#the only luxury I want is being able to go to vegas three days a year to get yet another photo with andy robinson

[spocks-kaathyra]

really my only financial goal in life is to be able to pay rent and feed myself and have enough left over to go to the star trek con every year

[victoriareyloficlists]

12 April 2021 Additions to Reylo Fluff

These fics have been added to the Fluff lists located in the following lists:

Fluff Part 1 Titles A-G

Fluff Part 2 Titles H-M

Fluff Part 3 Titles N-S

Fluff Part 4 Titlez T-Z

Zombie Run by OptimisticBeth (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: During a charity run, Rey is relentlessly pursued by a zombie.) The Road Taken by gogoburritos (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey pulls a prank on her housemate Ben. She doesn't expect it to turn out so well.) Loose Change by spicytofuuuu (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: "I ate your pizza. It was a desperate move. I'm sorry. Not proud of myself. Here is $4." An Oh-My-God-They-Were-Roommates, They-Have-One-Single-Shared-Brain-Cell fic.) just say you love me by darthswift13 (AO3 2021  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In which Rey gets drunk on Saturday nights and confesses her true feelings for her roommate Ben, only to forget on Sunday mornings. Will Rey ever be able to confess her feelings when sober?) r/Relationships by elle_reads (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben's new roommate moves in just before a shelter-in-place order is issued. It's just the two of them—and Reddit, of course.) The Sublet by javajunkie (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Rose sublet their spare room to Ben Solo.) Knock Me Down by commandercrouton (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben gets a concussion thanks to Rey.) Love in the Language of Sweaters by SaintHeretical (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Corporate executive Ben Solo mocks holiday sweaters until he sees the delivery girl wear them.) You Need a Tutor by castles_and_crowns (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 28 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is an engineering student who finds herself struggling with calculus. Desperate, she goes to the math tutoring center on campus for help. Meanwhile, Ben Solo is a grad student who's required to work a certain amount of hours in the math tutoring center. When Ben reluctantly offers to help Rey with her work, a relationship forms between them that neither are expecting.) Five Times That Ben Saved Rey's Valentine's Day & How She Forever Saved His by AnneAnna (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben makes a confession in his wedding speech: He knew he was going to marry Rey when he and Rey were 4 years old and she gave him a Valentine she made and colored herself. And 21 years later, he still has that Valentine.) Newspaper Hearts by Celia_and (AO3 2021  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: “She made her Valentine’s cards. She tore hearts out of newspaper and glued them onto used envelopes and painstakingly wrote each child’s name. She probably spent days making them. And you know what she wrote on mine?” He doesn’t need to read it to know what it says, so he looks down at her instead, and the hand on her heart and the tears in her eyes. “Ben: You are OK. Rey.”) When the party ends by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2021  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gets wasted at a frat party. Ben finds her, puts her in his room, where she's safe. Rey wakes in the morning after Ben comes out of the shower and nakedness ensues.) Fleeced by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: AU where Rey is a mechanic and Ben is her grumpy client. Ben is car shopping and asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend so the dealer won't screw him over.) My Sandwich by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Someone took Ben's turkey sandwich at work, he is infuriated and eager for revenge, until he finds out it was Rey then those feelings no longer exist.) Sleepyhead by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben, a mere himbo, tucks a stray hair behind Rey's ear in class. He knows he deserves the hot coffee in her hand to be thrown in his face and yet he gets a date. ) When You Know It by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben finds out his roommate Rey has never had someone to celebrate valentine's with, so he sends her 25 roses, one for every year she's been alone, in attempt to make her feel better.) Port in the storm by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey pretends to be afraid of thunderstorms so she has an excuse to sleep next to Ben. Ben figures it out when he races home early after seeing thunder, fearing Rey will be crying alone curled up in a ball, only to find her totally chill and eating ice cream.) Neighborly by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and her son move into a new apartment and meets her new neighbor Ben and his cute dog.) Tinder and Cinder by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey joins tinder after a long long dry spell due to her flatmate Kylo's derision, they argue about why and in a fit of jealousy Kylo screams out 'use me instead.') Traditions gotta start somewhere by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Christmas Tree vignettes of Rey and Ben over the course of their relationship.) All of my wishes came true with you by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Fantasy AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey works on a wishfarm for Plutt. One day after she's out of wishes, she catches the star of a man who wishes for an end to his loneliness. She pockets it and after a particularly rough day she grants it with herself.) Knot It by MotherofScavengers (AO3 2021  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Omega Rey’s heat starts early, the Alpha friend who agreed to assist her is nowhere to be found. When she unexpectedly meets Ben, the delicious smelling Alpha offers his help...and his knot.) It's You by SpaceWaffleHouse (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben and Rey have been costars for years when the time comes for them to film their first kissing scene. Neither of them ever expected their soul marks to appear in the process.) Through the Years by castles_and_crowns (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 10 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo and Rey Jakkson meet on the playground as children under unusual circumstances and quickly become best friends. This fic follows them through the years, showing glimpses of their friendship as it slowly progresses into something more.) I Hate You by orphan_account (AO3 2018  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben has been in love with Rey for two years and so when she storms into his office he finally decides he can't keep it in any longer.) In Small Packages by DyadamDriver (AO3 2018  Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: It was then that Ben realised three things. 1. He had never had a cat in his life. 2. He had no idea what these little things ate. 3. He had a crippling crush on his neighbour.) ignorance of etiquette by blessedreylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Regency AU, Quick Synopsis: Lady Rey Kenobi lives a life of pristine comfort and luxury on her family's estate in Chesire with her parents Lord Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lady Satine Kenobi. When they receive word that an old family friend, Lord Benjamin Solo, is coming to visit, Lady Rey is reminded of how he tormented her as a child. She decides that she will prove herself not the same girl she once was in more ways than one.) heaven in hiding by blessedreylo (AO3 2021  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: They say it's impossible for a guy and girl to be "just friends", but Rey and Ben had managed to discredit that throughout their decade long friendship. What they both have is special, that people would often arrive at the conclusion the two were made for each other. He's her safe haven, her rock. She gives him a sense of clarity and direction. Ben and Rey know each other more than anyone ever possibly could. Therefore on Valentine's Day, their friends decided to secretly set them up together on a blind dinner date.) a quiet storm by blessedreylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gets off to Kylo Ren, a popular audio erotica account online. She hasn’t been on a date in so long until her friend Rose sets her up on a blind date with her boyfriend's coworker, Ben. They seem to be hitting it off and finding that they have a lot in common, but she can’t help but think that he sounds so...familiar.) key to the kingdom by blessedreylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 12 Chapters, Princess Diaries AU, Quick Synopsis: Most girls get a drunk weekend in Vegas for their 21st birthday, but Princess Rey Kenobi gets the chance to rule the country of Alderaan. But the only way she can become Queen is if she marries a man in 30 days, or the throne goes to the selfish (and annoyingly attractive) usurper Lord Benjamin Solo. Will Rey be able to ascend to the throne or will it all just become a royal pain in the ass?) fueled by fire by blessedreylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben annoys the hell out of Rey when he tries to write passive aggressive notes about where she leaves her stuff. Rey pisses Ben off by being loud and picking a fight whenever she wants. Being neighbors for the last five months has been interesting to say the least. Their little rivalry comes to a crescendo when their hate for each other turns into another kind of passion.) 1 April Fool by Maloreiy (AO3 2021  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: "Honk! Act like you know me! My name is Ben!" Rey sees the sign on the car when she pulls up to the grocery store, and decides to play along. The giant, surly man, apparently named Ben, is not amused.) when I look to you by blessedreylo (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, 7 Chapters, Harry Potter AU, Quick Synopsis: Best friends since Year Three, Gryffindor's Ben Solo and Rey Niima navigate their final year at Hogwarts. When exposed feelings and unrequited romance get in the way of their friendship, they wonder whether they'll survive the school year.) Dreaming of Hope by adamsackleriskyloren83 (AO3 2019  Rated M Complete, 2 Chapters, Canon AU, Quick Synopsis: Kylo Ren goes to bed one night only to awaken as Rebel Pilot Ben Solo. Discovering that not only is Rey his wife, but he is also the father of a toddler(s) son/daughter.) Talk Nerdy To Me by andabatae (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Grad student Rey is addicted to watching nature documentaries narrated by the mysterious Kylo Ren. In fact, listening to him recite animal facts is her favorite masturbation inspiration. One day, the poetry class she TAs for has a guest lecturer: Ben Solo, a large, cranky man with gorgeous hair, adorable glasses... and a very compelling voice.) Everything You Are by kereia (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Canon AU, Quick Synopsis: But the thing she loved most of all, the thing that she was downright addicted to, was the way Ben reacted whenever she touched him.) Eggplant Emoji by trasharama (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: A desperate Rey seeks refuge in Poe and Ben's spare bedroom. Ben didn't know she was a girl when he agreed to the roommate trial period--and now she won't stop sexting him? Climb aboard the Smutty McSmuttSmutt train!)

[shefanispeculator]

I'm slightly disappointed to log onto Zoom and find Gwen Stefani in Los Angeles. I wanted to see the ranch. Stefani spent most of the pandemic in Oklahoma with her fiancé and fellow The Voice coach Blake Shelton, with whom she has recently collaborated on a string of country radio hits, alongside a kitsch Christmas song. For a ska-pop superstar, it's a pivot, but Stefani and Shelton are cute together — picture-perfect in their opposite attraction.

Country Gwen exists, her urban counterpart assures me, but on this particular MacBook she's nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure what crude regional stereotypes I was expecting (Stefani spitting sunflower seeds? Shelton line dancing in the background?) but I get Californian sunshine instead, illuminating a version of Stefani more familiar from my teenage years, when Love. Angel. Music. Baby and its follow-up The Sweet Escape spawned millions of fans, haters and imitators. She's platinum blonde, red lipsticked and wearing a black-and-white outfit that matches the decor. The checkerboard pattern can be traced back to an even earlier era, when Stefani and her No Doubt bandmates were '80s teenagers obsessed with two-tone acts like Madness and The Specials.

Cowboy boots wouldn't fit this picture, and nor would Stefani's glitzy showgirl outfits from The Voice, where she just wrapped another season as a celebrity coach. As she prepares to release her fourth solo record, and enters the fifth decade of an extraordinarily successful music career, Gwen Stefani is re-re-branding as... Gwen Stefani.

Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino, Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Engagement ring: Gwen's own

"But what is that?" Stefani asks with seriousness, as we consider the possibility of some essential, inherent Gwen. "Everyone's interpretation of what I am and how I sing, I mean, that's what this era is about for me."

Said era kicked off late last year, with the music video for "Let Me Reintroduce Myself." It saw Stefani playfully revisit the wardrobes of album cycles past, from the ab-bearing tomboy tank tops of "Hollaback Girl" to the club kid blue hair mascara of '90s No Doubt. Her Harajuku Girls also make a return. The entire visual is a huge flex, not only for the sheer volume of iconic career moments recreated in dutiful detail, but the fact Stefani can still fit into the clothes originally worn during all of them. She looks eerily the same, frighteningly good, ageing in reverse at the same pace as her frequent collaborator Pharrell.

"It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore."

Pop stars are expected to be young forever, in looks but also in their capacity to innovate new trends. Which makes the nostalgic music video a curious choice. Doesn't Stefani know by now that the cardinal rule of pop is to avoid repeating yourself? That even the hottest artists in the world are basically required by law to create completely new eras from scratch every six months in order to appease fans and maintain maximum TikTok-ready relevance?

Of course she does, but that doesn't mean she has to participate. Stefani isn't trying to chase down her contemporaries, despite clearly possessing the physical fitness required. "It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore," she says. "It's a different energy. You know, it's really just about doing it to do it, as opposed to trying to make a statement or make a mark."

Corset: Ronald van der Kemp, Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Engagement ring: Gwen's own

Even the Saweetie remix of her latest single "Slow Clap" happened on a whim, after the younger artist happened to post a video of herself vibing to Stefani's 2004 single "Luxurious" on Instagram Stories. They knocked out the song and accompanying video in a day. Neither seems bothered by the Old Navy meme. "It was just this little video that we did on the fly," Stefani says. "It just happened. It just feels good to put new stuff out there."

Stefani completed a two-year Vegas greatest hits residency in 2019, which gave her a sense of perspective on her own legacy. "You make a new record because that's what is exciting for you," she says. "But people really just want to hear the records after a while that were the backdrop to their lives, a 'Don't Speak' or a 'Just a Girl' or a 'Hollaback Girl,' or whatever it was for them. So, you know, it's hard — you can only be new when you're new, and that's just the truth, and I know that."

She says she was pleasantly surprised that "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" charted at all, and that she only found out it did when Shelton walked into the kitchen to show her the iTunes numbers. "I burst out crying with joy, because it was like, 'Whoa, really?' I think I'd set myself up to be quite realistic about where I'm at."

Stefani, endlessly polite and self-deprecating in conversation, which on her end mostly consists of endearingly earnest run-on monologues, says she still has "tons" of insecurities. I get the impression she has been trying harder to give herself credit lately. She recalls recently hearing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on the car radio and finding herself in awe of the song's timeless catchiness.

Suit: Balmain, Earrings and choker: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own

"But then I started thinking," she says, in a goofy Cher Horowitz tone. "Like, I have a few of those myself." She talks of this realization as a genuine breakthrough, which is a little worrying for a woman who has sold 40 million records. No shit, she has a "few of those." More of them than Lauper, actually.

More new music is coming along slowly, but I've caught Stefani on a day when the horizon looks closer than usual, and while things haven't quite fallen into place yet, she's feeling more confident that they eventually will. "I'm at the end," she declares. "The idea of going for a session and not being with my kids or the idea of taking time away from Blake doesn't fuel my fire like it did two months ago. I need to decide, wrap it up, put out the project."

Crucially, there's no rush. The album will simply arrive sometime this year, tracklist and title currently undecided.

"You're talking to me at a weird transitional time," Stefani says repeatedly throughout our conversation, which sometimes takes on the cathartic tone of therapy. But having time in the first place is a new feeling.

Bracelet and choker: Dana Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's own, Clothing: Blumarine, Boots: Philipp Plein

NO DOUBT WERE A BAND for nine years before getting on the radio. Enough time for Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal to be in a long term relationship then break up and write a whole hit album about it. All of the Fleetwood Mac drama was resolved pre-fame, which enabled the group to capitalize on the surprise success of Tragic Kingdom singles like "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl" with a world tour that lasted almost three years. Three more albums followed, and Stefani has reinforced her household name status in every decade since, launching a solo career and multiple fashion lines while never totally cutting the cord from her original musical project.

In other words, record executives have been dictating Stefani's schedule since the mid-'90s. She even sings about it on Love. Angel. Music. Baby opener "What You Waiting For," in which her biological clock ticks like a metronome. Interscope Co-Founder Jimmy Iovine, who discovered No Doubt and continued to work with Stefani on her solo output, was quick to point out that his client's prime childbearing years were also her last opportunity to cross over into pop stardom. And after her first record went number one, it only made sense to lay down some new tracks straight away.

"Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

"I had the baby, the first one, and it was only like eight weeks after I had him, that Jimmy was calling me saying, you've got to go in the studio with Akon," Stefani recalls cheerfully. "Like, Akon wants to work with you. Like, no, I'm nursing my baby. But then I couldn't say no." And then? "We wrote 'Sweet Escape.'" And then? "I went on a world tour." And then? "In the month that I got home from that one hundred and whatever shows it was, I got pregnant with Zuma. So then that was that." (It wasn't. Admittedly: "Then it was like, No Doubt, let's do another record.")

Things are different now: "You can just drop singles and you don't have to put a record out. But if you want to put a record out, you can work on it slowly." But even as she talks of slowing down, speculating that she might not even go on tour after the pandemic ends, in the next sentence Stefani's back to admitting that there's more work to be done, that she wants to write a couple more songs for her new record, "just to make sure."

Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience) Choker: Chanel, Necklaces: Gwen's own, Gloves: Laurel DeWitt, Top: Local Boogeyman

"The creation is the thing that fuels me so much," she says. "Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

Like any good lyricist, she reaches out to her listener, hoping to convey a more universal point. "It's just probably the same for you as a writer," she guesses. "You know, it's the anticipation. You're in it now. You're getting the information. This is what you live for. You're doing the interview and then you're going to write it. And that's going to be the challenge."

GWEN STEFANI WAS PUTTING out diary entry pop when Olivia Rodrigo was still in diapers and Taylor Swift was but a humble Pennsylvania Christmas tree heiress. She struggles to pen lyrics that aren't confessional ("I'm not a creative writer when it comes to like, 'Oh, let's just write a sad song about something that didn't happen to me'"), and occasionally re-traumatizes herself when performing old hits. Return of Saturn deep cut "Dark Blue" triggers "crazy, just horrible" recollections of a past relationship. Even "Don't Speak" felt emotional onstage in Vegas.

But after releasing an excruciating divorce album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, in 2016, Stefani is back to writing happy songs only. She's getting married, after all. She won't be releasing any of her trademark breakup anthems anytime soon. "Girl," she laughs, "I think I've had my fair share."

Bow: Laurel DeWitt, Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Shirt: Vintage Archive, Dress: Erdem, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani and Shelton's relationship has puzzled some fans. Shelton, a country radio phenomenon, never endorsed Trump in the 2016 election, but he did come close. Earlier this year, he was criticized for releasing a song called "Minimum Wage," about finding small joys during periods of economic struggle, at the peak of a recession.

Is Gwen Stefani a Republican now? She's not offended by the question, or really anything I have to ask. She has been famous for so long that she expects and even embraces scrutiny. "If you're going to be a star, that's what you get," she says. "You know what I mean? You get what you get, and you don't get upset, at all."

As for her politics, it's read-between-the-lines."I can see how people would be curious, but I think it's pretty obvious who I am," she says. "I've been around forever. I started my band because we were really influenced by ska, which was a movement that happened in the late '70s, and it was really all about people coming together. The first song I ever wrote was a song called 'Different People,' which was on the Obama playlist, you know, a song about everyone being different and being the same and loving each other. The very first song I wrote."

One of very few multi-racial bands playing stadium shows for hoardes of American teenangers in the 1990s, No Doubt did very literally embody those second-wave ska principles of inclusion. Stefani even wore bindis and saris on stage as a symbol of cultural exchange with Kanal, who is Indian-American, briefly kickstarting a white girl facial jewelry trend that it's safe to say would not fly in 2021.

Rings (left): Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience)

"The Specials and The Selecter and all those groups, and what they were doing in the late '70s was this whole kind of anti-racism, we come together, Black and white ska movement," Stefani elaborates on the band's founding principles. "And we were sort of echoing that in the '80s when we did it, we were like the third generation of ska."

Ska she's always happy to discuss, but Stefani was brought up to keep her electoral preferences personal, and that rule has held for her entire career. "The whole point of voting, is you have this personal space to feel how you feel," she explains. "I use my platform to share my life story and to engage with people and to exchange whatever gift I was giving. I'm not a political science major. I am not that person. Everyone knows that. So why would I even talk about it?"

"I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me."

It never has been. Looking back, it's weird that "Just a Girl" is so integral to Gwen Stefani's brand. She's never written anything else with remotely the same message, and or publicly identified as a feminist. To Stefani, it's just a song about growing up, and "all of a sudden you realize your gender." It wasn't meant as a protest or anthem: in fact, being her breakout hit, she didn't think anyone other than her bandmates and some local fans would ever hear it.

