#answering questions from journalists after the engagement. by herself

[dozydawn]

[sgiandubh]

Five minutes of Instagram fame

The Brazilian fan is back with more attention-grabbing content, one week after she had thousands of eyes on her London shenanigans. Which I am not going to discuss, simply because I do believe there is no need to give the anecdote more space than it deserves. Enough is enough, and the apparent collective loss of all sense of measure is a sure sign that pause is needed, in that department.

What I am going to discuss, however, is the chutzpah of a 23 year old Nobody, who just wishes to keep those five minutes of fame rolling on and on and on.

Yesterday, she felt compelled to publish another batch of Instagram stories, in which she delivers her Toxic Shipping 101 lecture:

In the process, she basically just rephrases the main Anti Bible arguments, calls thousands of people 'insane', quotes two influential shipper blogs (slàinte mhath, @bat-cat-reader!) that didn't even come close to what I wrote about her, brings on board her mother and grandmother just to explain how upset she was about 'older American women picking up on her'. And ends with a rather pathetic plea for all of us, shippers, to 'seek immediate medical attention'. Same unnerving sotaque Paulista (São Paulo accent), with a posh and very fake tinge of British English. Same incoherent, amateur and immature discourse, endlessly seeking to bring attention to herself, mildly trying to victimize herself. Blah, blah.

I would have given her grace, were it not for this particular argument, in response to a X user asking a rather uncomfortable question, as she definitely has the constitutional right to do:

'OH God, not her again 23 yr old Brazilian trying to be a reporter in London, complete fail. but in BIG OL LONDON, 'JUST HAPPENED' TO Spot Sam, how dumb do you think we all are?'

Answer is the real dumb part of the story, if you ask me, especially coming from a very young woman: 'Forbidden to be a journalist and meet a celebrity in the street. Forbidden to go for a walk as a journalist, paging all my colleagues, ok? I had no clue I could be as scheming as they say I am.'

Ok, buttercup: it is my honest understanding that you want to be taken seriously and treated as a professional, right? Did I miss something, here?

Right. As the daughter of a journalist and a former Government expert in media policies (specifically dealing with media content broadcasting), I am going to do exactly this and honestly ask you, Mrs. Silva:

Do you consider, in all good faith, that you acted like a professional journalist, in this very circumstance?

Do you consider to have kept your impartiality and have you at least checked all the relevant facts and POVs, before slandering all those people on your social media account? Or did you content yourself to report the hearsay shared with you by other bloggers, and just conveniently quoted four random bloggers and commenters?

Have you the slightest idea that one of the commenters who reached out to you on Instagram, questioning your version of the facts, is not even a shipper (and actually, very violently far from being one)?

During the week separating your first post and this reaction to people's feedback, have you or have you not respected your due diligence obligation to contact and engage with the people you so easily treat as a bit less than the scum of the Earth?

Did you or did you not ask for permission to quote their published content on your social media account, especially in a polemic context?

Unlike you, I have diligently perused both your website and your Linked In account. Maybe it is time to tell all those people you have insulted the truth about who you are, professionally, at this very moment:

Marketing student, 3rd semester.

Let me count: 3 internships (correct me if I am wrong), in various junior positions for 1 local media outlet, 1 international corporation and 1 website, 4 different jobs - or should I say 'stints' (3 with your current employer, 1 as a freelancer for a local media outlet).

Still learning. There is absolutely nothing bad about it. But you have still a LONG way to go until you could pretend to be a real voice. And there is nothing in what you posted that could grab my professional attention and make me hire you. Quite the contrary and, believe it or not, I am awfully sorry to say so.

My three free and totally unsolicited pieces of advice:

Always check your facts, always get in touch with the people you plan to write about. In fact, your anger and ego got the best of your professional self and you lost a great opportunity for a paper you could have even titled ' Viagem na Shipperlândia' (A Trip to Shipperland). I would have read that. But you haven't. You preferred to act just like all the other 23 year old girls and make a belly-button story about yourself.

Never bring your family forward in questionable contexts. You expose people who have nothing to do with the irrelevant insanity of a fandom war, to which you contributed your own, perhaps involuntary, dose of chaos and unnecessary drama.

Never lie on your Linked In resume. Potential employers might and will read it. Never write things like:

.. when you also fail to accurately describe your former job position, denoting poor spelling:

Especially when words are your craft, bread and butter. The devil is always in the details:

As I mentioned in a previous post, you could have been my daughter. I have been that 23 year old girl myself, desperate to list every single internship and tempted to inflate language proficiency, in the hope it would land me the job of my dreams. And I have learned the hard way that being a true professional is cancelling your ego.

You'll learn. Until then, stop bitching on things you have no idea about and act like an adult, not an attention hungry teenager. This comes from a place of tough love: sometimes, the most effective life lessons are given by complete strangers.

[usermischief]

♞Pairing: Steo

♞Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Theo Raeken

♞Tags: wedding, getting back together, future fic

♞Words: 2047

Sitting on the steps at the front of the church, arms loosely crossed over his thighs and phone in his hand, Theo is the very definition of bored. Something you very much should not be on the day you tie the knot with the person you claim to be your soulmate. Not that those exact words have ever left Theo’s mouth. Those have only ever rolled over Tracy’s tongue. She’s always believed that this day would come, even during the time Theo dated Stiles. It’s hard to blame her. Theo is like a drug. Once hooked, it’s impossible to get clean.

That Stiles has managed to stay away from five years seems like a miracle. Yet, he’s here on the off-chance that Theo still feels the way for him he’s used to do – even though Stiles was the one who walked away. They were passionate, and Stiles still can’t begin to put into words how he feels about Theo, but they were explosive, more so once their respective careers took off. Theo Raeken, one of the best receivers seen in generations, and Stiles Stilinski, an up-and-coming actor people throw blank checks at, so he’d be in their movies or TV shows.

They were volatile, but they made sense.

They never made their relationship a secret, but they were private – too private for the media, who decided to spin their own stories. Stiles too the brunt of that. A new rumored romance at least once a month. Interview questions from journalist. Stiles reaffirming that he’s still dating Theo but refusing to give any further comments. A lot of people online kept coming to his defense, giving the media the engagement it so desperately craved, and the cycle went on and on.

Even when Stiles stopped commenting at all as his relationship crumbled behind the scenes, nothing changed. Theo’s possessive streak has been an issue from the beginning. It was manageable. Easy to handle. The constant onslaught of rumors, however, caused it to fly off the handle. After multiple near misses, Stiles decided to leave before they both explode and so or say something they cannot come back from.

The world learned of their break-up because Tracy posted pictures of herself and Theo everywhere.

Stiles, in return, fucked more people than he can count. He became who the media told him he is. Funny, really, that out of the two of them Stiles turned into a fuckboy.

And now he’s hiding in the last row of a church Theo never wanted to get married in. He knew about the wedding long before Josh and Corey popped up on his doorstep. Tracy announced it the very day of their engagement. Of Corey and Josh hadn’t continuously insisted, Stiles wouldn’t be doing this. He wouldn’t be here, putting his heart – and pride – on the line in front of too many strangers and at least twenty invited paparazzi, waiting outside the church, and, in turn, the whole fucking world. If Theo’s closest friends are right, all Stiles has to do is get up, be seen, and Theo would drop everything to take him back no questions asked. But Stiles knows he can only ask this of Theo if he’s sure they work out, if he wants to stay with him, knowing and accepting every part of Theo.

Only then can he allow Theo to uproot his life.

The longer Stiles waits, the worse it will get for Tracy too. Not that she would’ve cared. She tried to get with Theo every chance she got. Still, Stiles wonders what would feel worse, waiting until the officiant asks him to speak – and what if he freezes? – or ripping the band aid off and stop the ceremony from even starting.

Shifting on the pew, Stiles lets out a breath and allows himself to look away from Theo at the front of the church and glances at Josh and Corey, looking around as if waiting for something – someone. He had ample time to call Theo before today, to stop all of this from even happening.

He didn’t.

Is that answer enough?

His heart aches.

Stiles can’t let Theo do this. He can’t bring himself to miss what might be his very last chance.

Stiles takes another deep breath, taking in the guests in their expensive dresses and suits. He blocks out their chatter, the laughter, the good mood he’s about to drop a bomb on. All he has to do is get up and out of the dark corner he’s been hiding in, to step into the aisle. The moment he does, people will notice. Theo will see him. It feels like a small miracle nobody has until now. Stiles half expected Tracy had handed out flyers with his face on them to make sure he won’t ruin anything.

However, that’s exactly what he’s about to do.

Stiles cannot wait a second longer. He doesn’t know when the ceremony is about to start. He takes a steadying breath and slips out of the pew.

Theo people closest to him glance up. Although Stiles keeps his face angled away from them, he can tell the moment they’ve recognized him. There’s a shift in the air. Their quiet conversation turns into urgent whispers. It’s not hard to imagine how they’re trying to tell people in front of them. A doomed game of telephone that won’t reach Tracy in time. If someone tries to stop him, Theo will notice.

Stiles has made a decision.

For the first time in five years, he can finally breathe again.

Let’s see how long that lasts. His heartbeat picks up the closer he gets to the aisle. Every second, every step brings him closer to the moment Theo will spot him. The whispers seem to get louder around him, echoing in the church as the conversations die around him. Do they know who he is to Theo? Are thy aware of their history? Their feelings? Can they guess why Stiles is here? If they do, they-

Who cares?

Stiles isn’t here because of them. He’s here for Theo. He glances in his direction, watches as Theo scrolls on his phone, running a hand through his hair. It’s longer now, the way he wears it during off-season. It suits him. To be honest, Stiles likes it best on him, even more so when he’s sporting a designer stubble. Sadly, Tracy made sure that today will be stubble free.

His fingers tremble, and he curls his hands into fists then pushes them into his pants, unsure what to do with them. He can hardly wave at Theo. Should he wave at Theo?

No.

The inside of the church tips. On the left side, the conversations have grown silent. The right side has yet to realize something’s amiss.

Swallowing, Stiles glances back to the front at the same time Josh elbows Corey and points at him. The other groomsmen turn to look as well. Tara, who has been standing a little of to the side, widens her eyes. She smiles, contrasting the look of horror on the bridesmaids’ faces. One of them, presumably the maid of honor, breaks away from the group, her light blue dress fluttering after her. Every click of her heels is a gunshot going off inside.

The sound halts more conversations and catches Theo’s attention. Finally, he looks up from his phone. “What,” he asks, his tone cold and laces with annoyance as he studies the other bridesmaids, “is the issue now?”

None of the girls offer a reply.

Josh bounces over and taps Theo’s shoulder, whispering something in his ear.

Stiles steps into the aisle. He cannot bring himself to look away from Theo for even a second. So, he sees it all – the way Theo’s lips part, his eyes widening as they search for him in the mass of people, how they light up with a smile when he finally finds him, standing out like a sore thumb in his white dress shirt and black slacks. To tie. No jacket. But sneakers. Casual. Low key. The way they imagined their weddings to be on the few occasions they’ve talked about it.  

The phone slips from Theo’s fingers. The crack of it hitting the ground is followed by deafening silence. Nobody utters a single word as Theo is moving. Towards him.

“Theodore!” Mrs. Raeken’s voice cuts into the silence. Her eyes narrowed. The dark green dress probably the most expensive in the whole church.

Stiles didn’t miss her, and he’s sure, that feeling is reciprocated.

Theo doesn’t stop. Instead, he fidgets with his hand halfway down the aisle. He doesn’t run, and Stiles never expected him to. Just as Theo most likely didn’t expect Stiles to meet him halfway or jump into his arms. That’s not who they are.

Stiles’ heart hammers in his chest as he watches Theo approach, as he sees nobody else moving. It’s like the world around them has frozen, like it stopped turning for everyone but them.

And then Theo drops this engagement ring causing the church to erupt.

But Theo simply grabs Stiles’ waist and presses him against the wall, startling a laugh of out Stiles – one Theo steals from his lips as he crashes their mouths together. Their bodies fit together like they used to, like nothing has changed, and Stiles’ heart slows as its missing piece has returned. There is no question about this, about them. The world narrows around them until they’re the only people to exist. Theo kisses him like a starving person, lips and tongue and teeth, and Stiles pulls him closer by the collar of his jacket.

He's returned home after years and years of self-imposed exile.

“Get a room,” Tara mutters. Stiles can’t tell if it’s her voice or the hurried clicking of heels that pulled them apart.

“Let’s go, boys!” Josh drums his hands on Theo’s shoulders before following Corey and Tara out, hollering, “let’s go. Let’s go!”

Chuckling, Theo looks up at Stiles. His features soften for a moment, and he cups Stiles’ cheeks. “You ready?”

Stiles hums. “Waiting on you.” Truth is, he’s not ready to face the real world. He knows what happens once they leave. The questions. The pictures. The media shitstorm that Lydia will hate him for. But for Theo, he’s quite willing to risk it all. So, he intertwines their fingers and squeezes his hand.   

Theo pulls him along, leaving the church without sparing a single glance back.

Stiles does, however, and he looks past everyone else, finding Tracy’s eyes at once. She’s not crying, not screaming, not furiously making her way towards them. Her eyes narrow slightly as she raises her chin. She doesn’t seem surprised, just determined to keep her composure in check.

Someone calls Theo’s name, but he’s already pushing the doors open. He squeezes his hand once more and forces Stiles’ attention back to the reality in front of him – a shitton of cameras flashing, pointed at them, and a barraged of questions hurled in their general direction. Between them and the paparazzi, a black SUV with Corey hanging out of on of the windows.

“Come on!”

They hurry down the stars. The backdoor flies open and Corey scoots to the other side of the backseat.

Theo ushers Stiles in first then slams the door shut once he sits down himself, hand still holding on to Stiles’. “Step on it.”

Tara gives him a thumbs up.

A few moments later, they’re in the street, heading towards a destination Stiles doesn’t care much about as long as he reaches it with Theo by his side, who turns to look at him, cocked eyebrow and smirk firmly on his lips. “What took you so long?”

Stiles huffs out a breath. “Don’t even try to pin this on me, Raeken.”

“I swear,” Tara says before her brother has the chance to say anything, “if you start arguing, I will turn this car around.”

Theo barks out a laugh.

Chuckling softly, Stiles sins deeper into the middle seat and leans his head against Theo’s shoulder. He glances at Tara, watching her brother in the rearview mirror, eyes bright, slightly crinkled as her smile widens. Stiles squeezes Theo’s hand again, promising himself to hold onto him for the rest of their lives.

[umbra-by-jacqui-natla]

Chapter Seven

Carrie entered the dining room and saw Estelle placing the two dishes on the table. They sat at the table and began eating. The hot smell of curry filled their noses and steam gently flowed away from them. They shoved the chicken and rice into their mouths; Carrie enjoyed the flavor. When living with her mother, Carrie would never eat this kind of meal. She would eat what many would are not nutritious enough (or what her mother would say it's wholesome): five wholemeal bread, two fish, apple cakes, and cups of water. And since living with Estelle, Carrie ate different dishes.

They ate in silence for a few minutes; they sat on the opposite side of the table.

"Are you enjoying dinner?" Estelle asked, putting a fork filled with rice in her mouth.

Carrie nodded as she took another bite. She swallowed a piece of chicken down and picked up a cup, sipping the water. She placed her cup down on her right side.

"How's your day?" Carrie asked her.

"Busy," Estelle replied after drinking her cup. "I was helping out organizing the Life Foundation for two events." She paused eating a piece of chicken. "One for the school kids for a trip around the building and young people with internships for a tour."

Carrie hummed in agreement as she sipped her drink. "That does sound busy."

"And what about you?" She mumbled as her mouth was full. "What did you do today?"

"Went to Horton," Carrie replied. "It wasn't as exciting as your day."

"Horton?" Estelle said with a smile. "The bookstore? Did you buy anything?"

"Just a couple of books," Carrie replied and then paused.

Her mind began thinking about the next sentence. She couldn't tell Estelle what books she bought, wondering how she was going to react.

"That's cool," Estelle replied, unknowingly calming Carrie's nerves. "Did anything else happen?"

"I... I bumped into a guy while heading home," Carrie continued.

"A guy?" Estelle sounded surprised.

Carrie swallowed nervously. Then, she remembered telling her mother about being invited to Prom by a boy.

"After the blood comes to the boy."

Carrie rubbed her neck.

"Don't worry, Carrie, I'm not teasing you," Estelle added with a laugh. "I just want to know how it happened."

"I was reading the book I bought at the store. I was more focused on the book that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings; that's how I bumped into him."

"Oh, did you fall?"

"Yeah, and I was embarrassed."

"There's no need to be embarrassed by that," Estelle told her. "He should've watched where he was going."

Carrie looked at her, confused. "That sounded hypocritical."

"What do you mean?"

"I bumped into him." She repeated herself.

"Or maybe he bumped into you." Estelle took the plates and put them beside the sink.

"Interesting thought," Carrie sipped her drink. "Anyway, he helped me up and we chatted for a while before we went our separate ways."

"Does he have a name?" She asked and washed the dishes.

"His name is... Eddie Brock."

Estelle paused. Surprise rushed over her. She switched off the taps and turned herself around to see Carrie.

"Brock? Eddie Brock?" She asked and Carrie nodded. "The journalist? Wow." She leaned herself against the sink.

"Yeah?" Carrie, sounding confused and scared, answered her. "He seems nice."

"I just remembered that my boss is going to be interviewed by him," Estelle explained, drying her hands. "Is he a catch?"

"What?" Carrie was puzzled by her question.

"I mean, is he single? Have a girlfriend?"

"He's engaged," Carrie replied. "You're just wondering?"

"No," Estelle shook her head. "I stopped being interested in men a long time ago."

"What do you mean?"

"I... I'm just more focused on my career. I'm guessing that I don't have time for relationships."

"What's wrong with that?" Carrie asked.

"Nothing." Estelle sadly replied and looked at the clock: it was a quarter to seven. "I better get going."

"Hey, Estelle," she asked, her green eyes following her. "What exactly do you do at your work?"

"Well, Carrie," Estelle put on her coat. "Sometimes things are to be kept secret."

Carrie didn't understand what she meant. She said goodbye and Estelle left her apartment. She went back to her bedroom and thought about the poem again.

Black dawn, black moon

The Klyntar are to commune

Their new life will start soon

Their strength grows yet not immune...

Carrie began writing it down in her journal and list a few things: The Black Dawn of TK, the meaning of the black moon, and the confusion of the word 'Klyntar'. Then she thought of the third line. She thought about what Estelle said to her before she left.

"Things are to be kept secret."

Estelle had never talked about what she was doing at her job in The Life Foundation. What could she be doing there? What could she be hiding from her? Could 'their new life' be connected to The Life Foundation?

Then, Carrie had an idea. She could sneak into the Life Foundation and pose as an intern (ideally not as a school kid) and find out what's happening there. But this brought Carrie a new question: how would she do that? She didn't know where it was or how to get there. That might be something for her to figure out.

After their day at their work, Eddie and Anne went to a restaurant called L'Araignée. After their dinner, they sat closer and talked about their work.

"I don't know why he gave me this assignment, Annie," Eddie said, shaking his head and his right arm resting on the semi-circle jointed chair. "It's not... It's not what I do."

"Well," Anne began and rest her head on her closed fist. "My mother always told me that anything in life worth having would take sacrifice."

"Mmm-hmm," Eddie nodded.

"Patience."

"Mmm."

"And be a lot of work. That's you—."

"That's not." He mumbled quietly.

"—That I'm talking about." she finished.

"Nah."

"Yeah." Anne leaned her head to the left, smiling at him.

"Well, you're lucky to have me," Eddie commented. "To be fair, I'm quite a catch. That's what my mom told me."

They laughed; Anne's laugh was genuine but Eddie's laugh was forced out of him. A gloom overcame him and his heart twisted.

"Whatever the relationship between Edward Brock and myself is no longer applicable."

He heard a harsh male voice in his head. Eddie rubbed the back of his head as if he was telling the voice to be quiet.

"Are you gonna behave yourself tomorrow?" Anne asked him.

