#it was supposed to be a weather advisory channel.

[i-spaced-sorry]

Midwest Winter Freeze

I'm back with another story! The tempts here in the midwest are freezing (windchill is making it colder than Alaska), this story has been on my mind for a day or two now and just had to come out! So enjoy!

“Pat? The weather channel is saying that it’s supposed to be a windchill advisory for the next few days.” called out Mary Halstead. 

“What?” yelled Pat while running from the bedroom to the living room. 

Turning up the volume, they both listened, 

“Temperatures are supposed to reach -9 by tomorrow morning, but with the windchill it will feel like -35. Experts say to try to limit time outside, bundle up if you have to go outside, and check on the elderly. I’m Rhonda Rhymes and your watching ABC Chicago 7, we will be right back after these messages”

Lowering the tv, Mary looked at Pat, “we should probably drip the faucets tonight if it's supposed to drop that low by tomorrow morning.” she stated while getting up. 

“I’ll do the upstairs bathroom if you want to handle the kitchen and the bathroom down here” called Pat, while heading to the staircase.

After the faucets were dripping the two began getting the boys ready for bed. 5 year old Will already took a bath before dinner cause he was out in the snow playing with his friends from down the street. But 4yr old Jay was still in need of one. 

“You left the water on” observed Jay while sitting in the tub with his rubber duck. 

Looking up, Mary smiled, “it’s okay baby boy, we just don’t want the pipes to freeze”

“Okay” responded little Jay while dunking his rubber duck for the 5th time. 

Later that night after the boys were put to sleep and well after Mr. and Mrs. Halstead went to sleep, Will woke up with a start. Sitting up he looked around the room and saw his brother passed out in his toddler bed clutching his stuffed dog. He also noticed he was thirsty. So he quickly but quietly clamored out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Closing the door, he flipped on the light and grabbed his plastic Land Before Times cup and filled it with water from the sink. Once it was sufficiently filled, he shut the faucet and chugged the cup of water.

Once returning to his bed he took one more look at his brother and fell back asleep. 

“PAT!” shrieked Mary from downstairs. Both Will and Jay jumped awake at the noise, both sitting up and looking at each other in a ‘what is going on’ type of way. 

“Will?” asked Jay while wiping his eyes.

Shrugging Will just said, “it’s okay, do you want to go get some breakfast?”

Nodding, Jay slipped out of bed and quickly turned around to grab his stuffed dog. Waiting for Will to also slip out of bed, the two boys quickly walked downstairs to the kitchen.

“This is going to be so expensive, I’m going to have to pick up extra shifts at the hospital to even pay for it.” the boys heard once when they walked in the room. 

“Mama?” asked Will while cocking his head to the side, “what’s wrong?”

Turning from the kitchen sink, Mary smiled down at her boys, “nothings wrong, how did you boys sleep?” she asked while reaching out to pick up Jay. 

“Good” confirmed the boys. 

“Jay, did you touch the sink yesterday?” demanded Pat while walking over from the phone. 

Shaking his head, Jay whimpered. “Pat, you're scaring him.” she tightened her grip and ran a hand down his back. 

“What happened daddy?” asked Will while taking a seat at the kitchen table. 

“Our pipes froze! That’s what happened! And your brother must have done it!” snapped Pat while also taking a seat at the table. 

Will looked down at his hands before feeling his mom run her hands through his hair, “well that wasn’t good” lied Will. 

“Wait!” exclaimed Jay while sitting up in his chair. 

“What?” asked Will while taking a sip from his beer. 

“You're telling me that it was you all this time?”

“What are you talking about?”

Hailey watched as her husband and brother in law bickered. 

“Will, was it you who had turned off the faucet?” she asked finally. 

“Listen, no one told me that we were dripping water to keep the pipes from freezing. I didn’t even grasp that that was even a thing we were supposed to do until I was 6 and the temperatures dropped again.”

“But you let me take the blame! For something you knew I didn’t do!” exclaimed Jay while shutting his eyes, forcing himself to take a big deep breath and clench his hands tightly to release his anger in a healthy way. 

“You didn’t even get in that much trouble, you just weren’t allowed to be in any rooms unsupervised and if memory serves me right, you were still partially in pull ups at the time, so that wasn’t even a real issue half the time.”

Hailey just laughed, 

“Okay Hailey Anne, if you think that’s so funny. Did you or your brothers ever freeze your family’s pipes?” asked Jay while taking a sip of his own drink. 

“No, we were really careful about it because of my dad. I think maybe Eric did once when I was a baby but i’m not for certain, I just know that when I was of an age that I could grasp what was going on, he and Ryan pulled me aside and made it very clear that if mom and dad left the faucets dripping in the winter that I was to not mess with the sinks.”

“I’m sorry” replied Will. 

Shrugging, Hailey smiled, “it’s okay! I will say when I was in college at UIC, one of my roommates was from somewhere like California or maybe it was Texas, I don’t remember but the point was she had never experienced a midwestern winter growing up and it was a year where the temps were worse than Alaska and snow was really heavy. I had started dripping our faucets in our apartment and our landlord sent a text out to us reminding us why we should do this and this girl had the audacity to ignore the text and to turn the faucets off. Let’s just say she was so lucky I stayed up late every night and would flip them back on before calling it a night.”

Laughing, the three looked at each other and raised their cans, “to midwest winters.” stated Will. 

“To not having earthquakes” giggled Jay. 

"to not having hurricanes" giggled Will.

“To not having alligators” giggled Hailey and the three of them clinked their cans together.

[roughentumble]

why is it that when u put "radio" in a phrase it makes it so mysterious and powerful and sexy...

"radio silence," "radio static," "radio waves"........ theyre all so aesthetically dark and pleasing and mysterious and a lil scary. love it

[puckinginsane]

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Tyler Seguin Christmas one shot

When my boss told me I would have to be in Minneapolis for 3 days of meetings just a few days before Christmas I thought he was joking. I literally laughed right in his face until I actually saw his face and noticed he wasn’t laughing along. No, this was serious. We actually had to travel to Minnesota during the busiest travel days of the year to take in some meetings. He wasn’t happy about it either but there was nothing we could do to get out of it. Sales managers from around the country had been called in for these sets of emergency meetings. Nobody was happy but we sucked it up and made the best of it.

The company put us all up in cabins to feel like it was more like a vacation than a sales trip but it just turned out to be more frustrating than anything. The wifi was spotty, the bed was uncomfortable, and the water pressure in the shower sucked. I tried my best to stay positive but it wasn’t easy. I am so glad to finally be leaving this place and going home for the holidays. I can’t wait to see my family. It seems like as each year goes by I see them less and less but at least we always have Christmas together. I look forward to it. I love my family.

I have been getting weather advisory alerts on my phone all morning about a blizzard coming so I’m worried that my flight is going to be delayed or worse. I have to check out and get to the airport before it’s too late. When I get into the lodge I notice there is nobody else around. This can’t be a good thing. It’s Christmas Eve and there’s no one to be seen. I walk to the front desk and wait for the clerk to come out of the office to help me. Just as I check out I start getting more alerts on my phone. I step away from the front desk to check them. My flight is cancelled. All of the flights are cancelled.

No, no, no this cannot be happening. I can’t be stranded here. I walk back to the front desk. “I don’t suppose you have any open cabins,” I say to the clerk, knowing full well the answer is going to be no.

“No sorry, miss, we are all booked up. It is the holidays after all,” he replies.

“I know. I figured I’d try.” I grab my suitcase and walk over to one of the couches and sit down. There has got to be a way for me to get out of here. I look around on my phone to see if there is any other way to get out of Minnesota. The whole state is shut down. There is no way out at this point. I’m going to have to call my mom and let her know I won’t be home for Christmas. The phone rings a few times before my mom answers. “Hey, mom, it looks like I’m going to be stuck here in Minneapolis.”

“Oh no, sweetie, is everything ok?” she asks.

“It looks like a blizzard shut down the entire state. I haven’t been outside so I don’t know how bad it is.”

“Yeah, I’m watching on the weather channel right now. It does not look good.”

“This is what I get for taking an extra day to relax. Now I’ll never leave,” I complain.

“Do you have a place to stay?” she asks.

“No. And I don’t think I’ll be able to find a place either. All of the cabins here are booked. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out here in the lodge.”

“I’m sorry, that has to be rough. We will see you once you get home. Stay warm and stay safe.”

