#job fair Milano

[pier-carlo-universe]

FIDITALIA E “BICOCCA CAREER FAIR” INCONTRI CONOSCITIVI CON STUDENTI E NEO LAUREATI DELL’ATENEO MILANESE. Milano

Milano, 31 marzo 2025- Fiditalia, società del Gruppo Société Générale, partecipa alla 10.ma edizione della “Bicocca Career Fair “, che si svolgerà il 2 e 3 aprile. L’iniziativa è aperta a studenti, laureati, diplomati master e dottori di ricerca della Bicocca. Il 2 aprile, dalle 10.00 alle 17.00, i candidati che hanno prenotato il colloquio tramite la piattaforma messa a disposizione dall’ateneo…

[anthonybialy]

Counting Beane’s Record with the Buffalo Bills

Reviewing the job performance of the guy who reviews job performances is so meta.  A reminder that everyone deserves scrutiny is not just to blow the minds of social media users.  Brandon Beane doesn’t get to decide if the Buffalo Bills are set at the title he holds.  Figuring out if management actually helps is like Office Space where the Bobs suddenly ask Lumbergh how much time he spends dealing with TPS reports.  Yeah, this team could still do better.

Finishing not quite well enough is a consistent habit.  An underwhelming cast helps show the lack of help.  The glaring exception is the best quarterback we’ve ever seen.  To be fair, hitting it big counts.  Treating Josh Allen as the exception is like saying there’s only one day Beane won Powerball.  Also, the lottery numbers are vaguely predictable if you scout for patterns and not based on random draw.  But they could hit on more numbers.

It’s tough to hide underachieving of the most prominent employers.  Every one of Beane's top choices aside from that quarterback of his showed why they’re lucky to be overvalued.  The team isn’t as fortunate.  Ed Oliver, A.J Epenesa, and Greg Rousseau together equal the production of one Pro Bowl defensive lineman. 

Disappointment is spread out.  Keon Coleman getting outplayed is the most memorable part of his rookie season, not his jacket shopping.  And Dalton Kincaid writing himself into the Shakespearean tragedy makes him a prototypical Bill in his way.  Meanwhile, trading away Kaiir Elam doesn’t keep him from being a contender for worst Bills first-round choice competition ever.  Flailing in Dallas won’t help avoid embarrassing himself further.

It’s not as if a team that can’t stop winning the division has been assembled shoddily.  Beane has done well at finding deep cuts in a way 97 Rock won’t.  I’m sick of hearing Comfortably Numb just as sure as I’m glad to see Matt Milano seek revenge on every team that passed on him multiple times.  Khalil Shakir is quietly thrilling, and it’s not a slight against an impressive extended receiver the Bills are fortunate to have that an all-time quarterback shouldn’t be relying on a fifth-round pick.

The Bills provide nice stories about players who should be quirky presences on the sidelines.  An offense that needs Mack Hollins is in trouble; hopefully, New England qualifies.  Damar Hamlin is the incredible human who came back to life in order to be a subpar starter.

Success at landing Allen is as prominent failure at helping him.  To be fair, the biggest step is complete.  Having a quarterback makes everything about football life easier.  Starting with the second person to tough the ball is much better than drafting a terrific wide receiver who helplessly waves at an alleged passer vainly attempting to shot-put the ball to a specific spot.

It only seems like Allen needs no help.  This is still a team game, sort of.  But even Superman concedes the rest of the Justice League can occasionally provide support by encountering minor villains.

The excuse of recalibrating is invalid for again not reaching the final.  The front office can claim they were abstaining in order to enjoy the upcoming year.  But there was still a season going on.  Optimists on the franchise’s payroll point out how many regular season wins they accumulated along with two more in the playoffs.  But having a championship-level MVP means they wasted another Josh year.

Anyone who wants to appear capable of enacting miracles should take over a franchise so bad that any improvement seems to have been engineered by successful prayer.  Bills fans who have historically grown accustomed to cursing out the deities of their choice have welcomed the opportunity to rejoice.

No fan needs a reminder that this team has still not reached paradise.  Volunteer defenders will point out Beane’s record and act as if he is above reproach.  But the survivor mentality has infested Buffalo’s sports culture for far too long.  It’s possible to be thankful for what’s here while remembering that winning a championship is supposed to be the point.  That’s easy to forget.

Framing critics as ingrates is the voluntary task of company men.  Bills cuckolds who demand gratitude for double-digit-win seasons are the same humiliated sickos who begged for higher taxes so a multibillionaire wouldn’t have to pay his own business expenses.  I’m glad that capturing the division has become commonplace, an occurrence that had not been experienced at all since the Bills last won it in Bill Clinton’s first term.  A cynic would note that the easiest way to appear successful is to be mildly competent at a company renowned for ineptness.

Beane is a victim of his own success.  He made the Bills relevant and also led to craving more.  An insatiable desire is the result of sensing possibility.  The club’s goal is supposedly to win it all despite how improbable that seems.  The guy who drafted Buffalo’s best hope ever still hasn’t proven he can reciprocate.

[theplayersau]

Chapter 3: Sambuco Mob Part 2

Stella's perspective

Milano, Italia- 2001

I sat myself down at the small dining table next to the kitchen as Chiara instructed me to, and she brought out a plate of fresh pan-seared chicken and roasted vegetables, setting it down in front of me. I was so excited and hungry that she could hardly let go of the ceramic plate before I pounced on the meal. Upon my impatience, she chuckled a bit, then sat down in a chair off to my left side with a faint smile on her face.

"I take it that you feel a little better after a shower?" she asked.

"Mhm!" I hummed with a mouth full of food, nodding.

"Bonu. I'm glad to hear that."

There was a brief silence between us that was only filled by the sound of my knife cutting the chicken.

Chiara cleared her throat before speaking again. "We'll have to figure out your sleeping arrangements... I'll talk to Abbiati."

"Who's 'Abbiati'?" I asked in a muffled voice.

"My right-hand. And she prefers to be called 'Ms. Abbiati' by most."

"Ms. Abbiati. Got it."

"You're quite the agreeable one, aren't you?"

I paused and raised a brow at her.

"I mean, you've hardly put up a fight with anything I've said. Why is that?"

"Why fight someone who's trying to help me?"

"A fair point."

"Should I have any reason to fight you?"

"I'd hope not."

"Then that's why."

She huffed in amusement before leaning back in her chair a bit. "You're a curious thing, Stella."

"Not 'curious'. Just sad..."

"I don't see what's so sad about resilience."

"You sound like you've had to talk yourself out of this same mindset before."

"Hah! You're a clever one. I think all of us here have..."

"For a mafiosa, you're pretty easy to talk to."

"Should I be harder to talk to?"

"Mm, I'm not sure. I guess I just expected mafiosi to be mean and cruel. Or they lack mercy."

"Don't worry, your assumption is right. Most are. I, however, value a little human decency."

"But you're still a criminal?"

"Sinners still go to church."

I thought over her retort for a moment before shrugging and relenting. "Touché."

"Besides, my criminal activities are none of your concern, Carusa. Unless you become a mafiosa yourself, I expect that you'll stay out of it."

I nodded, swallowing a bite of my food.

I didn't want to become a criminal. I had already dropped out of school two years ago, I'd been fired from the only two jobs I've had, I didn't get the socialization most teenagers get, I had no family... I already felt like the scum of the Earth. But these people, so far, aside from Dante, had been kind and helpful. They talked to each other like a family...

Even when my brother was here, he never treated me that way. Like a sister.

When I saw the front door open, I set my fork down. Chiara turned her head away from me and looked in that direction as well. A tall, glasses-clad, dark-haired woman in a strange looking suit with thigh-high boots walked in with a bag in each hand. A shorter woman wearing a collared, white crop top and tight dress pants followed closely behind her. This other shorter woman had brownish-red hair done up in a high ponytail and wore a black mask over the lower half of her face.

"Ah, Abbiati, Gia, welcome back." Chiara stood up and greeted them.

Abbiati nodded to her, then handed the bags to Gia, who walked quickly into the kitchen, passing me. She hardly payed me any mind. Abbiati, however, glanced over at me from behind her glasses, then whispered to Chiara.

"Is that a new recruit?" she asked.

"No," Chiara muttered back, "just someone who will be staying here for a while."

"Right, well... I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Chiara then turned to me and introduced the two of us. "Stella, this is Ms. Abbiati. Abbiati, this is Stella."

The serious, intimidating looking woman walked towards me, then offered her gloved hand. I hesitantly shook hers, nodding.

"Pleasure to meet you, Stella. I hope you'll find your stay here comfortable. If you need anything, please feel free to ask. You're Chiara's guest, after all," she said in a monotone, business-like voice.

"R-right, thank you."

It was hard to get a read on her. Though her words seemed pleasant, she had the kind of dark eyes that monitored and assessed everything, like a machine. I was afraid I would accidentally say or do the wrong thing. She is how I imagined a mafiosa would look and act. However, she was satisfied with my response, it seemed, because she turned away and left the room.

Gia came out of the kitchen now, looking over me with her red eyes. She was expressionless. Ms. Abbiati was hard to read, but Gia more so. This time, I decided to be the one to introduce myself.

"Ciao, I'm-"

"Stella. I heard," Gia interrupted with a deep, masculine voice.

My expression dropped and my eyes widened. "You're a-"

"Man. Yes," he confirmed.

My surprise must have been palpable because I watched Gia shake his head before reaching out to take my hand.

"Don't worry. You're not the first to think that and you won't be the last."

"Mi dispiace... It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

He headed towards the stairs and nodded to Chiara as he passed.

What a strange misunderstanding... He truly had the figure of a woman. I felt stupid...

As his footsteps retreated, Chiara finally excused herself.

"I have to go figure out your sleeping arrangements. When you're finished eating, just set your plate in the sink. I'll wash it."

I nodded and watched as she left for a moment before shaking my head. I was obviously going to wash my own dish. It's not that difficult. In fact, washing dishes was the least difficult thing I'd done consistently these past two years.

*

I had been sitting on the couch, getting accustomed to my new surroundings when Elektra burst in through the door, shopping bags in hand and an air of excitement about her. She immediately rushed to me before setting the bags down on the coffee table and placing her hands on her hips, a wide grin on her face.

"Go ahead, look inside the bags!" she encouraged.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to school my expression. I was excited, of course, but I suppose I had a habit of performing stoicism. I reached inside the bag closest to me and revealed a beautiful, designer dress that looked almost identical to the one I had been wearing before. Although it lacked the same amount of ribbons as my old one, and I could notice minor differences, it still felt very familiar. I looked up at the miracle worker that Elektra was with a sparkle of awe in my eyes.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"Of course! I- How... How did you do this?" I stammered.

"Hm, well, I've been interested in fashion for a while and I have a lot of magazines. When I saw your dress, I knew it looked familiar. Although it's not the same exact dress, that brand was doing 'retro reproductions' line, so I got there as fast as I could. I figured it could be a little slice of normalcy to this new life of yours."

"I can't believe you... This is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Hah, I knew you'd like it! Maybe sometime soon we could add some ribbons to it."

"I know how to sew! We could do it."

"Perfect!" Elektra sat down next to me and shrugged a bit. "Rest of it is some shirts, pants, underwear, socks, y'know... The boring stuff."

I nodded and put the dress back in the bag. "Thank you, really... You have no idea how much this means to me."

"No worries, Stellar Stella. Did you eat already?"

"Mhm. Chiara made me some food."

"You feeling better after a meal and a shower?"

"Definitely."

"Che bello! You deserve it."

I don't know what I was expecting, but she patted my damp head, and I felt a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time... The only way I could describe it was contentment. Acceptance. I felt like I already had a place in her life... I think I clammed up or something because she laughed a bit at me, but it wasn't in a mean way.

After that point, I started to understand why Elektra said most people who walked into this place never really left... When you've been severely lonely all your life and finally meet someone who has open arms for you, it's a feeling that is hard to imagine turning away from. Connection, real human connection, and kinship... I had a feeling I was finally headed down that road in my life, despite my reservations.

A whole new mess was coming my way...