"I don't even know if I knew what feminist at that time was," she says. "I was very sheltered growing up with my family. I wasn't political. I wasn't angry." Even now: "I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me. Stop talking about it and stop trying to bully everybody about it. Just do it. And that's how I feel like I've lived my life."

WHEN STEFANI WAS GROWING up in 1970s Anaheim, her father got a job doing market research for Yamaha, which required frequent business trips to Japan. He'd bring home Sanrio toys, as well as anecdotes about the Tokyo district of Harajuku, where teenagers were dressing like Elvis, and "taking all these American things and making them Japanese." His daughter was entranced. "He would be telling me these things my whole life, like my whole life. I had a deep fascination."

So when No Doubt played Japan in 1996, Stefani describes, "It was a pretty big deal for me." The tour was the first time she'd traveled outside of the United states, save one trip to Italy when she was 21. "I just was inspired," she recalls. "It's a world away. And at that time it was even further, because you couldn't see it on the internet. I don't think a younger generation can even imagine what it's like to not have access to the world."

From then on, Japan became one of Stefani's biggest career motivations, especially when it came to her solo albums. If she could just write more hits, she'd get to tour there again, see the street style, visit the vintage stores. "If you read the actual lyrics [in 'What You Waiting For?'], it talks about being a fan of Japan and how if I do good, I get to go back there," she says.

In the meantime, she decided she'd bring Japan to Los Angeles. "I never got to have dancers with No Doubt. I never got to change costumes. I never got to do all of those fun girl things that I always love to do. So I had this idea that I would have a posse of girls — because I never got to hang with girls — and they would be Japanese, Harajuku girls, because those are the girls that I love. Those are my homies. That's where I would be if I had my dream come true, I could go live there and I could go hang out in Harajuku."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience, Gold Necklaces: Gwen's own, Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino

Dancers Maya Chino ("Love"), Jennifer Kita ("Angel"), Rino Nakasone ("Music") and Mayuko Kitayama ("Baby") would go on to accompany Stefani for her next two album cycles, dancing on stage and in her videos while also making silent, but very well-dressed, awards show appearances. Kita, who'd grown up in LA, visited Japan for the first time on Stefani's tour.

In a 2006 interview with Blender magazine, comedian Margaret Cho compared the Harajuku Girls to a minstrel show. The backlash against them has been consistent ever since. Stefani, to this day, disagrees.

"If we didn't buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn't have so much beauty, you know?" she says. "We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other. And all these rules are just dividing us more and more."

Hello Kitty merch was harder to come by when she was a kid, but in other ways, life felt easier. "I think that we grew up in a time where we didn't have so many rules. We didn't have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Dress: GCDS, Shirt: Faith Connexion, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani's penchant for rule breaking has always been apparent in her music as much as her aesthetic. Genre-wise, she's a randomista. The chart success of No Doubt's bouncing ska beats felt like an accidental post-grunge-era glitch in the matrix, and it's insane to this day that one of Stefani's biggest solo hits samples "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, by way of '90s British dancehall duo Louchie Lou & Michie One. That another, "Wind It Up," features earnest Sound of Music yodeling.

"I just make up whatever comes out," Stefani says of her songwriting process. "I don't even know where it comes from. I feel like it just comes from the source. It's not trained, and it's not perfect, it's just real."

She looks back on the Love.Angel.Music.Baby era as unusually experimental and artistically fulfilling. "It was just a really incredible time, and a very creative time. I feel like it was just a really creative project."

STEFANI VIEWS HER CAREER success as mostly a matter of luck. Pop stardom is God-given and mysterious."Because the fact I made it, it doesn't make any sense," she reflects. "It's written in the stars. You know what I'm saying? I'm not the most talented. I'm not the most pretty. I'm not the most smart. None of those things. But I made it, right?"

Clothing: Blumarine, Bracelet and choker: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's Own

Every week on The Voice she watches objectively gifted musicians fail at becoming artists. "I watched people that went through that without seeing their faces, without knowing what color they are. And I chose the ones that pulled my heartstrings. And even though they were so talented, none of them have had careers. It's made me look at myself and even feel even more amazed by the fact that anyone cared or cares."

If all of this is actually so out of her control, then Stefani feels safe stepping back a little bit. "I don't have that fuel in me like I used to, because I already won," she says. And now she has other victories in mind. "Being a good human, a good mother. I want to have a good marriage. I want to be a good wife. I want to win at finding peace. I want to win at finding other hobbies that I'm good at."

But at the same time? "If I'm inspired, I'm going to try to do something with that inspiration." That's the most fun part: whatever else comes after has always been an amazing bonus.

The "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" era, whatever form it may eventually take, isn't a desperate grab at former glory. It's Stefani refusing to evolve for the sake of it. She's poking fun at the whole idea of having to compete with past personas alongside current ones, while acknowledging the fact she's grateful to still be in the game at all.

"You don't know what you're doing," she says, somehow both confident and resigned. "You're a cartoon of yourself at this point, and you don't know what people are thinking. They're wondering, what? Why are you still here? And I'm like, I don't know. They said I could be here. So I'm here!"

Photography: Jamie Nelson Styling: Nicola Formichetti Hair: Sami Knight Makeup: Michael Anthony Nails: Carolyn Orellana Wardrobe director: Marta Del Rio Production: Katrina Kudlick Digitatech: Sean MacGillivray Logo design: Luca Devinu Story: Kat Gillespie

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

[mollymauk-teafleak]

Partners in Crime

Please consider reblogging and leaving a comment over on Ao3!

Just a silly little scenario I had rattling around in my head! Huge thanks to @spiky-lesbian and @minky-for-short for always being amazing betas!

tw: mentions of drinking, hangovers

Juno Steel opened his eye and immediately wanted to strangle the person who had designed this hotel room. Any interior decorator who knew they were putting together a hotel room in Nueva Vegas, the prime place on Neptune where people went to get blackout drunk and collect the finest hangover symptoms in the galaxy, yet still insisted on neon wallpaper deserved death.

He inhaled, feeling an ache in his ribs that came from too much raucous laughter and tasting stale alcohol, taking a mental catalogue of his body as his nerves came back online. His eyelashes felt heavy with mascara that had curdled overnight, his throat felt rough with overuse, his stomach only had a slight roil to it, a sea on a choppy day rather than in the middle of a storm. He was wearing the pyjama bottoms he’d actually packed but he couldn’t speak for the shirt- his top half was still wearing last night’s spangled bralet.

And he had Nureyev’s arm thrown bonelessly over his chest, his sharp chin digging a little painfully into his shoulder, his soft snores in one ear and his dark flyaways ticking his nose. His breath smelled pretty strongly of gin but Juno could put up with that, he wasn’t one to throw stones.

Overall, Juno Steel had suffered far worse mornings. In fact, this one would probably still make it into the top twenty.

Smiling, he gently nudged Nureyev to one side, making sure he fell back against the lavish pillows and settled again before sliding out from under the silky sheets. The hotel room’s crisp air conditioning raised goosebumps across his skin as he padded across the room, stockinged feet sinking considerably into the thick, bright pink carpets. They really had made an ungodly mess of one of the most expensive hotel rooms on Neptune, he was pretty impressed with just how many empty plastic glasses, dregs of champagne clinging to their sides, were scattered around the hot tub, just how much glitter had shed from their clothes onto the floor, the probably very incriminating blueprints and files and notes that were scattered like confetti. Not incriminating for the job they’d just pulled off, of course, just several they were considering in the future.

There was no sign of the rest of their family, no Rita singing almost incomprehensible karaoke into a can of chips, no Jet sitting in a chair by the window with his arms folded and head nodding as he slept like an old dad though a whisper of any threat would snap him up and ready. No Buddy and Vespa slow dancing to music only they seemed able to hear while the neon flashes from the signs outside the window bathed them in candy coloured light.

They must have staggered back to their own rooms, just before the celebrations of a job well done would have wound down into a sleepover. Juno frowned as he scratched tiredly at where his hair was matted down, trying to remember. Buddy’s usual habit of making them all drink as much water before bed as she could had saved him from vomiting and a splitting head but memories were still fuzzy. Very fuzzy actually, now he tried to grab hold of them. No wonder his tongue tasted of about half the bottles behind the bar and his bladder felt fit to burst.

By the time he’d gone into the bathroom, wincing at the colour of lime green it had all been done up in, and dealt with that problem he could hear Nureyev stirring.

Coming back into the room, now dressed a little more appropriately in a soft bathrobe, he saw him stretching like a cat, his own wince playing across his sleepy face.

“Good morning,” he rasped, “Feeling rough too, huh?”

“Fairly,” Nureyev croaked, not making it very far before slumping back against the pillows, “What time did Buddy say we had to be back on board?”

“Not till three. It’s only eleven right now.”

“Ugh...I might not make it.”

Juno snorted, rolling his eye, “God, you’re such a lightweight, you whine so much when you’re hungover. Look, I’ll pack the bags, you focus on getting your shoes on. I think one of them’s in the hot tub.”

Nureyev groaned, bringing his hands up to bury his face in them as Juno pulled the curtains wide and flooded the room with pale sunlight. So little actual sunlight could reach this distant gas giant, what fell across Nureyev’s face was actually simulated from a massive rig of translucent spotlights that covered the city much like Mars’ domes. Rita had told him all about it around their third glasses of champagne, before her speech started collapsing into inhuman giggles and nonesene and his memories got cloudy.

He certainly couldn’t remember quite how they’d gotten the room into such a state. It hadn’t even really been that big of a job, a fairly run of the mill casino heist to fund some bigger projects that Buddy had percolating in her brain. But, from the lingering carnage of their celebration, you’d think they’d stolen a goddamn planet rather than a few measly hundred thousands of creds.

And there was a lot of confetti. All over the damn place, where had that all come from?

“Babe?” Juno frowned as he started pulling their papers together, “Do you remember much about last night?”

Nureyev gave a sleep mumble and Juno heard the sound of the silken sheets running over each other as he turned, “I remember us pulling off a job so seamless it deserves to be in some kind of textbook on thieving. I remember everyone coming into our room. I remember Buddy ordering champagne...and that’s it.”

Juno suppressed a snort of amusement. He was sure if it was his husband’s small frame or his lack of experience with the stuff but about two swallows of anything alcoholic had him absolutely useless. Adorable but useless.

“Just seems like we really tore it up for some reason,” Juno shrugged as he moved further along, now gathering up scraps of their disguises- the velour blazer he’d been wearing over that bralet, the other one of Nureyev’s stiletto heels, a diamond ring he couldn’t remember which one of them had worn.

He paused, something about that ring making him stop. It was lying in the midst of some other jewels he’d been wearing yesterday in his role as a ridiculously wealthy outer rim socialite. So it must have been his, he didn’t exactly need his years of experience as a detective to realise that. So why didn’t he remember it? Why did it look so brand new, so out of place with everything else lying in that modest dragon’s horde of luxury?

“My love?”

Juno turned, taking the ring with him, “Yeah?”

Nureyev was still lying in bed, though he was holding his left hand a little ways from his face, frowning curiously up at it as he turned it this way and that. As he watched the fake morning sun catch in the gem on a ring that sat there, a ring identical to the one Juno held.

“Did...did we get married?” Nureyev said slowly, an expression on his face not dissimilar to the one he wore when he was doing one of the many puzzle boxes Juno got him as gifts, after he’d realised a year ago that he loved them.

“Yes, about a year and a half ago. You were there, remember?”

Nureyev shot him a look across the room, “I mean last night, my love.”

Juno sucked in a long, slow breath before answering, throwing the ring up in the air and catching it, “Yeah, that would really explain a lot, huh?”

They caught each other’s eye then and after that there was nothing they could do but laugh, hard and helpless until Juno was having to brace himself on his knees to stay upright and Nureyev was curled on one side and trembling.

Once he could see and breathe clearly again, Juno found it, lying amongst a sheaf of floor plans for the casino they’d robbed yesterday. A wedding certificate, one corner of it crinkled and soaked where some spilled champagne had caught it, a little rumbled from being shoved into the pocket of a velour blazer on the car ride back to the hotel but fairly unmistakeable. The signatures were certainly theirs, even if the names weren’t.

“Yep,” Juno’s face still ached from grinning as he climbed back into bed next to his husband-twice-over, “Apparently once Rigel Fortescue and Jack Antares were done being complete strangers while the Orion’s Palace Casino had half it’s funds drained, they went off and got married.”

“Congratulations to us, I suppose,” Nureyev wiped his streaming eyes, giggles still pressing up against his words, “Oh god help us, is there any way we can keep this from the rest of the crew?”

“Well, looks like they all signed as our witnesses so I don’t think that’s an option, babe,” Juno snorted, showing him the band of signatures clustered along the bottom of the certificate, each one a ridiculous pseudonym but the handwriting was all familiar, even with how drunk their friends had clearly been.

Nureyev gave a groan of dismay that he didn’t really seem to feel, cuddling up against Juno, “Does this make us a little trashy?”

“Yeah well, you knew who I was when you married me,” Juno nudged him teasingly, “Both times.”

“Hush!” Nureyev kissed his shoulder, moving slightly so he could hitch one leg over Juno’s hip. He was still wearing his suit trousers from last night, Juno noticed, if last night really had been their wedding night then they’d neglected a pretty significant part of it.

So he turned to meet Nureyev’s body with his own, wrapping an arm around his slim waist to close what little gap there still was between them, “Maybe this could be our thing? We wear a new name pretty much every week anyhow, why don’t we get married as many times as we feel like? I know personally I’d be willing to go...well, at least another three times. Maybe four, for the money.”

He felt a light nip through the shoulder of the robe as Nureyev admonished him with his teeth. Though his hands were saying something different as they slid down Juno’s back, squeezing lightly.

“I suppose it could be quite a fun tradition…” he murmured softly, “But I would like to remember the next one. Perhaps a beach wedding on Saturn…”

Juno grinned and kissed the top of his head, “Whatever you want, babe. I’ll make sure the next one is perfect.”

“Our first one already was. But there were parts of my moodboards I didn’t get to use…”

Juno nudged him lightly until he was on his back, starting to kiss his way down his neck, tasting his perfume on his lips, “And?”

“And I love you,” Nureyev amended, smiling as innocently as someone very obviously moving his wife’s legs apart with his own could, “And marrying you a thousand times wouldn’t be enough to show you how much.”

“I love you too,” Juno murmured against his collarbone, “Happy honeymoon, baby.”

And, as much of a surprise as it had been, as much as their heads still ached and they could still taste cocktails on each other’s tongues, as much as they had a ship to catch in a few hours, it was. It really, really was.

[angelliev]

Lover Boy - JJ Maybank x OC - Part Three - Rocking with the Waves

Word Count: 3K

Summary: Aria just can’t get enough of JJ and his affection, making him absolutely irresistible and a familiar face arrives in the Outer Banks, along with suspicion from her father.

Warnings: Smut, some cursing, hopefully no typos and unsafe driving?

A/N: Words can’t even describe the joy and happiness I am experiencing from the amount of people who have read my writing. Thank you so much guys! I sincerely appreciate it. I hope you enjoy! (Not my GIF. Credits to the owner. I don’t own the show or the characters.)

Lover Boy Series Masterlist

Birds sing their little toons outside, the warm morning air kisses my skin and the sun beams down on my face through the windows. These are typical mornings I wake up to. Except in my own bed. By myself. Instead I wake up to the sound of a beating heart and my head laying on a naked chest that continues to rise and fall. I glance up to see JJ still asleep, his handsome face so calm without a worry in the world. I couldn’t help but lay a kiss on his warm cheek causing him to stir. For a while I just lay there drawing shapes on his chest. This causes his eyes to flutter open. He smiles down on me.

“Rise and shine lover boy.” I crawl on top of his naked boy under the sheets. “Oh, something’s rising alright.” He smirks. I lightly smack his shoulder. I have to admit though, his raspy morning voice is quite the turn on. “It’s not even noon Jay.”

“I take it that’s a no, on morning sex? It would be a real good way to start off the day.” His hands start to play with my bed hair. I simply giggle at him.

“How do you feel?” He asked genuinely concerned. “Different. Like a good different. It hurt a little at first, then it began to feel really good.” I never knew just how close you can become with someone. “Want me to me make you feel really good again?” His question laced with lust. “God, yes please.” “Good girl. Now lay back and enjoy the show.” He smirks before laying a kiss on my lips and kissing a trail down my body, taking his time. The anticipation begins to start a pool of wetness to form down below, especially when he starts kissing and nipping at the peach soft skin of my inner thighs, littering them with more love bites. When he finally reaches the region that requires the most attention, he glances up at me, holding eye contact and places my legs over his shoulders. My feet rest on his slender soft back.

“So wet for me. We’re you dreaming of me perhaps? Did I treat you so good last night?” His breath fans my pussy and he plants a kiss there, causing me to squirm. “Tell me babygirl, what do you want me to do? I need words.” His teasing look becoming too much. “Please, I want you to taste me. Make me feel good. Please baby.” I practically beg. He licks a stripe up my folds making me gasp, never taking his eyes off my pleasure filled face. My petite finger comb through his hair gripping hard, while his lengthy ones enter my core curling in. His lips attach to my sensitive clit, making me moan. He hums out of satisfaction as I continue to tug on his luxurious hair. His free hand comes up to grope my left breast. His fingers began to pick up speed as they thrust in and out of me.

“JJ, I’m so close.” I breathe out, my feet start to dig into his back and hips begin to buck. He grabs a hold of my hips stabilizing me. The familiar euphoric sensation washes over me as I reach my orgasm, making my toes curl and my back arch off the bed. My juices coat his fingers. He brings the glistening digits up to his lips, licking them clean along with my dripping hot core. I can taste myself on his intoxicating lips when kisses me so passionately. He’s so addictive like nicotine. I simply can’t get enough of him.

“You taste so good babygirl. Did you know that?” I giggle at the closeness and his hot breath fanning my neck before attacking it with soft kisses as I hold him close to me. We lay there enjoying each other’s presence in the morning sunlight. Unfortunately, our moment is interrupted by the ringing of my phone. On the screen I see Charis’s number.

“Hello?” I answer. “Hey where are you? Your parents called to ask if you were with me. Don’t worry I covered for you, said you crashed at my place, but they want you back home like asap. Just tell me where you are.” Shit. I didn’t even think about that. “Shit, I’m at John B’s chateau.” “What are you doing there?” She asked confused. “I’ll explain everything when you get here. See you soon.” I hang up and sigh. JJ looks up at me.

“I’m sorry, but my parents want me home.” He just smiles at me. “No worries babe.” He grabs my phone and punches in my number. “When will I see you again?” I asked hopeful. “Soon. I’ll take you out somewhere fun. Ever been surfing?” I shake my head yes. “A girl after my own heart, this should be fun, after all I’m the best surfer in the OBX.” I chuckle at his cocky attitude. “I have a question for you Jay.” “Mm?” I was a little hesitant at first to ask this question. “What does this make us?” I nervously bite my lip. “What do you want this to be?” He asked while playing with my hair. “Something more than just sex. I really like you JJ. I want to be close to you all time. I want to be intimate.” I confess hoping I don’t sound clingy. “I like the sound of that. Let’s give this a shot and see where it leads us.” “Do you think we’re going too fast?” “Nah, plus I like going fast.” He places one last kiss on my lips before we both gather our clothes.

