to the U.S., where he exposed the spycraft of the Soviets to the FBI. This included the use of microfilm and dead drops for communication. Though this example may seem far from the world of computers and smartphones, taking photos of documents with microfilm is much safer than taking the actual documents, in the same way taking a digital photo is safer than copying the digital document. In such a case, there is far less potential for a log of the interaction.

The current best way to gather information is by taking pictures of documents or computer screens using a pseudonymous digital device. This method effectively circumvents all of the normal digital surveillance systems that might come into play when you copy data off of a network or onto a USB stick (e.g., logs of the copying or digital watermarking). It also circumvents any logging software that may be installed on your computer. Company or government tracking software can record the actions of taking screenshots or other mouse and keyboard actions. Evidence from one of these loggers was used by the FBI against Terry Albury, an FBI field agent who was sent to jail for disclosing classified information to The Intercept. In an affidavit in support of the search warrant, the FBI cited a number of facts, including that Albury had “conducted cut and paste activity” while viewing one of the classified documents. This fact could only have been gathered by latent logging software installed on his computer or built into a viewing program. By skipping digital copying or screenshotting, and instead simply taking a picture of the computer screen, you can circumvent some of these monitoring systems. Of course, if you are logged in and have a document open, you should assume that there is a log of the access as well.

Keep these tips in mind:

Only use a pseudonymous device for taking photos; never use your personal or work device.

Use a small tablet with Wi-Fi turned off instead of a phone; this way there will be no location information stored as metadata in the photos.

Make sure the photos don’t have any identifying information in them; this could be your hand, your reflection on the computer screen, images of your office, or other identifying information or marks on your computer screen.

Be sure to check the images afterwards for any metadata or accidental information captured, and make sure to sanitize the images if necessary.

Audio and video recordings can potentially replace taking photos, but these types of files can be harder to sanitize.

Be sure there aren’t video cameras that could capture you in the act of taking photos.

Microdots

Do not trust printers. Color laser jet printers and copiers embed metadata in the documents that they print in the form of microdots, which are patterns of tiny yellow dots that are almost invisible to the naked eye. These dots encode information, similar to QR codes. This includes the printer’s serial number, the time and date, the network address, and potentially other information. This data can be used to pinpoint when and where documents were printed, and potentially by whom. If you want to find out more on the topic, research the terms “printer steganography” and “machine identification code.”

Regular and enhanced image of a printed page from an HP Color LaserJet 3700 showing yellow microdots. Photography by Florian Heise, Druckerchannel.de, in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Copying Digital Files

It is nearly impossible to copy files to a USB stick without leaving a trace, particularly if you are using log-in credentials at work or on a company device. Computers and networks are built to track and log file access, transfers, and printing. Do not try to make a digital transfer or to copy information onto a USB stick at work unless you can be positive that this process isn’t being logged somewhere. Use the Tails operating system, or a computer that is offline, when you copy data.

If you must copy digital files, be sure to collect all your information as anonymously as possible: use a shared computer at work (not your own). Do not use your own login credentials. Also, consider your physical location. It is best not to attempt this in your own office, for instance. Gathering information in the office will become even less viable as technology and employee surveillance software evolves.

Aside from the issues around copying digital files, some sensitive documents (particularly from government agencies) come with “phone home” beacons embedded in them or with digital rights management built in, making it impossible to view or print documents if you aren’t logged in. This could be a remote image or link embedded in a document, such that when you view the document, the image pings back to a server owned by the government or creator of the document. This allows the creator to see the IP address and potentially more information about you as a viewer. Microsoft files such as Word documents have been known to have “locating beacons” placed within them. PDFs may also include this type of beacon, though Adobe now tries to notify users before documents call a remote server. To combat this type of tracking, either convert a document to a safe format such as plain text with the command line, or view a document on a computer that is “air-gapped,” meaning that it is not connected to the internet. Make it impossible for your adversary to know you have the documents.

Uniqueness and Backflushing

If you are one of a limited number of individuals with access to the information you are releasing, then no matter how careful you are, it will be easy to trace you. This was the case with Reality Winner. In the criminal complaint filed against Winner, the FBI noted that only six individuals had accessed the document that was disclosed to The Intercept. When this document showed up on the website, the FBI had six individuals to start investigating, including Winner. Her unique trail quickly made her the most likely suspect. One way to combat uniqueness is by increasing the number of individuals who have access to a document before it is released.

Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, described a method that has been in use in D.C. for years: “backflushing.” Before disclosing a document, send it through official channels to as many legitimate places as possible. For example, include the document in a report and send the report to other departments. This makes it so others have the document as well, vastly reducing the uniqueness of your connection to the document. When you disclose the information later on, it will not be clear that you were in any way connected to it.

Another way to combat uniqueness is by gathering the data through a shared digital account, e.g., if someone else is logged into a computer and you copy a file while they are logged in, the document-gathering will be connected to them, not you. Of course, this should be done carefully and ethically, so as not to inadvertently cast blame on someone else. If possible, it’s better to hijack a shared network account. So consider how unique the connection between the information and your identity might be. There is protection to be gained by hiding in the crowd.

Theft and Misfiling

Corporations sometimes lash back at whistleblowers by filing criminal charges for theft of company property. So be aware that by taking documents off company property, you may open yourself up to a legal battle. This was one reason that SOC, a government security contractor, gave for firing Jennifer Glover, a security guard who had been sexually assaulted and harassed at work. Her termination letter stated that Glover had used her smartphone to take a photograph of the daily schedule, an act that they viewed as justifying her termination.