-- Chapter End --

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[unilifeabroadcareersolution]

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[alitaimagines]

“I can’t wait to fall in love with you, you can’t wait to fall in love with me, this just can’t be summer love, you see.”

character: levi ackerman - ATTACK ON TITAN

note: this is my CEO au! I’ve been meaning to write this for so long but i’m barely getting around to it. there could be multiple parts to this. 

you were sitting down at one of the common room lunch tables with Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, and Armin. the company all of you worked at tended to break all of you at the same time so it wasn’t unusual to see the six of you together for lunch or small breaks. 

“are we still going out tonight?” Sasha asked with a mouthful of baked potato, “more than likely,” Mikasa said with a monotone voice, “I’m not going to be in charge of any of you like last time,” she added. 

you knew she was hinting at you with that comment. you tended to go a little overboard with the drinking at times and she, on more than occasion, had to carry or take you back home. Eren, Reiner, and yourself were the ones who usually went all out. 

“aww, come on,” you mocked as she gave you the finger, “I need the small break! I’ll make you breakfast in the morning!” you offered as Sasha immediately perked up, “I’ll take care of ya, ( your name ),” you couldn’t help but laugh, “yeah and if I leave you to take care of me, it’s going to be Connie taking care of us,” you interjected. 

Sasha knew you held a point. you took a sip of your soda before releasing an unintentional burp, “wow, good one!” you heard one of your superiors say. 

Armin stared down at the table realizing your three bosses were right behind you. you didn’t even want to look back at them knowing what you did was extremely inappropriate. 

“hello Mr.Ackerman,” you whispered as you tried to hide the embarrassed feeling you had, “my break is done in five minutes so I’ll be over to my desk in a matter of minutes,” you explained. 

you heard Hanji laughing making you even more nervous, “aw Levi! you have your assistant terrified of you! that’s no way to have them,” Hanji remarked as you felt yourself wanting crawl in a hole and die. 

“you went through six assistants before Moblit,” Levi threatened as Hanji remained quiet, “exactly, watch it,” you pulled your things together before looking over to Mikasa, “remember I need to stop at my house for my night bag before heading over to yours. you already know how I am after I drink,” you whispered as she nodded. 

you grabbed the files you were supposed to work on and followed your boss to his one o’clock meeting. your mind was still stuck on the action you had did in front of Levi and felt yourself get embarrassed all over again. 

“going out tonight, ( your name )?” Hanji asked a bit loudly, “uh, yeah. a few of us gather at the bar a few blocks down from here every Friday after work,” you explained trying not to out anyone as unprofessional.  

she nodded, “how fun! how come you never invited any of us?” she asked as you felt your face heat up instantly, “uh, I, we, never thought our bosses would be interested in going out with a bunch of low rank employees,” you managed to say through your flustered state. 

“Hanji, enough,” Levi stated as she rolled her eyes, “I think we both know someone who could use a night out,” she suggested as she pointed to Levi, “but seriously! at least invite me out sometime!” she added. 

you nodded as you thankfully made it back to Levi’s office with Hanji now finally stopping her hundred question game. 

Levi unlocked the door as the both of you walked in. you knew Levi tended to have the last of his meetings towards the later part of the afternoon but for some reason, he had one scheduled right after your lunch hour and wanted you present for it. 

“would you like me to take notes for the meeting, Mr.Ackerman?” you asked him as you shuffled through a few pieces of paper, “clearly,” he muttered as you nodded. 

for the first few months of your time with the company, you had always gotten a bit upset at the way Levi talked to you but as you continued throughout the years here, you learned to live with the fact that Levi literally talked to everyone that way. 

“of course,” before you could say anything else, you heard a knock on the door. you expected it to be Levi’s client but it wasn’t, “Reiner!” you exclaimed a bit happier, “is there something you need?” you asked as you welcomed him in. 

he gave you a smirk before entering the office, “mind giving this to your boss, sweetie?” you nodded as he handed you the papers, “what are they for?” you asked as he shrugged, “Mr.Smith just told me to give them to him. anyway, you goin’ out tonight?” he asked. 

“with Eren and the rest of them? yeah, we’re meeting at Benny’s at like seven,” you explained, “then I’ll see you there, babygirl,” you rolled your eyes at the nickname, “yeah, you’re only excited that I’ll be there because Krista isn’t,” Reiner remained quiet, “exactly, goodbye Reiner.” 

you went back to Levi to hand him the papers, “Mr.Ackerman, Reiner dropped these off on the behalf of Mr.Smith,” you whispered as he basically snatched the file from your hand, “thanks,” he muttered without giving you a second look. 

your face went to confusion as you tried to figure out why he was more upset than usual, “is there something wrong?” you asked genuinely. Levi, for the first time looked up at you, “I don’t appreciate such PDA in my office, ( last name ),” you started laughing at his comment making him even more angry. 

“that wasn’t PDA, sir,” you tried to say, “Reiner is that way with all the girls in the building. if that was PDA liked you claimed it was, I wouldn’t have rolled my eyes as hard as I did,” you added. 

a sense of relief went over Levi, one that he had never felt before, “plus, I would never give Reiner the time of day. I like my men older, with a lot of life experience,” you said honestly. 

“great to know ( last name ),” he replied as you gave him a smile, “better to be honest than to be a liar. plus, I believe Braun has eyes on Ms.Rals assistant,” you inquired. 

Levi’s eyebrows fluttered in confusion, “correct me if I’m wrong ( last name ), is Reiss not involved with Fritz?” you nodded as he became more confused, “Reiner doesn’t know how to handle a no. I’m surprised, however, that you would know of such a relationship,” you mentioned, “you don’t seem like the type to know of company gossip.”  

"it’s not hard to tell when she is wrapped around Reiss’s finger,” Levi countered, “besides, I know more than you think I would,” you laughed as you stood up and sat down on the ledge of his desk.  

you knew that if it had been any other person, even Erwin and Hanji, sitting on top of his desk, he would have immediately kicked them off, claiming that they were getting everything so dirty. 

“really now?” you taunted, “like what? I wanna know the tea you’ve heard around the company!” you crossed your legs as Levi couldn’t help to actually take you in. 

Levi had never really payed much attention to his assistants before. he had gone through so secretaries and assistants that he eventually stopped paying attention to them. 

you were different however. you were afraid of him, as was everyone when they first signed up for the job, but as you got more comfortable around him, every now and then you would tease or taunt him. 

there was something that stood out to him about you. maybe it was your looks or maybe it was the you treated him, whatever it was, his mind would wander to you at times. your smile whenever you laughed at something Hanji did made his heart stop, even for a second. whenever you touched his arm or hand on accident, it felt like there was a burning sensation afterwards. 

“that’s for me to know and you to find out,” you went over to your desk and took out a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies before going back to ledge of the desk, “would you like some? I don’t think I seen you eat lunch today,” you mentioned. 

Levi was hesitant but his mind took over and pulled out the Milano cookie, “please, I want to know! I’m very interested in this company gossip,” you exclaimed making Levi laugh before shaking his head no. 

you huffed in playful annoyance. 

“no fair! I told you everything I knew,” Levi knew that was a lie, “okay, maybe not everything,” you replied truthfully. 

for what felt like a mere few minutes actually ended up with the both of you talking for a few hours. you knew both of you had work piled high but that suddenly seemed to leave both your minds as you continued to talk. 

you heard your phone going off indicating that it was time to head home, “hey, Levi?” you asked, “we’re all going to be at the bar a few blocks down. you should come by,” you asked a bit nervously. 

Levi hadn’t been asked out anywhere in years. the last time he went to anything like that, he was still in his twenties. 

“I’ll see if I can make time in my schedule,” he replied making your eyes roll, “come on Ackerman, when’s the last time you’ve done this?” you asked as he remained silent, “exactly! Benny’s, nine o’clock,” you reminded before grabbing your Fjallraven Kanken bag and leaving. 

Levi stayed at his desk long after you were gone. his mind contemplated whether to take your invitation but his thoughts got interrupted as he heard Hanji and Erwin walk into his office. 

“go home Levi,” Erwin said as Levi shook his head no, “you should!” Hanji added, “it’s a Friday night. enjoy the fucking weekend for once.” 

Levi immediately kicked them out as they laughed to themselves. he took his phone out of his pants and did something he hadn’t done in YEARS. 

Hanji had downloaded a few social media apps to his phone once and although he never posted anything, he was still logged in. with you being so tech savvy, he was sure that you had an account somewhere. 

Levi searched through multiple peoples accounts until he stumbled upon Eren’s and got to yours. you had posted a few things to your Instagram story and clicked on it.

the first one was the photo you wore to work. the second was you at lunch with Eren, the third was of you and all the girls are the bar, and the last one was with you and Reiner. you were on his back, in a piggyback form, as you held onto Reiner’s chest a little too tight for Levi’s liking. 

Levi thought of his predicament and in the end, his mind won. he was going to meet you at the bar. he quickly shoved everything in his desk before grabbing his backpack and keys. 

you had no idea if Levi was actually going to come or not but every now and again, you would look at the door. a few noticed but didn’t say anything. 

“come on, let’s go and dance,” Reiner asked you as agreed with hesitance. 

the bar was almost blacked out that you could hardly recognize Reiner’s face as you danced against him. the lack of romance was noticeable as Reiner looked at other girls to dance with. 

“the brunette in the back is eyeing you,” you whispered to Reiner, “go to her, I’m gonna get a drink,” Reiner gave you a silent thank you before going towards her as you made your way to the bar. 

as you waited for your drink, you watched the door and felt your jaw drop noticing who walked in. 

Levi 

you knew that if you kept him out of the group, he would feel less awkward and a lot more willing to dance or even talk to you. like you had mentioned earlier, you were glad the lights were so dim that to the eye, they wouldn’t even recognize that it was Levi. 

you grabbed your drink before basically darting to Levi. 

“hey! you made it!” you screamed as he chuckled, “you threatened me, I really didn’t have a choice,” he joked making you roll your eyes, “come get a drink, they’re kind of cheap here,” you told him. 

Levi nodded as he followed you to the bar. he ended up ordering a Hennessy neat as the two of you remained sitting and talking. 

one drink turned into a few before you convinced him to dance at least one song with you. Levi followed you, albeit a little annoyed, but as soon as you got him to the dance floor, you turned around and danced against him. 

“just relax,” you whispered to him before grabbing his arm and pulling it over your shoulder to hold it, “enjoy tonight.”

Levi tried to dance back but with himself feeling a bit drunk and not having danced like this in years, he felt a bit stiff. you on the other hand were vibing straight to the song playing. 

once Levi finished his drink and you were still dancing with him, he turned you around and looked at your ( colored ) eyes. you gave him a genuine smile before relaxing into his arms. 

“But let me buy you drinks, better yet rings. Do it how you want it done, girl and who would of thought that you could be the one 'cause I can't wait to fall in love with you.” 

Levi without thinking went in for a kiss. you were a bit stunned at the sentiment but reciprocated and kissed back. you wrapped your arms around his neck as the soft make out session continued. 

“my place? it’s not to far from here,” Levi mentioned as he kind of hoped you said yes, “after you Levi.” 

ALITA 

[forabeatofadrum]

l'amor che move (il sole e l'altre stelle) - chapter 1

AO3

--

2016

SIMON

Salò is the place to be.

I know that it’s not the first Italian city many people think of. Many people care about Milano, Venizia, Napoli, Roma or Pisa, but Salò is the best city in the country in my humble opinion. I know that it’s not much, since I’m eighteen, almost nineteen, and I’ve barely left the area, but that’s how I feel as I walk along the pier with my ice cream in hand.

It’s summer, which means that it’s tourist season. I’ve never minded the tourists and I can understand the appeal of the Lago di Garda. I have a summer job as a tour guide. After all, English is my first language.

I was born in Wales, but I can’t remember any of it. My mum and I moved to Italy when I was a baby. My mum is English, so we speak English at home, but of course we’re fluent in Italian. As I look around the city, I can see it happening. I will be a tour guide and I will have a reason to stay here for the rest of my life.

It definitely beats going to university.

I am still walking along the pier and I’m happy with how content I am with my decision to not go to university. I’m glad to be here in Salò. My classmates are busy with getting ready for university, but I’m enjoying my summer. My mum fully supports me and again, maybe I can become a tour guide even after the summer. People will always love Lago di Garda, right? Or maybe I can find a job elsewhere. I’m strong and good with my hands. I’ve always fixed everything in the house. I’m great at swinging large hammers.

