#its some highway in the middle of California

[apprendere]

it's amazing how much better I can use colored pencils now after barely touching them since I was 12

[nevadancitizen]

-> CH. 1: THE PETRICHOR OF DUST-STORMS

synopsis: you and logan take on both the weather of the divide and three unsuspecting ghosts.

word count: 1.6k

ships: Keegan Russ/Reader, Ghosts team & Reader

notes: if anyone would like for me to start a taglist, feel free to ask ♪ (also there is a teaser/prologue, so read that before reading this! otherwise you'll probably be confused lol)

WHY DOES EVIL WEAR A FACE SO FAMILIAR? MASTERLIST

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that humans, at their cores, are little more than untamed beasts – some more wild than others. 

When you and Logan were separated, each put in isolation so that the torturers could begin their work on you, you both were reduced to primal instincts. Higher motor functions were a waste. Both you and Logan’s amygdalas were cranked into overdrive, overpowering any other brain function and making you both aggressive animals – ones that bite and snarl and bleed.

Rorke was the one to make you both kneel, to push on the backs of you and Logan’s necks and threaten you both with collars. The Federation broke you both, and Rorke built you back up in his very own image. That image is neither clean nor godly, but it’s his image nonetheless.

He molded you both into beasts of anger – anger towards the Ghosts. You want to take from them what they took from you, from Logan: a chance at a normal life. In this life, you want them to suffer. You want all of them to die in fear and in pain. You want to have your revenge. Against Elias – against Keegan. You want to call it your own, to make your anger god’s anger. You want to watch through the iron sights of your pistol as they cower like dumb animals.

You want to be the one to deliver the killing blow. The chance to kill Elias was taken from you, and you won’t miss such an opportunity with Keegan. 

The man is always on your mind, like how Elias plagued Rorke, how Hesh plagues Logan. And your obsessive thoughts have borne a speculation – the gaping wound cut into the earth must be hiding him. This was only further confirmed by information the Federation was able to acquire and decode. Three of the Ghosts are heading out for Death Valley.

When the Federation invaded Texas, they worked their way up Route 45 until they reached Dallas. They took Fort Worth, a city just barely to the west of Dallas, and marched along US-20 until it merged with US-10 and onward. They followed the highways, taking Las Cruces, New Mexico, Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona, and finally ending when they secured Los Angeles, California (but only with reinforcements from Tijuana, because LA didn’t go down without a fight). 

But Death Valley, that blight upon California, remains relatively untouched. Every now and again, it becomes a demon’s home and is renamed to “The Divide.” Terrible storms, containing both sand and lightning but no rain, rip entire companies apart. But those companies are ordinary soldiers – the Ghosts are not ordinary soldiers. Neither are the Ghost hunters. 

And so, with the recent acquisition of Bakersfield, California, it only makes sense that the Ghosts would be on the frontline near Death Valley. 

The tops of Dante’s View Peak provide some refuge from the heat trapped in the lower parts of the dried-up basin. It’s the middle of September, so the temperatures up here are in the mid-eighties. You’re just glad you’re not in the actual valley – it’s over a hundred down there. 

From up here, you can easily see over Badwater, and all the way out over to its adjacent basin. Heat haze obscures your vision, but with your binoculars, you can easily see as three figures move by the east shore of the basin, some distance away from Badwater Road. They’re dressed lightly, with loose-fitting but all-covering clothing. Keffiyehs cover their heads and most of their faces. Their packs look heavy, adorned with military-type gear and automatic rifles slung across their chests. A few yards away is a doorless Jeep, supposedly their way of coming into the valley.

You take your binoculars away from your face. “Looks like… four klicks out.”

Logan grunts, gesturing for the binoculars. You hand them over, and he brings them up to his eyes. He adjusts the focus wheel and finds the men through the lenses. 

SEE, Logan signs. THREE?

“Yeah,” you say. “I didn’t see anyone else. And I doubt the valley could hide another man from me.”

Logan shifts how he’s kneeling as he takes the binoculars away from his face, crushing locoweed beneath his boot. You find yourself faintly wondering if watering them with blood would throw off their blooming season, given how little water they’re used to. You find yourself not really caring. 

Instead, you take off your pack and lay it on the ground. Once you’ve double-checked everything, you start to assemble the Lynx sniper rifle you’ve been carrying for the entirety of this assignment. Once you affix the suppressor, you prop up the bipod close to the edge of the lookout. 

You lay on your stomach and set the recoil pad against your inner shoulder, trying to ignore the rocks digging into your front. When you look through the scope, all you see is the pseudo-barren sands of the valley. You feel Logan pull on the material of your shirt, prompting you to aim a little more left. 

You see the men’s feet first, then you move so you can see their entire bodies. They’re talking, gesturing at the water in the basin – possibly arguing whether the water is worth the risk of drinking. You wouldn’t be surprised, given the weather. 

You click your radio on. “This is Resol-Dos. We’ve found the suspected trio. Requesting permission to engage.”

“Nice of you to finally fuckin’ check in, kid,” Rorke’s voice comes through the radio and into your earpiece. “Permission granted.”

“Firing. Standby,” you say, your voice flat. You put your finger back in the pistol grip and breathe in, then out. 

You squeeze the trigger, and the bullet rips through the leftmost man’s throat, spraying his companions with blood. He clutches at his neck as he’s thrown backwards. The other two men react immediately, grabbing their guns and looking for the source of the crack of gunfire.

You don’t give them the time to find you. Another bullet is fired, and digs into the man in the middle, finding a home in his chest. You fire another round, and he collapses. 

The last man standing fires aimlessly, hoping to hit something. He’s panicking (righteously so), and he’s swiveling his head around as he tries to find the glint of your scope. You fire, and he stumbles back, clutching his gut as he continues firing. You silence him with a bullet to the chest.

You pull away from the scope after a second and click your radio on. “Suspected trio has just been taken down. Requesting permission to confirm kills.”

Rorke’s voice comes through the radio and into your earpiece again. “Yeah, go ahead.”

You sit up and start disassembling the rifle. “Check your guns. We’re going down to check the bodies.”

Logan pulls the clip out of his Bizon and confirms that there’s no issues as you pack up. The only evidence both of you leave behind are crushed flowers and five spent bullet casings. 

It’s an hour-long hike down to the Badwater bodies. They haven’t moved, which… is to be expected. All three of them are laying in a mass puddle of blood. 

“Go check the Jeep,” you tell Logan. “I’m gonna check the bodies.”

You kneel by the leftmost man. His blood is clotted, but still stains his keffiyeh from when the wound was fresh. You pull the fabric down. You grab his chin and move his face side-to-side. You don’t recognize him. 

You stand and check the other bodies. You don’t recognize any of them. 

“Logan,” you call. “Come check these.”

Logan grunts and moves over, his eyes flitting over the dead men’s faces. He shakes his head.

“Fucking seriously?” You mumble under your breath. You click your radio on. “Bodies are not Ghosts. Repeat, no Ghosts have been eliminated.”

“The info was bad?!” Rorke shouts, peaking the audio. “Christ! Someone’s gonna get their ass handed to ‘em. Take pictures and get back to base.”

“Understood.” You click your radio off. “Lo, find the car keys. Rorke says to take pictures.”

Logan kneels and begins rifling through the men’s pockets and packs as you pull out a compact camera. You line up the shot and take a few pictures – one of the corpses, one of each of the men’s faces, and one of their packs and their gear. 

After a minute, Logan holds up a ring of car keys, jingling them. You hum in response, pocketing your camera before heading for the Jeep. He hops in the driver’s seat while you get in the passenger’s side, setting your pack at your feet. 

You set your foot on the edge of the Jeep where the door would normally be and check behind you. Logan starts the car and puts it in drive as you continue looking.

He taps your arm, then draws two fingers across your skin, silently asking what’s wrong. You sigh. “Just checking we’re not being followed. It’s a wide-open valley, after all. And those gunshots would’ve been heard by anyone around.”

Logan takes a deep breath and rests his hand on the steering wheel again. He manages to creak out, “Storm.”

“Yeah. I can smell it, too,” you say. You adjust yourself so that you’re sitting in your seat properly, facing ahead. “Make tracks. We have a mole to find.”

Something’s on the horizon. It’s not just the ozone of the storm you can smell – something’s going to happen. Something big… something bigger and more terrible than the storms of The Divide.

[amayaonly1]

Verses Unwritten: A Rap Odyssey

Eminem x Rapper!OC

Verse 23

About: Genji never expects to spend her afternoon being dragged around on a shopping spree by Eminem's daughters, but somehow, she finds herself caught up in their camaraderie. Unlike the world she knew, where admiration came with distance and expectations, they treated her like one of their own, teasing and bickering as if she had always been part of their lives. But when an invitation to their home arises, Genji hesitates, uncertain whether crossing that threshold again is something she is ready for or secretly wants.

"Verses Unwritten: A Rap Odyssey" Chapter List: Verse 1 | Verse 2 | Verse 3 | Verse 4 | Verse 5 | Verse 6 | Verse 7 | Verse 8 | Verse 9 | Verse 10 | Verse 11 | Verse 12 | Verse 13 | Verse 14 | Verse 15 | Verse 16 | Verse 17 | Verse 18 | Verse 19 | Verse 20 | Verse 21 | Verse 22 | Verse 23 | Verse 24

Disclaimer: This work is a work of fiction, and any involvement of the character Genji is purely fictional and not representative of any real person.

Genji hadn't meant to come back here again. But somehow, it eventually became a habit like an unspoken ritual after studio sessions in L.A. Unlike the sprawling boulevards of California, Detroit was much quieter. The words and melodies jammed in her mind like a traffic-clogged highway, honking but going nowhere. Its grit and charm wove into every cracked sidewalk and sun-warmed storefront.

It reminded her of home in some way. The old brick buildings pressed against newer developments, high-end boutiques and mom-and-pop shops that refused to be edged out. The streets hummed with a quiet resilience, a blend of past and present where faded murals whispered stories of the city's soul. Neon signs flickered beside rusted fire escapes, while the scent of grilled street food tangled with the crisp aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

Today, though, the air was thick with summer heat pressing against her skin; the concrete radiated warmth beneath her sneakers, sending up faint waves of distortion in the distance. She pulled her hoodie lower over her face out of habit, though it didn't do much to block the sun's relentless glare. The humidity clung to her, stubborn and unyielding, wrapping around her like a second skin. Even the occasional breeze felt heavy, offering little relief before vanishing into the heat.

She had just stepped out of a record store, tucking a small bag under her arm, when a chorus of familiar voices cut through the din of the streets.

"No way. That's her, right?"

"Told you she'd be here!"

"You guys are so obvious. Just say hi already."

Genji turned toward the voices and found herself face-to-face with three young girls, who could barely contain their glee. She recognised Hailie instantly. The two beside her were new, but it wasn’t hard to guess — Whitney and Alaina. They stood clustered together, dressed in casual summer clothes, their expressions shifting between excitement, amusement, and mild exasperation.