As an alternative to taking physical or digital documents, consider the misfiling technique. Hide copies of documents at work, either by misnaming digital files or by storing physical copies or USB sticks somewhere at work. In the future, you can “stumble upon” the copies, providing investigators with the information. They, not you, would then be removing property from company premises. The bottom line is that it might be helpful to have a backup copy of any important material stashed somewhere at work.

Sanitization

Sanitization is the process of removing, concealing, or cleaning up information in documents before you give them to someone else. Whether the documents you’re dealing with are physical or digital, images or videos, the same general process applies: you should overwrite, obscure, or remove any sensitive information. This process is ubiquitous the world over in redacting classified material to prepare it for release to the public. When attempting this, imagine that you are in a heist film: be meticulous, wear gloves, wipe down surfaces to remove fingerprints, and don’t leave anything that contains your DNA.

For those who are trying to disclose information, the process of sanitization is a little more complex, but there are two goals: 1) the removal of any information that could identify you, such as fingerprints, email addresses, or unique watermarks on documents; and 2) the removal of sensitive information that might harm someone else or have undue consequences if released, such as any company or government secrets or any personally identifiable information. This is where ethics and judgment come into play. Who would be harmed if this information were released? You don’t want to accidentally victimize (or revictimize) a colleague, accidentally reveal personal information that could compromise one’s reputation, or put a field agent in harm’s way.

To sanitize physical items with nonporous surfaces, such as USB sticks or hard drives, wipe them down with a cleaning product and towel. Paper documents and other porous surfaces are more difficult to sanitize. There are a number of techniques for attempting this, but most involve using an eraser and potentially a cornstarch mixture to remove any oils left by fingerprints. If you are providing someone with a device such as a hard drive, remove any serial numbers or identifying information that would make that product traceable, and of course, be sure to pay cash when buying any hardware that you might use. If you must provide physical documents, redact them first with a black marker or white-out and then photocopy them, providing a redacted copy instead of the original.

For digital documents, the process of sanitization can be broken down into two strategies: 1) redaction, the process of obfuscating information within a document; and 2) metadata removal, the process of deleting identifying traces from the document.

Text

Any text-based document (rich text files, DOC and DOCX formats, CSVs, Microsoft Excel files, PowerPoint files, Adobe InDesign files, etc.) should first be converted to a PDF. This can be done on most computers with either “print to PDF” or “export to PDF” functionality. The PDF should then be opened, and each page should be exported as an image and then redacted in image-editing software. Draw black boxes over areas of sensitive or identifying information in the images. Note: If you try to redact the documents from within the PDF, it will be done in layers, leaving the actual data underneath the black boxes. This will not technically remove the sensitive information. Similarly, it is important to use only image formats that do not include layers. If layers are included, someone can later remove the redaction layer and see the sensitive information underneath. JPG is a great image format to use, as it cannot save layers. After all of the images have been edited, they should be either recombined into a new PDF using a PDF viewer or given to someone as a set of images.

An alternative option is to use PDF Redact Tools, which automates those processes for you. It is currently available on Linux or macOS and comes bundled inside the Tails operating system.

Images

Images should be redacted just the same as text documents. Save them in a format without layers such as a JPG. Draw black boxes over any portions that need to be removed, then save them.

Video and Audio

Redaction of video and audio files can be a bit trickier, but the same basic process of obfuscating information applies. For videos, open them in a video editing program and either delete portions of the video or add black boxes over sensitive pieces. Then export the edited video. Audio files should be edited in an audio editor (Audacity is a good free choice), and portions of the recordings can be deleted or replaced with a standard sine wave tone (like a censorship bleep).

Remember, though, that there may be other information in audio and video recordings that isn’t obvious at first glance. Is there background noise or imagery that can be analyzed to determine the time and place it was taken? Are there reflections or other subtle pieces of data that could compromise you or someone else? Be very careful when it comes to audio and video, because so much information is contained in each file that it can be hard to think of every single thing that should be redacted.

Metadata Removal

Of course, if you are simply trying to get a video out, but trying to make it less obvious who it was shot by, removing the underlying capture information might be all that’s needed. This is where removing metadata comes into play.

Example of image meta data created by an iPhone

The image above is just a selection of the metadata produced by one photo taken with a smartphone. The metadata contains the model of the phone, the time it was taken, and possibly the location of the phone at the time of capture (if GPS location was enabled). This data needs to be removed if you are trying to make the photo, video, or any other type of file untraceable.

Before anything else, check the filename for anything that could identify you or your means of creating the image. If you have any doubt—rename it.

All digital files inherently contain some distinct information that identifies them: filename, creation date and time, last modified date and time, and file size. Some digital file formats contain even more information. Microsoft Word documents, for example, are known for automatically saving additional metadata, such as the authors who worked on the document and the names and locations of the computers where the file was saved. Unfortunately, with these documents and particularly with proprietary file formats, it might be difficult or near-impossible to remove all pieces of metadata. Instead, convert proprietary formats to simple open-source formats that have consistent metadata formatting.

Some file formats use standard data wrappers to store metadata, such as EXIF (exchangeable image file format) or XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform). These are used for almost all image formats and PDFs. By converting other documents into these formats, it becomes much easier to delete metadata and know that it is really gone.

To actually remove metadata from an image, a PDF, or a video file, open it with its corresponding editing software and look for options such as “Properties,” “Inspector,” or “Document Inspector.” This should open up a dialog with a list of all of the metadata fields and entries. Delete them all. You will also want to research format-specific metadata removal methods for specific file types. Audio and video files, such as MP3s or MP4s, for example, can have proprietary ID3 tags embedded within them—such as PRIV frames—that make it near impossible to know if they have been sanitized.

Alternatively, a number of applications can scrub metadata from particular file formats. Several applications can remove EXIF data from images, but the Android application “EZ UnEXIF Free (EXIF Remover)” is especially useful for those communicating via an anonymous smartphone or tablet. This application removes all EXIF data, including geolocation, from photos taken with an Android device.