But it’s June. My birthday is soon and the whole summer is still ahead of me. I can focus on amusing semi-interested tourists. I can give directions like a boss. I can spot tourists easily. They always walk around with their maps and camera’s and weird hats to protect them from the sun.

One guy in particular is wearing a huge sunhat. I stop to look at him. I know it’s rude, but there’s something about this guy. He’s looking around.

He looks in my direction and our eyes meet.

Suddenly, I feel… something. I don’t know what this is, but there’s something that I recognise and also can’t place at all. It feels like home.

--

BAZ

The heat is fucking unbearable. I’m English, let me complain about this heat. (Which I have. A lot. Agatha’s phone’s been blowing up with my rants.)

I knew I was signing up for this when I decided to move to Italy to “learn the language and discover my roots” or whatever bullshit I fed my father, but when you’re used to a 25 degrees summer, 37 degrees is unimaginable. It’s incredibly hot, even for Italian summers.

Luckily, Italy is more used to hot temperatures than England, and the long, narrow streets in Salò give me enough shade. The amazing gelato definitely helps.

When I announced to my family that I was going to move to Italy, my parents immediately assumed that I’d go to a big city like Milan. Which, fair, look at my impeccable dress sense, but I knew that I wanted to go somewhere relatively small. I’ve only been here for three days, but I already feel more at home than I expected.

Now that I’m surrounded by tourists, I realise I could’ve gone somewhere even smaller, but when I walk around, it feels right to be here. The city is gorgeous and the water of Lake Garda is beautiful. Unfortunately for me, the pier isn’t as well-protected from the sun.

I’ve come prepared. On my first day here, I realised that my complexion does not like the Italian sun, so I bought a ridiculously big sunhat. Truly, the size of this hat is ridiculous and the shop owner was very hesitant when I tried to pay. The joke’s on her. I can pull it off.

I honestly should’ve thought it through: a vampire in Italy. Merlin, what was I thinking? The sun is scorching and the amount of crosses in this country is absurd. Luckily, I can handle the garlic. I don’t know who decided to spread the idea about vampires not liking garlic. (I don’t know anything about vampires myself, to be honest.)

I know what I was thinking: I wasn’t. I was so desperate to get out of England, so when my father suggested Italy, I agreed immediately without thinking this through. I guess I can blame my father for this. This is what happens when you try to ignore that your eldest son is a vampire, father.

Still, his argument about my mother convinced me. My mother’s roots lie in Italy, so coming here to feel closer to her wasn’t complete bullshit. Sure, it’s not Sicily, but it’s closer than England. Okay, I have a lot to complain about, but Italy feels right. I can’t really explain it. I decide to walk towards the pier so that I can take in the view once again.

I hit some poor tourists with my hat on the way to the pier. I want to be annoyed at them, but I should’ve seen this coming when I decided to buy an 80 centimetres wide sunhat.

(“What is the largest hat that I can buy?” I had said desperately.) (80 centimetres, apparently, and the shop owner sounded very nervous when she told me that.) (Still, I fucking rock this hat.)

That’s when I feel it.

Magic.

A fuck lot of it.

It’s almost unbearable and the closer I get to the pier, the worse it gets. This amount of magic is making me want to cry. I thought I had left it behind. The World of Mages wasn’t going to affect me any longer.

Now, I obviously know that there are mages all around the world, Italy included, but this amount of power must mean that there’s at least a big community in Salò. I arrive at the pier and I look around, trying to find a group of people.

Then I see one guy.

Just one guy.

He has gorgeous blonde curls that shine in the sunlight, he’s wearing cheap looking sunglasses, and he is holding an ice cream cone. This one guy is leaking magic.

And now he’s walking towards me.

--

SIMON

The large hat is very distracting, but when I see that guy’s face, there’s another weird feeling.

“Mi scusi, posso farle una domanda?” I ask him. I don’t know what exactly compels me to talk to this stranger, but these strange feelings don’t go away.

The guy looks at me in a weird way. It’s almost as if he can’t believe that he’s seeing me.

“Oh, uh, me… io non parlo italiano.”

“Ah, do you speak English?” I ask.

“Yes. I’m from England.”

I should’ve known that this guy’s a tourist. The hat is… noticeable. Although sometimes people think that I am a tourist. The people in Salò know me, but if I go to another city with my mum, people assume we’re tourists from England. I’ve had people talk shit about me in Italian. It’s always priceless when they realise I can understand them perfectly.

I study the guy’s face. He seems to be overwhelmed by something. It’s probably the heat. It’s even killing me and I’ve lived here most of my life.

“Ah, so you’re definitely not from around here?” I say.

“Is it that noticeable?”

“The hat sure is a statement.”

“I burn easily in the sun.”

I can understand that. I’ve applied layers of sunscreen for a reason. Sunburns are the absolute worst.

“Well, welcome to the beautiful city of Salò. Is it your first time at Lago di Garda?” I asks. I notice that I’ve shifted into tour guide mode. I regret talking to him. I’m bad at small talk and I know it. He might be here for some peace and quiet.

But I feel like I need to talk to him.

“Yes. It’s nice here.”

He still is a bit standoffish.

Oh, what if he thinks I’m trying to sell him a tour? Maybe I should’ve approached this differently, but it’s as if something within me pushes me towards him. Which is ridiculous. I know.

“Well,” it’s time for me to leave this poor guy alone, “It was nice to meet-”

“I’m sorry, I hope I’m not sounding rude,” the guy interrupts me, “but what are you?”

I blink a couple of times in confusion. That’s a strange thing to ask a complete stranger. What am I? What am I?

“I… am a tour guide,” I say.

This time, he’s the one looking confused. Maybe we’re both terrible at small talk. We match.

He keeps staring at me for a long time and it’s incredibly uncomfortable. This was a mistake. I start to apologise, but he cuts me off again.

“Well, I’m in Italy to learn the language.”

“And you chose Salò?” I asks in amazement. I love that he didn’t pick a big city like Roma, which is filled with places to learn Italian. Instead he’s here.

He shrugs. “I like the lake.” Then he holds out his hand. “My name’s Baz and I am a disaster. That’s what I am.”

I shake his hand and that weird first feeling increases. It’s almost as if a shock ripples through my body, which is also ridiculous. The heat is getting me. I also should buy a ridiculous hat.

“Simon. And I am definitely a tour guide.”

--

BAZ

The sheer amount of his magical power is destroying me. It’s killing me. I shake his hand and I feel like dying. I can feel his magic, but something’s off.

This guy, Simon, doesn’t seem to feel my magic. If he had, then he would’ve answered my question more accurately. A tour guide? No, I’m wondering what kind of mage you are!

His English accent is perfect, so it can’t be a language misunderstanding. I wonder where he’s learnt English like that. Italians aren’t known for their English skills, which is why it’s a necessity for me to learn Italian as much as possible.

I wonder if he feels my magic. I am nowhere as powerful as him, assuming that he’s a mage, but I still inherited a lot of magic from the Pitch side. My mother was a force to be reckoned with. Everyone at Watford told me that ‘Pitch magic’ is faintly felt by others.

But Simon either doesn’t notice or he just doesn’t tell.

“So. You can tell me all about this city?” I ask. I don’t want him to go.

He nods eagerly. “Salò is the place to be!”

He is so enthusiastic, it’s endearing. He rubs his neck in embarrassment, since he was pretty loud, but it only makes me laugh.

“I mean, it’s cool. Or, well, not cold cool, since it’s fucking hot outside, but it’s a cool city. I also know more about the entire Lake Garda area, but Salò is definitely my main spot.”

“Well then, Mr. Tour Guide, tell me all about this place.”

Simon tells me stuff that I already know. Of course I looked up Salò before moving here, but I let Simon talk about how this town used to be the capital of Mussolini’s Repubblica Sociale Italiana, and how Salò has historic relations with other places in the area, and how the Lake became popular. He’s so incredibly happy to tell me all of this. He adds a more personal flare to the story. It’s not a dry history lesson about the three communes of Lake Garda.

I bet he usually doesn’t include the story of how he went missing as a three-year-old in Lazise, which is located in the Veneto commune. Or how he tried to jokingly convince someone that San Felice del Benaco, another place in the Lombardy commune, is home of the San Bernadetto brand, even though that’s named completely differently. Or about a time he and his mum rented a boat and just went nuts on the lake. Or about that time he almost dove in the lake for €10, which is a lot of money when you’re a kid.

During all those stories, magic never gets mentioned. It’s all so Normal. After being around him for a while, the magic sort of sets in. That’s what magic does. You get familiar with it. It still makes me want to cry, but it no longer makes me want to die, which is a win.

Simon’s talking for ages, and I do not mind at all. My stomach does.

“Oh…” Simon stops when he hears my stomach rumble. Now it’s my turn to be embarrassed. I haven’t had lunch and I definitely need to find some more rats. Hunting’s quite difficult in a place where all the buildings are mashed together, but the parking lot has to do. Really, what am I, a vampire, doing in Italy?

“Let me buy you something to eat,” Simon says, “It’s the least I could do after wasting your time.”

He didn’t waste my time. I feel like my time would never be wasted with him.

“How about this? I buy my own lunch, but you join me?” I dare to say. I really don’t want him to go. I’m still intrigued about his magic, but now I want him to stay since he’s a joy to talk to. (I don’t experience a lot joy in my life, so I need to savour this moment.) “Maybe you can teach me how to order in Italian.”

After all, when I did it on my own, I was an absolute disaster. On my first night, I asked for the sconto instead of the conto. The waiter had a laugh.

Simon smiles.

--

End notes: Please look up "80 cm sun hat" on Goole Images. It's hilarious.

[fashionbooksmilano]

Fashion Books, Milan.

Niche attitude reminiscent of the Eighties. Fashion books from the Fifties, avant-garde magazines and catalogues line the walls of Alessandro Andrei’s private studio

In the early Eighties, Alessandro Andrei was fresh out of university and had just found a part-time job at the Einaudi bookshop, at Galleria Manzoni, in Milan. One day, he was working behind the counter, when a young man with dark curls stepped in and bought two copies of an illustrated book displayed in the shop window. That young man was Gianni Versace, and Alessandro, as he would soon find out, was about to experience the boom of Italian high fashion and the rise of the Made in Italy all around the world. Little did he know then that in a few years he would work as a target for the fashion, design and architecture publishing.  Alessandro was able to sense the potential of an expanding world which not only demanded the latest issues of fashion magazines, but needed references – photography, architecture, cinema, literature, color theory. In a time when social networks were far to be invented, an expert bookseller could save a designer’s collection by providing them with the right publication. «Even today» claims Alessandro, «I can spot which detail or pattern has been taken from a book I’ve sold to the designer». In his forty-year-long career, Alessandro replenished his catalogue by visiting book fairs all around the world, and established long-lasting partnerships with Armani, Moschino, Fiorucci, Pomellato, Gianfranco Ferré, Krizia. In 2018, he decided to open a private studio, Fashion Books, at via Kramer 33, in the district of Porta Venezia.        One doesn’t end up in Alessandro’s studio by chance, if only because one needs to make an appointment. Once its doors open, one can sense the different nature of this place – not a bookstore, not a private collection. The studio is lined with design pieces of all types – like the baroque armchair that was displayed at the Dolce & Gabbana store. Customers who visit Fashion Books are long-standing partners of Alessandro or up-and-coming designers in search of a one-of-a-kind book they could never find in a common bookshop. Alessandro’s passion for vintage illustrated books started in the mid-Nineties, in New York, when Shaun Gunson, Diana Vreeland’s assistant, introduced him to this business. When Shaun Gunson died a few years later, Alessandro took a flight to New York and participated in the auction sale of Gunson’s collection. He came back to Milan with a pile of fashion books printed in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. If it’s true that social media dominate the fashion industry, they should not be always trusted as they often ‘recycle’ the same images and aesthetics over and over again. That is why booksellers still play a role in design and fashion. «Designers have to consult specialized publications if they want to step off the beaten path and create something original» adds Alessandro. Browsing through the stacks in Fashion Books Milano, one encounters a variety of stimuli: in books that are design pieces themselves – like Il rumore del tempo by designer Gaetano Pesce, with its horsehair, silicone and iron cover; in the photographic collections, or in the classics of fashion literature. After all, as Terry Newman wrote in her book Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore, a fashion collection is a compendium of references and influences, backed by research and held together by the designer’s own taste – a fashion catalogue is therefore a census of its time’s aesthetics, as all literature is a mirror to its time’s society. What work of art captured the Twenties better than Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, or portrayed Manhattan’s Upper East Side better than Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany?