"No," he replied, shaking his head and secretly glad she changed the subject. "No, I'm gonna do my job. That's what I'm gonna do. I can't, you know, not do my job. The guy you work for is complete—."

"I don't work for Drake," Anne reminded him. "I work for my firm, and my firm works for him. And I'm sure that they defend many people that you don't deem worthy, but we don't want a repeat."

"A repeat?" He asked.

"Of the Daily Globe incident," she explained.

"Ow! Really?" Eddie said and Anne slowly nodded. "Incident? That's not an incident."

Anne hummed, a hint of disagreement in her tone. "Baby, you were run out of New York."

"I was not. I did not." Eddie disagreed.

"I don't want you to run out of San Francisco."

"No, I still have currency in New York. I was going places. I wasn't running. I was going places. In fact, I moved to San Francisco for you."

"Me?" Anne chuckled.

"You are my home."

"You're not so bad yourself, champ." Anne leaned her head forward to him and Eddie pressed his lips to hers.

Their eyes were closed and Anne tilted her head. She moved her head back and Eddie let out a happy sigh.

"Less talking, more kissing," Anne whispered.

"All right," he agreed. "Let's just get the check."

They kissed one more time and, once they got the check, they got on Eddie's motorcycle; they rode underneath the night sky to their apartment to continue their night of passion.

Eddie and Anne were in their bed, snuggling under the duvet cover and their arms around each other. Then, he opened his eyes and gently moved his head. Anne was still asleep as he moved. He started to wriggle and stretch within his cozy, warm, haven.

"I'm gonna get a drink," he whispered and kissed her forehead.

As parts of his body were gradually turning on, he realized today was his big interview with Carlton Drake at the Life Foundation. And he still hadn't come up with any questions. He got up and walked out of the room and arrived in the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took out a jug of orange juice. He poured himself a glass and put the jug back into the fridge. As he took a sip, Eddie sat at a table where Anne's Apple Mac was left open. He saw the changing wallpapers of the soon-to-be-married couple enjoying their time together. He smiled at the pictures with a sigh.

Then, the laptop chimed.

Eddie saw an email from Lee Taglin with an attachment that read: Life Foundation Legal Memo ***Confidential***.

Eddie rubbed his lip and chin, curious about the memo. He did have a strong dislike towards the founder and (in his head) this could be evidence to prove that he was no good.

He typed the password into Anne's laptop and went to her email. He found the memo and read it.

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝘀. 𝗪𝗲𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂

𝗟𝗲𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗘𝘀𝗾.

𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆

Eddie took sight of the attachment which was read as Life_Foundation_Legal_Memo_pdf. Mr. Belvedere meowed, sauntering on the table. Eddie moved the arrow icon to the memo but, before he could see it, he turned his head. Anne hadn't woken up. He looked at Mr. Belvedere and shushed him.

He clicked on it and was greeted by the Law Offices of Micheline and McFarlane logo with the capitalized CONFIDENTIAL across the page. Below the logo was a title saying 'WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS' along with 'Case No. 02-93'. He clicked on the second page and spotted the potentially damaging information: from scientific volunteers to clinical trials. But there was one thing about the document that caught his attention.

{Deceased Section 8U-M}

Subjects participated in a phase 3 trial for gene therapy in the treatment for late stages of pancreatic cancer

Case 2.1 SARAH CHAMBERS

Case 2.2 PHILP BARCLAY

Case 2.3 ROBERT MACDONALD

LIFE FOUNDATION POLICY: NO REPORTING REQUIRED

Wow, this guy really is a crook, Eddie thought to himself and Mr. Belvedere meowed. He got a couple of questions to ask the founder.

Link to Chapter Eight

[shortfeedshq]

Trump Found Liable for Sexual Abuse: Jury Awards Accuser $5M, Trump Reacts Negatively in CNN Town Hall

On May 10, 2023, a jury found former US President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse against a former business associate, E. Jean Carroll, and ordered him to pay her $5 million in damages. The verdict came after a lengthy legal battle that began in 2019, when Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. The decision was met with mixed reactions from the public and the media, with some applauding the outcome as a victory for women's rights and justice, while others criticized the verdict as politically motivated or biased. Let's dive deeper into the story and explore its implications. The Story Behind the Verdict The case started when E. Jean Carroll, a prominent advice columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995 or 1996. In her 2019 memoir, "What Do We Need Men For?," Carroll detailed the incident, alleging that Trump attacked her in a dressing room after they ran into each other and engaged in a lighthearted conversation. Trump denied the accusations, claiming he had never met Carroll, despite a photo of the two of them together at a party in the 1980s. He also said that Carroll was lying to sell books and that he couldn't have assaulted her because she wasn't his type. In response, Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump, arguing that his comments had damaged her reputation and caused her emotional distress. The case proceeded through the courts, with Trump's lawyers seeking to have it dismissed or delayed, citing his presidential immunity and other legal arguments. However, the case eventually reached a trial, which took place in May 2023 in a New York state court. During the trial, Carroll testified about her experience and provided witnesses and evidence to support her claims. Trump, who did not testify in person, submitted a video deposition in which he repeated his denials and attacked the credibility of Carroll and other women who had accused him of sexual misconduct. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for several days before reaching a verdict. They found that Trump had indeed defamed Carroll by denying her allegations and that his comments had caused her harm. They also found that Trump had committed sexual battery against Carroll by forcibly touching her in the dressing room, which constituted assault under New York law. Reactions to the Verdict The verdict in the Trump-Carroll case was met with a range of reactions from the media, politicians, and the public. Here are some of the main points of view: Positive Reactions - Many women's rights advocates hailed the verdict as a major victory for survivors of sexual assault and harassment, as well as a rebuke of Trump's behavior and rhetoric. - Some legal experts praised the jury's decision as a clear application of New York law and a reminder that no one, not even a former president, is above the law. - Carroll herself expressed gratitude for the verdict and said she hoped it would encourage other survivors to come forward and seek justice. Negative Reactions - Some Trump supporters and conservative media outlets dismissed the verdict as a politically motivated attack on the former president and an example of "cancel culture" gone too far. - Trump himself released a statement criticizing the jury, the judge, and the legal system as a whole, saying, "I have never been treated fairly in this country, and this verdict is just another example of that." - Some legal analysts questioned the reasoning and scope of the verdict, arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent for future cases involving public figures and defamation claims. FAQs What was the nature of the allegations against Trump in this case? Answer: E. Jean Carroll, a journalist and advice columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations and claimed he had never met Carroll, even though a photo of them together surfaced later. What was the verdict against Trump in this case? Answer: A jury found Trump liable for defamation for denying the allegations and saying that Carroll was "totally lying" to sell her book. The jury also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for the harm caused by Trump's statements. What was Trump's reaction to the verdict? Answer: Trump criticized the judge and jury on Twitter, saying that they were biased against him and that the verdict was a "total miscarriage of justice." He also vowed to appeal the decision. Does this verdict set a legal precedent for future cases against Trump? Answer: It's unclear whether this verdict will have a significant impact on other cases against Trump, as each case is unique and depends on the specific facts and evidence involved. However, the verdict does send a message that public officials can be held accountable for defaming private citizens. What is the significance of this verdict for the #MeToo movement? Answer: The verdict is seen as a victory for the #MeToo movement, as it demonstrates that powerful men can be held accountable for their actions and words. It also highlights the importance of believing and supporting survivors of sexual assault and harassment. - What does this verdict mean for Trump's political future? Answer: The verdict is unlikely to have a direct impact on Trump's political future, as he is no longer in office and has not announced plans to run for president again. However, it could affect his public image and perception, which could in turn impact his ability to influence politics and policy. Read the full article

[kaitycole]

chapter one: does she know?

Summary: Two little friends have always desired one thing: to end up as siblings. So when the chance presented itself after a finalized divorce, who were they to decline such an opportunity to finally bring their parents together?

Pairings: Bokuto Kōtarō x f!Reader

Word Count: 2572

Warnings: Angst. Fluff. Mentions of divorce, cheating, cussing

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this series. Part of the @babythotshq​ Dearest Daddy Collab

Tags: open (send me an ask to be added!)

February 2025

“DADDY!”

Frowns fill the faces of those who look at the small girl yelling as she works her way through the sea of people to the court. Where are her parents? Riddle the faces of those around, but she pays no mind, she’s on a mission and there’s nothing that’s going to get in her way.

She screams out again, but this time stops halfway when she sees who she’s been looking for. A large smile spreads across her lips as she starts sprinting across the wooden court.

“Daddy!” She cries out once more and this time he hears her.

His round, golden eyes find her matching ones and he immediately stops whatever conversation he’s having, dropping into a squat with his arm extended outwards, just in time to catch her as she throws herself into his arms.

She wraps her arms tightly around his neck, barely allowing him room to pull her backwards just long enough for him to place a kiss on her forehead. She quickly realizes the mistake she’s made before pushing against him, telling him that he needs to shower. With a loud, hearty laugh, he puts her feet back onto the court before ruffling her hair.

“I am so sorry, Bo.” You start to apologize, “She took off and there are so many people.”

He waves you off before looking down at his daughter, who already knows what he’s going to say. “Seiko, you know better. What do you need to tell Y/N?”

“I’m sorry Y/N.” Seiko puts on her best apologetic face, poking out her bottom lip to added effect.

You laugh, shaking your head looking at the golden eyed little girl whose hair matches her mother’s brunette hair instead of Bokuto’s wild mix of colors. “Thank you, Seiko.”

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You slip the phone out of your back pocket before rolling your eyes at the name on your screen before pressing the side button twice; sending the caller straight to voicemail. Bokuto cocks his head to the side, having watched the whole ordeal, but before he can question your actions your son grabs his attention.

“Uncle Bo you looked so awesome!” Your son Haruki exclaims as he eagerly jumps up to give the volleyball player a high-five.

“I did, didn’t I?” Bokuto throws his head up victoriously while you and Seiko just roll your eyes.

*                      * “Careful, careful. Hold on to each other!” You call out to Haruki and Seiko as they run down the sidewalk and into a small café near the stadium. It had become somewhat of a tradition to eat there after a game or at least the games you and Haruki could attend. Seiko and Haruki are still talking a mile a minute as Bo opens the door for everyone.

Sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder if they were best friends because they were born just a few months apart and raised almost like siblings or if it had anything to do with you and Bo being best friends. You had met by complete accident; you had gone to your locker to get a textbook when you saw a boy with crazy colored spiky hair trying to open it.

When you questioned what he was doing trying to open your locker, he looked completely puzzled before stating it was his. You debated it for a few moments before he handed you the paper with his locker number and combination. You pointed out his locker was in fact the one next to yours, causing him to laugh. After that every day you were greeted with a very enthusiastic ‘hey hey hey’ and were attached at the hip. That had been 16 years ago.

The four of you pile into the same booth as always with you sitting across from Seiko and Haruki across from Bokuto. Your son absolutely adores the wing spiker and has been begging you to let him start playing volleyball too, but your husband doesn’t think he should.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You quickly click the button on the right side of your phone, this time just silencing it instead of sending it to voicemail.

“Are you getting excited to see your mom, Seiko?” You ask after the waitress takes everyone’s usual orders.

She beams, “Yes! She said we can go No Very Farms!”

You look between her and Bo confusingly before he corrects her ‘No Very Farm’ to ‘Knott’s Berry Farm’ and explaining that it’s an amusement park in California. It still surprised you to this day that Bokuto ended up having a kid with an American journalist. Mostly because there was so much mystery as to why they didn’t end up together.

You’ve seen them interact on several occasions and they always seemed to get along really well. You understand that some people just don’t work together, but Bo and Jess were great. They even had an adorable how we met story, but alas they didn’t end up together.

“And Mommy said we can take lots of pictures to mail to Daddy since he’s gonna miss me.” She giggles.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“Aren’t you gonna miss me?” Bo looks at his daughter who is still giggling as she shakes her head no. He places his hand on his chest and gasps before turning away from her, pretending to cry.

“I’ll miss you daddy, please don’t cry!” Seiko tries to throw her arms around his broad shoulders but her arms just aren’t long enough to wrap around his muscular form. She whispers repeatedly that she was just joking before he turns around, wrapping her into a hug.

This will be only the second time since finding out he would be a dad that he’d be apart from Seiko for more than a few days. Being a professional athlete meant that he spent a lot of time traveling, but those trips never lasted longer than five days. The first time was when she was two and he was gone for two weeks, this time she’d be gone for two months and he’d miss her fifth birthday. Jess has already promised to live stream her party and Bo had already mailed Seiko’s gift to Jess so she’ll be able to open it on her actual birthday, but it still feels like the end of the world.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“You can answer that if you want.” Bo offers, “If you need to step outside, Haruki won’t mind sitting here with us.”

Haruki smiles up at you, “Yeah Mom. Your phone has been going off since we left home.”

You shoot your son a look, the ‘you shouldn’t have said that’ look which causes him to sink down in his seat. Truth be told you don’t want to answer the phone, you have nothing really to say to the person on the other end, but you didn’t want to ruin your outing with Bo and Seiko either.

“It’s fine. I can just get it later.”

Bo drops the subject as Seiko and Haruki begin talking about Seiko’s trip some more which includes promises of souvenirs, handwritten letters, and daily video chats.

You look at your phone: 6 missed calls, 3 voicemails, and 18 missed text messages. All from Nakajima Youta, your husband. As you sit there, staring at the excessive amount of notifications, your mind begins to wonder.

*                      * It was an early autumn day, the kind where it wasn’t too chilly but the overbearing heat of the summer was long gone. You sat in a room, surrounded by your mother, friends and future mother-in-law as they all chatted away about how beautiful everything looks. You fiddled with your engagement ring as your mother pinned your hair up, pressing her cheek to yours as she smiled at you through the mirror.

There was a knock at the door and your mother was shocked to see it was Youta who had his hand over his eyes.

“Youta? What are you doing?”

“It’s bad luck to see the bride, but I just need her for four seconds.”

A smile twitched on your lips as you walked over to him, “What’s going on?”

He removed his hand from his eyes, but they are tightly squeezed shut as he awkwardly moved his arms around before finding your face. He stepped closer before he pressed a chaste kiss on your lips, his thumb gently stroked your cheek.

“What was that for?” “This will sound lame, but I’m kinda nervous and I figured you were too. Thought it couldn’t hurt.”

You saw him smile before turning around so you could shut the door before he opened his eyes. Your mother and his began to talk about how sweet that exchange was. Followed by them wondering how you were remaining so calm when they had been complete messes before their wedding. Then it hit you that you were extremely calm, not once had you thought of bolting or canceling the wedding which to you was strange. You get nervous about a lot of things, you second-guessed a ton of things, and here you were with nerves of steel.

Two weeks later

“Mommy!” Seiko bounces up and down, glancing up at Bo with a huge smile on her face. Jess flew in so that she could attend a volleyball game with Seiko before heading to California. The original plan was for Bo to fly out with Seiko, but a last-minute change to the MSBY game schedule disrupted the plan.

“Hey baby girl!” She scoops the little girl up in her arms, spinning her around. She peppers her face with kisses as Seiko squeals, wrapping her arms around Jess’ neck. “Hey Bo.”

“Jess!” Bo wraps Jess and Seiko in a hug before placing a quick kiss on her temple. He grabs her bags as Seiko refuses to be put down; claiming she was too tired to walk. The family of three walk through the airport and make their way to the parking lot.

The ride back to Bo’s apartment is filled with Seiko asking her mom all about California, the same thing she’s asked her every night since she learned she was going. It doesn’t matter to Seiko that her mom has already told her the same thing, it’s different because this time her mom is sitting next to her instead of telling her through a screen.

*                      * “Can we watch a movie?” Seiko asks as Bo and Jess finish cleaning up the kitchen from dinner.

“Of course.”

“YAY!” Seiko screams before running up to hug Bo and Jess then takes off to find the movie she wants to watch.

“She gets that from you.” Jess says.

“Her adorableness? I know.” Bo sticks his tongue out and Jess throws the towel in her hands at him. The kitchen fills with laughter as Seiko comes running back down the hallway, DVD case in hand.

“I want to watch this one!” Seiko holds up Coco; it was her favorite movie lately which Bo was thankful for, he was tired of watching The Lion King 2.

It wasn’t even 45 minutes into the movie and Seiko was asleep on Bo’s lap, his shirt tightly gripped in her little fist while Jess’s head is rested on his shoulder.

“Jess?” Bo whispers, not wanting to wake their daughter.

“Mm.” She hums, half asleep.

“She’s asleep. Want to tuck her in with me?”

She nods against his shoulder before sitting up, stretching the best she could; her body heavy with sleep. Bo cradles their daughter in his arms as they walk into the four-year old’s room; it’s decorated in fairy lights, purples and grays with owls everywhere. She has books on the floor, she said she had been doing research for her and Haruki’s next adventure and crayons littered her desks with drawings she had done to take to California.

Jess pulls the blanket over Seiko, pressing a kiss to her forehead before the little girl turns over to get comfortable. Bo turns off the light after making sure her nightlight is plugged in.

“You’re really good at that.” Jess says as she curls back up on the couch, Bo getting himself a glass of water.

“Turning off lights?” He laughs when she rolls her eyes.

“At being a dad.” She smiles, “I never really did thank you for how great you were with all of this.”

He just shrugs, “I couldn’t imagine having a kid with anyone else.”

A wide grin spreads across her face, “Really? No one? Not even someone with a son? A son who is best friends with Seiko. No one else? Huh.”

Blush faintly covers his cheeks as he clears his throat, “She’s married Jess. Plus, we already talked about that, remember? When we met?”

*                      * October 2018

“That’s all we have time for today. A special thank you again to Bokuto Kōtarō and congratulations on the win.”

The cameraman signaled that they aren’t live anymore before the brunette let out a sigh.

“Are you okay?” Bokuto asked.

“Oh.” She started to fiddle with the microphone cord, “This was my first interview, I’m new to Japan.”

“Well you did great!” He exclaimed, holding up a hand for a high-five. The woman looked at him like he’s crazy but complied.

“Thanks. Ah, so did you.”

Bo smiled, “Jess, right?” She nodded. “I can show you around if you want.”

She shook her head, “Oh no, I couldn’t impose like that.” Bo waved her off, “I really don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun.”

“Only if you’re sure. I have a guidebook I don’t mind using.”

Bo scrunched his face up, “Those don’t show you half of the best places.” He asked for her phone and put his number in. “Just let me know when you’re free and we’ll work it out.”

She smiled, going to speak before you ran up to Bo whose expression had changed; it was no longer just a polite look but one of adoration. His eyes appeared softer and the way his face lit would melt anyone’s heart.

“You did so great out there!” You throw your arms around him.

“Thank you.” His cheeks turned red which didn’t go unnoticed by Jess, “Y/N, this is Andrews Jess, she conducted the postgame interview.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Nakajima Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Jess said, feeling a tad bit awkward and blurted out the first thing she could think of, “You two make a lovely couple.”

“Oh no. No no no.” You shook your head, “We’re best friends. I’ve known Bo here forever.”

There was a slight shift in Bo’s demeanor but a shift nevertheless when a wave of sadness washes over his expression. He almost seems to have stiffened at the word ‘friend’ and somehow his hair seemed to have deflated. Jess tried not to think too much into it, she doesn’t know him or them at all.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Hinata waved from across the court.

“Hinata!” You waved back before heading over to meet Hinata.

“Did you see my spikes!?” He jumped up and down, “They were all swoosh bam!”

Jess looked back to Bo, “This is probably way out of line, but does she know?”

Bokuto frowned as his attention went back to Jess, “Does she know what?”

“That you have feelings for her?”

“I don’t…” He stopped when he saw the same look in her eyes that he’s seen in his, “No. She just got married.”

Previous/ Masterlist /Next

[dearest-bucky]

One more try (One Shot)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary:  Bucky and Y/n hate each other! Or do they?