"Hey," Hailie greeted first with hands in her hoodie pocket, smirking. "Fancy running into you here."

Genji arched a brow. "You say that like you didn't just track me down."

Whitney let out a small giggle. "Okay, fine, we might've had a hunch."

Alaina rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "More like these two dragged me along for this."

Hailie shot her a look. "You didn't have to come."

The oldest scoffed. "Right, because you two totally wouldn't have kept texting me updates the entire time."

Whitney grinned, rocking on her heels. "You act like you're not a little bit curious."

Genji watched the exchange, lips twitching. Something was refreshing about their dynamic: casual and easy like they'd done this a thousand times before. It made her feel a little less like an outsider.

She shifted the bag under her arm. "Alright, so what's the plan? You corner me in the middle of the street, then what?"

Hailie smirked. "Now, we make you hang out with us."

Genji let out a soft laugh. "That so?"

Whitney nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. We were just gonna check out some stores, maybe grab food later. Unless you're too cool for that?"

Alaina crossed her arms, smirking. "Pretty bold of you to assume she has better things to do."

Genji huffed, amused. "Alright, you got me. Guess I have no choice."

Hailie gave a satisfied nod. "Exactly. You're one of us now."

It was said so offhandedly, so naturally, that the rapper had no room to argue. Not that she wanted to.

She glanced at them — three girls, vastly different yet somehow in sync — and felt a rare sense of ease settle in her chest.

"Alright, lead the way."

What was supposed to be a quick run-in turned into an entire afternoon. The girls led her from store to store, dragging her into places she never would've stepped into alone: trendy boutiques packed with clothes she’d never wear, a quiet little café wedged between towering buildings, even a beauty supply shop where Whitney practically forced her to try on different shades of lip gloss.

Genji had never spent this much time around teenage girls before, and she wasn't sure what she expected. Growing up, she had always been the little sister in a world of big brothers — the youngest in the Japanese underground rap scene, surrounded by men who had shaped her, challenged her, and, in their own rough way, cared for her. Back then, she had to be tough and sharp, always ready to prove she belonged. There was no room for frivolous outings, no one dragging her into shops just to mess around with lip gloss and accessories.

And outside of the rap scene, things weren't much different. In Japan, people kept a polite distance, admiration laced with formality. Even as she gained recognition, she was always separate; she was respected, but never quite with anyone. But they kept a line between them and her like she was something to observe, not someone to just be with. Even when she wasn't working, she was an artist first, a person second.

So she wasn't sure what she expected. Maybe for them to be reserved around her, treating her like some untouchable rapper or an outsider in their world. But they didn't. They talked to her like they had always known her, grabbing her hand and dragging her into a store just for fun.

Whitney grabbed a bottle of shimmery lip gloss and held it up to Genji's face, tilting her head in consideration. "Okay, this one. It'll look really good on you."

Genji blinked at her. "Why?"

The girl grinned. "Because I said so." She popped open the tube before Genji could protest.

"I don't really wear..."

"Just try it," Whitney insisted, already swiping the gloss across her lips.

Genji gave in with a quiet sigh, glancing at her reflection in a nearby mirror. She barely recognised herself; the sheen softened her usual sharp look. It wasn't bad, though.

Hailie nudged her with a knowing smirk. "You like it."

Genji hesitated before muttering, "It's not terrible."

Whitney beamed like she had won a jackpot.

Alaina then held up a pair of oversized sunglasses. "These are ridiculous."

"Lemme see," Hailie said, taking them and shoving them onto Genji's face before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god, you look like a rich grandma."

Whitney gasped. "A fabulous rich grandma."

Genji sighed dramatically, adjusting the glasses. "Guess I need a little dog in a purse to complete the look."

Alaina snorted. "You joke, but I bet you'd pull it off."

Genji shook her head, lips twitching despite herself.

Moments like this felt foreign to her: watching them bicker over which colour suited her best, shove random accessories at her to try on for fun, and tease each other with the same ease as any group of close siblings. And somehow, without even thinking about it, they pulled her into it too. She found herself caught up in the normalcy of it all, something rare in her world; no cameras, studio deadlines, expectations. Just them on a shopping spree the thick summer air, and the occasional breeze that did little to fight the heat.

She hadn't realised how much she missed this kind of normalcy.

By the time they stepped out of yet another shop (this one stocked with handmade jewellery), Genji felt herself wilting. She dragged a hand down her face, sighing. "Alright, I give. I think I'm officially overheated."

Hailie, who had been fanning herself with a small shopping bag, huffed. "Yeah, it's brutal today. We should go somewhere cool before one of us actually melts."

Whitney perked up. "We can go home! It's not far."

Genji hesitated. Home. She knew exactly whose home that was.

It wasn't that she hadn’t been there before. She had, once — by accident. Back then, she hadn't realised whose house she had stepped into until she was already inside, surrounded by framed photos and the kind of warmth she didn't expect from a place belonging to him. But this time, she knew. And it wasn't just about Eminem. It was about the girls treating her like she belonged there, like this wasn't a big deal.

Alaina caught the flicker of hesitation, waving a dismissive hand. "It's fine. Our dad's probably not even back yet."

That wasn't exactly the part Genji was worried about. She wasn't sure if she should be walking into his home again. But perhaps deep down, a part of her wanted to.

Before she could come up with an excuse, Whitney latched onto her arm, tugging her forward. "Come on, you've been inducted into the sisterhood at this point."

Hailie shot her a knowing grin over her shoulder. "Yeah, no backing out now."

Genji snorted, shaking her head. "You guys are relentless."

Alaina smirked. "You love it."

Genji rolled her eyes but let them pull her along. She wasn't sure if she was making a mistake. Although, she didn't mind finding out.

[halestrom]

🌈 for the NY Writers Ask Game 🤗

🌈 What research do you plan on doing for your writing?

there is ZERO planning involved most of the time. if i ever do research something its because im in the middle of writing and go oh huh WHAT IS THIS? and then im 10 pages deep into google and realizing it doesn't fucking matter because i dont actually remember what the thought was.

tho, ngl. for riding down the highway i did plan out where they were gonna go so it could be some sort of semi reasonable instead of across all of california and up and down and back again bc its a big state so i want something a little more focused. and i've also been spending A LOT of time looking at menus and figuring out how i want both the boys to eat. as if thats the important part of this story.

[asexual-fandom-queen]

My Canadian 9-1-1 Spin-Off Dreams

Okay so this post has reminded me that I have a whole Canadian 9-1-1 spin-off plotted and ready to go, so I'm gonna scream about it here in case anyone cares

It's called 9-1-1 True North obviously (the lyrics in the Canadian national anthem refer to Canada as the "true north, strong and free" and since they went the nickname route with Lonestar, I think True North tracks)

It's set in Vancouver, primarily because if Hollywood is gonna film fucking half their shows there, the least they could do is set something in the actual city! Also, as far as Canadian winters go, it's on the milder side, so they can do one or two snow episodes a season without needing to make it their entire personality. They have the ocean for water emergencies, they're on a faultline for earthquake drama (even if they don't actually feel most of the earthquakes they get like California does), and BC unfortunately also has a terrible wildfire season.

And that's just on the natural disaster front! Vancouver as a city has a lot of interesting social issues to bring in that human element 9-1-1 likes so much. Vancouver's Downtown East Side is often referred to as "Canada's poorest postal code." The city has an incredibly deep socioeconomic divide that exacerbates an ongoing housing and cost of living crisis. It is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Canada, an estimated 55% of its residents are non-white, and Indigenous folks have called the Vancouver area home for over 10,000 years, specifically members of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Since I've sold you on location, let me line up some vague character profiles to get invested in (bearing in mind, it's gonna feel a bit like the intro to Lonestar where it's just a Diversity Carousel, but I promise, they're actually fleshed out and 3-dimensional in the show, this is just the pitch)

DETS Social Worker Girl. She's a late 20-something with a brand new MSW working at a not-for-profit in the Downtown East Side. Her whole thing is harm reduction and de-escalation and finding ways to help without involving the police. She's got a heart of gold, but also grew up upper-middle-class and has a bit of a White Savior thing going on the show absolutely gets to call her on, and a big part of her arc is learning to be of service without centering herself as the hero.

The Crystal Highway Of Metro Vancouver. If you've watched the Canadian medical drama Skymed (which if you're a 9-1-1 fan who hasn't, get on that immediately) you're familiar with Crys's whole archetype. An Indigenous character who isn't just Indigenous but who the narrative also deeply respects by allowing their Indigenous identity to be a core aspect of who they are. I see his character struggling a bit with that "foot in two worlds" feeling. He brushes elbows with DETS Social Worker on various calls, and their budding romance gets to be the Buck/Abby slash TK/Carlos romantic backbone, at least of the first season.

Every Buck Needs An Eddie (And Vice Versa). Because what's an ensemble cast procedural without a Work Bestie dynamic? Buck and Eddie. Chim and Hen. Paul and Marjan. You get it. He's first-generation Indian Canadian, he's a bit of a goof, a sweet sunshine child. Also, since Vancouver is very much Canada's Portland, I don't think it's off the table for him, 9-1-1's Crystal Highway, and DETS Social Worker to end up getting poly with it in later seasons. (Also, I think in the hands of a respectful writing team who ensure their characters are fully fleshed out and not just tokenized representation to tick boxes, a running gag of "not that kind of Indian" between the Work Besties could land)

Disabled Dispatcher Rights. Which I'm a bit surprised neither the OG 9-1-1 or Lonestar has done. 9-1-1 as a franchise does a lot to ensure diversity in its cast, but I think it's time network TV really steps it up with better disability rep. Like Bobby in Trackers proves (and like Felicity Smoak could have proved if the writers hadn't magically fixed her spinal injury) you can be a badass from a desk and contribute just as much to the success of the team, thank you very much.

Firehouse Mom Who Is Tired And Gay. And so butch. So, so butch. Please, ABC I'm begging you. One butch woman on my screen. You can do it. I know you can. We've had Bobby, and we've had Owen, but it's time for a Lady Cap. And while I'm not saying you have to cast Jane Lynch... I just think you should think about it.

In short, the next 9-1-1 should be set in Vancouver, and if I can get just 10 minutes alone in a room with Tim Minear, I think he'll see the vision...

[cantsayidont]

Some movies, considered chronologically:

THE FLAMINGO KID (1984): Nostalgia-burdened period piece, set in 1963, about working-class kid Jeffrey (Matt Dillon), who gets a summer job parking cars at an exclusive beach club called El Flamingo, starts dating a rich girl (Carole R. Davis), and becomes fascinated by her father (Richard Crenna), a self-made sports car dealer and local card sharp who thinks college is sucker's game. This alienates Jeffrey's own father (Hector Elizondo), a stalwart plumber who doesn't want to see Jeffrey squander his chances of bettering himself. The story is thus a sort of YA prototype of Oliver Stone's later WALL STREET — a Reagan-era morality play about a young man caught between two father figures, one representing the Lure of Easy Money and the other a paragon of Honest Hard Work — badly undermined by its absurdly idealized longing for the alleged innocence of the Kennedy era (underlined by an obnoxious oldies soundtrack). It offers a meaty role for Crenna, but as a drama, it has less substance than FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. Davis's character is such a nonentity that you keep forgetting she's there, and the way she ends up functioning as a proxy for Jeffrey's obsession with her dad is awkward. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: A simple-minded story blinded by its rose-colored glasses.

THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993): Sudsy but affecting episodic adaptation of Amy Tan's novel about four middle-aged Chinese women and their strained relationships with their Chinese-American daughters, starring Ming-Na Wen and nearly every other Chinese actress working in the U.S. at the time. The way the script segues between the characters' respective stories is clunky, and it often teeters on the brink of schmaltz, but there are moments of real dramatic power amongst the more superficial tearjerker moments, and you'd have to have a stonier heart than I to not sob at the bittersweet ending. Strong acting helps, with Tsai Chin particularly good as Auntie Lindo. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It seems like it should, but alas. VERDICT: Heavy-handed at times, but undeniably moving.

COLD COMFORT FARM (1996): Before she became an action star, Kate Beckinsale starred in this hilarious adaptation of Stella Gibbons' 1932 satiric novel about glib orphan Flora Poste, who makes it her project to fix all the problems of the titular farm and its eccentric denizens — distant cousins who feel obligated to Flora (whom they will only address as "Robert Poste's child") because of some unspecified wrong they once did her late father. Among the inmates of Cold Comfort are Cousin Judith (Eileen Atkins), a hysterically morose creature straight out of a gothic novel; Cousin Amos (Ian McKellen), a fire-and-brimstone preacher who warns his brethren, "There'll be no butter in Hell!"; Amos and Judith's oversexed son Seth (Rufus Sewell), a local stud who dreams of being in the talkies; and of course Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who rules the family with an iron fist and won't let anyone forget that she once saw something nasty in the woodshed. A delightfully silly spoof of a particular category of once-popular English literature, as the farm's assorted grim melodramas prove no match for the implacable (if somewhat snobbish) modern sensibilities of its plucky heroine. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: Great fun throughout, although Stephen Fry irritates as a boorish "Laurentian person" who keeps hitting on Flora despite her obvious disinterest.

BREAKDOWN (1997): Competent but underwhelming Jonathan Mostow thriller starring Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan as Jeff and Amy Taylor, a couple of Yuppies whose fancy Jeep breaks down on the highway on a trip from Massachusetts to California. A passing trucker (J.T. Walsh) gives Amy a ride into the nearest town to find them a tow truck, but when Jeff gets their Jeep running again and follows her into town, he finds that Amy has disappeared, and no one, including the trucker, will admit to having seen her. It has a great premise, and Russell is credible enough in the lead, but it's pretty ordinary, and, once you know what's going on (which is revealed a little over a half-hour in), pretty superficial — there's no psychological depth, and I kept waiting for some other story twist that never came. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It barely contains women (Amy is absent for 80 percent of the running time). VERDICT: Not bad, but nothing special, and you'll forget it 10 minutes after it ends.

MY TWO HUSBANDS (2024): Okay Lifetime thriller about a young woman named Eliza (Isabelle Almoyan), still reeling from the recent murder of her mother (Joanie Geiger), who becomes deeply suspicious of her father's young new wife, a flight attendant named Brooke (Kabby Borders) who's no older than Eliza — and, as the title alludes, is secretly married to another man (Britton Webb, who looks like a lesser Baldwin brother) and up to no good. Despite the cheesy title (which is really also a spoiler) and awkward marketing (which misleadingly suggests a comedy-drama with Brooke rather than Eliza as the main character), it has a surprisingly decent, reasonably credible script, hamstrung by very weak performances. The story is still interesting enough to make it a not-bad little thriller, although it would have been better with a stronger cast and less somnabulistic direction. CONTAINS LESBIANS: It sometimes seems like Eliza's friend Star (Kristen Grace Gonzalez) might be her girlfriend, but the script is noncommittal on this point. VERDICT: A B+ script burdened with D+ acting and C- direction.

[deadwaterrp]

PREMISE

There’s the story the locals will tell you. How this town in the middle of nowhere didn’t fall to the sun and the sand like every other ghost town in California. How an actual miracle pulled Deadwater out of desolation. It’s a happy story; one old-timers will boast about. But that’s not what really happened. Of course it isn’t. But does it matter?

Welcome to Deadwater, California. Population 7,777 exactly. Suspiciously, this number hasn’t changed in at least several decades. Outwardly Deadwater seems to be an innocent enough tourist trap town you’d typically find along Route 66 and other such desert highways. Heck, there’s an entire theme park out here. Yet lost or wandering travelers tend to claim the town gives off an eerie vibe they can’t quite place.

Cars will randomly die while approaching or passing through Deadwater. Photographs taken within town limits have a habit of developing blurry or distorted. Even so, something about this place still seems to lure people in. You’d be surprised to hear how many townsfolk were once roadtrippers, ghost hunters or UFO enthusiasts intending only to stop by.

Maybe it’s the water.

KEEP IT WEIRD, DEADWATER

The town of Deadwater, CA sits in a paranormal hot-spot. Perhaps because the veil is unbelievably thin here. Ley Lines, they say. Or perhaps it has something to do with that Miracle the Historical Society loves to tout, granting the town and its long-term residents a kind of magical inclination. Whatever the reason, strange things happen here. Strange things can be seen here. So much strange goes on in Deadwater and the surrounding desert, in fact, that they aren’t considered strange at all. Here is a detailed running list of the kind of weirdness you can expect out of this town:

AUTOMOBILE BREAKDOWN

Entering or leaving Deadwater town lines can get a bit tricky when motorized vehicles have a tendency to break down out of nowhere, for no apparent reason. They simply stop functioning completely out of the blue. Of course, this doesn’t happen to every single car that drives to and from Deadwater, but it happens often enough that the only auto shop in this town sees good business year ‘round.

CONGREGATION OF CREATURES

Each district in Deadwater appears to have attracted their own strange congregation of creatures. For example, a massive murder of crows have made the downtown area of Heritage Park their home. In the Lowlands a haughty flock of wild turkeys roam the pavement like an intimidating street gang. Cats, on the other hand, can be found slinking around the hills of Buena Vista. Meanwhile the creatures that congregate in the Wilds…Well, let’s just say they’re something else.

CRYPTIDS

Probably Deadwater’s largest kept not-secret. No one really acknowledges that they exist to your face. You, being an outsider. But they know damn well cryptids are real. What’s more, the desert isn’t home to just one cryptid creature. There are plenty out there that haven’t been discovered yet. Cryptozoology isn’t some woo woo pseudoscience for us Deadwaterians. It’s a serious degree you can earn at Deadwater College for a reason.

DEAD ZONES

These are areas around the Wilds that will wreak havoc on electronics of any kind. Batteries drain rapidly for no discernible reason. Your mobile devices will turn on and off at random or suddenly start behaving as if it is hacked. But the most chilling thing about these Dead Zones is the fact that people caught in them usually experience lost time. Maybe because time itself runs oddly out there. Whether it speeds up or slows down is anyone’s guess. Maybe time overlaps. In any case, Dead Zones are constantly shifting. So unless you have an EMF detector on your hands, good luck out there.

FAULTY CAMERAS

Whether using traditional film or digital, chances are that if you try to take picture or video evidence of the strange entities that lurk around Deadwater, you’ll end up with trash. Images turn out too blurry to see anything. Footage will look distorted. You could always keep trying, but what’s that they say about the definition of crazy? The only semi exception is ghost photography. Pictures of spirits won’t develop crystal clear, but they do tend to come out a little more compelling.

THE GHOSTS

Seeing the dead is an everyday occurrence here in Deadwater. At least for the locals. For the most part they are treated like any other citizen of the town. Some even work. So please don’t be alarmed if you stumble across people chatting away to someone you can’t see for yourself. Or happen across dogs seemingly walking themselves. We assure you they’re not. That’s just Ricky. Dying doesn’t mean he stopped loving dogs.

MYSTERY PAYPHONES

When was the last time you remember seeing an operational payphone? In Deadwater you can find them all over the place; booths popping up seemingly overnight and then disappearing again a few months later. These payphones are claimed to be owned by a company called Frontier Communications, or just Frontier for short. But on paper there is no such company in existence. If that isn’t mysterious enough, sometimes these payphones will start ringing on their own until a curious passerby picks up. People have reported hearing a range of things: static noise, random sequence of numbers, recited vintage recipes, other strange recordings, breathing, and dead silence.

NIGHT WHISTLING

Some cultures warn you not to whistle at night because you might just hear a disembodied whistle back. Here in Deadwater, however, you can hear that disembodied whistle whether you want to or not. But don’t worry. It’s usually harmless as long as you don’t look behind you. Keep walking all the way home and you’ll be totally fine.

SENTIENT CLOUDS?

Have you looked up at the sky recently? If you stare long enough you might catch something truly peculiar. Specifically, you might notice a few clouds that move a little too willfully. Don’t try to bring this up to the town sheriff, or any city official for that matter. They’ll only brush you off.

SINGING PALMS

There’s howling wind and then there’s this. On particularly windy days, the desert palms lining our suburban streets of Lowlands will rock and sway as if dancing. Then they begin to sing. No one has been able to identify the melody they sing as of yet, but it’s mostly pleasant if not entirely bewitching. Try not to stand around idly when you hear them singing. You might get hypnotized by their song.

UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENON

Raining frogs in the springtime? Sudden electrical storm during the peak of summer? Thick fog that refuses to dissipate for an entire month? That’s just another day in the life in Deadwater. Odd weather, while not necessarily a common occurrence, happens often enough throughout the year that the locals just laugh it off as one of the quirks of living in this town. It’s best to keep clothing options for all seasons in the wardrobe, just in case. We’re still waiting for spaghetti to fall out of the sky though.

[namorslutfanfiction]

hi, idk why but i have the notion of you living in california and i was wondering, would you recommend it?? i know it's expensive but average how much would you spend on a month?? i'd love to know what you think about it. (and if you don't live there i'm sorry lol). hope you're doing well!

Hello, thank you for the ask. I'm finally back on here today to reply to my inbox so you asked at a good time.

I do live in California. Northern. About an hour north east of San Francisco. My town is actually in the top ten most expensive in the country when you compare income verses cost of living. For some perspective, I was looking at a single room apartment or even a studio and unless its government housing for low income, rent starts at 1600 and can go up as high as 2200, if you don't want to live in a bad neighborhood.

As of now I am still unemployed after losing my job earlier this month. I was making decent money there at $22 an hour. As I look for jobs I'm lucky to find anything close to that, that isn't completely out of my wheelhouse of skills. I was also living almost paycheck to paycheck at $22 an hour because I have quite a bit of debt and a car payment/insurance.