Fashionbooksmilano Via Antonio Kramer, 33 Milan

CARLOTTA ROVARIS

[elisaphoenix13]

Stowaway (Ch.2)

Even in space Cassie took her time getting clothes, but at least it was a little more bearable for Quill since he had to make some choices himself. He had to prepare her for possible weather conditions, temperature fluctuations, and everything else in between in case she had to leave the ship when they were elsewhere. When that was finally done, they stocked up on food and carried everything back to the Milano where Quill put the food away and Cassie changed into her new clothes. The celestial holds out some food when she comes back out of the Captain's Quarters, and she eyes the food suspiciously before shrugging and taking it.

"So do you have any units to spare?" Cassie asks and Quill guffaws.

"Baby girl, I'm as rich as Tony out here. If the Guardians knew that though, they would never leave me alone." He throws a few zargnuts into his mouth as he kicks his feet up onto the table.

Cassie, in the meantime, discovered the food that Quill handed her wasn't half bad and finished it easily. "Are you going to give them some?"

"Already transferred ten thousand to Rocket. It's enough to shut them up for a while."

The teen nods and grabs the deck of cards from the night before, and plays a game of solitaire while Quill roams the ship after finishing his own food. Despite the weird things it came up with in the thirty years he was gone, Earth was one of the places with better food and was one of the reasons he looked forward to going home. Besides his family of course. One couldn't get prime rib just anywhere.

Quill finally got the alert that his ship was finished fueling, and made a quick check of the job before telling Cassie to find a chair in the cockpit and planting her butt in it. When he went up to plant his own ass in the captain's chair, he was pleased to see the teen was even buckled in so he was able to take off pretty quickly. Once it was safe to roam the ship again as they made their way to their first destination, they both got up and went back down below to play a card game. Cassie was unnervingly good at poker and Quill made a mental note to figure out how she had such a good poker face and who was teaching her to count cards.

His money was on Tony. Who knew what that man taught Cassie during the five years Scott wasn't around.

"Royal Flush." Cassie announces with a smirk as she lays out her cards.

"The fuck?! I'm done playing poker with you!" Quill throws his cards at the teen for her to collect and shuffle and she giggles. "Deal out for Go Fish or something."

"Hey…" Cassie starts and Quill lifts an eyebrow in question. "Can you check on Dad?"

Quill cringes. "He's probably flipping his lid but sure."

What was nice about his Gaze was that he didn't check out when he was using it. He was still able to use it while he continued playing card games with Cassie, and he was right. Scott looked ready to lose his mind.

==============

"Scott...please don't wear a hole in our carpet." Stephen says calmly as he turns a page in his book.

"Tony said he got a message from Quill that Cassie was with him! In space!" The thief nearly screeches.

"I understand your worry but you know Quill would never let anything happen to her." The sorcerer returns one of his hands to Athena's head, who had rested it on his lap the moment he sat down.

Scott huffs and drops his hand from his mouth and stops his pacing to drop onto the couch next to Stephen. He had a point. Quill was just as protective of Cassie as he was over Scott, and he knew how extreme that protectiveness got. The celestial would throw himself between his daughter and whatever danger threatened her, and even if Cassie somehow managed to get hurt, Quill would be able to help her. The scary thought was knowing Quill would possibly obliterate a planet if Cassie was ever kidnapped out there and they refused to hand her over. If that were the case, the god would find their daughter, get her to safety, then wreak havoc.

"Can you open--" Scott starts to ask.

"No." Stephen interrupts immediately. "Space is too vast and I can't open a gateway to the ship either. It's a moving vehicle so I don't know where it is. Pictures don't always work."

The thief sighs heavily. "Didn't hurt to ask."

"There's no use stressing over it. She's with Quill, and if she somehow comes home hurt then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"What if it were one of your kids?" Scott bites out and Stephen levels him with a look.

"Two of my kids would very likely purposely smuggle themselves onto the ship, one can use magic to defend herself, and the other wouldn't leave my side long enough for that to happen."

He and Scott look to the opposite side that Scott was sitting and glance at the little girl sandwiched between Athena and the couch. Her head snuggled into the doctor's side and being kept warm by the wolf laying next to her as she took her afternoon nap. Another good point. Harley and Peter would purposely find a way to go out into space (Peter having already accidentally-purposely doing just that during the war for the stones), and Diana had her magic.

Stephen knew his children well and actually wouldn't stress if one of them were in Cassie's place. As long as someone he knew and trusted was with them, he didn't worry as much. Scott knew his daughter. If she didn't want to be in space, she would have asked Quill to bring her back home and he would have. At least she wasn't missing any school.

"Where are your trolls anyway?" Scott asks.

"Picking up sandwiches from Mr. Delmar's."

"They're going all the way to Queens for sandwiches?"

"Peter swears by them and he's been a loyal customer for years."

"At least Cassie is satisfied with keeping the nearest Starbucks in business." Scott mumbles and Stephen smiles.

"Don't forget about Target."

"Dia is just as bad."

"Because of Cassie."

"Ok. Fair." Scott relents.

"Just stay calm. Quill will take care of her. In the meantime, you're more than welcome to have dinner with us."

Scott nods and motions toward the tv and Stephen waves at him lazily with his permission. After finding a movie to watch, the thief sat back with his feet on the coffee table and did his best to not worry too much about Cassie. Stephen was right. She was with Quill...and he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

===============

Quill and Cassie abandoned card games for outside when they arrived at their destination, and the pirate gave the girl permission to accompany him since the planet was like Morag. Ruins. Only a few harmless animals were in the vicinity and Quill was there to find some kind of artifact.

Hopefully not some secret weapon again.

"It's pretty." Cassie says as they vault over a fallen tree. Well, Quill vaulted, Cassie needed a hand once the celestial was over.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Quill shrugs and she gives him a look.

"There are planets prettier than this one?"

Quill leads the way, and looks around their surroundings at the multitudes of greenery and other colors. It was a lot like the forests on Earth but the alien plants and flowers had bright colors that made it obvious they weren't actually on Earth. As well as the man eating plants. They weren't actually man eating, they were harmless. They were just big enough to eat Cassie. She quickly figured out they were harmless when Quill walked past them without worry and without warning her to be careful.

"Why aren't there...people?" She asks.

"Not sure. There's a few explanations for the planet to be uninhabited. Disease, famine, war...Thanos…" Quill cringes a bit at the name. It was very likely the titan visited this planet before the war for the stones and slaughtered those that dwelled here.

"What about if the planet was dying?" Cassie asks from a little further away than the celestial expected.

He turns around and finds Cassie a few feet away and inspecting one of the large plants that looked unhealthy. Quill doubles back to join her and inspects the plant himself, and frowns when he finds the roots of it and nearby plants blackening. Disease. Something not even the planet could overcome.

"The planet might have a few more years, but it will eventually wither away and die." Quill finally says and motions for Cassie to follow him.

She frowns at his conclusion but follows him through the forest until they come across a large stone building in ruins. Quill didn't even need any tools to break into the building this time. The building was in such bad shape that he just delivered a swift quick to the wall and it gave way, dust and dirt flying up into a cloud around them when the rocks fell to the ground. Cassie coughs as she waves the dust away from her face and then sneezes when it tickles her nose.

"Sorry baby girl." Quill steps into the ruins and looks around, finding the artifact the dealer described to him lying on the ground. "This place has been abandoned for a really long time."

He stashes the totem like artifact into his bag and points back toward the hole he made just thirty seconds ago. They head back toward the ship, Cassie glancing at the sick plant with sympathy as they passed it, and then follows Quill back to the ship. When they get back, Quill throws his bag into the ship and nods in agreement when Cassie asks if they can sleep outside for the night. It was safe enough and he wouldn't take away the experience whenever he could help it. So he grabbed a couple of sleeping bags off the ship and had Cassie lay them out while he built a fire and started their dinner.

"Cass, come here." Quill calls from a tree a few yards away from their makeshift camp. When she joins him, he moves her directly in front of him and places one of his blasters in her hands. "Wouldn't hurt to teach you how to properly shoot my guns while you're out here."

"Wait...really?"

Quill points past her. "See that dead branch on the tree straight ahead?" When she nods he drops his arm. "Shoot it."

Cassie raises his gun, aims, and then shoots, frowning when the beam misses the target completely. Quill gently assures her that space guns were harder to use than Earth's firearms and simply moved her arm accordingly and showed her how to properly aim. She hit the target on her second attempt, and Quill walked back to the fire to check on their dinner while she continued to practice. He wouldn't arm her if he could help it, but at least she would know how to use the weapons if she needed to.

"I thought you said you had to help the Guardians with a job." Cassie says as she rejoins him at the fire and returns his gun to him.

"I do. That's our next stop. We're meeting them, and that's gonna be a time I need you to stay on the ship." Quill fills a bowl with some kind of stew he made and hands it to her.

"I'm not arguing, but how come?" She asks.

"We've been hired to killed some kind of creature. It's been stomping all over town."

"Sounds big."

"Yeah. A big pain in the ass." Quill takes a few bites of his stew before pointing at Cassie with his spoon. "Don't tell your dad I taught you how to shoot guns."

"What are you talking about?" She wonders in feigned innocence.

Quill grins and they finish their dinner, and while Cassie goes into the ship to change into her pajamas, Quill wanders a few yards away from camp before stopping. He takes a deep breath and then wills his powers into being before focusing them toward the planet. He uses his light to look for the source of the planet's sickness, and when he finally finds it, he purifies the disease until nothing remains. Quill comes out of his trance with a shaky breath as he watches the tendrils of light recede back to him, and he leans against the nearest tree to catch his breath. Healing planets always took a lot out of him and he hadn't even planned on helping this one until Cassie asked to camp out on it for the night. If he fell into a deep sleep to recover at least she would be safe until he woke up in the morning.

"Papa?" Quill cracks his eyes open, not even realizing he had closed them, and grunts out in answer. "Come on. I'll help you."

The celestial throws his arm around Cassie's shoulder and allows her to lead them back the few feet to camp (it felt like a mile), and he immediately collapses onto the sleeping bag Cassie had completely laid out. As she pulls the second one over them, he passes out as soon as his head hits the pillow, his purr like snores filling the air around them.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

I’m not allowed to be alone

Quill and the rest of the gaurdians recently took a job that required some finesse. Lets face it, looking at this rag tag team of people, it was all left to you to handle the delicate negotiations.

Which was going great, you secured a fair payment, they even offered to do some maintenance on the Milano.

Then all hell breaks loose, Peter barges in, trying to lookncalm and collected. "Uh, Rockets been arrested."

Rockets defense, he was left all alone.

[starwitch3000]

What’s Your Story - 9

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Summary: Reader and Peter have plans to hang out and they’re interrupted by someone unexpected 

Warning: Language

masterlist

chapter eight

A week went by and everything was fine between you and Peter. Things were better even. You seemed to talk just as easily as you did before and found more reasons to hang out with each other. You weren’t an idiot, you knew exactly why things felt easier. That day at Peter’s bar brought you both to a mutual understanding and that was that this was something you both wanted, but were equally scared of losing. And maybe it was that fear that drove you closer. 

When Peter called you about grabbing dinner you hadn’t even left work yet. 

“What about the bar?” you had asked 

He explained that he was giving Rocket a chance of taking care of it by himself for a night, but also that Peter was going to go crazy if he had to sit around and do nothing. 

The idea of watching Peter sit around in his bar while he let someone else be in charge was hilarious. Peter wouldn’t last an hour in that situation so you agreed to grabbing some take out and heading back to your place for a movie night. 

Peter met you half way home from work and you guys grabbed some food. 

“I bet he’s going to rearrange everything just to spite you for doubting him this much,” you laugh nudging Peters arm as you both walked to your place food in hand. You were coming up with all the ways Rocket was going to ruin The Milano tonight. 

Peter groaned, “Don’t even say that. He once relabeled my entire back stock just to make everything have an S at the end of each word.”

“He what?”

“Yeah I don’t even know,” Peter says shaking his head, “I asked him why and all he said was he found the label maker. Asshole kept laughing at it.” 

Your head tilted back in laughter, “I love that! Now that’s all I’m gonna think of.” 