Words: 6.1K

Warnings: swearing, angst, mentions of blood, fluff

A/n: This is written for @buckysknifecollection‘s writing challenge, I had no. 11 - Enemies to lovers. Thank you so much Ellie for allowing me to be a part of your challenge, it has been a genuine pleasure for me! ❤️ p.s. I’m sorry you’re getting another notification for this, I’ve had to make a new blog and repost everything smh..  Feedback is always appreciated! x

Originally posted: August 22, 2020

Only one ray of sun was able to make its way inside her room, which was otherwise dark and gloomy. That lonesome ray of light, like a beacon of hope, illuminated her face and she threw one of her pillows over her head to escape it. Not even a minute later her alarm started ringing and Y/n groaned in annoyance, but she knew she had to wake up. She'd have less than thirty minutes to get breakfast before Natasha hauled her ass to the gym for their morning training. With a pout she got up from her bed, almost blindly finding her way to the bathroom through the mostly dark room.

In record time she got dressed in her work out clothes and quickly left her room to head to the kitchen, she needed coffee - too much coffee - to wake up properly and something to eat to fill her growling stomach.

After an awful night of disturbed sleep, she felt like punching anyone who so much as looked her way. Heavy steps directed her to the communal kitchen and she hoped it would be empty, not even a little bit  in the mood to interact with anyone before breakfast, but her hope was crashed as soon as she heard the voices of several team members chatting idly over their own meals.

"Good morning Y/n." Steve was the first one to greet her and she could only grunt out her reply to him, moving purposefully to the coffee machine. So close to salvation, she thought as she grabbed a mug from the cupboards, but apparently it was already decided this was going to be 'Y/n's very shitty day!' because the coffee pot was empty when she turned to fill her mug.

"Great! Who the hell drank all the coffee?" She rose her voice in annoyance and everyone's head turned to her. She eyed them all, all of them looking confused at her outburst, only one person had the decency to look sheepish as he sipped uncomfortably on his own coffee.

"Sorry doll, I had a refill just before you came and didn't think to make more." Bucky. Of course it would be him; the bane of her existence.

"Of course it would be you!" She scoffed at him while moving around to make more coffee for herself. "Asshole." She muttered as her back was turned to him but everyone heard it anyway, Bucky included.

"Excuse me!" He spoke up, getting slightly irritated at her. "You can say that to my face." This was usual for them, their relationship consisted of insults and mean words thrown to each other. Steve put his hand on Bucky's shoulder, silently asking him to not start an argument with Y/n again, but the brunette had already made his mind. Y/n spoke again under her breath, probably a curse word meant for Bucky, but didn't turn around to speak to him directly. "I don't know what's your problem," he then continued after not receiving an answer from her. "but it doesn't give you the right to be a bitch."

That only worsened her mood and she turned around to finally look directly at him, rage evident in her eyes and features. "Yeah, maybe I'm a bitch, Barnes, but that doesn't mean you're not still a selfish brainless fuck." As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them, but it was already too late to take them back. She saw his face fall immediately, heard a shocked gasp fall from Wanda's lips who had been silently eating her cereal next to Bucky. Steve only looked her way, his signature "eyebrows of disappointment" look evident on his face.

Y/n wanted to apologize, she truly did, having already regretted the words that spilled out of her mouth before she even spoke them, but before she could say another word Tony entered in the kitchen with his usual light step, unaware of the tension around. "Good morning, kids." He said. "Barnes, I'm glad you're here." There was an easiness in the way he spoke, the absolute contrary of the conversation that had happened literally two minutes ago. Bucky let out a low grunt in acknowledgement, but said nothing as he waited for Tony to say what he had to say. "There's this journalist that's been on my back for a while now, wanting to do an interview with the Avengers. But since we're rather busy with other small, meaningless things like saving the world." Tony and his sarcasm. "You're gonna have to do it."

"Why me?" Were the only words Bucky said, not in the mood to engage in another conversation for the day.

"Because the rest of us have to leave on a mission this afternoon." The billionaire explained. "The interview is set for today at 5pm. The journalist will come here at the compound, one of the offices is set up for her to do this. And don't worry, you won't be alone, Y/n will stay with you."

At that her and Bucky visibly panicked and Y/n was the first to start the protesting, but Tony was having none of it. "Don't bother wasting either of our times, that's already decided Y/n." She wanted to say something but Tony didn't let her. "Nuh-uh." He held his hand up to stop her. "You and Barnes will represent the Avengers today and that's final. Besides, your arm isn't still fully healed for another mission anyway, so there's that too. Now the rest of us, let's get ready to kick some Hydra ass." He left the kitchen just as he entered it, that same strut in his step still present.

Steve and Wanda finished their breakfast and got up from their seats wordlessly, only patting Bucky lightly on the shoulder before they left the kitchen, leaving Bucky and Y/n there alone. To say the air was uncomfortable would be severely underestimating it. One could literally cut the tension with a knife. Y/n wanted to apologize to Bucky for earlier but he got up too, putting his empty mug in the sink and leaving Y/n behind too, alone with her thoughts and feelings of shame and guilt.

Way to ruin everyone's day!

Just like Tony said, at precisely 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the journalist was at the compound, along with a cameraman. The office had been set already, only Bucky was missing. Y/n was there to greet the young woman who seemed too enthusiastic to be doing this, she even asked Y/n for an autograph which she promised to give after the interview. A few minutes later Bucky showed up too, the same somber expression in his face that was painted after Y/n's outburst in the morning in the kitchen.

The interview was going well, the journalist asking questions about the Avengers in general, the missions and Y/n and Bucky answered all of her questions in turn, being kind and polite to the young woman, but after some more questioning she decided it was time to show her true colors.

"So mister Barnes, how do you feel about everything that happened to you as the Winter Soldier and I was wondering whether you think you're free of all that.. I mean do you think you are truly over that part of your life?" The world came to a stop as she asked her question, even the air seemed to have stilled in the meantime. Bucky was like a deer caught in the headlights, fumbling with himself to get the words out in answer, but he couldn't. He couldn't form not one single coherent thought to reply to that. Y/n was shocked too by the rudeness of the journalist and she turned her head on the side to look at Bucky, finding him glued in place, an unreadable expression on his face, he wasn't even blinking anymore.

Y/n felt so bad, thinking she was so mean to him in the morning and now this stupid journalist was doing the exact same thing that she had done earlier, she knew she had to do something, so without losing another moment she replied instead of Bucky. "Every question pertaining to the psychological evaluation of Sargent Barnes has been already answered in the court room when the State declared him innocent two years ago. You have no right to be asking that kind of question, you-"

She wanted to say more but the other woman interrupted her. "No, I was just wondering if... I mean Mr. Barnes could..."

This time it was Y/n's turn to interrupt her, raising her hand to signal her to stop speaking and getting up from the chair she was sitting. "You can show yourselves out." Was all she said before walking out of the office, Bucky following right behind her, a little stunned by her behavior.

She was walking to her room when Bucky called behind her, making her freeze in the spot. She turned around to face him, silently waiting for him to speak first. He seemed still a little flushed from the situation before, but he spoke before he could lose his nerve. "Y/n, um.. Thanks, uhh for.. you know.. that.." He stuttered his words out with difficulty. "You didn't have to do that but thanks." He seemed embarrassed as he turned to leave her alone, but Y/n stopped him, her hand reaching out to grab his wrist lightly.

"I'm sorry." She said. His back was turned to her and he didn't turn to face her, closing his eyes to inhale a deep breath before breaking free of her hold, not saying anything. "I'm really sorry Bucky, you know I didn't mean what I said in the morning." She spoke again to his retreating form as he walked away from her on the opposite side of the hall. She sighed dejected, resuming the way to her own room.

Truth is, Bucky and Y/n have never been friends. They were colleagues and it was all they would ever be. They had each other's back on missions but anything other than that was simply unthinkable. It wasn't always like this. When Y/n had first joined the team, she tried to get along with everyone on the team, but she supposed not everyone likes everyone. To her credit, she'd tried to be on Bucky's good side, being a new member she felt like it was her duty to try and get along with everyone, but the ex-Winter Soldier seemed like he actually hated her, what with the nasty, kind of disgusted looks he sent her way every time they crossed each other in the compound.

She couldn't understand Bucky's hostility towards her, as far as she could tell, she never did anything to offend him in the slightest, but evidently Bucky had already decided he couldn't even stand Y/n.

With time, things seemed to change and Bucky started to at least tolerate her presence around him, but they still couldn't be friendly with each other. Despite Bucky being unfriendly - for the lack of a better word - to her, she couldn't help but feel bad with herself because she actually liked the man. Ironic, isn't it! There was really nothing to dislike about him, from his looks - the man was seriously a treat for the eyes - to his kind nature, which everyone seemed to be on the receiving end of it; everyone except Y/n, who could only witness that from afar.

No matter how hard she tried to be nice to him, it was simply impossible to climb over that wall Bucky had built around himself when it came to Y/n. She finally gave up after some months, but she figured if he didn't treat her as a friend, she'd be a pain in his ass, at least that way she still got his attention somehow. So she'd started to throw words his way, being a sarcastic little shit every time she got the chance. At first Bucky continued to ignore her, just like he had done before, but then her words started to get to him, she started to get under his skin, pushing his buttons every time they were in the same place. It started innocently enough, but after a few months of back and forth, they just kept going at each other's throat all the time, bantering, throwing insults at each other and once the situation had degraded up to the point Steve had to forcefully take Bucky away from Y/n, otherwise they'd most likely end up killing each other.

It became almost natural to them to hate each other, to argue and to throw insults at each other at any given moment. And it had been going on for too long everyone else on the team was getting tired of it.

A few weeks had passed since the interview and the situation at the compound was back to normal, well, kind of. Tony had filed a complaint about the journalist, saying her behavior during the interview had been nothing short of unprofessional and that got her fired. She had it coming though.

Y/n was at the gym, training with Steve in hand to hand combat. Steve insisted everyone trained with everyone so they'd know different fighting techniques and that was a valid point he made. They'd been going at it for about two hours and Y/n was sweating profusely. Once again, Steve managed to kick her feet from underneath and she fell on her back on the mat. Y/n groaned in frustration. "Okay that's enough for today, my muscles are killing me. You're killing me Rogers." Her finger pointed accusingly at him as she laid down, too tired to even consider getting up.

"Or maybe you're just too weak." Came the surprising voice of Bucky who had just entered the gym, wearing only a pair of shorts and nothing else as he walked to the ring, leaning his arms on the ropes.

Ever since the day of the interview, there hadn't been many interaction between them, choosing instead to just ignore each other even when they ran into each other in the compound. Y/n still felt guilty for what she said that day so she didn't want to upset Bucky more than she already had and he had seemed to be in the same board with her because he never said anything; until now.

Y/n only scoffed at his comment, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her annoyance and still too tired to even argue with anyone, least of all him, but apparently Bucky had something else in mind, because he spoke again. "'S that it, you're too weak, dollface?" His voice held a hint of mischief to it, and no matter how much Y/n wanted to just ignore him and what he said, he knew how to get her riled up. With screaming limbs she managed to get up and move towards him, leaning on the same ropes he was, coming face to face with Bucky as she was staring down at him.

"Right now I am, I'm sure you know how it is to get your ass handled by Steve." She said it so casually, as if she was talking to a friend and not Bucky. Steve on the other side of the ring snorted out a laugh as he sipped from his bottle of water.

Bucky smirked at her words. "Wait 'til you try me then. Your ass won't recover for weeks." And he winked.

"Shut up Barnes." She replied, trying to hide the growing blush on her cheeks and moved to walk away from him and out of the gym, dragging her duffel bag on the floor as she walked, leaving the two men behind.

"You're a punk Buck, why'd you have to tease her like that? You always do this and then you end up saying hurtful things to each other." Steve pointed out with a frown on his face. He seriously hated it when Bucky and Y/n argued with each other, because it left them always fuming and wanting to punch something. That something most of the time was Steve.

"Shut up, jerk. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Steve stared him down until it was starting to get uncomfortable and Bucky left the gym too, not saying anything else to Steve.

Bucky hated to fight with Y/n. If he was being honest, he hated himself for doing it too, but it seemed as if that was the only way there could be some sort of relationship between them. Bucky knew it was mostly his fault. He'd been unwelcoming towards her since the beginning and now it seemed as if it was to late to try and salvage anything. Deep in his heart, Bucky regretted his every action that lead him to here with Y/n, because very deep down, he liked her. Y/n was interesting, to say the least.

When she first joined the team she was too happy, almost too much for Bucky's liking. She was the exact opposite of his haunted soul, too lively, too innocent. She was always nice to him, greeting him with that same mirthful smile every God damn time. She seemed like too much for him at the time anyway and he did his best to steer her as far away from his as possible. And he succeeded at it. He finally managed to make Y/n hate his guts, and he had no one to blame for that but himself. Now, what he wouldn't give to see her lovely smile directed at him, he had lost his chance though.

It had been days on end since they had their last interaction, now it seemed as if Y/n wouldn't spare him even insults or sarcastic remarks anymore. That was still something, he thought to himself. He actually looked forward to teasing her relentlessly every time he ran into her, it was the only way they knew how to talk to each other. But ever since the day of the interview, Y/n had gone way out of her way to ignore him. Bucky knew she didn't mean what she said that morning in the kitchen, he could see the regret written all over her face as soon as the words left her mouth, but that didn't mean that in that moment it hadn't hurt.

Bucky still lived with the feelings of guilt and remorse for everything he'd done as the Soldier and having people slap him in the face with that truth, it hurt more than he'd ever care to admit. Especially when one of those people was Y/n. Despite the fact that he knew she didn't mean it, what she said was true and a lot of other people thought so too. That journalist thought so too. He still remembers how Y/n stood up for him, showing the door to that rude journalist and he can't help the flutter in his heart at the sentiment. He had decided then and there to forgive her for the words she said, before she even apologized to him in the hall. Bucky had called her a bitch too, so he was as guilty as her.

"Wake up, Buck. Urgent mission." Steve shaking his shoulder slightly woke him up, not registering his words yet and humming in question sleepily. Steve repeated himself and finally Bucky got up from his bed, fully awake and conscious.

Steve hated to wake him up, he knew Bucky barely slept enough as it was, but being an Avenger meant urgent, impromptu missions the entire time. They walked to the jet together, finding the rest of the team already seated there. Apparently they were all waiting for Bucky.

"Good morning." He greeted everyone and almost everyone greeted him back.

"Finally the Sleeping Beauty decided to join us." Y/n's voice rang in his ears and he inwardly smiled at her words. It seemed like there was some kind of weird normalcy back, despite the fact that Y/n still didn't meet his eye most of the time.

"I was actually fixing my hair, princess. Not all of us enjoy wearing the same crappy looks you serve." He replied to her, the same sarcastic but playful hint in the tone of his voice. Her hair was up in a sleek ponytail and there was a natural morning glow on her face that made her look as beautiful as ever. Bucky only liked to give her shit, but in reality he loved how she looked all the time. Y/n was about to reply again but Steve didn't let her, saying how they had to debrief the mission before going blind in the war zone. That shut them both up as they listened to the Captain explain what was going on and what they had to deal with.

"Second floor is clear, I'm going up." Bucky spoke in the ear piece that everyone shared connection with. Another Hydra base to wipe up. Nothing they hadn't done before. The only downside to it was the fact that it seemed like their 'Cut one head, two more shall take its place' motto, was proving to be true because lately more Hydra bases were showing on the Avengers' radar. It was getting irritating.

"Okay, just be careful." He heard Steve's voice in his comm and scoffed lightly. That punk and his mother hen tendencies.

The team had been searching the place for around an hour and they had found nothing yet. The halls and the offices were mostly empty. It seemed as if they had abandoned it just before the Avengers arrived, but still something just didn't sit right with Bucky. Call it a gut feeling or whatever, he simply knew that this couldn't be as easy as it seemed to be at the moment. He climbed the stairs to the upper floor, his gun in the ready to shoot anyone who crossed him. Just as he was about to turn on the left, a series of gunshots was heard from the other side of the floor Bucky was in.

"What's going on?" He asked quickly, a chilling feeling of panic settling slowly in his bones. He walked towards the noise, hoping whoever it was there from his team, was doing fine. Just as he made another turn, another gunshot was heard, then several more. His gun in the ready, he looked in front of him, finding two Hydra agents shooting at somebody he couldn't still see from where he was. He fired at them without missing a beat and when they saw him they ran in the opposite direction, trying to save themselves.

Hurrying he walked towards where the Hydra agents were shooting, his eyes widening in horror at the sight in front of him. He rushed to get a closer look at the person who was laying down just a few steps away from him and he reached her he fell to his knees next to her.

"Oh my God." He said in panic. "Y/n, can you listen to me?" He patted her cheek lightly, trying to gain her attention and it worked because she averted her eyes to look at him.

Her entire abdomen was bloody, the navy blue cat suit stained with her blood. There were at least three bullet holes in her abdomen and one in her thigh and she was losing too much blood, too quickly. "Y/n, what the hell!" He yelled in panic, then finally came to his sense to notify the team. "Y/n's been shot. Several gunshot wounds in the abdomen. I need immediate evac. I repeat, I need immediate evac." Then he looked at Y/n, fear still evident in his eyes. "Hey, keep your eyes on me okay, look at me. It's going to be okay." He spoke in a rush, wanting to somehow make her feel better.

"Buc-" she tried to speak but she started coughing, then only a second later she was spitting blood from her mouth.

"It's okay, please don't speak. I just need you to stay awake right now." With careful movements he scooped her up in his arms, then started walking as quickly as possible to the exit. He could hear Tony's voice in his ear telling him that the jet was ready to get back at the compound, but he couldn't say anything back to him as he kept his eyes to Y/n. She was staring back at him, not daring to break eye contact, as if she were memorizing his features, the blue of his eyes, the slope of his nose, the scruff on his cheeks, the dimple on his chin. She was looking at him as if it was the last time and he didn't like it one bit. Her eyes started to flutter closed as more blood came out of her bullet wounds and Bucky yelled at her to keep looking at him. And she did.

"Bu- Bucky..." She tried to speak again but she was too tired to even form out the words. Instead she rose her bloodied hand to his face and cupped his cheek softly, but it quickly fell off as she lost the consciousness.

"No, no, no, no, no." He repeated in a frenzy as he was finally out of the facility and only a few more steps away from the jet. He practically ran the remaining distance and placed her in one of the cots there, carefully laying her down. Tony was the first to do a full body scan with Friday and put an oxygen mask on her mouth. Natasha pressed some rags on her wounds to stop the bleeding and that was all they could do at the moment. At the compound the doctors were ready to bring her in and take care of Y/n.

Bucky was pacing around the small space of the jet, mumbling to himself, he was actually driving himself and everyone else around him crazy. Steve got up from his seat and placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Come sit." He spoke softly and Bucky simply nodded, obeying to him, not having even the slightest amount of force to say no.

Soon enough they arrived at the compound and Y/n was immediately taken in surgery. She had lost too much blood already and every second that passed without removing the bullets and closing her wounds was a second that could lead her to death.

Just like before, Bucky resumed to his pacing, this time in the hall of the med bay, waiting impatiently for the doctors to come out of the surgery room and say something. He'd been there for three hours already, not having left the spot for even one moment. While everyone had gone to their rooms to shower and change, Bucky had glued himself at the med bay and he wasn't planning to go away until the doctors came out with some news.

"You should go to your room and take a shower, change your clothes." Steve spoke behind him, hoping to convince him. Bucky turned around to face his friend, fear written across his face evidently and he shook his head slightly.

"I'm not going anywhere until I know she's okay." He replied, voice cracking a little with each word he spoke and Steve couldn't help but feel bad for his friend. There was a stain of blood on his cheek, mixed with streaks of tears that had ran down his face. He looked as miserable as he felt.

"Bucky..." Steve tried again but Bucky was having none of it.

"I said no." He yelled at him, then more tears ran down both of his cheeks, his voice losing all the sound, his next words coming out in a broken whisper. "I can't... I just, I can't lose her." He finally confessed. "I can't fucking lose her Steve." He came to Steve, his forehead resting on his friend's shoulder in defeat.

Steve placed both his hands around his shoulders in a hug. "She's going to be okay. She's strong, pal." He could hear Bucky sniffle but he didn't say anything, silent sobs escaping his lips as his own arms came to wrap around Steve's body, returning the hug. After a few moments in silence Steve tried again. "Please just go take a shower. I'm sure the doctors will be there for some more time, but even if they aren't I'll call you as soon as they come out of that door. I promise." That seemed to finally convince Bucky and he nodded, even though half-heartedly, stepping away from Steve and walking towards the bedrooms.