The Metadata Anonymisation Toolkit (MAT) provides a simple interface for stripping metadata from a number of formats, including PNG, JPEG, PDF, MP3, and Microsoft Office Document formats. MAT comes installed on Tails. However, MAT currently hasn’t been updated since January 2016, essentially making it abandonware. Fortunately, MAT2, the replacement for MAT, is under active development and currently in beta. This is a great tool that can be used to sanitize a variety of files, but please check on its current development status online before using it.

Storage

Be cautious about where you store documentation. Never store documentation at work, unless you are following the misfiling method mentioned previously. You may feel that your desk or office is a safe space, but it isn’t. You can consider storing documents at home, but this is an obvious choice for all concerned. In many cases, those who are trying to disclose information have had their houses ransacked and searched by their adversaries, both legally and illegally. If a subpoena is filed, information in your home will not be protected.

A good strategy is to either store documents outside your home or office or give a backup copy of what you will be revealing to a trusted person for safekeeping. Daniel Ellsberg gave a copy of a classified nuclear study to his brother, who hid the documents under a large gas stove in a garbage dump. Unfortunately, while this protected them for a while, the documents were ultimately destroyed by water damage, and Ellsberg spent years trying to reconstitute the information they contained. Instead of your brother, choose a lawyer. In the United States, information stored with your attorney may be protected from search and seizure through attorney-client privilege. Of course, there are exceptions to this, which was the case in the raid on the office of President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen. If investigators can make the case that attorney-client privilege is being used “in furtherance of a contemplated or ongoing crime or fraud,” then they will be able to search a lawyer’s office under the crime-fraud exception.

All digital documentation should be stored on either encrypted USB drives or on an encrypted pseudonymous device, such as an encrypted tablet or a Tails USB drive. Documents should never be stored in the cloud or on a personal computer or device.

Excerpted from A Public Service: Whistleblowing, Disclosure and Anonymity published by O/R Books. © 2019 Tim Schwartz

https://boingboing.net/2020/01/09/documentation-gathering-sanit.html

[medievalmonk]

The Power Within: Power Trip

You’ve stolen Loki from Avengers Tower. Now you’re teleporting all over the globe, getting practice and staying several steps ahead of Tony and Thor.  Loki is helping to prepare you to get him off Midgard. A new adventure awaits, if you manage to survive the trip.

When you teleported to your cabin in Alaska with Loki, you landed in the living room with plenty of space around you. Since you rarely practiced at it, and the last long distance trip was two years earlier when you fled New York, you felt a headache coming on, along with ringing in your ears.

“Well done,” Loki told you, while squeezing your shoulders gently.

“I don’t understand why you wanted to come back here,” you replied, stepping back from him.

Before he could reply though, a sudden thought took you, so you put your finger over your lips.

I have a computer and WiFi access here, you said, motioning with your hands. Jarvis may be listening.  

Loki nodded, then watched as you unplugged the modem and turned the computer off. Then you turned off your cell phone, tablet and any other electronic device you could think of that Tony and Jarvis might use.

Why are we here? You asked.

The immediate need is clothes for you, he responded. Go pack what you can and change. Hurry, now. If they are wise to us, it won’t take long for Thor and Stark to get here.  

You moved quickly to the bedroom and grabbed a duffle bag. After changing, you stuffed it full with pants, shirts, undies, socks and extra pairs of shoes. Then you tossed in just a few toiletries. You were also careful to put the pajamas that you'd been wearing in the bag, hoping to leave no proof that you'd been there.

When you finished, you went to the kitchen to throw in any snack that would fit in the bag. Every piece of candy you had on hand went into the duffel, along with packs of snack cakes; a couple of apples rounded out the selection.

Just as you were finishing up, you stopped suddenly and glanced at Loki. He was slightly alarmed to see a faint purple in your irises.

Someone’s here.

Loki grabbed the bag and it disappeared from his hand, causing you to do a double take before he took your arm to get your attention. He tapped his temple, indicating the location for your next jump. You nodded while slipping your arms around him again.

You both heard the noise of the front door being broken down just as you teleported out of there.

— — —

“Just missed them, sir,” Jarvis reported, as Tony and Thor were still quite a distance from the cabin. “It appears that she only took clothes and snacks.”

“Any idea where they could be now?” Tony asked.

“No, sir,” the AI replied. “I suspect that she could very likely take him back to Asgard, if he wanted to go there.”

“I suspect that you’d be right.”

When Tony and Thor reached the house, the SHIELD agents that had been sent ahead were busy searching it. They were making quite a mess of it, much to Tony’s chagrin.

“Good job, fellas,” Tony said, sarcastically. “Did you wipe your feet before coming in?”

— — —

From the cabin, Loki guided you to a manor in Italy: Tuscany to be exact. The building was isolated and closed up. Once there, he selected a bedroom on the second floor, then he cast a spell on it that would hide any light so that it couldn’t be seen from the outside.

He also placed a spell on the exterior of the house that would warn him if anyone came in. The bed in the room looked halfway decent and you hoped that it wasn’t too ruined, because you really needed to lay down.

“Careful.” Loki caught your arm as you staggered toward the bed.

“Sorry, I’m tired and my head hurts,” you breathed, while gingerly sitting on the edge of the mattress. “How did you find this place?”

He gave a wry grin. “Stark’s computer assistant is most accommodating. It showed me how to use Google Earth.”

You couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Clever, but Jarvis probably kept both our search histories, so we’d best not stay in one place too long.”

Loki nodded before he produced your duffel, then dug through it for the food you'd put in it. He gave you a candy bar and an apple, before selecting something for himself.