“It wasn’t funny doing inventory was hell,” Peter said trying his best to sound mad but you heard the amusement in his voice. 

“Jims Beams,” You giggled. 

“Stop this.”

“Kahluas.”  

“You’re the worst.” 

“Johnnies Walkers.” 

“I’m disowning you.” 

“Blues Moons.” 

“Alright I’m leaving,” He says stopping to walk away from you. 

“No wait,” you laugh grabbing his arm to stop him, “I’ll stop I promise.” 

You approached your apartment filled with laughter which felt great, you couldn’t remember the last time you felt this happy. But that all came to a crashing halt the moment you saw him, your ex, sitting on the steps leading up to your complex. 

You stopped in your steps dropping your hand from Peters arm causing him to stop as well looking at you. 

“What’s wrong?” Peter asks but you feel frozen. You couldn’t look away from your ex, what the hell was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be someone that is not New York forgetting about you? Peter followed your gaze seeing the man on your steps who hadn’t noticed you two, confused Peter looked back at you. It must have been something in your expression that made him understand without a word who this is.

The man on your steps noticed you finally standing there shocked and he got up, “(Y/N)...” 

Noticing Peter tense and glaring at the man before you, you pulled your shit together and you dropped your keys into Peter’s hand. 

“I’ll be up in a minute just take the food up alright?” 

The look Peter gives you tells you that he really doesn’t want to go, but you press the keys harder into his hand pleading. He nods and takes the food and keys going inside. 

You could barely take your eyes off the door Peter just disappeared through, “What are you doing here?”

“Baby I want you back.” 

Straight to the point. Great. 

You scoff turning to face him, “I thought your job was more important? What are you even doing in New York?”

“Look I’m going to be honest here because I want you to know how much I want you back; there was no job,” He says and your eyes widened in disbelief, “I just couldn’t think of a better excuse that wouldn’t hurt your feelings.” 

“You broke up with me. Consider my feelings hurt,” you spat. 

“Baby don’t be like that,” He pleaded. 

“Stop that!” You snap, “I’m not your baby. Tell me the truth, why did you really want to break up with me?”

He swallows uncomfortably, “there was another girl.” 

You weren’t sure why this shocked you but it did. 

“She found out about you and told me that I had to choose her or you,” He says, “So I chose her.” 

“You cheated on me?” tears stung your eyes. You felt like screaming. 

“That’s in the past baby, it doesn’t matter anymore and to be fair I was only really passing time with you,” he says, “she and I aren’t together anymore and I just want you back. Don’t you miss me?” 

You laugh a loud, harsh, humorless laugh, “Go rot in hell asshole.” 

You turn up the stairs and pressed your buzzer like it was your life line until the door buzzed open.

Peter had buzzed you in and you quickly get yourself into the building before you burst into tears in front of this asshole. In fact you make it all the way up to your apartment with minimal tears. It wasn’t until you made it inside and Peter’s face was full of concern and he asks you the most innocent, but most loaded question.

“Are you okay?” 

And just like that you broke. It feels like the breakup is happening all over again, and in some ways it is, and suddenly you can’t stop the sob that burst through you. 

Without another word Peter pulls you into his arms and you bury your head into his chest and just cry. This feels like a new low for you. Just when you’re over it your ex comes swooping in to deal some more damage. It’s like a video game boss that you know you’ve defeated but at the last second they revive themselves and you have to start the fight all over again. 

You don’t know how long you cried, but soon enough the sob turns into stray tears and hiccups. You feel exhausted. 

Peter’s hand rubs gently over your back, “You want to tell me about it?” 

You hiccup and pull away from his chest slightly staring at the stains you caused. Quietly you said, “He lied to me.” 

He says nothing but you see the sympathy cross his face. 

“He lied to me,” you repeated, “And he cheated on me, and - and he used me,” you spat and just like that the heartbreak turned into anger, “He never loved me I was just something for him to keep busy with. A fucking year of my life and I meant nothing to him.”

Peter reached up and brushed some hair that stuck to your tear soaked cheeks out of your face, “He’s not worth anymore of your time.”

“Yeah except now he wants me back and he doesn’t see anything wrong with what he did,” You don’t know how but fresh tears stung your eyes, “Christ I feel miserable.” 

“I’m sorry this is happening,” Peter says softly. 

“It’s not your fault.” 

“I know I just hate seeing you hurt over this when there’s nothing I can do,” He sighs, “Unless you want me to go kick his ass?”

You huffed out a short laugh, “No he’s not worth anyone’s time. Hopefully he can see he’s not welcome in my life anymore after this.” 

“Alright but the offer is out there,” he says, “just in case.” 

You wipe the back of your hand across your cheek to get rid of the new tears that had fallen. 

“You look exhausted, why don’t you go lay down,” Peter suggests.

“But what about-”

“Don’t worry about this I’ll figure something out,” he says shrugging off your dinner and movie plans out of concern for you. 

You sniffle and nod apologizing again before disappearing into your room and collapsing onto your bed. 

Peter watches you go off into your room all red eyed and exhausted. He’d hold you all night and let you cry if that would somehow make you feel better, but something in the back of his mind told him that that was a bad idea.

Trying to think of what he should do, he notices your bag that you dropped on the floor sometime between walking into your apartment and bursting into tears. He fished inside the bag for a moment and predictably found your phone. 

Peter feels helpless about helping you through this so he uses your phone to call the one person he knows can. Natasha. 

“Hey hot stuff to what do I owe the pleasure?” Her sultry voice flows through the phone.

Peter clears his throat awkwardly, “uh, actually it’s Peter.” 

“Oh, gross. Why do you have (Y/N)’s phone?” she asks. 

“Found her phone,” He answers, “She’s kind of having a shitty day and I’m not the right person to be helping her through this situation,” he explains. 

“What happened?” she questions panic rising in her voice

Peter looks back at your bedroom door before explaining, “Her ex showed up and wants her back I guess. Said he lied about why they broke up or some shit.”

“Shit.”

“This just seems like a best friend situation.”

“I’m out the door.” 

It takes less than twenty minutes for Natasha to show up with a couple bags in hand. In  that time Peter had put away the food they grabbed into the fridge so (Y/N) had something to eat later. He also checked in on (Y/N) briefly and he found you passed out on your bed. 

“How is she?” Natasha asked. 

“Not great. She’s cried herself to exhaustion and is now asleep in her room,” Peter dutifully answers.

Natasha nods, “What even happened? Why did he show up? I thought he moved overseas or some shit.”

“No idea,” Peter says, “He was just on the steps waiting when we got here and she sent me upstairs so I wouldn’t kick his ass. She only told me pieces of what went down like he’s a liar and a cheat.”

“God I want to kick his ass.”

“Get in line,” Peter grumbles.

Natasha watches him for a moment and Peter shifts uncomfortably under her gaze feeling as if she’s reading every thought in his mind. 

“Thanks for calling me. This really is a best friend situation,” Natasha shrugs walking past him and towards (Y/N)’s bedroom she pauses and turned back to Peter, “You know, not a situation for the guy she’s totally into to get involved in.” 

Peter gawks at her. This feels like a trap he doesn’t know how but it feels trap like.

“Don’t get all high school on me. You’re both super into each other and everyone can see it,” Natasha rolls her eyes, “Look all I’m saying is this thing going on between you two might take some time, but I really hope something good happens between you two eventually.” 

Peter blinks, clearing his throat uncomfortably, “er, thanks. I think.”

“I’m being serious. Buck and I have a bet running and you two getting together is how I win and I always win.” 

“Okay… That’s weird but unsurprising, so I’m going to head out. There is take out in the fridge.” 

They exchange goodbyes and then Nat makes her way to your room. She finds you curled up in your bed hugging a pillow fast asleep. She walks over to your bed setting her bags down next to it before shaking you awake gently. 

“Nat?” you blink up at her in the dim lighting of your room, “What are you doing here?” 

“Peter called,” she answers sitting on the edge of your bed, “He filled me in a little bit and as my job as your best friend I am here to comfort you. So I brought over junk food and horror movies, so we can come up with creative things to do to this asshole.” 

chapter 10

[probably-not-star-lord]

Spaceman (Peter Quill x Reader)

A/N: I’M SORRY THAT I WROTE THIS I WAS IN AN ANGSTY MOOD BUT READ IT ANYWAY CAUSE NGL IT’S GOOD SHIT

Summary: The spaceman you’re so desperately in love with pays you a visit for the first time in a few years.

Warnings: swearing, ANGST, smut, NSFW

-

You never thought you could get attached so easily. But, when Peter Jason Quill came knocking at your door, you knew you were in trouble. 

The date was almost exactly four years ago. A spaceship landed in your backyard in the middle of the night, causing a ruckus, and you thought you had gone crazy and were seeing things. Peter emerged from the ship in a panic, he appeared injured, worn out, beaten down, and he was seeking parts to fix his ship. He came to your door in search of help and you were unable to bring yourself to say no to such a handsome face. You gave him everything he needed and even offered him assistance, working into the late hours of the night.

Even after his ship was repaired, Peter didn’t leave. He stayed awhile, telling you about how he grew up here and how it isn’t referred to as “Earth” in space, but instead, it is called “Terra.” He shared stories about his adventures in space and he told you all about his team who guards the galaxy. You filled him in on your life, your interests, your job, but none of it could compare to how amazing Peter’s life sounded to you. Music was a big topic during your discussion. You agreed on who the best artists were back in the ‘80s and you showed Peter some modern music. He let you listen to his Walkman and he laughed when you called it vintage. To your surprise, the two of you had a lot in common, and for several hours you opened up to one another. The both of you laughed, joked, and shared pretty much everything about yourselves. He even told you about his mother and your heart broke for him. You’ve never felt such a strong connection with another person before. Neither had Peter and he made sure to tell you.

He also made sure to tell you that you were the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. That meant a lot to you, especially coming from someone who had an entire galaxy of species at their fingertips. His gorgeous, green eyes locked with yours when he said it. You could see the reflection of the stars from outside your window illuminating in his eyes, and you were slowly drawn forward to him. Before you knew it, his lips were on yours and you were being carried to the bedroom.

That first time you had sex was a blur. Your clothes were disregarded so quickly and garments were carelessly tossed all around your house as the two of you stumbled toward your bedroom. Peter was experienced with sex, and you could easily tell he was a womanizer up in space. He had your eyes sewn shut as you moaned loudly with every thrust. Your sweaty hands were grabbing the bedsheets in pleasure as he fucked you. Peter quickly became your weakness and you would succumb to that man with just one glance from his green eyes. You had become Peter’s weakness as well, which he didn’t want to happen. All he wanted was a one night stand with a girl who helped him repair the Milano, but you became so much more in only one night. That is exactly why he left before you woke up the next morning.

The next visit was a little over a year later. Peter had just finished a tiring mission and longed to have you in his arms as he healed. After that first night together, neither of you were able to erase one another from your minds. Peter spent most nights collecting one night stands with various women in space, but none of them compared to the connection he felt with you. So, when he returned the second time, he made sure to let you know the effect you had on him. You agreed with Peter, informing him of the way you felt after he left. You had sex with him again that night, your mind hazy and legs quaking in pleasure. He held you all night long, the two of you comforting each other through the pain you were feeling in your own lives. He was gone again the next morning.

Peter’s third visit was nine months after that. He came to your door severely injured from a space battle that he and the Guardians had just returned from. You were distraught and in complete shock at the sight of Peter at your door and clearly hurt. Almost immediately you cleaned his wounds and had him rest. You laid by his side for a while in silence, his arms were around you and his fingers combed through your hair soothingly. Soon the silence turned into arguing as the two of you discussed the reasons behind Peter’s visits. You screamed at him for leaving you and not returning, then dropping in again whenever he felt like it. He apologized with a deep, passionate kiss, and soon enough you found yourself in bed with him again. The next morning, as Peter got dressed, he watched you sleep. You had a sleepy grin on your face and the sheets were wrapped around your naked body. That is how you looked after every night with him and he loved looking at you in the morning before he left. He couldn’t stand to leave you again, but he knew that he couldn’t stay. He left you a note promising he would return, signing it as the name that always makes you giggle: Star-Lord.