Up in his room, he was staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, staring at the stain of her blood on his cheek. He recalled the way Y/n had looked at him, as if it would be the last time and he quickly shook his head to get rid of the thought. He couldn't lose her. He could not. Not without him never telling her how he truly felt for her. The bickering and arguing back and forth was nice for however long it lasted, but now he needed to tell her that he wanted a real relationship with her. He needed to tell her he loved her.

The thought that ran in his mind shocked him. Did he really love her? But there wasn't a doubt in him as he silently nodded to his reflection in the mirror. Yes, he did. He totally did. With a newfound determination and a rush in his bones, he quickly discarded of his tactical suit and moved under the stream of water, washing away all the tears and blood and grime. He was quick and thorough to wash himself and he rushed to get dressed and get down to the med bay again.

Y/n needed to make it out alive and he would tell her the truth about his feelings. No more hiding behind petty insults and sarcastic comments.

They had to wait for another three hours before the doctors finally came out. Bucky was the first to get up and walk to them, immediately asking them about Y/n. Behind his back, Steve, Sam and Natasha were waiting impatiently to know too.

"The bullets are all out and we closed all of her wounds, but one of them was too close to her spine and more difficult to remove. We hope she will wake up soon. For now she has to rest." One of them explained as calmly as he could.

"You hope? You fucking hope?" Bucky yelled.

"Buck.." Steve tried to calm him down but Bucky wasn't listening.

"No, you shut up." He turned to say to Steve, then back again to the doctors. "You're telling me her life is depending on your fucking hope? I thought you were the best and that's why Stark hired you." He was shouting in their faces and the poor doctors couldn't say anything.

"Mr. Barnes it's too early to speak now." The other doctor said, hoping to calm him down a little. "We did our best, now it's all up to her body and how well she recovers." The doctors excused themselves and walked away, leaving Bucky with his friends there. His mind was running at millions miles per hour, thinking of the worst things that could happen, but he was quick to dismiss those thoughts. Y/n had to wake up! She had to be okay! She had to!!!

Almost a week had passed and there was no sign that she was waking up. Her body was healing in a normal rhythm, but it seemed like it was her mind that wasn't cooperating. The doctors explained it as a short coma that her brain had put her body in to recover fully, but Bucky thought it was just a bunch of bullshit.

Every moment of every day he spent it in the room she was currently at, sitting in a semi comfortable chair next to her bed. He sat there during the day and slept there during the night, even ate next to her when Steve brought him something to put in his stomach after he refused once again to leave her side. He hadn't shower since the day they returned from the mission and he so badly needed to, but he still refused to leave her side.

"You know, doll, when you wake up, the first thing I'm gonna do is kiss you. I'm telling ya this now so when I do it it doesn't come as a surprise to you." He spoke to her as if they were conversing normally. He was always speaking to her, pouring his heart out to her, expressing his love to her, his fears, all of his feelings. And she remained there, immobile and silent while he spoke and spoke.

He was holding her hand in both of his, gently stroking her knuckles with his thumb when the door of the room opened and inside entered Natasha with a determination in her eye no one was able to break. "Get your ass up Barnes. You reek." She spoke to him, a little harsher than she intended to, but he wasn't listening to their kind requests anymore. Bucky only grunted out at her to leave him alone but Nat punched his right shoulder in reprimand. "I didn't ask. Now get your ass up from that chair. You're going to go in your room, and you're going to take a shower and then you can come back here. I'm sure Y/n wouldn't appreciate your unpleasant stink when she wakes up." That last sentence got his attention and he finally relented, albeit still a little unsure, but he got up from the chair and with one final look at Y/n's face he left the room to take a quick shower. Nat was definitely right about him reeking.

Another week scooped up in the same hospital like room, another week she's been silent, still not waking up. Bucky hated the feeling of the unknown, he hated to not have a sure answer, but he figured he'd wait his entire life for her. And that's what he was telling her this time. "I promise baby, you just have to wake up, then you can leave the rest to me. I know I've hurt you in the past and I know you probably really hate me, but I just need only one more try and I'm gonna make you fall in love with me just like I've fallen in love with you."

"Do you promise?"

The hoarse sound of her unused for weeks voice was heard, low and gruff and Bucky couldn't believe that it was actually happening. Still dazed, cupping both her cheeks in his hands he asked. "Y/n?" A little unsure of what to expect, almost certain he had only dreamed the whole thing.

"What, you lost your voice now? You were talking big game before I woke up." She spoke again, this time a little hint of playfulness evident in her otherwise still hoarse voice. Bucky chuckled, finally convinced that he wasn't dreaming and without missing a beat he connected his lips softly to hers, just like he had promised before. He sighed at the contact but broke it too soon for either of their liking.

Her eyes opened slowly to look up at him who was hovering above her, a dreamy smile plastered on his face.

"Hi."

"Hi, doll." He replied to her, a little breathlessly and she grinned up to him. "How much of what I've said this entire time have you heard?"

"Pretty much everything." She answered with the ever present grin. "You've made a lot of promises mister." Her voice held a glint of joy in it, the sound, Bucky was convinced it was angelic.

"And I plan to keep every one of them, sweetheart." He leaned down slightly to kiss her lips again, actually relieved he was able to finally do so. He was so stupid to have lost all that time arguing and fighting, not telling her how he really felt, only coming to his senses when he almost lost her, but he was done running away from his feelings. And apparently so was she. They kept kissing, keeping it slow and sweet, but able to transmit every single feeling into each other. They were so lost in that kiss they didn't even hear the door of the room open and the team entering, finding them lip locked and wrapped up in their own little world.

"Barnes, you asshole, when were you going to tell us that Y/n woke up?

[causeiwanttoandican]

It’s all coming out...

The Times

Royal aides reveal Meghan bullying claim before Oprah interview

Valentine Low

The sources approached The Times because they felt that only a partial version had emerged of Meghan’s two years as a working member of the royal family and they wished to tell their side, concerned about how such matters are handled by the palace. The complaint claimed that she drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.

The Times was approached by sources who stated that they wanted to give their account of the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan’s arrival as Harry’s girlfriend in 2017 to the couple’s decision to stand down as working royals last year.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said they were the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. They said the duchess was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma”.

Knauf sent an email to Simon Case, then the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary and now the cabinet secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Case then forwarded it to Carruthers, who was based at Clarence House.

In his email Knauf said Carruthers “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious”. He added: “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.”

Sources say they were concerned that nothing was done at the time to investigate the situation, and nothing done since to protect staff against the possibility of bullying by a member of the royal family. Aides also insist that behind the scenes they did more to welcome Meghan and help her to find a role than has been publicly acknowledged.

They believe the public should have insight into their side of the story before watching the couple’s much-publicised interview with Winfrey, due to be televised in the United States on Sunday.

The couple’s lawyers told The Times that this newspaper is “being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative” before the interview.

However, The Times understands that the palace establishment is highly concerned that the allegations have emerged.

The sources have revealed a febrile atmosphere within Kensington Palace, where Meghan and Harry lived alongside the Cambridges after their wedding until the split between the two households at the beginning of 2019. Staff would on occasion be reduced to tears; one aide, anticipating a confrontation with Meghan, told a colleague: “I can’t stop shaking.”

Two senior members of staff have claimed that they were bullied by the duchess. Another former employee told The Times they had been personally “humiliated” by her and claimed that two members of staff had been bullied.

Another aide claimed it felt “more like emotional cruelty and manipulation, which I guess could also be called bullying”.

The duchess denies bullying and her lawyers stated that one individual left after findings of misconduct. The Times was not able to corroborate that claim.

The Times can also reveal that the duchess wore earrings to a formal dinner in Fiji in 2018 that were a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who is said by US intelligence agencies to have approved the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The dinner took place three weeks after the killing.

At the time it was reported that the earrings were borrowed. The duchess does not deny this was what she said, despite being aware of their provenance.

On the same tour sources said the main reason that the duchess cut short an engagement in Fiji was because of her reservations about the organisation UN Women. It is not clear why she is said to have felt so strongly about its presence. The duchess denies the sources’ claims about the event.

Knauf wrote in his email: “I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable.”

He added: “The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.”

The email, which also expressed concern about the stress being experienced by Samantha Cohen, the couple’s private secretary, concluded: “I questioned if the Household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals.”

The complaint was sent to the HR department. However, one source said: “I think the problem is, not much happened with it. It was, ‘How can we make this go away?’, rather than addressing it.”

After Harry was told about the complaint a source insists he had a meeting with Knauf in which he begged him not to pursue it. Lawyers for the duke and duchess deny that any meeting took place or that the duke would have interfered with any staff matter.

Another source claimed: “Senior people in the household, Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, knew that they had a situation where members of staff, particularly young women, were being bullied to the point of tears.

“The institution just protected Meghan constantly. All the men in grey suits who she hates have a lot to answer for, because they did absolutely nothing to protect people.”

Knauf‘s complaint never progressed. Two of the people named in his email are are said to feel that nothing has been done to investigate the bullying claim. The following month Knauf handed in his notice.

When the households split the following March he took up a job as an adviser to the Duke of Cambridge. He is now chief executive of the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation.

After a newspaper revealed that a PA had left after only six months, it is understood that the duchess became extremely concerned about the number of stories in the press about staff leaving. Her lawyers state that she did not read the press.

The tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga was a difficult one for staff, sources told The Times. When the duchess wore the earrings in Fiji given by the crown prince she told aides who were preparing to brief the media about her outfit for the state dinner that they had been “borrowed” from a jeweller, a source said, an explanation that was widely reported. This was three weeks after the murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Lawyers for the duchess said she may have stated they were borrowed but did not say they were borrowed from a jeweller and denied that she had misled anyone about their provenance.

Although Case had no managerial responsibility for the staff mentioned in Knauf’s complaint, he is understood to have taken it seriously. He made sure it was sent to HR, and took a close interest in the welfare of the staff member still employed there.

The issue of staff — their treatment, and the fact that they were shared between William and Harry — became so pressing that William and Case accelerated the process of splitting the two households. “What was a long-term plan became an immediate plan,” a source said.

The spokesman for the Sussexes said in a statement: “Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet. It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years.

“In a detailed legal letter of rebuttal to The Times, we have addressed these defamatory claims in full, including spurious allegations regarding the use of gifts loaned to The Duchess by The Crown.

“The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

*Names withheld by The Times

[vance-emmeline]

ϟ  ━  was that  EMMELINE VANCE around  the  leaky  cauldron  ?  SHE disapparated  before  i  could  approach  them  !  what  a  pity,  for  they  are  DETERMINED  and  LOYAL,  but  maybe  it's  best  to  keep  my  distance  because  they  are  also  CLUMSY  and FIERY.  i  remember  that  they  were  a  RAVENCLAW  back  in  school  but  have  since  made  a  name  for  themselves  as  a  DAILY PROPHET JOURNALIST.  if  this  alleged  war  came  knocking  on  their  door,  it  is  supposed  that  they  would  FIGHT  FOR  DUMBLEDORE   (  cis woman &  she/her /  zoey deutch /  26 /  half-blood).

biography & statistics below the cut

𝒷𝒾𝑜𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓅𝒽𝓎

Emmeline Vance has always been described as ‘capable’. From a young age she was solving puzzles in creative ways and forging a path for herself early in life. Her parents offered Emmeline a safe and happy childhood, although they both worked long, exhausting hours at the ministry meaning that child-care was left to her grandfather who owned Honeydukes sweet shop. As a small child, there was nothing that Emme loved more than suggesting new sweets her grandpa to try and make to try and then helping him make the ideas from her imagination into a reality. When she was six years old, her grandpa gave her her own little apron and nametag for when she was at the store.

Helping out at the store truly shaped Emme as she grew up. All sorts of people stopped by the store in their trips to Hogsmeade - all shapes, all sizes, all races, all blood statuses. Emme naturally became kind and compassionate, willing to help whoever might need it no matter what their background. Her first signs of magic showed in the store - she had to carry 3 tubs of jelly slugs from the cellar to the top of the store, and managed to levitate one in front of her like grandpa did with a degree of concentration after huffing about the fact she couldn’t carry three with her little hands. Certainly, her grandfather was more of a parent than her own parents ever were.

The issue of parenting came to a head just before her ninth birthday, when her parents decided that they were going to move to France to start life afresh. Emme’s father had been offered a job at the French Ministry and they had taken it easily, jumping at the opportunity to start life again in the beauty of France. But Emme’s little heart broke at the idea of not only being taken away from Britain and the promise of Hogwarts, but from the most important person in her young life. A few roaring arguments between her father and grandfather while Emme was supposed to be sleeping (but was really hovering at the top of the stairs trying to listen to what the adults were saying) and the three adults called her downstairs asking her a simple question.

“Would you rather live in Britain with grandpa or move to France with Mummy and Daddy?”

Emme never answered verbally, but instead ran over and clung to her grandpa’s leg, who had been more of a father to her than her own father had. It wasn’t their fault, of course, that they worked long hours and hardly ever saw their daughter - but Emme’s decision was easy. And so it was that within the next few months Emme’s parents prepared to move away and prepared to leave their daughter behind (promising visits, of course). In January, her parents were gone leaving her to live with grandpa and grandma in their small flat above the store. Life passed by peacefully until her eleventh birthday arrived and with it, a letter inviting her to Hogwarts.

On her first day at Hogwarts, Emme learned that not everyone was as kind as her. Her grandfather had pulled her aside at Hogsmeade station before she ran to join the arriving students and said ‘be brave enough to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves’. Those pearls of wisdom stuck a chord deep within Emme, who had always considered herself kind but hadn’t had to put herself in any level of discomfort to be kind so far. She had lived a reasonably sheltered upbringing, after all. Cruel thoughts had not been present in either her home or the sweet store (after all, who can find it in their hearts to be cruel when surrounded by that much sugar). With that wisdom fresh in her mind, Emme made her way towards Hogwarts where the sorting hat confidently placed her in Ravenclaw. 

From there, Emme excelled at school. She had always loved reading as a child, and she made a name for herself quickly as one who always placed near to the top of her class. She engaged in lots of extra-curriculars including Charms club and Dueling club, and spent most of her evenings buried in magical practice and theory. In fifth year Emme became a prefect. 

During her careers meeting, Emme looked at the pamphlets before her and knew there was only one real option for her. She had half considered the aurors programme, but reading and writing had always been her passion. Emmeline applied for a job with the Daily Prophet as a junior journalist. Working hard at her N.E.W.Ts, Emme left Hogwarts with an Outstanding in all subjects and a well-earned place at the Daily Prophet.

Since starting work at the Daily Prophet eight years ago, Emmeline has carved a name for herself as a well-respected journalist. She always works for the truth no matter how uncomfortable or unsettling it might be, and is determined to bring the truth to the public. This has, on occasion, led to Howlers being sent through the post but Emme is not deterred.

Emme is a notorious coffee drinker and can almost always be found with a flask in hand. She also loves to bake, frequently bringing in home made snacks to share around the office - Merlin only knows that their office needs a sprinkling of happy on a semi-regular basis. She gets excited about any and all holidays, and her absolute favourite place to be is the beach - especially when she’s wandering up and down the sand wearing a cosy jumper and bright yellow wellington boots. Despite reporting on some of the atrocities that happen in the wizarding world, Emme still lives with a sense of optimism and an understanding that the world really is full of good people even if it might not seem like it.

Emmeline is committed towards seeking justice both professionally and personally for all. She believes that the way that muggle-borns were treated at school was unjust, and has continued to speak against this in her journalism. When it becomes clearer that Voldemort is truly persecuting muggle-borns, Emmeline will step up to work against him firmly. When Emmeline commits, she throws her whole self behind a cause and can never be called ‘half-hearted’.

𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈

Basics:

FULL NAME  :  Emmeline Raye Vance MEANING  :  The name “Emmeline” means gentle and brave.  MONIKERS  /  NICKNAMES  :  Emme GENDER AND PRONOUNS  :  Female, she/her DATE OF BIRTH  :  13 April 1958 AGE  :  26 ORIENTATION  :  Bisexual OCCUPATION  :  Daily Prophet Journalist

Background: 

LANGUAGES SPOKEN  :  English, French FAMILY  :  Samuel Vance (father), Eliza Vance (mother), Ambrosius Flume (grandfather) SPOUSE / SIGNIFICANT OTHER  :  open & wanted for plotting! CHILDREN  (  chronologically  )  :  n/a

Magical Detail:

BLOOD STATUS  : Half-blood ALUMNA OF  :  Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, 1976  ACADEMIC FEATS  (  clubs,  organizations,  positions,  etc  )  : duelling club, charms club, prefect  O.W.L.s  (  subjects taken and the results  )  :  astronomy, charms, defence against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, transfiguration, ancient runes, arithmancy. O in all subjects but arithmancy and history of magic which were E’s. N.E.W.T.s  (  subjects taken and the results  )  :  charms, defence against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, transfiguration, ancient runes. O in all subjects.  WAND  : Maple, unicorn core, 10 ¾ inches, supple AMORTENTIA  : Fresh coffee, baking bread, the smell of seaside air, new books.  BOGGART  :  Werewolves PATRONUS  : A swift - a creature with a strong sense of determination and a drive to accomplish things. They are hopeful, positive and energetic and are drawn to live and work in large communities where they find inspiration from the high spirits of others.

Physical:

HAIR  :  Mousy brown EYES  :  Brown HEIGHT  :  5’3 BUILD  :  Athletic, slender. MARKINGS  (  birthmarks,  tattoos,  scars,  etcs  )  :  A scar on her left hip from a fall down the shop stairs when she was younger. A small tattoo of an opening speech mark on her left wrist, and a closing speech mark on her right wrist - inspired by her journalism and her love for writing. Not a permanent marking, but Emmeline has a sapphire necklace that was a 17th birthday gift from her mother. It is perhaps the most expensive thing that Emme owns, and she never takes it off.

Personality:

TROPES  : Gentleman and a scholar - “He manages to be both a highly intelligent expert in his chosen field and a pleasant, well-adjusted and socially engaging human being, some times even more attuned to the nuances of social etiquette than many less-intellegent Gentleman and a Scholar -  “He manages to be both a highly intelligent expert in his chosen field and a pleasant, well-adjusted, and socially engaging human being, sometimes being even more attuned to the nuances of social etiquette than many less-intelligent characters. Frequently, his emphasis is more on the humanities than on the natural sciences.” MBTI  :  ENFJ-T ENNEAGRAM  :  Type 2 - The Helper ALIGNMENT  :  Lawful Good TEMPERAMENT  : Phlegmatic ZODIAC : Aries POSITIVE  TRAITS  :  Determined, loyal, resillient NEGATIVE  TRAITS  :  Clumsy, fiery

[peanutbutterjelly-pie]

prompt: Undercover

hosts: @bend-me-shape-me, @helianthus21, @pray4jensen

Dean has been undercover for many times in his life.

FBI agent, Homeland Security officer, reporter, janitor, gym teacher, lunch lady, maintenance guy, minister, private detective, and so on and so on. The list is so long that he's actually more familiar with playing a role when interacting with strangers than being himself.

So when they're on yet another case again and Sam calls him from the local library and tells him to dress up Dean doesn't even think about questioning it.

“Your fanciest clothes,” Sam orders, making it pretty clear there should be no discussion about it. “Designer suit, shiny shoes. And a shave because you're starting to look like a hobo.”

Dean barely lifts an eyebrow. “What do you need me to be? A snobby multimillionaire too good for this world.”

“The snobbiest,” Sam agrees. “It needs to look like the stench of money is following you everywhere.”

And so Dean does as he's told.

A while ago he got himself one of those super expensive Armani or whatever outfits for a case (thanks to Charlie's unlimited credit card no problem at all) and has it stashed in the depths of Baby's trunk ever since. It's only been used once so far considering fake FBI agents or journalists are rarely dressed in designer suits. At least not if they don't want to draw too much unwanted attention to them.

