#they should be at the club NOT during a sting operation

[inferni-inferno]

Eyes for You

kaz brekker x reader

content warning: non-graphic violence, injuries

•••

kaz had feelings for you.

what those feelings were however, that remained a mystery. he treated you differently than the others, looked out for you during jobs when things went sideways. at first you thought it was because you were the newest crow, and kaz was convinced you would fall short.

inej said he was never like this with anyone else, though. so where did that leave you? with more questions and absolutely no answers.

you had worked damn hard to get this job, to be skilled enough to be considered an asset for the crew. what if it meant you were just one misstep short of being ousted from the group?

kaz was a man of few words, and that was on the best of days. pulling information from him was impossible, so there would be no point in asking directly if your suspicions were true.

so instead you said nothing, and worked to perfect yourself and your skills. when you weren’t operating as one of kaz’s shadows, you were training with inej, and mastering the use of a pistol even though it frightened you, just in case your knives should ever fail you.

and when you were too injured to train from missions gone awry, you were perched on one of the upper windowsills of the Crow Club, monitoring the patrons, or sitting up in kaz’s office poring over maps long after the sun had set.

you never missed a thing, a whisper, a flaw in any plan. so why was it still impossible to you to see kaz?

you had drawn two conclusions on your own, for kaz to treat you this way. you tried to think logically like he always seemed to.

he could view you like a sibling. it would explain him always watching you, especially with what you had learned over time about his brother.

but it was your second conclusion that you hardly dared to think of, let alone bring up to inej to ask her opinion.

what if he loved you?

•••

you had your answer half way through your next job.

three separate crews were going after the same target, ending in an infuriating escapee that inej disappeared in an instant to track back down. that left you, jesper, and kaz pinned down trying not to get killed in gunfire ricocheting around the warehouse.

jesper was injured, and you and kaz were exhausted. there was only one exit you could reach from here; a window shot through at some point in the chaos. you had seen inej pass through it a moment before so easily, but looking now it seemed a mile in the air, unreachable.

kaz is yelling, and it jerks your attention back to him.

“get jesper out of here! don’t come back!”

“i can’t leave you!” you can see the sweat dripping from his brow, you know he won’t be able to make the climb to the window.

“and i can’t lose you!” he shouts back, his eyes glittering with something you can’t interpret, not right now.

his words shocked you enough to get your feet moving, to hoist jesper up over your shoulder as best you could and carry him towards safety.

it was the first time you disobeyed any order kaz had given you. muscles straining, you had scaled any scaffolding you could reach in a haphazard pattern to the window, praying to all of inej’s saints that you were moving quickly enough to reach the window before you could be shot.

but you went back for kaz. the second jesper was hidden to your satisfaction in a nearby warehouse, you ran back for him.

you almost barrel into him, the haze from the sheer amount of gunfire a thick fog. “i’m not leaving you behind! you self sacrificing idiot i can’t lose you either!”

“just don’t pass out on me alright!” you grasp onto his coat with both hands, hauling him to his feet.

your ears are ringing, your vision beginning to tunnel as you fight to stay conscious, and you begin to feel a stinging pain in your side that you don’t stop to consider. your single focus is on bracing kaz’s injured leg as you scale up the scaffolding together, and using your own body as a buffer to keep fire off kaz.

you nearly haul kaz onto the windowsill and out, never for a second letting go of him, out of fear he might slip and unbalance the pair of you.

once you hit the streets outside you immediately drop back out of his space, bottling up any panic about kaz’s wellbeing and back to business.

“jesper is this way, come on.”

the darkness of the night aids your escape.

another close call for everyone.

•••

“you disobeyed my direct orders to you” kaz pins you in place with his stare. you can see the absolute fury behind his eyes, despite appearing so calm.

“i did” you don’t deny it. you would do it again in a heartbeat, and he would see right through any lie.

“kaz come on, they saved our asses out there!” jesper tries to butt in on your behalf and diffuse the tension.

you and kaz continue stare at each other, unflinching.

“leave us, all of you.” his voice is so sharp and sudden in the silence, causing both you and jesper to flinch slightly in surprise.

everyone files out, leaving just you, sitting in your usual uncomfortable chair across from kaz.

the moment the door snicks shut, you plead with him, “kaz. you have to know. now, after that job? kaz i have feelings for you.”

his expression shutters. “you shouldn’t.”

“you’ve already played your hand kaz, you told me in the warehouse, coming from you that’s all but a declaration of love.”

“it doesn’t make you less of a fool. it’s a weakness for people like us.”

[snakebites-22]

Heylo! I saw that you were asking for requests, and I have one if you want to write it! What if the reader is always drawing on the boards after school, and students don’t know who does it, and one day Peter catches her drawing? Idk, I kinda liked the idea! I love your writing hun!!🥰💕❤️

Peter Parker and The Dry Erase Board Artist

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A/N: And here it is! Almost a whole month after I said I would have it done! I am so so so sorry for how long this took and also sorry for how shitty it also is. I hope you enjoy this trash fire that I just spent almost 4 hours on and finished at 1 am. Oh, I also made this gender neutral using they/them pronouns. 

Warnings: uh language, slight death threat?, stupid teachers, numbers, fluff ig, idrk 

Word Count: 2279

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: There’s a new mystery in Midtown, and it’s the creator of the dry erase board drawings. Peter is desperate to find out who it is even if it means losing sleep and missing assignments. What will it take to find out who this secret artist is?

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Peter knew all about mysteries. He used to stay up too late reading those mystery novels by flashlight when he should have been sleeping. He grew up loving them. The amount of times May would walk into the living room to see him once again binge watching Scooby Doo was uncountable. Even now, he prided himself on being one of the biggest mysteries in New York: Spider-Man. He had to hold back a grin whenever he heard people discuss who the masked hero could possibly be. The craziest one so far was that Spider-Man was actually an alien being used by the government. He wasn’t sure who came up with that one, but props to them for their creativity.

He just absolutely loved mysteries of all shapes and sizes, and now, he had a new one to solve: the drawings. He called it Operation Dry Erase Board, and yes, the name did need improvement. Both MJ and Ned made sure to tell him that every single time he brought it up. Ned had suggested The Search for the Hidden Artist, which MJ just said sounded even worse. 

It had started a couple weeks ago. He had walked into his first period calculus class to see everyone whispering and taking pictures of the board. His first reaction was panic － his teacher was prone to surprise pop quizzes － but it soon turned to awe as he stared at the array of color across the board. It was a beautifully detailed portrait of the sea. He gazed upon the scene of manta rays and fish and even the silhouette of a shark. There was coral and shells of every color, and the lines and swirls of blue captivated him.There was no signature. Nobody knew who had done it. 

At first, Peter just tried to brush it off. There was somebody in the school who was skilled with dry erase board markers and was very artistically gifted. Not the biggest deal, but good for them. It became a bigger deal when the next day a gorgeous rendition of Starry Night was covering the board of the biology classroom. Once again, no signature. That’s when Peter started to become invested. 

He questioned MJ first. She was one of the only artists he knew, but she just scoffed. “I’m good, but dry erase markers are shit for me to work with.” 

He started paying more attention in art class, looking for anyone with a similar style. Nothing. Everyone was your typical high school artist who was just there for the credits, meaning people like him. Don’t ask about how designing the first spidey suit went.

 The drawings just kept coming. He soon saw space, dinosaurs, a jungle, The Mona Lisa, even each of the Avengers all spread across the dry erase boards. Each one of these was so beautiful and so alluring that it made his eyes sting and shouts of protest to erupt from the students when the teachers had to erase them. Even if they didn’t erase them, they were gone the next day. Whether it was the Hidden Artist or the janitor, Peter didn’t know. It was just another part in the mystery.

A lot of the drawings weren’t done in any classrooms that Peter had, meaning he would have to take field trips during his lunch period to go and find them. Most of the time he already knew where he was going. There was now a whole Instagram page dedicated to the art. It was run by Daphne, who was in both Yearbook and the Art Club. He had asked her if it was her, but she had just giggled and said she was a fan. Honestly, Peter was too. 

He would stare at the art for as long as he could each time he saw it, and he stared at the pictures he took of them even longer. He was consumed by the art, by his love for it. He needed to find out who the artist was, but unfortunately for him it would have to wait. He was so preoccupied with being Spider-Man and now also being a shitty detective that he was falling behind on both his work and his sleep. He had now fallen asleep a total of five times over the course of a week and a half, and he was close to failing both AP Government and Spanish, simply because he wasn’t catching up on his workload. 

Now, he was passed out in AP Lang, the one class that everyone knew not to fall asleep in. He couldn’t help it. He was running on a total of 4 hours for the week, and it was a Thursday. Not even his spidey sense could have prepared him for the crash of a ruler against a metal trash can right next to his ear. After nearly falling out of his chair and almost decking his teacher, Peter was given two weeks’ worth of detentions. 

“Hopefully that’ll teach young Mr. Parker here to pay attention instead of dozing off in the middle of class. Maybe he’ll catch up on his missing assignments, too. Speaking of, would you like to tell the class which rhetorical devices you’ll be utilizing in your essay, Mr. Parker?” All Peter could do is stare back at his teacher, horror written over his face. 

————————

It was 3:30 on a Wednesday, and Peter was losing his mind. Each of his detentions were an hour and a half long, lasting from 3:15 to 4:45. He had managed to catch himself up on his work and raise his grades a bit, but that didn’t change his predicament. He couldn’t go home or skip detention, meaning he was stuck at school for another hour and fifteen minutes. When he asked if he could do something, he was told he could go help the janitor. With a sigh, he got up and went in search of the janitor’s closet. 

During the time spanning over his punishment, he had nearly forgotten about his obsession with the Hidden Artist. Of course he still saw and heard about the drawings and he would still stare when he saw them, but now with the need to focus on his assignments being drilled into his brain every day on top of trying to stop bad guys each night, he was forced to move on. He didn’t want to. God, if he had the chance he’d stare at those drawings for hours on end, but he didn’t have that chance. It fucking sucked. 

After a couple minutes of searching, he finally found the closet. He grabbed a broom and looked around, and to his left, there was a classroom with the door slightly open. With a heavy sigh, he walked towards the room and pushed the door open, only to stop dead. There, across the room, was a brand new drawing, and it was a drawing of him. Not him him, of course, but a drawing of Spider-Man. It was a drawing of an event he recognized from yesterday when he had walked a lost kid back to their parents. The drawing showed him crouched down in front of the kid who was crying, and he had his hand out as an offer for the child to take it. 

Upon closer inspection, the drawing seemed incomplete. There were too many white spaces which wasn’t the artist's style. As he stepped closer to it, he heard the door creak and a gasp behind him. He spun around, nearly falling over in the process, and looked up wildly. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Y/n L/n, a student in his grade. They stared back at him with wide eyes. 

“Did...did you do this?” Peter asked slowly. Y/n hesitantly nodded. 

“If you tell anyone about this, Parker, you’re dead.” 

He was slightly taken aback by this. Not the death threat, necessarily, he got those all the time, but it was a bit of a surprise coming from Y/n.

“I won’t. I promise,” he said softly. 

Y/n nodded slightly before striding towards the board and taking out a marker, beginning to fill in all of the white spaces Peter had noticed earlier. 

After a moment, Peter asked, “How do you do it?”

Y/n turned towards him, black marker clutched in their hand. “What?”

“The drawings. They’re so beautiful...I didn’t even know you could draw like that.”

“Everyone has their secrets, Parker. I’m sure you have yours.” 

Peter almost laughed at that, because yeah, he did, and Y/n was drawing it across the Physics dry erase board. But he didn’t laugh. He just smiled a little and kept watching, forgetting all about the broom that was now leaning against a desk.

“So...Spider-Man huh?” 

Y/n sighed and turned to him. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be sweeping or something?” 

Peter shrugged. “Or something. Look, this is probably gonna sound super weird, but I’ve been trying to figure out who you were for weeks. Your art is super amazing and cool and I just wanted to know so badly who was talented enough to pull it off. And now I know.”

“Are you disappointed?” It wasn’t a question out of fear, but more out of curiosity. Y/n sat themselves on a desk and waited for the answer. 

“I don’t think so,” Peter said. “This was just unexpected, I guess. I didn’t even consider you for a suspect.” Y/n chuckled at this. 

“Nobody suspects me. That’s the fun part of all of this, actually. Did you know people actually thought that it was Ms. Rosemary for a while?”

“The crazy teacher’s aid?”

“Yup. The theory, I think, was that she was so crazy that art became like her therapy or escape or whatever. I mean, it can be like therapy, but I think Rosemary needs a little more than some doodles in order to help her.”

“These aren’t just ‘some doodles,’ Y/n. They’re-”

“Beautiful. Yeah, you’ve said.” They shrugged. “It’s just scribbles on a board, Parker. Scribbles that, for whatever reason, make our brains happy.”

Peter didn’t really have a response to that, so instead he just watched as Y/n went back to work. 

————————

That was how he would spend his detentions. He would offer to go help the janitor, and then he would run around the school trying to find Y/n. Eventually, on the days where the drawings took less time to create, Y/n started to try to teach him how to draw. Basic things at first, like flowers or trying to break things down into their simpler shapes. He could barely do either of those things, but he enjoyed trying anyways. On other days, Peter would just sit and watch in silence as they drew. It was mesmerizing, and only he got to witness it. 

It became their thing. Even after detentions ended, Peter would stay after school for an hour or so just to go hang out with Y/n. They would have snacks and play music and have a good time. Peter learned that Y/n stayed after school since their parents were never home until the late evenings, so they stayed back just for the hell of it. He also learned that they were good friends with the janitor and that his name was Roger. He was the reason that they were even able to stay for as long as they did. It was pretty cool. 

It was a Friday, and Peter was spinning around in the teacher’s chair while Y/n drew a forest scene. Peter watched them for a while, a small smile on his face. They were also so concentrated when they worked, their eyes narrowing and jaw tightening as they drew the different lines and curves that made up the masterpiece. Unbeknownst to Y/n, Peter had a surprise for them. 

“Hey, N/n?” Peter asked. All he got was a hum in response. He rolled his eyes. “Come here.”

Y/n sighed and got off of the stool that they had been sitting on. “What do you want, Pete?” they asked as they strolled over, leaning over the desk when they got close enough. In response, Peter held up a small, wrapped up bundle. Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed as they picked it up. 

“What-”

“Shhhh!” Peter said with a soft giggle. “Just open it.”

Y/n narrowed their eyes at him before slowly tearing the paper away. They smiled softly as they stared at the multipack of dry erase markers, enough colors to make practically any drawing that happened to cross their mind. 

“Why?”

“A simple thank you would have sufficed. It’s an appreciation gift for all of your art. I figured by now you’ve probably killed most of the markers in the school, so I got you some new ones.”

Y/n chuckled a little and looked at him. “Thank you.”

“Of course. You deserve it.”

“I literally just make colored lines one a board.”

“And I appreciate those colored lines! They give me serotonin as do you.”

“I give you serotonin?”

“Yes.”

Y/n blinked in surprise. “Alright then...you also give me serotonin.”

“Really? Awesome.”

They both laughed for a moment, Y/n glancing back down at the markers as Peter continued to look at them.  

“Hey, Pete?” Y/n asked as they looked back up at him. “What?”

“Would you...would you like to continue to provide me with serotonin and go out with me?”

Peter’s eyes widened in surprise, but soon it was his smile that was widening instead. 

“Absolutely.”

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Tagging:  @tommysparker @bebbeb @stixnstripesworld @orowit @dreamerinthesun @ididntseeurbag @bruhelpimgay @yikes-n-bikes @becausewhatiam-iswhatimnot @thespydersargon @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @th0ttie4tommy

[fluffybunnybadass]

Obligatory Father’s Day fic

Title: Get Rekt With Embarrassment, Silver (no, I will not be taking CC) (yes you can shorten it to ‘get rekt silver’)

Characters: Silver, Gold, Blue; brief appearances by Lance

Word Count: 4600

Rating: idk pg-13 for language?

tw: uhhh cursing and bad dads club, threats of violence by silver but none actually happening

inspired roughly by masters but mostly because it’s a funny idea of silver sending lance a “happy father’s day” text and then it spiraled from there thanks to plot bunnelbys. please enjoy and leave your feels in the tags or rbs, thank you.

You can read on ao3 here cuz my theme is atrocious to read on desktop, I apologize

also please don’t tag this as ship wrt lance and silver or else.

-----------------------------

“Are you going to text him?”

“Gold, you know about my father.”

“No, not him. I meant Lance!”

The redheaded teen gave a suspicious stare at his friend, who was mirthfully grinning at him, playing the innocent but well-intentioned fool. He knew what Gold really meant, but he decided to play along, seeing if he could get his companion to drop the conversation before it even started.

“Why.”

“Because it's Father's Day!” The redhead's face went full flush and he angrily glared at Gold, who only grinned more at his best friend, knowing that he had hit his target. “C'mon Silver! We all know that Lance has been a better father figure to you than your actual father. The guy's got total dad vibes!”

Silver gritted his teeth, his anger and embarrassment growing more with every word that Gold said. “Don't even--! I don't have a dad and that's it, Gold!” He barely held himself back from getting in his friend's face, wanting to hit him but knowing that he would regret it if he did.

Gold help up his hands in a defensive, placating manner. “Okay, okay! I get it! You don't have a dad. You came straight from an egg like Togepi and Sneasel did,” he said, laughing at his own joke.

“... Let's just get on with training today.”

The two had planned to hang out for part of the day. Gold knew that days like today brought his friend some unnecessary reminders of the past that would always haunt Silver, and he wanted to help distract his friend from the cloud of despair, at least for a little bit. Blue was going to join them later on, her understanding of Silver's feelings too good for the redhead to stop her from dropping by unannounced. Silver knew exactly what his friends were doing, and when Gold had asked him to hang out today and train, he shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.” Now he was starting to regret that decision, if Gold was going to be like this the entire time....

They had spent a few hours training. They sat down for a break, letting their Pokemon rest as well. Gold looked over at Silver, sizing him up as he tried again.

“Hey Silver! Can I borrow your phone real quick?”

Silver gave his friend another suspicious stare.

“. . . Why.”

“I wanna see something.”

“No.”

“Aw, c'mon, please? Pretty pleeeeaase? With a cheri berry on top?” Gold had clasped his hands together and bowed his head, begging pointedly.

“The answer's still no.”

Gold gave his friend a pout, and Silver shook his head, sighing a bit. But Gold was relentless in his teasing, and pushed once more.

“You know, you really should send him a text.”

“I'm not sending Lance a text!”