Stepping out onto the porch, I see Charis’s car. I turn back to JJ who didn’t even bother to put on a shirt. “I’ll stay in touch that way we can hang out again.” My fingers play with his. “Sounds good.” He uses his black bandana to tie up my hair in a ponytail, making the butterflies in my stomach erupt. I loved the fact that he willingly let me have one of his belongings. I place a kiss on his cheek. Before I could turn away, he grabs my waist planting one last passionate kiss on my lips. My arms wrap around his neck, pulling us closer. Our noses touch even after pulling away. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you soon.” I peck his lips. “See you soon beautiful.” He finally lets me go; I turn back to steal one more glance before opening the door. He sends me a wink, making me chuckle and blow a kiss.

I can feel Charis’s burning gaze on me as I situate myself. “Oh. My. Fucking. God. What the fuck just went down?” She doesn’t even take the parking brake off before hammering me for details. “I may have spent the night with JJ.” I can feel the heat radiating from my blushing cheeks. “Wait, did you lose your V card?” She asked astonished. It just hit me that I was no longer a virgin and I just lost my virginity to JJ. Not being able to process words I just smile and nod yes. This sets her off. “Holy fucking sweet baby Jesus shit! You had sex with JJ Maybank! Holy shit! About time you got dirty in the sheets!” She hugs me tight. I’ve been the virgin of the group for a while now. Charis lost hers freshman year, while Sarah lost hers last summer. “Oh my god can we go before my parents lose their shit? My dad is already pissed at me.” I plead. “Right sorry, I’m just still trying to process this. When did this start between you guys?” “It started since we first met.” “So, are you guys just hooking up or are you dating?” “We’re kind of taking things slow.” This makes her laugh. “Bitch please, you skipped slow and went straight to speeding.” “What I mean by slow is that we’re still getting to know each other.” “Oh, I think you guys got to know each other a lot.” She laughs and continues to drive. “I need you to promise though that you won’t tell anyone about us. I really like him and my dad would lose his shit if he knew about us.” I plead. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me splinter bean.”

After showering, changing and covering many hickeys, I come downstairs and walk outside to the balcony to find my family and a familiar face. “Damian?” I asked surprised. “Hello Aria. Nice of you to finally join us.” He lifts up a glass. Damian Prescott. He’s my older brother. We get along a lot more than Jennifer and I do thankfully. He’s not around much though. He lives in Las Vegas. He works business with my dad. Standing next to him is a woman about his age.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming out here.” I give him a welcoming hug. “Thought I surprise you. I’d like to introduce you to my fiancée, Rebecca.” What?! “Fiancée?! You’re getting married?” This all came as a shock to me. He’s kind of womanizer, so for him to be engaged all of the sudden definitely surprised me. “Yes. We just bought a house here in figure eight and are planning on having our wedding here. Rebecca here is an international model and fashion designer.” “That’s impressive. Congratulations. I’m really happy for you guys, and it’s a pleasure to meet you Rebecca.” I hug her. “Likewise, darling.” I am still trying to process the surprising news.

“Where have you been Aria?” My father asked out of the blue. He stares me down with interrogating eyes. I sometimes wonder if he and Ingrid are long lost twins with their helicoptering tendencies. “I spent the night at Charis’s.” I say as calm and convincing as possible. Last thing I want to do is have him find out about who I was actually with. “Nice bandana. Where did you get it?” Asked my nosey Jennifer. “I found it earlier this week on the beach.” For the rest of evening I had to deal with peering eyes, but I didn’t let that bother me, instead I began daydreaming about seeing JJ again.

Next Day…

Today is a perfect day to go surfing. There’s not a cloud in sight, parents or Jennifer. Only me, my surfboard and soon JJ. Not a single soul stops me from leaving the house and jumping into JJ’s muscular arms kissing him long and hard. “Why hello there. I missed you too babe. You ready to go?” I nod my head excitedly. I couldn’t help but gaze at him while he was driving the van. His eyes were so focused on the road, yet he still kept his warm hand on my bare thigh. The wind blows past his hair as he drives. He seems so carefree.

“See something you like?” I blush embarrassed that he caught me staring. “Sorry. You’re just so beautiful.” I have no shame as I continue to admire his attractive features. “Awe, aren’t you sweet? C’mere.” He pulls me into his lap as he comes to halt due to a stoplight, my legs lay across the middle console. “Is this safe?” I ask, but not really caring. “Probably not.” He closes the gap between us to keep me quiet and I had no urge to protest. The annoyed drivers behind us say otherwise as they honk at us. We both laugh as continues to drive.

I then noticed a fully healed scar on the back of his hand. I trace over it hoping that it would just disappear. It saddened me to see a scar had littered his beautiful skin. “What happened?” I asked curious. “Oh, probably just a cut from something I accidentally did.” He lied brushing it off like it was nothing. His eyes said otherwise, but I didn’t want to push it.

We walk down beach surfboards in hand ready to have some fun. The warm water hitting our feet and soon engulfing our bodies. The two of us let out cheers as we successfully ride out some waves. He wasn’t kidding when he told me that he was a very talented surfer. It was heartwarming to see him in his happy place. Neither of us keep track of the time. We didn’t notice the day passing by as the sun was about to set. It was then when we decided it was time to leave the water and dry off. This time I catch him staring. “See something you like?” I tease about to tie up my hair, but he stops me. “Don’t, I like it down.” He says taking the hair tie away. He places a slow and passionate kiss on my lips making me smile and pull him closer. One thing led to another, now we’re laying down on the beach blanket having a heated make out session.

I was thankful that we were both wearing swimwear as I began tugging at his swim trunks. He pulls away surprised. “You sure?” “Positive. I want you to take me right now.” My encouragement only seems to excite him even more as he removes my bottoms and covers the two of us with an extra blanket. He strokes my slit with his tip teasing me. “You want this babygirl? Want me to fuck you out in the open?” His dirty talking turns me on even more, making me desperate. “God yes please. Make me yours.” That’s all he needed before plunging in so deep. His hand clamps over my mouth to contain my loud moans. “As much as I love to hear you moan my name with that pretty voice, we don’t want to get caught.”

His thrusts were a lot different from last time. These were faster, deeper and harder, which only increased the pleasure. His grunts were a little louder too. A bead of sweat began to form on his forehead and a little bit of his damp hair fell over his face as he continued to thrust into me. JJ and the colorful sky were both so gorgeous, a sight I could get used to. He spreads my legs further apart and grabs my hips creating a deeper angle, now hitting the spot that craves the most attention, making me moan loudly, neither of us giving a damn. “You like that babygirl?” He pants through moans.

“JJ!” I scream and my vision goes white as I tighten around him, milking his hard cock, making him throw his head back. He joins me shortly after, his hot cum spewing inside of me, riding out his high. The two of us stay there for a moment catching our breaths. “JJ, that was amazing.” I say dazed. This earns me a breathy chuckle from him “You can say that again. God damn you’re so tight around me babe.” We both laugh together.

We both enjoyed the peaceful silence in the van on the way back home, the two of us feeling spent. I was disappointed when we pulled up to my house. “I had a lot of fun today JJ. That was one hell of a first date.” He looks back at me. “I’m glad you had fun. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” “Me too. See you later.” I kiss lips before exiting the van and grabbing my surfboard. I blow him a kiss and he returns it with his infamous wink that makes me weak in the knees. I place my surfboard in the closest, and grab a bowl of strawberries to snack on. Before I could go upstairs, I am stopped by my mom.

“Hey sweetheart, I didn’t hear you come through the door.” She greets me with a smile. “Oh, I just got back.” “I never seen you wear that sweatshirt. Is it new or something?” She’s referring to JJ’s Fast Arch gray sweatshirt that he lent to me when he noticed I was cold earlier.

“Oh this? It’s not mine. My friend let me borrow it because I was cold.” This is officially my new favorite shirt. It smells just like him. Weed, mint and the ocean. I still feel engulfed by him as I wear it. “That’s nice of them. What did you guys do today?” Oh, if only she knew. “We went surfing.” I only told her half the truth. “That sounds like fun. Did you use sunblock? Do you need aloe gel? You’ve been drinking plenty of water, right?” I chuckle at her. The only time she asks me a billion questions is when it’s over my health. “Yes, mom I used sunblock and drank lots of water.” I reassure her. “Okay, well take this with you anyways.” She hands me a bottle of water. I laugh. When is she not carrying water? I swear if she were to be charged for anything, it would be possession of too much damn water. “Thank you, mommy. Goodnight.” I kiss her forehead. “Goodnight love.”

I pass by my sister when she got a whiff of my new scent. “God, did you and your so-called friend get stoned while you were at the beach?” Jennifer criticizes. “No, and eavesdropping is really rude. You should get a new hobby.” She rolls her eyes. “So, who did you go to the beach with?” She asked. “Who I hang out with is none of your business. Goodnight.” I slam the door shut with a huff and let the events of earlier replay in my head. I shower and go to bed in JJ’s shirt, letting the aroma bring me peace.

I mindlessly let my fingers travel down to my wet folds and begin playing with myself. I imagine that its JJ’s fingers thrusting and curling inside of me. I imagine the dirty things he would say to me as I chase after my own orgasm. His name leaves my lips in soft whimpers as I finally finish off the night in pure bliss.

[ben-hardy-jones]

Keep it secret

Author: @ben-hardy-jones​

Pairing: Billy x fem!reader

Warnings: slightly smutty, mild gore (description of blood) 

Song: War Of Hearts by Ruelle 

Word count: 4.000ish

Summary: Reader, aka Eight, always felt a certain way about Four and it was mutual. After Turgistan, the tension escalated quickly. But will they be able to keep their hands to themselves and their relationship a secret? It was already enough that Two and Three were together and you weren’t sure how One would react to another couple. 

♡ Feedback is always appreciated! ♡

A/N: Dedicated to @valentina15. I loved writing this so much. Thank you for your request because I wouldn’t be able to come up with something like that at all. I hope you like it! 

→ Back to my masterlist ←

Meeting One was one of the most terrifying yet freeing moments you've ever experienced. When he proposed to make you free of your previous life, it was hard to decline. Two months later, you found yourself in Turgistan on a luxury yacht of Turgistan's dictator that was about to sink.  When you successfully got rid of Rovach Alimov and his democracy-loving brother Murat became the new president, that's when you found yourself in bed with no other than Billy, better known as Four.

It all started during the planning of the mission. Ever since you met him, there was no denying your attraction towards each other but as you were told by One, the leader, any kind of intimacy was strictly forbidden between any of you. There were occasional touches, Four brushing his fingers against your hip whenever he would walk past you or you gently nudging his hand with yours. However, you kept it at that. Nor you nor Four tried to go any further.

That was until Two and Three's secret about fucking each other since Vegas was exposed. After that, you decided to throw all barriers to the side. So after your return from Turgistan, you visited Billy's trailer. It was supposed to be just an innocent confession of your attraction towards him. You were sure he felt the same way. Still, you didn't plan on finding yourself in his bed that night. His arms gripping your hips as he thrust inside you, your moans so loud he was forced to cover your mouth with his palm.

Waking up in his arms, surrounded by his scent and warmth, was something you got easily used to. However, you agreed to keep it a secret. Mostly because One was barely okay with Two and Three being together and you weren't sure how he would react to another couple in the team.

Keeping it strictly confidential wasn't the easiest task. You tried your best not to stare at Billy any time he was near. It was hard for you. The light green color of his eyes reminded you of leaves hit by sunlight in summer, the plumpness of his pinkish lips and those cute little freckles splattered across the bridge of his nose that you didn't know about until his face was less than two inches away from yours made it a great effort not to look at. He looked like a masterpiece that belonged to the museum. And he was all yours.

Billy wasn't making it easy either. Whenever you were close enough, he wouldn't waste a second and he'd touch you everywhere he could reach. The very next day after your first time, he kept on touching you anywhere he as able to. That escalated quickly after just a week.

You two were like some kind of horny teenagers. Any time you two were alone, soon enough you were naked, bodies grinding against each other as he made you moan his name repeatedly. It didn't matter where. You remembered that one time when you went to a near-abandoned skateboard park to see him. Billy would always go there to clear his head, practice his skateboarding skills and keep himself in shape.

This time, with you sitting on the edge of one of the ramps, he didn't care about his skateboard. Just few minutes after you came to watch him out of boredom, his lips were already on yours, his hands squeezing your naked thighs only hidden underneath a simple beige skirt.

"Billy," you moaned his name between the kisses as his fingers worked on you with your underwear nonchalantly thrown on his black skateboard. Rolling your shirt up to expose the fabric of your bra, he planted wet kisses on the newly visible cleavage. His kisses were aiming lower and lower until he reached the place you craved his attention the most.

He let you be as loud as you pleased. You were alone and completely careless of the fact that if one of the ghosts decided to come near the skateboard park, his head between your legs with your fingers tightly gripping his hair, his hand palming your breast, your back arching in pleasure, and his name leaving your lips would be the first thing they'd see or hear.

Next week, you were on a plane to the Vatican. A group of people were about to assassinate the current pope and One was ready to get rid of the threat before it was too late. Sitting next to Billy, his hand was resting on your upper thigh, maybe too high, but nobody seemed to notice it. No matter how many times you told him to keep his hands to himself around the others, he became more and more frequent with his touching.  

Feeling the tension growing between you two, you looked around. Two and Three were sitting in front of you with their backs towards you, Seven was in the pilot's cabin with One and Five seemed to be way too interested in one of her medical books to notice what you were about to do.

Billy was looking out of the window and didn't notice you either. Biting your lip to hide the grin, you placed your hand straight on his bulge. He jumped out in surprise.

"Y/N," he breathed out. His brows were raised as he looked at you, silently saying Are you serious? with his eyes.

"Two can play this game."

"No, love, she can't," he smiled. Squeezing him, you felt his cock twitch as he sighed.

"That's not what I meant."

"Someone will see us."

"Two and Three are way into each other and Five forgot about the rest of the world the moment she started reading that crap," you motioned towards her with your head, your eyes never leaving Billy's wide ones.

Gently, you started to massage him. He swallowed, letting you. Unfortunately, too soon One's voice interrupted you, informing all of you that you will be landing soon.

You pulled away but not before planting a swift kiss on the corner of his lips. Five looked at you as you passed her, a look in her eyes that made you question if she heard or saw something. Not saying anything, you made your way towards one of the cars parked nearby, Billy right behind you with One and Seven occupying the vehicle as well.

The ride seemed to be going on forever as you sat by the left window, watching the beautiful architecture Rome was offering. You could feel Billy's eyes you, occasionally stealing a look at you.

It was close to one in the morning when you finally arrived at the cheapest, dirtiest two-floor motel anyone could ever imagine. Parking in front of the building, everyone left the car and One went straight to the reception.

Billy's shoulder brushed yours, his hand quickly landing on your bottom as he stopped next to you, watching incoming One.

"Okay, listen, guys," he announced, bringing everyone's attention to him, "there are four rooms with only double beds available for us. I'll be in 37, Two and Eight in 42, Three and Four in 49 and Five with Seven in 56. All rooms are on the ground floor. Everyone will be right here," One pointed at the ground to make a point, "at seven am sharp."

"I want to be solo," Five folded her arms in front of her chest, staring deadly at One.

"You're sharing with Seven," One tried to dismiss Five but her stare made him shiver. After a silent minute of their staredown, One gave up.

"Whatever, Five's in 56 alone and I'll share with Seven in 37 then," he rolled his eyes, throwing her the keys. Five walked off with a proud smile.

"I don't wanna share a room with Four, papi, nor one bed," Three started, making One throw his head back dramatically with an exaggerated sigh.

"Don't start now, Three. I'm not giving you a room with Two. It's enough that you're fucking  loud enough in California, I'm not letting you disturb my sleep tonight," he came closer to Three with an angry expression, "you are sharing a room with Four while Two sleeps in one bed with Eight."

"You let Five have her way," Three remarked, the rest of you just standing there watching curiously.

"I have a feeling someone's gonna get killed soon," you whispered towards Billy whose hand was still on your bottom while both of you faced the others. He only nodded.

"No. End of discussion," One raised his voice slightly, still trying not to bring any attention to the group. With that, he threw one pair of keys to you and the other to Billy and motioned Seven to follow him to their shared room.

"Fucking feminist," Three shook his head.

"C'mon man, I guarantee you I'm not that bad of a bedmate," Billy joked, wiggling his browns as he and Three made their way towards their room, leaving you and Two alone.

"Sometimes I really want to shoot someone," Two rolled her eyes and picked up her bags.

"One or Three?"

"All of them."

+++++++++++++++

"Camille, did I leave my shorts on the bed?" putting your hair in a ponytail, you left the bathroom only in a slightly oversized shirt and underwear, searching for the missing shorts.

"Don't see them," the blonde replied, reading a magazine while laying on her stomach on the bed.

"How could you when you don't look," you mumbled.

Looking around, you couldn't find them anywhere. Someone knocked on the door, making you and Two jump up, guns that were previously lying around now ready to fire.

She opened the door only to be greeted by a sleek looking Three in a black button-up and a glass of champagne in his hand, a flirtatious smile on his bearded face.

"We're having a date?" you asked, taking the champagne from his hand.

"Oh, champagne delamotte," you read in a fake French accent, Two rolling her eyes at you, "sounds fancy. I like it."

"That," Three ripped the bottle from you, "is not for you, ocho," his eyes sliding down your body, realizing how underdressed you were, "but you can stay if you want."

"What do you mean by 'if you want'?" you put your hands on your hips, "I'm sleeping here tonight."

"No, you're not," Two stood between you two, her back towards Three.

An exaggerated gasp left your lips. Two took the bottle from Three, gripping your shoulder and leading you towards the door.

"Wait, I still don't have my shorts," you protested but it was to no avail. Two smiled gently at you in the doors before closing them and locking them.

"Traitor," you whispered. Instantly, you pushed the shirt more down in an attempt to cover yourself from any possible passersby.

"Guys, seriously," you banged on the doors, hearing their voices, "where am I supposed to go?"

"You always find yourself a solution, Y/N. Good luck," Three said, his voice muffled by the doors.

Throwing your arms in the air, you turned around. It was deep in the night. Nobody seemed to be near. Cars of all brands and colors were parked in front of the motel, suggesting the place was nearly or fully booked. It didn't take you long to come up with a plan. Flipping a bird at the doors, you went to the room 7 doors away from you.

Knocking at the red doors, you held your shirt down as you waited for him to open. Billy was still very much awake, dressed in a simple white shirt and black Adidas pants. His wet hair indicated he took a shower recently, the smell of cheap motel soap enveloping you as he looked you up and down and raised his eyebrows, seeing you in only a shirt.

"I was forced out of my room," you stated, "and have nowhere to sleep."

"Three mentioned something about screwing One's dumb rules," Billy wondered out loud, stepping to the side, "come on in, love."

You entered the room that looked exactly like yours, just slightly less messy. The doors clicked, Billy locking them and putting a gun he had hidden behind his elasticated waist on the small table next to him.

"Aren't you cold in that?" he furrowed his brows, eyes fixed on your legs, a look of worry mixed with awe on his freshly shaven face.

"If Three let me put on my shorts, I wouldn't be cold."

Billy walked pass you, grasping a pair of plain black pants he had ready for tomorrow.

"Here," he crouched down in front of you, "these should keep you warm."