Dean isn't exactly sure the damned thing still fits after all that time, but after a quick shower and shave he gives it a try and finds himself pleasantly surprised when the suit still wraps itself over his body like a glove. Only around the hips it got a bit tight, but if he'd refrain from bending over it should be fine.

And it actually makes his ass look extra great, Dean has to admit. He snaps a quick picture of it and sends it to Cas because he can't help himself. Cas answers immediately with a long string of enthusiastic emojis that are both incredibly sweet, involving lots of hearts, as well as highly inappropriate and Dean loves him even more for it.

He makes a mental note to wear that suit the next time they'll be alone to see how fast the angel would be able to rip the clothes off his body and then he heads out to meet with Sam.

Soon enough he finds himself in front of a jewelry store, with his tall mountain of a brother waiting at the entrance. He is dressed in fancy clothes as well and considering he left their motel room a few hours ago just with his usual plaid attire he obviously went shopping in the meantime. The suit doesn't fit a hundred percent in some places, making it obvious this was a rather quick shopping trip with no time for a proper fitting, but it makes him nonetheless look extra posh too.

“We look good,” Dean remarks with a grin as he stops next to Sam. “Like we could buy all of the world in a heartbeat and still have a couple of millions left as pocket money.”

Sam merely huffs with a fond smile. “If you say so.”

“So what is the situation?” Dean asks, pointing at the store.

“I just got a lead that our annoying spirit might have a connection to a wristband that's on display here,” Sam tells him. “It had belonged to her before she died. And I know it's not much, but I wanna check it out anyway.”

That specific spirit had been annoying them for days now because they were unable to figure out what kept her here in the first place. So Dean will take any lead they can get, no matter how small.

“I'm actually not very optimistic,” Sam explains with a sigh. “But our ghost is showing up here in the area, so it's not a total longshot. We just need to get inside and distract the employees a little.”

“Hence the fancy clothes.” Dean nods in understanding. He highly doubts they would've even gotten past the security guard on the door in their usual jeans. Most likely even their regular FBI suits wouldn't have been good enough.

“So we just go inside and one of us pretends to be a customer while the other subtly checks out that wristband?” Dean asks nonetheless.

Sam nods. “Don't worry, I have a plan.”

Dean blinks, but has no time for further questioning since Sam's already shoving him through the gigantic front door. He's instantly greeted with lots of bling and bright lights and the absolute perfect room temperature (like seriously, did they hire a guy just to keep a close eye on that the entire time?) before getting pushed to the main counter where a blonde woman with a way too wide smile happily waits to bury her flawlessly manicured nails into those new  potential buyers.

“Welcome,” she says, her voice as melodic and perfect as the air in the store. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Well, we've got an important purchase to make,” Sam announces, sounding all kinds of pompous. “Because you see, my brother here,” he grabs Dean's shoulders and grins at him with such an intensity Dean can't help feeling wary all of a sudden, “he intends to propose to his boyfriend.”

Dean blinks rapidly.

What?

Okay, Dean certainly didn't expect that.

The woman – Marlene, as her name tag tells them – seems taken aback by that for a moment as well, but she picks herself up much quicker than Dean. Her smile increases a few thousand watt while she turns toward the groom-to-be. “This is wonderful. Congratulations!”

Dean feels a bit like he's been hit right in the face, out of nowhere.

Thankfully he is actually used to unexpected violent attacks and has learned fairly early to deal with them.

“Um … thanks,” he mumbles, feeling his cheeks heating up.

Marlene apparently misinterprets his awkward fumbling for adorable shyness or whatever and looks at him like she's ready to adopt him right here on the spot.

“You have to excuse him, this is still a bit much for him,” Sam leaps back into the conversation. “He's been thinking about this moment for years and I guess it might be a tad surreal that it's finally happening.”

“Really?” Marlene seems truly intrigued hearing that.

“Yeah,” Sam sighs way too dramatically, “Dean's basically been thinking about marrying Cas since the first moment they met.”

Well.

Actually his first meeting with Cas was more like Dean having a sudden realization á la, “Wow, he's hot!” and then stabbing the guy in the chest.

But Dean refrains from pointing that one out.

It might have ended in those people declaring them insane and kicking them out of the store. And though Dean is used to the first, he doesn't need the latter right now.

“Dean just wants everything to be perfect,” Sam points out, sounding exactly like a guy who is used to getting what he wants. “It's a big day.”

“It most certainly is,” Marlene agrees, dollar signs already flashing up in her eyes. “We have a vast collection of engagement rings and I'm sure we will find something to your liking.”

“Money is not the issue,” Sam says those magic words that make Marlene even more excited, so it seems. “The bigger and more extravagant, the better.”

Marlene smiles widens, appearing incredibly sweet and harmless on the surface. But Dean knows a predator focusing on its prey when he sees it.

On instinct he actually wants to take a step back and hide, but instead he gathers enough courage to meet her smile. It's still somewhat wobbly, but she probably blames it on his alleged nervousness about that big change in his life.

“Why don't you tell me a little bit about your Cas?” she prods him. “What is he like?”

Dean shoots a quick glance at his brother, cursing him for having to endure this in the first place, before clearing his throat and responding, “He's … um, awesome.”

Way to go, Winchester.

She is certainly swooning on the spot.

Dean winces inwardly and forces himself to get a little bit more into his role. After all, he is used to the undercover life, so this shouldn't be too hard.

For a minute there he even considers to lie about Cas' personality, wondering whether that would make it easier to talk about him to a total stranger, but as he's just about to come up with some made-up character traits, he hears himself saying, “Well, to be fair, he's an asshole.”

Marlene looks at him in surprise while Sam in the background rolls his eyes.

“Uh … okay?” Marlene answers, clearly not sure how to reply to that.

“Cas is grumpy,” Dean goes on, now a fond smile flickering over his features. “I'm quite certain he is the biggest grump in the history of mankind, to be honest. And he's way too sassy for his own good. Also he has no idea how to clean up after himself and he always hums those annoying jingles he heard on the radio or whatever. All day. I'm actually surprised I haven't gone mad many years ago.”

Or maybe he has.

With his life, who could tell?

“But he's also a badass,” Dean continues, registering the only other employee who's been lacking any customers at the moment sliding closer with clear interest in her eyes. “No one should dare to screw around with him. And the few that actually did regretted it pretty quickly.”

That's, of course, an understatement actually, but he won't go into much detail now. For those poor women's sanity.

“And he cares, so much,” Dean goes on, an affectionate smile settling on his face when his thoughts drift closer to Cas. It's an automatic response at this point and he's pretty sure it'll stay like that for the rest of his life. “Even about that stupid little fly that got lost into our room a couple of weeks ago. It feels like we spent hours catching that thing and releasing it back into the wild. But what could you have done, you know? Cas would've been miserable if that fly would've died inside and that's something nobody wants to see. Believe me. He looks like a kicked puppy when he's sad.”

The salesladies scoots even closer, captivated by Dean gushing over his boyfriend. While Sam subtly starts to step back a little and check out the rest of the display, trying to locate the wristband of their obnoxious ghost.

Dean clears his throat, despite still feeling like he's been thrown into icy water without any warning whatsoever by his traitorous brother more than determined to play this role like their lives depend on it. After all, there here and they might not get a second chance.

So Dean gives it all he's got.

“So yes, Cas, he's great,” he says. “He's been my best friend for such a long time now and I … I guess I want him at my side for the rest of my life. And even beyond that.”

Dean smiles at the image of sharing his Heaven with Cas one day. It might be a hassle to get there at first – after all, Cas' relationship with his brethren is still not the best –, but Dean has no doubt that it'll come true eventually. Cas is way too much of a stubborn son of a bitch to not see this through.

Dean blinks as he suddenly realizes that he is in fact beginning to fantasize about Cas by his side forever as a real possibility.

Huh.

“As mentioned, we have a vast collection of engagement rings to help you start this new chapter of your life,” Marlene says with a happy sigh. “We would be more than happy to help you with your endeavor.”

Dean stares at her for a moment.

Oh right. Rings. The case.

“Yes, right,” he mutters, a slight blush on his face now. “It … it needs to be perfect.”

Marlene and her colleague – Amanda, as her name tag tells him – immediately spur into action and for the next ten minutes Dean sees himself confronted with a huge variety of different rings in all shapes and forms. A few are actually quite simple and elegant – silver bands with a couple of nice highlights – and some are seriously so over-the-top pompous and big Dean has no idea how a normal human being should be able to wear that on their hand.

But he smiles at them all and fakes such exaggerated interest both Marlene and Amanda seem to believe they're in Heaven themselves.

And it seems like a freaking eternity until Sam pops up next to him again.

“I'm so sorry to interrupt, ladies,” he jumps right into their enthusiastic conversation. “My girlfriend just texted me. Her doctor's appointment ended way earlier than expected and I need to pick her up.”

A blatant lie, of course, considering Eileen is back at the bunker with Cas, probably getting her ass beaten in every single board game invented by the best of all strategists Heaven has ever produced.

“But don't worry, Dean will be back shortly,” Sam promises right away as both Marlene and Amanda look rather crestfallen at those news. “After all, Dean can't wait to get married.”

They bid hasty goodbyes and are soon enough back on the streets again.

“So, any luck?” Dean asks when he's starting to remember the real reason why they went into the store in the first place.

“I found the wristband,” Sam admits. “But there's no suspicious energy to it. It's just jewelry.”

“Damn,” Dean sighs. “Well, it was worth a shot, at least.”

“Yeah …”

“And that was one hell of a cover story, Sammy,” Dean can't help pointing out for some reason.

Sam shoots him a quick glance, something intense flickering over his features.

“It wasn't though, right?” he asks in the end. “A cover story, I mean. Not really, at least.”

Dean frowns. On first instinct he wants to deny that, just wants to scoff at his brother's face and get on with his life, but then he thinks about Cas and how nice he would look with a ring on his finger and he finds himself lowering his gaze to cover up the flush on his cheeks.

“Uh … well, maybe it wasn't really a cover story after all,” he admits, his voice low, yet steady.

“So you want to go back?” Sam wonders, a smile on his lips. “ Look at those rings again? When this case is over and everything.”

Dean blinks. A few of those rings actually did look kind of awesome, if he's honest with himself. And sure, they're pretty expensive, but also very durable (an important feature in their line of work), and Dean surely didn't lie when he said that Cas only deserves the best.

So he finds himself muttering, “Yeah, I guess I wouldn't mind going back” and feels rather good about it.

Seems like Dean seriously has an important purchase to make after all.

[coldbrewandfangirling]

Betrayal – A Bucky Barnes Fanfic Chapter 9

AU / BuckyxOC

Summary:

Ava is an aspiring journalist, working on her first big story. Her life gets confusing when she meets James Buchanan Barnes, a charming, good-looking man, that she can hardly stay away from. She finds herself falling for him, hard, all while being haunted from ghosts of her past. But she can't shake the feeling that he is hiding something from her.

TW: sexual language, drinking

On Wattpad || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist || Playlist

word count: 1399

Chapter 9

Why was Steve answering Nat's phone? Never before had one of her boyfriends answered her phone and Ava wondered what that meant.

"Ehm, hi, I was actually looking for Nat," Ava replied more as a question after she had regained her composure.

"Oh, yes of course, sorry, Nat's just getting ready, I'll put her on."

After a bit of rustling and a short, muffled conversation, Ava had Natasha on the phone.

"Hey sweetie, you're calling at just the right time!" Ava could hear her excited glow through the receiver.

"Oh, is there any exciting news?" replied Ava with a playful tone, her mind wandering to a possible engagement of Natasha and Steve. But it was far too early for that, wasn't it? Ava imagined the two of them at a wedding; Steve in a tailored suit, Natasha in a stunning floor-length white dream dress. Her heart blossomed with joy.

"Not the kind of news you have in mind!" Natasha scolded her as if she could read her mind, "I was going to call you too, we were going to go to that club again to celebrate my joining the Taskforce." Ava shifted uncomfortably in her chair. An uneasy feeling spread through her at the thought of the club and she couldn't help but think of the night she had thrown up at James' feet. But she couldn't deny that the club had had a certain charm and the last time she'd been there she hadn't got round to dancing at all, even if she wasn't particularly skilled at it.

"I don't know about that, my last visit to the club didn't end so well."

"Come on, Steve and I will look after you this time and we certainly won't leave you alone with a guy who gets you drunk!" Natasha laughed, but Ava immediately realised it was a tense laugh. Didn't she like James? The thought of James warmed her heart. Maybe she would meet him again at the club? She shook her head quickly, why was this guy clouding her thoughts so much? She desperately needed a distraction.

"Alright, I'm in."

"Great, Steve's still got stuff to do for work, but I'll come over to your place and we'll get ready together, deal?" Ava could hear the anticipation in Natasha's voice and she was sure she'd bring alcohol for pre-drinks.

"Deal," Ava replied and that was the end of the conversation. She went to the kitchen and made herself a quick sandwich. She didn't want to have to throw up again, so at least she wanted to avoid drinking on an empty stomach.

She had just finished her sandwich when there was a knock at the door. Ava got up from her small kitchen table and went to the door. Natasha stood in front of her in an incredibly short dark red satin dress. She looked stunning as always.

"Wow, that dress is a dream!" squealed Ava as Natasha stepped inside with a bottle of champagne in her hand. Walking purposefully towards the kitchen, Natasha took two champagne glasses from the cupboard and popped the cork.

"Thanks sweetie, I bought this as a little reward for my promotion."

"Tell me everything!" said Ava excitedly as Natasha handed her one of the champagne glasses and they took a seat on her bed so Ava could go through her wardrobe for an appropriate party dress.

"It's amazing really, I'm just getting acquainted with the case, you know the devil is in the detail," Natasha told her and Ava reached for a dark grey halter dress and showed it to Natasha who shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you too much, too many levels of security. But I will say this: you should stay on the story."

Ava beamed at Natasha. She was so glad that her best friend was getting this career opportunity and could finally prove to her sexist colleagues what a strong and unbreakable woman she was.

"I'm so proud of you, Nat," Ava grinned, pulling her into a hug.

"Things couldn't be going better right now. With Steve, too. He's an incredible gentleman, always polite and with good manners. But he leaves those outside the bedroom door," she winked at Ava, who playfully smacked Natasha's arm.

"Give me the kinky details!", Ava challenged her, unable to suppress a laugh.

"Just so you know, Steve knows exactly which buttons to push and he has incredible stamina. Not to mention the size of his penis ..." Natasha looked at Ava meaningfully and gestured with her hands at the size. Ava's jaw dropped and they both burst into giggles.

"And if you fancy another double date, Steve has some very attractive colleagues I could introduce you to," Natasha grinned at her. Ava's giggles died down and she became thoughtful. She actually always liked going on dates, but since she had met James, there seemed to be no room for another man in her thoughts.

"Maybe I'll take you up on your offer again sometime," Ava tried her best to put a smile on her lips.

Feeling the intense gaze on her, she pulled another dress from the wardrobe and showed it to Natasha, drawing attention to another subject.

"That's it!" Natasha slapped her hands together in excitement, almost spilling her champagne.

Ava changed her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction. She was wearing a shimmering purple dress of faux silk that was considerably longer than Natasha's. It reached her knees and accentuated her slender body. There was another knock at the door and for a moment hope arose in Ava that James was at the door.

"I'll get it!", Natasha's joyful jump brought Ava back to reality. Of course, it was only Steve who had come to pick them up. Why would James show up at her flat anyway? Ava felt like she was losing her mind. She had to get James out of her head, whether it was through drinking, dancing or snogging strangers, after that night she didn't want to keep thinking about the handsome, withdrawn man who was sending her confusing signals. Why did he first make out with her, only to abruptly break off the kiss? And why hadn't she heard from him since?

Natasha pulled Steve into the flat, beaming.

"You look good, Ava!", Steve pulled her into a brief hug. The pleasant smell of his perfume hit her nose and Ava had to suppress a giggle as she thought of the size of his penis.

"I can only return that," Ava said with a smile and looked at Steve. He was wearing a dark suit that looked expensive. I wonder how much an IT guy working for the police makes, Ava thought.

"Ready?" asked Steve and the three made their way to his car.

A short time later they pulled up outside the club. Even though it was Thursday, there was a long queue outside the club. Ava groaned, she didn't feel like standing in the hot evening sun for ages. She wanted to order a drink and hit the dance floor, promptly.

"Don't worry, I know the bouncer," Natasha winked at her from the front. Ava felt like a third wheel in the back seat of Steve's car. At least the champagne made those thoughts fade into the background.

Ava awkwardly got out of the car as Steve jogged around the side to hold the door open for Natasha and help her out. Now she felt even more stupid. Natasha giggled and accepted Steve's hand. They shared a passionate kiss. Ava cleared her throat and Natasha began to giggle again. Ava didn't know her like this, but she was glad to see this carefree Natasha in love.

After a brief chat with the bouncer, the three were let into the club, earning some annoyed shouts from those waiting in line. Inside, loud techno music greeted Ava, just like last time. Natasha immediately wanted to pull Ava onto the dance floor.

"I'm going to get a drink first," she announced over the loud music and Natasha took off with Steve instead. Ava made her way to the bar and ordered a Sex On The Beach. It felt like déja vu, not even a week ago she had been standing right here and had been surprised by James.

"Hey, can I buy you a drink?", Ava's heart almost stopped.

[visionsofus]

Okay but the song “only us” from dear Evan Hansen and it’s Wanda and Vision either in the avengers compound or Edinburgh when Vision asks Wanda to stay with him. It is also a very nice song and makes me want to cry (really love your WandaVision mixtape fic ive read it so many times already)

oh gosh you’re destroying my heart with this one. thank you so much for requesting! the song fits them so well. I hope you like where I took this prompt though it might not be what you had in mind. I went canon divergence from CW but still at the compound for some extra comfort. 

| read on AO3 here | mixtape playlist | send me an ask with your song/prompt request |

Wanda and Vision’s Mixtape Track #22: Only Us by Laura Dreyfuss, Ben Platt 

Synopsis: The Sokovia Accords are renegotiated so that the team are never divided. Following the successful signing of the document a press event is held at the compound. Wanda and Vision take a moment to breath away from the crowds, both have been holding back from each other for months, worried about risking their friendship. A simple miscommunication leads to a brief moment of angst as they realise their months of pining over each other has been mutual. 

(ft. months of yearning, sky dancing, Wanda scaring a journalist away from her man, being too worried about each other to realise you’re literally in love--- )

The new Avengers Compound was the ideal location for press events. It gave the team the opportunity to host things on their own terms, in their own space and with their own security team – primarily Friday holding down the Compound’s fortress of a security network, as she so often did. Not to mention the sleek marble floors and tasteful interior décor made for great photo opportunities. Vision understood the logic of hosting the press event following the successful renegotiating of the Sokovia Accords at their home, but it did not make it easier to bare.

He’d just managed to escape the crowded living room after being trapped for half an hour between various news microphones. Vision figured he’d be safe enough by the hors d’oeuvres table which seemed empty enough what with the majority of the team engaged in the living room. He took a moment to relish the silence, turning away and pretending for a moment that it was just a normal evening and that soon enough he could settle down to watch television with his friends and Wanda.

Wanda. Vision grew nervous, perhaps he should have stayed by her side. The press were notorious for asking her the harshest questions to get the scoop they wanted. He hoped that things would be different with the new version of the Accords and the momentary peace it granted between the state and his teammates, but these reporters were sharks and Wanda was far too good at grinning and bearing it. She’d smile at as many cameras and dodge the worst of question if it meant securing a good report of her teammates to the public.  

Brows furrowed in concern, Vision turned to make his way back to the living room and check in on her but found himself face to face with a short, eager man. His recorder was held at the ready, but he seemed a little more hesitant than those Vision had past experience with.

“Mr Vision, I’m Jeremy from the New York Gazette, I don’t suppose you’d mind sparing some time for a few questions?” Behind Jeremy a photographer waited, holding her camera up expectantly. Though it was the last thing he wanted to do, Vision knew how important it was to make a good impression, so he forced a smile.