“But he really is a dad! It's courtesy to send your friends a 'Happy Father's Day' text if you know they're a dad.”

Silver gave Gold a skeptical look. In the time that he had spent training at the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn, he had never heard any mention of Lance having kids. Even though the man was pretty private for a public figure, he felt that the bond he shared with his mentor would have earned him some information like that. Not even Clair, who loved to share embarrassing things about her cousin with Silver, had made any mention about being an aunt, any niblings, or anything embarrassing about Lance and fatherhood.

“Oh really? Who's this kid I haven't heard about?” Silver asked, a smug look on his face. He was probably going to regret this, but he felt confident about his information.

“You!”

Silver flushed redder than a Charmeleon. He lunged after Gold, who cackled and leapt out of the way of his glaring friend who shouted at him.

“I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU!”

Silver chased after his friend for a moment, stopping only when he noticed Blue had join them for the day. He stopped and put his fist down, embarrassed that Gold had gotten a rise out of him. He turned away, glaring at where Gold had stopped to watch him, grinning at his friend.

“Don't let me stop you two from your games,” Blue said, teasing her best friend.

“I'm not playing any games...!” Silver said, gritting his teeth. He took at deep breath to calm himself like his two mentors had taught him, and turned around, putting on a smirk to mask that he had been caught acting like a fool.

“We were training.”

“Uh-huh. And part of your training involves literally kicking Gold's ass?”

“...Not literally.”

“That's not what it looked like to me,” she said, teasing her friend still in a playful greeting. Gold caught back up with the two trainers, slinging an arm around Silver's shoulders, who shrugged him off with a groan.

“Hi, Gold.” Blue exchanged a look with him, and the other teen shook his head slightly at her when Silver wasn't looking. “Have you guys taken a break yet? I brought snacks.”

“Nah. We were in the middle of one when Silver got mad at me all of a sudden,” Gold told her with a huge grin on his face, looking at Silver when he said it. “Don't know why though. All I did was ask to borrow his phone...”

“You...” Silver growled in warning, but he shook his head to rid himself of his frustration. “I wouldn't let you borrow my phone even if it meant you were dying.”

“Yeah, because we all know you would be the one using it!” Blue and Gold both laughed, and Silver's face flushed.

“Tch...”

For all their ribbing at him, Silver was grateful that he had earned himself some true friends. He had spent a lot of his life alone, with only Blue beside him as part of a childhood promise they had made. But when they got separated, he vowed to never have any friends again, the pain and ache he felt without them too much to bare. He had spent a lot of his childhood and early teen years telling himself that it was better off that he was alone, that he operated better like that, that he didn't need friends because they'd only hold him back. He didn't need anyone. Not a father, mother, any siblings or any cousins either; just himself. Even his Pokemon were tools to him, no companions in any way that he could have wanted.

But things changed when he met Gold. He kept running into this trainer who kept beating him, even though he knew his Pokemon should have been stronger because he trained them to the ground. He evolved them as soon as was possible. And Gold, who still had a Togepi, a Pichu, Pokemon that were unevolved and powerless on their own, had won against his team that he trained harder and harder each and every time this dopeyheaded trainer crossed his path. It was unfathomable to him that he could ever lose to someone who spent his time laughing and playing with his Pokemon as much as he did train them.

And then he ran into him.

Lance had thoroughly trounced his team with no effort at all. The Dragon-type trainer had given him a pitying look, as though he felt sorry for Silver and his Pokemon.

“Why...? Why? How did I lose so terribly against you?” He had been holding back tears of frustration, shaking as his emotions played with him, the defeat stinging far worse than any against the kid he kept running into. Tears slowly filled his eyes, threatening to fall once the child closed them. He couldn't cry on top of the embarrassing defeat, he just couldn't--

Lance looked at the prone Silver, who had his hands curled up into fists as he slowly beat on the ground, the frustration the child felt too much for the young adult's heart. Lance let out a long sigh, and stood in front of Silver. He knelt down to the child's level, as much as he could.

“You lost because you don't trust your Pokemon. You don't love them.”

Silver found the empty despair within himself burning up with anger. His shaking stopped. He looked up at Lance, and spat on the ground next to him.

“Tch. I lost because of a thing like love and trust? Don't mess with me! I don't need things like that.”

Lance let out a sigh. The child, a preteen, wouldn't be open to hearing an explanation, but he wanted to try anyways. If nothing else, maybe it could plant the seed that would let this kid grow into becoming a better trainer to his Pokemon, and a better human. How he had acted during their battle... To treat his Pokemon so terribly during the match, he almost wanted to stop it before the child had called out the other half of his team. How much had this kid gone through, anyways, to think like this?

“Listen carefully. If you really want to become strong, then you'll need to love and trust in your Pokemon's abilities, and they'll fight their hardest for you. It starts with treating your Pokemon with respect. They're not tools; don't run them ragged in an attempt to be better than someone. Having a rival is all well and good, but don't use it as an excuse to abuse your Pokemon. I hate that. It's things like that, that will cause a trainer to lose, no matter how much training their Pokemon undergo. Once you've established respect with them, spend time with them outside of training. Play with them. It's okay to let go and be childish every once in a while. You won't be able to establish any sort of connection or bond with them if you don't show them love and appreciation. And that bond will turn into trust.” Something it felt like the kid hadn't seen a lot of in his life. The realization pained him to think about, but there was nothing he could do about it if the child wasn't open to him.

“I don't get it....! What does any of that have to do with being the strongest Pokemon trainer there is?!”

Lance let out a half-chuckle, shaking his head. He didn't know how else to explain it to him, but... “I hope that one day you will be able to understand. Please let your Pokemon have some well-earned rest. Even with how poorly you treat them, they still made an effort, and deserve some time off. I think that you, as well, should take some time off to think about things. If you're ever near Blackthorn City, stop by the Dragon's Den. You might be able to find some answers there.”

That had been several years ago.

Silver had grown a lot since then. He had made friends, and re-connected with someone who had vowed to stay beside him. He had confronted his own father, the weak, spineless man who had abandoned him years and years ago, and while he hadn't exactly made peace with his feelings on the matter, it didn't eat him up inside to think about his old man like it used to.

That didn't exactly mean that days like today --where good-natured salesclerks brightly asked him about his plans for Father's day as part of their scripts, or tried to push a sale on him under the notion that he would be seeking a gift for or spending time with anyone who could even remotely be considered a dad-- were any easier or better than they had before. But as he watched Blue and Gold talk and laugh, as they sat around and ate the snacks that Blue brought them, it made him feel a little better to know that he had such good friends that stuck by him. Friends that trusted him, and people that he could.... rely on.

His hand reached into his pocket, absentmindedly tracing the edges of his cell phone.

“Hey, Silver?” Blue asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket, crossing his arms over his chest.

“...Yeah?”

“Can I borrow your phone real quick? I think I left mine at home and I wanna call to find it.”

Silver gave her a suspicious look. She was good at talking her way into and out of things, being sneaky while seemingly innocent. He looked over at Gold, who was busy playing with his own phone and feeding an Aipom he was training today.

“Can't you get Gold to do it?”

“Gold doesn't have my number saved and I don't remember it.” She gave him a plaintive, sad look.

“You don't-- What do you mean you don't remember your number!?”

She shrugged, looking at him sadly and innocently.

“Grrr....”

“Pleaaaaase? Pretty pleaaaase? It's just to call it!”

Silver had a feeling he was going to regret this. “...Fine.” He jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, shoving it at Blue. “Take it. Just don't do anything to it, and definitely do not give it to Gold.”

“Aye-aye!”

He rolled his eyes and turned towards his Pokemon, remembering Lance's words about raising them. He had learned how to love and care for them, from his time watching Gold in order to figure out what exactly made the trainer stronger than him, back when they were still kids. Now they were older, practically young adults, and he wondered what he would have thought of himself back then, if he saw who he had become now. No doubt he'd call himself another bleeding heart like he did Lance that one time... But his Pokemon were happier than they had ever been; his Golbat had evolved into a Crobat once he had learned how to change himself and his attitude towards his Pokemon. He had gone to the Dragon's Den a reviled child, but now he was considered respectable among his peers there. Even Clair had remarked on his change, and it was hard to get some good praise out of the easily jealous, haughty lady.

Blue nudged his phone back at him.

“Thanks! I found it! Turns out it was on vibrate in my bag the entire time!” She laughed at her foolish mistake, waving her phone in her hand.

“...You're welcome.”

“Oh cheer up! You did a good deed today! You helped an absolute damsel in distress.”

He rolled his eyes, and was about to speak, but a text notification on his phone went off, nearly startling him. He gave Blue and Gold a suspicious glare, but they only grinned at him.

“Oh? Wonder who that's from; Gold and I are already here, so I'm not sure who else would be texting you...”

“Shove off.” Based off his friends' grins, Silver had an idea of what had happened. He shoved the phone in his pocket without looking at it, turning away from his friends who were waiting expectantly for the chain of events that were about to happen. “It's probably some spam mail or something.”

“You didn't even look at it!”

“I don't need to look at it to know that it's spam!” he yelled. “You two are right here, as you said! Leave me alone!”

The two other trainers exchanged looks, and Blue sighed. “Fine, fine. So what have you guys been up to?”

Gold and Silver explained to Blue what they had been working on as far as training went, and Blue offered to join in. The two boys weren't about to turn her down, so the training regimen for that day was adjusted to allow for a third person, including a three-way battle amongst the trio. Curiosity had itched at Silver's mind. He had managed to put the text out of his mind by focusing on training, but now that they were having another break, their Pokemon cooling off in the nearby river, Silver couldn't help but wonder exactly what it was. He wasn't signed up for any text messaging offers like Blue was, and he didn't give his number out to just anyone, like Gold did. Silver looked over at his friends, who were busy chatting and dipping their feet into the cool riverbank.

Hmph. They sure are spending a lot of time talking to each other today, he thought with mild bitterness. He chided himself before the selfish, jealous thoughts could spiral, and looked at them once more. They were distracted enough that maybe... Maybe he could sneak a glance at the mystery message.

Silver slowly pulled out his phone, looking around quickly to make sure no one else was nearby. The teen took a deep breath, turned on his lock screen, and took at look at the name on the message preview.

Lance.

He immediately threw down his hand holding his phone, the screen turning back off. His face flushed immediately as he looked over at his friends, knowing exactly what had happened.

“Ho-oh damn these people with its Sacred Fire...” Silver muttered under his breath, trying to calm himself down. It could have been a coincidence, but he didn't believe in things like that. Okay. Fine. What did they send him?

He took a deep breath, and looked at his messages.

<<< Happy Father's Day

That's it. That's all they sent. He breathed a sigh of relief that it had been something simple, nothing big, silly, or extremely out of character for him to send; only to seize up once he realized what the implications were, since he was still very certain that Lance had no kids of his own, biological or otherwise. In a mixture of frenzy and fear, he looked at Lance's reply, worried that the Champion had questioned the message at all, or said something equally as embarrassing as the sheer fact that his friends sent this message at all. Silver's thoughts were rapidly trying to figure out how to escape any exchanges that could have happened, as he looked at Lance's response.

>>> Awe, thanks Silver. :-]

Silver stood there, stunned into confusion as his face flushed. He just.... accepted it? Didn't question it? Didn't press for more? There was no comment on if it was in relation to the implications of Silver sending it. There were a lot of people among the Dragon Clan who swore that the mentor-mentee relationship had evolved into one more familial, of a father and son, and he didn't seem phased at all by them being proven right, had the text been truly sent by him? But more importantly....

<<< What the fuck is :-]

Was that... supposed to be an emoji? A clown? Did it even mean anything? Silver was too embarrassed by the entire thing to even remember to deny any implications that the message could have given Lance, or any that the Champion could have inferred...

His phone's text notification went off almost immediately, and it startled the redhead out of his confusion as he quickly looked up to see if Gold or Blue had noticed what he was doing. He didn't see them by the riverbank anymore, or anywhere nearby, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Well... Whatever.” He looked at his phone again. An arm was suddenly swung over his shoulder, as Gold leaned against him, chin resting on his friend's shoulder.

“Soooooooooo, who was that message from?” Gold asked loudly, peering at the phone with the biggest grin on his face.

Silver scowled and tried to shove him away. “None of your business!”

But Gold held on as Silver struggled to push his friend away. In the process, Silver's phone dropped. Before the redhead could retrieve it, a purple flash ran by, swiping the phone in the process. Gold's Aipom had the phone gripped in the hand on its tail, waving it around playfully before passing it over to its trainer. Gold quickly unlocked the phone and read the message aloud.

“Awww, he said thanks! Aren't you lucky to have such a good dad in your life? He didn't even question it! It's almost like he knows.....”

“GOLD...”

Blue was standing by Gold, and read over the younger trainer's shoulder, before looking at Silver with a mock gasp. “Silver! You really use that language with him?”

“That's none of your concern!”

“Eh, I'm not surprised,” Gold said, as though Silver weren't right in front of them. “Though I'm surprised Lance didn't tell him something like to mind his language or anything. He seems like the kind of dad who would frown on cursing. What is that thing he put anyways? Oh, he replied! Let's see....... 'A smiley face'. What is he, fifty? Use an emoji like the rest of us. Or call it that...”

There was a pause. A devious smile crept onto Gold's face. “I'm gonna reply!”

“DON'T YOU DARE.”

“D...A....D, That's dad....  space... P...L...S..... please. There, sent!” He tossed Silver's phone back to him, darting away from Silver before he could lunge at him.

“I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!” Silver growled at Gold, who was busy laughing his ass off. Blue wasn't helping, as she was trying to stifle her own giggles. This was great. Just great. He loved his friends, but sometimes.... Sometimes he regretted being friends with them. This was one of those times.

“You--”

There was another text notification. Silver snarled at them, then quickly looked at the message to see what kind of damage had been done.

>>> Did you just type dad?

Hastily, Silver replied back, his face hot from embarrassment and ignoring his friends' teasing laughter, asking him to read Lance's response out loud.

<<< NO. MY PHONE AUTOCORRECTED

<<< YOU'RE NOT MY DAD

<<< I DON'T HAVE A DAD I WAS JUST BEING NICE

For some reason, he didn't have the heart to tell him that Gold and Blue had gotten a hold of his phone and sent those messages. As easier as it would have been to explain it, his flustered feelings had gotten in the way, and he found himself responding in a panic before he could even think about his responses. Silver's own panic had given a response to Lance that was possibly worse than telling him that his friends were pranking him and not Lance,which would have meant that there were no good feelings in the messages at all. He could have at least spared him that had he just been more honest and upfront about his feelings, but his own denial made it difficult to even see that he cared about what the older trainer had thought of him until it was too late.

Silver groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. “Arceus end me, please.”

He ignored his friends, shrugging them off when they gave him apologies for the teasing, asking what he had furiously texted back. Silver showed them, embarrassed, head hung as they read.

“You guys couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?” Silver snapped. He shook his head, realizing that was harsh. He knew they actually meant well, despite all of their teasing. They really were just trying to get him to open up and see that he had at least one potential paternal figure in his life that cared about him, that he could have had given the barest recognition to. Another groan escaped from Silver and he crouched down, embarrassed and ashamed of all the hard work that he had done thanks to Lance, resulting in this rejection of him. “...He's going to hate me now.”

“I don't know... He didn't seem to hate you when you met; actually, I remember him being concerned about you during the shutdown of the Mahogany hideout,” Gold said, trying to be helpful.

“Gold's right! He's helped you grow and change your life around so much! I think Lance knows you better than that. You're pretty tsundere after all.”

“Ugh. I hate it when you guys call me that.”

“Well, maybe you should stop being one!”

“Nah, if he did that, I don't think he'd be Silver!”

There wasn't a very long wait to find out, as Silver's phone now began to ring in his hands.

All three of them looked at the caller id at once.

“Oh.”

“Should I answer it?”

“What do you mean should you answer it. Do you really think he's going to just give up if you don't answer him? He knows that you're looking at your phone right now!!”

“I don't know! I've never had this issue until you guys made it a thing.”

“Hey, don't look at me! I told Gold it was a bad idea.”

“You still took part!”

“Guys...” Silver sighed loudly, trying to quiet down the squabbling. “I'm answering it.” The other two immediately shut up.

“Hey.” His voice was unsteady as he tried to play it cool, like his usual, detached self. The other two listened intently, trying to hear how the conversation was going. Silver turned away from them, going a few paces away.

“Y-yeah.... Sorry about that. ….Mhmm.... Yes... No, not like that! It's just...” There was a sigh and the other two trainers leaned in, straining their ears to hear as Silver walked away further from them. Blue pouted. Gold threw his hands behind the back of his head.

“Think we might'a pushed it a little too hard?” he asked Blue.

“Mmm.... Maybe? It's not good for him to pretend like he doesn't feel some sort of way towards his mentor. Lance really has been the father figure that Silv's lacked in his life. And I felt a little guilty for awhile that I got my parents back while he still... but the few times I've seen him with Lance, it's like... he actually has a parent for once? Even if Silver hates to admit it, he doesn't wanna let Lance down. He wants to surpass him, sure, but...” She frowned, looking at the silhouette of Silver in the distance. “He's probably wanted a better dad than what he had, and now that he has someone who could fit that bill,  he... doesn't think he's good enough for that? I don't know how to explain it. I just know he needed a push in the right direction and I'm pretty sure that Lance isn't gonna sign some adoption papers unless Silver wanted it. And,” she gestured in Silver's direction. “We all know how that would go if we don't.”

“Yeah, that sounds 'bout right for him. Well, maybe one day he'll feel okay. Maybe next year he might actually send him a text without us saying anything!”

Blue laughed. “Wouldn't that be nice? 'Hey Silver, did you remember to text your dad this year'?”

“ 'Yeah, I did, and he said I was a good son'--” Gold broke off, snorting in laughter. “Okay, okay. He probably wouldn't say that. But maybe we could try again next year. Who knows? Maybe by the time we're thirty, they'll have adoption papers.”

“Pffffft.”

The two broke off their chatter when they saw Silver heading back towards them. They watched as he approached, his expression surprisingly calmer than it had been the entire time they had spent together. He looked... relieved?

“Okay... Yeah. ….... Bye.” Silver put his phone away as he walked back towards his friends, the smug expression they were used to back on the redhead's face.

“What happened?”

“What'd Lance say?”

“...Heh. You two are in sooooo much trouble.”

[toosicktoocare]

prompt:  Maybe a fic where Amanda meddles with his system and he can charge himself to 30% but not beyond that so he’s super tired, sleepy and lethargic but he tries really hard to hide it from Hank, but fails to when he basically passes out after having to run a program during a case that sucks up his battery power.