Most people out here have roommates or if they can afford their own place usually work as tradesmen or in the medical field. I was working in the casino industry but had an hour commute. Traffic in Norcal is much better than Socal. But the interstate freeways definitely get kind of shitty during rush hour.

Pros of California

Decent weather most of the year. We pretty much always have some sun, barring this past crazy winter.

Very populous so lot's of fun places to go within an hour or two drive no matter where you live. I'm literally an hour from San Francisco, 45 mins to the state capital, 20 minutes to Napa/Sonoma, and there are several universities in the area which increases need for cool activities and outings.

Very diverse and liberal in metropolitan areas. Most people are actually really nice and chill.

Lot's of tech opportunities and start ups

Honestly a lot of industries have a big presence here so if you can put in the work you can find a decent job especially if you live in a big city.

Lot's of cool nature and hiking paths. It's a big state and we love to maintain some of the natural beauty. Beaches, mountain, forest, lakes and deserts. Bunch of national and state parks

No snow unless you're literally on a mountain

Lots of great authentic and diverse food.

Good place for furthering education. We have high level schools that are internationally renown.

We have a ton of farms and during peak seasons its super easy to get fresh produce for cheap from farmers markets, stalls, and fairs.

We have 9 international airports and have access to a lot of imported goods.

Most artists will have multiple CA stops on their tours.

Cons of California

Super high cost of living. Yes our average wages are higher than most states but it doesn't really cover how high cost of living is especially in metropolitan areas.

Rent and housing prices are super high throughout the state unless you live in a super rural area. Also very competitive.

Public transportation is not great even in the cities.

Traffic, especially in LA can add hours to a drive.

You have to have a car if you're not living in the middle of a big city. Most places in CA are pretty spread out and hard to navigate on foot.

WILD FIRE SEASON

39 Million people live in California the last I checked. Socal is more populous than Norcal.

You have to reserve camping spots like a year in advance at the best parks.

Housing shortage has led to a homelessness epidemic. See Skid Row in LA. And those apartments are also super expensive even surrounded by vagrants.

Sometimes the fog is so bad you can't see a few yards in front of you. Mostly during the morning. I used to drive home at 3 am after work and i was going 40 on the highway because it was so foggy.

That's all I can think of at the moment. But if you have any other questions feel free to message me or send another ask.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, December 8, 2024

How Much Did Trump, Biden and Harris Raise? A Stunning $4.7 Billion. (NYT) Donors spent an astonishing $4.7 billion on the presidential contenders in this year’s general election, piling that amount into the campaign coffers of Donald J. Trump, Kamala Harris, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and their main allied groups over the course of the contest. That sum emerged late Thursday with the release of the final campaign-finance reports from the campaigns and allied groups. The reports detailed the amount raised from Oct. 17 to Nov. 25, but The New York Times combined that with figures from previous federal filings for the most complete portrait yet of the money raised for the general-election candidates.

Californians Know About Earthquakes, but Tsunamis Are a Different Story (NYT) For generations, the possibility of another devastating earthquake has lingered in the minds of Californians, who are remarkably familiar with seismological terms and regularly prepare for the next “Big One.” But on Thursday, they were met with something that felt a little more far-fetched: a tsunami warning along a vast stretch of the Northern California coast. It brought fear and confusion to hundreds of miles of coastline, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Oregon—and even more than a dozen miles inland, in some cases. The tsunami warning was spawned by an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean and was canceled a little more than an hour after it was issued. But the sudden and dire warnings, which urged people to move immediately to higher ground, stirred a panic. Many headed for the hills. Jon Ward, an architect who was renting a beachfront home on Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco, said he was initially skeptical of the tsunami warning that blared on his cellphone. But then he reconsidered, and called his wife, who was on a walk, to tell her to hurry back. They drove into the Marin Hills toward Mount Tamalpais and planned to park at the first car turnout. One problem: turnout after turnout was packed with vehicles. “Everybody else had the same idea,” said Mr. Ward, 66. Once they found a space, they watched as other evacuees lined up at turnouts along Highway 1 until the tsunami warning was canceled.

Hospital founded by Spanish conqueror persists 500 years later in Mexico’s capital (AP) In Mexico City’s bustling historic center, the Hospital de Jesus covers most of a city block. Its faded unassuming yellow facade, characteristic of the middle of the last century, obscures the medical center within founded 500 years ago by Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés. Entering between street-level shoe stores, visitors find the oldest continuously operating hospital in the Americas. The hospital was founded to treat the conquering Spanish, then later opened to the local Indigenous inhabitants to ensure a healthy workforce. Today it provides 24/7 emergency care, as well as affordable access to medical specialists for current residents of what was at the time of its founding the center of the Aztec empire. “You can feel the Mexican heritage here,” said Dr. Pedro Álvarez Sánchez. “For 500 years, the hospital has never closed its doors.”

Under assault by gangs in Haiti, a Kenyan-led mission fights back (AP) An armored vehicle carrying Kenyan police rumbles through Haiti’s capital with a shattered window that a high-caliber bullet failed to penetrate, a permanent sign of violence the officers face almost daily in Port-au-Prince. The Kenyans, who were deployed to Haiti earlier this year to help quell gang violence, have faced relentless attacks. On Thursday, gunfire erupted in Port-au-Prince as Kenyan officers repelled heavily armed gangs that run 85% of the city and are fighting to seize full control. The Kenyans, joined by Haitian officers, crouched behind sandbags and a concrete wall at the former offices of the National Police that authorities were forced to abandon in recent years by encroaching gangs. Bullets whizzed by as police kept their heads down low and returned fire. Police face a daunting task. More than 4,500 people have been reported killed in Haiti so far this year, and another 2,060 injured, according to the U.N.

Notre Dame reopens its doors (AP) France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral is formally reopening its doors on Saturday for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The restoration, a spectacular achievement in just five years for a structure that took nearly two centuries to build, is seen as a moment of triumph for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline—and a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. Under the luminous stained glass, many world leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers will gather in the evening to mark the occasion—a rare moment of unity against the backdrop of global divisions and conflicts.

Romanian top court annuls presidential election result over interference. (1440) Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the presidential election after intelligence services warned about a Russian influence campaign supporting conservative populist candidate Calin Georgescu. The decision means the entire first round of voting will be redone, with a new date to be set, following concerns about foreign interference and the integrity of the electoral process.

Blockbuster trade agreement between EU and Mercosur (Foreign Policy) After 25 years of talks, the European Union and Mercosur blocs finally clinched a massive free trade deal at a summit in Uruguay on Friday. The agreement will drop tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods, creating a new market of 700 million people. Negotiators hope that it will help reduce Europe’s reliance on China and insulate the continent from proposed tariffs that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened. The deal still faces several significant challenges. Before it can go into effect, the text must be translated into all EU languages, which could take several months as lawyers pore over the wording. The European Commission must then seek approval from all EU members, in which at least four nations representing at least 35 percent of the bloc’s population must adopt it, and then the European Parliament must vote to pass it. Such approval may be tricky, as farmers across Europe have already vowed to oppose the deal.

China’s ban on key high-tech materials could have broad impact on industries, economy (AP) China has banned exports of key materials used to make a wide range of products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, radar systems and CT scanners, swiping back at Washington after it expanded export controls to include dozens of Chinese companies that make equipment used to produce advanced computer chips. Both sides say their controls are justified by national security concerns and both accuse the other of “weaponizing” trade. Analysts say the latest restrictions could have a wide impact on manufacturing in many industries and supply chains. “Critical mineral security is now intrinsically linked to the escalating tech trade war,” Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz of the Center for Strategic International Studies, wrote in a report on Beijing’s decision. The full impact will depend partly on whether U.S. industries can compensate for any loss of access to the strategically important materials, equipment and components.

Syrian government falls in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family (AP) The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days. Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free. The man who read the statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus, an opposition group, called on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state.” The statement emerged hours after the head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus following the remarkably swift advance across the country. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and turn its functions over to a transitional government. As daylight broke over Damascus, crowds gathered to pray in the city’s mosques and to celebrate in the squares, chanting “God is great.” People also chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns. In some areas, celebratory gunshots rang out. Soldiers and police officers left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense. “My feelings are indescribable,” said Omar Daher, a 29-year-old lawyer. “After the fear that he (Assad) and his father made us live in for many years, and the panic and state of terror that I was living in, I can’t believe it.”

Asian farmworkers are being killed in Israel’s embattled border regions (Washington Post) Israel’s northern border with Lebanon has been largely emptied of civilians for over a year. Even before the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah started to fray in recent days, Israeli officials had said it wasn’t safe for residents to return. There is one group of civilians, however, who have been here throughout the war. When Israel ordered more than 143,000 of its citizens to evacuate border regions more than a year ago, it allowed migrant farmworkers, mostly from Thailand, to stay put—to water crops, prune trees and harvest fruit as rockets fell around them. Thousands of Thai workers have been laboring in Israel’s frontiers for months, some inside closed military zones where they’re the only civilians present alongside Israeli soldiers, authorities say. At least six migrant workers—five Thai, one Indian—have been killed in cross-border attacks in the north this year. “We have tried everything, everything possible to stop this,” Thailand’s ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, said in an interview in Tel Aviv. Thai leaders had pleaded with Israeli officials dozens of times not to allow workers in high-risk zones, the ambassador said, and each time were given assurances by Israeli officials.

Ailing kids wait months for Israeli permission to leave Gaza for treatment. Some die in the meantime (AP) The 12-year-old Palestinian boy was lying in a hospital bed in central Gaza, wracked with leukemia, malnourished and whimpering in pain despite the morphine doctors were giving him, when Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official, said she saw him in late October. Islam al-Rayahen’s family had asked Israeli authorities six times over the past months for permission to evacuate him from Gaza for a desperately needed stem cell transplant, Bollen said. Six times, the request was refused for unexplained security reasons, she said. Islam died three days after she saw him, Bollen said. Thousands of patients in Gaza are waiting for Israeli permission for urgently needed medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment of war wounds or chronic diseases they can’t get after the destruction of much of the territory’s health care system by Israel’s 15-month military campaign. Among them are at least 2,500 children who UNICEF says must be transported immediately. “They cannot afford to wait. These children will die. They’re dying in waiting and I find it striking that the world is letting that happen,” Bollen said.

Ghanaians go to the polls with the backdrop of the worst economic crisis in a generation (AP) Voters in the west African nation of Ghana will cast their ballots Saturday in a general election poised to be a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups. Some 18.7 million people are registered to vote in presidential and legislative elections but the two main candidates offer little hope for change for the nation. Ghana used to be a poster child for democracy in the region, but in recent years has struggled with a profound economic crisis, including surging inflation and a lack of jobs. Eighty-two percent of Ghanaians feel their country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an opinion poll released by Afrobarometer, a research group, earlier this year.