Letting him dress you, you stepped into one leg at the time. Your hands gripped his broad shoulders as he put the pants on you and tied them. The close proximity of his warm body mere inch from you made your own body tingle. His hands stayed on your hips. His eyes bored into yours, your lips parting. Billy's eyes slid down to them as he licked his own lips. His right hand moved upwards to cup your face and you automatically leaned into him.

It felt like hours passed as you just stared at each other in silence, heart beating so fast you thought it'll jump out of your chest.

"Can you just kiss me already?" you breathed out.

Billy's lips curled up in a smug smile. Next second, his lips were on yours as his tongue immediately slid inside your mouth. Putting your hands on his brawny chest, you could feel his muscles contracting underneath your touch. Pushing forward, he was soon sitting on the double bed, your legs on either side of his thighs as you sat on him comfortably. You circled your hips, pushing yourself onto his hardening groin and at the same time, you started to nibble on the skin under his jawline, careful not to leave a mark. Billy groaned.

His hands frantically fumbled with the knot on your pants he created just moments ago.

"Why giving me pants when you're gonna be taking them off within a few minutes?" you smiled, your lips still touching his flesh. A growl erupted from his throat alongside your name.

After a small number of failed attempts, Billy finally managed to get the knot loose. His hands grabbed your hips and he easily threw you further onto the bed and on your back. Your pants were off of you in seconds, Billy's lips on yours instantly afterwards. His hips pushed your legs more apart as he settled between them, thrusting against you.

"Fuck, Billy," you could feel yourself getting more and more ready for him and he didn't even touch you properly yet. Being the sadistic bastard he was, he teased you to the fullest before submitting to the awaiting pleasure.

+++++++++++++++

Turning around the corner, you shot the first man that appeared in front of you, the other falling down with a headshot by Seven, and took the outside stairs. You cursed underneath your breath at the horrendous choice of clothing as you had to take the stairs in a little black dress with a fully sheer side. It was extremely questionable why One put Three in charge of today's clothing for the gala as Three was the worst outfit picker, let alone nightgowns for women.

"Eight for Four," you whispered into the earpiece firmly put inside your right ear, masked with your hair pinned to the side.

"Yeah?" Billy responded, his voice soothing, making you slightly less nervous. It was already a stupid idea of One's to send you to the bad guy's room alone, only with Four as a backup. You hated it but apparently, only women were allowed to the upper floor because of reasons. Five wasn't a fighter which made her unavailable immediately while Two and Three were supposed to take care of the guards outside the mansion. So it was only you left as a choice.

"I'm almost there, where are you?"

"Right 'bove you."

A shriek left your lips as he landed next to you. He had to cover your mouth quickly, putting a finger on his lips before showing you a cheeky smile.

"What was that?" One's angry voice echoed in your earpiece, "Eight, I swear if you fucking sabotage this mission."

"Everything's fine, boss," Four answered without delay. He wiggled his eyebrow playfully. Gripping his machine pistol, he turned to the doors and gently nudged you behind him. You both got ready.

"I see four people including out target inside," Seven's voice was heard in your earpieces, "but the glass is bulletproof so it's all on you two, guys. Can't help you there."

You nodded, knowing Seven was watching through his scope. Billy looked at you reassuringly, his hand swiftly squeezing yours. Taking a deep breath it, you watched Billy kick the doors open.

The bodyguards began shouting in Italian instantly but you didn't understand nor cared. Instantaneously, you fired your first two shots, hitting the nearest dark-skinned bald man in the arm before firing again and shooting him in the neck. His body fell to the ground with a thud, revealing your target hiding behind his robust body.

It all felt like you were in slow motion. Turning your head to the side, you saw another beefy man on the ground with his face completely destroyed by Billy's bullets.

Feeling the air thicken, you saw a movement. The target lunged at you, his arms extended towards your gun. The training kicked in, your body going into instant combat mode.  Stepping to the side, you kicked his knee. He grunted and turned to you with an angry snarl. Without a second thought, you hit him in the face with the back of your gun before kicking him right in his groin with all the power you could gather.

The target stumbled backwards, stumbling over the dead body of his bodyguard. He fell backwards, hitting the back of his head against a table in the process. His unconscious body landed on the ground.

"No, no, no, no," you whispered, feeling your heart racing as you came to his body and checked for the pulse, "don't be dead. If you're dead, I'm dead dead too."  

A sigh left your lips covered in bright red lipstick as you felt his pulse beating strongly. He was still alive.

A grunt echoed through the room. Billy was still fighting with the last bodyguard, his pistol thrown on the other side of the room. The man was huge, at least 6'5 tall and weirdly enough, he resembled a bigger version of Jason Momoa.

Billy was holding up surprisingly well. Ever since he got his ass kicked in both Hong Kong and Turgistan, he trained daily to be better. And it paid off. Using his parkour skills, he swiftly moved between his punches. It looked like he was actually dancing.

His face, on the other hand, was evidently not doing that well. His lip was busted, blood slowly oozing from the crack as well as from a small laceration under his left eye, right on his prominent cheekbone that you were so jealous of.

Even in the state of being quite badly beaten, you found Billy extremely attractive. His moves stayed fluent, deliberated.  

You could see him avoiding using his left hand, indicating he was hurt more than you could see at the moment. Raising your gun, you aimed at the man's head, praying to all the gods he would not move fast enough.

The bullet left the muzzle with a bang, ending in the guy's left temple. His blood splattered across Billy's cheek and neck as well as the near wall, painting the white walls crimson red.

He stood still for a second, looking at the body before turning his wide eyes towards you. Billy's chest was rapidly going up and down, his breathing loud.

"You could've killed me," he walked over to you, lips parted, and looked at the target's unconscious body over your head as his chest came  in contact with yours. Billy's hands went to your elbows, steadying your subtle shaking.

"He could've too," you whispered, placing your gun on the table next to you before grabbing his hand and looking at the angry looking bruises forming around his wrist.

"I think it's broken. Five will know for sure."

Looking up, your eyes followed every inch of his face. His eyes never left yours. He stood close to you. Warm tingle settled in your tummy as you wiped away the blood from his chin, careful not to touch his wounded lip. You bit your own lip and felt your cheeks turning pink.

"Sorry, I think I'm turned on," you muttered, trying to put a distance between you and Billy but he caught you by your wrist, holding you still.

"You're turned on by me having my ass handed to me?"

"Maybe?"

In that very moment, when you looked up to him, the blush on your cheeks and your wide eyes, he felt his heart stop. Forgetting about the world, he smashed his lips against yours, groaning slightly at the burning pain in his wounded lip.

"You're hurt," you tried pulling away but it was unsuccessful. Billy held you close, completely ignoring the protests his body was giving him as he overlooked his broken wrist and beaten face.

"Don't care."

Still trying to pull away, his lips followed yours as you bent slightly backwards. That was when you realized there was no point in protesting. This man was not going to give up.

Relaxing your body, letting it melt into his, Billy took the lead and put you on the table right next to your gun. Opening your legs as much as your dress allowed you, he was still not able to step between them. A growl left his mouth as he took the hem of your dress, pulling it upwards until it was around your hips, your underwear completely exposed to anyone as he finally stepped between your legs. His hands stayed on your thighs.

You could feel the blood on his lips as he moved his mouth down, kissing your jawline before moving towards your ear. You were completely lost in the pleasure he was giving you, tilting your head back. So lost you didn't hear One the first time.

"I said," his voice was louder now, "what the fuck is going on?"

Eyes wide, you pushed Billy away and jumped off the table, speedily pulling your dress down. One was standing in the doors with Two and Three on each side. Five and Seven were nowhere to be seen. Three was strongly trying not to laugh as Two had the same expression she always had but you knew she was amused as well.

On the other hand, One was furious. His face reddened as he walked towards the target who was slowly and quietly trying to crawl away which you also didn't notice.

"Look, boss," Billy took a step towards One but was stopped when he raised his hand, aiming his gun at Billy.

"Don't," he grabbed the target, pulling him on his feet and putting his gun back at the holster, "you have a lot of explaining to do but right now, we have more important things to take care of."

There was no doubt your face was red as a tomato as One left the room with your target, Three laughing as he followed him.

Two looked at Billy and then at you.

"You have a little blood and lipstick on your face," she motioned to her jawline, showing you where you were dirty before turning away and following the rest of the group.

"This is gonna be a long night," Billy announced, biting his cheek.

"Tell me about it," you breathed out and began following the group with Billy by your side, slightly terrified about what was to come.

[tweedlydumbtweedlydoo]

Off Limits (Spencer Reid) #2

Here is chapter 2!! I’m excited about the start of this. I have many plans for the future chapters ;) I really hope y’all like it. Also, let me know if you would like me to tag you in future chapters. 

Chapter 1

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Tag List: @on-my-way-to-erebor​

NOT MY GIF

        It was Ava’s third day of working at the BAU. She didn’t have anything to complain about and everyone had been more friendly than that first day. She had spoken more than a few words to them. Even Spencer. Yesterday, she arrived to work at the same time he did and rode the elevator up with him. She found out he had three PhDs- chemistry, mathematics, and engineering. A very smart man. Sadly, the conversation was short, only as long as the ride to the BAU floor. Oh well, she’ll have to find another time to talk with him and she looks forward to it.

       The assignments Hotch had given her were simple and easy. Organize the file room, create new folders for the new cases, make copies, etc. She had finished the first page of the assignments list and was working on moving boxes of case folders around the room. Hotch wanted them organized and updated. Anything before 2010 set aside to go into storage. Luckily, moving boxes all the way to the basement storage unit was not her job. She got to tell someone else to do that job.

She blew a piece of hair out of her face as she stepped up on the step ladder to put a particular heavy box on the top shelf of the rack. First step up… second step… and third- oh no. She underestimated how heavy this box actually was and could feel herself falling back with the box.

“Woah, woah,” a panicked voice spoke, followed by large hands grabbing her waist, steadying her. Her heart was pounding, eyes wide. She looked back at the person who had just well, saved her. It was Spencer. “Easy there.” His eyes were looking her over, making sure she was steadied before slowing releasing her waist.

“Thank you,” she breathed, her face flushed, “I underestimated how heavy that box was.”

“here, let me,” he took the box from her hands, letting her safely step down off the ladder before he reached up, without the help of the ladder, and slid the box onto the top shelf of the rack. She fixed her hair behind her ear and fixed her shirt, taking a deep breath, “Thank you again.”

“It’s no problem,” he turned around and looked at her, “you shouldn’t be putting such heavy boxes on the top shelf, especially by yourself. Hotch would rather you not get hurt on your third day here.” He chuckled a little and ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face.

Ava shrugged, gave a little laugh and looked around, “It is kind of my job… so I have to do it.”

He noticed she looked different today. More laid back. No heels. She actually didn’t have any shoes on at all and her toes were painted a baby pink. Cute, he thought to himself. She had on pants instead of skirt. She was still so beautiful.

“What other boxes need to go on the shelf?” He asks. He can take a quick break from his desk. He had been sitting all morning. Plus, she doesn’t need to be doing this alone. She could get hurt. I mean he almost didn’t make it in time. He had happened to be going to get coffee and saw her take the first step. She had been wobbly, so he waited a second and watched her take that second step before starting to walk over to her. He knew she was about to lose it. Luckily, he had been there in time.

Ava looked around the room and put her hands on her hips, “Well those by the window are to storage, which someone will be up later to get,” She glanced around at the other boxes and pointed, “those are the only ones. I’m putting them on the shelf by year.”

He nodded and went to pick up the next box and she put her hand on his arm to stop him, “No no. It’s ok, I can get them. I know you have work to do.”

He smiled, “I don’t mind, and I can take a break to help a pretty lady put boxes on the shelves.” She blushed and nodded, releasing his arm. Shit, had he called her pretty out loud? He stacked the rest of the boxes on the top shelf, her safely putting the ones on the bottom shelf. They finished in half the time it would have took her alone. She was grateful. They spoke more while stacking the boxes. She found out he was from Las Vegas, NV, had a high IQ of 187 and could read 20,000 words a minute. He had been working for the BAU for 5 years and was the youngest member of the FBI BAU. This was the getting to talk another time she had been looking forward too.

“Done!” he exclaimed as he slid the last box on the shelf.

She smiled, “yay! Thank you for helping. You saved me a lot of time.”

He nodded, “of course.”

An awkward silence fell upon them. He really didn’t want to go back to his desk. He wanted to stand here and talk with her. He had learned a lot while helping her. She grew up in Atlanta, GA and was an only child. She moved up here after graduating high school and graduated from Georgetown University in Washington D.C with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She landed a job with the FBI through a family friend.

“Do you want to go get coffee?” He asked. She was surprised, was he asking her out on a date? This quickly? Surely not.

He added, seeing her surprised face, “I mean.. in the kitchen. I was on my way to get coffee when I saw you almost fall.”

“Oh,” she nodded, understanding, yet disappointed that it wasn’t actually an invitation out for a date. “Yes, I could use some coffee.” She smiled, sad she wasn’t getting asked out on a date, but happy to be able to talk with him more.

They walked out of the file room and headed for the kitchen. Spencer started the coffee maker when he entered, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling the room. He grabbed his mug from the cabinet, which was hidden on the top shelf, “can’t have anyone stealing this,” he smirked. She laughed, pulling hers from the bottom shelf below, “I don’t have that luxury. Downside of being short.” She was only five foot one. She didn’t get the tall gene of her family.

“Creamer?” She asked, pulling a small container of half and half out of the fridge. “Yes please,” he grabbed the sugar and started pouring it into his coffee.

“Woah, want a little coffee with that sugar?” She laughed, setting the creamer on the counter. He chuckled, “haven’t heard that one before.” He teased, handing her the sugar. She fixed her coffee, two and half teaspoons of sugar and a splash of cream. He made a mental note for future reference, pouring a little cream in his coffee.

“I’m a huge coffee drinker. I can drink it all day long, no matter what time of day,” she states, slowly stirring her coffee. “I like my coffee until about 2 o clock then I switch to tea.” He sips on his coffee and leans his back against the counter, watching her. God, she’s beautiful.

She wanted to ask him what kind of tea he drinks but was interrupted by Morgan walking in, “Reid! We just got a case. Hotch wants us in the briefing room to go over the case.” Damn it.

“Ok, be in there in a second,” Reid sighed and looked at Ava, “well duty calls.” He pushed himself off the counter and followed Morgan. Another conversation interrupted. She sighed and cleaned up the kitchen before heading back to her desk to finish the assignments list.

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Oooooo we got a little action going on. Wonder how it will pan out?? ;) 

Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2! I apologize if it seemed rushed or jumbled together. I have a hard time with organizing when I write. I have lots of ideas in my head and when I go to write it all down, it’s like it all runs together, unorganized. If you have any tips to help with that, please message me! I’m all ears for advice. :)

Let me know what you think and if you want chapter 3 :)

[raywritesthings]

Bird in a Storm, 10/17

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Helena Bertinelli, Raisa, Joanna de la Vega, Ted Grant, Female OCs, Male OCs Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

So far, so good, Laurel kept telling herself over the next week. Mr. Khan and his shop remained unharmed, those thugs hadn’t made any reprisals or found her out, and the police hadn’t come knocking on her door. She was in the clear.

But the clear wasn’t good enough. One night wasn’t good enough. If she was going to make any real difference in the Glades, she was going to have to keep on with it.

Time to get serious.

It was hard knowing what to do or how to proceed outside of just saying she would to herself, though. After all, even if she didn’t really want to imitate the Hood in all matters, she had to admit Ollie’s vaunted list gave him an itinerary. The best she could hope for would be to wander around and wait for crime to happen. Not that that was a far-fetched prospect in the Glades.

But she couldn’t just stand around at night in a ski mask, either. That would give people the opposite idea of what she was going for. So then, maybe some updates to her look were in order.

She reflected on this as she entered the thrift store. Ostensibly, she was grabbing some things for the approaching warmer weather, but she wasn’t above browsing around for ideas. Was a scarf too Western? Would it fall off too easily?

Beside the clearance racks where she’d picked out a new shirt was a small bin labeled “free”. Maybe she wasn’t absolutely destitute, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a look through.

Most of it was clothes that were completely out of season, not to mention fashion. A toy car that was missing one wheel and a few ugly patterned scarves were also in amongst the clutter.

Her thumb snagged an elastic band and she pulled out a black domino mask. Probably discarded from some Halloween costume. Laurel studied it for a moment, then slowly lifted it towards her face.

It’d be less sweaty, and easier to breathe in. Cheap as this one was. Maybe it’d be better to save up and make her own. She’d continued practicing hand-sewing during the slow hours at work, in the event that she might develop small holes or tears in her clothes that could be patched up instead of thrown away. And hand-stitching had other uses considering what she was planning.

Laurel left the mask in the bin and took her other purchases up to the register, mind still racing with ideas.

She’d need more than a mask to conceal her identity. But she didn’t want a hood. If she was doing this, she didn’t want to be seen as only some lackey of Oliver’s. This was her own mission, her own way.

A head covering in general would limit her visibility plus make her stand out pretty readily. She needed something discreet. Laurel didn’t have fancy arrows with lines attached that could pull her up the side of a building in moments. She had to be able to make a getaway, even in a crowd.

She needed to look like a woman.

It was so simple when it hit her. So long as she could be any woman — just some woman, with great hair and a body — they would never bother to see past the mask. She just had to not look like herself too much, that was the key. Dye was too permanent; a wig would disguise her hair better.

Over the next week she made the necessary purchases, each at a different shop and in cash. The important thing was not to let it be traced back to her.

As for weapons, she looked into something she could carry on her person. A baseball bat was way too conspicuous for a woman in her twenties to be walking around with. Eventually, she was drawn to a collapsible bo staff. She’d seen staffs hanging on the wall at the Wildcat Gym and knew Oliver used them for sparring practice with Mr. Diggle. It was a weapon she felt comfortable using with some practice, which she nudged a reluctant Ted into.

“I just want to try different things, you know?” She’d said with a casual shrug. “No point getting pigeon-holed.” Losing her job as a lawyer and realizing she had no real backup plan had taught her that the hard way.

She went out the first night she got all her gear together, knowing if she hesitated that she would find a way to talk herself out of it. The long hair of the wig swishing around her shoulders was a familiar weight. With her hands shoved in her jacket pockets — one hand over the staff and one hand over the mask, she walked around, watching and waiting.

Only she didn’t really find anything, other than a few catcalls. The next day, she saw there had been a reported mugging halfway across the Glades from where she’d staked out.

It was like this over the next few nights. She wasn’t where she needed to be or she’d get there just after she was needed. It occurred to her that this was probably why Oliver tended to stick to his list; it was full of ongoing problems he could investigate and then decide to attack in his own time.

She didn’t have the luxury of a base of operations or the ability to get into and out of high rises safely, though. And she wanted to be on the ground, handling the problems Jerome and Mrs. Ross had talked about. The problems she saw every day. She’d just have to get lucky.

The next night, she did.

The only gas station in the Glades was hit up for a robbery just as she was passing by. Laurel caught the flash of a gun out of the corner of her eye through the store window and quickly ran to the wall, flattening herself against it to get a better look. Two men, one pointing the gun and the other shoveling money from the register into a bag. They weren’t even bothering with ski masks, just hats pulled over their hair and jacket collars popped.

She glanced up at the security camera pointed at the front door. Its light was off. It wasn’t on, or perhaps it had never been plugged in.

Laurel got out her mask and extended the staff.