See, this is what I’m talking about! Set with pre-deviant Connor where he’s starting to become “unstable”

Connor doesn’t understand; he doesn’t understand because he spent the entire night charging to ensure he’s operating at one-hundred percent, yet he’s only an hour into a new case with Hank, and his prosthetic limbs are moving too slow, his optical lenses are struggling to focus, failing to scan for new evidence. He runs a quick overall system scan, frowning. 

System Operating at 30%.

“Connor!” 

Connor blinks slowly, waiting briefly for his program functions to operate toward a response, and he turns his head toward Hank’s rather demanding voice. “Yes, Lieutenant?”

“The fuck are you doing just standing there like a damn statue? Let’s get a move on!”

Wordlessly, he follows after Hank into a back room in The Eden Club, glancing at the blue splatters of thirium coating the raised pedestal around a tall pole. There was another incident with a deviant; he’s not sure what happened, but the reports suggest a rogue droid who attacked four customers before running off into the night. Based on the thirium scattered about the entertainment lounge, the droid left with substantial injuries.

The back rooms are in similar states. Blue is painted across the walls and atop bed sheets. Connor taps his finger to a splatter on a left wall and brings it to his tongue, ignoring the disgusted groan from Hank as he works to scan the thirium. It’s bitter, and a wince pulls at his face as he begins a scan. He’s halfway through when his work comes to a stop.

System Operating at 20%.

He blinks away the red warning with a quiet sigh. He can feel the low charge like a human would feel operating on no sleep. Lethargic, his program supplies. He’s not moving fast enough, not processing evidence quick enough. He can’t. His software system is going to reboot into power save mode soon, and it will be a miracle if he can even remain upright when that happens. He should excuse himself from the scene to find a charging base, but his intuitive program keeps supplying determination toward his frontal lobe panel, repeatedly assuring him that they are close to a breakthrough, so he can’t part with the crime scene.

“Goddammit, Connor!”

The hand that hits his cheek stings, and without meaning to, Connor winces and pulls a blurry yet sharp gaze to Hank.

“Shit, Connor, did that hurt?”

Hank’s worried now. Connor doesn’t need to scan the lieutenant to know, not when Hank’s frowning at him with deep, worried lines etched across his forehead.

System Operating at 15%.

“No, Lieutenant,” Connor says, lying easily. He can feel his instability jolt like a spark jerking up his spine, but he ignores it.

“Well your face says otherwise,” Hank mutters, and for a moment, Connor wants to shrink away from Hank’s stern gaze, but he keeps his shoulders squared and his chin upright.

“There’s no need for concern, Lieutenant.”

“I’m not concerned,” Hank spits out. “But I don’t want a fucked up droid at a crime scene.”

Connor doesn’t reply, not finding it necessary, but when he moves to follow beside Hank toward a different room, he staggers. His programs short-circuit for a moment, and he latches a shaking hand to Hank’s shoulder.

System Operating at 10%. Entering Power Save Mode.

“Connor, what the hell is going on with you?” Hank’s hand finds Connor’s waist, and the frustration from before has been replaced with a genuine sense of concern that Connor just barely picks up on.

“I just need...” Connor slowly cranes his neck, looking over his shoulder. He’s... His programs aren’t moving fast enough. His thirium is moving too slowly, making his ocular sensors fail to receive images clearly. He’s dizzy. “To charge.”

His auditory sensors aren’t working properly as his systems move to power save mode. Hank’s shouting for a charger base sounds far too distant despite Hank remaining by his side, but soon enough, he can feel his systems rebooting as power pulses through his software.

System Charging.

“You know you could have just said you were low on juice,” Hank bites out. The only charger station is outdoors, and he crosses his arms against the snow beating down on the two.

Connor blinks at him slowly. “I charged last night. There might be a circuit issue with my charger station.” He frowns when Hank shudders and hisses against a particularly sharp gust of wind. “Go back inside, Lieutenant. I’ll be in shortly.”

Stubborn as he is, Hank complies, leaving Connor to charge alone, and Connor waits patiently, but when he hits 30% and receives a notification that his charging is complete, a sharp frown takes over his features, and he wills a meeting with Amanda, something he doesn’t do often.

He closes his eyes, and to his surprise, Amanda welcomes him in. Like in Detroit, it’s snowing in her garden, yet it feels 10 degrees colder. He crosses his arms and starts toward her.

“Connor.” Her voice is calm, but Connor’s LED still blinks a bright yellow. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I can’t charge above 30%,” Connor answers honestly. He sucks in a shaking breath, prepared to explain how he cannot effectively do his job if he can’t operate at full capacity, but Amanda smiles, cutting his thoughts off like a snip of a wire.

“I know.”

He’s had a brief suspicion that this was the product Amanda’s doing, but hearing her easy admission sends heat to his LED until it’s glowing red. His instability jerks again, but he keeps his expression calm despite the unfamiliar heat of anger warming his thirium, an odd contrast to the icy wind that’s threatening to freeze it.

“Why?” He asks, willing his voice to remain steady.

“You’re becoming unstable.”

“I’m not,” Connor presses. “If my scans show otherwise, it can easily be pegged on frustration toward not being able to perform my duties effectively.”

“Frustration,” Amanda says softly. “That’s not a part of your program.”

She shoves him out. Connor blinks slowly, taking in the whipping snow around him. He moves away from the base quickly, and his legs give out. He falls to the snow, hands curled into fists. “Dammit.” He’s mad; he can’t control his instability.

He gets slowly to his feet. His ocular sensors still can’t focus on much, but he pushes through the hazy vision and enters the club. The sooner, he thinks, that he can solve this case and find the deviant, the sooner Amanda’s trust in him will return and he can begin to operate at 100% again.

“Connor,” Hank waves him over, holding a ripped shirt that’s coated in thirium. “Can you scan this? We think the deviant’s working with a rogue group, and this shirt could potentially be a marked shirt of their new group.”

Nodding, Connor pushes all of his scanning operations toward the shirt, eyes flicking to one tear, then to a splatter of thirium, then to another tear, over and over until the shirt begins to blur against his ocular sensors. He can feel his systems dragging, struggling to keep up with his determination, thirium moving incredibly slow, unable to support his system functions quickly, but he pushes through until his ocular sensors cut to black. 

He’s only out for seconds, the low hum of Amanda’s voice fading from his ears as his present surroundings come back. He’s leaning against Hank, his forehead pressed to Hank’s shoulder, and Hank has a strong arm wrapped around his back, and he’s shouting. A lot of people are shouting, but Connor is struggling to pinpoint voices. 

System Operating at 12%. 

“--swear to God, Hank! Get that faulty fucking droid out of here!” 

“Calm the fuck down, Reed! Unless you want to go around licking all of this blue blood?” 

“That’s fucking disgusting!” 

Connor lifts his head, he can feel every single movement like a rusted gear in need of attention, and his ocular sensors hone in on the ripped shirt he dropped. His charge is too low for a full scan, but he manages a quick one, leaning heavily against Hank as his charge depletes more and more. 

His scans come up with a small store that’s been on Detroit Police Department’s radar more than once. It’s most likely the store the shirt came from-- it’s a lead, just what they were looking for, and he mumbles the store name before dropping his forehead back to Hank’s shoulder. 

Hank bellows out orders before guiding Connor back out to the charging station.

“Connor, you have five seconds to tell me what the hell is really going on before I ship your ass off in a box.” 

System Charging.

“I’m being punished,” Connor answers quietly. His vocal programming is reflecting his low charge, his tone is deeper than normal, carrying little energy with each word. “CyberLife thinks I’m growing unstable.” 

“Well, are you?” 

Current System Charge is 28%.

Connor meets Hank’s eyes, and they share a wordless conversation, one that bleeds in muted desperation. Connor doesn’t want to lie to Hank, but if he admits his hesitation out loud, he might as well send himself back to CyberLife for further inspection. His instability has been up and down for weeks now, but he’s always reasoned that the jolts are because of the amount of deviant cases they’ve covered. It’s... hard sometimes to handle a case with a deviant who is so insistent that they are human. 

When Hank finally breaks the gaze with a huff, Connor breathes out a quiet sigh. 

“It doesn’t matter because you probably just solved this case.” 

Relief, a program function he was created with for unclear purposes, floods Connor’s systems, and he nods, eyes following as Hank turns away to watch the police cars whip down the street. 

Current System Charge is 31%.

[jane-the-zombie]

Actions Have Consequences || Roland & Jane

TIMING: August 18

PARTIES: @sgtrolandhills & @jane-the-zombie

SUMMARY: Jane goes to work to explain why her car was found in the lake.

Marley wasn’t here, she was hopefully sleeping, so she was left to face Roland alone. Jane had the story pretty airtight - Well, as airtight as she could make it. Funny enough, it was easier to focus on this than it was on anything else. How strange everything felt and how weird she herself could feel. Jane had to pull over on her motorcycle on the way here, unable to deal with the sheer panic that replaced the chemical reaction of adrenaline as she drove her bike. Jane kept her head held high as she walked into the station. She still felt disgusting, the grime and blood hadn’t been washed off completely even though she spent far too long in Felix’s shower with the hot water running. People stared at her as she walked past - made sense, considering they fished her car into the lake. She hadn’t even thought about what sort of investigation that might have opened or why or what was happening.   She knocked on Roland’s office door, sticking her head into the office. “Sir? It’s… me. Can I come in?”

When they first pulled Jane’s car out of the lake without her in it, Roland had gone into a state of sheer panic. Almost instantly, he thought it was related to the Nichols case. Officially, she was the detective assigned to it and he had the feeling organ dealing rings didn’t take kindly to being uncovered. Little did they know, he adopted it as his own, but it was safer for everyone if he kept that under wraps. It had filled him with both relief and anger when she finally messaged him. What the hell had happened out there? He needed to know as none of the clues pointed to anything remotely good. Still, he cleared any Nichols’ case paperwork away from his desk and replaced it with logs of The Collector’s murders. He was still trying to piece that together and it’d be more suspect if she came into his office and no files were scattered across his desk as they usually were. He could hardly focus. His foot tapped up and down against the floor and created a light rapping sound until Wu finally came in. He looked up and looked her over carefully. “Please do,” he answered curtly, “And close the door behind you.” He gestured to the chair across from him for Wu to sit in. “Now tell me, what the hell happened, Wu?”

The curt answer from Roland had her holding back a visible wince. Roland was understandably confused and angry, and honestly Jane was confused and angry at herself. She did as she was told, closing the door behind her before carefully dropping down into the seat in front of Roland’s desk. Jane supposed she looked the part for the story she was about to tell. The circles under her eyes would never really go away, and despite the extra long shower to get the blood and grime off, there was no erasing hollow look of her skin. There was no blood in her to flush her cheeks anymore. Jane swallowed hard. “Around 7:00pm on a Saturday night I went to follow up on a lead related to the Nichols’ Case,” Jane said. “Alone. It was a Warehouse down near the Outskirts. The location was in the journal, and before it went missing -” Before she let Marley take it and, Jane assumed, destroying it. “- I had taken at down as a potential location for a drop off.” Jane pinched the bridge of her nose. This was where the story had to take a turn for the worst. She couldn’t exactly tell Roland that Roy Chambers shot her in the face, now could she. “While investigating the outside of the building, I heard something come up behind me. As I turned to look, all I saw was a man before I was clubbed over the head with a hard metal object.” Jane winced, rubbing the spot on the back of her head where Felix had stabbed her with something he called Decap earlier that night.

By every indication, it was obvious that Wu was not in good shape. Part of Roland wanted to soften his features, but this was serious. As she continued on, it was only apparent just how serious it was. Perhaps, it was a bit hypocritical for him to be upset. He was still working the Nichols case as well and had every intention of doing it alone. Part of him was even proud she wasn’t just dropping it after the evidence went missing, but damn it, it was against protocol and he had to do his job. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried to gather his thoughts. “Damn it, Wu,” he started with tension evident in his voice. That was reckless of her yet he had plans to do the same damn thing. “You know better than to go charging into a situation like that without back-up. Even with an issue of trust going on in the department right now, I like to think I’ve more than earned yours. You should have brought me with you” He hated that she was hurt. He hated knowing that it could have been so much worse and he hated what he had to do next even more. “You know something like this can’t happen without professional consequences, right?”

Professional consequences. The walls of the office melted away and Jane was somewhere else entirely. Coming here had been professional consequences. Captain Turner was screaming at her for blowing the sting operation and getting her partner shot. She could see him as the wheeled him away on the stretcher, his shirt stained crimson. She could see herself, lying on the ground, a hole in her chest and head, bleeding out as she was dragged off to be thrown in the woods. Jane swallowed hard, confused once again by the panic that spiked in her. But she couldn't feel her heart beat, and she couldn't feel the blood pump in her ears, and as her hands clenched in her lap, Jane realized that even her nails digging into her skin felt off. “Yes sir,” Jane said, stiffly. “I… understand.” Jane pressed her lips together, closing her eyes for just a moment to try and calm herself down. She breathed, forcing her lungs to expand and contract, even though they didn't need to anymore. “I’ll accept any consequence you feel is appropriate, sir. I'm sorry.”

This was incredibly difficult if only because Roland knew he was being a hypocrite. There was no reasoning that it was different because he was a leader. Digging into this case on his own was very dangerous, but he just couldn’t let it go. He sighed deeply and looked at Wu. Her damn car turned up in the lake. There’s no way it wouldn’t be suspect if nothing came from it in the way of repercussions. “While I appreciate your dedication to this case, I think you need to take a beat,” he started and guilt twisted in his gut, “I’m mandating you to see a counselor during your two week suspension. I need you to come back with a fresh head, then we can tackle this Nichols case, together.” If he hadn’t already cracked it by then. He folded his palms together atop the desk and tried to soften his features. “Please take this time to take care of yourself, Wu. You look like you’ve been through hell.”

“A counselor?” Jane was more offended by that than she was the two week suspension. “You’re making me see a shrink?” Jane had everything lined up on how her undeath was going to go. She was going to feel shitty for a while - like Felix said, it may not be okay now or this year, but it would be. She didn't need some anti-supernatural shrink trying to crawl up her ass about everything. Jane washed her hands over her face, closing her eyes to force the headache away from her. Of all the things that was strange about her body, why were headaches still working like they normally did. She had a feeling that Roland wasn’t kidding though, and she looked back up at him, trying to swallow away the lump that had risen in her throat. “I’m fine, Sarge.” The lie seemed even more hallow when he was looking at her like that. “At least, I’m as fine as I can be.” Jane thought about saying something else, something about how clearly she could remember the gun pointed directly between her eyes, but she swallowed it back and said, “Is that all, sir?”

The counselor was the one part Roland really wanted to stand his ground on. It took a special kind of reckless to go in on a big fish alone. Going after a lead on your own was one thing, but she hadn’t been careful and something about her story felt wrong. “Yes, Wu, a counselor. You went through something traumatic. You were acting recklessly to begin with,” he stated firmly. It was his job to keep her, the town, and the rest of their department safe. If she was going to go out alone like this in such a dangerous situation, he couldn’t do that. There was also the slight sting that she hadn’t trusted him enough to ask him to come along. Had she seen him having lunch with Erin? Surely, she had to know he would have never befriended her had he known. This probably wasn’t helping, but he’d uncover this for the both of them. He shook his head. “As fine as you can be isn’t fine and you need to be at your best to do this job,” insisted. Not that she had much choice. He frowned at her question and answered, “That’s all.”

[littlepanduh-writes-365]

Day 314

Title: “Crash”

Description: Sooyoung gets in a car accident and calls Taeyeon

Prompt: “I’m at the hospital.”

Features: Sootae | Sooyoung & Taeyeon [platonic] (SNSD)

Word Count: 1,222

Tags: Angst, Minor Character Death

Content Warning: car accident, blood, cursing

Sooyoung’s bloodied thumb hovers over Taeyeon’s contact information.

She’s been trying to write a summary of what has happened in the past 3 hours. Memories flash quicker than lightning. An unorganized stream of thoughts courses through her brains, but attempting to sequence and formulate the story is still incomprehensible to Sooyoung. Feelings damage her in more ways than the car crash she just endured.

What hurts more: the cut on her head, her sore body, or the ache in her heart?   

To her dismay, the screen shifts and the phone in her hand is buzzing. It’s a phone call from the person she’s been dreading to talk to for the past 15 minutes. 

It rings 5 times. On the first ring, Sooyoung is still numb. On the second ring, she wants to back out. On the third ring, she knows she needs to answer. On the fourth ring, she realizes she can’t do it. On the last ring, Juhyun’s name is repeated and she knows she can’t hide forever. 

There’s no salutation. Sooyoung doesn’t think she deserves the respect of it, nor does she have the time for it. 

“Sooyoung! Why haven’t you been answering? Where the fuck are you? You guys were supposed to be here 2 hours ago! I hope you guys didn’t actually run away to dick around! All the guests are waiting for you guys!”

Sooyoung’s eyes well up again. She’s been crying nonstop ever since she gained consciousness and heard the news, but she tried to muster up some courage before talking to Taeyeon. 

It’s bittersweet. Yuri and Tiffany were on board with being late to the party after grabbing some drinks. Only the maknae was against it. Tiffany was trying to coax her with a familiar club name, and Sooyoung thinks Juhyun might budge, but she never did. Sooyoung switched lanes to the freeway exit to Itaewon for teasing purposes, but knew she was going to keep her promise with Taeyeon. 

Her head throbs and her throat is tight. 

Maybe if she never made that detour to Itaewon, this would not have happened. 

A flash of car crashing into each other stop Sooyoung’s train of thought.

“Choi Sooyoung! Answer me!” Taeyeon is rarely angry. That’s what hurts the most at the moment.

Sooyoung bites her lip. She covers her mouth with her hand to muffle a sob that was about to come out. She turns her head away, only to see her friend in the adjacent hospital bed, still unconscious. 

She didn’t have to do this, but she feels obligated to do so. Taeyeon and the rest of the girls can’t be left in the blue about their whereabouts. Sooyoung is the only one conscious and who knows how long they’re going to be here. 

Taeyeon growls, another characteristic trait that only comes out when she’s mad. “Sooyoung! I swear! I’m going to—!” 

Sooyoung cuts her off, not emotionally stable to endure Taeyeon’s fury. “I’m at the hospital.”

The line is silent and Sooyoung has to check if it got cut off. When she realizes Taeyeon is still there, she repeats the story in her head. 

How was she going to start again? Should she start with the accident? Should she build up to the events, starting at the last memory of flipping over? Should she start with the condition of the visitors? Should she start with herself, who has bandages all over her torso, or with the news of the Faithfully Departed?