“It’s not much,” you said. “I wasn’t sure if anything else would keep, since I didn’t know where we’d end up.”

“It will do for now, but we do need water,” he replied.

You watched while he went into the bathroom, then heard water running. After a couple of minutes, he returned with a small glass and offered it to you.

“I’ve purified it,” he told you. “It’s cool.”

“Thank you.”

While you ate, you struggled to keep your eyes open, causing Loki to make you lay down once you finished. You didn’t protest, as you were dead tired. You didn’t realize that the purple tint from the Power Stone still reflected in your irises. Loki suspected that the close call from the cabin, plus teleporting, caused the change that would slowly fade once you were rested and no longer felt endangered.

“You’ve done well, rest now,” he murmured, after producing a clean blanket out of nowhere. “I’ll keep watch.”

You were asleep from almost the moment your head hit the pillow. Loki smoothed your hair out of your face before straightening the blanket over you. He watched you for a few minutes, then stroked your cheek.

Since he was now out of reach of his brother and that irritating Stark, he had time to think about what you'd done. It was very clear that you were capable of many things: you’d teleported with him twice, flawlessly. So far you haven’t had to use telekinesis, but he knew that it would come in handy when the situation called for it.

Now that you both were away from the Tower, he would start by having you teleport short distances, then work your way up until you both were confident that you could actually reach another planet without killing yourself or him.

Loki then began to plan how he would actually help you to teleport off-planet. He had a place in mind where he could obtain a spaceship; if he couldn’t find one to buy, he’d steal it. Then he would be free to go anywhere he wanted, although he would keep his distance from Asgard, for the time being, at least.

Once he was sure that you were sound asleep, he moved away to glance outside the window. The full moon illuminated the grounds of the old house and let him check for any movement, although his spells would alert him.

Unknown to you, Loki had your money belt in a dimensional pocket; he’d taken it after Bucky removed it from your waist. No one had asked about it, so he kept it, just in case. He wasn’t fully familiar with how the slips of paper currency worked, but he would leave that part up to you.

There was a conundrum, though. There was a real possibility that you’d both be recognized at some point. Large cities would have cameras almost everywhere, not to mention almost every Midgardian would have a smartphone and social media, and the chance was greater that they’d capture your images.

On the other hand, two strangers appearing in the midst of a remote area might draw attention more quickly. Loki weighed the choices, then decided that mid sized cities may be the best option.

Loki turned back toward the bed when you stirred slightly. When you settled again, he took another look out the window, double checked his spells, then settled beside you, although he didn’t lay down. He sat up against the headboard after pulling out a book.

— —

The next morning when you woke, you felt like you’d gone on a bender. Your headache hadn’t eased even after sleeping, and you were hungry. Plus, you’d really, really needed coffee.

Loki came out of the bathroom at that moment, bearing water for you. He was relieved to see that your eyes were their normal color.

“Thank you,” you murmured. “I wish I’d thought to bring something for a headache.”

“How bad is it?”

“Just a dull throb,” you responded. “I’m sure it will pass as soon as I’m able to get some caffeine.”

He brought out your duffel, once again searching through it for the junk food you had packed. He handed you a pack of chocolate snack cakes and then the last apple.

“You eat that,” you told him, pushing his hand away. “I’m sure you’re hungry, too.”

“Take it,” he replied. “I don't have to eat as often as you, and you’ll be doing most of the work for now. We need to decide where our next stop will be, and then you need to practice.”

“Alright,” you reluctantly agreed. “Do you know how far we are from the nearest town?”

“Not too far,” he replied. “We should be able to find lodging there.”

“I had money on me before Natasha showed up and drugged me. We could use it now. Cash means no paperwork or ID required, in most cases. I should have taken Tony’s money, too.”

Loki went quiet for a moment, then raised his hand. Your eyes opened wide when you recognized your money belt.

“Well, our situation has improved greatly, hasn’t it?” You grinned at him.

— — —

By later that morning, you and Loki had made your way to the nearest city. It was apparently on a tourist route, leaving you relieved when no one paid too much attention to you. Loki had changed his clothes so that he would fit in after you’d freshened up as much as you could in the manor.

He had you purchase sunglasses, to keep your eyes hidden in case your emotions caused them to change color. You also bought a pair for him, just because you thought he looked dashing in the pair he’d tried on then put back.

The second order of business was food. Luckily the cafe that you went to accepted American currency, so you and Loki had a substantial brunch. You could see that he was hungrier than he let on, and you felt bad about it.

I’m a poor planner, you told him. I should have thought about food.

Don’t worry about that, he responded. We’ll see about lodging next.  

You nodded while pouring yourself another cup of coffee. The waiter was kind enough to find some aspirin for your headache, and brought espresso for you. The coffee was strong and you could feel your headache easing.

When you’d been shown to the table, Loki had ordered in flawless Italian, causing you to look at him in surprise. He gave you a mischievous smile while you made a mental note to ask him about that.

After eating, you asked the waiter to point out a hotel where you could find a room. Once Loki had closed and locked the door, you sank down onto the clean bed with a sigh.

“This is nice.” You flopped backwards to stare at the ceiling. “Hey, how do you know Italian?”

“It’s the Allspeak,” he replied, while looking out the window.

“What’s that?” You got up to join him, and moved closer when he put his arm around your shoulders.

“Think of it as a type of translator. It enables me and Thor to understand and speak different languages.”

“Neat,” you smiled up at him.

He smiled back before raising his free hand in order to touch your face gently, and then turned you toward him and hugged you close. You put your head against him and closed your eyes.

“You’ve done very well, better than I expected since you weren’t exactly practicing before now,” he murmured, stroking your hair.