4,000+ (WSJ) That’s the number of seamen aboard a record 282 abandoned ships as of mid-November, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation. The old, poorly serviced vessels are used to skirt international sanctions on oil and other cargo. Ports require crews to stay with their ships, and sailors, reluctant to depart without being paid, can remain aboard for years until someone covers the maintenance expenses and salaries.

[roomchailimited]

Road Trip USA: A Bangladeshi’s Journey Across America

Embarking on a road trip across the United States is an adventure that promises diverse landscapes, vibrant cities, and a rich cultural tapestry. For travelers from Bangladesh, this journey offers a unique perspective on America's vastness and diversity. From the bustling streets of New York to the serene beaches of California, this road trip is an unforgettable experience.

Planning Your American Road Trip

Choosing the right travel agency is the first step to ensuring a smooth journey. Roomchai Limited, along with competitors like Obokash and ShareTrip, provides comprehensive services including flight bookings, car rentals, accommodation, and visa assistance. These agencies are instrumental in helping Bangladeshi travelers prepare for their road trip across the USA.

Start by booking a flight from Dhaka to a major US city such as New York or Los Angeles. Roomchai Limited can help find the best deals and flight routes. Upon arrival, renting a car is essential for the road trip. Opt for a reliable car rental service that offers a wide range of vehicles. Securing a US visa is another critical step, and travel agencies like Roomchai Limited provide guidance throughout the application process, ensuring all documentation and interview preparations are in order.

East Coast Adventures: New York to Washington, D.C.

Begin your journey in New York City, the epitome of urban excitement. Explore iconic landmarks such as Times Square, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty. Enjoy the city’s diverse culinary scene, from street food to fine dining, reflecting its multicultural population.

Drive to Philadelphia, a city steeped in history and culture. Visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Don’t miss a chance to enjoy a classic Philly cheesesteak. Continue to Washington, D.C., where history and politics take center stage. Tour the Capitol Building, the White House, and the Smithsonian museums. Explore the city’s monuments and memorials, such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

Middle America: Discovering the Heartland

Head west to Chicago, known for its impressive architecture and vibrant arts scene. Visit Millennium Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Navy Pier. Try the city’s famous deep-dish pizza and take a stroll along the Chicago Riverwalk.

Drive along the historic Route 66, which stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles. This legendary highway offers a nostalgic journey through small towns, quirky roadside attractions, and stunning landscapes. Make stops at notable sites like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and Cadillac Ranch in Texas.

Southwest Explorations: From Deserts to Cities

Venture into Arizona to witness the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. This natural wonder offers hiking, breathtaking viewpoints, and unforgettable sunsets. Continue to Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, where you can experience the vibrant nightlife, casinos, and dazzling shows.

In New Mexico, explore the rich cultural heritage of Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Enjoy the unique blend of Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo cultures. Sample local cuisine and shop for traditional crafts.

West Coast Wonders: From Los Angeles to Seattle

Arrive in Los Angeles, a city known for its glitz and glamour. Visit Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier, and the Getty Center. Take a scenic drive along the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco, where you can explore the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and Fisherman's Wharf.

Head north to Seattle, a city surrounded by natural beauty. Visit the iconic Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and the Museum of Pop Culture. Enjoy the vibrant coffee culture and take a ferry ride to explore nearby islands.

Practical Tips for Bangladeshi Travelers

Understanding currency and money matters is essential. The US dollar is the currency, and credit cards are widely accepted. It's advisable to carry some cash for small purchases and tips. Language won’t be a barrier as English is spoken everywhere, but learning a few basic phrases can be helpful. Safety and etiquette tips include being aware of your surroundings, following local laws, and respecting cultural differences.

Conclusion

A road trip across the USA is a journey filled with endless possibilities, from urban excitement to natural wonders. For Bangladeshi travelers, this adventure offers an opportunity to explore new cultures, meet diverse people, and create lasting memories. Choosing the right travel agency, like Roomchai Limited, ensures a smooth and enjoyable journey, turning the dream of traversing America into a reality.

[shiranazarian]

Hotel California (WIP)

The sun dipped below the horizon as a midnight blue convertible tore down the lone desert highway east of Twentynine Palms. Michael was looking to get away from the suffocating beast of Los Angeles and recharge his batteries. 

“The Green Manalishi (with the Two Pronged Crown)”by Fleetwood Mac blared through his speakers and spilled into the evening air, as the wind danced through his golden locks. Looking ahead the landscape was barren. No structures of any kind for as far as the eyes could see. Now that the last light of day had been snuffed out, the stars came out to dazzle in the sky. It was both oppressive and freeing. 

The last notes of the song rang out, and then silence, save for the hum of the tires on the road and the night breeze. Michael reached forward and hit the eject button and readied another C.D to replace it with. It was a mix C.D his girlfriend had given him before his departure. The first track began to play. It was Fever Ray’s “If I had a Heart”. The droning Dirge like melody rang out stark against the night, adding an air of dread. 

Distracted, Michael had not seen the small animal scamper across the road ahead. It froze in the middle of his lane, almost locking eyes with him. He snapped to and swerved a bit to miss the little creature. As he shifted around, the tires lost contact with the road and he began to drift off the road. Panicked, he brought the car to a halt on the side of the road. 

Taking a moment to catch his breath and let his now racing heart try to return to its previous rhythm, he noticed the animal continue its trajectory off into the barren desert. “Fucking Christ” he yelled out exasperated. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a sudden sense of exhaustion crash over himself. As he started to drift out of consciousness for a moment, he noticed a light scent on the breeze. If he knew nothing else, he knew the scent of the Devil’s Lettuce. Michael opened his eyes, and looked around to see where the scent was coming from.

He noticed some lights dancing off in the distance. Intrigued, he put the car into gear and made his way back onto the road, and on towards the lights. A small road veered off to the right, so he followed it a ways until the source began to take shape. A Mediterranean Revival style Hotel rose out of the sterile landscape. As he pulled into the driveway he saw an intricately designed set of Iron Doors with a large Bison Skull mounted above. 

As he came to a stop he noticed the doors open and a tall woman with olive skin and raven hair wearing an ivory white dress, clinging to her curvaceous form, saunter out like an elegant feline. 

[wanderlustwayadventures1]

5 Day Southern California Trip 2017

LA to San Diego Road Trip

Feb 19-23 Los Angeles to San Diego Road Trip

Since I had a toddler at the time we opted for airport parking at JFK. When we arrived we parked and took a shuttle to the airport.

Day 1 Los Angeles Feb 19, 2017

We Rented Compact 4 Door Car. We took a Shuttle to counter and waited for them to bring us our car. Mileage was Unlimited. On our way to the hotel we stopped at: (3 hours of drive time)

Venice Beach: Known for its bohemian spirit, Venice is a buzzing beach town with upscale commercial and residential pockets. Free-spirited Venice Boardwalk is the site of funky shops, street performers and colorful murals. There’s also a skate park and Muscle Beach outdoor gym.

Santa Monica is a coastal city west of downtown Los Angeles. Santa Monica Beach is fringed by Palisades Park, with views over the Pacific Ocean. Santa Monica Pier is home to the Pacific Park amusement park, historic Looff Hippodrome Carousel and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Next to the pier is Muscle Beach, an outdoor gym established in the 1930s. In the city center, Bergamot Station houses several art galleries.

Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. Malibu pier Iconic circa-1905 pier next to the beach, with shops, restaurants, fishing & people-watching. Top sites: El Matador State Beach A collection of 3 small cliff-foot beaches with blufftop parking popular in the summertime. Point Dume: Tranquil coastal area featuring trails & rocky coves, plus blufftop views of Santa Catalina Island. Leo Carrillo State Par Beach with coastal caves & reefs, plus swimming, surfing, camping, hiking & surf fishing.

Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The Boulevard is famed as being representative of the classic Hollywood lifestyle and has even been the subject of famous films, not the least of which is its namesake film.

LA Hollywood walk of fame The Walk of Fame is free to visit, and runs fifteen blocks along Hollywood Boulevard (between N La Brea Avenue and N Gower Street). This bustling street is also home to restaurants and shops, vintage movie palaces, fun museums, and celebrity impersonators with uncanny resemblances.

Manhattan Beach is a laid-back South Bay community popular with families and outdoor enthusiasts. The Strand bike path winds along the oceanfront between modern mansions and wide stretches of sand lined with volleyball courts. Low-key Manhattan Beach Pier features a quaint aquarium and views of surfers. There are several parks, and a small downtown area with boutiques, brunch cafes, pubs & creative, upscale eateries.

Hermosa: The city's beach is popular for sunbathing, beach volleyball, surfing, paddleboarding, bars, cycling and running. The city itself extends only about 15 blocks from east to west and 40 blocks from north to south, with Pacific Coast Highway running down the middle.

The Queen Mary Tours & Exhibits anehime Long Beach The 1,000+ foot ship set sail for her maiden voyage in 1936, at one point transporting soldiers during World War II before retiring from service in 1967, when it was permanently moored at the port in Long Beach. Since then, it has become a museum, restaurant space and hotel. Explore the Paranormal Hot Spots of the Queen Mary. The tour takes approximately 2 hours to explore various rooms or compartments seldom seen by the general public while famous stories and legends are shared about some of the past passengers aboard the legendary ocean liner.

When drove to our first hotel Wyndham Garden Hotel in Anaheim and checked in, our stay was booked for 2 nights, Feb 19-21.

The hotels is located 12 minutes from Disneyland Park, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, and the Anaheim Convention Center.

Day 2 Feb 20 Disneyland & Huntington Beach

The hotel provided a shuttle to Disney Land. We spent the day there and took a shuttle back to grab our car. Dinner at Huntington Beach, 32 min drive.

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a California city southeast of Los Angeles. It's known for surf beaches, such as Huntington City Beach, with its long Huntington Beach Pier.

Day 3 Feb 21 Orange County & legoland

On our way to Legoland we took Pacific coast highway stopping at 2 beaches in Orange County. 32 mins from Anaheim to laguna beach. Laguna to Newport 21 mins.

Laguna beach Laguna Beach is famous for its beautiful BEACHES, beautiful people, and bohemian chic, but in addition to an array of water sports, it has also built a reputation for having an excellent network of TRAILS that afford numerous hiking, biking, and running options in 20,000+ acres of protected land. No visit to Laguna Beach is complete without exploring its extensive network of sea caves, sea arches, and TIDE POOLS, many of which are only accessible at low tide. Download the official VISIT LAGUNA BEACH APP, which has tide tables and information specific to each beach and cave. We didn’t have an opportunity to do this but when we come back we will!

Newport Beach, a coastal city in southern California, is known for its large, boat-filled harbor. Balboa Peninsula has 2 piers, Newport Beach Pier and Balboa Pier, plus the Balboa Fun Zone, an old-school amusement park with a Ferris wheel and ocean views. Local beaches include the Wedge, known for its big waves, and Corona del Mar State Beach. The Orange County Museum of Art exhibits modern and contemporary works.