Back in the living room Wanda’s hands had grown twitchy from being clasped in front of her for so long. She worried that if she didn’t then she’d fold them, something that could make her appear guarded and judgemental. No matter how on edge she was about this whole situation, it was only one night, and she had promised to do her best to be as appealing as possible to the strangers crowding their living room.

So far, she had only been approached by two gutsy journalists who took turns asking her questions about her role in the negotiations and her view on the resulting document they had all signed into. Their questions had been remarkably tame, a more pleasant experience than she’d had in the past, that was for sure. But they’d quickly grown tired of her civil answers, and a small voice in Wanda’s brain told her they’d wanted her to cause a scene and give them something they could really write about. No matter, she’d undermine all their expectations.

In search of comfort, Wanda found herself looking around the room for Vision, she had lost sight of him early on when the journalists had been let in to mingle with her housemates. But Vision was nowhere to be found, and so she grew concerned. Suppose he had been cornered by a particularly nosy journalist? Wanda hated being asked questions about her role in Ultron’s uprising in Sokovia, or the sickening accident she had caused in Lagos, but what really had her grinding her teeth was when these sharks turned their hungry eyes on Vision. He was a prime target for an interesting scoop, and he was too often kind enough to entertain their advances, even, when their questions became inappropriate.

Vision had been her safety net these last few months, always there when she needed a quiet moment away from the world that was so insistent on unpacking every part of her and scrutinising whether she was allowed to wield her own powers. Months spent negotiating with official state representatives intent on disproving her right to exist often became overwhelming. It was in those moments that she sought Vision out.

Many a sleepless night had been spent together, watching sitcom reruns in the living room and falling asleep on the couch together. It began as a simple comfort. But after nearly two years of living with Vision, Wanda worried that she was in danger of being very much in love with him. It had been thrilling at first, then scary, and now the uncertainty between them was agony. They always stopped one step before the edge, so Wanda could never work out if her feelings were being reciprocated or if his affection was purely platonic.

Regardless of her complex feelings around him in that moment, she needed to be there for him as he always was for her. A break had appeared in the throng around her, and Wanda made a beeline for it, catching Steve’s gaze as she passed him. He gave her a nod and she smiled back to assure him that she was alright.

Next to the spacious living room was the dining room which had been cleared of dining table and chairs and was instead occupied by a long buffet table occupied with dozens of different canapés. Wanda thought most of it looked wildly unappealing, perhaps she and Vision could get late night takeout once this whole ordeal was over. Her cheeks warmed at the potential and she quickly schooled the giddy smile from her face.

As she had expected, Vision had been cornered by a journalist and to Wanda’s dismay, she recognised him immediately. Jeremy Coin – he’d written a fairly scathing piece on her involvement in Stark Industries, questioning if she, as a ‘weapon of mass-destruction’ could be trusted with the secrets behind the biggest technological conglomerate in the West. Of course, his carefully timed article had coincided with a big charity launch that she had aided in. Wanda had to step aside from the project at the last minute, lest her presence affect the donations. Aside from volunteering with the charity side of the corporation that Pepper had invited her into, Wanda could hardly be said to be in possession of any industry secrets.

It was fair to say that she was not particularly keen on the man.

“Jeremy,” Wanda said, coming to his side and placing a dangerous hand on the man’s arm, a little bit of his own medicine you might say. It did not go unnoticed, and Wanda took pleasure in the fear on his face as he stepped back. “So lovely to see you!”

“Miss Maximoff,” the short man said, trying for a smile as he pushed back his oily hair, “ever a pleasure.”

“Vis,” Wanda said, shifting her weight so she was nearer him. Vision’s eyes darted between the two, reading the sharp changes in body language. “You all ok here?”

His eyes softened at her reassuring smile and he nodded. “Of course, Mr Coin and I were just discussing some of the more pointed areas of the new Accords,” Vision gestured to Jeremy, “he had some very interesting questions on the relevance of human rights to the discussion of sentient AI.”

Wanda’s stomach dropped. Of course, the snake would have something to say regarding Vision’s humanity.

“Oh,” Wanda purred dangerously and turned on Jeremy, who was now visible sweating, “do elaborate.”

“It was nothing really,” Jeremy said raising a hand in defence. “Perhaps, inappropriate given the newness of this agreement.”

“Perhaps,” Vision said with a tight smile and Wanda took pride in the air of sarcasm he used. “We can finish this off with a photo, then?”

“Of course, of course.” Jeremy hurried to wave the photographer closer.

“Wanda, dear?”

Wanda started at the endearment, Vision had only used it when he was teasing her about this or that. Never before had he used it as genuinely as he did now, and certainly never in public. He extended his elbow to him and she took it instinctively.

The camera flashed once or twice, and Wanda did her best to smile without looking like too much of a lovestruck fool.

“Thank you for your time,” Jeremy said, hurrying to backpedal back to the main event still ongoing in the living room.

“You’re welcome,” Vision said tightly.

“I can’t wait to see your next piece,” Wanda said, unable to help herself.

Vision managed to wait until the man had made it around the corner, practically running away from her, before he started laughing.

“You mustn’t scare him like that,” Vision said quietly to her.

“It’s harmless,” Wanda said shrugging, “besides he was asking you rude questions.”

Vision’s laughter died and he grew more solemn.

“Come on,” Wanda said grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the stairs. “We’ve done our parts for the evening.”

Vision tried to be reluctant about shirking his duty as Wanda lead him up to the roof, but he craved the alone time they spent together more than he cared about his responsibilities.

Vision loved the rooftop of the compound and had spent many evenings escaping the commotion within to stare at the stars above. This far from the city the constellations were remarkably visible.

The rooftop was often used as a space to wind down after particularly challenging days and so it was equipped with a sufficient number of fairy lights as well as a picnic table and barbeque set up. When they reached the rooftop Wanda dropped his arm, much to Vision’s dismay, and ran over to the picnic table where Bucky had left a small radio a few evenings prior. She stopped a foot away and pointed at it dramatically and the speaker crackled to life, music bursting forth. She turned it down a bit and then made to throw herself down in the middle of the courtyard of grass on the rooftop. They often lay there, side by side, Wanda pointed out it was the best way to watch the stars without getting a sore neck, but Vision just liked being able to see the wonder on her face.

This time however, Vision reached out and caught her hand.

“A dance, first?” Vision asked holding out his other hand. “As a thank you for coming to my rescue?” Wanda’s cheeks reddened at the invitation, but Vision was too focused on internally reprimanding himself for taking the selfish opportunity to get closer to notice.

Wordlessly, she accepted his hand and pulled herself closer. Vision’s chest constricted slightly as she slipped one hand over his shoulder, the other coming to rest lightly in his left hand.

“I don’t think I have ever danced like this,” Wanda murmured, this close she had to look up to meet his eyes and Vision grinned down at her.

“There’s a first time for everything.” He pulled her a little closer and took note of the challenge in her gaze as she tightened her grip on his hand.

They started slow, moving in time with the ballad playing over the radio. Wanda got the hang of the steps easily and Vision thanked his lucky stars that he had once thought to investigate simple step dances, precisely for an occasion such as this. If anything, he was the one stumbling, forgetting to count his steps owing to Wanda’s intent gaze never leaving his eyes.

When Vision started to float, Wanda joined him. A red mist surrounded the tips of their feet as they spun into the air. Wanda’s laugh was music to his ears as they kept tight grips on each other, and she sent them spinning around and around. The world below and around them fell away and Vision could only see her, the light of her smile and the happiness shining in her eyes. Never was he as happy as he was with her. What he would do to spend the rest of his life with her…

On Wanda’s cue Vision spun her away and she twisted gracefully upon her magic before returning to his embrace. Her back came to a rest at his chest with his arms around her waist as they swayed and slowly drifted to the ground.

Feet now flat on the ground, the gravity of his body returned, along with the gravity of the situation. Wanda turned slowly in his embrace and Vision froze, unable to move as she turned her eyes on him. He couldn’t help but mimic her body language and they both leaned in. He watched her eyes widen as they flitted desperately about his face and Vision stopped.

He turned his head sharply to the side and took several deep breaths. Dropping his hands from Wanda’s waist he hurriedly took a few steps back, worried of what he might do without the distance to separate them. She was his friend, his closest friend and he would not risk making things estranged simply because of the futile feelings captivating his normally rational mind.

“We ought to be getting back downstairs, Tony said they wanted a group photo at the end.” His voice didn’t sound right following the tense silence that stretched between them.

Wanda’s eyes had grown shadowed, and she turned away from him.

“Why must you do that?” Wanda asked and Vision started at the rawness in her voice.

“Why must I do what?” He asked, forcing his vocal cords to act.

“You start things, you get close and then you pull away from me again and again,” she said, and Vision was horrified to see her turn and reveal that her eyes were brimming with tears. “You are so straightforward with everythingelse! If you don’t want me that way, you just have to say it.” A hand came shakily to her mouth and she wrapped her arms around herself, turning away from him.

Vision was dumbstruck and stood like an idiot for a few moments while he tried to process what she had just said. In his silence Wanda kept talking. “It’s fine, clear as day, let’s just forget I said anything.” He watched her surreptitiously wiping at her eyes and rolling her shoulders back. How many times had he seen her do the same thing on the days when it was difficult to face the world? Never before had he thought he might become the source of her hurt.

“Wanda,” Vision reached out to catch her fingers as she tried to walk away from him, “how could you ever think I wouldn’twant you?”

She spun on him and snatched her hand away. “What do you mean?”

“Of course, I want you,” Vision said, his voice hitching in exasperation. “I just worry about my feelings ruining our friendship, I understand you don’t feel the same—”

As he babbled, hoping to mask his abrupt confession, Wanda stalked closer until they were nearly nose to nose.

“Hello,” Vision breathed, going cross-eyed now that she was before him.

Wanda laughed, an exasperated smile on her face in stark contrast with the tears she had almost shed moments ago. “We’re both fools.”

“We are?” Vision asked hesitantly.

She bit her lip and leant closer, her forehead brushing his. Her hands found his and it was as though little sparks danced between them as she trailed her fingertips up his palms. Vision shivered though he did not feel the cold.

“We’re trying to confess the same things here,” Wanda whispered but Vision’s eyes had shut, and he was desperately trying to hold onto his composure as her fingers made their way up his forearm.

“I—we are?”

He felt Wanda nod.

“Please don’t leave me to infer things, I’m clearly not very good at it,” Vision whispered, and he pressed his forehead to hers longingly.

“Then let me say it,” she said, her voice a whisper upon his cheek, “I’ll say it as many times as you need me to.”

He was holding his breath.

“I’m falling in love with you.”

Vision melted.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited—” but he didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence before Wanda was kissing him and the world was falling away.

It was months of anticipation paying off in one glorious moment and Vision felt sure that he was flying again. His hands came up to cup Wanda’s cheeks as they moved in sync. He finally drew back with a laugh and grinned as Wanda teased another kiss from him.

“All this time I was holding myself back, thinking you could never be interested in me, I worried I wouldn’t ever be good enough for you.” The truth flowed out in a rush now that he’d admitted to the secret he’d kept hidden the past long months.

“Oh Vis,” Wanda murmured, turning forlorn and raising a hand to his cheek. She made to continue but huffed in frustration as she searched for the right words. In the end she instead pressed her forehead to his, the mind stone flickering at the familiarity of her touch. And then a rush of emotion hit Vision as she started to project her feelings to him. It was something else to hear her tell him she was falling for him, but to feel that emotion coursing from her to him. Vision let loose a shuddering breath. Her longing, her worries, her fears. In return, Vision did his best to call forth the longing he felt for her, the burning love that was growing in his heart day in day out and pushed it her way.

Wanda laughed happily at this and drew back, her eyes shining. Vision nodded in understanding and turned his chin into her hand, kissing her palm tenderly.

“Let’s forget the dumb doubts, just forget all those irrational worries and let’s just—” Wanda shook her head happily, “just be us.”

In that moment Vision would have done anything she asked but he settled for a tender kiss. Wanda sighed wistfully into him and he trailed his arms down her back to hug her to him.

Wanda couldn’t recall when she had last felt this happy, but it went beyond your average joy, she was ecstatic. Every worry from earlier in the evening, her months spent agonising over his true feelings for her all fell away. It was impossible to not be lost in him, not when she finally had him where she wanted him. She drew her arms up over his shoulders and hugged him tightly, delighting in how perfectly their bodies matched, his chin coming to rest atop her head. The rest of the world fell away and reassembled itself around her, now reoriented with Vision at its centre.

“It’s just you and me,” Vision whispered in her ear.

“There’s nothing else in the world that I need.”

They stayed content in their own little world, not longing for anything except the shared comfort of each other’s warm embrace.

[barnesandco]

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (8/14)

Story Masterlist

The plum seller at the farmer’s market saves Bucky from being captured for the attack at Vienna that he didn’t commit, but is she really all that she appears to be, or are ulterior motives involved?

This is an entry for @star-spangled-bingo​​ 2020. Word count: 1455. Square filled: “Redwing”

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Mention of Hydra. Guns, shootout.

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Before Bucky is a vast stretch of blue, as crisp and sharp as his eyes squinting against the sunlight. Behind him is the sound of his fellow traveller tapping her feet against the wooden deck. It looks like the end of the world out here; silent save for the water against the edges of the boat and only the sun high in the sky to keep them company.

The peace is broken when a small projectile appears above them, at first distant enough to be mistaken for a bird, but as it gets closer, Bucky sees that no wings are flapping and it has a metallic body instead of feathers. She comes up beside him to watch the object and he reaches for his gun where it is tucked into the back of his waistband, until her hand covers his.

“It’s okay,” she says, holding her hands out, palms up, and the hovering contraption lowers itself into them. It’s red and grey, sleek and elegant. Bucky doesn’t dare touch it, but waits for an explanation. “This is Redwing,” she tells Bucky, as if that means something to him.

He’s watching it curiously but is startled when a voice comes out of it. “Hey there, Nellie Bly,” it says, and Bucky recognizes the smooth tenor of the man in her earpiece in the cabin. They’re on the roof. I’m compromised. The man with the wings. The wings he tore off his back in D.C. D.C., where he almost killed Steve. The voice continues, “you ready to get this show off the road?”

“There is no road here, Wilson, we’re at sea. Make it quick, before this one crushes your baby bird into a million pieces,” she quips, only half-joking with a wink at Bucky, certain he’ll take it well keeping in the mind the fact that she has, after all this time, disclosed to him her relation to Steve.

An undignified squawk issues from the metal bird. “Fine, fine. We’ve found you a refuge, somewhere safe to lay low until it’s safe for Barnes to be out in the world again. His name has been cleared for Vienna, but some people want punishment for the other crimes Hydra made him commit.” Wilson speaks slowly, steadily, addressing Bucky in third person but choosing his words very carefully. He appreciates that.

“I assume you sent Redwing to guide us there,” she says. 

Bucky imagines that the man with the wings nods as he answers, “Yeah. He’ll take you where you need to go.”

This induces a frown on her face, wrinkling her forehead as she looks at the metal bird like it has offended her. “I’d like if you could tell us where that is.”

“Wakanda,” Sam Wilson answers.

“But--”

“King T’Challa has opened his doors to you.

The frown deepens. Some part of him wonders how soft her skin would be if he reached up and smoothed out those lines with his human hand. “Why?”

“Ask him.”

“Sam.” she’s exasperated now, and there is a sigh on the other end. Sam Wilson has relayed all the information he can at this point in time. Bucky wonders if he’s worth all the effort it is taking to keep him out of the hands of the law, but he knows he should allow these people the dignity of their choice.

“We’ll meet you there. Take care of yourselves, and Redwing,” Wilson adds a lighthearted afternote, and Bucky ponders what kind of care this little machine might need. None at all, he assumes, if it was made by a Stark, and he’s aware that the Avengers are outfitted by him. The name sends a pang of guilt down his chest.

“Yeah, of course. Fine. Bye,” she finishes, her forlorn voice resigned.

“Bye.”

The call ends with a beep, and they are alone again, as before, with the exception of the metal bird, that she strokes a fingertip over. Sitting down on the deck, she leans against the side of the boat, and Bucky sits opposite. The boat is not wide enough to allow them to stretch out, leg to leg. His feet knock against her ankles, and she weaves them in between his sneakers.

Shoe, ankle, shoe, ankle. He watches her lay the bird on her lap gently. She moves her finger across a screen on the back of it, and a hologram appears, with a dot pulsating not far from where they are now. Once she’s seen it, proof of a destination to this endless chase, she shuts it down. Closes her eyes.

They sit there like that for a while, and Bucky allows himself the luxury of following the slope of her nose with his eyes, the look of calm on her relaxed mouth that he has previously only seen set in a grim line or a tight smirk. Anyone else might mistaken her position for sleep, but her breathing hasn’t evened out into the slow, soft inhales and exhales he remembers from that night they had to share a bed.

For a moment, he lets his mind wander back to the conversation in the rental car from Baghdad to Umm Qasr, when his name had been cleared for the attack in Vienna, and a second manhunt announced for the actual culprit.

-----

“I still don’t understand why they’d believe your testimony. You’re on the run with me,” Bucky says, his hands shifting on the wheel as a police car passes by. The highway is uncrowded, this early on a weekend, so he chances a look at her where she sits with her bottom lipped trapped between her teeth.

Her eyes are on the speedometer when she answers, “I wasn’t before, though.”

“You were surveilling me in secret on Captain America’s illegal orders. I was a wanted man. Not reporting me when you recognized me was a crime,” Bucky argues. He doesn’t actually care, surprising as that may seem. While he does like regaining control of his life, he has found that fate and its mechanisms are useless to speculate about. The questions, the argument, is banter, and that is more shocking than anything else. It worries him to think about when hearing her voice and engaging in conversation became important to him

“I’m a journalist, not a lawyer, James,” she reminds him.

“Bucky,” he corrects before he can help it. Then he thinks that he would say the same even if he could help it. They have worked their way to a first name basis, at least.

“Okay. Bucky. I guess even though what I was doing was illegal, it was still the truth. My daily reports to Steve proved that it couldn’t have been you.”

That makes sense, Bucky supposes. It’s a truth he has only slowly begun to reconcile with, and though there is still a part of him that simmers with anger at not being left alone, even when he was doing no harm, he thinks he might have done the same. Even now, there is a protective instinct that bubbles to keep him safe from all that he think he can handle. An intuition to protect the woman who saved him from what she has thrown herself into.

“Why did you agree to do it?” He asks.

She glances at him like it’s the clearest fact in the world, like he should know the answer to the question because it’s obvious. Her eyes are soft, as is her voice, when she answers deliberately:

“Because an innocent man’s life was at stake.”

-----

A helicopter drags him out of the memory with a jolt. The eastern coast of Africa is visible, a pebbled Tanzanian beach glowing in the distance. They lurch into action as a Bucky sees someone’s upper body leaning out of the chopper pointing a machine gun at them. 

The first shots hit the water where they stood as she jerks the boat sideways and speeds it up. They’ll make a crash landing but they’re more likely to survive that than the barrage of bullets coming their way and barely missing.

The boat leaves a giant wake as it speeds up and it won’t be much for cover if the chopper keeps speeding up, but it’s enough for Bucky to finally tug free his gun and aim at the top of the head he sees above the machine gun. 

One entire magazine is emptied out and wasted into the body of the aircraft, before he is almost knocked off his feet when the boat hits shore. She grabs both backpacks and he grabs her hand -- habit, now -- and they’re just in the cover of the trees, when she falls.

Blood is staining her shirt when he looks. She’s been shot.

[valkirsif]

Unthinkable CH48/???