The door banged open as she stood and landed a hit low on the first man’s legs just as he ran out. He toppled over, his face smacking into the pavement. His partner in crime stumbled over him right into her fist, falling back against the wall. Laurel wrenched the gun out of his fingers and took note of the safety. Still on. The clip was empty. She shook her head.

“Who the fuck are you?” The guy on the ground spat. There was blood on his lip.

“Just someone in the neighborhood.”

With two hits of her staff, they were both knocked unconscious. She picked up the bag of cash, opened the door again, and tossed it towards the counter at the clerk, who was watching with wide eyes. Laurel didn’t wait for a response, knowing her priority was now to get as far away from the scene as possible.

Her heart pumped with adrenaline as she fled several streets away, a wide grin stretched over her lips. She had done it, and it still felt great. What did a few boring nights matter if every so often she could manage something like this?

Of course, it began to take a toll on her schedule. She woke up later, didn’t have near as much time before work to get her day started. She saw the few friends she had less.

Joanna took it the hardest. “I’m not gonna see you at work when I go back, Laurel. And sorry, but you don’t have the excuse of being too busy to have a social life anymore. So do you just not want to be friends?”

“It’s not that, Jo. Never. I’m just… trying to work out some things. Figure out where my life’s going.”

Her friend had scoffed over the line. “Well let me know if I’m still in it.” She’d hung up shortly after.

It was easier now to see things from Oliver’s point of view; how he’d tried to maintain relationships without letting slip what was really going on in his life. It made her miss him fiercely.

They hadn’t talked much since after Mr. Merlyn’s hospitalization. Ostensibly, they still weren’t supposed to be friends, after all. And Laurel hesitated to reach out to him about her new nighttime activities; something told her he wouldn’t approve.

Well, that wasn’t Ollie’s job to approve or not, so it was simply better for the both of them if she kept it to herself. He had enough on his plate seeing as the Hood was still going out at nights, taking on the elites in this city.

She was just doing her part where she could, making sure the people he was trying to help got that help sooner rather than later. It was his upbringing, she knew, that caused him to see things the way he did. The big picture instead of the small.

Laurel would aim to improve things from the bottom up while he continued to work from the top down. Maybe they’d meet somewhere in the middle someday.

She did her best to brush aside that sort of wishful thinking. It would be silly to think after everything that there was any sort of future for them. She didn’t even know what future there was for herself.

But as long as she could do something good, she would keep going.

---

Anita was starting to wonder if her Avó had been right about coming to live in Brazil. These past few months in Starling had been crazy.

It wasn’t as if she hated it at Avó’s either. She loved the cooking, loved the weather, loved the language. The only trouble would be, as always, money. Jerome wasn’t near fluent enough in Portuguese to find good work, and she couldn’t be too sure of it herself. They were just getting by in the States, and as long as that was enough for them she’d be happy to stay.

She’d gotten lucky. While other girls had been chasing after gangbangers and potheads in school, her Jerome had gotten a job to support him and his grandma. He’d always been the responsible type.

His grandma had passed three years ago, and the medical bills and funeral arrangements had put a strain on their finances, enough to convince them to sell the old house to a developer and start renting. A real estate agent had assured them the Glades was going to start gentrifying and that they’d be able to get a good price.

Only the sale hadn’t yielded as much as they’d hoped, so they’d remained stuck in the Glades instead of moving to a better, safer neighborhood. It didn’t bother her so much right now. But in a few years when they might have kids on the way? She wanted them going to good schools, not the poor excuse for school she and Jerome had attended.

They did their best to save, but there was always something coming down the pipe they weren’t expecting. At least they didn’t have a car. The repairs would be killer.

There was always crazy stuff going on in Starling City these days, too. Ever since some guy had decided to become a souped up Robin Hood last fall and take out his anger issues on a bunch of rich folks. As long as he kept it to them, Anita didn’t mind so much. For the first several weeks or so, it had created a buzz of conversation through the neighborhood. This guy was trying to change things, maybe. And in some cases he did. Here or there, people got their money back.

But the wealthy were good at consolidating what they had. Companies transferred from corrupt CEOs to corrupt board rooms, money disappeared before it could be returned to the right owners. And this guy liked to drop bodies. That part, Anita wasn’t so keen on.

Because there were people getting more violent in the Glades now, too. Drug dealers, young and angry men unsupervised by the old mob hierarchy. This Hood didn’t seem to have a backup plan for any of that.

Jerome was frustrated by it far more than she was. “I mean, did we ask this guy to come here and fight for us? Stir up trouble? Did he come talk to any of us, see what we wanted?”

“No, he didn’t,” she dutifully agreed before bringing out both their dinners. She kissed him on the cheek as she went around him. “But it’d be hard for him to ask around without giving the game away, huh?”

“Yeah.” Jerome dug into his food and there was quiet from his end of the table for a while. “You know, the guys are saying there’s some woman out there now.”

“A woman?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Well, good for her.”

He grinned. “You like that? They’re saying she’s a real, how’s it go — right, gata.”

Anita arched an eyebrow. “You gonna leave me for her?”

He kept grinning. “Never, baby, you know me better than that.”

“Then she can be as good-looking as she wants.” Anita pushed her plate aside and came over to him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. “I don’t mind.”

At work, she started hearing the rumors, too, over the next few days. “Nobody knows where she came from,” said Lanh in hushed excitement as they stood one sink apart. “But she gave a man following my roommate home a black eye the other night.”

“No kidding?”

“Yeah. It’s cool, isn’t it?”

No killing, dealing with stuff in the neighborhood. It was like someone had come in and asked around or sat in on their talks, then decided to make all their wishes and hopes come true in the form of a lady in black leather. Seemed crazy, but that was life now.

She stopped by next door to see Laurel, wanting to get her opinion. After all, wasn’t she here because of her support for vigilantism in the first place?

Only when her neighbor answered the door, it was clear she’d only just finished stitching up a nasty cut on her arm.

“Ooh, honey, what happened?”

“Just a work accident. Shears, you know?” Laurel let her in and hurriedly cleared up some bloodied napkins. “What’s up?”

Anita decided to leave her questioning behind. “Just wanted to see if you were free. We should have a night out, you know?”

“Okay, your place or mine?”

Anita waved a hand. “I was thinking a little more exciting than that. They’re saying the Verdant’s finally opening.”

Laurel raised both eyebrows. “Are they?”

“Mm-hm. Wanna check it out?”

“I don’t know…”

She leaned over the counter towards her friend. “Come on. Nights in only feel better if you go out sometimes, too. Variety’s the spice of life.”

“It’s going to be packed,” Laurel pointed out. “We’d be lucky to wait in line for three hours before getting in.”

“Couple of good looking girls like us?” Anita grinned. “Besides, you know the owner.”

Her friend shook her head. “Oliver and I aren’t that close anymore.”

“Right, which is why you call him Oliver and not ‘Queen’ or ‘my cheating bastard of an ex’,” said Anita. “Come on, billionaire boy owes you a million favors, so why not call one in? It’ll be fun. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

She watched Laurel debate it for a few minutes. “Alright. But if he says no, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He said yes, clearly, because Laurel sent her a text that afternoon saying what time they should be there. No mention of a cover fee either, which was interesting. She’d have to meet billionaire boy herself to be sure, but if Anita’s intuition was any good, she’d say Oliver Queen was still pining away for her neighbor despite his cheating past. So Anita would be happy to drink his booze and help her friend kick him to the curb if need be.

They walked to the Verdant together, skipping the line entirely by going through a back door Laurel had been told about. A man just about shorter than Jerome but beefier greeted them inside. “Laurel.”

“Mr. Diggle. This is my neighbor, Anita.”

He nodded to her. “Pleasure to meet you, miss.”

“You too. Swanky place,” she said, getting a good look around as she took steps further in. The bass was already vibrating in her bones.

“Um, if you could pass on our thanks to Oliver. I’m sure he’s very busy tonight,” Laurel was saying.

“I’m sure once he’s finished showing his family the place that he’ll be making the time. Mr. Queen’s been doing some re-evaluating lately. But I’ll let you enjoy your evening.”

“Re-evaluating?” Anita asked as they left the man to head out onto the main floor.

Laurel shook her head. “Let’s not get into that. I think our first drinks are on the house.”

The drinks were excellent, it turned out. Here and there they met a scant few familiar faces, and Anita introduced Laurel to them. She couldn’t help noticing that most of the patrons clearly weren’t from around here; too many Rolexes and real jewels on wrists. Looked like the gentrification had finally begun.

“I’m going to get us another round,” she spoke loudly into Laurel’s ear. Tonight wasn’t for thinking those kinds of things. It was for just letting loose and pretending life wasn’t so crap sometimes.

As Anita returned with the drinks, her pace slowed. There was a woman with dark hair standing behind her friend and gripping Laurel’s arm tightly. Anita ducked around a couple chattering away to get closer without drawing attention to herself.

To her surprise, Laurel seemed to recognize this stranger. “Helena?”

“Laurel, good to see you. Almost didn’t recognize you,” said the woman.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing personal, but I heard about your fall from grace. Must’ve stung when you realized Oliver wasn’t really there for you. He never is.”

“Let me go, Helena.”

“Sorry, but you’re my insurance policy. We’re going downstairs to wait for Oliver, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll come quietly.”

Anita had just about heard enough. She looked around frantically for the security — they were either at the doors or far against the walls and couldn’t see them out here in the throng of people. So she did the next thing she thought of.

“Hey!”

The woman turned towards her direction just in time for Anita’s drink to splash in her face. She staggered back, gasping in shock.

And that was when Laurel sprang into action.

Anita had been planning to take her friend’s arm and run for it, but Laurel’s arms were moving and the woman was down on the floor in seconds, her arms pinned behind her back. She kicked out with both feet, heel gouging Laurel’s leg. Laurel gave a grunt that was only barely heard over the music, sitting on the woman’s thigh hard.

“Hey!”

“What the—”

“Is it a fight?”

“Yeah! Awesome!”

There was a small crowd growing around them, and Anita felt herself pressed between people on either side. Laurel’s arm bore long scratches while she held the woman’s head in a lock Anita could swear she’d never seen outside WWE.

“Excuse me! What’s going on here?”

Anita’s eyes bugged out as suddenly Oliver Queen cut through the crowd on her right. His eyes widened for a moment before he plunged in and grabbed Laurel around the waist, pulling her off the woman. Once she was set down behind him he yanked the other woman up as well, pulling her towards the exit.

The man who let them in before took Laurel’s arm and guided her after them. “Come on, Laurel,” she thought she read off his lips.

Anita rushed after them.

Oliver Queen was shouting at the woman named Helena when they all got outside. “If you ever come after someone I care about again—”

“My father—”

“Is no longer your concern! You do not have any business in Starling, Helena, and you will stay far away from here. Or else.”

Helena’s eyes flashed with anger, but she stalked off into the night.

“Wow,” Anita breathed in the silence. Oliver Queen looked a little surprised and discomforted to find he had an audience.

“Um…”

“Figured it was better for appearance’s sake if both parties caught fighting were escorted out,” Mr. Diggle said.

“And she’s my friend, so I’m sticking with her,” Anita added in explanation.

Oliver Queen nodded before turning to Laurel, one hand touching her arm. “Are you okay?”

Laurel shrugged. “Just fine.”

“What were you thinking?” He asked next. “Helena is dangerous—”

“So I was supposed to let her take me hostage?” Laurel finished for him, eyes narrowing.

“She’s a killer, Laurel.”

Anita’s eyebrows rose at that.

“And I had it taken care of. She was hardly going to kill me if she wanted to take me somewhere.”

The two of them were in each other’s faces, close enough to share the same air. She doubted either of them noticed.

“If something had happened—”

“It didn’t. Can’t you focus on that?”

“But it could have!”

“There’s no point to wondering what could have been, Ollie! Believe me, I’ve tried!” Laurel turned around and started marching away from him, the effect ruined somewhat by a slight limp.

Oliver Queen sighed. “Laurel, wait. Let Digg look at your leg.”

“I’ve got it.”

“Then let me call you a cab. Please.”

Laurel paused, and Anita took the opening. “We’ll take a cab, yeah.”

Laurel fixed her with a frown.

“Honey, you’re bleeding.”

A few minutes later, they were bundled into a cab and leaving the Verdant. What a night out. Jerome was never going to believe this. She’d heard the odd thing here or there since Laurel had moved in and knew of her gym classes, but damn, her friend was a brawler when she wanted to be!

They were halfway home when it hit her. “Shit, that was mob girl, wasn’t it? Huntress or something? She was the one going around whacking her dad’s people.”

Laurel sighed. “Yeah.”

“Okay, then billionaire boy might have a point. Cause they were saying that girl was nuts, you know? Not somebody to get mixed up with.”

“Wasn’t trying to, believe me. But I’m not going to go along and let things happen to me anymore, Anita. That’s not who I am.”

“Probably a good attitude to have in this town. Maybe I should pick Capoeira back up,” she mused.

“Capoeira?”

“Afro-Brazilian fighting style. I took classes after school for a bit, like the Irish girls that do line dancing, you know? There was a place down by our old laundromat. Wonder if it’s still open.”

“We could take a look together. If it’s okay for others to learn,” Laurel added after a moment.

“Sure, but aren’t you busy as it is at that gym?”

Laurel shrugged. “I could make time. And anyway, we’d get to see each other.”

Anita smiled. “Alright, we’ll check it out. But after that leg of yours is better. You’re gonna need it in good condition, believe me.”

They got out in front of Laurel’s and Anita helped her into the house, insisting she help get the leg cleaned up at the least. “You got something to numb that?”

“Not really.”

“Tell me you don’t have work first thing tomorrow.”

“I can manage.”

Anita pushed her hair back. “I mean, what did that bitch want anyway? Why’d she try to take you somewhere?”

Laurel shrugged, her eyes on the floor. “She dated Ollie a few months back.”

“Oh.” Jealous ex to the extreme, then. “You need anything else?”

“No, you should get home.”

“Okay, well just text me, alright? Get plenty of sleep.”

“I will, Anita.” Laurel stiffened when Anita leaned in to hug her. It took a moment for her friend to relax in her arms. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Anita let herself out so Laurel wouldn’t have to get up right away. The younger woman still seemed a little stunned; she suspected Laurel had been the big sister and minder to so many people over the years that she’d forgotten what it was like to have someone looking out for her for a change.

She and Laurel signed up for an intermediate class after they both tested into it; her because of her prior experience and Laurel because she was already quick on her feet. Anita could tell the class was going to kick her butt and complained to Jerome about it for hours as he rubbed her feet after the first lesson.

“Guess someone was a little jealous of that woman in black after all,” he teased.

“Yeah, just you wait. My legs are gonna look fantastic. You’ll be picking your jaw off the floor.”

As the days went on and there were more growing rumors of this woman in the Glades, she felt herself newly inspired. When women looked out for each other, it made the neighborhood all the better.

Though the more she heard and the more she watched Laurel’s determined look in their classes, the more the mysterious woman seemed less like a stranger, and more like someone she knew. Crazy as that sounded.

---

Quentin had taken to keeping an ear out for crimes in the Glades. It both increased his blood pressure and soothed his nerves, because the amount of criminal activity coming out of there was unheard of. But so far, his daughter hadn’t been mixed up in any of it.

Statistically, he worried it wouldn’t last. But what could he do? He’d raised her to be fiercely independent, and his initial bad reaction when Laurel had perhaps been at her most vulnerable ensured she would never take his charity. He was lucky enough that she was still speaking to him, especially after he’d brought her mother over for a truly appalling attempt at reconnecting.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He couldn’t blame his estranged wife entirely for what had happened to Sara; it wasn’t as if she could have known what would happen out at sea. Bitterly, it occurred to him that by the same token, he couldn’t blame Queen then, either. Even if the man himself believed it, he hadn’t killed Quentin’s daughter.

Even more distressing, perhaps, was how much and how little Queen and Dinah had done to try and make amends with Laurel respectively. Where Queen had been nothing but repentant, Dinah had given excuses. She hadn’t even seemed to truly grasp what she had done wrong until Laurel had spelled it out to her.

She’d left a couple weeks ago, shaken and doubly discouraged when Laurel’s old friend at the Chinese embassy had confirmed the girl in the picture with the Rockets cap wasn’t their baby girl. Just another young woman who had bought a baseball cap on any ordinary day. He hadn’t given Laurel that news yet; he suspected she’d already guessed.

He picked up and then set aside the photo on his desk with his two girls. In some ways, he felt equally distant to them these days, though he knew he was kidding himself. The damage he’d done to his and Laurel’s relationship was entirely his own doing, not a random act of nature. He should stop wasting the time and make amends.

“Got a situation on 7th and Shane Street,” an officer announced to the bullpen, snapping Quentin out of his reverie. “Might need a couple detectives, cause we’ve got witnesses.”

Quentin stood. “I’ll go.” 7th and Shane was right in the heart of the Glades. He didn’t think it was all that far from that flower shop, come to think of it.

He drove over to find a bus pulled to the side of the road. It didn’t look to be damaged any. The driver and a few passengers stood around, the latter group all waiting for rides. A few men lay on the ground, welts on their faces and black eyes starting to turn into ugly bruises as they were cuffed by the officers. He ducked under the police tape and walked over to the group of witnesses.

“Alright, can anyone tell me how this whole thing started?”

“It was the hijackers,” a man near the back mumbled.

“The what?”

“The hijackers, man.” He was nudged by a woman at his left, probably a girlfriend or wife. She eyed the gun at Quentin’s belt warily. He carefully reached for a notepad and pencil to keep his hands occupied with that.

“And who are these hijackers?”

“They’ve been hitting the buses, usually on payday, sir,” the girlfriend spoke up. “Part of a newer gang.”

“Uh-huh. Was the SCPD informed of this?”

There were murmurings. Everyone too afraid to say yes. He frowned.

“How long ago did this start?”

“Little after the Bertinelli mob fell, sir.”

“It’s been horrible. They take everything you got. Money, jewelry, smartphones. We’re sitting ducks the whole route home!”

There were a bunch of voices shouting at him now, all wanting to be heard. One woman’s voice in particular stuck out amongst the group thanks to its heavy accent; an older woman in a housemaid’s uniform under her coat.

“They wanted my chotki,” she said, showing them all a black rope with many knots and beads in a few places, tied in a cross at the end. “It is wool and wood, what could they want with that? They were brutes. But she saved us.”

“She?” Quentin asked, stepping towards her. He thought he recognized this woman. Wasn’t she one of the Queens’ people?

Scarcely had he thought it before Oliver Queen himself came running up to the yellow tape. “Raisa!”

“Mr. Oliver!”

Just his luck. Quentin headed over as Queen lifted the tape to let Ms. Raisa out. “Just a minute,” he called.

Queen turned back to him. “Detective Lance, I came here to make sure Raisa got home safely. She’s been through enough for one night.”

“She’s not in trouble. I just need her to finish her statement. Now, who is ‘she’?”

Ms. Raisa shrugged. “No one really knows. They call her ‘the woman’.” She smiled warmly. “I believe tonight she was an angel.”

“Right,” he said.

“Was that everything, Detective Lance?” Queen asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, alright. Get her home.”

The two of them left, Queen leaning down to ask his housemaid a question Quentin couldn’t hear. He turned back to the group which was gradually starting to disperse. There were no useful additions other than someone saying a woman showed up a few minutes after the hijackers forced the bus to pull over.

The Hood. Now the Woman. Just great. Why had this city all of a sudden decided to go nuts?