55 min drive from Disneyland to Legoland, carlsbud

Legoland: Conquer dragons, battle pirates and discover ancient treasures at the Resort, also home to LEGOLAND Water Park, SEA LIFE® Aquarium; enjoy Surfers’ Cove – a water park expansion featuring racer-water slides.

Park top: If you go at 9am before the park opens at 10am you can head to the hotel to play in the main lobby. You can even stop by at the hotel and grab lunch during the day or after your have ended your day at the park.

At 9:45am head to the entrance, they put on a show and allows you to enter earlier. When you are in the park be sure to counter clock wise so you can get a head start on all the fun lines to avoid lines and hit the mini lego city on your way out.

35 min drive from Legoland to Ramada Hotel. The hotel located just a mile away from Sea World. Old Town San Diego 2 miles and numerous beaches within a mile. It is a great place to explore Southern California's most exciting playgrounds!

Day 4 San Diego & San Diego Zoo Feb 22

13 min drive to the San Diego Zoo: pioneered cageless exhibits and offers travelers a fun and informative experience. Featuring over 4000 animals, the park gives you a peek into the wildlife of several ecosystems, from deserts to rainforests. Ride the tour bus, which crosses three quarters of the zoo’s area, and learn more about the animals from the guide as you view them in their natural habitats. You can also hop on the Skyfari gondola lift to see the entire park from above.

16 min drive San Diego Zoo to Pacific beach.

Take in the mesmerizing coastal views as you stroll down Crystal Pier. Watch the surfers in action, you might be able to spot frolicking dolphins and whales during the migration season. Pacific Beach is renowned as San Diego’s party capital, and the boardwalk is lined with bars, cafes, and restaurants.

Day 5 San Diego to LA Feb 23

We checked out of our San Diego Hotel, stopped at 2 spots and headed back to LA to Drop-off our rent a car. We then took our flight back home.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park – Point Loma Dedicated in 1983, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is a 68-acre City of San Diego regional park which extends 1½ miles along the Point Loma peninsula's western shoreline. This unique coastal environment features expansive ocean views, dramatic cliff formations and caves, a fascinating intertidal area, and native coastal sage scrub habitat, which provides connectivity to the adjacent Point Loma Ecological Reserve.

Little Italy At 48-square blocks, San Diego's Little Italy is the largest in the U.S. Little Italy is a neighborhood in Downtown San Diego, California, that was originally a predominantly Italian and Portuguese fishing neighborhood.

2 -1/2 hour drive to LAX airport.

[paxton-brady]

"Concept art. For television." Pax smiles at the memories of driving through those studio gates for the first time. "That was at Warner Bros. Dreamworks thought they were slick — put me into the storyboarding crew. Part of why I quit." As an illustration major, the finished work of projects is what scratches his brain just right. Not sketchwork and unfinished designs. He understands the importance in the animation process, but he just didn't want to be a part of it.

Now, at least, he can pick up commissions for project covers and various other works. On his own schedule, (within deadlines), with him own mediums, and he can accept or reject anything asked of him.

But at some point the glitter of Los Angeles fades into smoggy skies, the highways a slow moving blockade of cars, and the adobe houses feel more fake than some of the celebrities he'd see walking around the studios. At least Aurora Bay feels more real. Nothing like Stillwater - as if anything in California could fit that small Minnesotan town feel. He misses the snow in the winters, the endless pine forests, and well as the rivers.

Paxton is more than happy to barrel on through to the next topic, but Carrie catches him. She is well aware of his tendency to try and let things roll off his shoulders, bottling everything up and waiting for it to fade on its own. He supposes he shouldn't expect anything less of the one person who'd been by his side more than anyone. Her only rival had been his own parents in that aspect, but as a friend (more than at one point, and in some ways, still) she'd been unwavering.

"It's — I…" he inhales, unsure of how to even organize his thoughts on it. Betrayal is too strong a word, but there isn't another he could find. At least then that is how it felt. Now, it's much less. He is more empathetic, or trying to be, anyway, as he listens to all Carrie has to say. "I don't think digging up old feelings will fix anything. But, maybe a promise to not just vanish again. Not without explanation?"

It's hard to even ask that of her being it's more for his own peace of mind. "I'd never think that. Ever. It's life, things happen. I wouldn't judge you for anything." Pax also could never put himself in her shoes. He won't experience that sort of situation in his life, not in the capacity Carrie has: pregnant and scared.

"I didn't like worrying. I get why you did what you did. I isolated myself when, well-" eyes back down to their hands joined in the middle of the table. He tried, Carrie was still right there. "It's okay. I promise."

“Burbank? How cool! What was it you were down there doing for work? I want to hear all about it.” Sometimes when people said that it might have been for the sake of conversation. To be polite perhaps. Or just because it was what was expected. When Carrie said it in this context she meant it literally. If Pax sat there in front of her for the next six hours and broke down in minute detail telling her everything about being in LA for work from what he had to breakfast to if he brushed his teeth or hair last at night time, she couldn’t possibly be happier. Wanting to consume as much information she’d missed the last two years as possible. Attempt to make up for lost time if that was even still possible.

“No, no wait hold on a second.” Carrie quickly jumped in as he tried to move past the issue of her apology, transgressions, and ask her about her son instead. If there was one thing she owed him it was honesty moving forward so they could get back to the couple they were before she’d scarpered. 

She didn’t retract her hand from his, instead just squeezing it back again, leaning forward slightly. 

“We need to talk about this, Pax. So you can be honest with me. You don’t have to pretend things to save my feelings or because you think it would be better for me. You’re my best friend in the whole wide world, I loved you first in a way that is only now matched by how much I love Hindley. I know I went away but that never changed even if my lapse in judgment might imply otherwise.”

Breaking off she took a breath, food and milkshake in front of her forgotten. 

“I should have talked to you about what was going on before I left. We’d been through shit before right? So I should have trusted than you’d be there for me through this too but I was so embaressed. I wasn’t the girl you had met that year in high school anymore I was some kind of…impulsive floozy and I just…panicked. And that’s not an excuse but it’s … an explanation. A really really bad one but... well maybe more the start of one...” 

[s11e17]

Wait can you post the essay here that sounds so interesting

unfortunately it is not complete so i would be very embarrassed to post it here. however these are some paragraphs which arent really related to each other:

On The Road is an undeniably imperialist novel. Built on the postwar disillusionment of white men across America, it inscribes thwarted passion across themes of poverty, transience, homosociality, and misogyny. Invisible in the novel, however, is the very nature of the road: built on stolen land.

Supernatural functions similarly. Its second episode features a "Wendigo" (after the wiindigo) who threatens white campers in a National Park. A “Native American curse” is the main threat of s01e07 “Bugs,” an episode repeatedly lambasted within the show’s text as one of its worst episodes. Chuck often self-deprecatingly wonders how they could have “published” Bugs (the novel from the Supernatural serial, an in-show book series where each novel corresponds to an episode of the show). Yet the land itself — the so-called Vancouver landscape which is simultaneously Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Ohio, and nearly every other state — is devoid of critique. It is empty.

The relationship of the show’s characters to space is one of disjoint, deterritorialization, and alienation. Sam tells Amelia in s08e05, “A motel isn’t part of the town that it’s in. It’s not a part of anywhere” — an offhanded critique of his own childhood growing up in motels. The transient life of On The Road, whose diegesis stops and starts with Sal Paradise’s own road trips, characterizes the first five seasons of Supernatural, transitioning out during the sixth and seventh seasons and then finally ending definitively with the discovery of the bunker in s08e14.

On The Road comes to its riotous and temporary climax when Sal and Dean make it to Mexico, and even further south. They drive down through the unknowable, untamed, humid and feverish lands of Latin America, passing through jungles and brothels and flirting with fourteen year old native girls on the side of the highway. It is an undeniably racist depiction. Yet it engages with the nature of American colonialism in a way that Supernatural fails to — it evokes the road as a metaphor for the incursion of American capital and military.

In Supernatural, a show whose two main actors received an honorary military medal for their performance on the TV show “most requested” by soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2005-7 [cite], Kerouac’s Manifest Destiny has become the domestic war on monster-terror. The Pacific coast has long been won and, in fact, is won before the show even begins — Sam Winchester makes it to California to live a middle-class life at Stanford University, leaving behind his working-class brother and father in the plains. The southern border is invisible.

When the audience of the show forms a key part of its diegesis, what could possibly be left unknown in Supernatural? What does Supernatural tell us about American empire in the 21st century?

[goldenraeofsun]

4:01 PM

Dean sips his whiskey and glowers across the bar at his own reflection. His wrist is burning like a brand, but it’s probably all in his head. The stupid timers don’t cause physical pain when they reach T-minus zero, Houston we have a problem. The numbers freeze, and that’s that.

Dean’s had counted down to nothing at exactly 4:01 PM, fifteen minutes ago. Fifteen minutes of running into his soulmate, getting his number, continuing on his way to this bar, and telling the bartender to keep ‘em coming.

He refuses to look at the far corner of the room, the booth he had reserved like an idiot. Four PM, party of two, under the name Winchester.

On the bar by his glass, his phone is still lit up with Cas’s texts from the past hour.

Cas 3:11 I’m so sorry I have to move our appointment. My client just unexpectedly switched our time to 4pm.

Cas 3:21 I think I’ll be able to escape by 4:30. Can I meet you then?

Dean had responded with a thumbs-up emoji. He didn’t have it in him to say any more.

Cas 3:50 This city is impossible to navigate. How does anyone live here?

Cas 3:58 You were right, I should have rented a car.

Three minutes after Cas’s last text, Dean ran into his soulmate. Right on schedule.

As far as first meetings go, it hadn’t been as much of a shitshow as Dean had expected.

The dude was attractive, at least, and the first thing he did after bumping into Dean was apologize. But he was wearing a tailored suit and glued to his phone, so it definitely could have been better.

His soulmate would’ve run off none the wiser, except Dean had to blurt, “Wait!” because, despite his disappointment, Dean couldn’t let his soulmate disappear into the throngs of Michigan Avenue. Dean wasn't about to fall to one knee, but he also couldn't let his best shot just go.

The man stopped, irritated. His gaze refused to linger on Dean, instead fixating on a building at the end of the block.

Head swimming with too many thoughts to name, Dean couldn’t get the right words out. He gestured mutely to his wrist, pulling up the flannel to show him.

Eyes widening with understanding, his soulmate quickly tugged up the cuff of his sleeve, only sparing a second to verify his own timer stopped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice.” he said, distracted. “My name is James. Here,” he fished out a pen and something to write on from various pockets of his trench coat, “my number. We… should talk. Later.” He scowled, raising his other wrist to check at his watch. “I need to go.”

“Sure, man,” Dean said, mostly grateful he didn’t have to stick around and have some heart-to-heart with a stranger that was apparently meant for him. Whatever the fuck that actually meant.

“Thank you,” James said swiftly. Without another word, he took off back down the street.

Dean didn’t bother to watch him go. He had a barstool waiting with his name on it.