Word 3500

Warning nothing

Y/N woke up early to prepare breakfast while Thomas showered, found Luke in the room busy on the phone and nodded to him before disappearing into the kitchen, turned on the coffee machine and took out bacon and eggs, set the oven at 200 degrees and prepared the baskets of eggs,

"Good morning Y/N" Luke greeted, taking a seat at the table,

"Day," she replied smiling, "Breakfast?" asked taking cups and plates from the cupboard,

"Would you like to thank you, Thomas?" he asked checking that the schedule was perfect,

"He's running out of shower" laughed the woman handing him the coffee, turned and took the baskets out of the oven,

"Day Honey " Tom said hugging her from behind, reaching out to make the coffee, "What a smell, I'm hungry" he said greeting Luke and taking a seat at the table,

"Day my King" smiled the woman doing the dishes, "I want to make sure you don't get hungry while traveling" she passed the dishes to the men and sat down in front of Tom, they ate staying eye to eye, Y/N tried to smile and not to be seen sad, he would have to stay away again but he tried to concentrate on the commitments she had made with Sophie, already in the afternoon she had an appointment with her for a charity afternoon for a hospital and was curious to see how these events worked,

" Thomas .. " Luke broke the peace,

"I'm getting dressed and I'm there," the man replied, standing up, "Darling, will you take me to the airport?" asked going up, Y/N nodded pulling jeans and sweater out of the closet, in 10 minutes they were ready, the car was waiting for them in front of the gate, they crossed the city and arrived well in advance at the airport, unloaded the luggage and headed to check in between the glances and the stolen shots,

"Miss Hiddleston if you want to pass then I'll let her out" said the smiling stewardess making them sit in the parlor of the company, they waited about twenty minutes

"We have to go," said Luke as he entered, "they announced the flight",

"I'll call you as soon as we land" said Thomas taking her face in his hands, "This month will fly you'll see" smiled kissing her,

"Yeah" Y/N replied with a lump in her throat, "I will miss you so much" she tried to smile, she hugged him before saying goodbye, a stewardess accompanied her to the garage where she burst into tears as soon as she got into the car, it would have been hard a month without him, "Heck, get over it," she said to herself shaking her head, she realized that crying about something like this was ridiculous, promotions were part of the man's job and she would keep busy, she had the new house to manage. workers would start on Monday, in two days he had an appointment with Drew for the furniture and an endless line of charity engagements, as Tom said would fly by.

Back home she went up to her room to change, had prepared a couple of dresses the night before, chose a simple blue dress with a peacock-tail pattern on the bodice and low-heeled shoes she chose a light make-up, had advice from make- up artists at the last event they attended for a natural and undemanding make-up that is especially easy to obtain, had never loved wearing make-up, she looked in the mirror satisfied with the result and went back to the room where she found Ali waiting for her,

"What are you doing here?" she asked in amazement, it wasn't an official release hadn't called her,

"Mister Hiddleston has prepared some kind of program" said Ali smiling, retrieving a folder from the bag, "I'm here to discuss days and times if you have time" handed her the program, Y/N opened the folder and looked at the sheets curiously, there it was a list of designers and shops,

"I thought a walk in Italy would distract you" she read at the bottom of the page in Tom's elegant handwriting, smiled and made himself comfortable,

"I have plenty of time, Sophie passes in a couple of hours" she replied cheerfully,

"Well, as a premiere you have Rome, Milan and Turin" she said checking the dates, "You will need at least 3 evening dresses and something for the day",

"I have too many day clothes" laughed the woman, "I could go next week",

"Perfect, where do you prefer to stay in Milan?" asked while texting, "Hilton, Four Seasons?",

"Nowhere" laughed Y/N taking the phone, "Hello, disturbing?" asked when they answered,

"Hey Poppy you never disturb" said Robi cheerfully, "Tell me everything",

"If I invade your house for 2/3 days next week what about?",

" Well I say I'll take you" answered the man laughing, "Why in Italy?",

"For the Italian premieres I need suitable clothes and Thomas pointed out that choosing home stylists would be better" replied Y/N, "I take the opportunity to take a tour and be with you, then I send a message to the others too",

"Tell me about my arrival so I'll take a couple of days off" he said happily,

"It will be nice to be together for a few days!",

"I also bring you the passes for the premier so we can have an evening together",

"Wow" he exclaimed in amazement, "What an honor" they laughed together,

"I want you with me the evenings in Italy, so Milan, Rome and Turin" said Y/N regarding the program, "Since we don't have a support in Turin, I thought I'd take a room for you too",

"But is it okay with Tom?" Robi asked perplexed, "We don't want to seem .. how to say .. here are the profiteers",

"Imagine he is happy if we are together when we can", they greeted each other and the woman returned to focus on the program,

"Ok, the living room is done too" she said reading the list of stylists, "I have no idea how this kind of evidence works .. " said turning to her pr ,

"I 'll make a few phone calls, in these cases it is better to rely on a professional who will collect the clothes of the designers and show them to you .. " replied Ali professionally, "..If that's okay with you I would ask Miss Urbinati, she is the one who takes care of this aspect for Mister Hiddleston ",

"It's fine and I'll be able to explain myself much better in my language" she laughed, grateful for the choice,

"I'll arrange the appointments and I'll call you back" said Ali, "the workers arrive on Monday and on Wednesday you have an appointment with Mister Pritchard , he called to postpone your appointment, so I would fix it for the weekend, from Friday to next Monday .. "

"You are the best Ali" smiled Y/N, "I would not be able to make ends meet" laughed greeting her, "I'll wait for the program then",

“I'll send you a message tonight with times and appointments” she replied, writing everything down in her diary, “Do you prefer to change stocks or are the usual ones okay? she asked,

"Sorry but I have to put my feet up" answered the serious woman, "I'll be at my house, with my family, I don't want anyone around",

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure, Gian and Phil will defend me in case or I'll do it alone but I don't want to be followed and controlled even from a distance" Y/N was very serious, she didn't want to feel like an animal even in Italy,

"I don't insist but I won't tell Mister Hiddleston , you know how he thinks .. " Ali laughed resignedly, the women said goodbye, Sophie arrived shortly after splendid in her afternoon dress,

"Y/N you are beautiful" she said greeting her, "I like the feather design",

"Thanks, I hope it's suitable" she replied, making her sit down, "You look great too, but you always look great" laughed,

"I'd like to fill the top a little more but I don't think anything will grow anymore" Sophie laughed, "I'm a bit envious of your cleavage "

Y/N made coffee and they chatted for half an hour,

"Shall we go with my car or do you prefer to drive?" Sophie asked as the woman closed the door,

"I don't know the city but it wouldn't be a problem, I don't have a driving license" Y/N smiled, "Maybe I should take it, I can't always call a taxi",

"That's a great idea, you could surprise Tom when he gets back",

"Do you say that in a month it is possible?" asked Y/N in Italy it took months, "I have a lot of commitments I don't think I can do it",

"When we leave the hospital I'll take you to get information then you decide" Sophie replied getting into the car, she liked the idea of ​​going to pick up Tom herself on his return.

They entered the room where the hospital director was waiting for them,

"Sophie welcome" he said friendly, shaking her hand,

" Stephan hi" she said cheerfully, "I'd like to introduce you Y/N will join us if that's okay with you" she smiled introducing the woman, Y/N stepped forward to shake the manager's hand,

"Very pleased" she said smiling,

"My pleasure" replied the affable man, "I'm glad you joined Sophie for this day .. ",

"Can I ask what we raise funds for, it's my first time and I'm a bit confused" smiled Y/N,

"We have to finish fixing the new neonatal ward and we would like to take some machinery" replied the man, "Don't worry it's very simple, in the end you just have to smile" Stephan laughed making way for the women, a part of the hospital park had been set up with wicker tables and armchairs, guests were strolling around the patio sipping drinks and chatting, Y/N followed Sophie observing her every movement, how she smiled and how she stood in front of the few journalists who had been invited,

"Miss Hunter .. Miss Hiddleston can we take a picture of you together?" asked a photographer approaching, the women smiled and posed close together, Y/N began to feel more comfortable moved between the tables and guests smiling affably, answering questions and thanking for donations, stopped to talk to a girl ,

"May I ask you why did you decide to turn to charity?" she asked taking a drink,

"I think everyone should do good if they have the chance," she answered sincerely, "In the position I am in it seemed stupid not to help",

"What does your partner say about this idea?" she continued with the questions, "Are you waiting for you in LA?"

"Thomas fully supports me as a UNICEF ambassador" she replied, "At the moment he left for the promotion of the film .. ",

“So you and Thomas are still together? That's not what people say" she smiled staring at her,

"Of course we're still engaged" Y/N said uncomfortably, "The paparazzi just do their job" she realized that that girl was not just a guest, she didn't know how to behave,

"There are several photos of her with other men .. " she made herself under the girl, ".. in various events",

"Unfortunately I'm a very sociable person .. " Y/N tried to laugh, "..I never thought my showing affection to friends would be misrepresented like this",

"She has many friends" she said curiously, "Some very famous",

" Well Rice and I have known each other for a lifetime if you're talking about him" she replied as neutral as possible, "And Evans is like a brother to me",

the reporter was about to continue the interrogation when a man approached, "here is another reporter" thought anxiously Y/N,

"This way miss .. " he said seriously to the reporter, "If you want to follow me to the exit" he motioned her to sit down, the girl smiled greeting Y/N and followed him without making a fuss, she had no reason to have obtained what he wanted,

"Everything good?" Sophie asked continuing to smile as if talking about the weather, "I'm sorry every now and then it happens that journalists interested in scandals come in",

"A little anxious about what I will read tomorrow .. " Y/N replied trying to be vague, ".. I can never let my guard down",

"I went through it too at the beginning of my story with Ben, but with my work I recognize a journalist in disguise when I see him" she laughed, taking her by the arm and returning to the guests,

"We have to go out together more often then so you can teach me all the tricks" laughed in turn Y/N finding her calm, at the end of the afternoon the director of the ward thanked the guests for the donations, the money collected would be used to restore the neonatal ward and buy the latest generation incubators, the women were extremely happy with how the day went, Y/N felt very tired, already at the dinner in Paris she realized how tiring it was to raise funds, smile and be affable and perfect was unnerving, she and Sophie went out smiling and left,

"How do you feel?" Sophie asked cheerfully, " It went very well as the first time",

"I'm a bit exhausted mentally but I feel great" Y/N replied smiling, " It's really satisfying to do something good for the children",

"We have collected almost all the money we need"

"Thanks for involving me, I can't wait to do it again" laughed Y/N relaxing,

Sophie crossed the city to go to the driving school near her and Benedict's house ,

"Here we are" she said as he parked in the driveway, "Before I take Sam's then we'll take something from me" she smiled accompanying her, Y/N followed her wondering how he would get her license in a month, they entered the studio making the doorbell ring,

" Sophie dear, welcome," said a middle-aged man walking around the desk, "How can I help you?" he asked hugging her,

"Hi Sam I'm here with a challenge" she replied dissolving the embrace and presenting Y/N, "She is Y/N, she has to get her driver's license and she is less than a month old" laughed,

"Nice to meet you Miss" he said shaking her hand, "Nice challenge really how come you want to get your driver's license so fast?"

"My pleasure" smiled Y/N, " Well first of all because I don't always want to book taxis or private cars and, secondly, I would like to surprise my boyfriend when he comes back" she laughed with them, " I know it's almost impossible but I would to attempt",

"Nothing is impossible here" he laughed making her sit, "As for the theory we use a practical app that he can use both on the phone and on the computer so he can take the test tests whenever wants" he began to explain, "Ditto for the lessons can follow them from the computer with a tutor if you want ",

"It would be perfect, I have a lot of commitments in the coming weeks" Y/N replied happily, "For the guides instead?" she asked worried about not having time to do them,

"It depends on you" said Sam, "If you use a car with manual or automatic transmission, in the first case you have to drive here every other day .. ",

"And this is difficult, next week I'm leaving for Italy for a few days .. " replied the woman, "..the second option?",

".. the second option is automatic change with a private tutor who will give you lessons every time you move" concluded Sam practical,

"Very well, the automatic gearbox gone .. when can I start?" she asked cheerfully, she could do it,

"If you give me your documents I will register you immediately" he said making a copy of his documents while calling the tutotr , "Erik I have a special student for you can you come in now?", 10 minutes later a guy walked into the agency,

"Here I am Sam" he said smiling introducing himself,

"She is Y/N Hiddleston from tomorrow you will take care of her lessons" said Sam explaining the program, "You are the most suitable person, you know how to juggle with clients' commitments and you are a great teacher",

"Miss Hiddleston is a pleasure" he said introducing himself, "I'm at your complete disposal" he smiled,

"Um thank you and give me some you" she replied to the smile, "If you are free we could start tomorrow, I'm full of commitments and I have to move a lot",

"Great with the more practice you do with the easier it will be to pass the exam" he laughed, "Can I get an overview of your schedule so I can organize myself?"

" Sure .. " Y/N answered taking out of the bag the folder that Ari had left her, ".. well, I hope it's not too delusional for you" she smiled giving the young man the sheets, Erik quickly read the program,

"I see that you have no commitments tomorrow" he said, reviewing the sheets, "I could come and pick you up tomorrow morning at 8 to take the first lesson and explain how the car works, what do you say?" he asked looking at her,

"It would be perfect if you have no other commitments" replied the cheerful woman,

"I am a private tutor, I work with those who do not have the time to come here to follow the lessons" replied Erik explaining himself, "For the next month I will be your shadow .. also in Italy" he laughed, Y/N paid the registration, she thanked Sam and left his number with Erik before leaving and going to Sophie's house.

"Take a seat, make yourself at home," Sophie said inviting her to come in, " BEN .. Benny are you home?" she said aloud checking the alarm and taking off her shoes, "He'll be in her study" she told Y/N leading her into the room,

"What a beautiful house" Y/N said looking around, it was very similar to theirs, large and bright spaces, a large garden, the open library hidden behind a double arch in colored bricks , he heard a violin playing somewhere in the house, she didn't recognize the melody but she liked it very much,

"It will sound familiar" Sophie laughed, "Those two have the same tastes, when Tommy comes back we have to organize a dinner with us" she said taking drinks for both of us, "I'm sure you will love hearing them play together",

"Play together?" she asked in astonishment Y/N drinking, Sophie nodded to the music Y/N bringing with if ,

"Don't tell me that Tom has never played for you" she asked in amazement, "How did he win you over then?" she asked laughing entering the studio with her, Benedict had not noticed their presence concentrated on the score, Y/N gasped seeing the studio which was nothing more than a music room, the man was playing the violin in the center of the room, on one side there was a dark and shiny piano and a series of wind instruments, the women sat in silence to listen applauded as soon as the man finished the piece,

"Hey my love, welcome back" he said smiling and kissed her partner, "How was your afternoon?" he asked cheerfully placing the violin on the cabinet, "Y/N well arrived" he greeted her embracing her,

"Thank you," she replied, getting comfortable again, "Is there something you and Thomas don't do perfectly?" she asked cheerfully, the trio laughed,

"She didn't know Tommy plays too" Sophie laughed to her boyfriend, "You see he didn't use your tactic to win her over",

"We just needed him to serenade me" laughed Y/N, "He had already bewitched me by reading me the Henry.. if he had also played I would have fainted at his feet immediately",

"Tactic number 2" said Benedict laughing, "Read Shakespeare .. ",

"If you didn't grow up here I understand that the extreme romanticism of English men is deadly" said Sophie, "I also fell like a ripe fruit .. and I know all their techniques" she laughed, they dined together chatting about the day and Benedict's projects ,

"I'll put my shoes on and I'll walk you home dear," Ben said standing up,

"Don't bother I already called a taxi" Y/N replied following the couple to the door, "Sophie thanks for the day, I really enjoyed myself and I learned a lot" she said hugging the woman,

"See you on Tuesday for the next event, dressed comfortably we will be on the farm" she smiled greeting her, the taxi had arrived,

"Where do I take you Miss?" asked the taxi driver, Y/N gave the address and picked up the phone,

§Friday boys arrive in Italy to shop keep free!§ she wrote to the group,

§ Really? § , § How wonderful§, §How long are you staying? §, they all asked together,

§I arrive on Friday and leave on Tuesday§ Y/N replied cheerfully for that weekend at her home,

§I will make your bed§ wrote Gian happily,

§ Gian is supported by me§ Roby replied, §We can all gather here§,

§Will, tomorrow I ask for a couple of days§ Franc replied , §Jack is in Vienna it's a shame§,

§As I said to Roby I also bring you the passes for the premieres of the film .. I want you with me§ said Y/N, they were all in turmoil for those evenings,

§Beautiful you should also invite Simo§ Rice sent her a private message,

§ Lucifer I don't think about it§ she replied annoyed by that request, it was like him to forgive certain things, § I know how you think but I'm not you§,

§I tried:) § replied the friend, §I could surprise you with my presence on Sunday§,

§ REALLY? § she asked excitedly by the news,

§Yes I have a photo shoot on Monday§ answered Rice, § And maybe I can also be there at the premier of Rome§, Y/N was very happy with that news,

§So I'll take you out to dinner just the two of us .. I owe you an evening after having blown you away after the parade§ wrote Y/N hoping he was not yet offended by that escape,

§ It is the minimum after having fled ;) §,

§See you guys on Friday, I want you nice loads for shopping§ greeted Y/N, he was home by now, the day had been long, weird and exciting, she just wanted a coffee and hear from her man, looked at watch, was almost midnight, she did the math by now Thomas's flight must have almost arrived, she took a shower and waited for the man to call her.

[holly-benji]

9X02 BRETTSEY REVIEW

Here I am today talking about my impressions of the 9x02 episode of Chicago fire. Ready? First of all let me tell you that: 1. English is not my first language, so forgive me some grammatical errors. 2. I have written a lot (maybe too much) so I hope you have the patience to get to the end. 3. It is not a post against Monica Raymund or Gabby Dawson. Just some of my considerations about it. I do not want to start any war.

Let us begin! I will try to analyze what happened for the different phases that followed during the episode

RESCUE SCENE:

I start by saying that Sylvie Brett is really badass. She's really grown up and I think it's going to be a real PIC for Mackey.

Moving on to Casey: "61 respond. Do YOU hear me?". I think that YOU has a great value for him. I think this phrase encapsulates all of Casey's concern about losing Brett. The face he makes immediately afterwards when no one answers on the radio is discouraging. And when he asks Stella "we should have seen them by now", he is looking for some support in Kidd (of the series tell me that nothing serious happened Stella please).

When Casey sees the wreckage of the ambulance he can’t wait to know if Sylvie is ok. First of all, for him is not ambulance 61, but Brett's ambulance. The difference is substantial. 

"Let me out". This scene is beautiful. Fortunately, after jumping out of a moving truck, Brett has already gotten out of the ambulance.

When Casey sees her, apart from screaming her name, he doesn't just ask her if she is okay. He looks at her everywhere, as if to see to himself that she is in one piece. Even afterwards he suggests to her to go to the hospital and when she refuses, he takes her to the truck to take her to the firehouse. With him. Brett's gaze is the mixture of being confused about the accident, and why Casey is there.

When Sylvie wants to save the crazy guy, he yells "Sylvie wait!". And then together they do what they do best. Saving lives.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN YOU

Of course Casey has to reach Brett to ask her once again if she is okay and tell her that he is glad if she is ok. What big scare did he get? But strangely enough when Brett asks him how he got there so quickly and why it was only him, he omits a few details in the reconstruction of how things went. Brett KNOWS him so the "it always been you" comes out of her. Remember that THE ONE she's been looking for for a long time, and she talks to Matt about in the 8x07 episode? She finally realized it was him all along. From the beginning of everything. And when she realizes that she practically told him that the key to everything is him, she tries to make up for the blunder she just made. In fact she says "such a good friend". Casey is amazed by this sentence, and wants to understand what else is underneath (because it can actually be sibylline), but is interrupted by Capp for the report.

SYLVIE AND STELLA

So Brett is in love with Casey. But she can't tell him. She doesn't want to tell him.

Let's make a brief summary of what happened between Brett and Casey from Sylvie's point of view. Gabby's departure marked a turning point for both of them. I think for both of them it was just a simple friendship at least until the episode 7x16. When Casey was almost shot with a gun. The two of them started talking more and more and became confidants of each other. Brett's feelings I think were initially seen in the 7x21 even if at the time as a simple attraction. She has been trying to suppress them ever since. It was said that they were not right. So she got engaged to Kyle and tried to carry on a meaningless relationship. In fact, not only did she want to suppress what she felt, she WAS CERTAIN that Casey would not have seen her any other way than as a friend and the 7x22 gave her confirmation. Casey involuntarily pushed her into the arms of another. After her return in the 8x03, Casey and Brett bonded more and more. And every time someone saw the chemistry that the two of them shared, she diminished. She did it with Olivia, Foster, Kidd and even Julie. Things changed in the 8x17 when Sylvie seriously started working on her feelings. In any case she became more and more convinced that the feelings she felt were not reciprocated, and mostly WRONG. He was still her best friend's ex, and she knew that he would not easily forget Dawson.