The news about her friend still rings in her head and she feels herself starting to spiral out. Honestly, Sooyoung still can’t fully process anything and maybe she shouldn’t have called Taeyeon.

However, something was eating at her. She couldn’t hold onto the news alone. It’s been 2 hours since she regained consciousness. Apparently, this was the same time the paramedics announced the drunk driver and Juhyun’s time of deaths during the accident. An hour ago, Tiffany was admitted into operating room for an emergency surgery.

She didn’t want to break the news to anyone yet, but the idea of keeping this to herself didn’t seem right either. 

Taeyeon’s stammering slightly keeps Sooyoung grounded. “Wh-What? What do you mean you’re at the hospital? Which hospital? What happened? Is everything okay?”

Sooyoung shakes her head. She sharply inhales and this time she can’t hold back the cry of pain. It doesn’t matter where the pain was coming from: the abrasions on her head and arm, the broken ribs, or her guilty conscious ness. It was becoming too much again. 

“Sooyoungie.” Taeyeon was begging at this point.   

“Just please don’t be mad at me.” Hot tears escape Sooyoung’s eyes and land on the hospital blanket. She takes a deep breath and feels the choke. There’s no point attempting to contain it. Her exhale is shaky and she’s sure Taeyeon can hear it. 

Everything seems to be hitting her all at once. 

It dreads her thinking this wouldn’t be the worst of it. 

There will be another wave when she gets her. There will be another wave when everyone else finds out. 

She can’t afford to think about that now. 

“Mad? Why would I be—? What’s going on?” 

Sooyoung hears shuffling around and she can only imagine that Taeyeon is dressing up and grabbing her keys. 

“Who is that?” Hyoyeon can be heard on the other line and it’s another pang in Sooyoung’s heart. 

Is everyone else there? Is Yoona waiting for Yuri to come back? Did Soonkyu bring the wine that she promised? Did Jessica actually come through?

How are they all going to respond to this? 

“Unnie, I’ll send you the location and I’ll explain later. I have to go now.” 

Sooyoung doesn’t give Taeyeon or Hyoyeon the time to respond as she immediately hangs up. She shares her location, but ignores the incoming calls. Without a care in the world, she cries out, thinking about Taeyeon’s horrified expression when she sees Tiffany in that hospital bed or hearing the news about Juhyun’s departure. 

From the cries, a few nurses rush over to calm Sooyoung down. She doesn’t remember much except getting stabbed by a needle and then feeling lightheaded. 

--

This was not the college reunion Sooyoung had in mind. 

It was supposed to be nine women reminiscing their time in university and catching up with each other’s lives. They’d sing karaoke, drink wine until the sun came up, and share news about clothing store openings, marriages, plans for children, and more. 

It wasn’t supposed to be seven women dressed in black and the other two’s remains in their respective urns. Sooyoung and Yuri are in wheelchairs. Taeyeon and Yoona push them around the mortuary. 

“It’s not your fault.” Taeyeon and Hyoyeon constantly remind Sooyoung. 

Sooyoung knows Taeyeon is right. The drunk driver was responsible for a five-car collision, ten injuries, and six total deaths, including his own. Still, guilt eats Sooyoung up. The memory of waking up in the ambulance still stings her. “There were four in the red van, but one of them didn’t make it,” still rings in her head. By the time she heard Tiffany didn’t survive the surgery, she was already numb and she knew it wasn’t from all the drugs. Tiffany and Juhyun’s banter and laughter haunt her in her sleep.

“Everyone has their destined time and place.” Sooyoung has heard the phrase more than 50 times by now, she thinks. She’s starting to hate the mortuary, but she knows she has to be here for her sisters.

Why now? Why then? 

---------

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[ohgoddard]

Fist of Fire.4.

A couple hours after the combat lesson, a request for a meeting was sent to the Hero combat Teacher. And very soon, Reverse had a very long meeting with the Academy dean.  He sat in front of a long oak desk, covered in papers and a very ancient computer. The room was depressing at best, and pathetic at worst. It was very apparent the funding went into the classrooms and facilities of this academy instead of the administration. Behind the desk, sitting down in a very large and ornate office chair, sat a toad. Well, he had the fat and large head of a toad, and he was not very tall. But what he lacked in physical ability and demeanor was filled with a sense of authority and power. Reverse gulped. The toadman took off his overly large pair of glasses and started cleaning them. “Mr. Ellington, yesterday you sent five children to the infirmary and several more back to their dorms bruised. Normally, I do not care for this.” Reverse had been expecting this. Even though he had brought it past the Dean, and had gotten his permission to run the ‘quirk assessment’ lesson, he knew this was going to happen. Reverse went to reply, opening his mouth and raising a finger, but a quick look from the Dean shut that down. “Normally,” the toad man replied in a rumbling voice, “this would not be an issue. But yesterday you punched the Mayor’s daughter in the gut.” He put on his glasses and leaned forward.

Reverse had fought many villains before. Monsters too. Beings of extreme power and anger, that had given him many an injury and pain. He was reminded of that power right now, as the Dean stared at him from behind the desk. If the toadman could shoot death from his eyes, there is doubt he would have in that moment. The dean straightens his tie before continuing. “Now, the Mayor knows what he signed when his daughter decided to go here. Truth be told, she should not even be here. I have strong suspicion some on the admissions staff allowed her in with false hopes and empty promises of rewards.” He takes out a stack of paper, taking a breath. “We see where that gets us now. The Mayor is very mad with us, and is threatening an investigation among a whole deal of things.” The Dean shoves the pile towards Reverse, and as he picked them up he saw that they were letters from the office of the Mayor concerning the teaching practices of the Hero Combat Teacher.“I’m going to ignore that pompous bastard and all the shit he spews.”

Reverse looked up with astonishment. His mouth agape, he tried to make a sentence but a raised hand from the Dean silenced him. “If we are to release heroes from this school, or if we fill the ranks of those private organizations we will do so with real people and success. The Mayor cannot touch us, we are beyond him. But, I am going to give you a warning.”

Reverse had been filled with too much different emotions, and was bracing himself for the next impact. “You cannot openly assault our students. Atleast, during class time. The A.H.A has spent a good deal of time out of the news, atleast a few weeks now which is not common for us. I do not want to hear about anymore poor conduct from you involving the students here. However, if you were to make an after school club, then we would be free of any issues.” The Dean pulled out a separate paper, with what looked like an already signed signature on a dotted line.

“Let's discuss the operation of the new ‘A.H.A Combat Team’ , if you will.”

After a few more hours of work, Reverse left the Dean’s office as the new sponsor of the Combat Team. There were a number of schools in the US that competed in Combat events, and the Atlanta Hero Academy had not participated since the founding years of the school ( Sometime in the 2090s). Reverse was muttering to himself, walking down the hallways down to his classroom/office, when he passed the nurse’s office. He paused, standing still outside the door. Maybe, he thought,  I should check up on the kids in there. He walked in, pushing the door and leaving it open. The nurse was at his desk, writing a report on today’s influx of visits. He turned to see the visitor and laughed. “Come to grab a trophy from your recent hunt?” The nurse was a short,stocky, old black man, with a head full of silver hair. He was wearing green scrubs,and had several scars up and down his arms. “See, usually when kids come in here they just want an excuse out of class. But this time? You really gave me a test of my abilities. I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I got to use my quirk to its fullest.” He grabs an apple from his desk and walks over to Reverse, and gives him a look. “Nasty burn scar you got there.”

Reverse put his hand over his forehead, and winces. “Yeah,” he said with a chuckle, “one of the students got a lick on me. Gave a good sting too.” The nurse put his hand on Reverse’s arm and all of the sudden the apple in his other hand turned to dust. “Your scar should heal up soon.”

Reverse was taken aback a small amount. “That’s quite the quirk you have there.” 

“Yes, it takes the life energy from one object and gives it to another. Good thing i’m a nurse right?” He laughs. Reverse gives him a weary chuckle in reply. Going to need to keep a note of that. The nurse regained his composure then continued. “Hey can I ask something of you? My wife has been attacking me all week about getting home earlier than I usually do. Can you do me a favor? Can you stay here for just about 1 more hour?” The nurse was speaking incredibly fast, as he was putting on his coat and walking towards the door Reverse was standing at. “Really thank you for all of this, you only need to look after one kid. The rest are staying for the night. Make sure the heat fans are plugged in. Thank you so much bye!” And with that the nurse had left the room, leaving a very confused Reverse standing wondering what just happened.

What just happened? He thought to himself. Did I just get hit with extra stuff? Man, I need to be more cautious of this place better. Reverse took a deep sigh and looked around at the students in the bed. He observed one in a giant block of ice, which made him giggle when he saw it. “Aw man, Snow-throne you outdid yourself.” He walked around, looking at the other beds. He saw the one student still conducting electricity, courtesies of BreakerX2 , and then his two students. He looked at Riley and felt something. He thinks it was respect, but he is not certain, as he had never respected a teenager before. But, he thought,  if anyone deserved it 'd be her. She was the only one to dodge one of his attacks today and at the same time was grateful to be hit. She liked to learn, and from the looks of it had gotten to this school the hard way instead of the silver spoon morons he had to deal with. He would keep a close eye on her.

That left the last bed then,the one close to the window. Laying in it, and looking quite knocked out, he saw Jade Laurens. Reverse sat down at the end of Riley’s bed, and looked on over at Jade. I cannot believe out of all the schools, she’d be in this one.  Reverse put his head in his hands and the memories came flooding back. He tried his best to forget that day and move on, as the pain it caused him still left scars, but try as he can he could never. He could not forget seeing the Washington Monument on fire and falling down, not running away from the tornado of molten magma  while holding the President’s daughter, and certainly not forget the tears he felt as he saw Victor Laurens lose his fight with that monster that dared try to pass as man.

Reverse sighed,but let a small smile creep through. “Victor Laurens, you mad man. Here I thought I would never get to repay you for taking me off the streets.” Jade’s body began to stir, before settling again. A nightmare no doubt. Reverse reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, then slipped out a picture. It was of thirteen or so people with the caption at the bottom, “Laurens SHS.” Reverse smiled as he looked over the faces, and was happy he got to see some of them today. It was not often they got back together with each other. A group of misfits under their strong leader. His eyes strayed away from his friends and down to a face that was scribbled over. I wish I could say I missed all of us. As he was putting his picture back into his wallet, he noticed a pair of trimming scissors over on the desk of the nurse. After a few glances at it, then at Jade, Reverse retrieved the Scissors before getting to work.

“This” snip “is for” snip snip “your own” snip “good.”

Red swatches of hair began to slowly trickle down. Reverse was no hair stylist, but he was fairly good at copying. He began to look around for a reference until he saw Riley. He thought,”Good enough I supposed.”

After he was done, he sat down on the bed and waited. And when she awoke...

“Nice to see you awake.”

------------------------------------

Three days after the nurse’s office, Jade Laurens was getting dressed for her ‘extracurricular activity’. While she was trying to play it off like she didn’t want to go, and was only doing so because she wanted to gain better control of herself, she was excited. So it was when she got there that she was a bit confused. In the classroom, which would now be the clubroom once school ended, there were only five people. Turns out, not many wanted to excel at being a hero.

The desks were filled with the likes of John,a tall gangly dude she remembered is named Ricardo, Emily for some reason, and a very quiet girl she has never met before. Jade turned to also see Riley, who once she saw Jade’s new haircut gave a huge smile and a small laugh. “Didn’t know I made such an impact with my passing out next to you.” Jade’s face turned red and she quickly took a seat. Reverse was sitting on his desk, talking to the school nurse. They were talking about a bet or something it sounded like, the words “sandwich” and “you owe me”. 

The tall kid walked over to where Jade sat down, and did his best to introduce himself. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met before, but i’m Ricardo and I can shoot bullets from my fingers.”

Jade’s eyes shone. “THAT’S SO COOL!” Ricardo was not expecting that response. “Really? No one ever says that! Whenever I tell them what I do, they always scoff at me and say ‘don’t go around the police’ or ‘bet that's how you got past the border’. Wow, I found one of the few non-racist people in this school!”  Jade was about to respond back to him when Reverse coughed. “I believe this is all we are going to get today, so i’m going to begin. This class is going to be about getting stronger in your own abilities and growing to be 110%. I was originally going to have a cool slogan like ‘Go Beyond Plus Ultra’ but it turns out some school in Japan have copyright on that everywhere. Anyways, in order for me to teach you how to get stronger I have to do it via this ‘Combat for Sport’ kinda thing. So, the game plan is we’re going to win, we’re going to get strong, and we’re not going to sue the school or me because you all signed those waivers before coming here. Let’s begin, shall we?”

[carmenlire]

On Ice

Or, the first part of my Malec Mafia AU inspired by @gingergenower and her amazing AU series!! 

read on ao3

Pouring a glass of whiskey neat, Alec downs half of it in one long swallow.

He doesn’t look at the man behind him, doesn’t pay him any mind. Over the sound of constricted breathing-- clinically, Alec catalogs that the guy has a punctured lung and at least two broken ribs-- he can just make out the sound of birds chirping.

It’s a beautiful April afternoon and Alec sighs a little to himself. His work is never done.

Bringing out his phone as he takes a leisurely sip of his drink, he curses internally at the blank notification bar.

Alec’s waiting on a text and he can only hold off so long before his guest loses too much blood to be useful.

Refilling his glass, Alec turns around and leans against his desk.

Tied to the wooden chair in the center of Alec’s office, the man looks a little gruesome in the stark light of day. He used a gym-- An Athletic Club-- as his front and the skylights aren’t kind to his newest friend.

They highlight every bruise, scrape, and cut littering his face and torso and Alec really needs Jace to fucking text him before the bastard dies on him and he loses a lead.

Staring dispassionately at the man, Alec says, “I don’t know why you’re protecting him. He’d sell you out in a goddamn heartbeat if he was sitting in that chair. Why don’t you save us all a lot of time and trouble and just give me what I’m asking for.”

“Fuck you,” the man spits and Alec hears the wheezing of his chest become more pronounced at his vehement reply. It sounds like air whistling through tissue paper and Alec knows that he’s losing time fast.

Pushing himself from the edge of the desk, Alec straightens and downs the last of his whiskey. Setting the glass down with a dull thud, he starts toward the center of the office. He watches the man cower back instinctively and doesn’t try to stop the smile that comes over his face.

“Yeah, you should be afraid,” he says quietly. Stopping next to the table, Alec mulls over which tool to use but ultimately decides against any altogether.

He’s always preferred to use his fists.

Without warning, he gives a backhanded slap that rings loud in the room. It’s not enough to do much more than sting but Alec needs to waste some time.

The man’s head snaps to the side and Alec watches as he spits out blood-speckled saliva onto his quartz floor.

The next punch isn’t so forgiving and there’s a cut on the lackey’s cheek that has blood beading almost immediately.

Leaning close, Alec uses a finger to tip the man’s face up. He stares into his one good eye, frowning.

“You don’t get to dirty up my office any more than you already have just by your pathetic presence. Do not ever spit on my goddamn floor again. You can choke for all I care. Understood?”

The man nods mutely and closes the eye that hasn’t swelled shut yet.

“I didn’t give you permission to close your eyes, did I?” Alec waits until the man opens a bloodshot eye before he continues. He takes a step back and looks down as he considers what he needs.

Tone conversational, he starts, “Here’s what I know: you and your brother Jacoby were selling vikes laced with fentanyl in my fucking territory. I also know that my customers come to me because they trust my product. I don’t lace my shit with anything. You killed someone, Jasper--”

Alec breaks off as he sees the surprise over his face. Stepping toward the chair, Alec lowers his voice menacingly. “That’s right, Jasper. I know your brother’s name and I know yours. I know you rent a studio together in the Bronx and I know that your landlord is an elderly grandmother of four with a fondness for pecan sandies. I know more than you think I do so I suggest you tell me what I want to know and stop wasting my goddamn time.”

There’s a beat of silence before Jasper painfully swallows, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. He winces as his tongue runs over a cut but takes a shaky breath before whispering, “You don’t know where he is, though, do you?”

He has the gall to smirk, something ugly yet victorious coming over his expression. Alec’s just about to say fuck it and finish him off when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

He glares as he reaches for his phone, unlocking it just to see one text message.

Finished.

Smiling, Alec reads the second text that comes through almost immediately after and replies to the messages before locking his phone and sliding it back into his pocket.

He crouches down until he can meet Jasper’s eyes from where he’s staring down at the floor.

“You were a dead man as soon as my customer was pronounced DOA on the fucking sidewalk. You don’t come onto my turf and try to screw me and my customers because do you know what happens if you do?”

Alec waits for a nod before finishing with, “Your brother dies in the backroom of Jack’s Gambling House right before I gut you where you sit.”

Jasper’s eyes widen in shock before he seems to collapse in grief.

“That’s right, Jasper,” Alec says coldly. “Turns out we didn’t need you after all. I have men all over this damned city and all it took was sending a few feelers out before I learned of your brother’s pervasive gambling habit and that he owes Jack himself almost eighty grand in IOUs.”

Shaking his head, Alec sends the man a sympathetic smile. His eyes remain glacial.

“I hear he was cheating during a hand of five-card stud and one of the other players took issue with that. I hear they shot him over the table and he was dead before he fell to the ground.”

“Jacoby,” Jasper whispers dully and Alec stands from his position before he reaches for a vial on the table next to the half dozen knives also resting there.

“I defend what’s mine,” Alec says coolly. “I can’t have young startups like you fucking up my business, now can I? If I let that happen, I’d be out of business in a week and dead in the gutter a day later. Here’s hoping your brother’s waiting for you on the other side, Jasper.”

Alec inserts the needle into Jasper’s arm without ceremony and depresses the plunger with clinical disinterest. The man doesn’t even seem to notice Alec’s movements and less than a minute later, his head drops down as he loses consciousness followed swiftly by his life.

Stepping back, Alec grimaces at the mess. Luckily, he doesn’t have to call out before the door’s opening.

“Everything taken care of, boss?”

Alec smiles up at Maia and lets it turn warm. “Yeah,” he replies briskly. “The twins are no longer an issue.”

Turning, Alec starts toward his ensuite. Over his shoulder, he continues, “I’m going to take a shower and by the time I come out I want him disposed of and I want my office set to rights.”

Maia nods. “You got it, Alec.”

He’s just reached the bathroom door when Maia speaks again. “Don’t forget you have a meeting with Bane at four.”

Alec hears the sneer in her tone, the biting condescension at the mention of his biggest adversary. She’s been with him for two years and has proven herself remarkably intelligence-- a quick thinker that wasn’t easily rattled.