Sam will laugh himself silly once Dean tells him his perfect match wound up being some corporate suit. Dean once told him he’d rather microwave his own head than set foot in an office cubicle.

Sammy was the big soulmate skeptic in the family. He found his non-timer approved other half while he was protesting an illegal dismissal of a disabled employee. Three years later, when Sam bumped into Gabriel Crawford in a strip club at midnight on Dean’s birthday, he discovered Gabe was perfectly happy to let Sam live his apple pie life while Gabe continued to party like it was 1999.

Gabe made Sam promise to look him up if Eileen was ever down for a threesome.

Turned out, Eileen was.

Sam most certainly was not.

He still sends Gabe a card for the holidays, and usually Gabe sends him back candy samples from wherever he’s vacationing for the winter.

But everyone else Dean knew bought into the soulmates game, hook, line, and sinker. His parents were soulmates. Benny and Garth both settled down with theirs. Charlie and Aaron were holding out for theirs. Hell, even Jo had her weird thing with Bela Talbot.

Dean would’ve counted himself among their number - until he met Cas.

Well, until Cas messaged him on Bobby’s new ask-a-mechanic feature on the garage’s website. Cas had inherited a banged up 1967 Mustang and had no idea where to start with restoration. Apparently Gabe of all people was staying with Cas at his place in southern California, and he recommended Dean.

Why Cas couldn’t just look up a local place still baffles Dean to this day, but he has never been more grateful for Cas’s weird-ass logic.

Their relationship had stayed strictly professional until Cas’s actual car broke down on some random highway in California. Dean had tried to talk Cas through the repair himself, but it was no use. Cas either didn’t have the equipment for the fix, or Dean didn’t diagnose the right problem. Dean was about to hang up, when Cas had asked, clearly embarrassed, “Would you please stay on the line? I have this irrational fear of being murdered in the middle of nowhere where nobody can find my body for proper rites.”

Dean, almost surprising himself, didn’t laugh. Instead, he said, “Sure thing. Wanna put me on hold while you get in touch with Triple A?”

He spent an hour and a half on the phone with Cas, telling him stupid stories about the worst things people have done with their cars.

In return, Cas told him all about the stars that were just coming out in the darkening desert sky.

The week after, Bobby’s garage received a gift certificate in the mail. It was for a weeklong stay at the Chicago location of the five-star hotel chain Cas works for, in Dean’s name.

Those little chocolates on the pillows ruined Dean for motels everywhere.

At the bar, Dean signals the bartender for a refill. He glares down at his phone. The little rectangle contains his entire history with Cas, call logs, text receipts, everything.

He can’t look at it any longer. He shoves it in his pocket, and the receipt with his soulmate’s phone number crinkles in protest. With a sigh, Dean takes out the flimsy piece of paper.

James’s handwriting is neat, so Dean doesn’t even have the excuse of not being able to read a digit or two.

Maybe Dean will give him a call after his drink with Cas. Hopefully, once James finds out that Dean’s just a mechanic, lives in a shoebox apartment in Bucktown, and has never been to Aspen or the Alps, he’ll tell Dean to take a hike.

Dean flips the receipt over, and his stomach gives a sickening lurch. In pretentious curlicue lettering, the first words Dean reads are, The Nine Spheres.

James is staying at Cas’s hotel.

Fucking great. Dean crumples the receipt and shoves it back in his pocket. With his luck, James will probably want to meet in the restaurant on the first floor, the fancy-ass place with the steakhouse burger and truffle fries Dean would actually sell his soul for.

Dean actually dreamed about that burger, a few months after his Cas-sponsored stay. When he told Cas about it, Cas let out a bark of laughter.

In the next breath, though, he told Dean he does the same when he’s scoping out a new location and can’t stay at a nearby Nine Spheres.

Dean tips back his glass of whiskey. It’s stopped burning on the way down his throat, a good sign.

He was so stupid, thinking he could fuck with destiny, fate, or whatever shitty power up there decides soulmates.

Once Cas told him about his business trip to his neck of the woods, Dean had taken one look at the numbers on his arm counting down and did the math. He would meet his soulmate smack dab in the middle of Cas’s window in Chicago.

He could make Cas be his soulmate. Cas never brought up his timer, if it was still ticking, if he’d already met his other half. And Dean, coward that he was, never asked. If he didn’t know for sure, then there was that slim, slim chance that theirs matched up after all.

But no, Cas had to go and switch up their meeting time at the last second, and Dean had run into James instead.

His pocket buzzes with a new text. Mood lower than Cas’s voice register, Dean slides his phone out.

Cas 4:38 My meeting is over. Should I still meet you at the same place?

Dean 4:39 Yeah Hope its okay I got started without you

Cas 4:40 More than okay, considering my scheduling difficulties.

Dean 4:40 See you soon

Dean sighs and drains his glass.

Foot jiggling on the barstool and eyes trained on his hands clasped in front of him, Dean deliberately does not look around as the door opens.

And opens again.

And again.

Confused and irritated, Dean takes another look around. Above the bar, a chalkboard clearly proclaims Happy Hour from 4:30-6:30 PM. Dean ducks his head, scowling into the remains of his drink. He probably overlooked the sign before because of his single-minded quest to get shitfaced like a freshly-dumped senior at prom stuck next to the spiked punch bowl.

His phone obnoxiously tells him it’s 4:43.

That’s just great. Dean hops off the stool, meaning to ask the hostess if anyone’s asked for Winchester, when James pushes open the door.

Dean stops dead in his tracks.

James freezes, his eyes going wide. His trench coat swishes ominously to a stop.

Should Dean turn around? Pretend he didn’t see? Cas is going to be here any second.

Before he can make up his mind, James is walking towards him. “Hello,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you here.”

Dean swallows. “Me neither,” he says honestly.

James scans the small crowd now gathered around the bar, brow furrowing in concentration. “I’m supposed to be meeting someone.”

Dean lets out a silent exhale of relief. He musters up a weak smile. “No problem, man. I’ll leave you to it.” As he turns back around, James steps up to the hostess stand.

James says, his voice slightly raised to be heard over the din, “I’m a bit late, but is there a reservation for Winchester? For 4:30?”

Dean could not possibly have heard what he thinks he did. But the timing is right - for once. He spins around, practically losing his balance thanks to the booze he already drank.

The hostess scans her sheet of names, shaking her head. “There was a reservation for Winchester at four PM, but that’s it.”

James’s face falls. Shoulders slumping, he pulls out his phone, squinting as the screen lights up. “He said he was here,” he mutters.

He can’t be Cas. That would be crazy - like, dingo ate my baby, crazy.

“Could be at the bar,” the hostess says flippantly, tilting her head to the crowded area. “Most of ‘em don’t check in.”

James’s lips press together. “Thank you,” he says to the hostess, his tone clipped. “I’ll wait there.”

Dean steps in front of him before James can get lost in the throng of people. “I heard you’re lookin’ for me,” he says with a confidence that’s only 99% bullshit.

James blinks. “You?”

“Dean Winchester, at your service,” he says, spreading his arms wide.

“Dean,” he echoes, his gaze raking up and down Dean’s body, drinking him in with his new eyes.

“Gotta say,” Dean drawls as his heart pounds with nerves. Doubt niggles at the back of his mind like an itch he can’t scratch, but he’s already made his memory foam bed. Might as well lie in it. “Cas is the weirdest nickname for James that I’ve ever heard.”

“My full name is James Castiel Novak,” Cas says, flushing. “James - that’s what I go by professionally. My family calls me Castiel.”

Dean can’t hold back his broad grin. “Family, eh?”

Cas’s expression takes a swift dive from embarrassed to mortified. “And friends,” he tacks on. He takes a step closer, staring at Dean’s face in wonder. “But you’re also my soulmate.”

Dean laughs giddily. “Should’ve known you wouldn’t beat around the bush. Not your style.” He jerks his head towards the bar. “I think I see an open seat. You wanna have that talk now?”

Cas hesitates. “Would you like to go to Nine Spheres instead? I’ve had business dinners every evening I’ve been in Chicago so far, and, while the food has been good-”

“It’s not the steakhouse burger?” Dean finishes for him.

The corners of Cas’s mouth turn down into a slight grimace. “Last night, a client treated us to tapas. I woke up starving.”

Dean smiles. “You know I’m always down for that burger.”

“Excellent,” Cas says with relish as he pushes open the door.

They walk onto the street, and it’s almost offensively quiet after the noise of the bar. It’s a balmy Spring evening, the sun still relatively high in the sky.

“You don’t seem disappointed anymore,” Cas says out of nowhere as they reach the end of the block.

So Cas caught on to that, back when they first ran into each other. Dean shrugs. “I just got stood up by the guy I’d specially set up to meet me at 4:01. Wouldn’t you be?”

Cas clears his throat, asking hoarsely, “You wanted it to be me?”

Dean throws him a look. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Cas just shrugs. The light changes, and they step off the curb.

“Were you… disappointed?” Dean asks hesitantly.

Cas lets out a surprised laugh. “Of course not. I didn’t even think - well,” he falters, casting a sidelong look at Dean, “I’m not disappointed. Believe me.”

The automatic doors to Nine Spheres open, hitting them with a burst of perfectly conditioned air. Dean hasn’t stepped foot in the hotel since Cas paid for his stay, but it hasn’t changed one bit. The same tiered giant chandelier glitters overhead. Giant pillars bracket the concierge desk to the left and the enormous staircase to the right that leads up to the second floor rooms. The tiled floor, so polished Dean can practically see his reflection, stretches the length of the lobby.

Dean sticks out like a flannel-wearing sore thumb. “Cas,” he hisses, “hold on. I don’t think I’m dressed right for this place.”

Cas sucks in a breath. “No,” he says as Dean’s heart sinks, “I suppose not.” He jerks his head towards the elevator bay. “Room service?”

Dean blinks.

“I’ve called for the burgers on several occasions at other locations,” Cas assures him. “It tastes as good.”

Was Cas actually trying to convince him to go up to his room? What a dumbass. Dean laughs.

Cas colors, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Forget it,” he mutters. “We don’t-”

“You know, if you invite me up to your room,” Dean cuts him off, “you’re going to have a bitch of a time getting me to leave, right?”

Cas stares at him.

“Dude,” Dean says, “I’ve never stayed anywhere this nice in my life. Between the food, the water pressure, and the robe that felt like I was fucking a cloud, I had enough of a hard time leaving last time.”

“I’m glad,” Cas says stiltedly. “We strive to provide the optimal experience to all our guests.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “’M saying, add you to the mix, and they’re gonna have to drag me out of here, kicking and screaming.”

“And if I don’t want you to leave?” Cas asks in an undertone as he pushes the up button for the elevator.

“Then I guess we don’t have a problem,” Dean says, winking.

Cas’s responding grin falls as the doors close behind them and the elevator starts moving. He shakes his head. “It’s a shame there are cameras in here.”

Dean leans in closer, whispering in his ear, “Doesn’t bother me much. Whaddya say to giving the peeping toms a show, then?”