So when talking to Stella in this 9x02 SYLVIE DOES NOT WANT TO SPEAK TO CASEY BECAUSE IT IS SURE THAT HE IS NOT IN LOVE WITH HER, BUT THAT HE IS  IN LOVE WITH DAWSON. So she thinks the solution is to pretend this conversation never happened.

CASEY ASKS HER OUT, IN HIS OWN WAY

Casey wants to understand better the exchange of jokes that there have been between them in the dormitory. And on top of that he wants to ask her to get out of the 7x22, so I think it was the right time to do it considering that he could have lost her. The way he asks her out is very funny. How he claps and waves his hands. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS SIDE OF CASEY. The faces of Hermann and Mouch say it all.

THE DATE AT MOLLY’S

The way Casey gets up when he sees her and asks her if he can offer her something to drink, it makes me laugh my head off. He's in serious trouble: he doesn't know how to handle it.

Here the evening takes a completely unexpected turn. Gallo does what he should not do. He explains everything that happened at the beginning of the episode and Brett FOR THE FIRST TIME questions Casey's feelings. She asks herself "maybe he feels something for me?". The answer is clearly yes. Just look at their exchange of glances. One feels too much between the two of them. In any case, Dawson's shadow always makes itself felt in her head, and moreover she would like to kiss him but she can't because of a ban she has imposed herself. So she runs away. She is afraid.

The way Casey gets up is so sweet. He still doesn't understand what's wrong. But he knows there's something he did that Brett didn't take well.

AVOID CASEY

When the shift starts Casey tries to say goodbye to her, but she doesn't answer. On the contrary, she runs inside the firehouse. And the same thing happens when they are reassembling the ambulance door. Severide's words are prophetic. Sylvie avoids Casey because on the one hand she wants to kiss him, and on the other hand she is afraid that she will not be able to take Gabby's place and that there is no game for her. There will always be Dawson in first place. Casey realizes once again that something is wrong (he still can't figure out what it is though). But his look says it all, and Severide notices it too. And it gives him the best suggestion. UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT LOOK MEANS.

I would like to point out that Stella, Severide, Mouch, Hermann, Gallo, Capp and Tony all saw the connection that brettsey have. The whole firehouse know. Even Tony who speaks very little says for the first time his own ("we don't know what happened").

THE KISS

First of all I find it beautiful that Casey went to ask for explanations. Their "talk to me" is the key to everything. They have always confided in each other, and have done so very much in these two years (7x02 and 8x16 for example). Tell each other what's wrong is the basis of a solid relationship. Sylvie then reveals the reason and kisses him. She makes the first move. And I found it fantastic. Clearly Matt gives in immediately. I want to point out that during the kiss they smiled, even with their eyes. Their happiness could be felt in the air along with their sweetness. It was beautiful and I loved it as all the time there was delicacy. I don't think we need other words to describe it. And they both wanted it for a long time. At least from 7x21. What patience.

THE PROBLEM: GABBY DAWSON

Let us now analyze the Gabby Dawson problem. As I have already widely explained Sylvie is afraid because she could take a place that is complicated to replace at best. She fears the confrontation with the one and only woman she thinks Casey has loved and will love. So she decides to clarify this issue with him right away, and I find it an extremely mature attitude. I want to emphasize that until now Brett has had messed up stories, broken engagements, so now she is looking for THE ONE. She finally found him, but there is the Dawson problem. Let's remember that in the 8x09 Dawson came back and Matt ended up back in bed with her. Can you build something serious and lasting with a person who as soon as the ex returns there is a risk that he will end up in her bed? That's what Brett is afraid of. Maybe for him it's just a desire to have sex, while for Sylvie it's trying to make the choices to start a family. Let's try to unravel the skein, and clarify some of my points of view.

I loved the Dawseys, very much. I found them beautiful. Their story was all passion, and I loved it. Gabby was a tough girl, Casey was a good guy and I liked them a lot. Then at a certain point (maybe due to the problem of becoming parents), each of them started to take a different path, in fact to be precise Gabby did. Matt and Dawson communicated very little, especially in recent times, and the important decisions were ALWAYS AND ONLY HERS. She confronted Matt at the end, when the decision had already been made. I've always admired Dawson's resolution, but in some attitudes I found it exaggerated. The choice to try to have more children even with a pregnancy at risk ONLY HERS, the choice to move to Puerto Rico? ONLY HERS AND OVERALL IS THE ONE THAT LEAVES CASEY, THE ONE THAT SENDS PAPERS FOR DIVORCE. SHE RETURNS, THEN SHE LEAVES. The one that says if you want, there is always a place in my tent. 

Until now the decisions have been unilateral. Casey tries in his own way to make a new life for himself. He succeeds very hard. Initially he has a flirt with the journalist, then a flirt with the smart girl who interrupts immediately, and then from 8x03 let's say that his feelings for Brett, already present in my opinion from 7x19 at least ARE ALWAYS GROWN. 

But why when Sylvie asks, he doesn’t respond: “I love you”? Simple, he hasn't understood it yet. Let's understand each other. Matt can't explain how he feels about Sylvie because he has never felt it before. He has these strong feelings, totally new. Here, in addition to a strong passionate component (which the Dawseys certainly did not lack) there is a strong mental component that makes all the difference. Brett and Casey have very similar characters, something that certainly could not be said with Dawson and have created a deep friendship. Basically speak his actions for him. Jumping out of a truck, asking her nervously if she wants to go out with him. These are all attitudes that have not been seen in Matt Casey before. They are attitudes of a person who is in love. His not being able to answer is dictated by the fact that he has never faced the problem. He has never closed the door with Gabby and he has always left a gap, at first very big, that he believes that that is still open, but which actually lacks a small push to close it permanently. 

In essence Matt has to close definitively with the past and with all the drama that the relationship with Dawson has left. For example one of these is the problem of being rejected. This explains his nervousness towards Sylvie. He is not giving up completely. So Matt has to work on his emotions and he can't answer because he never asked himself the question. He took it for granted that he had moved on, but he hadn't put an end to it. I'm sure he will. Because he has to make his mind understand what his heart has already understood long ago. It must work on himselt and let off steam, talk to someone. These feelings for Brett have always been kept to himself. He has to shout it to the world instead.

Fortunately Matt and Sylvie are friend before lovers. They have built a strong foundation, and they are still communicating. I’m sure they will find their way back to each other.

I hope you enjoy my “review”. Let me know if there is something you want to add, or if you think I’m wrong. I’d like to chat with you, so write me!

Love you all, and always ship Brettsey!

I would also ask @hamburgerheroes if she wants to participate in the next reviews with her fantastic GIFs, and maybe alternate in the work if you like to comment together also the next episodes. Let me know. 

[vitaliciouscreations]

Drop of Paradise - Part Three

First | Previous | Next

Note: Thanks to @dargeon-lissa for helping me with French in the last part.

Multicultural week was an annual thing at François-Dupont, Lila learned from Nino. Doing a presentation was optional, and since it happened every year, most of the kids their age who had a culture worth sharing and were interested in sharing it had done it already.

When Lila asked Ms. Bustier about it, she told Lila that there were going to be fifteen presentations this year. Four each on the first three days of the week, three on Thursday, and then on Friday they would all take a test on what they had learned to make sure they’d been paying attention. Not an important test, she reassured Lila; it was just to make sure the students had taken the week and the opportunity to learn seriously instead of goofing off. Surely someone as well-traveled as Lila would have no difficulty passing the test with flying colors.

From Alya, Lila learned that most of the presentations would be given by students in year six who had just started attending François-Dupont this year. Alya herself had thought about doing a presentation on Martinique, but had ultimately decided against giving herself more work to do when she already had all of her regular homework, her work on the Ladyblog, her babysitter duties with her younger sisters, and her dates with Nino. However, their very own class representative and Alya’s best friend was going to be giving the last presentation of the week after lunch on Thursday.

Apparently Marinette’s presentation was set to be the last one and the only one after lunch on Thursday because the school had decided it would generate much more interest than all of the other presentations. They didn’t want Marinette to accidentally upstage anyone, or rather, Marinette didn’t want to accidentally upstage anyone, and so she had offered to go last. And of course, her presentation was set to be longer than anyone else’s because the school wanted there to be enough time for as many questions as possible to be answered.

Lila would be infuriated about it all if she wasn’t so smart. Fortunately, though, Lila was nothing if not resourceful, intelligent, and clever, so she recognized the situation for the perfect opportunity that it was. Come lunchtime on Thursday, she found herself smirking as she watched Marinette bolt out of the classroom the very instant the bell rang.

She was in a hurry to get home and make sure everything was ready for her upcoming presentation, no doubt. Lila had been keeping an eye on her all week, and it was clear that Marinette had spent most of the time preparing. She was trying so hard to ensure that her presentation would be as close to perfect as it could possibly get. How sad, then, that all of her hard work would be for nothing, because by the time Marinette returned to school, all of her beloved friends would be exactly where Lila wanted them.

Lila carefully schooled her features to replace the smirk on her face with an innocent smile as she collected her lunch tray and headed over to the table where the rest of her classmates were gathered. The seat next to Alya, the place where Marinette usually sat, was vacant. Lila happily took it.

“Yeah, it’s been, like, two weeks,” Alix was saying. She nodded at Lila in acknowledgement when she sat down. “I don’t know why it’s taking so long.”

“I think her cousin is visiting,” Rose said. “We saw her enter the bakery on Saturday when we were getting snacks for our impromptu band practice. Maybe that’s why?”

“Are you guys talking about Marinette?” Lila asked.

“Yeah,” Alix replied. “She said she’d make me some pajama shorts since summer is coming up, but it’s been like two weeks since then. I should probably just buy some, but I don’t want to spend money if I don’t have to.”

“Ask her about it,” Alya suggested. “She could have forgotten about it. That girl is so forgetful. It’s ridiculous.” Alya rolled her eyes playfully.

“She’s also been working on her presentation for multicultural week,” Nino said. “And if her cousin is visiting, she might just be busy.”

“Still,” Lila interjected. “It isn’t fair for Marinette to keep Alix waiting when she promised she’d make her the shorts.”

“Mmph,” Alix grunted. “I’ll just ask her about it after lunch.”

“After her presentation, you mean,” Alya said. “I wonder what it’s about, anyway? The school has been strangely secretive about it, and Marinette’s been ‘too busy’ all week to give me any details.” Alya rolled her eyes again, significantly less playfully.

“I think they’re trying to surprise us with it,” Juleka mumbled, and Lila internally scowled at her. Ugh, mumbling.

“Surprise us?” Nathaniel repeated. “Why would they want to surprise us?”

“They probably want to make multicultural week as engaging as possible,” Lila said. “I mean, hearing about those places first hand is probably the best way to learn about what they’re like in real life. Excluding actually going there, of course.”

“So you’ll have absolutely no problem on the test, Lila,” Rose said.

Lila flipped her hair over her shoulder gracefully. “Of course not.”

“Mmh,” Alya hummed, frowning. “But what about Marinette’s presentation will surprise us?”

“Oh, I know the answer to that,” Lila said. Everyone’s attention focused on her, and she basked in it for a moment before getting back to the task at hand. “I accidentally overheard Ms. Bustier talking with another teacher this morning. Marinette’s presentation is going to be about Eden.”

Alya choked on the water she was drinking. “Eden?!”

Lila shrugged. “That’s what I heard, anyway.”

“Statistically, there’s a 91% chance Lila is correct,” Max said, and Lila had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. He was always rattling on and on about his stupid statistics. It was so annoying. “They’ve been working their way east, so to speak. From the Americas to Africa to Europe and today Asia. Additionally, Alya is correct. Ms. Bustier and the other teachers have been oddly close-lipped about the last presentation. It is quite likely that they’re trying to surprise us with something special. An opportunity to learn about the most reclusive city in the world certainly qualifies.”

“That’s awesome!” Kim exclaimed loudly.

“It��s definitely a lot cooler than what they did for last year’s multicultural week,” Nino agreed.

Alya, however, was frowning. “I didn’t know Marinette was from Eden. Why wouldn’t she tell me? Aren’t I her best friend?”

Lila took on a sympathetic look and reached out to pat Alya’s arm. “Oh, Alya. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think Marinette is actually from Eden.”

A pause. Alya blinked. “What?”

“I doubt Marinette herself is from Eden,” Lila reiterated. “I mean, think about it. Eden revealed itself a few weeks ago, and Marinette is suddenly doing a presentation on it? It seems pretty unlikely.”

Alya frowned again. “Yeah, it does seem pretty unlikely. But would Marinette lie about something like that?”

“Hmm,” Lila hummed, cocking her head. “She’s probably not lying, per say. Just stretching the truth. It’s probably something like her great, great, great, great grandfather is from Eden, and she’s taking advantage of the recent reveal to make her presentation exciting and relevant.”

Alya thought about that for a couple seconds, and then nodded decisively. “You’re right. Marinette would have told me she was from Eden if she really was.”

“Exactly,” Lila said, stifling an eye roll. For a self-described hard hitting investigative journalist, Alya was super easy to play. “And, honestly, that’s why I’m kind of worried.”

A pause. The class stared at her.

“Huh?” Myléne murmured. She was almost as bad as Juleka. “Why are you worried?”

“It’s just,” Lila cast her eyes down like she was feeling shy. “We’re going to take a test tomorrow about everything we’ve learned this week, right? But I doubt Marinette really knows very much about Eden, so I’m worried about you guys. If Marinette gives you all faulty information about Eden you could fail the test. That would be terrible!”

The class took a few moments to process that. Lila eyed Rose and Juleka rather impatiently, waiting for one of them to speak up.

After several seconds too long of silence, it was actually Max who spoke up first, not Rose or Juleka. “Failing one portion of the test would not cause instant failure, but it could severely affect our grades. However, I see no other alternative. Most of the information online is speculative or entirely made up. We currently have no better source of information on Eden than Marinette.”

Lila’s eyes drifted over to Rose and Juleka again, but again neither of them spoke up. Honestly, must she do everything herself?

“Actually,” Lila said. “I could help you guys out. I mean, if you want me to. I spent a whole year volunteering there some time ago, so I know all about Eden and its culture.”

“That’s right!” Rose finally exclaimed. “Lila even helped me start writing a song about Eden on Saturday!”

Juleka nodded. “Yeah.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Alix asked.

“Yup!” Rose chirped, saving Lila the effort of having to do it herself.

“That’s so cool,” Nathaniel said. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“We can’t wait to play it!” Rose exclaimed, looping an arm around Juleka’s shoulders and putting her other hand on Ivan’s arm. Both Ivan and Juleka gave their versions of a smile, which were hardly worth the title in Lila’s opinion. Apparently “goth” and “socially adept” were mutually exclusive at François-Dupont.

“I want to hear it too!” Kim shouted, and Lila scowled before quickly wiping the expression from her face. They were getting off track.

“Right,” Lila said, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear her. “So if you guys need someone to teach you about Eden, I’d be happy to do it!”

“Really?” Myléne squeaked out.

“That’d be awesome!” Sabrina exclaimed, and Lila grinned viciously when she didn’t see Chloe anywhere in the area. “Please, oh please tell us about Eden, Lila!”

“Yeah, please tell us about it,” Nathaniel agreed.

Lila schooled her face into a hesitant look. She noticeably glanced at a nearby clock. “I really would love too, but I don’t know if I can tell you guys everything you might need to know before lunch is over. I have no idea what questions will be on the test, and there’s so much to say about Eden!” Lila paused for a moment, giving it time, before dramatically perking up. “Actually, I just thought of something!”

“What’s that?” Nino asked.

“They’re not actually taking attendance this week, right?” Lila pointed out. “The school just wants to make sure you know the material. That’s why there’s a test at the end of the week, right?”

“So we could skip for the rest of today and learn what we need to from you instead,” Alix said, saving Lila the effort.

“Exactly!” Lila chirped. “And we could all go out for ice cream while I tell you guys all about Eden. It would be much more fun than sticking around for another presentation, anyway.”

Kim nodded enthusiastically. “Totally!”

Max hesitated, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Getting information from a direct source is likely to be more educational.”

“And way less boring!” Kim shouted, slamming his hands down on the table and jostling everyone’s food. Lila hid her irritation with a well-practiced plastic smile.

Alya hummed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. She tilted her head. “I can’t deny that a direct source is undoubtedly superior, but what about Marinette’s presentation? She’s been working pretty hard on it.”

Lila frowned. “Are you saying Marinette would want all of us to fail just so we’d see her presentation?”

Alya’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not.”

“Right.” Lila nodded. “Marinette isn’t that kind of person. She won’t care about a silly presentation if it means all of us will be better off. That’s just the kind of friend she is. She’s so helpful, even if she is clumsy and forgetful.”

“That’s right,” Alya agreed.

A grin overtook Lila’s face. “Yeah. So I’m sure she won’t mind you guys skipping out. It’s just a pity she won’t be able to come with us since she has to give her presentation. But maybe I can write up some notes later tonight and send them to her to make sure she doesn’t fail either.”

“That’s so nice of you, Lila!” Sabrina praised.

Lila preened. “Thanks Sabrina! It might hurt my wrists to type that much, but I don’t want Marinette to fail either.”

“What about Adrien?” Nino asked, adjusting his hat. “We can’t leave him out of the loop.”

Lila nodded. “Of course not! I was thinking that we should wait here and see if he arrives early for lunch, and if not, one of you could wait for him and lead him to the rest of us when he arrives. I don’t want to leave him out, and I’m sure Adrien will appreciate a day out with his friends. It’s a real shame his father restricts him to the house so much.”

“Oh yeah,” Nino muttered. “That dude needs to take a chill pill. Or a dozen.”

“But today Adrien might be able to spend a whole afternoon hanging out with his friends,” Lila said. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

“Totally,” Nino agreed. Lila could see he was completely on board now. They all were. She smiled gleefully.

All week long, Lila had kept an eye on Marinette. In between presentations, all she’d done was help her classmates or work on her own presentation. Both were clearly very important to her.

So for her classmates to miss the presentation she’d worked oh so hard on? That would definitely hurt her. And when she was hurt, she was volatile. Easily manipulated. Most people were.

Any way Marinette reacted, Lila had a plan. Angry? It would be child’s play to make Marinette look like a bully. Sad? How could she be upset at the class for wanting to get good grades? Distant? Being passive aggressive is so cruel and manipulative.

And if she got akumatized? Oh, if she got akumatized, Lila would hit the jackpot. Marinette would almost certainly come after her as an akuma, and Ladybug would surely protect her. Lila could reaffirm her claim to the class about being Ladybug’s best friend, and she could pretend to be scared of Marinette afterwards. Every interaction with Marinette from them on would end with Lila on top without her having to utter a single word. All she would have to do is look terrified and everyone would jump to her defense.

If Marinette was akumatized, Lila would be in the perfect position to eliminate Marinette as a problem. Her false trauma would mean she and Marinette needed to be kept apart. And that opened up a world of possibilities.

She and Marinette couldn’t possibly be in the same class anymore if Lila started trembling every time she set eyes on her. The school would be forced to separate them. The issue would be taken to the principal, and that money-grubbing suck up would obviously choose Lila over Marinette because Lila’s mother was actually important. At the least, Marinette would transfer to another class and away from all of her precious friends. At best, Marinette would be expelled from François-Dupont.

Their classmates would also be forced to choose between Marinette and Lila, and they would choose Lila. Who would side with the aggressor as opposed to the victim, after all? And when Lila had everyone else on her side, Adrien would be hers too. He valued his friendships too much to give the majority of them up for one girl who could barely get a sentence out around him, and he was terrified of rejection from his peers.

Yes, Lila wanted Marinette to get akumatized. She could make everything work out perfectly once she was. And she would be. Lila would make sure of that.

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