“Thank you, that means a lot to me,” you whispered back.

Loki held you for a few minutes, then released you, causing you to step back reluctantly. He stroked your face again before pressing his forehead against yours. He felt it when you gently reached out to touch him telepathically, just hovering around the edges of his thoughts; he could tell that you were only reassuring yourself that he was pleased with you.

“I’d like to take a bath. Why don’t you lay down for a while?” You told him, after he made no further move, which was disappointing.

“I’ll wait until you finish,” he said, after producing the duffel so that you could get clean clothes.

“Alright.”

After you exited the bathroom, Loki took his turn. When he finished, he found that you were curled up on one side of the bed, already asleep. He finished toweling his hair before laying down beside you, being careful not to jostle the bed.

He cast a quick spell to secure the room before allowing himself to sleep, then reached over to draw you into the curve of his body. You were warm and soft against him, with skin fragrant from your bath, which he found soothing.

Loki caressed your hand before linking his fingers through yours; he was then able to sleep. You woke him later when you began to move restlessly. He tried shaking you awake, but you were so tired and deeply asleep that he couldn’t rouse you right away.

Finally, you woke yourself up with a gasp. You were disoriented for several minutes before you remembered where you were. You then realized that Loki held you tightly against him in order to prevent you from rolling off the bed or running. When your eyes blinked open, he was alarmed to see that the irises were purple.

“I woke you, I’m sorry,” you said, with a soft sniffle.

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “What were you dreaming about?”

“That stupid Power Stone and the idiots who thought they could use it.”

“Do you have this dream often?” He asked, wanting to be prepared. If you hit him with lightning or teleported out of fright, his chance of leaving Midgard would be lost.

“Fairly often.”

“Go back to sleep,” he told you. “There’s no big hurry to move on. Let’s rest, then we can see about staying for a couple more days. How does that sound?”

“Marvelous,” you replied, lightly running your hand along his bare forearm.

So, you laid still, trying to go back to sleep, but unable to with Loki snug against your side, his arm across your waist, and one leg across yours. You weren’t sure if he slept, but you sure as shooting weren’t getting more sleep anytime soon.

“Not working, hmm?” He finally asked.

“No,” you replied softly.

“Let’s see what we can do about that.”

Your heart jumped to your throat when he raised up on an elbow before leaning over to capture your lips in a soft, tentative kiss meant to gauge your response. You pulled him closer, giving him your answer.

His hands made quick work of clothing, then it was skin against skin. He was gentle, and thorough; you were already drifting off before he moved to your side again.

Loki stroked your sweat-soaked hair away from your face while he studied you. You were a pretty little thing and had caught his interest the night at your cabin, when you’d knocked him on his butt.

He did like you, and thought that you’d make a perfect pair once off Midgard and able to move freely throughout the universe.

— —

For the next several months, you and Loki moved from country to country, city to city, where you would stay for a few weeks or until you felt you had to move on. With care, your cash would be enough for at least a year of moving around.

When needed, you stayed at hotels or inns; during these stays, Loki placed a spell around the room so that no one could surprise you. If the internet and a computer were available, he would research the next place to go.

The two of you grew closer day by day, and you knew that you loved him, but was unsure if he would or could return those feelings. There was something that he still kept hidden; you couldn’t find out what it was unless you invaded his mind, which he would not appreciate at all.

As far as either of you knew, Tony nor Thor had even come close to gaining on you. There hadn’t even been a close call from local authorities. You were relieved, but Loki still remained cautious; he knew that he needed you far more than you needed him, at least until you’d gotten him off Midgard.

Loki would have you practice taking a destination from him, so you’d concentrate on the picture he gave you through your telepathy before sending you off. He wanted you to be able to take guidance from him, and also wanted to establish how long it took for you to travel to the target and then back.

He knew that he couldn’t have you try reaching one of the planets in Midgard’s solar system, since they would be immediately fatal. The planet that he wanted to start with was similar enough to Earth that you wouldn’t suffer any adverse effects. It was the distance to the planet that had him concerned.

He didn’t want you to panic mid-jump, especially when you had him along for the ride. Loki wanted you to be able to focus on the destination in order for both of you to arrive in one piece.

— —

“Alright, pet, I think you are ready to get us out of here,” Loki finally told you while you enjoyed a quiet meal on the balcony of the Scottish hotel room where you were staying.

Edinburgh castle was visible from the distance; it was somewhere that you had always wanted to visit, but now was not the time.

“Ok,” you replied, uncertainly.

“Just remember not to panic, the trip itself will likely take longer than you’re used to. Keep the image foremost in your mind and trust me. I’ve been there enough times to guide you to an open space.”

You nodded before pushing your plate away. The food suddenly tasted like sawdust, and you couldn’t choke it down. Loki watched you for a couple of minutes before reaching over to take your hand.

“You’ll do fine, just trust me and don’t panic.”

You sound confident, but I can tell that you’re not entirely convinced, you tell him while trying to keep your hand from shaking.

Trust me.

Later that afternoon, you paced the floor anxiously, keyed up about what was to come. Loki had you rest a while then eat again before teleporting.

He watched you for several minutes before stopping you in order to draw you to him. He could feel your trembling in his arms.

“It’s alright,” he murmured.

“I don’t want to hurt you….” You paused before looking up at him.

They’re here!

Go!

— — —

“Damn it,” Tony scrubbed his face with both hands as he and Thor stood in the empty hotel room. “Those two are as slippery as jello.”

“What’s jello?” Thor asked.

“Never mind. I don’t think we’re ever going to catch them.”

“I’m beginning to believe you’re right.”

This was their closest call yet: they’d actually arrived at the hotel while you and Loki were still there. There had been only two other times where they’d been only an hour or so too late in catching you.