Cas bites his lip, and this close, Dean can see how his eyes have blown black with want. “I - I can’t.”

It’s like he’s been doused with a bucket of ice water. Dean steps back, shame filling him. That’s fine. He can regroup. Hopefully Cas will be more receptive behind closed doors. It’s not the first time this has happened, anyway.

“Dean, I have to work with these people every day,” Cas hisses, wringing his hands. “The last time an executive got… busy with a coworker in the pool, the mocking didn’t end for weeks. Not to mention her rebuke from upper management.” He throws Dean a desperate look. “I would like for you to be fully clothed by the time you meet my coworkers for the first time.”

Cas is already planning for Dean to meet his people?

The elevator dings, and Cas steps out. “Are you coming?” he asks hesitantly.

“Oh, yeah,” Dean says quickly. As he follows Cas down the maze of rooms, he has to ask, “You were planning on introducing me to your coworkers?”

Cas’s cheeks pink. “Unless you were opposed to it,” he mutters as he stops in front of Room 1518. He sighs, making no move to insert his keycard. Instead, he lifts his head to meet Dean’s gaze squarely. “I’ve put in a transfer request to Chicago.”

“What?”

“It was before I knew you were my soulmate,” Cas says quickly. “I’ve never felt like I fit in in California, and my parents live in Pontiac. The Chicago office is decently large, and, well, I knew you were here,” he says, his voice going quiet near the end. He straightens. “So there were many reasons.”

“You’re staying?” Dean says, his mouth dry.

Cas bobs a nervous nod. “I hope that’s okay.”

Dean grins. “Sure is.”

Cas touches the inside of his wrist, his expression turning almost shy. “Of course, when I first pictured introductions, it was strictly as a friend. I don’t really know anyone else in this city well, and I’ve told you about my difficulty in social situations, so it would’ve been more for moral support than anything else. But after this evening -”

Dean interrupts his rambling. “Are there cameras in the hallway?”

“What- oh,” Cas says, his eyes flicking down to Dean’s lips before back up again. “Yes?” He points. “They’re all the way down there, though, so they can’t -”

Dean cuts him off with a heated kiss.

[husheduphistory]

Ghost Blimp: The Mystery and Missing on the L-8

On Sunday, August 16th 1942 Richard L. Johnston was going about his business. He had just finished waxing his car in Dale City, California when he looked up and saw something huge creeping out of the sky and towards his house. Suddenly it hit a utility pole, electrical wires broke sending sparks cascading down to the street, and Johnson ran into the house to protect his mother. When he came back outside there was a large group of people in the street including Fire Deputy Marshal Sean Wood and Johnston’s next door neighbor, volunteer fireman William Morris. Johnston’s car was completely hidden under a massive fold of what looked like canvas. When Johnston woke up that morning he probably didn’t expect that a blimp would land on his car that day. And yet, moments later the scene became even more bizarre.

In August 1942 the United States Navy was on high alert. Within nine months after entering World War II Japanese submarines sunk at least six Allied ships off the American west coast and shelled one of California’s largest oil drilling facilities. The fear of another attack on American soil was high and in order to keep an eye on the sea along the west coast the Navy took to the air, deploying blimps to cruise over the ocean and watch for any suspicious activity.

World War II Navy blimp. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

The blimp that landed on Johnson’s car was the L-8 airship, acquired by the Navy from the Goodyear company and commissioned on March 5, 1942. It was an excellent machine, completing over 1,000 trips and never requiring any work beyond routine maintenance. The two-man crew tasked with piloting the airship had records as impeccable as the craft itself. Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody was a 1938 graduate of Annapolis and although he was only twenty-seven years old he was highly regarded with his commanding officer describing him as “one of the most capable pilots and one of the most able officers” under his command. Cody was relatively new to flying LTA (lighter-than-air) airships, but in April 1942 he proved his ability when he flew the L-8 to deliver cargo to the USS Hornet before the ship departed for Doolittle’s Raid over Tokyo. It was that trip that earned him his promotion to Lieutenant in June 1942. Ensign Charles Ellis Adams was eleven years older than Cody and had twenty years of experience flying LTA airships, but only earned his commission the day before their flight together making his trip with Cody his first flight as an officer.

Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody and  Ensign Charles Ellis Adams.

The L-8 delivering cargo to the USS Hornet. Image via National Archives.

Their task together was a routine anti-submarine mission, fly out from Treasure Island, patrol a fifty-mile radius of San Francisco, then head to the Farallon Islands before heading back to Treasure Island. When they left Treasure Island at 6:03am there was approximately five miles of visibility with the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. At 7:38am Cody radioed Moffett Field and reported their location as being four miles east of the Farallon Islands. Four minutes later Moffett Field received a second message from Cody, “Am investigating suspicious oil slick—stand by.” Since an oil slick could indicate an enemy submarine below the waves it was not unusual for the airship to investigate the scene. As the L-8 descended closer to the sea its movements were seen by a fishing boat, the Daisy Gray, and a Liberty cargo ship, Albert Gallatin. Apprehensive about seeing the Navy airship creep closer to the surface of the water and then set off two flares, the ship crews pulled in their nets, manned their guns, and nervously waited to see what happened next. But, as they watched the L-8 nothing out of the ordinary happened. The blimp circled for about an hour and crews from both ships could see two men in the gondola. At approximately 9am the blimp again rose into the air and restarted its route back toward San Francisco. Everything appeared normal to the ships and spectators below, but personnel at Moffett Field were getting nervous, they had not heard a word from the L-8 since 7:42am and were not able to reestablish any communication. Two Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes were sent to look for the blimp and other aircraft were asked to keep their eyes open.

The intended flight path of the L-8 aircraft. Image via unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com.

At approximately 10:49am a series of blimp sightings began to roll in. A Pan American Clipper pilot reported seeing the blimp over the Golden Gate Bridge, then at 11am one of the Kingfishers spotted the L-8 three miles west of Salada Beach at approximately 2,000 feet. Although a height of 2,000 feet would typically be avoided by an airship for safety reasons, there was no indication of the ship being out of control or in danger and it began to descend. The next plane to spot the blimp, an Army P-38 pilot, also saw no indication that the airship or its crew was in any distress when it was seen near Mile Rock, seemingly on its way back to Treasure Island. Within minutes an off-duty seaman named Richard Quam saw the L-8 as he was driving along the highway between San Mateo and San Francisco and he decided to take a picture of the sight. He may have been the first person to capture that something was amiss, the blimp was now noticeably bending in the middle.

The L-8 airship visible sagging as it flew over Daly City. Image via National Archives.

Things began to happen quickly. At approximately 11:15am the L-8 was seen approaching the shore of Ocean Beach in San Francisco but its motors were now silent and there was noticeable sagging. It touched down on the beach for a moment but kept moving until it hit the side of a hill, knocking off one of its 325lb depth chargers. Now carrying 300lbs less, the airship again rose, clearing the hill, and moving further inland. Thousands of people now watched as the L-8 staggered overhead obviously in peril. But, according to witnesses, the ship was not unmanned, in a later interview seventeen-year-old C.E. Taylor told reporters that as the blimp descended he was watching the cabin through his binoculars and that two men were clearly visible inside the entire time.

Finally, at 11:30am the blimp came to a clumsy rest on top of Richard Johnston’s freshly waxed car. Sirens blared and firemen surrounded the blimp, slashing it open in an attempt to save Cody and Adams inside. But, when the rescuers got to the gondola they found a scene that made no sense. The door was open, the microphone for communication was hanging from the doorway, a hat was resting on the controls, the life raft and all parachutes were still in place, but Cody and Adams were nowhere to be found.

Once the initial shock of the crash wore off a feeling of worry began to quickly take over. The L-8 was traveling an extremely visible route and was tracked and seen by hundreds of people and ships, with many reporting the same as young C. E. Taylor, that the men were visible inside the cabin. The Navy immediately launched a search for Cody and Adams and the craft was inspected for any clues to solve the disappearance. The engines were in perfect running order, the ignition switches were on, and there was four hours of fuel left. The only thing that was unusual on board was that the blimp's batteries were drained and part of the fuel supply had been dumped out with no obvious explanation why.

The scene after the crash of the L-8. Image via National Archives.

For three days the shore where the blimp initially crashed and the Pacific coastline was heavily searched but there was no trace of the two missing men. A board of investigation was convened by Navy Commander Francis Connell and over the course of seven days thirty-five witnesses gave their testimony of watching the L-8 hover overhead with nothing seeming suspect. Multiple people both on land and at sea at the time reported seeing the men inside and there being no indication that they ever fell or jumped out of the gondola. In the end it was determined that "no fire, no submersion, no misconduct, and no missiles struck the L-8.” While that may have answered some questions the big one still remained, what happened on the L-8 between 7:42am and 11:15am that made two Navy officers stop communication and vanish before crashing their blimp in a residential neighborhood?

Unfortunately, there were many theories but no concrete answers to that question. Some believed it was a simple tragic accident, that a malfunction with the door led to one man falling out at a low altitude and the other following him out in an attempt to save him before they were both lost to the sea. Others proposed much more elaborate theories, that the men were secret spies, that they were lured close to the surface of the water and grabbed by enemy forces, and some even said that the men ended up killing each other by falling out of the blimp during an argument over a woman. Some guesses tried to remain optimistic, that the men fell out but they were able to swim to shore and would be found hiking back to civilization any day now. Maybe they were picked up by a passenger ship after falling from the aircraft, they just had to wait until they were returned home. But, time ticked forward and the men never reappeared. Shortly after the crash the wives of both men were told that their husbands were officially missing. It was becoming painfully obvious this was not going to change and one year after their disappearance the men were declared dead. The Navy officially classified the incident as “100% Unknown/ Undetermined.”

The L-8 was repaired and continued to be used as a training vessel until the end of World War II when it was returned to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. It was refurbished, renamed America, and was used to broadcast sports events until it was finally retired in 1982.

Nearly eighty years after the disappearance of Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody and Ensign Charles Ellis Adams there is still no official explanation as to what happened on that clear August morning over the Pacific coast

After its retirement the gondola of the L-8 was fully restored and is currently exhibited at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.

The refurbished gondola of the L-8 on display at the  National Museum of Naval Aviation. Image via www.history.navy.mil. 

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Sources:

Mystery of the Ghost Blimp by John J. Geoghegan https://www.historynet.com/mystery-of-the-ghost-blimp.htm.

The Crew of the L- 8, https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_Crew_of_the_L-8

The Bizarre Tale Of The World War II Ghost Blimp And Its Missing Crew by Gina Dimuro, https://allthatsinteresting.com/ghost-blimp  

In 1942, a war blimp fell out of the sky onto Daly City. Its crew was never found by Katie Dowd and Andrew Chamings, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/SF-Ghost-blimp-Daly-City-15739903.php

Ghost Blimp Mystery of WW2 – Crashed in San Francisco & Crew Was Never Found by Ruslan Budnik, https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/mystical-disappearance-pilots.html.