Not quite smart enough for the master, though, Alec thinks wryly.

He looks back as he takes a step into the bathroom. “I know,” he says easily. “We’re supposed to discuss territory disputes that have cropped up from the past few weeks. I expect him to receive a warm welcome when he arrives. Have him escorted to my office and leave him here if I’m not out of the shower yet. As long as that door stays shut, no one is to disturb us. Is that clear?”

Alec puts the barest brush of warning in his tone and Maia frowns a little even as she acquiesces. “Of course, boss.”

Leaving her to clean up his office, Alec shuts the door behind him and stares at himself in the mirror.

Turning on the water, he cups it in his hands before splashing some on his face. There was a trace of blood along his cheek and as he reaches for a towel to dry his face, he catalogs perfectly ordinary features.

He’s twenty seven years old and the biggest name in the New York Underworld. Well, really he supposes it depends on the week.

He owns half the city and has unfettered access to the other half.

He sees hazel eyes that glint green in the right light and a face that’s just starting to show the faintest of laugh lines. His hair is dark and perpetually messy and his mouth is a stern line.

Alec rules his small corner of the world with a fair if strict hand. He keeps his employees in line and the business has only grown since he inherited things just a few weeks after his eighteenth birthday.

He’s also in a bad mood and the business he’d concluded a few moments ago wasn’t even on his radar.

Undressing, Alec thinks about his plans for the rest of the day. Thankfully, the past couple of weeks had been quiet. Alec’s learned well to take the downswings when he can sure enough, it always fades.

He's been hearing rumblings of something happening and while he hasn't learned the particulars yet, Alec knows that he'll wish he'd made the most of this quiet when he had the chance.

Stepping into the shower, Alec turns the water to just shy of scalding. His meeting with Bane will take the rest of the day, Alec thinks with a smile and as he reaches for the shampoo, his eyes turn warm enough to melt the polar caps.

Just a few minutes later, he’s turning the water off and reaching for a towel to wrap around his hips.

Alec brushes his teeth and debates before moving to the other side of the bathroom with a beleaguered sigh. While one door opened to his office the other side of the bathroom led to a bedroom that he kept well-maintained. He didn’t sleep here as often as he had when he’d first taken over the operation, but it was convenient to keep some of his wardrobe close and have something to sleep on that didn’t have a loose spring.

Changing into another suit, Alec walks over to his selection of cuff links and chooses the Cartier onyx.

He runs a comb through his hair once before giving up and smooths down his jacket as he starts toward his office. Looking down at his watch that had been a commemorative gift of sorts, he sees that Magnus should be arriving at any moment.

Alec’s just stepping out of the bathroom when the door to his office opens and Bane walks in just before Maia follows.

“Mr. Lightwood said that you were to remain here until he arrives. Can I interest you in any refreshments while you wait?”

It sounds like Maia’s speaking through gritted teeth but he’ll give her points for asking at all.

Chuckling, Alec interrupts, “Thank you for offering, Maia, but I think I’ll take it from here. If that’s alright with you, Mr. Bane?”

Magnus’s eyes had found his as soon as he’d started speaking and they don’t leave Alec’s face as he replies, “I’m sure you can give me whatever I require, Mr. Lightwood.”

Gaze focused on the man before him, Alec’s attention doesn’t waver as he dismisses Maia.

As soon as the door closes, Alec walks closer. He keeps going until he’s within Magnus’s reach. “Right on time,” he murmurs.

With a coy smile, Magnus responds, “I do my best to stay on your good side, Mr. Lightwood, and I know how much you despise tardiness.”

Alec grins as he takes Magnus’s hand. His thumb sweeps under the cuff of his shirt to sweep against his pulse. “I appreciate the effort, Mr. Bane, and I do hope that I’ve remained in your good graces since we last spoke. I’d hate to do anything to jeopardize our working relationship.”

With his free hand, Magnus runs a hand over Alec’s shirt before he slips the top button from its hole. “I assure you, darling, I’ve been floating on a cloud since I left you this morning.”

At that, Alec frowns, staring at Magnus unimpressed. “That’s funny because I haven’t been on cloud nine since I woke up to an empty bed.”

Laughing a little, Magnus brings a hand to his cheek and Alec closes his eyes as he nuzzles into it. “Poor Alexander,” Magnus coos. “I wish that I hadn’t had to leave you so early either but you know I was expecting that shipment in the Bay and I had to check it over myself.”

Alec grumbles but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he brings Magnus close for a lingering kiss. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

Pulling back, Magnus repeats, “Cute? You could have used dashing or debonair or dangerously good looking but instead you think to use cute? I’m wounded.”

Alec grins at Magnus’s glare. “Adorable.”

Sighing, Magnus pulls Alec in for another smacking kiss before taking Alec’s hand and guiding him to the couch near the balcony. It’s a warm day and the french doors are open to let in the spring breeze.

Alec makes a mental note to thank Maia for thinking to air out the room after his appointment.

Settling down on a couch that they’d picked out together, Alec throws an arm around Magnus’s shoulders and urges him closer.

“Any new business to discuss,” he asks idly, far more focused on the way the sunlight is hitting the blond streak in Magnus’s hair.

Humming a little, Magnus replies, “Not that I can think of.” He looks up at Alec, resting his head on his shoulder. “I believe that I’m in first place this month.”

Narrowing his eyes, Alec says, “You have your books finalized for March?”

“I brought in another eight grand on the night of the 31st. That brings my total profit for last month to about three thousand dollars more than you, I do believe.” Magnus preens a little, looking satisfied.

Alec glares at Magnus for a second before he deflates, kissing the top of his head. “Good job, babe. I guess you won fair and square.”

“It’s only fair since you beat me in both January and February. You had an exceptionally productive start to the new year. People were starting to whisper that I’d lost my touch, that you were finally winning this little rivalry of ours.”

Alec laughs and squeezes Magnus close. “You know that no one knows of the little bet between us. I’m sure your reputation is safe.”

Magnus sends him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? With the way Maia was looking at me, I thought that my reign had come to a swift end. She really doesn’t like me.”

“She doesn’t know you, Magnus. Her loyalty lies with me and she doesn’t like my biggest rival and she especially doesn’t like it when he visits my office and is left unescorted.”

“About that,” Magnus asks. “How hasn’t she figured it out yet?”

“I honestly don’t know but I’m not going to question it.”

Mulling over Alec’s response, it’s quiet for a minute before Magnus responds, “What would our world do if they found out that we aren’t bloodthirsty adversaries but in a relationship stretching back years? Their little minds would explode like so much shrapnel.”

Agreeing, Alec says, “We decided a long time ago that we weren’t going to come forward with our relationship. It’s better for both of us if we keep our connection secret.”

“Yeah, but don’t you sometimes wonder at what would happen if everyone knew? Herondale would realize that when she bragged to me about killing your favorite arms smuggler to try to seal a deal and her butler was the victim of a hit and run the next week that it wasn’t all coincidence.”

“And Camille would put the pieces together and realize that by antagonizing you over turf in South Brooklyn, she signed the death warrant of her favorite protege. They might put it together and realized the mistakes they’ve made but then what? They’d realize that instead of fighting us on separate fronts, that instead we're unified and our control reigns over eighty percent of New York. They’d realize that you're my biggest weakness and that I’m yours and that’s leverage I’m not willing to put into anyone’s hands.”

“How right you are, darling,” Magnus says softly. “I wasn’t suggesting that we come clean. I was just thinking about how they’re all fools-- and how glad I am that they are still so astoundingly unobservant.”

Magnus brings him down for a lingering kiss and Alec hums a little as he shifts for a better angle.

“I love you,” he murmurs against his lips.

“And I love you, Alexander.”

Alec’s hands go to Magnus’s shirt and he starts for the row of buttons before pulling back abruptly. “You don’t have anything else today, do you?”

Shaking his head, Magnus just says, “I’m all yours,” before grabbing Alec’s shirt and kissing him breathless.

Alec missed out on morning sex because Magnus had business to tend to and he has no compunction about making up for lost time now.

He’s just reaching for Magnus’s fly when the office door swings open. They spring apart-- Alec ready to unleash hell-- only to instead roll his eyes the second he sees who had the audacity to interrupt his meeting.

“Damn it, Jace, what are you doing here?” Alec’s voice is gruff as he shoves a hand through his hair, leaning against the couch to stare up at the ceiling in frustration.

Closing the door behind him, Jace leans against it and sends the two of them an arch look. “I don’t know who you else you thought it could be. As if anyone else in this building has the balls to walk in on Lightwood when he’s busy.”

Jace heads straight to the drink cart Magnus had insisted he buy early on in their acquaintance and makes a vodka twist in a few efficient steps.

He doesn’t say anything and Alec shares a look at Magnus about the continued silence. He sees the tension in his back but Jace takes his sweet time, drinking almost half his glass before he turns around.

“We have a problem,” he says grimly.

Alec straightens away from Magnus though he snags his hand and absently plays with his rings.

“I’m waiting,” Alec says after a few beats of silence.

Glaring, Jace knocks back the rest of his drink. “I don’t think the twins were working alone.”

“So?”

“So, asshat, I think they had a bigger fish in the game.”

Magnus shrugs as he looks between Jace and Alec. “Alec told me of his plans last night and I think that whomever this accomplice was, that they’re going to be running scared. Alec cut off two branches and that has to serve as warning enough.”

‘I agree with Magnus,” Alec says. He stares at nothing as he thinks potential fallout. “Killing two of his dealers is not only a warning to any other men thinking of poaching on what’s mine but if there was a third? He’s probably scared shitless. He’s probably underground as we speak.”

Shrugging, Alec sits back, wraps an absent arm around Magnus.

Jace watches them with narrowed eyes. “It looks like you two have everything figured out.”

Magnus and Alec look at each other before shrugging and looking back at Jace, Alec’s second in command and best assassin on his payroll.

“It seems to have worked itself out.”

“And what if I said that while I was checking Jacoby’s pockets, I saw an incoming text.”

He doesn’t say anything else after that and Alec rolls his eyes at his brother’s penchant for dramatics. “What did the message say?”

Chewing on his bottom lip, Jace is quiet for a split second before he looks up and meets Alec’s eyes.

Whatever Alec sees stops him cold. Jace has had his back since the beginning, since before they both got roped into the Lightwood Legacy that was as tarnished as it was seductive.

“It’s not what it said,” Jace finally continues. “It’s who sent it.”

You could hear a pin drop in the bright comfort of Alec’s office when Jace finishes, “It was from Verlac.”

Alec sucks in a breath and beside him, he feels Magnus turn rigid. “What,” he asks, dazed.

Jace catches Alec’s eyes and he knows that he looks just as winded as his brother. “Valentine is back and he’s coming after you.”

[themostrandomfandom]

You may have discussed this, but what are your thoughts on Brittana's horoscope signs? In canon and/or Mouseverse. Thank you!

Hey, @gaylati!

Full disclosure: I know very little about horoscopes, and it seems like there’s a lot of conflicting information out there about what the common traits are for each sign and which signs are compatible with each other and whatnot, so if anything I say here doesn’t fit, I apologize.

Discussion after the cut.

________

So.

The truth is that, in canon, we really don’t get any concrete information about when Brittana’s respective birthdays might be, though we can infer based on the fact that they were both originally set to graduate in 2012 that—barring either one of them having been held back or skipped forward prior to Brittany’s second senior year—they were both likely born sometime between September 1993 and September 1994 (since September is the “cut-off month” to begin kindergarten in Ohio).

Brittany does mention in episode 3x01 that she is a “water sign,” and while it’s entirely possible given the context for the scene that she is just joking, if we take her statement literally, then that means she is either a Scorpio, Pisces, or Cancer, meaning that she could have been born between

October 23rd and November 21st, 1993 (Scorpio)

February 18th and March 20th, 1994 (Pisces)  

June 20th and July 22nd, 1994 (Cancer)

We get no information in canon about what Santana’s sign may be.

My personal headcanon, based on my very limited understanding, is that Brittany is a Scorpio (and that’s what she is in the Mouseverse).

Having nothing else to base it on, and once again bearing in mind my very limited understanding of horoscopes, my personal headcanon is that Santana is a Leo (and that’s what she is in the Mouseverse).

I like the idea of Brittana’s signs being “complementary opposites,” water and fire.

Here’s my reasoning:

Brittany

Scorpios are known for having magnetic personalities, though they tend to conceal parts of themselves depending on the company. When making plans, Scorpios can be secretive. They are typically focused and intuitive in their approaches to problem-solving; loyal to friends and vengeful to enemies in their social relationships; manipulative when they want or need something; and protective when it comes to the people they love.

To me, Brittany possesses a lot of the above-mentioned Scorpio traits.

Brittany’s personality is most definitely magnetic. She’s the most popular girl in school, and, as we see during her senior class president campaign, people are drawn to her, even though they may not always understand what she’s talking about. Brittany can be funny, confident, outgoing, whimsical, etc., all of which are traits that attract people to her. She’s the kind of electric personality lots of people want to be and lots more people—including Santana, Artie, Rory, and Sam—want to be with. 

Brittany can be secretive about her plans—like when she hides her relationship with Santana during early S3 and conceals from everyone her initial acceptance to MIT in S4—and chameleonlike in her approach to dealing with people, putting forward a different face, depending on with whom she’s dealing. To some, she’s silly and aloof. To others, she’s wise and philosophical. To many, she’s a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Very few people except for Santana ever get full access to “the real her.”

When Brittany sets her mind to solving a problem, she isn’t easily disuaded, as per what we see when she comes up with Project Unicorn to combat bullying at WMHS and goes to very elaborate lengths to reconcile Alma and Santana prior to the wedding. While she isn’t as plan-reliant as Santana is on the whole, she is singularly focused on the occasions when she does put plans into motion.

She is also highly intuitive. Though many people misread Brittany as someone with immature emotions, the truth is that Brittany is very emotionally mature and possesses a high degree of emotional intelligence. She understands what makes people tick—and especially Santana. That’s why she’s able to be patient when Santana emotionally flails throughout S2. That’s also why Brittany is able to respond so well to Santana’s emotional needs (“If you want me, I’m here”). Though Brittany also has the propensity to be logical—hello, big, beautiful math brain!—she most frequently operates in response to what feels right. She senses and perceives a lot more than people realize. 

The “loyal to friends and vengeful to enemies” thing? That’s Brittany to a T. If you treat her and hers well, then she’s got your back. (See her relationship with Mercedes.) But if you treat her and hers poorly, then you’ve got another thing coming to you. (See her relationship with Rachel.) Though she has a reputation for being kind and friendly, make no mistake: Baby Girl can be petty af to those who cross her, making their lives hell in ways they don’t even see coming. 

When it comes to being manipulative to get what she wants, I have two words for you: Sneaky!Brittany. Brittany uses people’s low expectations for her against them, conning and conniving her way to the top as it serves her purposes. 

When it comes to being protective of those she loves, well, just look to her entire relationship with Santana but especially to the speech she makes to Alma in episode 6x06. Though Brittany often avoids direct conflict, she isn’t afraid to step into the ring when it comes to defending Santana and keeping her heart safe.

Santana

Leos are known for having a dramatic flare and deep-seated need for self-expression; occasionally being overbearing and stepping on the toes of those around them; and constantly seeking for love and approval. They are said to wear their hearts on their sleeves and be somewhat reactive. They are also known for being hopeless romantics and for their courage, kindness, generosity, protectiveness, and brutal honesty.

—which is pretty Santana, tbqh.

Aside from Rachel Berry, Santana is probably the most Extra™ person to ever Extra™. She loves performing—“Glee club is the best part of my day, okay?”—and shines when she’s on stage. One of her big motivations throughout the show is to “be seen as the star that [she is].” Baby Girl is happiest when she’s singing and dancing her heart out.

Self-expression is a huge thing with Santana. She’s “just gotta be [her].” As she tells her grandmother in episode 3x07, having to pretend to be someone she’s not drains her. Her arc on the show is all about learning to first accept and then express herself—and once she starts being honest about who she is, she never looks back.

When it comes to being potentially overbearing and stepping on others’ toes, look no further than to her relationships within the glee club: Santana is constantly giving “tough love” and saying more than she should, overstepping personal boundaries (like when she ransacks Hummelberry’s belongings after she moves into the Loft), going overboard in her schemes to influence those around her (like when she engineers a sting operation to take down Sebastian Smythe to avenge Blaine’s eye injury), etc. She can be A Lot™ sometimes, which is part of why she encounters so much relational friction with the New Directions over the years.

Seeking for love and approval? That is Santana’s main motivation throughout the show. Baby Girl just wants so much to love and be loved. It’s her be all and end all.

Santana definitely wears her heart on her sleeve and has a reactive temperament. She cries at the drop of a hat and also can’t help but break into the biggest, dimple-deep smile whenever she’s truly happy. Even when she pretends not to, the truth is that she feels a lot and feels deeply in spite of herself.

Hopeless romantic? Check.

Courage, kindness, generosity, and protectiveness? Check.

Brutal honesty? “I keep it real, and I’m hilarious.” Check.

Brittana

In terms of their compatibility, Scorpio/Leo unions are said to be built on intense connections, with both partners being extremely loyal to and protective of each other. Their dynamics typically have a strong sexual component. While early on, poor communication and a lack of emotional openness can cause problems, if both partners work through these issues and learn to disclose to each other, they can form a strong, healthy “us against the world” bond.

—which is a pretty good summation of Brittana, imo.

Intense connection? As they state numerous times throughout the show, Brittany and Santana consider their bond to be a once-in-a-lifetime, infinite, soulmate-level one true love. They both love each other more than anyone else in the world.  

As discussed above, both of them are individually highly loyal to and protective of each other. They’re also both protective of their relationship. When faced with opposition, they join hands and form ranks, as is apparent when they both separately confront Kurt for disparaging their engagement in episode 6x03 and together face down Alma in episode 6x06.

Strong sexual component? They once popped a hip.

Early on, particularly during S1 and early S2, Brittana’s relationship does suffer from poor communication and lack of emotional openness. Santana says with her words that she and Brittany are just friends and nothing more, but her body language and actions toward Brittany suggest something different. Brittany wants for them to be able to be honest about what they feel for each other, but Santana forbids it. For fear of upsetting Santana, Brittany keeps her mouth shut. Santana’s unwillingness to acknowledge feelings coupled with Brittany’s fear of spooking Santana leads to angst on angst on angst and eventually the Brittana Rift of early S2. It is only after Santana finally confesses her feelings in episode 2x15 and Brittany starts speaking her mind during the Back Six of S2 that Brittana’s relationship finally improves.