“Thanks, mom, I’ll keep you updated. Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie.” My mom and I hang up and I stand up and walk to the window and push the curtains aside to see just how bad this blizzard is. The snow is coming down really hard and it looks pretty windy. There seems to already be a significant amount of snow accumulated on the ground. It did not look like this a few hours ago. I get a few more notifications on my phone. A state of emergency is in effect as well as a curfew. It just keeps getting worse. If I’m going to possibly find a place that has an opening, even if it’s a crappy motel, I am going to have to leave now.

I pick up my suitcase and start making my way across the lobby. “I don’t care what they say, I’m getting out of here,” I mutter to myself.

“I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” I hear someone say to me as I walk passed them. I turn around to say something to them about minding their own business but when I see who it is my heart practically jumps in my throat. It’s Tyler Seguin from the Dallas Stars. I have such a big crush on him. I forgot that they had a game here last night. “It’s really bad out there.”

“I’m not getting stuck in this lodge. I need to see if I can find a place to stay.” I continue to walk towards the doors.

Tyler stands up and follows after me. “It’s pretty dangerous out there.”

I turn my head to look at him as I continue to walk. “I appreciate your concern but I’m leaving.”

He shakes his head at me. “You’re so stubborn.”

I roll my eyes and ignore his last comment as I open the doors and step outside. I’m immediately hit in the face with the brisk air and snow hitting my face. I push on through to where my rental car is parked. It’s hard to even tell where the car begins and ends. Everything looks like a blanket of white. I begin trying to dig my car out with my hands but as I dig in the snow more snow just fills in. It’s no use. I am really stuck here. Even if I did manage to dig my car out it’s not like I would really be able to get anywhere quickly. It looks like they have stopped trying to plow the roads. Everything is shut down.

I turn around to walk back into the lodge and Tyler is standing in the doorway leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest with a smile on his face. He chuckles as I walk passed him. “Well that was entertaining,” he says as he follows behind me as I walk to one of the couches. I sit down and he sits down on the couch across from me. Is this really happening right now? The one time I have Tyler Seguin all to myself and I am in such a bad mood. “It looks like we’re stranded together.”

“Yeah, it looks that way,” I say as I start sending texts to my friends letting them know my situation.

“What were you here for?” he asks.

“I was here for work. I was supposed to leave yesterday but I stayed an extra day to relax. I guess that was a mistake.”

“Same here. I stayed an extra day to get some last minute Christmas shopping done before going back home. My whole family is at my house right now and I’m here.”

“I can’t believe we are the only two idiots that got stranded.”

“I’m not an idiot. Speak for yourself.” He smiles a cheesy grin. “I’m Tyler, by the way.”

“I’m Amy.” I don’t know if I should tell him I know who he is. It could make things awkward. We are doing fine without him knowing I am a big fan of his.

“It’s nice to meet you, Amy. This isn’t how you thought you would spend your Christmas Eve I’m sure.”

“No definitely not.”

“What were your plans?” he asks as he leans his elbow on the armrest and rests his head on the palm of his hand and looks at me for my answer.

“I was going to go to my aunt’s house where my whole family always gathers. I haven’t seen them all year. I was really looking forward to seeing them.”

“That sucks. I don’t see my family much either. I was looking forward to some home cooked meals and spending a few days with them.”

The wind is so fast outside that you can hear the gusts outside the window. “It’s really coming down out there,” I say. I don’t know what else to talk about.

“I wonder if we’ll lose power. We may have to use body heat for warmth.” He smiles a big, toothy smile.

“Or sit by the fire,” I say as I point to the roaring fireplace across the room.

“Yeah but that’s not as fun.”

I can’t believe he’s flirting with me. Maybe he’s just overly friendly. I know he’s a pretty outgoing guy. I feel my cheeks getting warm from blushing but I try to play it cool. I shake my head as I fight a smile. “You’re terrible.”

He laughs. “So, Amy, where are you from?”

“New Jersey. You?” If I’m going to pretend I don’t know who he is I might as well go all in.

“Originally from the Toronto area. Living in Dallas now.”

“Oh a Canadian, eh?” I tease.

“Wow. You just did that.”

“I did.”

“I’ll remember that.”

I just smile. I’m thankful to be stranded with him. He’s making this enjoyable, well, as enjoyable as it can be. He’s kept my mind off the fact that I won’t be seeing my family at all this year. I can’t stop thinking about the fact that it’s Tyler Seguin and I am so calm about it. He seems really comfortable around me which makes me feel comfortable to be myself around him. I keep checking the satellite on my phone to see if there are any signs of this letting up but it looks like it’s going to be going on for a while.

There are no TVs in the lodge. There is a huge fireplace at the back of the room with chairs and couches scattered throughout. There is a coffee and hot chocolate bar off to the side of the front desk but not much for food, just little snacks. The lodge has high ceilings and it looks like an over sized, fancier version of a log cabin. They pride themselves on giving you an outdoor experience with a touch of luxury. I don’t even want to know how much staying here cost my company.

I look up from my phone to see Tyler watching me. I wonder how long he’s been staring. I have been so focused on what’s been going on on my phone that I hadn’t looked up in at least 5 minutes. I feel myself blushing again. He makes me so nervous although I think I have been doing a good job of hiding it. “Hi,” I say with half of a smile.

“Are you telling your boyfriend you’re stuck with some guy? Don’t tell him about the body heat thing.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I know it’s hard to believe that all of this is single but it’s true.”

He laughs. “You’re funny.”

“Thanks.” I’m so embarrassed but I’m trying so hard not to look away. My cheeks and ears feel like they’re on fire. It’s probably obvious to him that I’m a blushing, nervous mess. I work in sales so usually I am self confident but this is Tyler Seguin. He makes me feel like a puddle of mush when he looks at me and now he’s complimenting me. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve had a crush on him for years and I’m just trying to keep myself together.

“You’re welcome.” He sits back on the couch and scratches the side of his face before crossing his arms over his chest. “It would be nice if they had a TV in here.”

“I have my laptop but I was having problems with the wifi. I’m sure the weather isn’t helping.” I don’t want to turn my laptop on anyway. Tyler is my desktop image and it would ruin everything if he saw that.

“We will just have to find other ways to entertain ourselves.”

I don’t even know what to say to that. He looks pleased with himself, like he knows exactly what he’s doing to me. He’s saying these things on purpose. I can’t even imagine how pink my cheeks are now. I get a text from my brother and open it. He sent me a selfie saying he wishes I were there. My brother and I are always sending selfies back and forth to one another. I want to take one and send it but Tyler is watching me. I know he likes taking selfies so I should just take one and not worry what he thinks. I hold my phone out in front of me and take a smiling selfie and send it off to my brother. I put my phone down on my lap and Tyler is smiling at me with his eyebrows raised. “My brother and I send selfies back and forth to each other,” I explain.

“That was cute,” he replies.

“I, uh, wow, thanks,” I nervously say as I look down at my lap. If it were possible to turn purple I’m sure that’s what color my cheeks would be at this point. Tyler Seguin just said I was cute. It’s a Christmas miracle.

“Why do I make you so nervous?” he asks, “your cheeks are so red.”

Like he doesn’t know the answer to that question. He has to know he’s attractive. I can’t be the first girl to melt into a puddle on the floor in front of him no matter how hard I try to fight it. “It’s hot in here. I need some fresh air.”

I stand up and walk outside. I take a deep breath and look up into the sky and let the snowflakes hit my face. My cheeks cool off with the touch of each individual snowflake touching my skin. It’s refreshing. Thump. I feel a snowball hit me square in the middle of my back. I turn around to see Tyler standing about 15 feet away with the biggest smile on his face. He starts cracking up as soon as we make eye contact. “I can’t believe I actually hit you!” he exclaims.

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it!” I yell as I start to run towards him. He starts to run away but I manage to catch up to him. I could pick up some snow and throw it back at him but instead I leap off of the ground and tackle him into a snowbank.

He opens his mouth wide, shocked that I just had the balls to tackle him. I’m a little surprised myself. “It’s like that now, is it?” he asks. I stand up and hold my hands out to pull him up. He holds onto my hands but instead of standing up he pulls me down and pushes me into the snow. “This isn’t over.”