Sure enough, Peter did return. The visits became more frequent as he would stop by for a night with you every couple of months. The two of you would dance around your house to Peter’s favorite slow songs and you would cook him dinner that you would both laugh and joke over. Each night he stayed would be spent with your bodies as one, fucking into the late hours of the night. He would hold you close to his chest as you slept until it was time for him to go back to the Milano. A life with Peter seemed like a fantasy and you knew deep down that it could never be real. You also knew that Peter had other women he was seeing out in space. He never talked about his reputation or the long string of one night stands he collected, but you knew they were there. Yet, as Peter spent more time with you on Terra, he completely disregarded women that threw themselves at him when he, Rocket, Groot, and Drax spent nights getting wasted at bars. In his heart, he knew he only wanted you. He still found a way to leave you, though, and that broke you each time.

The last time you saw Peter was two years ago. You spent a lot of time thinking about him, smiling at the goofy jokes he makes or crying at the fact that he may have left you for good. You know Peter isn’t a real lover and could never provide for you or start a family with you, but your heart longs for him anyway. It just seems that the men you know on Earth could never compare to the way Peter makes you feel. The only person you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with is him.

The clock nears three o’clock in the morning and you find yourself still tossing and turning in your bed. The unhappiness and loneliness you feel without Peter by your side at night is hitting for probably the millionth time. You start to believe he may never return to you and all you do is wish for at least one, final visit. A loud knock on your door causes you to sit up abruptly as you know only one person in the entire universe would come to visit you at this hour of the night. Tossing your covers aside, you sprint to the front door, nearly slipping as your socks come in contact with the wooden floors. You swing the door open and find Peter Quill, looking exactly the same as he did the last time he was here two years ago.

Peter smiles at you sheepishly, expecting you hit him or scream at him or tell him to fuck off and never return. You want to get angry. You want to get mad. But, the only response you can find is to grin like a stupid fool in love as Peter stands before you in his red, leather jacket. Instantly, you suppress your smile and try and remain serious. This is the man that only visits you when he needs something and rarely comes to spend time with you. Better yet, the time he does spend with you is spent fucking. You tell yourself he doesn’t feel the same way. Peter doesn’t love you or else he would stay with you and you make sure to repeat that thought in your head over and over again. Neither of you say anything for a few moments and you find yourself at a loss for words as you glance over his body. You’re stunned at the fact he has come to see you without any injuries or needing any assistance to repair the Milano. He seems to be here just to see you and only you.

“Hey, Y/N,” he says, his voice low and hoarse.

“Peter.” You nod, crossing your arms.

“I know. I know it’s been a while.”

“It has been a while,” you scoff. “It’s been over two years.”

Peter exhales loudly, bringing a hand to the back of his neck. “Is that really how long it’s been?” You nod in response. “Well, I’m sorry, Y/N. I hadn’t realized that much time had passed.”

You roll your eyes. “Great. It’s so good to know that you don’t give a shit,” you hiss, attempting to slam the door in his face. His hand catches it and he follows you inside, shutting the door behind him.

“That’s not fair, Y/N, you know I give a shit.”

You swivel on your heels to face him, noticing the look of desperation on his face. “Then how the hell did you manage to stay away for so long, Peter? If you even mildly cared about me you’d visit more often. Better yet, you’d fucking stay!”

Peter wipes his face with his hands. “You know I can’t do that.”

“And why can’t you?”

“Because I have a fucking life, Y/N!” he yells, raising his voice significantly. “Drax, Groot, Rocket, Gamora, Mantis, all of them need me. In fact, the whole damn galaxy needs me cause I’m the one that’s supposed to be out there saving it.”

You sigh, your eyes falling to the floor. “I know, Peter, I know.” Peter takes a step closer and takes your hands in his, pressing your foreheads together. “I just wish you could guard the galaxy from down here, you know?”

He hums in response, understanding how it must be for you to watch him leave time after time. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. You know that if I could stay with you I would without hesitation. At first, the sex is what made me come back, but you...you, Y/N, you make me want to stay.” he whispers. “And I hate doing this to you. I hate leaving in the morning and then coming back to visit like...like I’m my father or something.”

You bring a hand to the side of his face and bring your eyes to meet his. “Hey. Listen to me. You are not and never will be your father,” you disclose sincerely. “I know that this means more to you than...”

“Than what my mother meant to my father?”

“Yes,” you reply. Peter brings his large hand to his face to cover yours and smiles. There are a million things he wants to tell you to express how badly he wants to stay, but he knows nothing will help.

“Y/N, I...I...” he starts to speak, unable to find words. You cut him off by bringing your lips to his. He instantly kisses you back deeply, his lips tasting like home. You wrap your arms around his neck to pull him closer and his hands fall to your waist. The two of you stand there kissing for quite some time until he feels your hips push into his impatiently. He brings an arm to the back of your knees and swiftly picks you up, carrying you to the bedroom.

Peter delicately places you down on the bed. He removes his red jacket, dropping it to the floor then disregarding his shirt. As he slowly leans down to hover above you, his warm hands creep up the hem of your shirt as he pulls it off. Peter’s lips find yours again and he brings a hand to your exposed breast, causing you to moan. He’s missed the sound of your moans for the past couple of years and the noise is like music to his ears. The hand that isn’t on your breast falls down the side of your torso as he reaches for your shorts, yanking them off and throwing them across the room. Your hands desperately reach for Peter’s belt. You undo the buckle and pull his pants down, Peter stepping out of them as he crawls further onto the bed. Reaching a hand into his boxers you stroke his erection lightly, causing Peter to break from the kiss and moan.

“I’ve missed this,” he whispers, kissing your cheek and moving down your jawline with kisses, certainly leaving marks you’ll see later.

Your breath hitches in your throat as he continues peppering kisses downward, making his way to the hem of your panties. “So have I.”

Peter’s strong hands strip you of your panties and he lightly kisses everywhere but where you need him to be. A weak moan escapes your lips and Peter buries his head between your thighs. You push a hand through his hair as the pleasure consumes you, your orgasm quickly approaching.

Peter stops what he’s doing and makes eye contact with you, loving the way you look as he pleasures you. “You like that, baby?”

You nod. “Yes, Peter, please don’t stop.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he says, his voice husky and low. He resumes licking your clit as you become a moaning mess under Peter’s power. Your sheets find themselves wrapped between your fingers as you grab them in pleasure, your orgasm consuming you with a loud moan of Peter’s name. 

When you finish, Peter kisses his way back up your torso until he lands on your lips. He removes his boxers and his cock springs free. Peter teases you with his fingers until you’re practically begging him to fuck you.

“Please, Peter, I need you,” you mutter, breaking away from the hungry kiss. He nods in understanding as he lines himself up at your entrance, pushing his cock inside of you. You take a minute to adjust to his size for the first time in a while, but soon you’re asking him to move. Peter starts thrusting slowly, yet his pace quickens until he is fucking you roughly. The bedboard slams into the wall numerous times and you can feel the bed creak, but all of that becomes the least of your worries as Peter thrusts in and out of you vigorously.

His hands find yours as he intertwines your fingers. Your hands are pinned above your head by Peter’s, and he leans down to kiss you sloppily. He finds himself feeling something new as he fucks you. Sex with you had always felt different, better, to him, but something inside him changes as he watches you beneath him. This isn’t just fucking, Peter is making love to you.

“I’m close,” Peter grunts.

“I’m right there with you,” you tell him.

With a few final thrusts, Peter cums, filling you with his warmth. He rolls off of you and finds a steady breath before turning over to face you again. He kisses your cheek with a grin and you laugh lightly at his sweetness. You go to wash up in the bathroom and Peter gives you a large shirt of his that he brought in from the Milano because he loves you seeing you dressed like that. You wearing nothing but panties and one of his shirts is his weakness. 

You emerge from the bathroom to find Peter laying on your bed in nothing but his boxers. He turns to face you and smiles brightly. His eyes search your face as if he is trying to remember every detail. “Come to space with me,” he blurts.

You shake your head in confusion, taking a seat beside him. “What?”

“Come to space with me,” he repeats, sitting up on the bed. “Think about it, Y/N. It would be perfect. You could meet all of my friends and join us on the Milano. I’d have to train you a bit but-”

“Peter,” you try and cut him off but he continues to ramble.

“-but I’m sure you’d quickly pick up basic combat skills. You could fight the bad guys with us out in space, Y/N. It would be so fucking great-”

“Peter!”

“What?”

“I can’t go to space with you,” you exclaim, feeling guilty the second you see pain wash over Peter’s face. “I’m sorry, I really am, but it’s the same reason you can’t stay here. Living on the Milano with you and the Guardians sounds great, but I have a life here on Earth.”

“Come on,” he argues. “You ain’t got nothing down here that’s too important, but in space...well in space you’d have me.” 

You lean forward and kiss him deeply, completely distracting him from the argument. “I know, but I love my life here. I have my job and my family and a billion other things I couldn’t stand to leave, no matter how badly I want to be with you. No matter...no matter how much I love you.”

Peter’s eyes widen at your statement. He has never been in love before and telling someone how he feels is completely new to him. “I-” he hesitates, trying to find the right words even though he clearly knows them. “I love you too, Y/N. I love you so fucking much.”

He kisses you again, bringing a hand to the back of your neck as his fingers get tangled in your hair. You kiss him back passionately, never wanting the feeling of his lips on yours to go away. As he breaks away, you instantly miss his kiss.

“But, you’re right, you can’t come with me,” he nods in agreement. “I...I just...I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. The Guardians and I have a mission that will take a while, certainly longer than two years, and I don’t want you to wait around for me. As much as I’d like to think of you waiting here for me when I return, I can’t...I can’t do that to you.”

Your eyes start to fill with tears as your glance falls from Peter onto the messy sheets. “I figured this would happen at some point. I just...”

“...didn’t want to believe it?” he asks, finishing your statement. You are unable to speak without choking on your tears, so you simply shake your head. Peter senses your sadness and wraps his arms around you, pulling you into him as you sob on his shoulder. “I know. I know it’s hard. It certainly ain’t going to be easy leaving you tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to forget you, Peter.”

“You won’t,” Peter states, pulling you off of him to bore his green eyes into yours. “You can’t forget me. Cause as long as I’m up there...” He points to the ceiling, but you feel as though you can see all the stars in the galaxy that he gets to witness every day. “...I will be so madly and desperately in love you. I’ll be thinking about you every day and night, unable to forget. So...you can’t forget about me either.”

“Never,” you state, kissing him once again.

Peter pulls you into his chest as the two of you drift off to sleep. You wish that you could stay like this forever, wrapped in his loving arms. But you know he needs to go back to his home in space, on the Milano with the rest of the Guardians. A life living in the stars with new friends, fighting crime, being next to Peter, sounds wonderful. You want to be out there with him, dancing to the old music he loves so much, but you know you can’t leave your home. You also know that you can’t ask Peter to leave everything he knows. The result is parting ways forever, and neither of you wants that, but you can’t always get what you want.

The next morning, as the sun begins to rise, Peter wakes up and collects his things. He retrieves his clothes from your floor and gets dressed, watching you sleep in his shirt with another, sleepy smile on your face. The Milano gets ready for departure and Peter peeks in your room one last time. He plants a kiss on your forehead and you flutter your eyes open groggily.

“I love you,” you tell him, meaning it truly and dearly from the bottom of your heart.

He smirks. “I know.”

With that, Peter Jason Quill departs from Terra, and from your life, forever.

permanent taglist: @lolabean1998 @thisismysecrethappyplace @crazystarlady @gloomybisexualemo @yougottalovefandoms

marvel taglist: @verkyun

peter quill taglist: @quillxgrady

[douxreviews]

Charmed - Season Two Review

"Our job is to protect the innocent, not punish the guilty."

In a lot of respects, Charmed's second season is stronger that the first. With no real "sophomore slump" to speak of, the series quickly settles into a fantastic run of episodes that make great use of the groundwork laid by the debut season. Spoilers and Gordon bashing ahead!

Season opener 'Witch Trial' is brimming with confidence. There's such an ease to how this season uses each sister, and how they interact has never felt more organic and fun than it does here. Following the previous season's finale, Andy's death is still causing ricochets through the Halliwells' lives, and Prue's struggle to get back on the “witch's saddle” is played really well. There's a heartbreaking monologue in the premiere in which Prue voices her struggles with her ability to do good, when she feels like she's responsible for her first love's death. Shannen was always one of the strongest cast members, and that scene always springs to mind when I think of how great she was in this role. The way Piper and Phoebe comfort Prue in this moment feels so right, too. I love these three gals.