He swung by Laurel’s place on his way back to the station and knocked. No one answered after a minute, but the light was on. He knocked again, louder.

“Just a second!” His daughter called out. She wrenched the door open in leggings and a blue tank top. “Dad! What are you doing here?”

“Can’t I visit my daughter?” His bravado covered his nerves, but relief was his primary emotion as she stepped back to let him inside.

“Were you on a call somewhere?”

“Yeah. There’s been some trouble with the bus routes. You don’t ride those often, do you?”

“Just to visit Joanna at her mom’s. Or to get downtown if I needed to.”

“Yeah, well stay off them at night, alright? There’s been gangs hitting them.”

“I know.”

That drew him up short. It occurred to him that these days, Laurel perhaps had an even more advance warning on crime in the Glades than he did. All the more reason to hate this arrangement.

He watched with narrowed eyes as she lowered herself onto her couch with a wince.

“What’s wrong with your back?”

She stiffened and winced again. “Oh, just work. I was lifting a lot of mulch bags today.”

Quentin shook his head. His poor girl had always had a willowy build. She was delicate, even if he’d made sure she knew how to defend herself in a tight spot. “You’re not meant for this kind of work, Laurel. We gotta find you something else.”

“This is doing me fine. Besides, I’m pretty sure to get law work, I’d have to leave Starling.”

“Shouldn’t have discouraged you from taking that corporate job in San Francisco,” he muttered.

“Well, I’m glad you did,” she told him. “I’m glad for the help I was able to give people at CNRI and for the help I can hopefully still give people here.”

He sighed. “Hopefully. You know, you can do anything you set your mind to, honey. I really do believe that. But what’s your plan here?”

She smiled. “I’m figuring it out, dad. I promise.”

He left soon after, since he was technically still on the clock at the precinct. Laurel told him she would head to bed shortly to rest up, and he made a note to grab some of those icy hot packs for her at the store. He thought he could play it off like an overdue Christmas present to get her to accept them. Hell, he owed her enough Christmases and birthdays from the last five years he could probably supply her through next March. If she was still breaking her back doing this work by then.

Laurel wasn’t the only one who needed a plan. Quentin had been keeping an eye on Daily in the close to two months since he’d been back on the force. There were no obvious slip ups, but he could just tell there was something off about the man. Call it his gut. Now with this bus hijacking situation having been swept under the rug for as long as it had been, he was starting to wonder just how many of his own people he could trust.

Was it genuine malice or just apathy for a neighborhood that saw enough hard times already? He wasn’t sure which was worse at the end of the day. But it was causing unrest, causing more and more people to turn to alternate means to seek justice.

By the end of the week, they saw an example of the worst of it; some guy in the subway tunnels committing extrajudicial killings and calling himself the Savior. The Hood had been forced to put him down to save the likes of that kid Harper. The Hood at least seemed to understand that vigilantes couldn’t be allowed free reign of this city, even if he continued to operate in it.

So he finally made the call.

Quentin stood out back behind his apartment building, the vigilante phone in his hand. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the precinct when he made this call. Just thinking about if someone caught him in the act — maybe Daily, maybe Hall with her earnest regard for the law — had his hands shaking.

“Detective?”

“Yeah, listen, we gotta talk. With everything going on in this city, with the force, I’m having trouble deciding who to trust. Now I don’t trust you,” he wanted to make clear. “But you’re a known quantity. I know what you want, what you’re willing to do.”

“And how does that help you?”

“It helps me because I think there’s some people on the force I can’t trust, and I don’t know what they want either.” Could be money, could be they felt threatened, could be they were always rotten. “Now I know you’ve figured out how to spy on us. I need you to tell me who’s on the take.”

“It’s not something I was concerning myself with.”

“Well start concerning yourself with it. You want people to stop popping up like this Savior or this Woman, it starts with law enforcement being a trusted and respected institution. You can’t tell me you expect things to magically stay better whenever you finally decide to hang that hood up?”

There was a long pause. “I’ll look into it, Detective. Keep the phone on you. I’ll call.”

Then the line went dead. Quentin breathed in and out once and headed back into his building. He hadn’t exactly done anything wrong. He’d simply pointed out an issue the Hood had likely been tangentially aware of and asked him to direct his attention towards it. Whatever happened after… well, maybe he was partly to blame.

Would Laurel ever call him a hypocrite if she found out about this or what?

[shinobirain24]

Water and Ice- Chapter 11: Ransom

Vytyl Festival

A match where a young man with rusty red-brownish hair. And brown eyes, wearing a black tank and green jeans, and a caped draped on this right arm. Standing with three other huntsmen students against another team of four.

"And here we have Team VSTI, a team who attended Atlas Academy. Featuring their leader, a young man who led his missions into victories. Very smart and quick at his feet. Better watch out, cause he's poisonous. The one, and only, Carlos Vega!" Came to the announcement. A young Carlos then smiled and waved to the crowd. Holding a rose from his teeth.

Female students then get a glimpse. Then he turns to each of them and winks at them. Making the girls either heated from the sight of the student, or fainted. Some however, are disinterested as some regarded him as a show-off. Team RWBY watches, not that they cared as they just want to enjoy the tournament.

"What a show-off. Who does this guy think he is?" Blake complained. Disgusted of how much attention he's getting.

Carlos then spots Weiss and smirk at this opportunity to throw the rose directly at her. Making his supporters jealous. Weiss then catches it. Ruby then spoke up. "Well, Weiss. It looks like he has a thing for you." Weiss is also dismayed for the way he looked at her like he have know her. She drops the rose and walks away from the audience. "Hmph!" She stormed off.

Sometime after the match. Weiss is walking into the Amity Arena to find her friends after recuperating from the nightmare she hated most. That is when she accidently dropped her scroll. "Why, every time?" She sighed. To her shock, A hand reached to her scroll first. "Please, allow me." A male voice offers.

"Oh, thank you." Weiss replies as the man handed back her scroll. "I thought I..." She gasped when she looks up to get a good look at him. Carlos Vega. The heir to the Vega Corporation that invested in dusts, rivaling the Schnee Dust Company. "Y-you!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Pardon me, I believe we have yet to formally been introduce. Miss Schnee. I am Carlos Don Vega." He bowed in respect. "It's a pleasure." He takes her hand and attempts to kiss it. But she pulls it back.

"Um...Thanks." She said awkwardly. She has the need of running before things get too awful. "Well, I have to get going then. My team is probably worried about me." She takes her right foot to get away, but Carlos stopped her in front.

"Please stay a bit longer, mi belleza de nieve. I just wanted to speak to you."

"What is it that you want? So that you can just leave me alone." Weiss demands. That is when he pulls out a rose and holds it in front of her eyes. "The moment I saw you, I knew there is a favor I would like to ask of you."

"And what is that?" Weiss is startled when he pushed her to the walls. "What the-?! What do you think you're doing?!" Weiss yells. And saw the smirk on his face. It didn't look good to her.

"The moment I saw you, I knew we are meant to be one."

"Being one? Oh please, that was plain corny coming from you." She snarked. "And heck, I don't even know you!" She tries to push him away, but to no avail.

"What I meant to say is, I am going to make you my bride." He said. She is appalled for what he said to her. Normally she would turn down every suitor her father picked for her. "Get it in your head, Vega. Your attitude towards women is unacceptable and appalling." She refused. "And I refused to give myself up for a spoiled snob like you."

"Hey Weiss, is everything okay here?" Asked a blonde teenager with gauntlets. Yang Xiao Long. She could see what was going on. "It's fine, Yang. Just some loser who is very delusional." Weiss responded with her arms crossed. Yang then grabbed the back of his neck collar and led him away.

"Alright pal, you had enough fun for one day." Yang then drag him away. Much to her relief.

Weiss cracked her eyes open from that memory. She was about to get up from where she was lying. At the same time she felt weak from all the poison. Falling back down in some bed. She looked at her lower body to see that she is no longer wearing her huntress gear. But rather a white dress with frills at the bottom. And a silver hairpin in her hair. When she looked around, she was sitting on a bed. She is in a room, where there's a dresser. A window where she can see the ocean. She could tell she's on a yacht. "You have awaken, mi belleza de nieve." Weiss gasped to see the man she has always hated.

"Stop calling me by that creepy nickname, my name is Weiss." Weiss scorned. But he ignored that comment. "And, why am I in this dress?! It's awful!" Disgusted being changed into a dress, which reminds her of the rules she have to endure in the house.

"But you are very lovely by that furious look on the face. I hope you can forgive me after our meeting with your father." Carlos tries to kiss her hand again. But Weiss lashes out at him. Showing no interest to submit. "Could you get any more stubborn? You should appreciate that I am giving you the luxury that you deserved."

"I have no interest in living the life of luxury. Neither is the money. Whatever scheme you have here, Vega. It's never going to work. So good day." Weiss began to summon her glyph. But it was no use when it her aura flickered. And her Myrtenaster was already confiscated while she was unconscious. Darn it, he took my weapon.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, your aura somehow saved you from the poison. So you got lucky. However, at the cost of your use of semblance. As long as it is in your body, it was no use." Explained Carlos. "This way, you will honor me by paying the debt." Weiss blinked, she didn't remember anything about a debt. She knew her father has shady businesses, but never in her life she knows about a debt. But it's all connected to her father. "What debt? I don't recall agreeing to this."

"You'll see when your father gets here himself. Oh, there he is." He glanced at the doorway to see Jacques Gele. Formerly known as Jacques Schnee after being married into her mother's family. The results of her family turmoil. She no longer fearing his presence. All she ever has towards him is hate. "Weiss, how a pleasure to see you again."

"How did you get out? You're supposed to be in prison." She snarled. Having the smug on his face. The reason she put her father arrested was because years back, she found out he was running as a candidate for chairman in the council of Atlas. The only crime he committed was conspiracy with murder, by making a deal with a mad scientist, named Dr. Arthur Watts to help him win the election by having an assassin to murder supporters of his rivals to rig the votes. After winning the election, Jacques however, was busted due to having blind spots of hidden cameras.

"Is that any way to address your father?" He retorted.

"You are not my father, you're just a coward who uses his own flesh and blood as pawns." Weiss points his finger at him. Showing him no mercy for all he has done. "It's no wonder Winter left you." She huffed. But her father has other plans, he still somewhat find her useful even if he took away her inheritance. "I know you're still angry with me, but I have other plans to make your life better."

"Is this about the debt you are ordered to pay? If so, I want no part of it."

"Actually, you are part of it. You want to know the reason I was able to convince your grandfather to let me take over the company?" Weiss never want to hear about it, but she grabs the only thing they haven't taken yet. An earring her sister had gave her that also serves as a recording device, should anything happens. As her father continues to speak. He walked towards the window. While speaking to her. Having to be tired doing nothing after sitting in a cell. "You see, I have an old friend who hired me in the place in the Vega Corporation. Montero Vega. That would be Carlos' father. Do you remember him?"

"Yes, just this one time in one of our after parties." Weiss replies.

"You see, he and I go way back. When I was a lad, I have no use of living, until he offered me a place in his company. All was successful, he and I have a lot in common with. It was thanks to him that I have become the high-paid man in all of Atlas. With all the money he paid me, it was enough to convince your grandfather to let me marry your mother as a requirement to take over his company. The poor fool was so weak, he was too desperate to find someway to manage a company. He doesn't know how his daughter will survive. And that's how it all came to this." Jacques explained his story.

"That company never belonged to you to begin with. Mother was still studying back then before she can inherit the business. Grandfather only let you marry her because he was worried for her. Even if he regretted that day to put her in serious misery. At least that's what he told Winter, she was the only person to have confide in him because she never trusted you." Weiss hissed.

"Later on, Montero and I have met again, only to remind me about the debt since I already borrowed his money. Of course, I invited him to your 7th after party of the concert you sang that night. Before I have the chance to speak to him, I noticed his son Carlos taking in interest in you. But you didn't noticed. No matter if you turn him away. He's not taking no for an answer. Then it hit me an idea, why paying up the debt with money, if I can arrange you a marriage? When I told Montero about this idea, he told me that he can accept this as a payment if I can set you and Carlos to make a business joint between both of our companies. And at least he accepted. Sadly, he died in illness. Leaving the debt in his son's will."

"So you sold me out, didn't you?!" She growled. Over the past years, she never thought that her father would put her in a debt. That crosses the line when he would go this far. But far worse when he escaped. Winter would never consent this arrangement, and neither will her mother. But unwilling to voice out because of the fear he would do something to her daughters and son. "As part of the deal, after Carlos is very kind enough to let me escape from prison. And to take back the company. It's ashamed that your sister never knew of his status as she was too busy teaching her students as headmistress to the academy."

"Winter would never let something like this to happen." She snapped. But Carlos took a step closer to her. Weiss stumbled back to the dresser. He lifts her chin. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice. You see, I have already found the individual responsible for the embargo sinking. Whose surname is Vasilias." Weiss gets shaken, she refused to believe this as a weapon for the ransom. "You see, I ran into him when he came out looking for you. That fool didn't know what hit him. But somehow he figured I was right behind him, and surprisingly, he surrenders." She inquired to herself, silently for why would he turn himself in.

"Don't believe me? I'll show it to you." She pulls out his scroll that features security cameras. There he clicked on a window where it was all black and white. But there a person has arms tied between the walls. And he was bleeding badly from all the beating he has taken. There was a muscular man punching him in the stomach. When he move away from him. Weiss is terrified that the man getting lashed out was Neptune. "No, Neptune!" She whimpered. Covering her mouth. Then Carlos leans over her shoulder and whispers to her. "I'm afraid you have no choice but to accept me into your arms. If you do, then I'll spare his life by turning him to your sister. And if you refuse, then I'll have no choice but to drown him into the bottom of the seas." He then walks out the door with her father giving her a smirk. "You have one hour to decide." Carlos waves before exiting. "Feel free to roam around the boat. Just so you know, I have my security team around in case you tried to escape."

What am I going to do? I cannot let him die, Vega will kill him. Weiss then slid against the dresser in distress. Tired of all the threats that's been going on. First She and Neptune are being hunted. And now he's been held hostage as ransom for her to agree to an unwanted marriage. Back as an heiress, she can be a bit of a complaint. But this time, she has to be considerate of others. She will never forgive herself if those she cared about have died because of her. Risking herself is the only option she has to set Neptune free. For him to run and hide without her.

Neptune is in another ship. Restrained by corners of left and right by ropes tied to his wrists. His Tri-hard have also been confiscated. His head is lower from all the infliction he received by all the beating. For that, there are bruises from the upper body, to the lowest. Never in his life he had endure, aside form fighting the Grimm.

What were they planning to do to Weiss? Why do I get the feeling that this is the wrong ship? He thought. He then thought back to the time he saw the figure in the hood and mask. Something in his eyes didn't feel right to him. When he was at sword point by the enemy. Something about that guy felt familiar to me. But where is this coming from? But he has some connection to the Red Eye. Don't worry, Weiss, I'll get you out of this. He thought.

Then the ship shaken with the sound of a boom, there was an explosion imploded from somewhere near the empty room. Through the doorway, all the guards are running the same direction to the exit. The alarms blared in red. "Um, hello?!" He called, but they ignored him. The he saw water leaking from the hall. "Uh oh..." He eye-widened in fear. "Oh no...water...Anything but that!" He moves in sideways to break free from the ropes. But they were too tight, his hands started to leak blood from the rasp of the ropes. "Hey! Anyone here?! A5 least help me out with these!" But the pain stings him so much, he passed out. "Gotta get out...of here...got...to..."

Jacques and Carlos are standing behind the rails of the yacht staring at the ship where Neptune is being held. Jacques is tapping his foot. Looking at his watch for the remaining time limit for Weiss to decide to give herself up or face the consequences. Carlos still hold the trigger to wait for the decision. However, despite the choices he have given her, he is still tempted to press the button to watch the explosion. Then it was too late. Weiss have exit the door to confirm her decision.

"Alright, Vega! You win. I'll do it if you just let him-!" Weiss was interrupted by the explosion as Carlos have already triggered the bomb. To her horror, the ship was burning in flames. There are guards on lifeboats. And Neptune was an exception. "Neptune!" She screamed. Grasping through the rails in bitterness. Tears are running, but instead she has them in full hatred.

"You monsters! You'll pay for this!" Weiss lets her fury out by creating a projection of the ursa. But it failed as her aura shattered.

"Did you already forget that the poison stops your semblance from activating?" Weiss still glared at him while thinking of a way to escape. "It's no use to save him now, it looks like you're about to be mine after all." Said Carlos when he was about to step towards her. Weiss was about to make a run for it. Climbing onto the rails to jump off the ship. Regardless of the height, to save the man she have grown to care for. "What are you doing? This is suicide, and you know it." Said Jacques. Hoping to bring her into his side. But Weiss turned in defiance, and told him, "I would rather drown than to let Neptune die." And with that, she jumps off. The explosion just went on early, which gives her enough time to dive into the sea and swim to the ship. Carlos then turned to three of his guards.

"You idiots, stop her!" They went after her to prevent her from escaping. But they came to late as they were far from the spot and Weiss successfully leaps off.

Weiss then climbs into the ship using the remaining lifeboat still attached to the lever. She made it to the top of the boat, which can lead to the room where Neptune is. First, she had glanced at the weapons. Her Myrtenaster, and Neptune's Tri-hard in a laboratory. She picks them up as needed for their next fight. In a desperate speed, she comes across every room. The dining room, the lounge, nothing came in. The lower she went, the higher the water rises. The last stop, is the boiler room. There she peaked through the window. Luckily, Neptune is nearby.

Walking on water while opening the door. Dealing with the velocity of the substance. "Neptune..." Weiss spoken while rushing towards him. Moving her arms and legs through the water while it has yet to have risen. Neptune then wakes up hearing her voice. He lifts his head. He thought it was his imagination. "W-Weiss...Is that...you?" He stammered, while still enduring the bruises. Instead of focusing in the water, he focused on Weiss as she embraced him in relief. She then breaks from him and saw the scars he has. "Oh my god. What have they done to you?"

"Forget about me, and get out of here. I can't swim and you know it." Neptune refuses. But Weiss determines to escape with him. Knowing she cannot let him live in fear forever. "Stop talking like that. I am going to get you out." Said Weiss. She then unties him, while catching him before he could fall. He fully regained consciousness. "Just followed my lead, okay? I'll bet this'll be the time for me to teach you to swim." The water then rises further near the ceiling. Flowing along with Weiss and Neptune as they held onto a pipe. They know they couldn't last long if they stay there. "When I give the word, keep kicking. And don't let go of my hand." Weiss instructed. Neptune then gets a grip that he didn't have any other choice but to follow along. And puts his goggles above his eyes. "Do you trust me?" Weiss asked. And he nods.

"I do."

"Okay, take a deep breathe." Weiss told him, and they held their breathes for as long as they can. His ears then got clogged by the water. But it didn't matter to him as long as he could see with the goggles. Weiss held his hand to lead him to safety. As instructed, Neptune kicks up and down to keep moving. This is the first time he felt calm about being in the water. When they reached the higher floors again, they resurfaced from the water. They breathed after reaching the stair. They coughed when some of the water got into their mouth. But more importantly, they survived. "Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah...Definitely." He replies.