“Cold! So cold!” I screech as the snow hits the skin on my back because my shirt rode up a little bit. He leans down towards me and his face is just inches from mine. Holy shit, is he going to kiss me? It seems like he’s going to kiss me. What the hell do I do if he kisses me? Will I even be able to kiss him back? I look at his lips and then into his eyes and back down at his lips. He smirks a little before closing his eyes, I close mine too anticipating his kiss. Instead of a kiss I get a handful of snow in my face. I wipe the snow as he laughs at me.

“You so thought I was going to kiss you,” he teases.

“You’re such a jerk!” I shout. That is so wrong on so many levels. I really was hoping he was going to kiss me. Now I just feel like a fool.

He continues to laugh at me. He holds his hands out. “Come on, for real, I’ll help you up. It’s too cold to be in the snow for this long.”

I grab a handful of snow and at the same time with my other hand I grab the waistband of his jeans. I pull them out just slightly and shove the snow down his pants. “Holy shit!” he shrieks as he grabs at the snow I left there and pulls it out. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” I reply. I’m pretty proud of myself for coming up with that and following up. I just put my hand down Tyler Seguin’s pants. Oh my god.

Tyler holds his hands out for me one more time and this time I take them and he pulls me up and off of my butt. I brush myself off. I am soaked and so is he. We walk back inside dripping with melting snow. “We should sit by the fire to dry off,” he suggests.

“Yeah,” I agree.

We walk over to the couch that sits in front of the fireplace and sit down next to each other. The heat of the fire feels so good on my freezing cold skin. Now it’s just a matter of drying off. I still can’t believe I had the balls to put my hand down Tyler’s pants and he doesn’t seem to be mad about it. He still wants to sit next to me so that’s a good sign. He looks at me and shakes his head. “I can’t believe you did that. That took guts,” he says.

“Yeah I kinda can’t believe I did that either to be honest.”

“It was impressive.”

“That’s one way to describe it, I guess.”

“I deserved it.”

“Oh yeah, you definitely did.”

The crackling of the fire can be heard as both of us sit in silence as we continue to warm up and dry off. I was so mad I was going to be missing Christmas with my family but I get to spend it with Tyler instead. Not a bad trade off at all. We are sitting so close that our legs are touching. He hasn’t moved over and I am sure as hell not moving. I still can’t believe he was so close to my face. What if I went for it and kissed him thinking that’s what he was going to do? I would have made a fool of myself. Thankfully I usually wait for the guy to make the first move or I would have embarrassed myself even more than I already did. He knows I wanted him to kiss me. I closed my eyes like an idiot.

“I’m sorry I made you think I was going to kiss you. That wasn’t right,” he says after a few minutes of silence.

“It’s ok. I wouldn’t have known what to do with myself anyway,” I reply.

“Oh you mean you wouldn’t have stuck your hand down my pants? I guess it’s good that I didn’t then.” He looks at me and smirks. He’s such a flirt. I can’t handle it. “Oh, there goes those pink cheeks again.”

“Look who’s talking. Yours are just as pink,” I retort.

He looks away. I think I actually made him embarrassed. I get another selfie text from my brother. “You should send him one with the both of us in it,” Tyler says as he peeks over my shoulder.

“Hey! Nosey.” I put my hand over my screen.

He puts his arm around my shoulders. “Come on. You take one then I’ll take one on mine.”

“Ok.” I put the camera on and hold it out in front of us. He leans his head against mine and we both smile. I take the picture and send it to my brother.

“My turn.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and holds it out in front of us. Once again he leans his head against mine and takes the picture. “I don’t have a brother to send it to. I’ll just post it on Instagram. Is that ok?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s fine with me.” I have to act like it’s no big deal but I know that it is. He has hundreds of thousands of people who follow him and they’re all going to see it. This is crazy. He still has his arm around me as he types with his other hand on his phone. I’m starting to feel a bit too comfortable sitting here with him like this. I have to get up and walk around or something. I’m about to fall asleep. It’s been a stressful few days and I haven’t gotten much sleep. “I think I’m going to walk around the room or something. I’m starting to get sleepy.”

“You could use me as a pillow if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Are you serious?” I ask. There’s no way I can take him up on his offer.

“Yeah. Why not?” he replies.

“I don’t know,” I warily say.

“I’ll make up your mind for you.” He puts his hand on the side of my head and pulls it down onto his shoulder. “Sleep. I’ll wake you if anything exciting happens.”

How am I supposed to fall asleep when I have my head on Tyler Seguin’s shoulder? Why is he being so nice to me? I should stop questioning it and just take time to enjoy it. I take a deep breath. This just feels nice. I want to be stubborn and not sleep but my eyes are growing heavier and heavier and it’s beginning to be almost impossible to keep them open. I close my eyes and feel his head resting on mine before I fall asleep.

I feel Tyler shifting next to me and I wake up. I groan a little bit as I open my eyes. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping but I need to stand up and walk around. “How long was I sleeping?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. I fell asleep too. Sorry I woke you up. My arm was falling asleep.”

“It’s ok. I have to get up. My butt hurts.”

He laughs. “No comment.”

“That’s a first.”

“I figured I’d spare you this time.”

I stand up and stretch. “Why start now?”

“Smart ass.”

“I’m going to walk around a bit. Sitting in one place is killing me.”

The lodge isn’t entirely big but it’s enough where I can walk around and get the blood flowing through my legs again. I notice Tyler going over to the coffee bar to make himself some coffee. I take my phone out of my pocket and notice it has gotten pretty late. I guess I slept longer than I thought I did. It’s almost midnight already. Soon it’ll be Christmas day and it doesn’t look like the snow has let up at all. It just keeps accumulating and accumulating.

I look over at Tyler who is sitting back on the couch in front of the fireplace with his coffee cup in his hand. He is sitting there just looking into the fireplace. He’s so cute. It’s just a few minutes away from Christmas and I feel like I need to find something to give to Tyler as a present, even if it’s just a joke. I think it would be so cute if I went over there with a present for him. I’m sure it would cheer both of us up and he would get a big kick out of it. There’s just not much around here to go with. I wish I had something in my suitcase but I didn’t have time to do any kind of shopping while I was here. There has got to be something I can find to give him.

I don’t want him to see me sneaking around and looking for stuff so I have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t see what I’m doing. It looks like he’s deep in thought over there by the fireplace so I don’t think I have to worry about him. I walk past a few tables with vases with fresh flowers in them. I guess I could give him some flowers. I don’t see anything else in this place that I could give him so it’s going to have to be flowers. I grab one of the vases off of the table and pick out a single flower from it before putting it back down on the table. For some reason this is so amusing to me. I’m about to give Tyler Seguin a flower for Christmas.

I walk over to Tyler holding the flower behind my back. I sit down next to him and he looks at me. “It’s officially Christmas,” I say, “I got you something.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” I pull the flower out from behind my back and he starts laughing as soon as he sees it. He takes it from me. “Sorry, it’s all I could find.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you.” He smells the flower before putting it down on the little table next to his arm of the couch. “Wow it actually smells really good.”

“I picked it just for you.”

“You are just the best.”

“I try.”

“I got you something too,” he says as he starts reaching into his pocket.

“You did?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah,” he replies with a smile. He takes his hand out of his pocket and holds it over my head and I look up to see that he’s holding mistletoe. I look him in the eyes with my mouth hanging open. “Looks like you got some mistletoe over your head. Do you know what that means?”

I shake my head yes. “Yeah. I know.”

He scrunches his nose up. “I guess I have to kiss you now.”

“Those are the rules.”

He puts his hand on the back of my head and leans in to kiss me. His lips are soft and it’s a sweet kiss. He kisses my lips a few times before I get the courage up to kiss him back and I feel him smile before he starts kissing me some more. It’s slow and sweet and so amazing. I don’t think either of us want to stop. I kiss his bottom lip a few times before we slowly pull away from each other. “Merry Christmas, Amy.”

“Merry Christmas, Tyler.”

[2018halftat]

2018-10-01 - Things Get Wet Again

I went to sleep last night listening to the strong, gusting winds wheeze through the trees above, occasionally rocking my tent back and forth. Still I slept well, the air up here clean and crisp, only waking up once in the night to hear Coyotes call out to each other. What they were talking about I don’t know but wish I could have translated it was such a graceful cry.

The sun won’t wake me today, it’s too far hidden behind the high clouds covering eastern Utah. I’m awake first, making coffee just as the rain comes. It’s light at first, I think we’ll be able to get out easily, but it won’t really stop for hours, at times coming in large dumps. Hiding in my tent I hear Greg make coffee and check the weather on the low signal that somehow reaches this remote place. It’s supposed to end shortly so we wait it out, hoping a drying break will come so we don’t have to pack up wet, but it won’t. Today is a rest day in Moab so we have a few hours to burn.