The best of episode of the season (and a series highlight) is 'Morality Bites', an even more affecting hour than the premiere. It features the show's third major brush with time travel – this time to the future – where a decision to punish a guilty man leads to Phoebe literally burning at the stake. Though it relies on some simple ideas, there's a powerful lesson to be learned, with the sisters facing the hard truth behind why they can only use their powers to protect, not punish. That one line always hits me where it hurts: "The wrong thing done for the right reason is still the wrong thing.". 'Morality Bites' is also Alyssa Milano's best work; you can really feel Phoebe's pain throughout. There's a further brush with time travel later on in the season as well and although it doesn't resonate quite as much as 'Morality Bites', there's still a lot of fun to be had. 'Pardon My Past' toys with the theory of past lives and how souls can grow and evolve over time. The hour neatly ties into that recurring theme of Phoebe's latent dark side, a concept that was explored to great effect in last season's 'Woogy' episode. And who can resist an opportunity to dress up the cast in 20's garb?

Season Two also picks up where episodes like 'That '70s Episode' left off, delving further into the intriguing Halliwell family history, notably in 'P3H2O', a powerful chapter that reveals the girls' mother's affair with her former Whitelighter Sam (a twist that becomes quite significant – and very useful for the producers – come Season Four). The episode itself features some beautiful and heart-breaking moments for each sister: Piper falling into her mother's footsteps with Leo and eventually realising that she has to let him go; Phoebe being forced into reliving her mother's final moments in order to stop the demon who killed her; and Prue confronting her fear head on and eventually avenging Patty's death. There are some lighter episodes that make great use of the dynamic performances of the core cast, too. Despite some questionable examples of this ('She's a Man, Baby, a Man'), episodes like 'Astral Monkey' and 'Chick Flick' are a lot of fun, with the latter standing out as one of the best examples of how inventive and sharp the writing team could be when they really wanted to.

What lets the second year down is the introduction of the series' first truly sucky characters: Dan and Jenny Gordon. The latter's brief run of episodes seems to serve very little purpose other than to throw in a younger person's perspective into the series and force Dan into the Halliwells' lives. Her barely explained disappearance after just a handful of episodes seems to indicate some sort of an awareness of how grating a character she ended up becoming. As dull as he is, Dan isn't necessarily as problematic as the storyline he represents; the show's worst love triangle. He's a total bore, but I feel like he's more of a victim of circumstance than anything else, primarily serving as a c*ck-block between Piper and the then well-established Leo, who were clearly the end-game couple of the series. His hasty exit at the close of the season is probably the only reprieve where his arc is concerned, allowing Piper and Leo to properly pursue their love affair, which leads to more threatening, and subsequently more interesting roadblocks in Season Three. I do feel obliged to point out how awful Leo is for a significant portion of this arc. He's unfair, judgmental and forces Piper into some very uncomfortable situations just to prove a point. Give a girl some room! Leo's struggles with his temporary transition back to human form are mildly interesting, though they don't last very long and are drowned out by the melodramatic hoopla of the love triangle.

An unfortunate amount of this season’s run time is spent on Piper's conflicting feelings for Dan and Leo, but we do get some great character work elsewhere. Piper's professional life sees a major overhaul following her decision to quit her job at Quake last season, as she transitions from restaurant manager to club owner. Said establishment, P3, is a fun hub of activity for the girls, and a handy way for the network to parade a multitude of musical guests onto the show. It also feels like the right move for a character who's starting to really come into her own and take control of her life. Prue's deconstruction from the uptight matriarch of the family continues this season, with episodes like 'Ms Hellfire' playing with her wild side. In that regard, her decision to leave her by-the-numbers job at Buckland's to pursue her actual dream of becoming a photographer makes total sense, though it still baffles me how an inexperienced photographer like her managed to worm her way into a job at an established magazine. Phoebe's arc weirdly feels like it's bringing both Prue and her back to some kind of middle ground; just as the eldest sibling starts to let go of her inhibitions, Phoebe makes the decision to start becoming more responsible and actively pursues her unfinished college degree. Gone are the days of the hotel lobby psychic! Like Prue and Piper's arcs, Phoebe's also feels natural and right for her character, and is satisfying for those who have been following her journey since the first episode.

Potions and Notions

Darryl is brought in on the magical secret in 'Ms Hellfire', which thankfully curbs the risk of any repeat of the antagonism the girls faced from a frustrated Andy last season.

Prue is the first sister to develop a whole new power this season; Astral Projection. It's actually a fairly cool advancement and it's used really well.

The Source, the leader of the underworld, is mentioned for the first time in ‘Give Me a Sign’.

Spells and Chants

Phoebe: "The wrong thing done for the right reason is still the wrong thing."

Prue: "I know someone who can see anything." Phoebe: "Oh, no. Wait a minute. You tiptoe around the subject of Mom, you deny looking like her, you can't even go to the end of that dock because you're afraid to walk in her footsteps and now you want me to relive her last moments? How is that fair?" Prue: "It's not. None of this is. Mom's death, Sam's guilt. But I'm asking you to help me end it."

Piper: "Wait, Phoebe, you enrolled? This is huge!" Phoebe: "Hugest thing I've done since I came back home. I mean, aside from vanquishing demons and saving the world from evil, of course."

Billy: “Don’t you just hate exposition?” Phoebe: “Tell me about it…”

Best Episode: Morality Bites.

Honorable Mentions: Witch Trial, P3H2O, Ms Hellfire, Pardon my Past, Murphy's Luck, Chick Flick, Astral Monkey.

Worst Episode: They're Everywhere!

The show's second year is permeated by some drab and drawn out love-life drama, but it's largely a solid follow-up to the show's charming opening season, one that ups the ante and includes several episodes that are among the series' best.

8 out of 10 magic monkeys.

Panda

[decaffeinatedfirelover]

Deals this week: Fossil Group, Metro Retail Stores, Velasca

Fossil Group Inc. and Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (BMW) have agreed to develop and distribute BMW-branded watches and smartwatches worldwide through 2023.

BMW-branded watches and accessories will also be created by Fossil Group and released next year.

Over 4,000 BMW and Fossil Group key retailers around the world will carry the collection.

METRO Retail Stores Group Inc. plans to establish a joint venture (JV) to broaden its product offering.

The Philippines-based department store, hypermarket, and supermarket operator Metro Retail

Security Bank and MUFG Bank recently held a business matchmaking fair for Japanese and Philippine businesses, which the company recently attended.

In a round of funding led by P101 SGR, Velasca has raised €2.5 million ($2.9 million).

Milano Investment Partners and other private investors have also contributed to the funding round.

Italy-based Velasca is a luxury shoe and accessory manufacturer for men.

The funds will be used for the company’s national and international expansion, with an emphasis on improving its Omnichannel model.

Through a series A round, Order Handler has received funding from DCM China.

The subsidizing round has likewise elaborate support from Meituan-Dianping.

“The new academy will strengthen its digitalization efforts in the business and improve the skills of its employees,” DCM China is a venture capital firm, while Order Handler is an e-commerce company.

China is the location of all of the businesses involved in the transaction.

In Surrey, British Columbia (BC), Walmart Canada intends to invest more than $175 million in the construction of a frozen grocery store.

The new 300,000 square foot facility will be built beginning in early 2021. Up to 200 jobs will be created by the facility, which is expected to open in early 2022.

A warehouse technology company and the retailer have also collaborated on the design of a cutting-edge building.

A women’s clothing collection was created by GP & J Baker and Hennes & Mauritz (H&M).

H&M is a Swedish clothing retailer, and GP & J Baker is a UK wallpaper and textile manufacturer.

H&M’s in-house design team created fashionable designs for the new collection of GP & J Baker archival prints, which include the classic Oriental Bird, Blossom, and Hydrangea Bird prints. Beginning on August 2, 2018, it will be available online and in select stores around the world.

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has collaborated with Decoded for the send off of another retail information foundation called M&S Information Institute.

The new academy will strengthen the business’s efforts to digitize and improve employees’ skills.

Through its Data Leadership program, M&S’s leadership team will also learn about new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.

[meghandoesfanfic]

sharing clothes

"Are you wearing one of my shirts?" Peter smiled, walking over to where Gamora was seated on the bench near the window of the Milano. It was usually where Rocket made bombs, but after he found a better place to make them, the bench freed up.

She was sitting cross-legged on the bench, in just his shirt and some leggings, and he was surprised to see her without her boots on.

"No."

Peter furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, that's my shirt--I've worn it, like, four times." Peter smiled, sitting beside her on the bench.

They'd just gotten back from a pretty brutal beating--they won, of course, but barely. It felt more like a loss with how absolutely beat-up each of them were. Gamora had a few cuts and bruises, Drax had a big gash on his arm, Rocket almost lost an eye, Groot lost an arm, Mantis seemed to come out unscathed, Kraglin only hurt his dignity (long story), and Peter had a big bruise on his arm and likely a hairline fracture.

"I just found it lying around." Gamora replied simply.

Peter knew that was likely true--it's not like anyone on the ship really put away clothes.

"Fair enough." Peter smiled, "You doin' okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright." She nodded, "How's your arm?"

"I'll live." Peter said with a shrug, "The rest of the team seems to be fine, too. Mantis is helping get rid of some of the pain the guys are dealing with and Rocket's piloting for now."

"Good." Gamora replied, "You make a good captain."

Peter huffed out a laugh then, making her smile.

"Thank you." He smiled to her.

He took that opportunity to lay down on the bench, settling his head in Gamora's lap.

"What are you doing, Quill?"

"Enjoying your company." He smiled up to her. She rolled her eyes, making him close his as he settled his injured arm on his stomach, relaxing.

"Your big head is heavy." She said, making him open one eye with a cheeky smile.

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” Peter said, closing his eyes again.

"It wasn't."

Peter opened his eyes again, giving her a huff and the shake of his head.

"Damn, Gamora." He grinned up at her.

"Sorry, I'm not in the best mood right now."  She replied softly, running her hands through his curls.

"Want me to go?"

"Stay." She said, meeting his eyes. Peter knew she was upset, but he didn't think it was about the mission going sour.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly." Gamora replied quieter, still running her fingers through his curls.

"Okay, we'll talk about something else." Peter smiled, "Like how this stupid ship is starting to really feel like home."

Gamora looked around then, making him smile.

They had a new table to eat at, a nice, small kitchen (full of utensils, pots and pans, plates, etc.), an area to sit and relax, and finally, bunks. With the help of Kraglin, they cleaned out three of the storage areas and built bunks. Gamora and Mantis shared a room, Rocket, Groot and Drax shared a room, and finally, Kraglin and Peter shared a room. It was nice to have a space to retreat to, to be alone.

"It is." She spoke with a small smile, "I think we did a good job."

"Hell yeah we did." Peter grinned, "It's nice for us to be able to relax--you know, when we're not saving the galaxy from some other crazy planet-guy."

Gamora smiled then, and Peter's heart warmed.

"We've all come a pretty long way, haven't we?" She asked.

"Yeah." Peter huffed with a smile.

"It's kind of... amazing, how much every one of us has changed since we all met." Gamora reflected.

"I know--you were singing along to my music yesterday." Peter smiled up to her, making her huff out a laugh with a nod.

"I was."

"Finally enjoying it?"

"I've always enjoyed it." She shrugged, "It means you're around."

Peter grinned then, laughing when she ruffled his curls. He yawned mid-laughter, knowing it'd been a long day.

"Tired?"

"A little. I'll be fine." Peter offered.

"You can fall asleep if you want."

"You don't mind my big head on your lap?" Peter teased, making her smile.

"No." She replied with a small smile, continuing to run her fingers through his curls. She was basically giving him a head massage at this point, but Peter certainly wasn't arguing.

He let his eyes fall shut again, feeling safe in her care.

(It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, and when he did, he dreamed about her.)

[dresupi]

Honey Bun

Pairing: Darcy Lewis/Peter Quill For: @catrinasl Prompt: Honey Bun Rating: M (for light spanking? Seriously, I debated, bc no smut) Word Count: 672

"Aww, that's okay, honey bun…" Peter's hand came down on her ass with a loud smack. She tried to keep the surprised look off her face, acting instead like this was just something they did.  