"Good, let's get out of here." They climbed onto the stairs and reached the balcony of the ship. They reached the the last lifeboat and float away. Weiss then looks at Neptune with a stern expression. "What were you thinking?! I told you to stay behind and you nearly got killed! Do you have any idea how scared I got?!" Weiss then teared up looking at the bruised state he has. "This is all my fault, isn't it? I already dragged you into this, didn't I..." She rubbed her eyes. Feeling guilt that someone could be targeted, all because she is pinned into bounty. "I think it's best if I...stay away from you...while you get as far away as possible..." Neptune ignores her arguments, and instead pulls the back of Weiss' head close to his and kisses her. Weiss tried to pull away, but she gave in. They closed their eyes and break away to look at each other.

"Do you think I am the type to leave you behind?" He asked, but Weiss didn't answered. "That was very brave of you back there. I never thought you can take that risk. I learned today that I will no longer live in fear. I would give anything to save those I cared about. Especially you." Weiss then placed her hand on the back of his hair. "I'm just happy that you're alive. I'll never let anything happened to you either." Then a gun was pointed to Neptune's head. Which they jumped by the sudden movement. "Such a sweet moment. Too bad it's never going to last long." They looked up to see Jacques and Carlos in speedboats with a bunch of bodyguards ready to fire.

"Come along, Weiss. We have a debt to pay." Jacques said before turning to the blue-haired huntsmen. "Either it's that, or the blue-haired boy, gets it." Neptune bites back by pointing his rifle to him. "Try me, old man!" Weiss interrupts by lowering his gun to prevent Neptune from getting injured any further, as he was already punished enough as it is. "No, don't do it." Weiss pleaded quietly. Before he could protest, Weiss explained to him. "Father has made it clear that he's not going to stop until the debt is paid. I can't let him get his way to kill you." His eye widened to hear that the man standing before him was her father. Weiss secretly gives Neptune her rapier before they get caught.

"Wait a minute, you're her father?" Neptune asked. "You're supposed to be in prison."

"Isn't it obvious. The reason I have to sent my future son-in-law to capture you, because I knew my daughter would refuse to give in for a debt." Jacques explains while brushing his mustache. Neptune turned to the so-called suitor of hers. And recognized the uniform he is wearing. "Wait a minute, you're from the Atlas Military. How did you not get caught." The heir of the Vega Corporation has chuckled brushing his hair. He's not taking the situations very seriously in the name of the will his father. Neptune didn't like the fact that parents would use their sons and daughters as debts. "I don't want you around her anymore. If you dare to interfere, I won't let you off easily." Before Neptune can fight back. Weiss gets up and responded to them. "No one's dying today. Because I'll come with you." She insisted. Neptune then grabs her wrist to stop her from taking risk. "Weiss, don't do this. Are you crazy?" Neptune protests. But she pulls away and spun to him. "I have to, I cannot let anyone I cared about getting killed. It's my job as a huntress to put others first. You need to focus on finding your brother and bring him home."

"Hop on, mi belleza de nieve." He reached out his hand, and Weiss reluctantly has hers over his and got into his boat.. Neptune watches Weiss being sped away. Weiss then stared at Neptune, knowing that she might not see him anymore if nothing is done. Neptune won't forget his promise to continue searching for his brother. But he cannot let Weiss submit to her enemies either. "Weiss, I promise you. I will get you out of this!" He promised.

[catalinaroleplay]

Gender & Pronouns: Cis female, she/her

Date of Birth: August 2nd, 1990 (29)

Place of Birth:  Miami, Florida

Neighborhood: Avalon

Length of Residency: Since March 2020

Occupation: CPA

Face Claim: Victoria Justice

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGERS: Gun Violence, Death.

In the early 1970s, the Acosta family immigrated from Puerto Rico to the Miami area of Florida where they owned and operated a real estate business. It was also in Miami that Manny Acosta, the eldest Acosta son, met his bride, Amy Wilson. A lifelong South Beach resident. The moment their eyes locked, they swore, it was true love. Together they had two children. First a son, whom they named Michael, and then a daughter; Alycia. Alycia Acosta, nicknamed Aly by her father, grew up loved. The apple of her father’s eye, her big brother’s best friend, and the darling daughter her mother had always wanted. She had no reason to ever leave Miami. A loving family. A rich, cultural heritage. All the shopping a girl could ever do, and the most gorgeous beaches in the whole world. On which, she spent most of her youth.

Learning to surf started out as a hobby for Alycia. Just a way for her to spend time with her older brother, Michael, but quickly she became very good. The winter of her freshman year Aly qualified for a national surfing competition that would take place in summer of the following year. An amazing opportunity for someone so young that would take her all the way to Hawaii, but by Spring the budding teen would never touch a board again. She’d fallen in love with the waves alongside her brother. When he was taken from her, so was her passion for the sport. Michael’s passing was a horrific tragedy. While he was outside a club in South Beach a drive by shooting occurred. Police deduced the gunman was after a rival gang affiliate, and that Michael was just a random bystander caught in the crossfires. The Acostas lost not one but two children that night.

The grief of losing her brother soured Miami for Alycia. Grief changed her parents too. Their lofty expectations for the eldest Acosta shifting to her. It was too much for Aly. She couldn’t stand them anymore, or the sight of the ocean. Everything about her once beloved home made her sick. She couldn’t get out fast enough. Upon her high school graduation she left the state entirely for college in the West. Nevada was far from life in Florida, but it was what she needed to grieve. She lost herself in the college experience. Rushing a sorority, dating men as well as women, and of course a little bit of academics. Aly majored in business. Her family had instilled a knack for it in her. With a head for numbers, too, she ended up in accounting with plans to take the Certified Accountant Exam upon graduation. It was a solid life goal, but for all her planning Aly was still impulsive. A birthday weekend in Vegas and a few too many later she married a perfect stranger. Not that she had any real recollection of it the next morning with the worst hangover over of her life and a flight to catch.

After earning her Bachelor of Science in Accounting Alycia’s family begged her to come home. Her parents even offered her a position in their real-estate office, but she didn’t want to move back to Miami. Even years later her grief was suffocating. Being back there just made it worse, but where did she go? No place felt like home, not that she thought it would without her brother. So, she acted on impulse and followed a girlfriend to Chicago. It didn’t work out between them, but Aly found a job that paid for her MBA. She was doing well in her career, building a solid reputation for herself in the industry, but it was hard for Alycia to stay in one place. The desire to be her own boss so she could satiate her wanderlust seemed like a far off dream. Even in her success she was years away from being able to afford such a thing. Ironically, another loss gave her the chance.

Abuela Acosta passed at the beautifully ripe old age of ninety-three, asleep in her bed beneath the roof of multi-million dollar estate. As her only granddaughter Alycia was left a large inheritance check among other holdings, which would supply her the resources to live out her dreams and much, much more. There was just one, little, quite easily forgettable snag… Aly was married. To a man whose name she could barely remember, no less. Without a prenup all that money, legally, wasn’t just hers. She needed a divorce, but where in the world was her estranged husband? A private investigator found Arthur Kanemoto on an island a short ferry ride West of Los Angeles. A dreamy landscape of white sand beaches and palm trees, Catalina Island, a picturesque backdrop to an ugly divorce. She and Arthur did not get along. However, in the end, Aly got what she came for, and so much more she never expected.

For the last half of her life, home had only been a place with four walls. As empty in meaning as she felt inside until she found Catalina. “ I wanted to end up on an island “ didn’t sound wrong, but it was so much more than that. It was home; in a hotel room close to the ocean, floating on a surfboard in the Pacific, and in the arms of old friends and new. She decided to return to the island after a couple days back in Chicago, but in truth her mind had been made up for awhile. For all that was wrong in her life. Aly’s time in Catalina made everything feel right.

The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.

Back in Catalina, Aly has decided to do something with her inheritance besides live a life of obscene luxury and bum it on the beach. Something that might actually make her Abuela proud. With the dream to be her own boss she’s begun work on her own tax consulting business. With proximity to Los Angeles her new client pool is composed entirely of the illustriously rich and famous. A profitable endeavor, not that she needs it to be, that has momentarily appeased even her parents and their ridiculous expectations. While, simultaneously, allowing Aly the freedom to get back in the water. A balance of her two worlds in a place she’s happy to call home. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime.

PERSONALITY

Positive: Playful | Friendly | Intelligent

Negative: Sarcastic | Impulsive | Arrogant

Alycia Acosta is portrayed by A.

[mm88sportblog2-blog]

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[spekr-blog]

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In the early 90's, way before online casinos were prevalent, I enjoyed a great game of Roulette at one of my favorite land casinos three or four times a week. These days, I don't even have to leave the comforts of my own home to get in on the real action.

With the beginning of online casinos during the mid-90's, and shortly there after, their popularity has catapulted them into the most popular form of online entertainment all over the world. Currently, online คาสิโน gambling facilities are debuting every week it seems.

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Crowd Control

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Deposit and Withdraw Methods

If you play at casinos on land, you must use cash to start game play. Casinos on the Net provide a complete selection of funding or deposit methods to start you playing. Credit card use is permitted and accepted most often. Not having to use cold hard cash only provides you with more funding choices than casino on land will provide.

Free Game Play

Just about any online casino will allow players set up a dummy accounts where you can practice and become familiar to the software and games without using real money. You can always practice until you feel absolutely ready to wager real money. Being able to test the waters for free is a great advantage to online casino game playing. Confident players are good players.

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[slotdepositgopay-blog]

Why It Is Beneficial To Gamble At Online Casinos

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In the early 90's, way before online casinos were prevalent, I enjoyed a great game of Roulette at one of my favorite land casinos three or four times a week. These days, I don't even have to leave the comforts of my own home to get in on the real action.

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With the beginning of online casinos during the mid-90's, and shortly there after, their popularity has catapulted them into the most popular form of online entertainment all over the world. Currently, online casino gambling facilities are debuting every week it seems.

Compared to the typical land casino, you will find that playing at online casinos has its numerous advantages. In fact, we have compiled just a few of the many benefits to playing online. Take a look:

Play Any Time, Anywhere

If you have Internet capabilities, you have your pick at hundreds of that never close. No matter where you are on the planet, you can play at Internet casinos for real money. What's more, these virtual casinos have many excellent game choices that even the most discerning player will find himself entertained and even capable of winning a lot of cash.

No Need To Dress A Certain Way

Some land casinos tend to have dress codes to bet large amounts of money. Now, you can even play the formal version of Baccarat in your bath robe if you want to. No need to dress to impress, you will be playing in the privacy of your own home. No one will mind your look what so ever. Now you can even where that hideous but very lucky poker cap you love so much without people staring.

No Problem With Weather Or Climate

Playing at online casinos will put a stop to your disdain of Las Vegas summer heat. Rain or shine, you can be rest assured that you can get into an online casino without having to carry an umbrella or heavy overcoat. Remember, you don't have to embark on any trip to a casino. You can sit in your favorite comfortable chair at home during sleet, snow or sunshine and log on to a great adventure.

Travel Not Required

Many people who love to gamble do not have the luxury of living in Vegas or even want to go there. With the wonderful new world of online casino gambling, you will save precious time and money by playing right from home. The money you save from not having to travel can be turned into a bigger bank-roll for you to budget. The time you save from travel could be money in the bank, too.

The Personal Safety Factor

When playing at online casinos, you don't have to worry about unknowingly dropping your money or chips on the ground and walking off only to realize that you lost a lot of money. You can also feel at ease that no one will be out to take physical advantage of you when playing online. Playing from home, you will be one one's easy target either. These days, women are playing more online casino games and winning some of the Internet's top jackpots, many female players feel more confident at home than they tend to at land casinos by themselves.

The Ever Present Smoking Issues

With more people concerned about playing in smoky environments, playing at home is an obvious advantage. Plus, those of you that do enjoy smoking will be able to do so without any flack from others. These days, many land casinos don't allow smoking in their poker rooms either. Statistically, many regular casino gamblers are heavy smokers, if this is a problem for you, being at home will ensure a good environment for you.

Crowd Control

We all know gambling is the new favorite past time. Land casinos get real busy. Sometimes it is very difficult to find a table game or slot machine in your play-range - not so at home. Many players are intimidated by crowds. New and even seasoned players down like people ogling there game-play. Online casinos provide the privacy and confidence you will want. It is always nice to sit at home and play at your own crowd-free pace.

Games Selection

As we mentioned already, online casino provide just about any game you could possibly want to wager on. They offer even more than your typical casino on land, too. Think of just about any type of theme for a slot machine, you will find it online. Online casinos are always looking to offer more casino game all the time. You will not get bored.

Deposit and Withdraw Methods

If you play at casinos on land, you must use cash to start game play. Casinos on the NWhy It really is Advantageous To Gamble At Online Casinos

From the early 90's, way prior to on line casinos were common, I loved a great activity of Roulette at 1 of my favored land casinos three or four periods every week. As of late, I don't even have to leave the comforts of my very own household to acquire in about the true motion.

While using the commencing of on-line casinos over the mid-90's, and soon there just after, their reputation has catapulted them in to the hottest sort of on the web amusement all over the world. At this time, on the internet casino gambling facilities are debuting every 7 days it seems.

As opposed to the common land on line casino, you will realize that playing at on the net casinos has its quite a few rewards. Actually, we now have compiled only a couple of with the many rewards to playing on-line. Take a look:

Participate in Any Time, Any where

If you have Online capabilities, you have your pick at a huge selection of that in no way near. Irrespective of the place you are within the world, you may participate in at Internet casinos for authentic income. What's far more, these digital casinos have many outstanding activity decisions that even quite possibly the most discerning player will discover himself entertained and perhaps capable of profitable a great deal of cash.

No Need To decorate A particular Way

Some land casinos are inclined to obtain dress codes to guess huge amounts of money. Now, you can also engage in the formal version of Baccarat in your bath robe in the event you would like to. No have to have to dress to impress, you will be playing within the privacy of one's personal home. No one will brain your search what so at any time. Now you can also where by that hideous but pretty blessed poker cap you like a great deal without the need of individuals staring.

No Difficulty With Weather Or Weather

Participating in at on the net casinos will place a halt to the disdain of Las Vegas summer heat. Rain or glow, you may be rest assured that you will get into an on-line casino without having obtaining to hold an umbrella or significant overcoat. Keep in mind, you do not really have to embark on any vacation to your casino. You are able to sit inside your favored snug chair in the home in the course of sleet, snow or sunshine and go surfing to a wonderful adventure.

Journey Not Expected

A lot of people who like to gamble do not have the luxurious of dwelling in Vegas as well as would like to go there. With all the amazing new world of on line casino gambling, you can conserve valuable time and cash by participating in ideal from your home. The cash you help save from not acquiring to journey is usually became an even bigger bank-roll to suit your needs to finances. Some time you save from journey may very well be dollars while in the bank, also.

The non-public Basic safety Variable

When taking part in at online casinos, you don't need to be concerned about unknowingly dropping your cash or chips within the floor and walking off only to realize that you choose to lost a good deal of money. You'll be able to also feel relaxed that nobody will be out to take physical advantage of you when participating in on the net. Actively playing from your home, you'll be one particular one's straightforward target possibly. In recent times, females are participating in a lot more on line casino video games and winning a number of the Internet's leading jackpots, quite a few feminine gamers experience more self-confident at your home than they tend to at land casinos by on their own.

The Ever Present Smoking cigarettes Concerns

With more and more people concerned about playing in smoky environments, actively playing at your house is undoubtedly an apparent gain. In addition, those of you that do enjoy smoking should be able to do this without the need of any flack from other folks. In recent times, numerous land casinos don't make it possible for using tobacco within their poker rooms possibly. Statistically, numerous frequent on line casino gamblers are major people who smoke, if this really is a dilemma to suit your needs, remaining at your home will be certain a great environment in your case.

Group Regulate

Everyone knows gambling will be the new preferred past time. Land casinos get genuine occupied. From time to time it is extremely difficult to discover a desk match or slot machine in the play-range - not so in your house. Several players are intimidated by crowds. New and in some cases seasoned gamers down like persons ogling there game-play. Online casinos give the privacy and self confidence you may want. It truly is usually awesome to take a seat in the home and enjoy at your own private crowd-free pace.

Online games Variety

As we described previously, on-line casino present just about any recreation you could potentially perhaps would like to wager on. They offer a lot more than your usual casino on land, also. Think of almost any sort of topic for your slot machine, you can come across it on the web. On the net casinos are usually on the lookout to supply additional on line casino video game each of the time. You won't get bored.

Deposit and Withdraw Approaches

Should you participate in at casinos on land, you must use cash to start video game enjoy. Casinos on the web deliver an entire choice of funding or deposit methods to commence you enjoying. Bank card use is permitted and acknowledged most often. Not having to make use of chilly tough funds only gives you additional funding possibilities than casino on land will provide.

No cost Sport Enjoy

Just about any on the net on line casino allows gamers put in place a dummy accounts where you'll be able to exercise and become common for the program and game titles with out employing serious funds. You can often follow right up until you feel certainly ready to wager authentic revenue. Becoming capable to check the waters totally free is a wonderful benefit to on-line on line casino match taking part in. Confident gamers are fantastic players.

Absolutely free Funds Bonuses

Yes, revenue fro nothing. Most all on the net casinos now offer you a free of charge cash deposit. Some are identified as sign-on bonuses below when you deposit a certain quantity of money the casino will match it the primary time (up to a certain limit) most of these bonuses are inclined to be during the countless dollars. Other sorts of absolutely free revenue quantities may be just about anything from twenty - 50 dollars, and in many cases a lot more relying on your initial deposit - so ensure to examine out great on-line on line casino reviews.

There You might have It.

Are you presently persuaded? You'll want to be. The above pros to taking part in online are only some of the several causes you might want to play at your home. These are typically the focal explanations why I really like participating in from my own dwelling. In my extensive encounter enjoying on the internet casino games fro authentic revenue, I think these good reasons tend to be more than enough to keep me absent from your regular casinos on land everywhere in the world.

et provide a complete selection of funding or deposit methods to start you playing. Credit card use is permitted and accepted most often. Not having to use cold hard cash only provides you with more funding choices than casino on land will provide.

Free Game Play

Just about any online casino will allow players set up a dummy accounts where you can practice and become familiar to the software and games without using real money. You can always practice until you feel absolutely ready to wager real money. Being able to test the waters for free is a great advantage to online casino game playing. Confident players are good players.

Free Money Bonuses

Yes, money fro nothing. Most all online casinos now offer you a free cash deposit. Some are known as sign-on bonuses here if you deposit a certain amount of money the casino will match it the first time (up to a certain limit) these types of bonuses tend to be in the hundreds of dollars. Other types of free money amounts can be anything from 20 - 50 dollars, and even much more depending on your initial deposit - so be sure to check out good online casino reviews.

There You Have It.

Are you convinced? You should be. The above advantages to playing online are just a few of the many reasons you will want to play at home. These are the focal reasons why I love playing from my own home. In my vast experience playing online casino games fro real money, I believe these reasons are more than enough to keep me away from the typical casinos on land all over the world.

[alycia-acosta]

x.

In the early 1970s, the Acosta family immigrated from Puerto Rico to the Miami area of Florida where they owned and operated a real estate business. It was also in Miami that Manny Acosta, the eldest Acosta son, met his bride, Amy Wilson. A lifelong South Beach resident. The moment their eyes locked, they swore, it was true love. Together they had two children. First a son, whom they named Michael, and then a daughter; Alycia. Alycia Acosta, nicknamed Aly by her father, grew up loved. The apple of her father’s eye, her big brother’s best friend, and the darling daughter her mother had always wanted. She had no reason to ever leave Miami. A loving family. A rich, cultural heritage. All the shopping a girl could ever do, and the most gorgeous beaches in the whole world. On which, she spent most of her youth.