By 11 we’ve waited long enough. We kept most our gear gear dry inside our tents’ vestibules but our rain flies are soaked. As I’m loading I notice that the rugged, external dry bag I use for my sleeping bag has failed, it’s completely wet inside. Greg loans me a  dry bag to put inside it, a temporary patch. Small puddles have filled the inside of my saddlebag legs but it’s no matter, I’ll only be putting a soaking wet tent inside. The moisture here seems to infect everything, anything that remained dry overnight now absorbing water, including our boots.

Before leaving we walk the road out to see how slick it is. The sandy and grassy sections are good traction but not some of the hard packed clay.  The dark, crimson spots are extremely slick, something to avoid turning or stopping on. Loaded up and very wet we set out. Fresh tracks from two other motorcyclists who came through earlier guide us out of Polar Mesa. Cracking the throttle, my rear doesn’t slip. Encouraged by the rear tire I grab my brakes hard and find equal traction. My worries about the road being slick subside and I start to speed up. It’s incredibly beautiful riding in the red clay of Utah, even in this rain. We quickly reach the main dirt road which soon after turns to tarmac, leading us to the unworldly Castle Valley. I swear part of West World was filmed here. A lost mitten appears on front of us, dropped by whatever giants left the three others in Monument Valley. Massive, etched red rock formations to the east are opposed by an impenetrable, crumbling wall to the west. The only way out is north, down a winding canyon road to the Colorado river, then west to Moab.

The canyons cut here by the Colorado are wide and deep, nothing like the Grand Canyon but spectacular in their own right. Even in the rain coming down it’s a sight to see. This massive body of water glides silently next to us, rafts of people on its back, grinding into the hard earth below. After 10 miles the slick rock cliffs stop at a wide opening to a valley beyond. We are at Moab.  It’s too early to check in so we do what we know best, grabbing beer and burgers at the local brewery. I’m kidding, we eat salads instead, the first real vegetables we’ve had in 5 days. Our bodies breathe a sigh of relief as they take in a nutrition so apart from that in freeze dried meals. Sated, we check in to our motel and begin the drying process. Televisions, couches, chairs, luggage racks and every drawer handle in site becomes a drying rack. We turn the AC to high, set the temp to 64F then leave the room to search out the modern miracle known as the Laundromat. Our bags of clothes might be small they make up for it in smell. High temps and lots of soap will hopefully rid these clothes of their sweet, sickly swamp smells. Then it’s off to the first store that sells shorts, the cheaper and uglier the better. When this laundry thing is done we are jumping in the pool.

Returning to our room we open the door and notice the immediate smell of smoke. Cedar, pine and definitely mesquite. You could have left a rack of ribs in here and cold smoked them to perfection. Thankfully the AC is working and half our gear is dry. We turn things over, put on the ugliest shorts we could buy and go outside to enjoy the pool. At the same instant we fall into the water under a pink and blue desert sunset. Had we dipped a toe in first we might have changed our mind because this pool is very, very cold. Even so it’s refreshing enough that we stay in for a few minutes to watch the sky breathe it’s last breath. Running back inside we find the hot tub, our muscles gleefully melting in the 104F temps. This was such a good idea.

Back in our smoke house we change into newly cleaned clothes then do something almost as luxurious as laundry - we watch TV. What is this foreign device of picture and sound but a lullaby, causing me to fall fast asleep. After only a small instant a well timed and very loud commercial reminds me I need to get up to eat. Tonight we dine on enchiladas smothered in red sauce and cheese at Miguel’s. We spend most our time looking at both the route and local weather maps. It’s not looking good. Apparently the remains of a hurricane will be coming through central Utah over the next 3 days, right across our path. Back in our room we turn on the TV news only to be greeted with flash flood advisories across all local channels. The road ahead is nothing but hard canyon land that can barely absorb the normal rains, let alone the fallout from a dying, minor hurricane. They are bracing for a years worth of rain over a 3 day period.

I’ve ridden here before and have heard the tales of impassible roads during rain showers. Even without local rain riders tell of how, in the middle of nowhere, water will start rising around you without warning and flood the area, remnants from a far off storm. This is a wild place. We decide to wait until morning to make our decision. Laying our heads down under heavy comforters we fall asleep amidst the familiar smell of a campfire.

[aadmelioraa]

Hey Kat! I've got a prompt for the Bellarke Holiday thing you're doing. :) Could you do one where Bellamy and Clarke get snowed in (modern AU) and if possible, with the "we're pretending we hate each other but actually we really don't" trope? Cause I'm a hoe for that classic enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. All good if you want to shift some things around, thanks!!

Thanks so much for the fantastic prompt, Kate!! Enjoy :)

“This is the absolute worst,” Clarke grumbled, checking the weather on her phone for the hundredth time that hour. “I can’t believe its snowing this hard already, they said the storm was supposed to hit tomorrow.”

“I would have counted on you to know meteorology isn’t an exact science,” replied Bellamy sarcastically from his position reclining on the couch. He was staring out the window, watching large fluffy flakes of snow fall. The driveway to the cabin they’d all gone in on together for Thanksgiving was already completely hidden under the initial snowfall, and it didn’t look likely to let up any time soon.

Clarke sighed and stirred the fire with a long metal poker from her seat across the room. “Yeah, I know that, I just was counting on the rest of the group to make it here before the storm hit. It’s not looking good, they’re calling for a winter weather advisory through Sunday afternoon…”

Both their phones beeped with an incoming text from Wells. We’re all just going to crash at Monty’s and Miller’s place, and see if it clears up later. Sorry we can’t make it, it’s just too far to drive now that the storm’s hit. Hope you both are making nice! Don’t do anything stupid like try to leave in this weather…

Clarke rolled her eyes. “As if we would!”

“I don’t know,” Bellamy shrugged, “You seem pretty unhappy about this whole situation…”

“Of course I’m not happy about it!” replied Clarke defensively. “We were supposed to all have a fun carefree weekend away, just drinking games and Murphy’s cooking and no family drama, and instead everyone else is having fun and I’m stuck here-“

“With your least favorite person,” Bellamy filled in dryly. Clarke made a face as if to protest, but gave up and sank down into her chair.

“You’re not my least favorite person,” she muttered, a few minutes later. “I just…thought this weekend would be different. I’ve been so busy lately, and I haven’t been able to hang out with anyone in ages, and all I wanted was to have fun for a few days and not feel guilty about it.”

“Sorry,” Bellamy replied, and he sounded like he meant it. “I know you’ve been busy lately. Everyone’s missed you, if that makes you feel any better.” He paused, but as soon as she made eye contact continued hurriedly, “You can still have fun this weekend, you know.”

“I guess I do have most of the booze with me,” Clarke remembered, eyeing the case by the door. “I can try to make a dent in that.”

“I hope you’re planning on sharing, because its going to get awfully boring being the only sober one.”

Clarke felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, but instead of trying to figure out what it was, she hopped up to grab a bottle of tequila from the box she’d brought. “I was supposed to share this with Raven,” she said mournfully as she broke open the seal. “I guess you’ll have to do.”

It was Bellamy’s turn to roll his eyes now, but he sat up so that she could join him on the couch. “Didn’t know we were going to escalate to cuddling so fast,” he joked.

“Shut up,” Clarke replied, kicking him as she passed him the bottle.

Truth be told, Clarke knew why she was so upset about the way the weekend was going. She and Bellamy hadn’t spent a lot of time alone together since that weird night almost a year ago when they’d gotten a little too friendly at Jasper’s party. They’d been flirting furiously for a few weeks prior, and something about the music and the laughter that night had eliminated all Clarke’s natural defenses. She’d almost kissed him, but Murphy accidentally interrupted them. The truly embarrassing part was Bellamy had reacted by abruptly leaving the party immediately afterward. They’d never talked about it, Clarke writing it off as a stupid mistake on her part and awkwardness on his. They weren’t exactly friends anymore, though. They weren’t exactly anything.