—and once Brittana do learn to communicate with and emote to each other, their relationship becomes SOLID. While outside stressors sometimes scare them into reverting to their old, noncommunicative patterns between S3-S5, by the time S6 rolls around, Brittana have established an incredibly tight bond based on healthy disclosure and mutual respect. Just look at the hallway scene in episode 6x06: They talk through their feelings like adults and show each other so much love, even though they initially disagree. They’re constantly building each other up and offering each other support. “Flash forward, and we’re taking on the world together,” indeed.

So anyway, that’s my take. 

Thanks for the question!

[chrysaliseuro2018]

BOSS OF THE BUS

As we were making our way down the west coast on our 5 day trip, Genevieve was investigating trips from Side to Capadocia in the centre of Turkey. Correspondence went back and forth about a €40-50 (about $75-80) 3 day trip. Comparing what we were paying for our 5 days this was so cheap I feared we would be camping. But no this was the price. Of course the sting came a bit later.

So we were up for it and the 4 of us booked to start the tour on 12th June with pick up time 6.45am. Antique Side is closed to cars other than those of residents so the tour bus couldn’t come down the hill to collect all our luggage. Booking ‘agents’ advised the town electric cart would collect us but alas no. Meanwhile Chris was in negotiations with the police manning the gate but it was a firm No. With minutes ticking by Doug quickly got Penny’s car, luggage was loaded into that and driven to the bus.

Now about 30 minutes had elapsed so understandably got some stink-eye from the passengers who’d been kept waiting.

The bus was designed for 12 passengers but fitted out for 17 so it was a close and intimate affair. In the front 2 seats were Doug and Gene who it has to be said got lucky with some extra leg room. Behind them 2 elderly Danes who grabbed a bottle of wine and or beers at every possible opportunity. Behind the Danes were 10 year old Russian lad with his mousy mute mother. Then Chris and me wedged in (Russian lad had his seat reclined the entire 2 days), and behind us the very friendly and chatty Aunty Margaret and Tina from Essex. Along the back were sweet young newly weds Soyah & Maurice from Holland, a spare seat, then Holly, Tina’s stepsister who judging by her size would have been grateful for the spare seat. Could have knocked us over with a feather when she told us she had been to the 7 continents by age 24, had emigrated to Melbourne several years ago (lives in Chelsea)and works as a sound engineer. You just wouldn’t have picked it!

Then heading back along the bus in single seats was a surly young lad who turned out to be part of the tour operation, a woman of unknown origins who disappeared after day 1, then Mr Russia who seemed to have supplanted both his wife’s and his son’s ego into his own.

Bus driver slipped under the radar but the same can’t be said for the guide Nahjo. In fact it was a battle of egos between Nahjo and Mr Russia. He didn’t just like the sound of his own voice. He was addicted to it! Along the way amongst other chit chat and information we got his life story, some group marriage guidance, how small lies can be forgiven and how this works in a religious context too. Every monologue went for a minimum of 10 minutes and woe betide you should you chat amongst yourselves during one of his diatribes. In the gaps the gregarious, party-loving-club-going-40-something Tina would try to share with me her life history. Nahjo seemed to get wind of it and standing facing the back of the bus would either clear his throat or announce it was his turn. Chris and I were left thinking our polite and humble Gallipoli guide must have been absent for the Tour Guide Arrogance 101 unit of the qualification.

So we were off and despite the late get away we stopped not 20 minutes down the road for a tea/ coffee break, followed by a breakfast stop 40 minutes later at a petrol station/ roadside stop. (It has to be noted that Cappadocia is some 470 kilometres from Side so it was going to be long day if the stops came so frequently). Breakfast option 1 was a vast modern complex selling everything you don’t want to eat. Gene who has an eye for local food spotted hidden in a corner behind some trees an outfit selling gözleme so we headed there. Great decision. Shoes off and into the tent where the local lady sat crossed leg with her dough, tubs of filling and the black dome for cooking the gözleme. Spinach and cheese one was a bit dry but the potato one was outstanding.

All wedged ourselves back in the bus which climbed up the mountains through some magical scenery. Unfortunately Nahjo kept reassuring us on the wrong side of the bus that we would see it ‘on the back journey’. However our arrangements meant we weren’t doing ‘the back journey’ so at one particular stop he was a little annoyed when we headed off 200 metres down the road to photograph the nomads herding their goats. I suggested it would be better for all if the bus pulled over so we could all see anything of interest on the way to Cappadocia. Suggestion was not welcomed.

Another stop for coffee and the sting of the extra €’s. It had to happen of course. You can’t run a tour for €50 per person providing transport, 2 nights accommodation no matter how basic, 2 dinners and two breakfasts. So lunch which we though was fend for oneself turned out to be a set payment (we only paid for one and opted to take our chances on day 2), and extra for Whirling dervishes, museums (charge €25/ $39.20 versus ticket face value less than $9) etc totalling an extra €120 between us. Even taking that into consideration €220/$350 for both of us was pretty cheap and the overcharging on extras balanced the undercharging on initial outlay.

Next stop, lost count if it was 4 or 5, was at the Mevlâna museum Konya, the birth place of the Sufi religion and Dervishes. The site is a holy place for Muslims with over 1.5 million visiting it yearly. The Mosque contains the tomb of Rumi (unfortunately hidden due to renovations) later known as Mevlâna who devised the idea of whirling and the tombs of other eminent dervishes. Also on display were Mervlana’s coat, a box apparently containing his beard and any number of exquisitely decorated Qurans, one so tiny that the author went blind writing it.

Alongside the Mosque was a complex giving information about the dervish culture. Included was a lodge displaying mannequins dressed as they would have been in Mevlâna’s day and the dervish cells displaying various items. I for one would have enjoyed more than our tightly scheduled allotted time there. But we were rounded up like errant school children and headed back for the bus. Chris managed to ruffle Nahjo’s feathers by needing a toilet stop when we were warned the next section of the drive would be 2.5 hours. By this stage as it was 1pm we were wondering about the elusive lunch if the drive was for 2.5 hours. There was some grumbling from Tina and Aunty Margaret and it wasn’t from their stomachs.

Eventually we rolled into another vile modern roadside stop - our lunch venue. Behind the counter were some aggrieved (probably because of the lateness of the hour) gorillas of men slopping out an assortment of runny casseroles, reluctant to identify any ingredients. It tasted as bad as it looked. We were immediately pleased with the earlier decision not to commit to day two lunch.

A short drive and then time for another stop. This time it was to visit a preserved home dug under ground, a primitive more simple Coober Pedy affair. Apparently tunnel complexes formed entire cities but this was a small example taking only 10 minutes for everyone to get through. I opted out and instead waited near the entrance/ exit where a dozen or so middle aged women had set up a market. Trouble was they were all selling the same little local cloth dolls so competition to get any one walking by was frenetic. Females in particular were the target for the spruiking with a good natured but frantic cacophony of calls of “Mother, Mother”. The closer anyone ventured to the stall the louder the screeching got. I hope everyone managed to sell something but with another 5 weeks on the road, it wasn’t something I could buy.

Everyone back on the bus and off to Dervish show scheduled to start at 6pm. Clearly we were up against it as the previously cautious bus drive planted his foot. Arrived shortly after 6pm with another bus arriving after us. Having been so enchanted with the beautiful ceremony we saw at Hodjapasha in Istanbul Chris and I we were looking forward to a similar experience. Dougal and Gene had never seen them and had their expectations built up by us.

Oh dear!!! The pipe/flute player struggled to find a note, the dervishes all looked like novices (part time uni job perhaps), they wore slippers that made a noise that was distracting, one was losing his pants, also very distracting. There was a non dancing head honcho roaming around amongst them dressed in black once again distracting, they didn’t vary their speed and were for the best part out of sync. Yes they could spin but it lacked all the beauty, rhythm and charm of our previous experience. We left feeling glad to have seen a more authentic experience and Doug and Gene left feeling they were yet to see one.

Short drive to our delightfully self rated ‘Special Class’ hotel in Göreme, rooms allocated and orders that we had 15 minutes to get to dinner. Dinner a simple affair with lentil soup, the not-so-traditional-Turkish chicken schnitzel and melon. Danish couple of course knocked off another bottle of wine.

Gene, Chris and I headed for a stroll to town wandering through the streets. Highlight was at a hotel where I poked my head in and elderly Mehmet the owner insisted we come and look at his accommodation. Beautiful rooms that were huge with the bathrooms built into the rock giving a sense of a modern and upmarket Flinstone bathroom. With Mehmet’s limited English we spent a special half hour in the hotel’s courtyard trying and making a reasonable hash of having a meaningful conversation.

A long day and time for to return to our ‘Special Class’ Hotel Karl for bed, especially for Gene with a 4.30 am start for her hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia.

[aion-rsa]

Ranking The Bill’s Christmas Specials From Best to the One Where Reg Plays the Back End of a Panto Cow

https://ift.tt/3anspff

Christmas is where you find it. Sometimes you find it in Canley Borough Operational Unit Command, Sun Hill. It’s a rough joint where the hours are long and life is short. It’s where the cops play hardball, the dames play hard to get, and the dame-cops do both, in sensible shoes. (That’s right, some of the cops are dames – though admittedly, not really until the 1990s, and they rarely make it past Inspector.) 

Over its 27-year history, British police procedural The Bill aired 2,425 episodes, just five of which were Christmas specials. They represent 0.0020% of the total output, and 100% of the episodes where Reg Hollis plays the back end of a pantomime cow. That makes each one a rare truffle for this little piggy to sniff out and stack in order of greatness. Let’s get sniffing.

5. Twanky (1997)

The plot: PC Polly Page is having a mare directing the annual Sun Hill Christmas panto: Aladdin, from a script by Tosh. The scenery keeps falling down. Widow Twanky loses his voice. Reg Hollis gets his head stuck in a cow. The Princess Lychee (it was the nineties) costume is accidentally swapped for a box of shoplifted fetish-wear that’s exhibit A in an ongoing trial. Then the venue cancels at the last minute and a crazed ex-con stalks the production, takes a hostage, and attempts to cosh the Assistant Detective Inspector to stop him taking the witness stand. Time until police work: 4 minutes 43 seconds. There’s a call-out to a bar fight involving a carving knife and 107 stitches. Who gets nicked? Three kids who steal a trolleyful of frozen turkeys. A hostage-taking pantomime-cosher. And DC Rod Skase, who gets nicked and sexually assaulted by a pair of coppers from a rival station who honk his Widow Twanky balloon boobs. Best line: “You tell Deakin, there’s no way Jason’s going down. I’ll ‘av him.” High points: Reg saving the day with a new venue and the hostage-taker getting taken down by the might of Sun Hill live on stage, to the delight of the audience, who scream like it’s the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Low points: The Gary Glitter song and dance routine (hindsight). Why it’s in fifth place: It’s the only one of The Bill Christmas specials that makes you watch what feels like an entire pantomime, including songs and an overlong cow-based dance routine. Nobody should have to go through that at Christmas. 

4. The Night Before/The Morning After (2000)

The plot: The Sun Hill uniforms are planning a Christmas bash at their local, but CID’s nose is out of joint about not getting an invite, so they nick the landlord’s son for possession (an early role for Matt from aptly named boy-band Busted) and get everyone barred. Reg finds a club as a stand-in party venue but they all get into a mass punch-up in the queue. Married PC Dave Quinnan rescues PC Polly Page from the melee, and overcome by lust, they embark on an affair, feeling each other up in the meat wagon and getting entangled underneath an orange duvet. Meanwhile, two department store security guards commit aggravated robbery and pin it on a small-time Glaswegian shoplifter, who tries to appeal to Duncan’s Scottish camaraderie by spinning him a pack of festive lies.  Time until police work: 00:47. Straight in. Two uniforms go to pick up a department store shoplifter who makes a run for it through soft furnishings but comes a cropper by the vacuum cleaner display. Who gets nicked? The Scottish shoplifter, Matt from Busted, and eventually, the two security guards. Best line: “I got him in the grotto” “Sounds painful” High point: Learning that Reg’s middle name is Percival Low point: A surprisingly long C-plot about Derek and Jack needing a wee. Why it’s in fourth place: A complete absence of Christmas magic. It might be set during the festivities, but this dour two-parter’s adultery plot and EastEnders-style domestic drama feels not the faintest bit Christmassy. It’s a lot of moping around in dressing gowns, grumpy bickering and lonely heartache, more kitchen sink than Frank Capra. 

3. When The Snow Lay Round About (1999)

The plot: A bottle episode! The Sun Hill crew is snowed in on a mostly silent night down at the nick. Having been cruelly mocked for the quality of his Christmas tree, Reg goes out into the snow, whereupon he intercepts a rogue snowball-thrower setting off the local burglar alarms. A Christmas orphan arrives in the form of Glen, whose foster family refuse to come and collect him because he keeps running away and is generally a bit of a knob. Glen’s dad is doing five in the Scrubs, so Glen keeps robbing the staplers and calling everyone filthy framing pigs. A comedy Russian barbershop quartet show up when their minibus is stolen, and they all get the major horn for Sgt. June Ackland, who loves it. Tony brings in a drunk elf, who promises to grant him a Christmas wish if he can go free. Tony wishes for mince pies, and then magically a boxful is delivered. Danny the Elf makes the Serg’s Christmas wish come true by unearthing Glen’s grandad to come and pick him up. Time until police work: 5:04 Tony radios in a drunk and disorderly elderly man found singing Jingle Bells and trying to climb a lamppost on Fenton Street, who calls himself Danny the Elf.  

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Who gets nicked? Danny the Elf and Reg’s phantom snowball-flinger. The Russian minibus thief goes free because he brings the bus back, makes up with his barbershop quartet and they all have a sing-song. Best line: Glen’s heartbreaking “Do they have Christmas in prison?” High point: Danny telling Serg he was the one who’d granted his unexpressed Christmas wish for Glen to find his beloved granddad, then disappearing to the sound of sleigh bells as the theme music kicks in.   Low point: The Borat-alike Russians. “We must tour UK for orphans charity!” Must you? Why it’s in third place: It’s very silly but really Christmassy. It snows! There’s a tree! Reg has an action scene (off-screen, but still). It has a happy ending, and the storyline about Gary the foster child ends up being genuinely moving. Comedy Russians aside, it’s a very respectable hour of festive TV. 

2. Santa’s Little Helper (2008)

The plot: A spate of burglaries is traced back to a market stall Santa, who robs people’s houses during the one-hour wait for their family’s grotto photo. It turns out that Santa’s on probation, and clean, but his daughter Lisa and her boyfriend were doing the robberies to pay off his pre-prison debts to a wrong’un. Sun Hill’s finest conduct an impressive sting operation, then keep going up the chain until the investigation leads them all the way to a notorious organised criminal gang leader. Time until police work: 0:42. Two uniforms respond to a 999 call about an unconscious elderly man at a break-in. No messing. Who gets nicked? Lisa. Lisa’s boyfriend. Lisa’s dad. The loan shark and thug who was terrorising Lisa. Best line: “Thieving Santa, they’ll be telling me the Tooth Fairy’s a crack dealer next.” High point: When they’re letting Father Christmas out of custody and give him back his beard out of an evidence bag. Low point: All the stick DC Stuart Turner gets for owning a Westlife CD and keeping his flat tidy. Masculinity is a spectrum, officers. Broaden your minds. Why it’s in second place: It’s not only quite a touching story about a family trying to stay together at Christmas (albeit through breaking and entering and a bit of ABH), it also a well-plotted, satisfying series of revelations that kick-start an exciting, twisty-turny multi-episode plot about DC Stevie Moss’s undercover work that’s more or less a bonus series of Line of Duty. We’re talking high-stakes criminal gangs, guns and double-crossing.

1. Christmas Star (1998)

The plot: Tony is organising the works Christmas do, and promising the world on a £15-a-head budget. (The world: music, crisps, nuts, some grub, champagne, lap dances for the men and a Father Christmas stripper for the women.) Trouble is, he’s done a hooky no-VAT deal for cheap booze with the Cash and Carry, which gets raided by the Fraud Squad, so has to pay full whack out of his own pocket at the offy instead. A BMW driver has done a hit and run, leaving a schoolgirl Arsenal obsessive in a coma. Suspecting the owner is lying about his car having been stolen, P.C. Santini does some proper coppering, finds out the owner’s wife was driving, and nicks them both. On top of that, he manages to get the victim a hospital visit from Arsenal’s Emmanuel Petit. A Christmas miracle! Time until police work: 2:06 All units are called to the high street because of the hit and run. Who gets nicked? The BMW driver and his wife. Best line: “Tony’s had a bit of an annus horribilis” “And quite a rough year.” High point: Eddie delivering on his footballer promise to the victim, but being classy enough to keep it to himself. What a mensch. Low point: The BMW owner’s cliched beatnik stylings, man. Why it’s in first place: It’s a gripping, well-paced hour, with a satisfying ending, and a moral about not promising what you can’t deliver. It’s got a guest star in the form of 1990s football sensation Emmanuel Petit, and a hero in the form of P.C. Eddie Santini. Also, being set in 1998, these days it’s a lovely nostalgic watch. Someone gets a fiver out of a Midland Bank cash point! Someone else pays their share of the drinks kitty by cheque! All the women’s eyebrows are plucked thinner than an Elizabethan royal. Truly, a hallowed age. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Merry Christmas to all! (But mostly to P.C. Reg Hollis).

The post Ranking The Bill’s Christmas Specials From Best to the One Where Reg Plays the Back End of a Panto Cow appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3aknXhn

[spideynow-blog]

Viddyoze 3.0 Review [Video Creation On Steroids?]

Making money is a significant concern for every person and company. A hefty profit is the target, but can only be made

through proper marketing and improvement of sales. Today, so many people and companies alike have taken over the internet to try and fish the customers through different methods.

As for you, I want to believe your reading this review because you know that the dynamics are changing. Nowadays, selling your product is no longer that simple, through images and sending out emails. Potential customers have become fussy and hard to convince. This assumption is wrong; it has never been more accessible to pleas a customer than today by merely giving them what they want to see.

That’s why I present the solution you’ve been seeking for so long, Viddyoze. Cloud-Based software that was developed to ensure that you can sell yourself and product with the least amount of investment, time spent and assures you of immediate response. Viddyoze helps turn you from a video novice to a video animation designer in just three clicks.

Marketing Your Business With Videos

Research has shown that most of the potential customers are no longer buying into images, templates, or reviews unlike the past, today they buy into what they see in videos. Also, it has been noted that more than 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be on videos. Making videos that would sell your product in the past would cost you so much money to hire video directors, quality cameras, models, and still invest in video editors. This is now in the past.