That she alway wore electric blue spandex and teased up her hair and hung on Peter Quill's every word. That they always kept the company of giant crab people.

Okay, so maybe she did kind of hang on his every word, sometimes. He was hella charming and completely clueless to how he affected her, so it was only fair, right?

They absolutely did not hang out with giant crab people all the time, though.

He grinned and shrugged.  "Females, amiright? They're only good for one thing." Darcy had to hide her wince because holy shit would Gamora destroy him for saying something like that. To be fair, Darcy would destroy him too, if she didn't know that it was completely an act and he in no way thought anything of the sort about females.

Peter then winked in the direction of what she took to be one of the female crab people. Darcy almost shuddered when her mandibles started dripping.

She tightened her hold on Peter and swallowed thickly, trying to keep the dumb smile on her face and act natural.  

Act like they were a couple who effed like bunnies every chance they got and definitely NOT a space thief and his stowaway trying to steal some kind of little rock thing from these purple crab people.

His arm tightened protectively around her waist when one of the other crab people started talking.  

"Nah... " he shook his head.  "I don't share, sorry…"

Oh gross… this crab-man wants to share me? Enough is enough…

Darcy reached down into the tiny bag Gamora had packed for her and pulled out the itsy bitsy teeny weeny, yellow-polka-dot machiney… gun that Rocket had modded for her.  

She turned it on the crab people and disengaged from Peter's arms.  "Alright, Listen up, Joe's Crab Shack… unless you wanna find out what Sea Legs are, you need to tell me where this fancy stone is…"

"Darcy, babe. You are so hot right now," Peter whispered.  The sound of his voice made her shiver. But there wasn't much time for that, not with the angry clicking from the crab people.  

There was some shooting after that, but not much.  

And some running, but again… not much.  

And some stone stealing, but only as much as was needed to… you know… steal the stone.  

And more running.  It was maybe becoming much after all. Luckily, they were a stone's throw away from the Milano.  

And Darcy knew that because Peter totally chucked the stone into the docking bay before they boarded themselves.

"That was super hot… are you aware of how incredibly hot you are right now?" Peter asked, hurriedly pulling his lap belt into place and twisting a bunch of knobs.  

"I dunno, Quill. You only said it like a billion times before, during and after the job... "  

"Okay, to put it in some perspective, Darcy… I'm considering renaming my ship the 'Lewis'."  Peter shot her a completely serious look, turning a final knob and starting up the Milano's engine.  

Darcy was red, blue, purple and yellow… Basically all kinds of flustered by that revelation, but she wasn't about to tell Peter that. She'd likely lose some of her cool points if she confessed how much his hand on her ass had done it for her. Not to mention the nickname.  

But that might have been connected to his hand on her ass too. Color her surprised that she was into being called someone's 'honey bun' while they lightly smacked her spandex covered ass, but like she said before… red, blue, purple, yellow…

All kinds of surprised.

But again, that kind of talk could wait until they'd stabilized. Asking the pilot to spank her more might be detrimental to take off.  

Darcy was no expert, but it was just a hunch.

[kottawrites]

Eventful Lazy Days

Guardians of the Galaxy

Rocket, Groot and Peter (Drax and Gamora mentioned)

Word Count: 1885

It was Rockets turn to cook dinner, things don't go exactly as planned.

It’d been a quiet day on the Milano, no one really knew why though. But it was nice to have a lazy day sometimes- there isn’t a need to save the galaxy every day. Each member of the team had managed to entertain themselves just fine.

Gamora, being the masterful assassin she is, researched any possible enemies they could obtain in the foreseeable future- her fantastic initiative was one of her best assets.

Drax, spent his time in the small training room on the ship, punching a fighting whatever he felt like to become stronger than he already is (if that’s even possible).

Peter… well, no one ever really knows what the self-proclaimed “Starlord” is doing. He’d most likely spent a majority of the day grooving along to the Awesome Mix Vol.2 whilst looking up possible jobs the guardians’ team could go on; the only jobs they take are the ones that pay big credits.

Groot still wasn’t quite fully grown. The flora colossus was almost at full size once more, but he wasn’t back to full strength at all. So on these lazy days the team have on rare occasions, Groot happily watches Rocket tinker with whatever new thing the raccoon is building whilst sitting under a sun lamp said raccoon built for him.

No one knew, or really wanted to know what Rocket was building; and if he was being completely honest, sometimes even Rocket didn’t know what he was building (but he’d never tell anyone that). The raccoon just had to be doing something with his hands almost 24/7 or else he would “get bored and start blowing shit up”- as he puts it.

This particular lazy day was near to ending, and it was Rockets turn to cook dinner for the team- although they’d rather not eat his cooking, everyone has to do their fair share around the ship no matter how bad they are at certain jobs.

Peter is the best chef, Drax doesn’t understand most jobs but he is surprisingly good at sewing, Gamora can navigate the ship better than anyone else and Rocket is obviously the best mechanic. On the other hand, Groot just tries his best at everything- with less than satisfactory results… but he always looks so proud of himself after so no one can really get mad with him.

From the kitchen on the ship, the loud bangs of pots and pans being thrown around could be heard (Rocket always liked to make his disdain for cooking very apparent). Peter normally could ignore when someone was having issues in the kitchen, because whenever he tired to help he’d always just end up just cooking the whole meal instead. No one would learn anything that way. But after the last disaster of a meal Rocket had created Peter couldn’t really let it happen again. The team had been out of commission for a week with food poisoning. How Rocket managed to do that with a salad they’ll never know.

Quill sighed and prepared himself for the disaster sight he was about to witness in the kitchen.

There were small fires basically everywhere but the stove, suspicious looking green goop splattered on the walls and a pile of dirty pots and pans taller than Quill himself (since when did they even own that many pans!?). Groot stood watching Rocket, not looking best pleased.

Rocket sat on the floor with a knife trying to cut some strange looking vegetable, his ears pricked up when he heard Peter enter. “Ah Star-looser! Looking to see a true master at work?” he grinned his usual sarcastic grin. Rocket knew he was no good at cooking, in fact he made an effort to be even worse in the hopes that the rest of the team will stop putting him on this job all together. He stood up and walked over to a pot containing… Well it was certainly something- whether or not it was edible was another matter entirely.

“If you’re a master than I must be some kind of god.” Quill rolled his eyes and looked in to the pot his team mate was stirring, the urge to vomit washed over him just looking at the concoction. “What are you even making there?”

Rocked laughed “Heck if I know. I feel like I could use it in some new corrosive bombs or something honestly.” he pulled the spoon out of the concoction to show it fizzing dissolving slowly “Powerful stuff- probably got a kick to it!”

Groot who had been stood in the corner frowning at his companion decided to comment here “I am Groot.”

“What? I’m not trying to get Quill to cook for me! Unless he’s offering that is.” Rocket smiled slyly at Peter “I’m sure we’re all looking forward to eating- whatever this is.”

“I’m not going to cook for you.” Peter started down at Rocket, this was one fight he wouldn't loose.

“I am Groot” Groot smiled.

“Don’t take his side!” Rocket thew his arms in the air in exasperation “You seriously want to chance eating this garbage?” He waved the dissolving spoon in front of Quill’s nose.

Peter pushed the spoon away quickly “No way. But I can help you make something new. That you know- wouldn't kill us all.” he offered.

“I don’t need help, either I cook the whole thing, or you do.” Rocked growled.

Peters eyes darted from Rocket to the pot. His stomach growled lightly. He groaned outwardly in annoyance “Fine! Whatever! I’ll cook the meal.”

“I am Groot!”

“See? I told you I’d get my way” Rocket exclaimed at Groot “That’s fifty credits you owe me!”

“I am Groot.” Groot glared at both Peter and Rocket.

“Yeah yeah, just get out of the way.” Peter said angrily. Then, without thinking he picked Rocket up by the scruff of his neck, like you would a pet. He hadn't meant too, his stomach was telling his mind to just make some decent food, telling him he needed to move Rocket. It was in his muscle memory somehow.

Of course this was a mistake.

Rocket cried out in pain as he landed on the floor, falling to his knees straight away and clutching at the back of his neck. His teeth were grit together harshly as he tried to see through the black spots of pain that were clouding his vision. Unable to produce any form of sound but pained wines.

“I am Groot!” Groot was at his side immediately trying to calm Rocket down and find out what he can do to help.

Everything had happened so quickly that Peter hadn't realized what he’d done. He took a moment of stunned silence for him to put the pieces of what had just happened together. He knelt next to his smaller team mate “I’m sorry man, I’m so sorry. God I completely forgot about-” he stopped, his eyes catching the red raw skin around the others cybernetic enhancements.

Suddenly he felt like one hundred percent a dick.

“I am Groot” Groot said saddly, not liking to see his friend in such a bad way.

Rocket heaved a few deep breaths “Y’know- If you wanted… to cook that bad I’d’ve moved.” he gritted painfully squeezing his eyes shut “What the hell Quill?!” he managed to yell. “You caught me, right on the…” He trailed off and banged a fist on the floor. Most of his cybernetic enchantments were connected to the top of his spine, making that his most vulnerable area, pulling at that made it feel as though the wounds were fresh once again.

“I know, I know I shouldn't have. What can I do?” Peter fussed, desperate to stop the pain he’d caused his friend.

“I am Groot.” Groot explained. Peter wished he could understand him.

“He- said get some ice and painkillers.” Rocket said sounding calmer than he should be, but it was still clear from his tense muscles that he was most certainly not calm.

“I’m on it.” Quill nodded “Groot you take him to his bedroom. I’ll be there soon.”

“I am Groot.”

Peter had taken the ice and painkillers to the room without really saying anything. He felt really guilty- that was the kind of thing you did to an annoying pet- not a close friend. His stomach growled again but he didn’t feel like eating.

He knew someone who might appreciate a well cooked meal though.

Quill knocked on Rockets room door, tray in hand with the only recipe he could remember from Terran: Vegetable Soup.

“I am Groot.” came the answer from the other side of the door. Now this could have meant ‘come in’ or ‘go away’, Peter chose for it to mean the former. He opened the door slowly “Hey Guys…”

“Oh look its my good friend Quill” Rocked practically snarled.

“I am Groot.” Groot scolded him gently for being rude.

“What? The guy treats me like some ratty pet and throws me to the ground and you expect me to be nice?” Rocket folds his arms.

“I said I was sorry-” Quill defended “-and I really meant it Rocket. Its not often I’m honest. But I really didn’t mean to hurt you.” He could see that the raccoon wasn’t listen to him though “So-” he began, approaching Rockets bed with the tray “I made you dinner, as a peace offering.” he smiled sheepishly.

Rocket ignored Peter and the food at first, but then his nose picked up the delicious smell of the soup and he looked at the bowl with furrowed eyebrows.

Groot nudged Rockets arm lightly “I am Groot.”

Rocket sighed dramatically and accepted the soup from Peter, he didn't eat it just yet though, he looked down at it sadly “I didn’t expect you of all people to treat me like that Quill.” he said quietly. Seeing rocket without his usual bravado was odd to say the least, it didn’t suit him at all.

“It wont ever happen again I promise.” Peter almost looked as if he’d never been more serious about anything in his life.

He’d never purposefully hurt his friends.

“Fine.” Rocket accepted then started to eat the soup “You really are a good cook Quill…” Rocket said begrudgingly “-Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you.”

Groot smiled warmly at his companion then looked at Peter with the same bright eyes.

“Well you wont find a better teacher in the whole galaxy.” Peter smiled. “and I’d be happy to teach you.”

Rocket nodded, then was thoughtful for a moment “Hey, what did you do with my cooking anyway?”

“You mean that battery acid? Threw it out the air lock before it could contaminate anything in the ship.”

“What! I wanted to use that in my next bomb!” Rocket seemed genuinely annoyed about this “What if someone else finds it and makes something out of it? They’ll be unstoppable!”

“I think it will kill them on contact” Peter quipped.

“I am Groot.”

“Whatever, I’ll just have to make it again.” Rocket said as he ate some more of his soup.

Groot and Peter shared a look- a silent agreement to never let that happen, one pot of that stuff was more than enough.

Something was always happening on the Milano, even the lazy days were eventful.

I Hope you enjoyed it! Please like/comment/re-blog to let me know your thoughts! This was originally posed to Ao3 in 2017.