Learning to surf started out as a hobby for Alycia. Just a way for her to spend time with her older brother, Michael, but quickly she became very good. The winter of her freshman year Aly qualified for a national surfing competition that would take place in summer of the following year. An amazing opportunity for someone so young that would take her all the way to Hawaii, but by Spring the budding teen would never touch a board again. She’d fallen in love with the waves alongside her brother. When he was taken from her, so was her passion for the sport. Michael’s passing was a horrific tragedy. While he was outside a club in South Beach a drive by shooting occurred. Police deduced the gunman was after a rival gang affiliate, and that Michael was just a random bystander caught in the crossfires. The Acostas lost not one but two children that night.

The grief of losing her brother soured Miami for Alycia. Grief changed her parents too. Their lofty expectations for the eldest Acosta shifting to her. It was too much for Aly. She couldn’t stand them anymore, or the sight of the ocean. Everything about her once beloved home made her sick. She couldn’t get out fast enough. Upon her high school graduation she left the state entirely for college in the West. Nevada was far from life in Florida, but it was what she needed to grieve. She lost herself in the college experience. Rushing a sorority, dating men as well as women, and of course a little bit of academics. Aly majored in business. Her family had instilled a knack for it in her. With a head for numbers, too, she ended up in accounting with plans to take the Certified Accountant Exam upon graduation. It was a solid life goal, but for all her planning Aly was still impulsive. A birthday weekend in Vegas and a few too many later she married a perfect stranger. Not that she had any real recollection of it the next morning with the worst hangover over of her life and a flight to catch.

After earning her Bachelor of Science in Accounting Alycia’s family begged her to come home. Her parents even offered her a position in their real-estate office, but she didn’t want to move back to Miami. Even years later her grief was suffocating. Being back there just made it worse, but where did she go? No place felt like home, not that she thought it would without her brother. So, she acted on impulse and followed a girlfriend to Chicago. It didn’t work out between them, but Aly found a job that paid for her MBA. She was doing well in her career, building a solid reputation for herself in the industry, but it was hard for Alycia to stay in one place. The desire to be her own boss so she could satiate her wanderlust seemed like a far off dream. Even in her success she was years away from being able to afford such a thing. Ironically, another loss gave her the chance.

Abuela Acosta passed at the beautifully ripe old age of ninety-three, asleep in her bed beneath the roof of multi-million dollar estate. As her only granddaughter Alycia was left a large inheritance check among other holdings, which would supply her the resources to live out her dreams and much, much more. There was just one, little, quite easily forgettable snag… Aly was married. To a man whose name she could barely remember, no less. Without a prenup all that money, legally, wasn’t just hers. She needed a divorce, but where in the world was her estranged husband? A private investigator found Arthur Kanemoto on an island a short ferry ride West of Los Angeles. A dreamy landscape of white sand beaches and palm trees, Catalina Island, a picturesque backdrop to an ugly divorce. She and Arthur did not get along. However, in the end, Aly got what she came for, and so much more she never expected.

For the last half of her life, home had only been a place with four walls. As empty in meaning as she felt inside until she found Catalina. “ I wanted to end up on an island “ didn’t sound wrong, but it was so much more than that. It was home; in a hotel room close to the ocean, floating on a surfboard in the Pacific, and in the arms of old friends and new. She decided to return to the island after a couple days back in Chicago, but in truth her mind had been made up for awhile. For all that was wrong in her life. Aly’s time in Catalina made everything feel right.

The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.

Back in Catalina, Aly has decided to do something with her inheritance besides live a life of obscene luxury and bum it on the beach. Something that might actually make her Abuela proud. With the dream to be her own boss she’s begun work on her own tax consulting business. With proximity to Los Angeles her new client pool is composed entirely of the illustriously rich and famous. A profitable endeavor, not that she needs it to be, that has momentarily appeased even her parents and their ridiculous expectations. While, simultaneously, allowing Aly the freedom to get back in the water. A balance of her two worlds in a place she’s happy to call home. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

A Letter to Rev. Moon

Dear Reverend Moon,

Although you have passed into the spirit world, your followers say you are now omniscient and omnipresent so I feel I can still address this letter directly to you.

I myself followed you for a number of years, received your blessing and looked forward to living in the society of co-prosperity you promised us (DP page 445). It took me some time to realize that prosperity was only meant to be enjoyed by yourself and your family, because as you said:

‘The only thing that matters is that my children take up positions as the leaders of the cosmos.’

There are of course a fair number of church leaders who also manage to enjoy a modicum of prosperity – which is, I’m afraid, the only reason why many are still ‘believers’.

I know you deserved to enjoy the good things of life to make up for all the indemnity you say you kept paying. Unfortunately, I’m still unsure about your indemnity – in all the years I knew about you I never saw you working, cooking for yourself, doing your own laundry, making your own travel arrangements, doing your own tax returns, taking any care of individual members or even of your own children, so apart from giving directions to your assistants and talking to church members, what was the indemnity you say you kept paying? Ah! It must have been prayer. No, I’m afraid not:

‘I haven’t prayed for the last twenty years. Mother was very surprised to see me start praying again, but I knew the time would come when I had to guide Heavenly Father.’ USA 1999

So you started praying again in order to guide God, very considerate. So if you weren’t paying indemnity by praying how were you doing it? Fasting? Not according to your overworked kitchen staff. Ah! Fishing for long periods? But you loved fishing, and like most fishermen, you were happy to stay out all day. So maybe it was talking to the members for long hours? But again you loved that – all the adoration and sycophantic applause. No, sorry, you’ve got me beat– I can’t see the indemnity anywhere.

Something else I’ve found difficult to understand is to do with the matching and blessing. I was originally given to believe that God was working through you during the matching process, but on at least two occasions in Europe you matched physical brothers and sisters together, and I heard of it happening in Japan and America also. So what gives? I know you said in one of your speeches that Jesus should have married John the Baptist’s sister – who according to you would have been his half-sister – so maybe such relationships are allowable in your kingdom of heaven. Either way, you changed those matchings after being informed they were brothers and sisters, but isn’t it strange that God didn’t know about them?

So anyway blessed couples are supposed to produce children substantially free of original sin, and your children are especially pure – being the progeny of the messiah and his bride. But, I then read one of your speeches where you said, ‘I knew this time would come, (when some of my children would disunite with me) maybe I should turn to the son of the concubine. The children of the concubine are better because there is more passion.’ (involved in their conception) Korea 1996

Now here I’m really mystified. If the child of your concubine is better than those from your marriage, where does this leave the idea of the blessing?

Let me think awhile. Adam and Eve fell because they had sex out of wedlock – they fornicated and because of that the original sin was passed down through the generations. So, the messiah, the Second Advent, is supposed to restore this by establishing the blessed marriage (the marriage of the lamb) and then the children from that marriage are supposed to born without original sin and establish a new lineage, thereby creating the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

So where does the excuse for the concubine come from? In order to restore the sin of fornication does the messiah have to commit it again but this time for God’s sake? Does he have to restore Cain’s sin by murdering someone for God’s sake? What about all the other sins? Where does it end?

I know you were trying to restore gambling by spending many hours in casinos. I also know you said you had to enjoy the luxuries of life sometimes, because otherwise when the rich people die and go to the spirit world they would be ashamed in front of you – because they enjoyed the high life and you didn’t. So you stayed in luxurious hotels, were driven around in expensive cars and flew in private airplanes all for the sake of the rich people, again very considerate.

You know, I really have to come back to this concubine thing. If, as you said, the children of the concubine are better than those from a blessed marriage then surely that means the blessing has no value whatsoever, and that blessed children are no different to any other. That must also mean there is no restoration providence and that you weren’t really the messiah after all.

I’m sorry Reverend but I’m starting to have serious doubts about this whole business.

Another aspect of your vaunted dispensation that I found confusing was your use of numbers. Most of the people counted in the 360 million couples blessing didn’t even know they were blessed. For example, in India sachets of holy wine were thrown into reservoirs and anyone drinking from them was counted as being blessed. The amazing thing is, however, that you then announced that all the newly blessed couples should now make a ‘total living offering’ of $10,000 and come to Jardim Training Center in Brazil for a workshop.

Considering that $10,000 is more than most of these Indians will see in a lifetime, that they don’t even have a hope of affording a flight to Brazil, and that they have no idea they’ve been blessed, then surely your expectation of 360 million couples turning up at Jardim with suitcases full of cash was a little fanciful to say the least.

This ancestor liberation is something else I find confusing. After only a few thousand members had attended these liberation ceremonies it was announced that 36 billion ancestors had been liberated. Later it was said that more than 360 billion had been liberated. Now considering the most generous statistics state that only about 150 billion people have ever lived on this planet in the past, I’m left wondering where the other 210 billion are from. Mars maybe? Maybe all these numbers are just symbolic – except of course until it comes to financial offerings.

I was extremely happy to read your speech of June 14th 1999 where you said,

‘There are no more hardships or indemnity.’

Again on Sept. 9th 1999

‘Satan has completely surrendered.’

Sept. 10th 1999

‘Therefore the time when Satan can oppose us is passed.’

And finally my favorite was on Oct. 27th 1999

‘No more indemnity is needed. The providence of restoration is completed.’

However, after Young Jin’s suicide in Las Vegas (as reported by the Las Vegas Police Department) you changed your tune yet again.

Nov. 14th 1999

‘Take responsibility by paying indemnity.

‘Satan tried to attack True Parents directly.’

‘Can you live a life of complete indemnity?’

Now while I have every sympathy for the loss of Young Jin, who appears to have been a very nice young man, this still does not explain this complete contradiction in your speeches. If Satan had completely surrendered how was he still able to attack your family? And if the providence of restoration is completed why were you asking the church members to continue paying indemnity? (Which anyway appears to be a waste of time because you said,

‘Did you pay indemnity? No. Only Father and Mother together did.’)

I’m getting really confused now, because you said on Aug. 8th 1999

‘The lord of the Second Advent is a person with no property.’

However, on Jan. 2nd 1996 you were boasting as follows:

‘You may not know, but I already own a small airplane company and have several airplanes.’ And you also said ‘In Montevideo I built a landmark hotel, which is the biggest and the best in South America.’

‘I have the desire to become the richest person in the world…’ Dec. 1st 1997

‘I could buy a Mercedes Benz 600 series if I wanted to.’ Feb. 13th 1997

And I suppose the palace at Cheongpyeong and the new one on Geomun island off the coast south of Yeosu are solely for God to live in. Oh, my mistake. I forgot you had become ‘the god of the day’, the incarnation of God on earth.

There are actually quite a few of your statements that I have difficulty with:

‘While Oriental people sleep on their backs and face God, asking Him to embrace them, Westerners sleep on their stomachs, facing down like animals; that’s why free sex and homosexual problems predominate in the Western hemisphere.’

Has the world really waited 2000 years to receive such wisdom from the Second Advent?

‘I did not blink my eyes for three hours once. So I overcame the number three.’

It’s lucky number three didn’t call in four and five or you’d have been well hammered.

‘A woman who does not love Father is not a complete woman: something must be lacking.’

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most delusional of all?

‘Our goal is to create a world where everyone has affection for me.’

Really? So whose definition of the Kingdom of Heaven would that be then?

‘That is why widows, widowers and people who do not marry are to be pitied. They have no place to settle in love, so they just fade away. They have no foundation for eternal existence.’ Feb. 7th 1999

So all the monks and nuns, all the young unmarried soldiers who died in war, (even the Korean one that was supposed to have been fought just to save you,) all the children who have died throughout history – all of these poor souls will just fade away and have no place in the spiritual world?

I’m afraid your concept of the Kingdom, whether it be in this world or the next, appears to be very cold and heartless – and does not reflect anything of God’s loving parental nature.

‘A person with no descendants will have no place to rest or play in the next world.’ Feb. 4th 1999

So all the church sisters who were kept fundraising for so long that when starting their married life they were too old to have children, they will have nowhere to rest or play in the spirit world?

Let’s get this straight, Jesus, the Dalai Lama, and all those celibates throughout history who honestly dedicated their lives to God or the betterment of mankind, they will just fade away, but someone like Genghis Khan, who was responsible for the slaughter of millions but fathered hundreds of children, after serving his time in hell he will eventually be able to live it up in heaven? Give me a break!

When I originally joined your church we were told that the dwelling place of God was in the ‘Original Mind’ of man. This apparently was some unpolluted area of the spirit mind that always directs man towards goodness. Now, however, His abode appears to have changed.

‘My sexual organ is the original palace of love… the palace where God can dwell.’ Jan. 1st 1997

This to me would seem a rather appalling drop in living standards to inflict upon the Almighty. I also find it a little difficult to understand, because surely you don’t take that organ with you when you enter heaven, whereas your spirit mind is eternal (unless of course you are unmarried).

Anyway, maybe I should put aside all my doubts, sell everything I possess and use the money for a trip to Cheongpyeong. I could then donate much of the cash to liberate the spirits of the Martians or Venusians or whoever we’re liberating now. I’ve heard the people in charge of Cheongpyeong are also selling houses in the spirit world – very useful because it means you don’t have to spend time finding a real estate agent once you cross over, because you know what crooks real estate agents can be.

              Yours in search of sanity and a good laugh,      

              Sloe Gin

P.S. All of these quotations were carefully checked against the original Korean.

_______________________________________

Unification Church shampoo for evil spirits

Cheongpyeong: Evil spirits stop Korean and Japanese women from having children.

“Ancestor Liberation must be done” Hak Ja Han 2015

Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han bow to a pig’s head

Moon is God’s original sperm

Sperm in the Holy Wine of the Unification Church

[dreameskye]

❀ *ﾟ kim taehyung. demiboy. he/they. ⇝ hey, isn’t that junsu “skyler” seo ? i think that the twenty-three year old from seoul, south korea works as a host boyfriend, but outside of that they spend a lot of time at caesar’s palace. i hear they are combative + melancholy, but they are also known to be dedicated + empathic. consider giving them a visit at their home in el patio inn and get to know why they’re called the barbie doll. ( gi, 21, she/her, est + 01/14/1996 )

TW: ABUSE,  ALCOHOLISM, CAR ACCIDENT 

heyo, i’m gi, this is my bby junsu/skye, and clearly i watch a little bit too much of 90 day fiance. this is a lot to read i am so sorry

• junsu came to america from south korea when he was twenty years old. he’d met somebody rich and well off just like him through a dating app and together he knew they’d be the unstoppable power couple

 • for a while everything was like one big fairy-tale. junsu was hopelessly in love with his fiancé, their families had already met and planned to become business partners once they tied the knot, one of the most expensive chapels in la was booked for their wedding. everything was going to be perfect, obviously.

 • except junsu was so caught up in his fantasy for a while that he missed several red flags. his english was not the greatest when he’d first arrived in the states and his fiancé took advantage of it.

• first, it was the prenups, which were poorly explained and he was told to sign it as it was just “part of the wedding process.” then it was the various calls and texts from men and women all day long that his fiancé dismissed as “coworkers or business partners or distant family”

 • at first, junsu was too in love with his perfect fantasy to admit to himself that his fiancé was cheating on him and playing him for a fool.

 • he kept quiet for a long time, constantly changing things about himself, about his looks, anything so he could try to be what his fiancé desired.

• the serious trouble didn’t come until after junsu turned 21. his k-1 visa did not allow him to work and the walls of their luxurious home began to feel more like a prison, so he turned to alcohol for comfort.

• with liquid courage, he was able to voice how unhappy he was and how he deserved more respect from his fiancé. however, things only got worse from there though and that’s when the physical abuse started.

• this was the lowest point of his life, and he had nobody to talk to about it. his family was much too ecstatic about the upcoming wedding and it was too exhausting to try and cover up all the bruises or to even fake happiness for a ten minute phone call.

• the final straw came when junsu, having waaaay too many drinks beforehand, got so upset after his fiancé had laid a hand on him once again that he took off in one of their most expensive cars and totaled it.

• needless to say, the engagement was called off after that night. however, things only seemed to get worse for him.

• while he was in the hospital recovering, his ex had told his parents a big fabricated story about junsu being a raging alcoholic, that that was the cause of all their fights, and the reason their relationship had fallen apart.

• his parents, angry with his behavior and that they’d lost their business venture with his ex decided to cut him off completely. 

 • to make matters worse, he was forced to pay for all the damages caused in the car accident, his hospital bills, and anything else his ex had decided was an inconvenience.

•  junsu was in serious debt by the time he arrived in las vegas. he was so desperate to get away from his old life that he took whatever under the table jobs he could find, sometimes even resorting to prostitution. still, there were several nights he was stuck sleeping out on the streets or in abandoned motels.

• through doing several illegal jobs and a couple lucky rounds of blackjack, junsu was able to scrounge up enough cash to afford a room at el patio inn.

• currently, he’s working as a host boyfriend or basically a boyfriend for hire. he dresses nice, goes on “dates” with his customers, tells them exactly what they want to hear, or sometimes just keeps people company or gets them out of sticky situations. basically like a lower budget escort. it’s fucked up but it’s also a bit of a coping mechanism for him, and it’s a business that he’s trying to get to take off in vegas.

 • while living here he’s also started to go by the name skyler, out of fear of his ex finding him and to give him and his clients a bit of a fantasy and detachment from his real self. only those closest to him would know that his name is junsu, most know him by skye.

 • junsu is often miserable that this is the way his life turned out. but in true capricorn fashion, he keeps it all bottled up inside.

 • instead, he focuses all his attention on his outwards appearance, to make it seem like he has it all together while on the inside he’s screaming.

• always one of the best dressed. this is why he’s known as the barbie doll. also king of buying expensive things that he can’t afford and returning them two days later. 

 • his past experiences have made him believe that everyone and everything is out to get him. he’s very paranoid, and will fight you if you look at him the wrong way. how do i say, he is terrified of people yet surrounds himself with them because he is also terrified of being alone at the same time. he’s very complex. 

 • has a soft spot for people he can tell have been done wrong or are victims of domestic violence, though. yes, he will comfort the person left crying after a nasty fight and even offer to let them stay at his place if it’s that bad.

• doesn’t really drink or party much despite living here. he either ends up crying for three hours straight or gets absolutely crazy when he’s drunk there’s no in between. (what a mood) usually, he ends up being the mom friend to total strangers who are so drunk they’re a danger to themselves.

• he’s got a very hardened exterior, but deep down he is actually afraid of everything. doesn’t always come off as the nicest person, but he’s working on it. honestly is a whole ass trainwreck but his bag is fendi so who cares? 

spare plots? 🥺👐

• distant relatives/cousins

• someone who knew him or his ex before he came here, just knows how much of a trashbag his ex is and what he went through

• neighbors (will fight you if you tell ppl that’s where he lives though)

• clients (for his bf for hire business lmao)

 • ex-clients (ppl he slept with when he was prostituting, ugh give me all the awkward scenarios!)

• the tea (somebody who knows his secret, could just know it or could be blackmailing him, etc.) 

• mom friend (either acquaintances or just complete strangers he’s helped take care of when they were completely shit faced)

 • someone who keeps stealing  or has stolen his clothes and other fancy things from him before lmao

• beef ( maybe someone whose ass he kicked during a game of poker or smth. round 2?) 

• friends. he has none. he needs these. desperately.