Viddyoze gives you the ability to create 3D quality animations without the use or need for sophisticated software or training. You’re given the opportunity to: create logo stingers, intro, outros, social media call to actions, mockup, overlay, and live-action videos all this with movie filters and seamless transition effects.

I know all this sounds too complicated, but it isn’t complicated at all. Viddyoze is a groundbreaking technology that gives power to the powerless. If you want to create videos for adverting, you will have to use a Madison Avenue budget to produce a video that will capture the attention of your target audience, and still, it will lack so many aspects that are provided by Viddyoze. The likes of the stunning social actions that enable your user who is watching to click the shared social media account live on the go. We know that the purpose of the uploaded video is to grab the attention of the lead to keep the attention of the lead to watch until the end of the video. And convert awareness into action, this means turning the lead into a customer or user.

Selling Video Creation Services

The other side of the coin is it’s not about advertising yourself or business alone, but you can make money out of it. So many individuals are utilizing Viddyoze to make money by creating content for local companies who have not yet known the use of this fantastic technology. You also can create a watermark so your videos will be safe as they circulate the You may assume that this a new concept in the market, but it’s not new at all. The idea started back in 2005 September with the creation of Viddyoze 1.0 that was followed with Viddyoze version 2.0 in June 2016, and the Viddyoze Live Action was the next innovation. It was released on June 2017 after the developers came up with the 3.0 platform, the newest in the market.

Many have had version 2.0 and Live Action, but I would advise you to upgrade to version 3.0. You will not be forced to pay any extra fees while migrating. This is what you will get from the 3.0.

Introducing Viddyoze 3.0

With the Viddyoze 3.0, a user can create 3D animated videos with intros, outros, social actions, Segways, and many more. It is still Saas, so you only require internet access to be able to create the videos anywhere and in any device, and it will not take up any of your space in the laptop or PC.

It is simple to use and create videos. It has three simple steps, ones you log into your Viddyoze account, and you only have to choose a template, customize the template to your needs, confirm your video, and render your video. Just like that, you are a video animation designer.

You stand to benefit immensely from the 3.0 since it comes with an improved Animation Engine, overhauled UI Design, that ensures that it’s easy to find the perfect template a lot easier and faster. It also comes with live previews to enable you to check your video before rendering and adjust where you want.

Viddyoze OTO comes in two packages. OTO 1 and OTO 2.

OTO 1- Viddyoze 3.0 Template Club Upgrade OTO

It comes with 700+ templates, only 15 members added per month, 30 free top of the tier templates. And unlimited renders

OTO 2- Viddyoze 3.0 Pro Edition Upgrade OTO

You get an animation explainer, and a pro production looks, showreels to advertise your video.

Why You Should Invest In Viddyoze 3.0

Viddyoze is the best innovation of its kind in the market right now. It has worked to the benefit of many businesses and individuals alike. After reading the review, you might ask yourself how you can utilize Viddyoze since we have known that it is used to create animated videos that are astonishing and powerful. The videos assure you that you will be able to impress your clients.

If you’re into converting video demos, ads this is your playground. At a very affordable cost, the platform is seriously profitable if used well. They offer a one-time payment of $97.00, which gives you unlimited access to their templates. They also have a personal account that goes for $77.00 for personal use and limited to 30 templates a month

What You Stand To Gain From Viddyoze

Viddyoze has been of great help to my online business for some time now. I do sell products online and have a YouTube channel and so many doors have been opened from the time I started using this platform to sell my products and channel, I have had increased sales, and the number of subscribers has been growing daily. I can never be more thankful.

As for you, I also assure you that if you decide to try it out, you will see the benefits first hand.

Reasons why I have rated Viddyoze as number #1 are;

1. You get top of the notch studio-quality animations for any video in just three clicks

2. For business-minded people, you can create pro-videos that you can sell

3. Viddyoze gives you quality high-class videos that will help you sell your products and services with ease.

4. If you already have pre-existing videos, there is no need to delete them or feel ashamed. But you can easily give them a new lease of life with a single animation.

5. You require zero experience to operate it.

6. Lastly, since its cloud-based, you do not need to have a permanent station to work on it. You can quickly build yourself by using your mobile phone at home.

How Good the Product is

The fact is all of us like to get value for our money and time alike. So let’s see whether you are guaranteed this and much more.

1. Grab the Attention Instantly

All Viddyoze products always have that wow factor in them. This is because they have a more personal touch to them, the creator is the owner, and they know what they want the video to reflect and sell.

2. Assurance of Quality work

Video creators are given access to a wide array of topnotch intro animations and logo stings which assure you that the viewers will be glued on the screen till the end without twitching.

3. Alpha Dynamic Intros

In every video, the start will determine whether or not the viewer will stick or get bored. With Viddyoze, they have come up with unique intros that will blow away the mind of the viewer hence capturing their attention fully.

4. Social Actions

Every person today knows the power of social media, it can be used to make or break you, but here they focus on making you. Viddyoze gives you this power of spreading your brand to all corners of the globe using social media animations, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram YouTube, and the rest of the platforms that the potential customers use.

5. Floating Social Actions

After having access to the social accounts, you now are given a chance to ensure these animations are floating as your video is progressing.

6. Seamless Transitions

Don’t be the guy with the video that has the wrong cuts everywhere. Do it professionally Viddyoze helps you have videos that flow seamlessly and smoothly.

7. Movie Filters

As a user of this platform, you will have access to so many effects that are so cool that they seem real and cinematic.

8. Floating Animations

The easiest way to grab the attention of users is to play with what they see. These floating animations are eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

9. CTA Overlays

The main reason for having the video was to sell your product now the time has come to do so, to turn the attention into action. With Viddyoze, you can click on the buy button or call to action message while your video is still playing.

10. Watermarks

Keep your work safe and secure by adding the watermark that only you can remove.

11. Quality Audio

However good the video might be if it sounds terrible then it’s a total waste. The perfect combination is quality video and an excellent soundtrack to ensure delivery of the message, and Viddyoze has come to your aid by providing some of the best soundtracks to accompany your animated video.

12. Compatibility with Mobile

Don’t you worry if you do not own a PC because Viddyoze is 100% compatible with your mobile? By rendering the videos in mp4 file format so that it can be viewed using any phone player and created using any mobile browser anywhere, you are at any time of your convenience?

What is missing?

I don’t see anything that might be missing in this innovation. Everything that you require to make your video is provided in straightforward steps. The minor issue is that if you are creating a video during peak hours, then you will face a time-lapse. You will spend at least an hour so as the video can render. But this is solvable because you can continue doing your work in the browser as its rendering. I prefer using this software to using the Adobe After Effects with regards to cost and also the ease of using the software.

Conclusion

I believe that after going through the Viddyoze 3.0 review, you now understand what it is and what it does. And as a result, you may consider using it to improve your business and also boost your social account clicks. Viddyoze has been able to show many people that they need not undertake any training to become video animation creators or for others to spend a lot of their money to hire people to do the videos for them at a very high cost.

For the young minds, they can use these platforms as a source of income to help them create videos with ease and then sell the videos at an extra cost that, at times, is pretty profitable considering the investment made. It is said that most people end up getting their investment money two to four days after investing in the use of Viddyoze.

This platform also offers a 60-day cash refund without questions asked. So if you fear investing fear no more, the customer’s service is so great, and their response is fast if you have any questions or inquiries, they will respond in less than four hours.

from Internet Marketing Aficionado https://internetmarketingaficionado.com/viddyoze-review/

[littlebeansplayhouse-blog]

Viddyoze 3.0 Review [Video Creation On Steroids?]

Making money is a significant concern for every person and company. A hefty profit is the target, but can only be made

through proper marketing and improvement of sales. Today, so many people and companies alike have taken over the internet to try and fish the customers through different methods.

As for you, I want to believe your reading this review because you know that the dynamics are changing. Nowadays, selling your product is no longer that simple, through images and sending out emails. Potential customers have become fussy and hard to convince. This assumption is wrong; it has never been more accessible to pleas a customer than today by merely giving them what they want to see.

That’s why I present the solution you’ve been seeking for so long, Viddyoze. Cloud-Based software that was developed to ensure that you can sell yourself and product with the least amount of investment, time spent and assures you of immediate response. Viddyoze helps turn you from a video novice to a video animation designer in just three clicks.

Marketing Your Business With Videos

Research has shown that most of the potential customers are no longer buying into images, templates, or reviews unlike the past, today they buy into what they see in videos. Also, it has been noted that more than 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be on videos. Making videos that would sell your product in the past would cost you so much money to hire video directors, quality cameras, models, and still invest in video editors. This is now in the past.

Viddyoze gives you the ability to create 3D quality animations without the use or need for sophisticated software or training. You’re given the opportunity to: create logo stingers, intro, outros, social media call to actions, mockup, overlay, and live-action videos all this with movie filters and seamless transition effects.

I know all this sounds too complicated, but it isn’t complicated at all. Viddyoze is a groundbreaking technology that gives power to the powerless. If you want to create videos for adverting, you will have to use a Madison Avenue budget to produce a video that will capture the attention of your target audience, and still, it will lack so many aspects that are provided by Viddyoze. The likes of the stunning social actions that enable your user who is watching to click the shared social media account live on the go. We know that the purpose of the uploaded video is to grab the attention of the lead to keep the attention of the lead to watch until the end of the video. And convert awareness into action, this means turning the lead into a customer or user.

Selling Video Creation Services

The other side of the coin is it’s not about advertising yourself or business alone, but you can make money out of it. So many individuals are utilizing Viddyoze to make money by creating content for local companies who have not yet known the use of this fantastic technology. You also can create a watermark so your videos will be safe as they circulate the You may assume that this a new concept in the market, but it’s not new at all. The idea started back in 2005 September with the creation of Viddyoze 1.0 that was followed with Viddyoze version 2.0 in June 2016, and the Viddyoze Live Action was the next innovation. It was released on June 2017 after the developers came up with the 3.0 platform, the newest in the market.

Many have had version 2.0 and Live Action, but I would advise you to upgrade to version 3.0. You will not be forced to pay any extra fees while migrating. This is what you will get from the 3.0.

Introducing Viddyoze 3.0

With the Viddyoze 3.0, a user can create 3D animated videos with intros, outros, social actions, Segways, and many more. It is still Saas, so you only require internet access to be able to create the videos anywhere and in any device, and it will not take up any of your space in the laptop or PC.

It is simple to use and create videos. It has three simple steps, ones you log into your Viddyoze account, and you only have to choose a template, customize the template to your needs, confirm your video, and render your video. Just like that, you are a video animation designer.

You stand to benefit immensely from the 3.0 since it comes with an improved Animation Engine, overhauled UI Design, that ensures that it’s easy to find the perfect template a lot easier and faster. It also comes with live previews to enable you to check your video before rendering and adjust where you want.

Viddyoze OTO comes in two packages. OTO 1 and OTO 2.

OTO 1- Viddyoze 3.0 Template Club Upgrade OTO

It comes with 700+ templates, only 15 members added per month, 30 free top of the tier templates. And unlimited renders

OTO 2- Viddyoze 3.0 Pro Edition Upgrade OTO

You get an animation explainer, and a pro production looks, showreels to advertise your video.

Why You Should Invest In Viddyoze 3.0

Viddyoze is the best innovation of its kind in the market right now. It has worked to the benefit of many businesses and individuals alike. After reading the review, you might ask yourself how you can utilize Viddyoze since we have known that it is used to create animated videos that are astonishing and powerful. The videos assure you that you will be able to impress your clients.

If you’re into converting video demos, ads this is your playground. At a very affordable cost, the platform is seriously profitable if used well. They offer a one-time payment of $97.00, which gives you unlimited access to their templates. They also have a personal account that goes for $77.00 for personal use and limited to 30 templates a month

What You Stand To Gain From Viddyoze

Viddyoze has been of great help to my online business for some time now. I do sell products online and have a YouTube channel and so many doors have been opened from the time I started using this platform to sell my products and channel, I have had increased sales, and the number of subscribers has been growing daily. I can never be more thankful.

As for you, I also assure you that if you decide to try it out, you will see the benefits first hand.

Reasons why I have rated Viddyoze as number #1 are;

1. You get top of the notch studio-quality animations for any video in just three clicks

2. For business-minded people, you can create pro-videos that you can sell

3. Viddyoze gives you quality high-class videos that will help you sell your products and services with ease.

4. If you already have pre-existing videos, there is no need to delete them or feel ashamed. But you can easily give them a new lease of life with a single animation.

5. You require zero experience to operate it.

6. Lastly, since its cloud-based, you do not need to have a permanent station to work on it. You can quickly build yourself by using your mobile phone at home.

How Good the Product is

The fact is all of us like to get value for our money and time alike. So let’s see whether you are guaranteed this and much more.

1. Grab the Attention Instantly

All Viddyoze products always have that wow factor in them. This is because they have a more personal touch to them, the creator is the owner, and they know what they want the video to reflect and sell.

2. Assurance of Quality work

Video creators are given access to a wide array of topnotch intro animations and logo stings which assure you that the viewers will be glued on the screen till the end without twitching.

3. Alpha Dynamic Intros

In every video, the start will determine whether or not the viewer will stick or get bored. With Viddyoze, they have come up with unique intros that will blow away the mind of the viewer hence capturing their attention fully.

4. Social Actions

Every person today knows the power of social media, it can be used to make or break you, but here they focus on making you. Viddyoze gives you this power of spreading your brand to all corners of the globe using social media animations, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram YouTube, and the rest of the platforms that the potential customers use.

5. Floating Social Actions

After having access to the social accounts, you now are given a chance to ensure these animations are floating as your video is progressing.

6. Seamless Transitions

Don’t be the guy with the video that has the wrong cuts everywhere. Do it professionally Viddyoze helps you have videos that flow seamlessly and smoothly.

7. Movie Filters

As a user of this platform, you will have access to so many effects that are so cool that they seem real and cinematic.

8. Floating Animations

The easiest way to grab the attention of users is to play with what they see. These floating animations are eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

9. CTA Overlays

The main reason for having the video was to sell your product now the time has come to do so, to turn the attention into action. With Viddyoze, you can click on the buy button or call to action message while your video is still playing.

10. Watermarks

Keep your work safe and secure by adding the watermark that only you can remove.

11. Quality Audio

However good the video might be if it sounds terrible then it’s a total waste. The perfect combination is quality video and an excellent soundtrack to ensure delivery of the message, and Viddyoze has come to your aid by providing some of the best soundtracks to accompany your animated video.

12. Compatibility with Mobile

Don’t you worry if you do not own a PC because Viddyoze is 100% compatible with your mobile? By rendering the videos in mp4 file format so that it can be viewed using any phone player and created using any mobile browser anywhere, you are at any time of your convenience?

What is missing?

I don’t see anything that might be missing in this innovation. Everything that you require to make your video is provided in straightforward steps. The minor issue is that if you are creating a video during peak hours, then you will face a time-lapse. You will spend at least an hour so as the video can render. But this is solvable because you can continue doing your work in the browser as its rendering. I prefer using this software to using the Adobe After Effects with regards to cost and also the ease of using the software.

Conclusion

I believe that after going through the Viddyoze 3.0 review, you now understand what it is and what it does. And as a result, you may consider using it to improve your business and also boost your social account clicks. Viddyoze has been able to show many people that they need not undertake any training to become video animation creators or for others to spend a lot of their money to hire people to do the videos for them at a very high cost.

For the young minds, they can use these platforms as a source of income to help them create videos with ease and then sell the videos at an extra cost that, at times, is pretty profitable considering the investment made. It is said that most people end up getting their investment money two to four days after investing in the use of Viddyoze.

This platform also offers a 60-day cash refund without questions asked. So if you fear investing fear no more, the customer’s service is so great, and their response is fast if you have any questions or inquiries, they will respond in less than four hours.

from Internet Marketing Aficionado https://internetmarketingaficionado.com/viddyoze-review/

[vagueadulting-blog]

Viddyoze 3.0 Review [Video Creation On Steroids?]

Making money is a significant concern for every person and company. A hefty profit is the target, but can only be made

through proper marketing and improvement of sales. Today, so many people and companies alike have taken over the internet to try and fish the customers through different methods.

As for you, I want to believe your reading this review because you know that the dynamics are changing. Nowadays, selling your product is no longer that simple, through images and sending out emails. Potential customers have become fussy and hard to convince. This assumption is wrong; it has never been more accessible to pleas a customer than today by merely giving them what they want to see.

That’s why I present the solution you’ve been seeking for so long, Viddyoze. Cloud-Based software that was developed to ensure that you can sell yourself and product with the least amount of investment, time spent and assures you of immediate response. Viddyoze helps turn you from a video novice to a video animation designer in just three clicks.

Marketing Your Business With Videos

Research has shown that most of the potential customers are no longer buying into images, templates, or reviews unlike the past, today they buy into what they see in videos. Also, it has been noted that more than 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be on videos. Making videos that would sell your product in the past would cost you so much money to hire video directors, quality cameras, models, and still invest in video editors. This is now in the past.

Viddyoze gives you the ability to create 3D quality animations without the use or need for sophisticated software or training. You’re given the opportunity to: create logo stingers, intro, outros, social media call to actions, mockup, overlay, and live-action videos all this with movie filters and seamless transition effects.

I know all this sounds too complicated, but it isn’t complicated at all. Viddyoze is a groundbreaking technology that gives power to the powerless. If you want to create videos for adverting, you will have to use a Madison Avenue budget to produce a video that will capture the attention of your target audience, and still, it will lack so many aspects that are provided by Viddyoze. The likes of the stunning social actions that enable your user who is watching to click the shared social media account live on the go. We know that the purpose of the uploaded video is to grab the attention of the lead to keep the attention of the lead to watch until the end of the video. And convert awareness into action, this means turning the lead into a customer or user.

Selling Video Creation Services

The other side of the coin is it’s not about advertising yourself or business alone, but you can make money out of it. So many individuals are utilizing Viddyoze to make money by creating content for local companies who have not yet known the use of this fantastic technology. You also can create a watermark so your videos will be safe as they circulate the You may assume that this a new concept in the market, but it’s not new at all. The idea started back in 2005 September with the creation of Viddyoze 1.0 that was followed with Viddyoze version 2.0 in June 2016, and the Viddyoze Live Action was the next innovation. It was released on June 2017 after the developers came up with the 3.0 platform, the newest in the market.

Many have had version 2.0 and Live Action, but I would advise you to upgrade to version 3.0. You will not be forced to pay any extra fees while migrating. This is what you will get from the 3.0.