Bellamy was and always had been very awkward. Clarke had no idea how he’d dated as many people as he had— Roma, Bree, and Gina just within the past year. He was such a dork, honestly, and would always rather watch the history channel or play video games with a few friends than go out. Secretly, Clarke thought that was one of his better qualities, though she never let on. Honestly though—he told dad jokes and she could always count on him to harass her if she used even the slightest historical anachronism to make a point. He really was the worst…but damn, he was attractive. Even now, dressed in baggy sweatpants and a thrift store sweater, she couldn’t deny he was nice to look at. Those curls, those freckles, the way his eyes lit up when he smiled. It was a pretty unfair advantage to offset his lack of social skills.

He was doing it right now, that smiling thing, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he poked her playfully with the tequila bottle. This might be a bad idea, Clarke thought, but there was no going anywhere now…

“Did you bring any food with you, or just booze?” Bellamy asked in a teasing tone. “Not complaining, this is great, but…we were meant to cook a meal tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure you’re still a lightweight.”

“Fuck off,” Clarke shot back. “I can handle myself.”

Bellamy flushed a little, which surprised Clarke. “Sorry,” she continued, sighing, “that was probably a little aggressive.”

“A little,” he agreed ruefully. “You tend to get a rather feisty when you drink…”

“You tend to get a little uptight when you don’t.”

Bellamy snorted derisively. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” Clarke replied fiercely. “Just—just worry about yourself. I’m fine.” She took another swig from the bottle to punctuate her point, however poorly.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Bellamy finally spoke. “Is this about Jasper’s party?”

Clarke glanced up at him, completely caught off guard. She hadn’t expected him to ever acknowledge the moment had occurred, but she supposed the tequila might have helped. “Yeah, I guess it is,” she admitted.

“So that is what this all has been about?” he continued, in a baffled tone, “you’ve been pissed at me for months because I didn’t kiss you when you were drunk?”

“I wasn’t drunk!” Clarke replied indignantly, “I wasn’t even tipsy!”

“You weren’t?” Bellamy replied skeptically. “Because you seemed pretty…loose.” He flushed. “Poor word choice, sorry…you just didn’t seem like your normal self that night.”

“I was having fun, Bellamy! I can have fun too, you know.”

He frowned. “Ok, sure.”

“Anyway, you were kind of a dick that night.”

“I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere. “I really thought you were wasted. You don’t party very much, and I guess I hadn’t seen you so relaxed before.” He shrugged and grabbed the bottle back from her. “If it’s any consolation, I really wanted to kiss you and now I feel like a complete idiot for misreading the situation.” He took a large swig and grimaced as he swallowed, though Clarke wasn’t sure it it was for the alcohol or his admission.

They sat quite still for another moment, Clarke taken aback at his complete transparancy, finally breaking the silence by bluntly asking, “Well, if you really wanted to kiss me, why didn’t you ever?”

“Are you serious, Clarke?” Bellamy laughed, eyebrows raised in amusement, “You barely gave me the time of day for months afterwards! Plus, you dated people, I dated people…”

“Yeah…I had a long term relationship, you had a flavor of the month club,” Clarke snapped, grabbing the bottle from him.

Bellamy bit back a smile. “You slut-shaming me, Griffin?”

Clarke couldn’t help but blush. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it to come out like that. Forget it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said, still smirking.

“Whatever,” Clarke sighed, “Fine, I was mad at you for a long time, and it didn’t feel great to see you with a bunch of other people because…I actually like you and thought we had a connection for a minute there.” Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she’d said. “Liked, liked, past tense!”

Bellamy just grinned.

“Shut up, shut up! It’s the tequila,” she concluded lamely, shoving the bottle at him.

Bellamy eyed the bottle. “We haven’t actually had that much, Clarke.”

“I know,” she replied miserably, burying her head in her hands. “Fine, I still like you, and now I’ve said it so I can die of awkwardness.”

Bellamy chuckled. She heard the clink of glass against the hard wood of the floor, and looked up to see that he had set the tequila down and was looking at her with a curious expression. “Did it ever occur to you, Clarke, that I still like you too?”

Well, it was now or never, Clarke thought. She leaned forward. He did too, meeting her halfway. It was a good kiss. One of the better kisses she’d had lately, for sure. Possibly ever. It was broken when an involuntary laugh slipped from her. She was suddenly overcome by the humor of the situation. She couldn’t stop laughing, till the tears came.

Bellamy pulled back, his face flushed with amusement. “What, may I ask, is so funny?”

“Nothing,” Clarke sighed, wiping the the tears from her eyes. “I just…didn’t see this coming. I thought this weekend was going to end in one of us murdering the other.”

Bellamy chuckled, and leaned forward to kiss her again. “There’s still time for that, Griffin. Let’s just see what happens next.”

[tardisheart134]

Beast to your Beauty

Word Count: 2,790 (approximately)

Link to AO3: (x)        

Summary: In celebration of the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast ~

Castiel has been eyeing Dean and all his ruggedly handsome good looks for some time, but he buries his feelings.  If Dean knew what he was thinking he would laugh at him surely.  Cas can’t help but hope there is a softer side to Dean beneath the surface.  Meanwhile, self-loathing and sometimes abrasive Dean, watches as Castiel - real life angel - selflessly helps others and spreads love and acceptance wherever he goes.  There is beauty that radiates from deep within him and calms Dean’s restless heart.  Would fate help them lose themselves long enough to find each other? 

They were working on a skeleton crew as it was because of the weather advisories but someone had to be there.  Castiel lived within walking distance of the office so he didn’t mind to stay a bit longer.  He went around checking on others and helping them meet their deadlines so they could get home safe.   

It had started snowing around 3 PM and then it got dark shortly after that as the snow clouds moved in to cover the sun.  Cas watched the last of them bundle up and slide through the parking lot to their cars. It was almost 7 PM when Castiel finished up the rest of the pressing assignments.  A dull headache plagued him from staring at the computer screen for so long.  He hit the lights, getting ready to head home himself, when Dean Winchester stepped off the elevator.

“Dean, what are you still doing here?  You live the furthest away, you should have been the first to leave.”  Dean could tell that Cas was genuinely worried because his eyes flared blue and his brow scrunched with worry.  

“No, it’s okay.” Dean said.  “I knew it was too late, I’m just gonna crash on the couch in the break room.  Dean couldn’t help but be flattered by Castiel’s concern.  “I just came down - I think I left a cup of noodles in my desk.”  

Cas wrinkled his nose and cocked his head to the side.  Dean wondered what had him so deep in thought.  He was beautiful when he was concentrating.  

“What about you? - I didn’t know you were still down here working - last to leave?”  Dean gestured at Cas.

“Well, I don’t live too far - just at the bottom of the hill there’s a path that leads through to my apartment.  I was just about to walk home.”

“Oh.”  Dean nodded.  They were both quiet for a moment but neither were in a hurry to leave each other’s presence.  

“Look…” Cas looked down, scratching the back of his neck.  “Why don’t you come home with me?”  Castiel looked up at Dean and then away again.  He’d had a crush on Dean for a while - but this had nothing to do with that.  It wouldn’t be right to leave Dean helpless here without a decent meal or a shower, not when his home was so close.  “My home is not much to see - it’s fairly small but I’ve got a shower and a fireplace and homemade chicken curry soup in the fridge…”  Castiel was trying to convince him but Dean hadn’t objected.  

“Okay.”  Dean said.

“Yeah?”  Castiel’s eyes went wide with disbelief, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Yeah...just let me grab my coat.”  Dean disappeared into the office.

Castiel felt giddy like he’d asked Dean on a date and Dean accepted.  He tried to remind himself that was in fact - not - what happened.  Dean was stranded and simply taking the help that Cas offered, nothing else. (The thought didn’t help to quiet the butterflies in Cas’ stomach though.)

Dean appeared with his jacket.  They were quiet as they made their way down the hill.  Snow flurried around them and was packed solidly beneath their feet. The moon was full and it reflected off the ground making the whole landscape glow.  

Castiel hit a patch of ice.  He landed on his back and slid about three feet down the hill.  He hit the ground hard, punching the air out of his lungs, but he laughed through it.  

“Cas!”  Dean crouched over him - his face all concern until he saw Castiel’s broad grin.  “You okay?”  Dean helped him to his feet and dusted the snow off his back, the white powder forming a cloud around them.  Cas hadn’t even tried to take a step yet, when he slid again.  Luckily Dean caught him, holding him steady. “Here - hold onto me -”  Dean offered his arm to Cas and they walked the short distance arm in arm.  Cas’ heart beat loudly in his ears, he told himself it was from the fall and not because his fingers were tangled with Dean’s.  