The fact that you could read minds, and would recognize them when they came in proximity to you pretty much guaranteed a successful escape.

— — —

I can’t breathe!

FOCUS!  

Loki’s voice was firm in your mind when you started to panic during the jump to Reumion, the planet he’d been preparing you for.

I’m with you, keep the picture in sight, he said, still firmly but also encouraging.

So, you concentrated hard, focusing as you’d been training to do. When your feet finally touched solid ground, you staggered and would have fallen if not for Loki.

Well done, my pet ….

I did it?

You did it. You could hear the smile in his voice.

His voice faded as you collapsed into his arms. Loki lifted you easily, then pressed a kiss against your temple while he carried you to an inn that he was familiar with. Your paper money was of no use, except as a novelty, so Loki parted with a gold coin in order to obtain the best rooms and to have a meal sent to it.

He then placed you carefully on the bed, and smoothed your hair out of your face. He could tell that you were exhausted; he felt safe enough to let you recover on your own before he started the search for a ship to buy or steal, if necessary.

Three days later, you finally stirred and sat up in bed. You had been out cold during that time, which concerned Loki, who hovered over you, guarding you. You hadn’t even woken up for food or water.

You looked around, disoriented, while trying to get your wits about you. The furniture and covers on the bed seemed familiar, yet not entirely, but you couldn’t put your finger on what the difference was.

A quick glance at the window took in a gray sky, although the light coming in was bright. You thought that perhaps a storm was brewing, but something still seemed off.

Loki?

A moment, he replied.  

You sat still, needing water but unable to get your legs to move. They felt like jelly and you were certain that they wouldn’t hold you up if you tried to stand. After a couple minutes, Loki entered the room, followed by...something you’d never seen before.

Your eyes opened wide in fright and before you could scream, Loki reached your side and shook you warningly. His fingers were painfully tight on your shoulder and drew your attention away from the alien that had carried a tray of food in.

You took a deep breath and forced yourself to relax; Loki eased his grip somewhat, then let go completely once the alien was gone.

Okay, I’m not on Earth anymore, you told yourself. They can’t all look like Loki or Thor.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” you murmured. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he replied. “Keep in mind that you may see other creatures even more startling.”

You nodded silently before scooting to the side of the bed. After another deep breath, you stood slowly, then before you could ask, Loki pointed you toward the equivalent of a bathroom.

When you returned, Loki had put the food onto a small table in the main room and waited for you. You sat down and pressed your trembling knees together.

“How do you feel?” He asked, after pouring a glass of water for you.

“Disoriented,” you replied. “Something feels off, but I don’t know how to explain it.”

He nodded while putting food on your plate. “I know that this looks different, but it should taste similar to what you’re used to.”

“Okay,” you replied, apprehensively.

You took small bites of what he’d served, finding that while it didn’t exactly taste like Earth food, it wasn’t bad. Loki watched in silent amusement before he poured a dark purple liquid into a separate glass for you.

“What’s that?”

“Wine,” he replied.

“Oh.”

You brought the glass to your nose for a sniff before taking a sip. That sip burned going down and you choked on it. Loki quickly handed you the water glass, which you drained.

“Strong!” You gasped, eyes watering.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

You had to clear your throat twice before giving up and nodding in response. He did smile when you pushed the wine glass toward him while shaking your head. You watched him drink what was in your glass before pouring more for himself.

“So, what’s next?” You asked, once you were able to speak.

“To buy a ship,” he replied.

“Too bad they won’t take my paper money,” you commented, while eating your breakfast.

“Yes,” he agreed. “But I will steal one if necessary.”

“Do you think you could do it without hurting anyone? I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Don’t let that concern you,” he replied. “I don’t intend to injure anyone, and I won’t steal a ship unless that is our only option.”

“Alright.”

“Now, how are you on clothing?”

The subject change caught you off guard, so you had to take a mental inventory of what you had.

“I could use a couple sets of new ones, and boots.”

“Once we’ve finished eating, we will go see what we can find for you.”

“Alright.”

— —

When Loki led you from the inn toward the merchant district, you were intrigued by the diverse alien beings that walked the street. You stayed close to him, and even took his arm a couple of times when you noticed that you were drawing the attention of some of the creatures.

“No, move along,” Loki told one brave alien, who had brazenly stopped your progress and chittered. “Yes, I’m quite sure.”

“What did he, it, say?” You asked, after Loki had guided you around the creature in order to continue toward the shops.

“He wanted to know if you were for sale.”

“What??” You squeaked, moving so close to his side that you were nearly walking on his feet.

Loki chuckled softly while gently moving you so that he had space to walk. You kept a tight grip on his arm, and he patted your hands.

“Yes, and I dare say that his won’t be the only offer.”

“You wouldn’t, would you?”

“Of course not.”

For some reason, you didn’t quite believe him, but you kept your misgivings to yourself.

He finally led you into a shop where you could get clothes and boots. You listened while he bartered with the shopkeeper; once an agreement was reached, the shopkeeper took you by the hand in order to show you garments that you could choose from.

“Pick out what you like, and try them on,” Loki instructed you. “Then we’ll get boots.”

So, you picked out clothing after trying several articles on. You also needed undergarments, but were reluctant to mention it to him. Loki’s attention was on the street outside, so you took that opportunity to look around.

“Wonder if she has underwear…” you murmured to yourself, while trying not to be obvious about what you wanted.

“Here.” The shopkeeper’s voice startled you just before she motioned you over.

You followed her, relieved to find what you were looking for. When you only picked out a couple things, she handed you several more items, including a couple of gowns.

“Paid for,” she told you.

“Thank you,” you replied.