Introducing Viddyoze 3.0

With the Viddyoze 3.0, a user can create 3D animated videos with intros, outros, social actions, Segways, and many more. It is still Saas, so you only require internet access to be able to create the videos anywhere and in any device, and it will not take up any of your space in the laptop or PC.

It is simple to use and create videos. It has three simple steps, ones you log into your Viddyoze account, and you only have to choose a template, customize the template to your needs, confirm your video, and render your video. Just like that, you are a video animation designer.

You stand to benefit immensely from the 3.0 since it comes with an improved Animation Engine, overhauled UI Design, that ensures that it’s easy to find the perfect template a lot easier and faster. It also comes with live previews to enable you to check your video before rendering and adjust where you want.

Viddyoze OTO comes in two packages. OTO 1 and OTO 2.

OTO 1- Viddyoze 3.0 Template Club Upgrade OTO

It comes with 700+ templates, only 15 members added per month, 30 free top of the tier templates. And unlimited renders

OTO 2- Viddyoze 3.0 Pro Edition Upgrade OTO

You get an animation explainer, and a pro production looks, showreels to advertise your video.

Why You Should Invest In Viddyoze 3.0

Viddyoze is the best innovation of its kind in the market right now. It has worked to the benefit of many businesses and individuals alike. After reading the review, you might ask yourself how you can utilize Viddyoze since we have known that it is used to create animated videos that are astonishing and powerful. The videos assure you that you will be able to impress your clients.

If you’re into converting video demos, ads this is your playground. At a very affordable cost, the platform is seriously profitable if used well. They offer a one-time payment of $97.00, which gives you unlimited access to their templates. They also have a personal account that goes for $77.00 for personal use and limited to 30 templates a month

What You Stand To Gain From Viddyoze

Viddyoze has been of great help to my online business for some time now. I do sell products online and have a YouTube channel and so many doors have been opened from the time I started using this platform to sell my products and channel, I have had increased sales, and the number of subscribers has been growing daily. I can never be more thankful.

As for you, I also assure you that if you decide to try it out, you will see the benefits first hand.

Reasons why I have rated Viddyoze as number #1 are;

1. You get top of the notch studio-quality animations for any video in just three clicks

2. For business-minded people, you can create pro-videos that you can sell

3. Viddyoze gives you quality high-class videos that will help you sell your products and services with ease.

4. If you already have pre-existing videos, there is no need to delete them or feel ashamed. But you can easily give them a new lease of life with a single animation.

5. You require zero experience to operate it.

6. Lastly, since its cloud-based, you do not need to have a permanent station to work on it. You can quickly build yourself by using your mobile phone at home.

How Good the Product is

The fact is all of us like to get value for our money and time alike. So let’s see whether you are guaranteed this and much more.

1. Grab the Attention Instantly

All Viddyoze products always have that wow factor in them. This is because they have a more personal touch to them, the creator is the owner, and they know what they want the video to reflect and sell.

2. Assurance of Quality work

Video creators are given access to a wide array of topnotch intro animations and logo stings which assure you that the viewers will be glued on the screen till the end without twitching.

3. Alpha Dynamic Intros

In every video, the start will determine whether or not the viewer will stick or get bored. With Viddyoze, they have come up with unique intros that will blow away the mind of the viewer hence capturing their attention fully.

4. Social Actions

Every person today knows the power of social media, it can be used to make or break you, but here they focus on making you. Viddyoze gives you this power of spreading your brand to all corners of the globe using social media animations, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram YouTube, and the rest of the platforms that the potential customers use.

5. Floating Social Actions

After having access to the social accounts, you now are given a chance to ensure these animations are floating as your video is progressing.

6. Seamless Transitions

Don’t be the guy with the video that has the wrong cuts everywhere. Do it professionally Viddyoze helps you have videos that flow seamlessly and smoothly.

7. Movie Filters

As a user of this platform, you will have access to so many effects that are so cool that they seem real and cinematic.

8. Floating Animations

The easiest way to grab the attention of users is to play with what they see. These floating animations are eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

9. CTA Overlays

The main reason for having the video was to sell your product now the time has come to do so, to turn the attention into action. With Viddyoze, you can click on the buy button or call to action message while your video is still playing.

10. Watermarks

Keep your work safe and secure by adding the watermark that only you can remove.

11. Quality Audio

However good the video might be if it sounds terrible then it’s a total waste. The perfect combination is quality video and an excellent soundtrack to ensure delivery of the message, and Viddyoze has come to your aid by providing some of the best soundtracks to accompany your animated video.

12. Compatibility with Mobile

Don’t you worry if you do not own a PC because Viddyoze is 100% compatible with your mobile? By rendering the videos in mp4 file format so that it can be viewed using any phone player and created using any mobile browser anywhere, you are at any time of your convenience?

What is missing?

I don’t see anything that might be missing in this innovation. Everything that you require to make your video is provided in straightforward steps. The minor issue is that if you are creating a video during peak hours, then you will face a time-lapse. You will spend at least an hour so as the video can render. But this is solvable because you can continue doing your work in the browser as its rendering. I prefer using this software to using the Adobe After Effects with regards to cost and also the ease of using the software.

Conclusion

I believe that after going through the Viddyoze 3.0 review, you now understand what it is and what it does. And as a result, you may consider using it to improve your business and also boost your social account clicks. Viddyoze has been able to show many people that they need not undertake any training to become video animation creators or for others to spend a lot of their money to hire people to do the videos for them at a very high cost.

For the young minds, they can use these platforms as a source of income to help them create videos with ease and then sell the videos at an extra cost that, at times, is pretty profitable considering the investment made. It is said that most people end up getting their investment money two to four days after investing in the use of Viddyoze.

This platform also offers a 60-day cash refund without questions asked. So if you fear investing fear no more, the customer’s service is so great, and their response is fast if you have any questions or inquiries, they will respond in less than four hours.

from Internet Marketing Aficionado https://internetmarketingaficionado.com/viddyoze-review/

[lanisews-blog]

Viddyoze 3.0 Review [Video Creation On Steroids?]

Making money is a significant concern for every person and company. A hefty profit is the target, but can only be made

through proper marketing and improvement of sales. Today, so many people and companies alike have taken over the internet to try and fish the customers through different methods.

As for you, I want to believe your reading this review because you know that the dynamics are changing. Nowadays, selling your product is no longer that simple, through images and sending out emails. Potential customers have become fussy and hard to convince. This assumption is wrong; it has never been more accessible to pleas a customer than today by merely giving them what they want to see.

That’s why I present the solution you’ve been seeking for so long, Viddyoze. Cloud-Based software that was developed to ensure that you can sell yourself and product with the least amount of investment, time spent and assures you of immediate response. Viddyoze helps turn you from a video novice to a video animation designer in just three clicks.

Marketing Your Business With Videos

Research has shown that most of the potential customers are no longer buying into images, templates, or reviews unlike the past, today they buy into what they see in videos. Also, it has been noted that more than 80% of the world’s internet traffic will be on videos. Making videos that would sell your product in the past would cost you so much money to hire video directors, quality cameras, models, and still invest in video editors. This is now in the past.

Viddyoze gives you the ability to create 3D quality animations without the use or need for sophisticated software or training. You’re given the opportunity to: create logo stingers, intro, outros, social media call to actions, mockup, overlay, and live-action videos all this with movie filters and seamless transition effects.

I know all this sounds too complicated, but it isn’t complicated at all. Viddyoze is a groundbreaking technology that gives power to the powerless. If you want to create videos for adverting, you will have to use a Madison Avenue budget to produce a video that will capture the attention of your target audience, and still, it will lack so many aspects that are provided by Viddyoze. The likes of the stunning social actions that enable your user who is watching to click the shared social media account live on the go. We know that the purpose of the uploaded video is to grab the attention of the lead to keep the attention of the lead to watch until the end of the video. And convert awareness into action, this means turning the lead into a customer or user.

Selling Video Creation Services

The other side of the coin is it’s not about advertising yourself or business alone, but you can make money out of it. So many individuals are utilizing Viddyoze to make money by creating content for local companies who have not yet known the use of this fantastic technology. You also can create a watermark so your videos will be safe as they circulate the You may assume that this a new concept in the market, but it’s not new at all. The idea started back in 2005 September with the creation of Viddyoze 1.0 that was followed with Viddyoze version 2.0 in June 2016, and the Viddyoze Live Action was the next innovation. It was released on June 2017 after the developers came up with the 3.0 platform, the newest in the market.

Many have had version 2.0 and Live Action, but I would advise you to upgrade to version 3.0. You will not be forced to pay any extra fees while migrating. This is what you will get from the 3.0.

Introducing Viddyoze 3.0

With the Viddyoze 3.0, a user can create 3D animated videos with intros, outros, social actions, Segways, and many more. It is still Saas, so you only require internet access to be able to create the videos anywhere and in any device, and it will not take up any of your space in the laptop or PC.

It is simple to use and create videos. It has three simple steps, ones you log into your Viddyoze account, and you only have to choose a template, customize the template to your needs, confirm your video, and render your video. Just like that, you are a video animation designer.

You stand to benefit immensely from the 3.0 since it comes with an improved Animation Engine, overhauled UI Design, that ensures that it’s easy to find the perfect template a lot easier and faster. It also comes with live previews to enable you to check your video before rendering and adjust where you want.

Viddyoze OTO comes in two packages. OTO 1 and OTO 2.

OTO 1- Viddyoze 3.0 Template Club Upgrade OTO

It comes with 700+ templates, only 15 members added per month, 30 free top of the tier templates. And unlimited renders

OTO 2- Viddyoze 3.0 Pro Edition Upgrade OTO

You get an animation explainer, and a pro production looks, showreels to advertise your video.

Why You Should Invest In Viddyoze 3.0

Viddyoze is the best innovation of its kind in the market right now. It has worked to the benefit of many businesses and individuals alike. After reading the review, you might ask yourself how you can utilize Viddyoze since we have known that it is used to create animated videos that are astonishing and powerful. The videos assure you that you will be able to impress your clients.

If you’re into converting video demos, ads this is your playground. At a very affordable cost, the platform is seriously profitable if used well. They offer a one-time payment of $97.00, which gives you unlimited access to their templates. They also have a personal account that goes for $77.00 for personal use and limited to 30 templates a month

What You Stand To Gain From Viddyoze

Viddyoze has been of great help to my online business for some time now. I do sell products online and have a YouTube channel and so many doors have been opened from the time I started using this platform to sell my products and channel, I have had increased sales, and the number of subscribers has been growing daily. I can never be more thankful.

As for you, I also assure you that if you decide to try it out, you will see the benefits first hand.

Reasons why I have rated Viddyoze as number #1 are;

1. You get top of the notch studio-quality animations for any video in just three clicks

2. For business-minded people, you can create pro-videos that you can sell

3. Viddyoze gives you quality high-class videos that will help you sell your products and services with ease.

4. If you already have pre-existing videos, there is no need to delete them or feel ashamed. But you can easily give them a new lease of life with a single animation.

5. You require zero experience to operate it.

6. Lastly, since its cloud-based, you do not need to have a permanent station to work on it. You can quickly build yourself by using your mobile phone at home.

How Good the Product is

The fact is all of us like to get value for our money and time alike. So let’s see whether you are guaranteed this and much more.

1. Grab the Attention Instantly

All Viddyoze products always have that wow factor in them. This is because they have a more personal touch to them, the creator is the owner, and they know what they want the video to reflect and sell.

2. Assurance of Quality work

Video creators are given access to a wide array of topnotch intro animations and logo stings which assure you that the viewers will be glued on the screen till the end without twitching.

3. Alpha Dynamic Intros

In every video, the start will determine whether or not the viewer will stick or get bored. With Viddyoze, they have come up with unique intros that will blow away the mind of the viewer hence capturing their attention fully.

4. Social Actions

Every person today knows the power of social media, it can be used to make or break you, but here they focus on making you. Viddyoze gives you this power of spreading your brand to all corners of the globe using social media animations, the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram YouTube, and the rest of the platforms that the potential customers use.

5. Floating Social Actions

After having access to the social accounts, you now are given a chance to ensure these animations are floating as your video is progressing.

6. Seamless Transitions

Don’t be the guy with the video that has the wrong cuts everywhere. Do it professionally Viddyoze helps you have videos that flow seamlessly and smoothly.

7. Movie Filters

As a user of this platform, you will have access to so many effects that are so cool that they seem real and cinematic.

8. Floating Animations

The easiest way to grab the attention of users is to play with what they see. These floating animations are eye-catching and attention-grabbing.

9. CTA Overlays

The main reason for having the video was to sell your product now the time has come to do so, to turn the attention into action. With Viddyoze, you can click on the buy button or call to action message while your video is still playing.

10. Watermarks

Keep your work safe and secure by adding the watermark that only you can remove.

11. Quality Audio

However good the video might be if it sounds terrible then it’s a total waste. The perfect combination is quality video and an excellent soundtrack to ensure delivery of the message, and Viddyoze has come to your aid by providing some of the best soundtracks to accompany your animated video.

12. Compatibility with Mobile

Don’t you worry if you do not own a PC because Viddyoze is 100% compatible with your mobile? By rendering the videos in mp4 file format so that it can be viewed using any phone player and created using any mobile browser anywhere, you are at any time of your convenience?

What is missing?

I don’t see anything that might be missing in this innovation. Everything that you require to make your video is provided in straightforward steps. The minor issue is that if you are creating a video during peak hours, then you will face a time-lapse. You will spend at least an hour so as the video can render. But this is solvable because you can continue doing your work in the browser as its rendering. I prefer using this software to using the Adobe After Effects with regards to cost and also the ease of using the software.

Conclusion

I believe that after going through the Viddyoze 3.0 review, you now understand what it is and what it does. And as a result, you may consider using it to improve your business and also boost your social account clicks. Viddyoze has been able to show many people that they need not undertake any training to become video animation creators or for others to spend a lot of their money to hire people to do the videos for them at a very high cost.

For the young minds, they can use these platforms as a source of income to help them create videos with ease and then sell the videos at an extra cost that, at times, is pretty profitable considering the investment made. It is said that most people end up getting their investment money two to four days after investing in the use of Viddyoze.

This platform also offers a 60-day cash refund without questions asked. So if you fear investing fear no more, the customer’s service is so great, and their response is fast if you have any questions or inquiries, they will respond in less than four hours.

from Internet Marketing Aficionado https://internetmarketingaficionado.com/viddyoze-review/

[zycilinuh-blog]

Naomi Campbell Praises Kaia Gerber For Initial Catwalk Season

The second volume presents a far more personal point of view, and in this one Campbell waxes lyrical on her childhood, about growing up and the greatest style designers, accompanied by in no way-prior to-observed personal snapshots. Naomi stepped out in a flowing pink-and-black creation at the glamorous show, which was attended by stars such as designer Donatella Versace and Queen Rania of Jordan, with Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio also rumoured to be in the audience. FRENCHKISSES H&M and Naomi Campbell are taking an 1980s song about unemployed male empowerment and turning it into a 2017 ad about worldwide female empowerment-through fashion. Regardless of the industry's prejudice, Campbell has amassed an impressive roster of marketing campaigns in which she has starred, such as Versace, Ralph Lauren , Dolce and Gabbana and Louis Vuitton In addition Campbell was appointed the face of Yves Saint Laurent. The model's editorial operate contains shoots by fashion's greatest photographers Mario Testino , Patrick Demarchelier , Richard Avedon, Ellen von Unwerth , Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel , Peter Lindbergh and Helmut Newton. It's the very same point with her family”. She calls Azzedine Alaia Papa”. She regarded Mandela as a grandfatherly presence in her life. Edward Enninful , the new editor at British Vogue, is a further brother”. Very best buddy Kate Moss is clearly all about sisterhood. The death of Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani left a mentor-shaped hole in Campbell's life, but Donatella Versace (sister? Mother?) is stepping up to fill the gap. Campbell can call on any of them in a heartbeat. And she does, for Fashion for Relief. They are her roots. And it is Campbell's acute appreciation of the importance of roots - her own and others - that gives her charity its soul. This prevalent trigger of hair loss in African American women typically occurs about the frontal and temporal regions of the scalp. Nonetheless, some hairstyling strategies can result in the alopecia to happen in other regions of the scalp. Chemical treatment options that are generally applied to African American women's hair, like relaxers, bleaches, or straighteners, can also be a result in of Traction Alopecia. The most successful manner of combating it is early detection. A lady who is diagnosed with this condition need to straight away adjust their hairstyle and the types of chemical remedy processes that they use on it. You will know if you have Traction Alopecia, as your hair line will start off to thin and recede, and also like Naomi Campbell the hair at the side of your head. Furthermore, a young lady really should take the time to seek the advice of a dermatologist about the most productive solutions of stopping additional effects of traction alopecia. She might have a fierce reputation but for these in the know, Naomi Campbell is famed for her seriously huge heart. So its comes as no surprise that the supermodel is teaming up with Italian brand Diesel, for a collection that is dedicated to her Style For Relief charity - Child At Heart. I almost drop my pen. Is Campbell congratulating men and women for not being late? With out irony? She, of course, is famously late or, in the PR's delicate phrasing, from time to time runs behind schedule”. Witless statements like that one particular served to muffle the intelligent points Campbell has been producing about the style industry for a extended time. The model may perhaps be tone deaf to coming across as a spoilt brat, but numerous senior figures in the business have a more damaging lack of sensitivity. Naomi Campbell is a supermodel and has now added actor to her resume as she is on the new hit drama, "Empire." She nearly turned down the part but was persuaded by producer Lee Daniels to accept the portion. In "Emily", The episode begins with Emily in Naomi's residence, seeking at her girlfriend's pictures. They are arranging a trip to Mexico soon after college finishes. A package arrives containing a pair of goggles that Naomi has bought for Emily, telling her not to ever neglect that she loves her. The couple utilizes Emily's moped and visits the Fitch property, where Rob Fitch is cleaning out the garage. Emily talks to her mother, Jenna Fitch who insist they have a conversation about Emily's future. Emily brushes her off, and rides off to Roundview college with Naomi- who launches Jenna a stinging parting shot. Campbell studied at Italia Conti Academy stage college and appeared in music videos for Bob Marley and Culture Club before signing with Synchro modeling agency at age 15. Her career rapidly took off. Just ahead of her 16th birthday, Campbell fortuitously appeared on the cover of British Elle, following a different model dropping out at the last minute. Naomi Campbell is led out of the Midtown North Police Precinct by police officers in New York City on March 30, 2006. Campbell was charged with second-degree assault for allegedly hitting her housekeeper in the head with a phone during an argument in her Park Avenue apartment. According to police, Campbell's 41-year-old housekeeper received 4 stitches.