The apartment was warmer than outside, but only by a little.  Castiel clicked on a few lights and then turned up the heat.  

“The heat’s not so great - I usually build a fire.”  Cas shrugged apologetically.

“I’ll do it.  Where is the fireplace?”  Dean looked around the small room with brick walls painted a cream color.

“In the bedroom.”  Castiel pointed towards the hallway.  Dean moved to the small pile of wood by the back door.  “You don’t have to - I can build it…” Castiel moved to take the wood out of Dean’s hands.  

“No really - it’s good - least I can do…”  Dean grinned lopsided at Cas which made him feel both like he was flying and falling simultaneously.

The apartment was cozy, small.  No dining room.  The living room was wall to wall book shelves and a small flat screen tv mounted on the wall opposite the kitchen.   Only one recliner across from the tv with a table next to it a stack of books on the other side.  

No couch.  

Castiel started heating the soup on the stove.  Dean went to the bedroom. More books.  He found the bin of kindling and went to working on the fire.  No couch only one bed.  Dean’s heart fluttered.  He was muttering to himself trying to gain control of his runaway thoughts.  Castiel only invited him here because of the weather, not for any other reasons that Dean fancied. It was out of the kindness of his heart.  Still he thought - it was kind of hot - trapped in the snow with a cute guy making him soup.  When he walked back into the kitchen, Cas handed him a beer.  “Soup will be ready in a few minutes.  I just cleaned the sheets earlier this week.  You can take the bed...I can sleep in the recliner.”  

“Dude! There is no way I’m taking your bed - after all you’ve done.”

“What have I done?”

“You let me come home with you - you’re feeding me dinner - I’m drinking your beer - You rescued me...I’ll sleep in the recliner.”

“I’m not gonna sleep in the bed - while you - my guest sleeps sitting up in a chair.”  

Castiel stirred the soup before taking a swig of his beer.  

Dean rubbed his face - exasperated.  He decided to change the subject.  “So - do you like to read?” Dean asked sarcastically - clearly knowing the answer by the sheer amount of books in the room.  

“I do...I just finished this series…”  Castiel lit up and Dean couldn’t help but smile back at him, he was so cute when he was talking about something that he liked.  

“...How did you know I liked to read?”  Castiel looked up at Dean for the first time putting the lid back on the pot of soup.

“It’s a little obvious…”  Dean gestured around the room.  

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”  Cas’ face turned somber and he looked down.

“No - no - really I’m not - I just think you’re cute when you talk about books.”  Dean smiled at him.  Castiel cleared his throat.  He wasn’t expecting that.  “Tell me more…” Dean said grinning up at him.  

Castiel ladled out his soup and buttered two slices of bread.  Dean was sitting cross legged in front of Castiel’s recliner.  

“You don’t have to sit on the floor - I can.”  

“I’m good here.”  Dean said taking the plate from Castiel.  “This smells delicious.”  Dean warmed his hands against the warmth of the bowl.  Castiel sat down next to Dean on the ground, both of their backs  leaned against the recliner.  Castiel flipped through the stations on the tv.  He was going so quickly Dean wondered how he could even tell what was on.  Dean stopped him when he passed up Beauty and the Beast on the Disney channel.  “What?” Castiel questioned.  “You want to watch Beauty and the Beast?”  Castiel’s words dripped with skepticism.

“Yeah. Don’t you?”  Dean asked indignantly, like it was the coolest thing in the world for grown men to like fairy tales.  

“I like the movie...I just didn’t think that someone like you would…”

“Someone like me….?  What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know...you’re like one of the cool kids, like a jock...I didn’t expect you to geek out over a fairy tale.  That and you’re a guy.”  

“What do you mean by that Cas? You’re a guy too and you like the movie?”

“Yeah but you’re like a guy’s guy, you like football and manly stuff, that’s just not me…”

“Well you can like more than one thing...you don’t have put so many labels on people Cas.”  

“No Dean - I didn’t mean it like that - jeez…”

“Yeah...sure whatever…”  They were quiet.  For all the books Castiel read, he was completely inarticulate when it came to his own story.  He wanted to open his mouth to explain how cool it was that Dean was into fairy tales and football. He wanted to explain that he didn’t mean to assume that Dean was a certain way just because of stereotypes.  He wouldn’t want someone to judge him that way.  He worked out the phrasing in his head several different ways but it all ended with him confessing his undying love to Dean and he’d already put Dean off.  No need to embarrass himself further.  Instead, Castiel slid closer to Dean, letting their shoulders rest against each other.  He could feel Dean relax against him and the tension gave way as they lost themselves in the story

Castiel opened the drawer to retrieve a long sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants that he handed to Dean.  “Seriously, I’ll be fine in the recliner.  I can sleep comfortably anywhere.”

“Dean - I’m not letting you sleep in a chair.  You’ll sleep in my bed and that’s final!”  Cas raised his voice- surprising himself with his own ferocity.  

“Fine.”  Dean said - eyes radiating mischief.  “On one condition…”

“What’s that?”  Castiel eyed him cautiously.

“You sleep in your bed with me.” Dean watched Cas as he tried to mask the mild panic welling up in him.  It was a loaded question and Castiel could tell that Dean meant it any way that Cas might take it.  

“Come on...we’re both adults.”  Dean tugged on Castiel’s elbow - making him lose all train of thought.  “We can be mature about this - share the bed - like two grown men.”  

Castiel looked away fearful his eyes would betray him.  “Well, it is a big bed.” Cas said not trusting himself to look back at Dean.  

“It is.”  Dean nodded his head in agreement.

“And I have memory foam..”  Castiel took a step back.  “I guess it would be really silly not to.”  

“Ah - memory foam - it’s settled then…”  Dean said smiling.  He was flirting with Cas and Cas was taking it well - he needed to calm down.  

Dean pulled the t-shirt over his head and reveled for a moment at how the shirt smelled like Cas - like firewood and spice and the crisp winter air.  Everything seemed to smell deliciously of Cas.    Dean folded his clothes neatly and placed them in the chair. (If he’d been been at home they would have been strewn everywhere an article of clothing in every room.)  He walked into the kitchen to find Cas standing in similar clothes over the stove.  Cas handed Dean a mug of hot chocolate with a peppermint stick poking out the top.  He followed him back to the bedroom and they both sat on the floor in front of the fire.  They talked and laughed until the mugs were drained and the fire started to die down. Dean stoked it adding another log.  “Read something to me, Cas.”

“Like what?” Cas scoffed.

“I don’t know - pick something - read me your favorite -.”   

Castiel retrieved a well worn copy of King Arthur from his bedside table.  Dean settled in beside him shoulder to shoulder.  Cas was momentarily distracted as Dean licked the length of the peppermint stick.  He read until a contagious yawn escaped Dean’s lips followed by one from Cas.  “Come on, we should get some sleep.” Castiel helped Dean to his feet.  Dean stumbled against him.  

“Which side of the bed do you sleep on?”  Dean asked.

“Doesn’t matter to me - you pick.”  Dean crawled into bed landing pretty much in the middle without picking a side.  He figured Cas would chase him out of whatever side he actually wanted to sleep on. The bed dipped with the weight of Cas as he laid beside Dean.  He was careful to keep space between them even though they’d been leaning against each other most of the night.  It took Dean forever to fall asleep as they both tried not to disturb each other.  

“Dean - are you awake?”  Cas nudged him under the blankets.  Dean blinked an eye open.  “The power’s gone out - I put another log on the fire - but I’m freezing.”  

“Me too -”  Dean reached for Castiel’s arms opening them and crawling inside.  “You don’t mind do you?”

“No.”  Castiel could barely make his mouth work.  Dean nuzzled into his chest under the ruse of keeping warm.  Castiel stroked Dean’s back.

“Thank you for inviting me over. I would have frozen to death in the office with the power out.”

“Oh sure. I’m glad you came - I’ve had my eye on you for a while.”  In Castiel’s sleepy state his  guard was down and he was saying out loud the things he’d spent months repressing.  “You had your eye on me?” Dean questioned.  He pulled out of Castiel’s arms just enough to look at him.  Tufts of his hair were sticking up and his face glowed in orange and red hues from the fireplace. Dean couldn’t help but think how beautiful he was like this.  “Yeah - you caught my eye.”  Cas tried to hide his grin but failed.  “I thought you were interesting...and ruggedly good looking…”

“Really… is that so?”  Castiel could hear the laughter in Dean’s voice.  He nudged a knee at him playfully.  He left his knee resting between Dean’ thighs like it always belonged there.  A few moments passed - and then Cas could feel Dean’s length growing hard against his knee.  Dean’s face went flush as he tried to twist out of Castiel’s arms.