She nodded with a smile before she moved away to package your items. When you finished, Loki paid her extra to have someone deliver them to the inn. Then he took you for boots, which were also to be delivered for you.

“Now where to?” You asked, wanting to look around.

The planet had a myriad of sights, other than the alien beings, and you wanted to see some of them. It felt like Earth, as far as the atmosphere, plants, etc, but the sky was gray instead of blue, with the vegetation having silver or steel blue coloring.

“Are those humans?” You asked Loki, indicating the humanoids that you saw.

“Only a few of them are,” he replied, while keeping an eye out for anyone who showed too much attention to you.

While you looked around while trying not to stare, you felt a tug on your pant leg. You glanced down to find that you and Loki had been surrounded by children, who looked up at you with wonder.

Some were humanoid, but they all seemed immensely interested in you. Several of them reached for your hands in order to examine them, while others gently felt the skin of your arms.

Loki managed to step out of the way, but watched closely while also giving the other pedestrians his attention; he leaned against the building, arms crossed.

“Hello,” you said, uncertain if they could understand you.

“Hello!” Some of them did understand and greeted you with smiles.

Loki watched your interaction with the little ones. He’d half expected you to take yourself right back to Midgard after the initial fright at the inn. You weren’t as wary of the children, and he expected that you would grow used to seeing other species as time went on.

“Here, see if they want these,” Loki said, handing you the small pieces of chocolate that you’d tossed into the duffel bag before leaving Alaska.

You offered the candy, pleased that there was just enough for each child to have one piece. Even Loki laughed at the expressions on their faces when they tasted it. He was less than thrilled though when small hands tried to find more candy on him; his clothing was tugged on and twisted around, much to his annoyance.

“No, sorry, all gone,” you told them. “No more.”

“More?”

“All gone,” you repeated, showing empty hands.

They made disappointed sounds while Loki reached for your hand. You waved at them as he led you down the street, then he pulled your arm through his.

“While you were resting, I’ve been asking around about a ship suitable to our purpose,” he told you. “I received word today that there is one that may be for sale.”

“Okay,” you replied.

“There may be other creatures there that will get close to you, but you are not to show any fear,” he went on. “Can you do that?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay behind?”

“No, I want you close to me so that there’s no chance of you being stolen.”

That thought had never crossed your mind and it made you uneasy, but you were sure that you could protect yourself.

“I also don’t want you to reveal what you’re capable of, or neither of us will make it off this planet,” he continued, as if reading your mind.

“Alright.”

Loki moved his arm so that his hand now rested in the small of your back.

“You’re doing very well,” he said. “No one would ever suspect that you’ve never been off planet before.”

“Liar.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his teasing tone. “But thank you.”

@sadwaywardkid​ @whothehellsbucky​ @littlemissunloveable

[nurfhurdur]

Hard Enough Left Modern AU

Because I miss Ruth

There hadn't been activity on that particular channel in weeks. Every few days Emily would log on, only to be dissapointed to see that nothing had changed. The only activity being comments from other viewers asking when to expect another video.

It had gotten to the point where she had checked to make sure she was still subscribed, and she edited her settings to make sure she'd get a notification the next time there was anything uploaded. It was another three weeks after that, that she had checked the time on her phone to see the banner across the screen.

Rushing through the last of her course work, she threw her backpack on the floor and reached for her tablet. She tapped a fingernail against the screen impatiently as YouTube finally loaded, hitting pause quickly so she could dig her headphones out of the nightstand drawer.

She'd binged Ruth's videos in the span of a few days. She didn't know how girls on YouTube did it, especially with a DIY channel. Starting back from the first videos posted a few years before, the video quality had improved, the girl's editing had improved, and she'd become more comfortable in front of a camera. From cooking, and baking, to personal desk size succulent gardens, or organizing and purging a closet, somehow the girl had made a name for herself on the internet and the most mundane of tasks seemed more interesting when discussed and explained on this girl's channel.

Comfortable in her bed, she finally pressed play and tilted her head as the personalized graphic of a constellation came on screen, which the girl had done a tutorial on also....

When did she have the time to do all this?

She was pulled from her thoughts, and rather startled, to see an exhausted looking version of the girl who ran the channel. Ruth's dark hair was pulled in to a messy bun, circles under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't taken the time to get out of her pajamas. What was most startling, was what looked like a medical oxygen tube beneath her nose.

Looking up into the camera, she waved vaguely with her usual greeting before continuing.

"I've never really shared this, because I never had any reason to-" She held up the small tank of oxygen sitting beside her and grinned flatly. "-but now I do.....so today's video is a bit of a PSA."

Her expression dulled and she stared at the screen a moment. "Get out of the shot."

"I'm not in the shot," came a low response from the corner.

Ruth addressed the camera again. "I have help today."

A few clips were edited in of Ruth and....was that Jesse Hudson?

The Piston Cup driver?

The two were figuring out where to stage Ruth's things, and Ruth watched in exasperation before telling him to leave her stuff alone and let her do it.

"I'm just trying to help."

"This isn't my first video or anything-....no, leave the tank there-"

"Wh-"

"Because that's where I keep it when I'm working here-"

The clip cut back to Ruth's slightly more professional expression and she reached for the camera. "For those of you who keep up, yes, that was Jesse Hudson. Jesse, say hello."

"Hey." He muttered with a glance up from his phone.

"We're twins. Before you flood my inbox, I'm older, it's not that exciting to have a celebrity sibling and-....." Ruth paused and stared at the screen again. "Did you just kick the footboard of my bed?"

Just barely in the frame, Jesse's Nikes could be seen as he kicked off from the bed again, spinning the chair slowly. "Yeah, cause you lie."

"I do not lie. You're- you know what, this is my video, and I'm not spending ages editing it so now the world can see how sulky you are."

The chair rolled further in to frame and Jesse only shrugged a shoulder before going back to his phone.

Ruth took a slow breath, for effect or because she needed it, it was hard to tell, before launching in to a lengthy explanation of why she had been absent for so long.

"I don't have an actual diagnosis, no one can give me a specific name for it-"

The more she spoke, the more emotional the video became. The natural lighting of her bedroom made the video a little surreal, the way it picked up the threatening shine in the girl's eyes wasn't staged, or planned, or even wanted. It was apparent that a portion had been cut. She looked like she had been crying, and instead of lazing in the background, Jesse was sitting beside her at her desk, chin rested on his hand as he looked between her and the screen silently.

"Some of you wonder how I have time to do any of this, some of you are very rude in your questioning of how I have time-"

The clip had been edited again and a more composed looking Ruth stared at the camera before speaking and glancing over her shoulder. "Our older brother thought there was a problem and I'm sure Jesse is getting lectured for something...."

She'd edited captions in, and color coded them for each brother. They appeared at the bottom of the screen while she made a show of her impatience on camera.

"Can you for once in your life-"

"She asked me to help-"

Ruth made eye contact with the camera a moment before continuing, explaining that her illness started back in the early 2000s. Doctors had originally treated her for bronchitis, then walking pneumonia. X-rays, blood tests, screenings and different antibiotics had all been tried with only mininal results. There was the possibility of an autoimmune disorder but they hadn't started that round of tests yet.

"I don't always have an oxygen tank, this is a bit of a new development...." She eyed the small cylinder beside her and it was obvious to see that she was still trying to wrap her head around it. With a shaky and watery smile she looked back at the camera.

"It's extremely hard to be looked at the way people do when you have something like this basically tied to your side."

She ignored her twins' return to his chair beside her.

"For some it's an insulin pump, for me it's an oxygen tank, for others it's chronic pain. We know we have it, while the general public tends to look at us like we're looking for sympathy or leaching the system. Just because it's an invisible disease doesn't mean it isn't there."

She looked at her brother before leaning back in her computer chair. Drawing her knee up, she wrapped an arm around it.

"Where had we gone the other day? Was it the grocery store-"

"Doctor appointment."

"Oh, yeah. It was." Ruth frowned. "I've been issued a handicap sign for the mirror of my car....they haven't sent the new license plate yet. I didn't even want to use it but it was a really bad day for me. My family convinced me to use it to park as close as possible, and then wanted to get me a wheel chair."

She pursed her lips, taking a moment to gather her thoughts and looked in to the camera.

"Some middle aged woman came right up to me and told me she thought it was horrible that I would do such a thing for a closer space. That as a young woman in my twenties, I was more than capable of walking the extra hundred feet and had no right to be using my grandparents' issued sign like that."

She looked away from the camera and swiped a tear from her eye. Barely seen on camera, it looked like Jesse might have nudged her chair with his foot.

"I was so upset I showed her my signature on the back, and then my driver's license. Just because I'm in my twenties doesn't mean-"

She shook her head and sighed while rubbing her forehead.

"It's hard enough for people like myself to be so restricted when we're supposed to be 'enjoying our youth'...don't be that person. Just.....take a moment to realize that we're not always how we appear. It's a smack of pride to even have to use that handicap sign. I just stared at it hanging from the rearview mirror, convincing myself not to take it back down for some complete stranger to then treat me that way?"

"That was the appointment they gave you the tank." Jesse muttered lowly.

"It was." She agreed. "Like that wasn't a hard pill to swallow already...."

There was a brief pause, and it was obvious she was mentally shaking herself. She diverted the topic somewhat, sitting up straighter and getting composed.

"So that's where all my time comes from. This started as a hobby a few years ago and because of you-" she gestured to the screen. "-faithfull viewers and subscribers, I've networked with a few different small businesses, I work from home. I have my Etsy shop, I've been able to review different products and be sponsored by those companies. If you haven't visited, be sure to check the links in the description. There's my Etsy shop, Instagram, Twitter, and links to my favourite channels."

As an afterthought, she added. "Maybe I'll do more videos on this, I'm not really sure. Leave your thoughts in the comments."

It was her usual send off, but for some reason it meant so much more after a fifteen minute video explaining something so personal.

"Remember guys, there's always a reason to smile. Until next time."

The personalized LittleDipperCo. appeared on screen alongside the subscribe button and list of links before the next video in the playlist began to buffer.

She hit cancel and set the tablet aside, trying to digest the last fifteen minutes. She'd ordered from the Etsy shop, LittleDipperCo. before and had recieved a little handwritten note alongside all the little items she'd ordered.

Stickers, bookmarks, a personalized mug for her dad, the earrings she was currently wearing....because she'd ordered so much and had been so patient, Ruth had added a few small items and a personal thank you card.

She was her favorite shop, there was something unique about LittleDipperCo.-creations by RuthAnne- that had always stood out to her.

Grabbing her tablet, she went back to find the link and glanced up at her open doorway in surprise when her brother appeared.

"Did you see what he's saying about me?"

"What who is saying-"

"Hudson thinks he's being funny-"

"Get off of Twitter, Alexander."

Alex held his phone up and read the time stamp. "An hour and a half ago-"

Emily glanced back at the upload time of Ruth's video. It was only about half an hour old.

Jesse Hudson was apparently roasting her brother in that video.

She blinked a few times and hid a smirk, busying herself with reaching for a hair tie. "Don't you have some kind of conference to get ready for?"

Another alert popped up as he made a show of leaving her doorway and Emily shook her head while clicking the link.

Let's lighten the mood! PSA- BLOOPERS AND REAL TALK.