“Cas - I’m sorry - I - uh…”

Castiel tightened his grip around Dean’s waist drawing him closer and cupping his face.  Dean thought - hoped - that Cas was going to kiss him.  “Dean - can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah, sure…”  Dean rasped.

“Is this - is this happening because you like me too - or is this just because of our proximity?”  Castiel smoothed his hand down Dean’s side.  Dean relaxed at Castiel’s touch, letting himself melt against him.  “I like you - Cas - a lot.”  

“Really?”  Cas seemed to genuinely question it.

“Yeah...I’ve had my eye on you for a while too...surely you’ve noticed.”  

“Well, I hoped - but I’m realistic.”  Cas went back to stroking Dean’s back lazily.  “I can be the beast to your beauty…”  Cas said grinning against Dean’s throat.  Dean smiled back pulling Castiel closer still.  

“Wait - I think - you’ve got that backwards…I’m the beast to your beauty.” Castiel gave a confused look.  “No you’re the good looking one - I’m definitely the gnarly looking, awkward, bookish loner…” Castiel said it all like that was final.  Dean couldn’t wait for Cas to kiss him any longer. He pressed a gentle, almost unsure, kiss to the corner of Cas’ mouth.  “You’re the beautiful one.  You worked selflessly today getting everyone out the door safe - while I sat upstairs feeling sorry for myself.  You’re thoughtful and kind and your blue eyes are so beautiful they leave me breathless…I’m abrasive and headstrong and bulldoze over anyone who stands in my way…”  

“No - “ Cas said.  “That’s not true...you’re beautiful…and strong and you fight for what you believe in...I’m just a doormat...you’re the beautiful one”  

“No you are…” Dean said rocking into him as it became clear that no one was going to win this fight.  They were snowed in for two days without power but luckily they had plenty of firewood and each other to keep warm with.

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[thegrandsolarminimum]

What has the 70,000 Shiveluch Volcano "Eruption" Taught Me?

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/RVVGHR

What has the 70,000 Shiveluch Volcano "Eruption" Taught Me?

It was Sunday night, a friend of mine, also fascinated with the subject of Earth changes reached out to me about my thoughts of a report of a VERY LARGE 70,000 FT Volcanic eruption at the Shiveluch Volcano.   The concerns were that people were reporting on this major eruption when the data to vet/confirm the data was simply not there.

The one report was ranked confidence low and had a flight level of 700 which is off the charts (no really it ISNT EVEN ON THE CHART LOL)  The next report came in 15min later…

So in 15 mins the report went from a 70,000 FT Eruption to a 23,000 FT Eruption.

I also noticed in other reports this data was transferred from Japan to Alaska where there is a metric change

METERS VS FEET….  A VERY BIG DIFFERENCE

Flight levels in Meters and Feet example:

Unable to vet that volcano I decided not to report on it until the details were more clear.

The next day I was back at it, I could not find anything else that supported this 70K Eruption. There we no pictures, no satellite data nothing to support that a VEI 5/6 had occurred.   I had many people upset that we had not reported on it on our social media platforms.   As much as I explained why it seemed everyone wanted to quickly latch onto the bad news and used sources such as Youtube and blog sites for verification.  Everyone that had reported on this did not go to the actual observatory and look at the source.    The reports clearly showed that there was a typo and a correction had been made with-in 15min of the original post.

We are apart of a community that covers our suns influence on the planet.  No other channels on youtube felt the need to question the data or even correct themselves.   We are standing alone there.   This community is supposed to be made up of people who want “truth”  but if the truth does not suit a narrative then I suck for questioning…right?

I would like to thank David Birch and Teo from The Watchers for standing with me in the search for truth.  watchers.news tirelessly puts work into vetting the information they post.  I have huge respect for that.  David Birch messaged several sources to help verify the data as well.  Times like this really highlight people in their true light.  I have huge respect for both of these individuals.

Correspondence regarding Sheveluch. pic.twitter.com/iaoSyTyIfI

— DavidIBirch 🔭 (@dbirch214) August 27, 2019

Jake, my partner here at GSM got called a fraud for not lying about the 70,000 volcano.   A fraud?

It saddens me we would have better clout in the GSM community if we had lied and went with the others reporting an event that did not happen.

Is that what people want?  It is not in my being to be a GSM sheep.  I am a habitual fence sitter, observing as much as I can take in.  I am so thankful there are some people out there working very hard on keeping the data true.

We live in an already confused world.   Those who have “awoke” to the troubles that lie ahead I truly hope you note the efforts in place to filter thru all the BS … FROM BOTH SIDES….

So lets think about it for a minute using basic logic.

What do we know?

We know one report stated FL700 -70,000FT

We know 15min after it was corrected stating FL230 23,000 FT

Lets just say the 70K FT did happen.   The aviation reports all are telling our pilots now to be careful only at FL230 ?

So if this Plume exists why would authorities allow planes to fly into the drift zones? Would that make sense to jeopardize pilots and innocent lives of people on planes?  None of it makes sense.

70000 ft (21300 m) Or 23000 ft (7000 m)  There is a big difference.  People take for granted the power of nature.

A 70K FT Ash cloud could not simply dissipate to 23K FT in a 15min time frame.

Where are the insane pictures of the plume?

Lets look at a different REAL VEI 6 eruption that actually happened.  Most people are familiar with PINATUBO:

(Image credit: USGS) A large eruption occurred at Pinatubo on June 12, sending up a cloudy plume that reached an altitude of nearly 12 miles (19 km). This was the first in a series of powerful eruptions that would culminate on June 15 with the largest land eruption living history has seen.

  (Image credit: USGS) Then, on June 15, the volcano blew its top in the second largest volcanic eruption of this century. The eruption caused high-speed avalanches of hot ash and gas (pyroclastic flows), giant mudflows (lahars), and a cloud of volcanic ash that spanned hundreds of miles across.

  The eruption plume from the June 15 eruption (shown here from Clark Air Force Base) shot some 25 miles (40 kilometers) thats 131234 FEET into the air, creating a giant mushroom cloud in the middle to lower stratosphere and injecting twice as much sulfur dioxide into the air as the 1982 eruption of El Chichón, Mexico. The resulting sulfate aerosols spread rapidly around the Earth in about three weeks, reaching global coverage by about one year after the eruption, according to the USGS.

So if you are are going to report on an absolutely HISTORIC volcano eruption please confirm the data is correct.  It is a huge diservice to the audience and community in general to allow bad information to go thru the filters.  I would hope at lease some of the people reporting on this volcanic event to have integrity and RETRACT the VERY WRONG information they are spreading.     This community knows all too well that our climate is changing. We all know we need to prepare and adapt to these changes.    There is no need to back the facts with disinfo.  There is no need to slander and discredit our group for asking the hard questions.  The information speaks for itself.     I am happy to retract this article if someone can provide me actual proof that this Shiveluch VEI6 actually happened.

  So…. What has the 70,000 Shiveluch Volcano “Eruption” Taught Me?

It taught me that –

people would rather latch on to false information to suit the narrative they preach

being honest and trying to maintain the integrity of information is a thankless job

there is a lot of people that want and root for doom and gloom

If you question others you get blackballed, slandered and discredited in this community, beware

cognitive dissonance runs rampant on both side of the climate debate

Trust Very Little

I have some solid allies and friends that truly fight for truth, I am forever thankful for these people

Integrity is everything to me when I am reporting data. I forgive those who mock and put me down for being thorough and questioning everything.

More tidbits that back what I have been saying.

No need to choose a side… all I ask is people zoom out and be objective… be honest… do not latch onto an answer… be comfortable with the unknown…

And a message to the independent reporters out there: Don’t be hateful be HUMBLE…be TRUE.  Do what is right and report the data accurately.

I will be happy to see retractions and a more unified front in providing factual information regarding our climate.

The volcanic ash advisory issued for Sheveluch Volcano issued by Anchorage VAAC on 8/25 was in error. The height of ash plume was FL230 (23,000 ft.) We apologize for any inconvenience.

— NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) August 26, 2019

People are freaking out about a “confirmed” eruption at Shiveluch. The official agency – KVERT – says nothing about it. Please check with official observatories before losing your mind. https://t.co/ci9gR3NSXg pic.twitter.com/h6gAAxeDbv

— Dr Janine Krippner (@janinekrippner) August 27, 2019

Dear Mari,

I have followed up on this with a representative of the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Project. The initial flag from the VAAC was in error: a small eruption did occur, but with a plume height of no more than 23,000 ft. The National Weather Service has now released a correction (see it here on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NWSAnchorage/status/1166119625068728320). The mistake may have arisen due to a metric/imperial mix-up (23,000 ft = 7000 m), but I cannot confirm this. Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Jamie

—

Dr Jamie Farquharson

Editor-in-Chief VOLCΛNICΛ www.jvolcanica.org

[workreveal-blog]

What is weather finance and where fund will it come from? Bank?

New Post has been published on https://workreveal.biz/what-is-weather-finance-and-where-fund-will-it-come-from-bank/

What is weather finance and where fund will it come from? Bank?

Climate finance entails flows of budget from advanced to developing countries to help poorer countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate exchange. The sources and governance of weather finance have been broadly debated since the 2009 weather alternate summit in Copenhagen, wherein industrialised international locations dedicated to giving $100 billion a yr in other climate finance from 2020 onwards. To get matters going, direct ‘rapid-begin’ investment of as much as $30 billion changed into promised until the give up of 2012. So from where will all the funds come? All the finances come? Banking?

  finance

Donor countries have met their first dedication on speedy-start finance. Over $30 billion in new climate finance has been supplied due to the fact Copenhagen. The UK has contributed £1.5 billion ($2.4 billion) up to now, rising to £2.9 billion by using 2015. However globally there may be no clear path to ramp up aid to the goal $a hundred billion with the support of the stop of the decade – that’s a challenge for the reason that wealthy countries have a history of not dwelling up to resource promises.

Another challenge is that meeting the goal to date has concerned the reclassification of a few existing aid flows. The category will usually be a hassle, mainly on the subject of handling the impacts of weather trade (‘model’). Higher education and healthcare, get admission to secure consuming water, improved disaster relief and the availability of micro-finance will all make countries greater resilient to weather exchange, But they may be additionally fundamental improvement goals. Consequently, if the intention is a climate-resilient improvement, there is no clear delineation among variation help and development resource.

Climate finance has been an important detail of the international climate trade agreements from the outset. The UN Framework Convention on weather change agreed in 1992, stated that excellent international locations should offer “new and extra economic sources” to growing nations. Within the early years, this financial help was channelled through the worldwide Surroundings Facility (GEF), either immediately or via devoted price range which the GEF administers (notably, the Least developed Us of a Fund and the Unique climate alternate Fund). However over time developing nations have become crucial of the GEF, which they see as ruled by using developed countries.

The look for new institutional preparations has Consequently been an important element of the climate finance discussion. The outcome has been the introduction of a new enterprise, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), as a way to be the main channel through which weather finance is allocated. The GCF, that’s headquartered in South Korea, is controlled using a Board on which excellent and growing international locations are similarly represented. There has also been a push for more direct get right of entry to investment. Growing nations are eager to get financing without going via global institutions like the World Financial institution and being subjected to their regulations and conditions. Many are setting up Unique national finances to cosy direct get entry to. Others look to the Norway-backed Amazon Fund as a potential model.

fund

The technique of making new establishments and setting up a tune file of financial probity is unavoidably sluggish. Within the intervening time, the weather finance landscape is ruled by using respective useful resource companies and international improvement institutions, which put into effect GEF tasks and have set up their weather finance tasks. The most tremendous of them are the sector Bank-led weather Investment funds.

The model Fund, which is financed thru a levy on global carbon market transactions, is the best international climate fund besides the GCF this is independent of improvement finance institutions. But, the version Fund has visible it’s sales drop while the global carbon price collapsed, demonstrating that government pledges are not the only sources of finance that can prove unreliable.

In 2010, UN Secretary Popular Ban Ki-Moon established an excessive level advisory institution and asked it to discover the excellent sources of weather finance. The organization concluded that a combination of sources was wished, such as useful resource-fashion authorities pledges, marketplace levies and viable new assets which includes a tax on worldwide aviation and shipping, which would start to modify this so a long way uncapped source of emissions, or a economic transaction tax, a coverage that has been lots-debated in Europe as a manner to boom economic stability. A large share of earnings might also need to come from the private sector thru mechanisms like carbon trading.

Little tangible progress has been made on the additional assets of finance for the reason that high-level advisory group has suggested. Inside the interim, growing nations have started to spend their personal budget, specifically on variation, and the non-public zone continues to spend money on low-carbon technologies like renewable power. The UNFCCC debate is handiest the end of the weather finance iceberg.

There’s speculated to be a warfare for skills. In that case, it became pretty clear remaining week why Britain’s Funding banks are losing it. The recruitment filter out, discovered in a record from the Social Mobility Fee, works like this: you can handiest join the client dealing with a part of a Funding Bank if you went to one in all 4 public schools; were given a primary from one in every of five universities; and possess “sheen”.

  banking

Yes, Sheen. And varnish. Regardless of how right you’re, if your tie isn’t right or you’re in shape does no longer suit like a glove, you are destined to take your excellence some other place.

Little surprise, then, that the sector of Investment banking suffers from organization-suppose on a scale that crashed the industry markets in 2008 and has brought about wave after wave of fines for fraudulent behaviour.

Given that the signifiers are so clean and obvious, how would you rip-off your way in? How might you hoodwink the casual manner based on “specific behaviours, speech patterns and dress codes”? Unwittingly, the Fee’s record provides lots of clues.

First, the plain doughnuts. No beards. Now not Muslim ones, not hipster ones, now not the stubble wore with the aid of movie stars. None. One of the clearest demographic faultlines Inside the International runs alongside White Kennett Road, in East London – wherein the beards of hipsterland begin and the two times-shaven faces of the City stop. Also, no brown footwear.

In truth, the brown shoe element, plus several different faux-pas, can be effortlessly averted using analysing GQ mag. But buy the British edition due to the fact if you read the Italian one you’re going to arrive Inside the wrong type of in shape, footwear and – very critical, this – socks. I once met a control whizz-child thrown out of his City internship for sporting plaid socks.

You want the haircut, the in shape, the shoes, the tie. They’re all – like the outdated economic theories you will waffle on approximately – available as a process lot in and around Savile Row.

The fit needs to be blue or grey. Active, you will see electric-blue suits, or pinstripes, at the streets of the Square Mile, However, don’t attempt to pull this off except your family’s yacht has a helicopter pad. Shoes need to be black leather and click on as you strut alongside a corridor, shutting down honoured retail chains with the aid of text message.

The bankers surveyed were disdainful of folks who “can’t put on a suit”. To their jaundiced eyes, this means you have bought an in shape of the peg, and can not afford six grand to have one made that immobilises you on the armpits and makes your bum seem like that of a figure skater.

The haircut needs to be bouffant. One of the highest quality symptoms you have got walked right into a workplace that recruits best from the elite is that the haircuts do not trade. Neat back and aspects, large bouffant quiff, no gel, no wax, no putty. These are the marks of convicts or advertising guys, not the first workplace banker.

All this is fakeable, with money, practice, an inclined tailor and obedient hair. However, then you need to open your mouth to talk.

Take careful be aware of what’s going on to the “posh” English accessory. It is not enough to have the calm, fruitily infected RP commonplace amongst barristers. More elegant now could be the “Rees-Mogg” – a throwback to the accent of the Aristocracy Inside the Nineteen Twenties, wherein the consonant “r” migrates slightly toward “w” and even spontaneous utterances sound like Michael Gove had written them. This is practicable with exercise.

Subsequent you need challenge count. The Laffer curve, which tries to illustrate that taxing the wealthy is futile, is a good thing to talk approximately. Additionally the paintings of any fashionable right-wing African economist. And Venezuela. If doubtful, diss Venezuela.

But – and this is critical – you need to remember the fact that phrases aren’t the primary medium of conversation. in case you are going organise a group to repair Labor, you don’t say “allow’s restore Labor”. You use subtle understatements, allusions, metaphors, sentences that path off, eyebrows that curl independently. To research this you have to loaf around in places like St Moritz, and now not only for a single season.